RTHK: Dead ringers sent back to Apple in iPhone scam A former engineering student in the US state of Oregon has pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods, after he sent about 3,000 fake iPhones to be replaced under warranty, cheating Apple out of almost US$900,000. Over a two-year-period, Jiang Quan, who's 30, imported the fake iPhones from Hong Kong, which he returned to Apple, saying they wouldn't turn on and should be replaced under warranty. Apple responded by sending almost 1,500 replacement iPhones, each with an resale value of about US$600. The presence of fake iPhones and other high-tech gadgets has become an issue in global resale markets, with some counterfeit versions operating so well it's hard for users to tell the difference between them and the genuine products. But in the Oregon case, the makers of the thousands of fake phones apparently didn't even have to bother with having working operating systems. The US Attorney's office in Portland said Jiang would import the counterfeit devices from Hong Kong and submit them to Apple using various assumed names. The genuine replacement phones Jiang received would be sold in China. Jiang's associate would pay Jiang's mother, who lives in China, who then deposited the money into Jiang's bank account. Jiang faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a US$2 million fine or twice his proceeds, whichever is greater, when he is sentenced in August. Under a plea agreement, the US Attorney's office will recommend a prison sentence of three years, at least $200,000 in restitution to Apple. (AP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. RTHK: 'American Taliban' Lindh freed after 17 years The California man who became known as the "American Taliban" after his capture on an Afghanistan battlefield in late 2001 has been released from prison. Thirty-eight-year-old John Walker Lindh was released on Thursday from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, a federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman told The Associated Press. Lindh spent more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. The plea deal called for a 20-year sentence, but Lindh is getting out a few years early for good behaviour. His release was opposed by the family of Mike Spann, who was killed during an uprising of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan shortly after interrogating Lindh. A judge recently imposed additional restrictions on Lindh's post-release supervision, including monitoring of his internet use. (AP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA engages in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking, and wholesale banking. It operates through the following segments: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and Rest of Eurasia. The Spain segment includes mainly the banking and insurance business that the group carries out in Spain. The United States segment consists of the financial business activity of BBVA USA in the country and the activity of the branch of BBVA SA in New York. The Mexico segment refers to banking and insurance businesses in this country as well as the activity of its branch in Houston. The Turkey segment reports the activity of Garanti BBVA group that is mainly carried out in this country and, to a lesser extent, in Romania and the Netherlands. The South America segment comprises of operations in n Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Rest of Eurasia segment includes the banking business activity carried out by the group in Europe and Asia, excluding Spain. The company was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. Read More American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. There is not enough analysis data for Fox River Resources. 5.0 Community Rank Outperform Votes Fox River Resources has received 42 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Fox River Resources has received 10 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Fox River Resources has received 80.77% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Fox River Resources and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe FOX will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe FOX will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next Trecora Resources manufactures and sells various specialty petrochemical products and synthetic waxes in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Petrochemical and Specialty Waxes. The Petrochemical segment offers hydrocarbons and other petroleum based products, including isopentane, normal pentane, isohexane, and hexane for use in the production of polyethylene, packaging, polypropylene, expandable polystyrene, poly-iso/urethane foams, and crude oil from the Canadian tar sands, as well as in the catalyst support industry. It also owns and operates pipelines. The Specialty Waxes segment provides specialty polyethylene for use in the paints and inks, adhesives, coatings, and PVC lubricants markets; and specialized synthetic poly alpha olefin waxes for use as toner in printers, as well as additives for candles. The company also provides custom processing services; and produces copper and zinc concentrates, and silver and gold dore. Trecora Resources was formerly known as Arabian American Development Company and changed its name to Trecora Resources in June 2014. Trecora Resources was founded in 1967 and is based in Sugar Land, Texas. Read More ALBANY No state is losing population more rapidly than New York. You might think the distressing trend (and how to reverse it) would be the state Legislature's focus. You might assume they'd treat the decline of upstate, especially, as something of a crisis. But upstate's admittedly difficult problems have rarely received the attention of the (mostly downstate) Democrats who now control the Legislature. In recent weeks, in fact, lawmakers have focused their time and attention not on the problems of New York families but on just one person who happens to be from New York. Donald J. Trump, of course. On Tuesday, the Assembly threw aside long-standing precedent to pass a bill, already approved by the Senate, that will allow New York officials to prosecute folks close to the Trump who receive a presidential pardon. On Wednesday, the Assembly passed legislation, also approved in the Senate, that will allow New York to release Trump's state tax returns to Congressional investigators. Oh, I understand the impulse. We all know Trump is an ethically challenged fellow, and, as revealed in the Mueller report, he has shown a willingness to abuse his constitutional clemency power. And while I think the obsession about Trump's hidden tax returns is akin to the obsession over Hillary's hidden emails both illustrate underlying character flaws but aren't worthy of the hysteria it is nevertheless true that he should have released them. But the bills do nothing for New York. They don't address the upstate population outflow. And they are baldly partisan, as honest Democrats admit. Cohoes Assemblyman John McDonald, who voted against both bills, said lawmakers are "playing politics" instead of addressing the needs of constituents. "People need housing, they need jobs, they need food, they need affordable college, a solution to the opioid crisis and they want their taxes lowered," he said. "This does not help that." The bills also represent the all-consuming focus, in Albany and everywhere else, on national politics at the expense of the locals. State Democrats are obsessed with Washington, not Watertown. They want to be feted on MSNBC, not North County Public Radio. They seem to wish they'd been elected to Congress instead of the Legislature. You've heard of Trump Derangement Syndrome? An unfortunate side effect is how it causes the afflicted to abandon long-standing principles (and established norms) in their eagerness to get the man they absolutely loathe. Trump gets everyone to join him in the mud. With the legislation on pardons, described as the closing of the "double-jeopardy loophole," Democrats ditched the principle that it's wrong to adjudicate a case twice. They contradicted progressive criminal justice trends that are designed to curb mass incarceration. They even broke with the New York Civil Liberties Union, hardly a bastion of conservative thought, which has accused them of seeking "short-term political gratification" while ignoring "the long-term damage this measure will do to New York's critical protections." But we really, really, really want to get Trump! During debate on the bill, Democrats stressed that the law would apply to abuses of power by all future presidents and not Trump alone. Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a Democrat from Brooklyn, even mentioned that the law would have let New York prosecute financier Marc Rich. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. You may remember that Rich was infamously pardoned by Bill Clinton on the last day of his presidency, after Rich's wife made more than $1 million in contributions, including to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign. It's hard to think of a worse abuse of clemency. But the Legislature didn't change anything after that actual scandalous pardon by a Democrat. Nearly 20 years later, it is moving to change the law ahead of potentially scandalous pardons by Trump. The Legislature has had well-documented ethics issues of its own, of course, so voters might prefer that lawmakers clean up their own corruption before worrying about malfeasance in the White House. And as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been happy to note, rare is the legislator who has released his or her own taxes for public review. But for Democrats in the Legislature, Trump is a safe and easy target; turning the mirror on themselves would be uncomfortable and awkward. Examining the economic struggles of upstate New York would likewise be unpleasant. The population outflow is happening for a reason, after all, and much of the blame rests with laws, taxes and mandates concocted within the halls and chambers of the Capitol. Changing policies to help New Yorkers in Utica, Watertown, Binghamton and elsewhere should be the Legislature's focus. More Information Chris Churchill can be reached at cchurchill@timesunion.com or 518-454-5442. See More Collapse Even if it's more fun to target the New Yorker in the White House. cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill SCHENECTADY A college student, the founder of a nonprofit, a corporate leader and a law enforcement official were among those honored Thursday for their work on social justice issues and civil rights during county Human Rights Commission's 36th annual awards breakfast at the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia. "It was a great pool of diverse candidates from all backgrounds and everyone who was nominated is doing the work of social justice and leading the cause of what Dr. (Martin Luther) King left for us to do and that's to raise the banner of justice," said Angelicia Morris, the commission's executive director. Awards were given in individual, youth, group and justice categories. Denise Gonick, the first female president and CEO of MVP Health Care, was honored in individual category. She is a a lawyer by trade and has led MVP since 2012. Hannah Josovitz, a Union College senior, and Emily Willey-Aulet were co-winners in the youth category. Willey-Aulet, who runs a foundation that bears her name, is a millennial spearheading an effort working with the county library to get more community libraries in the depressed neighborhoods in Schenectady in hopes of boosting the literacy rate, said Morris. She said Josovitz also works with needy residents in Hamilton Hill. Her LinkedIn page says Josovitz is "interested in working with at-risk youth and youth involved in the juvenile justice system." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. There were also co-winners in the group category where Schenectady Clergy Against Hate and the My Brother's Keeper-Schenectady, a mentorship program, picked up the top awards. In a posting on its Facebook page announcing the award, the non-partisan interfaith clergy group said "we work to end hatred, division, and seek justice, unity, and collaboration around issues within our communities." Police Chief Eric Clifford, who has presided over the daily operations of the department since late 2016, was honored with the justice award for his work to bridge the gap between police and the community. The 160-member department continues to make strides under his leadership, especially in forging a stronger relationship with the community. The winners received a plaque and a certificate, Morris said. Rensselaer The New York Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's power system to maintain its reliability, has named Richard J. Dewey its new president and CEO. Dewey, currently executive vice president, succeeds Robert E. Fernandez, who filled the posts on an interim basis since last October. Fernandez will become executive vice president and return to his previous positions as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Dewey joined NYISO in 2000 and holds engineering degrees from Clarkson University and Syracuse University. He assumes his new position on June 1. Saratoga Springs The owners of Stewart's Shops must pay a disputed $1.9 million state tax bill stemming from the company's creation of its own insurance company to cover risks and losses, a panel of state judges ruled Thursday. The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court upheld a 2011 ruling by the state Tax Appeals Tribunal that Stewart's had improperly deducted from its taxable income the expense of premiums that the company paid to a so-called "captive" insurance company held by Stewart's to cover losses for liability, worker's compensation and other claims. Stewart's had created the company, Black Ridge Insurance Company, in 2004, to handle claims against the company that had been covered up to that point by outside insurance companies. Stewart's officials appealed to the tribunal after state Taxation Department officials had disallowed company deductions made in 2006 through 2009, according to the ruling. Black Ridge provided coverage to company operations, including its retail stores and fleet of vehicles and gasoline tankers. Between 2006 and 2009, the company paid out about $12.3 million in various claims, according to the 2011 state tax tribunal ruling. The four-judge appeals court ruled that payments that Stewart's made to its own insurance company could not be considered premiums under federal tax law, making them ineligible to be used as deductions from taxable income for state tax purposes. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. According to the 2011 tribunal ruling, which upheld an earlier state Taxation Department finding, Stewart's began exploring the potential for self insurance against criminal losses in the early 2000s after The Hartford insurance company refused to renew the company' insurance after Stewart's filed a claim based on a $1.9 million embezzlement by a former employee. Stewart's dissolved the Black Ridge company in 2010 and returned to the private insurance market. Company officials could not be reached for comment by deadline Thursday. Catskill Officials at the nation's second-largest trash incineration firm have confirmed they are dropping plans to dump incinerator ash inside a former Greene County limestone quarry near the Hudson River. Robert Boucher, president and CEO of Wheelabrator Technologies, confirmed media accounts that started last week that the company was dropping its two-year-old proposal to use the Peckham Industries quarry off Route 9W just south of the village "While we stand by the conclusions of our technical evaluation to date that the site was capable of meeting and exceeding state environmental requirements, we no longer wish to engage in this project at this time," Boucher wrote in a Wednesday letter to Catskill's Town Supervisor Doreen Davis. "We appreciate your consideration and the efforts of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency in working with our team." The withdrawal puts an end to an effort that began in 2016, when the company applied to the state Department of Environmental Conservation for approval to dump about 445,000 tons of ash a year for the next five decades. The ash was to come from three Wheelabrator-owned trash incineration plants in the state, including Hudson Falls in Washington County, Poughkeepsie and Peekskill. Currently, ash from Hudson Falls is taken to a municipal landfill in Shrewsbury, Mass. Ash from the Poughkeepsie plant is taken to the Colonie town landfill in the Capital Region, while the ash from Peekskill is taken to a Wheelabrator-owned facility in Putnam, Conn. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. State officials and environmental opponents had raised concerns that the quarry could be within geological limestone formations called karst, which can contain tunnels and channels carved out by water, and which could become potential pathways for pollution to spread should the ash landfill ever leak. DEC officials said the application by Wheelabrator has not yet been withdrawn. In February, Wheelabrator Technologies was acquired by an affiliate of the Macquarie Group, an Australian multinational investment bank, for an undisclosed price. Wheelabrator owns four ash landfills, as well as 19 trash incinerators, with three more under construction. Judith Enck, a former regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who had spearheaded opposition to the project, has urged new state regulations that would bar the dumping of incinerator ash into former quarries or mines. Three years ago, Daniel Hoyt Daniels bought a house in Chatham so that he could spend the warmer seasons living next door to his daughter and grandchildren. One of Daniels' first outings in the region was to the Ghent Playhouse to see Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid," which was translated and directed by Barbara Leavel Smith. After the performance, Daniels introduced himself to Smith and complimented her work. He also volunteered that he's made his own French to English translation of the play. Soon they were comparing their scripts and conversing about classic French literature. Daniels has been a lifelong world traveler and a prolific writer with numerous collections of short stories, plus original English editions of nine Moliere plays. Smith must have found his efforts acceptable because now she's directing his version of another comedy by the great master. "Don Juan, The Libertine" is a boisterous but thoughtful take on one of the great seducers of all time. The show wraps up the spring season at the Ghent Playhouse, where it opens on Friday night and runs until June 9. Another factor in the fast friendship struck up between Daniels and Smith is that they're of the same generation. In fact, they're the same age 91. What's more, they both earned master's degrees in French literature from Middlebury College in Vermont. When it came to comparing their respective work on "The Imaginary Invalid," they agreed that about 50 percent of what they'd done was pretty much the same. After that, Smith recalls, "25 percent of mine was better, and maybe 25 percent of his was better." "There's no such thing as a true translation," says Daniels. "There are always conflicting elements that have to be balanced off. Some words might have the same literal meaning but sound ridiculous." Foreign tongues were an important element in Daniels' 26-year career in the American foreign service. He's fluent in Spanish and Italian and those mostly got him by. While stationed in Denmark and the Netherlands, "I knew enough Dutch and Danish to talk with people in the boatyard," he recalls. After retirement, Daniels' wanderlust did not abate. He lived for several years on a 40-foot boat with his Australian wife. Together they sailed from Texas to Maine numerous times. He spends the winters in Texas and Nicaragua. Another avenue of pursuit during retirement has been deep immersion in the French language. This included enrollment at Middlebury and a term in the south of France where he attended the Avignon Festival and took in a generous sampling of the hundreds of plays available. "Every theater, warehouse and garage had a play going on," he recalls. Daniels had already digested plenty of Moliere by this point. But seeing "Learned Ladies," a satire of academia, was an expectedly powerful experience. "After that, I started translating for fun while riding on a train," he recalls. Moliere wrote more than 30 plays and according to Daniels most of them are in verse, usually 12 syllables per line. This is in contrast to the English norm of 10 syllables, otherwise known as iambic pentameter. "The French like their 12 syllables. They respect and care for their language in a way nobody else does. We murder our English language," observes Daniels, who published a guide to English usage titled "Grammar Today." Translating the verse plays of Moliere into comparable English structure was a puzzle-like challenge that Daniels took up eagerly, since another of his obsessions is meter and rhyme. Along these lines, he's also been a prolific creator of limericks and earned first place in a worldwide limerick contest. "A limerick isn't any good unless it's dirty," he declares and then proceeds with a sotto voce recitation of his prize-winning entry (not proper to reprint in this family paper). Turing back to the play at hand, the legendary Don Juan would also surely appreciate a lusty turn of phrase. A hallmark of the character is his rapturous and profligate appetite for women. His first appearance in literature was in a Spanish play from 1630 by Tirso de Molina, which was the pen name of a Catholic monk. The most famous adaptation is probably the 1787 Mozart/Da Ponte opera "Don Giovanni." As for Moliere's version, it dates from 1665 and was written in a hurry because the successful "Tartuffe" was being pulled due to controversy. Given that "Don Juan" was a rush job, it's in prose rather than verse. Alas, the initial production ran for only 15 performances, as it too fell under attack. Where "Tartuffe" poked fun at a pious man, "Don Juan" supposedly exalted a libertine with loose morals. "It's funny because of people's expectations and stupidity," says Daniels. "Don Juan meets a couple of young girls who are engaged but both fall for him. He plays them off each other. And that S.O.B. isn't going to be true to either." There's a particular word in Daniels' translation that contemporary audiences may construe, at least initially, as meaning something other than how Moliere intended. The word is "marry." "For Don Juan it means a sexual liaison," explains Daniel. "That's Moliere's code word, rather than saying fornicate." According to Smith, the director, Moliere's version of "Don Juan" retains the outrageous humor while elevating the spirit of the character. "He's been portrayed either as a stick figure, a ridiculous comedian or a cruel trickster. Moliere transformed him into something much richer," says Smith. "It has the same range as his greatest plays, that same compound of tragedy and comedy. Sometimes you want to laugh and cry at the same time." Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy. ALBANY On July 29, 2016, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo boarded a luxury private aircraft and flew out of Philadelphia after delivering a thundering 15-minute speech before the Democratic National Convention the night before. Cuomo rode back to Westchester in style via Talon Air, a company at that time owned by one of Cuomo's most generous campaign donors, Adam Katz. Between 2011 and 2016, Talon Air supplied Cuomo with a plane at least a dozen times, according to campaign finance records. Roughly half the flights were provided for free as "in-kind" campaign donations. Others, like the Philadelphia flight, were paid for by Cuomo's campaign or the state Democratic Party. About the series Friends in High Places is a two-part investigation looking into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's relationship with aviation magnate Adam Katz. Part 1 looks at donations made to Cuomo by Katz and his associates. Part 2 explores Cuomo's free flights on Katz-owned jets and a later series of state bidding decisions that ultimately benefitted Katz's company. See More Collapse About a month after the flight from Philadelphia, Empire State Development Corp. an agency controlled by Cuomo awarded the lucrative development rights for four of five land parcels at Long Island's Republic Airport to another company owned by Katz, Stratosphere Development. Eventually, Katz would win the long-term lease to all 54 acres that were up for bid. Katz's company was picked after the state Department of Transportation had eight months earlier formally issued a letter awarding those development rights to another company, through a prior competitive bidding process known as a "request for proposal" (RFP). Then, without any "notice, communication, telephone call, email or letter," the Cuomo administration decided to un-designate the winner, the Long Island-based company Breslin Realty, according to a lawsuit filed against the state in 2018. Since then, there has never been an "informal or formal withdrawal" of Breslin's designation as the developer, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by LI Cleantech, a later rival bidder to Katz. Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image Several months after Breslin seemed to have won the initial bidding with DOT, the development rights were re-bid by Empire State Development (ESD). In a July 2016 conference call reviewed by the Times Union, Wilbur Breslin, founder of the development company, brought up the unexplained loss of his company's winning bid to a top ESD official. "The initial RFP," Breslin said. "In writing, they told us." "I wouldn't lose sleep over that one at this point," replied Thomas Conoscenti, ESD's vice president of real estate. "That's really neither here nor there, unfortunately." Katz's company, Stratosphere, hadn't participated in the initial round with DOT, but its later bid won the ESD-run second process in 2016. The company, which provides aviation services such as aircraft refueling at Republic Airport, intends to use the 54 acres to build aircraft parking, new hangers and office space. Company officials contend their proposal was clearly superior on the merits to all other bidders. In response to questions from the Times Union, the Cuomo administration insisted that DOT in 2015 had only awarded the rights to "manage" Republic Airport, not to actually develop the surrounding land. The governor's office also noted that a review of the process by the state comptroller's office found no issues with the state's handling of the contract-award process. The administration's account is contradicted, however, by DOT's 2015 award-designation letter, which listed Breslin as among the winners of the airport's "business development" rights. Between 2011 and 2015, Katz as well as his companies, relatives and associates donated at least $677,000 to Cuomo's campaign or to the state Democratic Party, which Cuomo controls. As the Times Union recently reported, those donations include $25,000 to Cuomo from Katz's divorce lawyer, $10,000 from Katz's tax lawyer, and $15,000 from a contractor who worked on Katz's home, as well as many donations by Katz's relatives. A number of those people contributed to Cuomo's campaign in large, often identical amounts often on the same days despite having rarely given large amounts before in New York elections. Greg Zucker, an attorney for Stratosphere and Katz, has given Cuomo $20,000. Zucker said that Katz has never compensated anyone for making the donations, which would be illegal. Instead, he added, Katz raised the donations from family and friends who were happy to give the five-figure sums at Katz's behest. Though they did not donate nearly as much money as Katz, the eventual losers in the bidding process also gave to Cuomo's campaign. A company owned by Sean Brady of LI Cleantech gave $10,000, in the midst of the 2016 ESD bidding. Breslin, the development company's founder, gave $20,000. The Cuomo administration's decision to choose Katz's aviation-focused development plan at Republic Airport will likely cost Long Island communities millions in tax revenue. Two Long Island state senators one Democrat, the other Republican have raised questions about the process and called for a new round of bidding. Business competitors who thought they were winners were out hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Cuomo administration and Stratosphere point to a review of the process that was authored by the office of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who has periodically clashed with the governor and his state agencies. In January 2018, DiNapoli's office rejected a protest filed by LI Cleantech, concluding that the issues "raised in the protest are not of sufficient merit to overturn the contract awards." LI Cleantech had failed "to provide any evidence linking Mr. Katz's lawful campaign contributions in 2012 and 2013, and any alleged favorable treatment to Stratosphere in the 2016 procurement," the determination stated. "Our office has conducted a detailed review of the (DOT) procurement process and has found no basis to support this assertion." Friends in High Places A Cuomo donor's nonstop connections DiNapoli's review did not, however, consider the substantial donations to Cuomo made by Katz's family members, lawyers and business associates. In addition, Katz's companies gave heavily to Cuomo in 2014 and 2015. Lawsuits filed by LI Cleantech have also failed to overturn the decisions, while a complaint filed two years ago with the state inspector general did not generate any public finding. Katz's attorney, Zucker, said his client had "never" discussed the RFP at Republic Airport or any of his state business personally with Cuomo. Katz, through a spokesman, and Cuomo's campaign said the two men never flew together on any of the donated or purchased flights. "I know he's a supporter and I know he hasn't seen (the governor) in a few years. That's the nature of the relationship," said Zucker. The Cuomo campaign "would call and say that they want to use a plane 'Is it available?' Then they would decide whether it would be a contribution, or if it would be paid fair consideration." The plane trips were paid for at market rate, according to Steven Greenberg, an Albany-based public relations official retained by Katz after he became aware the Times Union was looking into the matter. Who paid for Cuomo's private plane rides? Campaign finance records show Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ridden aboard Talon Air-operated flights at least a dozen times, and likely more. About half the luxury private jet rides were provided for free by Talon or related companies as "in-kind" campaign contributions to Cuomo or the state Democratic Party. The other half were paid for by Cuomo or the party at market rate, according to Katz's spokesman. Payments Date From To Amount 3/29/12 Cuomo Talon Air Inc. $8,500 10/8/14 NY Dems (housekeeping) Talon Air Inc. $6,277 11/12/15 Cuomo Talon Air Inc. $8,000 8/9/16 NY Dems (housekeeping) Talon Air Inc. $17,204 8/10/16 Cuomo Talon Air Inc. $14,848 10/24/16 Cuomo Talon Air Inc. $14,506 2/2/17 Cuomo Talon Air Inc. $6,000 TOTAL $75,335 Donations Date From To Amount 11/10/11 800 XPI Holdings LLC NY Dems (campaign) $47,884 3/5/12 Talon Air Services LLC NY Dems (campaign) $25,000 3/19/13 Talon Air Inc Cuomo $1,542 4/26/13 Talon Air Inc NY Dems (housekeeping) $800 5/6/13 Elana Charters LLC Cuomo $16,125 5/22/14 Elana Charters LLC NY Dems (housekeeping) $14,594 9/20/14 Elana Charters LLC Cuomo $10,609 10/23/14 Elana Charters LLC NY Dems (housekeeping) $7,286 6/22/15 Elana Charters LLC Cuomo $25,000 TOTAL $148,840 Source: State Board of Elections High-altitude support Emails obtained by the Times Union indicate that Katz has at times offered up the plane to Cuomo. In March 2013, for instance, the then-director of Cuomo's campaign, Tom Giordano, emailed Talon officials to say that, "Adam (Katz) has offered to help get the Governor a plane for tomorrow from Albany to NYC," where Cuomo was having an evening campaign fundraiser. Katz, a licensed pilot, started Talon Air in 2001. He sold Talon last summer, but continues to own Stratosphere Development. Talon Air, known for catering to an elite clientele, built a VIP lounge and gym in its hanger at Republic Airport. On-board services can range from high-end meals to manicures and massages. The company's website boasts glowing reviews from celebrities including LeBron James and Martha Stewart. This TV segment about luxury flights on Talon Air was posted on YouTube in 2009. Adam Katz sold Talon Air in 2018. Another celebrity who has had past business dealings with Katz is fashion designer Kenneth Cole, the governor's brother-in-law. According to Zucker, Cole "years ago" was a minority investor in one of the planes at Republic Airport managed by Katz's company, but that's no longer the case. (Talon Air owns planes, and also manages others kept at the airport.) Cole is one of several people with ties to both Katz and the governor. Jennifer Bayer Michaels, who since 2009 has been a top Cuomo campaign fundraiser, has ridden on a number of Talon flights, she confirmed, and Katz has been a generous supporter to charities for which she raises funds. Bayer Michaels, a friend of Katz's since before Cuomo's tenure as governor, maintained they had never discussed Cuomo administration government business. Since 2013, another longtime Cuomo insider has been Stratosphere's lobbyist in Albany: Jerry Weiss, who was a former top aide to Gov. Mario Cuomo and later the lead partner in a Manhattan law firm that employed then-27-year-old Andrew Cuomo. In his work for Stratosphere which pays his firm $10,000 a month Weiss has lobbied both DOT and ESD about matters relating to Republic Airport, according to lobbying disclosure filings. Since 2011, Weiss has given Cuomo's campaign $104,500. RELATED: Read Part 1 of "Friends in High Places," about donations to Cuomo from Adam Katz and friends. Since at least 2013, Katz's business rivals have complained that his enormous campaign donations have influenced the Cuomo administration. On Jan. 9, 2013, 10 different Katz companies collectively gave Cuomo at least $90,000. Less than three weeks later, Katz met in Albany with DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald to discuss the company's application for the lucrative, permanent fixed-base operating license at Republic Airport. In April 2013, attorneys for Atlantic Aviation filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration charging that Katz and Talon Air were getting preferential treatment from the Cuomo administration. Noting Katz's large campaign donations, the attorneys for Atlantic said that multiple people including DOT employees who were not identified by name in the complaint had relayed that Katz had been "dropping names" to DOT officials. Pressure for approval of the Talon Air operating application was coming from "up high" and was a "done deal," the complaint stated. "By questioning DOT staff, the FAA will easily determine the validity of these allegations," the Atlantic attorneys wrote in the federal complaint. Zucker denied that Katz had dropped Cuomo's name to DOT officials, "and I have no knowledge of him ever doing that certainly not in my presence." The FAA did not find the allegations to have a factual basis, Zucker noted. Talon's application for permanent fixed-base operator status was approved by the Cuomo administration in September 2015. The early bidding To begin his second term as governor, Cuomo had planned to hold a private swearing-in ceremony at the Executive Mansion in Albany. Ahead of that occasion, scheduled for the final day of 2014, Cuomo's campaign circulated a relatively short list of men all major campaign donors it wanted to make sure had been invited. Katz was among the selected few. (The event was then canceled because of former Gov. Mario Cuomo's declining health; he died the next day.) Katz's largesse would come in handy the very next day. On Jan 1, 2015, Cuomo held two public re-inauguration ceremonies: the first at the newly opened 1 World Trade Center in Manhattan, the second in Buffalo. A Katz company, Aztec Realty, paid for Cuomo's flight to Buffalo and back to New York City with a $9,500 "in-kind" contribution to the state Democratic Party's housekeeping account. Three weeks later, Cuomo delivered his 2015 State of the State address. Kicking off his second term, Cuomo included a proposal to privatize Republic Airport, make it a tax-free zone, open it to commercial airline traffic and develop the 54 acres around it. The plan to make quiet Republic Airport a commercial hub immediately brought local backlash from elected officials and civic groups from the surrounding residential area. (In a reversal from 2015, ESD recently told the Times Union that there are now "no plans to turn Republic Airport into a commercial airport.") But Cuomo's development plans did go forward after one false start. In March 2015, the Department of Transportation issued a request for applications to manage Republic, and for "business development" of the five parcels of land there. Nine months later, an official letter from DOT designated a company called AvPorts for management, partnering with Breslin Realty, a major Long Island-based company, to handle the development. Two months after DOT's designation, the state changed its mind: In February 2016, Cuomo announced a new request for proposals for the development rights at Republic with the process now run by Empire State Development. The Cuomo administration insists the DOT award to Breslin never needed to be rescinded or terminated. The development portion of DOT's 2015 bidding was "ancillary to the core operations and management services." DOT exercised its right "not to pursue the ancillary development provisions, and promptly informed all the bidders," the administration says. That decision was "directly communicated to all respondents on Nov. 20, 2015" and they were "given an opportunity to submit revised proposals to reflect this change." That explanation, however, has gaps. In fact, the administration's November letter merely told bidders of a "Hypothetical RFP scenario." AvPorts officials, it said, were invited to attend a Dec. 8, 2015, meeting where they would be asked to respond to a hypothetical ESD plan to manage the airport without handling development. AvPorts and Breslin officials both attended that meeting, according to ESD. Yet two days after that meeting, DOT issued an official award letter stating the opposite: AvPorts, in partnership with Breslin, had been designated both for management services at Republic and for "business development services." The award letter stated that the companies would "provide the services" laid out in the RFP, which included a provision stating that the winner "shall market and repurpose under-utilized parcels." That same day, Al Hasenkopf, a DOT contract management specialist, sent an email to a list of "all interested parties" regarding the result. He offered a debriefing to bidders concerning how they had "fared against the RFP." Hasenkopf's email did not mention anything about the development portion of the contract being rescinded. Despite the fact that Katz had not bid in that process, two officials from Talon were copied on Hasenkopf's email. An "interested party" is defined by the state comptroller's office as a "participant in the procurement process." An ESD spokeswoman said any company which expressed "interest" in the RFP process including Talon received the notification. A press release issued three weeks later by AvPorts, announcing its winning bid of the airport management contract, reiterated that its partner, Breslin, would be in charge of the "development of certain lands identified by NYSDOT." The Cuomo administration now maintains the language of the DOT's award letter simply reflected "the exact title of the winning proposal," and that it did not actually award the development rights to Breslin. It did not have a comment on why, if that were true, AvPorts would have issued a press release three weeks later stating that its partner, Breslin, was the winning developer. A shift in mission Cuomo announced the new ESD-run bidding for the development rights in February 2016. Licking its wounds, Breslin Realty resubmitted a bid as part of Long Island Cleantech, a consortium that wanted to install commercial environmental companies as tenants. Zucker, Katz's attorney, said Stratosphere had not bid in the first 2015 round with DOT because the company was not equipped to manage Republic Airport, and it did not believe the RFP had allowed joint ventures. On the second round in 2016, Katz's firm did submit a bid, along with a third company. The criteria for the project had changed, bringing further allegations of favoritism towards Katz's company. The first request for proposals issued by DOT considered non-aviation development at Republic Airport. That approach was favored by a number of local civic groups because such businesses would have generated substantial tax revenue. When the development rights to the five parcels were rebid by ESD, the agency expressed a preference for aeronautical uses of the parcels which would not generate tax revenue. That type of development was what Stratosphere, an aeronautical company, was proposing. The Cuomo administration argues that aeronautical uses made the most sense, given that the FAA "favors aviation uses where feasible and when there is demand." Notably, DiNapoli's office also later affirmed that the deed for Republic Airport required that the airport be developed for aviation purposes. DiNapoli's office also found "no evidence that DOT acted outside its authority" in awarding the airport operations contract in 2015, while separately awarding the development component in 2016. RELATED: Read Dinapoli's response In August 2016, the Cuomo administration awarded Stratosphere the development rights to four of the five parcels. LI Cleantech tentatively won the rights to develop a single piece of the land, Parcel E. But in a requirement that applied only to Parcel E, the winner was required to negotiate the final details with a leasing agent, Manhattan-based Newmark Knight Frank, which had been retained for that job by the Cuomo administration. During those negotiations with LI Cleantech, Newmark officials never disclosed that the company was simultaneously acting as the leasing agent in Manhattan for a real estate company called Roxanne Management, which was owned by Adam Katz. ESD says the specific Newmark officials assigned to the Republic project signed conflict-of-interest disclosure forms, and that no conflicts were disclosed. Newmark a firm comprised of over 14,000 people did not at the time "have any exclusive marketing agreements with Stratosphere or its principals," the agency says. For the other four parcels at Republic Airport the ones awarded to Katz's company Stratosphere was not required by the state to negotiate the final details through a middleman. In a conference call, Michael Morris of Newmark Knight Frank was asked by LI Cleantech officials why that was the case. "Again, it's the whole thing," Morris replied. "You know typical politics situation, political situation. Things work out in odd ways." Contacted by the Times Union, Morris declined to elaborate. Ultimately, the deal for LI Cleantech to develop Parcel E fell through after the bidder refused to pay a $50,000 nonrefundable down payment. The development rights for the final piece of land were then awarded to Stratosphere. ESD spokeswoman Kristin Devoe responded to the Times Union's questions by insisting they concerned "unfounded allegations " stirred up by a "disgruntled bidder." "After exhausting all legitimate options, which includes two failed lawsuits, and a failed protest to the state comptroller, who ruled in favor of ESD and DOT, this company has resorted to a smear campaign and shopping a slanderous story," Devoe said. "This project was competitively bid under the highest ethical standards and all bidders had access to the same information. Stratosphere/Talon had the best proposal, which will generate millions in private investment and local revenue, and dozens of new, quality jobs." Cuomo's campaign says political donations never impact his policy decisions. As the Times Union was reporting this article over several months, legal developments played out: Katz and his former rival bidder, LI Cleantech, agreed to a settlement, which bars Cleantech from filing future lawsuits challenging the state award of the parcels to Stratosphere. In a statement provided by Katz's spokesman, LI Cleantech said that it has "amicably resolved its differences with Stratosphere" that the company "accepts the decision of the office of the state comptroller denying its protest of the award." Katz, however, refused to answer questions from the Times Union about how much he had paid LI Cleantech in exchange. Katz's spokesman, Greenberg, said it was irrelevant whether or not Katz had paid LI Cleantech to make their statement backing down. "Both sides agreed that settlement terms are private, and that's not relevant," Greenberg said. "What's relevant is what they say." The project will create $1 million in annual revenue, invest at least $27 million and create 200 construction and scores of permanent jobs, according to Katz's company. Several state agencies, as well as the FAA, still must sign off. Katz, meanwhile, has not donated to Cuomo since 2015, before the controversial series of bidding decisions at Republic Airport occurred. Zucker said the last time Katz and Cuomo saw each other was at a Cuomo fundraiser in October 2015, where attendees were treated to a performance of the Broadway hit "Hamilton." Asked about the reasons for Katz's six-figure campaign giving to Cuomo, Zucker said that he was simply a "major supporter of the Democratic Party." Voter registration records, however, state Katz for much of his life has been a member of the Republican Party. He has also made significant donations to GOP candidates. In September 2018, Katz registered as unaffiliated, Zucker said. Zucker in a later interview mentioned Cuomo's pro-choice stance on abortion, support for marriage-equality and pro-gun-control positions as reasons Katz had backed Cuomo so generously. Asked if Katz's extensive business interests before the Cuomo administration played any role in the campaign donations, Zucker responded, simply, that Katz "supports Gov. Cuomo." Story by Chris Bragg, cbragg@timesunion.com Graphics by Jeff Boyer & Cathleen F. Crowley Digital presentation by Cathleen F. Crowley TORRINGTON Police created a media sensation when a lieutenant posted on Facebook that a wanted man would turn himself in if he received 15,000 likes, but as of Thursday morning Jose Simms was still nowhere to be found, dispatchers said. He has not turned himself in, said the dispatcher who was asked to field the calls because so many media outlets are asking about Simms. The 29-year-olds notoriety blossomed Wednesday when Lt. Brett Johnson who mans the departments Facebook page posted that Simms would turn himself in if his wanted poster received 15,000 likes. Simms is wanted on seven failure to appear warrants because he didnt show up for several court cases in February on breach of peace, risk of injury and assault charges. He contacted Johnson via Facebook Messenger last week and struck a deal with the lieutenant that he would turn himself in if his wanted Facebook post received 15,000 likes. Johnson posted Simms information early Wednesday morning, asking people to like and share. He included a comical reference to The Office, a television show known for ironic humor. Within hours the post went viral with more than 1,000 people commenting, 4,000 people sharing and 21,000 people liking the post by 5 a.m. this morning. Liked & shared...its most likely one of the craziest requests Ive liked, but for you who risk your lives everyday to keep each and every one of us safe, I thank you for your service. Hopefully hes a man of his word #stopdrugs, said one woman. Others criticized the department saying it was giving a wanted man undue attention. I cannot believe we are helping a criminal get attention, fame, and notoriety for bad behavior. This is nuts, said another woman. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Some people followed the post throughout the day and commented on the number of likes as it grew. The post included the information that police were also looking for Kristopher Waananen, who has outstanding motor vehicle and failure to appear warrants. As of Thursday morning, Simms had not been in contact with Torrington police, a dispatcher said. Johnson said Wednesday that police believed he was somewhere in New York. Waananen also has not been found, dispatchers said. Anyone who spots Simms or Waananen or has information on their whereabouts is asked to call Torrington police at (860) 489-2007. COHOES The police departments senior lieutenant was suspended without pay two weeks ago in what is seen by some as a political move by Mayor Shawn Morse in response to the four-way contested Democratic mayoral primary and his effort to change the way the chief is selected. The Common Councils Public Safety Committee, led by Councilman Stephen Napier, one of the mayoral candidates, is meeting Tuesday night to discuss and investigate the suspension of Lt. Tim Keefe. Keefe is the only police officer on the citys civil service promotional list for chief. Keefe was suspended two weeks ago for alleged unauthorized entry to a crime scene involving a March 3 homicide at Schuyler Street and not supervising the morning roll call at police headquarters due to being at the crime scene, according to several city officials. Keefe earned $90,731 in 2018, according to the website Seethroughny.net. Its a disciplinary and personnel matter, Assistant Police Chief Tom Ross said Thursday. He declined to discuss the identity of the officer. Ross said the department is following its personnel guidelines and is proceeding through the grievance procedure with the city Police Benevolent Association. He confirmed that the case involved the integrity of a crime scene investigation. The PBA is backing Keefe. Our Local 756 certainly supports Lt. Keefe 100 percent. Were looking forward to arbitration and defending Lt. Keefe, said Officer Joseph Murphy, the union president. Everybody knows its a difficult political climate in the city of Cohoes right now, Murphy said. In February, the city Civil Service Commission rejected a request by Morse to change the qualifications needed to be promoted to police chief and other positions. Among the changes was shortening the time a captain needed to be in that rank to two years from four years and eliminating lieutenants as being eligible to be promoted. Cohoes Police Capt. Todd Pucci is a close friend of Morse. He also is the part-time chief of the village of Altamont but is not on the Cohoes promotional list for chief. Pucci took the promotional test for chief in the city of Oneonta in 2017 where he was ranked second with a score of 82, according to the Oneonta personnel office. Oneonta filled its police chief position with an internal department promotion. Even though as mayor Morse is the citys public safety commissioner, he referred questions about Keefe to the police department. Morse denied that there was anything political happening with Keefes situation or the proposed promotional changes. Youve got a bunch of crybabies calling up and saying its political, Morse said. I met with the union and were going to work it out. Morse currently faces a seven-count federal felony indictment that alleges he conspired with his former campaign treasurer to use political donations for personal expenditures, including vacations and home repairs. Morse pointed out that there is no promotional list for chief as there is only one person on it. One person is not a list. Theres nobody leaving here. Theres no chief exam. We have a chief. We have an assistant chief. We have a captain. Theres a new structure between chief, assistant chief, captain, Morse said. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Possible political retaliation against Keefe is a concern for the other three mayoral candidates. Mayoral forum June 3 The Cohoes High School hosts a forum for all Democratic candidates for city mayor at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 3 at the school auditorium. The event will be sponsored and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Albany County, with Cohoes students assisting. All four candidates - Mayor Shawn Morse, Bill Keeler, Steve Napier and Peter Frangie - have verbally agreed to participate, organizers said. The format for the forum: Greeting by moderator, review of the rules, and introduction of candidates Opening statements by candidates of no more than 2 minutes Question and answer period where candidates will have no more than 1 minute, and where the order or responding will be rotated Closing statements by candidates of no more than 1 minutes Moderator closing comments Candidates opportunity for meet and greet See More Collapse Napier said he called the meeting to determine what is occurring with Keefes suspension. I dont know what to make of it. I want to see the case and I want to see what happened with other cases in the past, Napier said. Very appropriate is what William Keeler, a retired State Police major and mayoral candidate, said about the Public Safety Committee meeting. Tim Keefe was instrumental in getting me the police union endorsement for mayor, said Keeler. One of the reasons I entered the mayors race is the overwhelming perception that Mayor Morse politicized the police department. Keeler cited the police departments arrest of Jeffrey Bagley in January 2018 after a criminal harassment complaint filed by Barbara J. Borden, a cousin of Morse, as an example of politicization of the force. That charge was dismissed in April 2018 after the defense said there was no evidence to support it. Theres obviously a political agenda involved, said Peter Frangie, a former city treasurer and a mayoral candidate, citing the proposed changes to the qualifications for police chief and Keefes status on the promotional list. The primary is June 25. New York State Police A state trooper shot and killed a man on Interstate 84 near the village of Montgomery after, State Police said, he tried to get into a police car. The shooting occurred at about 2 a.m. near exit 5A in Orange County. ALBANY The state Senate and Assembly majorities approved several environmental measures on Tuesday, including a crackdown on hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals found in toys, household items and baby products. A ban on the sale of furniture, costumes and toys with flame retardants that have been linked to cancers such as organohalogen and tris passed both houses. The legislation also bans mercury, formaldehyde, asbestos and arsenic in items that children come in contact with, while listing other substances "of concern" that would be subject to new disclosure requirements. The bills, along with other environmental initiatives, have for years stalled in the Senate, which until January was led by Republicans. "The Senate finally has a majority that accepts science and the realities of climate change," Democratic Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said at a press conference unveiling the conference's environmental package. Environmental advocates on Tuesday lamented the Legislature's failed to ban the sale of products with 1,4 dioxane, an emerging drinking water contaminant linked to cancers that is frequently contained in popular brands of shampoo, laundry detergent and dish soap. Certain baby bath products and Dreft detergent for infants were among those found to have large quantities of the chemical, according to a study by Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE). In December, the state moved to set a maximum contaminant levels for 1,4 dioxane and other toxins that have contaminated drinking water supplies in Long Island, Newburgh and Hoosick Falls. Thousands of New Yorkers who want to ban 1,4 dioxane from household products have signed petitions and sent letters to the Senate majority, according CCE executive director Adrienne Esposito. "All over New York, people get it. We shouldn't be washing our hair and bathing our infants ... with 1,4 dioxane letting it wash down the drain and then pollute our waters when we can avoid that," Esposito said. The state Drinking Water Quality Council last year recommended that the state Health Department cap the contamination levels in drinking water at 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS each, and 1 part per billion (ppb) for 1,4 dioxane. Twelve cleaning and bath products tested by CCE were found to contain between 5,500 and 17,000 ppb of 1,4 dioxane. The "toxic toy" ban lists 1,4 dioxane as one of more than 100 "chemicals of concern" that manufacturers must screen for and report to the state. Assemblyman Steve Englebright, a Suffolk County Democrat who has sponsored a separate bill prohibiting sale of cosmetics with 1,4 dioxane, pointed to the expense of removing the chemical from water resources in Long Island. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "Water suppliers in Long Island view this as the No. 1 enemy. ... We should not allow any more time to go by before we enact this ban, because the contamination has already indicated a cost of almost a billion dollars," Englebright said. Since 1,4 dioxane is not an ingredient but a byproduct of a chemical reaction, it is not listed on product labels. Advocates say that manufacturers can easily and cheaply remove it, but many do not. The industry has pushed back on the 1,4 dioxane limits and are in discussions with lawmakers about the level of the chemical that is harmful through skin contact, according to the bill sponsors. Lobbyists also contend that the list of regulated substances for toys and other child-friendly products is arbitrary, overbroad and does not consider how the product is used. Darren Suarez, director of government affairs of the Business Council of New York, said the bill is poorly crafted, pointing to repeated chemicals on the list, which he said suggests the legislation is "a cut-and-paste job from other states." "Looking at their list, it's hard to determine their intellectual reasoning for their inclusion or exclusion of harmful chemicals," Suarez said. "It's unclear how they evaluated those chemicals ... or how they determined whether or not they have an effect on human health or the environment." The Senate and Assembly also passed matching legislation Tuesday prohibiting the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which many upstate farmers say they rely on but is associated with negative health effects, particularly in children. Lawmakers also passed a bill reducing the amount of mercury that may be contained in mercury lamps. The bills are headed to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's desk. SCOTIA Grief counselors were on hand Thursday at the Glenville Senior Center to help members cope with the death of a 69-year-old woman who was killed during the village's Memorial Day celebration. As of late Thursday, police had not released the name of the woman who died after being hit by a minivan, but Scotia Mayor Thomas Gifford, who participated in the parade, said she served as vice president of the Glenville Senior Center. He also rejected calls from some in Scotia to end the parade, which Gifford said has taken place for 91 years without any other injuries. "We all feel strongly that this was a freak accident and had nothing to do with how you were lining up or where you put vehicles and people together," he said. "We don't have any intention of not having the parade next year because it's dangerous." Scotia police have said the collision that occurred just before 7 p.m. on Hawk Street, a side street to Mohawk Avenue, a main artery. The victim was standing in the road with other people from the Glenville Senior Center and waiting to enter the parade route on Mohawk Avenue to march. Other groups were also staging on Hawk Street. As the groups began to make their way downhill toward Mohawk, a Glenville Senior Center van driven by a 75-year-old man that was following the marchers apparently lurched forward quickly, striking the woman. She was pushed into the rear of an assisted living facility bus ahead of them, pinning her between the two vehicles. Several people ran to her aid and she was separated from the vehicles. A nurse and Thomas Corners firefighters who were nearby treated her and performed CPR until Scotia Fire Department paramedics arrived. The woman was taken to Ellis Hospital where she was pronounced dead. There were no other injuries in the incident. Both the driver of the truck and the victim belonged to the senior club, said Glenville Supervisor Chris Koetzle. The State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is assisting with the investigation. Gifford who has served as an active volunteer firefighter for 50 years, 38 of those with the Scotia Fire Department also denied that there was a delay in the response time. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. He said, before the parade, the fire department held a chicken barbecue. As a result, Gifford said the fire company had about "seven paramedics in the station where we normally have two or three and they responded" to the collision. "We had multiple paramedics going very quickly and they know ... how to get there because it's not very far," he said. He said that when the Scotia Fire Department responds to calls they provide the advanced life support while Mohawk Ambulance handles the basic life support. He said there was a "small issue" where the ambulance that was on standby for the parade didn't respond to the call but that an ambulance from Schenectady did. "But that did not delay care at all and it didn't delay transport at all because the paramedics worked to stabilize the person for quite a lot longer that it takes to get an ambulance," Gifford added. Gifford said he will most likely ask for a moment of silence at the next month's meeting of the Village Board of Trustees. The Glenville Senior Citizen Center has been in around for 40 years, according to its website. It says the group is run by over 100 volunteers who want to give back to other seniors in the community. The center offers a variety of activities, including exercise classes, bus trips, sports leagues, social events and more. ALBANY Lawmakers and pediatricians are working to pass a bill banning the sale of crib bumper pads in New York following recommendations from child safety groups who say they are unsafe for babies. Sen. David Carlucci and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin are sponsoring the bill, which would also end the use of bumpers in daycare facilities around the state. "Often parents, who do not know about the numerous safety warnings against them, purchase them because they like the way they look in a nursery," they said. Bumpers which are designed to cover crib slats and are often sold with crib bedding sets have been associated with at least 48 infant deaths and 146 injuries since 1985, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports. Babies who fall asleep with their mouth or nose near the bumper are at risk of suffocating, experts say. Risk of suffocation is also why child safety experts recommend parents put their babies to sleep on a firm surface that is clear of soft objects, loose bedding or any other objects that could increase the risk of entrapment, suffocation or strangulation. Babies under one year old should always be put to sleep on their backs, they say. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Strangulation is also an issue with bumper pads that contain ties. Additionally, infants who are old enough to stand have climbed on bumpers and fallen out of their cribs. Multiple child safety organizations have recommended parents remove baby bumpers from a child's crib, including the CPSC, First Candle/National SIDS Alliance, American Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Institute, National Institutes of Health, Kids In Danger, and Health Canada. Ohio and Maryland have passed laws banning the sale of crib bumper pads. SCHOHARIE The trial of Nauman Hussain, the limousine company operator charged with the deaths of 20 people during a crash last fall, has been adjourned four months and is scheduled to begin in early January. Hussain's attorney, Lee Kindlon, said the rescheduled trial date is a result of a request the defense team submitted recently asking to extend deadlines for filing pre-trial motions. On Thursday, the defense team and its crash and vehicle experts spent several hours examining brake and other parts from the now-dismantled 2001 stretch Ford Excursion that was carrying 17 passengers when it crashed along a rural highway in Schoharie. They inspected the vehicle's parts in a conference room at the State Police Troop G headquarters in Latham, where the limousine has been kept since last year. "Weve been with the limo all day; our defense team finally got a crack at it," Kindlon said. Hussain, 29, was arraigned on April 10 on 20 counts of second-degree manslaughter and 20 counts of criminally negligent homicide related to the Oct. 6 crash. The 17 passengers, driver and two bystanders were killed, making it one of the worst transportation crashes in the United States in a decade. The condition of the Excursion's brakes is a critical element of the case. A person briefed on the statement of a witness told the Times Union earlier last fall that moments before the crash, the limousine had pulled to the side of Route 30. The limousine was rolling slowly forward on the shoulder, the witness told investigators, but its backup lights and audible warning signal were both on. The witness continued driving down Route 30 and had stopped at the intersection of Route 30A when the limousine, its motor roaring like a jet engine, descended the hill at a high rate of speed. The limo driver, Scott T. Lisinicchia, swerved to avoid the witness' vehicle, and the limo careened across the intersection, striking and killing two bystanders before crashing into a ditch. The people inside the vehicle, including Lisinicchia, were killed from the force of the impact, authorities said. The passengers had booked the limousine that morning though Hussain's company for a birthday party in Cooperstown. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The Excursion and the limo company are owned by Nauman Hussain's father, Shahed Hussain. State Police immediately focused on the son, who was operating the company while his father was in Pakistan allegedly seeking medical care following open-heart surgery. Prosecutors have asserted that Hussain knew that the Excursion, which had been cited for safety violations in the months leading up to the accident, was unsafe to drive and that Lisinicchia, who had a "significant" amount of marijuana in his system at the time of the crash, did not have the proper license to chauffeur that many passengers. The driver was also taking anti-seizure medicine. A parallel investigation into the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board is ongoing. June 15, 1869: The United States Patent Office issued Patent No. 91,341 to John Wesley Hyatt of Albany, as well as his brother Isaiah S. Hyatt of Rockford, Ill., for the "improved method of making solid collodion," an early advancement in thermoplastics that came to be known as celluloid. J.W. Hyatt, a printer, was likely inspired by the $10,000 prize offered by the New York City-based company Phelan and Collender to anyone who could come up with an alternative to ivory, at that time the only desirable component for billiard balls. This reward of a "handsome fortune" was prompted, mind you, by the high cost and time involved in processing the carved tusks, not from any environmental concerns or desire to treat elephants humanely. Expanding on the work of English inventor Alexander Parkes, Hyatt made several attempts at perfecting his invention, earning a series of patents for balls of limited quality and success. In 1868, with help from investors he formed the Hyatt Manufacturing Company at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Whitehall Road, a business later changed to the Albany Billiard Ball Company that lasted 118 years, and dominated the U.S. market for most of that time before going out of business in 1986. Hyatt's recognition that the inclusion of the substance camphor, mentioned by Parkes and others, was the key to making the balls moldable and easy to produce. The resulting celluloid was also used in the manufacture of checkers, dominoes, false teeth, musical instruments and many other products, and led directly to the development of photographic film, although its high flammability forced companies to come up with replacements. And that's how James W. Hyatt, billiard balls and the City of Albany helped usher in both the Age of Plastic and the world of films. June 27, 1985: About one year after claiming the all-time attendance record at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center with 37,801 people, the Grateful Dead returned to shatter its own milestone with a total of 40,231 Deadheads on SPAC grounds in the amphitheater, on the lawn and beyond. To say nothing of the entirety of Saratoga Spa State Park, downtown Saratoga Springs, and the traffic congestion created on the Northway, Route 50, Route 9 and other local roads. It's a record that stands to this day thanks mostly to the attendance cap put in place directly following this show. Also, the San Francisco Bay jam band was, er, banned from SPAC for the next three years. Sure enough, three years and one day later June 28, 1988 Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and the rest of the band were back on stage ... before an official audience capacity of 25,103 people. RingCentral Dialpad Beef Shut Down in Court By Laura Stotler - Virtual PBX Contributing Editor A dispute between two major virtual PBX and cloud unified communications companies has effectively evaporated in court. Longtime VoIP, virtual PBX and UCaaS player RingCentral argued that competitor Dialpad had infringed on its copyrights because of the way it allows messages to be routed over the Internet. Dialpad is also a longtime player in the business VoIP and virtual PBX markets. Both companies provide a VoIP-based business model through which voice and data messages are routed seamlessly over the Internet, providing individuals and companies with a host of features and benefits. RingCentral had complained that Dialpad copied its 367 patent, which enables routing of messages through the Internet based on custom routing rules. However, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the dispute, claiming RingCentral hadnt provided proof that its claim was specific to virtual PBX systems. The company had also argued that Dialpad infringed on its 496 patent, which covers a call system featuring a main number that enables calls to be managed and routed according to a set of call rules. While applying call rules is a standard feature of most virtual PBX systems, RingCentral argued that its system offers forwarding to different number based on the time of day that calls are received. The court also found that this was a standard virtual PBX feature and ruled against infringement. Additional infringement claims, including features that enable users to send and retrieve voice, fax, email and text messages through a single interface, were also shot down. The court did allow RingCentral an opportunity to amend its plea and prove patent eligibility, should the company decide to pursue the matter. While the court case may signal a win for Dialpad for the moment, it also brings up some of the core issues surrounding business VoIP and virtual PBX systems. All major cloud players in the UC and virtual PBX space provide some type of call routing based on rules, including time, location and user preferences. This find-me/follow-me type of functionality has been embedded in VoIP messaging systems for many years, and is widely considered a standard feature in business PBX solutions. RingCentral has typically been considered a leader in the UCaaS space, while the younger Dialpad is growing and expanding to become a formidable business VoIP contender. Both companies were recently featured as prominent players in Wise Guy Reports Machine Learning in Communications Market, a massive growth area for the VoIP and virtual PBX industries. The companies were named alongside major competitors including Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Nextiva, Nexmo, Twilio and Cisco. Please enable JavaScript to view the Edited by Maurice Nagle [May 23, 2019] Canada's medical laboratory professionals congregating in Fredericton FREDERICTON, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - The Canadian medical laboratory community is coming together in Fredericton for the next few days for LABCON, the annual professional development conference hosted by the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS). LABCON will take place at the Fredericton Convention Centre from May 2426. In Canada, medical laboratory professionals perform over 440 million tests every year. With the information provided in these test results, doctors are able to make accurate, informed medical decisions to diagnose and treat their patients. Without qualified professionals to produce these lab results, quality patient care is impossible. "In Canada, we are experiencing a shorage of medical laboratory professionals. Within the next 10 years, approximately 50% of the workforce will be eligible to retire and the new supply of graduates entering the labour market is nowhere near enough to compensate for these retirements," says CSMLS President Maria Klement. "This shortage is already having an impact in rural and remote communities across the country". LABCON allows these professionals to keep their finger on the pulse of new strategies and technologies in medical laboratory science. "LABCON is a great opportunity for Canada's medical laboratory professionals to enhance their skillset so they can successfully navigate and adapt to the ever-changing landscape of health care," says CSMLS CEO Christine Nielsen. This year, the three-day conference is offering over 40 educational sessions and workshops. Speakers include but are not limited to Dr. John M. Dornan, who is presenting on the impact of gender dysphoria in the lab, and Vitalite Health Network CEO Gilles Lanteigne, speaking on modernization strategies within the context of workforce shortages. Dr. John Butt, forensic pathologist will be sharing his personal stories from the crash of SwissAir Flight 111. Dr. Butt led the team that successfully identified the crew and passengers of the plane crash. About CSMLS The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science is the national certifying body for medical laboratory technologists and medical laboratory assistants and the national professional society for Canada's medical laboratory professionals. Incorporated in 1937 as the Canadian Laboratory Technologists, the society has over 14,000 members in Canada and in countries around the world. SOURCE Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] DISYS Joins List of Top Diversity-Owned Staffing Agencies MCLEAN, Va., May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS) is proud to gain a position on SIAs 2019 list of US & Canada Diversity Staffing Firms. The list, appearing in the May/June issue of Staffing Industry Analysts, honors 157 firms that self-identify as being under diversity ownership. DISYS, whose principal founder and CEO is Mahfuz Ahmed migrated to the United States from Bangladesh in the 1980s along with his brother, Maruf, DISYS President and COO. Founded in 1994, DISYS is currently celebrating its 25th year and has long stood as an organization that not only values diversity, but also believes it is one of the most important tenets to fulfill the organizations mission of becoming its clients core productivity partner. Also, CEO Mahfuz Ahmed enjoys mentoring others individually on the importance of diversity within successful businesses and aspires to begin a program at DISYS to help growing firms realize and embrace the positive effects of a diversity-driven organization. At DISYS, we stive to offer staffing and services solutions that enable productivity and growth within the organizations our clients represent and we have seen these efforts pay off in huge ways, Ahmed said. When a company values a diverse workforce, it opens up unlimited possibilities for creativity, innovation and collaboration and we would like to share that knowledge and success with others. With more than 45 offices worldwide, DISYS relies on professionals representing countless backgrounds and skill sets -- allowing its reach to expand beyond geographical borders and the limits of technology. In fact, within its diversity programs, DISYS has emerged as a top proponent of the H-1B Visa program -- landing on a list outlining the top 21 users of this groundbreaking effort to attract top talent. We believe global talent should be explored and utilized and organizations who dont see this as a valuable resource limit their ability to remain relevant and versatile in todays changing staffing and services market, Ahmed said. Staffing Industry Analysts surveyed companies with more than 1,000 employees that also have contingent workforce programs and 65% say they have a diversity supplier program in place. Meanwhile, another 22% were seriously considering putting one in place within the next two years. These facts further indicate the importance of the programs, hiring programs and staffing solutions DISYS utilizes to find the worlds best talent. In a press release announcing this prestigious list, SIAs Subadhra Sriram, Editor & Publisher Media Products at SIA said The clamor around diversity hiring is rising. The benefits of a diverse workforce are evident, from the financial gains, the varied thinking that leads to better and more creative solutions, to the workforce reflecting the society we live in. About Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS) Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS) is a global managed services and staffing firm with 45 offices worldwide. DISYS vision is to be a global business partner, delivering the highest quality and most consistent services at the best value to clients worldwide. For more information about DISYS, visit http://disys.com. About Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) Founded in 1989, SIA is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Our proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labor. SIAs independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services. We also provide training and accreditation with our unique Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) program. MEDIA CONTACT Sandra Schwartzman Vice President of Public Relations RMR & Associates (301) 230 - 0045 x 100 [email protected] [May 23, 2019] Future FinTech Announces Appointment of New Chief Financial Officer XI'AN, China, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Future FinTech Group Inc. (FTFT)("Future FinTech", "FTFT" or "the Company"), a financial technology company and integrated producer of fruit-related products, today announced Ms. Jing (Veronica) Chen has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective on May 21, 2019. Ms. Chen is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience in accounting, financial management, and general management of several public companies. Prior to joining Future FinTech, she served as the CFO of AnZhiXinCheng (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. from August, 2018 to May, 2019. From August, 2017 to July, 2018, Ms. Chen served as CFO of Beijing Logis Technology Development Co., Ltd., a company listed on The National Equities Exchange and Quotations Co., Ltd. of China which is a Chinese over-the-counter stock trading system. From June, 2016 to July, 2017, Ms. Chen served as Group Chief Financial Officer of Beijing AnWuYou Food Co., Ltd. Ms. Chen served as Chief Financial Officer Beijing DKI Investment Management Co., Ltd. from August, 2012 to May, 2016. During her extensive career as a financial executive, Ms. Chen has successfully built and managed accounting systems, improved financial reporting and controls, and implemented internal policies and procedures in compliance with standards required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Ms. Chen holds Fellow Membership of CPA Australia (FCPA), Fellow Membership of the Association of International Accountants U.K. (FAIA) Ms. Chen is a Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), a Senior Member of International Financial Management (SIFM) accredited by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of PRC and a Certified Internal Control Professional granted by Internal Control Institute (ICI). Ms. Chen received a degree of Doctor of Business Administration from Victoria University, Neuchatel, Switzerland in March, 2008 and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle, Washington, U.S. in April,2000. "We are very pleased to welcome Ms. Chen as our new CFO and a member of the executive team," said Mr. Yongke Xue, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Future FinTech. "We believe her breadth and depth of experience with public companies will strengthen our financial reporting, internal control, planning and forecasting capabilities as we expand into new financial technology business." About Future FinTech Group Inc. Future FinTech Group Inc. ("Future FinTech", "FTFT" or the "Company") is incorporated in Florida and engages in fruit juice and financial technology businesses. The Company engages in the research and development of digital asset systems based on blockchain technology and also operates an incubator for application projects using blockchain technology. The Company and its subsidiaries are developing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies for a variety of B2B and B2C real-life applications including a variety of financial businesses and the distribution, marketing and sale of consumer products. FTFT is also developing an operational online shopping mall platform utilizing blockchain technology and the shared economy. For more information, please visit http://www.ftft.top/. Safe Harbor Statement Certain of the statements made in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning and protections of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause the actual results, performance, capital, ownership or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through our use of words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "assume," "should," "indicate," "would," "believe," "contemplate," "expect," "estimate," "continue," "plan," "point to," "project," "could," "intend," "target" and other similar words and expressions of the future. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and our other reports and filings with SEC. Such reports are available upon request from the Company, or from the Securities and Exchange Commission, including through the SEC's Internet website at http://www.sec.gov. We have no obligation and do not undertake to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date hereof, or after the respective dates on which any such statements otherwise are made. IR Contact: Dragon Gate Investment Partners LLC Tel: +1(646)-801-2803 Email: [email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/future-fintech-announces-appointment-of-new-chief-financial-officer-300855538.html SOURCE Future FinTech Group Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Homegrown southern Utah software firm PrinterLogic to break ground on world headquarters in St. George ST. GEORGE, Utah, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PrinterLogic, developer of cloud-based serverless printing infrastructure software, will break ground on its new headquarters facility at noon Friday, May 31, becoming the first company to build at Tech Ridge. PrinterLogic's 125 local employees and their families are expected to join Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, St. George Mayor Jon Pike and other community officials in a ceremony to mark the event at Dixie Technical College and the adjacent building site. The public is invited to attend. Rapid growth has led to workforce expansion, requiring the company to look for a larger space to house its increasing headquarters operations in St. George. Privately held PrinterLogic has 185 employees at offices in St. George; Raleigh, NC; London, U.K.; Frankfurt, Germany; and Sydney, Australia. "Over the year St. George has proven to be rich soil for PrinterLogic as we've grown," said Ryan Wedig, PrinterLogic CEO. "Seven years ago PrinterLogic was basically two guys with a startup budget and a great story to tell. Today we have almost 200 employees with customers and offices throughout the world. "Tech Ridge validates what we have been saying for a long time: that you can build and sustain tech companies here. With Tech Ridge coming to fruition it's a perfect opportunity for us to build. We're honored to be part of this project and can't wait to join our friends at Dixie Tech as anchors in the development. This is a major milestone. It says a lot about the strength of this community." The 150-acre Tech Ridge development is located at the former site of the St. George Municipal Airport west of the city center on the Black Ridge. The airport was relocated south of the city in 2011, and since then economic development officials have worked to prepare the site for a mix of business, residential and retail uses. Dixie Technical College opened its 30-acre campus on the site in March of 2018. About PrinterLogic PrinterLogic helps IT professionals eliminate all print servers and deliver a highly available serverless printing infrastructure. With PrinterLogic's centrally managed direct-IP printing platform, customers empower their workforce with mobile printing, secure release printing, and many other advanced features that legacy print management applications can't provide. The company has been included multiple times on the Inc 500 and Deloitte Fast 500 lists of fastest growing companies in North America. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/homegrown-southern-utah-software-firm-printerlogic-to-break-ground-on-world-headquarters-in-st-george-300855768.html SOURCE PrinterLogic [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Mercury Capital Advisors Group Announces Strategic Investment by Investcorp Mercury Capital Advisors Group, L.P. ("Mercury"), one of the world's elite institutional capital raising and investment advisory firms specializing in alternative investments, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products. As part of the transaction, Mercury will remain an independent business operating under its current leadership team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and subject to receipt of relevant external approvals the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019. Founded in 2009 by Michael Ricciardi, Alan Pardee and Enrique Cuan, Mercury has closed over $170 billion in fund commitments since 2003, when the Mercury team was at Merrill Lynch, and maintains relationships with over 2,500 institutional investors across the globe. The firm has extensive experience in providing advisory services on direct deals and co-investments, joint ventures and secondary transactions, as well as consulting services for general partners. Today Mercury, its affiliates and distribution partners have over 50 employees in 14 offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. "This partnership is a powerful endorsement of Mercury's unrelenting commitment both to excellence and to our clients," said Michael Ricciardi, CEO, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Mercury. "We have known the Investcorp team for many years and believe they are the right partners with whom we can expand our capabilities. We are particularly excited about what this partnership means for Mercury's outsourced CIO platform and partnership with other asset managers and family offices." "We are delighted to be partnering with Investcorp while continuing to maintain our independence and ability to work with the world's leading investors and allocators," added Alan Pardee and Enrique Cuan, Managing Partners and Co-Founders of Mercury. "We look forward to working closely with Investcorp's businesses that partner with third party managers through seeding and acquisition of minority stakes as a fascinating enhancement to our already strong, independent global placement agency activities," they said. "Our partnership with Mercury is completely in line with Investcorp's long-term strategy and our mission to serve investors worldwide with an array of attractive oportunities in alternative investments," said Mohammed Alardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp. "Mercury is well positioned to deliver unique solutions to clients across the globe through its traditional placement capabilities." Mercury has deep relationships with a broad range of the world's preeminent institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, corporate and public pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, family offices, foundations, funds of funds and consultants. In addition, Mercury provides the registered investment advisor ("RIA") community, family offices, and other wealth advisors transparent institutional pricing and exclusive access to leading-edge alternatives. The Mercury team will continue to operate from their offices in New York, London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dubai, New Delhi, Singapore and Tokyo under the direction of co-founders and managing partners Michael Ricciardi, CEO, Alan Pardee and Enrique Cuan. Mercury Capital Advisors offers exclusive access to curated, leading-edge alternative investments to nearly 2,500 institutional investors globally, including around 200 investors based in Asia. To date, the firm has raised 14 oversubscribed funds in Asia, consecutively, as of the end of 2018. Mercury has been ranked the #1 placement agent for private equity by Thompson Reuters (News - Alert) Equity and Equity-Related U.S. Private Placement League Table for the last three consecutive years. Mercury was advised by Freeman & Co. and was represented for legal counsel by Clifford Chance US LLP. Investcorp was represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. About Mercury Capital Advisors Since 2003, professionals at Mercury Capital Advisors Group, LP have executed more than 100 mandates, raising in excess of $170 billion from pre-eminent institutional investors spanning the globe. The firm has 14 offices through its affiliates and distribution partners in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. About Investcorp Investcorp is a leading global manager of alternative investments. Led by a new vision, Investcorp has embarked on an ambitious, albeit prudent, growth strategy. The Firm continues to focus on generating value through a disciplined investment approach in four lines of business: private equity, real estate, absolute return investments and credit management. As of December 31, 2018, Investcorp had US$22.5 billion in total AUM, including assets managed by third party managers and assets subject to a non-discretionary advisory mandate where Investcorp receives fees calculated on the basis of AUM. Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has made over 185 Private Equity deals in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and North Africa region and Asia, across a range of sectors including retail and consumer products, technology, business services and industrials, and more than 600 commercial and residential real estate investments in the US and Europe, for in excess of US $59 billion in transaction value. Investcorp employs approximately 400 people across its offices in Bahrain, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Mumbai and Singapore. For further information, including our most recent periodic financial statements, which details our assets under management, please refer to: Website: www.investcorp.com Twitter (News - Alert): www.twitter.com/Investcorp @investcorp LinkedIn (News - Alert): www.linkedin.com/company/Investcorp View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005427/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] New Approach Captures Detailed Mid-Infrared Images for Medical Diagnostics Researchers have developed a unique high-resolution imaging method that can capture mid-infrared spectral images of fast events or dynamic processes that take place on the order of milliseconds. This spectral range is used for many applications because it can reveal the detailed chemical composition of a sample. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005513/en/ Caption: Researchers developed a new system that uses frequency conversion to shift an entire mid-IR image into the near-infrared wavelength range while preserving the spatial information. The system can be used to look for the chemical specific signatures of cancer and other diseases. Credit: Peter Tidemand-Lichtenberg, DTU Fotonik "This novel approach could one day be used to prescreen medical biopsies to identify the ones that need closer examination," said Peter Tidemand-Lichtenberg, a member of the research team from DTU Fotonik in Denmark. "It could be used to look for the chemical signatures of cancer and other diseases in ways that would increase the accuracy and speed of diagnoses." A multi-institutional group of researchers describe the new imaging approach in Optica, The Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high-impact research. They also demonstrate some of the technique's potential applications by imaging a gas flow and distinguishing cancerous and normal samples of esophageal tissue. "Although mid-infrared spectroscopy is recognized as a powerful tool for chemical analysis, its applicability has been hampered by a lack of affordable light sources and sensitive detectors," said Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "To overcome this barrier, we used an approach that translates information from the mid-infrared region, where the chemical signatures are most distinct, to the near-infrared, where today's camera tecnology is most mature and sensitive." Practical mid-infrared spectroscopy The researchers drew on a process known as nonlinear frequency conversion in which energy is added to a photon to change its wavelength, and hence its color. Although frequency conversion, or upconversion, is often used to change the wavelength of a laser's output, the researchers from DTU Fotonik developed a detection system that could shift an entire mid-IR image into the near-infrared wavelength range while preserving all the spatial information. The system incorporates a new mid-infrared light source developed by collaborators from The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). This single-wavelength light source can be tuned to different wavelengths and it also uses frequency conversion to generate the mid-infrared light. In fact, the researchers used the same pulsed near-infrared laser for two things: to generate the tunable mid-IR light and to achieve the image upconversion. "This approach yields high peak power pulses in perfect synchronism, eliminating the need for sophisticated temporal control of the pulses, leading to images with a good signal-to-noise ratio," explained Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "In addition, our optical setup is designed in a way that requires very little post-processing after the images are acquired." Imaging fast events and complex samples The researchers demonstrated the imaging speed of their new mid-infrared upconversion spectroscopy approach by tuning the illumination laser to match the peak absorption of a gas flow and acquiring a video with 40 images per second. They also conducted a pilot study, headed by the team members from Exeter University, in which the system was used to evaluate cancerous and healthy esophageal tissue samples. They found that morphology and spectral classification using their system matched well with the standard stained histopathology images. "Our upconversion imaging approach is generic and constitutes a major simplification in realizing video-frame-rate, mid-infrared monochromatic imaging," said Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "The spectral information provided by this technique could be combined with machine learning to enable faster, and possibly more objective, medical diagnostics based on chemical signatures without the need for staining." The research project was funded by the European Commission's Innovative Training Networks and involved a collaborative team of researchers from The Institute of Photonics Sciences (ICFO) in Spain and DTU Fotonik as well as Exeter University and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, both from the United Kingdom. Paper: S. Junaid, S. Chaitanya Kumar, M. Mathez, M. Hermes, N. Stone, N. Shepherd, M. Ebrahim-Zadeh, P. Tidemand-Lichtenberg, C. Pedersen, "Video-rate, mid-infrared hyperspectral upconversion imaging," Optica, 6, 6, 702-708 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.6.000708 About Optica Optica is an open-access, online-only journal dedicated to the rapid dissemination of high-impact peer-reviewed research across the entire spectrum of optics and photonics. Published monthly by The Optical Society (OSA), Optica provides a forum for pioneering research to be swiftly accessed by the international community, whether that research is theoretical or experimental, fundamental or applied. Optica maintains a distinguished editorial board of more than 50 associate editors from around the world and is overseen by Editor-in-Chief Alex Gaeta, Columbia University, USA. For more information, visit Optica. About The Optical Society Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005513/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] One-Third of Worldwide Cannabis Users Are in Africa New study examines regional and global cannabis and hemp opportunities for Africa WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New Frontier Data, the authority in data analytics and business intelligence on the global cannabis industry, announces its latest report the Africa Regional Hemp and Cannabis Report: 2019 Industry Outlook, estimating Africa's total addressable cannabis market at $37.3 billion USD; more than 11% of the total global cannabis market. The report will be released at the InterCannAlliance Africa Symposium, Africa's premier hemp and cannabis event, on May 24-25 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and made public for free download shortly thereafter. Since Lesotho became the first African nation to legalize medical cannabis in 2017, Africa's annual cannabis use rate has been nearly twice the global aveage use rate of 6%. "Demand for CBD products continues to surge across Europe, and many including Canada, which now imports from Colombia to help meet this growing demand, are looking to capitalize on it. It will be interesting to see if Africa's proximity to the old continent and its many agro-based economies may be better positioned to provide a more cost-effective supply," noted New Frontier Data Founder and CEO Giadha Aguirre de Carcer. "Not only is hemp a potential low tech, high profit margin, new crop to invigorate African economies; it could also support United Nations' current Sustainable Development Goals such as fostering regional inclusive economic growth and creating sustainable jobs." Key takeaways from the report include: This report covers 13 African nations which encompass more than 565.4 million people, and across which nearly 42.8 million are estimated to use cannabis at least annually. By 2050 Africa's population is expected to double; representing 58% of total global population growth over this time. Africa's largest cannabis markets are those with the largest populations with Nigeria ( $15.3 billion USD ) and Ethiopia ( $9.8 billion USD ) leading the way. To request an advance copy of the Africa Regional Hemp and Cannabis Report: 2019 Industry Outlook or to download the complimentary report once it is available, visit https://newfrontierdata.com/africa2019. About New Frontier Data: New Frontier Data is an independent, technology-driven analytics company specializing in the cannabis industry. It offers vetted data, actionable business intelligence and risk management solutions for investors, operators, researchers and policymakers. New Frontier Data's reports and data have been cited in over 80 countries to inform industry leaders. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with additional offices in Denver, CO, and London, UK. New Frontier Data does not take a position on the merits of cannabis legalization. For more information about New Frontier Data, please visit: https://www.NewFrontierData.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Orchestra BioMed Presents Clinical Data at EuroPCR 2019 Demonstrating Safety and Efficacy of BackBeat Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy (CNT) Novel implantable bioelectronic treatment delivers immediate, substantial, and sustained reduction in blood pressure Data showed 14.2 mmHg reduction in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure at three months and 23.4 mmHg reduction in office cuff systolic blood pressure out to two years Therapy applicable to a wide range of hypertensive patients including those with isolated systolic hypertension PARIS, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orchestra BioMed, Inc., (Orchestra BioMed or the Company), a biomedical innovation company providing high-impact solutions for large unmet needs in procedure-based medicine, today announced the presentation of two-year clinical data from the European Moderato I study of BackBeat Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy (BackBeat CNT) for hypertension at the EuroPCR Conference in Paris, France. Prof. Petr Neuzil, M.D., Ph.D., CSc., FESC, head of the department of cardiology of Na Homolce Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, presented data which showed a strong safety profile of BackBeat CNT and its ability to immediately, substantially and chronically lower blood pressure in patients with persistent hypertension (office BP > 150 mmHg) despite two or more anti-hypertensive medications and an indication for a pacemaker. "In the Moderato I study, BackBeat CNT demonstrated an impressive 14.2 mmHg reduction in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure at three months as well as a substantial and sustained 23.4 mmHg reduction in office cuff systolic blood pressure out to two years. These statistically significant results are very exciting as they support the potential for BackBeat CNT to become a broadly applicable therapy for device-based hypertension management, said Professor Neuzil, one of the principal investigators of the study. BackBeat CNT is applicable to a wide range of hypertensive patients, including isolated systolic disease and patients with high blood pressure despite medical therapy. The Moderato I study enrolled patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite multi-drug medical management and who are also indicated for a pacemaker. We are encouraged by the data from Moderato I study showing substantial reduction in systolic blood pressure which could potentially reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, said Darren R. Sherman, president, chief operating officer and founder of Orchestra BioMed. We recently completed enrollment of patients in the Moderato II study to further investigate the efficacy and safety of BackBeat CNT for the treatment of hpertension and are on track to present 6-month data later this year. The Moderato II study is a prospective, 1:1 randomized double-blind active treatment with BackBeat CNT versus standard medical therapy trial in pacemaker-indicated patients with uncontrolled blood pressure and treated with at least one antihypertensive medication. The primary efficacy and safety endpoints will be assessed at six months. We are looking forward to Moderato II six-months results and the long-term potential of this exciting therapy to benefit high-risk patients with uncontrolled high blood pressure, stated Professor Neuzil. In 2019, Orchestra BioMed plans to initiate enrollment in a randomized, double-blind study to assess the clinical safety and effectiveness of BackBeat CNT in patients with hypertension in the absence of antihypertensive medications. The primary efficacy endpoint will be the difference in the average 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure in the active group compared to control at three months after randomization. About BackBeat CNT BackBeat CNT, a flagship product of Orchestra BioMed, is a bioelectronic therapy that immediately, substantially and chronically lowers blood pressure (BP) while simultaneously modulating the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). BackBeat CNT replicates the effects of multiple medications by reducing pre-load, after-load and sympathetic tone. The therapy can be delivered using standard rhythm management device hardware, such as dual-chamber pacemakers. BackBeat CNT is applicable to a wide range of hypertensive patients, including patients with isolated systolic disease and patients with uncontrolled hypertension despite multi-drug medical management. About Orchestra BioMed Orchestra BioMed is a biomedical innovation company providing high-impact solutions for large unmet needs in procedure-based medicine. The Company partners with established market leaders to drive global commercialization of its products, establishing multiple long-term potential revenue streams and supporting further product development. Its current product pipeline was organically developed and features Virtue SEB for the treatment of artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide, and BackBeat Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy (CNT) for the treatment of hypertension, the leading contributing risk factor for death worldwide. Orchestra BioMeds business model optimizes capital efficiency and cash flow by developing therapies with a high probability of success that fulfill a specific need, fit within current clinical workflow and deliver health-economic value. Orchestra BioMed is led by a multi-disciplinary team with a long track record of successful product development. Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements made herein constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future financial and other performance or anticipated plans and are identified by words such as may, will, should, expect, could, scheduled, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, potential, propose and continue or negative variants of such terms. These and similar forward-looking statements discuss the Companys future expectations and plans. The Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. Given these risks and uncertainties, the Company cautions against placing undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements are only estimates of future performance. Actual performance or events may not meet such expectations or estimates and may, in fact, differ materially. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements made herein are reasonable, the Company cannot and does not guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, the Company does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such forward-looking statements in the future. The Company does not plan and, subject to applicable law, undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements made herein. Investor Contact: Bob Yedid LifeSci Advisors 646-597-6989 [email protected] Media Contact: Kristin Politi LifeSci Public Relations 646-876-4783 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Wolters Kluwer to Share Expertise at 2019 ABA Regulatory Compliance Conference Barbara Boccia, CRCM, Senior Director for Advisory Services and Regulatory Relations in Wolters Kluwer's Compliance Solutions business, will speak on "Leading Indicators for UDAAP Risk: Being Customer-Centric without Compliance Compromise" at the 2019 American Bankers Association Regulatory Compliance Conference, June 9-12 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown New Orleans. UDAAP (Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices) is a topic of increasing importance to financial institutions as well as to regulators. Boccia will present at 3:15-4:30 p.m. Sunday, June 9 and again at 10:15-11:30 a.m. Monday, June 10. She will be joined by Wells Fargo's Emily Porath, CRCM, Vice President, Operational Risk, UDAAP Program Office to offer a bank's front-line perspectives. "Compliance with UDAAP principles is a complicated matter for most financial institutions, large or small," says Boccia. "The regulations are broadly defined and fairly subjective in interpretation, especially when applied by regulators with the benefit of hindsight. However, the increasing complexity of financial products and services, along with a myriad of communication and delivery methods, has made the UDAAP compliance task altogether more daunting." The conference session will provide insights in helping banks identify UDAAP risks, and offer practical guidance for mitigating those risks through a comprehensive UDAAP risk assessment that is part of a bank's Compliance Management System (CMS). Boccia will also moderate a conference panel discussion, "When Change is Driving the Future, Keep Compliance at the Wheel," featuring several regulatory compliance colleagues in a breakfast session Tuesday, June 11 from 7:30-8:30 a.m. The session will provide guidance on how banks may adapt their compliance management strategies to address evolving factors impacting the regulatory landscape: Agile (News - Alert) and scalable approaches to regulatory change management Practical applications of Artificial Intelligence, FinTech and RegTech Adapting Compliance Management Systems for regulatory and technology changes Wolters Kluwer panelists include Timothy R. Burniston, CRCM, Principal Regulatory Strategist and Senior Advisor; SK Karanam, Market Manager, Compliance Program Management; and Kris Stewart, Senior Director, Regulatory Compliance Analysis, Compliance Center of Excellence. Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions, part of the company's Governance, Risk & Compliance division, is a market leader and trusted provider of risk management and regulatory compliance solutions and services to U.S. banks and credit unions, insurers and securities firms. The business helps these financial institutions efficiently manage compliance obligations tied to loan and deposit origination transactions and workflows, manage risk and regulatory compliance obligations, and gain the insights needed to focus on better serving their customers and growing their business. About Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) is a division of Wolters Kluwer, which provides legal and banking professionals with solutions to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory and legal obligations, manage risk, increase efficiency, and produce better business outcomes. GRC offers a portfolio of technology-enabled expert services and solutions focused on legal entity compliance, legal operations management, banking product compliance, and banking regulatory compliance. Wolters Kluwer N.V. (AEX: WKL) is a global leader in information services and solutions for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. Wolters Kluwer reported 2018 annual revenues of 4.3 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,000 people worldwide. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005105/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 22, 2019] Nokia and U Mobile deploy Single RAN Advanced Network to expand LTE services and collaborate on 5G live network trial in Malaysia Press Release Nokia deployment will enable U Mobile to end RAN sharing agreement and extend its network footprint across Malaysia for the delivery of competitive mobile data services Leverages Nokia 5G-ready AirScale radios, Nokia Anyhaul for mobile transport, Carrier SDN and NetAct network management Nokia Global Services to provide turnkey deployment enabled by automation and end-to-end expertise Nokia and U Mobile sign MoU to conduct live network trial that demonstrates 5G capability of enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and other use cases 23 May 2019 Espoo, Finland - Nokia and U Mobile have signed a three-year contract to deploy a Nokia Single Radio Access Network (RAN) network as well as microwave and IP-based mobile transport technologies to enable U Mobile to expand the delivery of mobile data services across Malaysia. Both companies, via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will also collaborate on a 5G live network trial later this year. A recent market report* predicts that mobile data usage in Malaysia will double during 2017-2022 to 10.4 GB per user per month, primarily driven by the rising consumption of online video content on smartphones. As a current provider of 3G and 4G mobile services via a combination of its own network and through a RAN sharing agreement, U Mobile wants to extend its network coverage and capacity to address this growing demand with a range of competitive services. Under the three-year agreement, Nokia will deploy a Single RAN Advanced network in greenfield locations across Malaysia, facilitating U Mobile's aggressive network expansion and drive to provide customers with a superior data experience. With this deployment it also means customers all across Malaysia will be able to further enjoy U Mobile's unlimited innovations. Additionally, Nokia and U Mobile recently signed a MoU to conduct a trial of the 5G live network. The trial will be done later this year and will demonstrate the 5G capability of enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) as well as other 5G use cases such as in the fields of virtual reality (VR) and e-sports. The Single RAN Advanced Network, which is currently installed at U Mobile and using Nokia's AirScale base stations, is 5G-ready. Woon Ooi Yuen, CTO of U Mobile said: "U Mobile has been aggressively expanding our network across Malaysia in our drive to bring our customers a superior experience. We are delighted to be able to leverage on Nokia's expertise in our network expansion journey. We are of course also looking forward to working with Nokia as part of our Road To 5G Strategy. We have in our plan to conduct several 5G live trials with Nokia later this year for various use cases. Currently, we already have in place Nokia's AirScale base stations which are 5G-ready and hence, ready for trials.'' Jae Won, head of Asia Pacific and Japan at Nokia, said: "With our extensive end-to-end portfolio we are helping U Mobile to roll out a network that meets its specifi needs. Working together on this advanced network deployment and the upcoming 5G live trials, we can help U Mobile meet its mobile broadband demands while providing a path toward 5G - especially in high-potential areas such as virtual reality and e-sports." To date, Nokia has signed 37 5G commercial contracts across the world, including 20 with named customers. Nokia continues to actively work on 5G use cases with manufacturing hubs and agricultural regions. About the solution Nokia Single RAN Advanced using Nokia AirScale base stations will support 2G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G Pro and 4.9G in a single unit, with the ability to evolve to 5G via software upgrade Nokia 7705 Service Aggregation Routers, deployed at the network edge, closer to end-users, along with 7750 Service Routers will provide high-performance IP-based mobile access and aggregation and ensure end-to-end application delivery and management Nokia Wavence Microwave transport will support backhaul and fronthaul demands as U Mobile evolves its 4G LTE network in line with customer demand and transitions to 5G in the future. Nokia Wavence and Service Aggregation Routers and Service Routers are all part of the Nokia Anyhaul portfolio - a comprehensive, capable and programmable, 5G-ready mobile transport solution. Nokia Network Service Platform provides Carrier SDN support for Wavence Microwave and IP routing technologies, leveraging network-based intelligence to automatically adapt mobile transport capabilities in dynamic, ultra-dense environments Nokia NetAct network management provides one consolidated view over any network, even the most complicated multi-domain, multi-technology system. NetAct is virtualized for minimal downtime and resilience and provides full network visibility and control, whether traditional or cloud-based. Turnkey deployment by Nokia Global Services with automation enabled by Nokia Delivery Platform, Robotic Process Automation. End-to-end services across radio, transport and IP domains including project management, network design, integration and testing, technical support, and performance optimization. The Single RAN Advanced Network for U Mobile is 5G-ready and will leverage on Nokia's Anyhaul radios to conduct live trials of 5G solutions later in 2019. Additional Information About Nokia We create the technology to connect the world. We develop and deliver the industry's only end-to-end portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing that is available globally. Our customers include communications service providers whose combined networks support 6.1 billion subscriptions, as well as enterprises in the private and public sector that use our network portfolio to increase productivity and enrich lives. Through our research teams, including the world-renowned Nokia Bell Labs, we are leading the world to adopt end-to-end 5G networks that are faster, more secure and capable of revolutionizing lives, economies and societies. Nokia adheres to the highest ethical business standards as we create technology with social purpose, quality and integrity. www.nokia.com Media Inquiries Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: [email protected] Note to editors: * GlobalData's 'Malaysia Country Intelligence Report', June 2018 [May 22, 2019] BiasSync, A New Online Solution to Assess Unconscious Bias In Corporations and Government Agencies, Launches Today LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BiasSync today launched its proprietary tool to assess unconscious bias in large corporations and government agencies. The Los Angeles startup provides organizations and their leaders with aggregated, actionable data and professional development content to help lessen the negative impact of unconscious bias in the workplace. The initial product roll-out includes assessments for race and gender, and the company is developing additional assessments relevant to the workplace to be released over this next year. "The demand to understand and address unconscious bias has never been more important to companies, government agencies and organizations that strive for continuous improvement in the workplace," said co-founder and CEO Michele Ruiz. "What we've done is looked at decision making and practices in the workplace as they pertain to diversity and inclusion objectives and realized that in most cases there is a hugely important element missing, and that is understanding underlying unconscious bias. Most people don't even realize it's a factor, because they think intellectually they are making the right decisions, but unconsciously, they are being influenced by factors and forces that are not talked about, often ignored, and considerably misunderstood." "We founded BiasSync because there are scientifically-validated methodologies to understand unconscious bias and other key personality measurements which we've built upon to be relevant to the work environment. No matter what decision makers and company leaders are doing to address diversity and inclusion as well as fairness and equality, without the kind of science-based solution like BiasSync, the work is incomplete ad as studies show, very often ineffective," added Ruiz. "We set out to create something that solves the lack of data and metrics in most diversity and inclusion trainings, as well as the challenge to roll out bias focused professional development content to entire workforces that educates people in a compelling, positive and interactive way." A former Emmy-winning broadcast journalist and serial entrepreneur, Ruiz co-founded BiasSync along with former Tinder VP of Technology Dan Gould, and serial tech entrepreneur Robin Richards. The three founders, who each come from different entrepreneurial backgrounds, recognized that there was no effective data-driven bias solution that was designed to scale for companies of any size in the marketplace. "Organizations that take data-based action to create a more fair and respectful workplace are more profitable. We have developed a proprietary toolbuilt from multiple scientific methodologiesthat assesses every individual in an organization," said Gould who serves as President and CTO of BiasSync, leading technology strategy and product development. "The data provided gives leaders the information they need to develop an effective roadmap toward a more cohesive and effective organization. This includes employees who are more productive, effective and who collaborate better to solve challenges. These kinds of companies achieve higher employee retention and lower levels of burnout. And they face fewer reputational and legal risks." "Great leaders know that they can't manage what they can't measure. And we also know that most HR and compliance training is boring, outdated and consequently ineffective. With BiasSync, companies now have a real opportunity to improve the culture of their workplace in a meaningful way," said Richards who serves as a strategic advisor to the company leaders. "Unconscious bias is the underlying factor in many problematic cultures and we are committed to help companies understand, assess, and measure to successfully achieve their diversity and inclusion objectives." Leaders can use the specific, anonymized aggregate information provided to them to implement meaningful changes and make measurable improvements that can be tracked over time. The actionable data BiasSync provides coupled with compelling, interactive educational content featuring leading unconscious bias experts allows leaders to better reach diversity and inclusion goals, generate greater innovation, improve their bottom line and make their companies more competitive. For more information, contact Eric Lindbom for BiasSync at 323-497-0151/ [email protected] and visit our website at www.biassync.com. CONTACT: Eric Lindbom for BiasSync 323-497-0151/ [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/biassync-a-new-online-solution-to-assess-unconscious-bias-in-corporations-and-government-agencies-launches-today-300855676.html SOURCE BiasSync [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] WISeKey Releases CEO Letter to Shareholders WISeKey Releases CEO Letter to Shareholders 2019 to be a Year of Continuing Growth due to Strong Demand for WISeKeys Unique and Comprehensive Offerings GENEVA & ZUG, Switzerland WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WISeKey, SIX: WIHN), a leading cybersecurity and IoT company, today released a letter to shareholders from Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO. Dear Shareholders, As CEO of WISeKey, I am pleased to take this opportunity to summarize the highlights of the presentation we made on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 during WISeKeys 2019 Annual General Meeting of shareholders, held in Zurich, Switzerland. As previously announced, shareholders re-elected all serving members of the Board of Directors who stood for re-election. I was re-elected Chairman of the Board, and David Fergusson, Philippe Doubre and Maryla Shingler Bobbio were re-elected as members of the Nomination & Compensation Committee. Shareholders of WISeKey also approved all other proposals submitted by the Board. All proposals received support from shareholders representing more than 90% of total shares outstanding. At the Annual General Meeting, WISeKeys management team also had the opportunity to discuss the Companys FY 2018 operational and financial performance, which due to a series of initiatives that we executed during the year, was substantially improved as compared to FY 2017 (see 2018 Annual Report - https://www.wisekey.com/investors/reports/financial-reports/ ). Additionally, at the Annual General Meeting, we updated our shareholders on opportunities and growth initiatives we are currently pursuing and our goals for 2019 and beyond. In 2019, we have made significant investments to expand our sales force to take advantage of the higher demand for strong security, authentication, brand protection and anti-counterfeiting services for segments such as connected devices, connected cars, luxury products, pharmaceuticals and banking/financial sector. We have also invested in our core IoT business to offer innovative products and solutions which will further reinforce our position as a major player for secured and trusted Blockchain architectures. As a result, we further increased our geographic footprint and client base, which resulted in Q1 2019 revenues of $8.1 million from the Cybersecurity/IoT buiness segment. This trend which is expected to continue in the coming quarters, is backed by a solid 3-year Cybersecurity/IoT revenue pipeline of over $250 million. As a Swiss high-growth IoT company, WISeKey plays a critical role in supporting the countrys 4th Industrial Revolution strategy and it is a valuable asset for the country as it continues to maintain its technology independence and neutrality in the global markets. The IoT revenue generated by WISeKey should be considered as premium revenue of strategic relevance and value within the Swiss economy. Many organizations that have invested in IoT deployments, have yet to derive any significant revenue from their solutions as business models are changing from transactional to collaborative while transactions and evolving from simple one-off payments to complex alternatives of usage-based billing. WISeKeys global expansion, particularly in North America, is built on a clear vision and business strategy and driven by unique and comprehensive offerings able to generate revenue from IoT devices, cybersecurity services, data analysis and more importantly our Trusted Ecosystem and Vertical Platforms. Nethertheless, our stock price was negatively impacted by a number of factors, inclucing the current stock overhang as a result of a sizeable block of shares becoming freely tradable further to the completion of transactions earlier this year, the low trading volume on the SIX Swiss Stock Exchange for our category of stock and the current market environment for IoT companies such as ours, particularly in Switzerland. We believe that as a global cybersecurity / IoT player, WISeKey is well positioned to take advantage on substantial opportunities in the cybersecurity and IoT market and continue its growth, organically and through acquisitions. We are committed to building long-term value for our shareholders. Id like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to WISeKeys shareholders, employees, customers, and Board for their continuous commitment and passion to advance this company forward. We have work to do, but weve identified a strategic niche sector and clear opportunities for improvement and are addressing them with focus and energy. Respectfully, Carlos Moreira Founder and CEO WISeKey International Holdings About WISeKey WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey Microprocessors Secures the pervasive computing shaping todays Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens. Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKeys Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com. Press contacts: WISeKey International Holding Ltd Company Contact: Carlos Moreira Chairman & CEO Tel: +41 22 594 3000 [email protected] WISeKey Investor Relations (US) Contact: Lena Cati The Equity Group Inc. Tel: +1 212 836-9611 [email protected] Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Volantis Technology Enhances Industry Understanding of Utilizing Big Data through IQ Talk JAKARTA, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The rapid development of the internet and technology in recent years has caused the production and consumption of data by companies and communities to increase dramatically in various industries. Today, data is becoming a new resource that is increasingly sought after and processed to produce the best business decisions. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), IDC estimates that IT spending in Indonesia will grow rapidly from US$ 32.7 billion this year to US$ 78 billion by 2022[1]. Therefore, Volantis Technology, a startup and pioneer of data unification platform in Indonesia that focuses on being business' and institution's partner in carrying out big data & AI transformations, holding exclusive sharing session with big data experts and company practitioners from various industries titled IQ Talk. This activity is held to improve industry undrstanding of the utilization of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in Indonesia. Bachtiar Rifai as CEO of Volantis Technology explained, "In the era of Industry 4.0, big data and AI will change the behavior of almost all business people, institutions, and society. However, there is still a gap between industries regarding the understanding and implementation of big data in each company and institution. That is what we want to try to solve, and one of the solutions is by creating more conversation about this between experts and practitioners." IQ Talk was held on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at Hiveworks Co-Work & Cafe, Sudirman, inviting Komang Budi Aryasa as Head of IoT, Big Data, & Research PT Telkom Indonesia, Arditto Trianggada as Head of Big Data & Analytics BRI, Mohamad Ivan Fanany as Big Data Consultant for Bank Indonesia and lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Indonesia as a speaker, and Hardi Saputra as CEO of Mars Data Science. Attended by top management level representatives from various industries, the attendees get insights about the development and conditions of big data in Indonesia from industry and academic's perspective. Komang Budi Aryasa as Head of IoT, Big Data, & Research PT Telkom Indonesia and one of the speakers at IQ Talk added, "Today, most companies have the same problem: how to start managing and utilizing their data. That's what we need to help explaining about how to start and the steps through events like this." *** About Volantis Technology Volantis Technology is a startup company that provides data unification platforms to help businesses and institutions to shift to digital, big data & AI transformation under the Volantis IQ brand. Volantis was founded by four founders who have various experiences in the field of IT and data science, such as GO-JEK, Lazada, and MARS Indonesia. Up until now, Volantis has collaborated with one of the largest telecommunications companies in Indonesia, government and academic institutions, and is funded by several local and international venture capital. To find out more about us, please visit : www.volantisiq.com [1] https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/02/22/cloud-cloud-cloud-and-other-digital-trends-for-2019.html Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190521/2473570-1 SOURCE Volantis Technology [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] The 24th GILF Kicks off to Offer Global Buyers a Feast with 6 Highlights This Autumn ZHONGSHAN, China, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the first exhibition in 1999, the China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair (hereinafter GILF) has become a hub of lighting procurement in the lighting capital of China - Guzhen. The 24th GILF will be held October 22-26, 2019, illuminating the town and shining a light on the industry. At the 23rd GILF, 8 venues saw 295,000 visits from buyers from 91 countries and regions around the world. The main venue, Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, saw 54,134 professional visitors, including 2,736 overseas buyers. According to a survey, 96% of the visitors expressed satisfaction and said they would visit the fair again. This year, GILF has six highlights for the 24th edition. Highlight 1: 100 billion yuan industry + 2,000 exhibitors -- Based on a 100 billion yuan industrial cluster, over 2,000 exhibitors cover the mark chain of the entire lighting industry. After over 30 years of development, Guzhen is now accounting for over 70% of the domestic lighting market. GILF creates a favorable place for original design, relying on a 100 billion yuan lighting production in Guzhen. Over 2,000 high-quality suppliers participate in the fair. Highlight 2: 8 venues + 1.5 million square meters -- Innovative linkage between exhibition and megastores is deepened. Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center brings together 800 well-known companies to display industrial trends, smart residential lighting, and different design styles covering the entire lighting industry. Joining hands with 7 megastores, the overall exhibition space is over 1.5 million sqm. Highlight 3: 38,000 exhibitors + 130 countries -- GILF relies on Guzhen - original source of lighting to create Hosted Buyer Program. At pesent, Guzhen has 38,000 industrial and commercial lighting enterprises, 7,739 lighting merchants, and dozens of professional malls with a 3,000,000+ sqm sales area. This year's fair will select excellent overseas buyers from over 100 countries and regions to participate in Hosted Buyer Program, which covers buyer matching meetings, cocktail party, and guided tours, allowing for accurate and efficient matchmaking. Highlight 4: Main Venue's 5 halls + over 800 exhibitors -- Trendsetting smart lighting opens a new sector in the industry Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center covers eleven exhibition sections in 5 halls. This fair scales up the "Smart Lighting" section at Hall A, aiding companies in speeding up innovation in the Intelligence Era. A special lamp exhibition area is added, providing targeted engineering lamps with a wide variety of functionality. The manufacturing area covers machines & processing, material, accessories and parts, pushing forward automation and customization. Highlight 5: 20 sessions + free 100 yuan ticket -- 20+ high-end forums and a free 100 yuan ticket for pre-registration This year's fair will host 20+ high-end events and forums, enabling industry personnel to better understand the lighting industry. The pre-registration system is already live. Buyers can pre-register through the official website, WeChat official account and other means for a free 100 yuan ticket. Pre-registered venue-goers will also gain access to the exclusive VIP channel. Highlight 6: 365 days + over 20,000 pieces -- Further improving the integration of exhibition networks for online and offline procurement GILF's B2B official website "Denggle.com" hosts a 365-day-a-year online lighting fair, gathering over 2,800 well-known lighting companies at home and abroad to provide 30,000+ quality products. Buyers can use the online exhibitor inquiry system to easily find matching exhibitors. GILF continues to create more business opportunities for the lighting sector. From October 22-26, 2019, meet at the 24th GILF (autumn) in Guzhen! Contact: Karmen.Wu Tel: +760-2235-3188 Website: www.denggle.com Facebook: @guzhenlightingfair E-mail: [email protected] Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190523/2474705-1-a Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190523/2474705-1-b Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190523/2474705-1-c Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190523/2474705-1-d SOURCE China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] iXsystems TrueNAS brings Open Source Economics to VMware vSphere SAN JOSE, Calif., May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iXsystems, the leader in Enterprise Storage and Servers Driven by Open Source, recertified its TrueNAS X-Series and M-Series platforms for VMware vSphere and ESXi. TrueNAS now includes a new plugin for vCenter 6.5 and 6.7 and support for the VMFS6 file system release. The award-winning TrueNAS unified storage line provides storage solutions for many aspects of a virtualization solution: Standard VMs: iSCSI LUNs (block) or NFS shares (file) on Hybrid storage Performance VMs: iSCSI or Fibre Channel LUNs on All-Flash storage File Sharing: SMB and NFS shares for shared data applications S3-API Buckets: S3 compatible local object storage for multimedia content Backup Storage: Bulk storage for backup and recovery systems Support for vSphere 6.x TrueNAS has been certified for VMware vSphere for many years. This recertification reconfirms the quality and functionality of the FreeNAS and TrueNAS software, especially as it applies to VMware applications. FreeNAS is the #1 Open Source Storage OS with more downloads and operational systems; TrueNAS uses the Open Source base and provides the High Availability (HA) appliances needed for certification along with support for VMware vSphere Storage APIs Array Integration (VAAI) for iSCSI. Updated vCenter Plugin Additionally, iXsystems released an updated vCenter Plugin which enables new functionality and integrates with vCenter 6.5 and 6.7. These updates provide valuable improvements in functionality, usability, and reliability for vSphere users. The plugin is downloadable from iXsystems.com with assistance from the TrueNAS support team. TrueNAS All-Flash and Hybrid Appliances for VM Storage Virtualization storage needsto provide the capacity, IOPS, and latencies demanded by the applications. TrueNAS provides the technologies to meet these objectives with a total cost that is a fraction of traditional storage. Open Source software changes the economics of the storage business and gives power back to users. Storage capacity can be scaled economically and independently of the compute capacity. With TrueNAS unified storage, the same systems can support block, file, and object storage requirements on a unified ZFS back-end that provides high performance compression, snapshots, and clones. TrueNAS arrays can also be configured as all-flash or hybrid (disk+flash) to meet the needs of the application. TrueNAS All-Flash systems start at less than $20,000 and scale to a TrueNAS M50 with up to 1600TB of capacity and 800K IOPS. For the first time, user pricing has broken below the $1 per GB barrier at a HA system level, without having to factor in deduplication and compression ratios. A typical VM may use 50GB of storage. The cost per IOPS of All-Flash systems is up to 80% lower than Hybrid systems. TrueNAS Hybrid systems scale to capacities of 10PB or more. Through the use of smart caching technologies such as NVDIMM and NVME, very good performance can be achieved with enterprise-grade HDDs. The cost per GB of Hybrid systems is up to 80% lower than All-Flash systems when using larger drives. Higher capacity TrueNAS Hybrid systems can also be used as backup appliances for virtualization solutions. TrueNAS All-Flash solutions are often used as primary storage for performance-critical VM infrastructures. With TrueNAS, you can choose both All-Flash and Hybrid. Separate systems can be used in large scale deployments. In smaller scale deployments, a single system can have both an All-Flash pool and a Hybrid pool. The Asigra TrueNAS integrated backup appliances were recently selected as the Gold recipient in Storage Magazine and SearchStorages 2018 Products of the Year in the backup and disaster recovery hardware category. This product uniquely integrates Asigra Backup functionality, including global deduplication and ransomware prevention, into standard TrueNAS platforms. Private Clouds and Virtualization are important use-cases that have been fueling the growth of TrueNAS. The integration of the best performing hardware and enterprise software enhancements, along with our Open Source software, delivers unrivaled value and performance in a uniquely powerful and versatile storage solution. Brett Davis, iXsystems Executive Vice President To learn more about iXsystems and how TrueNAS can help your organization, visit www.iXsystems.com, contact us via https://www.ixsystems.com/contact-us/, or give us a call at 1-855-GREP-4-IX. About iXsystems Through decades of expertise in system design and development of Open Source software (FreeNAS, FreeBSD, OpenZFS and TrueOS), iXsystems has become an innovation leader in a global marketplace that relies on Open Source solutions, high availability storage and servers, technology partnerships, and expert support. Since its founding in 2002, thousands of companies, universities, and government organizations have come to rely on iXsystems enterprise servers, TrueNAS Unified Storage, and consultative approach to building IT infrastructure and Private Clouds with Open Source economics. Millions of tech-savvy users also download and deploy our Open Source software each year. More information can be found at www.iXsystems.com. Contact Information Denise Ebery Director of Public Relations [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5f0bacc9-ff2c-4146-a550-e618873b6f6c [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Bermuda Team Connects with Fintech Leaders in Toronto Bermuda Premier David Burt turned the spotlight on the island's innovation community for a sold-out audience of global entrepreneurs in Toronto this week at North America's fastest-growing tech conference. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005286/en/ Bermuda Premier David Burt turned the spotlight on the island's innovation community at this week's sold-out Collision tech conference in Toronto (Photo: Business Wire) Collision, which brought 25,000 delegates, including investors and start-ups, to the city's lakefront Enercare Centre for its Canadian debut, saw the Premier participate as a guest panelist at a packed #MoneyConf session titled, "Striking the balance between regulation and innovation." Moderated by France 24's White House correspondent Philip Crowther, and also featuring Adam Hitchcock of Patch Capital Partners, the discussion highlighted Bermuda's regulatory agility and world-renowned expertise that has created a respected framework to attract quality fintech businesses. "[Fintech companies] are now looking at us," the Premier told the Tuesday session that drew several hundred attendees, "and are talking to our Bermuda Monetary Authority, because they want to be regulated with a regulatorthat understands what they're trying to do, in a jurisdiction that is ready now-not one that's taking the approach of waiting a year or two to ensure structures are in place." The Collision showcase was a highlight of the three-day visit by Bermuda's delegation, comprising government, industry and the Bermuda Business Development Agency. The Premier, accompanied by his Chief Fintech Advisor Denis Pitcher and BDA CEO Andy Burrows, along with other industry and BDA business development representatives, also attended meetings with Toronto-based industry groups and fintech entrepreneurs to fly the flag for the island's emerging technologies sector and develop strategic partnerships. "For the BDA, this has clearly been an opportunity to continue to showcase that Bermuda is innovative, nimble and agile, that we're not new to this space in terms of being adaptive and adoptive, and that as a jurisdiction, we are best-placed to facilitate conversations, to get ahead, and to be part of the outcome and solutions," noted the BDA's Burrows. Insurtech accelerator RGAx-a subsidiary of the Reinsurance Group of America that provides technology, consulting and outsourcing solutions to the North American life and reinsurance industries-hosted a private thought-leadership gathering at its downtown Toronto offices for Team Bermuda, with participation by executives from AIG Canada, Berkshire Hathaway, and several insurance-related start-up ventures. "The idea was to get a number of industry actors together from government and insurance, as well as the start-up community, to really see how industry innovation can move forward," said host Mitch Ocampo, a software engineer who now heads the Studio Innovation Lab at RGAx. "My role is built on the notion of co-creation and collaboration, so being able to work with Team Bermuda and explore ways in which we can move the industry forward is worth making time for." The delegation also held meetings with Accenture (News - Alert), SparkLabs Foundry, the Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC), Toronto Finance International (TFI), the MaRS Discovery District, and Canada's leading crypto exchange Coinbase, among other fintech-related entities. "Having Bermuda represented at Collision, as well as the meetings we've participated in this week, continues to help promote our jurisdiction-not only in the fintech space, but also in insurtech and education technology," said Bermudian entrepreneur Coral Wells, founder of ConnecTech and one of the delegation. "We've had the opportunity to introduce a few of our Toronto partners to the Premier and the rest of Team Bermuda, and we remain committed to growing the Bermuda technology brand." CONNECTING BUSINESS The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business in Bermuda smooth and beneficial. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005286/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Motorola Solutions Announces Early Results of Its Tender Offers; Extends Total Consideration to Any and All Notes Tendered Through Expiration Date Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI (News - Alert)) (the "Company") announced today the early results of its previously announced tender offers to purchase for cash (i) any and all of the Company's outstanding securities listed in Table I below (the "Any and All Notes") (such offer, the "Any and All Offer"), and (ii) up to the Maximum Waterfall Tender Amount (as defined below) in aggregate purchase price of the Company's outstanding securities listed in Table II below (collectively, the "Waterfall Notes" and, together with the Any and All Notes, the "Securities"), subject to the Acceptance Priority Levels as defined below (such offer, the "Waterfall Offer"). The "Maximum Waterfall Tender Amount" is an aggregate purchase price equal to $650 million less the aggregate purchase price of the Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase in the Any and All Offer. In addition, the Company announced today that it has amended the terms of the Any and All Offer to change the amount of consideration payable for Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase after the Early Tender Deadline from the applicable "Tender Offer Consideration" to the applicable "Total Consideration" for such Securities. Accordingly, Holders of Any and All Notes who validly tender such Securities following the Early Tender Deadline and at or prior to the Expiration Date will now receive the applicable Total Consideration for such Securities accepted for purchase, which includes the applicable Early Tender Premium specified in the table below. Subject to this amendment to the Any and All Offer, the tender offers are being made upon and are subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated May 9, 2019, and the related Letter of Transmittal (as they may each be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Tender Offer Documents"). As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 22, 2019 (the "Early Tender Deadline"), $162,869,000 aggregate principal amount of the Any and All Notes and $1,013,023,000 aggregate principal amount of the Waterfall Notes were validly tendered and not properly withdrawn in the tender offers. The withdrawal deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 22, 2019 has passed and, accordingly, Securities validly tendered in the tender offers may no longer be withdrawn except where additional withdrawal rights are required by law. The following tables set forth certain information regarding the tender offers, including the aggregate principal amount of each series of Securities that were validly tendered and not properly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline. Table I Securities Subject to the Any and All Offer Title of Security Principal Amount Outstanding CUSIP/ISIN Early Tender Premium(1) Reference U.S. Treasury Security Bloomberg (News - Alert) Reference Page/Screen Fixed Spread (basis points) Principal Amount Tendered(2) 7.500% Senior Notes due 2025 $346,930,000 CUSIP: 620076 AH2 ISIN:US620076AH21 $50.00 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/24 PX1 165 $90,076,000 6.500% Senior Notes due 2025 $117,892,000 CUSIP: 620076 AK5 ISIN: US620076AK59 $50.00 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/24 PX1 170 $45,016,000 6.500% Senior Notes due 2028 $36,463,000 CUSIP: 620076 AP4 ISIN: US620076AP47 $50.00 2.625% U.S.T. due 02/15/29 PX1 195 $11,501,000 6.625% Senior Notes due 2037 $54,533,000 CUSIP: 620076 BA6 ISIN: US620076BA68 $50.00 3.000% U.S.T. due 02/15/49 PX1 285 $16,276,000 (1) The total consideration payable for each $1,000 principal amount of Securities validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Date and accepted for purchase by us includes the Early Tender Premium. In addition, holders whose Securities are accepted will also receive accrued interest on such Securities. (2) As reported by Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the tender and information agent for the tender offers. Table II Securities Subject to the Waterfall Offer Title of Security Principal Amount Outstanding CUSIP/ISIN Acceptance Priority Level Early Tender Premium(1) Reference U.S. Treasury Security Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen Fixed Spread (basis points) Principal Amount Tendered(2) 3.500% Senior Notes due 2021 $400,000,000 CUSIP: 620076 BD0 ISIN: US620076BD08 1 $50.00 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/21 PX1 50 $249,683,000 3.750% Senior Notes due 2022 $750,000,000 CUSIP: 620076 BB4 ISIN: US620076BB42 2 $50.00 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/15/22 PX1 50 $454,219,000 3.500% Senior Notes due 2023 $600,000,000 CUSIP: 620076 BC2 ISIN: US620076BC25 3 $50.00 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/24 PX1 80 $309,121,000 (1) The total consideration payable for each $1,000 principal amount of Securities validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase by us includes the applicable Early Tender Premium. In addition, holders whose Securities are accepted will also receive accrued interest on such Securities. (2) As reported by Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the tender and information agent for the tender offers. Subject to the Maximum Waterfall Tender Amount, the amount of each series of Waterfall Notes that are purchased in the Waterfall Offer will be determined in accordance with the acceptance priority levels specified in Table II above (the "Acceptance Priority Levels"), with 1 being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and 3 being the lowest Acceptance Priority Level. Because the aggregate principal amount of validly tendered Waterfall Notes exceeded the Maximum Waterfall Tender Amount, the Waterfall Notes will be purchased subject to Acceptance Priority Levels and proration as described in the Offer to Purchase. Holders of Securities that were validly tendered and not properly withdrawn at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase will receive the applicable "Total Consideration," which includes the applicable Early Tender Premium specified in the tables above. Payments for Securities purchased will include accrued and unpaid interest from and including the last interest payment date applicable to the relevant series of Securities up to, but not including, the applicable settlement date for such Securities accepted for purchase. The settlement date for securities tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase is expected to be May 24, 2019 (the "Early Settlement Date"). The Company expects to issue a press release on May 23, 2019 announcing the Total Consideration payable in connection with the tender offers. Although the tender offers are scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, at the end of June 6, 2019, unless extended or terminated (the "Expiration Date"), because the Waterfall Offer was fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Deadline, the Company does not expect to accept for purchase any Waterfall Notes tendered after the Early Tender Deadline. Securities not accepted for purchase will be promptly returned or credited to the holder's account. The Company's obligation to accept for payment and pay for the Securities validly tendered in the tender offers is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions, including a financing condition, described in the Offer to Purchase. BofA Merrill Lynch and Mizuho Securities are serving as the Lead Dealer Managers, and Santander, TD Securities and US Bancorp are serving as the Co-Dealer Managers, in connection with the tender offers. The information agent and tender agent is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. The full details of the tender offers, including complete instructions on how to tender Securities, are included in the Tender Offer Documents. Holders are strongly encouraged to read carefully the Tender Offer Documents, including materials incorporated by reference therein, because they contain important information. Copies of the Tender Offer Documents and related offering materials are available by contacting the information agent at (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers) or (866) 807-2200 (all others). Questions regarding the tender offers should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch, at (980) 387-3907 or (888) 292-0070 (toll free) or Mizuho Securities, at (212) 205-7736 or (866) 271-7403 (toll free). None of the Company or its affiliates, their respective boards of directors, the dealer managers, the information agent and tender agent or the trustee is making any recommendation as to whether holders should tender any Securities in response to any of the tender offers, and neither the Company nor any such other person has authorized any person to make any such recommendation. Holders must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Securities, and, if so, the principal amount of Securities to tender. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or an offer to purchase or sell any securities. The tender offers are being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and only in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law. About Motorola (News - Alert) Solutions, Inc. Motorola Solutions is a global leader in mission-critical communications. Our technology platforms in communications, command center software, services and video security and analytics make cities safer and help communities and businesses thrive. At Motorola Solutions, we are ushering in a new era in public safety and security. Learn more at www.motorolasolutions.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These "forward-looking statements" are statements other than statements of historical fact and may include, among other things, statements in relation to the Company's current expectations and beliefs as to its ability to consummate the tender offers, including the timing, size, pricing or other terms of the tender offers, and other future events. All information set forth in this release is as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances. Actual results are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from the current expectations and beliefs discussed in this press release. Certain potential factors, risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company's business and financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements include the Company's ability to complete the tender offers and satisfy the conditions thereto, and other potential factors, risks and uncertainties under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC (News - Alert)") and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2019 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005221/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] ZeroNorth Co-Presents on Strategies for Comprehensive Security Through Software-Defined Risk Management at Tenable Edge 2019 ZeroNorth, the security industry's first provider of orchestrated risk management, today announced that its vice president of engineering, Andrei Bezdedeanu, will co-present about comprehensive security through software-defined risk management at Tenable Edge 2019. This session will outline strategies for empowering business and security leaders to collaborate closely and accomplish the shared goal of proactively managing vulnerabilities and risks. Who: Andrei Bezdedeanu, vice president of engineering, ZeroNorth What: "Building a Comprehensive Security Strategy through Software-Defined Risk Management" When: Thursday, May 23, 2019 at 11:30am EDT Where: Tenable Edge 2019 (the annual user conference of cyber exposure company Tenable) May 22-23, 2019 Atlanta, Georgia https://www.tenable.com/edge-2019 Why: Executing a comprehensive security strategy requires a combination of different techniques and frameworks. Automating and integrating the security toolchain into the SDLC helps bootstrap a program and creates operational efficiency. A mature CI/CD pipeline and proper gates enable compliance to regulatory standards and provide a process for controlling quality and risk. An Application Vulnerability Correlation framework streamlines vulnerability testing and remediation and provides de-duplication, normalization and valuable risk metrics. Leveraging Threat and Vulnerability Management capabilities, firms can prioritize the way issues get addressed and focus their limited resources on the most critical areas, ultimately reducing cyber risk and helping prevent data breaches and security incidents. By leveraging all these capabilities, organizations can make data-driven decisions on direction and overall security strategy and provide continuous, board-visible insight through software-defined risk management. During this session, attendees will learn how actionable data, digestible at the executive level, enables business decision makers and security professionals to work together to manage vulnerabilities and risk, and achieve greater resiliency. About ZeroNorth ZeroNorth is the security industry's first provider of orchestrated risk management. Organizations that rely on software as a competitive advantage trust ZeroNorth to manage risks by orchestrating the continuous and comprehensive discovery and remediation of vulnerabilities. ZeroNorth is headquartered in Boston and was created by and for security leaders. For more information, follow ZeroNorth on Twitter (News - Alert) (@ZeroNorthSec) or LinkedIn, or visit https://www.zeronorth.io. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005009/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Molecula launches to Make Enterprise Data AI-Ready AUSTIN, Texas, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Molecula, a company focused on tackling the #1 problem preventing large scale AI adoption in the enterprise - AI data readiness - launches its new brand and enterprise software suite. The Molecula core is built on the globally successful open-source project, Pilosa that has gathered more than 1650 enterprise and academic organizations among its users and contributors in less than 24 months. The company also announced the appointment of Ganesh Padmanabhan and Heather Granato to their founding team, responsible for scaling their commercialization efforts. A recent MIT-BCG survey revealed that 84 percent of executives believe that Artificial lntelligence (AI) will allow their organization to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage in the coming years. However, nearly 80 percent of Enterprises reported in a 2018 MIT-TI survey voice widespread concern about their ability to analyze data, particularly regarding data volumes, quality, and speed. The AI promise will only be fulfilled if data across legacy data infrastructure, hybrid multi-cloud environments and distributed end point devices are integrated and prepared to work with machine learning algorithms. In response to this serious market bottleneck, the company launches the Molecula Data Virtualization Platform to enable instantaneous, secure access to large, fragmented, and geographically dispersed datasets to support the most demanding Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads. The platform will use Pilosa as its core, and brings Enterprise grade capabilities like data management, data pooling, machine learning add-ons, monitoring and executive reporting, for organizations to quickly adopt and realize business value. ML. With Molecula, we are bringing this core technology to the Enterprises to virtualize all of the data, irrespective of the source, format or location to make it truly AI-ready," says H.O. Maycotte , Chief Executive Officer. "Pilosa will remain Molecula's open source project, that we will continue to cultivate, and our commercialization efforts will center around Molecula," he adds. Top Executive Hires As the company is preparing for significant growth, it is adding two top executives with extensive Enterprise and AI experience to its founding team. Ganesh Padmanabhan joins as Chief Revenue Officer and Heather Granato joins as VP of Client Success. Ganesh Padmanabhan will lead all revenue functions for Molecula. Prior to Molecula, Ganesh was the Head of Global Business Development and Worldwide Marketing at CognitiveScale, a leading Enterprise AI company where he helped scale operations through market and business development, to post three consecutive years of triple digit growth . He was recently honored by the EnterpriseManagement360 as one of the top 10 tech experts revolutionizing AI . Previous to that, he spent a decade at Dell EMC, in several leadership roles. Ganesh firmly believes that data will be a critical ingredient in strengthening the human-machine partnership. "In the next 10 years, 4 out of 5 decisions will be machine-augmented or machine-led. Today we are making decisions on only 1% of the available data because of the complexity of retrieving and analyzing data from all of the distributed sources, types and locations. Having spent a vast amount of time with CIOs and CDOs who are leading AI-first visions for their organizations, it's clear that data remains the Achilles' heel of AI," says Padmanabhan. "I'm excited to join the Molecula team to bring this unique approach of Making Data AI-Ready to Enterprises." Heather is the VP of Client Success for Molecula. She will lead the client implementation journey and account management strategy, highly focused on the overall client experience and value realization. Heather was one of the earliest employees of CSIdentity Corporation (CSID), sold to Experian Partner Solutions , where she built a highly repeatable customer engagement model. "The team started out with a vision to build an amazing platform. They have learned from their early success, have evolved the vision into building a great product and are now ready to scale. The technology is real, the TAM is significant and the team plays to win," said board member, Tom Meredith when asked about the hires. About Molecula Molecula is a Data Virtualization company that enable humans and machines to make better decisions. Enterprises trust Molecula's Data Virtualization platform to enable instantaneous, secure access to large, fragmented, and geographically dispersed datasets to support the most demanding Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads. Built on Pilosa, the open source project, their core technology is used by over 1650 organizations globally and provides a novel way to make data AI ready. Molecula is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and was founded in 2017 with a commitment to building community-driven, open source software that unlocks the full power of AI. To learn more about Molecula, visit: https://www.molecula.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/molecula-launches-to-make-enterprise-data-ai-ready-300855699.html SOURCE Molecula [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Patriot One Signs Substantial Reseller Agreement for Deployment of PATSCAN VRS Solution with Cramer Security & Investigations, Inc. TORONTO, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Patriot One Technologies Inc.(TSX: PAT) (OTCQX: PTOTF) (FRANKFURT: 0PL) (Patriot One, Patriot One Technologies or the Company), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding reseller agreement (the Agreement) with West Virginia-based Cramer Security & Investigations, Inc. ( www.cramersecurity.com ) (Cramer Security) to distribute Patriot Ones PATSCAN VRS commercial units. The Agreement is for an initial term of five years, and pursuant to the Agreement Cramer Security has acquired an initial 3-year lease of the solution as a first phase approach to deploying the PATSCAN multi-sensor covert threat detection platform across a broad range of its end customers. The Agreement requires Cramer Security to use its commercially best efforts to deploy at least 150 PATSCAN VRS systems, including associated software license, maintenance and support (together the System), which, provided the minimum yearly commitment is met, represents a value of $6,285,166 CAD ($4,672,800 USD) over this 3-year lease period. The Agreement includes minimum yearly sales requirements in order for Cramer Security to maintain its System pricing equal to 50 Systems in the first year, no less than 100 Systems by the end of the second year, and no less than 150 Systems by the end of the third year. This initial PATSCAN VRS commercial deployment effort follows successful pilots and product demonstrations at client sites, as well as at the International Security Conference and Exposition (ISC West) in Las Vegas last month, April 9-12, 2019. Cramer Security has long been a supporter of Patriot One and its mission to provide innovative threat detection and counter-terrorism solutions for safer communities, shared David Utt, Vice President of Cramer Security. Adding PATSCAN solutions to our current and future clients security technology infrastructure will enable our 500+ officers to better protect their customers, employees and properties from the horrific terrorist and lone actor attacks our communities are witnessing. Since 2003, Cramer Security has been servicing clients in the mid-Atlantic region of the US as a security system integrator and provider of security personnel. The company has been engaged with Patriot One for the past two and a half years and was part of its pilot program in Q1, 2019. Were extremely honored that David and his team at Cramer Security & Investigation have placed their trust in our covert, multi-sensor approach to threat detection, advised Martin Cronin, CEO and President of Patriot One Technologies. They have been unswerving in their support as we work to successfully deliver our PATSCAN VRS solution to the marketplace. We look forward to working with their engineers and installers to deliver our systems into the marketplace quickly and effectively. This reseller agreement represents a major milestone for the Company, as we transition fom development of our proprietary technology to deploying same in real world situations. This is a very exciting time in the Companys history. On Behalf of the Board, Martin Cronin Martin Cronin, Chief Executive Officer About Patriot One Technologies, Inc. (TSX:PAT) (OTCQX: PTOTF) (FRA: 0PL): Patriot One Technologies mission is to deliver innovative threat detection and counter-terrorism solutions for safer communities. Our PATSCAN Multi-Sensor Covert Threat Detection Platform provides a network of advanced sensor technologies with powerful next generation AI/machine learning software. The network can be covertly deployed from far perimeter to interiors across multiple weapons-restricted facilities. The PATSCAN platform identifies and reports threats wherever required; car park, building approach, employee & public entryways and inside the facilities. Each solution in the platform identifies weapons, related threats or disturbances for immediate security response. Our motto Deter, Detect and Defend is based on the belief that widespread use of the PATSCAN platform will act as an effective deterrent to diminish the epidemic of active threats around the globe. For more information, visit: www.patriot1tech.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook . About Cramer Security & Investigations, Inc. Cramer Security was founded in 2003. The company observed faults in how physical security was being implemented in the marketplace, versus how it should be. Cramer Security was created to set the industry standard, delivering professional trustworthy officers and providing each individual with structure and organization that fulfills the clients individual needs. Today, Cramer Security has grown across West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, employing over 500 officers that provide security services and technologies to their clientele. Learn more at www.cramersecurity.com . For further information, please contact: Patriot One Inquiries [email protected] www.patriot1tech.com Investor Relations John Martin +1 (888) 728-1332 [email protected] Media Contacts: Scott Ledingham, PR Media Now +1-613-806-7135 [email protected] CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT: No securities exchange has reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to System sales, product development, licensing, commercialization and regulatory compliance issues and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects, believes, and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include counterparty default and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by applicable law. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Blue Bite Powers Interactive Andy Warhol Experience at Levy Gorvy Gallery NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Bite powers Warhol Women, a new exhibition at Levy Gorvy in New York that presents Andy Warhol's portraits of women from the early 1960s through the 1980s, inviting the viewer to ponder the artist's complex and often contradictory relationship to myths and ideals of femininity, beauty and power. The exhibition sheds fresh light on both Warhol's oeuvre and our present moment, wherein questions of female empowerment and the construction of identity through images are as urgent as ever. Blue Bite powers an interactive experience in the gallery that brings Warhol even closer to visitors. Throughout the three-floor gallery, visitors activate digital experiences relevant to where they are in the exhibition by scanning NFC or QR codes with their phones. These experiences include: A choose your own adventure introduction to the exhibition. Quick quips on Warhols sitters: how they came to meet Warhol, favorite memories in the Factory, and other anecdotes not included in the main exhibition. Curated music playlists by decade Many of the exhibited works were created based on Polaroid cameras. Visitors to Warhol Women will walk out with their own Polaroid photo and NFC-enabled holder. This additional experience keeps the exhibition with visitors long after they leave the gallery. "We are excited to bring this additional element of visitor engagement to our exhibitions at Levy Gorvy," said Cristina Tafuri, Exhibitions Coordinator at Levy Gorvy. "There is so much valuable, high-level research and information to unpack behind each of these exceptional works that goes beyond a traditional exhibition wall label. This technology allows us to bring that to our visitors in an easy, new and meaningful wy." "By making 'Warhol Women' interactive with Blue Bite Experiences, Levy Gorvy allows visitors to access the full scope of knowledge, research and resources that go into creating each exhibition," said Mikhail Damiani, CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Bite. "Adding digital experiences to the physical space provides added value to visitors not available at other venues." Media Contact David Rogers 866.523.3070 [email protected] About Blue Bite Since 2007, Blue Bite has changed the way people interact with the world by connecting digital information to physical things. The patented platform empowers creators to build dynamic digital experiences and channel them through physical items using technologies like NFC, QR and geofencing. This empowers brands to authenticate products, improve the consumer experience and drive additional sales. Because physical things are made smarter, users can access valuable content with just a tap or scan of a phone. About Levy Gorvy Levy Gorvy cultivates a program devoted to innovation and connoisseurship in the fields of modern, postwar, and contemporary art. Founded by Dominique Levy and Brett Gorvy, Levy Gorvy maintains gallery spaces at 909 Madison Avenue in New York, in Mayfair, London, and in Central, Hong Kong. The gallery fosters continued dedication to the living artists and artists' estates that it represents and offers a robust program of exhibitions and multidisciplinary events. The gallery also produces ongoing art historical research and original scholarship, publishing exhibition catalogues, monographs, and other key publications. The Zurich office, Levy Gorvy with Rumbler, offers bespoke private advisory services to collectors and institutions around the globe. Related Images blue-bite-experience-at-l-vy.jpg Blue Bite Experience at Levy Gorvy's Warhol Women Exhibition A visitor to Levy Gorvy's Warhol Women scans an NFC tag in the gallery's collateral, activating an immersive digital experience on her phone that complements physical exhibition. blue-bite-logo.png Blue Bite logo Blue Bite logo Related Links Blue Bite LinkedIn View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-bite-powers-interactive-andy-warhol-experience-at-levy-gorvy-gallery-300855615.html SOURCE Blue Bite [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Cardinal Analytx Closes $22 Million Series B Round PALO ALTO, Calif., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardinal Analytx Solutions, an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled health insights company, today announced a $22 million Series B funding round led by John Doerr, who will also serve on the Cardinal Analytx board of directors. Joining the round were strategic investors GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation, Blue Shield California and Premera Blue Cross. This new round of capital will enable Cardinal Analytx to rapidly extend its lead in the innovative use of machine learning to drive proactive healthcare through investments in talent and technology. "We take great pleasure in welcoming John Doerr to our board and are honored by the investments from his family fund, our strategic health plan partners and other leading investors," said Cardinal Analytx CEO Linda T. Hand. "The new growth funding positions us to capitalize on our early commercial traction and robust pipeline. We expect to quickly extend our leadership in the use of AI to accurately predict rising risk and future costs, and deliver actionable insights." Cardinal Analytx was founded by Stanford professors Drs. Arnie Milstein and Nigam Shah, who also is joining the company's board, in partnership with Cardinal Partners. After a number of successful pilots, Cardinal Analytx announced its first multiyear customer, Premera Blue Cross, earlier this year. Technology That Looks Ab>round the Corner to Improve Health Outcomes Cardinal Analytx integrates predictive insights with meaningful actions, identifying people at high risk of rising cost and worsening health in the future and matching them with interventions to prevent their decline. The system assesses the ability to impact individuals' clinical trajectory or likelihood to benefit from an intervention to steer them toward better health outcomes. Cardinal also can predict specific types of high-cost, high-acuity events well in advance, providing the lead-time needed to match members with higher value providers in a timely manner. "Cardinal Analytx is leading the pack in predictive analytics for healthcare payers and providers. Cardinal uses machine learning to create advanced, early-warning predictions and interventions to address health conditions early when they matter most," said Doerr, also chairman of Kleiner Perkins. "The caliber of investors we've attracted speaks for itself, validating our team's efforts to execute on our vision: to deliver proactive healthcare that improves people's health and reduces the total cost of care," said Hand. "We look forward to working with John and our new investors to bring better care to individuals sooner." Investor Quotes Patrick Geraghty, president and CEO of GuideWell and its health insurance company, Florida Blue "The ability to leverage predictive analytics, machine learning and AI to improve outcomes for individuals and the health care system as a whole will be a hallmark of leading health solutions organizations going forward. Our investment in Cardinal Analytx reflects our commitment to innovation in this area and our confidence in the company and its leadership." Sandra Clarke, CFO, Blue Shield California "What sets Cardinal Analytx apart is its strong partnership with Stanford and its creative solution for addressing the needs of patients and providers alike. Cardinal Analytx is completely transforming the healthcare model in a way that is perfectly aligned with our vision." Jeff Roe, CEO, Premera Blue Cross "We were an early investor and continue to invest and co-design with Cardinal Analytx because the AI and predictive analytics that they offer enable us to deliver better health outcomes for our customers, while lowering the total cost of care." About Cardinal Analytx Solutions Cardinal Analytx Solutions combines state-of-the-art AI-enabled data science with "next-best action" health insights. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company was founded by two Stanford industry professors and spun out of StartX in 2017. Committed to driving "better care, sooner," Cardinal Analytx partners with health plans, employers and providers across the nation to improve lives and decrease costs for millions of people. For more information, visit www.cardinalanalytx.com or email [email protected]. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cardinal-analytx-closes-22-million-series-b-round-300855739.html SOURCE Cardinal Analytx Solutions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Glytec Goes Global, With Six New International Patent Allowances The rise in diabetes is truly a global phenomenon. The World Health Organization has been vocal about the estimated 422 million people living with diabetes, saying: "the prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing everywhere" and "diabetes and its complications impact harshly on the finances of individuals and their families, and the economies of nations." Glytec recognizes that optimizing diabetes medications and making insulin a more effective and accessible option stands to benefit not only those living in the U.S., but people around the world. To that end, the company is growing its intellectually property portfolio on an international scale. Robby Booth, SVP of Research & Development at Glytec, further explains why the company is pursuing worldwide protections: "Insulin remains significantly underutilized among people with type 2 diabetes, specifically those who've been unable to achieve their treatment goals. Our solutions help overcome many of the difficulties and challenges that cause therapeutic inertia among providers, including fears surrounding hypoglycemia. These latest patent allowances validate Glytec's commitment to delivering industry-leading medication optimization solutions both domestically and abroad, and to helping mitigate the devastating personal and societal costs of diabetes." Glytec has recently received six new patent allowances from foreign regulatory agencies in Japan, Australia and Israel. The allowances address a variety of systems and methods for insulin titration and glycemic management. Select claims from among these patent allowances include [highly abridged and consolidated]: Data processing hardware obtains patient information, including blood glucose measurements from a glucometer, uses the patient information to determine an intravenous insulin infusion rate, and sends the rate to a remote administration device, which administers intravenous insulin to the patient at the specified rate. Data processing hardware obtains patient information, including a target blood glucose range, threshold hypoglycemia blood glucose value, stability target range, preconfigured meal bolus time interval, and indication of solid food consumption, and uses the patient information to determine a meal bolus insulin rate. Data processing hardware blocks the transition from intravenous to subcutaneous insulin administration when the current blood glucose measurement is outside the stability target range, and communicates a warning to be displayed electronically. Data processing hardware obtains patient information, including blood glucose measurements from a glucometer, and uses the patient information to determine a correction factor, post-prandial correction bolus, mean lifetime of rapid-acting insulin, adjustment factor, carbohydrate-to-insulin ratio and next recommended meal bolus. Data processing hardware selects one or more subcutaneous insulin treatments from a collection of options, including a subcutaneous standard program, subcutaneous nil per os program, subcutaneous program without meal boluses, meal-by-meal subcutaneous program without carbohydrate counting, meal-by-meal subcutaneous program with carbohydrate counting, and subcutaneous program for non-diabetic patients, then transmits the selected subcutaneous insulin treatment(s) to an administration device comprising a doser and an administration computing device in communication with the doser, which causes the doser to administer the insulin specified by the selected subcutaneous insulin treatment(s). "We are very pleased that the uniquenesses and sophistication of our eGlycemic Management System are being recognized by regulatory agencies outside the U.S.," says Bob Leonard, President and CEO at Glytec. "The issues surrounding therapeutic inertia and insulin mismanagement are universal, and these patent allowances position Glytec to offer cutting-edge solutions across the globe." About Glytec Founded in 2006, Glytec is the pioneer of digital therapeutics, improving the lives of people with diabetes by making insulin a more effective and accessible option for millions unable to achieve their treatment goals. The company's patented eGlycemic Management System is the only FDA-cleared software-as-a-medical-device (SaMD) platform to enable the mass personalization of insulin across the continuum of care: inpatient, outpatient and virtual settings alike. Glytec offers several comprehensive programs combining evidence-based decision support technologies with expert professional services proven to aid providers in achieving best practices and standardization while reducing hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, A1C, readmissions, length of stay and cost. The company has offices in Waltham, Massachusetts and Greenville, South Carolina. For more information visit www.glytecsystems.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005149/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Survey: 96% of Enterprises Encounter Training Data Quality and Labeling Challenges in Machine Learning Projects IDC (News - Alert) predicts worldwide spending on artificial intelligence (AI) systems will reach $35.8 billion in 2019, and 84% of enterprises believe investing in AI will lead to greater competitive advantages (Statista). However, nearly eight out of 10 enterprise organizations currently engaged in AI and machine learning (ML) report that projects have stalled, and 96% of these companies have run into problems with data quality, data labeling required to train AI, and building model confidence, according to information released today from Alegion. Data issues are causing enterprises to quickly burn through AI project budgets and face project hurdles. The new report, "Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Projects Obstructed by Data Issues" was conducted by Dimensional Research. The findings include feedback from 227 participants including data scientists and business stakeholders involved in active enterprise AI and ML projects, addressing the maturity of ML in the enterprise, today's ML project challenges, and the tools and resources used i these projects. "The single largest obstacle to implementing machine learning models into production is the volume and quality of the training data," said Nathaniel Gates, CEO and co-founder of Alegion, a training data platform for AI and ML initiatives. "This research reinforces our own experience, that data science teams new to building ROI-driven systems try to tackle training data preparation in house, and get overwhelmed." Large businesses with more than 100,000 employees are most likely to have an AI strategy - but only 50% of them currently have one, according to MIT (News - Alert) Sloan Management Review. Alegion's survey reinforces this finding that AI is still nascent in the enterprise: 70% report that their first AI/ML investment was within the last 24 months Over half of enterprises report they have undertaken fewer than four AI and ML projects Only half of enterprises have released AI/ML projects into production To get AI systems off the ground, training data must be voluminous and accurately labeled and annotated. With AI becoming a growing enterprise priority, data science teams are under tremendous pressure to deliver projects but frequently are challenged to produce training data at the required scale and quality. Alegion's survey respondents echoed these observations: 78% of their AI/ML projects stall at some stage before deployment 81% admit the process of training AI with data is more difficult than they expected 76% combat this challenge by attempting to label and annotate training data on their own 63% go so far as to try to build their own labeling and annotation automation technology 71% of teams report that they ultimately outsource training data and other ML project activities Methodology Enterprise data scientists, other AI technologists and business stakeholders involved in active AI and ML projects were invited to participate in a survey on their company's use and development of AI and ML projects. The survey was administered electronically, and participants were offered a token compensation for their participation. A total of 227 participants completed the survey, representing five continents and 20 industries. Download a free copy of the report here. About Alegion Alegion is an Austin-based technology company that provides the most powerful and flexible annotation platform for training data in market. It accelerates model development for the most sophisticated and subjective use cases. It uses integrated ML and has unique capabilities like conditional logic, iterative tasks, multi-stage and workflows, that are essential for high quality at scale. The entire process is managed by our highly experienced and consultative team that configures and executes the platform to meet your business needs. For more information, visit www.alegion.com. About Dimensional Research Dimensional Research provides practical marketing research to help technology companies make smarter business decisions. Our researchers are experts in technology and understand how corporate IT organizations operate. Our qualitative research services deliver a clear understanding of customer and market dynamics. For more information, visit www.dimensionalresearch.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005183/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Napatech Builds Momentum on Success of Reconfigurable Computing Platforms LOS ALTOS, Calif. and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Napatech (OSLO: NAPA.OL), the leading provider of reconfigurable computing platforms, today announced that its growth, new funding round and recent product launches contributed to significant momentum in 2018 and into 2019. Click to Tweet: [email protected] Builds Momentum on Success of Reconfigurable Computing Platforms: http://bit.ly/2Wlg44K #FPGA #SmartNIC Napatech announced today that is has completed a private placement of financing, raising gross proceeds of $8.7 million USD. This placement was underwritten by a group of well-known European investors by offering new shares in Napatech in order to raise the full round at the Subscription Price. Napatech will use the net proceeds to accelerate and commercialize new, innovative solutions in cybersecurity and virtualization acceleration that will improve growth within its market-leading, FPGA-based hardware and software product lines. In addition, the company will focus on new and additional engineering development to accelerate delivery of these new products to the market in 2019 and 2020. The company also will enhance its go-to-market strategy, sales and marketing initiatives to maximize the revenue impact from new products while the market for SmartNICs is expanding. SmartNICs are being used to accelerate virtual switching applications, such as Open Virtual Switch. In cybersecurity, SmartNICs deliver 100% packet capture for real-time network insight and action. Napatech's FPGA-based intelligent network interface cards (NICs) provie an easy way for enterprises and service providers to accelerate applications, improve cybersecurity and increase server utilization as cloud, hybrid and software-defined networks become more mission-critical. Napatech's market-leading FPGA SmartNIC software is available for use with the leading FPGA solutions from Xilinx, including the Virtex and Ultrascale+ lines, and the Intel Programmable Acceleration Card (PAC) featuring the Intel Arria 10 GX FPGA. The solution empowers IT organizations of all sizes to deploy networking and cybersecurity applications on standard servers for unparalleled performance at a fraction of the cost of custom hardware alternatives. Napatech collaborates with industry partners to develop solutions that improve the way their networking and security applications and solutions perform for their customers. Several recently announced design wins showcased demonstrate the feature-rich SmartNIC software and hardware in a variety of environments. This includes tick-to-trade latency reduction with Velocimetrics, network monitoring and performance management with Neusoft and acceleration of Starlink's security framework. For more information about these design wins, click here. Ray Smets, CEO, Napatech said: "Major changes in communications created by hyperscale computing, 5G mobile and the Internet of Things are transforming the technology needs of businesses. As the volume of users, devices and data continues to increase, Fortune 5000 enterprises, service providers and government operators are rethinking the way they design, deploy, operate and secure their networks and services. We believe we are well-positioned to move toward our goals of bringing hyper-scale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size and enhancing the long-term growth of the company and value for shareholders." About Napatech Napatech helps companies to reimagine their business by bringing hyperscale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size. We enhance open and standard virtualized servers to boost innovation and release valuable computing resources that improve services and increase revenue. Our reconfigurable computing platform is based on a broad set of FPGA software for leading IT compute, network and security applications that are supported on a wide array of FPGA hardware designs. Additional information is available at: www.napatech.com No Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, business conditions, trends in the industry and markets, global economic and geopolitical conditions, macro-economic factors, and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Napatech's reports. The matter discussed in this release is based on current expectations and maybe subject to change. Napatech will not necessarily update this information. For details, visit us at www.napatech.com. Media Shannon Tierney, Nadel Phelan +1.831.440.2409 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/napatech-builds-momentum-on-success-of-reconfigurable-computing-platforms-300855749.html SOURCE Napatech [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] NASA Administrator to Make Artemis Moon Program Announcement, Media Teleconference Set WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will make a significant announcement about the Artemis program's lunar exploration plans at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 23, at the Florida Institute of Technology. The remarks will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Administrator Bridenstine will announce the commercial partner selection to develop and build the first segment of NASA's Gateway outpost the power and propulsion element (PPE). Gateway will be the lunar orbiting staging point to send astronauts to the Moon's surface in five years. Following his remarks, Bridenstine will answer questions from media at 2:10 p.m., in the Digital Scholarship Lab at Florida Institute of Technology's Evans Library, 2949 Science Cir., Melbourne. NASA also will host a media teleconference at 2:45 p.m. The teleconferece participants include: Bill Gerstenmaier , associate administrator, NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington , associate administrator, NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Michele Gates , PPE director, NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington , PPE director, NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Dan Hartman , Gateway program manager, NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston , Gateway program manager, NASA's Johnson Space Center in Mike Barrett , PPE project manager, NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland Teleconference audio will stream live at: https://www.nasa.gov/live For dial-in information, media must contact Jimi Russell at [email protected] or 216-704-2412 no later than 1 p.m., May 23. Questions may be submitted on Twitter during the teleconference using the hashtag #askNASA. The Gateway's power and propulsion element is a high-power, 50-kW solar electric propulsion spacecraft section that will provide astronauts access to the entire surface of the Moon. It also will allow the Gateway to serve as a mobile command and service module by providing a communications relay for human and robotic expeditions to the lunar surface. Charged with returning to the Moon by 2024, NASA's lunar exploration plans are based on a two-phased approach: the first is focused on speed landing on the Moon in five years while the second will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028. NASA will use the Gateway to access the Moon, and the agency is targeting launch of the power and propulsion element in late 2022. For more information about NASA's Moon to Mars exploration plans, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-administrator-to-make-artemis-moon-program-announcement-media-teleconference-set-300855886.html SOURCE NASA [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] BFS Capital Appoints Fred Kauber as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer BFS Capital, a leader in small business lending, today announced the appointment of Fred Kauber as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer. As a member of the management team reporting to CEO Mark Ruddock, Kauber will be responsible for leading a customer-focused product and technology organization whose mission is to help BFS re-imagine financial services for small businesses. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005360/en/ Fred Kauber, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer, BFS Capital Kauber brings more than two decades of experience in the financial services industry and has a strong track record of leadership in technology, product management, marketing and operations. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at CAIS Group, a fintech marketplace platform, where he led platform development and corporate marketing initiatives. "At BFS Capital, our mission is to leverage advanced technology and data science to unlock exciting new financial products and services for underserved small businesses, and I'm confident that Fred is the right person to advance both our vision and our capabilities in this regard," said Mark Ruddok, CEO, BFS Capital. Prior to CAIS Group, Kauber was CTO at TRANZACT, where he launched autoinsurance.com and directhealth.com, both joint ventures with Walmart, and helped facilitate TRANZACT's acquisition by White Mountain in 2014. He has also held C-level and senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 firms and entrepreneurial ventures in the financial services and technology industry, including Entitle Direct Group, First Data Corporation, Dun & Bradstreet and IBM (News - Alert) Corporation. Kauber also teaches enterprise technology strategy as an adjunct professor in the graduate program of the NYU School of Professional Studies and mentors aspiring technology leaders and entrepreneurs in the NYU Future Labs and Columbia University Technology Management programs. "Small business owners are increasingly seeking compelling and empowering digital experiences that can help them unlock access to critical financial services in an on-demand, personalized manner. I'm excited to join the BFS Capital team to help drive the technology and product transformation that will position the company as an agile, innovative provider of financing as well as broader financial solutions," said Fred Kauber, CTO and Chief Product Officer, BFS Capital. Kauber graduated from Manhattan College with a BS in Computer Science and received his MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. He also holds an MS in Telecommunications from Pace University. He is a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), has been trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. Mark Ruddock joined BFS Capital in November as CEO following seven years of global leadership roles in digital consumer lending, most recently as interim CEO of 4finance, an on-line lender with operations in 17 countries. BFS Capital provides financing from $5,000 to $500,000 to merchants across more than 400 industries. In 2018, the company surpassed $2 billion in originations to small businesses in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. through U.K. subsidiary Boost Capital. To learn more, please visit BFSCapital.com. About BFS Capital BFS Capital champions the long-term growth and prosperity of small businesses by providing timely, flexible financing solutions. BFS Capital's leading small business financing platform leverages customized underwriting and proprietary algorithms to fund businesses in the United States, Canada, and through its United Kingdom subsidiary, Boost Capital. Since 2002, BFS Capital has provided over $2 billion in total financing to over 23,000 small businesses across more than 400 industries. Headquartered in South Florida with offices in New York, California and the United Kingdom, BFS Capital is an accredited BBB company with an A+ rating. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005360/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] While Memorial Day began after the Civil War as a day to commemorate those who fought and died for this country, the holiday has grown to mark the unofficial start of summer a time to fire up the grill, wear shorts and enjoy the outdoors with friends and family. Here are a few events happening in the area for families to honor the courageous men and women who served this country as well as a day off to enjoy and participate in Indiana traditions such as the Indy 500. The Indianapolis 500 Also known as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, in the 103rd Indianapolis 500, where 33 Indy Car drivers will compete for victory, prestige and the ever-coveted bottle of cold milk. When: Gates open at 8 a.m.-6 p.m. May 26; the race starts at 12:45 p.m. Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W. 16th St. Price: $60 to $130 Meet the first African American Indianapolis 500 driver To celebrate the 103rd Indianapolis 500, the Crispus Attucks Museum will feature 64-year-old Willy T. Ribbs, the first African American to compete in the Indianapolis 500. You can meet Ribbs and ask him questions about his racing career. When: 1-4 p.m. May 26 Where: Crispus Attucks Museum, 1140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. Price: Free, but you must RSVP to 317-226-2432 Honoring the Courage of Heroes Crown Hill will hold several events honoring Civil War Veterans from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., including a re-enactment of the Civil War. Retired Brig. Gen. J. Stewart Goodwin will lead Crown Hills 151st Memorial Day ceremony at 2 p.m. When: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 27 Where: Crown Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 700 38th St. Price: Free Memorial Day Service at Washington Park East Cemetery To honor veterans who gave their lives for the country, a Memorial Day service will be held at Hoosier Patriot Memorial at Washington Park East Cemetery. The service will include the 38th Division Brass Quintet, a 21-gun salute and keynote presentations from Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, the adjutant general of Indiana, and retired Brig. Gen. James L. Bauerle. When: 10 a.m. to noon May 27 Where: Washington Park EastCemetery, 10612 E. Washington St. Price: Free Dinosaurs Up Close at The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis will offer a variety of fun and educational events throughout Memorial Day weekend. In one of these events, Dinosaurs Up Close, children can learn about dinosaurs and see fossils up close. When: 11:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. May 24 and 27 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. May 25 and 26 Where: The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N. Meridian St. Price: Free with admission; $20.75 youth, $25.75 adult, $24.50 for seniors Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar. [May 23, 2019] Nuveen Announces Updates to Closed-End Fund Portfolio Management Teams Portfolio manager responsibilities for six closed-end funds for which Symphony Asset Management serves as subadvisor have been updated. There will be no impact on the investment approach, investment strategies or any of the funds' investment objectives or policies. Information on the portfolio management transition is outlined in the two tables below. Portfolio Current Portfolio Management Team Ticker Fund Name Management Team Effective 5/23/2019 JQC Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund Sutanto Widjaja Sutanto Widjaja Scott Caraher Jenny Rhee NSL Nuveen Senior Income Fund Scott Caraher Scott Caraher Jenny Rhee JRO Nuveen Floating Rate Income Opportunity Fund Scott Caraher Scott Caraher Jenny Rhee JFR Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund Scott Caraher Scott Caraher Jenny Rhee The portfolio management updates listed below are applicable to the sleeve of the funds managed by Symphony Asset Management, an affiliate of Nuveen. Portfolio Current Portfolio Management Team Ticker Fund Name Management Team Effective 5/23/2019 JTA Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Total Return Strategy Fund Scott Caraher Scott Caraher Jenny Rhee JDD Nuveen Diversified Dividend & Income Fund Scott Caraher Scott Caraher Jenny Rhee Mr. Caraher is a Co-Head of Investments, a member of the Risk Committee and responsible for Symphony's retail and institutional bank loan-focused portfolios, including credit trading related to bank loans. Mr. Caraher has served more than 15 years at Symphony. Prior to joining the firm in 2002, he was an Investment Banking Analyst in the industrial group at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown in New York. Mr. Caraher received a BS in finance from Georgetown University. Ms. Rhee is a Co-Head of Investments, a member of the Risk Committee and responsible for all of Symphony's high-yield strategies, including the Long-Short Credit Strategy, the long-only Credit Opportunities Strategy and credit trading related to high yield. She has served more than 15 years at Symphony. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, she was a member of the equity research team at Epoch Partners, and she began her career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston. Ms. Rhee received a BS in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley. For more general closed-end fund information and education, please visit Nuveen's closed-end fund website. About Nuveen Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $989 billion in assets under management as of 3/31/19 and operations in 16 countries. Its affiliates offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com. Nuveen Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC. Symphony Asset Management LLC is a registered investment adviser and an affiliate of Nuveen, LLC. The information contained on the Nuveen website is not a part of this press release. 855087-INV-AN-05/21 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005362/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Creative Advertising Agency Brandefined Celebrates Eight Years in Business BEAVERTON, Ore., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Brandefined, a creative agency based next door to Nike Kingdom near Portland, Oregon is celebrating eight years in business. In a market full of agencies who represent huge brand names, Brandefined continues to leave a unique footprint among small and mid-sized businesses they help. Brandefined started in 2011 with the exact same mission that carries the day in 2019. Their tagline, "Big Brand Strategies for Small Business" is the same, but their commitment to the latest marketing trends and technologies grows stronger along with their list of clients and accomplishments throughout the years. "As I've stated before, in the early days we just didn't know what to expect," said Ron Way, who along with fellow co-founder, Mike Clancy has been CEO of an operation that has now served over 20,0000 clients across North America. When asked to reflect on eight years in business, Mr. Clancy said, "When we started with two employees and one-hundred-hour work weeks, I never imagined the impact we would ultimately have on the small business community." Over eight years ago, Brandefined produced high performing Facebook ad campaigns. After the submission of a single case study, the social media giant welcomed Brandefined in to what was their Studio Edge program which allowed Brandefined the honor of being part of a select group to receive advanced training and the sharing of best practices. "It's more vital in 2019 that our clients are dealt with by experts whocare as much about their success as the giant public relations firms and ad agencies respect and handle publicly traded corporations," said Clancy. Clancy and Way described themselves as "reluctant entrepreneurs" when they began as pioneers in internet marketing. Many years ago, they saw a need to provide tangible, effective and affordable online marketing solutions to fill the void where small businesses seem neglected. Over the last eight years, Brandefined has seen many changes in the marketplace. Today, they employ more than forty people locally, have been named a top 75 employer by the Oregonian and have been named one of the top one hundred fastest growing companies in the state of Oregon but he Portland Business Journal in their very first year of eligibility. Brandefined has been named a top fifty creative agency and internet technology firm multiple consecutive years by the same publication. Again, in their first year of eligibility, they were honored to make the esteemed Inc. 5000 list. "The most important accomplishment is being rated A+ by the BBB every year since we've been accredited," said Way. "I'm prouder today that, after working with and interacting with thousands of clients weekly, knowing that no other ad agency working with small businesses provides the solutions, combined with the customer service, that we do." Brandefined has expanded their services over the years that, in addition to Facebook and Instagram advertising, includes web design and development, review management, app development, graphics design, content management, email marketing, Google advertising and remarketing, logo design and brand management. Services are offered with core philosophies of educate before selling and every client gets true consultation regardless of their budget. Brandefined is located in Beaverton, Oregon. They offer effective marketing solutions for small business for as little as $100 per month. For more information call (888) 406-9774 or visit https://brandefined.com/ Contact: Michael Clancy 888-406-9774 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/creative-advertising-agency-brandefined-celebrates-eight-years-in-business-300855541.html SOURCE Brandefined [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Hootsuite Announces Google Preferred Partner Status, Launches Google My Business App VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hootsuite , the global leader in social media management, trusted by more than 18 million customers and employees at more than 80% of the Fortune 1000, announced today the launch of a Google My Business app integration in the Hootsuite platform and its new Google Preferred Partner status. This is Hootsuites second major Google integration launch in less than a year and is a testament to Hootsuites commitment to deepen their product integrations and alliance with Google. With todays launch, Hootsuite customers who also have a verified Google My Business profile can now easily create new posts and respond to customer reviews and questions all within the Hootsuite dashboard. This will allow Hootsuite customers to further engage with their customers and prospects and drive traffic to their businesses. According to Google, customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a complete Google My Business listing, and that has been validated by our own customers that have seen a significant lift in their web and foot traffic thanks to their Google My Business presence, said Penny Wilson, CMO of Hootsuite. We are proud that our deepening partnership with Google will allow our customers to manage their brand presence both on social and on Google My Busiess, and engage with their customers from one central location in the Hootsuite dashboard. The new Google My Business app represents a new opportunity for Hootsuite customers to manage their business profiles. Creating posts, and monitoring and responding to reviews and questions can all be done in the Hootsuite dashboard where they are already managing their social media presence. I'm so excited to hear that we'll be able to manage GMB posts from our Hootsuite dashboard! said Jennifer Filzen, Owner, Rockstar Marketing. As a marketing agency that manages social media marketing for 40+ small businesses, the ability to publish Google My Business posts from our Hootsuite dashboard is a huge time saver and makes life easier for me and my team. In September 2018, Hootsuite introduced a Google Ads integration into its Hootsuite ads products . Hootsuite was also awarded an official Google Premier Partner badge, positioning Hootsuite as a leading social media management suite able to offer Google search and social advertising together. More information on the app can be found here . More information on Google My Business can be found here . About Hootsuite Hootsuite is the leader in social media management, trusted by more than 18 million customers and employees at more than 80% of the Fortune 1000. Hootsuite's unparalleled expertise, customer insights at scale, and collaborative ecosystem empower organizations large and small to strategically grow their brand, business, and customer relationships with social. To learn more, visit www.hootsuite.com . Contact: Corporate Communications [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Embroker Releases New Digital Insurance Policy for Technology Companies: Errors & Omissions/Cyber Embroker, the digital insurance company that's radically improving the way insurance works for businesses, today announced the release of its third proprietary digital insurance policy: Errors & Omissions/Cyber. The new policy completes a suite of digital insurance policies, custom built to fill critical gaps in high-growth technology companies' coverage and mitigate their exposure to unique industry risks. The company released its first two digital policies--Directors & Officers (D&O) and Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)--in 2018. Built with the nuances and concerns of the technology industry in mind, Embroker's new E&O/Cyber policy offers technology companies coverage that would traditionally require as many as 20 endorsements (alterations), added manually with the assistance of a broker. Traditional brokers are not incentivized to spend the time necessary to address the acute coverage needs of high-growth technology companies, leaving many unknowingly exposed to risk. Embroker has additionally eliminated multiple layers of unnecessary intermediation and complexity by automating the underwriting process with algorithms that intelligently price companies' risk. All of this results in policies priced at approximately 20% less than a traditional policy that provides substantially less protection than Embroker's technology company-specific policies'. Now, technology companies are protected against common industry scenarios, such as clients demanding and winning return of fees ("cost of contract") and technology companies assuming the lability of their clients in a contract ("indemnity"). The coverage also addresses more nuanced claims, such as cyber business interruption and social engineering. "The insurance industry is not set up to serve high-growth technology companies, which puts their ability to innovate at risk," says Matt Miller, CEO and Founder of Embroker. "These companies are required to buy coverage to be operational, but the policies currently available to them weren't built with modern technology companies' needs in mind. They're also priced to compensate for the inherent inefficiencies of an outdated and expensive insurance distribution system. We're proud to bring technology companies a radically better alternative: custom-built policies that can be purchased in minutes, at a lower cost with far more tailored coverage." Embroker's E&O/Cyber policy was designed for any technology company categorized as software as a service (SaaS (News - Alert)), web development, or payment processing, as well as companies that handle sensitive data. It protects against claims that allege damages arising from technology services they provide. It additionally protects online companies that store credit card information, social security numbers and other personal information online in the event of data breaches, software outages, cyber theft, phishing attempts and related conflicts. The new policy is available through Embroker's self-guided, on-demand digital platform, where it's delivered in approximately 60 seconds. Alternatively, companies can work with an Embroker expert, who specializes in the technology sector, to discuss their objectives for managing risk and understand how their policy will cover their needs. All three of Embroker's digital policies are reinsured by Munich Re. About Embroker Embroker is a digital insurance company that's radically improving the way insurance works for businesses. The company's digital insurance platform, proprietary insurance products and data-driven advisors are now helping more than 2,500 companies improve coverage and reduce costs. Its suite of proprietary products, including the first ever end-to-end digital directors and officers policy, streamline the insurance supply chain. This enables Embroker to deliver instant quotes and reduce premiums by an average of 20%. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, Embroker serves business with 10 to 1,000 employees and has raised over $42M in funding from leading fintech investors. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005439/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Translations.com Announces New Certification Program For GlobalLink Community-Level Partners NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Translations.com, the technology division of TransPerfect, the world's largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business, today announced that Jahia has successfully completed GlobalLink Connect Certification. Jahia, a leading provider of open-source content management and digital experience applications, is among the first GlobalLink Community-Level Partners to successfully complete this new program designed to ensure consistently high standards for service and performance among participating partners. With Translations.com's growing global footprint and stable of clients, partner organizations are recognizing the value in building connectors into the GlobalLink platform that enable their users to create and manage multilingual content from a single platform. To support this community, Translations.com authored and launched the GlobalLink Connect Certification Program to give customers the confidence that approved partner-developed solutions meet common core requirements and have a track record of successful implementation and ongoing solution support. Certification requirements include: Adhering to content localization best practices Meeting all production use cases and allowing for content exchange, request cancellation, and re-delivery workflows Providing secure and encrypted communication between systems using the latest Translations.com standards Ensuring that all localizable elements from the content system can be submitted for translation Verifying content submission batching and usability of the integration Providing documentation for review Jahia CTO Serge Huber said, "Jahia focuses strongly on connectivity and interoperability to help our customers shorten their time to value and increase their agility, and we contribute to standards that facilitate connectivity. We are pleased to have completed this new certification with GlobalLink and Translations.com, which brings our customers even more confidence as they assemble their digital experience stacks." TransPerfect President and CEO Phil Shawe stated, "By partnering with other leading platorms, we make it easy for clients to integrate GlobalLink's multilingual capabilities with their existing software stacks. This new certification program should offer peace of mind that choosing a GlobalLink-certified partner such as Jahia guarantees that rigorous standards will be met." About Jahia Jahia makes digital experiences simpler. Our open-source applications snap-in to your existing stack to make your organization stand out. Start with content management and expand to personalize, optimize and scale all digital experienceswith unified customer data, everywhere. Jahia customers are digital experience virtuosos: More than 150 mid-to-large sized, regional and global companies and government agencies, ranging from great brands like Ben & Jerry's, to Sodexo, one of the world's largest multinational corporations, to top financial services including Nationwide, and government institutions like the European Parliament. Follow us on LinkedIn, read our blog, and visit our website jahia.com. About Translations.com Translations.com is the world's largest provider of enterprise localization services and technology solutions. From offices in over 90 cities on six continents, Translations.com offers a full range of services in 170+ languages to clients worldwide. More than 5,000 global organizations employ Translations.com's GlobalLink Product Suite to simplify the management of multilingual content. Translations.com is part of the TransPerfect family of companies, with global headquarters in New York and regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.translations.com. About TransPerfect TransPerfect is the world's largest provider of language and technology solutions for global business. From offices in over 90 cities on six continents, TransPerfect offers a full range of services in 170+ languages to clients worldwide. More than 5,000 global organizations employ TransPerfect's GlobalLink Product Suite to simplify management of multilingual content. With an unparalleled commitment to quality and client service, TransPerfect is fully ISO 9001 and ISO 17100 certified. TransPerfect has global headquarters in New York, with regional headquarters in London and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit our website at www.transperfect.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/translationscom-announces-new-certification-program-for-globallink-community-level-partners-300855468.html SOURCE Translations.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Ontrack and Blancco Partner to Reveal 42% of Used Drives Sold Online are Holding Sensitive Data 15% contained personally identifiable information (PII), putting individuals at risk of becoming victims of cybercrime EPSOM, England, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ontrack, the data recovery experts recently partnered with Blancco Technology Group (LON: BLTG), the industry standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics to conduct a study regarding residual data on used storage media purchased on eBay, the world's largest online marketplace. The study analysed 159 devices purchased in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Finland. A range of used media from leading brands were purchased at random, including Samsung, Dell, Seagate, HP, and Hitachi. The only requirement of the purchase was that the devices had not been wiped using Blancco products. With the help of Ontrack's industry-leading solutions and proprietary tools to recover data from virtually any type of data storage device, sensitive data was discovered to be present on 42% of devices, with 15% containing personally identifiable information (PII). This included: A drive from a software developer with a high level of government security clearance, with scanned images of family passports and birth certificates, CVs and financial records University student papers and associated email addresses 5GB of archived internal office email from a major travel company 3GB of data from a cargo/freight comany, along with documents detailing shipping details, schedules, and truck registrations University student papers and associated email addresses Company information from a music store, including 32,000 photos School data, including photos and documents with pupils' names and grades ''Ensuring that correct data erasure procedures have been followed is vital to ensure that your personal information doesn't fall into the wrong hands," comments Philip Bridge , President, Data and Storage Technologies, Ontrack. "Data recovery is our speciality; we work with both companies and individuals to get data back from a variety of situations, including hardware and software failures, accidental deletion/formatting, ransomware, and natural disasters. Unfortunately, with the rise of cybercrime, leaving any trace of personal data on used media that is sold online can cause catastrophic results for the previous owner, especially when data recovery software is so readily available online. It is therefore imperative to follow correct erasure procedures to ensure your personal data is protected.'' "Selling old hardware via an online marketplace might feel like a good option, but in reality, it creates a serious risk of exposing dangerous levels of personal data," said Fredrik Forslund, VP, cloud and data erasure, Blancco. "By putting this equipment into the wrong hands, irreversible damage can be caused not just to the seller, but their employer, friends, and family members. It is also clear that there is confusion around the right methods of data erasure, as each seller was under the impression that data had been permanently removed. It's critical to securely erase any data on drives before passing them onto another party, using the appropriate methods to confirm that it's well and truly gone. Education on best ways to permanently remove data from devices is a vital investment to negate the very real risk of falling victim to identity theft, or other methods of cybercrime." About Ontrack Ontrack provides technology-enabled services and software to help law firms, corporations, government agencies, and consumers solve complex data challenges. Part of the KLDiscovery brand, Ontrack provides market leading data recovery for any type of media hard drives, SSD, server, RAID, virtual, cloud, mobile, tape, NAS/SAN/DAS, laptop, desktop computers, and Apple devices. Additionally, through proprietary technologies and expert services around the globe, Ontrack helps clients with email extraction, tape management, and data destruction. Media Relations: For more information, please contact: Tilly Holland Senior Marketing Executive T - +44-137273-6678 E- [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Maya Virtual Selects H5 Data Centers for Cloud Computing Location H5 Data Centers, a national colocation and wholesale data center provider, today announced that Maya Virtual has deployed its IT architecture to the H5 Data Centers edge data center at 505 Marquette Avenue in Albuquerque. The expansion furthers the growth of Maya Virtual's custom cloud platform operating in certified, top-rated colocation facilities. "Albuquerque's tech and telecom sectors are growing fast and we want to be part of that. As part of our expanding cloud services network, Albuquerque will be an excellent hub for digital media services in the Southwest region and beyond," said Dan Fry, Founder and CEO of Maya Virtual. "We are excited to be working with H5 Data Centers and look forward to everything the partnership will help bring to the Albuquerque area." The relationship between Maya Virtual and H5 Data Centers facilitates growth and expands the product offerings for H5 Data Centers' customers and prospects. Maya Virtual develops cloud software and infrastructure automation for ISPs, managed service providers, and IT organizations around the world. Albuquerque Edge Data Center Highlights: 225,000 SF carrier hotel and office building with significant access to a variety of fiber and network accessproviders The top point of interconnection in New Mexico 505 Marquette serves a strategic role for communications in Albuquerque and throughout the Southwest About H5 Data Centers H5 Data Centers is one of the leading privately-owned data center operators in the United States with over 2 million square feet of data center space under management. The company designs and engineers flexible and scalable data center solutions to address the core infrastructure and edge requirements of its customers. H5 Data Centers operates data centers in Albuquerque, Ashburn, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, Quincy, San Antonio, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, and Seattle. For more information, visit www.H5DataCenters.com. About Maya Virtual Maya Virtual, Inc. is a cloud computing company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2015, Maya Virtual develops cloud software and infrastructure automation for ISPs, managed service providers, and IT organizations around the world. For more information, visit www.mayavirtual.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005224/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] SmartDV Speeds Delivery of its New CXL Verification IP SAN JOSE, Calif., May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartDV Technologies today announced immediate availability of its latest Verification Intellectual Property (IP) to support Compute Express Link (CXL), a new high-speed CPU-to-device and CPU-to-memory interconnect to accelerate the performance of next-generation data centers. SmartDV, the Proven and Trusted choice for Verification IP, is the first Verification IP solutions provider to support the CXL technology based on the industry-proven PCI Express (PCIe) infrastructure. CXL Specification 1.0 is an open standard that delivers performance improvements for emerging usage models while supporting an open ecosystem for data center accelerators and other high-speed enhancements. CXL is an important new open source standard with the backing of a broad coalition of enterprise computing industry leaders, remarks Deepak Kumar Tala, managing director SmartDV. Implementations of CXL are happening and offers us a clear opportunity to be the first to market with a fully verified Verification IP solution for CXL. Our proprietary SmartDV Compiler and talented engineering group allows us to rapidly bring new Verification IP such as CXL to market quickly. Delivering SmartDVs CXL Verification IP SmartDVs CXL Verification IP is fully compliant with revision 1.0 of the CXL Specification and provides a smart way to verify the CXLs bi-directional bus protocol. It is supported by all major verification languages and methodologies, including open verification methodology (OVM), universal verification methodology (UVM) and SystemC. About CXL CXL Specification 1.0, ratified by an industry standard group earlier this year, enables a high-speed, efficient interconnect between the CPU and platform enhancements and workload accelerators, such as GPUs, FPGAs and other purpose-built accelerator solutions. CXL leverages the PCIe 5.0 physical and electrical interface to provide advanced protocols for I/O and memory and coherency interface. It enables memory coherence between the CPU and various accelerators while maintaining a high bandwidth. SmartDV at Design Automation Conference SmartDV will feature its CXL Verification IP and its other smart Verification IP solutions at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in booth #514 Monday, June 3, through Wednesday, June 5, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. DAC attendees can schedule demonstrations through SmartDVs online scheduler . Pricing and Availability The SmartDV CXL Verification IP is fully functional and shipping now. Pricing is available upon request. About SmartDV SmartDV Technologies is the Proven and Trusted choice for Verification and Design IP with the best customer service from more than 250 experienced ASIC and SoC design and verification engineers. Its high-quality standard or custom protocol Verification and Design IP is compatible with all verification languages, platforms and methodologies supporting all simulation, emulation and formal verification tools used in a coverage-driven chip design verification flow. The result is Proven and Trusted Verification and Design IP used in hundreds of networking, storage, automotive, bus, MIPI and display chip projects throughout the global electronics industry. SmartDV is headquartered in Bangalore, India, with U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Visit www.Smart-DV.com to learn more. Connect with SmartDV at: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartdv-technologies/about/ Twitter: @SmartDV For more information, contact: Nanette Collins Public Relations for SmartDV (617) 437-1822 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] SmartDV Unveils First Verification IP to Support Ethernet TSN SAN JOSE, Calif., May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartDV Technologies , the Proven and Trusted choice for Verification intellectual property (IP), today unveiled Verification IP for Ethernet Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), an update to the IEEE standard for time-sensitive transmission of data over Ethernet networks. The first Verification IP to support Ethernet TSN, it is fully compliant with IEEE 802.1 specifications that define various components of time-sensitive networking. We have the background and experience for what it takes to design and verify the Ethernet protocol, affirms Deepak Kumar Tala, managing director of SmartDV. Members of our Ethernet Verification IP development group are experts in this area, having designed Ethernet products at leading network architecture companies. With their expertise and our proprietary compiler technology, developing Verification IP for the new Ethernet TSN standards was straightforward. SmartDVs Ethernet TSN Verification IP features a complete set of protocols, and verification and productivity tools to achieve accelerated verification closure of Ethernet-based designs used in real-time communications where timing and latency must meet critical time boundaries. It verifies a design's MAC-to-PHY and PHY-to-MAC layer interfaces and works within a SystemVerilog, Verilog hardware description language (HDL), Vera or SystemC environment. SmartDV at Design Automation Conference SmartDV will feature its Ethernet TSN Verification IP and its other smart Verification IP solutions at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in booth #514 Monday, June 3, through Wednesday, June 5. DAC will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. DAC attendees can schedule demonstrations through SmartDVs online scheduler . Pricing and Availability The SmartDV Ethernet TSN Verification IP is fully functional and shipping now. Pricing is available upon request. About SmartDV SmartDV Technologies is the Proven and Trusted choice for Verification and Design IP with the best customer service from more than 250 experienced ASIC and SoC design and verification engineers. Its high-quality standard or custom protocol Verification and Design IP is compatible with all verification languages, platforms and methodologies supporting all simulation, emulation and formal verification tools used in a coverage-driven chip design verification flow. The result is Proven and Trusted Verification and Design IP used in hundreds of networking, storage, automotive, bus, MIPI and display chip projects throughout the global electronics industry. SmartDV is headquartered in Bangalore, India, with U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif. Visit www.Smart-DV.com to learn more. Connect with SmartDV at: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smartdv-technologies/about/ Twitter: @SmartDV For more information, contact: Nanette Collins Public Relations for SmartDV (617) 437-1822 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Earth Networks Receives Presidential Award for Exports Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross presented Earth Networks with the President's "E" Award for Exports at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. In total, Secretary Ross honored 48 U.S. companies with the President's "E" Award, the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. "Earth Networks has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion. The "E" Awards Committee was very impressed with Earth Networks' presence in 46 countries. The company's growth in export and international licensing sales over the past four years was also particularly notable. Earth Networks' achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs," said Secretary Ross in his congratulatory letter to the company announcing its selection as an award recipient. Earth Networks helps government organizations and large commercial enterprises around he globe mitigate financial, operational and human risk by providing real-time environmental intelligence from the world's largest hyperlocal weather observation and lightning detection networks. Anchored by the company's Total Lightning NetworkTM, Earth Networks weather intelligence solutions include access to real-time lightning observations, alerting and decision support tools, and outdoor alerting capabilities to help our partners and customers be informed about potential severe weather and receive increased lead time to respond to dangerous weather events. "We are honored to receive the President's "E" Award and for the acknowledgement that our severe weather early warning services are helping improve access to critical weather information around the world," said Rich Spaulding, CEO of Earth Networks. "By exporting reliable weather data and decision support services, Earth Networks helps nation states and international industries adapt to increasing severe weather threats impacting public safety and economic development, especially in the emerging regions of the world." In 2018, U.S. exports were the highest on record with U.S. services at $821.1 billion and U.S. exports of goods reaching $1.7 trillion, demonstrating how American private enterprise can not only survive, but thrive, in the international market. American companies are nominated for "E" Awards through the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service office network, located within the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration. Record years of successive export growth and an applicant's demonstration of an innovative international marketing plan that led to the increase in exports is a significant factor in selecting the overall winners. For more information about the "E" Awards and the benefits of exporting, visit www.export.gov. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005189/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Two local scouts Curtis Call-Bridgewater and Coby Hooten were officially recognized May 18 at Edna Martin Christian Center as Eagle Scouts. Its an honor that has become more common in recent years, but it is still very rare. Since the programs inception in 1912, only about 4% of eligible Boy Scouts have become Eagle Scouts, the highest honor for a scout. The prospects are even slimmer for African Americans, who comprise only about 1% of Eagle Scouts. Call-Bridgewater and Hooten, both 18, are from Troop 959 and have been in the scouts since they were 6. Scouts are required to have 21 merit badges to become an Eagle Scout, and both ended up with an additional 10. This has been a long journey, said Nathan Williams, scout leader for Troop 123, which is sponsored by the Recorder and works closely with Troop 959. I think a doctors degree is only 12 years. Troop 123 also had two scouts make Eagle rank recently, an accomplishment not lost on Williams as he considered how the odds are supposed to be stacked against African American scouts. The fact that weve produced four Eagle Scouts in the last two years out of these two troops is absolutely incredible, he said. Among the requirements to even be considered for Eagle rank is leading a service project. That includes writing a proposal, getting it approved, doing the project, writing a report and then having it reviewed by a board. Call-Bridgewater renovated the youth center at his church in part by pulling out the tile and repainting everything. Hooten built new bat houses and renovated the recreation area for a womens shelter. Williams said each project took about three months. Williams said Call-Bridgewater and Hooten plan to go to college. Hooten is currently a junior assistant scout leader. Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. [May 23, 2019] Northwest Federal Opens New Branch in Historic Downtown Middleburg Northwest Federal Credit Union recently opened its second branch in Loudoun County, Virginia, in the heart of the historic Town of Middleburg. The grand opening celebration was attended by representatives of the Loudoun County and Dulles Regional Chambers of Commerce, the Middleburg Town Council, and local businesses. Jeff Bentley, President and CEO of Northwest Federal, thanked the Town of Middleburg for the warm welcome Northwest Federal has received. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005491/en/ Northwest Federal's Jeff Bentley with Tony Howard, President and CEO of the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce (Photo: Business Wire) "We're excited to ring the credit union difference to Middleburg and be a part of such a tight knit, vibrant community," said Bentley. "We appreciate how residents and businesses have welcomed Northwest Federal, and we hope that Middleburg will come to think of us as their hometown credit union." Middleburg is Northwest Federal's eighth public branch and second in Loudoun County. The credit union has over 2,500 members and business accounts in the Middleburg area and works closely with local community organizations such as the Sprout (News - Alert) Therapeutic Riding and Education Center, and Friends of Homeless Animals as part of their Community Partner Program. About Northwest Federal Credit Union Northwest Federal Credit Union is a full-service financial institution ranking among the largest credit unions in Virginia and in the top 60 credit unions in the nation. Established in 1947 and headquartered in Herndon, Va., Northwest Federal's Why is to serve and inspire to transform lives. The Credit Union currently serves more than 260,000 members and has assets in excess of $3.4 billion. For more information, visit www.nwfcu.org or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005491/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] 6th Annual ROTH China Solar Tour to be Held in Conjunction with SNEC Power Expo in Shanghai June 3-6, 2019 ROTH Capital Partners (ROTH), www.roth.com , a full-service investment bank focused on serving emerging growth companies and their investors, today announced that it will host its 6th Annual China Solar Tour in Shanghai on June 3-6, 2019. The event is held in conjunction with SNEC - 13th Annual International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Exhibition & Conference, one of the largest annual solar & smart energy conferences/expos in the world. This invitation-only event, which will be hosted by ROTH's Cleantech Senior Research Analysts Philip Shen and Craig Irwin, will provide an opportunity for industry executives and institutional investors to meet and exchange views on the latest industry trends & issues. "We are at the beginning of a new era of solar: Subsidy-free economic demand. We expect this to be a key theme in the current upcycle as we believe the industry has quietly reached the Holy Grail inflection point of unsubsidized demand. This will result in future solar cycles becoming increasingly more driven by the global economic cycle, rather than individual country subsidy policies. We are already starting to see subsidy-free green shoots of demand throughout the world, especially in Europe, and eventually throughout the world. Moreover, we expect the industry structure to consolidate at an accelerating pace as many companies will likely not be able to maintain the R&D investment and capex required to remain profitable and competitive. Our tour is designed to explore these trends and more to uncover investment opportunities," said Jesse Pichel, Managing Director - Cleantech Investment Banking at ROTH. "Additionally, this year we are touring some of the largest EV and battery module suppliers to the Chinese Electric vehicle supply chain. China is the largest producer and end market for electrical vehicles." According to Mr. Shen, "We expect industry visibility to improve commensurate with less and less dependence on country subsidy policies and more and more demand supported by non-subsidy enabled economics. This improved visibility, in our view, will lead to multiple expansion for the overall sector over time. We believe investors do not fully appreciate this yet, but we expect this to be a theme for years to come. That said, marginal China is still critical to the current solar cycle. With the SNEC Power Generation and Smart Energy Expo as the largest solar and storage conferences in the world, we expect our booth tour at SNEC to provide investors with insight into how China's growth could drive near-term supply/demand dynamics as well as how this new era of subsidy-free economic demand will sustain the industry for years to come." "We plan to meet with companies representing each step of the power generation and smart energy value chain, including: (1) Upstream polysilicon producers; (2) Midstream wafer, cell, and module manufacturers; (3) BOS/Inverter suppliers; (4) Equipment manufacturers; (5) Downstream players; (6) Energy Storage, Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Technology Companies, and (7) Industry experts." Craig Irwin will be giving two speeches during the SNEC Conference and EXPO. The closing keynote on June 4th titled "Energy Storage: Emerging Paradigms in Transportation and Utility" during the sub event named 2019 Int'l Energy Storage and Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Engineering Technology Conference. On June 5th, during the 8th Global Green Energy and PV Financial Summit, Mr. Irwin will be on a panel titled "Green finance: What are the various options available and how are they supporting industry growth?". For details on the SNEC agenda and panels, see - http://www.snec.org.cn/HomePage.aspx?lang=en. This trip will include booth tours during the SNEC Power Generation and Smart Energy Expo, which will feature nearly 2,000 companies and exhibitors from over 90 countries, a tour of the Human Horizons manufacturing facility, and the WM Motor facility in Shanghai, as well as, a tour of Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment facility in Jiangsu. Clients interested in attending should contact their ROTH sales representative or e-mail [email protected]. To learn more or register for SNEC, please visit the event web site at - http://www.snec.org.cn/HomePage.aspx?lang=en. Our collective cleantech banking team has been involved in ~170 cleantech transactions over the past decade with a total transaction value of over $16B. (Source (News - Alert) - ROTH Capital - 05/17/2019) ROTH is a founding member of Sustain SoCal (formerly Sustain OC), a trade association with its roots in cleantech economic growth that accelerates sustainability in Southern California through innovation, collaboration and education. ROTH is also a member of Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Event sponsors include Business Wire and The Blueshirt Group Asia. List of participating companies as of this release (As of 05/23/2019 - subject to change): Company Name Arctech Solar PRIVATE Asia Clean Capital PRIVATE Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ Daqo New Energy Corp. DQ GameChange Solar LP* PRIVATE Huawei (News - Alert) Technologies Co. Ltd. PRIVATE Human Horizons PRIVATE JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. JKS Jolywood* SZ: 300393 Longi Green Energy Technology SSE: 601012 Meyer Burger* MBTN Nio Inc. NIO PV Infolink PRIVATE Singapore Solar Exchange PRIVATE TBEA* SH: 600089 Tianjin Zhonghuan* SZ: 002129 Tongwei Co., Ltd SH: 600438 WM Motor PRIVATE Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment SZSE: 300450 Xinyi Glass HK: 00968 *Invited as of 05/23/2019 About Roth Capital Partners, LLC: ROTH Capital Partners, LLC (ROTH), is a relationship-driven investment bank focused on serving emerging growth companies and their investors. As a full-service investment bank, ROTH provides capital raising, M&A advisory, analytical research, trading, market-making services and corporate access. Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., ROTH is privately-held and owned by its employees, and maintains regional offices throughout the U.S. For more information on ROTH, please visit www.roth.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005496/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont (NGIC) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable. The ratings reflect NGIC's balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings support NGIC's role as a captive insurance company of Waste Management, Inc. (WM) [NYSE: WM], a leading company in the waste management industry. The captive benefits from the parental support and robust risk management strategies afforded to it from WM as important factors of the company's overall financial assurance program. The active risk management has benefited capitalization through loss prevention to generate consistently positive earnings. Partially offsetting these factors is the large percentage of policyholder surplus loaned back to WM in the form of a 24-hour demand note that has caused liquidity measures to underperform its peers. This factor is mitigated by WM's balance sheet size and operating cash flow, which could readily fulfill the loan obligation, if required. Capital levels also are monitored by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, which requires the company to maintain a certain aggregate exposure to capital ratio. Additionally, NGIC's expense ratio compares unfavorably with the surplus lines composite due to the nature of the financial assurance line of business and expenses focused on risk mitigation. However, the company has been able to reduce underwriting expenses significantly over the past five years to further benefit operating and net income. Due to the nature of the relationship between NGIC and WM, changes in WM's credit risk can have an impact on NGIC's ratings, as it is dependent on WM's ability to support its credit risk profile, competitivenss and risk management. The captive continues to be an integral component of WM's risk management platform. A.M. Best's view of third-party credit ratings and market-based credit risk measures of WM indicates stability, resulting in NGIC's outlooks remaining stable. Positive rating action could occur if NGIC's operating performance materially improves while maintaining the appropriate level of risk-adjusted capitalization. Negative rating impact could occur if the company's balance sheet strength deteriorates materially to levels that do not support its risks. Negative rating also could occur if the parent experiences financial distress and deterioration to its credit profile. AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best's Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information. Copyright 2019 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005498/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Improved access for Canadians to multilingual, multi-ethnic television news and information from a Canadian perspective GATINEAU, QC, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - The CRTC today granted Rogers Media a licence to operate a national, multilingual and multi-ethnic television service in 20 languages. This follows a competitive process in which the Commission determined that Rogers best met the criteria set out in its call for applications. Beginning on September 1, 2020, Canada's third-language communities will have improved access to news and programming relevant to them. The new service, which will succeed Rogers' existing OMNI Regional service, will be available on all digital basic television packages throughout Canada. The new OMNI Regional service will better reflect Canada's diverse ethnic and linguistic communities and offer more news and information programming from a Canadian perspective. Programming will be provided on four feeds that will serve BC, the Prairies, Ontario & Atlantic Canada, and Quebec. As part of its increased commitments, Rogers will: broadcast at least six hours of local original newscasts per week from Vancouver , Calgary / Edmonton and Toronto , / and broadcast a minimum of six daily, original national newscasts, seven days per week in at least six different third languages produce at least 2 hours of programming in Manitoba and/or Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada each week and/or and each week devote 100% of the schedule to ethnic programs, and no less than 80% to third-language programming, and devote a minimum of 70% of all programming to the broadcast of Canadian programming. In Quebec, Rogers will: broadcast at least three hours of original, local, ethnic programming in French per week provide a minimum of one and a half hours of local, original French-language programming broadcast at least 30 minutes of local, original English-language programming per week, and devote no less than 90% of its schedule to ethnic programmin and 60% to third-language programming. August 31, 2023 Quote "Canadians require access to high-quality local news and programming from a Canadian viewpoint in various languages. Being able to watch content in one's mother tongue adds a sense of belonging for many, enables participation in civic affairs and our democracy, and helps ensure that Canada's diversity is reflected in our broadcasting system." - Ian Scott, Chairperson and CEO of the CRTC Quick facts At a public hearing held in November 2018 , the CRTC examined eight applications for a new national, multi lingual and multi-ethnic discretionary service. , the CRTC examined eight applications for a new national, multi lingual and multi-ethnic discretionary service. OMNI Regional will have four regional advisory councils, one assigned to each of its regional feeds. The councils will provide advice on how OMNI Regional can better respond to the programming needs of its various audiences. OMNI Regional will join a limited number of services that benefit from mandatory distribution, which help ensure the availability of content that reflects and contributes to Canada's linguistic duality and ethno-cultural diversity, among other things. linguistic duality and ethno-cultural diversity, among other things. To ensure a measure of affordability, television service providers cannot charge more than $25 per month for the digital basic service package. Related links Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter @CRTCeng Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/crtceng Ask a question or make a complaint SOURCE Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission [May 23, 2019] Valassis Recognized for Combating Ad Fraud, Receives 'TAG Certified Against Fraud' Seal Valassis, a leader in marketing technology and consumer engagement, today announced its recertification by the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) for the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal, recognizing its commitment in the fight against fraudulent digital advertising. Created by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's (News - Alert)), Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), TAG awards certifications to select companies that achieve its rigorous standards to protect the digital advertising industry from fraud, malware, piracy and lack of transparency. Digital advertising fraud reached as high as $19 billion in 2018, according to eMarketer. With that, marketers must take immediate action to keep their budgets safe from schemes similar to Drainerbot, which distributed millions of infected mobile apps undetected and charged marketers for millions of false impressions. By partnering with organizations that are collaborating industry-wide to fight ad fraud, marketers can greatly reduce their risk. For example, with Valassis diligence and commitment to fight fraud, total buys across infected apps on its platform represented only .05% across 15.6 billion impressions when Drainerbot was operating at its peak. Michelle Engle, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Valassis. "We take brand safety and credibility extremely seriously and are committed to combating fraudulent traffic in the digital advertising supply chain. It's a measure of success to see Valassis listed among the biggest players in the industry for this initiative." Valassis achieved the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal by employing thorough processes and comprehensive systems to adhere to TAG's strict compliance standards, and this recertification demonstrates the company is remaining proactive and diligent in eliminating ad fraud. To protect customers against unqualified traffic and objectionable activity across all screens and formats, Valassis provides: A dedicated team of trust and safety experts applying technology built to detect fraud across a range of undesirable activity; Advanced data science models for the detection and elimination of excessive impressions and CTR; Incorporation of the IAB Spiders & Bots List; and User-level blocking of suspicious IP address and device IDs. "To address the complicated and quickly evolving challenges of ad fraud, TAG has established best practices that should be implemented across the digital advertising supply chain," said Todd Miller, Director of Compliance, TAG. "We are delighted to recognize Valassis with recertification for its efforts to fight ad fraud and protect its partners, and we look forward to continuing to work with Valassis to further raise our industry's standards against fraud." Visit our website to learn more about how we reduce fraud and increase viewability in order to protect your brand. About Valassis Valassis helps thousands of local and national brands tap the potential of industry-leading data - understanding, engaging and inspiring millions of consumers to action with smarter cross-channel campaigns. We've been a part of consumers' lives for decades, introducing new ways to deliver offers and messages that activate them - whether via mail, digital or the newspaper. NCH Marketing Services, Inc. and Clipper Magazine are Valassis subsidiaries, and RetailMeNot Everyday is its consumer brand. Its signature Have You Seen Me? program delivers hope to missing children and their families. Valassis and RetailMeNot are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harland Clarke Holdings. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005406/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] MediaPRO Releases New Training Focused on Looming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) MediaPRO, a leading provider of security and privacy awareness training, announced today the release of new employee training focused on the data privacy requirements and responsibilities within the looming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Companies doing business in the state of California that include the collection, use, or selling of consumers' personal information will be required to comply with the CCPA effective January 1, 2020. This regulation carries important obligations - and penalties for noncompliance - for affected organizations. Industry research shows as many as 86 percent of U.S. companies describe CCPA compliance as a "work-in-progress," with MediaPRO's 2019 Eye on Privacy Report finding that 46% of U.S. employees have never heard of the regulation. Though eight months from the compliance deadline, privacy professionals at impacted companies are likely to have their hands full preparing for the CCPA. MediaPRO's CCPA training emphasizes the importance of the personal data rights the CCPA bestows on California residents. Using interactive elements and real-life scenarios, the training teaches employees what constitutes personal information, how the CCPA dictates personal data of California residents should be handled, and the consequences of failing to comply with these requirements. Beyond following the letter of the law, the goal of the training is to instill a sense of responsibility for data privacy that employees can carry beyond the office. "Our CCPA training was built to align with the new California law, but it goes beyond mere compliance to provide employees with the foundational skills they'll need to protect personal information, no matter how the laws change," MediaPRO's Chief Learning Officer Tom Pendergast said. "Today, privacy is so important - and laws are changing so rapidly - that it's critical for employees to develop the skills needed to protect private information." MediaPRO's CCPA training will come bundled with the company's Privacy Awareness TrainingPack, a comprehensive suite of privacy awareness training courses and reinforcement materials, such as videos and posters. To learn more about the training, visit: https://www.mediapro.com/mediapro-trainingpack-courses/ccpa-privacy-awareness-training/ About MediaPRO MediaPRO security and privacy training solutions are used by organizations of all sizes to protect sensitive data, demonstrate compliance, and reduce the risk to their reputation and bottom line. With MediaPRO, it's easy to keep employees engaged and track program effectiveness. And, unlike phishing-focused security awareness training solutions, MediaPRO covers security, privacy and compliance so you can address a more complete threat landscape. Whether you're looking to more effectively demonstrate compliance, stop phishing attacks, or want a best-in-class security awareness program, MediaPRO makes training fun, fast and impactful. MediaPRO has been named a leader in Gartner's (News - Alert) Magic Quadrant for Security Awareness Computer-based Training for five years in a row. For more information, please visit www.mediapro.com, or follow MediaPRO on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter (News - Alert). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005020/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] ProcessMAP and IBM Announce Joint Initiative to Drive Workplace Insights Through Innovative IoT Solutions and Advanced Data Analytics ProcessMAP, the industry leader in cloud-based data intelligence platform for Environmental Health and Safety and Quality (EHSQ) and IBM (News - Alert) (NYSE: IBM) announced a joint initiative to develop cutting-edge, innovative, IoT enabled solutions that monitor workers in hazardous environments, including those working on construction sites, manufacturing floors, and outdoor rugged environments by using IoT technologies leveraging sensors and wearables. Real-time actionable analytics based on biometric and environmental data collected from smart devices will help organizations quickly respond to safety hazards and changing environmental conditions to proactively prevent accidents from occurring. The initiative was announced during ProcessMAP Konnect 2019, the annual EHS and Risk Management leadership conference that brings together EHS leaders from within ProcessMAP's customer community, industry visionaries and thought-leaders, and key strategic partners. ProcessMAP is the first EHS platform to be integrated into the IBM Watson family of IoT-enabled devices to leverage ACT (Accurate, Complete, and Timely) data on what workers are doing in the context of the dynamic environment around them. The joint solution offers distinct value for employees as well as employers: For employees, this new offering monitors potential workplace threats, including excessive environmental, weather or height conditions along with proximity to heavy moving or dropping equipment on job sites. Biometric stresses such as fatigue or heat stress can also be identified to avoid injuries before they occur. Colleagues or emergency services can be immediately notified if a lone worker is in peril. For employers, the solution is designed to helpthem identify and respond to potential hazards in an effort to keep their workforce safe and productive. Employers will also be able to show a reduction in turnover, worker compensation costs, legal expenses and brand erosion. nearly 3 million nonfatal occupational injuries were recorded in 2017. Nonfatal workplace injuries account for close to $60 billion in workers' compensation costs in the U.S. Although workplace environments are often regulated in accordance with various safety controls and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), the joint solution from ProcessMAP and IBM is designed to leverage the combined power of IoT and advanced data analytics to help companies to identify and respond to safety hazards and proactively respond to changing environmental conditions. "Worker safety is a key priority for conscientious organizations and our initiative with ProcessMAP underscores IBM's commitment to utilizing the power of IoT and advanced analytics to identify and mitigate hazards in the workplace," stated Jodie Fisher, Business Unit Executive for IBM Watson IoT. "We are thrilled to partner with ProcessMAP and leverage their deep understanding of customer needs to deliver innovative solutions to help improve workplace efficiencies," she added. "ProcessMAP and IBM have a successful history of more than 5 years of collaboration in bringing next-generation analytics to the EHS community. We are excited to take our partnership to the next level and offer cutting-edge solutions that integrate the capabilities of IoT with worker health and safety," said Dave Rath, CEO of ProcessMAP Corporation. "As an EHS partner to IBM, we are truly excited of the far-reaching impact that the combined power of our platforms can potentially have on enabling organizations to promote a healthy and safe workplace environment," added Rath. About ProcessMAP Corporation ProcessMAP Corporation is the leading provider of cloud-based enterprise software solutions that empower organizations to manage risk related to Employee Health & Safety and Enterprise Compliance. The company is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, with locations across the globe, serving customers in over 135 countries. For more information, visit ProcessMAP.com. About IBM IBM solutions are designed to enable clients to improve the operational efficiency of their physical assets and reduce costs through the power of IoT data and artificial intelligence. By collecting and curating data from billions of connected devices, sensors, and systems worldwide, we empower enterprises to derive new insights from their equipment, vehicles and facilities. IBM's industry expertise, leading security, and solutions built for a hybrid cloud environment firmly establish us as a leader in IoT. For more information on IBM Watson IoT, please visit www.ibm.com/iot. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005429/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] European Commission Moves Ahead in Assessing Hyperloop Regulatory Needs Hyperloop Transportation Technologies presents certification guidelines to European Commission as foundation to unite industry - Created together with TUV SUD, HyperloopTT presents the first complete set of generic guidelines for design, operation, and certification to the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission in Brussels - This latest set of guidelines builds upon the core safety requirements and guidelines developed and presented by HyperloopTT and TUV SUD in Munich, Germany in September 2018 - HyperloopTT continues to accelerate international standardization of Hyperloop technology and support governments by implementing regulations - The guideline details over 125 system requirements, positioning Hyperloop to become the safest means of transport PLAYA VISTA, Calif., May 23, 2019 /CNW/ -- Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced today the presentation of the first finalized generic guideline for design, operation, and certification for Hyperloop systems to the Director of Land Transport at DG Move, the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission in Brussels. This marks the first critical step to begin the process of regulating Hyperloop systems by the European Union. The guideline was created as part of an ambitious approach from HyperloopTT and TUV SUD, one of the world's leading testing, certification and inspection companies. In September of 2018, the two organizations along with world leading reinsurance company, Munich Re, revealed that Hyperloop was safe and insurable with the first core safety requirements and insurance frameworks for Hyperloop systems. Today's guideline builds on the completion of the core safety requirements and the implementation of certification processes as well as further development for the construction and operation of Hyperloop systems worldwide. "The EU is a world reference for transport research, safety standards and regulation. To facilitate their development and being open to innovation: this is why we are interested in the analysis presented here on Hyperloop. Hyperloop as new transport technologies can be a great opportunity to connect EU countries and regions even beter, and to deliver energy efficient, carbon-free land transport," said Elisabeth Werner, Director of Land Transport at DG Move. "It is important to create unified standards and procedures with HyperloopTT's system along with other potential system providers. HyperloopTT continues to be at the forefront of the Hyperloop movement, working directly with governments and members of the regulatory industry," said Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of HyperloopTT. "We are pleased to be working alongside the European Commission and our industry-leading partners to help create this latest guideline." "We are working with governments around the world to create the necessary legal framework. It is exciting to see these efforts move forward," said Andres De Leon, COO of HyperloopTT. "The United States has created a special council for Hyperloop commercialization and the European Commission has now taken the first step in creating industry wide regulations." "In a multi disciplinary approach by utilizing certification for existing aerospace, train and other industries - and testing this against the experience of HyperloopTT's engineering teams we have created the most comprehensive work to date for the design, operation and certification of Hyperloop systems," Ferdinand Neuwieser, CEO of TUV SUD Industrie Service GmbH. "With this effort we will be able to accelerate Hyperloop technology development while creating what promises to become the safest means of transport in the modern era." About TUV SUD Founded in 1866 as a steam boiler inspection association, the TUV SUD Group has evolved into a global enterprise. More than 24,000 employees work at over 1.000 locations in about 50 countries to continually improve technology, systems, and expertise. They contribute significantly to making technical innovations such as Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, renewable energy and transportation systems safe and reliable. https:// www.tuvsud.com/ About HyperloopTT Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) is an innovative transportation and technology company focused on realizing the Hyperloop, a system that moves people and goods at unprecedented speeds safely, efficiently, and sustainably. Through the use of unique, patented technology and an advanced business model of lean collaboration, open innovation, and integrated partnership, HyperloopTT is creating and licensing technologies. Founded in 2013, HyperloopTT is a global team comprised of more than 800 engineers, creatives and technologists in 52 multidisciplinary teams, with 40 corporate and university partners. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, HyperloopTT has offices in Dubai, UAE; Bratislava, Slovakia; Toulouse, France; and Barcelona, Spain. HyperloopTT has signed agreements in the United States, UAE, Brazil, France, India, China, Korea, Indonesia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Ukraine. HyperloopTT is led by co-founders Dirk Ahlborn (CEO) and Bibop G. Gresta (Chairman) and a senior management team of experienced entrepreneurs and professionals. For more information or media inquiries, contact [email protected] or visit http://Hyperloop.global/ . Hyperloop Transportation Technologies' images and assets can be found here View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/european-commission-moves-ahead-in-assessing-hyperloop-regulatory-needs-300856028.html SOURCE Hyperloop Transportation Technologies [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] NBMBAA Invites Early Stage Entrepreneurs to Compete for $50,000 in Annual Scale-Up Pitch Challenge The National Black MBA Association announced this year's regional dates for its 2019 Scale-Up Pitch Challenge, in partnership with Google (News - Alert) and Georgia Tech. Registration is now open with regional competitions dates in Chicago, August 9, 2019; Atlanta, August 16, 2019; and Los Angeles, August 23, 2019. The annual competition connects early stage entrepreneurs with investors and venture capitalists ready to invest in their big idea, with a $50,000 grand prize winner announced on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at the 41st Annual National Black MBA Conference in Houston, TX. "We're excited to bring back our Scale-Up Pitch Challenge," said Jesse Tyson, President and CEO of NBMBAA. "The startup landscape is competitive and we want to provide participants with exposure, mentoring and capital from the best minds in the business. We are especially excited to partner with the SBA's SCORE program to provide direction and resources for every Scale-Up Pitch Challenge registrant. The NBMBAA is proud to support startups that will bring new innovations to the marketplace to help grow the economy for the African American community." Contestnts will pitch their ideas to a panel of reputable judges in one of the three cities, with hopes of advancing to the finals at the NBMBAA 41st Annual Conference Exposition. The grand prize winner will receive $50,000, second place winner $10,000 accompanied by a third-place winner of $1,500 and a $1,000 People's Choice awardee. Launched in 2017, the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge works to satisfy the mission of the Association to help create and support wealth building opportunities for its members, with previous winners experiencing great success with investors due to exposure and funding provided through this challenge. Kwame Boler (Neu, Inc.) was 2018's Scale-Up Pitch Challenge winner, with Ibraheem Basir (A Dozen Cousins) finishing second and CJ Mitchell (Instrumental.ly) coming in third. Deadline for all regional submissions is Monday, July 15, 2019 by 11:59 PM EDT. For more information on the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge entry and the 41st Annual National Black MBA Conference and Exposition, please visit www.nbmbaa.org. About National Black MBA Association NBMBAA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) professional member-based organization which leads in the creation of educational and career opportunities for black professionals. Representing more than 14,000 members within 40 professional chapters, 33 Leaders of Tomorrow chapters and 300 corporate and university partners, the organization is dedicated to developing partnerships that create intellectual and economic wealth in the Black community through its five channels of engagement: career, education, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle. Visit us @ NBMBAA.org | Follow us on Social @theblackmba View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005588/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] National Jewish Health Announces Call for Abstracts For Respiratory Disease Young Investigators' Forum DENVER, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Young physician investigators interested in a career in research are encouraged to submit basic science or clinical research abstracts by June 17 to be considered for participation in the 15th Annual Respiratory Disease Young Investigators' Forum October 10-13, 2019, in Chicago, IL. The forum is designed to develop the next generation of physician-scientists by offering an invaluable opportunity to present research to a panel of national experts in respiratory medicine. The panel consists of key opinion leaders who serve as real-world examples of physician-scientists who have had an impact on respiratory medicine through their contributions in research. "The next generation of physician-scientists will continue to make tremendous impact in human health and this forum provides feedback, advice, and guidance at the most important stage of a young investigator's career," said Jay Kolls, MD, Program Chair. National Jewish Health, ranked the #1 respiratory hospital in the ntion by U.S. News & World Report, is committed to developing the next generation of physician-scientists through the sponsorship of the Respiratory Disease Young Investigators' Forum. This activity is supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP. The three-day program will include networking opportunities with peers and experts, as well as formal research presentations by the 30 young investigators followed by feedback and commentary from their peers and expert faculty. Career development topics will be covered ranging from strategies for successful grant applications to transitioning from trainee to independent investigator. Fellows and junior faculty in pulmonary medicine, allergy and immunology, pediatrics, and related programs are encouraged to apply. Thirty investigators will be selected and invited to present their research at the forum based on the following criteria: scientific importance, quality of research, enhancement of knowledge, ability to answer an important scientific question and overall presentation of the abstract. The top three selected winners in each category will be awarded a grant to support their future research endeavors in respiratory medicine. "It was an invaluable opportunity to present my work to an external audience. To me, the conference was one of the most important events of my pulmonary fellowship," said Tianshi David Wu, MD, 2018 Clinical Research Winner. More information on abstract submission guidelines, the forum agenda, and program format can be found at http://njhealth.org/YIF2019. National Jewish Health is the leading respiratory hospital in the nation. Founded 120 years ago as a nonprofit hospital, National Jewish Health today is the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to groundbreaking medical research and treatment of patients with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders. Patients and families come to National Jewish Health from around the world to receive cutting-edge, comprehensive, coordinated care. To learn more, visit www.njhealth.org. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-jewish-health-announces-call-for-abstracts-for-respiratory-disease-young-investigators-forum-300856064.html SOURCE National Jewish Health [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Muscle weakness and swelling, trouble walking up a flight of stairs, difficulty breathing: Dont mistake these as inevitabilities of growing older. It could be a sign of myositis, a rare autoimmune disease that involves chronic inflammation of muscles. Along with that inflammation comes other symptoms, which regular people and even doctors may mistake as a simple sign of aging or a less serious medical issue. May is Myositis Awareness Month, and The Myositis Association (TMA) is emphasizing the disparate impacts on women of color this year. A recent data analysis by TMA found nonwhite women are twice as likely to die than others with the disease, and theyre four times more likely to die than white men. Myositis is a disease, but its also used as a generic term to describe other diseases such as dermatomyositis, necrotizing myopathy and polymyositis. Cheilonda Johnson, assistant professor of medicine at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said the only myositis disease African Americans are less likely than whites to be diagnosed with is inclusion body myositis. That means African Americans are diagnosed with all other forms more often. One reason African American women are more likely than white women and men to die from these diseases is because African Americans with antisynthetase syndrome have more severe lung issues. Johnson said shes researching why that is, and one possibility has to do with antibodies. She said the Anti-Jo-1 antibody is the most common marker of the disease, but African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to have non-Jo-1 antibodies which means its less likely to be caught. I think theres something different about biology and underlying genetic risk factors for African Americans, Johnson said. Another factor in mortality has to do with dark skin. One of the telltale markers of dermatomyositis is a rash, but thats more difficult to detect for people with darker skin, especially when physicians may not be aware of what to look for because of how rare myositis diseases are 50,000 to 75,000 in the U.S. are affected by myositis, according to TMA. The associations analysis shows it takes an average of 3 1/2 years and five doctors to get a correct diagnosis, and not catching a sign as simple as a rash could prolong the wait. It just exacerbates something which is already a challenge, Johnson said. Its a rare disease so there are many physicians who just havent had a patient who has myositis. Mary McGowan, executive director of TMA, said one of her goals for the organization is to shorten the time it takes to get a correct diagnosis. Johnson, who specializes in pulmonary medicine, said a prolonged waiting period could mean someone with lung issues wont be able to get off their oxygen support, whereas they may have not needed that in the first place if it was caught sooner. Darlene Shelton, 55, has polymyositis and couldnt recall how many doctors she went to before getting her diagnosis in 2013. That was after nearly a lifetime starting in elementary school of signs that something wasnt right with her body. She didnt have the strength other kids had. In her teens she had foot drop, a condition that makes it difficult to lift the front of the foot. At her worst, Shelton couldnt lift a one-pound weight. Shortly after getting her diagnosis, though, doctors told Shelton, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, she actually didnt have polymyositis. She said they discounted her pain because she had just come off her medicine. For most of the last six years, then, Shelton wasnt seeing a doctor or getting medicine for her pain. It was so excruciating, Shelton said of a time her disease flared up in 2016. Every time I tried to walk it was so bad. I just wanted to die. Thats how this condition makes you feel when it flares up. Shelton ended up in the hospital in January after she was in too much pain to move. She couldnt even hold a paperback book. Shelton stayed in the hospital for about a week and then went to rehab in a nursing home for about a month. Shes home now and uses a wheelchair and walker to get around, and although she cant stand for much longer than a minute and sometimes struggles to hold something as light as a cellphone, Shelton is optimistic. This disease and being in a wheelchair is not my identity, she said. I dont accept this is who I am. I feel like I will beat this. Im a strong woman, and I will fight this, and I wont give into it. Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. [May 23, 2019] IDTechEx Research Asks Are Power Electronic Modules a New Growth Opportunity for Conductive Pastes BOSTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Power electronics is a growing market thanks to the electrification of many industries including the automotive industry, as outlined in the IDTechEx Research report Conductive Ink Markets 2019-2029: Forecasts, Technologies, Players. The power electronic modulus are also growing in performance. In particular, they are becoming smaller, lighter weight, more tightly integrated and better able to handle higher power levels. In some cases, the semiconductor technology is also shifting from Si IGBT to SiC MOSFET. The dies are shrinking in area and the number of push-pull pairs in the circuit are being reduced. All these translate into higher power densities and higher operating temperatures. In many cases, the bottleneck today is the material used in the power module package. The aluminum wire bond and the die and substrate attach are common modes of failure. The high operating temperatures push performance requirements beyond the capabilities of SAC solders. This opens the door to alternatives. In particular, metal sintering has emerged as a promising high-performance and high-cost alternative. The most common version is based on micron-sized Ag particles and requires pressured sintering. The trend now is to improve pressure-less sintering, which is traditionally constrained to small die areas and suffers from long sintering times. To this end, nano Ag or hybrid (nano and micro) sinter particles are developed. Furthermore, there is today's innovation in form factor, going beyond pastes to offer dry films and dips to make it easier for the user to adopt. The metal sintering technology is now qualified in the automotive sector after 5-7 years of development. Cu versions are also in competition. As usual, the promise is the same: offer the same or higher performance than Ag whilst cutting costs. The early resultsare promising but, as usual, Cu solutions are not a drop-in replacement since their sintering conditions are different. This year and next year will probably be make-or-break years for Cu alternatives, as serious testing is well underway. In general, metal sintering is high-performance. The thermal conductivity is high and the melting temperature of a sintered die attach line is comparable to a solid metal, thus offering very high homologous temperatures. The cost, however, is still a significant barrier. This is both direct material costs and also the associated costs, in terms of new equipment, new required surface finishes/metallizations and so on. This technology is, however, now on the move. The number of suppliers has multiplied. Almost all module makers have worked with and prototyped using metal sintering solutions. As such, IDTechEx Research has assessed that the future of this market as highly promising. To learn more about metal sintering, please refer to the IDTechEx Research report Conductive Ink Markets 2019-2029: Forecasts, Technologies, Players. This report provides the most comprehensive and authoritative view of the conductive inks and paste market, giving detailed, 10-year market forecasts segmented by application and material type. The market forecasts are given in tonnage and value at the ink level. It provides a detailed assessment of more than 25 application sectors. It analyses the market needs/requirements, discusses the business dynamics, market leadership and technology change trends, competing solutions, latest product/prototype launches, key players and market forecasts in tonnes and value. For more information on conductive inks, please contact [email protected] or visit www.IDTechEx.com/ink. IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Consultancy and Events services, helping you profit from emerging technologies. Find out more at www.IDTechEx.com. Media Contact: Annick Garrington Marketing Co-ordinator [email protected] +44(0)1223 812300 Related Links Further IDTechEx Research on Printed Electronics Business & Technology Insight Forums on Electric Vehicles View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/idtechex-research-asks-are-power-electronic-modules-a-new-growth-opportunity-for-conductive-pastes-300856053.html SOURCE IDTechEx [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] iONE Digital Launches Video Streaming Platform 'A Space for Creators' NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- iONE Digital, an Urban One, Inc. company, has just launched 'A Space for Creators,' a new premium video platform designed to connect audiences to the growing cadre of young and talented content creators who are telling compelling stories from a fresh perspective. 'A Space for Creators' is the ninth addition to iONE Digital's portfolio of national brands serving every facet of the urban market. This groundbreaking platform is partnering with storytellers who are boldly developing art that expresses the voice of their community through authentic and unapologetic content. 'A Space for Creators' will also provide this creative class with an alternative space to monetize their work, fund their creative projects and facilitate their ability to remain independent without compromise. "'A Space for Creators' was built with the independent content creator in mind with an understanding of the new precedent that has been set by creators like Issa Rae, Donald Glover and Lena Waithe storytellers who are pushing culture forward by having a seat at the table," said Detavio Samuels, President of iONE Digital and ONE Solution. "This is our company's first official foray into creating a video-first product offering and we are proud to empower content creators around the world." Exclusive programming will include new digital series from emerging creators Elton Anderson (Creators of Color), Monalisa Johnson (Prisoner of Hope), Toni Thai (Potty Break) alongside experienced independent creators such as Richard C. Brooks and Jack Medel (Pushing Weight) and Takia "Tizzi" Green (Chasing Hollywood). iONE Digital will actively seek additional partnerships with storytellers who are looking to marry their ground breaking content with receptive multicultural audiences. "iONE Digital aims to become a pioneer in fostering the audience and industry awareness that is essential for real multicultural stars to emerge," said Damian Benders, Vice President of Video and Business Development at iONE Digital. "We are excited that 'A Space for Creators' will serve as an incubator for the next group of award-winning directors, producers and writers in the film and television industry." The new premium video platform, 'A Space for Creators, will champion creators by providing a distribution model that delivers CPMs five times the industry standard, advantageous revenue splits and a premium integrated partnership with YouTube. 'A Space for Creators' will also facilitate cross-platform support for creators that will extend beyond iONE Digital and across the Urban One media family in order to guarantee a larger audience. "'A Space for Creators' provides emerging storytellers an opportunity to connect with a larger audience by leveraging the power of an established media company that understands and supports the intention of their creative work," said Detavio Samuels, President of iONE Digital. About Urban One, Inc. Urban One, Inc. (urban1.com), together with its subsidiaries, is the largest diversified media company that primarily targets Black Americans and urban consumers in the United States. The Company owns TV One, LLC (tvone.tv), a television network serving more than 56 million households, offering a broad range of original programming, classic series and movies designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. As one of the nation's largest radio broadcasting companies, Urban One currently owns and/or operates 59 broadcast stations (including HD stations we operate) branded under the tradename "Radio One" in 15 urban markets in the United States. Through its controlling interest in Reach Media, Inc. (blackamericaweb.com), the Company also operates syndicated programming including the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the Russ Parr Morning Show and the DL Hughley Show. In addition to its radio and television broadcast assets, Urban One owns iONE Digital (ionedigital.com), our wholly owned dominant digital platform. iONE Digital reaches 25MM+ monthly digital consumers across a network of online destinations inclusive of our core brands - CASSIUS, GlobalGrind, HelloBeautiful, NewsOne, Bossip, MadameNoire, HipHopWired and BlackPlanet - as well as other Urban One owned and operated properties and affiliates. We also have invested in a minority ownership interest in MGM National Harbor, a gaming resort located in Prince George's County, Maryland. Through our national multi-media operations, we provide advertisers with a unique and powerful delivery mechanism to the African-American and urban audiences. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ione-digital-launches-video-streaming-platform-a-space-for-creators-300856092.html SOURCE iONE Digital [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] IIROC and CSA provide update on conflicts of interest arising from soliciting dealer arrangements CALGARY and TORONTO, May 23, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published an update about the management of conflicts of interest arising from soliciting dealer arrangements. Following initial targeted consultation in 2018, the CSA published CSA Staff Notice 61-303 and Request for Comment Soliciting Dealer Arrangements, inviting further feedback from stakeholders. After the comment period ended and after reviewing the feedback, IIROC and the CSA determined that the publication of the guidance contained in IIROC Notice 19-0092 Managing Conflicts of Interest arising from Soliciting Dealer Arrangements (the Notice) would provide the most appropriate and effective means of addressing regulatory concerns associated with soliciting dealer arrangements. IIROC consulted with IIROC Dealer Members (Dealers), its advisory committees, the CSA and considered the comments received in response to the CSA's Staff Notice and Request for Comment, when drafting the guidance. The Notice sets out IIROC's view that in some cases, conflicts of interest arising from soliciting dealer arrangements can be managed through appropriate policies and procedures. In other cases, where conflicts are or appear to be unmanageable, they should be avoided. For example, Dealers should avoid arrangements that contemplate one-sided or success-based fees in contested director elections. "Today's guidance provides our Dealers with greater clarity about the circumstances where conflicts of interest associated with soliciting dealer arrangements can be managed or should be avoided," said Irene Winel, Senior Vice-President, Member Regulation and Strategy, IIROC. "We welcome IIROC's guidance concerning soliciting dealer arrangements," said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autorite des marches financiers. "We're pleased with the collaborative work carried out by IIROC and the CSA under this initiative." Soliciting dealer arrangements are agreements that incentivize Dealers to encourage securityholders of an issuer to vote their securities or take action in connection with an acquisition or other transaction involving the issuer. For instance, an issuer may agree to pay a Dealer a fee for each vote solicited from securityholders in respect of a securityholder meeting. These arrangements can raise regulatory concerns about the ability of a participating Dealer to comply with IIROC's conflicts rule and related guidance. The Notice is available on IIROC's website. IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers and their trading activity in Canada's debt and equity markets. IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities under Recognition Orders from the provincial securities commissions that make up the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets. For Investor inquiries, please refer to your respective securities regulator. You can contact them here. Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada: Andrea Zviedris Manager, Media Relations and Public Affairs 416-943-6906 [email protected] For CSA media inquiries, please refer to the list of provincial and territorial representatives below or contact us at [email protected]. Kristen Rose Ontario Securities Commission 416-593-2336 Hilary McMeekin Alberta Securities Commission 403-592-8186 Brian Kladko British Columbia Securities Commission 604-899-6713 Sylvain Theberge Autorite des marches financiers 514-940-2176 Jason (Jay) Booth Manitoba Securities Commission 204-945-1660 Sara Wilson Financial and Consumer Services Commission, New Brunswick 506-643-7045 Shannon McMillan Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan 306-798-4160 Steve Dowling Government of Prince Edward Island Superintendent of Securities 902-368-4550 David Harrison Nova Scotia Securities Commission 902-424-8586 Jeff Mason Nunavut Securities Office 867-975-6591 Renee Dyer Office of the Superintendent of Securities Newfoundland and Labrador 709-729-4909 Tom Hall Office of the Superintendent of Securities Northwest Territories 867-767-9305 Rhonda Horte Office of the Yukon Superintendent of Securities 867-667-5466 SOURCE Canadian Securities Administrators [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Barclays Appoints Akhil Ahuja as Head of Enterprise and Communications Technology Banking Barclays announces the appointment of Akhil Ahuja as Head of Enterprise and Communications Technology Banking. Mr. Ahuja will be based in Menlo Park, California, and will report to Laurence Braham and Greg Dalvito, Co-Heads of Technology Banking at Barclays. Mr. Ahuja joins Barclays with over fifteen years of experience in Banking, most recently as Managing Director and Head of Systems and Infrastructure Software Banking at Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Securities. In this role his coverage included enterprise infrastructure and infrastructure software, cloud computing and related architectures, unified communications, and consumer electronics. Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2011, Mr. Ahuja worked at JPMorgan covering enterprise and communications companies in the Technology Investment Banking division. Notable transactions that Mr. Ahuja has been involved in include the $13.9 billion acquisition of EDS by HP, and the $2 billion acquisition of Polycom by Plantronics (News - Alert). "Akhil has extensive transaction experience in the Enterprise and Communications Technology sector, and a deep roster of strategic relationships," said Laurence Braham, Co-Head of Technology Banking. "His abilities and experience will deliver great value and benefits fo our clients." "Further strengthening our Technology coverage capabilities is a primary area of focus for us at Barclays," added John Miller, Global Head of Banking Coverage. "Akhil's addition to the team will help us to build on our existing, and establish new, critical relationships in the sector, and will accelerate the already strong momentum in our Technology Banking Group." Mr. Ahuja's hire follows Barclays' recent appointments of Robert Peck as Chairman of Global Internet Banking, Kristin DeClark as Co-Head of US ECM and Global Head of Technology ECM, and Riaz Ladhabhoy as Head of Internet Banking. Barclays appointed Mark Zanoli as Vice Chairman of Technology Banking and Ed Wehle as Head of Global Technology (News - Alert) Services Banking during 2018, and Ben Freeland as Co-Head of Software Banking in the fall of 2017. Barclays has been a bookrunner on the five largest ever US Technology IPOs (Facebook (News - Alert), Uber, Snap, Worldpay, and First Data), and has played key roles in two of the three largest US Technology IPOs year to date (Uber and Pinterest). Also year to date, Barclays is ranked number 3 globally and number 2 in the Americas in Technology Investment Grade bond and loan issuance. Mr. Ahuja will start at Barclays in August 2019. Barclays is a transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US. With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 83,500 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005644/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Empower Retirement lauds House approval of the SECURE Act of 2019 Today the U.S. House of Representatives sent a message with its approval of a bill that reforms retirement policy affecting working Americans. The House approved 417-3 the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019. This bill - one of three retirement policy proposals in Congress - would bring on necessary reforms in retirement planning policy and encourage Americans to save for retirement. Empower Retirement, which administers $610 billion in assets for more than 9 million retirement plan participants, applauds this bipartisan effort. Empower President & CEO Edmund F. Murphy III said: "Congress has done a great service to American retirement savers by voting for the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019. Empower Retirement applauds lawmakers for considering these big ideas and big changes to retirement planning. "It's exciting that retirement policy has garnered bipartisan support from Reps. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, and Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the committee's ranking member, who understand the importance of helping American workers save for retirement. "This bill has the potential to make it easier for small businesses to set up retirement plans - something they've told us they favor. We believe these changes will encourage retirement savings and help provide American workers with a more secure retirement. "The next stop is the Senate, where we hope these reforms move quickly. "The Senate's similar legislation, the Retirement Enhancement Savings Act, also is riding a bipartisan wave of support and swift action on these proposals lays the foundation for Congress to begin working on the next round of pension reform." About Empower Retirement Headquartered in metro Denver, Empower Retirement administers $610 billion in assets for more than 9 million retirement plan participants.1 It is the nation's second-largest retirement plan record keeper by total participants (Pensions & Investments, April 2018). Empower serves all segments of the employer-sponsored retirement plan market: government 457 plans; small, midsize and large corporate 401(k) clients; non-profit 403(b) entities; private-label recordkeeping clients; and Individual Retirement Account customers. For more information please visit www.Empower-retirement.com. 1 Information refers to the business of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, including Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York. Of the total assets under administration (AUA), as of 9/30/18, $570B represents the AUA of GWL&A of NY. AUA do not reflect the financial stability or strength of a company. GWL&A assets total $60.9B and liabilities total $58.9B. GWL&A of NY assets total $58.9B and liabilities total $2.2B. Learn More: To learn more about how we're empowering plan sponsors and their participants to be more engaged in their retirement plans than ever before, call us at 800-719-9914. Great-West Financial, Empower Retirement and Great-West Investments are the marketing names of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, Corporate Headquarters: Greenwood Village, CO; Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York, Home Office: New York, NY, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, including registered investment advisers Advised Assets Group, LLC and Great-West Capital Management, LLC. Putnam is affiliated with GWL&A and GWL&A of NY and their subsidiaries and affiliates. JP Morgan (News - Alert) Retirement Plan Services is not affiliated with GWL&A, GWL&A of NY or their subsidiaries and affiliates. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005657/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Government of Canada invests in world-leading clean water technology Innovation to reduce environmental impact from oil and gas industry operations while reducing costs of production DELTA, BC, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - A strong economy and a clean environment go hand-in-hand. That's why the Government of Canada is supporting the development of technologies that lead to less pollution, healthier communities and the creation of well-paying middle-class jobs. Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development announced an investment of $2.1 million in Mangrove Water Technologies. Funding for Mangrove Water Technologies Inc. will support its zero discharge desalination technology, which will reduce the environmental impact of oil and gas sector operations. This revolutionary innovation treats saline wastewater and converts the salts into value-added chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide that can be used on-site. This technology helps oil and gas producers reduce costs and water usage, resulting in cleaner air and water over the long term. It will also help to maintain three jobs and create up to ten additional jobs. This project received funding and support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), which helps Canadian entrepreneurs accelerate the development and deployment of globally competitive clean technology solutions. Investments in clean technology are part of the Government's Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to position Canada as a global leader in innovation and create good middle-class jobs right across the countr. Quotes "Innovative projects like the one developed by Mangrove Water Technologies demonstrate how a strong economy and a clean environment go hand-in-hand. The investment announced today will not only help the oil and gas industry treat waste water and lower greenhouse gas emissions, it will also help to maintain jobs and create new ones by reducing costs and logistical headaches for the producers." The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility "The future of innovation is clean technology. There are opportunities to make money and create jobs in all industries across Canada. That's why the government is making clean tech a priority. We are securing Canada's position of international leadership today, so all Canadians can reap the benefits of this fast-growing market into the future." The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development "By converting waste gas and saline water to high value chemicals, Mangrove's modular solution will have a meaningful impact in making Canada's oil and gas sector more sustainable for the future. SDTC's support for companies creating sustainable solutions is making a real difference in driving Canada's environmental and economic prosperity." Zoe Kolbuc, Vice-President, Partnerships, SDTC "Mangrove has developed a distributed manufacturing platform that converts waste streams to chemicals on-site & on-demand and water for reuse. This not only simplifies logistics and reduces cost but also has significant environmental benefits around GHG reduction and water conservation. This SDTC investment will help to accelerate commercialization with our customer and project partner Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. through an in-field demonstration of a fully integrated 100m3 system at their mining site in Alberta. This system will also serve as the commercial building block to access other industrial applications beyond oil & gas. We are very excited by this announcement and the support from the Federal Government." Saad Dara, co-founder and CEO, Mangrove Water Technologies Ltd. Quick facts The world is taking notice of Canada's clean technology leadership. Recently, 12 Canadian companies were recognized on the 2019 Global Cleantech 100 list. Of those, 10 have received support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada: that's 10 percent of the world's leading clean tech companies. clean technology leadership. Recently, 12 Canadian companies were recognized on the 2019 Global Cleantech 100 list. Of those, 10 have received support from Sustainable Development Technology Canada: that's 10 percent of the world's leading clean tech companies. Mangrove is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia , and will demonstrate its project in Fort McMurray, Alberta . , and will demonstrate its project in . SDTC has invested over $1 billion in more than 300 companies, creating 12,000 well-paying jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 13.8 megatonnes annually. in more than 300 companies, creating 12,000 well-paying jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 13.8 megatonnes annually. Budget 2017 set aside more than $2.3 billion to boost the growth of Canada's clean tech space. That's the largest public investment ever committed to this field in Canada . to boost the growth of clean tech space. That's the largest public investment ever committed to this field in . Clean tech companies can get advice from a team of experts from across government through the Clean Growth Hub. The Hub provides a single, easy point of contact for connecting with clean technology programs and services. Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISED_CA Follow Sustainable Development Technology Canada on Twitter: @SDTC_TDDC SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Chinese Companies Now Account for 40% of the APAC Public Cloud Market RENO, Nev., May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Q1 data from Synergy Research Group shows that Chinese cloud providers are featuring strongly in the ranking of leading cloud providers in the APAC region. While Amazon maintains its number one position in the region, three of the top six are Chinese companies. Alibaba, Tencent and Sinnet are all firmly entrenched in the regional leadership table while Baidu lies just outside the top six. In aggregate Chinese cloud providers now have a 40% share of the APAC public cloud market. The strong showing of the Chinese companies is thanks primarily to their standing in their home market. Outside of the US, China is unique in that it is the only country whose cloud market is totally dominated by local companies. The top six in China are all local cloud providers, with Huawei and Kingsoft also featuring in the top ten. In the rest of the APAC region the top three companies mirror the worldwide leadership ranking of Amazon, Microsoft and Google. But the Chinese firms are making an impact here too. Alibaba has firmly established itself in several APAC countries and is now the fourth largest public cloud provider in the APAC-excluding-China region. Tencent has also started to move beyond its home market. Public IaaS and PaaS are the most prominent segments of the cloud infrastructure services market and account forthe bulk of the revenues, with the balance coming from managed or hosted private cloud services. Within public cloud the APAC region does not yet account for a third of the worldwide market but it is growing much more rapidly than either the North American or EMEA regional markets. Within the APAC region, China is by far the largest country market and is also growing much faster than the rest of the region. While China remains a very tough proposition for the worlds largest cloud providers, who are all US-headquartered firms, the Chinese cloud providers are riding on the back of huge growth in their local cloud market, said John Dinsdale, a Chief Analyst and Research Director at Synergy Research Group. Language, cultural and business barriers will cause some of those Chinese companies to remain tightly focused on their home market, but others are determined to become major players on the global stage. Putting China to one side, in the rest of the world Alibaba is already the seventh largest player in public IaaS and PaaS markets. About Synergy Research Group Synergy provides quarterly market sizing and segmentation data on cloud and related markets, including company revenues by segment and by region. Synergy Research Group ( www.srgresearch.com ) helps marketing and strategic decision makers around the world via its unique insights and in-depth analytics. To speak to an analyst or to find out more about how to access Synergys market data, please contact Heather Gallo @ [email protected] or at 775-852-3330 extension 101. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/16b2e452-4b1f-442f-89e4-17ee6d50bb8c [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Deadline Reminder: The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Reminds Investors of Looming Deadline in the Class Action Lawsuit Against AAC Holdings, Inc. Law Offices of Howard G. Smith reminds investors of the upcoming July 15, 2019 deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the class action filed on behalf of investors who purchased AAC Holdings, Inc. ("AAC Holdings" or the "Company") (NYSE: AAC) securities between March 8, 2017 and April 15, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors suffering losses on their AAC Holdings investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to [email protected]. On April 16, 2019, the Company announced that certain financial statements for fiscal 2017 and 2018 could no longer be relied upon. The Company disclosed that these financial statements would be restated to reflect adjustments related to estimates for accounts receivable, provision for doubtful accounts, and revenue. On this news, shares of AAC Holdings fell $0.40 per share or over 18% to close at $1.74 per share on April 16, 209, thereby damaging investors. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) the Company's internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures was inadequate to accurately reflect adjustments related to estimates for accounts receivable, provision for doubtful accounts, and revenue; (2) the Company consequently misstated financial and operating results in its annual reports for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, as well as all quarterly reports throughout 2017 and 2018; (3) accordingly, those reports could not be relied upon, requiring the Company to restate the financial and operating results reflected therein; and (4) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. If you purchased shares of AAC Holdings during the Class Period you may move the Court no later than July 15, 2019 to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff if you meet certain legal requirements. To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005699/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Motorola Solutions Announces Pricing Terms of its Tender Offers Motorola (News - Alert) Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) (the "Company") announced today the pricing terms of its previously announced tender offers to purchase for cash (i) any and all of the Company's outstanding securities listed in Table I below (the "Any and All Notes") (such offer, the "Any and All Offer"), and (ii) up to the Maximum Waterfall Tender Amount (as defined below) in aggregate purchase price of the Company's outstanding securities listed in Table II below (collectively, the "Waterfall Notes" and, together with the Any and All Notes, the "Securities"), subject to the Acceptance Priority Levels as defined below (such offer, the "Waterfall Offer"). The "Maximum Waterfall Tender Amount" is an aggregate purchase price equal to $650 million less the aggregate purchase price of the Any and All Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase in the Any and All Offer. The Company also announced the principal amount of each series of Securities that it expects to accept pursuant to the tender offers, subject to the satisfaction of waiver of certain conditions, as described below. The tender offers are being made upon and are subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated May 9, 2019, as amended earlier today, and the related Letter of Transmittal (as they may each be further amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Tender Offer Documents"). The "Total Consideration" for each series of Securities is payable to holders of the Securities who validly tendered and did not properly withdraw their Securities at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 22, 2019 (the "Early Tender Deadline") and whose Securities are accepted for purchase by the Company. The Reference Yields listed in the tables below were determined at 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on May 23, 2019 (the "Price Determination Date") by the lead dealer managers. Payments for Securities purchased in connection with the Early Tender Deadline will also include accrued and unpaid interest from and including the last interest payment date applicable to the relevant series of Securities up to, but not including, the early settlement date for such Securities accepted for purchase, which is currently expected to be May 24, 2019 (the "Early Settlement Date"). Table I Securities Subject to the Any and All Offer Title of Security Principal Amount Outstanding CUSIP/ISIN Principal Amount Expected to be Accepted(1) Reference U.S. Treasury Security Reference Yield Fixed Spread (basis points) Total Consideration(2) 7.500% Senior Notes due 2025 $346,930,000 CUSIP: 620076 AH2 ISIN:US620076AH21 $90,076,000 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/24 2.126% 165 $1,197.52 6.500% Senior Notes due 2025 $117,892,000 CUSIP: 620076 AK5 ISIN: US620076AK59 $45,016,000 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/24 2.126% 170 $1,147.73 6.500% Senior Notes due 2028 $36,463,000 CUSIP: 620076 AP4 ISIN: US620076AP47 $11,501,000 2.625% U.S.T. due 02/15/29 2.336% 195 $1,170.91 6.625% Senior Notes due 2037 $54,533,000 CUSIP: 620076 BA6 ISIN: US620076BA68 $16,276,000 3.000% U.S.T. due 02/15/49 2.766% 285 $1,115.07 (1) Expected to be accepted for purchase, and paid for, on the Early Settlement Date. (2) The total consideration payable for each $1,000 principal amount of Securities validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Date and accepted for purchase by us includes an early tender premium of $50. In addition, holders whose Securities are accepted will also receive accrued interest on such Securities. Table II Securities Subject to the Waterfall Offer Title of Security Principal Amount Outstanding CUSIP/ISIN Acceptance Priority Level Principal Amount Expected to be Accepted(1) Reference U.S. Treasury Security Reference Yield Fixed Spread (basis points) Total Consideration(2) 3.500% Senior Notes due 2021 $400,000,000 CUSIP: 620076 BD0 ISIN: US620076BD08 1 $249,683,000 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/21 2.167% 50 $1,018.20 3.750% Senior Notes due 2022 $750,000,000 CUSIP: 620076 BB4 ISIN: US620076BB42 2 $198,233,000 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/15/22 2.115% 50 $1,032.28 3.500% Senior Notes due 2023 $600,000,000 CUSIP: 620076 BC2 ISIN: US620076BC25 3 $0 2.250% U.S.T. due 04/30/24 N/A 80 N/A (1) Expected to be accepted for purchase, and paid for, on the Early Settlement Date. (2) The total consideration payable for each $1,000 principal amount of Securities validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase by us includes an early tender premium of $50. In addition, holders whose Securities are accepted will also receive accrued interest on such Securities. As listed in the tables above, the Company expects to accept for purchase, and pay for, $90,076,000 aggregate principal amount of its 7.500% Senior Notes due 2025, $45,016,000 aggregate principal amount of its 6.500% Senior Notes due 2025, $11,501,000 aggregate principal amount of its 6.500% Senior Notes due 2028, $16,276,000 aggregate principal amount of its 6.625% Senior Notes due 2037, $249,683,000 aggregate principal amount of its 3.500% Senior Notes due 2021 and $198,233,000 aggregate principal amount of its 3.750% Senior Notes due 2022, on the Early Settlement Date. The Company's obligation to accept for payment and pay for the Securities validly tendered in the tender offers is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase. Although the tender offers are scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, at the end of June 6, 2019, unless extended or terminated, because the Waterfall Offer was fully subscribed as of the Early Tender Deadline, the Company does not expect to accept for purchase any Waterfall Notes tendered after the Early Tender Deadline. Holders of Any and All Notes who validly tender such notes following the Early Tender Deadline and at or prior to the Expiration Date will receive the applicable Total Consideration for Securities accepted for purchase specified in the table above. Securities not accepted for purchase will be promptly returned or credited to the holder's account. The withdrawal deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 22, 2019 has passed and, accordingly, Securities validly tendered in the tender offers may no longer be withdrawn except where additional withdrawal rights are required by law. BofA Merrill Lynch and Mizuho Securities are serving as the Lead Dealer Managers, and Santander, TD Securities and US Bancorp are serving as the Co-Dealer Managers, in connection with the tender offers. The information agent and tender agent is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. The full details of the tender offers, including complete instructions on how to tender Securities, are included in the Tender Offer Documents. Holders are strongly encouraged to read carefully the Tender Offer Documents, including materials incorporated by reference therein, because they contain important information. Copies of the Tender Offer Documents and related offering materials are available by contacting the information agent at (212) 430-3774 (banks and brokers) or (866) 807-2200 (all others). Questions regarding the tender offers should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch, at (980) 387-3907 or (888) 292-0070 (toll free) or Mizuho Securities, at (212) 205-7736 or (866) 271-7403 (toll free). None of the Company or its affiliates, their respective boards of directors, the dealer managers, the information agent and tender agent or the trustee is making any recommendation as to whether holders should tender any Securities in response to any of the tender offers, and neither the Company nor any such other person has authorized any person to make any such recommendation. Holders must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Securities, and, if so, the principal amount of Securities to tender. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or an offer to purchase or sell any securities. The tender offers are being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and only in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law. About Motorola Solutions, Inc. Motorola Solutions is a global leader in mission-critical communications. Our technology platforms in communications, command center software, services and video security and analytics make cities safer and help communities and businesses thrive. At Motorola Solutions, we are ushering in a new era in public safety and security. Learn more at www.motorolasolutions.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These "forward-looking statements" are statements other than statements of historical fact and may include, among other things, statements in relation to the Company's current expectations and beliefs as to its ability to consummate the tender offers, including the timing, size, pricing or other terms of the tender offers, and other future events. All information set forth in this release is as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to update this information to reflect future events or circumstances. Actual results are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from the current expectations and beliefs discussed in this press release. Certain potential factors, risks and uncertainties that could affect the Company's business and financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements include the Company's ability to complete the tender offers and satisfy the conditions thereto, and other potential factors, risks and uncertainties under the heading "Risk Factors" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC (News - Alert)") and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2019 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005701/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Horyou Media: Blockchain For Good, Alive and Kicking at the UNESCO Blockchain Practices and Perspectives Conference GENEVA, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 17, 2019, the UNESCO hosted a high-level conference entitled Blockchain, Practices and Perspectives at its Headquarters in Paris, with the aim to "better highlight how Blockchain technology can be applied for social good". The conference staged interdisciplinary discussions among researchers and practitioners of computer science, humanities and social sciences, economics and law, giving voice to public and private Blockchain project developers in panels that were both stimulating and inspiring. The themes that were tackled by the invited panelists ranged from introductory to expert, and from theoretical to practical, as they explored various areas whereby Blockchain, as a revolutionary and disruptive technology, can serve social good and enforce the sustainable development goals as termed in the UN 2030 Agenda. Hence, while exploring education and open science, or asserting Blockchain as an efficient artistic copyright management tool, or again a tool for direct democracy, the conference provided a rather large array of situations, experiences and projects whereby Blockchain technologies, though still at an early stage, hold the promise of a fairer world for all. Interestingly though, while all the aforementioned pnels and themes were aimed at highlighting the idea that just because Blockchain is often likened with Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies doesn't mean its use and efficiency stop at that particular area of concern, two panels Blockchain and Social Innovation Financing, and Blockchain and Sustainable Territories were to contribute to a better understanding, and thus a more positive view, of how such innovation could serve social good and the advancement of the SDGs. Concepts including initial coin offering, tokenization, crypto-lending for social, responsible and sustainable territorial innovation, were explained with practical examples of ways they were or would be implemented and used for the benefit of all. One such example was presented by Yonathan Parienti, Blockchain evangelist, founder and CEO of Horyou, the social network for social good, who has recently launched HoryouToken, a digital currency built around a whole ecosystem and based on the concept of Blockchain with a Purpose, with proof of impact, meant to promote, reward and financially support problem solving positive actions and innovative projects, wherever they may be. HoryouToken is the future of digital currency for social good. Interesting as it was, the conference would have missed its point if it weren't for the organizers good initiative in providing all participants with a "Glossary of fifty words that shape the Blockchain ecosystem." About Horyou Horyou.com is the social network for social good for positive and meaningful interactions among change makers, fostering the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Horyou has recently launched HoryouToken (HYT)*, the first digital currency for inclusion advancing the UN SDGs, and is the organizer of SIGEF, the Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum, which 6th edition will be held in Tokyo, on 18-19 September, 2019 (www.sigef2019.com). *HoryouToken (HYT) is listed on LAToken and CoinTiger View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/horyou-media-blockchain-for-good-alive-and-kicking-at-the-unesco-blockchain-practices-and-perspectives-conference-300856201.html SOURCE Horyou Media [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Cherise Shockley, a resident of Noblesville, had a goal of getting her degree in mass communication before she was 40. As the creator of the online community Diabetes Social Media Advocacy, she became skilled at social media marketing and wanted to make it her career. However, between her advocacy work, being a working mother and moving often because of her husbands job in the military, Shockley lacked the time for traditional college. Therefore, she enrolled in Arizona State University (ASU) Online at age 37. Shockley, now 38, accomplished her goal and graduated May 6. ASU flew her to Arizona to receive her degree in person as a representative of ASU Online. Sitting in the ASU auditorium was emotional for Shockley and her family. The degree was the culmination of Shockleys hard work as both a social media advocate and as a student. I was filled with so much pride, said Shockleys husband, Scott. I probably was as emotional as she was to fulfill that dream shes talked about since weve been together. Shockleys journey to her degree began when she was diagnosed with latent autoimmune diabetes at age 23. She felt overwhelmed with stigmas and misconceptions about the disease. For example, Shockley was too paranoid to touch sugary food. She felt doctor appointments addressing her diabetes were too short and infrequent to talk about the stress from the disease. Then Shockley discovered the online diabetes community. Its members swapped stories with Shockley and gave her diabetes lifestyle tips. Eventually Shockley felt accepted and developed confidence as someone with diabetes. When I found this community, it opened up my world, Shockley said. The diabetes community helped me find my voice. In 2010, Shockley wanted to help others in a similar way, so she created Diabetes Social Media Advocacy, a platform to share stories about diabetes and combat stigmas and myths such as all diabetes patients being obese. At one point, the page had the worlds largest Twitter chat. Currently, Diabetes Social Media Advocacy has over 19,400 Twitter followers. To illustrate the support group members give to each other, Shockley recalled Simon, a member who lives in Australia. Simon felt isolated and near suicidal as he coped with the disease until joining Diabetes Social Media Advocacy. To show his gratitude, Simon worked overtime to save money to travel to the U.S. to meet Shockley and other members of the group to thank them in person for saving his life. Shockley said stories like as Simons encourage her to continue Diabetes Social Media Advocacy. Every time I think that [Diabetes Social Media Advocacy] ran its course and I want to stop, I get a note from Simon, Shockley said. Its kinda like divine intervention. Her experience operating Diabetes Social Media Advocacy, led Shockley to consider a professional career as a social media marketer. However, she needed a degree. With family and work obligations, Shockley didnt see how school could fit into her already packed schedule. Plus, she tried community college before. At 21 and a parent, Shockley felt out of place among the teenagers who are traditional college age. Eventually, she found ASU Online. Shockley also stepped into a social media space very similar to the advocacy page she created with Sun Devils Connect, ASU Onlines official Facebook page. The page helped Shockley connect with other students attending ASU Online. The students helped each other with homework, offered advice on whose class to take and offered fitness challenges. Through the Facebook page, Shockley befriended fellow working mothers, member of military families and others who could relate to her experience. Shockley would often study with her peers over the phone until 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. Sometimes they would explain difficult concepts to each other, and encourage each other to hang in there. With ASU, what I found is no matter what age someone is, we are all going through the same struggles, and it kind of became this community where strangers from all different walks of life studying different degrees come together. I felt like I belonged with this community of people at ASU. All the late nights and sacrifices paid off when Shockley earned her degree in mass communication and media studies. Now shes putting her experience and education to use as social media and marketing specialist for Roche Holding AG and by continuing Diabetes Social Media Advocacy. Shockley plans to launch a spinoff account advocating for women of color with diabetes. People look at social media as this bad thing, but if you look for the good things and you look for community that is when you find your tribe, Shockley said. That is when you find the people that you connect with. That is when you your community, and that is when the magic happens. Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar. Cherise Shockley had a goal of completing her degree before she turned 40, but between being a working mother and her advocacy work, she lacked the time for traditional college. Therefore, she enrolled in Arizona State University Online, and Shockley fulfilled her goal with two years to spare when she graduated on May 6. (Photo provided) [May 23, 2019] Well.ca launches a new patient education portal to drive access to information on emerging and innovative care MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - Well.ca today announced the launch of a new patient education portal, providing patients with a trusted source for therapeutic guidance on new and emerging approaches to care. Through this portal, patients will be able to virtually connect with wellness professionals for a variety of personalized services, conveniently delivered through telehealth. The portal is available in Ontario and will be launched in the rest of Canada soon. Health professionals will be available to advise on: Naturopathic medicine; Nutrition; Pregnancy and parenting; Mindfulness; Food sensitivity testing; Sleep; and, Medical cannabis. "Our customersare looking for real-time access to a variety of diversified health and wellness professionals. As patient therapies are becoming increasingly complex and multi-faceted, our goal is to enhance the education and support that patients receive," said Rebecca McKillican, CEO, Well.ca. "Our nurse educators, allied health professionals, and other care providers can provide personalized guidance and recommendations, as well as answer questions related to emerging therapies." To facilitate patient access to medically-reviewed information related to the use and therapeutic implications of medical cannabis, Well.ca has partnered with licensed producers to co-create content. Under current regulations, pharmacists in Canada cannot dispense medical cannabis from a pharmacy. About Well.ca Well.ca is a proudly Canadian company that's passionate about our customers, our business, and the products we offer. At Well.ca, we believe that Canadians should never have to compromise on the health, wellness, baby and beauty products that they choose for themselves and their families. With over 40,000 curated products, thousands of peer reviews, and Canada's largest assortment of green and natural brands, we make it easy to make choices you can trust. Well.ca is a wholly owned subsidiary of McKesson Canada. About McKesson Canada Founded more than 100 years ago, McKesson Canada is dedicated to delivering vital medicines, supplies and information technologies that enable the health care industry to provide patients better, safer care. Our solutions empower pharmacies, manufacturers, hospitals and other health care institutions by enabling them to get closer to the millions of patients they serve every single day, while contributing to the quality and safety of care in Canada. SOURCE MCKESSON CANADA [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] New Digital Advocacy Research Shows Connections Between Citizens and Policymakers Up 38% in 2018 Citizens are engaging in issue advocacy and reaching out to their lawmakers more than ever before, according to new research from Phone2Action, a digital advocacy platform that connects citizens to lawmakers. Released today, Phone2Action's first State of Advocacy report reviewed anonymized, aggregated data from hundreds of nonprofit organizations, associations, and companies that use the Phone2Action platform, examining how some of the most successful advocacy movements of the past year were able to build momentum, transform passive supporters into engaged advocates, and ultimately change policy on the local, state and federal level. "By text, email, calls and social media, citizens are actively engaging with their lawmakers at an unprecedented rate, sparking important conversations and fully engaging in the democratic process," said Jeb Ory, Phone2Action CEO. "Lawmakers want - and need - to hear constituents' stories and opinions and the more we as an industry can do to increase the efficiency of that communication, the better." The report focuses on insights and data points related to how digital tools like Facebook, SMS campaigns and Twitter (News - Alert) have impacted issue advocacy in recent years. Key findings include: Advocacy engagement continues to rise. The total number of interactions between advocates and decision-makers increased 36% in 2017 and 38% in 2018 Digital advocacy tools are helping boost the rate of advocate acquisition. Out of all advocates acquired over the past three years, 40% of them were acquired in 2018, compared to 35% in 2017 and 25% in 2016. Most organizations acquire advocates via text messaging. 69% of advocates acquired in 2018 were acquired via SMS Keyword campaigns, 20% via Facebook (News - Alert) Lead Ads and 11% via social media (Facebook and Twitter). Connections betwen advocates and regulatory agencies (e.g., EPA, FCC) increased 700% between 2016 and 2018. Regulatory bodies interpret how to implement new and existing laws and offer an alternative way for organizations to influence policy. Connections between citizens and local lawmakers increased threefold from 2017 to 2018 as organizations hyper-focused on local legislation to have an immediate impact on their communities. There was a dramatic increase in patch-through advocacy-related calls following the 2016 election. In 2017, advocates made 542% more patch-through calls to lawmakers than they did in 2016. This number remained fairly steady in 2018. SMS is a more effective engagement medium when supporters are being asked to sign a petition than when they are asked to contact their legislator SMS digital advocacy campaigns are best executed Tuesday through Thursday Phone2Action is offering a free webinar that explores its research findings on Thursday, May 23 at 1pm Eastern (register here). To download a free copy of the State of Advocacy report, visit https://phone2action.com/resource/the-state-of-advocacy. Methodology: Phone2Action examined anonymized, aggregated advocacy data from nonprofit organizations, associations, and companies that used the Phone2Action platform in 2018 and a sub-sample of 260 organizations that used the platform over the past three years. The usage data originates from organizations' activity within the platform, such as creating campaigns, and from advocates taking action through the platform, such as signing a petition or contacting a legislator. About Phone2Action Phone2Action, founded by Ximena Hartsock and Jeb Ory, is a comprehensive digital advocacy and communications platform that directly powers social movements by connecting users to lawmakers via technology. For more information, please visit: www.phone2action.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005759/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Hines: Atlantic Natural Foods Seeks Serious Investment Partner for Flagship Brand Expansion James Douglas Hines, founder of leading U.S. producer of shelf-stable plant-based products and marketer Atlantic Natural Foods (ANF), announced today that he has engaged Deloitte (News - Alert) Corporate Finance, LLC to assist with securing an investment partner for the rapidly growing company. Brands in the ANF portfolio include Loma Linda and its award-winning plant-based seafood alterative Tuno, neat and Kaffree Roma. "Our Loma Linda meal solutions launch in 2018 saw unprecedented growth as our products have rolled out in supermarkets and small grocery chains across the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia," Hines said. "We're committed to creating, manufacturing, and distributing high-quality, sustainable plant-protein foods that are good for you and good for the planet. We're seeking an investment partner who shares our vision and mission." In just 12 months ANF has secured more than 18,000 stores worldwide and is in process of building for the next push as it trends towards $50 Million in revenue within two years. "ANF's incredible growth is driven by consumer demand of sustainable products that taste great," Hines added. "Although vegans love our products, we're seeing this demand in the mainstream market, too, as consumers of all stripes are increasingly aware of how their food choices effect their health and environment." According to Hines, the explosion of plant-based protein demand is creating a need to drastically enhance the ANF's supply chain, factories, finance, marketing, execution, and human and financial capital. Currently, ANF has manufacturing locations in Nashville, NC and Bangkok, Thailand. Both are FDA-approved facilities, Kosher-qualified, non-GMO-assured, with SQF and BRC verification - and uphold only the most stringent health and food safety practices. Rory Dineen, Managing Director of Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC said, "We are pleased to work with ANF on this investment opportunity. The food industry is evolving and ANF's plant-based food alternative products offer consumers affordable and sustainable protein options." The United Nations projects that by the year 2050, the current world population of 7.3 billion is expected to reach 9.7 billion. A number that many scientists believe is the breaking point for the number of people our planet can support. These data drive Hines, a 40-year veteran of the global food sourcing and creation market, who wonders what food his 10 grandchildren will eat in the future. "We can see those numbers and panic, or we can work to ensure we create products that meet the demands of today while delivering hope for the future. I'm excited find a partner to join us in changing the world while delivering a high-quality, high-value, and sustainable product." About Atlantic Natural Foods Headquartered in Nashville, NC, Atlantic Natural Foods is the leading shelf-stable manufacturer and provider of Loma Linda, neat and Kaffree Roma brand products. Its mission is to provide affordable, sustainable and healthy sources of plant-based protein food for all lifestyles and people to live healthier, longer lives. The company is managed by About All About Healthy Foods Holdings, LLC, and operates its own manufacturing facility in North Carolina, as well as a joint venture project in Thailand. The brands are sold throughout the U.S. and in 17 countries, including U.K. and Australia. To learn more about Atlantic Natural Foods visit www.atlanticnaturalfoods.com. About Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC (DCF), a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC (News - Alert)) and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP and affiliate of Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. Investment banking or other services that would require registration as a broker-dealer with the SEC and membership in FINRA would be provided exclusively by DCF. For more information, visit www.investmentbanking.deloitte.com. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005766/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Quanta Services to Participate in Several Institutional Investor Conferences in May and June HOUSTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE:PWR) announced today that company management will participate in several institutional investor conferences in May and June, including the KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrials & Basic Materials Conference, Deutsche Bank Global Industrials & Materials Summit, Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference and the Stifel Cross Sector Insight Conference. Any presentation materials will be made available for review prior to the presentation in the "Investors & Media" section of Quanta's website at http://investors.quantaservices.com . Quanta's presentations at these conferences will be broadcast live over the Internet. Live webcast links and archived replays of the presentations will be available in the "Investors & Media" section of Quanta's website. KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrials & Basic Materials Conference Duke Austin, Chief Executive Officer, Derrick Jensen, Chief Financial Officer, Paul Greory, President of Pipeline and Industrial and Chief Strategy Officer and Kip Rupp, Vice President Investor Relations, will meet with institutional investors at the conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. There is no formal presentation at the conference. Deutsche Bank Global Industrials & Materials Summit Kip Rupp, Vice President - Investor Relations, will meet with institutional investors at the conference and will participate in a fireside chat on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 8:40 a.m. Central time. Baird Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference Kip Rupp, Vice President - Investor Relations, will meet with institutional investors at the conference and will participate in a fireside chat on Thursday, June 6, 2019 at 11:25 a.m. Eastern time. Stifel Cross Sector Insight Conference Duke Austin, Chief Executive Officer, Paul Gregory, President of Pipeline and Industrial and Chief Strategy Officer and Kip Rupp, Vice President Investor Relations, will meet with institutional investors at the conference on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. Mr. Austin will also participate in a fireside chat at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time that day. About Quanta Services Quanta Services is a leading specialized contracting services company, delivering comprehensive infrastructure solutions for the electric power, energy and communications industries, including design, installation, repair and maintenance. With operations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia and select other international markets, Quanta has the manpower, resources and expertise to safely complete projects that are local, regional, national or international in scope. For more information, visit www.quantaservices.com. Kip Rupp, CFA Quanta Services, Inc. (713) 341-7260 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/quanta-services-to-participate-in-several-institutional-investor-conferences-in-may-and-june-300856253.html SOURCE Quanta Services, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Three major development projects can move forward in the Temiscamingue RCM The Government of Canada is providing more than $1.3 million in funding to LVL Global Inc., Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue and Barbe Broue Pub VILLE-MARIE, QC, May 23, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) LVL Global Inc., Barbe Broue Pub and the Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT) will be able to carry out their projects with a total of $1,337,000 in funding from Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. With a repayable contribution of $1 million, LVL Global will be able to grow by optimizing its production capacity by acquiring automated equipment. Barbe Broue Pub will benefit from a non-repayable contribution of $100,000 to acquire new brewing and computer equipment and enhance its marketing and production activities. With a non-repayable contribution of $237,500, UQAT, through its Agriculture Research Station, will conduct applied research projects in deriving value from agri-food processing by-products in order to improve the competitiveness and environmental performance of enterprises in this sector. Stephane Lauzon, Member of Parliament for ArgenteuilLa Petite-Nation and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence announced the funding today. The funds from the Government of Canada will generate total investments of nearly $5 million and create five jobs in the region. The Government of Canada is committed to establishing close partnerships with Quebec companies and the organizations that support them in order to stimulate innovation, promote productivity and competitiveness, while contributing to the regions' economic vitality, job creation and a better quality of life for citizens. Quotes "By supporting LVL Global, the Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue and Barbe Broue Pub, the Government of Canada is reaffirming its commitment to support regional development through investments that stimulate expansion, innovation and the development of new markets. I am pleased with this contribution to projects that will be successful for the businesses, organizations and communities in the Temiscamingue RCM where the projects will be held." Stephane Lauzon, Member of Parliament for ArgenteuilLa Petite-Nation and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence "Investing in improved productivity, improved process development and marketing activities reflects the Government of Canada's commitment to supporting applied research and the willingness and ability of our businesses to expand. The funding announced today is intended to provide tangible support for the development of our industries and the growth of our economy." The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister responsible for CED Quick facts Today's announcement is made on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister responsible for the Innovation, Science and Economic Development, which comprises 17 federal departments and agencies, including CED and the other five regional development agencies. The funding awarded to LVL Global Inc. and UQAT was granted under CED's Quebec Economic Development Program. The contribution to Barbe Broue Pub comes from the Women Entrepreneurship Fund of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES). With a budget of nearly $2 billion, this strategy will make it easier for women to access sources of funding, talent, networks and expertise they need. The WES will help the government reach its goal of doubling the number of majority women-owned businesses by 2025. To find out more about CED and its priorities, see the 2019-2020 Departmental Plan or visit www.dec-ced.gc.ca. Related product For more details about the projects, see the attached backgrounder. Backgrounder Proponent Contribution Investments Project Description LVL Global Inc. Repayable contribution of $1 million out of a total investment of $4 million Founded in 2009, LVL Global manufactures laminated wood veneer components from aspen or a mix of aspen and birch. It exports part of its production and employs about 100 people, nearly half of them women, at its Ville-Marie plant. The project aims to support the company's growth by optimizing its production capacity through the implementation of a state-of-the-art automated manufacturing process. CED's contribution will fund the acquisition of a rotary veneer system incorporating a laser scanner. Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue Non-repayable contribution of $237,500 out of a total investment of $780,727 The Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT), a member of the Universite du Quebec network, was created in 1983 to serve this territory and the Nord-du-Quebec. In addition to its primary mission, it contributes to the advancement and transfer of knowledge by participating in development projects in its community. It has a number of research entities, including the Abitibi-Temiscamingue Agriculture Research Station in Notre-Dame-du-Nord, where the activities will take place. The project aims to support innovation and technology transfer in the agri-food sector, particularly through deriving value from agri-food processing by-products in order to improve the competitiveness and environmental performance of enterprises in this sector. CED's contribution will fund the acquisition of laboratory equipment, including an infrared analyzer, an inductively coupled plasma spectrometer and an organic elemental analyzer. The project will create one job. Barbe Broue Pub (9196-0351 Quebec inc.) Non-repayable contribution of $100,000 out of a total investment of $125,000 Farm, pub and microbrewery, the company, whose majority shareholder is a woman, was founded in 2008 and is located in Nedelec. The microbrewery manufactures and markets original craft-type beers, finely brewed from local, Quebec and Canadian ingredients. The project includes the acquisition of brewing equipment and software, the development of a website and the establishment of a retail space, training activities and consulting services. The project will create four jobs. Summary Number of projects: 3 Number of jobs created: 5 CED's contributions: $1,337,000 Total investments generated by these projects: $4,905,727 Stay connected Follow CED on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube Follow LVL Global Inc. on LinkedIn Follow UQAT on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn Follow Broue Barbe Pub on Facebook SOURCE Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Arcadia Appoints Brigette A. Bryant as VP for Development and Alumni Relations GLENSIDE, Pa., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Arcadia University is proud to announce that Brigette A. Bryant, a fundraising executive with nearly three decades of development experience in higher education, has been appointed vice president for Development and Alumni Relations. Bryant begins her tenure at Arcadia on June 3. "Throughout her impressive career, Brigette has demonstrated a level of expertise that has increased fundraising and surpassed giving goals at the institutions at which she's worked," said Dr. Ajay Nair, president of Arcadia. "Perhaps most importantly, Brigette's professional values, which align closely with Arcadia's mission and values, have made her effective at building relationships and development teams that have exceeded expectations." Most recently, Bryant served as founding vice chancellor for University Advancement at the City University of New York. There, she was responsible for leading fundraising expansion for the 25-campus university system, providing oversight and conultative support for an enterprise-wide advancement team and managing a central office team. Among her highlights are integrating a faculty and staff giving program with a more successful Giving Tuesday effort, resulting in nearly $1 million in Fiscal Year 2019; drafting principal gift level agreements in support of campus fundraising; and helping to secure several major gifts, including $1 million transfer scholarship for CUNY's most vulnerable students and a $20 million gift to name the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Prior to her work at CUNY, Bryant was associate vice president for development at Seton Hall University, where she led a 25-member team that focused on six key gift generating areas: annual giving, parents' program, principal and leadership gifts, major gifts, deferred giving, and corporate and foundation relations. She also oversaw the University's record-breaking consecutive achievement of $21.4 million in Fiscal Year 2016 and $25.4 million in Fiscal Year 2017. "From the moment I stepped onto campus, I could sense that Arcadia is a special place," said Bryant. "I could see that what the future holds for Arcadia will be made possible by the community's support of President Nair and his bold vision. I am so excited to join the team." Bryant also has held chief development roles at Tufts University and Case Western Reserve University, and senior major gift roles at Columbia University, Stony Brook University, and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Bryant earned a bachelor's degree in music production and engineering from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arcadia-appoints-brigette-a-bryant-as-vp-for-development-and-alumni-relations-300856246.html SOURCE Arcadia University [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] DataStax Announces the 2019 Stax Awards and Partner of the Year Winners DataStax, the company behind the leading database built on Apache Cassandra, today announced the winners of the Stax Awards, which recognize the innovative and results-producing projects built on DataStax. The awards were announced over two days at DataStax's annual user conference, DataStax Accelerate. Click to Tweet: Stax Awards winners announced! @PlayStation, @DellTech, @FamilySearch, and others recognized for the major innovations and results they've achieved with @DataStax. Read more https://bit.ly/2EB9Aot #StaxAwards #DataStaxAccelerate The 2019 Stax Awards winners are: Sony PlayStation won The Best Use of DataStax in a Hybrid/Multi-Cloud Environment Award , which recognizes companies that have deployed DataStax Enterprise (DSE) across multiple cloud providers or in a hybrid cloud environment. Sony PlayStation utilizes DataStax to support hybrid and multi-cloud deployments. To successfully run the PS4, Sony needed a flexible hosting and agnostic solution. Today, Sony runs several hundred nodes of DSE, that handle over 300,000 reads/writes per second and tens of terabytes of data, across AWS and its own private data centers. Sony has also automated key aspects of operations-build out, scale out, and cluster is self-healing upon node failure. DSE ensures PS4 players enjoy a socially connected experience without any impact from performance or downtime issues. The Stax Awards judges commented: "This is a great story around scale. This solution utilizes on-prem, one cloud vendor, and another one in planning, so it's a true hybrid story." won , which recognizes companies that have deployed DataStax Enterprise (DSE) across multiple cloud providers or in a hybrid cloud environment. Sony PlayStation utilizes DataStax to support hybrid and multi-cloud deployments. To successfully run the PS4, Sony needed a flexible hosting and agnostic solution. Today, Sony runs several hundred nodes of DSE, that handle over 300,000 reads/writes per second and tens of terabytes of data, across AWS and its own private data centers. Sony has also automated key aspects of operations-build out, scale out, and cluster is self-healing upon node failure. DSE ensures PS4 players enjoy a socially connected experience without any impact from performance or downtime issues. The Stax Awards judges commented: "This is a great story around scale. This solution utilizes on-prem, one cloud vendor, and another one in planning, so it's a true hybrid story." FamilySearch won The Modern Applications Powered by DataStax Award , which showcases companies building transformative applications on DataStax. Using DataStax, FamilySearch has been able to achieve zero database downtime and serve 125 million transactions per hour during peak usage. Now, FamilySearch can focus on building and improving its applications to further its mission to connect families across generations. The Stax Awards judges commented: "This is a very impressive use case, especially in contrast to the legacy solution. reat detail and insights into what makes this DSE-based solution great." won , which showcases companies building transformative applications on DataStax. Using DataStax, FamilySearch has been able to achieve zero database downtime and serve 125 million transactions per hour during peak usage. Now, FamilySearch can focus on building and improving its applications to further its mission to connect families across generations. The Stax Awards judges commented: "This is a very impressive use case, especially in contrast to the legacy solution. reat detail and insights into what makes this DSE-based solution great." Dell (News - Alert) Technologies won The Promising Innovation Award, which recognizes customers planning innovative projects that fundamentally transform the way their companies leverage data in a mission-critical way. Dell Technologies is in the midst of a digital transformation, moving from on-prem to cloud and leveraging DataStax to evolve the online buyer experience to drive better performance and improve business results. The Stax Award judges commented: "This is an entry with a real-world application that fits the innovation category." Adrian Bridgwater, Reporter at Computer Weekly James E. Curtis, Senior Analyst at 451 Research (News - Alert) Sean Durity, Staff Systems Engineer (Cassandra) at The Home Depot Ed Targett, Editor at Computer Business Review Sven Delmas, Senior VP of DSE Engineering at DataStax "DataStax is chosen by technologists who need a distributed database that can provide reliable performance at scale. We are thrilled to be the foundation that these innovators rely on as they transform their business," said DataStax Chief Marketing Officer Cate Lochead. "The Stax Awards winners exemplify what's possible when you give the right tools and technology to people driven to create change and become their industry's leaders and disruptors in the process." The 2019 DataStax Partner Award winners are: Deloitte (News - Alert) won Solution Partner of the Year , which recognizes their commitment to transform their clients' business models through innovative solutions. Using their MissionGraph platform and Opioid360 solution built on DataStax Enterprise and DataStax Enterprise Graph, Deloitte has enabled solutions across federal and state levels. It is also now expanding internationally to empower government intelligence and enforcement agencies and businesses that are aggressively adopting a whole new wave of analytic techniques and machine learning tools. won , which recognizes their commitment to transform their clients' business models through innovative solutions. Using their MissionGraph platform and Opioid360 solution built on DataStax Enterprise and DataStax Enterprise Graph, Deloitte has enabled solutions across federal and state levels. It is also now expanding internationally to empower government intelligence and enforcement agencies and businesses that are aggressively adopting a whole new wave of analytic techniques and machine learning tools. Publicis Sapient won Emerging Partner of the Year , which recognizes their outstanding design and engineering in their Rapid Commerce solution to re-platform customers' ecommerce sites to a microservices architecture with DataStax Enterprise as the hybrid cloud database. won , which recognizes their outstanding design and engineering in their Rapid Commerce solution to re-platform customers' ecommerce sites to a microservices architecture with DataStax Enterprise as the hybrid cloud database. VMware won Technology Partner of the Year, which recognizes outstanding achievements and the innovators behind them. VMware's Technology Partnership and Product teams and DataStax jointly launched Host Affinity, a breakthrough in vSAN technology that simplifies storage management for distributed systems. Together, the companies will continue to drive business innovation through next-generation VMware and DataStax technologies, empowering customers to thrive throughout their hybrid cloud journey. The Partner Award winners were nominated based on the category and evaluated based on a number of considerations, including joint customers and strategic impact to both businesses. To learn more about DataStax partners, please visit: https://www.datastax.com/partners. To learn more about the Stax Awards, please read the following blog: The Stax Awards: Highlighting the Amazing Ways Companies Use DataStax. Resources Read the blog about the Stax Awards Learn more about our customers About DataStax DataStax delivers the only active everywhere hybrid cloud database built on Apache Cassandra: DataStax Enterprise. The foundation for contextual, always-on, real-time, distributed applications at scale, DataStax Enterprise makes it easy for enterprises to seamlessly build and deploy modern applications in hybrid cloud. DataStax also offers DataStax Managed Services, a fully managed, white-glove service with guaranteed uptime, end-to-end security, and 24x7x365 lights-out management provided by experts at handling enterprise applications at cloud scale, and DataStax Distribution of Apache Cassandra, a production-certified, 100% open source compatible distribution of Cassandra with expert support. DataStax helps more than 400 of the world's leading brands like Capital One, Cisco, Comcast (News - Alert), Delta Airlines, eBay, Macy's, McDonald's, Safeway, Sony, and Walmart build modern applications that can work across any cloud. For more information, visit www.DataStax.com and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @DataStax. 2019 DataStax, All Rights Reserved. DataStax, Titan, and TitanDB are registered trademarks of DataStax, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Apache, Apache Cassandra, and Cassandra are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Apache Software Foundation or its subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005658/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of MAPFRE U.S.A. Corp.'s Main Insurance Subsidiaries AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of "a" of the main property/casualty members of MAPFRE U.S.A. Group (MAPFRE U.S.A.). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The aforementioned companies are owned by MAPFRE U.S.A. Corp. (MAPFRE USA Corp), whose ultimate parent is Spain-based MAPFRE S.A. (MAPFRE). The lead company in MAPFRE U.S.A. is The Commerce Insurance Company (Webster, MA) and includes inter-company pooling members, Citation Insurance Company (Webster, MA), Commerce West Insurance Company (Sam Ramon, CA (News - Alert)), American Commerce Insurance Company (Columbus, OH), MAPFRE Insurance Company of Florida (Miami, FL) and MAPFRE Insurance Company (Florham Park, NJ). The ratings reflect MAPFRE U.S.A.'s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings also reflect the implicit and explicit support provided by its parent company, MAPFRE. MAPFRE U.S.A.'s balance sheet strength reflects the group's strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which is partially offset by adverse loss reserve development trends and liquidity and underwriting leverage measures, which compare unfavorably with the averages for the private passenger standard automobile industry composite. Surplus levels have declined over the most-recent five-year period due to sizeable dividend payments to the parent company. Operating results over the most-recent five-year period have been volatile. The group's five-year average return on revenue and return on equity measures lag the averages for the industry composite by a wide margin. Operating results have been impacted negatively by underwritin losses, driven by adverse prior-year loss reserve development, weather-related losses and an above-average expense ratio mainly due to high commission expenses. The business profile is considered neutral due to the group's local market expertise, MAPFRE U.S.A./Commerce brand-name recognition in several states, broad distribution networks and marketing activities throughout the various subsidiaries. This is partially offset by MAPFRE U.S.A.'s concentration of business in Massachusetts and to the automobile sector. ERM is considered appropriate for the group's size and complexity of its underwriting, investment and other risks, based on its ERM framework and controls. The ratings also benefit from the group's role and strategic importance as an attractive market to its parent company, MAPFRE. MAPFRE U.S.A. is integrated fully into the operations and management of the group globally and carries the MAPFRE name commercially. MAPFRE also provides support to MAPFRE U.S.A. through reinsurance, staffing of senior leadership positions and ERM guidance. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information. Copyright 2019 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005794/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Avaya Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor Conferences Avaya (News - Alert) Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AVYA) today announced it will present at the following upcoming investor conferences. Kieran McGrath, Senior Vice President and CFO and Michael McCarthy, Vice President-Investor Relations, will attend one-on-ones at the Cowen and Company 47th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, New York. Chris McGugan, Senior Vice President, Solutions & Technology and Mike McCarthy, Vice President Investor Relations, will attend one-on-ones at The Baird 2019 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference on Thursday, June 6, 2019 at the InterContinental New York Barclay, New York. For more information about these and other events, access the investor page of Avaya's website https://investors.avaya.com/. About Avaya Businesses are built on the experiences they provide, and every day millions of those experiences are built by Avaya (NYSE:AVYA). For over one hundred years, we've enabled organizations around the globe to win - by creating intelligent communications experiences for customers and employees. Avaya builds open, converged and innovative solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration - in the cloud, on-premise or a hybrid of both. To grow your business, we're committed to innovation, partnership, and a relentless focus on what's next. We're the technology company you trust to help you deliver Experiences that Matter. Visit us at www.avaya.com. Source (News - Alert): Avaya Newsroom View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005690/en/ [May 23, 2019] Heil's Ready Truck Program Provides Quick Solutions for Customers DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Heil, part of Environmental Solutions Group and Dover (NYSE: DOV), is proud to offer the growing Ready Truck Program, a leading-edge business model created to alleviate issues that can be caused by delays in the production and delivery of new garbage trucks. Larry Angel, General Manager of Ready Truck, has a lifetime of experience in the waste industry, both in the solid waste business, as well as his decade-long tenure with Heil. He described the challenges being faced by haulers and how Ready Truck has aggressively worked to deliver solutions. "Waste haulers, whether private, public or municipal, don't have the luxury of waiting months for a truck. If you have a new contract, or have lost a truck due to an accident or fire, patience just isn't an option. If they aren't able to get a truck on the route within a short period of time, the impact to their bottom line can be substantial. The Heil Ready Truck Program enables us to deliver the trucks our customers need, when and where they need them." Ready Truck has a wide array of completed garbage trucks, in stock and ready for immediate delivery. Angel states, "We always have 25 to 30 completed trucks on the ground and ready for delivery. We've been doing this for so long, we are able to anticipate the needs of our customers, and work extremely hard to ensure that we have the most popular configurations in stock and ready to roll," said Angel, adding, "if the configuration of the stock truck meets the customer requirement, they can ship almost immediately." For customers in immediate need of a vehicle with specifications not reflected in their stock inventory, Ready Truck has that covered as well. Angel explains, "With vehicles always in production at the factory, we are able to modify a build, but delivery is then based on standard factory throughput. Customers needing product right now are encouraged to choose from our wide assortment of configured vehicles ready to ship." Heil's eperienced sales team, state-of-the-art production facility and skilled workforce are equipped to provide superior quality for every aspect of refuse truck design and construction. Angel states, "Our customers love knowing that when Heil does something, it's done right, and it's done on time. Our sales and engineering teams really know the business, and can help guide folks through the entire process of spec'ing out a truck. Our production facility provides a full array of services including frame modifications, mechanical and hydraulic work, custom fabrication and more." As an added bonus over and above the quick delivery time frames, Ready Truck's volume purchasing can actually save their customers money as well. Angel says, "We are one of the largest chassis purchasers in the United States. Many people have become aware that we are able to provide trucks very quickly, but when they find out that we pass our volume pricing on to the end user, it makes dealing with Ready Truck a no-brainer." Founded in 1901, Heil is the nation's oldest manufacturer of refuse collection bodies and equipment. They have a long history of working tirelessly to make sure that the quality of their products, and time required for delivery exceeds customer expectations, each and every time. The Ready Truck Program recognizes their customer's challenges, and in the longstanding Heil tradition, provides real world solutions that improve bottom lines. For Heil, world-class quality and customer service aren't just catchy slogans. Chris Knight, Waste Management Director for The City of Stillwater, Oklahoma, states, "We've dealt with numerous other body companies over the years and made the decision to switch to all Heil in 2014. We've had nothing but great success, and I wish we'd have done it years before. Their delivery timeframes are fast, the bodies are extremely well made and hold up very well. If we were ever in a jam, I know they'd bend over backwards to accommodate us. Everything they do is top notch, I can tell you that as long as I am here, we'll never deal with another body company." Heil has a nationwide network of more than 40 dealers in over 60 locations across the United States. To learn more or to locate a dealer closest to you, visit heil.com and click on "Dealer Locator" or call toll free at 1 (800) ASK-HEIL. About Heil: Heil is one of the world's premier manufacturers of ultra-durable, high-productivity, custom-configured garbage trucks and automation solutions that help customers achieve the lowest cost of ownership. Their refuse collection bodies include a wide variety of front loaders, side loaders, and rear loaders. Heil bodies are known throughout the waste industry as being legendary for productivity, long life, ease of maintenance, and operator safety. They are proud to be a leader in customer service and provide world-class training, and after-the-sale support. For more information about Heil, visit heil.com, the Heil Facebook page or follow us on Twitter. About Dover:? Dover is a diversified global manufacturer with annual revenues of approximately $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, specialty systems, consumable supplies, software and digital solutions, and support services through three operating segments: Engineered Systems, Fluids, and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve.? Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for?over 60 years, our team of approximately 24,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible.? Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at?dovercorporation.com.? View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heils-ready-truck-program-provides-quick-solutions-for-customers-300856298.html SOURCE Dover [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A count of the homeless population in Indianapolis in January showed a slight decline in homelessness since last year, but the proportion of African Americans in the homeless population went up. There were 1,567 people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis when the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) and volunteers conducted the annual Point-in-Time Count on Jan. 30, the lowest number since at least 2013. Last year there were 1,682 people experiencing homelessness. But the proportion of African Americans was up from 56% last year to 61% this year. Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, executive director of CHIP, said at a press conference May 23 at Horizon House part of the reason African Americans are overrepresented in the homeless population is because of evictions. That is something thats alarming and something we need to start paying attention to, she said. Haring-Cozzi said CHIP has started working with the Indiana University Public Policy Institute to do research on evictions in Marion County, adding there is definitely a racial component to that. She said theyre also looking at the link between homelessness and involvement with the criminal justice system, since African Americans make up a disproportionate number of people in jails and prisons and its often difficult for ex-offenders to find affordable housing because of rental policy restrictions for people with a criminal record. It can also be difficult to find a well-paying job. Vop Osili, president of the Indianapolis City-County Council, said the council has been supportive of homelessness intervention and prevention and will continue in that direction under his leadership. We want to make sure our homeless neighbors are housed, wrapped around the surface and have long-term sustainability, he said. The things we can do are be supportive and hopefully provide funding that can move the initiatives forward. Osili highlighted an ordinance the council approved in February to decrease the amount of time people can park for free downtown and in Broad Ripple. Part of what the city is using those additional funds for is paying panhandlers to clean sidewalks. Not every councilor has been friendly toward the citys homeless. Councilman Michael McQuillen introduced a no sit, no lie proposal last year that would have prohibited anyone from sitting or lying in the Mile Square from 6 a.m. to midnight. McQuillen withdrew the proposal when it became obvious it wouldnt pass, and Osili said hes not worried about similar proposals coming back up. Haring-Cozzi along with Mayor Joe Hogsett, Horizon House Executive Director Teresa Wessel emphasized the one-night count is a snapshot of homelessness in the city. Jan. 30 also happened to be one of the coldest nights of the year, which means some statistics how many homeless were unsheltered, for example may not be representative. Since the count includes people in transitional housing and emergency shelters, there isnt reason to believe the total count isnt accurate. The biggest statistical decrease from 2018 to 2019 was the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness, a 39% decrease. Chronic homelessness includes those who have at least one disabling condition (substance abuse disorder, for example) and have been homeless consecutively for at least a year, or those who have been homeless at least four times in the past three years. It is true most of the numbers in this years Point-in-Time Count are headed in the right direction, Hogsett said. To me, this reaffirms that the approach weve taken with our partners throughout the city, a housing-first approach, is the right approach. Part of that approach is the Housing to Recovery Fund, launched by the mayors office and Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) in January. CICF has committed to raising $2 million this year and $2 million next year for services to help sustain permanent housing. Getting someone into permanent housing is one challenge, but having the resources to stay there is different. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandates a count of people experiencing homelessness in order to receive funding. HUD awarded nearly $137,000 this year to CHIPs Coordinated Entry System, which coordinates shelter and permanent housing in the city. Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. Jaclyn Ferguson is an intern for the Recorder. Vop Osili, president of the Indianapolis City-County Council, spoke at a press conference May 23 at Horizon House about the 2019 Point-in-Time Count of people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis. He was flanked by Mayor Joe Hogsett and Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, executive director of the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick) [May 23, 2019] Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation to Present on a Panel at the 2019 KBW Real Estate Finance and Asset Management Conference Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) announced today that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Henderson, will participate in a panel discussion at the 2019 KBW Real Estate Finance and Asset Management Conference on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 10:00 am EDT in New York City. A live audio webcast of the panel presentation will be available in the Investor Resources section of the Company's website at www.arescre.com. For those unable to listen to the live audio webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website shortly after the event. A slide presentation will also be available on the Investor Resources section of the Company's website at www.arescre.com. About Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation Ares Cmmercial Real Estate Corporation is a specialty finance company primarily engaged in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. Through its national direct origination platform, the Company provides a broad offering of flexible and reliable financing solutions for commercial real estate owners and operators. The Company originates senior mortgage loans, as well as subordinate financings, mezzanine debt and preferred equity, with an emphasis on providing value added financing on a variety of properties located in liquid markets across the United States. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation elected and qualified to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and is externally managed by a subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation. For more information, please visit www.arescre.com. The contents of such website are not, and should not be deemed to be, incorporated by reference herein. Forward-Looking Statements Statements included herein or on the webcast / conference call, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which relate to future events or the Company's future performance or financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the risks described from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement, including any contained herein, speaks only as of the time of this press release and Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein or on the webcast/conference call. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005697/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Barclays Appoints Taylor Wright as Co-Head of US ECM Barclays announces the appointment of Taylor Wright as a Managing Director and Co-Head of US Equity Capital Markets (ECM). Mr. Wright will be based in New York, and will report to Jean-Francois Astier, Global Head of Capital Markets at Barclays. Mr. Wright has over 30 years of banking and ECM experience, and joins Barclays from Morgan Stanley where he was most recently Head of Financial Institutions and Services ECM. During his more than 24 years at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Wright originated and led more than $250 billion of equity and equity-linked offerings across multiple industries and geographies. Mr. Wright has played key roles in the IPOs of issuers including AXA Equitable Holdings, Bandwidth (News - Alert), BankUnited, Citizens Financial, Endava, First Republic, Hamilton Lane, Korea Telecom, Moelis & Company, Tradeweb, UMC, Voya and Yext, led financing and restructuring transactions for issuers including AIG, Allied Irish Bank, GE, MetLife, State Street Bank and US Bancorp, and was an advisor to the US Department of Treasury during the financial crisis. Mr. Wright will Co-Head the US ECM business with Kristin DeClark, who joined Barclays from Deutsche Bank in March as Co-Head of US ECM and Global Hed of Technology ECM. Ms. DeClark will start at Barclays in June 2019, and will be based in Menlo Park, California. "Taylor is another outstanding addition to our US ECM leadership team, following our recent appointment of Kristin DeClark. His deep roster of key relationships and many years of experience will deliver enormous benefits as we position ourselves as the partner of choice for our growing client base," said Jean-Francois Astier, Global Head of Capital Markets. "Taylor's addition to the team will further enhance our abilities to provide best in class strategic advice and execution, and will accelerate the already strong momentum in our ECM business." Barclays is ranked number 5 in US Equity by volume year to date, and number 6 for global fee share in ECM, according to Dealogic. Also year to date, Barclays has served as joint-book runner on four of the five largest US IPOs (Uber, Avantor, Pinterest, and Tradeweb Markets), the two largest IPOs in EMEA (Nexi SpA, and Network International Holdings plc), and six of the eight largest IPOs globally (Uber, Avantor, Nexi, Pinterest, Network International, and Tradeweb). Mr. Wright will start at Barclays in August 2019. Barclays is a transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US. With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs approximately 83,500 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.barclays.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005810/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Loomis Sayles Global Growth Strategy Celebrates Key 3-Year Milestone, Fund Granted 5-Star Rating by Morningstar Loomis, Sayles & Company, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, today recognized the 3-year anniversary of the Loomis Sayles Global Growth strategy and its associated fund, the Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund (LSGGX), which was recently assigned a 5-star rating from Morningstar. This Loomis Sayles Global Growth strategy has $908.7 million in assets under management, including the highly-rated Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund1. Since the Fund was launched in 2016, it has outperformed the benchmark by 4.80% on a net annualized basis and ranks in the 5th percentile among its peers.2 Morningstar Percentile Rankings for the US Fund World Large Stock category as of 3/31/19. One year: 5th percentile (48/900), Three Year: 5th percentile (31/732). The Global Growth strategy is managed by Aziz V. Hamzaogullari, the chief investment officer and founder of the Loomis Sayles Growth Equity Strategies (GES) team, which has $56 billion in assets under management.3 The GES team manages a suite of equity products that employs a singular and differentiated investment process to generate both US and non-US investment ideas. The GES team takes a long-term, private equity approach to investing. Through a proprietary, bottom-up research framework, they look to invest in those few high-quality businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and profitable growth when they trade at a discount to intrinsic value. The Global Growth strategy is a natural extension given the global nature of the GES team's research-intensive alpha engine. The team believes the qualities that make a business great are universal in nature. For example, the team's global profit pool analysis, a component of its process since 2006, yields insights regarding long-term structural winners regardless of country of domicile. The strategy is characterized by low turnover, high active share and a high conviction portfolio of 30-45 holdings with low factor risk exposure. "A truly differentiated investment process underlies our GES portfolios, demonstrated by a research-intensive alpha engine that drives both US and non-US idea generation," said Jae Park, chief investment officer of Loomis Sayles. "We are so pleased to see the Global Growth strategy reach the 3-year milestone and look forward to continued consistent results." 1 As of April 30, 2019. 2 The total return percentile rank for the specified time period is relative to all funds that have the same Morningstar category. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank 1, and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100. Rankings are subject to change monthly. Morningstar rankings do not include the effect of sales charges. 3 As of April 30, 2019.Performance data shown represents past performance and is no guarantee of, and not necessarily indicative of, future results. Total return and value will vary and you may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Current performance may be lower or higher than quoted. For most recent month-end performance, visit www.loomissayles.com. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: AZIZ V. HAMZAOGULLARI, CFA Aziz Hamzaogullari is the chief investment officer and founder of the Growth Equity Strategies Team at Loomis, Sayles & Company. He is the portfolio manager of the Loomis Sayles large cap, global and all cap growth strategies, including the Loomis Sayles Growth and Global Growth mutual funds and products outside the US. Aziz is also an executive vice president and a member of the firm's Board of Directors. He joined Loomis Sayles in 2010 from Evergreen Investments where he was a senior portfolio manager and managing director. Aziz joined Evergreen in 2001, was promoted to director of research in 2003 and portfolio manager in 2006. He was head of Evergreen's Berkeley Street Growth Equity team and was the founder of the research and investment process. Prior to Evergreen, Aziz was a senior equity analyst and portfolio manager at Manning & Napier Advisors. He has 25 years of investment industry experience. Aziz earned a BS from Bilkent University, Turkey, and an MBA from George Washington University. He is also a member of CFA Society Boston. PERFORMANCE (%) CUMULATIVE RETURN AVERAGE ANNUALIZED RETURN 3-MONTH YTD 1-YEAR 3-YEAR 5-YEAR SINCE INCEPTION CLASS Y 17.84 17.84 9.69 15.47 - 15.47 BENCHMARK 12.18 12.18 2.60 10.67 - 10.67 CALENDAR YEAR PERFORMANCE (%) 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 CLASS Y -6.71 32.00 - - - - - - - - BENCHMARK -9.41 23.97 - - - - - - - - Gross expense ratio 1.32%. Net expense ratio 1.05%. As of the most recent prospectus, the investment advisor has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses (with certain exceptions) once the expense cap of the fund has been exceeded. This arrangement is set to expire on 03/31/2020. When an expense cap has not been exceeded, the gross and net expense ratios and/or yields may be the same. As of March 31, 2019. Performance data shown represents past performance and is no guarantee of, and not necessarily indicative of, future results. Total return and value will vary and you may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Current performance may be lower or higher than quoted. For most recent month-end performance, visit www.loomissayles.com THE GROWTH EQUITY STRATEGIES TEAM MANAGES THE FOLLOWING INVESTMENT STRATEGIES: INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIES MUTUAL FUNDS Loomis Sayles Global Growth Loomis Sayles Large Cap Growth Loomis Sayles All Cap Growth Loomis Sayles Global Growth Fund Loomis Sayles Growth Fund Natixis US Equity Opportunities Fund* *Aziz Hamzaogullari is one of multiple managers on the Natixis US Equity Opportunities Fund, he shares responsibilities with managers from other Natixis affiliates. ABOUT LOOMIS SAYLES Since 1926, Loomis, Sayles & Company has helped fulfill the investment needs of institutional and mutual fund clients worldwide. The firm's performance-driven investors integrate deep proprietary research and integrated risk analysis to make informed, judicious decisions. Teams of portfolio managers, strategists, research analysts and traders collaborate to assess market sectors and identify investment opportunities wherever they may lie, within traditional asset classes or among a range of alternative investments. Loomis Sayles has the resources, foresight and the flexibility to look far and wide for value in broad and narrow markets in its commitment to deliver attractive sustainable returns for clients. This rich tradition has earned Loomis Sayles the trust and respect of clients worldwide, for whom it manages $263.5 billion ** in assets (as of March 31, 2019). *Total strategy assets include all assets managed by the respective team. **Includes the assets of Loomis, Sayles & Co., LP, and Loomis Sayles Trust Company, LLC. Loomis Sayles Trust Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP. ABOUT NATIXIS INVESTMENT MANAGERS Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered by the expertise of more than 20 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active Thinking to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis ranks among the world's largest asset management firms1 ($917.1 billion/802.1 billion AUM2). Natixis Investment Managers includes all of the investment management and distribution entities affiliated with Natixis Distribution, L.P. and Natixis Investment Managers S.A. Services/ products are not available to all investors in all jurisdictions. 1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2018 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 16th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2017. 2 Net asset value as of December 31, 2018. Assets under management ("AUM"), as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets and other types of non-regulatory AUM. AUM does not include Vega Investment Managers, which was transferred to Natixis Wealth Management in December 2018. For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating used to rank the fund against other funds in the same category. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly excess performance, without any adjustments for loads (front-end, deferred, or redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars and the bottom 10% receive 1 star (each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages). Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 2019 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Y shares are only available to certain institutional investors with a minimum initial investment of $100,000. Alpha: A measure of the difference between a portfolio's actual returns and its expected performance, given its level of systematic market risk. A positive alpha indicates outperformance and negative alpha indicates underperformance relative to the portfolio's level of systematic risk. Equity securities are volatile and can decline significantly in response to broad market and economic conditions. Foreign and emerging market securities may be subject to greater political, economic, environmental, credit, currency and information risks. Foreign securities may be subject to higher volatility than US securities, due to varying degrees of regulation and limited liquidity. These risks are magnified in emerging markets. Currency exchange rates between the US dollar and foreign currencies may cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline. Investments in small and midsize companies can be more volatile than those of larger companies. Growth stocks may be more sensitive to market conditions than other equities, as their prices strongly reflect future expectations. Before investing, consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Visit im.natixis.com or call 800-225-5478 for a prospectus or a summary prospectus containing this and other information. Read it carefully. Natixis Distribution, L.P. (fund distributor, member FINRA | SIPC) and Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. are affiliated. 2527738.1.1 MALR023545 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005830/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [May 23, 2019] Marks Paneth Accountants & Advisors Expands Mid-Atlantic Presence with the Opening of New Philadelphia Office Nationally ranked accounting, tax and advisory firm, Marks Paneth LLP, has announced the opening of a new office in Center City Philadelphia. The expansion supports the firm's strategic plans to increase its significant Mid-Atlantic presence, which positions the firm as the eighth largest accounting firm in the Mid-Atlantic region. Other offices in the region include locations in New York City; New York State; Washington, D.C.; Jenkintown, PA; and New Jersey. The new office, located at One Commerce Square, 2005 Market Street, in Philadelphia's central business district, puts the firm in close proximity to the many law firms, businesses, individuals, business partners and associations it serves. Professionals from several of the firm's major practice areas, including tax, audit, litigation support, business advisory and private client services have relocated to the new office space. Marks Paneth will continue to operate its Jenkintown office with the same level of service and commitment to the greater Philadelphia area. The firm is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and the presenting sponsor of Philadelphia Business Journal's Best of the Bar awards program since its inception. "As we look strategically at the future of our firm, Philadelphia is an obvious choice for continued growth," said Harry Moehringer, Managing Partner of Marks Paneth. "Our established group of professionals in this market and their deep relationships within the business community will only increase and result in a more meaningful impact on our Philadelphia-based clients, their businesses and their financial futures." John Mitchell, Partner-in-Charge of the Pennsylvania offices of Marks Paneth, is among the partners who relocated to the Center City location. "Being in the heart of this thriving business community allows us to be considerably more accessible and helpful to our clients and business partners in Philadelphia," Mitchell said. "We are looking forward to multiplying these relationships and bringing Marks Paneth's unique client-centric approach to an even greater number of businesses and individuals who operate, work and live in this great city." Philadelphia marks the ninth office location for Marks Paneth, which is ranked among the top 50 accounting firms in the nation and top 10 in the Mid-Atlantic region by Accounting Today. It was recognized by the Philadelphia legal community as the top business accounting firm and litigation valuation provider and among the top 3 forensic accounting, bankruptcy valuation and overall accounting providers in The Legal Intelligencer's Best of 2018 survey. About Marks Paneth LLP Marks Paneth LLP is a premier accounting firm with origins dating back to 1907. With a team of nearly 700 professionals, the firm provides a full range of audit, accounting, tax and consulting services, with specialties in family office, international tax, forensic accounting, litigation support and financial advisory services. Marks Paneth professionals offer expert knowledge in a wide range of industries, including real estate, hospitality and restaurants; nonprofit, government and healthcare; manufacturing, wholesale and distribution; fishing; retail; high-net-worth; financial and professional services. The firm offers expanded resources through its membership in Morison KSi Ltd., a global association of professional service firms serving clients' cross-border accounting, tax and consulting needs. Headquartered in New York City, with offices in major markets throughout the East Coast, Marks Paneth is ranked by Accounting Today among the 50 largest accounting firms in the nation and the top 10 in the Mid-Atlantic Region. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005844/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Things continue to go from bad to worse for Huawei. In the span of just two weeks, the No. 2 worldwide phone maker has lost its privilege to license Googles Android services and purchase chips from industry suppliers Qualcomm and ARM, after the U.S. Department of Commerce placed Huawei on an Entity List that forbids U.S. companies from sharing software or hardware with the Chinese firm. Huawei Mate 20 Pro Its surely a distressing scenario for Huawei, which will now have to turn to domestic partners to fill these fresh gaps in production, and likely fork the open source component of Android to craft a new operating system without Googles instrumental frameworks. But lets not overlook the other victims in the fallout those who own Huawei products themselves. Huawei has affixed its name to some fantastic phones and laptops, especially in recent years. And with everything thats happened this month, youre likely wondering how this will affect you, should you own anything from a Mate 10 Pro to a MateBook X Pro. Will you update your phone one day only to find that the Play Store and all your Google apps have disappeared? Will you continue to receive software and security updates? Will you still be able to get support and service if you need it? The truth is, we dont yet know how everything will play out. But based on statements from some of the parties involved, we have a rough idea of what owners should expect. Cheat sheet: What Huawei owners should know Huawei has been granted a 90-day temporary license to continue working with U.S. companies to support its products. During that time, software and security updates will continue. After those 90 days are up, Huawei may not be allowed to continue to include Google services on its phones following future updates, and security patches from Google will cease. Huaweis eventual inability to work with Google could push back the rollout of Android Q to its phones, or significantly change the softwares feature set. Huaweis laptops and partnerships with Intel and Microsoft in the PC space are similarly affected. Support will continue for 90 days Initially, Google was to cease all activity with Huawei following the Chinese companys placement on the Entity List. However, some days after the Commerce Departments original decision, the U.S. government extended a temporary general export license to the Chinese tech giant, allowing them to continue product support operations for 90 days. Huawei Mate 20 Pro Google confirmed to CNBC that this extension allows the two companies to work together on software and security updates. Business will continue as is until August 19, but what will happen after that point isnt entirely clear yet a number of scenarios could play out, depending on the interpretation of the law. Your Huawei phone may forfeit Google services when updated Heres the issue: Like all Android OEMs, Huawei relies on Googles frameworks to develop and distribute updates to its Android phones. Without continued access to elements like Google Play Services, which underpins everything from notification delivery to privacy settings to software that utilizes your location, an Android phone would pretty much cease to function. Theoretically, existing Huawei devices out in the world would be able to retain all of Googles necessary Android components, apps and the Play Store but only until theyve been updated. If Huawei is to push out a new software build in September for a device like the P30 Pro, it may have to forfeit everything that comes from Google. Huawei P30 Pro So then the question becomes, does Huawei have to update its phones, if those updates will hugely cripple the experience its users are accustomed to? In the interest of security, one would argue the company must, but then precisely how valuable or indeed possible at all are future security updates if they cant implement Googles findings and patches? MORE: Huawei vs US Government: Where's the Evidence? These are complex, unprecedented problems for Google and one of its Android partners to be facing. While Android is rooted in open source code, Google has progressively folded more and more crucial system components into its own suite of software and services, which is not open source. Much like Amazon does with its Kindle Fire tablets, Huawei could use the open source version of Android, and then build its own EMUI front-end on top of that. (And the company is working on its own OS, though reports say its not close to being ready for release.) But regardless of what happens, the future of Huaweis phones existing and yet to release appears entirely devoid of Google. This will assuredly push back Android Q If the next version of Android, codenamed Q, arrives at all on Huaweis existing devices, itll likely be pushed back significantly. The update will likely debut in the fall, first on Googles own Pixel handsets, followed by hardware from other companies in late 2019 or early 2020. Interestingly, Huaweis recently-released Mate 20 Pro was initially included among the devices capable of running Android Q Developer Beta 3 after it was announced at Google I/O a few weeks back. However, once Google was forced to cease working with the company, that handset was taken off the list. Should Android Q miraculously arrive on Huawei products, it could look very different again as a consequence of losing access to that all-important Google suite. What about laptops? Of course, smartphones aren't all Huawei makes. The company's burgeoning PC business is also in danger for the very same reasons, and Intel has already cut ties meaning Huawei will need to find another chipmaker to power its computers. Huawei MateBook X Pro And then, of course, there's the problem of Microsoft, due to the fact that Huawei licenses Windows for its machines. Unlike Android, Windows is not open source in any capacity, meaning Huawei will have to literally start from scratch with a new operating system to replace it, or move to something like Linux. Interestingly, while Microsoft has stopped selling Huawei's laptops on its online store, it hasn't publicly addressed its relationship with the company in light of the Commerce Department's decision. Microsoft most recently told TechRadar that it has "nothing to share on the matter," though you'd have to imagine that will certainly change soon, considering increasingly more industry players are distancing themselves from the Chinese firm. What should you do? First off, Huawei owners should continue to monitor the situation. This all looks quite dire right now, but depending on how the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China shakes out, things could turn around just as they did for ZTE last year. That phone maker shut down operations entirely for a few weeks, until its Denial Order was suddenly lifted by the Trump administration and the company was given the green light to continue working with American businesses again. If you do currently use a Huawei phone, remember that you will continue to enjoy the same support you get now for the next three months, under the terms of the temporary license. Perhaps you could use that time to entertain trading your handset in for an alternative. Huawei P30 Pro with wireless reverse charging active Worst case scenario, your Huawei phone may stop getting security updates come mid-August, which would put you at increasing risk the longer flaws go unrectified. And if an update is pushed out after that point, be mindful that it could fundamentally alter your experience and limit your access to Google services. Or, maybe it wont. Again, this is all very much up in the air, and we wont truly know how Huawei customers will be affected for some time. These are questions nobody has the answer to right now, and each company involved will interpret the law differently. Be sure to keep an eye on our coverage of this ever-changing ordeal over the coming weeks to stay fully informed. Photo credits: Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag The US military is working on a new artificial intelligence to help pilots and fly robotic wingmen for the USAF. Its name is Skyborg and while it doesnt have the physical form of the beloved astromech android from Star Wars, it will work as R2-D2 in the films. (Image credit: Kratos Defense/USAF) It all started last year, when the US Air Force revealed plans to speed up its artificial intelligence programs. One of them was the idea of creating low-cost attritable combat robot wingman that could fly alongside piloted fighter jets. The concept became the XQ-58 Valkyrie drone prototype. Made by Kratos Defense, the Valkyrie is an unmanned fighter jet controlled by Skyborg. Will Roper USAFs top acquisition official now says that they want to take the program one step further and do two things with it. MORE: US Military Developing Wireless Tech to Control Weapons With Your Mind One, the USAF is talking with Lockheed Martin and Boeing to network the F-35 and F-15EX with the Valkyrie, so the drone can train and learn from pilots to escort them in missions like in a Japanese shoot-'em-up arcade game. The second one is the possibility of embedding Skyborg in the actual planes so it can assist the human pilots in their missions the same way R2 helped Luke on the Death Star trench run. Talking to Defense News, Roper says that hes very passionate about doing it: The F-35 has a wonderful opportunity to do this as part of Block 4 [a new version of the fighter with new sensors and payload capabilities] [w]e might also have an opportunity to do this as part of F-15EX [Boeings 21st century update to the venerable fighter jet]. The XQ-58 Valkyrie, which has already flew its first test at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona last March, works just like a human-controlled fighter jet - but one that is not bound by the laws of physics that affect pilots. As a result, it can do maneuvers that a human pilot cant do because of our bodies physical limitations. The USAF believes that they can produce this drones in great quantities for a couple of millions dollars per unit, which is nothing compared to the cost of an F-35, which right now its calculated between $94 and $122 million. The logic is that, if you can have several squadrons of these machines flying alongside human pilots, your air superiority will be guaranteed. Of course, that ignores the fact that at some point in the future the AI will make the pilots redundant. Or the possibility that the enemy can hack into your war systems and turn your swarm of vicious fighter jets against your own troops. If history has told us anything, it's is that everything is hackable, without exception. Acer Nitro 5. (Image credit: Acer) After struggling with Intel's CPU shortages for almost a year, Acer will join Asus, Dell, HP, Huawei, Lenovo, and Samsung in launching laptops using the chipmakers second-generation Ryzen Mobile processors based on the Zen+ microarchitecture. Acer announced that the Nitro 5 and Swift 3 notebooks will be the companys first to ship with AMDs second-generation mobile CPUs. Acer Nitro 5 Now with 2nd Gen Ryzen Mobile The Acer Nitro 5 is a gaming laptop for casual gamers, providing a second-generation 35W quad-core/eight-thread AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor with Radeon RX 560X graphics. It also promises stunning visuals on its 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with a 80% screen-to-body ratio. The screen-to-body is a metric apparently some laptop makers have started to care about more recently, after edge-to-edge smartphones have started becoming mainstream. The Nitro 5 supports Wi-Fi 5 with 2x2 MU-MIMO technology for effortless game streaming, according to the company. The laptop also supports HDMI 2.0 and USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps). Other gaming-oriented features include Acers CoolBoost technology and a dual exhaust port to improve sustained gaming performance. Acer says CoolBoost increases fan speed by 10 percent and CPU and GPU cooling by 9 percent compared to auto mode. The notebook also comes with Acers Network Optimizer, which leaves more bandwidth for games played over the internet. The program may also block some applications access to the internet while the user is within a game, but users can control how those apps get blocked. Acer Swift 3 Ultraslim with 2nd Gen Ryzen Mobile The new Acer Swift 3 ultraslim notebook will also feature a second-generation 15W quad-core/eight-thread Ryzen 3700U processor with Radeon Vega Graphics. The laptop maker will oa discrete Vega 540X GPU is optional). Acer Swift 3. (Image credit: Acer) The Swift 3 also comes with a 14-inch display with even slimmer bezels (Acer didnt mention the screen-to-body ratio on this one) and an aluminum body that opens 180-degrees to lay flat. The laptop weighs 1.45 kg (3.2 lbs) and is 18 mm thick (0.71 inches). Acer will display the two notebooks at the companys showcase at Xinyi Plaza, Xiangti Avenue Plaza in Taipei on May 28 to June 2, 2019. AMD's 3000-series, Second-Generation Zen+ Mobile Processors If the AMD Ryzen Mobile naming scheme confuses you, you're probably not the only one. AMD is calling both the Zen+ mobile processors and the third-generation Zen 2-based desktop processors the Ryzen 3000-series. One explanation for this might be that AMD didn't want consumers to think that its laptop processors are launching so far behind the desktop processors -- even though that's exactly what's happening here. It's objectively unfair to consumers who don't read the spec sheets of the processors found in the laptops they buy from stores. Many go into the stores, see the Ryzen 3000-series processor and believe that processor comes with all the improvements found in the Zen 2-based desktop processors, when that's not the case. AMD seems to be counting on this confusing to sell more AMD-based laptops to consumers. IBM System Q One. (Image credit: IBM) Editor's Note: This story and headline has been edited on 5/24 to remove references to a quantum computer with 58 Qubits, which was originally reported by Digitimes. IBM says this was an error. Digitimes has since corrected its story as well. Norishige Morimoto, Director of IBM Research in Tokyo and global vice president at IBM, said that IBM intends to commercialize quantum computers within 3-5 years, when he expects quantum computers to outperform supercomputers in specific domains. IBM to Commercialize Quantum Computers When speaking at the opening session of IBM think Summit Taipei held on May 22, Morimoto revealed that IBM intends to commercialize its next-generation quantum computers once the company has proven that they can beat supercomputers in finishing certain tasks faster. Achieving quantum supremacy, the moment when quantum computers can beat worlds most powerful supercomputers, is an important milestone for quantum computers, because otherwise switching to an entirely different computing platform may not be justifiable. IBM has recently claimed that its quantum computers double in performance every year (on average), following a Moores Law of quantum computing of sorts. The companys latest System Q One quantum computing system has a 20-qubit quantum processor with a quantum volume of 16. Quantum volume is a quantum computing performance metric IBM believes is more accurate than just using qubits alone. Quantum volume uses a combination of the number of qubits and error rate to determine the real-world performance of a quantum processor. The company is currently giving others free and paid access to its existing quantum computers. The Road to the Quantum Computing Realm IBM, Google and others have said before that to achieve quantum supremacy, a quantum computer needs at least 50 qubits. Morimoto said that IBM plans to launch a next-generation quantum computer (with an as-yet-unconfirmed number of qubits) that can outperform supercomputers and thus are suitable for commercialization. However, dont expect to own one of these any time soon, as they will require a working environment with a temperature of -273 degrees Celsius to protect the qubits from interference. As such, IBM believes that this sort of quantum computer will work best as a companion to classical supercomputers. Furthermore, quantum computers will initially be suitable only for narrow AI applications, as they cant yet handle broader AI applications. According to Morimoto, it will take time for AI to be able to make data inferences through deep learning. IBM is currently considered one of the leaders in the quantum computing field, but its not the only company working on one. Others such as Google, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, Fujitsu, Alibaba, IonQ, Rigetti, and even D-Wave are all competing in the same space and will try to beat each other to the punch on achieving quantum supremacy. (Image credit: Nvidia) Nvidia just posted a mysterious, 16-second teaser for an upcoming announcement related to GeForce. The video, posted on YouTube, shows the logo for something called "Super." It's hashtagged with GeForce, so it's more than likely related to its gaming lineup of cards. Beyond that, details are non-existent. Nvidia will hold a press conference at Computex in Taiwan on May 27 at 2:30 p.m. local time, so it's very possible that we'll learn about this development there. What are your guesses? Turing refresh? New memory speeds? Something entirely different? Let us know in the comments. For those who are unfamiliar with the Islamic tradition, Ramadan can sound like a month where Muslims get familiar with a list of dos and donts. Read the Quran every day, but dont eat while the sun is out. Pray even more during Ramadan, but dont chew gum. Ask someone whos been observing Ramadan for many years, though, and this seems like an oversimplification of a complex physical and spiritual experience that benefits each individual and the community as a whole. It brings us into a personal piety, personal self-discipline, said Ismail Abdul-Aleem, imam at Masjid Al Mumineen on Millersville Road. Then on a community level, it draws us together. One-point-whatever billion Muslims today are fasting. Thats this common action, the common act of obedience that we share together. Right now, there are at least 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, and Pew Research Center estimates that number will be 2.7 billion, or about 30% of the population, by 2050. There are about 3.5 million Muslims in America today, and Pew estimates Islam will pass Judaism by 2040 to become the countrys second largest religion, behind Christianity. Of course, not all Muslims observe Ramadan, but many do. Ramadan is the ninth month on the Islamic calendar, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, so Ramadan comes 11 days sooner each year. Ramadan started May 5 this year and goes until June 4. Marked most famously by fasting, Ramadan also includes reading the whole Quran and being charitable. Abdul-Aleem, a 69-year-old lifelong resident of Indianapolis, is observing his 49th Ramadan and said, contrary to popular belief outside of Islam, fasting isnt difficult. Its not as though Muslims dont eat or drink for 30 days. Theres suhoor, a meal served before dawn, and iftar, a meal served after sunset. Abdul-Aleem said hes heard people describe Ramadan as Christmas Eve for a month. The Festival of Breaking the Fast, or Eid al-Fitr, is a holiday to celebrate the end of Ramadan. Practices vary around the world, but the holiday is usually marked by family gatherings, food and giving gifts to children. Abdul-Aleem said Muslims are obligated to donate money and other resources to less fortunate people in order to help them also celebrate the holiday. Michael Saahir, resident imam of Nur-Allah Islamic Center on East 46th Street, said fasting is something everyone, even non-Muslims, should try. Its something they should try, even if they cant do it for the whole 30 days, Saahir said. The spiritual benefit is outstanding. Youre learning self-restraint to please your Lord. For Christians thinking those benefits sound familiar, Saahir agreed Christians could get the same satisfaction out of Lent that Muslims get out of Ramadan. Saahir knows what its like to not make it the whole 30 days of fasting. The first time he tried fasting in 1976, he lasted four days. After that Saahir said he surrounded himself with more people practicing the faith and successfully did it the next year. This is Saahirs 43rd Ramadan. You just do it, he said. Someone can wake me up and say tomorrows Ramadan, and Im like, OK. Karimah Abdullah, 14, is giving Ramadan a second run this year. Last year she tried but only made it three or four days. Younger children along with the sick and chronically ill arent expected to fast. Its hard to fast, she said. Because the two meals come before the sun rises and after it sets, Abdullah is up later and wakes up earlier than normal. Her family wakes up at 4:30 a.m. for the morning meal. To make it even more difficult, Abdullah said she sits with her friends during lunch at Tindley Collegiate Academy, so shes surrounded by food. She said students at her school are accepting of the practice, even if they dont fully understand whats happening. Saahir and Abdul-Aleem said Indianapolis has been welcoming of Islamic traditions such as Ramadan. Abdul-Aleem said he used to go on Amos Browns radio show on WTLC to inform listeners about the basics of Ramadan. Up until probably the last 20 years or so maybe, it was pretty unknown as far as Americans and the people in this community, he said. But now you see Ramadan specials at the mall, you know? Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick. (Image credit: TSMC) TSMC, the Korean chip manufacturer, said that its shipments to Huawei have not been affected by the recent United States ban. However, whether or not Huawei itself will continue to make Arm chips in the future is still an open question. TSMC to Continue Chip Shipments to Huawei On Thursday, TSMC said that the new U.S. restrictions against foreign companies that present a high risk to U.S. national security, will not impact its shipments to the Chinese firm Huawei. The comment was made by spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun at the TSMC 2019 Technology Symposium in Taiwans tech hub of Hsinchu. Before the announcement, TSMC said that it would continue to supply Huawei anyway but that it would also assess the impact of President Donald Trumps new executive order. The order that enabled these restrictions doesnt specifically name Huawei, but many companies in the industry seem to think that the U.S. government passed it specifically to target Huawei, as well as other Chinese companies. Arm Ban Should Still Hurt Huawei in the Long-Term Although TSMC believes that its free to manufacture Huaweis chips, whichever those may be, Huawei itself may not be able to design those chips for TSMC for much longer, at least when it comes to Arm-based chips. Recently, Arm sent a memo to its employees ordering them to stop all collaborations with Huawei, which also means Huawei will not be able to get new licenses from Arm until the situation is resolved. Even if the ban is eventually reversed, every month Huawei cant work on the next-generation CPU cores will represent the time Huawei will fall behind in technology and CPU performance compared to its rivals. Huawei can now wait it out and hope that it will be able to reverse the ban soon (the companys CEO certainly doesnt seem to lack the confidence in this regard). Alternatively, it could look to more open alternatives, such as the open source RISC-V instruction set architecture, which has already been adopted by some large companies such as Nvidia and Western Digital. Two other options could include OpenPower or MIPS ISAs, which have also been open sourced in recent years. However, Huawei will also need to carefully analyze those architectures licenses and U.S. law in this regard and commit to defending their use in court in case the U.S. government decides to go after them anyway. A quick conversation with an "advocate" for the toy train who is also a self-described "Marketing Strategist & Creative Generalist. Urbanist. #KC Transpo Commission Chair. #KCstreetcar Authority. Agency owner" who has been awarded streetcar contracts.Checkit: Racial Tensions Continue To Roil Lee's Summit School Board The Lee's Summit school board remains deeply divided over issues of race and equity, a week after voting down a plan to bring in consultants for diversity training. At a tense work session Wednesday night, newly elected board member Mike Allen accused the district's first black superintendent, Dennis Carpenter, of only caring about black students. Fear and loathing among suburbanites who just can't seem to get along has sparked social media drama and resentment among school district officials, administrators, teachers and staff. Check the latest slap fight as public education in Missouri endures continued decline as parents desperately search for alternative options.Read more: Old School Broadcast Television Viewers Agonize Over Slight Schedule Change Multiple tornado warnings impact viewing area KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Severe weather skirted the Kansas City metro area to the south and east Wednesday, a day after a produced more than 60 tornadoes across the Midwest. Parts of Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri were placed under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning shortly after 6 p.m. Forecast So Far After destruction across Missouri, KC to see a peaceful day before storms hit again The weather forecast in Kansas City Thursday calls for peaceful weather during the day before storms hit again at night and raise risks of flooding. The storms continue to come after tornadoes hit Jefferson City and left three dead to the southwest in Barton County. The Debate Everybody Ignored Quinton vs Jolie: Mayoral candidates outline vision for KCMO KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Several important races will be before Kansas City, Missouri, voters on June 18. The headline race features a pair of Kansas City, Missouri, City Council members, Quinton Lucas and Jolie Justus, vying to become KC's next mayor. Another Jeff City Postscript Jefferson City resident: Looks like a war zone (CNN) -- A tornado hit the Missouri capital as people slept late Wednesday night -- part of a deadly spring storm system that has ravaged the central United States over the past several days, unleashing twisters, drenching rain, flash flooding and hail. Local Doggie Rescue Animal health officers canvas KC neighborhood to help pets KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Taking advantage of the dry weather, Spay and Neuter Kansas City and Wayside Waifs went door-to-door in a Kansas City neighborhood Wednesday morning to share resources with pet owners. Teams visited nearly 2,500 hundred homes in the area from Linwood Boulevard to 40th Street and Myrtle Avenue to Wabash Avenue. Kansas City Loves Captivity HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUSTY: Celebrating Dusty the orangutan's 3rd birthday at the Kansas City Zoo We're throwing a party on this week's "Zoo View." It's Dusty the orangutan's 3rd birthday on Thursday, so we're celebrating with his family at the Kansas Ci... Kansas City Hipster Weekend Warriors Ready To Ruin Memorial Day Celebration At The Station, Catio Party & Other Weekend Possibilities The concept works like Chipotle. You pick your size of bowl, a base (rice, quinoa, zoodles), protein (raw ahi tuna, tofu, shredded chicken), mix-ins (snow peas, edamame, mung beans), marinade (rosemary tamari, sriracha ponzu), toppings (spicy cashews, pickled ginger) and sauce (sriracha mayo, eel sauce). And then they mix it up and hand it over. Hottieis a Brit singing sensation reminiscent of Amy Winehouse but without the amazing voice or debilitating drug & alcohol problem. Here's a peek at International pop culture news inspired by the throwback rising star . . .Closer to home, here are the news links worth checking to start the day:is the horrible #TBT song of the day and this is thefor right now . . . The battle for Cuba's economic future is being waged on its beaches. And at its all-inclusive resorts, dive sites and cobblestoned colonial plazas. As most of Cuba's economy stagnates or declines, the country has launched a full-scale effort to turn virtually the only bright spot - tourism - into an engine that can drag the rest of the communist island through its worst economic crisis in two decades. In government meetings and propaganda, it has now set a goal of drawing 5 million tourists in 2019 - perhaps the modern-day equivalent of its Soviet-era dependence on the annual sugar-harvest production. Full Article See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Cunard Announces Addition of Glacier Bay to 2020 Alaska Voyages Luxury cruise line Cunard's Queen Elizabeth kicked off the company's return to Alaska today in their West Coast homeport of Vancouver, Canada. Queen Elizabeth will sail four ten-night roundtrip voyages out of Vancouver in 2019, and ten voyages in 2020, calling at Juneau, Ketchikan, Victoria, Skagway, and more. To celebrate this inaugural season, Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge, Master of Queen Elizabeth, along with Simon Palethorpe, President, and Josh Leibowitz, Senior Vice President, of Cunard, welcomed aboard dignitaries from the Port of Vancouver for a traditional Plaque and Key ceremony welcoming the ship to the city and exchanging gifts. It was announced today that during Cunard's expanded 2020 Alaska season Queen Elizabeth will visit the awe-inspiring Glacier Bay during its 2020 Alaska voyages, with only Cunard offering a selection of 10, 11 and 12 day round trip voyages from Vancouver that soak up the majestic and pristine drama of both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier, two jewels in the crown of the region. Sailing to Glacier Bay National Park is an iconic experience, highly rated by cruise passengers and a highlight of Alaska. A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, Glacier Bay covers over 58,000 acres comprised of vast glacial fjords and peaks, and showcases some of the continent's most breathtaking scenery and wilderness. The 2020 program will run from June-September, offering a variety of nine to 12 nights as well as a getaway cruise to San Francisco for an overnight stay on the 4th of July. The Alaska voyages will feature longer time in ports such as Ketchikan, Victoria, Juneau, Skagway, and others. In other experiences only to be found on Cunard, guests will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture of Alaska with Cultured Heritage Guides on every sailing. For relaxation, guests can indulge in Mareel Wellness & Beauty (Cunard's new holistic spa concept) on every voyage, offering oceanic treatments and meditation rituals inspired by the wilderness. And as night falls, with the backdrop of Alaska, guests will enjoy the unique sense of occasion with an Ice White Ball in the spectacular Queens Room on every voyage. "We are thrilled to launch our inaugural Alaska season today in Vancouver," said Josh Leibowitz, SVP Cunard North America. "Our guests now have the opportunity to sail into this spectacular region with the luxury and style of being on a Cunard ship. With Glacier Bay added to our 2020 Alaska itineraries, our guests will have an even more dramatic front-row seat to witness the immense beauty of the region." Guests who book a 2020 Alaska Voyage by June 27, 2019 receive: Up to $1000 Onboard Credit per stateroom 50% reduced deposit Third/fourth berths as low as $500 per person Free Drinks and Free Gratuities for Grill Suite guests 5% off public fares for past guests Up to $500 additional Onboard Credit per person when booking Cruise and Rail package Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Travel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Travel Industry Wire TRENTON A city man was gunned down Wednesday evening on the first block of Bellevue Ave and pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at a local hospital, police said Sources say the victim was shot several times and that the Mercer County Homicide Task Force was investigating. Mercer County Prosecutors Office confirmed late Wednesday night that 18-year-old Taquan Ellerbe was found in the rear of a building on the first block of Bellevue Ave after police responded to a 9-1-1 call for a male shot and an activation of the Shotspotter system. Ellerbe was transported to Capital Health Fuld for several gunshot wounds and was pronounced deceased just before 6 p.m. Officials said that the mans family was at the hospital and informed of his death. Mayor Reed Gusciora weighed in Wednesday evening. Its a tragedy for all Trentonians and indicative of gun violence across the country in urban America, Gusciora said. We will continue to step up law enforcement under the new Police Director and address the root causes of indiscriminate shootings involving young persons in our neighborhoods. One shooting is one too many in our city. Sources have identified the victim as a relative of mayoral aide Andrew Bobbitt. Bobbitt has worked for Mayors Doug Palmer, Eric Jackson, and Gusciora. This is the fifth homicide in Trenton this year, but May has been a deadly month in and around the capital city. Willie West, 69, of Ewing, was shot in the stomach with a sawed-off shotgun on the first block of Hart Avenue just before 7:20 Saturday night, the Mercer County Prosecutors Office said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. Maurice Rowe, 30, of Trenton, was shot to death Tuesday, May 7, near Oakland and Hoffman avenues. The brazen shooting was interrupted by Trenton Police street crime detectives Stephen Szbanz and John Carrigg who were responding to an unrelated call on Hoffman Avenue when they heard gunshots, prosecutors said. Rowe was killed five days after 40-year-old Javier Morales was gunned down, with his back turned, near Hudson and Pearl streets. Trenton musician Jamar Tucker was also murdered this month when he was found shot to death in Langhorne on his birthday, May 10. Leydi Lemos-Delgado, 32, of Hamilton was stabbed to death in her Hamilton home Sunday, May 12. By Ellen Mitchell May 22, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved an amendment to the annual defense spending bill that would end the authorization for the use of military force (AUMF), as lawmakers grow increasingly concerned over the possibility of war with Iran. The committee voted along party lines, 30-22, for Rep. Barbara Lee's (D-Calif.) amendment to sunset the AUMF, which has been used as legal justification for military operations against terrorist groups. Passed days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it has been cited as a justification for conflict 41 times in 18 countries. In the last 18 years, it really has become increasingly clear that the AUMF has essentially provided the president, and thats any president, the authority to wage war anywhere in the world at any time, said Lee, who was the only member of Congress to vote against the AUMF when it was passed. It has already been floated as a possibility for using this AUMF as the legal basis to go to war with Iran, a war, again, that Congress has not debated or authorized, she added. The amendment would sunset the broad war authorization eight months after the bill becomes law. She argued that it gives Congress and the Trump administration plenty of time to vote and debate on a new AUMF. The language was offered as tensions between Washington and Tehran have reached a new high in recent weeks, with the accelerated deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the region along with a B-52 bomber task force earlier this month. Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter Lee had offered an identical amendment during the last years markup of the defense appropriations bill, but that one was voted down. The same amendment also came up for the spending bill in 2017 and surprisingly passed, but House leadership later stripped the provision before it came to the floor, arguing that a spending bill was not the place to address the issue. Lee for years has led the charge to replace the 2001 AUMF with one that imposes geographic and time limits and names specific groups it covers. She argues, for example, that the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) should not be covered under the AUMF as the group did not exist when it was passed. But partisan divisions have upended replacement efforts over concerns that they would hinder a presidents authority to defend the country. GOP lawmakers are also concerned that ending the current war authorization without a new one already approved could hamper military operations. This amendment would automatically repeal the 2001 AUMF just 240 days after this bill was signed into law. I can think of few things more dangerous and ill-conceived than removing a fundamental underpinning for US military operations without having consensus agreement on what is to replace it, said the Defense subcommittee's ranking member, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas). Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), noted that as imperfect as it may be, the 2001 AUMF is the foundational authority for ongoing U.S. military operations in Afghanistan against Al-Qaeda and against ISIS. This fight is so critical to our national security that it would be utterly irresponsible and dangerous to repeal the 2001 AUMF until we replace it, he said. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who supported Lees amendment in 2017, rose in very reluctant opposition on Tuesday. When I supported the amendment two years ago, I did so as a flare to sort of get the attention of my leadership and the administration that this is an issue, I think, we ought to come back and deal with, Cole said. But I think the appropriate place to deal with it is actually in the Foreign Relations Committee. Cole acknowledged that the House Foreign Relations Committee has yet to hold a hearing on the topic, but stressed that the process of an AUMF repeal and replace needs to begin and needs to begin there with a thorough discussion and debate. After watching this for many years, I understand the frustration. We ought to have the solution before we launch ourselves on a path where we dont know where were going to go. harinder@tribunemail.com London, May 22 British Steel collapsed on Wednesday after the government said last-ditch talks with its owners failed to secure a financial rescue. The High Court in London ordered British Steel Limited into compulsory liquidation, a statement said. British Steel Limited was wound-up in the High Court on Wednesday, meaning its assets would be sold to help pay debts. The government has worked tirelessly with British Steel, its owner Greybull Capital, and lenders to explore all potential options to secure a solution for British Steel, said Business Secretary Greg Clark. We have shown our willingness to act, having already provided the company recently with funds. Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB union, described the collapse of Britains second-biggest steelmaker as devastating news for the thousands of workers in the UK. Some 5,000 people are employed by British Steel and an estimated 20,000 more have links to the firms supply chain. Greybull has blamed Brexit strains for its financial collapse, while the steel sector faces other uncertainties. While Greybull cannot be allowed to walk away scot-free and must be held to account for its stewardship of Britains second largest steelmaker, ministers cannot wash their hands of the Brexit farce and ongoing uncertainty that has placed the company in difficulty, Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said on Wednesday. To do so would be a betrayal of a loyal workforce that has made great sacrifices to make British Steel a success and send economic shockwaves throughout the steel industry, UK manufacturing and the households of 20,000 workers in the supply chain who rely on the steelmaker for their livelihoods. There are clouds also over the future of Tata Steels main European operations based in the UK after German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp recently scrapped merger plans with the Indian giant. A deal was seen as positive for Tatas Port Talbot plant in Wales that employs more than 4,000 staff. Following the merger collapse, Thyssenkrupp said it would slash 6,000 jobs worldwide in a structural shakeup. British Steel is owned by investment firm Greybull Capital, who founded the long steel products maker in 2016 after snapping up assets from Tata Steel. Long steel products include plates, rails for railways, sections used in construction, and wire rod. The latter can be used as steel rope for infrastructure like suspension bridges or filaments for car tyres to give rigidity. AFP Seeking financial rescue By Moon Of Alabama May 22, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The hot-air figures the U.S. used for its regime change efforts in Venezuela failed to do their job. The New York Times declares their movement "deflated". Eleven hours after the story went live (and the White House had called?) the headline changed. While it still repeats propaganda claims, the report makes clear that Guaido is lacking public support: CARACAS, Venezuela It was a daring gambit: Juan Guaido, Venezuelas opposition leader, stood by a military base alongside dozens of uniformed officers and political allies, calling for a military uprising against President Nicolas Maduro. ... Three weeks later, Mr. Guaido is shuttling among a half-dozen safe houses to escape capture. ... And the protests that filled the streets with Mr. Guaidos supporters are dwindling .. ... Weakened and unable to bring the political crisis gripping Venezuela to a quick resolution, Mr. Guaido has been forced to consider negotiations with Mr. Maduro. Both sides have sent representatives to Norway for talks, a concession Mr. Guaido previously rejected. This change is a turning point for the opposition, which in January had gathered momentum, attracting broad international backing and huge crowds of supporters. Now, that momentum has nearly dissipated a testament to Mr. Maduros firm hold on power even as the country crumbles around him. The government of Venezuela is talking with some of the opposition parties, there is no confirmation yet that Guaido's party, which is the most radical opposition element, is actually involved. It is doubtful that the government would want to 'negotiate' with it. Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter Interestingly the NYT now leaves out the false "interim president" attribute that it previously used to describe Guaido. That Guaido failed with his clownish coup attempt does not mean that the U.S. will give up on its regime change efforts. Venezuela's economy is in a deep economic crisis. The cause are not the minor socialist attempts its government made, but the economic war the U.S. is waging against it: United States sanctions are ravaging Venezuelas vital oil sector and imports, making it increasingly difficult for Mr. Maduro to govern. The country largely ground to a halt over the weekend because of a lack of fuel a shortage that Mr. Maduro has blamed the sanctions for. Luckily no one in Venezuela has yet to die for lack of food. But there are severe problems: [T]hree years have passed since oil prices plummeted from over US $100 a barrel in early 2014 to around US $40 in early 2015. Three years have also gone by since the first sanctions against Venezuela were implemented by the Obama administration, since being intensified by the current US government. The result has been a combination of these two factors with the enormously complex structure of the Venezuelan food system, which is reliant on imports, heavily colonised by northern tastes and swollen by the oil boom of recent decades. Currently, and despite all efforts, the dynamics of food-access depends on income: those who have more money eat more and better. In 2015 the opposition used its support from large producers, importers and distributors to create artificial scarcity of food and hygiene products. The government responded by creating the Local Provision and Production Committees (CLAPs) which deliver monthly packages to more that 6 million families: The CLAP program is an arrangement between the government and grassroots groups aimed at distributing subsidised food and other basic household goods to low income Venezuelan households. The poor welcome their packages but the more wealthy opposition supporters in the U.S. and on the ground always hate the program: While Venezuelas commune movement largely supports the CLAPs, the opposition has long claimed the program discriminates against households that dont support the government. According to the government, the CLAPs have reduced hunger and food scarcity across the country. The packages program is means based. But there are also CLAP markets (vid) where everyone can buy. CLAP does not discriminate between government or opposition supporters. It just happens that the poor are not the ones who support the neo-liberal politics the opposition parties prefer. During recent riots opposition supporters burned down CLAP storehouse and packaging centers. The Trump administration is now joining the opposition effort to increase the number of people in Venezuela who go hungry: The United States is preparing sanctions and criminal charges against Venezuelan officials and others suspected of using a military-run food aid program to launder money for President Nicolas Maduros government, according to people familiar with the matter. ... Sanctions and fraud indictments are under consideration against Venezuelan military officials and politicians as well as Venezuelan business people and foreign partners, the sources said. ... Many Venezuelan families rely on the subsidized food program, known by its Spanish initials CLAP, for their basic necessities in the oil-producing South American nation ... How can a Maduro government subsidized food program "launder money for President Nicolas Maduros government"? Their is no logic in the argument the Trump administration makes. The move will be ineffective. It will not help to 'regime change' the government. Targeting subsidized food distribution for the poor will not increase support for the opposition. Any disruption of CLAP will be blamed on it. The less the people receive, the more they will dependent on even a reduced CLAP and on other government programs. It is pure viciousness, not thought through politics, that drives this. Moon Of Alabama - harinder@tribunemail.com Vijay C Roy Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 22 To complement the facility of Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) for dairy farmers, the Haryana Government is planning to insure 10 lakh milch animals and generate animal IDs containing photographs of the animal and its owner. The move is to build the bankers confidence which would help the dairy farmers secure working capital loans. According to bankers, the governments move will not only streamline the credit line system but also boost the milk production in the state. We are planning to insure 10 lakh milch animals in a phased manner. The insured animals will be issued a registration certificate with their details and photographs, including that of the owner, said Sunil Gulati, Additional Chief Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department, Haryana, while addressing a bankers meeting. According to officials, the process of insuring animals is likely to start from June and the premium will be borne by the Centre, state government, state agency and the farmer. In Haryana, there are around 60 lakh buffaloes and 18 lakh cows across all age groups. The per capita availability of the milk in the state is 1,015 gram which is the second highest in the country after Punjab. It is an uphill task for the dairy farmers to secure working capital loans from the banks. To help them meet their capital requirements, the Union Government had extended the facility of Kisan Credit Card to Animal Husbandry & Fisheries in the interim Budget 2019-20. Following the Budget provision, the RBI too framed guidelines for extending the KCC facility to the animal husbandry & fisheries department. According to RBI guidelines, the scale of finance shall be fixed by the district-level technical committee based on local cost worked out on the basis of per acre/per unit/per animal etc. In Haryana, such committee meetings in all districts have been held in coordination with the State Level Bankers Committee and HARCO Bank. Now, the scale of finance for all districts will be prepared and tabled for approval at the upcoming state-level technical committee. Dr Rajesh Yaduvanshi, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank, said the extension of the KCC facility to dairy farmers could be a gamechanger, especially in a Haryana where milk production is the key avenue. He urged the bankers to issue KCCs cards to the dairy farmers at the earliest. harinder@tribunemail.com New Delhi, May 22 Markets regulator SEBI on Wednesday allowed portfolio managers to invest in exchange traded commodity derivatives (ETCDs) on behalf of their clients with an aim to deepen the participation in the segment. The move comes a day after the regulator permitted mutual funds to participate in the same segment. The participation of portfolio managers, however, is subject to certain conditions, SEBI said. Portfolio managers may participate in ETCDs on behalf of their clients and such participation shall be in compliance with all rules, regulations including SEBI (Portfolio Managers) regulations, 1993, and circulars/guidelines and position limit norms as may be applicable to clients, issued by SEBI and exchanges from time to time, the regulator said. It would be mandatory for the portfolio managers to appoint SEBI-registered custodian before dealing in ETCDs, it added. Further, the portfolio managers may participate in ETCDs after entering into an agreement with the client. For existing clients, portfolio managers may execute addendums to the agreement, permitting them to participate in ETCDs on their behalf. In case dealing in commodity derivatives leads to delivery of physical goods and if the portfolio manager remains in possession of the physical commodity, the goods need to be disposed of within the timelines as agreed upon between the client and the portfolio manager, SEBI said. The regulator further added that the responsibility of liquidating the physical goods shall be with the portfolio manager. PTI harinder@tribunemail.com Mumbai, May 22 Budget carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday announced the launch of 20 domestic flights, with 18 of them connecting the financial capital with a host of metro and non-metro cities. The new services, which include flights to regional destinations such as Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada and Tirupati from Mumbai, will be launched between May 26 and May 30, SpiceJet said. All new flights being introduced will be operated daily, except the one for Mumbai-Kolkata route which will be not be operational on Wednesday and Sunday, with Boeing 737 NG aircraft, the release said. Starting April 1, SpiceJet has announced 106 new flights, which include 73 connecting Mumbai, 16 connecting Delhi and 8 flights between Mumbai and Delhi, in an effort to partially offset the capacity loss across domestic and international routes in the wake of Jet Airways grounding. With the new flights, passengers from Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada, Goa, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Kochi, Kolkata, Kanpur and Patna will be able to travel to a host of other cities, both on SpiceJets domestic as well as international network via Mumbai, the airline said. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 23 BJP candidate and sitting MP Kirron Kher retained the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 46,970 votes on Thursday. She polled 2,30,967 votes while her nearest rival and Congress nominee Pawan Kumar Bansal got 1,84,218 votes. AAP candidate Harmohan Dhawan got only 13,781 votes while NOTAs share was 4335. Earlier today, disappointed over the counting trends for Chandigarh, Dhawan refused to meet visitors. The gates of his house, which were open for visitors till Wednesday, were closed and only select people were allowed to enter. Dhawan also refused to meet journalists. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Kher had won the Chandigarh seat by defeating Bansal with a margin of 69,642 votes. The voter turnout on May 19 in the Union Territory of Chandigarh was 70.62 per cent. editorial@tribune.com Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 22 On the eve of the Lok Sabha election results, a confident city BJP has readied its office, engaged dholis and placed an order for 1 quintal of laddoos for celebrations. Riding high on exit poll predictions and its own assessment, the saffron party today held a meeting to prepare for the D-day. Party leaders and workers will be present at Kamalam, the BJP office in Sector 33, tomorrow when the counting of votes will take place. An LED will be installed outside Kamalam while another will show the live updates of results inside. We will keep track of every moment. Some news channels will be showing Chandigarhs updates live, said a party leader involved in the preparations. He said, We are also arranging dholis besides laddoos. Normally, 40 to 50 kg laddoos are ordered. But we will have to distribute around 1 quintal of sweets this time and have placed orders with different shops in the city. City BJP president Sanjay Tandon told Chandigarh Tribune, We held a meeting with polling agents for the counting tomorrow. One-quintal laddoos have been ordered for the celebrations. Vehicles are also being arranged. MP Kirron Kher, along with the party president, is expected to reach the party office between 12 noon and 2 pm where they would follow the counting trends. If the party emerges the winner, they are expected to hold a big roadshow in the city to thank people and distribute laddoos among them. Tandon, however, said, Nothing like roadshow has been planned so far as these things are planned on the spot. editorial@tribune.com Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ambala, May 22 Amid apprehensions that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) could be tampered with and opposition parties keeping a strict vigil at strong rooms where EVMs are stored, all arrangements are in place for counting of votes polled for the Ambala Lok Sabha constituency at 9 centres spread across 3 districts - Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar - on Thursday. Two sitting MPs - Rattan Lal Kataria of the BJP and Kumari Selja of the Congress - are among the 18 candidates in Ambala whose fate would be known on Thursday when the counting of votes gets underway at 9 centres spread over as many locations here. Polling to this reserved Lok Sabha seat was held on May 12. Returning Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Sharandeep Kaur Brar said the counting of votes would begin at 8 am. She presided over the second and the final randomisation of the counting staff in the presence of election observers here today. Ambala Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohit Handa said a three-tier security arrangement has been put in place at the counting centres, with the deployment of paramilitary forces and state police personnel. The voter turnout in Ambala was 71.11 per cent, almost 1 per cent lower than 72.09 per cent recorded during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. A total of 13,13,315 of the total 18,46,727 voters exercised their franchise to elect Member of Parliament from the Ambala (Reserved) Lok Sabha constituency. This turnout comprised 53.88 per cent male and 46.12 per cent female electorates. Besides, 2 of the total 30 transgender also cast their vote. Both these transgender votes were polled in the Kalka Assembly segment, while no other Assembly segment reported any transgender polling. Ambala has 9 Assembly segments spread across 3 districts. Votes will be counted from 2,045 EVMs and 14 tables have been placed at each counting centres for this purpose at 9 counting centres, Brar disclosed. One table in each row has been put for the counting observer. In Ambala, BJPs two-time sitting MP Kataria is seeking re-election against Congress nominee sitting Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister Kumari Selja, who had trounced him twice consecutively in 2009 and 2004. Both Kataria and Selja had represented the seat twice. Selja is the lone woman candidate who had become the Ambala MP so far. This time also, she is the only woman candidate in the fray. The poll outcome will decide whether the BJP, which had won all 9 Assembly segments in this constituency in the 2014 Vidhan Sabha elections, would be able to retain the seat, which Kataria had won to make his comeback in 2014 with a record victory margin of over 3.4 lakh votes or Selja, who had opted out of the fray in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, manages to make the comeback. Both candidates had put in their best and are locked in a fierce direct contest while facing each other for the third time here. With both Kataria and Selja exuding confidence of their victory, who wins the seat will be known tomorrow. Congress on alert, BJP remains optimistic Despite the Election Commission (EC) repeatedly allaying apprehensions on this count, dismissing all reports of EVM manipulation, workers of the opposition parties are putting up 24x7 vigil outside the counting centres where the sealed EVMs had been stored under strong guard. The Congress candidate had urged the party workers to keep faith in the party and asked them to remain vigilant. Remain alert and vigilant. You are fighting for truth. Dont get disheartened by the false exit polls. Have faith on yourself and the party. Your efforts will not go in vain, she told the activists. On the other hand, the BJP MP said the opposition parties were seeking excuses in the face of their imminent defeat and raising doubts over EVMs. When they see their defeat is imminent, they raise doubts over EVMs, but when they won in three states, they didnt say anything about EVMs, Kataria said, adding that Why did they not raise doubts after they won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab? He said the opposition was making needless controversy over EVMs, which he claimed were foolproof. Candidates in fray The candidates in the poll fray in Ambala included sitting MP Rattan Lal Kataria of the BJP, sitting Rajya Sabha MP Kumari Selja of the Congress, Ram Pal of the INLD, Naresh Kumar of the BSP, Prithvi Raj of the AAP, Arun Kumar of the CPI, Anil Kumar of the Bharatiya Republican Party (A), Suraj Kumar of the Bahujan Mukti Party, Sandeep Singh of the Aapki Apni Party (Peoples), Suraj Bhan Narwal of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), Puran Chand of the Rashtriya Lok Samaj Party, Varun Kumar of the Peoples Party of India (Democratic), Rajinder Kumar of the Bharatiya Shakti Chetna Party and independents Jatinder Singh, Ranjit Singh, Mam Chand, Rattan Lal and Suraj Bhan. 9 counting centres set up Nine counting centres have been set up for the counting of votes in the Ambala Lok Sabha constituency. Of the total 9 counting centres, Government Girls College in Sector 14, Panchkula, will be the counting centre for Kalka Assembly segment, Government Postgraduate College, Sector 1, Panchkula, for the Panchkula Assembly segment, BPS Polytechnic, Ambala Cantonment, for Naraingarh, SD College, Ambala Cantonment, for the Ambala Cantonment Vidhan Sabha segment, OPS Vidya Mandir School, Ambala City, for the Ambala City segment, DAV River Side Public School, Ambala Cantonment, for Mullana, Saraswati Vidya Mandi, Jagadhari, for Sadhaura, Hindu Girls College, Jagadhari, for the Jagadhari segment and DAV Senior Secondary School, Yamunanagar, will be the counting centre for the votes polled in the Yamunanagar Assembly segment. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 22 General observer for the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency Monimala Phukan Borthakur and counting observer Nagendra Pratap today briefed the candidates about the counting process to be undertaken tomorrow at the CCET, Sector 26, here. During a meeting held at the UT Guest House in the presence of election officials of the Chandigarh Administration, the candidates and their party representatives were told that the CCET premises was under CCTV surveillance for the smooth conduct of counting. The counting of electronically transmitted postal ballot system (ETPBS) would be taken up first at 8 am. Around 8.30 am, the counting of votes polled in EVMs will be done. AROs Arjun Sharma, Anil Garg and Uma Shankar will supervise the counting process under the overall supervision of Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Mandip Singh Brar. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Mohali, May 22 Three-tier security cover has been provided at Government Polytechnic College at Khunimajra village in Kharar where the counting of votes of Mohali district would take place tomorrow. According to Mohali Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, the administration has set up a strongroom at the college where all EVMs, used for voting process in Mohali districts Kharar and Mohali segments, have been kept under tight security. EVMs and other paraphernalia that were used in the districts third segment Dera Bassi had been sent to Punjabi University as it (the segment) comes under the Patiala constituency. The rest two segments (Mohali and Kharar) are part of the Anandpur Sahib constituency, said Sapra. She said all preparations had been made for the counting process, which would start at 8 am tomorrow. Nearly 256 EVMs were used in polling stations of the Kharar segments, while in the Mohali segment, the number of EVMs was nearly 234. In the Dera Bassi segment, around 259 EVMs were used for polling, said Sapra adding that the authorities had replaced some EVMs at different polling stations following some technical snag. Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar said three-tier security had been provided at the polytechnic college at Khoonimajra village. We have deputed personnel of paramilitary force, Punjab Armed Police and the local police under the security cover at the site. The security will remain in place till the completion of the counting process, said SSP Bhullar. No phones to be allowed in counting hall: SDM Kharar: All arrangements have been made for the counting of votes of the Kharar Assembly constituency under the Anandpur Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. Kharar SDM Vinod Kumar Bansal, while giving information, said as many as 1,47,070 voters exercised their franchise in the Kharar assembly segment. He said counting staff and all political persons would be allowed to enter the counting hall till 7 am and the counting of votes will start at 8 am. No one would be allowed to take mobile phone in the counting hall. He said after every round, randomly five booths would be selected and rechecking of votes by slips of VVPAT machines would be done. OC M Rajivlochan M Rajivlochan Professor, Panjab University, Chandigarh All elections in India are polarising. That polarisation impacts subsequent policy implementation, at least at the local level. Maneka Gandhis recent warning to voters to not come running to her if they did not vote for her may have been condemnable for having exposed the ways in which Indians function, but that is how it has been for many years now. The relative backwardness of Amethi and Rae Bareli has already been attributed by the Congress to the politically inimical state governments and, more recently, the Central government which was blamed for restraining the development because these were constituencies that returned Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The greater backwardness of Sultanpur, represented by Varun Gandhi, belonging to both the Gandhi family as also the BJP, would then have to be justified using another excuse. Observers of Indian politics, journalists and social scientists do not notice such a transactional process because they focus only on the big picture of politics rather than the nitty-gritty of how politics is played out at the level of locality. At locality level, the village or mohalla, such polarisation can cause great harm. Sensitivity to the harmful impact of such polarisation was what resulted in many state governments promoting schemes to encourage unanimous elections at least for panchayats. A divided panchayat plays havoc with life at the village level. In our study of the Jal Swaraj that covered over two decades of the history of water supply schemes in select villages of Maharashtra, we found that there was a huge demand in villages for a scheme that would supply piped drinking water to their homes. However, the only villages where people were able to successfully implement it were those which took a conscious decision to keep politics out of decision-making. In many villages, the villagers also insisted that anyone who wanted to be part of the management of the water supply scheme needed to publicly renounce any further interest in panchayat politics, promise not to participate in zila parishad elections. Inevitably, a TISS survey of the 80 villages scheme in Jalgaon district rued the absence of politics in the water supply scheme. Little did these innocents born and brought up in urban areas and trained in formal sociology, realise that absence of politics was actually the reason for the success of the scheme that brought in piped water, twice a day, into every household in 80 villages year after year after year. The simple fact is that politics in India is contestatory. Bringing politics into everything, or keeping it out, was further highlighted in our study of Ralegan Siddhi in the 1990s. We documented the decision-making and growth in this village which was yet not as famous as it is today. Anna Hazare, a native of this village, had transformed it from a centre of illicit liquor production to a model village and earned the ire of the political leaders of the district whose survival depended on creating divisions among people. Most of the development here was the consequence of Anna Hazare enforcing the no-election principle for panches and sarpanches. The one occasion when that principle was abandoned, Hazare was quickly ousted and the village erupted in mutual acrimony. Hazare had to invoke his by now high moral stature to end the bickering, go back to unanimity and, basically dump democracy. The belief that after the election results are out, life goes back to normal and everyone lives in fraternity has been belied far too many times. If the victor does not polarise, then the losers do. They persist in accusing the victor of being partial to supporters and marginalising those voters who voted for the opposition. At least that was the case in Punjab when the opponents of the CM, Partap Singh Kairon, persisted in accusing him of discriminating against them in the distribution of state-sponsored goodies. Transport licences are given only to Kairon supporters was one such charge. It persisted despite Kairon offering documentary proof that many more transport licences were given to Kairons opponents than to his supporters. This was in the 1950s, in the very first decade of Independence, when the Congress party was supposed to be the only victorious party. All of Kairons accusers were his opponents within the Congress. Analogous accusations of partiality were made against Sukhbir Badal when he was the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab 50 years later. It was even said that the Akali government under Sukhbir Badal ensured that development works were not undertaken in pockets where people did not vote for the Akali Dal. Ever since EVMs enabled political parties to know the polling booth-wise breakup of votes, political parties have been able to identify the voting pattern booth-wise. Whether it impacts the official commitment to develop the area covered by the booth is a matter open for speculation. The fact of the matter is that in India, polarisation is the consequence of the ease with which people can cherrypick facts to construct their own version of the truth. Indian cultural resources easily enable people to accept the idea that truth is entirely context dependent, subject to change with circumstances. Death is considered the only ultimate truth. In actual life, this amounts to a position where Indias culture believes truth is irrelevant. Some would also add that speaking the untruth, suggesting the falsehood, too has cultural approval. Even dharmaputra Yudhishtira, with his deep and widely known commitment to truth, could wriggle his way towards untruth with the famous line, Aswathhama hatha iti Narova Kunjarova. shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com London, May 23 A six-year-old Sikh girl has been banned from bringing the kirpan to her primary school in the UK after an outcry from other students' parents who refused to bring their children to the school over safety concerns, according to a media report. The girl brought the kirpan, worn by Sikhs as a mark of their faith, to the Redscope Primary School in Rotherham earlier this month, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. One parent complained: "I'm sorry but, religion or not, a child's health and safety comes first." Another said: "Most girls are not allowed to wear make-up in school, never mind carry a weapon." In the letter sent to parents Paula Dobbin, the headteacher of the school, explained the kirpan is a "religious ornament" worn by Sikhs. She said: "The item is not sharp, and is often worn in schools by children of the Sikh faith nationwide." "However, having spoken to the parents of the child concerned, they have agreed that the child will no longer wear this item in school. "The family are new to school and want to be part of the Redscope family. They are keen their daughter is able to make friends and be part out of our school community," she said. "Concerns about this issue caused a number of you to delay bringing your children into school. I reassure you there is no reason for you not to bring your children to school," she added. However some comments made by parents about the incident are now being probed by the police as potential hate crimes, the report added. An investigation is being carried out. A spokeswoman for the South Yorkshire Police said: "Police are aware that a religious kirpan was brought into the school by a six-year-old pupil." "Local neighbourhood officers continue to work closely with the school, providing advice and reassurance and talking to parents." "There are no wider safeguarding concerns and no crime has been reported. A number of comments on social media have been reported to us as race-related hate crime, following this situation." "South Yorkshire Police would like to remind the public that hate crime of any kind is not tolerated. "An investigation into the comments is underway." Kirpans are one of five articles of faith, known as 'the five K's', that Sikhs are commanded to wear at all times to demonstrate their religious faith. The Department for Education does not have a central guidelines on school uniforms and religious items. It is down to individual headteachers to set their school's policy. The row comes as the British Government this week announced that an amendment to the 'Offensive Weapons Bill' has received the royal assent. This means that Sikhs will be allowed to carry kirpans and use them during religious and cultural functions. The All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs had campaign for kirpans to remain exempt as weapons when the new Bill becomes ratified. In the UK under the Criminal Justice Act 1989, people are allowed to carry blades for religious reasons, the report added. PTI Home Search ICH America, You Are Fired! By Dmitry Orlov By Dmitry Orlov May 22, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Some ironies are just too precious to pass by. The 2016 US presidential elections gave us Donald Trump, a reality TV star whose famous tag line from his show The Apprentice was You are fired! Focus on this tag line; it is all that is important to this story. Some Trump Derangement Disorder sufferers might disagree. This is because they are laboring under certain misapprehensions: that the US is a democracy; or that it matters who is president. It isnt and it doesnt. By this point, the choice of president matters as much as the choice of conductor for the band that plays aboard a ship as it vanishes beneath the waves. I have made these points continuously since before Trump got into office. Whether or not you think that Trump was actually elected, he did get in somehow, and there are reasons to believe that this had something to do with his wonderfully refreshing You are fired! tag line. Its a fair guess that what motivated people to vote for him was their ardent wish that somebody would come along and fire all of the miscreants that infest Washington, DC and surrounding areas. Alas, that he couldnt do. Figurehead leaders are never granted the authority to dismantle the political establishments that install them. But that is not to say that it cant be done at all. What happened instead was that the political establishment spent two years thrashing about in search of a reason to say You are fired! to Trump but has been unable to find one, and so Trump remains in office, although to say that he remains in power would be to invite sardonic laughter from anyone who knows what real political power smells like. Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter The System Fails to Depose Trump Trump is but a prisoner in the White House, just like his predecessor was. Ironically, the quest for Trumps impeachment has been fruitless as far as firing him, but most fruitful in terms of enhancing his ability to not only fire lots of establishment figures but perhaps even send them to jailwith the help of the Justice Departmentand his character traits of extreme rancor, spitefulness and vindictiveness should be most conducive toward that end, making for a fun spectacle. His numerous enemies and detractors may yet look back wistfully on the halcyon days when they could lambaste him with impunity. The quest to stop Trump started well before the election, with Obama and the Clintons collaborating on misusing federal resources to dig up dirt on Trump; specifically, evidence of Russian collusion and they couldnt find any. They did manage to find some Russian meddling (in the form of Facebook clickbait ads) but the evidence they dug up was too ridiculous to show in court. Too bad they didnt look for Ukrainian collusion and meddling, or Israeli collusion and meddling, or Saudi collusion and meddling, because then they would have found plentyenough to not only knock Hillary Clinton out of the running but also to lock her up. It would have been a constructive, useful exercise for them to go look for Ukrainian political meddling, but as Ive explained before the American modus operandi is quite the opposite, and it compelled them to go after Russia instead. In any case, the complete failure of Muellers team to find anything actionable against Trump has left him grasping at straws, and the one straw he seized upon was the vague possibility of accusing Trump of obstructing justice, based on 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2), which specifies that someone is guilty of obstruction as follows: obstructs, influences or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so. Apparently, a neuron snapped inside poor Muellers head making him think that his own investigation was an official proceeding, although if you look up this term youll find that it relates to things happening inside courtrooms, with one or more judges presiding, and to launch such a proceeding requires evidence that a crime has been committed. If there is no crime, then there is no proceeding, and nothing to obstruct, influence or impede. There ensued a sort of bureaucratic danse macabre. Normally, the Attorney General has the authority to provide guidance on such questions, and AG Jeff Sessions could have told Mueller that 18 U.S.C. 1512(c)(2) is only relevant to court proceedings and that would have been it. But Sessions had the unfortunate luck of having had a casual chat with the amiable and roly-poly Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. By virtue of this little chat Sessions contaminated his precious bodily fluids (just breathing the same air as a Russian can be politically fatal, you know) and was forced to recuse himself from Muellers investigation. Trumps legal team then reached out to William Barr, a former AG, and asked him to chime in. Barr wrote a memo clarifying the issue and sent it to deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, who remained as second-in-command at the Justice Department after Sessions recusal, and who should have read it, understood it and acted on it, terminating Muellers investigation, but somehow he didnt. The denouement of this bureaucratic danse macabre played out as follows. After the midterm elections Trump said Youre fired! to Jeff Sessions and William Barr was confirmed as AG. Barr then said Youre fired! to both Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller for being unpardonably dense. Barr also made it clear that he plans to leave no stone unturned in investigating this fantastic instance of misuse of official resources and prosecutorial misconduct. This will be fun to watch, if you have nothing more important to pay attention to, but I suspect that the phrase Youre fired! will continue to bounce around the halls of Washington like a rubber grenade for a good long time. There are, however, things to pay attention to that are far more important. A World Re-Aligning There is a lot happening in the world all at once right now. The entire planet is rapidly reconfiguring itself. The world is begging for a new, post-capitalist, post-industrial order to be born, but the overabundance of natural resources that have made previous such revolutions possible (coal for the age of steam, oil for the current oil age) simply no longer exist. All that remains is optimizations, enhancements and reconfigurations of the existing order of things, cutting out that which is most harmful and most dysfunctional. To this end, Western European nations are attempting to reclaim the sovereignty they ceded to the United States and the European Union while Eurasia is coming together to form a massive economic and security conglomerate centered on China and Russia. Both are playing for time, because redirecting trade and financial flows away from the US is quite a process. The worlds central banks are doing their best to get rid of their US dollar reserves and to buy gold, which, as of this April, they are allowed to consider a risk-free financial asset. Many people now expect gold to go up as a result, but that expectation is based on an illusion. Think of gold as a lighthouse and of fiat currencies as sinking ships: those aboard them may look around and decide that the lighthouse is going up, but thats just an optical illusion. The purchasing power of fiat currencies is sure to fall (some more than others). The purchasing power of gold will seem to increase, but that will also be an illusion: it will appear to rise against the backdrop of crashing markets, in real estate and physical plant especially. But overall the purchasing power of gold will drop too, because the future purchasing power of any financial asset is determined by just one thing: energy, fossil fuel energy in particular, and energy from crude oil above all. Without energy, nothing within an economy moves, unless it is an agrarian economy based on fodder and animal muscle power. A particularly interesting piece to the gold story is that it may turn out that much of the gold supposedly stored in the US may in fact be missing. Since Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, ending the convertibility of US dollar for gold bullion, and until recently the US dollar has been able to retain its position as a global reserve currency by an act of sheer financial levitation, but that bit of magic may have actually been sleight of hand: behind-the-scenes gold sales to the largest US creditors. When various countries, Germany in particular, have attempted to repatriate their gold, which they had entrusted to the US, they were rebuffed, and when they did succeed, the gold that was returned wasnt the same gold, and it took a long time. The US hunger for gold has forced it to conduct rather unseemly heists, stealing the gold reserves of Iraq, Libya and the Ukraine. Thus, when the time comes for the US to defend its currency by employing its hoard of gold, it may turn out that the cupboard is bare. Gold is becoming increasingly important, but energy is more important still, and always will be. After being pushed into the background for a few years, questions of energy supply and energy security are once again becoming front and center. Peak Oil turns out to not be dead after all; it was just postponed by a few years by virtue of the US burning through a huge pile of retirement savings while exploiting shale oil. But now most of the sweet spots have been tapped already and diminishing returns on continued frantic drilling are being added to the fracking industrys permanently dismal financial returns. In the meantime, Russia has built several natural gas liquefaction plants, a new oil pipeline to China and two new gas pipelines to Turkey and Germany, and to Western Europe beyond, which will circumvent the Ukraine, reducing its value as a geopolitical asset to zero. A desperate ploy by the US to seize control of Venezuelas oil fields has backfired in a most embarrassing fashion; there, recent developments have brought up an important question: What if the US threw a color revolution but nobody came? As I had predicted would happen six years ago in my book The Five Stages of Collapse the Color Revolution Syndicate has steadily lost its mojo. In spite of all the bluster by various Washington foreign policy has-beens, a US military intervention in Venezuela is unthinkable: Venezuelas Russian S-300 air defense systems effectively make it a no-fly zone for US planes. Meanwhile, the US, having cut itself off from Venezuelas oil using its own sanctions, has been forced to resort to importing Russian oil. (For now, but not for much longer, the US has a glut of low-quality light crude from fracking, but its useless for making diesel and other distillates unless it is blended with heavier grades of crude, which have to be imported.) Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus have been staging a noisy lovers quarrel over Russian oil exports to Europe, much of which go through a Belarussian pipeline. Russia and Belarusor Byelorussia, or White Russiaare not exactly distinct entities in most ways, and when they fight the bystanders should discount the foul language and instead look out for flying pots and cutlery. The result of this family spat is that White Russia will no longer supply the Ukraine with products distilled from Russian oil. Another odd development is that the Russian oil being piped to White Russia, and from thence to the EU, has become mysteriously contaminated and the flow has been stopped until the situation is resolved, causing a bit of a panic in Europe. The US volunteered to unseal its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to compensate, but then, in another bizarre twist, some of that oil too has turned out to have gone foul. More foul yet, the US has imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, threatening anyone who imports Iranian oil, bringing up another important question: What is the US imposes unilateral sanctions on the whole world, and everybody just yawns? Financially ruinous and generally nonsensical schemes such as tar sands, shale oil and industrial-scale photovoltaics, wind generation and electric cars will only accelerate the process of sorting nations into energy haves and energy have-nots, with the have-nots wiping themselves out sooner rather than later. Leaving aside various fictional and notional schemes (nuclear fusion, space mirrors, etc.) and focusing just on the technologies that already exist, there is only one way to maintain industrial civilization, and that is nuclear, based on Uranium 235 (which is scarce) and Plutonium 239 produced from Uranium 238 (of which there is enough to last for thousands of years) using fast neutron reactors. If you dont like this choice, then your other choice is to go completely agrarian, with significantly reduced population densities and no urban centers of any size. And if you do like this choice, then you have few alternatives other than to go with the worlds main purveyor of nuclear technology (VVER-series light water reactors, BN-series fast neutron breeder reactors and closed nuclear fuel cycle technology) which happens to be Russias state-owned conglomerate Rosatom. It owns over a third of the world nuclear energy market and has a portfolio of international projects stretching far into the future that includes as much as 80% of the reactors that are going to be built. The US hasnt been able to complete a nuclear reactor in decades, the Europeans managed to get just one new reactor on line (in China) while Japans nuclear program has been in disarray ever since Fukushima and Toshibas financially disastrous acquisition of Westinghouse. The only other contenders are South Korea and China. Again, if you dont like nuclearfor whatever reasonthen you can always just buy yourself some pasture and some hayfields and start breeding donkeys. Americans are not ready for what's coming This may seem like shocking news to someone whos been exposed solely to mass media in the US and other Anglophone countries or in the EU. Well, it may be shocking, but its definitely not news: none of these developments is particularly new, and none of them is unforeseen. The high level of denial of all of the above issues in Washington, which has been ground zero in a powerful explosion of unreality, and in Western media generally, is also unsurprising; nor is it helpful. Upon finding these things out for yourself, you may be tempted to shout about them from rooftops. This, I dare say, would be inadvisable. The proper thing to do with people who insist on remaining in denial is to humor them, to run out the clock on any games they try to play with you, and then to politely bid them adieu. Indeed, this is what we are seeing: nobody particularly wants to negotiate with US officials but they do so anyway because, as every crisis negotiator knows, it is essential to keep talking, even if simply to stall for time. While they are talking the hostagesto Wall Street, to the Pentagon, to US Treasury and Federal Reserveare quietly being evacuated. Time is running out for the US, and once it has run out, what we will hear, in a supreme twist of irony, is the whole world telling the US: Youre fired! Dmitry Orlov is a Russian-American engineer and a writer on subjects related to "potential economic, ecological and political decline and collapse in the United States," something he has called permanent crisis. He has a large following on the web, and on Patreon, and we urge you to support him. This article was originally published by " Club Orlov " - 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 Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Information ClearingHouse endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) Privacy Statement The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. editorial@tribune.com Sumit Hakhoo Tribune News Service Jammu, May 22 Due to the continuing turmoil in the state and the failure of the previous PDP-BJP government to identify and prioritise reconstruction projects, the state has failed to utilise Rs 1,500 crore from the World Bank-funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP). Though four years have passed, the state has not even identified the reconstruction projects. It has not strengthened the disaster management mechanism along the Jhelum in Kashmir and the Chenab and Tawi in the Jammu region to prevent floods like that hit the state in September 2014. Officials said the state had spent only Rs 90 crore since 2016 when the world financial body approved the funds. The programme is set to complete in June 2020. The approach has been non-serious in the government and bureaucracy. A lack of coordination among the public works department, municipal corporations of Jammu and Srinagar, and industries and commerce department in formulating the plans between 2016 and 2018 is the major reason for the delay, said a senior officer in the planning department. According to the agreement, World Bank had decided to keep a contingent emergency response component making funds immediately available to J&K but the state missed the opportunity. After several levels of negotiations, the bank had agreed to help the state government in rebuilding the public infrastructure damaged by the devastating floods of September 2014 and strengthen the disaster risk management capacity of government agencies. When contacted, Chief Executive Officer, JTFRP, Raghav Langer, attributed the slow pace of implementation to the continuing turmoil in Kashmir post 2016. Due to the violence, several works could not be taken up. We have written to the department of economic affairs under the Union Finance Ministry to give extension of 18 more months beyond 2020, said Langer, who heads the project monitoring unit. Langer said they would finalise the tenders by September after which the Central government would again approach World Bank for approval to get extension till 2021. During the past six months, we have fast-tracked the process, he said. Had provided loan after 2014 floods Between September 2 and 6, 2014, J&K experienced major flooding and landslides due to torrential monsoon rains causing the Jhelum, Chenab and Tawi to breach their banks, engulfing villages and towns along their path. Srinagar was entirely flooded while the Jammu region saw heavy infrastructure destruction and many lives were lost. After the floods, two high-level rapid need assessment teams of World Bank had decided to provide loan to the state. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 22 A day after announcing complete lifting of traffic restrictions on the Jammu- Srinagar national highway, Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday apologised to the people of the state for the inconvenience caused to them due to the ban. The way people cooperated, I want to thank them and for the inconvenience caused... I want to apologise, Malik told reporters after inaugurating the second phase of the Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover. In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the government had imposed restrictions on the civilian traffic movement on the national highway from April 7 twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays between 4 am and 5 pm. The ban had evoked widespread resentment across the state, especially in the Valley, and the order was also challenged in the court. Since April 22, the restriction on civilian movement between Srinagar and Baramulla was limited to Sundays only and the ban was completely lifted on May 2. Restrictions on the Srinagar-Udhampur stretch were limited to just one day from May 13. Meanwhile, the Governor said the decision to hold the Assembly elections in the state would be taken by the Election Commission of India. We want this (Presidents rule) to end as soon as possible. The final call on holding the Assembly elections in the state will be taken by the EC, he added. When asked about reports that some officials within his administration were not keen on transfer of power to an elected government, Malik said the issue had not come to his notice. Inaugurates phase-II of Rambagh flyover Srinagar: Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday inaugurated the second phase of the Jehangir Chowk-Rambagh flyover. The Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, was also present on the occasion. The 1.04-km stretch from Rambagh to Alochi Bagh has been constructed at a cost of Rs 37.5 crore. It is expected to provide relief to commuters travelling from areas such as Srinagar international airport, Baghat, Budgam, Rawalpora and Sanatnagar towards Lal Chowk. Officials said the stretch would also reduce the travel time between the areas from 15 minutes to a minute. Meanwhile, the third and final portion of the flyover towards Jehangir Chowk is still under construction and is expected to be thrown open soon. The stretch is expected to prove as a major traffic decongestant on grade roads underneath it, including Rambagh, Solina and Alochi Bagh. TNS editorial@tribune.com Amit Khajuria Tribune News Service Jammu, May 22 Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), J&K, Shailendra Kumar on Wednesday said there was no question of tampering with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) as the system was foolproof. In an exclusive interview to The Tribune, Kumar expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conduct of the election process in the state. He said: What I feel is that after many years, this is the first election when not a single person died. It remained very peaceful, people largely participated except in a few Assembly constituencies. Speaking about the security of the EVMs, he said the strongrooms, where the machines had been kept, were well-guarded and equipped with CCTVs. Every strongroom was sealed after getting the signatures of the candidates and observers. Each candidate has been allowed to depute one person on rotation in the strongroom. Then where is the chance of any EVM coming out of the strongroom? asked Kumar. Every party has been allowed to depute its agents at the polling stations. They have recorded their EVM unit number, ballot numbers and VVPAT numbers. When the EVM was deployed at the polling station, the same numbers were noted by the observers and DCs, the same EVM and VVPAT went back to the strongrooms. Now, the same machines will come out from the strongroom to the counting centres under a multi-layer security system. So there is no chance of any kind of tampering with it, he added. The CEO said no one had come to him with any complaint in the state till now. He further said foolproof security arrangements had been made at all counting centres of the state for a smooth and peaceful process on Thursday. A multi-layer security has been deployed with the help of the Central Armed Police Forces, Jammu and KashmirPolice and the security wing of the state. Only limited designated vehicles will be allowed at the counting centres. Class IV porters have been arranged to transport the EVMs to counting centres, the CEO said, adding, Representatives of political parties and candidates will be there at the time of opening of the strongrooms. He expressed satisfaction over the peaceful election process in the state. There was no law and order situation in many polling stations, he said. On the polling in the Anantnag parliamentary constituency in south Kashmir, the Chief Electoral Officer said: Conducting the election in many parts of the country is always a challenging task. In a constituency in south Kashmir, we handled the process uniquely and it went off well. editorial@tribune.com Vikram Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, May 22 With just a day left for the final outcome, BJP state president Ravinder Raina has exuded confidence of repeating the 2014 Lok Sabha poll performance by winning at least three of the total six parliamentary seats in the state. As all eyes are now on the counting of votes, Raina said the BJP would win the Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh seats, while it would also increase its vote share in the Kashmir valley. Talking to The Tribune, Raina said Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity graph had risen much higher than the 2014 wave, which would also raise the vote share of the BJP in the state. The party has given a tough fight to regional parties such as the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party. We will be winning by a huge margin of 4 lakh votes in the Jammu-Poonch constituency, while the Udhampur-Doda seat will also be wrested by a good margin of 1 lakh and above, Raina added. The BJP state chief also exuded confidence in taking away the Ladakh seat by a margin of 5,000 votes. The BJP is all set to make inroads into the Valley constituencies, which will add to the partys vote percentage, he said. Raina contributed the partys success in the state to the PMs development plans, foreign policies and tightening reins on terrorism. He said though the candidates contesting on both Jammu province seats as well as in Ladakh had their own respective stature in party and strong connect with people, Modis national and developmental policies for the state would be major contributors to their success. Raina said the PMs policy on terrorism and choking the anti-national voices in the state had given a big jolt to inimical forces and relief to the nationalist people of the state. For Congress, Raina said, the party will be witnessing the worst-ever defeat this time and said it was all set to be wiped out from national politics. Earlier, the Congress charged the Election Commission with favouring the BJP and now they are finding faults with the EVMS. Why those faults were not found by them in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan, Raina added. Talking about Rahul Gandhis recent tweet against the Election Commission, Raina termed it as bahana brigade, saying that the party had already conceded its defeat. editorial@tribune.com Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service JAMMU, May 22 Already sealed in the electric voting machines (EVMs) is the fate of political stalwarts Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, to be announced on Thursday. Counting of votes for the six Lok Sabha constituencies will be held at 10 centres across the state. Farooq Abdullah is the National Conference (NC) candidate from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat while Mehbooba is contesting from the Anantnag constituency. Out of the total 79,18,379 voters, 34,93,597 (44.12 per cent) had cast their votes in the five-phased elections for the six Lok Sabha seats of J&K. While maximum 14,54,045 voters (72.49 per cent) had voted on Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat, the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat registered only 8.7 per cent voting. Out of the total 13,93,740 voters, only 1,14,417 exercised their right to franchise. In the 2014 elections, Mehbooba Mufti had defeated National Conference (NC) candidate Mirza Mehboob Beg by a margin of over 65,000 votes. Mehbooba has represented this seat twice, in 2004 and 2014. Sources said Mehbooba had reached Delhi on Tuesday. This time, the former Chief Minister is facing a tough battle in the four-cornered contest. Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief GA Mir is also contesting from Anantnag seat while NC had fielded Hasnain Masodi. Sofi Yosuf, MLC, was the BJP candidate for the seat. Farooq had lost the 2014 election from Srinagar by42,000 votes. He was defeated by PDP candidate Tariq Hamid Karra. Farooq, had, however, won the seat in a by-election as joint candidate of the Congress and NC. The Congress is supporting Farooq again on this seat. This time, PDP has fielded Aga Sayeed against Farooq and Khalid Jahangir is the BJP candidate. Union Minister of State (MoS) Jitendra Singh, who had emerged as the giant killer in the 2014 elections, is fighting against the scion of erstwhile Dogra dynasty, Vikramaditya Singh, from Udhampurseat. BJP rebel leader Choudhary Lal Singh and Panthers Party candidate Harsh Dev Singh are also in the fray. Meanwhile, the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat is witnessing a straight fight between sitting BJP member Jugal Kishore Sharma and Congress heavyweight Raman Bhalla as NC and PDP announced support to Congress candidate. amansharma@tribunemail.com Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 23 The chief of a radical militant group Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa is believed to have got killed in a gunfight in south Kashmirs Pulwama district on Thursday evening. The officials in Kashmir are, however, yet to confirm the killing of Musa, the chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind Hind, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda. Sources said a gunfight erupted at Dadsara village in the Tral sub district after joint teams of forces launched a cordon and search operation after an input about presence of militants in a house. As the searches were carried, at around 7.15 pm militants opened fire which was retaliated triggering a gunfight. In the ensuing gunfight a militant was killed, the sources said. They identified the slain militant as Zakir Musa. While officials did not confirm the killing, the authorities have decided to close all the educational institutions in Kashmir on Friday. The internet services have also been shut in parts of south- an indication that the slain militant is a top commander. Zakir Musa left pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahedeen in May 2017 and called for caliphate and enforcing Sharia laws. Last year his group received a major setback when six of cadres of the group were killed in a gunfight at Tral. uttara@tribuneindia.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 23 Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president Amit Shah for the partys stunning victory in the parliamentary elections. As BJP celebrates a second term under Narendra Modi in a victory that has been unprecedented for the party, Advani, who was reportedly asked to sit out these elections, said in an official statement: Heartiest congratulations to Shri Narendrabhai Modi for steering the BJP towards this unprecedented victory in the elections. Shri Amitbhai Shah as the BJP President and all the dedicated workers of the party have put in enormous effort in making sure that the message of BJP reaches every voter of the country, he said in his statement. It is such a wonderful feeling that in a country as large and diverse as India, the electoral process has been so successfully completed and for that, my compliments to the electorate and all the agencies involved. May our great nation be blessed with a bright future ahead, he said. Before these elections, Advani fought and won from GandhinagarAmit Shahs seat these electionsfive times. monicakchauhan@gmail.com Lucknow, May 23 The BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) consolidated their position in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh by bagging 15 seats and leading in 49 others, while the rival SP-BSP alliance has won five seats and is leading in just 10 out of 80 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won from Varanasi seat defeating his nearest rival SP's Shalini Yadav by a huge margin of 4,79,505 votes, bettering his previous margin. While Modi got 6,74,664 votes, Shalini got 1,95,159 votes and Congress candidate Ajay Rai bagged 1,52,548 votes. In the 2014 general election, Modi had won by the margin of 3,71,784 votes from his nearest rival AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. According to the trends available till 9 pm, the BJP has won 13 seats and its ally Apna Dal (S) two seats. The BSP was leading in six seats, SP in four and Congress in one seat, they said. In Aligarh, BJP's Satish Kumar Gautam defeated BSP candidate Ajeet Baliyan by 2,29,261 votes. R K Singh Patel of BJP defeated Shyama Charan Gupta (SP) by 58,938 votes in Banda, while in Unnao, Swami Sakshi Ji Maharaj (BJP) defeated Arun Shanker Shukla (SP) by 4,00,956 votes. The BJP also bagged Bahraich and Gorakhpur seats, while its ally won from Robertsganj. Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) opened its account by winning from Nagina Lok Sabha seat. The party had drawn a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from the state. In Bahraich, Akshaywar Lal of BJP won by defeating Shabbir Balmiki of Samajwadi Party by a margin of 1,28,752 votes. Gorakhpur seat was wrested by Bhojpuri star and BJP candidate Ravi Kishan by defeating SP's Rambhual Nishad by a margin of 3,01,664 votes. In the by-election, the seat was won by the SP-BSP combine. Robertsganj seat went to Pakauri Lal Kol of BJP's alliance partner Apna Dal (Soneylal) who defeated his closest rival Bhai Lal of Samajwadi Party by 54,336 votes. The BSP won from Nagina where its candidate Girish Chandra defeated Yashwant Singh of BJP by a margin of 1,66,832 votes. As Union Minister Smriti Irani was poised to wrest Amethi from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, she quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. "Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahin ho sakta (Who says there cant be a hole in sky)," she tweeted after leading by over 45,000 votes in the seat considered a Congress bastion. Her tweet came immediately after Gandhi conceded defeat and congratulated the minister. The 43-year-old BJP leader took the political hotbed of Amethi by storm after trends indicated that she was heading for a win in the Gandhi-stronghold. The Congress chief had also contested the Lok Sabha election from Wayanad in Kerala, a decision political pundits believed was widely influenced by the tough fight Irani posed to him in his home turf. The Gandhi scion had defeated Irani in 2014 by a margin of 1.07 lakh votes. In neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, Rahul's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led over her nearest rival by over 1.67 lakh votes to give the grand old party a saving grace. Chief Minister Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties. "It is high time for the opposition to introspect and shun politics of negativity," he told PTI, giving full credit to Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the "historic victory". As the trends indicated a clear picture, BSP supremo Mayawati said she had not contemplated that the BSP-SP-RLD alliance will fare so badly. Expressing doubts over the outcome, she said most of the parties want the elections to be conducted through ballot papers. Mayawati added the alliance partners will sit together to decide the future course of action following such "unprecedented" results. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Election Results 2019 NDA UPA Others Leads 349 90 103 New Delhi, May 23 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP will surpass its 2014 performance, and likely cross 300 seats. The BJP demolished the combined opposition, including the Congress. In the end, BJP's prediction in the final stages of campaigning of "ab ki baar 300 paar" appeared coming true, as Congress president Rahul Gandhi's campaign slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" found no resonance among voters. In almost all the states where BJP won, its vote share was more than 50 per cent. The results have raised questions about Gandhi's leadership and his party's future. At a press conference, Gandhi refused to address that issue, saying the party will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the future. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will likely end up with 349 seats, up from 336 in 2014. The BJP, which is now tantalisingly close to the 300 mark in Lok Sabha, had won 282 seats on its own in the last election. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. Still, the trend shows that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP had won two and was leading in 59 of the 80 seats at stake. The SP was ahead in six and BSP in 10. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is much better than what many exit polls had forecast. The BJP state headquarters in Lucknow was drenched in saffron hue with jubilant party workers wearing saffron stoles, adorning 'genda' flowers around their necks and holding lotus cutouts. They also burst crackers and danced to drum beats as women supporters wore saffron attire and painted their nails in the same hue. In a stark contrast, Congress, BSP and SP offices wore a forlorn look. Under the scorching sun, even shop owners selling campaign material outside the SP office sat in stunned silence as those gathered around the tea kiosks talked in hushed tones. Congress president Rahul Gandhi lost his seat in Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. He, however, was on course to win Wayanad in Kerala. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP was ahead in four seats, the same as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi is the third prime minister of the countryand the first non-Congress onewho has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. The results were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent Assembly elections: in Madhya Pradesh, BJP was ahead in 28 out of 29 seats with a vote percentage of nearly 60; in Rajasthan it was leading in all but one of 25 seats; similarly in Chhattisgarh, BJP was ahead in nine compared to Congress' 2 seats. The BJP is expected to take all 10 seats in Haryana. In Odisha, the BJP made huge gains, forging ahead in six of the 21 seats while the Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 15. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. Odisha also held simultaneous Assembly polls, in which the BJD is set to return to power, indicating that the voters chose smartly, opting for the status quo in both state and centre. BJP and its ally Janata Dal (United) were ahead in 16 seats each in Bihar out of 40 at stake. The Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 23 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 19, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. The DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu while the AIADMK was leading in only two. In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF was ahead in 19 out of 20 seats. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com New Delhi, May 22 In a suspected case of espionage, there was an attempted break-in on Sunday at the Indian Air Forces Paris office, which is overseeing production of 36 Rafale fighter jets for India, military sources said. A group of unidentified persons tried to break into the office of IAFs Rafale project management team in the suburbs of Paris and the police are probing whether the attempt was to steal classified data. As per initial assessment, no data or hardware has been stolen, sources said, adding that the IAF has briefed the Ministry of Defence about the incident. The IAFs office of Rafale project management is located at the complex of Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale jets. There was no official reaction from either the MoD or the IAF. The IAF project management team is headed by a Group Captain and it comprises two fighter pilots, one logistics officer and a number of weapons experts and engineers. The team is coordinating with Dassault Aviation on manufacture of Rafale jets as well as on weapons package onboard the aircraft. India had signed a government-to-government deal in September 2016 with France for procuring 36 Rafale jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore. The first Rafale fighter jet is scheduled to be delivered to India in September this year. PTI By Finian Cunningham May 22, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The erratic US president has gone from wishing for peace with Iran to, a few days later, making a veiled threat of nuclear annihilation against the Islamic Republic. Donald Trump got on his twitter pulpit at the weekend, warning about the official end of Iran. The configuration of military power in the Persian Gulf, the heightening of tensions between the US and Iran, and the unhinged aggressive rhetoric all make a tinderbox situation. At times, the protagonists have each said they dont want war. But just like the slippery slope towards the First World War (1914-18), the eruption of hostilities can take on a logic of its own. Paradoxically, assurances last week from President Trump and his top diplomat Mike Pompeo that the US is not fundamentally seeking a war with Iran are not in fact all that reassuring. Neither, it must be said, are assurances from the Iranian leadership that they also do not want war with the US. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said there was no appetite for war. That may be so, but its no guarantee there wont be one, especially because the circumstances are so precarious. In the run-up to the First World War, European leaders were similarly adamant that war could be avoided. They thought their rationality and modernity would spare them from catastrophe. Nevertheless, the Europeans quickly plunged into a conflagration through a chain reaction beyond their control. What bodes particularly grave today is the erratic and incendiary nature of Trumps rhetoric. At the end of last week he was telling media that he hoped there would not be war with Iran. Indeed, he even alluded to the possibility of future diplomatic talks with Tehran. Then, over the weekend, Trump flipped as always and tweeted that if Iran threatened the US it will be the official end of Iran. Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get our FREE Daily Newsletter If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again! tweeted the US Commander-in-Chief. Its not clear what set him off. Maybe reports of rocket attacks on the American embassy in Baghdad, fingering Iranian-backed Iraqi militias. Or maybe someone overcooked his hamburger. There can be no doubt that Trump was invoking the use of nuclear weapons against Iran if any war were to break out. What else to deduce from the words the official end of Iran? A senior Republican Senator, Tom Cotton, who is an arch war hawk on Iran, also appeared to endorse nuclear strikes if any conflict were to arise. He told Fox News that the US could defeat Iran with just two strikes, cryptically calling them the first strike and the last strike. That again leaves little doubt that nuclear annihilation is on the mind of Washington politicians with regard to prosecuting a war with Iran. Such thinking is, of course, despicable. To contemplate the genocidal destruction of another nation demonstrates the barbarity and iniquity of American rulers. But we should not be surprised by such depravity. After all, the Americans are the only people who ever used atomic weapons when they dropped two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, killing over 200,000 civilians. Washington has always reserved the infernal right to use nuclear force preemptively to defend its vital interests. During the Cold War decades, US strategists had drawn up plans to launch pre-emptive nuclear attacks on both the Soviet Union and China, knowing full well that millions of innocents would be obliterated. Trump has previously warned North Korea with nuclear destruction, bragging about a fury like the world has never seen before. He even made a similar threat of annihilation against North Korea while addressing the UN General Assembly in September 2017. The arrogant criminality knows no bounds. Imagine, before the UN in brazen violation of its founding charter outlawing aggression, Trump actually seemed to relish genocide. (He has since gone on to embrace North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with diplomacy, but the psychotic American power could revert to barbarous aggression at any time, if talks dont appease its dictates.) Trumps latest rhetorical broadside against Iran is as provocative as it gets. To crow about wiping out an entire nation is all but declaring war. Its one tweet away from sparking a conflagration. Its insane and criminal. Why has Twitter not shut down Trumps account? To return to our First World War analogy, that horrendous event, resulting in up to 20 million deaths and the arrival of industrial-scale killing, was largely opposed by the public at the time. Political, military and imperial leaders went to war in spite of assurances beforehand there would be no war. It was like the nations stumbled into a conflagration. However, it wasnt entirely unprecedented. What made the violence inevitable was the configuration of military forces and international tensions had been put in place over several years like a powder keg. One spark the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 led to a chain reaction of disaster. Thats why vows from this American president that he doesnt want war are rather disconcerting. The complacency is alarming. The Trump administration has done everything possible to lay down an explosive fuse in the Persian Gulf. From trashing the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, to ratcheting up economic terrorism through illegal sanctions, from sending aircraft carrier naval armada and B-52 bombers, to hinting at nuclear annihilation. Washington is fully culpable for the explosive configuration. For Trump and other American politicians to talk about not wanting war is ludicrous naivety or duplicity. Rockets fired at the American embassy in Baghdad, or Yemeni drones attacking Saudi oil infrastructure, or suspicious sabotage of tankers in the Persian Gulf. The sparks are flying at the powder keg. The repetition of history is not inevitable. But Washington has surely done its fiendish utmost to make history repeat a century after the First World War. Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. This article was originally published by "SCF" - sanjiv@tribunemail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 Exactly 20 years after Pakistan had downed an Indian Air Force plane and later killed Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa will himself lead the missing man formation flight on May 27. The IAF Chief was then commanding the Golden Arrows Squadron based in Srinagar and Squadron Leader Ahuja was the Flight Commander. He was later awarded Vir Chakra posthumously for his effort during the Kargil conflict in 1999. The formation flying will be carried out at the Air Force Station in Bathinda, which was the home base of the Golden Arrows Squadron before it was forward located to Srinagar at the onset of the Kargil conflict. The missing man flypast is an aerial salute to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms. Squadron Leader Ahujas wife Alka and his son Ankur are expected to be present at the flypast. On May 27, 1999, Squadron Leader Ahuja was shot dead by Pakistani soldiers after he had ejected over the Batalik sector along the Line of Control, 200 km north-east of Leh in Jammu & Kashmir. He had parachuted on ground but was tortured to death by Pakistani troops. Also, on May 28, the IAF Chief will fly in a helicopter formation from Sarsawa near Saharanpur. This will also be exactly 20 years from the day when an IAF Mi-17 helicopter, that was on a sortie, was shot down on the Indian side of the Line of Control. Four personnel, including the helicopters two pilots, had perished. The helicopter had come under fire 6-7 km north of Drass. The helicopter was part of the operations against Pakistan-supported infiltrators in the Kargil sector. gspannu7@gmail.com Islamabad, May 23 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu. The results of general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modis party BJP wins the general elections. Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan was committed to resolve all issues with India through dialogue irrespective of the outcome of the elections. Pakistan has consistently maintained that the only way to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu & Kashmir dispute is through implementation of the UNSC resolutions. Dialogue is hence essential. We remain committed to the same, irrespective of whoever forms the new Government in India, Faisal said at his weekly media briefing here. He was responding to a question about the outcome of Indian elections and Pakistans expectations from the new government in New Delhi. Faisal also said that India should stop misleading the international community and accept the ground realities and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. Just a day before the announcement of results, Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and conveyed to her Pakistans desire to resolve all issues through dialogue. Addressing the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, Qureshi said that his country has delivered a message of peace by opening the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India as he underlined the importance of conflict resolution for peace and stability in South Asia. He also said enduring peace and prosperity in South Asia will remain elusive without good-faith diplomacy and result-oriented dialogue. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmirs Pulwama district on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. PTI editorial@tribune.com Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 22 India stayed away from endorsing the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) at the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that met today in Bishkek. While the other countries hailed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Indias name was missing. China was keen to seek a nod of affirmation from the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO for its massive worldwide connectivity project, especially since it just hosted its second marquee event in Beijing. But on arrival in Bishkek, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj endorsed the approach of senior Indian officials to resist an endorsement of BRI. India is among the few major countries that oppose BRI on grounds that it violates its territorial integrity (as it passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) and also because its financial contours are opaque. The remaining SCO members Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support for the Chinese project. The Indian reservation was a replay of last years meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO countries in Qingdao when Swaraj had managed to scrub Indias name from the list of countries endorsing the Chinese BRI. Swaraj provided a hint about the opposition to BRI in her speech when she said India would welcome regional connectivity initiatives that are sustainable, transparent and respect the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. India opposes the BRI on all these grounds. The SCO also noted the desire of India, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to run for the non-permanent membership of the UNSC and the desire of the Kazakhstan, China, Russia and Uzbekistan to run for the UN Human Rights Council. Despite the Indian opposition to BRI, the SCO for the first time unanimously endorsed the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, an India-backed initiative. On Iran, the meeting wanted implementation of agreement on the nuclear issue and called on all parties to strictly fulfil their obligations to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Patna, May 22 A day after Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwahas appeal to Mahagathbandh workers to pick up arms to stop any attempt of EVM manipulation, former Bhabhua legislator Ramchandra Yadav waved firearms saying he was ready to open fire to save democracy if the Mahagathbandhs leaders ordered to do so. Yadav, who won the Bhabhua Assembly seat on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket in 2005, addressed reporters waving arms. He said: I am ready to open fire if Mahagathbandhan leaders ordered to do so. Yadav is allegedly associated with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), but the party has denied any association with him. Supporting Kushwahas controversial remarks of result loot, RJD vice-president and party nominee from Vaishali Lok Sabha constituency Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said: What will happen if votes cast do not reflect the result? In such circumstances, people will lose their faith in the system and a situation of cold war will emerge. Kushwaha had appealed to party workers to pick up arms if they noticed EVM tampering. After vote loot, an attempt would be made to effect result loot, he had said. Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Kundan Krishnan said: Forces have been deployed near all polling counters to avert any untoward incident. If there is any violence during the counting of votes, Kushwaha would be responsible for it and the police will take action against Kushwaha, he said. rchopra@tribunemail.com Naveen S Garewal Tribune News Service Hyderabad, May 23 Andhra Pradesh is headed for a major victory for the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party both in the 175 Vidhan Sabha and the 25 parliamentary segments, decimating the incumbent Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by N Chandrababu Naidu, who also united 22 opposition parties against the ruling BJP at the Centre. As per the trends available so far, the YSR Congress is ahead in 147 assembly segments giving a clear mandate in favour of Jagan Mohan Reddy to become the next chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Naidu, who was hoping to get a clear majority for a second term has not only lost the assembly but even in the parliamentary elections his party is so far trailing in all but one segment. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu resigned from his post following the TDPs loss in the Assembly elections. He submitted his resignation to the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan who accepted it, a Raj Bhavan press communique said here. The YSR Congress is expected to finish with an absolute majority and be much past the simple majority of 88. The YSR Congress is not aligned to the NDA or the UPA and had promised to support any party that promised a special status for Andhra Pradesh that was split into Andhra and Telangana in June 2014. Chandrababu Naidu was part of the NDA but broke ties after last years budget, accusing the BJP government of not doing justice with the state. He then formulated the idea of mahagathbandan and joined hands with the Congress and other parties to keep the BJP out of power at the Centre. The current results will put him out of power both in the state of Andhra Pradesh as well as relegate him to insignificance at the Centre. During the past five years, Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was the leader of opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, undertook several record-breaking padyatras, where he questioned the inability of Naidu to get a special category status promised to Andhra Pradesh during the bifurcation. Reddy was actively supported by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) and his son and working president of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) KT Rama Rao. With the victory of YSR Congress the relationship between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh that had gone sour on account of difference between KCR and Naidu is expected to improve. This may even help in a better coordination in resolving the pending post-bifurcation issues between the two Telugu states. rchopra@tribunemail.com Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 23 As the Congress leads on eight of the 13 seats in Punjab, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday fired a fresh salvo on cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying the latter was unable to run his own department. A senior leader said the Chief Ministers stand clearly showed fresh trouble brewing for Sidhu. The statement comes two days after senior Congress leader Lal Singh had said that Sidhu would be held responsible in case the party lost out any of the 13 seats. With the Congress trailing by a huge margin in Bathinda and Gurdaspur, the places visited by Sidhu in the last few days of campaigning, the pro-Amarinder camp is ready to launch a fresh attack on Sidhu. Not denying the fact that he is an asset as a star campaigner for the party, Punjab Congress Election Management Committee Chairman Lal Singh said Sidhu was not adjusting to the Congress culture and had damaged the partys prospects in winning all 13 Lok Sabha seats by his untimely utterances against the party interests, which amounted to indiscipline. The Congress performance at the national level notwithstanding, the outcome of the Bathinda seat would decide the future course of action by Punjab Congress leaders, who are gunning for Sidhu. A victory for Bathindas SAD candidate Harsimrat Badal would not only demoralise the top Congress leadership, but would also go against Navjot Singh Sidhu, said a senior party leader. However, with Sidhu having aggressively campaigned for the Congress across the country, his image as a star campaigner could work to his advantage even as several of Sidhus cabinet colleagues have called for disciplinary action against him for his friendly match dig against Amarinder. This is not the first time Sidhu has had a standoff with the CM. Earlier, Sidhu was cornered by his cabinet colleagues over his my captain remark after an unsavoury controversy had erupted in November last year over Pakistans invite for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor, which Amarinder had declined. Sidhu went to Pakistan despite Amarinder asking him to reconsider his decision, and later called Rahul Gandhi his captain at a press conference in Hyderabad. It had then sent Amarinder loyalists gunning for Sidhu and the partys central leadership had to step in to end the controversy by asking both sides to refrain from making public statements. On the high commands intervention, both leaders had met one-on-one to clear past misgivings. After meeting the CM, Sidhu had said that his statement was blown out of proportion and that the CM was like his father. editorial@tribune.com Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, May 22 When the results are out for the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency, either a popular filmstar will be elected to Parliament for the second time since Independence, the first being Vinod Khanna in 1998, or the incumbent MP will retain the seat he first won in a bypoll in 2017. The fortunes of the candidates lay locked in the EVMs kept at Sukhjindera College and will be placed in the public domain by late afternoon. The sheer presence of Deol, who admitted that his career in Tinsel town was almost over when the BJP rang his door bell, has catapulted the constituency into one of the most keenly watched contests in the country. It was one of the safest seats for the Congress till the BJP pulled the rug from under its rivals feet by asking the actor to contest. For the BJP, all eyes will be on the five seats allocated to the SAD in the seat-sharing agreement. These are Dera Baba Nanak, Qadian, Batala, Fatehgarh Churian and Gurdaspur city. BJP leaders, throughout the campaign, have been apprehensive whether we will do well or not. Tomorrow, everybody will know the results of the hard work we have put in for our alliance partner, said Batala SAD MLA Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal. For the Congress, at stake is the reputation of all its seven legislators. These MLAs fear that if they lose their respective segments, the knives could soon be out for them and that their standing within the party hierarchy could get eroded to the extent where it will be difficult for them to regain it. Most of them have got their own surveys done and the results are not very much pleasing. Deol is set to make a clean sweep, averred a BJP leader. To this, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Dera Baba Nanak MLA, claimed that the BJP should not go overboard. My opponents are living in a surreal world. BJP leaders should wait till the final results are out because people have voted for development and not for films and fantasy, he said. editorial@tribune.com Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, May 22 The police today arrested two constables, who had allegedly helped Inspector Narinder Singh in disposing of the body a 22-year-old youth, who reportedly died in custody on May 19. The Inspector, who was under pressure, allegedly committed suicideon Sunday. The police had claimed that the youth, Jaspal Singh, committed suicide in custody of officer incharge of CIA staff Narinder Singh. A case of abetment to suicide was registered against the Inspector on Tuesday. The relatives of the deceased youth today staged a dharna in front of the SSP office here, following which the two constables, Darshan Singh and Sukhmander Singh, were arrested. The protesters are demanding the arrest of two more police officials who had accompanied Narinder Singh at the time of arresting Jaspal from Ratti Rori village on May 18. While the police are yet to ascertain as to what prompted the CIA chief to arrest the youth at 11 pm on the basis of an unverified complaint, the family members of the deceased are not convinced with the suicide theory. They alleged Jaspal was picked up from a gurdwara at 11 pm and given third degree torture at the behest an influential person. They alleged that after Jaspals death in custody, Narinder Singh did not get any support from the said person. Caught in a difficult situation, he dumped the body into a canal and committed suicide, they claimed. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Kumar Saurav Raj today ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. On the basis of disclosure made by arrested constables that they had dumped the youths body into Indira Gandhi Canal, teams of the district police initiated a search. Another team has been sent to Nanded in Maharashtra in search of Randhir Singh, who is accused of using his connections in the police for the arrest of Jaspal Singh. The victim was reportedly having friendship with Randhirs stepdaughter. Illegal detention May 18: Inspector Narinder Singh raids a gurdwara at Ratti Rori village and rounds up 22-year-old Jaspal Singh. May 19, 4 am: Jaspal found dead in police lockup. Narinder Singh and two other employees in CIA staff dispose of the body into a canal. 8 am: Gurcharan Singh, Jaspals maternal uncle, asks the police to release him. The inspector claims Jaspal has been already sent with his unknown relative. 5.18 pm: Narinder Singh shoots himself dead in his office at CIA staff. May 20: The police register a case against Ranbir Singh of Jind (Haryana), his wife and three friends of Jaspal Singh for kidnapping him. The victim was a friend of Ranbirs stepdaughter. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 22 After taking a round of polling stations all over the state, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, today said all arrangements were in place and gave a satisfied report. The results will decide the fate of 278 candidates from 13 constituencies. As many as 1.37 crore out of 2.07 crore voters cast their ballot on May 19. Dr S Karuna Raju, CEO, said, Our staff is fully geared up for the counting tomorrow. The counting begins at 8 am. A 100-m zone has been earmarked for pedestrians. No vehicle will be allowed in this zone. To a question on more than earmarked votes at a centre in Ludhiana, Dr Raju said, This is possible only if the team did not erase the data after they finished the job. We are sure of our preparedness, but we will still confirm the facts when the counting begins. Complainant SAD candidate from Ludhiana Maheshinder Grewal said, I am satisfied with the reply of the election office. The result trends will start showing by afternoon and a majority of the election results are expected before 11 pm, a senior officer said. Thirty-nine companies of central forces have been deployed for the security of EVMs at 21 locations across the state ahead of Thursdays counting of votes in the Lok Sabha elections, an official said. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Shanghai, May 23 China is to blame for much of the increase in illegal ozone-depleting substances (ODS) since 2013, according a study published by the journal Nature on Thursday, with domestic companies accused of violating a global production ban. About 40-60 percent of the global rise in the prohibited ozone-destroying refrigerant trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) since 2013 could be attributed to the industrial provinces of Shandong and Hebei in northern China, researchers from Australias Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Britains University of Bristol said. After studying atmospheric data from South Korea and Japan, they estimated CFC-11 emissions from eastern mainland China during the 2014-2017 period were around 7 million kilograms per year higher than over 2008-2012. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Thursday. CFC-11, once used in refrigerators and air conditioners, is one of the chemicals banned under the Montreal Protocol, a treaty to protect the earths ozone layer by phasing out all global CFC production by 2010. CFC-11 in the atmosphere declined substantially until 2012 but has since rebounded. China ratified the treaty in 1991 and it said last year it has already eliminated as much as 280,000 tonnes of annual ODS production capacity and was speeding up efforts to phase out other ozone-damaging chemicals. But a report last year by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claimed dozens of Chinese companies were still using the banned CFC-11 in the production of polyurethane foam. Because its very effective at what it does, however, there have been rogue users of old supplies and rogue producers who flout international agreements that their governments have signed up to, said Ian Rae at the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne who was a technical advisor to the Montreal Protocol. China launched a special inspection campaign into 3,000 foam manufacturers across the country last year and promised to punish any violations of the Montreal treaty. It said in March that it had shut down two manufacturing spots that produced CFC-11 as part of the crackdown. Reuters pardeepdhull@gmail.com Washington, May 23 John Walker Lindh, dubbed the American Taliban after he was captured fighting for the Islamist insurgents in November 2001, will be freed from prison Thursday amid concerns he has not forsaken the radical ideology that took him to Afghanistan. Known as Detainee 001 in the US War on Terror, Lindhs release after 17 years in prison is resurrecting memories of the September 11 attacks and underscores the fact that, almost two decades later, the US continues to battle the Taliban with no end in sight. Images of Lindhbearded, dirty and disheveled and strapped to stretcher after his capturecame to symbolize the countrys enemy. While Lindhs family and supporters say he never took up arms against his own country, others say he remains a committed jihadist and a danger to society. In a letter this week to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, two senators asked how his alleged threat would be contained, citing unproven allegations that he openly supports extremist violence. We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh, they said. And on the eve of his expected release, a Los Angeles television station, KNBC, said it had received letters from Lindh during his incarceration in which he allegedly praised the Islamic State group and called himself a political prisoner. It was unclear however why the letters, dating back to 2014 and 2015, came to light just now. But they could complicate any effort to settle back into American society. Lindh, 38, is being released from the high-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana three years early for good behavior in a 20 year sentence. The quiet son of a middle-class couple who lived north of San Francisco, he converted to Islam at 16 years old and travelled in 1998 to Yemen to study Arabic. After returning home for several months, Lindh went back to Yemen in 2000, and then on to Pakistan to study further in a madrassa, or religious academy. In mid-2001, ostensibly drawn by stories of the mistreatment of Afghans, he enlisted in the Talibans fight against the Northern Alliance. After the United States intervened in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Lindh was one of hundreds of Taliban fighters captured by Northern Alliance forces on November 25. He revealed his American identity to two CIA officers. One of them, Johnny Micheal Spann, was killed in a prisoner revolt hours after he interrogated Lindh, making him the first American killed in post-9/11 conflict in Afghanistan. While Lindh had no role in Spanns death, his case became politically and emotionally entwined with it. Once back in the United States, he was branded a traitor and accused of murdering Spann. Lindh was charged with multiple counts of terrorism and conspiracy to kill Americans, with politicians and generals demanding he be given the death penalty. But in July 2002, Lindh pleaded guilty to much-reduced charges of illegally aiding the Taliban and carrying weapons and explosives in the commission of that crime. His 20-year sentence was declared a victory for the American people in the battle against terrorism, but raised early questions over how US officials were physically and legally treating War on Terror detainees. By most accounts, Lindh has clung firmly to Islam throughout his imprisonment. He spent years with a few dozen other Muslim prisoners in the Communications Management Unit of the Terre Haute prison, where their contacts with outsiders, media and information were tightly controlled. An internal 2017 report from the US National Counterterrorism Center, obtained by the Foreign Policy website, said that Lindh continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts. The claim was not supported by any public evidence. But Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, a researcher at the George Washington University Center for Extremism, says that while in prison Lindh became close Ahmad Musa Jibril, an Arab-American who since his 2012 release has preached an extremely conservative version of Islam popular among jihadists. Lindhs family and attorney remained silent ahead of his release, giving no hint of where he will go and what he will do. But he will face extremely tough conditions in his three-year probation. Lindh, who gained Irish citizenship while in prison, cannot obtain a passport or travel abroad. He can only possess or use an internet-capable computer or phone with official permission, and the device has to be monitored continuously by authorities. The reports about his still embracing jihadism will increase the pressure on authorities to maintain a full-time eye on him. Lindh served his time, said Karen Greenberg, head of the Fordham Law School Center on National Security, who has studied Lindhs case. It would be important for him to go on record declaring his intentions to live a peaceful/constructive life and to renounce terrorism/violence, she wrote on Twitter. AFP laxmi@tribune.com JAKARTA, May 22 Demonstrations over the outcome of last months presidential election gripped the heart of Indonesias capital on Wednesday after an overnight face-off between police and protesters in which Jakartas governor said six persons were killed. The riots followed an announcement on Tuesday by the General Election Commission (KPU) confirming that President Joko Widodo had beaten his challenger, former general Prabowo Subianto, in the April 17 poll. Crowds swelled in central Jakarta on Wednesday and the police said they expected more protesters to join them before nightfall. Some of those arriving carried wooden poles and some had smeared toothpaste around their eyes, a practice commonly carried out to eliminate the effects of tear gas. Protests that began calmly in the sprawling textile market neighbourhood of Tanah Abang on Tuesday turned violent after nightfall, with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan told TVOne that by the morning six persons had been killed and 200 wounded. Television footage showed smoke billowing from behind dozens of protesters in the streets of Tanah Abang on Wednesday, with some throwing firecrackers and tearing down public fences. President Widodo said security was now under control and warned of tough action against those instigating riots.I will not tolerate anyone disrupting the security...or unity of the country, or those who disrupt the democratic process, he told a briefing at the palace. Police have arrested up to 100 persons on suspicion of provoking riots. Widodos challenger, Prabowo, who has refused to concede defeat, called for peaceful protests and crowd control. I urge all sides, the people who are expressing their aspirations, the police, the military and all sides to refrain from physical abuse, he told a briefing. The majority of protesters appeared to have come from outside Jakarta and police found envelopes containing money on some of the people they searched, national police spokesman Muhamad Iqbal told a news conference. The KPU on Tuesday confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters that gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for Prabowo. Widodo won more than 85 million votes of 154 million cast in the worlds third-largest democracy, but retired general Prabowo has alleged massive cheating and irregularities. A Prabowo campaign official said they plan to contest the result in the Constitutional Court on Thursday. Prabowo also launched a legal challenge after he was defeated in the 2014 election by Widodo, which was unsuccessful. The election supervisory agency dismissed claims of systematic cheating, citing a lack of evidence. Independent observers have said the poll was free and fair. Subianto ran a fear-based campaign, emphasising what he sees as Indonesias weakness and the risk of exploitation by foreign powers or disintegration. He aligned himself with hard-line Muslim groups and won massive majorities in conservative provinces such as Aceh, which follows Shariah law, but was defeated by Widodo in the presidents populous East Java and Central Java strongholds. Agencies Subianto refuses to accept official results of April 17 election laxmi@tribune.com Beijing, May 22 In a major boost for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), China has delivered the first overhauled multi-role JF-17 fighter jet to Islamabad as part of a project undertaken by the two countries for the development and manufacture of the aircraft. China and Pakistan had begun joint development and manufacture of the single-engine light JF-17 jets over a decade ago. Beijing delivered the first batch in 2007 and a number of them were later commissioned by the PAF, state-run Global Times reported on Wednesday. After a decade of use, it was time for the first JF-17s to undergo overhauls, the report quoted military analysts as saying, adding that the first overhaul started in November 2017 after a contract was signed between the two sides in 2016. Changsha 5712 Aircraft Industry Co Ltd under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) reassembled the jet and delivered it to its Pakistani client in March, the daily quoted a report by China Aviation News. This is also the first time AVIC has overhauled a made-for-export third generation fighter, or fourth generation according to another widely used standard, the report said. The first [JF-17] overhaul marks an important milestone [in the JF-17 project], Fu Qianshao, a Chinese air defence expert, said. It represents the trial-and-error phase of the project and provided experience in establishing standards for other JF-17 overhauls in future, Qianshao said. The overhaul of the fighter jet includes major maintenance, featuring repairs and replacement of old components, including the airframe and engine. Also, a Block 3 variant of the JF-17 is under development. It is expected to be much more powerful than the previous two blocks due to new China-developed active electronically scanned array radar, the report said. PTI shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com United Nations, May 23 India was among 116 nations to vote in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded the UK withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within six months, supporting Mauritius in its quest for the restoration of sovereignty over the island chain in the Indian Ocean. The General Assembly adopted the resolution Wednesday Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 with 116 votes in favour, 56 abstentions and six nations voting against, including the UK, the United States, Australia, Israel and the Maldives. The UK retained sovereignty over the islands after Mauritius gained its independence from Britain in 1968. The islands have since been used for defence purposes by the UK and the United States, which established a military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The entire Chagossian population was forcibly removed from the territory between 1967 and 1973, and prevented from returning. The resolution welcomed the February 25, 2019 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The principal judicial body of the UN had said in its opinion that the UK Government is under an obligation to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. The resolution affirmed, in accordance with the advisory opinion of the Court, that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius. It demanded that the UK withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within six months, enabling Mauritius to complete the decolonization of its territory as rapidly as possible. India voted in support of the resolution, with its Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin telling the 193-member that as part of New Delhis longstanding support to all peoples striving for decolonisation, India has consistently supported Mauritius in its quest for the restoration of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. In accordance with our consistent approach on this important issue of decolonization, India supports the draft resolution, submitted by Senegal on behalf of members of the Group of African States. India, therefore, will vote in favour of the draft Resolution, he said adding that Mauritius is a fellow developing country from Africa, with which India has age-old people-to-people bonds. Akbaruddin said the ICJ, the highest international legal authority that can consider such issues, has advised that all member states are under an obligation to cooperate with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonisation of Mauritius. India shares, with the international community, security concerns relating to the Indian Ocean. We are conscious of the need for collective commitment towards ensuring the security and prosperity of our oceanic space. However, this is a separate matter on which we urge the concerned Governments to reach a mutually agreeable understanding as soon as possible, Akbaruddin said. Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth told the UNGA meeting that the ICJs findings show the gravity and extent of the wrongful act under international law that the colonial power has committed in carrying out the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 and maintaining the Chagos Archipelago as a colony ever since. UK Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Karen Pierce told the General Assembly that Britain is not in doubt about its sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean territory. It has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Contrary to what has been said today, it has never been part of the Republic of Mauritius, she said. Pierce added that the joint United Kingdom and United States defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory plays a vital role in its efforts to keep our allies and friends, including Mauritius, in the region, and beyond, safe and secure. PTI shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com New York, May 23 US President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization on Wednesday lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trumps businesses. In a decision read from the bench after hearing arguments, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York said Congress has the legal authority to demand the records, clearing the way for the banks to comply with subpoenas issued to them by two US House of Representatives committees last month. The committees have agreed not to enforce the subpoenas for seven days, the judge said. It was the second time in three days that a judge had ruled against the Republican president in his fight with Democrats and Trumps lawyers were expected to appeal both decisions. Ramos said he would not suspend his decision pending appeal. Some Democratic lawmakers welcomed the decision. So far, I think the president would be wise to come to the realization that our legitimate areas of inquiry are going to be supported by the courts, Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Reuters in an interview. Representative Brad Sherman, a Democratic member of the financial services committee, was more cautious, telling Reuters in an interview that he expected the decision would be appealed. Asked if lawmakers should be satisfied that they will get the information they seek, Sherman said, Ill believe it when I see it out of the US Supreme Court. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deutsche Bank said it would abide by the courts decision. Capital One did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January. Ramos said that the committees had the power to issue the subpoenas under Congress broad power to conduct investigations to further legislation. He also rejected Trumps argument that they were barred by a federal financial privacy law, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, saying the law does not apply to congressional investigations. Trump said last month that the administration was fighting all the subpoenas issued by the House, hardening his position after the release of a redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on how Russia interfered in the 2016 US election to help Trump and on the presidents attempts to impede the investigation. We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations and will abide by a court order regarding such investigations, Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Kerrie McHugh said in an emailed statement after the ruling. Lawyers for the Trump family members and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the decision. Some parts of the subpoenas have been included in court filings. The subpoena on Deutsche Bank seeks extensive records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members and several Trump Organization entities, as well as records of ties they might have to foreign entities. Deutsche Bank has long been a principal lender for Trumps real estate business and a 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to the bank. The subpoena on Capital One seeks records related to multiple entities tied to the Trump Organizations hotel business. In March, before issuing their subpoena, Democratic lawmakers asked Capital One for documents concerning potential conflicts of interest tied to Trumps Washington hotel and other business interests since he became president in January 2017. Trump, his adult children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and the Trump Organization had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Deutsche Bank complying with the subpoenas from the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and Capital One from complying with a subpoena from the Financial Services Committee. In a lawsuit filed on April 29, lawyers for the Trumps argued that the subpoenas were too broad, and that Democrats are hoping they will stumble upon something that could be used for political attacks on the president. Patrick Strawbridge, a lawyer for Trump, said at Wednesdays hearing that the subpoenas were the epitome of an inquiry into private or personal matters, and that the House committees were reaching beyond their role as legislators. Douglas Letter, a lawyer for the committees, said the subpoenas were part of a very serious investigation on behalf of the American people that could lead to legislation aimed at reducing foreign influence in US politics. He denied that it was intended to target Trump personally. He clearly sees us as some sort of nuisance, Letter said. The banks are the only defendants in the case, but the House committees intervened to oppose Trumps effort to block the subpoenas. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, told reporters after the lawsuit was filed that Trump had cast a gauntlet. We will fight him, she said. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington ruled against the president in a similar case, finding that Trumps accounting firm, Mazars LLP, must comply with a congressional subpoena for Trumps financial records. US District Judge Amit Mehta found that Congress was not engaged in a fishing expedition for the Presidents financial records when it subpoenaed Mazars and said that documents obtained might assist Congress in passing laws and performing other core functions. Trump called Mehtas decision crazy and vowed to appeal. On Wednesday, the House committee involved in that case, the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement it had reached an agreement with Trumps lawyers to seek an expedited appeal. Reuters laxmi@tribune.com Bishkek/Islamabad, May 22 Pakistan and Russia today voiced concern over weaponisation of the outer space and vowed to prevent it from becoming an arena for military confrontation, nearly two months after India shot down one of its satellites in space with an anti-satellite missile. Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov signed a joint statement on no first placement of weapons in outer space on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The joint statement said the outer space should be used in compliance with international law for the benefit of all nations, regardless of the level of their economic, scientific or technological development. Pakistans Foreign Office said the two countries shared a common position on the prevention of arms race in outer space and work collectively on various international fora towards that goal. PTI The Ministry of Health advises the population that on the evening of Boxing Day, six more ca Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has designated January 2022 as the point in time for commencement of a policy that would insist that all Government workplaces would require vaccinated workers. He has seen the reluctance and hesitation of many people both in public and private life who continue to refuse the jabs for several reasons, whether it be scientific or non-scientific, or for religious or personal reasons. Comedian Eric Omondi's Italian ex-lover Chantal Grazioli has finally revealed what led to their unexpected breakup. Chantal sensationally claimed she loved and still loves the comedian but the long distance between them affected their relationship, forcing them to amicably calling it quits. READ ALSO: Heartbreak as comedian Eric Omondi pens emotional goodbye to Italian lover READ ALSO: Comedian Eric Omondi set to wed longtime Italian fiancee Chantal before end of 2019 In an Instagram post seen by TUKO.co.ke on Wednesday, May 22, the Italian beauty said she would have loved for them to be together for eternity but the long distance relationship they were in could not favour them. The lass revealed she is forced to stay in Italy where her whole family is, a move that m sacrifice her own ''happiness'', love. Chantal went ahead to add the two held a very serious talk and reached an understanding that they should part ways. READ ALSO: Comedian Eric Omondi flaunts luxurious mansion his gorgeous lover received from her parents ''Hello guys, I hope this finds you well I have been silent for a while. Eric and I have had long discussions for the past one month. As you all know my family lives in Italy and its been really challenging for both of us. I love Eric and I will always love him and we are okay; We created the best of moments together, we shared our dreams and visions but most importantly we shared our lives. And i will always cherish every single moment,'' she captioned a photo of herself with Eric. Chantal's revelation came just hours after Eric Omondi publicly announced their break up. In the post seen by TUKO.co.ke, the comedian bid farewell to Chantal even as he insisted the two were still friends despite their separation. READ ALSO: Erick Omondi na mpenziwe Chantal waachana While he did not give a concrete reason for the separation, his post strongly suggested they had to part ways primarily because the Italian beauty was leaving the country for the long haul. And true to his hint, Chantal confirmed the same hours later. It should be noted the two dated for over two years and they were expected to exchange marital vows anytime. Their break up however did not convince many Kenyans who believe the two were just on their normal publicity stunts spree. According to a number of Kenyans the two lied to everyone about their relationship as it was a fake one aimed at advancing their online businesses and presence. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news. Why Kenyan men are depressed Source: TUKO.co.ke An interesting study on Nairobians has revealed that despite the tough economic times, they are the highest consumers of meat in the country. Kenya Markets Trust conducted the study which revealed that despite the average Kenyan found to consume 15 kilograms of meat every year, Nairobians carried the day as they averaged at least two kilograms more than their counterparts in other counties. READ ALSO: Kenyan netizens slam Parliament, Judiciary for poor performance More Kenyans are being repelled by red meat for fear of contracting lifestyle diseases. Photo: Getty Source: UGC READ ALSO: Matiang'i makes good his threat as government deports 17 foreigners illegally operating gambling businesses The study was conducted across various counties between July and November 2018 and it also brought to light a damning statistic - that the country has a meat deficiency of 300,000 metric tonnes. One irony that also brought consumer trends to perspective was the fact that low-income Kenyans consumed more fish that their higher-income counterparts. The main reason for this is because it is much easier to buy fish in smaller, cheaper proportions and the availability of a variety including the much adored Omena. Nairobians have been found to be the highest consumers of meat in the country. Photo: Getty Source: UGC READ ALSO: Celebrate my life, do not mourn me: Binyavanga Wainainas message seen as premonition of his death As far as the per capita consumption of all types of meat was concerned, the popularity of red meat had suffered a serious decline in the past 10 years. In 2009, up to 67% of Kenyans were huge fans of red meat but the number has dwindled in recent years owing to the fact that Kenyans are wary of potentially life-threatening lifestyle diseases caused by consumption of red meat on a consistent basis. Consuming 15 kilograms of meat every year might sound like unhealthy proportions but from the study, it was established that the figures only averages to one meat-meal in a week for the average mwananchi. Do you have a life-changing story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news Kenyans React to Game of Thrones Season Finale: Source: TUKO.co.ke Bailey Medical Center was selected to participate in a national initiative aimed at promoting safe infant sleep and breastfeeding. The National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN) seeks to increase infant caregiver adoption of safe infant sleep practices, as well as breastfeeding, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Over the course of five years, three teams will develop and test a small set of evidence-based practices, known as a safety bundle. Each cohort will guide implementation and refinement across the continuum of care to improve the likelihood that infant caregivers and families receive consistent instruction about safe sleep and breastfeeding. Bailey is one of 15 hospitals selected to participate in the second NAPPSS-IIN cohort and will be implementing hospital and prenatal safety bundles. The Owasso hospital has improved its overall breastfeeding rate, from 73 percent in 2017 to 85 percent in 2018, with the help of lactation consultant Whitney Noble, RN, IBCLC. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Wagoner County Emergency Management officials have been working with the American Red Cross for the past couple of days to possibly open a shelter in the Coweta and Wagoner area for individuals displaced by flooding conditions along the Arkansas River. In a post on the organization's Facebook page Thursday, WCEM Director Heath Underwood said they hope to have one open soon. He told the American-Tribune officials are hoping to identify a location and determine if residents will voluntary use a shelter if one opens. If one does, the Red Cross will offer a place to sleep, food and showers. "We are limited on state resources and are trying to get one open," he said. Underwood added that a drone team from Florida is in the county and will fly over the Arkansas River from Coweta to Okay and over parts of Fort Gibson Lake to give authorities an aerial view and map the flooding so they can get a better plan in place. Underwood said there has been a lot of negative posts about WCEM on social media, which "hurts our efforts and doesn't help the situation." Wagoner County adventure author Charles W. Sasser has been selected to receive the 2019 Marquis Whos Who in The World Lifetime Achievement Award. Sasser was selected for his literary achievements, his service to country in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, his service as a police officer and for his travels and adventures around the globe that have resulted in the publication of over 60 books and novels and more than 3,000 magazine articles and short stories. His books, which include such classic best sellers as One Shot-One Kill, have been translated into Chinese, Russian, Serbian, Thai, French, Spanish and other languages. His more recent books include Blood in The Hills, The Night Fighter, Six: Blood Brothers and Six: End Game (official novelizations of the hit History Channel mini-series Six) and Crushing the Collective: The Last Chance to Keep America Free and Self-governing. Sixth Day Snacks Dawn and Craig Chesser have developed a line of healthful snacks, including hummus, salsas and granola bites, which are available in the Kitchen 66 General Store. Dawn is a cancer survivor, and the couple developed a plan to help pay medical bills. It has become a full-time project. TastyTowne P.J. Daughtery and Susan Denney have developed a line of keto-friendly, gluten-free and diabetic baked goods that rival sugary, starchy treats. They were serving chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and sugar cookies Tuesday. Their stevia-based items are available in the Kitchen 66 General Store. MAMA Ghana natives Marie and Martha Ocran have developed tropical dishes and baked goods inspired by African and Caribbean cultures. On Tuesday, they were serving fried plantains with West African jollof rice and a special sauce. They will participate in the Kitchen 66 Takeover Cafe in June. YWellness David Williams, chief of hydrology and hydraulic engineering for the Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District, said water levels should stabilize if the Corps can keep the release from Keystone Dam steady through Memorial Day weekend. Williams said the dam was designed to handle heavy water flow and isnt at risk of failure. The river is forecast to rise to 23 feet, within major flood stage and 2 feet shy of the high reached in October 1986, the last time the dam had this large a release. The plans hinge on future storms both in the Tulsa area and upstream, but Williams said that if the rain is far enough upstream, it wont affect plans here. Eventually that volume will come into Keystone, Williams said. What would impact us at this point is if we had very heavy rainfall very quickly close to the dam, because were so tight with whats coming in, whats going out and where our storage is. Well have to deal with that runoff, but that is not directly tying into whats going on today with the release. Stitt said the full impact of the flooding might not be known until next week. Its important to be up front with the kids about the news, she said, so theyll believe her when she tells them theyll be safe at their next school. A counselor and a social worker also read children a story about change and encouraged them to talk about their feelings. About 250 students are enrolled at Penn, which is next to Monroe Demonstration Academy near 48th Street North and Lewis Avenue. Current fifth-graders will attend Monroe, while the rest of the students will go to Hawthorne or Anderson elementary school, depending on where they live. The changes are a result of the school boards approval of the North Tulsa Community Task Forces recommendation to transform Monroe into a neighborhood school to serve all sixth- through eighth-graders in the McLain feeder pattern. The McLain Seventh Grade Academy and McLain Junior High also will close due to the decision. Troy, began teaching at Penn this year, said she was distraught when she first learned of Penns fate. Shes grown close to her colleagues and students. The small size of the school makes them feel like a family. "Tulsa police are already visiting specific neighborhoods at risk and encouraging evacuation," he said in a tweet, without elaborating on specific areas. Tulsa Police Sgt. Shane Tuell said the city is not releasing the areas being evacuated to prevent looting. "We don't want bad guys to know where the areas are that are about to have vacant houses," Tuell said. The Police Department is going house to house in neighborhoods where residents need to evacuate immediately, Tuell said, adding that the city will provide specifics on the evacuations as more details of possible flooding become known. "When we are able to get better mapping details and updated mapping information that will give us a better sense of where to deploy our manpower and to effectively warn the citizens," Tuell said. A previous story about today's conditions appears below: The forecast for Tulsa shows an updated moderate level of risk for severe thunderstorms later Wednesday as the area remains under a flood warning. OKLAHOMA CITY The door clanged shut on cash bail reform Wednesday with the Oklahoma House of Representatives vote to reject Senate Bill 252, by Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah. A high priority for criminal justice reform proponents, the measure came up six votes short of the 51 needed for passage. With final adjournment of the Legislature expected Thursday, the issue appears dead for this session. On a procedural move, House sponsor Chris Kannady, R-Oklahoma City, did manage to rescue SB 252 for consideration next year. Former prosecutors and law enforcement officers in the House were adamantly opposed to the bill, which would have made it easier for people arrested for non-violent offenses to be released on their own recognizance. Proponents said it would have primarily helped suspects who could not afford bail for pretrial release. This is not a perfect bill, but the current system is far less perfect, to the point that we have a crisis, said Kannady. Kannady says the current system keeps people in jail because they cannot afford bail while others suspected of similar or even more serious offenses are released because they can make bail or bond. CIMARRON CITY Floodwaters destroyed five houses Wednesday in Twin Lakes community, volunteer firefighter Lori Dahlem said. "It became a serious threat, a much more serious threat this morning," Dahlem said. In the gated community near Cimarron City, three houses were moved off their foundations, and the other two were halfway underwater. Three houses were occupied, and those families evacuated earlier in the day. Waters have been rising in the area since Monday, eroding at least 50 to 60 feet of riverbank. All lanes of Interstate 40 and Oklahoma 100 are open over the Arkansas River near the Muskogee/Sequoyah County line, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said. Drivers are urged to be alert to crews removing traffic control devices through the early evening hours, and to use caution as traffic adjusts in these corridors. I-40 and Oklahoma 100 were closed Wednesday night after two barges broke loose in Muskogee and were headed toward the lock and dam in Webbers Falls. The barges struck the dam on Thursday and appeared to sink into the water. Authorities closed the highways, fearing the barges could compromise the dam and or/strike the I-40 bridge. OKLAHOMA CITY The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would provide tiered pay raises for about 34,000 state employees. House Bill 2771 heads to Gov. Kevin Stitt after it passed the Senate by a vote of 42-0. It is part of the budget agreement announced earlier this month. The measure would provide a pay increase of $1,500 for those earning $40,000 a year or less. It would provide a pay increase of $1,250 for those earning more than $40,000 but less than $50,000. Those earning $60,000 or more would get a $600 pay hike. The Oklahoma Public Employees Association had sought a $5,000 across-the-board pay raise for state employees, said spokesman Tom Dunning. While it is not what state employees wanted or what we believe they deserve, it is the second pay raise in two years, Dunning said. But we have got to get to a point where we get state employee compensation closer to market. Last years raise ranged from $750 to $2,000, depending on the employees salary, he said. The average raise was $1,600, he said. If you are a teacher worn down by long hours and large classes, youre not alone. Teacher burnout is an epidemic in American education. As of 2014, about half a million teachers in the United States were leaving the profession every year, according to a report by the Alliance for Excellent Education. Its no wonder, considering the demands are high, class sizes are only increasing, and the pay is lowas of 2018, a starting teacher salary in Oklahoma is less than $40,000 per year, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. For some educators, it may be time to consider a break from the traditional teaching model. This is where EPIC Charter Schools comes in with better pay, greater flexibility and higher job satisfaction. EPIC is a tuition-free, state-accredited, self-paced education model where student learning is a blend of digital curriculum and regular, in-person and one-on-one instruction from a certified Oklahoma teacher. Part of the EPIC teachers responsibility is to travel to meet with students one-on-one. EPIC also has four Blended Learning Centers (BLCs) in Oklahoma where students attend daily for instruction and an individualized education program. Teachers meet students wherever they need to be met, whether thats in a library, in their home or via online video conference tools like Zoom, Google Hangout or Skype, said Bart Banfield, assistant superintendent for instruction. Our model allows the parent, teacher and student to form a relationship, an active educational partnership, so everybodys involved. Kellie Gaffney, who taught in the Tulsa area for 18 years, joined EPICs teaching staff in 2017 because it gave her the ability to engage parents and families in the students education. My job is truly to empower the parents and the kids, Gaffney said. I have a low, manageable roster size and Im teaching my students how to take control of their education, and their parents, to give them the skills and the empowerment to feel like they can do it, too. Gaffney is one of about 700 one-on-one educators that make up the EPIC teaching force distributed across Oklahomas 77 counties for the current school year. EPIC also employs a smaller group of teachers in its four BLCs in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The pay for EPIC teachers is the highest in the state, averaging about $64,000 a year plus health benefits and fully paid Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma benefits. Moreover, starting in fall 2019, one-on-one teachers serving regular education students will get about a $5,000 raise, and special education teachers will get a $4,000 raise. Teachers in the BLCs will receive a $10,000 annual increase and a $5,000 hike in their annual bonus potential. Jamie Richardson, a first-year Tulsa-area EPIC teacher, said engaging with families of her students is one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. She said the flexibility and being able to customize her students learning is also what made EPIC an attractive choice for her. Coming from a traditional classroom, you have a class of 25-30 students, and youre trying to teach the curriculum that the district tells you that you have to teach, on the day that they tell you that you have to teach it, Richardson said. Its just unattainable. I felt like I was failing all the time. Both educators agree the work-life balance they have been able to attain after coming to EPIC was something they craved. For Gaffney in particular, that flexibility became crucial after she experienced a personal crisis last year. Because of the flexibility, I was able to still manage my students, Gaffney said. Because of EPIC, I am able to work around my personal life. Banfield stressed that EPIC is looking to hire more teachers from across the state for the 2019-2020 school year who arent afraid to think outside the traditional brick and mortar model. Interested educators are encouraged to apply now. Were looking for teachers who are compassionate, driven and looking for a new way to teach in an increasingly diverse student population, Banfield said. EPIC Charter Schools is the states fifth-largest public school system, serving more than 24,000 students statewide. For more information about becoming a teacher at EPIC and to apply online, visit epiccharterschools.org/employment. The man who helped to end apartheid in South Africa, and saw Trinidad and Tobago as the true rainbow nation, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is dead. South Africa's two Nobel Peace laureates former President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu visited Trinidad in May 2004 The armed formations of the Russian Federation violated ceasefire five times, using weapons banned under the Minsk agreements twice, in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in Donbas over the past day. The enemy used 122mm artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of different systems, heavy machine guns and small arms to launch attacks on Ukrainian defenders, the press center of the JFO Headquarters reports. In the zone of action of tactical force East, Russian-led forces opened fire from grenade launchers of different systems and small arms on Ukrainian troops near Marinka (23km south-west of Donetsk). In the zone of action of tactical force North, the enemy used 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of different systems and heavy machine guns to shell Ukrainian positions near Zolote-4 (59km west of Luhansk); 82mm mortars outside Novooleksandrivka (65km west of Luhansk); grenade launchers of different systems in the area of Popasna (69km west of Luhansk). One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in shelling. The Joint Forces adequately returned fire in response to the enemys shooting. According to intelligence, two invaders were annihilated and one more was wounded on May 22. In addition, the enemy lost one infantry fighting vehicle and one military truck. Today, the enemy has not opened fire yet. The Joint Forces reliably control the enemy on the contact line, adhering to ceasefire agreements. ol The IMF is ready to resume close cooperation with Ukraine after the parliamentary elections are held and the new government is appointed. Currently, the IMF mission continues to hold "constructive" negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv. IMF Communications Department Director Gerry Rice made a corresponding statement on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The mission [of the IMF] is currently in Kyiv. They conduct constructive discussions with the authorities regarding the latest developments, as well as the economic policy," Rice said. When asked to outline the prospects for further cooperation, the IMF spokesperson noted that the Fund was waiting for the appointment of the new government of Ukraine. "As soon as the new government is formed after [snap parliamentary] elections, we are ready to return to the discussion of our further cooperation with Ukraine," Rice said. At the same time, he did not comment on the question of whether the decision on the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the resignation of the government jeopardizes the current Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine. "We do not comment on political changes in any country, so I will not comment on this in context of Ukraine," Rice said. In this regard, he again emphasized that the IMF would be ready to return to cooperation with Ukraine after the formation of the new government, stressing that "the IMF has maintained a close partnership with Ukraine over the past few years." Rice also reminded that IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde had written Volodymyr Zelensky to congratulate him on election victory. "She emphasized that the IMF continues to be willing to provide assistance," the IMF spokesperson said. As reported, the IMFs review mission on Stand-By Arrangement started to work in Ukraine on Tuesday, May 21. The SBA was approved on December 19, 2019. The amount of the 14-month program is equivalent to SDR 2.8 billion (about USD 3.9 billion). SDR 1 billion (about USD 1.4 billion) was provided immediately, while the remaining funds should be disbursed based on the results of semi-annual arrangement revisions in 2019. Ukraine should focus on the full implementation of the law on national security and further secondary legislation, Head of the NATO Representation to Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov has said. He said this at the sixth meeting on parliamentary and public reform in Kyiv on Thursday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. From the point of view of NATO, the adoption of the law on national security in June 2018 was a key step in bringing Ukraine closer to Euro-Atlantic standards and principles, Vinnikov said. NATO calls on Ukraine to focus on the full implementation of this law, including the timely introduction and implementation of further secondary legislation, he added. Vinnikov said that support for the reform of the defense and security sector is one of the main objectives of NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package that was approved by the leaders of NATO member states and governments in 2016. He also noted that over the past five years a strategic focus for NATO's advisors has been to provide support and assistance to institutions in developing and implementing strategic documents. Vinnikov said he was confident that this year would be crucial for Ukraine, including the defense and security sector, and that it would be a new page in Ukraine's history. He said it was important that the country does not lose this reform impetus, this movement in reform, because NATO supports these active processes. Ukraine's new law on national security came into force on July 8, 2018. The law defines the principles of national security and defense, the goals and basic principles of state policy that will guarantee the protection of society and every citizen from threats. op Representatives of Ukrinmash, part of the Ukroboronprom State Concern, and the leadership of an official delegation of the Ministry of National Defense of Colombia have discussed cooperation on the development of cybersecurity systems and the fight against cyberattacks, Ukroboronprom's press service has reported. "As part of the 7th International Exhibition and Conference of Technology for the Defense and Prevention of Disasters SITDEF 2019 that was held in Lima (the Republic of Peru), representatives of Ukrinmash, part of Ukroboronprom, met with the leadership of the official delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Colombia," the report reads. According to the report, Director of Technology, Science and Innovation at the Ministry of National Defense of Colombia Hilda Lopez Gomez and Ukraine's Honorary Consul in Columbia Luis Brand expressed their interest in the study and application of Ukrainian experience in developing cybersecurity systems and countering cyberattacks. The sides also discussed joint projects on the creation of bilateral educational programs for cybersecurity research, the development of systems for protecting and retrieving information, and the exchange of specialists. The parties also discussed the possibility of carrying out scientific research in the field of cybersecurity as part of innovative projects of the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute." op GENEVA - More than 1000 participants attended the Fourth World Reconstruction Conference (WRC4), applying the pledge made by 193 countries in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to 'leave no one behind' and 'endeavour to reach the furthest behind' for resilient post-disaster recovery. Jointly organized by the World Banks Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the European Commission (EC), and hosted by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the WRC4 was held May 13 - 14 in Geneva, coinciding with the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Disasters triggered by natural hazards, including climate-related events, undermine development gains and contribute to increased vulnerability and exclusion. They add up to average annual welfare losses of over US$500 billion and push up to 26 million people into poverty each year. With the theme of 'nclusion for disaster recovery' the WRC4 was an opportunity to gather practitioners and policy-makers from across the globe to share the latest best practices and account for progress on the pledges made through the 2030 Agenda and, particularly, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Together, we can ensure we Leave No One Behind. Together, we can make recovery more resilient, and foster risk-informed and inclusive development, said Asako Okai, UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDPs Crisis Bureau. Sameh Wahba, Director of Urban and Territorial Development and Disaster Risk Management at the World Bank, emphasized the World Banks 2018 Building Back Better report, stressing that, We have to build back better meaning that the repaired or replaced assets are more resilient, but also that the recovery process is shorter and more efficient, that culture is at the heart of the reconstruction and recovery process, and that the entire recovery process does not leave anyone behind. Everyone, including the poorest and most vulnerable, must receive the support they need to fully recover. The discussions at the conference resulted in the issuance of a joint communique affirming a strong commitment to ensure that recovery processes are inclusive. Leonard-Emile Ognimba, Ambassador, Assistant Secretary General Political Affairs and Human Development of the ACP-EU Secretariat, helped conclude the conference by noting, Being inclusive in recovery is not an option if we are truly committed to leave no one behind and build more inclusive societies with equal opportunities for all. Joint Communique on WRC4 Related links : https://www.gfdrr.org/ http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/disasterriskmanagement http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/about-development-and-cooperation-europeaid_en /content/undp/en/home/climate-and-disaster-resilience/disaster-risk-reduction New York Young people are key to the prevention of violent extremism and must be involved as partners in developing and implementing policies which effectively counter the growth of extremism, according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme. The report, Frontlines: Young people at the forefront of preventing and responding to violent extremism, calls for more investment in ensuring systematic participation of young people in decision-making and governance, and for them to play proactive roles in communities and society at large. The report was based on a global survey of youth, focus group discussions with young people on their aspirations and perceptions, a series of in-depth interviews with practitioners, and case studies from the field. The report was supported by the Government of Norway. The global survey indicated an increased and substantive youth participation in initiatives contributing to the prevention of violent extremism. While encouraging, this momentum has yet to be translated into significant policy influence and systematic support for youth participation on the ground, the report found. The report identifies the lack of meaningful consultation with youth in PVE initiatives and the lack of funding for youth initiatives as the top challenges for young people. Also, the potential sensitivities and risks both in the context of violent extremism and in the response, and the need for better coordination with youth organisations, movements and networks were commonly cited challenges, by both youth and non-youth actors in the report. If the object of policy and programming is ultimately to design and support effective approaches to prevent violent extremism while upholding human rights standards, then it is vital that we better understand and nurture youth-led action on the ground, said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. The report aims to support a paradigm shift in thinking about youths role in PVE in order to find more effective approaches. The standout message from Frontlines is that youth must take a front and centre role to prevent and respond to violent extremism. The key findings also reflect that initiatives focusing on young women have been less common, and there are significant gaps between groups who are engaged and those who respondents believed should be engaged. Even though young people are joining violent extremist groups more than any other age demographic, evidence shows that the vast majority of youth neither fall prey to the tactics of terrorists, nor are participating in violence. On the contrary, young people are our biggest hope and, rather than downplaying their overwhelmingly positive role, we should build on their aspirations and prodigious efforts to build resilience and social cohesion, states Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary Generals Envoy on Youth. UNDP calls for a stronger partnership and a more coherent approach, through this comprehensive and global research, to pursue a powerful youth-inclusive approach to prevent and respond to violent extremism, including through enhanced inter-agency collaboration and youth organizations. The report also makes an important contribution to the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2250 and 2419 on Youth, Peace and Security, the United Nations Secretary-Generals Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism and the United Nations Youth Strategy (Youth 2030). Related links: UNDP Youth Global Programme for Sustainable Development and Peace UNDP Oslo Governance Centre UNDP Second Global Meeting on PVE - Assessing progress made, and the future of development approaches to preventing violent extremism Media queries: Sangita Khadka, Communications Specialist, UNDP New York, email: sangita.khadka@undp.org; Tel: +1 212 906 5043 ABOUT UNDP: UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in some 177 countries and territories, we offer a global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. Ukraine's social minister to meet with IMF mission May 27 11:40, 23.05.19 850 The mission continues to work in Ukraine. Ukraine's new standard for wheat to come into force on June 10 agrarian ministry 16:53, 23.05.19 1132 The new standard provides for the reduction of the number of classes for soft non-food wheat from three to one. Zelensky ordered the government to provide funding for early parliamentary elections. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decree on the early termination of the powers of the Verkhovna Rada and the appointment of early elections on July 21, 2019 has been published in the government's official newspaper Uriadovy Kurier. Thus, decree No. 303/2019 of May 21 may be considered as entered into force, according to 112 Ukraine TV channel. Read alsoZelensky comments on Rada's failure to consider bills on election law amendments "Guided by Part 2 of Article 77, Parts 6 and 7 of Article 83, Paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Article 90 of the Constitution of Ukraine and in accordance with Paragraphs 7 and 8 of Part 1 of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, I hereby decree: 1. To terminate the powers of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the eighth convocation ahead of time. 2. To appoint early elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on July 21, 2019," the document says. Zelensky also ordered the government to provide funding for early parliamentary elections. The decree comes into force on the day of its publication. As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 21 signed a decree disbanding the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. NATO also calls on Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships seized in November last year near the Sea of Azov. NATO calls on Russia to withdraw from Crimea and cease its support to militants in eastern Ukraine. Read alsoUkraine's Rada passes resolution to host NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Kyiv "And just to be clear this Alliance does not, and will not, accept Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and we continue to call on Russia to withdraw from Crimea, and cease its support to militants in eastern Ukraine," Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach said at the 181st Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session on May 22. "We also call on Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships seized in November last year near the Sea of Azov," he said. UNIAN memo. On the morning of November 25, 2018, Russia blocked the passage to the Kerch Strait for the Ukrainian tugboat "Yany Kapu" and two armored naval boats "Berdyansk" and "Nikopol," which were on a scheduled re-deployment from the Black Sea port of Odesa to the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. The Ukraine Navy Command noted that the Russian side had been informed of the plans to re-deploy the vessels in advance in accordance with international standards to ensure the safety of navigation. The Russian coast guard ship "Don" rammed the Ukrainian tugboat, damaging the Ukrainian vessel. As the Ukrainian boats were heading back in the Odesa direction after being rejected passage via the Kerch Strait, Russian coast guards opened aimed fire on them. All 24 crew members on board were captured and later remanded in custody for two months, being charged with "illegal border crossing" (the sailors are facing up to six years in prison). Three crewmen were wounded in the attack. Russian-controlled "courts" in occupied Crimea ruled that all 24 detainees should be remanded in custody, after which they were transferred to the Moscow-based Lefortovo and Matrosskaya Tishina detention centers. Moscow's Lefortovo district court in the middle of January 2019 decided to keep the Ukrainian sailors in remand until the end of April 2019. In April, their detention was extended until the end of August 2019. There are European representation standards, Stefanchuk said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's envoy to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk has said the number of lawmakers should be revised since the population of Ukraine declined. Read alsoZelensky's decree on dissolving parliament officially published "Today, the number of lawmakers is being discussed: whether 450 is a lot or a little. There are European representation standards," Stefanchuk said, according to LB.ua. "When we had 52 million [people], it was enough, and when we see 30 million after the population census, why do we need 450 lawmakers? Then we can say the representation standards are violated and the number of lawmakers should be revised," he added. As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 21 appointed Ruslan Stefanchuk as his envoy to the Verkhovna Rada. People do not trust the Verkhovna Rada, Kravchuk said. First Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk approves the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a comment to journalists in Kyiv on Thursday, Kravchuk said Zelensky had received great support from the Ukrainian people in the presidential election. Read alsoZelensky's decree on dissolving parliament officially published "73.2% of trust is a very high percentage and a very high trust," he said, according to an UNIAN correspondent. The ex-president said Zelensky "acts in accordance with the situation. Today, the Verkhovna Rada has a rating of about 4-5%, people do not trust the Verkhovna Rada, and in this situation, taking into account the desire of the Ukrainian people, the president acts adequately." "As for resistance, of course, it will take place, but the resistance must be overcome since it is the interests of the people," Kravchuk said. As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 21 signed a decree disbanding the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament. On May 23, the decree on the early termination of the powers of the Verkhovna Rada and the appointment of early elections on July 21, 2019 was published in the government's official newspaper Uriadovy Kurier. The status of the petition now is "pending consideration." An electronic petition pressing for the resignation of newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky gathered the necessary 25,000 signatures with the first day within 92 days given. Petition No. 22/053360-ep was created by Maksym Bezruk on May 22, 2019, according to the e-petition section of the Ukrainian President's official online representative office. So far, the number of gathered signatures has exceeded 33,000. The status of the petition now is "pending consideration," yet gathering signatures will continue for 91 more days. The author of the petition says that the majority of the votes cast for Zelensky during the recent presidential election were of "protest nature" and the incumbent president "does not enjoy the support of 73% of voters." Read alsoZelensky denies possibility of talks with Russia (Video) "Your figure does not unite most of Ukrainians at all. You managed to consolidate the protest without giving concrete promises and political guidelines, but now, after election and inauguration, you cannot but have a concrete course. And your very first statements and actions disappoint your voters, break this temporary, situational consolidation of people," the text of the petition says. "The situation is becoming unacceptable when a 'servant of the people' does not have moral obligations to his people, which were formed during the electoral process. Therefore, we, the people of Ukraine, demand you immediately step down from the post of President of Ukraine," it said. UNIAN memo. Zelensky won the presidential election in the second round on April 21, 2019; his rival was the then president Petro Poroshenko, who was running for another term. Some 73.22% of Ukrainians cast their votes for Zelensky, while Poroshenko was backed by 24.45% of voters. The funds were spent on military training and equipment. The United States has committed over US$1.1 billion since 2014 to help Ukraine defend itself. "Since 2014, the U.S. has committed over $1.1 billion in military training and equipment to help Ukraine defend itself and secure its borders," the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said on Facebook on May 23. It also said that on behalf of U.S. Embassy Kyiv and European Command, Colonel Bob Peters joined General Mykola Malkov, Commander of the Special State Transportation Service, to plant a tree in commemoration of the strong U.S.-Ukraine defense partnership. Read alsoZelensky, U.S. envoys discuss reforms, counteraction to Russia's aggression As UNIAN reported earlier, the U.S. Congress subcommittee approved a bill earlier in May 2019 that provides for the allocation of $250 million in defense assistance to Ukraine. "The defense subcommittee of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee has approved a bill on the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amount of funds proposed for providing security assistance to Ukraine is set at $250 million. Of this amount, $50 million is proposed to be allocated solely on the provision of lethal defensive weapons," the Embassy of Ukraine in the USA wrote on Facebook. The funds should also be directed to the implementation of such programs as military personnel training, provision of military hardware and equipment, logistics, and intelligence support of the Ukrainian armed forces. The document should be approved by the House Appropriations Committee and then passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, after which it will be handed over to the U.S. president to enact it. The Chair of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has requested the opinion of the Venice Commission on Ukraine's language law. The European Commission for Democracy through Law, commonly known as the Venice Commission, has received a request to analyze the law on the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the national language. Read alsoUN Security Council decides not to discuss Ukraine's language law, rejecting Russia's request "By a letter dated May 22, 2019, the Chair of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe requested the opinion of the Venice Commission on the Law on 'Ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a State language,'" reads a statement published on the Commission's website on May 22, as reported by the Ukrainian media outlet European Pravda. As UNIAN reported earlier, outgoing President Petro Poroshenko on May 15, 2019, enacted the law on the Ukrainian language, which passed with a 278-38 majority. It requires all Ukrainian citizens to know the state language and that it be used while performing official duties. Those subject to the latter requirement will include politicians, judges, doctors, employees of the national bank and state-owned companies, officers in the military, teachers and others. The law stipulates that the government shall organize Ukrainian language courses for adults and provide an opportunity for citizens of Ukraine to learn the national language free of charge if they had no such opportunity. According to the law, a person seeking Ukrainian citizenship is obliged to pass a Ukrainian language test. However, individuals who perform military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are given a state award and those whose citizenship of Ukraine is of state interest for the country have the right to acquire Ukrainian citizenship without taking the language test, but remain obliged to master it within one year from the date they were granted Ukraine's citizenship. There are exemptions for private communications and religious ceremonies. Two occupiers were killed and another one was wounded on Wednesday, intelligence reports say. Russia's hybrid military forces in the past 24 hours mounted five attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action. Read alsoEight Ukrainian soldiers taken captive by Russia-led forces in Donbas "One member of the Joint Forces was wounded amid shelling. Each enemy attack had an adequate response. According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed and another one was wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update posted on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 23, 2019. What is more, Ukrainian troops destroyed an enemy infantry fighting vehicle and a military truck. Russian occupation forces opened fire from 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms. Under attack were Ukrainian positions near the towns of Maryinka and Popasna, as well as near the villages of Zolote-4 and Novo-Oleksandrivka. "Since Thursday midnight, there have been no attacks by Russia-led forces," the report said. Opinion Policies Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue. Feedback policy If you have a grievance concerning the content or argument of the Editorial Board, please contact either Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or the Editorial Board as a whole (editorialboard@iowastatedaily.com). 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Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions. Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020 Eleven unreleased iPhone models have passed through the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) database this week which are likely the 2019 iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max, and the iPhone XR. Apple and other companies are required to register their new and upcoming devices with the Eurasian database before they can release it to the public in Armenia, Belarus, Russia, and other countries which are a part of Eurasia. The model numbers of the 11 iPhones that have crossed through the EEC are as follows: A2111 A2160 A2161 A2215 A2216 A2217 A2218 A2219 A2220 A2221 A2223 It is important to note that the EEC filing indicates that all the handsets are running iOS 12 and not iOS 13 which Apple will be unveiling at WWDC 2019 early next month. Plus, just because the handsets have passed through the EEC, it does not mean that Apple is preparing to unveil the iPhone 11. Like every year, we should expect Apple to launch its 2019 iPhone lineup in September itself. The 2019 iPhones will comprise of three models: the 2019 iPhone XR, the iPhone 11, and iPhone 11 Max. Plenty of details about the 2019 iPhones have already leaked. The iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max will feature triple cameras at the rear, improved Face ID hardware and 12MP camera, faster A-series chip, improved OLED displays, and more. The third new camera sensor will be an ultra-wide angle sensor which has become commonplace in flagship smartphones released this year. The 2019 iPhone XR will feature a dual camera set up at the rear and will be available in a variety of colors just like the existing iPhone XR. The second camera sensor is rumored to be a telephoto one, though my bet is that Apple will introduce an ultra-wide angle shooter on the device. The handset will also continue to feature an LCD display. Apple will be making the switch to frosted glass panels at the rear on all three iPhone models. The rear glass will also be a single piece that wont feature a cutout for the camera sensors. Our Take While it is likely that Apple has registered the 2019 iPhone lineup with the EEC, one should not read too much into it. The handsets are still months away from their launch. For now, one should look forward to June 3 when Apple holds the opening keynote of WWDC to unveil iOS 13, macOS 10.15, watchOS 6, and more. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd May, 2019) The Russian and Chinese foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi, have discussed the preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Russia in June, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The talks took place on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the Kyrgyz capital city Bishkek. "The sides should take effort and do everything to prepare for the upcoming state visit to Russia of President Xi Jinping next month and his participation in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum," Wang said, as quoted by the ministry. Lavrov, on his part, stressed that Russia was ready to work together with China for Xi's successful visit to give a new impetus to the development of the Russian-Chinese relations, according to the ministry. The three-day St. Petersburg Economic Forum will start on June 6. Faithful of other religions in a show of solidarity with Sri Lanka's Christian community in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks. (AFP or licensors) Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is on a 3-day visit to the Church in Sri Lanka, May 22-24, to bring the solidarity and closeness of Pope Francis to the Christian community, recovering after the Easter Sunday attacks. A leading Vatican official on Wednesday began a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, a month after the barbaric Easter Sunday suicide bombing of 3 churches and 3 hotels. The coordinated attacks by a group said to have links with the so-called Islamic State (IS), killed 258 people and injured some 500. Two of the places of worship were Catholic churches: St. Anthonys Shrine in Colombo and St. Sebastians Church in Negombo. Another blast at the Evangelical Zion Church in the eastern coastal city of Batticaloa also claimed numerous lives. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is visiting the island nation to bring the closeness and solidarity of the Pope to the Catholic community, whose two churches were the targets of the April 21 attacks. The Italian cardinal flew in from Bangkok, Thailand, where he had been from May 16 to 21, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Church in the country. Meeting families of victims After his arrival in Colombo, Card. Filoni laid the foundation stone of a soup kitchen for the needy of all religions, next to St. Anthonys Shrine Kochikade, that was devastated by a suicide bomber during Easter Sunday Mass. The Vatican official was also able to meet the relatives of the victims and conveyed the Popes consolation and encouragement, recalling his condemnation of the inhuman acts that struck the Christian community gathered in prayer on the solemn feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. The local Church has initiated a vigorous programme of helping the relatives of the victims with material, psychological and spiritual aid. Growing esteem for Church The fact that the faithful are flocking to churches in larger numbers than before is a great witness of faith in the predominantly Buddhist nation, where there are also Hindu and Muslim minority communities. Sources in the Archdiocese of Colombo told Vatican News that esteem for the Catholic Church has grown with the faithful being admired for their non-violent and reconciliatory attitude and reaction to the bomb attacks. Card. Filoni also met President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka and the Catholic bishops of the country to whom he spoke about mission and formation. On Thursday, the cardinal will visit St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of Colombo, where more than 100 people were in the Easter Sunday attack. There, he will lay the foundation stone of a new chapel for the cemetery. Card. Filoni will also meet the families of victims. While a court order in France reverses procedures to stop feeding and hydrating Vincent Lambert, in the Vatican Pope Francis reaffirms that life is Gods gift, from its beginning until its natural end. By Vatican News Vincent Lambert is 42 years of age and has been hospitalized in Rheims since 2008 following a motorcycle accident. He is quadriplegic and has suffered severe brain damage, but he continues to breathe autonomously. While some doctors describe him as being "minimally consciousness", others claim he is in a "chronically vegetative" state. On Monday, medical staff began turning off the life support systems that feed and hydrate Lambert, despite appeals from his parents to the contrary. The new court ruling reverses that procedure. Appeals by Pope Francis Also on Monday, Pope Francis reaffirmed the position of the Church by publishing a tweet on his @Pontifex account. The text reads as follows: We pray for those who live with severe illness. Let us always safeguard life, Gods gift, from its beginning until its natural end. Let us not give in to a throwaway culture. Last year, the Pope launched two appeals for Vincent Lambert, along with the case of little Alfie Evans. Before the Regina Coeli on April 15, he said: I entrust to your prayer people like Vincent Lambert in France and little Alfie Evans in England, and others in different countries, who live, sometimes for a long time, in a state of serious infirmity, requiring medical assistance for their basic needs. These are delicate situations that are very painful and complex. We pray that every patient will always be respected in his or her dignity, and treated in a way appropriate to their condition, with the whole-hearted contribution of family members, doctors and other health workers, and with great respect for life. During the General Audience of Wednesday April 18, Pope Francis added: I would like to reiterate and strongly confirm that the only master of life, from its beginning to its natural end, is God. Our duty is to do everything to protect life. Appeal by Archbishop of Rheims In a statement, the Archbishop of Rheims, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, said: It is the honour of a human society not to let one of its members die of hunger or thirst and to do everything possible to maintain appropriate treatment until the end. To allow oneself to renounce it because such a cure has a cost or because it would be useless to let the human person live, would ruin the efforts of our civilization. The greatness of humanity consists in considering the dignity of its members, especially the most vulnerable, as inalienable and inviolable. Intervention by UN Committee The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had urged France to intervene and delay the move to switch off life support while it continues to investigate further the case of Vincent Lambert. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Board of Directors on May 22, 2019, approved a $48,675,000 contract with Elon Musks The Boring Company (TBC) to design and construct a people mover for the Las Vegas Convention Center that could rapidly and safely carry passengers in autonomous electric vehicles via a loop of underground express-route tunnels. Las Vegas will continue to elevate the experience of our visitors with innovation, such as with this project, and by focusing on the current and future needs of our guests, said Steve Hill, LVCVA CEO and president. The LVCVA Board of Directors approved the total contract value of $48,675,000. The contract highlights three underground passenger stations, a pedestrian tunnel and two vehicular tunnels with an expected total length of approximately one mile. Other essential system components include: An elevator/escalator system for passenger access to each station Pedestrian entrances, exits, coverings from the elements and landscaping Tunnel lighting, power and video surveillance systems A fully equipped control room Cell phone, WiFi, intercom/PA, remote data and ventilation/life safety systems The Boring Company is excited to contribute to the future of Las Vegas, and work with leaders who have a vision for transportation, said The Boring Company President Steve Davis. The LVCVAs approval of the TBC contract is a result of a multi-step process that started in 2018 with a request for information to gauge interest. A request for proposal was then issued. Interviews with the selected finalists were conducted by an evaluation team who determined the recommended company. The evaluation team was comprised of representatives from the LVCVA, private organizations including a Las Vegas resort property, and a consultant with experience in transportation systems, construction and operations of automated people-moving systems. TBCs contract calls for an underground loop system that offers reduced total costs, less disruption to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and faster construction time than traditional at-grade or above-ground options while maximizing passenger and pedestrian safety. The loop will be designed for ridership of at least 4,400 passengers per hour and is scalable depending on Las Vegas Convention Center attendance. Currently in the midst of an expansion, the Las Vegas Convention Center will span 200 acres when complete in time for CES in January 2021. Conventioneers walking the facility from end to end would log approximately 1.5 miles creating the need for an on-property guest transportation solution. In 2018, Las Vegas had more than 42 million visitors. The Las Vegas Convention Center hosts more than 1.6 million attendees annually. A 5,000-year-old toy still enjoyed by kids today has inspired an inexpensive, hand-powered scientific tool that could not only impact how field biologists conduct their research but also allow high-school students and others with limited resources to realize their own state-of-the-art experiments. The device, a portable centrifuge for preparing scientific samples including DNA, is reported May 21 in the journal PLOS Biology. The co-first author of the paper is Gaurav Byagathvalli, a senior at Lambert High School in Georgia. His colleagues are M. Saad Bhamla, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Soham Sinha, a Georgia Tech undergraduate; Janet Standeven, Byagathvalli's biology teacher at Lambert; and Aaron F. Pomerantz, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. "I am exceptionally proud of this paper and will remember it 10, 20, 30 years from now because of the uniquely diverse team we put together," said Bhamla, who is an assistant professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. From a Rainforest to a High School Together the team demonstrated the device, dubbed the 3D-Fuge because it is created through 3D printing, in two separate applications. In a rainforest in Peru the 3D-Fuge was an integral part of a "lab in a backpack" used to identify four previously-unknown plants and insects by sequencing their DNA. Back in the United States, a slightly different design enabled a new approach to creating living bacterial sensors for the potential detection of disease. That work was conducted at Lambert High School for a synthetic biology competition. Thanks to social media and a preprint of the PLOS Biology paper on BioRxiv, the 3D-Fuge has already generated interest from around the world, including emails from high-school teachers in Zambia and Kenya. "It's awesome to see research not just remain isolated to one location but see it spread," said Byagathvalli. "Through this, we've realized how much of an impact simple yet effective tools can have, and hope this technology motivates others to continue along the same path and innovate new solutions to global issues." To better share the work, the team has posted the 3D-Fuge designs, videos, and photos online available to anyone. Frugal Science One focus of Bhamla's lab at Georgia Tech is the development of tools for frugal science, or real research that just about anyone can afford. The tools behind state-of-the-art science often cost thousands of dollars that make them inaccessible to those without serious resources. Centrifuges are a good example. A small benchtop unit costs between $3,000 and $5,000; larger units cost many times that. Yet the devices are necessary to produce concentrated amounts of, say, genomic materials like DNA. By rapidly spinning samples, they separate materials of interest from biological debris. The Bhamla team found that the 3D-Fuge works as well as its more expensive cousins, but costs less than $1. An Ancient Toy The 3D-Fuge is based on earlier work by Bhamla and colleagues at Stanford University on a simple centrifuge made of paper. The "paperfuge," in turn, was inspired by a toy composed of string and a button that Bhamla played with as a child. He later discovered that these toys, known as whirligigs, have existed for some 5,000 years. They consist of a disk - like a button - with two holes, through which is threaded a length of flexible cord whose ends are knotted to create a single loop with the disk in the middle. That simple contraption is then swung with two hands until the button is spinning and whirring at very fast speeds. The earlier paperfuge uses a disk of paper. To that disk Bhamla glued small plastic tubes filled with a sample. He and colleagues reported that the device did indeed create high-quality samples. In late 2017 Bhamla was separately approached by the Lambert High team and Pomerantz to see if the paperfuge could be adapted for the larger samples they needed (the paperfuge is limited to small samples of ~1 microliter--or one drop of blood). Together they came up with the 3D-Fuge, which includes cavities for tubes that can hold some 100 times more of a sample than the paperfuge. The team developed two equally effective designs: one for field biology (led by Pomerantz) and the other for the high-school's synthetic biology project (led by Byagathvalli). Bhamla notes that the 3D-Fuge has some limitations. For example, it can only process a few samples at a time (some applications require thousands of samples). Further, because it's 10 times heavier than the paperfuge, it can't reach the same speeds or produce the same forces of that device. That said, it still weighs only 20 grams, slightly less than a AA battery. "But it works," said Bhamla. "All you need is an [appropriate] application and some creativity." Auchan was the last Western retailer in the country Photo: Le Toan French retailer Auchan is selling its portfolio of 18 stores in Vietnam, which currently generate sales of 45 million ($50.25 million). In March, Auchan Retail said it was conducting a review of its loss-making businesses in the Italian and Vietnamese markets where it had faced tough conditions. Auchans exit has attracted the interest of potential buyers. A source familiar with the matter said that the retailer will sell its business to a local corporation but refused to disclose names. The take-over process is slated to start in early June 2019. According to Le Monde, a French daily afternoon newspaper, Auchan Retail will leave Vietnam before the summer, where it is the last Western distributor. In 2016, German Metro AG wrapped up the sale of its Metro Cash & Carry to TCC Group, while French Casino Group sold Big C Vietnam to Central Group. Both buyers in the two transactions were from Thailand. When it set foot in Vietnam in 2015, Auchan planned to inject $500 million to open 300 stores. As of present, the retailer has 13 outlets in Ho Chi Minh City, four in Hanoi, and one in the southern province of Tay Ninh. According to an internal source, Auchan pulled out of Vietnam as it has not found the economic model to match the Vietnamese market. One month ago, convenience store chain Shop&Go also sold off its Vietnamese operations with 87 outlets to conglomerate Vingroup for a symbolic $1. The chain has withdrawn from the market due to stiff competition. There is no doubt that competition in the Vietnamese retail market is becoming intense with the aggressive expansion of both local and foreign retailers, forcing retailers to leave. The market will become more consolidated with stronger players. Most recently, Vingroup, the parent of VinCommerce, has scooped up $1 billion from South Koreas SK Group. Accordingly, SK Group has agreed to purchase 154.3 million shares of Vingroup through a private placement, and 51.4 million shares of its VinCommerce unit at VND113,000 ($4.9) apiece. Following the transaction, SK Group will become the largest overseas shareholder in Vingroup. The two conglomerates said they will explore investment opportunities in Vietnam and the region, including jointly conducting M&A. It is clear that the M&A deals will consolidate the Vietnamese retail market and change the competition landscape in the coming time. Ralf Matthaes, managing director of technology-driven market research firm Infocus Mekong Research, told VIR that in most developed economies globally, the more developed they are, the fewer the players and the more giants there are. This is a good example of the evolution of Vietnam into a more developed market. Indeed, there has been a huge turnover in terms of M&A over the past three years with the aforementioned VinCommerce, as well as Big C and Metro Cash & Carry, so the playing field is a little more limited than before. However, with the growth of e-commerce, it is almost certain that there will be more activity, specifically with either traditional retailers buying into existing e-commerce platforms or new foreign entrants looking to expedite their growth. Interestingly, this will not just be limited to retail but will affect insurance, banking, and other services-oriented industries, as the process and payment elements of e-commerce are similar at their core, Matthaes said. On the same note, Yee Chung Seck, partner of Baker McKenzie Vietnam, said that in 2017, around 44 per cent of the total value of M&A activities were derived from the consumer goods and retail sector, which indicates that this is an area that remains attractive to investors. In 2018, the overall volume of M&A deals was lower, but the sector continued to lead. Specifically, convenience stores and mini-marts in Vietnam remain one of the fastest growing segments, and Baker McKenzie Vietnam expects to see continued investment in this segment. News of foreign retailers such as Lotte Mart and FamilyMart planning to expand and opening up more stores by 2020 have been common. The growing middle-class, higher disposable income, and demand for quality goods and services, in particular, were seen to be beneficial to health and wellness, which means that we also expect to see more investment to serve this market, he added. FAW-free corn fields grown with Bayers corn hybrids DK6919S In the 2019 Spring-Summer season, while fall armyworm (FAW) devastated conventional corn fields in the north of Vietnam, corn fields planted with insect management hybrids DK6919S or DK9955S of Bayer still developed healthily. FAW devour corn fields in northern Vietnam and north-central region The insect (FAW) has been found in the Americas, Brazil, Africa, and most recently, it was detected in Asian countries including Vietnam. FAW damages have been reported across all provinces of northern of Vietnam, such as Son La, Hoa Binh, Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, and caused heavy damage to corn farmers. FAW has devastated many conventional corn fields in northern Vietnam Because FAW moths can fly up to 100km a night, they can quickly migrate from the north to the south, right at the planting window season in May-June. Average yield loss is estimated at 30-60 per cent, which can sometimes reach 100 per cent without effective pest management solutions. Effective integrated pest management to tackle FAW recommended by Bayer Vietnam As a global company operating in 90 countries, Bayer Vietnam has been able to promptly offer Vietnamese farmers the most effective integrated pest management (IPM) system based on its global experience. As soon as FAW was detected in Vietnam, Bayer Vietnam has joined hands with corn farmers in the north to find the most suitable IPM solutions. On seed solutions, all fields planted with our insect management corn hybrids DK 6919S and DK 9955S showed outstanding performance clean fields, healthy corn stalks, almost no impact of FAW, said Kohei Sakata, general director of Bayer Vietnam. At affected conventional corn fields, we have recommended farmers the most effective AI to minimise FAW impacts on corn as well as the potential spread to other crops. DK6919S and DK9955S corn hybrids Perfect duo to protect corn from FAW Growing corn in a region heavily affected by FAW, farmer Ngo Van Sai was lucky to have chosen DK 6919S and DK9955S instead of corn types like in the previous seasons. Bayers corn hybrids DK6919S and DK9955S offer two modes of action against FAW and have better levels of efficacy than other corn hybrids expressing only single cry genes. On the same fields, I planted both conventional and insect management hybrids and experienced huge differences. While FAW devoured 80 per cent of my conventional corn, they did not even touch the DK 6919S and DK 9955S corn field, said Sai. Bayers corn hybrids DK6919S and DK9955S expressing Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 have been approved for cultivation nationwide since 2015. These hybrids offer two modes of action against FAW and have better levels of efficacy than other Bayer corn hybrids which express only single cry genes. This technology helps to protect crops throughout the growing season and has proved its outstanding insect management capabilities in many other countries apart from Vietnam during the 2019 Spring-Summer season. In the next season, I will choose exclusively DK 6919S and DK 9955S so that I do not have to worry about pests. That will help me to not only save cost and labour, but also maximise my yield potential, Sai shared. KPMG accompanies Vietnamese SMEs in Economy 4.0 Accounting for 97 per cent of all businesses operating in Vietnam, SMEs play an important role in the Vietnamese economy as they make up about 45 per cent of the GDP and 31 per cent of the total revenue. However, the sector is facing many barriers and challenges, especially in the current context of Economy 4.0. Explaining this issue, Lam Thi Ngoc Hao, partner cum head of Private Business at KPMG in Vietnam, highlighted that most local SMEs are having difficulties in maintaining their growth rate after the first steps of development, which leads to the reduction of enterprises competitiveness. In addition, in todays business environment, the evolution of Industry 4.0 has clearly showed that digitalisation is rapidly disrupting traditional business models. According to Nguyen Quang Phuc, director, head of Enterprise Services at KPMG in Vietnam, it is imperative for all Vietnamese businesses, small or big, to embark on the digital journey. Understanding the situation, KPMG NEXT was designed to support SMEs in the process of developing and taking their business to the next level not only in the region but also in the world. Based on practical needs and KPMG's 25 years of experience in Vietnam, KPMG NEXT provides an overview of difficulties and challenges on the path of sustainable business development that SMEs may encounter and how they need to prepare to cope with those barriers. Over the past three years, KPMG NEXT has attracted more than 100 Vietnamese entrepreneurs from different regions and various sectors to join the programme. Over the past three years, KPMG NEXT has attracted more than 100 Vietnamese entrepreneurs from different regions and various sectors to join the programme. This year, to take participants "To the next level", KPMG NEXT 2019 continues to bring practical topics to SMEs who are looking to fast-track their growth and sustainable development. As Economy 4.0 has become an indispensable trend in the sustainable development of businesses, KPMG NEXT 2019 will equip SMEs with the essential knowledge to seize opportunities and create a leap in the competition by applying new technologies to its business operations. KPMG NEXT 2019 has started to receive registrations from May 22 to June 10, 2019. For more information or to register, please visit www.next.kpmg.com.vn or email kpmgnext@kpmg.com.vn. New PPP model for universal healthcare, photo AFP The Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH), the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care, and Novartis last week jointly organised the first-ever primary healthcare partnership dialogue, aiming to help Vietnam find a suitable approach to public-private partnership (PPP). Vietnam sees a growing number of partners interested in PPP who see huge growth potential. Thus, the countrys problem in developing the PPP in the healthcare sector is not a lack of interest or financial resources, but the connection among involved parties and their alignment with the MoHs visions, David Duong, deputy director of the Programme in Global Primary Care and Social Change at Harvard Medical School, told VIR. I have been studying many PPP models worldwide and find that the principles for any successful models are co-ownership, shared vision, shared voice, and mutual respect without these, any PPP model would fail. At the event, a consensus among the MoH, development partners, and private sector, as well as industry partners was achieved around a shared vision for primary healthcare transformation in Vietnam, marking the first step for the MoH and the government and partners to achieve a shared vision, co-ownership, and shared objectives, with improved transparency among partners. In this light, committed partners reached a consensus on the creation of a major PPP initiative and the formation of the Working Group for Primary Healthcare Transformation, which would be under the existing Health Partnership Group mechanism. The working group, which consists of representatives from the Vietnamese government, the WEF, Harvard Medical School, and Novartis, will develop an innovative PPP project to help Vietnam reach its universal healthcare coverage (UHC) goal by 2030 by leveraging the various partners experiences, investments, and expertise to strengthen the existing pilot programmes by the MoH in creating a new comprehensive primary care model across the country. The working group will plan activities to complement and strengthen the MoHs existing demonstration projects and initiatives in 30 provinces for primary care transformation. Learnings from these projects will be applied to scale up model nationwide. With this promising new PPP, partners no longer need a risk-sharing mechanism like other traditional PPP projects being deoloyed in Vietnam because they are not focusing on building new healthcare centres, but on how they can draw on the capabilities and knowledge of different partners. At present, there are some successful PPP models in the world, including in the management of medical devices, contract services or specialty clinical services or paraclinical services. Precedent shows that suitable PPP models not only bring benefits to the locals but also open more opportunities for hospitals and multinational corporations to join up. Indonesia and Australia are particularly apt examples for this. Vietnam has made improvements to develop its health system. Nearly nine out of 10 citizens possess health insurance, protecting them against the kind of catastrophic health expenditure which ruins families. According to the latest Global Monitoring Report on UHC, published jointly by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, 97 per cent of Vietnamese children receive standard immunisation a higher percentage than in most high-income countries. In spite of this, Vietnam is still challenged by taking care of healthy people and fighting non-communicable diseases. Therefore, it is encouraging the private sector to invest in PPP projects in the healthcare sector, especially in hospitals, grassroots health centres, and primary healthcare facilities. In the MoHs vision to achieve UHC and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the SDG 3 on health is based on three pillars to support primary care development, namely the Healthy Vietnam Programme, Grassroots Health Development, and targeted health-population programmes. Company logos for Panasonic (left) and Huawei (right). (Photos: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/AFP/WANG ZHAO) The announcement came a day after four major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new 5G Huawei handsets. "We've stopped all business transactions with Huawei and its 68 group companies ... that are subject to the US government ban," Panasonic spokesman Joe Flynn said. "Yesterday an internal instruction to fully enforce that rule was issued," he added. Flynn said Panasonic's business with Huawei involves the supply of "electronic parts", but declined to provide further details. Washington's restrictions affect products made in the United States, where Panasonic manufactures some of the components it supplies to Huawei, the Japanese firm said. The decision raises the pressure on Huawei after US President Donald Trump last week declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk. The move appeared aimed at Huawei, though the White House said no particular company or country was targeted. The decision has prompted a parade of firms to step back from dealings with Huawei, including US internet giant Google, whose Android operating system powers most of the world's smartphones. And on Wednesday mobile carriers in Japan and Britain said they were delaying releases of Huawei handsets. TEMPORARY SUSPENSIONS Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, was due to bring Huawei's first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X, to Britain, but the Chinese giant's involvement in the country's telecoms sector has become politically controversial. EE chief executive Marc Allera said the company had "paused" the launch of Huawei's 5G phones "until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers ... are going to be supported". The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive "core" elements of its network infrastructure. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a "temporary" suspension of pre-orders for Huawei 5G handsets, "while uncertainty exists". The BBC also reported that British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, is set to cut ties with Huawei. ARM's products contain "US-origin technology" that would be affected by Washington's ban, the BBC said. ARM staff were told to suspend "all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements" with Huawei, according to internal documents seen by the BBC. Huawei said Wednesday that it recognised "the pressure" placed on its suppliers, and that it was "confident this regrettable situation can be resolved". "A SENSE OF SAFETY" In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank, the country's number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they too were delaying the release of Huawei handsets to assess the impact of the US ban. "We are currently trying to confirm if our customers will be able to use the equipment with a sense of safety", SoftBank spokesman Hiroyuki Mizukami said. And the country's biggest carrier, NTT Docomo, said it was suspending pre-orders for a new Huawei handset, but stopped short of halting the release. Trump's order effectively bans US companies from selling Huawei and affiliates the critical components that have helped it grow into the world's largest supplier of telecom networking equipment and second-biggest smartphone maker. US officials this week, however, issued a 90-day reprieve on the ban, saying breathing space is needed to avoid huge disruption. The US Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei. Washington has long suspected deep links between Huawei and the Chinese military, and its moves against the company come amid the churning trade dispute between the world's top two economies. The issue has also been the source of heated controversy in Britain ever since a leak from the country's National Security Council last month suggested the government was planning a limited role for Huawei in its 5G network. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Britain during a visit to London that it risked undermining the historic allies' intelligence sharing. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Kremlin Palace in Moscow on May 22, 2019. Photo: VGP Putin made the above statement at his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Moscow on Wednesday afternoon. Bilateral trade is growing and both sides are expanding economic and political cooperation and coordinating efforts in the international arena, said the Russian President. Meanwhile, PM Phuc, who is on official visit to Russia from May 20-23, affirmed that Viet Nam always attaches importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. Phuc also affirmed Russia is Viet Nams reliable defense-security partner, thus the two sides agreed to step up collaboration in this area at bilateral and multilateral frameworks for mutual benefits and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world. The two leaders spoke highly of the outcomes of bilateral trade cooperation since the Viet Nam-Eurasian Economic Union took effect in 2016 and vowed to raise the two-way trade value to US$10 billion by 2020. They underlined the importance of energy cooperation and agreed to encourage and facilitate operation of their businesses in respective countries. The pair also discussed on a wide range of regional and international issues of common concerns. President Putin voiced support for settlement of disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measure in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, for full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and for early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). On the occasion, PM Phuc conveyed Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trongs invitation to President Putin to visit Viet Nam and President Putin gladly accepted the invitation. As innovation continues to boom, Vietnam is one of the top destinations for fintech investors thanks to its young and tech-savvy population, large number of smartphone users, and high-speed internet connection, said Nguyen Kim Anh, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam. According to Solidiance consulting group, the Vietnamese fintech market hit $4.4 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $7.8 billion in 2020. With an attempt to move away from cash-based transactions, the government has revealed a proposal of reducing cash payments in shopping malls, grocery stores, and business transactions to less than 10 per cent by 2020. Fintech, the future of Vietnam's cashless economy On the push side, capital investment in Vietnam is pouring in and the market is bolstered by substantial government support for innovation. On the pull side, the demand is being driven by under-served small- and medium-sized enterprises and tech-savvy, often unbanked, consumers keen to access financial services via their mobile phones. This means that much potential would be unlocked down the road. Recently, Vietnam and South Korea's flourishing relations have advanced the economic development of two countries in general and skyrocketed the progress of banking-finance services in particular. Anh shared his expectation of governors and businessmen from Vietnam and South Korea shaking hands to accelerate fintech in these two burgeoning markets. NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan met South Korean President Moon Jae In in Hanoi According to Ha Huy Tuan, vice chairman of National Financial Supervisory Commission of Vietnam, the Vietnamese government seeks to spur economic growth, restructure the banking system, enhance operational efficiency, and utilise fintech applications via FDI, especially from long-time partner South Korea. Tuan also expressed his gratitude for these bilateral relations and expressed hope that the two nations will continue seeing progress in every aspect of political, economic, and cultural exchange. Despite a positive outlook on Vietnams potentials in fintech and economic co-operation with South Korea lauded by Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do Hyon, another industry insider warned of challenges remaining in the building of a transparent and effective legal framework for FDI. Therefore, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) could be a safe channel as recent years have witnessed an increasing trend of South Korean conglomerates entering the market via M&A deals. These transactions are attractive as they provide easier access, existing customer base, as well as the tangible and intangible assets of purchased companies. Co-operation could also narrow the credit gap by facilitating opportunities to millions of customers who want to access small business loans or consumer credit easily. FPT and Shinhan Bank will develop fintech and digital banking services together The case of CJ Group from South Korea buying 49 per cent of Ho Chi Minh City-based food processor Cau Tre JSC and Minh Dat Food Company or Lotte Card wholly acquiring Techcom Finance are all good examples of this, Bae Young Geun, legal advisor of the South Korean embassy in Vietnam, stated. FPT, one of the leading technology firms in Vietnam, has signed an agreement with Shinhan Bank to leverage the banking system in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and create digital transformation solutions. And with the market becoming more competitive and demanding, Vietnam sure seems to have a bright future in the fintech industry, with many promising M&A deals down the road. Vietnams food and beverage industry is brimming with opportunities. What is your view on the franchising aspect in the field? Many international fast food chains see great long-term potential for Vietnam with its nearly 100 million potential consumers who are continually seeking different and better quality of service. We continue to see not only rising interest in fast food chains wishing to enter Vietnam, but also increasing interest from other chains in snacks and deserts, drinks, fast-casual, casual dining, and to a limited extent, fine-dining chains. The fast food industry will also become increasingly dominated by local businesses that also wish to tap into the rapidly rising consumer marketplace. Vietnams development will follow similar economic development patterns of its neighbours and has already surpassed them at this stage of economic development for their countries. Could you elaborate on the potential for overseas franchisors in areas such as education, health and beauty, and retail? The potential for food and beverages in a vastly-populated country is obvious. However, we have seen strong interest in education and training franchises that cater to young children and adults alike. Beauty and healthcare products, and services for women specifically, continue to grow as demand for such products and services is high. Increasing interest in retail, especially convenience and discount stores, will continue to explode as brands seek market dominance. Just earlier this year, iconic Swedish retailer IKEA announced that it would be entering the Hanoi market shortly. One of our clients, ACE International, is also keen on entering the country as they see significant opportunities in the home improvement retail market. Which big brands are looking towards franchise opportunities in this market this year? We continue to see many new food and beverage brands poised to enter the market, from the likes of the United States, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and further afield. Some of the key brands that are seeking franchisees in Vietnam include American franchises such as Little Caesars, the third-largest pizza chain in the world, and the aforementioned Ace International. Also seeking master franchisees in Vietnam are Mango Chili Thai Cafe and Mango Tree, both from Thailand. Taiwanese franchises also continue to dominate the food and beverages scene in Vietnam with brands such as Cha Ji Tang (bubble milk tea), Yan Xiang Ting (dim sum), Bingirl (Taiwanese cafe), and Fidele (American-style seafood). There is also interest from India, where The Belgian Waffle Co. was founded. This brand has grown to over 200 stores in less than three years since its founding, and their stores can now be found in India, Nepal, and Dubai. These are just a few examples of the many franchises that continue to seek qualified franchisees in Vietnam. What are the key factors that overseas brands need to focus on, in order to increase their chance of success here? Due diligence is often required, and local knowledge of the franchisees and their businesses will be key to a successful and long-term franchise business. With a strong and trustworthy partner, the franchise will likely be able to overcome other key challenging areas, including selecting appropriate real estate for the stores, managing the supply chain efficiently, creating effective local marketing, and most importantly, training and retaining a knowledgeable workforce. This is where our company, VF Franchise Consulting, can best assist international franchisors. What can Vietnam do to help develop the local franchising market? Vietnam is the only major country in the ASEAN without a formal franchise association. In comparison, we can see that franchise associations in places like the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia are quite developed and instrumental in growing their franchise industries and have been in existence for decades. I believe this is an area where the government and private businesses should collaborate to build an association that will help grow the industry and prepare many Vietnamese franchises to be successful as they seek to expand in and out of the country. A grant agreement for a technical assistance for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and gas-to-power project for Southern Viet Nam is signed by the Viet Nam Electricity (EVN) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on May 22 in Ha Noi Participants in the event included U.S. Ambassador to Viet Nam Daniel Kritenbrink, USTDA Acting Deputy Director Todd Abrajano and Chairman for EVN Duong Quang Thanh. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved the project, allowing the EVN to receive a non-refundable aid worth more than US$1.4 million from the USTDA. Speaking at the ceremony, U.S. Ambassador to Viet Nam Daniel Kritenbrink said that one of the U.S. Governments priorities is to support nations and partners, including Viet Nam to realize goals to ensure power security in the world. The project aims to address difficulties and challenges for Viet Nams electricity system in the time ahead and make contributions to guaranteeing the national power security. USTDA's feasibility study will set the initial parameters for the growth of LNG in the nation and bring much-needed affordable and accessible power to Vietnam's southern region, while also opening new opportunities for U.S. firms to supply gas infrastructure solutions. During the operation time in Viet Nam, the establishment of the close cooperation with the EVN is a huge success of the USTDA, said Todd Abrajano, adding that the USTDA expects that the signing of cooperative agreements will bring benefits for the U.S. enterprises and Vietnamese partners. Over the recent decade, the EVN has received technical assistance on information technology and research and development on wind power plants, including the Grant Agreement for a technical assistance to carry out a research project on developing an energy storage system in Viet Nam. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the US capital city of Washington, D.C., May 22, 2019 Pompeo made the above statement on Wednesday at his talks with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh who is on an official visit to the US from May 22-23. This is the pair's second face-to-face talks in less than three months. During his visit, Deputy PM, FM Minh also had separate meetings with Charles Kupperman - Deputy National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump and Keith Kellogg - National Security Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence. At the aforesaid talks and meetings, Minh affirmed Viet Nam attaches importance to and stands ready to work with the US side to consolidate and deepen the Viet Nam-US comprehensive partnership on the basis of respecting independence, sovereignty, political systems and interests of respective countries, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia-Pacific and the world. Minh expressed his pleasure at the positive and comprehensive advancements of the bilateral ties, saying cooperation potential remains vast at both bilateral and multilateral aspects. Both sides should sustain trade and economic cooperation, which has been the cornerstone of the relationship while enhancing cooperation in education, science and technology, security and defense and overcoming war consequences, Minh suggested. Secretary Pompeo, as well as Charles Kupperman - Deputy National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump and Keith Kellogg - National Security Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence welecomed Minh to the US and spoke highly of the Viet Nam-US relationship over the past time. The US side stressed the need to foster the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, continue to promote trade and investment linkages for mutual benefits, and support joint efforts in overcoming the war consequences, including the deployment of the dioxin cleanup project at Bien Hoa airport. Regarding regional and international issues of common concerns, Minh highly valued the USs role in Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI). He urged the US side to intensify cooperation with Viet Nam at multilateral and regional mechanisms, especially the United Nations Security Council and during 2020 as Viet Nam will assume ASEAN Chairmanship. For the East Sea issue, both sides reaffirmed their support for settlement of disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, for full respect for diplomatic and legal processes, for full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and for early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). The US side vowed to continue positive role in Indo-Pacific to maintain rule-based order, promote peace, stability, cooperation and development in this important region. Van Don International Airport has been noted for its good services The survey, which included 47 airports worldwide where Vietnam Airlines operates, was based on indicators from SKYTRAX, the UK-based international air transport rating organisation. The other top five were Fukuoka Airport of Japan, Sydney Airport of Australia, Kaohsiung Airport, and Taoyuan Airport of Taiwan. Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh achieved a total APMP score of 78, the highest among Vietnamese airports included in the survey. Evaluation criteria included reflex indicator points (according to customer assessments), abnormal baggage performance points, safety target points, and on-time performance (OTP) target points. Of the indicators, the reflex score rated by customers accounted for the highest proportion in the grading structure, including general survey and assessment items in check-in procedures (employee attitude, procedures at counter, queue times) and service to guide passengers on the plane (attitude of the instructor, convenience of the process from the waiting room to the plane). A corner of Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh province Van Don Airport's highest score was in this group of indicators, with an average score of over 80 points, corresponding to a high level of passenger satisfaction. In the first quarter of 2019, van Don airport welcomed nearly 40,000 passengers on 328 flights to and from Vietnam, operated by Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, and Bamboo Airways. The airport is expected to open more domestic flights to key tourism markets and exploit international routes to potential Asian markets like Taiwan, Thailand, China, South Korea, and Japan. On May 27, the airport will officially open international routes and receive B373-800 aircraft departing from Shenzhen Baoan International Airport and landing at Van Don, welcoming visitors to tourism destinations in Quang Ninh and Vietnam. Pham Ngoc Sau, director of Van Don International Airport, said the airport, besides its impressive architecture and quality of facilities, adheres to strict standards of service, ensuring maximum satisfaction for passengers and meeting the stringent criteria of airlines. Invested in and operated by Sun Group, Van Don puts the experience and feelings of customers first. The fact that passengers appreciate the attitude of the service staff is an encouragement for us to improve the quality of service, Sau said. "In the future, we will strive to improve quality in all criteria, especially waiting time, to bring maximum satisfaction to customers. The airport has also signed a quality commitment with airlines to provide maximum support for their operations, he added. Officially inaugurated on December 30, 2018, Van Don is the first private airport in Vietnam with a total investment of VND7.5 trillion ($326 million). Though it has only recently opened, Van Don has affirmed its prestige, service quality, and attraction reflected by the increasing number of airlines and tour operators, significantly contributing to the growth of 6.6 million visitors to Quang Ninh province in the first four months of this year, up 14 per cent on-year. In the coming time, the airport will continue to improve service items and green landscapes to bring more "ecological experiences" to passengers, making Van Don equal to modern airports around the world. As a 4E-class airport according to International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, Van Don can accommodate the most modern aircraft in the world. It has a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year in the first phase and is expected to receive five million passengers per year by 2030. The government is creating strategy to promote the rise of startups, as well as more research and development, Photo: Le Toan Several astounding figures were presented at ABBs Technology Day 2019 last week in Hanoi. The event, highlighting Vietnams digital transformation towards accelerating a sustainable future, was attended by 200 delegates including business leaders and policymakers. Among the headlines, it was revealed that the Fourth Industrial Revolution could increase Vietnams GDP by between $28.5 billion and $62 billion in a decade, depending on the level of technological application in businesses. This increase is equivalent to a rise of 7-16 per cent of GDP by 2030. Pham Hoang Mai, general director of the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), said at the event, Industry 4.0 presents Vietnam with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make the step up to the next level of economic development, and bring prosperity to Vietnamese through better jobs, higher productivity, and improved innovative capacity. Vietnams policymakers have been searching for an alternative industrial strategy that will allow the country to maintain its economic growth trajectory, but also make it more sustainable from a social, business, and environmental perspective. Industry 4.0 offers great opportunities for Vietnam to quickly improve competitiveness and growth quality, as well as escape from the danger of lagging behind other nations, Mai said, pointing out that Vietnam has the potential to deploy Industry 4.0 technologies effectively despite limitations in infrastructure and technological capacity. Positive factors cited include a large population of nearly 100 million people, a high rate of mobile phone subscribers, and a young labour force with good training, especially in the IT sector. The Vietnamese government is working on many projects to move into the Industry 4.0 era, Mai continued. However, the most important thing is to have institutional reform of the domestic business climate to encourage innovation, especially in sectors with great potential for implementation such as manufacturing, processing, agriculture, finance, logistics, healthcare, and education. Innovation hubs One such project requiring international-level funding, according to the MPI, is the National Innovation Centre (NIC) in Hanois Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park. The centre would have five areas of focus to create competitive advantages for the Red River Delta region, including smart factories, digital media, cyber security, smart cities, and the environment. The NIC is expected to become operational next year, and has been mandated to serve as a hub for business innovation in the country. During the operation, the NIC will offer the highest corporate tax incentives, with exemption from land use fees for 20 years and preferential credit. This would allow domestic and foreign enterprises operating in the same field to sublease grounds for the maximum term stated by the law, allowing guarantees for enterprises working on their premises to apply for work permits and long-term residence visas. The initiative aims to attract foreign and domestic large-scale technology corporations, startup ventures, and venture capital funds that can collaboratively push Vietnams IT efforts in both hardware and software development. The Vietnamese governments desire is that the NIC will become the focus of a new and more sustainable industrial development strategy. Vietnam has thus far attracted 26,500 foreign-invested projects from 129 countries and territories in the last 30 years, with the total committed capital of $350 billion. After luring $35.46 billion last year, foreign investment in Vietnam continued to hit a four-year record high in the first four months of 2019 with $14.59 billion, up 81 per cent on-year. With the impressive results, buoyed by the countrys free trade agreements, close proximity to major global supply chains, and the governments success in improving the investment environment, experts believed the country now needs to shift focus on quality instead of quantity. According to Kyle Kelhofer, country manager for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia at the International Finance Corporation, most foreign-invested projects in Vietnam are still focused on manufacturing and should be shifted to high added-value sectors such as technology, and research and development (R&D). Increasing R&D and tech At an international conference last week on science, technology, and innovation in Vietnam, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that the sectors are seen as a pillar for Vietnams socio-economic development. Vietnam needs to have a strategic transition to promote creativeness, startups, and R&D, in combination with technology development in a number of new and key industries, PM Phuc said. There is a need to better boost co-ordination between the state and society in the development of science, technology, and innovation. R&D projects in the country have been increasing in both quantity and scale recently thanks to preferential policies granted by the government to foreign investors, such as tax incentives and land use rights. Vietnam has become a destination for many major manufacturers of technology products, and moving R&D closer to where manufacturing takes place is also cost-effective. Key investors such as Panasonic, Bosch, Samsung, Yamaha, and Intel have invested into R&D projects and centres in Vietnam. Such investment creates jobs for thousands of people while also adding more value to products made in Vietnam and making manufacturing more cost-efficient. This in turn can make Vietnam more competitive and create opportunities to move up the global value chain. Trent Davies, from Dezan Shira and Associates, said the ongoing trade war between the US and China is creating opportunities for Vietnam, as companies are looking to relocate production from China to the ASEAN bloc. While the R&D foundations built by major companies will help Vietnam capture more investment, it will be vital that Vietnam increases spending on R&D to compete with its ASEAN peers, Davies said. Meanwhile, Brian Hull, country managing director at ABB in Vietnam, told VIR, Customers nowadays increasingly demand higher-quality products and citizens want better living environments. Sustainable growth can only be achieved by the adoption of digital technologies and advanced manufacturing applications. Digitalisation and Industry 4.0 will be the growth drivers to strengthen Vietnams position in the region. A human resource base According to business management consultant BDG Vietnam, for Vietnam, the rise of R&D investment further confirms and fosters the countrys attractiveness but also greatly challenges its human resources (HR) capacity. BDG said that the key factor of a competent workforce is still to be manifested, while the lack of scientific research at universities and enterprises, as well as ongoing poor investment in higher education, has led to a low number of experienced and trained researchers and technicians. The solution, along with greater investment in education and R&D from the government, is to encourage R&D activities in local companies and to collaborate with foreign investors to educate employees and local communities. Without these steps, Vietnam could see a major shortage of HR talent for future R&D centres. The US-based Dasan Zhone Solutions, a global leader in network access solutions for service provider and enterprise networks, has been co-operating with the Vietnam-South Korea Institute of Science and Technology to develop R&D activities in Vietnam, for example in chipset design. Meanwhile, in addition to accelerating investment in Vietnam, a raft of Japanese businesses is also considering transferring part of their R&D activities to the country. In fields such as hi-tech, the quality of HR falls short of investor requirements, according to Yung Kim, CEO of Dasan Zhone Solutions. The company lacks qualified personnel because Vietnams IT universities do not offer training on chip programming. Graduates are intelligent and possess sound knowledge, but many do not have skills and practical experience and so work at a slow pace and are ineffective, Kim said, but he remains optimistic about Vietnams HR. With training, they have the capacity and expertise to work shoulder-to-shoulder with their international colleagues, Kim said. We have seen positive improvements over time, with proper training. As the hot season scorches Cambodias capital, its 1.5 million residents have struggled to stay cool without air conditioning, while business and factory work frequently grinds to a halt as a result of the worst power outages in many years. For several months now, Phnom Penh has been crippled by cuts that last up to six hours per day in some areas, as authorities struggle to meet high demand driven up a construction boom, while power supply has fallen as a nationwide drought has affected water levels at hydropower installations. While residents and business owners across the city have complained for weeks, one group of traders has reaped the benefits: generator sellers. We sold twice or triple the number as other years, said Srey Tooch, 39, whose family runs a shop in central Phnom Penh that sells generators. Since I started this business, Ive never had a selling experience as this year, she said. We did not plan or know that the business would be at its peak. We did not have generators in stock as the generator business has been very slow in the last 10 to 20 years, she said, adding that they ran out generators supplies in about two or three weeks. She said high generators sales had driven up prices and depleted stores across the city and some customers began scouring the internet to order generators online. The shops have been accused by some customers of price gauging, a claim they have denied. Srey Tooch said, As a seller, when there is a high demand [and no stock], we would purchase generators from other vendors and sell them with profit of 5 to 10 dollars. Demand from households and businesses She said most of her customers bought small generators to power their home appliances. The kind of generators that households use for 10 lamps and one or two fans that they really need for [their kids], she said. Sok Heng, 22, whose family has long had a generator shop on National Road No. 5 in the city, said his customers included all sorts of businesses too. They use them to supply power for guesthouses, restaurants, construction, gas stations, and small and big hotels, he said, adding that during the worst black outs for about two weeks in March he sold up to seven generators per day compared one in other years. I was thrilled that the selling was great. We have not had this much selling before as this year, he said, explaining that the generators were produced in Japan and are priced from $800, up to several thousand dollars for the most powerful models. Another seller on National Road No. 5, Tang Nay Hour, said generators used to be primarily sold to farmers who have limited power supply in rural areas, but these days even construction companies involved with Chinese real estate investment were demanding powerful generators to keep work going. We have customers from all over Phnom Penh; people who are in construction sector including Chinese and Cambodians, he said. Droughts and construction demand The power shortages seem to have taken the government by surprise and caused plenty of negative news coverage and grumbling on Cambodian social media. Prime Minister Hun Sen said in March the country faced an unprecedented 400 megawatt shortage or about 15 percent of all current supply. He blamed a serious drought caused by the El Nino effect in combination with a spike in energy demand from Chinese investment-driven construction boom in the capital and deep-sea port of Sihanoukville. Hun Sen asked the public and businesses for patience. Electricite du Cambodge officials have indicated that shortages may last until the end of May when monsoon rains should replenish hydropower dams, which provide most of Cambodias energy. Long ravaged by war, Cambodia has struggled to raise energy supply and its rates are among the highest in the region, throwing up a hurdle for investors. The government is building up the national grid in order to import energy from its neighbors and to build large hydropower dams. The strategy is being criticized by environmentalists who argue that decentralized solutions such as solar energy are rapidly becoming cheaper and have less environmental and social impacts. We lost money but so has everybody While the power shortages are a boon for generator sales it has hurt other businesses of all sizes, some of which cannot afford to privately generate electricity. One owner of a cafe in the capital said the black outs had cost him many customers, and he complained that generators were being overpriced by the sellers and were too expensive for a small business like his. Theres no doubt we lost money but so has everybody, said the man, who asked not be named for fearing of upsetting authorities. The mornings didnt hurt too bad, but with the late afternoon [blackouts] wed lose the after-work crowd. We had one lasting all day too, where I had to go through the fridge and throw away stuff. We were told [cuts] would last until June, but let's wait and see, he said. SEOUL- Juhyun Lee contributed to this report. North Korean state media slammed Joe Biden as an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ" Wednesday, Pyongyangs first substantial comments on the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The commentary in the state-run Korean Central News Agency criticized Biden for recently referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a thug and a tyrant. "[Biden] reeled off rhetoric slandering the supreme leadership of the DPRK," KCNA said, using the acronym for North Koreas official name. "What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician." The statement does not represent a formal endorsement of Trump; North Korean media often lash out at world leaders who criticize members of the ruling Kim family. "What is interesting this time is that the North Koreans may be attacking who they figure is Trumps main domestic rival to curry favor with the president," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. Polls indicate Biden leading his Democratic rivals, as well as Trump, in the 2020 race. The former vice president often criticizes Trumps diplomatic outreach to authoritarian leaders. He recently slammed Kim as a thug. "He's the same guy (who had) his uncle's brains blown out sitting across a desk," Biden said earlier this month, referring to Kims 2013 execution of his uncle and mentor, Jang Song-thaek. The un-bylined KCNA editorial did not mention Trump. But it did appear to give a nod to Trumps newly rolled out nickname for Biden: "Sleepy Joe." "In April 2011 when the then President [Barack] Obama was in the middle of making a speech, [Biden] was fast asleep in the auditorium," the commentary said, adding Biden became a "laughing-stock of the media." Trump, who is 72 years old, has attempted to portray Biden, who is 76, as not having enough energy to become president. KCNA also hit at Bidens reputation for making verbal gaffes. "Yet, he is self-praising himself as being the most popular presidential candidate," the editorial said. "This is enough to make a cat laugh." It isnt the first time North Korean media have weighed in during a Trump presidential run. In 2016, an editorial in the DPRK Today, a China-based North Korean mouthpiece, called Trump "wise" and "far-sighted," while slamming his opponent Hillary Clinton as "dull." Even though North Korea has recently taken a more aggressive stance toward the United States, state media have been careful not to criticize Trump. One North Korean official said Kims relationship with Trump remains mysteriously wonderful, even though nuclear talks have broken down. Instead, North Korean state media have slammed other U.S. officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton. "Whether the person is Democrat or Republican, North Korean media will always react against someone who insults their leader," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seouls University of North Korean Studies. "And unless Trump calls Kim a dictator or says something harsh, North Korea will not directly criticize the president." Soo Kim, a North Korea watcher and former CIA analyst, agrees that Pyongyang doesnt typically endorse U.S. presidential candidates. But Pyongyang clearly wants Trump to remain in office so that negotiations can continue, she said. Nuclear talks broke down following a Trump-Kim summit in February in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two leaders were unable to agree on how to match the pace of sanctions relief with steps to dismantle North Koreas nuclear program. Kim has said he will give the United States until the end of the year to change its approach, and has begun testing ballistic missiles for the first time in a year and a half. Trump has shrugged off Kims deadline and the missile launches, saying he is in no hurry for a deal. An American man, convicted of providing support to the Taliban, has been released from prison. John Walker Lindh, known as the American Taliban, was released from a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., Thursday after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence. Lindh was captured during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 in the aftermath of a prison uprising that claimed the life of CIA officer Johnny Mike Spann, who was the first American casualty of war in Afghanistan. Given the rare nature of defendants crime and his unique personal history and characteristics, the probation officer recently filed a request asking the court to impose additional special conditions of (a) supervised release which will govern the defendants behavior post-confinement, federal Judge T.S. Ellis III wrote in court papers filed earlier in April. Lindh was tried in federal court. In 2002, Lindh pleaded guilty to two criminal charges of providing support to the Taliban, and carrying a rifle and grenade. Judge Ellis has ordered that Lindh wont have access to the internet without permission from his probation office, cant view or access extremist or terrorism related videos, and must allow the probation office to monitor his internet use. Catholicism to Islam Lindh, 38, converted from Catholicism to Islam when he was 16 years old. He traveled to Yemen at the age of 17 to study Arabic. He then made his way to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he became a Taliban volunteer at an al-Qaida training camp. Some analysts charge that Lindhs case is slightly different from those of other U.S foreign fighters. U.S. foreign fighter citizens who go from the United States to join the (Islamic State) caliphate are, in my mind, in a very different category than John Walker Lindh, who went over to South Asia to study Islam and who went to Afghanistan before 9/11 [terror attacks], said Karen Greenberg, director of Center on National Security at Fordham Law. He is not accused of anything related to the attacks of 9/11, so hes not a foreign fighter. He didnt go abroad to fight on behalf of the United States enemy. He was caught in enemy territory, Greenberg told VOA in a phone interview. Objection Lindhs early release has raised objections from some U.S. lawmakers who argue that Lindh remains a danger to society. In addition to Lindh, as many as 108 other terrorist offenders are scheduled to complete their sentences and be released from U.S. federal prisons over the next few years, said Senators Richard Shelby, a Republican, and Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, in a joint letter sent last week to Hugh Hurwitz, acting director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Little information has been made available to the public about who, when and where these offenders will be released, whether they pose an ongoing public threat, and what federal agencies are doing to mitigate this threat while the offenders are in federal custody, the lawmakers said. Threats? Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, chief executive officer of Valens Global, a research firm focused on terrorism and violent extremism, says that serving time and denouncing terrorism arent guarantees that individuals like Lindh wont pose threats upon their release. Though people arrested in the United States for terrorism offenses have tended to receive longer prison sentences than European terrorists, Europe provides an example of how people arrested for terrorism offenses can still pose a threat after their release, he told VOA. Many of the European cases involve released prisoners who became involved in extremist recruitment efforts. But they have been involved in attacks as well, with the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack [in France] notorious among them, Gartenstein-Ross added. Other experts believe that it is feasible to monitor former convicts to make sure they would not pose any danger to society after their release. We have the technology in the United States to monitor people, said Seth Frantzman, a terrorism expert based in the Middle East. In the case of Lindh, we have to see if the government, those who monitored him in prison, think that he is still an extremist threat. He can always be monitored, he told VOA. The U.S. should have rehabilitation programs throughout the criminal justice system. It was a strength of the American criminal justice system at the end of 20th century, but it doesnt have any of that robustness, its not a priority the way it used to be, analyst Greenberg said. Zazis case Lindh is not the only case that is renewing the debate over releasing terrorism-related convicts back into society. In early May, a federal judge in New York said that Najibullah Zazi, who plotted to bomb the New York subway system, will get no additional prison time after prosecutors cited his extraordinary cooperation with federal investigators. In 2010, Zazi pleaded guilty to three charges linked to the plot. Since then, he has been a helpful cooperator, having met with the government more than 100 times, testified in multiple trials, and provided critical intelligence and unique insight regarding al-Qaida and its members, prosecutors said in court filings. Former IS Members Dozens of Americans have traveled to Iraq and Syria in recent years to join terror groups such as the Islamic State (IS). With the formal defeat of IS in March, many of those Americans have been captured by the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. The Program on Extremism at George Washington University in Washington, has identified 76 Americans who have joined jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria since 2011. The U.S. government has maintained it will take home its citizens who fought for IS in Iraq and Syria and has encouraged its European partners to follow suit. We take all claims of U.S. citizenship by individuals in conflict zones seriously, and work to verify those claims on a case-by-case basis, a U.S official recently told VOA. The United States will continue to repatriate and prosecute its citizens when possible, as we have done in the past, the official added. Experts said that seeking to address them on a case-by-case basis is key to ensuring that they will not pose any danger to American society. Everyone who joined IS shows that they pose a threat. But they may pose different types of threats, analyst Frantzman said. If some of the women that went there wanted just to marry someone, they may pose a threat that they could radicalize other women. A man who used an AK-47 and learned to fight or engaged in war crimes, he poses a different kind of threat. This story was originally published in VOAs Learning English. Many college and universities are adding banking functions, like that of a debit or credit card, to student identification cards and charging students fees and interest for the use. Student IDs are typically used to enter campus buildings, access online sites and check out library books. But some schools have entered into financial agreements with banks so students can link their ID cards to private banking accounts. The convenience allows students to pay for food, school supplies and other expenses on campus. But new research suggests these card programs put some students at risk of paying high banking fees. Kaitlyn Vitez is the higher education campaign director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a nonprofit organization focused on protecting individuals financial interests. U.S. PIRG has looked into agreements between schools and banks for several years, she said. In April, PIRG found that students with campus debit cards paid more than $24 million in fees. Some students paid an extra fee to use an ATM machine to withdraw money that wasnt in their banking network. Or, they paid penalty fees for overdrawing bank accounts. Many international students faced fees for using the cards for purchases outside the U.S. Any large fee can create unexpected problems for students, Vitez says. And, she argues, banks do not make those fees clear. Additionally, some banks pay colleges and universities to advertise their debit card programs on campus. The advertising might appear as official school programming, she says, and students may feel pushed to opening accounts. PIRG also found that students at schools that derived revenue from banks paid up to 2.3 times more in fees than students at schools without those paid agreements. Vitez pointed to Wells Fargo Bank, which earned nearly $11.3 million in fee payments from students at 24 schools where it has paid agreements. When schools are setting their students up for lifelong relationships with Wells Fargo, does that set students up for success? Vitez asked. I would say, no. What do schools say? At Texas State University, students paid more than $1 million in fees last contract year. Students at Florida International University paid more than $1.3 million. And at Virginia Commonwealth University, students paid more than $500,000. All three schools declined to comment to VOA. U.S. Bank collected nearly $300,000 in fees from its 36 partner colleges and universities last year. SunTrust Bank earned more than $1 million from one school alone: Florida State University, where 93% of students have accounts. On the other hand, PNC Bank was able to earn $1.3 million in fees while keeping its average fee payments per student to nearly a third of what others charge. In an email, PNC representatives said the amount the company pays the schools is never directly tied to the amount of fees paid by student account holders. The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) started its paid agreement for a campus debit card program with Wells Fargo in 2005. Last contract year, UNR students paid more than $700,000 in fees. The bank paid the school about $100,000. More than 9,000 students have campus debit cards at UNR, indicating that the program works well, said Penny Leathley, UNRs campus card manager. To me, thats a good program, Leathley said. That shows that many parents and their students want to be involved in it. All banks have fees, she said, and students have the option to join the campus debit card program offered by Wells Fargo. Tanya Ladha, director of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, a nonprofit consumer support group, said excess fees are not all the result of irresponsible use of the banking products. She said some students dont have enough information about the products. Students can give their parents access to their accounts, and Wells Fargo Bank offers lessons on financial responsibility. But Ladha said some parents lack financial literacy, and most high school students lack financial education. As a result, a number of students know little or depend on what the banks tell them. What do banks say? In April, Wells Fargo announced changes to its campus debit cards: Account holders may overdraft their accounts without a penalty fee once a month, and students may withdraw money from another banks ATM up to four times a month. Were proud of the fact that 4 out of 5 students that join us through the campus card program stay with us after they leave school, Wells Fargo representative Jim Seitz said. We maintain that relationship by providing high-quality service and great customer experiences. But Vitez, of U.S. PIRG, argues that the best solution is for the government to limit paid agreements between banks and schools, and ban aggressive advertising of debit cards on campus. All this information at the Department of Educations fingertips that theyre not looking into, and theres real harm being done to students, she said. Sudan's public prosecutors have called for the dismissal of the director of the National Intelligence and Security Service after agents prevented police from arresting former security chief Salah Abdallah, known as Salah Gosh. The case has raised questions about whether certain people are above the law in Sudan and has caused alarm among protesters and analysts. Gosh was the head of the National Intelligence and Security Service until he resigned in April, days after the military ousted longtime President Omar al-Bashir. The prosecutor's office said Gosh was to be questioned about an account containing more than $1 million (46 million Sudanese pounds), which was only accessible by him. But his guards blocked his arrest Tuesday, saying they did not receive an arrest warrant in advance. Political analyst Alfatih Mahmoud said arresting Gosh was important for protesters, as he was responsible for repressing demonstrators and has all of the Bashir regime's corruption files. Bashir is already facing charges of incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters. The Sudanese protests erupted in December over bread prices but quickly morphed into calls for Bashir to step down after 30 years in power. Dozens were killed during a failed government crackdown and more have died in recent weeks in clashes with security forces. Protesters continue to hold a sit-in outside military headquarters in Khartoum. One of the demonstrators, Mohamed Omer, expressed his frustration about the failed attempt to arrest Gosh. In Omers opinion, when the rank is higher, the power is greater. He said it was difficult to determine which soldier fired, but there's no question about which agency issued the orders. Omer feels it's a top priority to arrest Gosh to sustain the prestige of law. Meanwhile, the lead protest group, the Sudan Professionals Association, continues to negotiate with army leaders over who will control a proposed joint civilian and military transitional government. The SPA called for a million-person march on Thursday and threatened a nationwide strike if the military does not yield power. Even by the highly colorful standards of Britain's great big Brexit mess, what looks like Prime Minister Theresa May's final days in office are turning into a psychodrama without much precedence in modern British political history. With lawmakers in her ruling party in open revolt, ministers resigning, and more threatening to do so, joining a long list of dozens who've quit in the past two years, a teary-eyed May seemed determined Thursday to try to eke out some more time in Downing Street. She was accused by a former Conservative party leader of having shut herself in with the "sofa against the door." May refused to meet a trio of top ministers Wednesday, who were going to tell her either to resign or at the very least to drop the contentious Brexit withdrawal agreement she negotiated with Brussels, and which she's trying to get parliament to approve next month for a fourth time following three previous heavy defeats. Earlier this week, she re-introduced the deal, but added the possibility of Britain holding a second Brexit referendum to confirm that a majority still wants to leave the European Union. That was too much for Brexit hardliners in her party. Her refusal to contemplate a customs union with the EU has enraged those in her party, as well as opposition politicians, who want to remain either in the bloc or closely tied to it. She is caught in a vice, as has been the case since last November when she finalized negotiations with the EU. The resignation Wednesday of a senior cabinet member, Andrea Leadsom, a keen Brexiter, has triggered what looks like the final chapter for May. Clinging to power Conservative lawmakers were lining up for TV interviews Thursday to tell her by way of the broadcasters to quit, and preferably before polling stations close in European parliamentary elections. The ruling Conservatives look destined to suffer a drubbing in the polls and possibly their worst electoral performance in their storied history. But the pleas fell on deaf ears. Britain has seen other prime ministers desperately cling to power when the writing was on the wall. Margaret Thatcher in 1990 sought to see off a challenge to her leadership but eventually gave in when her cabinet made clear it was time for her to go. The denouement took two weeks. In 2010, Labour's Gordon Brown squatted in Downing Street after leading his party to its worst general election result in decades, but eventually gave up after several tortured days. Theresa May has clung to power since December, when she saw off narrowly a confidence vote by her rebellious lawmakers. Now it would appear, say party insiders, she's run out of road. Even loyalists were urging her to go if for no other reason than personal dignity. "Her deal is dead but she is stubbornly playing for time," said Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader. For weeks now May has said she would be going soon and has repeatedly promised to announce a timetable for her departure. But she has not done so, preferring instead try to bend an unenthusiastic parliament to her will. She is convinced, her critics said, that her brinkmanship would be rewarded. In more normal times in Britain a prime minister in such a political hole would have quit much earlier. But these are anything but normal times. Deep divisions Brexit has rancorously divided the country and fractured political parties into quarrelsome unyielding factions. It also has upended a political rulebook better suited for more stable times. Long-established procedures and conventions have increasingly been cast aside as May, cabinet ministers and lawmakers, both Brexiters and those who are pro-EU, have battled desperately about how to part company with the bloc. May's tenure at Downing Street has witnessed a series of startling setbacks. She gambled in 2017 by calling a snap election, hoping to secure a larger majority for the Conservatives only to see Labour dash her hopes, leaving her heading a precariously positioned minority government. She has drawn emphatic "red lines" with EU negotiators only to be forced to cave when confronted with firm resistance from Brussels or outrage from hardline Brexiters or Europhiles in her own party. And as the Brexit drama has unfolded, both she and the country have been drawn deeper into a political labyrinth. Why has she persisted as prime minister? She certainly has stamina, despite battling diabetes 1. Grant Shapps, a former Conservative Party chairman who once tried to organize a coup against her, once noted she seems to thrive on danger and can operate when "it is fairly high on the scale." He added: "she operates at the upper end of that scale almost every day of her life and, remarkably, walks out at the other end." Like Germany's equally dogged leader Angela Merkel, May is the daughter of a clergyman, and she remains a devout church-goer. May has said that her Christian faith "is part of me. It is part of who I am and therefore how I approach things." She has spoken glowingly of her father's devotion and dutifulness to parishioners. One of her favorite hymns is on the subject of Crucifixion, Isaac Watts' "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," a canticle that embraces sacrifice and duty and rejects pride. Even her political foes have acknowledged her conscientiousness, but also say that has morphed into destructive stubbornness. Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, commentator Sherelle Jacobs, argued May was determined to leave Downing Street with a legacy of success, saying that the clergyman's daughter is "maddened by the scale of her failures." She added: "The irony is that the more Mrs. May stubbornly fights for survival, the worse her record becomes." Few believe she can survive for much longer, and her foes are counting not the days but the hours. Calm returned to the streets of the Indonesian capital Thursday after a second night of clashes between security forces and protesters angry about the outcome of last month's election, which handed President Joko Widodo a second term. Downtown areas of the capital became a battlefield with tear gas, rubber bullets, rocks and firecrackers overnight. Protesters tore up slabs of pavement, destroyed street signs and set fire to food stalls and a security post. The unrest followed an early Tuesday announcement by the General Election Commission confirming that Widodo had beaten his challenger, former general Prabowo Subianto, in the April 17 poll. Deaths rise to 8 The violence began Tuesday night when six people were killed. Two more were killed on Wednesday night, officials said. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the dead included three teenagers, and 737 people were injured in the rioting, which was concentrated in the central neighborhood of Tanah Abang. State news agency Antara reported that three hospitals had treated more than 350 people for injuries. But the ranks of the protesters thinned over Wednesday night, and police spokesman Dedi Praseyto said the last ones had dispersed by 7 a.m. (0000 GMT). Roads that were quiet Wednesday as office workers stayed away from the city center, were abuzz with traffic again Thursday. City workers in orange overalls swept up the debris. Widodo won more than 85 million of 154 million votes cast, but Prabowo alleged massive cheating and irregularities and refused to concede defeat. The election agency has said there was no evidence of systematic cheating and independent observers have said the poll was free and fair. In other parts of Indonesia, a mob burned a police station on Madura island, northeast of the main island of Java, while two police posts were set ablaze in Pontianak on Borneo island, media reported. 'Bent on chaos Indonesian financial markets were firmer Thursday with the rupiah up 0.5% and the main stock index up 1.6%. Taye Shim, director of capital markets at Mirae Asset Securities Indonesia, said he did not see the demonstrations as a serious threat to Indonesia's stability. "While upset supporters might demonstrate their disagreement with the official election results, we don't think it would be a serious threat to Indonesia's democracy," he told Reuters. Police said the number of arrests linked to the riots had risen to 300. National police spokesman Muhamad Iqbal said officers had found envelopes with money on some of the people they searched, suggesting instigators were behind the trouble. "This is not a spontaneous incident, this is something by design. There are indications that the mobs are paid and bent on causing chaos," he said on Wednesday. Prabowo, in a video posted to his Twitter account late Wednesday, urged his supporters to disperse peacefully. "I beg you to return to your homes to rest, avoid any actions that would break the law," he said. Prabowo's political party, Gerindra, complained that the authorities were trying to pin the blame for the riots on him. Challenging the vote Andre Rosiade, a spokesman for Gerindra, said a lawsuit would be filed at the Constitutional Court on Friday to contest the election result, which gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for his challenger. Prabowo lost the previous presidential election, in 2014, to Widodo by a slimmer margin and objected to the result then, too. He also lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court but the court rejected it. Analysts say Widodo's double-digit margin of victory this time means the opposition does not have a strong case to claim rigging but he may be able to count on agitation over the result by a strong contingent of Islamist supporters. The government boosted the number of police and soldiers on duty to 58,000 across Jakarta and temporarily blocked some social media functions to prevent fake news that could fan unrest. Police displayed at a news conference suspects in orange jumpsuits as well as petrol bombs, arrows, sickles and cash in envelopes. Police chief Tito Karnavian showed reporters a sniper rifle with silencer and two pistols he said were seized from people days before the rioting. "There is an effort to provoke, to create martyrs, blame the authorities and invoke public anger," he said. John Walker Lindh, the former jihadi dubbed the American Taliban, was released from prison Thursday after completing 17 years of a 20-year sentence for supporting the Afghan insurgent group. The first American detainee in the U.S. war on terror, Lindh, now 38, was captured in late 2001 while fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was later taken back to the U.S., where he pleaded guilty to two terrorism related charges. The Californian is among at least 427 individuals who have been charged with jihadi terrorism or related crimes since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to the think tank New America. Nearly a hundred have been freed, with up to 90 more approaching the end of their prison terms in the next five years, said Jesse Morton, a convicted ex-jihadi who runs Parallel Networks, a group that works with former extremists. That has rekindled a debate over how to reintegrate former American jihadis into society. Unlike other Western nations, the U.S. has no rehabilitation programs for former jihadists, leaving them largely to their own devices. Lindhs case has drawn attention in part because of concern he continues to harbor radical Islamist views. At his sentencing in 2002, Lindh denounced terrorism and said the attacks of Sept. 11 were against the teachings of Islam. But U.S. counterterrorism officials have assessed in recent years that his views havent changed. A 2017 National Counterterrorism Center document obtained by Foreign Policy magazine stated that as of May 2016, Lindh continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts. Lindh will remain on supervised release for the next three years, barred by a federal judge from communicating with known extremists, viewing extremist online content, possessing internet capable devices, traveling internationally without prior approval. Morton said his organization reached out to Lindh to offer reintegration services but hasnt received a response. A convert to Islam, Morton co-founded Revolution Muslim, a group that propagandized and recruited on behalf of al-Qaida online and on the streets of New York from 2006-2011. He spent nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to inciting attacks against the creators of South Park and agreeing to cooperate with the FBI. VOA spoke with Morton about Lindhs release. The interview was edited for length and clarity. VOA: Before I ask you about Lindhs release, can you talk a little bit about your own transition out of a group that was once described as a dangerous terrorism network? Jesse Morton: When I was incarcerated I was able to sort of extract myself from the jihadist milieu. And instead of dabbling more into Islamist works, I dabbled into post-Enlightenment works, became reacclimated with my American culture, American upbringing, saw the West and the Enlightenment as a value in overcoming sectarianism. And slowly in prison, I was able to reform myself by looking at the mistakes that I had made. By the time I was released in 2015, ISIS (Islamic State) was a problem. I realized I had created a big monster. I had contributed largely to spreading that ideology. And now I work to combat the ideas and the ideals that I was firmly committed to. VOA: There are allegations that Lindh espouses the same extremist views he did when he was first imprisoned. Does that make his release premature and perhaps cause for concern? Morton: I think that we should be concerned, but I dont think that we should be overly concerned, particularly not knowing the nuances and the individual characteristics of John Walker Lindh. And I dont think we have to be worried about him returning to commit an act of violence. There are other things we need to worry about. For example, his stated intention that he wants to return to preaching, and a growing sort of far leftist, revolutionary, anti-American sentiment inside of a small segment of the American Muslim community that might allow him to have a platform. That would be dangerous. VOA: Unlike some European countries, the U.S. doesnt have a go-to deradicalization program for former jihadis inside prisons. What do we know about the prison environment in which Lindh has spent the past 17 years of his life? Morton: Hes been there from the beginning ... and so, he has watched transitions inside of the Bureau of Prisons as theyve tried to figure out what to do with terrorism-related offenders. His was an interesting case, because he clung to Islamist views. We do have some leaked BOP memos about Lindhs sustained radicalization. And interestingly enough, my co-defendant, Zachary Chesser, who is now doing 20 years, was housed with him. As was (radical Palestinian American preacher) Ahmad Musa Jibril, who was released in (2012), and ended up becoming a preacher in Michigan that radicalized hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals in the context of the Syrian civil war. VOA: At Parallel Networks, you work with people like Lindh. How do you help a hard-core former jihadi transform into a law-abiding citizen? Morton: Our priority is to keep the public safe. And the way that you keep the public safe is to make sure that (former jihadists) have access to the basic services that they need. The worst-case scenario is when a terrorism-related offender comes home and feels stigmatized, feels isolated, cant get work, cant get housing, and decides that radicalization is a better option. We just want to make sure that individuals disengage from the movement, whether its online or offline. Then we work on the ideology if they still want to. But it has to be a desire of the individual. You cant tell someone that they need to change their beliefs. ... You have to create a space that they can make those alterations. If you try to make a committed fanatic change their ideas, youre only going to make their adherence even worse. VOA: What is the best hope for Lindh? Morton: Lindh is free to believe whatever he wants to, but we need to develop mechanisms as a society that make sure there can be no consequence to his sustained beliefs. At times, that may require law enforcement monitoring if it is determined that he is a risk to mobilize to violence (or something of the sort). When you have a comprehensive approach to countering violent extremism, then you can address all components of this dynamic problem. Nevertheless, it is most likely that Lindh will simply move on with his life and disappear from the public eye. Lets hope so. Were certainly not prepared if that is not the case. VOA: Since the attacks of 9/11, several hundred former jihadists have been prosecuted and imprisoned in this country, and a few dozen have been released in recent years. What do you know about what has happened with them? Morton: Most of those that have been released so far have actually been deported. Most of the people that have been released have also been the lowest-risk levels. So, we havent seen those that have been arrested for attempts to carry out an actual attack. The committed jihadists are coming over the next series of years about 70 to 90 individuals will come home over the next four or five years. And some of them are likely pretty important and influential individuals that are very different than those that have been released so far. But most of them are just living life and trying to move on. ... And weve witnessed a few individuals do some pretty amazing work upon their return. VOA: Is the country prepared to help reintegrate those individuals who will be released in the coming years? Morton: No. We have no funding for any such initiative, and theres not much of a commitment on behalf of the government. And we cant do much about it, unfortunately. Scientists say they have pinpointed the source of a globally banned chemical that damages the Earth's protective ozone layer: China. In a report published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the scientists who monitor the planet's atmosphere say the recent rise in the emission of the ozone-depleting chemical CFC-11 has been traced to two provinces in eastern China. Any production and use of CFC-11 is a violation of the Montreal Protocol, a 1987 agreement that phased out chlorofluorocarbons that cause damage to the ozone layer. Ozone is critical to life, limiting the amount of harmful ultraviolet solar radiation that reaches Earth's surface. The recovery of the ozone had been touted as an environmental success story. But since 2012, air samples had shown a troubling amount of CFC-11 present in them. Because the chemical doesn't occur in nature, it indicated an illegal use of the chemical. Over the last two years, scientists have used air monitoring stations in Japan and Korea along with water studies to pinpoint the offenders as foam factories in the provinces of Shandong and Hebei in eastern China. Scientists say the report will help Chinese authorities find the exact sources and stop the emissions before they deal a major setback to ozone hole recovery. China said Thursday it had lodged a protest with Washington after two US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait amid rising tensions between the two powers. The US Navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S. Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit "in accordance with international law" on Wednesday. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the navy said. "The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." US warships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. "We have lodged solemn representations with the US," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing. The sail-by comes on top of tensions between the United States and China over trade and US efforts to thwart Chinese telecom giant Huawei over security concerns. The transit also comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia kicked off operation "Pacific Vanguard" near Guam, bringing together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries. Drills will focus on "live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea," the US 7th Fleet said. In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait and lodged an official complaint with Paris. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The US diplomatically recognizes China over Taiwan, but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier. For the Guam naval drills, Australia has contributed two frigates, Japan two destroyers and South Korea one destroyer. The USS Blue Ridge, the 7th Fleet's flagship, will lead the operation from the US side. Home to more than 160,000 people, Guam was at the center of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with "enveloping fire." The Somali government says it's not ready to take any action that could threaten its relationship with its neighbor Kenya. The announcement comes amidst simmering tensions over potential offshore oil deposits and an incident where Somali government officials and diplomats were denied entry to Kenya this week. In a leaked protest letter, the Somali government raised concerns about what it called a Kenyan decision to deny entry visas to some lawmakers and diplomats, who had planned to attend a European Union meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday. Kenya's foreign affairs minister, Monica Juma, said she wasn't aware of the incident, and said she would be surprised if anyone with a valid visa is denied entry. Oil, gas deposits The incident was likely related to a dispute over which country controls 100,000 square kilometers of Indian Ocean believed to hold oil and gas deposits. In February, Kenya recalled its ambassador to Somalia because of the disagreement. Somalia filed a complaint against Kenya in the International Court of Justice in 2014, saying it had exhausted all other avenues of finding a solution to the dispute. In an interview with VOA, Somalia's foreign affairs minister, Ahmed Isse Awad, said the maritime dispute is in court. "Somali government and its people's stand on the issue is that's a court matter and there will be no negotiation and bargaining on that issue," he said. "We want that matter to remain like that." But, Awad added, Somalia does not want to be a party to any problem with "Kenyan brothers and neighbors." When Somalia filed its complaint, Kenya filed a preliminary objection, saying the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries had avenues of dispute resolution. But the ICJ in 2017 ruled it has jurisdiction on the matter and ordered the countries to submit their arguments. Maritime law expert Wambua Musili says the route taken by Somalia to resolve the dispute deviates from traditional practices in the region. "The practice of the states within the East African region has always been an agreement," he said. "Tanzania agreed with Kenya they fixed their bordering. Tanzania agreed with Mozambique they fixed their border. Mauritius and Seychelles agreed and they fixed their borders.So the state practice has always been in this region states agree on the border rather than take the matter to the court." Kenya is one of five African countries with troops in Somalia fighting militant group al-Shabab. Kenya also has at least 300,000 Somali refugees. Dutch and U.K. polls opened Thursday in elections for the European Parliament, starting four days of voting across the 28-nation bloc that pits supporters of deeper integration against populist Euroskeptics who want more power for their national governments. A half hour after voting started in the Netherlands, polls opened across the United Kingdom, the only other country voting Thursday, and a nation still wrestling with its plans to leave the European Union altogether and the leadership of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. The elections, which end Sunday night, come as support is surging for populists and nationalists who want to rein in the EUs powers, while traditional powerhouses like France and Germany insist that unity is the best buffer against the shifting economic and security interests of an emerging new world order. French President Emmanuel Macron says the challenge is not to cede to a coalition of destruction and disintegration that will seek to dismantle EU unity built up over the past six decades. In a significant challenge to those centrist forces, populists appear largely united heading into the elections. On Saturday, Italys anti-migrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini was joined at a rally by 10 other nationalist leaders, including include far-right leaders Marine Le Pen of Frances National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternative for Germany party. On Thursday morning, U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn released a message with a warning that the far-right is on the rise and added that the actions we take now will have huge consequences for our future. Voters across Europe elect a total of 751 lawmakers, although that number is set to drop to 705 when the UK leaves the EU. The Dutch make up 26 currently and 29 after Brexit. The UK has 73 European lawmakers, who would lose their jobs when their country completes its messy divorce from the EU. Results of the four days of voting will not be officially released until Sunday night, but Dutch national broadcaster NOS will publish an exit poll after ballot boxes close Thursday night. The Netherlands could provide a snapshot of what is to come. Polls show the right-wing populist Forum for Democracy led by charismatic intellectual Thierry Baudet running neck-and-neck with the center-right VVD party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. While the country, an affluent trading nation, profits from the EUs open borders and single market, it also is a major contributor to EU coffers. Skeptical Dutch voters in 2005 rejected a proposed EU constitution in a referendum. Baudet, whose party emerged as a surprise winner of provincial elections in March, identifies more with hard-line Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban than with the nationalist populist movement led by Salvini, although in a debate Wednesday night he called Salvini a hero of Europe for his crackdown on migration. The immigration we get here from Africa and the Mideast is completely contrary to our culture, our values, our way of life, tolerance, love of women and so on, Baudet said. That has to stop and it will not happen at the European level. East African countries are set to ban skin-lightening products that contain hydroquinone, a medical agent linked to health problems when used in high concentrations. The East African Legislative Assembly last week passed a resolution calling for a region-wide ban on the manufacturing and importation of products containing hydroquinone. At a beauty parlor in Arusha, 52-year-old Rose Mselle has been using skin-bleaching products since she was a teenager. She says women like her want to be beautiful "And in the process of looking for beauty, or for our skin color to shine, we use things that we shouldn't," she added. At a nearby market, 32-year-old clothing vendor Janet Jonijosefu used skin-lightening products that contain hydroquinone, a medical agent used to treat dark spots, for years. She stopped after her skin became fragile. She said the beauty products containing hydroquinone badly affected her skin. She started developing patches on her face. She went to the doctor and was advised to stop using products containing hydroquinone and instead use aloe vera. Skin-lightening products often use high concentrations of hydroquinone, which can cause skin problems or become toxic when mixed with other bleaching chemicals. Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa ban or regulate the agent in cosmetics. Tanzania bars imports. The East African Legislative Assembly last week passed a resolution on a region-wide ban of hydroquinone's manufacture and importation. Suzan Nakawuki, a member of the regional assembly from Uganda, noted that hydroquinone is not only used by women but also men. "We have seen men bleaching seriously even more than women," she said. "But it's becoming a problem. If we don't regulate it, it is going to become very problematic." When used medically, hydroquinone can be an effective treatment for skin discoloration. Some East African lawmakers spoke out against a blanket ban. Aden Abdikadir, a lawmaker from Kenya, said he is concerned a blanket ban will cause "serious trade disruption" for cosmetics. If signed by heads of state, the ban becomes law in all six East African Community states, which include Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Critics point out bans on hydroquinone have failed to stop smuggled products from being sold openly. Cosmetics labeled as having hydroquinone are on display at shops in Arusha. If bans are not backed by enforcement, they will have little effect on the use of the high demand skin-lightening products, despite the risk to health. The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday he does not have a specific timetable to approve Boeing Cos 737 MAX for flight after two fatal crashes since October prompted the plane to be grounded worldwide. The FAA is meeting with more than 30 international air regulators including China, the European Union, Brazil and Canada on Thursday to discuss a software fix and new pilot training that Boeing has been developing to ensure the jets are safe to fly. "It's a constant give and take until it is exactly right, Deputy FAA Administrator Dan Elwell told reporters of the discussions with Boeing. "It's taking as long as it takes to be right," he said, adding: "I'm not tied to a timetable." The plane was grounded in March following a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash just months after a similar Lion Air disaster in Indonesia which together killed 346 people. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have both canceled flights into August because of the 737 MAX grounding, while United Airlines has canceled flights into July. Asked if it is realistic that the 737 MAX could be flying again by August, Elwell declined to be specific. "If you said October I wouldn't even say that, only because we haven't finished determining exactly what the training requirements will be," Elwell said. "If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us the confidence to lift the (grounding) order so be it." Elwell said he plans to share the FAA's "safety analysis that will form the basis for our return to service decision process" on Thursday. But he said the agency is still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software upgrade for approval, and emphasized the FAA has not decided on the revised training requirements, including whether to require simulator training. Global airlines that had rushed to buy the fuel-efficient, longer-range aircraft have since canceled flights and scrambled to cover routes that were previously flown by the MAX. Elwell rejected any idea that he was trying to win consensus with international regulators over the path to re-approving the MAX at the meeting. "We have to be the first to lift the order. We are the state of design," he said. He said he would explain the FAA's thinking to international regulators but added: "I'm not going to try to persuade anybody." At the same time, he also denied there was friction. "We have peace with other regulators. We're talking to them constantly. You want to make this like, 'We at war with the other countries over this.' We're not," Elwell said. Foreign regulators have signaled disagreements over measures to end the grounding, with Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau calling in April for pilots to receive simulator training for the MAX, rather than just computer courses. Canada and Europe said on Wednesday they would bring back the grounded aircraft on their own terms if their specific concerns are not addressed. "From our point of view, if we all work together and we all reach the same aim, fine. If we don't, we'll choose our own time to decide when the planes are safe to fly again," Canadas Garneau told Reuters in an interview. A spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency said on Wednesday that it would complete an additional independent design review of the plane once the FAA approves Boeings proposed changes and establishes "adequate training of Boeing MAX flight crews." Elwell told Congress last week the FAA is working closely with other civil aviation authorities "to address specific concerns related to the 737 MAX." United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz said on Wednesday that FAA approval is only the first step, with public and employee confidence key to deciding when to fly its 14 MAX jets again. A Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday blamed the Trump administration's border policies for the deaths of migrant children, an accusation the acting head of the Homeland Security Department called "appalling." The brouhaha came at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the budget for the sprawling law enforcement department, which has seen major upheaval over the past two months following a White House-orchestrated shake-up. Kevin McAleenan, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was named to lead the department temporarily following the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. At the hearing, Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., questioned McAleenan about what he knew of the psychological problems migrant children face when they are separated from their parents. Policy stopped Last year, the administration separated more than 2,500 children from parents as part of a policy to prosecute anyone caught crossing into the United States illegally, but that practice was stopped. Border agents are still allowed to separate children at the U.S.-Mexico border if the adult has a criminal history or there is concern for the health and welfare of the children. Underwood told McAleenan that "at this point, with five children dead and thousands separated, it's a policy choice being made by this administration, and it's inhumane." McAleenan responded by calling that an "appalling accusation." The committee's top Republican, Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, accused Underwood of saying the administration was intentionally murdering children. "I did not say murder," said the first-term lawmaker, who also is a nurse. "I said five children have died as a result of a policy choice." The squabbling continued. After a brief recess, Republicans on the Democratic-run committee were able to push through a vote to admonish Underwood. Her statement was stricken from the official hearing record, and she was barred from talking during the rest of the session. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said Underwood's statements were appropriate. McAleenan testified that more money was needed to help manage the immigration crisis, where vast numbers of Central American families are entering the U.S., straining resources. There have been more than 100,000 border crossings per month the past two months, a 12-year high. The families crossing require different care from single adults and can't be easily returned over the border. "We continue to face tragedies on the border," McAleenan said. He also cited the recent deaths of two teenagers and the drowning death of a 10-month-old baby who was on a raft trying to cross the Rio Grande with his parents when it overturned. Border Patrol agents pulled some of the group to safety. False claims alleged Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., said the separation of families, and what she described as false claims by administration officials about the practice, and other border policies have helped foster the notion that what is happening is intentional. "It's a belief based on all the lies that have been out in the public," she said. She said McAleenan should not be proud of the work his agencies are doing. "Look at all the lies. Look at all the harm done to children and their mental health. Look at the children that are dying under your watch," she said. "You should not be proud of a record of having five children die under your watch." The U.S. government has faced months of scrutiny over its care of children it apprehends at the border. On Wednesday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and 23 other Democratic or independent senators asked the International Committee of the Red Cross and Homeland Security's inspector general to investigate the conditions of facilities. On Monday, a 16-year-old Guatemala migrant died after being held for six days twice as long as federal law generally permits. A 2-year-old child died last week after he and his mother were detained by the Border Patrol. The agency said it took the child to the hospital the same day the mother reported he was sick, and he was hospitalized for several weeks. Another teenager died April 30 after officials at a Health and Human Services Department detention facility noticed that he was sick. Two small children, ages 7 and 8, died in December in separate incidents. Following those deaths, Homeland Security ordered medical checks of all children in its custody and expanded medical screenings. Sixth death Meanwhile, in a previously unreported case, U.S. officials said Wednesday that a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died last year after being detained by border authorities. That death marked the sixth known case in the last year. HHS officials said the girl died Sept. 29 at an Omaha, Neb., hospital of fever and respiratory distress. Spokesman Mark Weber said the department began caring for the unidentified girl in March 2018. Weber said the girl was ``medically fragile,'' with a history of congenital heart defects. He did not say when she entered the U.S. or whether a parent or adult accompanied her. HHS provides care to children the government considers unaccompanied. This article originated in VOAs Persian Service. An Iranian journalist who wrote about government corruption has been arrested for the second time in six months on the same day that Irans judiciary chief said he welcomes media critiques. In one of several contrasting state-media reports, news agency IRNA said journalist Masoud Kazemi was arrested Wednesday as he attended a Tehran court hearing. IRNA also quoted defense lawyer Ali Mojtahedzadeh as making sharp criticisms of the presiding judge, whom he accused of deviating from justice by filing a new security charge against Kazemi without prosecutors doing so first, and by raising the bail for Kazemi tenfold to 10 billion rials, or $237,000 based on Irans official exchange rate. Mojtahedzadeh told IRNA the judge introduced a charge of colluding against national security to Kazemis trial, in which the journalist already was charged with spreading anti-government propaganda. The lawyer said the judge gave him one week to submit a written defense statement before a verdict is issued. Mojtahedzadeh went further in his criticism of the Iranian judiciary in a series of Wednesday tweets attacking the judge and even judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi. After stating that Kazemi had been transferred to Tehrans Evin prison for detention, Mojtahedzadeh tweeted that judge Mohammad Moghiseh cursed at Kazemi during the hearing and exhibited conduct that was unimaginably strange and especially unbecoming of a judge who also is a cleric. In his next tweet, Mojtahedzadeh addressed Raisi, saying: Im sure you know that a prerequisite for justice is a judges adherence to the principle of impartiality, but during Kazemis hearing, the judge was cursing and damning him. How can we expect a fair sentence? Iranian authorities initially detained Kazemi, a former reporter for prominent reformist newspaper Shargh, at his Tehran home Nov. 5, 2018, before releasing him on bail six days later. Before his arrest, he had tweeted about alleged corruption at the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade. An Iranian journalist who identifies himself as a friend and former colleague of Kazemi, Sobhan Hassanvand, tweeted a photo of Kazemi in handcuffs, saying it was taken at the court Wednesday. Obviously [Kazemi] cannot provide the bail, as it takes 50 years for [him] to collect such money as a journalist. So he is arrested [and] taken to Evin prison until [a] verdict, Hassanvand wrote. As Kazemi was being detained, other Iranian state media such as Mehr News Agency highlighted judiciary chief Raisis Wednesday remarks to Iranian journalists, whose critiques of government make them partners in Irans pursuit of justice, as he put it. We certainly welcome fair criticisms of the government, Raisi said. Expressions of criticism from the media certainly can help to resolve shortcomings in our administrative system, he added. Raisi said the Iranian judiciary is obliged to protect press freedom, but he also said all journalists must comply with press laws, which he described as red lines, in order to avoid prosecutions. Irans Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance licenses all news outlets operating in the country and oversees their activities. It also issues work permits for domestic and foreign journalists. In the fight against the enemy, the media also have a duty to ensure that they do not publish points and signals that make the enemy happy, Raisi told the gathered journalists. Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, has described Iran as one of the worlds biggest jailers of journalists. In its annual press freedom ranking published last month, Iran dropped six places to 170th out of 180 countries and territories. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged the poor state of press freedom in his nation in a publicly broadcast Jan. 21 speech to officials of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology in Tehran. We do not have free media. We have a state-run TV and radio [organization], he said. Rouhani lacks authority over Irans powerful judiciary chief, who is appointed by and answerable to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in neighboring Pakistan late Thursday for bilateral consultations amid Tehran's escalating tensions with the United States. Officials in Islamabad said Zarif would begin his official engagements on Friday. He will brief Pakistani civilian and military leaders on current regional developments, Iranian state media said. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been escalating since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to try to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and beef up the American military presence in the Persian Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. Pakistan already has stated it will not take sides in the confrontation and described the crisis in the Persian Gulf region as "disturbing." Islamabad says, however, Washington's decision to deploy an aircraft carrier and bombers has fueled tensions and "the existing precarious security situation" in the Middle East. Support for dialogue "We expect all sides to show restraint, as any miscalculated move can transmute into a large-scale conflict," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal told a weekly news conference hours before the Iranian foreign minister landed in Islamabad. "Pakistan always supports dialogue and desires that all issues should be settled peacefully and through engagement by all sides," Faisal stressed. Border security issues are also expected to be discussed during Zarif's visit. Pakistan and Iran share a border of more than 900 kilometers. Iranian officials regularly allege anti-state Sunni militants use hideouts on the Pakistani side to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Iran. For its part, Islamabad says separatist groups active in its volatile Baluchistan province use sanctuaries on the Iranian side to plan cross-border terrorist attacks. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan last month made his first official visit to Tehran and spoke extensively with President Hassan Rouhani on strengthening bilateral security, economic and trade ties. Rouhani noted that Khan's visit would be "a turning point" in improving bilateral relations. VOA's Ahmed Zebari contributed to this report. WASHINGTON In a bid to extort revenues from local farmers during the harvest season, Islamic State (IS) militants are threatening to set fire to thousands of acres of wheat fields in territories disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region, according to local officials. The militants, hiding mostly in caves and mountains of a large territory between the Iraqi forces and Kurdish peshmerga, pour into small towns and villages at night and ask local residents to pay a religious tax known as zakat or find their crops destroyed the next day, peshmerga Maj. Gen. Ziryan Shex Wasani told VOA. "IS fighters have told farmers and workers to give them 15% of their harvest revenues or their wheat fields and hay will be set to fire," said Wasani, adding that hundreds of acres of land have already been set ablaze in Makhmour town, 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Irbil governorate. Wasani said IS is taking advantage of the security gap created by the lack of cooperation between the Iraqi forces and Kurdish peshmerga in the disputed areas. Disputed territories The vast disputed territories, consisting of Kirkuk and parts of Nineveh, Saladin and Diyala provinces, have been a point of contention between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for decades as both sides claim ownership over them. The Kurdish peshmerga held the area during IS emergence in 2014 but were forced out shortly after a Kurdish referendum for independence was held in September 2017. The two sides then stopped joint counter-IS operations. Kurdish officials say they fear the continuation of the fires could ignite violent clashes between Kurdish and Arab residents of the area, especially as the Kurdish farmers say only their fields are targeted while Arab farmers' fields are spared. WATCH: Unknown Militants Target Kurdish Farmers According to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, about 500 hectares (1,185 acres) of farmland have been scorched in recent weeks across the disputed territories as well as al-Najaf and al-Diwaniyah governorates. Opposing statements The ministry has not disclosed any information about the mysterious fires in the disputed territories. In a statement, however, it said the scorches in al-Najaf and al-Diwaniyah governorates were prescribed burns performed to improve the quality of the land. Authorities use terms such as "prescribed burns" or "controlled burns" to refer to intentional fires set to fields in order to manage weeds, reduce wildfire risks and restore nutrients. "The ministry asserts that these agricultural practices are not within the framework of sabotage or damage to the national agricultural economy or food security, but practices based on scientific aspects, where the residue of the burned grass is used to add nutrients for the other crop, such as rice," the ministry said in its statement Monday. Shortly after the ministry's statement, the Iraqi parliament's agriculture committee denied the fires were controlled burns, adding they were "obvious sabotage and terrorism." "The local agricultural products have been subjected to fierce attacks recently, with the latest being arson against wheat and barley fields in six provinces in a systematic manner," Salam al-Shamari, the head of the committee, said in a press conference Monday. Al-Shamari claimed the fires were directed in a "foreign conspiracy" against Iraq and urged the government to thoroughly investigate "the new terrorism against the Iraqi economy." He added local farmers' eggs, dairy products and fish were targeted several months ago. The numbers Earlier in the spring, the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture predicted its grain production would rebound significantly because of abundant rain and snowmelt in 2019, following a difficult and dry 2018. The ministry says it has so far purchased about 883,000 tons of wheat from local farmers in nine provinces. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Iraq's wheat production for this year will reach 4.97 million tons, an increase of 32% from last year. It also says that wheat consumption for 2019-20 will reach 6.9 million tons, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year. The Trump administration on Thursday said a surge of migrant arrivals at the southern U.S. border continues to accelerate, with more than 300,000 mostly Central American undocumented immigrants apprehended or requesting asylum so far in the current fiscal year, which began last October. "We are in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at the southwest border," acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan told a Senate panel. "Almost 110,000 migrants attempted to cross without legal status last month, the most in over a decade, and over 65% were families and unaccompanied children." At the current pace, 2019's total for migrant arrivals would more than triple the number reported for all of 2018, which was 169,000. Factors in migration McAleenan said that while gang violence and rampant insecurity in three Central American nations has started to ebb, other factors, such as persistent droughts and a lack of economic opportunity, continue to compel a large number of people to trek north. The DHS acting secretary also highlighted U.S. policy as a "pull factor" for migrants. "Families [apprehended at the border] can no longer be held together through an appropriate and fair proceeding, and essentially have a guarantee of release and an indefinite stay in the United States," McAleenan told the Senate Homeland Security Committee. "It's been exploited by smugglers who are advertising that opportunity, and that's what's causing the significant surge that we see this year." The administration's handling of migrant children continued to be a focus of congressional scrutiny after news broke earlier this week that a sixth minor a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador had died in U.S. government custody. "We all agree that we must absolutely secure our borders, but the death of children in custody is simply unacceptable," the panel's top Democrat, Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, said. "We must identify what went wrong and ensure that this doesn't happen again." Overwhelmed system McAleenan said he has directed that all arriving children receive health screenings, and that, on average, 65 migrants are taken to hospitals daily. Overall, he pointed to an overwhelmed system pushed to the breaking point. "Given the scale of what we are facing, we will exhaust our resources before the end of this fiscal year," said McAleenan, who also serves as chief of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within DHS. The Trump administration has requested supplemental funds for the current fiscal year and substantial increases in next year's DHS budget to address the border crisis. The panel's chairman echoed the calls. "This is a growing crisis and we have to pass that emergency spending bill," Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said. While agreeing that more resources are needed, several lawmakers said money alone can't resolve the situation. "I think the smartest thing we could actually do would be comprehensive immigration reform, and God willing, someday we'll get back and do that," Delaware Democratic Sen. Tom Carper said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to build a "strong and inclusive" country as the charismatic but polarizing leader swept back to power in the world's largest democracy with an even bigger mandate than he won five years ago. "Thank you India," the prime minister tweeted. "The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfill people's aspirations." His Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, is on course to win about 300 seats, according to vote counting. That puts the BJP well past the halfway mark in parliament and would make it the first political party in 35 years to secure a majority twice in a row. Along with its coalition partners, it will have a commanding majority in parliament, which has 543 elected seats. At a meeting of party workers to celebrate the BJP victory, Modi received a hero's welcome. He flashed victory signs and said his mandate was to build a "new India" and a vote for the country's future. The results are being seen as a massive vote of confidence in the leadership of Modi, who turned a parliamentary election into a presidential-style contest and defied expectations that rising unemployment and rural distress would erode his support. Modi campaigned on a platform of strident nationalism after a brief military showdown with Pakistan in February. "He was the central issue of the 2019 election and people wanted to give him another term. Essentially people voted for the prime minister and Narendra Modi," according to independent political analyst Neerja Chowdhury. The head of the main opposition Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, conceded the election and congratulated Modi. "Our battle for a different ideological vision of India from the BJP would continue," he said at a brief press appearance. "Today I don't want to color the decision of the people of India and I fully respect it." Praise, criticism While supporters laud Modi's strong leadership and his vision of a more assertive India, his detractors worry that the Hindu nationalist leader has fanned social divisions in the Hindu majority country as Muslims face an increase in hate crimes blamed on fringe Hindu groups. For electrician Raghubir Gaur in New Delhi, Modi's muscular leadership, his tough stand toward Pakistan and a slew of pro-poor programs made him the undisputed choice. "His vision is to take everybody ahead, whether it is a rickshaw puller, or a street vendor, he wants to create a more equal society." A former professor at Delhi University, Nandini Guha, worries that "secularism appears to have taken a back seat" during the five-year rule of Modi, whose critics accuse him of divisive politics on the basis of religion. "The divisive factor is possibly the most worrying right now if we want our country to remain as united as it has been all these years." Stock markets jumped in anticipation of a strong government, which has promised to focus on growing the economy. As the scale of the BJP sweep became apparent, tweets by senior party leaders called it a "victory for India." Celebrations erupted outside party offices in the country as workers danced, waved flags, beat drums, set off fireworks and gave away candy. BJP turnaround The results show a remarkable turnaround from earlier this year, when losses in local polls in three Hindi heartland bastions raised concerns that perceptions the Modi government failed to deliver on its development promises would pose a challenge in the general elections. But, it has shrugged aside those concerns and in the national polls the party held its grip on states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It also beat back a powerful challenge from two regional parties in the key battleground state of Uttar Pradesh and made inroads in states in eastern India. Political analysts said the failure of strong leadership from opposition parties also helped the re-emergence of Modi. The results were a bitter disappointment for the once-dominant Congress Party, which had hoped for its political revival after it was reduced to a mere 44 seats in 2014. The party has not fared much better this time around it was securing victories in only 50-plus seats. That will reopen questions about the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the sixth member of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty to lead the party. Gandhi also suffered a humiliating setback as he trailed a BJP minister in the Amethi parliamentary constituency, a bastion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, which he has represented since 2004. "Essentially the Congress Party is no match for the Modi-led BJP today, whether it is in terms of the leadership, whether it is in terms of the organization, or strategy," said analyst Chowdhury. "They have to contend with a different element in politics today." The 68-year-old Modi, who entered politics through a right-wing Hindu nationalist organization, emerged on the national stage five years ago after leading his home state of Gujarat for 13 years. The mammoth election recorded the highest-ever voter turnout of more than 67 percent. Two more New Mexico counties have declared their opposition to taking in migrants in a growing revolt against federal authorities dropping off a surge in Central American families in the states rural, southern communities. The record influx of asylum seekers has overwhelmed border detention facilities and shelters, forcing U.S. immigration authorities to bus migrants to nearby cities and even fly them to California. Las Cruces, New Mexico, has received more than 6,000 migrants since April 12. Deming, population 14,183, gets 300 to 500 a day, according to City Administrator Aaron Sera. Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has dismissed President Donald Trumps claims of a border security crisis and advocated a humanitarian response. She is in Washington seeking federal funds to reimburse cities that give support. Counties protest But some New Mexico counties say they want nothing to do with sheltering migrants, with one official saying the governors approach may worsen the border crisis. Sierra County, population 11,116, was one of two Republican-controlled New Mexico counties to pass resolutions Tuesday evening opposing the relocation of migrants to their communities. Sierra County also called on Trump to close the border to immigration to end the crisis. We have to take care of our veterans, our seniors, our residents, first and foremost, said County Manager Bruce Swingle. Were a very impoverished county. Sierra County has a median annual household income of $29,690 and a 21 percent poverty rate, according to Data USA. Feeding pigeons To the east, Lincoln County passed a resolution that it was not prepared to spend taxpayer dollars on housing illegal immigrants, said Commissioner Dallas Draper. This is a small county. We have 19,000 people, and housing right now is already an issue for the people who are here, Draper said. The moves followed a similar May 2 resolution by neighboring Otero County. County Commission Chairman Couy Griffin said sheltering migrants sent the wrong message to other Central Americans thinking of leaving their homes and would deepen the border crisis. If you begin to feed pigeons in the parking lot, pretty soon you have every pigeon in town, Griffin said. Aid not encouraging Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said there was no evidence humanitarian aid encouraged people to leave their homes. They are moving because they have no other choice and its frankly un-American to suggest we close our doors to people in need, he said. New York lawmakers gave final passage to legislation Wednesday that would allow President Donald Trump's state tax returns to be released to congressional committees that have, so far, been barred from getting the president's federal filings. The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly both approved the measures Wednesday, sending them to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. A spokesman has said the governor supports the principle behind the legislation but will review the bill carefully before deciding whether to sign it. The legislation doesn't target Trump by name, but it would allow the leaders of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee or the Joint Committee on Taxation to get access to any New York state tax returns filed by elected officials and top appointed officials. The legislation would apply to personal income tax returns, as well as business taxes paid in New York. An earlier version of the proposal that passed the state Senate two weeks ago would have allowed congressional committees to get any New Yorker's returns, regardless of whether they held public office. Lawmakers later narrowed the legislation to address concerns that it went too far, prompting the Senate to hold a second vote on the new language Wednesday. New York Republicans have railed against the bill. John Flanagan, who leads the Senate GOP, called the legislation "troubling" and "bad public policy." Fellow GOP lawmakers said the new proposal's narrower focus shows Democrats went too far with their first proposal, which would have required state tax officials to hand over any New Yorker's state tax returns. "This bill is nothing more than political showmanship, and we all know it," said Assembly Andrew Goodell, who represents a mostly rural western New York district. Republicans also blasted Democrats for going after the president instead of focusing on challenges closer to home. "The fact that we're talking about taxes in this house is ironic because we're not talking about the taxes that New Yorkers pay, which are the highest in the nation," said Rob Ortt, a senator from the Buffalo area. But the proposals' Democratic sponsors Sen. Hoylman, of Manhattan, and Assemblyman David Buchwald, of Westchester County said the legislation promotes government transparency at a time when Americans need to know whether their elected leaders are putting the public's interest first. "We are affirming Congress' role as a co-equal branch of government and the sacred constitutional principle that nobody is above the law, not even the highest elected official in the land," Hoylman said. The proposed changes to state law were made amid a battle going on in Washington over Trump's federal returns. Democrats are seeking six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns to aid a committee investigation into whether the IRS is doing its job properly to audit a sitting president and whether the law governing such audits needs to be strengthened. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he wouldn't comply with a congressional subpoena seeking six years of Trump's tax returns, in part because the request "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose." U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has threatened to go to court to get the administration to comply. New York is Trump's home state and headquarters of many of his business enterprises. Much of the information on his state returns would mirror the information included on a federal return, giving the Democrats a potential end run around the IRS if they wished to take it. If Congress does request and obtain Trump's state tax returns, that doesn't mean the public gets to see them. Under federal law, the confidential information in the returns is supposed to be for the committee's eyes only. The New York bills have no time limitation on the tax filings that could be shared with Congress. They require that the returns be requested "for a specified and legitimate legislative purpose," wording that could ostensibly give state officials the ability to refuse some requests they felt were primarily political in nature. The New York bills would become law immediately upon being signed by Cuomo, though it could be delayed by a court challenge. Passage of the legislation came just a few hours before a federal judge in Manhattan refused to block congressional subpoenas seeking financial records from two banks that did business with Trump. The judge said subpoenas from lawyers for the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees have "a legitimate legislative purpose" in their investigation into Trump, his family and his company's dealings with Deutsche Bank and Capital One. Foreign observers of Malawi's presidential, parliamentary and local elections issued a preliminary assessment Thursday, saying that although the process was peaceful, it lacked a level playing field. Incumbent leader Peter Mutharika held a small lead in the presidential election, partial results showed. About a quarter of the votes remained to be counted, leaving challenger Lazarus Chakwera some room for hope. The European Union observer mission said the Malawi Electoral Commission organized the elections well, but the pre-election period was marked with tension. "What we see as a problem," said Miroslav Poche, the EU mission's chief observer, "is the abuse of state resources and also bias by state media." The EU mission also bemoaned attacks on opposition politicians ahead of the voting. The leader of the Commonwealth observer team, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said the election was well-managed but that it was premature to declare it fair. "We are not making any judgments that's a matter that will arise later," he said. "When everything has been done, then it will become possible for the observer team to say, 'Now, given everything we have heard and seen, it is possible to say these elections were fair,' and whatever." Lack of confidence However, some opposition politicians said they had lost confidence in the vote-counting process under way at the main tally center in Blantyre. Eisenhower Mkaka, secretary-general of the main opposition Malawi Congress Party, said the party would not accept the results if its candidate, Lazarus Chakwera, lost. Chakwera was about 5 percentage points behind Mutharika in the early vote count announced Thursday by the Electoral Commission. "We have got a state-of-the-art tally center which is actually collecting results from across the country," Mkaka said, "and from what we have collected, we are quite comfortable that as the Malawi Congress Party, we are winning and therefore any results that go against what we have will not be accepted." However, the campaign director of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Ben Phiri, said it was premature for the party to say anything until the winner was announced. "We got prepared and we did what we could [to win the polls]," he said. "And we mobilized our people to go to vote. It's just hours away from declaring who the winner is, and DPP, we are good to go." The Malawi Electoral Commission is expected to announce the final results by May 29. Pakistan says it has successfully conducted a training launch of a ballistic missile capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads up to 1,500 kilometers. The move came amid Pakistans heightened military tensions with neighboring rival India, and it is seen by observers as part of the efforts Islamabad is making to keep pace with New Delhis massive investments in military hardware and advancements. After the indigenously produced Shaheen-II medium range rocket was fired into the Arabian Sea on Thursday, military spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor said that it is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistans strategic needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region. Ghafoor noted the head of the military unit that oversees the countrys nuclear program witnessed the training launch along with other senior officials, scientists and engineers. President (Arif Alvi) and Prime Minister of Pakistan (Imran Khan) have also conveyed their congratulations on the achievement, he added. Pakistan has already test-fired the Shaheen-III nuclear-capable missile with a range of up to 1,700 miles, enabling it to strike all corners of India and reach deep into the Middle East, including Israel. Thursdays missile launch came a day after Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke briefly with his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in Kyrgyzstan. Following what he said was an informal interaction with Swaraj, Qureshi said he conveyed Pakistans readiness to engage in a dialogue with India to resolve all bilateral matters through negotiations. We want to live like good neighbors and settle our outstanding issues through talks, he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in March the country had shot down a satellite in low orbit, making it the fourth country, after the United States, China and Russia, to have used an anti-satellite weapon. Islamabad had criticized the move as a matter of grave concern and a militarization of space by New Delhi. In the backdrop of Indias recent anti-satellite tests, Pakistan announced Wednesday it has signed a joint document with Russia on no-first placement of weapons in outer space. An official statement said the two countries have agreed to make all possible efforts to prevent outer space from becoming an arena for military confrontation and to ensure security in our space activities. Analysts estimate that both the South Asian rivals possess about 100 nuclear warheads each. Brink of war Pakistan and India have fought three major wars since 1947 and came close to the brink of another war earlier this year. In mid-February, a suicide bomber struck an Indian paramilitary convoy in the disputed Kashmir territory, killing 40 security personnel. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) reportedly claimed responsibility for the bombing, fueling tensions between India and Pakistan despite Islamabads denial it had nothing to do with the attack. Indian fighter planes on Feb. 26 flew into Pakistan and carried out airstrikes against what New Delhi alleged was a JeM training camp in the mountainous town of Balakot. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with airstrikes of its own, shooting down an Indian plane and capturing its pilot in an ensuing fight over the disputed Kashmir border. The aerial clash was the first between Pakistan and India in five decades, dangerously escalating tensions to a point where both countries reportedly had mobilized their missiles. Islamabad returned the pilot two days later, and the tensions have since eased, following intervention by major powers, including the United States and China. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara, national security correspondent Jeff Seldin, and VOA Persian's Mehrnoush Karimian at the State Department contributed to this report. PENTAGON Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has denied reports that between 5,000 and 10,000 U.S. troops could be sent to the Middle East to defend against a potential threat by Iran. "There is no 10,000. There's no 5,000. That's not accurate," he told reporters, referring to a Reuters report that the Pentagon was considering sending 5,000 defensive troops to the region, and an AP report that up to 10,000 could be deployed. WATCH: Trump Considering Troop Deployment to Deter Iran VOA had reported that Shanahan and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would provide the president with a wide range of options Thursday in response to rising tensions in the Middle East, including possibly sending thousands more U.S. troops to the region. Shanahan confirmed this ahead of his presidential briefing at the White House, telling reporters he was considering deploying more U.S. forces. "What we're looking at is, are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?" Shanahan said. "It may involve sending additional troops." The request for additional force protection came from the U.S. Central Command chief, Marine Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie. Shanahan said the request was part of a "normal back and forth" with CENTCOM, but added that it was "at a higher-elevated level, given all the dynamics there in the Middle East." It is not clear if the White House will approve sending additional forces or equipment, such as more Patriot missile batteries or ships. It is also not clear where those additional resources would come from, if approved. In a phone conference Thursday with reporters, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine expressed strong opposition to any possible U.S. military confrontation with Iran. "You've seen very bellicose tweets from the president. You've seen bellicose language used by both the secretary of state and the national security adviser. It would be a colossal disaster if the United States were involved in Iran," he said. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been escalating since President Donald Trump announced his decision to try to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and beef up U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. "Iran has been a very dangerous player, very bad player. They are a nation of terror, and we won't put up with it," Trump said Thursday. Speaking to VOA Persian at the State Department on Wednesday, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said the U.S. would use military force against Iran "only if we were attacked first." He said the Trump administration believed that Iran-backed attacks on U.S. interests were "imminent" but had not yet seen such attacks materialize. Hook also reiterated Trump's offer to receive a phone call from Iranian leaders to talk about negotiating an end to their perceived malign behaviors. "He has made that clear repeatedly," Hook said. "So has Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and so have I. We haven't heard from the Iranians. So that is a choice that they are going to have to make. We encourage Iran to take advantage of the president's offer." Last week, Trump told Shanahan that he did not want to go to war with Iran. Sending additional U.S. troops to the region would mark a shift in position for Trump, who has repeatedly said in the past he wanted to reduce the number of U.S. troops in the region. Last December, Trump announced the withdrawal of 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. In February, however, he decided to keep about 400 U.S. troops there. VOA White House bureau chief Steve Herman and national security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. Top Pentagon officials will provide the president with a wide range of options in response to rising tensions in the Middle East, including possibly sending thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East, U.S. officials said. The top U.S. military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, and Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan, are among the briefers at the White House on Thursday afternoon. The request for additional troops has come from U.S. Central Command, said another official, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because plans have not been formalized. It is not clear if the White House will approve sending all or just some of the requested defensive forces, as well as additional Patriot missile batteries and more ships. The Pentagon declined to comment on future plans. "As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential future plans and requests for forces," Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said Wednesday. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been escalating since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to try to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and beef up the U.S. military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. But despite the rhetoric, last week Trump told his acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he did not want to go to war with Iran. Sending additional U.S. troops to the region would mark a shift in position for Trump, who has repeatedly said in the past he wanted to reduce the number of U.S. troops in the region. Last December, Trump announced the withdrawal of 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. In February, however, he decided to keep about 400 troops there. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused the head of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies of lying about his company's relationship with the government in Beijing. Pompeo said in a CNBC interview Thursday that Huawei "is tied not only to China but to the Chinese Communist Party." He added, "The existence of those connections puts American information that crosses those networks at risk." Huawei, the world's largest maker of telecommunications network equipment, is a leader in 5G technology. It has been trying to win contracts to build a global network that would make the internet much faster. Last week, the U.S. government banned American companies from doing business with Huawei, escalating a heated trade war between the world's two largest economies. CEO Ren Zhengfei has maintained his company would not share secret user information. Huawei denies it is controlled by Beijing. The company also says it does not work with the Chinese government, an assertion Pompeo dismisses. "To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo said of Huawei. "He is required by Chinese law to do that," Pompeo added. "The Huawei CEO on that at least isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world." Pompeo confirmed a recent New York Times report that China was using a high-tech surveillance system as part of a policing effort that could track and subdue members of ethnic groups, including Muslim Uighurs. The United States alleged earlier this month that Beijing had confined significantly more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps." Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankia said Tuesday in a Fox News interview there were training centers for those convicted of minor offenses. Pompeo responded that the facilities were actually "authoritarian re-education institutions." Calm returned to the streets of Jakarta on Thursday after clashes between police and supporters of the losing candidate in Indonesia's presidential election. The government has deployed tens of thousands of police officers to deal with violence that spread over two nights. The violence has left at least seven people dead and more than 200 injured. President Joko Widodo won re-election by defeating former army general Prabowo Subianto by a margin of 55% to 45%, but Prabowo is planning to challenge the result Thursday in the Constitutional Court. He alleged massive fraud but provided no credible evidence. Widodo has rejected the post-election violence and said he will not tolerate anyone disturbing the country's democratic process. "We will not give any space for riots, especially those who will damage Indonesia," he told reporters. National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told VOA that protests turned violent Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday. Dozens of people were arrested. Speaking to reporters late Wednesday, Prabowo expressed his condolences for those killed in the protests. "We support all moral and constitutional means that are peaceful and non-violent in this political fight for our nation. I plead to all elements who [are] exercising their aspiration the police, the armed forces and everyone else to refrain themselves from acts of violence, or even verbal violence, anything that is provocative," he said. Earlier this week, he had urged his supporters to show their support peacefully. "Our steps should be constitutional, democratic, peaceful, without any violence! Those who still believe in me and my friends here ... we fight not for personal benefit, but for the sovereignty of the people, for democracy, for independent Indonesia, to be free from occupation in any form," he said. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told VOA that at least 50,000 police had been deployed in anticipation of the planned protests. U.S. President Donald Trumps administration plans to use a loophole and rising tensions with Iran to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia, even though Congress blocked such sales for months over concerns about civilian deaths in the war in Yemen, Senator Chris Murphy said Wednesday. Congressional aides said there are provisions of the Arms Control Act, which sets rules for international arms transactions, that would allow a president to approve a sale without congressional review in case of a national emergency. In this case, they said the Republican president would cite rising tensions with Iran as a reason to provide more military equipment to Saudi Arabia, which he sees as an important U.S. partner in the region. Trump has touted arms sales to the Saudis as a way to generate U.S. jobs. Trump previously declared an influx of immigrants a national emergency to bypass Congress and get $6 billion to build his wall along the Mexican border. Both Democrats and his fellow Republicans voted to block the move, forcing Trump to issue the first veto of his presidency. Resistance in Congress It was not immediately clear what equipment would be sold to Saudi Arabia or when any sale might go ahead. However, any such plan would run into resistance in Congress, from Trumps fellow Republicans as well as Democrats like Murphy, even in the Senate, where Republicans have a slim majority. A handful of Republicans recently voted with Democrats in a failed effort to override Trumps veto of a resolution that would have ended U.S. support for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemens devastating civil war. Many lawmakers from both parties have also expressed anger over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trumps closest congressional allies, told CNN he would oppose the administration if it decided to go around Congress, citing Khashoggis killing. We are not going to have business as usual until that issue is dealt with, Graham said. The State Department declined comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Defensive weapons The top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, who review major international weapons deals, have been approving sales of defensive military equipment to Saudi Arabia. But they have been blocking the sale of offensive weapons like bombs, anti-tank missiles, small-diameter rockets and large mortars. Senator Bob Menendez, the ranking Foreign Relations Democrat, has been blocking the sale of Raytheon Cos precision-guided munitions (PGMs) to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for about a year over concerns about the war in Yemen. The legalization of marijuana for medical use in Thailand has created confusion over who can produce it and what qualifies consumers to legally use it. The National Assembly approved the legislation late last year, but the regulations governing the new law have yet to be put in place. Steve Sandford spoke to independent producers of cannabis oil as well as consumers affected by the new law as the government's deadline for users to register drew to a close this week. The U.S. Treasury is giving up plans to introduce a new $20 bill with the picture of escaped slave turned abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The redesigned bill was to have entered circulation next year, but now will be put off until 2028. It is also unclear whether Tubman will still be on the new bill when it is finally rolled out. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin gave no clear reasons for the postponement Wednesday other than saying the bill was to have been redesigned for counterfeiting issues. He said the imagery feature (who will appear on the bill) will not be a matter until long after he and U.S. President Donald Trump are out of office. The $20 bill currently features a picture of 19th century U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Jackson owned slaves and forced Native Americans out of their ancestral lands in the southeastern U.S. leading to the deaths of thousands of Indians. The episode has been called The Trail of Tears. The move to replace Jackson, preferably with a historically important woman, was announced during the Obama administration. Tubman was chosen from an online poll of Americans. President Trump is said to be an admirer of Andrew Jackson not because of Jacksons racism but because Trump regards him as a populist and anti-establishment. Trump called replacing Jackson with Tubman pure political correctness and proposed putting Tubman on the $2 bill, which is rarely printed. Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in Maryland as a young woman and returned to the southern U.S. to help other slaves escape and to work as a union government spy during the Civil War. She was thought to be in her early 90s when she died in 1913. The United Nations warned Thursday the civilian casualty toll from airstrikes by pro-government forces in Afghanistan continues to rise. The latest such raids occurred this week in southern Helmand and eastern Kunar provinces, killing at least 14 Afghan civilians, said the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). It noted that five women and seven children were among the victims. UNAMA in its brief statement reiterated all "parties (to the conflict) must respect international obligations to protect civilians from harm." The Afghan conflict has in recent weeks intensified with both Afghan government forces and the Taliban claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties on the other's forces. The clashes have also killed or injured scores of civilians. The 17-year war has caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties and the number risesevery year, mostly blamed on attacks carried out by Taliban insurgents. Last month, however, UNAMA released a report saying that in the first three months of 2019, Afghan security forces and their U.S.-led international partners for the first time in a decade had killed more civilians than by the Taliban and other insurgents. The report documented 1,773 civilian casualties, including 581 deaths, between January 1 and March 31. While insurgents caused a significant majority of the injuries, actions by pro-government forces were responsible for 305 Afghan civilian deaths, nearly half of them in airstrikes. UNAMA noted that women and children made up half of the civilian casualties from all aerial operations. The U.N. refugee agency says the majority of Venezuelans fleeing worsening conditions in their country are in need of international protection and must not be forcibly returned home. Citizens are leaving Venezuela as political, economic, human rights and humanitarian conditions deteriorate. The U.N. refugee agency reports some 3.7 million people have fled the country. Most have gone to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Caribbean countries. The agency says by the end of last year, some 460,000 Venezuelans had formally sought asylum. But given the dire conditions back home, UNHCR spokeswoman Liz Throssell said it is clear the majority of the millions of those who have left need international refugee protection. "This is because of the threats to their lives, security or freedom resulting from circumstances that are seriously disturbing public order in Venezuela," she said. "UNHCR also calls on states to ensure that Venezuelans, regardless of their legal status, are not deported or otherwise forcibly returned to Venezuela." Throssell said so far Venezuelans are not being deported, but warned that might change as more people flee and the refugee load becomes more burdensome. She said there was a period not long ago when official border crossings into Latin American countries were closed. She notes Brazil's border with Venezuela was reopened only last week. "What we have seen is people crossing over regular crossing points, but also, importantly, some people are opting to take irregular routes that are dangerous, putting themselves at risk," she told VOA. "One of the reasons why we are saying this now is that given the progressive deterioration of the circumstances in Venezuela, we are seeing that Venezuelans who are increasingly vulnerable are leaving the country." Throssell said countries hosting the ever-growing number of Venezuelans need international support. She said they are under incredible strain and do not have the financial means to care for the asylum-seekers. She is appealing to donors to be more generous in their contributions, noting that the U.N.'s $146 million appeal for Venezuela is only 28 percent funded. The United States says it is greatly disappointed with South Africas decision to send a former Mozambican finance minister home instead of to the U.S. to stand trial on fraud charges. Manuel Chang is accused of a money laundering scheme that plunged Mozambique into its worst financial crisis in history. South African authorities arrested him in December at the request of the U.S., which accuses him of cheating American investors. We urge the government of South Africa to send Mr. Chang to the United States to stand trial for these alleged crimes, which victimized U.S. citizens and robbed the government of Mozambique of over $700 million, the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria said Wednesday. There has been no comment from the South African government. Chang is accused of taking out about $2 billion in loans on behalf of the government of Mozambique when he was finance minister between 2005 and 2015 and receiving millions in kickbacks. The government knew about some of the loans, but not others. When the debt was revealed to the public, international donors cut off much of their aid to Mozambique and the countrys currency became almost worthless. Chang has denied the charges. Authorities in Mozambique have arrested several other officials allegedly involved in the scheme, but it is unclear whether Chang has been charged. President Donald Trump says he is "honored" to give U.S. farmers hurt by the trade war with China another $16 billion in aid. Flanked by potato growers, ranchers and dairymen in the White House, Trump said Thursday the aid "will help keep our cherished farms thriving and make clear that no country has a veto on America's economic and national security." Trump added that trade has been "very unfair" to the farmers who he says support him politically. This is the second multibillion-dollar bailout the Trump administration has provided to U.S. farmers who have seen Chinese markets for their products dry up because of tariffs China imposed on U.S. goods to retaliate for U.S. tariffs on Chinese products. The White House gave farmers $12 billion last year. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says farmers should see the first installment of the new $16 billion in aid in July or August. Perdue said he doubts if the United States and China can reach a trade deal by then. Most of the money will go to farmers who grow and sell such crops as soybeans, corn, peanuts and wheat. Money will also be set aside to buy excess products from the farmers and send them to schools and food banks. "I can't recall a president more concerned about farmer well-being. We are working hard to assess trade damages and this package ensures farmers will not bear the brunt," Perdue said. While Trump said Thursday that many farmers told him he is "doing the right thing," some trade experts call the bailout a political ploy and say farmers are more concerned about winning back the lost Chinese market. The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved $19.1 billion in aid to help Americans rebound from a string of natural disasters, but without the extra funds to address a migrant surge at the border that President Donald Trump had requested. The Senate, which has a thin Republican majority, approved the measure 85-8. Democrats, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, said a vote could soon follow in that chamber. Trump supports the legislation, fellow Republican lawmakers said. The measure is aimed at assisting victims of disasters across the country over the last two years, from hurricanes in the Southeast to Midwestern flooding and California wildfires, with funds to help farmers and repair highways and other infrastructure. It also includes hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which was devastated by a hurricane in 2017. Trump had vehemently opposed sending more aid to the Caribbean island. The bill does not include emergency funds to address a migrant surge at the southern U.S. border that Trump had requested earlier this month. "I had a nice conversation with the president," Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who helped negotiate the bill, told reporters outside the Senate. "The president said OK." Shelby said Republicans would push for separate approval of the border aid Trump wanted after lawmakers return from a recess next week, saying, "It's needed." Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said he was willing to keep negotiating about border aid. "We're close but we're not there yet," he said. Trump on May 1 requested $4.5 billion for programs that house, feed, transport and oversee the record number of Central American families seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. A spokesman for House Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey, a New York Democrat, said she was pleased the bipartisan legislation "will meet urgent needs across the country," adding that House Democrats supported clearing it "as soon as possible." The legislation includes disaster relief for farmers; development grants for rural communities; funds for wastewater infrastructure; and resources to restore highways, aviation facilities and other transit projects, Shelby's office said. It also includes $600 million in nutrition assistance and $304 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for Puerto Rico sought by Democrats, as well as an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, a statement said. Democrats said the bill took much longer to pass than it should have, in part because of Trump's interventions. "Each time the president messes in, things get messed up," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, referring to repeated criticism from Trump of the proposed aid for Puerto Rico and Trump's border aid request. "So I suggested this morning that we just do disaster aid and no border, and that's what we're doing. ... We got all we wanted for Puerto Rico." The World Health Organization has certified Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free, following three consecutive years where no new cases of the deadly disease have been reported. The malaria parasite, which kills more than 400,000 people each year, was discovered in Algeria in 1880. Most of the victims are children under the age of five in Africa. The World Health Organization reports Algeria is the second country in Africa to be recognized as malaria-free after Mauritius, which was certified in 1973. Argentina is the second country in South America, after Paraguay, to be declared malaria-free. A combination of many factors has made the achievements possible, according to WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib. "It is very good news for Algeria and Argentina, but also for the two continents and globally also," Chaib told VOA. "It means that malaria can be beaten. But the efforts should continue because we need also to enhance surveillance to be able to detect if any cases of malaria are still present in the country." WHO says the two countries eliminated malaria by employing a number of basic, well-proven measures, including insecticide-treated mosquito nets. It says both countries improved surveillance, which enabled them to rapidly identify and treat new cases of malaria. In addition, the two countries provided free diagnosis and treatment within their borders. In the case of Argentina, WHO says cross-border collaboration with its neighbor Bolivia was critical in combating the disease. It says both countries teamed up to spray more than 22,000 homes in border areas and to conduct widespread malaria testing. WHO says Algeria's and Argentina's unwavering commitment, perseverance and success in combating malaria should serve as a model for other countries. Both Algeria and Argentina have succeeded in ridding themselves of the deadly malaria parasite without the benefit of a vaccine. Health officials are hopeful this task becomes easier with the recent rollout of the first promising malaria vaccine in Ghana and Malawi. John Walker Lindh, who has been in a U.S. federal prison since he was captured by American troops in 2001 in Afghanistan, was released Thursday. Here is a look at the man called The American Taliban. Early life John Walker Lindh was born Feb. 9, 1981, in Washington to Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, and named after former Beatle John Lennon. When he was 10, Lindh, the middle of three children, moved with his family to Marin County, one of Californias wealthiest counties and just north of San Francisco. He attended an elite alternative high school where students were allowed to shape their own studies. Conversion to Islam Lindh told FBI interrogators that he became interested in Islam at age 12 after watching the movie Malcolm X, which discussed Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and the hajj pilgrimage. At 16, he converted to Islam, using the names Suleyman al-Lindh and Suleyman al-Faris. In 1998, he asked his parents for money to travel to Yemen, which he considered the best country to learn the pure Arabic used in the Quran. He returned to California a year later but returned to Yemen in February 2000, a few days before his 19th birthday. Move to extremism Frank Lindh recalled an email exchange with his son in 2000 in which he told him about the bombing of the USS Cole. Lindh reportedly replied that the American naval destroyers being in the Yemen harbor had been an act of war, and that the bombing was justified. Lindh left Yemen to study at a madrassa (religious school) in Pakistans Northwest Frontier province. He later moved to Afghanistan, where he spent time at an al-Qaida training camp. He told the FBI he spent seven weeks at the camp, which was about a two-hour bus ride from Kandahar, starting June 1, 2001. He said trainees spent three weeks getting familiar with weapons, one week studying maps and topography, one week on battlefield training, and one on explosives. Lindh said he met Osama bin Laden at the camp, who thanked him and others for fighting the jihad. Capture and imprisonment Lindh was captured Nov. 25, 2001, by U.S.-led coalition forces. While being held at a makeshift prison in a 19th-century fortress at Qala-i-Jangi in northern Afghanistan, Lindh was questioned by CIA agent Mike Spann. Lindh did not tell Spann he was American, and also failed to warn him about a revolt being planned by the prisoners. Spann and hundreds of foreign fighters were killed in the uprising. Lindh spent weeks in U.S. military custody after being captured. He was interrogated aboard the USS Bataan, a Navy warship in the North Arabian Sea, before being flown to the United States in 2002 to face trial. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and will have served 17 years of his sentence upon release. Authorities in Zimbabwe have charged five human rights campaigners arrested earlier this week, accusing them of plotting to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa, lawyers said Wednesday. "The five were charged with subverting a constitutional government," Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) spokesman Kumbirai Mafunda said in a statement. Four of the activists were arrested Monday when disembarking from a flight at Harare airport. The fifth was arrested at the same airport Tuesday. According to the lawyers, police said the activists had attended a workshop in the Maldives run by a group that trained people "how to mobilize citizens to turn against the government and to engage in acts of civil disobedience." The arrests came days after state-owned daily The Herald ran a story claiming organizations with links to the main opposition MDC party "had been hard at work laying the groundwork for civil unrest to be unleashed next month." Zimbabwean authorities have in the past used brutal force, including the use of live ammunition, to crush dissent. South Africa's justice minister says Mozambique's former finance minister will be extradited to his native Mozambique instead of to the U.S., as requested by U.S. officials to face charges for his alleged involvement in a massive loan scandal that crippled that nation's economy. Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang, who was arrested in transit through Johannesburg in December, is wanted by both the U.S. and Mozambique for his alleged role in a $2 billion debt scandal that has wrought economic chaos in the southern African nation. Both the U.S. and Mozambique filed petitions to extradite Chang, and last month a Johannesburg court referred the case to South Africa's justice minister, Michael Masutha, who said in his statement that he was "satisfied that the interest of justice will be best served by acceding to the request by the Republic of Mozambique." U.S. officials declined to comment when contacted by VOA. Nation suffering But Chang faces a mixed reception at home. While the Mozambican government clearly wants him back, most citizens do not, because they fear he will not face the same level of scrutiny as he would in an American court, says prominent Mozambican political commentator Fernando Lima. "I'm 100 percent sure that all different official departments, including the attorney general's office, is very happy with the outcome announced last night by the minister," he told VOA. "On the opposite side, the popular reaction has been very, very negative." The secret loan led the coastal nation to suffer a debt crisis so severe it has deprived citizens of the most essential services, like road maintenance and well-maintained hospitals. It's not clear what charges Chang would face in Mozambique South African prosecutors say they did not receive a Mozambican charge sheet. The U.S. indictment, issued by the Eastern District of New York, accuses Chang and others of "intentionally divert(ing) portions of the loan proceeds to pay at least $200 million in bribes and kickbacks to themselves, Mozambican government officials and others." Earlier this week, a former Credit Suisse banker involved in the case pleaded guilty in a New York court to a charge that she helped launder money as part of the scheme. Accountability Human Rights Watch researcher Zenaida Machado told VOA that she feels the venue of Chang's trial is irrelevant what matters, she says, is that he faces a fair trial. "I'm not sure if the point is whether he's sent to Mozambique or to the U.S.," she said. "And I would really avoid having that kind of conversation, because it kind of suggests that one country or another is better for human rights, which is not the point of the work we do. What would I prefer to focus on is on the need to hold people accountable for the damage they have caused to millions of Mozambicans." The government has arrested 20 or so people in connection with the scandal in recent months, but no one has been tried. In fact, Machado said, it's not clear what will happen to Chang once he returns home. "The immunity must be removed from him," she said. "So, the appeal we have for the parliament is that they do what they should to. Which is to allow the authorities to arrest Mr. Chang, and to take him to justice so he has his chance to prove whether he's innocent or not." Former Zimbabwe Peoples Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) intelligence supremo Dumiso Dabengwa has died. In a statement, Zapu spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa said Dabengwa died today following a battle with an undisclosed illness. The Zimbabwe and Southern Africa liberation icon Dr. Dumiso Dabengwa has taken rest from the struggle that has spanned all his life since 1939. The finest citizen Zimbabwe ever produced, statesman, brave soldier and commander, retired from the long struggle that has seen the liberation from colonialism of the whole Southern Africa region and beyond before contributing to a peaceful development of Zimbabwe post-independence, against the odds that were all scaled against him. The ZAPU president passed on today after an equally long and strenuous struggle against illness since November 2018. The iconic struggle for Zimbabwe and Southern Africa giant takes a bow as we continue to search for the ever elusive and evasive trophy of an independent, free, fair and democratic nation. Maphosa said the late freedom fighter left behind seeds of freedom, peaceful coexistence and national development that will germinate in all of us as we follow in his footprints. He said the late Zapu stalwart was a hero, liberator, protector and above all, a brotherly friend. The giant tree has fallen. We shall remember our president as a man whose love for his country is unmatched. He loved his people and all his life he wished to see Zimbabwe getting out of the current mess and give a better life to all its citizens. It is the wish we shall continue as he taught us. We know our heroes. DD tops that list. The late Dabengwa, who was among top leaders of Zapu in the liberation struggle for Zimbabwes independence in the 1960s, is well-known for pulling his party out of the 1987 Unity Accord with ZANU PF following complaints that the peace agreement only favored the old ZANU PF members. The late founding Zapu leader Joshua Nkomo appealed to Dabengwa to be part of the unity agreement when he refused, claiming that then the Prime Minister Robert Mugabes government detained him and attempted to kill him. He was also unhappy over the killing of thousands of people in Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade led by Perrence Shiri, current Minister of Agriculture. The late Dabengwas colleague, Lookout Masuku who was detained with him following the discovery of so-called arm caches in Zapu properties soon after independence in 1980, died in prison. The government claimed that he died of meningitis though this was disputed by Dabengwa and Zapu. Dabengwa was affectionately known as DD or Black Russian in Zimbabwe owing to his military intelligence training in Moscow. El Seif Contracting Company Jobs 2019 in Saudi Arabia Latest Chaduary Recruitment Agency Gujrat Construction Posts Saudi Arabia 2021 A well known and reputed Al Seif Contracting Company requires the services of experienced, strong and energetic personnel for the posts of Plaster Mason, Shuttering Carpenter, Tile Mason, Steel Fixer, Electrician in Saudi Arabia. How to Apply on Chaduary Recruitment Agency Gujrat Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If 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. Sindh Environmental Protection Agency Jobs 2019 For Karachi Latest Sindh Environmental Protection Agency Management Posts Karachi 2021 Government of Sindh, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency requires the services of qualified and experienced candidates for the posts of Environmental Inspector, Stenographer, Field Assistant, Lab Assistant, Data Processing Assistant, Clerk, Lab Attendant, Naib Qasid, Chowkidar, Mali & Sweeper in Karachi Sindh 2019. How to Apply on Sindh Environmental Protection Agency Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If 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. His Waco performance May 31 at the Hippodrome is part of a Texas swing that takes him to Richardson, Arlington and San Antonio. It brings him to the city where collaborator and friend Del Shores attended Baylor University. Their paths crossed in Los Angeles where an improv teacher urged him to see Shores play Cheatin. I went to see that show five times. I have never laughed so hard, Jordan recalled. He later auditioned for a part in a Shores play and the two, both growing up gay in a Southern Baptist culture, soon became close friends, with Jordan serving as godfather to Shores daughters. Jordan remembers how surprised he was when Shores told him he was separating from his wife Kelly and coming out as a gay. I told him that he was my only straight friend in the world and asked why he didnt tell him earlier, he said. He told me he hadnt been ready to come out and that there were three ways of spreading news: telegraph, telephone and tell Leslie Jordan. Jordan would go on to become a recurring character in Shores Sordid Lives television and film work, also appearing in his Southern Baptist Sissies. Fashion retailer Dressbarn will close its 650 stores nationwide, including Wacos in Central Texas Marketplace, though it has not released a timetable for shuttering the shops, a company spokesman said. Dressbarn operates an 8,000-square-foot location between Old Navy and Rack Room Shoes in Central Texas Marketplace. It was among the first stores doing business when the center opened in 2004. Local Dressbarn staffers referred all comment to corporate headquarters. About a dozen shoppers were browsing inside the store at about noon Wednesday. Signs throughout the sales floor declared discounts. A shocked look spread across Sandy Londenbergs face when informed Dressbarn locations everywhere would go dark. The 54-year-old Groesbeck resident said she travels the 40 miles to Waco at least once a month, and Dressbarn has become a regular stop. She likes its selection. I buy jeans and whatever Im in the mood to get, Londenberg said. Online and in-store sales will continue, Dressbarn credit cards remain valid, and the stores return, refund and gift card policies have not changed, according to a Dressbarn press release. This organization has seen a lot of change in 25 years, but we have consistently been able to help homeless families over all that time, McCall said. She is also eager to talk to supporters about Compassion Ministries fundraising campaign. The program stopped receiving federal funding more than two years ago and has raised $4.5 million of its goal for a $5.5 million endowment fund to help keep the transitional housing program going. There are just not enough spaces, places, beds for families with children in this area, and if Compassion was lost, there would be a real void in this community without it here, McCall said. If you look at what compassion does, it is not just a place to stay. It is a program that teaches responsibility and accountability, hoping that all those who complete our program are going to be self-sufficient for the rest of their lives. It all goes back to the old saying, You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day or you can teach him how to fish and feed him for the rest of his life. Thats what we are doing here. Telecom Technician & Labor Jobs For Saudi Arabia Latest D ASMACS Overseas Labor Posts Saudi Arabia 2021 Technical and energetic personnel for the positions of Telecom Copper Ground Network Technician & Labor required urgently for a well known and reputed oversea company in Saudi Arabia. How to Apply on D ASMACS Overseas Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If 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. A call about a woman entering and leaving a Bellmead home through a window led to the arrest of a resident who had about 400 grams of methamphetamine in his possession Wednesday morning, Bellmead Assistant Police Chief Kory Martin said. Bellmead police arrested Charlie Laughton Dailey, 59, at his home in the 100 block of Lopez Street after a passerby reported seeing a woman crawling out of a window at about 7:30 a.m., Martin said. When they responded, police spoke with a woman who said she crawled out of a window but that she lived at the home. Dailey did not give any indication she did not live at the home, Martin said. While police were on the property investigating, an officer spotted drug paraphernalia in a vehicle parked there, Martin said. Officers searched the vehicle and found about 400 grams of meth, he said. Dailey was arrested on a first-degree felony charge of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and taken to McLennan County Jail as officers worked to get a search warrant for the house, Martin said. When Dailey was taken into custody, officers found a large amount of cash in his pocket, Martin said. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. The owner of a New Jersey plumbing company fired his 23-year-old son who is accused of urinating on a memorial dedicated to a boy who died from cancer in 2012. Bryan Bellace, of Egg Harbor City, was charged on Sunday with urinating on a plaque in a park made to honor Christian Clopp, a Mays Landing boy who died from a brain tumor at nine-years-old. Bruce Bellace, Bryan's father, said he fired his son from the family plumbing business, Bruce Bellace Plumbing and Heating, following backlash from the community that spread after a Snapchat video of the incident was posted online. In the video, Bryan Bellace can be seen placing a beer can on the ground and peeing on the memorial, which was named after Clopp in 2014 in an all-access township park. The son was wearing a company T-shirt on camera, with the logo and name visible. "I had to remove him from employment," Bruce Bellace said by phone on Monday. "We apologized to the family... I'm sorry for his actions. I'm not proud of him." In short, ending the right to keep and bear arms faces a formidable challenge. Yet the right to keep and bear arms does not prohibit restrictions necessary to prevent abuse of this particular right. No less than late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia author of the Heller decision so celebrated by gun-rights activists said so in his hallmark 2008 ruling. The other key health issue: stamping out the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade, which since 1973 has held that a woman is guaranteed the right to an abortion to terminate a pregnancy. Both celebrated and loathed, this decision has sparked intense debate and even violence across the United States. For some its a religious issue: Only God is the ultimate giver and taker of life. No human has the right to decide to end anothers life (except, of course, when a jury decides so). For some, its religious and philosophical. When does a fertilized ovum, an embryo, become a person and deserving of protection? When does an embryo gain a soul? Some quoting Genesis 2:7 argue the fetus does not gain personhood or ensoulment till the newborn breathes on its own after birth: And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Kyleen Austin is leaving June 1 to paddle her kayak from Ketchikan, Alaska back to her home on Puget Island. Kyleen Austin is going to have a grand adventure this summer while kayaking from Ketchikan, Alaska back to her home on Puget Island. She will paddle solo through the Inside Passage, south along Vancouver Island and to the San Juans, then through the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Cape Flattery and the Pacific Ocean, where she will travel out past the surf zone and down the coast to cross the Columbia Bar. "Since I was little I fantasized about going out into the wilderness for a length of time, of taking care of myself in the wilderness and being with nature," Austin said. "In my teens I thought about doing the Pacific Crest Trail and in my early 20s I walked certain segments of it just to get a feel for it. Then it just exploded. There wasn't enough aloneness in that for me." Five years ago, she had a dream that she was paddling amidst beautiful mountains and canyons. When she awoke, the place had registered in her mind as the Inside Passage, even though she'd never been there. She told a friend, a fellow kayaker. Later, that friend posted a picture of Austin making a Greenland paddle, and noted that she would be using it to travel the Inside Passage. From that moment on, the dream became a goal. Austin hoped to do it when she turned 50, but she wasn't ready. So at 53, she finds herself "physically, mentally, skillfully, emotionally ready to do this." Her kayak is really stable and fast, built to be on the sea for days on end. It can hold 200 pounds of gear and the paddler. She's installed a foot bilge pump to empty water and set up sailing rigging to sail. All told, the voyage is 1,000 miles. If Austin were to average 11.5 miles per day, she would be back by her goal date of September 1. "I'll have days when the current is in my favor, and then I can take days off and explore," Austin said. "This is not about getting from Point A to Point B. This is me finally getting to make myself just be, be aware of everything that is going on, anticipate what might be around the next bend, but not worry about anything but how many whales, and dolphins, and porpoises, and sea lions, and birds that I get to see." The biggest day could be a 40 mile crossing of Queen Charlotte Sound. There is no place to take out there. Safety and solitude worry her friends, but she is prepared for one and comfortable with the other. "I am an introvert. As far as just being with myself, I love that," Austin said. "I'm never going to be hundreds of miles from another person. There is so much fishing traffic, commercial traffic, cruise ships, other kayakers. I will be running into other people. "In terms of safety, I have redundancy after redundancy, including a VHF radio, a satellite hub, a phone, a hand cranked radio, and more." As far as bear, she's prepared for that possibility too. Austin plans to fish and forage. She hopes to acquire a third of her food, but she will pack enough and have more shipped to some of her stops, so that it will never be a problem. "This isn't about challenge or danger, this is about sight seeing," Austin said. "And maybe this isn't once in a lifetime. Maybe it's just the beginning." Austin is a kayak guide, part owner of Columbia River Kayak, and a musician. To follow along on her adventure, check out her blog, kyleenaustin.com. Everyone is invited to a send off party for Austin on May 31 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., at Stockhouse Farm on Puget Island, 62 West Birnie Slough Road. She will have all her gear and charts on display and will be glad to answer questions and talk about her plans. Wolf populations are expanding Kessina Lee, regional director for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, listened to public comment at a meeting with Wahkiakum County officials and citizens on Monday. Wolves and fishes--those were the topics addressed with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials visited the Wahkiakum County board of commissioners Monday. The group shared points of view on management of salmon stocks; WDFW staff talked about the expansion of wolf populations in the state, and all agreed that similar discussions should continue in order for the points of view of rural residents to be heard in fish and wildlife management issues. Local officials and county residents expressed frustration with salmon fishing opportunities. With low spring chinook runs forecast for this year, recreational fishing has been severely limited and allowed only upstream of St. Helens, Ore. There has been no commercial fishery. The restrictions have economic impacts, the local officials said. For example, Port District 1 probably lost $130,000 in revenue that would have come from a spring chinook fishery, said Jackie Lea, port manager. That loss spilled over into local businesses that would have sold food or fuel to anglers, she said. Two factors were the major cause for the restrictions, WDFW staff said. One has been poor conditions in the ocean for the past few years, said WDFW staff member Bryce Glasser. Fishery agencies say the same number of juveniles that produced record returns a few years ago are now coming back in very low numbers. A second has been a uniquely poor Chinook return to the Cowlitz River Hatchery, said Ryan Northrup. Federal fishery regulators required harvest managers to come as close to catching none of those fish as possible, he said, so fishery managers had to curtail harvest below the mouth of the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers, which was also seeing a low return. Overall, Northrup explained, harvest levels are guided by the number of fish from endangered stocks that are incidentally caught alongside hatchery fish. While Chinook salmon returns are expected to be very poor this year, the fall coho run should be very strong, Northrup added, allowing both commercial and recreational fisheries this fall. Skamokawa resident Kent Martin, a commercial fisherman, commented that the Fish and wildlife department needs to take a new stance on harvest, recognizing that commercial fisheries on hatchery fish give hatchery programs funded by federal dollars a reason to exist. Hatchery and wild stocks, many considered endangered species, swim side by side, and when fisheries are limited to protect endangered stocks, hatcheries often have surplus returns. "We need to have ways to harvest these fish," he said. "If we don't harvest them, there's no point in having them." Glasser agreed. "I think, Kent, you hit the nail on the head when you said hatchery surplus is a problem," he said. "The challenge is getting a balance of hatchery and wild fish." WDFW Regional Manager Kessina Lee said it is helpful for her and her staff to come to rural areas and discuss issues. She also encouraged local officials and residents to attend regional public meetings on fish and wildlife issues to make sure their voices are heard among the voices from more populated rural areas. On a second discussion topic, Lee and staff described the slow spread of wolves in the state and a possible plan to capture and relocate them. Wolves are still classified as an endangered species in Washington, but the population is growing and will eventually reach a point where wolves can be delisted, as has occurred in Idaho and Montana. Lee emphasized there are no plans or proposals to introduce wolves into Wahkiakum County; WDFW officials are just going to all counties to discuss wolf management. Wolves have moved into northern Washington from Idaho and British Columbia, said wildlife biologist Eric Holeman. There is a also small population in the Blue Mountains. Single wolves can travel hundreds of miles before joining a pack, which is defined at a minimum as a breeding pair; packs are territorial and don't roam, he said. The department has been mandated by the legislature to analyze translocation as a tool for delisting, said Lee. "Is this a tool that you want in the tool box for recovery?" she said. The agency will hold public meetings this fall around the state to gather input on the topic. "They (wolves) are coming," she said. "So start the conversation early to be prepared." This content is expired! Unfortunely this content is expired and cannot be viewed anymore; if You are the owner of this content please login to our Website, go to our access panel and enable this content again. We didnt think we could wait any longer to get this done, Perdue said. Sometimes when you put too much together, you cant get anything done. So what he did today was break through a logjam and say: Look, lets divide this and start working on border security individually or independently, and lets get this done today. The meltdown of the trade talks gave license to the national security hawks to really run with the ball. It seems like this is just the beginning, said David Hanke, a partner at Arent Fox and a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer. China has been waging a tech war against us, but until now the U.S. government was barely pushing back. Huawei is something thats very dangerous. You look at what theyve done from a security standpoint, from a military standpoint, its very dangerous, Trump said. So its possible that Huawei even would be included in some kind of a trade deal. If we made a deal, I could imagine Huawei being possibly included in some form of, or in some part of, a trade deal. The busiest stretch of the 25-mile scenic route is about to get a complete makeover. (Matt McClain/The Post) The National Park Service has awarded a contract in a multiyear project that promises a new roadway and nightmarish traffic when construction begins in about a year. The Corps said it couldnt be done, but now the Border Patrol has seen it, Fisher said of his construction project in an interview Wednesday on The Flag, a show on North Dakotas WZFG News. Theyve been out each day, and the proofs in the pudding, and after that, its going to open up a whole new narrative about how border security should be handled, who should construct it, and the border agents will finally get what they deserve. And well prove it in a half-mile stretch where they said it couldnt be done. How to avoid it: Never hail a cab from the street. Ask a reputable establishment to call you a cab, or hire a licensed taxi through an official outpost. Know the general cost of the ride ask the hotel concierge or consult an online fare calculator and confirm that the meter works. Know the address and hours of operation of your destination. If the driver attempts to take you elsewhere, firmly repeat your desired location or terminate the ride. Use Google Maps to keep the driver honest and on course. To avoid cabbies entirely, use a ride-hailing service such as Uber or Lyft. Its true that hotels farther from the city center or the airport are often less expensive than hotels closer to the action, says Calvin Iverson, a travel expert at the travel-deal website TravelPirates. But before you book one of those hotels for the low price, Iverson recommends researching transportation options, which may add to the expense of your trip. Sometimes public transportation isnt easy or inexpensive, and you end up paying more than you would have paid for a stay at a more conveniently located hotel, Iverson says. But this week, dog park advocates got some welcome and unexpected news: The District might be able to save the park after all. Metro, which owns the land that has functioned as an unofficial dog park since 2009, agreed this week to take the parcel off the market and let the District buy the land at fair market value. McDowell said he wants to know more about what happened that morning and wants to make sure it doesnt happen again. Its all a grieving father can do. I want to make sure this is fixed, that he didnt die in vain. In late 2015, Evans started at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, where he would work for two years. In his first month on the job, Evans was the lead signatory on a letter from seven D.C. Council members that urged the D.C. Public Service Commission to approve a controversial merger between Exelon and Pepco, which it eventually did. Evans did not disclose in the letter that he was employed by Manatt, which was registered as Exelons lobbyist. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form What you see over and over in this is an abundance of care to try to recognize people, even though there were errors, Knotts said. It was better to add [names] than leave someone off. Since the start of this school year, more than 1,800 safety incidents have been reported at the campus, including bullying, property destruction, physical altercations and sexual assault, according to the charter school board. Forty alleged incidents of sexual misconduct and four of sexual assault have been reported. This just became one of the most important test cases for press freedom, even if we all agree that Assange isnt the press, said Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Factually, theres a world of difference between what Assange is accused of and what professional journalists do. The tricky part is the theory on which hes being prosecuted doesnt draw that much of a legal distinction between them. One does not need to be sympathetic to Assange to be worried about a sort of precedent whereby it is not just unlawful but routinely prosecuted for third parties to publish classified information. Authorities said the victim appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s and had no connection to the school. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene at Shannon Place and Talbert Street in Anacostia. The shooting occurred about 12:50 p.m. Ashworth, a senior vice president with the system since 2004, became interim CEO in April after Robert A. Chrencik resigned in the wake of the scandal. He said he could not answer questions about board members contracts until the Nygren report is complete. However, he said the deals between board members and the hospital system stemmed in part from a culture that needed to be tightened up. The plaque reads, in part: In commemorating the centennial of that great struggle between the citizens of the temporarily divided nation in the 1860s the Maryland Civil War Centennial Commission did not attempt to decide who was right and who was wrong, or to make decisions on other controversial issues . . . By doing so it seeks to pay tribute to those who fought and died. As well as to the citizens who, during the Civil War, tried to do their duty as they saw it. But then, as adults sometimes do, her older readers began to see a far deeper, darker meaning in The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Ms. Kerr had arrived in England at age 12 as a refugee from Nazi Germany. Was the tiger a symbol for the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police force that she had evaded in her childhood? Did it represent the sexual revolution of the 1960s, or perhaps the countercultural movement sweeping through staid old England? Distributed weekly to 90 newspapers around the country by The Washington Post Writers Group, Mr. Harneys column was focused on unglamorous but vital issues concerning the intricacies of buying and selling property. He wrote about such topics as whether do-it-yourself home improvements were likely to increase the market value of a house, plus the perils of such undertakings where, he warned, it was easy for something to go expensively wrong. Police said two cameras were discovered in January after a female employee discovered one of them and reported seeing Greenlee outside the womens bathroom using his cellphone, the arrest affidavit says. I would hope that he would make a good transition, Paul McNulty, former U.S. attorney, said in advance of Lindhs release, adding that it was understood at the time of the plea that the Taliban supporter would qualify for early release on good behavior. He said the Justice Department was confident in its initial, stronger charges against Lindh but thought the plea agreement was a fair and just resolution of the case. Police said the shooter was wearing a dark ski mask and either drove or was driven away in a small, dark-colored SUV. Police said on Thursday they found the vehicle in Prince Georges County. The affidavit says she then saw Greenlee outside the bathroom with a phone. The affidavit says he attempted to go back inside the [womens] restroom to get paper towels. Other employees told police they had seen Greenlee going into the womens bathroom earlier in the day saying the mens room was out of towels. Elwell said the issue is under review. He also said that under international protocols the United States will be the first to lift the grounding, since it was the country that originally certified the Max, and that that would happen only when we determine based on facts and technical data that it is safe to do so. But Metro, in a brief statement from Crawford on Thursday afternoon, said there is no requirement that the chairmanship be rotated. In response to questions about whether it was true that there was no connection between the ethics investigation and Evanss announcement, the statement said: We cannot confirm that there is no connection. In a statement that appeared to be a response to the inquiries, Chapman said he never made a secret of the fact that I made mistakes as a young man. The statement referred to one incident, an altercation with an Alexandria police officer in 1997 that led to two misdemeanor charges, which were dropped after Chapman agreed to do community service. Chapman said he will forever be grateful that the officer agreed to let the charges be dropped: His intervention provided a fork in the road that I desperately needed. Digitization presently focuses on technical aspects, such as autonomous driving, use of sensors in devices of daily life or use of artificial intelligence. Successful digitization, however, also requires analysis of the impacts of such innovations on individuals and society. This is to be accomplished by a new state-wide research alliance of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), University of Mannheim that coordinates the project, University of Tubingen, and five non-university partners. The project Gesellschaft im Digitalen Wandel (society in digital change) is scheduled for a duration of three years and will be funded by the State Ministry for Science, Research and Art with more than EUR 2.1 million. Other partners are the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), the Leibniz-Institut fur Wissensmedien (IWM), ZEW Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, and the Leibniz Institute for the German Language (IDS). Excellent research institutions in Baden-Wurttemberg have established this alliance to generate scientifically substantiated orientational knowledge for all of us. The KIT, with its vast expertise in the fields of technology assessment and informatics, is an ideal partner in this high-quality research alliance. Cooperation of the institutions has already started. In this way, societal aspects of digitization can be analyzed jointly from several perspectives, Theresia Bauer, Minister of Science in Baden-Wurttemberg says. It is the declared aim of KIT to contribute in solving the grand challenges facing society, says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. Digital change with its impacts on all areas of society probably is the biggest of these challenges and, at the same time, a highly important task. In the end, it is about to ensure that the opportunities associated with digitization outweigh potential risks, Hanselka adds. The research alliance plans to identify and analyze in an interdisciplinary way the impact of digitization on humans and society and to develop design options on this basis. We refer to socio-technical change, because of the mutual character of the influence. Social change influences technological development and vice versa, says Michael Decker, Professor for Technology Assessment and Head of Division of Informatics, Economics, and Society at KIT. In Baden-Wurttemberg, this change is studied by high-ranking scientific institutions in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, law, economics, media and communication sciences, ethics, informatics, and interdisciplinary technology assessment. We focus this expertise to generate interdisciplinary orientational knowledge and derive recommendations for action to shape this change, Decker says. Close dialog with the citizens is a central element of research to identify options of action desired by society. In doing so, the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM) plays an important role. It provides permanent opportunities for the dialog referred to the research alliance at its exhibitions and at a variety of meetings. Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,600 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 23,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Mostly cloudy early, then afternoon sunshine. High around 50F. SE winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 16F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Italian hostage freed after 3 years in Syria returns home: Italy said an Italian national held hostage in Syria for three years has been freed and has returned home. Alessandro Sandrini, who is in his early 30s, disappeared after traveling to Turkey in October 2016 and wasn't heard from for over a year. In July 2018, a video showed him in an orange jumpsuit, flanked by masked men with automatic weapons, appealing to Italy to help free him. A local government in Syria affiliated with al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahir-al Sham said he had been abducted by a criminal gang. President Trump tweeted about the problem on April 30, as the last holdouts of the Islamic State were being routed and sent to the overcrowded, underfunded SDF prisons: European countries are not helping at all, even though this was very much done for their benefit. They are refusing to take back prisoners from their specific countries. Not good! For once, Trump was right. The May 17 news article Trump assures Black: Effusive book not reason for pardon omitted the reason Patrick Nolan, a Republican former leader of Californias State Assembly, was pardoned. It wasnt because he is Jared Kushners friend but because he has become a leader in the criminal- justice reform movement. His efforts in leading the bipartisan coalition have made it easier for felons to reenter the labor force. Not telling readers about Mr. Nolans achievements in the past decade provided an inaccurate portrait. Detainees are subjected to an unrelenting barrage of propaganda, forcing them to renounce their religious, cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities. Chinese Muslims are prevented from regular daily prayer, have their beards forcibly cut off and are force-fed pork and alcohol. Overcrowding and sleep and food deprivations are routine. China refuses to publish figures on how many people have died in the camps, but dozens of deaths have been reported including suicides and the real figure is probably much higher. That is why Mondays ruling from U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta was important, showing that the dispute can be refereed in an orderly fashion that may satisfy congressional Democrats and the publics right to know without resorting to immediate impeachment proceedings or other more extreme measures that Democrats are considering to compel administration cooperation. Mr. Mehta repudiated the presidents lawyers, who argued that congressional Democrats could not legally compel disclosure of financial records from Mr. Trumps accounting firm. More importantly, the judge did so quickly, denying the need for additional proceedings and getting to a final decision just days, not weeks or months, after oral arguments. In the meantime, CBPs acting commissioner, John Sanders, has been seeking guidance from experts and organizations, including the esteemed American Academy of Pediatrics, to help his agency find ways to safeguard the lives and well-being of the tens of thousands of children coming across the U.S. border every month, either unaccompanied or with their families. He has also reached out to me and my colleague, Michael VanRooyen, director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, to help develop a practical, feasible strategy to address what the acting commissioner himself characterized as a humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border. The world has changed very rapidly and profoundly, and we didnt do the kind of things we should have done to prepare our citizens for this. As a result, a lot of them feel left behind and their response is to question everything, he said. The American people will allow you to think globally as long as they believe you are investing locally. One aspect of the bill would require reports to Congress on the transfer and development of technology for surveillance and mass internment, including a list of Chinese companies involved in the construction and operation of the camps. At the top of the list should be Hikvision, a giant of the video surveillance business, as well as other companies whose gear is used for such purposes. Hikvision products rely on technology sourced from the West, and denying such access can be leverage. We have previously expressed misgivings about the role of Huawei, also a Chinese corporate giant, in next-generation 5G communications networks, but cautioned about crippling sanctions that could destroy the company. However, Hikvision and others abetting the Xinjiang ethnic cleansing deserve punitive action. Also, senior Chinese officials who are overseeing the camps should be targeted by Global Magnitsky Act sanctions. These are the tools that exist today, and using them will show that the lessons of Jan Karski are not lost. This is not accidental: Pragmatic actions designed to increase European security for example, German Chancellor Angela Merkels deal to keep Syrian refugees in Turkey have left a mark. Despite the far rights heavy investment in automated messaging and partisan social media thanks to which they dominate the Twitter debate in many countries polls show that most Europeans do not consider migration to be the main issue in these elections. The chaos of Brexit has also had an impact. Far from dropping, the popularity of the European Union is rising, and a number of far-right parties have hastily rolled back their anti-European rhetoric as a result. The far-right Sweden Democrats have dropped all talk of Swexit, and Frances Marine Le Pen shuns any mention of Frexit. Across Central Europe, it has been highly amusing to watch anti-European parties scramble to wrap themselves in blue European flags during this election campaign, once they realized that majorities of voters 91 percent in Poland, for example want to stay in Europe, not leave. Small family farms have been on the decline for decades. In his 2012 book, A Family Farm: Life on an Illinois Dairy Farm, author Robert Switzer noted, In 1900, 42 percent of the U.S. population lived on farms; by 1990 that number had dwindled to less than 2 percent. The trend has continued thanks to rising costs and growing debt, coupled with decades of stagnant crop prices and the move toward mass production on corporate mega farms. Plus, fewer sons and daughters are interested in continuing the family tradition, making the lure of per-acre prices well above market value offered by solar companies too tempting to turn down. I have seen friends go through the difficulty of having to make the decision to abort a pregnancy, some because they were not prepared to be a parent and some because of the health of the baby. Other friends have experienced the heartbreaking death of an unborn child at times far later than most Americans believe abortions should be an option. I have gone through in vitro fertilization only to go through the horrible experience of suffering a miscarriage late in the pregnancy. I have also gone through the family services program to become a foster parent here in Washington. I can attest that the United States does not have a viable system to care for its children in need of loving parents. Fine for the police to try to determine whether someone in their department acted wrongly, but Mr. Carmodys receipt and distribution of a leaked government report is an action that is not only common in the media but protected by the First Amendment. Californias shield law protects reporters from being compelled to reveal their sources. The information in the police report, as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press noted in an amicus brief filed in an ongoing court case by media organizations (including The Post), was clearly newsworthy and likely subject to disclosure under the states public-records law. AFTER HIS initial, unequivocal statement of admission and contrition, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has strained credulity with his subsequent, turn-on-a-dime insistence that he was neither of two figures depicted in the racist photograph that appeared on his medical-school yearbook page in 1984. Since that head-spinning reversal over the course of less than 24 hours at the beginning of February, very little has emerged to shed light on that photograph, of one person in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe, or on the mystery of its genesis and how it landed on Mr. Northams page if he did not put it there. So the region was already on a knifes edge when news of the August attacks in Iraq and Syria reached the White House. Predictably, Trump lashed out on Twitter: We will respond to Irans acts of Aggression and there will be even more Hell to pay if our Brave Soldiers are not returned immediately. The demented and decaying regime in Tehran will feel Power and Wrath the likes of which the world has never seen. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded with his own tweet: The great Iranian nation will not be intimidated by a corrupt and criminal superpower spreading lies and beating the drums of war. The world knows Iran is in the right and all should be certain of Americas defeat. Lipinski is one of the last congressional Democrats to oppose abortion rights. Normally, a top Democrat appearing at one of his fundraisers would be little noticed, but abortion issues are incredibly fraught as some conservative states move to outlaw abortion in an effort to overturn Roe v. Wade. Kristen Orthman, a Warren spokeswoman, said that the campaign would add some of the additional cases, all related to asbestos litigation, but did not confirm that Warren had been paid to work on them. Out of an abundance of caution, we will add those related cases where her name appears in filings but we have not found court documents indicating that Elizabeth did any work, Orthman said. Whenever we have a funeral at our church . . . everybody pitches in and they do a funeral luncheon for the family and any people that come to the funeral and nobody ever says no, she said. They are just willing to help and fix food and make it easier on anyone who has a family member who has deceased. The government has provided no proof that the airstrike killed any militants. In the confrontation that followed, an Indian fighter pilot was captured by Pakistan and six Indian soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash now thought to be a case of friendly fire. But on the campaign trail, Modi repeatedly cited the air attack as proof of his governments ability to fight terrorism and his toughness in matters of national security. At the time, Khan suggested that a reelection victory by Modi, a hard-line Hindu nationalist and leader of the BJP, might actually make it easier for the two sides to make progress on Kashmir and other issues. The Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir has been roiled by unrest in the past two years, and the comment drew widespread skepticism within Pakistan. After the sixth member voted in favor of the ruling, securing the majority, the court suspended the hearing until June 5. The remaining members are expected to vote then, and the ruling would be issued. It would establish a way for people who experienced discrimination or physical attacks based on their sexual identity or gender orientation to sue. I was devastated when we voted to leave the E.U., but as somebody who does believe in democracy and believes in what this country can achieve, I felt it was important that we made the most of it and got on with it, he said. The proposal from U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, comes as the military seeks to address what officials have described as a spike in threats against U.S. forces, detected by U.S. intelligence streams, from Iran and its proxy groups. The military has already taken steps in recent weeks to boost its presence in the Middle East, the latest sign of mounting tensions between the Trump administration and Tehran. The flow of migrants over the southwestern border with Mexico has been spiking, straining an already stretched system for processing and housing those who are apprehended. The influx has led to what officials are describing as an emergency due to the overwhelming number of people in custody. Tillerson, who tangled repeatedly with Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, did not question the motives of the presidents familial adviser, but said Kushner shouldve consulted more often with State Department colleagues and that his lack of knowledge of history exposed him to being outmaneuvered, said a person who was in the room. He also said Kushner did not follow traditional diplomatic protocols, which made it difficult to understand what he was doing with world leaders. The Senates bill is silent on matters pertaining to Saudi Arabia and the military campaign it is leading in Yemen a break from last year, when Congress used the defense authorization bill to demand that the administration certify that Riyadh was taking steps to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn nation. In the time since, Trump has ignored those and other congressionally imposed deadlines to weigh in on Saudi actions, including its crown princes apparent order to kill Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, with sanctions recommendations and other measures. It is not yet entirely clear to lawmakers whether Trump is considering using his emergency powers to push through only the proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia contracts the president has frequently boasted about while exaggerating the expected revenue they would bring to the United States or others as well. According to one Yemen advocate, the announcement could cover as many as 20 arms sales and be justified by pointing to the recent escalation of U.S. tensions with Iran. Fort Worth, Texas: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is meeting with international air regulators from around the world on Thursday to determine what is needed to return the grounded Boeing Co 737 MAX to service. Senior FAA officials will give detailed descriptions of the findings to date from the two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia which occurred within five months of each other and killed a combined 346 people. The agency will summarise the status of three major ongoing reviews of the 737 MAX and give an update of the recertification process and shed light on Boeing's proposed revisions to its software and pilot training. Acting FAA administrator Dan Elwell said on Friday he thought travellers in the United States and around the world would respect any eventual decision by the FAA to return the plane to service. "They'll get back on the MAX and fly it again." Boeing's 737 MAX is its fastest-selling line of planes ever, and there are now roughly 5,000 of the aircraft on order. The planemaker in April slowed production and said the two crashes had cost it at least $US1 billion ($1.45 billion). Healthscope shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of Brookfield Asset Management's $4.4 billion cash bid for Australia's largest private hospital operator. More than 99.9 per cent of votes were cast in favour of Brookfield's $2.465 per share offer at a scheme meeting on Wednesday. The vote ended a takeover battle for Healthscope which began in May last year with a $4.1 billion indicative offer from the BGH-AustralianSuper consortium and has attracted plenty of controversy along the way. Chairman Paula Dwyer at the Healthscope shareholder meeting at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne today. Credit:Wayne Taylor "The Brookfield proposal is the culmination of an extensive review by your board of a range of alternatives to maximise value from your investment in Healthscope," the company chairman Paula Dwyer told investors. Senior Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese is set to become the party's next leader, promising to sharpen its economic message and refocus on its traditional blue-collar base, after his only remaining challenger, Jim Chalmers, pulled out of the race. Dr Chalmers spent Thursday morning calling colleagues to see if he had the numbers to get through a five-week leadership ballot but called Mr Albanese before lunch to offer him his "enthusiastic support". Anthony Albanese says he will focus on "creating wealth, not just redistributing wealth". Credit:Wolter Peeters "There were good reasons to run," he said. "But in the end I couldnt be assured of winning, and if I did win, the extra responsibilities of leadership would make it much harder to do my bit at home while the youngest of our three little kids is only five months old." Dr Chalmers, the opposition's Queensland-based finance spokesman, remains the favourite to become deputy leader, with his withdrawal from the contest viewed favourably among colleagues. The Brisbane MP, from the right faction of the party, is likely to be paired with Mr Albanese, as the opposition looks to regain support in northern Australia. Car companies will urge the re-elected Morrison government to help drive investment in a vast network of electric-vehicle charging stations, with some pushing the idea of a dedicated "future fund". Electric vehicles (EVs) became a prominent election issue after Labor unveiled an ambitious target for 50 per cent of all new car sales to be electric by 2030. Despite Labor's loss, the auto sector still projects that the move to battery-powered vehicles will drastically accelerate in the coming decade, with many of the world's biggest car makers now racing to enter the industry. A lack of public charging points has been a barrier to a greater uptake of electric vehicles. Political efforts, such as Labor's, to drive a greater take-up of electric vehicles have been welcomed by automobile groups frustrated at Australia's lack of progress in moving away from combustion engines. But industry figures warn there appears to be a "lack of forethought as to how Australians are supposed to charge these vehicles". "Inevitably, the uptake of electric vehicles by Australians over the next decade will require major investments in charging infrastructure and the energy network," said Geoff Gwilym, chief executive of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC). Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The re-elected Morrison government's legislative fortunes may hang on a final undecided Senate seat in Queensland. On current counting, the Coalition can rely on having 34 seats in the 76-seat upper house. It might win 35 there is a fair prospect it will get one additional seat in the Sunshine State. But it will still need 39 seats to get laws passed 39 being the magic number for a majority in the upper house. At most, it will end up with 35 seats and so to have a majority, it will need to rely on the support of four or five crossbenchers, depending on the outcome of that final seat in Queensland. Four or five doesn't sound like much of a difference but the crossbench is smaller in this new parliament and garnering support on each and every issue could be a complicated business. How has the crossbench changed? For the past three years, the Coalition government was dealing with a large and turbulent Senate crossbench. Fraser Anning changed parties not once but twice after falling out with One Nation's Pauline Hanson and then getting expelled from Queensland MP Bob Katter's party. Brian Burston also fell out with Senator Hanson and joined Clive Palmer's party. Nick Xenophon and David Leyonhjelm both quit to pursue state politics unsuccessfully and handed the reins to their respective staffers and proteges. Advertisement As of July 1, Senators Anning and Burston will be gone. So will South Australian independent Tim Storer and Mr Leyonhjelm's Liberal Democrat replacement Duncan Spender. Derryn Hinch has a very slim chance of holding on based on late preference flows. Because senators generally get six-year terms, only 40 of the 76 members were up for election last Saturday, leaving in place some key figures, including Senator Hanson. The crossbench may shrink from 10 to six senators one of the smallest of recent parliaments. Pauline Hanson and Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Who's who in the Senate this time around? Whether a smaller crossbench actually makes life easier for the government hangs on that Queensland seat. If the Liberal-National Party's Gerard Rennick scrapes through as the party's third-place Senate ticket-holder, that gives the Coalition 35 seats, instead of the 34 it was probably expecting immediately after the election. That will give the government all-important options in negotiating the support it needs from the crossbench to make its legislative agenda happen. Advertisement Assuming Labor and the Greens oppose a particular piece of legislation, the government would need four of the six crossbenchers to get the bill through the Senate. Those six will be made up of three conservatives, two centrists and one wildcard. Those six will be made up of three conservatives, two centrists and one wildcard. The conservatives consist of Senator Hanson, her One Nation colleague Malcolm Roberts who is set to return after resigning from the Senate in 2017 over his former British citizenship and former Liberal-turned-Australian Conservatives leader Cory Bernardi. The centrists are the two senators of the Centre Alliance party, Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff, the descendants of Mr Xenophon, who was a skilled crossbench negotiator. Jacqui Lambie is a wildcard in the new Senate. Credit:Andrew Meares The wildcard is Jacqui Lambie another previous victim of the citizenship affair who is set to return. Advertisement Without that extra Queensland seat, the Coalition would need to win over both the conservatives and the Centre Alliance. They would find that hard on a lot of legislation. The blocs are not going to agree much on immigration or many social issues. They might agree on some but not all economic issues. The Centre Alliance also has a strong civil libertarian streak and therefore might be wary of some national security measures that One Nation would love. Dont be surprised if Ms Lambie and the Centre Alliance look to increase their collective clout by working together. Ms Lambie, meanwhile, is unlikely to support things such as cuts to welfare or tax measures that benefit the wealthy. She delivered an election night spray to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, warning him to "drop the attitude" and treat her "a hell of a lot better" than the Coalition did when she was last in Parliament. Don't be surprised if Ms Lambie and the Centre Alliance look to increase their collective clout by working together. Advertisement Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In some states of America, they're banning abortion. In New South Wales, the only state where abortion is a crime, the government is moving to decriminalise it. It is estimated that one in three Australian women will have an abortion in their lifetime; there are up to 80,000 abortions in Australia every year. So what are the laws here? How do they differ between states? And what has the current controversy in New South Wales been about? What's a quick snapshot of the rules? Medical abortions, which involve taking two tablets to end a pregnancy of up to nine weeks gestation, are allowed at home or in a clinic when prescribed by a certified doctor in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. Overall, it's a low-risk option for early termination with a success rate of up to 98 per cent. In some circumstances, such as for women living in rural areas, the tablets can be posted. Teleabortions, where a woman has a phone consultation with a doctor and is then sent the medications required, are available everywhere but South Australia. In WA, a teleabortion requires a referral from a doctor. Advertisement The average cost of a medical abortion in Australia is $560 (after the Medicare rebate) and $470 for a first trimester surgical abortion, according to a 2017 study in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. For women who are more than nine weeks pregnant, surgical abortion is a day-surgery procedure at a specialist clinic. The cost increases to $1500 for procedures at 13 to 19 weeks (with the rebate) and $7700 for procedures beyond 19 weeks. Some women also have to factor in travel and accommodation costs, GP referrals, medical tests, out-of-pocket costs and lost wages due to travelling. Supporters of safe zones outside abortion clinics celebrate NSW laws in 2018 that prevent women being harassed. Credit:AAP What is happening in NSW? Under the New South Wales Crimes Act, abortion is criminal if performed unlawfully and it can carry a maximum penalty of 10 years jail. Both women and doctors can be caught by the law. Advertisement In 2018, a Sydney woman was prosecuted for taking a drug to induce an abortion after she bought pills on the internet; in 2006, a doctor was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond after being prosecuted for the first illegal abortion in the state in 25 years. On August 1, independent MP Alex Greenwich introduced a bill to decriminalise abortion, saying the laws around terminations were "no longer fit for purpose and need to be modernised". Loading The new laws would allow abortion on request for women up to 22 weeks' gestation, performed by a registered doctor. Women beyond 22 weeks would need the consent of two doctors. The bill is still being considered by MPs after heated debate and demonstrations from both pro- and anti-abortion supporters. NSW legislated to create safe zones around places where abortions take place, in 2018, but the government has faced a long campaign to go further in its reforms, with groups ranging from the Human Rights Law Centre to the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians saying it is archaic to make abortion criminal. Advertisement Which state has the most progressive laws? Victoria, where abortion is accessible and legal up to 24 weeks, and legal after 24 weeks with the approval of two doctors. It is illegal to protest within 150 metres of an abortion service in the state. (Even that last aspect of the law has recently been challenged by anti-abortion advocates, but the High Court dismissed two appeals against safe access zones in Victorian and Tasmanian laws.) In 2017 the Andrews government launched the states first sexual and reproductive health strategy. Since then it has started funding such initiatives as eight new sexual and reproductive health hubs, including in regional areas. A new service, 1800 My Options, allows women to call a helpline to find out about sexual health, contraception and termination. What about the other states? If youre a woman living in South Australia, Tasmania or Queensland, obtaining an abortion, despite being legal, is still difficult. Whether its being unable to access a provider, having to jump through hoops to gain the approval of multiple doctors before proceeding, or even having to show proof of state residency, there are many examples of womens struggles to access abortion. Advertisement In South Australia, abortion is legal up to 28 weeks only if two doctors agree that a woman's physical or mental health is endangered by pregnancy, or if that theres a risk the baby will be born with a serious abnormality. All abortions there must also take place in a hospital or a prescribed facility, and the pregnant woman must be a state resident. In an emergency, these provisions may be waived. Under South Australian law, a woman can still be charged for obtaining an "unlawful" abortion. Access to surgical abortions is woeful in Tasmania following the closure of the states only dedicated abortion clinic in 2018. The Liberal government which, when in opposition, opposed the decriminalisation passed in 2013 has ruled out funding elective abortions through the public system, and will only offer financial assistance in some circumstances to women travelling to other states for a termination. For many women, the cost of travelling to another state is so prohibitive for example, between $1500 and $2000 to travel to Melbourne for an abortion that it is forcing some women into proceeding with an unwanted pregnancy, says Womens Legal Service Tasmania. Until 2018, not even rape, incest and fetal abnormality were grounds for a lawful abortion in Queensland. Since 2018, a woman has required the approval of a doctor for abortions after 22 weeks. Protesters are not allowed within 150 metres of a clinic. Termination is legal up to 14 weeks in the Northern Territory, and 23 weeks with the approval of two doctors. Medical abortion, however, was legalised only in 2017. A women does not have to be a resident of the NT to access abortion. The territory mandates safe-access zones. Mining giant Adani's Australian boss feels "emboldened" about moving forward with the controversial coal mine project in Queensland after meeting with state government representatives. Adani Australia chief executive Lucas Dow says he has had productive talks with the officials after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ordered the meeting to thrash out a timeline on the coal mine approvals process. Adani Australia boss Lucas Dow. Credit:Attila Csaszar "The constructive nature of the meeting has certainly emboldened us in terms of the level of support that we're seeing from the Queensland government," Mr Dow told reporters on Thursday. He said the mining giant was focused on moving forward with the coal mine in the Galilee Basin and felt they were closer to reaching more certainty on the project. "Julian Assange is no journalist," said John Demers, the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney-General for National Security. He said Assange engaged in "explicit solicitation of classified information". Assange was previously indicted by a US grand jury over his interactions in 2010 with Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who shared hundreds of thousands of classified war logs and diplomatic papers with WikiLeaks. If convicted, Assange would face a maximum of five years in prison under that conspiracy charge. The new charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 170 years in prison. Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in a police mugshot. Credit:VA Sheriff's Office The new charges also carry potential consequences not just for him but for others who publish classified information, and they could lead to a change in the delicate balance in US law between press freedom and government secrecy. They also raise fresh questions about whether the British courts will view the new charges as justified and worthy of extradition. Prosecutors say in the new indictment that Assange and WikiLeaks "repeatedly encouraged sources with access to classified information to steal it" and give it to the anti-secrecy organisation, posting on its website a "most wanted" list for leaks organised by country and saying the documents must be "likely to have political, diplomatic, ethical or historical impact on release". They said Manning responded to that clarion call, downloading nearly four government databases of war reports, Guantanamo Bay detainee assessments and State Department cables, and turned them over to WikiLeaks. The disclosures, prosecutors alleged, contained the names of local Afghans and Iraqis who had given information to the US, as well as other confidential sources for the US government. They said the releases "put innocent people in grave danger simply because they provided information to the United States". Prosecutors seemed to distinguish Assange from a traditional publisher because of his directions to Manning. They alleged, as they had previously, that Assange agreed to help Manning crack a password that might have helped cover their tracks - though the effort was apparently unsuccessful. Loading In the past decade, prosecutors have increasingly used the Espionage Act to pursue government employees or ex-employees who leak classified information to reporters. The law was originally written during World War I to target spies and traitors, and it has been used intermittently since, including when the government prosecuted the source of the so-called Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. First Amendment advocates have expressed concerns that prosecuting Assange could set a dangerous precedent. Then president Barack Obama's administration declined to charge Assange with a crime out of concern that it would be too difficult to distinguish WikiLeaks from a news organisation. Floyd Abrams, an expert in First Amendment law, previously told The Washington Post that the 101-year-old act has long been viewed by press advocates as a "perpetually loaded gun that could too easily be aimed at the press, with ultimately Supreme Court interpretation unpredictable." "If it violated the Espionage Act for WikiLeaks to gather information from sources not permitted to release it and then publish it, then what American newspaper could be free from risk?" said Abrams, who practices at Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York. Under President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice revived its Assange investigation, but when the WikiLeaks founder was charged under seal in 2017, it was with a narrow complaint that sidestepped such concerns by focusing on a single incident of attempted hacking. Assange is in jail in London, where he was arrested in April. The US government has until June 11 to deliver to Britain its case for extradition, a process that could take months or years and could be complicated by a rape allegation against Assange in Sweden. Assange has said he plans to fight efforts to bring him to the United States to face the criminal allegations filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Once the formal extradition request is made by the US, new charges cannot be filed against him by the Justice Department. Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated WikiLeaks and its publication of Democratic National Committee emails stolen by the Russian government in 2016. He charged Trump associate Roger Stone with lying to investigators about his attempts to learn more about Assange's plans for those emails. But the charges against Assange do not touch on that activity. According to that indictment, Assange agreed to help Manning, known then as Bradley Manning, crack a password so the Army private could anonymously access Defence Department data. At the time, Manning said she had already shared with WikiLeaks "all I really have got left," according to the indictment. "The factual allegations against Mr Assange boil down to encouraging a source to provide him information and taking efforts to protect the identity of that source," Assange's defence lawyer Barry Pollack said when that charge was unsealed. Manning, who served seven years in prison for her disclosures, is now incarcerated in Virginia for refusing to cooperate with the grand jury investigating Assange. A federal judge last week imposed a fine of $US500 ($725) per day if Manning does not testify within 30 days, and raised the fine to $US1000 per day if she does not testify within 60 days. She told the judge she "would rather starve to death". By Park Hyong-ki Choi Jong-ku / Yonhap Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku is coming under criticism from the startup community for calling SoCar CEO Lee Jae-woong "rude and selfish." The regulator ramped up rhetoric against Lee after his meeting with local bankers, Wednesday, telling the press that Lee should show some respect to taxi drivers. He said Thursday that he was not going to make an issue out of his remarks, adding the government will pursue both inclusive growth and innovation. This comes after Lee posted on his Facebook that the government should not use the deaths and suicides of taxi drivers as a political tool to achieve its goal. He was indirectly referring to politicians seeking to win votes for the general election in 2020. Lee Jae-woong / Yonhap Army 2nd Lt. Stanley A. Belgum Did It His Way Kimball County native Stanley A. Belgum was commissioned in 1968 as a second lieutenant in the Army. Below: He holds his medals in 2019. They include a Bronze Star with a "V" on it for Vietnam, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal. Stan was drafted and served in Vietnam from early 1968 until February 1969. The year, 1968. The country, this country, was deep in political upheaval, assassinations, drugs and demonstrations. Lyndon B. Johnson was President, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, and the Viet Cong made a valiant attempt at defeating the Americans in the Tet Offensive. America was fighting an unpopular war, but a young man from Dix, Neb., was drafted into the Army and served his country with patriotism, valor and bravery. Stan Belgum graduated from Dix High School in 1965 and by 1968 he was a second lieutenant in the Army. Shortly thereafter, he was the recipient of the Bronze Star. Stan Belgum did what his country asked of him in 1968. Born and raised in Dix and the area south of town, Stan was the third child of 13. Their world did not extend much beyond the farm and school. When Stan turned 18, he was required to go to Denver for a pre-induction physical. In addition to the physical, Stan was required to do some written testing. Typical teenage boy, Stan was of the opinion that if he just didn't read the questions and randomly marked answers, everyone would think that "being so dumb, I would never be drafted." That logic didn't matter to the draft board. After high school graduation, Stan spent the next few months working around Dix for Art Johnson, then stumbled into the oilfield, working for Hugh Bennet on a "pole workover" rig. Eventually, he went to Cutbank, Mont., to work on the rigs. "I guess when I moved I was supposed to tell the draft board," he said. "I figured if they wanted me bad enough they would find me." Well, they did find him. A letter was waiting for 19-year-old Stan at his hotel in Montana. Without breaking stride, Stan repeated the contents of the letter. "Greetings from the President of the United States. You are hereby ordered to report for military duty." Stan's first response was: "How the hell did they know where I was?" Stan reported to Denver and was immediately sworn in, and the next day he flew to Fort Bliss, Texas, for 8 weeks of boot camp. The eight weeks really were nine weeks because there was a zero week. In that zero week, more testing. A week of testing. As a draftee, Stan was required to serve two years, but individuals with certain scores were encouraged to sign up for one more year in the military. Stan's response, "You're crazy. I am only in here for two years." Stan does admit that he "is straightforward and speaks his mind." After boot camp, he received a two week leave and came home to Kimball. A night out with some buddies found Stan in a little trouble and an overnight jail stay. The trouble started when they saw a police car at a local cafe on the west end of town. Knowing Stan now, his prank shouldn't surprise anyone. His buddies went in and bought the policeman another cup of coffee, and Stan proceeded to crawl under the police car and loosen the drain plug. His intent was to just loosen it so that it eventually, later, the plug would drop out. But one more turn and the plug came out and he was covered in oil and he looked over to see the feet of the policeman. A night in jail and a generous sentence from Judge Bourret secured his return to the military. His fine of $160 was going to take him a while to pay off. His monthly salary, $68. After returning from leave, Stan spent the next few months in Fire Direction Control School, Officer Candidate School and Records School. He learned everything from calling coordinates, plotting angles, powder charges on Howitzers to inspections, mechanics, Jeep engines and leadership skills. After crisscrossing the nation to various bases, Stan ended up in Fort Carson, Colo., where a new battalion was being created the 70th Ordinance Battalion. The battalion was made up of a lieutenant colonel, two captains and 10 second lieutenants, including 2nd Lt. Stanley A. Belgum. And then, Stan said he got crossways with the two captains and organized a "revolt." He convinced all the second lieutenants to ask for a transfer out of the battalion. Within two weeks, Stan was on his way to Vietnam. Stan Belgum, a naive, 19 year-old draftee from Dix, Neb., arrived in Vietnam just days after the 1968 Tet Offensive had begun. After landing in Saigon, Belgum was immediately sent to Pleiku Ammunition Supply Dump in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. His first night in Pleiku was an indication of how life was going to be he was assigned his duties. Including him, there were two warrant officers and a captain. His responsibilities included being a mess officer, supply officer and the ammunition officer. "The first night, I was getting ready to go to bed," he recalled. "We were in tents with sandbags piled high around us." About 10 p.m., he was ordered to report to the office. All the officers and sergeants were sitting around or laying on the floor. There was an alert which he was unaware of so . . . annoyed and exhausted, he curled up on the floor and went to sleep. Shortly thereafter, someone kicked his foot. He awakened but no one else was there and then he heard the explosives. They had all known that there were incoming shells and they hit the bunkers, but Stan was a quick study and he scampered into the bunkers. He said about every other night they were forced to go to the bunkers to escape the incoming shells. Stan received his Bronze Star a couple of months after arriving in Vietnam. His Award for the Bronze Star Medal For Heroism reads: "For heroism, in connection with military operation against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam: Lieutenant Stanley A. Belgum, Ordinance Corps, United States Army, distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 29 March 1968 while serving in the 188th Ordinance Company. During a Viet Cong sapper attack on the Pleiku Ammunition Supply Point. In the midst of exploding projectiles and enemy small arms fire, Lieutenant Belgum repeatedly risked his life to protect his men and insure their safety. Through his courage and outstanding leadership, he contributed immeasurably to the defense of the Ammunition Supply Point. Lieutenant Belgum's heroic action were in keeping with the highest tradition of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, this command, and the United States Army." In true Stan Belgum fashion, he thought the men in the outposts should have been subjected to a court martial that day because those 10 guards surrounding the ammunition dump had let their guard down and the Viet Cong were able to sneak in and blow up all the ammunition in that supply dump. With no ammunition in the ammunition supply dump, Stan was then sent to Qui Nhon, another ammunition supply dump. For The Observer Stan served one year and three months in the Vietnam War. After landing at Oakland Air Force Base, Stan was discharged in February 1969. The military cautioned soldiers not to wear their uniforms due to the demonstrations and the unpopularity of the war. Stan return to this area of the country and worked in the oilfield. He started working for "old man Ramsey" on a drilling rig. He worked for a variety of companies, including Eatmon, Evertson, BW Drilling, Allison Drilling and Maddux Drilling. Kimball, Rock Springs, Evanston are among a few of the places Stan worked throughout his life. Now retired, Stan resides in Kimball. Kimball County veterans get a first-hand chance to see what memories are held at the Warren ICBM & Heritage Museum on the F.E. Warren Air Force Base. From left to right, Mike Beatty, Mayor Keith Prunty and Don Olson listen to Glenn Robertson while he explains museum displays. Below is a display from earlier days at the base, which was established as Fort D.A. Russell in 1867. "A small way to give back to our local veterans," sKimball Mayor Keith Prunty said many times in the past few months. Prunty also said it countless times during the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base tour this past Monday that he and others set in place for local veterans. A crips morning was set for vets to have the opportunity to travel to Cheyenne aboard the Kimball County Transit Bus to the base. First on the activities list after meeting the tour guide for the day, Glenn Robertson, was a tour of the Warren ICBM & Heritage Museum on base. The museum consists of many time period displays along with a rich history of the area and the base itself. The group learned that before the name change to F.E. Warren AFB, the base was originally established as Fort D.A. Russell for workers during construction of the western link of the transcontinental railroad in 1867. The name was first changed to Fort Warren. After the Air Force took command in the fort, it was renamed once again to F.E. Warren AFB. The museum is a time capsule within itself, holding many different display items from honored and remembered solider uniforms to decommissioned missile parts. A true piece of American history, the museum is open to the public despite being on base, but an advanced contact for security measures is needed. Next was the Missiles Procedure Trainer tour, a building no electronics were allowed in for security reasons. An introduction to missiles and a demonstration to the first stage of missile launch was shown before two volunteers from the group were asked to proceed in the first steps to launch a missile (training of course). Local veterans Don Olson and John (Mike) Beatty were seated in two chairs that locked in place. After strapping into their safety harnesses, both men were given detailed instructions to initiate the first stage. It took a couple times to complete the task at the same time, but it was accomplished. Once the first stage was complete, the group loaded the bus and was in full swing of the base tour. It was a driving tour that included the showings of multiple homes belonging to high ranking officers, generals and commanders and the cemetery. Dakota Kuhns/The Observer Other buildings and homes, some of which are included in the 200-plus buildings on the Warren AFB, are on the National Register of Historic Places. A still shot in time, a piece of history and a glimpse in a memory are only slivers of the cherished history that remain at F.E. Warren. With loads of excitement, Prunty can not wait to offer this opportunity to more local veterans in the future with plans to make this an annual event. "It was a great time, and a big shout out to Christy Warner and the Kimball County Transit for allowing the use of their bus to take the veterans to Warren," he added. MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-ju By Jhoo Dong-chan MBK Partners has proven its competitiveness once again by coming from behind in the race to win the bidding for Lotte Card. Forming an alliance with Woori Bank, the nation's largest private equity firm (PEF) was selected as the preferred bidder in negotiations with Lotte Group to acquire its credit card unit. The PEF had been seemingly sidelined by competitor Hahn & Company at first, but Lotte Group changed its initial decision and chose MBK Partners as the preferred bidder Tuesday, citing the accusation made against CEO of Hahn & Company by KT labor union. This isn't the first time for MBK Partners to achieve a comeback victory in mega M&A deals here. In July 2012, the PEF lost the preferred bidder status to KTB Private Equity (PE) in the takeover of Coway, the nation's largest water purifier rental operator. However, MBK Partners was then named preferred bidder a month later after KTB PE failed to secure the necessary funding for the deal. MBK Partners also wasn't the preferred bidder for ING Life Korea, currently Orange Life, in 2013. Dutch ING Group had chosen KB Financial Group as the preferred bidder for its local life insurance unit, but canceled talks with the group when both sides failed to reach an agreement after six months. ING then chose MBK, which had offered 1.8 trillion won ($1.62 billion), as the new preferred bidder, but in September sold the insurance unit to Shinhan Financial Group for 2.29 trillion won. Market analysts said MBK's key strength comes from its mixture of experienced leadership from Chairman Kim Byung-ju and the company's deep pockets. "I don't know how to put it, but MBK Partners' competitors have had some issues. You can say the firm has been quite lucky," said an industry source familiar with the issue. "Firms have often turned to MBK Partners after negotiations with their initial preferred bidders went south. Of course, MBK's vast experience in mega M&A deals might be another reason behind it." Hahn & Company was expected to acquire Lotte Card considering its bid of 1.8 trillion won. It wanted to acquire an 80 percent stake in the card firm, only to fail due to its ongoing legal battle engulfing union members of mobile carrier KT. Under related laws, major shareholders must not be subject to punishment heavier than a monetary penalty for violating the Fair Trade Act or tax and special economic laws in the prior five years. Financial authorities only allow them to become a major shareholder if the offense is considered minor. "Lotte Group needs to conclude the sale of its card unit by October," said Meritz Securities researcher Eun Kyeong-wan. "Hahn & Company's legal issue could linger for quite a while. The group doesn't want to risk it so chose MBK Partners as the preferred bidder to replace Hahn & Company." The state Senate on May 21 confirmed the nomination of Melissa Kane of Westport to become a member of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council. Kane, a selectwoman on Westports Board of Selectmen, has a long history of volunteer and leadership service in Westport, along with strong business experience that is well suited to position her as an advocate for Connecticut commuters and riders on the states many rail services. I am honored to have been appointed to the Commuter Rail Council, said Kane. Connecticut is home to one of the most heavily traveled and critical sections of the Northeast rail corridor. Facilitating excellent commuter rail service along it is fundamental to our economic and environmental sustainability and success. The Commuter Rail Council has an important role to play in helping make that happen, and I hope to be an asset to the Council. Chamber presents first Community Champion Award The Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce presented the first annual Westport Dog Festival - Jon Nowinski Community Champion Award to Westport Animal Control Officer Gina Gambino. The award is named in honor and the legacy of EARS, Emergency Animal Response Services, founder and long time animal advocate Jon Nowinski, who passed away earlier this year. Receiving the award along with a $250 donation from proceeds from the Westport Dog Festival was Gambino, animal Control officer for the town of Westport. With 12 years of work in this field, the last three and half in Westport, she has stood out as a dedicated resource and friend of animals. The donation will be given to Westport Animal Control and will be used for veterinary care of the strays housed in their facility. Marpe to legislators: Oppose retirement funding shift First Selectman Jim Marpe announced he has written to Westports state legislative delegation asking them to oppose the proposed shift of a portion of the normal cost of funding the Teachers Retirement System from the state to municipalities. The letter takes the form of an endorsement of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments communication to all the legislators serving the WestCOG municipalities. Westport is a member of WestCOG, along with 17 other cities and towns in Fairfield County. Gov. Ned Lamonts proposed budget includes a provision for sharing a portion of the TRS funding with the states municipalities, with a larger proportion of that share going to communities like Westport that have higher median teacher salaries. Marpe noted that if this proposal is allowed to go into effect, it would add $608,000 to Westports fiscal year 2020 budget that has just been approved by the Board of Finance and RTM. This additional cost is expected to essentially double to $1.25 million in fiscal year 2021 and increase again to $1.9 million in fiscal year 2022. Historical society kicking off summer with oyster fest Westport Historical Society is kicking off the summer with Westport is your Oyster Festival. The kickoff will feature local Copps Island oysters, prosecco and beer brewed by Westports own Full Moon Brewing. The event takes place at the Historical Society on Memorial Day from 3 to 5 p.m. Library to operate on reduced schedule The Westport Librarys grand reopening of its transformed library will take place June 23. In preparation for the reopening, the library will be operating on a modified schedule beginning May 28 through May 31. During this time, the Riverwalk Level of the library will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 1 to 9 p.m. and Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. The library will be open regular hours on June 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and June 2 from 1 to 5 p.m. To complete the final elements of the transformation, starting June 3 through June 22, the entire library will be closed to efficiently and safely integrate new collections and resources on all three floors, install and test new state-of-the-art technology throughout the library, as well as finalize all the details necessary to prepare for the grand reopening on June 23. The librarys digital collection will continue to be available; however, there may be brief interruptions due to system upgrades. No fines will be levied while the library is closed. The new library will reopen at 11 a.m. on June 23, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a full day of events. Long Island Sound Blue Plan presentation Conservation Director Alicia Mozian announced the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will be holding a series of public meetings to present on the Blue Plan and discuss how it may affect you, as well as to gather public comment and input. On May 29 at 7 p.m., the Blue Plan presentation will be held in the Westport Town Hall Auditorium. The public is invited. The plan is also available for viewing on-line at www.ct.gov/deep/lisblueplan. The deadline for comment is June 21. In 2015, the Connecticut legislature passed Public Act 15-66 which outlined a marine spatial planning process for Long Island Sound. This process consists of: 1) Putting together an Inventory of the Sounds natural resources and location of existing human uses; and 2) Using the Inventory to create a spatial Blue Plan to guide future uses of the Sounds waters and submerged lands. The Blue Plan is a new paradigm for management of Long Island Sound. Click It or Ticket campaign As the Memorial Day holiday approaches, the Westport Police Department is reminding all drivers of the importance of seat belt use. This annual campaign is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations national Click It or Ticket high-visibility enforcement effort that runs from May 20 to June 2. Aimed at enforcing seat belt use to help keep families safe, the national seat belt campaign runs concurrent with the busy travel season. According to NHTSA, in 2017, there were 10,076 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 55 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night. In Connecticut, the penalty for a seat belt violation is $92. The failure of an operator under 18 years old or a passenger to wear a safety belt carries a penalty of $120. In 2017, almost twice as many males were killed in crashes as compared to females, with lower belt use rates, too. Of the males killed in crashes in 2017, more than half (51 percent) were unrestrained. For females killed in crashes, 39 percent were not buckled up. Residents raise money to educate children in Nicaragua The Norwalk Nagarote Sister City Project will host its 33rd annual Worlds Greatest Fiesta on May 31st at the Westport Inn from 6 to 10 p.m. Westport law firm Brody and Associates is the main sponsor of the upcoming benefit, which will include a silent auction and buffet dinner with beer and wine. Proceeds will help to fund the education programs of this international organization. First conceived as a sister city project between Norwalk and Nagarote, Nicaragua, this small nonprofit has expanded its base of support throughout Fairfield County to include the communities of Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan, Greenwich and Westport. With more than 600 supporters, each year NNSCP serves over 200 children of elementary school age through college with scholarships, tutoring and skills training. The organization is working to start its own preschool program in Nagarote. Three years ago, the first class of college scholarship students graduated. Currently, 20 students are enrolled, studying computer engineering, nursing, dentistry and education. NNSCP President Tom Kretsch, a longtime Westport resident says, Creating safe spaces and offering positive, empowering alternatives to hardship, illiteracy and gang violence has been the focus of our Project for over three decades. Whether by building the public library and a community center, providing an ambulance, constructing new houses after Hurricane Mitch or offering community service and leadership experiences for children of all ages, NNSCP seeks to enhance the local communitys self-sufficiency, creativity and success. Tickets are available for sale through www.sistercityproject.org. Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku, center, takes part in an opening ceremony for Korea Fintech Week 2019 with other dignitaries at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Thursday. Second from left are Visa's Global Head of Strategic Partnerships and Venture Matt Dill, Ant Financial's Senior Vice President of Global Business Douglas Feagin, Chairman Choi and U.K. Ambassador to South Korea Simon Smith. / Yonhap Students of Naeil Irum School and officials from Hana Tour pose at the headquarters of the travel agency in Seoul. / Courtesy of Hana Tour By Kang Seung-woo Jo Seong-jun, a naturalized Korean born in China, never thought about pursuing a career in the tourism industry when he was a high school student despite his keen interest. There was no information, no reference materials and no one that he could rely on in terms of career counseling at the time, according to the 21-year-old. But a few years after finishing school, Jo, who arrived in Korea in 2011 after his mother married a Korean man, is now one of 15 people at Naeil Irum School who are developing skills to follow their dreams in the tourism sector. Choi Won-sul, head of Hana Tour's Human Resource Development Department Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Showers in the morning, then cloudy in the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Fitness instructors demonstrate "Energy Flow 1.0," a new indoor workout program developed by Stadion, at a gym in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The program is designed to boost physical and mental energy by stimulating movement. Stadion is giving one-month free coupons to 100 people on a first come, first served basis at its studio. For more information, contact sunny@emersonk.com / Courtesy of Emerson K Partners This undated image released by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, shows the cargo vessel "Wise Honest." - North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song, on May 21, 2019, warned the US that its seizure of a cargo ship "Wise Honest" could have consequences on the future of US-North Korean relations. Ambassador Kim told a rare news conference that Pyongyang was closely watching "every move" by the US following the US seizure of the cargo vessel. (Photo by HO / US Attorney's Office / AFP) The United States' seizure of a North Korean cargo ship is the biggest hurdle getting in the way of resuming nuclear talks between the two countries, and the vessel must be returned, Pyongyang's ambassador to Geneva was quoted as saying. "It is the biggest issue ... and a wanton violation of international law," Ambassador Han Tae-song said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday (Geneva time). On May 9, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had seized the 17,061-ton Wise Honest bulk carrier over suspected illegal coal shipments in violation of U.N. and U.S. sanctions on the communist state. Denouncing the seizure as infringing upon its sovereignty, Han demanded U.S. actions for its return and Washington make "a big decision" about relieving sanctions if it wants to restart the negotiations with Pyongyang. Han's remarks follow similar statements by Kim Song, North Korea's top envoy to the United Nations, in a rare press conference that took place in New York a day earlier. Kim also lashed out at the U.S. for the seizure and strongly repeated calls for its return. Kim also warned of potential "consequences" on the U.S.-North Korea future relationship if President Donald Trump's administration sticks to the seizure, which he described as "an early product of extreme hostile policy" against the North. The U.S. State Department later said it remains firm on enforcing U.N. sanctions on the North as agreed by all other member countries, adding that Washington is open to negotiating with Pyongyang. Nuclear talks between the two sides broke down at the second leaders' summit in Hanoi in February as they failed to bridge the differences on the scopes of the North's denuclearization and sanctions relief by the U.S. (Yonhap) This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. "This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." Poloniuss advice to his son Laertes in Hamlet The character of Polonius is a bit of a fool in the greater context of William Shakespeares tragedy Hamlet. But ironically, his advice to his son Laertes is pretty solid. Indeed, "to thine own self be true" may be an operating principle to the Shakespeare in the Ruins production, the first show of newly minted artistic director Rodrigo Beilfuss, who takes over the position from outgoing AD Michelle Boulet, saying her farewells after a 12-year tenure. THEATRE PREVIEW Click to Expand Hamlet Shakespeare in the Ruins Trappist Monastery Provincial Heritage Park Thursday, May 30 - June 22 Tickets: $8-$35 at shakespeareintheruins.com Beilfuss, 36, also directs the production, although that assignment came about prior to being offered the job of artistic director. Since 2016, the Brazil-born Beilfuss was a company member at the Stratford Festival. Late last year, he heard SiR was soliciting pitches for the current production of Hamlet. Having performed the lead role himself in 2015 in a much-praised multilingual local production, Beilfuss came to the project with a trove of ideas. Rodrigo Beilfuss (Supplied) "I love the play so much, so I thought Id give it a shot," he says. "I put together a few ideas about the play and my experience of the play and told them if they liked it, I would happily direct for them. So SiR chose his pitch. And a few months later, he landed the artistic directors job as well. "These things kind of happened at the same time, so I just went along with it," he says. "It is a bit intense, but I love the play so much and I would hate to miss the opportunity." Beilfusss Hamlet is set in contemporary times, with firearms instead of rapiers. But the main feature of Beilfusss pitch was casting a woman in the role of the Melancholy Dane. "I basically said I would love to have to explore the play with a woman in the part because the character is so full of contradictions, so full of humour and profound tragedy as well," Beilfuss says. "The character is a very restless spirit and I thought that would be interesting to have this idea of a woman gender-occupying the prince. "Theres a kind of lack of connection between how she sees herself and how the world around her sees her." Heather Russell-Smith is Hamlet in the Shakespeare in the Ruins production.(Supplied) The interpretation is in keeping with SiRs recent penchant for gender-flipping, including last seasons all-female Timon of Athens and the 2016 show Richard III with Debbie Patterson in the title role. In fact, the role has been played by women dating back to the 1700s, Beilfuss says, with performances including Sarah Bernhardt in the late 1890s, and more contemporary actresses, including Diane Venora, Ruth Negga, Christine Horne, and Maxine Peake all pondering "to be, or not to be." For this show, the role went to Virden-born Winnipeg actress Heather Russell-Smith, who played Juliet in SiRs 2017 production of Romeo and Juliet. 'I basically said I would love to have to explore the play with a woman in the part because the character is so full of contradictions, so full of humour and profound tragedy as well' Bear in mind, this is a role that has pushed many actors to the edge. In 1989, Daniel Day-Lewis famously walked off the stage in mid-production. (Decades earlier, Nicol Williamson did the same thing.) The Canadian TV comedy Slings & Arrows is structured around an actor (Paul Gross) who gained notoriety after having an onstage nervous breakdown midway through Hamlet. Russell-Smith seems unlikely to follow in that particular path. "Going into it, theres some fear for sure," she says. "But Im kind of surprised at how much fun Im having. "Its just such a juicy role to dive into," she says. "I get to do some fighting, which is awesome. I get to feel some really deep feelings." Director Rod Beilfuss played Hamlet in 2015 in a production directed by Sarah Constible. (Vani Sathiyamurthi photo) Beilfuss says that, as in Poloniuss advice (or rather, "Polonia" as played by Melanie Whyte), the role requires being true to oneself, and accessing personal pain. "There are so many essays and books out there about the play and in the end, you really cannot hide where you are at in your life while you play that role," Beilfuss says. "Thats the punishing part of it. When I was taking on the role, I had gone through personal loss. My wife had a miscarriage and that anger, that loss that happened during rehearsal, I couldnt hide from that. "Also, it really makes the actor feel naked, because you are spending so much time on stage, you cant really bond with your fellow actors offstage. Theres no time for a nice game of cards or chilling out backstage, so you really feel lonely. "At some point, you find you just play yourself," he says. "It makes you feel very naked and very vulnerable and Im sure its been very similar for Heather." "Rod has very much said to approach it as myself," Russell-White says. "Im just trying to approach it with an open heart and be grateful to be here and to just go on the journey." randall.king@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @FreepKing If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives said Thursday they're hearing from frustrated canola producers who are still waiting for financial relief recently promised by the Liberal government. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canola grower David Reid checks on his storage bins full of last year's crop of canola seed on his farm near Cremona, Alta., on March 22, 2019. The Conservatives say they're hearing from frustrated canola producers who are still seeking much-needed financial relief recently promised by the Liberal government. The Tory shadow minister for agriculture and agrifood says in a letter to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau that canola producers are expressing concern about funding promised three weeks ago that is not yet available. Luc Berthold says that time period is "like an eternity" for canola producers under the current circumstances, adding the government needs to fix the situation immediately. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives said Thursday they're hearing from frustrated canola producers who are still waiting for financial relief recently promised by the Liberal government. Canola producers are expressing concern about funding promised three weeks ago that can't be accessed, Tory shadow minister for agriculture Luc Berthold said in a letter to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. "My colleagues and I have heard from a number of canola producers who have been told by the Canadian Canola Growers Association that the enhancements promised by you three weeks ago are not yet available," he wrote. The time period is "like an eternity" for canola producers under the current circumstances, Berthold added, suggesting the government needs to fix the situation immediately. "Minister, it is irresponsible for you to make an announcement and not be able to follow through in a timely manner," Berthold wrote. "It is unacceptable that the only concrete measure that your government has taken to help canola producers is stalled." Earlier this month, the federal Liberals promised financial aid to canola farmers in an attempt to lessen the impact of China's decision to ban their products as an apparent part of a trade dispute. The announcement changed a program that advances farmers money against the expected value of their crops, raising loan limits to $1 million from $400,000 and upping an interest-free portion to $500,000 from $100,000. In a statement, Bibeau did not specifically respond to the concern about delays in the loan program but she stressed the government is working hard to address the canola issue along with farmers and industry. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We know that Canada has the best canola in the world and we are providing support to our farmers to help them manage the impact of current market disruptions," she said. China has rejected Canadian canola seeds in recent months and barred shipments from two of Canada's biggest exporters in what is considered retaliation for the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has called for the Liberals to take a more confrontational approach with China, suggesting Canada needs to appoint a new ambassador, launch a complaint about the canola dispute with the World Trade Organization and cut Canadian funding to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to which the government has committed $256 million over five years. International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr has said there is agreement across the sector, including with provincial governments and producers, that Canada should engage China on the basis of its allegation, which is that there are impurities in canola that has been sent by Canada to China. Canadian requests for evidence have produced no meaningful replies, the government says, and inspections in Canada have found no evidence of contamination. China imported $2.7 billion worth of Canadian canola seed last year and there are concerns that a prolonged blockage will hurt farmers, the industry and the overall economy. Follow @kkirkup on Twitter OTTAWA - President Donald Trump says he has enough Democratic support to ratify the new North American free-trade pact despite his feud with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat who controls the agenda in the House of Representatives. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Vice President Mike Pence attends a Charlotte Republican National Convention kickoff event in Monroe, N.C., Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Pence says Democrats in Congress needs to focus on passing trade agreements that help North Carolina workers, rather than extend unfounded investigations of President Donald Trump. Pence made the comments on Wednesday during his trip to the state. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) OTTAWA - President Donald Trump says he has enough Democratic support to ratify the new North American free-trade pact despite his feud with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat who controls the agenda in the House of Representatives. Next week, Vice-President Mike Pence arrives in Ottawa for what's supposed to be a big push to get the agreement approved in the national legislatures in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the Canadian government is looking forward to getting an update on U.S. efforts to ratify the new North American free trade pact when Pence visits. Canada has yet to table legislation in Parliament to ratify the new version of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, a treaty Trump lambasted yet again on Thursday as "one of the worst trade deals ever made in the history of our country." In the past, Freeland has labelled the Trump administration as protectionist, especially during the long and sometimes bitter NAFTA renegotiation, but she presented a more conciliatory view of Pence. "It's important for Canadians to remember that Vice-President Pence has been a strong and effective supporter of free trade. He has been someone who has spoken out in the United States about the value of NAFTA for both Canadians and Americans," Freeland said Thursday after touring the Rio Tinto aluminum plant in Jonquiere, Que. Indeed, the real challenge might be in Washington. On Tuesday, the White House released a letter to Pelosi and the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, in which Trump said he'd like to get the deal approved swiftly in Congress and then to get moving on a bipartisan infrastructure package. Wednesday, Trump walked out of a meeting with the two. Thursday, he called them names and Pelosi questioned his fitness for the presidency. Trump said he was extremely calm Wednesday after he walked out. "You had the group Crying Chuck, Crazy Nancy," Trump said. "I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person, she's lost it." Trump took his shots during another freewheeling White House press conference after announcing $16 billion in aid to American farmers who have been hit by retaliatory tariffs from Canada and other countries responding to Trump's protectionism. Canada and Mexico ended their retaliations after the Trump administration's decision last week to lift U.S. tariffs on their steel and aluminum. Both countries said it would have been difficult to ratify the new trade deal with those metals tariffs in place. Since the tariffs were lifted, Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been visiting steel and aluminum plants. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We're fixing broken trade deals to open up markets for American exports, including with the brand new the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement an agreement that the Democrats in Congress, many are supporting I must say. They've told us they're supporting it regardless of leadership. I don't think Nancy Pelosi understands it it's too complicated," Trump said. "I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country," Pelosi told reporters separately. She said she is praying for her country and the president, and that she is concerned for his well-being. "Maybe he wants to take a leave of absence," the veteran Democrat mused. Meanwhile, Freeland said Canada especially appreciated Pence's positive comments about NAFTA during the July 2017 meeting of U.S. state governors in Rhode Island, which Freeland attended with Trudeau. Freeland was seen taking notes during Pence's speech, in which he said: "We will modernize NAFTA for the 21st century so that it is a win-win-win for all of our trading partners in North America." "We will certainly discuss the domestic ratification path for the new NAFTA here in Canada," said Freeland. "And I think we'll be very interested to hear from him how he sees ratification of the new NAFTA in the United States." EDMONTON - Premier Jason Kenney put forward a bill Wednesday to kill the Alberta carbon tax and he put Ottawa politicians on notice that if they try to backstop it with their own levy, he'll see them in court. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Lois Mitchell delivers the speech from the throne in Edmonton Alta, on Tuesday May 21, 2019. The new Alberta government has set its first legislature sitting in motion with a throne speech followed immediately by a bill to repeal the provincial carbon tax. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson EDMONTON - Premier Jason Kenney put forward a bill Wednesday to kill the Alberta carbon tax and he put Ottawa politicians on notice that if they try to backstop it with their own levy, he'll see them in court. "Promise made. Promise kept," Kenney told reporters as his new United Conservative government tabled its signature bill of the new legislature session. An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax will kill Alberta's greenhouse gas levy as of May 30, followed by a windup of programs, rebates and grants that came with it. "It will put that money back in Albertans' pockets where it belongs. After all, the carbon tax has been all economic pain and no environmental gain," said Kenney. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already signalled that if Alberta removes the tax, it will impose its federal carbon levy, as it has done with other non-complying provinces: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Kenney said if that counter move is made, Alberta will go to court. "We will launch a judicial reference challenging the constitutionality of the federal carbon tax at the Alberta Court of Appeals." He said Alberta will also help Saskatchewan and Ontario in their carbon tax court challenges. Not only will Alberta appeal on Ottawa's right to levy the carbon tax on provinces, Kenney said it will also argue that the existing Alberta tax on large industrial greenhouse gas emitters and the similar program Kenney has promised to replace it with is already a carbon tax that fits the definition of what Ottawa is trying to impose. The tax on fossil-fuel heating and gasoline at the pumps was phased in by former NDP premier Rachel Notley's government in the first day of 2017 and has raised more than $2 billion. Much of that money has been rebated to low and middle-income Albertans while the rest funded a range of green projects ranging from solar panels and energy-saving light bulbs to light rail transit construction. The government has not released details or timelines of the windup, but Environment Minister Jason Nixon has said existing commitments will be met. The carbon tax bill is among about 12 pieces of legislation expected to be passed by Kenney's government in its first session. They were outlined Wednesday by Lt.-Gov. Lois Mitchell in her throne speech. One bill will roll back rules to help businesses grow, including a reduction in the $15-an-hour minimum wage for workers 17 and younger. Another bill will slash the corporate tax to eight per cent from 12 per cent over the next three years. A full budget is expected this fall. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Kenney won the election on a promise to balance the budget within four years while not raising or adding taxes. He has stressed he wants to grow the economy and find savings to keep frontline services whole, but that Alberta's multibillion-dollar budget deficits of recent years are not sustainable. "There will have to be some tough decisions," Kenney added Wednesday. "There will have to be some reduction in the overall size of the Alberta public sector, hopefully through attrition." Opposition Leader Rachel Notley said Kenney is laying the groundwork for deep cuts. "Albertans should be ready because this is going to hurt," Notley told reporters. "This government is preparing Alberta for cuts to classrooms and hospitals to pay for the budget hole from their tax cut to wealthy corporations." KAILUA, Hawaii - In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you would expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - This May 21, 2008, file photo shows the main beach at Caladesi Island State Park, a barrier island along the Gulf of Mexico, on Florida's West Coast in Dunedin, Fla. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Caladesi Island State Park the seventh-best beach in the country. (AP Photo/Craig Litten, File) KAILUA, Hawaii - In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you would expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons Oahu's Kailua Beach Park has been selected as the best stretch of sand for an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being water cleanliness, safety and management of the beach environment and its facilities. Leatherman uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water quality and has been to all the beaches on his list. Beaches in Hawaii are consistently ranked high, sometimes at the top of his list. FILE - This May 13, 2010, file photo shows Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Coopers Beach the fourth-best in the country. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File) "I love Waikiki Beach. No question about that a world-famous beach but Kailua is a lot smaller and quieter," Leatherman said. "It's so much more peaceful. ... You don't have big high-rises and all that. Kailua is on the other side of the mountains. It's like a different world." In recent years Leatherman has been giving extra credit to beaches that prohibit smoking , which all Oahu beaches do. He thinks other beaches around the state and country should follow suit. Leatherman also looks for powdery soft white sand, something Kailua Beach Park has in abundance. In this May 15, 2019, photo, people stand near the ocean at Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) Vari Singh and her family were visiting Oahu from Los Angeles and spent a day in Kailua. "The colour of the sea is something like we've never seen before. The sand is super soft and fun to play with, it makes good sandcastles," she said as her daughter wiped sand from her face. "And the scenery is beautiful, you just come over the hill and it's just this majestic scene of green ocean." Leatherman acknowledged that not everyone appreciates the publicity his lists give to top beaches. In this May 15, 2019, photo, a kitesurfer rides off Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) "I get a lot of people who are very happy about it. They like to know where to go," Leatherman said. But "I always get some pushback. Oh yes, people say, 'Oh no, we already have too many people coming here. What are you doing?' It's almost like they think it's a secret beach or something. (Kailua) is not quite a secret beach. It is a real gem though." Braden Marquez, 18, who grew up in Kailua, says he is worried about overcrowding but also hopeful about the future of his hometown. "This beach is pretty special to me just because my family has been coming here for years and years," he said, noting the area has changed a lot since his childhood. FILE - In this March 25, 2017, file photo, riders and owners prepare their horses before the start of the inaugural Kiawah Cup Island Beach Race at Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Beachwalker Park the 10th-best in the country. (Michael Pronzato/The Post And Courier via AP, File) "(My) biggest concern would be losing the locals because of the influx of people," he said during a recent visit to the beach. "But other than that I'm pretty excited about all the new things to come." For the first 25 years of ranking, any beach that won the top spot on Leatherman's list was ineligible for inclusion in subsequent years. But in 2015, Dr. Beach cleared the slate to allow any beach in the nation to once again be eligible, resetting the clock and perhaps the relevance involving his annual contest. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Kailua was named the best beach in 1998, making it a two-time winner. Leatherman is again retiring new winners and posting them on his website . The other beaches on this year's list are Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on North Carolina's Outer Banks in second place, followed by Grayton Beach State Park in the Florida panhandle; Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York; Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin-Clearwater, Florida; Hapuna State Beach Park on Hawaii's Big Island; Coronado Beach, San Diego, California; and Kiawah Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Leatherman's goal in producing the list each year, he says, is to reward high-quality, safe beaches that balance nature with accessibility and amenities. He hopes beaches that haven't made his list will make changes for a better experience and a healthier coastal ecosystem. ___ Online: www.drbeach.org Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Asian superheroes assemble. Marvel Comics is giving ink to an unprecedented team-up of its mightiest Asian and Asian American heroes, also known as the new Agents of Atlas. Established icons like martial arts master Shang-Chi and newbies like Wave, the newest Filipino superhero, will team up in a stand-alone, five-part comic book series starting this summer, the publishing giant told The Associated Press Thursday. This image provided by Marvel shows the cover of the first issue in "Agents of Atlas," Marvel Comics' five-part standalone comic book series set to roll out in August 2019. Marvel Comics is giving ink to an unprecedented team-up of nearly a dozen of its mightiest Asian and Asian American heroes. (Jung-Geun Yoon/Marvel via AP) The roster of 10 super-powered pan-Asian champions made their debut as a team earlier this month in "The War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas." That comic book is one piece of an ongoing saga involving several different groups across the Marvel universe, including the Avengers, doing battle with a fire goddess. But the exclusively Asian limited series is set to roll out in August. The man leading the heroic charge is veteran comic book writer Greg Pak. Pak is credited with ushering in a new era of Asian characters in co-creating Amadeus Cho, a Korean-American genius teen. The character first appeared in 2005. A decade later, he absorbed the Hulk's powers and started going by Brawn. "It's always been my dream to do a team book using a bunch of Asian and Asian American heroes," said Pak, who thinks there's more appetite for representation with the success of the movie "Crazy Rich Asians." ''There's literally never been a better time in my memory with more opportunities for doing work that specifically includes Asian and Asian American characters." The decades-old character of Agent Jimmy Woo (portrayed by Randall Park in last year's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" movie) leads the pack as head of the revived secret protection society Atlas. Others getting in on the action include Brawn and Cindy Moon, who is the Korean American web-shooter Silk. Other recruits have only previously been seen in Marvel video games or web comics only available in Asian countries. Among them is Korea-born Luna Snow a.k.a. Seol Hee, a K-pop star who can manipulate frozen elements. There's also Aero and Sword Master, the products of creatives in China. Besides crime-fighting, the group will spend time doing things like eating dim sum or singing karaoke. "That kind of diversity within diversity is amazing," said Pak, who is half-Korean and half-white. "No one character here has to represent all Asian-ness or Asian American-ness. That's a ridiculous demand for any character." The rest of the "Atlas" creative team includes writer Jeff Parker and artists Nico Leon and Carlo Pagulayan. In the series, the do-gooders find that someone has flipped a switch and created a "cross-Asian portal city" called Pan. In Pan, Asian neighbourhoods get geographically scrambled and then stitched together into one city. So, the streets of Tokyo could be next to neighbourhoods from Honolulu, Manila and some of Marvel's fictitious Asian countries. Filipino American Loren Javier, 50, discusses Marvel comics on his "Castles, Capes & Clones" blog and podcast. There were few Asian characters in the lexicon he could look up to as a child, and many were often stereotypical mystics or man-servants. "I love Marvel but I didn't necessarily see myself in the comics," said Javier, who recalls being teased by a classmate who called him "the enemy." "Now, finally, I think about kids who are reading this new generation of comics and heroes and getting to see themselves a little bit more," Javier said. "It's very powerful." Charlie Kirihara, who is half Japanese and half white, was thrilled by "New Agents of Atlas" and tweeted at Pak and Marvel pleading for more content. Kirihara, 26, said it was a welcome change to see characters that represented Asian and American cultures in "The War of the Realms." "I read through the book and realized that was the first time I've read a comic book that was all these Asian characters and that wasn't manga written in Japan," Kirihara said, referring to a genre of comics or graphic novels. "I want to see it have legs beyond this storyline." Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. That's Pak's wish as well. But it depends on how Marvel finds the fan response. "If people buy the heck out of it, I'm happy to keep writing them," Pak said. ___ This story has been edited to correct that Wave is not the first Filipino superhero in the Marvel Universe. ___ Terry Tang is a member of the AP's race and ethnicity team. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ttangAP OTTAWA - Millions of Canadians dig into their wallets and donate to charities every year, but if you want to build a lasting charitable legacy, experts say a donor-advised fund might be for you. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ottawa Community Foundation Vice-President Bibi Patel is pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. Millions of Canadians dig into their wallets and donate to charities every year, but if you want to build a lasting charitable legacy, experts say a donor-advised fund might be for you.Bibi Patel, vice-president at the Ottawa Community Foundation, says a donor-advised fund is like having your own private foundation, but without the administrative headaches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Millions of Canadians dig into their wallets and donate to charities every year, but if you want to build a lasting charitable legacy, experts say a donor-advised fund might be for you. Bibi Patel, vice-president at the Ottawa Community Foundation, says a donor-advised fund is like having your own private foundation, but without the administrative headaches. "It offers donors a chance to be involved and hands-on in their giving," Patel says. To establish a donor-advised fund, you make a donation to a foundation that issues you a tax receipt for the initial amount. The money is then invested and gains are sheltered from tax, while you direct where grants from the fund are made. Grants can be made to organizations that are recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency as a registered charity. To see if the organization you ultimately want to support is eligible, you can check the list of registered charities on the CRA website. Patel says foundations like hers can also offer guidance regarding where your donations can go, based on your causes that you want to support. "That knowledge that we bring to the table is really valuable to donors who want to know they are doing something, but they're not quite sure how to go about doing it," she says. Jennifer Button, head of philanthropic advisory services at RBC Wealth Management, says donor-advised funds can be part of your tax and estate planning. If you're facing a large tax bill from a windfall from the sale of your business, a donor-advised fund could be one way to offset some of that without having to decide immediately what charity you want to support. "Often when a client is let's say selling a business, they're thinking of so many things that are relevant to selling their business," Button said. "Yes, they've identified they're philanthropic, yes, they want to start with a foundation, but it might not be top of mind exactly which charity they want to support." She says a donor-advised fund can give you the opportunity to start small and get to know a charity before making larger grants. Donor-advised funds can also be used to help establish a legacy of giving and teaching your children about the importance of giving. "It really is quite a powerful conversation," Button said. Donor-advised funds aren't free. The foundations that hold the money before it is granted charge a fee, generally a percentage of total assets, that goes to the administration of the fund and the related costs. The funds also carry some investment risk. If the stock market tanks, losses could reduce the amount of money that you have to give out. But Button noted that the investment options offered for donor-advised funds tend to be balanced and conservative. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "You're not typically going to get the wild swings of growth, but you're also probably not going get the wild swings negative," she said. Patel noted that donor-advised funds aren't just for the rich. The Ottawa Community Foundation allows donors to establish a named fund with as little as $5,000, one of the lowest thresholds in the country. "We feel strongly that we need to make it accessible to as many people as possible," she said. Patel also says donors can maintain their anonymity by using a donor-advised fund. "By working through us, they can retain the anonymous nature of their gift," she said. The number of cases of criminal use of bitcoin has increased over the past 10 years, and the government is urged to control the use of cryptocurrency in the black market. By Kim Jae-heun The big advantage of cryptocurrencies is they enable financial transactions between individuals without intervention by the government or regulators. A number of experts in the field, however, have warned that criminals can take advantage of this to do business under the protection of this anonymity Since its release in 2009, bitcoin has become the most popular cryptocurrency here, but it has brought chaos to financial firms with its unstable value making some people wealthy and wiping out the fortunes of others. But most importantly, the fear that it would become a useful tool in the black market has unfortunately come true. A number of recent trials here have shown bitcoin is being used for purchasing illegal drugs and paying ransoms to kidnappers. A Seoul court handed down a one-year prison term suspended for two years to a 37-year-old man surnamed Lee for smoking marijuana. The man was found guilty of buying 227 grams of marijuana online 68 times between 20116 and 2018, paying over 226 million won with bitcoins. The court also fined him the same amount he spent on purchasing the drug, calculating it using the bitcoin's value at the time of the purchase. Two other men were given jail terms last year, respectively in Ulsan and Busan, for ordering narcotics from overseas and paying with bitcoin. Recently two chaebol scions one each from SK Group and Hyundai Group were arrested for using illegal drugs, and they also allegedly used the cryptocurrency in their purchases. Last month, a Korean in the Philippines kidnapped another Korean resident there and demanded a ransom from the family of $17,000 in bitcoins. The kidnapper was arrested there. Earlier this month, someone posted a note on the bulletin boards of the Incheon International Airport Corp. and Korea Airports Corp. threatening to attack the airports here with poisonous gas unless the authorities sent him 3,000 bitcoins valued at 28 billion won. As crimes involving bitcoin have begun to thrive here, calls are growing for the government to control the use of cryptocurrencies in the black market. Prof. Choung Wan at Kyung Hee University Law School said there was no practical way to discourage criminals from abusing cryptocurrencies as the country does not have any laws governing them. Discussions are ongoing over whether to legally recognize cryptocurrencies. "The government has not legalized cryptocurrencies, but as transactions between individuals are growing, it said it would come up with regulations on them," Choung told The Korea Times. He also said the government cannot intervene in individuals' bitcoin transactions, so it is hard to keep a record of them. "It is only possible when a court issues a warrant for an investigation into a suspected crime, but that procedure is complicated. There needs to be a simpler one to check the use of bitcoin in crimes, and we can do that by making a law," Choung said. Economic scholar Nouriel Roubini of New York University's Stern School of Business said in the Deconomy 2019 forum held last month in Seoul that only criminals and tax dodgers prefer anonymity, warning cryptocurrency should not become the next Swiss bank. He urged all countries to take preventive measures against crimes taking advantage of the anonymity in cryptocurrency transaction, adding it was a matter of social order. RENO, Nev. - NASA has launched the final stage of a four-year effort to develop a national traffic management system for drones, testing them in cities for the first time beyond the operator's line of sight as businesses look in the future to unleash the unmanned devices in droves above busy streets and buildings. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this Tuesday, May 21, 2019 photo, Ron Johnson, NASA's project manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management, points to an image detailing airspace elevations in downtown Reno. Nev., where NASA conducted the first drone tests of their kind in an urban setting. A series of simulations are testing the emerging technology that someday will be used to manage travel of hundreds of thousands of commercial, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) delivering packages. (AP Photo/Scott Sonner) RENO, Nev. - NASA has launched the final stage of a four-year effort to develop a national traffic management system for drones, testing them in cities for the first time beyond the operator's line of sight as businesses look in the future to unleash the unmanned devices in droves above busy streets and buildings. Multiple drones took to the air at the same time above downtown Reno this week in a series of simulations testing emerging technology that someday will be used to manage hundreds of thousands of small unmanned commercial aircraft delivering packages, pizzas and medical supplies. "This activity is the latest and most technical challenge we have done with unmanned aerial systems," said David Korsmeyer, associate director of research and technology at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. An autonomous drone took off Tuesday from the rooftop of a five-story casino parking garage and landed on the roof of another out of view across the street. It hovered as onboard sensors adjusted for gusty winds before returning close to the centre of the launchpad. Equipped with GPS, others flew at each other no higher than city streetlights but were able to avoid colliding through onboard tracking systems connected to NASA's computers on the ground. Similar tests have been conducted in remote and rural areas. The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized individual test flights in cities before but never for multiple drones or outside the sight of the operator. The new round of tests continuing this summer in Reno and Corpus Christi, Texas, marks the first time simulations have combined all those scenarios, said Chris Walach, executive director of the Nevada Institute of Autonomous Systems, which is running the Reno tests of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. "When we began this project four years ago, many of us wouldn't have thought we'd be standing here today flying UAVs with advanced drone systems off high-rise buildings," he said. The team adopted a "crawl, walk, run" philosophy when it initiated tests in 2015, culminating with this fourth round of simulations, said Ron Johnson, project manager for unmanned aircraft systems traffic management at NASA's Ames Research Center. "We are definitely in the 'run' phase of this development here in Reno," he said. The results will be shared with the FAA. The agency outlined proposed rules in January that would ease restrictions on flying drones over crowds but said it won't take final action until it finishes another regulation on identifying drones as they're flying something industry analysts say could be years away. Critics assert that the FAA has stymied the commercial use of drones by applying the same rigid safety standard it uses for airlines. "There can be a lot of Silicon Valley mentality where people don't want to wait. So, we're trying to strike a balance between unleashing entrepreneurship and ensuring we're doing it safely while trying to accelerate acceptance of drones in public," Johnson said. Amazon and FedEx are among the companies that hope to send consumer products by drone by 2020.Drone delivery company Flirtey began testing delivery of defibrillators for cardiac arrest patients last year in Reno under FAA oversight. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Johnson said cities present the biggest challenges because of limited, small landing areas among tall buildings that create navigation and communication problems. He said it became apparent early on that the travel management plans for drones would have to be completely automated because FAA air traffic controllers can't handle the enormous workload. The system is being tested with the help of 36 private partners, including drone manufacturers, operators, software developers and other third-party service providers, Johnson said. The system uses software on the ground that communicates flight plans and positions to other software systems. The drones are equipped with programs for landing, avoiding crashes, surveillance, detection and identification, optical cameras and systems similar to radar that work with lasers. Huy Tran, director of aeronautics at NASA's Ames Research Center, said her supervisors at NASA headquarters were surprised to hear they had be testing drones in Reno. "They said, 'Are you crazy?'" she said. "We hope (the test in) Reno shows drones can be flown and land safely." PROVO, Utah - A man who posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection was sentenced Thursday to up to five years in prison. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. PROVO, Utah - A man who posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection was sentenced Thursday to up to five years in prison. Judge Christine Johnson's decision to keep Christopher W. Cleary, 27, of Denver, behind bars in Utah went against a recommendation from Cleary's attorney and prosecutors to sentence him to probation so he could be returned to Colorado to serve prison time there for probation violations. In this Feb. 28, 2019, photo, Christopher W. Cleary, 27, makes a court appearance in Provo, Utah. ClearyAos arrest for posting a Facebook threat to kill Auas many girls as I seeAu fit a pattern of behavior for a troubled man with a history of terrorizing women he met over the internet. ClearyAos plea deal with Utah prosecutors fits a pattern of lenient punishments common for cyberstalking and online harassment cases. A judge who is scheduled to sentence Cleary on Thursday, May 23, must decide whether to accept prosecutorsAo recommended sentence of probation. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool) Johnson said the incident clearly warranted prison time and that she didn't feel comfortable relying on Colorado to keep Cleary locked up. She said Utah's board of pardons can decide if Cleary should be transferred to Colorado. Cleary's Facebook threat came hours before women marched through many U.S. cities in January, stoking fears of another deadly rampage by a man blaming women for his problems. Cleary called himself a virgin who never had a girlfriend. When police tracked his cellphone and arrested him at a McDonald's restaurant in Provo, Utah, Cleary said he had been upset and wasn't thinking clearly. Cleary spoke only briefly at the sentencing, saying quietly, "I'm just sorry for what happened." His actions fit a pattern of behaviour for a troubled man with a history of terrorizing women he met over the internet. At least eight people since 2012 have contacted authorities to accuse Cleary of stalking or harassing them, according to an Associated Press review of police and court records. His attorney, Dustin Parmley, said Cleary was ashamed of his actions and has long had issues controlling his impulses to say inappropriate things. He said Cleary had a troubled childhood and was diagnosed with mental health issues at age 10, though he didn't elaborate. Parmley said Cleary bounced between group homes and mental health hospitals during his childhood. Parmley said police did the right thing in taking the threat seriously but noted Cleary has never followed through on his threats with physical violence. "The threats were made in very vague and nonspecific terms," Parmley said. Cleary pleaded guilty in April to a reduced charge of attempted threat of terrorism, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend probation, which would have spared him any additional jail time in Utah beyond the months he's served since his Jan. 19 arrest. Deputy Utah County Attorney Douglas Finch called Cleary a "disturbing young man" but said he was fine with the agreement because Colorado prosecutors indicated they would make sure Cleary would serve prison time in that state. Cleary was still on probation in Jefferson County, Colorado, when he was arrested in Utah. Pam Russell, a spokeswoman for the county prosecutor's office, said earlier this week that prosecutors would seek to revoke his probation and request a "significant" prison sentence in Colorado after the Utah case was concluded. He could face up to 17 years in prison in Colorado for three stalking cases, Russell said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We want to have him returned to Colorado as quickly as possible," Russell said Thursday. Among the complaints against Cleary in Colorado were reports that he threatened to bomb a grocery store in 2013 after an employee refused to cash his check; that he threatened to slit the throat of a Denver city employee after his car was towed; and that he threatened a mass shooting at a mental health facility during a 2016 phone call. Cleary was on probation for a marijuana conviction when, in 2016, he was charged with stalking two 18-year-old women he met online. He was on probation and in mental health court for the stalking cases when he was charged in 2017 with stalking and harassing a third woman who was Cleary's caseworker. Last year, judges in Jefferson County, Colorado, sentenced him to probation in all three stalking cases. Cleary also has a warrant for his arrest in Denver, where a 17-year-old told police in 2015 that he sent her a string of threatening text messages, including: "I own multiple guns I can have u dead in a second." ____ Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland, Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report. Chinese telecom giant Huawei faced new threats to its business Wednesday as some European firms followed the U.S. tech industry in suspending dealings with the company. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Chinese telecom giant Huawei faced new threats to its business Wednesday as some European firms followed the U.S. tech industry in suspending dealings with the company. Two British telecom companies, Vodafone and a unit of BT Group, said they would suspend plans to include Huawei telephones in their upcoming high-speed 5G networks. And in a potentially more consequential blow, U.K. chip designer Arm Holdings, an important supplier to Huawei, said it was "complying with the latest restrictions set forth by the U.S. government." The Trump administration last week ordered companies to stop selling U.S. technology to Huawei, calling the company a potential security threat that could use its telecom equipment to spy on other countries. That prompted Google and other U.S. firms to begin suspending dealings with Huawei, and is now spurring effects for non-U.S. companies. Huawei has vigorously denied the assertions of spying and the Trump administration allegation that the Chinese government exerts undue influence on Huawei. With about US$105 billion in global sales last year, Huawei is the worlds second largest seller of cellphones and the largest seller of equipment used to build 5G, or fifth generation, wireless networks. "We value our close relations with our partners, but recognize the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions," Huawei said in a statement Wednesday. "We are confident this regrettable situation can be resolved and our priority remains to continue to deliver world-class technology and products to our customers around the world." The conflict is putting companies and governments around the world in a tough spot, forcing them to choose between alienating the United States or China. Arm Holdings issued its statement after the BBC reported that the firm had told staffers to suspend dealings with Huawei. An Arm spokesman said some of the companys intellectual property is designed in the United States and is therefore "subject to U.S. export controls." Losing Arm as a supplier would be a major blow because it would "cripple key Huawei chips," said Dave Burstein, a telecom analyst at STL Partners and publisher of Huawei Report. Burstein discloses two conflicts of interest on his site, saying Huawei has paid his expenses to attend conferences and provided contracting work to STL Partners. BT Groups EE division, which is preparing to launch 5G service in six British cities later this month, said Wednesday it would no longer offer a new Huawei smartphone as part of that service. Vodafone also said it would drop a Huawei smartphone from its lineup. Both companies appeared to tie that decision to Googles move to withhold licences for its Android operating software from future Huawei phones. Europe is far from abandoning Huawei, however. Despite relentless pressure from the Trump administration, European governments have declined to issue outright bans on Huawei equipment as they erect the cellphone towers and other parts needed for 5G networks. In Britain and Germany traditionally two of Washingtons closest European allies officials have said they are setting high security standards and are aware of the potential pitfalls of using the Chinese company to supply vital digital infrastructure. "The companies that supply 5G will have huge power in their hands. And we know that Huawei is a de facto state company of China," said Jurgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for Germanys governing Christian Democratic Union. "I dont think anyone is unaware of the risks. This isnt like buying and selling chewing gum." Hardt said Germany knows how to manage the risk, and he noted that Germanys decision-making "will be independent of what Mr. Trump does." He also suggested that the U.S. pressure has been counterproductive. It could feed a narrative among German voters, he said, that their government is "just giving in to pressure from the United States" if Huawei is ultimately left out of the countrys networks. That is considered unlikely. Telecommunications suppliers have said that without a major, low-cost supplier like Huawei, the process of rolling out 5G an upgrade in a country where 4G coverage is still spotty could be far more costly and may be delayed by years. Key decisions are likely to be made this summer as Germany picks winners after an auction of 5G spectrum. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated last week that Huawei technology would not be excluded from the competition. Her government had already concluded that such a ban would be illegal. Other European leaders have taken the same approach, resisting Washingtons demands for a ban while emphasizing that they are on top of the security threat. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Frances position, President Emmanuel Macron told a technology conference last week, "is not to block Huawei or any other company. France and Europe are pragmatic and realistic." Britain, which has used Huawei equipment in its telecom networks for more than a decade, also insists that it has the situation under control. The U.K. bans Huawei parts from the sensitive "core" of its current 4G networks, which contain routers and switches handling massive volumes of traffic. Vodafone and other carriers use Huawei equipment on the edge of the network, where radio antennas connect with user devices. British officials have said theyre considering a similar approach with 5G. In a statement in response to questions, the U.S. National Cyber Security Center said that "Huaweis presence in the U.K. is subject to detailed, formal oversight. This provides us with a unique understanding of the companys software engineering and cybersecurity processes." The issue has proven divisive in Britain. Earlier this month, it indirectly triggered the resignation of the defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, amid fighting within Prime Minister Theresa Mays government over how tough to be on Huawei. Washington Post LAS VEGAS - A company backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk has been awarded a nearly $49 million contract to build a transit system using self-driving vehicles underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2018 file photo Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., speaks during an unveiling event for the Boring Co. Hawthorne test tunnel in Hawthorne, Calif. The Boring Company, backed by tech billionaire Musk has been granted a nearly $49 million contract to build a transit system using self-driving vehicles underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. (Robyn Beck/Pool Photo via AP, File) LAS VEGAS - A company backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk has been awarded a nearly $49 million contract to build a transit system using self-driving vehicles underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. The board of directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved the contract Wednesday with The Boring Company, the Musk-backed enterprise based in Hawthorne, California. People would be transported underground on self-driving electric vehicles from three types of Tesla Model X chassis. The system will be capable of transporting up to 16 people at time through parallel tunnels, each running in a single direction. The twin tunnel system will run less than a mile (1.6 kilometre) long. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The system also will include a pedestrian tunnel and three underground stations accessible from convention centre's halls. The company plans to immediately pursue permits to start construction in September. It aims to debut the system by December 2020. "The first thing that's important is to get it right," Authority President and CEO Steve Hill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal . "We want to do it as quickly as possible, but we want our customers to be comfortable with it." Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman cast the only vote against the project. At a meeting last week, she cited concerns about hiring a company that has yet to deliver a transit system. The authority will reimburse the company as it completes certain stages of the project, like completing excavation for the first station and digging the first 100 feet (30.5 metres) of the first tunnel. Full payment is contingent on the company demonstrating that the system can support an average of 4,400 passengers per hour. Construction will be able to proceed without disruption to traffic or other surface activity, Hill said. The system also could be expanded, which could be part of the solution to the city's transportation problems, he said. Canada is about to face a canola crunch that could add new costs for farmers in the midst of a trade tussle with their biggest buyer. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canada is about to face a canola crunch that could add new costs for farmers in the midst of a trade tussle with their biggest buyer. With China snubbing canola purchases, stockpiles of the oilseed as of March 31 were at their highest level for the time of year since 1980. With much of the 2018 harvest sitting in bins, many growers could find themselves forced to buy new storage capacity for the 2019 crop theyre now in the process of planting. The cost: an average of $2 per bushel, or about $60,000 for a bin large enough to hold 30,000 bushels, according to Dave Wall, the president and sales manager at Winnipeg-based Wall Grain Handling Systems, a grain bin and dryer dealer. That could create a cash-flow problem for many growers, Wall said. "You cant buy many bins if youve got a million dollars in your bin," Wall said. "So you need a very good banker or lots of assets." Lane Stockbrugger, who grows canola and other crops in Englefeld, Sask., has locked in some sales for the fall canola harvest. But he also already ordered two steel grain bins for his farm this year in anticipation of plenty of leftover supplies. The outlook is bleak because of the countrys strained relationship with China, its biggest canola buyer. Beijing alleges impurities in the crop, but Canada says it has so far declined to provide evidence of that. Instead, its seen as likely retaliation for Canadas detention of Huawei Technologies Co. chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou late last year on a U.S. extradition request. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The result of the tussle: July canola futures have slumped 10 per cent in 2019. Farmers are adding to storage, "expecting that it may not be a very fast action back to sales into China," said Stockbrugger, who is also chair of the board of directors for producer group Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. Canola requires cool, dry conditions for storage. The ideal situation is the steel grain bin, since it allows for easier temperature regulation. A cheaper, but less optimal solution, is the grain bag, where the crop can be stored for as long as 40 weeks, said Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council. Some farmers may even end up getting creative and use non-traditional storage options like sheds this year, she said. "We probably are going to be in a situation where were going to have grain in the bins longer than we would expect and not have so much selling off the combine," Stockbrugger said. Bloomberg News OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will help decide whether a proposed class-action lawsuit against ride-hailing service Uber can move ahead. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. A Canada goose walks on the front lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on May 10, 2018. The Supreme Court of Canada will help decide whether a proposed class-action lawsuit against ride-hailing service Uber can move ahead. The high court has agreed to hear Uber's challenge of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that paved the way for the suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits for drivers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will help decide whether a proposed class-action lawsuit against ride-hailing service Uber can move ahead. The high court has agreed to hear Uber's challenge of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that paved the way for the suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits for drivers. The man behind the planned class action, David Heller, is a driver for UberEats, a service that calls on drivers to deliver food from restaurants to Uber customers. He argues that Uber drivers are employees, which entitles them to protections under Ontario's Employment Standards Act. Ontario's highest court said a clause in Uber's services agreement that requires all disputes to go through arbitration in the Netherlands amounted to illegally outsourcing an employment standard. The Supreme Court, following its usual custom, gave no reasons for agreeing to hear Uber's appeal and no date for the high-court hearing has been set. An Indigenous woman who's been suffering abdominal pain most of her life and is now being tube-fed is asking the Manitoba government to fund the surgery she needs to heal. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. An Indigenous woman who's been suffering abdominal pain most of her life and is now being tube-fed is asking the Manitoba government to fund the surgery she needs to heal. Niki Dumas, a 30-year-old from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, said so far, the province hasn't promised any of the estimated $150,000 she would need for the procedure, which is only available at a facility in Cleveland. Dumas has a condition called intestinal malrotation, forcing her in and out of hospital since she was about two years old. The mother of three has spent roughly the past two years staying at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Dumas said she knows of one other patient a Metis man who had the same surgery last year, which was covered by Manitoba Health. It's unclear to her why her same request was denied this spring, especially when she had doctors' approval. "It would mean that I live a normal life again," Dumas said of the surgery. "Id be able to eat again. Id be able to function. Id have energy to keep up with my children. I wouldnt suffer with severe bowel issues all the time and vomiting. Life would be so much easier." Health Minister Cameron Friesen wasn't available for an interview Wednesday, as he was in Charlottetown for a national meeting of seniors ministers. A government spokesperson said out-of-province health-care requests are considered when recommended by physicians and when treatment isn't available in Manitoba. "Generally speaking, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living will consider a request when it receives the required information," the spokesperson said by email Wednesday. "While we cant speak to specifics of this case due to privacy laws, we are sympathetic to Ms. Dumas plight and can confirm departmental officials reached out to her yesterday." Dumas said she wasn't aware of anyone from government reaching out to her this week but acknowledged she had limited access to her phone as she was part of a group of about 35 people making its way to the legislature from Carberry on foot over the last five days in an awareness drive. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Liberal health critic Jon Gerrard said he's going to push the provincial government to help Dumas. "Shes been in hospital here and its quite clear to me that Manitoba, the department of health, should be able to provide funding for her, just like it does for any other Manitoban," Gerrard said. Speaking during a rally at the legislature, Wendy Caribou agreed her cousin ought to be given the same treatment as any other Manitoban. "We are human. We have the same colour blood that everybody has and I think we should be treated equally," she said. jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @_jessbu OTTAWA The International Monetary Fund says Canada needs to step up its efforts to clear trade barriers between the provinces, or it could squander a large boost to the economy. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The International Monetary Fund says Canada needs to step up its efforts to clear trade barriers between the provinces, or it could squander a large boost to the economy. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has spent the past year pushing his peers and Ottawa to lift interprovincial trade barriers. KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES On Tuesday, the IMF suggested doing so could boost the economy more than the new North America trade deal. "Barriers to domestic trade is a longstanding issue, and nothing short of a sustained and concerted collective effort is needed to break down barriers that are impeding Canadian businesses from competing on a level playing field, and scaling up," reads the document, known as a staff note. The document flags the top policy issues the international organization plans to explore in a looming report. The Canadian Free Trade Agreement took effect in July 2017. It provides a mechanism for Ottawa and the provinces to iron out differences in everything from job credentials to the rules around what equipment commercial vehicles need, which changes across provincial boundaries. But Pallister started warning in April 2018 the agreement wasnt being used enough, adding an effective tax on everyday goods. The IMF a 189-nation group that promotes international financial stability and monetary co-operation found its own shortfalls in the CFTA. "Several problematic aspects need to be resolved, including setting clear targets for reducing the number of exemptions," reads the IMF note. It also said the process for harmonizing regulations ought to be sped up. Chuck Davidson, head of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, says groups such as his have been encouraging governments to get on the same page. "Weve got all these great trade arrangements with other countries that we focus on, but we cant get trade right in our own backyard," he said. "This is problematic for businesses across Canada." Ottawa has made some progress on standardizing building codes, food-inspection regulations and requirements for first-aid kits. The premiers discussed interprovincial trade while meeting in Montreal last November. Since then, few changes have been announced. The Trudeau government is trying to harmonize trucking regulations before this falls federal election, a move the Manitoba premier said would especially benefit his province. Changing those regulations does not require an act of Parliament. The Liberals March budget aims to remove barriers around shipping alcohol across provincial boundaries though some provinces still plan to ban transporting beer in a personal vehicle, likely due to the tax revenue. The IMF also encouraged "efforts to unify securities regulations across provinces" although provinces have fought in court to maintain their own financial regulators. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "From a business perspective, Its absolutely dumbfounding as to why we cant get together around things like trucking regulations," said Davidson. "I dont know if its an unwillingness or a lack of focus, in terms of being able to address this issue." The IMF seems to suggest Ottawa pinpoint provinces who want to make more progress, and work closer with them. "A coalition of the willing could be one way to accelerate progress," reads the note. The fund said Canadian industries such as insurance, finance and business services would benefit by breaking down mismatching rules. The agency estimates this would "increase real GDP by almost four per cent" more than the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a tentative deal meant to replace NAFTA. Federal and provincial officials are set to gather at a meeting May 29 in Halifax to take stock of interprovincial trade issues. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Premier Brian Pallister says he will get his emergency meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss federal delays in approving a hydro transmission line to Minnesota. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Premier Brian Pallister says he will get his emergency meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss federal delays in approving a hydro transmission line to Minnesota. "I'm confirmed for next week," he told reporters Wednesday at the Manitoba Legislative Building. Pallister refused to provide a date for the meeting, which will be held in Ottawa. "I'll tell you when I get there," he said. Manitoba Hydro is anxious to begin construction of a $453-million power transmission line that will boost the corporation's export capacity to the United States. The new line will also double the amount of power Manitoba can import from the U.S. in an emergency. Hydro has agreed to have its portion of the transmission line to the U.S. border completed by June 2020. It faces penalties and lost revenues totalling $200 million if the line's completion is delayed by a year. On Tuesday, Pallister suggested Ottawa was expecting Manitoba to "pony up a certain amount of money" to remove roadblocks to having the line built. However, a federal source told the Free Press Ottawa was not asking the province to spend more money, noting the delays stemmed from the need to spend more time consulting some two dozen First Nation communities and the Manitoba Metis Federation. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The MMF was on-side with the project until the Pallister government refused to endorse a tentative agreement the organization once had with Manitoba Hydro not to oppose such developments. The Free Press recently reported Ottawa is worried about claims from First Nations that the province didn't adequately consult them. Pallister has rejected that argument, saying the province has been "using a gold standard in our consultations." Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the prime minister's office did not confirm or deny late Wednesday a meeting had been arranged with the Manitoba premier for next week. "We'll keep you posted," she said in an email. larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca One camper was kicked off a provincial park campsite for smoking marijuana on the long weekend. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. One camper was kicked off a provincial park campsite for smoking marijuana on the long weekend. Even though the Victoria Day long weekend was the first one since the federal government legalized cannabis last October, marijuana is not allowed at provincial parks. The marijuana ban had ramifications for one camper at Spruce Woods Provincial Park. "Overall it was considered a normal weekend in the parks, with the only reported enforcement action related to cannabis being an eviction for smoking cannabis in Spruce Woods," a provincial spokesperson said. The province used to ban alcohol in its parks during the May long weekend, but after a pilot project to allow alcohol into parks last year proved successful, it was allowed again this year. Over at Riding Mountain National Park, it was much the same. Richard Dupuis, the park's visitor experience manager, said the long weekend was uneventful. "It was a pretty normal May long weekend in terms of incidents," Dupuis said. "This year, with both a liquor and a cannabis ban, we didn't see any incidents with eviction." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Dupuis said part of the reason may be that while there are some sites open for last-minute campers, most people reserve their spots well in advance and they aren't partiers. "We open for reservations in January. You really do have to plan ahead," he said. Meanwhile, RCMP said 28 drivers were charged with impaired driving during Canada Road Safety Week, which included the long weekend. That compares with 41 drivers being charged last year. RCMP said six drivers were handed alcohol or drug-related administrative suspensions compared with 12 last year; 10 were dinged for not wearing seatbelts, down from 22 last year, and 479 were charged with speeding compared with 794 last year. But RCMP said while 131 drivers received traffic-related charges last year, this year it ballooned to 209 drivers. Two people were charged with using a cellphone while driving. Last year, 11 drivers were charged. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Government officials and firefighters inspect a building in the eastern city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, where a hydrogen tank exploded Thursday. The explosion killed two people and left six injured. / Yonhap The Manitoba government will issue a request for proposals looking for a consultant to review its Police Services Act, a proposal outlined in last year's throne speech. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Manitoba government will issue a request for proposals looking for a consultant to review its Police Services Act, a proposal outlined in last year's throne speech. Former RCMP assistant commissioner Scott Kolody organized the terms of reference for the RFP, which Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said are finished and would be published within days. "You will be seeing the details of that RFP and those terms of reference next week," Cullen told reporters. "That really speaks to the governance piece of policing." While Cullen wouldn't elaborate on the terms of reference yet, he was joined by members of the RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service, Brandon Police Service and Manitoba First Nations Police Service Thursday to discuss their shared policing and public-safety priorities. The province unveiled Manitoba's Policing and Public Safety Strategy, which included eight areas of focus: On the first bullet point, Manitoba plans to build a provincial intelligence model to help all police forces share data. "We recognize that crime doesnt recognize municipal borders. So we have to be diligent in terms of sharing information and sharing resources," Cullen said, adding later: "Once we have the data, then we can provide direction in terms of how were going to deal with the issues out there." WPS Chief Danny Smyth said he hoped the new system would help track firearms across the province and aid in missing persons investigations. "We have an opportunity, I think, to co-ordinate missing persons (cases), which would include missing and murdered Indigenous women, on a provincial level," he said. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. When talking about specific communities police will focus on, Cullen repeatedly brought up Thompson, which has ranked high in national crime-severity indexes. He noted Thompson, often referred to as the Hub of the North, has become "the hub for criminal activity, as well." "Weve got alcohol (and) drug issues there, some homelessness, different issues there that just seems to culminate in Thompson," he said. Asked whether deploying more police would help cure those social ills, Cullen acknowledged more health and social investments will also be needed in the North. "I guess what were seeing its the addictions, the homelessness and it sometimes leads to crime, as well. So those are the sort of, some social issues that we have to address as well. And thats why were going to be keying in on Thompson." jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @_jessbu The small-business owner sold food products in bulk to support his family while paying his way through university. His education, ambition and management skills landed him a job in regional government, where he worked his way to the top job. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The small-business owner sold food products in bulk to support his family while paying his way through university. His education, ambition and management skills landed him a job in regional government, where he worked his way to the top job. When his predecessor was assassinated, Noor Ahmed Hassan was named governor of the Galguduud region of Somalia in September 2017 putting him in the crosshairs, too. "It's very, very dangerous," said Hassan, who is in Winnipeg preparing for his refugee protection hearing Monday before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. After surviving decades of civil war and terror attacks including Somalia's largest in October 2017 that killed nearly 600 people at Mogadishu's Safari Hotel the greatest threat to his life was being appointed to lead one of the country's 18 administrative regions. Like the slain governor (Mohamed Dahir Ali Elmi) he was to replace, Hassan became a target for al-Shabaab terrorists trying to overrun the country, as well as an armed opposition. In an interview Wednesday at a Tim Hortons coffee shop on Isabel Street, Hassan shared highlights from his short-lived appointment to lead the central region where he was born. "There was a lot of conflict," he said through an interpreter, showing Somalia TV news clips, including an interview with a reporter and a news conference where he's one of four leaders seated on the dais. "I was given the opportunity by my own people who needed a new leader," said Hassan, 47. "The economy and everything was going down." When he was named governor of Galguduud region, following a peace agreement brokered for central Somalia, he said he was reassured by the head of Galmudug state that he'd receive heavy security. Within weeks, Hassan's office was attacked. He and his staff were beaten and taken hostage by opposition militia for three weeks before African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) forces took control of the building and freed them. "They can't protect you," Hassan said. His family six teenage and adult children from his late wife, and his second wife who was expecting their first child lived apart from him for their safety since he joined the government in 2017. "I felt like I was in my own prison." Last year, he saw a way out: a conference on artificial intelligence in Las Vegas. While waiting for his U.S. visa to arrive in April 2018, an al-Shabaab suicide bomber set off a car-based explosion near the Mogadishu airport narrowly missing Hassan. The bomber died and two police officers were injured; Hassan was unscathed but sure he was the intended target. When his visa arrived, he headed to Las Vegas, then north to Minneapolis, home of the largest Somali community in the United States. Friends told him there was no hope of the U.S. granting him asylum under the Trump administration, so he headed to Canada. He took a bus to Fargo, N.D., then paid a taxi $150 to get him close to the border at Emerson. He walked for three hours, arriving in Canada in the dark on May 1, 2018. The RCMP took him to the Canada Border Services Agency to verify his identity and make sure he wasn't a security threat. He was driven to the Salvation Army in Winnipeg, then Welcome Place for help filing a refugee claim and other paperwork. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. He went to Toronto, where he had friends, and worked in shipping and receiving, sending money to his family in Somalia. Now, he's back in Winnipeg for his hearing and hopes the city will become his permanent home. If granted refugee protection, he's eager to bring over his wife and young daughter, as well as his six grown children. "I think here is the best option," said Hassan, who sees Winnipeg as a safe place to live. "Toronto is very expensive and getting a home is very hard." If his refugee claim is rejected, Hassan plans to appeal, all the while working to send money to his family. "If Somalia could have saved my life, I would've stayed there." carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Students at the University of Manitoba will have to dig deeper into their wallets or work a few more shifts at summer jobs after the institution approved a tuition hike of 3.75 per cent. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Students at the University of Manitoba will have to dig deeper into their wallets or work a few more shifts at summer jobs after the institution approved a tuition hike of 3.75 per cent. The university's board of governors approved the increase on Tuesday as part of its $675.3-million balanced operating budget for the coming school year. By comparison, the University of Winnipeg recently approved a 3.7 per cent tuition increase. The U of M said in a statement it "remains one of the most affordable post-secondary options in the country" and that increases in student support will help those where cost may be a barrier. The budget includes $850,000 in funding to help international students complete the transition from public to private health-care coverage, the university said. Last year, the Pallister government withdrew health-care coverage for international students. "Weve received an assurance that the number of international students drawing from this pool will be tracked and it will be studied what the increase is now that health care is no longer covered," said Jakob Sanderson, president of the University of Manitoba Students' Union. "Our expectation is that a high number of financially vulnerable international students will utilize this funding, but we are excited about all increases to needs-based bursaries for financially disadvantaged students given the increased costs to education." The institution also budgeted an extra $250,000 to combat sexual violence and racism in the university community. Sanderson said the students' union wants that money to pay for both increased and mandatory training for faculty on consent culture and power dynamics, and for a sexual violence resource and education centre. "(The centre) is a major need given the current situation wherein students having just experienced trauma have to self-triage and go through a difficult and confusing process," he said. "We want one central area for students to go and receive training, resources, find out about the reporting and investigation processes, and get trauma-point counselling... The university has communicated they share our priorities." Sanderson said the two initiatives were the result of UMSU lobbying. Although Sanderson and vice-president advocacy Sarah Bonner-Proulx, UMSU's representatives on the board of governors, voted in favour of the budget, they criticized the political environment that led to it. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "UMSU recognizes the difficult position the university faces in ensuring appropriate funding is available to support a quality education and maintain its campuses," a statement by UMSU said. "The Government's decision to cut significant funding for post-secondary education is a short-sighted economic policy and an attack against students, given the correlation between a society's education level and its economic well-being." The Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba also criticized the tuition increase. "The Manitoba government is insistent on balancing their budget on the backs of students and their families," said Dele Ojewole, CFS-Manitoba's chairman. "If this government is serious about making our province prosperous, the accessibility and affordability of post-secondary education should be a priority. We should not be increasing barriers to education if we want Manitobans to have access to good jobs." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion It cant happen here. Thats what I have heard over and over again, since various states started to roll out their repressive responses to womens reproductive freedom in Trumps America. It would be political suicide for a Canadian government to implement an abortion ban, Ive been assured. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms would prevent this from happening, others have said, holding on with their small-L liberal indignation. I am not that optimistic. The stunning decisions in a number of American states to restrict abortions at six weeks so-called "heartbeat" laws means that most women will be unable to access the care they need because they wont even know they are pregnant. The penalties are also incredibly harsh, with Texas at one point considering the death penalty for abortion providers. Thankfully, that bill failed to pass. While abortion may not be against the law in Canada, there are currently no laws in place that ensure Canadian women have the right to access safe and affordable abortions. More importantly, access to abortions varies from province to province and within provinces, by region. Add to that the stigma surrounding abortions, ignited every time puritanical thinking overrides womens right to choose, and you have a pretty potent mix that controls how women feel about their fundamental right to body autonomy. In Manitoba, there is no physician available outside of Winnipeg or Brandon who offers surgical abortions, and the wait-lists are long. The medical abortion drug Mifegymiso (a two-pill regimen composed of mifepristone and misoprostal) works for pregnancies less than nine weeks and is available in some pharmacies in Manitoba, but not all, and it is covered by some pharmaceutical plans, but not all. For those who do not have benefits coverage, the pill costs $350. A group of medical students at the University of Manitoba is lobbying the provincial government to join other provinces by making the drug free for everyone. So far... nothing. Plan B, or the "morning-after pill," which can be used when there is a birth-control failure or in the event of sexual assault, has recently been found to be less effective for women who are overweight. It is also not readily available in pharmacies outside Winnipeg, and its cost is not covered by drug plans. The cost around $30 is not prohibitive if youre middle class, but if youre living on a limited income, that, too, can be pricey. So the claim that Canada has free, accessible abortions is clearly not true. Not if youre poor. Not if you live outside of southern Manitoba. Certainly not if you happen to have a health-care provider or a pharmacy that refuses to provide you with Mifegymiso or Plan B. (For those of you interested in sending the government the message that Mifegymiso should be free for everyone, there is a rally at the provincial legislature on June 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, contact the campaign organizers on Facebook at Make Mife Free.) As for the political will to ensure surgical and medical abortions remain available in Canada, the federal Conservatives under party leader Andrew Scheer have made it clear they would not reopen the abortion debate. However, that doesnt mean that he would stop private members from putting forward bills on their own. While the chances of those bills surviving to become law may be slim, there are at least 12 MPs in Scheers caucus who have openly attended right-to-life rallies or shown right-to-life videos. These included status of women critic Rachael Harder. Furthermore, in August 2018, a resolution to reopen the abortion debate in Canada was narrowly defeated at the federal partys convention in New Brunswick. In contrast, while federal Liberal candidates under leader Justin Trudeau must affirm that they are pro-choice in order to run under the banner of the party, there is no such requirement for the Conservatives. As one right-to-life organization proudly proclaimed, private members bills could mean a law could be introduced and passed if a Scheer government were elected. Closer to home, the Pallister governments own health minister refuses to discuss abortion issues, even though it is well within his portfolio. Cameron Friesen will instead refer any questions to the Status of Women Minister Rochelle Squires. Friesen and former health minister Kelvin Goertzen both represent staunchly conservative rural constituencies. That perhaps explains, then, how access to abortion in this province is more restricted than in most other provinces. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. It is easy for us to say that it wont happen again in Canada, but the new face of the anti-abortion movement no longer is a middle-aged matron clutching rosary beads, or an angry man screaming in protest while brandishing signs adorned with images of aborted fetuses (although those certainly remain). According to an exhaustive study by academics Paul Saurette and Kelly Gordon, the new anti-abortion movement is headed by young, well-educated women who consider themselves feminists and who see their role as progressive and humanitarian. For these new crusaders, to be against abortion is to be against "female gendercide." It cant happen here? Im not that optimistic. I protested in the 1980s for my right to have access to abortions. I cant believe I might have to do it again 30 years later. Shannon Sampert is a political scientist at the University of Winnipeg. She still has her protest signs from the last time and shes not afraid to use them. s.sampert@uwinnipeg.ca Twitter: @paulysigh What, you may ask, is the City of Winnipeg doing to combat bike theft? Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. What, you may ask, is the City of Winnipeg doing to combat bike theft? Interesting question. Unfortunately, to date we mostly know what the city is not doing. Last week, city administrators recommended against a mandatory bike registration program at the point of sale. The city already has an online bike registry, but it is optional. A city committee will still consider making it mandatory, but the thumbs down from administrators does not bode well for this idea. Of greater concern is the fact the six-page report tabled last week contains virtually no other ideas for combating bike theft other than "improving public education." Given the size and nature of the problem, that is a weak response. Bikes are easy to steal, even easier now that cordless grinders and saws have given thieves the ability to carve through almost any lock, chain or fixture being used to secure a bike. More than 3,000 bikes are reported stolen every year; about 1,000 are recovered but less than 10 per cent of them find their way back to rightful owners. The broader concern is bicycle theft is directly connected to the meth crisis. Addicts looking for cash steal and sell bikes because they are relatively easy to grab and unload. Some end up in scrap metal yards, while others are sold in face-to-face transactions, or through online classified sites. Faced with these conditions, it's no wonder hardcore cyclists are frustrated. "It's a very tough issue to deal with," said Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg. "There's a convergence of things that have made it easier to steal and sell stolen bikes. We really need to do a bit more to deal with this problem, because it will create other problems down the road." WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Mark Cohoe, executive Director of Bike Winnipeg. One of the most frequent concerns expressed by cyclists is the apparent indifference of the Winnipeg Police Service. Even when a bike has been registered, and when there is clear evidence suggesting it has been put up for sale in an online classified ad, police lack the resources to pursue the theft. A friend experienced this two years ago after his 18-year-old son's $400-bicycle was stolen. The day after the bike went missing, my friend and his son found it for sale on Kijiji. It seemed like a slam-dunk opportunity to bust some crime. But after visiting the local community police office, my friend found out that in most instances, there are no resources to track down individual stolen bikes. In my friend's case, it meant police declined his request to confront the person who had posted the stolen bike online. It should be noted the WPS does undertake a number of measures to combat bike theft. It runs a sting program where bikes equipped with GPS trackers are left in high-risk areas. Once stolen, police track its location and make an arrest, which has happened several times. The WPS is also heavily involved in public education, encouraging cyclists to register and lock their bikes and report thefts. However, when it comes to investigating an individual theft, resources run thin. A WPS spokesman noted that with dramatically increasing calls volumes, many of them involving elevated risk to someone's well-being or life, crimes like this are constantly pushed down the list of policing priorities. "We can only help when resources allow for it," the spokesman said. That is not a cop-out, if you'll pardon the pun. In fact, when you look at all of the things the police are asked to do, it's easy to see how bike theft is given a lower priority. That does not mean there are no solutions. For example, currently most online classified sites do not require anyone selling a bike to post a registration number with the advertisement. (All bikes have a unique, engraved number somewhere on their frames.) Being required to include a registration number, or rejecting ads that do not have them, could make it harder to fence a stolen bike. And rather than create its own online registry, Winnipeg could follow the example of other cities that employ free, third-party apps to create a community watch system for bicycles. Vancouver relies heavily on Garage 529, a free app developed by a private company in the U.S. that allows cyclists to register their bikes on a continent-wide data base. For $13, the app sells you a "shield," a decal that tells would-be thieves that your bike is registered. If your bike is taken, you can notify the entire app community, and people can help provide information to aid in its recovery. Dan Lett | Not for Attribution A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world that is sent every Tuesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Proponents believe the app not only allows more stolen bikes to be returned to their owners, but also acts as a deterrent to thieves. Law enforcement and other interested parties agree; hundreds of police services, schools and pro-bike groups across North America support Garage 529 by publicizing it and selling shields. The Brandon Police Service is the only participating agency in Manitoba. It appears to be working. In Vancouver, public education by police and Garage 529 have been credited with a 30-per-cent drop in bike thefts. Another possible solution would be for the WPS to occasionally track down and punish people selling stolen bikes online. As is the case with the bike-bait program, a single, well-publicized arrest of an online fence would make for a powerful deterrent. Which brings us back to a single administration report produced for a single civic committee. The city cannot rely solely on the WPS, and needs to go beyond "public education" to address this problem. Fortunately, there are good ideas out there just waiting to be found. dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 22/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. So, the premier is having a meeting. One can only imagine the peals of laughter or, perhaps, the hot tears of seething frustration that were prompted Tuesday by reports that Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister had requested a sit-down conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the federal governments decision to delay approval of the Manitoba-Minnesota power transmission line. Premier Brian Pallister has been avoiding meeting with Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press files) To be clear: the premier requested a meeting with another level of government to deal with a contentious issue, clearly on the assumption that his request would be granted. Mr. Pallister indicated, in fact, that he would be ready to head to Ottawa as early as next week, and now it seems the requested confab with the PM will take place. One can only wonder how Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman reacted upon reading this. Mr. Bowman, of course, has been seeking a meeting with the premier for months might we say years? to discuss the various manners in which the province has cut or capped previously committed funding to municipal programs. One might also have liked to be a fly on the wall in the office of H. Sanford Riley when he heard about the premiers urgent-meeting entreaty; Mr. Riley, of course, chaired a Manitoba Hydro board that resigned en masse in 2018, citing an unwillingness by Mr. Pallister to meet and discuss numerous critical issues, including the Manitoba-Minnesota power transmission line. According to federal government sources, the delay in approving Manitoba Hydros much-discussed transmission line to Minnesota was made necessary by the provinces unilateral cancellation of a deal, negotiated by Hydro officials, to pay the Manitoba Metis Federation $67.5 million over 50 years in exchange for a promise not to oppose that project and others in the future. At the time, Mr. Pallister inflamed tensions by referring to the deal as "hush money" and describing the MMF as a "special-interest group." The federal government held up its decision on the project until June 14 to ensure it is able to meet its legal duty to consult with Indigenous communities before approving such projects. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed to meet with Premier Brian Pallister to talk about the federal government's decision to delay approval of the Manitoba-Minnesota power transmission line. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files) Mr. Pallister, for his part, accused Ottawa of "delaying the approval process and potentially threatening to delay it longer unless we pony up a certain amount of money," a likely reference to the cancelled $67.5-million deal with the MMF. Want more great journalism? Get our best news and features delivered in your inbox every weekday evening. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. And to add a layer to the thick irony enveloping the premiers posture, he followed his "pony-up" pronouncement with this: "And thats none of their business." Whether by antagonistic intent or selective memory lapse, Mr. Pallister seems to have no problem ignoring the fact that he, a scant couple of weeks ago, aggressively insinuated his administration into the affairs of municipal government by announcing that the province is launching a review of the way the City of Winnipeg and other local governments handle building-permit approvals and inspections. One might be inclined to think most municipal leaders would consider local permit procedures and practices to be none of the premiers business, but he pressed on undaunted, as is his wont. The provincial-review announcement, it should be noted, came without any consultation with stakeholders that might be affected by such a review consultation that might take place if, say, Mr. Pallister were to sit down with Mr. Bowman to discuss permits, funding models and other subjects of provincial-municipal import. That hasnt happened, of course, because Mr. Pallister doesnt do meetings. Well, not all the time, anyway. CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Thursday ordered the release of an Al-Jazeera journalist who had been detained since 2016 on allegations of spreading false news and defaming Egypt's reputation. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Thursday ordered the release of an Al-Jazeera journalist who had been detained since 2016 on allegations of spreading false news and defaming Egypt's reputation. Mahmoud Hussein, an Egyptian journalist working for the Qatar-based satellite network, was detained at the Cairo airport in December 2016 when he arrived on a family vacation from Doha. No official charges were ever raised against him and Hussein didn't stand trial. This undated photo provided by Al-Jazeera shows journalist Mahmoud Hussein in Cairo, Egypt. An Egyptian court on Thursday, May 23, 2019 has ordered the release of Hussein, detained since 2016 on allegations of spreading false news and defaming EgyptAos reputation. Hussein, an Egyptian journalist working for the Qatar-based satellite network, was detained at the Cairo airport in December 2016, when he arrived on a family vacation from Doha. (Al-Jazeera via AP) "This case shows the misuse of pre-trial detention as a form of punishment in Egypt," said Gamal Eid, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. He said there are at least 20,000 people currently in detention without charges in Egypt for political reasons. Hundreds of them have already exceeded the legal two-year pre-trial term, he said. Since the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, the Al-Jazeera network has been portrayed as Egypt's national enemy for its sympathy toward Islamists. Many of its reporters have been arrested on grounds of spreading lies and supporting an insurgent group a reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organization. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Doha-based Al-Jazeera reported the release of Hussein on its website Thursday, saying Hussein "was arrested without formal charges and kept in prison for 881 days." His daughter, Az-Zahra Hussein, said on Facebook that her father will be released "with precautionary measures" likely meaning he'll have to report regularly to police and that he's soon to be transferred from prison to a police station. Under Egyptian law, Hussein must be released within 24 hours, said Eid. "This is a final court ruling but the problem is that security forces tend to delay releases when they do not like those freed," said Eid, adding that in some previous cases the execution of the release order took several months. In 2013, Egypt officials received a landslide of international condemnation when security forces arrested three journalists, including Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed who worked for Al-Jazeera English at the time. A court found them guilty and sentenced them to seven to 10 years in prison. Later, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi ordered Greste deported after having spent 400 days behind bars and pardoned his co-defendants. Since his assent to power, el-Sissi has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, arresting thousands mostly Islamists but also prominent secular activists and journalists and rolling back freedoms won after the 2011 uprising. In 2017, the Egyptian government blocked access to Al-Jazeera's news website along with dozens of other news sites deemed too critical of el-Sissi's regime. According to a 2018 report by the New York-based Committee to Protest Journalists, Egypt along with Turkey and China were responsible for more than half of journalists jailed around the world for the third year in a row. Egypt is also placed 161 out of 180 countries in the press freedom rankings of Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based non-profit that advocates for freedom of expression. A portion of Highway 33 through Baraboo was closed to traffic Thursday morning as law enforcement officers searched a home for drugs. The Sauk County Critical Incident Response Team was at 414 Eighth St. with an armored vehicle in the driveway. The four-lane street, which doubles as Highway 33 through town, was closed to traffic at Elizabeth and East streets. Baraboo Police Chief Mark Schauf said authorities executed a drug search warrant at the two-story residence. Schauf said police were concerned about the safety of officers and residents involved, so they called for assistance as a precaution. Everything was done very safely, and there was little incident in the application, Schauf said. The Sauk County Drug Task Force and Sauk County Sheriffs Office assisted on scene Wednesday, and an investigation remains open. No additional information was immediately available. This is the second time in three months the thoroughfare was closed because of a police incident. On March 3, Highway 33 was closed to traffic as Baraboo police sought to make contact with a man they say made threats at a residence in the 800 block of Eighth Avenue. The man was taken into custody and evaluated for a mental health-related detention. No charges were filed in the incident. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradMikeAllen or call him at 608-745-3510. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. There are but a few social or cultural morals and principles that create a gut-level, emotionally ingrained response. Among the most volatile issues of the day is the abortion debate, which again has been brought to the top of the news. Measures placing strong restrictions on abortions recently were enacted in Alabama, Missouri and Georgia. Those measures were passed to counteract measures passed in New York and Virginia, which essentially allow abortions at birth. Across the nation there is growing momentum, informed by science and compassion, and spurred on in reaction to abortion extremism in New York and Virginia, to recognize the humanity of the unborn child in the law, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said, according to a May 18 CNN article. It is clearer than ever that Roe (v. Wade) is far from being settled law in the eyes and hearts of the American people, and this is increasingly reflected in state legislatures. The American people want a fresh debate and a new direction, achieved by consensus and built on love for both mothers and babies. Here in Wisconsin, the debate has been brought to the forefront with the introduction of several measures seeking to address aspects of the controversy. If there are more people than allocated vouchers, a waiting list will be created in case more vouchers become available. Vouchers can be picked up by proxy. Proxies need to bring a signed statement from the eligible senior designating that person as their proxy; include seniors complete address, phone number and date of birth. A proxy can represent up to four individuals. By Jung Da-min Huneed Technologies, a domestic defense firm headquartered in Incheon, has become a supplier of upgraded radar-based identification systems for Republic of Korea Navy ships. Huneed Technologies said Wednesday that it won a contract valued at 30.3 billion won ($25.4 million) to supply localized Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF) systems. The new integrated sets of the IFF system consisting of an interrogator, a transponder and a control panel mounted together on a rack are expected to be delivered by the end of 2023 to Hanwha System, which will be finalizing the systems. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has been working on replacing the current Mode-4 IFF system used by the South Korean military with the Mode-5, the latest in the series of IFF systems. Last March, Huneed was chosen as the preferred bidder by Hyundai Heavy Industries to supply integrated sets of IFF systems for the six new FFX-III ships currently being constructed as the third project of the Navy's next generation frigate series. "We will contribute to advance the operational capabilities of our military in the future battlefield environment through the successful execution and implementation of these two IFF projects," Huneed CEO Shin Jong-seok said in a statement. IFF systems, designed for command and control of vessels and aircrafts, use a radar transponder that replies to each interrogation signal by transmitting responses consisting of a unique signal that identifies the broadcasting vessel or aircraft. It enables military and civilian air traffic control interrogation systems to identify aircrafts, vehicles or forces and to determine their bearing and range from the interrogator. The South Korean military's upgrade plan for its IFF systems came as the U.S. military and NATO announced plans to upgrade all of their IFF systems to Mode-5 by 2020. The two allies, South Korea and the U.S., conduct numerous joint military exercises regularly every year. JUNEAU Delays in the conversion of Dodge Countys financial system software have some county board members upset and wanting to know whom to blame. During an update to the board Tuesday night, project leaders Andy Miller and Justin Reynolds presented an extended timeline for completion. They also outlined the progress made so far and the goals to be accomplished prior to going live on Jan. 1, sixth months after originally scheduled. County Administrator Jim Mielke introduced the presentation, thanking Enterprise Resource Planning project team members for their contributions to switch from a JD Edwards system (used from 1997 to 2019) to a Tyler Technologies (Munis) system. Board members Cathy Houchin and Jeff Berres, both of Watertown, complained about transparency during the process, and not being properly apprised that the system launch would be delayed. In the private sector, if something like this would crash in the form that this crashed, some people might not be there today, Berres said. My question is, who is responsible? Mayor Mike Thom believes pedestrian safety should be the citys main priority and supports the bump-outs. In the last six years since Ive been (in Columbus) thats an intersection that has created several discussions at the council level about the congestion that occurs, mostly during school drop-off time in the morning, Thom said. In the past few years, the city has considered placing a stop sign at the intersection, stopping traffic around the clock. Another proposed option was placing a basket with small red flags there, which pedestrians could use to alert motorists when crossing the street. Thom said there are no stop signs from the downtown intersection at Ludington and James streets out to the Highway 73 on-ramp. This is something that could help alleviate safety concerns in that area, Thom said. Its at no cost to the city and would mimic other things weve been doing in the city concerning pedestrian safety. Council Member Trina Reid wondered if bump-outs would increase traffic congestion, especially in the morning when students are being transported to nearby Columbus Preschool and the high school. Vander Sanden said the sidewalk improvement plan would be similar to City Engineer Jason Liethas city street repair program. According to a memo to the committee from Vander Sanden, the vendors work with communities on a two-step process they come in and do a community-wide sidewalk assessment and report on where your problem sidewalks are located. They rate sidewalks on repair needs and provide it in a format that can be implemented into the citys GIS mapping system. But, there would be a catch. The vendors would provide a free service to target problem areas, but the city would have to use their services for grinding. Schultz said Safestep completed a similar sidewalk project in Cottage Grove. According to Schultz, the city would determine what areas, both residential and city-owned, to improve and the vendor would provide a cost estimate for its work. They only do grinding, they do not do complete sidewalk replacements, Schultz said. We could tell them to do it in sections or the whole city all at once. For residential work, Vander Sanden said the city could split 50% of costs with homeowners. Mayor Mike Thom likes the idea and said doing it in sections would allow the city time to budget for the work. The city will use TID and park funds to pay for the projects, and has received letters of commitment and support from Juneau County, Royall School District, and the Elroy Lions Club for either finances or materials. Budget Adjustments Elroy is making adjustments to the budget for the current year, reducing total expenditures from the general fund from $1,570,903 to $1,567,273, a reduction of $3,630. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Brown said that while she was working on the expenditure restraint program, she noticed that the city had budgeted in two places for a police squad car. The changes to the budget include an increase in long term principal of $2,417, an increase in long term interest by $2,952, a decrease in the contingency fund of $1,000, and a decrease in the police capital outlay fund of $8,000. A resolution to amend the budget was unanimously approved by the council. Other Action In other action before the Common Council, the council: Vogel informed Ryan that she pulled him over for crossing the center line twice. Asked why he did not acknowledge the sirens or lights, Ryan said that he was trying to get off onto a side road. Asked for a drivers license, Ryan told Vogel he did not have one, but did provide his information. Vogel asked Ryan where he was going, to which he responded, slowly, that he was dropping some friends off and returning home. Asked if he had been drinking, Ryan told her he had a couple. Deputy Justin Wegmueller of the Juneau County Sheriffs Office arrived at the scene, and Vogel explained the details of the stop. Vogel then ran Ryans information through the Wisconsin TIME system and verified that Ryan had four previous OWIs and a revoked license for an OWI-related incident. Vogel approached Ryans vehicle on the passenger side and asked him to step out and come to the rear of the vehicle. She then informed Ryan she wanted to perform the Standard Field Sobriety Testing. Ryan said he didnt want to do all that and asked to just do the breath test thingie and be done with it. But Evers, in a series of tweets, said the GOP plan doesnt get us where we need to be. I remain hopeful that I can continue to work with Republicans to give our schools and our kids the resources they need to be successful, Evers wrote in one of the tweets. Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback declined to comment further. Nygren dismissed Evers budget as an unrealistic benchmark by which to judge the GOP plan. That was more of a campaign document than actually a real budget, he said. In a statement, John Ashley, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, which represents the states 421 school districts, said the package makes important investments in special education and raising the revenue limit for historically low-spending districts, but it is significantly less than Evers proposal. He encouraged Republican lawmakers and Evers to continue to discuss the education budget. The GOP package increases state funding to school districts by $200 per pupil in the first year of the next two-year budget cycle, then by an additional $204 per pupil in the second. Dan Litchfield, the project manager for Badger Hollow, said the appeal did not result in any delays and he expects to break ground this fall. The PSC voted 2-0 in April to authorize construction of two solar farms the 300-megawatt Badger Hollow and 150-megawatt Two Creeks project along Lake Michigan and to allow the utilities to jointly buy two-thirds of the panels. Both solar farms would be larger than any currently built east of the Rocky Mountains and will result in a five-fold increase in Wisconsins solar energy capacity. The utilities said they need to replace aging fossil fuel generators and that the $389.7 million investment will save customers $181 million compared to other alternatives. Carol Overland, the attorney representing Jewell-Jinkins, argued that Valcq, who was appointed in December by Gov. Tony Evers, should not have participated because as a partner in Quarles & Brady she would have received shareholder payments even for cases she didnt work on personally. Bauer said in an interview after the meeting, he voted in opposition for the change in the health reimbursement amount at the May meeting because he wanted to take more time reviewing the finances. It was his first regular board meeting since he was elected in April. With everything that Ive seen so far I just didnt know if we had to change the benefit package just yet, Bauer said, adding he was in favor of keeping the same reimbursement amount for the 2018-2019 school year. Im talking about what I have seen in the last three weeks, I am catching up to speed on everything. I just wasnt quite convinced we had to change the package just yet. First Grade Teacher and Vice President of the Reedsburg Education Association Jenny Meacham said she disagreed with the boards decision at the May meeting, because it still means more out of pocket costs. Its still a raise, Meacham said. They just didnt raise it as much as they originally said they were going to raise it. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Participation and state funding Participation of breakfast in the state is one of the lowest in the nation at 83%, ranking Wisconsin 50 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, behind New Jersey. Wollin said The Department of Public Instruction will host a participation workshop for all schools June 19 at Chula Vista in the Wisconsin Dells and is open to all schools in the state to learn how to increase participation in the breakfast program. Benson said the school district didnt look at the national participation levels, instead focusing on the students within its own buildings. We know the little bit of research we have done is probably more common sense than anything else that if any of us, children and adults, if we have a little breakfast in our belly to start the day, we are probably likely to be more alert, more attentive to whatever work is in front of us. Benson said. Gov. Tony Evers 2019-2020 proposed budget increases the amount of state aid to schools participating in the school breakfast program to .15 cents a breakfast, a .07 cent increase. The amount provides an additional $5.6 million over the two year budget to address student hunger. Maj. Gen. Dennis S. McKean, center, commanding general of the U.S. Forces Korea's 2nd Infantry Division, the Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Division, giving a patch of the division to its new Deputy Commanding Officer Col. Gene Meredith at an inauguration ceremony at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Yonhap At any given moment, millions of doctors and medical researchers across the globe are working toward a singular goal: that no illness should be a death sentence. One large leap was taken toward accomplishing that goal recently, when for the second time in history an HIV patient was cured of the disease. Like the first case, the cure was a result of a bone marrow transplant intended originally to treat cancer. McDermott International, Inc. provides engineering, procurement, construction and installation, and technology solutions to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through five segments: North, Central and South America; Europe, Africa, Russia and Caspian; the Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Technology. It designs, engineers, and constructs upstream offshore oil and gas facilities, downstream oil and gas facilities, gas-fired power plants, liquefied natural gas import and export terminals, atmospheric and refrigerated storage vessels and terminals, water storage and treatment facilities, pipe and module fabrication, hydrocarbon processing facilities, pipe fabrication and manufacturing, and refining and petrochemical facilities. The company also provides gas processing, refining, petrochemical and coal gasification technologies, as well as a supplies catalysts, equipment, and related engineering services. It serves national, integrated, and other oil and gas companies, as well as producers of petrochemicals and electric power. McDermott International, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Read More By Lee Gyu-lee An Indian man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a Korean woman in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The suspect, 31, whose identity is being withheld, was arrested on charges of attempting to sexually assault the woman in Seongsan-gu on May 15, police said. The man dragged her into bushes while she screamed for help, police said. A man, 59, surnamed Ha, who was walking with his wife and daughter, heard the scream and rushed toward the sound. When he got there, he saw the suspect running away. He gave chase and caught him 300 meters from the alleged crime scene. "As a father of my daughter, I felt obligated to do so," Ha said. "Anyone would have done the same if he faced such a situation." Police later gave him a plaque of appreciation and 500,000 won ($420) for his brave actions. The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Advisors S.r.l., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe (Services) Limited, AIG Europe Holdings S.a.rl., AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Insurance Company (Switzerland) Ltd, AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG Shared Services Corporation, AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE EOLA LLC, AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American Home Assurance Company Escritorio de Representacao no Brasil Ltda., American International Group Inc., American International Group UK Limited, American International Overseas Association, American International Overseas Limited, American International Realty Corp., American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A., American Security Life Insurance Company Limited, Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Avondhu Limited, Blackboard Customer Care Insurance Services LLC, Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Services LLC, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., Chartis Takaful Enaya B.S.C. (c), Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions Inc., Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd., Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Group Risk Services Limited, Group Risk Technologies Limited, Illinois National Insurance Co., Jefferson Eola Venture LLC, Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, MG Reinsurance Limited, Mt. Mansfield Company Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Private Joint-Stock Company AIG Ukraine Insurance Company, Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SA Affordable Housing LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc., SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., Thai CIT Holding Company Limited, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., Western World Insurance Company, and Western World Insurance Group Inc.. There is not enough analysis data for BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust. 4.1 Community Rank Outperform Votes BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust has received 262 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust has received 155 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust has received 62.83% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe BOE will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe BOE will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next The following companies are subsidiares of Brinker International: BI INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LLC, BI MEXICO HOLDING CORPORATION, BIPC GLOBAL PAYROLL COMPANY LLC, BIPC INVESTMENTS LLC, BIPC MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER AIRPORTS LLC, BRINKER ALABAMA INC., BRINKER ARKANSAS INC., BRINKER ASIA INC., BRINKER BRAZIL LLC, BRINKER CANADIAN HOLDING CO. ULC, BRINKER CANADIAN RESTAURANT CO. ULC, BRINKER CB LP, BRINKER CB MANAGEMENT LLC, BRINKER FHC B.V., BRINKER FLORIDA INC., BRINKER FREEHOLD INC., BRINKER GEORGIA INC., BRINKER INTERNATIONAL PAYROLL COMPANY L.P., BRINKER LOUISIANA INC., BRINKER MICHIGAN INC., BRINKER MISSISSIPPI INC., BRINKER MISSOURI INC., BRINKER NEVADA INC., BRINKER NEW JERSEY INC., BRINKER NORTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER OF BALTIMORE COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CARROLL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OF CECIL COUNTY INC., BRINKER OKLAHOMA INC., BRINKER OPCO LLC, BRINKER PENN TRUST, BRINKER PROPCO FLORIDA INC., BRINKER PROPERTY CORPORATION, BRINKER PURCHASING INC., BRINKER RESTAURANT CORPORATION, BRINKER RHODE ISLAND INC., BRINKER SERVICES CORPORATION, BRINKER SOUTH CAROLINA INC., BRINKER TEXAS INC., BRINKER VIRGINIA INC., CHILIS BEVERAGE COMPANY INC., CHILIS INC. a Delaware corporation, CHILIS INC. a Tennessee corporation, CHILIS INTERNATIONAL BASES B.V., CHILIS OF BEL AIR INC., CHILIS OF KANSAS INC., CHILIS OF MARYLAND INC., CHILIS OF WEST VIRGINIA INC., Grady's Inc., MAGGIANO'S OF ANNAPOLIS INC., MAGGIANO'S OF HOWARD COUNTY INC., MAGGIANO'S OF KANSAS INC., MAGGIANOS BEVERAGE COMPANY, MAGGIANOS HOLDING CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS INC., MAGGIANOS OF TYSONS INC., MAGGIANOS PROPERTY CORPORATION, MAGGIANOS TEXAS INC., PEPPER DINING HOLDING CORP., PEPPER DINING Inc., and PEPPER DINING VERMONT INC.. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF's stock was trading at $73.25 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, EFG stock has increased by 51.2% and is now trading at $110.75. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Former teacher at Sookmyung Girls' High School is walking to the courtroom to stand trial for his charge of "obstruction of business" at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap By Kim Jae-heun A court found a former teacher at Sookmyung Girls' High School guilty Thursday of illegally providing exam questions to his twin daughters attending the same school, prior to them sitting the test. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the father, surnamed Hyeon, to three-and-a-half years in prison for "obstruction of business." "It is beyond description how much the teacher has obstructed the school's business by committing the crime over two semesters. His misdeed has led the public to suspect other high schools' management of their students' test records, something that requires transparency and fairness for college admissions," the court said in its ruling. "As a result, the people's trust in public education was negatively affected as was other teachers' morale. The accused, however, continues to deny the charge despite trying to destroy evidence. Therefore, the court must give him a severe punishment." The prosecution had earlier requested seven years in prison, but the court rejected this saying the high school was partially responsible as it failed to adopt a system to prevent such "leaks" in advance. "Also this incident has affected his twin daughters who now cannot live a normal life as students, which the father probably had wanted the least." The former teacher was indicted for leaking exam papers five times, thereby helping his two daughters to cheat on tests from the first semester of their freshman year in 2017 to the first semester of their sophomore year in 2018. As a result, the two girls' grade ranking put them at the top of their class, jumping from 50th and 100th places in a single year. Hyeon and the girls have denied the cheating and claimed they only studied hard to obtain such good rankings. The court did not accept these claims, saying the twins' scores did not improve in tests organized by other institutes. The girls are also on trial in another court dealing with cases involving minors. Deutsche BArse AG operates as an exchange organization in Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates through seven segments: Eurex (Financial Derivatives), EEX (Commodities), 360T (Foreign Exchange), Xetra (Cash Equities), Clearstream (Post-Trading), IFS (Investment Fund Services), and Qontigo (index and analytics business). The company engages in the electronic trading of derivatives, electricity and gas products, emission rights, and foreign exchange; operating of Eurex Repo over the counter (OTC) trading platform and electronic clearing architecture; and operating as a central counterparty for on-and-off exchange derivatives, repo transactions, and OTC and exchange-traded derivatives. It also operates in the cash market through Xetra, BArse Frankfurt, and Tradegate trading venues; operates as a central counterparty for equities and bonds; and provides listing services. In addition, the company offers custody and settlement services for securities; investment fund services; global securities financing services; and global securities finance and collateral management, as well as secured money, market transaction, and repos and securities lending transaction services. Further, it develops and markets indices, as well as portfolio management and risk analysis software; markets licenses for trading and market signals; provides technology and reporting solutions for external customers; and offers link-up of trading participants. Deutsche BArse AG was founded in 1585 and is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO ENERGY, XTO Energy Canada, and XTO Holdings LLC. 9 hours ago China pursues tech 'self-reliance,' fueling global unease BEIJING (AP) To help make China a self-reliant technology superpower, the ruling Communist Party is pushing the world's biggest e-commerce company to take on the tricky, expensive business of designing its own processor chips a business unlike anything Alibaba Group has done before. Its 3-year-old chip unit, T-Head, unveiled its third processor in October, the Yitian 710 for Alibaba's cloud computing business. Read Article The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is an insurance and financial services company. The company provides life insurance, group and employee benefits, automobile and homeowners insurance and business insurance, as well as investment products, annuities, mutual funds, and college savings plans. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits and Hartford Funds. The Commercial Lines segment provides workers compensation, property, automobile, liability and umbrella coverage under several different products, primarily throughout the U.S., within its standard commercial lines, which consists of The Hartford's small commercial and middle market lines of business. The Personal Lines segment includes automobile, homeowners and home-based business coverage to individuals across the U.S. The Property & Casualty Other Operations segment includes certain property and casualty operations, currently managed by the company, that have discontinued writing new business and substantially all of the company's asbestos and environmental exposures. The Group Benefits segment offers group life, accident and disabi Read More Jeju Air employed 10 Vietnamese flight attendants, who started to provide services on the airline's four routes to Vietnam, Wednesday. Courtesy of Jeju Air By Kim Hyun-bin Korea's low-cost carriers are starting to employ foreign flight attendants from Southeast Asian countries to provide better communication with foreign customers from the region. The country's largest budget carrier Jeju Air began deploying Vietnamese flight attendants, Wednesday, the first time for the airline to introduce foreign cabin crew. Starting March 19, 10 Vietnamese flight attendants went through two months of training including aviation security, use of emergency equipment, ground training as well as services and flight manner, according to the airline. Currently, Jeju Air provides 49 flights a week to four destinations in Vietnam Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang and Nha Trang. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, there has been a drastic surge in Vietnamese tourists visiting Korea in recent years. Last year alone, about 457,800 Vietnamese visitors came to Korea, a 3.2-fold increase from 2014's 141,500. "Through the Vietnamese flight attendants, we want to differentiate our services and increase the satisfaction of foreign passengers. We also want to expand our presence in the local market and use it to construct a basis for continuous growth," an official from Jeju Air said. Jeju Air provides flights to 72 cities in 43 countries and the airline has continuously recruited foreign workers. In 2016, there were only 45 foreign employees, but that number rose to 150 by April this year. T'way Air's six Vietnamese flight attendants are scheduled to provide communication services to Vietnamese passengers starting next week. Since last year, the airline has recruited a total of 14 Vietnamese flight attendants. Courtesy of T'way Air iShares MSCI Australia ETF's stock was trading at $17.46 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWA shares have increased by 44.2% and is now trading at $25.17. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth by replicating, to the extent possible, the performance of the S&P/TSX 60 Index through investments in the constituent issuers of such index, net of expenses. The Index is comprised of 60 of the largest (by market capitalization) and liquid securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), selected by Standard & Poor's (S&P) using its industrial classifications and guidelines for evaluating issuer capitalization, liquidity and fundamentals. The S&P/TSX 60 Index covers approximately 73% of Canada's equity market capitalization. The S&P/TSX 60 Index also represents the Canadian component Standard & Poor's flagship S&P Global 1200 Index. The Fund is managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. Read More SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More A worker at an ice factory in Daegu checks stocks, Thursday, when the weather agency issued heat wave warnings for many parts of the country. For Seoul it was the first warning of 2019. /Yonhap The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. 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Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. SYLVAN BEACH, N.Y. -- Oneida County officials will be patrolling the water this Memorial Day weekend, Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol says the two biggest issues they see each year are boating under the influence and boaters not having proper life jackets. At a news conference Wednesday, Maciol reminded all boaters to check for proper life jackets before they go out on the water and to make sure there is one for every person on board. New York law requires children age 12 and under to be wearing a life jacket at all times. Maciol also reminds boaters to have safety flares and an operational GPS system on board. Additionally, leave a float plan with someone on shore. The state requires anyone after May 1, 1996, to pass a boating safety class before operating a boat. They must have their certification on them all times. DOLGEVILLE, N.Y. -- After Tuesday night's elections, the Dolgeville Central Schools $19 million udget failed to pass. The proposed budget was a result of the district being short around $2.6 million . "We had mistakes in our budget where our revenue was over estimated and expenses were under estimated which caused for a big deficit. So we've done a whole lot of cuts and we have the concession from the staff and we told the staff that we have to cut down on their supplies so now we are going back to the drawing board and cutting even more," said Superintendent Lynn Rhone. In the wake of the failed vote, the district held a Board of Education meeting to allow teachers and residents to come in and ask questions about what's next for the district. Some of the teachers were concerned that one of the reasons for the budget failure could have been the spread of misinformation on social media. Dolgeville Superintendent Lynn Rhone reiterating the importance of attending board of education meetings. "That's why we sent out a newsletter to all those folks to hopefully answer any of their questions, and that's why we had so many community forums and we wanted people to come to our budget meeting. Because we just wanted everyone to just have the truth and vote based on the facts," said Rhone. What happens next for the district is the board of education will discuss whether or not they want to propose a new budget with a different tax levy, or move straight to their contingent budget. If the district proposes a new budget, that would have to be voted on and overwhelmingly passed on June 18. If that vote fails, the district will move to its contingent budget which is much stricter on what the district is allowed to spend on. Courtesy of Gangwon Fire HeadQuarter A hydrogen tank explosion killed two people and left six injured in the eastern city of Gangneung in South Korea, the firefighting authorities said Thursday. One is seriously injured and five others suffered minor injuries. Firefighters are continuing rescue operations to see if there are people trapped under the debris after the explosion, a spokeswoman at Gangwon Fire Headquarters said over the phone. "We deployed firefighters to the scene after receiving a call at 6:22 p.m.," she said, adding the storage tank was used by a venture firm at the Gangwon Technopark in Gangneung, 240 kilometers east of Seoul. (Yonhap) Courtesy of Gangwon Fire HeadQuarter Courtesy of Gangwon Fire HeadQuarter NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. -- The New Hartford Animal Hospital is bigger and better than ever. Dozens came out to the New Hartford Animal Hospital to celebrate their expansion, nearly doubling its size! For more than 40 years the hospital has been helping the community and its furry friends. The state-of-the-art addition features a surgical suite, a dental suite and expanded recovery areas. "My favorite part of the new addition is actually having the room to serve more patients," said Dr. Abby Regner. "It's always such a struggle when someone calls you on the phone stressed because their pet is injured and the schedule just ins't accommodating. Now we have so much space for more doctors which means more availability. We are not saying no, we are saying yes and that's so exciting." President Moon Jae-in, left, and former U.S. President George W. Bush at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Thursday. Bush visited South Korea to attend the memorial service for former President Roh Moo-hyun. Yonhap President Moon Jae-in expressed appreciation for former U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to South Korea Thursday to attend an official ceremony to commemorate late President Roh Moo-hyun, saying it reflects the strong alliance between the two nations. Bush is scheduled to participate in the memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of Roh's death, which will be held at Bongha Village in Gimhae, some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, later in the day. Moon, who was a longtime friend and colleague of Roh, is not attending the ceremony. He instead met Bush at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. Moon told Bush that his plan to visit the village for the event is a "symbolic thing" that demonstrates the firmness of the alliance. Moon also said Roh "meant a lot" to the alliance, while his translator used the words "great symbol" for Roh, who served as South Korea president from 2003 to 2008. He was Bush's counterpart throughout the tenure and the two had summit talks. Moon's remarks marked his first public message on the anniversary. Moon and Bush talk at Sang Chun Jae, a wooden pavilion hosting VIP guests at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Yonhap The meeting was also attended by Ryu Jin,?left, chairman?of Poongsan Group, and Chung Eui-yong, right, head of the presidential National Security Office. Yonhap Moon and Bush shake hands in front of Sang Chun Jae after their meeting on Thursday. Yonhap When Amanda Furdge walked into a clinic in Jackson, Mississippi, in the spring of 2014, she knew exactly what she wanted: to confirm whether she was pregnant, and to have an abortion if she was. Furdge was about 27 at the time, and she had an infant son from a relationship that she says was toxic and abusive. She wasn't positive that she was pregnant again, but as she waited in the clinic's dimly lit waiting room, she was 100% certain that she did not want to have a second child. She'd found the facility through an ad in a local paper; it'd said something along the lines of, "Do you think you're pregnant? We can help." Furdge recalls reading that and thinking it was "going to be like a Planned Parenthood," she says. But something was off. There were religious pamphlets and tracts on display, and after a while, it became "obvious to me that this is not a medical facility," she says. "[But] in my mind, no matter what they say, I know what I'm here for." What happened to Furdge next could be a case study of what it's like to try to terminate a pregnancy in a state like Mississippi that limits access to abortion. Although the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in 1973, some states have established so many legal hurdles that it's become too difficult for some women to access services. More state restrictions are in the works. The most recent example is Missouri, which just passed a bill that would prohibit abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy. Missouri's legislation follows Alabama, which now has the most restrictive abortion law in the country, as well as laws in Ohio and Georgia that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That can happen as early as six weeks, before a woman may even know that she's pregnant. None of these laws are in effect yet, and they're likely to face challenges in court. That includes a "heartbeat bill" in Furdge's home state of Mississippi, which was signed into law in March. 'We didn't talk about sex' Furdge had returned to Jackson in 2014 with her young son, Titan, to escape the relationship with his father in Chicago. "I didn't want to leave," she says, "but I knew the only way to get out of that situation was to move." Back in her childhood home, she enrolled in a program to become a medical assistant. She figured she'd study and give herself and her son some time to grow and recover before she returned to the Windy City. "Everything was normal" and going according to plan, she says, until the day Furdge heard her instructor mention that women could breastfeed and still get pregnant -- something she'd thought couldn't happen. (As with other forms of birth control, the lactational amenorrhea method isn't foolproof.) Furdge had been breastfeeding her son since he was born in July 2013. And before she left Chicago, she says, "I was in a precarious sexual situation with my child's father. I thought, 'I can't get pregnant; I'm breastfeeding, I'm not having a cycle.' ... Breastfeeding to me meant I wasn't ovulating." In the spring of 2014, Furdge says, she was still nursing and still wasn't menstruating. After that class, she grew suspicious. "Growing up, we weren't given sex education. I grew up Southern Baptist. My dad's a pastor; we didn't talk about sex," she says. "It was just a gut feeling; I didn't have any other reason to believe it." So when she saw that newspaper ad offering help, it looked like the way to confirm what she suspected. The language in the ad was vague, but she "had been living in Chicago for seven years," she says. "I knew what the language of an abortion clinic might be, [and] I just put two and two together." Furdge had arrived in Chicago in 2007, and that's where she "really just started exploring myself as a sexual being and becoming a woman," as she describes on CNN's "United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell." While she had used condoms and the pullout method as contraception, Furdge had two unplanned pregnancies and terminated both. Back in Jackson, she thought her path to having an abortion would be similar to what she experienced earlier in Chicago. But the clinic she'd found was like a crisis pregnancy center -- the kind of nonprofit organization whose purpose is to get women not to terminate a pregnancy and point them toward other options instead. Furdge says she waited in that clinic for at least an hour before being given a pregnancy test, and then waited more before she was brought into a counseling session. By that point, she was on edge; she wanted to get her test results, line up an abortion and go. What she got instead was a one-on-one conversation with an older woman who asked Furdge to produce a picture of baby Titan. Then, the woman asked Furdge how she would feel if someone killed her child. "I remember feeling something in my throat," Furdge says. "I was already exhausted. Maybe that's how they wear you down, with the waiting. I remember saying, 'I don't know what I would do.' "And then she said: 'That's your baby. And you know what's in your stomach? That's your baby [too].' And I thought, 'Wow. That's not what I came here for. This is not what I need right now.' When she said that, I just got quiet. ... Emotionally, now, I'm a wreck. I knew from past experiences that if I needed to [have an abortion], I could do it. And I shouldn't have to justify it, or talk about it, or anything. But she's sitting across from me like I owe her this, like we have a relationship or bond or something." Furdge says she was undeterred. "When she was finished talking, I still said: 'So if I want to terminate this pregnancy, what do I need to do?' " The woman told her she couldn't give that information. Furdge asked for her pregnancy verification and left. 'I love my children ... but I don't feel guilty' She went on a research mission, searching for an actual abortion clinic. The state of Mississippi has only one: the Jackson Women's Health Organization, also known as "The Pink House." "In my mind, I'm still in Chicago, where you call and make an appointment and that's it," Furdge says. But when she called the Pink House, she learned that she would have to come in for at least two appointments, because Mississippi has a mandatory counseling session and 24-hour waiting period before an abortion can be performed. And it wasn't like she could come in at any time; the clinic only sees patients on certain days of the week. "I remember thinking, the clock is ticking. Every day that I'm still pregnant, I'm still pregnant. I knew I didn't want to have a late-term abortion, and I'm in Mississippi," Furdge says. But within that one phone call, Furdge says she learned that she was too far along to receive their services. "I said 'OK, well, I'm going to find somewhere else. Another state, or something else,' " Furdge says. "I felt like, I deserve to have control and autonomy over myself and my body." She looked into going to Alabama, "but what deterred me was the cost," Furdge says. "I was still in school, and how was I going to get there? Nobody in my family was going to drive me to Alabama to get an abortion." She even tried reaching out to Titan's father, the person she moved to get away from, for help. "I told him, 'I'm pregnant, and I don't want to have this baby,' " Furdge recalls. "And I remember him telling me 'no.' " Furdge gave herself a week before she found an ob/gyn, a woman whom she says never judged her story. When Furdge worried that her deep depression during the pregnancy would somehow negatively impact the baby, she says, her doctor lovingly reassured her. When her son was born in September 2014, perfectly healthy, she says she felt a wave of relief that her overwhelming sadness had not caused harm. She named him Mega. "I love my children, and I'm glad I have them. But I don't feel guilty about terminating," Furdge says of her past pregnancies. "It might sound harsh, but there's this misconception of why people have abortions or what they mean. And you have to think, like, if a woman feels like she has to go through these hoops -- and expose herself to these opinions and thoughts and ideas -- in her own best interest, how can you not respect that?" LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The Lafayette Redevelopment Commission voted to recommend tax abatement compliance for 26 companies. The commission took a look at if these companies had fulfilled certain requirements, such as investing in facilities, job creation and job retention numbers. All the tax abatements were for 10 or seven year time periods. Lafayette Economic Development Director Dennis Carson said seeing such positive growth in our local companies means the local economy is looking good. Rea Magnet and Tate & Lyle both had instances where they had not met their job creation numbers, but representatives from the companies assured members of the commission that they are working to fill those positions. All the recommendations will head to the Lafayette City Council for final approval in June. The list of the companies who are recommended for approval is below. RE stands for real estate, PP stands for personal property, a number signifies multiple entities within that one company. Castle Coch-RE Coleman Cable LLC- (2) PP Coleman Cable LLC- (2)RE ETCL Pure LLC-RE Fiber Hotel LLC- RE General Electric Company- PP Heartland- (4) PP Heartland Automotive- (2) RE JAK II Partners LLP- RE James Investments LLC- RE Lex Lafayette LP- RE Lifesong Brands, Inc- (2) PP Lifesong Brands, Inc- RE Lifesong Properties LLC- RE Nanshan America Advanced Aluminum Technologies LLC- (2) PP Nanshan America Advanced Aluminum- RE Rea Magnet Wire Company, Inc.- (2) PP Sanoh America, Inc.- PP Stoddard Development LLC- RE Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc.- (7) PP Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc.- (5) RE Tate & Lyle Ingredients Americas LLC- (3) PP TRW Automotive- PP TTA Lafayette One LLC- RE Wabash National LP- (3) PP Wintek Corporation- PP WorWag Coatings LLC- PP LOGANSPORT, Ind. (WLFI) - Four County Counseling Center in Logansport is getting some help from the federal government. The center is one of six Indiana entities that is receiving this grant money. The money is part of the 2019 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. The grant runs through the Federal Health Resources and Service Administration. $24 million was awarded to 120 rural communities across the nation. Indiana got $1.2 million of that, and Four County is getting $200,000 total. Keith Jasmantas spent Wednesday at Spencer Park with his two daughters, pointing out different types of trees and finding Kindness Rocks around the park. His kids attend Pioneer Elementary, which is part of Pioneer Regional School Corporation. Wednesday was the first day of summer vacation. "I've got one going into second grade and another going into third grade," he said of his two kids playing. He also said he and his wife have another baby on the way. He wants a better world for his kids. He said he saw his sister struggle with pain killer addiction, and described how the addiction deteriorated her life. He doesn't want his kids to suffer the same fate. "It's absolutely a safety issue," he said. Four County's federal grant money will be used to better understand the opioid crisis in the counties the center serves, which is nine total. Bethany Schoenradt is the Vice President of Operations at Four County Counseling Center. She called this new grant a "planning grant." "We first have to identify what are the needs, so that's part of this project too," she said. "Initially we will be doing a needs assessment to figure out what are those specific community needs." She said there are many stakeholders who are trying to tackle the problem from their perspective. She wants to bring everyone to the table to get on the same page. "It will help with that planning process," she said. "We need to pull our community together to really think about what are the specific strategies we want to put in place." And when she says everyone, she means everyone. "It's the schools, it's law enforcement, medical providers, community members, government officials," she said. Logansport Community School Corporation Superintendent Michele Starkey said the opioid crisis is impacting students. She said it can impact everything from performance to attendance. She said education has been proved time and time again to be effective. "A number of years ago, we got a grant to do smoking prevention," she said. "We worked with Four County back then also to create a curriculum. We really saw an impact on just educating our kids and a decrease in smoking numbers." So now, she wants to figure out how to implement opioid addiction education into the school district. "What can we do at school? We have a captive audience every day," she said. "It's kind of like teaching kids to read. The earlier we get to them and develop those skills, the better off they are going to be long term." Jasmantas said he is all for addiction education at school. "Learning on the streets is learning by trying," he said. "Learning in school you are learning in a safe environment and you are learning from the people who will give you all the facts and hopefully scare them away from it." Four County also received a $75,000 grant from the state in March. Schoenradt said they used that money to finance a full time recovery navigator. She said this person's helps anyone who comes through their doors, connecting them to housing options, employment options, helping them deal with insurance and suggesting addiction treatment options. She said the navigator has been a successful position. In the first month, the navigator reported 10 contacts and after three months, has about 40 contacts. If you are in a crisis, you can call 1-800-552-3106 or text 'IN' to 741-741. You can also contact the National Suicide Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Lows tonight will run 53 northeast to 62 southwest as front drops south some & turns wind to northwest, north, then northeast to east with a some clouds around. Front lifts back northward through area tomorrow morning-afternoon. A few isolated storms are possible tomorrow morning. A random, isolated severe storm cannot completely be ruled out (large hail). Friday AM-midday: After a break, temperatures should warm to 78 north to 88 far south tomorrow & around 84 at Greater Lafayette with winds shifting to southeast, then south, south of the front. Front should lay up near our northern counties in the afternoon-evening. Along it, a few more isolated storms may pop. Isolated severe storm or two is possible there (isolated wind). Storms may just skim our far northwest Friday night-early Saturday, but more importantly, they will put out an outflow boundary that will likely be laid up from Peru to West Lafayette to Pine Village by Saturday morning. Lows by Saturday morning will drop to just 65-70 over the area. This boundary may shift northward some as strong heating & southerly winds occur Saturday. Mid-afternoon to evening, it is likely that some storms pop on that boundary. Best idea of location of the storms would be in a line from Earl Park to Remington to near Monticello, Logansport & Peru. Storms should move eastward along the boundary. Some severe weather is possible with these storms. Some showers & storms are possible Sunday morning-midday, but it appears that the main severe weather corridor & widespread, heavier rainfall corridor continues to set up south & southeast of our area for Sunday afternoon-evening. We may still have a few showers & storms around, but the widespread action continues to show a tendency to be south & southeast of here. The weather doesn't look great for the Indianapolis 500 right now. Monday (Memorial Day) & Tuesday look dry with 80s (near 90 in places Tuesday) with high humidity as front moves back northward (after 50s to 60 Sunday night). More widespread storms & higher severe weather risk return Wednesday. It looks like a fast-moving squall line with wind threat. Thursday will be cooler & less humid before we heat right back up for Memorial Day weekend. Latest data suggests 80s to 90 with high humidity. Overnight lows look to run in the 60s to 70. Storms return around June 2 & then again closer to June 10. TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) -- The Tippecanoe School Corporation Assistant Superintendent for Personnel has a lot to celebrate and look forward to. Susan DeLong will retire June 30th after working 37 years in Education. DeLong joined TSC's administrative team in 2003, and became Assistant Superintendent for Personnel three years later. She is credited for assisting TSC in keeping pace with the growth and recruitment of well qualified teachers and staff. DeLong said she's going to miss coming to work each day. "No question, I'm going to miss a lot of things about the job," DeLong said. " It's been wonderful working with people. We're a people business, whether the people be 5 years old or my age and getting ready to retire. I'm going to miss the people." In her retirement, DeLong plans to spend more time with family. W&M School of Education launches military counseling program New program: Photo courtesy of the W&M School of Education The new program is an optional specialization of the schools existing CACREP-accredited Online M.Ed. in Counseling, which allows students to gain a masters degree and work toward licensure as a professional counselor. More on the program Photo - of - Hide Caption This fall, the William & Mary School of Education will enroll its first students in a new online masters degree program focusing on military and veterans counseling. The program, the only one of its kind in Virginia, will train counselors to work with veterans and their families on issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, the emotional impacts of physical injury, long-term family separation and the transition from military to civilian life. Were excited to have an opportunity to train competent and compassionate counselors with a special focus on military and veteran issues, says Rip McAdams, professor and chair of the school psychology and counselor education department. Veterans and their families have unique needs, and its gratifying to see those needs recognized and supported here at the School of Education and across the commonwealth. In early 2017, the Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs asked William & Mary to create a proposal for a military counseling program designed specifically to meet the needs of veterans and their families in Virginia. The proposal was accepted, and the General Assembly included $287,500 in start-up funding for the program in the biennial budget adopted in 2018. The new program is an optional specialization of the schools existing CACREP-accredited Online M.Ed. in Counseling, which allows students to gain a masters degree and work toward licensure as a professional counselor. Through this part-time program, students can continue working and complete the degree in as little as three years. The military and veteran specialization will require the development of three new courses: Military Life, Culture and Challenges; Assessment and Treatment of Trauma-related Disorders; and Military to Veteran Transition. In addition, three existing courses will be modified to include units on military issues. All counselors can benefit from knowledge and training in military issues, so that they feel confident and prepared to help military-affiliated clients, said McAdams. So this has been a great chance to integrate content related to military issues into the coursework for all of our online programs. For McAdams, the project is a personally as well as professionally satisfying one. He served in U.S. Naval Special Operations from 1969-1975 before pursuing a professional and academic career in counseling. When I came out of the military, there were very few resources to help us deal with the personal challenges we encountered and make that transition back to civilian life. As a country, weve made a lot of progress since then, but theres still more we can be doing to be responsive to the needs of veterans. The school is currently performing a national search for a new faculty member to fill the position of military and veterans program coordinator. In addition to developing course content and teaching in the new program, the coordinator will also oversee clinical placement and internships for students in the program. These field experiences will include a supervised practicum followed by two 300-hour internships working directly with military and veteran clients. The online program will launch in Fall 2019 with 15 students in its first cohort. Students are admitted to the Online M.Ed. three times per year and once fully enrolled, the program will serve 135 students and graduate 45 military and veteran counselors each year. With the online program, our enrollment in the counseling department will increase by more than 200%, says Leslie Grant, senior associate dean for academic programs. But were being extremely careful to maintain both the quality of our counseling program, which is nationally recognized as one of the best, as well as the personal attention and guidance that our students receive from faculty. Were confident that were expanding our service and reach through online programs while maintaining the highest quality of experience for our students. In fall 2020, the school anticipates starting an on-campus program focusing on military and veterans counseling as well. Once that program is available, on-campus counseling students will be able to choose from three specializations within the clinical mental health counseling degree addictions counseling; couples, marriage and family counseling; and military and veterans counseling as well as a concentration in school counseling. Currently, William & Mary is the only university in the state to offer concentrations in addictions and military counseling. Were constantly evolving our programs and partnerships to ensure that were rising to meet our mission of transforming the lives of students, schools and communities, says Spencer Niles, dean of the School of Education. Military veterans and their families give so much and sacrifice so much were honored to play this role in supporting their needs by preparing counselors who can help them live peaceful and productive lives. The application for fall 2019 enrollment in the online M.Ed. in counseling with a concentration in military and veterans counseling is now open. The final deadline to apply is Aug. 9. Learn more Moon-Trump telephone talk leaked By Lee Min-hyung Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has come under fire once again for an ethical lapse among its staff after a diplomat leaked information from a telephone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. Cheong Wa Dae and the ministry are considering legal action against the 54-year-old diplomat for allegedly leaking the confidential information to Rep. Khang Hyo-shang, a lawmaker from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP). The diplomat, working at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., is suspected of sharing some key details of the Moon-Trump phone conversation with his high school alumni Khang, the day after the two leaders held talks. Cheong Wa Dae By Park Ji-won Cheong Wa Dae has met with representatives of the victims of forced labor under Japanese colonial rule in a move to improve strained relations with Japan, according to sources. "The presidential office has met with the legal representatives of the plaintiffs who were forced to work during Japanese colonial rule," an official familiar with the matter told The Korea Times, Thursday, but declined to elaborate further. This is the first time the presidential office has directly met with representatives of the plaintiffs, and the move is aimed at breaking an impasse between South Korea and Japan before the planned G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, another official said. There are concerns that Japanese Prime Minister Abe may refuse to hold a summit with President Moon Jae-in because of his displeasure with the Korean Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the victims of forced labor. It is unknown what might be a satisfactory outcome for Tokyo as it claims all compensation issues were settled under the 1965 agreement that normalized diplomatic relations. The Supreme Court ordered Japanese firms to compensate the victims in October. On Monday, Tokyo called for Seoul to come up with "proper" measures asking it to form the panel based on the two countries' accord in 1965. The government has remained silent over the matter in a possible strategic move to deal with the issue. After the ruling, Moon said he respected it and the priority was "healing" the victims. A high-ranking government official directly involved in the forced labor issue said, "The issue cannot be resolved without the consent of victims. Measures that the government can take without their consent are limited." Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono on the sidelines of the Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Thursday. They discussed solutions to the forced labor problem. It is expected Kono continued to claim Seoul should form the arbitration panel to settle the issue, which Kang has said the government is "looking prudently into." Dual citizenship is a situation whereby individuals are allowed to be citizens of two or more countries. Also known as dual nationality, the holder has legal obligations as well as rights in the countries where he or she is a citizen. The law of some countries allows for dual citizenship while other countries have legislated against dual citizenship. Countries That Don't Recognize Dual Citizenship There are numerous countries that do not recognize dual citizenship. These countries are not confined to specific continents but are found across the globe. Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Botswana. Bhutan, Oman, Malaysia, and China forbid dual citizenship. However, some countries may offer exemptions. For example, in Azerbaijan, the President may offer dual nationality to people of special importance as deemed by the office of the presidency. In the Congo, Djibouti, Cuba, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Monaco, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, one automatically loses citizenship upon acquisition of citizenship of another country. For one to understand eligibility or lack of eligibility for dual citizenship in a certain country, it is prudent to seek information from the embassy, lawyers, or specific diplomats. In the countries that do not allow dual citizenship, a person is required to renounce the citizenship of one country to acquires citizenship of another country. Once a country passes laws to allow dual citizenship any person who had lost citizenship by birth after gaining citizenship of another country is allowed to reapply for citizenship. Countries that deny dual citizenship argue that dual citizenship will lead to an influx of immigrants who will increase crime rates. The new people will bring competition in the job market hence deny citizens by birth the employment opportunities. Conservative countries see a risk of socio-cultural imbalance. Pros and Cons of Dual Citizenship A dual citizenship holder is in a position to access not only privileges but also benefits from both countries such as work permits, healthcare, education, voting rights, run for elective positions, cultural diversity, and other social amenities. Dual nationality gives one access to more than one passport which comes with personal benefits, travel freedom, and the right of entry into either of the countries at will. Another benefit is the right to own property in all the countries where one is a citizen. Financial benefits are also easily accessible since most institutions prefer to deal with people of certain nationalities. Some countries earn additional revenue from those applying for dual citizenship. On the other hand, dual citizenship is sometimes associated with negative outcomes especially on matters of taxation. One drawback is taxation laws which may force one to pay tax twice especially if the income is from both countries. In some countries, a dual citizen will not be entrusted to work in some departments which are deemed sensitive or hold classified information. Luxembourg is a small landlocked European state that is surrounded by Germany, France, and Belgium. It is one of the world's smallest countries and has a population of around 602,005 people. Luxembourg has one of the highest population growth rates in the world with expatriates accounting for over 50% of its population. It is the founding member of NATO, UN, EU, Benelux, and the OECD. Its capital city (Luxembourg City) is one of EU's three-official capitals (together with Strasbourg and Brussels). The city of Luxembourg is the seat of the EU's Court of Justice. It is a developed nation with one of the highest GDPs per capita on the planet and an advanced economy. Luxembourg's economy is dependent on the banking, steel, and industrial sectors. The Largest Industries In Luxembourg Banking The banking sector is the biggest industry in Luxembourg. Luxembourg was ranked as the third most-competitive financial center in the continent right after Zurich and London and the world's eighteenth most-competitive by the 2017 Global-Financial Centers Index. The country has specialized in international fund-administration business. Since its domestic market is small, Luxembourg's financial center is international. Luxembourg had 152 banks in 2009 which had employed about 27,000 employees. Cross-border financial expertise, political stability, skilled staff, and excellent communication skills have contributed to their success in the financial industry. Steel The steel industry is still one of the largest sectors in Luxembourg even after the numerous industrial-reforms that have transpired in various parts of the world since the 1960s. The introduction of the metallurgy in 1876 was a significant event in the history of Luxembourg's economy. The refining process resulted in the creation of a steel industry in the country and the formation of the ARBED firm. The national steel industry sustained Luxembourg's economy during the second-half of the nineteenth century. Steel production grew from 145,313 tons (1900) to 1,115,004 tons in 1913. ARBED was the main iron and steel producing company in Luxembourg that was formed after the merging of three steel-producing firms. Information Technology Luxembourg has a well-developed ICT sector with the country being home to SES (one of the leading satellite operators in the world). SES was established in 1986 to operate and install a satellite-communication system for transmitting television programs on the continent. Their first satellite the SES Astra satellite was launched in 1988 by Ariane Rocket. Some of the leading ICT activities being carried out in the country include online payment services, cloud services, online sales platform, and management and archiving of digital data among others. The government launched the Digital-Letzebuerg initiative in 2014 to promote e-government and the digital economy. Luxembourg ranked ninth in the Global IT report of 2015 that the World Economic Forum published. Tourism The tourism industry is a crucial part of the economy of Luxembourg that employs over 25,000 people. The tourism sector contributed to 8.3% of Luxembourg's GDP in 2009. Luxembourg receives more than 900,000 tourists annually who spend at least two and a half days in hostels, camping sites or hotels. Business travels represent over 44% of the overnight stays in Luxembourg. Agriculture In the last few decades, over 200 financial institutions have contributed to the fast transformation of Luxembourg's economy from an agrarian economy to a service sector. The number of farms in the region reduced from 1970 (7,600 farms) to 2,600 farms in 2011. Over 126,000 hectares of land in Luxembourg is still used for agriculture. Dairy farming plays a vital role in the country's agricultural sector with several farms having over 50 dairy cows in 60 hectares of land. The American Constitution is among the oldest in the world, and it is used as a benchmark for other world constitutions. Written by the American Founding Fathers, the constitution has undergone several amendments, one of them being the 12th Amendment, which fundamentally changed the nature of American elections. More than 200 years after three-quarters of the states ratified the amendment; the amendment continues to influence how Americans conduct their presidential elections. Background Upon independence, American presidential elections were done through the Electoral College system that was used in the first two presidential elections. Electors would meet in their states to choose the next president and vice president respectively by casting two votes. To become the US President, a candidate had to receive the majority votes of the college. The second best candidate became the Vice President. The House of Representatives and the Senate would decide on this delicate matter in case of a tie at the college. Despite the success, this system encountered partisan politics in the 1800 presidential elections that were not experienced in the two previous elections where George Washington was the sole candidate. Steps to the Amendment During the 1796 elections, the Federalist Party candidate John Adams became President and Thomas Jefferson of the Democrat-Republican Party was elected as his Vice President. Since they were not from the same party, they could not agree on issues together. Come 1800, Thomas Jefferson managed to unseat President John Adams in the elections after getting majority votes, and Thomas Pinckney became Vice President. However, the election of the Vice President was marred by partisan grumbling and confusion between the Federalists and Democrat-Republicans, and it inspired the process of amending the constitution before the 1804 presidential elections. Partisan politics between the federalist and the Democrat-Republican senators at the New York Senate derailed the process until the eighth congress in 1802 where it passed after New York Senator De Witt Clinton brought it to the House of Representatives. Ratification and Impact The document containing the proposed amendments had to be fine-tuned first by a committee before a further debate. To remove the confusion in the Electoral College, it proposed to have district electors election in each state and that the number of candidates be reduced from five to three in case of a tie at the college. Two different votes for the president and vice president would be used in the Electoral College instead of using a similar vote. The amendment also provided for a smooth transition of power from the President to Vice President in case of death or other constitutional contingencies. The eighth Congress passed the amendment after frivolous debates on December 9, 1803, and it was ratified by three-quarters of the US States except for Delaware and Connecticut, which rejected it on January 18 and May 10, 1804. The 12th Amendment was ratified on June 15, 1804. Only the process of choosing the President and Vice President was changed by this amendment and not the duties and composition of the Electoral College. The Abolitionist Movement was a historical push to not only stop the slave trade but also set all slaves free. The political and social push wanted the immediate emancipation of any slave and abolitionist of any form of segregation and racial discrimination. Radical abolitionists were opposed by those who were advocating for gradual emancipation or confinement of slavery in specific regions. The movement was fueled by various factors among them religious emotions motivated by the Second Great Awakening and the American Civil War. Between 1830 and 1870, the movement used various means to attain immediate emancipation but faced a lot of resistance especially from slave owners. Abolitionist Movement in France In 1315, King Louis X made a decree of freedom which elaborated that any slave becomes free once he lands on French territory. The decree was enforced by subsequent governments who freed any slave who set foot in France. French colonies in America were regulated by the Code Noir by Louis XIV which gave slaves rights to gather publicly, marry, have off-duty days, and be free from torture. Slave owners began instructing them in the Catholic faith. A high number of slaves were freed from the colonies in the 1830s, the majority being in the Louisiana Territory. The First General Abolition and Re-establishment of Slavery by France On February 4, 1794, a law was passed to abolish slavery across France and all its colonies. Slave owners were to be indemnified. The following year, the French constitution of 1795 vividly stated that slavery was abolished under the Rights of Man. Most of the French slave owners vowed to move to the colonies under British rule where slavery was still practiced. France was at the threat of losing revenue due to secession from the French colonies. This led to Napoleon Bonaparte reestablishing slavery by promulgating a law on May 20, 1802, after he was installed as the First Consul. Slavery was re-established but was short lived due to lack of capacity to enforce the law leading to setting free of slaves in Haiti in 1804. Second Abolition and Subsequent Events On April 27, 1948, the decree law of Schoelcher" was set to abolish slavery in all French colonies. France latter gained colonies in West Africa which was a major source of slaves hence successfully stopped the slave trade. Abolitionist Movement in the United Kingdom Slavery was prohibited within England but not in overseas colonies hence any slave who landed on the England soil became free. Abolitionists, therefore, began with the question We have no slaves at home, then why abroad? William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson were prominent personalities who spearheaded the abolition movement in Britain. Eventually, the Slave Trade Act of March 25, 1807, made slavery illegal across the British Empire. Consequently, Britain coerced other nations to abolish slave trade through treaties that allowed the Royal Navy to seize any ship carrying slaves. At the beginning of 1823, anti-slavery society was formed to campaign vigorously against the wider institution of slavery. Abolitionist Movement in America During and after the American Revolutionary War, slavery was abolished across Latin America, Canada, Puerto Rica, Cuba, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. In the United States, the abolishment movements were led by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin who were members of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolishment of Slavery. New Jersey and New York agreed to pass gradual emancipation of slaves laws. Finally, the whole of the US abolished the slave trade. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation order which fully abolished slavery and freed over 3 million slaves. Eventually, in December 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment of the US Constitution abolished slavery across the United States. The Berlin Airlift was a massive operation to airlift basic supplies to the people of West Berlin following the Berlin Blockade. The operation began on June 26, 1948, and involved aircrews from the United Kingdom, United States, France, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. About 9,000 tons of food, medicine, fuel, and clothes were transported to West Berlin every day. Although the Soviet Union established the blockade of West Berlin, it did not interfere with the airlift for fear of escalating the tension to full-scale war. The Division of Germany After the Second World War, former allies the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France differed on the governance of Germany. The United States and the Soviet Union sought to spread the economic ideologies of communism and capitalism in Germany but the Second World War had left Germany in ruins and the capital, Berlin, in a dire state. The citizens of the city were staring at starvation, shelter was hard to find, and black market goods dominated the economy. The four allies divided Berlin into two; France, the UK, and the US control the western portion while the Soviet Union took charge of the eastern part. Breaking Point The two sides met regularly to coordinate the occupation of the zones and ease the ever-developing tension. In 1948, the Soviet Union found out that the three allies were secretly planning to establish a new German state. The Soviets were furious and decided to cut communication. In mid-1948, the United Kingdom and the United States introduced the Deutsche Mark as the new currency for their zones in West Berlin. The pair notified the French but failed to pass the same information to the Soviet Union because they sought to regain the economic control and quell the rampant black market. The Berlin Blockade In response, the Soviet Union established a blockade and barricaded all roads, rails, rivers, canals, and border crossing points to West Germany. The Soviets offered to withdraw the blockade if the West withdrew the Deutsche Mark. The West rejected the offer and initiated a plan to fly goods to West Berlin. The three countries vowed to declare war against the Soviet Union if any of the planes were shot down. The Berlin Airlift On June 26, 1948, the United States began airlifting goods to West Germany. The United Kingdom and France soon joined in. The allies imposed a counter-blockade that restricted trade with East Berlin and East Germany. About 2 million residents of West Berlin relied on the aid particularly the medicine, fuel, and food. More countries joined the operation, and at one point, planes landed at the Tempelhof Airport every 50 minutes. The system became extremely efficient and the aircrafts were transporting more goods than the rails and roads combined. The allies managed to keep up with the demand for ten months proving to the Soviets that the airlift could continue indefinitely. The counter-blockade created a shortage of goods in Eastern Berlin such that the Soviets feared an uprising could occur. On May 11, 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade, but the allies continued the airlift until September just in case the Soviets changed their minds. What Are Monsoons? Coming from the Arabic word "mauism" meaning season and referring to a recurring rainy period in the year, monsoons occur when the air pressure over land is low and dry relative to the air pressure over the neighboring ocean. This imbalance causes a direction change in ocean air currents, and strong, rain-bearing winds begin blowing towards the land. Most often, monsoons are associated with the countries that are surrounded by the Indian Ocean. The main components that allow for this natural phenomenon to occur include large landmass, a large body of water, and mountain ranges, such as the Himalayans, that tend to keep hot air and humidity within. Diving Deeper The ocean air stays cooler than the air over dense land surfaces that quickly heat up, dispersing air particles and creating a low-pressure system, relative to the high air pressure retained over the ocean. When the air pressure imbalance becomes too great, the air starts flowing from the area of high air pressure (ocean) to the area of low pressure (land). Thus, forceful winds are released towards the land, blowing humidity from the ocean and cloudy weather that dispels rain far beyond the coastlines of the affected areas during the monsoon season. Two Sides of the Same Coin There are wet and dry monsoons. Wet monsoons, what we think of when we think of monsoon, follow a hot season and start suddenly but end gradually, as the land cools down according to the season. Once the land begins to heat up again, a dry seasonal monsoon can potentially turn into a drought. Although monsoons are often associated with forceful winds and heavy rains, it is the largest differences in rainfall between dry and wet seasons that signal the presence of monsoons in a country. India and Asia experience the strongest monsoons, making them vulnerable to droughts, savage winds, and floods. Nigeria, like many African countries, experiences wet and dry monsoons. Image credit: i_am_zews/Shutterstock In the tropics, monsoons may occur multiple times a year, with the geographic location of the land allowing direct sunlight. The imbalance in the air pressure occurs faster and the land heats up quickly again following a wet monsoon. Top 3 Countries That Experience Monsoons India (Rainfall: 12-390 inches/year) With a massive land surface prone to scorching temperatures almost year-round, India experiences the most significant yearly monsoons. India sees many droughts as well as annual wet monsoons with up to 390 inches of rainfall a year. The vast potential difference in precipitation can cause devastating floods and crop-killing droughts. Costa Rica (100-300 inches/year) Costa Rica experiences most monsoons out of all countries on the American continent, with precipitation ranging from 100 to 300 inches in any given year. The rainy season is long, ranging from May to mid-December, with a significant spike September to November. Nicaragua (100-250 inches/year) Located centrally on the narrow portion of the South American continent, Nicaragua also experiences strong monsoon seasons. The rainiest months are June, September and October. As a massive island country in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Indonesia follows fourth at 70-240 inches of rainfall a year. Benefits for Agriculture and Electricity Since many developing countries and regions do not have modern irrigation systems, they are heavily reliant on monsoon seasons to provide moisture for their crops at the right times. These countries utilize basins where the rain accumulates for adequate water supply for the year. Some of the most consumed products in North America, such as the rice from China and tea in India, rely on the summer monsoons in the producing country. Among other countries, India depends on the wet monsoons to produce electricity through hydroelectric energy. The seasonal rainfall also gets stored in basins to keep providing electricity throughout the dry seasons. The monsoons are so important to the economy of this country that former president Pranab Mukherjee referred to the season as "India's true finance minister." monsoons are true economic drivers in this country, as they are responsible for running most industries. In the United States, Arizona and New Mexico experience monsoons. Image credit: John D Sirlin/Shutterstock Effects of Climate Change The higher temperatures associated with climate change have adverse effects on crops around the world, potentially causing excessive droughts and unexpected floods by de-regulating monsoon seasons. Since many countries heavily depend on regular precipitation for adequate crop production and electricity, a shifted monsoon can devastate the economies, as much as a change in frequency and force with which they occur. Having adapted to certain growing seasons that coincide with the cycling of monsoons, the yield from crops can become greatly diminished and inadequate to feed the country, as well as export. When the land heats up too quickly, the buried seeds become unyielding from the drought, which no amount of water can restore, even if followed by a heavy wet monsoon. Similarly, abundant and frequent rainfall can flood the crops that survived, damage people's homes and belongings, and kill thousands of people and livestock yearly. The effects of climate change are often contradicting. It has been found that drought over India and Africa is linked to the wet monsoon season in East Asia. Therefore, if a monsoon comes over Asia at a faster rate, the drought is likely to come more quickly elsewhere. Nevertheless, the crop rotation season is disrupted in both places, with one receiving too much precipitation at the wrong time, and the other receiving too little. Pollution It has been found that pollution slow this dry and wet monsoon circulation and prevent rainfall in the summer. With pollution and fossil fuels linked to climate change, the countries whose economies rely on heavy industry shoot themselves in the foot, as they are often the countries that also rely on regular monsoon seasons. Westernized countries are also at fault, having outsourced mass production of goods and necessities to China, India, and other countries in the east. Irregular monsoons worsen the conditions needed for adequate living, including food, shelter and economic output. This is why collective sustainable efforts are so important, as the worse the pollution becomes, the more out of balance monsoon seasons are thrown, and this has an impact felt around the globe. Former U.S. President George W. Bush delivers his eulogy for the late President Roh Moo-hyun during a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of Roh's death at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Bush, who had served as U.S. president when Roh was in office, attended the memorial event to deliver a portrait he painted of Roh and pay tribute to the late president. Roh committed suicide in May 2009 amid a probe into him and his family over their allegedly accepting bribes. Korea Times photo by Jun Hye-won By Lee Min-hyung, Kim Yoo-chul President Moon Jae-in thanked former U.S. President George W. Bush for his attendance at a memorial service to commemorate the late President Roh Moo-hyun, Thursday, saying his presence represented the strong South Korea-United States alliance. "I express my sincere appreciation for your attendance at a memorial ceremony to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Your attendance literally represents how strong the United States-South Korea alliance is," Moon told Bush at the start of a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, according to press pool reports. "I've heard that you will present a portrait you painted of the late President Roh. That would be a very sincere symbol of condolence for the family of the late president. It is also a good present for South Korean citizens remembering the late president," he said. Moon's remarks came ahead of Bush's visit to Bongha Village, Roh's hometown, for the event. The President also praised Bush for his concerted efforts with Roh to ink a bilateral free trade deal and for the six-party nuclear talks during their presidencies. "The joint projects, such as the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and six-party talks, decided on by the two former presidents, Roh and Bush, meant a lot in terms of developing the bilateral alliance in a comprehensive manner," Moon said. "I and President Trump will also see progress in making the alliance a greater one." It was unknown whether the Moon-Bush meeting covered issues relating to North Korea and whether President Moon asked the former U.S. president to relay a message on his engagement-centric North Korean policy to Washington. In response, Bush shared his memories of having a lunch with Roh. Unlike other leaders, Roh was straightforward in his speech and style so both sides were able to have honest and frank talks with each other, Bush said, adding this played an important role in building a good relationship between the two countries. The former U.S. leader also paid tribute to Roh's lifetime. Bush said Roh lived a humble life by placing a top priority on the wellbeing of the public. Bush and Roh were sometimes described as "bedfellows" while they were presidents Bush was the U.S. leader from 2001 to 2009 and Roh led Korea from 2002 to 2007. During this period, South Korea dispatched troops to Iraq and signed the free trade agreement with the U.S. However, Washington and Seoul relations were strained in handling the North as Bush supported a "hardline stance" toward Pyongyang, while Roh pushed an engagement policy. After the meeting, Bush attended the ceremony where he gave a five-minute eulogy and delivered the portrait to former first lady Kwon Yang-sook. Ten years ago, Roh committed suicide by leaping to his death from a cliff behind his house. He was 62, and ended his life allegedly because of an investigation into a bribery scandal involving his family members, that severely tarnished his reputation. Senior Cheong Wa Dae officials attended the event, but lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party including party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn failed to appear. Roh is widely remembered as going to great lengths to dispel the country's "authoritarian legacy" and instill democratic values. But his economic policies failed to stabilize property prices and cut economic polarization, which resulted in him losing his political support base.? The Nobel Prizes are prizes awarded every year to people who make exceptional contributions to six fields namely chemistry, physiology, medicine, peace, literature, and physics. The prizes were established in 1985 after Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel left instructions upon his death that the awards are to be managed by the Nobel Foundation, which was established on June 29, 1900. Each recipient (or laureate) of a Nobel Prize receives a sum of money, a diploma, and a medal. The prizes are awarded every year on December 10 in Stockholm. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901 in the original six categories established by Alfred Nobel. First Recipients of the Nobel Prize The first Nobel Prize for physics went to German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen who discovered X-rays while the chemistry prize was awarded to Dutch chemist Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff for his work on chemical thermodynamics, The prize for physiology/medicine went to Emil von Behring, a German physiologist who had created a diphtheria antitoxin, and was known as the "savior of children." The prize for literature went to French poet Sully Prudhomme. The peace prize was jointly awarded to Henry Dunant and Frederic Passy. The two were active in the Alliance for Order and Civilization. Dunant, a Swiss social activist, was crucial in initiating the Geneva Convention and had founded the International Red Cross while Passy had founded the Peace League. Prizes Different committees determine the prizes. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences determines the prizes in chemistry, economics, and physics while the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute determines the prize for physiology or medicine. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for the peace prize while the literature prize is under the Swedish Academy. In 1901, the winners got $16,641 while in 2017 they got $993,285. Other Significant Firsts The Nobel Prize in economics was first awarded in 1969 to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen. The first woman to get a prize was Marie Curie in 1903 in physics. Marie Curie was also the first person to win the Nobel Prize more than once after receiving the chemistry prize in 1911. Malala Yousafzai is the youngest person to receive a Nobel Prize when she won the Peace Price in 2014 at the age of seventeen. Total Number of Recipients From 1901 to 2017, there have been a total of 923 people and establishments that have received Nobel Prizes. These prizes were bestowed 585 times where 884 of the total number of recipients are men, 48 are women, and 24 are organizations. These numbers do not add up to 923 because some people and organizations have received the prizes more than once. This number also includes the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which was established in 1968 by the central bank of Sweden. A man takes a photo of the life-size cardboard cutout of former President Roh Moo-hyun near his grave in Bongha Village in Gimhae, Thursday. Yonhap Another cardboard cutout of former President Roh Moo-hyun greets visitors to his hometown of Bongha Village in Gimhae, Thursday. Yonhap People bow before the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun in Bongha Village, Thursday. Yonhap Wearing yellow visors, a color that symbolizes former President Roh Moo-hyun, thousands of mourners gathered in his rural hometown Thursday to commemorate the 10th year since his death. First lady Kim Jung-sook and high-ranking political and government officials were also among those who attended a memorial service at the Bongha Village in Gimhae, some 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul. "Your politics started with the integration of people," National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang said in his eulogy. "The path on which President Roh walked was the journey for national unity. "There were three top policy priorities that you had not achieved: to seek peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia; to pursue democracy with the people and to build a balanced society where everybody lives well. We will march to realize your dream." On May 23, 2009, Roh jumped to his death from a cliff behind his retirement home amid a widening probe by the prosecution into allegations that members of his family accepted illicit funds. Roh, who served as president from 2003 to 2008, is regarded as an icon of South Korea's contemporary liberalism. People pledge allegiance to the national flag to start the memorial service for former President Roh Moo-hyun. Former U.S. President George W. Bush, fifth from right, attended the event. Yonhap Roh Gun-ho, son of former President Roh, speaks during the memorial service. Yonhap Former U.S. President George W. Bush stands next to Kwon Yang-sook, center, widow of former President Roh. On her right is first lady Kim Jung-sook. Yonhap Former U.S. President George W. Bush described Roh as "a man who respected the fundamental rights of all citizens." Yonhap Bush speaks against a backdrop showing him shaking hands with Roh at a meeting when the two were in office. Yonhap Roh's widow Kwon Yang-sook pays her respects at Roh's grave. Yonhap The portrait of Roh Moo-hyun painted by Bush. Yonhap Also on hand at the ceremony were former U.S. President George W. Bush, who was Roh's counterpart, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, the chiefs of the ruling Democratic Party and three opposition parties, government ministers and presidential officials. Hwang Kyo-ahn, the head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, did not attend, but the conservative party sent a delegation of its lawmakers. Bush, who arrived in Seoul on Wednesday, expressed his intent to attend the memorial service through Poongsan Corp., a local defense firm that is known to have close ties with the Bush family. He brought a portrait of Roh that he painted himself and delivered a five-minute eulogy. "I painted a kind and sympathetic man," Bush said. "I painted a man who respected the fundamental rights of all citizens and today I pray that his vision for human rights in Korea will extend north across the border." Bush said Roh was a strong leader who was not afraid to say what he believed, even to the U.S. president. "We may have had some differences, but no disagreement ever outweighed our shared belief in the importance of the U.S.-South Korean relationship," he said. "And we worked hard to cement that alliance." Roh's sudden death sparked an outpouring of national grief a decade ago. The Roh Moo-hyun Foundation said it has prepared for various memorial events as it believes now is the time to move forward after mourning. (Yonhap) A crowd of people visit Roh's hometown to attend his 10th memorial service. Yonhap People queue to attend the memorial service. Yonhap By Mahmood Elahi When America's Founding Fathers wrote the Second Amendment enshrining the citizen's right to bear arms, they must have thought that this would enhance the security of the state. An armed citizenry would provide a militia against any outside aggression and stop criminals from endangering the lives of Americans inside. Today, with 300 million guns in private hands, armed citizens have become a threat to each other. You don't know who will turn up at schools, churches and synagogues and turn their guns on fellow Americans. And you cannot do anything to prevent this. The good news is that such mass shooters are few and far between and 40,000 yearly shooting victims are a tiny fraction of 350 million of the U.S. population. So, despite the shock and terror associated with regular mass shootings, most Americans have come to live with them. Similarly, when North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, detonated a nuclear device and tested long-range missiles capable of reaching the continental United States, he must have thought that this would provide him the security vis a vis the United States which he considers as his principal enemy. In his mind, Kim saw the nuclear arsenal as an effective deterrent against any U.S. desire for regime change. With nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, North Korea can now deliver a devastating counterstrike if the United States and its South Korean ally dare to invade North Korea. So he must have thought by acquiring nuclear capability, he has achieved the ultimate security. He can now threaten the United States without fearing any retaliation. But he might have missed the big picture. By threating the United States, he has become a threat to America. It is no longer a question of how to prevent the United States from attacking North Korea, it is now a question of how to prevent (in the eye of most American strategists) North Korea from attacking the United States. Most U.S. policymakers argue, given the treacherous nature of the North Korean regime, Kim cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons. He might strike or at least threaten the United States to stay out of the Korean Peninsula or suffer nuclear annihilation. Kim's nuclear saber rattling does not help either. Facing the nuclear threat from North Korea, the U.S. response has been swift and furious. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed crippling economic sanctions on North Korea and threatened to destroy it with a pre-emptive nuclear strike. Given America's vastly superior nuclear capability, the threat to North Korea is real. A surprise and all-out pre-emptive nuclear strike by America's carrier-borne bombers and submarine launched missiles can destroy North Korea's military installations in a matter of hours. And economic sanctions will cripple the impoverished North Korea even if the United States decided not to strike as a pre-emptive measure. The tables have turned. Instead of threatening the United States, Kim is facing two existentialist threats. Despite Trump's good words, he faces a potential American pre-emptive nuclear strike and devastating economic sanctions. This explains why he changed his tune and agreed to denuclearize in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Now he is trying to renege on his pledge while pushing for sanctions relief. But unlike America's invisible mass shooters, North Korea is a visible threat and can be eliminated easily. Kim will do well to realize this and denuclearize for his own good. North Korea's nuclear arsenal is a threat to its own security. Mahmood Elahi (omega51@sympatico.ca) is a freelance writer in Ottawa. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a multi-award-winning investigative journalist and publisher, is locked up in HM Prison Belmarsh in London in solitary confinement. US extradition proceedings have begun. If extradited, he will face charges under the Espionage Act for publishing information that exposed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. The charges being prepared by the US Department of Justice carry the death penalty. Chelsea Manning, who courageously blew the whistle on US atrocities by giving information to WikiLeaks, endured seven years of torture in a military prison and was jailed again last week for refusing to testify against Assange. But according to Amnesty International (AI), neither Assange nor Manning are prisoners of conscience and their defence is not being actively pursued by the human rights charity. In a letter to the Julian Assange Defence Committee (JADC) on May 17, Amnesty International UK declared, Julian Assange's case is a case we're monitoring closely but not actively working on. Amnesty International does not consider Julian Assange to be a Prisoner of Conscience. AIs curtly worded letter followed an urgent appeal by Maxine Walker on behalf of the JADC. Her letter drew attention to multiple human rights violations against Assange. We cannot state strongly enough that Julian Assange is in great peril, she wrote. Walker cited AIs April 11 statement that Assange should not be extradited or subjected to any other transfer to the USA, where there are concerns that he would face a real risk of serious human rights violations due to his work with Wikileaks. Since then, Walker challenged, no further statements appear to have been made by you His name appears not to have been mentioned in your material for World Press Freedom Day, an extraordinary omission given his current situation and that Julian Assange was awarded the 2009 Amnesty International UK Media Award for New Media. Her letter continued: The UK government has ignored, indeed poured scorn, on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 2015 ruling that the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Assange is arbitrary and in contravention of articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UN Working Group, Walker pointed out, had described Assanges imprisonment in Belmarsh as having furthered the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Assange. They judged his 50-week sentence in a supermax prison had contravene[d] the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards. Walkers letter concluded, It is urgent that organisations concerned with human rights should become more vocal and active on this case. One statement is not adequate to deal with the threats to Julian Assange and the wider implications for free speech, freedom of information and the protection of journalists. AIs two-paragraph reply was received by Walker three days later. It linked to a statement by AIs Deputy Director for Research for Europe, Massimo Moratti, published on May 13, supporting Swedens reopening of preliminary investigations into fabricated rape allegations against Assange. Headlined, Julian Assange rape allegations must be treated with utmost seriousness, Moretti declared, It is vital that the allegations against Julian Assange are properly investigated in a way that respects the rights of both the complainant and the person under investigation. This is a travesty. For nearly nine years, bogus rape and sexual molestation allegations against Assange have been wielded by Sweden and Britain to smear the WikiLeaks founder and secure his extradition to the US. Assange was always willing to travel to Sweden to answer the allegations against him, but Swedish authorities refused to guarantee against his onward extradition under fast-track temporary surrender arrangements in place with the US. It was the threat of US extradition which forced Assange to seek political asylum in Ecuador. Assange has already been questioned by Swedish police and prosecutorsin August 2010 in Stockholm and at Ecuadors embassy in London in November 2016. On both occasions, the preliminary investigation was closed with not a single charge laid. Under Swedish law, Assange can be charged prior to an extradition request. Yet even now, Sweden has submitted no charges and is seeking a European Arrest Warrant for blatantly political objectives. AI deliberately conceals the political context of Assange and Mannings incarceration: international geopolitics, illegal wars of occupation, regime change, assassination threats by US politicians against Assangenone of this exists. Having pointed to Sweden, AI simply states that it does not regard the worlds most persecuted journalist a Prisoner of Conscience. It believes he, should not be extradited to the USA, where he faces a real risk of serious human rights violations due to his work with Wikileaks. Its just that they are not actively pursuing the case. AI seizes on the Swedish allegations as a pretext to wash its hands of Assange, but what of Manning? The World Socialist Web Site contacted AI on Tuesday to ask why it had also refused to list Manning as a Prisoner of Conscience. AIs UK press officer contacted their US office before explaining via email that detention for not testifying before a grand jury is not itself illegal. And neither is chopping off heads in Saudi Arabia, which has not prevented AI from actively campaigning on that issue. AI hastened to tell the WSWS that we understand Chelseas motivations for declining [to testify] when she has already testified at length on these issues, adding that the excessive sentencing and cruel treatment of her previous incarceration served as a stark reminder of the lengths that those in power will go to in order to keep others from speaking out. Yet they have not posted a single statement on Manning since 2017. AI defines a Prisoner of Conscience as someone who has not used or advocated violence but is imprisoned because of who they are (sexual orientation, ethnic, national or social origin, language, birth, colour, sex or economic status) or what they believe (religious, political or other conscientiously held beliefs). Assange and Manning have been thrown in prison because of their conscientiously held beliefs that all people have the right to know about war crimes, state corruption, mass surveillance and antidemocratic intrigues by the worlds most powerful states. I can either go to jail or betray my principles, Manning has explained. I would rather starve to death than change my opinion. If Assange and Manning are not prisoners of conscience, then who is? AI told the WSWS they do not maintain an international list of POC designates. But a partial list published on Wikipedia shows the majority come from Russia, Iran, China, the former Soviet republics and Saudi Arabia. Just one POC is listed in the United States, none from Britain and none from France where journalists are presently being threatened with jail for exposing French military involvement in the ongoing war in Yemen that has claimed over 100,000 lives. On its website, AI states, We protect people, defending their right to freedom, to truth, and to dignity. We do this by investigating and exposing abuses where they happen. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remains fundamental to Amnestys work. It provides the bedrock of most of our campaigning, and it helps us to hold authorities to account when rights are abused. When it comes to Assange and Manning, AI holds no authority to account, remains silent in the face of outrageous human rights violations and helps to magnify the government-media smear machine. Virtually all of the UDHRs thirty articles have been breached by the US, UK, Australia, Sweden and Ecuador in their treatment of Assange and Manning. The most egregious violations of Assanges rights relate to the following principles: Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person; Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him; Article 14: Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution; Article 15: No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality; Article 17: No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property; Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Written in 1948, the preamble to the UDHR states that it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law. Emerging from the blood and filth of fascism and a World War that claimed 60 million lives, the imperialist powers erected an international framework of economic, political and legal mechanisms to guard against a new descent into war, social upheaval and revolution. If the framers of the UDHR sought insurance against recourse to rebellion, this aim was shared by those who established Amnesty International. Its founder, barrister Peter Benenson, wrote in 1960, The important thing is to mobilise public opinion quickly and widely, before a government is caught up in the vicious spiral caused by its own repression and is faced with impending civil war. It was also important to choose POCs carefully: The technique of publicising the personal stories of a number of prisoners of contrasting politics is a new one. It has been adopted to avoid the fate of previous amnesty campaigns, which so often have become more concerned with publicising the political views of the imprisoned than with humanitarian purposes. The unstated premiseclear in AIs silence on Manning and Chelseais that the political views of these two prisoners should not be publicised and the institutions of western capitalist democracy must be defended, especially from any popular and revolutionary threat from below. Eight years ago, Amnesty International hailed WikiLeaks and the Guardian for their role in publishing documents that played a catalytic role in sparking the 2011 Arab Spring, especially in Tunisia. Today, the Guardian is the Witchfinder General, gruesomely smearing Assange as a Russian stooge and rapist, while AI has thrown Assange and Manning to the wolves. A political chasm has opened. In Britain, all of the establishment partiesLabour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Scottish National Partyalong with the pseudo-left Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Party are ranged against Assange, with a host of NGOs and human rights groups in tow. The Swedish allegations merely serve as a convenient pretext for their naked defence of imperialism. Sweden is the Pontius Pilate option for those like Dianne Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn, who declared to the media on April 13 that there can be no hiding place from those kind of accusations and that Assange should be sent to Sweden if an extradition request is received. Lest anyone doubt the role of Swedens re-re-revived preliminary investigations, consider the words of Heather Barr, Acting Co-Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch UK, who issued a statement on April 16 that should be entered onto a rollcall of shame: When WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London last week so he could face charges in the US, it raised deep concerns around media freedom. Amid these concerns, however, lets remember that Assange is also accused of rape. Barrs statement effectively overrode HRWs earlier condemnation of Assanges arrest at the Ecuadorian embassy, endorsing his lengthy incarceration in Belmarsh Prison (UK, Deciding Assange's Fate, Should Give Sweden Time to Evaluate Rape Case) while making false and defamatory statements against Assange. Barr makes repeated reference to rape charges against Assangecharges that have never existed! The political line-up on Assange confirms the central contention of the Socialist Equality Party and the World Socialist Web Site: Assange and Mannings freedom rests on the independent political mobilisation of the working class. It is to the great mass of working people, youth and all genuine defenders of democratic rights that the fight to free Assange and Manning must be taken. *** Appendix: An exchange of letters The following is an exchange of letters between the Julian Assange Defence Committees Maxine Walker and Amnesty International UK. Julian Assange Defence Committee 14 May 2019 Dear Amnesty International UK I am writing to you on behalf of the Julian Assange Defence Committee, which was set up to oppose his extradition to the USA and to galvanise opposition to it. We cannot state strongly enough that Julian Assange is in great peril. Indeed you may have seen the interview with WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson following his and Pamela Andersons recent visit to Belmarsh in which Mr Hrafnsson states, It is a question of life and death, thats how serious it is. We are aware that you made a statement after his arrest in April in which you said: "Amnesty International believes that Julian Assange should not be extradited or subjected to any other transfer to the USA, where there are concerns that he would face a real risk of serious human rights violations due to his work with Wikileaks. You recognised in this statement the potential violations of his human rights should such an extradition take place including the ultimate violation, that of his right to life. However, we also note that no further statements appear to have been made by you since then. His name appears not to have been mentioned in your material for World Press Freedom Day, an extraordinary omission given his current situation and that Julian Assange was awarded the 2009 Amnesty International UK Media Award for New Media. Julian Assange has won many such awards in recognition of WikiLeaks pivotal role in exposing US and UK war crimes and violations of human rights that have taken place in those wars including torture, murder and inflicting large numbers of civilian casualties. The UK government has ignored, indeed poured scorn, on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention 2015 ruling that the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Assange is arbitrary and in contravention of articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After Julian Assanges arrest in April, the Working Group also stated, The Working Group regrets that the Government has not complied with its Opinion and has now furthered the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Assange. It expresses concern that Mr. Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence. This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards. It is urgent that organisations concerned with human rights should become more vocal and active on this case. One statement is not adequate to deal with the threats to Julian Assange and the wider implications for free speech, freedom of information and the protection of journalists. We would ask you: to prioritise this case in your publicity and campaigns; to lobby MPs who should be raising concerns about this case and his prison conditions (and are not doing so); to encourage your supporters to write to him in prison. We look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes Maxine Walker Dear Maxine, Thank you for your email regarding Julian Assange. Our latest statement, following the re-opening of the Swedish Prosecution Authority's investigation into a rape allegation against Julian Assange, can be found here; https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/05/julian-assange-rape-allegations-must-be-treated-with-utmost-seriousness/ Julian Assange's case is a case we're monitoring closely but not actively working on. Amnesty International does not consider Julian Assange to be a Prisoner of Conscience. AI does, however, continue to believe that he should not be extradited to the USA, where he faces a real risk of serious human rights violations, including in relation to the likely conditions of his detention, due to his work with Wikileaks. We hope this explains our position. Kind regards, Supporter Communications Team Amnesty International UK, The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London, EC2A 3EA The toxic political climate in the UK and the confusion generated among workers by the Brexit referendum and its aftermath is such that Nigel Farages Brexit Party is anticipated to come first in todays European election vote. Farage is benefiting from hostility to the European Union (EU) and stoking up noxious patriotic nationalism and chauvinistic anti-immigrant sentiment. His party also relies on Farages threadbare pose as an opponent of the establishment and a champion of democracy. His central message is that almost the entire political elite is betraying the result of the 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU and that Brexit will be the beginning of a new era of Britains self-determination. The ability of this political witches brew to win popular support depends above all on the fact that the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, while proposing a convoluted scenario for a progressive Brexit and/or a second referendum, offers no genuine alternative articulating the interests of the broad mass of working people. Labour has proved itself incapable of uniting a working class suffering terrible social hardship against a ruling class which, whatever its divisions over Brexit, shares an agenda of endless austerity, the destruction of democratic rights and a violent lurch towards militarism and war. Instead Corbyns every effort is to suppress the class struggle, while he focuses exclusively on promoting Labour to big business as a means of securing either tariff-free access to the Single European Market or reversing Brexit. This has meant political debate continues to be framed around the question for or against the EU, as opposed to the fundamental class issues that divide the UK, Europe and the entire world. Farage et al make their election pitch with the help of saturation media coverage because the ruling elite want to portray him as the voice of the outsider and the disaffected. Meanwhile Corbyn spent his time, for weeks, huddled in ultimately futile negotiations seeking a Brexit compromise with Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. It was only yesterday that he even renewed his call for a general electionwithout a trace of political seriousness and long after the damage had been done. Under these circumstances, Farage has been able to tear away Tory voters, leaving it as a rump, and to combine them with his own former constituency in the nearly defunct UK Independence Party (UKIP). He has in the process won the backing of an overwhelmingly older layer of Labour voters in the most socially deprived areas of northern cities. Most striking, however, is that support for the Brexit Party among the younger generation is minuscule, with the majority hostile to a regressive party harking back to a supposed golden age when Britain was its own master. According to YouGov, 53 percent of over 65s support the Brexit Party compared with just 10 percent of those under 25. Farage is intent on portraying the European elections, which will see a massive abstention, as a plebiscite on Brexit and a weapon against any move towards a second referendum. To this end, he has refused to issue any policy agenda for his new party formed only in January. Farage told the BBC he will only talk about Brexit until the vote, leaving the party based solely on support for the UK leaving the EU without a formal withdrawal agreementto trade on World Trade Organisation termsuntil new trade deals can be agreed. Farage has also tried to distance himself from his former political vehicle after UKIP moved ever more openly to the far-right, centred on an anti-Muslim agenda. This was not without difficulties. The person he chose to front his new party until he could take over, Catherine Blaiklock, was forced to resign after her tweets were reported, such as: Islam = submissionmostly to raping men it seems; accusing Muslim men of impregnating white British girls to create Muslim babies and claiming that Muslims in the West think Someday this will all be ours. Her resignation was followed by that of party treasurer, Michael McGough, after he was found to have made antisemitic and homophobic social media posts. This left Farages statement that there was no difference between the Brexit party and UKIP in terms of policy, but in terms of personnel, theres a vast difference suspended in mid-air. Farage himself made anti-migrant policies central to UKIPs agenda under his leadership. He is an open admirer of Frances far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and US President Donald Trump and has appeared on platforms of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The personnel making up the front ranks of the Brexit Party are mostly former right-wing Tories like himself, including former shadow home secretary Ann Widdecombe and Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister to arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg. This has left Farage to rely on the fig-leaf provided by George Galloway, the Stalinist demagogue who played a key role in the Left Brexit campaign in 2016 alongside the then UKIP leader, and who tried unsuccessfully to become the partys candidate in a forthcoming by-election in Peterborough, and several candidates from the libertarian Institute of Ideas, grouped around the web site Spiked . Spiked supporters such as Claire Fox, like Galloway, are touted as the left face of the Brexit Partydespite having moved far to the right since the old Revolutionary Communist Party wound itself up in the aftermath of capitalist restoration in the Soviet Union. Its editor, Brendan ONeill, joins Galloway in portraying the Brexit Party as a place where left and right can happily unite. Its rise is wonderful to behold This is a group of politicians and voters uniting around a clear and important causethe defence of democracy. The rise of the Brexit Party is anything but wonderful. It is the diseased product of the cultivation of the most politically dangerous divisions in the working class that has left two right-wing capitalist factions free to fight between themselves on how best to defend the strategic interests of British imperialism. Remain and Leave Tories have now spent close to a decade imposing an age of austerity on the working class. The final report from Philip Alston, the United Nations Special rapporteur on extreme poverty, issued yesterday, states that ideological cuts to public services since 2010 have led to tragic consequences. Britains social safety net has been deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos akin to that of a 19th century workhouse and leaving the UKs poorest living lives that are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. The systematic immiseration of a significant part of the British population has left 14 million, one fifth of the population, in poverty and 1.5 million in destitution in 2017living on less than 10 a day. Whether within the framework of an EU trade and military bloc, as the advocates of Remain argue, or outside and in close alliance with US imperialism, austeritythe shared agenda of all capitalist parties and governments in Britain, Europe and internationallywill continue. The whole of Europe is in the grip of savage cuts, with almost 142 million Europeans at risk of poverty based upon a poverty line of just 10,000 per yearalmost a third of the population. Yet, as in the UK with Farages Brexit Party, at this point it is the far-right which has politically benefitted. It has done so by exploiting hostility to the pro-austerity agenda of all of Europes mainstream parties and the xenophobia whipped up by official anti-immigrant measures. Whatever Farages denials, he has already been at the centre of the creation of two far-right partiesUKIP and its offshoot, For Britain. The Brexit Party will easily evolve along similar lines. Its rise is a peculiar expression of a general phenomenon in which the eruption of national and social antagonisms is tearing apart Europe. At a meeting of far-right parties in Italy, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of Lega, urged Farage to align his Brexit Party with a new alliance of the far-right in the European Parliament. These include Frances National Rally, Alternative for Germany, the Finns Party, the Danish Peoples Party and Austrias Freedom Party. He told the BBC, Its a beautiful Europe and Im waiting for Nigel Farage to join in We can work together, I hope. Farage may reject this appeal for tactical reasons, but the Guardian revealed yesterday that a new documentary shows him in discussion with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on taking the leadership role in his proposed "Movement"--a largely abortive alliance of far-right parties and leaders meant to include Hungarys Viktor Orban and the mass murderer Rodrigo Duterte of the Phillipines. Farage responds by saying, Conceptually I like it and calling the planned Movement the fightback against the globalists. The rise of the far-right cannot be opposed by supporting the EU, which is an instrument of big business for attacking the working class and pursuing trade war and military rearmament globally. It cannot be answered by pro-capitalist parties such as Labour in the UK. It can only be opposed by a struggle against capitalism and for socialism. Not a turn to nationalism based on the myth of a return to a social reformist Britain, but a unified offensive by the working class across the continent for the United Socialist States of Europe. This would create the conditions for utilising Europes immense natural resources and productive capacity, now squandered on making the filthy rich even richer, to meet the needs of all working people for a decent job, education, health care and a secure home. Success in taking such a new road is made possible by the eruption of the class struggle now taking place throughout Europe and internationally against austerityas exemplified in the rising number of strikes and determined protests such as that of Frances Yellow Vests. Its political realisation depends upon building a revolutionary socialist leadership in the working class, the Socialist Equality Party in Britain and our sister parties in France, Germany and throughout the world organised in the International Committee of the Fourth International. With the support of the trade unions, the Carrefour supermarket chain in France is set to destroy up to 3,000 positions over the next year, utilizing measures contained in the Labor Law imposed by the Macron government at the start of its term in 2017. The company signed a so-called Collective Breaking of Contract (rupture conventionelle de collectiveRCC) with the Workers Force (FO) and the CFE-CGC union federation this week, allowing it to force through thousands of voluntary redundancies. The agreement was negotiated over many weeks between the company and the unions. While 1,230 jobs are to be destroyed, the company and unions clearly anticipate pressuring far more workers to resign, with an upper limit of 3,000 layoffs as part of the agreement. The General Federation of Labor (CGT), the third union covering Carrefour workers, did not sign the RCCnot because it did not support it, but because its signature was not needed to push it through, given that it had already been passed by FO and the CFE-CGC. The CGT has therefore fraudulently postured as an opponent of the destruction of jobs. All the unions have worked to sabotage any struggle by Carrefour workers, who mobilized last year in opposition to the companys cost-cutting plans. They are creating the conditions for further attacks, not only on Carrefour workers internationally, but on workers at Auchan and Casino, which are also carrying out major restructuring operations. The urgent task confronting supermarket workers is to organize a struggle independently of the unions on an international scale. The redundancies at Carrefour will particularly affect workers in jewelry departments, multimedia, payroll, administration and service stations, which are subject to competition from online commerce and specialized retailers. The company will seek to reduce 15 percent of staff in its 46 supermarkets, in addition to attrition from retirements. The management is seeking to increase the profitability of the chain as rapidly as possible by laying off staff. With the disguised layoffs of 3,000 Carrefour workers, the Macron government is collaborating in a major offensive against jobs taking place on an international scaleincluding hundreds of job cuts announced at Ford on Monday, and the liquidation of British Steel this week, eliminating 5,000 jobs and threatening 20,000 more. These attacks underscore the pro-business character of the unions social dialogue with the corporations. The negotiations have nothing to do with improving the conditions of the working class but are aimed at organizing the destruction of jobs and lowering labor costs in order to boost profits and competitiveness of the giant corporations against their global rivals. The RCC, introduced as part of the Labor Law as a new mechanism for mass layoffs, and requiring that the unions sign off on any restructuring, demonstrate the ever more direct incorporation of the unions into the attacks on the working class. In an interview with the newspaper Les Echos, Macrons minister of labor, Muriel Penichaud, declared that the Labor Law is beginning to yield its fruits, we are in a good dynamic with the new measure, which meets our twin objectives of developing the social dialogue and juridically protecting it. Since the decrees that created the RCC came into force in December 2018, 96 RCCs have been initiated, and 60 signed by the unions. More than half have involved large corporations, according to the Ministry of Labor. The labor minister added that 142 supplementary collective agreements on pay and working time, which can take precedence over employment contracts, had been concluded by March 31. At Carrefour, the RCC is part of a transformation plan seeking to increase the exploitation of an already super-exploited workforce. To justify this action, CEO Alexandre Bompard announced that after a year 2017 that was globally difficult because of market competition, 2018 will be a year of struggle, because it will be the first stage of the Carrefour 2022 plan. Under this plan, begun at the start of last year, the company expects to save 2 billion off the backs of its workforce. As Bombard announced his plan, Carrefour posted an enormous profit of 773 million. The allies of the workers in France in their struggle are workers internationally. Carrefour initiated its assault on workers in Asia and Latin America, before beginning its restructuring in Europe. It has already destroyed 4,400 positions, through so-called voluntary redundancies in multiple countries and the closure of Dia stores in France. These attacks are only possible due to the complicity of the trade unions, which have isolated the Carrefour workers who went on str ike last year from other sections of the working class, including railway workers in France and their fellow Carrefour workers around the world. While the year 2018 was marked by an upsurge of working-class struggle around the world, including the yellow vest protests in France, the unions have been even more determined to sign off on further layoffs in order to prevent any united fight against the company. The RCC, as opposed to previous mechanisms for corporate restructures, does not require that the company even formally invoke a difficult economic situation, present or in the future, as justification. Jean-Phillippe Dubs, of Ales Group, a specialist provider of cosmetics that laid off 80 workers using an RCC, described its advantages to Le Monde: It permits us to improve our accounts internally in a less traumatic way than a social plan. We carried out our restructure as a family, without any experts or procedures of consultation, as it should have been the case for the Plans for Saving Jobs or Plan for Voluntary Departures. The unions adopt without any ambiguity the point of view of the corporations. The FO and CSC-CGE declare in the letter announcing the RCC that the workers are aware of the necessity of transforming the supermarkets. They propose certain symbolic measures, including the putting in place of a commission of local follow-ups and a procedure of prevention and evaluation for the organization and workload. But it is the unions own policies that will lead to the increase in workload. To fight against Carrefours restructuring, workers must organize independently of the union apparatuses that are orchestrating this offensive. Workers need their own independent rank-and-file action committees to coordinate a fight with their co-workers, including internationally. This requires a political struggle against the Macron government and its political allies, waged on the basis of a socialist and international perspective. New Zealands major media outletsTVNZ, Stuff, Mediaworks, NZME and Radio NZsigned an unprecedented agreement on May 1 to self-censor their coverage of the trial of Brenton Tarrant, who is accused of killing 51 people in terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch on March 15. Tarrant is due to reappear in court on June 14, when he is expected to enter a plea. This week police charged him with committing an act of terrorism, in addition to 51 previously laid charges of murder and 40 of attempted murder. The gunman wrote in his manifesto that he would plead not guilty and use his trial to espouse his fascist and white supremacist ideology, like his idol, Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik. The Christchurch attack was New Zealands worst mass shooting and one of the most devastating acts of far-right terrorism anywhere in the world. The victims included New Zealanders and people from Malaysia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Tarrants trial will be followed by millions of people internationally who were horrified by the atrocity and want to understand why and how it took place. The new charge of terrorism requires that prosecutors prove Tarrants political or ideological motivation. Discussion of this crucial evidence in court, however, is likely to be suppressed by the major media outlets on the pretext of denying the gunman a platform. The editorial guidelines adopted by the newspapers and broadcasters are politically-motivated and are a profoundly anti-democratic infringement on the publics right to information. The outlets, including the publicly-owned Radio NZ and TVNZ, are collaborating with the Labour Party-led government to prevent discussion of Tarrants fascist views and their striking similarity to the racist and anti-immigrant politics promoted by governments and political parties in New Zealand and other countries. A joint statement by the five senior editors, on May 1, promised to limit any coverage of statements, that actively champion white supremacist or terrorist ideology [including references to] the accuseds manifesto document The Great Replacement. Absurdly, the media heads at the same time pledged to cover the trial comprehensively and responsibly in accordance with the principles of open justice. They did not explain how these principlesand those of objective, truthful journalismare compatible with suppressing the accuseds views. The Guardian noted the speed and ease with which the agreement had been discussed and signed. Apparently, none of the senior editors felt any qualms about censoring their own coverage. Only a few local and foreign journalists criticised the decision, with Politico s Jack Shafer describing it as paternalistic opposition to free speech. So far, international and smaller local media organisations have not announced any reporting restrictions, but it is unclear which outlets will be given accreditation to report from the courtroom. The corporate medias self-censorship is directly inspired by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who declared days after the massacre that she would not speak the gunmans name. On March 19, she told reporters: I would hope there are ways that [the trial] could be covered without adding to the notoriety that this individual seeks. Arderns numerous statements exploiting the Christchurch massacre to push for censorship, including of social media, have been applauded by the media internationally. A Radio NZ editorial on March 29 said the station would still use Tarrants name and it was vitally important for journalists to examine his background and motivations. The same article, however, said Radio NZ would not publish details about Tarrants manifesto, the main source of information about his motivations. This followed the chief censors decision to ban possession and distribution of the manifesto, with lengthy prison sentences possible for anyone caught with it. The 74-page document has received only superficial media attention. A 22-year-old man, whose name is suppressed, was charged last month after the manifesto was found on his cellphone. There has been little opposition to this draconian ban, apart from a few journalists and free speech campaigners. Disgracefully, the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties chairman Thomas Beagle told Newshub there should be limits to free speech and the ban was not a serious impediment to democratic rights. Censorship of the manifesto and the trial has nothing to do with denying Tarrant notoriety or a platform. In fact, these measures will increase his prestige in far-right circles. The real aim of the state and the media is to deprive the working class of information about the growing danger of fascism, which is being deliberately cultivated by the ruling elite internationally. Tarrant was not an isolated individual; he had connections with the far-right Identitarians in Austria and France, and the United Patriots Front and Lads Society in Australia, which have all been promoted in the media and by sections of the political establishment. His manifesto expressed admiration for US President Donald Trump, calling him a symbol of white renewal. In 2016, Tarrant celebrated Trumps election victory as a win for nationalists and a defeat for globalists and Marxists. The Ardern government, which has strengthened NZs military ties with the US, is anxious to avoid any further exposure of Trumps encouragement of fascist and racist violence. Tarrants language resembles the anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric used by Trump and other right-wing and nominally left bourgeois politicians, including One Nation in Australia and the New Zealand First Party. Arderns Labour Party, which adopted NZ Firsts anti-immigrant policies in the 2017 election, gave the racist party considerable power in the coalition government: NZ First leader Winston Peters, who has repeatedly demonised Muslim immigrants, was made deputy prime minister and foreign minister. The gunmans hostility to socialism and Marxism likewise echoes statements made by Trump, who expresses the fears of the entire political establishment, including in New Zealand, of the growing class struggle and anti-capitalist sentiment. Any discussion of the shooters political views could raise uncomfortable questions about why the police and intelligence agencies turned a blind eye to the danger of white supremacist and neo-Nazi violence. Tarrants manifesto expressed sympathy for the police and estimated that hundreds of thousands of European fascists are employed in the armed forces. A Royal Commission ostensibly investigating whether Tarrants attacks could have been prevented began on May 13, but is so far being held behind closed doors. The cover-up of the real causes of the Christchurch terrorist attack is a serious warning. It is aimed at politically disarming the working class, while protecting the far-right and ensuring its continued growth internationally. As in the 1930s, the ruling class is cultivating fascist forces so they can be mobilised against workers and young people, who are moving to the left and coming into struggle against social inequality and war. The author also recommends: The Christchurch terror attack and the promotion of fascism by the ruling elite [8 May 2019] A socialist perspective against the return of fascism in Europe [8 May 2019] Neo-Nazi networks exposed across US military [4 May 2019] The actions by the Trump administration against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei have sent shock waves through the global economy and the international trading system. The decision by the administration to put sales of US products to Huawei on a restricted entity list, backed by Googles withdrawal of access to crucial components of the Android operating system, mark a new stage in the trade war against China. In fact, the term trade war has become something of a misnomer. The US has launched a full-scale economic war aimed at preventing the industrial and technological advancement of China and reducing it to a semi-colonial status. As the WSWS noted in its perspective published on Tuesday, the decision surely puts to rest the notion that fundamental categories of Marxism, such as imperialism, have been superseded. Imperialism and its attendant processes, above all economic warfare and arising from that, military wars fought in the interests of profit and great power supremacy, are back with a vengeance. The latest US decisions are aimed at nothing less than the crippling of Huawei, driving it out of the global smartphone market and preventing its participation in the development of 5G telecommunications networks. The move against Huawei did not come out of the blue. Bloomberg has reported that the Trump administration had been planning for months to subject Huawei to economic sanctions but only held off while it was holding out the prospect for the signing of a trade deal with China. Even before the latest decisions, the trade talks had all but collapsed because of the insistence by the US that Washington should have the unfettered right to dictate changes in Chinese laws, as part of an enforcement mechanism, along with the maintenance of tariffs until it unilaterally deemed China to be in compliance with any deal. The implications of the Huawei decisions, and the move by Google and other US firms, such as Qualcomm, Broadcom and Intel, to line up behind the administration, go far beyond that company. As Abraham Liu, Huaweis vice president for the European region, told a press conference on Tuesday, the US actions were not only an unprecedented assault on his firm but on the entire system of rules-based international trade. Now it is happening to Huawei. Tomorrow it can happen to any other international company, he said. This is dangerous. There have been a series of worried comments about the significance of the decisions for the entire international trading system. The economist Nouriel Roubini, one of the few to warn of the dangers of a financial crash prior to 2008, warned that what started as a trade war may escalate into a permanent state of mutual animosity as reflected in the Trump administrations National Security Strategy which determined China was a strategic competitor. He labelled the new situation as a full-scale Sino-American cold war. But analogies drawn from the conflict with the Soviet Union fail to encapsulate the situation, as Roubinis own analysis itself made clear. He pointed to a balkanised world in which major powers would be forced to choose sides and in which a hot war or a series of proxy wars cannot be ruled out. And even this is something of an underestimation because the inherent logic of the confrontation is military conflict. As the Second World War erupted in 1939, the US prepared the way for its entry into that conflict by imposing embargoes against Japanese imports of oil, making a military clash inevitable. In the 21st century, the embargoes against China are aimed at technology. Martin Wolf, the economics columnist for the Financial Times, penned a worried comment on Wednesday with the title The US-China conflict challenges the world. Under Donald Trump, the US has become a rogue superpower, hostile, among many other things, to the fundamental norms of a trading system based on multilateral agreement and binding rules, Indeed, US allies, too, are a target of bilateral bullying, he wrote. This analysis is true as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. In the first place, the process did not begin with Trump. The Obama administrations Trans Pacific Partnership, now held up as an alternative to the Trump measures, was no less directed against China. Secondly, the Trump measures are not his alone. They have received enthusiastic support from key sections of the Democratic Party along with the major corporations now lining up behind him, as evidenced by the decision of Google and other hi-tech firms. Trumps measures are not rooted in his persona or psyche but in the protracted economic decline of the US vis-a-vis its old rivals and the threat posed by a new one, China. It is determined to counter this situation by all means considered necessary, including war. Wolf comes out firmly against any support by US allies for Americas attempts to thwart Chinas rise declaring it to be unconscionable. Instead, they should indicate where they agree with US objectives on trade and technology as regards China and uphold the principles of a multilateral trading system, under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation. But as Wolf himself acknowledges, the WTO has been all but paralysed because of the refusal of the US to agree to new appointments to the appellate body which hears disputes. Faced with this situation, Wolf advocates the development of an informal mechanism. As countries move to develop free trade agreements (FTAs) among themselves, outside of the US, they should go further. Countries that see the benefits of a strong trading order should turn such FTAs into a global FTA of the willing, in which any country could participate. One might envisage a future in which participants in such a global FTA would defend its members against illegal assaults from non-members, via coordinated retaliation. This is not a recipe for averting trade war but for formalising it. One only has to pose the question: If such a mechanism were to develop, would the US stand by, arms folded in quiet repose, while its global position was undermined? Would it not immediately retaliate by invoking measures such as the 25 percent tariffs on autos and auto components that it already has hanging over the head of Europe and Japan, leading to a rapid escalation of the conflict? The bankruptcy of the measures advanced by Wolf and other liberals derives from the fact that they obliterate from their calculations a fundamental and irresolvable contradiction of the global capitalist system: that between the development of globalised production and the division of the world into rival and antagonistic nation-state and imperialist great powers. The liberal post-war international trading order appeared to have overcome that contradiction. Nations which traded with each other, it was maintained, would not go to war, establishing the permanent peace first envisaged by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the late 18th century. However, this scenario ignored both the lessons of history and the driving forces of the capitalist economy. On the eve of World War I there were no countries which enjoyed a closer trading relationship with each other than Great Britain and Germany. But that did not prevent the outbreak of war on August 4, 1914. Moreover, the driving force of international trade is not the exchange of goods and expanded production as such but the struggle for markets and profits and the accumulation of geo-political power by the various capitalist national states. The post-war trading order was developed under the hegemony of the United States and was grounded on its overwhelming superiority over its rivals. That superiority has gone and consequently US imperialism is asserting itself with ever greater force. The only answer to the growing danger of full-scale economic and military warfare is not some futile attempt to put together the shattered fragments of the post-war international trading system, but the development of a socialist movement by the international working class to end the outmoded capitalist nation-state and profit system before it plunges mankind into a catastrophe. On Tuesday, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) suspended the intake of immigrants at the McAllen Central Processing Center, one of the busiest and largest migrant detention centers in the country. This is the same facility where sixteen-year-old Guatemalan migrant Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez died on Monday after being diagnosed with the flu. To avoid the spread of illness, the Rio Grande Valley Sector has temporarily suspended intake operations at the [Central Processing Center], the CBP said in a statement. Individuals apprehended in [Rio Grande Vally] Sector will be held at other locations until this situation is resolved. After being captured on May 13, Hernandez was admitted to the McAllen facility as an unaccompanied minor showing no signs of illness. He stayed at the facility for over a weektwice as long as is allowed by US lawand first reported feeling ill on Sunday. He was never taken to the hospital and was found unresponsive the following day. He is the sixth minor to die in US custody since last September. The CBP statement did not report how many migrants are currently sick, simply stating that a large number of immigrants were suffering from flu-related symptoms. The mass quarantine of over 8,000 men, women and children in Texas is of a piece with the Trump administrations fascistic efforts to paint asylum seekers as disease-ridden criminals who threaten the population with contagion. We are seeing migrants arrive with illnesses and medical conditions in unprecedented numbers, said Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan at a press conference in March. Were doing everything we can to simply avoid a tragedy in a CBP facility. But with these numbers, with the types of illnesses were seeing at the border, I fear its just a matter of time. What hypocrisy! The CBP is itself responsible for administering the deficient food, housing and medical attention that make the spread of preventable diseases inevitable. The sickness and death of impoverished migrants whose illnesses were either contracted or exacerbated at squalid US-run detention centers are then used to ramp up authoritarian attacks on asylum seekers. The McAllen detention center in Southern Texas, just across the border from Reynosa in Mexico, became infamous during the Trump administrations barbarous policy of separating children from their families. With its metal wire cages and floor mats, the 77,0000-square foot converted warehouse resembles a dog shelter more than a place to house human beings. The images of children at the facility wrapped up in thermal blankets became a source of outrage for millions of people around the world. The US Centers for Disease Control reports vaccination rates of over 90 percent in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. But the health of migrantsalready compromised after weeks of travel to reach the US-Mexico borderis further damaged by fascistic agents of the US Border Patrol. The deliberate aim of Washingtons zero tolerance policies is to deter desperate workers and youth from attempting the journey to the US to escape poverty and gang violence. Once in custody, immigrants are placed in what are popularly called hieleras, or ice boxes. These chilled jail cells are designed to make immigrants tremble in the cold. In detention, they are fed as little as one piece of bread a day, further compromising their health and weakening their bodies. To these physical strains must be added the emotional trauma of family separation, lengthy incarceration and the threat of being sent back to the home country. The unsanitary and cramped immigration facilities have bred conditions in which thousands succumb to viral diseases. An anonymous Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official told Reuters that as of March over 2,200 immigrants were quarantined around the country. In that month, ICE officials reported 236 cases of mumps among detainees at its 51 facilities over the past 12 months, compared to zero reported cases between January 2016 and February 2018. The infected individuals often do not show symptoms of viral diseases when they are contagious. They are often shipped from facility to facility across the country, creating the conditions for a humanitarian disaster. More than 52,000 migrants are currently being detained by ICE, an all-time high. The for-profit centers that house the vast majority of immigrants are ill-equipped to provide adequate medical attention. In early January, a mumps outbreak at the privately run Pine Prairie Processing Center in Louisiana led to hundreds of detainees being placed under quarantine. Immigrants who had court cases scheduled were forced to attend remotely without their attorneys, who were not allowed inside the facilities. Pine Prairie has over 1,000 beds and is run by the for-profit GEO Group. The outbreak at Pine Prairie appears to have originated from immigrants transferred from Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi, which is run by private detention company CoreCivic. Both GEO and CoreCivic have been named in multiple lawsuits over the denial of medication, sexual abuse by guards and beatings of children. The companies have enjoyed a windfall in government contracts to house immigrants, taking in millions from mass immigrant detention and the creation of a vast prison apparatus. The entire political establishment accepts the framework of an immigration problem and crisis at the border. From deporter-in-chief Barack Obama to democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, the ruling class sees attacks on immigrants as a way to divide the working class, divert attention from the real source of unemployment, poverty and inequalitythe capitalist systemand build up a police state apparatus to attack the working class as a whole. Against a backdrop of growing conflicts between the major world powers in Africa, the German grand coalition government (Christian Democratic Union CDU, Christian Social Union, CSU, and Social Democratic Party, SPD) is preparing a massive military intervention in Mali and the entire Sahel region of North Africa. The intervention is taking place behind the backs of the population and is part of the German governments Africa Strategy, aimed at advancing its economic and geo-strategic interests on the continent. By relying on military means German imperialism is returning to the colonial and militaristic traditions which caused immeasurable suffering on the African continent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Two weeks ago, the German parliament (Bundestag) voted by an overwhelming majority to extend the German army (Bundeswehr) missions in Mali, EUTM and MINUSMA, and the involvement of the German navy in the EU mission Atalanta off the Somali coast for another year. The government has allocated a total of almost 400 million euros for the three operations up until May 2020. In accordance with the two mandates, the Bundeswehr can station a total of up to 1,100 German soldiers in Mali. The West African country has been effectively under joint German and French occupation since 2013. In contrast to the previous mandate, the German army now has the task of ensuring the restoration of state authority in central Mali. Formerly the German intervention was restricted to the north of the country. The aim of the new mandate is to ensure the increased presence of armed and security forces to create the conditions for a return of state administrative structures. This explains the real purpose of the intervention: neo-colonial control and exploitation of the resource-rich country and the police-military repression of growing opposition to the imperialist occupiers and their hated puppet regime in Bamako. The countrys government is currently experiencing fierce opposition from the working class and the impoverished rural population. At the end of April, the Malian government of Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga was forced to resign following mass protests and strikes. The trigger for the protests was a massacre in the village of Ogossagou near Burkina Faso, involving the deaths of around 160 people, including women, the elderly and youth. Another 55 people were injured. The protests were directed against the Western occupiers, under whose eyes the massacre had taken place, and against the indifferent reaction of the Malian government. There are now indications that Malian government forces were involved in the massacre. A dozen uniformed persons are alleged to be among the attackers. The German grand coalition is acquainted with the crimes committed by the Malian troops it has trained. Already last year, the UN Security Council issued a report listing 344 human rights violations involving 475 victims. Malian military and security forces were involved in 58 of these cases. In addition, Minusma has carried out investigations into 44 cases of extrajudicial executions by Malian soldiers. Instead of withdrawing its forces in light of this carnage the German government is expanding its murderous campaign across the entire Sahel region. The entire parliamentary debate made clear the full extent of the war plans of the German ruling class. In his plea for deployment, the SPD deputy responsible for African affairs, Christoph Matschie, explicitly named the stabilization of the Malian government and the enforcement of the state monopoly on power as the objectives of the MINUSMA mission. Mali, according to Matschie, is a state in the Sahel region that has enormous significance for the stability of the entire region. The speaker of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Andreas Nick, also pleaded in his speech for an expansion of the mission across the entire region. The countrys problems were by no means limited to Mali but concerned the entire Sahelian zone. Nick continued by noting that during the course of her trip to Africa at the beginning of May, Chancellor Angela Merkel had again emphasised the importance of the G-5 states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for Germany and Europe, as well as the need for action locally. Now it was important to enable our partners in the Sahel to assume even more responsibility for providing for their own security. German and European support for the G-5 countries in financing, training and upgrading the Force Conjointe du G5 Sahel is an important step in that direction. In the course of implementing its war plans in close cooperation with France, the German government is increasingly coming into conflict with US imperialism. Nick expressed his great regret that the granting of a robust UN mandate under Chapter VII for the Force Conjointe had so far failed due to US opposition. The declaration of purely financial reasons and the focus on the purely bilateral work of the US in this region, Nick concluded, was not easy to understand. To put it more directly: following active participation by the German ruling elite in US regime change wars during the last two decades, it is now criticising US imperialism from the right. A robust deployment under Chapter VII requires a brutal combat mission and involving the same murderous and illegal practices used in the US-led wars against Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq. The defence spokesman for the CDU/CSU, Henning Otte, made clear in his speech that the German government is considering the use of combat drones in Mali and the surrounding region: We want the use of Heron TP (drone) equipment to continue. Training is already taking place and I say very clearly on behalf of the Union: When necessary we also want to be able to support our soldiers by arming them with the Heron. The debate over German combat missions in the Bundestag made clear the traditions the ruling class is drawing upon. Speaking on behalf of the far right AfD, Rudiger Lucassen, a former official at the Ministry of Defense, demanded that the real nature of the operation be revealed to the public: The entire motion is a document aimed at concealment, full of empty phrases at a time when soldiers need clarity. This is dishonest, cowardly, and deeply irresponsible given the fact that you expose our men and women to this danger. In fact, there is no lack of clarity regarding the aims or methods employed by the German government in the Sahel region. The plan is to use brutal force to enforce the interests of German imperialism throughout the region and, as an integral component, erect a kind of death barrier to block off Fortress Europe. In addition to the direct deployment of German armed forces and the formation of African units such as the Force Conjointe, the German missions involves arming the authoritarian regimes of the Sahel. Handelsblatt reported that Merkel promised the Burkina Faso government 17 to 20 million euros during her trip to Africa. The money is to be spent on expanding the capacities of the police and gendarmerie and advice from the Bundeswehr on how best to combat illegal migration. During her subsequent visit to neighbouring Niger, Merkel praised the countrys government, stating that it had undertaken a decisive fight to deter illegal migration and had done outstanding work in recent years. The outstanding work cited by Merkel consists of African regimes with the support of the European Union forcing refugees into the desert where many perish horribly through starvation and thirst. According to reports, EU-trained units have not only secured borders but also occupied waterholes in the Sahara. As a result, the UN refugee agency UNHCR reports that more people are now dying in the desert than in the Mediterranean Sea. In order to advance their inhuman policies, the ruling class is increasingly conducting covert, illegal military operations. German army special forces are stationed in Jordan, Tunisia, Cameroon and Niger, operating in secret and without any parliamentary mandate. Around 20 naval troops have been training local government soldiers in the Tahoua region of Nigeria for a year. The results of the votes and the contributions by the opposition parties confirm that there is no opposition to the return of German militarism within the ranks of the ruling class. The Greens and the neo-liberal FDP agreed to all of the Bundeswehr operations by a large majority. The far-right AfD voted nearly unanimously for the EU mission, Atalanta. The Left Partythe only party to vote against all three deploymentsis itself deeply integrated into the structures of German imperialism and plays a central role in Africas politics. The Left Party spokeswoman for defence, Christine Buchholz (Marx 21), began her speech by referring to her regular troop visits to the Malian front: Ive been to Mali four times in recent yearsthe last time in Februaryand the situation has worsened from year to year. Stefan Liebich, chairman of the Left Party in the Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of influential think tanks such as the Atlantik-Brucke and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), criticised the new mandate from the right. The European Union and the German army train Malian forces but we cannot decide what the Malian army does and how it does it, he lamented. The current mandate implies the notion that somehow one is demonstrating responsibility with purely training missions but without actually taking up any responsibility. Indias national election campaign, which officially began in early March, concludes today with the counting of the votes cast in seven regional phases held between April 11 and May 19. Completely blacked out from the election campaign has been any discussion of the plight of the 13 Maruti Suzuki workers who have been jailed for life on frame-up murder charges as the result of a conspiracy involving the Japanese-owned automaker, the police, courts, and Indias principal political parties. The frame-up of the Maruti Suzuki workers exemplifies the brutal state of class relations in what the Indian elite and Western media hail as the worlds most populous democracy. Three decades of neoliberal, pro-investor reforms have transformed India into one of the worlds most unequal societies. The benefits of capitalist expansion and the fire sale of public assets have been appropriated by a tiny ruling elite, epitomized by Indias newly-minted crop of 120 billionaires. They and the rest of Indias top 1 percent monopolize 51.5 percent of the countrys wealth, while the bottom 60 percent owns just 4.7 percent. Indias corporate media celebrates the conspicuous consumption of Indias ultra-rich. They gushed last December when Indias richest man, Mukesh Ambani, threw a $100 million party to fete the marriage of his daughter to the scion of the billionaire Piramal family. Of the two-hundred-million Indians who go to bed hungry each night, the 38 percent of children under five who are stunted, and the hundreds of millions of workers and toilers who live under the threat that any misfortunefrom the loss of a job to a family illnesscould push them into the social abyss, the media, by contrast, has little or nothing to say. Workers in Indias auto and other globally-connected industries receive wages on average only a quarter of those in China, a point that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invariably hammers home when courting foreign investors as part of his governments Make in India campaign. It is because the Maruti Suzuki workers challenged the sweatshop exploitation on which Indian and global capital are gorging that they have been the target of a monstrous frame up. Twelve of the 13 were the elected officers of the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU), an independent union that workers at Maruti Suzukis Manesar, Haryana, car assembly plant formed in a rebellion against a government-recognized company-stooge union. In 201112, the MSWU and its predecessor organization led a series of militant strikes and plant occupations, uniting permanent, contract and trainee workers in challenging low wages, a brutal work regimen, and precarious employment. As a result, the Manesar plant became a center of worker resistance across the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt, a huge manufacturing hub on the outskirts of Indias capital and largest city, Delhi. On July 18, 2012, just four months after the MSWU had won legal recognition, the company provoked a violent altercation on the factory floor. In the midst of this altercation, a fire mysteriously broke out, which led to the death, due to smoke inhalation, of the only management employee who was sympathetic to the workers. This became the pretext for a legal vendetta against the militant workers organized in the MSWU, and for the purge of some 2,400 workers from their jobs at the Manesar plant. Hundreds of workers were arrested and 150 charged. Whilst they were under arrest, the workers were subjected to physical abuse by police tantamount to torture. The World Socialist Web Site has provided a detailed exposure of the frame-up as part of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals campaign to mobilize workers in India and around the world in defence of the Maruti Suzuki workers (see: The frame-up of the Maruti Suzuki workersPart 1: A travesty of justice). It has also published numerous other articles reviewing the key facts of the case. These include: At trial, the defense demonstrated that the police had connived with the company to fabricate evidence against the workers. The police failed to conduct rudimentary forensic tests on what they claimed were key pieces of evidence. The fire was the crux of the prosecutions case, yet it failed to present any evidence connecting any of the workers to the lighting of the fire. The trial judge barred any workers who witnessed the events of July 18, 2011, but were not charged, from testifying on the blanket claim they would be biased. The trial judge repeatedly mangled the law to shift the burden of proof from the state to the workers, and in his judgment supplied arguments to try to cover up holes and other inconsistencies in the prosecution case. Revealing the political motivations that have animated the frame-up, politicians, the prosecution and other state representatives have repeatedly demanded that an example be made of the Maruti Suzuki workers, so as to reassure investors that the Indian state will stamp out worker opposition. In arguing at the workers March 13, 2017, sentencing hearing that they should be condemned to death by hanging, Special Prosecutor Anurag Hooda declared: Our industrial growth has dipped, FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] has dried up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is calling for Make in India, but such incidents are a stain on our image. That Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress Party, till recently the bourgeoisies preferred party of government, would not want to call attention to the class justice meted out to the Maruti Suzuki workers is only natural. The legal witch hunt targeting the Maruti Suzuki workers was initiated by Haryanas Congress state government and supported by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance that held power in New Delhi till May 2014. When the governments in both Haryana and the Center passed into the hands of the BJP, the frame-up moved forward seamlessly. But no less determined to imprison the jailed Maruti Suzuki workers in a wall of silence are the Stalinist parliamentary partiesthe Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of Indiatheir Left Front electoral alliance, and their respective trade union affiliates, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the All India Trades Union Congress (AITUC). This has been true for years. The Stalinists failed to speak out against the March 2017 frame-up convictions and sentencing of the Maruti Suzuki workers for weeks, and having made a token show of support quickly abandoned any and all efforts to publicize their case and rally the working class in their defence. The Stalinists feign opposition to the neo-liberal agenda of the Indian bourgeoisieausterity, contract labour, privatization, deregulation etc. But in reality they have played a pivotal role in implementing this agenda, both by supporting a succession of right-wing Indian governments, most of them Congress-led, and by implementing what they themselves call pro-investor policies wherever they have formed the state government. Last January they called a two-day all India strike to protest the BJP governments economic policies, along with the other unions, including the Congress Party union federation, the INTUC. Ten of millions of workers joined the strike, seeking a means to fight. But for the Stalinists it was a sordid maneuver aimed at furthering their campaign to politically derail the growing resistance of the working class, by harnessing it to the drive of a section of the bourgeoisie to replace the BJP with a secular democratic governmentthat is, with a big business government committed to pro-market reforms and the Indo-US anti-China military-strategic alliance. The real attitude of the CPM, CPI, CITU and AITUC to the working class opposition to domestic and global capitals drive to intensify exploitation is epitomized in their callous and criminal abandonment of the Maruti Suzuki class war prisoners. Not only do the Stalinists fear the militant example of the MSWU, they recognize that any campaign to mobilize the working class in defence of the Maruti Suzuki workers, linking the struggle to win their freedom to the fight against poverty wages and contract labour, would explode their political partnership with the Congress Party and their cozy relations with the employers. Exposure of the frame-up would also put the lie to their claim that the courts and other institutions of the Indian Republic constitute a democratic bulwark against the Hindu-supremacist BJP. However, the attempts of the Stalinists and the rest of the Indian political establishment to disappear the Maruti Suzuki workers will not succeed. Rather their defence will come to be seen by the tens of millions of workers across India and around the world now coming into strugglefrom the Sri Lankan plantation workers who last December struck in defiance of the unions, to the Mexican Matamoros workers, the Yellow Vest protesters in France, and US teachersas a necessary element in the struggle to unify the working class and develop an international counteroffensive against austerity and war. The author also recommends: Jailing the Maruti Suzuki workers for life is meant to encourage the capitalists to further enslave the working class [18 March 2019] Two years since Indian court condemned autoworkers to life-in-prison in monstrous frame-up [18 March 2019] By Charles Tannock LONDON Across Europe, the looming European Parliament elections have long been viewed as the biggest showdown yet between populism and Europe's established democratic parties. The collapse of Austria's government has now revealed just how high the stakes are. The question every European democrat of the left, right, and center must now ask themselves is whether the true scope and scale of the political, moral, and material corruption of Europe's far-right parties, as revealed in Austria, have been discovered in time. Austria has been ruled since 2017 by a coalition government comprising the Austrian Peoples' Party (dubbed the Sebastian Kurz list, after the party leader and current chancellor) and the Freedom Party (FPO), founded by ex-SS officers in the 1950s. The release of a video by two of Germany's leading news outlets, Der Spiegel and Suddeutsche Zeitung, has ruptured the coalition, and a new election has been called for this September. The video was breathtaking, as it showed a louche Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPO's leader, drinking heavily and promising government contracts to a woman who claimed to be the niece of a Russian oligarch. In exchange for her buying Austria's most popular newspaper, Kronen Zeitung, and flipping it into the FPO camp, Strache offered to arrange for the woman to secure contracts to build roads in Austria at inflated prices. Yet Strache's corrupt purposes didn't end with his proposed assault on Kronen Zeitung. The FPO's real goal, he said, was to accomplish in Austria what Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbon has achieved in his own country: turn the media into pliant supporters of his party. Kurz's blithe willingness to turn over control of the defense and interior ministries to the FPO when forming his coalition government attests to how reckless too many European leaders have been in the face of mounting evidence that Europe's far-right populists are keen to do Russian President Vladimir Putin's bidding. The FPO's pro-Russian activities, and the links between Strache and the extremist Identitarian movement, were well known at the time Kurz cut his deal with the FPO. And yet, shockingly, Kurz simply closed his eyes and handed the FPO control over some of the country's most sensitive ministries. It must have taken great effort to maintain such blindness, as one of the FPO's first actions on gaining control of the interior ministry was to mount a raid on Austria's security services, which had a long and effective record of keeping tabs on neo-Nazi and pro-Russian organizations. Since then, other EU member states' intelligence agencies have reportedly avoided sharing information with the Austrians, for fear that anything shared would soon be passed on to the Kremlin. Austria's politics is now in turmoil, and its partners in Europe can no longer trust its government. A similar breakdown in trust has been occurring where Italy is concerned, owing to the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's far-right League party in its government. Since joining a coalition government with the Five Star Movement (and gaining control of the interior ministry), Salvini has become Putin's greatest champion in Europe, leading the attack on the sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and defending its illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea. As with Austria, Western intelligence services have been keeping a wary eye on their counterparts in Rome. These parties are not alone. Europeans have long known that Marine Le Pen's far-right party (renamed the National Rally in 2018, in an effort to shroud some of its past) has borrowed in the past from a Russian state-connected bank. And British investigators are looking into the role that Russian money may have played in encouraging the pro-Brexit campaign, which suggests that Russian influence in the U.K. could grow markedly after Brexit. The great irony now is that the Conservative-led government, which has been among Europe's most forceful in confronting Russia's attempts to subvert the EU and individual European governments, is facing additional challenges post-Brexit. Brexit, after all, is as much a Kremlin project as it is anyone else's. Putin wants to divide Europeans, and in the U.K., Brexit has succeeded in dividing Britons like nothing since the Corn Law debates almost 200 years ago. Putin wants the EU to fragment, and Brexit is causing the biggest crack yet in the bloc's history. Putin wants to sow doubt about the legitimacy of traditional news sources; pro-Brexit media consistently promote lies as truth and inveigh against reputable papers like the Financial Times as elitist enemies of the people. The crisis in Austria is a wake-up call for Europe's leaders and citizens alike. The populists' corruption and subservience to Russia are now clear for all to see. In this week's European Parliament election, Europe's voters will have the opportunity to demonstrate that they have seen through this plot against their countries and the EU, and to turn back the populist fifth column where it counts: at the ballot box. Charles Tannock is a member of the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). Over 600 teachers in the New Haven Unified School District, which covers Union City and South Hayward, California, continued their strike for the third day Wednesday. On the same day, union representatives from the New Haven Teachers Association (NHTA) and its parent organization, the California Teachers Association (CTA), resumed backroom negotiations with school district officials, the first meeting since the strike began on Monday. The strike is the first in the 54-year history of the school district, which serves roughly 11,000 students. While teachers face an immense crisis in public education, which has been systematically defunded at the state level by Democrats for decades, the NHTA is limiting its demands to a 10 percent salary increase to cover the two school years from 2018-20, and raising no demands to deal with the districts unmanageable class sizes or poor staffing ratios. The school district has taken the measure of the teachers unions, which quickly dropped their initial demands for a 20 percent pay raise over two years, a $1,500 retention stipend, and several other items. In response to this capitulation, the districts current offer is a pitiful one-time three percent bonus, a one percent pay raise for the 2019-20 school year, and an extra 0.5 percent for each additional $1 million received in state funding, capped at one percent. Teachers must reject this offer with the contempt it deserves. The New Haven teachers strike is the fourth in California since the beginning of the year, following a weeklong strike by Los Angeles teachers in January, a seven-day strike by teachers in Oakland in February, and a one-day strike by Sacramento teachers last month. Each local strike has been deliberately isolated by the CTA, which syphons off roughly half of teachers union dues to pay executive salaries to union bureaucrats while leaving teachers starved of funds on the picket lines with no strike pay. New Haven teachers must draw the lessons of the previous strikes waged by teachers in California and across the US. The history of the past fifteen months of teacher strikes clearly reveals that the NHTA and CTA are working behind the scenes to negotiate a sellout contract. To prevent the strike from being isolated and shut down, teachers need to take the conduct of the struggle into their own hands by building independent, rank-and-file strike committees at every school, to raise their own demands and fight to unify with teachers across the state and country for a broader struggle in defense of public education. In the nearby school district of Fremont, a strike was recently averted by the union after a contract was approved that would increase teachers pay by less than the cost of living. Similar to educators in Union City, teachers in Fremont are touted as being highly paid, yet they too do not have health insurance and spend $800 to $2000 or more on premiums per month depending on their family needs. After pushing through the current contract with the assistance of the leadership of the local Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA), the school board is now proposing $13 million in cuts, which are slated to include increased class sizes and the surplusing of teachers. FUDTA urged teachers to ratify the contract, negotiated behind closed doors between the district and union leadership, while warning them that teachers could not strike if they voted no because the bargaining process would need to start all over again. In nearby Oakland, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) ended the strike by colluding with the school board to ensure that the miserable contract they negotiated, which included an 11 percent raise effectively spread out over five years, was predicated on over $22 million in budget cuts that primarily impacted student services. New Haven teachers recognize the threat of a similar process unfolding in their district and must fight to oppose it. As with their fellow teachers who have gone on strike across California, the US and internationally, New Haven teachers have shown great determination to struggle, and have the overwhelming support of their community behind them. Figures for the percentage of students attending school across the district declined from 20 percent on Monday to only 15 percent on Tuesday, with many students joining their teachers on the picket lines. At James Logan High School, with an enrollment of roughly 3,600 students, merely 125 students attended school Tuesday, 400 fewer than on Monday. On Wednesday evening, roughly 400 teachers, parents and community members marched through Union City to protest the local school board meeting. Reporters with the World Socialist Web Site went to the picket line outside of James Logan High School in Union City on Wednesday morning, where dozens of teachers were at their pickets on each corner of the school long before the school day started. We spoke to teachers about their struggle and the lessons from recent teachers strikes, as car after car drove by honking in support of the teachers and students arrived to join their teachers on the pickets. Mike, a science teacher with 21 years experience, spoke about how the New Haven District is touted as the highest-paying district in Alameda County. Mike noted that New Haven teachers have to pay for health care coverage out of pocket and we have taken many furlough days and other cuts over the years. In discussing the cuts that came from the Oakland Unified School District following the strike, Mike stated, "That's one of my biggest fears. I'm worried about funding being reallocated, but there is money and I don't think there should be any cuts for teachers or students. I think teachers from across the state need to come together in this struggle, to demand more funding for education." Rita, who moved from the Philippines and has taken on a second career in teaching a foreign language, said, "as a single parent you have to skimp on something just to afford the basics. Before Medicare, I had to pay over $800 per month just for my own health insurance. I also have to put extra money in a 403b plan and make contributions to the pension. Commenting on the difficult classroom conditions in the district, Rita noted, Our classes a few years ago were 40-45 students per class and the numbers have only gone down slightly. With many of our students, I am often teaching them a second language, but they have a difficult time knowing a first language! I need to teach them two languages and the grammar rules. In response to the media's claim that teachers are "hurting students" by going on strike, Rita responded, "Are the students not hurting in the classroom if they are not given a proper education? Younger teachers have a very difficult time with food and housing and are forced to get a second job, which takes away from their energy and time for teaching. Brenda, a calculus teacher for 14 years, explained that her annual healthcare bill is over $17,000 and many teachers are constantly looking for a decent apartment for under $2,500 per month that will fit their family. "Costs add up," she explained. "Utilities here are ridiculous and the rates keep going up. About half of my gross income is gone after union dues, taxes, and pension payments, and there is very little left. I look on Zillow for a better place to live every other day and I don't think this is an uncommon situation. "Meanwhile, I teach 38-42 students per class who oftentimes come from families that are challenged economically. We have kids coming to school hungry and oftentimes give them bus money to get home." Two freshmen students, Milani and Yaritza, stood with their teachers on the picket line offering support. Yaritza stated, "It's not fair they have to go through this. What they do is very hard and underrated and there wouldn't be a future for anybody without our teachers." Milani commented, "Our teachers work on weekends, not just from 8am-3pm, I have teachers that stay at school until 9pm and come in on the weekend. And it's not just instruction, our teachers support us in so many other ways too." When asked what they would do if money weren't an issue, the students responded, "We would leave it up to the teachers; they are the ones who do the work and best know what is needed." Washington is once again threatening a military attack against Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. If executed, this attack would be the third in as many years by the Trump administration, which rained missiles down upon the war-ravaged country in April 2017 and April 2018 using unsubstantiated allegations of chemical weapons use as a pretext. The latest threat was issued in the form of a statement from recently appointed State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortaguslike her predecessor recruited from the stable of right-wing Fox News commentators. We repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately, the statement said. The latest incident is alleged to have taken place in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib in territory that is dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militia, the latest incarnation of the Al Nusra Front, the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda. Syrian troops and allied militias backed by Russian air power have been waging a battle against the Islamist forces in recent weeks. Washingtons concern is that if Damascus reasserts government control over the province it will signal an end to the nearly eight-year war for regime change backed by the US and both its NATO and regional allies, in particular Saudi Arabia and Israel, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and turned millions into refugees. While the US launched a direct military intervention in Syria in 2014, carrying out devastating air strikes and sending in 2,000 troops on the pretext of combating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and prosecuting the war on terrorism, it is now threatening to carry out attacks aimed at rescuing the last remnants of Al Qaeda in Syria. The pretext that Washington is worried about civilian casualties is absurd on its face. No such qualms were exhibited when US warplanes and howitzers reduced the Syrian city of Raqqa to the ground, killing thousands of men, women and children, to say nothing about the far greater civilian death toll in a similar US siege of Mosul, once Iraqs second largest city. The threat of a renewed intervention in Syria has come in the context of a massive US military buildup in the Persian Gulf against Iran, the main regional ally of Damascus. The Pentagon has dispatched a carrier battle group to waters off Irans shores. It has been joined by a bomber task force, including nuclear-capable B-52s, together with amphibious assault warships carrying contingents of US Marines and a Patriot missile battery. In an undisguised threat of a direct invasion, the Pentagon has drawn up war plans calling for the shipping of as many as 120,000 US troops to the region, an expeditionary force similar in size to that which was mobilized in preparation for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. What US imperialism has once again brought to the Middle East is a war in search of a pretext, either real or fabricated. Allegations that an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia was behind an errant rocket that landed inside Baghdads heavily fortified Green Zone, about a third of a mile from the US embassy, have come close upon the heels of claims of Iranian responsibility for the sabotage of oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Tehran has also been blamed for drone attacks by Yemens Houthi rebels on Saudi facilities in retaliation for Riyadhs near-genocidal war against the Arab worlds poorest nation. And, of course, there remain the baseless US claims that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons that were used to justify the Trump administrations ripping up of the 2015 Iran nuclear accord and imposing brutal economic sanctions that are tantamount to a state of war. Having thus far failed to goad Iran into a military response to its ceaseless provocations, Washington now appears to be preparing a new front by reigniting its war against Syria. In issuing its Tuesday threat of US retaliation over the alleged use of chemical weapons, the State Department included a warning against a disinformation campaign by the Assad regime and Russia to create the false narrative that others are to blame for chemical weapons attacks that the Assad regime is itself conducting. This passage was apparently included in large measure due to the leaking of a document prepared by a leading investigator of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which tore apart the official story regarding the alleged chemical weapon attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma that was used as the pretext for the last US, British and French missile attack in April 2018. The report analyzed the gas cylinders that were alleged to have been dropped by Syrian government aircraft on the roof of an apartment block, supposedly causing the deaths of 49 people. The dimensions, characteristics and appearance of the cylinders, and the surrounding scene of the incidents, were inconsistent with what would have been expected in the case of either cylinder being delivered from an aircraft, the report states. It adds that the manual placement of the cylinders where investigators found them is the only plausible explanation for observations at the scene. As the scene was under the control of Al Qaeda-linked militias, this means that they, and not the Damascus government, were responsible for the incident and the deaths. This report, obliquely referred to by the State Department, has been studiously ignored by the corporate media. The New York Times, setting the pattern for the rest of the press, regurgitates at length the allegations of Ms. Ortagus, but rigorously censors the evidence that Washingtons chemical weapons claims are filthy fabrications. There is nothing new in this. In the immediate aftermath of the April 2018 Douma incident, the well-known veteran British Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk visited the scene, interviewing doctors at a medical clinic where widely publicized videos were filmed showing children being hosed down with water, ostensibly to relieve poison gas inhalation. They told him that the scene had been staged by the Western-funded White Helmets and that no one had come to the clinic suffering from gas poisoning. Fisks account, along with other evidence establishing the Douma incident as a fabrication staged to justify a US-led attack on Syria, was ignored by the rest of the corporate media, which functioned as a propaganda arm of the Pentagon. There was the same reaction in 2017 to the evidence presented by veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that an alleged chemical weapons attack on the village of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province was in fact a conventional strike against a gathering of Al Qaeda-linked militia members that the Russian military had cleared in advance with the Pentagon. Nonetheless, the Trump administration used it as a pretext for lobbing 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Syria, reportedly killing nine civilians. The Democratic Party supported both the previous missile strikes on Syria and will unquestionably back a new one. In advance of the State Department threat, Democratic congressmen and senators joined in backing a letter to Trump signed by 400 members of the two legislative bodies demanding that the White House increase pressure on Iran and Russia with respect to activities in Syria. Whatever misgivings Democrats have expressed about Trumps apocalyptic tweet threatening an official end to Iran, they are promoting a policy that would pit US troops in Syria against Iran and Russia, a nuclear-armed power, in continuing the illegal war for regime change. So too, the pseudo-leftfrom the Democratic Socialists of America to the recently dissolved International Socialist Organizationhas worked in lock-step with the Democratic Party and the US military and intelligence apparatus. They seek to create an ostensibly liberal constituency for war among privileged layers of the middle class with invocations of human rights and an attempt to sell the CIA war for regime change as some kind of democratic revolution. Their politics are a left expression of the relentless drive by US imperialism to overcome the decline of its global hegemony by military means. In particular, this has taken the form of an attempt to assert its unfettered domination of the worlds oil fields, from Iran to Venezuela, placing itself in control of resources required by its principal global rival, China. The threats against Syria together with the buildup for war against Iran pose the danger of a third world war. However, the same crisis of US and world capitalism that gives rise to this danger is producing its opposite, the growth of the class struggle and the maturing of the objective conditions for socialist revolution. The most urgent task is the development of a mass political movement of the working class in opposition to war and its source, the capitalist system. On election day last Saturday, voters in the lower-house electorates of Oxley, Parramatta and Calwellin Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria respectivelyvoiced their concerns about unemployment, low wages, homelessness and the persecution of refugees. These working-class electorates have been hard hit by job cuts, plant closures, falling real wages and decades of Labor and Liberal-National governments slashing spending on essential social services such as health and education. Brianna Brianna, an expectant mother in the Hunter electorate, raised concerns about the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It is a great system for the minority who are able to access it but the majority cant, she said. Ive helped people access that system but for the majority they dont have the mental ability, the carers or the support to jump through all the official hurdles and so most people end up below the poverty line. Finding out if your eligible takes months and nine times out of ten they lose your paperwork. The system is designed like Centrelink welfare, she added, and made hard to access Its designed to keep the budget down. Commenting on rising poverty in working-class families, Brianna said: The cost of living is going up and we have less money in our pockets. We are trying to fight for our wages but theyre trying to take away our penalty rates. Its almost at a point where people cant afford a house because they are busy trying to feed themselves. Australias health care system, she said, is designed to cater for and assist Tier 1 families. Anyone below that is just expected to suffer in silence. A young plant mechanic in one of the Hunter Valley open cut mines was disgusted with the both major parties, Labor and the Liberals. I went for independent parties, he said, it doesnt matter which side you choose they only wanted to line their own pockets. Commenting on the unhealthy conditions at his mine, he said, If I take a glass of water into the workshop and leave it there for five minutes specks of mine dust are floating around in it. It makes you think about what youre breathing in 12 hours a day. Mining areas in the electorate, around Singleton and nearby Muswellbrook, have the worst air pollution in New South Wales. In the Queensland seat of Oxley, Zameel, an aged-care worker, said he was not impressed by the election campaign. Im paid $22.36 an hourthats as bad as the childcare industry. Thats what you get with for-profit industries. Healthcare should be provided by the government and paid for by the government. Even when you do get a promise to increase childcare workers wages, its subsidised by the government. I dont see why governments should have to pay wages for the private sector. Its going to go to companies that earn millions and millions of dollars. Zameel voted for the Labor Party, but admitted that the Hawke and Keating Labor governments laid the basis for all the attacks on workers living standards. They deregulated the whole market, he said. I thought it was outrageous that Labor leader Bill Shorten said he would call a summit with business, just like Hawke. We would end up with another Accord. I know all about that! And I cant ignore the fact that Hawke sent troops to Iraq. But I genuinely see Labor as the lesser evil, although you might be right, especially when it comes to war. Labor would be invading more Middle Eastern countries. In Parramatta, Alexander, who is on a Disability Support Pension and studying, received the SEPs election manifesto in his letter box. He said its program shows a lot of potential because its for the workers, for socialism. The major parties are interested in keeping society wealthy and not contributing equally throughout society. Social inequality is a big problem in Australia A fair go for Australia, [Labors slogan] is not for everybody. Its only for certain people. The workers need to stand up against right-wing politics. But the structure of capitalism is they dont let any other parties function and theyre try to turn to fascistic forces Im really not sure how workers take the next step but they have to be organised, notify the people and put their policies forward and conduct campaigns. Savina, a 19-year-old warehouse worker in Parramatta, said young people have to become more politically involved. I think that our vote counts but were not taught about it enough. Were supposed to know who were voting for, but were going in and being told who to vote for and were just basing that off what adults are doing. Were not really being shown the broader picture of what can be changed but I think people are waking up. We want a more democratic approach to politics; we should be heard; and we need to learn the lessons of history. Alison Alison, told SEP campaigners in Parramatta she was concerned about the inhumane treatment of refugees. Many people say its a climate change election but there are a lot of other things as well, including the treatment of refugees. The current government is not doing enough and it is time for a change. Asked if she thought Labor was an alternative, she said: Its like choosing the lesser evil isnt it? Although Id prefer to have faith in our government, its really two of a kind at the moment and theyre both as bad as each other. When it was pointed out that the Gillard Labor government reopened Manus Island and Nauru detention centres, she agreed. Yes, it was horrible. Im part of a group of individuals who actively campaign against things like this, for humanitarian rights. Its disgusting that we seem to put other people as lesser than us just because they happen to be born somewhere else, Alison said. These are people who are fleeing wars that are dirty and horrible and have no other purpose than economic reasons like oil etc. War is often used as a ruse to create fear in people and even now you can see different parties presenting minority groups within Australia as the great enemy. What then? Do we go into a military-style country where we are watched or having to watch our backs? It is really scary. Its really difficult to trust Australian politics right now and the younger generations are very disenfranchised or very cynical about all parties. SEP senate candidate for Victoria Jason Wardle speaking with voters Aaron, 39 and originally from Somalia, said: The two big parties lie so much and they dont address the real questionsthe social and economic issues. Wages and salary stay the same and mortgages are really going up. Ive seen so many homeless people over the last three years living in cars. I saw a man in my own apartment living in the garage. He told me he was living in his car because he cant afford electricity, rent. The same thing is happening globally. While the north-western Melbourne working-class electorate of Calwell is regarded as a safe Labor Party seat many workers voiced their hostility. Many Labor voters had few illusions that the party represented any genuine alternative to the Liberal-National coalition. Calwell was previously the centre of the car manufacturing and car components industry in Australia before its liquidation under Labor and Liberal-National coalition governments with the active assistance of the unions. In Broadmeadows, the current unemployment rate is 25 percent, one of the highest in the country. Rahma (left) Rahma, a nursing student at La Trobe University, explained: I voted against Morrison because he has made racist comments about Muslims. Everyone should have the right to come to Australiathe government should not choose and pick who should come. Everyone should have the right to come here whether Christian, Muslim or refugee, all we want is a better life. I came from Somalia and there are eight in my family, all of whom, apart my brother, are here. We have tried to get a visa for him, but we were told Somalia is not in the list. We contacted someone and we said we could pay $50,000 to get a visa but they keep saying Somalia is not included. This is not fair. Sibel said: The only reason I voted for Labor is that my father is in a refugee detention centre at the moment, after spending his whole life in Australia. Whenever I go there to visit him, I can see that there are a lot of people in detention centres, for practically no good reason. My father told me that Labor has promised to let them out, the 501s [visas] and everything. So, my idea was to support them, to be honest. I put down you guys as my second preference. As for the ones after that, I wasnt too sure. Mary Mary, an aged care worker, spoke about the constant changes in Australian prime ministers. They change the prime minister all the time. You cant trust them. Who we voted in isnt going to stay there and it goes right back to Rudd. Let them do their term. Wait for the people to have their say, she said. Like hundreds of other voters, Mary denounced the persecution of Julian Assange. I think Assange should be able to say what he feels. What he was saying was the truth. He shouldnt be punished for that. Theyre using him to say, if someone dares to do what he did, this how theyre going to be treated. Assange revealed the truth and people have the right to know. Its wrong what theyre doing to him. Raid, a casual Chemist Warehouse worker originally from Iraq, said: The most important thing for me is jobs, security and the economy. We need real action on jobs. Government needs to address what the people want, instead of talk, talk, we need action. Too many people are casual workersthey should be made permanentbecause there is no security. After six months working, we should be made fulltime, so you know where you stand, without that its impossible to buy a house. When youre casual the company can tell you they dont want you anytime and youre forced to go on the dole. I have been twelve months casual. The authors also recommend: The Australian Labor Partys election debacle and the fight against the far-right [20 May 2019] Australian voters speak out Mass support for Assange as workers and youth oppose militarism and war [21 May 2019] Nearly 5,000 steelworkers jobs and another 20,000 in supply industries could be wiped out after Tuesdays announcement that British Steel is insolvent. The company, owned by vulture fund Greybull Capital, is the second largest steel producer in the UK after Tata. Its main plant is in the town of Scunthorpe in the Northeast of England where steel production goes back 150 years and where more than 3,000 workers are employed. Other jobs are threatened at the companys plants in Skinningrove, north Yorkshire and at Blaydon, in Gateshead. The firm also has a research and development facility in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. British Steel was declared insolvent after talks with the Conservative government broke down Tuesday evening over an emergency state loan of around 30 million. The High Court ordered the compulsory liquidation of British Steel, appointing the Official Receiver to oversee the process along with the accountancy firm EY. Every job lost will be a tragedy for workers and their families in the areas of the country, long blighted by deindustrialisation, joblessness and low-paid work. Scunthorpe, with a population of just 83,000, is heavily reliant on employment at the plant. Unemployment in North Lincolnshire stands at 4.8 percent and would almost double to 8.4 percent (twice the national average) with the closure of the Scunthorpe plant. Workers at present earn around 36,000 ($45,528), compared to the average wage in Scunthorpe of just over 22,000 ($27,827). Employees turning up for work on Wednesday were uncertain whether they would still be in a job in 24 hours. Those who spoke to the media said they were being kept in the dark about what was happening. A 19-year-old employee expressed the fears of many, It's going to be terrible for the town, everyone in Scunthorpe has a family member who works here so the effect will be huge. One of British Steels main suppliers, Hargreaves Services, a logistics firm based in the northeast of England, said that 170 jobs could be impacted if British Steel closes. The Scunthorpe mill is one of only two integrated steel producers in the UK, the other being Tatas plant in Port Talbot, South Wales that employs more than 4,000 workers. British Steels insolvency threatens to be a virtual coup de grace against a once powerful section of the working class. The steel industry was nationalised by the post-World War II Labour government and then renationalised by Labour in 1967, after the 1953 Tory Churchill government took it back into private hands. In 1967, the nationalised British Steel Corporation employed a workforce of 268,000, with steel producing plants such as Consett, Corby and Ravenscraig becoming household names. Sheffield was once world famous as Steel City, with 150,000 workers employed there in the industry. The death knell of the steel industry was sounded by the Thatcher Conservative government that privatised it in 1988, followed by one plant closing after another. The Tories and steel corporations could not have decimated thousands of jobs were it not for the trade unions, which sold out the 1980 national steel strike and have never lifted a finger to defend a single job since then. According to the GMB trade union, more than 150,000 steel jobs have been lost in the UK since the 1980s. In 1981, steel still employed 186,000 workers. Only 32,000 remain today. Entire regions were economically and socially devastated by steel plant shutdowns and the parallel closure of the coal industryfollowing the defeat of the year-long miners strike of 1984-85 that the unions were also responsible for. In the nearly four decades since the steel strike, 40,000 steelworkers lost their jobs in Yorkshire and the Humber alone and 25,800 in the West Midlands. The unions have insisted for decades that workers cannot oppose demands for redundancies, pay and pension cuts and productivity hikes because sacrifices are needed to keep our steel industry afloat in a cutthroat global steel market. The unions have repeated this mantra on behalf of the few parasites who run Tata and Greybull to this day, even with virtually no industry left to save. When Greybull bought Tatas Long Products division in 2016, including the Scunthorpe plant, the Community union general secretary, Roy Rickhuss, dubbed the formation of British Steel as a new chapter in the course of the UK steel industry. Greybull initially returned a profit, but only after collaborating with Community and the other steel unions in imposing a restructuring programme involving a cut in pay and pensions. Last autumn, British Steel cut 400 managerial, professional and administrative jobs across its operations in the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands. In response, Community declared that the firms decision, having just reported first quarter profits of 21 million, will come as a body-blow to the workforce who have already made huge sacrifices to make the business sustainable. Nevertheless, it declared, the job losses came during "challenging times for UK steelmakers" and the union only implored the government to step in to Save our Steel. Greybull executives hailed their intimate relationship with the unions in a statement on the insolvency, declaring, The workforce, the trade unions and the management team have worked closely together in their determination to strengthen the business. What the unions were defending was an asset-stripping operation by individuals previously involved in the collapse of two other firms employing thousands of workers, Monarch Airlines and Comet. Their collapse led to the taxpayers footing bills running into tens of millions of pounds. Greybull was able, with the support of the unions, to receive grants and loans of hundreds of millions of pounds from the public purse, utilising the name of British Steel to justify self-enrichment by a handful of multimillionaires. The last loan, handed over by the government only a few weeks ago, was worth 120 million. It was made necessary as a result of British Steel losing vast sums through a gamble involving the selling of additional carbon emission credits and will likely never be paid back. After presiding over a disaster threatening the livelihoods of British Steel workers, the unions and Labour Party now demandagain in the national interestthat Prime Minister Theresa Mays crisis-ridden government take temporary control of what remains of Greybulls operations, before organising its sale to yet another private corporation. Under conditions of a raging trade war, with the US levelling tariffs against the worlds largest steel producer, China, a glut of steel on the world market and a fall in demand, the only company that would even consider taking on the Scunthorpe plant would be a Greybull Mark 2! The unions and Labours strategy chimes almost word for word with that of the Financial Times, which editorialised, If both of the remaining large furnaces close, Britains defence industry will become almost entirely dependent on foreign producers or smaller outfits that buy raw steel from elsewhere. It advised, The government should keep the assets running, and consider injecting further capital itself. Then a well-planned sale into private hands will be needed. British Steel workers must reject the reactionary nationalist programme of the unions and Labour Party of relying on the good graces of the Tories and another profiteering outfit to save their jobs. Steelworkers in the UK are part of an international class, which must combine their immense collective strength to oppose every attack on their jobs, wages and conditions by globally-organised corporations. Workers in Scunthorpe and at other British Steel plants must unite with Tata workers and steelworkers in Europe and internationally in opposition to a fratricidal struggle for dwindling markets amid an escalating trade war. To fightback, workers must turn to the formation of democratically controlled rank-and-file committees, independent of the corporate-controlled unions and based on a socialist perspective. These committees should make preparations for national and cross-border strikes to stop the British Steel plant closings and mass layoffs everywhere. The steel industry must be transformed into a public enterprise, collectively owned and democratically controlled by the working class, as part of the establishment of a planned socialist economy in the UK and internationally. By Gwynne Dyer "After a long debate, the highest levels of the military could not forecast a way in which things would end favorably for the United States," said Richard Clarke, counter-terrorism adviser in the White House under three administrations. That was back in 2007, and he was talking about the Pentagon's attempts to come up with a winning strategy for a U.S. war with Iran. No matter how they gamed it, the U.S. lost. Two years later, in 2009, U.S. Marine General Tony Zinni warned that any attack on Iran would lead inexorably to "boots on the ground." "If you liked Iraq and Afghanistan," he added drily, "you'll love Iran." And in 2011 Meir Dagan, former head of Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, said that an attack on Iran was "the stupidest idea" he had ever heard. This was all back in the days when various people in the West were talking far too loosely about war with Iran, because the Iranian president at the time was a loudmouthed extremist named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then he lost the 2013 election and was replaced by a moderate reformer, Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani stopped all the aggressive talk, and in 2015 he cut a deal with most of the world's major powers to put Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions, if any, on ice for at least 15 years. Everything then went quiet until another loudmouthed extremist, Donald Trump, tore up the 2015 agreement and began talking about war with Iran again. He doesn't necessarily mean it. What Trump says on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays he often recants on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. (To make matters even more inscrutable, his threat to bring about "the end of Iran" was made Sunday, and there are no rules for Sundays.) But he is surrounded by people who sound like they really are looking for a fight with Iran. To be fair, Vice-President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are probably telling themselves that plausibly terrifying U.S. threats will suffice to make Iran crumble. Only National Security Adviser John Bolton understands that the threats will cause Iranian reactions that can then be used as an excuse for an actual attack (and he's just fine with that). So is the scenario of a U.S. attack on Iran, with or without Saudi Arabian and Israeli help, still as hopeless a project as it was 10 years ago? It's not hopeless at all if you just drop nuclear weapons on the 20 biggest Iranian cities. That's not enough to cause a nuclear winter, but quite enough to kill between a quarter and a half of Iran's 80 million people. If you do that (and either the United States or Israel could do it single-handed), the Iranians will never come back for a rematch. But neither the United States nor Israel is going to do that. It would make them literally the enemies of all mankind. And short of doing that, there are no good options for winning a war against Iran, because (as in all "asymmetric" conflicts) the Iranians don't need a winning strategy. All they have to do is not lose. The United States and its friends could certainly destroy all of Iran's military and industrial facilities by "conventional" bombing, including most of the underground facilities. (The Iranians, having lived with threats like this for a long time, have done a good deal of digging.) The attackers could also destroy all the utilities like water, sewage and electrical power that make urban life possible, forcing millions of Iranian city-dwellers into refugee camps in rural areas. The Iranians might be able to shoot a few of the attacking planes and missiles down, but not many. But none of this would force the Iranians to surrender, nor would it prevent Iran from stopping all the tankers going into and out of the Persian Gulf (which transport most of the oil burned in India, China and Japan). Iran's sea-skimming missiles can be fired from mobile launchers anywhere along 3,000 km of coastline, and have the range to reach the other side at any point. So in the end, if you're serious, it would have to be "boots on the ground," just as Zinni said. But the ground war is unwinnable too. Iran's army is about the same size as that of the United States, but it could quickly expand to 10 times that size with volunteers, as it did during the U.S.-backed Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980-88. And Iran is as big as France. Would the Iranians volunteer in such numbers? Of course they would. Many Iranians don't like the current regime, but they are patriots. They are as unlikely to welcome a U.S. invasion as American liberals would be to welcome a foreign invasion promising to liberate them from Donald Trump. The Iranian volunteers would be poorly armed and they would die in droves, but if only one American soldier died for every 10 Iranians, the U.S. public would quickly reach its maximum tolerance level for American casualties. It would be a high-speed replay of the Vietnam War, and the U.S. would lose again. So don't do it. Don't even think about it. It really is the stupidest idea. Gwynne Dyer (gwynne763121476@aol.com) has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years. He is the author of "Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work)." Strategies needed to protect local firms from US-China row The anti-Huawei campaign by the U.S. has started to affect related local industries. U.S. President Donald Trump declared war on the Chinese telecom giant by issuing an executive order last week giving authority to the federal government to restrict U.S. companies from using foreign telecommunications equipment that poses an "unacceptable risk to the security of the U.S." While Trump did not specifically mention Huawei in the executive order, it is seen as targeting the Chinese firm, which was added to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List, a trade blacklist by the U.S. Department of Commerce, earlier this month. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the decision was to "prevent American technology from being used by foreign-owned entities in ways that potentially undermine U.S national security or foreign policy interests." The U.S. has claimed there are security risks particularly in the Chinese smartphone maker's 5G network equipment. Some U.S. allies have joined the Huawei ban, with countries such as Japan and Britain moving to comply with the restrictions initiated by the U.S. Latest news reports show some Japanese and British mobile operators are delaying the release of new Huawei smartphones amid the U.S. crackdown on the Chinese tech company. Huawei has said the security risk claims by the U.S. are unfounded. It is feared the U.S. policy to block the Chinese telecommunications company may also start to affect local industries. News reports suggest U.S. officials have been urging the Korean government to join the Huawei ban, and even mentioned the name of a major local telecom company that uses Huawei equipment while pressing Korea on the need to eventually drive the Chinese company out of the Korean market, citing security concerns. If it is true that the government has been pressured to participate in the Huawei ban, then this puts Korea in a very complex situation. Even though the U.S. is Korea's most important ally, China is the nation's biggest export market. This is not the first time for Korea to be stuck between the U.S. and China. The situation is reminiscent of the row over the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in Korea during the Park Geun-hye administration, which triggered a security row between the U.S. and China. China's retaliation after the THAAD deployment significantly hampered Korea-China relations. The government should establish a clear position on how to deal with the aftermath of the Huawei boycott and protect local industries from becoming victims of the raging tech war between the world's two biggest superpowers. Korea should also focus on staying ahead in new-generation technologies to survive in the global tech competition. By Donald Kirk VIRGINIA BEACH Holiday crowds soak up the surf and sun while sailors and marines train for war in distant countries about which they know very little. A young marine, bored with the routine at one of the dozen or so facilities between this sprawling oceanside community and the huge naval base up the interstate at Norfolk, says in an idle moment he'd like to see what combat is like. Reminded that he might not feel that way if cast in harm's way, he's not dissuaded. "I want to go," he insists as weekend visitors stroll by and the sounds of music reverberate from nearby clubs. In an unreal world, it's hard to imagine visions of combat intruding into the lives of anyone here, including thousands of military people enjoying the perks of comfortable lifestyles and steady work. You have to return to Washington to realize the danger of stumbling into war beyond the brush fires that flare up periodically just about anywhere. Not that you really believe Armageddon is at hand. The debate is abstract, the levels of danger, the imminence of anything really happening, mingle in the cacophony of politics. In the nation's capital, fears of real war are secondary, judging from the headlines, to talk and double-talk about President Trump, his tax returns, his contacts, his conflicts of interest. Any offense deemed worthy of raising his record to an impeachable level is sure to make the front pages of the Washington Post and the New York Times. The Post's distaste for Trump knows no bounds. Writers vie for who can come up with the best lines in a raft of commentaries in the first paper I happen to see after one weekend. "Trump reaps the seeds he sows," screams one column. "President Trump serves up a daily smorgasbord of offenses," begins another. "He lies with almost every breath." Clearly, the guardians of the Post editorial pages take it as an article of faith that there's no legitimate argument in defense of anything Trump says or does. If the paper has ever published a word in his defense, much less his favor, other than some quotation in a news article, I've yet to see it. You have to wonder what would happen if some poor soul on the paper had the temerity to put in a good word for him. The punishment would no doubt be severe. Banishment, purgatory, 100 lashes? Not that the anti-Trump tirades in the Post and Times are all that influential. Basically, these people are preaching to a choir of anti-Trumpkins prepared to hate him no matter what. What does seem undeniable, though, is how the posturing, pontificating and quibbling in Washington obscures the prospect of war, real war, breaking out somewhere on earth. You do hear a lot of political yakking about who has the power to declare war, Congress or the president, and the significance of the War Powers Act, which is supposed to keep the president from going to war without the approval of Congress, but no one knows what would happen if Trump defied the letter of the law and did as he pleased. Actually, Trump may not be as warlike as he has sometimes seemed. Korea is a case in point. He may not want to go along with everything his friend Kim Jong-un is demanding, including removal of sanctions and signing of some silly "peace declaration," but he certainly is loath to risk a second Korean War. Ditto Iran. He has said he doesn't want a war there either, appearances to the contrary. Wars, though, have been known to break out by accident. Extremists, whether Hamas or ISIS or the Taliban or al-Qaida, are itching to destroy their enemies if given a chance. For that matter, you can't trust the North Koreans, under Kim Jong-un or some general or war-minded bureaucrat beneath him, not to foment incidents if they don't get their way through dialogue. The Marines one meets here in Virginia Beach, looking forward to the Memorial Day holiday memorializing service men and women who've died in the nation's wars, don't think much about who exactly is the enemy. They're ready for anyone as fighter planes do takeoffs and landings from nearby U.S. Naval Air Station Oceana, a few minutes' drive from the beach. Some citizens may protest the noise, but the planes roar in and out oblivious to complaints. "We're used to it," says the marine. "We hear it every night. That's why we're here." Donald Kirk (www.donaldkirk.com) has been covering war and peace, mostly in Asia for decades. Lee Jae-yong, right, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, stands with former U.S. President George W. Bush at a hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samsung Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, on Wednesday met with former U.S. President George W. Bush, who is on a visit to South Korea to attend a memorial event for a former leader of the country. Lee and Bush reportedly discussed the rapidly changing global industrial environment during the meeting at the hotel where Bush is staying in central Seoul. Their discussion lasted for about 30 minutes. It was their first meeting in four years. They last met in October 2015 when Bush visited South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Presidents Cup in Incheon, west of the capital. On leaving the hotel, Lee declined to answer questions about their talks. The former U.S. leader arrived in South Korea earlier in the day to attend a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of former President Roh Moo-hyun's death. Bush is scheduled to meet with President Moon Jae-in at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday morning and head to Bongha Village in Gimhae, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where the memorial will be held. (Yonhap) Here you can see the least famous yet fantastic local World Heritage Sites, along with a brief description about why theyre so wonderful. Budapest is not covered here although it has UNESCO World Heritage status and several special sites - including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrassy Avenue because most expats already know why the capital is so sublime. So read on for the low-down about five UNESCO ranked wonders you might not know about, but which are all well worth a trip out of Budapest to enjoy while you're in Hungary. 1. Tokaj Wine Region's Historical Landscapes Known among the sommelier community for its unique grape cultivation and aszu production, Tokaj is regarded as a world heritage site based on its landscape and traditional land use as well as its methodology in wine tradition that has survived intact for a thousand years. This intact universal property value that meets UNESCOs criteria includes specific environmental conditions conducive for wine growing as well as long term settlements that reflect cultural heritage in terms of ethnic diversity and long-standing cellars still in use for wine production. Where: County of Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen 2. Caves of Aggtelek Karst (and Slovak Karst) There are currently 712 caves identified making up this karstic system. The unique combination of climatic effects makes the study of over ten million years of geological history possible. The caves are located on the northeastern side of Hungary, which borders Slovakia. The caves are relatively intact and relics of Pre-Pleistocene Karst dating over 2 millions years are prevalent. Only one percent of the caves have been modified for human use and exhibition, attracting over 300,000 visitors annually. The other 99 percent remain preserved. Where: Districts of Roznava and Spisska Nova Ves, Region of Kosice (SK) 3. Old Village of Holloko & Surroundings Holloko is an outstanding example of a deliberately preserved traditional settlement. This village, which developed mainly during the 17th and 18th centuries, is a living example of rural life before the agricultural revolution of the 20th century. Despite being periodically being devastated by fire, the houses were again built according to the traditional techniques of Palocz rural architecture: half-timbered houses on a stone base with roughcast white-washed walls, enhanced by high wooden pillared galleries and balconies on the street side protected by overhanging porch roofs. The church with its shingled tower is simply a transposition of this domestic architectural style. Holloko not only represents the Palocz subgroup within the Magyar entity, but also bears witness, for the whole of Central Europe, to the traditional forms of rural life. Where: County of Nograd 4. Millenary Benedectine Abbey of Pannonhalma & Natural Environment This monastery dates back to 996 when the first monks arrived in Hungary, converted the locals, established a school, and went on to produce the first document in Hungarian. Building began on the current church in the 1200s. Much of the monastic complex is largely preserved from original structures and there remains a monastic community and school in existence on the site. The overall history of Benedictine Christianity has played a critical role in the development of Hungary. Where: County of Gyor-Moson-Sopron 5. Early Christian Necropolis of Pecs Dating back to the 4th century, this Roman town, formerly called Sopianae, sprawled a series of decorated tombs lending credence to sepulchral art of the period in addition to 16 monuments depicting scenes of early Christianity. Protected as an archaeological site, remains and fragments of excavations from the 18th century remain in their original location. Adderss: County of Baranya Source: UNESCO Budapest finished seventh on a list of the top 25 countries for a weekend getaway for families compiled by a popular travel website. The list includes exotic, faraway destinations such as Thailand and Japan, as well as other European countries like Ireland and Portugal. The list was compiled by Club Med based on the average spend per holiday; the total holiday visits from UK residents; the volume of social media posts; the cost of a meal at an inexpensive restaurant and the world happiness score. With around 346,664 tourist visits and a score of 4.98 points out of 10, the Hungarian capital has proven itself to be a cost-friendly option for larger families. In fact, the average cost of a meal in Budapest is just 5.59 and the average spend per holiday visit is 123.40. According to Club Med, the city of Budapest has a surprising amount of activities for families to enjoy. From zoos and castles to the childrens railway and museums, theres plenty to see and do. The Hungarian capital finished before cities like Rome, Lisbon, Helsinki and Tokyo. The most family-friendly destination, according to Club Med, is Madrid, Spain, followed by locations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Thailand, and Austria. Photo courtesy Hungarian National Tourist Office A left-wing author calls on Hungarians to vote against the government because by centralising decision-making it has done great harm to public services. A pro-government commentator thinks similar opposition charges are unfounded. In Nepszava, former MSZP Chairman Gyula Molnar describes the state of the national health service as characterised by neglected buildings in the capital and a dire shortage of physicians in the provinces. He believes this is all due to the governments drive to centralise decision-making. He calls on voters to turn up at next Sundays election for the European parliament and vote for Europe as the European Union supports the autonomy of locally elected authorities. In Magyar Hirlap, Zsofia Jobbagyi accuses the opposition of using unfounded allegations in its campaign. Quoting statistics, she claims that there are more physicians at work in Hungary than ever before, and that over the first quarter more Hungarians have returned to their country than the number of those who left to make a living abroad. She dismisses as particularly groundless the frequent claim that Fidesz wants to lead Hungary out of the EU. This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online. Click here to Share Your Story Hungarian President Janos Ader met his new Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed the problems facing Ukraines ethnic Hungarian community. After Zelenskys inauguration in Kiev on Monday, Ader proposed in the talks setting up a joint committee to serve as a forum for discussing all disagreements between Hungary and Ukraine. Speaking to MTI afterwards, Ader said his counterpart supported the proposal. Our interest lies in fostering equally stable and peaceful relations with Ukraine our most populous neighbour as with our other neighbours, Ader said. Were open to this. At the same time, I also made it clear that the Hungarian community of Transcarpathia isnt asking for more than for Ukraine to honour the obligations it is bound to by its constitution and international treaties, he added. MTI Photo: Kovacs Tamas A Kurdish man and woman convicted of financing terrorism by a Szeged court have appealed against the first-instance ruling. The couple are accused of serving the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in northern Iraq, which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the European Union. The court in southern Hungary last Thursday sentenced the two Kurdish nationals to two years in prison. It also ruled that the defendants should be expelled from Hungary after serving their term for a period of eight years. Taking into account their time on remand, they face being expelled imminently. The man had worked for PKK managing logistics tasks as a volunteer from 2009. The woman joined PKK in 2010 aged 15 and met her future husband in 2014 in Syria. Despite threats from the organisation, they fled and got married in Iraq the following year. The couple arrived at the Hungarian border in December 2017, aided by human smugglers. They applied for asylum but they were detained in March last year. In its justification to the ruling, the court cited the defendants young age, the nature of their activities in the PKK and that they had been threatened retaliation by that organisation, and set their terms well below the minimum five years stipulated by law. The court discontinued their detention because they had already served the minimum sentence. Erika Pragai Juhasz, the courts spokeswoman, said the Iranian-born Kurdish woman and her husband, together with their lawyers, were appealing for acquittals. MTI Photo: Ujvari Sandor If youre planning a Memorial Day cookout this weekend, make sure to double check your meat. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that it was recalling over 62,000 pounds of raw beef due to E. coli concerns. The recalled meat was packaged at the Aurora Packing Company in North Aurora, Illinois on April 19 and was then shipped nationwide. All of the recalled products have the establishment number EST. 788 inside the USDA mark of inspection. A full list of the affected products is available here. Kryssia Campos/Getty RELATED: All-Star Recipes to Rule Your Memorial Day Cookout The USDA said there have been no confirmed illnesses related to the recalled products, but urges consumers to check their fridges and freezers for the affected meat, noting that many people store meat away in their freezer for future use. According to the USDA, symptoms of E. coli include dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps two to eight days after exposure. Most people can recover from E. coli in a week, but the bacteria can also cause kidney failure that includes symptoms of easy bruising and decreased urine output. Anyone with these symptoms who believes they have eaten the affected products should seek immediate medical care, the USDA advised. Although the Directors Fortnight section of Cannes is non-competitive, prizes are awarded by its partners. Revealed today, ahead of the closing ceremony this evening, the Europa Cinemas Label nod for Best European Film went to Alice And The Mayor by Nicolas Pariser while the SACD Prize will be given to Rebecca Zlotowskis An Easy Girl. There is no CICAE Art Cinema Award being presented in the Fortnight this year. The independent Fortnight runs parallel to the main festival and is organized by Frances Directors Guild. It has evolved greatly in the past few years, becoming increasingly attractive to higher-profile filmmakers. This is the first year under new artistic director Paolo Moretti whose selection included The Lighthouse starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, which lit up the Croisette with Oscar buzz. Related stories amFAR Gala Brings Out The Very Rich Glamour Crowd Showing The Flip Side Of The Cannes Film Festival (Prizes awarded in the section today, however, are limited to French-Language, European and short films.) Alice And The Mayor is the sophomore effort from French helmer Pariser whose first feature, The Great Game, won the prestigious Louis Delluc prize for a debut. The story centers on Paul Theraneau (Fabrice Luchini), the mayor of Lyon who is in existential crisis. After 30 years in politics, he feels totally empty and devoid of ideas. As a fix for this problem, his aides bring a brilliant young philosopher, Alice (Anais Demoustier), into his inner circle. The Europa Cinemas award was decided by a jury of four exhibitors. With it comes the support of the Europa Cinemas Network with additional promotion and incentives for exhibs to extend the films theatrical run. The jury called it a timely and very relevant look at the direction of European policies and politics but never dry or didactic. Its sold internationally by Bac Films and produced by Bizibi. Winning the French Writers Guilds top prize, Zlotowskis comedy/drama An Easy Girl centers on a Cannes teenager and the unforgettable summer she spends with her older cousin. This is her fourth feature and stars Mina Farid, Zahia Dehar, Benoit Magimel and Clotilde Courau Story continues Also awarding prizes today is the Short Films and Cinefondation jury, headed by Claire Denis. The Cinefondation selection included 17 student films from 366 film schools around the world. Un Certain Regard will be announced tomorrow and the main Cannes prizes are on Saturday night. Heres the list of winners from today: DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT EUROPA CINEMAS LABEL Alice And The Mayor, dir: Nicolas Pariser SACD PRIZE An Easy Girl, dir: Rebecca Zlotowski ILLY SHORT FILM Stay Awake, Be Ready, dir: Pham Thien An CINEFONDATION FIRST PRIZE Mano A Mano, dir: Louise Courvoisier (CineFabrique, France) SECOND PRIZE Hieu, dir: Richard Van (CalArts, U.S.) JOINT THIRD PRIZE Ambiance, dir: Wisam Al Jafari (Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture, Palestine) The Little Soul, dir: Barbara Rupik (PWSFTviT, Poland) Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Jordan Long made the difficult decision two years ago to leave Morehouse College. A sophomore at the time, he relished the school, and was active in the LGBTQ student organization and other groups. But Long already had over $60,000 in student loan debt and didnt want to burden his family with more. I was worried, he tells PEOPLE, about more loans building up. Long was expected to graduate with the class of 2019 the same class for whom billionaire investor Robert F. Smith, this years commencement speaker, pledged on Sunday to pay off their student debt. When Long heard the news of Smiths gift, he felt shock, happiness. A little sadness, he says. And then I felt like I had to let it out. He vented via Twitter. I left Morehouse class of 2019 to avoid debt and this billionaire just paid the graduating classs debt off, Long tweeted on Sunday. Kill me. RELATED: Grateful Morehouse Grad Is In Shock After Billionaire Pays Off His $80K Student Loan Debt Jordan Long | GoFundMe When asked if Longs student loans would be covered under Smiths gift, Morehouse College spokeswoman Aileen Dodd tells PEOPLE in an email: The details of the gift are still being discussed. We will know more later this week. Long attended Morehouse from 2015 to 2017. Now a community college student living at home in Oakland, California, he tells PEOPLE that he and other college students wouldnt be having this problem [of student debt] in the beginning if our society didnt have different values. We all have to make sure, he continues, that high quality higher education is a right for everyone. I left Morehouse class of 2019 to avoid debt and this billionaire just paid the graduating class's debt off. Kill me. pic.twitter.com/ETsjLxxT2a Local Butch Queen (@JustJordan54) May 19, 2019 Long hopes the presidential candidates tackle the issue, particularly at historically black colleges or universities (HCBU) such as Morehouse, where a higher percentage of students accrue more student debt at higher rates of interest than non-HBCU students, a recent United Negro College Fund study shows. Story continues Billionaires giving charity is not a solution to a systematic problem, Long says, and we have to be politically and socially active to fix this problem we cant let it continue. Long took this past semester off from community college to earn money to pay for his next semesters tuition. He expects to earn associates degrees in business and sociology before earning his bachelors degree in sociology at a four-year school. He then hopes to work as a community organizer. Since Smiths announcement, Long started a GoFundMe campaign for help paying off his student loans. The campaign has a fundraising goal of $67,000. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had received 17 donations totaling $1065. I am now still saddled with over $50,000 in student debt from Morehouse and no Morehouse degree, he writes on the GoFundMe campaign. Any help removing this heavy financial burden is appreciated. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, right, poses for a photo with former U.S. President George W. Bush at a hotel in central Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Jun Ji-hye Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong sat down with former U.S. President George W. Bush in Seoul, discussing the rapidly changing global industrial environment, Samsung said Thursday. The meeting took place at a hotel in central Seoul, Wednesday, upon Bush's arrival in Korea to attend a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, his former counterpart, Thursday. During a 30-minute closed-door meeting, Lee, the de facto head of Samsung Group, reportedly sought advice from the former U.S. president about various global issues including the prolonged trade war between the United States and China. He also explained what Samsung was seeking in the rapidly changing environment of the global market. Lee left the hotel, declining to answer reporters' questions about the meeting. Samsung did not disclose details of the discussion, either, only providing photos of Lee and Bush. In the photos, the two have their arms around each other's shoulders, showing off their friendship. Lee and Bush last met in October 2015 when the latter visited Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Presidents Cup in Incheon. Ties between the family-controlled conglomerate Samsung and the Bush family trace back to the 1990s when the Korean tech giant built its first overseas semiconductor plant in in Austin, Texas. At the time, Bush was serving as the governor of Texas, and was active in attracting foreign businesses to the city. Bush participated in the building dedication ceremony of the plant in 1998, expressing his gratitude for Samsung's contribution to the economic growth of Texas. "Samsung has apparently remained fondly in Bush's memory," an industry source said. In 2003, Bush's father, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, participated in an event hosted by Samsung Electronics at its Austin plant to celebrate an investment into nanotechnology. In 1992, when the late President Bush was in office, he held face-to-face talks at a hotel in Los Angeles with Lee Kun-hee, the hospitalized second-generation chief of Samsung Group and the father of Lee Jae-yong. At the time, the two discussed Samsung's investment proposals, drawing keen attention from media of the two countries. During his visit to Korea, former U.S. President George W. Bush held a meeting with President Moon Jae-in before attending the memorial service for the late President Roh at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. An Arizona Border Patrol agent is accused of raping multiple women over the course of seven years, PEOPLE confirms. Steve Charles Holmes, 33, was arrested Tuesday and charged with three counts of sexual assault and three counts of aggravated assault, Tucson police announced in a press release obtained by PEOPLE. On May 13, police were informed of a Border Patrol agent allegedly assaulting a woman. The woman told investigators she had met Holmes on an online dating app and that during their conversation he identified himself as a Border Patrol Agent. When the pair went out on a date, Holmes allegedly sexually assaulted the woman, she said. During their investigation, authorities uncovered additional women who alleged having similar experiences with Holmes over the course of seven years, from January 2012 to January 2019. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Holmes has been a Border Patrol agent for seven years. We do not tolerate misconduct on or off duty, and will fully cooperate with all investigations of alleged misconduct by our personnel, the Customs and Border Protection said in a statement to the Arizona Daily Star. Holmes was arrested and booked into Pima County Jail. It is unclear whether he has an attorney. CANNES, France (Reuters) - Waving green scarves and chanting "solidarity for women", an Argentine film crew and several dozen campaigners turned the Cannes red carpet into a protest on Saturday as they showcased a documentary looking at the highly-charged issue of abortion. Unveiled during the cinema festival on the French Riviera, "Que Sea Ley", which translates as "Let It Be Law", follows the battle to pass a bill legalizing abortion in Argentina, where terminations are currently only permitted in cases of rape, or if the mother's health is at risk. The bill gained widespread support but was rejected by the South American country's Senate last year, and the issue has sparked mass protests by people on both sides of the debate. Pro-choice supporters usually wear green handkerchiefs at demonstrations, while those who are against abortion carry blue ones. After inviting several campaigners for legalized abortion to the premiere, the documentary's director Juan Solanas walked the red carpet alongside women waving scarves, with some even decked out in green gowns and make-up. The film's Cannes screening coincides with a fresh round of debate in the United States, where Alabama's governor this week signed a bill to ban nearly all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. Solanas, the son of renowned Argentine filmmaker Fernando "Pino" Solanas, told Reuters ahead of Saturday's premiere that he was firmly on one side of the debate. He admitted his biggest challenge was balancing points of view from both sides. "It makes me ashamed that the law does not exist," he said. (Reporting by Will Russell; Writing by Sarah White) Photo credit: Smith Collection/Gado - Getty Images From Esquire It's May, right? I checked the calendar on my phone, and the one on my laptop, and the one I got at Christmas from the nice people at Amnesty International. I checked the newspaper. I thought about calling the National Observatory to make sure, but that sounded excessive. Finally, I checked with CBS News. So, it's May, right? I mean, just so we're all on the same page here. Mark Weber, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said in a statement to CBS News that the girl had a history of congenital heart defects. Weber said when she entered the care of an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facility in San Antonio, Texas, on March 4, 2018, she was in a "medically fragile" state. "Following a surgical procedure, complications left the child in a comatose state. She was transported to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona for palliative care in May after release from a San Antonio hospital," Weber said. "On September 26, she was transferred to an Omaha, Neb., nursing facility to be closer to her family. On September 29, the child was transported to Children's Hospital of Omaha where she passed due to fever and respiratory distress." This happened in September. This happened last year. And we found out about it at the end of May. This year. We are operating what can at best be called the 21st century equivalent of the relocation facilities into which Japanese-Americans were forced during World War II. What they can be called at worst is unspeakable. And we are operating them full of sick, frightened, and exhausted children whose parents are god knows where and who, day after day, wake up every morning and look at their keepers through cage-wire, like zoo animals. And some of them are dying there. Six of them have died officially. They are the children whom this policy has killed that the architects of this policy will cop to-eight months later, of course. Story continues In an interview with CBS News Wednesday, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, accused the administration of concealing the girl's death. "I have not seen any indication that the Trump administration disclosed the death of this young girl to the public or even to Congress," Castro said. "And if that's the case, they covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the question about whether any child had died or been seriously injured. We began asking that question last fall." Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he is going to demand more information from the government about the girl. "We're going to make immediate inquires to HHS to find out what happen to this young girl," Castro said. It's May. Summer is coming. Even to the desert, it's coming. Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here. ('You Might Also Like',) Its weird to think that when Jane was little, Rogelio wasnt a part of her life. Now they are together, wearing matching outfits, pitching a space-themed telenovela to a bunch of executives. Hope fills the air as Jane assures them Steve and Brendas love will not only withstand the test of time, but it will also transverse planets. Im not sure if it was Janes enthusiasm or Rogelios insistence that they wear space helmets that pushed the executives over the edge. Either way, Jane and Rogelio sold the script and even took the time to choreograph a celebratory dance to share the good news with Alba and Xo. Jorge takes advantages of the festive atmosphere and drops to one knee. He wants to marry Alba, in front of God, as soon as possible. The family rejoices and Xo turns into a wedding planning machine. Alba deserves something grand and Xo is going to make it happen. Jane fights a moment of sadness. She wants to call Rafael and tell him both pieces of good news, but she cant. With all the space shes been giving him, Luisa has filled the void. Using good vibrations and crystals. Rafael likes having this new energized Luisa around and even agrees that she can finally meeting the kids. He will have to clear it through Jane and Petra, though. Take a number. Petra is navigating her own meet the kids scenario with Other Jane. Although JR seems to be taking it all in stride, Petra is ready for JR to move on to the next phase: alone time with the twins. JR isnt so sure. She changes her tune when Petra suggests something simple. How about ice cream downstairs? Thats easy! Just as easy as convincing River Fields to sign the Mars contract. River loves the Mars pitch and is happy to sign the contract. When Rogelio finds another writer, of course. Jane wants to lay down her pen, but Rogelio convinces her to write the script. If Jane shows River her pages, Janes talent will speak for itself. Its easy! Just as easy as building your own sundae with Petras spawn. (Im being facetious.) Story continues When a fight sparks from one twins audacity to take all the organic strawberries, JR slams her hands down on the table and screams for the girls to stop acting like spoiled brats. Then she demands they clean up their mess. Jane sees everything and doesnt say a word. Instead, she serves champagne to guests gathered in the hotel gift shop. Wow! The Marbella has stepped up its game! Free afternoon cocktails? Yes, please. Oh wait. Its just Albas engagement party. Randomly thrown together by her granddaughter, who is in her Marbella uniform. Dont pull the thread. Just go with it. Jane hears a familiar voice congratulating Alba on her pending nuptials. She turns around and is face-to-face with Rafael, who somehow looks better than ever before. Seriously, what magic elixir is Justin Baldoni taking to look that good all the time? Rafael asks Jane if he can introduce Mateo to Luisa. Jane asks for a day to think it over and later confesses to Xo and Alba that she wants to say yes just so she can win some good graces with Rafael. Alba wisely suggests she focus only on what is good for Mateo. Xo instructs them all to pay attention so they can plan the wedding of the century. Xo gives Jane one job: write the telenovela of a lifetime. Rogelio hands her a stack of the best pilot scripts hes collected over the years and Jane notices her book editors name and number on the back of one. She shoves the weird feeling aside and begins to create a masterpiece. Over at the Marbella, Petra confronts JR, aggressively asking her, Why didnt you tell me? JR naturally thinks Jane tattled and immediately begins defending herself for yelling at Petras kids. 1.) Thats not what Petra was talking about. 2.) Who told JR she could discipline the twins? Its not her place. JR leaves in a huff. Back at Janes house, Rogelio prepares Jane to receive his notes on her first draft. Many involve editing very handsome to extremely handsome. Otherwise, hes thrilled with the plot and storyline. Jane is happy, but cant let go of Jeremys name and number she found. Rogelio says he wanted to send him flowers after Janes book launch. Its no big deal. Jane is suspicious. She calls Jeremy and leaves a message before taking Mateo to Rafaels house. There she gives her permission for Aunt Luisa to meet Mateo. Its not because she wants to win points with Rafael. It has nothing to do (she thinks) with the crystals in Rafaels apartment. She wants Mateo to have a big family. Like the one she always wanted as a little girl. That night, after gifting Alba with a framed flower that must not be crumpled, Jane hears back from Jeremy. Jane apologizes for Rogelios behavior, hoping Jeremy will spill the beans. Jeremy keeps a tight lip, telling Jane that he promised Rogelio he would never tell. Tell what? Jane easily baits Rogelio with the good old standby, Jeremy told me what you did. Rogelio walks straight into the trap, apologizing that he used his resources to help Jane get published. Before Jane can properly lose her mind, River arrives, praising Jane for her talented writing skills. Jane retaliates the best way she knows how. By offering River more lines, more closeups, and the coveted position of planting the American flag on Mars. When the Villanueva women hear what Rogelio did, they stand in solidarity with one another, waiting for him to explain himself. His intentions were very sweet. Rogelio couldnt bear to see his daughter grieving the death of her husband. He knew Janes work deserved to be published. So he made a call. Jane defuses the tension by stalking into her room. Because of this new revelation, Jane struggles to write the script. She immediately labels herself a fraud. Janes not the only one who feels like a fraud. JR is right there with her. Even though Petra apologizes for not setting any rules in regard to parenting, JR thinks that the problem is deeper. Both JR and Petra had hard childhoods. Petra tries to make up for it by spoiling her girls rotten. JR swings the other way. She never wanted kids. Whats the solution? Taking a page from Jane and Rafaels book, JR and Petra try co-parenting. Petra is the fun one. JR is the hard one. But everyone knows that the real threat is losing the iPad. Theres power in technology and everyone knows it. Just when you think the relationship is destined to work, JR gets a call from her mentor who has landed her a job. Hooray! Its in Houston. Oh dear. What will happen to Petra and JRs relationship status?! We cant worry about that right now because Alba and Jorge are getting married! As in right now this afternoon! Why the rush? The answer is simple. Alba and Jorge are randy. They want a quick ceremony at the church, right before choir practice, and a simple meal with close family. Dont stress, Jane. Rafael is not invited. But should Rafael be invited? Hes sort of family, right? Jane certainly seems to think so and Rafael is excited to participate in the festivities. Festivities that include a particular orchid from Venezuela, which Xo promised her mother she would find. Of course, the rare flower cant be acquired in the span of a few hours. This causes Xo to cry buckets of tears. She wanted her mom to have that flower because her mom has been there for so many years. Xo never thought she would still need Alba, but she does! Alba holds her daughter and confesses that parents do whatever they can to help their children. Cue Jane running to find Rogelio. They embrace at the back of the church as Rogelio shares the good news. River wants Jane to stay on as a writer. Finally! Alba walks down the aisle with Xo. Jane and the guys look on from the front row. Alba makes promises to Jorge. He makes promises to her. They are pronounced man and wife and the choir sings with great gusto for Alba to go have sex! Rogelio pops up and sings about sex. Theres Rafael and Jane and Xo singing about sex, too! Everyone wants Alba to get to know Jorge biblically. Its just too cute. Jane stays over at Xos house so the newlyweds can have some privacy. Since her confidence has been restored, Jane opens up her laptop to write. But instead of writing about Mars, she writes about Rogelio! Is this another book in the works? About family? Side note: With all this love surrounding Xo and Rogelio, I have to wonder if the showrunners are setting us up for a death. Did I just swing dark? Its a telenovela. Bad things are going to happen. Like Luisa playing with Mateo as Rafael lovingly watches. His fabulous smile turns downward when the cops call to tell him that all of Roses money for her secret account has been funneled into Luisas account. They are still working together. Dont forget about Bobby, who is currently snooping around Rafaels apartment while hes galavanting with his sister and son. Is Rafael in danger? What is Bobby looking for in his apartment? Does Rafaels cologne smell heavenly? These are the answers we need to know. Especially that cologne part. Related content: After eight seasons and countless praise from critics and viewers alike, HBO closed the curtain on Game of Thrones and the reviews have been mixed, to say the least. Fans of the epic saga have spent the last week complaining about the divisive series finale but the end of ABCs beloved show Lost vexed fans almost a decade earlier. Keep reading for PEOPLE critic Tom Gliattos full review. The very long finale to ABCs Lost was deeply touching, quite ridiculous and, in its very last seconds, so infuriating I erupted like the Smoke Beast and did a few cloudy charges around the perimeter of my apartment on the island of Manhattan. Then I ate my remote and sat down to collect my roiling thoughts. Touching and ridiculous I was expecting: Lost has always been so far out on the edge and so courageous about it that the final revelations of Oceanic Flight 815 would have risen either like a phoenix or a magicians pigeon forcibly flung out over the audience. But this Mario Perez/ABC via Getty Actually, the episode started on a terrific note, seizing on what always felt like the shows true emotional core: the unresolved relationship between Dr. Jack Shepherd (Matthew Fox) and his dead father. At the start of the two-and-a-half hour episode, the arrival of the fathers casket back in Los Angeles and the rather jokey detail that his name was the symbolically fraught Christian Shepherd suggested that we were about to begin a requiem not only old Doc Shepherds but the shows, and with it all the solemn connotations of life and death and rebirth and DVD sales. Mario Perez/ABC via Getty Well, this will be lovely, I thought, as I waited out the island showdown between Jack and John Locke (Terry OQuinn). This aspect of season 6 has always been total hokum, especially since Lockes bald metaphysical awfulness made him seem more and more like an Americas Got Talent contestant impersonating Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. By the end, I still didnt understand what harm Locke would have done if he ever left the island. Shoplift souls in the duty-free store at LAX? And why exactly did the island NEED protection? Was there a snail darter requiring superhuman intervention? Story continues In the end, the fate of the island depended on a large carrot-shaped stone that served as a kind of stopper in the islands fiery Pool of Life. Removing it was apparently tantamount to sinking Atlantis by mucking around with the plumbing in the main spa. Oh. Okay. And yet much of the episode was superb, especially the existential badminton played out between the characters states of consciousness on the mainland (what has come to be called the Sideways universe) and back on the island. Everyone on the mainland even Jack and Locke, who became Jacks patient in surgery kept being illuminated by unpredictable but joyous surges of connection to their other lives. It was as if Dorothy had woken up back in Kansas and all the farmhands said, Shut your trap, Aunt Em. Dorothys right. We DID see her in Oz. And then, at last, we arrived at the requiem anticipated from the start of the show. I wont spoil it for you, except to say that it was so mistily open-ended as to be pointless: It was The Sopranos with a heavenly choir instead of Journey on the jukebox. The difference is that I wouldnt have expected The Sopranos finale to clear up my questions about a giant stone foot. I still think, overall, the show is a classic. Viewers can argue between now and forever what the island really means. Lets start with the fact that many if not most if not all feel shipwrecked in their own lives. Discuss! And, no, Gilligans Island never made me feel like that. As to the finale, I guess the only thing to do is die and be sent to an island, resurrected, killed, possessed by an ancient entity and killed again. I may also re-watch the episode. Florida Baby Dies After Being Forgotten in Her Daycare's Van for 5 Hours in 92-Degree Weather A grieving Florida mother is asking for help after her 4-month-old baby, named Brooklyn, tragically died after being left in her daycares van for five hours. Her life was abruptly ended after she was left in a child care van for hours. The team of doctors and nurses did everything in their power to save my beautiful baby girl but she couldnt be revived, Lancia Isaac wrote on Facebook, noting that her family was in shambles following the tragedy. Isaac also wrote, I come to you all today as humble and as most importantly a grieving mother and ask for your help in helping laying my baby girl to rest. Isaac has set up a GoFundMe page to help her family cover the costs of Brooklyns funeral. On Wednesday, Jacksonville Police received a call about an unresponsive infant at Ewings Love & Hope Preschool and Academy, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said in a statement on Facebook. When emergency responders arrived on the scene, they found baby Brooklyn strapped in her car seat still inside the van. She was promptly rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to Jacksonville Sheriffs Office. The little girl was picked up earlier that day from her brought to the academy, which has an infant daycare program, in a van driven by co-owner of the facility Darryl Ewing, police said. Ewing, 56, arrived at Love and Hope at around 8:25 a.m. and the children were offloaded and taken into the center. However, the 4-month-old baby girl was left inside. The suspect parked the van in front of the daycare and left the vehicle unattended with the victim still strapped in her car seat in the third row of the van, police said in the statement. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Story continues Darryl Ewing Daycare employees had not realized the child was still in the van until Isaac called to make pick-up arrangements around 1:03 p.m, according to police. Soon after the call, the employees discovered the infant had not been checked in. Thats when they went outside to search the van. Daycare employees went to the van and discovered the victim still strapped in her child seat unresponsive and called emergency services. Following a preliminary investigation, Ewing was arrested. Further investigative efforts revealed the suspect was responsible for maintaining a separate drivers log documenting all children that are placed onto the van, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office stated. An arrest has been made for Child Neglect in reference to the infant that died who was left in a daycare van. The co-owner of the daycare, Darryl Ewing, 56 years old has been booked into jail. More information forthcoming. The investigation is active and ongoing. https://t.co/X7P2gjJ6UH Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 23, 2019 RELATED: 3-Year-Old Dies After Allegedly Being Left in Hot Bus After Daycare Field Trip This log is separate from the parental log signed by parents. Detectives viewed the drivers log, which showed the suspect had logged in two of the victims siblings but not the victim. Other daycare employees told police it is Ewings responsibility to make sure all children are offloaded from the vehicle before entering the center. It was determined, the suspects actions (and lack thereof) failed to provide the victim with the necessary supervision and provide services to protect the victims physical health, all which was essential to the victims well-being and contributed to the death of the victim, police allege. RELATED: As 3-Year-Old Daughter Died in Hot Patrol Car, Miss. Cop Had Sex With Her Supervisor The baby is believed to have suffered a heat-related injury, as the temperature in Jacksonville reached 92 degrees on Wednesday, Jacksonville Sheriffs Assistant Chief Brian Kee said at a news conference, ABC News reported. Police said Ewing was booked into jail for child neglect, while they continue to investigate. If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Geoffrey Rush was awarded over $1.9 million Thursday after winning his defamation case against an Australian newspaper that published allegations of sexual misconduct against him. The sum is the largest defamation payout to a single person in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, and comes in addition to the $600,000 Rush previously won in aggravated compensatory damages. The Oscar-winning actor, 67, won his case against The Daily Telegraph in April, a year and a half after the outlet published a pair of stories claiming hed acted inappropriately toward a female costar while performing in the Sydney Theatre Companys production of King Lear in 2015 and 2016. Justice Michael Wigney said Rushs reputation was destroyed by the articles, which he called a recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism of the worst kind, according to a judgment summary obtained by PEOPLE. RELATED VIDEO: Geoffrey Rush Wins Defamation Suit Against Paper That Published Sexual Misconduct Allegations Rush argued in April that he may have lost $3.5 million in earnings from the time the articles were published to when the trial began, according to CNN. The Herald reports that damages for economic loss are in a separate category and require proof. RELATED: Geoffrey Rush Wins Defamation Suit Against Paper That Published Sexual Misconduct Allegations Nationwide News is appealing Wigneys decision, according to the Herald, and has requested he step down from the case. I am not satisfied that there is any basis to recuse myself and I decline to do so, Wigney reportedly responded. The articles in question, one of which hit newsstands with the headline King Leer, were published in the Telegraph in 2017, and did not name Rushs accuser, Eryn Jean Norvill. Geoffrey Rush | Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images Norvill appeared in court in April to testify, though her credibility was questioned by Wigney, who said she was prone to exaggeration and embellishment, according to the summary. Story continues According to Variety, Norvill testified that Rush deliberately stroked her right breast and hip during a preview performance of King Lear, rubbed her lower back under her shirt offstage, and simulated groping her and cupping her breasts during a rehearsal. The actress stood by her allegations outside the court, reportedly saying, I stand by everything I said at trial. I told the truth. I know what happened I was there. Rush, meanwhile, spoke outside the court as well, reportedly saying there were no winners in the extremely distressing case. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor previously denied accusations of inappropriate behavior during his time with the Sydney Theatre Company in November 2017, though neither the complaint nor the accuser had yet been made public. RELATED: Geoffrey Rush Denies Inappropriate Behavior During Sydney Theatre Company Play The moment I became aware of rumors of a complaint I immediately phoned and spoke to senior management at the Sydney Theatre Company asking for clarification about the details of the statement, Rush said in a statement. They refused to illuminate me with the details. I also asked why this information was being withheld, and why, according to standard theatre practice the issue had not been raised with me during the production via stage management, the director, my fellow actors or anyone at management level. However, no response was forthcoming, he added. A Sydney Theatre Company spokeswoman reportedly previously said that they had received a complaint alleging that Mr Geoffrey Rush had engaged in inappropriate behavior after his engagement with the company had ended, but did not elaborate on the nature of the complaint. The complainant has requested that their identity be withheld, the STC spokeswoman reportedly said at the time, adding, STC respects that request and for privacy reasons, will not be making any further comments. The Sydney Theatre Company did not respond to PEOPLEs request for comment. The Australian actor is known for his recurring role as Captain Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and is among a small group of acclaimed actors who have won an Academy Award, Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award. WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has been indicted by the United States government on 18 counts stemming from accusations that he published classified intelligence, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.The additional charges in the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday stem from accusations of a 2010 disclosure of classified intelligence material that was provided to Assange by Chelsea Manning (who was known as Bradley Manning at the time).The indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense, and that many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning that their unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to United States national security, the Department of Justice said.Also Read: Julian Assange's Swedish Rape Investigation Reopened, Swedish Prosecutors SayThe new charges might suggest that the government is planning to play hardball with Assange after originally indicting him in March with the comparatively minor offense of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion relating to the same incident.None of the new charges relate to Assanges publication of a trove of hacked documents from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chief John Podesta in October 2016. The emails were provided to him by agents of the Russian government with the purpose of helping Donald Trump win the presidential election.Assange went to great lengths to conceal Russian involvement in the intervening years, including an interview with Sean Hannity in which he fueled speculation that the emails had been provided by Seth Rich, a former DNC staffer, who was murdered in a still-unsolved case a short time later.In addition to his legal troubles in the United States, prosecutors in Sweden announced earlier this month that they would reopen a rape investigation into Assange brought by two women who accused him back in 2010 while he was visiting the country.Also Read: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Sentenced to 50 Weeks in Jail, Still Faces Extradition to USI have today taken the decision to reopen the preliminary investigation, Eva-Marie Persson, Swedens deputy director of public prosecutions, told reporters. I take the view that there exists the possibility to take the case forward. Assange has denied the charges and consistently maintained his innocence.Facing extradition to multiple countries, Assange spent the last seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, which finally booted him in April 2019. He was immediately taken into British custody upon his release.Read original story Julian Assange Indicted by US on 18 Counts in Classified Information Case At TheWrap WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has been indicted by the United States government on 18 counts stemming from accusations that he published classified intelligence, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday. The additional charges in the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday stem from accusations of a 2010 disclosure of classified intelligence material that was provided to Assange by Chelsea Manning (who was known as Bradley Manning at the time). The indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense, and that many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning that their unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to United States national security, the Department of Justice said. Also Read: Julian Assange's Swedish Rape Investigation Reopened, Swedish Prosecutors Say The new charges might suggest that the government is planning to play hardball with Assange after originally indicting him in March with the comparatively minor offense of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion relating to the same incident. None of the new charges relate to Assanges publication of a trove of hacked documents from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chief John Podesta in October 2016. The emails were provided to him by agents of the Russian government with the purpose of helping Donald Trump win the presidential election. Assange went to great lengths to conceal Russian involvement in the intervening years, including an interview with Sean Hannity in which he fueled speculation that the emails had been provided by Seth Rich, a former DNC staffer, who was murdered in a still-unsolved case a short time later. In addition to his legal troubles in the United States, prosecutors in Sweden announced earlier this month that they would reopen a rape investigation into Assange brought by two women who accused him back in 2010 while he was visiting the country. Story continues Also Read: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Sentenced to 50 Weeks in Jail, Still Faces Extradition to US I have today taken the decision to reopen the preliminary investigation, Eva-Marie Persson, Swedens deputy director of public prosecutions, told reporters. I take the view that there exists the possibility to take the case forward. Assange has denied the charges and consistently maintained his innocence. Facing extradition to multiple countries, Assange spent the last seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, which finally booted him in April 2019. He was immediately taken into British custody upon his release. Read original story Julian Assange Indicted by US on 18 Counts in Classified Information Case At TheWrap Louisiana Woman, Who Walks 6 Miles to Work, Is Gifted a New Car Thanks to Police Officer Woman Who Walks 6 Miles to Work Is Gifted a New Car From Officer A woman from Louisiana who walked six miles to her job at Walmart each week now has her own set of wheels thanks to a police officer who shared her story after he gave her a lift. Since being hired at a Walmart three years ago, Anita Singleton has walked six miles to the store at least once a week. But because she enjoys her job so much, she never saw it as a problem, she told WWL. We share a bit of ourselves with each other and that is a blessing, Singleton told the news station. You cannot put a price tag on that. But earlier this week, Slidell Police Officer Bradley Peck spotted Singleton on her long early morning stroll to Walmart, and pulled over to ask where she was going. When he heard how far her walk to the store would be, Peck offered Singleton a ride and learned more about her story and positive outlook on life. We talked the whole way about life lessons, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and joked about other things, Peck recalled in a post on to the Slidell Police Department Facebook page. I learned that she is 52 years old and had as much energy as my 2-year-old. She told me when she cant get a ride she has to do what she has to do, Peck continued. We shook hands and she went into work. That brief moment of me getting to spend some time with her made my day so much better. I dont think she knows how much hope she gave me and valuable life lesson she taught me. RELATED: California Man Gives Car to Student Who Cried Over Down Payment at Dealership: I Was Shaking After local Chevrolet dealership owner Matt Bowers was made aware of WWLs news story and Pecks Facebook post about Singleton, he was inspired to help out. Well, logically, Im a car dealer, and I made the decision that the right thing to do for the community was to give Anita Singleton a car, Bowers explained, according to the Advocate. Story continues On Wednesday, Peck picked up Singleton from Walmart and drove her to the dealership, leaving her puzzled why he would take her to a lot of expensive cars. Then she was presented with two cars, a white Chevrolet Captiva and a red Traverse, and was told she could have her pick of any of them. She chose the Captiva. Anita Singleton | GoFundMe And Singleton wont have to worry about insurance, taxes and registration bills Bowers said hell cover the costs as long as she owns it, the Advocate reported. While she said shell need some time to get accustomed to driving again, she plans to take her wheels on a tour through Honey Island Swamp. By Baek Byung-yeul Kwon Oh-hyung, president of Qualcomm Korea Qualcomm will likely lose its ongoing legal battle with Korea's antitrust agency as a U.S. court ruled against the U.S, smartphone chipmaker, finding it abused its dominant market position and engaged in unfair business practices, according to industry analysts Thursday. The latest ruling came Tuesday (local time), after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm in 2017. The FTC filed the complaint with the federal district court accusing Qualcomm of abusing its dominant position and wielding unfair licensing practices. A U.S. federal judge issued a ruling Tuesday in favor of the FTC and ordered the firm to renegotiate patent licensing agreements with its customer companies. In 2016, the Korean antitrust agency imposed a 1.03 trillion won ($865 million) fine on Qualcomm, saying the U.S. firm violated antitrust regulations by utilizing its market dominance to keep competitors from entering the market. Qualcomm in response filed a complaint with the Seoul High Court and the ruling is expected to be made this year. "The U.S. ruling on Qualcomm may affect the ruling of the Korean court. I think chances are the local court would favor the antitrust agency," said Park Jun-seok, a patent attorney at MAPS Intellectual Property Law Firm. An image of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 mobile chip / Courtesy of Qualcomm Korea Moby writes in his new book that they had a brief relationship in 1999, but Portman says it's not true. Moby is defending his claim that he and Natalie Portman dated, despite the actress' statement otherwise. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the 53-year-old musician doubled down on his assertion that he and Portman had a romantic relationship in 1999. He wrote about the pair's time together in his new memoir, Then It Fell Apart, explaining that they dated 20 years ago, when he was 33 and she was 20. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar UK published on Tuesday, Portman, who was 18, not 20, at the time, insisted they didn't date and called Moby "creepy." "I recently read a gossip piece wherein Natalie Portman said that we'd never dated. This confused me, as we did, in fact, date. And after briefly dating in 1999 we remained friends for years," Moby wrote on Instagram alongside a throwback photo of the two. "I like Natalie, and I respect her intelligence and activism. But, to be honest, I can't figure out why she would actively misrepresent the truth about our (albeit brief) involvement. The story as laid out in my book Then It Fell Apart is accurate, with lots of corroborating photo evidence, etc." "Ps I completely respect Natalies possible regret in dating me (to be fair, I would probably regret dating me, too), but it doesnt alter the actual facts of our brief romantic history," he added. In his book, Moby claims that Portman flirted with him in his dressing room in 1999, and afterward, he said they met up at the MTV Video Music Awards and then at a Donatella Versace party together where he performed. In a later chapter of his book, Moby alleges having an "amazing night" in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her, while she was attending Harvard. Story continues "We held hands and wandered around Harvard, kissing under the centuries-old oak trees. At midnight she brought me to her dorm room and we lay down next to each other on her small bed. After she fell asleep I carefully extracted myself from her arms and took a taxi back to my hotel," he claims, later writing that "for a few weeks I had tried to be Natalie's boyfriend, but it hadn't worked out... I was relieved that I'd never have to tell her how damaged I was." During her interview with Harper's Bazaar, Portman tried to set the record straight. "I was surprised to hear that he characterized the very short time that I knew him as dating because my recollection is a much older man being creepy with me when I just had graduated high school," she said. "He said I was 20; I definitely wasn't. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. There was no fact checking from him or his publisher -- it almost feels deliberate. That he used this story to sell his book was very disturbing to me. It wasn't the case. There are many factual errors and inventions. I would have liked him or his publisher to reach out to fact check." "I was a fan and went to one of his shows when I had just graduated," she recalled. "When we met after the show, he said, 'Let's be friends.' He was on tour and I was working, shooting a film, so we only hung out a handful of times before I realized that this was an older man who was interested in me in a way that felt inappropriate." Portman, who has been extremely private about her personal life throughout the years, married dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied in 2012, after meeting in 2009 on the set of Black Swan. They share two children, son Aleph and daughter Amalia. See more on Portman in the video below. RELATED CONTENT: Natalie Portman Is 'Very Excited' for 'Avengers: Endgame' After Surprise Appearance at Premiere (Exclusive) Natalie Portman on Who's the Better Kisser: Mila Kunis or Ashton Kutcher? Jessica Simpson 'Appreciative' of Natalie Portman's Apology (Exclusive) Related Articles: Critics have often been stumped by satire. This seemed again the case this week as puzzled TV reviewers wrestled with George Clooneys superbly astringent rendition of Catch-22. Shouldnt there be more laughs in satire, some asked? Ironically, I revisited this question as I paid a visit to the Comedy Store (a guilty pleasure) and heard a grumpy young comic complain, The only people getting laughs any more are politicians and they dont even mean to. He was half right. We are laughing at politicos these days, but they like it that way. A stunning number of elections around the world are being won by professional comedians. Even Donald Trump thinks hes funny. But so does the new president of Ukraine, the prime minister of Slovenia, the president of Guatemala, the onetime mayor of Reykjavik in Iceland, and the man who will likely be the next prime minister of the UK. Related stories 'Catch-22' Trailer: George Clooney & Hulu's Wild, Dark & Morbidly Funny Take On Joseph Heller Novel This unlikely cast of characters one-time stand-ups has even earned a new name, cometician, and found a new purpose: to disrupt the established political order by making it seem funny. Indeed, cometicians likely would admire Catch-22 (on Hulu starting this week) because it captures the insidiously subversive tone of Joseph Hellers revered 1961 novel. Its core message is that neither war, nor life for that matter, makes much sense, which reflects the subtext of the politico-comics. Every joke is a tiny revolution, George Orwell once wrote. It was not a laugh line. The crossover between comedy and politics has become an important weapon for the new populists, notes The Economist, hardly a repository of humor. Hence authoritarian leaders like Trump or the UKs Boris Johnson control the demolition of their own dignity (Johnson, like Trump, graduated from TV). Even the very unfunny Barack Obama once joked that Trump might turn the White House into a casino with a Trump sign on top. Obama would have liked Iodymyr Zelenskys line (he was a Ukrainian stand-up) that his rival needed a second presidential term so he wouldnt get a prison term. Story continues In its unexpected commentary on cometicians, The Economist affirms that the new breed are mostly insurgents bent on destabilizing the opposition. Thus Italys populist chief Matteo Salvini often wears a Putin T-shirt. When the going gets funny, the funny gets going, observes Jon Gnarr, the comic who was mayor of Reykjavik from 2010-2014. Trumps brand of humor, of course, is rooted in profanity-based put-downs (calling Elizabeth Warren Pocahantas), but his extremes have nurtured the approval of his base. Some of his overseas admirers have even aimed lower: Guatemalas president Jimmy Morales sometimes performs in blackface playing a character named Black Dragon Fruit. Given all this, its likely that Catch-22 will find a receptive audience around the world. International viewers should relish Clooneys raucous performance as a general who demands that his troops march in ever tighter formations. On the other hand, if Clooney had cast Alec Baldwin in the role, his comedic intentions might have been further sharpened.. For that matter, given international trends, why isnt Baldwin running for office? Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Pod Save America producer Crooked Media is doubling down on documentary-style podcasts with the launch of This Land, a true-crime series exploring two seemingly unrelated Oklahoma murders that occurred over 150 years apart. The company, which is run by ex-President Obama staffs Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Jon Lovett, the latter who also wrote on The Newsroom, is launching the seven-episode podcast, hosted by journalist and Cherokee Nation citizen Rebecca Nagle on June 3. Related stories 'Crime Junkie': Team Behind Hit True-Crime Podcast Eye TV Projects Including Police Access Series & Scripted Show It is the companys second doc-style podcast following the launch of The Wilderness, which explored the history and future of the Democratic Party. This Land will look at a murder case that prompted a high-stakes investigation into who legally owns half the land in Oklahoma. It explores Native American rights and tribal sovereignty through Nagles lens as a Native woman with a personal connection to the storys characters. In addition to examining the history of land rights, This Land will look at the potential impact of the Carpenter v. Murphy case that is currently before the Supreme Court with a final decision expected to be handed down in June. The podcast is produced with a Native crew including Chickasaw Classical Composer, Jerod Tate, engineers and filmmakers from FireThief Productions and visuals by Cherokee artist Keli Gonzales. New episodes will drop each week. This Land is an incredible story that spans generations of my family and will delve deep into how one unique murder case could have a profound impact on the rights of five tribes in Oklahoma, including mine, said Nagle. With this ground-breaking podcast, Crooked is one of the only mainstream media outlets producing Native stories right now. Im thrilled to collaborate with Crooked Media to share it with audiences. Crooked Medias Chief Content Officer Tanya Somanader added, This is not a story youre likely to hear because there are too few people who can tell it. Rebecca has spent her life trying to share the history of her tribe and others, and what happened to the land that belongs to them. But such truths are so often marginalized or ignored by the very people who need to hear them most. Thats why we at Crooked are so proud to have collaborated with Rebecca to share her perspective, and her connection to this story, in a meaningful way. As Americans, its our history too and as This Land will show, there will be larger political consequences if we fail to hear it now. Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. CANNESThe Pop Up Film Residency, a mentorship program launched this year by former TorinoFilmLab artistic director Matthieu Darras and Slovak producer Juraj Krasnohorsky, has announced three new residents, four new hosts, and two new creative partners for 2019. Based in Bratislava, the program offers a three-week residency in Slovakia each month, along with a series of international residencies throughout the year with a growing network of partners, including Cannes Critics Week, EAVE and the Doha Film Institute. Related stories Disney Theatrical Celebrates 25 Years on Broadway 'The Prom': How the Little Show That Could Found Its Way to the Tonys Dance The big difference between this residency and other support schemes for talents is that its really tailor-made, said Darras. Once we really get an understanding of the person, the project, we actually find the good residency. A former Cannes Critics Week programmer, Darras described the Pop Up Film Residency as a passion project designed to offer mentorship on an intimate scale. I have 20 years of experience running labs, where I usually have programs with 20, 25 projects, he said. Thats great for networking purposes, but really, to cater to the needs of each project, its always challenging. I wanted to go for a more personalized approach. Each Pop Up Film Residency is led by a mentor and four industry hosts. The added value is that its by filmmakers, for filmmakers, said Darras. People are guided by the desire to give back their experience. Its based on generosity. Previously announced hosts include Romanian producer Ada Solomon and Netherlands-based producer Denis Vaslin. Darras announced commitments in Cannes from Konstantinos Kontovrakis (Greece), founder and partner of Athens-based production company Heretic, and recipient with partner Giorgos Karnavasof the European Co-production Award Prix Eurimages; Muayad Alayan (Palestine), a Jerusalem-based director and producer whose credits include The Reports on Sarah and Saleem; Benjamin Mirguet (France/Germany), a Berlin-based editor and editing consultant whose most recent credit is the Cannes competition entry Little Joe; and Myriam Sassine (Lebanon), a Beyrouth-based producer and co-founder of Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival together with Antoine Waked. Story continues The Pop Up Film Residency was launched this January with Polish-German director Oliver Adam Kusiowas the first resident in Bratislava, followed by Algerian-Qatari director Meriem Masraoua. Italian photographer-director Giovanni Troilo will soon start a residency with his debut feature Le Paradis, cest ici, as part of a creative partnership with the Trieste Film Festivals When East Meets West co-production forum. His mentor will be Belgian writer-director Francois Pirot. Previously, Flemish writer-director Koen Mortier took part in a special Residency on Demand in Cairo, hosted by and under the mentorship of writer-producer Ayman El Amir (Cannes Critics Week short film selection The Trap, directed by Nada Riyadh). This month at the CEE Animation Forumin Trebon, in the Czech Republic, a Pop Up Film Residency Award was also given to Irish filmmaker Allan Holly for his animated feature debut project Piece. The idea is to really look for ambitious projects, said Darras, who added that the program wasnt just on the hunt for new talents. For me, its important to support filmmakers who are on their third, or fourth, or fifth films. The following new residents were announced for 2019: *Beatriz Seigner (Brazil), who is developing her third feature film While They Sleep, was selected for the Pop Up Film Residency Paradiso, which offers a three-week residency for one experienced Brazilian filmmaker to work on the development of his or her feature film project. The residency is organized in collaboration with the Olga Rabinovich Institute, a philanthropic initiative supporting the Brazilian audiovisual sector and headed by Josephine Bourgois. Currently in the development stage, While They Sleep explores a three-way relationship between parents of young children in a Brazilian society that has become more explicitly religious, violent and conservative. It will be produced in Brazil by Seigners company Miriade Filmes, together with Erica de Freitas Encantamento Filmes. Thierry Lenouvel will continue collaborating with Seigner as French co-producer. Seigners last feature, Los Silencios, premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight in 2018, and was distributed internationally by Pyramide. *Carlota Pereda (Spain) and her debut feature film project Piggy (pictured) were selected for the Pop Up Film Residency Focus CoPro, organized in collaboration with the Cannes Film Festivals Short Film Corner. Piggy is a horror film about an overweight teen whos bullied by a clique of cool girls while holidaying in her village, and whose long walk home will change her life. Peredas short Piggy won a Spanish Academy Goya Award for best short film. Shooting on the feature, which is budgeted at 2.5 million (around $2.8 million), is set for summer 2020. Merry Colomer produces on behalf of Morena Films. *Yona Rozenkier (Israel) and his third feature project Siberia were selected for a Pop Up Film Residency On Demand. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world where two Israeli girls and their father practice survival training and trap-hunting while living in the wilds of Siberia. The film received development support from the Israeli Film Fund, with Kobi Mizrahiproducing in Israel and Dominique Welinskiin France. Ronzenkiers debut feature, The Dive, premiered in competition in Locarno in 2018. The Israeli director is in Cannes this year with two shorts: The Sign, co-directed with Eleonora Veninova and presented at the Directors Fortnight as part of the SEE Factory, and Parparim, which was selected for the official competition. His second feature film, Decompression, is in pre-production. The Pop Up Film Residency also announced two new creative partners, in order to build a portfolio that covers a wide range of film styles and genres from every region of the world. The Pop Up Film Residency Warsaw Kids Film Forum is a partnership with Polands first international pitching forum for films and television series aimed at the childrens market, which is the industry portion of the Kids Film Festival. Our aim is to facilitate the production of European quality family movies and a Pop Up Film Residency seems to be a perfect tool to give the projects right shape before they enter production, said Forum head Maciej Jakubczyk. The Pop Up Film Residency BrLab is a collaboration with the Sao Paulo-based Laboratory, the only audiovisual projects development laboratory in Brazil that receives projects from across Brazil, Latin America, and the Iberian, as well as Italy for the first time. The Pop Up Film Residency BrLab Award will be chosen from the 11 projects selected by BrLab that are in the initial phase of development and financing. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Whats in a name? As Romeo and Juliet knew, quite a lot. Called the artist among architects, Luis Barragan brought his eye-catching colorful Modernism to Mexico, becoming one of the countrys most renowned artists and cultural touchstones. His personal home in Mexico City is a UNESCO World Heritage site, requiring reservations weeks in advance to visit. Casa Luis Barragan houses his personal art collection, but his entire professional archive lives in Switzerland, where it is owned and strictly monitored by a single corporation. The Swiss design company Vitra controls the access and rights to all of Barragans work, including any photographs of his buildings. It also owns his name. Jill Magids provocative new film The Proposal both uncovers this travesty and actively seeks to challenge it, with the ultimate goal being to return the Barragan archives to Mexico. The film is itself a provocation; a fascinating document of a years-long conceptual project as well as the final (or next) piece of the complicated puzzle. Magid appears in the film, though we mostly hear her in placid expository voiceover. The film is structured around her correspondence with Federica Zanco, an architectural historian whose husband, Vitra owner Rolf Fehlbaum, gifted her the archive upon proposing marriage. Magid crafts her crowning provocation (and the films title) from this rather tragic romantic tale much like Shakespeares two teenagers separated by a name. Related stories 'It Must Be Heaven' Review: Elia Suleiman's Palestinian Satire Explains Why He Doesn't Make More Movies 'Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo' Review: 'Warmest Color' Director Abdellatif Kechiche Hits Bottom Whether by a cruel twist of fate or poetic justice, Vitra trademarked the name Luis Barragan without the accent, a stark reminder of who is being taken from and who is doing the taking. Mexican Barragan experts explain in the film that when Vitra bought the archive 22 years ago, they assumed it would be shared, as is common for artistic institutions to do. But Zanco has maintained a tight grip on the archive, severely limiting outside access and making Barragan her lifes work. As one man says, it amounts to active censorship perpetuated by capitalism. Story continues An internationally recognized conceptual artist who has exhibited at the Whitney and the Tate Modern, Magid was able to negotiate a stay at Casa Luis Barragan for the film a once in a lifetime opportunity. Though she isnt allowed to sleep in the bed where he died, she is assured that her room is where all of Barragans lovers slept. As she eats at his table and gently pours water over a collection of clay pots in the courtyard, she reminds the viewer that even these images are subject to Vitras copyright, and could easily result in a lawsuit. (Even images taken of his work before the sale of the archive are not safe.) Because of this, admirers of Barragan will have to look elsewhere for a more thorough portrait of his work or even the man himself. Magids focus is singularly on the archive and her own project. The Proposal could have benefitted from even a short detour into Barragans personal history, architectural influences, and contributions, which surely could have been done without stoking Vitras ire. The film is not a conventional documentary in that way, which is no doubt one of its many strengths. But by centering herself a little too much, Magid obscures Barragan. This may be the point, that no one can learn anything substantial about this giant of the form as long as his work is locked up, but it does the film a disservice. Magid makes the most of the visuals available to her, however limited they may be by the patent. As part of her grand plan, the details of which are a mystery until the final moment of reckoning with Federica, Magid convenes the Barragan family to excavate Barragans ashes. As men chip away at the plaque bearing his name, stripes of grey slate and chalky red clay are framed in close-up, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Mark Rothko painting, much like one Barragan had in his house. The films climactic meeting with Federica is shot from outside a cafe, surreptitiously and sans audio out of necessity. Reflected greenery on the cafes glass windows obscure the figures in a shroud of mystery, just visible enough to read their dynamic facial expressions. Throughout the film, Magid guides the viewer from a cool remove. (Part of this is due to her overly measured delivery of the script, an unfortunate side effect of directing yourself). It is only in the culminating scene that she reveals some emotion, describing the complex rush of feelings upon finally meeting Federica. Through their interactions, The Proposal becomes a film about two womens quest to understand an artist who inspires them, though their methods are wildly different and diametrically opposed. The conflict makes for an extremely absorbing story one we can all share. Grade: B+ Oscilloscope will release The Proposal in New York on May 24 at the IFC Center and in Los Angeles on May 31 at the Monica Film Center, with national rollout over the following weeks. Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SEAL Teams titular heroes found themselves on a different kind of firing line after choosing to rescue one of their own versus capture a HVT. By the time Season 2 came to a close, was Bravo Team able to prove their worth? Having rescued Ray following his wayward jump into Kasmir, Jason checked in on Bravo 2, with whom he recently traded contentious blows. They talked of how denying that man his last rites back in Mexico started Ray down this dark path, this crisis of faith. And even Ray admits that he would have rather died in Kasmir as the man Naima loves than live as the person he was becoming. But the brush with death served as a shock to Rays system and he is ready to clear his muddied mindset. Related stories Elementary EP Previews Final Season's Big Moves, 'Complicated' New Foe Love Island: U.S. Version to Air 5 Nights a Week This Summer on CBS Choosing to rescue Ray over hunting Khan came with a price, however. Bravo Team now more than ever is on Commander Shaws st list, to a degree that Blackburn says there is even talk of breaking up Jasons unit. Upon hearing that, an fuming Jason makes a beeline for Shaw but smartens up and stops short of squaring off with the commander. Instead he retreats to a hangar to decompress, and pontificate larger life issues when Mandy finds him and asks whats eating him. After getting an earful, Mandy reminds Jason that he is unrivaled when it comes to quickly and smartly navigating curve balls in the field he can do that in his home life, too. Shaw must bite his tongue when intelligence gets a new lead on Khan and Bravo Team, still in that theater, is closest to the meeting location. As such, they get invited to one last rodeo, one that could save their collective bacon in success or seal their fate. The mission is not without its hurdles the boys need to swim in (which we dont get to see), and the buildings layout is such that they must access via fire escape followed by a roof entry but they pull it off with very little drama. All told, they capture Khan, alive, while also taking out several most wanted terrorists from the region. As a result, Blackburn notes, Shaw would be laughed out of Washington if he tries to bench Bravo. Story continues Returning Stateside, the reunions are aplenty at the Virginia Beach airstrip. Jason and his kids. Sonny and cake eater Lisa (keeping things chaste, though with plans to find the nearest bedroom). Clay and everyone. Ray, though, didnt let Naima know he was returning because he believes he owes it to go to her for once, and the welcome he gets at the hospital is indeed very warm. The fallout of the deployment is less celebratory for Mandy. Barely a moment after she was able to proudly smile at Bravos big win, she gets called on the carpet by CIA brass. Her supes learned that she traded intel on one asset, who wound up dead, in trade for that Indian QRF conveniently getting out of Bravos way during the rescue op. You went rogue by unilaterally deciding the fate of one valued asset, her boss notes, and as a result Mandy will finish out her time with the spooks from the dreariest D.C. office they can find. Mandy keeps this setback to herself as the team gathers for Swannys funeral where Clay gives a moving speech, before giving his own Purple Heart to the fallen vet and also at the Irish wake that followed. There, Jason gives a speech that took sobering stock of all the injuries and divorces and other adversities visited up their collective group, before toasting to their heroic ways. What followed was an extended, near-wordless montage in which we saw Clay truly reunite with Stella Sonny and Lisa enjoy a private, playful moment at an outdoor cafe Ray and Naima at their childs baptism a lonely, pensive Mandy and then Jason, dropping Emma off at college before bidding adieu to their sold family home. Afterwards, Jason sidles up to a bar, where the barkeep asks, How are you doing, Jason? In response, Jason could only wonder himself: How am I doing. Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Three people were killed and more than 20 injured in an extremely dangerous storm that sent tornadoes ripping across Missouri late Wednesday. Though much of the damage from the powerful tornado hit the states capital of Jefferson City, the three fatalities were reported in the small town of Golden City about 170 miles away, Gov. Mike Parson said at a press conference. Unfortunately, were still assessing damage this morning, he said. Those are the only three we know at this time. As far as I know, theres nobody missing [across the state], which is a good sign, [but] theres gonna be multiple injuries. You got 20 right here in Jefferson City. MO Public Safety/Twitter Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said at the same press conference that a three-mile-square in the capital city had received the brunt of the damage from the storm, and that emergency sirens were first activated at 11:10 p.m. local time on Wednesday night. According to Parson, many of the state facilities in Jefferson City were damaged. In Jefferson City, the state capital, there is extensive damage along Ellis Boulevard near Highway 54. Power lines are down. Traffic is being diverted as @MSHPTrooperGHQ & local first responders go door-to-door. Consider all power lines live. Stay out of areas with damage. #MoWx pic.twitter.com/cPWQi1tzCJ MO Public Safety (@MoPublicSafety) May 23, 2019 The Jefferson City Fire Department wrote on Facebook early Thursday morning it had called back all firefighters to begin rescue operations. Photos shared to Twitter by Missouri Public Safety show extensive damage along Ellis Boulevard near Highway 54, with downed power lines and collapsed signs littered throughout. Story continues RELATED: 4th Grade Girl Among 23 Killed in Alabama Tornado Heres How to Help Victims Families Please do not travel into areas impacted by the severe storms! Youll delay the work of first responders and utility crews, and slow efforts to clear debris, the agency wrote. You might also wind up with a flat tire or two. Please do not travel into areas impacted by the severe storms! You'll delay the work of first responders and utility crews, and slow efforts to clear debris. You might also wind up with a flat tire or two. And we've just witnessed a crash due to rubbernecking in Jefferson City! https://t.co/94VfzwrM1w MO Public Safety (@MoPublicSafety) May 23, 2019 Though no people have been reported missing so far, Williams said authorities would be going door-to-door in affected areas to ensure all residents are accounted for. The National Weather Service had repeatedly encouraged all residents to seek shelter as violent tornadoes headed their way. RELATED VIDEO: 23 Dead After Powerful Tornado Rips Through Southeast Alabama: The Devastation Is Incredible It sounds as if the injuries have been few, which is truly amazing considering the extent of the damage, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told CNN. According to the National Weather Service, at least 29 tornadoes have been reported over the past 24 hours, with debris being sent as high as 13,000 feet into the air. Almost an hour into Marco Bellocchios The Traitor a lively but scattershot and exasperating biopic about Tommaso Buscetta, the first Sicilian mob boss to become an informant for the authorities the films charismatic protagonist (Pierfrancesco Favino) tells an interrogator a story about one of the first men he was ever assigned to kill. Bellocchio then cuts to a brief flashback that offers us more about his subject than the rest of this two-and-a-half hour film combined. The young Buscetta sees his target across a courtyard, and his target sees him. Knowing that Buscetta is there to kill him, the man takes his baby son into his arms for protection, hoping that his assassin wouldnt risk endangering the life of an innocent child. Buscetta, a dignified man who sincerely believes his beloved Cosa Nostra was once a society of honor, cant bring himself to take the shot. His intended victim knows that he has only been granted a temporary reprieve, so he stays near his son as much as possible over the following years. He watches the baby with rare enthusiasm, he walks the boy to school when he comes of age, and he vigilantly helps the kid to grow into a fine young man during his teenage years; in a time and place where most dads are either absent or dead, this guy becomes a (petrified) rock in his childs life. All because he sees Buscettas shadow around every corner. The story cuts off abruptly, only for Bellocchio to pick up the thread much later, but its message is clear: People can change their ways for better, and for good but their demons may never forget what theyve done. Related stories 'It Must Be Heaven' Review: Elia Suleiman's Palestinian Satire Explains Why He Doesn't Make More Movies Quentin Tarantino's 'Hollywood' Wins First Cannes Honor: A Palm Dog for Pitbull Star Brandy If that episode doesnt have much basis in fact, it nevertheless typifies a film thats always at its best when it takes leave of the historical record and digs into the emotional bedrock of what inspired Buscetta to betray the only life hed ever known. Alas, Bellocchio isnt able to crack that brittle surface very often, as the legendary Italian auteurs (Fists in the Pocket, Vincere) latest film loses steam after its subject is captured at the end of the first act. Once The Traitor earns its title, the movie is overwhelmed by legal intrigue and mafia infighting, and flattened into a repetitive and somewhat impenetrable courtroom drama. Story continues Italian viewers familiar with these events might find more of a foothold than Bellocchio makes available to the rest of his audience and even at the age of 78, the directors boisterous spirit is still evident in every frame, especially as he depicts the Italian court system like a drunken soap opera at the Coliseum but his film covers too much ground to navigate any of it with real intention. Only in its margins does The Traitor compellingly explore Buscettas memory; by the time the film ends, the man is as much of a stranger to us as he was when it started. Not that any of the blame for that can be laid at Favinos feet. The actor (whos complemented his Italian film career with English-language work in films like World War Z and The Catcher Was a Spy), is a charismatic and intriguing force of nature as Buscetta. A subdued bull of a man who vaguely resembles a more thoughtful version of Vincent Pastores character on The Sopranos, Favinos Buscetta is a natural leader who may not be in the right line of work. Its not that hes a softy or a saint or someone whos afraid of getting his hands dirty, its just that he isnt convinced that business should be a matter of life or death. You cant take money with you to the grave, he often grumbles. Later, the lifelong womanizer puts it even more bluntly: Id rather fuck than command. The films most telling scene another flashback finds Buscetta getting ready to enjoy a conjugal visit in a massive prison dormitory thats been cleared out for his pleasure. When he notices an old man dead in his bed on the other side of the room, Buscetta covers the corpses face with a blanket before attending to his guest. Thats just the kind of guy he is. When the film begins in the early 1980s, Buscetta is already having doubts about his retirement plan. His fantasy is to die in his bed as an old man, but the new breed of Corleonesi mafiosos is becoming more savage by the day not even women, children, and distant relatives of their rivals are safe and our protagonist doesnt like that. Theres a whole mess of worries tucked inside the folds of his face (Bellocchio keeps track of the brewing mafia war with an on-screen body count), and Favino keeps them hidden from the world even he peeks down for a glimpse at them himself. A mob boss heart is an ocean of secrets. He relocates his family to Brazil and takes a third wife (Maria Fernanda Candido), and dreams of moving deep into the Amazon. But trouble always manages to find him, and the mafia never forgets. Eventually, Buscetta finds himself extradited to Rome, where he forges a severely underplayed friendship with Judge Giovanni Falcone (Fausto Russo Alesi), the man tasked with gathering his testimony. While The Traitor never flatlines, the scenes between Buscetta and Falcone are too unfocused to sustain the momentum that Bellocchio suffuses into the first act. The script, which the director co-wrote with four other people, begins to mistake obfuscation with complexity, as Buscetta slowly devolves into a mystery the film is moving too fast to solve. As helpful and artful as some of Bellocchios asides can be, he elides much of the crucial information that might help us understand the basics of Buscettas most impactful decisions. The film neglects to even try to dramatize Buscettas dawning realization that he will never be safe, nor his growing admiration for the man sitting across from him at the interrogation table. The court scenes that follow are full of spirited character actors, and convey a mesmerizingly chaotic legal system that seems to be making itself up on the fly, but the trials are too process-driven to serve the storys emotional core (it does help that the courtrooms are well-lit, as the atrocious-looking digital cinematography makes the darker passages feel like they were shot on the same camera that Michael Mann used for Collateral 15 years ago.). By the time The Traitor finds its way back to Buscetta for an overextended final stretch that trafficks in all of the usual symbology of paranoia, hes become both too complicated for us to understand and too simple for us to care about. Only the quiet final scenes, in which Bellocchio ties a bow on the extended flashback about the man and his son, manage to restore a salient perspective to a film thats lost its way: This isnt the story of a man who was able to leave the mafia behind, its the story of a man who was able to find some measure of peace in spite of the fact that he could never escape from their shadow. Grade: C The Traitor premiered in Competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. Launch Gallery: 2019 Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, and More (Photos) Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Three-quarters of US firms have seen orders dry up as a result of the trade war, the survey found (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE) Most US businesses in China are hurting from the tariffs war between the two countries, forcing some companies to relocate abroad or refocus their business, a survey showed Wednesday. The recent poll by the American Chamber of Commerce in China and its sister organisation in Shanghai paints a gloomy picture of the business environment for American companies. Three-quarters of the 250 respondents said increases in US and Chinese tariffs are having a "negative impact" on their business as orders were drying up owing to rising manufacturing costs and prices. Nearly half said they have experienced non-tariff retaliatory measures in China since last year, with one in five reporting increased inspections and a similar amount enduring slower customs clearance. And 14 percent complained of other complications from increased bureaucratic oversight and regulatory scrutiny. The United States and China have so far exchanged tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade. The poll was conducted from May 16 to May 20, days after the United States more than doubled duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing retaliated with higher duties on $60 billion in American products. The poll showed that 35 percent of companies would adopt an "in China for China" strategy -- sourcing within China and targeting the domestic market -- as a result of tariffs. But more than 40 percent said they were "considering or have relocated" production facilities outside China, with Mexico and Southeast Asia the prefered alternatives for manufacturing. Fewer than six percent said they have moved or are considering moving their factories to the United States, undercutting President Donald Trump's hopes of seeing American companies move production back home. Trump launched the trade war last year to extract profound economic reforms from Beijing, accusing China of seeking to forge global industrial dominance through massive state intervention in markets and the theft of US technology. Story continues - 'Structural issues' - Despite the pain, more than half of respondents said they favour protracted trade talks to continue in order to address "structural issues allowing them to operate on a more level playing field". Others wanted a quick deal and a return to the "pre-tariff predictability and stability" that existed before the world's two biggest economies locked horns. After talks ended in Washington this month China's top trade negotiator Liu He said another round would take place in Beijing, but neither side has announced a date. Trump has left open the door for reconciliation, saying he expected a "fruitful" meeting next month with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a Group of 20 summit in Japan. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing that he had not seen the survey. But, Lu added, "even when the US threatens to impose tariffs on China, the enthusiasm for foreign investment in China has not diminished and continues to increase." Lu said China has "no intention" to take retaliatory action against US companies because of the trade war. "We are still committed to providing a fair, reasonable, transparent, non-discriminatory and predictable business environment for enterprises investing in China," he said. Photo credit: Bill Pugliano - Getty Images From Esquire (Permanent Musical Accompaniment To This Post) Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done, and where a soldier sits beneath a fan doing business with a tiny man who sells him a ring. We begin in Mississippi, where this goon (allegedly) belongs in a zoo. From the Biloxi Sun-Herald: State Rep. Douglas McLeod was arrested after he allegedly punched his wife when she failed to get undressed quickly enough when he wanted to have sex, according to an investigative report filed with the George County Sheriffs Department. The 58-year-old Republican lawmaker was intoxicated and holding a glass of alcohol in his hand when deputies responded to the McLeod home shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday, the report said. Good country people. Then, the state representative walked inside his home, and another deputy came to the scene. The deputies could hear McLeod inside the home, yelling that the cops are here, the report said. McLeod stumbled back to the front door and walked outside. Mr. McLeod had slurred speech and walked slow in a zigzag pattern, according to a description by deputies, who said he was so inebriated he had to grab a hand rail to maintain his balance. McLeod tried to explain to deputies that everything was OK, then said something else the deputies said they couldnt understand because of his slurred speech. When deputies went inside, they saw two women standing at the top of a stairwell, both of whom the deputies described as frightened. McLeods wife eventually came outside after deputies assured her they would keep her away from her husband. The deputy said McLeods wife was shaking and upset. McLeods wife said her husband was drunk and just snapped, as he often does when under the influence of alcohol, the report said. You couldn't pay me enough to deal with some people. Photo credit: Rogelio V Solis/AP/REX/Shutterstock Another woman who was there said McLeods wife came running up to her room, her face bloodied. The woman shut the door and locked it with McLeods wife inside. The other woman said McLeod started banging on the door and telling the women to open it. He told the other woman if she didnt open the door, hed kill her (expletive) dog. Story continues McLeods wife did not want go to the hospital by ambulance, but assured authorities shed have her daughter take her to get checked so authorities would have a report of the injuries. McLeod was taken into custody on a charge of misdemeanor domestic violence and booked in the George County jail by early Sunday morning. He is out of jail on a $1,000 signature bond. Boy howdy, they really threw the pamphlet at this guy. We now skip on up to Michigan, where the Republican majority in the state legislature is playing the kind of shenanigans familiar to the people in Florida who worked so hard to pass that referendum giving the franchise back to released inmates. In this case, the citizens of Michigan passed a referendum establishing an independent citizens redistricting commission. This was a reaction to the preposterous gerrymandered maps produced by said Republican majority. Let the mischief begin. From the Detroit News: The dips in funding for the commission and the department of state threaten voters wishes for an impartial and transparent redistricting process, said Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians. The House proposal shifts the budget for the commission to the Legislature, which defies the will of the 2.5 million Michiganders who amended the state constitution specifically to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians and placed it with an independent citizens redistricting commission, Wang said in a statement. Where the money for the commission is housed is less concerning than the "gimmicks" the House used to underfund the group's operations, said Shawn Starkey, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office. "The Legislature must stop playing games with democracy and must fully fund both the Department of State and the redistricting commission," Starkey said in a statement. The budget referred from subcommittee Tuesday includes a 3% administrative cut and 25% information technology funding reduction across all departments in the general government budget. The reduction to administrative operational funding was increased to 15% for Nessels office, a cut of about $5.3 million that Democratic Rep. Jon Hoadley called overly partisan and political. And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, where Blog Official Twister And Shouter Friedman of the Plains brings us the saga of the most forgiving town government in Christendom. From KFOR News: Authorities in Bryan County say charges will not be filed against the new Achille mayor following his arrest in December. In December, then- Achille councilman Lynn Chambers was arrested after police said they discovered 200 grams of meth, two pounds of marijuana, and several guns on his property. Chambers was arrested on complaints of meth trafficking and possession of weapons. Chambers denies the allegations that anything was found on his property. They found nothing on my property. Theres no pictures, no proof or anything. They didnt find anything, said Chambers...Officials told KXII that charges will not be filed in the case because the Achille Police Department performed an improper search of his home. Welcome to Achille, a welcoming town where nobody is a heel. This is your democracy, America. Cherish it. Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here. ('You Might Also Like',) Sanofi Pasteur Korea General Manager Baptiste de Clarens, left, and Handok Chairman Kim Young-jin shake hands after signing an agreement on jointly promoting six vaccines in South Korea at the Seoul headquarters of Sanofi, Tuesday. Courtesy of Sanofi Pasteur By Park Ji-won Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine affiliate of healthcare company Sanofi, signed a promotion agreement for six vaccines with Korean pharmaceutical company Handok. The six are Avaxim 160U for hepatitis A; Adacel a combined vaccine for adults to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis; Menactra, a meningococcal A, C, Y, W-135 polysaccharide DT conjugate vaccine; Imojev for Japanese encephalitis, which is a live attenuated recombinant vaccine; Pentaxim, a conjugate combined vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, inactivated poliovirus and haemophilus influenza type B; and Tetraxim, a combined vaccine fof adsorbed diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and enhanced inactivated poliomyelitis. Following the move, Handok for its part will promote eight vaccines from Sanofi Pasteur here, including Vaxigrip, a trivalent split-virion influenza vaccine, and VaxigripTetra a quadrivalent split-virion influenza vaccine. "We are very excited about this milestone and look forward to further synergy gains based on the core capabilities of the two companies. We are committed to improving public health as a reliable partner in Korea in cooperation with Handok that has a lot of experience and a strong sales capability in the vaccine market," said Sanofi Pasteur General Manager Baptiste de Clarens. In a statement Handok Chairman Kim Young-jin said, "We are pleased to provide a broader range of vaccines through our strengthened partnership with Sanofi Pasteur, amid renewed attention to vaccination due to an increase in hepatitis A cases. We will continue efforts to ensure the safe and stable delivery of quality vaccines in Korea to help improve the health of the people." Turns out, theres a scientific reason behind the age-old battle of the thermostat that plays out between women and men in offices across the world. According to a new USC study, which was published on Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, women tend to perform better and be more productive at slightly warmer temperatures, while the opposite is true for men. Its been documented that women like warmer indoor temperatures than men, but the idea until now has been that its a matter of personal preference, Tom Chang, one of the co-authors of the study, said in a press release. What we found is its not just whether you feel comfortable or not, but that your performance on things that matter in math and verbal dimensions, and how hard you try is affected by temperature. The study notes that at higher temperatures, women tend to perform better at math and verbal tasks while the reverse effect is observed in men. However, women tend to be significantly more affected by the temperature change than men are. The results were obtained by performing a variety of tests on 543 students in Germany, with about 41 percent of the subjects being female. Each of the tests, which challenged the students math and verbal skills as well as their cognitive reflection, took place in rooms which ranged in temperature from between 16.19 to 32.57 degrees Celsius (roughly 61 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit). For the math tests, students were asked to perform simple calculations without the use of a calculator, while for the verbal tests, they were asked to come up with as many German words as possible from a set of 10 letters. They were also given a variety of questions to test their logic skills. RELATED: Cynthia Nixon Claims Cold Rooms Are Notoriously Sexist, Asks for Cuomo Debate to Be 76 Degrees The study found that even slight changes in temperature could have a strong positive impact on how well women perform, compared with a much smaller negative effect on men. Story continues For instance, the study states that a one-degree Celsius increase in temperature results in women doing 1.76 percent better on math problems, while men only got .63 percent less answers correct. One of the most surprising things we learned is this isnt about the extremes of temperature, Chang remarked in the press release. Its not like were getting to freezing or boiling hot. Even if you go from 60 to 75 degrees, which is a relatively normal temperature range, you still see a meaningful variation in performance. Pointing out one of the areas where this knowledge could possibly be used to bring about change, the study notes that the well-known, long-standing gap in performance between high school boys and girls on the math portion of the SAT is approximately 4%. However, while the study found temperature does affect how well women and men do on math and verbal tasks, they found it has no significant impact on cognitive reflection. As a result of their findings, Chang and co-author Agne Kajackaite suggest that gender mixed workplaces may be able to increase productivity be setting the thermostat higher than current standards. People invest a lot in making sure their workers are comfortable and highly productive, Chang added. This study is saying, even if you care only about money or the performance of your workers, you may want to crank up the temperature in your office buildings. In a statement to The New York Times, Kajackaite added that females feel better when its warmer, so they can exert more effort. On a good day, you will try more. On a bad day, you will try less, she added. For a brief moment, it looked like Dave Rubin had scored a great get for his popular politics-focused YouTube channel: an hour-long sit-down with 2020 presidential hopeful and South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, lined up after sending out a cold invitation over Twitter.That was derailed last week after HuffPost reporter Andy Campbell and Vox correspondent Carlos Maza, as well as Angelo Carusone, president of the liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America, publicly questioned why Buttigiegs press secretary, Chris Meagher, would even consider putting the candidate on Rubin Report given the views held by some past guests of the show. (Campbell called the interview a bad idea for Buttigieg, while Maza deemed it absolute madness.)Rubin was surprised by the uproar by members of what he dubbed the outrage mob and the political advocacy on the part of members of the media.How do these people forget Media Matters for a second how does a writer at HuffPo or Vox truly look themselves in the mirror and consider themselves a journalist when theyre literally trying to pressure politicians from talking to interviewers? Rubin told TheWrap. Theyre not journalists, theyre activists.Also Read: How Dave Rubin 'Left the Left' And Built a Politics-Focused YouTube Channel With 1 Million Subscribers(Maza, Campbell and Meagher did not respond to TheWraps request for comment.)To Carusone, who is an activist, it was fair game to call out Rubin since the popular YouTube interviewers last guest had been Mike Cernovich the right-wing pundit who in 2016 had pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory falsely suggesting that top Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, were behind a child sex ring operating out of a pizza parlor. Cernovich later deleted tweets tied to the matter and distanced himself from it in several Periscope videos.That whole discussion was taking place at the same time that Rubin was promoting his interview with Mike Pizzagate Cernovich, whose brand is self-evidently disgusting, Carusone told TheWrap. I dont think its a stretch to point out that being juxtaposed with Mike Cernovich is not a good look for a presidential hopeful.He continued: The media landscape these days is so complex and fluid that its a challenge for anyone to keep up and the desire to communicate with wide audiences also needs to be balanced with considerations of the quality and characteristics of the platform thatll be elevated by the presence of a serious presidential contender.Also Read: Dave Rubin's 'Rubin Report' Joins Larry King's Ora TV (Exclusive)That argument is essentially white noise to Rubin, who said free speech is the cornerstone of his YouTube channel, which now boasts more than 1 million subscribers. When pressed if interviewing provocative guests like Cernovich legitimized their views, Rubin was unconvinced.I dont think interviewing somebody is legitimizing their views. Interviewing somebody is hearing their views, Rubin said. Look, part of being an interviewer is youre going to have to sit down with some controversial people.Rubin, a self-described former lefty, doesnt hold a grudge against Buttigieg or his team over what happened even saying hed be shocked if Buttigieg was aware of the full story. But he considers it a missed opportunity to have a great, fruitful conversation and considered himself a casualty of the lefts fixation with policing speech.What business of Media Matters is it if Mayor Pete talks to me or not? Youre never left enough for these guys, Rubin said. Im gay married. So is [Buttigieg]. When would that hour-long conversation between two functioning adults who happen to be gay married [be off-limits]? If there was nothing else to discuss, that would be interesting enough in and of itself.He added: If Im too far outside of the mainstream for him to talk to, then really, who is left?Also Read: Pete Buttigieg Calls Out Fox News Hosts Who 'Uncritically Amplify Hate'Carusone pushed back against any claims of left-wing censorship, saying traditional newsrooms and reporters routinely fight to get top guests. If it didnt work out for Rubin this time, but thats the direction he wants to go, then learn from the experience, take some responsibility and elevate your standards, Carusone said.Moving forward, Rubin said he sees no reason to curb whom he invites on his show. Political leanings be damned, he simply wants his guests to be interesting, he said. Recent guests have included conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, comedian Nick Di Paolo and independent journalist Tim Pool.Sometimes I end up talking to some somewhat-shady characters. Sometimes maybe one follow-up [question] isnt perfect, or I wouldve done this a different way, Rubin said. But Im really just trying to be present in that room and show people youre allowed to take unpopular opinions and standup to the mob theres a reason theyre going after me; they need to extract a very heavy price of a former lefty leaving, because they dont want anyone to leave. And I just refuse to bow.Read original story YouTuber Dave Rubin on the Outrage Mob That Derailed His Pete Buttigieg Interview: Theyre Not Journalists, Theyre Activists At TheWrap For a brief moment, it looked like Dave Rubin had scored a great get for his popular politics-focused YouTube channel: an hour-long sit-down with 2020 presidential hopeful and South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, lined up after sending out a cold invitation over Twitter. That was derailed last week after HuffPost reporter Andy Campbell and Vox correspondent Carlos Maza, as well as Angelo Carusone, president of the liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America, publicly questioned why Buttigiegs press secretary, Chris Meagher, would even consider putting the candidate on Rubin Report given the views held by some past guests of the show. (Campbell called the interview a bad idea for Buttigieg, while Maza deemed it absolute madness.) Rubin was surprised by the uproar by members of what he dubbed the outrage mob and the political advocacy on the part of members of the media. How do these people forget Media Matters for a second how does a writer at HuffPo or Vox truly look themselves in the mirror and consider themselves a journalist when theyre literally trying to pressure politicians from talking to interviewers? Rubin told TheWrap. Theyre not journalists, theyre activists. Also Read: How Dave Rubin 'Left the Left' And Built a Politics-Focused YouTube Channel With 1 Million Subscribers (Maza, Campbell and Meagher did not respond to TheWraps request for comment.) To Carusone, who is an activist, it was fair game to call out Rubin since the popular YouTube interviewers last guest had been Mike Cernovich the right-wing pundit who in 2016 had pushed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory falsely suggesting that top Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, were behind a child sex ring operating out of a pizza parlor. Cernovich later deleted tweets tied to the matter and distanced himself from it in several Periscope videos. That whole discussion was taking place at the same time that Rubin was promoting his interview with Mike Pizzagate Cernovich, whose brand is self-evidently disgusting, Carusone told TheWrap. I dont think its a stretch to point out that being juxtaposed with Mike Cernovich is not a good look for a presidential hopeful. Story continues He continued: The media landscape these days is so complex and fluid that its a challenge for anyone to keep up and the desire to communicate with wide audiences also needs to be balanced with considerations of the quality and characteristics of the platform thatll be elevated by the presence of a serious presidential contender. Also Read: Dave Rubin's 'Rubin Report' Joins Larry King's Ora TV (Exclusive) That argument is essentially white noise to Rubin, who said free speech is the cornerstone of his YouTube channel, which now boasts more than 1 million subscribers. When pressed if interviewing provocative guests like Cernovich legitimized their views, Rubin was unconvinced. I dont think interviewing somebody is legitimizing their views. Interviewing somebody is hearing their views, Rubin said. Look, part of being an interviewer is youre going to have to sit down with some controversial people. Rubin, a self-described former lefty, doesnt hold a grudge against Buttigieg or his team over what happened even saying hed be shocked if Buttigieg was aware of the full story. But he considers it a missed opportunity to have a great, fruitful conversation and considered himself a casualty of the lefts fixation with policing speech. What business of Media Matters is it if Mayor Pete talks to me or not? Youre never left enough for these guys, Rubin said. Im gay married. So is [Buttigieg]. When would that hour-long conversation between two functioning adults who happen to be gay married [be off-limits]? If there was nothing else to discuss, that would be interesting enough in and of itself. He added: If Im too far outside of the mainstream for him to talk to, then really, who is left? Also Read: Pete Buttigieg Calls Out Fox News Hosts Who 'Uncritically Amplify Hate' Carusone pushed back against any claims of left-wing censorship, saying traditional newsrooms and reporters routinely fight to get top guests. If it didnt work out for Rubin this time, but thats the direction he wants to go, then learn from the experience, take some responsibility and elevate your standards, Carusone said. Moving forward, Rubin said he sees no reason to curb whom he invites on his show. Political leanings be damned, he simply wants his guests to be interesting, he said. Recent guests have included conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, comedian Nick Di Paolo and independent journalist Tim Pool. Sometimes I end up talking to some somewhat-shady characters. Sometimes maybe one follow-up [question] isnt perfect, or I wouldve done this a different way, Rubin said. But Im really just trying to be present in that room and show people youre allowed to take unpopular opinions and standup to the mob theres a reason theyre going after me; they need to extract a very heavy price of a former lefty leaving, because they dont want anyone to leave. And I just refuse to bow. Read original story YouTuber Dave Rubin on the Outrage Mob That Derailed His Pete Buttigieg Interview: Theyre Not Journalists, Theyre Activists At TheWrap 14 nurses in 1 hospital oncology unit are pregnant at the same time originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com Over the past few months, 14 nurses have come into the office of Ellen Fitzgerald, director of nursing in an oncology unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Each nurse has told Fitzgerald the same thing: "I am pregnant." The 14 nurses in the unit, which treats leukemia and bone marrow patients, are all expecting between now and November. That is on top of four nurses in the unit who have already given birth this year. PHOTO: Fourteen pregnant nurses from the oncology unit of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston are pictured in an undated handout photo. (Courtesy Massachusetts General Hospital) While the prospect of planning for 18 maternity leaves at once may sound overwhelming, Fitzgerald said the seriousness of the illnesses they treat in their oncology unit puts it all in perspective. I dont know that you can be anything but joyful about bringing life into the world, Fitzgerald said. We will take care of our patients and our nurses. Fitzgerald said she created a spreadsheet to track the nurses' schedules and that she plans to turn a room in the unit into a lactation room so that her nurses can pump peacefully. (MORE: 11 labor and delivery nurses pregnant at Ohio hospital. What's behind these baby booms?) For the pregnant nurses, all in their 30s, being pregnant at the same time has been a bonding experience for the already close coworkers. Its a blessing because I feel so supported by my manager and colleagues who have become my close friends, said Kathleen Chivers, who is due in September with a girl. I feel so lucky. The nurses said they are supporting each other in ways big and small, from sharing advice to maternity clothes and staying stocked with snacks for whoever needs one at any moment. We do serious work but we have a lot of fun together and are very close, said Sally Alexander, who is due in June. Were very supportive of each other on a day-to-day basis and now even more so when people may need a little help because they cant walk as fast. PHOTO: The 14 nurses who are pregnant at Massachusetts General Hospital say they support each other. (Massachusetts General Hospital) Chelsey Johnson is expecting her first child a boy next month. She spoke for the first-time moms-to-be in the group who are relying on their coworkers for advice. Story continues (MORE: 9 labor and delivery nurses at Maine Medical Center pregnant at the same time) Being pregnant is a really a wild ride and you dont know what to expect and theres been 13 other people to ask, she said, describing the experience as happy and reassuring. While it is easy to imagine there being a reason beyond coincidence for how groups of women like the ones at Massachussetts General get pregnant at the same time, doctors say there isn't one. "More likely, I think it's people who are around the same age, going through the same thing and they see people getting pregnant and being able to handle it," Dr. Joanne Stone, director of maternal-fetal medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, told "GMA" last month. "It's more of an atmospheric thing than there's any medical reason for it." The nurses plan to take an average of 12 weeks maternity leave. Fitzgerald said that for the first time in her career she has over-hired for her unit. PHOTO: The 14 nurses pregnant at Massachusetts General Hospital all work in the hospital's oncology unit. (Massachusetts General Hospital) "I will be over budget and the hospital supports that because we have to have coverage," she said. "Its just causing smiles around here. We know we will absolutely get through this." Another nurse, Caroline Arriggi, surprised the group further when she announced that she is pregnant with twins. She is already planning for a photo shoot in November with all 19 of the unit's babies. The coworkers said they are also planning future play dates with their children. They also wouldn't be surprised if there are more pregnancy announcements to come. When asked what the last due date is for the group of 14 pregnant nurses, they replied, "November," and then quickly added nearly in unison, "That we know of." "A lot of us are in that core age bracket where people are having their first child or have one baby and are planning for another," Ariggi said. "I think Ellen [Fitzgerald] just has to get used to all these pregnancies all the time." 'On Their Shoulders': ABC News' Eva Pilgrim on growing up where 'everybody looked so very different from me' In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, "Good Morning America" presents "On Their Shoulders," a series featuring newsmakers, actors and musical artists who share tributes to those who paved the way for them. It's never a dull day at the office for Eva Pilgrim. One minute she's covering a breaking news story for ABC News, and the next she's co-anchoring the weekend edition of "Good Morning America." Pilgrim had dreams of becoming a reporter one day, but it wasn't until she was in middle school and saw female Asian American journalists such as Juju Chang and Ann Curry on television that she realized her dream could become a reality. "When you start to look at what women look like on television, it was hard to be a girl who looked like me and find someone who looks like them," Pilgrim shared. (MORE: 'On Their Shoulders': Juju Chang talks pursuing the American Dream and why representation matters) Pilgrim's mother, who is Korean, immigrated from South Korea with Eva and Eva's American-born father when Eva was a baby. "There weren't that many half-Asian women on television when I was a little girl," Pilgrim said. "I grew up in a town where everybody looked so very different from me, so for me seeing those women on TV, it wasn't just, 'Oh, I can do that job,' but, 'Oh, women like me exist in other places than where I live.'" "That was inspiring in its own way." Story continues Learning from her mother's 'fearlessness' One of Pilgrim's biggest role models is her own mother, who moved from South Korea with her family in what Pilgrim said was her "pursuit of the all-American dream." "If she wants to do something, she just does it," Pilgrim said. She was grateful for what she called her mother's "fearlessness," which helped her conquer her own fears. "Having that constant push -- and not in the way that failure was going to be a bad thing if you didn't succeed, but the adventure of seeing what happens as you get there -- was a big part of the fun of it," Pilgrim said. "Having that as my mother, this crazy woman, is a huge part of why I think I was able to do this." Pilgrim said her mother has not only become a fun travel buddy, but she's remained a positive influence in her life as someone who keeps her grounded. "My mother has always been very loving," Pilgrim said, "but part of that love was a reality and understanding that reality that you're actually living in." (MORE: Watching the historic summit through the eyes of my grandmother) Finding a mentor in Juju Chang Another woman whom Pilgrim said she "stands on the shoulders of" is ABC News' Juju Chang. The "Nightline" co-anchor started her career at ABC News as a desk assistant and eventually became a producer for "World News Tonight." Like Pilgrim, Chang immigrated from South Korea with her family when she was a baby. "She proved that people of any background could achieve their dreams with drive and determination," Pilgrim said of Chang. Pilgrim looked up to Chang when she saw her on her TV screen growing up, and now she considers her a caring mentor whom she gets to greet in the hallways of ABC News. "I love Juju," Pilgrim said. "If I have questions about anything, I will email Juju. I will go to lunch with Juju. I will sit up in her office and ask her questions, and I know I'm not the only one who does that." "She has that very Korean-mom 'I must take care of everything, everyone' kind of way about her," Pilgrim said. Pilgrim also values how she and Chang share a similar upbringing because of their Korean backgrounds. "Being able to sort of come from that same place, we understand what it is to talk about the things that are going on in South Korea and North Korea that are now making international news, and how that affects us," Pilgrim said of events that continue to affect their families. Pioneers in TV news Other pioneering female journalists whom Pilgrim credits include award-winning storytellers like Lisa Ling, who has covered hard-hitting stories for CNN and worked as a co-host on ABC's "The View." "Lisa Ling's courage and passion for storytelling has broken barriers for Asian American women in journalism," Pilgrim said. Pilgrim also credits industry veteran Ann Curry, who Pilgrim said "has made a name for herself in the 40 years that she has worked in journalism," from working as a co-anchor on NBC's "Today" to leading her own series on PBS. "I honor these women. I respect these women. I am grateful for these women," Pilgrim said. So what is Pilgrim's advice to young female journalists who look up to her? "Try, try, try until you fail. If you keep failing, try again," she shared. "And one person's opinion isn't the definitive for who you are and how successful you will or won't be in your career." "It's about finding the place that will nurture and grow you the most, to become what it is [you want to be]," Pilgrim said. Editor's note: This was originally published on May 23, 2019. 'On Their Shoulders': ABC News' Eva Pilgrim on growing up where 'everybody looked so very different from me' originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com Trump again calls Tillerson 'dumb as a rock' after he's quoted saying Putin 'out-prepared' him Trump again calls Tillerson 'dumb as a rock' after he's quoted saying Putin 'out-prepared' him originally appeared on abcnews.go.com President Donald Trump on Wednesday again called his former secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, "dumb as a rock" in a tweet responding to comments Tillerson made in a closed-door meeting with lawmakers this week questioning Trump's handling of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017. Rex Tillerson, a man who is dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 PHOTO: Rex Tillerson speaks about the relationship between the U.S. and countries in Africa, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP, FILE) Tillerson met for seven hours with leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday to discuss his tenure in the Trump administration, and the challenges he faced at the State Department and in the White House. Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Putin "out-prepared" the president in a 2017 meeting in Hamburg, German that turned into a "a globe-spanning two-hour-plus session involving deliberations on a variety of geopolitical issues," according to a Democratic committee aide. The Washington Post first reported the details of Tillerson's testimony to the committee. On Twitter, Trump said he doesn't believe Putin would agree with that account of their meeting. "Its pretty outrageous and it probably explains why Rex Tillerson is no longer the Secretary of State," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC Thursday morning. In an exclusive interview with ABC News, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y, said he found the former secretary of state to be "forthcoming" in his assessment of President Donald Trump's handling of foreign policy and the inner workings of the administration's foreign policy apparatus. Story continues PHOTO: House Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) speaks with reporters after a closed intelligence briefing with CIA Director Gina Haspel on Capitol Hill, Dec. 12, 2018. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters) His telling to us of what life was like in that short year that he was secretary of State was very interesting, Engel said in the ABC interview. It just solidified my feeling that there was disorganization and that the president was not focused. (MORE: Tillerson warns of 'crisis of ethics and integrity' in US ) In a prepared statement to the committee, Tillerson said it was no secret that President Trump and I disagreed on some elements of foreign policy. But at bottom, President Trump and I shared a common goal: to secure and advance Americas place in the world and to promote and protect American values. The meeting was arranged through a mutual acquaintance, according to Engel. An aide said Tillerson later called the committee and expressed his willingness to talk. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the top Republican on the panel who participated in the Tillerson inteview, declined ABC News request to discuss the conversation. (MORE: Hours after being fired, emotional Tillerson tells his side of the story ) My time in government is over, but I hope that my testimony today will help you as you continue to do the critical work of this Committee Tillerson said in the statement. On Wednesday, Engel said he hoped the conversation was the first of many between Tillerson and his panel on Capitol Hill. I don't know how much he has that he hasn't told, but I suspect a great deal. And well see, the New York Democrat added. After a rocky partnership, Trump fired Tillerson on March 13, 2018 -- announcing the decision in a tweet. Tillerson stayed on the job until March 31. Engel confirmed that he and Tillerson discussed what Engel called the unusual circumstances of the presidents family members -- including the presidents adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner having the last say on administration decisions. He wasnt there to bash the president, Engel said of Tillerson, though he later added that the former secretary of State said Trump was not the most proficient on foreign policy. Before joining the Trump administration, Tillerson served as CEO of Exxon Mobil, the international oil and gas company. The committee and Tillerson also discussed Tillersons management of the State Department, according to the chairman. Engel and Democrats have raised concerns about the Trump administration targeting career officials over their perceived political affiliation. Engel was surprised that Tillerson defended his controversial proposal to reorganize the State Department, which was unpopular in Washington and among lawmakers of both parties on Capitol Hill. I thought he might push it off on Trump, but he didnt. He said it was his baby, and he defended it, because he thought it would work better if they redesigned it. ABC News' Conor Finnegan contributed to this report. Thomas de Kluyver has always seen the beauty in imperfection. In fact, the rising visionary makeup artist has made a career of subverting the ordinaryand the extraordinary. Long before he was drawing on vivid gazes for Sies Marjan or gluing crystalized tear prosthetics on cheeks at Gucci, Perth-born de Kluyver was just a teenager in rural Australia hungry to create. Inspired by Stephane Maraiss Beauty Flash and Francois Narss Makeup Your Mind, he began experimenting with fluorescent pigments and pots of iridescent glitter. I started doing makeup on my friends before we went to rave parties, he explains. It never occurred to me that a boy could do makeup as a job. That changed when a 17-year-old de Kluyver met a male makeup artist working at the local MAC Cosmetics counter and subsequently landed himself a job there. At 20, feeling the gravitational pull of city life, de Kluyver moved to London and began working the door at a nightclub. I wore makeup myself and started getting noticed, he explains. Thats how I booked my first shoot. Photo: Harley Weir / Courtesy of Art Partner Since then, from the runways to directional editorials, de Kluyvers provocative body of work has set itself apart, and demand for his directional eye has soared. Being tapped by Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, earlier this month, to become the Italian fashion houses global makeup artist is just his latest coup. But despite the 33-year-olds rapid rise, de Kluyver hasnt strayed too far from his roots. In fact, hes reflecting back on them in his new book, All I Want to Be, published by IDEA. Visually tantalizing and narrated with aid from art director Ben Kelway and poet Wilson Oryema, de Kluyvers 144-page tome features abstract shoots with six different photographer friends. Im very close with a lot of collaborators, and I thought itd be nice to capture [my work] more permanently than [in] a magazine or Instagram, he explains. And in doing so, I wanted to showcase a very diverse group of people, examining their identity and vanity, and then portraying their beauty through the lens of finding it within. Story continues Photo: Sharna Osborne / Courtesy of Art Partner With an emphasis on inclusivity, identity politics, and radical self-expression, de Kluyver presents six different editorial shoots, giving thoughtful context for each set of characters. Theres the Technicolor spread lensed by Harley Weir, starring Japanese adult film stars, with bursts of fuchsia and tangerine swirled on the cheeks and applied full-body on a few of the models, while onethe books cover starhas her face saturated in high-impact sparkle and lids haphazardly swathed with daffodil shadow. Shooting young skater boys with Sharna Osborne, de Kluyver sought to explore masculinity within makeup, painting harlequinesque shapes on their faces in washed-out shades of cobalt, crimson, and canary. Also homing in on the first flush of youth is the Oliver Hadlee Pearch shoot, which finds teenagers sporting lipstick-smudged teeth and cartoonish false lashes. I wanted to capture the innocence, awkwardness, and naivete of being a teenager, de Kluyver explains. Just that time where youre hanging around by yourself and discovering makeup as a tool of expression. Its a notion that still deeply resonates with de Kluyver, who cut his teeth in front of his bedroom mirror, with posters of Courtney Love and Shirley Manson plastering the walls around him. I didn't go to makeup school or have any formal training, he says. I just did makeup in a way I thought was beautiful. And now, the industry is finally embracing that freedom. All I Want to Be is available now in a limited edition of 750 copies on ideanow.online and at Dover Street Market. A portion of the proceeds benefit Mermaids UK, a British nonprofit that supports gender-diverse and transgender children and teenagers. Photo: Oliver Hadlee Pearch / Courtesy of Art Partner Photo: Zoe Ghertner / Courtesty of Art Partner Photo: Harley Weir / Courtesy of Art Partner Originally Appeared on Vogue Plus, his thoughts on the Met Gala and why he changed his mind about logos. Pierpaolo Piccioli with Alina Cho during "The Atlier" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo: BFA.com/Zach Hilty Cinematography punctuated much of Pierpaolo Piccioli's childhood in a small coastal town about 20 miles outside of Rome. He spent a great deal of his time watching and enjoying movies, eventually convincing himself he wanted to be a director. But the cinematic world, with its glamour and fantasy, eventually got Piccioli fascinated with fashion so much so that he decided that would be his mode of storytelling. Still, through all of his lofty endeavors in the fashion world, Piccioli remained connected to his cinematic roots, carrying the values he garnered from that with him. On Tuesday night, during a chat with Alina Cho at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for her conversation series "The Atelier," he explained that, just as a good director must maintain their signature style while telling different stories, so must a good designer. "I think the values have to be the same I'm not going to change values season by season. I change the way [I] deliver the values," he said. Over the course of his conversation with Cho, Piccioli discussed those values, from maintaining diversity to staying connected with his family, while gracing the audience with a few only-in-fashion stories (like Donatella Versace telling Piccioli that she wanted to burn the pink Valentino Couture dress Lady Gaga wore to the Italy premiere of "A Star Is Born" because it was so fabulous). Below are some of the highlights from the creative director's conversation with Cho. Pierpaolo Piccioli with Alina Cho during "The Atlier" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo: BFA.com/Zach Hilty On Dressing Stars for the Met Gala For the 2019 Met Gala, Joan Collins, Naomi Campbell, Adut Akech, Julianne Moore, Mark Ronson, Lykke Li, Lay Zhang and Stefano Sassi were all dressed in Valentino and attended the event with Piccioli. Though the gala's camp theme eluded many interpretations, Piccioli felt right at home with its bombastic and eccentric frame of reference. Story continues "I really like the idea of camp as the freedom of being whoever you want to be today... Camp doesn't mean the niche of extravagant people, but it means the freedom to be whoever you want to be. That, for me, is the most inspiring thing that I get from this exhibition," he told Cho. As for his chosen guests, he wanted that to be based on something deeper than dressing only A-list celebrities. "All of [the guests] together represent what I want Valentino to represent today the idea of inclusivity, of diversity, of different kinds of people." L-R: Adut Akech, Naomi Campbell, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Joan Collins, Julianne Moore, Mark Ronson, Lykke Li, Lay Zhang and Stefano Sassi at the 2019 Met Gala. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue On Being Named One of 'Time' 100's Most Influential People Earlier this year, Piccioli was named one of Time 100's most influential people. Actor Frances McDormand wrote the designer's blurb for the list, saying, "His reign in the House of Valentino has been a lesson in grace. He feels no need to erase the past but builds on its foundation and by doing so makes the future of the house stronger, braver." When Cho asked how he felt about the honor, Piccioli expressed how important it is to deliver his values through his work. Being listed in the Time 100 confirmed that he is doing just that. "You really understand that you can do something like fashion, but you can also say something you believe in. You can shape the world in the way you want. I think I'm more relevant when I do fashion than if I do politics. I think I'm not very good at politics," he explained, referencing his early interest in politics while he attended Rome's Istituto Europeo di Design. On Navigating Family Life While Helming the Valentino Legacy Picciolo, who married his high school sweetheart and has three children with her, lit up when he spoke about his family with Cho. He laughed as he told the audience that his children and wife are still surprised when people stop him to take a selfie because to them, he's simply their father and husband. Still, despite the adjustment to his fame in the fashion world, they remain extremely supportive of all that he does at Valentino. "The only way to have a family and to have a job like this is to have people that even if they don't really understand [me] in all of the things [I do], they still support me," he said. "Good or bad here we are." But there is one rule in his household that he quickly learned not to break to keep the peace: Picciolo does not tell his wife what to wear. He made the mistake of offering her his couture-trained eye once, and she quickly put a stop to that. "She told me, 'Please, don't talk to me as a designer. Talk to me as my husband. I'm beautiful [in whatever] I'm wearing,'" he recalled to the audience, who promptly broke out in a round of applause. On How He Embraced Becoming the Lone Leader of Valentino When Piccioli became the sole creative director for Valentino after Maria Grazia Chiuri's departure, there was a lot of speculation about what she would take with her and what would remain of the iconic fashion house in her absence. As fashion critics were hashing that out in glossy pages and online, Piccioli was doing the same in his own head, attempting to understand how much of the brand's evolving DNA was his alone. It was Piccioli's daughter who unintentionally gave him the wisdom and insight to plunge into the unknown and unchartered when she discussed with him German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's theory on memory, as part of her high school studies. In the theory, Nietzsche argues that nostalgia paralyzes man and doesn't allow him to act. "In order to look forward, [a man] must be aware of his past, but in a way, he has to forget his past. Being aware [but] just looking forward instinctively I'd say that's me in this moment," Piccioli explained. To remain grounded in his purpose with Valentino, the designer still lives in the small town he grew up in, far away from couture and high fashion. "When you grow up in a place like that that's far from everything, you just dream," he said. "And I still live there because I still want to maintain that... I have much more than I could ever imagine in my life. I don't want to become a different kind of guy. I don't want to forget how far everything was from me, and I don't want today to be spoiled by all this work. I want to maintain these kind of dreamy eyes." On Embracing Logos and Creating the Stunning Image of Naomi Campbell on the New York Subway In the spirit of letting go of nostalgia to move forward, Piccioli had to let go of his sentiments about logos and their place in fashion in order to embrace both the "VLTN" and "Vring" emblems that newly-frequent the Valentino repertoire. He was first challenged to do so when he noticed a lot of the younger members of his design team ordering the fashion house's old logo T-shirts from Amazon. "I come from a culture in the '80s where the logo was the lowest part of fashion. Then [working] with the younger people, I always try to understand their point of view because they help me [conceptualize], progress thoughts and to see things with new eyes. I always say, 'Things change with how you look at [it],' so it's very important to keep up that kind of imagination between the reality of things and how you look at it," he said. This growth in perspective culminated into Valentino's Pre-Fall 2019 campaign, featuring Naomi Campbell in a sparkling, emerald green dress, carrying a black leather "Vring" bag on the New York City subway. "The bag was linking public spaces where people [are] every day in the most dreamy way," Piccioli said. On Promoting Diversity Within the Couture World As Piccioli was preparing for Valentino's Spring 2019 Couture collection, in which he featured predominantly Black models (including runway icon Campbell), he created a mood board that included Cecil Beaton's iconic shot of a group of white women in Charles James gowns. He considered how historically, magazines that featured Black celebrities and models, like Ebony and Jet, weren't able to borrow high-end clothes they were instead forced to purchase them. "I started thinking about how you can do modern couture. I was thinking of [Beaton's] picture it may be the most iconic picture of couture. But couture is the field of individuality, of being one-of-a-kind. When it was born, it was just meant to be for white women. And I was thinking what if rather than just this one [type of woman], you put Black, modern women [in couture]," he explained. Valentino's Spring 2019 Couture collection. Photo: ImaxTree He went on to say he doesn't believe that modernizing couture requires changing the classic style that's become so associated with it. "In order to make it modern couture, you have to give the couture to modern women," he said. "[Valentino's Spring 2019 Couture] is not a niche couture," he said. "It was a very classic couture, with all the stereotypes of couture ruffles, flowers, colors. [I] just changed the girls. That was enough to give a message that was a statement." Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter. (Adds FTC comment and shares) By Sayanti Chakraborty and Jan Wolfe May 22 (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc illegally suppressed competition in the market for smartphone chips by threatening to cut off supplies and extracting excessive licensing fees, a U.S. judge ruled, a decision that could force the company to overhaul its business practices. The decision issued late Tuesday night by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, caused Qualcomm shares to plunge 11 percent on Wednesday. "Qualcomm's licensing practices have strangled competition" in parts of the chip market for years, harming rivals, smartphone makers, and consumers, Koh wrote in a 233-page decision. She ordered the San Diego-based company to renegotiate licensing agreements at reasonable prices, without threatening to cut off supplies, and ordered that it be monitored for seven years to ensure its compliance. Qualcomm said it will immediately ask Koh to put her decision on hold, and also seek a quick appeal to the federal appeals court in California. "We strongly disagree with the judge's conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law," general counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement. Koh's decision followed a 10-day non-jury trial in January, and is a victory for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has accused Qualcomm in 2017 of violating antitrust law. The decision followed Qualcomm's April 16 settlement of a long-running legal battle with Apple Inc, where Apple agreed once again to use Qualcomm chips in its iPhones, displacing Intel Corp. It is unclear whether the sanctions will be challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has taken a different view of the case than the FTC and emerged as an ally to Qualcomm. On May 2, the Justice Department argued Koh should hold a hearing before placing sanctions on Qualcomm. Placing stringent conditions on the company would "reduce competition and innovation in markets for 5G technology," the agency said. Story continues The courts are not required to defer to the Justice Department's recommendations. But "the possibility certainly exists for Qualcomm to prevail upon appeal," given the government's "somewhat schizophrenic" approach to the case, Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon wrote. The Justice Department was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. Qualcomm shares have risen about 51% since the company's settlement with Apple last month. The fall on Wednesday left them still comfortably above their level before the Apple deal. UNDERMINING RIVALS Koh said Qualcomm engaged in "extensive" anticompetitive conduct targeting more than one dozen original equipment manufacturers including Apple, BlackBerry, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony, often by cutting off or threatening to cut off chip supplies or withholding technical support. She also said Qualcomm's monopoly power in modem chips enabled the company to sustain "unreasonably high" royalty rates not justified by its contributions to the marketplace. "With practices that result in exclusivity and eliminate opportunities to compete for OEM business, Qualcomm undermines rivals in every facet," she wrote. She also found Qualcomm knew its licensing practices harmed competition "yet continued anyway" despite government investigations in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the European Union and the United States. "This evidence of Qualcomm's intent confirms the court's conclusion that Qualcomm's practices cause anticompetitive harm because no monopolist monopolizes unconscious of what he is doing," she wrote. Koh also said testimony from some Qualcomm witnesses "lacked credibility," faulting Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf and others for giving "long, fast, and practiced narratives" and saying company emails and notes contradicted his testimony. Koh said Qualcomm cannot bundle patent licensing deals with its hardware, a practice regulators called "no license, no chips." That ruling could give chip customers more leverage in negotiations over patent terms and result in lower royalty rates for Qualcomm. Koh also said Qualcomm must license its patents to rival chipmakers like MediaTek Inc. Qualcomm argued during the trial that it achieved market dominance through technological leadership. The company began its licensing business in the 1980s and 1990s, decades before it began selling chips, and has charged broadly similar patent rates since then. Qualcomm also argued that the FTC failed to show harm to competition, arguing that the chip industry is thriving and prices are declining. Qualcomm's next move will likely be to request Koh's ruling is put on hold while the company seeks expedited review by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Gaston Kroub, a patent lawyer in New York not involved in the case, said Koh's decision was unlikely to be reversed on appeal because she made detailed factual findings and witness credibility determinations. Appeals courts are reluctant to second-guess such findings by trial judges, he said. Qualcomm makes cellphone processors and modem chips, but generates most profits by licensing its technology to mobile phone makers. "Qualcomm's customers and competitors will finally be able to negotiate licenses without the threat of having Qualcomm cut off their chip supply," FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra said in statement. Rasgon, the Bernstein analyst, said Koh had indicated at trial she was leaning against Qualcomm, but some investors had hoped her views would be "softened" by the Apple settlement. "Apparently not," Rasgon wrote. (Reporting by Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington, D.C., Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Bernard Orr and Nick Zieminski) (Reuters) - John Walker Lindh, the American captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, was freed early from federal prison on Thursday after serving 17 years amid concerns he might still harbor extremist views. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had asked government lawyers whether the release could be stopped but said nothing could be done. "What bothers me more than anything else is that heres a man who has not given up his proclamation of terror, and we have to let him out. Am I happy about it? Not even a little bit," Trump said. Lindh, who was 20 years old when captured, left the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Thursday morning, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. He had been sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty in 2002 to charges of supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony. Lindh is among dozens of prisoners to be released during the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the attacks on the United States by al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001. Leaked U.S. government documents published by Foreign Policy magazine show the federal government as recently as 2016 described Lindh as holding "extremist views." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Lindh's release "unexplainable and unconscionable." "There's something deeply troubling and wrong about it," he said on Fox News on Thursday morning. "What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?" asked U.S. Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The bureau said in a statement that it does not share details of specific inmates' release plans but that it does have policies for monitoring parolees with ties to terrorism. During his supervised release, Lindh will not be allowed to possess any internet-capable device without permission from his probation officer, and any such device must be monitored continuously, according to court documents. He is not allowed to hold a passport, communicate with known extremists or have any online communications in any language other than English unless approved. He also must undergo mental health counseling, court documents showed. Lindh's parents, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, did not respond to requests for comment and Lindh's lawyer, Bill Cummings, declined to comment. U.S.-born Lindh converted from Catholicism to Islam as a teenager. At his sentencing in 2002, he said he traveled to Yemen to learn Arabic and then to Pakistan to study Islam. Lindh said he volunteered as a soldier with the Taliban, the radical Sunni Muslim group that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, to help fellow Muslims in their struggle or "jihad." He said he had no intention "to fight against America" and never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism. Lindh told the court he condemned "terrorism on every level" and attacks by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were "completely against Islam." But a January 2017 report by the U.S. government's National Counterterrorism Center, published by Foreign Policy, said that, as of May 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." NBC News reported that Lindh wrote a letter to its Los Angeles station KNBC in 2015 expressing support for Islamic State, saying the Islamic militant group was fulfilling "a religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle." (Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen and Jeff Mason at the White House; editing by Bill Trott and Lisa Shumaker) By Jung Min-ho The Canadian government has promised to take back its waste, which has been rotting in the Philippines for more than five years, by the end of June. According to Wednesday (local time), the country's Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said the ministry signed a contract with a shipping firm, Bollore Logistics Canada, to take back the containers of garbage shipped to the Philippines between 2013 and 2014. They were sent by a private Canadian company falsely labeled as "recyclable materials." The move comes after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his government to hire a private shipping company to send 69 containers of garbage back to Canada and, if it refuses to accept it, leave it all within the country's territorial waters. McKenna said the Canadian government will cover the full costs of the preparation, transfer, shipment and disposal of the waste. Last week, Manila recalled its ambassador to Ottawa after Canada missed a May 15 deadline set by Duterte to remove the rubbish. During a press conference Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not offer any further details on the deal with the Philippine government when asked about the matter in Vancouver. "This is a situation that is unacceptable and has gone on for far too long," Trudeau said. "We are looking forward to having a solution to present to Canadians shortly and to our Filipino partners." For years, Trudeau did not respond to protests from environmental activists over the waste. In 2017, he said it was "theoretically" possible to ship the waste back to Canada, but did not convert that theory into action. But after the Korean government's decision to take back 6,500 tons of trash, which a Korean firm shipped to the Philippines falsely as "recyclable materials" last year, activists started to increase pressure on the Canadian government and Duterte sealed the deal. By Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne (Reuters) - The head of a Chicago-based bank was charged in an indictment unsealed on Thursday with bribery and accused of approving $16 million in high-risk loans to President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort in a scheme to land a top Trump administration post such as secretary of the U.S. Army. Stephen Calk, who was chairman and CEO of Federal Savings Bank though is now on a leave of absence, was charged by federal prosecutors in New York with one count of financial institution bribery, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years. Calk, 54, pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance in Manhattan federal court after surrendering to authorities. His name repeatedly came up during Manafort's 2018 financial fraud trial in Virginia, with prosecutors saying Calk approved the loans for Manafort in exchange for help securing a senior post under Trump. Calk was named to a Trump campaign economic advisory committee and interviewed for the job of Army under secretary but did not land that or any other administration job. "Mr. Calk has done nothing wrong and will be exonerated at trial of the baseless isolated charge brought against him," Jeremy Margolis, Calk's lawyer, said in a statement. U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman ordered that Calk be released on bail. He was required to surrender his passport, and his travel will be restricted to the continental United States. Federal Savings Bank said in a statement it is a victim of bank fraud perpetrated by Manafort, and that Calk "has been on a complete leave of absence and has no control over or involvement with the bank." The bank said it is "not a party to the federal criminal case" and described Calk as its "former chairman." Calk's brother, John Calk, is currently serving as the bank's CEO, according to the bank. The indictment did not mention Manafort by name, but made clear he was the one who schemed with Calk. Story continues ARMY SECRETARY Calk provided Manafort with a ranked wish list of government jobs, and Manafort recommended to Trump's post-election transition team before he became president that Calk be appointed as Army secretary, the service's top civilian post, according to the indictment. Calk served in the Army for 16 years, Margolis said. Manafort used his influence with Trump's transition team to land Calk a formal interview for the position of Army under secretary in January 2017, according to the indictment. Calk's wish list also included treasury secretary or deputy secretary, defense secretary, commerce secretary and 19 ambassador posts in countries including Britain, France, Germany and Italy, prosecutors said. Calk "abused the power entrusted to him as the top official of a federally insured bank by approving millions of dollars in high-risk loans in an effort to secure a personal benefit, namely an appointment as Secretary of the Army or another similarly high-level position," said Audrey Strauss, the top prosecutor overseeing the case in Manhattan. Manafort was one of the first people in Trump's inner circle charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of his now-completed investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and Trump campaign contacts with Moscow. Manafort, who was convicted of bank and tax fraud in Virginia and pleaded guilty to other charges in Washington, is serving a 7-1/2-year sentence in a federal prison in Pennsylvania. His trial revealed that he hid millions of dollars from U.S. tax authorities that he was paid as a political consultant to pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine to fund a life of luxury. Later, when the work dried up, he lied to banks to secure loans to maintain his lifestyle, according to trial evidence. The indictment against Calk said he knew of "significant red flags" about Manafort's ability to repay the loans. In July 2017, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the agency that regulated the bank, downgraded the credit quality of Manafort's loans to "substandard." Prosecutors said Calk lied when questioned by regulators, saying he "never desired a position" in Trump's administration. During Manafort's trial, Federal Savings Bank employee Dennis Raico testified against Manafort in exchange for immunity from prosecution, telling jurors Calk took a "personal interest" in Manafort's loans. Raico testified that Calk asked him to call Manafort after the November 2016 election won by Trump to inquire if he could be a candidate for two Cabinet posts. Raico said the request made him uncomfortable, and said he had never seen loans approved so quickly. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Nathan Layne in New York; Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) Supporters of Indias Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rallied at the organizations headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday, May 23, after partial and projected election results indicated a major victory for Narenda Modi and his party. Results posted by the Election Commission of India on Thursday indicated the BJP would win 303 of 542 constituencies, giving the party a commanding mandate in parliament. Video streamed by the BJP shows cheering crowds welcoming the partys president Amit Shah as he arrived at the New Delhi headquarters on Thursday. Credit: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) via Storyful By Stella Qiu and Tony Munroe BEIJING (Reuters) - China said the United States needs to correct its "wrong actions" in order for trade talks to continue after it blacklisted Huawei, a blow that has rippled through global supply chains and battered technology shares. Japanese conglomerate Panasonic Corp joined a growing list of global companies that is disengaging from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second-largest seller of smartphones and the largest telecom-gear maker, saying it had stopped shipments of some components. Its move came a day after British chip designer ARM said it had halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. supply blockade, potentially crippling the Chinese firm's ability to make new chips for smartphones. Huawei uses ARM blueprints to design the processors that power its smartphones. "If the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions. Negotiations can only continue on the basis of equality and mutual respect," Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a weekly briefing. "We will closely monitor relevant developments and prepare necessary responses," he said, without elaborating. The United States has accused Huawei of working for the Chinese government and engaging in activities contrary to national security, accusations Huawei denies. The Trump administration softened its stance slightly this week by granting the firm a licence to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to minimize disruption for customers. 'FALSE STATEMENT' However, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kept up the pressure against Huawei in a CNBC interview on Thursday, saying its founder chief executive was lying about his company's ties to the Beijing government. "That's just false. To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement. He is required by Chinese law to do that. The Huawei CEO, on that at least, isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world," Pompeo said. Story continues Pompeo said he expected other American companies to cut ties with Huawei as the risk of doing business with it becomes clear. Japan's Toshiba Corp said it had resumed some shipments to Huawei after temporarily suspending shipments to check whether they included U.S.-made components. "What we are witnessing is a potential reconfiguration of global trade as it has stood since World War II ... investors should begin thinking about how sensitive their portfolios are to global supply chain-exposed shocks," Saxo Bank's head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, wrote in a note titled, "Are you ready for a cold war in tech?" Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Chinese financial magazine Caixin on Thursday that he did not see ARM's decision to suspend business with Huawei as having an impact on the company. He said Huawei had a long-term agreement with ARM and speculated the British firm had made such a move because its parent, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, was waiting for U.S. approval for the merger of Sprint Corp, which it owns, and T-Mobile US Inc. Industry experts have called out Huawei for its claims it could ensure a steady supply chain without U.S. help, saying the technology it buys from American companies would be "hard to replace." No further trade talks between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended on May 10, when U.S. President Donald Trump sharply hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. China has retaliated with its own levies on U.S. imports, but it was Washington's subsequent move against Huawei that took the trade war into a new phase, stoking fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets. (Reporting by Stella Qiu, Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum) By Stella Qiu and Tony Munroe BEIJING (Reuters) - China said the United States needs to correct its "wrong actions" in order for trade talks to continue after it blacklisted Huawei, a blow that has rippled through global supply chains and battered technology shares. Japanese conglomerate Panasonic Corp joined a growing list of global companies that is disengaging from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second-largest seller of smartphones and the largest telecom-gear maker, saying it had stopped shipments of some components. Its move came a day after British chip designer ARM said it had halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. supply blockade, potentially crippling the Chinese firm's ability to make new chips for smartphones. Huawei uses ARM blueprints to design the processors that power its smartphones. "If the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions. Negotiations can only continue on the basis of equality and mutual respect," Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a weekly briefing. "We will closely monitor relevant developments and prepare necessary responses," he said, without elaborating. The United States has accused Huawei of working for the Chinese government and engaging in activities contrary to national security, accusations Huawei denies. The Trump administration softened its stance slightly this week by granting the firm a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to minimize disruption for customers. 'FALSE STATEMENT' However, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kept up the pressure against Huawei in a CNBC interview on Thursday, saying its founder chief executive was lying about his company's ties to the Beijing government. "That's just false. To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement. He is required by Chinese law to do that. The Huawei CEO, on that at least, isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world," Pompeo said. Story continues Pompeo said he expected other American companies to cut ties with Huawei as the risk of doing business with it becomes clear. Japan's Toshiba Corp said it had resumed some shipments to Huawei after temporarily suspending shipments to check whether they included U.S.-made components. "What we are witnessing is a potential reconfiguration of global trade as it has stood since World War II ... investors should begin thinking about how sensitive their portfolios are to global supply chain-exposed shocks," Saxo Bank's head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, wrote in a note titled, "Are you ready for a cold war in tech?" Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Chinese financial magazine Caixin on Thursday that he did not see ARM's decision to suspend business with Huawei as having an impact on the company. He said Huawei had a long-term agreement with ARM and speculated the British firm had made such a move because its parent, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, was waiting for U.S. approval for the merger of Sprint Corp, which it owns, and T-Mobile US Inc. Industry experts have called out Huawei for its claims it could ensure a steady supply chain without U.S. help, saying the technology it buys from American companies would be "hard to replace." No further trade talks between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended on May 10, when U.S. President Donald Trump sharply hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. China has retaliated with its own levies on U.S. imports, but it was Washington's subsequent move against Huawei that took the trade war into a new phase, stoking fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets. (Reporting by Stella Qiu, Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum) By Stella Qiu and Tony Munroe BEIJING (Reuters) - China said the United States needs to correct its "wrong actions" in order for trade talks to continue after it blacklisted Huawei, a blow that has rippled through global supply chains and battered technology shares. Japanese conglomerate Panasonic Corp joined a growing list of global companies that is disengaging from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second-largest seller of smartphones and the largest telecom-gear maker, saying it had stopped shipments of some components. Its move came a day after British chip designer ARM said it had halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. supply blockade, potentially crippling the Chinese firm's ability to make new chips for smartphones. Huawei uses ARM blueprints to design the processors that power its smartphones. "If the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions. Negotiations can only continue on the basis of equality and mutual respect," Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a weekly briefing. "We will closely monitor relevant developments and prepare necessary responses," he said, without elaborating. The United States has accused Huawei of working for the Chinese government and engaging in activities contrary to national security, accusations Huawei denies. The Trump administration softened its stance slightly this week by granting the firm a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to minimize disruption for customers. 'FALSE STATEMENT' However, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kept up the pressure against Huawei in a CNBC interview on Thursday, saying its founder chief executive was lying about his company's ties to the Beijing government. "That's just false. To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement. He is required by Chinese law to do that. The Huawei CEO, on that at least, isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world," Pompeo said. Pompeo said he expected other American companies to cut ties with Huawei as the risk of doing business with it becomes clear. Japan's Toshiba Corp said it had resumed some shipments to Huawei after temporarily suspending shipments to check whether they included U.S.-made components. "What we are witnessing is a potential reconfiguration of global trade as it has stood since World War II ... investors should begin thinking about how sensitive their portfolios are to global supply chain-exposed shocks," Saxo Bank's head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, wrote in a note titled, "Are you ready for a cold war in tech?" Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Chinese financial magazine Caixin on Thursday that he did not see ARM's decision to suspend business with Huawei as having an impact on the company. He said Huawei had a long-term agreement with ARM and speculated the British firm had made such a move because its parent, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, was waiting for U.S. approval for the merger of Sprint Corp, which it owns, and T-Mobile US Inc. Industry experts have called out Huawei for its claims it could ensure a steady supply chain without U.S. help, saying the technology it buys from American companies would be "hard to replace." No further trade talks between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended on May 10, when U.S. President Donald Trump sharply hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. China has retaliated with its own levies on U.S. imports, but it was Washington's subsequent move against Huawei that took the trade war into a new phase, stoking fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets. (Reporting by Stella Qiu, Se Young Lee; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum) A rare show of bipartisan unity broke out in Washington Wednesday as Republicans and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee expressed concerns over the rapid spread of facial recognition software used by technology companies. I dont want to see an authoritarian surveillance state, whether its run by a government or whether its run by five corporations, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said in reference to Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Google and Facebook. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Made up of former law enforcement and legal officials as well as face recognition experts, a panel of five witnesses testified at the hearing, with most calling for Congress to take quick action to regulate the technology. They found a receptive audience. Youve hit the sweet spot that brings progressives and conservatives together, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said. When you have a diverse group on this committee, as diverse as you might see on the polar ends, Im here to tell you were serious about this, and lets get together and work on legislation. On the other side of the country, however, Amazon shareholders rejected a proposal that would have urged the company to ensure its technology doesnt violate civil rights. Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and the Chinese company Face++ have all developed facial recognition software that can sift through massive amounts of photos and video to identify those pictured. Amazon Rekognition is currently being piloted by the FBI as a law enforcement tool. The company is also marketing the software to ICE as a way to monitor immigrants, according to a proposal from Amazon shareholders. In Seattle, protesters urge Amazon to not sell facial recognition technology to federal government agencies. (Photo: Ted S. Warren/AP) Rep. Jim Jordan, R-O.H., said the lack of standards for government agencies using recognition software reminded him of George Orwells dystopian novel 1984. It seems to me its time for a time-out, Jordan said. It doesnt matter what side of the political spectrum youre on. This should concern us all. More than half of Americans are unwittingly part of a facial recognition system, as at least 18 states have agreements with the FBI to share their databases. In each of these cases, state legislatures did not vote to approve the partnerships, Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said at the hearing. Story continues The images used in the FBIs database often come in the form of drivers license photos but citizens arent informed that they are being included in any database, said Clare Garvie, a researcher at Georgetown Universitys Center on Privacy and Technology, who also testified at the hearing. The FBI has used facial recognition software for years but has not disclosed the scope of its surveillance technologies, Garvie said. At least a quarter of law enforcement agencies in the United States use recognition software, she said. That is a conservative estimate because many agencies will only disclose information after receiving a Freedom of Information Act request, she added. The Government Accountability Office sent a letter to the Department of Justice in April that said the FBI had not made progress on recommendations issued in 2016 that would improve privacy, accuracy and security. Joy Buolamwini, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, testified Wednesday that Amazons software misidentifies dark-skinned women as men 31% of the time. White men in her sample were not misidentified, she said. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP) She and other witnesses called for a moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology by government agencies until regulations are passed. Even if you make accurate facial recognition systems, they can and will be abused without regulations, Buolamwini said. In 2018, the ACLU tested Amazon Rekognition and found that 28 members of Congress were misidentified as people who had committed a crime. Three of them currently serve on the Oversight Committee. Committee Chair Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said the issue is personal for him after the ACLU found in 2016 that the Baltimore Police Department used facial recognition software to identify and arrest people protesting the death of Freddie Gray. Cummings was one of those protesters. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have provided user data to a developer that police departments then used to monitor protests, according to the ACLU of Northern California. Imperfect facial recognition technology can lead to false arrests, Buolamwini said, citing the arrest of a Brown University senior who had been incorrectly identified as one of the suspects in the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka. Witnesses at the hearing said they were unsure if the FBI and local agencies were using recognition technology with real-time video feeds. Chicago and Detroit have both purchased the technology, Garvie said. Chicago claims not to use it, while Detroit monitors video streams at public places like gas stations, churches and schools, she said. Andrew Ferguson, a professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia, said at the hearing that waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of recognition technology would take too long to address a rapidly evolving field. Unregulated facial recognition technology should not be allowed to continue, Ferguson said. It is too powerful, too chilling and too undermining to principles of privacy, liberty and security. Several members of Congress seemed eager to start work on legislation to regulate recognition technology. Jordan said the issue was of paramount importance, and Democratic lawmakers echoed his urgency. We have to make sure how American values and our constitutional rights and our protections get translated in the digital age, Ocasio-Cortez said at the end of the hearing. We gotta get something done. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: PARIS (Reuters) - The United States is not ready to launch trade talks with the European Union, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Wednesday. "We are ready from the European Union side to start and we have the mandate... But I don't think the U.S. is ready to start on the tariff negotiations," Malmstrom told reporters at the OECD in Paris. Malmstrom did not detail why Washington was not in a position to enter into tariff negotiations. Member states have given the commissioner a mandate for the scope of the talks, which does not include agriculture, something the United States had pressed for. But speaking after talks with the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Malmstrom said that if the two sides agreed to move ahead, the process would advance swiftly. "If we were to agree that now we start (negotiations) and we can agree on the scope of this ... it could move in a couple of weeks," she added. U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed in July 2018 to reduce to zero tariffs on "non-auto industrial goods". (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Richard Lough and Alison Williams) Photo credit: DEA / BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA - Getty Images From Popular Mechanics The remains of the last ship known to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States, a schooner named Clotilda, has been discovered off the banks of Mobile, Alabama. The wreck was abandoned in 1860 after illegally transporting 110 people from the Kingdom of Dahomey, now known as Benin, to Mobile. "The discovery of the Clotilda is an extraordinary archaeological find," says Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the Alabama historical commission, in a press statement. She says the Clotilda represents "one of the darkest eras of modern history." We are cautious about placing names on shipwrecks that no longer bear a name or something like a bell with the ships name on it, says Dr. James Delgado, a maritime archaeologist and project manager for the dig, but the physical and forensic evidence powerfully suggests that this is Clotilda. Archaeologists used the schooner's unique size, dimensions, and building materials to help determine the craft. The ship's captain, William Foster, who worked for Alabamian slave owner Timothy Meaher, said in his notes that he burned the ship after landing. The discovered wreck "showed signs of burning, which is concurrent with Captain Fosters claim that he burned the Clotilda after scuttling her," according to the historical commission. "A detailed survey of all surviving historical survey records for schooners in the entire Gulf of Mexico region, and including those of the port of Mobile, found only four vessels built in the size range as this wreck; only one, Clotilda, out of some 1,500 vessels assessed in the archival records, matches the wreck. Although Thomas Jefferson signed the "Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves" in 1808, the transatlantic slave trade continued for decades afterward. The 110 African men, women, and children aboard the Clotilda had been forcibly abducted in violent raids led by Dahomey king Ghezo. Once in Alabama, 25 young people from the voyage were sold to nearby slave brokers, but the rest stayed in servitude in the Mobile area on various plantations, including Meaher's. Story continues The Clotilda landed in America on June 8, 1860 amidst a tense political climate. A few months later, the election of Abraham Lincoln would set the stage for the Civil War. After the Confederacy's defeat in 1865, the slaves from the Clotilda were freed. Those who had been separated joined the majority of their group near Mobile, and together formed a community they named African Town, later shortened to Africatown. Following World War II, Africatown was absorbed into the greater Mobile area. Residents of Africatown melded African traditions with American ones, sometimes attracting outside attention from famed American intellectuals like Booker T. Washington and Zora Neale Hurston. Cudjoe Lewis, born Oluale Kossola, often spoke for the group. Last year, Neale Hurston's story of Lewis' incredible journey was finally published as Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo." Photo credit: Jeff Greenberg / Contributor - Getty Images Photo credit: Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Image - Getty Images This new discovery brings the tragedy of slavery into focus while witnessing the triumph and resilience of the human spirit in overcoming the horrific crime that led to the establishment of Africatown, says Demetropoulos Jones. It shows where the last African-Americans were brought over, says Rep. Napoleon Bracy, a Democrat who represents the Africatown area, speaking on the Alabama Senate floor. Its really going to do a lot to put the Prichard-Mobile-Africatown area on the map, in terms of historical significance. This is a significant day for the people of Africatown, but also for Alabama and our nation, added U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne. We should seize upon this opportunity to help us better understand our complex American history. Harry Truman wisely said The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know. Lets use the discovery of the Clotilda to learn more about our history so we can discuss how best we can move forward together. Source: AL.com ('You Might Also Like',) The Hague (AFP) - Dutch pro-EU parties headed for a surprise win Thursday in European Parliament elections, defying a predicted surge for populist forces as voters in Brexit-bound Britain and the Netherlands kicked off 28-nation polls. With British Prime Minister Theresa May looking set to resign after postponing her forlorn bid to push her divorce deal through parliament, Eurosceptics across the continent had hoped for major gains in the four-day EU-wide elections. But the populist momentum took an early hit with one of the main pretenders to the throne of European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, Dutchman Frans Timmermans, leading his social democrats to lead a Dutch exit poll released late Thursday. Campaigning on a fiercely pro-Europe platform, Commission Vice-President Timmermans's party was set to beat the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and an upstart populist group, the exit poll said. "There is clearly a majority in the Netherlands that wants the European Union to continue to play a role," Timmermans told the NOS public broadcaster. "I realise that everywhere in Europe there is a need for another Europe, one that fights harder against climate change, that we have to cooperate on a social level, and where big business has to pay more taxes." His social democrats were projected to win five seats out of the 26 allocated for the Netherlands, the Ipsos poll for NOS said. Rutte's Liberals and the pro-Europe Christian Democrats were set to win four seats, while the right-wing Forum for Democracy of climate-sceptic populist leader Thierry Baudet was projected to win three seats, the same as the Groenlinks environmental party. The anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, which has lost votes to Baudet, was meanwhile set to slump to one seat, from its current three. Opinion polls in the run-up to the vote predicted Rutte and Baudet's parties would share the lead. - 'We've been let down' - Story continues More than 400 million European voters are eligible to elect 751 European Parliament members, with the first results expected late Sunday once voting in the 28 member states is over. In Britain the elections were a surreal spectacle in a country that was supposed to have already left the European Union on March 29 after voting for Brexit in a referendum almost three years ago. The Brexit crisis mirrored deep divisions across the continent, where rising nativist, anti-establishment forces are bidding to make significant gains in the elections. MPs have rejected May's withdrawal agreement and the country now finds itself electing lawmakers to an institution it plans to leave. "We've been let down by both of the main parties," Rex Taylor, a 79-year-old retired professor, said as he voted in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The newly-created Brexit Party, formed only this year by Eurosceptic figurehead Nigel Farage, is leading the latest opinion polls with 37 percent of the vote. However, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats also look set to capitalise on the mixed Brexit messages of the main parties. Some EU citizens reported being turned away at British polling booths, with many complaining they were the victims of clerical errors in the last-minute scramble to organise the vote. "I've been turned away from the polling station saying I'm not eligible to vote despite the fact I've got a polling card and have registered too. My local council... failed to send out the declaration," EU citizen Peter Baier wrote on Twitter. - Risk to integration - Around the continent, national leaders are scrambling to mobilise supporters to resist the populist surge, with opinion polls showing nationalist parties leading in France, Italy and Hungary, among others. Pro-European leaders fear a good showing for the Eurosceptics will disrupt Brussels decision-making, threatening reform efforts at closer integration. Matteo Salvini of Italy's anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels. The League has topped opinion polls in Italy. Le Pen wants to strike a blow to Emmanuel Macron's faltering French presidency by overtaking his centrist, pro-European party Republic on the Move. Polls give her RN party a slight edge, with around 23 percent support. "Everything has changed," Le Pen told AFP. "A whole range of political forces have risen up in spectacular fashion." - Centre-right set to win - However, Eurosceptics are not expected to sweep the whole bloc, with voters from Spain to Ireland and the former Soviet Baltic states indicating solid backing for the EU. In Germany, surveys show Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party -- a heavyweight in the EU-wide centre-right EPP group -- in first place, with the Greens second. The latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament found 61 percent of respondents calling their country's EU membership a good thing -- the highest level since the early 1990s. The polls will open on Friday in the Czech Republic and Ireland, and on Saturday in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia. But most countries will be voting on Sunday, with the results expected overnight into Monday. Juncker is stepping down after five years as president of the European Commission. The hunt will also be on for someone to replace former Polish premier Donald Tusk as head of the EU council. burs-dk-cvo/har Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa's prosecution on Thursday pushed for ex-president Jacob Zuma to face a corruption trial for a case dating back to the 1990s, saying if he did not it would appear he received special treatment. Zuma, 77, is accused of taking bribes from French defence company Thales during his time as a provincial economy minister and later as deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1990s. He has been charged with 16 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to a multi-million-dollar arms deal dating back to before he took office in 2009. The charges were first brought against Zuma in 2005. They were dropped by prosecutors in 2009, shortly before he became president, and reinstated in 2016. Both Zuma and Thales deny any wrongdoing and have applied to the court for a permanent stay of prosecution. "There is a high risk that if Mr Zuma escapes prosecution, that he will be seen to have received special treatment because he is an important and a powerful man," said state lawyer Wim Trengrove. "It is important too, for Mr Zuma to be seen to be treated the same as others would have been too." The prosecution dismissed as "unfounded" Zuma's allegations that he was victim of a "witch hunt". "There is not a shred of evidence the decision to prosecute Mr. Zuma was in anyway politically motivated," said Trengrove. "There is a very compelling case against him". Thales has said it cannot get a fair trial given the "very long delay of this procedure -- through no fault of Thales at all". But another state lawyer Andrew Breitenbach said it was Thales and not the prosecution that "has been responsible for the delays" from 2004 onwards. "It is absolutely clear that Thales escaped prosecution by dishonest trickery," added Trengrove. The high court in the southeastern city of Pietermaritzburg will have the final say on whether or not charges against Zuma and Thales will be dropped. Zuma was forced to resign by the ruling ANC party last year. His successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who held onto power when the ANC won national elections this month, has vowed to root out corruption in government and the party. What happened? Furious Tories are demanding the resignation of Theresa May after her last-gasp effort to win support for her Brexit deal backfired spectacularly. The PM announced her 'New Brexit Deal' yesterday, which included giving MPs the chance to vote for a second referendum and customs union. Brexiteers were enraged by the concession and Labour MPs - who the offer was meant to appease - have also said they will not support it. Time to go? The extraordinary hostility to Mrs May has led to demands for the Tory party to change its rules so MPs can vote to bring her down. As it stands, a leadership challenge cannot be brought until December because the PM survived a no-confidence vote at the end of last year. The 1922 Committee - an influential group of Conservative backbenchers - is known to be considering changing the rules. Failing that, Mrs May could forced by her Cabinet to jump before she is pushed. Ministers have demanded meetings with the PM this afternoon to express their fury at her second referendum offer. Ministers say Mrs May offered more than they agreed to and are pushing for her to stand aside immediately. If things weren't bad enough, the Tories are careering towards a decimation in the European Elections tomorrow. The harshest polls predict a vote share of just 7%. A loss that severe will only encourage calls for Mrs May to step down. Read more: Cabinet ministers meet to plot May's resignation (Evening Standard) May faces meeting as support for Brexit deal fades (The Guardian) May is done for but shell get some joy watching Boris (The Independent) People who get less than seven hours sleep a night are at a higher risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack, a new study has shown. The findings published in Experimental Physiology could shed light on the link between shift workers and a host of serious illnesses. The UK is one of the most sleep-deprived nations in the world with approximately four out of 10 people saying they dont get enough kip. Roughly how many hours of sleep do you get a night? Read the full story and have your say below: Read the full story (Yahoo Style UK) and have your say below: Story continues 25,000 jobs at risk as British Steel collapses British Steel has gone into liquidation after talks with the Government failed to secure its future, dealing a huge blow to the industry and threatening thousands of job. Workers at the companys plants now face weeks of uncertainty as efforts are made to rescue the business. The grim news was given to employees after a week of speculation, putting up to 25,000 jobs directly and indirectly at risk. Read the full story here (Sky News) Notorious road rage killer to be released from jail Road-rage killer Kenneth Noye is to be released from prison after the Parole Board concluded he is suitable to return to the community. The 71-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years in 2000 after stabbing 21-year-old Stephen Cameron to death on an M25 slip road in Kent in 1996. Mr Camerons father Ken said he was gutted and cant cope with it. Noye went on the run after the killing and was arrested in Spain in 1998. Read the full story here (The Guardian) A shocking new video shows a seal stranded in a rock pool and struggling to swim - because it is surrounded by plastic. The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, who released the video, say they have treated five pups which were tangled in plastic so far this year, and rehabilitated a total of 79 baby seals. 5% Just five in every 100 Brits can name an MEP standing in their area, new research has found. According to YouGov, 92% of Brits say they can not name a single one of the MEPs for their region and of the 8% who said they could, four in ten gave the wrong answer. The poll also showed that only 32% of Brits think the European elections will have a great deal or a fair amount of impact on their lives. Read the full story here (Yahoo News UK) TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the U.S. island of Guam takes place ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to Japan this weekend, as Washington looks to allies in Asia to help counter China's military might in the region. "Pacific Vanguard joins forces from four, like-minded maritime nations that provide security throughout the Indo-Pacific based on shared values and common interests," Vice Admiral Phillip Sawyer, commander of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, said in a statement. The six-day exercise involves two Japanese destroyers, two Australian frigates and a destroyer from South Korea, with as many as 3,000 sailors participating. The U.S. Navy has deployed five ships as well as fighter jets and maritime patrol planes for the drills, which include live fire and anti-submarine warfare exercises. Pacific Vanguard is the latest show of combined naval force in the Asia Pacific region. This month U.S. ships conducted drills with French, Japanese and Australian ships in the Bay of Bengal, and held separate exercises with a Japanese helicopter carrier and warships from India and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea. China claims almost all of the strategic South China Sea, through which passes about a third of global seaborne trade. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to the waterway. On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy sent two ships through the Taiwan Strait, its latest transit through the sensitive waterway and a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world's two biggest economies. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a bitter trade war, U.S. sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Darren Schuettler) Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The head of the United Nations organisation for Palestinian refugees on Thursday rejected a US call to dismantle the agency, saying it cannot be blamed for stalled peace efforts. UNRWA's commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl rebuffed the criticism from US envoy Jason Greenblatt during a visit to the Gaza Strip. "I unreservedly reject the accompanying narrative that suggests that somehow UNRWA is to blame for the continuation of the refugee-hood of Palestine refugees, of their growing numbers and their growing needs," he said in response to a question about Greenblatt's comments. "The fact that UNRWA still exists today is an illustration of the failure of the parties and the international community to resolve the issue politically -- and one cannot deflect the attention onto a humanitarian organisation," he told a press conference in Gaza City. The United States last year cut off its roughly $300 million annual donation to UNRWA, and administration officials now argue the agency has run its course. Speaking to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Greenblatt said the "UNRWA model has failed the Palestinian people." He said it was time to hand over services assured by the UN agency to countries hosting Palestinian refugees and NGOs. He said the US had given $6 billion in aid to UNRWA since it was founded in 1949 "and yet year after year UNRWA funding fell short." "We need to be honest about the situation. UNRWA is a bandaid and the Palestinians who use its services deserve better," said Greenblatt. More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or forced to flee their lands in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel and they and their descendants make up the millions of Palestinians refugees across the Middle East. UNRWA provides education, health and other key services for the refugees with funding from international donors. Story continues The US and Israel say the agency perpetuates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in particular by classifying refugees' descendants as refugees too. UNRWA argues it is simply providing services until a political solution is found. The US is due to hold an economic conference in Bahrain on June 25-26 as the first part of the administration's long-delayed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, though the Palestinians will not attend, accusing the United States of seeking to eliminate their cause. UNRWA hosts a conference on June 25 at which international donors are expected to pledge financial support. SheKnows Jeff Bezos and girlfriend Lauren Sanchez are not slowing down one bit when it comes to showing off that steamy heat between them on their holiday vacation to St. Barts. The couple is continuing to flaunt their PDA for the paparazzi every chance they get. Their latest photos involve everything a billionaire needs for a [] Paris (AFP) - Disagreements by major economic powers over how to overhaul the workings of the World Trade Organization could paralyse the institution unless quick changes are agreed, Canada's trade minister said Thursday. The warning came after a third meeting of trade ministers aimed at reforming the global trade referee, following meetings in Ottawa in October and at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. But as at the previous meetings, neither the US nor China were represented among the 13 ministers trying to hammer our initial proposals for new WTO rules that could later be submitted to the entire organisation. Washington and Beijing are locked in an escalating trade war launched by President Donald Trump, who has accused the WTO of going too easy on China, to the detriment of American businesses. "We understand that the US has serious reservations about the status quo," Canadian Trade Minister Jim Carr, who chairs the so-called Ottawa Group working on WTO reform, told AFP in Paris. But for months Trump's administration has vented its anger by blocking the nominations of new judges to the WTO's Appellate Body, which settles disputes between members. If the obstruction continues, by December 10 there won't be enough judges for the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body to function. "There is some urgency... to reform," Carr said on the sidelines of the annual ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). "The question is to find a permanent solution that would satisfy the interests of major economies that have problems with the status quo," he said. "And if we can't find a permanent solution, then Canada is certainly prepared to look at a temporary one." The WTO itself has acknowledged that global trade rules have failed to keep up with the huge economic shifts since its founding in 1995. Agriculture, service sectors and the explosion of border-hopping e-commerce operations in particular are the source of growing frictions between WTO members. China, which joined the WTO as a "developing country" in 2001, has refused to give up that status despite emerging as a global economic powerhouse in recent years. Trump has blasted Beijing's huge subsidies for state-owned businesses and its demand of technology transfers from foreign companies hoping to gain access to its huge market. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Following months of relative calm, Syrias northwestern province of Idlib is once again a battleground, the scene of a bloody and widening military offensive by Syrian government troops pushing their way with backing from Russia into the rebel-held enclave. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter It is the sharpest escalation in violence between the two sides since last summer. Idlib, Syria, ahead of Assad offensive The United Nations says that intense airstrikes and heavy bombardments have killed dozens of civilians, and both the UN and aid workers say the assault is forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee to safer areas. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the fighting is also forcing rebels to flee northward. Nizar Abdel Kader, a retired Lebanese general, told The Media Line from his office in Beirut that a lack of progress in negotiations aimed at ending the Syrian civil war, now in its ninth year, has contributed to the uptick in fighting. The destroyed hospital of Kafr Nabl in Idlib Syria (Photo: EPA) I believe the timing of the offensive is tied to the failure of the 12th (round of the) Astana talks, the last meeting of which failed to yield results, he said, referring to talks being held in the capital of Kazakhstan. Turkey, which already hosts 3 million refugees, fears a further spill-over of Syrians in case of an all-out assault. Abdel Kader said the assault was intended to put pressure on armed opposition groups to be more flexible at the negotiating table, adding that the latest meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signaled that both global powers were eager for a political solution. There is Russian-American agreement on the need for a political solution to the Syrian crisis, and that the crisis has gone on for too long, he explained, adding that the offensive would probably weaken the various rebel groups, forcing them to the negotiating table. Istanbul-based political analyst Ali Mustafa told The Media Line that Ankara was warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. Turkey maintains contrary to what the Russians and Syrian regime are saying that most of the places that have been bombed either by the regime or by the Russians have involved civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, clinics and education facilities, he said. Syrian refugees flee the fighting (Photo: AFP) Some parts of Idlib are under the control of fighters from the powerful Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaida affiliate on the UNs terror list, and both Russia and Syria insist that in this offensive, they are going after terrorists. For its part, Ankara insists that it is going to continue to help Syrian opposition groups. Turkey maintains it will continue to support al legitimate opposition groups that are fighting the Syrian regime and fighting the Russians, Mustafa said. If the Syrian and Russian offensive continues, it might bring them face to face with Turkish troops in northern Syria, where Ankara has maintained an armed military presence since August 2016, although this would hinge entirely on Moscow, he said. Idlib province (Photo: Destruction in Idlib ) The answer to that depends on what role Russia plays, he explained. Turkey doesnt deal directly with the Syrian regime, but it does deal directly with Russia, and it needs guarantees from Russia that its interests and positions (inside Syria) will be preserved. The Syrian regime says the area is Syrian sovereign territory, and whoever is present in this territory, we will go after, according to Mustafa. Abdel Kader doesnt think the escalation will lead to a direct military confrontation between Damascus and Ankara. In the event that clashes break out between them, they will be limited, he told The Media Line, adding that Turkey must be appeased. A 2018 photo of Idlib (Photo: AFP) In order to keep Turkey satisfied, its military presence must not be harmed in areas under its influence inside Syria close to the border, he said, referring to Ankaras determination to block the Syrian-Kurdish YPG militia from solidifying its hold there. Turkey believes that the YPG is closely aligned with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an outlawed Turkish organization of Kurds that has long sought autonomy from Ankara, which considers the PKK a terrorist group. A man waves Syrian an Turkish flags as trucks carrying humanitarian aid leaves Turkey Some reports behind the scenes suggest that Turkey has agreed to let parts of Idlib Province fall under Syrian government control in exchange for Turkish troops being allowed to take control of YPG held areas in northern Syria. The latest surge in violence threatens an already fragile cease-fire agreement reached between Turkey and Russia last year in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. The agreements called for joint Russian-Turkish patrols in the Idlib area. At 8:30 Wednesday evening, the leader of the Boyan Hassidic sect Rabbi Nahum Dov Breier lit the traditional bonfire commencing festivities for Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer (during which religious Jews count seven weeks from Passover until the holiday of Shavuot) beside the gravesite of the third-century Jewish scholar Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi) in Meron in northern Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Although he doesnt head a very large sect, the Rebbe Boyan is the first to light the bonfire and dance around it by the power of a 100-years old tradition that is adhered to annually. After him, 18 other grand rabbis of other sects will light a bonfire and lead their followers in dancing around it as Hassidic music blares. The Rebbe of Boyan is the first to light a bonfire (" ) The roads leading to Mount Meron were jam packed with pilgrims Wednesday as some quarter to a half-million Jews flocked northward to celebrate the holiday in the traditional manner. Many Jews believe that in the merit of the righteous saint, prayers recited by his graveside are answered. Lag BaoOmer (: ) (: ) Some 5,000 police officers, 100 firefighters, 200 ambulances and dozens of medics and first responders are involved in making sure Israel's largest religious festival, occurring in the midst of a national heat wave, is safe and runs as smooth as possible. Helicopters, closed circuit cameras, drones and all-terrain vehicles are also part of the massive effort. Due to the heat wave, restrictions were imposed on neighborhood bonfires throughout the country. MDA control center Children construct a bonfire in Jerusalem Police closed off highways leading up to the site and access is restricted to local residents and busses, some 4,000 of them, that are ferrying pilgrims from designated parking lots as well as from major religious centers throughout the country. Additional trains have been added to the Carmiel line and busses are waiting at the station to take passengers from there to Meron. Crown control Meron By Wednesday morning, hundreds of families were already camped out at the site in tents. Some, like the Biton family from Nahariya, arrived at the mountain site two weeks ago and are sleeping in a large tent, while chunks of lamb lie smoking on a BBQ grill just outside. The family says that attendance at Meron on Lag BaOmer is a family tradition going back more than 50 years. Meron site from above The religious Affairs Ministry allocated NIS 15.5 million for the event. Extensive hospitality services provide hot food and cold drinks to pilgrims at no charge. According to the Talmud, Rashbi, an acronym for Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai, was persecuted by the Romans for his hostile attitude toward their occupation of Judea. He fled to a cave in the northern town of Peki'in where he lived for 13 years, surviving on water from a nearby river and carobs from a tree that miraculously sprung up at the mouth of the cave while he studied Torah. As tensions with the U.S. mount, Iran's supreme leader has said the country's president and foreign minister didn't act as he wished in implementing the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The comments Wednesday night, posted on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's official website, are the first time he's blamed both President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif by name in his concerns about the deal. Khamenei said: "In some extent, I did not believe in the way that the nuclear deal was implemented. Many times I reminded both the president and the foreign minister." Khamenei has final say on all matters of state. His remarks show the internal pressure both Rouhani and Zarif now face amid the U.S. tensions. Palestinian officials announced Thursday they will not take part in a White House-engineered economic workshop in Bahrain next month, meant to serve as the first part of President Donald Trump's long-delayed Middle East peace plan, dubbed the deal of the century. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter In a statement issued by the Palestinian Authority, the PLO and non-PLO affiliated factions, including the private sector, emphasized they will not participate in the conference. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AP) The June 25-26 conference will bring together government and business leaders to help jump-start the economic portion of the broader US peace initiative, which is also expected to include proposals for resolving thorny political issues at the heart of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The announcement comes just hours after the long-awaited plan's key architect, Jason Greenblatt, said in a wide-ranging speech at the Security Councils monthly Mideast meeting on Wednesday that the Palestinians should attend the workshop where the U.S. will roll out its economic plan that can pave the way for Palestinian prosperity. Greenblat, President Donald Trumps special envoy for international negotiations, also warned that nothing can be meaningfully fixed until Gazas Hamas rulers and Palestinian Islamic Jihad renounce their vows to destroy Israel and stop carrying out violent acts. The special envoy said the first step is for the Security Council to admit that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are the primary barrier to the dreams of those residents of Gaza who want to live in peace, raise their families and find meaningful work. When will the Security Council say this out loud? Greenblatt asked council members. When will we clearly reject this terrorism? Jason Greenblat (Photo: EPA) On the rollout of the economic provisions in the U.S. peace plan, Greenblatt told the council it would be a mistake for the Palestinians not to attend the meeting in Bahrain in June because it will showcase a prosperous future for them if a political solution can be achieved. The plan, which has been two years in the making, envisions large-scale investment and infrastructure work in the Palestinian territories. But the central political elements remain mostly unknown. The Palestinian Authority pre-emptively rejected the entire U.S. peace plan saying any effort that ignores the Palestinian peoples aspirations for an independent state is doomed to fail. The Palestinians want their new state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem which they want as their capital and Gaza, lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war. A senior Palestinian official has likened the White House plan to financial blackmail. The Palestinian demand for a two-state solution is supported by the U.N. and almost all of its 193 member-states, and it was reiterated at Wednesdays council meeting by the Palestinian deputy U.N. ambassador Feda Abdelhady-Nasser. No one can deny that we are in need of new efforts and new energy to overcome the suffocating political deadlock, least of all us, she said. But new cannot mean trampling the law or mocking and discarding the longstanding international consensus on a two-state solution. Abdelhady-Nasser added that Palestinian leaders cant accept improving the lives of Palestinians while Israels illegal occupation continues, nor have the Palestinian people endured decades of suffering and waited nearly half a century for freedom to resign themselves to limited autonomy. Donald Trump and Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AFP) Greenblatt then lashed out at the U.N. agency that helps 5.3 million Palestinian refugees, calling it a failure and a a band-aid that is running on fumes. He reiterated a previously rejected U.S. proposal for host countries or non-governmental agencies to take over providing services for the refugees. He said the U.S. decided to cut off all funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA, because its business model ... is inherently tied to an endlessly and exponentially expanding community of beneficiaries and it is an irredeemably flawed operation that is in permanent crisis mode. The U.S. reduced its $360 million annual contribution to UNRWA in 2017 to just $60 million in 2018 and nothing this year. Greenblatt said the U.S, tried to start a conversation with host countries and international and local non-governmental agencies to take over services before it cut aid to UNRWA. No one wanted to engage in that conversation back then, he said. We remain ready to begin that conversation now. It is time to start. Israels U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon backed the U.S. effort to get rid of UNRWA, accusing the agency of empowering the refugee problem instead of trying to solve it, and of inciting violence against Israel instead of rehabilitating Gaza. The organizations schools have been transformed into terror and incitement infrastructures, with textbooks distributed on the ground denying Israels existence, he said, and UNRWA employees assist terrorist groups. But UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Kraehenbuehl told the council that Palestinian refugees face a near complete absence of a political horizon and he is strongly convinced that preserving UNRWAs services is a crucial contribution in terms of human dignity and regional stability. After the U.S. cut off add last year, Kraehenbuehl said, UNRWA mobilized $1.2 billion for its schools, health centers and other operations and he appealed for the same amount this year. It is political inaction not the action of humanitarian organizations that perpetuates conflicts, he said. Avigdor Liberman from the Yisrael Beytenu Party is expected to return to the position of minister of defense, Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth learned on Thursday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Yisrael Beytenu won five seats in the April 2019 elections; Oded Forer, second on the list, and former CEO of the absorption ministry, is expected to become the new absorption minister. Liberman, Netanyahu and Litzman (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg, GPO, EPA) Despite the progress reported, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Liberman have not yet reached agreement on a new draft law, set to exempt the ultra- Orthodox public from serving in the IDF. Other demands regarding religion and state made by the orthodox parties in their coalition talks, are also still unresolved. Liberman's demands for Knesset committees have not been resolved yet either. They await Netanyahu's final decision. Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) Liberman resigned from his post as Defense Minister in the outgoing cabinet, criticizing what he called lax policies towards Hamas in light of repeated attacks from Gaza. An unnamed source involved in the negotiation process, between the prime minister and Liberman, said new guidelines regarding Israeli's strategy towards the terror organiztion, have been agreed on. Negotiations between Netanyahu and Liberman had reached a dead-end last week, and Yisrael Beytenu declared it was ready to "serve Israel from the opposition" if their demands are not met. Netanyahu during a Knesset assembly (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) Liberman held meetings with the IDF Chief of Staff and Shin Bet officials, with Netanyahu's approval, according to reports on Channel 13 news, Wednesday, adding to speculations he will resume his role as defense minister. Netanyahu is trying to finalize coalition talks with all other parties, ahead of the May 28 deadline for presenting his new government; An agreement with the Shas Party is likely to be signed very soon, sources say. Some progress has been made in talks with United Torah Judaism, the ultra-Orthodox party, but on Wednesday, Likud sources confirmed that the draft law, the core issue between the two sides, is still unresolved. Litzman speaks in the ultra-Orthidix city of Bne Brak ahead of the April 9 elections (Photo: Motti Kimchi) The Likud's negotiation team asked that the ultra-Orthodox parties approve the draft law as is, and that the government will change the quotas after the law is approved so that the actual number of Haredis drafted remains the same. but, according to Likud sources, Deputy Health Minister MK Yaakov Litzman, head of United Torah Judaism, will not respond untill the Gerrer Rebbe, leader of the Ger Hassidic court, to which Litzman belongs, approves the final version of the bill. "He (the Rebbe) has to send us a version of the draft law that he can live with," said sources No progress can be made in negotiations before the Rebbe is heard. A 20-year-old New Jersey man sought to aid the Islamic militant group Hamas and threatened to shoot everybody at an unspecified pro-Israel demonstration, federal authorities said Wednesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Jonathan Xie was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, making false statements and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The material support carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. At his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon, he was ordered held without bail. His public defender didnt say whether he would file a motion for a bail hearing. Xie entered the courtroom in shackles and wearing a green T-shirt and dark sweat pants. His only comments during the brief hearing were to say he understood the judges instructions. His parents attended the proceeding but declined to comment afterward. Xie sent $100 to a person he believed was affiliated with a faction of Hamas last December, and a few days later, posted on his Instagram account that he was pretty sure it was illegal but I dont give a damn, according to a criminal complaint. The U.S. has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization since 1997. Xie also allegedly lied on security forms he filled out when he sought to join the U.S. Army by not mentioning the donation. FBI HQ in Washington DC (Photo: AFP) The U.S. attorneys office also alleged Xie posted on Instagram that he wanted to bomb the Israeli embassy and Trump Tower in New York. According to the criminal complaint, a person wearing a black ski mask later identified as Xie said in an Instagram video that he was against Zionism and the neo-liberal establishment and, in response to a question, said he would join Hamas if I could find a way. Later in the video, Xie allegedly displayed a handgun and said he was going to go to a pro-Israel march and Im going to shoot everybody. According to the account of a person who interacted online with Xie and later contacted the FBI, Xie said the attack would be at an Al-Quds Day parade, an annual pro-Palestinian event held around the final Friday of Ramadan. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce Malliet said in court Wednesday that authorities believe one of the events is to be held in New Yorks Times Square on May 31. Protest outside Trump Tower in New York (Photo: AP) After an April trip to Trump Tower in which he was observed by FBI surveillance, according to the complaint, Xie posted photos of the building along with his intent to bomb it. Okay so I went to NYC today and passed by Trump Tower, then I started thinking about bombing it and I was imagining that the explosion would kill Trump and then I started laughing hysterically, he wrote according to the complaint. I forgot to visit the Israeli embassy in NYC...i want to bomb this place along with trump tower. Dutch polls opened Thursday in elections for the European Parliament, starting four days of voting across the 28-nation bloc that pits supporters of deeper integration against populist Euroskeptics who want more power for their national governments. A half hour after voting started in the Netherlands, polls open across the United Kingdom, the only other country voting Thursday, and a nation still wrestling with its plans to leave the European Union altogether and the leadership of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. The elections, which end Sunday night, come as support is surging for populists and nationalists who want to rein in the EU's powers, while traditional powerhouses like France and Germany insist that unity is the best buffer against the shifting economic and security interests of an emerging new world order. French President Emmanuel Macron says the challenge is "not cede to a coalition of destruction and disintegration" that will seek to dismantle EU unity built up over the past six decades. Thirty-five years ago, Vered Achihon made an exhausting journey. Along with her parents and five brothers, she left Ethiopia, passed through Sudan on foot, and arrived in Israel. Today, as the Director of Social Integration for all residents of Jewish Agency Absorption Centers, she shares her story with them and models the values that lead to smoother absorption into Israeli society. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter I got to Israel when I was four, after a journey that took several months, says Achihon, now 39. 'I can tell them that they are giving their children a chance to be part of Israeli society.' Vered Achihon, Social Integration Director for Jewish Agency Absorption Centers (Photo: Nathan Roi) We lived in an absorption center in Atlit for a year and a half. From there we moved to public housing in Migdal HaEmek. Thats where I grew up and finished high school. My late father didnt like to talk about the difficult journey. I think it was because he had persuaded his two sisters to come with us. They were widows and he didnt want to leave them behind in Ethiopia. But they died on the way, and ever since he felt awful. Asked what motivated her family to immigrate to Israel, she says: My father told me I made aliyah at an advanced age and there isnt much I can do independently, but I came for my children. My parents truly did ensure we were each educated, so that we could be successful. It was part of how we grew up. From Volunteer to Director After finishing her BA in Communications from Haifa University at age 23, Achihon started volunteering at an Absorption Center in Ayelet Hashachar, and somehow I ended up working for The Jewish Agency, she remembers. It wasnt something I planned, but I figured it was worth trying. Over the years, Achihon has served many roles, including time as the youngest-ever Absorption Center director. Today, she serves as the Social Integration Director for 22 Jewish Agency Absorption Centers across the country. According to Jewish Agency data, every year tens of thousands of immigrants make aliyah from around 80 countries. The first stop for many of them is a Jewish Agency Absorption Center. There, they study Hebrew and receive a variety of services to help them adjust to Israeli society. Achihon guides them through their first steps in Israel and helps develop a range of educational programs and enrichment activities to prepare the children for Israeli schools and the adults to join the work force. Its all about attitude I develop programs for immigrants from Western countries and from Ethiopia so they can successfully integrate into society, Achihon says. The process I underwent myself helps me contribute to others understanding of ways to smooth their acculturation. 'My father told me, "I made Aliyah at an advanced age and there isnt much I can do independently, but I came for my children." My parents truly did ensure we were each educated, so that we could be successful.' (Photo: Nathan Roi) Achihon says that in discussions with immigrants, she emphasizes the importance of education. I tell them about my own story and emphasize that the government makes it possible for them to study and succeed, but everything hinges on your perspective as a person, and how you want to succeed. "Its hard work, and the question is: what route do you want to take? You can be bitter and say things are bad for me, or you can take matters into your hands. I did a masters degree while working. Its possible to study and develop at any stage of life, and its possible to integrate into Israeli society in the best way. Its the personal undertaking of each and every immigrant. She talks to immigrants with optimism, but also puts the problems on the table. My parents said we left everything we had so our childrens lives could be better. We will push them in school and try to give them an environment where they can bloom, rather than fade. As the daughter of parents who made aliyah late in life, I let the older immigrants know that it will probably be harder for them to overcome cultural barriers. "For a person who comes to a new country at age 50-60, its very hard to learn the language and find work, so they are making a huge sacrifice, and it doesnt matter what country you came from. On the other hand, I can tell them that they are giving their children a chance to be part of Israeli society. The standoff between Iran and the United States is a "clash of wills", a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday, suggesting any enemy "adventurism" would meet a crushing response, Fars news agency reported. For over three decades, Malashock Dance has been a moving force in the San Diego arts community. In fact, founder John Malashock who grew up in La Jolla was the winner of the Bravo Icon Award in 2017, in recognition of his long years of high-level achievement in the performing arts. The year before, he won the Fieldstone Leadership Network Grant, which allowed him to take a well-earned sabbatical in France. And he spent last month having a pretty wonderful time at the Lyric Opera in Kansas City, re-creating for the 15th time his choreography for The Pearl Fishers, a popular Zandra Rhodes-designed production that originated at San Diego Opera in 2004. Art of Elan, now in its 12th year, was founded by two members of San Diego Symphony, violinist Kate Hatmaker and flutist Demarre McGill, now principal flutist with the Dallas Symphony. Their aim was to be presenters and curators, bringing classical music especially contemporary classical music into the community, attracting more diverse audiences with shorter programs in unusual venues, and commissioning new works from innovative composers. Last month, Art of Elan was part of the inaugural celebration at The Conrad, La Jollas long-awaited new music and arts center. We had a sold-out concert in their cabaret space, said Hatmaker, AofEs artistic director. It was great, and the acoustics were, too. High Strung collaborators Kate Hatmaker and John Malashock ( Gary Payne ) This month, with Malashock Dance, theyre presenting an exciting program of dance and live music at the Lyceum Theatre in downtown San Diego, featuring their current Ensemble-in-Residence, Chicago-based Kontras Quartet, onstage with Malashocks dancers. Fun Fact: the quartets co-founder, cellist Jean Hatmaker, is Kate Hatmakers sister. Their residency with Art of Elan is a natural continuation of our lifetime of making music together, Hatmaker said. For years, I was resistant to partnering with Kontras because of conflict of interest. Then last year, we commissioned a work from Branford Marsalis , and they played with him at the Music Box, and everyone said: That quartet is terrific! We love their energy! Why dont you bring them back again! AofE and Malashock have some history together, too. In 2014, they collaborated on Lifeblood Harmony at La Jolla Playhouse, and in 2017, they did Minor Fall/Major Lift at the Lyceum. High Strung will include Intimate Letters, a darkly emotional string quartet by Leos Janacek inspired by his long-lasting, unconsummated love of a younger woman; and the exuberant American Quartet by Antonin Dvorak, written during a delightful summer vacation in Iowa, far away from his hectic life in Manhattan as director of the National Conservatory of Music. The programs opener will be a contemporary piece, After Dust, which combines an excerpt from a 14-movement string quartet by Mary Ellen Childs, who likes to integrate music, dance and theater, with Tenebrae by Osvaldo Golijov, an Argentina-born Grammy-winner born who infuses his work with the Latin and Jewish melodies of his youth. A particularly interesting feature of High Strung is what Malashock calls a choreographic experiment. Hell be using the same choreography in the Janacek and Dvorak pieces to show how different the same moves can seem when set to vastly different music. There are so many moving parts in this production, Hatmaker said. Were trying to build community through music, and collaborations like this broaden our ability to do that. Malashock added: Dance and music work so well together because theyre not about thinking, theyre about experiencing. We have a gorgeous group of dancers and a remarkable group of musicians, and I think High Strung will be a very rich experience for our audiences. IF YOU GO: High Strung will be performed 8 p.m. Friday, May 31, 2019 (pre-show young professionals happy hour, 6:30 p.m. plus $15); 8 p.m. Saturday, June 1 (pre-show VIP reception 6:30 p.m. plus $25) and 7 p.m. Sunday, June 2 at Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, downtown San Diego. Tickets: $15-$45. (619) 544-1000. lyceumevents.org Authorities say more than 30 people are dead after a militia attacked several villages in Central African Republic. The government has issued an ultimatum to the leader of a militia group known as 3R, calling on him to hand over those responsible. The bloodshed took place in several villages in the volatile country's northwest near the border with Chad. Government spokesman Ange-Maxime Kazagui says the group retaliated against several communities in the Ouham Pende prefecture after an incident in which one man was killed. Lucien Mbaigoto, a legislator from the area, said that militia fighters on the ground are not abiding by the peace agreements signed by their leaders, including one in February. Human rights groups have blamed the 3R group for killing and raping civilians since 2015. A giant blaze that started in the Ben Shemen Forest led to the evacuation of thousands of residents from nearby towns Thursday as Israel finds itself battling a multitude of wildfires on the hottest day of the year so far. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter "The damage is enormous, not just to the woodland, but also to the animals," said a JNF official (the Jewish National Fund manages many of Israel's nature areas). "Large swaths of the woodland, the green lung of the Dan region were burnt. We did not expect such a painful blow since we spent the whole night expelling people who lit bonfires." Large firefires destroyed much woodland in central Israel Residents of Gimzo, Shilat, Kfar Rut, Neot Kedumim, Kfar Daniel, Mevo Modi'im and the Adam IDF base were all evacuated, and several homes were damaged in Mevo Modi'im. Battling a blaze near Modi'in Families are being sent to spend the night in the Ben Shemen Youth Village. Social workers will be on hand to assist people with the emotional trauma. Residents of surrounding towns are hosting some 3,500 evacuees. Earlier, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan held a briefing with the police and firefighter commissioners, along with representatives of MDA and other emergency services as the country battles multiple, large wildfires that have led to residents being evacuated from several towns. Near Kibbutz Harel Erdan spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who instructed that assistance be sought from neighboring countries Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Croatia, but not Turkey to help with the blazes. 12 planes and two helicopters are already being used to battle the flames, but apparently foreign assistance is required. Large-scale fire near the central city of El'ad (Photo: Fire and Rescue Authority) Ben Shemen As of 8pm Thursday evening, major fires were burning at two primary locations: Mevo Modi'im and Kibbutz Harel. Some 200 firefighters are battling flames at those two locations. At least 16 homes were destroyed by the fires and police ordered both towns fully evacuated of residents. Massive fire in Kibbutz Harel in central Israel (Photo: Shaul Golan) Israelis sizzled in sweltering heat, as the weather reached scorching temperatures across the country. By the afternoon hours, Tel Aviv and the northern city of Haifa both saw some 40 degrees celsius. In the southern city of Beer Sheva, temperatures rose to 44 degrees, while the Dead Sea region experienced 48 degrees on Thursday afternoon. Firefighting brigades mobilized all available units and are using planes and dozens of fire trucks to try to regain control of the massive flames raging in the Jerusalem area, the Mount Hebron region and in woodlands in the center of the country. Authorities evacuated some homes in the region as the flames began spreading to residential areas. Fires engulf forest areas X Firefighting services said that some of the conflagrations might have started as a result of Lag BOmer bonfires not being extinguished properly overnight. Ben Shemen fire On Wednesday, the National Fire and Rescue Authority restricted the bonfires that traditionally accompany the celebrations. The new regulations said that fires were not allowed to be lit in any forests, even in usually designated areas. Firefighters are also battling flames in the Shfela region (south of Tel Aviv and east of the coastal plain) and near Beit Shemesh. A large fire in the Jerusalem hills led to the evacuation of Kibbutz Harel. Residents of Mavo Modi'in, Gamzu and Kfar Daniel are also being asked to evacuate their homes due to fires in the Ben Shemen woodlands. Kibbutz Harel (Photo: Shaul Golan) Several homes in the Judean hills settlement of Beit Haggai were evacuated due to a fire that broke out near Highway 60 and several people were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. A fire near Elad caused by a careless bonfire Bear enjoys an ice lolly at a Jerusalem zoo (Photo: EPA) The Israel Railways said the extreme weather might cause delays and disruptions in train services throughout Israel since high temperatures cause the steel on the railway tracks to expand in size, slowing down the traffic. A fire in Tel Hashomer in central Israel On Friday, the heatwave is expected to reach its peak. The weather will reach at least 40 degrees celsius in the morning hours, said Tzahi Wachsman from the Meteo-Tech meteorological company. Apes at a Jerusalem zoo cooling off (Photo: EPA) Wachsman added that sandstorms might occur in southern Israel on Friday and by Saturday the heatwave will begin to ease. The Health Ministry recommended to avoid going outside during the afternoon hours and avoid excessive exercise. Its also recommended to close the blinds and curtains in the house in order to avoid solar radiation. Militants in Syria fired four rockets towards Russia's Hmeymim air base in Syria, but all the rockets were destroyed, the RIA news agency cited Russia's Defense Ministry as saying on Thursday. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it launched a drone attack on a Patriot missile battery in the airport of the Saudi city of Najran near the Yemeni border, the group's Al-Masirah TV said on Thursday. There was no Saudi confirmation of the attack. Al Masirah did not say what damage resulted from the attack. The head of the United Nations agency that has supported Palestinian refugees for seven decades hits on Thursday at a U.S. proposal to have host countries take over the services it provides across the Middle East. The suggestion, from U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, that UNRWA should be effectively dismantled was the latest U.S. attack on an agency that began operations in 1950. "We need to engage with host governments to start a conversation about planning the transition of UNRWA services to host governments, or to other international or local non-governmental organizations, as appropriate," Greenblatt said after the Security Council was briefed by UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl. Asked at a Gaza news conference on Thursday about Greenblatt's remarks, Krahenbuhl said UNRWA's mandate was a matter for the entire U.N. General Assembly to consider, not by "one or two individual member states". TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The California man who became known as the "American Taliban" after his capture on an Afghanistan battlefield in late 2001 has been released from prison. John Walker Lindh, 38, was released Thursday from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. Lindh spent more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. The plea deal called for a 20-year sentence, but Lindh is getting out a few years early for good behavior. His release was opposed by the family of Mike Spann, who was killed during an uprising of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan shortly after interrogating Lindh. BERLIN - Iran told a German envoy seeking to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal that its patience was over and urged the treaty's remaining signatories to fulfill their commitments after the United States pulled out, the Fars news agency reported on Thursday. Jens Ploetner, a political director in the German Foreign Ministry, met Iranian Deputy Foreing Minister Abbas Araghchi. A German diplomatic source told Reuters that talks with other Iranian official were also planned. The semi-official Fars news agency said Araghchi had relayed Iran's impatience during the talks. MARSEILLE, France - A French court approved the extradition of an Iranian engineer to the United States to face charges of attempting to illegally import U.S. technology for military purposes on behalf of an Iranian company, a judicial source said on Thursday. The court in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, also rejected a bail request by the Iranian engineer, Jalal Rohollahnejad, 41, who has been detained since Feb. 2 after being arrested at Nice airport as he got off a plane coming from Tehran via Moscow. U.S. judicial investigators suspect Rohollahnejad of trying to import into Iran high-power industrial microwave systems from the United States that could be used for military purposes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said behind closed doors that he is considering declaring new elections because of Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman is demanding that the controversial draft bill be implemented in full, something Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox partners are strongly opposed to. BERLIN -- A senior German diplomat headed Thursday to Tehran to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. and increasing pressure from Washington. Germany's Foreign Ministry sent its political director, Jens Ploetner, to Iran to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to try to salvage the nuclear deal signed in 2015 in Vienna. The accord has steadily unraveled since the Trump administration pulled America out of the deal, re-imposed and escalated U.S. sanctions on Tehran last year. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that Arghchi demanded that European signatories follow through on their commitments under the deal. According to the report, Ploetner said the European side will continue to work to meet Iran's demands and save the deal. The report did not elaborate. The German envoy's visit follows Iran's declaration earlier this month that the remaining signatories to the deal -- Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia -- have two months to develop a plan to shield Iran from American sanctions. At its last meeting of the (school) year, the La Jolla Cluster Association gathered May 16 at Muirlands Middle School to reflect on the 2018-2019 goal of improving Social Emotional Learning. The goal was set at the first meeting of the year, and Cluster members have been working since to find partners and programming. The Cluster Association is comprised of parents, teachers and principals from La Jollas five public schools: Bird Rock Elementary, La Jolla Elementary, Torrey Pines Elementary, Muirlands Middle and La Jolla High. Also known as Social Intelligence, Social Emotional Learning is intended give students the chance to develop an understanding of emotional well-being for themselves and others. Parent Fran Shimp opened: When we first brought this up, it was to produce a Kindergarten through Grade 12 track, using the same language, to prevent the issues we were seeing at the high school by teaching (social intelligence) skills at the elementary and middle school levels. Our goals were to get all the elementary schools together and on the same page, and bring that up to the middle school. We wanted to get student involvement, to key in on what the issues are, rather than what adults think the issues are. While this year served as an information-gathering mission, the programs will be implemented next year. Thus far, parents and counselors from La Jollas elementary schools have met to come up with five topics to incorporate into lessons: 1) self-regulation and recognizing your emotions and coping with them positively; 2) effective communication and how to speak up for yourself; 3) the concept of integrity, including personal responsibility, honor, trustworthiness, fairness and sincerity; 4) empathy; and 5) appreciating diversity and inclusivity. Going forward, parent workshops will be scheduled. Further, curricula the schools are considering include the San Diego Unified School District-recommended Second Steps for empathy, problem-solving and anger management, and the Four You Squad, which encourages student support groups. One Torrey Pines Elementary School parent noted: We know the counselors are super busy, so anything the parents can do to help out (would be appreciated). We have a lot of good ideas, we just want to get them going. Over the course of the meeting, parents advocated for a student-centered club at the elementary school level, so the information is coming from their peers, coupled with lessons given by counselors with a determined curriculum. At Muirlands Middle School, principal Geof Martin said thus far, the school has been successful in incorporating Project Wisdom initiatives that teach life lessons; and Allied Action, intended to create a culture of up-standers. Were hopeful that these programs get implemented with some fidelity and we see some results, Martin said. The school is also looking to partner with non-profit organizations We End Violence director Jeff Bucholtz to lead professional development for teachers; Natural High, which encourages alternatives to drugs and alcohol; and Unlocking the Genius, which engages students in site-based lessons that encourage strengths, experiences and connections to local opportunities to develop their interests. At La Jolla High, programming changes may include grade-specific workshops with We End Violence, peer-counseling groups, and a series of health and wellness fairs. Cluster president John May noted that at the SDUSD Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) committee meeting, there was a presentation on Social Emotional Learning, which was not there a year ago he said. This is going to get rolled out District-wide in the next year or so. Also at La Jolla Cluster New members sought: Given the year is over, May said some board members are not returning, and new board members will be needed to represent the different schools. Those who would like to participate can speak to the leadership at their respective sites or visit lajollacluster.com New principal named: Area 5 Superintendent Mitzi Merino formally announced that Stephanie Hasselbrink was appointed new La Jolla Elementary School principal, after serving as interim principal for months, following Donna Tripis resignation. Members of Israel's Arab sector staged a protest Thursday against the rampant violence and murders plaguing the Arab population of Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Dozens of protesters set out in a caravan of vehicles from Wadi Ara to the Knesset building in Jerusalem displaying signs saying: "Death to Arabs isnt a slogan, its a fact," "Complaints get you killed" and "Wherever a police station is opened, crime surges." Israeli Arabs protest rampant violence Protest convoy Ashraf from Kfar Kana told reporters: "We are not associated with any organization. We decided to begin fighting against the murders and crime in Arab society. We are sick of living with murders and nobody is dealing with the phenomenon that is destroying families." Another participant, Issa Fa'id, pointed out that for every million Arab residents, there are 47 murders, compared with eight in among Jewish sector. "If we dont go out and protest and have our cries heard, then the government and police will abandon us as usual," he said. "Death to Arabs isn't a slogan, its a fact" Majdi Watd said that the violence in the Arab sector threatens all of society and that we are all responsible to take measures against it. "The situation requires concrete action in order to pressure those responsible to take steps to eradicate the crime and murders." Protest caravan against rampant violence Participants speak with police A few days ago, a child was injured by shrapnel while having a Ramadan dinner with his family in the northern town of Um el Fahm. "Bullets penetrated the house and passed over the head of the girl. The incident could have ended in disaster. Even within our homes we are in danger. For how long can this continue? Today they hit a girl and tomorrow it will be other innocents," a relative said. The head of the United Nations agency that has supported Palestinian refugees for seven decades hit back on Thursday at a U.S. proposal to have host countries take over the services it provides across the Middle East. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The suggestion, from U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, that UNRWA should be effectively dismantled was the latest U.S. attack on an agency that began operations in 1950. US envoy to the Mideast Jason Greenblatt (Photo: The United Nations) "We need to engage with host governments to start a conversation about planning the transition of UNRWA services to host governments, or to other international or local non-governmental organizations, as appropriate," Greenblatt said after the Security Council was briefed by UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl. UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl at a school in Gaza Asked at a Gaza news conference on Thursday about Greenblatt's remarks, Krahenbuhl said UNRWA's mandate was a matter for the entire U.N. General Assembly to consider, not by "one or two individual member states". "Therefore, Palestinian refugees should remember that the mandate is protected by the General Assembly, and of course we will engage with member states to ensure what we hope is a safe renewal of that mandate," Krahenbuhl said. Greenblatt and Amb. Dannon Strong backing at General Assembly UNRWA's mission is due to come up for renewal later this year in the General Assembly, where support for the agency has been traditionally strong and the United States would likely face an uphill battle to change or cancel its mission. Greenblatt said UNRWA was "currently running on fumes, surviving on a surge in foreign donations in 2018", and it was time for the international community to address the needs of Palestinians in refugee camps in a sustainable way. More than half of the 2 million Palestinians in the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli blockade, to prevent heavy weaponry from reaching Hamas and other terror organizations, receive food aid from UNRWA. UN envoy Mladenov in Gaza "UNRWA's business model, which is inherently tied to an endlessly and exponentially expanding community of beneficiaries, is in permanent crisis mode," Greenblatt said. Since Trump assumed office in 2017, Palestinians have grown concerned that he intends to bring about UNRWA's demise. Israel says the work of UNRWA - short for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - only perpetuates the plight of Palestinians. Greenblatt speaking at the UN "Year after year, Palestinians in refugee camps were not given the opportunity to build any future; they were misled and used as political pawns and commodities instead of treated as human beings," Greenblatt told the Security Council. UNRWA says it provides services to about 5 million registered Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza, and that it safeguards and advances their rights under international law. Most are descendants of about 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes or fled fighting in the 1948 war that led to Israel's creation and claim a right of return to the lands they left. Israel has ruled out such an influx, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority. Palestinian leaders reject settling refugees in host countries, saying their presence there should be considered temporary. Palestinians in host countries complain of restrictions on jobs and benefits there. The Ministry for Social Equality is activating an emergency hotline Friday between 8:00 and 12:00 for families that want to accommodate senior citizens evacuated from their homes because of the wildfires. In order to do so dial: *8840. The wildfires on Thursday forced the evacuation of residents in towns in southern Israel as well as towns near Jerusalem. By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] LANSING A bill to create a committee to advise on mining regulations in the state recently passed the Michigan House of Representatives. The bill to establish the Committee of Michigans Mining Future passed the House 107-1 on May 16. My bill to create a committee on Michigans mining future had near-unanimous support on the House floor. Work on this bill began in 2015 when it was announced that the Empire Mine would be idled, state Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, said in a news release. Elected officials, labor and industry l... We often tend to focus on the total property value when shopping for an investment property or the deposit needed to secure it. But what are some of the other fees that get lost in calculation? Lenders Mortgage Insurance Previously, buyers were required to hand a lender at least a 20% cash deposit before they could secure a home loan. But today, this amount has been diminished to as low as a manageable 5%. In order to reap this advantage, a borrower will need to take out Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which will cover the bank in the case that your circumstances change deeming you unable to continue tending to mortgage repayments. In other words, its insurance the bank takes out to guard itself against possible risks associated with handing out more than 80% of a propertys value. Whilst the cost of LMI can accumulate well into the thousands depending on how much you request to loan from the bank, the benefit today is that a borrower is able to pay for this amount either up-front, or spread it across the entire life of the loan. Approximate cost: Several thousand, depending on your property value, and how much you decide to loan. For instance, for a property valued at $800k, borrowing $700k can cost you about $10k-15k in LMI fees whereas taking out $750k will see this premium jump to $30k-plus. Conveyancing and legal fees After obtaining a mortgage or a pre-approval for a home loan, you will need to fund for a solicitor or conveyancer to handle the legal side of purchasing a property. Not only will they prepare all the necessary legal documents, but they will submit them and make sure everything is done correctly and by the enforced due date. Furthermore, they can assist you on the propertys change of hand on settlement day, transferring your mortgage, liaising with the bank, lodging and paying the propertys stamp duty fee, and offering you with expert advice along the way. Approximate cost: Legal fees can cost you anywhere from a few hundred dollars, up to approximately $2,000, depending on your solicitor or conveyancers rates, and your state or territory. Be sure to get an estimate of costs in writing prior to engaging their services. For the full story on additional costs when buying a property, read the complete feature article in the June 2019 edition of Your Investment Property magazine. On sale at news agencies and Coles supermarkets 9th May to 5th June or download the magazine now. More than 450,000 rental properties in Queensland are affected by new smoke alarm laws, which could see landlords paying up to $2000 for new smoke alarms or risk being unable to tenant their dwellings. Every rental property in Queensland must meet the new smoke alarm rules by 31st December 2021; to meet this deadline, around 700 homes per day must be made compliant between now and then, warned Rod Prendergast, general manager of Smoke Alarm Quotes. We are getting closer to the date where rental properties need to have their smoke alarms upgraded and it is becoming a real time problem now, he said. The fine for non-compliance is $500. But more importantly, if the property has not been upgraded to meet the new legislation by 1 January 2022, the rental property cannot be leased and a lease renewal cant happen, nor can the property be sold. So if the upgrade hasnt happened prior to a new lease or lease renewal, the landlord simply is not allowed to collect rent without breaking the law. Under the legislation, which was introduced 1 January 2017, all Queensland dwellings will be required to have interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in all bedrooms, in hallways that connect bedrooms with the rest of the dwelling, and on every level. To comply with legislation, interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms are required: From 1 January 2017: in all new dwellings and substantially renovated dwellings (this applies to building applications submitted from 1 January 2017). From 1 January 2022: in all domestic dwellings leased and sold. From 1 January 2027: in all other domestic dwellings. The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) have stated that they will be enforcing the new regulations, but they havent indicated how as yet. I believe most of the enforcement will come from the property managers who have a duty of care to ensure the properties they manage meet all required legislation, and it will be the property managers who will be forcing tardy landlords to comply, Prendergast said. I am not aware of any insurance companies making the statement as yet that their insurance policy would be void if there was a fire. But based on previous experience, I expect this to be the case, and there are usually words in the insurance policy PDS that say exactly this. I certainly wouldnt want to be a landlord or property manager that has a fire with a non-compliant property its like playing Russian Roulette. Landlords in Queensland who havent yet heard from their property manager about complying with the legislation should make enquiries sooner rather than later, Prendergast added. The poor landlord is usually sent one quote from their property manager for the upgrading required but property managers have a responsibility to present their owners with the best and most competitive options, he said. Agencies who only present one quote run the risk that their landlords may think they are biased or receiving a commission, and if the landlord obtains a more competitive quote this will not reflect well on their agency tarnishing their reputation. Apartment oversupply in the Melbourne market could be coming to an end with a booming population and a slowdown in the number of new residential buildings in the capital, according to a report by Domain. Data from agents suggest that Melbournes premium apartment market could be facing undersupply soon due to more buyers opting for high-rise homes in the city. Domain reported that while demand at the top end of the market is increasing, apartment prices in the CBD have encountered issues as the market cools. Median CBD price has dropped by 2.9% over the past year and 2.5% over the past five years. A recent boom in new apartment construction played a significant role in declining apartment prices. However, the pace of building was slowing, according to Domain Economist Trent Wiltshire. Over the next couple of years, apartment construction in Melbournes CBD and inner suburbs is expected to decline, he said. Melbourne has had very strong population growth, 119,400 people last year [according to ABS figures], which has meant there is also very strong ongoing demand for apartments and units. As population growth is expected to remain strong, this should soak up any unsold apartments. Demand for premium apartments in the CBD had climbed over the past 12 to 18 months, according to Sam Nathan, Colliers International Residential (Victoria) director. Nathan said that with a short supply of three-bedroom apartments larger than 200 square metres, savvy buyers were searching for the right property. These purchasers are fully aware that a finite number of apartments could be built in the CBD. Many of the new apartment builds had been created with investors, including foreign investors, in mind. These consumers are those who want to snap up a property in the CBD, said Angie Zigomanis, associate director with research firm BIS Oxford Economics. I think if youre looking for a higher-quality sort of apartment or an apartment with more amenities this round of construction has not been reflective of that, he said. In addition, international students are buying and renting apartments. This behaviour is boosting the apartment market. Other investors, meanwhile, were buying and then renting them out through short-term rental platforms like Airbnb. The next few years would provide a challenge for the CBD markets prices, with several significant new projects entering the market, according to Zigomanis. I think getting decent capital growth has always been a challenge because youre competing against new stock, he said. As far back as 2016, stuck trucks on Hillside Drive have been causing traffic jams on Torrey Pines Road, and headaches for the residents who live nearby. The issue arises when large trucks attempt to make their way from Torrey Pines Road to Hillside Drive and other adjoining streets, but get stuck at the base of the steep street. When this happens, at least one lane of eastbound traffic on Torrey Pines Roads is blocked. Of a stuck truck event earlier this month, nearby resident Diane Kane reported: The truck was there for three hours and caused a massive back-up on Torrey Pines Road. When they eventually got the truck unstuck, they must have closed all lanes of traffic on Torrey Pines Road to tow the truck out. Further, recent changes to the topography and in technology may contribute to the persistence of stuck truck situations. First, the City replaced what is referred to as the dip at the bottom of the street to repair the cross gutter and improve drainage. But at the La Jolla Community Planning Association meeting, May 2, residents reported that those who drive the street are scraping their bumpers as they make their way up and down the hill. One resident said there was a bus stuck in the dip since it was repaved. At the time, City Council member Barbara Brys field representative Mauricio Medina said: I believe were going to schedule a meeting with City staff regarding this project so we can discuss it. A lot of residents of Hillside prefer (the repair) because it deters traffic, so you see the push and pull there. (A notion some residents laughed at.) Further, the use of a GPS smartphone app is being looked at as a stuck truck factor. Both Google Maps and Waze the crowd-sourced GPS app that provides directions based on real-time traffic as reported by users recommend Hillside Drive and streets such as Via Capri as a bypass to Torrey Pines Road when traffic is thick, both to cars and, apparently, trucks. (In 2013, Google bought Waze.) Kane said during another stuck truck incident, she spoke with someone in the truck. He identified himself as the truck navigator, she said. He had the traffic app up on his phone and was looking at it, saying it directed him to turn onto Hillside. He seemed perplexed and said, I just did what the directions told me to do. Kane theorized that the driver might have been looking at the traffic and waiting for an opportunity to turn, and relying on the navigator and didnt see the warning signs (advising against trucks of a certain weight going up the hill) until it was too late. Kane has been advocating for Google Maps and Waze to remove Hillside Drive from its algorithm to discourage use of the street. These apps are not foolproof. We have mentioned it to several people, including Council member Bry, and have been trying to run it through the powers-that-be to have Hillside removed from the program. We cant be the only community where this is going on. Weve heard from people whose neighborhoods are wrecked from these apps. There have to be other streets in San Diego that could be taken out, too, to create safer conditions. In response, Council member Bry told La Jolla Light: My staff has reached out to the Transportation & Storm Water Department to inquire about sharing the street restrictions on navigation platforms like Google Maps to alert over-sized truck operators to use an alternate route. Weve also asked for additional signage on Hillside Drive from Torrey Pines to Via Sienna about the restrictions. Unfortunately, the restrictions only prohibit trucks from using these streets as a shortcut. Any truck that has a destination on Hillside Drive, or is required to use either of these streets to get to a destination in the neighborhood, is exempt from the restriction. To address this and other issues surrounding Hillside Drive, the La Jolla Community Planning Association created an ad-hoc committee, which has been meeting regularly. Another issue and option theyve come up with is to change the signage at the foot of the street. In 2016, the issue first came to light, and was brought before the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation board. Part of the problem, at the time, was insufficient signage. A sign indicating large trucks may not be able to pass was facing eastbound, when most trucks were coming from the west; and another sign on Hillside itself, could only be seen once the turn had been made. Soon after, additional signage was posted on Torrey Pines Road before the left-turn lane leading to Hillside Drive that reads Tractors-Semis over 25 feet, Kingpin to rear axle not advised. Kane explained that according to the California Vehicle Code, if a sign is yellow, it is considered an advisory, and those who violate it would not necessarily be cited. But the ad-hoc committee would like to change that. Our question is how to get these from advisory signs to regulatory signs, so those who violate them can be cited? Kane posed. The ad-hoc committee continues to meet and report back to the Planning Association. LJCPA next meets 6 p.m. Thursday, June 6 at the Rec Center, 615 Prospect St. lajollacpa.org News Yuma, Arizona - According to the Center for Disease Control, more than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States, and among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury death. This could be something as simple as tripping in a parking lot or more serious incidents, like falling from a ladder or roof. Every week at least 10% of the Yuma Fire Departments calls for service are fall related. No matter your age or activity, it pays to watch your footing and be careful. Older adults can take several steps to protect their independence and reduce their risk of falling. They can: exercise regularly and improve balance; ask their doctor or pharmacist to review their medicinesboth prescription and over-the counterto reduce side effects and interactions; have their eyes checked by an eye doctor at least once a year; improve the lighting in their home; and reduce hazards in their home that can lead to falls. The best treatment in the world cannot compare to never being injured in the first place. Safety is no accident! Strokes are the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability. A stroke is a life threatening emergency and every minute counts. Know the signs and symptoms essential for rapid diagnosis and treatment. You can use the acronym F.A.S.T. to remember signs and symptoms associated with having a stroke. F stands for face. Can you smile without one side of your face drooping? A stands for arms. Is one weak or numb? When you raise your arms, does one drift downward? S stands for speech. Is your speech slurred? Can you repeat simple sentences correctly? T stands for time. Studies have shown that the longer a stroke goes untreated, the greater the chances of neurological damage. The Yuma Fire Department offers a voluntary registration program for Special Needs citizens living in the City of Yuma. The Special Needs population would include those with mobility challenges, acute dependency on utilities (medication preservation, oxygen, or other life support devices), and those with other acute medication or health monitoring needs. If you are interested in being added to this list, please contact Fire Administration at 928-373-4850. News Washington, DC - If I told you the ingredients for a souffle and said go make one, youd be in trouble if I didnt tell you how, Jim Warren says, while contemplating four samples of metal spread out across his desk. There are not many visible differences between the samples, Warren points out. But how theyd perform over time could differ a lot. Two of his samples are steels that have the same exact composition or ingredients, but were cooled differently during manufacturing. Materials science is literally the exact same thing as making a souffle, Warren adds. Not a metaphor, but the exact same thing. When I make a material, not only does the composition of it matter, the process and the way it is made determines its properties. Because a souffle is a material. Sitting and talking with Warren like this, it is easy to see why he is often asked about The Great British Bake Off, even though hes not a chef. From his description, inventing new materials sounds a lot like the popular television show, where contestants are given various ingredients and told to make an unfamiliar baked good with very little instruction. What often separates a winner from a loser on the show is the knowledge of how ingredients will perform in various conditions. Likewise, what often separates the invention of a successful new material from a failure is knowledge of how the ingredients will perform when treated in different ways. Combine and cook eggs and milk one way and you get a souffle. Combine them another way and you get scrambled eggs. Cool or quench steel one way and you get something strong. Quench it another way and you get something very brittle and weak. To be certain, kitchen cooking is much less expensive and not (usually) as risky as developing something like a new and improved steel. But the comparison makes the work that Warren oversees at NIST, called the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), easy to relate to, understand and comprehend. A chef learns, over time, how to make a complex souffle. A scientist learns, over time, how to make a complex material. Every thing is made of materialsroads, engines and medical devices, to name just a few examples. For centuries, inventing and developing new materials for industrial applications took long amounts of time and tremendous amounts of trial and error. The process also involved meticulous, laborious record-keeping. All of which could make the development of new materials expensive, and slow. Speeding up the process could save time and money and spur a great deal of innovation across many sectors of the economy, says Warren. The MGI is about getting it tight, fast and integrated so that you can make those predictions and design materials with desired properties, Warren adds. The MGI was launched in 2011 as a multi-agency initiative, with NIST acting in a leadership role for the program, helping to create policies, resources and infrastructures that would support U.S. institutions as they worked to discover, manufacture and deploy advanced materials quickly for a smaller cost. The general idea was to combine the best of computing, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, with the best ideas available from the world of material science to shorten development time for new products and make the U.S. more competitive in manufacturing in the most high-demand, emerging technology markets. MGI first and foremost acknowledged that developing advanced materials would be critical to meeting the challenges of the energy, supercomputing, national security and healthcare sectors. In the beginning, when the MGI was first established, the progress was slow as its creators were building its information technology infrastructure. First there had had to be ways to gather information on the materials, and then to store and manipulate it. Computing power had to meet the needs of innovators. One early MGI success story emerged from the world of metallurgy, when NIST scientists were asked by the U.S. Mint to work on a new formulation for the nations 5-cent piece. Given the worlds increasing demand for nickel as an alloying element, making nickel coins was becoming an expensive proposition, with each coin costing as much as 7 cents to produce. This was really a story of working backwards, says Carelyn Campbell, the leader of the group that worked on the nickel reformulation. Instead of starting with a material and designing a product around that materials limitations, the researchers began with a list of needs from the Mint and designed a material to meet the product need. Everything they did had to be workable using the existing machinery owned by the Treasury Department, as well. To make the new nickel, NIST used the currently available MGI infrastructure (which includes some experimental data and a variety of advanced, relatively new computational tools) to design a different class of coinage materials in just 18 monthssignificantly shorter than the three- to five-year time period usually required for such materials. The team then contributed data to the developing materials-innovation infrastructure, making it easier for anyone to design new coinage materials in the future. One of the big goals for the MGI is to make materials data more accessible and reusable, says Campbell. I believe ours are the first computationally designed coinage materials. Coins and nickel alloys are familiar, but the MGI is also designed to encourage basic research needed for new and novel materials, such as graphene, which was discovered in 2004 using Scotch tape and a piece of the same humble stuff used for making pencil points: graphite. Graphene is sometimes called the worlds first two-dimensional material. Although it is only one atom thick, it is incredibly strong and has a tremendously high melting point. It can also conduct electricity and is transparent. All these characteristics make the material seem incredibly promising for improving electronic devices, lighting, solar panels and batteries. But before any large-scale application work can be done with this wonder stuff, basic information must be gathered. No one really knows the best ways to handle and transport graphene, and standards dont really exist for its production. Also, its unclear how its properties might change after exposure to high temperatures. In January of 2018, a NIST research team led by Jack Douglas and funded through the MGI set out to answer to a few of those questions in a paper written by Douglas and Wenjie Xia, which appeared in ACS Nano. By simulating a melt of graphene sheets, they discovered that, if heated above 1600 K (roughly 1327 C or 2420 F), the material would be transformed into a viscous liquid state, with the sheets themselves crumpling like paper, and that the graphene would become foam-like upon cooling into a glass state. Those qualities would make it an excellent lubrication material at high temperatures, and a possible filtration material at room temperature. The material may also prove to be a powerful fire suppressant. That information could prove extremely helpful to others around the world who are anxious to use graphene in manufacturing. MGI is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help researchers discover applications that exploit the novel properties of these materials. Although many people think of AI as the power behind robotic vacuums and other household items, artificial intelligence broadly refers to anything that machines are doing that was once accomplished only by humans. Machine learning, which is a subset of AI, is the process that seeks patterns in datasets and uses those patterns to predict or classify what is or is not important. The learning happens when the computational approach improves itself through trial and error. That once seemed like science fiction, but machine learning has lately developed into a wide-ranging field of real-life study, as researchers have gained a better handle on the right ways to apply AI to real-world problems. When you are looking to design a material, you have a lot of options, explains Begum Gulsoy, the associate director of the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD), a NIST-sponsored, Chicago-based center of excellence for advanced materials research established in 2014. It is sort of like trying to find a microscopic dot within a big box. What you are trying to do is make educated guesses which will bring you closer to the answer, so the search becomes much smaller. AI and machine learning can guide the design process such that it gets us closer to the points were searching for. Once we experiment we can actually work with much more accuracy than we would otherwise. CHiMaD brings together a wide range of industrial partners and advisers to focus on MGI goals, including companies working on structural engineering, semiconductors, software and IT services, chemical engineering and even candy making. The center is particularly interested in sharing expertise and teaching students about materials design and MGI principles that they can later use in industrial or academic settings. To date the center has worked with more than 300 undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral researchers and professionals, educating them about the value of exploring new materials and of sharing what theyve learned with others in both the public and private sectors to advance the entire field of materials for the future. Many companies see value in being able to do materials design, which tells you something about the applicability of MGI to different concepts and industrial settings, says Gulsoy. It comes down to being able to pinpoint what exactly are your requirements and constraints. You are all, after all, designing a material whether you are trying to make the smoothest chocolate or the strongest metal alloy the trail of thoughts is the same. But teaching computers to work with the data poses lots of challenges. Theres a plethora of machine learning methods available today, says Bob Hanisch, a NIST research scientist who specializes in data storage and retrieval. But there are lots of pitfalls. Without context, the results of any sort of machine learning algorithm are just going to be garbage. Too little data can give you a false sense of confidence in outcomes. Without enough exemplars, some subtle differences might be missing, Hanisch says. And that is often the case in materials science; there just is not that much existing data on the materials in question. To illustrate his point, Hanisch offers an infamous cautionary tale from biology. An algorithm was developed to differentiate dog pictures from wolf pictures with a high rate of accuracy. When humans went back and examined the photos, they realized that the wolf pics were all set in the snow, purely by coincidence. What the computer recognized was the setting, not anything really about the dogs or the wolves themselves, Hanisch explains. Both the quality of the data and the context were lacking, making the results robust, but faulty. Similarly, images of the microstructures of materials can be labeled according to their properties and performance capabilities and then cataloged. After a while, a given machine learning system will begin to detect patterns. But thats just a data-gathering exercise. Machine learning algorithms know nothing about the physical world unless we tell them about it, so finding contextual information to feed into the system is key. And for materials, the information can be much more complex than just snow or no snow. For materials, that means many of the same things Jim Warren talked about with his steel samples: the list of ingredients, the manufacturing process, that is, the souffle recipe, Warren says. It also means the things that Douglas and Campbells research groups discovered when working with nickel and graphene: quench time, crumpling dynamics, and stability at high temperatures. Once data needs have been identified, materials scientists use models to narrow the knowledge gaps. The idea is to accelerate the rate of discovery by merging experiments and simulations. Sharing all the discoveries is far more complex than just tossing information out into the World Wide Web for anyone to find accidentally. Researchers dont always use the same terminology to describe identical topics, processes and material components. To help, NIST has been developing a web-based materials resource registry, and publishers of data who want to submit their work must use a predefined vocabulary from a list that Hanisch and his team have developed. NIST scientists have also been collaborating with other research institutions and private companies to develop databases. This past year, for example, a team that included researchers from NIST, the Department of Energys SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Northwestern University and a Silicon Valley-based company, Citrine Informatics, announced it had been able to use machine learning techniques to find a shortcut for discovering and improving metallic glass at a fraction of the time and cost previously estimated for the material. Although rarely discussed outside the worlds of applied physics and materials science, metallic glass has become a kind of holy grail for some research teams. Most metals have an ordered atomic structure, making them rigid. Glasses, whether metallic or the more familiar silicate materials that are fashioned into conventional glassware, are amorphous, with a more randomized molecular structure that resembles a liquid more than a solid. Unlike conventional glass, however, this novel material can conduct electricity, is extremely strong and may make excellent coatings for steel or other building materials. To date, scientists have not identified a truly predictive model detailing why one mixture of elements will form a glass, while a different mixture of the same or similar elements will not. Over the last 50 years, scientists have identified and tabulated about 6,000 combinations of various materials in the quest to make the stuff, with only incremental amounts of progress. Using machine learning, the MGI-funded team was able to make and screen more than 20,000 new metals for their ability to form glasses in a single year, an accomplishment which was then detailed in a paper published in Science Advances in April 2018. It was helpful to have a private company involved in the metallic glass project, says Warren, the MGI lead. They own confidence in AI. They also have experience in industry and they know what industry needs. But having MGI exist as a public-sector venture is an important way to remove risk for companies that want to do new materials work. Just like building the internet, theres a big return on government investment when the infrastructure is available to everyone who wants to use it. MGI is essentially a very similar kind of argument for infrastructure, he says, noting that a 2018 report found that the initiative could deliver between $123 billion and $270 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Once weve built it, all sorts of new business models will crop up. And thats a good thing for growing the materials field. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Sharing is caring! 41 shares Share 28 Tweet Pin 13 Ive made it no secret that the South Islands West Coast is one of my favorite corners of New Zealand, a wild and empty coastline full of spikey mountains and dense rainforests, rugged beaches and feisty penguins. I love it. Theres something about this place that gets under my skin in the best possible way. I yearn for it. Whenever I need a break from the hustle and bustle of my busy life, I try and book in an escape up here once or twice a year, usually around Punakaiki. Taking a digital detox is crucial for me to get back to my roots and allow my mind to relax and then roam free without the burdens of the god damn internet. Can you relate? While I often book in different baches up here (bach being the kiwi word for a cabin type holiday home of the rustic variety usually comes with endless spiders, no insulation and an outdoor toilet) this time around I was super keen to crash at Canopy Campings Woodpecker Hut my kind of place! The masters of delightful and charming glamping sites in New Zealand, Canopy Camping looks after very cool rustic holiday spots and luxury camping spots all over the country. But like me, the owners loved the West Coast so much they built their own glamping spots here. Ive stayed at quite a few of their amazing properties and that type of getaway, of going off the grid on an epic piece of land in a cool place, is totally my style of travel here. Queen of glamping! I love the fresh clean smell of the air here and the sound of the waves breaking along the wild coastline. Its paradise for me. Picking up all the food I need to cook in Greymouth on the way up the west coast, I was packed up and ready to settle in and get all cozy at Woodpecker Hut for a few days. My goal was to unwind, relax and do some writing. A Punakaiki getaway is good for the soul. The West Coast is home to roughly 30,000 people on a good day and stretches 600 kilometers, almost the entire length of the South Island, which means its big and empty. Home to some incredible wildlife, like the infamous sandfly, perhaps this is why its the last bastion of undeveloped land here. From glaciers, rainforests, mountains, caves and underground rivers, and a complex and fascinating history, this part of New Zealand rocks. In fact, many say its the last place in the country that still looks like what all of the country would have looked like before humans came and cleared the native forests for farming. Its no surprise that its a place of myths and legends. Woodpecker Hut is hidden away on a coastal cliff overlooking the sea, and if you didnt know it was there, youd probably never find it. Its set up almost in a rustic cabin style from the US, a haunting reminder of the rich and vibrant gold rush history of the area over a century ago. Built by a local builder and artist, the waney edge weatherboard and native timber lining give this place a very cozy and comfortable vibe that if youre like me, you love instantly. As soon as I parked the car and stepped outside, I think I released the biggest, deepest sigh of contentment. This was the kind of place Id love to have as a home someday. Suitcase by Steamline Luggage linked here and on sale Its made up of two small off-grid timber huts that are connected with an outdoor covered kitchen were glamping guys that has all the bits and bobs youd find at a bach or holiday house you need for cooking. One of the wooden huts is a lounge, with a little loft and a woodburner stove and cozy sofas overlooking the sea while the over room is the bedroom with a massive bed piled with pillows and blankets and hidden heater. The build and design is nothing short of clever and cozy. Everything you could want but still homespun and unpretentious. For someone who is a dreamer, an introvert and who likes to be left alone with her own thoughts for company, this is a great getaway for solo travelers, though I imagine more often its couples that stay here. I suppose I can see that its romantic. But lets be honest here, not sharing a bed is pretty awesome. Not to mention Woodpecker Hut and a Punakaiki getaway is a great base to explore this part of the coast. I definitely recommend camping up here for at least a couple of nights, if not longer. You wont regret it! But I havent even mentioned the best part Honey! Oh wait, I mean the woodfire hot tub. But also Honey, a lovingly old yellow lab owned by the builders and whom the bedroom hut is named for Honey Hut. If they happen to be in the surrounding area working, you might get to meet this friendly pup who must have spent a fair amount of time on the site as it was being built up and occasionally returns on her own accord to check in on the guests. Im not gonna lie, I totally tried to keep her the whole time. The views from every window of Woodpecker Hut will knock your socks off. Rain or shine its an incredible part of the country and I loved soaking up the sunshine and watching the massive sun dip below the horizon from the spa as much as I loved sitting inside with a book and a blanket by the fire listening to the rain tap tap tap away on the metal roof. Yes, on the West Coast you are likely to get every type of weather in one afternoon. Since I had the luxury of driving up from my home in Wanaka it meant that I could pack as much as I wanted without airline baggage restrictions or a whingy boyfriend making me feel bad. This meant I brought all the books, all of the baggy sweaters and wooley socks and no make-up! Are you reading anything good? Share! Plowing through some of my books that Ive had for a while and not gotten around to digging into yet, I basically spent my time away reading, writing, daydreaming and going for forest walks. Heaven. Oh, and did I mention there is no phone service or wifi?! HEAVEN! However, if you do need anything, Punakaiki is less than 10 minutes drive away and has reception, a cafe and food options, though if youre planning to cook stock up in either Westport or Greymouth. If hiding away inside and never leaving its for you, dont fret, theres actually heaps to do in the area. Most tourists just breeze through this part of the West Coast on their way north or south to bigger hotspots, taking a wee break to walk around the famous Pancake Rocks nearby for a photo. Curious limestone formations on the coastline here are made up of rock layers stacked like a pile of pancakes (good old kiwi ingenuity with that name) and its an easy walk though I definitely recommend walking along at high tide when the water can surge up through the blowholes! There are plenty of wild beaches nearby and secret surf spots, along with plenty of hikes and tracks around the Paparoa National Park. Here the elusive great spotted kiwi/roroa roam the forest and mountains and pterodactyls soar high in the sky. Yes, this is *actually* Jurassic Park. Fox River nearby has a scenic 2 hour bush walk up the river valley and the Pororari River walk is a must if youre in the area. You can rent little canoes at the campsite and boat up and down the mellow river (likely being devoured by sandflies in the process). Youve been warned. In partnership with the Paparoa Wildlife Trust, New Zealands Department of Conservation is launching the next Great Walk here right in the national park itll be open likely at the end of 2019. The Paparoa Track and Pike29 Memorial Track will be New Zealands next Great Walk and will be a 55 kilometer 2-3 hike that crosses the Paparoa Range traversing my favorite part of New Zealand! And to have a Great Walk open here with their amazing facilities and well-developed trails will be awesome as bush-bashing and tramping here otherwise is nothing short of nightmarish how the early settlers and Maori pounamu hunters did it is beyond me. In the next couple of months Ill be heading back up here to walk the new Paparoa Track with DOC in preparation for the launch and I couldnt be more excited. I dream for this kind of Punakiki getaway. I hope if you guys ever get the chance to come to New Zealand or down south you make the time to check out one of my favorite places near Punakaiki too. Do you have a go-to place that you like to hide away and detox too? Does this part of the world appeal to you? Spill! Many thanks to Canopy Camping for putting me up at the Woodpecker Hut like always Im keeping it real all opinions are my own like you could expect less from me! In response to parent concerns over the safety of a crossing at Nautilus Street at Fay Avenue, the City of San Diego has installed signage on the overhang. When the light turns green at the T-intersection, it is for both student pedestrians leaving Muirlands Middle School and La Jolla High School and cars that only have the option to turn left or right, across the crosswalks on either side. And with the flow of student pedestrians, there are not a lot of legal opportunities for several drivers to proceed in one light cycle. As such, some drivers jump ahead and try to get ahead of the pedestrians, while others wait until the area is free of students at the very end of the cycle. One parent told La Jolla Light earlier this year she sees near misses three times a week. As Muirlands Middle School seventh-grader Skye Buffington observed: Im concerned about the safety and how the kids and drivers dont follow directions. When the light turns green for cars, they cant really go because there are a lot of kids crossing, but they try to anyway. Plus, sometimes kids cross when (the hand is flashing or solid and) they are not supposed to, and without looking to see if it is safe and they hold up an entire line of cars. Further, some students proceed outside the lines of the crosswalk. Skye said she has also seen parents texting while driving, which causes some concern. One Muirlands Middle School teacher, who asked not to be named, said he observed how poorly parents (and others) drive when they are dropping off and picking up here at our stoplight; running red lights, making U-turns, double parking, speeding, etc. The La Jolla Light ran a story about the issue in January, and the City recently installed the signs indicating drivers should yield to pedestrians. Just as the City installed signs along Fay Avenue at Nautilus Street, these recently installed signs bookending Pearl Street at Girard Avenue also indicate drivers must yield to pedestrians. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon) Further, as part of a larger roll-out on City streets, devices known as emergency vehicle detectors have been installed on traffic light overhangs along Nautilus Street. These detectors encourage traffic signal preemption a system used to manipulate traffic signals in the path of an emergency vehicle, halting conflicting traffic and allowing the emergency vehicle right-of-way to help reduce response times and enhance traffic safety. Hoisted via small camera-like devices on traffic light overhangs along Nautilus Street between La Jolla Scenic Drive North and La Jolla Boulevard, emergency vehicle detectors are current standard on all traffic signals: Meaning they are either installed or going to be installed on all signals in San Diego said City spokesperson Anthony Santacroce. RTHK: Regulators meet to discuss return of Boeing 737 Two months after Boeing's popular 737 MAX aircraft was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes, civil aviation authorities gathered on Thursday in Texas to consider a burning question: When will the top-selling jet fly again? Daniel Elwell, acting head of the US Federal Aviation Administration, threw cold water on hopes of a speedy resolution, after revealing late on Wednesday that Boeing had held off submitting a proposed software fix for review after his agency raised additional questions. Investigators have focused on the MAX's anti-stall Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System in inquiries into the crashes in Ethiopia in March and Indonesia in October which left 346 people dead. Boeing last week said the MCAS update was ready for the certification process, and US airlines were hoping the planes could be back in the skies in time for part of the summer travel season. But Elwell on Thursday said the process could take one month, two months or longer. "It is all determined by what we find in our analysis of the application," he said on CNBC. Once Boeing has submitted all documentation, the FAA will conduct a test flight and detailed analysis to evaluate the safety of the flight software system. Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at Teal Group, said Boeing wants to avoid having to repeat the process. "There's a lot at stake in terms of the first impression by the world's regulators," he told the AFP news agency. US air carriers that operate the 737 MAX, including American Airlines, Southwest and United, have said they hope to have the planes flying again by mid-August at the latest. But the FAA's reputation has taken a beating since the March crash, and faced accusations of an overly cosy relationship with the aviation giant. Other aviation authorities now appear less likely to follow in lockstep with the US agency. Michel Merluzeau of Air Insight Research said American officials could end the 737 MAX's grounding toward the end of summer, with authorities in other countries following suit "several months" later. "We're headed for a return to service that could drag on in time," he said. Elwell said regulators also have yet to decide on changes to pilot training once the adjustments have been approved. The United States has differed with a number of countries on this issue, including Canada. Washington believes training on computers or tablets is sufficient for seasoned pilots but Ottawa wants to require training on flight simulators. The European Aviation Safety Agency, Canada and Brazil are among countries saying they will conduct their own evaluations of the MCAS fix. What China, the first country to ground the 737 MAX, will do is also an unknown given the flare-up in trade frictions with the United States. About five dozen representatives from 33 countries accepted the FAA's invitation to attend the regulators' conference. During the meeting, which is occurring behind closed doors at an FAA facility, Elwell and other officials will emphasise "transparency," explaining to their counterparts how the agency plans to evaluate the 737 MAX upgrade. They will also lay out their procedures and seek input. Regaining the public's trust will take time, according to opinion polls conducted by Southwest showing that many passengers are not yet ready to get back aboard a 737 MAX jet. And pilots, on whom both the FAA and the air carriers depend, do not appear ready to write a blank cheque either. "Before the Boeing MAX's return to service, we need answers and transparency," the European Cockpit Association said on Thursday in a statement. The organisation, which represents 38,000 pilots from 36 countries, said it was "deeply disturbing" that the FAA and Boeing were considering a return to service while not disclosing "the many challenging questions prompted by the MAX design philosophy." Beyond Boeing's reputation, the 737 MAX crisis comes at a major financial cost, given that the plane represented 80 percent of the company's order backlog as of the end of last month. The company, which has suspended deliveries, is only paid at the moment of delivery and will have to indemnify air carriers for losses. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Cars / Yachts Founded in Indonesia, where it has three offices and a shipyard, Yacht Sourcing has recently extended its operations to Thailand. May 23, 2019 | By Yacht Style Yacht Sourcing has expanded its operations beyond Indonesia by appointing Nicolas Monges as the companys General Manager in Thailand. Monges, who is also a partner in Yacht Sourcing Thailand, is a graduate of the prestigious Euromed Marseille Ecole de Management (now Kedge Business School), where he studied International Business Development and Marketing. Having moved to Phuket in 2009, the Frenchman has worked in the yachting and property industries, primarily specialising in sales and marketing, with experience of events in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Im very passionate about yachting and have worked across many parts of the industry, including marinas, boat shows, charters and yacht sales, said Monges, who is on the Board of Advisors for the Ocean For All Foundation. Yacht Sourcing is diverse company thats growing fast and operating in many sectors of the marine industry, including sales, charters and marinas, so its a perfect match and a great opportunity for me. Im looking forward to growing the company here as I believe there are huge opportunities in Thailand. Boum Senous, Yacht Sourcings co-founder and Director of Operations, said the companys move into Thailand was the start of what he hopes will be a gradual expansion across Southeast Asia. Were delighted to welcome Nico to the team as he heads our new operation in Thailand. Its an exciting time for Yacht Sourcing as we explore new opportunities in Southeast Asia to build on our growth in Indonesia, said Senous, who founded the company in 2016 with Xavier Fabre, Director of Sales. We have a passionate team and a strong management with wide-ranging experience of the industry across many countries in Asia. Weve grown quickly in Indonesia, which will remain our home, and now want to expand our offerings and expertise to neighbouring countries as we spread our network in the region. Yacht Sourcing has offices in Jakarta, Bali and Labuan Bajo, and is the Indonesia dealer for luxury motoryacht brands Ferretti Yachts, Pershing and Riva from Italys Ferretti Group, and renowned French catamaran builder Fountaine Pajot, an appointment announced in April. As well as sales of new and pre-owned yachts, Yacht Sourcing manages new builds and refits in its own shipyard in Sulawesi, while its charter division Voyage by Yacht Sourcing comprises a diverse fleet in Indonesia and was named Best Asia-Based Charter Company (Phinisi) at the 2019 Christofle Yacht Style Awards. In partnership with Cedric Le Rest, the company has also created Marina Sourcing, a marina consultancy currently developing the Escape Marina Resort in the island of Flores and working on the early stages of multiple other projects. Trump's futile quest for a renminbi Plaza Accord Recent US media reports claim China may depreciate its renminbi to cope with shrinking exports. Yet, economic realities are precisely the reverse. Worse, trade wars are about to hit American consumers. Recently, the White House lifted tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, while targeting another $300 billion worth of Chinese imports for potential punitive tariffs. As was to be expected, the renminbi depreciated from 6.7 to more than 6.9 against the US dollar, mainly on renewed trade tensions. China retaliated by imposing duties on $60 billion of US goods, starting June 1. China could have retaliated hard, but opted for a mild response that highlights the importance of talks. I love the position were in, President Trump said recently. Yet, the movement of the renminbi may not be to the liking of the White House since it is likely to offset the tariff impact. Trump tariffs' impact on Chinese and Asian currencies Until Trump's tariff escalation, Chinese renminbi was around 6.80 against the US dollar. That, however, was predicated on the expectation that cooler heads would prevail in the White House and a broad-scale trade war was avoidable. When President Trump opted for tariff escalation, markets reacted quite expectedly. For now, the Chinese currency has only reversed its appreciation year-to-date. As Trump prepares to raise and broaden US tariffs even more, Chinese renminbi could depreciate more. But that is the White Houses choice, not Beijings preference. Indeed, Trumps tariffs have paced the renminbi fluctuations ever since the start of his trade wars (see Figure). Figure How Trump tariffs reverberate in renminbi movements In light of these facts, the claim that China is depreciating the renminbi is simply flawed. Depreciation is precisely what China seeks to avoid. When exports shrink, a light depreciation of the currency is of no help. And if the renminbi would depreciate significantly in a short period of time, it would foster worries about capital flight. That's why Chinese government has done precisely the reverse: To avoid steeper depreciation and capital outflows, the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) recently set a stronger-than-expected daily fixing of the exchange rate. The central bank is likely to try to keep the renminbi below 7 per dollar. The depreciation of the renminbi is in line with that of other emerging-Asia currencies that have taken hits, including Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar, Malaysian ringgit, the Indian rupee and the exhausted South Korean won. By the same token, Trumps tariff escalation is likely to cause a negative spillover effect among the same currencies. Ironically, those countries that may suffer most of the pain - Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam - are closest US allies in Asia, but also targets for next tariff wars. In the future, Trump seems intent to target Europe, Japan, South Korea and emerging Southeast Asia. Tariff wars collateral damage in the US A year ago, Larry Kudlow, Trumps director of National Economic Council, was still gung-ho about US supremacy in the tariff war. Recently, he admitted that American consumers will pay for the Trump trade wars. In the US, his reversal is seen as betrayal of American public, and rightly so. As Washington Post put it, Trumps own top economic adviser gives lie to his trade war rhetoric. Here are the inconvenient truths: A broad-scale trade war could penalize 0.5% to 0.8% off real US GDP growth, while earnings growth could be shaved off by 3% or more effectively halving the figure. Auto sales are a barometer of whats to come. In 2019, Chinese auto sales could decline by 3%, but in the US by almost 4%. In 2020, US sales could remain in the red, but Chinese sales could increase according to US data. Unsurprisingly, several US lawmakers are finally slamming Trumps tariff increase on China. In just a year or two, the Trump administration has committed some of the worst trade-policy mistakes in the postwar US history. The resulting economic pain will spread in America as products shipped from China arrive in about three weeks. The fantasy about a renminbi Plaza Hotel Accord For a decade or two, Washington has periodically used Chinese renminbi as a scapegoat to distract public spotlight away from rising economic challenges in the US. Yet, the renminbi has been largely in line with fundamentals since the mid-2010s, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has affirmed. However, Trump has a more intimate interest in currency manipulation. Before his firm bought the Plaza Hotel in New York City, he monitored closely the talks that led to the 1985 Plaza Accord. The controversial pact led the US, France, West Germany, the UK and Japan to depreciate US dollar relative to the Japanese yen and Deutsche mark by intervening in the currency markets. It was that exchange-rate manipulation that played a key role in Japans subsequent containment, asset bubbles, deflation, and secular stagnation. And it is the same dream that seems to fuel the Trump trade hawks fantasies about Chinas containment and stagnation. Yet, China is not Japan, dreams are just dreams, and the White House is in for an awakening. Dr Steinbock is the founder of the Difference Group and has served as the research director at the India, China, and America Institute (USA) and a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more information, see http://www.differencegroup.net/ 2019 Copyright Dan Steinbock - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. Dan Steinbock Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Eye Opening Currency Charts Why Precious Metals Are Falling The incredible strength of the US Dollar over the past 12+ months has put downward pricing pressure on Gold and Silver. I believe this downward pricing pressure could be muting any upside price advanced in Gold and Silver by as much as 20% to 30% or more. The US Dollar has turned into the global safe-haven for international investors and foreign governments. Over the past 6 to 12 months, or more, the US Dollar has been the only fiat currency to see any strength and upward trend. All the other major global currency levels have fallen some dramatically lower. The EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF have all fallen sharply over the past 6 to 12 months as the strength of the US Dollar and US Economy continued to surprise many. Weve been calling this a capital shift that started back in 2015~2016 when the 2016 US Election cycle began and China began to implement capital controls. At the same time, foreign nations such as Brazil and Venezuela began to shift into an economic abyss while the UK dealt with BREXIT negotiations. All of these external factors created an environment where the US Dollar became a global safe-haven for global investors all of which were seeking US equities and US Dollars to hedge weakening foreign currencies and weak foreign stock market performance. I think that the US Dollar strength, in combination with the continued foreign Gold acquisitions has amounted to a resolved reversion in Gold prices that could reflect a 10% to 20% price anomaly. In other words, the strength of the US Dollar has muted the advancing price of Gold by our estimates of 2x to 2.5x the strength of the US Dollar. Over the past 12 months, the US Dollar rallied from 89.42 (April 2018) to 97.92 (May 2019: current price). This reflects a 9.60% increase in the value of the US Dollar. If my research is correct, the price of Gold should have rallied by about 18% to 26% from the April 2018 levels IF the US Dollar had not appreciated in value as it has. Therefore, the true price of Gold should be somewhere near $1600 (18% above April 2018 levels) to $1700 (26% above April 2018 levels) if we attempted to eliminate the reversion effect of the US Dollar strength. We come to this conclusion by statistically analyzing the US Dollar strength after April 2018 and how Gold reacted to this strength by falling over 12.5% from near $1350 to a level near $1170. That range of time reflected an 8% price advance in the US Dollar. Thus, a ratio of 1.5 to 1 has clearly been established within that move. More recently, from August 2018 till now, the US Dollar has rallied 1.47% while the price of Gold has rallied 8.87%. The current price of Gold is -5.60% below the April 2018 price level. If we were to assume that the rally in the US Dollar deflated the price appreciation of Gold by nearly equal ratios, then we take the April 2018 price of Gold ($1350) and add the related price variances of Gold over this span (essentially reverting the price of Gold to April 2018 US Dollar levels : $1350 * 1.27) and we end up with $1714.50. This reflects a greater than 30% price anomaly from the current price of Gold. Gold Futures Goldchart by TradingView We need to ask ourselves one simple question, what would it take for Precious Metals and the global stock markets to revert back to these expected price levels? Would it be a move away from the US Dollar? Would it be some shift in foreign currency valuations? Would it be a combination of factors that drive greater fear into the markets and reflect a US Dollar valuation decline? In the second part of this article, I will explore some possibilities and explain why I believe we are just days or weeks away from finding out exactly what will cause this price anomaly to revert along with my proprietary gold price cycle forecast. I just highlighted the strength of the US Dollar in comparison to other foreign currencies and suggested this US Dollar strength may have created a price anomaly setup in Precious Metals specifically Gold. I believe a very unique setup is happening in the global markets right now and that the price of Gold is substantially undervalued compared to risks that are present throughout the global economies. I believe the strength of the US Dollar has muted the upside potential of Gold by at least 20% to 30% over the past 12+ months and I believe a shift is taking place where Gold is starting to break these pricing constraints. If the analysis is correct, I believe traders only have about 3~6+ weeks before well find out why and what will cause this price anomaly to revert back to what I believe is price normalcy. The strength of the US Dollar, as well as the continued global capital shift where foreign investors are piling into the US stock market and US Dollar related investments, have continued to put incredible pricing pressures on Precious Metals. We believe this shift may be about to revert back to some levels of normalcy in term of Precious Metals pricing. I believe a major Pennant/Flag formation is setting up in Gold where this price anomaly event will be resolved. This type of price anomaly reset, or reversion will prompt a massive upside price advance in Gold and Silver that will attempt to restore proper pricing levels to the Precious Metals commodities. I believe we are just weeks away from the completion of this Pennant/Flag apex/breakout event and believe the upside price targets identified align with a series of key events that are likely to unfold over the Summer months of 2019. Take a few minutes to read the recent three-part research post regarding these events and how they relate to the global stock/commodity markets here. Our predictive modeling systems have been warning that a price advance in Gold and Silver will take place between April/May of 2019 and Aug/Sept or 2019. We are calling this the initial upside price leg because we believe this upside price move will be just the beginning of a much larger move higher for Precious Metals. Weve highlighted some of the biggest concerns we currently have related to the global stock market price appreciation levels and the concerns related to the US Presidential Election cycle in precious articles Please read them here : We believe it is imperative to alert all investors/traders of this event and to attempt to allow all investors/traders to plan for what may become one of the biggest global stock market swings in recent history as well as one of the biggest moves in Precious Metals in history. My proprietary cycle analysis and trade signals are suggesting a mild price recovery in Gold will prompt moderate upside pricing pressure over the next 10~20+ days. This aligns perfectly with our Pennant/Flag formation, see the previous chart. It would be expected that Gold prices would form a moderate price support level near $1270 before moving back up to the upper Pennant price channel, near $1295. Then, price should set up the Apex Breakout move which will likely be a washout-low price rotation (somewhere near or below $1270) with a very quick reversal to the upside breaking $1330 and rallying much higher. This type of rotation is very common and often prompts traders to jump into short positions on the washout-low formation before getting clobbered on the reversal/rally. Be prepared. Lastly, we want to alert everyone to a chart weve been following that could become a determining factor for the future of the global stock market levels, the US Dollar and Precious Metals. The one thing we dont want to see is a massive decline in yield in the 2 Year Treasuries. This would indicate failed growth expectations throughout the globe and, in particular, reflect concerns that the US markets could contract/decline in-line with further global market devaluations. Weve already been trying to warn investors that the US Presidential Election cycle will likely create a stalling price pattern in the US stock market. Weve been warning, for the past 18 months, that Gold is setting up a massive bottom/breakout formation. Weve recently highlighted the global concerns (Europe, China, US, and others) that may combine to create something like a perfect storm for currencies and the global equities markets. If that translates into yield weakness in the US Treasuries, think about how that would translate into the Precious Metals reversion that we are suggesting is only a few weeks away? Chart courtesy of www.crescat.net We strongly urge investors to pay very close attention to our research and prepare for this event. Yes, the Capital Shift event is still taking place and as long as nothing disrupts this shift, capital will continue to flow into the US Dollar and US Equities. Our concern is that the charts are telling us we are very near to the end of this event cycle and we are alerting all of our followers so they can prepare for this move. It may start out mildly it may not. We do know that our predictive modeling systems are suggesting that July/August 2019 are on our radar for a major price rotation/event. UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY First, we typically see stocks sell-off and as the old saying goes, Sell in May and Go Away! which is what has been happening. So what does this mean? It means we should start to see money flow into the safe-haven assets like the Utility sector, bonds, and most importantly precious metals. I anticipated this and our XLU utilities ETF taken with members has already hit our first profit target, and our VIX ETF trade also hit out 15% profit target and we the balance of it is still up 25% as of yesterday. Second, my birthday was this month, and I think its time I open the doors for a once a year opportunity for everyone to get a gift that could have some considerable value in the future. For May I am going to give away and ship out silver rounds to anyone who buys a 1-year, or 2-year subscription to my Wealth Trading Newsletter. You can upgrade to this longer-term subscription or if you are new, join one of these two plans listed below, and you will receive: 1-Year Subscription Gets One 1oz Silver Round FREE (Could be worth hundreds of dollars) 2-Year Subscription Gets TWO 1oz Silver Rounds FREE (Could be worth a lot in the future) I only have 13 more silver rounds Im giving away so upgrade or join now before its too late! SUBSCRIBE TO MY TRADE ALERTS AND GET YOUR FREE SILVER ROUNDS! Happy May Everyone! Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets out our data collection and processing practices and your options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used. This Policy contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. 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We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Relying on the corporate media, including BBC News, to provide a reliable account of the world is literally a matter of life or death, on many levels. Imagine, for example, a Russian dissident living in the UK who had published copious evidence of Russian war crimes, and who had then sought political asylum in an embassy in London. Imagine if that dissident were then expelled from the embassy, under pressure from Russia, immediately imprisoned in a high-security prison here and faced with the prospect of extradition to Russia to face life imprisonment or the death sentence. There would be a massive uproar in the Western media. Western political leaders would issue strong statements of disapproval and demand the freedom of a brave dissident. The case of Julian Assange, co-founder of WikiLeaks, is much worse. He is being pursued relentlessly by a powerful country, the United States, of which he is not even a citizen. US prosecutors are now reportedly helping themselves to Assanges possessions, including medical records and two manuscripts. Baltasar Garzon, international legal co-ordinator for the defence of Assange and WikiLeaks, urged international bodies to intervene in what he called: an unprecedented attack on the rights of the defence, freedom of expression and access to information. He added: It is extremely worrying that Ecuador has proceeded with the search and seizure of property, documents, information and other material belonging to the defence of Julian Assange, which Ecuador arbitrarily confiscated, so that these can be handed over to the agent of political persecution against him, the United States. The US is undoubtedly looking for evidence to build a bogus case against Assange to lock him away for life for alleged crimes against the worlds number one rogue state. As Noam Chomsky has long observed, the US behaves like the Mafia writ large. You go against their power at your peril. The incentives for Ecuador, under a Washington-friendly government led by Lenin Moreno since 2017, to behave in this appalling manner are obvious. A report in The Canary spelled it out: Ecuador is raking in new [trade] deals with the UK and US after handing over Julian Assange. In Sweden, surely under US pressure, prosecutors have now applied for a warrant for Assanges arrest. Craig Murray provided the vital background to this latest disgraceful development, pointing to the: incredible and open bias of the courts against Assange [] since day 1. The former British diplomat is clear about the crucial importance of the work of WikiLeaks and Assange: Julian Assange revolutionised publishing by bringing the public direct access to massive amounts of raw material showing secrets the government wished to hide. By giving the public this direct access he cut out the filtering and mediating role of the journalistic and political classes. Murray pointed out the contrast with the Panama Papers, detailing how the super-rich hide their money, covered by the Guardian and other mainstream media outlets with great fanfare. However, contrary to media promises, such coverage: only ever saw less than 2% of the raw material published and where major western companies and individuals were completely protected from revelation because of the use of MSM [mainstream media] intermediaries. He continued: Or compare Wikileaks to the Snowden files, the vast majority of which have now been buried and will never be revealed, after foolishly being entrusted to the Guardian and the Intercept. Assange cut out the intermediary role of the mediating journalist and, by allowing the people to see the truth about how they are governed, played a major role in undercutting public confidence in the political establishment that exploits them. John Pilger, a staunch defender of Assange and WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning, as all journalists should be, said via Twitter: The filthy war on Julian #Assange and Chelsea Manning, whose heresy is to have revealed the crimes of great power, intensifies. Craven Sweden plays to its theatre of darkness while Assange the prisoner is denied even his glasses. Manning is yet again back in prison, following a brief spell of freedom. She has steadfastly refused to testify to a secret grand jury in Virginia that is attempting to entrap her into revealing incriminating evidence about her past communications with WikiLeaks. The reluctance of corporate journalists, and even human rights groups, to support Manning, Assange and WikiLeaks is symptomatic of a broken political system still masquerading as democracy. Missing Headlines On Douma The freedom of the Western media, then, is a cruel deception. In reality, the corporate media has paved the way for war after war: Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen; and possible future wars in Venezuela and Iran. On and on it goes. Last week, a leaked document from the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), directly contradicted the concocted consensus that Syrian President Assads forces dropped canisters containing poison gas from helicopters over Douma on April 7, 2018, killing dozens of civilians. The claim was crucial to the justification given by Western governments for launching air strikes on Syria one week later, relayed dutifully by the Guardian in its headline: Syria: US, UK and France launch strikes in response to chemical attack The leaked report was published by the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (WGSPM), a group of independent scholars and researchers, and signed by Ian Henderson, an engineering expert who, as independent journalist Caitlin Johnstone noted, has been listed in leadership positions on OPCW documents as far back as 1998 and as recently as 2018. The report concluded: In summary, observations at the scene of the two locations, together with subsequent analysis, suggest that there is a higher probability that both cylinders were manually placed at those two locations rather than being delivered from aircraft. WGSPM concluded in their analysis of the leaked engineering report that it is: beyond reasonable doubt that the alleged chemical attack in Douma on 7 April 2018 was staged. Theodore Postol, professor of science, technology, and international security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave his initial assessment of the leaked report and concurred that the alleged chemical attack was staged: The OPCW engineering assessment unambiguously describes evidence collected by the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) that indicates two analyzed chlorine cylinder attacks were staged in April 2018 in Douma. The holes in the reinforced concrete roofs that were supposedly produced by high-speed impacts (impact at speeds of perhaps 100 m/s or more, 250 mph) of industrial chlorine canisters dropped from helicopters were instead created by earlier explosions of either artillery rockets or mortar shells. In one event a chlorine canister that was damaged on another occasion was placed on the roof with its head inserted into an existing crater hole, and in the other case a damaged chlorine cylinder was placed on a bed supposedly after it penetrated the building roof and bounced from its original trajectory into a bed. In both cases the damage to the chlorine cylinders was incompatible with the damage to the surroundings that was allegedly caused by the cylinder impacts. Shockingly: 35 deaths that were originally attributed to these staged chlorine events cannot be explained and it cannot be ruled out that these people were murdered as part of the staging effort. Postol emphasised: the voices that come through the engineering report are those of highly knowledgeable and sophisticated experts. But the dissenting engineering analysis was entirely unmentioned in the report that went to the UN Security Council. Postol concluded: This omission is very serious, as the findings of that report are critical to the process of determining attribution. There is absolutely no reason to justify the omission of the engineering report in the OPCW account to the UN Security Council as its policy implications are of extreme importance. Caitlin Johnstone commented: This should be a major news headline all around the world, but of course it is not. As of this writing the mass media have remained deathly silent about the document despite its enormous relevance to an international headline story last year which occupied many days of air time. It not only debunks a major news story that had military consequences, it casts doubt on a most esteemed international independent investigative body and undermines the fundamental assumptions behind many years of western reporting in the area. The OPCW confirmed that the document is genuine. However, rather than address the serious questions about its omission in its official report to the UN, the OPCW merely said that they would now be conducting an internal investigation about the unauthorised release of the document in question. They added that they would not be commenting further at this time. Journalist Peter Hitchens asked: What is going on at the OPCW? It is a valuable organisation, containing many fine people, with a noble purpose, but has it been placed under pressure, or even hijacked, by political forces which seek a justification for military intervention in Syria? Given that a decision between war or peace, affecting the whole world, could one day hang on its judgements, I think the whole world is entitled to an inquiry into what is happening behind its closed doors. Our searches of the ProQuest newspaper database confirm that there has not been a single mention of this devastating document in any mainstream US or UK national newspaper except in an opinion column by Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday. It is truly remarkable, but predictable, that corporate media journalists have ignored an expert assessment that casts serious doubt on the official narrative on Douma and, therefore, the Wests justification for bombing Syria. There is no mention on the BBC News website of the leaked OPCW report. This is consistent with the public broadcasters central role in maintaining and supporting the case for UK state policies. As Caitlin Johnstone astutely observed, the BBCs preferred mode when it comes to foreign policy is fact-free war propaganda. Even when the press reported fresh US claims of a possible Assad chemical attack in Syria likely a propaganda effort intended to deflect attention from the leak journalists managed to avoid mentioning the newly published OPCW report. A news article in the small-circulation Morning Star is the only other exception to the craven silence in the national press. The overwhelming media acquiescence for Western foreign policy is surely a performance that the old Soviet press of Pravda, Izvestia, et al. could only have dreamt of. Human Extinction But the greatest calamity resulting from the myth of a free and fair media is the inexorable rush towards climate breakdown. In 1982, Exxon scientists predicted that atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide would reach 415 parts per million (ppm) by around this year; which is exactly what has happened. In pre-industrial times, the concentration was much lower; around 280 ppm. The last time it was this high was 2.5 to 5 million years ago, during the Pliocene epoch, well before modern humans evolved. Global sea level was 25m higher than now and global temperatures were 2-3 degrees Celsius higher. As Kyla Mandel noted in an article for ThinkProgress: Despite this knowledge, the company chose not to change or adapt its business model. Instead, it chose to invest heavily in disinformation campaigns that promoted climate science denial, failing to disclose its knowledge that the majority of the worlds fossil fuel reserves must remain untapped in order to avert catastrophic climate change. Over ten years ago, in January 2009, New Scientist reported that: Billions could go hungry from global warming by 2100. As we have documented in media alerts and books since then, there has been warning after warning from reputable scientists, and things are worse now than they were in 2009. Governments have not merely done nothing; they have promoted and perpetuated corporate policies that are destroying the planets ecosystems and unleashing climate instability. The World Health Organisation states that climate change is already leading to 150,000 deaths annually around the world. Researchers fear that the number may well double by 2030, even if serious emissions reductions begin today. Relevant factors include malnutrition, heat stress and increased incidence of diseases such as malaria. Death rates will likely worsen even further because of population displacement, reductions in labour productivity from farmers trying to work in hotter conditions, and disruptions to health services because of destructive weather and climate. Climate change could also force more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, increasing their vulnerability to ill health and disease. The corporate disinformation campaign to block or slow action to tackle climate breakdown has therefore already led to huge numbers of people dying and suffering from illness. It will only get worse, potentially leading to a mass extinction of species, including humans. When will senior BBC News editors and journalists, funded by the public licence fee, make the climate emergency central to their reporting? How long before economics and business correspondents notice the utter absurdity of ignoring climate breakdown in their reports, day after day? Last December, we asked BBC News business editor Simon Jack when he would address the climate crisis. He had never responded to us before. He replied this time: Very soon. Over four months later, he published a piece on his blog titled, UKs biggest money manager warns on climate catastrophe. It began: The world is facing a climate catastrophe and businesses around the world must address it urgently or face the ultimate sanction for a public company, shareholders who refuse to back them any more. That is not a message from an environmental action group but from the largest money manager in the UK, Legal & General Investment Management, which manages 1 trillion worth of UK pension fund investments. Its climate warning was the top of a list of concerns about the way companies are run. A serious message indeed; surely there could be nothing more pressing. Climate catastrophe; top of a list of concerns, ultimate sanction. Would this mark a sea change in the business editors reporting? Seemingly not. Simon Jacks reporting since then has been business as usual. Our previous media alert highlighted the valiant campaigning and protests by Extinction Rebellion, and at least some degree of serious media coverage has been generated recently. But peaceful protests need to proliferate, intensify and seriously disrupt government policies and industry practices that are continuing to pump up dangerous global levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Bill McKibben and Elizabeth Kolbert, two well-respected writers on climate, believe that although the political tide could be turning on climate change, they are both deeply concerned that it is too little, too late. McKibben, whose book The End of Nature was published thirty years ago, told journalist David Remnick in a New Yorker interview: The argument about climate change was over by the early nineteen-nineties, when scientists had reached a very robust consensus. Wed won the argument. We were just losing the fight, because the fight was not about data and reason and evidence. It was about the thing that fights are always about: money and power. Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction about the human-driven mass loss of species, warned in the same interview: We have not yet experienced the full impact of the greenhouse gases we have already put up there. And once we do [in] a decade or so, theres a sort of a long tail to that, we will have put up that much more. So were always chasing this problem [] Once we decide, Oh, we really dont like this climate, you dont get the old climate back for [] many, many, many generations. So we are fighting a very very, very uphill battle. [] maybe we can avoid the worst possible future. But I dont think at this point we can avoid a lot, a lot, a lot of damage. The outlook is so pessimistic that the best McKibben can hope for is that global warming is slowed down to the point where it doesnt make civilizations impossible. But it is an open question as to whether even that is attainable. McKibben added: There are scientists who tell you were already past that point. The consensus, at least for the moment, is that weve got a narrow and closing window, but that if we move with everything we have, then, perhaps, well be able to squeeze a fair amount of our legacy through it. This is terrifying, and it should drive media coverage of the problem with huge urgency and scope. The real prospect that all of humanitys achievements in art, science, music, literature, philosophy might be wiped out of existence, should compel dramatic action. Journalist Jonathan Cook, freed from the need to kowtow to state or corporate interests in his reporting, states our predicament clearly and honestly: Climate collapse is so close at hand, the window to avert our fate so narrow, that only the insane, the deeply propagandised and those so alienated from the natural world that they have lost all sense of themselves and what matters can still ignore the reality. We are teetering over the precipice. Now is the time, says Cook, for genuine populism: a widespread, grassroots struggle to overturn turbo-charged neoliberal capitalism, including the corporate media, before it destroys us all. DC We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. A blog about business, strategy and applying science to the benefit of society. We are passionate about liberty and free enterprise. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Berlin Reporter Morency: budget cuts could set PD back "40 years" by Tara Giles Sports reporter - Coos County Democrat and Berlin Reporter Sports reporter - Coos County Democrat and Berlin Reporter write the author BERLIN It is no secret that the city of Berlin is struggling financially. As a result, each city department was asked to present a budget that was reduced by six percent. Berlin's Police Chief, Peter Morency, has relayed that if this budget is approved, there will be many ramifications, including the loss of several services. A public hearing on May 22 will take place, and Berlin officials are asking as many residents as possible to appear. A letter written to the Mayor and City Council from Berlin's Police Commission stated, "Notwithstanding temporary, unavoidable fluctuations in a number of personnel, it is the Commission's position that the current number of sworn full-time police officers employed by the City, cannot be safely reduced. By FBI National Standards, the Berlin Police Department is currently short four full-time officers and two full time support staff positions. We would be remiss to recommend a budget that further diminishes the security of the citizens as well as diminishes officer safety." A 6.16 percent reduction would result in the reduction of the police force by two officers, restricting law enforcement availability. The Department would be unable to provide DARE training to school children and the Intelligence Liaison position would be eliminated. The Restorative Justice position would be eliminated as well. The drug task force would be no more as would special detail for events such as the ATV festival that takes place each year. The letter also states that special enforcement details assisted with targeting specific areas of increased criminal activity would be eliminated causing an escalation in the severity of crime. Crossing guards would be ousted as would the Special Response Team. The inability to provide services for outside contracts would result in the loss of associated revenues from Milan among other places. With the reduction of staff, State Police could respond to emergencies, however by law they are not typically sent to patrol towns or cities with more than 3,000 people. If the State Police do respond, the average response time could be three hours, according to the Commission. A loss of $159,000 in grant funds such as opioid and highway safety, due to the lack of available personnel for grant funded patrols is another stressor for the Department. Investigative services would also be reduced as two detectives would be placed on patrol. In closing, the letter states that while the Commission recognizes the challenges the city is facing, they would be negligent to recommend a budget that would affect the safety of the public. The Commission said, "The ramifications of a $213,200 reduction to the Police Department budget would be a detriment to the community resulting in the additional loss of $242,820 ($153,600 in grant funds and $88,220 in revenues). Chief Morency offered his thoughts, adding "We are facing financial struggles, and that impact would be tremendous to the services that we provide. We just do so many other things for the community that we wouldn't be able to do anymore." Morency added, "Rural policing already has complications and we are facing a school funding shortage which would impact us by a couple hundred thousand dollars. In turn, if you multiply that, it comes to roughly $550,000 in lost resources for the department alone." Morency said, "We would be down to one or two police officers responding to a call in a city of ten thousand people. It's scary." Morency says he can't emphasize enough all of the positive things the police department does. He said it could put the department back 40 years. BERLIN It is no secret that the city of Berlin is struggling financially. As a result, each city department was asked to present a budget that was reduced by six percent. Berlin's Police Chief, Peter Morency, has relayed that if this budget is approved, there will be many ramifications, including the loss of several services. A public hearing on May 22 will take place, and Berlin officials are asking as many residents as possible to appear.A letter written to the Mayor and City Council from Berlin's Police Commission stated, "Notwithstanding temporary, unavoidable fluctuations in a number of personnel, it is the Commission's position that the current number of sworn full-time police officers employed by the City, cannot be safely reduced. By FBI National Standards, the Berlin Police Department is currently short four full-time officers and two full time support staff positions. We would be remiss to recommend a budget that further diminishes the security of the citizens as well as diminishes officer safety."A 6.16 percent reduction would result in the reduction of the police force by two officers, restricting law enforcement availability. The Department would be unable to provide DARE training to school children and the Intelligence Liaison position would be eliminated. The Restorative Justice position would be eliminated as well.The drug task force would be no more as would special detail for events such as the ATV festival that takes place each year. The letter also states that special enforcement details assisted with targeting specific areas of increased criminal activity would be eliminated causing an escalation in the severity of crime. Crossing guards would be ousted as would the Special Response Team. The inability to provide services for outside contracts would result in the loss of associated revenues from Milan among other places.With the reduction of staff, State Police could respond to emergencies, however by law they are not typically sent to patrol towns or cities with more than 3,000 people. If the State Police do respond, the average response time could be three hours, according to the Commission.A loss of $159,000 in grant funds such as opioid and highway safety, due to the lack of available personnel for grant funded patrols is another stressor for the Department. Investigative services would also be reduced as two detectives would be placed on patrol.In closing, the letter states that while the Commission recognizes the challenges the city is facing, they would be negligent to recommend a budget that would affect the safety of the public.The Commission said, "The ramifications of a $213,200 reduction to the Police Department budget would be a detriment to the community resulting in the additional loss of $242,820 ($153,600 in grant funds and $88,220 in revenues).Chief Morency offered his thoughts, adding "We are facing financial struggles, and that impact would be tremendous to the services that we provide. We just do so many other things for the community that we wouldn't be able to do anymore."Morency added, "Rural policing already has complications and we are facing a school funding shortage which would impact us by a couple hundred thousand dollars. In turn, if you multiply that, it comes to roughly $550,000 in lost resources for the department alone."Morency said, "We would be down to one or two police officers responding to a call in a city of ten thousand people. It's scary."Morency says he can't emphasize enough all of the positive things the police department does. He said it could put the department back 40 years. Gilford Steamer Gilford dedicates new fire boat by Erin Plummer Gilford Fire Chief Steve Carrier and friends help dedicate the new fire boat "Lake Jake." (Photo by Erin Plummer) (click for larger version) "Lake Jake," the Gilford Fire Department's new fire boat, has been officially christened and dedicated and is ready for service on the lake. Last Sunday morning, members of the department, town officials, donors, and other supporters came to the Glendale dock for the formal dedication and christening of "Lake Jake," the department's brand new fire boat. Firefighter Ron Skinner said the department got the new boat a month ago and have been training almost every day on it since. Right now, all full time personnel can operate the boat and a few call firefighters can drive it as well, including Skinner. As of Sunday, the boat hadn't gone to any calls as of yet, though past years have shown that Gilford's fire boat is typically one of the most in demand on the lake. The 30-foot boat from Eastern Boats has a water pumping capacity of 1,500 gallons per minute, three times the pumping power of the previous boat. The boat has a six-cylinder Chevy engine with powerful turning capacity as well as four pre-piped discharges and a dive door for rescues at water level. It's also equipped with a thermal imaging camera, sonar, and a Garmin GPS system. The boat carries a large array of fire and EMS equipment. Skinner said the boat is big enough so they can carry all the equipment they need for any call. During the dedication Fire Chief Steve Carrier paid tribute to the department's retired fire boat "Snuffer." Snuffer was originally put into service in 1977 and named through a contest held in the Gilford schools. Carrier said the boat responded to hundreds of calls in its 41 years on the lake and received a number of alterations and equipment changes. "It was a dependable workhorse, whether pumping water at a fire, transporting a patient, or towing a broken down boat; Snuffer performed well," Carrier said. The boat's name comes from the term "Jake" as another word for a firefighter, a term Carrier said is believed to have origins in the Northeast especially the Boston area. "It's origins have been debated for years, but every firefighter would agree that they want to be known as and referred to as 'A Good Jake,'" Carrier said. "So that is what this boat will be a good firefighter for the lake 'Lake Jake.'" Carrier said the boat was dedicated to all those who have lost their lives or become sick or injured on the lake. "For no higher reason does this boat exist and stands ready today than to respond to emergencies on our lake and islands," Carrier said. "Whether it was a loss of life from fire, drowning, or sudden illness; or loss of vacation home, wooded island property, or family boat; not one of these tragedies was in vain. We don't forget. Each served as a reminder of how vitally important this piece of apparatus is to our community." The fire boat received a number of donations, which went toward the boat's electronic equipment. Carrier recognized donors Ronald Cohen, Ronald and Kathy Salanitro, Edward Bastille, Anne Hummel, Deems Buell, Kathy Simpson, Jane Kneuer, Walter Hebold, and an anonymous donor from Moultonborough who received aid from Gilford's fire boat for a fire on their Long Island property. He also recognized Eastern Boats, especially Jake Boudreau; saying they know the boat is worth much more than the price that was paid for it. A special recognition was given Jack Sousae, a 30 year Navy veteran who made a significant donation to the fire boat. Sousae was given the honor of breaking a bottle of champagne on the boat with the help of some members of the Gilford department. After the ceremony, attendees were able to go for a short ride on the boat from Glendale to just by the Weirs and back. "Lake Jake," the Gilford Fire Department's new fire boat, has been officially christened and dedicated and is ready for service on the lake.Last Sunday morning, members of the department, town officials, donors, and other supporters came to the Glendale dock for the formal dedication and christening of "Lake Jake," the department's brand new fire boat.Firefighter Ron Skinner said the department got the new boat a month ago and have been training almost every day on it since. Right now, all full time personnel can operate the boat and a few call firefighters can drive it as well, including Skinner. As of Sunday, the boat hadn't gone to any calls as of yet, though past years have shown that Gilford's fire boat is typically one of the most in demand on the lake.The 30-foot boat from Eastern Boats has a water pumping capacity of 1,500 gallons per minute, three times the pumping power of the previous boat. The boat has a six-cylinder Chevy engine with powerful turning capacity as well as four pre-piped discharges and a dive door for rescues at water level. It's also equipped with a thermal imaging camera, sonar, and a Garmin GPS system.The boat carries a large array of fire and EMS equipment. Skinner said the boat is big enough so they can carry all the equipment they need for any call.During the dedication Fire Chief Steve Carrier paid tribute to the department's retired fire boat "Snuffer." Snuffer was originally put into service in 1977 and named through a contest held in the Gilford schools. Carrier said the boat responded to hundreds of calls in its 41 years on the lake and received a number of alterations and equipment changes."It was a dependable workhorse, whether pumping water at a fire, transporting a patient, or towing a broken down boat; Snuffer performed well," Carrier said.The boat's name comes from the term "Jake" as another word for a firefighter, a term Carrier said is believed to have origins in the Northeast especially the Boston area."It's origins have been debated for years, but every firefighter would agree that they want to be known as and referred to as 'A Good Jake,'" Carrier said. "So that is what this boat will be a good firefighter for the lake 'Lake Jake.'"Carrier said the boat was dedicated to all those who have lost their lives or become sick or injured on the lake."For no higher reason does this boat exist and stands ready today than to respond to emergencies on our lake and islands," Carrier said. "Whether it was a loss of life from fire, drowning, or sudden illness; or loss of vacation home, wooded island property, or family boat; not one of these tragedies was in vain. We don't forget. Each served as a reminder of how vitally important this piece of apparatus is to our community."The fire boat received a number of donations, which went toward the boat's electronic equipment. Carrier recognized donors Ronald Cohen, Ronald and Kathy Salanitro, Edward Bastille, Anne Hummel, Deems Buell, Kathy Simpson, Jane Kneuer, Walter Hebold, and an anonymous donor from Moultonborough who received aid from Gilford's fire boat for a fire on their Long Island property. He also recognized Eastern Boats, especially Jake Boudreau; saying they know the boat is worth much more than the price that was paid for it.A special recognition was given Jack Sousae, a 30 year Navy veteran who made a significant donation to the fire boat. Sousae was given the honor of breaking a bottle of champagne on the boat with the help of some members of the Gilford department.After the ceremony, attendees were able to go for a short ride on the boat from Glendale to just by the Weirs and back. Gilford Steamer Additional terrain, lodging in proposed plan for Gunstock SantaLand brings out families for holiday fun Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Littleton Courier New yoga program helps veterans cope with PTSD by Tara Giles Sports reporter - Coos County Democrat and Berlin Reporter Sports reporter - Coos County Democrat and Berlin Reporter write the author Abby Pisegna and Jennifer Green are pictured here at the Root to Bloom Yoga studio in Littleton. The two are offering a free six week yoga course for women veterans, active military or any woman who is a trauma survivor. (Photo by Tara Giles) (click for larger version) LITTLETON A new tool to help ease post traumatic stress disorder for veterans has taken hold, and those who practice it are making huge strides. Typically, the practice of yoga is stereotyped as something modern day 'hippies' practice; however, the science behind it is extraordinary as many veterans are finding out. While the yoga that is geared towards veterans is a bit different, the same practice can be used for anyone who has experienced trauma or has issues with anxiety or depression. Yoga can also work wonders for athletes as well and can offer anyone in the general public a benefit, not yet discovered until you try it. The Veterans Yoga Project has found it's way to the North Country and is spearheaded by locals Jennifer Green, a veteran, and Abby Pisegna, a Yoga instructor who is certified in Veteran specific yoga. The two will be offering a free women's class for veterans, those who are still active in the military or any other woman who has suffered trauma for a six week session beginning Monday June 3 through July 8. The class will take place at Root to Bloom Yoga located in the old tannery in Littleton. To sign up for the class, visit the Root to Bloom Web site. Green is a Veteran of USAF service in the Gulf War and spent time overseas on humanitarian assignment. During 911 at ground zero she served as a medic and trauma nurse. She began practicing yoga over a year ago and has since found relief from many health issues. This led to her formal training and certification as a teacher for VYP. She will complete YTA 200 hour certification in July and in fall of 2019 will bring to the North Country trauma specific focused yoga . Her vision would be to hold sessions specific to military, first responders, rape and domestic violence survivors and for foster children at no cost. Pisegna is the ambassador for the northern region for VYP and owner of Root to Bloom in Littleton. She has been a yoga practitioner for ten years and a 500 hour YTA teacher, her studio offers zero stress instruction. US service members both actively serving or veterans make up less than 1 percent of the population in the United States. These men and women bear the burden of both visible and invisible scars, with rates of PTS(D) among service members and veterans increasing with estimates as high as 20 percent for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and more than one million Vietnam Era veterans continuing to struggle with the symptoms which often plague trauma survivors. Green said, "Consider that currently in the United States we are failing to assist these men and women and are losing as many as 22 men or women a day to suicide. We now understand that the neurobiology of the brain changes with traumatic exposure, and that mindful practice and learned resilience actually change the chemical composition of the brain, calming it down-we can actually 'rewire' the neuro-pathways." Pisegna added, "We hold the space necessary to release the traumatic imprints that negatively influence our lives and create new habits that are more aligned with our values and goals." Green explained that many veterans struggle to find comfort and recovery within the current VA and DOD treatment programs. She said, "Unfortunately even evidence based psycho-therapies do not work for most veteran and service members, and the common practice is to experiment with a cocktail of pharmaceutical medications to mitigate symptoms but fail to address the root of the issue leaving a veteran bereft and often without the necessary support to heal." Green stresses that yoga alone may not be a cure all but it's benefits have reduced the use of medication dramatically among those who partake. Yoga does not cure PTS(D). However veterans with PTS(D) have found that yoga therapy helps them sleep better, concentrate and think more clearly, manage anger and aggression more easily and find comfort in their own skin. Green said, "Mindfully practiced yoga therapy provides patients with symptom relief as well as self regulation skills needed to engage in trauma processing therapies. Though it may not cure PTS(D) veterans and active duty members from all branches and eras of service find these practices to be a significant part of healing." The science behind the practice is that mindful resilience with the Veterans Yoga Project teaches five areas to focus on that develop the skills that will help identify and cope with the unique challenges that arise after deployment of traumatic events that if left unaddressed may linger long after leaving the military or experience. With support and knowledge gained through these classes the individual will work to develop coping skills that will help to ease the many symptoms of PTS(D). The program entails breathe techniques that build a bridge between body and mind, calming the nervous system and increasing vitality. "Breath regulation is the quickest grounding and anxiety management technique. This cultivates greater mental control over emotions and our reactions to them." explained Green. "Breath directed movement is a very powerful way to bring awareness to transform traumatic residues." she added. A form of yoga, called Yoga Nidra or conscious sleep is about conscious relaxation, mindful awareness and gentle breath techniques. "Many trauma survivors have disrupted sleep cycles and this further exacerbates symptoms. Properly performed, Yoga Nidra calms the mind and achieves what the brain feels as four hours of sleep or deep rest. Green explained that gratitude is a simple practice which when acknowledged and practice everyday allows your focus to shift and leads to building and broadening inner resources that lead to mindful resilience. "This practice is inclusive to anybody who struggles with mental health and traumatic stress. Children exposed to domestic violence and trauma have brain mapping (diagnostic tool to scan active areas of the brain) which is almost identical to combat veterans," she said. "This is especially startling but very important to acknowledge. The north country has a light to shine in the darkness and therapeutic yoga for trauma may be that light and hope." LITTLETON A new tool to help ease post traumatic stress disorder for veterans has taken hold, and those who practice it are making huge strides. Typically, the practice of yoga is stereotyped as something modern day 'hippies' practice; however, the science behind it is extraordinary as many veterans are finding out.While the yoga that is geared towards veterans is a bit different, the same practice can be used for anyone who has experienced trauma or has issues with anxiety or depression. Yoga can also work wonders for athletes as well and can offer anyone in the general public a benefit, not yet discovered until you try it.The Veterans Yoga Project has found it's way to the North Country and is spearheaded by locals Jennifer Green, a veteran, and Abby Pisegna, a Yoga instructor who is certified in Veteran specific yoga.The two will be offering a free women's class for veterans, those who are still active in the military or any other woman who has suffered trauma for a six week session beginning Monday June 3 through July 8. The class will take place at Root to Bloom Yoga located in the old tannery in Littleton. To sign up for the class, visit the Root to Bloom Web site.Green is a Veteran of USAF service in the Gulf War and spent time overseas on humanitarian assignment. During 911 at ground zero she served as a medic and trauma nurse. She began practicing yoga over a year ago and has since found relief from many health issues. This led to her formal training and certification as a teacher for VYP. She will complete YTA 200 hour certification in July and in fall of 2019 will bring to the North Country trauma specific focused yoga . Her vision would be to hold sessions specific to military, first responders, rape and domestic violence survivors and for foster children at no cost.Pisegna is the ambassador for the northern region for VYP and owner of Root to Bloom in Littleton. She has been a yoga practitioner for ten years and a 500 hour YTA teacher, her studio offers zero stress instruction.US service members both actively serving or veterans make up less than 1 percent of the population in the United States. These men and women bear the burden of both visible and invisible scars, with rates of PTS(D) among service members and veterans increasing with estimates as high as 20 percent for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and more than one million Vietnam Era veterans continuing to struggle with the symptoms which often plague trauma survivors.Green said, "Consider that currently in the United States we are failing to assist these men and women and are losing as many as 22 men or women a day to suicide. We now understand that the neurobiology of the brain changes with traumatic exposure, and that mindful practice and learned resilience actually change the chemical composition of the brain, calming it down-we can actually 'rewire' the neuro-pathways."Pisegna added, "We hold the space necessary to release the traumatic imprints that negatively influence our lives and create new habits that are more aligned with our values and goals."Green explained that many veterans struggle to find comfort and recovery within the current VA and DOD treatment programs.She said, "Unfortunately even evidence based psycho-therapies do not work for most veteran and service members, and the common practice is to experiment with a cocktail of pharmaceutical medications to mitigate symptoms but fail to address the root of the issue leaving a veteran bereft and often without the necessary support to heal."Green stresses that yoga alone may not be a cure all but it's benefits have reduced the use of medication dramatically among those who partake. Yoga does not cure PTS(D). However veterans with PTS(D) have found that yoga therapy helps them sleep better, concentrate and think more clearly, manage anger and aggression more easily and find comfort in their own skin. Green said, "Mindfully practiced yoga therapy provides patients with symptom relief as well as self regulation skills needed to engage in trauma processing therapies. Though it may not cure PTS(D) veterans and active duty members from all branches and eras of service find these practices to be a significant part of healing."The science behind the practice is that mindful resilience with the Veterans Yoga Project teaches five areas to focus on that develop the skills that will help identify and cope with the unique challenges that arise after deployment of traumatic events that if left unaddressed may linger long after leaving the military or experience. With support and knowledge gained through these classes the individual will work to develop coping skills that will help to ease the many symptoms of PTS(D).The program entails breathe techniques that build a bridge between body and mind, calming the nervous system and increasing vitality."Breath regulation is the quickest grounding and anxiety management technique. This cultivates greater mental control over emotions and our reactions to them." explained Green."Breath directed movement is a very powerful way to bring awareness to transform traumatic residues." she added.A form of yoga, called Yoga Nidra or conscious sleep is about conscious relaxation, mindful awareness and gentle breath techniques. "Many trauma survivors have disrupted sleep cycles and this further exacerbates symptoms. Properly performed, Yoga Nidra calms the mind and achieves what the brain feels as four hours of sleep or deep rest.Green explained that gratitude is a simple practice which when acknowledged and practice everyday allows your focus to shift and leads to building and broadening inner resources that lead to mindful resilience."This practice is inclusive to anybody who struggles with mental health and traumatic stress. Children exposed to domestic violence and trauma have brain mapping (diagnostic tool to scan active areas of the brain) which is almost identical to combat veterans," she said. "This is especially startling but very important to acknowledge. The north country has a light to shine in the darkness and therapeutic yoga for trauma may be that light and hope." Littleton Courier Ammonoosuc Habitat for Humanity seeks director Grafton County Nursing Home relaxes visitation restrictions Recent Tara Giles City Manager attends last work session 2021-Dec-09 Spartan hoop boys hope to be top contender in Division III 2021-Dec-09 Fire destroys home in Dalton 2021-Dec-09 Northumberland police arrest fugitive from justice 2021-Dec-09 City Council discusses mask ordinance 2021-Dec-02 Lancaster Fire seeing long distance transfers increase due to lack of beds 2021-Dec-02 More... Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Meredith News Town Manager warns against in-kind services for library survey by Erin Plummer MEREDITH The town manager is cautioning against the library using donated services for a construction survey due to a myriad of liability concerns. Library Trustees Chair Anne Butler and Library Director Erin Apostolos spoke with the selectmen during Monday's workshop about the ongoing steps toward renovating and expanding the building. Butler said they have the opportunity to receive donated services for a survey of the property. She said they understood that the town's major concern was the possibility for liability. Butler said she spoke with an attorney at the New Hampshire Municipal Association and was told there were no statutes governing things like this as long as the contract was written in a way the town could approve it from a liability standpoint. Town Manager Phil Warren said professional services like this are usually put out for a Request for Qualifications and the companies are primarily chosen based on qualifications. Warren said he has concerns that receiving donated professional services could open the town up for a lot of liability of something went wrong with the project. He said choosing a surveyor based on donated services could put them in a position where they chose the professional based on price and not qualifications. "There's reams of evidence of how doing architectural and engineering based on price, it falls on its face," Warren said. If something went wrong with the project that resulted in a lawsuit, Warren said one of the first questions that would be asked in a deposition is how much the surveyor was paid for their services. If the answer is the services were donated that would be damaging. Warren said a cleaner method would be to use donated funds and items. For example, the climbing wall at the community center was donated, if a liability claim was made because of the climbing wall they could go after the manufacturer of the climbing wall and not the town. He said if this were a situation where a landscaper was donating services it would be a much different scenario. He said there is much less risk if a landscaper puts mulch in the wrong place as opposed to if a surveyor puts the foundation in the wrong place. Apostolos asked if it would be different if the architect in question is someone well known in town for their qualifications. Warren said that still creates an issue with liability. Warren said the town can waive its purchasing policy and go forward with this, though he cautioned against it in this case. Another question came up if they could accept a bid of $1 or if they could put in the RFQ they were looking for donated services. Warren said they were still running the risk of getting a less qualified surveyor and putting any professional in the position of having to give away their services. The most qualified surveyor could say they won't give away their services and the result would be going to a less qualified one. "As number one, I've got a case against the town, why should I be expected to give my professional services?" Warren said. This will be discussed at a later time. MEREDITH The town manager is cautioning against the library using donated services for a construction survey due to a myriad of liability concerns.Library Trustees Chair Anne Butler and Library Director Erin Apostolos spoke with the selectmen during Monday's workshop about the ongoing steps toward renovating and expanding the building.Butler said they have the opportunity to receive donated services for a survey of the property.She said they understood that the town's major concern was the possibility for liability. Butler said she spoke with an attorney at the New Hampshire Municipal Association and was told there were no statutes governing things like this as long as the contract was written in a way the town could approve it from a liability standpoint.Town Manager Phil Warren said professional services like this are usually put out for a Request for Qualifications and the companies are primarily chosen based on qualifications. Warren said he has concerns that receiving donated professional services could open the town up for a lot of liability of something went wrong with the project.He said choosing a surveyor based on donated services could put them in a position where they chose the professional based on price and not qualifications."There's reams of evidence of how doing architectural and engineering based on price, it falls on its face," Warren said.If something went wrong with the project that resulted in a lawsuit, Warren said one of the first questions that would be asked in a deposition is how much the surveyor was paid for their services. If the answer is the services were donated that would be damaging.Warren said a cleaner method would be to use donated funds and items. For example, the climbing wall at the community center was donated, if a liability claim was made because of the climbing wall they could go after the manufacturer of the climbing wall and not the town.He said if this were a situation where a landscaper was donating services it would be a much different scenario. He said there is much less risk if a landscaper puts mulch in the wrong place as opposed to if a surveyor puts the foundation in the wrong place.Apostolos asked if it would be different if the architect in question is someone well known in town for their qualifications. Warren said that still creates an issue with liability.Warren said the town can waive its purchasing policy and go forward with this, though he cautioned against it in this case.Another question came up if they could accept a bid of $1 or if they could put in the RFQ they were looking for donated services. Warren said they were still running the risk of getting a less qualified surveyor and putting any professional in the position of having to give away their services. The most qualified surveyor could say they won't give away their services and the result would be going to a less qualified one."As number one, I've got a case against the town, why should I be expected to give my professional services?" Warren said.This will be discussed at a later time. Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Winnisquam Echo Library staff unveil restored Burleigh family portrait by Donna Rhodes write the author Historians David Witham, Barbara Wright, Library Director Marcia Haigh, Jackie Brouillard and Library Trustee David Adams were pleased to present the restored Burleigh Family Portrait by renowned artist Walter Ingalls as a permanent fixture of the Sanbornton Public Library. (Photo by Donna Rhodes) (click for larger version) SANBORNTON Residents, local historians and library trustees gathered in the Adult Library, a.k.a. the "Big Room," at the Sanbornton Public library on Saturday morning for the unveiling of a restored portrait done by renowned artist Walter Ingalls, a former resident and community leader. Ingalls (1805-1878) was a portrait painter who not only travelled the world in search of subjects to paint, but called Sanbornton home for much of his life. Besides creating portraits that still hang to this day in museums, as well as the New Hampshire state Capitol building, Ingalls also took time to serve his community and state. From 1840 until 1847 was Sanbornton's Town Moderator, and was then elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives where he served from 1847-1849. His father, research shows, was also the founder of Woodman-Sanbornton Academy, better known now as the Sanbornton Public Library. After his term in Concord, Ingalls turned his attention back to his love of art and was commissioned to paint at least one known local portrait after that time for the Burleigh family. As a member of one of Sanbornton's earliest families, Alfred Burleigh was a local farmer and stonecutter who lived from 1816-1878. He married Emeline Sanborn, the daughter of Col. Dan Sanborn and Harriet Ladd Sanborn, founding members of the town. The couple had three children, Addie and Walter, who each died at a young age, then George, who survived his infancy. Alfred, Emeline and baby George are the figures depicted in Ingalls' 1862 portrait of the family. Sanbornton Library Director Marcia Haigh said the portrait was discovered in storage in the 1980's then brought back out as part of last year's Attic Treasure's program by the Sanbornton Historical Society. Realizing then what a timeless treasure the piece was, as well as the significance of Ingalls, Haigh contacted the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. From there, she was directed to Martha Cox of Great Works Restoration in Shapleigh, Maine who they advised could bring the art back to its original condition. Haigh said Cox traveled to Sanbornton to examine the portrait. She gave the library an estimate and time frame for the restoration process and Sanbornton residents then rallied to raise those funds. "She said it would be $2,700 to restore the portrait and in less than two months we had already raised the money," said Haigh. Bake sales and a "Baubles for Burleighs" jewelry booth during the March Town Meeting, along with numerous private donations, swiftly gathered the funding needed and sent the portrait off to Cox's skilled hand in Maine. Last Saturday Haigh and trustee David Adams said they were pleased to know that Cox took extra measures in maintaining the integrity of Ingalls' artwork. They explained that she first wiped away the dirt and grim that accumulated while in storage, then carefully removed not one but two old layers of varnish. Applying a fresh layer of varnish, only then did Cox begin touching up faded paint, blotches and holes on the canvas. Beneath that new varnish though, everything is just as Ingalls painted it 157 years ago. "It's amazing she not only did all of that but even finished it ahead of schedule. We're just so happy to have the Burleigh's back," said Haigh on Saturday. Adams had the honor of unveiling the portrait while Jackie Brouillard and Barbara Wright, who did research on the painting, the artist and the Burleigh family, explained more about the background of the portrait. For her part, Wright said it was interesting to discover how many connections there were between Ingalls, the Burleighs and residents still living in Sanbornton today. "So many older families are connected to this portrait in some way," she said. Brouillard also expressed delight in all she discovered about the artist himself. "It was amazing to learn what sort of Renaissance guy Ingalls was, and how he traveled the world but was still loyal to the people of Sanbornton," Brouillard said. "I'm just so happy this portrait has been restored. It's a real treasure!" SANBORNTON Residents, local historians and library trustees gathered in the Adult Library, a.k.a. the "Big Room," at the Sanbornton Public library on Saturday morning for the unveiling of a restored portrait done by renowned artist Walter Ingalls, a former resident and community leader.Ingalls (1805-1878) was a portrait painter who not only travelled the world in search of subjects to paint, but called Sanbornton home for much of his life. Besides creating portraits that still hang to this day in museums, as well as the New Hampshire state Capitol building, Ingalls also took time to serve his community and state. From 1840 until 1847 was Sanbornton's Town Moderator, and was then elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives where he served from 1847-1849. His father, research shows, was also the founder of Woodman-Sanbornton Academy, better known now as the Sanbornton Public Library.After his term in Concord, Ingalls turned his attention back to his love of art and was commissioned to paint at least one known local portrait after that time for the Burleigh family.As a member of one of Sanbornton's earliest families, Alfred Burleigh was a local farmer and stonecutter who lived from 1816-1878. He married Emeline Sanborn, the daughter of Col. Dan Sanborn and Harriet Ladd Sanborn, founding members of the town. The couple had three children, Addie and Walter, who each died at a young age, then George, who survived his infancy. Alfred, Emeline and baby George are the figures depicted in Ingalls' 1862 portrait of the family.Sanbornton Library Director Marcia Haigh said the portrait was discovered in storage in the 1980's then brought back out as part of last year's Attic Treasure's program by the Sanbornton Historical Society. Realizing then what a timeless treasure the piece was, as well as the significance of Ingalls, Haigh contacted the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. From there, she was directed to Martha Cox of Great Works Restoration in Shapleigh, Maine who they advised could bring the art back to its original condition.Haigh said Cox traveled to Sanbornton to examine the portrait. She gave the library an estimate and time frame for the restoration process and Sanbornton residents then rallied to raise those funds."She said it would be $2,700 to restore the portrait and in less than two months we had already raised the money," said Haigh.Bake sales and a "Baubles for Burleighs" jewelry booth during the March Town Meeting, along with numerous private donations, swiftly gathered the funding needed and sent the portrait off to Cox's skilled hand in Maine.Last Saturday Haigh and trustee David Adams said they were pleased to know that Cox took extra measures in maintaining the integrity of Ingalls' artwork.They explained that she first wiped away the dirt and grim that accumulated while in storage, then carefully removed not one but two old layers of varnish. Applying a fresh layer of varnish, only then did Cox begin touching up faded paint, blotches and holes on the canvas. Beneath that new varnish though, everything is just as Ingalls painted it 157 years ago."It's amazing she not only did all of that but even finished it ahead of schedule. We're just so happy to have the Burleigh's back," said Haigh on Saturday.Adams had the honor of unveiling the portrait while Jackie Brouillard and Barbara Wright, who did research on the painting, the artist and the Burleigh family, explained more about the background of the portrait. For her part, Wright said it was interesting to discover how many connections there were between Ingalls, the Burleighs and residents still living in Sanbornton today."So many older families are connected to this portrait in some way," she said.Brouillard also expressed delight in all she discovered about the artist himself."It was amazing to learn what sort of Renaissance guy Ingalls was, and how he traveled the world but was still loyal to the people of Sanbornton," Brouillard said. "I'm just so happy this portrait has been restored. It's a real treasure!" Winnisquam Echo Dozens turn out for Rotary Children's Fishing Derby by Donna Rhodes write the author Winners of the Tilton-Northfield Rotary's 42nd annual Children's Fishing Derby posed with their trophy after the awards presentation at the Tilton School pond last Sunday. (Photo by Donna Rhodes) (click for larger version) TILTON Tilton-Northfield Rotary hosted their annual Children's Fishing Derby at the Tilton School pond last Sunday, and Rotarian Rachel Salibas said 84 boys and girls took part in the event this year. "We might have had a few more but with the weather being so iffy early this morning, we're really happy with the turnout," Salibas said. The derby, first begun by former Tilton-Northfield Rotarians Harry Laughy and Frank Tibbetts, is now in its 42nd year. Dean Laughy, Harry's son and Tibbett's step-son, said he is thrilled to see the tradition his "two dads" began so long ago continuing on even after they have both passed away. "They spent thousands of hours every year working on this derby. It was their life. They both lived for this. It's nice to know it's still part of the community," said Laughy. In remembrance of their dedication, each year the boy or girl who reels in the biggest fish during the Rotary derby is awarded the Frank and Harry Trophy, a large bit of sparkling hardware that each child yearns to take home at least once. "Frank and Harry always loved it when the trophy was bigger than the child who won it," Laughy recalled with a laugh. Winning this year's for the second time in three years, another feat Frank and Harry would have loved, was ten-year-old Matthew Hibbert of Northfield. Hibbert was excited to have yet another trophy to add to his collection at home but also offered some tips for his fellow competitors. "You've just got to use the right lures and the right bait for what you're fishing for (trout in this instance). You also need the right equipment and the right line for the strength of a big one so the line doesn't snap," said Hibbert. The big one he landed this time was a 15-inch Rainbow trout that not only gave him the win in his age group, but that coveted Harry and Frank Trophy. After Hibbert posed for a few photos with his fish and the trophies though, he then graciously handed that winning fish over to some new friends from Manchester whom he met during the course of the derby. "We don't really like to eat fish and they do, so I gave it to them," he said. While six-year-old Riley, also of Northfield, didn't win a trophy this time around, she did manage to help bring home dinner for her house with the nine fish she and her family caught on Sunday. "I come here every year. I really like fishing," she said as she hoisted a stringer laden with fresh trout. Rotary officials commended all the children for a great day in the outdoors and were glad that 50 of them also walked away with new fishing poles, once again awarded through a raffle drawing from Health First Family Care Center in Laconia. Trophy winners in the ages one through six category this year were three-year-old Joel Chapman of Sanbornton who came in third place, five-year-old Kenly Chapman of Sanbornton in second place, and four-year-old Amillia Mason of Northfield in first with a 13.5-inch trout. For the 7-11 age group, it was Danny Powell, age eight of Sanbornton, coming in both second and third with his 12 and 10.75-inch catches, while Hibbert took first place with his rainbow trout that was also the largest caught in the derby. In the final 12-15 year-old division, Alex Jordan of Tilton took both the second and third place trophies with his top two fish measuring nine and 8.75-inches, while Tyler Carson of Franklin placed first with his 12-inch catch. In the Strangest Fish category, which included anything other than trout, 10-year-old Eli Arvidson of Tilton took home his trophy for the 10-inch "sucker fish" he reeled in that day. TILTON Tilton-Northfield Rotary hosted their annual Children's Fishing Derby at the Tilton School pond last Sunday, and Rotarian Rachel Salibas said 84 boys and girls took part in the event this year."We might have had a few more but with the weather being so iffy early this morning, we're really happy with the turnout," Salibas said.The derby, first begun by former Tilton-Northfield Rotarians Harry Laughy and Frank Tibbetts, is now in its 42nd year. Dean Laughy, Harry's son and Tibbett's step-son, said he is thrilled to see the tradition his "two dads" began so long ago continuing on even after they have both passed away."They spent thousands of hours every year working on this derby. It was their life. They both lived for this. It's nice to know it's still part of the community," said Laughy.In remembrance of their dedication, each year the boy or girl who reels in the biggest fish during the Rotary derby is awarded the Frank and Harry Trophy, a large bit of sparkling hardware that each child yearns to take home at least once."Frank and Harry always loved it when the trophy was bigger than the child who won it," Laughy recalled with a laugh.Winning this year's for the second time in three years, another feat Frank and Harry would have loved, was ten-year-old Matthew Hibbert of Northfield.Hibbert was excited to have yet another trophy to add to his collection at home but also offered some tips for his fellow competitors."You've just got to use the right lures and the right bait for what you're fishing for (trout in this instance). You also need the right equipment and the right line for the strength of a big one so the line doesn't snap," said Hibbert.The big one he landed this time was a 15-inch Rainbow trout that not only gave him the win in his age group, but that coveted Harry and Frank Trophy. After Hibbert posed for a few photos with his fish and the trophies though, he then graciously handed that winning fish over to some new friends from Manchester whom he met during the course of the derby."We don't really like to eat fish and they do, so I gave it to them," he said.While six-year-old Riley, also of Northfield, didn't win a trophy this time around, she did manage to help bring home dinner for her house with the nine fish she and her family caught on Sunday."I come here every year. I really like fishing," she said as she hoisted a stringer laden with fresh trout.Rotary officials commended all the children for a great day in the outdoors and were glad that 50 of them also walked away with new fishing poles, once again awarded through a raffle drawing from Health First Family Care Center in Laconia.Trophy winners in the ages one through six category this year were three-year-old Joel Chapman of Sanbornton who came in third place, five-year-old Kenly Chapman of Sanbornton in second place, and four-year-old Amillia Mason of Northfield in first with a 13.5-inch trout.For the 7-11 age group, it was Danny Powell, age eight of Sanbornton, coming in both second and third with his 12 and 10.75-inch catches, while Hibbert took first place with his rainbow trout that was also the largest caught in the derby.In the final 12-15 year-old division, Alex Jordan of Tilton took both the second and third place trophies with his top two fish measuring nine and 8.75-inches, while Tyler Carson of Franklin placed first with his 12-inch catch.In the Strangest Fish category, which included anything other than trout, 10-year-old Eli Arvidson of Tilton took home his trophy for the 10-inch "sucker fish" he reeled in that day. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: National carrier Air India on Wednesday announced adding new flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai, besides expanding its domestic footprint to meet the peak demand for air travel during the summer vacation season. Effective from June 1 this year, the carrier will offer 3,500 more seats per week on Mumbai-Dubai route; from June 2, it will offer another 3,500 seats per week on Delhi-Dubai route by operating two more new flights. The airline will offer one-way economy class promotional fare of Rs 7,777 (all Inclusive) from both Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai for travel up to July 31. The government had, while allocating Jet Airways international flying rights to other airlines, announced that Air India would be given priority, as it hopes the move to normalise airfares that had overshot post grounding of Jet. In the domestic market, Air India will introduce new flights on Bhopal-Pune route as well as between Varanasi and Chennai from June 5. The number of flights on Delhi-Bhopal will be raised from 14 to 20 flights per week. Flights on Delhi-Raipur route will be increased from seven to 14 flights per week. New flights will be introduced on routes such as Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Amritsar, Chennai-Ahmedabad and Chennai-Kolkata. SpiceJet has also announced the launching of 20 new domestic flights, with 18 of those connecting Mumbai with a host of metro and non-metro cities from the last week of May. It will also enhance operations with additional frequencies on Mumbai-Goa (4th frequency), Mumbai-Hyderabad (6th), Mumbai-Kochi (3rd), Mumbai-Kolkata (5th), Mumbai-Kanpur (2nd) and Mumbai-Patna (3rd) routes. By Express News Service MUMBAI: The shares of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) crashed by over 17 per cent on Wednesdays opening trade after news reports said that the company will not accept new fixed deposits or renew existing deposits. DHFL shares opened lower at Rs 116.95 from the previous close of Rs 129.90, hit a days low of Rs 107.15. At the end of the trade, it was down 9.43 per cent at Rs 117.65 on BSE. DHFL, in a regulatory filing, said that the company has stopped acceptance and renewal of FDs due to the recent revision in the credit rating of fixed deposits programme of the company, which is below the minimum rating prescribed under the NHB (National Housing Bank) guidelines. Rating agencies such as CRISIL, ICRA, CARE and Brickwork downgraded the companys ratings. On May 18, the company informed stock exchanges of Brickwork Ratings downgrade Rs 12,000 crore FD programme was downgraded from BWR FAA- to BWR F Triple B Plus (Credit Watch with Negative Implications) among other instruments that went through rating revisions. Reasons given for the downgrade was that there was limited progress in building up of liquidity, selling/existing riskier construction finance loans and delay in announcing a strategic investor for DHFL. Strapped for liquidity, DHFL stock has been a witness to severe drubbing on bourses ever since the September credit events that has shaken many in the NBFC and housing finance sectors. The group had in the past announced stake sale in Avanse Financial Services, education-focused NBFC to Warburg Pincus, exited mutual fund business selling stake in DHFL Pramareica to its partner Prudential Financial and sold 70 per cent stake in affordable housing finance firm Aadhar Housing to private equity player Blackstone. What has been a worry to the market is also the news that the company will not honour any premature withdrawal except in cases of contingency. While the DFHL filing has been silent on the issue, PTI, quoting sources, said that in order to reorganise its liability management, premature withdrawal of deposits has also been put on hold. This is completely under NHB regulation, it said. Yathiraju By Express News Service BENGALURU: A city consumer forum ordered a job consultancy firm to compensate a person from Maharashtra for erroneously providing the job of Dish/Plate Washing Boy instead of the post of Cook, at a hotel in Malaysia, as assured, while collecting fees of over Rs 1 lakh. The forum ordered Jet Minds Consulting Pvt Ltd, in Manipal Centre in Bengaluru, to pay Rs 30,000 as compensation, including Rs 5,000 as litigation cost to Maruthi Tukaram Kole, 35, from Sambare in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Bengaluru Rural and Urban I Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, comprising president HR Srinivas and member D Suresh, also ordered Jet Minds to refund Rs 1.60 lakh along with 12 per cent interest per annum to Kole, from the date of filing the complaint. There is a deficiency in service and unfair trade practice by the company, and hence, it is liable to refund the amount of Rs 1.60 lakh, which is received from the complainant towards the ticket and visa fee, along with 12 per cent per annum as interest. Due to inaction of the company is not returning the amount, the complainant is made to suffer, which we quantify at Rs 25,000. If a sum of Rs 5,000 is awarded towards litigation expenses, it will meet the ends of justice, the forum said. According to the order, Kole registered his name on Naukri.com for employment. He got a message stating that there was a job opportunity abroad and that employment would be provided on payment of Rs 1.60 lakh. Accordingly, he paid the money to Jet Minds on October 19, 2018, for ticket and travel visa to Malaysia. He was promised that the travel visa would be converted into a work visa. When he landed in Malaysia, the firm accommodated him in a hotel 400km from Kuala Lampur, the capital of Malaysia. Shockingly, after staying there for a few days, the hotel HR told him to work as Dish/Plate Washing Boy. However, while sending a message through Naukri.com, he was assured he would be given the job of cook or driver. Kole did not want to work as a dishwasher. Jet Minds failed to fulfil its promise, and as he had no place to stay in Malaysia, he had to make arrangements for a return ticket to India. Meanwhile, his visa also expired. When he informed his parents about his predicament, they made arrangements for a ticket for him to return to India. When he demanded that Jet Minds should refund the money, the firm allegedly threatened to file a police complaint. By Express News Service CHENNAI: A 22-year-old man allegedly hacked his mother to death after he spotted her travelling on a motorbike with her male friend at Tambaram on Tuesday night. Police said that Bhavani, 40, was married to one Anbu and the couple had three children two boys and a girl. Anbu died a few years ago and Bhavani lived along with her children in Kakkan Street in Tambaram and worked as a construction labourer. Recently, she had befriended one Raj Kumar from the same area. One of her sons Sampath was angered by this, said a police officer. On Tuesday night, Sampath, who was riding his two-wheeler, spotted his mother travelling on a motorbike with Raj Kumar. He chased his mother and attacked her and the man, added the officer. The public, who witnessed the incident, rushed the duo to hospital and the doctors declared her brought dead. The man is undergoing treatment. A case has been registered by the Tambaram police and further investigations are on. Madhumitha Viswanath By Express News Service CHENNAI: Despite private tankers announcing their decision to go on strike from Monday, government agencies caught up with elections, have not taken any steps to solve the crisis at hand. Even though the strike is yet to start and tankers are still supplying water, many apartments across the city, had exhausted their supply on Wednesday night itself. Members from private water tanker associations said that government officials concerned, had not tried to contact them so far and no meeting was organised due to election results being announced on Thursday. Nijalingam N, President of South Chennai Private Water Tanker Association, said that only around 2,000 water tankers of 12,000-litre capacity, supplied water to the city on Wednesday and added that the number of tankers operating, will go down by 10-20 per cent in the next three days. As election results will be announced tomorrow, no government official was ready to talk to us to seek a solution. We are aware of the residents struggle and are trying our best to tap water from other places. Our intention is not to add to their suffering. We too want a solution which is suitable for all. Private water tankers which supply water to half of the citys population, decided to go on strike from May 27, opposing the governments recent crackdown on groundwater tapping. Following this, a group of 10 apartment complexes in OMR, are planning to conduct a protest on Saturday to express their woes regarding the governments inability to cater to their basic needs. For 600 families living in our apartment complex, we need 11-12 loads of 24,000 litres of water everyday. Because of the strike, we received only nine loads today. We got supply for an hour in the morning and no water at night. This is how dire our situation is even before the strike has begun, said M Harshal of Okkiyam Thoraipakkam. Most of the apartments along OMR dont opt for tankers provided by Chennai Metro Water Board as it takes a minimum of two weeks to arrive and tanker capacity is too less, said residents. Other areas which are severely affected by the strike are Tambaram, Pallavaram, Nanganallur, Pallikaranai, Velachery, Saidapet, Egmore, Purasawalkam, Anna Nagar and Madhavaram. Mainly, municipalities which dont come under the Chennai Corporation limit, are badly hit because of their overt dependence on private tankers. Subha Srikanth, a resident of a gated community in Navalur, said that they got only eight tankers against a requirement of 22 tankers. People are storing as much water as possible. Residents who work, dont have anyone to store water for them. We are giving supply to one washroom and kitchen of all houses. Many are planning to leave the city if the strike starts. This water scarcity is purely a reflection of the governments lack of planning, she added. Officials from the revenue department said that any talks with tanker associations, will be held only after the election results are announced. Officials in all departments concerned, are busy with election work. Locals from affected villagers have complained to us about over extraction of groundwater by tankers. We have to arrive at a solution which is amicable for all. As all three districts are involved, heads of many departments needs to consulted. There is a suo motu contempt case pending in the Madras High Court on this issue too, added the official. Errata Chennai: In the story titled '4,500 water tankers to go on strike today that appeared in these columns on May 22, it was wrongly mentioned that private water tankers are beginning the strike from May 22. Water tanker owners have announced that the strike is only from May 27. The error is regretted. Donita Jose By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Forget the rainwater harvesting pits. Its time to create and concentrate on groundwater recharging shafts. As the West Zone of the city remains parched with no legal water connections in place and several illegal borewells dried up, groundwater experts are suggesting that its time to move on from the traditional rainwater harvesting pits. According to experts, these pits, which were built in and around the north-western part of the GHMC limits, are too shallow to recharge the parched rocky terrain. As per the latest groundwater report prepared by the State governments Ground Water Department, Rangareddy, Medak and Medchal districts saw a sharp fall in the groundwater levels between 2018 and April, 2019. The rate of fall in these districts were 3.87 meters, 4.22 m and 4.92 m respectively. These areas of the city have hard rocks and groundwater level has fallen very deep... upto 20 meters in some areas. These regions, which have a very high density of population, are also witnessing less rainfall and making groundwater levels drop dip faster than the time it takes to recharge, noted Dr Pandith Madhunure, Director of Ground Water Department. Dr Pandith opines that in such a scenario, building simple rainwater harvesting pits of five to six feet depth will not help bring up the groundwater levels in the rocky terrains of north west Hyderabad. For areas like these, the TS Ground Water Department has now taken up the work of building specialised rainwater harvesting shafts which are a combination of the rainwater harvesting (RWH) pits and slotted pipes that can recharge the water up to the weathered zones in the deep rocks. The work at present is being taken up in remote villages with high distress. In this method, a 3x3 feet RWH pit is created around the borewell and the borewell case is equipped with slotted pipes which run deep and take water to parts of the inner earth where there are weathered zones or fractures in rock and replenish it. For areas stretching from West Marredpally to Kukatpally, Ameerpet to Serilingampally and all the way to Shaikpet, wherever the groundwater levels are critically low and there are dried up borewells one could go for the rainwater harvesting shafts, Dr Pandith said. As per officials, transforming a borewell into a rainwater harvesting shaft requires an additional 3x3 feet space to capture the runoff rainwater and some slotted pipework. A shaft built from scratch can cost up to Rs 1.7 lakh, they said. At present the said methodology has been implemented across 140 odd areas, however, it has been undertaken in the remote districts with acute distress. The department is also in the process of floating tenders for 400 more such structures in districts that are severely impacted. In the Hyderabad city, we are encouraging people to come to us for technical guidance. With this method, a house can get up to 35 to 40 per cent of its water needs, added Pandith. The Rainwater Department of HMWSSB is also suggesting a similar method of making additional injection wells strategically beside borewells to replenish them. Meanwhile, Prof K Purushotham Reddy, a city-based environmentalist, described it as a feasible method.This recharging of groundwater shafts is doable under laboratory conditions as the condition is rocky in the subsoil. However, the authorities must be answerable on why the conventional rainwater harvesting methods were not implemented. If implemented properly, those methods would have helped in avoiding the groundwater levels falling further, he said. By Express News Service KOCHI: Taking advantage of lack of security checks on the porous Indo-Nepal border, Judson single-handedly smuggled charas from the Himalayan country to Kochi. Modus operandi He used to travel by road to Nepal in his SUV. After procuring the contraband from Kushinagar on the Indo-Nepal border, where there is no security check, he returned through Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Bengaluru to Kochi by enabling the GPRS facility of the vehicle. He started a rent-a-car business to smuggle the contraband to various locations in Kerala. As internal fighting and betrayal are common among members of the drug mafia, he planned to build a parallel empire by setting up a quotation gang capable of executing supari killings, said an officer. If caught by the officers, he planned to escape to Nepal after killing the officers and persons who betrayed him. For this, he always kept a fully-loaded pistol with him, said the officer. The officers said the seized charas is of top quality- Red Label Grade - and is known as Bilaspur Charas. One of his sons is autistic. He took the child in the vehicle during the smuggling of the contraband to hoodwink the officers, said Excise Deputy Commissioner K Chandrapalan. A team comprising Excise Special Squad Inspector P Sreeraj, Preventive Officer K R Ramprasad, Intelligence Preventive Officer A S Jayan, Civil Excise Officers P X Rooban, M M Arunkumar, Sidharthan, and Robi made the arrest. What is charas? Charas is made from the resin of the cannabis plant. It costs about Rs 1.5 crore per kg in the international market. By Express News Service KOCHI: Kochi native Denzil Heidens life took a turn for the unexpected almost two years ago. Now a double amputee, the former employee of Avenue Regent Hotel is seeking financial assistance from the kind-hearted for a better quality of life ahead. Denzil was running the front desk at a lodge in Kochi when he was diagnosed with diabetes. In a month, he had his leg amputated. Soon after, his other leg began getting infected and had to be amputated as well. Within six months, Denzil became a double amputee, says Job V J, secretary of Avenue Regent Family group. It was during this time the Avenue Regent Family group, comprising former and current employees who worked at the hotel in Kochi heard about Denzil. As his family refused to take care of him, it took a mental toll on him, says Job. The group decided to take care of his expenses and rehabilitate him. Denzil is currently admitted at Sukino Healthcare Solutions in Pathadipalam. His body is still weak. His sugar levels are still high and insulin is being administered, says Job. The employees group has now ordered prosthetics for Denzil. As part of his physiotherapy, he has been training to use prosthetics. Imported from the US, it costs around D4 lakh. We have already paid an advance amount of D1.25 lakh, says Job. Also, Denzil has to be moved from the hospital he has been admitted for the past few months now. As his family is unwilling to take him in, we are hoping to put him under the care of a charitable society based in Fort Kochi. Though we had earmarked our funds for his rehabilitation, these were exhausted as medical bills at the hospital, says Job. He says Denzil used to be the front desk manager at Avenue Regent Hotel from 1995 to 2000. We are his only family now. For prosthetics and future rehabilitation, Denzil needs financial assistance, says Job. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: The much-awaited daily flight service connecting Vijayawada with Mumbai is all set to start from May 26 with SpiceJet announcing its schedule on Wednesday. The airliner will also commence a daily non-stop service between Tirupati and the financial capital from May 28 onwards.In line with the airlines commitment on enhancing regional connectivity, SpiceJet has introduced new flights on Mumbai-Vijayawada and Mumbai-Tirupati sectors for the first time, a press release from SpiceJet said. As per the schedule, flight number 6435 will depart Mumbai at 11.30 am and arrive at Vijayawada at 1 pm. Return flight 6436 is scheduled to depart Vijayawada at 1.30 pm and arrive at Mumbai at 2.55 pm. Similarly, Tirupati-bound flight 6422 will depart Mumbai at 3.35 pm and arrive at the temple city at 5.15 pm. Return flight 6451 will depart Tirupati at 5.45 pm and arrive at Mumbai at 7.40 pm. Both the flights to and from the two cities of the State will depart and arrive from Terminal no. 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. At present, Air India Express operates a tri-weekly direct flight between Vijayawada and Mumbai.Plans and proposals of several airliners since 2016-2017 to launch a daily direct service to Mumbai from Gannavaram, the only airport in the State capital region, never materialised. Plans of Indigo to launch daily services between both the cities reportedly got shelved due to unavailability of slots at Mumbai Airport. The business community and commerce and industry bodies from the State capital region had time and again stressed upon the need for a daily service between Vijayawada and Mumbai.However, the breakthrough was incidentally achieved after Jet Airways suspended its services across the country due to financial crisis, freeing up slots at several airports. SpiceJet has taken over most of these free slots after which the decision was taken to launch the much-awaited service from the two cities of the State. The airline will launch 20 new domestic flights from the last week of May, 18 of which will connect the financial capital with metro and smaller cities. By AFP BEIJING: Chinese telecom giant Huawei says it could roll out its own operating system for smartphones and laptops in China by the autumn after the United States blacklisted the company, a report said Thursday. ALSO READ | China bemoans US 'bullying' of Huawei The international version of the system could be ready in the first or second quarter of 2020, said Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer business, told US channel CNBC. The company was dealt a blow this week with Google's decision to partially cut off Huawei devices from its Android OS following a US order banning the sale or transfer of American technology to the firm. "Today, Huawei, we are still committed to Microsoft Windows and Google Android," Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer business, told CNBC. "But if we cannot use that, Huawei will prepare the plan B to use our own OS." The Global Times, a Chinese state-run daily, reported on Monday that the platform -- named "HongMeng" -- was undergoing trials and will gradually replace the Android system. "We don't want to do this but we will forced to do that because of the US government. I think the US, this kind of thing, will also not only be bad news for us, but also bad news for the US companies because we support" US businesses, Yu told CNBC. "We don't want to do this but we have no other solution, no other choice." ALSO READ | What Google Android restrictions mean for Chinese tech giant Huawei The US Commerce Department, which added Huawei and 68 of its affiliates to an "entity list" last week, on Monday announced a 90-day reprieve, allowing some services to continue. By Online Desk With YSR Congress Party almost decimating TDP out of power in Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy who steered his party YSRCP to a spectacular victory in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections is set to take oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30. YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy is the son of former chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. With YSR Congress Party gaining a landslide victory in the 2019 Assembly elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy has repeated what his father had achieved in 2004 when he dislodged Telugu Desam Party's (TDPs) N Chandrababu Naidu out of power. In election trends, YSRCP is leading in 22 out of 25 Parliamentary Constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and TDP only on three, while in 175-member State Assembly, Reddy is leading on 149 seats with TDP marginalized to 25 and Pawan Kalyan Jana Sena Party to only 1. READ: Jagan and his battle for political survival In the 2014 Assembly elections, TDP had formed the government with 102 seats while YSRCP bagged 67 seats. "It is the victory of people of Andhra Pradesh," Jagan said in his post on Facebook as the trends showed the YSRCP leading in 150 seats in 175-member Assembly. Jagan thanked the people for blessing the YSRCP with their support and votes and said he would try to live up to the people's expectations. IN PICS: It's celebration time in the BJP, YSRC and DMK camps The assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh mark a defining moment in the political scene of the state. The victory of Jaganmohan Reddy has put a massive question mark on TDP President Chandrababu Naidu's attempt to mark his stamp in national politics with the formation of the Third Front. Though Naidu allied with the BJP in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, this time he decided to fight alone and against the BJP. By Online Desk The end to the world's longest election was swift. Such was the mandate for the BJP that the verdict has been sealed well before the VVPATs expected to delay the outcome have been counted. Global leaders from Imran Khan to Vladimir Putin have congratulated Prime Minister Modi who has himself acknowledged victory and tweeted that he would work towards a more inclusive future. The Congress has taken a beating. Its chief Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat to Smriti Irani in his family bastion of Amethi during a press conference in which he congratulated Modi too. A record win in Wayanad was small consolation for the 49-year-old Congress president. The BJP is now expected to win more seats than it did in 2014 and possibly end up with a bigger vote share too. Nation-building awaits. The prominent candidates and how they are faring: FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE By PTI PATNA: NCP chief Sharad Pawar Thursday said he would not blame the electronic voting machines (EVMS) for the defeat of anti-BJP parties in the Lok Sabha polls and added he has gracefully accepted the people's mandate. The NCP, along with other opposition parties, had repeatedly raised concerns over the possibility of EVM tampering. Pawar said the opposition parties had anticipated the BJP would do well in certain states, but did not expect "such a big victory" across the country. "Doubts were indeed raised (about EVMs functioning)," Pawar told reporters here. "But I don't want to blame the machines now since the result is out. Once the verdict is out, it has to be accepted gracefully and I am accepting it gracefully," he said. Pawar said the "spectre of suspicion" indeed prevailed in the minds of people in the run-up to the polls. He added that such a suspicion was never raised in the past elections and cited some instances including the Congress getting around 400 seats under Rajiv Gandhi's leadership in 1984 to drive home his point. The NCP chief said his party would introspect the result and toil to better its prospects in the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year. Pawar had recently raised concerns over the use of EVMs in polls, claiming he himself had once seen during a presentation that a vote cast for his party went in the BJP's favour. Pawar, however, had said he did not claim that all EVMs function in such a way. "I am also concerned about the machine. In Hyderabad and Gujarat, some people kept an EVM before me and asked me to press a button." "I pressed the button against 'watch' (the NCP's symbol) and the vote got cast in favour of 'lotus' (the BJP's symbol). I saw it happening myself," Pawar had said. By Online Desk BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani continues to lead over Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which until now was a bastion of the Grand Old Party. The Congress president, who is also fighting from the Wayanad seat in Kerala, was trailing in Amethi by about 6,000 votes as he bids to win the seat for the fourth successive time. The SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan did not field a candidate here, making it a straight fight between Gandhi and Irani. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had defeated Irani by a margin of over one lakh votes. While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is leading in 339 seats across the country, the Congress-lead United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is ahead against its rivals in 92 constituencies. In a shift of stance from 2014 when PM Narendra Modi rode to power on his sabka saath, sabka vikas agenda, he sought another term on the basis of muscular nationalism, strong and corruption-free governance and providing social welfare schemes directly to the beneficiaries. The opposition, on the other hand, ran a campaign accusing the government of polarising the country on communal lines, carrying out demonetization that led to job losses, mismanaging the economy and ignoring farmers' issues. By IANS NEW DELHI: As the Bharatiya Janata Party lead on 300 seats by Thursday afternoon, close to seven hours into the counting process, BJP President Amit Shah thanked the nation for voting them back to power calling it a victory for the whole country. In a series of tweets in Hindi, he thanked the country saying "Phir ek baar Modi Sarkar" (once again, Modi government). "This is a victory of the entire nation. A victory of hopes of the youth, poor and farmers. This grand victory is a triumph of people's confidence in Prime Minister Modi's five-year of development and strong leadership. "I convey my heartfelt greetings to Modiji on behalf of BJP workers." He also congratulated the people of the nation and the party workers. "This result is India's mandate against opposition's propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless politics. "Today's mandate also shows that the people of India opted for development and nationalism and have completely uprooted casteism, dynastic politics and appeasement from the country," he said. Doctoral researcher examines American and European 'lifestyle migrants' in Costa Rica LAWRENCE -- With miles of beaches on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, a lower cost of living and a stable political climate, Costa Rica has enticed tens of thousands of American and European expatriates to put down roots, buy homes and start businesses in that country. By local standards, these "lifestyle migrants" often are wealthy -- and the Costa Rican government is known to welcome them with open arms. But how do thousands of Americans and Europeans alter the pre-existing local culture, politics and economy? Is their presence in Costa Rica a boon or a blight to local communities? A University of Kansas doctoral student in the Department of Sociology recently earned a $15,000, one-year grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate such questions. Erin Adamson departs Lawrence in July to perform months of fieldwork in Costa Rica's administrative area of Talamanca, along the Caribbean coast, conducting interviews with lifestyle migrants and natural-born Costa Ricans to better grasp the social, economic and cultural dynamics between the groups. "I'm looking at a different group of migrants than we usually look at," Adamson said. "So, when Americans and Europeans who have a lot of money move to a developing country, how do they use their economic power to impact a local community? Through opening businesses and buying land and houses, they have a pretty big gentrification effect on a poorer community. I'm interested in how does the local community respond to that? How how did things shift because of it? How does that change relationships between migrants and local people?" Once a Spanish colony, large tracts of Costa Rica were purchased and cultivated by American banana companies following independence "within a framework of neo-colonialism," according to Adamson. These companies brought in African-Caribbean workers for their plantations because their labor was inexpensive and they spoke English. "It's always been an agricultural region," Adamson said. "It's always been one in which people were expected to work very hard for very little pay. But Costa Rica is kind of unique in that they worked hard to make sure regular people owned land. So, lots of poor own land in Costa Rica, which isn't true in all Central American countries. By the '70s, most people on the coast were farming cocoa or chocolate, or fishing, or selling coconut oil. And there was a crash -- a disease that took out all cacao -- and at the same time, a disease that went through Central America that ruined all the banana plantations for a while. In just a few years, the whole agricultural sector was devastated. And what people did in response was turn to tourism, and that was true previous to these economic elites or lifestyle migrants going down there." According to Adamson, between the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, the U.S. immigrant population quadrupled while the European immigrant population nearly doubled in Costa Rica. "Europeans and Americans started moving in and buying land -- some of the lifestyle migrants that are there now have owned land there since the early '90s," she said. "They've made a lot of money on land because they bought it cheap from locals, and they've parceled it off and developed it. Part of them are retirees, from the U.S. and Canada, looking to stretch their budget. They can live really well on very little. Also, Costa Rica has a decent health care system. So, if they have health problems, they can actually get quite a bit of intensive health care, and it's really cheap. Then there's a lot of younger folks, too, in their 20s and 30s, who come with their families, and they open a yoga studio or dive shop or something like that." Adamson said American and European lifestyle migrants often hire Costa Ricans to work in their businesses or homes, giving the foreign-born migrants power and influence in a country where good jobs are scarce. Adamson hopes to know if locals are earning a living wage; if resentment exists against wealthier expatriates; if the influence of lifestyle migrants gives them lopsided political power to gain roads, water service and trash removal at a standard closer to the U.S. than what is customary in Costa Rica. The KU student said her findings in Costa Rica would apply to other nations in the region and around the world with big numbers of lifestyle migrants from North America and Europe, like Panama, Ecuador, South Africa, Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Adamson, who is working with thesis adviser Joane Nagel, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology, said she hoped to graduate with her doctorate by 2021. ### This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Mayank Singh By Express News Service NEW DELHI: A break-in has taken place at the Indian Air Forces office inside the Dassault Aviation complex in Paris that is supervising the production of 36 Rafale fighters for India. It was on Sunday that a break-in was found in the office of the Indian Project Management Team. It was reported to the local police, a source told this newspaper and added, Prima facie nothing was missing. But all the documents and data are kept there. So it remains to be ascertained if all the documents are accounted for. The defence ministry has been briefed about the incident and a thorough investigation into whether there was any theft of documents is going on, the source told the paper. The Air Forces Project Management Team is headed by an officer of Group Captain rank and its office is located in the Saint Cloud suburb of Paris. The team looks after all the issues related to the Rafale combat aircraft, including the production timelines and training of Indian personnel for maintenance and flying operations of the India-specific planes. Two fighter pilots, a logistics officer and a number of weapons experts and engineers are also part of the Indian team in Paris. An inter-governmental agreement was signed on 23 September 2016 between India and France for the procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft in direct fly-away condition with weapons, long-term maintenance support, simulators and other associated equipment. The total cost of the project is about Rs 58,000 crore. Brahmos test successful The IAF successfully carried out the test-firing of its supersonic BrahMos cruise missile on Wednesday from its frontline Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. By Express News Service BHOPAL: An army man, recently arrested from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh for passing on critical information about the countrys defence apparatus to his Pakistani handlers, was honey-trapped by a young woman who was involved in a similar case in Jhansi a few years back. The 28-year-old junior clerical staff posted at Mhow, who hails from the district of Vaishali in Bihar, is currently in police remand till May 26 for passing sensitive Army details on a day-to-day basis, investigators said. Based on investigations and interrogation of the arrested man, it has come to the fore that his Pakistani handlers used a young woman, aged around 25, to honey-trap the accused. The woman, a well-trained Pakistani operative, posed as an Indian national, Prishi Agrawal, to lure him into explicit chats over social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook. She later began asking him to provide details on defence installations, locations, besides movement and exercises of the Indian Army. The probe has revealed a strong possibility of the woman being the same person who honey-trapped another Army man posted at Jhansis Babina Cantonment, who was arrested back in 2014. According to sources, investigators have also zeroed in on the money which was deposited into bank accounts of the arrested army man and aides over the last two years by his Pakistani handlers through their men in other parts of India. While details about money transfer are still being ascertained, it has come to the fore that the money was deposited into his accounts from places outside MP, including Delhi. Three years back, MP Polices Anti-Terror Squad had busted a Pakistani spy ring facilitated by a series of Chinese sim box exchanges in various cities of the state, including Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior, that was used for phone frauds. The money earned was parked in bank accounts in MPs Satna and Rewa districts before being handed over to operatives based in Old Delhi. Part of the money earned through phone frauds was also sourced to hawala operators and a few dry fruit traders in northern India, including Jammu and Kashmir. It was then routed to spies. By IANS NEW DELHI: "India wins yet again," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday as the BJP was heading for a thumping victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which he attributed to the 'sabka vishwas' (trust of everyone). Modi also said a strong and inclusive India will be built by its people. "Sabka sath + Sabka Vikas + Sabka Vishwas Vijai Bharat (taking everyone along, development for all, trust of all is equal to victorious India). Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat," he tweeted. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 His remarks came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday appeared set to retain power with a greater majority. According to the trends, the BJP was leading on over 301 seats out of 542 seats. By PTI MUMBAI: Congress' Mumbai North Lok Sabha candidate Urmila Matondkar Thursday said though she has lost her maiden election, she won't quit politics as she has a long way to go. In her electoral debut, the actor contested against BJP veteran Gopal Shetty. As per the latest trends available, Shetty has taken a decisive lead of 4,52,226 votes over Matondkar. "I am going to continue politics, as I've been saying from day one. This has been an absolute glorious battle for me. I am standing defeated in front of you but do I look like a lost person?" Matondkar told reporters. "The spirit, the conscience of a person matters. I am extremely happy I fought this election with a lot of dignity and integrity," she added. Matondkar said she looks at the current situation as a "humble beginning." "The experience was absolutely fantastic. I doubt anyone across india had the kind of journey that I had. I am proud of my journey. I feel this is just the start. It is a long way from here and I am more than ready for it," she added. Earlier in the day, the actor had alleged that there was a mismatch in signatures on an electronic voting machine (EVM) form. When asked about it, Matondkar said, "I congratulate him (Shetty) on his victory. But we have found some discrepancies (in the EVM) and have made a report which we will submit to the election commission by the end of the day". When asked if she knows the areas she lacked in, Matondkar said it is "too early" for her to comment on the same. By Online Desk The BJP candidate from Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency Jay Panda is trailing by a margin of more than 50,000 votes against BJD's actor-turned-politician Anubhav Mohanty. Congress candidate Dharanidhar Nayak is a distant third. Panda's defeat will be a huge political setback for him and his party. On the other hand, a BJD win will also be seen as a personal victory for CM Naveen Patnaik. The poll battle for Kendrapara is considered to be a battle between the BJD president and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Panda, his estranged friend. Panda had quit the BJD in 2019 to join the BJP after the duo had a bitter fallout in the previous year. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections 2019 results LIVE Panda had represented Kendrapara in the 15th Lok Sabha under the BJD's banner. He has been to the parliament from Odisha several times before that. Kendrapara is also significant as it elected heavyweights like Naveen's father and former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik thrice to the Lok Sabha in the 1977, 1980 and 1984 general elections. After he joined the BJP, Panda was named the national vice president and spokesperson of the saffron party and was subsequently nominated from Kendrapara. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Calling exit polls giving a thumping majority to the NDA as fraudulent, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appealed to party workers not to get discouraged and remain vigilant. The next 24 hours are very crucial. Stay alert and vigilant. Dont be scared. You are fighting for the truth. Dont be disheartened by the propaganda of fake exit polls. Believe in yourself and the Congress. Your hard work will not go to waste. Jai Hind, he tweeted. Rahuls message to party workers cames amid the Opposition levelling allegations of mishandling and tampering of EVMs and raising concerns about tallying EVM counts with VVPATs. The Opposition also slammed the Election Commission for rejecting their demand with regard to matching EVM counts with VVPATs. However, BJP chief Amit Shah accused the Opposition of belittling the electoral process by questioning the credibility of the EVMs. FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE Claiming that the Opposition was betraying desperation in the face of a certain defeat, Shah wondered why these parties accepted positive verdicts in elections held under the same EVMs in an apparent reference to Assembly polls in five states in December last year. Shah also termed their plea to the EC unconstitutional. Though the EC had made it clear to the 22 opposition parties on Tuesday that the old protocol for counting the paper slips would continue, its top officials met Wednesday and decided against making any last-minute changes to the way they are to be tallied. Slamming its decision, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the EC decision went against the spirit of a Supreme Court order. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi asked whether the EC has made the EVMs electronic victory machines for the BJP and the Model Code of Conduct as Modis Campaign Code. By Bloomberg If anyone had any doubts about Narendra Modis popularity, Indias masses just put them to rest. His Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to another single-party majority on Thursday, a margin that surprised political watchers who expected him to return with a weakened mandate. A combination of economic populism, Hindu nationalism and air strikes against arch-rival Pakistan earlier this year proved unbeatable. This is a stunning reaffirmation of Modi and the BJP and, conversely, a sharp rebuke of the opposition, said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The BJP will have wide latitude to redraw the boundaries between religion and politics in a way that favours the Hindu majority. Investors pushed Indias benchmark stock indexes to new highs on Thursday before the rally faded late in the session. The prospect of a coalition government, which was previously the norm for decades in India, had sparked concerns that the nation would see a return to the policy gridlock that led to Modis first big win five years ago. More broadly, the big question is where Modi takes India over the next five years. After his 2014 win, he promised voters staples like jobs, toilets and affordable housing in a bid to bolster an economy where one in five people live on less than $2 per day. This time around, his presidential-style campaign focused more on stoking patriotism and appealing to the majority community who make up about 80 per cent of the countrys 1.3 billion people. I worry that the communal bitterness unleashed in this campaign will make it hard to heal, said Alyssa Ayres, a former U.S. diplomat and now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Modi of five years ago spoke about development for all and inclusive growth. That message sounds pretty faint today. Growth Challenge Modis immediate task will be revving up the economy. Economists forecast growth in the three months through March at the slowest pace in almost two years, and fiscal space is limited to pay for promises like cash handouts to farmers and hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure spending. An escalating U.S.-China trade war and volatile oil prices -- Indias biggest import -- are adding to the uncertainty. Most government ministries are focused on broad plans to create jobs and boost exports by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Indias independence. I expect a lot more on this new India 2022 -- the thrust on this is quite strong, said Amarjeet Sinha, a secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development. On foreign policy, Modis mandate will also allow him to continue boosting Indias role on the global stage, which included shifting closer to the U.S. to counter China. His administration is also expected to continue to rally global opinion against Pakistan. But the biggest question mark over Modis second term is how hard hell push a pro-Hindu agenda. Under his watch running the western state of Gujarat in 2002, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in deadly riots. While human-rights groups say Modi couldve stopped them, a Supreme Court-appointed panel found no evidence he gave orders that prevented assistance for the victims. Modis political career -- and the BJP itself -- is rooted in efforts to build a temple to the Hindu god Ram in the northern city of Ayodhya in the 1980s. Nation-wide riots after a mosque was demolished on the site in December 1992 killed at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. Modi told a local media outlet earlier this year that his government may issue an order to build the Ram temple after the Supreme Court decides on a pending land dispute over the site that has been in court for some seven decades. Mob Justice That would build on pro-Hindu measures during his first term, including a national ban on sale of cattle to slaughterhouses. Human Rights Watch cited the measure as a reason mobs of so-called cow vigilantes have killed dozens of Muslims across 12 Indian states since 2015. Cows are sacred to Hindus, while Muslims are traditionally cattle dealers and butchers. One victor Thursday was BJP member Pragya Singh Thakur, who was accused of planning bomb blasts in a Muslim neighbourhood that killed six people in 2008 and also called founding father Mahatma Gandhis assassin a patriot. Party leaders defended her candidacy. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, didnt fare as well after warning that Modi would erode the nations secular roots. The grandson of the late Indira Gandhi (and great-grandson of Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru) lost one of the two seats he contested. Congress only won a few more seats than it took in 2014, which was its worst performance since Indias independence. India hasnt seen this kind of concentration of power in an individual since Indira Gandhis heyday more than 40 years ago, said Sadanand Dhume, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Modis personal triumph means there will be even fewer checks on his authority than before. Sumi Sukanya dutta By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from the old Indian Institutes of Technology, which were mentored extensively by different countries during their years of formation, new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences are all set to collaborate with top health institutes abroad. These collaborations will be aimed at faculty exchange, learning best practices and coming together for research. For now, talks are in advanced stages with Sweden and Japan to tie up for the new institutions at Jodhpur and Madurai while the government is also trying to tap the US, France and Germany for AIIMS institutes in other cities, sources in the Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare said. AIIMS, Jodhpur is set to tie up with Karolinska Institute, a research-led medical university, while Japan has in-principle agreed to support AIIMS, Madurai. The nature of these collaborations will be different from the IIT models, which were almost adopted by countries like Russia, USA and Germany and also received funding support till they matured, said an official. The association that is now being chalked out with countries with which we have bilaterals on higher education is different as we are keen to learn and adopt practices, faculty assistance that will help our institutions evolve as quality medical research and teaching organisations. There have been 21 AIIMS institutions planned for the country, on the line of AIIMS, New Delhi, and 8 such institutes are already offering MBBS courses. Ritwika Mitra By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will hold a meeting with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment this week to brainstorm on how the practice of manual scavenging can be clamped down at the grassroots level. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, outlaws manual scavenging. However, the ground reality is different. With the practice being a gross violation of human rights, the Commission has decided to deliberate on it, said an NHRC official. The Commission has called the concerned ministry for discussion. The NHRC holds discussion on various human rights issues. Manual scavenging is an issue that the Commission has discussed over the years. Based on discussions, the Commission comes out with suggestions, said the official. The ministry is likely to present a historical background of all schemes surrounding rehabilitation of manual scavengers, the official figures that have emerged from the ongoing survey and the governments action plan. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency for the first time has confirmed ISJKs link with ISIS, West Asia based proscribed terrorist organisation. In its charge sheet filed in a terror case against four members of Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), the NIA said, Investigation unearthed a larger conspiracy of these terrorist elements propagating the pan-Islamic ideology of ISIS by recruiting and radicalising Kashmiri youth towards Jihad and targeting security forces. Although ISJK has been believed to be inspired by ISIS, this is the first time that NIA has made the claim of a direct link between the two groups. The four accused have been charge-sheeted in connection with an attack at the tourist reception centre in Srinagar on November 24 last year. On the day of the incident, police had arrested three suspected members of the terror group Tahir Ahmad Khan, Haris Mushtaq Khan and Asif Suhail Nadaf. During their search, two pistols, 14 live rounds and three hand grenades were recovered from their possession along with an ISIS flag. The case was taken over by the NIA on December 13, 2018, said the NIA statement. The NIA has charged the arrested persons under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the stringent anti-terror Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. After taking charge of the case, NIA arrested one more accused Asif Majid Khan, who was allegedly involved in harbouring other co-accused persons. One illegal 12 bore single-barrel gun without a number and two KF-12 cartridges were recovered on his disclosure, said the statement. According to the agency, three others Ishfaq Ahmad Sofi, Pervez Ahmad Bhat and Asif Nazir Dar were part of the conspiracy but they were killed during encounters. Former CEO of Lynch, Jones & Ryan brokerage now works to improve the business district of Fifth Avenue in New York City. By PTI MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena Thursday lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP-led NDA appeared to be retaining power comfortably, saying nobody would be able to pose a challenge before him for the next 25 years. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party had often criticized the BJP in the last five years but eventually sealed a fresh alliance with it ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that people had given a befitting reply to opposition parties who created "an atmosphere of illusion" against Modi over issues such as the Rafale fighter jet deal. "The entire country is `Modi-may' (in thrall of Modi)," Raut, who edits the Sena mouthpiece `Saamana', told reporters here. "The truth has to be accepted that no one could counter Modi. Today's mandate is such that no one can counter (Modi) for the next 25 years," Raut added. The Rajya Sabha member observed that the BJP-led NDA is doing well also in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the Congress had won Assembly polls last year. "The country has reposed faith in Narendra Modi's leadership for the next five years. He will take the country even further in five years," he added. According to the trends made available by the Election Commission, the BJP was leading in 300 seats across the country. In Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the BJP and Shiv Sena were marching ahead in 23 and 18 seats, respectively. By Express News Service BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh BJP appears to be divided on the demand that the Kamal Nath-led Congress government go for a floor test to prove its majority. The former chief minister and BJP national vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan has distanced himself from party colleague and Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargavas demand for a special session of the Assembly and floor test. Im not at all in favour of a floor test, as the BJP isnt going to indulge in the politics of engineering defections or bringing down the government. Our party doesnt believe in politics of horse trading, Chouhan said on Wednesday. Our party doesnt have to do anything, as the Congress government in MP is plagued with internal contradictions, exposed recently by BSP supremo Mayawati threatening to reconsider support after one of her party candidates withdrew his nomination papers in favour of a senior Congress leader, said Chouhan. On Monday, Chouhans former ministerial colleague had written to the Governor Anandiben Patel demanding convening of a special session. Bhargava, an eight-time BJP legislator from Rehli seat of Sagar district, while claiming that the Nath government was in minority, demanded a floor test for the government to prove its majority in the 230-member state Assembly. CM Nath responded that he was ready for a floor test. He also accused the BJP of approaching at least 10 Congress MLAs with offers of money and posts, if they helped bring down his government. All the 10 MLAs who told me they were being approached with offers, have assured that they are firmly with the government, he said. By PTI HYDERABAD: With the ruling NDA on course to securing a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha polls, TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's plans to stitch a "non-Congress, non-BJP" front of regional parties is in tatters. Anticipating a hung parliament, the TRS was gearing itself to play a "king-maker" role along with parties not aligned with the Congress and the BJP. But the trends indicate BJP will get majority on is own and touch 300 seats, pouring cold water on Rao's plans. Rao had met several regional leaders, including his West Bengal and Odisha counterparts Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik respectively, DMK president M K Stalin and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, as part of his outreach to opposition parties. ALSO READ | With Telangana firmly under belt, CM K Chandrasekhar Rao eyes kingmakers role However, he did not appear to have received unequivocal support from others, except Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSRCP as his efforts to form the federal front failed to make headway and remained a non-starter, according to Rao's critics. His decision to advance the assembly polls eight months before its expiry last year was hailed as a "master-stroke" as the TRS returned to power with a rich haul of 88 seats in the 119-member House. It was then perceived that national issues might have overshadowed those of the state if simultaneous elections were held for the Lok Sabha and the state assembly. In the Lok Sabha poll campaign, TRS told the electorate a win for it would enable Telangana get copious funds and development projects from the Centre. Rao's focus on national politics led to speculation he would pass over the reins of the government to his son K T Rama Rao but the latter was appointed working president of TRS soon after TRS' victory in the assembly polls. Chandrasekhar Rao's glorious moment in his about four-decade-long political career came when the UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh granted separate statehood in 2014, a long cherished dream, catapulting Rao to be the mascot of Telangana pride. Though the Congress and BJP also claim credit for passage of the Telangana bill, it was Rao's TRS that reaped the rich political harvest. It was his fiery oratory and shrewd political moves that helped Rao revive the separate statehood demand and achieve it in the end. Prior to launching the TRS, he began his political career as a Youth Congress leader before joining the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founded by film icon N T Rama Rao in 1983. ALSO READ | TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao now longest-serving CM from Telangana region After an unsuccessful electoral debut the same year from Siddipet, he wrested the seat in 1985 and there was no looking back for him ever since. Rao, who was a minister in the NTR government and subsequently in the N Chandrababu Naidu ministry, has won 13 elections to the Lok Sabha and state assembly on the trot. Congress allied with TRS to dislodge the TDP in 2004 and the alliance was successful at the hustings, but Rao later pulled out his party from the combine accusing the Congress of not being serious about creating Telangana. In the 2009 assembly elections, TRS allied with the TDP after the latter agreed to extend "unconditional support" for creation of Telangana. But, Rao and his TRS remained a fringe player in undivided Andhra Pradesh as the Congress returned to power in 2009 under the charismatic Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. Following Reddy's death in a helicopter crash in 2009, Congress in the state plunged into turmoil as his son Jagan Mohan Reddy revolted against party high command over the leadership issue. Sensing an opportunity, Rao began a fast unto death for Telangana statehood which he ended 11 days later after the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram announced on December 9, 2009 steps will be taken for formation of the state by dividing Andhra Pradesh. ALSO READ | KCR announces Rs 100 crore fund for Kaleshwara temple development However, the UPA government later dragged its feet under pressure from people of coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema region who protested the "unilateral" announcement and felt more consultations were needed. Resuming his battle, Rao breathed fire and brimstone with slogans like "Telangana waley jaago, Andhra waley bhago (People of Telangana arise, those of Andhra run away)". He threatened a "civil war" and "bloodbath" if Telangana was not created. As Andhra Pradesh, geographically undivided but cleaved by strong regional sentiments, headed for the 2014 assembly elections, Rao's steadfast and aggressive pursuit of Telangana saw the TRS reaping a handsome electoral harvest. And when the new state was born, TRS had 11 of the 17 Lok Sabha and 63 of the 119 assembly seats. Having realised his Telangana dream, he consolidated his position with nearly 20 MLAs from the TDP, Congress and other parties switching over to the TRS. In his first tenure as Chief Minister, Rao implemented pro-farmer schemes like "Rythu Bandhu", an investment support initiative, and "Rythu Beema", a life insurance scheme for the royts, that helped him regain power in December last. G Janardhana Rao By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: Telugu Expats Association of Malaysia has shifted four youths, whom it rescued from an agent following a report published by TNIE earlier this week, to the Indian High Commission shelter in Kuala Lumpur. The four youths -- M Venku Naidu, M Mahesh, M Srinu and M Girish -- all from Rajam in Butchaiahpeta mandal were initially provided accommodation in an apartment at Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur after they were rescued by the association. It also rescued three more persons who were languishing in Malaysia. Interestingly, one of the rescued was the agent, P Dhana Sekhar, who cheated the four youths. Agent who cheated youths too in trouble Sekhar himself became a victim of his unscrupulous employer who took away his passport and drove him away. Association media coordinator Madan Mohan told TNIE over phone that a team of the association led by its president Anil Kumar Chigurupati was making efforts to help the Visakhapatnam youths get white passports and send them back to India. The association also partially recovered money from Sekhar which he had taken from the four youths and Rs 30,000 each was credited to their accounts, Madan said. Apart from Sekhar the other two who were rescued included Naveen Mowangi and K Ramakrishna. Madan said the case of Ramakrishna was pathetic as he struggled for the last 16 months without salary. Back home in Visakhapatnam his wife and two grown-up children are being supported by his in-laws family. Owing to financial problems a desperate Ramakrishna made an attempt to find work in Kuwait. But it proved disastrous. In a double whammy, his Malaysia adventure too ended in disappointment. Madan said the association was ready to reach out to poor victims. But its focus is on discouraging people from coming to Malaysia on a tourist visa for employment. There is no hope for such people to get compensation from employers through court because of illegal status of their stay in Malaysia. The Telugu Expats Association has approached the APNRT Society for grants for the early return of the youths. He said six of the seven youths have been staying for less than one year and they may not face many problems. However, the case of Ramakrishna is a little bit tricky as he has been staying for over 16 months in Malaysia. However, they are trying to salvage the situation for him to some extent, he said. Meanwhile, Venku Naidu and others said they were being treated well at IHC shelter and the accommodation was good. However, they said they wanted to return to India. Kalyan Tholeti By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: The electoral victory could not have been sweeter for YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. It has been a long time coming. The 46-year-old made his electoral debut in May 2009, exactly a decade ago, when he successfully contested from the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency - the YSR family's bastion. A few months later in September when his father and the then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy died in a chopper crash, it was thought Jagan, who holds a master's in business administration, could succeed him. Ministers and leaders loyal to YSR lobbied hard with a signature campaign persuading many legislators to back Jagan, then aged just about 36. But fate willed otherwise. The then Congress president Sonia Gandhi anointed veteran leader K Rosaiah as the chief minister thwarting the young man's dream of succeeding his illustrious father. Jagan's insistence, subsequently, on going ahead with 'Odarpu Yatra' ostensibly to console the families of those who had died of shock upon hearing of YSR's untimely demise widened the rift between him and the Congress high command. While Sonia Gandhi disapproved of his move seeing in it an attempt to stake claim to YSR's legacy, Jagan maintained -- he sticks to it now too -- that he sought to reach out to the bereaved families to keep his word. He had promised at the chopper crash site itself that he would meet the families of all those who had died of shock in the wake of his father's death. A defiant Jagan went ahead with his yatra, pulling large crowds and sending the Congress into a tizzy. In November 2010 he quit the party following an ultimatum to stop the yatra and floated Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress (YSRC) in March 2011. He resigned as MP and contested the bypoll winning by a record margin of five lakh-odd votes. Thus arrived Jagan onto the political landscape of the then undivided Andhra Pradesh, displaying defiance, courage of conviction and self-confidence -- qualities that were tested much sooner than he expected. A plethora of petitions against him in the high court by Congress and TDP leaders accusing him of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and striking quid pro quo deals during his father's stint as the CM brought upon him CBI and ED probes. He was arrested by the CBI in May 2012 and spent 16 months in jail emerging out at the height of the agitation for the creation of Telangana. Though he took a firm stand against division of the State and sat on a hunger strike, he couldn't do much to prevent it. Unlike the TDP, he wound up his party in Telangana and entered the electoral battle in the residuary state of Andhra in the 2014 elections as a favourite. But TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu squeaked through striking winning alliances with the BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan. Frustrated for the second time, Jagan found himself fighting an existential battle for his political survival. Naidu weaned away 23 of his 67 legislators and sought to decimate the YSRC. Effective and combative, but lacking in patience and stratagems, Jagan roped in the poll wizard Prashant Kishor in May 2017 to firm up his 2019 campaign. That truly changed his fortunes. It was a perfect blend of his perseverance and Kishor's strategies that saw him through in May 2019 catapulting him to the CM's gaddi finally after a decade-long journey. Winning Strategy The hard work he put in since May 2017 is perhaps unprecedented in the annals of Independent India's political history. Like his father, Jagan undertook a statewide padayatra covering 3,641 km and interacting with at least two crore people in 14 months - a feat unmatched by any other politician. Realising that his weakness is at the grassroots, he formed a network of both level workers - a formidable force to take on the strong cadre of the TDP. In fact, he held a series of district-level meetings meeting over five lakh booth workers. But what made the difference were his reach out programmes. In all, Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) ran 17 on-ground and 18 online campaigns. It is a two-pronged strategy to strengthen the party and reach out to the people. He wrote personalised letters to over 60,000 village-level neutral influencers, and sought their suggestions under the Jagan Anna Pilupu programme, making neutral voters participate in shaping his policies. The booth-level workers and party leaders were in constant touch with voters throughout conducting five door-to-door campaigns in two years. To outwit Naidu, Jagan came up with his Navaratnalu -- nine gems-- promises ranging from affordable healthcare, education, sops for farmers and women, to incentives for sending children to school. The Ravali Jagan, Kavali Jagan (Jagan must come, Jagan we want) campaign proved highly successful with the song touching 2.2 crore views on YouTube and reverberating in every nook and cranny in the State. Through these programmes, the party reached out to one crore households at least once in the last two years. The 400- strong I-PAC team was also instrumental in data crunching, conducting the social media blitz and guiding YSRC candidates. Last but not the least, its catchy slogans, Ninnu Nammam Babu (We don't believe you Babu) and Bye Bye Babu proved instant hits denting the credibility of the TDP chief. The campaign managed to posit Jagan as a man of his word, the true heir to YSR, in contrast to the unreliable Naidu. In short, it made people see in Jagan YSR 2.0. Ramkrishna Badseshi By Express News Service With just a week to go for the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll results, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy expressed confidence that the JDS-Congress combine will win 16 to 18 seats. In an interview to The New Indian Express, he admitted that the number would have been much higher and they would have won 25 seats had the coalition partners campaigned in all constituencies keeping aside their differences. Excerpts: What is your assessment of LS poll results? We will win 16-18 seats in Karnataka. We would have won 25 seats, if the coalition partners had campaigned in all constituencies keeping aside their differences. We have to accept that it has not happened. Out of 7 seats contested by Janata Dal (S), we will win in 5 seats and the victory in Mandya, Tumkur and Hassan is sure. What about by-polls to Kundgol and Chincholi assembly segments? Congress will win both. BJP says the coalition government will not survive beyond May 23? If at all any of the Congress MLAs wanted to change their loyalty towards BJP, they would have done this long ago. Why will they do it after the announcement of the results of Lok Sabha elections? Do you think Congress MLAs would risk their MLA posts by jumping to BJP? How will they go before public seeking re-election? BJP is giving deadlines since the day I took over as the CM. We will complete the full term. Congress camp keeps referring to Siddaramaiah as CM. Does it bother you? Siddaramaiah has already clarified that if blessings of the people are there with him, he would become the chief minister after 2023 assembly elections. What is wrong with that? There is nothing wrong in aspiring. Siddaramaiah took exception to your party state president H Vishwanaths statements? Everyone in both the parties have to respect and follow the coalition dharma. I have already spoken with Vishwanath in this regard and requested him to avoid issuing controversial statements. I have also has spoken with Siddaramaiah over phone and requested him not to take Vishwanaths statements seriously. BJP leaders accuse you of spending time in resorts at a time when the state is facing a severe drought? They have no work to do and that is why they have indulged in such cheap politics. How many days was I in the resort? I too need rest, and that is why I went to a resort for just one day. Will you restart your popular village stay programme? We will relaunch Grama Vastavya (village stay) in a different way. I will hold meetings with all officials at the hobli level or Gram Panchayat level for seven days in a month. People can contact me at the programme and get their issues resolved. Maharashtra has refused to release water from Koyna dam? Water Resources Minister has spoken with his counterpart in Maharashtra. Earlier, Maharashtra used to charge for supplying water. This time, it is asking to release water to its low lying areas from Alamatti Dam. The details are being chalked out. It takes time, but we need water urgently. We will continue putting pressure on Maharashtra government. Why you are upset with the media? From the day I took over as the Chief Minister of the state, the electronic media is trying to cause embarrassment to me for no reasons. Let them continue their attitude, I have decided not to talk to them. By Express News Service SAMBALPUR: Sambalpur district has failed to achieve the target for soil sample analysis during the last two years for distribution of soil health card to farmers under Soil Health Card Scheme Cycle II. This is due to mandatory linkage of Aadhaar with the soil cards.While the Soil Health Card Scheme Cycle II began in 2017-18 fiscal and concluded in 2018-2019, the linkage of Aadhaar with the soil health cards has been made mandatory from 2017-18. As per reports, a total of 19,772 soil samples have been analysed in the district against the target of 25,100 during the last two fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19. Only 56,139 soil health cards have been distributed to farmers of the district during the period. However, the district had succeeded in achieving the target for soil sample analysis for distribution of soil health card to farmers under Soil Health Card Scheme Cycle I, which began in fiscal year 2015-16 and concluded in 2016-17. Linkage of Aadhaar with soil health cards was not mandatory in Soil Health Card Scheme Cycle I. Under the Soil Health Card Scheme Cycle I, a total of 25,045 soil samples were analysed against a target of 25,000. As many as 1,01,625 soil health cards were distributed to farmers of the district. The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by the Centre in February, 2015. However, soil sample collection and analysis under Soil Health Card Scheme was started in the district from April, 2015 and subsequently cards were distributed to the farmers. The objective of the scheme is to issue soil card to farmers to help them reap a good harvest by studying the quality of soil. With the issue of the card, the farmers get a well-monitored report of the soil which is chosen for cultivation of crops. The Agriculture department also suggests nutrient deficiency in the soil and ways to improve soil health. Under the scheme, soil samples are collected in representative areas or grids in the village. The samples are analysed for physical and chemical properties before soil health cards are issued for site-specific nutrient management. Soil Chemist, Sambalpur Babaji Charan Sethy said the Agriculture department is facing problems in distribution of soil health cards after linkage of Aadhaar with the cards was made mandatory in 2017-18 fiscal. He said majority of land are being cultivated by sharecroppers and they are facing difficulty in getting Aadhaar details of the actual land owner. B Anbuselvan By Express News Service CHENNAI: The DMK-led alliance swept the Lok Sabha elections in the State, with the Opposition party leading in 37 of the 38 seats as per results at 7.30pm on Thursday. The AIADMK alliance, which includes the BJP, PMK, and DMDK, was touted as arithmetically strong on paper but on Thursday evening was left leading in the sole constituency of Theni, in which deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam's son Raveendranath Kumar was fielded. Polls to the Vellore constituency were countermanded following the seizure of a large amount of cash. The election results have surpassed exit poll predictions for the DMK front and are believed to have exceeded the party's own expectations. The landslide win is primarily attributed to the strong anti-BJP sentiment among the voters in the state, which DMK chief MK Stalin tapped into while campaigning. The party's success in the first general election since his father, DMK patriarch, M Karunanidhi's death has boosted Stalin's standing in the party and state. Meanwhile, the AIADMK, which went it alone in 2014 and won 37 of 39 seats in TN, faced a virtual rout that insiders believe could have been avoided if the party had faced the polls without the BJP. Notably, in the bypolls to the 22 Assembly seats that the AIADMK contested on its own the party is leading in nine seats, four more than required for a majority in the House. The AIADMK government, led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, which has been surviving on a wafer-thin majority appears to be safe thanks to its bypoll performance achieved despite the void left by late CM J Jayalalithaa. As for national parties, while the Congress is leading in eight seats and the CPI and CPM in two each, all as part of the DMK alliance, the BJP has fared poorly with all five of its candidates trailing by huge margins in Kanniyakumari, Sivaganga, Coimbatore, Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram constituencies. Pon Radhakrishnan, who was elected the saffron party's sole representative from the state in 2014 by a margin of 1.28 lakh votes over Congress contestant H Vasanthakumar in Kanniyakumari, was trailing Vasanthakumar by 2.49 lakh votes at 7.30pm. Similarly, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan was trailing DMK women's wing secretary K Kanimozhi in Thoothukudi, national secretary H Raja was trailing Congress' Karti Chidambaram in Sivaganga, CP Radhakrishnan was trailing CPM's PR Natarajan in Coimbatore while Nainar Nagendran was trailing Indian Union Muslim League (a DMK ally) candidate K Navaskani in Ramanathapuram. The strong anti-Modi mood among voters in the State has built up over the past five years with many believing that the BJP government at the Centre has neglected the State's interests. Key issues that have contributed to this feeling include the introduction of NEET examination for medical admissions, approval of GAIL pipeline projects in the delta region, perceived indifference during cyclones Ockhi and Gaja and neglect of the water sharing issues with neighboring states. Further, the suicide of 17-year-old MBBS aspirant S Anitha of Ariyalur district over NEET and police firing against anti-Sterlite protesters in Thoothukudi boosted the anti-BJP sentiment, observed political commentators. By PTI HYDERABAD: The BJP appears to be making smart gains in Telangana leading in four Lok Sabha seats while ruling TRS was ahead in nine, much below its own expectations, as per official trends for all 17 segments in the state. The Congress also appears to be on way to improving its performance, as the party's candidates have established leads in four seats, according to the information available at 1 PM Thursday. AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi was ahead in Hyderabad seat, where he is seeking reelection for the fourth successive time, according to Election Commission sources. Owaisi was leading by 1.47lakhvotes over his BJP rival Bhagavanth Rao. The TRS headed by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the AIMIM had an electoral understanding in the April 11 elections, votes polled in which are being counted Thursday. The two parties had repeatedly claimed they would sweep the polls in a repeat of the December, 2018 assembly elocution outcome. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TRS had bagged 11 seats and the Congress two. The BJP, TDP, YSRCP and AIMIM had shared one each then. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections 2019 results LIVE The BJP had suffered a humiliating defeat in the assembly elections, winning just one seat and forfeiting deposits in more than 100 constituencies. The TRS had returned to power with a rich haul of 88 seats in the 119-member assembly. The Congress had turned in poor performance with its candidates winning only in 19 assembly segments. But the Rahul Gandhi-led outfit suffered huge setbacks in the state with 11 MLAs announcing switching loyalty to the TRS since the beginning of March. TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Ministers daughter K Kavitha was trailing in Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat by 32,621 votes to BJP's D Arvind. BJP candidates were leading in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Secunderabad also. Congress nominees were ahead in Bhongir, Nalgonda, Chevella. Telangana Congress working president A Revanth Reddy was leading in Malkajgiri by 1,070 over TRSs M Rajasekhar Reddy as per the latest trends available. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy has established a lead of 18,370 votes in Nalgonda. Chevella sitting MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who joined the Congress on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections jumping the TRS ship, was leading by 12,700 votes over his nearest ruling party rival Ranjith Reddy. BJP candidate B Sanjay was leading by 74,198 votes against his nearest rival and sitting TRS MP B Vinod Kumar in Karimnagar after the second round. Soyam Bapurao of BJP was leading by 51,721 votes over his TRS rival Godam Nagesh in Adilabad, official sources said. Reacting to the poll trends, BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao said the party represents "the politics of change in the southern states." BJP has put in efforts to emerge as the alternative in Telangana for many years and it is now clear that the state is extending its support to the leadership of Modi, Rao said. In Medak, TRS nominee Kotha Prabhakar Reddy was leading by 3.02 lakh votes over his Congress rival Anil Kumar Gali. Former Union Minister Renuka Chowdary was trailing by 1.07 lakh votes in Khammam segment to TRS nominee N Nageswara Rao. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: TRS leader and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha, who is seeking a mandate to retain Nizamabad constituency for the second time, may end up as an upset. Going by the trends at 11.35 a.m, Kavitha is trailing behind BJP's Dharmapuri Arvind by 13,581 votes in Nizamabad. The constituency had gained national attention after over 175 turmeric farmers joined the fray in protest against the non-establishment of turmeric board in the area. TRS had blamed BJP for instigating farmers to file their nominations. While Arvind polled 47,835 votes, Kavitha polled 34,254 votes. Congress candidate Madhu Yashki Goud is trailing with 6596 votes in the third place at 11.40am. Another upsetting development for TRS would be Karimnagar seat where incumbent MP and chief minister's close aide B Vinod Kumar is trailing by 67,487 votes. FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE First time contestant Bandi Sanjay Kumar has polled 2,55,622 votes followed by Vinod Kumar at 1,88,135 votes. Congress candidate Ponnam Prabhakar polled 83940 votes as per the Election Commission website at 11.40 a.m. At present, TRS is leading in 8 out of 17 seats, followed by Congress and BJP in 4 seats each. AIMIM is leading in Hyderabad seat. Meanwhile, TRS candidate Kotha Prabhakar is leading in Medak with 1,91,293 votes where as, P Dayakar in Warangal and P Ramulu in Nagarkurnool are leading with 1,89,702 votes and 1,21,980 votes respectively, likely to emerge as winners with biggest margins. Vietnamese and Russian PMs attend flag salute at the ceremony. (Photo: VNA) Addressing the ceremony, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the close relationship between Vietnam and Russia had undergone ups and downs in history, from the difficult years in struggles for national protection to the national development. The Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam aim to mark the 25th anniversary of the treaty on basic principles for bilateral relations (1994-2019), and 70th anniversary of the diplomatic ties (1950-2020), and to further increase the friendship, brotherhood and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, he added. According to the Vietnamese PM, the event, of significance in the Vietnam - Russia relationship, will be held with hundreds of activities relating to exchanges, ceremonies, and trade and investment promotion held across Vietnam and Russia. Apart from unique art performances, the two peoples will have more new experience in Vietnamese and Russian countries, cultures and peoples, bringing them multi-dimensional visions on current life as well as the history of the bilateral relationship. Confirming that many Vietnamese people maintain beautiful memories about Russia, PM Phuc said he believed that more and more people will choose Vietnam and Russia as destinations for work, tourism and study, while more and more Vietnamese and Russian businesses seek cooperation, contributing to deepen the Vietnam - Russia comprehensive strategic partnership. Saying that the Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam is a wonderful initiative, Russian PM asserted that the event shows the special and multilateral characteristics of Russia - Vietnam cooperation, as well as the two sides determination in reinforcing the relationship. He went on to say that he was pleased with Vietnams success in its socio-economic development which helps heighten its position and prestige in the region and in the international arena, adding that more and more Russians want to study Vietnams history, arts and music, at first in tourism to Vietnam. In 2018 alone, over 600,000 Russians were welcomed to Vietnam, while at present, Vietnamese youth like to learn the Russian language and receive certificates in Russia. Earlier, the two PMs attended an exhibition Russia emotion and one introducing Vietnamese culture, country and people./. By PTI ABUJA: An Indian national is among 18 sailors arrested in Nigeria for allegedly attempting to illegally export stolen crude oil to Ghana, according to media reports. The arrested sailors were planning to move stolen crude oil from Nigeria with two foreign vessels, MT Apecus and MT Invictus, believed to be owned by Petrogress Incorporation, which has offices in Nigeria, Greece and the US, the Nigerian Navy said. Capt Adegoke Ebo, Executive Officer Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder Port Harcourt, Capt. Adegoke Ebo made this disclosure on Wednesday while handing over the suspects and vessels to the police at the naval base in Port Harcourt. According to him, the suspects were on the verge of moving the crude oil to Ghana before they were arrested by naval forces. Among those arrested was the Managing Director of Petrogress Incorporation in Nigeria, Osimili Adah, Nigerian media reported. "Our findings revealed that Adah has been actively involved in sourcing crude oil from Nigerian creeks and shipping it to Platon Gas Oil Refinery in Tema, Ghana without clearance and approval," Ebo said. The identity of the Indian national arrested was not disclosed. "Evidence available to us suggests that the illicit crime had been going on for a while," Ebo alleged. Ebo said that the suspect later disclosed names of his accomplices and facilitators and also presented evidence and proof to the illicit trading. The suspect during interrogation revealed that the report of pirate attack on MT Apecus on April 19 was stage-managed, he said. Five Indians and two Nigerians were reportedly abducted onboard MT Apecus by suspected sea pirates off the coast of Bonny in Rivers on April 19. According to Ebo, the pirate attack occurred following a disagreement between two alleged oil thieves over rights to lift stolen crude oil abroad. "Contrary to the initial reports, our investigation revealed that the abduction was rather as a result of failed oil theft collaboration," Ebo said. "Investigation revealed that one of the aggrieved syndicate resorted to the abduction of the five Indians and two Nigerians," Ebo said. "A sister maritime agency revealed that MT Apecus had been conducting trading activities in Nigerian waters since 2014 without clearance and approval," he said. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his victory in the general elections and expressed desire to work with him for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. On Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his country has delivered a "message of peace" by opening the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India as he underlined the importance of "conflict resolution" for peace and stability in South Asia. Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, also attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Qureshi said enduring peace and prosperity in South Asia will remain elusive without good-faith diplomacy and result-oriented dialogue. By PTI MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the convincing victory of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the parliamentary elections and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations. "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message. ALSO READ | Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates PM Narendra Modi on election win The Russian leader expressed his readiness to continue fruitful personal contacts with Prime Minister Modi and to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs, the Kremlin said in a statement. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. With the elections establishing 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades in India, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP was expected to surpass its 2014 performance. By AFP KIGALI: A rebel leader accused of orchestrating deadly attacks in Rwanda's border regions pleaded guilty Thursday to terrorism and other charges, and admitted to working with foreign governments against Kigali. The admission of conspiracy by Callixte Nsabimana, the spokesman for the National Liberation Front (FLN), risks further escalating tensions between Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and his immediate neighbours, whom he has accused of spying. Nsabimana was arrested last month for his involvement with FLN, an insurgent movement blamed for attacks inside Rwanda from a forested area near Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nsabimana plead guilty to 16 charges including terrorism and murder, and offered an unconditional apology for his crimes. "I apologise for all things I did," he told the court. "I want to declare that my work with FLN is over, and anything else they do from now on is their business, not mine. I would like to apologise to the president, those that we injured and the families of those who died. I apologise to all Rwandans." His lawyer requested bail, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The prosecution opposed bail, declaring Nsabimana a flight risk. The FLN is the armed wing of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, a political opposition group founded by Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier whose actions during the 1994 genocide were depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster Hotel Rwanda. In December last year, Nsabimana claimed responsibility for setting fire to passenger buses in Nyungwe Forest -- a region popular among tourists coming to see endangered mountain gorillas -- which led to the death of two people and many injuries. Those attacks prompted many Western governments including France, Germany, Canada, and Australia to advise their nationals against travel to the area. A number of rebel groups opposed to Kagame -- who has ruled for decades and pursued his political opponents at home and abroad -- have proliferated just over Rwanda's borders in remote forest regions of DR Congo and Burundi. The FLN is also affiliated with the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), another rebel group based in DR Congo, which occasionally carries out cross-border attacks against Rwandan forces. In his guilty plea, Nsabimana admitted to collaborating with Burundi's intelligence services and Uganda's military. "We asked them for military and diplomatic support against Rwanda, and they were willing to help us," he said. Kagame has accused his neighbours of meddling in Rwanda's affairs and sponsoring armed movements against his government in Kigali. In February, he ordered the border with Uganda shut, and ties with Burundi have long been sour. By PTI LONDON: A six-year-old Sikh girl has been banned from bringing the kirpan to her primary school in the UK after an outcry from other students' parents who refused to bring their children to the school over safety concerns, according to a media report. The girl brought the kirpan, worn by Sikhs as a mark of their faith, to the Redscope Primary School in Rotherham earlier this month, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. One parent complained: "I'm sorry but, religion or not, a child's health and safety comes first." Another said: "Most girls are not allowed to wear make-up in school, never mind carry a weapon." In the letter sent to parents Paula Dobbin, the headteacher of the school, explained the kirpan is a "religious ornament" worn by Sikhs. She said: "The item is not sharp, and is often worn in schools by children of the Sikh faith nationwide." "However, having spoken to the parents of the child concerned, they have agreed that the child will no longer wear this item in school. "The family are new to school and want to be part of the Redscope family. They are keen their daughter is able to make friends and be part out of our school community," she said. "Concerns about this issue caused a number of you to delay bringing your children into school. I reassure you there is no reason for you not to bring your children to school," she added. However some comments made by parents about the incident are now being probed by the police as potential hate crimes, the report added. An investigation is being carried out. A spokeswoman for the South Yorkshire Police said: "Police are aware that a religious kirpan was brought into the school by a six-year-old pupil." "Local neighbourhood officers continue to work closely with the school, providing advice and reassurance and talking to parents." "There are no wider safeguarding concerns and no crime has been reported. A number of comments on social media have been reported to us as a race-related hate crime, following this situation." "South Yorkshire Police would like to remind the public that hate crime of any kind is not tolerated. "An investigation into the comments is underway." Kirpans are one of five articles of faith, known as 'the five K's', that Sikhs are commanded to wear at all times to demonstrate their religious faith. The Department for Education does not have central guidelines on school uniforms and religious items. It is down to individual headteachers to set their school's policy. The row comes as the British Government this week announced that an amendment to the 'Offensive Weapons Bill' has received the royal assent. This means that Sikhs will be allowed to carry kirpans and use them during religious and cultural functions. The All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs had campaign for kirpans to remain exempt as weapons when the new Bill becomes ratified. In the UK under the Criminal Justice Act 1989, people are allowed to carry blades for religious reasons, the report added. Thanks to our friends of the Confraternity of St Ninian, which organizes celebrations of the traditional Mass in Scotland, for this account of their recent pilgrimage to Elgin Cathedral, and the celebration of the traditional Mass within its ruins. (Photos by Maciej Zurawski.) At Greyfriars Convent in Elgin Pluscarden Abbey The drive away from the Abbey The Confraternity of St Ninian, which organised the Mass, is a lay association and Scottish charity which promotes the reconversion of Scotland to the Catholic Faith through pilgrimages incorporating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and traditional devotions. As part of its apostolate, the Confraternity has organised a number of similar Masses in historic ruins such as Arbroath Abbey and St Andrews Cathedral, the latter being at the conclusion of their annual Two Shrines Pilgrimage, a three-day walk from Edinburgh to St Andrews with overnight stops in Dunfermline and Falkland. Last weekend, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass returned to one of Scotlands most impressive ruined cathedrals for the first time in over four centuries. The Mass, celebrated in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite by Fr Ross Crichton on Saturday, May 18, was sung in the cathedrals Huntly Aisle and heard by around thirty people, many of whom were participating in the Confraternity of St Ninians weekend retreat to nearby Pluscarden Abbey. It is locally understood that no previous celebration of Mass had taken place within the ruin since it was abandoned by the Church during the Reformation c.1560. The cathedral, which was founded in 1224, was one of the most prominent centres of the mediaeval Church in Scotland and its impressive structure was widely famed as the Lantern of the North.The liturgy, which took place with the cooperation of Historic Environment Scotland, was preceded by a period of Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction in the chapel of nearby Greyfriars Convent, now home to the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia from Nashville, Tennessee. For retreat participants, this afforded the opportunity to worship in two of only four pre-reformation churches in Scotland still in use for Catholic worship today: like Pluscarden Abbey, Greyfriars Convent returned to Catholic ownership in the nineteenth century through the munificence of John, 3rd Marquess of Bute, and was later restored to allow worship to recommence in the building. The Mass itself featured Gregorian chants identical to those which would have been sung in the cathedral during its heyday, with the liturgical forms being practically indistinguishable from the rites celebrated there many centuries ago.Commenting on the historic event, Confraternity President Mark Hamid said, It is wonderful to have been able to incorporate a visit to Elgin into our weekend retreat to Pluscarden Abbey, and we are particularly grateful to Historic Environment Scotland and the Dominican Sisters for allowing us to use these historic places of worship. It has been an undoubted highlight of our experience to restore the celebration of Holy Mass to a place where it was offered with daily devotion for more than three centuries, and all the more meaningful to use the form of the Sacred Rites that is so similar to the liturgy used during that period. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev welcomes his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Moscow on May 22nd (Photo: VNA) The host welcomed PM Phucs official visit, affirming that Russia always wishes to strengthen the countries comprehensive strategic partnership. In return, PM Phuc reiterated that Vietnam always treasures traditional cooperation and friendship with Russia. The two leaders highlighted the importance of organising the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam in 2019 and 2020, describing these as major events in bilateral ties, contributions to the time-tested friendship, and a new driving force for their cooperation. They said political relations have continually been solidified with frequent mutual visits and meetings at all levels and through all channels. They noted with satisfaction that as a result of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union that came into force in 2016, Vietnam-Russia trade and investment have made strong progress as bilateral trade reached USD4.57 billion (over USD6 billion in Russian data) in 2018, up 28.6 percent year-on-year. To further tap into their trade partnership potential, the two sides said they will continue working together to create conditions for their businesses and goods to enter each others markets. The two PMs affirmed that energy is one of the most important pillars of Vietnam-Russia cooperation. They agreed to promote businesses cooperation in oil and gas exploration and exploitation in Vietnams continental shelf and Russias territory. They shared the view that despite the many projects proposed and carried out, much potential remains in investment partnership between their countries. They also welcomed Vietnamese and Russian firms attention to collaboration in developing urban transport and railway infrastructure in Vietnam. The leaders also agreed to accelerate the construction of a research centre for nuclear science and technology in the Southeast Asian nation. Highly valuing the fruitful cooperation in defence-security, PM Phuc and PM Medvedev said it has helped enhance the two countries strategic mutual trust. They concurred in continuing to expand ties in other potential spheres such as science-technology, education-training, culture, sports, and tourism. They also voiced their support for direct relations between Vietnamese and Russian localities, which will help diversify the all-round cooperation. Some measures were also devised to bolster labor cooperation - a potential area that matches demand on both sides. PM Phuc took this occasion to thank Russian leaders and relevant agencies for creating conditions for Vietnamese people to live, do business, and study in the country. At the talks, the PMs also exchanged views on many international and regional issues of shared concern, including the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in Asia-Pacific, including the East Sea. Vietnam spoke highly of Russias role as a powerful nation and hopes that it will continue helping ensure regional and global peace, security, and stability. PM Phuc invited his counterpart to visit Vietnam in the near future. For his part, PM Medvedev thanked and accepted the invitation with pleasure. Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of many cooperation documents in such fields as nuclear energy, oil and gas, construction, tourism, justice, and locality-to-locality ties./. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Rain. High 41F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low near 35F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. The Government today announced the successful offering of its inaugural green bond under the Government Green Bond Programme. The green bond, with an issuance size of US$1 billion and a 5-year tenor, sets an important new benchmark for potential issuers in Hong Kong and the region. It saw strong demand from global investors, attracting orders exceeding US$4 billion, which was more than four times the issuance size. Orders were received from more than 100 global institutional investors, and 50% of the green bond was distributed to Asia, 27% to Europe and 23% to the US. By investor type, 29% was distributed to banks, 30% to fund managers, private banks and insurance companies, and 41% to sovereign wealth funds, central banks and supranationals. Proceeds raised under the programme will be credited to the Capital Works Reserve Fund to finance public works projects that provide environmental benefits and support the sustainable development of Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the Government is pleased to see such strong demand for its inaugural green bond. The favourable response from global investors indicates not only their recognition of Hong Kongs credit strength but also their support of Hong Kongs determination and efforts in promoting sustainable development and combatting climate change. The green bond is expected to be settled on May 28 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said she has reflected Hong Kong peoples concerns about the fugitive bill to the Central authorities. Speaking during the Chief Executive's question and answer session at the Legislative Council, Mrs Lam noted the law amendment is not targeted at the Central authorities or other parts of the Mainland, but she understood peoples concerns, as there is a lot of interaction between Hong Kong and the Mainland, with many Hong Kong residents working or conducting business there. The Chief Executive said she has already reflected Hong Kong peoples concerns to the Central authorities and she will continue taking up the matter with them. She also refuted suggestions that the Chief Executive cannot refuse any requests, therefore all requested people would be handed over. Mrs Lam made it clear she is not only accountable to the Central authorities, but also to the people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and what happens here. She noted the Chief Executives role is to trigger the mechanism, then refer the case to the court, which is the procedure in other countries as well. Mrs Lam highlighted that the media plays a very strong monitoring role, so if the court says there is insufficient evidence and the requested person should not be returned, the Chief Executive in this case, would not and cannot return that person. She added that there is a robust system in Hong Kong and it is impossible for the Chief Executive alone to make a decision and send somebody to another jurisdiction to be dealt with in court. Secretary for the Environment KS Wong (back row, left) and Minister for the Environment & Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli (back row, right) witness the signing of an MoU enhancing Hong Kong-Singapore co-operation. Secretary for the Environment KS Wong today began his visit to Singapore where he witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Hong Kong and the city-state to enhance co-operation on environmental protection. Mr Wong first met Minister for the Environment & Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli to discuss matters of mutual concern. They then witnessed the signing of the MoU by Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA) Tan Meng-dui and Permanent Secretary for the Environment Maisie Cheng. The pact aims to enhance the synergy between both sides regarding professional staff training on the environment front and to strengthen collaboration. Mr Wong met officials from the Ministry of the Environment & Water Resources and the NEA, followed by a visit to a company providing electric car sharing services. He also visited the Government Technology Agency where he met its Chief Executive Kok Ping-soon, and attended a dinner hosted by Senior Minister of State for the Environment & Water Resources Amy Khor. Mr Wong (centre) visits the School of Design & Environment of the National University of Singapore to see the first new-build Net-Zero Energy Building in Singapore. Secretary for the Environment KS Wong (centre) visits Semakau Landfill in Singapore to better understand its operation. Secretary for the Environment KS Wong today visited a number of renewable energy and waste treatment facilities in Singapore. Mr Wong first inspected the Floating Solar Systems at Tengeh Reservoir. He then departed for the School of Design & Environment of the National University of Singapore to see the first new-build Net-Zero Energy Building in Singapore, which was unveiled early this year. In the afternoon, Mr Wong visited Semakau Landfill to learn about Singapore's solid waste management policies and the landfill's operation. Located about 8km south of Singapore, Semakau Landfill is the only landfill in the city-state. It handles all of its incineration ash in addition to around 200,000 tonnes of solid waste annually. Mr Wong also went to Marina Barrage to tour its Green Roof and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery. He met young Hong Kong people studying and working in Singapore in the evening. Transport and connectivity are crucial for the growth and development of a double landlocked country like Uzbekistan, and remains a high priority for our support to Uzbekistan, said ADB Country Director for Uzbekistan Ms. Cindy Malvicini. Rail transport plays a significant part in Uzbekistans economy, particularly in moving large amount of freight in long distances as well as in moving passengers between the countrys densely populated cities. The 4,669-kilometer (km) rail network in Uzbekistan carries about 40% of total freight volume and about 4% of total passenger volume of the countrys land transport needs. In terms of electrification rate, more than 50%, or 2,350 km, of the countrys railway network is currently electrified. Source: ADB Having a cleaner, more efficient, and reliable transport network, in the form of electrified railways, will help boost Uzbekistans growth and maximize the countrys potential as a transport hub at the heart of Central Asia, said ADB Senior Transport Specialist for Central and West Asia Mr. Ko Sakamoto. The project will provide 24 electric locomotives, 16 of which are optimized for freight trains and 8 for passenger trains. These locomotives will help cut greenhouse gas emissions by 900,000 tons per year, while also reducing local air pollution. The locomotive depot in Tashkent, called Ozbekiston, will also be upgraded to effectively cater to service and maintenance needs of the new electric fleet. Ozbekiston Temir Yollari, the publicly owned railway company, will implement a long-term development strategy to equip itself for the emerging transport needs of the country. The project will help reduce travel times on Uzbekistans railway network, improve service quality and reliability in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) transport network, and strengthen the conditions for the private sector in the country to grow. It is also aligned with the goals under the CAREC Railway Strategy 20172030, which notes railways role as an engine for economic growth in Central Asia. Total cost of the project is USD218.3 million, with the Government of Uzbekistan contributing USD48.3 million. The project is expected to be completed by June 2025. ADBs USD170 million assistance directly complements other projects in Uzbekistan for the electrification of the countrys railway network, two of which are supported by ADB. In September 2011, ADB approved a USD100 million loan for the electrification of 140 km of railway between Marakand and Karshi, while an USD80 million loan was approved in April 2017 for the electrification of 145 km of railway linking the cities of Pap, Namangan, and Andijan in the Fergana Valley./. Mr Mujaya said they made the ruling in an application by the State for the placement on remand of the accused persons which was contested by their legal counsels. I am a young married woman from the community where this lady was teaching and where her nude photos and video went viral. The unfortunate part is my husband wanted to send me to college but now he is saying all women who goes to college do likewise. Im hurt because I was supposed to be at school now but my hopes have been shattered because of her, said one lady on social media Tell Zimbabwe Those that have been interfered with are on the periphery of the city and we have stopped installing solar traffic lights there, he said. Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the woman was arrested on May 11 at around 6 am while travelling from Zimbabwe to the neighbouring country. He said Thundeza was arrested by police during routine border patrols. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy with snow developing after midnight. Low near 10F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.. Tonight Cloudy with snow developing after midnight. Low near 10F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches. SAN FRANCISCO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States and China should solve their problems through engagement rather than confrontation, said a U.S. expert. Progress has been made in the U.S.-China relationship through engagement at all levels, but this is sometimes "missing or misunderstood in the conversation on U.S.-China relations," said Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at San Francisco-based investment firm Matthews Asia. "That reflects the way to solve the remaining problems through engagement, rather than starting a Cold War-like confrontational relationship," he told a panel discussion at a seminar held in downtown San Francisco on Monday. The event, titled "Untangling the U.S.-China Narrative: Technology, Trade, and Tensions," touched upon a wide range of issues concerning the U.S.-China relationship. It was co-organized by Asia Society Northern California and the Committee of 100, a non-profit U.S. organization of prominent Chinese Americans. Rothman said his experience of traveling around the United States and speaking to various groups told him that the "anti-China sentiment that we see in Washington doesn't seem to be present in most of the rest of the country." Trying to prevent China from rising economically, strategically and politically and from sharing the world stage with the United States is "something that seems to me to be really difficult to accomplish and probably counterproductive for us," he said. Rothman, who has lived and worked in China for more than 20 years, also reminded the panel of China's development over the years. "If they made no changes at all, how is it that GM is selling almost 4 million cars a year in China, more than they sell in the United States?" asked Rothman. "Last year, Cadillac sales were up 30 percent -- the first time ever Cadillac sold more cars in China than in the United States," he added. Rothman also warned of possible risks of "racism" and "xenophobia" which may drive the United States into "the dark parts of our society." The "dark parts" include those that were responsible for the Chinese Exclusion Act in the late 1800s and the executive order in 1942 which resulted in the incarceration of Italian Americans, German Americans and Japanese Americans, he explained. "I think we need to push back hard on people who are either deliberately or accidentally talking about the problem of U.S.-China relationship in a way that's tinged with racism and xenophobia," said Rothman. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Community Perspective Send Community Perspective submissions by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Submissions must be 500 to 750 words. Columns are welcome on a wide range of issues and should be well-written and well-researched with attribution of sources. Include a full name, email address, daytime telephone number and headshot photograph suitable for publication (email jpg or tiff files at 150 dpi.) You may also schedule a photo to be taken at the News-Miner office. The News-Miner reserves the right to edit submissions or to reject those of poor quality or taste without consulting the writer. Letters to the editor Send letters to the editor by mail (P.O. Box 70710, Fairbanks AK 99707), by fax (907-452-7917) or via email (letters@newsminer.com). Writers are limited to one letter every two weeks (14 days.) All letters must contain no more than 350 words and include a full name (no abbreviation), daytime and evening phone numbers and physical address. (If no phone, then provide a mailing address or email address.) The Daily News-Miner reserves the right to edit or reject letters without consulting the writer. Kyoto Prefectural Police have arrested a 23-year-old male Australian national who is suspected of scrawling graffiti in dozens of locations in Kyoto City, reports Fuji News Network (May 22). At around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a passerby tipped off police about "a foreigner scrawling graffiti" in the riverbed of the Kamogawa River in the Higashiyama area. Officers arriving at the scene found a 2-meter-tall wall at the edge of the riverbed had been vandalized with the black text "GHOST" and a sketch of a face that includes two eyes and a mouth. Police later located the suspect nearby and arrested him on suspicion of causing property damage. "Art is my intention," the suspect was quoted by the Higashiyama Police Station. According to police, the suspect arrived in Japan as a tourist on May 10. Since Sunday, police have confirmed the same text in at least 36 locations - including on vending machines, walls and public signs - in the immediate area, which includes the Gion red-light district. - tokyoreporter.com BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday urged the United States to heed the "reasonable call" from within after more than 170 footwear companies in the U.S. warned of the "catastrophic" effects of proposed tariff hikes against Chinese goods. In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, the footwear manufacturers and retailers including big names such as Adidas, Nike and PUMA said a new round of tariff hikes on footwear imported from China will have "catastrophic" effects on consumers, companies and the U.S. economy. There should be no misunderstanding that U.S. consumers pay for tariffs, and companies cannot simply move factories out of China, the letter reportedly said. "As a matter of fact, it's not the first time U.S. businesses publicly voiced opposition to tariff hikes," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press briefing, adding it's understandable that they are not satisfied with U.S. government's arbitrary interpretation of the consequences of the trade war. There is no winner in a trade war, as stated by the Chinese side many times, Lu said. "The wantonly used tariff hikes will ultimately victimize U.S. consumers and enterprises." "We urge the U.S. side to pay serious heed to the reasonable call from within its own country," the spokesperson added. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Wednesday thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for not converting him to Islam, s... The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Wednesday thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for not converting him to Islam, saying he was misunderstood and criticised for associating with the president. Amaechi stated this on Wednesday at the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council. The former Rivers State Governor narrated how he was almost chased out of Christ the King Catholic Church in 2014 for supporting the president, whom they alleged was trying to Islamise the country, NAN reports. Mr. President, let me thank you for not converting me to Islam. I say that specifically because in 2014 when I walked into Christ the King Catholic Church, I was literally chased out of the church as a governor because I was accused of supporting a man whose agenda was to Islamise Nigeria. And in Rivers state they began to call me `Alhaji Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. I thank you because they have dropped the `Alhaji and back to Mr Chibuike Amaechi, he said. Amaechi said some persons initially thought that the president would be an autocratic leader only for him to turn out to be an extreme democrat. I was told in the course of the campaign that you were autocratic and therefore you would not be democratic. Most of us are not happy that you have moved from your autocratic nature to an extreme democrat that everything puts to test of the people, to the extent that the people now feel that the only way things can go on in this country is by the rule of law. An Afghan man stands beside a damaged shop at the site of a car bomb blast in Ghazni, Afghanistan, May 22, 2019. Two police officers and an assailant were killed and 15 people wounded after a car bomb blast near an army camp in Afghanistan's eastern province of Ghazni on Wednesday, a local official confirmed. (Xinhua/Rohullah) GHAZNI, Afghanistan, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Two police officers and an assailant were killed and 15 people wounded after a car bomb blast near an army camp in Afghanistan's eastern province of Ghazni on Wednesday, a local official confirmed. "The explosion occurred roughly at 01:50 p.m. local time along a main road on outskirts of provincial capital Ghazni city," spokesman Harif Noori told Xinhua. "A militant driving a car bomb tried to enter Ghazni city but security forces intercepted the car. The vehicle exploded after security forces fired on it, leaving the casualties," Ramazan Ali Mohsini, deputy provincial police chief, told Xinhua. The injured included 10 civilians and five police officers, he said. Rescue teams, police and security forces rushed to the site and shifted the wounded to the hospitals. Witnesses said the militant used a hijacked armored military vehicle in the attack. The blast is the latest in a string of bombings that have targeted dozens of military and security compounds across the country. Taliban militant group routinely claims responsibility for attacks. The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since early April when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country, which had claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Mohammed Adamu has been confirmed as the substantive Inspector General of Police, IGP. His confirmation was announced Thursday a... Mohammed Adamu has been confirmed as the substantive Inspector General of Police, IGP. His confirmation was announced Thursday at the police council meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. Adamu was confirmed by the Council of State, as the new Inspector General of police. President Muhammadu Buhari had on January 15 appointed Adamu as acting IGP following the statutory retirement of Ibrahim Idris, the former IGP. President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the decision of Appeal Court President, Justice Zainadine Bulkachuwa to step down as Chairma... President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the decision of Appeal Court President, Justice Zainadine Bulkachuwa to step down as Chairman of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. Recall that yesterday that the judge stepped aside following pressures from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Reacting, Buhari re-emphasized that he respects the countrys judiciary and was willing to abide by its decisions at all times. The Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday. He said that Buhari made the statement at a dinner with representatives of the judiciary at his official residence after Justice Bulkachuwas decision. Buhari said he believed that the judiciary should be independent, recalling how he submitted himself to the adjudication of the courts three times on his way to becoming president without any fuss. I respect the institution. I have come before you three times before I got here on the fourth run for the office. Your word is the last word on any given issue. Buhari acknowledged the capability of Nigerian judges, saying: your training and experience has earned you respect. In his remarks, the Acting Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Ibrahim Tanko, who led retired chief justices, some justices of the Supreme Court and heads of courts in the FCT, expressed appreciation to the president for breaking the Ramadan fasting with him. Tanko assured the nation that the judiciary would continue to do its best in safeguarding the countrys judicial system. He praised Buhari for not meddling in the affairs of courts in the country. The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, was, on Wednesday, urged to bar a top contender of the Speakership of the 9th House of Repres... The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, was, on Wednesday, urged to bar a top contender of the Speakership of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila from going ahead with his ambition. It was also explained that the ground for the legal position against Gbajabiamila was because he was allegedly convicted by a United State of America Supreme Court for fraud. The court was specifically asked not to allow the lawmaker to stand for the Speakership election, having been convicted for fraud to the of $25,000 in which he allegedly failed to disburse to his then client in 2003 in US, where he was practising as a lawyer. The plaintiff in the matter, Philip Undie joined alongside Gbajabiamila, House of Representatives, Attorney General of the Federation and the All Progressive Congress as defendants in suit. In an Originating Summons marked FHC/ABJ/C/538/2019 brought pursuant to Order 3, Rule 6 and 7 of the Federal High Court and Section 66 of the 1999 Constitution as emended, the plaintiff wanted the court to determine whether upon the construction of Section 66 of the 1999 Constitution and the judgement of the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, Atlanta, USA in Suit no. SO6YO829, IN THE MATTER OF FEMI GBAJA, was a fit and proper person to be elected to the House of Representatives and to the Office of the Speaker of the House. The plaintiff, therefore, prayed the court for an order of injunction restraining the House of Representatives and APC from accepting the nomination of Gbajabiamila as an aspirant for the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He is also praying the court for an order of injunction stopping Gbajabiamila from parading himself as a member of the House of Representatives and also an aspirant for the office of the Speaker of the House. Similarly, Undie who claimed to be a taxpayer in Nigeria is further seeking for another order of injunction restraining the House of Representatives, AGF and APC from recognising Gbajabiamila as a member of the House and as an aspirant to the Speakership of House of Representatives. The suit filed by Ayodele Justice on behalf of the plaintiff is, however, yet to be assigned to any judge. In a 25 paragraph affidavit in support of the Originating Summons and deposed to Plaintiff himself averred that few days ago, information came to the public domain that Gbajabiamila was contesting and indeed a leading candidate to the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 9th National Assembly , having been endorsed by the NWC of APC. He further averred that upon the information , he deemed it proper to carry out a background check on the leading candidates for the position if Speaker of the House and that in the process , he discovered that Gbajabiamila is a lawyer and had practiced in the USA, particularly, in the state of Georgia. The affidavit further reads in part, that upon further enquiry , I discovered that the first defendant was convicted and sentenced for fraud and dishonesty in relation to the sum of $25, 000 belonging to a then client of the first defendant for 36 months. A certified true copy of the judgement of Supreme Court of Georgia to that effect issued by Theresa Tee Barnes , Clerk of the said Supreme Court of Georgia, on 12th day if June , 2015 is hereby attached and marked exhibit A. That the judgement was delivered by the full panel of the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia, comprising of the Chief Justice of the State of Georgia, Honorable Justice Hugh P. Thompson, Hon. Justice P. Harris Hines, Hon Justice Robert Benham, Hon. Justice Carol W Hunstein, Hon. Justice Harold D. Melton, Hon. Justice David E. Nahmias and Hon. Justice Keith R. Blackwell, on 26th day of February , 2007. That it was stated judgement in the said judgement that the first defendant admits violating Rule 1.15(1) of Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct set forth in Bar Rule 4-102 (d) is pleaded. That the first defendant accepted the imposition of a sentence of suspension up to 36 months as a punishment for fraud and dishonest in relation to the said $25 ,000 and that he also admitted that he accepted payment of $25,000 as settlement of a client personal injury cliams , deposited in his Attorney Trust Account in January , 2003 but failed to disburse same to the client. Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says Yahya Jammeh, ousted Gambian president, ordered the execution of 50 persons, inc... Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says Yahya Jammeh, ousted Gambian president, ordered the execution of 50 persons, including nine Nigerians, in 2005. In a statement on Friday, the human rights lawyer said his law firm had been able to identify Omozemoje Paul Enagameh as one of the Nigerians killed by the Jammeh regime. Following Jammehs removal, the Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International had revealed that a paramilitary unit controlled by Jammeh summarily executed Nigerians, Ghanaians and other West African migrants in July 2005. Gambian officials had told Human Rights Watch that the migrants, who were bound for Europe were suspected of being mercenaries intent on overthrowing Jammeh. They were murdered after being detained by the former presidents closest deputies in the army, navy, and police. Falana said his firm found that the nine Nigerians who were involved were traveling with their passports as of the time they were killed. On July 21, 2005, the Gambian Navy seized a boat conveying 58 immigrants. Aboard the boat were nine Nigerians, 40 Ghanaians, 3 Senegaleze, 3 Sierra Leoneans and two Togolese sailing towards a fishing vessel anchored on the high sea to stowaway to Europe, the statement read. Apart from two Ghanaian nationals who were released to a Ghanaian government delegation another Ghanaian escaped from the custody of the navy. But the remaining 55 immigrants were illegally executed on the orders of the brutal regime of Mr. Yayah Jameh, former President of Gambia. In the investigation conducted by our law firm into the killings it has been established that the 9 Nigerians involved were travelling with their passports. However, the Nigerian Community in Senegal confirmed the identity of one of the massacred Nigerian immigrants. The details are:- Omozemoje Paul Enagameh Name:Omozemoje Paul Enagameh A1548206 Passport No:A1548206 Lagos Place of Birth:Lagos 9th December 1976. Date of Birth:9th December 1976. Thanking Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, for providing vital information in the investigation, Falana called on family members of the deceased to take opportunity to seek redress in the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission currently sitting in Banjul, the Gambia capital. Jammeh, who lost Gambias presidential election in 2016, refused to step aside but he bowed to pressure after an intervention leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State to an urgent meeting following attacks by bandits, whic... President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State to an urgent meeting following attacks by bandits, which left several people dead in Dan Musa, Faskari and Batsari Local Government Areas of the state. This was revealed Wednesday night by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, via his Twitter handle. According to Shehu, President Buhari and Governor Masari began the meeting at 9:30pm on Wednesday. He tweeted, President @MBuhari summons Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari to an urgent meeting on the security situation in the state. The Governor went into the meeting with the President at 9:30 pm, and the discussion between them is still ongoing at this hour (11:25pm). Details of the meeting are yet to emerge as at the time of filing this report. However, there is no information yet about the whereabouts of Magajin Garin Daura, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, who was abducted in President Buharis hometown three weeks ago. Recall the Federal Government has confirmed arrest of key suspects in the abduction of the Daura district head yet his whereabouts is still unknown. Meanwhile, speaking at a special Ramadan tafsir yesterday, the Emir of Daura, HRH Umar Faruk, lamented the inability of security agencies under the Federal Government to rescue the Umar from his abductors. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received another batch of 195 stranded Nigerians from Libya. Alhaji Idris Muham... The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received another batch of 195 stranded Nigerians from Libya. Alhaji Idris Muhammed, Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office, NEMA, who confirmed the development to newsmen on Thursday in Ikeja, said this was the largest batch of voluntary returnees since the exercise began in April 2017. Muhammed said the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja at 8.20p.m. on Wednesday aboard a chartered Al Buraq Air aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG SEB. He disclosed that they were the 69th batch of returnees brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees (AVR) Programme. According to him, after profiling, the breakdown of the new returnees shows that they comprise of 71 female adults, 25 female children and 17 female infants. They also include 60 male adults, 12 male children and 10 male infants. Among them were three male returnees with minor medical issues and seven pregnant women, Muhammed said. Welcoming the returnees, he advised Nigerian youths to look inwards and utilise the money they had set aside for embarking on perilous journeys, to set up good businesses in the country. Since the EU closed their borders for irregular migrants, the journeys through irregular means have become wasteful and dangerous. If you had used the huge amounts of money spent on these fruitless efforts in Nigeria to start a business, you would have been very successful in your endeavours. Therefore, you need to strive and embrace the Federal Governments enabling initiatives to empower the youths, Muhammed said. One of the returnees, Mr Kehinde Obala from Badagry, Lagos, regretted his sojourn in the volatile North African country. The 66 years old man said he was a successful mechanic and pastor in Libya until the war broke out and he lost everything. I had a church over there but everything I worked for were destroyed. Ordinarily, I never thought of coming back to Nigeria but when I was assured and promised that I will be resettled when I return home that was why I came back. I have wasted my life except IOM and government are magnanimous enough to help me start from the scratch, he said. NEMA said as at March 15, 12,574 Nigerians have so far returned from Libya under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme, which began in April 2017. Top leaders of the Niger Delta Region have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Deltans as the next Chairman and Managing Direc... Top leaders of the Niger Delta Region have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Deltans as the next Chairman and Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). This was contained in a letter to Buhari on Wednesday, a copy of which was made available.The letter was entitled: Letter establishing the fact on which state should produce the next Chairman and Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. In the letter signed by the Convener, Enlightened Delta Forum, Bestman Odibo and Publicity Secretary, Christopher Orushani, the leaders urged President Buhari to consider fairness and justice in constituting the next board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The leaders said the letter was not to create controversy but to forestall such or any controversy due to the peculiarity of the circumstance created by the Law or Act. The leaders said it was the turn of Deltans to be appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of the intervention agency. Mr. President, Nations are built when existing laws are implemented in its entirety. As you apply the Law and zero on Delta State for the appointment of the Chairman and Managing Director, we plead with you to pick men or women who would further your Next Agenda, serve the interest of the country and the aspirations of the Niger Delta people. The ranking of the highest producing states is not in doubt and the state whose turn it is to be appointed the Managing Director of the next board for which Delta State comes top on all fronts and consideration knowing that Bayelsa State, Rivers State, and Akwa-Ibom State have completed their terms in successive ranking order. Your Excellency, your stance on the Rule of Law and love for fairness and justice no matter the opinion of a few dissenting voices necessitated this letter of great importance from the people of Delta State and the Niger Delta at large. We were never in doubt as to where the pendulum would swing to, having seen the sincerity of your administration in fixing the problems inherited by your Government. For the first time, Your Excellency, a peculiar but interesting and lawful scenario backed by the act establishing the NDDC Board on the next Chairman of the board which is rotated amongst member states in alphabetic order as stated in the Act establishing the board and also the Managing Director (MD) position which is appointed and rotated based on the highest quantum of oil produced amongst the states emanating from one state. In applying the law that supports quantum as the basis for succession, Delta State falls next in line after Akwa Ibom. They stressed that the scenario would not start and end with Delta State as the first beneficiary of this unique position of the Law but that other states would experience same in future rotation. Wole Soyinka and Femi Kuti have advised the federal government not to consider history as an academic exercise because an absence of... Wole Soyinka and Femi Kuti have advised the federal government not to consider history as an academic exercise because an absence of historical knowledge can truncate growth. The author and musician both made these remarks on Wednesday while speaking at the first edition of UBAs Africa Conversations, a symposium organised by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, as part of activities to mark Africa Day. Djibril Tamsir Niane, Guinean historian; Samia Nkrumah, the daughter of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana; and Tony Elumelu, group chairman of UBA, were also on the panel. The theme of the panel session was Africas History Redefined, Our Past, the Path to the Future. Opening the conversation, Elumelu said: UBA understands the past- that Africa as a continent has always been united by the struggle for identity. UBA is a symbol for the development of Africa, for the economic empowerment of our people, the Small and Medium Enterprises as well as the big corporations. Thus, identifying with Africa and indeed Africa Day is synonymous with who we are as a bank. It presents us the opportunity to remind ourselves, the world and indeed Africa that we owe ourselves the duty of making Africa the continent of our dreams. Our past provides a veritable tool to fashioning the continents development, renaissance and economic growth. Commending UBAs initiative for opening up discussions on these pressing topics, Soyinka lamented the growing erosion of history from the curriculum in African schools, adding that the lack of knowledge of our past makes childrens growth on the continent truncated. How can we cope with the modern phenomenon if we do not know the past? We should never forget the importance of history as it is not just an academic exercise, he enthused. On his part, Femi Kuti said: Our children need to learn this history so that they can come up and build the continent. We need everyone both boys and girls to work towards this vision. The house of representatives has re-committed and passed the the petroleum industry governance bill (PIGB) after considering President... The house of representatives has re-committed and passed the the petroleum industry governance bill (PIGB) after considering President Muhammadu Buharis concerns. The lower legislative chamber passed the bill on Thursday after removing the provisions Buhari disagreed with. It said the decision to withdraw the affected clauses in the bill is because the presidents observations are germane for the smooth operations of the bills. Buhari had rejected the bill, citing constitutional reasons. He had given three major reasons including: a) That the provision of the Bill permitting the Petroleum Regulatory commission to retain as much as 10% of the revenue generated unduly increases the funds accruing to the Petroleum Regulatory commission to the detriment of the revenue available to the Federal, States, Federal capital Territory and Local governments in the country. b) Expanding the scope of Petroleum equalisation fund and some provisions in divergence from this administrations policy and indeed conflicting provisions on independent petroleum equalisation fund. c) Some legislative drafting concerns which, if Assented to in the form presented will create ambiguity and conflict in interpretation. The Abia State Police Command has issued a stern warning to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which they say will be treated as t... The Abia State Police Command has issued a stern warning to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which they say will be treated as terrorists if they truncate the peace and safety of residents with their activities. The warning was given by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ene Okon, in an interview on Channels Television. Okon also revealed that anyone associated with IPOB will be dealt with and treated as a terrorist. He said: The Nigeria Police Force In Abia will treat any person associated with IPOB as a terrorist and such a person or group of persons will be dealt with according to the law. Okon went on to assure residents to go about their activities without fear, adding that security personnel have been put in strategic places to ensure peace in the state. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presides over a work symposium on the rise of the central region and delivers a speech in Nanchang, May 21, 2019, during his inspection tour of Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) NANCHANG, May 22 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has required efforts to enhance the comprehensive strength and competitiveness of the country's central region and to make new advances in the rise of the central region. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection tour of Jiangxi Province from Monday to Wednesday. During the inspection, Xi presided over a work symposium on the rise of the central region and delivered a speech. NEW LONG MARCH Xi's first stop in Ganzhou City of Jiangxi was JL MAG Rare-Earth Co. Ltd. Visiting the company Monday, he underlined scientific and technological innovation to raise the technological level of exploitation of rare earth, which is strategically important but nonrenewable. Arriving at Yudu County on Monday afternoon, Xi paid tribute to a monument marking the departure of the Long March by the Central Red Army and met families of the Red Army veterans and revolutionary martyrs. Noting that China is on "a new Long March," he said that the country will depend on firm faith and strong will of the whole Party and all people to overcome major challenges at home and abroad and secure new victories in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Visiting a local vegetable farm, Xi reiterated the original aspiration of the CPC, which was to fight for the people's wellbeing and national rejuvenation. At Tantou Village in Zishan Township, Xi called on Sun Guanfa, a villager and veteran, at his home. Carefully checking the kitchen, bedroom, backyard and toilet, Xi was pleased with the improvement in housing and hygiene conditions of Sun's family. He demanded every region and department make more efforts to secure decent lives for the people in old revolutionary bases at the decisive stage of poverty alleviation. When he was to leave the village, villagers gathered at the exit to see him off and some of them shed tears. RISE OF CENTRAL CHINA At the symposium in Nanchang on promoting the rise of China's central region on Tuesday afternoon, Xi said that the rise of central China is a crucial step toward completing the process of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and realizing socialist modernization. China must be clear-headed about the long-term and complex nature of both domestic and international unfavorable factors and well-prepared for any difficult circumstances, Xi emphasized, adding that the most important thing for China is to do its job well. He made an eight-point instruction on the development of central China, which consisted of facilitating high-quality growth of the manufacturing industry, enhancing innovation capability in key fields, improving business environment, undertaking the layout and transfer of emerging industries, expanding high-level opening-up, sticking to green development, improving people's livelihood, and optimizing policies and institutions. On Wednesday morning, Xi heard a work report from the Jiangxi provincial authorities and called on them to set an example in speeding up the high-quality development of the old revolutionary bases and vie for the forefront in boosting the rise of the central region. Describing Jiangxi as a land full of revolutionary history and memories, Xi called for a deep understanding of the hard-earned establishment of the political power of the CPC, the People's Republic of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics, and demanded greater efforts to carry forward the revolutionary spirit and traditions. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presides over a work symposium on the rise of the central region and delivers a speech in Nanchang, May 21, 2019, during his inspection tour of Jiangxi Province. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has revealed what President Muhammadu Buhari told him in 2017 when he (Buhari) embarked on a me... Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has revealed what President Muhammadu Buhari told him in 2017 when he (Buhari) embarked on a medical vacation to London, United Kingdom. The Vice President spoke during the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, on Wednesday. During the meeting, President Muhammadu Buhari also instructed his Ministers to hand over the mantle of leadership of their various ministries to their respective Permanent Secretaries on Tuesday. In his remarks, Osinbajo, thanked President Buhari for the great opportunity offered him to serve as his Vice-President and as his running mate twice. He said: My deepest gratitude comes from the great trust that you reposed in me at all times. I will never forget when you were going on medical leave in May 2017 and you said to me in the course of our conversation that evening that you will not fiddle my discretion as acting President in any way. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday pointed out why he asked the President of the C... The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday pointed out why he asked the President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, to withdraw from the presidential election petition tribunal. Abubakar and his party, PDP had requested the withdrawal of Bulkachuwa due to her link with a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The former Vice President had established that Bulkachuwa, who is the head of a five-man presidential election panel, was the wife of an APC Bauchi Senator-elect. Following Abubakar and his party, PDP, request, Bulkachuwa had withdrawn from the presidential election petition tribunal. However, Abubakar in a statement said his legal teams objection was not a reflection on Justice Bulkachuwas character or competence. As a matter of fact, I have great respect for her, being a pioneer and advocate for gender equality and female empowerment. One of the principal maxims of the Common Law is nemo judex in causa sua (no man shall be a judge in his own case). The call by my legal team for Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa to recuse herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was predicated on this principle, being that her husband, Alhaji Mohammed Bulkachuwa, is an All Progressives Congress Senator-elect and the case she was expected to adjudicate upon had a bearing on that party. It is with this in mind that I commend Justice Bulkachuwa for recusing herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Panel hearing my petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari. Her action showed courage and is an act of patriotism. She has, by this action, increased the confidence the public have for the judiciary. Not only do I commend her, I also pray, especially in this holy month of Ramadan, that Justice will be done by the tribunal according to the fear of God and not in keeping with respect for the powers that be. The Chairman of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa has rescued herself from participating in adjud... The Chairman of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa has rescued herself from participating in adjudicating petitions challenging the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari. Zainab, who is also the President of the Appeal Court made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja after the tribunal had delivered ruling against an application challenging her membership of the tribunal. On why she stepped down, she said: I have allowed the ruling on the application urging me to rescue my membership of the tribunal to test the position of the law. Now that the application has been dismissed on account of incompetence, I hereby announce my withdrawal from the panel. The remaining four members of the panel would remain while step would be taken to appoint my replacement, she said. Recall that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Presidential Candidate in the Feb.23 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had approached the tribunal to challenge Bulkachuwas membership. PARIS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about an alternative to restore peace in eastern Ukraine, ways to end hostilities in Syria and Iran nuclear issue, the Elysee said. In a statement released on Tuesday night, the Elysee said the two European leaders "stressed that the time had come to make choices to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which is weighing on relations between Russia and the European Union." They also called on Moscow to take necessary moves to create favorable conditions for dialogue and respect commitment to put into effect the Minsk peace agreement. Voicing "deep concern" over the Syrian government's last military offensive in the country's northwest, Macron and Merkel asked Putin to respect the ceasefire in Idlib and international regulations related to the use of chemical arms. Speaking about rising tension between Iran and the United States, the three countries recalled their full commitment to preserving the 2015 nuclear agreement which they described as "an important element of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime." "In the current context of sharp rise in tensions, it is important to avoid any action that would fuel an escalation," they said. Group practice of Transcendental Meditation dramatically reduced violence in Cambodia, new study shows The group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs in Cambodia between 1993 and 2008 was associated with a 96.2% decline in sociopolitical violence in that war-torn country compared to violence in the preceding three years, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Studies in Asian Social Science. According to the study, the likelihood that this reversal in the rising 1990-1992 trend of violence occurred randomly was one chance in 10 million, suggesting that meditation can indeed have a coherence-creating effect on society. Effect recognized by government officials "Maharishi Vedic University was established by Maharishi in Cambodia on January 1, 1993, for the declared purpose of bringing peace and prosperity to Cambodia," said study author Lee Fergusson. "The positive influence of the MVU meditating groups was recognized by officials of the Cambodian government." The late King Norodom Sihanouk was quoted as saying, "Maharishi Vedic University is playing an important role in human resource development and in [the] restoration of peace and expansion of prosperity throughout the country." Up to 1,250 students participated The reduction in violence began in January 1993, when more than 550 students began practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique together twice daily in a group at Maharishi Vedic University in Cambodia. Also, 100-200 students practiced the TM-Sidhi program together twice a day in a group as part of their Consciousness-BasedSM education curriculum starting in 1994. Across three MVU campuses, up to 1,250 students contributed to increased coherence in collective consciousness through their daily group Transcendental Meditation practice during 1993-2008. The study is the first to use an explanatory mixed-methods research design to explore the growth of social coherence using time series analysis and qualitative content analysis of news articles. The researchers analyzed monthly data on the level of sociopolitical violence obtained from automated content-analysis of news reports performed by a leading independent research organization. Other research shows reduced poverty Other published research by Dr. Fergusson, professor and founding director of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, Australia, documents the dramatic economic and social transformation of Cambodia after the founding of MVU. In 1990, Cambodia, devastated by decades of war, was the poorest country in the world. After establishment of MVU, Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates averaged 8.9%, and poverty was reduced by 63% between 1994 and 2008. By 2010 Cambodia was ranked 63rd out of 152 countries on the international scale of poverty, an unprecedented jump of 89 places in less than one generation. ### Reference: L. C. Fergusson & K. L. Cavanaugh (2019). Socio-political violence in Cambodia between 1990 and 2008: An explanatory mixed methods study of social coherence. Studies in Asian Social Science, 6(2), 1-45. A PDF of the article may be downloaded at http://www. sciedupress. com/ journal/ index. php/ sass/ issue/ view/ 789 . The study was sponsored by Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, Australia. This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. GUIYANG, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Yuan Renguo, former chairman of Kweichow Moutai Group, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and public office for multiple offenses including graft and hindering official investigations. Yuan severely violated political discipline and used Moutai liquor as a means to ingratiate himself with others and seek benefits, said a statement issued by the CPC Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection on Wednesday. Yuan repeatedly provided convenience for illegal dealers to trade Moutai, which severely damaged the business environment of the leading Chinese liquor brand, according to the statement. Yuan was also found to have hindered investigations by transferring illegal gains and colluding with others, violated organizational discipline by untruthfully reporting personal matters, and illegally obtained huge benefits by engaging in illegal operations. The Guizhou anti-graft body also accused Yuan of trading power for sex, benefiting others by taking advantage of his post, and accepting a large amount of money and gifts. As a senior CPC official and head of a key state-owned enterprise, Yuan showed no signs of self-discipline, even after the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012 when the anti-corruption campaign was launched, the statement said. Upon approval by CPC Guizhou Provincial Committee, Yuan has been expelled from the CPC and sacked from public posts. Yuan's case has been transferred to judicial organs. Li Song (C), Chinese ambassador for disarmament affairs, addresses a session of the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 22, 2019. Li Song said here on Wednesday that without sufficient mutual trust and respect for each other's security concerns, and without a commitment to common security, nuclear transparency could be "hypocritical and meaningless", or a tool for the strong to bully the weak. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) GENEVA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese diplomat said here on Wednesday that without sufficient mutual trust and respect for each other's security concerns, and without a commitment to common security, nuclear transparency could be "hypocritical and meaningless", or a tool for the strong to bully the weak. Li Song, Chinese ambassador for disarmament affairs, told a session of the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament on Wednesday that transparency is not an end in and of itself but a way to enhance trust, avoid misjudgments and relieve tensions. "Transparency is not a standalone concept, it has everything to do with the international security environment and national security policies," he said. During its last plenary meeting under the presidency of the United States, the Conference on Disarmament discussed on Wednesday the issue of transparency in disarmament. Responding to a senior U.S. official's recent accusation that "China's lack of transparency regarding the scope and scale of its nuclear modernization program raises questions regarding its future intent", Li said that this is a typical example of projecting one's own logic onto others. "Let me make it crystal clear: the U.S. accusation has no basis in fact. It is using other countries as an excuse to evade the international responsibilities expected of it," he said. "The U.S. keeps saying that other countries make it feel unsafe -- this is truly baffling," Li said. "If you choose to see some countries as rivals, you might most probably create the same number of enemies, even though it is not their intention to be your enemies." Li also mentioned the U.S.'s intention to push for a trilateral (U.S., Russia and China) nuclear arms control agreement, saying that "the premise of and basis for the so-called trilateral arms control negotiations do not exist at all and China will definitely not participate in them." In the current international security environment, Li said, it is particularly important for the five states with nuclear weapons to advocate coordination and win-win cooperation instead of major power competition and a zero-sum game. He stressed that China is committed to peaceful development and pursues a nuclear strategy of self-defense. It unconditionally commits itself never to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and never to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear weapon-free zones. "We have no hidden strategic agenda and no country will be threatened by China's nuclear weapons," he told the conference. Deputy General Manager of WAOMC, Mr. Kan Yadong, presents to Hon. John Sati Kargbo The Chinese Community in Sierra Leone continues to play a pivotal role in the countrys economic development. In the last few years, a number of major Chinese companies have made an impact in winning the minds and confidence of the local people through the provisions of various developmental support and services ranging from education, employment, training, food and transport. Two major Chinese companies operating in Sierra Leone, China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG), and West African Operations and Management Company (WAOMC), have donated food to nearby communities including Hastings, Rogbamgba and Yams Farm at a ceremony held in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone. This is the second consecutive year that the company has donated to surrounding communities, and is an important measure for CRSG and WAOMC to carry out corporate social responsibilities and public services. As two foreign companies, we know the close relationship between good corporate performance and social services, so we cherish the friendly relationship with neighboring establishments and residents, said Deputy General Manager of WAOMC, Mr. Kan Yadong, adding that this is carried out in line with principles help and benefit each other and give back to society. We hold this donation ceremony to try our best to help the residents. Although the donation is small, it means a lot to China-Sierra Leone friendship, he said. CRSG has always focused on the infrastructural construction of Sierra Leone and has completed many high-quality construction projects since it first entered the Sierra Leone market in 2008, a move which was welcomed by the Sierra Leone government and people. The newly commissioned Second Juba Bridge is one of CRSGs projects that have become the symbol of China-Sierra Leone friendship. The Wellington-Masiaka highway is an important cooperation project between the Sierra Leone government and CRSG. It is the first toll road in Sierra Leones history that creates lots of jobs, dramatically solves traffic congestion and improves road safety. You can see more and more residents and businesses, and even companies and factories choosing to locate to the highway area. We believe after completion of the Wellington-Masiaka highway, surrounding areas will see a big change, Kan said. WAOMC, the company authorized by the government of Sierra Leone to operate and manage the Wellington-Masiaka Highway, is highly valued by the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, many departments of Sierra Leone government and the local people. To better manage the first tolling highway in Sierra Leone, mature and advanced toll operation systems and management models have been introduced. Since it officially launched on Aug. 18, 2017, the company has continuously operated, with a mission to provide good-quality services and promote local management and professional skills. The company has created new employment opportunities and trained a group of excellent Sierra Leonean managers. The Deputy Chairman of CRSG and Project Manager of Wellington-Masiaka Highway, Bo Wang, was also present at the ceremony. Hon. John Sati Kargbo, a lawmaker in Sierra Leone, thanked the Chinese for their overwhelming support. He implored them to continue working hard and added that the items donated will directly benefit the local people. Other speakers included community stakeholder Mr. Umar Bah, Constituency Chairman Mr. Morlai Kamara, and Councilor for Ward 391 Edward Kargbo. People wait to enter the Corner Tower Cafe, a hot destination among internet users near the Forbidden City. (Photo/People's Daily Overseas Edition) First emerging as a platform for individuals to share their daily life and connect, social media now has evolved into an economic growth driver which impacts consumption habits in China, especially among the country's younger generations. Xiaohongshu, also known as RED, a major social media app in China, has multiple "influencers", "vloggers" and "internet celebrities" who promote products and make recommendations on clothes and make-up through pictures and videos. "I usually scroll through lots of posts on Xiaohongshu, make notes, and select what interests me before I go shopping," said one of the app's users, surnamed Liu. "When consumers make purchasing decisions, they are often influenced to a large extent by the reference group. One of the main reasons is the individual's sense of identity, that is, what kind of person they think they are and what kind of life they feel they should live," said Ding Ying, associate professor of Renmin Business School at Renmin University of China. "Once consumers find an identity they are happy with, they are likely to accept what social media recommends and buy into it," Ding added. Another expert pointed out that for lots of young Chinese consumers, it is about choosing their own lifestyles via social media. "I'd like to be a person with a broadened horizon, and that's why I want to know what other people are reading and interested in. In other words, I'm building a better version of myself by following others," said one social media user, surnamed Huang. Apart from figuring out who they really are, young Chinese consumers also tend to reach out to communities they identify with on social media platforms, to help gain a sense of belonging. On the other hand, the craze for consumption is not a rational trend to follow. Young consumers should set their own limitations to avoid overspending, suggested Ding. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yong) BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the capital of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, with both sides pledging to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation. The China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has been developed in the joint construction of the Belt and Road, Wang said while meeting with Qureshi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers' meeting. The two sides should jointly implement consensuses reached between leaders of China and Pakistan when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, Wang said. The two countries should enhance high-level exchanges, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, and promote bilateral ties to achieve new development given the complicated and changing international situation, he added. Wang condemned a recent terrorist attack against the Pearl Continental Hotel in the Pakistani port city of Gwadar, saying China appreciates Pakistan's efforts in combating terrorism. China believes that Pakistan will strengthen security and protection for Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan and maintain bilateral cooperation, Wang added. For his part, Qureshi said Pakistan is willing to jointly prepare for high-level exchanges for the next stage and implement the outcomes of the second BRF, so as to deepen bilateral cooperation by strengthening the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a central theme and promote bilateral ties so that they will yield more results. Pakistan shares the same goal with China in combating terrorism and extremism, Qureshi said. Pakistan will do its best to protect Chinese personnel and institutions in the country, continue to enhance bilateral cooperation on anti-terrorism within multilateral frameworks and preserve the two countries' common interests as well as regional peace and stability, Qureshi said. The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghanistan issue, agreed to strengthen communication and coordination, jointly promote a prompt political settlement of the Afghanistan issue and preserve regional peace and stability. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yong) BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here at a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Wednesday. Congratulating on the successful conclusion of India's general election, China hopes India will set up a new government on schedule, and that both sides achieve a smooth transition and further development of bilateral relations, Wang said. China and India shall fulfill the important consensuses reached by leaders of both countries, prepare well for high-level exchanges at the next stage, initiate bilateral dialogue mechanisms as soon as possible, maintain peace and stability at the border region, and together celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2020, Wang said. As a neighbor of India and Pakistan, China sincerely hopes that they can seize opportunities to improve their relations and promote peace and stability in the region, Wang said. For her part, Swaraj said the new government of her country will continue to make the development of India-China ties a diplomacy priority, and will further boost bilateral cooperation in all fields. India is willing to work with China to implement the key consensuses reached by leaders of both countries, strengthen communication and coordination, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and jointly safeguard peace at the border region, so as to promote the development of bilateral relations, she said. Swaraj also said that her country is willing to improve bilateral relations with Pakistan, and that she hopes the two sides can make joint efforts to that end. BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov on Wednesday here at the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Wang noted that China-Uzbekistan relations have achieved leapfrog development under the strategic leadership and the promotion of the two heads of state in recent years. China appreciated a constructive plan to strengthen cooperation on the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proposed by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) held in Beijing last month. Wang said that China is willing to dovetail the BRI with Uzbekistan's national development strategy, strengthen cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, production capacity and others, strengthen bilateral ties, and contribute to promote regional peace and development. He stressed that China is willing to enhance coordination with Uzbekistan with the aim of boosting the SCO's role in the promotion of regional economic integration, and jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism. For his part, Kamilov said President Mirziyoyev held a fruitful meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRF. The Uzbek side thereafter assigned certain institutions and officials to implement the outcomes of the forum, and accelerated the process of jointly building the Belt and Road. He noted that Uzbekistan firmly adheres to the one-China policy and understands and supports China's anti-extremist measures in its Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He added that Uzbekistan is willing to enhance coordination with China within the framework of the SCO and other organizations to jointly combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism and safeguard regional peace and stability. The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghanistan issue, reaching consensus that relative parties should work to promote Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process and to realize peace and stability in the country as soon as possible. BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Du Fuguo, a soldier who lost his eyes and arms in an explosion during a mine clearance operation, was honored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Wednesday. Du, who was a demining soldier of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), was awarded the title "role model of our times" at a ceremony in Beijing. Du's family members and fellow soldiers, as well as representatives from all walks of life, attended the award ceremony. The 28-year-old soldier was seriously injured in the landmine explosion trying to protect his fellow soldier during the operation in southwest China's Yunnan Province in October last year. Du would have finished his military service in December 2018, just two months after the explosion. In 2015, Du and over 400 fellow soldiers started clearing mines in the border area in Yunnan, where over 100 minefields were located. "I couldn't stay calm after getting to know the villagers living in the area suffered three explosions within 10 years," said Du, who volunteered to participate in the demining operations in 2015. Du's father wished to become a solider at an early age, which was not fulfilled, while Du Fuguo joined the PLA in 2010. "I am reflecting what kind of life is truly meaningful and valuable, and the only standard is what has been done for the country and for the people," Du wrote in his application submitted for mine clearance operations. "When the people are in need and the country is calling upon us, there is not even half a step that I can retreat," he responded when being told mine clearance was dangerous. A minefield Du worked has deterred local people from growing crops and picking tea. They beat gongs and sounded drums to welcome the arrival of the mine clearance group. Over the past three years, Du has entered minefields over 1,000 times, defusing more than 2,400 mines and bombs. "I feel like it is my destiny to carry out this mission and there was a voice calling me to clear the mines," he wrote in his application. While various equipment has been developed for mine clearance, it is believed that manual demining remains the most efficient method, albeit the most dangerous. The explosion happened in an afternoon when Du and a fellow soldier tried to defuse a bomb, but it suddenly exploded and Du quickly protected his colleague who was left with only bruises. "Step back and I'll do the job," Du said before he started the defusing work in which he lost his forearms and eyes. One month later, in November last year, Du's team members confirmed that the minefield where the explosion took place was safe to be used as farmland, meaning that the three-year demining operation had finished. In the area where Du was injured, people have named tea picked this year as "Fuguo." They are hoping that Du could come back to have a taste of his eponymous tea. "Despite my lost hands, I have legs to continue chasing after dreams; despite my lost sight, as long as the sun can rise in my heart, my world remains blazing with color," Du said. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yong) BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Facing unstability and uncertainty in the world, the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) should boost all-round cooperation to promote regional stability and prosperity, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Wednesday. Since the SCO Qingdao Summit last year, the member states have made steady progress in cooperation across the board, said Wang at an SCO foreign ministers' meeting held in the capital city of Kyrgyzstan. While the world is grappling with the resurrection of protectionism and a cold-war mentality, the SCO remains a vital and constructive force for world peace and development, said Wang. To deepen cooperation within the SCO, efforts should be made to strengthen solidarity and mutual trust, said Wang, adding that member states should firmly support each other's efforts to safeguard core interests and jointly resist interference by external forces. Wang also urged member states to deepen security cooperation by jointly combating the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, adding that China is willing to share its useful experiences of taking preventive counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in China's Xinjiang. In terms of pragmatic cooperation, Wang said that member states should take concrete actions to safeguard free trade and the multilateral trading system, including implementing the results of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, accelerating negotiations on agreements to facilitate trade, and launching feasibility studies on the SCO free trade zone as soon as possible. Wang also urged more extensive people-to-people exchanges among member states. It is important for SCO member states to advocate multilateralism and uphold the international system with the principles of the United Nations Charter at its core, said Wang. All parties should show a united front on major international and regional issues, and resolutely oppose unilateralism and protectionism in all forms, said Wang. During the meeting, other foreign ministers fully acknowledged the key role played by the SCO in maintaining regional stability and boosting development, and voiced their opposition to unilateralism and protectionism. The ministers also signed preparatory documents for the upcoming Bishkek Summit. Back in February 2019, it was announced that Susanne Bartsch, alongside the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) would be reviving the now legendary fundraising party, The Love Ball, for its 30th anniversary. The event, which raised millions in funds during its two previous incarnations in 1989 and 1991 for those affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, was one of the first large-scale fundraisers of its kind for the issue. Now, The Love Ball is back with a bang; on June 25, 2019, Love Ball III will be held at Gotham Hall and benefiting the CFDA-Vogue Initiative/New York City AIDS Fund of The New York Community Trust. That's not all, though, because the judges for this year's huge comeback are nothing short of legendary. Related | Women Dominated Red Bull Music Festival New York The panel is incredibly well-assembled, considering its members are some of the most renowned masters of art, fashion, and music. Judge Teyana Taylor's sophomore album, K.T.S.E., was heavily influenced by and in conversation with Ballroom culture, most evident in the track "WTP," which featured a vocal sample from the revered Octavia Saint Laurent, ripped from the film Paris is Burning. Ballroom legends, like Jack Mizrahi and Kevin Aviance, and post-millennium LGBTQ+ stars, like Patrick Starrr, also fit the bill perfectly. A spot at the judge's table, while coveted, presents the stars with the difficult task of judging the Ball's six categories. Ballroom legends and celebrities will compete in the categories for the opportunity to win exquisitely designed trophies from the world's premiere contemporary artists. Those wishing to see the action up close can purchase tickets here, and for $10,000, you can bring your entire House. Read more about Love Ball III and its mission here. 62 Organizations Tell Congress: Halt a March to War with Iran 05/23/19 May 21, 2019 To: Members of Congress We write to request that Congress take urgent action to halt a march to war with Iran. The Trump administration, spurred on by National Security Advisor John Bolton, has moved the U.S. into a war posture. Over the last few weeks, Bolton pushed through unprecedented sanctions and escalated the war of words intended to provoke retaliation from the Iranians. Now, Bolton has used a routine carrier deployment to the Middle East to threaten Iran with "unrelenting force" and has overseen the revision of war plans that would send 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran takes his bait. Congress cannot be complicit as the playbook for the 2003 invasion of Iraq is repeated before our eyes. The administration has increasingly politicized intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, and falsely asserts ties between Iran and al-Qaeda. Worryingly, the administration does not perceive that it is constrained by the lack of Congressional authorization for war with Iran, and has even suggested that the 2001 authorization to use military force could be twisted to green light strikes against Iran. As the drumbeat for war grows louder, Congress must fulfill its Constitutional duty and enact further constraints to unequivocally prevent the administration from launching an unauthorized war. We urge you to pass legislation to bar funding for an unauthorized war with Iran - The Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act (S. 1039/H.R. 2354) - together with legislation that makes clear that no existing statutory authorization, including the 2001 authorization for use of military force, provides for war with Iran. Moreover, we urge all lawmakers to issue statements making clear that no authorization for an Iran war exists, and that if the Trump administration seeks war it must first come to Congress for debate. The American people do not want another disastrous war of choice in the Middle East. Congress has the chance to stop a war before it starts. Please take action before it is too late. Sincerely, About Face: Veterans Against the War Americans for Peace Now Beyond the Bomb Brave New Films Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Center for American Progress Center for International Policy Chino Cienega Foundation CODEPINK Common Defense Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety Council for a Livable World Council on American-Islamic Relations CREDO Daily Kos Dallas Peace and Justice Center Demand Progress Environmentalists Against War Federation of American Scientists Foreign Policy for America Franciscan Action Network Freedom Forward Friends Committee on National Legislation Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ Global Security Institute Global Zero Indivisible J Street Jewish Voice for Peace Just Foreign Policy MADRE Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns NIAC Action Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Nuclear Watch New Mexico Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance Palestine Action Committee of Texas Pax Christi International Peace Action Peace Development Fund Peace Direct Physicians for Social Responsibility Ploughshares Fund PRBB Foundation Presbyterian Church (USA) Project South Public Citizen Rachel Carson Council RootsAction.org T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights The Peace Farm Tri-Valley CAREs Truman National Security Project Union of Concerned Scientists United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries United for Peace and Justice Veterans For Peace VoteVets Washington Against Nuclear Weapons Western States Legal Foundation Win Without War Women's Action for New Directions Seven to Face Trial in Iran in Connection with Labor Protests 05/23/19 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran Many Denied Access to Counsel, Families Warned to Stay Quiet After months of unlawful prosecution in connection with workers' rights protests in southwestern Iran, five journalists and two labor activists are due to go on trial at Branch 15 of the revolutionary court in Tehran presided by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, a source with knowledge of their cases told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on May 20, 2019. The journalists, who cover labor affairs, are freelancer Sepideh Qoliyan, the editor-in-chief of the Gam independent Telegram app news channel, Amirhossein Mohammadifard, his colleague and wife Sanaz Allahyari, and two staff reporters, Ali (Amir) Amirgholi and Asal Mohammadi. The workers' rights activists are Esmail Bakhshi and Ali Nejati, representatives of the Haft Tappeh sugar mill workers' union near the city of Shush in Khuzestan Province. No date has been set for the trial. Their joint indictment was completed after the seven presented their defenses to prosecutors on different days in Evin Prison between May 12 and May 18, 2019, the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told CHRI. They have all been charged with "assembly and collusion against national security," "forming groups with the intention to disturb national security" and "contacts with anti-state organizations." However, Qoliyan and Bakhshi face additional charges of "disturbing public opinion" and "publishing falsehoods." "Except for Sepideh Qoliyan and Esmail Bakhshi, none of them have lawyers," said the source. "Initially they were told that they could choose a lawyer from a list approved by the judiciary... Then Amirgholi's family spoke with one of these lawyers and he advised them not to take any action until the verdict is issued and, if it was unjust, he would object to it." "But how can a lawyer ignore his client's right to defense and postpone action until after the sentence is issued?" added the source. "Eventually those who didn't have a lawyer decided to act in their own defense." Since late 2017, detainees held on national security-related charges-including journalists, activists, and defense lawyers-have been told to choose their counsel from a list approved by Iran's chief justice. "One of the assistant prosecutors, named Shahmohammadi [last name], was really upset with Qoliyan and Allahyari because they refused to appear in court with a chador [Islamic full-body covering] and instead had put on makeup and red lipstick," said the source. "He also yelled at them for sharing information about their cases with the public and warned Mohammadi that if she keeps talking to the media... she would also be charged with 'disturbing public opinion,'" added the source. "He even told their families to keep quiet or else their children would remain in prison." The seven's common "crime" has been involvement with workers' rights protests in Khuzestan Province, particularly the demonstrations against the Haft Tappeh sugar company for unpaid pages. According to Article 27 of Iran's Constitution, "Public gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam." But peaceful labor activism in Iran is nevertheless treated as a national security offense; independent labor unions are not allowed to function, strikers are often fired and risk arrest, and labor leaders are consistently prosecuted under catchall national security charges and sentenced to long prison terms. Bakhshi and Nejati were arrested in November 2018 along with Qoliyan, who was reporting on the sugarcane workers' protests in Shush. Nejati was freed on bail for medical reasons on January 28, 2019. However, Bakhshi and Qoliyan, who had been released on bail in December 2018, were rearrested on January 20 after publicly reporting torture by Intelligence Ministry agents during their detention. Amirgholi has remained in detention since being arrested at his home in Babolsar, northern Iran, on January 15, 2019. Mohammadifard and Allahyari have also been denied bail. They have been in Evin Prison since their arrest on January 9, 2019. Gam journalist Asal Mohammadi was arrested in Tehran on December 4, 2018, and released on bail on January 5. There will be no talks with U.S. as long as it keeps mistreating Iran: National Security Council's spokesman 05/23/19 Source: Press TV Iran's top security body says the Islamic Republic will not hold any talks with the US as long as Washington sticks to its hostile approach in dealing with the Iranian nation. The Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)'s spokesman Keivan Khosravi said on Thursday that Tehran will not engage in any negotiations with this US "as long as there is no change in such behavior, the country's rights are not respected" and practical measures are not taken instead of mere rhetoric. "There will be no negotiations at all," he emphasized. Trump waiting for Iran's call with Bolton in action! (Source: Front page of Iranian daily Hamdeli) Khosravi said that there has been an increase in the number of visits to Tehran by officials from different countries, mostly on behalf of the United States, adding that some of the trips are made public while others remain confidential. After pulling his country out of an international nuclear deal with Iran last May, US President Donald Trump has on several occasions offered talks with Tehran. The latest such offer came last week amid heightened tensions between the two sides. Trump walked back what he has been trumpeting as "Iran's threat" to the region and the US interests, saying he was willing to engage in talks with the Islamic Republic "if they are ready." Citing such alleged and unspecified threats, the US has been heavily building up its presence in the Middle East, prompting offers of mediation between the two sides to ease the Washington-initiated tensions. Citing an unnamed source, Al Jazeera reported in mid-May that Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had earlier traveled to Iran on a visit meant to "defuse escalating tensions" between Iran and the US. Earlier this week, Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi paid a surprise visit to Tehran, during which he discussed regional developments with Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said his country planned to send delegations to the US and Iran to help "halt tension" between the two sides. Earlier today, a German diplomatic source told Reuters that Jens Ploetner, a political director in the German Foreign Ministry, was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and cool tensions in the region. US grants sanctions waiver for Iraq to import energy from Iran: Official 05/23/19 Source: Press TV The US envoy to Baghdad says Washington has exempted Baghdad from some of its unilateral anti-Iran sanctions, allowing Iraq to continue importing energy from Iran. US charge d'affaires Joey Hood told reporters on Wednesday Baghdad can now buy energy from Iran, a report by Al-Alam news network said. The waiver will allow Iraq to continue buying gas and electricity from Iran. The administration of US President Donald Trump said in March it was extending a 90-day waiver for the second time to let Iraq continue energy imports from Iran. The US envoy did not explain whether he was referring to the same waiver Washington gave Baghdad in March or he was declaring the issuance of new exemptions. Gas imports from Iran generate as much as 45 percent of Iraq's 14,000 megawatts of electricity consumed daily. Iran transmits another 1,000 megawatts directly, making itself an indispensable energy source for its Arab neighbor. Iraq and Iran share a 1,400-kilometer-long border. For their run-of-the-mill maintenance, Iraqis depend on Iranian companies for many things from food to machinery, electricity, natural gas, fruits and vegetables. The Trump administration is pressing Iraq to stop buying natural gas and electricity from Iran, but Baghdad is pushing back against the pressure, The New York Times reported in February. In his Wednesday remarks, the US envoy also pointed to reports of Baghdad's efforts to mediate between Tehran and Washington, and said he was unaware of such mediation. "We do not know of the existence of Iraqi mediation" between the US and Iran, he said, adding that he welcomes the opportunity to consult with the Iraqi government. "It is possible to communicate with Iran directly and the embassy's objective is to sustain the stability of Iraq to be strong and stable and protect it from any tension in the region," he said. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said Tuesday his country is set to send delegations to the US and Iran to help "halt tension" between the two sides amid growing concerns over a military conflict as Washington ratchets up its belligerent rhetoric against Tehran and builds up its military presence in the region. "Iraq has high-level contacts (with both parties), and its vision is very close to that of the European Union, which seeks to settle the crisis in the region," Abdul Mahdi said at a weekly press briefing in the capital Baghdad. "US and Iranian officials have assured us that they do not want to go to war," he pointed out. Abdul Mahdi added, "Iraq is in the stage of transferring messages between Washington and Tehran. It tries to defuse crisis between the two sides. It is our responsibility to defend Iraq and its people, and ensure security in the face of the threat of war." The First Amendment reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Enshrined in our Constitution is the belief that government should not legislate according to religion over non-religion, nor favor a particular faith over others. In the past weeks, the state of Alabama and its Governor have forgotten what separation of church and state means. Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi have successfully passed so-called heartbeat bills that generally ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Alabama, however, has decided to to go against Roe vs. Wade and pass the most restrictive abortion law in the country. The ban makes abortion illegal in all cases including cases of rape and incest and the doctors who perform the abortions face up to 99 years in prison. Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act. To the bills many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God, said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. If every life is truly a sacred gift from God, as Governor Ivey claims, the children from illegal immigrants should not be separated from their families. Children should not be put into shelters, where they sleep on the floor and have nothing to keep them warm. Pro-lifers are quick to enact a law that derails women rights, but are so hesitant to confer this mercy to migrant children or pass restrictive gun laws to combat gun violence in schoolyards. There are rapists who are getting lesser sentencing than the doctors who perform abortions. Stanford student athlete Brock Turner was found guilty of raping an unconscious woman on March 30th 2016. He was sentenced to six months confinement in the Santa Clara County jail. Turner only served three months in jail. Tennessee Pastor David Lynn Richards was convicted of repeatedly raping his 14 year old daughter over four years. The prosecutor recommended 72 years in prison. The judge felt he was a good Christian and gave him 12 years instead. Additionally, essentially banning abortion will only lead to women getting unsafe abortions instead, potentially leading to deadly consequences. Instead of banning abortions they should make birth control more accessible to women. Condoms are sold at every drugstore or even given out for free at college campuses. While on the other hand women have to have birth control prescribed by a doctor and pay a ridiculous amount of money to obtain it. I will be attacked by fellow conservatives for saying this but so be it, this Alabama abortion ban is too restrictive. It doesnt save life, it simply forces women into more dangerous methods, other states or countries. You dont encourage life via blanket government mandate! tweeted conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren. Not your body. Not your choice. There is no justification needed. There should be no reason that a man should be making such a fundamental decision that concerns a WOMANS body! Women are slowly losing their rights. Instead of going forward, the U.S is going backwards. The Apostolic Students and Associates, (APOSA-USA) is set to welcome the president of the Apostolic Church Ghana for a conference in the state. Dr. Aaron Ami-Narh was elected as the new national officers to steer the affairs of the church at its National Council Meeting held at Frafraha in the Adentan Municipality. Prior to the election, he was one of the seven executives of the church and the Community 5 District pastor and also the National Superintendent of Apostolic Students Association (APOSA). APOSTOLIC STUDENTS AND ASSOCIATES (APOSA-USA) TO OFFICALLY WELCOME THE PRESIDENT ELECT OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH INTERNATIONAL. The National Council of The Apostolic Church Ghana has elected Apostle Dr. Aaron Ami-Narh as a new president of the church. A preacher of hope and righteousness, an international motivational speaker who has three 3 books to his credit namely the path of true liberty, the due order and achieving your purpose and destiny. He is a member of the National Executive Committee of The Apostolic Church. He also a pastor at Tema community 5 and a resident Apostle. Apostle is a medical practitioner and married to deaconess Mrs. Josephine Ami-Narh. They are blessed with three 3 children, Dannielle, Philip and Delores. According to Emmanuel Mantse, the area leader of the group, Aposa Global Conference in the USA represents the International platform of The Apostolic church, networking students, graduates and professionals worldwide. The group was officially out doored in April 2015 at Virginia Richmond. Next year, the movement celebrates five (5) good years of the Lords favor and stability. We pray for Gods speed and direction. Conference details are: WHAT : 3rd Annual Global Conference 2019 WHERE : Blue Mountains Christian Retreat 1 Christian LN, New Ringgold, PA 17960 WHEN : From Friday 7 Sunday June 9th, 2019. We count it joy, hosting the president elect and her wife, and extend invitation to all pastorate, sector heads, and movements leaders, members in the USA and other parts of the world to join this glorious occasion. Registration details are online. Visit our web below. visit www.aposausa.org. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) on Tuesday, 21st May 2019 unveiled The Gas Challenge a flagship quiz competition aimed at educating the general public on the domestic use of gas, the economic opportunities along the gas value chain, health and safety matters related to the use of gas. Launching the competition, Dr. Ben Asante, Chief Executive Officer of the company emphasized his desire to provide a platform for the study of gas and it related matters. Dr. Asante further revealed that the quiz competition would be in two segments The stakeholders edition and The tertiary edition. Taking care of the media, civil society organizations in the oil and gas industry and regulators in the first edition with the second edition looking at tertiary institutions who teach petroleum related courses like Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Mines and Technology, All Nations University amongst others. The CEO for the company took advantage of the opportunity to reiterate the commitment of the company to giving back to society and impacting lives through its Corporate Social Responsibility engagements. Speaking on the sideling of the event, Ms. Augustina Asare Osei, Senior Manager for Government Relations, revealed that the contestants would be given internship opportunities, among other educative tools like a laptop, tablets etc for the winners of the tertiary edition whiles the stakeholders participants would be rewarded with a training program to help build their capacity as well as other prizes as part of the package. As part of the solidarity messages delivered by participants. Dr. Affail Monney, Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) President who represented the media, commended Ghana Gas for its continuous engagement with the public as a means of bridging the gap between industry and the public. He also pledged that as a critical stakeholder, GJA through the various media houses would continue to help showcase the critical role Ghana Gas plays Ghanas development agenda. The event was graced by the District Chief Executive for Ellembelle who commended the CEO of Ghana Gas for his continuous support for the communities within the operational area. He singled out the reconstruction of the Nkroful roads which had been in a deplorable state and was receiving attention from Ghana Gas. Other dignitaries were Dr. Steve Manteaw of PIAC, Mr. Benjamin Boakye of ACEP, Mr. Emmanuel Essel General Manager, Finance, Mr. Benjamin Baidoo General Manager, Procurement and Logistics, Ms. Alma-Leigh Mensah General Manager, Human Resource, Ing. Robert Lartey, General Manager, Operations. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations opened in Beijing on May 15. President Xi Jinping, who initiated the conference, has repeatedly pointed out the importance of cultural exchange and mutual learning. Cultural exchanges serve as the bridge between different peoples and play an important role in international communication. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi has mentioned the sparkling achievements of various civilizations more than once in his diplomatic activities, helping to promote the spread and exchange of culture. Xis remarks on ancient civilizations "I have visited many places in the world. The best thing I wanted to do is to learn about differing civilizations across the five continents, what make them different and unique, how their people think about the world and life and what they hold dear. I have visited Chichen Itza, a window on the ancient Maya civilization, and the Central Asian city of Samarkand, an epitome of the ancient Islamic civilization. It is my keenly-felt conviction that an attitude of equality and modesty is required if one wants to truly understand the various civilizations. Taking a condescending attitude toward a civilization cannot help anyone to appreciate its essence but may risk antagonizing it. Both history and reality show that pride and prejudice are two biggest obstacles to exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations." -- President Xis speech at the Headquarters of UNESCO, March 27, 2014 Story 1 On June 6, 2013, President Xi Jinping visited the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza at the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto. It was a journey to promote cultural exchange between the two ancient civilizations of China and Mexico. President Xi Jinping visits the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza on June 6, 2013, at the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) Upon arrival, President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted at the entrance by President Enrique Pena Nieto and his wife Angelica Rivera. Mexican children waved the flags of the two countries and sang folk songs. The local people greeted the Chinese guests with a ceremony in a unique style of Mayan tradition. Accompanied by Pena Nieto, Xi toured around the Quetzalcoatl Pyramid, ball court and the temple in the archaeological site. He asked Pena Nieto relevant questions about the ruins of Chichen Itza. Pena Nieto explained to Xi the influence of the Maya civilization on Mexican culture as well as the protection and recovery of the ruins. They also discussed the history and culture of the two countries. Xi said to Pena Nieto that China and Mexico are both ancient civilizations and great cultural powers. The two cultures have a far-reaching influence on the world as a result of their distinctive features and manage to maintain vitality through innovation. Historically, the two cultures learned from each other and enhanced each other's beauty. The famous "Silk Road on the Sea" promoted cultural exchanges while facilitating trade between the two countries, leaving a brilliant page in the history of world civilization. Story 2 President Xi Jinping visited the ancient Ulugh Beg Observatory in Uzbekistan on Sept. 10, 2013, during his state visit. President Xi Jinping (right), visits the ancient Ulugh Beg Observatory with Uzbek President Islam Karimov (center), in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Sept. 10, 2013. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) Accompanied by Uzbek President Islam Karimov, President Xi Jinping visited the ancient Ulugh Beg Observatory located in Uzbekistan's second largest city of Samarkand. During China's Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), imperial envoy Zhang Qian was sent to Central Asia twice to open China up to the world of commercial trade and cultural communication. "This gives us a special feeling. We are far away in distance, but we are also so near to each other in our soul. It is just like time travel," Xi said. The Chinese president said that the two countries should step up cooperation and exchanges, and jointly write a new chapter in the development of civilizations along the ancient Silk Road. GHANA IS planning to extend passport services to its citizens in 12 cities around the world. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, made this known to the media on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Accra. According to her, in the medium term, the Ministry has earmarked Missions in the following Capitals for the extension of the biometric passport service: The Hague, Moscow, Paris, Oslo and Brussels in Europe; Beijing and Riyadh in Asia and the Middle East respectively; Addis Ababa, Rabat and Dakar in Africa; Brasilia in South America as well as Canberra in the Pacific. In the long term, she noted, all Ghana Missions abroad would be made to process biometric passports with regional printing hubs located in various regions. The Minister explained that the Ghanaian diaspora has not been left out in the extension of passport services. She indicated that six Ghana Diplomatic Missions abroad currently issue biometric passports to Ghanaians in their respective jurisdictions including countries of concurrent accreditation. The Missions, she noted, are London, Berlin, Washington DC, New York, Pretoria and Abuja. Online Applications The Minister, however, complained of fraudulent activities in the acquisition of passports domestically. She said people took advantage of the shortage of forms to sell fake forms to the unsuspecting public. To address these incidents, she indicated, the Ministry introduced the PDF format of the form online for all applicants to download and complete. According to her, the Ministry also made it possible for payment to be made online using mobile money and visa cards. She added that this process has helped to eliminate middlemen who took advantage of the shortage of forms to swindle the public. She explained that the second method of application is online, where applicants complete the passport forms and submit them online. The challenge with this method, she said, was that the service was available only in Accra mainly due to data hosting challenges associated with internet services. According to her, I am happy to inform you that the Ministry has overcome these challenges and has rolled out online application facilities at three PACs in Koforidua, Tema and VFS PACs on experimental basis. She added that should we not encounter any internet challenges, the Ministry intends to roll-out online applications nationwide by the second half of the year, with the ultimate objective of phasing out the manual form of application by October this year. The online application format, she disclosed, has the unique advantage of allowing applicants to choose the date and time convenient for them to present themselves at the PACs for their biometrics to be captured. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video THE MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has lamented over the high numbers of uncollected passports nationwide. According to her, from 2010 to 2018, there were 20,000 uncollected passports nationwide. She explained meanwhile, the office continues to be saddled with uncollected passports. She disclosed that about 20,000 printed passports spanning the period 2010 to 2018 remain to be collected across the country. The Minister was addressing journalists on Wednesday in Accra after commissioning two new passport centres in Koforidua and Tema. She noted attempts were made to publish the names and passport numbers of some uncollected passports, but this seemed to have infringed on Data Protection Laws of the country. She added the Ministry is therefore discussing alternative methods of informing the public on uncollected passports. However, she stated that government would consider steps to address the situation. The Minister added the Ministry is also considering a home delivery service option to reduce the incidence of uncollected passports. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday reiterated his appeal to traditional authorities in the country to ensure that chieftaincy disputes and other related conflicts were dealt with amicably to engender harmony and ensure the speedy development of the country. He said chieftaincy disputes triggered by succession and other matters were an affront to progress and urged traditional authorities to find lasting solutions that would lead to unity, peace and progress. President Akufo-Addo made the appeal when members of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, accompanied by the Regional Minister, Mr Kwamena Duncan, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House in Accra. The President explained that chieftaincy conflicts sparked by succession issues did not augur well for the country, as they impeded progress, and urged that unity and understanding must prevail. Roads Reacting to the request by the chiefs for the construction of roads in the region, the President said he was aware of the bad nature of roads, saying that almost all the chiefs he had interacted with had also raised the same issue with him. He explained that about three major roads in the region, covering areas including Twifo Praso and Dunkwa, had been captured under the first phase of the Sino Hydro projects which would commence soon. He gave an assurance that the remaining roads would also be done systematically under other projects, including those earmarked under the 2019 budget. The President indicated that to be fair with the people of the country, his government, through the Ministry of Roads and Highways, would soon announce the ways in which roads in the country would be done, adding that the truth must be told that those roads could not all be tackled at a go, since the financial standing of the country would not allow that. Factories The President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI, commended the President for his governments flagship social intervention programmes such as the free SHS, Planting for Food and Jobs, the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo), among others. He appealed to the President to help bring investors to revive some of the factories that had become dormant, such as the Pozzolana Cement Factory in Gomoa and the Lime Factory in the Asebu Traditional Area. According to Obrempong Krampah, the Kwamankesi Traditional Area had pigment clay that could be used to manufacture paints and asked that an investor be identified to start production. He said similar treatment could be afforded the columbine tantalite deposits in Gomoa Mankoadze, all to generate employment and wealth. He again appealed to the President to speed up work on the Komenda Sugar Factory to get an investor so that the youth of the area would be gainfully employed, a move that would boost the economy of the area. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The government is considering reviewing passport fees upwards to help it break even and avoid the current losses incurred in the processing and production of Ghanaian passports. Speaking at a press conference in Accra Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said Ghana's passports were highly subsidised making it the less expensive in Africa. She said passport processing was a service that the government did not intend to make a profit on and indicated that it would be wrong for the government to continue subsidising the price for acquiring passports. "So we are looking at it. We are in the middle of negotiations of some sort to see how much more we could charge to break even but not to make profit", she said. Ms Botchwey recalled that her ministry had announced that it would review the cost of acquiring passports outside Ghana downwards because there the cost was a bit high. However, she said, "here (In Ghana) we are making a loss therefore there is the need for Ghanaians to pay realistic prices for passports but no decision has been taken on it yet." The current fee for expedited application us GHc100, while that of a standard application is GH50. Online passport application Ms Botchwey said the Ministry had overcome the challenges with manual application and had rolled out online application facilities at three passport application centres (PACs)- in Koforidua, Tema and VFS PACs - on experimental basis. "Should we not encounter any internet challenges, the Ministry intends to roll-out online applications nationwide by the second half of the year, with the ultimate objective of phasing out the manual form of application by October this year", she said. Ms Botchwey ssid the online application format had the unique advantage of allowing applicants to choose the date and time convenient for them to present themselves at the PACs for their biometrics to be captured. New passport application centres (PACs) The Minister said It had been the decision of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to bring passport service delivery as close to the doorstep of Ghanaians as possible. Consequently, she said, the Ministry had taken steps to secure office spaces from the Regional Coordinating Councils in the Upper East, Upper West and Central Regions for the establishment of PACs in their respective capitals. "It is envisaged that these new PACs will be established by the first quarter of 2020. Also, Passport services will further be extended to the newly created Regions in due course", she said. Ms Botchwey said and as part of this exercise, the Koforidua and Tema PACs began operations in April this year. I had the pleasure to commission the two PACs today, and it is important to add that these two PACs are for online applications only. She said the Ghanaian diaspora had not been left out in the extension of passport services, and indicated that six Ghana diplomatic missions abroad currently issued biometric passports to Ghanaians in their respective jurisdictions including countries of concurrent accreditation. The Missions are London, Berlin, Washington DC, New York, Pretoria and Abuja. In the medium term, she swid, the Ministry had earmarked Missions in the following capitals for the extension of the biometric passport service. They are the Hague, Moscow, Paris, Oslo and Brussels in Europe; Beijing and Riyadh in Asia and the Middle East respectively; Addis Ababa, Rabat and Dakar in Africa; Brasilia in South America as well as Canberra in the Pacific. "In the long term, all Ghana Missions abroad will be made to process biometric passports with regional printing hubs located in various regions", she said. Extending the validity of passports Ms Botchwey said as part of measures to reduce the frequency at which Ghanaians applyied for passports, the validity of Ghana passports had been extended from five years to 10 years. She said the passport office commenced issuing the 10-year passports from April 1, 2019, and explained that "By this action, a Ghanaian who has not exhausted the pages of his/her passport, will only apply for renewal after 10 years instead of five years." Besides, she said, in addition to the 10-year extension of the validity of passports, plans were far advanced to introduce 48-paged passport booklets to satisfy the needs of frequent travellers, and indicated that the Ministry expected that to come into effect during the second half of 2019. "To keep up with the pace of technological advancement, the Ministry has started discussions aimed at introducing chip embedded passports in due course. This is anticipated to enhance the security and integrity of Ghanaian passports", she said. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Between May 23 and 26, some 427 million eligible voters across the 28 EU member states will vote to fill 751 seats in the European Parliament. With less than two days until the vote begins, campaigns for competing visions for the future of the EU are in full swing. The 2019 European parliamentary election takes place in a climate of deep uncertainty about the stability of the Union and the direction of the European project. In the wake of Brexit, support for the EU among citizens of the remaining 27 countries is at an all-time high. At the same time, so-called Eurosceptic parties are predicted to make the greatest gains. Since the last European elections in 2014, immigration and anti-immigration sentiment have touched every corner of the EU, and while research shows that concerns about immigration have fallen, following sharp drops in the volume of both conventional migration and refugees seeking asylum, the issue of immigration remains high on the political agenda for some European nations. Eurosceptic nationalists blame the EU for the 2015 surge in refugee arrivals. Federalists argue only European cooperation can control migration. The interlinked issues of economic growth and unemployment top voters' lists of concerns in countries hit hardest by the socio-economic woes of the last five years, but are less of a priority for citizens in countries that fared better. It seems the only thing that voters from all 28 nations can agree on is the need to tackle climate change, the issue has shot up in voter opinion polls to become the standout issue of the 2019 elections. With over 200 natural disasters, predictions of global heating of between 3 and 4 degree Celsius by 2100, and widespread reporting that the Earth is officially experiencing a sixth mass extinction, 2018 has lifted climate breakdown and ecological crises to the forefront of voters' concerns. In a Europe-wide survey of EU voters, 43 percent of respondents agreed that "combating climate change and protecting the environment" was an issue they wanted to see given priority in electoral campaigns. Among the survey respondents who considered themselves "very likely" to vote in the upcoming election, climate and ecological crisis emerged the single most important across Europe as a whole. Experts project the Green political group to gain control of five seats in the European parliament. For the German green party, the 2019 European elections could be a chance to build a momentum that culminates in the party reaching the critical mass required to form part of a coalition in the next German national election. "For the Greens, it is important to convert good poll results into electoral success," Cerstin Gammelin wrote in Suddeutsche Zeitung this May. "The party has been on the up for months; a decent European result will boost the party as it fights regional elections that offer the promise of coalition power." The climate issue is a greater priority in Sweden than anywhere else, with 79 percent of Swedish respondents highlighting it as a crucial issue for the 2019 elections. It is also the top issue for German voters and the second most important issue for French voters. In September 2018, 15-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg began skipping class on Fridays to sit outside government buildings, accusing her country of not following the Paris Climate Agreement. Since then, young people all over Europe have been striking from school on Fridays to demonstrate in the streets. The Schools 4 Climate action has contributed to creating a global student protest movement aiming at driving world leaders into action on climate change, and in the process has raised the urgency of the issue in the minds of many EU voters. "Climate issues have been around for a long time," said Nicklas Kallebring, opinion analyst at international market research firm IPSOS, in an interview with Swedish newspaper DN, "but they have been lifted the last year by drought, fires and the demonstrations of young people." "Economy and growth" is the most-cited in Italy, according to the most recent Eurobarometer survey. As expected, the issue remains a major political priority for the nations which have endured the greatest economic turbulence in recent years - Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia and Latvia. "Youth unemployment" is the most-commonly listed primary issue for voters in both Spain and France. In France, both the far-left and far-right parties are campaigning with policies of economic protectionism. Alexandre Lemarie of French newspaper Le Monde writes that far-left party La France Insoumise supports "solidarity protectionism" for the European Union, and has even proposed a "kilometric carbon tax" - the further the product is shipped, the more it is taxed. Other parties support at carbon tax at the EU border, while the two most popular French parties, Macron's centrist liberal En Marche and the Republican Party (LR), support U.S.-style protectionism that favors European and French products and awarding of public contracts. As nationalism and right-wing populism have gained sway in national politics across Europe, these ideologies and their proponents are expected to influence overall results in the European elections. Eurosceptic political groups in the European parliament are expected to do well in 2019, with Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) and Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) projected to gain four and 25 seats respectively. The projected numbers for the far-right EFF represent the highest gain for any political group, both in relative and absolute terms. Mark Leonard, a seasoned EU observer and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) has said that "anti-European parties are gaining strength and could paralyze the EU." A recent study by ECFR predicts such groups will do well in this year's European elections, enabling them to "frustrate activity, undermine the security and defense of Europe and ultimately sow discord that could destroy the EU over time." What will the impacts of this influence be on Europe as a whole? Success in the European elections could be used by Europe's nationalists as springboard for success in national elections, the ECFR says. "Their greatest impact on the elections might be on a wave of national elections in Denmark, Estonia and Slovakia this year, which could bring nationalists to power as coalition partners, frustrating the work of the European Council." In Italy, a nationalist-populist coalition which took power on an anti-immigration platform after last year's Italian election. One of the coalition parties, the right-wing League party, has formed an alliance for the upcoming European elections with far-right parties in Germany, Denmark and Finland: Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Finns Party and the Danish People's Party. Each of the far-right parties campaigning in the European elections shares a stance hostile to immigration. Although the issue has lost significant attention since the last European elections in 2014, and is still trending downwards as a priority compared to 2018, for Italy it ranked on equal footing with economy and growth, with 62 percent of Italian voters responding that the issue was an election priority for them. Some 50 million Britons can vote on May 23, although there is a chance that the 73 lawmakers they elect may not get a chance to sit in the European Parliament. The European election in Britain is seen by many as a referendum on Brexit, an opportunity for voters to be heard on the issue as the debate continues on how, and whether, to leave. The UK is legally obliged to participate in the European elections, unless it approves a Withdrawal Agreement by May 22 - unlikely given that there is now less than 24 hours left before that deadline. Nigel Farage's brand-new Brexit Party was launched just two months ago, but is topping European election opinion polls at around 30 percent and higher. Nigel Farage's previous party, UKIP, is credited with pressuring the UK government into holding the Brexit referendum in 2016. With Brexit now scheduled for Oct. 31 at the latest, some EU analysts have argued for a delay in key parliamentary appointments, including the next president of the European Commission, to avoid calling into question the legitimacy of both the president and the approval process. According to London-based think tank The UK in a Changing Europe, should a candidate be approved or rejected by a slim margin, the 73 British MEPs could be decisive in determining the outcome. Against the background of a drawn-out Brexit, EU sentiments among citizens of the other 27 EU nations have polarized. While Britain's exit has emboldened some Eurosceptic campaigns, the expected surge in votes for Eurosceptic parties contrasts with a higher-than-ever approval rating for the EU. An estimated 61 percent of Europeans believe their country's membership of the EU is a good thing, and 68 percent said they believed their country has benefited from EU membership. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Private Legal Practitioner, Maurice Ampaw has disclosed that musicians Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale may face up to 3 years in jail if they are found guilty. He explained that they have been charged for misdemeanor which in law may warrant up to a 3 year jail term. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that both artistes have misconducted themselves and it is only appropriate for the law to take its course. There was near-pandemonium at this year's music awards after Stonebwoy had just been declared winner of the 2019 Reggae and Dancehall Artiste of the Year, and was on stage to receive his award. His presentation was rudely interrupted by Shatta Wale and his multitude of fans who decided to mount the stage with him in what some perceived to be in a confrontational manner leading to the scuffle. But for the intervention of the security at the auditorium who managed to quell the tension and bring the situation under control, the scuffle could have turned bloody. The VGMA Board's decision announced this morning at a press conference, also indicated that "the two top honours of the night, i.e Most Popular Song of the Year and Artiste of the Year, have for the 20th Edition of the VGMAs been annulled." Additionally, the board also "banned indefinetely from participating in the nominations, selections and performances at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards scheme".' Shatta Wale is facing a charge of offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace while Stonebwoy has been charged with offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace and display of a firearm in public without permission. The two were put before a court in Accra on Wednesday. The court presided over by Magistrate Isaac Addo granted the two bail at a cost of GHC50,000 with one surety each. Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Sri Lankan Police have identified all the nine suicide bombers who carried out attacks in several places across Sri Lanka on April 21 killing over 250 people and injuring over 500, the police media unit said here Wednesday. Police Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the identities of all the suicide bombers had been identified through DNA tests and these tests had proven that Mohamed Zahran, who was the leader of the radical National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ), was one of the bombers killed in the explosions. The NTJ has been blamed for the terror attacks which targeted three luxury hotels and three churches. Gunasekara said at least 89 suspects have been arrested over their alleged links to the attacks and the suspects were currently under the custody of the Criminal Investigations Department and the Terrorism Investigations Department. He added search operations were ongoing across the country to hunt for more suspects who would be linked to the explosions but assured that most of those involved had now been arrested. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Government's flagship programme, One District One Factory, has seen a major boost with the launch of an outgrower Scheme by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto on Monday, 20th May, 2019 at Nkronso in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The Scheme seeks to engage hundreds of outgrower Farmers to support the Factory. The Factory intends to process Avocado (pear) into oil for domestic and export consumption. The project is located at Nkronso in the Abuakwa South Municipality of Eastern Region. The Nurseries are located in Kwamoso, Obretima and their environs. The project, with full sponsorship from the Ghana EXIM Bank, will generate 3,000 direct and indirect jobs. The special guest of honour during the launch was His Royal Highness, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, Okyehene. Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Municipal Chief Imam for Konongo in the Asante Akim Central Municipality has described as very very historic, the visit of, and worshipping with Muslim faithful, by the Vice President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, to the Konongo Central Mosque. Speaking on behalf of Alhaji Mahamadou Mustapha, Mr Ade Adeoye, Secretary of the Council of Zongo Chiefs in the Asante Akim Central Municipality, said such a high calibre visit to Asante Akyem Zongo has not happened in over 100 years. Since the inception of this Zongo over hundred years ago, from Gold Coast days, through Kwame Nkrumahs time till date, we have never been visited by either a President or a Vice President. Some of us are third and fourth generation dwellers of Asante Akim Zongo, and we have never seen this before. This is very very historic. Mr Adeoye was speaking at Konongo when Vice President Bawumia joined Muslim faithful to pray at the Konongo Central Mosque on Wednesday, 23rd May 2019 as part of his nationwide Ramadan Tour. Earlier in the day, the Vice President had performed Zuhr prayers at the Ahmadiyya mosque at Asafo, Kumasi and performed Asr prayers at the Ejisu central mosque. Describing the Asante Akim Central Zongo as the second largest in the Ashanti region, Alhaji Mustapha expressed delight that their first high profile visitor was not an ordinary person, but a brother Muslim. What is even more remarkable about this visit is that the visitor is not just any person, but our brother in the faith who has come to visit us. We know that you have a busy schedule, but you still found time to come and visit us. We are so delighted and grateful for your visit Mr Adeoye stated. I know that in years to come, 15, 20 years from now, people will date events like birthdays to your visit, asking each other did it happen before or after Dr Bawumia visited us? Were you born at the time? How old were you? This is very historic, and we appreciate this visit. The Konongo Zongo Chief commended Vice President Bawumia for his constant push for Zongo youth to acquire knowledge, saying it was in line with the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)s admonition to all Muslims to seek knowledge wherever it might be. Alhaji Mustapha also had high praise for the Akufo-Addo governments initiatives to improve lives in Zongo communities across the country, noting that it was the first time programmes and policies such as the Zongo Development Fund had been specifically targeted at the Zongo community. On his part, Vice President Bawumia urged Muslim faithful to continue praying for the nation, especially in this holy month of Ramadan. I also want to urge you to continue living in peace with your brothers and sisters of other faiths, as we all work together to achieve the growth and prosperity we seek for Ghana he added. Vice President Bawumia was accompanied by the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon Elizabeth Agyemang; National Nasara Coordinator of the NPP, Alhaji Aziz Haruna Futa; MP for Asante-Akim Central, Hon Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi; MP for Offinso South Hon Ben Abdallah Banda; the Registrar of the Pharmacy Council, Pharm (Dr) Audu Rauf; and Mr Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Digital Centre; and officials of the Zongo Development Fund. The Vice President also paid courtesy calls on the Paramount Chief of Ejisu Traditional Area, Nana Afrane Okese IV, and the chief of Konongo, Nana Batafo Acheampong Nti. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe, a member of the legal team of Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Hon Mahama Ayariga, strongly believes the Special Prosecutor, "Martin Amidu is under severe pressure" from elements within the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to justify his appointment; hence the latter's resort to senseless and needless prosecutions. He accuses the Special Prosecutor of "not taking his time to legally conduct investigations" into matters brought before his attention for possible trial. First Case By OSP The Special Prosecutor has sued the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for using public office for private benefit. The former minister of state is accused of tax evasion in the clearance of three Toyota V8 vehicles. In the writ dated March 22, 2019, the Bawku Central MP faces four counts of fraudulent evasion of customs duties and taxes, using public office for private benefit, dealing in foreign exchange without licence and transfer of foreign exchange from Ghana through an unauthorised dealer. This is the first case the Office is pursuing in court since its formation more than a year ago. Joined to the suit is one Kendrick Akwasi Marfo of ATLAS-Rent-A-Car company, for purchasing the fraudulent vehicles from Mr Ayariga. Mr Marfo, 50, is also accused of deliberately evading tax in the purchase of the vehicles from the lawmaker. But speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia programme, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe was optimistic his client will triumph in the end. Though he refused to go into the merit of the case, he added that the Special Prosecutor may dent his image if he decides to work under pressure and the dictates of his bosses. "Martin Amidu has no case against Mahama Ayariga. How can a case which was filed on 28th March 2019 land in court now. It is just a cover to the mess that has been created in his office....The office of the Special Prosecutor is just a needless waste of the tax payer's monies," Lawyer Tamakloe said. More On The Writ According to the writ, "Mahama Ayariga aged 44 years in November 2017 at Tema in the Greater Accra Region did fraudulently evade customs duties and taxes by paying GH6,062.86 instead of the approved duties and taxes of GH36,597.15 to clear three Toyota V8 Land Cruisers. He is also accused of allegedly abusing his office as a public officer for his private benefit by selling three Toyota V8 Land Cruisers with registration numbers GR 2220-18, GR 2221-18 and GR 2222-18 meant to be used for your official duties as a Member of Parliament to Kendrick Akwasi Marfo of ATLAS-Rent-A-Car at a price of GH40,000 each. The Bawku Central MP is also among other things being accused by the Special Prosecutor of transferring foreign exchange from Ghana through an unauthorised dealer contrary to sections 15(3) and 29(1) of the Foreign Exchange Act 2006, Act 723. Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Do physicians properly advise women with dense breasts on cancer risk? New Rochelle, NY, May 15, 2019--A new study has shown that more than half of physicians - primary care doctors and specialists - may be unaware that dense breasts are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and nearly half reported not being aware of laws requiring physicians to inform women about mammography-related breast density risks and supplemental screening options. This timely and newsworthy study, which also compared the knowledge and practices of primary care physicians to specialists regarding breast density, is published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article on the Journal of Women's Health website through June 15, 2019. Jordonna Brown, MBBS, MPH and a team of researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY coauthored the article entitled "Physician Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Breast Density." They found that compared to specialists, primary care physicians (PCPs) were less aware of the increased risk of breast cancer risk for women with dense breasts or their state's breast cancer density laws. Breast density is both an independent risk factor for breast cancer and it can hide evidence of a breast tumor on routine mammographic screening. Most breast density laws refer patients to their PCPs to discuss their risks and options. Unfortunately, no established protocols are in place for screening women with dense breasts. Further complicating the issue, only some states mandate insurance coverage for supplemental breast imaging. "Brown and coauthors found that two-thirds of the physicians in their study felt the need for more education about breast density, with this being true of 85% of the PCPs in particular," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health. "This represents a tremendous educational opportunity and one that could benefit a large number of women who are told they have dense breast tissue and face increased breast cancer risk." ### Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1K07CA166462-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. About the Journal Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. Led by Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health, the Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research. About the Academy Academy of Women's Health is an interdisciplinary, international association of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who work across the broad field of women's health, providing its members with up-to-date advances and options in clinical care that will enable the best outcomes for their women patients. The Academy's focus includes the dissemination of translational research and evidence-based practices for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of women across the lifespan. About the Publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including LGBT Health, Transgender Health, Population Health Management, and Breastfeeding Medicine. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website. This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China's permanent representative to the United Nations on Tuesday called for adherence to a political settlement of the Libyan crisis and proper handling of sanctions against the country, Xinhua News Agency reported, as the top UN envoy for Libya warned that the Arab country is on the verge of civil war that could lead to permanent division. "There is a need to stick to a political solution. China has always believed that the Libyan issue must be settled through political means," Ma Zhaoxu told the Security Council. "We hope that parties to the conflict in Libya will put the interests of the country and the people first, respond to the calls of the international community for a cease-fire as soon as possible, ease the tensions and return to the path of settlement through peaceful dialogue and consultation." He added that the safety and security of civilians must be protected and the humanitarian situation in the country must be improved. While the sanctions on Libya should continue to be enforced, they must be properly handled so that they do not negatively impact civilians, the Chinese envoy said. The Chinese ambassador asked for synergy of international efforts toward a political settlement in Libya. The international community should respect Libya's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. The countries of influence should push for resolution of differences among the parties, help build trust and provide constructive assistance to the parties to achieve a cease-fire and return to political dialogue, he said. 510 deaths in weeks Since early April, rebel forces led by Khalifa Haftar have drawn closer to the capital of Tripoli. Weeks of fighting have killed 510 people and wounded 2,467, according to the latest toll from the World Health Organization. More than 75,000 people have fled their homes, according to the UN, while 100,000 are trapped by the conflict, Agence France-Presse reported. Terrorist activities are re-emerging. All these undermine Libya's political security and socio-economic stability and development, the Chinese ambassador said. The situation also has a spillover effect to the Sahel region and the Mediterranean coast, Ma warned. China is highly concerned about the developments in Libya. The international community should heighten its attention to Libya and work together to push for an early solution to the Libyan crisis, he said. China is willing to work with the international community to contribute to Libya's lasting peace and stability, he said. In his briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday, Ghassan Salame, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, said the country is on the verge of civil war. "Libya is on the verge of descending into a civil war, which could lead to the permanent division of the country. The damage already done will take years to mend, and that's only if the war is ended now," Salame said. "Forty-eight days into the attack on Tripoli by General Haftar's forces, there has already been too much death and destruction," he added, referring to the new offensive on the Libyan capital launched on April 4 by the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army led by Haftar. The Security Council failed last month to agree on a draft resolution demanding a cease-fire in Libya and a return to political talks to end the conflict, Associated Press reported. Member of Parliament [MP] for Subin constituency in the Ashanti Region, Eugene Boakye Antwi has cautioned members of the largest opposition party, NDC to talk in the interest of the nation than concentrating on the interest of their party to come back to power. The Deputy Minister for Works and Housing in a discussion on UTVs Adekye Nsroma political show became furious as to how Deputy Communications officer for the NDC, Kweku Boahen was addressing issues being discussed on the programme. He advised that they hold on to their propagandist speeches given them by their party leaders to be delivered on their campaign platforms, which will soon start because their line of addressing almost every issue is not of public consumption but for campaign platforms. . . Frankly, members of the NDC especially its communicators must reserve their coaching briefings for their campaign trips which will start soon, because every submission they make on public programmes do not match the topics given for discussion, he said. "Is like they [NDC communications] prepare their own questions and answers before coming on any show, and will never provide answers to the questions asked on the programme, he added. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu seems to have started work earnestly with some 26 lists of people on his radar. This list comprises of high profile personalities; past and present including former President John Dramani Mahama. Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has been charged for using public office for private benefit in a leaked charge sheet signed by the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Martin Amidu, on March 22, 2019. Per the document, he faces four counts of fraudulent evasion of customs duties and taxes, using public office for private benefit, dealing in foreign exchange without licence and transfer of foreign exchange from Ghana through an unauthorised dealer. This is the first case the Office is pursuing in court since its formation more than a year ago Speaking to this on UTV's Adekye Nsroma, Thursday, Kwaku Boahen, a Deputy Communications Director feels the man known as the Citizen's vigilante is doing the work of the Attorney General. Watch his submission below Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, is on fire as he takes his first victim on. After more than a year in office, the man known as the citizen vigilante is pursuing his first case in court. Per a leaked document from his office, Martin Amidu has sued the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga. Mahama Ayariga is facing four counts of fraudulent evasion of customs duties and taxes, using public office for private benefit, dealing in foreign exchange without licence and transfer of foreign exchange from Ghana through an unauthorised dealer. If you may recall, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were part of those complaining that Martin Amidu was keeping too long in discharging his duties. But Kwaku Boahen, a Deputy Communications Director feels the office of the Special Prosecutor should be dissolved. Watch the video below to know why he is saying that Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghanas Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, has revealed that her ministry will engage Ghanaian reggae dancehall artistes Livingstone Etse Satekla, known in showbiz as Stonebwoy; and his archrival Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr. Mrs Oteng-Gyasi revealed that her ministry will engage Ghanaian reggae dancehall Stonebwoy; and his archival Shatta Wale, to end the feud between them to prevent a deadly escalation. We are going to engage them together with MUSIGA to ensure that we resolve whatever underlying issue that is there so that we dont have an escalation going forward into the future, Mrs Oteng-Gyasi told Benjamin Akakpo on ClassFMs 91.3FM on Monday, 20 May 2019. Her comments were in reaction to the gun-related incident that took place at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs) held on Saturday, 18 May 2019. The 20th edition of the VGMAs nearly turned bloody when fans of Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale engaged in near-fisticuffs over an award. The confusion happened when Stonebwoy was announced as the Reggae Dancehall Artiste of the Year. Shatta Wale and his fans approached the podium to ostensibly congratulate Stonebwoy, but events turned chaotic resulting in a lot of pushing and shoving a situation that prompted Stonebwoy to pull out his pistol. The security officers at the event pepper-sprayed the stage in an attempt to prevent a full-blown fight. On the part of the ministry and the organisers, on hindsight, we should have engaged the two artistes prior to the event having witnessed what was going on in social media, the minister said in her interview with Benjamin Akakpo. She subsequently called on the fans of the two musicians to stop the social media war as that fuels the rivalry between the two artistes. Source: adomnews Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Peacefmonline.com can confirm that reggae dancehall artistes Livingstone Etse Satekla, known in showbiz as Stonebwoy, and his archrival Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr., aka Shatta Wale, have been stripped of the awards received at the 20th edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), by organisers of the event, Charterhouse. The two artistes have also been asked to "return all plaques in their possession to Charterhouse effective immediately." The claim by Shatta and Stonebwoy for dancehall supremacy in the country has festered on for years creating enmity between the two artistes and their followers. The rivalry between the two hit the roof in the wee hours of Sunday causing Stonebwoy to pull out a handgun on stage. There was near-pandemonium at this year's music awards after Stonebwoy had just been declared winner of the 2019 Reggae and Dancehall Artiste of the Year, and was on stage to receive his award. His presentation was rudely interrupted by Shatta Wale and his multitude of fans who decided to mount the stage with him in what some perceived to be in a confrontational manner leading to the scuffle. But for the intervention of the security at the auditorium who managed to quell the tension and bring the situation under control, the scuffle could have turned bloody. The VGMA Board's decision announced this morning at a press conference, also indicated that "the two top honours of the night, i.e Most Popular Song of the Year and Artiste of the Year, have for the 20th Edition of the VGMAs been annulled." Additionally, the board also "banned indefinetely from participating in the nominations, selections and performances at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards scheme".' 'I Will Not Be Part' Meanwhile, Shatta Wale whos currently in court over his fight with arch-rival Stonebwoy during the 20th anniversary of the VGMA took to his official Instagram page a few hours before the Charterhouse announcement, to opt out of future Ghana Music Awards. Upon sober reflections of events in recent times and having made broader consultations, I wish to announce that I will not be part of the Ghana Music Awards scheme going forward. God bless! Not Guilty...Granted Bail In a related development, Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale have pleaded not guilty to charges they are facing over their involvement in the disturbances. Shatta Wale is facing a charge of offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace while Stonebwoy has been charged with offensive conduct conducive to breach of peace and display of a firearm in public without permission. The two were put before a court in Accra on Wednesday. The court presided over by Magistrate Isaac Addo granted the two bail at a cost of GHC50,000 with one surety each. Lawyers Jerry Avenyor and Selali Wonya represented Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy respectively. The case has been adjourned to June 20, 2019. The two were cautioned to be of good behaviour while the case is ongoing. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Vice President Mike Pence attends a Charlotte Republican National Convention kickoff event in Monroe, N.C., Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Pence says Democrats in Congress needs to focus on passing trade agreements that help North Carolina workers, rather than extend unfounded investigations of President Donald Trump. Pence made the comments on Wednesday during his trip to the state. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Nova Institution for Women is seen in Truro, N.S. on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Three women who say they were sexually assault by a guard have launched a lawsuit against the federal correctional service.The alleged assaults are said to have happened at the Nova Institution for Women, located in Truro, N.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan People read books during the 2017 Beijing Book Fair at the old hall of China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Jingsheng) The mutual translation and publication of classics among Asian countries have promoted cultural exchanges in the region. To date, China has signed contracts with 18 Asian countries on the mutual translation project, including India and the United Arab Emirates. In recent years, China has been expanding book trade with other Asian countries. For example, in 2018 China imported copyrights of more than 1,800 books from other Asian countries and exported copyrights of more than 5,300 books. Under the mutual translation project, more than 70 books have been mutually translated and published so far, allowing people from different nations to understand each other better. Lin Fengmin, an expert in Arabic literature, explained that before the project, many Arabs were eager to learn more about China, but as the books were either translated from English or French or written by westerners, Arab people couldn't easily learn about Chinese life. The mutual translation project came just at the right time. So far, 23 Chinese books have been introduced to Arab countries, and the Chinese versions of 19 books from Arab countries have also been published in China. In 2007, the Arabic version of Decoded by Mai Jia was launched at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Many local readers and reporters attended the launch. Chinese readers welcome books from other Asian countries. A book by a Pakistani archaeologist about Buddhism scored 8.4 points on Douban, a Chinese social networking website. More Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore are expected to become the members of the program soon. You May Also Like If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Founder and CEO of Huawei Ren Zhengfei took part in a group interview on May 21 at the company headquarters in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. Ren Zhengfei (Photo/CCTV) It was Ren's first interview with domestic media after Washington placed the company and its affiliates on the "Entity List" which requires any US company to gain government approval before doing business with the Chinese tech company. During the interview, Ren responded to hot issues such as 5G, chips, and the current US ban on Huawei. The US Department of Commerce added Huawei and 70 affiliates to its so-called "Entity List" for national security reasons on May 15, and granted a 90-day temporary license, loosening restrictions on business deals with the Chinese tech giant. The following are extracts from the interview. (xinsheng.huawei.com) CCTV: Just now, another media representative took out a photo of a bullet-ridden aircraft. I was also given this same photo. I heard that you like this photo very much, the photo of the badly damaged fighter aircraft. Ren: I first saw this photo on wukong.com, feeling that the aircraft was quite like our company. So I sent it to my colleagues. The Carrier BG thought the aircraft in this photo is akin to its situation and started using it for communications. Later, we found that there were not many problems with the Carrier BG, since it has been getting fully prepared over these past 10-plus years. So our current situation is that we are repairing our "aircraft" during its flight so that it can make its way back home. CCTV: But this aircraft was able to fly back, because its vital parts, such as its fuel tanks and engines, were not damaged. Only the non-vital parts of its wings were damaged. But if its vital parts were attacked during a flight, how was it possible for it to make its way back? Ren: I want to tell you two stories about Germany and Japan during World War II. Germany refused to surrender, so its cities were flattened by air-strikes. Japan was also attacked by intensive bombardments. The US army threatened that if Japan did not give up, intense bombing would also flatten the country. At the end of the day, Japan decided upon a compromise, which was to announce the country's surrender but keep their Emperor. By the time the surrender came, the majority of Japan's industrial infrastructure was destroyed, but the country did not suffer the fate of being leveled like Germany. Back then, there was a famous slogan: "Even if everything else is lost, as long as people remain, they will revitalize the nation." The truth is, Germany was able to revitalize its economy and restore all its houses to the extent before the war in just a few years. The Japanese economy also recovered very quickly. This was attributable to their talent, education systems, and foundation. This is what matters most. So even if we lose everything else, we can't lose our talent. This includes their qualities, skills, and confidence. This is very important. CCTV: Yesterday (US time), the US issued a temporary license to Huawei. In other words, its restrictions on Huawei can be lifted in the following 90 days. What's your view on this license? What could you do in these 90 days? If the news is true and the US cancelled the imposed restrictions after 90 days, how would you comment on such a reversal? Ren: First of all, 90 days doesn't mean much to us, and we have prepared. To us, the most important thing is to do our job well. What the US will do is out of our control. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the US companies that we work with. Over these 30 years, they have helped us to grow into what we are today. They have made many contributions to us. As you know, most of the companies that provide consulting services to Huawei are based in the US, including dozens of companies like IBM and Accenture. Second, we also have been receiving support from a large number of US component and part manufacturers over all these years. In the face of the recent crisis, I can feel these companies' sense of justice and sympathy towards us. The US has added Huawei to the Entity List. That is to say if a US company wants to sell something to Huawei, it needs to obtain approval from the US government. The US is a country ruled by law. US companies must abide by the laws, and so must the real economy. So you guys from the media should not always blame US companies. Instead, you should speak for them. The blame should rest with some US politicians. US politicians might have underestimated our strengths. I don't want to say too much about this, because Ms. He Tingbo, President of HiSilicon, made all these issues very clear in her letter to employees. And all mainstream newspapers inside and outside of China have reported on this letter. You touched upon the damaged aircraft just now. We have some non-core products for which we haven't prepared "spare tires", or Plan Bs, so to speak. These products will be phased out sooner or later. So the US move will have some impact on these products. But in sectors where we have the most advanced technologies, at least in the 5G sector, there won't be much impact. Not just that, our competitors won't be able to catch up with us within two to three years. People's Daily: I want to ask a question about chips. I noticed that you said in an interview with Japanese media on May 18 that "Huawei does not need chips from the US. There is no problem with Huawei." Can I ask where your strengths come from and what you have done to prepare? Ren: First, we are always in need of US chips. Our US partners are fulfilling their responsibilities and asking for approval from Washington. If this approval is granted, we will still buy chips from these suppliers. We may even sell chips to US companies (to help the US make more advanced products). We won't exclude our US partners or seek to grow entirely on our own. Instead, we will grow together. Even if there is an insufficient supply from our partners, we will face no problems. This is because we can manufacture all the high-end chips we need ourselves. In the "peaceful period", we adopted a "1+1" policy half of our chips come from US companies and half from Huawei. Despite the much lower costs of our own chips, I would still buy higher-priced chips from the US. We cannot be isolated from the world. Instead, we should become part of it. Our close relationships with US companies are the result of several decades of effort on both sides. These relationships won't be destroyed by a piece of paper from the US government. As long as these companies can obtain approval from Washington, we will continue to buy in large volumes from them. It may be the case that they cannot obtain approval quickly. Once approval is granted, we will maintain our normal trade with these US companies and work together to build an information society for humanity. We don't want to work alone. Xinhua News Agency: You once said that Huawei wouldn't be working behind closed doors and would cooperate with others. Now you are saying that Huawei will be doing both things. Does this mean that US trade protectionism and the US ban on Huawei are essentially disrupting global supply chains and causing chaos in the market? What do you think are the focus areas of criticisms against Huawei? Why are they targeting Huawei? Ren: I don't know exactly what those US politicians are thinking. I think we should not be the target of US-led campaigns just because we are ahead of the US. 5G is not an atomic bomb; it's something that benefits society. In terms of network capacity, 5G is 20 times larger than 4G and 10,000 times larger than 2G. The power consumption per bit of our 5G base station is ten times lower than 4G, and the size is 70% smaller. Our 5G base station is very small indeed, about the same size as a briefcase. It's also light about 20 kilograms. You don't have to build a cell phone tower for 5G base stations, because they can be installed anywhere on poles or walls. They can work for decades because they are made of anti-corrosion materials. This means that our 5G equipment can be installed even in underground sewage systems. It is especially suitable for European markets, where there are many areas with historical buildings and it's impossible to build giant cell phone towers like those in China. Of course, the existing towers in China won't lay idle, because our 5G base stations can be installed on them too it's just that we don't need to build new towers. With our 5G base stations, our customers in Europe can reduce their engineering costs by 10,000 euros per site. They won't need to use cranes for installation, and they won't need to build cell phone towers. In the past, our customers had to use cranes to install huge pieces of base station equipment, and the surrounding roads had to be blocked off during the installation process. Now, they can easily install our 5G base stations by hand. It's super easy. The bandwidth of 5G is very high so high that it can support a huge amount of high-definition content and easily transmit 8K video. They're saying that 5G will reduce costs tenfold; in fact it's more like 100-fold. This means that ordinary people can watch high-definition TV programs, and they can learn a lot from these programs. To develop further, every country needs to rely on culture, philosophy, and education. These form the foundation of national development. Therefore, 5G will change our society for the better. Latency on 5G networks is extremely low, so 5G will be rapidly adopted in many industries for all sorts of purposes. While there might be "holes" in our aircraft wings, we will continue to focus on developing our core and to lead the world in these areas. The more advanced a product is, the more comprehensive its Plan B will be. Global Times: The letter from HiSilicon President has created a lot of excitement in the media. People in the chipset industry take an objective approach to the gaps between companies in China, the US, and other countries in terms of chips and other core components. What do you think is the position of Huawei's in-house products and R&D? The letter also gave an assurance that Huawei can ensure supply continuity. Is that assurance true? Ren: I think that if you feel worked up about something, you should start by taking a cold shower. In my opinion, what's most important is to be calm and level-headed. It's worth learning from US companies in terms of their depth and breadth in science and technology. We lag far behind in many aspects. Some small US companies are providing super advanced products. We have only focused on our business and become a leader, but we haven't attempted to compare ourselves to the US as a nation. On a business level, I think the gap is quite small between Huawei and certain US companies. On the national level, however, there are huge gaps between China and the US. The Paper: Records show that HiSilicon was established in 2004. After so many years of efforts, you can produce your own chips for many purposes. How did you or Huawei decide to make your own chips? Ms. He said that Huawei began planning for the most extreme conditions many years ago. How well can you serve customers if the US companies stop supplying chips to you? Ren: In early 2000, we decided to sell Huawei to a US company for about 10 billion US dollars. A contract was signed with this company, and all relevant procedures were completed. The deal was ready to be completed once it received the approval of the US company's Board of Directors. While we were waiting, the Board of Directors of the US company was reelected. Their new board chair was somewhat short-sighted and rejected the acquisition deal. After this deal failed, our senior executives were deciding whether to sell Huawei to someone else. All of our younger executives unanimously said no. I could not reject this, so I replied, "We will have to square off against the US when we reach the top. We need to get prepared." Since then, we have been considering the question of what happens when we meet the US at the top, and have begun to make preparations for this. That said, we will ultimately embrace each other because we want to work together with them to make contributions to society. Russian refinerys petition for bankruptcy to be heard in June flickr.com/StockMonkeys.com 10:08 23/05/2019 MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) Russias Tyumen Regional Commercial Court has scheduled the Antipinsky oil refinerys petition for its own bankruptcy for June 19, according to court records. The petition was filed on May 20, several weeks after the High Court of Justice in London granted a lawsuit by VTB Commodities Trading to freeze the refinerys assets worth 225 million euros. The ruling extended to the Antipinsky property in the Siberian city of Tyumen and petroleum reserves stored at the tanker Polar Rock in the northern port of Murmansk. Moreover, the defendant was prohibited from selling its vacuum gasoil without the sanction of VTB Commodities Trading before the case hearing. As part of this claim, the trading house filed an injunction application with the Commercial Court of Murmansk Region. However, the Russian court refused to seize oil products at the tanker Polar Rock worth 197.1 million euros upon the VTB Commodities Trading petition. Antipinsky is a private, not a state-run refinery which capacity exceeds 9 million tonnes per year. The refinery occupies its rightful place among the largest players of the Russian oil refining industry, forming the Urals and West-Siberian oil refinery market, and is known abroad, the companys official website says. Reportedly, in recent months the refinery has repeatedly halted its operations because of a cash crunch to pay for crude oil supplies. Moscow court rules to unfreeze Navalnys bank accounts RIA Novosti, Maxim Bogovid 13:53 23/05/2019 MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) Moscows Zamoskvoretsky District Court on Thursday granted Alexey Navalnys motion to remove the attachment of his bank accounts and valuable securities seized 5 years ago as part of the Yves Rocher embezzlement case, RAPSI reported from the courtroom. In February, the court received the petition to withdraw the asset seizure imposed by the Moscow Basmanny District Court on November 12, 2013. The hearings were repeatedly adjourned for various reasons. In December 2014, Navalny was given a 3.5-year suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case. His brother Oleg received a 3.5-year prison term. They were convicted of stealing nearly 30 million rubles (about $500,000 at the current exchange rate) from two companies, including Russian affiliate of Yves Rocher. In October 2017, the European Court of Human Rights held that there was violation of Article 6 (Right to a fair trial) and Article 7 (No punishment without law) of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) in this case. However, the ECHR refused to recognize criminal prosecution of the brothers as politically motivated by declaring their complaints under Article 18 in conjunction with Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention inadmissible. The court ordered Russia to pay 55,000 to Alexey Navalny in compensation. Oleg Navalny was awarded about 21,000 and 460,000 rubles. Both parties appealed the ECHR ruling. However, in March 2018, the court refused to send the case to the Grand Chamber for review. The Supreme Courts Presidium in April 2018 upheld the sentence given to the brothers. It should be noted that Navalny was many times held administratively liable for breaking the established order of conducting rallies and nine times fined for noncompliance with court rulings demanding him to withdraw inaccurate information. Defendants in Tatarstan mall fire case sentenced to long prison terms flickr.com/ Amanda Slater 15:32 23/05/2019 MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) A court in Russias Republic of Tatarstan has sentenced defendants in a criminal case over fire and collapse of the building of Admiral mall in Kazan resulted in the death of 19 people to prison terms ranging from 4.5 to 13 years, according to the Investigative Committees press service. Director of the malls tenant Hussein Gakhramanov has received 13 years in prison. His deputies Gyulhussein Nadzhafov and Nikolay Kayekin have been sentenced to 9.5 and 7 years behind bars respectively. CEO of the Investment construction company and AS Management managing company Robert Hayrullin has been given 9.5 years with other several defendants have got prison terms varying from 4.5 to 7 years. Depending of their roles they have been found guilty of execution of works nonconforming to safety requirements, violation of safety rules, abuse of power, negligence or forgery by an official. According to case papers, on March 11, 2015, the fire occurred in Kazans mall Admiral and the malls building collapsed. As a result, 19 people died, 61 sustained injuries. Over 600 individuals were inflicted physical damage. Investigators claim that the building was unappropriated for its use as a mall. However, it has been exploited without specific permission, with serious violations of fire safety rules for a long time. In total, 703 persons including those dead were recognized as victims in the case. Over 600 of them filed property damages lawsuits totaling to 11.27 billion rubles (about $175 million), according to investigators. Russian MPs ratify protocol to convention on mutual aid in criminal matters RIA Novosti, Sergey Kuznetsov 16:44 23/05/2019 MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) The lower house of Russian parliament has ratified the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. The corresponding bill was submitted to the State Duma by President Vladimir Putin in April. Russia signed the Protocol in Strasbourg on December 1, 2017. The document is aimed to make the cooperation mechanisms under the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters more effective in particular by expanding the range of circumstances giving grounds for mutual legal assistance, streamlining, acceleration and making the procedure of such aid more flexible in criminal cases, according to an explanatory note to the bill. However, Russia reserves the right not to accept Articles 16, 17 and 19 of the Protocol as national legislation does not envisage mailing litigation documents and judgements to individuals located abroad and conducting law enforcement intelligence operations (undercover investigation) by foreign officers in Russia. Moreover, the Russian Federation can apply provisions of the Protocols Articles 18 and 20 concerning controlled extraditions of defendants to other countries. The Russian Justice Ministry would be a competent body for these matters. Russian antimonopoly watchdog finds Google guilty of advertising casino flickr.com/mjmonty 18:06 23/05/2019 MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) The Moscow directorate of Russias Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) found Google LLC guilty of advertising a gambling house in Google AdWords, according to a statement released by the watchdog on Thursday. The ads called for online gambling with certain conditions, the statement reads. Gambling, including online casinos, as well as their advertisement are prohibited in Russia, the FAS noted. The company could face a fine of up to 500,000 rubles (about $8,000). The gambling business has been banned in Russia except for four designated areas, near Vladivostok, in the Altai Territory, in Kaliningrad and on the Azov Sea Black Sea shore of the Caucasus. In July 2014, Putin signed a bill on creating gambling areas in the republic of Crimea that joined Russia, and Kuban. In 2018, Russian communications agency Roskomnadzor restricted access to 200 unauthorized websites containing illegal advertisement of online casino and bookmaker's offices. According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), a new legal document aims to limit loans for the high-end real estate segment to ensure the sustainable development of the market and safety of the banking sector. In a statement, the bank said, The SBV will continue to control all loans for individuals especially in the high-end segment of accommodation. The draft circular, however, has caused a shock to the whole market. It sets limits and a safety ratio for bank operations to apply a credit risk ratio of 150 per cent as from January 1, 2020 for any home purchasing loan worth more than VND3 billion ($130,430), three times higher than the current ratio of 50 per cent. According to many experts, that increase of credit tightening for homes could undermine the real estate market. Banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said that this limit would have a very big impact on the market. If this draft circular is put into force, homebuyers will have to burden a very high interest from banks for their loans. This can have negative impacts on borrowers and it also decreases the liquidity of the entire market, said Hieu. Loans for buying homes now are mostly for the mid- and long-term, from five to 15 years. At some banks. the period can be as long as 20 years, Hieu continued. Therefore this credit squeezing will force bankers to increase long-term credit to restructure their capital resources. In fact, to minimise their risk, lenders will mostly have short-term credit at the banks. And, in a circular fashion, to attract long-term loans, banks will have to increase their saving interest and the loan interest therefore also must be increased. Considering the long-term According to Nguyen Van Dinh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association for Realtors, tightened credit in any segment would also impact the investment and transactions of the market. If this is long-lasting, it will impact the high-end segment at a time when Vietnam is on its way to making the infrastructure system more complete in both modern urban and residential areas, Dinh said. Therefore, the tightening for the high-end segment should be in the short-term only, in an aim to avoid negative impacts on the market, especially in cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. A real estate developer who declined to be named told VIR that, with high-end apartment units starting from VND3 billion ($130,430) and villas being priced from VND7 billion ($304,350), the majority of buyers are using loans from banks, especially investors who buy the property and then re-sell it for profit or set up for lease. This developer said that instead of limiting credit for buyers, banks should review all current loans for developers and wipe out discredit and incapable ones to avoid incoming credit risks. Former Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam agreed that credit limitation should not be applied at this moment. The limit for loans worth more than VND3 billion ($130,430) is not reasonable, because only wealthy people can afford them and people should not be limited because they are incapable in paying loans, Nam said. Instead of limiting credit in homes, Nam said, the SBV should limit loans on land purchasing, since in most cases people are buying land plots and keep it for price hikes. Therefore, they bear much risk if their land cannot be sold and they would not be able to pay loans to the banks. The solution to market control Despite facing opposition on the drafts details, banking experts also said that under the view of controlling the market, credit tightening is a must-need solution. According to economist Vo Tri Thanh, if the limit is put into force, developers may be faced with obstacles in the short-term. However, businesses could be better off over time. We should not soon conclude that credit tightening into real estate would make only a negative impact yet. We must have close control on the market to avoid bubbling in the real estate market which will have a domino effect into the whole economy, Thanh said. This tightening may have temporary impacts to real estate developers but it will make the market more stable and healthy in the long-term. Nguyen Manh Ha, vice chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said that the credit squeeze on the high-end segment was significant because experience from previous crises in real estate shows that the high-end segment would be the most impacted. Large units with high prices must be controlled because these are the foremost segments to be impacted when the market experience any turbulence, Ha said. Elsewhere, Nguyen Manh Khoi, deputy director of the Ministry of Constructions Department for Housing and Property Market Management, said that the draft circular is expected to have positive impacts on the market, but it needs some time to prove the effects. The central banks tightening of credit for real estate will also be a chance for businesses to restructure their investment strategies and financial resources from other channels such as international partners or from issuing bonds or stakes in the security market, not to be too dependent on bankers, Khoi said. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. *Year in, year out, the media continue to highlight the same sad story of Malaysian badminton. And for 2021, it is no different.* The above was the first... 3 days ago The Vietnamese PM and his entourage were welcomed at the airport by the Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov, the deputy governor of St Petersburg, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh and many Russian and Vietnamese officials. St Petersburg is the first stop during PM Phucs trip to Russia. During the stay in the second biggest city of Russia, Phuc is scheduled to meet with leaders of St Petersburg. PM Phucs visit to Russia from May 20-23 takes place in the context that both nations will organise the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam in 2019 and 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on basic principles for the bilateral relations (1994-2019) and the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations (1950-2020). It also demonstrates that Vietnam treasures the relations of traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, as well as aims to strengthen the all-round cooperation, especially in economy, trade and investment. Russia is one of the first nations to recognise and establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 30, 1950, which has laid the foundation for the close friendship and comprehensive ties between the two countries. Following efforts to develop the bilateral relations in the 1990s, the countries set up their strategic partnership in 2001, and upgraded the ties to the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012. Source: VNA Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led the BJP to a stunning and historic victory in the Lok Sabha battle, with the ruling party itself set to win 303 seats in a marked improvement over its 2014 showing that left the opposition dazed and demoralized. The BJP-led NDA is poised to get 348 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats where polling took place in a seven-phase election. The development sent the Sensex breaching the 40,000-mark as India Inc celebrated. Late night Election Commission figures showed that the BJP had won 251 seats and was leading in 51. The Congress won 40 and was leading in 12, while Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has won 15 and was leading in seven. Congress' ally DMK has won 16 seats and was leading in seven. A large number of BJP's alliance partners appeared to put up a good show with JD(U) having already won 16 seats and leading in one, all in Bihar. The Shiv Sena won 10 seats and was leading in 8, all in Maharashtra. Modi came to the BJP headquarters in the evening to celebrate the party's victory with the workers and sought to brush aside the bitterness of the poll campaign, saying "who said what during the campaign is past for me", and that "we have to look to the future." Accepting the mandate with humility, Modi promised that he will not work with "ill intentions." "The people have filled the bag of this ascetic. I bow my head to 130 crore people of the country," he said, adding he will take his critics along with humility as the Constitution is supreme. The Prime Minister also said that the importance of the booth-level party workers has been understood by all the parties. He said the mandate won by the BJP-led coalition was the biggest development in the democratic world and reflected the strength of democracy. The BJP routed the Congress, which could barely improve beyond its 2014 tally of 44 seats. Party chief Rahul Gandhi suffered a shock defeat in Amethi, but won from Wayanad in Kerala. Nine of party's former chief ministers lost or were on the verge of losing. Gandhi accepted responsibility for the party's defeat and congratulated Modi and the BJP. "India wins yet again!" Modi said in his tweet soon after it became clear that BJP would get a majority on its own. Congratulations poured in for Modi, who was re-elected by over 4.75 lakh votes from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. BJP President Amit Shah also won with an equally thumping margin from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Shah, who also addressed the function at BJP headquarters, described Modi as the world's "most popular" leader and credited him for party's spectacular victory in Lok Sabha polls. Hitting out at opposition, he said the 2019 mandate has buried the politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement and is "a victory of nationalism". "Modiji is the 'mahanayak' of the BJP's grand victory. BJP's victory is most historical after Independencei," Shah said amid chants of "Modi-Modi" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". He said the BJP was fighting for 50 per cent votes and today the party has garnered over 50 per cent vote share in 17 states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept state after state, including those ruled by the Congress. Its most spectacular results came in Uttar Pradesh where it was set to win 60 of the 80 seats, puncturing the SP-BSP alliance, while making major inroads in West Bengal by taking the victory lap in an unprecedented 18 of the 42 seats. In repeat of 2014, the saffron party was set to bag all 26 seats in Modi's home state Gujarat. It won all seven in Delhi, all five in Uttarakhand, all four in Himachal Pradesh and 25 in Rajasthan. The party won both seats in Tripura as well as Arunachal Pradesh and the single seats of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Manipur. In Madhya Pradesh, it improved its 2014 tally and is poised to win 28 out of 29 seats. It also improved its 2014 tally in Karanataka winning 25 out 28 seats and in Bihar where it won 39 out of 40 in Bihar in alliance with the JD-U and LJP. Congress had formed governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after assembly polls last year and was stunned by the results. In Maharashtra, the BJP is poised to win 41 out of 48 in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena, 11 out of 14 in Jharkhand and 9 out of 14 in Assam. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who had planned a meeting of opposition parties here on Thursday in the hope of dislodging Modi, was the sole Congress winner for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh (Rae Bareli). The SP-BSP alliance, which was confident of tripping the BJP's road to victory, suffered a blow in the country's politically most critical state. The BSP was poised to win just 10 seats and the Samajwadi Party 6 as their caste formula got drowned by Modi's election campaigning based mainly on aggressive nationalism. The BJP's years of efforts in West Bengal finally bore fruits as its candidates were set to emerge victorious in 18 places, washing out the once formidable Left and leaving the Congress punctured. The BJP won only two seats in 2014. The Congress had something to cheer in Punjab, where it was set to win 8 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats, and Kerala, where it decimated the Left by winning 15 seats on its own while four seats went to its allies. The DMK-led alliance made a clean sweep of Tamil Nadu and was set to take 36 of the 38 seats, leaving only 2 to the ruling AIADMK. The Congress, a DMK ally, won 8 seats. Just Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu accounted for 31 of the Congress party's expected 52 Lok Sabha seats. In many states, the Congress failed to open its account or won just one seat. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was poised to win 13 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and also the Assembly elections. The YSR Congress Party stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh, dislodging the TDP, and was poised to bag 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. The TRS performed relatively poorly in Telangana, with victory sighted in 9 of the 17 seats. While former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference was set to win in Srinagar, PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti conceded defeat in Anantnag, once her stronghold. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters exercised their franchise in the seven-phase elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. Election in Vellore in Tamil Nadu was countermanded by the Election Commission. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of SCO meeting here on Wednesday and were seated next to each other during an interaction with Kyrgyz President amid strain in ties between the two countries following the Pulwama terror attack . MEA sources said that there was no meeting and only exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders. Both the leaders attended the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). Pakistan media outlet the Dawn, however, said that Qureshi and Swaraj held "an informal dialogue" on the sidelines of ASCO meeting. "Today [I] met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Foreign Office, according to the Dawn. "We made it clear to her that we want all the matters resolved through dialogue, and that Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward. Even today we are ready for a dialogue," he was quoted as saying. Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the Pulwama terror attack in February in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had taken responsibility for the attack. India had later carried out air strikes at a terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan. The exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders took place at a time when India is awaiting results of its general elections. Both countries are expected to look for a thaw in bilateral relationship after a new government assumes office in Delhi. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Anti-infective agents are drugs used for the purpose of killing and/or suppressing the infection causing organisms from invading the host by means of its replication or releasing variety of toxins into the host. Infection causing micro-organisms include bacteria, viruses, fungi, viroids, and macro parasites. Infections thus caused can be classified depending on type of organism causing the infection and symptoms and medical signs shown by the host. View Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/anti-infectives-market.html The anti-infective market has been continuously expanding and the pharmaceutical sector generates higher profit margin than any other sector globally. Rise in the number of hospitals and primary care clinics also boosts the demand for anti-infective drugs. Currently, antimicrobial resistance is a major risk factor to the industry and as per the World Health Organization (WHO) last year, 480,000 people develop multi-drug resistance against tuberculosis drugs every year. Similarly, Staphylococcus aureus produces methicillin resistance in various region of the world. This is of paramount concern to the anti-infectives market at the present. Key drivers of the anti-infective market include increase in the number of patients, new drug introductions, and significant number of vaccines gaining approvals. Rise in resistance of infection causing organisms to the existing drug therapies is anticipated to pose a major challenge to the anti-infective market. Furthermore, high price of drugs, dicey reimbursement policies, and competition between generic manufacturers are expected to hinder the growth of the anti-infective market. The anti-infective market is highly fragmented due to the presence of a large number of domestic and international players. The focus of developing anti-infective agents has shifted to antiviral agents due to requirement of longer treatment regimens in a large number of patients with chronic indications as compared to antibacterial and antifungal agents requiring shorter treatments. Request a Brochure of the Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1323 The global anti-infective market can be classified, based on product type, as antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterials. The antibacterials segment can be further divided into macrolides, cephalosporins, carbopenems, penicillins, quinolones, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, and others. Antibacterials is a high revenue generating segment as compared to the other segments due to the high prescription rates of the antibacterial products. The antifungals segment includes azoles, echinocandins, and polyenes. Geographically, the anti-infective market can be bifurcated into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Each geographical market is sub-divided into specific countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, the U.K., Brazil, India, Japan, and GCC countries. North America is the dominating region in the anti-infective market due to the well-spread awareness of anti-infectives among end-users such as health care professionals and clinicians and the presence of developed health care infrastructure in the region. These factors are estimated to drive the anti-infective market in the region during the forecast period. Europe is the next leading region in the anti-infective market. Asia Pacific accounted to be the most prominent region for anti-infectives over the forecast period. India is expected to exhibit high growth potential in terms of demand for anti-infectives due to the presence of a large patient pool, governmental initiatives in undertaking various control programs, and rise in cost containment initiatives by drug manufacturers. Request TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=1323 Key players contributing to the growth of the anti-infective market include Abbott Laboratories Limited, Cipla Ltd., Claris Life Sciences Ltd., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Lupin Ltd., Panacea Biotech Ltd., Novartis AG, Pfizer Ltd., Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. In order to gain competitive advantage in the market, the key players are actively involved in various growth strategies such as agreements, partnerships and collaborations, and new product development. About Transparency Market Research Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge. Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMR's syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement. Contact Us Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Rockville Pike, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Increasing cognizance of infections acquired in hospitals in parallel to the rising cases of surgical-site infections (SSI) is considered significant driver underpinning the growth of the global antiseptic bathing market. According to a recent report published by Fact.MR, the global antiseptic bathing market is projected to surpass a value of US$ 549.3 Mn and a promising CAGR of 2.9% by the end of 2026. Get Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=3063 There has been a substantial increase in the recommendation of regulatory bodies and healthcare authorities for the utilization of antiseptic bathing products for preoperative skin cleansing. For instance, the regulatory authorities such as Care Bundles and Royal College of Surgeons suggest the utilization of soap for skin cleansing prior to any surgery. In addition to this, the USA Institute of Healthcare Improvement approves of the Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) soap specifically for the preoperative skin cleansing practices. Increasing rate of geriatric population and the pervasiveness of diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, dementia, and osteoporosis is anticipated to increase the number of hospitalizations and trigger the growth of the antiseptic bathing market. In addition to this, prolonged period of hospital stay, recurrent surgeries, and readmissions of the patients is driving the demand for antiseptic bathing at the forefront. As a result, the global antiseptic bathing market is expected to grow at an accelerated pace through the forecast period. CHG Solution to Hold About 58.4% Share in the Global Antiseptic Bathing Market According to the report, the global antiseptic bathing market has been classified into Antiseptic Shampoo Caps, Antiseptic Bathing Solution, Antiseptic Wipes, CHG Solution, and CHG Bath Towels based on the product types. On the whole, CHG Solution is envisaged to be the fastest growing segment in the consolidated antiseptic bathing market with a share of 58.4%, owing to numerous growth drivers. Proliferated adoption of CHG has been witnessed among the hospitals, on the back of its convenience of use. The CHG solution impregnated into the cloths, bath towels, sponges, and cloths can be used without soaking them into water, thereby, turning into a designated solution especially for the bedridden patients. Extensive utilization of CHG solution has been witnessed in the developed countries, owing to its expensiveness and high per bath cost. However, this high cost has a positive impact on the overall valuation of the global antiseptic bathing market. Browse Complete Market Report with TOC Here @ https://www.factmr.com/report/3063/antiseptic-bathing-market Asia Pacific Remains a Lucrative Region for the Growth of the Antiseptic Bathing Market Asia Pacific remains the most lucrative geography for the expansion of the antiseptic bathing market, which is significantly propelled by the growing number of geriatric population in parallel to the increasing disposable income of the individuals in this region. As a result, demand for quality healthcare procedures has been prevalent in APAC region resulting in the growth of the antiseptic bathing market. Among the other countries of APAC, China is anticipated to maintain a lucrative position for the antiseptic bathing market as a large number of hospitals are concentrated in this region with over 500 beds each. In addition to this, protocols and practices to prevent infections acquired in hospitals have created an imperative demand for antiseptic bathing procedures, which in turn, influences the growth of the antiseptic bathing market. A Look at the Competitive Landscape of the Global Antiseptic Bathing Market According to the report on the antiseptic bathing market, the competitors transforming existing landscape of antiseptic bathing market are Ecolab Inc., Reyanard Health Supplies, 3M Co., Becton, Clorox Company, Dickinson and Company, Air Liquide, Medline Industries, Molnlycke Health Care AB, Stryker Corporation, Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria, HiCare Health, P&G, Deko Industries Limited, and Tropical Naturals Limited, among others. The leading manufacturers of the antiseptic bathing market have been devising sustainable business strategies to pave the way for their business expansion. Furthermore, they have been entering into strategic mergers and acquisitions to team up with local players and procure a significant amount of market share. For any query, connect with an Analyst @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=3063 About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Blog: https://factmrblog.com/ Read Industry News at - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Bioinformatics Services Market Introduction Bioinformatics is the field mainly involving molecular biology, genetics, mathematics, statistics, and computer science. The bioinformatics services include analysis of the data that can range from processing sequencing reads from instrument to data aggregation and mining data samples. Bioinformatics services can help biologists to understand the biological process with a computational intensive technique for machine learning algorithms, pattern recognition, data mining and visualization. Get Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=4836 Bioinformatics tools can help to compare genomic and genetic data and understand evolutionary aspects of molecular biology. Bioinformatics services are finding wide application in chemoinformatics, genomics, metabolomics, RNA-seq analysis, and drug design. The database is an important part for bioinformatics research and application to cover various information types including molecular structure, protein and DNA sequences, and phenotypes in bioinformatics services. Bioinformatics Services Market: Notable Highlights Thermo Fisher Scientific has decided to stop selling its genetic sequencing equipment in Xinjiang, China as it may be used to create DNA database of Uighur minority in the Country. Meanwhile, Thermo Fisher Scientific recently signed an agreement to sell its Anatomical Pathology business to PHC Holdings. In 2018, CD Genomics launched premier RNA-seq services for accurate and cost-efficient gene profiling. It will also enable the discovery of new gene structures. NRGene along with Macrogen Corp. launched ArrayMAGIC, a sequencing based genotype service. It provides ultra-high density SNP genotyping, while offering cost-effective and convenient genotyping. Macrogen's NGS labs in Korea has officially received Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) accreditation. The company is the first one to receive CLIA accreditation in Korea. QIAGEN has entered into a partnership with Ares Genetics to develop new bioinformatics and assay solutions in order to support research targeting various global health challenges by antibiotic resistant pathogens. MedGenome has taken over the Center for Genetic Health Care (CGHC) in Mumbai, India. It will be called as MedGenome-CGHC and will have team of experienced scientists, medical geneticists and bioinformatics. Some of the leading players operating in the bioinformatics services market are CD Genomics, Illumina, NeoGenomics, Thermo Fisher Scientific, PerkinElmer, BGI, Microsynth, QIAGEN, BaseClear, Fios Genomics, MedGenome, GENEWIZ, and Macrogen. Request TOC of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=4836 Bioinformatics Services Market Dynamics Bioinformatics Services Finding Wide Application in Personalized Medicine Discovery With the increasing prevalence of various diseases, new treatments and drugs are being discovered and developed. Extensive molecular biological data on patients is being included on a large scale in diagnosis and treatment. Bioinformatics services is fundamental to precision medicine as developing personalized medicine depends on accessing genetic and molecular data. In recent years, the majority of the molecularly targeted drugs have been developed based on the detected gene mutation. Next-gen sequencing in bioinformatics services is emerging as an important tool in genomic analysis and developing personalized medicine. Next-gen sequencing along with microarrays in bioinformatics services have also paved the way for precision medicine in oncology. Meanwhile, increasing availability and decreasing the cost of next-gen sequencing is allowing worldwide cancer centers to offer next-gen sequencing based personalized oncology for clinical practice while suggesting specific medicine and treatment. Increasing Initiatives by Governments and Private Organizations in Bioinformatics Services With increasing application of new technologies in life science, governments and organizations across various countries are investing in the new technologies and in research and development activities in bioinformatics services. According to the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), around 60 million genomes are likely to be sequenced by 2025. Moreover, with the presence of national clinical genomic initiatives worldwide, the generation of genomic data in healthcare is expected to outpace that in research in the coming years. Governments across countries are increasingly investing in the biotechnology and bioinformatics services to effectively implement new technologies and support genomic and epidemiological research. Countries such as the US, UK, Australia, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Denmark are developing new strategies for projects focusing on cancer and rare diseases, along with the use of sequencing services and genomic data. New research activities are also being conducted for application of bioinformatics services in biodefense. The Mid-Atlantic Microbiome Meet-up (M3) is focusing on the use of next-generation sequencing technologies and recent advances in biodefense, especially related to infectious diseases, and also using metagenomic methods for detection. Shortage of Skilled Workforce and High Cost Hampering the Bioinformatics Services Market Growth Although bioinformatics services is emerging as an important part of research in life science, lack of skills and knowledge in bioinformatics is hindering its growth. With the technological and process advancements in biotechnology, it has become imperative that bioinformatics techniques are performed by skilled personnel. However, the need for heavy investment in tool upgradation and installation training is impeding the growth of bioinformatics services. Owing to this there is a lack of skilled manpower in bioinformatics services who can adapt to the high-end bioinformatics techniques and processes. Moreover, the lack of skilled professionals in bioinformatics services is also hampering the growth of clinical laboratories as they are focusing to automate processes. However, in recent years, governments along with healthcare institutions are focusing on strategies to provide new courses in bioinformatics as it holds a big promise in solving many health related and environmental issues. Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/bioinformatics-services-market Bioinformatics Services Market Segmentation Based on the type, the bioinformatics services market is segmented into Data Analysis Services Sequencing Services Database and Management Services Drug Discovery Services Gene Expression Analysis Services Others On the basis of application, the bioinformatics services market segment includes Chemoinformatics and Drug Design Transcriptomics Genomics Proteomics Metabolomics Others Based on the specialty, the bioinformatics services market is segmented into Animal Biotechnology Environmental Biotechnology Medical Biotechnology Forensic Biotechnology Plant Biotechnology Based on the end-user, the bioinformatics services market segment includes Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies Academic Institutes & Research Centers Hospitals & Clinics Others Selbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Growing conflicts and frictions in regions such as the Asian, Middle East, Sub-Saharan region, Russia, and other nations has translated to a sharp rise in the incidents related to terrorism, piracy, arms smuggling, exploitation, drugs and human trafficking as well as other illegal practices that poses a serious threat to life and affects the defense personnel. The growing incidence of such activities are increasing the demand for adequate security procedures. Such trends are further anticipated to bolster the Body Armor Market growth during the forecast period. Request a sample of this premium report at: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/1695199/?utm_source=Releasewire.com-AN Currently, the overall Body Armor market is dominated by North America and Europe Region. This is attributed to the ongoing soldier modernization programs executed across countries in these regions. Soldier safety is the top most priority of the defense agency, hence they certainly are not expected to compromise on their soldier?s safety. Besides this, law enforcement officials constantly need to enhance their safety due to rising instances of violence and riots across several countries. Moreover, the rising threat of terrorism has also propelled the demand of body armors and these regions are expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. The Body Armor Market in Asia Pacific, MEA, and South America region are expected to notice a high growth during the forecast period. The growth in Asia Pacific Body Armor Market is attributed to the increasing government spending in new technology adoption in the defense sector. Thus, the region is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The Global Body Armor market is anticipated to reach USD 4.83 billion by 2026 according to a new study. The rising concerns of defense and security industry towards military personnel safety and survivability is propelling the need for body armors. Several developed as well as developing nations are executing modernization program for military and security personnel and are mainly focused towards offering the finest protection products. Thus, defense department of these nations are spending huge amount in providing body armor for their defense troops. Developed nations such as the U.S., UK, Russia, and France are taking several initiatives to replace their traditional armor system with new advanced technology is manufacturing body armor. Lightweight and flexible armor with the usage of nanotechnology materials and fibers is the recent trend prevailing in this market, which will positively favor the industry growth in near future. Besides this, cutting-edge technologies such as liquid body armor and dragon skin are significantly adding value to the defense and security industry. Request Enquiry before Buying on standard prices of this premium report at: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/enquiry-before-buying/1695199/?utm_source=Releasewire.com-AN Some of the key players: BAE Systems, Inc., Honeywell International Inc., U.S. Armor Corporation, DuPont Deenside Ltd., Blank Enterprises, Inc., Sarkar Defense Solutions, MKU Pvt. Ltd., Safariland, LLC, Uvex group, Avon Protection Systems, Inc., and Ceredyne (3M) among others. Table of Contents: Table of Contents 1. Overview and Scope 1.1. Research goal & scope 1.1.1. Research assumptions 1.1.2. Research Methodology 1.1.2.1. Primary data sources 1.1.2.2. Secondary data sources 1.2. Key take-aways 1.3. Stakeholders 2. Executive Summary 2.1. Market Definition 2.2. Market Segmentation 3. Body Armor Market Insights 3.1. Body Armor ? Industry snapshot 3.2. Body Armor - Ecosystem analysis 3.3. Body Armor market dynamics 3.3.1. Body Armor ? Market Forces 3.3.1.1. Body Armor Market driver analysis 3.3.1.2. Body Armor Market restraint/challenges analysis 3.3.1.3. Body Armor Market opportunity analysis 3.4. Industry analysis - Porter's five force 3.4.1. Bargaining power of supplier 3.4.2. Bargaining power of buyer 3.4.3. Threat of substitute 3.4.4. Threat of new entrant 3.4.5. Degree of competition 3.5. Body Armor market PEST analysis, 2017 3.6. Value Chain Analysis 3.7. Body Armor Industry trends 3.8. Competitive Ranking Analysis 4. Body Armor Market Size and Forecast by Material 4.1. Key findings 4.2. Metals & Alloys 4.3. Composite 4.4. Fibers 4.5. Fiberglass 4.6. Others 5. Body Armor Market Size and Forecast by Application 5.1. Key findings 5.2. Defense & Security 5.3. Civil 5.4. Law Enforcement Officers 6. Body Armor Market Size and Forecast by Regions 6.1. Key findings 6.2. North America 6.2.1. US. 6.2.2. Canada 6.3. Europe 6.3.1. Germany 6.3.2. UK 6.3.3. France 6.3.4. Italy 6.4. Asia Pacific 6.4.1. China 6.4.2. South Korea 6.4.3. Japan 6.4.4. India 6.5. Latin America 6.5.1. Brazil 6.5.2. Mexico 6.6. Middle East & Africa 7. Company Profiles 7.1. S. Armor Corporation 7.1.1. Overview 7.1.2. Financials 7.1.3. Product Benchmarking 7.1.4. Recent Developments 7.2. Honeywell International Inc. 7.2.1. Overview 7.2.2. Financials 7.2.3. Product Benchmarking 7.2.4. Recent Developments About Market Study Report Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management. Contact Us: Market Study Report LLC 4 North Main Street, Selbyville, Delaware 19975 USA Phone: 1-302-273-0910 US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150 Email: sales@marketstudyreport.com San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Global Coated Fabrics Market: Overview Coated fabrics are composite materials prepared by spreading bonding agents on one or both sides of the fabric and coating it with rubber compounds as per the requirement of the final end-use application. The final product is not only flexible, strong, heat resistant, and washable, they can also be electrically conductive or insulating as per desire. In the automotive industry, coated fabrics are used to manufacture air bags and seat covers. As the automotive industry touches new peaks in the near future, owing to rising population across the world, the demand for coated fabrics is anticipated to increment at a rapid rate during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025. Request Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1598 Global Coated Fabrics Market: Key Trends Apart from being utterly useful for the thriving automotive industry, coated fabrics are also used to make protective clothing for labors, which extends the horizon of its demand into several other flourishing industries. Strict government regulations such as European Union's Directive 89/686/EEC and Australia's Model Work Health and Safety Act are urging industries towards industrial protective clothing adoption. Food and beverage, chemical processing, agriculture, and law enforcement are some of the most prominent end-use industries for coated fabrics, after automotive. Conversely, this industry is facing stiff challenge from alternative materials including leather, plastic, uncoated fabrics, and rubber sheeting, which will hinder the growth rate to a certain extend during the forecast period. In terms of products, the global coated fabrics market can be segmented into polymer, rubber, and fabric-backed wall coverings. Out of these, polymer coated fabrics serve maximum demand as it is relatively inexpensive as compared to other fabrics and offer desirable resistance to water, abrasion, and fire. As the regulations for safety spreads into several other emerging economies, the global polymer coated fabrics market is expected to flourish. Global Coated Fabrics Market: Market Potential With technological advancements, the application of coated fabrics now extends to defense, marine, and aviation industries. Herein, coated fabrics are now extensively used for their attributes of barrier protection, air retention, abrasion resistance, and high strength to weight ratio. This factor will open new opportunities for the players in the global coated fabrics market. Moreover, consistent research and development in the field is sure to extend the application of coated fibrics into other fields and further expand the market. Request TOC of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1598 Global Coated Fabrics Market: Regional Outlook Nearly all regions are extending the demand for coated fabrics, with Asia Pacific growing at the best rate owing to vast population and a thriving automotive industry. Prosperity of healthcare industry is also expected to positively reflect on coated fabrics market in this region, especially in the emerging economies of India, China, Malaysia, and South Korea. In Europe, with stringent industrial safety regulations in the U.K, France, and Germany, protective clothing segment is most fruitful. Since the implementation of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), OSHA, and ASTM, similar shift in the market is seen in the region of North America too, wherein the U.S. is extending the demand for coated fibrics to produce protective clothing for firefighting and law enforcement. In gulf, construction is at an all-new peak in the countries of UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which serves the primary demand for coated fabrics to be used as safety clothing for the construction workers. Global Coated Fabrics Market: Competitive Analysis Saint-Gobain, Omnova Solutions, Canadian General Tower, Trelleborg, and Takata Corporation are some of the leading companies currently operational in this market, which is fragmented in nature with the presence of several local players. Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/coated-fabrics-market.html About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in today's supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients' conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends. On May 16, 2019, Breitling introduced its new boutique concept to the media at Jelmoli in Zurich. This is the first Breitling boutique in the world to feature a bistro bar along with the watches that have made Breitling one of the worlds leading brands. This new concept is based on the distinctive industrial loft design elements that are already a defining part of Breitlings top boutiques, and the unique gastronomical concept will soon be rolled out at other key locations. Breitling CEO Georges Kern is excited about introducing the bistro bar concept at the boutique in Jelmoli: We are proud to be working with Jelmoli, a store that has established itself as a true retail innovator. We wanted to open our first bistro bar in Switzerland, so Jelmoli in Zurich is the perfect place to kick off this open concept, which is completely free of barriers, inviting people to come in. It perfectly reflects the inclusive character of our brand. Breitling In addition to being one of the worlds most desirable retail addresses on Zurichs famed Bahnhofstrasse, Jelmoli will be responsible for the gastronomical offerings in the new Breitling bistro bar. The offering includes an expertly curated wine and champagne list along with signature Breitling cocktails, such as the Chronomat Punch, the Navitimer Paloma, and the Superocean Refresher. Special coffees are also on offer in the bistro bar, including Breitlings house mix, an Arabica blend roasted weekly at Carasso in Geneva. Every cup is brewed in a LEVA machine, one of only 90 ever produced by La Marzocco in Florence, Italy. Its groundbreaking design and advanced technology ensure the rich, full flavor of the coffees served in the bistro bar. Lunchtime visitors to the bistro bar will have the opportunity to enjoy a unique dining experience. Franco Savastano, Jelmolis CEO, talked about his companys partnership with Breitling: With the opening of the worlds first Breitling boutique to include a bar and bistro and based on an innovative food concept, Jelmoli has been able to complement and extend its diverse and increasingly important catering offerings. It is the 11th gastro concept that we have implemented. In addition, we are giving one of Switzerlands leading and coolest watch brands a platform where it can develop and present its entire universe. Our common goal is to create an adventure world for our customers. Breitling For more than a year, Breitling has been introducing its urban loft boutique concept and the reception has been enthusiastic. Each boutique offers its customers a casual but stylish modern retro ambience that allows visitors to explore the brands watches in a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere. The boutiques with bistro bars will offer even more reasons to discover the world of Breitling. Breitling On May 18, 2019, the Breitling bistro bar boutiques opened its doors from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and events were scheduled throughout the day, including a specially catered breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a live DJ in the afternoon, and an entertaining show bartender in the early evening. Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- According to a new market research report "Conversational Systems Market by Component (Compute Platforms, Solutions, Services), Type (Voice and Text), Application (Customer Support and Personal Assistant, Branding and Advertisement, and Compliance), Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2024" published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Conversational Systems Market expected to grow from USD 4.6 billion in 2019 to USD 17.4 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30.8% during the forecast period. An increasing demand for AI-powered customer support services and highly advanced AI and NLP tools are major growth factors for the market. Increasing customer engagement through social media platforms and integration of advanced AI capabilities adding value to conversational systems offerings would provide opportunities for vendors in the Conversational Systems Market. Browse in-depth TOC on "Conversational Systems Market" 46- Tables 37- Figures 130- Pages Browse Full Report @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/conversational-systems-market-232318863.html Compute platforms segment to hold the largest market size during the forecast period Developers use conversational compute platforms to build chatbots, conversational interfaces, and virtual assistants as per the need of their organizations. The platform comprises various modules of software tools and can integrate with third-party interfaces, such as messaging platforms, social media, SMS, and website chat. The platform can create a detailed analysis of the chat logs in real time to provide feedback for the conversation, improve and maintain the system, and deliver actionable insights to the business. Voice assisted segment to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period Voice assisted is the ability of a machine or a program to identify phrases or words in spoken language and then convert them into a machine-readable format. Customer services, product information, marketing, and sales support are a few of the areas where the use of AI-enabled voice assisted solutions has increased. A varied voice portfolio, custom voices, powerful tuning tools, and multi-language capabilities enhance the voice assisted conversational solutions productivity with robust customer satisfaction which is highly important for enterprises. North America to hold the largest market size during the forecast period The US and Canada are contributing to the growth of Conversational Systems Market in North America. Organizations, especially in the US, have leveraged AI, ML, and deep learning technologies as a part of their ongoing business process to stay ahead in the market. The US and Canada also have a well-established economy, which enables conversational systems vendors to invest in new technologies. Major vendors in the global Conversational Systems Market include Google (US), Microsoft (US), IBM (US), AWS (US), Baidu (China), Oracle (US), SAP (Germany), Nuance (US), Artificial Solutions (Spain), Conversica (US), Haptik (India), Rasa (Germany), Rulai (US), Avaamo (US), Kore.ai (US), Solvvy (US), Pypestream (US), Inbenta (US), and Saarthi.ai (India). About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, and strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: 1-888-600-6441 Email:sales@marketsandmarkets.com Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Cool paving materials are ideally used for constructing walkways and roads. Dark pavements absorb 80% to 95% of heat and contribute to global warming by radiating heat into the atmosphere. Cool paving materials reduce urban temperature and make cities more comfortable during hot weather conditions. Urban temperature is higher than that in the rural areas across the globe due to high heat release from traffic and air conditioning systems. Solar reflective cool pavements are more than conventional pavements and aid in lowering urban temperatures. For instance, in 2014, City Park in Greece installed cool pavements, which reduced the ambient temperature by 1.9C and surface temperature by 12C. Read Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cool-paving-materials-market.html Cool paving materials offer more benefits than the traditional materials. Cool paving materials reduce outside air temperature which further aid in energy saving by allowing air conditioning units to utilize less energy for cooling buildings. It helps improve air quality by reducing the formation of smog and lowering the electricity requirement for street lighting at night, thereby providing better visibility for drivers due to its light color and better reflectivity. Cool pavement materials also reduce power plant emissions by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) and other air pollutant emissions. These factors are projected to boost the cool paving materials market during the forecast period. Cool Paving Materials Market: Key Segments Based on type, the global cool paving materials market can be segmented into Portland cement concrete (PCC) paving, white-topping, asphalt emulsion sealcoats, asphalt slurry seals, asphalt slurry coatings, and resin modified emulsion pavement. PCC paving is a light-colored paving material and has high reflectivity. It is used for construction and re-construction activities. White-topping is a fiber-reinforced concrete ideally used on asphalt surfaces. Asphalt emulsion sealcoats are composed of fine aggregates and binder which are used to seal cracks. Request to view Brochure Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=55563 Rising demand for energy efficient building materials with high pavement surface reflectance, thermal emittance, and surface convection with low thermal conductivity is propelling the global cool paving materials market. Cool paving materials require more energy for production than conventional paving materials, which is likely to restrain the cool paving materials market during the forecast period. Increasing research activities in the field of concrete-based cooling materials with features such as low energy requirement is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the cool paving materials market players engaged in the production of cool paving materials. Cool Paving Materials Market: Regional Outlook In terms of region, the global cool paving materials market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is a leading consumer of cool paving materials, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. Rising demand for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings, especially in the U.S., Germany, and the U.K., is expected to drive the demand for cool paving materials market during the forecast period. Additionally, surge in demand for reflective pavements for roads with enhanced visibility in night typically in Europe expected to boost the demand for cool paving materials in the region. Request to view Customization Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=55563 In Asia Pacific, China, India, and ASEAN countries are major consumers of cool paving materials. Rise in global warming in Beijing, China, increase in requirement for good road infrastructure in India, and surge in maintenance and reconstruction activities of roads across countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam are propelling the demand for cool paving materials in Asia Pacific. The cool paving materials market in Latin America and Middle East & Africa is projected to expand at a moderate pace during the forecast period. Rise in product awareness and increase in emphasis on constructing energy efficient building are expected to boost the cool paving materials market in these regions. Cool Paving Materials Market: Key Players Key players operating in the global cool paving materials market include Barrett Paving Materials Inc., GAF, Unique Paving Materials Corporation, and Hanover Architectural Products. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Although the overall military expenditure landscape has witnessed some remarkable changes, arising from unsettling political tensions between the political superpowers, governments across the globe are projected to make significant investments in deployable military shelters in 2019. As per a recently concluded market study by Future Market Insights (FMI), the global deployable military shelters market is expected to register stead growth, through the forecast period, 2018-2028, considered in the scope of the study. The global sales of deployable military shelters, is pegged to generate US$ 932.5 Million in 2019, with the annual growth rate exceeding 4 percent. The increasing demand for deployable military shelters for soldiers can be attributed to personnel-oriented applications, as projected in the market study by FMI. Request to Sample of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8030 North America's Deployable Military Shelters Sales to Cross US$ 292 Mn in 2019 North America is expected to showcase maximum investment in deployable military shelters, followed by Western Europe. In addition, governments of emerging economies including China and India are also expected to expand their military spending, translating into increased investments in deployable military shelters, in the coming years. North Americabeing the largest regional shareholder in the global revenue of deployable military shelters marketwill exceed the valuation of US$ 292.3 Mn in 2019. "Given the global terrorism scenario, more in regions like the Asia, Middle East, and Europe, governments are making efforts to deploy additional troops in the affected areas. In addition, increasing migrant population in stable economies such as Europe and North America, is a critical factor supplementing to the sales of deployable military shelters, further. In terms of volume sales of deployable military shelters, China is expected to grow 1.6x, through 2028. North America, is estimated to create an incremental opportunity 17.9x of that represented by Latin America. Spending on deployable military shelters by key regions like North America, Western Europe, and China will collectively account for 60 percent of the total share", explains a senior analyst. Wheel of Fortune: FMI Presents Segmentation Analysis on the Basis of Growth Rates FMI, in its report on the global deployable military shelters market, offers an in-depth segmentation analysis, on the basis on material type, size, shelter type, and application. The wheel of future analysis places each segment in different growth quadrantsranging from, slow to high growth quadrant. Key insights include: On the basis of material type, although conventional deployable military shelters account for a market share of over 66 percent, composites will represent a relatively higher year-over-year growth rate, compared to the former material type. Growing demand for composites-made deployable military shelters can safely be attributed to its capability to withstand adverse climate conditions apart from availability of an extensive range of composite materials and growing customization in shelters. While composites are placed in the high growth quadrant conventional material type is projected to represent moderate growth, through the assessment period. In terms of shelter type, soft wall shelters will gain prominence, through 2028, attributable to increasing development of light-weight shelters, such as carbon fiber shelters. Soft wall is estimated to remain high volume- high value segment over the projected period. Although rigid wall shelters are placed in the high growth quadrant in terms of value, soft wall shelters segment is likely to project a promising year-on-year volume growth, further creating significant opportunities for manufactures. Applicability of deployable military shelters will remain highest for soldier personnel use, given the expanding military bases, globally and rise in overseas troops deployment. While medical facility and aircraft base are place in the slow growth quadrant and command post in steady growth quadrant, sales of vehicle mounted deployable military shelters will increase given the growing demand for mobile tactical shelters. Moreover, high-tech engineered tactical vehicles have been gaining demand in the recent years, specifically for remote and stealth operations in remote locations, thereby, driving the sales of vehicle mounted deployable military shelters. In terms of sizing of deployable military shelters, demand for small size (length up to 6 mtrs) is projected to witness substantial demand in personnel shelter segment, compared to large size deployable military shelters. "Carbon-hybrid structures are one of the latest innovations in the military shelters, as it provides optimum weight and strength. Although the structures tend to be lighter, stronger frame provides high snow and wind tolerance, compared to the conventional materials. Moreover, carbon-hybrid structures occupy less space, thereby reducing storage and transportation costs. Given the expansion of military operations to the most remote areas and the growing demand for cost-effective deployable military shelters are some critical factors driving the sales of carbon-hybrid structures", further explains the analyst. Need more information about Report Methodology @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-8030 Material Innovations to Remain a Core Strategy among Manufactures The global deployable military shelters market showcases a highly organized landscape with a few tier-1 companies showing dominance over the market, in terms of revenue share. As per the competitive landscape analysis, tier-1 companies including Alaska Structures, Inc., General Dynamics Corporation, Roder HTS Hocker GmbH, AAR, and Weatherhaven hold a market share of up to 54 percent, pumping over US$ 30 Million in the global deployable military shelters market. Tier-2 companies and others, account for a market share of approximately 46 percent, including HDT Global, Nordic Shelter AS, ZEPPELIN MOBILE SYSTEME GmbH, Gichner Shelter Systems, DREHTAINER GmbH, among others. While 45 percent of key players are likely to focus on expansion of manufacturing facilities, given the growing demand from military sector, nearly 20 percent of the companies are expected to enter into strategic agreements and collaborations. Key players are also projected to expand their regional footprint to target previously untapped markets and sustain in the deployable military shelter market. Nearly 25 percent of key players in the global deployable military shelters market are projected to launch new products, adjunct with the evolving technological advancements. Close to 7 percent of companies operating in deployable military shelters landscape will enter into mergers and acquisitions, as per the report. Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- The Global End-of-Line Packaging Market is estimated to grow at CAGR above 4% over the forecast time frame 2019-2026 and reach the market value around USD 6.4 billion by 2026. The complete manufacturing and packaging process is automated by a complete solution for an industrial unit. The production quantity of any sector is increased by the automation of processes in machines and the increase in demand. Several companies competing on the global market want their businesses to improve through a long-term transformation of their production services in order to achieve increased productivity. In developing countries, industries such as India, China, Malaysia and Korea are implementing automated production processes to overcome problems such as labor shortages and cost optimisation. Robot hands are quickly introduced into packaging procedures to boost the production efficiency. End-of-line robotic systems improve the overall efficiency of production. The physical tasks, including packaging, palletization, and picking, are also reduced by robotic systems in terminal packaging. A robotic arm enables increased efficiencies in production, leading to high returns on investment and low operating costs. The end-of-line robotic arms are used especially for handling lightweight packaging because they reduce the risk of damage. The advantages of robotic arm automation in end-of-line packaging influence key manufacturers in a range of industries. Free Download Sample Report Pages for Better Understanding@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-sample/1378 The end-of-line packaging market is technologically segmented and will be responsible for the highest share in the automatic segment during the 2019-2026 projected period. It is anticipated that the half-automatic segment will fall into the global market by the end of 2026. Automation is gaining momentum in manufacturing companies, especially in developing countries, to overcome the shortage of skilled workers. The end-of-line packaging market is expected to be driven by increased implementation of automatic production processes in production lines. The customized order segment is expected to show lucrative growth on the basis of the order type received and by 2018 is estimated at around US$ 3000 million. The terminal industries are gradually opting for customized solutions for end-of-line packaging. The customized order segment share is therefore expected to increase by 2026. The industry is choosing standardized solutions for enhanced efficiency in end-of-line packaging, and therefore is expected to see increasing demand during the forecast period in the received order type segment. During 2019-2026, the end-use segment of food and beverages is expected to be the most attractive. The key factor for the growth of the end-of-line packaging market is rapid industrialisation. In food and beverage industries the demand for end-of-line packaging machinery is increasing as the manual handling of products reduces the risk of contamination. In the global end-of-line packaging market, electronics & semiconductor, pharmaceutical and automobile are some of the key segments. View Detail Information with Complete TOC@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/end-of-line-packaging-market Lower profits result in high costs of production. Companies with profitable companies today plan to reduce costs to improve efficiency. Although capital costs play a significant role in the resolution to approve automation methods such as end-of-line packaging, they are in fact instrumental in cost reductions and provide significant production capacity increases due to increased speed, decreased flask necks and 24 hours per day capacity. For automated packaging techniques, the food packaging industries are used to enable employees to avoid dangerous, physically demanding tasks, in turn, by reducing costly OHS (work safety and safety) problems. China is predicted to be the most attractive geographical market in the endline packaging market followed by the United States and Germany. A comparatively mature market is projected to show slow growth in the USA and Germany end-of-line packaging market. Key Players Major companies functioning in the global end-of-line packaging market are Combi Packaging Systems LLC, DS Smith plc, Bosch Packaging Technology Krones AG, Mach Inc., Optima Packaging Group GmbH, Gebo Cermex, IMA S.p.A., Festo Corporation, and Schneider Packaging Equipment. Browse All official Market Research Reports Press Releases@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/press-releases TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW 1.1. Definition and Scope 1.1.1. Definition of End-of-Line Packaging 1.1.2. Market Segmentation 1.1.3. List of Abbreviations 1.2. Summary 1.2.1. Market Snapshot 1.2.2. End-of-Line Packaging Market By Technology 1.2.2.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate Comparison By Technology (2015-2026) 1.2.2.2. Global End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share By Technology in 2017 1.2.2.3. Semi-automatic 1.2.2.4. Automatic 1.2.3. End-of-Line Packaging Market By Function 1.2.3.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate Comparison By Function (2015-2026) 1.2.3.2. Stretch Wrapping 1.2.3.3. Palletizing 1.2.3.4. Labelling 1.2.3.5. Carton Erecting Sealing and Packing 1.2.3.6. Others 1.2.4. End-of-Line Packaging Market By Received Order Type 1.2.4.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate Comparison By Received Order Type (2015-2026) 1.2.4.2. Standard 1.2.4.3. Customized 1.2.5. End-of-Line Packaging Market By End Use 1.2.5.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate Comparison By End Use (2015-2026) 1.2.5.2. Automotive 1.2.5.3. Pharmaceutical 1.2.5.4. Food 1.2.5.5. Electronics & Semiconductor 1.2.5.6. Others 1.2.6. End-of-Line Packaging Market by Geography 1.2.6.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate Comparison by Geography (2015-2026) 1.2.6.2. North America End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate (2015-2026) 1.2.6.3. Europe End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate (2015-2026) 1.2.6.4. Asia-Pacific End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate (2015-2026) 1.2.6.5. Latin America End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate (2015-2026) 1.2.6.6. Middle East and Africa (MEA) End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate (2015-2026) CHAPTER 2. MARKET DYNAMICS AND COMPETITION ANALYSIS 2.1. Market Drivers 2.2. Restraints and Challenges 2.3. Growth Opportunities 2.4. Porter's Five Forces Analysis 2.4.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers 2.4.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers 2.4.3. Threat of Substitute 2.4.4. Threat of New Entrants 2.4.5. Degree of Competition 2.5. Value Chain Analysis 2.6. Cost Structure Analysis 2.6.1. Raw Material and Suppliers 2.6.2. Manufacturing Process Analysis 2.7. Regulatory Compliance 2.8. Competitive Landscape, 2017 2.8.1. Player Positioning Analysis 2.8.2. Key Strategies Adopted By Leading Players CHAPTER 3. MANUFACTURING PLANTS ANALYSIS 3.1. Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global End-of-Line Packaging Major Manufacturers in 2017 3.2. Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global End-of-Line Packaging Major Manufacturers in 2017 3.3. R&D Status and Technology Source of Global End-of-Line Packaging Major Manufacturers in 2017 3.4. Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global End-of-Line Packaging Major Manufacturers in 2017 CHAPTER 4. END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY TECHNOLOGY 4.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Revenue By Technology 4.2. Semi-automatic 4.2.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 4.2.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 4.3. Automatic 4.3.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 4.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 5. END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY FUNCTION 5.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Revenue By Function 5.2. Stretch Wrapping 5.2.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.2.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.3. Palletizing 5.3.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.4. Labelling 5.4.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.5. Carton Erecting Sealing and Packing 5.5.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.6. Others 5.6.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 5.6.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 6. END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY ORDER TYPE 6.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Revenue By Received Order Type 6.2. Standard 6.2.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 6.2.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 6.3. Customized 6.3.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 6.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 7. END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY END USE 7.1. Global End-of-Line Packaging Revenue By End Use 7.2. Automotive 7.2.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.2.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.3. Pharmaceutical 7.3.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.4. Food 7.4.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.5. Electronics & Semiconductor 7.5.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.6. Others 7.6.1. Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 7.6.2. Market Revenue and Forecast, By Region, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 8. NORTH AMERICA END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY COUNTRY 8.1. North America End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.2. North America End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share Comparison, 2015 & 2026 (%) 8.3. U.S. 8.3.1. U.S. End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.3.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.3.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.4. Canada 8.4.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.4.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.4.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.5. Mexico 8.5.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.5.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 8.5.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 9. EUROPE END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY COUNTRY 9.1. Europe End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.2. Europe End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share Comparison, 2015 & 2026 (%) 9.3. UK 9.3.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.3.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.3.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.4. Germany 9.4.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.4.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.4.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.5. France 9.5.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.5.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.5.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.6. Spain 9.6.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.6.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.6.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.6.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.7. Rest of Europe 9.7.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.7.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.7.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 9.7.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 10. ASIA-PACIFIC END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY COUNTRY 10.1. Asia-Pacific End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.2. Asia-Pacific End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share Comparison, 2015 & 2026 (%) 10.3. China 10.3.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.3.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.3.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.4. Japan 10.4.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.4.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.4.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.5. India 10.5.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.5.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.5.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.6. Australia 10.6.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.6.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.6.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.6.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.7. South Korea 10.7.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.7.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.7.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.7.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.8. Rest of Asia-Pacific 10.8.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.8.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.8.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 10.8.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 11. LATIN AMERICA END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY COUNTRY 11.1. Latin America End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.2. Latin America End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share Comparison, 2015 & 2026 (%) 11.3. Brazil 11.3.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.3.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.3.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.4. Argentina 11.4.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.4.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.4.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.5. Rest of Latin America 11.5.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.5.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 11.5.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 12. MIDDLE EAST END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY COUNTRY 12.1. Middle East End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.2. Middle East End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share Comparison, 2015 & 2026 (%) 12.3. Saudi Arabia 12.3.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.3.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.3.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.4. UAE 12.4.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.4.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.4.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.5. Rest of Middle East 12.5.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.5.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 12.5.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 13. AFRICA END-OF-LINE PACKAGING MARKET BY COUNTRY 13.1. Africa End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue and Growth Rate, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.2. Africa End-of-Line Packaging Market Revenue Share Comparison, 2015 & 2026 (%) 13.3. South Africa 13.3.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.3.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.3.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.3.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.4. Egypt 13.4.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.4.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.4.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.4.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.5. Rest of Africa 13.5.1. Market Revenue and Forecast By Technology, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.5.2. Market Revenue and Forecast By Function, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.5.3. Market Revenue and Forecast By Received Order Type, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) 13.5.4. Market Revenue and Forecast By End Use, 2015 - 2026 ($Million) CHAPTER 14. COMPANY PROFILE 14.1. Combi Packaging Systems LLC 14.1.1. Company Snapshot 14.1.2. Overview 14.1.3. Financial Overview 14.1.4. Type Portfolio 14.1.5. Key Developments 14.1.6. Strategies 14.2. DS Smith plc 14.2.1. Company Snapshot 14.2.2. Overview 14.2.3. Financial Overview 14.2.4. Type Portfolio 14.2.5. Key Developments 14.2.6. Strategies 14.3. Bosch Packaging Technology Krones AG 14.3.1. Company Snapshot 14.3.2. Overview 14.3.3. Financial Overview 14.3.4. Type Portfolio 14.3.5. Key Developments 14.3.6. Strategies 14.4. Mach Inc. 14.4.1. Company Snapshot 14.4.2. Overview 14.4.3. Financial Overview 14.4.4. Type Portfolio 14.4.5. Key Developments 14.4.6. Strategies 14.5. Optima Packaging Group GmbH 14.5.1. Company Snapshot 14.5.2. Overview 14.5.3. Financial Overview 14.5.4. Type Portfolio 14.5.5. Key Developments 14.5.6. Strategies 14.6. Gebo Cermex 14.6.1. Company Snapshot 14.6.2. Overview 14.6.3. Financial Overview 14.6.4. Type Portfolio 14.6.5. Key Developments 14.6.6. Strategies 14.7. IMA S.p.A. 14.7.1. Company Snapshot 14.7.2. Overview 14.7.3. Financial Overview 14.7.4. Type Portfolio 14.7.5. Key Developments 14.7.6. Strategies 14.8. Festo Corporation 14.8.1. Company Snapshot 14.8.2. Overview 14.8.3. Financial Overview 14.8.4. Type Portfolio 14.8.5. Key Developments 14.8.6. Strategies 14.9. Schneider Packaging Equipment 14.9.1. Company Snapshot 14.9.2. Overview 14.9.3. Financial Overview 14.9.4. Type Portfolio 14.9.5. Key Developments 14.9.6. Strategies 14.10. Others 14.10.1. Company Snapshot 14.10.2. Overview 14.10.3. Financial Overview 14.10.4. Type Portfolio 14.10.5. Key Developments 14.10.6. Strategies CHAPTER 15. RESEARCH APPROACH 15.1. Research Methodology 15.1.1. Initial Data Search 15.1.2. Secondary Research 15.1.3. Primary Research 15.2. Assumptions and Scope INQUIRY BEFORE BUYING@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/inquiry-before-buying/1378 The report is readily available and can be dispatched immediately after payment confirmation. Buy this Premium Research Report@ https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/buy-now/0/1378 Would like to place an order or any question, please feel free to contact at sales@acumenresearchandconsulting.com | +1 407 915 4157 About Acumen Research and Consulting: Acumen Research and Consulting (ARC) is a global provider of market intelligence and consulting services to information technology, investment, telecommunication, manufacturing, and consumer technology markets. ARC helps investment communities, IT professionals, and business executives to make fact based decisions on technology purchases and develop firm growth strategies to sustain market competition. With the team size of 100+ Analysts and collective industry experience of more than 200 years, Acumen Research and Consulting assures to deliver a combination of industry knowledge along with global and country level expertise. Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- This recently published report examines the global Bulk Loading Spouts market for the projected period of 6-years, i.e. between 2019 and 2025. The report highlights the accomplishments and opportunities lies in the market throughout the forecasted period. The report offers the thorough information about the overview and the scope of the global Bulk Loading Spouts market along with its drivers, restraints, and trends. It also classifies the market into different segments such as by type, by applications and by-product. In short, this report comprises of all the necessary details of the global Bulk Loading Spouts markets such as value/volume data, marketing strategies, and expert views. The comprehensive information about distribution channels such as suppliers, dealers, wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers have also given in this report. 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The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), expert's resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc. Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- In the recently published report, QY Research has provided a unique insight into the global Concrete Paving Equipment market for the forecasted period of 6-years (2019-2025). The report has covered the significant aspects that are contributing the growth of the global Concrete Paving Equipment market. The primary objective of this report is to highlight the various key market dynamics such as drivers, trends, and restraints that are impacting the global Concrete Paving Equipment market. This report has provided an indication to the readers about market's current status. 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The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), expert's resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc. Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Global Industrial Robots Market: Segmentation The chapters of segmentation allow the readers to understand the aspects of the market such as its products, available technologies, and applications of the same. These chapters are written in a manner to describe their development over the years and the course they are likely to take in the coming years. The research report also provides insightful information about the emerging trends that are likely to define progress of these segments in the coming years. Request a Sample of this report at: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/984778/global-industrial-robots-professional-analysis-report- Global Industrial Robots Market: Regional Segmentation For a deeper understanding, the research report includes geographical segmentation of the global Industrial Robots market. It provides an evaluation of the volatility of the political scenarios and amends likely to be made to the regulatory structures. This assessment gives an accurate analysis of the regional-wise growth of the global Industrial Robots market. The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt) North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada) South America (Brazil etc.) Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia) Global Industrial Robots Market: Research Methodology The research methodologies used by the analysts play an integral role in the way the publication has been collated. Analysts have used primary and secondary research methodologies to create a comprehensive analysis. For an accurate and precise analysis of the global Industrial Robots market, analysts have bottom-up and top-down approaches. Global Industrial Robots Market: Competitive Rivalry The research report includes an analysis of the competitive landscape present in the global Industrial Robots market. It includes an assessment of the existing and upcoming trends that players can invest in. 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Key Players Mentioned in the Global Industrial Robots Market Research Report: FANUC(Japan) KUKA(Germany) ABB(Switzerland) Yaskawa (Motoman)(Japan) Nachi(Japan) Kawasaki Robotics(Japan) Comau(Italy) EPSON Robots(Japan) Staubli(Switzerland) Omron Adept Technologies(US) DENSO Robotics(Japan) OTC Daihen(Japan) Panasonic(Japan) Toshiba(Japan) Mitsubishi Electric(Japan) Yamaha(Japan) Universal Robots(Denmark) Hyundai Robotics(Korea) Robostar(Korea) Star Seiki(Japan) CLOOS(Germany) IGM(Australia) JEL Corporation(Japan) Foxconn(Foxbot)(China) Siasun(China) Anhui EFORT Intelligent Equipment(China) Estun Automation(China) Guangzhou CNC Equipment(China) STEP Electric Corporation Codian Robotics(Netherlands) Ask our Expert if You Have a Query at: enquiry@qyresearch.com Strategic Points Covered in TOC: Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product scope, market risk, market overview, and market opportunities of the global Industrial Robots market Chapter 2: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the global Industrial Robots market which consists of its revenue, sales, and price of the products Chapter 3: Displaying the competitive nature among key manufacturers, with market share, revenue, and sales Chapter 4: Presenting global Industrial Robots market by regions, market share and with revenue and sales for the projected period Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- The Micronized PTFE market research for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026 cannot be underestimated for the reason that it offers a real-time data on the target market; identifies customer problems and outlines the immediate competitors. 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Chapter 1: covers the Micronized PTFE Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force; Chapter 2: talks about the top manufacturers and analyses their sales, revenue and pricing decisions for the duration 2019- 2026; Chapter 3: displays the competitive nature of the market by discussing the competition among the top manufacturers. It dissects the market using sales, revenue and market share data for 2019- 2026; Chapter 4: shows the global market by regions and the proportionate size of each market region based on sales, revenue and market share of Micronized PTFE, for the period 2019- 2026; Continue Browse Full Report Summary of Micronized PTFE Market @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/micronized-ptfe-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Global Robotics in the Food and Beverage Market: Segmentation The chapters of segmentation allow the readers to understand the aspects of the market such as its products, available technologies, and applications of the same. These chapters are written in a manner to describe their development over the years and the course they are likely to take in the coming years. The research report also provides insightful information about the emerging trends that are likely to define progress of these segments in the coming years. Request a Sample of this report at: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1072254/global-robotics-in-the-food-and-beverage-market Global Robotics in the Food and Beverage Market: Regional Segmentation For a deeper understanding, the research report includes geographical segmentation of the global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market. It provides an evaluation of the volatility of the political scenarios and amends likely to be made to the regulatory structures. This assessment gives an accurate analysis of the regional-wise growth of the global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market. The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt) North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada) South America (Brazil etc.) Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia) Global Robotics in the Food and Beverage Market: Research Methodology The research methodologies used by the analysts play an integral role in the way the publication has been collated. Analysts have used primary and secondary research methodologies to create a comprehensive analysis. For an accurate and precise analysis of the global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market, analysts have bottom-up and top-down approaches. Global Robotics in the Food and Beverage Market: Competitive Rivalry The research report includes an analysis of the competitive landscape present in the global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market. It includes an assessment of the existing and upcoming trends that players can invest in. Furthermore, it also includes an evaluation of the financial outlooks of the players and explains the nature of the competition. Key Players Mentioned in the Global Robotics in the Food and Beverage Market Research Report: ABB KUKA Robotics FANUC YASKAWA Douglas Machine Brenton Columbia Okura ESS Technologies Kawasaki Robotics Ask our Expert if You Have a Query at: enquiry@qyresearch.com Strategic Points Covered in TOC: Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product scope, market risk, market overview, and market opportunities of the global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market Chapter 2: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market which consists of its revenue, sales, and price of the products Chapter 3: Displaying the competitive nature among key manufacturers, with market share, revenue, and sales Chapter 4: Presenting global Robotics in the Food and Beverage market by regions, market share and with revenue and sales for the projected period Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Global Woodworking Machines Market: Segmentation The chapters of segmentation allow the readers to understand the aspects of the market such as its products, available technologies, and applications of the same. These chapters are written in a manner to describe their development over the years and the course they are likely to take in the coming years. The research report also provides insightful information about the emerging trends that are likely to define progress of these segments in the coming years. Request a Sample of this report at: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1089614/global-woodworking-machines-market Global Woodworking Machines Market: Regional Segmentation For a deeper understanding, the research report includes geographical segmentation of the global Woodworking Machines market. It provides an evaluation of the volatility of the political scenarios and amends likely to be made to the regulatory structures. This assessment gives an accurate analysis of the regional-wise growth of the global Woodworking Machines market. The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt) North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada) South America (Brazil etc.) Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia) Global Woodworking Machines Market: Research Methodology The research methodologies used by the analysts play an integral role in the way the publication has been collated. Analysts have used primary and secondary research methodologies to create a comprehensive analysis. For an accurate and precise analysis of the global Woodworking Machines market, analysts have bottom-up and top-down approaches. Global Woodworking Machines Market: Competitive Rivalry The research report includes an analysis of the competitive landscape present in the global Woodworking Machines market. It includes an assessment of the existing and upcoming trends that players can invest in. Furthermore, it also includes an evaluation of the financial outlooks of the players and explains the nature of the competition. Key Players Mentioned in the Global Woodworking Machines Market Research Report: Homag Scm Biesse Weinig Ima Schelling Stanley Black and Decker Jpw Industry Leademac Sawstop Tablesaws Delta Fulpow Industrial Oliver Machinery Gongyou Felder Paolino Bacci Ask our Expert if You Have a Query at: enquiry@qyresearch.com Strategic Points Covered in TOC: Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product scope, market risk, market overview, and market opportunities of the global Woodworking Machines market Chapter 2: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the global Woodworking Machines market which consists of its revenue, sales, and price of the products Chapter 3: Displaying the competitive nature among key manufacturers, with market share, revenue, and sales Chapter 4: Presenting global Woodworking Machines market by regions, market share and with revenue and sales for the projected period Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions For most people, the Faberge name is synonymous with the enamelled and bejewelled Easter eggs commissioned by Czars Alexander III and Nicholas II from the goldsmith Peter Carl Faberge between 1885 and 1916. After decades of history as a jeweller of great renown, followed by a period of relative obscurity and then rebirth, Faberge is now owned by Gemfields. This mining company specialises in ethically sourced coloured stones, including emeralds from Zambia, rubies from Mozambique and amethysts. Obviously, Faberge makes the most of this connection in its jewellery business. But thats not all. In 2014, when Faberge started making watches again, we thought it would be a shame not to exploit the potential offered by Gemfields, explains Aurelie Picaud, head of watchmaking for Faberge. We had always intended to create a jewellery collection, and we decided that the Dalliance line would express Faberges creativity by showcasing the precious stones of Gemfields, she continues. This is the kind of vertical integration that many watchmakers can only dream of. Dalliance, a movement made for jewellery The movement of the Dalliance collection lends itself particularly well to jewellery creations. Developed exclusively for Faberge by Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and his company Agenhor, the hand-wound AGH 6911 calibre shows the hours and minutes on two hands, only the tips of which are visible. They peek out from under the edge of a dome that occupies the centre of the dial, providing a perfect canvas for a sumptuous display. Dalliance Lady Libertine I Faberge Given that the stone for the month of May is emerald, this is the perfect opportunity to take another look at one of the finest examples of the synergy between Faberge and Gemfields: the Lady Libertine I watch. It all began when Faberge and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht visited the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, which belongs to Gemfields. Inspired by the beauty of the landscape and the splendour of the emeralds, an original idea was born: why not use the raw gemstone in a new watch? The centre of the Lady Libertine I by Faberge is made of a hand-carved raw emerald, representing the rivers of the mining region, with their outlines picked out in gold. Faceted emeralds and diamonds of different sizes map out a verdant African jungle that cover the entire dial. On the cover image for this article, the Lady Libertine I is photographed with the rough Inkalamu emerald, the Lion Emerald, of 5,655 carats (1.13kg), found in the Kagem mine in October 2018. Dalliance Lady Libertine II Faberge Collaboration with independent master artisans is part and parcel of the Faberge tradition, which Peter Carl Faberge initiated back in the mid-19th century. Today, the Lady Libertine I bears witness to Faberges ongoing commitment to this principle. For this watch, we worked with Art & D based in Carouge, near Geneva, which specialises in making watch cases and dials featuring artistic crafts, notes Aurelie Picaud. For Dick Steenman, the artisan who worked on the dial, cutting and engraving the raw emerald represented a considerable technical challenge, because its a very fragile stone. Dalliance Lady Libertine III, inspired by coastal scenery from Mozambique Faberge Gemfields contribution to Faberges creativity can also be seen in the pieces that followed the Lady Libertine I. Model II uses faceted emeralds to represent a different landscape in Zambia, while the model III takes rubies and pink sapphires to bring to life the coast of Mozambique in a design created in partnership with Fiona Kruger, enriched with enamelling by Anita Porchet. The Dalliance GemAddict watch uses the central dome to showcase a one-carat diamond, set inside a halo of scarlet enamel, baguette-cut diamonds and a ruby bezel. Dalliance GemAddict Faberge Indeed, with watches like these, gem addiction is a distinct possibility. And Faberge is fortunate to have insider access to one of the worlds most prestigious suppliers with which to feed it. Philadelphia, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- From residents who want to soak in a hot bath after a long day to home buyers hunting for the perfect property, most people consider the bathroom to be one of the most important rooms in the home. Unfortunately, older homes often see their tubs degrade, as mold, staining, and soap scum make them unusable. Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating, Inc. is proud to announce that they're now providing tub replacement services in Philadelphia for anyone whose bathroom needs a little upgrade this spring. Sometimes, a bathtub needs more than a bottle of bleach and a scrubbing brush to shine. A tub replacement is an innovative and instant method of upgrading your bathroom. Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating, Inc. provides a number of bathtub designs and models that have all of the latest features. They can work with anyone's bathroom and budget, designing a custom solution that meets the needs of the homeowner. No matter if they're looking for an affordable answer to their bathroom woes before they put their home up on the market or they're residents who just want to enjoy a better bathroom for themselves, Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating, Inc. is everyone's go-to source for tub replacements. Now is the perfect time for homeowners to invest in a tub replacement in Philadelphia and enjoy a more beautiful and relaxing bathroom. Anyone interested in learning more about plumbing services from Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating, Inc. is encouraged to give their team a call or to pay them a visit online at https://www.guaranteedplumbingandheating.com. About Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating, Inc. Guaranteed Plumbing & Heating, Inc. has been serving the Philadelphia area for more than 30 years. They offer all plumbing services in order to make sure that their clients get the best Philadelphia plumbing services. Together they have trained and expanded their team allowing us to build relationships with the clients. To learn more, visit http://www.guaranteedplumbingandheating.com. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Increasing prevalence of skin diseases is the primary factor expected to drive the leprosy treatment market over the forecast period. The prevalence of skin diseases, such as leprosy and psoriasis, has become common in some of the counties of Asia-Pacific, which is responsible for the robust growth of the market. Rising government initiatives and favourable reimbursement scenario for these treatments is expected to propel the Leprosy Treatment Market Growth. On other hand, the high cost of drugs and lack of awareness among people is expected to restrain market growth to a certain extent. In addition, the stringent regulatory requirements of FDA for the approval of drugs is also expected to be responsible for the sluggish growth of the leprosy treatment market over the forecast period. Request TOC of this Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1304 Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy is also known as Hansen's disease. It affects the skin, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract, the peripheral nerves and the eyes. Leprosy can occur in people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. The exact transmission of the disease is not known, but it is strongly believed that leprosy is transferred from a leprosy patient to a healthy person. Delayed diagnosis of leprosy is likely to cause some serious complications such as muscle weakness, erectile dysfunction, kidney failure, blindness and others. The best way to prevent leprosy is to avoid contact with infected and untreated people. Leprosy is a curable disease and various drugs are available in the market for the treatment of leprosy. One of the treatments for leprosy is Multidrug Therapy (MDT), which involves the use of a combination of drugs. The World Health Organization recommends a combination of rifampicin, clofazimine and dapsone drugs for leprosy treatment. Leprosy Treatment market is expected to witness exponential growth over the forecast period owing rising patient pool of leprosy in Asia-Pacific. According to WHO, the prevalence of this disease in 2015 was 176 cases per 10000 people. About 60% of the world's leprosy patients live in India. Therefore, India is a major market worldwide for the treatment of this disease. Antibacterial drugs are commonly prescribed by physicians for leprosy treatment, therefore, by drugs class, the antibacterial segment is expected to gain maximum market share over the forecast period. The most common antibacterial drugs prescribed for leprosy treatment are dapsone, rifampin, clofazimine, ofloxacin and minocycline. Among distribution channels, online pharmacies is the fastest-growing segment due to the increasing adoption of e-commerce throughout the globe. To know more about the Leprosy Treatment Market Visit the link- https://www.factmr.com/report/1304/leprosy-treatment-market Leprosy Treatment Market: Regional Outlook Geographically, the global leprosy treatment market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). Asia-Pacific is expected to gain maximum market share in terms of revenue owing to the high patient pool of leprosy in India and China. The APEJ is followed by Japan and Latin America owing to increasing awareness among patients about leprosy treatment options available in these regions. MEA is expected to grow at a faster rate as compared to other regions due to rising government initiatives for the treatment of this disease. North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe are the least lucrative markets for leprosy treatment as a very small number of patients in these regions suffer from this disease owing to high standards of living and increased personal hygiene. Leprosy Treatment Market: Key Players Some of the key players operating in the global leprosy treatment market are Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb and Company, Eli Lily and Company, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Bayer AG, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi S.A., Novartis AG, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Macleods Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co., Inc. The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. Request Brochure of this Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1304 About FactMR FactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market insights reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us FactMR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Read Industry News at - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ Portland, OR -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/22/2019 -- "The emergence of biologic materials is one of the recent developments of spine fusion surgery. Earlier, autografts were considered as the ideal primary bone graft. However, allograft evolved as a better treatment option, owing to various associated complications such as pain, infection, and weakened bone. Thus, the use of biologics in spine surgeries is expected to witness higher demand in the future because of the constant development of new products." Global spine biologics market was valued at $1,644 million in 2015, and is projected to reach $2,214 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period 2014-2022, According to a new report published by Allied Market Research. Spine biologics are used during spine fusion surgery for the treatment of spinal deformities such as trauma, tumors, degenerative disc disease, and spinal cord injuries by stimulating bone growth formation through inflammatory stage, repair stage, and remodeling stage. Therefore, surge in the number of spinal fusion surgeries have fueled the adoption of biologics. Download Sample Report @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1955 The market is driven by factors such as increase in geriatric population and advantages of biologics such as minimal postoperative time, faster recovery, and ability to activate cellular growth. However, unfavorable reimbursement scenario, higher cost of bone grafts, and ethical issues related to bone grafting procedures hamper the market growth. The bone graft substitutes segment generated the highest revenue in the global market, accounting for more than half of the total spine biologics market. In addition, the cell-based matrices segment is projected to grow rapidly, registering a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period. Key Findings of the Spine Biologics Market: - The demineralized bone matrix segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.4%, owing to its ability to stimulate bone formation. - Synthetic bone grafts segment accounted for more than half of the global bone graft substitutes market in 2015. - North America contributed two-thirds share of the global spine biologics market in 2015. - France and Germany jointly accounted for more than one-third share of the European spine biologics market in 2015. - Japan is the major shareholder in the Asia-Pacific spine biologics market, accounting for more than one-third share in 2015. North America is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. However, Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow rapidly during the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 5.3%. Improving healthcare infrastructure and increase in expenditures in the emerging markets, such as India and China, to cater to the unmet medical needs in these countries have bolstered the market growth. The key players in the spine biologics market are focused on expanding their business operations in the fast-growing economies with new product launches as the preferred strategy. The major companies profiled in the report include Alphatec Holdings, Inc., Depuy Synthes (Johnson & Johnson), Exactech, Inc., Globus Medical, Inc., Medtronic plc, NuVasive, Inc., Orthofix International N.V., RTI Surgical, Inc., SeaSpine, and Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. Get 20% Free Customization In This Report @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/1955 About us Allied Market Research, a market research and advisory company of Allied Analytics LLP, provides business insights and market research reports to large as well as small & medium enterprises. The company assists its clients to strategize business policies and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. Allied Market Research provides one stop solution from the beginning of data collection to investment advice. The analysts at Allied Market Research dig out factors that help clients to understand the significance and impact of market dynamics. The company amplies client's insight on the factors, such as strategies, future estimations, growth or fall forecasting, opportunity analysis, and consumer surveys among others. As follows, the company offers consistent business intelligent support to aid the clients to turn into prominent business firm. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- The market intelligence report on the Perchloroethylene market forecasts its growth during the years 2018 to 2025. It examines the market size, share, demand, trends, gross revenue, total earnings and net value after a historical analysis of the data collected from the years 2018 to 2025 while taking 2017 as the base year. The study focuses on the driving factors, restrains and hurdles for the growth of the market. The researcher gives market insights relating to the upcoming areas in the business and the impact of technological innovations on the growth of the market. Request for FREE sample of this premium report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/4388 It sheds light on the major companies that contribute significantly to the global sector. The report studies the presence of these companies in major geographical regions and their individual placement in the worldwide business. It helps in projecting the growth of Perchloroethylene through the years and in predicting its expansion in the forecasted time span. The increase in the demand for the product is boosting the overall production to ensure a smooth functioning demand-supply chain. The research segments the market based on product type, applications and end-use. It profiles the key players of the business and their individual contribution to the global economy. The report focuses on significant investments, business ventures, mergers, acquisitions, collaborations along with the technological developments in the field. It also evaluates the upcoming and niche areas in the business. The researcher aims to offer expert insights related to the industry and the new opportunities available in the market. Scope Of The Report The study aims to provide a forecast of the growth of the Perchloroethylene market by examining the market size, share, demand, trends, and gross revenue of the industry. Further, it provides a competitive analysis and SWOT analysis. The report segments the industry based on product type, application and end-use. It highlights the emerging trends as well as the novel technology that are visible in the market. The research offers a clear look at the trends observed in the market, the contributing factors, major stakeholders, key companies and prime areas that exhibit a potential for growth. In market segmentation by manufacturers, the report covers the following companies- BASF, AkzoNobel N.V (The Netherlands), Solvay S. A. (Belgium), Tokuyama Corporation (Japan), Occidental Chemical Corporation (U.S.), Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd. (India), Kem One (France), Shin-Etsu (Japan), Ineos (Switzerland) Buy Perchloroethylene Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/4388 Market Segment by Type, covers: - Ethylene Oxychlorination - Acetylene Method - Ethylene Direct Chlorination Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into: - Dry Cleaning Agent - Solvent The report on the Perchloroethylene market employs both primary and secondary research to examine its import and export, demand and supply, consumption power, spending capacity and distribution channel worldwide. The report evaluates the market standing of key manufacturers and sheds light on the strategies they have adopted to stay competitive. The study also applies qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the annual and financial performance of the top vendors and insights from market leaders. Extensive coverage of the recent trends and developments including joint ventures, collaborations, investments, product launches and acquisitions and mergers constitute a substantial part of the research on the Perchloroethylene market for the forecast period from 2018 to 2025. The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What will be the growth rate of the Perchloroethylene market for the forecast period, 2018 to 2025? What will be the market size and the share occupied by the prominent vendors by the estimated period? - What are challenges and threats faced by the prominent vendors operating in the Perchloroethylene market? - Who are the prominent vendors and what has been their business strategy so far to maintain a competitive edge over their competitors? - What are the past, present and emerging trends likely to influence the growth rate of the Perchloroethylene market for the forecast period, 2018 to 2025? - What are the opportunities prominent vendors can bank on to generate more profits during the estimated period? There are 14 chapters to cover the vital aspects of the Global Perchloroethylene Market. The report is distributed over 14 Chapters to display the analysis of the global Perchloroethylene shop market. Chapter 1 covers the Perchloroethylene Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force; Chapter 2 talks about the top manufacturers and analyses their sales, revenue and pricing decisions for the duration 2016 and 2017; Chapter 3 displays the competitive nature of the market by discussing the competition among the top manufacturers. It dissects the market using sales, revenue and market share data for 2016 and 2017; Chapter 4, shows the global market by regions and the proportionate size of each market region based on sales, revenue and market share of Perchloroethylene, for the period 2012- 2017; Continue Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/report-detail/perchloroethylene-market-size-share-trends-analysis-report-by-product-by-type-by-region-by-application-competitive-landscape-and-segment-forecasts-2018-2025 About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web. Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com News: https://www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Borneo Tallow Nut Oil or Sal nut oil Market Introduction The botanical name of Borneo tallow nut oil tree Shorea spp. Named after Governor General of East India Company Sir John Shore, Borneo tallow nut oil or Sal nut oil is extracted from the fruit of the species of genus Shorea. The Borneo tallow tree is very tall which grows to around 80 90 meters. The Borneo tallow nut oil trees are native to South East Asia and were found in the forest of Northern India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. The Borneo tallow nut oil fruit contains an oil-bearing kernel which has a typical fat content of around 4570%. The Borneo tallow nut oil contains fatty acids. The Borneo tallow nut oil is generally extracted from fruits, which are boiled in a pan and put in a rattan bag that is placed between logs of wood, and later the logs are squeezed together. The extracted oil is stored in bamboo cylinders. For industrial purposes, Borneo tallow nut oil and solvent extraction with hexane are used. Borneo tallow nut oil is purified and bleached. Post-extraction of Borneo tallow nut oil contains tannic acid and can be used as animal feed. Borneo Tallow Nut Oil Market Dynamics The major component of the Borneo tallow nut oil is stearic acid, Borneo tallow nut oil contains around 43% of stearic acid, mainly function as thickening agent in making soaps and candles. Borneo tallow nut oil primarily used as a substitute for cocoa butter and as an ingredient in candles and soaps. The growing demand for organic additives in the fast-moving consumer goods can be a driving factor for Borneo tallow nut oil. Borneo tallow nut oil is used in making candles, cosmetics and other medicines. The multipurpose use of Borneo tallow nut oil can act as a demand driver in the near future. The Borneo tallow nut oil tree does not start to bear fruit until it is 20 25 years old, and Borneo tallow nut oil fruit grows approximately once in every five years. Borneo tallow nut oil fruits are insect-pollinated and remain without flowers for several years. This natural phenomenon of Borneo tallow nut oil tree can be a key restraining factor for the Borneo tallow nut oil market. Request Free Sample Report@ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=1792 Market Segmentation of Borneo tallow nut oil Market On the basis of end-user, Borneo tallow nut oil can be segmented into pharmaceuticals, personal care, cooking oil ingredient and consumer goods. On the basis of methods of extraction, Borneo tallow nut oil can be segmented into traditional method of extraction and industrial method of extraction. On the basis of functional use, Borneo tallow nut oil can be segmented into, skin health, nutritional agent, anti-aging and aromatherapy. Regional Outlook for Borneo tallow nut oil Market The Borneo tallow nut oil can be segmented into six regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, APEJ, Japan and MEA. North America is expected to show a growth in the demand for Borneo tallow nut oil market because of the several uses of Borneo tallow nut oil and its benefits because of the high fatty acid content. Europe is also expected to support the growing demand of Borneo tallow nut oil as it is used in the confectionary industry and especially in the manufacture of chocolate, as a cocoa butter alternative. Latin America and Europe would expect to retain their market share in the Borneo tallow nut oil market during the forecast period. Asia would expect to lead the demand of Borneo tallow nut oil because of the easy availability of Borneo tallow nut oil in the region and several uses of Borneo tallow nut oil. Japan is also one of the key importers of Borneo tallow nut oil. Till 1990, Japan used to import Borneo tallow nut to extract the oil but has since started importing Borneo tallow nut oil instead of nuts. According to secondary data available, in the peak years, Indonesia exported 41,00050,000 tons of the Borneo tallow nut dry fruits annually. The Middle East and Africa is expected to show a growth in the demand for Borneo tallow nut oil market in the near future. Request/View TOC@ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1792 Market Players in Borneo Tallow Nut oil Market The key suppliers of Borneo tallow nut oil market include Parchem Fine and Specialty Chemicals, Agric Oils Ltd, Qualitygoodsltd and GTS Traders Association. The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, application and industry. The report covers exhaust analysis on: Market Segments Market Dynamics Market Size Supply & Demand Current Trends/Issues/Challenges Competition & Companies involved Technology Value Chain Regional analysis includes: North America (U.S., Canada) Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru) Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, BENELUX, Nordic, Eastern Europe) CIS and Russia Asia-Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, South Korea) Japan Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey, Iran, Israel) The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. Report Highlights: Detailed overview of parent market Changing market dynamics in the industry In-depth market segmentation Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape Strategies of key players and products offered Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective on market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint Report Analysis@ https://www.factmr.com/report/1792/borneo-tallow-nut-oil-sal-nut-oil-market NOTE - All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed in reports are those of the respective analysts. They do not necessarily reflect formal positions or views of Fact.MR About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Rohit Bhisey Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Blog: https://factmrblog.com/ Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Orange peel extract Market Outlook: In the present market scenario, Food and beverage industry is witnessing a steady growth. Orange peel extracts find its application in numerous products due to its versatile nature which aids to the growing demand for orange peel extract in the market. Orange peel extract is a rich source of vitamin c which makes it highly favorable for medicinal purposes and makes it a significant ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry. It also has antioxidant properties which render several health benefits including relief from heartburn prevention of many chronic diseases such as cancer, these properties are expected to encourage the demand for orange peel extract in the global market. In addition to that, the growing demand for natural flavoring agents and functional food products also contribute to accelerating the growth in demand for orange peel extract. The increasing demand for orange peel extract in the cosmetics industry owing to its cleansing properties and its ability to fight acne is also one of the key factors in driving the global orange peel extract demand. Increasing health consciousness is leading the consumers to use natural ingredient based products rather than synthetic ingredients which is again a growth driver for the global orange peel extract market. Abundance in production leads to easy availability which leads to low cost, making orange peel extract a preferable choice for raw material for the manufacturers and supply side participants. This factor is also a major contributor to fuel the demand of the orange peel extract in the global market over the forecast period. Request Free Sample Report@ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=1790 Growth of food and beverage industry and increasing demand for natural flavouring agents is driving the Orange peel extract Market: Recent trends in wellness and health are major growth drivers in the orange peel extract market. Orange peel extract has many medicinal properties which makes it a suitable ingredient for various pharmaceutical application, this leads to an increase in the demand of the orange peel extract. Due to its high production, the price of the orange peel extract is relatively low and this plays a major role in high-profit-margin, which attracts the supply side participants to enter the orange peel extract market. Owing to its versatile nature orange peel extract finds its application in a wide range of food products and increasing consumption of food and beverages products is driving the growth of orange peel extract in the market. The shift of consumer preference from synthetic ingredients to natural based ingredient is escalating the demand for orange peel extract in the market. Mexico and Argentina are the largest producers of orange peel extract and are likely to witness healthy growth rates over the forecast period. Orange peel extract Market: Market Segmentation On the basis of form, the Global Orange peel extract market has been segmented as: Powder Tablets Liquid On the basis of Nature, the Global Orange peel extract market has been segmented as: Organic Conventional On the basis of Application, the Global Orange peel extract market has been segmented as: Food and Beverages Cosmetics Pharmaceuticals On the basis of Distribution Channel, the Global Calcium fortified juice market has been segmented as: Hypermarkets Supermarkets Convenience Stores Specialty Retail Stores Online Retailers Global Orange peel extract Market: Market Participants: The key market participants identified across the value chain of the global Orange peel extract market are Plant Extracts International Inc., Beacon Commodities, Hunan Nutramax Inc., Natural Bitter Orange Peel Extract, RUNHERB INC., MB-Holding GmbH & Co.KG., and Denk Ingredients are among others. Opportunities for Orange peel extract Market participants: With the increase in the per capita disposable income, the spending on personal care products has also increased and this is a major growth driver for the cosmetics industry and consequently for the orange peel extract in the market. The high-profit margin in the orange peel extract market lures numerous market players into this market, sensing a lucrative growth and fuelling market opportunities. Increasing population in the Asia-Pacific region is leading to increased consumption of functional food and beverages which in turn boost the demand for orange peel extracts in the market. The medicinal properties of orange peel extract make it fit for use in curing many health problems and finds its application in the pharmaceutical industry. The hike in the demand for natural flavoring industry is one of the major growth driver for the orange peel extract market over the forecast period. Request/View TOC@ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1790 The Orange peel extract market on the basis of region has been segmented as: North America Latin America Europe CIS & Russia Japan APEJ The Middle East & Africa Brief Approach to Research for Orange peel extract Market: The company will follow a modelling-based approach and triangulation methodology to estimate data covered in this report. A detailed market understanding and assessment of the applications, types, forms, and end uses of the product segments covered in the study is followed by carrying out a demand-side approach to estimate the sales of target product segments, which is then cross-referenced with a supply-side assessment of value generated over a pre-defined period. The statistics and data are collected at a regional level and consolidated and synthesized at a global level to estimate overall market sizes. Key Data Points Covered in the Report: Some of the key data points covered in our report for the Orange peel extract market include: An overview of the Orange peel extract market, including background and evolution Macroeconomic factors affecting the Orange peel extract market and its potential Market dynamics, such as drivers, challenges, and trends Detailed value chain analysis of the Orange peel extract market The cost structure of the products and segments covered in the study In-depth pricing analysis, by key product segments, regions and by major Orange peel extract market participants Analysis of supply and demand, such as top producing and consuming geographies, imports/exports, and overall trade scenario Analysis of the Orange peel extract market structure, including a tier-wise categorization of key market participants Report Analysis@ https://www.factmr.com/report/1790/orange-peel-extract-market About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Rohit Bhisey Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Blog: https://factmrblog.com/ New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- The latest industry intelligence research on the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market offers a repository of valuable data on the size, share, and growth rate of the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026. Importantly, examination of various facets of the industry including but not limited to production volume, product sales, demand and supply assessment and forecast for the period, 2019 - 2026 aim at offering business owners a competitive edge over their rivals. The study further conducts a qualitative evaluation of various driving forces expected to shape the future of the industry during the estimated period. Get Free Sample Copy Here@ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/31212 Scope of the Report: The study finds that how on certain account threats and challenges can act as a roadblock for the business. A thorough evaluation of the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market in the light of macro-environment such as social, political, economical as well as technological environment add granularity to the overall research. In addition, the study produces real-time data on vital aspects including sales, profits, gross margin and growth prospects to show how going forward the business will witness a substantial upswing. Major Players in Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market are: - Quikrete Companies Inc. (U.S.) - The Euclid Chemical Company (U.S.) - LKAB Berg & Betong AB (Sweden) - U.S. Concrete, Inc. (U.S.) - Sika AG (Switzerland) - LafargeHolcim (Switzerland) - HeidelbergCement AG (Germany) Major Regions that plays a vital role in Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market are: - North America - Europe - China - Japan - Middle East & Africa - India - South America - Others Most important types of Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete products covered in this report are: - 40(Length diameter ratio of steel fiber) - 45 - 50 - 55 Most widely used downstream fields of Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market covered in this report are: - Underground construction - Protective coatings - Water retaining structures - Repair works - Architecture Buy Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/31212 Besides exploring the 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. In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete are as follows: History Year: 2014-2018 Base Year: 2018 Estimated Year: 2019 Forecast Year 2019 to 2026 You can get free access to the sample according to the report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/31212 The study objectives of this report are: - To analyze and study the global Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2014-2019) and forecast (2019-2026); - Focuses on the key Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future. - Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis. - To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. - To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks. - To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth. - To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. - To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market - To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market - To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What will be the growth rate and the market size of the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete industry for the forecast period 2019-2026? - What are the major driving forces expected to impact the development of the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market across different regions? - Who are the major driving forces expected to decide the fate of the industry worldwide? - Who are the prominent market players making a mark in the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market with their winning strategies? - Which industry trends are likely to shape the future of the industry during the forecast period 2019-2026? - What are the key barriers and threats believed to hinder the development of the industry? - What are the future opportunities in the Steel Fiber Reinforced Sprayed Concrete market? Browse The Report Description@ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/steel-fiber-reinforced-sprayed-concrete-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Brandon, MB -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Although QuickBooks is specifically designed for the layman to understand, the initial setup and installation as well as any troubleshooting must be done professionally in order to use the software to its fullest potential. Be it a slow operating file, a forgotten password or an unorganized items list, leading data service experts E-Tech, a data repair and conversion service, comes fully prepared. With an all-ranging, fully comprehensive QuickBooks facility, E-Tech ranks the highest in North America due to its ability to deliver. 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To learn more about the company, visit www.e-tech.ca Media Contact E-Tech 136 11 th St Brandon, MB R7A 4J4 Melanie@e-tech.ca www.e-tech.ca Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- The report "Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Market by Type (AC, DC, and Servo), End-Users (Industrial, Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, and Power Generation), Application (Pumps, Fans, Compressors, and Conveyors), Power Range, Voltage, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023", The Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 20.73 billion in 2018 to USD 27.57 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 5.87%, from 2018 to 2023. Increase in industrialization and urbanization and rising need of energy efficiency across various industries such as oil & gas and power generation are likely to drive the VFD market. The low-voltage segment is expected to hold the largest share of the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Market, by voltage, during the forecast period. The low-voltage segment led the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Market in 2017 and is projected to have the largest market share during the forecast period. Low-voltage VFDs are used in various industrial applications such as building automation, pulp & paper, power, water & wastewater, and oil & gas, and especially in process industries, which would drive the low-voltage segment during the forecast period. Browse and in-depth TOC on "Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Market" 87 - Tables 43 - Figures 167 - Pages Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=878 The pump segment is expected to hold the largest share of the VFD market, by application, during the forecast period. The pump segment led the VFD market in 2017. Pump is one of the most important equipment in most industries such as oil & gas, chemical & petrochemical, and pulp and paper as it provides huge potential for energy savings, improved performance, and reliability. Increase in oil and shale gas productions are driving the pump market. The infrastructure segment of the VFD market, by end-user, is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The infrastructure segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2018 to 2023. Rapid infrastructure development in the developing companies and growing concerns over energy efficiency in the developed countries are likely to drive the infrastructure segment. For instance, in December 2017, the government of Japan planned to invest USD 57.97 million on development projects, including housing and commercial facilities, as per Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation. Such investments toward the infrastructure activity would boost the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific: The leading market (by volume) for VFD In this report, the VFD market has been analyzed with respect to 6 regions, namely, Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Asia Pacific led the global VFD market in 2017. China and Japan are the largest markets for VFD in the region. The government of China plans to invest heavily on clean energy production, which would drive the VFD market in the country. In order to accomplish its target, the Chinese government planned to invest about USD 361 billion in clean energy by 2020, as China aims to supply 20% of power from non-fossil sources by 2030. Meanwhile, Japan is actively focusing on infrastructure development. For instance, as per the Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation, Japan planned to invest USD 57.97 million for development projects, including housing and commercial facilities. Therefore, factors such as increasing investments in renewable energy and infrastructure development in China, Japan, and India are driving the VFD market in the region. Speak to Analyst @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=878 To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of some of the top players in the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Market. The key players include ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), Danfoss (US), and Rockwell (US). The leading players are adopting various strategies to increase their shares in the VFD market. About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA : 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/23/2019 -- Global Market Insights presents the Virtual Router Market provides a detailed overview of major drivers, restraints, challenges, opportunities, current industry trends and strategies impacting the global market along with estimates and forecast of revenue. The explosion of content & mobile devices, the advent of cloud services, and server virtualization are forcing the networking industry to reconsider the traditional network architecture. The traditional network architecture made sense when client-server computing was dominant. However, such static architecture is unsuitable for the dynamic storage and computing needs of the modern carrier environment and enterprises. Moreover, the increasing pressure to decrease the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) is also encouraging the adoption of virtual routers among organizations. Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-toc/upcoming/2988 Route reflection is one of the prominent applications of the virtual router market. The cost-effectiveness, scalability, and high performance of virtual routers are the primary factors augmenting their demand for route reflection among network service providers. Furthermore, their ability to offload route reflection from hardware routers, which extends their lifespan by freeing up the processor cycle also drives their demand. The increasing adoption of the virtual routers among Communication Service Providers (CSPs) is also driving the virtual router market growth. The CSPs are leveraging on the capabilities for a wide array of applications ranging from data center, network edge, and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). They are also being widely used to deliver traditional edge services including IP/MPLS and virtual private network services. Furthermore, the migration to wireless networking, 5G, and virtualized CPE also accelerates the adoption of virtual routing among CSPs. Request for customization @ https://www.gminsights.com/roc/2988 The Asia Pacific virtual router market is projected to grow at a high growth rate during the forecast timeline. The growing adoption of 4G and the increasing spending for the development of 5G infrastructure propel the adoption of virtual routers in the region. Over the past three years, a rapid shift toward the higher speed mobile technology in the region has been witnessed. In 2016, mobile broadband technologies such as 3G and above have dominated network technologies. Japan, South Korea, and Australia are the market leaders in terms of 4G adoption. However, China will emerge as one of the key countries in 4G uptake during the forecast period with over one billion 4G connections by the end of 2018. The key players in the virtual router market are Cisco, Ericsson, Brocade, Juniper Network, Huawei, Nokia, HPE, IBM, 128 Technology, ZTE Corporation, Arista Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, and Tredent. The players are leveraging on mergers and acquisitions to gain technical expertise and expand their customer base. Browse Complete Report Summary @ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/virtual-router-market About Global Market Insights: Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. The four new Classics Delight Automatic models celebrate the feminine allure of Frederique Constant adding a touch of luxury thanks to the white or navy blue mother-of-pearl dials, applied silver color or rose gold-plated indexes set with 8 diamonds and to the central light grey or navy blue Guilloche decoration. The 33mm case and the bracelet, perfectly fitting any womans wrist, are available in plain polished stainless steel or in two-tone rose gold-plated and steel. Frederique Constant Featuring hours, minutes and date with a window at 6 oclock, this watch is assembled by hand at the brand's manufacture in Switzerland and is powered by the FC-306 automatic caliber. This precise and reliable mouvement has a 42-hour power reserve. As the hands sweep around the dial, you can rest assured that every component has been treated with care, crafted only by the most experienced Swiss watchmakers. Frederique Constant These latest versions are sold at a price starting at EUR 1,595. The Moon has striking asymmetries between its nearside and farside in topography, crustal thickness, and composition. A new study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, suggests these asymmetries were caused by a dwarf planet colliding with the Moon in the early history of the Solar System. The mystery of the Moons two faces began in the Apollo era when the first views of its farside revealed the surprising differences. Measurements made by NASAs Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission in 2012 filled in more details about the structure of the Moon including how its crust is thicker and includes an extra layer of material on its farside. There are a number of ideas that have been used to try and explain the Moons asymmetry. One is that there were once two moons orbiting Earth and they merged in the very early days of the Moons formation. Another idea is that a large body, perhaps a young dwarf planet, found itself in an orbit around the Sun that put it on a collision course with the Moon. This latter giant impact idea would have happened somewhat later than a merging-moons scenario and after the Moon had formed a solid crust. Signs of such an impact should be visible in the structure of the lunar crust today, said study lead author Dr. Meng Hua Zhu, a researcher with the Space Science Institute at Macau University of Science and Technology. The scientists ran 360 computer simulations of giant impacts with the Moon to find out whether such an event millions of years ago could reproduce the crust of todays Moon as detected by GRAIL. They found the best fit for todays asymmetrical Moon is a large body, about 480 miles (780 km) in diameter, smacking into the nearside of the Moon at 14,000 mph (22,500 kmh). Another good fit for the impact combinations they modeled is a slightly smaller, 450-mile (720-km) diameter, object hitting at a mildly faster 15,000 mph (24,500 kmh). Under both these scenarios, the model shows the impact would have thrown up vast amounts of material that would fall back on the Moons surface, burying the primordial crust on the farside in 3 to 6 miles (5 to 10 km) of debris. That is the added layer of crust detected on the farside by GRAIL. Our study suggests the impactor was not likely an early second moon of Earths, Dr. Zhu said. Whatever the impactor was an asteroid or a dwarf planet it was probably on its own orbit around the Sun when it encountered the Moon. The giant impact model also provides a good explanation for the unexplained differences in isotopes of potassium, phosphorus and rare-earth elements like tungsten-182 between the surfaces of the Earth and Moon, the researchers said. These elements could have come from the giant impact, which would have added that material to the Moon after its formation. _____ Meng-Hua Zhu et al. Are the Moons nearside-farside asymmetries the result of a giant impact? Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, published online May 20, 2019; doi: 10.1029/2018JE005826 Total Marine Fuels has prioritised Europes Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) major bunkering hub, France, Germany and Singapore, the worlds largest bunkering port, for the supplies of IMO 2020-compliant marine fuels as early as from September or starting October, according to Jerome Leprince-Ringuet, managing director of Total Marine Fuels. We will have low sulphur fuels available for our current customer base and beyond. We have been working to ensure that in the major hubs that we operate Europe, Asia and Africa we will be able to supply compliant low sulphur fuels, Leprince-Ringuet told Seatrade Maritime News. However we see the future of 2020 as a mix of solutions with not only low sulphur fuels but also high sulphur fuels and alternative fuels where we think LNG is a clear choice, he said. Total is looking at a production proportion of 75-85% low sulphur fuels, 10-20% high sulphur fuels and up to 5% LNG between 2020 to 2025. Id caution that even if theres availability of high sulphur fuels in future, owners who have chosen to use this fuel with scrubbers must know that in remote and smaller ports, the availability of storage, high sulphur fuel oil bunker barge and product itself are not guaranteed. The owners will need to secure the high sulphur fuels in advance, Leprince-Ringuet said. Read more: IMO 2020 - Majority of smaller bunkering ports won't have compliant fuel And while the market share of LNG as fuel could still be the smallest at a projection of 5% by 2025, Leprince-Ringuet believes that the clean gas is the best option for the future and the best option amongst all the alternative fuels. Total is currently developing LNG bunkering projects in Europe, the Middle East and Singapore, as the oil refiner is backing the emergence of LNG as fuel due to its sound business case, Leprince-Ringuet said. He noted that CMA CGM, for instance, has chosen LNG-propulsion for their next generation of containerships, and a lot of passenger vessels, ferries and roros in Europe have turned to using LNG. The worlds major bunkering hubs are also promoting the use of LNG as fuel, and the price of LNG is expected to stay cheaper than marine gasoil. All these are examples of business case that works so we are very engaged in the development of the LNG bunkering market, Leprince-Ringuet said. Read more: Total signs agreement to fuel CMA CGM's 22,000 teu LNG-powered containerships Totals global network of marine lubricants supply, meanwhile, is expected to complement its low sulphur fuels supply come 2020. Robert Joore, general manager of Total Lubrifiants, said Total is currently testing a new version of lubes to add to its already extensive portfolio of lubricants that are available in 100 countries in more than 1,000 ports. With the existing portfolio we have, in fact we are already prepared for 2020. But we are currently testing a new version of product in order to have a better product available and ready, Joore said. Jean-Philippe Roman, technical director of Total Lubrifiants, said that low BN (base number) lubes will become the most important product in its portfolio due to the 2020 Marpol Annex VI regulation. Total Lubrifiants is currently testing a new version of its BN 40 lubricants for use with low sulphur fuels. From 2020, Roman expects that Total Lubrifiants portfolio will be centred on the BN 40 product, shifting away from its current widely used BN 70 product. We are currently developing and testing the new version BN 40 product for 2020. However, engine manufacturers have pointed out some sensitivity on engines in terms of deposit formation, so we are recommending customers take a measured approach to the transition by using a higher BN of 57 that we already have in our portfolio, Roman said. For LNG-fuelled engines or vessels continuously operating on 0.1% sulphur distillate fuels, we have developed a new BN 25 product. We will still supply the higher BN 100 product for use with high sulphur fuels and ships using scrubbers, he added. Read more: IMO 2020 - differing perspectives across shipping sectors Brian Tucker honored by SSA for global earthquake safety efforts SAN FRANCISCO - For his efforts to make the world's most vulnerable communities safer from earthquakes and other natural hazards, the Seismological Society of America (SSA) honors Brian Tucker with the 2019 Frank Press Public Service Award. Tucker, founder and former president of the nonprofit organization GeoHazards International, will receive the Press Award at the 2020 SSA Annual Meeting, to be held 27-30 April 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tucker and his colleagues in GeoHazards International bring together seismologists, geologists, engineers, sociologists and disaster managers to help communities around the globe improve earthquake-resistant construction practices and apply other methods to prepare for natural hazards. Their approach is to identify a risk that the community considers unacceptable; demonstrate affordable, socially acceptable methods that reduce that risk; and finally provide the community with the capacity to implement those methods. The goal is to act before disasters strike. GeoHazards International, with local and international partners, has developed earthquake scenarios and seismic safety action plans, retrofitted schools, improved the seismic safety of hospitals, mapped landslide hazards, designed and promoted vertical tsunami evacuation parks, and initiated the local manufacture of "School Earthquake Desks". They work in Central Asia, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Ecuador, China and Haiti. These efforts have had clear success, as in the case of the hundreds of schools that had been seismically retrofitted before the 2015 magnitude 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake. In areas where 70% of unretrofitted school buildings suffered damage or collapsed, only 7% of the retrofitted buildings were damaged. The retrofits were made by GeoHazards International's Nepali partner, the National Society for Earthquake Technology. "While many of us in the seismological community can justifiably claim that the science and products we've produced will lead to safer cities and potentially save lives or reduce other losses over the long-term, few can point to specific cases where communities have benefitted directly from our efforts. Brian Tucker can," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist David Wald, in nominating Tucker for the award. Wald was the 2008 recipient of the Press Award. GeoHazards International's ability to translate broad seismological and engineering knowledge into practical, actionable information for decision makers and the public, and its ability to bring together diverse groups of experts to bear on a crisis, as it did after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, were especially noted by colleagues supporting Tucker for the award. Tucker has received numerous awards for his work, including being named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2002. Before founding GHI, he served as Acting California State Geologist, Principal State Geologist, and Supervising Geologist of the California Geological Survey for geohazards programs, from 1982 to 1991. Tucker has also served on the Seismological Society of America Board of Directors. He received his B.A. in physics from Pomona College in 1967, his Ph.D. in geophysics and seismology from University of California, San Diego in 1975, and an M.A. in public policy from Harvard University in 1991. The Frank Press Public Service Award honors outstanding contributions to the advancement of public safety or public information relating to seismology. This award may be given to any individual, combination of individuals, or organization. ### This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Issue Media Group (IMG) is pleased to announce Dorothy Hernandez has joined the company as the new associate editorial director and the managing editor of Model D, IMGs flagship publication. With more than 52,000 subscribers, Model D has been advancing the narrative of diverse talent and culture as well as community and inclusive economic development in Detroit since 2006.Hernandez joins Issue Media Group after working in marketing and communications at Gleaners Community Food Bank and recently wrapped up a food journalism fellowship with Feet in Two Worlds and WDET. She is a veteran journalist with several years of experience writing and editing for a variety of print and digital outlets, including most recently as a copy editor for SEEN magazine.Aside from SEEN, Hernandez has worked for The Detroit News, the City of Detroit, as the Managing Editor of Hour Detroit Magazine and in freelance communications for several different outlets. She holds numerous journalism awards from SPJ-Detroit and the American Copy Editors Society.I enjoy engaging different audiences and telling the stories that highlight Detroits diversity, entrepreneurial spirit and change-makers and I look forward to advancing that narrative with Issue Media Group, says Hernandez."We are thrilled to have Dorothy join Issue Media Group and Model D at an exciting time for the publication and the company," says Brian Boyle, co-CEO of Issue Media Group. "Her experience, credibility and perspective will be valuable assets as we continue to advance community-informed media in the region. We look forward to her input as we focus on storytelling as a means to fostering attachment to place and improving civic dialogue across IMGs growing portfolio of publications.Issue Media Group (IMG) publishes a wide range of online publications in a growing network of communities across North America, focused on growth, investment, equity, and the people driving community transformation. You can learn more at www.issuemediagroup.com Dorothy HernandezIssue Media Group (IMG) is pleased to announce Dorothy Hernandez has joined the company as the new associate editorial director and the managing editor of Model D, IMGs flagship publication. With more than 52,000 subscribers, Model D has been advancing the narrative of diverse talent and culture as well as community and inclusive economic development in Detroit since 2006. Hernandez joins Issue Media Group after working in marketing and communications at Gleaners Community Food Bank and recently wrapped up a food journalism fellowship with Feet in Two Worlds and WDET. A veteran journalist with several years of experience writing and editing for a variety of print and digital outlets, including most recently as copy editor for SEEN magazine, Hernandez will bring both breadth and depth to the role. Aside from SEEN, Hernandez has worked for The Detroit News, the City of Detroit, as the Managing Editor of Hour Detroit Magazine and in freelance communications for several different outlets. She holds numerous journalism awards from SPJ-Detroit and the American Copy Editors Society. I enjoy engaging different audiences and telling the stories that highlight Detroits diversity, entrepreneurial spirit and change-makers and I look forward to advancing that narrative with Issue Media Group, says Hernandez. "We are thrilled to have Dorothy join Issue Media Group and Model D at an exciting time for the publication and the company," says Brian Boyle, co-CEO of Issue Media Group. "Her experience, credibility, and perspective will be valuable assets as we continue to advance community-informed media in the region. We look forward to her input as we focus on storytelling as a means to fostering attachment to place and improving civic dialogue across IMGs growing portfolio of publications. About Issue Media Group Issue Media Group (IMG) publishes a wide range of online publications in a growing network of communities across North America, focused on growth, investment, equity, and the people driving community transformation. You can learn more at www.issuemediagroup.com Nichole Pierman leads a dance class at her studio, In His Steps Nichole Pierman and instructors lead a dance class at In His Steps studio Nichole Pierman offers an alternative to aspiring dancers in the Battle Creek area who want the focus to be on the core message they convey through their choreography rather than the costumes, music, and specific dance moves.The name of her dance studio In His Steps leaves very little doubt about the type of atmosphere she has created for girls of all ages. Located at 833 Golden Avenue, the studio occupies a two-story, brick building that was the Harper Creek Schools Administration Building.With the exception of being a non-competitive dance studio, In His Steps operates similar to other studios and offers a range of different classes, including ballet, tap, jazz, pom, and pointe.During the school year, the site bustles with activity as girls as young as 3-years-old come in for lessons while many of their parents sit in cars in the parking lot catching up on work, making phone calls, or taking a much-needed breather from the days activities.Upon entering the building, a chalkboard with an inspirational message greets the students and sets the tone for the time they will spend perfecting their dance moves under the watchful eye of any one of 10 instructors who Pierman describes as Godly people.We start every class with a prayer and end with a devotional, Pierman says. We use the music of Christian artists and our costumes and choreography are appropriate.Despite the studio's religious underpinnings, enrollment is not restricted to practicing Christians. A lot of (our students) are unchurched, Pierman says. Parents just want a safe and moral place for the parents.To her knowledge, the studio she owns with her husband, Tony, is the only Christian-based dance studio in the area. Those who take classes there include homeschoolers, students who attend schools throughout Calhoun County, and students from nearby cities, including Kalamazoo.Elizabeth Spencers two daughters started as students at the dance studio nine years ago. They both now teach there.Her eldest daughter, Lydia, now 20 and a student at Spring Arbor University, teaches two classes, and her youngest daughter, Anna, 15, who attends Harper Creek High School, teaches three classes.The Spencers were exposed to In His Steps when Pierman and a few of her students came to Wakeshma Community Church to perform. Not long after that, Spencer signed up daughter Anna, who was 6 years old, for a beginning ballet and tap class.We called it Tutu Tuesdays and she loved it, Spencer says.Meanwhile, her daughter, Lydia, who had tried dance at another studio and walked away after the first class, decided to give it another try after watching an In His Steps recital.The curtain closed and Lydia said, 'I want that', Spencer says. She started right away. Weve pretty much lived at that studio ever since.In general, Spencer says, dance can be a tricky thing in terms of movements and costumes. She says shes talked to other parents who have taken their children to recitals where theyve had to cover their younger childrens eyes because of what they considered inappropriate dance moves on stage.Pierman, Spencer says, is very deliberate in terms of her choice of costumes and movements for her students, which does not diminish from the level of creativity that goes into choreographing a dance.Its just a safe environment and I dont have to worry that my girls are going to be up there wearing something suggestive, Spencer says.Maintaining that ever-present religious component and moral compass is important to Spencer who says she also likes the inclusive nature of the dance studio.Were a Christian family, but the faith aspect is not shoved down anyones throat, even though its there, she says. Its a welcoming atmosphere no matter where youre at.This inclusiveness is important to Pierman who was not raised in a Christian household. Her grandmother took her church. My family is not Christian, I was not saved, so I didnt grow up in that type of atmosphere, she says.At the age of 5, her mother enrolled her and her sister in classes at a dance studio in Battle Creek. Six years later she was asked to join a competitive dance team which she continued with until she was 18.It was fun and exciting and I got to travel, Pierman says. Thats where my friends were and where I wanted to be. But, it also was all-consuming, leaving her no time to participate in extracurricular activities or sports. It was also expensive.Growing up as a competitive dancer, Pierman says she always wanted to open a dance studio. The foundation for that dance studio would be set after she began attending weekly church services with a friend.During this time she became a Christian, was saved and she started asking God what her spiritual gifts were.God spoke to me and said I would dance and I will do it but in a different way, Pierman says. It would be dance, but not the way that I knew it. It meant me learning what dance meant and what I was created for. I was in a church service and I dont remember what the pastor was speaking on. I grew up dancing my whole life and it was like a veil was lifted and it was very obvious that I would dance, but not in a way that I knew it.As a competitive dancer, for Pierman it was all about winning trophies and embracing the drive to be number one. I grew up in studios that were obviously not Christian, she says. The costumes were inappropriate and the dance was inappropriate.At one point she pulled herself out of a dance that she says was inappropriate and didnt line up with who she was. She says God saw that she was being obedient and not just going with the flow.She began reading and studying verses in the Bible about dance and prayed a lot for guidance. By this time she was married and operating a daycare out of her home which allowed her to stay home with her three daughters. She taught dance classes at Endeavor Charter Academy where her daughters attended school.God spoke to me clearly one day and said, I want you to call Branch Gymnastics, so I called and met with the owners and they liked the idea (of dance classes) so we started teaching classes there in 2005. I had 20 and students that first year. Most of them were friends of my girls.Eventually, she opened a studio at a plaza on Columbia Avenue.We only had one dance studio in that plaza and we were up to 120 students when we left there doing classes Monday through Saturday, Pierman says. Even when the economy hit the ground, God was still blessing us and we were still growing.That growth prompted Pierman and her husband to move into their current location on Golden Avenue.She and her husband met at First Wesleyan Church which is where In His Steps dance recitals take place. Pierman credits her husband with providing the foundation for the success of their dance studio. They currently have about 200 students and also have a class for women who grew up in churches or homes where dancing wasnt allowed.Growing up in a dance studio (his mom owned her own dance studio and he danced as well), he knows what it takes to own and operate a dance studio, Pierman says of her husband. All our students know him as Mr. Tony and love seeing him around the studio as well as our recitals.The studio has two recitals each year one in December and the other in June which coincides with the end of the school year. On June 15, Piermans students will perform a recital at First Wesleyan Church with a theme based on the Creation story from the Bible. Each of the dances performed has been choreographed around the seven days of Creation.Pierman says the recitals are more like a church service and includes an altar call from a pastor and an explanation about the theme.However, its what happens leading up to these recitals that best exemplifies the mission of In His Steps.Its not like a student/teacher relationship, Pierman says. We know whats going on in their lives and ask if there are any prayers or praises they want to share. We know whos sick at home or struggling at school. We use that to pray for the kids, even the non-churched kids.Removing the competitive aspect removes the potential for cliques, dance-mom drama, or negative behavior, Pierman says.Our students are not talking against each other and they know were not going to scream and yell at them if they mess up, she says. This is about fun and for God.It is also a calling for the Piermans who both say this is where they are meant to be.We feel like were called here, like were supposed to be a part of Battle Creek, and we believe in it, Pierman says. Were here to restore dance back to its original purpose and that is to glorify Him. We teach dance created to worship God. Cafe Rica will be host artist Cory Patterson during Spring into the Arts. Local businesses hosts artists as they did here during the 2018 event. Spring into the Arts patrons during the 2018 event. Spring into the Arts returns May 24. Cafe Rica is among a number of businesses and organizations in the downtown district that will be participating in Battle Creeks Spring Into the Arts celebration Friday from 3-9 p.m. The twice-yearly arts celebration features the works of area artists on display at various downtown venues and this time out has a number of unique draws for area art lovers. Tristan Bredehoft, co-owner of Cafe Rica, says his shop will feature the work of photographer Cory Patterson who has captured images from throughout the world. He has taken some of those photos and transposed them onto wooden backgrounds, Bredehoft says. He takes part of the image and makes it a little bit more transparent so it shows the woodgrain in the wood. Bredehoft says that artists' work has been displayed on a monthly basis at Cafe Rica since he and his brother, Jackson, who co-owns the business with him, moved to their location at 80 W. Michigan Ave. earlier this year. They started out as one of the tenants at B.C. Cargo before the move. The brothers' decision to display local artwork is part of a trend among coffee shops throughout the United States. Its kind of a perfect match because people coming in for coffee have an appreciation for the arts, Bredehoft says. It brings some character to coffee shops while helping to promote artists and providing opportunities for them to sell their art. Cory asked us if this was something we wanted to do. We thought it was the perfect pairing. In addition to showcasing Pattersons work, two other artists Giselle and Taylor will be doing live painting demonstrations on canvas using paintbrushes and spraypaint and members of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Area Moustache Society will be hosting a cash bar, including a special beer from Territorial Brewing, to raise money for various charities. This will be the first Spring Into the Arts for the brothers as business owners. Bredehoft says he thinks this is a really good way to reach people who wouldnt otherwise visit the citys downtown district after normal business hours. The citys celebration of the arts happens once in the Spring and again in the Fall. During an event last year, he and his brother met a friend at Rices Shoes. I had never been in there before, Bredehoft says. This is a great way to reach people, you may normally not be reaching. Fridays Spring Into the Arts is being changed up a bit to accommodate the partial closure of West Michigan Avenue because of ongoing construction work at Heritage Tower. We started thinking about what we would like to do to create some energy in Spring into the Arts, said Kara Beer, president of the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce. We came up with this idea. The idea is that some of the participating artists, vendors, and even local businesses will set up pop-up tents along the Linear Park trail for attendees to browse, from Carlyle Street all the way to the City Hall area. Beer also announced in February other additions to Spring into the Arts 2019, such as night-time kayaking and water bonfires, to pair with the new riverside location of the event. Press Release May 22, 2019 SPONSORSHIP SPEECH Senate Bill No. 2227 under Committee Report No. 669 AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7042, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE FOREIGN INVESTMENTS ACT OF 1991, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8179, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES May 22, 2019 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon Session Hall, Senate of the Philippines Delivered by HON. WIN GATCHALIAN, Senator of the Republic Mr. President, my honorable peers in the Senate, good afternoon. When Republic Act No. 7042, otherwise known as the Foreign Investments Act, was enacted in 1991, its aim was to invigorate the Philippine economy by substantially liberalizing foreign investment laws and policies. Foreign direct investments, or FDIs, are important to us, as they are to any developing country, because they provide tangible economic benefits in the form of technical expertise, technological transfer, foreign exchange from exports, and higher tax revenues, among others. One the greatest benefits of FDIs to economies like the Philippines is increased employment. Various studies point to an inverse correlation between FDIs and unemployment - in other words, the higher the number of FDIs flowing into a country, the lower its unemployment rate. While FDIs have slightly different effects on skilled and unskilled labor, the consensus is generally the same. In developing economies all over the world, especially those where unskilled labor forms a large chunk of the labor market, more inward FDIs mean more jobs. At the time of the passage of the 1991 Foreign Investments Act, the law did a fair job in accomplishing its mandate to increase foreign investor access into the country. According to the Joint Foreign Chambers in its 2010 policy document, Arangkada Philippines, FDI accumulation in the Philippines grew from US$4.711 billion between 1990 and 1994, to US$11.183 billion between 2005 and 2009, representing a 237% increase over a 20-year period. While that seems like a noteworthy improvement, the fact is we still lagged behind some of our ASEAN neighbors. The same study shows Singapore's FDI accumulation rose from US$25.903 billion between 1990 and 1994 to US$108.013 billion from 2005 to 2009, which is a 317% increase. Meanwhile, Thailand's FDI accumulation during the same period grew from US$9.951 billion to US$43.341 billion, equivalent to a 336% growth, and Vietnam recorded an increase from US$3.9 billion to US$23.710 billion, which is a staggering 508% increase. It wasn't until the boom experienced by the Business Process Outsourcing (or BPO) sector in the early 2010s that our FDI net inflows improved drastically. Between 2010 and 2014, FDI net inflows to the Philippines grew five-fold, thanks in large part to the liberal regulations governing the BPO industry, according to World Bank data. Other statistics paint a similarly bleak and uncompetitive picture. In fact, we have the second lowest FDI accumulation figures among the ASEAN 6 from 2015-2017, according to the World Bank. Our FDI accumulation for that period stood at US$23.98 billion. Meanwhile, Singapore's FDI accumulation for the same period stood at US$208.48 billion; Indonesia had US$45.79 billion; Vietnam had US$35.5 billion; and Malaysia had US$32.84 billion. Only Thailand recorded a lower FDI accumulation, at US$19.78 billion. We also have the highest unemployment rate among the six large ASEAN markets, according to the International Monetary Fund's 2018 World Economic Outlook, at 5.3%. In contrast, Thailand's unemployment rate stands at 0.7%, Singapore at 2.0%, Vietnam at 2.2%, Malaysia at 3.2%, and Indonesia at 5.2%. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or OECD's FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index for 2018 also lists the Philippines as one of the most restrictive countries in the world when it comes to FDI rules. Of the 68 economies covered by the index, the Philippines ranked among the most restrictive in terms of FDI rules in the business services, telecommunications, media, electricity, and transport industries, with a restrictiveness score way above the OECD average. We fared a little better in the financial services industry, although we still scored above the OECD average. All in all, the OECD found the Philippines to have the most restrictive FDI rules among the 68 economies included in the study, with an overall restrictiveness score almost six times higher than the OECD average. My esteemed colleagues, around 28 years from the enactment of the Foreign Investments Act, our current foreign investment laws and policies are still relatively restrictive, standing in the way of economic attractiveness and employment opportunities. We remain a relatively unattractive investment destination, because our investment laws are less open and generally more inhibitory compared to those of our neighbors in the ASEAN. Given the current global and regional economic climate, there is a need to take a look at the Foreign Investments Act in its current form and face the fact that it may not be living up to its potential as a vital piece of legislation. The measure I am sponsoring today proposes to amend several provisions of the Foreign Investments Act, which will help us take advantage of global and regional economic dynamics. If passed into law, this bill could help make the Philippines more attractive as an investment destination, which, in turn, could open up more employment opportunities for the Filipino people. First, the updated policy declaration puts a premium on the major role played by technological advancements as well as global and regional economic realities on the Philippine economy. Second, the removal of "the practice of all professions" from the coverage of the law means that the law now applies only to foreign investments, and not to the practice of professions in the Philippines by foreigners. It leaves the practice of professions under the ambit of the specific laws that govern and regulate them. This seeks to encourage foreign professionals to come to the country to share their knowledge, expertise, skills and technical know-how to us Filipinos. This transfer of knowledge and technology will, in turn, help the country attract more businesses that require high-skilled and knowledge workers. Third, the requirement of an annual review of the Foreign Investment Negative List ensures that our economic policies with regard to foreign investments are constantly in line and up to date with rapidly changing global and regional economic realities. This allows us to maintain a more competitive position vis-a-vis our ASEAN neighbors in terms of attracting businesses that may be wary of restrictive policies and regulations. Finally, the establishment of a web portal to serve as a central database to be maintained by the Board of Investments, in coordination with other relevant agencies, will certainly make it easier for investors to learn about the country's pertinent laws, rules and regulations, and policies, including restrictions, on foreign investments. This will provide potential foreign investors access to what legal and practical issues they might need to face - sending a clear message that transparency and ease of doing business are as important to the State as it is to businesses and investors. In relation to the concern that foreign investors could use the liberalized investment environment to deprive Filipinos of the opportunity to work within our own country, I filed a bill last week amending the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Act. It seeks to protect the interests of Filipino workers by prioritizing them for employment in development projects financed through ODA funds. Taken together, these amendments will result in a foreign investment regime that is more fine-tuned to the changing economic climate and its accompanying demands. Our receptiveness to these changes may very well determine whether we can live up to our true economic potential or remain in the doldrums compared to our next-door neighbors. Mr. President, it is high time for our country to start enjoying the economic benefits that our neighbors have reaped from foreign investments for the longest time. It is in this spirit that I ask my colleagues in this august chamber to work with me for the immediate passage of this measure. Thank you, Mr. President. Press Release May 23, 2019 Drilon lauds institutionalization of 4Ps Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Thursday lauded the signing into law of Republic Act 11310 or the Institutionalization of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), citing its effectiveness in combating poverty in the country. "The institutionalization of 4Ps is one of my campaign promises when I ran and topped the senatorial race in 2016, because I believe that such a very high-impact poverty alleviation program needs to be sustained," said Drilon, one of the authors of the law. "The signing into law of Republic Act 11310 is a big push in the government's objective of reducing poverty incidence to 14 percent by 2022," he said. "The institutionalization of 4Ps would allay fears about the program being abolished or scaled down," Drilon added. The conditional cash transfer program or 4Ps is patterned after the conditional cash transfer scheme implemented in other developing countries, which provides cash grants to beneficiaries provided that they comply with the set of conditions required by the program. It was first implemented in pilot areas during the Arroyo administration with less than a million beneficiaries. The Aquino administration continued and expanded the program reaching more than four million beneficiaries by the end of Aquino's term. Drilon said that 4Ps helped in reducing poverty incidence in the country, citing the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which showed that poverty incidence in the country dropped to 21 percent in the first semester of 2018. The 4Ps, according to Drilon, has become a platform to close the poor's income gap, enabling them to move closer to the minimum income level. In the Philippines, a family of 5 would need to earn P10,481 to meet their needs. The 4Ps would provide around P1,400 per month to millions of poorest families, augmenting their meager income, according to Drilon. The senator also pointed to the program's effectiveness in keeping poor children in school and preventing them from dropping out. One of the conditions of the program to receive the grant is for parents to send their children to school. Press Release May 23, 2019 Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Bikoy's accusations against the opposition I find it odd that when 'Bikoy' came out with his videos accusing President Rodrigo Duterte, his family and close political friends of links to illegal drugs, this administration was quick to shoot down his credibility, even going so far as to threaten him with arrest. And now, when he sings a different song and accuses the opposition of outlandish things, all of a sudden his credibility is restored? How absurd. This is fanciful and another attempt by this administration to distract the public. Just like the President's matrices, it is another product of Malacanang's wild imagination. Mark Weber, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said in a statement to CBS News that the girl had a history of congenital heart defects. Weber said when she entered the care of an Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facility in San Antonio, Texas, on March 4, 2018, she was in a "medically fragile" state. "Following a surgical procedure, complications left the child in a comatose state. She was transported to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona for palliative care in May after release from a San Antonio hospital," Weber said. "On September 26, she was transferred to an Omaha, Neb., nursing facility to be closer to her family. On September 29, the child was transported to Children's Hospital of Omaha where she passed due to fever and respiratory distress." ...Manuel Castillo, Consulate General of El Salvador in Aurora, told CBS News his office had no knowledge of the girl's death. Castillo said the office was caught off guard by the news, and was hoping CBS News report would help him track down the family. Castillo said concerned local residents called him, saying, "We can't let this happen again." In an interview with CBS News Wednesday, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, accused the administration of concealing the girl's death. "I have not seen any indication that the Trump administration disclosed the death of this young girl to the public or even to Congress," Castro said. "And if that's the case, they covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the question about whether any child had died or been seriously injured. We began asking that question last fall." Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he is going to demand more information from the government about the girl. "We're going to make immediate inquires to HHS to find out what happen to this young girl," Castro said. [Content Note: Nativism; child abuse; death.]We know that five children have died in or following a stint in U.S. Custody since December 2018: 7-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin , 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo-Gomez , 16-year-old Juan de Leon Gutierrez , a still-unidentified 2-year-old boy , and 16-year-old Carlos Gregorio Vasquez Now, CBS News has learned that a sixth child, a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador, died in U.S. custody[CN: video may autoplay at link] Graham Kates and Angel Canales report Rep. Joaquin Castro is the brother of presidential candidate Julian Castro.It's sad and rage-making that this girl died while in U.S. custody. It is also profoundly troubling that her death was concealed until this point, once more raising the question:I keep writing one, two, three, four, five, six deathsand I always desperately hope that there haven't been any more deaths while fearing that there have been.That the government did not disclose this little girl's death, despite repeated inquiries, as Castro points out, is alarming.We need answers. We need them from a government disinclined to provide them.That deadly lack of transparency is disqualifying. The entire Trump Regime must be removed from office with urgent haste.My deep condolences to this girl's family. I am so sorry. home [Content Note: War on agency.]On Monday, I recommended Leslie Jones'segment about the abortion bans being passed in Republican-controlled state legislatures, noting: "I love [her message to the women in those states that they aren't alone] eleventy-seven times as much as telling people to 'move.' This is the message we need: WE HAVE YOUR BACK. Because reproductive choice is FREEDOM."I appreciated that because, in the wake of this latest round of increasingly extreme abortion bans, I'm seeing "just move" all over the place, all over again. my contempt for people living in places with solidly liberal governance responding to "red state" retrofuck legislation by admonishing the people who live there to "just move," without a shred of concern that not everyone has the privilege of being able to move, which is to say nothing of the fact that not everyone having theto move.A few years ago, I moved to another state because of my spouse's work, and it was an absolutely incredible undertaking. It was intensely stressful, time-consuming, and costly even with significant financial assistance from his employer.And we didn't have children to take into consideration: Their friendships, their schools, their doctors, their involvement in extracurricular activities, proximity to grandparents or other extended family, established childcare, etc., all of which becomes exponentially important when a child has special needs.Telling people to "just move" is ignorant of, or indifferent to, this reality. It's straight-up hostile garbage.It's incredibly demoralizing for progressive activists who live in states with conservative governments (which, as a reminder, often are governing in direct contravention of the will of the people) to be told constantly that they should leave their homes, or that their home states are undilutedly terrible places.And it's not even in the self-interest of the people saying it.Because here's the thing: People who live in these states and/or pay attention to what's happening on the state level understand that Republican-controlled legislatures are thefor what Trump/Pence/whoever will do next on the national level.This is why I have, over the years, routinely referred to my home state of Indiana as the " Conservative Legislation Lab ." The populations of "red states" are used by Republican majorities (who often achieved said majority through subverting elections in the same way we now see on the federal level) as guinea pigs for their ever more radical plans.What the fuck are the "move outta that backwards shithole state!" folks going to say when the entire country is suffering the same oppressions?Are they going to pick up their entire lives and move out of the United States?Or are they not likely to do that because their lives are in the United States? Because they have a job here, a home, friends, family? Because it would be difficult for them to just up and move to a different country? Because the mere suggestion makes them think, and maybe even increases their resolve to stay and fight? Because, even if they would love more than anything to move the fuck outta here to someplace better suited to their politics, they simply can't, for whatever combination of reasons?Regardless of whether moving isit's notThe only answer is supporting people where they live; supporting them in their fight against the intersecting oppressions to which they are being subjugated by the thieving, cruel, fascistic pigshits of the Republican Party;listening to them; heeding their warnings about what the Republicans have in store for us all, given the chance.They're coming for the whole country. If you think you're safe, think again.And if you're telling people to "move" in response to vile, audacious attacks on their rights and very autonomy, the person who has to move is you. From your stubborn, intractable indifference. Urgently. The New Zealand dollar was trading higher early Friday on weak US data and as US-China trade tensions show no sign of easing. The kiwi was trading at 65.20 US cents at 7:45am in Wellington from 64.88 at 5pm. The trade-weighted index eased to 71.97 points from 71.75. "The escalation of the US-China trade war took its toll on the markets overnight where we saw a sell-off of tech, industrials and energy stocks," said ANZ Bank FX/rates strategist Sandeep Parekh. Given that both sides will negotiate on their own terms "it could be years before the two superpowers can find sufficient common ground for a trade deal to occur," he said. Parkeh said the US dollar was also weighed by weak housing and manufacturing data. US new home sales fell 6.9 percent in April, reversing the recent strong upward trend. Manufacturing activity fell to its lowest reading since September 2009, with the new order measure below 50 - the threshold between expansion and contraction - for the first time in more than a decade. The kiwi was trading at 51.52 British pence from 51.30 on increasing signs that Prime Minister Theresa May will soon depart. A revised exit deal now won't be voted on before June 7, the Telegraph reported. "The UK Prime Minister wont be putting her latest Brexit plan to the House of Commons and speculation is rife that she could resign as soon as tomorrow," said Parekh. Domestically investors will be watching for overseas merchandise trade data for April. Economists are expecting a trade surplus of $375 million, according to the median in a Bloomberg poll. The New Zealand dollar was trading at 94.55 Australian cents from 94.37, at 58.29 euro cents from 58.20, at 71.40 yen from 71.57 and at 4.5038 Chinese yuan from 4.4855 (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. 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Related News: 24th December 2021 Morning Report Goodman Property Trust (NZX: GMT) GMT to develop North Shore facility for NZ Post 23rd December 2021 Morning Report SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) EXPANDS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH GIG Spark New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPK) Spark to take full ownership of Connect 8 22nd December 2021 Morning Report Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZX: PCT) Wynyard Quarter Stage 3 Commenced AMP Limited (NZX: AMP) Announces Delisting from the NZX Main Board 21st December 2021 Morning Report Greenfern Industries Limited (NZX: GFI) Updates on NTA "There are cases where management buy-outs are happening. The employees are coming together to bid for the revival of the company. There is no harm in being innovative. Like-minded people can come together and bid," said a Mumbai-based investment banker. New Delhi: With conventional solutions remaining elusive for the grounded Jet Airways, industry experts see a joint bid for the airline by strategic and financial investors as a viable option wherein risks can also be hedged. He cited the case of insolvent power transmission firm Jyoti Structures in which a couple of dozens of investors came together to buy the company. Jet Airways remains grounded for over a month now and the attempt made by its lenders led by the State Bank of India (SBI) to bring an investor on board has failed. "The idea (of two or three like-minded investors coming together) is good. Now that the Hinduja Group has shown interest in the airline, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. It will also pave way for the business conglomerate to enter into the aviation space in India," said Rajan Mehra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Club One Air and former India head of Qatar Airways. In response to the lenders' call for stake sale in the airline, only Etihad Airways submitted a bid. The other three investors -- private equity firm TPG Capital, Indigo Partners and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which had qualified in the expression of interest (EoI), did not submit any financial proposal. There were also two unsolicited bids from foreign investors. The Hinduja Group on Tuesday said that it was exploring options to buy a stake in the crisis-hit airline. "Hinduja Group is evaluating the Jet Airways opportunity," a spokesperson had said. While the idea of interested parties coming together and submitting a joint bid appears to be a solution, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a large private firm said that it would be a complicated exercise. As per industry estimates, the debt-laden Jet Airways requires funds worth Rs 15,000 crore but none of the investors have so far showed commitment to infuse substantial funds. The sole bidder Etihad, which holds 24 per cent stake in the airline, has proposed to invest only Rs 1,700 crore. New Delhi: Spice Mobility has reported a 34 per cent rise in its consolidated revenue for financial year 2018-19 (FY 2018-19) on a year-on-year basis. Its revenue stood at Rs 376.68 crore, against the previous year's Rs 280.52 crore, the company said in a statement. It reported a net profit of Rs 9.08 crore, against the loss of Rs 44.70 crore in FY 2017-18. Page Content Acting Head of the National Security Service of Sint Maarten Mr. Jerome Beeldsnijder, represented Sint Maarten on behalf of the Ministry of Justice at the 8th US-Caribbean Security Cooperation Dialogue held in Washington DC last week on Thursday May 16th. The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) and CARICOM IMPACS (Implementing Agency for Crime and Security) the security directorate for CARICOM were the two main topics during the event. Other topics of interest discussed in relation to National Security and security awareness were; Cyber and Cybersecurity Issues Telecommunications Issues Digital media and Crime Countering Violent Extremism / Social Media Border security & Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) Regional Cooperation Information Sharing Maritime Interdiction Emerging Threats Trends & Best Practices The main outcome of the eighth US-Caribbean security cooperation dialogue was to financially empower CARICOM IMPACS and to have them enhance the (cyber) security awareness in countries governments and societies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08M645hHs5M Below is a short excerpt of the final agreement; that is also available online https://www.state.gov/caribbean-united-states-security-cooperation-dialogue/ We, the Governments of the Caribbean States and the United States of America have gathered in Washington, D.C., on the Tenth (10th) Anniversary of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), hereby REAFFIRM the CBSI Partnership launched on April 17, 2009 at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. AGREE to the enhanced CBSI objectives of reducing illicit trafficking, increasing safety and security, and preventing youth crime and violence. DEEPEN the coordination, cooperation and sustainability of our joint efforts among the United States of America, Caribbean States, and international partners to more effectively address the security challenges in the Caribbean and ensure the monitoring and evaluation of program implementation for effective results; REAFFIRM the commitments and outcomes of the Ministerial on the U.S. Caribbean Resilience Partnership held in Miami on April 12, 2019 and the continued cooperation on disaster preparedness and resilience. The countries pledged to continue to advance critical efforts aimed at increasing the security and safety of their respective citizens, reduction in illicit trafficking, prevention of youth crime and violence. Additionally the aim is to establish a stronger security partnership for the future. In Photo L-R Group photo of delegates that attended the 8th US-Caribbean Security Cooperation Dialogue including Acting Head of the National Security Service Jerome Beeldsnijder. Three No Trumps As the Presidential Election is approaching our doorstep, Gota is doing all the right things. His reconfirmation of the candidacy for the Sri Lankas Presidency with Al Jazeera is well timed. Gota knows that the Easter Sunday bombings have given his candidacy a huge boost. Gota is a happy man. He will capitalise from the bombings. He has the money, energy and the organisation to kick start the Presidential campaign well. It will be a Presidential election campaign like no other. We will get to see a truly US style Presidential campaign by Gota. Gotas currentanxiety is whether or not the US would reject his application to revoke the US citizenship. In this regard, Gota of course is obviously nervous. Thus, he issues statements non-stop. Everything depends on how the US will treat his application. Gota who is good at strategy, is doing all the right things at the moment. Maintaining a strict silence during the recent bombing incident was the right thing to do by him. He knows well that he will capitalise from the bombings during the Presidential election campaign. Sirisena well and truly knows that his period will come to an end in 6 months time and he is looking for a dignified exit. In this environment, it is high time that the UNP start indicating the public that Ranil will be the UNP led coalitions Presidential Candidate. The more it allows the public to ponder and guess, it will be strengthening of the enemy. True, Ranil may not be perfect, but he is the best and safest hands for the country at the moment. He is the one who can lead us to the next decade, of the 21st century. The UNP should unashamedly accept this and promote Ranil 100%. It has failed to promote Ranil unreservedly before. They should not do the same mistake this time. While having such a fine Presidential material within themselves, why should they shop around elsewhere for 2nd or 3rd grade material? If Ranil came as the Common Candidate in 2015 (he was prevented by the foolish leaders of the 2015 rainbow colition), he would have had a more resounding victory than Sirisena. Even in 2005, Ranil lost to Mahinda Rajapakse by mere 1% (Ranil secured 49% as opposed to Mahindas 50%.) During that election Mahinda bribed Prabhakaran and stopped Tamils from polling at the election. But for that fact, Ranil lost. It is unfortunate that criticism of Ranil comes within the UNP as well.By doing this, the UNP is digging its own grave. As indicated before, some UNP stalwarts want someone else to run for the Presidency (even someone outside of the UNP) except Ranil. The jealousy and resentment towards Ranil from some quarters of the UNP is very strong. It is basically a fierce infighting. But, Ranil will withstand. There is no one else in the UNP that can even come closer to him. Even Ranil knows this. Unfortunately,it is some junior UNP MPs (those who have spent less than 5 years in the parliament) who fiercely criticise Ranil. Obviously these inexperienced, impatient young MPs do this believing thatthrough a change of leadership, they would receive cabinet portfolios. If the UNP MPs have concerns about Ranil, they should discuss them within the party room, not in the open, definitely not with the media. The UNP radicals should realise and acknowledge that it is due to Ranils excellent leadership that the party survived and flourished during the partys most difficult and turbulent period (since President Premadasa demise). The last 30 years was the most difficult period for the party as UPLF governments were held by very strong personalities like Chandrika Kumaranathunga and Mahinda Rajapakse who resorted to everything possible to cling to power. Almost the entire leadership of the party was annihilated by the LTTE. Not only that Ranil managed to steer the UNP shipin heavy, turbulent watersto safety, he handled the ship with utmost care, it always remained intact. Of course, there were people inside the ship, who tried to damage/sabotage it. The UNP should be strict on the mavericks. They should be told that nominations would be denied to them when and where that comes to happen. That is the best way to teach them a lesson, During the 1977 election JR Jayawardane had a superb team with senior UNP leaders ably and unconditionally supporting him. No one undercut him or tried to belittle him. Small scale minnows were dead scared of their senior leaders then. That is one reason why the UNP had such a massive win in 1977 (as there was no internal revolt). Again, clearly there must be more discipline in the party. And the party must announce Ranils candidacy sooner than later. Put simply, there is no better person than Ranil to contest the 2020 Presidential election. Ranil is genuinely Presidential material. The manner he handled the 26 October 2018 coup (51 day coup) and the Easter Sunday 2019 bombings is superb. No one can criticise him about the handlings. Despite no assistance coming from the President, Ranil enforced curfews and curbed a 1983 style riot happening in 2019. On once occasion, he had to attend the Defence Ministry for a meeting as the Service Chiefs would not accept his invitation to meet with him in the Temple Trees. Through these incidents Ranil has clearly stamped his remarkable andoutstanding leadership qualities and has demonstrated that he is a person who can be entrusted with power and authority. Ranil is today a world-renowned political figure. And, he is the only one we have. The Pohottuwa and SLFP now know it is futile attacking Ranil for Batalanda murders. That Presidential Commission fully exonerated him. They are now attacking him wholesomely for the Central Bank bond scam. No one has been able to show, including the Presidential Commission itself, that Ranil personally profited from the bond scam. Unlike the leaders of the former regime who received commissions and kickbacks from almost every public expenditure scheme where such proceeds went straight into their fat overseas bank accounts, Ranil has never engaged in such massive scale corruption. Ranil has established the name Mr Clean and despite the Bond Scam, people still call him by that name. Ranil is still regarded as a person who can be trusted. After uninterrupted 42 years in the Sri Lankan parliament, Ranil is the most senior and respected politician we have in this country. He has survived assassination attempts. Ranil is theonly cleanperson left in Sri Lankan politics.A bastion of Westminster Politics, the country must protect and look after him like thetwo eyesof a human. There was massive scale corruption during the former regime including the Hedging Fund fraud where the countrys loss was 7 times more than the bond scam. The previous regime is accused of making billions from various fraudulent schemes such as MIG deal, Avant Guard, Sale of Army Headquarters (Galle face) to China and UDA frauds etc. In contrast, Ranil is accused of leasing out Hambanthota Port to the Chines, what he actually did was to save this port from being transferred to the Chinese on a freehold basis. At that time there was no other alternative available as paying off the Chinese loans had become a herculean task. The corruption by the previous regime is unprecedented but the UNP failed to capitalizeon this. Ranil was weak in this, but everyone knows that President Sirisena did not allow Ranil to operate freely and openly. It is Ranil who appointed Dilrukshi Wickramasinghe as the Bribery Commissioner; it is President Sirisena who sacked her as she wasdigging into past dirt/frauds. Ranil is well liked and respected internationally. The US, European Union, India, Japan like to do business with him. These leaders telephone Ranil, the Prime Minister directly, bypassing the President, Sirisena. Example, Trumps recent telephone call to Ranil (not Sirisena). These countries give us generous aid and money donations because they like Ranil as a person. Foreign diplomats maintain a good and cordial relationship with Ranil. Ranil is not a person who abuse people in utmost filth and assault people. He is a well mannered, highly disciplined man. Recently US donated $400 million, IMF gave a$1.4 billion soft loan because the trust and confidence they have for Ranil. India donated money for Suva Sariya Ambulance Program based upon a request made by Ranil. Ranil has promised that tourism will be back to some form of improvement by August/September 2019. There are signs that Ranils prediction will be correct, and Ranil is already working hard towards achieving that goal. This shows Ranil is a visionary, and that he loves Sri Lanka. He pays top priority to improve the countrys economy, which was left in shambles by the previous administration. Unlike other Sri Lankan politicians, Ranil is not an actor. He could have worn the national costume and go worshiping Buddhist temples regularly and carry/kiss small children after obtaining release of them from their parents. He does not operate that way. Ranil is a private person. Unlike pseudopoliticians, Ranil does not go on worshipingBuddhist temples, Christian churches and Hindu kovilsfor the sole purpose of receiving fame and glory through TV news. Ranil married an educated Sinhala Buddhist woman and the couple lead a genuine Sinhala Buddhist way of life. Ranil lives in his old ancestral home; he did not spend public funds to renovate it. The couple spend their leisure time reading good, intellectual books.Raniland Maithri live moderate lives like average middle class Sri Lankans. They are not corrupt. They live with minimum security and even during the recent turbulent times the street where they live (5th Lane) was not closed to the public. During the same time,part of the Wijerama Road that Mahinda Rajapakse lives was closed for public traffic. Views expressed in this article are the authors own Mobile chip titan Qualcomm hit by US antitrust ruling Washington, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2019 Smartphone chip giant Qualcomm suffered a fresh blow in its antitrust battle as a US federal judge ruled that it "strangled competition" for years at the expense of consumers and device makers. Qualcomm shares sank some 11.5 percent in after trade Wednesday after the ruling that the company violated antitrust law, in a case with major implications for the smartphone market. US District Judge Lucy Koh ordered Qualcomm to change its pricing and sales practices, after finding it "engaged in anticompetitive conduct" toward customers like China's Huawei, Samsung and Sony. "Qualcomm's licensing practices have strangled competition" in the chip market "and harmed rivals," she said in Tuesday's 233-page ruling in the lawsuit brought by the US Federal Trade Commission. The California-based company's shares had soared after reaching a settlement with Apple last month over royalty payments for chips used in smartphones, which was expected to generate a windfall of $4.5 billion. The judge issued an injunction requiring Qualcomm to comply with her order, and to submit to monitoring by the FTC for seven years. FTC competition director Bruce Hoffman called the ruling "an important win for competition in a key segment of the economy" and said the agency "will remain vigilant in pursuing unilateral conduct by technology firms that harms the competitive process." - Qualcomm to appeal - The company said it will seek an expedited appeal of the ruling. "We strongly disagree with the judge's conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law," Qualcomm executive vice president and general counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement. Koh cited statements from company executives that showed the "unlawful practices are 'ongoing' or likely to recur" since they were part of the firm's strategy and it maintains a dominant position in the market. The judge ruled that Qualcomm must negotiate terms for its patents on fair and reasonable terms without using threats or discriminatory tactics. "Qualcomm must not condition the supply of modem chips on a customer's patent license status and Qualcomm must negotiate or renegotiate license terms with customers in good faith under conditions free from the threat of lack of access," the judge wrote. John Bergmayer of the consumer group Public Knowledge hailed the decision. "Judge Koh's ruling shows that the FTC has the ability to bring, and win, important cases that protect American consumers," he said. Ed Black of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a trade group that includes Google, Facebook and Microsoft and which sided with FTC, also welcomed the decision. "Qualcomm improperly benefits from its use of standard essential patents that other companies use to build compatible products," Black said. "This ruling is a win for wireless technology and American competitiveness in 5G." But Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy called the decision "a travesty." "To be found guilty, harm must be proved, and there was no evidence shown of harm to consumers, chipmakers or handset makers. Qualcomm will appeal and will likely win." The ruling marked the latest setback for Qualcomm, which has faced antitrust litigation in China, Europe and South Korea. Qualcomm's woes appeared to ease earlier this year when it agreed with Apple to settle all worldwide litigation in what had been a sprawling battle over royalty payments. - Impact unclear - Judge Koh said Qualcomm's actions harmed rivals in the smartphone modem business, including Taiwan-based MediaTek and US-based Intel, which last month pulled out of the market for 5G modems at the same time Apple settled its case with Qualcomm. In one example, the judge said Qualcomm has threatened to cut off chip supplies to Chinese device maker Lenovo if it began buying from Qualcomm rival MediaTek. But the immediate impact is unclear in a smartphone market in turmoil over a US decision to blacklist China's Huawei, the number two handset maker, from any American technology. The ruling could open the door for Qualcomm rivals and partners to seek damages, but "Qualcomm has already settled with Apple, which was one of the key instigators of the case in the first place," noted Avi Greengart of the consultancy Techsponential. Still, the findings "could open up opportunities for MediaTek at the low end of the smartphone market, and in some markets for MediaTek's 5G solutions," Greengart noted. However, Qualcomm is likely to remain the dominant producer for smartphone market in the short-term, the analyst noted. "For the most part, Qualcomm has won based on its merits, not on its licensing terms," he said. hs-rl/jm Mobile chip titan Qualcomm faces setback with US antitrust ruling Washington, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2019 Smartphone chip giant Qualcomm suffered a fresh blow in its antitrust battle as a US federal judge ruled that it "strangled competition" for years at the expense of consumers and device makers. Qualcomm shares sank some 10.8 percent Wednesday to close at a one-month low after the ruling that the company violated antitrust law, in a case with major implications for the smartphone market. US District Judge Lucy Koh ordered Qualcomm to change its pricing and sales practices, after finding it "engaged in anticompetitive conduct" toward customers like device makers Huawei of China, South Korea's Samsung and Japan's Sony. "Qualcomm's licensing practices have strangled competition" in the chip market "and harmed rivals," she said in Tuesday's 233-page ruling in the lawsuit brought by the US Federal Trade Commission. The judge issued an injunction requiring California-based Qualcomm to comply with her order, and to submit to monitoring by the FTC for seven years. FTC competition director Bruce Hoffman called the ruling "an important win for competition in a key segment of the economy" and said the agency "will remain vigilant in pursuing unilateral conduct by technology firms that harms the competitive process." - Qualcomm to appeal - The company said it will seek an expedited appeal of the ruling. "We strongly disagree with the judge's conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law," Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement. Koh said Qualcomm's actions suggested it could use the same tactics to suppress competition for fifth-generation or 5G chips. "There is a sufficient likelihood that Qualcomm will hold monopoly power in the 5G modem chip market such that exclusive dealing agreements for the supply of modem chips could foreclose competition in that emerging market," she wrote. The judge ruled that Qualcomm must negotiate for its patents on fair and reasonable terms without using threats or discriminatory tactics. John Bergmayer of the consumer group Public Knowledge hailed the decision. "Judge Koh's ruling shows that the FTC has the ability to bring, and win, important cases that protect American consumers," he said. Ed Black of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a trade group that includes Google, Facebook and Microsoft and which sided with FTC, also welcomed the decision. "Qualcomm improperly benefits from its use of standard essential patents that other companies use to build compatible products," Black said. "This ruling is a win for wireless technology and American competitiveness in 5G." But Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy called the decision "a travesty." "To be found guilty, harm must be proved, and there was no evidence shown of harm to consumers, chipmakers or handset makers. Qualcomm will appeal and will likely win." Daniel Newman of Futurum Research said the ruling could hurt US efforts to get a lead in the 5G market. "Knowing that there is an innovation war around 5G, and that Qualcomm is the United States' most capable 5G intellectual provider, the idea of weakening the company at this time is at best ironic, and at worst, a downright risk for the entire innovation ecosystem of the US," Newman said. The ruling marked the latest setback for Qualcomm, which has faced antitrust litigation in China, Europe and South Korea. Qualcomm's woes appeared to ease earlier this year when it agreed with Apple to settle all worldwide litigation in what had been a sprawling battle over royalty payments. - Impact unclear - Koh said Qualcomm's actions harmed rivals in the smartphone modem business, including Taiwan-based MediaTek and US-based Intel, which last month pulled out of the market for 5G modems at the same time Apple settled its case with Qualcomm. But the immediate impact is unclear in a smartphone market in turmoil over a US decision to blacklist China's Huawei, the number two handset maker, from any American technology. The ruling could open the door for Qualcomm rivals and partners to seek damages, but "Qualcomm has already settled with Apple, which was one of the key instigators of the case in the first place," noted Avi Greengart of the consultancy Techsponential. Still, the findings "could open up opportunities for MediaTek at the low end of the smartphone market, and in some markets for MediaTek's 5G solutions," Greengart noted. However, Qualcomm is likely to remain the dominant producer for the smartphone market in the short-term, the analyst noted. "For the most part, Qualcomm has won based on its merits, not on its licensing terms," he said. hs-rl/wd Amazon shareholders support selling face recognition tech to police San Francisco, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2019 Amazon on Wednesday confirmed that shareholders rejected proposals to prohibit sales of facial recognition technology to governments and study how it might threaten privacy or civil rights. The proposals voted down at Amazon's annual stockholders meeting were put forth by a group of shareholders but opposed by the board of directors. Seattle-based Amazon developed facial-recognition technology called Rekognition and sells it as part of its cloud services unit. Several police departments have tested Rekognition, and Amazon is reportedly marketing the technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where it could be used to profile or surveil immigrants, the proposal contended. The proposal called on the Amazon board of directors to ban sales of facial recognition technology to government agencies unless it concluded, based on independent evidence, that it would not contribute to violations of civil or human rights. Amazon is mindful of the need to balance the benefits of facial recognition technology with potential risks, the board argued in opposition to the proposal. "New technology should not be banned or condemned because of its potential misuse," the board said in a statement of opposition in the shareholder proxy. "Instead, there should be open, honest, and earnest dialogue among all parties involved to ensure that the technology is applied appropriately and is continuously enhanced." Another proposal rejected by shareholders called for an independent study of Rekognition to assess the extent to which such technology could endanger privacy or civil rights, or disproportionately target people of color, immigrants or activists in the United States. Rekognition is hosted at Amazon data centers in the internet cloud, and its capabilities are sold as services to subscribers who don't download the software, keeping it in Amazon's control. Amazon said that in the more than two years that Rekognition launched, there have been no reports of Rekognition being misused in ways laid out in the shareholder proposals. "The recent failures of Facebook to engage in sufficient content and privacy management, and the resulting economic impacts to that company should be taken as sufficient warning: it could happen to Amazon," supporters of the proposal argued. A fresh ban on facial recognition for law enforcement in San Francisco highlights growing public concerns about technology which is seeing stunning growth for an array of applications while provoking worries over privacy. Facial recognition technology uses a scan of a person's face to create an algorithm that is compared against a database. It can be used to unlock a smartphone or vehicle, pay in retail stores, verify identities at bank machines or develop customized fashion or beauty recommendations. But its use in law enforcement has created the greatest outcry among rights activists because of the potential for errors and mismatches, and because the technology relies on vast databases that may have little or no oversight. US, China dig in heels on Huawei as tech war intensifies Washington, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 The United States and China hardened their stands over Huawei Thursday as Washington brushed aside claims of "bullying" and accused the Chinese tech giant of misrepresenting its ties to the Beijing government. The world's top two economies stepped up their rhetoric following President Donald Trump's decision to blacklist the smartphone and telecom firm over worries that Beijing uses it as a tool for espionage. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed in an interview that Huawei is not truthful about its relationship with China's government and that this means any data touched by the company is "at risk" of falling into the wrong hands. "To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo said of Huawei. The company "is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese communist party," the top US diplomat told CNBC, disputing Huawei's claims that it has no direct relationship with Beijing. "The Huawei CEO -- on that, at least -- isn't telling the American people the truth." On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that Beijing was ready to "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. "The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Wang said. China's commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said Beijing has lodged "solemn representations" with Washington, and warned that the country has the "confidence and ability to protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies." US lawmakers appeared to rally around Washington's position with a bipartisan proposal to help telecom networks remove Huawei as they upgrade to 5G systems. The bill is aimed at preventing "companies subject to extra-judicial directions of a foreign adversary to infiltrate our nation's communications networks," said Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat. "5G networks need to be robust and secure, and not rely on equipment or services that pose a national security risk," said Republican Senator Roger Wicker. - Japanese, British firms respond - Companies around the world were scrambling to comply with the US blacklist, which would prevent them from supplying American technology components or software to Huawei. Japan's Panasonic was the latest to announce it would suspend transactions with Huawei. But when asked for a response, Huawei pointed to a statement on Panasonic's Chinese website that said the firm was supplying Huawei "normally." Japanese firm Toshiba said it had resumed shipment of products to Huawei hours after announcing a temporary halt to check whether US-made parts were involved. Major Japanese and British mobile carriers said this week they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets as a result of the US sanctions. In the US, equipment makers Inphi Corp, Qorvo, Neophotonics and Rogers Corp. all said they would see lower sales due to the Huawei sanctions. - 'National emergency' - Last week, Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecom equipment deemed a security risk -- a move seen as targeting Huawei, which Washington suspects of being a potential proxy for Chinese intelligence services. The Commerce Department has also announced a ban on US companies selling or transferring technology to Huawei, though it later issued a 90-day reprieve. Google said it would cut off Huawei devices from some services on the Android operating system. Huawei has since indicated that it could roll out its own mobile this year in China and internationally next year. Analyst Richard Windsor, who writes the Radio Free Mobile tech blog, said Huawei's prospects without Google are limited. "Whatever alternative Huawei comes up with for Google's digital ecosystem is extremely unlikely to be able to prevent an almost complete loss of market share in markets outside of China," Windsor said. - 'Death knell' - A long-simmering US-China trade dispute has snowballed into a tech war, with Huawei at the epicenter of a battle for supremacy in technologies that could shape the future of the world economy. British carrier EE, owned by BT, had been due to release Huawei's first 5G phone, the Mate 20X, but chief executive Marc Allera said Wednesday the company had "paused" the launch. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a temporary suspension of pre-orders for Huawei handsets. Japan's KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country's number two and number three carriers respectively, said they were delaying the release of Huawei devices. ARM, the British firm that designs processors used in most mobile devices, also cut ties with Huawei. The ARM announcement "is really a death knell for Huawei's device business," said Avi Greengart of the consultancy Techsponential. "While Huawei might have been able to bypass Qualcomm and make its own processors and modems, it cannot sell smartphones with unlicensed IP outside China." burs-rl/jm KDDI CORPORATION VODAFONE GROUP PANASONIC CORP. TOSHIBA Trump says US-China trade deal could include Huawei Washington, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 President Donald Trump on Thursday for the first time linked a dispute over telecom giant Huawei, which he views as a threat to American security, with a deal to resolve the US-China trade war. "Huawei is something that is very dangerous," Trump told reporters at the White House. "You look at what they've done from a security standpoint, a military standpoint. Very dangerous." That notwithstanding, Trump said there is a "good possibility" Washington will reach an agreement with Beijing to end the escalating trade conflict, and that "it's possible that Huawei would be included in a trade deal." The two sides have hardened their stands over Huawei, with the US blacklisting the smartphone and telecommunications company over worries that China uses it as a tool for espionage, while Beijing has accused Washington of "bullying" the firm. Trump's comments directly contradicted statements from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said just hours earlier that Huawei and the trade issue were not linked. In an interview on CNBC, Pompeo stressed that there are two separate elements: "the national security component" and efforts "to create a fair reciprocal balanced trade relationship between the two countries." "I hope that we can keep those issues in their own place. We have an imperative to protect American national security. We have a need to make sure we get these trade rules right," Pompeo said. Pompeo also rejected Huawei's statements about its relationship with China's government and said any data touched by the company is "at risk" of falling into the wrong hands. "To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo said. Huawei "is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese communist party." China had already drawn a link between the two issues, accusing the US of "bullying" Huawei. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday warned that Beijing was ready to "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. "The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Wang said. - Japanese, British firms respond - US lawmakers appeared to rally around Washington's position with a bipartisan proposal to help telecom networks remove Huawei as they upgrade to 5G systems. The bill is aimed at preventing "companies subject to extra-judicial directions of a foreign adversary to infiltrate our nation's communications networks," said Democratic Senator Mark Warner. Companies around the world were scrambling to comply with the US blacklist, which would prevent them from supplying American technology components or software to Huawei. Japan's Panasonic was the latest to announce it would suspend transactions with Huawei. But when asked for a response, Huawei pointed to a statement on Panasonic's Chinese website that said the firm was supplying Huawei "normally." Japanese firm Toshiba said it had resumed shipping products to Huawei hours after announcing a temporary halt to check whether US-made parts were involved. Major Japanese and British mobile carriers said this week they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets as a result of the US sanctions. In the US, equipment makers Inphi Corp, Qorvo, Neophotonics and Rogers Corp. all said they would see lower sales due to the Huawei sanctions. - 'National emergency' - Last week, Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecom equipment deemed a security risk -- a move seen as targeting Huawei. The Commerce Department also announced a ban on US companies selling or transferring technology to Huawei, though it later issued a 90-day reprieve. Google said it would cut off Huawei devices from some services on the Android operating system. Huawei has since indicated that it could roll out its own mobile operating system this year in China and internationally next year. Analyst Richard Windsor, who writes the Radio Free Mobile tech blog, said Huawei's prospects without Google are limited. "Whatever alternative Huawei comes up with for Google's digital ecosystem is extremely unlikely to be able to prevent an almost complete loss of market share in markets outside of China," Windsor said. burs-rl/hs/wd KDDI CORPORATION VODAFONE GROUP PANASONIC CORP. TOSHIBA Tero Vesalainen/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Americans are finally starting to reach across the aisle again -- at least when it comes to dating. Many Americans have traditionally dated people with a different political affiliation, but that changed right after the 2016 election, according to data from the Match Group, a company that includes dating apps Tinder, Hinge, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, and Pairs. In fact, in 2016, there was a period when Americans seemed less interested in dating in general. "For a couple weeks after the election, our traffic went down significantly," Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg said at The Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything Festival in New York City on Tuesday. "Looking at a bunch of our different apps, we actually saw our female traffic going down." "I don't know if people were just distracted, I don't know what was going on. It was actually a little bit worrisome because you need women on the apps," Ginsberg said. "The good news is over time things have gone back to normal. So literally, love Trumps everything." Ginsberg said that in general, people tend to date over political, socioeconomic, racial and educational divides. However, different apps within the Match empire tend to attract people with certain political leanings. Ginsberg called OKCupid a "blue state app." Participants can filter out people who supported Trump -- it can do the same for other candidates -- the app lets potential soulmates to add a Planned Parenthood sticker to their profiles. OkCupid, which was started by four math Ph.D.s at Harvard, is known for exhaustive questionnaires, has always been more of a "left-of-center, irreverent brand" which "attacked political issues pretty early on," Ginsberg said. It also has more potential matches for people with higher education degrees than any other app. Tinder, on the other hand, doesn't ask for any political affiliation information. PlentyOfFish, is considered more "red state" app, according to Ginsberg, who explained that its users are older and often located in southern cities like Atlanta and Dallas. The dating app market seems to show no sign of slowing down, as online dating has shed most of its social stigma. Later this year, Facebook is expected to roll out Facebook Dating and Secret Crush in the U.S. People under 30 use about four dating apps at a time, according to Ginsberg. Thirteen years ago, when Ginsberg started at Match, about 3 percent of U.S. marriages started online. Now the number is over 30 percent, she said. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. As Egypts current agreement with the International Monetary Fund is set to end soon, many are asking what comes next Egypt is nearing completion of its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while on Friday a staff team from the international financial institution completed their fifth and final review of Egypts economic reform programme supported by the IMFs Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. Once approved by the IMFs Executive Board, Egypt will receive around $2 billion, the final tranche of a $12 billion package signed in November 2016. Prudent monetary and fiscal policies and a flexible exchange rate have underpinned macroeconomic stabilisation and strengthened Egypts resilience to external shocks, while social protection measures have helped ease the burden of adjustment on the population, an IMF press release said at the end of the teams visit. It added that the IMF welcomes the authorities focus on structural reforms, as they need to be deepened to facilitate inclusive growth and job creation for all. Meanwhile, the government has said it does not intend to sign another agreement with the IMF. In April, the governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) told the Middle East News Agency (MENA) that Cairo was not in need of a new loan programme with the international financial institution. The government has said that it will continue to receive technical institution from the organisation, nonetheless. The authorities efforts have been successful in achieving macroeconomic stabilisation, a recovery in growth, and an improvement in the business climate, the IMFs mission chief in Egypt Subir Lall said in a press statement. According to the statement, gross general government debt is expected to decline to about 85 per cent of GDP in 2018-19 from 103 per cent in 2016-17. It said that the international reserves had increased from $17 billion in June 2016 to $44 billion in March 2019. As a result, Egypt has become more resilient to the elevated uncertainty in the external environment, Lall said. Egypts GDP also accelerated from 2.3 per cent in the summer of 2016 to 5.3 per cent in 2017-18, and unemployment declined from 12 per cent to below nine per cent. With these indicators, the economy seems to have stabilised, one economist, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Al-Ahram Weekly, arguing that Egypt did not need a new agreement with the IMF though many structural reforms were still needed. The credibility of such reforms will be enhanced in a government-owned programme to signal commitments to the reforms and that there is the political will to press ahead with reforms not necessarily mandated by the IMF. The IMF may not have the expertise to follow through many of these reforms, and the publics perceptions and reception of them will be better without IMF involvement, she added. She refuted the argument that Egypt should go for another agreement with the IMF to ensure its commitment to reform and avoid policy slippage, saying that this would undermine credibility in government-owned economic management and Egypts capacity to stay the course of what is in its own best interest. Nonetheless, she said that the success of a country in following on with reforms after an IMF agreement was over depends on the political will and ability to design the necessary reforms and get the publics buy-in to support the reforms. On a similar note, Zahabia Gupta, S&P Globals associate director of sovereign ratings, told investors she did not see the need for Egypt to return to the IMF for post-programme funding given its improved liquidity position, Enterprise, an online news service reported. She said the situation in Egypt was gradually improving, citing the governments falling current account deficit, rising gas production, a recovery in tourism, and stabilising remittances. According to the IMF press release, the current account deficit has narrowed from 5.6 per cent of GDP to 2.4 per cent. In 2018, approximately 11.3 million tourists visited Egypt, a huge improvement on the around five million in 2016. Remittances came in to around $26 billion, around 40 per cent higher than the year before. But things are not all rosy, Gupta said, as the countrys fiscal position remains weak and substantial debt-servicing costs present challenges. Mohamed Abed, a professor of economics at Alexandria University, agreed that debt levels were worrying. He said that there was a need for growth at a much higher rate if Egypts debt was to be put on a sustainable track. Debt-servicing alone now consumes around 40 per cent of government expenditure, he said. Egypts external debt stood at 36.8 per cent of GDP in June 2018 and is targeted to drop to 34 per cent by June 2019. Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that according to these numbers Egypts external debt was starting to fall within the safe range of between 30 and 50 per cent of GDP. Abed said that while efforts to improve macroeconomic indicators had so far succeeded, there needed to be more attention paid to the real economy. He lamented the performance of foreign direct investment (FDI), for example, saying that this had come to below $8 billion in 2017-18, less than the government target of $10 billion. Moreover, he said, FDI continued to be concentrated in the petro-chemicals sector. Abed called for a more export-oriented vision to achieve growth and job creation. The government should address obstacles to exports in each sector individually, he said, pointing to the example of Morocco, which had facilitated the entry of foreign direct investment to achieve that purpose. Although Egyptian fruit and agricultural exports were making strides on international markets, this was not enough, he said. There was a need to export manufactured goods because these created more jobs, he added. Another area with great potential is information and communications technology, and Abed said the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone could help develop local industries as well as attract foreign investors looking to export to Egypts domestic market. The government is well aware of such factors, however. In a recent interview with Enterprise, Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr said the government was committed to policies that cater to value-added and technology-oriented sectors that contribute to both economic growth and job creation. The economist who spoke to the Weekly reiterated a similar point of view, pointing to the need for reform in areas such as education and the labour market and reforms to enhance the private sector and boost competitiveness and the ease of doing business. These reforms must be orchestrated by the government, she said, adding that the IMF was not the right organisation to follow through on reforms needed to boost the private sector, increase jobs, reduce the cost of living, target more support for the vulnerable groups, and attract long-term investments based on competitive indicators and international reputation. The only guarantees that all this could be achieved would be the governments accountability to the public through a medium-term plan that targeted growth and job creation and was based on solid indicators of competitiveness and improved rankings in international competitiveness and ease of doing business. If the government did not commit to such a plan, Abed worried, Egypt might have to go back to rescheduling its debt with the Paris Club of international creditors. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 May, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: What comes after the IMF? Search Keywords: Short link: UK has warned 16 NATO allies of Russia hacking attempts: foreign minister London, May 22 (AFP) May 22, 2019 Britain has shared with 16 NATO allies details of malicious Russian cyber activity in their countries over the last 18 months, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt was to say on Thursday. He will accuse Russia's intelligence services of mounting a "global campaign" targeting critical infrastructure, during a speech at the NATO Cyber Defence Pledge Conference in London, to be attended by the alliance's head Jens Stoltenberg. "This global campaign also seeks to compromise central government networks," he will warn, according to extracts of the speech released by his department. "I can disclose that in the last 18 months, the National Cyber Security Centre has shared information and assessments with 16 NATO Allies -- and even more nations outside the Alliance -- of Russian cyber activity in their countries." NATO has 29 member states. He will say that attempts to influence elections in the United States and Ukraine "breach international law -- and justify a proportionate response." "Together, we possess options for responding to any attacks. We should be prepared to use them." London's relationship with Moscow has deteriorated since the rule of President Vladimir Putin, culminating in the poisoning last year of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal on British soil. US, Japan, S. Korea start 'first-of-its-kind' naval drill Tokyo, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 The United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia have kicked off "first-of-its-kind" naval drills near Guam, the US Navy said Thursday, amid mounting tensions with China and North Korea. The "Pacific Vanguard" drill brings together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries to "sharpen skills and strengthen practical cooperation at sea," the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement. The drills will focus on "live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea," added the statement. Australia has contributed two frigates to the exercise, Japan two destroyers and South Korea one destroyer. The USS Blue Ridge, the Seventh Fleet's flagship, will lead the operation from the US side. With trade tensions growing between Washington and Beijing, China earlier this week denounced a US warship sail-by near disputed islands in the South China Sea. And Guam, home to more than 160,000 people, was at the centre of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with "enveloping fire". Two US warships sail though Taiwan Strait: Taipei Taipei, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 Two US warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait, Taipei's defence ministry said Thursday, in an operation bound to provoke a rebuke from Beijing. The ships entered the strait from the southwest on Wednesday, according to a short ministry statement which did not identify the vessels. Taiwan's military "was closely monitoring the whole process and movements in our neighbouring sea and air space according to protocol to maintain regional peace and stability," it said. US warships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Local media said Wednesday was the fifth time US warships traversed the strait this year. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially a breach of its sovereignty -- while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The US diplomatically recognises China over Taiwan but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier. In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait earlier that month and lodged an official complaint with Paris. China rebukes US over warship sail-by in Taiwan Strait Beijing, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 China said Thursday it had lodged a protest with Washington after two US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait amid rising tensions between the two powers. The US Navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S. Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit "in accordance with international law" on Wednesday. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the navy said. "The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." US warships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. "We have lodged solemn representations with the US," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing. The sail-by comes on top of tensions between the United States and China over trade and US efforts to thwart Chinese telecom giant Huawei over security concerns. The transit also comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia kicked off operation "Pacific Vanguard" near Guam, bringing together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries. Drills will focus on "live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea," the US 7th Fleet said. In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait and lodged an official complaint with Paris. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The US diplomatically recognises China over Taiwan, but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier. For the Guam naval drills, Australia has contributed two frigates, Japan two destroyers and South Korea one destroyer. The USS Blue Ridge, the 7th Fleet's flagship, will lead the operation from the US side. Home to more than 160,000 people, Guam was at the centre of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with "enveloping fire". NATO warns Russia of 'full range' of responses to cyberattack London, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 The head of NATO told Russia and other potential foes Thursday that the Western military alliance was ready to use all means at its disposal to respond to cyber attacks. Jens Stoltenberg's warning came with the bloc's members on alert for interference in European Parliament elections that kicked off in Britain and the Netherlands on Thursday. Western allies accuse Russia of trying to sway the outcome of the 2016 US presidential vote and using cyber technology to cripple the infrastructure of rival Ukraine -- charges Moscow flatly denies. "For deterrence to have full effect, potential attackers must know we are not limited to respond in cyber space when we are attacked in cyber space," Stoltenberg said during a joint press appearance in London with UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. "We can and will use the full range of capabilities at our disposal." Hunt said that Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has shared details of malicious Russian activity with 16 of the 29 NATO members over the past 18 months. He accused Russian "proxies" in 2014 of trying to tamper with the voting system and delaying the final results of a presidential election in Ukraine that followed the ouster of a Moscow-backed leader. "In the cyber age, authoritarian states possess ways of undermining free societies that dictators of earlier times would have envied," Hunt said. "Recent events demonstrate that our adversaries regard democratic elections as a key vulnerability of an open society." - 'Constructive ambiguity' - The European Union last week adopted the power to impose "targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyber attacks". Stoltenberg and Hunt refused to say what steps might be taken by NATO -- a Cold War-era military alliance that Russia still views as a top national security threat. "We need to balance clarity about our determination to act with constructive ambiguity about exactly what we would do in specific circumstances," Hunt said. He called the new EU sanctions regime just one of the potential options. Longstanding tensions between London and Moscow culminated in the poisoning last year of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal on British soil. Britain says it has evidence that the attack was plotted by senior leaders in Moscow and carried out by members of Russia's military intelligence agency. Britain says it has evidence that the attack was plotted by senior leaders in Moscow and carried out by members of Russia's military intelligence agency. The Kremlin calls Britain's case inconclusive and politically motived. But it saw Western allies join forces and expel nearly 150 Russian embassy staff from around the world. Moscow immediately followed suit. Stoltenberg's visit came as part of his preparations for a NATO summit London will host on December 3-4. Two air strikes kill 14 Afghan civilians: UN mission Kabul, May 23 (AFP) May 23, 2019 Two air strikes have killed 14 civilians in Afghanistan in recent days, the United Nations said Thursday, as the US intensifies its air war across the country. According to the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), five women and seven children were among the 14 civilians killed in Helmand province in the south on May 20, and Kunar province in the east on May 22. "Civilian casualty toll from airstrikes in #Afghanistan continues to rise," UNAMA said on Twitter. "Parties must respect international obligations to protect civilians from harm." While the Afghan military does have a fledgeling air force, most strikes are led or supported by American air power. US Forces Afghanistan declined to comment. According to US Air Force Central Command, the US dropped 7,362 bombs in Afghanistan in 2018, the highest number since at least 2010. In April, UNAMA published a report saying Afghan civilians are for the first time being killed in greater numbers by US and pro-government forces than by the Taliban and other insurgent groups. During the first three months of 2019, international and pro-government forces were responsible for the deaths of 305 civilians, whereas insurgent groups killed 227 people, UNAMA said. The development comes as the US steps up its air campaign in Afghanistan while pushing for a peace deal with the Taliban, who now control or influence more parts of the country than at any time since they were ousted in 2001. At least eight police officers were killed May 16 in southern Afghanistan during a "friendly fire" strike from US forces. And UNAMA last week said it was probing allegations of civilian casualties resulting from US air strikes against purported drug-making facilities in western Afghanistan. The allegations centre on strikes conducted earlier in May in Farah and Nimroz provinces, where dozens of structures said to have been used to produce heroin and other illegal drugs were destroyed. 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Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. New York, May 23, 2019 (SPS) - The Frente POLISARIO is deeply saddened to learn of the resignation of the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy, former German President Horst Khler. During his tenure as Personal Envoy, President Khler was unwavering in his pursuit of a just and lasting solution that would provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We thank President Khler for his dynamic efforts to relaunch the UN peace process in Western Sahara, and we wish him good health and every success in all his endeavours. The Frente POLISARIO remains fully committed to the UN-led political process and to the realisation of our peoples inalienable right to self-determination and independence. It is imperative that the Personal Envoys departure not be used as an excuse to delay or derail the progress made since the first UN-led roundtable meeting on Western Sahara held in December 2018. We therefore urge the UN Secretary-General to move swiftly to appoint a new Personal Envoy, who shares President Koehlers strong conviction, stature and resolve. We continue to believe that with the political will and determination of the UN Security Council a just and lasting solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara is within reach. (SPS) 062/SPS Blaming Pakistan for Sri Lanka bombing incident is also a part of the same campaign. It is nothing but a foolish thought that by fixing Pakistan in Sri Lanka bombing type of incident, the conspirators would succeed in adding more to the problems of Pakistan. by Ali Sukhanver In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, after the horrifying Easter Sunday bombings, Sri Lankas Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that his government would not hesitate to seek Islamabads help to trace the terrorists and eliminate them. He further reaffirmed Pakistans support to Sri Lanka in her war on terror. In the same interview, he rubbished New Delhis veiled attempts to associate Pakistan with the brutal massacre of innocent people. He said referring to Pakistan, I see this tragic event as further strengthening the trust that exists between our countries and increasing cooperation. The horrible Easter Sunday bombings claimed the lives of 53 people including 45 were children; hundreds were severely injured. As per tradition, the Modi government simply started its efforts of searching Pakistan behind this brutal massacre just after the incident. In response to the Indias blames against Pakistan, the Sri Lankan Army Chief Mahesh Senanayake said in an interview with the BBC that according to the information they have, few of the suicide bombers who carried out attacks on Easter Sunday had visited Kashmir, Kerala and Bengaluru in India to possibly be trained in carrying out terrorist activities. Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake said that it is suspected that the attackers had travelled to India to establish links with other terrorist organizations. The statements of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and that of the Army Chief Mahesh Senanayake not only strengthened the relationship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka but also gave a shut-up call to the Indian conspirators who are always eager to frame Pakistan in every act of terrorism. They must try to realize that the Pulwama Strategy could not be successful all the time. Unfortunately, whenever our Indian friends find us in some temporary phase of trouble, political or financial, they simply expedite their anti-Pakistan campaign. Blaming Pakistan for Sri Lanka bombing incident is also a part of the same campaign. It is nothing but a foolish thought that by fixing Pakistan in Sri Lanka bombing type of incident, the conspirators would succeed in adding more to the problems of Pakistan. As far as Pakistan is concerned, this all is simply a routine matter. The present financial crisis in Pakistan is in no way more severe and intense than the blazing fire of the foreign supported terrorism which Pakistan has successfully extinguished. Pakistanis are a nation which has a lot of courage and determination of overcoming all such crisis. It is true that at present Pakistan is sailing in somewhat troubled economic waters; a deep-rooted economic crisis has compelled Pakistan to go to the IMF for a bail-out package worth 6 Billion US Dollar. Going to the IMF is neither a sin nor a crime. IMF is an international institution whose primary job is to assist member countries who are in economic difficulty. According to IMFs own website, The IMF provides policy advice and financing to members in economic difficulties and also works with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty. Approaching the IMF for financial assistance is nothing new and nothing novel as so many countries had been doing so in the past. Getting financial assistance from the IMF doesnt mean National Death; this assistance works as an oxygen tent in case of emergency. Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said talking to media that the government could not have bridged the financing gap of $12 billion on its own. This gap is the result of financial mismanagements of the previous governments. To bring back the financial stability, the government was left with no other way but to seek assistance from the IMF. Things would stabilize with the passage of time, though the nation will have to bear some extra burden but for the time being. We cannot exclude imminence of hard days from our life as such days are also an integral part of life. We have ample examples of the countries which had to encounter sudden hardships and troubles during their smooth-way journey to the destination of peace and prosperity. From Iran, Kuwait and Iraq to US and UK, the list of such countries is not very short. The USA itself is one of the biggest borrowers as well as lenders. At the end of October 2018, the U.S. Treasury said in a report that it expected to issue about $425 billion in debt that quarter, raising its 2018 borrowing to more than $1.3 trillion, a 145 percent increase from the $546 billion issued in 2017. The 2018 total would be the largest annual total since 2010, when the Treasury issued $1.586 trillion in debt. In 2008, the United Kingdom also had to face a severe financial crisis. Commenting upon that crisis, a report said, In 2008, the US's largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers, collapsed, sparking an unprecedented crisis in the global financial system. Stock markets tumbled across the world as the scale of the problems facing all banks became clear. In the UK, RBS, Lloyds and HBOS had to be rescued with taxpayers' money. In short lending and borrowing is an essential part of the running financial system all over the world. It is simply a stupid thought if some thinks that the present financial crisis would weaken Pakistan; certainly, soon we shall be out of it. As a nation, it is our belief that after every dark night there is a shining bright day waiting for us. We all shall be welcoming that shinning bright day very soon and we wish and desire the same for our old friend Sri Lanka. by Ameer Ali The immediate task for the Government is to guaranty the safety and security of all innocent Muslims and prevent a recurrence of 1983 One cannot eradicate one evil with another Anatomy of an Islamist Infamy (III), 9 May. In this, the Government failed to take prompt action just as it failed to prevent the Easter massacre by ignoring all warnings. How can a Government tolerate parliamentarians who mobilise thugs to destroy properties and business establishments belonging to ordinary Muslims who had nothing to do with the massacre, and make political capital out of it? How can it tolerate black sheep in the Police and Army who looked the other way when those goons were burning properties and desecrating mosques? And how can the Sangha allow a handful of its members advocate hatred against fellow citizens? Hundreds of thugs involved in the riot are reported to have been arrested and videos of Bhikkus spreading hatred have been released, but there is no guarantee that they would be brought to justice. The same parliamentarians who hired those thugs will pressure the President to release them to be redeployed. Will the Sangha cleanse itself of its undesirable elements? Reports also tell horrendous stories about how security forces had behaved in carrying out their duty. There is no question that all those who were involved in the Easter massacre, directly or indirectly, should be caught and brought to justice. Security forces have every right to search nook and cranny of all suspected places to gather evidence. However, those armed men and women should have been instructed by their superiors to be mindful of the sensitivities of local people when entering sacred places like mosques, churches or temples. They should not ransack those places and show disrespect to things and symbols worshippers venerate. For instance, when the Australian armed forces were preparing to join the multinational force in Afghanistan and Iraq in early 2000s, I was invited by the HQ to conduct a couple of sessions with the infantry in educating them about dos and donts when dealing with Muslims and entering their homes and mosques. Of course, that was a case of mostly Christian foreigners entering a Muslim country. In the case of Sri Lanka, however, the Army and Police are fellow citizens and their misbehaviour or insensitivity shows how ignorant are the citizens about each others religion and culture. It is this ignorance, promoted not insignificantly by the national education system that lies at the bottom of many inter-communal and inter-religious issues that crippling Sri Lanka. Time for serious soul searching In the aftermath of the Easter infamy, the time has come for the nation to sit back and do serious soul searching if it were to recover its glorious Buddhist past and cherish its pluralist identity. It is wrong to blame an entire community for the lunacy of a few, and it was such blanket condemnation, suspicion and hardline approach that led to an escalation of terrorism and rise of the lone wolf phenomenon in the West. Since jihadist terrorism is a new variable in the Sri Lankas security equation there are lessons to learn from the mistakes of the West. No one can dispute the fact that Sri Lanka is a Sinhalese Buddhist country, but is also a democratic polity with a plural society. Sri Lankas Buddhist and plural identities are historically determined and naturally inseparable. It is the mismanagement of this plurality over the last 70 years or so that has driven this country into a state of political and social abyss, dragging the economy also along with it. In Sri Lankas grand failure (CT, 1 November 2017), it was stated that, The Sinhala-Tamil-Moor-Malay-Burgher ethnic and Buddhist-Hindu-Christian-Islamic religious plural mix is a permanent historical heritage of the country and no amount of legal, constitutional and chauvinistic political gimmicks can succeed in disinheriting it Unfortunately, the history of post-independent Sri Lanka has been marked by progressive mismanagement of this heritage. Managing this plurality by successive political leaders has assumed a zero-sum game where each element of the mix is deem to win only at the expense of the others. There is a lot to learn by the current leaders from the managerial experience of earlier (monarchs) of Sri Lanka. The pre-colonial economic prosperity and political stability of this island, and happiness of its people hinged largely on the ethnic and cultural tranquillity achieved under their management It is time that our political heroes who champion the cause of their respective ethnic and religious communities re-read the history of this island. This applies even to a minority of Buddhist monks and other religious leaders who are now scare mongering (about) imagined dangers of pluralism. In contrast, what the past teaches is the promotion and preservation of a healthy spirit of cosmopolitanism amidst plurality which was disrupted during the colonial era. That disruption has been allowed to continue by the new rulers, who (succeeded) the colonialists. The nation has to go back to the drawing board and see how it could redeem its lost heritage. What should we do? Promoting isolation in the name of identity In the name of national language we have created two communities which do not communicate with each other. We have left that communication to politicians and they deliberately miscommunicate to maintain the status quo. By relegating English to the margin, purely for political reasons, we have deprived our children of an invaluable international link to widen their knowledge and exploit opportunities arising globally. English may have been the language of the colonialist. But today, it is the lingua franca for global communication, and even members of EU when they meet socially they have no choice but to converse in English. It may sound surprising to some to learn that India today is the second largest English-speaking country in the world. A signboard at the University of Hyderabad for example reads, Department of English and Foreign Languages, implying that English is not a foreign language in India. Why are we depriving our children many of whom are exceptionally brilliant to take advantage of this international linkage? By creating separate schools for separate communities, and allow them to operate with different school calendars, we have also deprived our children and teachers the opportunity to mingle, talk and play with each other. The lessons taught in history, literature and religion for example are aimed not at building a nation but at preserving communal and religious identities. Why do we name our schools with names that are sometimes unpronounceable by many and are alien to the country? Even our festivals are too religious and do not encourage people of other religions to participate in the enjoyment. We have too many public holidays but is there one that brings the nation together just to enjoy without any communal or religious ambience? Is there a better term to describe this pathetic situation than to call it soft apartheid? Behind the facade of parliamentary democracy we have succeeded in promoting separate development for different segments of our pluralist polity, and in the name of identity we are promoting isolation. Identity crisis facing Sri Lankans There is certainly an identity crisis facing Sri Lankans. Who are the Sri Lankans? Are they Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims or Burghers first and then only Sri Lankans, or the other way round? Is there anything in the country that brings all of them together? Let us learn from Singapore about how to build national identity with social pluralism. If the majority is determined to consume the whole then the minority has no choice but to fight for its share. It is that fight, which brought a civil war and also hides behind the Easter carnage. Economically, the country is in a perilous state. Foreign institutional investors are lacking confidence to bring capital into the country because of ongoing political uncertainty and communal disharmony. The phenomenal increase in the wealth of a few does not trickle down fast enough and sufficient enough to benefit the bottom layers of society, and it is the sufferance of those layers that lies at the bottom of many of the nations social evils, including inter-communal violence. The country needs a radical plan of action to rebuild the nation. That plan should be future oriented rather than focusing on easing the current situation. It cannot be postponed any more, and more importantly, that task falls heavily on civil society leaders and should not be left in the hands of politicians. (The writer is attached to the School of Business and Governance, Murdoch University, Western Australia.) by Indi Akurugoda Terrorism can be simply defined as the use of violence and intimidation against civilians in the pursuit of political aims. Except this, terrorists can extend their violence and intimidation against political authorities, political leaders, civil society organizations and private businesses as well. The extremist religious, ethnic and political opinions show a significant tendency in transforming easily into terrorism. The peoples will and the government support towards such extremist opinions can be resulted in strong and widespread terrorist movements. In a different perspective, political authoritiespossibly can develop unlawful connections with terrorist groups. At the same time, governments and political leaderstend to use military and police to promote state terrorism. This could appear in various ways,such as anarchist rule, authoritarian policy processes and undemocratic governing practices.Simultaneously, this state terrorismtends tomerge with media terrorism, the unethical and indecent media practices that definitely could lead to spread violence and intimidation upon civilians. In the aftermath of the brutal terrorist attack by Islamic extremists on April 21, 2019 aiming a number of prominent Christian churches and luxury hotels, several hidden characteristics of the Sri Lankan political and social arena have suddenly been re-appeared. Significantly, a major group of people started exhibiting the pictures of dead bodies of the victimized innocent civilians on social media and calling to justify the previous authoritarian Rajapaksa regime. This group of people was missing the enjoyment of the death fantasy and cruel happiness since the regime change in January 2015. The sudden outreach of such group can be identified as a disgusting attempt to justify the extremist political opinions of the Rajapaksa regime and to clear the ground to re-establish their anarchist power structures upon the bloodstreams of innocent civilians. Clearly, the Sinhala Buddhist extremists have fueled up to force the government to release the imprisoned monks who accused of violent behavior and intimidation. The destructive and violent extremist movements of these monks to diminish the unity and coexistence of the country resulted in imprisoning them under the Sri Lankan law. In the immediate aftermath of bomb attacks, the authoritarian politicians who unconditionally supported and sponsored these murderous extremist monks have suddenly been appeared as heroes and started justifying their previous regime rule. Sadly, most of the Sinhala and Buddhist people who represent every social stratum have shown their support to such extremist monks and politicians to justify ethno-chauvinism against the Sri Lankan Muslims. They started spreading utter hostility upon Muslimstreating them as ultimate opponents. Another group of people who voluntarily support the above hostilityis the Sinhala diaspora live in Europe. Although most of them do odd jobs in Europe, they dream to obtain permanent residency or citizenship in such European countries. Until the bomb attackson April 21, 2019, they underestimated their motherland through overexaggerating their luxury life in Europe. It is interesting to observe their instant patriotism upon Sri Lanka after the bomb attacks. The loudest demand to boycott products and shops of Muslimshave emerged from this diasporic group. Incredibly, while living abroad, they try to pretend as great political analysts promoting a Sinhala Buddhist only Sri Lanka (It is important to note that these people are totally anti-Western though they earn doing odd jobs in Western European countries). This group of people attacks the peaceful coexistence in Sri Lanka and continually abuse the valuable and meaningful Buddhist sermons and teachings. Furthermore, there is another group that reflects a mania of exaggerating war heroism. Since the end of the war in May 2009, these people have not received any chance to promote their favorite war heroism. The hidden agenda of this sudden mania can be identified as a reaction to force the government to release the military and intelligence officials who are accused ofmurders and human rights violations. Surprisingly, most people have intentionally forgotten the major incidents happened to the duty conscious military officials during the post-war period.General Sarath Fonseka was imprisoned under false accusations and court-martialed for committing military offences. He was cashiered from the army, having been stripped of his rank, medals and decorations, and his military pension was forfeited. Military officials were recruited to clear trash in municipal council areas, clean drainage lines and to sell vegetables and coconuts. Karuna Amman, the former LTTE militant who is accused ofmassacring of 600 police officials,was appointed as a minister and as a deputy president of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The list is quite long and these are some prominent incidents only. So, at the time of these incidentswhere were the people who have suddenly awakenedat present to promote war heroism? Did they findmore importance of protecting the authoritarian regime at that time than promoting war heroes? Today, the state-sponsored terrorism which took place during the post-war period has been totally forgotten by a majority of people in Sri Lanka. It can be identified as an opportunistic and intentional forgetfulness. Independent journalists and social activists were murdered in public;several brutal attacks and disappearances were reported; political oppositions were threatened; and a white van phobia was created to suppress the independent thinkers and social movements. The innocent civilians who protested,demanding justice were brutally killed; many prisoners in the jail located in the capital city were shot dead. Where were the maniac patriots when the rulers of the previous regime were using the military and police to fulfill their authoritarian agendas? Now they seem attempting to crown such murderous anarchic rulers as saviors of the country and rejecting democracy and human rights demanding blood to blood. Within this chaotic context, it is a relief to see the groups and individuals who reject the extremist ethno-chauvinistic political views and promote democracy, pluralism and coexistence in Sri Lanka. The April 21 tragedy can be interpreted as a result of the anarchist initiatives occurred when the present Executive President ousted the legally elected Prime Minister and empowered the rejected political forces on October 26, 2018. It is important to remind the politicians,including the President,who try to escape from their responsibilities, that they represent a major force which fueled the extremists and drove the country towards an anarchic rule underestimating democratic values.Now these extremists are trying to intimidate citizens; grab power stagnating the state mechanism; and to exaggerate the situation to discourage people adjusting to normalcy. Anarchism never could provide a solution to terrorism. It could fuelstate terrorism and extremist terrorism at the same time. To overcome the present chaos, we need to get rid of the emotional, depoliticized, opportunistic and extremist positions, and to identify real facets of terrorism. The terrorists do a little; but we are the people who continue to carry on their rest of the cruel expectations illogically and uncritically to harm the society. The emotional, depoliticized, opportunistic and extremist groups are the mostdestructive forces of the society. The illogical and uncritical media significantly contribute these forces. In the final analysis, intentionally or unintentionally they destroy the society through wide spreading terrorism. Undoubtedly, the advantage of all these destructive actions rests with the undemocratic, authoritarian and opportunistic politicians. If we continue staying at the homes fearfully, keeping the children without sending to schools, escaping from offices, boycotting products and shops of Muslimsand spreading hatred feelings against the other religious and ethnic groups, we definitely fulfill the aims of terrorists. When we fulfill such aims, the advantage goes to the murderers who appear as political saviors. Terrorism, however, is a global phenomenon. The world processes have not declined due to its consequences. To defeat the cruel aims of terrorism, we must have to follow the practices of democracy, coexistence, proper education, decent media, efficient administration and economic development. This is the best and the only alternative we have at the moment. Dr Indi Akurugoda, Department of Public Policy, University of Ruhuna Merritt Moves PP Dismissal NEWS PROVIDED BY Liberty Counsel May 23, 2019 SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 23, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Sandra Merritt has filed a motion asking a California federal court to issue summary judgment and forgo the trial regarding the claims in Planned Parenthoods multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against her. Planned Parenthood filed a retaliatory, 15-count civil suit against Merritt, seeking $16 million as punishment for her undercover investigation, which revealed and exposed the largest abortion mills unethical and potentially illegal profiting from human baby body parts. In this lawsuit, Planned Parenthood is using the "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations" (RICO) law as a weapon to stop the undercover videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress that exposed Planned Parenthood's gruesome trade in baby body parts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled several years ago that RICO cannot be used against pro-life picketers to silence free speech. Yet, that is the motive of Planned Parenthood in this case. Liberty Counsel represents Merritt and has presented evidence that Planned Parenthood has no standing, no damages, no legal basis for the suit, which is only designed to silence Merritt's First Amendment rights. It also asks for Planned Parenthood to be held responsible for the fees and costs incurred by counsel. Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel said, "Planned Parenthood is obviously abusing the law in a desperate attempt to silence Sandra Merritt and protect the hideous business of selling baby body parts. The Supreme Court has ruled that RICO cannot be used to silence free speech and that is precisely what Planned Parenthood is seeking to accomplish. Planned Parenthood will not succeed. This case should be dismissed," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost. SOURCE Liberty Counsel CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org Related Links lc.org/ Tennessee's Weaponized Grand Juries: Interview with 'NoogaRadio's' David Tulis NEWS PROVIDED BY The JAG HUNTER May 23, 2019 ATHENS, Tenn., May 23, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, Commander, United States Navy, Retired: The controlling legal authority condemning Tennessee's method of allowing criminal court judges to "handpick" county grand jury foremen is found in two U.S. Supreme Court cases: Rose v. Mitchell (1979) Hobby v. United States (1984) The Supreme Court has held that discrimination in the selection of the grand jury's foreperson does not require the dismissal of an indictment if the foreperson was selected from among the grand jury by its own members, as long as the grand jury pool was selected in an unbiased manner from a cross-section of the community (Hobby v. United States, 1984). A federal grand jury foreperson is not in a position to sway the outcome of the case. In Hobby (1984) SCOTUS said, [using Tennessee's method of selection] the foreman was not selected from among the local grand jury but instead from outside of it by a judge. Furthermore, the foreman had significant power in issuing subpoenas that could be [used to] influence the substance of an indictment. The result of discrimination in foreman selection under the Tennessee system was that 1 of the 13 grand jurors had been selected as a voting member in an impermissible fashion. This did [and still does] constitute a due process violation! (Zalman, Marvin, Criminal Procedure: Constitution and Society, 3rdEdition, Prentice Hall (2002), pg. 225). In Rose (1979) SCOTUS excoriated Tennessee's method of selecting grand jury foremen: "The exclusion from grand jury service of [any group] otherwise qualified to serve, impairs the confidence of the public in the administration of justice...[such exclusion] destroys the appearance of justice and thereby casts doubt on the integrity of the judicial process...as this court repeatedly has emphasized, such discrimination not only violates our Constitution and the laws enacted under it but is at war with our basic concepts of a democratic society and a representative government." SOURCE The JAG HUNTER CONTACT: Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III, jaghunter1@gmail.com Related Links https://thejaghunter.wordpress.com/2019/05/22/tennessees-weaponized-grand-juries-interview-with-noogaradios-david-tulis-pass-the-word/ https://thejaghunter.wordpress.com Published: 23 May 2019 Majority of comprehensive school pupils study English According to Statistics Finland, English was the most commonly studied foreign language in comprehensive schools in the autumn term 2018. Seventy-four per cent of students in grades 1 to 6 studied English. The share of students studying English increased by three percentage points from the previous year in grades 1 to 6. Almost all students in grades 7 to 9 studied English. Nineteen per cent of students in grades 1 to 6 and 92 per cent of students in grades 7 to 9 studied Swedish as a foreign language. Language choices of comprehensive school pupils in 2018 Compulsory language A1 Optional language A2 Compulsory language B1 Elective language B2 Total Share of pupils in grades 1-6 % Share of pupils in grades 7-9 % Grades Studied language Grades 1-6 English 256 783 16 898 14 . 273 695 74.0 . Swedish 3 323 12 306 53 284 . 68 913 18.6 . Finnish 19 015 1 151 11 . 20 177 5.5 . French 3 402 4 191 17 . 7 610 2.1 . German 3 282 11 313 16 . 14 611 3.9 . Russian 1 117 1 102 0 . 2 219 0.6 . Spanish 832 5 932 0 . 6 764 1.8 . Italian 0 0 0 . 0 0.0 . Sami 9 236 0 . 245 0.1 . Other 442 149 13 . 604 0.2 . Grades 7-9 English 166 060 12 785 206 80 179 131 . 99.5 Swedish 1 651 11 432 153 400 2 166 485 . 92.5 Finnish 9 095 1 300 211 2 10 608 . 5.9 French 1 614 3 490 193 3 653 8 950 . 5.0 German 1 680 7 786 242 8 714 18 422 . 10.2 Russian 512 1 427 0 1 726 3 665 . 2.0 Spanish 211 1 270 0 3 793 5 274 . 2.9 Italian 0 0 0 75 75 . 0.0 Sami 3 49 0 3 55 . 0.0 Latin 0 0 0 429 429 . 0.2 Other 167 20 23 42 252 . 0.1 Nearly all pupils attending grades 7 to 9 studied both English and Swedish or Finnish either as mother tongue, or as a compulsory, optional or elective foreign language. German was studied by 10 per cent and French by 5 per cent of the pupils attending grades 7 to 9, mainly as an optional or elective foreign language. A total of 370,020 pupils attended grades 1 to 6. 189,545 of the pupils were boys and 180,475 were girls. A total of 180,058 pupils attended grades 7 to 9. 92,100 of the pupils were boys and 87,958 were girls. Source: Education. Statistics Finland Inquiries: Vesa Hamalainen 029 551 2594, koulutustilastot@stat.fi Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma Publication in pdf-format (213.1 kB) Updated 23.5.2019 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Subject choices of students [e-publication]. ISSN=1799-1056. Subject choices of comprehensive school pupils 2018. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 28.12.2021]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ava/2018/02/ava_2018_02_2019-05-23_tie_001_en.html Published: 23 May 2019 Greenhouse gas emissions increased, emission allocation exceeded According to Statistics Finlands instant preliminary data, the total emissions of greenhouse gases in 2018 corresponded with 56.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2 eq.). Emissions grew by two per cent from the previous year. The growth in emissions was most influenced by increased consumption of natural gas and peat. Emissions not included in the EU Emissions Trading System remained at last years level but exceeded the annual emission allocations set by the EU by 0.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. In the instant preliminary data, the emissions and removals of the latest year are produced at a less detailed level than data for previous years. Finland's greenhouse gas emissions without the LULUCF sector in 1990 to 2018 and changes in emissions compared to 1990 and 2017 Statistics Finland releases instant preliminary data on greenhouse gas emissions of the previous year by sector and broken down between emissions included in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and not included in the EU ETS.. More information on greenhouse gas emissions, their development and factors affecting the development, as well as the fulfilment of international obligations can be found in Statistics Finland's report on Finland's greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 to 2018 (only in Finnish) and in the review (only in Finnish) of this release. According to the instant preliminary data, total emissions (excl. LULUCF) increased by two per cent in 2018 (1.1 million tonnes of CO2 eq.) compared to the previous year. In the energy sector, emissions grew by three per cent (1.4 tonnes of CO2 eq.) and the emissions from industrial processes and product use remained almost unchanged. In the energy sector, the growth in emissions was most affected by increased consumption of peat and natural gas. Emissions from agriculture fell by three per cent (0.2 million tonnes of CO2 eq.) and emissions in the waste sector by six per cent (0.1 million tonnes of CO2 eq.) from 2017 to 2018. According to instant preliminary data, the net sink of the LULUCF sector was -14.2 million tonnes of CO2 eq. in 2018, or 30 per cent lower than in the year before. The emissions and removals of this sector are usually not included in total emissions. Emissions not included in the EU ETS are calculated as the difference between the total emissions and verified emissions of the sectors in the EU ETS, excluding CO2 emissions from domestic civil aviation as they are estimated in the inventory. The data on the verified emissions of the sectors in the EU ETS are published by the Energy Authority. Annual emission allocations for the years 2013 to 2020 have been defined in the EU's Effort Sharing Decision for emissions not included in the ETS. The emissions in question were below the target path in 2013 to 2015 and in 2017. The 2016 emissions and the 2018 emissions based on instant preliminary data exceeded the target path, but these could be compensated for with the emission allocations not used in previous years. Greenhouse gas emissions and removals by sector broken down between emissions included in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and not included in the EU ETS in 2013 to 2018 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 1) Change, 2017- 2018 million t CO2 eq. % Emissions without LULUCF sector 2) 63.0 58.8 55.2 58.1 55.4 56.5 2 CO2-emissions from civil aviation 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 -2 Emissions trading sector emissions 3) 31.5 28.8 25.5 27.2 25.1 26.2 4 Energy sector 27.6 25.1 21.6 23.0 21.1 22.0 4 Industrial processes 4.0 3.7 3.9 4.2 4.0 4.2 5 Difference betweeen the emissions trading registry and the inventory 4) -0.1 0.0 -0.1 0.1 0.0 Non- emissions trading sector emissions 5) 31.3 29.8 29.5 30.7 30.1 30.0 0 Energy sector 20.4 19.1 18.8 20.2 19.7 20.2 2 Transport 5) 11.8 10.7 10.7 11.9 11.3 11.5 2 Off-road vehicles and other machinery 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.5 2 Other energy sector emissions 6) 6.0 5.9 5.7 6.0 6.0 6.2 4 Industrial processes and products use 1.9 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.7 -11 Industrial processes (excl. F-gases) 7) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 -34 Consumption of F-gases 7) 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.3 -2 Agriculture 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.3 -3 Waste management 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.8 -6 Indirect CO2 emissions 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 Difference between the emissions trading registry and the inventory 4) 0.1 0.0 0.1 -0.1 0.0 LULUCF sector 2) -19.0 -21.8 -20.1 -18.5 -20.4 -14.2 -30 1) Proxy estimate2) LULUCF refers to the land use, land-use change and forestry sector. The sector does not come under the scope of the Emissions Trading System or the reduction targets under the Effort Sharing Decision3) Source: Energy Authority4) The divergence caused by the methodological and definitional differences in total emissions in the emissions trading sector between the data of the Energy Authority and the Greenhouse Gas Inventory5) Excluding CO2 emission from domestic civil aviation according to the inventory.6) Includes emissions from e.g. residential and commercial heating, waste incineration and fuel use in manufacturing industy7) F-gases refer to fluorinated greenhouse gases (HFC, PFC compounds, SF6 and NF3) In the instant preliminary data, the emissions and removals for 2018 are calculated at a less detailed level than data for previous years. The 2018 emissions will become revised as all data used in the calculation are completed. Preliminary data of the statistics on greenhouse gas emissions will be released in December 2019 and official data in March 2020. More detailed information on the calculation methods of instant preliminary data can be found in Appendix 3 of the report on Finland's greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 to 2018 (only in Finnish). Regional data on emissions Statistics Finland's regional emissions calculations have been made for 2013, 2015 and 2017 from the so-called region-based perspective, i.e. emissions have been allocated to their places of origin. The data have been calculated with methods consistent with the greenhouse gas inventory by allocating emissions to regions on the basis of data on activity by municipality. The data have been separately calculated for the sectors of energy, transport, industrial processes and product use, agriculture and the waste sector. The calculations exclude the land use, land use change and forestry sector (LULUCF). Statistics Finland publishes only numeric data by municipality on the emissions not included in the EU Emissions Trading System for confidentiality reasons. Total emissions and emissions from the Emissions Trading System are published on the level of regions. The emissions data can be found in the database tables . More detailed information on the calculation methods of regional data on emissions can be found in the methodological description and in Appendix 4 of the report on Finland's greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 to 2018 (only in Finnish). Source: Greenhouse gas inventory unit. Statistics Finland Inquiries: Pia Forsell 029 551 2937, Paivi Lindh 029 551 3778, kasvihuonekaasut@stat.fi Director in charge: Ville Vertanen Publication in pdf-format (198.9 kB) Updated 23.5.2019 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Greenhouse gases [e-publication]. ISSN=1797-6065. 2018. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 28.12.2021]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/khki/2018/khki_2018_2019-05-23_tie_001_en.html DGAP-News: CUDA OIL AND GAS INC. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. Announces Start-up of Operations at the Company's Natural Gas Miscible Flood Facility and Submission of Gas Flood Application to WOGCC in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming 23.05.2019 / 15:02 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. (TSXV: CUDA) ("Cuda" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the natural gas plant and associated facilities on the Barron Flats (Deep) Federal Unit (BFU) in Converse County, Wyoming have been commissioned to process rich Shannon field solution gas. The plant is a key step to allowing the Company to access gas flood reserves assigned by Ryder Scott in the recent independent Reserves Report. Processed natural gas liquids (estimated at 125 bbls per mmcf) will be stored onsite and utilized initially for a cyclic gas-injection stimulation test at the William Valentine #1 with an estimated onstream date of July 1, 2019. The operator, Southwestern Production Corporation, has recently filed the required submissions with the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) in support of the Barron Flats Secondary Recovery Miscible Gas Flood Unit. The application is scheduled on the WOGCC docket for August 12, 2019 to obtain Commission approval of the project. Other developments include the successful acquisition of a pipeline right of way from the BFU Gas Facility to the interstate pipeline system at Parkerton, Wyoming. Arrangements with a major midstream company have been negotiated to establish a pipeline connection site at Parkerton to provide a reliable and cost-effective supply of natural gas as feedstock for the Shannon Sand Miscible Gas Flood Project. Construction of the eight (8) mile, high pressure, six inch natural gas pipeline along the acquired right of way is estimated to commence in July 2019 and be capable of delivering product to the miscible mixing facility pending approval of the secondary recovery unit by WOGCC in August 2019. The facilities and pipeline advancements are integral milestones in the 2019 capital plan to develop the significant increases in reserves assigned to the Company at year-end 2018, by the Company's independent reserves evaluator, Ryder Scott. All reserves information is provided below. Proven Developed ("PDP") and Proved Non-Producing ("PNP") Reserves The Company's PDP + PNP reserves grew 112% over 2017 reserves to 1,534 Mboe (62% oil and liquids). NPV10 of $26.8 Million or $1.22 per basic common share. Total Proved Reserves ("1P") The Company's 1P reserves grew 515% over 2017 reserves, to 4,949 Mboe (84% oil and liquids). NPV10 of $77.8 Million or $3.55 per basic common share. Future development costs of $40.6 Million. Reserve Life Index ("RLI") based on 4th quarter, 2018 production of 15.5 years. Proved plus Probable Reserves ("2P") The Company's 2P reserves grew 1,239% over 2017 reserves, to 14,571 Mboe (84% oil and liquids). NPV10 of $191.6 Million or $8.74 per basic common share. Future development costs of $94.7 Million. RLI of 45.6 years. Additionally, the recently acquired Cole Creek Unit with 11,000 gross acres (3,630 acres net) provides a 48 well (16.7 net) project that can be developed with unconventional horizontal drilling technology. The operator is currently in the process of permitting 2 horizontal wells targeting the Frontier 2 formation. The Powder River Basin, specifically Converse County continues to see higher activity levels from major oil and gas E&P companies and private equity backed firms. The stack of horizontal oil targets continues to deliver positive results. The Company has recognized that several additional horizontal opportunities exist below the conventional Shannon Sand on the land base specifically within the Frontier, Niobrara and Muddy formations. These opportunities provide the basis for further resource development on Company lands. About Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. is engaged in the business of exploring for, developing and producing oil and natural gas, and acquiring oil and natural gas properties across North America. The Cuda management team has worked closely together for over 20 years in both private and public company environments and has an established track record of delivering strong shareholder returns. Cuda will continue to implement its proven strategy of exploring, acquiring, and exploiting with a long-term focus on large, light oil resource- based assets across North America including significant operational experience in the United States. The Cuda management team brings a full spectrum of geotechnical, engineering, negotiating and financial experience to its investment decisions. For further information please contact: Glenn Dawson President and Chief Executive Officer Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. (403) 454-0862 Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release are forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on forecasts of future operational or financial results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. In particular, this news release includes forward-looking information relating to: (i) exploration and development activities and the timing of such activities; (ii) the estimated natural gas liquids yield from the Barron Flats (Deep) Federal Unit; (iii) the timing of regulatory and operational developments relating to the Company's natural gas miscible flood facility; and (iv) reserve estimates which by their nature involve the implied assessment that the reserves can be profitably produced. Risk factors that could prevent forward looking statements relating to Cuda and its opeRating activities from being realized include ongoing permitting requirements, the actual results of current exploration and development activities, operational risks, risks associated with drilling and completions, uncertainty of geological and technical data, access to capital, market conditions, the availability and nature of alternative sources of energy, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as future prices of oil and natural gas. Although Cuda has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. "BOEs" may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil equivalent (6 Mcf: 1 bbl) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44993 Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser,to viewthe associated documentshttp://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44993 DGAP-News: M2 Cobalt Corp. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous M2 Cobalt Discovers New Anomalies with Showings of 37.8 % Copper and 18.15 G/t Gold Within Its New Kilembe-Area Exploration Licences - Expands Regional Play and Launches Drilling at Bujagali 23.05.2019 / 14:47 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - M2 Cobalt Corp. (TSXV: MC) (OTCQB: MCCBF) (FSE: A0K) (the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 2019 exploration program launched in March 2019. In addition to conducting further infill sampling around its Waragi and Nile targets, ground geophysics and geochemistry have commenced across the new exploration licenses acquired in October 2018 at Bujagali and in the Kilembe area. To-date in 2019, 509 rock and 3,153 soil samples have been collected within the new and existing licences. Sample results have now been received for 463 rock and 3,010 soil samples. Of the rock grab samples collected within the new Kilembe-area licenses, 114 results have been received. Two localized, surficial copper-gold showings were discovered (named Eagle and Senator). At Eagle, 2 rock grab samples contain 18.15 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au") and 37.8 percent copper ("%Cu") and 6.85 g/t Au and 24.6 %Cu, respectively. At Senator, 12 rock grab samples contain from 0.12 %Cu to 7.8 %Cu and 24 samples contain from 0.2 to 16.3 g/t Au (including 10 samples with more than 5.03 g/t Au and 4 samples with more than 10.45 g/t Au). In addition to the rock grab samples, a 25m by 25m spaced soil grid was completed at the Senator target. From the 133 soil samples collected, a coincidental gold and copper-in-soil anomaly was identified. Soil samples contain from 30 parts per million copper ("ppm Cu") to 554 ppm Cu and from 0.011 g/t Au to 1.06 g/t Au and follow a NE-SW trend. The anomaly remains open in both directions. Of the rock grab sample results received from Bujagali, 88 samples contain results from 0.1 percent cobalt ("%Co") to 2.5 %Co and 71 samples contain from 0.1 %Cu to 1.82 %Cu. As well, 9 samples contain from 0.43 to 1.64 grams per tonne gold ("g/t Au"). All of the rock grab samples are coincident with the Company's Katanga-Style geochemical anomalies. A map setting out further details of these results is available on the Companys web site (www.m2cobalt.com/projects/bujagali). Rock grab samples are by their nature selective and are not necessarily indicative of the general geology or grade within the property. The Company has also commenced drilling at its Bujagali properties. This drill program is an integral piece of the Company's 2019 exploration program announced on March 14, 2019. The drill program is being funded under the US$3 million working capital facility provided by Jervois Mining Limited ("Jervois") as part of the friendly "at market" merger currently being completed by the two companies. The Company has signed a drill contract with ADT Africa for the drill program and crews and support staff have been mobilized to the Company's Waragai and Bombo targets at the Bujagali Property. The drill program will systematically test the large regional copper-cobalt geochemical anomaly and the ultramafic bodies discovered during the Company's 2018 work program and further expanded during the 2019 work program. The Company continues to collect high resolution ground magnetics and induced polarization geophysics ("IP") and to conduct mapping along the Waragi trend. This, combined with geochemical results from 2018 and the recent sampling results set out above, has been used to delineate the placement of specific drill collars. Induced Polarization geophysics ("IP") is now complete at Bombo. This, combined with geochemical results from 2018, has been used to delineate the placement of specific drill collars. Simon Clarke, CEO, stated, "We are continuing to build on and delineate our Katanga-Style regional cobalt-copper targets and are very pleased with the large scale of the regional play that is emerging. We are excited to have mobilized drill rigs onto two key cobalt-copper targets as well as our nickel-copper-cobalt targets at Bombo." "We are also very pleased with initial exploration results from our new Kilembe-area licenses and, in particular, the high grades of the sampling conducted to-date. These new licenses expand our foot-print around the historic Kilembe mine which produced significant amounts of copper and cobalt whilst in operation." Quality Assurance All rock and soil samples are sent to ALS Chemex South Africa (Pty) Ltd., an independent and fully accredited laboratory in South Africa for analysis for gold multi-element Induction Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy. M2 Cobalt also has a regimented Quality Assurance, Quality Control program where at least 10% duplicates and blanks are inserted into each sample shipment. About M2Cobalt M2 Cobalt Corp. is focused on discovering and developing world-class cobalt assets (and related minerals) to help address the growing deficit in the supply of cobalt. The Company has a large, highly prospective land package in the Republic of Uganda, East Africa bordering historic production and on the same mineral trends as some of the major mines in the neighboring DRC where over 60% of world cobalt supply originates. Uganda is a stable country with a growing economy looking to re-energize its historic mining industry. The Company has a highly experienced management team and board of directors, which has been involved in funding and advancing resource projects globally. Further information on the Company and its projects can be found at www.m2cobalt.com The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dean Besserer, P.Geol., the Technical Advisor of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. For further information, contact Simon Clarke at sclarke@m2cobalt.com or Andy Edelmeier at andy@m2cobalt.com On behalf of the Board, M2 COBALT CORP. Simon Clarke, Chief Executive Officer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to exploration work to be undertaken in Uganda, the reliability of third party information, and certain other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44989 Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser,to viewthe associated documentshttp://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44989 Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. If you need a reminder that anti-tobacco efforts are often a bipartisan affair, look no further than legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). The bill would raise the nationwide age for purchasing tobacco to 21. The federal minimum age for purchasing tobacco products is 18, although state and local governments can set the minimum age higher (14 states have set the age at 21, along with 470 municipalities). Obviously, raising the minimum age above 18 raises questions about why adults who can vote and serve in the military cannot choose whether or not to enjoy a cigar. The issue of members of the military who are under 21, even if they are deployed overseas, being banned from choosing use tobacco products was previously a hold-up in the proposed legislation. While originally McConnell expressed reservations about such a law applying to service members, he seems to have relented. The largest cigarette company, Altria, has backed legislation raising the minimum age for tobacco purchases to 21. Notably, both McConnell and Kaine ares senators from states traditionally known for growing cigarette tobacco. Analysis In a political climate that increasingly purports to respect tolerance of personal choice, the double-standard when it comes to tobacco and adults is glaring. As many have observed before, there is no way to reconcile giving 18-year-olds the right to vote and the right (and, theoretically, through draft registration, the obligation) to serve in the military, but not the ability to choose whether or not to enjoy tobacco products. Although tobacco companies may back the legislation, there is little reason to think that the T21 movement was spreading to all 50 states. Further, to the extent T21 was spreading, it wasnt likely to be extended anytime soon above age 21, which is also when the law limits adults from purchasing alcohol. Ultimately, given the profile of most purchasers of handmade cigars, raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco is unlikely to have a significant effect on cigar-specific retailers, despite the obvious aforementioned hypocrisy of simultaneously permitting 18-year-olds to both vote and serve in the military. That said, there is the possibility that raising the age for the purchase of tobacco to 21 could slow down efforts to regulate tobacco by the FDA. As the Tobacco Control Act (which gives the FDA the authority to regulate premium cigars) specifically refers to limiting tobacco usage by minors under the age of 18, there is an argument that a federal tobacco age changed to 21 should result in a reset of FDA regulations. Specifically, for handmade cigars (which were always less likely to be used by minors) there is even less logic for the FDA to regulate cigars on the grounds that it is necessary to prevent youth usage if all tobacco is illegal for those under 21. Patrick S photo credit: Stogie Guys Another Greek tanker indicted for falsifying records A federal grand jury in Wilmington, Delaware, returned a four-count indictment charging Evridiki Navigation, Liquimar Tankers Management Services, and Nikolaos Vastardis with failing to keep accurate pollution control records, falsifying records, and obstruction of justice, the US Justice Department (DOJ) has announced. According to the indictment, the charges stem from the falsification of records and other acts designed to conceal from the US Coast Guard inspectors illegal overboard discharges of oily bilge water from the Nigerian-flagged 2007-built Suezmax Evridiki. On or about 11th March, 2019, Vastardis, who was the tankers Chief Engineer, failed to maintain an accurate oil record book, which fully recorded both the discharge overboard of bilge water that had accumulated in machinery spaces, and any failure of the ships oil filtering equipment. In addition, when the ships pollution control equipment was inspected by the USCG, Vastardis made false statements concerning how the equipment was operated at sea, and demonstrated how the equipment was operated in a manner designed to trick the equipment into reporting the discharge of oily bilge water at permissible levels. The vessels management company, Liquimar Tankers Management Services; the vessels owner, Evridiki Navigation; and Vastardis were all charged with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book as required by MARPOL. The defendants were also charged with falsification of records, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law, the DOJ pointed out. The case was investigated by the Coast Guard Investigative Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney, Edmund Falgowski of the US Attorneys Office for the District of Delaware, and Joel La Bissonniere, Trial Attorney with the DOJs Environmental Crimes Section. BIMCO/ INTERTANKO publish Q&As for scrubber-fitted ships BIMCO and INTERTANKO have jointly published Q&As addressing the contractual implications owners and charterers should look at when chartering ships fitted with scrubbers. The Q&As highlight the key charter party clauses and concepts, which should be reviewed for both time and voyage charter parties. We are pleased to have worked with BIMCO to provide advice and assistance for owners who have chosen this route to 2020 compliance. We will continue to develop the Q&As as experience of scrubber use develops, said Michele White, General Counsel at INTERTANKO. BIMCOs Head of Contracts and Clauses, Grant Hunter, added: We regularly receive questions about chartering issues relating to scrubber-fitted ships. These Q&As jointly produced with INTERTANKO will offer many useful answers as well as guidance. The Q&As consist of three parts. The first part deals with the implications of using scrubber-fitted ships under timecharter parties, the second deals with voyage charter parties and the third part addresses general considerations such as enforcement, fines and prohibition of open-loop scrubbers. The main focus is on timecharter parties as it is expected that this is where the use of a scrubber will have the greatest impact. BIMCO and INTERTANKO have each published clauses addressing the coming into force of MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14 and 18 dealing with the reduction of sulfur oxide emissions from the current 3.5% m/m to 0.5% m/m. However, these clauses do not deal with the special operational, technical and commercial requirements of shipboard scrubbers. In early 2019, a BIMCO and INTERTANKO working group discussed whether there was a need for a dedicated scrubber clause. The working group concluded that, for the time being, no scrubber clause need be published, as the scrubber is, once installed, is a normal piece of equipment and does not require any special status or special legal regime. Existing standard clauses (such as offhire, drydocking and maintenance) will work in a timecharter context in cases when the scrubber is not working. The Q&A document is available to download from both the BIMCO and INTERTANKO websites: Shipping on track to meet 2030 CO2 reduction target - ICS As a result of the decisions made at MEPC74, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said it was confident that shipping will improve its carbon efficiency by at least 40% by 2030, compared to 2008, in line with the IMO targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. ICS Secretary General, Guy Platten, commented: We welcome the adoption of important new IMO regulations to strengthen and bring forward the application of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for several different types of new build vesses. We are keen to see further progress on developing more short term measures to help the existing fleet reduce its emissions, and are optimistic that IMO member states can agree some additional regulations, during 2020, combining prescriptive and goal based approaches that will deliver further GHG reductions before 2023. If this solid IMO momentum continues then the industry is on track to meet the 2030 target. Progress by the industry so far will be clearer after the conduct of the next IMO Greenhouse Gas Study, whose terms of reference were finalised this week. Hopefully this will confirm that the sectors total emissions actually peaked in 2008, due to the technical and operational efficiency measures that shipping has taken since then to reduce its fuel consumption. Following the agreement of procedures to conduct assessments of the impacts of proposed GHG reduction measures on the economies of IMO member states, there is no reason why IMO should not be able to quickly agree on low hanging fruit, such as speed optimisation measures. We believe that these can best be addressed in part through the Super SEEMP, as proposed by ICS and other shipowner associations the mandatory external audit of Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans as part of the ISM Code. This will require shipping companies to demonstrate they have done everything possible to improve fuel efficiency in pursuit of the 2030 target. There does appear to be widespread support among many member states for these proposals, as there also was for constructive proposals from Japan to help existing ships deliver further technical efficiencies, which have much in common with the industrys approach. Although no final decisions have been taken it was clear that the majority of IMO member states, including major economies, such as China, India, the US and many South American nations, had little appetite at present for initiatives, such as mandatory speed limits, expressing concern that these would reduce the efficiency of maritime transport, in effect increasing the distance between economies and their markets, while acting as a disincentive to the take-up of new CO2 reduction technologies. While short term measures are important, ICS continues to assert that IMO needs to move quickly onto considering the critical long term measures that will help the industry to deliver the very ambitious target of a 50% total cut of GHG emissions by 2050, regardless of trade growth. This can only realistically be achieved with the introduction of commercially viable zero or near zero CO2 emitting propulsion systems, which means that accelerated research and development programmes have to be at the centre of the IMO strategy, he concluded. ICS also welcomed the additional guidance agreed by MEPC74 to assist smooth implementation of the global sulfur cap on 1st January 2020. ICS said it will be using these latest IMO guidelines to update its Guidance on Compliance with the 2020 Global Sulphur Cap, which is available to all ship operators via the ICS website free of charge. Ron and Patty Thomas/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- The Trump administration unveiled a $16 billion aid package for farmers hurt by the ongoing trade war with China, the second such deal intended to help limit the losses from Chinese tariffs on American goods. The assistance is designed to offset the estimated impact to American farmers from Chinese tariffs on American goods levied in retaliation for tariffs against Chinese products. Similar to the aid package announced last year, farmers can apply for direct payments for crops impacted by the tariffs and USDA will buy surplus products like milk and meat to distribute to food banks around the country. USDA says it will provide $14.5 billion in direct payments calculated based on the estimated impact to each country, as well as spend $1.4 billion to purchase goods and $100 million to develop other markets for U.S. goods. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the money will come from tariffs against Chinese goods that go into the Treasury and then back into programs to distribute the money to farmers. "China is going to pay for these this 16 billion dollars through tariffs coming in a transfer coming in, and we are doing again through the (Civilian Conservation Corps) program which was authorized as we used last year," Perdue said on Fox Business on Thursday morning. "But actually the tariff money that we are receiving the revenue we are receiving is what the president has intended to fund, the farmers who are being hurt by retaliatory tariffs." But countries don't directly pay tariffs, economists say it's more complicated and that the additional cost is more likely to be paid by American companies or consumers. The funds will ultimately come from the taxpayers because it is federal money that is being used for the bailouts, said Bill Reinsch, the Scholl Chair and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The reality becomes very very complicated, do the Chinese pay some of the tariff? Yes, probably in specific cases. Do they pay most of it? No, the consumer pays most of it ultimately," Reinsch said. Perdue said the leadership in China is trying to make the trade dispute hurt Trump's base the most and that they're trying to outlast the Trump administration to get a better deal. "We feel like farmers have been hurt disproportionately, that China knows they've gone right at President Trump's base politically to make farmers feel pain and he's not letting them bear the brunt of that," Perdue said. Reinsch said that's normal in a trade war where each country wants to hurt the other politically as well as economically. "Trump has a bigger problem than most because a lot of their suffering right now is directly and clearly related to his policies, so it's kind of on him to deal with that," Reinsch told ABC News. Groups that represent farmers like the American Farm Bureau and the National Farmers' Union said that while they appreciate the assistance for farmers, it's a short-term solution and they would rather have a long-term trade deal with China. President Trump said on Monday he wanted an aid package that would help farmers do well and "make the same kind of money," though USDA said the aid is intended more to help with additional costs such as storing excess product rather than make up for lost revenue. We're going to take the highest year, the biggest purchase that China has ever made with our farmers, which is about $15 billion, and do something reciprocal to our farmers so our farmers can do well. They'll be planting. They'll be able to sell for less, and they'll make the same kind of money until such time as it's all straightened out, Trump said Monday. This would be the second time the Trump administration has provided aid to mitigate the impact to farmers losing money because of the escalating trade war with China. In 2018, the administration announced it would provide up to $12 billion in aid for farmers hurt by retaliatory tariffs from China through direct payments and purchasing billions of dollars of goods. On Thursday afternoon, President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House. "We will ensure our farmers get the relief they need and very, very quickly," he said. "Good time to be a farmer, going to make sure of that." Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. MBABANE The decision by government to enlist Eswatini Mobile as an official provider of mobile telecommunications contract services to government officials has levelled the telecommunications playing field Bongani Mdluli, the Chairman of the Swaziland Consumer Association (SCA), said Eswatini Mobile, like every other company, paid tax and provided employment to emaSwati hence they should be treated equally with those it competed with in the industry leveling. We want the ground to be level for everyone to compete and see what they have to offer to their clientele. What government has done is what we call leveling the ground. This means government is taking care of all industry players, Mdluli said. He said this was an opportunity for Eswatini Mobile to prove its competitive edge quality by providing quality service and improve where there was need as well as showing that governments decision was not based on anything else but merit. This will bring improvement in competition as Eswatini Mobile will want to do well, Mdluli said. Meanwhile, Eswatini Mobile Chief Executive Officer Jeff Penberton said they were looking forward to working with government in this respect. We will make the most of the brilliant business opportunity that has been presented by the good news, the CEO said briefly. concomitant In announcing the decision, Government Press Secretary Percy Simelane, through a statement, said following the establishment of the Competition Commission and the concomitant regulation on Competition, government adhered to the dictates of the completion by reviewing cellular phone service provision to government through Establishment Circular Number 2 of 2018. The circular opened up for the then new Service Provider, Eswatini-Mobile, which Government decided to officially include in the provision of contract service to government officials. All along government was dealing with MTN but this time both Service Providers have been taken on board, Simelane said. This past week, the Times SUNDAY reported that Eswatini Mobile was proving its competitive edge in the provision of unlimited data services by going head-to-head with global telecommunications. unlimited The publication said the company offered an unlimited data package that competed with world giants such as T-Mobile, Spirit, Verizon and AT&T. Penberton was quoted saying while Eswatini Mobile throttles its bandwidth after a customer had used up 40GB, Spirit throttled after the use of 23G, AT&T and Verizon throttled at 22GB while T-Mobile used to throttle at 28GB. There are reports though that T-Mobile, in 2017, announced that it was increasing its soft cap for unlimited data plans from 32GB to 50GB, a move that continues to put it far ahead of competitors such as Verizon and AT&Ts 22GB caps as well as Sprints 23GB. THERE is a famous experiment from the 1980s, in the field of behavioural psychology and child development designed by Juergen Hogrefe, Heinz Wimmer and Josef Perner called the Deceptive Box Task or Smarties Task that arrives at interesting conclusions about the stage of development of a childs cognition (reasoning). In the experiment, a subject, typically a three-year-old child is given a box of Smarties (the popular British candy-coated chocolate snack, also known as the poor mans M&Ms) and asked to open the box to reveal its contents. Typically, the child will not wait for a second invitation; they tear through the packaging zealously, mouth watering profusely. As youve probably already guessed, this doesnt end all that well. It turns out that it is not a box of Smarties as much as it is a box of crayons. The child is often dumb-founded by the discovery and it takes a lot of effort on their part to hold back tears of disappointment. The experimenter, typically a (mean) psychologist, is then called to practise some finesse to calm the poor thing. The key objective of the experiment is achieved after a question is posed to the three-year-old: If we asked a child outside, what would they think is in the box? The underdeveloped mind responds; Theyll know that the box has crayons not Smarties in it. The disappointed child fails to un-know (so to speak) the truth about the box of crayons and projects their knowledge onto the next subject, forgetting that they, at first, thought the contents of the box of Smarties were way more delicious than how it played out in the end. The failure to predict another individuals lack of knowledge about a subject with which one is familiar is a cognitive bias called the curse of knowledge. Im not saying you have the brain of a three-year-old but, you do. Keep reading. Oftentimes, once we know something, we find it difficult to imagine not knowing it. The quality of our engagements with other individuals is dictated by how well we can manage the chasm between our personal knowledge space and the next persons background to understand that of which we speak. There are a lot of examples where the curse of knowledge occurs to the detriment of the desired outcome. You may consider any environment from the classroom to the boardroom. A teacher that fails to manage the chasm alienates her pupils and decreases her chances of successfully imparting knowledge. Giving instructions that assume knowledge in others that they do not possess fails to achieve any sort of outcome, for it registers incomprehensible; you may as well be speaking Dothraki or Morse code or any other such language sufficiently foreign to your audience. Boardrooms are rife with this phenomenon. You find industry experts bending and twisting themselves into knots, opting to put on display their Ivy League education in lieu of actually communicating. Experienced executives love sweeping, general language. Ubeva sebatsi unlocking shareholder value noma achieving stakeholder delight. Employees leave the boardroom with nothing to action, and hence compromise an otherwise sensible strategy because top executives communicate as if we all live in their heads. As the Harvard Business Review published in 2006, in the business world, managers and employees, marketers and customers, corporate headquarters and the frontline, all rely on ongoing communication but suffer from enormous information imbalances. This can be thwarted through the use of basic communication skills. I dont understand why explaining things simply is going out of style. Einstein said; If you cant explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough. Maybe those who we do not understand have a tenuous grasp on the subject matter to begin with. How could you possibly hope to understand anyone who struggles to understand themselves? MBABANE Human rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko wants Supreme Court Judge Phesheya Dlamini to recuse himself from his case against the Liquor Licensing Board because he is a prince and chief. Maseko said he feared that the judge would be biased against him because he would sympathise with the chief of Ka-Luhleko, from whom he was advised to seek permission to operate a bar on Eswatini Nation Land, because they are both chiefs and Bantfwabenkhosi. Maseko said the two are family. In this matter the Board initially refused to grant Maseko a license to operate Liyabuya Wine and Malt, popularly known as Dambhadi, which is situated in Bhunya. Maseko took the matter to court and High Court Judge Titus Mlangeni issued an order that the Board should grant the human rights lawyer the licence. The Board appealed the decision. On October 10, 2018, the Supreme Court struck off the appeal as the Board and the attorney general had failed to file a court record on time as per the rules of the court. The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court. The order was issued by Judge Dlamini sitting with Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala and Judge Benjamin Odoki, who is now retired. Maseko said he was given written reasons to strike off the appeal to enable him to determine how the court came to that decision. The chairman of the Board applied for leave to file again. The matter went to court on May 6, 2019, according to Maseko, Judge Dlamini sat on the bench. He said he instructed his attorney, Lucky Howe, to move an application for the recusal of Judge Dlamini. A recusal application is first moved before the judge concerned and in the event he declined to remove himself from the matter, a full-blown application is then filed by the party seeking the recusal. In his application, Maseko submitted that what made the recusal application justified was that in terms of the rules of court, Judge Dlamini was part of a bench that made an order that the appeal was abandoned. Maseko said he found it strange that the court would issue such an order in the face of an application that the appeal had been abandoned in terms of the rules. Indication This, according to Maseko, was an indication that the court and Judge Dlamini allegedly failed to apply themselves in the matter that was before them. He said this gave rise to the perception of bias against him. He also mentioned that the order of October 10, 2018 was being challenged through a counter-application and was sought to be reviewed. Clearly the first respondent (Judge Dlamini) cannot sit and review his own decision. The review application may be heard by a different court and this should bar the first respondent from sitting in a matter where his order is sought to be reviewed and set aside. He said another reason Judge Dlamini should recuse himself from the matter was that he was also a chief. Maseko submitted that the AG and the Board contend that in seeking the licence to run the bar on Eswatini Nation Land, he should get permission from the chief of KaLuhleko. He argued that there was nowhere in the legal framework governing the liquor business requiring one to have permission from either the King or the chief. Maseko submitted that he had reasonable fear that Judge Dlamini, being a chief himself, would be sympathetic to the arguments of the Board and the AG. Not only is the first respondent a chief, he is also a prince. The whole idea of the second respondent (chairman of the Board) dragging the powers of traditional authority in a matter where they are of no relevance is to make Eswatini Law and Custom applicable through the backdoor. Maseko informed the court that the fact that Judge Dlamini was a prince appeared in the gazette by which he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. Advised I am advised and verily accept that chiefs (and indeed members of the royal family) are footstools of the traditional government structures of Swaziland (Eswatini) as provided in Section 233(1) of the Constitution. As a member of such an establishment, I have a well grounded apprehension that in a matter such as this, the first respondent is likely to be sympathetic and therefore against me. On another note, the human rights lawyer submitted that his fear was buttressed by the fact that Judge Dlamini was a former attorney general of the country and that he allegedly had a close relationship with that office for a long time. According to Maseko, the fact that the chief of KaLuhleko had not been cited in the proceedings did not take away that he had a direct interest in the matter. He alleged that Judge Dlamini had a high propensity to rule in favour of the respondents no matter how weak their case may be. Maseko mentioned that his submissions should not be seen as a personal affront to Judge Dlamini and that his interest was to see justice done in his matter. The matter is pending in court. MATSAPHA - Currently, out of all schools which have been audited in the past two years, 14 have been referenced to have a staggering E40 million unaccounted for. In fact, Sibongile Mtshali, who is the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education and Training, said government needs the about E40m which appears to have been mismanaged by the 14 schools by Monday, May 27, 2019. The PS revealed this during the Eswatini Principal Associations (EPAs) leadership seminar on the fourth industrial revolution and mismanagement of funds. The one-day seminar was held at Esibayeni Lodge yesterday. She said her office was happy that the seminar was attended by the Auditor generals (AGs) Office and it would enlighten the schools administrators about the thorny issue of mismanagement of public funds. However, the PS said in some instances, it happened that the money was not mismanaged but that there were challenges in providing supporting documents. She said if the referenced schools had supporting documents for their expenditures, these should be submitted to clear the air. On the other hand, the PS said if the heads of the schools failed to produce the supporting documents, they should either pay the money at revenue offices and submit the receipt or make a payment plan. If the head teachers fail to do the above, the money will be deducted from their gratuity upon retiring, she said. According to the PS, some schools ended up being referenced for mismanagement of public funds because some head teachers reward hardworking teachers. Performed For example, she said they heard that some teachers had been taken on a trip to Cape Town, South Africa because their pupils had performed well in their external examinations. Teachers are paid to work hard, so there is no need for a head teacher to reward them with public funds, the PS said. Furthermore, she said the ministry had learnt that in some mission schools, the grantees took money to the church. On that note, she said such schools and their grantees should submit supporting documents to prove that the transactions were legal. Again, she said some schools were operating as stationery shops as learning paraphernalia were kept and sold within the institutions. She warned head teachers against such by stating that businesspeople who wanted to sell stationery should rent office spaces in town. Some schools have been turned into churches as they are renting out classrooms to churches, she said. On the same note, officers from the AGs Office said in schools, they usually found expenditures which had nothing to do with education. MANZINI The incentives for attaining a five per cent economic growth in the next 60 months should filter to civil servants. Former Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Gideon Dlamini, said the target set for politicians was a creative and innovative model that had been used previously on chief executive officers for parastatals and not politicians. He said duplicating such a move on civil servants would enforce a common goal and help in debating and passing bills speedily in Parliament. He was reacting to one of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission to the effect that politicians could get 24 months of their monthly salary as gratuity should they meet an economic growth target of five per cent. Currently, only non-returning politicians get 12 months of their pay as ex-gratia. That said, it needs to be holistic and also be extended to civil servants; from the principal secretaries down to the people who do the actual work. That way, it will be motivation for everyone and assist government achieve the core goal of the Strategic Road Map which is to end corruption and introduce a culture of excellence across all government ministries, departments and agencies, he said. The erstwhile minister, said if the recommendations of the Royal Commission were adopted and duplicated in the civil service, it would be easier to promote the culture of service excellence throughout the public service and strengthen organisational development. The whole government would be goal-driven, he added. He said the amount in gratuity that shall be received by the politicians solely depended on the civil service, which was why the premier would have to align the pending circular to the Eswatini Strategic Road Map. In terms of attaining the five per cent economic growth, Dlamini said other countries had done it and a change of mindset would bear greater results for the country as well. On the other hand, former Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini said the incumbent Cabinet had the potential to achieve the five per cent economic growth which is a target they set in the Eswatini Strategic Road map. Martin said it was a target even his government had set its eyes on. He said what was essential for government was to push the right sectors into creating more job opportunities that would result in economic growth. According to the economic recovery strategic road map, there are five industries that shall be explored. These are tourism, agriculture, energy and mining, manufacturing, and information, communication and technology (ICT). Martin said while government should push these sectors, it should also be cognisant of the economic recession happening around the world as it posed a challenge to the aspirations of the incumbent government. Struggling In terms of countries around us like South Africa, which plays a major role in our economy, they are struggling but, if they are able to generate the E100 billion or more investments target, then well be safe as we do not exist in isolation, he explained. Martin was optimistic that it was possible to attain economic growth despite the challenges that exist in the region. Another erstwhile minister who shared his insight on the recommendations made by the Phil Mnisi-led Royal Commission was Dr Phineas Magagula. The former Minister of Education and Training said the economic recovery depended on the loopholes that were exploited by the corrupt. They need to look into the bottomless holes that swallow the money and close them (sic), Dr Magagula said. He said it was prudent for government to also deal with the issue of civil servants, who got suspended but continued to get remunerated as that was needlessly increasing the wage bill while limiting resources for government to fulfill its obligations to the people. Another issue that Dr Magagula felt needed to be addressed for the country to be woken up from its fiscal slumber was the tendering process which increased governments debt. His concern is articulated in the Eswatini Strategic Road Map as the Ministry of Finance, headed by Neal Rijkenberg, has to optimise procurement policies and processes. This is because the ministrys core function is to bring government expenditure and revenue to sustainable levels while managing public debt and arrears accumulated. LOBAMBA The ongoing sittings of the PAC came to an unceremonious end yesterday when the Chairperson, MP Phila Buthelezi, said they were suspended indefinitely. PAC is the Public Accounts Committee. MP Buthelezi did not forward the reason(s) for the sudden stopping of the sessions, and left all those present wondering what had happened. The burning issue that was to be discussed yesterday was the Nhlangano-Gege-Sicunusa Road, where the auditor general uncovered that about E500 000 of taxpayers money went down the drain for the road which was not completed. The announcement of the halting of all PAC sittings was made after the committee had held a caucus which was about an hour long. Witnesses Seven witnesses had been called to appear before the committee and these were former Ministers of Public Works and Transport Lindiwe Dlamini and Ntuthuko Dlamini. However, Lindiwe who is now Senate President, was not present in the House of Assembly while Ntuthuko was Others who had been invited as witnesses were former Principal Secretary in the ministry Cyril Kunene, retired Chief Roads Engineer Trevor Tshabalala and Albert Dlamini. Peter Ngwenya from Kukhanya Construction was also invited by the PAC, however, he was not present and instead three other representatives of Kukhanya, who was the contractor for the project, were present. Sandile Makhubu from ZMCK Consulting (the project consultants) was also present. It was after all the introductions were done, including that of the current PS in the ministry Makhosini Mndawe, that MP Buthelezi dropped the bombshell. He first apologised to the gathering for the delay in holding the sitting. He said as a committee, there were consultations which they were doing concerning the matter. We know that this has been an inconvenience, but unfortunately we will not be continuing with it for some reasons, said MP Buthelezi. He said the group was excused. However, this did not sit well with Ntuthuko, who said he was invited to be a witness in Parliament officially. He said the dignity of Parliament was being compromised if the PAC would let them go without a proper explanation of what had made them reach the drastic decision. MP Buthelezi interjected and said he greatly respected Ntuthuko, but he did not want to engage in a dialogue with him, because this was a matter they were working on and trying to fix. MP Buthelezi further asked PS Mndawe to delegate someone who would pray. However, Ntuthuko did not back down and said they had used their own money and resources to travel to Parliament and therefore there should be some form of compensation, especially since they were being dismissed without a proper explanation of what had happened. The chairperson apologised to Ntuthuko again and assured him that it was not only this matter which was affected, but all future sittings of the PAC. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said steady progress is being made on the 300 MW second stage of Phase Three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park which will be operational in late June. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the independent power producer (IPP) model. Once completed, it will generate 5,000 MW by 2030 with investments of up to Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion). It is being implemented in five phases, with the first two phases already completed. Phase Three is being carried out three stages. Dewa said the construction of the 300 MW third stage of Phase Three started earlier this year and will be operational in 2020. Hence, the second and third stages will add a total of 600 MW of clean energy to Dewa's network between July this year and January 2020. The first stage of Phase Three has a capacity of 200 MW and became operational in May 2018. It uses unique technologies, including over 800,000 self-cleaning solar cells that use robots to maintain efficiency. This stage provides over 60,000 residences with electricity, reducing over 270,000 tonned of carbon emissions every year. According to Dewa, the 13 MW photovoltaic Phase One of the MBR Solar Park became operational in 2013. "The 200 MW photovoltaic second phase of the solar park was launched in March 2017, and the 800 MW photovoltaic third phase will be operational by 2020," remarked Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and CEO after reviewing the progress of the 300 MW second stage of Phase Three of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. During the visit, Al Tayer was accompanied by Waleed Salman, executive vice-president of Business Development and Excellence at Dewa; Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, vice-president of Clean Energy & Diversification at Dewa and other officials. Dewa is building the 800MW third phase of the solar park using photovoltaic technology in three stages, in partnership with a consortium led by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and EDF Group, through its subsidiary EDF Energies Nouvelles. This solar plant is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, with an advanced solar tracking system to increase generation efficiency by 20-30 per cent when compared to fixed installations. Dewa recorded a world record in the cost of photovoltaic solar power for this phase of the solar park, at a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of $2.99 cents per kilowatthour, using photovoltaic solar panels. The fourth phase of the solar park is the largest single-site solar IPP project in the world and combines concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic technology. The phase will use hybrid technologies to produce 950 MW of clean energy. The Dubai utility established Shuaa Energy 2 with a 60 per cent stake in the company in partnership with the Masdar-led consortium, and Electricite de France (EDF), through its subsidiary EDF Energies Nouvelles. The consortium owns the remaining 40 per cent of the company; Masdar owns 24 per cent and EDF Energies Nouvelles owns 16 per cent. The international consortium led by the renewable energy contractors GranSolar and Acciona from Spain and Ghella from Italy is handling the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC). Dewa had issued a request for qualification (RFQ) for developers to build and operate the fifth phase of the solar park with a capacity of 900 MW. The phase will use photovoltaic solar panels based on the IPP model and will be commissioned in stages from Q2 2021.-TradeArabia News Service Following a strong start to 2019, Dubai Business Events (DBE), the citys official convention bureau, is showcasing Dubais dynamic business events offerings yet again at Imex Frankfurt, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. The aim of DBEs participation at the event in Frankfurt, from May 21 23, is to position Dubai as a destination of choice for business events and incentive travel for a global audience of over 14,000 hosted buyers and trade visitors. This year, alongside more than 30 co-exhibitors, DBE previewed new project plans and milestones that demonstrate a strong focus on transforming Dubai into a global knowledge hub. In addition, the bureau highlighted some of the latest developments in Dubais state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure and renowned hospitality sector. Among the co-exhibitors were Coca-Cola Arena, Expo 2020 Dubai and W Dubai The Palm, all of whom shared new and upcoming offerings with event planners, while the likes of Dubai World Trade Centre, Emirates and Jumeirah Group joined DBE at the show once again, underlining the broader business events infrastructure in the city. Issam Kazim, chief executive officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: Business events play a pivotal role in our citys transformation into a global knowledge economy and our participation in events such as Imex serve as an ideal platform to support our ambitious tourism strategy. After a strong start to 2019, DBE continues to build on its momentum, attracting events that are set to make a significant economic impact and leave a lasting legacy for delegates from around the globe. As we look to further strengthen Dubais reputation as the destination of choice for business events, the contribution of our partners and stakeholders across the city, many of whom have joined us in Frankfurt, will be crucial. Dubai Business Events aims to further strengthen Dubais reputation as a premier business events destination globally by promoting the city as a destination of choice through a number of platforms and initiatives that cater to a wide range of business event professionals. Among these activities are inbound study missions, outbound sales roadshows and annual networking events. Additionally, DBE takes part in a number of trade shows and events throughout the year as part of its calendar of activities, that serve as a powerful platform to further educate meeting planners and event organisers about the citys attractive business event capabilities, as well as new developments in Dubais competitive business events sector. Steen Jakobsen, assistant vice president, Dubai Business Events said: Having started the year on a strong note, our participation in Imex, along with our partners and stakeholders, is a testament to our ambitions to continue to position Dubai as a premier business events destination. At this years event, our focus is on furthering partnerships with stakeholders as well as engaging with business events professionals globally, to identify new opportunities for the city. We look forward to showcasing our latest offerings as well as contributing to the larger discourse on the theme of imagination which will surely fuel a new level of collaboration and inclusion in the business events industry. DBE is also promoting the second edition of the Dubai Association Conference, which is taking place in December this year and will bring together government representatives, industry leaders and association executives from around the world for the purpose of discussing the societal impact of associations. The events main objective is to serve as a platform for dialogue and education for associations interested in exploring opportunities in the Middle East and to ultimately contribute to building a stronger association community that drives the knowledge economy in the United Arab Emirates and the wider region. Major bid wins for Dubai Business Events in 2019 so far have included the Geospatial Week which is set to take place in 2021, the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in 2021, the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property World Congress in 2025, as well as incentive groups from Amway and Roche Diagnostic. - TradeArabia News Service 'Zero FIR' of rape registered by Nepalese woman transferred to Delhi Police Mumbai, May 15 (UNI) The Oshiwara Police transferred complaint of the rape offence on a 22-year-old Nepalese woman as a 'zero FIR' to Delhi Police on Wednesday. A 'zero FIR' gives victim the liberty to lodge a complaint at any police station, irrespective of the jurisdiction, where the crime occurred. According to police, the young Nepal national was allegedly gangraped on Sunday night by four men in Dwarka area of New Delhi. Dhaka, May 22 ( UNI) The Home Ministry of Bangladesh is apprehending that militants who went to Syria and Iraq for fighting for international militant outfit may enter into the country. Hence, the ministry directed Bangladesh embassies abroad not to issue travel permit to anyone without the ministrys consent. The home ministry sources said, the decision was taken at a meeting, attended by higher police officials, at the ministry recently. The meeting asked the Foreign Ministry to notify the matter to all the foreign missions abroad. Beijing, May 22 (UNI) China's three biggest airlines are demanding compensation from Boeing over its grounded 737 Max fleet. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern have filed claims for payouts, according to state media reports. China's regulator was the first to ground the fleet in the wake of two deadly crashes involving the US-made aircraft. Chinese national arrested in Pakistan for pushing worker into furnace Faisalabad, May 23 (UNI) A Chinese national was arrested in Faislabad for pushing a worker into a burning furnace, according to media reports. The incident occurred on Wednesday at a factory in Faisalabads Sahianwala Industrial Estate. The worker was pushed into the furnace by the Chinese supervisor of the labour force. The foreigner reportedly lost his cool after the worker failed to comprehend his instructions, The Express Tribune reported. Foolproof security on counting day,more Central Forces deployed: Haryana DGP Chandigarh, May 22(UNI) Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) on Wednesday said that State has got 10 additional companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces to maintain law and order in Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Sirsa and Hisar districts as well as to ensure peace after announcement of the counting results in the state. DGP, Manoj Yadava said that State Police has made all necessary preparations to ensure law and order on May 23 when votes of the recently held Lok Sabha elections at 38 locations will be counted. Mounted police have also been deployed to ensure law and order across the state. The security of strong rooms, housing the EVMs, has been tightened the with a total strength of 35 companies including 23 of Central paramilitary and 12 of Indian Reserve Battalion. In all, these companies will have a total of 3,150 personnel. In addition to State Armed Police Force, adequate local police personnel have also been stationed for full-proof safety at the strongrooms where EVMs have been stored under three-layer security. Space for Agriculture and Food Security . The Space-based technologies offer tools to help in a wide spectrum of agricultural activities, ranging from monitoring of crops, livestock and forestry, to fisheries and aquaculture. They are essential for supporting farmers, fisherfolk, foresters and policymakers in the decision-making process, by enabling timely and effective response to adverse weather conditions, droughts, floods, desertification and land degradation, vegetation fires and disasters triggered by natural phenomena. Among such technologies, remote sensing satellites provide key data for monitoring soil, snow cover, drought and crop development. Furthermore, rainfall assessments from satellites help farmers plan the timing and amount of irrigation necessary for their crops. The Space for Agriculture Development and Food Security Report (2016), produced by the UN Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities ( UN-Space ), led by UNOOSA, features how space-based technologies are used for supporting decision-making in the fields of agriculture and food security and for overcoming challenges posed to future prosperity, security and the well-being of all humankind. Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This goal ensures that all girls and boys complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030. It also aims to provide equal access to affordable vocational training, to eliminate gender and wealth disparities and achieve universal access to a quality higher education. Estimates show that, among those 59 million children, 1 in 5 of them had dropped out and recent trends suggest that 2 in 5 of out-of-school children will never set foot in a classroom. The Sustainable Development Goals clearly recognise that this gap must be closed, even as the international community more explicitly addresses the challenges of quality and equity in education. Space technologies can provide, among others: Space4water portal . SDG 6 focuses on clean, accessible water for all. The goal aims to address water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation globally. It promotes increased investments in water management and sanitation, and international cooperation and capacity building in this respect. Water conservation and management are among the most critical issues facing humankind. Space technology can help analyze global water cycles, map water courses, and monitor and mitigate the effects of floods and droughts. In 2016, UNOOSA and the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on promoting their common goals, particularly the use of space-based technology for increased access to water. Through this collaboration, UNOOSA has developed and launched a portal focusing on space for water management, referred to as the Space4Water Portal. The Space4Water Portal is a multi-stakeholder platform for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange on space technologies and water-related topics. It serves stakeholders of both the space technologies sector and the water sector and aims at strengthening the links between the various actors and communities. Its scope is to foster knowledge exchange and bring the benefits of space to humankind, while one of its key focus areas of the portal is capacity building. The portal brings together organizations active in the field to share information on projects, initiatives, satellite missions, and software, while enabling access to community portals, capacity building and training material, conferences, workshops, data, as well as news and publications in the sector, providing important services particularly to actors from developing countries. Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines The space sector was worth more than 330 Billion USD in 2017, with an average growth rate above 6%. Several analyses suggest that the sector would grow to about 1 trillion USD by 2040 (although other estimates predict a higher growth). The progress in open data policies has made possible that many start-ups could benefit from space data for their applications, and space technologies are contributing to establishing a safer and more secure working environment, enabling the monitoring of lone workers. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, have brought forward topics concerning the sustainability of outer space activities, such activities on space debris and long term sustainability of outer space, to continue benefiting of space, as the province of all humankind. UW Graduate Credits Research Opportunities for Admission to Yale School of Medicine Hunter McCurdy, here working in the lab of Mara Motriuk-Smith at UW-Casper, has been accepted to the Yale School of Medicine. (Mara Motriuk-Smith Photo) Hunter McCurdy was in his second semester at the University of Wyoming at Casper when he learned about research opportunities he could have as an undergraduate through the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Wyoming IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Program. Intrigued by the research on parasitology being conducted by UW-Casper faculty members Mara Motriuk-Smith and Scott Seville, McCurdy began working on research projects in summer 2015. In 2016, he began working with UW scientists Florence Teule-Finley and Patrick Johnson on spider silk proteins, research he continued until his graduation with a bachelors degree in physiology from UW in May 2017. Now, the Natrona County High School graduate -- who began his higher education at Casper College -- is ready to take a major step toward a medical career. He has been accepted to the prestigious Yale School of Medicine, where he begins his studies this fall. One thing I have learned from this application process is that it doesn't matter where you are from or where you went to school. If you try hard enough, you can go anywhere, McCurdy says. I'm grateful for my time at Casper College and the University of Wyoming; I had an amazing time and great education, and I met the amazing teachers who helped me out so much. McCurdy says his research experiences through INBRE in Casper and then on the main UW campus were instrumental in his admission to the Yale School of Medicine. I am sure my research experience was integral to my career pursuits; I was asked regularly about my research at medical school interviews, he says. What I didn't expect with research is how it helped me in school. Research helped connect what I learned about in class and read in textbooks with the real world. Especially the way my mentors, Dr. Motriuk-Smith and Dr. Teule-Finley, taught me in the lab, I was able to draw connections between the classroom and what I was doing in my research, which provided a deeper and richer level of understanding. UW is one of 23 states and Puerto Rico funded by the NIH Institutional Development Award INBRE Program to enhance biomedical research capacity; expand and strengthen the research capabilities of biomedical faculty; and provide access to biomedical resources for promising undergraduate students. UWs program includes a collaboration with the states community colleges. Through a competitive selection process, INBRE awards transition fellowships to Wyoming community college students who transfer to UW to pursue bachelors degrees in biomedical-related disciplines. McCurdy received his INBRE transition fellowship in 2016 and says his movement from Casper College, to UW-Casper and then to UWs main campus was smooth, with quality instruction, advising and research opportunities all along the way. I was well-prepared and had ample support from UW to help the transition, he says. I had a great experience at UW. I took so many amazing classes, and I liked all of my teachers. I also made great friends along the way. Both at UW-Casper and UWs main campus, the teachers are fantastic, and the facilities are great. Many UW physiology majors go on to graduate or professional school, including medical studies. McCurdy says his UW classes were incredibly helpful in his preparations to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and he had been accepted to four other medical schools before he learned of his acceptance at Yale. Still, he was ecstatic and surprised when he received the news. Reading horror stories of students with perfect GPA and MCAT scores, who interview at 10-plus top schools but get no acceptances, it makes someone question if they have what it takes to get into medical school, he says. I had already experienced the relief of that first acceptance, but it was extremely exciting nonetheless. There was a level of gratification that all the work I put into applying was worth it. After graduation from UW, McCurdy worked as a medical scribe in the emergency department at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for about nine months. That experience has him thinking about pursuing a career in emergency medicine, but hes not yet certain about a specialty. Im definitely biased toward emergency medicine, although I also like surgery, so maybe trauma surgery. I like how in depth internal medicine is as well, so I would like working as a hospitalist or cardiologist, he says. There are certain residency programs and fellowship programs that I am interested in where you are trained in two fields, like emergency medicine and internal medicine, and you work by splitting your time between those two. Is there a chance hell return to Wyoming to practice? I do see myself returning to Wyoming, provided I pick a specialty where I can find work here, he says. There is a need for more physicians in rural areas, like Wyoming, and I would like to do what I can to fill that need. What would he say to Wyoming students who have high aspirations, such as careers as physicians, about attending in-state institutions? I would tell Wyoming students that Wyoming schools are fantastic. For the price, I doubt anyone could find better schools, he says. I attended these schools because I wanted to, and I don't believe that choice held me back at all, but rather helped me. With the right mindset, going to college can only open doors for you. Wyoming Business Tips for May 27-June 2 A weekly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. By Nicholas Giraldo, market researcher, Wyoming SBDC Network Just in time for the summer tourism season, Google has recently announced improvements to its own personalized travel planning service called "Trips," which allows users to plan and book their vacations directly through the Google search results page or via the Trips app. The best way for Wyoming tourism-related businesses to take advantage of this new service is by claiming their online business listings and adding important business details that users want to know when searching for things to do on their Wyoming vacations. When claiming your online listing, start with your Google My Business profile, which can be done via www.google.com/business. Google is not the only local business listing source, but a good place to start, as the Trips app uses Google My Business profile information when finding local hotels, attractions and things to do for users. Other sites on which businesses can claim their listings include Yelp, TripAdvisor and Facebook. The important thing to remember is that the main value from these sites is reviews of your business. Customer reviews are an important factor search engines use when delivering search results. So, a greater quantity and quality of reviews mean improvements to your overall online visibility. When claiming your Google My Business listing, be sure to complete all of the fields with correct, consistent and up-to-date business information. Not only should this information be complete in your Google My Business listing, but it also should be correct and consistent on your website and other online profiles. Most of the fields -- such as business name, category, address, hours of operation, phone number and website address -- are self-explanatory. The goal for these sections is completeness and consistency, making sure all of the fields have accurate and up-to-date business information that corresponds with your website and other online business profiles. There are some areas that require a bit more attention, as they may not apply to certain businesses. For instance, Google only directly verifies businesses with physical addresses. Businesses with P.O. boxes will need to take some extra steps. The Wyoming SBDC Network, through an agreement with Google, can assist businesses without a storefront address through the verification process. Another area that requires attention to detail is the photo section. Google recommends businesses include multiple photos such as a logo, a cover photo and business-specific photos that spotlight aspects of your business that customers consider when making purchasing decisions. Google provides different photo categories, including exterior, interior, products and team photos, and suggests you post a minimum of three images per category. Once you've claimed your listing, the next goal should be collecting high-quality customer reviews. One thing businesses can do to solicit reviews is to collect emails from customers. Include a subject line asking them about their experience with your business; acknowledge and thank the customers for their business in the body of the emails; and close with a gentle reminder on how reviews are helpful for the business and helpful for them as well, as it gives them a chance to share their opinions. Another way businesses can collect customer reviews is through printed handouts with instructions outlining how customers can go online and leave a Google review. Filling out a Google My Business listing with complete and consistent information will help tourism-related businesses in Wyoming get noticed in Google's Trips app and connect with more travelers this summer season. If you would like some help with any part of this process, your local Wyoming SBDC Network adviser is ready to offer no-cost, confidential assistance to any small business in the state. To get started, visit www.wyomingsbdc.org. The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close A Curtin University researcher has solved a nearly 100-year-old riddle by discovering that Egyptian desert glass was created by a meteorite impact, rather than atmospheric airburst, in findings that have implications for understanding the threat posed by asteroids. Published in the leading journal Geology, the research examined tiny grains of the mineral zircon in samples of Egyptian desert glass that formed 29 million years ago and is found over several thousand square kilometers in western Egypt. Nearly pure silica, the canary yellow glass was famously used to make a scarab that is part of King Tuts Pectoral. Lead author Dr. Aaron Cavosie, from the Space Science and Technology Centre in Curtins School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said zircons in the glass preserved evidence of the former presence of a high-pressure mineral named reidite, which only forms during a meteorite impact. Dr. Cavosie said: It has been a topic of ongoing debate as to whether the glass formed during meteorite impact, or during an airburst, which happens when asteroids called Near Earth Objects explode and deposit energy in the Earths atmosphere. Both meteorite impacts and airbursts can cause melting; however, only meteorite impacts create shock waves that form high-pressure minerals, so finding evidence of former reidite confirms it was created as the result of a meteorite impact. Dr. Cavosie said the idea that the glass may have formed during a large atmospheric airburst gained popularity after a dramatic airburst over Russia in 2013, which caused extensive property damage and injury to humans, but did not cause surface materials to melt, adding: Previous models suggested that Libyan desert glass represented a large, 100-Mt class airburst, but our results show this is not the case. Meteorite impacts are catastrophic events, but they are not common. Airbursts happen more frequently, but we now know not to expect a Libyan desert glass-forming event in the near future, which is cause for some comfort. Provided by: Curtin University [Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.] Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly email for more! Archaeologists have discovered 15 new sites in Laos containing more than 100 1000-year-old massive stone jars possibly used for the dead. The jars of Laos are one of archaeologys enduring mysteries. Experts believe they were related to disposal of the dead, but nothing is known about the jars original purpose and the people who brought them there. The new finds show the distribution of the jars was more widespread than previously thought and could unlock the secrets surrounding their origin. The sites, deep in remote and mountainous forest and containing 137 jars, were identified by ANU Ph.D. student Nicholas Skopal with officials from the Lao government. Skopal said: These new sites have really only been visited by the occasional tiger hunter. Now weve rediscovered them, were hoping to build a clear picture about this culture and how it disposed of its dead. ANU archaeologist Dr. Dougald OReilly co-led the team that made the discovery. He said the new sites show the ancient burial practices involving the jars was: More widespread than previously thought. Its apparent the jars, some weighing several tonnes, were carved in quarries, and somehow transported, often several kilometres to their present locations. But why these sites were chosen as the final resting place for the jars is still a mystery. On top of that weve got no evidence of occupation in this region. This years excavations revealed beautifully carved discs that are most likely burial markers placed around the jars. Curiously, the decorated side of each disc has been buried face down. Dr. OReilly said the imagery on the discs found so far included concentric circles, pommels, human figures, and creatures, adding: Decorative carving is relatively rare at the jar sites and we dont know why some discs have animal imagery and others have geometric designs. Among typical iron-age artifacts found with the burials decorative ceramics, glass beads, iron tools, discs worn in the ears, and spindle whorls for cloth making one particular find piqued the researchers interest. Dr. OReilly added: Curiously, we also found many miniature jars, which look just like the giant jars themselves but made of clay, so wed love to know why these people represented the same jars in which they placed their dead, in miniature to be buried with their dead. Weve seen similar megalithic jars in Assam in India and in Sulawesi in Indonesia, so wed like to investigate possible connections in prehistory between these disparate regions. Provided by: Australian National University [Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.] Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly email for more! One of the most influential schools of thought in Chinese culture has been Huang-Lao, which literally translates as Yellow Emperor Old Master. The ideology was very popular during the early Han period of the 2nd century B.C. Huang-Lao Huang-Lao is derived from multiple philosophies that blend together to create a practical framework on how to live an ethical, spiritual life. In fact, it is this practicality that made it very popular with people of the early Han period. Huang-Lao Daoist thought presented a holistic approach; it grafted aspects from the School of Names and Legalism onto the main trunk of Daoism, with the School of Yin-Yang providing structural elements, whilst avoiding negation of the established mainstream culture by maintaining an emphasis on the educational ethics of the Confucians. With an eye to establishing realistic values and order, Huang-Lao Daoism grew to become a highly feasible and implementable system of political philosophy, Feng Cao, from the Renmin University of China, said in a report. Documentation regarding Huang-Lao was discovered thanks to a 1973 archaeological excavation near the city of Changsha in southern China. The researchers uncovered several old texts, including four previously unknown texts that were later titled The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor. One of the texts proclaims that its ideas are the teachings of the Yellow Emperor. This allowed historians to identify the four texts as expounding Huang-Lao philosophy. Huang-Lao places emphasis on the natural way, where every component of existence, all the way from the universe to the government, is believed to have a unified purpose. The Natural Way is seen as an objective principle existing throughout the universe and governing Heaven, Earth, and all beings, including man and the structure of human society. Although not visible and without extension, the Way influences all matters of life. In human society, the Dao is called natural order, in politics it is called fa, or law. The unity of action with the Way will lead to unity with the universe. Such a situation will unite the largest and the smallest, the apogee and the withering away of life and state, according to China Knowledge. A good ruler, according to Huang-Lao, is expected to seek unity with the Dao and rule his subjects with appropriate punishments and rewards. Ministers are expected to fulfill their obligations with integrity. The public should not be burdened with excess taxes. During the later Han period (A.D. 25 to A.D. 220), Huang-Lao started integrating several superstitions like sacrifices to spirits, exorcism of ghosts, incantations, and so on so that it eventually morphed into a religion. Daoism The philosophy of Daoism, from which Huang-Lao borrows heavily, is not just popular in China, but also in other parts of Asia like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Dao essentially means a path or way. Daoist teachings aim to make people realize that since human life is a very small aspect of the larger process of nature, the only way to live sensibly is by engaging in actions that are in accordance with the flow of nature. Their [Daoist] solution to the problem of how human beings should behave is expressed in the typically Daoist doctrine of wu-wei, or non-action. This did not mean doing absolutely nothing, but doing nothing unnatural, nothing that was out of keeping with the Dao. Related to the doctrine of non-action was the idea of no desires, which meant that no one should have excessive desires because such desires are bound to cause injury both to oneself and to others, according to Asia For Educators. Daoists focused on the principle of truthfulness and aspired to follow the path of truth in their words and deeds. They mostly shunned extravagance for the essence. The primary lineage was only passed on to one disciple selected by the master based on the disciples character qualities and virtue. Daoists believed in maintaining balance, as exemplified in the yin-yang. Disruptions in balance are what results in unwanted situations in the internal human body and external society. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest Learning Disability Review A multi-disciplinary group, led by the Minister with responsibility for persons with disabilities, the Honourable Neil F. Costa MP, and the Care Agency, has completed a review of services available for persons with learning disabilities. The Working Group, which includes officials within the fields of Education, Health and Social Care, conducted the review with the aim of making recommendations for developments throughout the current services to best meet the needs of our community. The review has been conducted in close collaboration with service users and their loved ones, who have provided invaluable feedback to the Working Group. One of the issues identified by the Working Group was the fact that Paediatric Health Services ceased service delivery at the age of 16, including service delivery to children with disabilities. A comprehensive multi-disciplinary team typically supports children with disabilities, consisting of medical consultants, educators, and other allied health practitioners. This virtually disappears on their 16th birthday, when they transition to working with a General Practitioner at the Primary Care Centre. The opening of the Childrens Health Centre will assist in beginning to resolve this issue, with the age of paediatric services for children with learning disabilities and additional needs being increased up to the age of 18. Amongst some of the new services that will be delivered, there will be an increase in the therapy provided by allied health professionals. Once operational, the Centre will house numerous services for children with learning disabilities, providing a single point of access of services. The Disability Review Working Group also found that respite for parents of children with learning disabilities was dependent on resources deployed from the Care Agencys Childrens Residential Services and raised the need to ring-fence a social worker who worked solely with children and their families. As a result, the Care Agency will employ an additional childrens social worker to work exclusively with children with learning disabilities and support families through the many processes they often encounter when accessing services for their children. Additionally, the budget for respite for children will also be increased to ensure children and their families continue to receive adequate support services in this respect. In the case of adults with learning disabilities or additional needs, the Working Group identified that additional resources were required to support adults in accessing meaningful activities, so they could participate in community events. An increase in budget has, therefore, been agreed to provide additional resources and address this need. Young adults do not always want to be chaperoned by parents or family members when participating in community events; however, because of their vulnerability, adults with learning disabilities require a certain level of supervision. As a result, the Care Agency will also employ an additional social worker who will work solely with adults with learning disabilities and their families. This social worker will work with the teams at St Bernadettes Resource Centre and Dr Giraldi Home, liaising with the GHA, Employment and Training Department, and the Housing Department when required. With adults now enjoying better health care and living longer, there has been an increase in attendance at St Bernadettes Resource Centre. The Centre now offers services to a wide range of individuals, both in terms of age and learning disability. The review has also considered the need for the provision of certain therapies delivered by allied health professionals to this Centre. This will also form part of future developments and collaboration between the Care Agency and GHA. Natalie Tavares, the Care Agencys CEO (ag) said that the Learning Disability Working Group will continue to work diligently with our service users and their loved ones, and the different associations, to ascertain how we could better meet the needs of children and adults with disabilities and additional needs. We will continue working on further developments and ensure that we champion for some of the most vulnerable in our community. Minister for Health, Care and Justice, the Honourable Neil F. Costa MP added: I am very pleased with the work that has been carried since the commencement of this important review. We are at the initial stages of delivering on new developments and continue to work on improvements in order to deliver services of the very highest standards. Crucially, the review has provided a central forum for different organisations that work with children or adults with learning disabilities and additional needs, to collaborate and recommend reforms to these vital services. I must commend Natalie Tavares and all of our Care and Social Workers and all other professionals for their excellent work. Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 80F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms later during the night. Low 68F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The vehicle team pulls out of the Chinese Peninsula, the main barrack area of China in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). WALUNGU, May. 23 (ChinaMil) -- The Walungu detachment of the 22nd Chinese peacekeeping engineer contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) set out from Chinese main barrack area, commonly known as Chinese Peninsula on May 21, local time, to perform maintenance, repair and construction tasks on the 20-km road from Kashanja to Butuza. Walungu is more than 40 kilometers away from the Chinese Peninsula. The road from Kashanja to Butuza is known as the lifeline for local people to travel outside, while some sections of which were full of potholes and severely damaged in the rainfall season, posing great difficulties for friendly patrols and local people to travel in the mission area. Chinese peacekeepers load a road roller onto a flatbed trailer. The natural condition of the road is tough. Driving on the muddy and slippery road covered in forest, Chinese peacekeeping engineers see the challenges of the construction work. While some sections of the road are very narrow which can only accommodate one vehicle to pass through, the drivers continue to whistle and steer, with the officers and soldiers rolling with the vehicles. Upon their arrival, the friendly forces and local people all gave the thumbs-up. Engineers secure the rope of a road roller. According to Jiang Jingjing, head of the detachment, The tasks are assigned by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Chinese peacekeeping officers and soldiers are determined to complete the task as scheduled and maintain a high standard and quality of work, to ensure a smooth road for the Walungu people and the friendly forces. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 23, 2019 | PADUCAH By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 23, 2019 | 07:20 AM | PADUCAH McCracken County Jailer David Knight says the new body scanner he recently ordered for the jail is in the process of being installed, and once it's up and running it will help keep dangerous items outside the jail's walls. Knight said the facility recently received the $165,000 device that will be able to detect contraband items concealed within body cavities and clothing. He said most contraband that makes it into the jail is brought by inmates who conceal it in their body cavities. The new dual-view scanner will make it a lot easier for jail staff to catch these items before they make it into the facility, he said. "We've had several inmates through the years that I've been there smuggle in various types of contraband. Sadly, a few of overdosed. It's caused some really bad problems." Knight said. Knight said the device, which is basically a more powerful version of the scanners used at airports, was paid for by a Combined Public Communication grant, and no taxpayer funds were used. Knight said drug overdoses have been a major issue in jails for a long time, citing the recent case at the Graves County Jail where inmate Rodney Evans overdosed and later died. He said it's his goal to help prevent these cases in the future, and the new scanner will help ensure a safer jail for everyone. "All inmates that come into the jail will be scanned, and then we have the discretion to run anyone through it if we have reasonable suspicion that they're bringing something in." Knight said. By The Associated Press May. 23, 2019 | 10:32 AM | CHRISTIAN COUNTY A pilot charged in the 2015 shooting deaths of three people in western Kentucky has pleaded not guilty. News outlets report Christian R. Martin was silent during his arraignment Wednesday in Christian County Circuit Court while his attorney, Michael Thompson, entered the plea. Thompson said later that Martin maintains his innocence and "wants the case to move forward to find out hopefully who really did it." Martin was arrested this month at the Louisville airport, a day after he was indicted. He's charged in the deaths of Calvin and Pamela Phillips of Pembroke, Kentucky, and their neighbor, Edward Dansereau. A pilot for an American Airlines subsidiary, Martin was living in North Carolina at the time of his indictment. How the ANC survived Jacob Zuma and eked out a win in South Africas election Under Zuma, democratic institutions bent but did not break. Just 15 months ago, South Africas democracy faced the gravest crisis in its 25-year history. The governing African National Congress (ANC), the party of Nelson Mandela, scrambled to oust President Jacob Zuma, whom many accused of fostering a sprawling, deep network of state corruption. So dire was the crisis that a new term entered the national lexicon state capture when those in power systematically subvert public institutions and divert public resources for political and financial gain. So what happened in the May 8 national elections? The ANC and its reformist presidential candidate, Cyril Ramaphosa, received 58 percent of the vote. Ramaphosa, a former trade union leader and prominent ANC member, helped forge South Africas democratic constitution and later became a wealthy businessman. The ANC installed him as president after it drove Zuma from office in February 2018. As the elections approached, Ramaphosa was well into a cleanup he promised would bring a new dawn to reinfuse South African governance with the values of Mandela. What turned things around? ANC loyalists had the courage to replace a bad leader with a much better one and whistleblowers and journalists risked their livelihoods to expose state capture. As specialists in how political institutions shape the varied patterns of governance in Africa, we analyze recent events in South Africa as a fundamental stress test for the countrys democracy. In pursuing their project of state capture, Zuma and his collaborators tested the foundations of South Africas hard-won constitutional order. The fact that nearly all voters chose parties explicitly opposed to the Zuma legacy suggests that although democratic institutions bent, they did not break. State capture is a deeper problem than corruption The term state capture gained currency because the word corruption did not do justice to the sweeping efforts to divert public funds under Zumas watch. A plausible estimate places the cumulative costs through Zumas second term at over $100 billion, or roughly four months of GDP. Initially, journalists discovered that state funds had paid for upgrades to Zumas palatial estate in his rural hometown. An official inquiry then documented endemic looting in public procurement, especially in the lucrative energy and transport sectors. An avalanche of evidence regarding kickbacks, shell companies and plastic bags full of cash followed. State capture required short-circuiting accountability mechanisms. A common strategy was to appoint presidential loyalists, rather than competent professionals, to key positions in the cabinet, law enforcement agencies, national revenue service and state-owned enterprises. Many appointees then used their positions to enrich themselves and to conceal the misdeeds of others. Heres an example. When a respected finance minister rejected Zumas spending proposals, Zuma tried to replace him with an obscure mayor, best known for having his house burned down by disgruntled constituents. After the ANCs leadership rebuffed the appointment, Zuma turned his attention to attacking the central banks independence. Holding Zuma accountable Opposition parties proposed several parliamentary motions to remove Zuma, but the institutional architecture of South Africas democracy made this difficult. Its closed-list proportional representation means the party leadership chooses individual members of Parliament, not voters. At the same time, the Constitution requires governing party members to hold their own president accountable in Parliament. But as motions to dismiss Zuma accumulated, more ANC members came around. Parliament voted by secret ballot on the final motion, in August 2017. It fell short by three votes meaning that at least 30 percent of ANC parliamentarians must have supported it. Zumas downfall began in December 2017 at the ANCs National Elective Conference, held every five years. He was ineligible for reelection as party president. The leading contenders were Ramaphosa and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the former chairwoman of the African Union Commission and Zumas ex-wife. Ramaphosa won a close race, and took control of the party. Zuma, meanwhile, continued to run the government. Demands from within the ANC to recall Zuma mounted. He resigned under duress in February 2018, and Ramaphosa replaced him as president. Ramaphosa seeks to restore faith in democracy Ramaphosa quickly began tackling entrenched malgovernance. He appointed several official commissions of inquiry. The media broadcast commission hearings live, publicly exposing the scale of state capture. Ramaphosas rise complicated life for opposition parties, which previously gained easy popularity by attacking their common enemy, Zuma. The Democratic Alliance (DA), to the ANCs right, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), to its left, had led the charge against Zuma in Parliament. Without Zuma, opposition voters conflicting interests, shaped by differences in race and class, became more politically salient. The rapid growth of a black middle class in recent decades has partially deracialized severe inequalities inherited from apartheid, but South Africa remains among the worlds most unequal countries. Voters politics typically reflect experiences of inequality and social mobility. For example, the DA draws much support from a diverse urban middle class. Although most whites vote for the DA, most DA voters are not white. The party struggles to balance its traditional platform emphasizing race-blind opportunity with ANC-like policies of racial redress. The EFF appeals to black South Africans who feel shut out from both models of upward mobility. The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) appeals to similar feelings of exclusion among conservative white Afrikaners. The May 2019 results suggest wide support for Ramaphosas new dawn. But the ANCs reduced majority and decreased turnout suggest that public trust in government will not be rebuilt on promises alone. DA support dropped slightly, from 22 percent in 2014 to 21 percent in 2019. Mirroring global trends, the politics of disaffection on left and the right gained traction: EFF support grew from 7 to 11 percent, and FF+ support grew from 0.9 to 2.5 percent. What are the takeaways? South Africas recovery from state capture continues, but its democratic institutions seem to have survived the tough tests of the Zuma years. Whether South Africans get their new dawn, the resilience of their democracy and the tenaciousness of its defenders hold lessons even for long-standing democracies that confront similar challenges. Rod Alence is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand. Anne Pitcher is a fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study in South Africa and a Professor of Political Science and Afro-American and African Studies at the University of Michigan. Through a partnership with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, Alence and Pitcher have received funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to study election-related violence and peacebuilding across Africa. This article was first published in The Washington Post. Read the original article. Chinese artist Zhao Bandi recently donated a photography work to the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing during a party he organized at the venue in celebration of International Museum Day. [For China Daily] Chinese artist Zhao Bandi is known for creating multimedia works that provide the viewer with a hilarious and sarcastic perspective on social phenomena. He recently donated a photography work to the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing during a party he organized at the venue in celebration of International Museum Day. The photo, titled P.A.D.Y, shows a donkey wearing a tie, triggering laughter among party attendees alongside guesses at its meaning. Some said it reminded them of office workers who worked overtime in exchange for little reward, while others said it mocked the pretentiousness of the so-called elite community. Zhao said he didn't want to limit people's imagination by providing a fixed answer, but he only hoped that the work would inspire more people to visit the UCCA. (Source: chinadaily.com.cn) Central government has preliminarily approved a Greater Bay Area university in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The city has said it plans to embrace the branch campuses of Hong Kong universities. The city will also improve the quality of Dongguan University of Technology to help drive regional innovation, said Dongguan mayor Xiao Yafei in a recent interview with Nanfang Daily. Comprising nine cities in Guangdong Province and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is 56,000 square kilometers region with a 2017 population of 70 million. The outline development plan for the bay area was released in February. High-technology enterprises now number 5,798 in Dongguan, with research and development (R&D) spending accounting for 2.55 percent of the city's GDP. The number of advanced R&D institutions collaborating with universities has increased to 33, Xiao said. Dongguan currently ranks second in Guangdong in international patent applications via the Patent Cooperation Treaty, he said. Xiao pledged more support for high-tech enterprises and new R&D facilities, aiming next year to accommodate 6,000 high-tech firms and 50 advanced R&D institutions. (Source: China Daily) Du Fuguo, a soldier who lost his eyes and arms in an explosion during a mine clearance operation, was honored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Wednesday. Du, who was a demining soldier of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), was awarded the title "role model of our times" at a ceremony in Beijing. Du's family members and fellow soldiers, as well as representatives from all walks of life, attended the award ceremony. The 28-year-old soldier was seriously injured in the landmine explosion trying to protect his fellow soldier during the operation in southwest China's Yunnan Province in October last year. Du would have finished his military service in December 2018, just two months after the explosion. In 2015, Du and over 400 fellow soldiers started clearing mines in the border area in Yunnan, where over 100 minefields were located. "I couldn't stay calm after getting to know the villagers living in the area suffered three explosions within 10 years," said Du, who volunteered to participate in the demining operations in 2015. Du's father wished to become a solider at an early age, which was not fulfilled, while Du Fuguo joined the PLA in 2010. "I am reflecting what kind of life is truly meaningful and valuable, and the only standard is what has been done for the country and for the people," Du wrote in his application submitted for mine clearance operations. "When the people are in need and the country is calling upon us, there is not even half a step that I can retreat," he responded when being told mine clearance was dangerous. A minefield Du worked has deterred local people from growing crops and picking tea. They beat gongs and sounded drums to welcome the arrival of the mine clearance group. Over the past three years, Du has entered minefields over 1,000 times, defusing more than 2,400 mines and bombs. "I feel like it is my destiny to carry out this mission and there was a voice calling me to clear the mines," he wrote in his application. While various equipment has been developed for mine clearance, it is believed that manual demining remains the most efficient method, albeit the most dangerous. The explosion happened in an afternoon when Du and a fellow soldier tried to defuse a bomb, but it suddenly exploded and Du quickly protected his colleague who was left with only bruises. "Step back and I'll do the job," Du said before he started the defusing work in which he lost his forearms and eyes. One month later, in November last year, Du's team members confirmed that the minefield where the explosion took place was safe to be used as farmland, meaning that the three-year demining operation had finished. In the area where Du was injured, people have named tea picked this year as "Fuguo." They are hoping that Du could come back to have a taste of his eponymous tea. "Despite my lost hands, I have legs to continue chasing after dreams; despite my lost sight, as long as the sun can rise in my heart, my world remains blazing with color," Du said. (Source: Xinhua) Tomlinsons sell bottle production facility to Logoplaste This article is old - Published: Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 Tomlinsons, one of the UKs largest family owned dairies, has completed a sale of its bottle blow moulding production facility to Logoplaste, a leading global designer and manufacturer of value-added rigid plastic packaging solutions to a wide range of blue-chip clients. The company says the sale plays to the strengths of both businesses, with Tomlinsons being able to focus on growing its dairy operations, and Logoplaste bringing its expertise in rigid plastic packaging to the Wrexham bottling plant. The sale will involve the transfer of 30 bottling plant employees from Tomlinsons to Logoplaste. Philip Tomlinson and John Tomlinson, Shareholders and Directors, commented We have been looking for a partner to help us consolidate the doubling of our business over the past 2 years. By selling our bottling plant we have created the operational and financial capacity to now focus on our next phase of growth and an exciting new chapter for Tomlinsons. Gerardo Chiaia, Logoplastes CEO, says he is is thrilled to work side by side with Tomlinsons: This new business is a great opportunity for both Logoplaste and our new client, where both companies will benefit. We will be inputting all our rigid plastic packaging expertise and innovative ideas to produce best in class sustainable bottles. On the other hand, Tomlinsons can focus on what they excel at, producing high quality segregated traceable Welsh, British and Organic milk as well as dairy products. It is a win-win situation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-22 19:30:38|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A media forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held on May 24 in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, the country's Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism said Wednesday. Officials and media experts of the SCO countries, as well as representatives of the SCO Secretariat, have been invited to the forum with a main topic of "The Role of the Media in the Development of the SCO," said the press service of the ministry in a report. The discussions will be concentrated on modern media development trends and approaches to developing common information space of the SCO. During the forum, panel discussions are expected to be expanded on the following topics: "Dynamic promotion of the SCO platform through media resources of the SCO countries" and "Creating a single platform for effective interaction between the media of the SCO countries," said the report. Kyrgyzstan presides over the SCO in 2019 and the summit of this year will be held in Bishkek in June. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-22 20:31:36|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, meets with a visiting delegation from the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) Hong Kong at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Wednesday met with a visiting delegation from the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) Hong Kong. CGCC Hong Kong has been a backbone patriotic organization in Hong Kong and played a constructive role in maintaining prosperity and stability in the region and advancing the nation's development, said Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee. Wang urged the organization to contribute to Hong Kong's effort to integrate its own development into the overall development of the country. He also called on the organization to have a comprehensive and precise understanding of the "one country, two systems" principle, actively promote it and support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and its chief executive in exercising law-based governance. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-22 22:43:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were wounded on Wednesday when an explosion rocked an area controlled by the Turkey-backed rebels in the northern countryside of Aleppo province in northern Syria, a war monitor reported. The explosion was caused by a booby-trapped motorcycle that went off in the city of Jarablus, which is controlled by Turkey-backed rebels near the Syria-Turkish border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based watchdog group said that on May 20, another explosion rocked the outskirts of the Azaz city in northern Aleppo, killing a rebel commander instantly. This comes amid a state of lawlessness and violence in areas controlled by the Turkey-backed rebels in northern Syria, as explosive devices and assassinations have become a daily occurrence, according to the Observatory. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-22 23:44:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close NICOSIA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus plans to expand a navy base on the south shores to be able to host French navy vessels, Defense Minister Savvas Angelides said on Wednesday. "The expansion of the base at Mari is linked to the military cooperation agreement with France," Angelides told a press conference. Earlier this month, Angelides signed a letter of intent with his French counterpart Florence Parly during a visit to Paris. The document provides for the use of the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Maris in southern coastal Cyprus by the French navy, a project on which Cyprus and France have been holding consultations since last year. As part of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the EU's joint military investment and project development program, Cyprus has set the upgrading of its infrastructure as a priority, Angelides said. "Our concern is to have this infrastructure that will be used by the Republic of Cyprus, used by the EU as part of this policy and at the end of the day to make it clear to everyone that Cyprus has a role to play in this region," Angelides said. Angelides said that on top of the ministry's list of priorities is the reinforcement of bilateral relations and military cooperation with other states, which includes regional cooperation, improving relations with the USA and the EU, and search and rescue operations. He also said his ministry aims to strengthen the National Guard's operation capability, reform and reorganize the department and the army command and maximize utilization of available fiscal resources. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-22 23:44:53|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis votes for the European Parliament election in Ogre, Latvia, May 25, 2019. Voters in Latvia went to the polls on Saturday to elect their eight representatives to the European Parliament, with candidates from the ruling center-right parties expected to win most. (Xinhua/Edijs Palens) RIGA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Polling stations opened across Latvia on Wednesday afternoon as early voting in this year's European Parliament began in the Baltic country, the national election authority informed. Early voting will be taking place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, while Saturday will be the official day of European Parliament election in Latvia when polling stations will remain open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Latvia will elect eight out of the EU legislature's 751 members who will be in office from 2019 to 2024. A public opinion poll conducted in May by Berg Research has put Latvia's ruling center-right New Unity on top of the polls with 18.37 percent voter support, followed by the opposition left-wing Harmony with 17.03 percent and the ruling rightist National Alliance with 15.36 percent. Other political parties likely to win representation in the European Parliament include the ruling liberal alliance For Development/For, supported by 9.94 percent of voters, the Alliance of Regions with 7.86 percent and the Latvian Union of Russians with 7.38 percent of voter support. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagicRush frontman Geddy Lee says he has mixed feelings about his band's retirement that followed the end of its 40th anniversary tour in August 2015. "I don't miss leaving [my family to go tour]," the 65-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer tells the Toronto Sun. "But I miss those three hours on stage with my buddies. That, especially in the last 10 years of touring, was so much fun and so gratifying." Lee says he sees Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson "quite a lot" and that he and Alex visit drummer Neal Peart "quite often," but with Peart insisting he's happily retired, Geddy doesn't "see the three of us ever really" recording or touring together again. Having said that, Lee believes it's possible that he and Lifeson "would do something down the road," while pointing out that Alex currently is enjoying contributing to other artists' projects. As for Lee, he is busy promoting his new coffee-table book, Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass. He kicks off a Canadian promotional tour with a signing appearance tonight at Bolen Books in Victoria, British Columbia. On Saturday afternoon, Geddy will take part in a Q&A and signing session at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta, in advance of the official opening this Sunday of an exhibit of his bass guitars inspired by the book. Meanwhile, Lee tells the Toronto Sun that he has been working on musical ideas at his home studio and expects to focus more on creating new songs by next spring after he wraps up promoting the book. Here are all of Lee's scheduled Canadian appearances to promote his Big Beautiful Book of Bass: 5/22 -- Victoria, BC, Bolen Books (at 7 p.m.)* 5/23 -- Vancouver, BC, Chapters Metrotown (at 7 p.m.)* 5/25 -- Calgary, AB, National Music Centre (at 1 p.m.)++ 5/26 -- Edmonton, AB, Costco West Edmonton (at 2 p.m.)* 5/27 Winnipeg, MB, Costco Winnipeg South (at 5 p.m.)* 5/28 -- Toronto, ON, Indigo Bay and Bloor (at 7 p.m.)* 5/29 -- Ottawa, ON, Dominion-Chalmers (at 7 p.m.)+ 6/1 -- Richmond Hill, ON, CosmoFest (at 2:30 p.m.)* 6/3 -- Oakville, ON, Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts (at 7 p.m.)+ 6/4 -- Montreal, QC, Rialto Theatre (at 7 p.m.)+ *Signing. +Interview and signing. ++Q&A, signing, bass exhibit VIP. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. British and Japanese mobile phone companies said Wednesday they're putting on hold plans to sell new devices from Huawei, in the latest fallout from U.S. tech restrictions aimed at the Chinese company. Britain's EE and Vodafone and Japan's KDDI and Y! Mobile said they are pausing the launch of Huawei smartphones, including some that can be used on next generation mobile networks, amid uncertainty about devices from the world's No. 2 smartphone maker. The U.S. government last week restricted technology sales to Chinese telecom gear suppliers because of alleged security risks, though telecom carriers got a 90-day grace period to let them find other suppliers. The sales ban is part of a broader trade war between Washington and Beijing. British mobile chip designer Arm said separately it was complying with the U.S. rules, after the BBC reported it was suspending business with Huawei -- a move that could hobble the Chinese tech company's ability to produce chips for new devices. Vodafone said in a statement that it's "pausing pre-orders" for the Mate 20X, Huawei's first phone for 5G networks, as "a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 01:11:09|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan and Russia signed a joint statement on "No First Placement of Weapons in Outer Space" on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said in the capital Islamabad. A joint statement was signed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). "Pakistan and Russia share a common position on the prevention of arms race in outer space and work collectively in various international fora towards that goal. The signing of today's Joint Statement on No First Placement of Weapons in outer space is a reflection of convergence of views between the two sides," a Pakistan Foreign Ministry statement said. Both sides declared that they will not in any way be the first to place weapons of any kind in outer space, that they will make all possible efforts to prevent outer space from becoming an arena for military confrontation and to ensure security in outer space activities. It said Pakistan and Russia have reiterated their commitment to refraining from the threat or use of force in Outer Space activities, adding both encourage other responsible space-faring nations to follow this example. The Foreign Ministry further said Pakistan has been consistently highlighting the risks of weaponization of Outer Space, which threaten the long term sustainability of peaceful space activities. "The use of force against space-based objects, the development and deployment of Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) systems and their integration into space assets have added worrying dimensions to the issues relating to outer space," it added. The statement said there is an urgent need to address gaps in the international legal regime governing the exploration and use of outer space with a view to ensuring that no one threatens peaceful activities and applications of space technologies for socio-economic development. The two countries said they believe that outer space should be used in compliance with international law for the benefit of all nations, regardless of the level of their economic, scientific or technological development. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 01:31:17|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Visiting North Macedonia's Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov on Wednesday called on the European Union (EU) to soon start the accession negotiations with his country. North Macedonia has solved its issues in its relations with all of its neighbors, and "we operate domestically to strengthen our institutions and we want the rule of law to reign in our society," Dimitrov told a press briefing with his Romanian counterpart Teodor Melescanu. "It is necessary that the EU does what it has to do, meaning to acknowledge and decide that we start the accession negotiations," he said, specifying that the Balkan country wanted to have a first inter-governmental conference by the end of this year. For his part, Melescanu reiterated Romania's commitment to the further expansion of the EU, saying: "We have both decided to boost collaboration in both the political-diplomatic field and in new domains of sector cooperation capable to seriously substantiate our bilateral relations." According to Melescanu, he just signed with his North Macedonian counterpart a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two foreign ministries in the field of European integration, which includes provisions relevant for the European path of North Macedonia and the support that Romania is ready to grant. Greece and North Macedonia had resolved a longstanding row over the use of the name Macedonia earlier this year. Since 1991, when the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) declared independence from Yugoslavia and chose the name Macedonia, the same name of a province in northern Greece, Greeks protested, fearing territorial claims by the new Balkan state. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 01:51:24|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Few places in the world match the United Nations' iconic style, history and stature, which makes catered events at the UN Delegates Dining Room a memorable and superlative experience that guests will appreciate for years to come. For June Sappakit, a female waiter who has been working at this unique dining place for 19 years, what have really aroused her interest recently are not those celebrities who sometimes come from outside the UN building to have meals in this dining room, but China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has been the theme of various events held here over the past years. The UN Delegates Dining Room at the UN headquarters in New York is the place where UN officials and other people dine, and the venue where UN member states and non-UN organizations and companies hold events of various types. Speaking of her growing strong interest in the BRI, Sappakit said that "what interests me is that China is seeking to connect many countries by helping build railways, highways and other infrastructure facilities in related countries...It is a very good program catering to the interests of people in countries along the Belt and Road." Wearing a beautiful smile, Sappakit, a Thai American in her 40s, told Xinhua recently that she is "very supportive of the Belt and Road Initiative and falls in love with it as well." Thanks to what she constantly sees and hears from what is happening in the dining room, Sappakit said that she is gradually displaying "an increasingly strong interest" in the BRI. "There has been a dramatic increase in China-themed events held in the dining room over the past few years," she noted. "What people say at related events about the BRI often attracts my attention while I'm serving the guests, and constantly arouses my curiosity to learn more about the initiative." "The BRI is trying to create good life for people in related countries. On the contrary, a small number of countries care too much about making big money by selling lethal weapons to countries trapped in internal conflicts. As a result, conflicts will never cease with constant inflow of weapons," said Sappakit, with eyes looking down. Speaking of China, her eyes glittered. "The reason why I give thumbs-up to China is because it is only providing countries with what they really need and what are beneficial to the improvement of local people's well-being." "Weapons are awful, but nobody resents highways and railways, and investment," she added. Sappakit's parents and some of her relatives have moved to live in the United States, and she still has many relatives in Thailand. "The messages about the BRI that they send me from my motherland have always been very positive." "What I have learned from some events held at the UN have been positive and inspiring as well," said Sappakit, noting that "this world with so many conflicts need countries like China, which put economic development and people's happiness first." China has become "a buzzword" at the UN over the years, Sappakit said. "Many of the events held at the delegates dining room are related to China in one way or another. The 'Belt and Road' Initiative and 'Building a Community with Shared Future for Mankind' have become so popular among us waiters." "Besides, Chinese food festivals, painting shows, liquor tasting events, singing and dancing performances and other Chinese cultural activities are constantly held here, which have made me learn a lot about China and the Chinese people as well," said Sappakit. Talking about her concerns about the world, Sappakit paused for a second. "This world is really far from tranquil: you attack me, and I fight back. It's really bad." "The Chinese people are so smart and wise that they know unreasonable fighting and conflicting waste too much money and sometimes ruin a country's reputation. It's fantastic that China has thoroughly dedicated itself to economic development and improving the wellbeing of its own people and people in many other countries." "Big powers should follow China's example, and focus more on development, less on fighting," she said, holding a wine glass in each hand facing each other in the air. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 01:51:25|Editor: yan Video Player Close TUNIS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on Wednesday met with visiting Libyan UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj to discuss the latest developments in the war-torn country. According to a presidency statement, Essebsi reaffirmed the solidarity of his country with the Libyan people, saying the Libyan conflict should be resolved as quickly as possible. Libya must avoid further bloodshed by putting an immediate end to the civil fighting, he noted. The Tunisian president also said the solution should be through a UN-sponsored political process and in the hands of the Libyans themselves. The return of harmony, security and stability in Libya remains a common interest for both countries, Essebsi added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 02:01:32|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close KHARTOUM, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Deputy Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) Mohamed Hamdan Daqlu on Wednesday urged the major opposition forces to overcome differences and facilitate transition of power to civilian authority. "The TMC is committed to handing over power to the civilians if the two sides reached an agreement over the outstanding issues during the ongoing talks," said Daqlu. He criticized the major opposition forces for refusing to hand the chairmanship of the sovereignty council to the military. Sudan is passing through a dangerous junction that necessitates all parties to live up to their responsibilities toward the country, Daqlu noted. The TMC and the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance recently agreed on powers of the sovereignty council, the council of ministers and the legislative council. They agreed that the transitional period would be three years, with the first six months assigned for achieving peace all over Sudan. In addition, the legislative council will be composed of 300 members, 67 percent of whom are from the Freedom and Change Alliance and the rest from the other political forces. However, they have yet to reach an agreement on the representation of the military and the civilians in the transitional sovereignty council as well as the chairmanship of the council. The TMC is tasked with running Sudan's affairs following the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 02:46:55|Editor: yan Video Player Close NANJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- An international challenge to test cyberspace security systems based on the China-proposed mimic defense theory opened Wednesday in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. A total of 29 teams of Chinese and foreign "white hat hackers" -- computer specialists who use hacker techniques to test computer and cyber security -- have been invited to the second "Qiangwang" (cyberspace power) International Elite Challenge on Cyber Mimic Defense, according to the Chinese Academy of Engineering, co-sponsor of the event. In the first challenge held in 2018, the system detected and blocked all attacks from the challengers. Inspired by living things in nature which use mimesis to change appearance to adapt to the environment, Chinese scientists proposed the idea of mimic computing and produced the world's first mimic computer prototype in 2013. The mimic defense system features an ever-changing software environment, which makes conventional hacker attacks difficult to locate a target. The system is expected to change the current "ex post facto defense" pattern in cybersecurity. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 03:22:19|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Violence in Libya killed 20 civilians and injured 69 others, including women and children, in February and March, UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said Wednesday. "Victims included 12 men, four women and four children killed, and 60 men, two women and seven children injured," UNSMIL said in a statement. Shelling, gunfire and explosive remnants of war caused the majority of the casualties, the UN mission added. UNSMIL demanded all fighting parties in Libya stop using mortars and other indirect weapons in civilian areas and keep fighters and other military objectives away from populated areas. "Such attacks amount to war crimes that can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court," it warned. Since the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Libya has been plagued with escalating violence and unrest, as well as political division. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 03:47:38|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Photo taken on April 28, 2019 shows directors S. Leo Chiang (1st R) and Sun Yang (2nd R), and other crew members posing for a group photo on the red carpet during the premiere of Chinese documentary "Our Time Machine", in New York, the United States. "Our Time Machine" is a touching Chinese documentary which described how Ma, a renowned Chinese photographer and artist in Shanghai, got closer to his father, managed to stick to his creative career despite various challenges, and found the true meaning of life. (Xinhua/Luo Jingjing) by Xinhua writers Luo Jingjing, Zhou Saang NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- If you can travel back in time using a time machine, whom would you like to travel with? Ma Liang chose his father who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. "Our Time Machine" is a touching Chinese documentary which described how Ma, a renowned Chinese photographer and artist in Shanghai, got closer to his father, managed to stick to his creative career despite various challenges, and found the true meaning of life. In order to fulfill his father's will of father-son cooperation, Ma created a dedicated puppet play with autobiographical scenes inspired by his memories with his father, who was the former artistic director of a Chinese opera theater in Shanghai. The play tells a story about an engineer who brings his Alzheimer's disease-diagnosed father traveling back in time using a time machine to different periods of his childhood and reliving the joyful, adventurous, magical times when they were together. With his parents aging and their health deteriorating, Ma had been struggling between giving up his play to take care of his parents and sticking to his career to create something beautiful for the world. "I believe the play will move many people and make them realize the importance of love. We artists always have to be extremely enthusiastic about our work and willing to dedicate our time and passion to it. My father had the disease, the best present for him is my work, because he was also an artist, he could understand me," Ma told Xinhua during a recent interview in New York City. "It is a story of creation, father-son relationship, and circle of life - when an old generation declines, a new generation is born, the mid generation begins to experience and understand the circle of life and finally have their own interpretation of life, which may even surprise themselves," said S. Leo Chiang, director, producer and writer of the documentary. He felt strong resonation with Ma and his father's story and joined in the filmmaking a few months after Sun Yang, a Beijing-based director, started shooting in March 2015. Being a photographer and filmmaker, Sun was not only touched by what was going on between the father and son, interested in Ma's planning on the puppet play, but also was charmed by his photographic works and craftworks - all the puppets and stage props were created by Ma and his colleagues. "I hadn't foreseen that I would be able to think and realize what life is and how life goes on when I started the project. I just believed it would be an interesting story because what was happening in their real life and on the platform was coherent, and the artistic beauty of Ma's works was attractive and appropriate to be shown on the big screen," said Sun. "At the risk of sounding too grandiose, we really felt our film is an exploration of what life is and what humanity is, how we cope with the challenges and painful moments in life, and how we turn those into beautiful and celebratory moments," Chiang explained emotionally. Chiang also told Xinhua that the composer, Paul Brill, who has composed for numerous award-winning films, TV series and commercials, cried throughout the film when he was invited to compose for the documentary, because he just lost his own father and the film was very personal to him. At the end of its premiere during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, when the credits started to roll, the audience burst into spontaneous long-lasting applause, with some of them quietly wiping their tears. "It was an incredible thing to find people who really understand the film in the most visceral level that they don't just intellectually understand the film, but also feel the film and really live the film," Chiang added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 03:52:47|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday that more than 4,255 illegal immigrants have been voluntarily deported from Libya to their countries of origin in 2019. "So far this year, over 4,255 migrants returned home safely to 26 countries across Africa and Asia with support from IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return program," the UN-affiliated group said. The voluntary humanitarian return program is carried out by the IOM, with an aim to arrange the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin. According to IOM, more than 16,000 migrants were voluntarily deported from Libya to their countries of origin in 2018. Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe because of insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of people who were rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 04:07:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close AMMAN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union on Wednesday warned against the consequences of military escalation in the Middle East amid increased tension between Iran and the United States. Atef Tarawneh, head of the union, said a united Arab stand is required as the military escalation will tamper with the peace and stability of the entire Arab region, state-run Petra news agency reported. "We announce our absolute solidarity with the security of Arab and Gulf countries, and value various diplomatic efforts to contain the crisis," he said. On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted a fresh threat against Iran as an escalation of his tough stance on the Islamic state. "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran," Trump said. Indonesian President Joko Widodo says he will not tolerate anyone disturbing the country's democratic process, after deadly clashes between police and supporters of Prabowo Subianto, the former army general who lost the recent election but is contesting the results. Jakarta's governor said at least six people were killed and more than 200 injured in the violence Wednesday. "We will not give any space for riots, especially those who will damage Indonesia," the recently re-elected President Widodo told reporters, adding that the police and military will take firm action "in accordance with the law." Authorities say protesters refused to disperse as police tried to persuade them to leave, saying that it's Ramadan and they should refrain from committing violence during the holy month. The protesters even set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles.The police finally used tear gas to disperse the protesters. National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told VOA that protests turned violent Tuesday night and continued until early Wednesday. Dozens of people were arrested. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 04:23:04|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, May 22, 2019. Ma Zhaoxu on Wednesday asked for the adherence to the two-state solution in addressing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. (Xinhua/Xie E) UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday asked for the adherence to the two-state solution in addressing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. "The international community must base its work on the Arab Peace Initiative, the land-for-peace principle, and relevant Security Council resolutions to facilitate the settlement of the question of Palestine with a view to establishing the State of Palestine with full sovereignty, on the basis of the 1967 border, and with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council. Any new initiative must comply with the above-mentioned basic international norms, he said. "Only by so doing can the solution be fair and durable, and can it be broadly accepted by the international community." It is necessary to effectively implement Security Council Resolution 2334, which concerns Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, said Ma. "The party concerned must immediately cease all settlement activities in the occupied territory, cease the demolition of Palestinian houses, cease the destruction of Palestinian property and must take measures to prevent violence against civilians." It is imperative to immediately cease all legal actions or unilateral measures toward legitimizing settlements, and take practical measures to remove their impact, he added. The Chinese ambassador asked for unity of the international community to push for the early relaunching of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. It is of utmost importance to refrain from actions that might worsen the situation or measures that might jeopardize trust so as to create the necessary conditions for resuming dialogue, he said. Parties that have strong influence in the Middle East must play a constructive role and refrain from unilateral actions that might escalate tensions in the region. Intra-Palestinian reconciliation must be actively facilitated, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 05:03:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday asked for more support for the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA). "China calls on the international community to lend greater support to UNRWA. We hope that the pledging conference to be held in June will be a success," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council. Last year, on the basis of the regular annual pledge to the agency, China increased greatly its contributions to it, he said. "We will continue to make financial contributions to UNRWA." Over recent years, the hotspot issues in the Middle East triggered numerous humanitarian crises. UNRWA, in the face of extremely harsh and difficult conditions, has carried out humanitarian relief efforts and achieved positive results, Ma noted. "We have noted that UNRWA has been working hard to improve the humanitarian situation of Palestine refugees, safeguard their rights, alleviate the burden on their host countries, actively promote regional peace and stability, and prevent the spread of terrorist and extremist ideologies in the refugee camps. China applauds such efforts," he said. The UN agency, officially known as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, is a relief and human development aid body for Palestine refugees and their descendants. It currently helps more than 5 million people in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria as well as West Bank and Gaza. The agency was confronted with its most severe funding crisis in 2018 after the United States, traditionally the largest donor, suddenly cut its funding before it completely stopped its support. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 05:18:30|Editor: yan Video Player Close PARIS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- French voters will go to the polls on Sunday to pick their representatives in the European parliament to determine the bloc's policies over the next five years, in a vote widely seen as an important gauge to assess the sentiment among the EU's about 500 million people. Targeting the higher score to win a seat at the 751-seat parliament, candidates from the traditional right and left parties, ecologists, populists and even two groups from anti-government "Yellow Vest" movement will run for this year's European elections, making a record 34 lists for voters to choose on May 26. Only the list that secures 5 percent of the votes or more can book a ticket to the Strasbourg-based institution. BATTLE BETWEEN CENTRIST,PRO-EU PARTIES AND NATIONALIST FORMATIONS But, despite an unprecedented number of electoral lists, the European contest, the first national election since French President Emmanuel Macron took power in 2017, has been shaped up to be a major battle between centrist, pro-EU parties and nationalist formations, amid high expectations that the far right across Europe,notably in Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Austria and Poland, will perform strongly. In a BVA survey released on Wednesday, the National Rally (RN) list headed by 23-year-old Jordan Bardella gained ground, overtaking the ruling party list, fronted by ex-European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau whose campaign was tainted by a series of missteps. The pollster found that the RN which wants to stop immigration and globalization is on course to win 23 percent of the voting intentions, one percentage point separating it form the Republic on the Move party (LREM). The traditional conservatives who have been struggling to recover after fake jobs scandal that engulfed their presidential candidate, Francois Fillon's campaign in 2017, was set to collect 13 percent, under the helm of 33-year-old philosopher Francois-Xavier Bellamy. Fourth-placed hard-left "Unbowed France" party's score is at 8.5 percent, followed by the green list with 8 percent, according to the pollster. Coming second would be a setback for Macron on the European stage, as he has been working for stronger eurozone and further economic openness to boslter domestic economy and create wider businesses opportunities for millions of people without work. Facing his first electoral challenge, he risks to lose his influence to choose the next group of EU officials and to persuade other EU countries to support his agenda. At home, if finishing behind far-right party led by Marine Le Pen, it would be likely to further pressure him to reverse his reform agenda and put his credibility on test, while his public support is sliding due to growing anger over his policy. "In a society already fractured by 'Yellow Vests', a defeat in the European elections would make it more difficult to reform ...," Jean-Michel Aphatie, a political analyst told Europe1 radio. MACRON INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN: DOUBLE-EDGED TACTIC As the countdown started for the elections, and following a flat performance of Loiseau, Macron throws himself into the campaign to give an impetus to his party's list. "I can not be a spectator but an actor in this European election which is the most important since 1979 because the Union is facing an existential risk," Macron told regional media earlier this week. "If, as head of state, I let Europe...breaks up, I will have a responsibility to history. The French president is not a party leader but it is normal for him to get involved in fundamental choices," he added. "I do not have the spirit of defeat, I have the spirit of conquest. France will be all the stronger as we will make a good score," he stressed. As was shown during three months of national debate during which he succeeded to garner support via a series of meetings, Macron is seeking once again to re-energize supporters. He appeared in a poster with a smiling face and a look at the horizon. In the non-official LREM candidates poster, in which Loiseau's portray is pulled off, it was written "On the march for Europe, May 26, I vote Renaissance." "Macron is the only glue that holds his En Marche movement together, and the further his political fortunes sink as the time for his re-election approaches, the greater the danger that things come unstuck," analysts wrote at the Eurointelligence blog. To Bardella, head of RN's list, "by behaving as campaign leader of LREM, putting aside his candidate especially on campaign posters, Emmanuel Macron turned this European election into a referendum for or against him and his politics." "If we come first Sunday, Emmanuel Macron will first learn humility, give up all the anti-social reforms that are planned, and commit to no longer accepting migrants," he told local broadcaster Europe1. As nearly half of voters still undecided, Macron's strategy to hit airwaves while a majority of people disapprove his action and still refuse his reforms drive, may turn the tide against him and push them to choose the rightists in a punishment vote. In 2014, the National Rally, then named the National Front, topped last EU ballots with 24.85 percent of the votes and more than quadrupled their representation in the European parliament with 24 seats, making the ruling Socialists' second heavy losses in their second major electoral test. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 05:28:34|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army withdrew on Wednesday from the western town of Kafr Nabudah in the countryside of Hama Province, just days after taking the town from the rebels, as a result of rebels' massive counter-offensive, activists said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Kafr Nabudah fell back under the control of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. The Syrian forces are heavily shelling the town and other rebel-held areas in a bid to take the town back, it added. Meanwhile, a well-informed source in the western-central province of Hama told Xinhua that the rebels attacked Kafr Nabudah from nine directions, before the army withdrew the area as part of a military tactic to protect other areas retaken by the army during the current showdown in Hama. The rebels launched their attack by sending nine suicide bombers of foreign descent, the military source said on condition of anonymity. Earlier in the day, state news agency SANA said the Syrian army foiled a series of major rebel attacks on military sites in Hama and its neighboring northern province of Idlib. The attacks targeted areas and military sites in the northern countryside of Hama and the adjacent southern countryside of Idlib, said SANA. The army, however, inflicted heavy losses on the rebels of the HTS. The counter-offensive is an attempt by the rebels to raise morale after their consecutive defeats in the battles with the army, according to SANA. Notably, the Syrian official news agency accused Turkey of providing the HTS with weapons, as the army is fighting against the HTS in its last major strongholds in northwestern Syria. These areas are included in a de-escalation zones' deal established in September 2018 by Russia and Turkey. The deal didn't materialize as battles have escalated since late last month. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 05:33:40|Editor: yan Video Player Close ATHENS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Greek main opposition New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged Greeks to vote for political change on Sunday, during the party's main pre-election rally in Athens on Wednesday evening. European Parliament elections will be held in Greece along with municipal and regional elections on May 26. The conservatives call voters for a result that would force Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to call snap general elections sooner than October this year when the government's term expires. From Peristeri, a densely populated blue-collar municipality in the western part of the Greek capital, Mitsotakis promised to unite all Greeks and give solutions to their problems. Pointing to all recent opinion surveys which indicate a clear lead for his party over the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party, he appeared confident about the outcome of this Sunday's electoral battle. "We should all be united to take Greece forward. We should become the frontrunners of a major political change that will bring investments, growth opportunities and good jobs, well-paid job positions in particular for this remarkable youth, our young people who should hope that they will live a better life than their fathers and grandfathers," Mitsotakis said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 05:48:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's government forces on Wednesday seized a military camp from the Houthi rebels in the southern province of al-Dhalea, a government official told Xinhua. The government forces, backed by local fighters, launched a well-planned operation and succeeded in expelling the Houthis out of the military camp located in the northwestern part of al-Dhalea, the official said on condition of anonymity. Several pro-government army units participated in the anti-Houthi operation which ended up in seizing full control over Alalah military camp and driving out the rebels from the area, he added. Fierce battles are still going on near Qataba district amid intensified airstrikes launched by the Saudi-led coalition, leaving an unspecified number of deaths and injuries, the source noted. Meanwhile, the government forces confirmed in a statement that a strategic mountain and villages located in the northwestern parts of al-Dhalea were seized back from the Houthis on Wednesday. Two senior field commanders of the Houthi group were killed in the battles, the statement said. Last week, the government forces succeeded in seizing full control over Qataba and the surrounding areas following a large military campaign that left scores of rebels killed or injured. Both warring sides continued to mobilize large numbers of fighters to the frontlines in al-Dhalea amid armed confrontations which have lasted for weeks in the government-controlled province. The areas in the north and west of al-Dhalea have witnessed continuous fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for four years. Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after Houthi rebels revolted and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 08:29:15|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Graduate students enter the venue before the Columbia University Commencement ceremony in New York, the United States, May 22, 2019. The Columbia University Commencement ceremony of the 265th academic year took place on Wednesday. More than 17,000 students from Columbia's 18 schools and affiliates graduated this year. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 09:14:36|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The personal envoy of the UN secretary-general for Western Sahara, Horst Kohler, has resigned for health reasons, said the United Nations on Wednesday. Kohler on Wednesday informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of his decision to step down, said Guterres' press office in a "note to correspondents." Guterres deeply regretted Kohler's resignation but said he fully understood the decision and extended his best wishes to the former German president, said the note. Guterres expressed his profound gratitude to Kohler for his "steadfast and intensive efforts," which laid the foundation for the new momentum in the political process on the question of Western Sahara, it said. The UN chief also thanked the parties concerning Western Sahara and the neighboring states for their engagement with Kohler in the political process, said the note. Western Sahara was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania at the end of Spain's colonial rule in 1976. When Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas in the territory, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979, Morocco moved to occupy that sector and has since asserted administrative control over the whole territory. Fighting broke out between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which is fighting for the independence of Western Sahara. A cease-fire was signed in September 1991. The United Nations deployed a mission in Western Sahara the same year to monitor the cease-fire and to organize, if possible, a referendum on self-determination of the people of the territory. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 09:19:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan said Saudi Arabia will activate the deferred payment for petroleum products facility of 275 million U.S. dollars per month from July 1 amounting to 3.2 billion U.S. dollars per year for three years. Pakistani Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh said on Twitter Wednesday that the decision will strengthen Pakistan's balance of payments position. He thanked the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad Bin Salman for his continuous support for the people of Pakistan. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inked an agreement to make oil facility on deferred payment up to 3 billion U.S. dollars during the Saudi Crown Prince's visit to Pakistan. Economic experts are of the view that the oil facility would help Pakistan reduce the burden on import bill. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 10:05:05|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Foreign Ministers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Yong) BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday urged China and Russia to strengthen their comprehensive strategic coordination. Wang made the remarks when meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers. Wang said that against the volatile international backdrop, China and Russia should maintain close communication, strengthen comprehensive strategic coordination and safeguard the basic norms governing international relations and the common interests of the two countries. China and Russia need to work together to lift SCO cooperation in various fields to a higher level, he said. Wang stressed that the two sides should make concerted efforts to make preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia next month and his attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. He noted the two sides should take the opportunity of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties to push forward China-Russia comprehensive strategic coordination into a new era. Lavrov said the world today is characterized by outstanding uncertainties and highly complicated issues. With the joint efforts of Russia and China, the SCO foreign ministers' meeting has sent a positive signal to the world, which is conducive to maintaining the international system with the United Nations at its core and safeguarding the international order based on international law, said the Russian diplomat. The two countries should work closely for a complete success of the SCO Bishkek Summit in June, said Lavrov. Russia is ready to work with China to make preparations for Xi's visit to Russia and his attendance at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, so as to inject new impetus into bilateral relations, noted Lavrov. The two sides also exchanged views on Venezuelan crisis, the Iran nuclear deal and other international issues of common concerns. British lawmakers are denouncing Prime Minister Theresa May's latest proposal to withdraw from the European Union amid growing demands from her own Conservative Party for her resignation. May said on Tuesday a bill she plans to present to Parliament next month would include a provision to vote on whether to hold a second referendum to leave the EU, a key demand of many opposition lawmakers. May also offered closer trading arrangements with the EU as another incentive in what she called a "last chance" opportunity to finalize a Brexit deal. Speaking before the House of Commons on Wednesday, May implored lawmakers to support her bill, warning a rejection would lead to "division and deadlock." May said her withdrawal bill would be disclosed Friday so that lawmakers would have time to study it. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 10:15:20|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BISHKEK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- With the use of state power, Washington's groundless crackdown on Chinese private company Huawei is typical economic bullying, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters here Wednesday. During a press conference on the sidelines of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers, Wang said some people in the United States do not want China to have legitimate rights to development and attempt to impede China's development process. A typical example is that Washington uses its state power to unjustifiably suppress Huawei without any factual basis, Wang said, adding that "this is typical economic bullying." The Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier put Huawei and its affiliates on an "Entity List," which restricts the sale or transfer of U.S. technologies to the company. The ban has triggered opposition from markets worldwide. "A just cause attracts much support, an unjust one finds little," said Wang, quoting an idiom said by Mencius, an ancient Chinese philosopher. Such an egocentric approach by the the United States will not win the recognition and support of the international community, said Wang. The SCO Council of Foreign Ministers on Wednesday adopted a press communique in which the members jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and trade protectionism. The communique particularly stressed their opposition to discriminatory practices against mutually beneficial international cooperation in the fields of digital economy and communication technology under any pretext. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 10:25:25|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close WASHINGTON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon is expected to submit plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran, U.S. media reported on Wednesday. The plans will be proposed during a high-level White House meeting on Thursday, reported the Associated Press, citing anonymous Trump administration officials. The move is for defensive purposes, not a response to any new threat from Iran, said the report. And it remains unclear if the White House will greenlight the proposal. Washington and Tehran have been locked in a war of words over the past two weeks, and escalating tension that had been stoked up following America's increasing military buildup in the Middle East. Meanwhile, senior U.S. senior defense officials hinted that America has no intention of starting a war. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said on Tuesday that America's actions so far had been deterring Iran rather than seeking a war. Iran has been under unprecedented sanction pressure by the United States following U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from Iran's nuclear deal in May last year. Iran has vowed to withstand the pressures and resist the U.S. "bullying policies." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 10:40:47|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BISHKEK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China's stance on the trade frictions initiated by Washington gained understanding and support from the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Wednesday. Wang, who is also Chinese State Councilor, said he has briefed his counterparts on the situation about the trade frictions at the SCO ministerial meeting in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. The setback in the trade negotiations was caused by the U.S. consistent refusal to resolve China's reasonable concerns and its use of extreme pressure, Wang told his counterparts. China's response is aimed not only at safeguarding its own rightful interests, but also safeguarding the norms of international relations and protecting the free trade system, Wang stressed. Noting that no unfair deals can be reached or recognized, Wang said that if the United States is ready for talks in an equal way, China's door is wide open; but if Washington chooses to exert extreme pressure, China will fight to the very end. The SCO members will jointly oppose any form of unilateralism and trade protectionism, according to a joint communique issued by the ministers following their talks. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 10:51:01|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close GABORONE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Botswana and China held an economic and trade meeting on Wednesday here to seek more opportunities to boost the two countries' cooperation and relations. Senior officials and diplomats of Botswana and China attended the first session of the Joint Committee on Economy, Trade, Investment and Technical Cooperation in the capital city of Botswana. China's Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming, said the meeting will cement China-Botswana long-lasting relations. "We are willing to actively and steadily enhance the mutually-beneficial and friendly cooperation between the two countries in the coming period so as to bring more tangible benefits to the two peoples," Qian said. Nonofo Molefhi, Botswana's Acting Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, said his country regards China as a strategic partner in development and hopes to see China's enhanced participation in Botswana's economic diversification. Botswana is open to investment to boost productive capacity and facilitate the transfer of much needed skills and technologies, Molefhi said, adding that Botswana will utilize platforms such as the First China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo next month to showcase products and attract investments. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 11:16:33|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BRASILIA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- China suffered their second defeat in two days at the FIVB women's Volleyball Nations League, losing to Russia 3-1 here on Wednesday. In the absence of star spikers Zhu Ting, Yuan Xinyue and Ding Xia, Liu Yanhan converted on 15 of her 46 attacking opportunities, contributing 17 points in China's 25-22, 16-25, 25-16, 25-23 defeat. Zeng Chunlei added 14 points for China while Hu Mingyuan contributed nine points through three kills, five stuffs and an ace. Four Russians finished with double digit scores, with Tatiana Iurinskaia scoring a game-high 17 points. The Dominican Republic beat Brazil in four sets in Wednesday's other match in Brasilia to record their second straight win, while the hosts now have one victory and one defeat under their belts. 16 teams are playing in the women's VNL preliminary round, with the top five teams at the end of the preliminaries to join hosts China for July's finals, which will be held in Nanjing. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 11:21:48|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close GABORONE, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Mining companies in Botswana should seek innovation solutions and get ready to embrace digital trends in the industry, experts said here on Wednesday. Creating new ideas for innovative technologies may radically transform the mining sector in Botswana, said Jean-Jacques Verhaeghe, a program manager of Mandela Mining Precinct in South Africa, at the two-day "Mining Investment Botswana" conference in the capital city Gaborone. Botswanan mining companies should follow the example of China, seeking innovation solutions and reduce production costs, he added. Bonny Matshediso, a senior geology lecturer at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology, said he appreciated the world's second largest economy's efforts in providing solutions to developing nations. As many mining houses in Botswana will be going underground in the future, the miners should take full advantage of technological innovations sourced from China, he said. "China has a proven record in providing solutions to challenges that developing countries are facing on a daily basis." The event, which has expanded beyond a dozen countries since 2016, attracted about 250 government officials, institutional investors, miners and business leaders from 15 countries to discuss the development of the mining industry. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 11:36:58|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close YANGON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar and the Philippines have signed an air services agreement, aimed at enhancing cooperation in the aviation sector, Myanmar's Transport and Communications Ministry said on Thursday. The signing took place following the third meeting of Myanmar-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday, co-chaired by Myanmar's Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Teodoro Locsin. The joint commission meeting discussed a wide range of issues covering promotion of bilateral relations and people-to-people contact, and cooperation in various sectors including operation of direct air link as well as fight against illicit trafficking and abuse of drugs. The talks also touched on expanding multi-faceted cooperation and expanding mutual support in regional and international fields. Before the meeting, Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi met Locsin and the pair exchanged views on consolidating cooperation for the mutual interest. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 12:33:37|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close VIENTIANE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Northern Lao province of Huaphan has been affected by yellow-spined bamboo locusts and local authorities are working hard to stop further destruction of vegetation. "We have found locusts in 143 sites that are spread across 63 villages and nine districts. Each site of infestation is several hectares in size," local daily Vientiane Times on Thursday quoted Deputy Director of Huaphan's Agriculture and Forestry Department, Sorsavanh Bankhammy as saying. "The locusts began appearing at the end of March and we have been spraying them with insecticide to stop them spreading," said the official in Huaphan Province, some 310 km northeast of Lao capital Vientiane. Authorities and villagers are continuing to spray infested areas with insecticides that kill the locusts and prevent eggs from hatching. The yellow-spined bamboo locust thrives in areas planted with bamboo and tall trees. Last year in Huaphan, locusts and eggs were found at 216 sites in 107 villages in eight districts and 1,454 hectares of crops suffered damage. During the same period, locust is believed to have damaged more than 5,000 hectares of crops in northern provinces of Laos, such as Luang Prabang, Phongsaly, Xieng Khuang and Oudomxay provinces nearby Huaphan, said the report. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 12:38:41|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close SYDNEY, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Ten critically endangered turtles have been released back into the wild on the Mid North Coast of Australia on Thursday to mark the World Turtle Day. One of the rarest turtle species on earth, the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle was almost wiped out four years ago when a mysterious "freak virus" tore through the population. "Before the disease outbreak, we estimate there were up to 4,500 of these freshwater turtles living in the Bellinger Catchment - the only place they're found on earth," New South Wales (NSW) State Environment Minister Matt Kean said. "Sadly, 90 percent of the animals were wiped out in 2015 because of the virus." "About 20 virus-free turtles were able to be collected from the river for a captive breeding program at Taronga Zoo in an effort to try to secure a future for this species and improve the environment for our future generations." "Now, on World Turtle Day, it's fantastic that we're able to announce the breeding program is proving a success, and we've released 10 juvenile turtles back into their natural habitat." As part of the state government's 100-million-Australian dollar (68.75-million-U.S. dollar) Saving our Species Fund, 22 healthy turtles hatched in the first year of the captive breeding program. In 2018, 31 more healthy turtles followed. "The number one goal of Saving our Species Fund is to secure the future of threatened plants and animals in NSW so they can live safely in their natural habitat," Kean said. "This project in the Bellinger River shows that with strong community support and partnerships, we can make real positive change to our threatened species." According to the State Member of State Parliament in Oxley, Melinda Pavey, the 10 turtles released will be closely monitored with the help of the local community. "The people living along this river are passionate about protecting the flora and fauna that rely on it," she said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 12:48:44|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close SYDNEY, May 23 (Xinhua) -- An extensive drug smuggling ring operating out of Sydney Airport has been dismantled, Australian authorities said on Thursday, resulting in the seizure of a combined 55 kg of suspected cocaine and 5.5 million U.S. dollars in cash. Three men including a baggage handler at the airport have been arrested following a months-long investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force (ABF), the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force, and the Department of Home Affairs. "These men used their intimate knowledge of the aviation environment to conduct this smuggling operation, but still weren't able to avoid our detection," ABF acting regional commander NSW Garry Low said "I'm proud of our investigators and intelligence team, who have all worked particularly hard in this joint operation to achieve this result and counter this major criminal activity." The trio was allegedly using their access to aircraft to smuggle cocaine through the baggage holds of commercial flights arriving from South Africa. In April, police arrested a 42-year-old man in the vicinity of Sydney Airport, with a search of his vehicle revealing a duffel bag containing 27 kg of what is suspected to be cocaine. Another man, aged 50, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and was found to be in possession of a bag containing 28 kg of what is believed to be cocaine. A 47-year-old man was also arrested outside his home on Wednesday, for his alleged involvement in the operation. Police executed a total of six search warrants on properties across Sydney's outer suburbs, one of which led to the discovery of 5.5 million U.S. dollars in cash. The two men arrested on Wednesday were each charged with six counts of importing a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs and if convicted could face up to life in prison. "The arrest of these men should act as a warning to anyone considering abusing a privileged position at an Australian airport: just because you hold that position it does not mean the ABF isn't alert to your activities," Low said. Former U.S. President George W. Bush arrived at Gimpo International Airport on Wednesday to attend a memorial service to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday. Upon his arrival, Bush waved to reporters, briefly mentioning that Roh was his "friend." He is set to deliver a eulogy at the memorial service and present a portrait of the late president that he painted himself to Roh's widow. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 13:29:02|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SEOUL, May 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korean tourists reduced plastic card spending during overseas trips in the first quarter as short-term travel to neighboring countries increased, central bank data showed Thursday. Local residents spent 4.68 billion U.S. dollars with plastic cards during the overseas trip in the January-March quarter, down 3.3 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure included overseas spending with credit, debit and check cards. The number of South Korean overseas travelers increased 10.2 percent to 7.86 million in the cited period, but the plastic card spending reduced as more people traveled to neighboring countries in Asia for a short term. The number of plastic cards used overseas rose 1.1 percent to 17.05 million in the period. The spending per plastic card amounted to 274 U.S. dollars in the first quarter, down 4.4 percent from three months earlier. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 13:34:06|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SUVA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- For the first time ever in Fiji, people can now pay their taxi fares using ATM Cards after the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Bank launched the ANZ POS with Ever Ready Taxis in a move to reduce the costs of business. ANZ bank Fiji head Saud Minam said Thursday this will be a major boost for the tourism industry in the island nation as Fiji continues to move into a cashless society. Tourism industry has contributed significantly to Fiji's economy and is the country's largest foreign exchange earner. Many tourists use taxis to travel around the country. All Ever Ready Taxis will now have Point Of Sale (POS) machines and everyone using their service can swipe their ATM Cards to pay fares. Fiji's Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said more Fijian taxi owners should come forward and install POS machines in their vehicles. Khaiyum said the launch of the ANZ POS will further enhance electronic transaction in Fiji. "The reality of the matter is that electronic transactions provide not only convenience to everyday consumers but it also helps the financial system and it also keeps liquidity within the banks at a higher level, it also means the cost of business transaction is reduced." Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said earlier he was determined to reduce carbon emissions in Fiji by using less paper. Since 2017, all payments made by the Fijian government departments have been done electronically without issuing cheques. Minam also said recently that the Fijian people were adapting well to the use of electronic platforms, and businesses were also conforming to limiting the use of paper. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 13:39:08|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close by Noemi Galban, Raimundo Urrechaga HAVANA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Cuba expects to see the triple number of passengers currently traveling to the island through its international airports in the next 20 years, despite recent sanctions by the U.S. government, said local transport and air traffic officials on Wednesday. Just as Washington has enacted new measures to drain foreign investment and travel to the Caribbean nation, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is betting on the island as one of the pillars in the region. "We are here to continue supporting the development of air transport in this country. The number of passengers is expected to triple in the next 20 years and the important thing is that Cuba can prepare well for this exponential growth," Peter Cerda, vice president of IATA for the Americas, told Xinhua. Different international airlines and entities of the sector, along with IATA, came together on Wednesday in an event called "Cuba Aviation Day" which exposed the potential of air connectivity in the island. According to the senior official, the global trend indicates that by 2035 the number of passengers worldwide will double, but in Cuba the figure should be greater because of its developing tourism industry. "There will be more flights and airlines operating in Cuba, a greater number of visitors, business opportunities and air transport will play a fundamental role in connecting Havana and other cities with many destinations internationally," he added. Cerda said that, in order to face this increase in visitors, the island must work to modernize its airport infrastructure, improve the efficiency of operations and align some of its practices in air terminals with international regulations. Currently, 46 airlines operate at 13 airports in Cuba, transporting 9.6 million passengers in a total of 72,000 flights each year that include connections to 44 destinations in 26 countries, according to data from IATA on Wednesday. At the opening ceremony, Cuba's transport minister Eduardo Rodriguez said the event becomes a favorable space to strengthen cooperation among airlines, promote safety and reinforce the economy of this sector so as to benefit the air operators. "Our air transport policy distinguishes safety and protection at our airports, as well as in aircrafts in flight," said the minister. Rodriguez emphasized that Cuba recognizes the benefits promoted by IATA, by simplifying travel and transportation processes, reducing costs for passengers, allowing airlines to operate safely, efficiently and economically under defined rules. Earlier this month, Washington activated the Title III of the Helms-Burton Act that allows U.S. citizens to file lawsuits against losses in Cuba on nationalized or expropriated properties after 1959. One of these claims will be made by the heirs of the alleged owner of Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, the main Cuban air terminal. "We hope these barriers that are being imposed by the U.S. can reach a resolution because in the end they not only hurt Cuba but also all the passengers who try to come to the island and of course American companies," said Cerda. In this context, he stated there are dialogue mechanisms in conflicts related to air connectivity through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). "Our role is that air transport continues to grow and be a strong mechanism for the economic development of countries, in addition to providing connectivity to different cultures and global traditions," he said. Meanwhile, Ramon Jimenez, American Airlines representative in Cuba, said possible lawsuits against U.S. or international companies operating at Havana's airport are still "uncertain or without details" as it's a "developing process." "Our focus is to bet on the Cuban market in the long term and continue our operations which continue to grow at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. Today we operate 12 daily flights to six cities in Cuba," Jimenez told Xinhua. The executive said American Airlines is the airline with the most flights to the Caribbean nation from the United States. and in July they will add a sixth daily frequency to the Cuban capital, while in the coming weeks a second route to the central city of Santa Clara will begin operations. Cuba expects to receive 5.1 million visitors this year, a figure which will represent a 7 percent increase from 2018. The tourism industry is the second largest source of foreign currency income for the Caribbean country with over 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 13:49:15|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on Dec. 25, 2018 shows a bullet train running on the Harbin-Mudanjiang high-speed rail line in the suburbs of Mudanjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Chunxiang) SHENYANG, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Tower cranes rise against the sky, dump trucks shuttle back and forth, and yellow excavators and bulldozers hum at a construction site in the coastal city of Dalian, northeastern China's Liaoning Province. In two years time, two 41-storey buildings will rise above the Donggang business district of Dalian, creating a new commercial complex for Japan's Orix Corporation, a global financial services group. Guo Xiaodong from Orix China Investment Corporation said Orix was optimistic about Dalian's geographical location and development prospects, and it was building a large financial holding group with a total asset of 100 billion yuan (around 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) centered in the city. This corner provides an economic snapshot of northeast China, the country's old industrial base consisting of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. In April 2016, the central government rolled out new measures to revitalize the region struggled with industry decline, falling investment and daunting business environment. Reforms are carried out, with a series of supporting policies released, a free trade zone set up in Liaoning, administrations streamlined and the business environment improved. The latest economic data give reasons for optimism. The economy grew by 6.1 percent, 2.4 percent and 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019 in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang respectively, with Liaoning picking up a 6-plus percent of growth for the first time in four years. "The economy of northeast China is bottoming out as a whole," said Li Kai, vice president of China Academy of Northeast Revitalization. "It shows that the new round of revitalization strategy has achieved initial success." NO BREAKING, NO MAKING In 2018, annual steel output of the Dalian-based Dongbei Special Steel Group Co. Ltd. exceeded 2.3 million tonnes, a 72.9 percent increase compared with a year earlier. The historical breakthrough in yield was also accompanied by a return to profitability, which happened just three years after the 114-year-old state-owned steelmaker collapsed and entered a bankruptcy restructuring process in 2016. "I'm just making this company look like a real company," said Gong Sheng, who was appointed as chairman of the Dongbei Special Steel by Shagang Group, the largest private steel enterprise in China and the largest shareholder of the once-bankrupted behemoth that turned to mixed ownership. The lack of efficiency and incentives for innovation in the northeast is largely because of the high proportion of state-owned enterprises in the region, said Chang Xiuze, a professor with the think tank of National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner. Chang suggested that the only feasible solutions lie in reform of state-owned enterprises and the supply-side structural reform. In Changchun, capital of Jilin, China's leading automaker FAW Group has made a dent in a series of "surgical reforms" related to its personnel system and brand reconstruction. The old system, under which there was no difference between more or less work and good or bad results, has been abolished. Those who were incapable or could not do a good job were removed from leadership. Competition brought a sense of crisis, thus a significant improvement of efficiency in management and operation. The company's revenues hit 593.7 billion yuan in 2018, up 26.4 percent annually. Based on advantages in talent and R&D, the northeast industrial heartland is also accelerating its pace to incubate high-tech startups. Founded in 2015, Liaoning Dralong Technology became an eye-catching exhibitor at the 2018 Hannover Messe with its fuel-powered drones. Sales expanded 40 times from 2016 to 40 million yuan last year and are expected to exceed 100 million yuan in 2019. Dralong's core technology is the precise control of petro-fuelled UAVs, which have much longer flight duration and a larger load compared with electric ones, said Zhang Li, general manager of Dralong. In Jilin, the number of high-tech enterprises soared 69.8 percent last year. A more diverse and innovative industrial structure has taken shape. A STRONG COMEBACK Thanks to the deepened reform, improved business environment, and commitment to further easing market access for foreign investors, a growing number of foreign-invested enterprises have settled in the region. Yaskawa Electric (Shenyang) Co. Ltd. is a Sino-Japan joint venture focusing on the manufacture and service of servo motors and related components. At present, the total investment of the company in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, has exceeded 1.4 billion U.S. dollars. Last year, construction of the company's third plant in Shenyang started. "We'll introduce the latest production management system in the new factory to achieve real-time management of production status. This is exactly what the local enterprises lack," said the company's general manager Masahiko Okura. So far, Japanese companies have invested more than 24 billion U.S. dollars in nearly 7,700 projects in Liaoning, according to the Liaoning Provincial Department of Commerce. "These projects mainly involve industries such as high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, and electronic information, and require relatively high standards on quality. This is what Liaoning needs for economic transformation and development," said Tang Shenfei, deputy head of the department. Global investors are also attracted by other northeastern regions. Jilin attracted more foreign capital in 2018, with its actual use doubling year on year to 702 million U.S. dollars. More than half of foreign direct investment flowed into industries such as railway and ship transportation equipment manufacturing, and oil and gas exploitation. Liang Qidong, vice president of Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said that northeast China had been building a business-friendly environment by streamlining administration and adopting a service-oriented approach. It still faces uphill challenges, including unsound industrial chain and a talent shortage, to build an ecosystem suitable to future industrial development. "Although the economy of northeast China is recovering, there is still a long way to go to achieve high-quality development," Liang said. The prospects are very bright. As the region is getting more involved in the Belt and Road construction, it may become a major platform in opening up thanks to its geographical location and industrial advantages. (Video reporter: Zhao Yong; Video editor: Luo Hui) Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 13:54:21|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Ye Zaiqi SAN FRANCISCO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Washington's moves of using tariffs as a weapon to force China into a trade deal are "counterproductive," a U.S. business leader said Tuesday. The U.S. position on solving trade disputes with China by using tariffs is "very aggressive" but "counterproductive," said Steve Hoffman, a veteran investor and CEO of Founders Space, a leading incubator and accelerator in Silicon Valley. The entrepreneur and angel investor, often called Captain Hoff, voiced in an interview with Xinhua his worries about a hostile environment being created between the world's two largest economies, which he foresaw will have lasting repercussions. After Washington increased additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent on May 10 and threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports, China announced that it will raise additional tariffs imposed on some of the U.S. imports from June 1. Since their economies are intertwined and interdependent, both Beijing and Washington will be seriously impacted by the tariff-featured trade disputes, Hoffman said. "The consumers and the businesses here are going to pay for those high prices." "The United States and China combined impact the world. So if we are in a trade war, it is not just our problem. It is going to impact every other country in the world," he added. "Right now, the negative impacts of the U.S.-China trade conflicts are broadening beyond (U.S.) agriculture and beyond commodities, like steel and other stuff, into consumer electronics and other areas. And that could have a big impact in my home turf which is Silicon Valley," he added. Hoffman, also an expert on China, said many Americans, including politicians in Washington, understand little Chinese history and have no idea of what China has gone through over the last several centuries. In modern history, China was once bullied and treated unfairly in foreign trade by Western powers, including the United States, and now China will not surrender "its own rights" or "be dictated by foreign powers", Hoffman said, adding that "just like the United States wouldn't either." "Throughout history, we've seen that the more trade happens, the more all parties around the world will benefit ... when we're negotiating our trade deals, I firmly believe it's to everyone's benefit in the long run to have free and fair trade," Hoffman said. The leadership in Washington should learn more history to cooperate and negotiate with China more effectively, said the investor. Hoffman also said that Trump's administration has started trade disputes with not only China, but also Mexico, Canada, the European Union and South Korea, and "most of the trade wars have not resulted in a real benefit to the Americanism or the American economy." He criticized the U.S. government for pushing its trade partners into a "win-lose situation," saying that "such a mentality and views about the world are fundamentally untrue and it's not an accurate way of perceiving the world." "In fact, such trade wars are just disruptive to business on both sides, which created uncertainty, confusion, and the whole supply chains and everything that businesses have planned for get turned upside down," he said. Meanwhile, Hoffman said free and fair trade is "a win-win" for all, and that "in fact, America wins bigger when we trade more with more different countries, when we lower tariffs and lower barriers." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 14:04:36|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SUVA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 500 tourism stakeholders are attending the 2019 Fijian Tourism Expo (FTE) held from Wednesday to Friday at the Denarau Island Convention Center in Nadi, Fiji's third largest city on Thursday. The FTE, the island nation's premier tourism industry event, allows Fiji's major tourism stakeholders to promote their products to international buyers in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Germany and India. This year marks the sixth consecutive year for the annual event, designing a unique Fiji travel experience for international buyers and media. Organized by Tourism Fiji, the event provides a cross-sectoral platform for tourism partners to directly engage with international buyers and travel trade media. The event has grown with a view of building a bigger and better tourism industry in a sustainable and holistic way. The FTE 2019 will build on and enhance the previous year's event to showcase the great diversity and quality of products in Fiji to old and new international industry partners. The FTE 2019 is for anyone passionate about being an integral part of the growth and development of the Fijian tourism industry. The tourism industry, the country's largest foreign exchange earner, has contributed significantly to Fiji's economy. The industry provides employment directly and indirectly to an estimated 45,000 people and is the fastest growing industry in terms of employment in the island nation. Fiji, a nation with a population of around 900,000, had more than 870,000 visitors in 2018. The value of tourism in Fiji drives Tourism Fiji to continue to deliver a world-leading destination and to help travel sellers around the world understand the beauty and character of Fiji. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 14:19:45|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng Wednesday met with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in Beijing, pledging to strengthen bilateral ties. Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China attaches great importance to developing its relations with Singapore and is willing to advance bilateral ties and pragmatic cooperation in all fields to a new high. As next year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore, Han voiced his hope that the two sides will seize the opportunity to advance their relations in the new era. Han also called for joint efforts in pushing forward high-quality building of the Belt and Road, facilitating the construction of a new land-sea transit route, exploring cooperation in the third-party market and deepening exchanges in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, so as to promote common development of the region and countries along the Belt and Road. Heng said the Singaporean side stands ready to work with China to maintain close high-level exchanges, boost pragmatic cooperation and jointly promote construction under the Belt and Road Initiative. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:10:14|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. bankruptcy judge in San Francisco Wednesday approved a plan by the leading California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to create a 105 million-U.S.-dollar fund to assist victims who suffered heavily in wildfires in 2017 and 2018. PG&E said the fund, approved by Judge Dennis Montali of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Northern District of California, will be used to help those displaced by the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire. The Camp Fire, which started on Nov. 8, 2018 in Butte County, killed at least 85 people, scorched 153,336 acres (620 square km) and destroyed over 18,000 buildings after burning more than two weeks. The fire was the deadliest and most destructive fire disaster in California history. Montali said the company's Wildfire Assistance Fund will provide short-term relief to the fire victims who were uninsured or need additional assistance with housing costs or other urgent needs. PG&E said it wants to make the funds available to the wildfire victims as quickly as possible and will select a third-party administrator to oversee the disbursement to eligible participants. "PG&E remains committed to helping wildfire victims rebuild and recover, and this program is part of how we're living up to that commitment," said PG&E Corporation Chief Executive Officer and President Bill Johnson. The fund of 105 million dollars will mainly come from the company's cash reserves, said PG&E, adding it will not seek cost recovery from its customers. Administrative expenses will be capped at 5 million dollars to ensure that the vast majority of the fund will be used for the living expenses and urgent needs of the wildfire victims, said PG&E. The San Francisco-headquartered California power utility, which served nearly 16 million people in northern and central California, has been sued by fire victims for its power lines causing wildfires and leading to their loss of property in the two deadly disasters in 2017 and 2018. PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2019 in the face of liabilities which were estimated at more than 30 billion dollars in connection with the catastrophic wildfires. On May 15, California state investigators officially released a report, blaming PG&E's power lines for sparking the fatal wildfires in Butte County, about 280 km north of San Francisco last year. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:20:24|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MAIDAN SHAHR, Afghanistan, May 23 (Xinhua) -- At least five militants have been confirmed dead and five others injured as Afghan fighting aircraft struck Taliban hideouts in Sayed Abad district of Afghanistan's eastern Wardak province, said an army statement Thursday. The airstrikes, according to the statement, were conducted on a tip-off in Milikhilo area of the restive district on Wednesday afternoon, killing five armed insurgents on the spot and injuring five others. Fighting between government forces and the Taliban insurgents has gotten momentum since April 12 when the armed group launched its so-called annual spring offensive in Afghanistan. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:20:26|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close NANCHANG, May 23 (Xinhua) -- East China's Jiangxi Province will strengthen protection of endangered finless porpoises with a slew of measures, authorities said Wednesday. According to the guidelines issued by the provincial government this month, efforts will be made to enhance protection of the habitats of finless porpoises. Emergency rescue and patrol mechanisms will also be improved to reduce unnatural deaths of the animal. A video surveillance system will be set up and drones will be used to make regular patrol flights. Fishing, sand mining and shipping will be put under stricter control to reduce the impact of human activities. Ecological restoration projects will be carried out in major spawning areas. Rarer than China's giant panda, the finless porpoise is a mammal similar to the dolphin, and now teeters on the brink of extinction, with a population of around 1,000. About 450 live in Jiangxi province's Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake. A U.S. State Department official recently met a Korean Foreign Ministry official and pointed out that LG Uplus uses Huawei-manufactured equipment, and said the telecom's mobile services must be restricted in "sensitive areas" within Korea, presumably where there are U.S. military installations. "The U.S. keeps telling the Foreign Ministry through various diplomatic channels that using Huawei products could create security problems," the source said. The U.S. repeatedly asked Korea to take part in its anti-Huawei campaign, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Wednesday. The U.S. claims that Huawei equipment comes with backdoors to allow the Chinese government to spy on users, but China says the claim is part of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war against it. The U.S. official added that Huawei must ultimately be driven out of Korea. The Foreign Ministry acknowledged the U.S. government's concerns but expressed reservations, saying the government cannot intervene in the affairs of private businesses. The bigger fear is that curbing imports of Huawei equipment could prompt Beijing to retaliate. Already Japan, Australia and New Zealand have joined the U.S.' anti-Huawei campaign, and a minor scandal erupted in the U.K. over whether it was going to join. According to industry insiders, Korean businesses could suffer billions of U.S. dollars in losses if Huawei imports are halted, and the damage could escalate stratospherically if China retaliates. The U.S. also asked the Foreign Ministry here to persuade Samsung to make sure that Huawei equipment does not spread any further in East Asia. The U.S. State Department is even holding a closed-door workshop in Bangkok, Thailand with Korean Foreign Ministry officials and business representatives to look for ways to tap into the communication equipment market in Southeast Asia. One former diplomat warned, "Korea is at risk once again of getting trapped between the U.S. and China after a dispute over a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:20:29|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close MONTEVIDEO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The reform and opening-up of China since 1978 is a great revolution in the nation's history, said a Chinese diplomat on Tuesday at the inauguration here of a photographic exhibition. The exhibition about this unprecedented period in the Chinese history was opened at the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU) and will run until June 15. "Hopefully we will deepen mutual understanding through these photographs," said Zhang Wenwei, the charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Uruguay. Zhang mentioned the remarkable advances in China during the past 40 years, such as the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) at an average rate of 9.5 percent, as compared with the global average of 2.9 percent. Additionally, its population living in poverty decreased by 740 million, he said. "The bilateral relations between China and Uruguay are already very close, however for many Uruguayans China is not yet a well-known country," said the Chinese diplomat. It is hoped that the more than 120 photos on display will propel the two sides to mull efforts to further strengthen bilateral exchanges in politics, economy, culture, education and sports, he said. "China is currently Uruguay's main trading partner. More than half of the exported Uruguayan meat is served on the table of the Chinese people, and more than half of the mobile phones in the hands of Uruguayans are produced in China," Zhang said. For his part, the dean of the faculty of business administration at the UCU, Ignacio Bartesaghi, told Xinhua that the exhibition captures a great period in the history of the Asian country. "Here we are showing these photos of the past 40 years, but it is something that comes from far back, it is a civilization of 5,000 years," he said. Bartesaghi explained that the UCU has been focusing on China so that "students can understand the dimension of the transformation" in this four decades, "but with a vision of what is going to happen in the next 40 years." "To understand what will be the role that China is going to play or to understand the current context, we must understand what has happened in the last 40 years," he said. "We are convincing our students to travel to China, to continue their studies there, and that they see this transformations live and direct, because it will change their way of thinking," said Bartesaghi. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:35:32|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LONDON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Voters in Britain were heading to the polling stations Thursday morning for the European Parliament elections. Britain is split into 12 regions for the elections, including 9 in England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A total of 73 members, known as members of the European Parliament (MEPs), will be elected in the constituencies. Polling stations in Britain are open from 7:00 to 22:00 BST. Results will come out after all European Union (EU) nations have voted during the next three days, with the voting process completed by 22:00 BST on Sunday. Initially, the elections were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. However, at the European summit in April, the British government and the European Council agreed to delay Brexit until October 31. It is uncertain for how long British MEPs will sit because of the uncertainties over Brexit. The elections are the ninth time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:35:36|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. restrictions on sale and transfer of American technologies to Chinese telecom giant Huawei would hold back the launch of 5G networks and earnings of the tech sectors across the world, Swiss leading investment bank UBS said in a latest research report. "Lengthy restrictions on Huawei could slow the global rollout of 5G networks," said the report released on Wednesday. "These developments increase the likelihood telecom providers take a wait-and-see approach on the dispute before making 5G purchase for their next generation networks," it added. Assuming the current restrictions stay in place, UBS estimated that industry earnings would decline by low-single-digits percentage for the U.S. tech players in general. While for the Asian tech sector, such losses would expand by mid-single-digits percentage. Yet the bank saw a neutral impact for Europe's tech industry. Washington last week declared a national emergency over what it claimed are technological threats, and announced restrictions on sale and transfer of American technologies to Huawei. "U.S. companies are now required to obtain licenses to transfer technology to Huawei, effectively restricting them from selling new components, chips or software to the Chinese company and its 70 affiliates without prior U.S. government approval," UBS explained to its clients. Yet the U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday issued a 90-day temporary license, effective from May 20 to Aug. 19, which allows "specific limited engagement in transactions involving the export, reexport, and transfer of items" to Huawei. "However, rather than a reprieve for the Chinese firm itself, the slight easing of rules is squarely aimed at Huawei's past customers, such as rural broadband providers or owners of its Android phones," UBS said. The financial institution further pointed out that the impact on the global supply chain would be contingent on "the length and severity of restrictions imposed on Huawei." In response to the U.S. restrictions on Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, the company's founder and president, said on Tuesday that Huawei never wants to "walk alone" in the global markets, but has made good preparations for any extreme circumstances, adding that it would not reject the U.S. supply chain. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:40:38|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close CHANGCHUN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A black bear cub has been rescued after it got lost at the Changbai Mountain nature reserve in northeast China's Jilin Province, the administration of the nature reserve said Thursday. Staff with a protection station of the nature reserve found the lost bear cub in the grass on Sunday when he was patrolling. "It looked very weak after not eating for several days," said Li Shengwen, deputy director of the station. To ensure the bear was indeed lost and that no other bears were around, the patrollers observed it from a distance for a long time, Li said. Preventing the cub from starvation or attack by other wild animals, staff from the protection station sent it to the wild animal rescue station at the reserve for treatment. Yu Zhehao, a staff with the wild animal rescue station, said the bear cub was starving. After a thorough physical check, it was found to be a female cub no more than 100 days old with a weight of nearly two kg. The bear cub had severe intestinal problems. The veterinarian treated it and prepared appropriate food for the cub. After days of good care, the bear cub has recovered, Yu said. The cub will be set free when it has the ability to survive in the wild, said Yu. Measuring 150 cm to 170 cm long with black glossy fur, black bears are listed as a national second-class protected species in China. They mainly inhabit mountainous forests and are commonly found in the Korean pine forests and oak forests in the Changbai Mountains. The Changbai Mountains boast rich biodiversity and are home to endangered wildlife species, including Siberian tigers, boars and black bears. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 15:45:44|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close Rick Kimberley operates a tractor at his farm near Des Moines, capital of Iowa State, May 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) by Xinhua writer Guo Yage BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Since the beginning of 2018, the United States, carrying the flag of "America First," has been enthusiastic about wielding the tariff stick against its trade partners including Mexico, Canada, the European Union (EU), Japan and China. The U.S. addiction to tariff, denounced by many as a protectionist and unilateralist approach, has become a cause of concern to the U.S. as well as the global economy. SHOOTING IN ALL DIRECTIONS The U.S. government has been playing tough with all countries that it claimed are treating the United States unfairly. On June 1, 2018, Washington unilaterally slapped a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, provoking retaliation from trading partners including Canada, Mexico and the EU. On April 8 this year, it threatened again possible tariff hikes against a number of EU products in the civil aviation sector. On May 6, the U.S. government said it would begin imposing a 17.5-percent tariff on imported Mexican tomatoes. Besides, Japan had been in Washington's cross-hairs for its exports of automobiles and car parts to the United States. And the White House has been especially aggressive towards China. Since March 2018, the U.S. government has repeatedly raised tariffs on China imports, forcing the Asian country to fight back in similar tariff hikes. While Beijing has demonstrated utmost sincerity in resolving the trade problems, Washington has kept seeking unreasonable gains by imposing maximum pressure, which was the fundamental factor behind the failure to reach a deal between the two countries after 11 rounds of high-level economic and trade consultations. In an opinion piece, Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, wrote that the U.S. government believes in "transactions over alliances, bilateralism over multilateralism, unpredictability over consistency, power over rules and interests over ideals." COMING OUT OF AMERICANS' POCKETS The U.S. government has repeatedly claimed that the tariff measures will profit the United States, but few around the world agree. It is not in the interest of either U.S. consumers or Chinese workers "to have this endless escalation of trade conflict," Jason Isaacson, chief policy and political affairs officer at the American Jewish Committee, told Xinhua. To silver-haired Iowa farmer Rick Kimberley, "it's a slow-burn, it's affecting us slowly. I mean it's affecting our income." Kimberley's hunch was right. According to U.S. newspaper the Star Tribune, a total of 84 farms in U.S. Upper Midwest region filed for bankruptcy between July 2017 and June 2018, doubling the number in 2013 and 2014, partly due to raging trade disputes. "Tariffs are taxes that American businesses and consumers pay," stated a letter sent to Washington a month ago by a coalition named Americans for Free Trade, bearing 151 signatures of a wide range of business associations. In a report released on May 11, Goldman Sachs revised up its estimate of the tariffs' impact on U.S. core personal consumption expenditures. "The costs of the tariffs have fallen entirely on U.S. businesses and households." Economists at Moody's Analytics also found that U.S.-China trade disputes would slash U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.6 percentage points and cost the economy 3 million jobs by the final quarter of 2020. A February report by economic consulting firm Trade Partnership Worldwide found that an average U.S. family of four would pay 2,300 U.S. dollars more in goods and services each year should Washington impose an additional 25-percent tariffs on all goods from China. In three years, while 334,900 workers will gain jobs as a result of the tariffs against China, around 2.5 million workers will lose jobs, seven for every job gained. The tariffs will cost the U.S. economy more than 5.5 million dollars for every job gained, it said. "The people who are paying tariffs are (in fact) U.S. citizens ... It's coming out of their pockets," said Gilad Alper, head of research at Israel's Excellence Nessuah Trust Company. JEOPARDIZING GLOBAL GROWTH With Washington ramping up pressure on China and other trading partners, analysts worldwide have said such self-inflicted tariff hikes will also give a body blow to the global economy. Global financial markets are experienced turbulence amid growing concerns on U.S.-China trade frictions. "We are certainly going to see a significant reduction on the world's functional markets. Look at what has been happening on the equity market for the couple of days," said Dawie Roodt, chief economist at African financial services company Efficient Group. Such gloom will shroud not only global financial markets but also the real economy, analysts noted. Tariff hikes "will ripple across the global economy and that will definitely be a drag on growth," said Sarah Hunter, chief economist at Australia's BIS Oxford Economics. In its latest World Economic Outlook report released in April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its 2019 global growth forecast to 3.3 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from its estimation in January, saying "the downturn was larger and appeared related to a souring of market sentiment, in part because of trade tensions." "If investors don't have the feeling that this problem can be solved soon, the appetite for investments ... throughout the world is weakening," said Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission. (Xinhua reporters Zhong Ya in Beijing, Yang Chenglin in Washington, Yang Shilong in New York, Xu Jing in Chicago, Wang Zichen in Brussels, Chen Wenxian in Jerusalem, Levi J Parsons in Sydney and Zodidi Mhlana in Johannesburg also contributed to the story.) (Video reporters: Xie E, Zhao Yuchao, Pan Gepin, Zhen Jianghua, Hu Yousong, Liu Jie, Sun Ding, Xiong Maoling, Lin Yuan; Video editor: Zhang Xinyi) Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 16:11:06|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Mobile medical teams will tour through 96 impoverished townships in Tibet this year, a regional health official said here Thursday. By the end of next year, the teams will cover all townships in the region, Wang Yunting, a senior official with the health department of Tibet Autonomous Region, said at a press conference. Due to a small population scattered across the vast lands in Tibet, many farmers and herdsmen living in high altitude and remote areas only receive medical services through such mobile teams. Medical teams will be made up of staff from village clinics, county and township hospitals and be provided with special medical vehicles and mobile equipment, Wang said. In the tour, besides treating diseases, they will spend more efforts in offering health counseling and raising awareness, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 16:31:25|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close JINAN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Airlines has officially requested compensation from the Boeing Company for economic losses due to the grounding of its 737 Max aircraft and delayed delivery of future planes, the airline said Thursday. The airline halted operation of seven aircraft, including five delivered last year and two delivered in the first quarter of this year, the company said. The airline's claim followed three compensation requests from China Eastern Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines earlier this week. China was the first to halt the commercial operations of all Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes after a deadly Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on March 10. It was the second crash of the new aircraft after one operated by Indonesia's Lion Air crashed in October last year, triggering global scrutiny and bans on operating Boeing 737 Max aircraft. China's carriers own a total of 96 737 Max 8 planes, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 16:31:29|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close HANGZHOU, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The city of Jiaxing in east China's Zhejiang Province, a place famous for its southern-style zongzi or glutinous rice dumplings, will hold a folk culture festival around the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, local authorities said. The cultural festival will start in late May and last until early June to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival which will fall on June 7 this year, according to a news briefing on Wednesday. Traditional activities such as dragon boat racing, rice dumpling making, sachet making and temple fairs will be held. Cities along the Grand Canal will also be invited to this year's festival to present their folk culture, local specialities and intangible cultural heritage from June 7 to 9. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 18:51:20|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Technician Gu Heli(R) examines the cable car running system with his colleague at Huangshizhai scenic area in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, May 20, 2019. Zhangjiajie, a picturesque tourist spot in central China, is regarded by many tourists as an elysium on Earth. Its pillar-like mountain formations are prototype for Avatar's fictive diorama of hanging, mist-shrouded peaks. To secure the safety of tourists, many technicians like Gu Heli pay full attention on inspecting and safeguarding the transport infrastructures. (Xinhua/Wu Yongbing) Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 16:56:51|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close Cynthia Chennault, daughter of late U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault, poses for a picture in front of Flying Tigers posters during the 4th Sino-American Second World War Friendship and Flying Tiger History Conference in Las Vegas, the United States, May 11, 2019. Over the past decades, Cynthia Chennault traveled frequently between the United States and China, dedicated to cultural and people-to-people exchanges, an effort she deemed vital for the friendship long forged by the two nations. (Xinhua/Han Fang) NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Over the past decades, Cynthia Chennault traveled frequently between the United States and China, dedicated to cultural and people-to-people exchanges, an effort she deemed vital for the friendship long forged by the two nations. The 69-year-old emerita professor with the University of Florida has established her reputation in research on Chinese lyrical poetry, society, and history roughly from the 4th through the 7th century, a domain seldom chosen by U.S.-raised scholars. Chennault has been invited to symposiums in China due to her expertise in the East Asian country. In the meantime, she invited Chinese scholars to her university for communications, and was committed to opening the door for U.S. youngsters to discover China. "My larger contribution to U.S.-China friendship, I think, is the students I train, because I taught them about Chinese tradition," said Chennault in a recent interview with Xinhua. Many students of hers "fell in love with China" or even decided to settle there, charmed by Chinese opportunities, she said. Chennault was delighted to see the two peoples are developing more interest in each other especially over the past four decades. As the daughter of the legendary late U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault who headed the wartime Flying Tigers pilots to fight against Japanese invaders in China during World War II (WWII), she was, in some sense, destined for the mission to bridge the two cultures. Her mother, Anna Chen Chennault, a China-born American, was also active in facilitating friendship and cooperation between the United States and China before passing away in 2018. Chen was called a "folk ambassador" between the two countries. The expert in Chinese culture, who attributed her career choice largely to her father, said she expects a new chapter could be written based on the Sino-American WWII friendship. In 1941, General Chennault, commander of the U.S. 14th Air Fleet, recruited the American Volunteer Group, which was later known as the "Flying Tigers." During WWII, the U.S. general trained, organized and inspired both American and Chinese pilots to overcome language and cultural barriers. The "Flying Tigers" helped transport arms and other materials to support China's fight against the Japanese invaders. Calling the "Flying Tigers" history "a great success story of mutual friendship, respect and collaboration," Chennault said the experience means more to her father. "It completely changed his life," she said. "He had never been to China before, and within a very short few months, he developed profound respect for Chinese people, and their bravery and perseverance in such difficult circumstances." "It was an opportunity for him to prove his aviation theory and his fighter pilot theory. So it's a dream come true for him too," she said. When her father died in 1958, Chennault was only eight years old. In the daughter's eyes, General Chennault was a kind and indulgent father who seldom told his wartime experience. For her, attending activities commemorating "Flying Tigers," most of them in China, was also a way to explore more about her father. She has been to some places where the father was well remembered. "When talking to people on streets, some had memories of that time and said my family helped to build the runway," Chennault told Xinhua while recounting her first trip to the Chinese mainland in 1981. She was even surprised that there were many more "Flying Tigers"-themed museums set for the last years, which she thought was "very positive" as the joint efforts have been widely recognized and remembered. Chennault said she is proud that "it continues to be a symbol of Chinese-American friendship," and feels confident that the friendship will continue because of such better understanding among people. Korea is under increasing U.S. pressure to take sides in Washington's war against China's Huawei. The government has so far expressed reluctance to intervene in the affairs of private Korean businesses that want to use Huawei equipment, but insiders warn that Seoul will find it difficult to sit on the fence much longer as U.S. President Donald Trump tries to bully captive allies into submission. Japan and Australia have already joined the boycott. But Korea would stand to face massive reprisals from China if it does. China now accounts for a bigger proportion of Korea's exports than the U.S., EU and Japan combined, buying around US$142.1 billion worth of products from Korea in 2017, or 24.8 percent of the country's total exports. One diplomatic source said, "During a dispute over a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery, China picked on the weak link, which was Korea" but left Japan alone even though it is home to more of the U.S. anti-missile batteries. "This time, China's retaliation could be even worse." Korea has long understood itself as being diplomatically a shrimp among whales, sitting as it did on the eastern frontline of the Cold War. Pressure is only expected to grow. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Korea late next month, while President Moon Jae-in is seeking to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping around that time as well. Seoul needs to cooperate closely with Washington to jump-start stalled dialogue with Pyongyang, while Beijing's role is also crucial in the process. "The anti-Huawei campaign could make things difficult for Korea, which needs to bridge differences with the U.S. over denuclearization, while maintaining close ties with China," said Nam Joo-hong at Kyonggi University. Shin Beom-chul, a senior researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, added, "The government should have taken a more vigorous position during the THAAD boycott by treating it as a security matter, but Korea showed signs of wavering. This time it needs a clear set of positions for the Huawei dispute and look for ways to dodge pressure from both the U.S. and China." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 17:07:02|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close WELLINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's landlords have over one month to ensure their rental properties meet the 2016 insulation requirements or face exemplary damages of up to 4,000 New Zealand dollars (2,596 U.S. dollars). Tenancy Compliance and Investigations (TCIT) said in a statement on Thursday there will be no room for extensions. From July 1, a landlord who has not installed ceiling and floor insulation, where reasonably practicable, will violate the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and may face the Tenancy Tribunal. "The RTA does not allow for extensions, and this would be unfair to those landlords who have acted in time to do the right thing," said Peter Hackshaw, TCIT's acting national manager. The requirement to insulate was widely publicized in 2016 when the changes to the RTA were made, and Tenancy Services has worked hard to ensure landlords are aware of their responsibilities by running an extensive information and education campaign, Hackshaw said. "Landlords have had ample time and information to get the required work done and failing to comply is not only unlawful, but it also exposes tenants to potential harm by not having a home that is warm and dry enough during the winter months," he said. Any tenant who feels that their landlord has failed to meet their responsibilities to have the correct insulation installed by July 1 can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order resolving that dispute. The TCIT team will continue to focus on landlords who systematically breach the RTA by failing to properly install mandatory smoke alarms, provide insulation statements, and install insulation, Hackshaw said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 17:22:19|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close MANILA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Three leftist rebels have been killed in a clash with the government troops in the Philippines, the military said on Thursday. Patrick Jay Retumban, the spokesman of the Philippine Army's 2nd Infantry Division, said fighting broke out at around 9:41 a.m. on Wednesday between government security forces and some 20 New People's Army (NPA) rebels in a village in Occidental Mindoro province, killing at least three guerrillas. Government troops also recovered five improvised explosive devices and other weapons from the NPA soldiers, he added. The NPA rebels, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, have been trying to overthrow the government for 50 years. The military said the group has an estimated 3,500 cadres. Several attempts were made since the 1980s to forge a peace pact between the government and the NPA rebels but failed. The current administration leading by the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte also made an attempt but also failed. Fresh peace talks between the Duterte government and the NPA were suspended again in 2017. The Philippine president said in March that he had no more plan to reopen the talks during his term which ends in 2022. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 17:32:25|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close KATHMANDU, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government has objected to U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry's planned interaction program with Nepali people on social media, calling it "against the existing international diplomatic practices." "Foreign ambassadors are not supposed to hold interaction programs with Nepali people on social media which are totally against the existing international diplomatic practices," Nepali Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali told Xinhua on Thursday. On Wednesday, Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. ambassador for his planned interaction program on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The Nepali side told Berry that such a program violates the basic diplomatic norms and codes of conduct, a senior government official told Xinhua on Thursday. The Nepali government's response comes a few days after Berry made the announcement to hold a weekly interaction with Nepali people on social media from next week. On Thursday, Nepal's Kathmandu Post reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially asked Berry to "step back" from the program. It is the first time that a foreign ambassador has been going to hold such interactions over social media, officials said here. Foreign affairs expert Gopal Thapa told the media that Berry's planned public interaction on social media is against the diplomatic norms prescribed by the Vienna Convention. Former Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rambhakta Thakur said that Berry should be advised not to hold public interaction on social media, calling it undesirable and undiplomatic. In addition to the Nepali government, leaders from the ruling and opposition parties in the country also criticized the U.S. ambassador's attempt. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 17:42:32|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The bell does not ring, there is no traditional classroom, homework is not given and there are no tests or grades. All these sound like a dream to many school kids; but for 130 children in Jerusalem, this is reality. They are enrolled in the Sudbury School located in the city. Together with eight staff members, not teachers, they are implementing their belief that the traditional education with classrooms and tests is not effective. The school was founded in 2002, based on an American model created in the late 1960s. "I was looking for an educational system that would be child-centered, not teacher-centered ... that would encourage students' natural development so that they can continue with curiosity," said Yehudit Ben Or, one of the founders of the school. As a mother of five children, she thought nowadays education system is "outdated and inadequate." The leading principle of Sudbury schools is that students are the center and naturally choose their education. The idea was that children should learn at their own pace and volition and not be forced to study things or conform with what is dictated by the ministry of education. Other than mandatory attendance for five hours a day and several duties they must do in rotation, children are not obliged to do anything in the new schools. "We call our type of education 'self-directed education,' learning through discovery. Every child here is responsible for their own education," said Ben Or. The buildings of the schools are rarely quiet. Children play freely in the designated areas, eat when they want or go into small rooms to study whatever they choose. Young children are playing with toys and older children experimenting with cameras; boys playing ping pong and girls learning how to play the drums ... Some choose to read, others socialize, learning things as the day progresses. It's not all fun or games though. The children and the staff run the school together and are considered equal. There is a daily meeting of a judicial committee in which transgressions are discussed and executive decisions are handed down. In the committee, children as young as first grade sit and vote on the decisions together with school staff. The rules which run the Sudbury schools were created as the first such school was founded. The students accept the rules naturally. "The beauty about this long list of rules is that it comes from the students, from the school, and from the community, and most of these rules are about mutual respect," said Yaacov Ben Buman, a student at the school. But this new model of education has triggered questions over whether there is too much freedom and lack of necessary structure. "Rules were made here to limit our freedom. Freedom is not conditional on whether I do something, but on whether I can maintain others' freedom," said Ori Kaliner, another student. Moreover, people show more concerns over whether the students in such schools would be properly prepared for adulthood in the real world. For Noam Revkin Felton, a 25-year-old photojournalist and graduate of the school, the answer is clear cut. "I think it has prepared me for real life more than any other system, which taught me some knowledge that my friends didn't have," Felton said. The education system has been under criticism in recent years for being outdated and increasingly irrelevant. The system, in which teachers lecture students who then get tested, is claimed as not suited for everyone and not fit for the modern world. Schools are overpopulated, understaffed and the budget is not sufficient. "In the traditional school system, children are taught to follow orders. Today's world of start-ups and technology is not looking for people that just follow orders; it's looking for people who can think and come up with new ideas," Ben Or said. The idea of the school provides children the freedom to explore and fail, also the spirit that leads to innovation and new discoveries. The Sudbury schools are not largely funded after a prolonged legal battle. But the increasing number of such schools is a signal that more people are eager to prepare their children for the future not through the the old-school way. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 18:12:48|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close TAIYUAN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- North China's Shanxi Province, an area rich in cultural relics, will open the Shanxi Bronze Museum in July, with exhibits mainly sourced from stolen antiques recovered by police. The provincial bureau of cultural relics said among more than 10,000 pieces of cultural relics that have been recovered by the Shanxi provincial public security department since 2018, many are of high historical value, especially the bronze relics of the Shang and Zhou dynasties (1600 BC-256 BC). Police in Shanxi launched a special operation against cultural relics-related crimes in 2018, cracking more than 700 criminal cases and seizing over 1,000 suspects, with 17,354 relics confiscated. Both the number of suspects and retrieved relics surpassed the total numbers for the previous 10 years, according to the Shanxi provincial bureau of public security. On April 9, the police handed over 12,633 recovered cultural relics to the provincial cultural relics department, among which 73 are under the state's first-level protection, 151 are of the second level and 508 others are of the third level. The museum is expected to hold cultural exhibition with educational interactions and digital displays, as well as themed shows. Its basic collections highlight China's bronze culture with items for rituals, music, art and utensils. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 18:33:01|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close HARARE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique's Hydro Electrica de Cahorra Bassa has offered Zimbabwe and Zambia power imports in exchange for further reduced power generation by the two countries at their Kariba Dam hydro plants, state media reported Thursday. Cahorra Bassa Dam is overflowing following recent cyclone-induced floods, and authorities in Mozambique favor having Zimbabwe and Zambia storing more water in Kariba Dam, which is upstream of Cahorra Bassa on the Zambezi River, to reduce inflows into the downstream dam and thus protect the infrastructure at Cahorra Bassa. The offer for power comes at a time the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), which administers Lake Kariba, and the Zambezi River, which straddle the two countries, has instructed the two power utilities that generate power at Kariba Dam -- Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) and ZESCO of Zambia -- to cut power generation because of the 2018/19 El Nino induced drought hitting southern Africa. The ZRA has rationed water consumption by the two companies to 358 MW for Zimbabwe and 392 MW for Zambia, resulting in the two countries' introducing load shedding since May and causing distress in industries and among domestic users. ZRA chief executive Munyaradzi Munodawafa told a delegation led by Zimbbwe's new Energy and Power Development Minister Fortune Chasi recently that Mozambique had offered power to Zimbabwe and Zambia in lieu of reduced discharge from Lake Kariba. The two countries may get as much as 500 MW without the parties involved having to exchange any or significant amounts of money for the deal. "We should be going to discuss that issue. We should be going with ZESA, ZESCO and their transmission people so that we sit together and agree how much Hydro Cahora Bassa can give out without requesting for money and without also the transmission requesting for wheeling charges and all that," he said. ZESA is the parent company of the ZPC. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 18:43:08|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close NANNING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced that Thailand's Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul has been elected as BWF Deputy President here on Thursday. Leeswadtrakul, whose mandate will run from 2019-2021, is also a member of the International Olympic Committee. "I am very thankful for being elected BWF Deputy President. I am very humbled by this announcement and thank you to the membership for trusting me. I will do my best for the sport of badminton," the 54-year-old Leeswadtrakul said. The election was held at the BWF Annual General Meeting in Nanning, China, the host of the ongoing 2019 BWF Sudirman Cup. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 18:58:17|Editor: zh Video Player Close British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) arrives to vote at a polling station in Sonning, Britain, on May 23, 2019. Voters across Britain cast their ballots on Thursday for the European Parliament elections as it is widely forecast that Brexit Party will take a lead. (Xinhua/Stephen Chung) LONDON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Voters across Britain cast their ballots on Thursday for the European Parliament elections as it is widely forecast that Brexit Party will take a lead. Britain, split into 12 regions for the elections, is among the first European countries to kick off the elections. A total of 73 members, known as MEPs, will be elected in the constituencies. Polling stations in Britain are open from 7:00 to 22:00 BST. Results will come out after all European Union (EU) nations have voted during the next three days, with the voting process completed by 22:00 BST on Sunday. A man, who works here and whose name is Jeremy, told Xinhua that he has not decided whether to vote or not, because the election has descended to the de-facto second Brexit referendum in this country. "People will take sides about Brexit and that would make the elections meaningless," he said, adding that he expects a low turnout throughout the country. The results from Britain will show whether the newly-launched Brexit Party, founded by veteran Euro-sceptic Nigel Farage, would win the largest number of the 73 British seats in the European Parliament as is forecast. The latest poll gave them 37 percent, while Theresa May's Conservatives are down to 7 percent, with the likelihood of the party's worst ever performance in an election since it was founded in the 1830s. In Liverpool, retired teacher Pauline Roy said she will vote for Labour. Roy told Xinhua she had considered spoiling her ballot paper. "But upon reflection, I have decided I must vote (for) Labour, mainly because I trust them, more than any other party, to deliver Brexit," she said. "More than anything else, I want this issue sorted so that we can address the issues, which are running down our country," added Roy, who voted to leave in the 2016 referendum. The results from Britain will be a sideshow as the other 27 member states study changes in the political map of Europe. Currently, the 751 MEPs are divided into a number of groupings, reflecting their political allegiances. Initially, the elections were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. However, at the European summit in April, the British government and the European Council agreed to delay Brexit until Oct. 31. It is uncertain for how long British MEPs will sit because of the uncertainties over Brexit. The elections are the ninth time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:13:34|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in Beijing, capital of China, May 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with Singapore to safeguard the rule-based multilateral trade system, Premier Li Keqiang said when meeting with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat in Beijing on Thursday. Noting China's opening up has not only enhanced the well-being of its own people but also created tremendous opportunities for the world's development, Li said China will open its door wider and welcome enterprises from all over the world, including Singapore, to expand their investment in China. China will continue to treat domestic and foreign-funded enterprises equally, constantly optimize the business environment, encourage fair competition and cooperation, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said. Li said China stands ready to work with Singapore to maintain close high-level exchanges, better integrate the Belt and Road Initiative with Singapore's development strategy and deepen bilateral cooperation on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and in areas such as third-party markets, trade and investment, finance and smart city. Heng said as next year marks the 30th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations, Singapore is willing to work with China in maintaining close high-level exchanges, boosting pragmatic cooperation and advancing bilateral relations in the new era. Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, also met with Heng in Beijing on Thursday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:18:41|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- An acute watery diarrhea (AWD) outbreak in Ethiopia's northern Amhara regional state has left 12 people dead, an official said on Thursday. Asaye Gebreselassie, deputy director of Wag Himera zone in Amhara regional state, said the outbreak killed four people and sickened 67 others in recent days, according to state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency. A medical taskforce comprising federal, regional and zonal personnel has been deployed to the affected areas, Gebreselassie said. With the rainy season expected to start in June and continue until mid-September, the government is trying to prevent the spread of the AWD. Federal and regional health institutions have been combating diarrhea outbreak by treating unhygienic conditions in factories, health facilities, agricultural areas and eateries. Market researcher IHS Markit said Wednesday that TVs made by Chinese firms like TCL and Hisense had a 33.5 percent market share out of 517.79 million TVs sold worldwide in the first quarter. Korean companies like LG and Samsung came second with 31.7 percent. The first quarter often serves as a barometer for the whole year. Korean TV makers were pushed even further into second place in the global market in the first quarter of this year by their Chinese rivals. Korean manufacturers lost their the top spot to Chinese firms in the third quarter last year, but now they have even lost ground in advanced markets like the U.S. Samsung and LG were still the best-selling TV brands, but Chinese companies swept third to sixth places. China's largest TV maker TCL achieved a two-digit market share for the first time ever with 10.8 percent, just two percent behind LG, and Hisense and Xiaomi both expanded their market share. Japan's Sony, which had held on to at least five percent of until last year, slid to seventh place with 4.1 percent. Chinese TVs sold well not only in their captive domestic market but also in advanced countries such as the U.S. TCL had the biggest market share in North America for the first time with 26.2 percent. Samsung, which had dominated the region, fell a long way behind with 21.8 percent. As quality differences dwindle, the big advantage of Chinese TVs is their price thanks to cheap supply of display panels from domestic companies such as BOE and China Star. Korean TV makers believe it will be virtually impossible to compete with Chinese firms in terms of sales volume since they cannot drop their prices much further, so instead they will try to target high-end markets with their premium QLED and OLED TVs to ensure profitability. Samsung has focused on QLED TVs in advanced markets like Europe and North America, while LG increased its lineup of OLED TVs while slashing prices to secure the premium TV market. LG is betting on the market for large TVs over 60 inches. "Chinese companies have sold a lot of TVs thanks to their low price, but their influence in the high-end TV market is still minimal," a Samsung staffer said. But they are catching up fast, and industry watchers say it is only a matter of a year or two before their products are at the same technological level. Where they lag behind is in brand power, but that too is a matter of time, just as Samsung eventually overtook Sony. "If they rest on their laurels, Korean companies will be overtaken by Chinese firms, just like Japanese TV makers were by Korean ones," said one insider. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:18:42|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DHAKA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Bangladesh Thursday signed an agreement for 400 million U.S. dollars in loan to help build a dual-gauge railway to promote trade, investment and tourism in Bangladesh. Monowar Ahmed, secretary of Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Manmohan Parkash, country director of ADB, signed the agreement on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB, respectively, at a ceremony in Dhaka. According to the ADB, the assistance forms the second part of 1.5- billion-U.S. dollar ADB loans for the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar Railway Project in South eastern Bangladesh. The loan will finance around 27 percent of the progress towards constructing 102 km of new railway line between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar. "ADB is committed to help Bangladesh develop its railways, which is a safe, affordable and environment-friendly mode of transport," said the bank's country director. "The project is a priority investment under Bangladesh's Seventh Five Year Plan and will open up the unserved areas of Cox's Bazar region by promoting investment, trade and tourism." "The project also integrates features that are friendly to the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities," Parkash added. The new rail link, which opens in 2023, aims to transport 2.9 million passengers annually between Chattogram and Cox's Bazar by 2024, said the bank. It said the construction of this railway section is one of several ADB railway projects to help Bangladesh meet its targets under its Seventh Five-Year Plan and Railway Master Plan. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:23:50|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close TASHKENT, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The first Chinese law firm in Uzbekistan opened here on Thursday. Duan & Duan, one of the leading Chinese law firms, opened its overseas branch in Uzbekistan's capital to provide legal help for Chinese investors. The law firm will study Uzbek national laws and compare them with Chinese and international legal documents to solve any arising problems. It will also work together with local lawyers to build "a type of bridge," the firm's head Wu Jian said at the opening ceremony. "Currently many Chinese businessmen are interested in investing in Uzbekistan and in Central Asia as a whole. But they need a qualified legal service to feel confident and calm," Wu said. "If an investor is served not only by a Chinese or Uzbek company, but by a joint law firm, then there will be more benefits and Chinese customers will be more relaxed. The main task ... is precisely to fill this gap," he said. The firm will give competent answers to and provide high-quality services for Chinese investors, said Elbek Juraev, a lawyer at Duan & Duan's Tashkent office. According to official data, China is one of the largest investors in Uzbekistan. Bilateral trade between the two countries surged 68.1 percent on year to 576 million U.S. dollars in January 2019, accounting for 17.2 percent of Uzbekistan's foreign trade. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:28:55|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia Federal Attorney General Office on Thursday charged 53 people in connection with deadly riots in June 2018 that left 16 people dead. The 53 suspects are accused of engaging in riots in the Benishangul Gumuz regional state, located in the western part of the country, in June that left 16 people dead, reported state media outlet Ethiopia News Agency. The suspects include the former mayor of Assosa, capital of Benishangul Gumuz regional state, as well as head of the region's special police office. Over the past year, Benishangul Gumuz regional state has been experiencing intermittent violence, including deadly disputes among locals and other ethnic groups residing in the region. Benishangul Gumuz, located along the Ethiopia-Sudan border, hosts Ethiopia's largest development project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The dam is being built on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia follows an ethnic federalism model, which has been credited with giving self-governance rights to more than 80 ethnic groups that make up the country's estimated 105 million people. However, critics say the ethnic federalism model magnifies ethnic diversity at the expense of national unity, leading to occasional ethnic tension and clashes. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:44:04|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close LEXINGTON, the United States, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The fifth China-U.S. Governors Forum kicked off here Wednesday, with officials from both countries expressing optimism over the future of local-level cooperation. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai told the press that local-level cooperation between the two countries is a "bright spot" in bilateral relations and will become a new driver for bilateral cooperation. "Officials from both countries showed great enthusiasm in attending the forum, bringing with them many great ideas," Cui noted, adding that he is confident that some of the ideas on cooperation will materialize into tangible results. Acknowledging that the China-U.S. relationship is facing uncertainties, he said he hopes "positive factors at local levels will triumph over the negatives in certain areas." Cyrus Habib, lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Washington, said that the forum of local leaders from both countries offers a unique opportunity to further the interest of both peoples. "We are a complex country and China is also a very complex country. Even though our national governments do a lot, but still they can't do everything. We need states and even cities, which are much closer to the people, to engage in dialogue," he said. The U.S. state of Kentucky is hosting the three-day forum this year. It will feature dialogues on business, culture, education and other issues, as well as a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding between the Chinese city of Chongqing and Kentucky. The National Governors Association, one of the organizers of the event, said in a statement that about 400 people from both countries are expected to attend to event. "This shows strong interest in forging and maintaining strong relationships at the subnational level for the mutual benefit of the United States and China," it said. Initiated in 2011, the China-U.S. Governors Forum has become an important platform to promote exchanges and cooperation between local governments of the two countries. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:44:06|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close JAKARTA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Two supporters of Islamic State (IS) group were arrested by Indonesian police when they were engaging in riot on Wednesday, police said here on Thursday. The unrest and clashes between protesters and police struck parts of Indonesia's capital on Tuesday's night and Wednesday's night after the electoral commission released the winner of presidential race. The two men were members of "Gerakan Islamis Group (GARIS)" radical group, an affiliate of IS group, national police spokesman Inspector General Mohammad Iqbal said. "They want to stage jihad (a holy war) during May 21 and 22 rallies," Iqbal said at the chief security ministry office. The spokesman said that the GARIS group has stated its support to the IS group. The group has also sent its members to join IS group activities in Syria. Separately, Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan said on Thursday that the two-day riot has made eight dead with 737 others injured. Defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said that the furious mass who engaged in the riots were not under his control, according to former chairman of Constitutional Court Mahfud MD. Previously, the police has said that militants have plotted bombing strikes during rally opposing the presidential poll result, imposing terror alert status in the capital from May 21 to 25. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:49:08|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close by Tichaona Chifamba HARARE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese company Sunny Yi Feng Tiles (Zimbabwe), which operates factories 40 km from Harare, is expected to reach full production soon, its management has said. The firm started putting up structures at its Norton premises outside the Zimbabwean capital toward end of 2018. It now runs three factories that put out tiles, cardboard boxes for packaging, and provide logistical support. The company, which has 800 local and 200 Chinese employees, started producing tiles on May 12, just a year after it was registered in the country. It now produces 25,000 square meters of tile a day, about 71 percent of its installed capacity of 35,000 square meters a day. Company president Tang Yi told Xinhua on Thursday that 600 additional jobs would be created when the firm operates at full capacity. "The 120 million U.S. dollar project has taken shape and three factories are now in production. One factory is for tile production, the other is printing boxes for packaging tiles while the third is the logistical support unit. "We are on schedule. We intend to set up six factories here and we expect another factory possibly by July," Tang said. Sunny Yi Feng plans to sell 70 percent of its tiles in the region and potentially to Europe, while the remainder will be consumed locally. In an interview earlier, the political counselor at the Chinese embassy, Zhao Baogang, said the success of Sunny Yi Feng would attract more investors from China to Zimbabwe. "This is one of the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative where we come to invest and create jobs and also eliminate poverty. "Can you imagine that they started in October last year and only a few months down the line, they have built very big factories?" Zhao said. "This is the Chinese speed of doing things and with this kind of speed, Zimbabwe's economy will be turned around in the near future." If Zimbabwe further improve the ease of doing business, particularly access to power, water and land, more Chinese investors would come, he said. Raw materials for tile making at Sunny Yi Feng are obtained locally, largely from Mazowe, Chegutu, Selous and Chakari. The company plans to invest in an industrial park where everything required in the construction process, except steel and cement, would be found. Sunny Yi Feng also plans to build houses and a shopping mall nearby to help cut transport time and costs for employees. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 19:59:18|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Yuan Renguo, former chairman of Kweichow Moutai Group, has been formally arrested for taking bribes, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) Thursday. The Guizhou Provincial Supervisory Commission has completed the investigation into Yuan's case and handed it to prosecuting agencies, said a statement on the SPP website. The Guiyang Municipal People's Procuratorate is handling Yuan's case. Yuan was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and public office for multiple offenses including graft and hindering official investigations, according to a statement issued by the CPC Guizhou Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection on Wednesday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:19:31|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close KABUL, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces' crackdowns against the armed opposition groups have killed at least 21 anti-government militants including five fighters of the Islamic State (IS) over the past 24 hours in the militancy-battered Afghanistan, officials said Thursday. In the latest operations, government forces, pounded the hideouts of the IS group in Nurgal district of eastern Kunar province on Thursday killing five armed insurgents, said an army statement. The statement said security forces would continue to chase insurgents in the country. Government forces also targeted a hideout of the Taliban outfit in Charbolak district of northern Balkh province late Wednesday night killing two militants including Taliban group commander Qari Hamidullah on the spot and wounding three others, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said. The government forces operations from the ground and air have killed 14 Taliban fighters in northern Takhar, eastern Wardak and Paktia provinces over the past 24 hours, officials said. Meanwhile, Zabihullah Majahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit, in contact with media has disputed the claim and in counter-claim insisted that the armed group's fighters had inflicted huge casualties on government forces over the period. Fighting has gotten momentum in Afghanistan since launching the annual spring offensive by the Taliban outfit on April 12 in the war-battered country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:39:49|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close by Peerzda Arshad Hamid NEW DELHI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- As counting of votes for India's 17th general elections is still underway, trends Thursday showed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to win the elections with a landslide victory, official data showed. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), BJP was leading with 295 seats, and together with the alliance partners under the banner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), they were leading on 344 seats. The country's main opposition, Congress party, was leading on 53 seats, and together with the alliance partners under the banner of United Progressive Alliance (UPA), they were leading on 90 seats. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself won in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi with a margin of over 460,000 votes while BJP President Amit Shah won in Gujarat's Gandhinagar by over 550,000 votes. Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi was trailing by 19,000 votes from his Uttar Pradesh's Amethi constituency. However, from his second seat in Kerala's Wayanad constituency he was leading by over 400,000 votes. Through the campaign, Modi projected himself as the strong leader who could protect the country. However, opposition's salvos for targeting Modi for rising unemployment, agrarian crisis, corruption, currency ban (demonetisation) and religious divides seemed not to have worked. "We never expected BJP would win with such a landslide," a Congress party leader on condition of anonymity told Xinhua. "It also means we were unable to convince people." The trends showed the BJP sweeping in states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Karnataka that were recently won by Congress party. Even in national capital Delhi, the BJP is leading on all the seven seats. The 2019 elections for lower house of the Indian parliament locally known as Lok Sabha spanned over six weeks. The staggered seven-phase polling that began on April 11 concluded on Sunday. The 2019 elections registered 67.11 percent voter turnout, the highest ever so far in the history of Indian parliamentary elections. In India's 543-strong parliament, a party or coalition needs at least 272 seats to form government. During 2014 elections, the BJP bagged 282 seats and Congress party was reduced to opposition with just 44 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter and described his party's spectacular performance as country's victory. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! Vijayi Bharat (Victorious India)," Modi wrote on Twitter. Exit polls have indicated that the BJP will get a comfortable majority. Twelve of 14 exit polls predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will get full majority with seats ranging from 282 to 365. However, in the past, exit polls have proved to be wrong many times. Reports pouring in from the BJP offices across India say the party supporters have started celebrations by setting off firecrackers, beating drums and dancing, besides distributing sweets. The main opposition alliance, which is headed by the Congress party, has concede their defeat. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:44:55|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BEIRUT, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese state security forces arrested on Thursday 54 Syrian nationals in al-Souwayri in Bekaa for their illegal entry to Lebanon, Al Jadeed local TV Channel reported. The security forces also arrested a human smuggler for facilitating the entry of the 54 Syrians. The arrested people, including women and children, were referred to judicial bodies for further investigations and other legal procedures. The Lebanese government has barred the UN refugee agency from registering Syrian refugees without guarantors, work visas or visas for transit since 2015. Such measures led to a rise in the number of Syrian refugees attempting to enter Lebanon illegally. North Korea has attracted a record 450 foreign companies, about a half of them Chinese, to an international trade fair that opened in Pyongyang on Monday despite international sanctions. But the regime still seems nervous of unrest at home amid its economic difficulties and is cracking down on any nascent discontent. According to state media, 450 companies from China, Russia, Pakistan, Poland and other countries are participating in the 22nd Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair until Friday. That is an increase of a massive 70 percent from last year. In 2014, some 300 foreign firms attended, but their number fell after UN sanctions were put in place. Prof. William Brown of Georgetown University told Radio Free Asia that there are expectations that the sanctions will be eased sooner or later after a series of summits with South Korea and the U.S., and the regime also seems to be optimistic. About half of the foreign exhibitors are Chinese. A researcher at a government-funded think tank here speculated, "North Korea's exports to China are declining due to UN Security Council sanctions, but North Korea-China trade will probably gain steam in areas that aren't affected by them." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:44:58|Editor: zh Video Player Close Comissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Pierre Krahenbuhl speaks during a press conference in Gaza City, May 23, 2019. Krahenbuhl said on Thursday that the agency will continue to provide services to Palestinian refugees despite financial difficulties. (Xinhua/Stringer) GAZA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Comissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Pierre Krahenbuhl said on Thursday that the agency will continue to provide services to Palestinian refugees despite financial difficulties. "UNRWA will not end its role and stop its services," Krahenbuhl said during a press conference at the headquarters of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. "We regret the difficult humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where about 1.3 million refugees are suffering," Krahenbuhl said, adding that the crisis here is not only about food and drink, but also about "dignity and a stable life." He called for the international community to pay attention to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to make every effort to mobilize financial support for the Gaza Strip. UNRWA had brought 500 staff members back to their works despite funding problems, he said, adding that "the agency decided to increase the budget of the health section to meet the high needs in this area." The official said that the fiscal deficit of UNRWA had reached 200 million U.S dollars and 42 countries helped the agency to overcome its financial crisis last year. "We will do our best and make every effort to provide food assistance to refugees in the Gaza Strip and we need 60 million dollars to buy food," he said. He concluded by saying that the agency is continuing its work until a fair solution for Palestinian refugees is created. On Tuesday, UNRWA warned that its financial crisis threatens investment in primary health infrastructure and health care services offered to all Palestinian refugees. UNRWA reported that despite unprecedented financial challenges in 2018, the agency had provided services to a total of 5.4 million refugees from Palestine and continued to provide uninterrupted medical services. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:45:01|Editor: zh Video Player Close Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara (C), who claimed to be the head of Rwanda rebel group National Liberation Force, is escorted by police to a court for a hearing in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, on May 23, 2019. Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara pleaded guilty on Thursday in a court in the Rwandan capital Kigali to all the 16 charges he faces, including terrorism, murder. (Xinhua/Cyril Ndegeya) KIGALI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara, who claimed to be the head of Rwanda rebel group National Liberation Force, pleaded guilty on Thursday in a court in the Rwandan capital Kigali to all the 16 charges he faces, including terrorism, murder. Other charges against him include kidnapping, armed robbery, genocide denial, arson and forgery. During the hearing, Nsabimana gave an account of his rebel activities, including efforts to meet Burundian and Ugandan military officials in search of military and diplomatic support as the prosecution alleges. Nsabimana said National Liberation Force did meet Ugandan military officials and that by the time of his arrest plans of a follow-up meeting were underway. He entered a guilty plea to save court's time because he is aware that the prosecution has enough evidence for his crimes, said Nsabimana. Nsabimana asked for forgiveness from Rwandans, the Rwandan president and families of people who lost their lives due to insurgence activities of his rebel group. The court will announce its decision on his bail application on May 28. The Rwandan government first announced the arrest of Nsabimana on April 30. Nsabimana, in an interview with the BBC Kinyarwanda service last July, claimed that National Liberation Force had started an armed struggle in Rwanda to oust the Rwandan government. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:50:06|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BEIRUT, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will work on boosting business ties, local media reported on Thursday. "Lebanese Tripoli's Chamber of Commerce and the embassy of UAE in Lebanon have identified possible ways to enhance the flow of investments to Tripoli's developmental, economic and social projects," Toufic Dabbousi, head of Tripoli's Chamber of Commerce, was quoted as saying by the National News Agency. His remarks came during his meeting with UAE Ambassador to Lebanon Hamad Bin Saeed Al Shamsi. Dabbousi added that Tripoli is launching huge projects that can be of great interest to the UAE. "We have invited the ambassador to a meeting about the big projects that the city will launch in the near future," he said. Dabbousi also praised the UAE for its role in strengthening economic and social causes in the Arab world. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 20:50:08|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The United States should show sincerity and correct their wrong practices if the country wants to continue Sino-U.S. trade talks, China's commerce ministry said Thursday. China's stance on talks has always been clear, Gao Feng, spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference. The United States has been escalating trade frictions using various moves, dealing a heavy blow to bilateral economic and trade talks, Gao said. "Only on the basis of equal treatment and mutual respect will talks be likely to move on," Gao said. He added that China will never compromise on major issues of principle, as cooperation is based on certain principles and there are bottom lines for negotiations. Gao pointed out that the latest wrong practices of the United States added to economic and trade tension, not only seriously hurting the interests of enterprises and consumers of both countries, but also having a recessionary impact on global economy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has lowered its forecast for global economic growth, saying that trade tensions have weighed on global growth and will continue to threaten investment and growth. Wu Peng (L), Chinese Ambassador to Kenya receives a gift from Churchill Otieno, Chairman of the Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) during a Press Club luncheon organized by the KEG in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, May 21, 2019. China and Kenya have deepened mutual political trust and expanded cooperation over the years, pushing their relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Wu Peng said on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Charles Onyango) NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China and Kenya have deepened mutual political trust and expanded cooperation over the years, pushing their relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Wu Peng said on Tuesday. Wu said increased cooperation has seen China's non-financial direct investment in Kenya record double-fold increase to about 520 million U.S. dollars in 2018. "Now we have over 400 Chinese companies in Kenya, creating thousands of jobs for local community," Wu said. "Both sides enjoy frequent exchanges in education, science and culture. The China-Africa Joint Research Center and China-Kenya Joint Laboratory for Crop Molecular Biology have been operating smoothly in Kenya," Wu said during the sixth press club meeting in Nairobi. Since 2015, he said, China has provided over 67,000 training opportunities for Kenyans. "Currently, over 2,400 Kenyan students are studying in China. In 2018, over 81,000 Chinese tourists traveled to Kenya for leisure and adventure," he said. Wu observed that China's funding to Kenya and other developing countries is aimed at development. "China always attaches high importance to debt sustainability. Before making decisions, Chinese companies and banks, even the third party, go through rigorous feasibility studies, evaluation, and review of a country's credit rating,"said Wu, who used the occasion to discuss some hot topics about the China-Kenya partnership. Huge infrastructural projects like the standard gauge railway (SGR) may take long to yield returns, but they are solid and valid assets, whose value will grow in time, he stressed. The SGR, according to Wu, is a flagship project that showcases the fast speed and high quality of China-Kenya cooperation. The building of Mombasa-Nairobi SGR has driven the Kenya's economic growth by 1.5 percent and created 46,000 jobs for local residents. He said the train shortened the Nairobi-Mombasa trip from over 10 hours to five hours. Since its launch in May 2017, with an average booking rate of 99 percent, over 2.77 million passengers have traveled by the SGR, and around 4.2 million tonnes of goods have been transported, said Wu. Job applicants visit a stand at a career fair of Chinese companies in Nairobi, Kenya, on Oct. 29, 2018. An organization of Chinese companies in Kenya on Monday opened a career fair here offering more than 1,000 job opportunities to Kenyans. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu) In the first full year of operation, SGR earned nearly 10.33 billion Kenyan shillings (about 103 million dollars, which is very close to the operation cost of 120 million dollars a year, he said, adding that for an infrastructural project of SGR's magnitude, it is not easy to achieve near break-even in one year. China and Kenya are currently discussing the construction of the Mombasa Special Economic Zone and the Naivasha Industrial Park, said the ambassador. "With the development of the industrial chain from railway transportation, port economy to industrial parks, we have every reason to believe that SGR will benefit Kenya's efforts towards industrialization, and strongly boost Kenya's GDP growth significantly." He noted that China does not pursue a policy of trade surplus with Kenya, adding it is paying great attention to Kenya's desire to expand exports. "We understand how important agricultural exports are to Kenya. Consequently, we have been working hard to expand China's imports for Kenya's agricultural produce," said Wu. Last year, China and Kenya signed an agreement on export of stevia to China. An agreement on the export of frozen avocados was also signed, which makes Kenya the first African country to export avocados to China, he added. He said the two countries are working to seal the deal on export of fresh avocados, as well as working on other horticultural products. Christopher Chika, head of Asia and Australasia affairs at Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Kenya will continue to engage with China as long as the relationship is beneficial. "Our relationship is based on mutual respect and equality. China plays a great role in stabilizing Africa and we shall work with the Chinese nationally, regionally and internationally," Chika said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:20:36|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MANILA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines said it has rejected Canada's new proposal to ship back tons of trash it dumped in the Philippines by June 30, the spokesperson of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday. "They said it will take the end of June. The president will not agree with this. I understand from (Finance) Secretary (Carlos) Dominguez that it will be set the soonest. The trash will be sent back the soonest," the Philippine Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a news conference. He said the shipment "could be this week or the week after." "Definitely not at the end of June." Panelo was reacting to the statement of Catherine McKenna, the Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, which said a Canadian company will begin preparation for shipping of the garbage in the coming days, and that the removal will be completed "by the end of June". "The cost associated with the preparation, transfer, shipment, and disposal of the waste will be assumed by the government of Canada," McKenna said. However, Panelo said the Philippine president will not agree to delay the shipment, adding that Duterte has already ordered the immediate shipment of trash to Ottawa. Outraged by Canada's inaction to resolve the trash issue, Duterte has ordered on Wednesday "immediate" shipment of garbage back to Canada and the Philippines will pay for the shipping cost. "President Duterte is upset about the inordinate delay of Canada in shipping back its containers of garbage. We are extremely disappointed with Canada's neither here nor there pronouncement on the matter," Panelo told reporters on Wednesday. Duterte's order came after Canada failed to meet the May 15 deadline imposed by the Philippine government for Canada to ship back the garbage. A day after the May 15 deadline lapsed, the Philippines recalled its ambassador and consuls general back to Manila. The Canadian garbage has been sitting in the Philippines for about six years. In 2013 and 2014, a Canadian company, Chroic Inc., exported more than 100 containers labeled as recyclable plastics to two importers in the Philippines. The Philippine Bureau of Customs discovered the shipment contained a mixture of plastics, metals, and paper as well as household waste. Only 69 shipping containers are quarantined in ports in Manila and Subic Freeport north of Manila. Thirty-four of the containers were already disposed of. Since March 2014, the Philippine government has been appealing to the Canadian embassy in the Philippines and the Canadian government to ship the garbage back to Canada, but the long-running issue still remains unsolved. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:25:42|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen will attend the 75th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand on May 27, said a foreign ministry's statement on Thursday. Hun Sen's upcoming attendance was announced following an invitation extended by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the Executive Secretary of the UN-ESCAP, the statement said. The Cambodian prime minister will deliver a keynote address in the opening session, focusing on Cambodia's experiences in socio-economic development thereby improving the quality of life of all Cambodian people, it said. Hun Sen's entourage will include Ly Thuch, president of the National Committee for Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and Ing Kantha Phavi, minister of women's affairs, and other senior government officials, the statement added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:30:48|Editor: zh Video Player Close Palestinian young men Amin Abed (R) and Mohammed al-Bourno work on their campaign in Gaza City, May 22, 2019. A group of Palestinian youths in the Gaza Strip have established an online campaign to refute the "Israeli narration." (Xinhua/Stringer) GAZA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A group of Palestinian youths in the Gaza Strip have established an online campaign to refute the "Israeli narration." The campaign was named as "Ihbid 194" as the word "Ihbid" in Arabic means "lying". "We chose this word specially to mention the false Israeli narrations and reveal the true story to the world," said Amin Abed, one of the campaign's organizers. He added that they used the number "194" because the UN General Assembly Resolution 194 was adopted for the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their land. And the organizers hope Palestine to be the 194th member of the United Nations. Abed, 33 years old and living in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, stressed that the Palestinian youths live under hard conditions, noting the continued clashes and the Palestinian internal division are affecting negatively on the Palestinians' lives in Gaza. "The worst thing we are suffering is the Israeli war against us in the Gaza Strip," he said. "We are also suffering from the false Israeli narrations that let the international community believe most of the time that we have equal rights like the Israelis." In the latest military escalation between Israel and the Palestinian factions, "we noticed that the Israeli leaders tweeted several times to tell untruth in Gaza," Abed said. He said those posts "choked" and pushed him to refute the false claims through launching the Ihbid 194 campaign. "We reacted to the Israeli officials and got involved in discussions with their Western fans, which brought new supporters for Palestine issue and the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza," he added. On May 4, a military escalation was launched between Israel and Palestinian military factions, leaving 27 Palestinians killed and more than 155 others wounded, according the Palestinian medics. Meanwhile, the military escalation left four Israelis killed and about 140 others wounded, said the Israeli reports. Al-Habid, a youth movement from Gaza, helped organize the campaign to replace the false Israeli narrations with real ones, Mohammed al-Bourno, another organizer of the campaign, told Xinhua. "We succeeded to earn more supporters for our Palestinian issue," he said, stressing the campaign aims to react to the posts on social media by Israeli officials, international leaders and media that support the Israeli narrations against the Palestinians. He added that the campaign is not supported by any political party; it is purely "national and patriotic," set up by the efforts of Palestinian youths. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:30:51|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BEIRUT, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The ousted governor of the Iraqi province of Kirkuk, Najmeddin Karim, was released by Lebanon's General Security until further questioning, local media reported on Thursday. The former Kurdish governor was arrested by the Interpol in Beirut on Tuesday for being wanted by Iraqi authorities on charges of embezzlement, the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported. Karim, detained after arriving at Beirut's airport, has been banned from leaving Lebanon while his American passport was confiscated. In the meantime, Lebanese authorities are awaiting to receive Karim's judicial file from Iraqi authorities. Karim will stay in Lebanon until his file is sent to Lebanese authorities for them to take the appropriate action. Karim is believed to be a driving force behind the 2017 independence referendum held in the Kurdistan region in Iraq. He was ousted by Iraqi Parliament in response to this vote. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:35:55|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close TIANJIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Audience in north China's Tianjin Municipality enjoyed a concert given by the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Tianjin Grand Theater Wednesday. The famed U.S. orchestra performed Richard Wagner's Lohengrin, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43 and Schubert's Symphony No.9. during the two-hour performance. Chinese pianist Zhang Haochen played the solo piano in Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody. Tianjin is the orchestra's second stop after Beijing on its 2019 Tour of China from May 16-28. The performance was arranged in celebration of the 39th anniversary of Tianjin forging friendly-city ties with Philadelphia of the U.S. The orchestra has maintained close ties with China since its first visit in 1973, and symphonies especially classic music have become a part of the urban life of Chinese people, according to Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of Philadelphia Orchestra. Founded in 1900, the Philadelphia Orchestra was the first U.S. orchestra to make a China tour since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Since then, it has traveled to China frequently, representing a bridge for cultural, educational and people-to-people exchanges. The orchestra for 2019 Tour of China is led by musical director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and aimed to mark the four-decades milestone in U.S.-China diplomatic relations. The tour will also take the orchestra to Hangzhou, Nanjing and Shanghai. Kathmandu, May 23 Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, has claimed that her governments flagship international cooperation project, Belt and Road Initiative, will not put Nepal and any other country in any debt trap. Addressing a press conference in Kathmandu on Thursday morning, the envoy said, Some countries raise the questions whether the BRI adds to the debt of some countries and creates a debt trap, our answer is no. Businesses, as the main players in BRI cooperation, will naturally act according to the law of the market so that they dont end up losing money, she explained, For most developing countries, they need funds and investments in order to achieve development. China, as other international financial institutions do, offers help in the form of funds based on equal consultation and without any additional political condition. Instead, the project would help some countries come out of the trap, according to her. In another context, Hou said her President Xi Jinping would make a visit to Nepal at a convenient time soon. Recalling that President Bidya Devi Bhandari reminded Xi of a Nepal visit invitation, the Ambassador said, President Xi Jinping expressed that he was willing to visit Nepal at the convenient and suitable time for both sides. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:46:02|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Forced displacement caused African countries a "significant loss of human potential" as the continent hosts the largest forced displaced population globally, experts and policymakers said on Thursday. They said this as part of the latest edition of the African Dialogue Series (ADS-2019), which is being held with the overarching theme of "Towards Durable Solutions for Forcibly Displaced Persons in Africa," the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) revealed in a statement on Thursday. The ECA stressed that the three-day African Dialogue Series aspires on finding durable solutions to Africa's migration problem. "Forced displacement is a growing burden on the continent's economy, environment and communities which host those displaced," the statement read. The African Dialogue Series bring together a wide range of actors towards finding ways to deal with the issue of displacement, including representatives of African countries, the AU, high-level UN officials, representatives from civil society organizations, the ECA, and the private sector, it was noted. "Africa is home to over 24 million forcibly displaced persons, representing one-third of the world's total. Forced displacement is not only a tale of human tragedy, it also poses a real threat to achieving peace, prosperity and development," the statement quoted Bience Gawanas, the UN's Special Adviser on Africa. According to Gawanas, "vast amount of resources are spent on forced displacement" mainly caused by conflict and natural disasters. He further noted that forced displacement "diverts vital funds away from critical areas with potentially greater impact for sustainable development in Africa." Forcible displacement bear a far greater impact on Africa as it contributes to "a significant loss of human potential, with highly skilled and educated people unable to use their skills in meaningful ways," the special adviser argued. "These are brainpowers that could be harnessed in service of Africa to address some of the intractable problems facing the continent," Gawanas said, adding "This is a loss to society." The special adviser also stressed the vital contribution of ADS, as one of the several activities being organized throughout 2019, "to raise global awareness of the challenge of forced displacement." On Wednesday, the ECA had urged African countries and pan African institutions to find lasting solutions to forced displacement in Africa as the continent commemorates Africa Day on Saturday. Africa Day, which is annually commemorated on May 25, marks the foundation of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of African Union (AU) and its legacies to the betterment and unity of Africa. According to the ECA, conflicts, human rights violations, natural disasters, serious public health problems, and humanitarian crisis are potential causes of forced displacement across the African continent. The ADS-2019 - organized by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, in collaboration with the AU, the AU Development Agency, the ECA, as well as various other UN agencies - is underway from May 21 to 23 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:46:04|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ALGIERS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Libyan UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Thursday arrived in Algeria for a one-day official visit, state-run Radio Channel 1 reported. Accompanied by Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala and a group of advisors and military officials, al-Sarraj was welcomed by his Algerian counterpart Noureddine Bedoui upon his landing at Algiers International Airport. The Libyan prime minister is due to hold talks with Algerian officials over the developments in war-torn Libya and the ways to restore peace in the country under the UN-backed peace deal signed between the warring parties in the Moroccan town of Skhirat in 2015. Libya has been witnessing fierce battles near Tripoli since the east-based army led by Khalifa Haftar launched a military campaign in early April to take over the Libyan capital from the UN-backed government. In an earlier statement on the latest developments in Libya, Algeria reaffirmed its commitment to all-out efforts to restore peace and security in Libya. File Photo: Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai delivers a keynote speech during the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Pig Gala in New York, the United States, Jan. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) LEXINGTON, the United States, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai on Wednesday denounced Washington's arbitrary sanctions against Chinese tech companies. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the fifth China-U.S. Governors Forum, Cui said those sanctions show that the United States is "at the end of their wit." "The United States is the most powerful developed country in the world, the single superpower. How did it come to a point where it resolves to sanctions despite having better approaches at hand?" Cui said. "Why can't it negotiate with others? Why can't it consider the opinion of others? Why can't it accommodate reasonable concerns of others?" Cui added. The United States recently slapped restrictions on sale and transfer of American technologies to Chinese telecom giant Huawei, and is reportedly mulling cutting off the flow of U.S. technology to more Chinese companies. The ambassador said he cannot sway or predict Washington's decision, but hopes the United States "will not repeat itself." In view of the ongoing trade tensions between the two countries, Cui noted that the China-U.S. relationship is facing complexities, but there is hope that robust local-level cooperation can turn the tide. "I hope positive factors at the local levels will triumph over the negatives in certain areas, not the other way around," Cui said. Initiated in 2011, the China-U.S. Governors Forum has become an important platform to promote exchanges and cooperation between local governments of the two countries. The U.S. state of Kentucky is hosting this year's three-day forum, which opened in the city of Lexington on Wednesday. It will feature dialogues on business, culture, education and other issues, as well as a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding between the Chinese city of Chongqing and the U.S. state of Kentucky. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 21:51:07|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior central bank official on Thursday reiterated that China is "capable and confident" of keeping the renminbi exchange rate generally stable on a reasonable and balanced level. China has gained much experience in dealing with exchange rate fluctuations and has many policy tools available. China will strengthen macro prudential regulation and stabilize market expectations, Liu Guoqiang, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, said in an interview. Liu's comments came after renminbi depreciated against the U.S. dollar recently due to U.S.-China trade tensions. Given China's sound economic fundamentals, great resilience and huge potential, Liu believes that it is unlikely to see a currency crisis in the country. "Sound economic fundamentals will continue to bolster the renminbi exchange rate. From international experience, currency crisis hardly happen in big countries. As the world's second largest economy, China has proper macro regulation and effective market mechanism, so there is no basis for a currency crisis," he noted. China will continue to deepen reforms, add vitality to the economy, strike a balance between ensuring stable growth and preventing risks, promote the opening up of the financial sector, and optimize the structure of the financial system to ensure the renminbi exchange rate stays generally stable, Liu said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:01:13|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday underscored more targeted training services for workers in a bid to create a knowledge-based, skill-oriented and innovative workforce. The launch of large-scale vocational training is a key measure to improve people's employability and entrepreneurial ability, ease structural employment problems, and boost employment. It also bolsters the high-quality economic development, Li said in a written instruction to a teleconference on professional training. Li stressed good use to be made of a 100-billion-yuan (about 14.8 billion U.S. dollars) unemployment insurance fund and other training capital to train workforces. Authorities should provide more targeted training for on-post staff, workers rotating to other posts in struggling firms, key employment groups and poor laborers. Employees in high-risk industries should get more training in workplace safety techniques. Authorities should arouse the enthusiasm of enterprises, vocational schools and social training organizations to participate in training, strengthen supervision over training capital and improve fund utilization, to create a knowledge-based, skill-oriented and innovative workforce and promote healthy economic development and stable employment. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:06:17|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NEW DELHI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Main opposition leader and Indian National Congress (INC) party president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday conceded defeat and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the just-concluded 17th general elections. "The BJP and the INC have different ideologies and visions. Modi and the BJP have their ideology, and the INC has its own. We will continue with our ideology and vision. There are many people in the country who believe in the INC's ideologies and policies," said Gandhi while appealing to his partymen who lost the elections not to lose heart but continue to work together as a team. Gandhi also congratulated his arch rival and Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani who defeated him in the Amethi parliamentary constituency in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. "I congratulate Smriti Irani, and I hope she will take care of Amethi constituency," he added. Addressing media at his party headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said, "Today the election results have been announced. A new prime minister will take over. Our countrymen have given their verdict, and we respect that." Later, Gandhi tweeted, "I accept the verdict of the people of India. Congratulations to the winners, Mr. Modi & the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign." According to the official Election Commission of India's (ECI) website, the BJP has already won 37 constituencies and is leading in as many as 266 constituencies, which is expected to take its total tally to over 300. On the other hand, the INC has won 10 constituencies and is leading in 39 constituencies, which might take its total tally to 49. Buoyed by the impressive election results, Modi tweeted, "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! Victorious India." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:06:19|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A Kenya-based conservationist said that saving the northern white rhino from extinction can be done scientifically. Richard Vigne, managing director of Ol Pejeta Conservancy that provides sanctuary for some of the region's most endangered species and is home to two of the world's remaining northern white rhinos, said on Wednesday that the species can be saved from extinction methodically using the last two remaining females that have found refuge at the sanctuary. "In order to prevent the extinction from happening in totality, the only way it can be done is through in vitro fertilization (IVF)," Vigne told Xinhua in Nanyuki, in central Kenya, on the sidelines of the launch of the world's first conservation technology lab. "There have been a number of successful attempts to remove eggs from zoo-held southern white females and it is hoped that an ovum pick-up attempt will be made on the last two remaining northern white females soon," he said. "It is complicated, very expensive but possible, and will require the removal of eggs from the ovaries of the two females to be fertilized using semen stored from males over the last few years to create viable mature embryos for storage in liquid nitrogen," Vigne added. He said once this has been achieved, a technique will be used to reintroduce the embryos into a surrogate southern female, because the two northern females are infertile, with the aim of achieving pure-bred northern white pregnancies. The conservationist said to that end, Ol Pejeta has begun preparing the herd of six southern white rhino females that will act as surrogates for the northern white rhino embryos when they are ready. "Then we have to create a breeding herd of northern white rhinos which will provide a platform for the introduction of that species," he said. "We are working with various partners in South Africa and in Europe and we are waiting for permission from the Kenya government to start to remove eggs from the two remaining females here." "The effort will cost a huge amount of money, but is a noble effort to reverse at least one of the wrongs that mankind has wreaked upon other species that inhabit this planet with us," Vigne said. The procedure is fraught with difficulties but will remind mankind that if you get down to the last two of a species, the chances of recovering that species that represents millions and millions of evolution is laborious, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:11:23|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close by Olatunji Saliu ABUJA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian government has confirmed it is set to give out indirect subsidy as incentives for disadvantaged individuals to build and use toilets to end open defecation in the country. Such subsidies will be in areas of partnership with the private sector and local cement manufacturers to reduce the cost of constructing toilets and enable the poorest persons to build and use toilets, the federal ministry of water resources said. Emmanuel Awe, the director of water quality control and sanitation at the ministry of water resources, told stakeholders at a meeting in Abuja that the possibility of building more toilets across the country would be backed with emphasis on behavioral change. The official noted efforts of the Nigerian government to end open defecation practice include the inauguration of the "Open Defecation Free Roadmap" and the "Clean Nigeria, Use a Toilet campaign." "We may not give subsidy per se to the poorest of the poor, but it may be in areas of institutional support just like building sanitation facilities in public places like schools, hospitals and giving them to the private sector to manage," Awe said. "We are also looking at how to give incentives to the states to invest more in sanitation in their budgetary allocations, the toilets must be built before the incentives are given." This insight of ending open defecation was taken from the efforts by the Indian government in halting open defecation among 450 million persons in three years, according to Awe. About 47 million Nigerians still indulge in open defecation in the most populous African country, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday. Out of the 47 million people, the north-central region has 53.9 percent, making it the highest region practicing open defecation in the country, UNICEF said at the beginning of a two-day media dialogue in Kano State. The southwest region has 28 percent, the northeast has 21.8 percent, northwest 10.3 percent, the Niger Delta region 17.9 percent, while the southeast has 22.4 percent, according to the UN agency's data. Only 64 percent of Nigerians have access to basic drinking water services, 42 percent have access to basic sanitation services, while only 20 percent have fixed lace for hand washing with soap and water, the data showed. On May 8, the Nigerian government approved the inauguration of a national campaign as part of efforts toward making the country free from open defecation by 2025. Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu earlier told reporters that the government has also approved funds which would be sourced from annual budgetary allocation and grants from development partners to promote the national campaign tagged "Clean Nigeria, Use The Toilet." Only 10 out of a total of 774 local government areas in Nigeria do not practice open defecation. And that figure shows that only about 21,000 communities in the West African country are free from open defecation, Adamu said. The national campaign had become very necessary as the situation of sanitation in Nigeria is alarming and worrisome, the official noted. Nigeria is next to India in the global ranking of countries where open defecation is practiced. India, which has been working for the past four years to end open defecation, is set to declare itself free from it by October. Bioye Ogunjobi, a Water Sanitation And Hygiene (WASH) specialist of UNICEF, told Xinhua that only six percent of Nigerian schools have basic gender sensitive WASH services, while five percent of Nigerian health facilities have basic sensitive WASH services. Also, only 12 percent of markets and motor parks have basic WASH services. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet members have agreed to be named first level ambassadors for the national campaign to end the open defecation, by providing the needed leadership and commitment for the successful implementation of the campaign. The campaign has become critical to reducing the high prevalence of water-borne diseases which have caused preventable deaths in all parts of Nigeria. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:11:26|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TOKYO, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed on his congratulations to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday for his party's general election win, the foreign ministry said here. The ministry said that during a telephone conversation between the two leaders, Abe, among other things, said he wished to enhance two-way ties and further cooperate with Modi. Modi, for his part, said that India's relationship with Japan has been beneficial and that he hopes ties could be further elevated. The pair are slated to meet at a Group of 20 summit in Osaka in Japan next month. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:16:29|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ZAGREB, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Croatian Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic announced here on Thursday that the government is negotiating with the U.S. and Sweden about the purchase of fighter jets. The concrete results are expected by the end of the year, the minister told reporters after the government session. "In my opinion, fighter jets are necessary because state and its military are stronger with them. The Croatian government is still determined to provide this strategic issue. We are having conversations with the U.S. and Sweden, and we will notify the Croatian public once there is something concrete," Krsticevic told reporters. He noted that Croatia has learned a lot in its first purchase attempt that failed in January. Last year, Croatia accepted the Israeli offer of 12 used, but upgraded, F-16 fighter jets in an effort to modernize its air force and replace its aging MIG-21 fighter jets. The 3.1-billion-kuna (about 479 million U.S. dollars) deal was canceled after Israel failed to get approval from Washington to sell these jets. The U.S.-made jets were modernized, and Washington noted that it would approve the sale only after the jets are stripped of electronics that was installed by the Israeli Air Force. Due to the failed deal with Israel, in February the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) initiated the vote of no-confidence in the parliament, but the motion was rejected by the majority. "We know the cost of it from the first attempt, we know how other countries such as Slovakia and Bulgaria have tackled this issue, we have gathered experience and we are determined to solve this issue," the defense minister said on Thursday. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:21:37|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LUSAKA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Foreign mining firms operating in Zambia said on Thursday that the legal action taken by the government to take over Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a unit of India's Vedanta Resources Ltd, risks typecasting all investors and diverting attention from the issues hurting the industry. The government, through the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings, has placed KCM under receivership and appointed a liquidator due to alleged breach of contractual obligations by the Indian miner. While acknowledging that the action the government may have taken is the right legal process, the Chamber of Mines said sentiments coming from sections of society were not assuring to investors in the sector. "We must strive for less emotive investor narrative. Zambia needs investment. The government needs bond holders. Businesses great and small need capital, and Zambia's mines need continuous investment to remain productive," Goodwell Mateyo, president of the mining association, said in a statement. "There is a shortage of capital in Zambia, so we must look elsewhere for this investment." The investors need to see clear and consistent guidance from government on its intentions and actions it proposes to take, he said, adding that the business environment in Zambia needs to attract responsible investors. "Ultimately, the chamber is concerned about the future of the entire mining industry, than that of its individual members," Mateyo said. "The KCM story has created a social media frenzy, but it is distracting us from the real issues at play here, which is the increasingly unbearable tax burden in a country where most mines are already regarded to be high-cost operations." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:21:40|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday the government was working on plans aimed at enabling Tanzanians living abroad to participate in the 2020 general elections. Majaliwa told parliament in the capital Dodoma that the government was in the process of establishing the exact number of Tanzanians living abroad who were eligible to vote for the October presidential and parliamentary elections. "The process will also seek to establish if Tanzanians living abroad were holding the country's citizenship and what they were doing there," he told the House. Majaliwa made the statement when he was answering a special-seat member of parliament Asha Abdullah Juma who wanted to know what the government was doing to allow Tanzanians living abroad to vote in the forthcoming polls. She said the government was likely to tarnish its good image if it failed to accommodate Tanzanians living abroad to participate in the elections. Majaliwa said the government was doing all it could to find the best way of allowing Tanzanians living abroad to participate in the elections but it required a long process. In the 2015 general elections about 1.5 million Tanzanians living and working overseas did not participate in the general elections after the government failed to register them. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:26:46|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday denied a diplomatic spat with neighboring Somalia. Macharia Kamau, principal secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told journalists in Nairobi that Kenya has always been facilitating Somali citizens who are living in Kenya. "We just need to understand each other. Somalia needs to respect our territorial integrity while Kenya needs to respect that there are certain needs it has to avail to Somalia," Kamau said. Earlier this week, three Somali government officials with diplomatic passports were denied entry into Kenya at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Kamau said the incident does not mean that there is a deterioration in relations between Kenya and Somalia. The incident was just an immigration issue, he said. "Nationals of other countries were also denied entry into Kenya and this don't amount to diplomatic incidences," he added. Kamau said Kenya has had a long history of assisting neighbors in their hour of need. "We have been hosting refugees from Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia for many decades," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:26:48|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Health Minister Nizar Yazigi discussed on Thursday with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, the impact of the economic sanctions on the health sector in Syria, state news agency SANA reported. Speaking in Geneva, Yazigi told Ghebreyesus his ministry's efforts to reach full medical coverage in Syria amid the challenges of the destruction of hospitals and medical centers as a result of the war and economic sanctions. Over the past year, the Syrian government rehabilitated dozens of medical centers and vital sections in the hospitals, he said, hoping the WHO could play a bigger role in such efforts. The Syrian minister also pointed to the need for bigger efforts to lift the economic sanctions on Syria, as the sanctions are hindering the delivery of certain medicines and medical equipment to Syria. For his part, Ghebreyesus expressed appreciation of the achievements of the Syrian Health Ministry, particularly its success in eradicating polio. The WHO is continuing to provide all requirements of the health sector in Syria, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:36:56|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Photo taken on May 23, 2019 shows agriculture machinery received from China in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia. Mongolia received agriculture machinery from China on Thursday with a soft loan from the Chinese government, with senior officials from both sides attending a handover ceremony here. (Xinhua/Asigang) ULAN BATOR, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia received agriculture machinery from China on Thursday with a soft loan from the Chinese government, with senior officials from both sides attending a handover ceremony here. Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Xing Haiming said that the agriculture machinery, provided within the framework of a project on promoting the agriculture production of Mongolia and funded with a soft loan from China, will contribute greatly to the development of the Mongolian agriculture sector and further development of bilateral agricultural cooperation. Chultem Ulaan, Mongolian minister of food, agriculture and light industry, said that the much-needed agriculture equipment will help Mongolian agricultural entities to upgrade their older equipment and accelerate the development of the country's agriculture sector. "This is one of the major investments in the Mongolian agriculture sector in history," Ulaan said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 22:57:17|Editor: yan Video Player Close AMMAN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan reaffirmed on Thursday that the Palestinian issue is the central issue in the Middle East and will remain on top of Jordan's priorities. At a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, the king stressed that Jordan places all its capabilities at the disposal of the Palestinians to attain their legitimate and just rights that will result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state at the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital. King Abdullah reiterated the need to preserve the historic and legal status of Jerusalem, while pledging Jordan will continue to play its historic and religious role in safeguarding the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem based on the Hashemite Custodianship. During the meeting, the discussions were focused on the need to intensify international efforts to realize just and lasting peace to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Abbas voiced appreciation of Jordan's efforts and stand on the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem, and King Abdulla's efforts to defend the rights of the Palestinians at all fronts. The meeting came ahead of an economic summit the U.S. is planning to hold in Bahrain at the end of June, which aims to improve the economic conditions of Palestine and encourage Arab and Gulf countries to invest in the Palestinian territories. The conference is the first step by the U.S. government to roll out its deal for the Palestinian-Israeli peace, widely known as Deal of the Century. The Palestinian Authority has announced its boycott of the conference to protest against the U.S. biased stand in favor of Israel following Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:02:28|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China said on Thursday it hoped the United States was serious about "returning to the negotiating table," amid escalating China-U.S. trade tensions. According to recent media reports, Chinese hi-tech firms including Huawei, DJ-Innovations and HIKvision are facing technology sales-blocking measures from the United States, which are widely considered as a tactic to ratchet up pressure on China. At the same time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States was open to a new round of trade talks, expressing hope that the two sides could return to the negotiating table. "As we have stated many times, the door is wide open on the Chinese side. For talks to be meaningful, however, there should be sincerity on either side," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu kang said at a press briefing, when asked about China's stance on the possibility of further trade talks. "We hope the U.S. side is serious about 'returning to the negotiating table'," Lu said, adding a good agreement must be based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. U.S. arbitrary suppression with state power against Chinese science-and-technology firms out of political purposes has severely undermined scientific and technological development and cooperation worldwide, as well as impaired the interests of relevant countries' enterprises. "The U.S. move will not be endorsed by the international community, and is obviously not conducive to facilitating the trade talks," Lu added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:02:30|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes the United States using state power to suppress Chinese companies, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Thursday. China will take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate right and interests of Chinese enterprises, said Gao Feng, a spokesperson with the MOC. The United States has used state power to suppress Chinese companies, which not only seriously damaged the normal business cooperation of enterprises in the two countries, but also posed a great threat to the global industrial and supply chains, Gao noted. "China objects to the generalization of the national security concept and the crackdown on regulation-abiding Chinese firms," Gao said, urging the United States to stay rational and correct its dangerous actions. He said that China had made solemn representations to the United States and would keep up with the issue closely. Gao says that the best response to U.S. bullying is for Chinese firms to continue to grow and become stronger. As the United States keeps sniping at Chinese companies through long-arm jurisdiction, Gao said, China is firmly against any unilateral sanctions against Chinese entities by any country based on its own domestic laws. "We urge the United States to halt its wrong actions and create conditions for normal trade and cooperation between enterprises of the two countries to avoid further blows to bilateral economic and trade ties," Gao said. The Chinese government will continue to deepen reform and open up wider in a bid to create a stable, fair and predictable business environment to facilitate enterprises, and the country will provide higher-quality, reliable and diversified products to consumers worldwide, Gao said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:07:36|Editor: zh Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga on Thursday called on the country's parliament to dissolve itself. Battulga made the call while addressing a plenary session of the parliament. "Ethics of members of the parliament and parliamentary activity have worsened. Citizens have already lost their confidence in the parliament," Battulga said in his speech. "I believe that low public trust in the parliament is a major reason to dissolve the legislative body before the expiration of its term," he said. The president made the remarks after a former parliament member died in suspicious circumstances at the State House in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator last week. This is the second time the Mongolian president has made the proposal on dissolving the country's 76-seat unicameral parliament. Late last year, Battulga submitted an official letter on dissolving the parliament, after financial irregularities by some members of parliament were made public. However, then parliament speaker Miyegombo Enkhbold rejected the president's proposal, saying that there was no need to dissolve the parliament which "has been functioning normally and resolving pressing issues of the economy and society on time." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:07:37|Editor: yan Video Player Close BERLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- More than half of Germans are expecting an overall shift to the political right after the European Parliament elections due on Sunday, shows a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov sent to Xinhua on Thursday. Conducted on behalf of the German press agency (dpa), the survey, nonetheless, finds that 21 percent of the respondents do not expect a strengthening of right-wing parties in the European elections, while 27 percent gave no response to the question. Meanwhile, over the impact of the so-called "Ibiza affair" scandal in Austria on German far-right party AfD, 39 percent of the respondents do not believe it would have a negative effect on the AfD's results in the upcoming European elections. While 33 percent of Germans made no statement on whether or not they believe the Ibiza affair would affect the success of the AfD, over one quarter of Germans believe it would take toll on the far-right party. The Ibiza affair began last Friday when the German magazine Spiegel and the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung published a video of Austria's former vice-chancellor and leader of the right-wing populist Freedom Party (FPO), Heinz-Christian Strache, filmed in Ibiza in 2017, when he promised contracts, among other things, to the supposed niece of a Russian "oligarch", if she helped his FPO party win the national elections in Austria. After the publication of the video, Strache resigned from his posts in government and in the FPO on Saturday. By Monday, all FPO ministers in the Austrian government had resigned. The FPO had been governing Austria together with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's conservative OVP party since 2017. ABC/Randy HolmesThe Slipknot lineup has a new member, as a mystery percussionist has joined the band in place of the departed Chris Fehn, who left the group earlier this year over a financial dispute. As you might expect, the masked metallers are keeping the identity of that new member close to the vest. During an interview with Kerrang!, the U.K. magazine asked Shawn "Clown" Crahan if he'd care to reveal who's behind the new mask, to which he responded with a "rather emphatic 'no.'" "The position you may or may not be talking about is nobody's f***ing business," Clown said. The secrecy tracks with Slipknot's past behavior when it comes to new members. When a new bassist and drummer joined for 2014's .5: The Gray Chapter, the band refused to announce their identities. They were finally confirmed to be bassist Alessandro Venturella and drummer Jay Weinberg only after a former crew member posted a tour itinerary, revealing who was behind the masks. Rather than obsess about the identity of the new percussionist, who made his or her live debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, Crahan hopes you'll solely judge them on their performance during the band's upcoming world tour. "The proof is in the pudding," Clown says. Kerrang! notes that the interview with Crahan took place before the death of his daughter, Gabrielle, who died this past Saturday at age 22. Slipknot's new album, We Are Not Your Kind, featuring the lead single "Unsainted," is due out August 9. The band's North American tour in support of the record begins July 26 in Mountain View, California. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:12:41|Editor: yan Video Player Close NEW DELHI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the just-concluded 17th general elections, here on Thursday. The counting of votes, which began Thursday morning, has been underway. The BJP has so far won 61 constituencies and its candidates are leading in other 241 constituencies, indicating that the BJP may go on to win over 300 constituencies, out of the 542 that went to polls. Addressing his party workers at BJP headquarters, Modi said, "We had sought mandate for a New India. I bow down before the 1.3 billion countrymen on this occasion. I thank the Election Commission of India and the security personnel for carrying out the entire election process peacefully." Modi's victory-speech was at times interrupted by slogans like "Modi...Modi...Modi" by thousands of BJP supporters present on the occasion. He was accompanied by his party president Amit Shah, who is credited with forging strategic alliances with smaller parties across different states thereby ensuring BJP candidates' victories. Senior BJP leaders, including Home Minister (Internal Security) Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Health Minister J.P. Nadda were also present. Speaking on the occasion, Amit Shah said that the BJP had secured more than 50 percent of the total votes polled in as many as 17 states. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:12:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, May 23 (Xinhua) -- At least a paramilitary Hashd Shaabi fighter and a civilian were killed on Thursday in a car bomb explosion in a town near the border with Syria, a security source said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:12:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close MANILA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government said on Thursday that there was no incident of a national security breach from the local telecommunication network predominantly using Huawei equipment. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) of the Philippines said in a statement that Washington's decision to ban Huawei and its products will only affect U.S. companies. Two major telecommunication operators in the Philippines on Monday assured local users that their Huawei handsets and devices "will continue to function normally" despite the U.S. government having restricted the transfer of U.S. technologies to the Chinese firm. The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and Globe Telecom issued separate statements, saying the U.S. move to ban Huawei, one of the world's biggest telecommunications equipment suppliers and smartphone manufacturers, has no impact on their services. Both PLDT and Globe Telecom use Huawei equipment in their networks and sell Huawei phones to their subscribers. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:12:48|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the victory of his party in the general elections, the Kremlin said Thursday. "I am convinced that as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin wrote in the message. Putin confirmed his readiness to continue personal contact with Modi and work together to build up bilateral relations and interactions in international affairs. Modi announced on Thursday that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has won a majority of seats in the lower house of the parliament, which has more than 540 members. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:17:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, May 23 (Xinhua) -- At least a paramilitary Hashd Shaabi fighter and a civilian were killed on Thursday in a car bomb explosion in an Iraqi town near the border with Syria in the western province of Anbar, a provincial security source said. The attack occurred in the afternoon when a booby-trapped car ripped through a parking lot at Karabla district in the town of al-Qaim, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:17:52|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and Brazil's Vice President Hamilton Mourao hold talks and co-chair the fifth meeting of the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (COSBAN) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese vice president Wang Qishan on Thursday held talks with Brazil's Vice President Hamilton Mourao in Beijing. They also co-chaired the fifth meeting of the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (COSBAN). The Chinese-Brazilian ties have been developing steadily ever since the two countries established diplomatic ties 45 years ago, said Wang, adding that their bilateral relationship has become mature and stable relationship. The two sides maintain close communication and coordination on major international and regional issues, and have effectively promoted the solidarity and cooperation between developing and emerging market countries, Wang said. He noted that both sides are committed to promoting development through structural reforms and opening up, and said that China was ready to work with the Brazilian side to make good use of the COSBAN to jointly resist the uncertainty of the external environment, make greater contributions to the recovery of global economy, and create a new era of higher-level, broader areas and more dynamic bilateral relations. Mourao said Brazil and China respected each other and shared profound traditional friendship. The Brazilian new government attaches great importance to the comprehensive strategic partnership with China and is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the two countries as well as to promote the integration of the Belt and Road Initiative with Brazil's development strategy. Brazil is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in the multilateral arena, maintain the stability of the international system, and make contributions to promote world peace and prosperity, he said. The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, promote trade facilitation, optimize trade structure and promote high-quality growth of bilateral trade, according to a news briefing. The two sides attach great importance to dovetailing the Belt and Road Initiative with Brazil's development strategy including the investment partnership projects. The two sides agreed to continue to cooperate closely under multilateral organizations and frameworks such as the United Nations, the BRICS countries and the World Trade Organization (WTO), jointly maintain multilateralism and free trade, improve global economic governance, and safeguard the multilateral trading system with the WTO as the core to build an open world economy, said the news briefing. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:43:06|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- An explosion hit the vehicle of a rebel commander in the Syrian city of al-Bab in the northern countryside of Aleppo Province on Thursday, a war monitor reported. The commander was injured in the blast ripping through his vehicle, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombing is part of the rampant lawlessness and chaos in areas controlled by the Turkey-backed rebels in the countryside of Aleppo, the London-based watchdog added. A day earlier, at least 10 people were wounded when a booby-trapped motorcycle exploded in the city of Jarablus, which is controlled by the Turkey-backed rebels near the Syrian-Turkish border in northern Aleppo. Explosions and assassinations have become daily occurrences in areas controlled by the Turkey-backed rebels in northern Syria, according to the Observatory. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:48:14|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday underscored more targeted training services for workers in a bid to create a knowledge-based, skill-oriented and innovative workforce. The launch of large-scale vocational training is a key measure to improve people's employability and entrepreneurial ability, ease structural employment problems, and boost employment. It also bolsters the high-quality economic development, Li said in a written instruction to a teleconference on professional training. Li stressed good use of a 100-billion-yuan (about 14.8 billion U.S. dollars) unemployment insurance fund and other training capital to train workforces. Authorities should provide more targeted training for on-post staff, workers rotating to other posts in struggling firms, key employment groups and poor laborers. Employees in high-risk industries should get more training in workplace safety techniques. Authorities should arouse the enthusiasm of enterprises, vocational schools and social training organizations to participate in training, strengthen supervision over training capital and improve fund utilization, to create a knowledge-based, skill-oriented and innovative workforce and promote healthy economic development and stable employment. Hu Chunhua, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the State Council employment work leading group, attended the conference and made a speech. Hu stressed on-the-job training, and said that training priority should be given to workers without skills or those lacking skills. He called for improved training content for different employment groups, and the acceleration of socialized and marketized vocational training assessment systems. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:48:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close WINDHOEK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Namibian government on Thursday called upon all Namibians to participate in a 2 percent once-off salary reduction to support national efforts aimed at assisting victims of drought. In a statement from the country's Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday, Acting Deputy Executive Director Saima Shaanika said the call is a voluntary measure. "Government is indeed calling upon Namibians to support national efforts aimed at assisting our compatriots who are affected by the drought to cope with the effects of the drought, as well as to increase opportunities for job creation, especially for our youth. This call was also made by our president during the State of the Nation Address," said Shaanika. "As the president indicated in his statement, cabinet members have already confirmed their commitment to contribute 2 percent of their salary for a period of one year to support the said initiatives, while non-executive parliamentarians were still being consulted," she said. She said the other stakeholders, including those from the corporate sector, are also being consulted in this regard. According to Shaanika, the government will announce the progress on and the outcome of the various consultations at a later stage. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:48:17|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Miroslav Poche (C), Chief Observer of the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission, speaks at a press briefing in Blantyre, Malawi, May 23, 2019. International election observers on Thursday commended Malawi for the way elections have been managed despite a few challenges faced. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) BLANTYRE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- International election observers on Thursday commended Malawi for the way elections have been managed despite a few challenges faced. About 6.8 million registered voters turned up in tripartite polls to choose a president, lawmakers and local government councilors on Tuesday, May 21. "The process was largely well organized by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and voting on election day was well-managed," Miroslav Poche, Chief Observer of the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission, told reporters during a press briefing. He said electoral body's inclusiveness and transparent approach meant that stakeholders retained a high level of confidence in the election management body as seen in the improved integrity of the voter register, a revised and public election calendar and the creation of constituency tally centers. He however said that despite being largely peaceful, there were some incidents and heightened tension which were fueled by claims of "rigging" in the midst of the campaign period as well as misuse of handouts and state resources as well as an unleveled playing field in favor of the governing party. Thabo Mbeki, the Head of the Commonwealth Election Observer Group, commended the electoral body for the competency and transparency manner the elections have been managed. Mbeki, the former South African president, said there was a high level of confidence in the integrity, capacity and competency of the Malawi Electoral Commission among many of the national stakeholders. "MEC's transparency, through regular communication with all stakeholders, contributed greatly to the heightened confidence in its management of the electoral process," he said during a press briefing. He said the campaign period, with only a few reported incidents of clashes among supporters of main political parties, was largely peaceful as fundamental rights of candidates, political parties and supporters to assemble and campaign were broadly observed. John Mahama, former Ghanaian president and head of the African Union (AU) lection Observation Mission said the Malawi electoral body needs to be commended for the professional and ethical way it managed the electoral process, including the confidence bestowed on it by all key political stakeholders. He further commended political parties and candidates as well as their supporters for their peaceful conduct in the pre-election period and encouraged stakeholders to continue in the same manner after the elections. Meanwhile, the Electoral Commissions of Forum of the Southern African Development Community Election Observer Mission also commended Malawians for the peaceful conduct of elections. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:53:21|Editor: yan Video Player Close NAIROBI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday launched a bid to host the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat. Macharia Kamau, principal secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told journalists in Nairobi that Kenya's Africa-centric foreign policy is focused on delivering the promise of continental growth development and security through the Agenda 2063. "Having the secretariat come to Kenya would not only cement Kenya's role as a lead country in trade and multilateralism, but it would also avail Africa the best venue and the best opportunity to grow free trade and secretariat to its full potential not only for Kenya but for the benefit of all Africans," Kamau said. Other countries that have expressed interest in hosting the secretariat include Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Eswatini and Ethiopia. The AfCFTA aims to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of persons and investments, and thus paves the way for accelerating the establishment of the continental customs union, common market and monetary union. Kamau said that Kenya has always been at the forefront in championing the African economic integration as well as the free movement of goods, people and services across the continent for the last 40 years. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-23 23:53:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, May 23 (Xinhua) -- At least a paramilitary Hashd Shaabi fighter and a civilian were killed on Thursday in a car bomb explosion in an Iraqi town near the border with Syria in the western province of Anbar, a provincial security source said. The attack occurred in the afternoon when a booby-trapped car ripped through a parking lot at Karabla district in the town of al-Qaim, Col. Ghanim al-Mazroui from al-Jazira Operations Command in Anbar province told Xinhua. The blast killed a Hashd Shaabi member and wounded another from the Iraqi Hezbollah militia, in addition to killing a passerby, al-Mazroui said. The explosion also badly damaged several nearby cars and buildings, he said, adding that reinforcement troops cordoned off the area to secure the scene. The security situation in Iraq has dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist group Islamic State (IS) late in 2017. But IS remnants have since melted into urban areas or used deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, while carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:13:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close JAKARTA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese firms operating in Indonesia view Ramadan as a good opportunity to fulfill their social responsibilities, which will bring closer relations between the firms and the Indonesian people, Chairman of China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia Gong Bencai said here on Thursday. Speaking in the fast-breaking event with orphans from an East Jakarta landmark mosque here, Gong said that Ramadan brings a moment for the Chinese firms to share warmth with local communities through social events held during the fasting month. "As economic and trade relations between China and Indonesia go deeper at present, more Chinese firms have participated in the efforts to vibrate the economy and development in the regions," Gong said. Those Ramadan activities are highly expected to improve communications between the firms and local communities, he added. Besides opening more jobs for local people, the Chinese firms also bring technology and investment into the country. Apart from social activities during Ramadan, the Chinese firms have also provided social responsibility programs in education, medical care, health and public facilities for residents around their operation sites. In the fast breaking with the orphans in the mosque, Gong gave 1,000 gifts to the children. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:18:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Residents on the Chinese mainland will be able to apply for car driving licenses in any mainland city instead of having to go back to where their permanent residences were registered, starting June 1. They can also apply to replace, renew, or regularly approve existing licenses in any mainland city, according to the traffic management bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. Residents only need to present their ID cards as identity, without having to show other residence certificates. Residents from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan can also apply for the above-mentioned services. They only need to present their original residence certificates issued in HK, Macao or Taiwan. It is estimated that the new regulation will benefit over 15 million people every year, saving more than 20 billion yuan (around 2.89 billion U.S. dollars) in transport costs. In recent years, the ministry has been loosening restrictions on application of driving licenses. Starting June 2018, residents on the mainland can choose locations to sit exams for car driving licenses within the province one's permanent residence was registered. On a trial basis, residents can also apply for driving licenses for heavy and medium-duty goods and passenger vehicles within the province of their registered permanent residences, also starting June 1, the ministry said. From 2015, China allowed residents to sit driving license exams for heavy and medium-duty goods and passenger vehicles in places of their registered permanent residences or where they live. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:23:54|Editor: yan Video Player Close ABUJA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria on Thursday confirmed the arrest of a 24-year-old man who specialized in giving logistics support to the Boko Haram terror group in the country's northeast region. The suspect, named Aliyu Muhammed, was nabbed on April 25, following intelligence report gathered by the security agency, according to Ibrahim Abdullahi, head of the Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the northern state of Borno. Muhammed was on his way to supply some materials to Boko Haram when he was nabbed by security agents. Abdullahi told Xinhua that the suspect and his accomplices played different roles in perpetrating various attacks on public buildings, religious centers, and market places in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, and its environ. Muhammed, who claimed to be an autorickshaw driver in the Maiduguri metropolis, said he was recruited by Boko Haram six months ago. On April 7, almost three weeks before his arrest, five people were confirmed killed and 45 others were wounded following a twin suicide attack on Muna community, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram where the suspect operated. Nigeria's northeast region has been a stronghold of the extremist group Boko Haram. Over past months, the Nigerian government has launched several military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat. Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since 2009. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:34:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close BERLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The 70th anniversary of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany was celebrated in Berlin and Karlsruhe on Thursday. "The constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany is a constant guarantor of stability, freedom and the rule of law," said the German government in a statement. "Its founders showed great foresight 70 years ago" by affirming that Germany was "at the service of a united Europe and peace in the world," the German government said. In a recent blog post, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that "when the constitution was enacted on 23 May 1949, it was not yet clear which success story had its beginnings there". On Thursday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited citizens from all over Germany to discuss the constitution with the heads of Germany's constitutional bodies. "70 years later we live in a reunited country, in a strong democracy, in peace, even in friendship with our neighbors. Yes, this constitution, these 20,000 words, they are always a reason to celebrate," said the German president in his welcoming speech. But freedom needed rules, for which the German constitution set the framework, according to the German president. The German constitution "says what is not negotiable in our democracy" but decency and reason needed to be preserved "in spite of all freedom and even in the zeal of argument," Steinmeier stressed. The German president appealed to German politics and the media to take citizens' concerns and needs seriously and to act on them to prevent citizens from feeling powerless. "Powerlessness is poison for democracy," warned Steinmeier. "Populists take perfidious advantage of such feelings. They turn justified worries into blind rage". In a similar vein, Thomas Haldenwang, president of Germany's domestic intelligence service (BfV) stressed that "our democracy must also be able to defend itself in cyberspace" in an age of digitization and global online networks. The president of the German Bundestag, Wolfgang Schaeuble, called for flexibility in following the German constitution. "Our tendency to perfection should not lead us to permit our rules to become so rigid that we can no longer reform them," cautioned Schaeuble in an article for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The German constitution was pronounced on May 23, 1949, and subsequently entered into force for the Federal Republic of Germany. In the same year, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) adopted its own constitution. After German reunification in 1990, the constitution of the Federal Republic became binding for all of Germany. The press and information office of the German government announced it would be attending a number of events taking place across Germany until October "to provide information on the constitution and to enter into dialogue with local people". Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:34:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close JUBA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Thursday urged all the opposition leaders to genuinely work for the smooth implementation of the revitalized peace agreement in order to restore peoples' hopes and aspirations. Kiir said with peace, the young country can achieve rapid development since the East African nation has resources. "All this time we have been wasting our resources, including human resource on fighting ourselves in a senseless war. Let us stop it so that we concentrate on development of our country in order for the young nation to move forward," Kiir said in Juba. Kiir, who spoke during the inauguration of South Sudan defense ministry's building, said if the country continues to experience the prevailing relative calm then the war-torn east African country could achieve tremendous infrastructural development. "I appeal to all of us to implement the revitalized peace agreement so that the little resources we have could be used for development like the one we are inaugurating today," Kiir said. "If we continue on with the current trend of working toward achieving total stability without any more disruption, we can do many things and this is the truth, without war we can go forward in a very short time," he added. Kiir observed that the absence of armed struggle can spur rapid restoration of peace and development, adding that there is need to give the citizens a new window of peace dividends. President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed the revitalized peace deal in September 2018 which was mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Ethiopia that ended five years of conflict. The parties recently agreed to extend the pre-transitional period for another six months before forming the much-awaited transitional unity government that should have been up and running by May 12. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:34:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday deplored the lack of civilian protection in armed conflict and the erosion of respect for international humanitarian law. "While the normative framework (for civilian protection) has been strengthened, compliance has deteriorated," he told a Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Grave human suffering is still being caused by armed conflict and lack of compliance with international humanitarian law, he said, noting that civilians continue to make up the vast majority of casualties in conflict. In 2018 alone, the United Nations recorded more than 22,800 civilian casualties in just six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, he said. Most recently in Idlib in northwest Syria, there was a new wave of shelling and airstrikes against hospitals, schools, markets, and camps for the displaced, killing, wounding and creating panic among the civilian population, said the UN chief. In all conflicts, when explosive weapons were used in populated areas, 90 percent of those killed and injured were civilians, he said. Conflicts also displace millions of people -- both internally and across national borders, he said. Widespread access constraints jeopardize humanitarian and medical assistance to civilians in need. Violence against humanitarian and medical workers and facilities persist, he said. The World Health Organization recorded 705 attacks against health care workers and facilities in just eight conflicts, resulting in 451 deaths and 860 injuries. Up to 369 aid workers were kidnapped, wounded or killed. Starvation of civilians is used as a method of warfare, as well as rape and sexual violence, said Guterres. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:39:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Washington's bitter partisan divide is likely to continue, and will limit the power of the White House to push its agenda. That was evident this week when tensions between Democrats and the White House boiled over, threatening much-needed legislation on infrastructure. Tensions between the White House and Democrats came to a head Wednesday after a meeting on infrastructure fell apart, calling into question whether the two sides will be able to pass a 2-trillion-U.S.-dollar infrastructure improvement package. "I've always been skeptical about a big infrastructure bill and this makes me even more so," Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, New Hampshire, told Xinhua. "I don't think there's any way to get to an agreement here, in part because Trump doesn't actually appear to care about the issue, the way Obama did about health care or Bush about terrorism or education," he said, referring to the previous two presidents. "As a result, he's not motivated to compartmentalize the same way his predecessors did," Galdieri said of U.S. President Donald Trump. Wednesday saw Trump walk out of a meeting with House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Fuming, Trump then called an impromptu press conference to blast Pelosi and Democrats, vowing not to work across the isle to pass much needed legislation until they halt their investigations against him. Pelosi that day accused Trump of being "engaged in a cover up," that "could be an impeachable offense." "We do believe it's important to follow the facts, we believe that no one is above the law, including the President of the United States," Pelosi said Wednesday. Trump defended himself against Democrats' charges that he obstructed the Russia probe - a massive investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russia to clinch the 2016 elections - which found no smoking gun. The president emphasized that he doesn't "do cover-ups," and lambasted Democrats for their talk of possible impeachment proceedings. Investigations currently underway against Trump include the House Judiciary Committee's investigation into obstruction of justice; the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees' joint investigations into Trump's businesses; and the House Ways and Means Committee's fight to get its hands on Trump's tax returns. The spat comes at a time when Washington is dogged by deep partisan divisions, with the two sides constantly attacking each other, and some experts doubt any infrastructure bill would get passed, given the cavernous gap between how each side wants to pay for it. "I think the current impasse makes an infrastructure bill less likely, as even if there weren't the tension over investigations, there are still significant differences in how Democrats and Republicans want to pay for infrastructure measures," Dan Mahaffee, senior vice president and director of policy at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua. "I also think that as we get closer to the election, there is less of an incentive to get a bipartisan deal done, as each side will want to run on what their own vision of an infrastructure solution would look like," Mahaffee said. Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that the current partisan divide will go through the 2020 election "and possibly beyond." "It developed over several decades and really intensified under Trump," West said. The divide between the two sides is deep, and reflects a deeper divergence in U.S. society that has been brewing for years, with portions of the Democrats leaning more left and many GOP constituents, particularly Trump's base, leaning more rightward. "There are completely different views of many policies between Republicans and Democrats and neither side really trusts the other," West said. While the two sides previously had agreed on the need for an infrastructure bill, they have yet to agree on a price tag. West said it is "hard to see an expensive infrastructure bill moving through Congress, as Republicans will object to the high price." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:44:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOGADISHU, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday welcomed its new resident representative for its country program in Somalia, Jocelyn Mason, to Mogadishu. Mason is joining UNDP Somalia from UNDP Afghanistan where he was acting resident representative for the Afghanistan Country Office. "He will lead the UNDP country office on a portfolio of key development programs which support the Government of Somalia, and Somali people, to meet national development priorities, and to respond to and build resilience to drought and climate crises," the UN agency said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. Mason's career in development spans over 20 years, including as country director of UNDP Mozambique from 2008 to 2012, as chief of staff for UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery from 2012 to 2014 and as directorate manager for UNDP's Bureau for Policy and program support in 2014 to 2015. Mason takes over the role from former UNDP Somalia acting resident representative, George Conway, who after six years in the role, was appointed as acting deputy special representative of the UN Secretary-General and acting UN humanitarian and resident coordinator for Somalia. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:54:19|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Thursday that it would not hold talks with a United States that does not change its behavior toward the Islamic state, Tasnim news agency reported. The remarks were made by Keivan Khosravi, spokesman of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who revealed that a number of visits by the officials of different countries "representing the United States" were recently made to Iran. "Some were publicized, while others remain confidential," Khosravi noted. A message of "might, logic, and resistance" of the Iranian nation against the U.S. pressures was sent to all these visiting officials, he said. "We have announced explicitly that Iran's approach will remain the same as long as the U.S. behavior does not change," the Iranian spokesman added. "For any negotiations with the United States, Iran's rights should be respected, and Washington should abandon its hostile rhetoric and adopt practical measures," Khosravi concluded. Iran has been under unprecedented sanction pressures from Washington since U.S. President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May last year. In addition, rising tension between the two countries has put them on the brink of military clashes. The United States has been seeking to seal a new deal with Iran, in order to further curb the latter's nuclear program, ballistic missile development and push for influence in the region. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 00:59:21|Editor: yan Video Player Close BRUSSELS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Citizens in the United Kingdom are among the first across Europe to go to the polls for European parliament elections, as voters across Britain cast their ballots on Thursday in a contest many expected would no longer concern them. The Brexit process, or the Article 50 procedures that began over two years ago, should have seen Britain leave the European Union in time to sit out the elections, but an unplanned extension of the process -- until Oct. 31, 2019, at least under the current Brexit schedule -- has left Britain obliged to participate in the election cycle. For the British, certain things will appear unchanged following this round of European elections, such as the number of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) elected. When the new European Parliament meets for its inaugural session on July 2, 2019, Britain will have its full complement of 73 MEPs, with all the voting rights they have enjoyed since joining the EU. In June, elected British candidates will head into negotiations like their European counterparts to form European political groups, and possibly with a strong showing for the anti-EU Brexit party predicted by recent polls, they stand to have as significant an impact on the functioning of the European Parliament's this term as MEPs from the other 27 EU member states. If Britain's divorce from the EU had gone according to schedule, Brussels had already set in place plans to reduce the number of MEPs from 751 to 705, with 27 of the seats formerly reserved for Britain to be redistributed to 14 other member states. The Republic of Ireland, for example, was due to receive two more MEPs. With Britain still in the EU, possibly remaining in the union as late as October 31, extra MEPs are in limbo, not invited to Brussels until London leaves, and British MEPs will serve their term as normal. British representatives would cease to be MEPs, however, as soon as the Brexit process is concluded. In such a case, countries due to receive extra MEPs would theoretically be able to call on the next candidates on their lists from this round of European elections. The last polls before the contest put the Brexit party ahead of the pack in Britain for European elections, with a poll from YouGov published Wednesday giving the anti-EU party 37 percent of the potential votes. If the predictions are confirmed at the ballot box, the participation of a strong number of British eurosceptics in European elections could have strong impacts on the functioning of the next European Parliament. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 01:14:28|Editor: yan Video Player Close WARSAW, May 23 (Xinhua) -- With just a few days left before voters go to polls on Sunday, the main political forces in Poland, governing Law and Justice party (PiS) and opposition alliance European Coalition (KE), are neck in neck in voters' preferences. For Poland, the European Parliament elections are primarily a preview for this fall's general elections and next year's presidential ones. The real stake is whether PiS stays on in power for another mandate. PIS SUPPORT HIGH Attendance to these European Parliament elections is expected to be atypically high (as much as 40-50 percent of voters have declared they intend to vote) -- precisely because voters know that whoever wins on Sunday has better chances of governing Poland after the general elections. Five political forces vie for the 51 Polish seats in the European Parliament: main rivals PiS and KE -- a coalition made up of Civic Platform (PO) and four other parties; newcomer social-democrats from Wiosna (Spring); far-right alliance Konfederacja (Confederation); and anti-establishment Kukiz' 15. Governing PiS, whose support rates remained high after taking power, have campaigned on a characteristic mix of pro-social measures and defense of conservative values. In February, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced the expansion of PiS signature program 500+, subsidies for families with multiple children, to single-child households. Kaczynski also promised to defend the "natural family", based on marriage between a man and a woman, in front of attempts by the opposition to expand gay rights. PiS has suggested that civil partnership and marriage for gay couples would be followed by adoption by gay parents, which they claim is detrimental to children. The topic resonates with PiS core voters. "PiS favor the traditional model of family based on marriage between a man and a woman. I am not against gay relations but I am against promoting them as a model for the family, the way PO, the main opposition party, does," Witold Lewicki, a 45-year old financial analyst from Warsaw who says to vote for PiS on Sunday, told Xinhua. Most polls put PiS and PO at 2-3 percent apart, which means anyone could win on Sunday. UNITED OPPOSITION The main factor behind the opposition's strong standing is the fact that Grzegorz Schetyna, the PO leader, managed to unite five parties including agrarians, social-democrats and greens, in an anti-PiS coalition. "The main criticism against Schetyna has always been his lack of charisma... but Schetyna effectively silenced his critics when he forged the European Coalition, the only political project with any shot of defeating PiS," political commentator Slawomir Sierakowski wrote on Project Syndicate. KE depicts itself as the defender of Poland's European future and of democracy, while criticizing PiS for turning authoritarian and antagonising Brussels. Poland has been embroiled in a conflict with Brussels over laws to reform the judiciary which PiS passed after coming to power in 2015. In 2017, the European Commission triggered the Article 7 procedure against Poland, arguing the PiS reforms put the country's justice system "under the political control of the ruling majority". "Democracy is under attack in Poland and we have to defend it. These European Parliament elections are very important for the future of our country. We have to choose the party that can stop PiS and guarantee a European future for Poland," 57-year old Ewa Rycka, an accountant from Warsaw who plans to vote for KE candidates on Sunday, told Xinhua. European Council President Donald Tusk, a former PO leader and prime minister of Poland, threw his weight behind KE in the last weeks before the elections. He gave a much-publicized speech at Warsaw University earlier this month, in which he indirectly criticized PiS for breaking the Polish Constitution. He also took part in May in a pro-European march organized by KE in Warsaw. Tusk, who is both very popular and very divisive in Poland, is widely rumoured to return to national politics this fall, when his Brussels term ends. He is thought to be considering running for presidency next year, potentially representing an anti-PiS alliance. "If the fall elections are a battle for everything, these European Parliament elections are a battle for almost everything. On their result depends especially if the united opposition endures and if PiS has to confront the spectrum of losing power. Never before have European elections carried so much political weight," political commentator Andrzej Stankiewicz wrote on onet.pl. "Kaczynski realizes that if he loses the European elections, even by a minimal margin, PiS will lose the role of dominant party on the political scene. This may add wind to the sails of the opposition and its voters, and then PiS losing in the fall elections will become more likely," Stankiewicz said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 01:19:32|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Kostas Gavroglu, Greek Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, addresses a forum on Chinese-Hellenic cooperation in higher education, in Athens, Greece, on May 23, 2019. Dozens of presidents and rectors from Chinese and Greek universities attended the forum held at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) on Thursday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) by Maria Spiliopoulou, Yu Shuaishuai ATHENS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The next steps in Chinese-Hellenic cooperation in higher education were examined during a rectors' forum in Athens on Thursday, with Greek and Chinese participants expressing willingness to deepen bilateral ties in this field and help strengthen friendship between the two peoples. Dozens of presidents and rectors from Chinese and Greek universities attended the forum held at the central building great hall of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), the first Greek university. A total of 11 cooperation agreements have been signed between Greek and Chinese universities in recent years and three more are on the way, while more and more Chinese students study in Greece and Greeks in China, Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos, Rector of NKUA, said when delivering a welcoming speech. "We wish that cooperation for the exchanges of students, professors and researchers will contribute to the better communication of the unique elements of the civilizations of the two peoples and will help to strengthen the friendship between the two countries," he said. "We hope to strengthen the pragmatic cooperation with the Greek higher education sector, expand the vision of cooperation in the Chinese education sector, and bring together the educational circles of the two sides to enhance both China's and Greece's international influence and competitiveness in education field," noted on his part Zhao Lingshan, Secretary General of the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), head of a delegation of more than 40 Chinese rectors, deans and professors. During the forum, the two sides exchanged views on topics such as "Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship", "Language and Civilization Teaching", "Student Mobility" and "ICT in Education". "Today is an important day in the relationship between Greece and China. Today's meeting is a meeting which brings everyone together in order to plan their future steps," Kostas Gavroglu, Greek Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, told Xinhua during the forum. The establishment of the first undergraduate program in Archaeology, History and Ancient Greek Literature that will be taught in English at NKUA from 2020, which was announced during Thursday's forum, could also boost bilateral ties, according to the Greek official. "We hope it will be a very successful program and I very much hope that students from China will be among the first people who will be studying in this program," Gavroglu said. "I think it is a cooperation that both parties learn a lot," he commented on collaboration in higher education between China and Greece so far. During Thursday's opening remarks at the forum, Zhang Qiyue, the Chinese Ambassador to Greece, referred to the cultural foundation of friendly relations between Greece and China, which was also underlined during the recent talks between the two heads of states in Beijing earlier this month. "China and Greece are both ancient civilizations whose friendly exchanges go back a long way, and the two countries share a natural affinity," Zhang said. "In terms of education, we share many similarities. We both have the tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education," she noted, before outlining some of the examples of ongoing Sino-Greek cooperation in higher education. In recent years, China-Greece education exchanges and cooperation have yielded fruitful results, said the ambassador, adding that many Chinese universities have Greek language study programs and established centers for Hellenic studies, while Chinese language learning has become more and more popular in Greece with the second Confucius Institute in Greece will soon be opened in Thessaloniki in northern Greece. "We sincerely hope that with this forum, our two sides will work together to create more highlights of China-Greece educational exchanges and cooperation, to support the development of education and people-to-people ties in our two countries, and thus make contribution to the friendly relations of our two countries," she concluded. Greece can learn a lot and benefit enormously from closer cooperation with China in this sector, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs George Katrougalos, also said this when addressing a welcome reception at the Chinese embassy on Wednesday night. "Sometimes we forget about China's very significant scientific achievements. It is therefore in our interest to see our universities, which are very good, to be in contact with Chinese universities and our students and professors being able to exchange ideas," he said. Xu Yan, an exchange student from China's Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, has been learning Greek here for the past eight months and also following some courses from NKUA's Department of Philosophy. When asked about this experience, she told Xinhua it is very meaningful for herself in two ways: first, "by putting me into the original language environment" she can learn better Greek; second, "it enlarges my vision by coming to an ancient city with a very long history and culture to feel its cultural heritage." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 01:24:34|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Russia plans to recommission its Antarctic Russkaya station in 2021 mothballed since 1990 and upgrade another one, the Vostok, an official said Thursday. "The decision to reopen the station was made mostly at the initiative of the state space corporation Roscosmos," Alexander Klepikov, deputy director of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, was quoted by TASS news agency as saying. He said that Roscosmos plans to install equipment for its GLONASS global satellite navigation system and spacecraft tracking devices in the Russkaya station. The Russian Antarctic Expedition has obtained about 300 million rubles (some 4.6 million U.S. dollars) for the reopening of the station, Klepikov said. The station started operation in 1980 and was mothballed 10 years later due to budget constraints. According to Klepikov, Russia is going to upgrade another station, the Vostok, which is the country's single one in the Antarctic inland. The upgrades will enable the station to house 15 people from the current 13 in winter and up to 35 people in other seasons, Interfax news agency quoted Klepikov as saying. Russia has three other permanent stations in the Antarctic, namely the Progress, the Mirny and the Bellinsgauzen, as well as three seasonal ones. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 01:29:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close SANAA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels said they attacked the anti-missile Patriot system at the airport of the Saudi border city of Najran on Thursday, the Houthi group's TV al-Masirah reported. "The attack was carried out by a bomb-laden Kasif-K2 drone," the rebels said. It was the third attack on the airport in three days. Meanwhile, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported that the Saudi air forces intercepted and destroyed the drone above Najran airport. The Houthi rebels intensified drone attacks on Najran this week after Saudi Arabia announced interception of the ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward the Muslim holy city of Mecca, a charge that has been denied by Houthis. Earlier this week, the Iran-allied Houthi rebels vowed to strike 300 vital military targets inside Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying such attacks would continue until the Saudi-led coalition stops its military operations inside Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has been intervening in the civil war in Yemen since early 2015 to support the Yemeni exiled government against the Houthi rebels who seized most of Yemen's north, including the capital Sanaa. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 01:34:40|Editor: yan Video Player Close JERUSALEM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Nine outstanding Chinese artists entertained about 200 Chinese workers, working on a power plant project in northern Israel, on Wednesday evening by presenting a traditional Chinese folk art show. The artists, from the Chinese Quyi Artists Association (CQAA), presented seven programs for the Chinese workers who are building the Kokhav Hayarden pumped storage power plant, located near to Lake Tiberias. PowerChina, China's leading hydropower construction company, is responsible for building the plant, which started construction in July 2017. The show kicked off with the Kuaiban performance, also known as allegro. The artists also performed the story-telling with drum accompaniment, did Xiangsheng, or crosstalk comedy, and played suona, a Chinese double-reed woodwind instrument, while interacting with the excited audience. The one-hour performance was well received and warmly applauded by audience. On Tuesday evening, the Chinese artists performed for Israeli audience at the China Cultural Center in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 01:44:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close HOUSTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Major highways remain closed over the Arkansas River in the U.S. state of Oklahoma as loose barges headed to crash into a dam, local authorities said Thursday. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said the Interstate 40 bridge and a state highway bridge remain closed over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls as a pair of barges that broke loose on the swollen river threatened to crash into Webbers Falls Lock and Dam 16. Residents of Webbers Falls were told to evacuate Wednesday night. The barges are now stuck on rocks, said authorities, adding that they are still tied together, and crews are working to secure them. Emergency officials from the small town of Webbers Falls warned of catastrophic flooding if the barges struck the dam. In 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water. Meanwhile, near the Oklahoma city of Tulsa, water is released from Keystone Dam as the water level is 30 feet (about 9.14 meter) above normal in the Keystone lake where Arkansas river flows into. The National Weather Service in Tulsa increased the forecast level of the Arkansas River from 21 feet (about 6.4 meters) to 23 feet (about 7 meters), putting the river in major flood stage. Multiple streets remained closed and neighborhoods were evacuated in the city of Tulsa near the Arkansas River. Local officials are preparing for flooding equal to Tulsa's 1986 flood of record but cautioned Wednesday night that they do not necessarily expect the waters to rise to that level. The flood of record in Tulsa-area occurred on Oct. 5, 1986, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released 307,000 cubic feet of water per second from Keystone Dam. The release rate on Thursday has increased to nearly 222,000 cubic feet per second from the dam, according to the authority. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 02:35:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close RABAT, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan police have arrested in the city of Marrakech a Danish citizen who is subject to an international arrest warrant for alleged criminal cases in his country, the police said in a statement on Thursday. According to the statement, the police arrested the 30-year-old Danish citizen for his involvement in a case of fraud, identity theft, illegal entry into Morocco and forgery. The preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was under a red notice issued by Interpol since November 2018, the statement said. The suspect was remanded in custody under the supervision of the competent prosecutor's office, the same source said, adding that the Danish authorities had been informed of his arrest pending the review of the extradition procedure by the Moroccan judicial authorities. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 02:35:13|Editor: yan Video Player Close SANAA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebel al-Masirah TV channel on Thursday broadcasted footage showing the Houthi drone attack on Abu Dhabi International Airport in July 2018, which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied and blamed on a vehicle accident. The footage appeared to be shot by another drone run by the Houthi group, showing that another drone attacked a facility in the main airport of the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi in 2018 denied the Houthi allegation, saying it was an accident caused by a supply vehicle in the airport. Iran-allied Yemeni Houthi militias have intensified drone attacks since late last year against Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which both are leading a military coalition against the group in Yemen. Earlier on Thursday, Saudi Arabia said its forces intercepted a drone above the airport in the Saudi Arabia's border city of Najran. It was the third drone attack on Najran airport in three days. Earlier this week, the Houthi rebels vowed to strike 300 vital military targets inside Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Houthis said they would halt their attacks once the Saudi-led coalition halts its military operations inside Yemen. Last week, the Houthi drone attacks damaged two Saudi Aramco's oil pump stations and caused limited fire, according to Al Arabiya television. The Saudi-led coalition has been intervening in the civil war in Yemen since 2015 to support the Yemeni exiled government against the Houthi rebels who seized Yemen's northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa. File Photo: An exhibitor takes a photo with a Huawei Mate 10 Pro during the 2018 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 9, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS) NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. ban on Chinese telecom giant Huawei would pose a threat to Internet access in U.S. rural areas, a U.S. expert said Wednesday. Many rural U.S. broadband providers use Huawei equipment, "which is as good or better than that of the competition, at lower prices and better customer service," Roger Entner, founder and lead analyst at U.S. telecom research firm Recon Analytics, told Xinhua via email. Washington last week declared a national emergency over what it claimed are technological threats, and announced restrictions on the sale and transfer of American technologies to China's Huawei. "If these small rural telcos need to buy different equipment they have to pay more for it. That means the small rural telcos can either buy less equipment or would need more money to maintain the current pace of rural broadband roll out," he added. The recent U.S. move to add the Chinese telecom company to a trade blacklist would curb its ability to do business in the United States, and has already taken a toll on Wall Street. Shares of Huawei's major suppliers, including Google, Qualcomm and Broadcom, were pressured. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 02:50:18|Editor: zh Video Player Close RABAT, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan government approved Thursday three agreements to strengthen trade ties with Serbia. The approval of the agreements came at a government weekly meeting in the capital Rabat. The agreement aims to facilitate and develop long-term trade in goods and services between the two countries, the government said in a statement. A joint committee for trade and investment will also be established to supervise and enforce the agreements, the statement added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 03:15:32|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Violence has been escalating in the sanctuary region of northwest Syria to the point, where more than 100 people have been killed since late April and 201,000 people displaced from their homes in just a little more than the first two weeks of this month, a UN spokesman said on Thursday. Citing repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure and an increased level of displacement, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said, "The UN remains deeply alarmed by ongoing reports of airstrikes, artillery shelling and clashes in and around the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria." Dujarric said similar attacks since the beginning of April have left a total of more than 240,000 people displaced from their homes. "Over the past 48 hours alone, dozens of casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure have been reported in Idlib and Hama governorates, as well as in northern and northeastern Aleppo," he said. "Attacks are also reported in some government-controlled areas." Shelter and emergency support remain challenging while the numbers of displaced people continue to rise, the spokesman told correspondents at a regular briefing. Ready-to-eat rations have now been provided to more than 170,000 displaced people. The world organization continues to call on the parties to respect obligations under the International Humanitarian Law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to recommit fully to the ceasefire arrangements agreed between Russia and Turkey in September, he said. The de-escalation zone was established to protect civilians who fled conflict as Syrian government forces and their allies gained ground over the rest of the country, leaving the rebels and their allies grouped in Syria's northwest. File Photo: Containers of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited are seen at the Port of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, the United States, on Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying) by Xinhua writer Ye Zaiqi SAN FRANCISCO, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Washington's moves of using tariffs as a weapon to force China into a trade deal are "counterproductive," a U.S. business leader said Tuesday. The U.S. position on solving trade disputes with China by using tariffs is "very aggressive" but "counterproductive," said Steve Hoffman, a veteran investor and CEO of Founders Space, a leading incubator and accelerator in Silicon Valley. The entrepreneur and angel investor, often called Captain Hoff, voiced in an interview with Xinhua his worries about a hostile environment being created between the world's two largest economies, which he foresaw will have lasting repercussions. After Washington increased additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent on May 10 and threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports, China announced that it will raise additional tariffs imposed on some of the U.S. imports from June 1. Since their economies are intertwined and interdependent, both Beijing and Washington will be seriously impacted by the tariff-featured trade disputes, Hoffman said. "The consumers and the businesses here are going to pay for those high prices." "The United States and China combined impact the world. So if we are in a trade war, it is not just our problem. It is going to impact every other country in the world," he added. "Right now, the negative impacts of the U.S.-China trade conflicts are broadening beyond (U.S.) agriculture and beyond commodities, like steel and other stuff, into consumer electronics and other areas. And that could have a big impact in my home turf which is Silicon Valley," he added. Hoffman, also an expert on China, said many Americans, including politicians in Washington, understand little Chinese history and have no idea of what China has gone through over the last several centuries. In modern history, China was once bullied and treated unfairly in foreign trade by Western powers, including the United States, and now China will not surrender "its own rights" or "be dictated by foreign powers", Hoffman said, adding that "just like the United States wouldn't either." "Throughout history, we've seen that the more trade happens, the more all parties around the world will benefit ... when we're negotiating our trade deals, I firmly believe it's to everyone's benefit in the long run to have free and fair trade," Hoffman said. The leadership in Washington should learn more history to cooperate and negotiate with China more effectively, said the investor. Hoffman also said that Trump's administration has started trade disputes with not only China, but also Mexico, Canada, the European Union and South Korea, and "most of the trade wars have not resulted in a real benefit to the Americanism or the American economy." He criticized the U.S. government for pushing its trade partners into a "win-lose situation," saying that "such a mentality and views about the world are fundamentally untrue and it's not an accurate way of perceiving the world." "In fact, such trade wars are just disruptive to business on both sides, which created uncertainty, confusion, and the whole supply chains and everything that businesses have planned for get turned upside down," he said. Meanwhile, Hoffman said free and fair trade is "a win-win" for all, and that "in fact, America wins bigger when we trade more with more different countries, when we lower tariffs and lower barriers." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 04:16:00|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu (C, front) addresses the Security Council open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, at the UN headquarters in New York, May 23, 2019. Ma Zhaoxu on Thursday asked for efforts to prevent conflict or resolve conflicts peacefully to protect civilians. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday asked for efforts to prevent conflict or resolve conflicts peacefully to protect civilians. "Conflict prevention and conflict resolution through peaceful means represent the most effective way of protecting civilians," said Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations. The Security Council should earnestly fulfill its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, and strive to resolve conflicts by promoting dialogue and consultation and political negotiations so that civilians can be spared from the scourge of war, he told the council in an open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. "We must oppose the use of force or the threat of use of force, and oppose power politics and bullying," he said. The international community should form a concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, build partnerships based on dialogue rather than confrontation, friendship rather than alignment, so as to create a world of lasting peace and universal security, said the Chinese envoy. He also asked the international community to nurture a sense of community of shared future for mankind, advocate the concept of global governance based on the idea of shared growth through discussion and collaboration, and strive to create a peaceful and stable international environment. Ma said the national government concerned and the parties to the conflict must assume the responsibility for civilian protection. The international community should provide constructive assistance in this regard, but only on the basis of respect for sovereignty of the country concerned. The actions of parties to the conflict are bound by international law and Security Council resolutions. In situations where conflicts are unavoidable, innocent civilians must be spared by all means. In addition, the abuse of military force or acts in disregard of humanitarian consequences must be avoided. Military force must be used proportionally. The use of heavy explosive weapons of wide-area impact in densely populated areas must be prohibited, he said. It is strictly forbidden to gain military superiority by attacking civilians. Violations of international humanitarian law should be investigated and punished, he said. UN peacekeeping missions must strictly abide by their mandates and meet their obligations of protecting civilians, said the Chinese ambassador. He also asked for efforts to bolster international cooperation against terrorism and resolutely crack down on terrorist acts that endanger the safety and security of civilians. Humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by armed conflict and the protection of humanitarian workers, health workers and health facilities, as well as specific vulnerable groups such as women, children, refugees, and displaced persons should be strengthened, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 04:26:05|Editor: zh Video Player Close Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) celebrates victory at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, India, on May 23, 2019. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the just-concluded 17th general elections on Thursday. (Xinhua) NEW DELHI, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The mobile application of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on early Friday announced the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the just-concluded 17th general elections. According to the ECI data, the BJP crossed the half-way mark of 272, required to form the government. The party's tally is most likely to rise further, as BJP candidates are leading in 31 more parliamentary constituencies, and the counting of votes is still underway, showed the ECI data. Buoyed by the victory, Prime Minister Modi said he dedicates it to his countrymen. "The people of this country contested this election. I dedicate this victory to my countrymen," he said while addressing thousands of BJP supporters at the party headquarters in New Delhi. "We had sought mandate for a New India. I bow down before the 1.3 billion countrymen on this occasion. I thank the Election Commission of India and the security personnel for carrying out the entire election process peacefully." Modi was accompanied by his party president Amit Shah, who is credited with forging strategic alliances with smaller parties across different states thereby ensuring BJP candidates' victories. Senior BJP leaders, including Home Minister (Internal Security) Rajnath Singh, External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Health Minister J.P. Nadda were also present at the victory rally. Speaking on the occasion, party president Amit Shah said that the BJP had secured more than 50 percent of votes polled in as many as 17 states, while the main opposition party the Indian National Congress (INC) could not even win a single constituency in a large number of states. Earlier, main opposition party the Indian National Congress (INC) president Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat and congratulated Modi over his victory. He tweeted, "I accept the verdict of the people of India. Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign." Addressing media persons at his party headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said, "The BJP and the INC have different ideologies and visions. Modi and the BJP have their ideology, and the INC has its own. We will continue with our ideology and vision. There are many people in the country who believe in the INC's ideologies and policies." He also appealed to his partymen who lost the elections not to lose heart and continue to work for the party together as a team. Gandhi also congratulated his arch rival and Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani who defeated him in the Amethi parliamentary constituency in northern state of Uttar Pradesh. "I congratulate Smriti Irani, and I hope she will take care of Amethi constituency," he added. "Today the election results have been announced. A new prime minister will take over. Our countrymen have given their verdict, and we respect that," Gandhi said. Photo taken on April 28, 2019 shows directors S. Leo Chiang (1st R) and Sun Yang (2nd R), and other crew members posing for a group photo on the red carpet during the premiere of Chinese documentary "Our Time Machine", in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Luo Jingjing) by Xinhua writers Luo Jingjing, Zhou Saang NEW YORK, May 22 (Xinhua) -- If you can travel back in time using a time machine, whom would you like to travel with? Ma Liang chose his father who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. "Our Time Machine" is a touching Chinese documentary which described how Ma, a renowned Chinese photographer and artist in Shanghai, got closer to his father, managed to stick to his creative career despite various challenges, and found the true meaning of life. In order to fulfill his father's will of father-son cooperation, Ma created a dedicated puppet play with autobiographical scenes inspired by his memories with his father, who was the former artistic director of a Chinese opera theater in Shanghai. The play tells a story about an engineer who brings his Alzheimer's disease-diagnosed father traveling back in time using a time machine to different periods of his childhood and reliving the joyful, adventurous, magical times when they were together. With his parents aging and their health deteriorating, Ma had been struggling between giving up his play to take care of his parents and sticking to his career to create something beautiful for the world. "I believe the play will move many people and make them realize the importance of love. We artists always have to be extremely enthusiastic about our work and willing to dedicate our time and passion to it. My father had the disease, the best present for him is my work, because he was also an artist, he could understand me," Ma told Xinhua during a recent interview in New York City. "It is a story of creation, father-son relationship, and circle of life - when an old generation declines, a new generation is born, the mid generation begins to experience and understand the circle of life and finally have their own interpretation of life, which may even surprise themselves," said S. Leo Chiang, director, producer and writer of the documentary. He felt strong resonation with Ma and his father's story and joined in the filmmaking a few months after Sun Yang, a Beijing-based director, started shooting in March 2015. Photo taken on April 28, 2019 shows Ma Liang (2nd L), S. Leo Chiang (5th L, rear), Sun Yang (5th R, rear), Paul Brill (4th R) and other crew members posing for a group photo on the red carpet during the premiere of Chinese documentary "Our Time Machine", in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Luo Jingjing) Being a photographer and filmmaker, Sun was not only touched by what was going on between the father and son, interested in Ma's planning on the puppet play, but also was charmed by his photographic works and craftworks - all the puppets and stage props were created by Ma and his colleagues. "I hadn't foreseen that I would be able to think and realize what life is and how life goes on when I started the project. I just believed it would be an interesting story because what was happening in their real life and on the platform was coherent, and the artistic beauty of Ma's works was attractive and appropriate to be shown on the big screen," said Sun. "At the risk of sounding too grandiose, we really felt our film is an exploration of what life is and what humanity is, how we cope with the challenges and painful moments in life, and how we turn those into beautiful and celebratory moments," Chiang explained emotionally. Chiang also told Xinhua that the composer, Paul Brill, who has composed for numerous award-winning films, TV series and commercials, cried throughout the film when he was invited to compose for the documentary, because he just lost his own father and the film was very personal to him. At the end of its premiere during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, when the credits started to roll, the audience burst into spontaneous long-lasting applause, with some of them quietly wiping their tears. "It was an incredible thing to find people who really understand the film in the most visceral level that they don't just intellectually understand the film, but also feel the film and really live the film," Chiang added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-24 05:31:50|Editor: zh Video Player Close TRIPOLI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday said that migrants rescued off the Libyan coast "should not be returned to detention" due to security conditions. "200 migrants now returned to Libyan shore while armed clashes intensify in the capital Tripoli. IOM reiterates that there are no safe ports in Libya and migrants should not be returned to detention," IOM said. Since early April, the east-based army has been leading a military campaign to take over the capital Tripoli from the UN-backed government. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fighting has so far killed 510 people and injured 2,467 others. Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe due to insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants who have been rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services. Cum a aflat Andreea Mantea ca este amanta. I-a aruncat hainele: Eu n-am mai stat cu omul ala Andreea Mantea a povestit in emisiunea 40 de intrebari cu Denise Rifai cum a aflat ca este amanta. In urma cu mai multi ani, ea avea o relatie cu un avocat, insa nu stia ca acesta este casatorit. [citeste mai departe] Stiri pe aceeasi tema - President Klaus Iohannis said in a message on Thursday conveyed to the Democracy Summit organized by US President Joe Biden, that Romania is determined to prevent and combat all negative phenomena that undermine democratic trust. "We fully embrace the concept and purpose of the Summit, as - Romania ranks first in EU by the share of adults at risk of poverty whose parents had a low level of education (37.4 percent in 2019), almost double the 20.3 percent average recorded in 2019 across the EU, shows data released on Tuesday by EU's statistical office Eurostat, agerpres reports. By comparison, - Gigantul farmaceutic american Pfizer a semnat un acord de licenta voluntara care ar trebui sa permita ca pastila sa anti-COVID-19 odata autorizata sa fie distribuita si in afara tarilor bogate si sa combata mai eficient o pandemie care continua sa faca ravagii, relateaza AFP. Anuntul a fost facut - Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu said on Thursday that the vaccination coverage of the teaching staff allowing schools to resume in-person instruction could be set at 60%, but a final decision is expected on Friday, agerpres reports. "According to the discussions so far, 60% of the teaching staff - O noua lovitura pentru internauti! Cele mai folosite retele de socializare, Facebook si Instagram, au cazut iar, la nivel global. S-au inregistrat din nou probleme tehnice in ceea ce priveste serviciile platformelor controlate de compania lui Mark Zuckerberg. Iata care ar fi fost, de fapt, problema! - Raport PwC Net Zero Economy Index Rata de reducere a emisiilor de carbon la nivel global a ajuns la 2,5% in 2020, in crestere usoara comparativ cu nivelul din 2019, de 2,4%, pe fondul reducerii cererii de energie din primul an marcat de pandemie, arata cel mai recent raport PwC Net Zero Economy Index. - Indicele global al preturilor la produsele alimentare a crescut in septembrie, pentru a doua luna consecutiv, atingind cel mai ridicat nivel din ultimii zece ani, influentat de scumpirile la cereale si uleiuri vegetale, a anuntat joi Organizatia Natiunilor Unite pentru Alimentatie si Agricultura (FAO), - President Klaus Iohannis sent a message on Tuesday on the occasion of the World Teacher's Day, in which he states that teachers are true role models for their pupils, including by their own example of taking vaccination as the best form of protection against COVID-19. "Education is the key to a strong Open source Since the beginning of the day, Russian invaders have launched six attacks on the emplacements of Ukrainian troops in Donbas. The HQ of the Joint Forces Operation reported that, specifying that most of the attacks occurred in Donetsk region. In Donetsk region, the enemy opened fire in the vicinities of Mykolaivka, Pisky, Styarohnativka and Chermalyk. Hostile troops used anti-tank missile launchers, anti-tank grenade launchers and small arms. In Luhansk region, the invaders launched an attack on Ukrainian positions in the area of Zolote-4; in this particular case, they used 82 and 120 mm mortars and large-caliber machine guns. The Ukrainian troops did not suffer any casualties over the day. Missile test exercise took place in Odesa region, southern Ukraine; 112 International previously reported that, referring to the press office of the National Security and Defense Council. According to Deputy Head of the Council Serhiy Kryvonis, it was a planned drill, which took place in the view of the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine. Long-range Vilkha-M and Vilkha-R with cluster warheads were fired during the rocket drills. In 2018, the growth rate made 3.3 percent; the authority expects it to fall to 2.7 The rate of Ukraine's economic growth in 2019 will slow down - from the current rate of 3.3 percent to 2.7. Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova said that as quoted by 112.ua news agency. According to the official, this is due to the lack of investor's trust, which was caused by the election; the lack of confidence in key reforms and expectations in terms of difficulties in getting the external loans. In 2019-2021, Ukraine will have to repay large sums of money, covering the state debts. Specifically, in 2019, the government will have to allocate UAH 11 billion (almost 418 million U.S. dollars) for that purpose. That makes 8 percent of the country's GDP. Kahkonen added that Ukraine could improve the economic growth rates by canceling moratorium for agriculture lands, completing effective judicial reform, combating corruption and stabilizing the fiscal inflows. The World Bank also urged the Ukrainian authority to pass the law about criminal responsibility for illicit enrichment and to implement the office of Anti-Corruption Prosecutor. Ukraines foreign policy of the past five years might be under a big question after the May elections to the European Parliament Ukraines foreign policy of the past five years might be under a big question after the May elections to the European Parliament. Taking into consideration various predictions, Euroskeptics might have unprecedented success. A coalition, which they plan to create after the elections, might be the first largest group of the European Parliament, overtaking the current leader European Peoples Party (EPP). The European elections of May 23-26, which would cover 28 countries and more than 426 million voters, would determine the balance of power in Europe. After all, politicians who want to strengthen the EU, for example, allies of French President Emmanuel Macron, are fighting for influence, and, on the other hand, those who do not see any sense in the European Union and advocate strengthening the role of individual states, in particular, like Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban. Polls and political processes in Europe give political scientists the reason to predict that the next European Parliament would be more fragmented because traditional political parties would suffer significant losses. At the same time, Euroskeptics can get about a third of the seats. It is assumed that if right-wing populists do realize their plans to unite into a new faction the European Alliance of People (EAPN) and they will be joined by MEPs of the Hungarian Fidesz and the Polish Law justice, the Alliance might become the largest group in the new parliament, confidently overtaking the current leader conservative EPP. Such a demarche by the Hungarians and Poles is very real. Italian famous Euroskeptic Matteo Salvini began his unifying tour of Europe from his meeting with Orban in August 2018. In January 2019, the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy held a similar meeting in Warsaw with Yaroslav Kaczynski, after which he tried to convey to Europeans the main message - Rome and Warsaw will work on the creation of a new Europe. According to him, Europe, which will be formed after the May elections to the European Parliament, will significantly exceed the current one. Let's summarize the first results. So, as early as next month, a new and most numerous political group will emerge in the European Parliament, which will unite under its wing European deputies from the German Alternative for Germany, the Italian League, the Danish Peoples Party, the True Finns, the Austrian Freedom Party, as well as Estonian right-wing populists. In addition, French National Front of Marine Le Pen and Freedom Party of Geert Wilders declared their readiness to cooperate with the new Alliance. Orban and Kaczynski might support the integrators. So, German AfD has 2 out of 96 mandates in the European Parliament. MEPs of this party often visit Russia and the Moscow-controlled regions of Ukraine. Despite the ban, they have repeatedly been to Crimea and officially declared that it is Russian. They were observers in the Russian elections, and naturally, no violations were found. They also called for the lifting of the sanctions and promoted the Kremlins Nord Stream 2 project. According to Tagesspiegel, MEPs from AfD have been at least twelve times in Russia, Crimea, and in occupied Donbas in 2018. Open source Italian Northern League party, which now has 5 out of 73 seats in the European Parliament, is also the leader among European visitors to annexed Crimea. Crimean authorities invite the representatives of predominantly northern regions and supporters of right-wing nationalist forces to participate in economic forums or in familiarization tours. They say that they just want to be engaged in open business, and Crimea is isolated by Ukraine, not Russia. In addition, in March 2017, this Italian party entered into a cooperation agreement with United Russia. Matteo Salvini, the leader of Northern League, when occupying the post of vice-PM of Italy, has repeatedly publicly stated that he considers the annexation of Crimea to be legal, and called the Revolution of Dignity a fake. Another ideologue of the unification of Euroskeptics across Europe is odious Marine Le Pen. Her National Front has 16 of the 74 seats in the European Parliament. Although, unlike its Italian counterpart, it should be considered a more balanced politician. At the same time, in January 2017, she expressed regret that the referendum in occupied Crimea was not accepted by the international community. She assured that after the Russian troops entered Crimea, the referendum showed the consent of the people to join Russia. The politician called Ukraines rule at the peninsula an administrative issue of the Soviet times, adding that Crimea was never Ukrainian. As a presidential candidate, Le Pen said that if she won, she would initiate Frances withdrawal from the European Union and improve relations with Russia. Some media assure that her party is sponsored by Moscow, but she denies it. It is noteworthy that during the annexation Le Pen never visited the Crimea. As for the Freedom Party of Austria, now it is represented in the European Parliament by 4 out of 18 deputies from Austria. Since December 2016, the party (as well as Northern League) has been connected with the United Russia cooperation agreement. Its members, like the above-mentioned political forces of Europe, recognized the Russian Crimea and repeatedly visited the annexed peninsula, calling on European politicians to visit it in order to see peaceful life there. In addition, in their opinion, Austria should develop traditionally good relations with Russia and the party is ready, as a neutral mediator, to promote the lifting of EU sanctions. Open source Finally, Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, which has 4 of the 26 MEPs in the current European Parliament, was one of the initiators and organizers of the very consultative and corrective referendum on the approval of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in April 2016. Its leader Geert Wilders has repeatedly declared his intention to fight Russophobia. According to him, one should propose a counterbalance to the hysterical Russophobia that prevails everywhere. Russia and the Netherlands share common interests, even though he himself personally does not agree with everything that happens in Russia. Wilders also condemns those politicians who broadcast "false images of enemies." Open source Summing up, it becomes quite obvious that strengthening the data of political forces in Europe promises absolutely unprofitable dividends for Ukraine. Creating a large coalition of Euroskeptics will certainly affect the overall normalization of relations between Russia and the European Union. As a result, we should expect a review of the sanctions, the removal of the issue of the Russian annexation of Crimea from the agenda, freezing of Donbas conflict and further strengthening of the energy monopoly of Moscow in Europe. But on the other hand, we note that neither for Marine Le Pen, nor for Salvini, nor for Jorg Moiten, the creation of this united coalition will not be an easy task. Why? Yes, because each of them has ambitions. Firstly, it depends on who to become the leader of this block. Considering the historical competition between France and Italy, it is unlikely that someone from the representatives of the Euroskeptics of these countries would easily agree to give the number one position. Secondly, one should not exclude that Washington, which also has its interests in Europe, might have interfered or had already intervened in the process of forming the Alliance. Thirdly, the strength of the Union of Poles and Italians is very doubtful, because, despite the unified position on the migration crisis, there are some differences between countries in other matters, including in relations with Russia. Finally, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz announced that he no longer wants to cooperate with Freedom Party, whose leader was forced to resign because of a corruption scandal and suggested that the federal president hold early elections as soon as possible... Read the original text at 112.ua. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or 112.International and its owners. The decision was made so as to protect compliance with the Constitution's provisions about the national status of the Ukrainian language and to provide the unification of spelling forms The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the new edition of the Ukrainian spelling. The decision was made on Thursday session of the Parliament, RBC-Ukraine news agency wrote. Several documents were passed during the Cabinet session. They are supposed to protect compliance with the Constitution's provisions about the national status of the Ukrainian language and to provide the unification of spelling forms. Recently, the Venice Commission (the European Commission for Democracy through Law) got the request to estimate the Ukrainian law on language as the Council of Europe reported. According to the message, on May 22, the President of Venice Commission received a letter with the request to provide the conclusion on the law On provision of the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state one. Andrea Leadsom quit as leader of the House last night rather than press ahead with the introduction of the Bill she said included elements that were not Brexit, - The Times British Prime Minister Theresa May might announce her resignation on May 24, as The Times reported. Andrea Leadsom quit as leader of the House last night rather than press ahead with the introduction of the Bill she said included elements that were not Brexit, the outlet wrote. Recently, May has presented another variant of Brexit bill to the Parliament. It contained a proposal to hold voting on another Brexit referendum. The Head of the Parliament also offered to vote for the aspects of future relations with the EU. Mays proposal triggered negative reaction among the members of Labour and Conservative parties who support hard Brexit. It was reported that May relied on the last step in Brexit saga, but she is ready to resign if her proposal got no support. The news agency reads that May might announce her resignation after the meeting with the Head of the parliamentary group of the Conservative party in the House of Commons Graham Brady. The meeting is scheduled on May 24. Russia almost never sticks to its word when negotiating with the country of a smaller territory and potential, Stepan Poltorak said Open source Stepan Poltorak, Ukraines Minister of Defence believes that Ukraine has to negotiate with Russia. He said that in his interview with Novoye Vremya online outlet. It is necessary to be very careful during the negotiations, as the Russian Federation rarely keeps its word, he said. Negotiations with Russia have to be held. The only thing is that one needs to be very careful because, frankly speaking, I know very few examples in history when Russia reaches an agreement and keeps its word, Stepan Poltorak says. According to the Minister of Defence, Russia usually doesnt stick to its word when making agreements with the countries with a smaller army, potential, and territory. They stick more or less to their word when they talk with the USA, but not necessarily in every issue, Poltorak said. As we reported earlier, Stepan Poltorak offered his resignation on May 20, minutes after the inauguration and the tough speech of the newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky. Stepan Poltorak held the post of the Defence Minister since October 14, 2014. Before that, he led the National Guard. After the Revolution of Dignity, he headed internal troops before they were disbanded. Stepan Poltorak held the post of the Defence Minister since October 14, 2014. Before that he led National Guard. After the Revolution of Dignity, he headed internal troops before they were disbanded. On October 13, 2018 Poltorak resigned from army, implementing the demands of the law on national security, which provides the norm on civil Minister of Defence. According to the document, since the next year, civil minister has to head the Defence Ministry, two people have to be appointed for commanding the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Viktor Muzhenko heads the General Headquarters. Leader of the state also held a meeting with the public activists at his administration President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky commented the possibility to hold the referendum on peace agreements with Russia. The head of the state noted that such referendum has no legitimate consequences; it is the way to figure out the public opinion, as the presidential press service reported. According to the message, the meeting of Zelensky with public activists, including volunteers and former military took place. We have to hear everyone. It is not the legislative referendum but informational one: citizens, what do you think. It is a normal talk with people, Zelensky said, adding that he strives for the open discussion of the issues, which are important for the state. He does not want to make decisions behind the closed doors as it took place earlier. The partakers of the meeting offered to maintain such dialogue with the representatives of the society on an ongoing basis. Earlier, Andry Bohdan, the Head of the Administration of President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the authority considers the option to make the peace agreements with Russia a matter of the national referendum. 'In his speeches, Volodymyr Zelensky himself declared that we consider making some agreements the matter of the referendum. It's not only about the politicians talking, but also about the people. We consider making the issue of reaching the peace agreements with Russia a matter of the all-nation referendum, so that the people of Ukraine would decide that, too - not just the MPs' votes and the President making the decision', Bohdan said. Besides, Leader of Party Golos Svyatoslav Vakarchuk criticized the intention of administration of President Zelensky to hold the referendums on the peace agreements with the Russian Federation. During his speech at IForum event in Kyiv, the President shared his idea to make it possible for people to keep the track of bills submitted and decisions made President Zelensky at Iforum, Kyiv, May 2019 www.ukrinform.ua President Volodymyr Zelensky offers to make control of the decision-making process in Ukraine more transparent. In his words, when it comes to public control of laws and making decisions, Ukraine should become a country in the smartphone. 'Guys, we've got to do it, we won't be able to cope without you, and it's time to do it', the head of the state said while visiting IForum event in Kyiv and talking to his supporters. '[We offer] an implementation of four following levels: the overall information about the state - level one; communication with the state - level two; transaction witt the state - level three; and, a very important stage, involvement in managing the country - level four', he said. 'How cool it would be to go to work and get the updates - not just the news or the weather forecast; you have a real chance to keep the track what kind of bills are submitted. You can amend them. You can decide, who of these dudes - excuse my choice of word - who of these people can be chosen, who of these can be recalled; you can control what kind of petitions people file or how you can contribute to this or that draft bill... So, I really dream of this country in the smartphone (...), Zelensky said. Long-range Vilkha-M and Vilkha-R with cluster warheads were fired during the rocket drills in Odesa region Vilkha missile fired during exercise in Odesa region, May 2019 dumskaya Missile test exercise took place in Odesa region, southern Ukraine; 112 International previously reported that, referring to the press office of the National Security and Defense Council. According to Deputy Head of the Council Serhiy Kryvonis, it was a planned drill, which took place in the view of the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine. Long-range Vilkha-M and Vilkha-R with cluster warheads were fired during the rocket drills. Kryvonis added that during the exercise, experts performed a check of technical decisions made in the development of the rockets; according to him, the drills were successful. RC-360MC Neptune, the anti-ship missile will be fired during the test, too. Previously, Russian MP stated that Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters that remained in the occupied Crimea became totally obsolete and unfit for combat use. This is stated in the petition that appeared on the President's website Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine Zoya Shu/112.ua An online petition appeared on Presidents website demanding Zelensky resignation. The petition appeared on May 22 and got a lot of signatures over 24 hours. As of 12 p.m. May 23, almost 13,000 people supported it, which is over a half of the required amount. The author of the petition stated that the majority of Zelenskys supporters voted for him on the basis of their protest, which Zelensky has allegedly consolidated but never gave any promises. It is an unacceptable situation, when servant of the people has no moral commitments before the nation, created during the pre-election period. Therefore, we, the people of Ukraine, demand Your resignation from the post of the President of Ukraine! the author of the petition stated. As it is known, petition should get 25,000 votes to be considered. The page with the petition does not load sometimes which means it is being reloaded. Volodymyr Zelensky assumed the office and became the sixth president of Ukraine. The solemn ceremony of inauguration took place in Kyiv on Monday, May 20. The new head of the state greeted the audience that welcomed him at Mariinsky Park in the downtown Kyiv. Zelensky passed the improvised corridor in the park, shaking hands and making selfies with his supporters. The head of the state made the oath the traditional way, with his right hand on Peresopnytsia Gospels and the Constitution of Ukraine. In his bold speech, the new leader announced he would dismiss the Ukrainian Parliament. He also urged the Ukrainian Government to resign if they could not act effectively anymore. The electoral process of the snap elections begins the next day after the publication of the respective decree of the President of Ukraine Tetyana Slipachuk, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Ukrinform Electoral process of the snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will start on Friday, May 24, on the next day after the respective decree of the President of Ukraine is published. The Head of Central Election Commission Tetyana Slipachuk said that at the briefing broadcasted by 112 Ukraine. Today, on May 23, 2019, after the decree of the President of Ukraine as of May 21, 2019 on early termination of the mandate of the Verkhovna Rada and appointment of early elections was published, the electoral process of the snap elections begins - on the next day after its publication, on May 24, 2019, without Central Election Commission making any decisions on its beginning, Slipachuk said. On May 22, Parliaments Spokesperson Parubiy said Zelenskys decree does not comply with the Constitution. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed the decree on the dismissal of Verkhovna Rada and appointed the election on July 21. Zelensky dismissed Ukrainian Parliament at his inauguration and announced early elections after he took an oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people. Volodymyr Zelensky assumed the office and became the sixth president of Ukraine. The solemn ceremony of inauguration took place in Kyiv on Monday, May 20. The new head of the state greeted the audience that welcomed him at Mariinsky Park in the downtown Kyiv. Zelensky passed the improvised corridor in the park, shaking hands and making selfies with his supporters. The head of the state made the oath the traditional way, with his right hand on Peresopnytsia Gospels and the Constitution of Ukraine. In his bold speech, the new leader announced he would dismiss the Ukrainian Parliament. He also urged the Ukrainian Government to resign if they could not act effectively anymore. Related video: He also expressed surprise of the intention of Zelenskys Administration to put the question of peace agreement with Russia to a referendum Ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko Bloomberg Petro Poroshenko, the fifth President of Ukraine recommended his successor Volodymyr Zelensky to put Ukraine first and consider Russia as an aggressor, as he wrote on his Facebook page. I am sure that one should preserve positions acquired over last five years: Ukraine comes first, and Russia is an aggressor state. The worlds solidarity with Ukraine should be strong as it was under President Poroshenko, the politician wrote. At the same time, he expressed surprise of the intention of Zelenskys Administration to put the question of peace agreement with Russia to a referendum. I would like to recommend the team of the new President to dispel rumors which were either unsuccessful impromptu or deliberate step which threatens the integrity and sovereignty of our state, Poroshenko noted. The Ukrainian authority considers an option to make the peace agreements with Russia a matter of the national referendum. The head of Zelensky's administration said it should be up to civil society to assess various agreements that concern the military conflict with Russia. Bohdan claimed that there's a need to search for a compromise in Donbas-related matters. However, he stressed that 'there will be no trading territories or people'. The President commented on the statistics of the development of the e-government Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine Zoya Shu/112.ua President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia "aggressor" in public during IForum, which was broadcasted by 112 Ukraine. Today, we, unfortunately, are losing to Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Moldova, Baltic States and the aggressor, he said commenting on the statistics of the development of the e-government. During his speech, Zelensky used the word dudes and apologized for that. He also denied the possibility to hold talks with Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky assumed the office and became the sixth president of Ukraine. The solemn ceremony of inauguration took place in Kyiv on Monday, May 20. The new head of the state greeted the audience that welcomed him at Mariinsky Park in the downtown Kyiv. Zelensky passed the improvised corridor in the park, shaking hands and making selfies with his supporters. The head of the state made the oath the traditional way, with his right hand on Peresopnytsia Gospels and the Constitution of Ukraine. In his bold speech, the new leader announced he would dismiss the Ukrainian Parliament. He also urged the Ukrainian Government to resign if they could not act effectively anymore. "What they were talking about? Many things. Did they talk about Ukraine? Yes, they did. And I have a question why didnt they wait until the meeting in Normandy format with all four parties? Medvedchuk Leaders of Russia, Germany, and France discussed the situation in Ukraine via telephone, though without the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Chairman of the Political Council of Opposition Platform For Life Viktor Medvedchuk said that on air of NewsOne Channel. There was a telephone talk of Mr. Putin, Ms. Merkel, and Mr. Macron yesterday. Theres a message about that. Does this ring any bells? This is a truncate Normandy format. Without Ukraine. Im reading the press-service of the Chancellor, the press-service of the French President and the press-service of the President of Russia. What they were talking about? Many things. Did they talk about Ukraine? Yes, they did. And I have a question why didnt they wait until the meeting in Normandy format with all four parties?, Medvedchuk said. The politician noted that the issue should be brought up for discussion with MPs, experts and politicians. Raise the issue. Let the MPs, experts, and politicians express themselves. They must havent agreed on that, probably. And why they havent agreed on that issue? Then, let the representatives of France, Germany explain, if you dont trust Russia, why you haven't reached an agreement? Thats the question. This is the question of sanctions, strengthening sanctions, how they stick in the throat of Europe and European leaders. But they dont stick in the throat of Russia, no matter how much our politicians want them to. This is not happening, they are not paid attention at. And Putin explicitly states: thy dont care about the sanctions. Direct speech. Does this ring any bells?" he added. Medvedchuk also believes that Zelensky shouldnt have talked about sanctions on the day of his inauguration, especially about strengthening them, nor should he have talked to the Americans. Maybe, sanctions shouldnt have been talked about on the day of the inauguration, especially about strengthening them, with the Americans. I do understand that Ukraine is under the external control of the U.S.A. and Washington controls everything here. There was an ambassador, who has been thrown out with all the consequences, but they will send the new one and he will also govern here. But 73% voted for Zelensky not for him to report before the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary, who chaired the delegation in the questions of strengthening sanction, help, pressure on Russia, though they know that pressuring Russia is counterproductive," Viktor Medvedchuk said. The letter of Ukraines Permanent Representative to UN Volodymyr Yelchenko will be published as an official document of the Security Council Ukraines Permanent Representative to the UN Volodymyr Yelchenko Ukrinform Ukraines Permanent Representative to UN Volodymyr Yelchenko sent a letter to the Head of UN Security Council, which was dedicated to the consideration of the Ukrainian language law, as the press office of Ukraines representation to UN reported on Twitter. .@YelchenkoUN sent a letter to #UNSC Prez outlining the Law of Ukraine On the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language, and reasons of why this law is irrelevant to the Security Councils agenda. The letter will be published as the official #UNSC document. pic.twitter.com/spytwuJ2Mq UKR Mission to UN (@UKRinUN) 22 2019 . As it was reported earlier, on April 25, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the draft law #5670-d on the provision of the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state one in the second reading and in general. The status of Ukraine's state language will be endorsed over the course of the next ten years when the government implements the respective program. Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories informed that the income of the Administration of seaports of Black Sea made $5.6 million, but the expenses made $17.1 million Open source In 2018, the ports in the temporarily occupied Crimea and Russia located in the Black Sea, took losses in the amount of over $11.8 million. Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories reported that Thursday. The analysis of the information the Ministry has shown that in 2018 the income of the Administration of seaports of Black Sea made $5,6 million, but the expenses made $17.1 million, the establishment reported. It was noted that the enterprise has become unprofitable for the first time in 2015-2018, and its losses in 2018 made over $11.8 million. This concerns not only seaports of the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula in Yevpatoriya, Kerch, Sevastopol, Feodosiya and Yalta but also the ports of Russia's Krasnodar Krai, including those located in Novorossiysk, Sochi, Tuapse, Taman, Gelendzhyk and Anapa. Earlier, 15 sanctions were imposed against affiliates of the so-called State unitary enterprise of the Republic of Crimea Crimean seaports under the Presidents decree No. 133/2017. He stated he spent 3.5 hours on the questioning Andriy Portnov, Ukrainian lawyer and ex-Deputy Head of Presidents Administration under Yanukovych presidency nashkiev.ua Andriy Portnov, Ukrainian lawyer and ex-Deputy Head of Presidents Administration under Yanukovych presidency stated that at the questioning in Prosecutor General Office he spoke about the role of the Head of Department of Special Investigations Serhiy Horbatyuk and Head of General Prosecutor Office Yuriy Lutsenko in concealing the mass murders at Instytutska Street in Kyiv in 2014, as he wrote on his Telegram-channel. I noted the role of the Head of Department of Special Investigations Serhiy Horbatyuk and leadership of General Prosecutor Office in concealment of mass murders on Maidan (Independence Square, - ed.), Portnov wrote. He stated he spent 3.5 hours on the questioning. According to Portnov, the investigators of the establishment will have more work as there is a need to check this information, question their own leaders and include the information in the Registry of pretrial investigations. On May 21, it was reported that Prosecutor General Office summoned Portnov to the questioning as the witness in Euromaidan case. As it was reported, the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine launched a probe under the request of Andriy Portnov who accuses Petro Poroshenko of state treason. Earlier head of presidential administration stated about consideration of the option to make the peace agreements with Russia a matter of the national referendum Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine Presidential Administration press office President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky denies the possibility of negotiations with Russia, as Hromadske reported. When the journalists asked him whether the negotiations with Russia would take place, Zelensky said there will be none. Earlier, Andriy Bohdan, the Head of the Administration of President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the authority considers the option to make the peace agreements with Russia a matter of the national referendum. 'In his speeches, Volodymyr Zelensky himself declared that we consider making some agreements the matter of the referendum. It's not only about the politicians talking, but also about the people. We consider making the issue of reaching the peace agreements with Russia a matter of the all-nation referendum, so that the people of Ukraine would decide that, too - not just the MPs' votes and the President making the decision', Bohdan said. Besides, Leader of Party Golos Svyatoslav Vakarchuk criticized the intention of administration of President Zelensky to hold the referendums on the peace agreements with the Russian Federation. 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As part of our partnership and mission to foster a more cohesive ecosystem in Europe, we partnered with other local leaders to contribute data and insights. As a result, we believe this is now the most complete dataset on the European foodtech and agtech investment landscape today. Thank you to our collaborators from across the region: Kevin Camphius from ShakeUp Factory, Johan Jorgensen from Sweden FoodTech, Alessio Dantino from Forward Fooding, and of course the teams at the founders of F&A Next StartLife, Rabobank, Wageningen University and Anterra Capital. Punching Below its Weight Europes agrifood tech ecosystem raised just 9% of the funding that went to foodtech and agtech startups globally in 2018. When you think that the EU alone excluding other European nations included in the reporting represents about 20% of global GDP and its home to 12% of the world population, the region is clearly punching below its weight. Europes agrifood tech ecosystem is still young but much more active than you may think as the number of deals show; nearly as many deals closed in Europe as in the US, it just happens that most deals are mostly local with a much smaller dollar amount than in the US or in Asia, says Kevin Camphuis from ShakeUp Factory. Early Stage Emphasis The good news, however, is that the number of deals closed grew 23% year-over-year to 423, and the majority of that activity took place at the earliest stages. Seed stage deals accounted for nearly 70% of deal flow in 2018 in Europe compared to 55% globally and 15% of dollars invested compared to just 4% globally. This is good news as it highlights the increasing number of entrepreneurs entering the industry. The European food tech ecosystem lags other markets today. However, we have every reason to believe that a healthy funnel of promising earlier stage companies, growing investor activity and availability of corporate venture capital will close the gap rather sooner than later, says Jeroen Leffelaar from Rabobank, another F&A Next founder. While Europes food delivery startups were arguably the most mature globally at least five of them have now exited to gain 7x returns in a five-year time period there was an apparent lack in late-stage funding, which raises concerns that either financing is not available for startups to progress to later stages, or are failing before they can get there. Very few European startups have reached a level of maturity or geographical development that justifies the same amount of funding as most of the late stage funding you may compare them to, says Camphuis. But its changing, if you just look at three notable rounds, weve seen in France in the past six months, i.e., Ynsect, InnovaFeed, and Wynd. Its clearly not a question of lack of investment as there is a growing number of big VC funds addressing Europe. Upstream on the Up, Downstream Downturn While the maturation of several food delivery startups contributed to a 50% drop in downstream funding, startups operating on the farm or in the supply chain before the retailer, raised 200% more in 2018 than 2017, reaching nearly $1 billion and representing 56% of total funding. While our reporting might be slightly improved in 2018 due to our new data partnerships, theres no doubt upstream innovation is rapidly picking up steam. For those of us somewhat fatigued with yet another food delivery service, this is refreshing, particularly as they continue to thrive in the US and Asia and dominate the funding landscape. Furthermore, funding to European upstream startups which include Ag Biotech, Farm Software & Robotics, Midstream Tech, Innovative Food, Biomaterials, Novel Farming Systems, and Ag Marketplaces raised a respectable 13% of the global upstream total, and all categories at least doubled the amount of investment they raised. Diversity Draw Broadly the European agrifood tech ecosystem is much more diversified than globally, where three downstream categories restaurant delivery, grocer and retail tech accounted for over half of investment in 2018. In Europe, funding was much more evenly split across categories with some clear strengths too. While removing an outlier deal in the retail tech category would push it below Ag Biotech, weve seen an acceleration in innovations for restaurants and retailers as they face challenges such as labor shortages, regulation, and competition from e-commerce! It was also the most active category by the number of deals. Ag biotech is particularly active and relatively mature in Europe, which is unsurprising as home to some of the worlds largest crop inputs suppliers, and some of the worlds leading agricultural science institutions including our partner Wageningen. With the news last week that Monsanto (now Bayer) was ordered to pay $2 billion in damages to a couple who claimed Roundup weedkiller gave them cancer and more trials to come the large agribusinesses and farmers will be keenly looking for further acceleration in alternative crop inputs. Startups in this category in Europe are developing plant breeding, gene editing, biologicals, and microbial solutions. Proportionally, Europe has a greater footprint in Novel Farming Systems including indoor ag, insect farming, and aquaculture systems than globally where it represented just 4% of funding in 2018. Insect farming is particularly advanced in Europe with a few startups in scaleup mode for the animal feed industry especially France where Innovafeed mobilized $65 million across two rounds in 2018 and Ynsect closing a record-breaking deal this year of $125m. Farm management software sensing & IoT is another strength in Europe for crop farmers and livestock farmers as well as aquaculture. Innovations run the gamut from computer vision in beehives to remote sensing to underwater cameras and more. It would be remiss not to mention alternative proteins and innovative food in the wake of Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods stellar deals recently although globally and in Europe, these Innovative Food innovations are still a small portion of the overall pie (5% of total funding). In Europe, there are some notable startups including Mosa Meat, which was founded by the first cultured burger manufacturer Mark Post in the Netherlands. There are a few alternative functional ingredients companies too like Stem one of our portfolio companies with a sugar replacement tech. But in this category and biotech Europe does have challenges revolving around the regulatory environment; last week there was a headline around the EU wanting to ban the use of term burger and sausage for plant-based goods, and the EUs strict stance on gene-editing is a source of much contention. Both of these regulations could hamper innovation, or even result in a positive for the UK if/when it exits the union. Geographical Split The UK and France contributed nearly half of total funding (45%) and 40% of deal flow in Europes agrifood tech market in 2018. We are proud to be cultivating a varied and diverse agrifood tech industry, united in the aim of improving the quality and sustainability of food and food production throughout the value chain. In addition, we are seeing government-back initiatives such as Innovate UK delivering millions of pounds of funding and resources to support PhDs and agrifood tech entrepreneurs kickstart their ventures, writes Alessio Dantino from Forward Fooding in the report. On France, Kevin Camphuis writes France is a large market with strong consumer demand for innovation, a deep culture for food preparation, seasoned agri and agro know-how, and one of the most diverse corporate and retail ecosystems, from farm to shelf, including global leaders. And early 2019 shows clear signs of acceleration with as much funds raised over the three first months of 2019 as in full-year 2018. Spains total was bolstered by an outlier delivery tech company Glovo, which raised a $129 million Series C round though it was still the fourth most active market for deals closed. While low on the leader board for total funding, Italy contributed the third highest number of deals in 2018. Its median deal size was only $400,000. Seed stage deals claimed 28 out of 31 total funding rounds, pointing to Italys nascent agrifood tech industry. Two midstream tech deals over $30 million pushed Irelands totals up, while Nordic countries contributed more deals, mostly at the seed stage. A focus on health and sustainability drives innovation in the Nordics, says Johan Jorgensen in the report. Eastern Europe has yet to make strides in agrifood tech, though there are some leading farmtech startups, such as Agrivi out of Estonia. Investor Insight While local commentators complain about a lack of investors for the industry, some 603 investors participated in 2018, again representing around 30% of the global investor base in agrifood tech. Indeed, more multistage investors are entering the Agrifood space, and in our programs, we have been (fore) seeing and driving the trend for more high-quality agtech startups, says Jan Meiling from StartLife, a founder of F&A Next. If theres another key takeaway from the roster of investors closing food and agtech deals in Europe, its that few are wholly dedicated to the sector (at least geographically.) Out of 603 active investors in 2018, 498, or 83%, made only one investment in Europes food and agtech sector. Thirteen percent (13%) made two investments, while only 5% made three or more. Generalist investors topped the list of most active investors in Europes food and ag sector. The most active investor by deal number in Europes food and ag sector was UK-based crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, which backed more than 180 companies across a range of industries in 2018, 13 of which were in agrifood tech. Funding rounds ranged from a couple hundred thousand dollars to several million. Bpifrance, a France-based entrepreneur-focused bank, and Kima Ventures, the global angel investor network, were also among the most active in Europes food and ag tech space, closing six or more deals in 2018. Seraphim Capital was a notable exception to the generalist-funder trend. The UK-based space tech-focused investment firm invested in six companies involved in the food and ag sector via remote sensing technologies. For example, Finlands satellite imagery company ICEYE is one of Seraphims portfolio companies. Find out more about the top deals in each category, and the investors, startups, and technologies driving Europes agrifood tech ecosystem in the free 67-page report here. If it was any question that consumer food tastes were shifting, Beyond Meats IPO and Impossible Foods $300 million quick-to-follow private equity funding put an end to that debate. Alternative and vegan are officially mainstream. Those two milestones were on the forefront of everyones mindsand frequent references in open discussionat the F&A Next conference in Wageningen, the Netherlands last week, where hundreds of delegates gathered to discuss and debate the future of food and agriculture. There, however, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods were just two among many examples of companies feeding evolving consumer appetites and global need for a healthier, more sustainable food system. Here are five other takeaways about how alternative food ideas, technologies and actors are shifting the mainstream as we know it. The best alternative protein sources may be right under our noses. Of the 30,000 known varieties of edible plants in the world, we only use about 7,000. The ones we grow and harvest at scale number far fewermerely a couple dozen. If we are going to feed three billion more people, we cannot do this with traditional animal-based proteinits not sustainable, Andy Zynga, CEO of Europes food innovation initiative EIT Food, told AFN. Rather than creating new foods in a lab, he says, Why not explore what is already there, in mother nature? Partnerships are critical for doing that, Zynga adds. EIT Food, which launched in 2017, is centering itself within Europes food ecosystem to inspire innovation across EU member states. Elsewhere, a consortium of scientists, governmental agencies and food companies working together as the African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC) is undertaking genome sequencing on more than 100 underutilized crops in Africa. The goal is to eventually improve the diversity of the foods the continent eats, and support Africas plant scientists in developing more nutritious and resilient plant varieties. Spurring food innovation may require a change in perspective. What if we treated food like the next preventative medicine? Globally, non-communicable diseases are on the rise, largely because of a growing global middle class and unhealthy lifestyle changes that often come with an increase in income. Such diseases, which included diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and are conservatively projected to cost the world more than $30 trillion by 2030. If we look at food as the next preventive medicine, we could change the cost structure for governments, posits Michal Drayman, partner at Israeli venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP). JVP, which claims to be the first firm in Israel to launch a dedicated agrifood tech investment fund, is building partnerships to move the idea of food-as-medicine into practice. The company is in dialogue with the Israeli government about how food and nutrition companies that claim to have health benefits could undertake clinical testing, similar to drug companies, to validate their claims, Drayman told AFN. The regulatory costs and burden could be more than most startups could manage, which is why a modified regulatory framework, supportive financing and initiative and collaboration with large food companies, like Mars, a new JVP partner, will be crucial. Fueling food innovation requires more capital Venture capital for food and agtech companies has evolved from a small, niche sector to a maturing global market. Europe, however, trails other regions significantly. Of the nearly $17 billion invested in agrifood tech companies in 2018, only $1.6 billionless than 10%went to European companies, according to AgFunders latest market report. Innovative food, which includes alternative protein companies like Dutch startup Meatable, claimed only a sliver3%. Globally, UK-based nutrition supplement company Huel managed to rank among the largest innovative food funding rounds in 2018, securing $26 million. But representation of European agrifood tech companies in investor portfolios is otherwise slim. Sheila Struyck, partner at Shift Invest, a Dutch food and agtech impact investors, said investors aversion to risk is to blame. If we just [focus on] low risk, we wont change anything, And alternative sources of capital. Venture capital may get most of the media love, but as a funding source, it alone cannot finance the innovation needed to shift the world to a healthier, more eco-conscious and resource-wise food system. Venture capital addresses some early stage challenges. But before you can get to market, you need a lot of support form bankers and suppliers, said Kim Odhner, senior venture partner of New Crop Capital. Often startups that succeed at securing early venture capital funding end up stuck in a position where they need additional capital to grow, but are still too risky to obtain credit from suppliers or debt from banks. Companies developing new technologies have even more intense capital requirements, often needing funding for research and development and financing for lab and manufacturing infrastructure and equipment. Victor Friedberg, founder of food-focused venture capital firm S2G Ventures, launched Foodshot Global to incubate new ideas and pull in partners with different risk profiles to spread capital across the business development continuum. Foodshot Globals diverse base of partners include Rabobank, The Nature Conservancy, and multiple foundations who all speak same language and come from same angle, Friedberg explained. A more collaborative model is needed for the future, and there needs to be other voices at the table [who] look at things from global perspective. See: Dutch alternative meat company, the Vegetarian Butcher. Jaap Korteweg was a ninth generation-farmer who was inspired to become a vegetarian after the outbreak of swine fever in the late 1990s. He committed to developing alternative meat products that tasted just as good as the real thing, and launched a small vegan butcher shop in The Hague in 2010. As companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat were infiltrating restaurants and grocery stores in the US, the Vegetarian Butcher was quietly building up its own vegan meat empire, selling its products in 4,000 outlets in 17 countries. But unlike the others, when it hit a critical junction in growth, it looked away from public markets and private equity investors. Instead, it chose Unilever. The consumer goods giant agreed to buy The Vegetarian Butcher in December for an undisclosed amount. When asked why the company chose to sell privately rather than publicly, co-founder Niko Koffeman said it was about scale. In a few years, [alternative meats] will claim double-digit market share, Koffeman estimated. Unilevers labs and distribution channels in 190 countries give the company a significant edge in helping to drive that through by both creating new products and reaching new customers. Robbert de Vreede, Unilever Beneluxs vice president of foods and digital transformation told AFN, Its a scale theyd never be able to reach on their own. While still a niche corner of the overall venture capital industry, investment in AgriFood Tech startups has grown exponentially since 2012, reaching $17 billion in 2018, according to our research. AgriFood Tech encompasses all foodtech and agtech startups operating across the food supply chain, aiming to make it healthier, more sustainable, transparent, agile, and able to respond more quickly to changing consumer demands. In 2018, some 1,776 unique investors invested in 1,450 deals in the asset class from across the globe and that number grows every year. The majority of agrifood tech investors are generalist tech investors but there is also a growing number of dedicated funds focused on foodtech and agtech. Below is a list of the 10 most active agrifood tech investors based on a tally of investments made in 2018. Two of the most prolific accelerator investors across all VC sectors, Y Combinator and SOSV both made 28 agrifood tech investments in 2018. SOSV did so through its three related programs: San Francisco-based IndieBio, New York-based Food-X, and London-based RebelBio. Both accelerators follow a typical accelerator model by accepting a limited number of startups into each cohort, providing them with a certain amount of equity funding as well as programming, mentorship, network access and culminating in a final Demo Day to meet other investors. Some of Y-Combinators agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: Bear Flag Robotics, and Farmstead Chicago-based S2G Ventures is the most active agrifood-focused investor globally, currently investing out of its second fund, a $180 million vehicle focused across the whole supply chain, from farm-to-fork. Some of S2Gs high profile investments include Beyond Meat, Apeel, Benson Hill. In 2018 it made 20 agrifood tech investments in, more including non-tech CPG companies. S2G is very thoughtful about their portfolio construction across the value chain with a view to enabling collaborations between startups. It invests at Seed stage to Series B. Some of S2Gs agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: Good Eggs, Hazel Technologies, and Ripple Foods The Norwegian aquaculture accelerator had a very busy first year in operation, investing in 15 startups focused on the seafood industry. It was launched by Carsten Krome of Alimentos Ventures. The program invests 50k in cash into each company and can provide additional funding after the program. It also offers office space as well as typical accelerator programming and mentorship. It has offices in Singapore as well as Bergen, Norway. Some of Hatchs higher profile agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: AlgaePro, AquaConnect, and Finless Foods. The San Francisco-based accelerator made 14 agrifood tech investments in 2018. Since launching in 2011 as one of the first accelerator programs, 500 Startups has invested in over 2,200 companies across 74 countries, and 3,000 founders. One of 500 Startups agrifood tech investments in 2018 was motorleaf. 5. AgFunder yes thats us! (agrifood-focused) Four years in the making, we closed our first fund in 2017 and have grown to $10 million AUM through Co-Investment Funds that we open to new investors twice yearly. Like S2G we focus on high-velocity Seed to Series B investments across the value chain, favoring a larger portfolio and the network effects that this comes with. We invest globally with current check size ranging from $100k $1M with a $500k sweet spot. In 2018, we made 11 investments with 19 investments in our overall portfolio today. Our pitch to founders is that were not here to run your company, but with over 60,000 members and subscribers, well hustle to get you in front of our network to connect you with customers, partners and investors. And no need for a warm intro, to apply for investment apply here. Our 2018 investments include: BrightSeed, Connecterra, Trace Genomics, Aerobotics, Solinftec, Chinova, Stem, Sentera, Impact Vision, and Phylagen. Invest with us today! TechStars is another very well known and active accelerator program investing across industries. In 2018, it made 11 agrifood tech-focused investments. Some of TechStars agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: Ordermark, PathSpot, and Goodr. The Chicago-based venture capital firm is one of the most experienced agtech investors out there, currently investing out of its third fund, which it just closed on $135 million with LPs including Archer Daniels Midland, Corteva Agriscience, water and energy business Ecolab, and animal health group Elanco. The firm witnessed the birth and boom of agtech as an investment class, launching back in 2008 alongside just one other venture firm focused on the industry in Avrio Ventures (now Rio). Cultivian has also increasingly invested in food tech opportunities, in keeping with the overall trend for VCs to invest across the supply chain as startups increasingly operate across it. Some of Cultivians higher profile agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: Full Harvest and Geltor. Operating under the moniker DCVC, Data Collective is a team of seasoned VCs with over 50 tech execs and experts in its arsenal like CTOs, CIOs, Cheif Scientists, and principal engineers. It also has a bevy of academics from top institutions like Stanford and Berkeley. It primarily makes seed and Series A investments in deep tech startups while providing growth stage opportunities to its portfolio companies. Last year, former Monsanto managing director John Hamer and former investment director Kiersten Stead joined the San Francisco-based VCs newly launched biotech fund that hoped to capture $250 million for deployment. Some of DCVCs higher profile 2018 investments include: Pivot Bio, Zymergen. Launching in 2015 as one of the first agrifood-focused startup accelerators, The Yield Lab is headquartered out of St Louis, Missouri and has other programs in Latin America and Ireland. The program typically doles out $100k investments in six companies each year ahead of a 12-month program of mentorship, networking, office space, and more. The Yield Lab is backed by Cultivation Capital and is led by Thad Simons, the former CEO of Novus International. Its supported by a framework of agriculturally focused individuals, organizations, and businesses in the St. Louis area. Some of The Yield Labs agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: ImpactVision, RootWave, Agree Market. Focused on backing plant and culture-based meat, egg, and dairy alternatives, New Crop Capital closed a $25 million fund back in 2016. It was an early investor in alternative protein company Beyond Meat, as well as Memphis Meats, plant-based meal delivery services Purple Carrot. Its linked up with the Washington, DC-based non-profit The Good Food Institute, which focuses on extending the pipeline of scientists and entrepreneurs that want to innovate in the alternative meat space. The firm has deployed $5 million per year since 2015 and plans to complete deployments by the end of next year. Some of New Crop Capitals agrifood tech investments in 2018 were: Good Catch, Zero Egg. Other investors in the top 20 include accelerators Innova Memphis and SVG Partners (9 each in 2018), Tiger Global Management from New York (9), Sprout X and Sparklabs Cultiv8 accelerators in Australia (8 each), Omnivore in India, Middleland Capital in Washington DC, and iSelect Fund in St Louis (all 7 each). Da da da da da da You are guaranteed far better singing and dancing in Albuquerque Little Theatres production of Singin in the Rain than you found in the finale of Game of Thrones. Opening this Friday, May 24 at 7:30pm at Albuquerque Little Theatre (224 San Pasquale Ave. SW), this stage adaption of the Freed film is the perfect change of pace after stormy clouds have chased everyone from the place. Tickets range from $17 to $25 for this all-ages event. For more information and tickets, see albuquerquelittletheatre. org. View in Alibi calendar All Day, All Night The 24 hours of Saturday, May 25 offer a real-time look at some of the freshest, contemporary Instagram photography across the globe via the 24 Hour Photo Project. As of print, 3,438 photographers from 725 cities in 93 countries will be documenting their cities with a photograph every hour. Sure, Albuquerque has photographers participating (you can be one as well, if you sign up at 24hourproject.org), but the truly great thing is being able to see what others are doing at the same time in other parts of the world. That means you can grab yourself a tamale (and a map) here in Albuquerque and check out what a photographer in the northern Ghanaian city of Tamale is shooting that same day. For more information on this free, all-ages event see #24HourProject on Instagram. Photo by Miguel Gandert Miguel Ganderts photograph Jesus with Romans, Good Friday, Santa Fe, New Mexico in the new exhibit Constructed Realities at April Price Projects Gallery offers the viewer a rare opportunity to consider both a perfect photograph and the way photography has changed in recent years. Gandert is known for his decades-long work documenting New Mexico. Often working in black and white, his photographs are as recognizable for style as they are for subject matter. It is the style developed by photojournalists to establish a sense of being there. Indeed, it requires the photographer to be very close to the subject being photographed. Since the 1930s when the great photographer Robert Capa established the often-repeated rebuke to novice photographers that if your pictures arent good enough, youre not close enough, photographers have surged into war zones and quinceaneras with equal zeal, wide-angle lens mounted in hopes of producing better work through a more diligent application of this linear concept. It has, more often than not, proven an effective method. Capa was no idiot. Gandert has captured Jesus with Romans perfectly within this construct. We are there. We can instantly tell what is happening and feel the emotions we are meant to feel because all the visual clues are there for us at the ready. The intimacy is achieved technically: a black and white photograph, a wide-angle lens, a center-lit subject and a well-established story. It is a perfect photograph, for 2012. Jesus with Romans is now on the proverbial BC side of a BC/AD divide due primarily, if not entirely, to Instagram (to torture an analogy). We have changed the way that we make and view photographs, leaving Ganderts photograph, as comparatively young as it is, looking old on the previous side of an Instagram-induced divide. The intimacy we find in photographs now is not guided by the photographer in this same way. Phones have swamped the camera-created image, brought forward the field of view (abandoning the wide-angle lens) and left us far less interested in perfection than an individual approach to constructing our own reality. Among a show of contemporary work, Ganderts photograph remains a prime example of the fine, and increasingly rare, craft of photography. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Burque Burger Week Burque Burgers Bonanza All the best burgers in the 505, all in one convenient place Lindys Diner 500 Central Ave. SW all photos by Eric Williams Photography Lindys Diner has been a staple of Downtown eating for a very long time, so it should be no surprise that they brought their best out for Burger Week. The Spartacus is made from lean ground beef with handmade patties that are never frozen. First, its topped with sliced gyro, followed by melted feta on top. On top of that, you get a whole grilled jalapeno and a side of pepperoncini, with the standard lettuce, tomato and pickle. To top it all off, theres a side of tzatziki sauce, adding a bit of cool to the heat that the peppers bring. All of this with a side of hand-cut french fries, and you have a burger worth looking forward to. While its always on their menu, its worth checking it out this week. View Lindys in Alibi Chowtown Cecilias Cafe 230 Sixth Street SW Cecilias Cafe is a well-known local favorite, especially for breakfast. But their lunch options arent something to sleep on, including their offering for burger week, Pablos Burger. This double-patty burger is seasoned to perfection, topped with crispy bacon, melty cheese, juicy tomatoes and creamy guacamole. Add on to that sauteed jalapenos and your choice of red or green (we went with the green and were super pleased with that choice). Served with a side of french fries, its a full meal with a touch of heat from chile adding that extra oomph that pushes it into the extraordinary. This is a year-round feature on their menu, but if youre going hard on Burger Week, dont miss the chance to get in on this as soon as you can. View Cecilias in Alibi Chowtown B2B Bistronomy 3118 Central Ave. SE B2B Bistronomy is already one of Nob Hills go-to burger havens, featuring more burgers than you know what to do with. For Burger Week, they brought out their New Mexico Burger topped with a fried egg. All their beef is New Mexican farm fresh Angus, and its never frozen. With over a third of a pound of beef per patty, all flame-grilled, theres more than enough to bite into. The New Mexico Burger features a shredded four-cheese Mexican blend with red or green sauce topped with a gorgeous fried egg that you can practically taste from just looking at it. This amazing combination of two burgers is on offer during Burger Week, but you can always order the New Mexico Burger with a fried egg if your heart and stomach didnt get enough on the first round. View Bistronomy B2B in Alibi Chowtown Steel Bender Brewyard 8305 Second Street NW Steel Bender Brewyard has already made quite a name for themselves with their craft beers, but they brought another layer of love with their Smoke Burger for Burger Week. Featuring house-smoked ground beef topped with buttermilk-battered onion strings, a housemade BBQ sauce as well as their unique Bender sauce, all atop a Pastians Bakery roll, this is an elaborate burger worth your attention. The smoke taste brings that magic extra something that completes this burger, giving it a smokehouse quality that is hard to find, and even harder to do right. Served with hand-cut fries and pairing perfectly with most of their beers, you have to go and try it for yourself to understand the amount of work and care put into this killer burger. View Steel Bender Brewyard in Alibi Spirit Guide Blakes Lotaburger Various locations If you live in New Mexico, youve been to Blakes Lotaburger a few times before. This year for Burger Week, theyre showcasing their double green chile-cheese Lotaburger. This classic is everything youre looking for in a burger, without the inconvenience of sitting down and going through a full-service order. Stacked two patties high, covered in some of the best green chile in New Mexico, with all the fixings and featuring the fantastic beef Blakes is locally famous for. Dont forget to order it with their fries (I prefer seasoned, but traditional is never a bad choice), and one of their shakes to wash it all down. Is it the most inventive burger on the list? It doesnt need to be, because they know how to do burgers just the way people like them: simple, delicious, original and just big enough to fill you up. Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro 3009 Central Ave. NE When you think of Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro, you probably dont think of hamburgers, which is fair. But just because their place is high-end doesnt mean they cant make a burger to match, which is why they brought out the California Patty Melt. Featuring an incredibly juicy patty on toasted sourdough, this non-traditional patty melt features thick cut slices of brie, just oozing gentle flavor all over the burger, with slices of avocado to match. Add on to that sweet grilled onions, plus their homemade fries with some sides of sweet (but enjoyably spicy) Peppadew peppers, and you have a burger that feels right at home in an upscale dining establishment, but still feels worth getting messy for. Get it this week before its gone and youre left dreaming of California with nothing to show for it. View Zinc in Alibi Chowtown Spectators Bar and Grill 5850 Eubank Blvd. NE #59 At some point in our lives, weve all been to Spectators Bar and Grill, either for a drink or to play pool with our friends. At times, you can forget about the grill part of their name, and they want to change that. Their Albuquerque Burger is a timeless classic, featuring a perfectly cooked patty, topped with their guacamole, Monterey jack cheese and green chile, which gives it that Albuquerque flair. Coming with a side of crispy fries, its the perfect companion to a couple of drinks with your friends to keep you standing during a long night of celebrating. View Spectators in Alibi Spirit Guide Brixens 400 Central Ave. SW Its hard to miss Brixens in the landscape of Downtown, where it shines with such brightness that you would have to be intentionally avoiding looking to not see it. But another reason to check them out is their amazing selection of food, including burgers, like the 66 Crunch Burger. Featuring a handformed 6.6 ounce beef patty, with both American and cheddar, all topped with the crunch of a bunch of thinly cut fried potatoes, this monstrously tall burger is juicy, crunchy and impossible to stop eating once you begin. Served with a side of house fries covered in a red chile BBQ seasoning with a side of their fry sauce, this is a burger experience youd be remiss not to partake in. View Brixens in Alibi Chowtown Holy Cow Burgers 700 Central Ave. SW Holy Cow Burgers uses the tagline tastes like heaven, which is about as on point as it gets. Building up a hell (or should I say heaven) of a following since they opened, Holy Cow Burgers has become one of the go-to spots for simply amazing burgers. The special burger theyre running this week might look familiar to past readers, as its the same as last years. Why run it two years in a row? Because its just that good. Featuring their signature beef patty, its topped with fried avocado, covered in a wonderful bacon onion jam, with thick Velveeta cheese and a dill pickle slaw to finish. If youve never been, make sure to stop in and get their Fried Avocado Burger. View Holy Burger in Alibi Chowtown Grassburger 11225 Montgomery Blvd. NE Grassburger knows that a hamburger doesnt have to just be a hamburger. With grass fed beef and cooking with sunflower oil, these burgers dont leave a heavy brick feeling in your system after youre done eating them. Their feature burger is their Bacon Cheddar Burger, featuring melty smooth cheddar and crunchy crispy bacon on top of their uniquely styled patty. With a leaner beef, the taste profile is more subdued and allows the other parts to stand on their own, including their chipotle mayo, which adds another layer of heat to the already well built flavor profile. With two locations on the East and West sides of town, you have no excuse not to go try a Grassburger. View Grassburger in Alibi Chowtown Kellys Brew Pub 3222 Central Ave. SE Kellys Brew Pub has been an iconic part of the landscape of Nob Hill for as long as I can remember, so it should be no surprise that their food is equally iconic. The Smackdown Burger lives up to its name, by smacking down any and all who oppose it in the field of burger battle. This 6-ounce burger is covered in pepper jack cheese, beer cheese, tons of green chile, fried pickles, an avocado cream, all served on a brioche bun. Is it messy? Absolutely. Are you going to be smacked down by the immense flavor profile of this burger? 100 percent. Is it worth every second? Yes, yes and yes. View Kellys in Alibi Chowtown AJ Woods Halocline ( Self-released ) AJ Woods wrote to tell me that he had released a new album and that he was leaving Burque to seek his fortune in Pennsylvania. He wrote me from a Travelodge in western Nebraska to tell our readers that he already missed New Mexico, saying, We are truly so blessed in NM; the people, the food and the land. Artistically, ABQ has been nothing but wonderful and supportive to me. It was only the logistics that seemingly werent adding up anymore. So it goes as another very talented musician journeys onward, past the guardian mountains, past the sustaining river. Although the logistics didnt work out, Woods new work Halocline demonstrates the powerful pull of this place. Between the looming background of urban noise, there is a firm yet delicate musicality here. It does not careen and swoop so much as it flows and emerges like a flower. Woods here becomes a symbol of how humans interact with this desert world, often barren but still full of secret beauty and unexpected epiphanies. The first track, the title track, seems to emerge from the Earth whole, yet disturbed by the very rhythm of being. When the artist croons quietly about the light and dark, a violin follows along, rendering shadows and late night as guideposts, formative and grateful but somehow still discomfiting and tenuous as time marches onward. Sandhill Crane Song begins by informing listeners that these perceptions you see are all your own before ascending with minor key embellishmentsno easy compositional path, I assure youtoward the realization that change is the only constant in a universe where harmony comes only after dissonance. As the recording proceeds, its clear that here is the beginning of a masterwork that will stretch itself out over many years, many recordings and infinite gigs. Woods temporality is reminiscent of a youngish Neil Young, still struggling with the terrible wonder of life on Earth and working diligently, harmonically and melodiously toward reconciling that complex and beauteous terror with the facts of a life lived simply and gloriously present. My favorite track on this recording is a tune called Ayudame!, a track that describes an encounter with the Rio Grande in terms that seem fragile and filled with an inner strength that radiates out of the muddy water, glistening and pulled toward the center by gravity and experience. Near the end of Halocline, Woods admits that there are Many Rivers to Cross, while the confidence of his playing intimates that those crossings will go well. He may be far from here now, under the influence of greater waters, but we will surely hear this voice again as it rises watery and dreamlike from the other end of this sphere we share. Because its just not practical to call multirotor flying machines those multirotor thingies weve come up with two terms to describe them, one for the machine itself and one for the market we imagine they will serve, such that we can imagine anything accurately in the midst of whats clearly a revolution in aviation. The machine label is EVTOL for electric vertical takeoff and landing, and the aspirational market segment is called, generically, urban mobility. This defines that imaginary world in which half the population of a city can potentially be whisked from one corner of the metro area to another in an autonomous, battery operated vehicle thats quiet, cheap, free of emissions and actually exists. Id say pick two because you cant have all four, but its accurate to say you cant have any at all for the time being. The existing part is getting there, though, and this week Ive been visiting Pipistrel, the creative Slovenian aircraft company thats as far out front with this technology as anyone. They recently stood up a new division called Pipistrel Vertical Solutions and moved into a glitzy glass building in Ajdovscina, a charming little town in the Vipava valley about 16 kilometers east of the Italian border. As weve reported, Pipistrel is one of several companies Uber Elevate has engaged to develop the vehicles that will fulfill the companys vision of easily accessible, inexpensive three-dimensional urban transportation. Uber has in mind cityscape structures called Vertiports that would accommodate rooftop landings of EVTOLs, with elevators transporting passengers to the street level and perhaps to an Uber electric ride-share to the destination. Pipistrel has a dog in this fight in the form of a proposed concept vehicle. It wont be revealed until June 11 at Ubers Elevate conference in Washington, so I cant reveal even the minimal detail Pipistrel showed me during my visit. Four other companies are in the running for Ubers business, including Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell, Embraer and Karem, an aerospace company that emerged from the drone segment, specifically the Predator. Of the five, Pipistrel has, by far, the most electric aircraft experience since its the only company delivering commercially viable manned electric flying machines. With its helicopter history, Bell is clearly out in front with vertical flight experience, although Embraer recently partnered with an Italian company to build and market its own business helicopters. Uber wants to start flying demonstrations with these vehicles next year, with limited commercial service by 2023. Theres reason to doubt that timeline and further reason to doubt the validity of the underlying flight-based ride hailing concept, but, curiously, not the vehicles themselves. The technology in the form of batteries, reliable and powerful electric motors and autonomous control systems are right on the cusp of economic viability, says Pipistrel founder Ivo Boscarol. Stipulating that the ride-share economics can be made to work, the largest barrier may not be the technology nor even FAA/EASA certification but what Pipistrels Tine Tomazic calls the related ecosystem, to include the infrastructure to support what Uber envisions as swarms of these vehicles. Tomazic said he was at a recent conference in which a city official poignantly observed that the entire urban mobility idea turns on what cities will allow these things to operate. Safety is an issue, of course, but in Europe and the U.S., noise may be the major driver. That alone has kept helicopters from gaining a useful foothold in intracity air taxi. If youve ever heard a multirotor drone fly, multiply that sound times five or 10 to imagine what a people-carrying version might sound like. So all five companies, including Pipistrel, are hard are work developing ways to mitigate the racket. Interestingly, some of these, if all not all of them, may require something these vehicles dont have an abundance of: power. Continuing energy density limitations of lithium ion batteries mean that the pure electric EVTOLs need all the amps they can get just to fly the basic mission, never mind schemes that might soak up more power to reduce the noise signature. This has prompted more discussion about the hybrid or range-extender solution. In the EVTOL context, a hybrid is likely to be a serial design, in which an internal combustion engine drives a generator that can run the electric motors directly while also charging a smaller battery array than a pure electric aircraft would have. The tradeoff is weight against payload, complexity and reliability and emissions. Tomazic reminds us that combustion engines require fuel and cities with increasingly strict environmental regulations might not want liquid fuel hanging around the top of a five-story landing port in the middle of the downtown area. Maybe hydrogen? Maybe another discussion. Pipistrel sees a dichotomy in the potential EVOTL market. A hybrid with a 300-mile-plus range for intercity transportation, possibly including cargo, and essentially the identical vehicle as a pure electric for the air taxi role. Right now, the range of such a thing pencils out to about 40 miles between charges, 60 at a stretch, but that taxes the all-important battery cycle life and the economics look less attractive if the batteries have to be replaced too often. Practical battery energy density now hovers at about 200 wH per kg and although its improving at the rate of 5% a year, its a long way from reaching capacities that would allow an EVTOL to fly all day and charge overnight. Uber is leaning toward the pure-electric solution, but its hard to imagine theyll stick with that. Given the range limitations, a mix of vehicles is likely. In addition to the weight penalty of the hybrid solution, theres the challenge of what the hydrocarbon powerplant might be. Hydrogen isnt on the table at the moment, but piston engines are and so are small turbines of the sort used for APUs now. These arent necessarily ideal because of the duty cycle is different and Tomazic says the foreseeable demand for potential hybrid aircraft is too small to ignite investment in new, purpose-made small turbines. Its impossible to say when that disruption will occur, but its likely to eventually. Whats the timeline likely to be here? No one knows that, either. Tomazics guess is that by 2028about a decade from nowenough of these vehicles will be fielded to begin to notice them. But its doubtful that the role will be solely air taxi, if that market even potentiates at all. While I was here, we toured Pipistrels new factory across the border in Gorizia, Italy, where I got my hands on a factory fresh Alpha Electro trainer, the only commercially viable such aircraft available. These airplanes are trickling down to the line at the rate of three to five a month, which is more than Ivo Boscarol thought the company would sell. The market is still a niche, but robust enough that Pipistrel is investing in a certified version with improved batteries. Global regulations have made it difficult to use the Electro for training, yet Pipistrel has sold about 60 nonetheless. Some flight schools are finding ways to employ them usefully. The current version is much refined from the prototype I flew here in 2015. Its much smoother, seems quieter and is generally just further down the developmental path. The battery monitoring system is prominent on the panel and theres just no chance youd miss knowing how much endurance remains. Right now, the Electro is reliably a 50-minute airplane with 20-minute reserve. Inside the cockpit, its not the quiet hum you might imagine from an electric motor because there is prop and slipstream noise. But no exhaust note, so with headsets off, you can converse normally. Its performance is virtually identical the Rotax-powered version, with the exception of the short endurance. On the drive back to the offices in Slovenia, Ivo Boscarol told me one of those if-we-only-knew stories. He said when the Electro was first launched, the company had little idea how far they had to go to give it a strong commercial presence. While its not there yet, Pipistrel can at least say its further along than anyone else. Watch for a video on my factory visit in a couple of weeks. Note to Readers:Our commenting section will be back to normal by, well, soon. Promise. We apologize for the inconvenience, but the site will be better for it. In the meantime, if you have a comment,emailus and well append it to the blog. Dateline: United States According to a recently published poll, over half of Americans believe Arabic numerals should not be taught in schooldespite the fact that Western mathematics has already been using Arabic numerals exclusively for over a thousand years. Last week the CEO of CivicScience Inc., John Dick, published a tweet that highlighted data from a poll conducted by his company that found more than half of all Americans felt Arabic numerals should not be included as part of public schools' curriculum. Ladies and gentlemen: The saddest and funniest testament to American bigotry we've ever seen in our data, Dick wrote in response to the results, which have yet to be formally published. The poll reportedly received responses from over 3,600 people earlier this month. In response to the question of whether Arabic numerals should be taught in schools, 29 percent said they should, 56 percent said they shouldn't and 15 percent had no opinion. Presumably, those who answered negatively were unaware that Arabic numeralsthe numbers 1 through 10have been used exclusively in Western math for generations. Before the adoption of Arabic numerals around the 12th century, Europeans used Roman numerals exclusively. Dick posted another tweet that highlighted the political affiliations of those who took part in the poll. According to the poll, 72 percent of Republicans said they did not believe Arabic numerals should be taught, compared to 34 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Independents. Dateline: Japan The Japanese government is considering an amendment to the countrys law that would make it illegal to operate an unmanned drone while intoxicated. According to the South China Morning Post, 79 accidents involving drones were reported during Japan's previous financial year, compared with 63 reports in 2017 and 55 in 2016. While none of these incidents were said to involve alcohol or drugs, authorities are debating whether to include language in the nation's civil aeronautics law that would punish drone operators who are found to be under the influence. We have no records of someone causing an accident with a drone while drinking, but we do know that in the US about three years ago, a drunk person landed a drone in the grounds of the White House, said a spokesperson for the transportation ministry. We obviously want to avoid that sort of situation, so these new laws are designed to stop something before it happens. Under the new laws, a drone operator will be required to carry out preflight checks of the vehicle, and authorities will conduct inspections in the case of an accident. Last week the Japanese government enacted a new law that restricts the flying of drones over US military and Self-Defense Forces facilities and venues hosting 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic events. The new law was passed to prevent potential acts of terrorism. Dateline: Florida A man accused of murdering his family is asking that a millionaire bail him out of jail. Click Orlando reports that Seminole County police arrested Grant Amato on three counts of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the deaths of his mother, father and brother in their Chuluota, Fl., home last January. According to reports, Amato is accused of killing his family after they forced him to cut ties with a woman he'd met on MyFreeCamsa website where customers pay to view sexual photos and live video. Amato allegedly stole $200,000 from his father and brother to wire to the woman, a Bulgarian cam model. Amato reportedly asked a Seminole County judge to let him out of custody on bond while awaiting trial. The judge granted him a $750,000 bond in April, but Amato has been unable to raise the required funds. Reporters from numerous outlets claim that Amato has been offering exclusive interviews in exchange for money to post his bond. Earlier this month he allegedly emailed a journalist, writing, If you happen to know any millionaires who would like to post my bond, I'd be eternally grateful and I'd give exclusive rights to you for my story. His offer has yet to be accepted. Amato has pleaded not guilty to the accusations against him. If released on bond, he will be required to wear a monitoring device and will be barred from using any computers. Dateline: Austria Austrian authorities are asking their citizens to stop French kissing cows. According to Huffpost, a Swiss charity app that asks followers to kiss cattle to raise money is causing concern for health officials in Austria. The KuhKussChallenge launched last week on Castl app, an app for the first true challenge community. It asks users in German-speaking countries, including Austria, to kiss cows with or without tongue. Austrias minister for sustainability and tourism, Elisabeth Kostinger, warned that kissing cows could cause them to become aggressive, placing both users and livestock at risk. Pastures and meadows are not petting zoos, she said in a statement. Last week she took to Twitter to discuss the issue, claiming that Negligent handling of Austrian pastures has led to serious accidents in the past. She called the challenge dangerous mischief. It is unclear what charity the challenge is meant to support. Newscity Facebook Ordered to Pay for Line The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission rejected a request from the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) to reconsider its decision to charge Facebook for its half of a 45-mile transmission line. Last month the PRC voted against PNM's request to charge its customers for about half of the cost of installing a transmission line that would provide electricity to the future Facebook data center located in Los Lunas. The decision meant Facebook would have to pay around $39 million more than what it had originally agreed upon. In a statement earlier this month, a spokesperson for Facebook implied that the decision could jeopardize the future of the entire project. PNM subsequently refiled its request. But according to KRQE, the PRC voted last week not to rehear the case. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has reportedly been speaking privately with Facebook, said the decision was disappointing and told reporters that the potential for a chilling effect is of great concern. Utility Dive reports that the new line will only serve two retailer customers: Facebook and energy services company Avangrid Renewables. In her proposed order, PRC Hearing Examiner Carolyn Glick said none of the line's capacity is required to meet the needs of PNM's other retail customers. RTHK: Early indications put Modi's party in clear lead Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course for a major victory in India's election, with early trends on Thursday from the election commission showing a clear lead for his party. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was ahead in 277 out of the 542 constituencies after two hours of counting, more than the 272 seats required for a majority even without its allies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party were leading in several races as vote counting began in India's massive general elections. "Mr Modi's going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that," said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. The count was expected to conclude by the evening. In the world's largest democratic exercise, some 900 million people were registered to cast ballots for 542 seats in India's lower house of Parliament in seven phases of voting staggered over six weeks. A party or coalition needs a simple majority, or 272 seats, to govern. The election has been seen as a referendum on Modi, whose economic reforms haven't broadly succeeded but whose popularity as a social underdog in India's highly stratified society has endured. Half a dozen exit polls released on Sunday showed Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party winning another five-year term. Voters cast ballots on some 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse, such as hired musclemen hired by political parties and stamping paper ballots at gunpoint while election officials looked the other way. Losing candidates and political parties have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the electronic method, however, noting the machines are not used in Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. (AP, AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Thaddaeus McAdams/ ExclusiveAccess.netJermaine Dupri is inviting producers to enter a new competition to win a recording contract with his label, So So Def Records. The Songwriters Hall of Fame member and Grammy winner has partnered with Remy Martin for season six of Remy Producers, a program that discovers aspiring music producers. "Remy Producers is a program I strongly believe in because it supports emerging music producers and creatives by providing a platform for them to be seen and heard," Dupri says. "Through this program, Remy Martin supports revealing the excellence of music production through the ever-evolving music industry." Dupri appeared at the kickoff event held Wednesday night at the Live Nation headquarters in Manhattan. He'll select the winner, who will earn a five-song contract with his label. JD will also work on one of those songs. The contest began Thursday, with producers invited to submit their music via RemyProducers.com. There will be regional competitions in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Miami, and the grand finale will be held in Dupris hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. The Remy Producers program will next expand internationally to South Africa, Nigeria, Trinidad, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. . , () , - 15 20 , Bloomberg. 20 , 15, . 14 , ... TARIQ MAHMOOD,---/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- John Walker Lindh was released from prison Thursday after more than 17 years behind bars on charges of providing support to terrorists, a case that captivated Americans and earned him the nickname of the "American Taliban." Lindh, 38, was the first prisoner brought into a U.S. courtroom to face charges in the War on Terror, following the Sept. 11 attacks. His release comes 2 1/2 years before the completion of his 20-year sentence, which the Department of Justice's Bureau of Prisons said in a statement is attributed to Lindh's "good conduct" during his time in prison. On Thursday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted the convicted terrorist's release after a "relatively short sentence." "I understand he is still threatening the United States of America and still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and there is something deeply troubling about that," Pompeo said in an interview on Fox and Friends. President Trump said Thursday he was also against Lindh's release. "I don't like it at all," he said. "We'll be watching him closely." Lindh is expected to reside in northern Virginia, outside Washington, and is said by multiple sources to still be radicalized with extremist beliefs. The conditions of Lindh's release include a demand that he go through mental health counseling, that he not communicate or espouse extremist views and there are several restrictions related to his internet use -- including a stipulation that he can only communicate online in English. But Lindh's release is still not without controversy. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., released a joint statement Tuesday expressing concern over his release and demanding more information on steps that will be taken to ensure Lindh is not a threat to public safety. "Our highest priority is keeping America safe, secure and free," they said in the statement. "To that end, we must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence." Shelby had previously said in April that President Donald Trump had told him he opposed Lindh not serving his full sentence, but it's unclear whether Trump plans to weigh in publicly on the matter. The Department of Justice's public affairs office did not respond to a request for comment. According to court documents filed in 2002, the government said that Lindh crossed the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban. Lindh stayed in Osama bin Laden's guest house -- eventually meeting and "thanking" the leader of the terrorist organization, court documents said. He trained with 20 other Taliban fighters at a camp in Afghanistan on "weapons, orienteering, navigation, explosives and battlefield combat, which included the use of shoulder weapons, pistols, and rocket-propelled grenades, and the construction of Molotov cocktails," court documents said. According to court documents, Lindh "swore allegiance to jihad," and stayed with the Taliban despite knowing that bin Laden carried out the attacks on Sept. 11. He was captured by Northern Alliance fighters after the United States' invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. CIA paramilitary officer Johnny "Mike" Spann, 34, was killed in a Taliban prisoner uprising, shortly after questioning the captured Lindh. He was initially charged with conspiracy in Spann's murder, but those charges were dropped as part of an eventual plea bargain. Spann's father, Johnny Spann, told ABC News in an interview on Sunday that he objects to Lindh getting out three years early for good behavior. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. 12:05 | Lima, May. 23. "This government is giving a high priority to tourism, as it sees that as a clear and strong instrument for the development of the country, especially since 90% of tourist potential is in the (country's inner) regions," he expressed. Campaign El presidente @MartinVizcarraC: Respaldaremos al agricultor andino para que mejoren y aumenten su produccion. Contaran con las garantias y herramientas necesarias para generar una agricultura de desarrollo. Queremos un Peru justo e inclusivo! pic.twitter.com/clkzv6ssy1 YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Anna Hakobyan, spouse of Armenias Prime Minister, editor-in-chief of the Armenian Times daily, will take part in the 16th Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty on May 23-24 at the invitation of chairwoman of the Upper house (Senate) of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Dariga Nazarbayeva, Mrs. Hakobyans Office told Armenpress. The Armenian PMs spouse will deliver speech at the Forum. During the visit Anna Hakobyan will have a private meeting with Dariga Nazarbayeva, as well as will meet with the Armenian community representatives. The Eurasian Media Forum is being held in Kazakhstan for already 15 years. It has become a leading platform for dialogue in the Eurasian region. The annual Forum brings together the most significant figures of politics, economics, social issues and, in particular, the media. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of economic development and investments Tigran Khachatryan had a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Armenia George Saganelidze, the ministry told Armenpress. The sides highlighted the importance of taking joint actions in areas which affect the populations welfare. The Armenian minister and the Georgian Ambassador discussed the framework of upcoming economic events and meetings. In particular, they discussed issues relating to the agenda of the upcoming session of the Armenian-Georgian inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation. The Ambassador provided information about certain upcoming economic events to take place in Georgia. The officials also exchanged views on the prospects of increasing the trade turnover volumes between Armenia and Georgia, including the opportunities to implement regional projects and the ways to more effectively use the privileged regimes. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Early elections of mayors will take place in the towns of Getap (Shirak Province) and Vanevan (Gegharkunik Province), the government approved during a Cabinet meeting today. Mayor of Getap Gor Stepanyan was elected to office in 2016 and stepped down on April 19, 2019, vacating the position. Norayr Harutyunyan, the Mayor of Vanevan who served since June of 2018, has been suspended from duties by the local town council on April 13th for failing to convene town hall meetings for 6 months. The elections will take place September 29, 2019. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Armenia has granted New Ida, a Chinese company, tax privileges for an upcoming investment program in Katnaghbyur, a district in the town of Stepanavan, Lori Province. The company will invest around 5,000,000 dollars to open a mineral water production and bottling factory in the town. Minister of Territorial Administration and Investments Suren Papikyan said at a Cabinet meeting that the Chinese company will make the investments within 18 months. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked the minister about the number of planned new workplaces, and Papikyan said around 50 jobs will be opened, noting that the number might grow. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Constitutional Court says it is currently carrying out a preliminary examination of a court's decision to suspend the criminal case against ex-President Robert Kocharyan and several other former officials. The application is in the examinations preliminary stage, the Constitutional Court said on Facebook. A Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction earlier ruled to suspend the trial and forward the case to the Constitutional Court, after releasing Kocharyan from pre-trial detention. Kocharyan was freed after a court approved the personal guarantees of Artsakhs President Bako Sahakyan and former President Arkady Ghukasyan, who vouched on May 16th that Kocharyan will not obstruct justice amid the ongoing trial into the deadly 2008 post-presidential election unrest. 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, who ruled the country from 1998 to 2008, spent two weeks in jail in summer of 2018, but was eventually freed. But on December 7, a higher court overruled the release and ordered him to be remanded into custody pending trial again. Kocharyan, along with several other former officials, is charged with overthrowing Constitutional Order during the 2008 March protests in Yerevan when 8 protesters and 2 security officers died. The former President is accused of unlawfully ordering the military to intervene. He is also charged with bribery. He vehemently denies wrongdoing. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian today participated in the opening ceremony of the 16th Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. The annual Forum, which this year is being held under the title The World Today: Transforming Reality?, has gathered over 600 delegates from 60 countries of the world, including politicians, economists, Nobel Prize winners, businessmen and experts. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has been one of the co-founders of the Eurasian Media Forum. Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko and the Almaty Mayor delivered welcoming remarks at the Forum. The Armenian President congratulated the participants on the launch of the Forum. He said he played a role in the creation of the Forum in early 2000s. I can call this Forum as an institute that greatly affects not only the journalistic environment, but also the Eurasianism concept and the whole media in general. When I think about the Eurasian Media Forum, of course, two-three ideas, concepts come to my mind. The first one is called Eurasia. What is Eurasia? It is not only a geography, but also is the great history of civilizations born millennia ago. Some of them didnt survive to our times, but some today became really powerful civilizations, the President said, adding that today Eurasia is the center of the great development and events taking place in the world. When we talk about Eurasia, we also should think about Kazakhstan because today it is located just in the center not only physically, but also politically and economically. It is no coincidence that the ideas on economic cooperation were born here which became a reality in the post-Soviet region. The Eurasian economic cooperation has become a reality, which, we hope, will become another bridge to serve the main goal we think of. It is the mutual friendship of peoples, cultures and civilizations. And I want to see the day when the Eurasian economic cooperation and the European Union will launch serious talks on deep partnership, the Armenian President said. Armen Sarkissian also touched upon the second concept the media, stating that the idea of media has undergone many changes in the past year. When we were talking about a media forum in the past, that forum was viewed as a platform for journalists. But look how media has changed within 20 years. Now when we say media, we dont think about reporters only. I think that the future of the Eurasian Media Forum is the real media, the virtual life we live. Each of us spend several hours, some even more hours in the virtual space which has become much more comprehensive, than just the news, journalism or report of information. This is a part of our life. This is the small tool or production of the industrial revolution which includes information about our life, economic relations, our photos, family and our financial relations with banks, Mr. Sarkissian said, noting that this virtual life changes peoples perception on different phenomena. The role of media, virtual space has a great impact on how the civilization, the ideas are born and become a reality. The media, which we started 20 years ago, is no longer the previous one. This media is the second virtual world we live in. It more and more affects the real life we live in physically, and in some sense they are being merged. Many important human values, including those on how we react to this universe, the democracy, will also change. We should be ready to the world we are going to have 20 years later, he said. And as a third concept, he touched upon the Forum and thanked its organizers, in particular, Dariga Nazarbayeva and the Kazakh government. Of course, the forum is the people who established it. I want to thank you all and those who created this Forum, wishing to all of us that the Forum continues long because the problems we and the humanity face are huge and change every day, the Armenian President said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Armenia has granted a company import customs and tax privileges for the construction of an amusement park in Yerevan. Minister of Economic Development and Investments Tigran Khachatryan said at a Cabinet meeting today that Park Group is planning to build a family amusement park in Yerevan, featuring the latest generation European-made carousels and attractions. The 1st stage commissioning will take place in Q4 of 2019. Khachatryan said the company plans to invest around 7,5 billion drams (around 15,5 million dollars). Moreover, 350 workplaces will be opened during three years. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. The office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office conducted a regular monitoring of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on May 22 at the direction of the Baghanis village, Tavush Province. The Ministry of Defense said from the Armenian side the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica and Ognjen Jovic. No ceasefire violations were recorded during the monitoring. Within the framework of the border monitoring, the OSCE officials were briefed on the existing situation at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the statistics of Azerbaijani ceasefire violations. The OSCE officials thanked the Armenian side for the information and said they will include it in their report. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan had meetings in Paris on May 22 with Christian Cambon, Chairman of the French Senates Committee on Foreign Relations, Defense and Armed Forces, and Jean Bizet, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee. The lawmakers discussed the ongoing reforms in Armenia, stances around the NK conflict settlement, as well as regional developments. The Armenia-EU cooperation agenda was also discussed, the Armenian Parliaments press service said. Rubinyan also discussed with his French colleagues the possibilities of boosting inter-parliamentary relations between Armenia and France. Rubinyan also invited the French Senators to pay a visit to Armenia. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. In a few days, a monumental and historic milestone will be recorded in the Armenian tech industry. The first ever Armenian-made TVs will hit the market as the joint Armenian-Lebanese-Syrian International Manufacturing Group (IMG) is introducing its ADAMIAN flat-screen televisions sets. IMG CEO Ramy Judy told reporters in the companys assembly plant in Armenias Merdzavan that in a few days the TVs will be available in major stores across the country. We are currently assembling 100-150 sets a day, he said. According to the CEO, despite the factorys inauguration having taken place in December of 2018, they began production only in May, since they were awaiting a governmental customs privilege for imports. We were waiting for the governments issuance of customs privileges, because the price that we promised couldnt have been provided if we were to pay customs duties. The government granted the privilege in April, Judy said. Now, the home appliances manufacturer is importing equipment and the TVs are assembled in Armenia. But IMG seeks further development. In one and a half months, the company will start assembling air conditioners, and then also washing machines, refrigerators. The Armenian-made ACs, fridges and washing machines will be marketed under the AIO brand. The Armenian-made home appliances will also be exported. The market price and technical characteristics of the TVs was not immediately available. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Djibouti have established diplomatic relations. The ceremony took place May 22 at the Permanent Representation of Armenia in the United Nations , the foreign ministry said. The joint declaration was signed between Armenias Permanent Representative Mher Margaryan and Djiboutis Permanent Representative Mohamed Siad Doualeh. The officials then talked about cooperation in the international arena, namely within the UN and the La Francophonie, as well as enhancement of partnership between Armenia and countries of the African continent. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. During todays meeting the government of Armenia approved the proposal to sign an agreement with China on the mutual elimination of visa requirements for the citizens of the two countries holding regular passports. Deputy foreign minister of Armenia Grigor Hovhannisyan said according to the current draft the two countries establish a visa-free regime by which the citizens of Armenia and China will be exempt from visas for up to 90 days within 180 days. At the same time, the sides are obliged to take quick and effective measures for the return of citizens abusing the visa regime to their home country, the deputy FM said. The current agreement will contribute to strengthening the bilateral political ties and the mutual trust. In his turn Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this agreement is among the agreements reached during his recent visit to China. The Chinese side informed that the draft agreement has passed all the necessary inter-state procedures for signing. China has signed a similar agreement with Belarus and is going to sign another with Moldova. Georgia and Azerbaijan have a visa free regime for group visits from China. The Chinese side said Azerbaijan has applied to China to sign a similar agreement, but the request was rejected. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian participated in the discussion titled Deglobalization: The world in search of new development models on the sidelines of the 16th Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. In his remarks the Armenian President touched upon the idea of deglobalization, noting that he doesnt believe in this term. Globalization has not ended, it will continue and will be faster. It hasnt started today, years or decades before, it started hundreds, thousands of years ago from the Silk Road and before that. The world was already globalized that time and the globalizations options were different. Today globalization continues, he said. The President agreed with the discussion participants that there are difficulties in the globalization process at different levels, and todays most important issue relates to managing this process. Armenia is a small state, but a global nation, and I think that we will be the nation who knows how to get adapted. A nation, who has passed through major tragedies within the course of history and began the life from the new point. This is an important quality in the new world where there are less certainties and more uncertainties, the Armenian President noted. He added that Armenia has been and remains in the crossroad. Armenia is a crossroad. Thats why our country has learnt to work with all and has close relations with Russia and other member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. But, at the same time, Armenia has signed an agreement with the European Union, and I do not see any contradiction here. Moreover, Armenia has an advantage, and the international community should try to use this advantage because Armenia is the only country that has deep relations both with the EU, Russia and Eurasia. So why not to use the opportunities of Armenia which serves as a bridge?, he said. The President answered numerous questions of the discussion participants. Asked whether the social media can replace the traditional media, he noted: I dont think so. Eventually, they will be merged. None of them will replace the other, but both will become a one unity. Mr. Sarkissian said today in the globalized world social networks unite the people. He talked about the quantum nature of the world policy, stating that the current political leaders are able to correctly use the new tools, the social networks. In response to the question regarding the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, President Armen Sarkissian said currently the two countries are holding talks over the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Krabakh conflict. He reminded that from the Armenian side the negotiations are run by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the foreign minister. I express my full support to the peaceful settlement of the conflict. But this issue doesnt remove Armenia from the opportunity to serve as a cooperation platform for international relations, between Eurasia and EU, Armen Sarkissian said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. The court blocking protests were spontaneous, and the police werent constrained in their actions, claims Police Chief Colonel Valery Osipyan, referring to the recent demonstrations when citizens had blocked the entries and exits of all courthouses in Armenia after PM Nikol Pashinyan urged them to do so as part of launching reforms in the judiciary. I believe it was an impromptu rally, a gathering, Osipyan said, referring to the law whereby citizens should be authorized to hold rallies, otherwise police are entitled to disperse it, with the exception of the assembly being spontaneous. A reporter noted that the rally happened at the call of the PM, but Osipyan nevertheless answered that anyhow the rally fits into the freedom of assembly laws. I consider it to be a spontaneous, urgent rally. Its not like the police were simply standing there, there were cases when police officers were urging citizens to open the entrances. In order to avoid brawls and clashes, we chose the kind of strategy to try and fix the situation through guidance at the initial stage, he said. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan BEIJING, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the upcoming visit of foreign minister of China Wang Yi to Armenia, the Chinese side is ready to reveal new directions with Armenia for the construction of One Belt, One Road, as well as intensify the exchange of experience of the two civilizations and promote the cooperation between the two countries, the representative of the Chinese foreign ministrys department for Europe and Central Asia said in response to ARMENPRESS question. He said the Chinese FMs upcoming visit is unprecedented over the past years. Unfortunately, such level contacts didnt take place in the past years, therefore, this visit is very important, the foreign ministrys representative said. According to the official, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a productive and useful talk with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang during his recent visit to China. As for the content part of the Chinese FMs visit, the official said the sides have already decided to deepen the cooperation in the following areas trade, investments, metallurgy, renewable energy and infrastructures. In addition, the sides also plan to strengthen the humanitarian cooperation, as well as jointly fight against terrorism and extremism, the representative said. The MFA official added that during the visit the sides will also sign contracts put on firm basis. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan paid a working visit to China on May 14-16. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government involving infrastructure development and investments in 152 countries and international organizations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Interview by Karen Khachatryan Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, 23 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 23 May, USD exchange rate up by 0.34 drams to 479.98 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.20 drams to 534.46 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.05 drams to 7.42 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.35 drams to 606.50 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 54.79 drams to 19656.92 drams. Silver price up by 0.24 drams to 222.76 drams. Platinum price down by 83.72 drams to 12422.53 drams. YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan congratulated Narendra Modi on the occasion of being re-elected Prime Minister Of India. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, the congratulatory message runs as follows, I cordially congratulate you on being re-elected Prime Minister of India. The people of India reaffirmed its support to your programs by its vote and its confidence in your principles of leadership. I wish you continuous success and new horizons on your path to leading India to unprecedented rise. The firm friendship between our peoples dating back centuries ago has been steadily developing since the establishment of diplomatic relations. I am glad to point out our effective cooperation in trade, tourism and education. Recently our counties initiated also cooperation in military-technical sphere, which gives new quality to bilateral relations. I am confident that the deepening of mutual trust between our peoples will serve as firm basis for discovering new mutually beneficial perspectives and promising cooperation directions. I am pleased to invite you to pay a state visit to Armenia at any time convenient for you to discuss and strengthen the developments on Armenian-Indian agenda. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan Image: Alamy ANZ Bank customers are being lured to click on a malicious email that itself pretends to report a fraud. The email tells ANZ customers that their online banking account "has been temporarily locked", as first reported by Nine, because "an unauthorised debit" of $300 was detected. The message claims the $300 was sent to "Energy PRO Australia LTD" then shows a link to click for the customer to supposedly unlock their account. The link then takes the victim to a phishing page, which harvests personal information or unknowingly installs malicious viruses onto the computer. Yahoo Finance has contacted ANZ for comment. The email is even bold enough to quote real ANZ bank telephone numbers to make itself look authentic. "If you have any questions about your account, please call us on 13 13 14 or International 61 3 8699 6943," it reads. The latest wave of scam messages follow an attack in March that saw emails pretending to ask security challenge questions to ANZ customers. Challenge questions are the personal questions that users resort to when they forget their password, such as "What's your mother's maiden name?". ANZ's anti-scam website advises customers that the bank would never send "an email asking for your account details, financial details, or your log in details". "Be extra diligent if you receive an email that claims to alert you to suspicious activity on your bank account and asks you to log in using a link in the email," the bank stated. Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news. China's foreign minister has slammed US moves against telecom giant Huawei as "economic bullying", and warned that Beijing was ready to "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. The trade spat between the world's top two economies escalated after President Donald Trump issued orders on grounds of national security last week that have prompted several foreign firms to distance themselves from Huawei. "The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security group led by Beijing and Moscow. Trump's move effectively bans US companies from supplying Huawei and affiliates with critical components over activities the US says are contrary its national security or foreign policy interests. Japan's Panasonic announced on Thursday that it was cutting back business with Huawei in light of the US ban. A day earlier, mobile carriers in Japan and Britain said they would postpone the release of Huawei smartphones. "Some people in the United States do not want China to enjoy the legitimate right to develop, and seek to impede its development process," Wang said, according to a foreign ministry statement issued late Wednesday. "This extremely presumptuous and egocentric American approach is not able to gain the approval and support of the international community." The two countries have yet to set a date to recommence trade negotiations after they resumed their tariffs battle earlier this month, with Trump raising punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing hiking those on $60 billion in American products. Trump has accused China of reneging on its commitments in the trade negotiations. Beijing has countered that any deal needs to be balanced. "It is impossible for us to sign or recognise an agreement that is unequal," Wang said. "If the United States is willing to negotiate on an equal footing, then on the Chinese side, the door is wide open. But if the United States opts for a policy of maximum pressure, then China will take them on and fight to the end," he said. President Donald Trump's move effectively bans US companies from supplying Huawei and affiliates with critical components A dog that was captured lying next to a coffin broke hearts around the world when the photo was shared online. The young woman who shared the photo to Facebook explained the coffin had the body of her teacher, Carmelito Marcelo, inside. He died on Saturday of a stroke. The dog photographed lived at the school where Mr Marcelo had taught. The teacher had fed and cared for the dog, Kristina Paola Demafelix said. The photograph of Buboy the dog lying beside Carmelito Marcelo's coffin at the teacher's wake went viral online. Source: Facebook / Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix The student behind the viral picture who attended Mabalacat City College in the Filipino city of Mabalacat City explained the red and white dog named Buboy had followed her teacher everywhere. The photo of Buboy was taken at Marcelos wake where Ms Demafelix had taken the dog because he had become confused since the teacher failed to show up to the school. Every time I would see you, Buboy, I felt like crying, she wrote in Filipino which was translated to English. It hurts losing a pet dog. How much more if you lose a master who treated you like family? Even when Sir [Marcelo] didnt have classes, he would go to school to look after you and give you food. Buboy had not seen the teacher since he had suffered a stroke early last week as he had been in hospital. The dog had been waiting at the school gate every morning for him and making regular trips to the door of his classroom looking for him. She said she had watched Buboy sitting outside Mr Marcelos room with his paws outstretched, so it looked like he was knocking at the door. The following day the students had decided to take the distressed dog to their teachers wake to try and help him understand his friend had died. Buboy waits outside the door of Mr Marcelo's classroom. The teacher died on Saturday after suffering a stroke earlier in the week. Source: Facebook / Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix It was there that she snapped the photo of Buboy beside Marcelos coffin, which went viral. Since the teachers death, the whole school had taken on the task of caring and feeding for the dog, she added. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party re-elected in a landslide, AFP looks at the challenges facing his government over the coming five years. - Jobs - Modi in his first term fell short on creating jobs for the more than a million Indians entering the labour market every month, experts say. A leaked recent government report showed that unemployment rose to a 45-year high of 6.1 percent in 2017-18. Government jobs have seen staggering numbers of applicants, including many overqualified candidates drawn to the prospect of a secure position with perks. Last year 19 million applied for 63,000 positions at Indian Railways. Non-farm sectors are hampered by stringent labour laws and insufficient investment in skills, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. - Farmers - Many of those looking for work are those escaping from a dire crisis gripping Indian agriculture that has driven thousands of farmers to suicide in recent years. Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihoods in India, with 70 percent of rural households depending primarily on it. Farmers are finding it ever harder to water their crops as groundwater levels fall and monsoon rains become more unpredictable. This has prompted extreme measures including curfews and armed guards near water sources while groundwater supplies in many areas have been contaminated by pollutants. Farmers are also reeling from low prices for their produce and a lack of infrastructure meaning 40 percent of fruit and vegetables rot before reaching consumers, according to the UN. - Pollution - Modi had pledged billions of dollars to clean up the holy Ganges river, which like other waterways is awash with raw sewage and industrial effluent. But results have been mixed. India's air is also a health hazard -- the country is home to 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, according to Greenpeace. Industrial emissions, car fumes and smoke from burning crops are creating a toxic cocktail. Poisonous air was responsible for 1.24 million premature deaths in India in 2017, according to a study published last year by Lancet Planetary Health, which said tens of millions of people face serious health risks. Every winter Delhi, the world's most noxious capital, chokes through haze so extreme that levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipse safe limits by more than 30 times. But the environment barely got a mention in the election campaign. "Whilst the public across the world is generating awareness on environmental issues, it is clearly missing in India," Aarti Khosla, director of Climate Trends, a New Delhi-based initiative, told AFP. - Hindu hardliners - Modi on Thursday vowed to build an "inclusive" India but critics have accused his party of fomenting animosity towards the country's religious minorities, particularly its 170 million Muslims. Under Modi, lynchings of Muslims and low-caste Dalits for eating beef and slaughtering and trading in cattle have risen. Several cities with names rooted in India's Islamic Mughal past have been renamed, while some school textbooks have been changed to reflect Hindu right-wing ideology, culture and history. With a new mandate, Modi will be under pressure from hardline Hindu groups that have long espoused "Hindutva", or Hindu hegemony. This includes kickstarting the building of a temple in Ayodhya on the site of a mosque destroyed by mobs in 1992. That kicked off riots across Hindu-majority India that left some 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. "Whichever government comes in power, we expect it took look at key civilisational issues like the construction of a grand temple for Lord Ram at Ayodhya," said a spokesman for one Hindu group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). - Foreign policy - Modi also faces foreign policy challenges, not least with Pakistan, against which India has fought three wars since partition in 1947. In February the two nuclear-armed nations conducted tit-for-tat air strikes after a suicide bomb killed 40 Indian paramilitaries in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted on Thursday that he looked forward "to working with him (Modi) for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia". India is also concerned by China's rising influence, especially Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. One project passes through Pakistani-administered Kashmir which India claims. In 2017 India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India. Since then China and India have sought to patch up relations. India also walks a tightrope between the United States and Russia, with Moscow still a major arms supplier to New Delhi including the S-400 missile system. Modi made the S-400 deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin last October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian arms. Modi has vowed to build an "inclusive" India but critics have accused his party of fomenting hatred against minorities Standing in front of a tent at Sudan's sit-in, protesters listen to an elderly man recount the horrific atrocities unleashed by recently ousted president Omar al-Bashir's regime in war-torn Darfur. Some protesters are from Khartoum and want to know more about the conflict; others have travelled from the vast arid region itself, an area which has seen repeated waves of conflict since 2003. "I know the history of Darfur well," said Suleiman into a microphone, before listing widespread atrocities by Bashir's forces and allied militiamen in Darfur during the early, most intense years of the conflict. Darfur, in western Sudan, suffered one of the deadliest military campaigns of Bashir's ironfisted rule. Hundreds of thousands were killed, while millions were displaced; most survivors still live in sprawling displaced camps. The conflict erupted when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's then Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of social and economic marginalisation. Scorched earth tactics unleashed by Bashir's forces saw village after village looted and razed. The Hague-based International Criminal Court has charged Bashir with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Bashir, who was deposed by the military on April 11 in response to protests outside army headquarters, denies the charges. - 'To kill and rape '- Although the level of violence in Darfur has fallen in recent years, atrocities in the vast region the size of France still haunt its residents. "Our unity is our strength," reads a slogan displayed on a tent built by Darfuri victims at the ongoing sit-in. While protesters from across Sudan were happy to see Bashir deposed, they remain encamped outside army headquarters, to demand a military council that has held power these past few weeks hand over to civilian rule. Many of those gathered at the tent in Khartoum are from Al-Salam camp in North Darfur. "I lost my father and four brothers in attacks by Janjaweed," said Abdallah Yassin, referring to much feared militia unleashed by Bashir's government at the height of Darfur's conflict. Nomadic Arab raiders were recruited and armed by Khartoum, before being sent to attack villages on camel and horseback. They were accused of murder, rape, looting and poisoning wells, in a campaign against ethnic groups suspected of supporting the rebels. "When the militiamen attacked the village, they were in large numbers and we couldn't defend ourselves," said Yassin, 30, wearing a light blue shirt and grey trousers. "They would gather us in one place, to kill, rape our sisters, our mothers, our grandmothers." "We demand that all those who committed crimes and massacres, all the symbols of (the former regime) be held responsible," he said, adding that the victims must be compensated by the new authorities. Ahmed Mahmoud, also a resident of Al-Salam camp, said he can't forget what he witnessed during those years. "Armed militiamen, on camels and horses, attacked defenceless men and raped women," he said. "There were air raids, people died." The carnage was such that "the flesh of murdered men and women mixed with those of animals," he added, taking a sudden pause. - 'Stability, security' - Mahmoud said the suffering of those in camps persists, although the violence has abated. "What we fundamentally want in Darfur is stability, security, education and health facilities," said Ibrahim al-Haj, who hails from South Darfur. "You get all that in Khartoum." Protest leaders who spearheaded the nationwide campaign against Bashir say that the ruling generals want to retain power, to help keep security across the country during a three year transition period tentatively agreed between the two sides. But for protesters who come from Darfur, the generals are complicit in the atrocities committed in their homeland. One personality who provokes particular ire is Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chief of the ruling military council. Dagalo is the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that has carried out operations against rebel groups in Darfur. Darfuri protesters say they cannot countenance the idea of Dagalo and other generals having any hand in running the country. Rights groups and victims of the Darfur conflict accuse Dagalo, widely known as Himeidti, of widespread abuses. "Himeidti has committed crimes against us and he is still there," said Ahmed Idris. "We want a civilian government" he added, saying that it is the least people deserve after suffering so much. "I'm here from North Darfur to explain how much we have suffered," Idris emphasised. Sudanese men displaced from Darfur sit next to a tent outside the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum at the ongoing sit-in Displaced Darfuri Ahmed Mahmoud talked of the horrors suffered at the hands of militias sent by Khartoum to his home provinces Darfuris are among the keenest of Sudan's protesters to see a full hand over of power by a ruling military council to a civilian government Ahmed Idriss, a displaced Darfuri, told AFP at the protest site in Khartoum that he could not stomach the idea of the deputy head of Sudan's military council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo having any role in a future administration Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed an "inclusive" future for all Indians on Thursday after a landslide election victory that crushed the Gandhi dynasty's comeback hopes once again. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!," Modi tweeted as delirious supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) celebrated nationwide. "The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfil people's aspirations," he said before arriving at BJP headquarters flashing victory signs with both hands and being showered in petals. Although final results were yet to be published, a rolling vote count by the election commission showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) increased its majority with 302 out of 543 elected lower house seats. The BJP's main rivals Congress were on just 51 seats, with Rahul Gandhi -- the great-grandson, grandson and son of three premiers -- conceding defeat and congratulating Modi. In an added personal humiliation Gandhi, 48, also admitted he had lost Amethi, a seat long held by his famous family, to a former television star running for the BJP. The BJP's headquarters in Delhi erupted in celebration with drummers, firecrackers, dancing and singing as hundreds of party faithful thronged the yard and nearby streets waiting for Modi. "Modi will make India great again. Modi is the strongest prime minister India has ever had and will get. We need to support his policies to prosper," said one supporter, Santosh Joshi. At Congress headquarters, a handful of dejected supporters sat in groups under the shade of trees. "We are sad but we will rise again. Modi won because of his lies and false promises. The country is in danger now," Rajesh Tiwari, a Congress supporter, told AFP. India's main Sensex index breached the 40,000-point level for the first time as the count pointed to a Modi win, following strong gains since Monday. - Fake news - The vast size of India -- stretching from the Himalayas to the tropics, taking in polluted megacities, deserts and jungles -- made the world's biggest election a marathon six-week endeavour. The campaign, estimated to have cost more than $7 billion, was awash with insults -- Modi was likened to Hitler and a "gutter insect" -- as well as fake news in Facebook and WhatsApp's biggest markets. Gandhi tried several lines of attack against Modi, in particular over a French defence deal and high unemployment and saying Modi was dividing the officially secular country. Lynchings of Muslims and low-caste Dalits for eating beef and slaughtering and trading in cattle have risen, with critics saying extremists have been emboldened by the BJP coming to power. Several cities with names rooted in India's Islamic Mughal past have been renamed, while some school textbooks have been changed to include references to Hindu right-wing ideology, culture and history. - The watchman - But Modi, 68, managed to deftly turn the election into a referendum on his rule while depicting himself, often in the third person, as the only one able to defend India. In this he was given a major boost when a suicide bombing, claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group, killed 40 Indian paratroopers in Indian-administered Kashmir on February 14. Doubts abound about the efficacy of India's subsequent air strikes on Pakistan, but the action enabled Modi to style himself the "chowkidar" ("watchman"). "We have shown the world that India is a great country. We have shown Pakistan that they cannot mess with us," said Vishal Sharma, a BJP supporter in Delhi. "Congress sold the country for all these decades. Now is the time to rebuild the nation." Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated Modi and said he looked forward to working for "peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia". His message came just hours after Pakistan's military said it tested a surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads -- a day after an Indian missile test. But while Pakistanis consider Modi a hardliner, analysts say his victory could improve relations between the arch foes. "The expectation in Pakistan is that there will be an incremental improvement in Pakistan-India relations as Modi's attitude would be more relaxed," retired Pakistani general Talat Masood told AFP. str-burs-stu/amu The preliminary count predicts a commanding majority in the lower house for Modi's party and its allies Indian election officials in Bangalore erect a banner with the list of constituencies at a counting centre on the eve of vote-tally day, when the roughly 600 million ballots cast in the world's biggest election are to be counted Rahul Gandhi is hoping to become the fourth member of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty to lead India A friend of the mother who was found dead alongside her daughter below a NSW lookout in a suspected murder-suicide has revealed the forested area was her favourite place. Tanja Ludwig, 33, and her two-year-old daughter died on Tuesday, with their bodies found below Robertson Lookout at Mount Keira near Wollongong. Taking to Facebook after hearing the news, Jenae Johnston, who runs a meditation group Ms Ludwig joined earlier this year, recalled a conversation they had weeks ago about how she and her daughter enjoyed their visits to the area. Tanja Ludwig was found dead with her two-year-old daughter at the bottom of Robertson Lookout. Source: Facebook Police patrol the cliff edge on Tuesday. Source: Nine News We walked along the pathway together in the rainforest and she shared how she had brought her German friends that were visiting here for walk as it was her favourite place, she said. She shared how much her daughter loved the trees and how she ran along the pathway enjoying it so much. She just loved this place and was always so thankful for the experience of being in nature, meditating and staring up into the tree canopy. Ms Johnston said Ms Ludwig, originally from Germany, felt relaxed and restored when visiting the area. She said her last memory of Ms Ludwig was her sharing tea with others under Robertson Lookout. Ms Ludwig, centre, at one of the meditation meets near Robertson Lookout. Source: Facebook/ One w/ Earth I could never have expected to see your name in print today. I could never of expected that you would lose your life in a place you loved so much. I just never knew, she said. A NSW police spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia on Thursday morning the deaths arent being treated as suspicious with no further investigations into the cause of the deaths. A report is being prepared for the coroner. Mothers Facebook plea Ms Ludwig made an online mental health plea months before she and her daughter were found dead at the site. In December, about a week out from Christmas, the 33-year-old posted to Facebook a message about mental health. Its OK not to be OK, she wrote in a Facebook post sharing an image with a list of numbers of mental health support hotlines urging people to share it. Story continues We all need support sometimes. The image also said: Its a really tough time of year for people. A simple copy and paste might save someones life. I did it, will you? One of her profile pictures also featured a filter for PANDA Week. PANDA is Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia. The organisation supports men and women suffering from depression and anxiety during and after pregnancy. She was believed to have recently split from her partner before moving into a granny flat in Wollongongs Coniston with her daughter, The Daily Telegraph reported. Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can get help through Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. The head of NATO told Russia and other potential foes Thursday that the Western military alliance was ready to use all means at its disposal to respond to cyber attacks. Jens Stoltenberg's warning came with the bloc's members on alert for interference in European Parliament elections that kicked off in Britain and the Netherlands on Thursday. Western allies accuse Russia of trying to sway the outcome of the 2016 US presidential vote and using cyber technology to cripple the infrastructure of rival Ukraine -- charges Moscow flatly denies. "For deterrence to have full effect, potential attackers must know we are not limited to respond in cyber space when we are attacked in cyber space," Stoltenberg said during a joint press appearance in London with UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. "We can and will use the full range of capabilities at our disposal." Hunt said that Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has shared details of malicious Russian activity with 16 of the 29 NATO members over the past 18 months. He accused Russian "proxies" in 2014 of trying to tamper with the voting system and delaying the final results of a presidential election in Ukraine that followed the ouster of a Moscow-backed leader. "In the cyber age, authoritarian states possess ways of undermining free societies that dictators of earlier times would have envied," Hunt said. "Recent events demonstrate that our adversaries regard democratic elections as a key vulnerability of an open society." - 'Constructive ambiguity' - The European Union last week adopted the power to impose "targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyber attacks". Stoltenberg and Hunt refused to say what steps might be taken by NATO -- a Cold War-era military alliance that Russia still views as a top national security threat. "We need to balance clarity about our determination to act with constructive ambiguity about exactly what we would do in specific circumstances," Hunt said. He called the new EU sanctions regime just one of the potential options. Longstanding tensions between London and Moscow culminated in the poisoning last year of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal on British soil. Britain says it has evidence that the attack was plotted by senior leaders in Moscow and carried out by members of Russia's military intelligence agency. Britain says it has evidence that the attack was plotted by senior leaders in Moscow and carried out by members of Russia's military intelligence agency. The Kremlin calls Britain's case inconclusive and politically motived. But it saw Western allies join forces and expel nearly 150 Russian embassy staff from around the world. Moscow immediately followed suit. Stoltenberg's visit came as part of his preparations for a NATO summit London will host on December 3-4. Stoltenberg said the response would not necessarily be confined to cyber space Britain's Western allies joined forces and expelled nearly 150 Russian embassy staff from around the world after former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned on British soil A photo of a woman with the baby she is accused of cutting from a teenagers womb, after murdering her has surfaced. The chilling photo, originally posted by CBS 2, shows Clarisa Figueroa standing over a critically ill baby Yavani Yadiel Lopez at Advocate Christ Hospital in Chicago. Ms Figuera has since been charged with first degree murder for allegedly luring 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa-Lopez to her home, where police say she strangled her and removed her unborn baby from the womb. A photo shows alleged murderer, Clarisa Figueroa, standing over baby Yavani Yadiel Lopez in a Chicago hospital. Source: CBS 2 It was reported that Ms Figuera, 46, rushed the infant to hospital on April 23, claiming she had just given birth to the baby boy. Its alleged that Ms Figuera contacted Ms Ochoa-Lopez on social media after devising an elaborate plan to acquire a newborn baby and used a Facebook group to offer to donate baby goods to needy mothers. Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was nine months pregnant when she was reported missing. Her body was later found with her baby cut from her womb. Source: Facebook/Cecilia Garcia When the pregnant woman arrived to collect the offered goods, Ms Figuera and her daughter, Desiree Figueroa, allegedly strangled Ms Ochoa-Lopez and cut the infant boy from her womb. Ms Figuera also set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the ill baby boy. Clarisa Figueroa (left) and her daughter, Desiree Figueroa (right) have been charged with first-degree murder. Source: AP Three weeks later Ms Figuera was charged with the murder of Ms Ochoa-Lopez after her remains were discovered in a garbage can near Ms Figueras Chicago property. Her daughter Desiree Figueroa was also charged with first-degree murder. The newborn was placed on life support and he remains in a serious condition. Marlen Ochoa-Lopez's family members visit her son who is fighting for life after he was cut from his murdered mothers womb. Source: Facebook Cecilia Garcia The hospital is being investigated after failing to raise the alarm when they discovered that Ms Figuera had lied about being the babys mother. Ms Figueras boyfriend, Pioter Bobak has also been charged with attempting to conceal the alleged murder. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. Dutch pro-EU parties headed for a surprise win Thursday in European Parliament elections, defying a predicted surge for populist forces as voters in Brexit-bound Britain and the Netherlands kicked off 28-nation polls. With British Prime Minister Theresa May looking set to resign after postponing her forlorn bid to push her divorce deal through parliament, Eurosceptics across the continent had hoped for major gains in the four-day EU-wide elections. But the populist momentum took an early hit with one of the main pretenders to the throne of European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, Dutchman Frans Timmermans, leading his social democrats to lead a Dutch exit poll released late Thursday. Campaigning on a fiercely pro-Europe platform, Commission Vice-President Timmermans's party was set to beat the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and an upstart populist group, the exit poll said. "There is clearly a majority in the Netherlands that wants the European Union to continue to play a role," Timmermans told the NOS public broadcaster. "I realise that everywhere in Europe there is a need for another Europe, one that fights harder against climate change, that we have to cooperate on a social level, and where big business has to pay more taxes." His social democrats were projected to win five seats out of the 26 allocated for the Netherlands, the Ipsos poll for NOS said. Rutte's Liberals and the pro-Europe Christian Democrats were set to win four seats, while the right-wing Forum for Democracy of climate-sceptic populist leader Thierry Baudet was projected to win three seats, the same as the Groenlinks environmental party. The anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, which has lost votes to Baudet, was meanwhile set to slump to one seat, from its current three. Opinion polls in the run-up to the vote predicted Rutte and Baudet's parties would share the lead. - 'We've been let down' - More than 400 million European voters are eligible to elect 751 European Parliament members, with the first results expected late Sunday once voting in the 28 member states is over. In Britain the elections were a surreal spectacle in a country that was supposed to have already left the European Union on March 29 after voting for Brexit in a referendum almost three years ago. The Brexit crisis mirrored deep divisions across the continent, where rising nativist, anti-establishment forces are bidding to make significant gains in the elections. MPs have rejected May's withdrawal agreement and the country now finds itself electing lawmakers to an institution it plans to leave. "We've been let down by both of the main parties," Rex Taylor, a 79-year-old retired professor, said as he voted in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The newly-created Brexit Party, formed only this year by Eurosceptic figurehead Nigel Farage, is leading the latest opinion polls with 37 percent of the vote. However, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats also look set to capitalise on the mixed Brexit messages of the main parties. Some EU citizens reported being turned away at British polling booths, with many complaining they were the victims of clerical errors in the last-minute scramble to organise the vote. "I've been turned away from the polling station saying I'm not eligible to vote despite the fact I've got a polling card and have registered too. My local council... failed to send out the declaration," EU citizen Peter Baier wrote on Twitter. - Risk to integration - Around the continent, national leaders are scrambling to mobilise supporters to resist the populist surge, with opinion polls showing nationalist parties leading in France, Italy and Hungary, among others. Pro-European leaders fear a good showing for the Eurosceptics will disrupt Brussels decision-making, threatening reform efforts at closer integration. Matteo Salvini of Italy's anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels. The League has topped opinion polls in Italy. Le Pen wants to strike a blow to Emmanuel Macron's faltering French presidency by overtaking his centrist, pro-European party Republic on the Move. Polls give her RN party a slight edge, with around 23 percent support. "Everything has changed," Le Pen told AFP. "A whole range of political forces have risen up in spectacular fashion." - Centre-right set to win - However, Eurosceptics are not expected to sweep the whole bloc, with voters from Spain to Ireland and the former Soviet Baltic states indicating solid backing for the EU. In Germany, surveys show Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party -- a heavyweight in the EU-wide centre-right EPP group -- in first place, with the Greens second. The latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament found 61 percent of respondents calling their country's EU membership a good thing -- the highest level since the early 1990s. The polls will open on Friday in the Czech Republic and Ireland, and on Saturday in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia. But most countries will be voting on Sunday, with the results expected overnight into Monday. Juncker is stepping down after five years as president of the European Commission. The hunt will also be on for someone to replace former Polish premier Donald Tusk as head of the EU council. burs-dk-cvo/har Matteo Salvini of Italy's anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels The newly-created Brexit Party, formed only this year by Eurosceptic figurehead Nigel Farage, is leading the latest opinion polls with 37 percent of the vote in Britain British Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation appears imminent after she postponed another attempt to push her EU divorce deal Map of Europe with the dates of the European Parliament elections In The Netherlands, Flamboyant populist Thierry Baudet (C) is on course to beat Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberals The Brexit issue looked set to dominate how Britons vote Burrowing deep underground, thousands of informal miners risk their lives to find gleaming red gems as a law change spurs opportunity in Myanmar's "land of rubies". Emperors, kings and warlords have long fought over the valley of Mogok in Mandalay region, where the unique "pigeon-blood" stones lie hidden. The Mogok rubies are the most expensive in the world, with the highest-quality jewels fetching multi-million dollar prices in an industry notoriously bereft of regulation. For years, private companies were permitted to mine in a joint venture with state-owned Myanmar Gems Enterprise. But a recent law change -- aimed at reining in big companies digging hundreds of metres deep -- means many licences have not been renewed, and the former diggings have been invaded by artisanal miners. With no security protecting the sites, locals -- many former employees of the mining companies and long marginalised in the trade -- have rushed in to stake a claim. Now the openings of makeshift shafts, some just metres apart, pepper crowded sites, with teams working around the clock to bring up buckets of soil from depths of 30 metres (100 feet). The holes lead down into a maze of bamboo-supported tunnels just wide enough for the men to inch along on their bellies, while long tubes feed oxygen into the shafts. "Sometimes you hit another tunnel when you're digging underground," one miner, asking not to be named, tells AFP on a break from his shift, covered in mud and kitted out with head torch and walkie-talkie. Team members haul buckets to muddy pools to clean away dirt, before sifting through piles of pebbles for a telltale red glint. Police have started patrolling some sites, sparking fears among hopeful prospectors that they will soon start cracking down on the operations. - Risky business - Tunnel collapses are a constant threat in this scramble for riches, and the start of the rainy season only ups the risk. Despite slim pickings, the lure of a quick profit is difficult to resist One worker told AFP his team of five had only found one gemstone in a month, which they sold for just 100,000 kyat ($65). "We've spent about 600,000 kyat on petrol and machines so far," he laments, adding they are simply unable to dig deep enough. Myanmar's ruby industry surged in the mid-90s when the former military junta first allowed in private companies that brought with them more industrial methods. But western sanctions hit hard. In 2008 the US closed a loophole that had allowed imports of gems from Myanmar -- despite 2003 sanctions on the industry -- in a bid to starve the junta of funds. Specific sanctions were lifted after Aung San Suu Kyi's government came to power in 2016. The industry remains tainted with a "reputation for corruption, conflict and deep connections to military-linked figures and armed groups", says Paul Donowitz, of the watchdog Global Witness. High-value rubies are often smuggled over the border into Thailand or China to be sold directly to private buyers or made into jewellery. Many of the remainder end up at Mogok's market, where dealers using torches and magnifying glasses scrutinise small mounds of the gemstones. Merchants say the boom times are in the past. "We only see low-quality gemstones these days," says one shop owner, who has been in the business for 25 years. Informal miners have taken over the ruby tunnels in Mogok, Myanmar, after big companies previously in charge of the digging lost their licences under new laws There's no security on the site, and locals have rushed in hoping to make their fortunes The ban on exporting Burmese gemstones was lifted in 2016, following years of sanctions during the time of the junta Tunnel collapses are a constant threat for the miners but the lure of a quick profit is difficult to resist The openings of makeshift tunnels, some just metres apart, crowd the sites as teams work around the clock China said Thursday it had lodged a protest with Washington after two US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait amid rising tensions between the two powers. The US Navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S. Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit "in accordance with international law" on Wednesday. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the navy said. "The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." US warships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. "We have lodged solemn representations with the US," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing. The sail-by comes on top of tensions between the United States and China over trade and US efforts to thwart Chinese telecom giant Huawei over security concerns. The transit also comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia kicked off operation "Pacific Vanguard" near Guam, bringing together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries. Drills will focus on "live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea," the US 7th Fleet said. In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait and lodged an official complaint with Paris. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The US diplomatically recognises China over Taiwan, but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier. For the Guam naval drills, Australia has contributed two frigates, Japan two destroyers and South Korea one destroyer. The USS Blue Ridge, the 7th Fleet's flagship, will lead the operation from the US side. Home to more than 160,000 people, Guam was at the centre of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with "enveloping fire". The USS Blue Ridge during a call in Hong Kong on April 20, 2019. The 7th Fleet flagship is leading "Operation Vanguard" near Guam The head of the US air safety agency said on Wednesday his agency hadn't yet evaluated Boeing's patch for its 737 MAX 8 jet, ahead of a Thursday summit of global aviation regulators. The 737 MAX was grounded following the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which together with an Indonesian Lion Air crash in October claimed 346 lives and were both blamed on faulty technology in the aircraft. The summit in Fort Worth, Texas is expected to provide clues as to whether global aviation safety authorities will be willing to set aside any hesitation about the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which was the last to ground the plane and has not yet given the green light for the 737 MAX to fly again. In a sign of the work remaining to be done before the MAX 8 can fly again, interim FAA chief Dan Elwell said his agency has not yet received Boeing's proposed fix for the automated control system blamed in the crashes. "We are still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software for approval," Elwell said ahead of the summit. "It takes as long as it takes to be right," Elwell said, saying the delay was caused by the FAA sending Boeing additional questions about its proposed fix. However US carriers appear ready to put the plane back in the air, with American Airlines and Southwest both scheduling flights using the jet for August in the apparent hope that it will be cleared to fly then. - Explanations - But before that can happen regulators "are going to want a lot of explanation," said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. "We're going to learn a lot." The FAA would prefer to have other agencies quickly follow its lead -- which previously would have been likely -- but several aviation experts think that is improbable. Fifty seven agencies from 33 countries will attend the summit, including China, France, Germany, Britain, India, Indonesia and Ethiopia, as well as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the UN International Civil Aviation Organization. Officials from the European Union and Canada said Wednesday they will not clear the 737 MAX for takeoff until their questions are answered. "There are conditions for us to have (the 737 MAX) return to fly and that is we do our independent review," said Jagello Fayl, communications chief for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Meanwhile, Transport Canada "has provided US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing a list of questions and action items to address as part of the validation process and evaluation," Transport Canada spokeswoman Frederica Dupuis said in an email. "Our expectation is that all data required to address these inquiries will be provided." Dupuis said she "cannot speculate on the timelines" for approval of the 737 MAX by the FAA or Canadian officials. - Still the 'gold standard'? - The meeting comes after Boeing announced on May 16 that it had completed a software update to address a problem with the flight handling program known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). In both of the MAX crashes, the MCAS pointed the plane sharply downward based on a faulty sensor reading, hindering the pilots' effort to control the aircraft after takeoff, according to preliminary crash investigations. China's three largest airlines have sought compensation from Boeing over the grounding and delayed further delivery of the jets, state media reported Wednesday. A Boeing spokesman said the company does not comment on conversations with customers, but that they are providing additional information to the FAA in anticipation of a certification test flight, a key step in winning regulatory approval. Long considered a "gold standard" internationally, the FAA's reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of the oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the 737 MAX. US lawmakers last week once again castigated Elwell for lagging behind virtually all other regulators in grounding the planes, acting only after seeing data linking the two crashes. Elwell meanwhile said the agency would permit the 737 MAX to resume flights "only when the FAA's analysis of the facts and technical data indicate that it is safe to do so." Elwell said he hoped other regulators "make their un-grounding as close to ours as possible." The global fleet of Boeing 737 MAX planes has been grounded after two deadly crashes, including this group of Southwest Airlines planes photographed in California in March Daniel Elwell, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, hopes to coordinate global regulators on the resumption of flights of the Boeing 737 MAX Mourners carry portraits of victims of the crashed accident of Ethiopian Airlines during a mass funeral at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March U.S. Rep. John Katko on Thursday met with the new U.S. members of the International Joint Commission to discuss flooding along Lake Ontario that's occurred twice in three years. The commissioners Jane Corwin, U.S. section chair and a former New York state assemblymember, Rob Sisson and Lance Yohe were confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week. They were sworn in this week as new members of the six-person bi-national panel that oversees shared boundary waters between the U.S. and Canada. After his meeting with the new commissioners, Katko said in a phone interview that he urged them to review Plan 2014 a water regulation strategy adopted by the IJC in 2016. Katko, R-Camillus, and other elected officials blame Plan 2014 for the high water levels that caused flooding along Lake Ontario. Three of the counties affected by flooding Cayuga, Oswego and Wayne are in Katko's district. "I explained to them that it just can't possibly be a coincidence that since Plan 2014 was initiated, two out of the three years we've had serious flooding and we barely missed last year," he said. Corwin, Sisson and Yohe joined the commission as lake levels rise to near-record levels. As of Tuesday, the lake was at 248.69 feet more than two feet higher than the historical average for this time of year. It's slightly below where the lake was at in 2017 when there was flooding along the lake. With high water levels present on Lake Ontario and other Great Lakes, the commissioners are planning to visit upstate New York. Katko said they will travel to Buffalo and Greece next week to survey the flooding. In the coming weeks, they will join Katko for a day visiting shoreline communities in Cayuga, Oswego and Wayne counties. "They're thoroughly engaged and they're taking their jobs very seriously," he said. Katko is pleased that the IJC seats are filled. Until recently, the U.S. had two of its three seats held by Obama administration appointees. The Canadian seats were vacant. President Donald Trump nominated Corwin, Sisson and Yohe last year, but the Senate didn't hold a vote. Trump renominated the trio in January. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the nominations in April. The Senate confirmed Corwin, Sisson and Yohe by unanimous consent. Corwin, whose former Assembly district included communities along Lake Ontario, has said that's unlikely Plan 2014 will be abolished. But she does believe there should be a review to determine whether the regulations are working. Katko said having a New York on the panel is important. Corwin, he continued, has knowledge of the problem and can help educate her fellow commissioners. "She understands that Plan 2014 may not have been the best idea in the world. That doesn't mean that she's going to, overnight, unravel it," he said. "But she's already saying if we need to tweak these plans and need to do what we can to make this work better, we're going to do it. That's music to my ears." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The call came in for an accident on Dunning Avenue Road at 2:26 a.m. Troopers found Cleveland Boswell, 50, who claimed a friend of his had driven the vehicle and fled. State police interviewed the witness who called the accident in as well as a member of the Fleming Fire Department, who had arrived at the scene before state police. State police said both witnesses said they never saw another person leave the scene. A trooper asked Boswell for the keys to the vehicle and they were in his pocket, state police said. State police said he refused to take any standardized sobriety tests. AURORA The Inns of Aurora took a preliminary step toward converting the Taylor House into a conference center Wednesday, after the village planning board accepted the project's application as complete. The planning board accepted the project application from the Inns of Aurora the business entity that owns the Aurora Inn, Wallcourt Hall, Fargo Bar & Grill, and more in order to move forward with further review. "This is really just taking a look at the application, certifying that it's accurate, it's complete so that we can push forward, and all of your questions within great detail will be examined by this board," Village Attorney Thomas Blair told the board. The project would convert the Taylor House, which formerly was used as the home of Wells College's president, into a conference center geared toward two-to-three day conferences with around 50 attendees, according to Inns of Aurora General Manager Sue Edinger. Instead of trying to attract conferences that would bring attendees from, say, Auburn or Ithaca, the idea behind the center is to bring in conference-goers from further away for multi-day conferences to serve as a complement to the hotel-side of the Inns business, according to Edinger. "The intent is to get the people to come, stay here, and give them a place collectively to meet," Edinger said. Addressing a question from Planning Board Chair Patricia Bianconi, Edinger said the project would include an 18-car parking lot, although the expectation is that most attendees would stay as guests at one of the inns and park there. The board also accepted lead agency status for purposes of environmental review under the state Environmental Quality Review Act. The board's next meeting is scheduled for June 26. Staff writer Ryan Franklin can be reached at (315) 282-2252 or ryan.franklin@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @RyanNYFranklin Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Cayuga Lake National Bank has announced that Scott Babcock, a Moravia native, will serve as the company's new senior vice president of credit administration. With 16 years of banking experience, Babcock will work toward building a strong lending team, creating profitable loan growth and proving Cayuga Lake National Bank's competitiveness in the region, the company said in a press release. Under this new role, Babcock's mission is to foster customer relationships and become a new borrower's immediate choice for banking and financial assistance. "Cayuga Lake National Bank has been a requested organization for many years, and I will work tirelessly with the management team to ensure another 155 years of success," Backcock said in the release. "I envision large amounts of growth for the company with the goals we have set in place. I am honored to be a part of an organization who is so proud to prosper and carry our such a long-held, notable reputation." Babcock earned his bachelor's degree from Binghamton University and attended the Advanced School of Banking - Pennsylvania Bankers Association, where he graduated with honors. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SAN FRANCISCOThe Erotic Service Provider Legal Education and Research Project will host a rally outside the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention, which coincides with International Whores Day on June 1. When the convention comes to the Moscone Center San Francisco, sex workers will be on hand to greet the attendees, including the 2020 Democratic Presidential candidates, and advocating that a new Decriminalize Sex Work resolution be added to the state Democratic Party platform. Nearly 50 state delegates have already endorsed the Resolution. We are demanding that the Democratic Party, and presidential candidates like Kamala Harris, make the decriminalization of sex work a priority! says Kristen Di Angelio of Sex Worker Outreach Project of Sacramento. The criminalization of prostitution, including the criminalization of clients, creates exploitive and unsafe work conditions which disproportionately target people of color, LGBT, homeless youth and victims of sex trafficking. Many of the 2020 Presidential candidates, including all Senators and Representatives, supported FOSTA, a 2018 law that made sex work more difficult and dangerous. As the national momentum grows for inclusion of our voices, decriminalization is within our grasp, Maxine Doogan of ESPLERP said. We will let the candidates know that we expect them to Repeal FOSTA. We will not be silenced. The Democratic Decriminalization Rally takes place noon to 3 p.m. June 1 at the Moscone Center North-North/West Corner of third and Howard, 747 Howard St., San Francscio. For more, contact Doogan at (415) 265-3302 or [email protected]. LUCEDALE, Miss.Ahhhh, Republicans. The latest member of the party of family values to show what a fine upstanding citizen he is would be Mississippi Republican State Rep. Doug McLeod, who is currently free on a $1,000 signature bond following his arrest earlier this week on a domestic violence charge of punching his wife in he face because he believed she undressed too slowly to have sex with him. Yup, you read that right. McLeod bloodied his wifes nose because she wasnt getting naked fast enough for him. According to law enforcement reports, McLeod was intoxicated and holding a drink in his hand when officers arrived and he greeted them by saying, Are you kidding me? His wifewho had blood on her face, neck and armsreported to officers her husband had snapped, saying he often did so when hed been drinking. She said after he struck her, she fled to a friend who was in another room and locked the door. McLeod reported pounded on the door saying he would killer her fucking dog if she didnt open the door. Not one to let the actions of a colleague sully their own efforts to harm womenthe legislature passed a bill that essentially bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancyRepublican leaders in the state are calling for McLeod to resign from his elected position. McLeod has made no statements about the incident or if he plans to step down. But, of course, there will probably be no real consequences if he doesnt resign; hes running unopposed for re-election this fall. Stay classy, Republicans. Pictured: McLeods official government portrait and his mugshot from Kings County Sheriffs Department. WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.Flirt4Free has released the details of its most highly anticipated annual event. Every year, the company whisks their models and studios away on an exclusive retreat to increasingly exotic locales. In 2017, their top performers explored the gorgeous beaches and rich jungles of Costa Ricas Papagayo Peninsula. Last year, they reveled and relaxed in lavish water villas on a private island in the Maldives. In 2019, the grand affair known throughout the industry as Flirt Summit will convene on the mystical shores of Bali. In this paradise for adventurers and spiritual seekers, Flirt4Frees elite broadcasters will dance on black sand beaches, meditate in ancient seaside temples, explore emerald rice fields, and practice yoga in the glow of a glorious sunset. Theyll forge lifelong friendships and connections while they relax, rejuvenate, and party in the karmic tranquility of this enchanted Indonesian kingdom. Once again, were thrilled at the chance to thank our amazing broadcasters for their hours and hours of hard work and dedication, said Flirt4Free president Gregory Clayman. We could not succeed without them. They deserve the very best and we found it. The site will give away 40 all-inclusive Bali packages between June 1st and July 31st. In a series of on-site contests, models can will a four-night stay in a stunning villa or palatial Balinese estate as well as airfare cash prizes to help them get there. Flirt Summit is about more than just touching base with our broadcasters to talk shop, said Jamie Rodriguez, director of product. These are not just the people who cam for us. Theyre part of the Flirt family. Theres no better way to enjoy their company and celebrate our mutual success than with a luxurious getaway in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Flirt Summit contests are always among the companys most competitive. Fans of the sites models should expect their favorite cam stars to be online in force, offering up inspired live shows as they strive to win their trip to paradise. Prizes will be awarded to the top 15 female models, the top 15 male models, the next top 5 overall models, and to five qualified random winners. For more information on Flirt Summit 2019, visit FlirtSummit.com. New models and studios whod like to join Flirt4Frees star studded roster can apply here. Affiliates interested in promoting the Flirt4Free platform can click here. LONDONAlicia Amiras Be A Bimbo clothing line continues to expand, most recently with the addition of Fuck Doll crop tops, which are now available for pre-order. As much as we are trying to create new things, we also listen to what people want and pay attention to what is moving, Alicia said. Weve been very lucky so far across the brand, but a black Fuck Doll crop top has definitely been one of the leading requests while pink was already a top seller. Ive seen them already and they are absolutely beautiful. Earlier this month she unveiled the California Dream collection of clothing, pendants and hairpins, and she is ready to follow that up with the black version of one of the companys most popular items. Take a look at the Twitter accounts for Alicia or Be A Bimbo and you will see countless beauties who have posted posing in their pink Fuck Doll crop tops. Soon those same crop tops will be seen throughout social media but in the new color. Whether youre working within the adult industry or just tired of being judged for looking hyper-feminine, Be A Bimbo is here for you, Alicia said. We want to empower women, femme, trans, and everyone else to take ownership of their sexuality. Pre-order your black Fuck Doll crop top at BeABimbo.com. Companies, brands and talent interested in business collaborations with Alicia Amira and Be A Bimbo can email [email protected]. When Las Vegas poet Heather Lang Cassera was named Clark County Poet Laureate, those who know her were not surprised. In addition to teaching at Nevada State College and co-advising the schools literary journal 300 Days of Sun, Lang Cassera can be found at almost every literary event in townfrom leading poetry workshops at Green Valley Library to hosting readings with Nevada Humanities and attending events at The Writers Block book shop. She is one of the most visible poets in the city of sin, and her work has been featured in North American Review, Pleiades, South Dakota Review, Oxford American, Diode and others. She even serves as World Literature Editor of The Literary Review, co-founded Arizona small press Tolsun Books, curated an anthology of Nevada women writers called Legs of Tumbleweeds, Wings of Lace and was named Best Local Writer by KNPRs Desert Companion magazine. Why lead with her bio, though? Well, thats a good question, as its often best to begin with a quote from the book being reviewed, which is 2018s chapbook I was the girl with the moon-shaped face released by Zeitgeist Press. The moon is both a natural satellite of a planet and an indefinite and extended period of time. It is important to contextualize Lang Casseras position in the Southwest poetry scene before diving into her stellar chapbook because, though not a native Las Vegan, Lang Cassera is the moon, the satellite of a city with an immense gravitational pull, and she will be there, flashing brighter than neon, for years to come. I was the girl with the moon-shaped face uses numbers rather than titles to reveal a narrative woven throughout and resembles, visually, one long sequence poem. Lang Cassera opens with, I was the girl with the moon-/ shaped face. Beyond my window,/ tiny starflowers bloomed./ Downstairs plates shattered/ & I wished they would fall,/ if they must fall, something more/ like petals. Here, the poet introduces the conflictsinternal and externalthat give this thin, colorful book its gravity. As a child, the speaker feels stunted by her parents arguments, and she, alongside her brother and the starflowers, must bloom among photos of our older sister,/ the one we will never meet. Later, in part four, she communicates that though she and her brother were aware of the word fragile as children, they optimistically clutched construction paper & glue before being quickly reminded that there were other things/ that could not fall more than once, things beyond repair. With the skill of a fiction writer and the heart of a songwriter, the poet meditates on what it means to learn, in youth, that sometimes there is loss. As the story progresses, the speaker grows. As she looks for harbingers/ of yesterdays, in part six, she still hopes that my own fallopian antlers/ might someday become branches, & then hollow,/ & then something unspeakable &/ then two hidden lungs. She still yearns for motherhood even though, in part 11, she remarks, As a girl, I imagined lungs/ as a pair of inverted atomic bombs./ Even before the divorce,/ I had wondered, do they get sick of their togetherness?/ Lungs rise and fall in tandem. Even part 18, which has a lighter tone, echoes of earlier poems: I want a haircut/ that gives me something to believe inOne that remembers my birthday/ but forgets that Im turning thirty three./ I want a haircut that makes folks forget/ my maternal clock. With humor and reiteration Lang Cassera captures the persistent desire to become whole through family, to enter that parental space in spite of her childhood, in spite of being birthed from loss. She knows of love as performance, however. In part 17, she writes, I once was the girl with the moon/ -shaped face, but I learned/ the origin of the world/ from the circus,/ from elaborate beasts,/ from sequin-covered acrobatsbut I sought quick refuge/ of quiet wrists & swollen heartstrings, as if to suggest the tent-less sideshow of her upbringing somehow prepared her for loves truth, for the involuntary hollow of the heart. This poem breathes new life into the saying all that glitters isnt gold. The chapbook is also layered with images of the Southwest. The final poem, part 20, follows the speaker and her brother as they drive through the Mojave Desert just outside Baker, California, where there are power lines/ like giant robots with arms & legs/ playing cats cradle,/ like when our mother was a kid. As brush makes long shadows/ on the moon-like terrain, the GPS reads, four miles is fifteen minutes in traffic, but it was never really about the numbers. For the speaker and her brother, it was never about getting there, but the journey itselffrom childhood to adulthood, from cold winters to palm trees/ where none should be. This book is a victory for all who carry pain from youth, for all who move through life like the phases of the moon. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 One of my favorite students, set to graduate summa cum laude this month, came to my office last week with a handful of books. She told me she had bought some for her literature classes and others to feed what I have come to know as her effervescent intellect. She said she was divesting of most of her possessions to prepare for a year of backpacking around Asia before strapping into graduate school and asked if I wanted a few of the books to add to my library. But, she said apologetically, they arent perfect. Her voice dropped into the quiet register of shame. I wrote in them. After she left my office I looked inside the books. Passages glowed with a radioactive yellow under the adornment of a highlighter. Pages were dog-eared and pizza-stained. The margins were pop-up festivals. In them I read snippets of quotes, questions addressed to the writers, musingsall in her handwriting, an intimacy of its own. The books she gave me were not only stories well written but the brain droppings of an engaged mind that had transformed the novels into something alive, something unlocked from the static place holding of text printed onto paper. Her books bristled with ongoingness. She had transformed the books into living things. A few months before receiving those books, I attended a teaching conference. One of the speakers was Robin DeRosa, the director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Plymouth State University. In her animated talk, she called margins contested spaces and relayed her thoughts about writing in books. I like the idea of a texts margins being a space to amplify the marginal subtext, make visible the marginalized experience, or subvert the dominant discourse with critique. And I like that the act of annotating is an empowering one, one that ascribes ownership over the text through the democratic act of reading. Her words were liberating. I write in my books and scrawl in those slender white streams of margins that flank the text. I annotate, and I ruminate. Writing in books hints of something forbidden, a private and thrilling act of rebellion. Like most of you, I imagine, I grew up with the idea that writing in a bookany book except a diary or a guest registrywas verboten. In my stern Catholic school, books were presented to us as sacred objects, containers of Knowledge that we were to behold and safeguard. I assumed writing in a book was a mortal sin. We were never to smudge them, read with dirty fingers or turn down the corner of a page to mark our place. If a book spurred a question or introduced an unknown word, it was never acceptable to notate in the margins. Textbooks on annual loan to us in high school were given thorough health examinations upon their return. If there were marks, we were punished. We were shamed. I carried these ideas with me for years. I held onto the notion of the book as an object of authority, something to divest its text but never to be brought into the ongoingness of my life and of my learning. It wasnt until I was liberated into buying my own books that I began to write in them, to doodle. Some I annotate with data pointsthe captains log of my reading. In others I joust with the ideas presented. In most my response to the text curls my thoughts into new formations which then alight onto language. That language goes into the book. Into the margins. Onto the edges of the printed pages. My books are integral to the life I live. If the pages are ruffled, the book has been ingested during a bath. If there are the circular brown tattoos of coffee mugs, Ive been reading in the morning. Crumbs wedge into the center of the pages, attesting to reading during meals. Creases show the way stations of my attention span. My comments and questions are a record of my thinking. The student who gave me the books wrote an email the next day, saying she hoped I was not offended by their condition. I wrote her back immediately and assured her there were two gifts she had given me: The gift of the stories told by the novel and the deeper gift of the treasure map she had created there of a mind alive. Originally a flatlander, Laura Kelly is a journalism professor who teaches writing and storytelling at the American University in Bulgaria. She lives in Flagstaff during the summer months and calls the city one of her homes. She uses Mary Olivers words as her manifesto: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Badaliyya is a movement based on the concept of BADAL (an Arabic word for "Substitution" or "Ransom". The inspiration comes from the "understanding" that interreligious relation, is primarily a movement of LOVE - a PASSIONATE LOVE that moves one to offer his/her life that others may have life and life to the full. It is a movement of self-expenditure... The model is Jesus Christ in the cross who paid the price by being a RANSOM for us! Bapa Eliseo "Jun" Mercado, OMI Gluten-free brand Mrs Crimbles is set to launch a duo of mini loaves aimed at the lunchbox market. The Lunchbox Loaf Cakes come in two flavours Jammy and Double Chocolate. The latter comprises gluten-free sponge cake with chocolate chips and a chocolate-flavoured gooey centre, while the Jammy variant has a raspberry filling. Both are sold in boxes of five individually wrapped loaf cakes with an rsp of 2.50 and fewer than 130 calories per cake. They roll into Tesco stores, specifically the free-from aisles, later this week. We believe the key to wellbeing is all about balance and, through the new Mrs Crimbles Loaf Cakes, we can still let consumers enjoy a bit of what they fancy, said Bryan Martins, marketing director at Wessanen UK, which owns Mrs Crimbles as well as Clipper Teas, Whole Earth and Kall. Mrs Crimbles is focused on making great-tasting, free-from snacks that are accessible to all, and the new Mrs Crimbles Lunchbox Loaf Cakes fit in perfectly with this. The launch is being supported by in-store POS and digital display ads to drive traffic to the Tesco online shop later in the year. Mrs Crimbles will also create a social media marketing campaign and utilise its existing partnership with Topless Baker Matt Adlard. Whether theyve been involved in a car crash or removed from a home, children need comfort in tough situations. The Beatrice Police Department is receiving some assistance providing comfort from Beatrice Middle School students, who made and donated blankets to the department that will eventually be given to children in need. The 20 blankets were created by 20 middle school students this year as part of an after school program. BMS speech pathologist Pamela Barnes said the project originated last fall. The ideas was that we would contribute them locally to an agency that could use them with kids who are in crisis, Barnes said. We did a total of 20 and they are going to the police department this afternoon to use when they have to do a removal from a home or kids have been in an accident and need some reassurance, however they feel they would best be used. The blankets were presented Wednesday to Beatrice police officers Timothy Price and Wes Henning, who said the department appreciated the gesture and will put the blankets to good use. Barnes added the project was a good way for the students to learn a new skill while also benefiting the area. It gave students an idea and some familiarity working with fabric and also helps others in the community, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. If the state budget process seems polarized now, just wait. It could get even more quarrelsome as lawmakers contemplate how their votes might affect 2020 political prospects.Call it the Three P's - preening, posturing, and preparing for election campaigns - and some of that was on display during House committee and floor debate on the $23.9 billion budget proposal for 2019-20.And it's likely to intensify as the Senate considers its own spending plan, the two chambers reconcile differences ... and then Gov. Roy Cooper likely vetoes the compromise package and sends everyone back to the negotiating table.Political scientists say minority Democrats are trying to rile their base by highlighting hot-button issues. Angry voters may help the party take over one or both legislative chambers next year.Analysts say the rancor isn't unusual, because all 170 legislators face voters every two years. But they're surprised Republicans haven't invited more Democrats to the budget process after 2018, when the GOP lost its veto-proof supermajorities in both legislative chambers. Republicans will need Democratic support to defend against or override Cooper's near-certain veto.Cooper and Democrats also have an issue they think will give them an edge next year at the ballot box: Medicaid expansion. The governor has said legislation adding hundreds of thousands of N.C. residents to the Medicaid rolls will happen this year, either in the budget or through a separate bill.But a budget change passed in 2016 removed leverage governors held during earlier standoffs: the threat of a state government shutdown. If the governor and legislature fail to agree when the fiscal year ends June 30, government agencies will stay open, operating at current spending levels. A stalemate could last for months.N.C. State political science professor Andy Taylor said Democrats know they are unlikely to force significant changes in the budget at this stage. They believe most voters share their priorities.Meredith College political science professor David McLennan agrees.and any time they can cast Republicans as supporting a radical agenda they will, McLennan said.But the parties agree on many issues, and aren't far apart on others, so Democrats are using political gamesmanship to create issues that make them look further apart than they are, McLennan said.Thom Little, UNC Greensboro political science professor, said it's safe to assume most of the amendments and debate offered by Democrats were for show, and to make Republicans squirm.Little said.Because Republicans haven't invited Democrats to help craft the budget, and transparency was lacking until the appropriations bill was introduced, Democrats can portray the GOP as meeting behind closed doors in the dead of night, McLennan said. A similar argument undermined Republican support among some voters during legislative redistricting fights.McLennan said.Taylor said much of the substantive budget work traditionally occurs in private among a handful of majority party leaders and budget writers.Being denied a seat at the table is part of the reason the minority party ratchets up protests against policy proposals and budget priorities during committee and floor debates.As long as Democrats and Republicans remain in their respective corners, Cooper should gain leverage over the budget process, Taylor said. If the governor can keep Democrats with him, they could sustain his budget veto, hoping to force Republicans to give ground on some issues.Both Taylor and McLennan say Cooper has been immune from backlash over his record 28 vetoes, 23 of which were overridden by Republicans. His popularity remains high among voters in various polls. That could embolden him to veto the budget, and stand firm.They say if Republicans can't override the veto, they could wait Cooper out, hoping to chip away at moderate Democratic members by offering district-specific deals. Cooper would try to persuade them they could get better deals if they back his veto.House Minority Leader Darren Jackson, R-Wake, foreshadowed the debate over Medicaid during the first day of the budget debate. He offered a motion scuttling the budget temporarily until a new one could be drafted which added large numbers of residents to the government health-insurance program.Jackson said Thursday, May 2. He said 20 House Republicans and 55 Democrats support some form of expansion, and it would be ridiculous to send a budget to the governor, who probably would veto it without the Medicaid provision.Jackson's motion failed, but the message was clear.Taylor said a Cooper veto could backfire if Republicans refuse to compromise and accuse him of playing politics. Voters likely don't care as much about Medicaid expansion as they do education issues, and the Republican budget is not that far removed from many of the administration's education priorities.If a budget isn't passed by the June 30 end of the fiscal year, and the impasse drags into July, August, or September, voters may start blaming Cooper, and his popularity would erode heading into a 2020 re-election bid, Taylor said.Budgets have languished amid political turmoil before. The 2015 budget wasn't signed until Sept. 18, and the 2001 budget was signed Sept. 26.North Carolina's budget process calls for the spending plan to be enacted by June 15 in odd-numbered years, and June 30 in even-numbered years. The General Assembly missed the deadline seven times from 2005 through 2015, and had to pass a continuing resolution of varying lengths to avoid a government shutdown. Some years multiple continuing resolutions were necessary to finalize a budget.The continuing resolution process had drawbacks. The threat of a government shutdown gave the governor and his legislative rivals leverage in pushing for their priorities.Three years ago, the General Assembly abandoned the continuing budget resolution. Under the new rules, if a budget isn't passed on time, state government automatically operates at current funding levels indefinitely. When a new budget goes in effect, any changes in spending become retroactive to the July 1 start of the current fiscal year.North Carolina is one of more than a dozen states using that approach, according to NCSL. In 22 states, government shuts down if budget deadlines elapse.Erica MacKellar, NCSL senior policy specialist, said continuing budgets are a double-edged policy.MacKellar said. But without deadline pressure, legislatures face less pressure to pass budgets on time.she said. Thirteen have wrapped up their new budgets, and five states have passed them and are waiting for their governors to sign them. One of the most urgent needs met by the new crime lab facility, which is about 4,800 square feet, is a larger morgue space. Previously the county was using a space at St. Vincent Healthcare, where two bodies could be stored. That roughly 750-foot space, according to Yellowstone County Coroner Cliff Mahoney, could fit inside the new morgue's space for body storage alone. The new morgue body storage space has room for 20 bodies. But working and storage space in the morgue for Mahoney and others who deal with the deceased in Yellowstone County is more than an improved work environment. Mahoney and others said the new facility allows them to expedite their work and to simplify processes. "The old system, I'm at the sheriff's office by the courthouse. The doc (medical examiner) is down at Gambling Control at MHP (Montana Highway Patrol) and the body's up at St. V's (St. Vincent Healthcare hospital)," Mahoney said. Mahoney says now if he has a question about something he notices while examining a body, he can walk down the hall to talk to a state medical examiner, instead of relying on phone calls and other forms of communication. The opening of the Beartooth Highway to the Montana-Wyoming state line has been delayed by recent weather that dropped more than three feet of snow over the mountain roadway this week. The Beartooth Highway will be open to the Vista Point rest area Friday morning beginning at 8 a.m. If weather allows, crews in Montana and Wyoming expect to have the road open to the state line by Saturday morning. "It's all weather permitting, and those conditions change very quickly," said Lori Ryan, a public information officer with the Montana Department of Transportation. Ryan encouraged travelers planning on visiting the Beartooth Highway in the coming days to check the Montana Department of Transportation's website or phone application for the most current road conditions, including closures. Additional snow and high winds were expected Thursday night over the Beartooth Highway, according to an afternoon press release issued by Ryan at about 3:40 p.m. "Wyoming and the (National) Park Service are all on the exact same page," Ryan said. "They're dealing with the exact weather and whatnot that we're dealing with on our side." Although river flows have dropped in much of eastern Montana because of cooler weather, the rivers are trending higher than normal for this time of year. The Missouri and Yellowstone rivers combine before flowing into Sakakawea. The Yellowstone was flowing at 28,100 cfs at Sidney, dropping from almost 40,000 cfs earlier in the week. The Bighorn River, a tributary to the Yellowstone, has been rising this week and should hit 4,500 cfs on Sunday as water releases from Yellowtail Dam have been stepped up. Upstream in Wyoming, the Bighorn River flowing into Bighorn Reservoir had dropped to 4,070 cfs after hitting a peak of about 4,700 cfs late last week. While Fort Peck will release more water, downstream at Garrison Dam, which creates Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota, outflows will be cut from 30,000 cfs to 27,000 cfs. Even though releases from Fort Peck will increase, the reservoir is expected to hit an elevation of 2,244.5 by mid-June. The exclusive flood control zone starts at an elevation of 2,246 feet. Once the lake reaches the exclusive flood control zone water may be released from the dam's spillway as quickly as downstream conditions permit. Over the past couple of months, members of the Stevensville community joined forces with law enforcement volunteers to partially remodel the Palmer home to make it easier for him to move around during his recovery. Individuals pooled their resources to put in new flooring in the house and make other improvements, Bennett said. Its been great to see so many people pull together and do whatever they can to help this family. People have volunteered to mow their lawn. Theyve volunteered to take care of any kind of house maintenance that might come up. Theyve offered to give them rides anywhere they might need to go, Bennett said. Its been a great example of a small community coming together and volunteering to help out what needs the Palmers might have over the next few months. While the community is ready to step forward, Bennett asked that they also give the Palmers some space. The family has requested some privacy at this point in Wades recovery, he said. They would like to have some peace and quiet. We know that everyones intentions are good, but were also requesting that they allow them to be together as a family. Smith said the city's ordinance is "unconstitutional," and that Berube and Kersten were told they had until Thursday to remove it or could be fined up to $1,000. "We are very pleased that the court sided with the First Amendment and granted an injunction protecting the mural," Smith said in an email Wednesday. "Augie and Brian can sleep well tonight knowing they no longer have to decide between removing their mural or paying thousands of dollars in fines." Berube said Wednesday he's also pleased, adding that the temporary restraining order "will give us time to look at the whole picture now." "We were running up against the time clock," he said. "That was the first step that we had to get accomplished." Hovland also ordered a "mandatory settlement conference," which has been scheduled for June 4. On Tuesday, Mandan city attorney Malcolm Brown said the city will file "an appropriate response" to the lawsuit, and did not respond to a request for further comment. (Reach Blair Emerson at 701-250-8251 or Blair.Emerson@bismarcktribune.com) Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 0 They said it couldnt be done. A Liberian refugee who escaped a civil war could never be elected to office. And certainly couldnt do it in Montana. They do not know Montana. They do not know America. Where if you dream, and if you work hard, anything is possible. I may not look or sound like the regular politician, but Im a hard worker and I get things done. Ive lived my life in service of the Montana that gave me a chance and gave my family refuge. Ive served Montana as an Army and Navy reservist. Ive served Montana working for the VA hospital at Fort Harrison. Ive served Montanas children as a teacher and working with underprivileged and at-risk youth. Its been some time since that snowy February day, in 1994, when my sense of purpose was restored as I landed in Montana. But every day since then has been a renewed reminder for me of why we live in the best state in the greatest country on earth. See, I didnt grow up here, but in more ways than I can count, Montana you raised me. You taught me the value of working hard and the unwavering importance of reaching out to my community. And most importantly, you gave my family an amazing life. Fair Trade agreements benefit developing countries by requiring higher labor and environmental standards. Fair Trade agreements benefit developed countries by reducing the incentive for multinational corporations to move jobs overseas in search of cheap labor. Our first major move toward a fair trade agreement was our participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP required participating countries to implement stronger labor and environmental standards, thus leveling the playing field by moving the bottom up. The American Farm Bureau estimated that the TPP would have increased income for U.S. producers by over $4 billion annually. Unfortunately, Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the TPP and the 11 other countries proceeded without us, weakening the trade position of the United States. The United States, as the leader of a 12 nation TPP, could have strengthened our negotiating position with China. Trump instead resorted to a tariff war and a lose-lose situation for everyone, especially American agriculture. A new trade agreement is now needed to recover economic losses that all the parties are continuing to incur with Trumps unnecessary tariffs. The Summer Youth Program at Makoshika State Park returns May 30 through Aug. 1. The weekly programs are held every Thursday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The series kicks off with the program Oh, Deer. All animals need food, water, shelter and space, but the amounts needed to survive vary by species. In this program, students will explore these four components of an animals habitat using deer as an example. Children 7-13 years old are welcome to attend these programs, which are sponsored by Montana State Parks. Children attending five or more programs will be invited to an overnight campout on Aug. 7-8. All programs meet at the visitor center. Participants should bring a water bottle, bug spray, sunscreen and dress appropriately for the weather; no flip-flops, please. Program schedules and registration forms are available at the Makoshika State Park Visitor Center. Contact Sue Veroye at 406-377-6256 for more information. Due to liability issues the park must have at least one additional adult (besides our instructors) per 10 participants. Parents are strongly encouraged to signup with their children and share in these fun learning experiences. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 While spending has trended up in Grand Teton, according to the survey that began in 2012, job growth has dipped from a peak of more than 9,300 in 2016. Overall the economic benefits from visitor spending at U.S. national parks increased by $2 billion and total output increased by $4.3 billion in comparison to 2017. Yellowstone's numbers were up slightly from last year's $630 million in spending but couldn't top the record high of $680 million in 2016. As a part of the report, visitor surveys were conducted at 19 parks with the results indicating that people spent more time in the parks, stayed longer in gateway communities and spent more money during their visits. Visitation varies across the National Park System, from big parks like Blue Ridge Parkway to Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Montana. Blue Ridge attracted 14.6 million people who spent more than $1 billion and supported more than 15,900 jobs. Grant-Kohrs Ranch drew more than 26,000 visitors who spent more than $1.5 million in the area and supported 25 local jobs. By the time many of Dawn Olson's kindergarten students have reached third grade, many have moved two or three times. The high transit rate for students at Jeannette Myhre Elementary School in Bismarck forces many students to leave their books behind. They dont even have personal libraries, Olson said. Jeannette Myhre Elementary School was one of four Title I schools in North Dakota to receive $1,000 in new books from nonprofit First Book. Title I schools receive federal funding for low-income students. Olson announced to her students Thursday they could take home a free new book because of the generosity of the program. Olson explained to each student to take their time and chose a book they will want to read. Alex Randalls third-grade class was overjoyed by the cart filled with eight different books. Frozen, a student yelled as she jumped up and down with excitement. First Book helps children in need to provide equal opportunities for quality education that uses funds from OMG Books Awards. North Dakota United applied for the project with the support of American Federation of Teachers. The Bismarck Education Association had members deliver the books to classrooms and explain that they want students to continue reading in the summer months and can build their own library with a book they choose. Books ranged from A House in the Woods by Inga Moore to Pete Wont Eat, by Emily Arnold McCully. After handing out over six boxes of books, teachers plan to hand out the remaining books in their book walk held on the students last day of school on Friday. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bismarck police responded Wednesday evening to a mobile home in the 2500 block of Centennial Road after a man allegedly pointed a semi-automatic rifle at neighboring residents. Lt. Luke Gardiner said in a news release that officers responded about 7:14 p.m. The man was disarmed by a neighboring resident and went inside his residence. Bismarck police set up a perimeter outside the mobile home and were attempting to make contact with him, Gardiner said in the news release issued about 8:45 p.m. Police believed the man was alone in the residence. Residents were encouraged to shelter in place and monitor Bismarck police Facebook page and Twitter account for updates. Love 2 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 What do school board members, school administrators, teachers, a Head Start director and a paramedic have in common? They're all members of State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler's newly formed Family Engagement Cabinet, but they're also parents and family members to North Dakota students. On Thursday, the Cabinet held its inaugural meeting in the Pioneer Room at the state Capitol. The 23-member group will meet every three months to discuss topics pertaining to how schools could improve communication with families. The group is similar to Baesler's Student Cabinet, which she created in 2015 to discuss education and solicit opinions and advice from students in grades 4-12. Baesler told her Family Engagement Cabinet on Thursday that in her tenure as superintendent, she's realized family input has been a "critical" piece she's been missing. "I didn't feel that I was doing as well of a job in serving our students and their families as I could be if I didn't take the time and opportunity to hear from those families," she said. Cabinet member Bree Anne Hinojos, a member of Spirit Lake Nation who works for Head Start at Cankdeska Cikana Community College, said she hopes to learn how to overcome barriers on the reservation to learn to better engage with families. "We're definitely dealing with high levels of unemployment, poverty (and) addiction; all of these affect the families. That's why I need ideas, too. How do we increase that family engagement?" she said. Hinojos shared a table with Cabinet members Kris Piehl, an administrative assistant at Litchville-Marion High School, and Jaycee Schumacher, a Grafton Public Schools employee. Before the meeting, they shared what experiences that they plan to bring to group. "Just working in a school office, I see firsthand, day after day, what kids' struggles are," Piehl said. Schumacher said she also plans to offer her perspective as a mother of four. "I feel like I can kind of pinpoint my frustrations, and I'm hoping to be able to visit with more families through my position to try to reduce some of those," she said. The group spent Thursday afternoon hearing from Steve Constantino, an author and motivational speaker, who stressed the importance of family engagement in helping students. Cabinet members also discussed goals for the group and planned topics to discuss at future meetings. (Reach Blair Emerson at 701-250-8251 or Blair.Emerson@bismarcktribune.com) Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Gov. Doug Burgum announced Job Service North Dakota will host the annual Second Chance Job Fair from 3:30 to 6 p.m. June 6 at 1601 E. Century Ave., Bismarck. The job fair is meant to allow those who have barriers in finding employment to have a face-to-face meeting with employers who already know of their situation and are open to employing those job-seekers. These barriers could be from homelessness to a criminal record, each of which these employers look past while many other employers decline employment for those very reasons. This year, Burgum showed his support by signing legislation that keeps employers from asking about criminal history prior to an interview. The job fair not only helps those in need of employment, but helps employers understand the benefits of hiring those who have obstacles. For more information, visit jobsnd.com/job-fair. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A controversial wind farm proposal is moving after a new developer purchased the project. A spokesperson for NextEra Energy Resources said the company intends for the 70-turbine project to be in Emmons and/or Logan counties "to take advantage of synergies" with the company's Emmons-Logan Wind Energy Center, which is under construction. No exact location has yet been determined for the project, however. "We have evaluated the Burleigh Wind project, talked to community leaders and decided to move the project. We look forward to developing this project and providing affordable, home-grown energy in North Dakota for years to come," NextEra said in a statement. Previous developer PNE Wind USA sold its interest in the proposed wind farm to NextEra and dropped an appeal against Burleigh County, filed as the Burleigh County Commission had denied special use permits for the project. More than 500 people attended a public hearing on the wind farm proposal last December, with fierce testimony from both sides. David Day, a participating landowner, expressed frustration with the project's path. "This project is done. There's no moving forward with it," he said Thursday. Dave Nehring, a landowner east of Bismarck who opposed the wind farm, welcomed the outcome. He said the project's proposed location would have been disruptive to wildlife and natural resources, such as water bodies and migratory flyways. "Just a horrible location," he said. The North Dakota Public Service Commission issued a siting permit in February for the Emmons-Logan Wind Energy Center, granting approval for up to 123 wind turbines northeast of Linton. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 5 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A prominent, former North Dakota lawmaker has been named public policy director for Ducks Unlimited for North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. Towner-area rancher Ryan Taylor joined Ducks Unlimited Tuesday. "To me, good public policy helps us find our common interest and discover the underlying merit of working together toward something better. Its not easy, but the challenge of it all led me to this spot," Taylor said in a statement. From 2003 to 2012, he represented a largely rural district between Minot and Minnewaukan in the North Dakota Senate, where he was minority leader in the 2011 session. Taylor was also the 2012 Democratic-NPL nominee for governor, bested by Republican incumbent Jack Dalrymple, who did not seek reelection in 2016. Ryan brings a unique combination of experience in policy, agriculture and leadership that will help build partnerships to maintain and improve our quality of life. His proven abilities to work across the aisles will serve all of us well in his new leadership role, Ducks Unlimited Great Plains Operations Director Steve Adair said. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation 97-1 aimed at deterring unwanted robocalls. North Dakota lawmakers in the recent legislative session passed a resolution urging Congress to find a solution to stop the unsolicited phone calls. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., are co-sponsors on the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act. The TRACED Act would increase the Federal Communications Commission maximum penalty from $1,500 to $10,000 per call for those who knowingly violate telemarketing restrictions, as well as extend the timeframe for the FCC to take civil action and provide for FCC, federal, state and local authorities to seek further improvements on deterring robocalls. Scams that rely on robocalls and unauthenticated phone numbers are a persistent nuisance, Hoeven said in a statement. Our legislation will help deter illegal calls and protect our nations citizens against fraud by increasing penalties for those who violate the law and promoting technology to verify that calls are legitimate." The bill now goes to the U.S. House. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. To celebrate the outdoors, National Trails Day will be hosted on June 1 at nine different North Dakota state parks. Every year, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park south of Mandan hosts a 15K trail run and a 5K family fun run/walk. Registration begins at 7 a.m., with the 15K starting at 8:15 a.m. and the 5K starting at 8:25 a.m. For all participants, there is a $10 fee. Fort Ransom State Park south of Valley City is hosting a hike through its trails at 10 a.m. Participants should meet at the visitor center. The hike at Beaver Lake State Park near Wishek starts at 10 a.m. at the park office and lasts for 30-60 minutes. Grahams Island State Park near Devils Lake offers views of the shores of Devils Lake and a natural wooded area. The hike starts at 10 a.m. at the amphitheater near the trailhead. Lewis & Clark State Park, east of Williston, starts its hike at 10 a.m. at the Friends Shelter. For those who take photos and use the hashtag #FindYourExpedition on social media, they will be entered to win a prize. Icelandic State Park near Cavalier is hosting two different hikes for early birds and night owls. The Bluebird Hike will be at 10 a.m. and the Night Hike at 9:30 p.m. Each hike begins at the Hillman Loop Trailhead. A 2 p.m. hike will be held at Fort Stevenson State Park near Garrison, meeting at the Guardhouse Interpretive Center. Lake Metigoshe State Park north of Bottineau will host a two-day event beginning at 7 p.m. May 31 with a guided hike on Old Oak Trail, the state's first national recreational trail. On June 1, there is a Dakota Explorers program for children at 2 p.m. at the park's amphitheater. A night hike is set for 10 p.m., where participants will meet at the trails warming house. A weekend scavenger hunt is also planned. Turtle River State Park west of Grand Forks introduces a treasure hunt at 8 p.m. May 31 at the amphitheater. On June 1, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., located at the CCC Memorial Shelter different models of demo bikes will be out for people to ride on the trails. At 8 p.m. a final hike will be held starting with the amphitheater. Each park requires a permit or day pass purchase. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BLACK REPUBLICAN BLOG - The Republican Party is the party of civil rights and the four Fs: faith, family, freedom and fairness. The Democratic Party is the party of the four Ss: slavery, secession, segregation and socialism (Quote By Author Michael Scheuer). In the eyes of Ronald Reagan, I saw sparks of hope, said the old Leninist Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, about the man who became a conservative legend. Gorbachev was not alone in his assessment. Historian Paul Johnson who knew Reagan personally wrote that even those who profoundly disagreed with him, could not help but like him. Reagans charm and charisma is undisputed, but there was something more to the man that is hard to explain. Let me start with a personal reflection. Reagan did not speak like a regular human being. His voice, his face, his body language, all combined to cast a spell over his audience. His way with words mesmerized others. When we speak about Reagan, actually we are speaking about a prophet someone whose mystical dimension hardly can be described with easy words. It is much more about something you feel, rather than understand. Reagans mojo, on the other hand, also helps to explain his appeal towards the socially conservative elements of the New Deal Coalition blue collar works ethnically Irish, Italian and eastern European who ultimately gave him two landslide victories at the polls. I am Brazilian and was born when Reagan had already left the White House, and even so, I cannot escape the spell he cast on his audiences. His speeches give me goosebumps; his words stir up a deep sense of calm and guidance. When I watch a video of Reagan walking in the White House wearing a brown suit, the impression I have is that I have met him once. In a way, Reagan breaks a barrier by giving us a sense of intimacy. You could spend years with someone and never feel that way. I can only remember another person who gave me the same impression, Pope St. John Paul II. And its not because Im a Catholic. My mother, who was not Catholic and was raised in a spiritualist home, waited six hours while carrying me in her arms I was one year old at the time to see the man known in Brazil as John of God. She did not regret her decision. Therefore, it does not seem surprising to me that Reagan was raised almost to holiness by the generations of conservatives who followed him. Whether it is due to the immediate effect of his presidency the collapse of the Soviet regime or the disaster that was the two Republican presidents who succeeded him the two Bushes , the fact remains that Reagan gave conservatives not just a vocabulary and a model, but the feeling that there is no problem large enough that cannot be overcome by the greatness of America. Behind his blue eyes, the conservatives still see a self-confident America full of people who even if they disagree with each other share a common creed. In Reagan, at last, many saw the realization of one mans fate as it expressed itself in the American dream: The poverty-stricken child, who became a Hollywood actor, lived through the Great Depression and led the country in the victory over communism. It is the perfect story. However, the question that needs to be asked is: Has Reagans Conservative Revolution triumphed? Thirty years since he left the White House, the only possible answer I can come up with is no. Revolution means a change in the existential axis of a society. It means that the form, words, and symbols by which a society defines itself are no longer the same. The French Revolution redefined French politics for good, and all political currents still invoke the symbols of that revolution. From this perspective, there was neither revolution nor counter-revolution through the 1980s. Perhaps some form of temporary accommodation, but nothing that changed the axis of American politics created during the New Deal. I might go further in my pessimistic assessment of the Reagan revolution. His administration represented a definitive inflection in the American conservative movement. In the extent that he invoked the worst form of pietism and self-righteousness about Americas natural goodness, Reagan helped transform the American right into a liberalism with a Christian veneer really a Wilsonian liberalism redivivus. In The Limits of Power (2008), Andrew Bacevich severely criticizes Reagan for this failing. Reagan portrayed himself as conservative, Bacevich notes, He was, in fact, the modern prophet of profligacy, the politician who gave moral sanction to the empire of consumption. Beguiling his fellow citizens with his talk of morning in America, the faux-conservative Reagan added to Americas civic religion two crucial beliefs: Credit has no limits, and the bills will never come due. Bacevich points out Reagans faux-conservative as guilty of undermining Americas moral fabric and his adherence to such naive folk wisdom as save for a rainy day. Underneath the failures of the Reagan administration, there was the annihilation of the conservative movement as it was once known. Reagan blessed as well as William Buckleys National Review did as members of the conservative movement the liberals who had broken with Carter because he was not hawkish enough. The neoconservatives swarmed the Reagan administration and used Leninist strategies to seize power and silence all dissident on the right. In the two decades after Reagan, conservatism became synonymous with an internationalist and militaristic liberalism engaged in spreading the liberal-democratic creed across the world and rebuilding countries considered to be on the wrong side of history. Reagans biographer and neoconservative intellectual Steven Hayward was accurate in his takeaway of the Reagan Revolution. According to him, Reagan avoided that conservatism embracing a Burkean or a libertarian outlook to the detriment of a more democratic one. In other words, in the 1980s the conservative movement dominated by newcomers got rid of Russell Kirks conservative traditionalism and Murray Rothbards libertarianism and took for itself the intellectual outlook of the neo-Jacobin egalitarianism of Harry Jaffa and other Straussians. The leading agent of the social revolution in the United States has been the federal government and its bureaucracy. From the Old Right to the Berry Goldwaters insurgency, what united all the currents of the American right was to roll back the frontiers of the Federal Government, to return political power to the states and put Washington back under democratic control. Not one of those was priorities for the neocons, which also praised an authoritarian federal government as a social engineer tool to push egalitarian policies. Both Kirks conservatism and Rothbards libertarianism, wrote the eminent historian Paul Gottfried, understood the threat that the administrative state represented to the American constitutional order. Both of them invoked the bucolic spirit of the small country-side cities of the United States in which mass democracy had not yet arrived as opposed to power-hungry Washington bureaucracy. Neoconservatives and Straussians alike have a completely different view. According to them, the American constitutional order is based on the principle of equality not freedom , and the federal administration is the main engine of this worldview. They admire Thomas Paine, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill, but their true hero is Maximilien de Robespierre. By kneeling to the neo-Jacobin imperatives of Jaffa, Irving Kristol et Caterva, and handing over the conservative movement to them, Reagan effectively moved the American intellectual debate to further-left. Once in the White House, Reagan repeated the pattern he had already demonstrated as governor of California. Instead of confronting the power of bureaucrats and corporations, he preferred to seek political accommodation and to triangulate the essential problem of American democracy: The uncontrolled growth of the power of the federal bureaucracy. Furthermore, reading Haywards The Age of Reagan, it doesnt seem to me he was aloof of this particular problem, he even campaigned at least twice 1976 and 1980 about it. As Governor of California, for example, Reagan signed a very progressive abortion law that his Democrat predecessor, the Catholic Pat Brown, had refused to do; in his presidency of the United States, Reagan did not do much different. In many ways, his administration was even more radical than that of Jimmy Carters. For several reasons some that were beyond his control, some not so much Reagan failed to advance the agenda of conservative populism to which he owed his election. I believe that culturally, and this to me seems indisputable the America post-Reagan was more liberal than the one existing before Reagan. The silent majority, which had given the last three landslides in American history to Republican candidates, was torn apart by radical politics pushed by the federal government, even while Reagan was president. The Department of Education which Reagan had promised to unmake initiated a crusade to punish educational institutions mainly serving Christians that did not fit the established anti-prejudice policy created by the liberals who controlled the department. Bob Jones University was one of the targets for not officially recommending interracial relationships among students. As if a Christian university should encourage sex or even get into the private life of its students. Whats more, countless companies were subject to anti-discrimination lawsuits promoted by the government for not following the policy of affirmative action that sought equal racial representation, whenever the government decided to define equality. Despite all the fuss surrounding Reagans economic policy, there was nothing especially good about it. The supply-side philosophy has pushed conservatives away from sound economic orthodoxy according to which tax rates are bad, but government spending is even worse. After Reagan, conservatives became big spenders, and balancing the budget became mere rhetoric. Needless to say, Reagans migration policy widely criticized by Democrats at the time was a disaster, giving amnesty to millions of illegal migrants that some years later became reliable left-wing voters. Such careless policy turned Reagans California in a socialist dystopia. Perhaps the only revolution that Reagan came close to accomplishing was Robert Borks appointment to the Supreme Court, which legal scholar Richard Posner called the most consequential switch in judicial paradigms since the Warren court. However, when Bork became a victim of a vile campaign of character assassination, Reagan did nothing to help him. Ironically, we have always compared Reagans optimism to Carters pessimism and praised the first one. On July 15, 1979, President Carter delivered a nationally televised speech in which he spoke of a fundamental threat to American democracy. That threat was not a red one; rather it was deeply rooted crises in Americas soul. He sensed a debilitating crisis of confidence about the nations future, a spiritual blankness brought about by a culture of self-indulgence and consumption and an erosion of faith in the American institutions. The so-called malaise speech he never used such word may well have cost him re-election in 1980. Forty years later, it seems unquestionable that Carters words about the crisis that hit America are prophetic, positioning him as the conservative in the White House who saw the very fabric of society falling apart before his eyes. While Reagan with his It is morning again in America seems as blindly optimistic as a schoolboy. Reagans biggest problem was not so much that he changed so little in Washington, but that he gave conservatives the idea that they had triumphed. This self-hypnotic effect is extremely pernicious to the extent that it deprived them of the ability to see things for what they really are. Under the spellbinding mythology of the Reagan Revolution, conservatives have been converted into sheep that happily marched into the wolfs lair, believing that a better day will come soon. Thats not conservatism but cuckoo liberalism. Homepage picture: WikiCommons. Alejandro Chafuen, Actons Managing Director, International, writes today in Forbes of the growing trade war between the United States and China. Chinese president Xi Jinping recently characterized the road ahead as a new Long March, in a reference to Mao Zedongs legendary strategic retreat from Chiang Kai-Sheks nationalist forces in 1934. Chafuen offers his take on the two sides in this war, as well as on possible outcomes and effects. Xi Jinping has proclaimed to the Chinese that they should prepare for a new long march. The term new long march has a very important historical meaning in China. It evokes Mao Zedongs strategic retreat in 1934, a retreat from nationalist troops through Chinas vast territory. The goal of those who survived, though, was to come back to take power. Mao acquired a reputation as a great leader, and his party took power completely in 1949. The Communist takeover in China led to more deaths than any other regime in the history of mankindestimates are from 49 to 78 million victims. During the period from 1958 to 1962 alone, the supposed Great Leap Forward, 45 million people died. Trade wars dont have nearly as many deaths, but almost everyone loses. This is not an exaggerationthe United States and China make up 40% of the global economy, and what happens there affects the whole world. Both economies are much larger than the third and fourth largest (Japan and Germany), which taken together are still less than Chinas. Only the United States can take on Chinas trade practiceswhich have attracted much criticismwith any prospect of success. Production chains are so intertwined that the shockwaves and bottlenecks resulting from a trade war will affect unforeseen producers. In some cases the affected industry may be one with a unique product, and if this were something necessary for an American military aircraft, for example, the U.S. government would feel obliged to grant exceptions. Peter Navarro, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy and one of the main proponents of President Trumps aggressive stance towards China, has a team that studies these possible bottlenecks and unwanted effects of high tariffs and boycotts of Chinese products. He feels optimistic that he can control the effects, but given the interconnectedness of the economy and the economic processes behind most elaborate products, I have serious doubts. A Gallup poll released Monday made headlines: Four in 10 Americans Embrace Some Form of Socialism. However, the headline could have read, Seven in 10 Americans reject the central premise of socialism. When Gallup asked if some form of socialism would be a good thing or a bad thing, 41 percent said it would and 52 percent said it would not. However, the publics response to an ill-defined socialism reveals less than a more detailed question buried deeper in the same poll. Gallup also asked Americans whether they would prefer mostly free market or government control over several economic and societal activities. The poll shows that Americans trust the free market to be in charge of nearly every facet of society, including the distribution of wealth (by 40 percentage points), wages (27 points), and the economy overall (29 points). Fewer than 41 percent of the people surveyed want the government to run any of these concerns, which are central to socialism. Clearly, some of the people who reportedly favor socialism are confused about socialisms ends and means. If they oppose government redistribution of wealth and economic intervention, whatever economic system they think they support, it isnt socialism. The cognitive dissonance goes deeper, as Gallup noted that citizens prefer the market to take care of two areas in which Democratic politicians have made proposals to greatly expand government involvement: healthcare and college. And their skepticism of government is well-earned. The UKs outgoing prime minister, Theresa May, wanted to encourage apprenticeships a laudable goal shared by many leaders across the Atlantic. Her Conservative government introduced a tax on large corporations to fund a new, government-controlled apprenticeship program under the Department for Education. Corporations then withdraw these funds to run the apprenticeships they had already been offering. A new government report shows that public control reduced opportunity and disproportionately hurt the least advantaged. Apprenticeships fell by more than 125,000 after the introduction of the program. Furthermore, The Telegraph reports that people with lower skills, and those from disadvantaged communities risk losing out due to employers preference to spend their levy on higher level apprenticeships. Simply put, the government taxed away the money these corporations would have used on apprenticeships for the less skilled. With less capital to spend, corporations prioritized high-quality programs that gave them the greatest return. The empowerment of the poor was redistributed to government bureaucrats in the name of helping the poor. National healthcare, too, has increasingly visible problems. Single-payer systems demand rationing, and a Canadian appeals court recently ruled that doctors who participate in Canadas government-funded system must facilitate abortions and assisted suicides, even if doing so violates their deeply held (and constitutionally protected) religious beliefs. The only undertakings that respondents wanted government to handle are online privacy and environmental protection and there are excellent arguments against trusting the state to oversee either of these sectors, as well. If two-thirds of the American people remain skeptical of increasing government, why do so many say they support socialism? Thank the socialists themselves for the confusion. Even todays Communists have repackaged their dogma as decentralized hedonism. British viral celebrity Ash Sarkar brands her ideology as fun Communism. She explains, Communism is a belief in the power of people to organize their lives as individuals their social lives, their political and their economic lives without being managed by a state. She describes Communism as the desire to see the coercive structures of state dismantled, while also having fun. This is, to put it mildly, not the lived experience of any nation under Marxism. Religious leaders who do not clarify their historic opposition to socialism only further this double-mindedness. All three Abrahamic faiths have traditionally supported the right to private property. Even those who muddy the waters by calling Europes social welfare state socialist violate a core Christian objection to socialism. Socialists, wrote Pope Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum, by endeavoring to transfer the possessions of individuals to the community at large, strike at the interests of every wage-earner, since they would deprive him of the liberty of disposing of his wages, and thereby of all hope and possibility of increasing his resources and of bettering his condition in life. Thankfully, as this Gallup poll shows, even Americas putative socialists understand that God created humanity for freedom which is best delivered by the free market. (Photo credit: Public domain.) It comes in a squeeze bottle. Calgary Herald: The name seems pretty logicalthough some would argue ketchonnaise would be betterbut in certain Cree dialects it comes off as less than appealing. To some, Mayochup can translate to "shitfaced" or "shit is on my face". Originally tweeted by CBC radio host Waubgeshig Rice, Grand Chief Jonathan Solomon of the Mushkegowuk council in Northern Ontario first pointed out the translation mishap. "We the Cree people are laughing about it because of what it means in our language," he told the National Post in an email. "It's kinda funny when you think about it. If I ate it and have some on my face, than I [am] Mayuchup/Shitface." The Virginia Pirate Corporation is a startup that brokers sales of used textbooks at colleges; they're suing North Charleston, SC's Trident Technical College over its inclusion of textbook fees in tuition, meaning that students will have already paid for new textbooks when they pay their tuition. Trident's preferred textbook vendor is Pearson; other Big Textbook vendors (like McGraw-Hill, which is merging with its major competitor, Cengage) do the same, and defend the practice, saying that it ensures that students don't experience sticker shock when they buy their assigned texts. Textbook costs have been rising 12 percent per year, with mandatory subscription fees for access to online portals that some students never use. This squeeze by the publishers fed a thriving used textbook market, which the publishers have fought for decades first by creating "new editions" with unimportant revisions; then by creating "custom textbooks" and offering kickbacks to colleges that varied the readings slightly every year, to render last year's used books obsolete; now the publishers are directly bundling textbook fees with tuition and tying each year's instruction to access to publishers' online portals. The textbook market is worth $3.5B. Textbook publishers also resort to outright bribery, offering thousands of dollars in "reviewing" fees paid to profs who consider replacing their texts each year profs also get taken on expensive junkets and wooed by publishers. Goegan recently called out his school's provost for allegedly forcing students to buy access codes, sending an email last month to the entire economics department that subsequently went viral. In the message, he claimed the provost there took a deal with Cengage. As InsideHigherEd reported, the gist of his accusation, which the college has categorically denied, is that, in return for a grant, the school compelled undergraduates to buy a $100 program called MindTap from the company, and also promised to fail at least 30 percent of students to somehow make it seem more effective. "There were some semesters where I had over 1,000 students in my classes," Goegan said. "With that many students, my choice of textbook would direct $100,000 to $200,000 in spending per semester. It's no surprise that publishers will go to great lengths to get you to adopt their product." People Are Finally Fighting Back Against the College Textbook Industry 'Scam' [Allie Conti/Vice] Mark Zuckerberg offered to let Chinese premier Xi Jinping name his firstborn (seriously), Apple purged the Chinese App Store of privacy tools at the request of the politburo; Google secretly built a censoring search-engine for use in China, but America's Big Tech companies are sounding the alarm that they will no longer be able to promote America's global dominance if any of the US Big Tech breakup plans are executed. Which is hilarious, because breaking up monopolies makes industries stronger, not weaker: the breakup of Standard Oil spun off companies like Exxon and Chevron, each as big or bigger than Standard was when it was split up. AT&T's breakup gave us Verizon, Qwest, and a host of other telcos. Monopolies suppress growth by clobbering companies with innovative ideas in order to preserve the status quo. By contrast, Japan encouraged and nurtured its monopolies, and lost its substantial tech lead to become an also-ran in the global tech marketplace. Sandberg made her case against breaking up Facebook explicit. In an interview Friday, CNBC asked if Facebook was prepping for a big antitrust battle. In response, Sandberg recounted recent private meetings with Democrats and Republicans in Washington. There, she said, she heard that "while people are concerned with the size and power of tech companies, there's also a concern in the United States with the size and power of Chinese companies, and the realization that these companies are not going to be broken up." Schmidt was less direct, but conjured the same fears of falling behind China. On Sunday, he told the The Telegraph there is no legal basis to break up tech companies, arguing that "regulatory bias" in the West against Google and other American firms hurts consumers and hands China a competitive advantage on everything from privacy to data collection. "Chinese companies are growing faster, they have higher valuations and they have more users than their non-Chinese counterparts," said Schmidt, who will step down from Alphabet's board in June. "It's very important to understand that there is a global competition around technology innovation and China is a significant player and likely to remain so." Big Tech: Breaking Us Up Will Only Help China [Nitasha Tiku/Wired] The U.S. Department of Justice today indicted Wikileaks' Julian Assange under the Espionage Act, the first time a publisher has been charged for revealing classified information. Kevin Poulsen and Betsy Woodruff: The indictment announced Thursday in Washington, D.C. charges Assange with 16 counts of variously receiving or disclosing material leaked by then-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, which WikiLeaks published as the Iraq and Afghanistan "War Logs" following Manning's arrest. Assange is also charged with one count of conspiracy to receive the documents, and an 18th count carries over the previous charge against Assange accusing him of conspiring to violate computer hacking laws. Assange, recently extracted from London's Ecuadorian embassy after his hosts there tired of his presence, is already serving a yearlong sentence in Britain for jumping bail in a sexual assault case. He already faces extradition to the U.S. on computer-crime chargesand possibly to Sweden, where prosecutors revived the assault case after his arrest. Many U.S. media outlets were first to publish Wikileaks' material, working directly with Assange, and some won Pulitzer prizes for it. As University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck puts it: "The issue isn't whether Assange is a "journalist"; this will be a major test case because the text of the _Espionage Act_ doesn't distinguish between what Assange allegedly did and what mainstream outlets sometimes do, even if the underlying facts/motives are radically different." The actual whistleblower/leaker in the case, Chelsea Manning, served several years in jail for it. She is currently being held again, after rufusing to give further evidence to a grand jury in the Assange case. As Poulsen and Woodruff put it, the new charges mark "a stunning escalation of the war on the free press." The United States today filed 17 new charges against Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks. Assange is charged with publishing classified material. The Justice Department says they charged this because he revealed the names of confidential sources. I believe this was announced as a distraction from the Trump administration's excruciatingly bad infrastructure week. The decision to charge Assange in this manner should be of great concern to press freedom advocates. Journalists also publish classified material. Reactions from news reporters and observers on Twitter, below. The Espionage indictment of Assange for publishing is an extremely dangerous, frontal attack on the free press. Bad, bad, bad. Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) May 23, 2019 Concur. Xeni "worse than a Jew" Jardin here, Julian Assange threatened and harassed me. Today's news is extremely bad. https://t.co/vTYgRnGc8B Xeni Jardin (@xeni) May 23, 2019 It was probably unwise for Julian Assange to help elect the party with less sympathetic views toward press freedom. Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) May 23, 2019 NEWS: Prosecutors are charging Julian Assange with the espionage act in an 18 count indictment. These new charges are crossing over into very dangerous territory. The espionage act could be used against reporters who publish critical information. https://t.co/SE1uCVOp0L Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) May 23, 2019 BREAKING: A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia has returned an 18-count superseding indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, DOJ officials tell us. He's been charged with violating the Espionage Act. Story TK. Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) May 23, 2019 I find it remarkable that it was the Trump administration, not the Obama administration (with a Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton) that brought charges against Assange. Clint Watts (@selectedwisdom) May 23, 2019 This is a deliberate effort to establish a precedent that can be used to prosecute journalists for doing their jobs and publishing information that embarrasses the government or exposes wrongdoing. https://t.co/xPGAn4QZCg Adam Serwer? (@AdamSerwer) May 23, 2019 Some of you are so eager to punish Assange for helping Trump that you're willing to hand Trump a tool for prosecuting the reporters exposing his corruption. That's plainly idiotic. Adam Serwer? (@AdamSerwer) May 23, 2019 The issue isn't whether Assange is a "journalist"; this will be a major test case because the text of the _Espionage Act_ doesn't distinguish between what Assange allegedly did and what mainstream outlets sometimes do, even if the underlying facts/motives are radically different. Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) May 23, 2019 It's sick to watch liberals cheer the prosecution of Assange by Trump's Justice Department, headed by William "Exonerate the Iran Contra Criminals" Barr, as though this prosecution is not a massive attack on press freedom, rather some gotcha about the 2016 election. It's deranged jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) May 23, 2019 Even those who agree Assange is not a journalist will be concerned that this opens the door to prosecuting journalists when the government doesn't like their publishing decisions. Which happens all the time. https://t.co/9RZjQZs0cA Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) May 23, 2019 BREAKING: In a stunning escalation of the war on the free press, the Trump administration has indicted a publisher for revealing government secrets. https://t.co/8E95whChki Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) May 23, 2019 Intended as a discussion group, the blog has evolved to be more of a reading list of current issues affecting our county, its government and people. All reasonable comments and submissions welcomed. Email us at: bill.pysson@gmail.com REMEMBER: To view our sister blog for education issues: www.district100watchdog.blogspot.com If you have been in Botswana, then we bet you have heard of the Tswana culture. It is one of the most dominant tribes in this nation and is well known for its unique characteristics. Perhaps the unique feature of this culture is the Setswana food and cuisine. The food is tantalizing and will leave you yearning for more traditional foods and drinks. Besides that, the Tswana traditional dresses, mostly worn during the Tswana wedding, will leave you admiring and yearning to learn Tswana. Tswana culture and people. Photo: crabz_on_the_lenses Source: Instagram Batswana culture is a significant aspect of Botswana history. Since the tribe has tripled over the years, making them a substantial population in the country, it is only right to understand the Tswana culture. Who makes up the Tswana culture? There are four important ethnic groups in the Black South Africans, which include the Nguni, the Sotho-Tswana, Shangaan-Tsonga, and the Venda. The Sotho and the Nguni make up the more significant percentage of the Black population. The primary Sotho groups include the South Sotho (Basduto and Sotho), the West Sotho (Tswana), and the North Sotho (Pedi). Tswana woman using a cell phone. Photo: Strauss/Curtis Source: Getty Images The Tswana people are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group that resides in the southern part of Africa. They are mostly found in Botswana. The ethnic group is the native people of Botswana and spread to the North West province of South Africa, where most of the Tswana live. They are popular in the country due to their Tswana dance, their unique Setswana names, and the gorgeous Tswana wedding dresses. Language of the Tswana ethnic group The Tswana or the Batswana are sometimes referred to as the Western Sotho. The Tswana language is the Setswana, which is closely related to the seSotho. The emergence of the nation Given the large percentage of the Setswana culture, majority of the individuals often want to know the Tswana tradition and various aspects of their roots such as the Tswana traditional dance, the Tswana traditional food, and the Tswana traditional attire. The history of this pre-dominant tribe goes back to the eighteenth century. Most people who lived more than two thousand years ago are believed to have been Bushmen. They were often herders and agriculturalists. Vintage engraving of Bechuana women building a fence around their home. Photo: duncan1890 Source: Getty Images Around the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the polities of this tribe, under the reign of the chiefs moved into Botswana from the south and the east. Some of them were responding to the emergence of the Zulu state and the European coloners. In 1816, missionization of this ethnic tribe began. It led to the Tswana polities embracing the migrant labour economy, which was centered in South Africa, trade, and Christianity. In 1885, the British declared the area the Bechuanaland Protectorate, making three Tswana kings visit Britain in 1895. During the visit, the kings petitioned to remain under the rule of the British, rather than be governed by the British South Africa Company. The administration of the British strengthened the role of the Tswana chiefs, leading to the dominance of the Tswana laws and customs throughout the country. Religious beliefs of the Tswana During the pre-colonial era, most of the Batswana believed in a supreme being by the name Modimo. Modimo was thought to be a creator and director who was distant and remote. Despite believing in a supreme being, this ethnic group also believed in the ancestors, also known as the Badimo. The Badimo had a significant influence on the daily activities of the members of the tribe, and therefore, appeals to them were made with sacrifices, prayers, and appropriate behavior. However, in the early nineteen century, the missionaries arrived in the region with the Batswana. They brought about education, Christianity, schools, and the western values in the tribe. Today, most of the Batswana belong to the African Independent Churches, which embrace the Christian and non-Christian beliefs, myths, and practices. Setswana food Besides the attractive African traditional attire of the tribe, which is commonly known as the Tswana traditional wear, this ethnic community also captures the attention of others with their food. One of the most popular types of food in this culture is Bogobe. Bogobe is a type of porridge, which is made from sorghum or millet. Another favorite food that is sorghum porridge is Ting. Bogobe jwa Logala/Sengana is another famous dish which is a traditional Setswana dish that is prepared from sorghum porridge and then mixed or cooked with milk. Tswana traditional food. Photo: pixabay.com Source: UGC One food that is very familiar to many is the Seswaa. It is the national dish in Botswana. It is frequently served at weddings, funerals, and other celebrations. Seswaa is a pounded or shredded meat, which is often served alongside Bogobe. Another trademark food of this tribe is Madila. Madila refers to sour cultured milk, which is prepared from goat and cow milk, for a specified period until which the milk matures for consumption. It was prepared traditionally using a Lekuka, which is a leather sack or bag. Ceremonies There are very many ceremonies held by this tribe to celebrate or mark certain lifecycle events. Some of these events include birth, marriages, bride-wealth payment, circumcision, confinement, and even death. There were also other ceremonies held tied to the agricultural cycle such as those to make rain, to initiate planting, and the rituals for first-fruits. However, these agrarian ceremonies are no longer practiced regularly like before. Perhaps the most iconic part of the ceremonies is the Tswana culture clothing. Since the Southern part of Africa is well known for its South African traditional dresses, this ethnic group does not disappoint with its Tswana traditional dress. There are various dresses for different occasions. Most people long for the Tswana traditional wedding ceremony since it gives one the chance to have a glance of the Tswana traditional wedding dresses. Precisely, these are among the best South African traditional clothes one can have. Besides the Swazi culture in South Africa, the Tswana culture is also another admirable culture in the southern part of Africa. Due to this popularity, most people visiting Africa often tend to visit the beautiful country of Botswana, to enjoy the culture of the Batswana. Source: Briefly News News / National by TimesLIVE Peter Munetsi, a senior Zimbabwean spy operative, died as a result of multiple blunt force injuries during the military-led coup that ousted former president Robert Mugabe, an autopsy report has revealed.This refutes assertions that he had died of illness.Munetsi was a district divisional intelligence officer employed by the Central Intelligence Organisation, the country's dreaded spy agency, which authorities claimed was opposed to the coup.TimesLIVE can now exclusively reveal the extent of the injuries inflicted on Munetsi while he was in military detention.According to a summary of the autopsy examination report conducted by Dr Tsungai Victor Javangwe on November 21 2017 at the state-run Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Munetsi was certified dead on November 16 2017 by one Dr Chinegono at 1 Commando Barracks hospital in Harare, which is run by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF).Javangwe said after examining Munetsi's body he recorded that he had "sustained multiple graze abrasions on several parts of his body, including on his hands, arms, legs, elbows, ears, forehead, knees and scalp"."This is a 55-year-old man, initially reported as having fallen ill, but later reported to have been a possible victim of assault," reads part of the autopsy report."At autopsy he shows mucosal pallor and multiple purple black contusions ... Mucosal pallor is often found in individuals who are anaemic, of which bleeding is among the causes. Reflection of skin shows extensive haemorrhage into muscle and subcutaneous tissue, with blood collections seen in areas of the back, upper and lower limbs." News / National by Staff reporter Grain Millers Association (GMAZ) says it will this week move around the country, monitoring prices of basic commodities to protect consumers from being short-changed by unscrupulous retailers.Earlier this month, GMAZ signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Confederation of Zimbabwean Retailers and agreed on a model pricing system of basic commodities."Starting this week, this committee (Ethics Committee) and the GMAZ secretariat will be moving from towns to cities, holding meetings with retailers, explaining to them the objective of this initiative so that there is buy-in," GMAZ ethics chairman Alvin Mparutsa said yesterday."We will start by engaging Bulawayo retailers, followed by their Gweru counterparts before moving to Mutare and Masvingo, just to mention a few cities and towns."Mparutsa said millers, as suppliers of mealie-meal, flour, salt and rice, had a moral obligation to protect consumers from unwarranted price increases by some unscrupulous business dealers.He added that the exercise was not for price control purposes, but a voluntary price monitoring initiative by the industry."Our major thrust will be to hear from retailers the challenges they might be facing that could be making it difficult for them to comply with the prices we agreed on for our products. We are doing this so that we amicably move together and eradicate price distortions."Consumer Council of Zimbabwe chairman Philip Bvumbe recommended that the GMAZ and his organisation undertake a parallel meeting with consumers to hear their concerns."We are supporting this initiative to have reasonable cost models that are affordable to the consumers. We hope the market will respond so that we have prices that are accessible to citizens. We do not want price controls as this will see us having empty shelves," Bvumbe said. News / National by Staff reporter The trial of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) acting general manager Luke Akino and former board chairman David Murangari on charges of awarding a $168 000 consultancy services contract to their colleague without due processes kicked off yesterday with the duo denying the allegations.Akino and Murangari, who appeared before Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya told the court that there was nothing amiss in awarding the contract to their colleague.In his defence, Akino denied that he was acting on instructions from Murangari to invite Thomas Mashungupa, the owner of Mashungupa and Muhita Engineering to discuss the scope of work to be done at Jena Mine in the Midlands province."An internal memo was circulated for comments on three independent mining contractors and there were only two responses which recommended Mashungupa and Muhita Engineering Projects Company.Jena Mine contracted Mashungupa for an engineering audit in 2016, and premised on that report the management contracted them to comment on the projects in light of the previous engineering audit," Akino told court.Akino further told the court that there was internal due diligence on cost and no favouritism at all since all decisions were made by the board.While Murangari denied the allegations, he said, as the board chairperson, he instructed management to do what was necessary to procure the services of a consultant and this would include all necessary processes to ensure the appointment was properly made."The management reported that the tender process had been done and delays occurred in the process. The board maintained its oversight role and gave directions to ensure the proper conclusion of the contract. I should not be individually charged for decisions that were taken by ZMDC by virtue of board decision," Murangari submitted.The State, however, led evidence from Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe chief executive officer Nyasha Chizu, who told the court that there was no evidence in their records which shows that the accused persons approached the State Procurement Board (SPB) over the Jena Mine contract."The accused persons did not submit any documentation relating to the case to SPB. We have a water-tight system which records the mails and if they had filed those documents they would have come to my attention," Chizu told court.Chizu added that the accused persons should not have picked just three companies for the contract, but they should have invited everyone to bid for the project. News / National by Staff reporter TWO top mines in Kwekwe owe Zibagwe Rural District Council (RDC) over $800 000 in unpaid rates, a development that has crippled operations at the cash-strapped local authority, Southern Eye has established.Preisdent Mnangagwa's business partner Zunaid Moti of the Moti Group and his Zimbabwean partner Kuda Tagwirei are involved in the ACF venture.Minutes of a full council meeting held on April 30 show that African Chrome Fields (ACF) owed the local authority $297 625, while Silobela-based gold mining giant, Jena Mines, had a debt of $517 000.The ACF plant in Kwekwe was commissioned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in July last year amid pomp and fanfare, with reports indicating that the firm had poured $320 million into the plant.Zibagwe RDC chief executive Farai Machaya told councillors and management that in the ACF case, they were considering legal recourse."ACF Mine owes our council $297 625 in unpaid rates. The company has failed to co-operate with our team and we have been left with no option, but to take legal action in order to recover the money," he said.Machaya said each time the RDC tried to engage the mine executives, they were told that the officers responsible for such matters were out of the country."On several occasions, we were advised to take legal action against ACF, but we were reluctant. However, each time we tried to engage the mine, they tell us that those in charge are outside the country. We have taken the matter to our lawyers and the pre-trial conference is going to be held soon," Machaya said.Zibagwe ward 29 councillor Willard Moyo also expressed concern over the debts."Jena Mines, for example, is a big mine that is producing a lot of gold. It is surprising how it fails to pay council rates," he said.A resolution was passed for an investigation to be carried out on the two mines to ascertain why they were unwilling to pay the rates after other councillors suggested there could be a "hidden hand" behind their non-compliance. News / National by Staff reporter Civic groups yesterday accused government of muzzling them and using unconventional ways to silence them following the arrest of four activists at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on Monday night on allegations of plotting subversion.This came at a time when the government is in panic mode over the rising cost of living and the ever-worsening economic situation in the country.The four are Tatenda Mombeyarara from Citizens Manifesto, George Makoni (Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe-CCDZ), Nyasha Frank Mpahlo (Transparency International-Zimbabwe) and Gamuchirai Mukura from COTRAD.Their arrest followed State media allegations that some people from civic society organisations were undergoing training to cause havoc in the country."We remain worried that the police, government officials and State media have been colluding to criminalise the work of human rights defenders laying unfounded allegations against civil society leaders as agents of regime change who want to topple the government," Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said."The continued harassment of civil society leaders has seen a worsening of Zimbabwe's human rights record and runs counter to efforts at international re-engagement."The government and civil society organisations have had frosty relations in the past, with the State accusing the latter of trying to cause civil unrest in the country, an accusation that the organisations strongly deny.According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), the four were held for several hours without communication with their lawyers after authorities reportedly confiscated their mobile phone handsets and laptops."Zimbabwean authorities refused to allow lawyers representing the four human rights activists access to their clients," ZLHR said."The lawyers, Roselyn Hanzi, Tinomuda Shoko and Godfrey Mupanga, from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, only had access to their clients at Harare Central Police Station after nearly five hours from the time the human rights campaigners were in incommunicado detention at the airport."At Harare Central Police Station, Zimbabwe Republic Police officers only waved a search warrant in the lawyers' faces without giving them access to the document."CCDZ said the arrest showed that nothing had changed to improve the human rights situation in the country."The arrest of civic society leaders once again shows that the human rights situation in Zimbabwe in the so-called new dispensation' has not changed," the organisation said.Human rights defender, Vivid Gwede described the arrests as harassment. News / National by Staff reporter The trial of businessman Wicknell Chivayo who is facing charges of paying $10 000 to former Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) board chairperson Stanley Kazhanje to allegedly influence him not to cancel a 100 megawatt solar station tender won by his Intratrek Zimbabwe company failed to kick-off for the third time yesterday.Prosecutor Brian Vito told magistrate Hosea Mujaya that he was yet to summon Chivayo's co-accused and will do that before Friday this week.The matter was postponed to June 5 for a possible trial.Kazhanje is already on trial on allegations of not declaring his interests to his superiors after he was given a contract by Chivayo's Intratrek Zimbabwe which had won the ZPC tender to do consultation work.Allegations are that sometime in 2013, ZPC called for bids for the construction of the Gwanda Solar Project and Chivayo, through his company Intratrek Zimbabwe, responded.The State says on October 22, 2015, the ZPC board held a meeting which was chaired by Kazhanje, who directed that the ZPC management should proceed to sign a contract with Intratrek Zimbabwe on the Gwanda solar project.It is said on October 23, the contract was signed between ZPC management and Intratrek Zimbabwe with the former not providing a bank guarantee.The State avers that Chivayo knew that Kazhanje was the ZPC board chairperson and had some influence on the cancellation of the contract for non-compliance and had actually deliberated in favour of awarding the contract to Intratrek Zimbabwe.Chivayo then allegedly transferred $10 000 bribe money from Intratrek Zimbabwe's bank account into Kazhanje's Barclays Bank account.It is alleged after the payment, Kazhanje later influenced ZPC board to pass resolutions in favour of the accused in connection with the ZPC contract. News / National by Staff reporter SEKE MP Munyaradzi Tobias Kashambe (Zanu-PF) yesterday caused a storm in Parliament after he suggested that residents who cannot afford to pay for tap water should relocate to rural areas where the resource is obtained free of charge.The MP said this when Water Alliance leader Hardlife Mudzingwa appeared before the Justice Mayor Wadyajena-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture, where they advocated for revamp of the Water Act (Chapter 20:24).The civic society organisation (CSO) wants the Act, which is administered by the Lands ministry, to have a clause that ensures there are no arbitrary water cuts to poor citizens and pensioners who cannot afford services.Kashambe then quipped: "Those that cannot afford water, be it because of economic or social factors must know that there are places in this country where those people can stay instead of staying in cities. They can stay in rural areas, where water is free, so that they do not inconvenience those that will be sent to disconnect the water."His statement attracted murmurs of disappointment from the CSOs present during the oral evidence.Wadyajena also said water was a basic right for everyone enshrined in the Constitution.Mudzingwa requested Parliament to summon the City of Harare and the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to explain how water chemical tenders are awarded.He said the tender was currently held by an expensive company which charges US$4 million per month to produce 600 megaliters of water per day, while another comparative company with modern technology offered US$2,5 million per month."Harare city is currently using nine to 12 chemicals to treat water because the city is built upstream of its water source and, therefore, all the pollution that happens find its way to Lake Chivero, which the International Lake Environment Committee said is heavily polluted," Mudzingwa said."The current suppliers of chemicals to Harare require US$4 million per month to produce 600 megaliters per day and these are huge costs for the City of Harare for the chemicals required and Parliament should look at how these tenders are awarded."The Lands and Agriculture Committee said the Water Alliance must provide proof of payment of the $4 million monthly payments.Water Alliance said the Water Bill also called for transparency and accountability on water loans signed to by government such as the $144 million water loan from China. News / National by Staff reporter AFRICA'S Forum for traditional leaders, Sultans, Princes and Sheiks has thrown its weight behind outspoken Ntabazinduna Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni who raised the ire of government and Zanu-PF officials after defending a white commercial farmer facing eviction."This attack is a serious attack on the institution of traditional leaders, the entire legal order and the constitutional order that taints our institution and its governance. Like any other person, and especially because the occupier is a leader, he or she must not be subjected to harassment, threat or physical attack," Zie said in a statement on Monday.The forum is a cultural organisation spearheaded by the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi at a time when he was pushing for the realisation of his dream of a United States of Africa from the bottom to top through traditional leaders.Angry Zanu-PF youths last week attempted to seize Ndiweni's government-issued vehicle in apparent reaction to the latter's resistance of the Parsons/Davies' family eviction from Chiefs' Lodge atop Ntabazinduna Mountain, which is under his jurisdiction.The mountain is a famous historical site that is important in the Ndebele culture, which Ndiweni and College of Amakhosi the highest traditional court in Matabeleland consider sacred."We will not tolerate or accept physical threats, attacks and intimidation from traditional leaders, anywhere and by anyone."I, Tchiffi Zie, in my capacity as secretary-general of the Kings, Sultan, Princes and Traditional Leaders Forum, I denounce with the utmost energy, such behaviour, which is seriously prejudicial to our function as traditional leaders, because we are the guarantors of the memory of our continent," Zie added.Ndiweni who received support from a cross section of local organisations and individuals as well as opposition parties after sustained attacks by the State also angered the government after he called for more targetted sanctions against government and Zanu-PF officials behind the land grab.Ndiweni has vowed to forge ahead with the "Save Ntabazinduna Mountain" campaign despite attacks from government and sections of Zanu-PF.Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs minister Richard Moyo went a gear up calling on Ndiweni to instead join politics and not hide behind his chieftainship. News / National by Staff reporter Nelson Chamisa, the Movement for Democratic Change leader has finally recognised that sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the Western countries since 2001 were undesirable.Chamisa says the restrictions formed twin evils with Zanu-PF which should both be relegated to the dust bin, NewZimbabwe.com reported.He was addressing party supporters at a 'thank you' rally in Chiredzi weekend."Zanu-PF and sanctions must go because they are twins, they walk together," said the opposition leader."When you see sanctions, you see Zanu-PF; when you see Zanu-PF, you see sanctions."We have said we don't want sanctions on our country, but sanctions can only go if we remove Zanu-PF, because Zanu-PF is the one that invited sanctions in this country."The opposition leader's viewpoints towards measures deliberately imposed on the Zanu-PF led administration on alleged rights abuses and poll fraud, could be an attempt to flip the long-held narrative that MDC was complicit in the imposition of sanctions by its former western allies.Zanu-PF has blamed nearly all the country's economic troubles on sanctions. News / National by Staff reporter A Binga inyanga serving nine years in prison for illegal possession of 400 grammes of pangolin scales has approached the High Court challenging his sentence.Damason Mutale (39) of Chininga village was last year convicted of violating a section of the Parks and Wildlife Act (unlawful possession of pangolin trophy scales) and sentenced to an effective nine years in jail by Binga magistrate Mr Livard Philemon.Mutale, through his lawyers Mvhiringi and Associates, filed an application challenging both conviction and sentence.He is seeking an order nullifying Mr Philemon's sentence, arguing that it was too excessive. In his grounds of appeal, Mutale said the lower court erred by failing to consider special circumstances."The court a quo erred grossly at law and fact in finding that there were no special circumstances in the case yet appellant pointed out that he was a traditional healer, " argued the lawyers.The lawyers also said the court erred by failing to recognise that the appellant is an unsophisticated and uneducated man."The appellant was genuinely ignorant of the law and was genuinely mistaken for thinking that as a traditional healer he could continue to use the pangolin scales for traditional purposes," said the lawyers.According to papers before the court, Mutale was arrested after someone tipped an official from the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) that he was in possession of 71 pangolin scales.Zimparks officials teamed up with police detectives and raided Mutale's home leading to the discovery of the pangolin scales weighing 400g. He failed to produce a permit leading to his arrest. News / National by Staff reporter MDC Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa has reportedly buckled to pressure from disgruntled Bulawayo members and agreed to reconvene the provincial congress to elect the structure's leadership.Mr Chamisa came under fire after he presided over a "chaotic" provincial congress in Bulawayo with some party members accusing him of manipulating the process to favour some candidates on the grounds of ethnicity.According to party insiders, the Bulawayo provincial congress will be held after the party's national congress to be held in Gweru this week.The sources said in order to cool rising temperatures in the party, the losing candidates have been allowed to attend the congress."The national council met on Monday and received the recommendations of the appeals committee that the congress should be done afresh and those recommendations were adopted," said a source.The source said the province, after the national executive council meeting, was contacting losing candidates and requesting their details so that they are included as delegates to the congress."What will happen is that the top ten members of those who won in the congress and the top ten of the losing candidates will all go to the congress. Additionally the two groups will nominate 18 members each to attend the congress," said the source.The source said after the national congress, Bulawayo province is then expected to re-do their congress and elect the provincial executive.MDC Alliance provincial spokesperson Mr Swithern Chirowodza yesterday said they had not received any communication or instruction to register the losing candidates. However, sources insisted that the party's organising secretary Mr Amos Chibaya actually gave the province an instruction to register the losing candidates.After the chaotic congress, losing Bulawayo provincial executive aspirants took on Mr Chamisa head-on accusing him of manipulating processes to achieve his desired outcome.In a letter to the party's national executive, 12 losing candidates blamed Mr Chamisa and Mr Chibaya for the chaotic congress. The losing candidates alleged that the interference by Mr Chamisa and Mr Chibaya benefited Mr James Sithole's camp. Mr Sithole was elected provincial chairperson.They further argued that the provincial congress was illegal as it did not adhere to the party processes, conduct and procedures.Last week, disgruntled MDC Alliance officials gave Mr Chamisa a hostile reception to Bulawayo city by painting graffiti at the party's provincial offices denigrating him for alleged dictatorship and tribalism.Mr Chamisa was in the city for the party's provincial caucus where contestants vying for posts at the party's scheduled congress were presenting their manifestos.Some of the messages written on the walls and gate to the party provincial office include, "Chamisa ule nketha betshabi (Chamisa you are tribalistic), "Chamisa usubulele i MDC" (Chamisa you have destroyed MDC), "Chamisa a worse dictator", "Chamisa uyadelela" (Chamisa you are disrespectful) among other derogatory and inflammatory messages. News / National by Staff reporter Opposition Build Zimbabwe Alliance leader Noah Manyika says Zimbabweans are suffering because they are tolerating bad leadership, which is failing to deal with their challenges.Manyika's statement comes as the country endures a fresh wave of price increases following a hike in fuel prices on Tuesday when government dropped a subsidy on the commodity on Monday.Commuter omnibus operators responded by hiking fares to as much as $4 per trip, putting more strain on the revived Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) that had slashed fares for its urban routes to 50 cents hours before the fuel price hikes were announced."Our regression will persist with tragic consequences for our livelihoods if we continue to vote for and tolerate bad leaders simply because they are from our province, our party, our family, our race, or because their buffoonery provides us the most comic relief," Manyika said.He said those pinning their hopes on dialogue between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition parties were day dreaming because nothing positive would come out of any talks as long as the country was still under bad leaders."There are those who are pinning a lot of hope on a positive outcome from dialogue with Zanu-PF leaders. I am not one of them because what has been demonstrated in the past 39 years is that those who rise to the top of Zanu-PF are the most selfish, calculating, vicious and destructive leaders whose singular goal is self-preservation," Manyika said."Because of that, we have seen a reversal of all the gains of the Government of National Unity era, and since (former President Robert) Mugabe's ouster, the abuse of unprecedented local and international goodwill by those who prevailed in Zanu-PF's internal battles whose only interest was entrenching themselves at everyone else's expense."He said there would never be change in the country until citizens no longer accept that simply being the architect of a coup qualifies anyone to the leadership of the country.BZA is one of the few opposition parties boycotting the Mnangagwa-initiated dialogue process. News / National by Methusi Ncube The MDC Alliance will hold its national congress in Gweru from tomorrow Friday to Sunday.In a statement, the Nelson Chamisa party has reveled itinerary for the elective event which is aimed at putting together a team to challenge Zanu-PF's stranglehold on power in the country."The host province, Midlands has engaged a high gear as all roads lead to Gweru tomorrow for the MDC historic Congress at Ascot Stadium which will define a new course for Zimbabwe," said Dr Takavafira Zhou, the party's Secretary for Information and Publicity."The 24th will see the arrival and conduction of youths and women wings Congress. Official opening on Saturday 8. 30am while delegates would go into various thematic committees for robust debate with the report backs penciled at 2pm."He said on Saturday at 6pm provinces that did not have the opportunity for provincial caucuses such as Masvingo and Manicaland will be given an opportunity to listen to candidates presenting their Manifestos."The big day is Sunday 26th when Congress delegates would elect members of the standing committee tasked with leading and walking a paradigm shift in the course of Zimbabwean history, in our struggle for a better life for Zimbabweans and indeed in the triumph of democracy, liberty and freedom," said Dr Zhou. News / National by Mandla Ndlovu MDC National Chairperson Tabitha Khumalo and Vice President Morgan Komichi are allegedly working with Organising Secretary Amos Chibaya to block some congress delegates whom they are accusing of being against them, online media have reported.The reports allege that Khumalo, Chibaya and Komichi are burning th midnight oil to block some delegates from Bulawayo and Mashonaland Central"One Mike Mataruka is fronting the new effort that is dangerous and have the chances of causing chaos at the Gweru Congress. Mike is spreading rumours that the old members are against VP Komichi and Chair Tabitha Khumalo and will affect their votes opting for their rivals. There is a new threat to the smooth flow of the Congress as some members have decided to use dirty tactics to exclude illegible members from voting." The reports sayIt is further said that Chibaya and Tabitha Khumalo have arranged a hit squad in Gweru to cause harm on the said members if they succeed to go.One of the affected member from Bulawayo is reported to have called MDC President Nelson Chamisa to intervene as congress preparations have turned dirty and may result in violence. News / National by Mandla Ndlovu Information Computer Technologies businessman Shephard Dube has warned President Emmerson Mnangagwa of a looming coup if he does not get his act right by fixing the economy."Another coup is looming. When the Zimbabwe military working with parliament overthrew (Robert) Mugabe they argued he had failed to run the economy, causing poverty and international isolation blah blah blah. The argument was valid and gave them a legitimate reason to effect a coup on the old Bob."Dube said the precedence was set and Mnangagwa was bound to go the same way if he does not fix the economy."The precedence was set, the same reasons exist today. It would not be a surprise to see Junior military officers executing another coup, arguing the same reasons. ED must act fast before the country descends into chaos and anarchy."Dube's statement comes after reports coming from the Office of the President and Cabinet indicate that some Members of Parliament are planning to move a motion of confidence against Mnangagwa.In January some MPs met and plotted to have an impeachment motion moved but the plot was thwarted after two of the people present Mayor Justice Wadyajena and Terence Mukupe went to social media and told the world of the planMukupe said the MPs were going to fail because they lacked numbers.Zimbabwe's economy has being getting worse with each day causing citizens to start questioning themselves if they did the right thing to support the bloody coup that ended 37 years of President Robert Mugabe's iron rule. News / National by Staff reporter President Mnangagwa has today described liberation war icon Dr Dumiso Dabengwa as a principled person, whose heroics ranked high among the pioneering generation of early nationalists and freedom fighters as his contribution was enormous."My last contact with the late Cde Dumiso Dabengwa was at State House this April, a few days before our independence celebrations. He clearly looked unwell, and I directed Government to arrange for his speedy evacuation to India for urgent medical attention at Government expense. That was promptly done, and we all hoped that Cde Dabengwa's condition would improve and take a turn towards full recovery. Sadly that was not to be, and we lost him today in Nairobi, Kenya, as he was being flown back home," said President Mnangagwa in a statement he read at his offices this afternoon."As we mourn his untimely departure, our whole nation is lifted by the story of his life and that of his generation, a story which neatly interweaves with our own story as a people in the struggle for independence and full Statehood,"More to follow..... News / National by Mandla Ndlovu President Emmerson Mnanagwa has issued a condolence message to the family and friends of the late ZAPU President Dumiso Dabe ngwa who passed on in Kenya on Wednesday.He was coming from an operation in india."I am very sorry to hear of the passing of Comrade Dumiso Dabengwa."Mnangagwa said. "I had huge respect for Dumiso and his contribution to Zimbabwe: As a liberation fighter, a long standing Minister of Home Affairs and as a man. My deepest condolences are with his friends and family at this sad time."In 2017 Dabengwa revealed for the first time how the late former Defence minister Enos Nkala and Mnangagwa offered him a Zanu PF card while he was incarcerated at the height of Gukurahundi, saying if he did not accept the card, he would rot in prison.Dabengwa said Nkala, the late Edison Zvobgo and Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa visited him in Chikurubi Maximum Prison in 1986 after the death of Zipra commander Lookout Masuku offering him freedom on condition he joined Zanu PF."It was in 1986 after the death of Lookout Masuku we spoke and they said if I agreed to join Zanu PF and accepted the party card that they had brought for me, on that very day I would be released out of Chikurubi Prison and be a free man," Dabengwa said."I said to them that could only happen over my dead body. I made it clear that I would not betray Zapu. I would not turn my back on the people that were being killed by them."Nkala said to me, it's your fault, we will take the key to your cell and throw it away and you will rot in prison. I have bundled them into one, Nkala, Mugabe and Mnangagwa and all those that caused my suffering and forgiven them. But like I always say, I will never forget what they did to me." News / National by Mandla Ndlovu Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police in Marondera have arrested a 45 year old woman after she was found in possession of 52kg of dagga.Police have warned members of the public to desist from trading in illegal substances and drugs.Meanwhile a 32 year old man, Nevanji Mapingure of Plumtree was arrested on Monday at around 0000hours, at Tshitshi area, Mphoengs while travelling towards Plumtree with smuggled goods.He was carrying an assortment of goods valued at ZAR22 457.00 which were seized pending due process of the law.Members of the public are urged to follow proper customs and excise procedures as provided for by the law whenever they import or export goods. News / National by Staff reporter Exiled former Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo has today described liberation war icon Dr Dumiso Dabengwa as a true liberation war hero whose harassment by the Prime Minister Robert Mugabe's government in the early years of independence derailed the war hero's contributions to Zimbabwe.Dabengwa died early Thursday, in Nairobi, Kenya on his way back home after being airlifted to India last month for specialist treatment.He was 79.Said Prof Moyo, "A true freedom fighter, selfless revolutionary and national hero; whose service to Zimbabwe was derailed by Gukurahundists who maliciously detained him in 1983 for four years under the evil Rhodesian State of Emergency Act. Giants like him don't fall!" said Moyo.Nicknamed the Black Russian, Dabengwa is a former Home Affairs minister who left Zanu PF in 2008 to revive Zapu argued the 1987 Unity Accord that brought together the two liberation movements had failed his party's supporters.Social media went into meltdown with condolence messages. News / National by Staff reporter THE Zimbabwe African People's Union, Zapu, party says its leader Dumiso Dabengwa expressed his resentments in being buried at the National Heroes Acre, insisting it was heavily politicised by Zanu PF.According to NewZImbabwe.com, Zapu acting president Isaac Mabuka said his former boss had made it clear while still alive that he was not interested in being interred at the national shrine.Mabuka's claims were also echoed by the party's secretary for finance Mark Mbaiwa."One day when we were burying his sister in Ntabazinduna, he told me that he wanted to be buried next to his sister, mother and father."He was definitely not keen to be buried at the national shrine. However, his family has got the final say on this issue but as Zapu, we are guided by his wishes," Mbaiwa said.Mabuka said if the late ZIPRA intelligence chief was not buried at his family graveyard, his party will be more comfortable if he is buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery where his friends are buried. Opinion / Columnist Botswana president, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, recently hosted a summit in Kasane for five southern African heads of state to forge a common regional elephant conservation policy. Since Masisi took over it has been proposed to rescind the hunting moratorium imposed under Ian Khama, in 2014.The Kasane conference did not make a final decision on hunting in Botswana, but the speakers articulated a number of myths that support the consumptive "sustainable use" of elephants, which the world and most African Elephant range states - have turned their backs on.This article dispels these myths:1. Botswana's elephant population has surged to 160,000 from 55,000 in 1991.This is the subtext for the claim that there are too many elephants.' But it is false on both fronts. In 1983, Botswana's elephant population numbered between 70,000 and 75,000. It had certainly not dropped to 55,000 by 1991. The latest scientific survey of Northern Botswana, which estimates the population to be roughly 126,114, which is not materially different from the 2014 figure. In other words, the population is stable, not growing. Moreover, the 2014 figure reflected a 15% decline during the preceding decade.2.Botswana has exceeded its 'carrying capacity' of 54,000 elephants.This is based on the idea of a landscape being able to handle only 0.4 elephants per square kilometre, which comes from an outdated Hwange Game Reserve management policy that had no scientific basis, says Conservation expert, Ian McDonald. The concept of "carrying capacity" has no relevance for vast, unfenced wilderness landscapes that adapt and can maintain integrity without human intervention.A large number of scientists wrote in the peer-reviewed journal, Ambio, that they did not see 'any ecological reason to artificially change the number of elephants in Chobe National Park, either through culling or opening new dry season ranges.' What matters is not carrying capacity' but dispersion and concentration of elephant herds. Hunting and fences create concentration, which leads to vegetation damage. Even then, the ecological benefits that elephants provide more than compensate for small areas of vegetation damage.3.Hunting will solve the "population explosion problem".The truth is that hunting only targets the big tuskers, thus destroying genetic diversity. Elephant trophy hunting is typically rationalised on the grounds that it only eliminates old bulls that are surplus' to herd requirements. Such small-scale elimination would therefore obviously be incapable of controlling a population, especially given that Botswana only permitted the export of 800 elephants( of which only approximately 340 were actually hunted)per year in the decade prior to the hunting ban.Moreover, there is no such thing as surplus' elephants. Dr Michelle Henley writes that in the past, bulls over 50 years of age were considered redundant but more recent studies have found that bulls do not reach their sexual prime until they are over 45 years old.'4.Bringing back hunting will solve human and elephant conflict (HEC) and increase benefits to local communities.Proponents of hunting argue that it generates revenue that accrues directly to local communities and thus disincentivises both poaching and the killing of errant crop-raiders. But hunting is rooted in a colonial anthropology that castigated indigenous people groups as poachers' and colonialists as hunter-conservationists'. So, the colonial hunting fraternity established fortress conservation, which displaced and disempowered local communities, but now paints itself as the saviour of people and elephants.HEC can be mitigated through bees and chilli solutions, or combination thereof. Safe migratory corridors can also be established in which human settlement is limited. Ultimately, if communities are empowered to earn and receive benefits from elephants being alive (good for sustainable photographic tourism), HEC would become manageable.Hunting is not the answer, as the global hunting industry is in decline and is fundamentally unsustainable in open systems.5.The hunting moratorium led to increased poaching.The false logic is that poaching has increased in the wake of hunting's absence, and the latter must therefore be the cause of the former. However, poaching only started to increase in 2017, three years after the moratorium was imposed. Poaching may well have been minimised if former hunting concessions had been re-allocated timeously to allow photographic safari expansion.6.Renewed trade in ivory will alleviate poaching and fund conservation.Trading in ivory will not necessarily bring prices down and thereby end poaching. This is a naive view based on the argument that prohibition never works. The legal trade would simply serve as a cover for illegal trade and money derived from official ivory sales would not necessarily accrue to conservation or to empowering local communities to drive conservation andIn the final analysis, the southern African countries represented at the Kasane Conference appear intent on moving against science and cogent argument. As a physical emblem of President Masisi's embrace of consumptive use and rejection of being lectured to by westerners', he gifted his fellow heads of state with elephant footstools. Opinion / Columnist "Ngizafika ngithini kubo JZ, kumdala uNkomo, kuMsika, lakumama uLesabe, kunye labanye bami bonke esasisonke empini if I were to die today and leave Zimbabwe in this state? We need to get our country going." These words, said more than once by Dr Dumiso Dabengwa, who I hear is no more, ring in my mind on hearing the sad news about his passing on. "DD" was one man who loved his country and his people. This I know very well. My exposure to him during my tenure as Zapu's director of publicity between 2008 and 2011 taught me a lot about Dabengwa the person, Dabengwa the freedom fighter, Dabengwa the commander of intelligence for Zipra, and Dabengwa the politicianOne of his virtues was patience, and willingness to listen, to anybody and everybody. At the end, he would say a few, but definite words. He never wanted a gulf between him and the people. Six decades of politics and 17 years of war failed to kill Dabengwa the person. He remained Dumiso or simply Du, even to people young enough to be his grand children..That was his hallmark. He was affectionately loved. And he reciprocated. I worked for Zapu for 3 years, most of the period without pay. It was Dabengwa's fatherly bearing on me that kept me going. He could literally motivated dead soldiers. He would take out his lunch box and offer me his home-made sanguage if he thought I had nothing. He would take out his wallet and offload the only note for you when he thought you needed it more than him.I consider myself priviledged to have worked with Dr Dabengwa at a critical moment in his life. He seemed to be a soldier rushing against time. He wanted things to go back where they were for Zapu, and Zimbabwe. Sadly, the circumstances, and time, were against him. He has departed without being able to witness the Zimbabwe he wanted.I had the priviledge to interview Dr Dabengwa for excerpts for a book someone was writing about his life. "Dr D" was very clear about one thing. I quote: "When I die I want to be buried ngakithi, eNtabazinduna, Edibheni line." He told me. I asked: "But mdala you are definitely national hero, and no one can deny you that status and place at the national shrine?" He answered: "Those are my wishes (to be buried in Ntabazinduna)." I did as the commander wished, and recorded his statement the way he said it. Hopefully that book has been, or will be published soon. I also interviewed his brother and sister, who both gave very generous accounts about Dr Dabengwa the person.As I write this piece, I wonder ukuthi uthini uDr Dabengwa to his fellow liberation icons in heaven.Despite the challenges, Dr Dabengwa never regretted the war of liberation. "The war was absolutely necessary."When I asked him about the shooting down by Zipra of Rhodesian aeroplanes that killed civilians, he shot back; "War is war. A lot of unpleasant things happened on both sides during the war. When they bombed Nkomo's house in Zambia and almost killed him was it not war? When they bombed children in our camps was it not war? War is war."Hamba kuhle mdala wami. Opinion / Columnist Africa emerged from the dark cruel days of colonialism. The inspiration to find itself and shake the shackles of bondage came from the soup of Africa day. Africa day has brought about different vibes. In some countries it is a public holiday. In Zimbabwe, May 25 is a public holiday, while on Senegal's former slave port, Goree Island, a new movement dubbed "Africans Rising," is being launched to reclaim peace, dignity and justice for Africans on the continent and the diaspora. Africans are raised from the death jaw of cruel racism and colonialism but still bound. It is very sad that Africa day has been reduced to a ceremonial day. It has lost its meaning and its purpose. Africans are still taken for a ride. They are undermined oppressed and surely down trodden. They spend the special day feasting without sorting their future.Elsewhere, there are concerts and ceremonies to mark the day. Africa Day is also celebrated by Africans abroad, as diaspora communities of different nationalities come together in cultural attires and swap traditional recipes. There is no longer a meaningful strategic plan for Africans from the Africa day. Africans just assemble so that they can eat talk and go home.It is clear that the point and history of the Africa Day celebration has been lost. We are independent but bound.The sad thing is the efforts of the founding fathers is being put to waste. The spirit of April 15, 1958 has been exorcised. when the first Conference of Independent African States brought the fathers of Africa's liberation movements together. They never believed that or even thought that they are removing the chains of colonialism replacing it with new mode of disrespect and oppression. At the time, there were few independent African states, whose goal was to see total emancipation of the continent they call their own in the whole world. There were few leaders in attendance - from Ghana, Ethiopia, Sudan, Liberia and others - were there as a collective platform to reject colonialism and find a common interest in the best interest of their people.Africa day was an interstate organization with a shared objective. It sowed the seeds of what would become the Organization of African Unity (later rebranded in 2001 as the African Union) launched on May 25, 1963 by 32 free nations, led by Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure of Guinea and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. Every year since, Africa Day has been celebrated on May 25.More than half a century later, colonialism is no longer the common enemy, and finding a clear message from a community of states has become more difficult. The African Union uses Africa Day to highlight certain development themes but they had never forged a way forward. While personal development remains the objective, achieving that goal is not possible.It is not a mistake that all leaders who championed an agenda of an united Africa were killed like Kadhafi or toppled like Nkwame Nkurumah. Issues like common borders common currency and free movement of goods and persons were undermined.Free travel, and by extension free trade, between countries remains a tall order despite the very obvious advantages it promises.A strong united Africa is not permitted at all.AFRICAN BUSINESSA 2014 IATA study projects that opening up to 12 key air routes between countries on the continent will create "an extra 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual GDP." At the moment, up to five million passengers a year face difficulties traveling between African countries due to "unnecessary restrictions on establishing air routes." Zimbabwe has been sabotaged and its airline faces anti flying economic guns pointed at it. Very lucrative routes routes are congested by airlines which do not benefit the individual African nation. Africans in this new mental oppression have become their worst enemies. They promote xenophobia they restrict free movement. Throughout the continent, only 10 out of 55 countries allow visa-free entry for Africans or grant visas on arrival. In comparison, Americans can travel to at least 20 African countries without similar restrictions face d by Africans.Instead Africans make Africa a foreign land to themselves. Slaves in their own backyard. Last year, it finally launched its continental passport but so far, the passport has only been made available to heads of state and high-ranking officials. Some countries have recently relaxed their entry requirements for Africans, as such some progress was recorded last year across the continent. Over the coming years, trade between African countries could also improve, especially given Trump's isolationist "America First" stance. At the moment, intra-Africa trade accounts for a small share of trade on the continent but Trump's policies could see more African countries forced to trade with each other.It's unfortunate that just getting together to celebrate Africa Day is more ceremonial and swims in confusion.As Africans are still trying to figure out how exactly to use this cross-continental holiday, perhaps it's time to get back to the original message behind this day and figure out what it means today. Unity is still a relevant and honorable goal, but making it practical means removing the barriers between nations.Africa is still destabilised it is not a wonder that every rich African state is reeling in conflicts. The enemies of Africa brew problems in Africa so that they can steal Africas resources.Africans are being used to fight themselves while the gluttons take our resources.Africa day is a total failure and a real embarrassment to Africa.Our leaders are allowing themselves to be abused at the detriment of the people.In the excitement of freedom Africa is sadly bound.African leaders have been hauled before international courts. No European or American leader was ever brought before the international Criminal Court Of Justice. Why?African leaders never sit to forge a way towards African freedom.There are issues where African leaders have their own accounts frozen. The wealth taken by the international community. Billions of dollars have been taken and never repatriated back to Africa.Africans are not benefiting from Africa.Africa day should change its course and it should be pro active.It is a pity that even today Africa is bleeding and its blood is watering the wealth of its enemies.Africa day we must cry NOT YET UHURU.Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk Man pointing at a recycling symbol One of the most important secular trends to emerge has been the push to renewable sources of energy, as governments globally work feverishly to reduce carbon emissions and the impact of climate change. That is acting as a powerful tailwind for renewable energy stocks, which are becoming a popular investment. This is because they possess the defensive characteristics of traditional electric utilities, including wide, almost impenetrable economic moats and virtually guaranteed earnings growth because of the inelastic demand for electricity. Nonetheless, unlike traditional power companies, they arent lumbered with the considerable expense associated with transitioning their facilities to cleaner sources of electricity, making them an appealing investment in the current operating environment. A lesser-known renewable energy stock, which pays a regular dividend yielding well over 6%, is Polaris Infrastructure (TSX:PIF). It has been a rough ride for investors because its value has oscillated wildly over the last year to ultimately see Polaris down by 32% over that period. While Polaris is facing short-term headwinds, including an appreciable increase in geopolitical risk because of political ructions in Nicaragua where its core asset, the San Jacinto geothermal power plant, is located, that decline has created an opportunity for investors. Solid results Polariss San Jacinto plant combined with a range of hydro assets it acquired in Peru towards the end of 2018 gives it installed capacity of around 77 megawatts (MW). The renewable energy utility reported some robust first-quarter 2019 results. That included a healthy 19% year-over-year increase in average power generation at San Jacinto that gave revenue a notable nudge, seeing it rise by 26% for the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA also soared, gaining 29% compared to a year earlier to be almost US$16 million. Net income exploded, rising almost seven-fold to US$3.4 million. Polaris finished the period with a healthy cash balance of US$33 million and US$169 million of net long-term debt, which is a manageable 2.8 times its trailing 12-month EBITDA. Story continues The key drivers of that solid performance were primarily the further steam wells brought online at San Jacinto and, to a lesser extent, the addition of the five-MW Canchayllo run-of-river hydro project in Peru; it will boost Polariss 2019 power generation and earnings. Earnings will continue to grow over the next year because Polaris is expanding the capacity of San Jacinto and executing its buildout of the eight-MW El Carmen and 20-MW 8 de Agosto run-of-river hydro projects in Peru. Both plants are expected to be completed by the end of 2019 and have power-purchase agreements in place, with starting prices of US$55.90 and US$53.90, respectively, per megawatt hour (MWh) sold. El Carmen is forecast to produce at least 40,000 MWh annually. For 8 de Agosto, the plants electricity output will be 130,000 MWh. On a combined basis, they have the potential to boost Polariss revenue by at least US$9 million annually. Higher earnings will support the renewable energy utilitys generous quarterly dividend payment, which is yielding a very juicy 6.5%. With a payout ratio of around 81%, the dividend appears sustainable. Pulling it together for investors The ongoing political crisis in Nicaragua and U.S. sanctions on the government of Daniel Ortega have ratcheted up the level of risk associated with investing in Polaris, weighing heavily on its market value. The level of risk being priced in by the market appears overbaked, creating an attractive entry point to acquire a quality renewable energy stock. Some of that risk is mitigated by Polariss 2018 acquisition of Union Energy Group and its Peruvian hydro assets, which will give its earnings a solid boost over the course of 2019 and into 2020, supporting the sustainability of that juicy 6.5% dividend yield as well as boosting its market value. More reading Fool contributor Matt Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Polaris Infrastructure 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 A third of UK employees find work stressful, according to a survey. Photo: JESHOOTS.COM/Unsplash The UK workforce is being increasingly held back by mental health problems such as stress, depression and anxiety, according to new research. A survey of more than 2,000 employees by recruitment firm Robert Half UK suggests more than one in 10 (13%) Brits are unhappy at work accounting for more than 4.3 million people. In fact, the UK has the highest rate of unhappiness in the workplace of all eight countries surveyed, including Canada, Australia and Germany. British discontent is 4% higher than in the USA. READ MORE: This generation of workers is most stressed and it's not millennials Almost a third (31%) of British employees admitted to finding work stressful, while one in 10 (12%) said they were unhappy with their worklife balance. This is having a significant impact on the UKs labour force. The latest Labour Force Survey shows over 15 million days were lost over a year due to reported mental health problems caused or worsened by work including, but not limited to, stress, depression and anxiety. This accounts for over half (57%) of all missed work days due to self-reported illness. Additionally, burnout due to stress and anxiety is responsible for over two-fifths (44%) of all reported illnesses in the workplace. READ MORE: Finance staff are anxious and depressed but they won't talk about it Matt Weston, managing director of Robert Half, which has announced Mind as its official 2019 charity partner, said: It is crucial that businesses look at the ways they can help their employees and spot signs of burnout early. Building a positive work environment and recognising the connection between employee happiness and mental health, as well as nurturing good working relations within the company, are vital to successfully reducing stress and burnout in the workplace. The company also offered this advice on spotting the signs employees are struggling. How to spot signs of employee burnout: Working patterns Alternative working patterns are often the first sign your employee is feeling under pressure. An employee could be late to work, or increasingly leaving the office earlier than usual. Decreased productivity An unhappy employee is more often than not a less productive one. If you employee is making more mistakes than usual, or working relationships are becoming strained, this may be a sign they are suffering from stress. Interactions with managers or colleagues While expressing different opinions to colleagues or managers is not in itself a bad sign, an increased frequency could be a result of dissatisfaction on the employees part. Alternatively, an employee who isnt contributing to discussions with managers or colleagues and is remaining quiet might feel equally dissatisfied. Increased amount of sick leave as Robert Halfs study has shown, work-induced burnout can result in an increased number of sick days taken. Presenteeism The rise in the number of employees coming into work when ill is a sign of burnout. Meanwhile, employees not taking annual leave could also be interpreted as a sign of burnout. Negativity and emotional outburst It is important to look out for any signs your employees are expressing unhappiness with their role and how they fit in the company. READ MORE: Heres how being stressed at work can hurt you physically and what you can do to beat it Every year, the natural beauty of Fundy National Park lures hundreds of thousands of visitors, who travel to New Brunswick to take in the park's crystal clear waterfalls and cliffs shrouded in ocean fog, and snap photos of abundant wildlife. But to enjoy some of the best that the province has to offer, those travellers must endure some of the worst. Tourists coming from Western Canada or driving from the United-States are most likely to travel on Route 114, a roadway that has become a patchwork of bone-jarring potholes and disintegrating pavement. RVs and travel trailers with licence plates from New York, Florida and Texas weave and bounce along the deeply gashed road. Peering into a pothole allows you to count the layers of patched pavement used over the years, like rings on a tree trunk. For business owners catering to the close to 369,000 tourists who visited the park last season, the road leading to Fundy National Park is shameful. "It's pathetic," said Rheal Richard, a hunting guide for Oak Mountain Outfitters. Richard guides Americans almost exclusively. Fresh from a successful morning hunt, he said the poor conditions have been tough even on vehicles intended for off-road use. "No flat tires yet," said Richard, noting the road has broken trailer shackles and axles. "We're hoping we don't have any when we drive our tourists to the woods. But it's terrible. We're zigzagging all over to miss the potholes. It looks like we're drinking, but we're not, we're just trying not to break anything." Shane Fowler/CBC Logging trucks can often be observed crossing the centre line to avoid some of the larger potholes. Potholes aren't the only problem. The route is surrounded by sprawling clearcuts, some of which come to the road's edge. Some are thinly concealed by a line of trees left standing. Many only stop when they meet the park's borders. The view that remains after the loggers do their work is a sharp contrast to the natural beauty of the park. Story continues Shane Fowler/CBC "We've had people from Poland and France, and we've got people from Norway coming and all through the U.S.," said Jimmy Vande Brand, who builds and rents cottages for tourists along Route 114. "I just wonder what they think it looks like. Must look like a bomb went off. That's what it looks like. Like a war zone, almost." 'Kind of sad' Shane Fowler/CBC Tourists say there is a noticeable difference in the drive as their vehicle tires cross into the park from provincial pavement to federal. "It needs a lot of improvement," said Tom Wiggins, who came to Fundy with his wife from Maryland. "Some huge potholes. You really have to go slow. We hit a couple of them, and fortunately we didn't leave a flat tire." Shane Fowler/CBC "Everyone was asleep, but I think they kept waking up because of all the bumps and the three-foot deep potholes," said Duncan Dean, who drove up from Massachusetts with three other friends to take in Atlantic Canada. "And it's kind of sad to see they're logging everything, but the roads weren't as bad there, I guess." No funds to fix Shane Fowler/CBC But as bad as the road is there are no plans for a long-term fix soon, according to the New Brunswick government. Shane Fowler/CBC "It's unfortunate and it's embarrassing, I would say, for myself as well, to have a road that leads to such an important piece of infrastructure as the Fundy National Park," said Bill Oliver, minister of transportation and infrastructure. Shane Fowler/CBC Oliver said the road is an "important piece of infrastructure" and on the department's radar. However, he said, no funds are designated this year to rehab the entire roadway. "But we will address the safety concerns and the conditions of the road service," he said. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry. Photo: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Northern Irish economy stands to lose almost 1bn by the end of 2019 if its power-sharing executive is not restored, according to a new analysis by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Northern Ireland has been without an executive for well over two years due to a political stalemate between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein. Details of the analysis, announced in a Thursday speech by CBI chief Carolyn Fairbairn, come in the middle of talks on restoring power-sharing that involve five of Northern Irelands main political parties. The political impasse has left Northern Ireland without a functioning government for more than 860 days the longest ever peacetime government deadlock, Fairbairn said. The total loss to the economic output of Northern Ireland if the talks do not result in a restoration of the executive by the end of the year could be approximately 940m, she warned. I have just one message to those involved in power-sharing talks here in Belfast: Why not adopt the business approach? You bear a historic responsibility, Fairbairn said, noting that, for successful companies, stalemate simply is not an option. The business community in Northern Ireland is crying out for compromise, she said. A five-week negotiation process to restore power-sharing, the first since February 2018, was formally opened by the British and Irish governments earlier this month. READ MORE: Talks on restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland begin The launch of the negotiations came in the wake of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot by dissident republicans in Londonderry in April. UK prime minister Theresa May and her Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar urged Northern Irelands political leaders to heed the unmistakable message heard at her funeral. Delivering a eulogy at the funeral, Catholic priest Martin Magill was given a standing ovation when he asked why it took the death of the 29-year-old McKee to get politicians to come together. Story continues The collapse of power-sharing in January 2017 followed a scandal involving a failed renewable energy incentive scheme known as the Renewable Heat Incentive. But talks have not progressed for a number of reasons, including Sinn Feins objections to both the DUPs use of a parliamentary mechanism to prevent the introduction of same-sex marriage and its position on the Irish language. Both parties also fundamentally disagree about Brexit, with the DUP staunchly in favour of the UKs departure from the EU and Sinn Fein opposed. READ MORE: CBI chief says no-deal Brexit could put Irish economy on ice permanently Fairbairn spoke Thursday at the CBIs annual Northern Ireland dinner. Speaking in Dublin earlier, she warned that a no-deal Brexit could permanently hamper the island of Irelands economy. There have been turbulent times for the Carcross/Tagish First Nation over the years, from the arrival of Gold Rush settlers, to the establishment of mission schools, to more recent changes in the First Nation's leadership. But now it's hoped that a 450-year-old red cedar log can heal the community and help it move forward. The log is being carved into a dugout canoe, and the process of transforming the log is meant to bring the community together. "The healing journey begins as soon as the carving starts," said Wayne Price, a Tlingit master carver from Haines, Alaska. He's now in Carcross teaching people there the art and tradition of carving a seaworthy canoe from red cedar. "A new chapter is being written now, a new page is being turned, culture is being brought back." Price was warmly welcomed last week to the traditional territory of Carcross/Tagish First Nation. Community members gathered inside a large tent and formed a circle to have a prayer and smudge. Mike Rudyk CBC The faint smell of cedar and the sound of a gentle rain could be heard inside the white tent, creating the feeling of standing in the temperate rainforest where the cedar grew. The tree is about 450 years old, meaning it roughly dates to the time First Nations started seeing European settlers arrive in Canada. "You know, it takes 450 years to make a dugout and that's part of my story we want to keep," said Price. The large white tent is set up next to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Learning Centre. The log inside is massive 9.1 metres long, with a 1.37-metre diameter. Soon, the ground will be covered with wood chips as the carving work begins. The First Nation received $100,000 for the project, from the Canada Council for the Arts. Mike Rudyk CBC Price will work on it for the next two months, with help from community members. The goal is to have it done in time for the community's Haa KusteeY'e Celebration at the end of July. The three-day event brings communities from Alaska, B.C., and Yukon together to celebrate Inland Tlingit culture. Story continues An ancient art Building a dugout canoe is an ancient art. Skills have been passed down through generations. They're one of the oldest styles of boats in North America. Some date back thousands of years, and were used for seasonal travel, hunting, and fishing. The dugout in Carcross is the 12th vessel Price has built in the traditional way, using mostly hand tools. Price uses a tool called an adze to shape the log, and eventually hollow it out. Mike Rudyk CBC Price says as it's carved, each chip that comes off the log represents some of the struggles First Nations have lived through. "I had a vision in the sweat lodge. It told me to make a healing dugout [canoe], and I asked, 'how do you make a healing dugout?'" Price recalled. "We are bringing our culture back" - Keith Wolfe Smarch, Tlingit master carver "And the Creator said, 'each chip represents a life that has been affected by mind-changers in our culture, and of all the chips that come out of the dugout, there wouldn't be enough chips." Sean Ltaguhaa, a member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, says a project like this will provide a lot of healing for his community. "That's where people are really wanting to move forward to do our healing as a community, to hold each other up, and to learn more about our ancestral ways, and to learn more about our culture," said Ltaguhaa. Carcross youth Scottie James wants to be involved in the carving, and learn from Price. "In my family, we have always tried to go to these things, we always try to be a part of our culture as much as we can and try to stick with it ... I want to learn more about my culture," said James. Mike Rudyk CBC Keith Wolfe Smarch, a Tlingit master carver from Carcross/Tagish, says the dugout is part of the early culture of his people. "We keep talking about bringing back the culture, and we know for a fact that 70 miles down the lake here at Ben-My-Chree there is a petroglyph up in the mountain ... of a canoe with a sail on it, and people on it. And that was found around the turn of the century, so obviously they were here before," said Wolfe Smarch. "So again, we are bringing our culture back." Price can't wait to build his new boat for the community and see the members of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation paddle it on the ocean. "I would love to see that. I have my own personal dugout it's a 28-footer, it's got about 600 nautical miles of the journey on it, and hoo-haa!" Price said. Price says paddlers from Carcross could join him in Haines next year and paddle their new vessel to Juneau, Alaska for the bi-annual Tlingit Celebration. RCMP say the extent of the search Thursday for missing fisherman Jordan Hicken will depend on the weather. Hicken, 22, from Montague, went overboard while fishing off Naufrage early Tuesday morning on his father's boat the Plum Crazy, RCMP said. Poor conditions limited Wednesday's search to the shorelines. Weather improved later in the day and had raised hopes of getting back on the water Thursday but RCMP say that decision will be made once conditions are known. An RCMP boat from New Brunswick along with a dive team will prepare at Naufrage Harbour so they are ready, if and when they are given the go-ahead to begin searching Thursday. Brain Higgins/CBC P.E.I. Ground Search and Rescue has also been called to help with the search. Several fisherman have said they don't plan to head onto the waters. Brian Higgins/CBC The first day of the search was called off at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. RCMP have taken over the search as a missing person case. "This has touched the community as a whole, the fishermen, the family, the whole entire P.E.I., people just want to help," said Sgt. Chris Gunn. On Wednesday fire crews searched along several kilometres of the North Shore from Greenwich to Naufrage on an all-terrain vehicle and some local people were helping search on foot. Brian Higgins/CBC St. Peters fire Chief Craig Campbell said it was too rough for anyone to be out on the water Wednesday, and said he hoped Hicken would be found so the family could get closure. RCMP asked anyone helping in the search to be very cautious for their own safety and said the same for anyone wanting to help search Thursday. Hicken was an experienced fisherman, and had worked both in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. Brian Higgins/CBC More P.E.I. news By Alasdair Pal and Mayank Bhardwaj NEW DELHI/AYODHYA (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a dramatic election victory on Thursday, putting his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security. His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting harsh positions on protectionism, immigration and defense. Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 302 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament. That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. Votes will be fully counted by Friday morning. Modi was showered with rose petals by some of the thousands of cheering supporters who waited for hours in a thunderstorm for his arrival at party headquarters on Thursday evening. "Whatever happened in these elections is in the past, we have to look ahead. We have to take everyone forward, including our staunchest opponents," he said in a televised address. He was critical of the many people that doubted the BJP could increase its majority. "The political pundits of India have to leave behind their ideas of the past," he added. CHALLENGES AWAIT Modi has slashed red tape in the world's fifth-largest economy, though some overseas firms, including Amazon, Walmart and Mastercard, have complained about policies they say are designed to benefit domestic rivals. He will face demands to provide jobs for the tens of millions of young people coming on to the market in the next few years and to boost depressed farm incomes. "The immediate challenges are to address employment, the issue of agricultural income and revive the banking sector," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Ratings in Mumbai. But making good on his promise of unity will be difficult as the BJP campaign was often divisive, and India's Muslim minority has expressed fears that policies aimed at pleasing the Hindu majority could imperil their livelihoods. Modi's pledge of a strong stand against a separatist movement in Muslim-majority Kashmir has fueled tension with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, although its prime minister, Imran Khan, congratulated Modi on his win. "Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan added on Twitter. Besides a harder line on national security, BJP members will look to Modi for progress on a project to building a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque demolished by Hindu zealots in the northern holy town of Ayodhya in 1992. "I want Modi to finish terrorism from Kashmir (and) make Pakistan bite the dust again and again," said Shekhar Chahal, a BJP worker from the capital, New Delhi. "I am confident that Modi will also make the temple in Ayodhya." The NDA's predicted margin of victory, at 351 seats versus 93 for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, according to broadcaster NDTV, far exceeds survey forecasts in the run-up to the vote. Among the winners for the BJP was a Hindu ascetic accused of plotting a bomb attack on Muslims. Most polls indicated a victory for Modi's alliance but expected it to fall short of an overall majority. (Click HERE https://reut.rs/2VXBoxz for graphic of live updates of election results) SECURITY SWING Modi was under pressure when he began campaigning, losing three state elections in December amid rising anger over farm prices and unemployment. However, campaigning shifted toward India's relationship with Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian police in February in the Himalayan region of Kashmir claimed by both countries. Modi ordered an air strike on what India said was a militant training camp on the Pakistani side of the border, a tough response that benefited the right-wing BJP, analysts said. While Pakistan has signaled a willingness to open talks with India, it also displayed its military might, with the test of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of up to 1,500 miles (2,400 km). The BJP has also capitalized the star power of Modi, a frenetic campaigner, as well as its superior financial resources. It outspent Congress by six times on Facebook and Google advertising, data showed, and by as much as 20 times overall, sources told Reuters this month. The main opposition Congress party was ahead in just 52 seats, but its leader Rahul Gandhi, twice defeated in general elections by Modi, refused to rule out resigning as party chief in a brief televised news conference. Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as prime minister, lost to the BJP candidate in the northern constituency of Amethi the family has held almost continuously for the last four decades. But he was leading in the southern constituency from which he is also running for parliament. "The Congress party has not been able to improve at all," said Rahul Verma, a fellow at the center for Policy Research in New Delhi. "One big story is the emerging challenge for the Congress to remain a national alternative to the BJP. That now is under question." STRONG LEADER In the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of lawmakers to parliament, the BJP was leading in 60 of the 80 seats in the fray, out in front of a powerful alliance of caste-based parties campaigning to improve rural conditions. "After the air strike on Pakistan, almost all these important issues started fading and farmers decided to cast their ballot for the BJP," said Raghubar Das, 55, who grows rice and wheat on the outskirts of Ayodhya, which many devout Hindus believe to be the birthplace of the God-king Rama. "Mind you, they didn't vote for the BJP, they voted for Modi. Everyone loves a strong a leader." The party also won seats in several states where it has long struggled, including West Bengal, where it took on the Trinamool Congress, a powerful regional party. Data showed it leading in 19 of 42 seats, surpassing the two it won in 2014, data showed. Investors welcomed Modi's victory, hoping his government will push through reforms. Indian stocks surged more than 5 percent this week to hit record highs on Thursday, but the euphoria fizzled quickly, with stocks and the rupee ending the day weaker, as the focus returned to a faltering economy. (Reporting by Alasdair Pal, Aftab Ahmed, Sanjeev Miglani, Nigam Prusty, Neha Dasgupta, Devjyot Ghoshal and Munsif Vengattil in NEW DELHI, Mayank Bhardwaj in AYODHYA, Subrata Nag Choudhury and Abhirup Roy in KOLKATA and James Mackenzie in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Robert Birsel, Clarence Fernandez and Toby Chopra) By Maikel Jefriando and Wilda Asmarini JAKARTA (Reuters) - Calm returned to the streets of the Indonesian capital on Thursday after a second night of clashes between security forces and protesters angry about the outcome of last month's election, which handed President Joko Widodo a second term. Downtown areas of Jakarta became a battlefield overnight, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters throwing rocks and firecrackers. Protesters also tore up pavement slabs, destroyed street signs and set ablaze food stalls and a security post. The unrest followed Tuesday's announcement by the General Election Commission confirming that Widodo had beaten his challenger, former general Prabowo Subianto, in the April 17 poll. The violence began on Tuesday night with six killed, and two more killed on Wednesday night, officials said. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the dead included three teenagers, and 737 people were injured in the rioting, mostly in the central neighborhood of Tanah Abang. But the ranks of protesters thinned over Wednesday night and police spokesman Dedi Praseyto said the last dispersed by 7 a.m. Roads quiet on Wednesday as office workers stayed away from the city center were busy with traffic again on Thursday. City workers in orange overalls swept up debris. Widodo won more than 85 million of the 154 million votes cast but Prabowo has alleged "massive cheating and irregularities" and refused to concede defeat. The election agency has said there was no evidence of systematic cheating and independent observers have said the poll was free and fair. Elsewhere, a mob burnt a police station on Madura island, northeast of the main island of Java, while two police posts were set ablaze in Pontianak on Borneo island, media said. 'BENT ON CHAOS' Financial markets were firmer on Thursday with the rupiah up 0.5% and the main stock index up 1.6%. Taye Shim, director of capital markets at Mirae Asset Securities Indonesia, said he did not see the demonstrations as a serious threat to Indonesia's stability. "While upset supporters might demonstrate their disagreement with the official election results, we don't think it would be a serious threat to Indonesia's democracy," he told Reuters. Police said the number of arrests over the riots reached 300. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told reporters at least two men detained during the riots belonged to Garis, a militant group that had pledged support for Islamic State. "They intended to carry out jihad during May 21 and 22 protests," Iqbal said. On Wednesday he said officers had found some of the people they searched were carrying envelopes containing money, suggesting instigators behind the trouble. "This is not a spontaneous incident, this is something by design," he told reporters. "There are indications that the mobs are paid and bent on causing chaos." In a video on his Twitter account late on Wednesday, Prabowo urged his supporters to disperse peacefully. "I beg you to return to your homes to rest, avoid any actions that would break the law," he said. Prabowo's political party, Gerindra, complained that the authorities were trying to pin the blame for the riots on him. LEGAL CHALLENGE Gerindra spokesman Andre Rosiade said a lawsuit would be filed at the Constitutional Court on Friday over the election result, which gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for his challenger. Prabowo lost the 2014 presidential election to Widodo by a slimmer margin and had objected to that result, lodging a complaint with the Constitutional Court that was rejected. Analysts say Widodo's double-digit victory margin deprives the opposition of a strong case to claim rigging but it may be able to count on agitation by a strong contingent of Islamist supporters. The government boosted the numbers of security forces to 58,000 across Jakarta and put temporary blocks on some social media to prevent unrest sparked by fake news. Police paraded suspects in orange jumpsuits besides displaying weapons and cash at a news conference. Police chief Tito Karnavian showed reporters a sniper rifle and two pistols he said had been seized days before the rioting. "There is an effort to provoke, to create martyrs, blame the authorities and invoke public anger," he said. (Additional reporting by Cindy Silviana, Bernadette Christina Munthe, Gayatri Suroyo, Kanupriya Kapoor, Fransiska Nangoy and Fanny Potkin; Writing by John Chalmers and Ed Davies; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez) Sea levels could rise by as much as two metres by 2100 in a worst-case scenario involving melting ice caps and high CO2 emissions, a new study suggests. The research released earlier this week points to a possible impact considerably higher than estimates made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2014 that suggested a one-metre rise in sea levels by the end of the century. "Sea level rise numbers are in flux, and they've generally been trending upwards since the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC because we've been learning more about the potential modes of instability in the Antarctic ice sheets in particular," said Robert Kopp, co-author of the study and a professor at the department of Earth and planetary sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. One of the most difficult things to forecast in this changing climate is the estimates of sea level rise. There are various contributors to rising seas, including thermal expansion (oceans will expand and become less dense as they warm) and melting ice caps and glaciers. How fast those glaciers and ice caps melt is a big unknown. Recent studies have suggested that the West Antarctic is losing far more ice than ever before. But scientists are beginning to gain additional knowledge. David Gray/Reuters The new study, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used a method called structured expert judgment (SEJ), where scientists make predictions based on their research and knowledge of what is happening in Greenland and Antarctica. While the IPCC report focused on what is likely to happen, ranging from 17 to 83 per cent probabilities, this study took a broader approach, covering probabilities of five to 95 per cent. For a 2 C warming scenario, the researchers found that sea levels could rise by 26 centimetres by 2100, with a worst-case scenario of 81 centimetres. However, for 5 C of warming, the impact could be 51 centimetres, and up to 178 centimetres in a worst-case scenario. Story continues Once melting glaciers and thermal expansion are factored in, that worst-case scenario jumps to two metres by 2100. There is a five per cent chance that by 2200 that number could rise to approximately 7.5 metres. "The message is as we learn more about it, these changes in sea level could be more severe than first thought and even if not likely, there are some catastrophic scenarios that could occur," said Paul Myers, an associate professor at the University of Alberta's Earth and atmospheric sciences department, who was not involved in the study. Chances of that happening are low, he said, but people need to plan just in case. Myers compares it to the potential of an asteroid strike. While the chances of an asteroid capable of an extinction-level event such as the one that wiped out the dinosaurs occurs on average once every million years, astronomers are still searching the skies for them and ones that are somewhat smaller. "[Astronomers] are talking about probabilities of well under one per cent point one per cent or less and they're still planning for it because if it ever were to happen, it would be catastrophic. Here we're talking about five per cent." Threatening populations The difference from the last IPCC report is in the accumulation of knowledge. Myers wasn't surprised by the latest numbers. "We've learned a lot over the past five or six years since the last IPCC assessment. There's a lot more data collected. We're learning a lot more about the processes that affect glaciers, especially Greenland and the Antarctic, but also, say, the Canadian Arctic." With rising sea levels comes the likely displacement of people around the globe. "Even with stringent emissions reductions, there's still going to be a substantial sea level rise, and we need to think about how to manage that in terms of both protection and, in some cases, expecting people to move," Kopp said. If sea levels were to rise above the two-metre mark, Kopp said, it would flood areas that are home to 240 million people, including places in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. And North America doesn't get off scot-free: cities like Miami and New Orleans would be affected as well. New York and the mid-Atlantic would see an increase in the frequency of flooding. Ian Joughin/Associated Press Myers said it's not just rising sea levels that threaten populations. "Storm surges, waves, extreme events are all going to be on top of that. So people who are worried about coastal flooding are going to have to deal with that change and then all the things that can drive sea level above there." But rising sea levels don't mean we're doomed, Kopp said. What is important is taking action to prevent that worst-case scenario. "Sea level is a slow-moving process. Unfortunately, emissions reductions that we take now we don't get to see the benefits of them in terms of sea level rise as opposed to things like heat extremes for several more decades," he said. "Nonetheless, those benefits come, and whether or not we're in the 2 C world or 5 C world depends on the choices we make now." By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A landmark European privacy law is making waves worldwide a year after it came into force, fundamentally changing the way data are handled as Facebook, Apple and Google face increasingly frequent complaints. Adopted on May 25 last year, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches, regardless of which part of the world the data handler is in. The new regulation has forced global companies to reconsider their own rules, inspiring territories from Brazil to China and India to California to develop their own privacy and security regulations based on a de facto GDPR benchmark. "GDPR has fundamentally changed Facebook as a company," the world's biggest social network said in an emailed statement, citing a range of improvements to users' privacy controls it had implemented, along with additions to its compliance team. In the wake of heightened awareness of data privacy, fueled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent, financial penalties and legal tests will now follow. "It's going to be a year where we see and test how the rules get interpreted," said Cristina Cabella, IBM's chief privacy officer, who oversees a team of dozens of lawyers worldwide for the technology multinational. The Cambridge Analytica scandal, which erupted just before GDPR came into force, resulted in a paltry 500,000 pound ($632,000) fine in Britain - the maximum amount possible at the time. But GDPR grants new powers to privacy enforcers to impose fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue or 20 million euros ($22 million), whichever is higher. The biggest penalty so far, 50 million euros, has gone to Google for failing to properly secure users' consent for personalized ads in France. More may be on the way, with more than 95,000 complaints filed to national data enforcers, triggering 225 investigations. Facebook, the target of seven investigations by the Irish data protection watchdog, could face its first sanction this summer. Its WhatsApp and Instagram subsidiaries are the focus of separate probes by Dublin. Ireland, the lead regulator for the tech giants because their European headquarters are located there, is also investigating Twitter, Microsoft's LinkedIn and Apple, with decisions in all the cases expected this year. GDPR has succeeded in raising awareness of personal data among individuals and companies and how to protect it, said Benoit Van Asbroeck, a partner at law firm Bird & Bird. "Everywhere people realize that data is a key asset," he said. The new rules can force companies to clean house, meaning they will be more effective in data retrieval and analytics as well as building consumer confidence, said IBM's Cabella. "Individuals can have more trust in the companies that process their data transparently, and that is a competitive advantage," she told Reuters. IMPEDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE There is a risk however that the rules could hamper Europe's bid to lead in artificial intelligence, putting it at a disadvantage compared with the United States and Asia where the legal threshold is lower, Van Asbroeck said. "Protection for people is too high. It will backfire for the development of artificial intelligence in the EU. To develop AI, you need to train algorithms with data. Some of this is personal data which needs to be compliant with GDPR, making it difficult for some companies," he said. Google, Facebook and Apple with their massive troves of user data and contractual consent to use it would not face any problem but the same cannot be said of other companies without the same access to volumes of information, he said. U.S. think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said there was a case for modifying GDPR. "If the EU wants to thrive in the algorithmic economy, it needs to reform the GDPR, such as by expanding authorized uses of AI in the public interest, allowing re-purposing of data that poses only minimal risk, not penalizing automated decision-making," it said. VZBV, the federal umbrella for Germany's consumer protection movement, said the right to data portability - which allows individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services - should be clarified. "We need industry-specific codes of conduct for data portability. Here companies have to agree on standards with data protection authorities and civil society," said VZBV chief Klaus Mueller. (Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Paul Sandle in London, Doug Busvine in Frankfurt; Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Jonathan Weber in Singapore; Writing by Foo Yun Chee and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Kirsten Donovan) Two Chippewa Valley businesses were awarded as the best businesses of the year this month. Kurt Manufacturing in Cornell and Barron County Cheese in Barron were named Chippewa County Business of the Year for Quadrant 2 and Chippewa Valley Exporter of the Year, respectively, by the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation at their recent yearly awards. Barron County Cheese helps businesses throughout North America get their cheese products ready for retail through conversion packaging, labeling, and specialty services like smoking and waxing. By doing small and large orders, they help businesses who would prefer not to have their own in-house packaging. Charlie Walker, CCEDC president, said the organization was particularly impressed by the companys growth in the export market, and wanted to highlight that as an option in the area. Thats part of our award, Walker said, to bring attention to the value exporting can play. Kurt Manufacturing was nominated as the best business in the northeast quarter of the county, which includes the communities of Holcombe and Cornell. Kurt Manufacturing was recognized in part for bringing a new business to Cornell and their work with leading edge technology in the area. The company was founded in 1946 in Minneapolis and works with contract machining, aluminum die casting, screw machining, and by offering product solutions. The company now has multiple product areas, operates over 500,000 square feet of manufacturing facilities and has over 500 employees. The May 10 award event was the 14th the CCEDC has held, and included the groups 25th annual meeting, plus a signing event for Chippewa Valley Youth Apprenticeship students. It also saw over 500 attendees. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WNB Financial is pleased to announce two donations: $500 to Feed My People Food Bank in Eau Claire, as well as $250 to the Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Chippewa Valley. These donations were made possible from Jeans Day collections, where employees choose to pay $2 each Friday to wear casual jeans during the work day, with the proceeds benefiting non-profit organizations. As the only food bank in West Central Wisconsin, Feed My People Food Bank provides hunger-relief programs access to millions of pounds of low-cost foods. These cost-effective partnerships mean thousands of hungry people are helped each month. WNB Financials $500 donation is earmarked specifically for the Weekend Kids Meals program. Each week, Feed My People Food Bank provides bags of food for about 2,000 preschool, elementary, middle, and high school students. Each bag contains easy to prepare foods for two breakfasts and two lunches, including two pieces of fresh fruit. The program is offered at 38 sites in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. The Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Chippewa Valley provides a safe, positive and productive place for youth to go after school and during school breaks. Youth members ages 8-18 are able to participate in after school and full day summer programs, as well as enjoy a daily snack and dinner. Boys & Girls Club programs and services promote and enhance development by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. WNB Financial employees understand the importance of giving back to the community they serve. In 2018, 36 employees donated 2,211 hours of service to 91 organizations. WNB gifted over $377,900 to the community in the areas of education and youth programs, fine arts and culture, health and wellness, economic development and community service. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mario Batali, the disgraced celebrity chef, will face criminal charges in Boston on Friday. He is accused of "allegedly kissing and groping a woman against her will in a Back Bay restaurant in 2017," according to Boston.com. The 58-year-old will be arraigned on charges of indecent assault and battery. The Boston Globe reports: [The complainant] as eating dinner at the bar with a friend and recognized Batali sitting a few seats away, according to the criminal complaint. The woman told police she was taking a picture of Batali over her shoulder when he noticed her and told her to come here right now, according to court records. She went over to apologize and tell him she would erase the photo, but Batali told her it was OK and offered to take a selfie with her. As she stood next to his bar stool, Batali put his arm around the woman and then grabbed her chest, she told police. He then allegedly started kissing her face and touching her groin without her consent, records show. The woman said she stopped taking photos and pulled away from Batali. She said he kept pulling on her face and asked her if she wanted to join him in his hotel room nearby at the Mandarin Oriental, adding that Batali seemed intoxicated by the smell and half closed eyes, according to the criminal complaint. The incident closely matches allegations from a lawsuit filed last year. Batali's lawyer Anthony Fuller said, "The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit. He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali." In late 2017, stories from the NY Times and Eater revealed accounts from women, including employees, who accused Batali of predatory behavior, from verbal harassment to rape. Batali denied accusations of sexual assault, but also offered apologies for his other actions (as well as a recipe for cinnamon rolls). The NYPD closed its sexual assault investigation related to Batali earlier this year, but Batali still officially removed himself from his former restaurant empire. If convicted, Batali faces up to two and a half years in prison and sex offender status. Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday proposed legislation to jump-start a broad effort aimed at protecting Wisconsin from a public health hazard that other states have been addressing for years. Republicans who control the state Legislature also announced far narrower measures to protect the public from cancer and other serious health problems linked to a family of synthetic toxic chemicals referred to as PFAS. The Democratic plan would direct state regulators to search out places where PFAS has contaminated the environment, and quickly set legal limits for the toxic compounds in water, soil and air so that cleanups can begin. A provision to set the standards speedily is likely to face opposition from business groups who have influence with the Republican majority, but Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, who co-authored the bill, said the state shouldnt postpone protections for public health. Weve had way too much delay, Miller said in an interview. The goal is to be very clear that its a priority to deal with these substances in a prompt and science-based manner to protect public health. Miller said he is optimistic Republicans will come to understand the need for a comprehensive program to find and remove PFAS from places where it has been released into the environment by industries that used it for decades to manufacture waterproof and grease-proof paper, fabric and frying pans. Its early in the relationship between the Democratic governor and the Republican Legislature and Im crossing my fingers that well be able to work in a responsible, bipartisan manner, even though Im not seeing it in the early part of the governors term, Miller said. I dont think we can sacrifice the public welfare strictly for the sake of economic opportunity. In Minnesota, Michigan and other states where PFAS contamination came to light earlier, businesses and government have spent millions on cleanups. State drinking water contaminated The compounds have caused the shutdown of one Madison municipal water well, and dozens of private wells near Marinette. In the Marinette case, Johnson Controls subsidiary Tyco Fire Products has provided replacement drinking water and begun planning a cleanup. In Madison, the Air National Guards Truax base is almost certainly a major source of the contamination that led to the city well being shut down, but the military has said it doesnt have money to fully investigate the pollution or to clean it up. The state Department of Natural Resources says it has authority to require cleanups of PFAS in soil, but without specific enforceable standards there can be delays about how extensive a cleanup needs to be. The legislation calls for standards to be set for drinking water, groundwater, lakes, streams, sediment, solid waste and air. The DNR would write regulations based on recommendations from state toxicologists after an extensive review of scientific research and regulations being enforced in other states. However, because enacting regulations takes years under Wisconsin law, Millers bill requires the DNR to put any proposed groundwater or drinking water limits in place on an interim basis as soon as they are recommended. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the states business lobby, has said proposed PFAS regulations need to be thoroughly scrutinized. During the rule-making process, costs to businesses are estimated, public comments are collected and the Legislature and the governor consider whether to finalize the rules. The legislation covers six of the most prevalent PFAS compounds. The bill was written with advice from the DNR and the state Department of Health Services, Miller said. It would require 7.5 additional full-time positions at DNR and four for DHS. In April, the DNR asked DHS toxicologists to recommend groundwater standards for 34 PFAS chemicals, but staffing shortages and delays during the administration of previous Republican Gov. Scott Walker have meant the health department hasnt yet begun its review. DHS has been researching two PFAS compounds and the department plans to recommend groundwater standards for those soon. The bill called the CLEAR Act, for Chemical Level Enforcement and Remediation was announced in Green Bay on Thursday morning by Evers, DNR Secretary Preston Cole, and Democratic lawmakers. The CLEAR Act is one of the most comprehensive proposals in the nation and lays the foundation for a long-term plan to tackle PFAS pollution in Wisconsin, said Carly Michiels, a lobbyist for Clean Wisconsin. Midwest Environmental Justice Organization issued a statement supporting the bill, but questioned why it doesnt include a standard for fish that could be used to create a consumption advisory. Executive director Maria Powell added that action is also needed from local agencies such as water utilities, wastewater plants and health departments. With a Republican-controlled legislature, its hard to imagine how this bill will go forward, Powell said. Hopefully people wont simply wait for the state to take on PFAS and will act locally to protect people now. GOP bills impact unclear Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, and Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, announced late Wednesday they were seeking co-sponsors for a bill that would require firefighters to train only with foam that doesnt contain the chemicals. Companies such as Tyco, a major employer in Nygrens district, would be required to ensure PFAS wasnt released into the environment during testing. The company has said it has suspended outdoor testing. The Republican bill wouldnt ban the use of PFAS-based firefighting foam to extinguish fires caused by flammable liquids. Nygren spokesman John Cronin said he didnt know of any current examples of PFAS use, training or testing that would be affected by the bill. PFAS foam was used to extinguish a major fire last year at Husky Energy in Superior. The DNR said the company filtered PFAS out of wastewater. PFAS compounds called forever chemicals are very hard to break down and render harmless. PFAS captured in special filters has been burned in special waste incinerators but there are questions about whether some of the material escapes into the air. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Legislatures budget-writing committee Thursday advanced a Republican-backed plan to boost funding for schools by $500 million in the next state budget, including $97 million more for children with special needs. The increase falls short of the $1.4 billion in new funding for K-12 schools proposed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and of the $635 million in new funding Republican leaders gave schools two years ago. GOP members on the Joint Finance Committee called the proposal a significant investment in public education, while Democrats argued the plan undercuts a cornerstone piece of Evers budget and doesnt go far enough in addressing special education funding, which has been flat for a decade. The spending package passed on an 11-4 party-line vote. This budget is a solid investment in kids, its a solid investment in our schools, said Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, co-chairman of the finance committee. GOP lawmakers described their plan in a news conference before the meeting as their best offer to Evers on school funding. This is a good budget for schools, said Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, who is co-vice-chairman of the committee. But Evers, in a series of tweets, said the GOP plan doesnt get us where we need to be. I remain hopeful that I can continue to work with Republicans to give our schools and our kids the resources they need to be successful, Evers wrote in one of the tweets. Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback declined to comment further. Nygren dismissed Evers budget as an unrealistic benchmark by which to judge the GOP plan. That was more of a campaign document than actually a real budget, he said. In a statement, John Ashley, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, which represents the states 421 school districts, said the package makes important investments in special education and raising the revenue limit for historically low-spending districts, but it is significantly less than Evers proposal. He encouraged Republican lawmakers and Evers to continue to discuss the education budget. The GOP package increases state funding to school districts by $200 per pupil in the first year of the next two-year budget cycle, then by an additional $204 per pupil in the second. All of those dollars would come from the state, with no new property taxes funding the increase, Olsen said. He said most of the per-pupil funding increase comes from providing about $330 million more for the state school funding formula, which gives more money to schools with low property wealth. Dan Rossmiller, a lobbyist for the school board association, said the average revenue limit plus per-pupil categorical aid is $10,704 per student. He said the yearly increases in the Republican plan would not keep up with the rate of inflation. Evers is seeking $611 million more in state general aid, as well as changes to the formula that would provide a set payment per student and factor in poverty. The GOP package also has a $12.5 million increase for school mental health services, which is short of Evers plan to increase funding by $64 million for mental health services. The $97 million in new funds for special education is double what Assembly Republicans announced Wednesday that they support. But its much less than Evers package, which would give districts $606 million more over two years to narrow the gap between services districts are required to give special-needs students and the amount they currently get to provide them. Evers plan would bring districts reimbursement rate for those services to 60%, compared to the roughly 25% they get now. Democrats tried to amend the spending plan to bump up the $97 million in new special education money to $606 million, but the motion failed 4-11. Olsen said the GOP plan would bring the special education reimbursement rate to 30% by the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2020. Children in our public school system are worth more than 30%, Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, said. The Republican special education proposal would provide reimbursement rates similar to what Evers requested during the three previous budget cycles in his role leading the state Department of Public Instruction, Olsen said. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the cost of special education in Wisconsin has increased 10% over the past decade, while the states annual appropriation has remained at $368.9 million. Republicans said their plan would increase funding for children with special needs by 24%, while Democrats framed it as a 84% cut to Evers $606 million proposal. Whats real is what we currently invest and whether we invest more or less moving forward, said Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam. So why thats a cut only makes sense in the bubble of the governor. The plan also scraps Evers $15.9 million Urban Excellence Initiative targeting Wisconsins five largest school districts and $43.7 million in new money for educating bilingual students. Olsen said Evers would be wise to support the plan. I dont know how its going to get better from here, he said. Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, gave the governor what he described as a warning in a pair of Twitter posts. Steineke said he thinks education advocates are trying to criticize Evers budget to give him cover to veto the entire budget enacted by Republican lawmakers. A veto would not work out well for Evers, Steineke said. We wont spend more than the people can afford, Steineke wrote. Vetoing the entire budget will not result in a package that moves any closer to (Evers) number on education funding. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON The ship has sailed, the train has left the station, the horse is out of the barn, the genie is out of the bottle, and the toothpaste is out of the tube. Enter President Trump. As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother the same position taken by Ronald Reagan, Trump tweeted on the weekend. He was trying to distance himself from Alabamas new law begging the Supreme Court to ban abortions even for victims of rape and incest. But it no longer matters what Trump thinks and not just because the Alabama ban is already signed into law. Trump put Alabama on course to do what it has done. He rewarded pro-life advocates for their support with two new justices, vetted by the conservative Federalist Society, and likely an antiabortion majority on the high court. Now, pro-lifers are predictably testing to see how far they can go in reversing Roe v. Wade. Why wouldnt they? Trumps chance to influence this has passed. This is just one of many cases in which Trump seems to be catching up with the consequences of his own actions. His policies toward China, Iran and on the southern border have likewise produced a variety of ill effects and unforeseen consequences. Unforeseen, but not unforeseeable: Trump seems to govern by smashing crockery, undoing decades of precedent and causing upheaval for its own sake without much regard for what the consequences might be. Trumps loyal supporters see the chaos he causes as its own reward. He continues to turn things upside down. Love it, one wrote to me last week in an email that well captured this sentiment. But turning things upside down causes unpredictable and sometimes ugly results. Some were clear immediately, as in the botched rollout of the travel ban, the family separation policies and the attempt to repeal Obamacare without an alternative. The consequences of Trumps upending of other policies and norms alienating European allies, protecting access to firearms by the mentally ill, declaring a national emergency to circumvent Congress and launching a massive economic stimulus during an expansion might not be felt for years. At some point, though, the consequences show themselves. Trump, for example, turned Iran policy upside down, pulling out of the horrible Iran nuclear agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and badgering European allies to accept tough new sanctions against Iran. Now, a year later: Iran has declared that it is resuming nuclear fuel production; a rocket fired by an Iran-aligned militia on Sunday landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad; the United States has pulled back diplomats from the area and sent an aircraft carrier amid rising tensions and an attack on oil tankers; and European allies are blaming the United States. Likewise, the administration blacklisted Chinas Huawei, the giant telecommunications-equipment maker. But then the administration realized the decision would cause many Americans, particularly in rural areas, to lose their phone service and Internet access. The Commerce Department is revisiting the just-implemented plan. In the broader trade dispute with China, Trump slapped tariffs on Chinese goods to push China to negotiate. But trade talks broke down; Chinas retaliatory tariffs have caused a growing number of farm bankruptcies, while U.S. steel consumers and natural-gas producers have also been hurt. Trump upended Middle East policy, ending decades of attempts by the United States to be an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians. He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, cut aid to Palestinians and, last week, his ambassador, David Friedman, proclaimed that Israel is on the side of God. Trump tossed out long-standing policy on North Korea, first threatening the country with fire and fury and then giving North Koreas dictator a world stage with a pair of summits, at which Trump said he and Kim fell in love. Trump declared the nuclear threat was over. But now Kim is back to testing missiles (though his nuclear program never stopped). On the border, Trump vowed a hard-line policy to reduce illegal immigration, but it had the opposite effect. Apprehensions at the border exceeded 100,000 for a second straight month in April, the highest in 12 years. Virtually all of these unforeseen consequences could have been avoided if Trump had spent a few minutes foreseeing them. Instead, they took months to show themselves. And they could take years to repair. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In an effort to encourage physical activity in the community, the Platte County Lifestyle Coalition (PCLC) offered the evidence-based Walk to Jerusalem program from Jan. 27 to April 21 and had much success. The program was implemented by the communitys faith-based organizations and there was no cost to participate. The Walk to Jerusalem program is an intergenerational, imaginary walk beginning in the town where the church is located and ending in Jerusalem, Israel. The intent of the walk is threefold: to encourage physical activity, to grow spiritually and to learn about the geographic locations reached along the way. Nine Columbus churches and Youth & Families for Christ were involved, with a total participation of 1,053 people. For 12 weeks, each church/ministry and their parishioners worked together to log miles (or mile equivalents for children or those with limited mobility). At the end of the walk, the participating churches and Youth & Families for Christ had walked more than 219,000 miles. The distance between Columbus, Nebraska and Jerusalem, Israel is about 7,500 miles, so the walkers had completed roughly 29 round trips from Columbus to Jerusalem. In the future, the PCLC plans to continue providing opportunities like the Walk to Jerusalem program to encourage community members to increase their physical activity, eat healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It was a moment Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley will never forget. During the Department of Disabled American Veterans Convention last weekend at the Ramada Hotel and Rivers Edge Convention Center, Bulkleys late father was cheered for by those in attendance. The mayor had mentioned his father, who died on March 10 and would have been 98 this year, was a United States Air Force veteran who served during World War II. He was a great individual, Bulkley said. He was very humble - a very humble World War II vet. He did not talk about his service. So when the crowd started applauding after he mentioned his father, John, it meant a lot to Bulkley. It moved him. That was pretty special, Bulkley said. I was not a veteran, but we cant do enough to say thank you to those who serve. That, in part, is why the mayor said he is always honored to be on hand for the Memorial Day celebration planned this year for 10:30 a.m. May 27 at Frankfort Square in downtown Columbus. American Legion Hartman Post 84, of Columbus, is putting on the event in conjunction with the other veteran organizations in the area: Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3704, DAV Chapter 20 and AMVETS Post 10. Longtime American Legion member Dave Oppliger said the annual event, which has been going on for decades, is a great way to recognize loved ones lost who served the country. And thats what Memorial Day is all about. Initially known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. It's meant to remember and honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. We reflect on veterans who have passed away, so it means a lot, Oppliger said, noting his late father was a veteran and was a source of inspiration for him getting involved with the American Legion. A lot of people who come out and are there have loved ones husbands, brothers, sons, people they know - who served in the military. Unfortunately, a lot of them have passed. But what is nice is that we get a really good crowd. The community backs us really strong on this. We also get very good support from the City of Columbus." A full lineup is planned for the gathering. Former Columbus High School teacher Jerry Meyer, who is now a historian at the Nebraska National Guard Museum and is a veteran himself, will serve as the keynote speaker. Oppliger noted Meyers was a key player in the development of the Andrew Jackson Higgins National Memorial in Columbus. Other highlights for Monday's program include the Hartman Post 84 Chorus performing This Land Is Your Land and God Bless America, a rendition of taps by Hartman Post 84 Honor Guard Bugler and the retirement of the colors by the Hartman Post 84 Honor Guard. Bulkley, along with Nebraska State Sen. of District 22 Mike Moser, Columbus Chief of Police Charles Sherer, Fire Chief Dan Miller and Platte County Sheriff Ed Wemhoff are among the many community leaders scheduled to be in attendance. The mayor said he hopes people will come out and pay their respects, noting how wonderful it is to see a full display of American flags draping the downtown district that day and his appreciation to the volunteers who make it happen. I would most certainly ask anyone to come down or at least take a drive through downtown, he said. Its a touching process thanking those who have done what theyve done. What they do to honor our veterans and those who have passed is pretty amazing. So its an honor to be asked to be part of it. Oppliger said that if the weather doesn't cooperate and it ends up being pretty wet and cold outside, the ceremony will be moved to the American Legion, 2263 Third Ave. in Columbus. But, he said, hes holding out hope Mother Nature will cooperate. Pray it doesnt rain, said Oppliger, who served for years in the U.S. Army Reserves and did a stint during Desert Storm. Just pray it doesnt rain. Matt Lindberg is the managing editor of The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at matt.lindberg@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Bank of the Valley recently donated more than $25,000 to several area school districts as part of the companys School Pride Card Program. The program allows customers at Bank of the Valley who are affiliated with a local school to obtain a Visa Check Card with that schools logo. When one uses the card, a donation is made to their school for usage however they please. It varies across the board, said Dee Hanson, marketing director for Bank of the Valley in Columbus. We have no stipulations or requirements on where that money goes. When we hand the check over to (the) schools, it is theirs to use. Combined donations for each school totaled a little more than $25,000, and were presented to Columbus Public Schools (CPS), Scotus Central Catholic School, Lakeview Community Schools, Aquinas Catholic Schools in David City, David City Public Schools, East Butler Public Schools and Humphrey Public Schools over the course of April and May. Humphrey Public Schools also received a donation of a little more than $1,500 in January. Hanson said she sees this program as a way to give back to community schools while bolstering pride for those schools within their communities. We thought it would be a really unique and cool opportunity to give back in a way to those schools that support those students that are in the communities that we serve, Hanson said. Its not just your standard sponsorship donation. This is actually tied to people being proud of the school that they either go to or came from, and showing that by getting the card and turning that into a way to make money for that school. CPS and Scotus officials said different things about how they are using the money received from the program. CPS keeps the money in an account for future use. Dave Melick, executive director of business operations for CPS, said that if the money is used it will likely go toward benefiting employees that are new to the district. I thought that some expenditure related to our new staff would make sense, Melick said. But we havent developed anything yet. Currently, Melick said that there is nothing in the pipeline that would require the usage of the funds from the program. Scotus, on the other hand, currently is using the funds for teacher development and supplies. Scotus President Jeff Ohnoutka talked about the importance of helping give teachers and faculty a leg up on other schools in the area. We really try to earmark it for professional development (and) supplies for teachers, Ohnoutka said. We use it for things that are arent necessarily tied into the instructional budget for our teachers. This is stuff that we can use to go above and beyond whats needed. According to Hanson, Bank of the Valley has donated more than $38,000 since the program began in fall 2015 and has given out more than 1,100 cards. Hanson has also seen other financial institutions, such as Pinnacle Bank, attempt to jump on board by starting a pride card program of its own. Hanson said she would like to see the program become a model for other community banks to do something similar. In many ways, this particular program is similar to First National Banks sponsorship program with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I like the idea of seeing more local and community banks utilizing it to benefit their local communities and having that more personal connection and personal tie-in, Hanson said. Zach Roth is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at zach.roth@lee.net Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The focus on the Niobrara River shifted this week to its scenic side, two months after it went wild during Nebraskas mid-March flooding breaking bridges, severing communities, sweeping away homes and businesses and likely taking a life. On Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service issued a dozen first-class Forever stamps honoring the countrys federally designated wild and scenic rivers, including one depicting a tranquil bend in the Niobrara, the sun setting on a distant ridge. Michael Melford took the picture in 2010. Or it could have been 2011. Its kind of a blur, the National Geographic photographer said Wednesday from his home in Mystic, Connecticut. He was on assignment for the magazine, illustrating an upcoming piece on wild and scenic rivers. And he was in a hurry, flying in to Rapid City, South Dakota, and then driving down to Valentine. It was a quick trip, he said. I was trying to get all the rivers. Hed been to Nebraska before, photographing the Sandhills for Life magazine, but this was his first time on the Niobrara. Medford doesnt like asking locals for advice about where to shoot. His idea of a good photo is often different from what others think, he said. But he does like a good map. And he likes to scout. Driving back and forth and back and forth. Looking, looking, looking for light, looking for a good angle. He found it between Valentine and Smith Falls, returning the next day in a low-flying small plane but ultimately shooting from the ground. After two nights in Valentine, he had his photo and was headed to another river. The Niobrara picture didnt make the magazine, but it would find new life as a 55-cent stamp. He started negotiating with the Postal Service two years ago. Its not the most lucrative sale, even though his photos are on five of the 12 stamps, but its an honor. I just came back from the post office, he said. I bought a bunch. Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Berlin, May 23, 2019 The General Directorate for Internal Security, Frances domestic intelligence agency, should immediately withdraw summons for questioning issued to journalists Ariane Chemin and Michel Despratx, and Le Monde publisher Louis Dreyfus, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The directorate has summoned at least four other journalists in recent months, according to news reports. It is essential for journalists to be able to freely report on cases involving national security without being harassed by intelligence agencies, yet the number being harassed has sharply increased, said Gulnoza Said, CPJs Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. The General Directorate for Internal Security should withdraw its summonses to Ariane Chemin, Louis Dreyfus, and Michel Despratx, and President Emmanuel Macron should take steps to ensure that this assault on press freedom in France is curbed immediately. On May 21, Chemin, a reporter for French daily Le Monde, received a summons as part of an investigation into her reporting on President Emmanuel Macrons former top security officer, Alexandre Benalla, according to a report by her employer. Dreyfus, Le Mondes publisher and the chairman of its executive board, also received a summons relating to the case, according to news reports. On May 22, Despratx, a reporter at investigative news website Disclose, received a summons as part of a leak investigation over a Disclose report alleging that French-manufactured weapons were sold to Saudi Arabia and used in the war in Yemen, according to news reports. The summonses require Chemin and Dreyfus to appear for questioning by General Directorate agents on May 29 and for Despratx to appear on May 28, according to their employers. On May 22, Le Monde published an editorial stating that the summonses focused on the papers investigation into individuals close to Benalla, including an air force officer. According to a copy of Chemins summons reviewed by The Washington Post, the journalist is accused of disclosing or attempting to disclose identifying information of a member of the special forces, and could face jail time if charged and convicted. Le Monde reported that Dreyfus received his summons in the same circumstances as Chemin. According to a statement published by Disclose on Twitter, Despratx will be questioned as a witness in a case about compromising national defense secrets. Three other reporters linked to the Disclose report on French arms sales to Saudi Arabia received summonses and were questioned about their sources earlier this month, as CPJ reported at the time. On May 22, Valentine Oberti, a reporter for French news show Quotidien, announced that she had also been summoned by the General Directorate in relation to her reporting on French arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and was questioned about her sources on February 15, as seen in a video of the show uploaded to Twitter. CPJ emailed questions to the French Interior Ministry, which oversees the General Directorate, but did not immediately receive a reply. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram May 23, 2019, New York The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern about measures proposed by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Olis government in the Federal Parliament of Nepal that threaten press freedom, and urged legislators and the government to amend the proposals in accordance with civil society and media recommendations. A proposed reform to the countrys media regulator would permit the government to appoint more of the administrative bodys members and would empower the regulator to levy fines ranging from 25,000 to 1 million Nepalese rupees ($233 to $8,927) against journalists and media outlets it determined to have damaged a persons reputation, according to news reports. A proposed Information Technology Bill would empower authorities to restrict social media access and would impose penalties for posting improper content on social networks, according to news reports. These proposals by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli and his administration would constrict press freedom in Nepal, said Steven Butler, CPJs Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. We urge the administration to engage in a dialogue with media members and other stakeholders and amend the bills so that journalists can work in Nepal safely and without fear of prosecution. The Media Council Bill, which would replace the existing Press Council Act, was introduced to parliament on May 9 after it bypassed a critical consultation phase in which the public could comment on the bill, according to news reports. After pushback from media organizations, lawmakers are currently debating revisions to the bill, according to statements published today by the minister of communications and by the head of the ruling Communist party. Section 17 of the bill would effectively increase the governments control over issuing and suspending press accreditations, according to the news reports. Section 18 of the bill, which grants the media council the ability to impose fines for damaging a persons reputation, would enable any individual to file a complaint against a journalist, even if the individual was not personally affected by the journalists reporting, according to the Nepali Times, an English-language weekly. The Information Technology Bill, which would replace the existing Electronic Transaction Act, was proposed on February 20 and has been put forward for debate in parliament, according to news reports and a report by civil society nonprofit Civicus. The bill states that citizens can only use social networks approved by the Nepalese Department of Information, and could be fined for posts made on those networks, according to those reports. If the bill is passed, individuals could be fined up to 1.5 million Nepalese rupees ($13,390) and sentenced to up to five years in prison for posting content on social media that was found to be defamatory or against national security, according to those reports. The bills broad definitions of social network would potentially give it jurisdiction over private chat apps, such as WhatsApp and Viber, in addition to public social networks like Facebook and Twitter, according to the Kathmandu Post, an independent daily. CPJ emailed the Nepalese prime ministers office for comment on these measures, but did not immediately receive a reply. Nepals existing Electronic Transaction Act has already been used to prosecute journalists; in April, Arjun Giri, the editor of the weekly Tandav News, was briefly detained after publishing fraud allegations on a website that was accused under the act of not being properly registered with the government, as CPJ reported at the time. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here. Nigerian journalist Jones Abiri has once again been arrested by Nigerian authorities. Abiri was charged under the countrys cybercrimes, anti-sabotage, and terrorism prevention acts, to which he pleaded not guilty. Abiri was previously held without trial from July 2016 to August 2018. Also in Nigeria, new accreditation requirements have the potential to restrict press access to the National Assembly. This week in Colombia, two journalists had to leave the country because of online harassment by lawmakers. New York Times Andes Bureau Chief Nicholas Casey left the country after becoming the target of threatening tweets from lawmakers, and freelance Colombian photojournalist Federico Rios fled after lawmakers wrongly identified him as Casey. Global press freedom updates Spotlight Voters are seen outside a polling station during the final phase of the general election in Chandigarh, India, on May 19, 2019. (Reuters/Ajay Verma) CPJ has continuously monitored the situation for journalists covering the Indian general election. As CPJs Patti Birch Fellow for Gender and Media Freedom Sarah Guinee details in a recent blog, journalists fighting fake news during the election have been vulnerable to threats and abuse. In particular, female reporters often find themselves targeted, especially when they are discrediting disinformation. To help journalists cover the elections, CPJs Emergencies Response Team developed an India election safety kit, with tools on physical, digital, and psychosocial safety. CPJs India correspondent, Kunal Majumder, also met with journalists on the ground to provide informational trainings. What we are reading Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Do you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device? Enable CPJ's flash briefing skill to stay up to date with the latest press freedom news from around the world. The Mayor was in Queens talking about his presidential campaign on Wednesday. Thats Mayor Pete Buttigieg from South Bend, Indiana. The event was promoted as the first in a series of fireside chats hosted by the Queens County Democrats to encourage 2020 voter participation in one of the most diverse counties in the nation. Buttigieg drew several hundred people to LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City for the afternoon event. It was a larger crowd than any of de Blasios stops during his recent swing through Iowa and South Carolina during his opening week as presidential candidate. But he would not comment directly on his fellow mayors recently launched presidential campaign, other than to make the case that city leaders bring important experience and perspective to a race thats often dominated by Washington insiders The more the merrier, said Buttigieg, noting, the process has a way of winnowing things down. For Buttigieg, that process will not include trading nicknames or Twitter insults with President Trumptwo hallmarks of de Blasios first few days on the trail. The 37-year-old urged Democrats writ large to remain disciplined and focused on voters and their issues, not the latest distraction coming out of the White House. I don't want to go on his show, Buttigieg said, in a nod to the presidents roots in reality television. If he's going to call me a silly name, that's him bidding to get my attention and I'm not going to give it to him, except where necessary to correct the record, because he doesn't deserve it, he added. Trump recently tried to give Buttigieg a nickname, applying the moniker Alfred E. Neuman from the satirical magazine MAD. The dig was lost on the 37-year-old, who claimed he had to Google it. For nearly an hour, Buttigieg offered his prescriptions for some of the nations knottiest issuesfrom comprehensive immigration reform to refinancing of student debt. Sometimes he tossed out more provocative ideas like restructuring the United States Supreme Court, which he characterized as becoming an overtly political entity. Justices used to retire, said Buttigieg, Now they hang on and try to be strategic about when they retire, or pass away, to make sure it's during a favorable presidency. And it's just gone off the rails." As an alternative, he said, the court could be expanded from nine justices to 15. Then five of those justices would need to be unanimously selected by the 10 other sitting justices. Buttigieg said a forthcoming article in a law journal would explain how to do it. This may not even be the exact right reform but I'm floating it so that I can help remind people of how ambitious we ought to be, he said. A Harvard graduate and former Rhodes scholar, Buttigieg even made his non-answers seem more thoughtful than evasive. Asked about the collapse of the Amazon deal, Buttigieg offered a carefully worded response that was framed to take into account both what a city looks for through economic development incentives and what a company wants. But ultimately, he never weighed in on the specifics of the widely publicized deal that went bust. You can't buy jobs by taking a bad business decision and converting it into a good one. Or else you're going to get the kind of employer that's not very sticky and seven years from now somebody will come along with another incentive package and pick them off and take them somewhere else, Buttigieg said, seeming to imply that the citys Amazon deal may have been a bad one from the start. The audience included a mix of students, community members and people active with the Queens Democratic party. Congressman Greg Meeks, the new county chairman, namechecked half a dozen district leaders and other community members during a nearly 20 minute filibuster at the start of the event, while Buttigieg was stuck in traffic after a Midtown Manhattan fundraiser. A small number of superfans sported Buttigieg t-shirts. But most said they came just to hear what a possible 2020 Democratic contender had to offer. I thought he was great. He was authentic, he didnt try too hard and the audience really resonated with him, said David Aronov, a staff member of the New York City Council, who noted that he was not officially backing a candidate yet. Though Aronov also gave Mayor Pete, as hes known, props for representing millennials like himself. That youthful vitality was not universally well received. While no one gave any outright criticism, one of the Queens Democratic party elders offered the kind of polite assessment thats the verbal equivalent of a pat on the head. Hes a very nice young man, said Archie Spigner, a district leader known as the Dean of Southeast Queens. Perhaps, one day, hell be president. Brigid Bergin is the City Hall and politics reporter for WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @brigidbergin. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Audrey Tang prefers precise language. During an interview, Taiwans minister without portfolio Tangs name card simply says digital minister makes a swift correction when we mention the term fake news. The preferred term is disinformation because, Tang says, it has a legal definition in Taiwan: That is to say, intentional, harmful untruth, and most importantly, harmful is to the public, to the democratic system, not harmful to the image of a minister, she says, laughing, Thats just good journalism, right? But unlike other governments in Asia, such as Singapore, Taiwan has decided to fight the scourge of disinformation without resorting to censorship or takedowns. Taiwan emerged from martial law in 1987, and held its first presidential election in 1996. Even as Taiwans economy depends increasingly on trade and investment with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, democracy has continued to set Taiwan apart from the political system on the mainland. Taiwans voters alternate supporting candidates from the Kuomintang (KMT), which tends to be more open to closer relations with China, and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which stresses autonomy if not outright independence from China. Current President Tsai Ing-wen is from the DPP. Tang, a software programmer who emerged from the hacker community, sat with CPJ last week in Taipei to talk about how Taiwan tries to maintain the integrity of its media and democratic system in the face of a much larger adversary China that severely controls its own media and has the means potentially to sow havoc in Taiwans open system. The interview has been edited for length. China is making an effort to influence public opinion in Taiwan through the media. How can Taiwan maintain freedom of the press and openness? I think in Taiwan we essentially rely on the society itself to tell disinformation. That is to say intentional, harmful untruth, versus a journalistic work. Its not always easy because just 30 or 35 years ago Taiwan was where the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] is. A lot of, especially the elderly, have a difficulty telling disinformation apart from truly journalistic work, simply because the state-run media at the time was the only media and there was, frankly speaking, lots of propaganda around, so its not very easy to tell. For people who are born or educated after the lifting of the marital law, which is after the 80s, they have a broad swathe of information sources to choose from. Our democracy, with the first presidential election in 96, coincides with the World Wide Web, so people associate democracy with the democratization of information sources. How do you counteract disinformation? Disinformation is a threat, especially for open societies. Especially around Taiwan lots of jurisdictions, not just PRC, use disinformation as an excuse for the state to do censorship. We dont want to go there, because we still remember the martial law. First, before a propaganda campaign or disinformation spreads, we usually observe that there is a point where they are doing some kind of limited testing or A/B testing, and thats before it became really popular. Its just testing the meme, the variation, to see whether it would go viral, so to speak. Each of our ministries now has a team that is charged to say if we detect that there is a disinformation campaign going on, but before it reaches the masses, theyre in charge to make within 60 minutes an equally or more convincing narrative. That could be a short film, that could be a media card, that could a social media post. It could be the minister herself or himself doing a livestream. It could be our president going on a standup comedy show. It could be our deputy premier watching a livestream of a video game. Our observation is that if we do that, then most of the population reach this message like an inoculation before they reach the disinformation, and so that protects like a vaccination. How does it work? We do a kind of scorecard and measure how long each ministry takes to respond. The Minister of Interior maybe takes 60 minutes on average. Minister of Health and Welfare maybe takes 70 minutes on average. They do compete with each other in that kind of friendly rivalry, and so they all respond faster and faster until they reach the 60-minute mark. They also pass through the [social media platform] LINE, Facebook, and other social media accounts of Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, our president, of our premier, our deputy premier, and so on. Each of them has a large number of followers, and so they basically ask their followers to spread the clarification so that it reaches their friend and families before the disinformation does. The mainstream media, of course, then picks up this counter-narrative and then do a balanced report. What we have witnessed is that if we dont come up with this counter-narrative and ready videos or films, or at least picture cards, then after six hours, thats after a news cycle, its hopeless. Truth to be told, it is actually very exhausting. Can you counter all disinformation? Some of them do get viral without our notice. Usually it takes place on end-to-end encrypted channels. What end-to-end encryption means, unlike Facebook, Twitter, or something thats google-able, these channels you cannot use search engine to discover them. Its like a closed room, an echo chamber, and so its really easy for them to mutate into a more potent meme before they release this out in the wild, so to speak. We have developed, in conjunction with LINE and Facebook and friends, a system, what we call Notice and Public Notice. This system is akin to a spam. If you receive an email and you think its spam or junk mail, theoretically its personal communication. The state should have nothing to inspect your email. If you think this email is from a random country that has a princess that has $5 million that ask for your account or whatever, then you can flag that as spam. Back in the early 2000s we, the Internet community, convinced each and every mail operator to add that flag button to its interface so that when you flag that as spam youre essentially donating the signature of this message. Its not involuntary. Its a voluntary donation to a global system called the Spamhaus, the Domain Block List, and so on. Theres a whole system for that. Its like the emails immune system so that after sufficient people flag it they do a correlation. After they correlated the sender of the spam, once the sender sends another email it still reach the recipient, its not censorship, but it goes to the junk mail folder so it doesnt waste peoples time by default. Were developing a very similar system here where people online and other instant message systems, they can forward a suspicious disinformation to a bot. Currently the most popular bot for that is called CoFact, for collaborative fact, but very soon, in June, LINE will build that as its core functionality so all you have to do is to press a message, or a long tap, and then you can flag it as disinformation. For example, there was a really popular rumor that says whenever an earthquake is larger than degree 7.0 then other nearby jurisdictions can send its rescue teams without the approval of the country that suffers the earthquake. An excuse for invasion, you see? God knows why they spread this message. In any case, it is a popular message, and so the Taiwan FactCheck Center goes into the conventions, the actual treaties that our Minister of Foreign Affairs signs, and things like that, cites, or its sources, and finally say this is false. Once they do that, Facebook promises, by June, that this will inform the Facebooks algorithm so that it will stop being preferred to show on peoples newsfeed, but its not censorship. If you look specifically for that friend, that post is still there, but they have a warning that says its already fact-checked as false. We are reaching very similar agreements with other social media as well. And so LINE, Facebook, and so on, they are all on board to implement this Notice and Public Notice system, which is definitely not a notice and takedown system. [Editors note: A LINE spokesperson told CPJ by phone that it is working with fact-check groups, including CoFact, yGoPen, Taiwan FactCheck Center, and Rumor & Truth, to build a LINE Fact Checker Official Account, where users can paste questionable information and request fact checking. Facebook did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.] And for elections? During election, we have a special set of rules, that [limit campaign donations]. Because of that, we do witness that foreign money prefers not to enter through this route, because it will get revealed. They prefer to buy precision target advertisement on social media or even on regular media. So were basically saying no, its the same as campaign donation. You have to reveal it in exactly the same way, and only domestic people get to spend money and sponsor political advertisements. Each advertising agency, each middle person, needs to reveal where their funding sources come from, just like anti-money laundering. By the end of the chain, if it points to a foreign national, or to a PRC, or Macau, or Hong Kong source, then that is actually a crime. What were saying is that elections are special, and were protecting elections in a way that is much higher than the usual notice and public notice system. At the end of the day, I think the most useful education tool is media literacy. [Reporting from Taipei, Taiwan.] Steven Butler is CPJs Asia program coordinator. Iris Hsu is CPJs China correspondent. The Haines-Stackfield American Legion Post 826 Memorial Day Service will be held beginning at noon at Memorial Park. Col. Sylvester Brown will deliver the memorial message and Taps will be sounded by the Cumberland County Honor Guard. The service will also include the dedication of the Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Archway, a gift from the USAWC Class of 2019. In case of inclement weather, the service will be held in the Haines-Stackfield American Legion, 148 West Penn Street. Best Buy's outgoing CEO warned Thursday that U.S. shoppers will likely see prices rise if the next round of tariffs on Chinese goods happens. CEO Hubert Joly said the electronics chain has been able to avoid price hikes on most of its products with a few exceptions, like washing machines. Joly said that he is working directly with the Trump administration to minimize the impact new tariffs could have on U.S. shoppers, and plans to continue to do so when he steps down as CEO next month and becomes executive chairman of the company's board. His replacement, Corie Barry, will be Best Buy's first female CEO. Joly said it's too early to know what products could see price hikes, since it's not yet known which goods will be on the next rounds of tariffs of Chinese goods. Other retailers, including Walmart and Target, have also warned of rising prices due to tariffs. Shares of Best Buy Co. fell 5.5% Thursday, despite the company reporting better than expected earnings for the most recent quarter. Best Buy reported net income of $265 million, or 98 cents per share, during the fiscal first quarter. Adjusted earnings came to $1.02 per share, beating Wall Street expectations by 14 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research. Revenue rose to $9.14 billion in the period, meeting Wall Street expectations. For the current quarter ending in August, Best Buy said it expects its per-share earnings to range from 95 cents to $1. It still expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.45 to $5.65 per share. Shares of the Richfield, Minnesota-based company fell $3.80 to $65.37 midday Thursday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth scripted history by becoming first woman pilot of Indian Air Force (IAF) to qualify to undertake combat missions on a fighter jet. About Bhawana Kanth She is from the first batch of women fighter pilots of the IAF and joined the fighter squadron in November 2017. For the first time she flew solo in a MiG-21 Bison, in March 2018 and became second woman pilot of the Indian Air Force to fly solo. The 25-year-old flew from Ambala Air Force Station to achieve the feat. In order to be declared Operational by Day, a pilot has to complete their syllabus which announces them as fit to fly and undertake day operations. She has now completed Operational by Day syllabus for carrying out combat missions on Mig-21 Bison aircraft during day time and thus became first qualified woman IAF fighter pilot to undertake missions by day on fighter aircraft. She will soon be allowed to carry out night operations once her training for night missions completes. Note The 2019 legislative session has reached its final week, and my fellow senators and I have worked hard to pass numerous pieces of important legislation. On Monday afternoon, we debated Senate Bill 68. This workforce development bill includes Senate Bill 16, the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant. I was proud to sponsor this legislation and promote workforce development in our state, which was one of the governors priorities for this session. I engaged in several meetings on SB 16 to discuss the values of the bill, and I was happy to play a role in getting this important piece of legislation across the finish line. The debate on SB 68 turned into a 27 hour filibuster to delay a vote on the legislation. Language was added to the bill that would allow the state of Missouri to award tax credits to motor vehicle manufacturing companies, specifically General Motors (GM). Earlier this month, GM announced a plan to possibly invest in Missouri and expand its current operations in Wentzville. Filibusters are generally seen as a negative aspect of state government, and it is easy to understand this response. It appears to halt the legislative proceedings with little result. However, there are certainly positive aspects of a filibuster. The purpose of a filibuster is to delay a vote on a bill. Usually, a filibuster allows a senator to voice their concerns regarding a piece of legislation, highlight important details of the bill and make sure their colleagues fully understand every aspect of the bill. Many times compromises are made during a filibuster. Last year, I was involved in a filibuster on a bill concerning utilities and rate mechanisms, so I understand their importance. While the Senate ultimately passed SB 68 on Tuesday afternoon, it was important for my colleagues to have the opportunity to voice their concerns with the legislation. This week, my colleagues and I debated House Bill 126, commonly referred to as the Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act. House Bill 126 sets new limitations on abortions, specifies that the General Assembly intends to protect the right to life of all humans, born and unborn, and declares that Missouri is a sanctuary of life that protects all women and their unborn children. This legislation bans all abortions after eight weeks, except in the case of a medical emergency. House Bill 126 received approval from the Missouri Senate early Thursday morning, and the House passed the bill on May 17. It will now go to the governors desk for his consideration. Capitol Visits I always appreciate hearing your opinions and concerns regarding your state government. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at 573-751-4008. You may write me at Gary Romine, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101; or email me at gary.romine@senate.mo.gov. For more information, please visit my official Senate webpage at www.senate.mo.gov/romine. Sen. Gary Romine, a Republican from Farmington, represents the 3rd District in the Missouri Senate. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This years legislative session was historic for Missouri agriculture. The General Assembly passed many bills supporting farming and addressing concerns in rural communities. The biggest victory for family farmers was the passage of SB 391. This new law prevents counties from implementing local ordinances that are inconsistent with or more stringent than Missouri Department of Natural Resources regulations on animal operations. Some counties have enacted anti-agriculture ordinances based on fear mongering rather than science. Ensuring that regulations are science-based is best for animals, the environment and the rural economy. Expanding broadband access will also help our rural communities grow in the modern economy. MOFB has been a leading proponent of increased broadband access for several years. In January, Governor Parson suggested a $5 million appropriation to the Rural Broadband Development Fund. This fund will offer grants to defray installation costs to bring broadband to unserved or underserved areas. The legislature chose to fully fund this request, which is a huge win for rural Missouri. Wind and solar energy are becoming more widespread across Missouri. The legislature acted to ensure tax revenue from commercial wind farms remain in local communities. Under prior law, these taxes would have been taken out of the local area and spread thinly across the state. The people who host the wind and solar farms should also get their tax benefit. Governor Parson also spearheaded a plan to repair 215 bridges across Missouri through a $301 million bonding proposal. This plan will only move forward if Missouri obtains a federal grant to help replace the Missouri River bridge on I-70 near Rocheport. MOFB sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation in support of this grant application. This will not solve our states infrastructure woes, but it will be a big step in the right direction. Not every issue was resolved this session. When the Public Service Commission granted eminent domain powers to a private merchant electricity transmission line, hundreds of Missourians rallied at the capitol to stop this abuse of property rights. The House voted overwhelmingly to prohibit merchant transmission lines from using eminent domain. Unfortunately a handful of senators prevented the Senate from addressing the issue. This obstruction handed out-of-state energy companies the right to take our land for private money-making ventures. While we are disappointed, our fight on behalf of Missouri landowners will continue. Every session leaves some items unaddressed, but on balance this was one of the most successful in recent memory for the citizens of rural Missouri. Having a governor who is a lifelong farmer clearly made a difference. Governor Parson has signaled his support for all of these bills and is expected to sign them into law. We are grateful for his leadership on these issues, as well as the many leaders in the House and Senate who worked tirelessly to complete them. When rural Missouri thrives, our entire state thrives. We look forward to building on this years progress in the years to come. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Peace Officers Memorial Day is held annually in the United States on May 15 in honor of federal, state and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. In accordance with Missouri State Statute 9.120, all flags at State and government offices were flown at half-staff, statewide last Wednesday, May 15, from sunrise to sunset. The idea of a Peace Officers Memorial Day came into effect Oct. 1, 1961, when Congress asked the president to designate May 15 to honor law enforcement officers. President John F Kennedy signed the bill into law. Each year, the president of the United States proclaims the day as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week of each year during which May 15 occurs as Police Week. According to the Legal Information Institute, the president is requested to issue a proclamation to: designate May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day; to direct government officials to display the United States flag at half-staff on all government buildings. I would like to take this opportunity to say a personal thank you to those families who have lost a family member in the line of duty and to also thank all Police Officers and staff for the service they perform for our communities. This week ends the final week of my first legislative session. As a freshman legislator, I learned things move very slowly by design with many checks and balances to make sure all bills and resolutions are vetted extensively and all points of view are heard. The writers of the Missouri Constitution followed the inspired model created by the framers of the United States Constitution by making sure there is appropriate due diligence via the give and take of ideas and opinions which are voted on and then ultimately become the laws of the state. I also learned that you, the citizens of the 116th District, are truly engaged in the political process of our district and our great state. I continually have visits and receive many letters from you letting me know your views on the important issues of the day. Thank you! They really do help me as I weigh the issues and try to represent your interests to the best of my ability. My goal in serving in the Missouri House was to listen to the citizens of the 116th District and then represent your positions on the issues facing us today. By doing this, together, we are making a difference that will last for many generations to come. I chose to be a part of this process but I am only one of 163 Representatives that represent their people who elected them here. Because of the dynamics of the various representatives who are representing their constituents, bills that I think are important and that would benefit our district, do not necessarily mean that enough representatives feel as I do. We listen to each other, we debate with each other and in the end, we take a vote knowing that we are voting for the constituents who have placed their trust in us to do what is best for our district. At this time, there have been over 1,300 bills that have been filed just this year alone. Thirty-three bills have been truly agreed to and finally passed and three bills have been signed into law by the governor. As the session comes to a close, I will be sending out an end of session report listing all bills that have been passed. It's A Wrap! General Assembly Concludes Productive 2019 Legislative Session As the clock hit 6 p.m. on Friday, May 17, members of the Missouri House and Senate reached the conclusion of a highly productive 2019 legislative session that saw a number of important policy reforms cross the finish line. After months of work, legislators were able to pass 94 bills and send them to the governors desk. The bills that received final passage include a number of priorities outlined by House leadership, as well as issues supported by the governor. One bill approved by House and Senate members would create economic incentives meant to create and retain jobs and implement a workforce development program to train Missourians to fill jobs in areas of high need. The legislature also approved the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, which is one of the strongest pro-life bills in the nation. Additionally, lawmakers gave final approval to bills that will protect some of the states most vulnerable citizens, make substantive reforms to Missouris criminal justice system, encourage agricultural development and ensure food security, and improve the states legal climate. The legislatures efforts during the 2019 session also include passage of a fiscally responsible state spending plan. The $29.7 billion budget provides a record level of funding for K-12 education and fully funds the school foundation formula for the third year in a row. The spending plan also provides funding boosts for state scholarship programs and for the states institutions of higher learning. Additionally, the budget funds repairs for the states deteriorating transportation infrastructure. 2019 Legislative Accomplishments Strengthening Missouris Economy Fast-Track SB 68 is designed to fill workforce gaps in high demand industries by providing financial aid for adult learners. Fast Track will give adults whose income is below the Missouri average an opportunity to gain skills that boost their earning potential and prepare them for work in high-demand occupations. The program will provide short-term training in fields like manufacturing, nursing, welding, and information technology. It will also help students complete degrees in majors that prepare them for work in high-demand fields. Missouri One Start Another provision of SB 68 would allow the Missouri Department of Economic Development to improve and consolidate its workforce development programs. Missouri One Start is meant to improve Missouris workforce programs that help businesses recruit and train large numbers of job applicants during major expansions. The changes made to the programs will make them easier for businesses to navigate. They will also enact performance-based funding for training providers, and claw back protections for taxpayers. Missouri Works Deal Closing Fund - SB 68 would also give the Missouri Department of Economic Development an additional tool to bring new jobs to Missouri. The bill would modify an existing state program to establish a closing fund the department can use to make agreements with companies to create new jobs in the state. The bill would enhance the existing Missouri Works Program, which helps businesses access capital through withholdings or tax credits to embark on facility expansions and create jobs. The program includes a claw back provision to provide protection to taxpayers. Automotive Economic Development Tools SB 68 would help retain automotive jobs by granting tax credits to auto manufacturers that invest $500 million or more in plant upgrades and agree to retain jobs. The bill would provide $5 million annually in credits for 5 years, and a company could qualify for an additional 5 years of credits if it makes an additional $250 million investment. The program also contains a claw back provision to protect taxpayers. The bill is in part meant to incentivize General Motors to make a $750 million expansion to its plant in Wentzville. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act - HB 126 is a bill that is one of the strongest pieces of pro-life legislation in the country. Referred to as the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act, the bill would prohibit physicians from performing an abortion at 8 weeks gestational age or later. Because similar provisions have been struck down in other states, the bill contains additional clauses to protect the lives of the unborn. Should the 8 week ban not stand, the bill has a tiered approach that would then enact bans at 14 weeks, 18 weeks, or 20 weeks. The legislation also states it is the intent of the state of Missouri to prohibit all abortions in the state under any circumstances. The comprehensive ban on abortion would go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, or if changes are made at the federal level to empower states to further regulate abortion. The only exception to the abortion ban would be in the case of a medical emergency. Additionally, the bill contains provisions that would expand the existing tax credit for pro-life pregnancy resource centers and require referrals for out-of-state abortions to include the same informed consent materials that are required for an abortion performed in Missouri. Fighting Sex Trafficking - HB 397 is meant to protect underage victims of sex trafficking from prosecution. The change ensures young people who are forced into prostitution arent further traumatized by facing criminal charges. Current law in Missouri makes it an affirmative defense for a minor charged with prostitution to have been acting under coercion at the time of the crime. House Bill 397 removes the coercion requirement and make it an affirmative defense that the defendant was under the age of 18. Haileys Law Another provision in HB 397 is meant to better protect children by improving the states Amber Alert system. The bill is known as Haileys Law in honor of Hailey Owens, who was abducted and murdered at the age of 10 while walking home from a friends house. The legislation requires the Amber Alert System to be tied into the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES), which is the computer system that allows all law enforcement in Missouri to communicate. The benefit is that once an officer enters information about a missing child into MULES, it would at the same time be available to the Amber Alert system. Nathans Law Another provision in HB 397 makes unlicensed day care facilities safer for Missouri children. Known as Nathans Law, the provision is named in honor of Nathan Blech, who died in in 2007 after suffocating at an unlicensed day care. It was later determined the day care operator was watching more children than recommended. Nathans Law addresses the problem by limiting the total number of children allowed at an unlicensed day care to six. This includes a maximum of three children under age two. Children who live in the caregiver's home and who are eligible for enrollment in a public kindergarten, elementary, or high school shall are not included in the total. Child Fatality Review Panels - HB 397 is also designed to help save the lives of young people by allowing child fatality review panels to share vital information. Under current law, the information obtained when the panels review the deaths of children is kept confidential. Under HB 397, the director of the Department of Social Services will have the discretion to release certain information so that it can be studied to identify trends or areas where prevention efforts can be focused, and to look for ways to change state policies to better protect children. Simons Law - HB 397 and HB 138 prevents do-not-resuscitate orders from being issued for Missouri children without a parent being aware. Commonly referred to as Simons Law, the legislation would prohibit a health care facility, nursing home, physician, nurse, or medical staff from putting such an order in a childs file without a parents permission. That permission may be written, or given orally in the presence of at least two witnesses. Reforming Missouris Criminal Justice System Sentencing Reform - HB 192 gives judges greater discretion when sentencing non-violent offenders. The bill is meant to both help non-violent offenders get a second chance, and to slow the growth of Missouris prison population. The bill would allow judges to issue sentences below Missouris current minimum sentencing requirements except in crimes that involved the use, attempted use, or threat of physical force, or certain non-consensual sex crimes against a minor. Preventing Debtors Prison - HB 192 keeps judges from putting people back in jail for failing to pay for the cost of previous stays in jail. The bill would keep a persons failure to pay for their own jail housing from resulting in more jail time that would result in additional housing costs. Instead, counties could use civil means to collect such costs, or a judge could waive those costs. The bill will prevent a warrant from being used solely because of the failure to pay costs. Expungement Expansion SB 1 expands the law passed in 2016 highlighting a list of crimes that can be expunged from a persons record. The law went into effect in 2018 and allows individuals to seek expungements for many nonviolent felony and misdemeanor crimes. This years legislation adds stealing, credit card fraud, possession of a forging instrument and property damage in excess of $750 to the list of offenses that are eligible for expungement. The bill is meant to give nonviolent offenders a second chance and an opportunity to obtain employment and affordable housing. Protecting Missouris Agriculture Industry Creating Consistent Farm Regulations - SB 391 will provide consistency in the way farm operations across the state are regulated. The bill addresses a problem in current state law that has resulted in inconsistent regulations placed on farms throughout the state by county commissions and health boards. The bill will not block county ordinances or restrict local control and is designed to create a uniform agriculture policy that will encourage agricultural development, protect jobs, and ensure food security. It will ensure regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations are consistent and not more stringent than state laws. Joint Committee on Agriculture SB 391 also establishes the Joint Committee on Agriculture. The committee will study the economic impact of Missouris agriculture industry, as well as efforts to improve environmental stewardship while improving the economic sustainability of Missouri agriculture. The committee will also look at incentives to encourage best practices to scientifically address Missouris carbon footprint. Improving Missouris Legal Climate Joinder and Venue Reform - SB 7 is meant to improve Missouris legal climate and bring fairness to courtrooms in the state. The legislation comes in response to Missouris existing laws on joinder and venue that have made the state a premier destination for out-of-state litigants to file their lawsuits. The changes approved by the legislature reflect a ruling made in February by the Missouri Supreme Court. The states highest court found that a St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge incorrectly allowed a suit by a St. Louis County plaintiff against a New Jersey-based company to move forward in his court. The legislation will reduce cost and increase access for Missouri residents to the court system by reducing the number of cases filed in Missouri courts by plaintiffs with no connection to the state. Rebuilding and Repairing Missouris Infrastructure Bonding Plan for Bridge Repair SCR 14 supports the issuance of $301 million in bonds by the Highway and Transportation Commission to pay for construction and repair of bridges on the state highway system. The plan will allow Missouri to begin meeting infrastructure needs across the entire state without raising taxes. When fully implemented, the infrastructure plan will allow Missouri to fix 250 bridges identified by local entities as most in need of critical repair or replacement. Following is a broad view of spending totals for the FY20 budget by department. Funding that was finalized with our Truly Agreed And Finally Passed vote last week. Total spending for Medicaid (all funds) = $11,044,477,704 Total GR and other funds appropriated for Medicaid = $4,975,658,193 Total spending for the K-12 foundation formula = $3,553,211,885 School transportation spending over the formula amount = $107.5 million Early childhood special education spending over the formula amount = $194.5 million School nutrition program spending over the formula amount = $321.4 million Total FY20 spending from General Revenue = $10,216,523,762 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) total of state employees = 53,932 (FY19 = 54,410 FTE) State employees will receive a 3 percent pay raise beginning Jan. 1, 2020. I am now back in the district and looking forward to attending community events and visiting with everyone. Please know that I am available to meet with you if you should have any issues or concerns relating to state matters. Give my office a call at 573-751-3455 to schedule a meeting. It has been an honor to serve as your state representative. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The United States of America has always stood as a safe haven from religious persecution. As Americans, we value the freedom to practice religion without punishment, and we stand in support of religious people around the globe. Perhaps no people throughout history have been persecuted more than the Jewish people, and as attacks on people of Jewish faith rise around the globe, its never been more important to support our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel. This month we celebrated the 71st anniversary of Israels establishment as a Jewish state, and we also paused on Holocaust Remembrance Day to remember the six million Jewish people who were senselessly murdered in the horrors of the holocaust. These two historical markers are close to the hearts of Jewish people around the world and remind us of their long struggle just to exist. The struggle continues, as Jewish people are targeted for their faith every day and the state of Israel has never known a single day of true peace. Just days after Holocaust Remembrance Day, militants in Gaza fired more than 600 rockets at Israel within a 48-hour period. Unfortunately, people who want to delegitimize Israel are fighting right here in the United States against its right to exist. Some universities and companies have adopted the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which encourages people to boycott Israeli products and pressures institutions to end all business with Israeli companies. Their goal is to isolate Israel and harm their economy to undermine their sovereignty and their status as a Jewish state. To combat this ugly movement laced with anti-Semitism, the U.S. Senate passed the Strengthening Americas Security in the Middle East Act with 77 votes and wide bipartisan support. Despite strong support in the U.S. House, Speaker Pelosi refuses to hold a vote as her party grapples with internal divisions on Israel. This week I signed the discharge petition, one of the only tools the minority party has, to force an up-or-down vote to defend Israel and the Jewish people from this discrimination campaign. Israel may not have the support it deserves in the halls of the U.S. House of Representatives, but it has a strong ally in the White House. In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, calling to officially recognize the true capital of Israel and move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Presidents ignored the law for 22 years, despite promising action on the campaign trail. President Trump was the only one to follow through on his word, and he opened the American Embassy in Jerusalem one year ago this week. Not only does Israel share many of our American values, it is a strategic ally and partner in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism. The Israelis frequently share valuable intelligence on Iran, the worlds leading state sponsor of terror, and its pursuit for nuclear weapons. In the face of Iranian aggression and militant groups like ISIS in the Middle East, its never been more important for the United States to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies in Israel. Today its rare for bills to easily clear the U.S. Senate without being bogged down in arcane filibuster rules, but standing up for Israel and its right to exist has widespread support among members of both parties and the President of the United States. Our allies in Israel deserve more than just empty talk about supporting their cause, which is why I signed the discharge petition to take the anti-BDS bill from Speaker Pelosis desk, where it has sat untouched for three months, and bring it to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 During their monthly meeting, Bismarck Aldermen heard from representatives of the Bismarck VFW Post 6947. The veterans were at the meeting to request permission to collect donations at the corners of the four-way stop at Center and Cedar Streets on Friday and Saturday and also to ask the city to officially declare those days to be "Bismarck VFW Buddy Poppy Days." The Buddy Poppy is a small artificial red flower used to commemorate military personnel who have lost their lives in war. The little flowers are assembled by disabled and needy veterans in VA Hospitals in exchange for a small compensation. Before Memorial Day each year, veterans from the VFW posts will collect donations for their Relief Fund from the public and hand out the famous Buddy Poppies. This tradition started in 1922 and the poppy was soon adopted as the official memorial flower of the VFW, as it remains today. Representing Post 6947 was Joe Snyder along with the posts Buddy Poppy Chairman, Joe Sutton, and Helen Fisher of the post's Ladies Auxiliary. Snyder spoke before the board to make the request that the Friday and Saturday before each Memorial Day be proclaimed as Bismarck VFW Buddy Poppy Days. During his address to the aldermen, Snyder explained the story behind the flowers. The poppy was adopted by the VFW after World War I and the inspiration came from a poem written by Lt. Col. John McCrae who was a physician, author, artist, poet and soldier during the first World War and wrote the poem, In Flanders Fields. As Snyder explained, Flanders is a section of Belgium that saw untold destruction and death during World War I. In one battle lasting 17 days, more than 200,000 soldiers were killed. Snyder said that wild poppies began to grow on the thousands of new graves and McCrae witnessed this, inspiring him to write the now famous poem. After writing the poem, McCrae also became a casualty of war in 1918. Snyder read the poem aloud in the meeting and then asked Mayor Seth Radford for his signature on the proclamation. Radford read the proclamation aloud which explained the intentions of the VFW in the collection of donations in exchange for the poppies. ...The proceeds of this worthy fundraising campaign are used exclusively for the benefit of disabled and needy veterans, and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans, the proclamation stated. Whereas the basic purpose of the annual sale of Buddy Poppies, by the VFW, is reflected in the desire to honor the dead by helping the living. With the mayors signature, it was then made official in the City of Bismarck that the Friday and Saturday prior to each Memorial Day are to be known as the Bismarck VFW Buddy Poppy Days. During these days, motorists passing through the four-way stop in Bismarck will see veterans collecting donations and handing out the symbolic Buddy Poppies. Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3628, or at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. City Administrator Greg Beavers announced at Monday evenings Farmington City Council meeting that municipal workers began construction earlier in the day on a public courtyard, or plaza, that will see a block of Jefferson Street from Columbia to Harrison Street permanently closed to traffic. In an interview with the Farmington Press last week, Mayor Larry Forsythe explained that the concept for the courtyard had been developed by Farmington architect Anthony Miano whose office is in a building located at the intersection of Columbia and Jefferson streets, catty-corner from the St. Francois County Courthouse. According to Forsythe, Beavers spoke with him about the proposed project soon after becoming mayor and he quickly jumped on board believing the courtyard could become an effective way to draw people, as well as other businesses, to the downtown area. About five years ago, 12 West came to us and wanted to block the sidewalk off and put tables out there, Forsythe said. So, I said, OK, lets have Tony Miano draw it up because hes familiar with the project. So, they did. Apparently, the mayor ruffled a few feathers when he made an off-the-cuff comment in the interview musing about the possibility that a long-time downtown clothing business at the corner of Jefferson and Columbia Street might someday transition into a restaurant. This resulted in Forsythe issuing an apology to the business during his portion of the city council meeting. Holding up a copy of last weeks issue of the Farmington Press, he said, What happened the other day was a misfortunate accident. If you get the paper, theres a little article about the downtown draw on the Jefferson plaza. I just say what I say and then I dont worry about the consequences. My wife says I have no filter. I do not have a filter I was brought up that way. Thats the way I was brought up, to speak your mind. Whatever is on your mind, say it, because if you dont say it people will wonder what is on your mind. You never have to worry about whats on my mind. [Farmington Press Editor] Kevin Jenkins and I were walking up the street. We were just sort of chatting and heres what I said (reading from the article): Maybe at some point Ophelia will become a restaurant, but they do good with the clothing business. Speaking directly to the councilmen and audience present, Forsythe addressed the comment he had made in the article. The lady who owns Ophelia took a negative approach and thought that I was trying to get them to close down, he said. That is not the case. We were just having a conversation walking up the street looking at the plaza on whatever it was going to do in the future. I apologize to the lady that owns Ophelias, the daughter and the grandmother. I did not mean anything by this at all and I want to make a public apology right now. I do not want them to move. I do not want their business to go bad. I want them to stay and sell clothing whatever they sell, Ive never been in the business but I hope they prosper very well. I hope that Farmington gets behind them and helps them do that. Next, Forsythe addressed the deployment of City Administrator Beavers son to Afghanistan. If you work for the city, or you are a councilman for the city, or you are a politician for the city, you notice that we become a family, he said. We become a very close family and when one of our family members does something, we kind of feel about that. I want to first congratulate 1st Lt. Grant Beavers on his job in the Army that he is doing very well. "Greg went Friday and [Grant] is being deployed to ... Afghanistan. He is in the United States Army Reserves and I hope that you keep up with us and let us know how hes doing. We wish him all the best and are very proud of him. Hes a part of our family, just remember that. Forsythe also addressed his wifes participation in the upcoming Servpro Farmington Country Days Parade taking place at 10 a.m. June 1. Country Days is coming up and I usually ride in the car and throw candy but God bless her you know, my wife didnt sign up for this, I did, he said. I love her to death, but shes not the mayor. She tells me, Im not the mayor, Im just your wife and Im not the mayors wife, Im just your wife. So, she will not be riding in the car with me no more. She said, Im done. I dont want no part of it and I said, I dont blame you a bit. If thats what you want, fine. So, I will be riding in the car with [Farmington Police Chief] Rick Baker, if thats OK. Ill be riding shotgun for the chief. Hell wave out the left, Ill wave out the right. In an earlier portion of the meeting, Forsythe called on Ward III Councilman Wayne Linnenbringer to give the public safety report in lieu of its chairman, Ward II Councilman Dennis Robinson, who was present at the council meeting but absent from the committee meeting held last week. The other committees had not met since the previous council meeting and therefore had no reports. Kevin R. Jenkins is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 573-756-8927 or kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Now that the state has passed a sweeping package of criminal justice reforms that will go into effect in January, New York City's prosecutors and public defenders alike say that more resources are needed to ensure the laws truly work as intended. The package approved by Albany last month eliminates cash bail for most criminal charges. It also requires prosecutors and the defense to share evidence (discovery) within 15 days of an arraignment. This includes grand jury transcripts, the names and contact information of witnesses, and electronic recordings. At a city council justice committee hearing on Wednesday, district attorneys said theyll need extra funds to turn over discovery quickly and safely. Bronx DA Darcel Clark said her office would need an estimated $610,000 to pay for 10 additional detectives to protect witnesses because they're already often intimidated. "I had witnesses that have been threatened in court, outside of court, on social media, their personal information out there," she said. "And they become afraid to continue to cooperate." The state's district attorneys association had opposed the new legislation for this reason. At the council's committee hearing, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez whose office already shares discovery with defendants in many cases agreed victims of crime will feel anxious about having their information shared with defense attorneys. He suggested a solution: an online portal through which the defense can contact witnesses in a manner that doesn't reveal any personal identifying information. "The technology is currently available and could be used by all DAs offices in the city," he said. "But resources are needed to create and maintain that system." Currently, Gonzalez said most cases don't require full discovery sharing. Providing evidence within 15 days of all arraignments will put a strain on police labs and medical examiners, he said, as well as those who transcribe recordings made by body cameras worn by police. Gonzalez said additional staffing and technology are needed to help all of these parties work faster. But the DAs had no firm estimates for how much money they'll need. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said, "it's going to be millions of dollars to fund discovery reform and to expand pre-trial services for defendants no longer subject to cash bail. City Hall didnt have any answers, either. Susan Sommer, general counsel to the Mayor's Office for Criminal Justice, praised the new reforms passed by Albany. She said her office has been having meetings with the district attorneys and other stakeholders. We stand at a moment of tremendous opportunity and we readily accept our shared responsibility and our leadership, she added. But when the councils Justice Committee chair Rory Lancman asked if any funds will be added to the mayors budget before the end of June, Sommer said, We are very actively involved in assessing what the costs might be in working with our partners. Public defenders also shared their concerns during the council hearing. Yung-Mi Lee of Brooklyn Defender Services said she wanted to make sure judges truly consider the least restrictive alternatives now that cash bail will be ended for those accused of most offenses. She worried about potential privacy violations if electronic monitoring with GPS becomes the preferred course of action, and said radio frequency monitoring at home for curfew times is less intrusive. Others said the city should expand pre-trial services such as cell phones and free transit cards to ensure people come to court. And they said the supervised release program, which covers about 4,500 people a year, should include those charged with more serious crimes to be a real alternative to cash bail. The state legislation didnt include any money for pre-trial services or discovery sharing. But proponents of the law expected it would save money on jail by eliminating cash bail, and that those funds could be used for additional programs. Beth Fertig is a senior reporter covering courts and legal affairs at WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @bethfertig. Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment. Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment. Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment. I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals. Vote View Results The Catholic bishops of Florida are calling on the states governor to spare the life of Bobby Joe Long, a convicted serial killer who is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. Although [Long] caused much harm, society has been safe from his aggressive acts in the decades of his incarceration. Without taking his life, society can be protected while he endures the alternative sentence of life without the possibility of parole, said Michael Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Catholic Conference, in a May 20 letter to Governor Ron DeSantis. Long has been on death row since 1985 and is scheduled to die by lethal injection on May 23. He pleaded guilty to killing eight women in and near Tampa Bay during an 8-month span in 1984. He also claimed to have raped dozens of women. Longs lawyer has argued that the 65 year old is mentally ill and suffers from epilepsy, which could lead to him having a seizure when the lethal injection drugs are administered. The lawyer said that Long is constitutionally ineligible for the death penalty. The Florida Supreme Court recently denied Longs appeal on procedural grounds. On behalf of the states bishops, Sheedy asked the governor to consider commuting the sentence to life without parole. Floridians around the state are gathering in prayer for all who have been harmed by Mr. Longs actions, for him, and for an end to the use of the death penalty. We also pray for you as you consider this request, he said. Sheedy acknowledged the heinous nature of Longs crimes but said that capital punishment will not further public safety. Since Long was sentenced, Sheedy said, modern medicine has gained a greater understanding of brain trauma and its effects on behavior. He highlighted the history of Longs brain injuries. His attorneys have filed briefs that call attention to the multiple traumas he experienced throughout his life, including the motorcycle accident he suffered in 1974. That incident profoundly affected him and his behaviors. It contributed to his receiving a disability rating from the military, from which he was honorably discharged, said Sheedy. Even without these mitigating circumstances, the Florida Catholic Conference would still oppose the death penalty for Long, he said, pointing to a change in the Catehcism of the Catholic Church last year to hold the death penalty as inadmissible. The death penalty is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person and denies the possibility of redemption, Sheedy said. Please promote a consistent pro-life ethic in our state. The cycle of violence to which Mr. Longs acts have contributed must end. His execution would only perpetuate it. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Catholic News Agency, Staff, May 22, 2019 SINGAPORE The Court of Appeal on Thursday (May 23) granted an eleventh-hour appeal by Pannir Selvam Pranthaman for a stay of his execution. He was supposed to be hanged in Changi Prison on Friday morning. The 31-year-old Malaysian was convicted in 2017 of trafficking 51.84g of diamorphine, also known as heroin, into Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint in September 2014. Pannir, who was not represented by lawyers before Thursday, had filed the application for the stay of execution himself on Wednesday. Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, who heard the case with Judges of Appeal Judith Prakash and Steven Chong, noted that Pannir was informed of his execution date and President Halimah Yacobs rejection of his clemency petition only a week in advance. This left him with little time to get legal advice on his options, and he should be given the chance to do so, they said. Pannirs lawyers, Mr Too Xing Ji and Mr Lee Ji En from BMS Law LLC, stepped in only a few hours before the Court of Appeal hearing on Thursday afternoon. Mr Too told the court that he had taken instructions from his client just 10 minutes before the hearing, and Chief Justice Menon acknowledged that the lawyers could not be expected to present fully developed arguments. Mr Too called for a stay of execution as they intend to challenge the rejection of the clemency petition, by way of judicial review. To that, Chief Justice Menon said: There are extremely narrow grounds upon which the clemency process may be so impugned. However, in our judgment, the applicant ought to have a reasonable opportunity to take advice on whether he can mount a successful challenge. Following the stay of execution, he ordered the following: Pannir should file his intended application to challenge the clemency process within the next two weeks, along with supporting evidence. The prosecution has two weeks to respond. Both parties are to file further submissions within one week. The appropriate court will then hear the matter at short notice. COMPLETE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY During the hearing, the court heard that Pannirs family received two letters, dated May 17, 2019, in the same courier mail package. One was from the Singapore Prison Service confirming his date of execution on May 24, while another was from the Istana, stating that his clemency petition had been rejected. This troubled Pannir, Mr Too said. Affidavits from the President Halimahs principal private secretary, Mr Benny Lee, as well as Pannir himself, laid out the sequence of events before May 17. Sometime before May 7: President Halimah decided to reject the clemency petition, on advice from the Cabinet. Around May 7: Mr Benny Lee signed letters informing Pannir, as well as his parents and siblings in Malaysia, of the decision. The letters were each dated May 17. May 14: The Istana sent these letters to the prison authorities to be delivered. May 16: The two letters from the prison and the Istana were posted by mail to Pannirs family. Mr Too said that this showed a complete lack of transparency in the clemency process. He noted the uncertainty surrounding when exactly President Halimah decided to reject the petition, what the decision-making process was, and the lack of reasons why the letters were post-dated. The lawyer also suggested that the Attorney-Generals Chambers should set out a full chronology of when the decision was made, and why it was not conveyed earlier. Im inviting Your Honours to draw the inference that this process has been infected by a sense of casualness, Mr Too added. CONVICTION AND SENTENCE In its grounds of decision on the case in 2017, the High Court found that Pannir was a mere drug courier, but the judge imposed the mandatory death penalty after the public prosecutor did not issue him a certificate of substantial assistance. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, judges have the discretion to impose life imprisonment or the death penalty on drug couriers who have either been certified by the public prosecutor to have substantively assisted the Central Narcotics Bureau during investigations, or have proven themselves to be mentally impaired. The last reported execution in Singapore happened in March. In 2015, Micheal Garing, a Malaysian, was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang by the High Court. His death sentence was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in 2017. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Amnesty International Malaysia urged Putrajaya to intervene in a Malaysians scheduled execution for drug possession in Singapore this Friday. The human rights group pointed out that during Pannir Selvam Pranthamans trial, he had maintained his innocence by denying knowledge that he was carrying prohibited drugs and the Singapore High Court had found that he was a drug mule. According to Pannirs lawyer, he had assisted Singapore authorities by providing information about a fellow Malaysian who alleged duped him into carrying the drugs to the city-state. Under Singapores Misuse of Drugs Act, the court has the discretion not to impose the death penalty if the convicted offender is a courier and has been issued a certificate by the public prosecutor stating that he had cooperated with authorities, the statement added. Singapore authorities must immediately halt plans to kill Pannir Selvam Pranthaman and put a stop to this continuous wave of callous executions. The Malaysian government should do all in its power to urge the Singapore government to stop the execution of another of its nationals, Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said in a statement. Pointing out that the number of executions last year in Singapore had risen to double digits for the 1st time since 2003, Shamini had called for Singapore to emulate Malaysias initiative in abolishing the mandatory death penalty. The death penalty is a degrading and inhuman punishment. We denounce its use in all circumstances. It is time for Singapore to follow the government of Malaysias example, who have suspended all executions and announced plans to abolish the mandatory death penalty, as a first step towards abolition, she said. The group also noted that Singapore had carried out 13 executions in 2018 and 8 in 2017 for drug-related offences, with the hanging of another Malaysian, Michael Anak Garing, carried out on March 29 this year. In a Bernama report yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah was quoted as saying that Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong was trying to convince the Singaporean government to save Pannir from the death penalty. Pannir was convicted of possession of diamorphine in 2017 in Singapore. Putrajaya trying to convince S'pore to spare M'sian on death row The government is seeking to help a Malaysian scheduled to hang in Singapore on Friday for drug trafficking, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said today. Saifuddin said Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Liew Vui Keong is attempting to try and convince Singapore to spare P Pannir Selvam from the hangmans noose. Just now I discussed this with Liew, and he is working on behalf of Putrajaya to try and convince the Singapore government to spare Pannir the death penalty, he told reporters at a Ramadan programme in Kampung Tengah, Kluang today. Saifuddin was asked to comment on a request from Pannirs family for Putrajaya to intervene, because he had allegedly not been given enough opportunity to apply for clemency under the republics laws. Saifuddin said in similar cases in the past, the government had also taken the same approach of trying to get lighter sentences for those on death row. This is in line with Malaysias move to place a moratorium on the mandatory death sentence. Asked how Putrajaya could resolve the allegedly short notice for carrying out the death sentence, he said there was nothing much it could do. Because this is how Singapore administers their law. There is not much room for us to complain, but normally what we do is we will try our best to help our people, he said. Today, Pannir's family through human rights group Lawyers for Liberty turned to Putrajaya as their last hope to save him from the death penalty. This followed their unsuccessful attempts to save him, including a final clemency appeal to Singapore President Halimah Yacob. Pannir, 32, was convicted of trafficking drugs by the Singapore High Court on June 27, 2017. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde : Malay Mail, Staff, May 22, 2019malaysiakini.com, Staff, May 22, 2019 A proposal to pare down Oregons death penalty law is moving forward, after being approved by the state Senate on Tuesday. With little fanfare and zero debate what some regard as the most meaningful effort to curtail the death penalty in recent memory passed in an 18-9 vote that largely stuck to party lines. If passed in the House and signed by Gov. Kate Brown, Senate Bill 1013 would redefine the crime of aggravated murder, the only offense punishable by death in Oregon. The bill would strip out many elements that currently constitute the crime, moving them to newly created classes of murder. Moving forward, aggravated murder would be limited to homicides where 2 or more people are killed to intimidate a civilian population or influence a government crimes that are associated with terrorist acts. Defendants who murdered children under the age of 14, or killed another inmate while serving time for a murder conviction, could also be sentenced to death. Additionally, the bill would change the questions Oregon jurors must answer in order to sentence a defendant to death, removing a query about whether the person is likely to be dangerous in the future. Death penalty opponents argue that question is impossible to answer, and could result in Oregons law being found unconstitutional. At this point, we have found that the system and the statute is not complying with what we want and what we intended, said state Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, a chief backer of the proposal and the only senator to speak on either side of the issue before Tuesdays vote. He and other supporters of the bill argue that capital punishment rarely gives much closure to families of victims since cases can take decades to fully resolve. They also contend the process is expensive. A 2016 study found death penalty cases can cost between $800,000 and $1 million more than cases where a defendant is facing life without parole. Debate over the bill has injected uncertainty into ongoing criminal cases that could involve death sentences. Perhaps most prominently, the trial of a man accused of murdering two men on a Portland light rail train was recently delayed until next year, partly out of concerns over changes to the law. Capital punishment was approved by voters in 1984, and could not be removed from the Oregon Constitution without a public vote. While opponents of the death penalty concede such a vote could be a tough sell, they have argued lawmakers have the prerogative to alter what crimes are punishable by death. People whove opposed the bill, meanwhile, have said the law should not be changed without input from voters. Thats a sentiment thats been shared by House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, who could block the bills path in the House. Kotek said Tuesday she needed to read the bill in its current form before commenting on whether it would get a vote. Despite being on the books, capital punishment is rarely used in Oregon. Then-Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions in 2011, and Gov. Kate Brown has continued the policy. Just two inmates have been executed in the state in the last 50 years, and both had ceased fighting their sentences. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde opb.org, Staff, May 22, 2019 Allies of strongman president score victories in elections, leaving the Senate at his mercy Rodrigo Duterte has won a sweeping victory in mid-term elections in the Philippines, further consolidating his power and popularity and paving the way for the introduction of controversial reforms. The president was elected on a populist wave in 2016 and the results demonstrate how little his popularity has dipped over the past three years, despite him achieving international notoriety over a war on drugs that has resulted in thousands of deaths, and his misogynist and anti-religious public remarks. Up for grabs in the mid-terms were 12 Senate seats, nearly 300 seats in the House of Representatives and thousands of local posts, including mayor and governor positions. Pro-Duterte candidates scored victories in significant numbers. Most significantly, nine pro-Duterte candidates won Senate seats, meaning the 24-seat upper house is now firmly under his grip. The liberal opposition did not win a single contested Senate seat. Since his election in 2016, the Senate, which traditionally acts more independently and had a tiny majority who were resistant to Duterte, has been a bulwark against some of the presidents most controversial proposals, including the reintroduction of the death penalty. But with three-quarters of the contested Senate seats now occupied by Duterte allies, his pathway is clear to introduce legislation bringing back capital punishment, as well as other contentious laws such as the lifting of presidential term limits and lowering the age of criminal liability to 12. There are now just four anti-Duterte senators left and one, Leila de Lima, cannot vote because she is in jail on drugs charges she alleges were fabricated to silence her. Among the more controversial new senators is Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who oversaw the implementation of Dutertes war on drugs. The campaign has officially caused 5,000 deaths, though campaigners say the real figure is more than double that. The international criminal court is currently carrying out a preliminary investigation into whether the extrajudicial killings constitute crimes against humanity. Aligning with Dutertes position, Dela Rosa said his No 1 priority would be to bring back the death penalty. The Philippines outlawed capital punishment in 1987, reinstated it six years later and then abolished it again in 2006. Human Rights campaigners voiced fears that his election would also mean he would have impunity for any crimes committed as part of the war on drugs. Also elected to the Senate was Imee Marcos, the daughter of the deposed former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. On the day the polls opened last week, Duterte said he would take the result as a referendum on his administration so far. It could be taken as a referendum, so that if you agree with me, then you can vote for my candidates or the people I am supporting this election, he said. Despite the overwhelming victory, the president was noticeable by his absence on Wednesday night, fuelling further speculation that his health may be in deterioration. Duterte, who is known to have health problems, has not been seen in public for more than a week. In an attempt to ease the rumours, photos of Duterte at home in the presidential palace were released on Sunday. On Monday, the presidents spokesman dismissed reports that he was hiding anything about the state of his health. It is the fifth time Duterte has disappeared from the public eye without explanation since he became president. | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde You might think you have a feel for playwright Sheri Wilner's "Kingdom City" when you hear the basic plot summary: In the play, a Midwestern high school production of "The Crucible" sparks controversy when a religious leader raises objections to the adultery that drives the Arthur Miller classic. But "Kingdom City," Wilner's seriocomic look at the ramifications of censorship, cuts deeper than that brief description, said Richard Wagner, who's directing this weekend's production of the play at the Majestic Reader's Theater. And Wilner isn't interested in depicting any of its characters as villains. "The church guy doesn't come across as a bad guy," Wagner said. "He's just somebody who's taken a very different path." Based on a real-life incident that occurred in Fulton, Missouri in 2006 (although, in that case, "Grease" was the offending play), "Kingdom City" begins as transplanted New Yorkers Miriam (Meghan McCloskey) and Daniel (Ward Fairbairn) settle into small-town Missouri life. He's a fiction writer and she's a theater director who's offered a temporary job as the drama club adviser at the local high school. Miriam decides to stage "The Crucible" from the principal's list of acceptable plays. But the selections raise the hackles of a youth pastor at a local church and the ensuing controversy embroils Kingdom City. Wagner said Wilner's script avoids the trap of painting its characters as one-dimensional. "It's a good play and it's balanced because the author is so good," he said. And the play's intimacy and its small cast (three adults and three high school students) make it a good fit for the minimal staging that the Reader's Theatre requires. Wagner's production uses some basic blocking, furniture and props, but the small area doesn't allow actors to move between parts of the stage to suggest a transition between scenes. Instead, Wagner said, he'll use blackouts and will project slides to let audience members know the location and time of each new scene. Wagner said the drama has a number of funny moments, although he noted that it also contains what he called "salty language." He said the play would be suitable for adults and thoughtful teenagers. "Kingdom City" isn't a particularly well-known play, but Wagner said that's one of the benefits of the Reader's Theatre approach, which can spotlight plays that aren't familiar to general audiences. And "Kingdom City" deserves all the exposure it can get, he said: "It's pithy." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Go online to find the complete version of the Movie Scene and reviews of new films. NEW ALADDIN 3 stars (Live-action musical, PG, 128 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12) If its not broken, dont try to fix it and director Guy Ritchie has followed that advice in this live-action remake of the Disney animated musical. Will Smith does well as the Genie, but its Naomi Scott who steals the show, tearing into an expanded roles for the princess Jasmine. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) BE NATURAL (Documentary, no MPAA rating, 103 minutes, playing at the Darkside Cinema in Corvallis) When Alice Guy-Blache completed her first film in 1896 Paris, she was not only the first female filmmaker, but one of the first directors ever to make a narrative film. This documentary follows her rise from Gaumont secretary to her appointment as head of production a year later, and her subsequent 20-year career in France and in the United States, as the founder of her own studio and as writer, director, and/or producer of 1,000 films after which she was veritably erased from history. Directed by Pamela B. Green; narrated by Jodie Foster. BOOKSMART 4 stars (Comedy, R, 102 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Regal 4 in Corvallis) A pair of less-than-popular teenage pals decides they want to enjoy one night of high school hedonism before graduation in director Olivia Wildes exuberant salute to female friendship, a movie that takes its place among the best movies ever made about high school. BRIGHTBURN (Science fiction-horror, R, 90 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12) A child from another planet comes to Earth, but rather than being a savior, he unleashes superhero horror. With Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn. Written by Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn. Directed by David Yarovesky. THE WHITE CROW 3 stars (Biographical drama, R, 127 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) Ralph Fiennes directed this absorbing drama about famed dancer Rudolf Nureyev, the first major Soviet artist to defect to the West. Fiennes effort rarely puts a foot wrong in examining the reasons behind Nureyevs decision. (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) THE MASK OF ZORRO (Silent action, no MPAA rating, 107 minutes, playing at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Darkside in Corvallis) Douglas Fairbanks stars as the courageous vigilante in this 1920 classic, part of Community Movie Night with Ygal Kaufman, with a live score performed by the duo Sonochromatic. Cost: $8 general, $6 for seniors. CONTINUING A DOGS JOURNEY (Drama, PG, 108 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the AMC Corvallis 12) The pooch with a purpose forms a new attachment and vows to watch over her in this sequel. With Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott, Dennis Quaid and the voice of Josh Gad. Written by W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky; based on the novel by Cameron. Directed by Gail Mancuso. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 PARABELLUM 3 stars (Action, R, 131 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 in Albany and the Regal 4 in Corvallis) The third installment of the ultraviolent, wonderfully askew "John Wick" franchise is the most outlandish and maybe the most entertaining chapter to date. Keanu Reeves returns, giving a classic deadpan performance in an escapist movie that encourages us to groan and cringe and laugh at the mayhem. (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times) THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR (Drama, PG-13, 120 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) Love blooms for two young people over the course of one life-changing New York City day. With Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton, John Leguizamo. Written by Tracy Oliver; based on the novel by Nicola Yoon. Directed by Ry Russo-Young. AMAZING GRACE 4 stars (Documentary, G, 89 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) A young director named Sydney Pollack recorded this documentary over the two days in 1972 when Aretha Franklin recorded her gospel album, Amazing Grace. The film was unreleased for years, for various reasons, but its finally out, and its an unmitigated joy, the rare making-of documentary that doesn't just comment on but completely merges with its subject. (Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times) POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU 2 stars (Animated adventure, PG, 104 minutes, playing at the Regal 7 and Pix in Albany, the Regal 4 in Corvallis and the AMC Corvallis 12) Ryan Reynolds provides the voice of the fuzzy yellow electrical Pokemon in this mix of live-action and animation, and its a surprising amount of fun until it bogs down in an incomprehensible plot. (Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service) RED JOAN 2 stars (Spy biography, R, 101 minutes, playing at the Darkside in Corvallis) In a criminal waste of her talent, Dame Judi Dench plays a British matron accused of spying for the Russians in a story told mostly in flashback, with Sophie Cookson playing her younger self. It's almost fascinating how stultifying this movie is, given the premise, but "Red Joan" is a soapy, clumsy, maddeningly simplistic mess. (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times) AVENGERS: ENDGAME 3 stars (Superhero action, PG-13, 182 minutes, playing at the Albany Regal 7, the Corvallis Regal 4 and the AMC Corvallis 12) The remaining Avengers, with some new faces (such as Brie Larsons Captain Marvel) go after Thanos in this sequel to Infinity War and apparent capstone to the first wave of Marvel movies. Its a stirring and satisfying finish that achieves and earns its climactic surge of feeling, even as it falls just short of real catharsis. (Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times) Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The NYPD is reportedly breaking up the racist frat party at a Brooklyn precinct, following a civil rights complaint alleging that detectives frequently mistreated minority cops and civilians, played videos games on the clock, and smoked inside their stationhouse. According to the Post, three detectives and two sergeants were transferred out of the Borough Park 66th Precinct on Wednesday. Among them are Sergeant Gary Caporale, Detective Anthony Carreira and Detective James Dawson, each of whom was named in a Title VII discrimination suit filed by Detective Michael Moy last month. Moy, a Chinese-American and 24-year-veteran of the NYPD, said his fellow detectives routinely mocked his nationality with YouTube videos and crude drawings suggesting he was less than human, in full view of Sergeant Caporale. The complaint also claims that Dawson and Carreira referred to Muslim detectives as "Taliban," and that Dawson railed against "dirty" and "filthy" Jews. (Borough Park is home to a large Orthodox Jewish community). In an interview with the Daily News, Moy said the "frat house" culture of the precinct absolutely impacted how members of law enforcement treated nonwhite New Yorkers. "They dont get the same quality of investigation as other people," he said. "Especially the Chinese because they dont speak English, and [detectives] can close the case easily." The whistleblower also claimed that detectives would crank up the volume on the precinct's TV whenever President Donald Trump was speaking. After Moy complained about the noise, Dawson reportedly got physical with him, then threatened his career. "Your days are over, bro," Dawson declared, according to audio provided to the News. Moy was put on modified duty a few days later. According to a public database, Sergeant Caporale earned $163,275 in salary and overtime last year and Detective Carreira took home $138,045. Detective Dawson's salary was not immediately available. In 2016, Sergeant Caporale was arrested and charged with drunk driving, after he was found passed out in his car in Staten Island. It's unclear where the detectives and sergeants have been transferred, or whether the NYPD plans on disciplining them. A spokesperson for the police department did not respond to Gothamist's inquiries. In other personnel moves for New York's Finest, the so-called panty-munching cop, who accused his sergeant of stuffing her underwear in his mouth, has reportedly been transferred out of the 72nd Precinct in Sunset Park, according to documents viewed by the Post. He was stripped of his badge and gun earlier for alleged "bizarre behavior." Linn County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $707,775 contract with Bent LLC of Stayton to construct the Little Rock Creek Bridge, part of a long-term fish passage program on the North Santiam River. The project on Morrison Drive will replace a 7-foot culvert with a 16-foot-wide bridge, Linn County Engineer Chuck Knoll said. Morrison Drive supports three residences and a forest management area, so he doesn't anticipate traffic issues. He estimated the engineering at about $583,000. The Oregon Department of Transportation will provide funding. According to Knoll, Linn County has been working with the North Santiam Watershed Council on fish passage projects for several years. In 2002, a culvert was replaced with a small bridge on the upper reaches of Mad Creek. That project was funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. Eleven years later, a Mad Creek culvert that discharged directly into the North Santiam River was replaced with a single-span bridge. The Oregon Department of Transportation funded the $1 million project. The response of steelhead entering into the cooler waters of Mad Creek was immediate, Knoll said. Approximately 200 steelhead swam upstream during the first 24 hours. The latest project, he said, will likely take place between July 15 and Sept. 30. Linn County Engineering has developed a fish passage barrier inventory and list of projects necessary for improvement of habitat of the native waters in Linn County, Knoll said. The removal of barriers provides better river hydraulics, which also reduce the potential of flooding upstream of road crossings. The Little Rock Creek Bridge Project is an example of this effort and our partnerships with other agencies. The current culvert, which has a 5-foot-high perch, is a fish passage barrier. Knoll said Little Rock Creek flows into Mad Creek about 2,000 feet downstream and is about six-tenths of a mile upstream from the North Santiam River. The new bridge will be 90 feet long and 16 feet wide. Knoll said the recent rapid snowmelt could have posed a major problem in the area. We had very fast snowmelt with intense rainfall, he said. The water was about 6 inches above the top of the culvert due to the high water flow. If debris or tree limbs blocked the entrance of the culvert, it was possible that the water of Little Rock Creek could have backed up and flowed over the top of the road crossing. The high water flows could have scoured the soil rock road surface, resulting in the loss of the road. This bridge project will prevent such a failure. Contact Linn County reporter Alex Paul at 541-812-6114. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SALEM Oregon State Police Trooper Nic Cederberg stood in the White House on Wednesday afternoon as President Donald Trump bestowed upon him the nations highest honor for his profession. On the other side of the country at the departments headquarters, more than 20 of his OSP colleagues, including Superintendent Travis Hampton, watched live as Cederberg received the National Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor. The room was silent as Trump recounted Cederbergs heroism. Then, an exclamation. Yeah! Hampton cheered as Trump honored Cederberg. The room filled with applause. Cederberg is the first Oregon recipient. He was largely off camera during the ceremony, remaining stoic when Trump placed the medal on him. The department nominated him in July 2017 but assumed he didnt make the exclusive group when the agency didnt hear back. Last week, word came that he indeed would be honored. "I was amazed, extremely honored for him, Hampton said. A Christmas night in 2016 changed Cederbergs life forever. He was the lone trooper patrolling Washington County when a countywide call was put out for police to be on the lookout for a white Mitsubishi. James Tylka had shot and killed his wife in front of his parents King City home 20 minutes earlier. Cederberg spotted a car matching the description and turned on his police lights. The car took off. Cederberg gave chase down a dead end rural road. Tylka turned his car around and rammed into Cederbergs patrol car so the front ends were facing each other. The two men opened their doors and gunfire ensued. Cederberg was struck in the hip and knocked to the ground but kept shooting, striking Tylka several times. In all, Cederberg was struck 12 times. Tylka ran into the woods. About 15 minutes later, officers from three nearby agencies arrived and opened fire on the gunman, who shot himself in the head. In the next two years, Cederberg worked to physically and mentally recover from the traumatic night, said Capt. Tim Fox. Fox started to get to know Cederberg shortly before the shooting, but the two have become close friends since. He teared up as Cederberg was recognized. Ive really grown to know and love Nic more than I thought I could, Fox said. In November, Cederberg filed a $30 million lawsuit in federal court against Washington Countys 911 system. According to the lawsuit, when dispatch put out a call to all law enforcement, dispatchers didnt share on all channels the information that Tylka was armed and suicidal. They also didnt tell officers that Tylka had just killed his wife. In his lawsuit, Cederberg said he wouldnt have pursued Tylka if he had that information. Cederberg was honored with 11 other men. Two families of officers who died in the line of duty were also honored. One officer responded to an ISIS-inspired attack, while eight members of the Irwindale and Azusa police departments in California were recognized for stopping an active shooter on election day 2016. The honor is rare. Since its creation in 2001, generally only a handful of officers are given the Medal of Valor each year. Since 2001, public safety officials have been honored for responding to 84 events. Its not necessarily even the events that happened that night, its the grit, the determination and the resilience hes shown since then, Fox said of Cederberg. His attitude and his desire to strive, or thrive, its amazing. So thats really where I believe he deserves this medal. Fox said Cederberg was always an enthusiastic and aggressive trooper. Theyre traits he looks to quell a bit in young officers, but in this situation that mentality worked to Cederbergs benefit. Our job is to keep people safe and stand watch for the wolves at our door, Fox said. Nic was one who took that challenge with the utmost respect. He took that and he did it. He was never one to back down from a challenge. Cederberg continues to recover from the event and remains on medical leave. It is not clear if he will return to duty, Fox said. Twelve bullets dont just leave, so he still has some in his body and those cause quite a bit of pain, Fox said. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 BROWNSVILLE In 1985, as one of 100 extras in the movie "Stand by Me," Eldon Albertson of Halsey was paid $35 per day to mostly sit around and wait for the pie-eating contest scene to be shot over and over again in Pioneer Park. But if Albertson now 80 had looked older, he would have earned $75. I made about $200 for five days, he said Wednesday afternoon as three plaques commemorating the movie's scenes shot in Brownsville were unveiled. I am in the movie for about 15 seconds total, Albertson continued. They hired me to be one of the old geezers, but then they didnt think I looked old enough. It was fun, but we mostly sat around and waited. I saw director Rob Reiner, but never got to speak with him. The movie was released in 1986 and received an Academy Award nomination. Wednesdays celebration was held at the Linn County Historical Museum, City Hall and Pioneer Park. Each plaque provides information about the particular site and scenes in the film, plus a factoid. For example, the four lead actorsWil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry OConnellwere in their early or preteens and were fascinated by a two-headed calf then on display at the Brownsville meat locker. When they werent filming, the boys could often be found visiting the calf. Joining Albertson at the event was fellow cast member Gary Riley, now 52, who played Charlie Hogan, one of several juvenile delinquents in the movie that was originally called "The Body," developed from Stephen King's novella of the same name. I was 18 and was supposed to have been in '[This Is] Spinal Tap,' Riley said. My scene was cut and Rob Reiner gave me this role to make up for it. I guess Im in about 20 minutes of the movie. Riley now lives in Los Angeles, but is visiting a friend in Sweet Home. He described the set as extremely mellow. It was really like 1959 and everyone got along great. It was like one big family and it was special. Riley and Katherine Wilson enjoyed telling stories while several dozen guests walked through City Hall displays in a town that was temporarily renamed Castle Rock in 1985. Wilson was the movie's location scout. She said no one had any idea it would have such a positive effect and multi-generational following. It was raining hard when I went to Cottage Grove and took photos of the train, the Blue Goose and tracks, she recalled. I drove the film to Salem to the Oregon Film Commission and had it developed. Wilsonwho also worked on "Animal House," which was filmed in Cottage Grove and Eugenehelped shuttle the movies cast from the Eugene Hilton each morning. Rob Reiner was just super to work with, she said. He really loved the kids and they loved him. Commemorating the movie's infamous pie-eating contest, guests enjoyed blueberry treats after the last plaque was unveiled at the park. Several members of the Governors Office of Film & Television were present Wednesday, including executive director Tim Williams, marketing and communications manager Jane Ridley and senior program manager Bob Schmaling. Williams said Brownsville is the second city in Oregon to install the plaques as part of the Historic Oregon Film Trail program. Astoria was the firstwhere "Goonies" was filmedwhich brought a collective groan from the crowd. We actually started this project with a 140-foot mural at the Portland airport, Williams said. It features 21 movie posters. Williams said Oregon has a rich movie-making history, dating back to 1909. He said over the next year, plaques will be placed in several towns, from the mid-valley to eastern Oregon. Linda McCormick, whom locals good-naturedly call the Queen of 'Stand By Me,' said the movie's connection with visitors from around the worldespecially from Japanis touching. This years Stand By Me Day will be held July 23 and one special guest will be a man from England whose wife is giving him the trip as a 40th birthday present. Its a very personal journey for many people who connect with the actors and the story line, McCormick said. City Administrator Scott McDowell said that Brownsville, and its connection to the movie, provides the location where reality and make believe come together. An a cappella choir performed Stand By Me, made famous by R&B artist Ben E. King. Mayor Don Ware said he often communicates with international visitors distinguished by cameras around their necks, by simply using the code words, Stand By Me. This movie is meaningful to the history of our town, he said. Contact Linn County reporter Alex Paul at 541-812-6114. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Over the past several years, the Lebanon Fire District has been working on a plan to replace its main station and some key apparatus. Our goal is to meet these capital needs at the lowest possible impact to taxpayers. The Fire District funds daily emergency operations through a property tax levy and ambulance revenue. However, costly capital items such as stations and apparatus are funded through voter-approved bonds. Our plan is to retire an existing bond one year early, which reduces the overall amount property owners would pay. We then would ask voters to approve a replacement bond for the station and apparatus projects during the Nov. 5 general election. The net increase for taxpayers would be 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. The bond rate property owners pay also would decrease as our community grows. We are not able to fund capital projects through our operations budget without reducing emergency service levels. This plan is a way to accomplish capital projects and reduce the impact to taxpayers. We look forward to having our community participate in the public process as the conversation unfolds this summer. Allen D. Forster Lebanon (May 21) The writer is the president of the Lebanon Fire District Board of Directors. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Hello, Sen. Sara Gelser and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis. Who are these Oregon legislators, whom you occasionally hear named, but never have any need for? Have they ever been known to do you a political favor, or would you know their names or how to solicit a favor? Yet these are your real Oregon legislators, these folks in Salem who pass any hard calls on to the voters and then seem to work for the next 10 years to subvert that same voting outcome. Presently, I feel I am being mistreated by our Oregon Department of Revenue. I employed the very best CPAs in Albany, but that was not good enough for the state. My Oregon tax return was e-filed on March 15. Last year, this meant my refund arrived around March 20. On March 28, I received a threat from the Department of Revenue to mail them copies of my form 1099-R that my CPA had used in the tax preparation. On March 29, I spent some three hours digging these records out, copied them and mailed them on April 1. Now, as I see it, my princely $124 refund has been withheld 60 days so far! I have twice called the Oregon "Where is My Refund" site, but they only say they do not know when the request refund will come up. Could even be July! So why are we required to pay penalties and interest after April 15, but not the state? Could I get any help with this, legislators? Ronald Avery Albany (May 19) Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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 Wednesday morning Pelosi and Schumer headed over to the White House to discuss an already doomed infrastructure plan (and to be booted out by the always gracious Senor Trumpanzee). A reporter asked her about the closed door Democratic Party caucus she had just left (not even chiefs of staff were allowed in-- just members). She told him-- and his tape recorder: "It was a very positive meeting, a respectful sharing of ideas. And I think a very impressive presentation by our chairs. We do believe it is important to follow the facts, that no one is above the law, including the president of the United States. And we believe that the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up. A cover-up. And that was the nature of the meeting." I wish I had been there to gage how "positive" and "respectful" it really was. Tensions inside Pelosi's caucus are... intense-- and headed towards brittle. The Hill is keeping a woefully incomplete and non-updated Washington Post that "the logic of an impeachment inquiry is pretty overwhelming at this point." Other members of the Judiciary Committee left the same way: Ted Lieu (D-CA): "This inquiry could lead to impeachment, or it could lead to nothing. But I think if McGahn doesnt show, we have to at least start it." And Pramila Jayapal (D-WA): "We are now at the point where we must begin an impeachment inquiry. I don't say that lightly. We've taken every step we can w/subpoenas and witnesses." Joe Neguse (D-CO): "The findings detailed in the Special Counsels report, and the Administrations pattern of wholesale obstruction of Congress since the reports release, make clear that it is time to open an impeachment inquiry." Freshman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA): "No one is above the law. The time has come to start an impeachment inquiry because the American people deserve to know the truth and to have the opportunity to judge the gravity of the evidence and charges leveled against the president." The Republican wing of the party-- the Blue Dogs and New Dems-- are freaking out as more and more rank-and-file congressional Democrats are demanding Pelosi start formal impeachment procedures.is keeping a woefully incomplete and non-updated whip list of which members are openly calling for impeachment. Examples: Jamie Raskin (R-MD), a member of the Judiciary Committee told thethat "the logic of an impeachment inquiry is pretty overwhelming at this point." Other members of the Judiciary Committee left the same way: Ted Lieu (D-CA): "This inquiry could lead to impeachment, or it could lead to nothing. But I think if McGahn doesnt show, we have to at least start it." And Pramila Jayapal (D-WA): "We are now at the point where we must begin an impeachment inquiry. I don't say that lightly. We've taken every step we can w/subpoenas and witnesses." Joe Neguse (D-CO): "The findings detailed in the Special Counsels report, and the Administrations pattern of wholesale obstruction of Congress since the reports release, make clear that it is time to open an impeachment inquiry." Freshman Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA): "No one is above the law. The time has come to start an impeachment inquiry because the American people deserve to know the truth and to have the opportunity to judge the gravity of the evidence and charges leveled against the president." But on the right-fringe of the party, particularly among the Blue Dogs and New Dems who the DCCC helped win in red districts, there is panic and anger and little support for impeachment, since these are some real dummies who are sure impeachment would lead to the end of their careers in Congress. Take Staten Island/Brooklyn lunkhead Max Rose, a sniveling Blue Dog, who told Politico that if Democrats decide to begin impeachment hearings, "Then they should warm to the idea of going back to the minority. Right now were in this incredibly childish game of impeachment chicken, and everyone has to start acting like adults... lets go back to actually doing the work of the American people that they sent us here to do." Sounds like something he heard from someone at a Problem Solvers meeting. One of the few Democrats further to the right than Rose, New Jersey Blue Dog scum Jefferson Van Drew barked "If there really isnt something significant enough there to impeach-- which I dont think there is at this point-- then lets move on and get the work of the people done." Elissa Slotkin (MI), one of the very worst of the freshmen New Dems agreed with that line the Republican wing of the party is pushing: "The thing that Im concerned about is that we constantly risk losing focus on the legislation that affirmatively helps peoples lives, not going in the right direction right now." does affirmatively help peoples lives-- like Pramila Jayapal's These are not members who give a crap about helping peoples lives. Rose, Van Drew and Slotkin are among the right-of-center minority of Democrats refusing to co-sponsor most of the legislation proposed thataffirmatively help peoples lives-- like Pramila Jayapal's new and improved Medicare For All Act or AOC's Green New Deal Resolution . All three have putrid ProgressivePunch crucial vote scores and each one is rated "F." Max Rose- 64.29% Elissa Slotkin- 50.0% Jefferson Van Drew- 35.71% Yesterday, Jake Sherman reported that Pelosi "has an uncanny ability to stay unflinchingly focused on a goal, without getting panicked or itchy or changing course... At the moment, Pelosis goal is quite clear: to avoid rushing to impeach [Senor Trumpanzee]. If you talk to her allies, her advisers and people close to her, theyll tell you she believes the impeachment route is an all-around loser right now. Pelosi allies firmly believe that if Democrats impeach Trump, they will lose the presidency and the House in 2020-- period. They also dont believe Congress or the American public is behind impeachment at the moment. Further, they say that launching an inquiry that isnt airtight could backfire as they pursue other legal options to extract documents from the White House. House Democratic leaders are keeping a very close eye on who comes out in favor of impeachment, but so far, they see mostly Judiciary Committee members who are living the day-to-day back-and-forth over document production and stonewalling, and progressives who have long been on the path to impeachment. Here is what Pelosi-world is thinking, and the points they are making privately": Their Go-Through-The-Courts Play Is Working: House Democrats scored a big victory this week when a federal judge ruled that Mazars Group, Trumps accounting firm, needed to hand over the presidents financial records. Pelosi and her team believe they will score other victories in court and ultimately get many of the documents they are seeking. Impeachment, many of them argue, is not a magical key to unlock a trove of documents. And theres a fear, too, that a rush to impeachment could undermine some of these court efforts. The Leadership Team Is With Pelosi: yes, Reps David Cicilline (D-RI) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) have called for impeachment, but notice who has not: Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL). And thats important. The cracks at her leadership table are at the bottom, not the top. [Editorial Note: Is Politico hiring morons now? Or do they just assume their readers are morons?] Democrats Are Planning to move a package of contempt citations in June. Thats the next punishment they are meting out. There Is, At The Moment, A Remarkable sense of unity atop the leadership. They recognize that the angst is rising in the rank and file. No one seems completely convinced Democrats can hold this position for 18 months. Yes, the majority of the caucus opposes impeachment at the moment-- but for how long? The Internal Politics Are Complicated. Democrats have been taken aback at how Trump has injected himself personally into the decisions to withhold documents and block testimony, which has corresponded with rising blood pressure among many of the rank and file. What To Watch For... Top Dems are absolutely convinced that if Trump defies a court order to fork over documents, then they will be forced to begin impeaching him. And speaking about Pelosi's leadership team, one of her toadies opposing impeachment is Ben Ray Lujan. Watch Lujan "change his mind" on impeachment now that his primary opponent, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, has officially announced she's behind the push for impeachment. "Today, Im calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to begin an impeachment investigation," she told New Mexicans. "Special Counsel Robert Muellers report lays out the facts: a hostile foreign government set out to influence our 2016 election in favor of Trump and Trump welcomed their help. Then, as President, Trump obstructed the investigation into Russian interference. Congress has the constitutional authority and responsibility to defend our democracy and hold Trump accountable. Based on what we know from the Mueller report, we have more than enough evidence to start the impeachment process. Im speaking out today to demand the House do its job and begin impeachment proceedings. We can both hold this President accountable and push for our progressive priorities-- and dont let anyone tell you differently. We will continue to fight for bold ideas like Medicare For All and a Green New Deal, expanding voting rights, protecting a womans right to make her own healthcare decisions, and fighting our student debt crisis. We can and we must pursue both impeachment and other policy initiatives. Our democracy exists to protect the people, not the President-- and protecting the people means both learning the truth about the Trump campaigns relationship with Russia and continuing to fight for legislation that will make our communities and our country stronger." I almost feel sorry for Lujan. Almost. This is what happens when there are strong, vibrant primaries-- which is exactly why Cheri Bustos, Pelosi and Hoyer and trying to obliterate them. Well, they might as well start preparing, because that is exactly what Trump is doing. Even Hoyer admitted that 'To say theres no political calculus would not be honest for any of us in the Congress. The political calculus is: What is the reaction of the American people? What do the American people think we ought to be doing?" As Hoyer once knew-- he's 80 and increasingly senile now-- the American public opposed the impeachment of Nixon until Congress started the process and exposed all his crimes on TV... and then they backed it. Same with the Senate. Conservative senators were against it until there were televised hearings... and then they told Nixon he had to either resign or be impeached and convicted. He resigned. In Clinton's impeachment, the public opposed it, saw no credible evidence from the GOP leading the effort and the public never stopped opposing it, which is what led a Republican Senate to find him "not guilty" on all impeachment charges. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) is both a New Dem and a member of the Progressive Caucus-- and a 2020 Republican target. She said that Trump is "acting as an authoritarian leader, which I have seen many times in Latin America, and it is very dangerous. I want the people living in South Florida, people living in my community, to understand what is written in that report, and we cant do that unless we have these hearings." Sounds a lot more reasonable than what we're hearing from the people, like Rose, Van Drew and Slotkin, who follow the advice of Matt Penn and Nancy Jacobson of Problem Solvers. and Cheri Bustos and her corruptly-funded the DCCC! Anti-impeachment Blue Dog Cheri Bustos recruited some cockamamie conservative Republican to run against Mike Siegel is TX-10. I wonder how the Bustos-DCCC candidate feels about impeachment. When I asked Blue-America-endorsed Mike Siegel how he feels about it, he told me that "We can't enforce our laws only when it is politically convenient. The supreme law of the land, the United States Constitution, requires Congress to exercise oversight of the Executive Branch, including use of the impeachment power to prosecute high crimes and misdemeanors. Every day, Trump and his cronies obstruct justice, by ignoring federal subpoenas, tampering with witnesses, paying off co-conspirators and lying to the American people. When the RNC gives $2m to McGahn's law firm just as he refuses to testify before Congress, they make a mockery of our government. This goes beyond tactical considerations for an electoral cycle; American democracy is under assault. We must empower Congress to do their duty, and investigate the President's crimes." Do you agree with Mike's approach? Please consider chipping in at the Take Back Texas ActBlue thermometer on the right. Last year Mike nearly won the district with the DCCC ignoring the race entirely. This year he'll have to fight Trump-enabler Michael McCaulCheri Bustos and her corruptly-funded the DCCC! Containers of China Shipping are loaded at a port in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo by Reuters/Kham Some lawmakers have called for reducing incentives to foreign investors, citing they could undermine the competive edge of domestic businesses. Speaking at a session on the economy Wednesday, Nguyen Van Chuong, a deputy from Ho Chi Minh City, flagged the recent increase in Chinese investment in Vietnam following the escalation in the U.S.-China trade war. Vietnam needs to be more selective about foreign investments and should not blindly accept them, and watchful to ensure foreign investors do not bring outdated technologies, he said. Chuong called for foreign direct investment (FDI) policies to be reviewed and cutting down incentives so that Vietnamese companies could compete and grow. Tran Hoang Ngan, another deputy from HCMC, voiced agreement with Chuong, saying in fact Vietnam needs to set up barriers to ensure only good technologies come in with FDI and prevent occurrences such as the Formosa environmental disaster that devastated more than 200 km (125 miles) of coastline in 2016. Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said investors are moving out of China and Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for them. He admitted it has been difficult for Vietnam to attract only quality investments that join the right value chains and export to other countries or avoid investments that bring in outdated, worthless technologies that could cause difficulties in the long run. A report by Rong Viet Securities Corporation said investment flows from China to Vietnam are constantly increasing. FDI from China has been growing at nearly 15 percent a year since 2016, it said, adding investment in just the first quarter of 2019 was worth 70 percent of the amount invested in the whole of 2018. At the house session on Wednesday, deputies also stressed the need for Vietnam to respond nimbly to geopolitical changes and the U.S.-China trade war, which has no end in sight and would affect Vietnam. Ngan said the trade war could bring both benefits and challenges to Vietnam. In the first quarter imports from China rose by 18.6 percent year-on-year, while exports fell by 7.8 percent, according to data from Vietnam Customs. Vietnam had a trade surplus of nearly $35 billion with the U.S. in 2018, making it one of the countries with the largest trade surpluses with the U.S. and thus a potential target like China, he said. When the trade war intensified, China allowed the yuan to depreciate by about 9 percent. This has made Chinese goods cheaper, and they could easily flood the Vietnamese market, Ngan said. "Should we devalue our currency to cope with this? But devaluing the currency will upset the stability and cause people to lose trust in monetary policy. Therefore, our policies must be very smart and flexible." Son said said the government should soon come up with policies and measures to help businesses take advantage of the short-term benefits and boost exports. "This is a very difficult task but must be done and is doable," he said. Vinapaco organized three auctions of the mill in 2017, but there were no takers. Photo acquired by VnExpress. The government has advanced about $97 million to a state-owned company to cover debts related to a failed paper project. A recent government report says it has advanced about 82.6 million euros ($97 million) to the state-owned Vietnam Paper Corporation (Vinapaco) to pay for debts incurred by its project, the Phuong Nam Pulp Mill in the southern province of Long An. Construction of the mill began in 2004 with an initial investment of VND1.49 trillion ($66.3 million), which the Ministry of Transport borrowed from a foreign institution. The mill was expected to produce the best quality pulp in Vietnam, reaching European standards. However, its construction stalled in 2008 due to insufficient capital. In 2009, the government transferred the project to Vinapaco. The expected cost of the project doubled to VND3.4 trillion ($149 million). After taking over the mill, Vinapaco completed construction and put it on a test run, but the installed equipment line did not work with local material. The mill has been dormant since 2012. Vinapaco organized three auctions of the mill in 2017, but there were no takers. It plans another auction in the second quarter this year. The projects remaining debt is VND2.7 trillion ($115.5 million). The Phuong Nam Pulp Mill is among the 12 largest failed projects of Vietnamese state-owned companies. Their total debts amounted to VND58.5 trillion ($2.5 billion) as of last May, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. A real estate group represented by a lobbying firm started by Governor Andrew Cuomos former campaign manager is waging a high-stakes battle against tenant advocates and the push for rent reform. The Alliance For Rental Excellence in NY, whose website describes rent reforms as bad for working New Yorkers, was created as a limited liability company in February, according to state filing data on corporate entities. The website includes photos and videos of men holding protest signs that say, Protect Tenants and Contractors and Protect MCIs. The latter is a reference to major capital increases, a policy that allows landlords to effect permanent rent increases to recoup the cost of renovations but which housing activists have criticized as being a tool to push out rent-regulated tenants. According to the state filing, Alliance For Rental Excellence is registered to a P.O. Box address in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. Reached by phone late Wednesday, Laura Montross, of Kivvit, a prominent public affairs and lobbying firm, acknowledged that her company had been hired to handle press for the Alliance For Rental Excellence. But she and another employee of Kivvit declined to comment on the record, saying they would defer questions to an official spokesperson from the group. As of Thursday afternoon, Gothamist has not heard from a spokesperson. Kivvit has strong ties to Cuomo, boasting at least four current employees on its website who have worked for the governor. Its founder, Maggie Moran, was a campaign manager Cuomo's 2018 reelection campaign. Prior to that she was a senior advisor on his 2010 campaign. Rich Bamberger, a fellow managing director at Kivvit, worked as the governors communications director. He was also the director of communications for Cuomo when he served as Attorney General. Abbey Collins, who served as the governors press secretary, and Josh Rosenfeld, a former deputy press secretary, also both work at Kivvit. According to state lobbyist filings, Kivvit was retained by Alliance For Rental Excellence on May 14th, 2019 at a cost of $2,000 a month. Although the revolving door between politics and lobbying is well-established, Kivvit's involvement, which comes at a pivotal moment in the battle over rent regulation, is likely to raise suspicions among tenant activists. The governor's relationship with lobbyists has drawn scrutiny over the years, most recently with Todd Howe, a former Cuomo loyalist turned lobbyist who pleaded guilty to eight felonies in 2016 on a series of public corruption cases that resulted in the convictions of two administration officials. Citing the governors history of taking money from real estate donors, housing activists have urged Democratic leaders, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to leave the governor out of the rent reform negotiations. He has been our enemy for nine years, Michael McKee, a longtime tenant activist, said about Cuomo in a recent interview with Gothamist. He has never lifted a finger to pass stronger rent laws. Reached for comment, Caitlin Girouard, Cuomo's press Secretary, issued the following statement, The Governor has made it clear many times that he is fully committed to working with the legislature and tenant community to reform rent regulations this session, including ending vacancy decontrol, repealing preferential rent and limiting capital and apartment improvement charges to protect affordable housing and respect tenants rights. Ill leave the conspiracy theories to others. A total of nine bills have been proposed but several lawmakers said last week that real negotiations are yet to begin. On Thursday, protesters from Alliance For Rental Excellence showed up in Albany prior to a public hearing on the proposed rent reform legislation held by the state Senate. According Cea Weaver, a tenants campaign coordinator who was in Albany representing the Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance, the members and signs were similar to those at a protest last week prior to another public hearing at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. At that rally, the protesters, which consisted mainly of workmen who identified themselves as plumbers, electricians, and carpenters, argued that the elimination of renovation increases will affect their livelihood. At the time, several of the participants denied being organized by any group. None of the members spoke at either of the public hearings, according to Weaver. Richard Martinez, a contractor in the Bronx who installs fire alarm and video surveillance systems, told Gothamist that he got involved in Alliance For Rental Excellence about a month ago after talking to other contractors and landlords. "We're all in this together," he said, adding that landlords losing renovation increases would directly impact him and his employees. "If we dont do these things the right way, there are going to be some repercussions and unintended consequences," he said. Brooklyn Assembly member Diana Richardson, a Democrat who interrogated one of the protesters last week, called the newly emerged coalition a sham and accused the members of trying to conflate a housing crisis with a labor issue. One of the videos on the group's website features a family-owned contractor worried that the elimination of renovation increases will mean less work for his business. They are trying to create superficial unrest, Richardson told Gothamist. They think the optics will pressure people... They didnt even come to testify. Its one thing to make noise. Its another to do the work." UPDATE: A prior version of this story cited an LLC address linked to a Brooklyn landlord that Alliance For Rental Excellence said was not involved in the group. The address is in fact a P.O. Box address. Montross, of Kivvit, later issued the following statement: "The Alliance for Rental Excellence is fighting on behalf of New Yorkers who work hard every day to build and maintain our citys apartments. We can all agree responsible rent reform is good for New York, but we cant afford to put tens of thousands of hard-working people out of their jobs. Lobster is among 33 seafood items from Vietnam to be exported to China without tariffs. Photo by Shutterstock/Dmitrii Erekhinskii China has lifted import tariffs on 33 seafood products from Vietnam, including many of the latters strongest export items. They include lobster, tiger shrimp, pangasius fish, tuna, and octopus, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said. Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of VASEP, said that China has become an alternative to the U.S. market for Vietnamese pangasius fish after it was slapped with high tariffs last year, up to $7.74 per kilogram. According to VASEP, Vietnams seafood export value to China fell 5 percent year-on-year in 2018 to $1.2 billion, and dropped another 5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to $239 million. Chinas proportion of Vietnams total seafood exports has been declining, having accounted for 15 percent in 2017 and 14 percent in 2018, it said. Currently, China is one of Vietnams most important seafood markets, making up 11 percent of Vietnams total seafood exports in the first quarter of 2019, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported. As of May, there were more than 150 Vietnamese enterprises exporting seafood to China, of which 45 export Pangasius fish and 50 export shrimp, while the remaining export other varieties of seafood. For nearly 80 years a 91-year-old man has been swimming 10 kilometers daily even in the Vietnamese capitals cold winters. Meet Hanoi senior who swims in Red River every day Meet Hanoi senior who swims in Red River every day As part of his morning routine Nguyen Huu Diem wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to leave his house in Hanois Ba Dinh District and rides his bicycle three kilometers to the pier between Chuong Duong and Long Bien bridges. Diems son says he is not too worried since his father has been doing this for many decades. Once he reaches the spot, Diem warms up, lies quietly on the ground for a bit, puts on an improvised life vest made from two water bottles around his body, and leaps into the river. Alternating between the breaststroke and front crawl, he swims across the pier to the foot of Long Bien Bridge and returns. Each lap is around four kilometers and he does two or three. "From years of experience, I learned that when tired I should just relax, floating gently in the river current," he says. He wraps up his morning routine with a 15-minute headstand and leisurely walk home with his bike. Diem says this section of the river is very familiar to him since he has been living here with his parents since the age of 12. "One day many years ago a family living on a boat nearby was shocked and panicked at seeing me swimming in the frigid weather. They approached me and I told them I was there to swim. So every day after that the family would greet me." Perhaps thanks to his regular swimming, Diem does not suffer from osteoarthritis, he is completely healthy and still able to climb up four stairs in his house. He has never been hospitalized much or seriously ill. On days when the temperature plummets below 10 degrees Celsius, he walks to the pier, carrying a flashlight and a clove of garlic. "In winter, when I go swimming, I have to bring a flashlight since it is still very dark. I also bring some garlic to ward off evil since I am very afraid of ghosts." He says the last bit with a smile. Nguyen Huu Diem, 91, swims about 10 kilometers in the Red River every day. Photo by VnExpress/Lenh Thang Diem also enjoys outdoor adventures. In 2016 his family went to Sa Pa town in Lao Cai Province to climb Fansipan Mountain, the highest peak in Indochina. After climbing the 3.1 kilometers to the top, he wanted to help workers who were carrying materials up the mountain to build the cable car, but was gently admonished. His children love to organize trips for him, and he has been to many countries. He is happy and grateful he is still very alert and in good enough health to swim every day. "I am uneasy when I traveling out of town and am unable to swim. The Red River is like a pond in my house, and so I miss it very much when away from it." Chinese fishing boats are seen at Scarborough Shoal in this satellite image by CSIS taken in December 2018. Vietnam has denounced a recent sailboat race held by China off the Hoang Sa Archipelago as a serious violation of its sovereignty. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that China's organization of the sailboat race around the Drummond Island in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago between April 22 and 26 "seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty over the islands." The activity went against Vietnam and China's agreement on basic principles for solving matters at sea, and against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). It complicated the situation and undermined efforts to maintain peace, stability and cooperation in the waters, Hang said. "Vietnam demands that China not repeat such activities," she told the press on Thursday. Vietnam calls the South China Sea the East Sea, and has consistently asserted its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, as well as its legal rights over their waters in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Hang also called for respect of sovereignty and marine environment law following reports of China sending boats to exploit endangered clams in the South China Sea. The Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday said that satellite imagery since late 2018 show Chinese clam fishing boats have returned to the waterway in force over the last six months to harvest endangered giant clams. The Chinese fleets were operating frequently at Scarborough Shoal, disputed territory between China and the Philippines, and throughout the Paracel Islands, destroying vast swaths of coral reef, media reports said. The clam shells can be sold for thousands of dollars each in Hainan Province, in southern China, due to high demand for jewelry, they said. Hang said exploitation of maritime resources in the East Sea needs to respect the sovereignty of coastal countries, comply with international laws, including the 1982 UNCLOS and regulations on ecological environment protection. "All countries in the area need to fulfill their obligations in accordance with international treaties on the environment," she said. China had seized the Paracel Islands from what was then South Vietnam by force in 1974, and has since been illegally occupying them. In 2012 it established the so-called Sansha City with the archipelago's Woody Island as its seat. The "city" also covers a number of reefs in the Spratly Islands that China seized by force in 1988 and the Scarborough Shoal. Nguyen Huu Linh, 61, used to serve as a deputy chief prosecutor in the central city of Da Nang. Photo courtesy of Da Nang's People's Procuracy. Prosecutors have filed charges against an ex-prosecutor for molesting a five-year-old girl in a Saigon apartment elevator last month. Nguyen Huu Linh, 61, a retired deputy chief prosecutor in the central city of Da Nang and currently a lawyer, has been charged with "molestation of a person under 16," which carries a prison sentence of six months to three years, prosecutors in Ho Chi Minh City said on Wednesday. But the date of the trial has yet to be announced. Linh, who lives in Da Nang, visited his son in an apartment building in District 4 and on the night of April 1 was in an elevator with the girl, whose identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy. Linh was caught on CCTV camera wrapping his arms around the girls neck and kissing her. When she squirmed away from him, he grabbed her again and only let her go when the door opened. The girl told her parents about the incident and her family asked to see the elevator camera footage, which showed Linh had behaved inappropriately with her. Police later said he had touched the girl's thighs. When questioned by the HCMC police, Linh said he had merely "petted" a girl he thought was cute and did kiss her twice, but not with the intention of molesting her. The family did not want to make a fuss because they were worried about how it would affect the girl. Linh returned to Da Nang soon afterward. When the footage surfaced online, there was an eruption of public anger with many calling for severe punishment for Linh, especially because he himself had been a prosecutor. On April 21, HCMC police officially started a criminal investigation against him. Prosecutors said Linh's action was dangerous to the society but he should be entitled to a commuted sentence as it was his first criminal offense and he had been honest and remorseful during the investigation process. Vietnam recorded 1,547 child sex abuse cases in 2018, down 2.8 percent from a year earlier, according to figures from the Ministry of Public Security. However, the public and experts have repeatedly complained that persons found guilty of rape and sexual harassment are treated too leniently. Users in Hanoi and Saigon identify social media and news websites as the most frequent sources of fake news. Photo by Reuters/Kham About half of Hanoi and Saigon residents encounter fake news at least once a week, a survey has found. Done by market research firm Indochina Research, the "Hot Spots" survey interviewed at least 300 people from 18 to 60 years of age in the two major Vietnamese cities about the frequency in which they encounter fake news and where they encounter them, among others. 63 percent of the respondents said they had seen fake news in the last three months. Of these, 65 percent said they faced fake news at least once a week. That translated to about 41 percent of both cities populations encountering fake news at least once a week, the research firm said as it released the survey last month. 45 percent of the respondents identified social media and news websites as the most frequent sources of fake news, while 44 percent said they found it on news websites. Traditional newspapers followed at 30 percent, television 15 and radio 7. The most frequent fake news encounters were reported by males aged 18 to 34 in Hanoi with middle to high income category, who got online daily, the survey found. 88 percent of the respondents agreed that more actions should be taken to prevent fake news, indicating that people are well aware and concerned about fake news and their impacts on daily lives. Vietnamese spend around seven hours a day online, of which 2.5 hours on average are spent on social media. YouTube is the second-most accessed site in the country with a user ratio of 59 percent, behind Facebook at 61 percent, according to a 2018 report by We Are Social. Last November, Hanoi issued an appeal for residents to spread "positive, humanitarian" content rather than "false, degrading" misinformation, claiming information that degrades reputation and dignity, incites violence, or otherwise negatively affects people are becoming increasingly apparent online. Nguyen Manh Hung, Minister of Information and Communications, also said at a National Assembly session that the ministry has already set up a national center that can read, analyze, evaluate and categorize 100 million messages on social networks per day. The move is a response to the spread of false information, culturally inappropriate images and fraudulent activities on the Internet and social networks that is growing globally, he said. In Vietnam, massage parlors could be used as a disguised venue for sex services. Illustration photo by Shutterstocks Nha Trang police have arrested a massage parlor manager believed to be the ringleader of a brothel service targeting foreigners. Huynh Van Luan Em, 31, who runs a massage parlor on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in the famous backpacker area in the beach resort town of Nha Trang, was arrested on Tuesday and placed under investigation for providing illegal sex services. Police say that Em started offering sex services by masseuses about four months ago to foreign tourists coming for massages. He charged them VND1 million ($43). Preliminary investigations show that the sex workers received VND300,000 ($13) for each session while Em took the rest. On Sunday night, police officers raided the parlor and caught two masseuses having sex with foreign customers. The sex workers confessed to the police that they had been working for the prostitution ring managed by Em and had also stolen money several times from customers while serving them. Huynh Van Luan Em, 31, was detained Tuesday for arranging masseuses to provide sex services for customers, mainly foreign tourists. Photo courtesy of Nha Trang police Police are investigating the case further. They said they had been monitoring the ring for several months to collect evidence before cracking down. Khanh Hoa Province, home to the famous resort town of Nha Trang, welcomed 2.8 million foreign arrivals last year, increasing 37 percent from a year ago. Most of them are from China and Russia. Under Vietnam's Penal Code, sex workers are given a warning and fined VND100,000-300,000 ($4-13), while pimps and sex ring organizers can get between six months and five years in jail. With the biggest culprits failing to act on climate disaster, the human race does not have much long left. Nguyen Ngoc Huy For three years now, Ive been following the news on heat waves and hot spells happening all over the world, including Vietnam. The pattern is pretty obvious: record-breaking high temperatures, followed by more record breakers. I am sure many of us are asking the same question. When will the heat waves and hot spells, or global warming in general, stop? Is there a maximum threshold? A breaking point? We dont know. Heres what we do know. Humanity wont last long at this rate. The first time I encountered this topic up close was the heat wave in northern Vietnam in 2017. It was a heat wave unlike any other before it: 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in most northern areas including Hanoi. I remember thinking: this is it, this is the peak. There is no way it can get hotter. Boy, was I wrong. Last July, a similar heat wave struck Vietnam for about five days. Right from my balcony, I recorded a felt temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. It was like the ground had split open and hell had broken loose. And this year, the heat caused more than physical discomfort. Hanoi and other northern provinces could no longer enjoy the Lunar New Year festival like they used to. No light drizzles and chilly breezes of early springtime. Instead, the sun greeted us all with downpours of molten gold, spilling the streets and coating towns in amber. It was not actually that poetic - it was hot as hell. Then came this April, when Vietnam saw yet another record-breaking high temperature of 43 degrees Celsius in the central province of Ha Tinh. Since then, I dont want to use the phrase "record-breaking." Whats the point? Earlier this month, I participated in a conference with colleagues from 12 countries most affected by climate disaster. Unsurprisingly, one of the main topics was the sweltering heat the world was experiencing. India, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, even the frigid mountains of Nepal, not one has been spared from the licks of the flames of global warming. Someone needs to come up with a long-term plan to address this ongoing problem, immediately. Like right now. It might be too late anyway for humans to limit the earths temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, at least according to a 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The level of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere is already way beyond that, the report said. Two things need to be done to stop the mercury from rising. One, greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut down completely, and the remaining gases in the atmosphere need to be get rid of. Two, a forest that spans the entire planet is needed to absorb the excess carbon dioxide in the air over the next 40 years. Both need to be done at the same time, as we humans, as well as other creatures, still need to consume energy through eating and drinking and breathing, which produces greenhouse gases. It seems like a lost cause. A farmer water his dry field in Soc Trang Province in southern Vietnam, April 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long We have to do something, and we have to do it together. But some countries havent got the memo. U.S. President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that the country would cease all participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation, saying the accord would "undermine [the U.S.] economy" and put the U.S. at a "permanent disadvantage." China, meanwhile, has promised to cut down on its greenhouse gas emissions, but does so by shifting it to other countries. Both superpowers are two of the most prolific greenhouse gas emitters in the world. And who is paying the price for their irresponsibility? Poor and developing countries are. Honduras, Myanmar, Haiti, Nicaragua, Vietnam and many more are getting the shorter end of the stick, as concluded by numerous climate change reports over the past decade. 17 percent of Saigon could be completely submerged by the end of this century, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said last year. Venice will completely vanish underwater within the same time frame if global warming is not stalled, according to a 2017 study by the Quaternary International. The apocalyptic list goes on and on. Amidst this, developed countries are still inclined to shift their responsibilities to the most vulnerable victims of climate change by providing energy project loans and infrastructural investments. It is this inequality and unfairness, this denial and refusal to cooperate, that will doom us all. No one will win this game. What lies ahead is a scorched Earth, floods of Biblical proportions and a planet devoid of life as we know it. But lets talk about us. What do we do when it gets hot? We look for cooler places. We turn on fans and air conditioners. We need electricity to do so. We get electricity from coal power plants. Burning coal produces carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Now imagine tens of millions of people doing the same thing. Every day, day after day. See where were heading? Im not saying this to shame anyone. I am saying we are digging our own graves. The industrialized progress we have made may have brought us perks like air conditioners and ice-cream, but it has come with deforestation, pollution and mass urbanization. For every degree Celsius going up outside, city folks experience it two degrees hotter, thanks to an absence of trees and an abundance of skyscrapers. The very least we can do now, especially in major cities like Hanoi and Saigon, is plant more trees and make more ponds and lakes, repositories of water. We have to stop licensing construction projects that encroach rivers and lakes and serve to increase population density. This wont do, but its a start. The fight against climate disaster is the fight of our lives. If we dont join it with radical seriousness, we are done. *Nguyen Ngoc Huy is an expert on climate change at the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The opinions expressed are his own. The Tan Son Nhat International Airport is frequently flooded because of unsynchronized infrastructure and lack of communication by authorities. Hua Quoc Hung, vice chairman of the Tan Binh Peoples Committee, said that the district was seeing the implementation of multiple drainage projects for the airport through several canals, including A41, Hy Vong, Tan Tru and Nhat Ban. But the infrastructure inside and outside the airport was "unsynchronized," as these projects are helmed by many different units, each doing its part without following a common guideline, he said at a meeting on Wednesday. Hung said drainage pipes installed for the A41 canal lie lower than the canal, for example. As a result, rainwater flows from outside into the airport, while it is supposed to flow the other way round. As the units responsible for construction inside the airport do not inform local authorities beforehand, construction has been carried out in inappropriate places, he said. Pham Duc Hai, vice chairman of the HCMC Peoples Committee, said several drainage projects in Tan Binh District are going "very slowly." "Projects that have been approved since 2016, like the ones dealing with A41 or Tan Tru canals, are not progressing at all," Hai said. He said preventing flooding is part of maintaining the airport's security and is a priority for Saigon's urban development, but Tan Binh has not collaborated with relevant authorities well enough to solve the problem. The Airport Corporation of Vietnam has put the Tan Son Nhat Airport in charge of fixing the construction inside the airport to guarantee that all parts match with each other and function effectively. The Tan Son Nhat International Airport is a frequent victim of flooding. In 2015, heavy rains flooded several parts of the airport, with water rising to as high as 20 centimeters, threatening to compromise the airports power generators, and prompting employees to barricade the area with sand bags. Littering that blocked canals around the airport was often blamed as one major cause. Many Huawei users in Vietnam are wondering whether their Android-powered phones would still be able to access Google services after their business ties were suspended. Photo by Reuters Worried Vietnamese owners of Huawei smartphones are considering switching brands after Google suspended business ties with the Chinese brand. Googles decision, announced on Monday, came after the U.S. blacklisted Huawei amidst the ongoing trade war between the two superpowers. Hundreds flocked to online forums and social media looking for answers on whether their Android-powered phones would still be able to access Google services like Google Maps, Gmail or YouTube. Some even expressed little confidence for the future of the brand, while others sought to either sell or trade their current Huawei phones. "If Huawei [phones] cannot be updated by Googles Android then whats the point of buying it? If Huaweis products cannot be used with the Android OS, it is no more than a brick with a price tag in the millions," wrote Dung in a comment section on the website of The Gioi Di Dong, a top Vietnamese tech retailer. "Who would dare to buy another Huawei phone again without Android, YouTube, CHPlay or Gmail?" asked another account named Khoa. "I just bought a P30 Pro, but I heard that [Huawei] would no longer receive support from Google. Will the shop allow me to switch to a different phone?" Duc wanted to know. "Temporarily, I suggest everyone to stop buying Huawei phones until either Google or Huawei release their latest updates [on the matter]. It would not make sense to spend tens of millions (of VND) to buy a phone without knowing for sure if the Google Play Store would continue to be supported in the long run," wrote Duy Luan on Vietnamese tech forum Tinhte.vn. Google has already confirmed that its services Google Play and Google Play Protect would continue to function on existing Huawei devices via a tweet on Monday. Huawei, meanwhile, has said in a statement that it would "continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products," as well as pledging to continue building a "safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally." The suspension, however, could hobble Huaweis smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Googles Android operating system, Reuters reported. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services including Google Play Store, Gmail and YouTube apps. "Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google," a source told Reuters. No immediate impact The ongoing spat between Huawei and Google, as well as the U.S, would continue for a while and may impact Vietnams market in the future, said Tien Trong, the owner of a shop selling Chinese phones on Hanois Bach Mai Street. However, concerns about Huawei phones becoming useless is baseless as multiple Android smartphones from China still function without Google services. Newer Huawei smartphones like the Mate 30 or the Mate 30 Pro might suffer the most as they may no longer run on the international version of Android OS, Trong said. Google cutting business ties with Huawei would not affect Huawei smartphone users in Vietnam for now, but the same cannot be said of the future, local media reports quoted Mai Trieu Nguyen, director of mobile tech firm Mai Nguyen, as saying. Future negotiations between Huawei and Google as well as progress of the U.S.-China trade war might bring about new changes to the current situation, he added. "But [Google cutting business ties with Huawei] would certainly affect Huaweis smartphone business operations in Vietnam and other countries," Nguyen stressed. Huawei, which is also the global leader in telecoms networking equipment, has been embroiled in a long-running row with the U.S. over the alleged security of its systems and devices. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms posing a national security risk. The U.S. administration has said Huawei equipment could be used by China for espionage and Washington has pressed its allies to use other suppliers. Huawei has flatly denied the U.S charges. Huaweis founder and chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, had said Saturday, before Googles announcement, that growth of the Chinese tech giant "may slow, but only slightly" as a result of recent U.S. actions, Reuters reported. The Chinese firm has been working on its own operating system however, Bloomberg quoted its mobile chief Richard Yu as saying last year. Another Huawei executive told the Financial Times Monday that its own operating system has been trialed in China and "can kick in very quickly." On Monday, the U.S. Commerce Department granted Huawei a license to buy U.S. goods until August 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to Huawei smartphones, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements. Huawei, however, said Tuesday that it was the victim of U.S. "bullying." A senior Huawei executive also said that the firm was working with Google to counter trade restrictions imposed by Washington last week. "They [Google] have zero motivation to block us. We are working closely with Google to find out how Huawei can handle the situation and the impact from the U.S. Department of Commerce decision," Abraham Liu, Huaweis representative to the EU institutions told Reuters. "Huawei is becoming the victim of the bullying by the U.S. administration. This is not just an attack against Huawei. It is an attack on the liberal, rules-based order." Panasonic joins firms stepping away from Huawei after US ban President Donald Trump has effectively banned US companies from supplying Huawei and affiliates with critical components. Photo by AFP/Fred Dufour Japan's Panasonic on Thursday said it was halting business with Huawei, joining a growing list of firms distancing themselves from the Chinese telecoms giant. The announcement came a day after four major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new 5G Huawei handsets. "We've stopped all business transactions with Huawei and its 68 group companies... that are subject to the U.S. government ban," Panasonic spokesman Joe Flynn told AFP. "Yesterday an internal instruction to fully enforce that rule was issued," he added. Flynn said Panasonic's business with Huawei involves the supply of "electronic parts," but declined to provide further details. Washington's restrictions affect products made in the United States, where Panasonic manufactures some of the components it supplies to Huawei, the Japanese firm said. The decision raises the pressure on Huawei after U.S. President Donald Trump last week declared a national emergency to bar U.S. companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk. The move appeared aimed at Huawei, though the White House said no particular company or country was targeted. The decision has prompted a parade of firms to step back from dealings with Huawei, including US internet giant Google, whose Android operating system powers most of the world's smartphones. And on Wednesday mobile carriers in Japan and Britain said they were delaying releases of Huawei handsets. Temporary suspensions Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, was due to bring Huawei's first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X, to Britain, but the Chinese giant's involvement in the country's telecoms sector has become politically controversial. EE chief executive Marc Allera said the company had "paused" the launch of Huawei's 5G phones "until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers... are going to be supported". The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive "core" elements of its network infrastructure. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a "temporary" suspension of pre-orders for Huawei 5G handsets, "while uncertainty exists". The BBC also reported that British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, is set to cut ties with Huawei. ARM's products contain "U.S.-origin technology" that would be affected by Washington's ban, the BBC said. ARM staff were told to suspend "all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements" with Huawei, according to internal documents seen by the BBC. Huawei said Wednesday that it recognised "the pressure" placed on its suppliers, and that it was "confident this regrettable situation can be resolved." 'A sense of safety' In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country's number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they too were delaying the release of Huawei handsets to assess the impact of the U.S. ban. "We are currently trying to confirm if our customers will be able to use the equipment with a sense of safety", SoftBank spokesman Hiroyuki Mizukami told AFP. And the country's biggest carrier, NTT Docomo, said it was suspending pre-orders for a new Huawei handset, but stopped short of halting the release. Trump's order effectively bans US companies from selling Huawei and affiliates the critical components that have helped it grow into the world's largest supplier of telecom networking equipment and second-biggest smartphone maker. U.S. officials this week, however, issued a 90-day reprieve on the ban, saying breathing space is needed to avoid huge disruption. The U.S. Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on U.S. companies selling or transferring U.S. technology to Huawei. Washington has long suspected deep links between Huawei and the Chinese military, and its moves against the company come amid the churning trade dispute between the world's top two economies. The issue has also been the source of heated controversy in Britain ever since a leak from the country's National Security Council last month suggested the government was planning a limited role for Huawei in its 5G network. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Britain during a visit to London that it risked undermining the historic allies' intelligence sharing. A suspected group of criminals is robbing Lyft drivers by seizing their phones and digitally transferring their earnings to debit card accounts, exploiting a security weakness in the Lyft drivers' app. As many as 20 drivers have been hit since April 3rd, many of them within one particular Bronx precinct (the 49th), according to the NYPD. One driver was held up at gunpoint. Another was robbed of more than $800. One Lyft driver, Kaymiul Uddin, picked up a pair of male passengers on May 11th at around 10:30 pm. During the ride, one of the men asked Uddin to make a stop, and the other man got out, ostensibly to run a quick errand. The remaining passenger, according to Uddin, said he and his companion would be heading to a different destination than the one they'd originally requested. Uddin offered to update the address on his own phone. "And as I went to type, he leaned over from the back, [and] snatched the phone out my hand," said Uddin. Uddin, 24, assumed the passenger was stealing his phone, but in fact something else was happening. "What they were able to do was end the ride, go to my payout information, change the debit card informationthere's an express pay option where you can pay yourself dailythey changed that to some random debit card, and Lyft having no security for that, they ended up cashing out my earnings." Uddin got his phone back but lost $292. Listen to reporter Arun Venugopal's story on WNYC: A spokesperson for Lyft's competitor, Uber, said she knows of no comparable incidents with Uber drivers and that the company has anti-fraud technology in place. Meanwhile, Lyft is still working on a fix but said it has reimbursed every affected driver. "Safety is fundamental to Lyft and this is deeply concerning, said Lyft spokeswoman Campbell Matthews in a statement. We are in touch with the drivers impacted to express our support, and have permanently banned the passengers who engaged in this unacceptable behavior. We stand ready to assist law enforcement as they investigate this." Its not clear how the suspects can commit these crimes without easily being traced. Uddin confirmed that he had been reimbursed, but only after WNYC asked Lyft about the incidents, ten days after he was robbed and after repeated attempts to get help from Lyft, both on social media and over the phone, as well as in person. They end up saying Someones going to contact you in half an hour and they hung up the phone, said Uddin. I called them back in another two hours and the guy told me, Im sorry everything happened to you. Someone will reach out to you shortly. Same thing. I have reached out to @lyft five times already.... I'll make sure the 6th time I reach out it'll be through an attorney. Thanks for standing by and watching drivers get robbed 19 times in one neighborhood. It's nice you guys have done nothing since. Arya's My Daughter (@Kayuddin_) May 12, 2019 The security flaw allows Lyft drivers to be "sitting ducks, waiting for a robbery," said attorney Ali Najmi, who is representing Uddin. "The fact that Lyft knows now that there are twenty cases and still hasn't fixed the glitch is really concerning and really grossly negligent, Najmi said. Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, said the incidents had been communicated to the Taxi and Limousine Commission at a recent hearing. It leaves drivers very much vulnerable if passengers know all they have to do is get their hands on the phone, Desai wrote in an email. The NYPD said its Grand Larceny Unit is investigating a group of suspects and expects to make arrests soon. Uddin plans to graduate from college later this month with a degree in economics. In addition to driving, he works for a management consulting firm based in Virginia. Since the incident he has cut back on driving and no longer drives at night, due to anxiety. My heart starts beating like crazy, he said. Its just not worth it. I dont care how much more money I can make. If the company that Im driving for is not doing anything to protect me, whats to say itll stop it from happening again? Arun Venugopal is a reporter who focuses on issues of race and immigration at WNYC. You can follow him on Twitter at @arunNYC. "Our partnership with Ameresco will result in updated facilities while providing improved learning environments for our students and teachers," said WCPSS Superintendent Cathy Moore. "We are pleased to have this opportunity." Funded through energy and operational cost savings, the project is expected to save WCPSS more than $690,000 annually over the 15-year contract term. Project ECMs include LED lighting system improvements, domestic water conversion, Building Automation System (BAS) upgrades, Variable Air Volume (VAV) air handling unit upgrades, boiler system replacement, pumping system upgrades, cooling tower Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), demand control ventilation upgrades and air handling unit replacements. At completion the project is expected to reduce WCPSS energy usage by 7,209,000 kWh annually. "We are delighted to partner with the Wake County Public School System in support of their commitment to energy conservation while redirecting funds for much needed upgrades and the modernization of facilities," said David J. Anderson, Executive Vice President and Director of Ameresco. "In addition to a more energy- and cost-efficient operation, the district will benefit from improved classroom and teaching environments." Ameresco's services for the contract include project development engineering, ESPC project modeling, ECM detailed design and engineering, project construction management, equipment and systems start-up and commissioning, post-construction monitoring, energy rebate application management, energy savings measurement and verification, and training of School staff on all installed equipment and systems. About Wake County Public School System The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is a public-school district located in Wake County, North Carolina. With more than 160,000 students enrolled in 187 schools as of the 2018-2019 school year, it is the largest public-school district in North Carolina and the 15th largest district in the United States. For more information visit https://www.wcpss.net/. About Ameresco, Inc. Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC) is a leading independent provider of comprehensive services, energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions for businesses and organizations throughout North America and Europe. Ameresco's sustainability services include upgrades to a facility's energy infrastructure and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy plants. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com. The announcement of a customer's entry into a project contract is not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue from such contract, of the company's overall revenue for any particular period or of trends in the company's overall project backlog. This project was included in our previously reported contracted backlog as of March 31, 2019. The Wildfire Assistance Fund is intended to aid those displaced by the 2017 Northern California wildfires and the 2018 Camp Fire, specifically those who are either uninsured or need assistance with alternative living expenses or other urgent needs. "PG&E remains committed to helping wildfire victims rebuild and recover, and this program is part of how we're living up to that commitment," said PG&E Corporation Chief Executive Officer and President Bill Johnson. "We feel strongly that helping these communities in their time of need is the right thing to do and appreciate the court's decision." Selection of Plan Administrator To make the funds available to wildfire victims as quickly as possible, PG&E and various committees will be moving forward as part of the Chapter 11 process with the selection of a third-party administrator to oversee the disbursement to eligible participants. Once selected, the plan administrator will work with a team of qualified professionals, including claims agents and accountants, to establish eligibility requirements and review applications for assistance. When establishing eligibility requirements, the administrator will give priority to those participants who are most in need, including those who are currently without adequate shelter. Discussion regarding the selection of a plan administrator will begin immediately, and eligibility requirements are expected to be finalized by the plan administrator shortly thereafter. The administrator may also partner with local housing agencies and community organizations to assist with the administration of the Wildfire Assistance Program. Plan Expenses and Funding The costs associated with administering the fund, including fees associated with the administrator, program professionals or partnering with local organizations, will be capped at $5 million, ensuring that the vast majority of the fund will be used to aid with the living expenses and urgent needs of wildfire victims. The $105 million being provided by PG&E will be made available from the company's cash reserves. PG&E will not seek cost recovery from its customers. About PG&E Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/index.page. Despite significant progress in recent years, the world is falling short of meeting the global energy targets set in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030. Ensuring affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 remains possible but will require more sustained efforts, particularly to reach some of the world's poorest populations and to improve energy sustainability, according to a new report produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA) the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). Notable progress has been made on energy access in recent years, with the number of people living without electricity dropping to roughly 840 million from 1 billion in 2016 and 1.2 billion in 2010. India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Myanmar are among countries that made the most progress since 2010. However, without more sustained and stepped-up actions, 650 million people will still be left without access to electricity in 2030. Nine out of 10 of them will be living in sub-Saharan Africa. Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report also shows that great efforts have been made to deploy renewable energy technology for electricity generation and to improve energy efficiency across the world. Nonetheless, access to clean cooking solutions and the use of renewable energy in heat generation and transport are still lagging far behind the goals. Maintaining and extending the pace of progress in all regions and sectors will require stronger political commitment, long-term energy planning, increased private financing and adequate policy and fiscal incentives to spur faster deployment of new technologies. The report tracks global, regional and country progress on the three targets of SDG7: access to energy and clean cooking, renewable energy and energy efficiency. It identifies priorities for action and best practices that have proven successful in helping. "Renewable energy and energy efficiency are key to sustainable development, enabling energy access, spurring economic growth, creating employment and improving health. We can extend the energy transition to all countries and ensure that the benefits reach the most vulnerable communities. IRENA will strengthen engagement with our Membership and key partners to facilitate on-the-ground solutions to build a sustainable energy future for the benefits of all humankind," said Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Here are the key highlights for each target. Findings are based on official national-level data and measure global progress through 2017. Access to electricity: Following a decade of steady progress, the global electrification rate reached 89 percent and 153 million people gained access to electricity each year. However, the biggest challenge remains in the most remote areas globally and in sub-Saharan Africa where 573 million people still live in the dark. To connect the poorest and hardest to reach households, off-grid solutions, including solar lighting, solar home systems, and increasingly mini grids, will be crucial. Globally, at least 34 million people in 2017 gained access to basic electricity services through off-grid technologies. The report also reinforces the importance of reliability and affordability for sustainable energy access. Read the full press release. We welcome the introduction of HB 6 and the Ohio House Leadership's focus and efforts on addressing key energy policy issues that have plagued Ohio and understand the urgency to provide clarity on the future on FES's nuclear plants. We look forward to working with lawmakers during the process to achieve a balanced energy bill that provides benefits to all customers in Ohio. Our customers have overwhelmingly indicated their preference for clean energy resources and energy efficiency programs. Since the stated goal of the legislation is to encourage renewable generation, we are confident we will find an agreeable path to replacing the current renewable mandate in a way that promotes the continued use of these clean energy investments in the state. European countries' National Energy & Climate Plans are meant to be their energy transition roadmap to 2030. But the draft versions of the Plans need significant improvements if the EU is to deliver on its 2030 renewable energy target. Speaking at an event hosted by the European Climate Foundation alongside representatives of the Spanish Government, European Commission and Climate Action Network, WindEurope's Viktoriya Kerelska said the Plans should serve as the wind industry's investment brochures for the coming decade. The Governments that have the clearest ambitions and measures will attract investments, create the most jobs and deliver a cost effective energy transition. The Spanish National Plan is currently one of few that makes a direct link between renewable energy ambition and the resulting economic benefits, Kerelska noted. Spain calculated that its pledge of 42% renewable energy by 2030 would translate into up to 25bn of additional GDP annually and more than 360,000 jobs in the renewables industry by 2030. WindEurope has made its assessment of the Plans: "Our conclusion was: the measures in the plans are weak - we're not going to get to the 32% RES target for 2030," Kerelska explained. As part of their plans, EU countries must give clear long-term visibility on their wind energy auctions including volumes, timing and budget. Only Germany currently outlines an auction schedule up to 2030. Countries will also need to give clear and simple rules on planning and permitting. They should set up a one-stop-shop' and set out how they will simplify permitting for new and repowered projects. This is key, as getting a permit for new wind farms is becoming more difficult and more expensive in many parts of Europe. The National Plans are supposed to chart the build out of new renewables capacity but also what countries will do with renewables that come to the end of their operational life between now and 2030. Up to 60 GW in the case of wind energy. But no country provides policies to deal with this. What's more, only six countries even mention the issue (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). The Plans must also address how to get more renewables into heating and transport, where renewables represent just 18% and 6% respectively today. This is essential for decarbonisation, because it's in heating and transport where 3/4 of energy is consumed. And they need to include measures to simplify corporate renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) as mandated in the Renewable Energy Directive. "The European Commission will be making recommendations on the draft National plans by the end of June. They will be critical to put the Plans back on track. Unless the recommendations are clear, detailed and country specific they will not be meaningful" concluded Viktoriya Kerelska. Read WindEurope's analysis of the National Energy & Climate Plans ELKO Imagine a warm, autumn day drifting along an ancient European waterway. Along the shoreline, history unravels as you travel deep into a region that was once hidden behind the Iron Curtain. Between the end of World War II in 1945 to around 1991, when the Cold War ended, communism dominated and Western influence was kept at bay, leaving the region in isolation. Now democracy reigns and a trip to Eastern Europe is on many peoples bucket lists. Longtime travel host Cynthia Delaney is organizing a tour from Eastern Europe to the Black Sea in October 2020. The main tour begins in Bucharest, Romania, known as the Little Paris of the East. See the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world. Other sites include the Arc de Triomphe and Revolution Square. Travelers will also enjoy a free day in Bucharest to explore. Numerous museums and other diversions await the curious-minded. Travelers board the vessel, the M/S River Aria, where it transits the Danube-Black Sea Canal. The 160-passenger boat is complete with cabins, dining room, lounge, bar, sun deck and fitness center. The first stop is Constanta, Romania, a port on the Black Sea. Visit a Roman mosaic bath, the Roman Edifice of Tomis. In the evening enjoy a welcome dinner with fellow travelers. The boat then travels to Bulgaria where you can explore on your own or take an optional tour. Vidin is a Bulgarian jewel. A tour there includes Baba Vida, a medieval fortress that served as a defense structure in the Dark Ages. The next section of the Danube is especially picturesque with vineyards and monasteries decorating the landscape. Serbias capital city, Belgrade, is the next stop. Your tour guide will point out the many historical and cultural aspects of this thriving city. Later in the day spend free time on your own. In the evening a gypsy woman will provide insight into the history of her people. In Novi Sad, Serbia, take a walking tour along a bend in the Danube. The city has a fortress that stands along one side of the river. Novi Sad is a bustling place filled with street vendors, beautiful parks and monuments. There is an optional tour to Stremski Karlovci, a multi-cultural region known for its wines. Enter Croatia and disembark in Batina and Osijek. There is a city tour of Batina and then the group moves on to a key experience, a home-hosted lunch with a family in Osijek. This experience provides an opportunity to talk with locals and learn about their lifestyles while enjoying a traditional, homemade meal. The final stop on the journey is Budapest, Hungary. Passengers have the option to explore the city on their own or join an optional Hungarian Jewish Heritage tour. Another day in the city offers a tour with stops at impressive locations including St. Stephens Cathedral, the Royal Palace, National Gallery and Castle Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy a farewell dinner with your fellow travelers before transferring to the airport the next day. For those who have a little extra time, a pre-trip extension is available to the Transylvania region in Romania. The high point of this area is a trip to Bran Castle, the inspiration for Bram Stokers Dracula. Vlad The Impaler Dracul lived in the castle during the 15th century. He was a harsh ruler who had his enemies impaled on stakes throughout his kingdom. Literature of that time claims he killed 80,000 people and impaled 20,000 during his reign. He intimidated would-be attackers by placing impaled corpses at strategic locations within his domain. The three-day extension also includes a visit to Peles Castle and plenty of time to spend freely in Sinaia. The Transylvania Pre-trip is $695 and includes accommodations for four nights, daily breakfasts, one lunch and one dinner, local guide and transportation. The departure date for the main tour is Oct. 6, 2020. For more information call or email Cynthia Delaney at 750-4501 or cynthiadelaney@mail.com. A $500 deposit is required. Interested parties can register by calling 1-800-221-2610 and asking for tour GO-26910. People are encouraged to sign up early as the fare reflects the limited, lower priced cabins. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ELKO Nevada Arts Council recently created a new program called The Nevada Basin to Range Exchange, or BRX. The arts support initiative invited artists and art entities from all over the state to participate in a gathering April 23-24 in Tonopah. The Elko County Art Club, Ghostlight Productions and the Western Folklife Center joined the forum that serves as a bridge between rural and urban art communities. The application was limited to about 50 participants. The Nevada Arts Council, sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, put together this program for their pilot year, said Ghostlight Productions Executive Director Emily Anderson. Anderson said their organization was the only performing arts group there. It was a two-day convention, Anderson said. We got separated and sat down and talked with the people at our tables about Nevada art and what it means to you. What are some of the good things about the arts in Nevada? What are some of the difficulties of being an artist in Nevada? We pitched ideas on how we could collaborate, Elko with Vegas, like what Ghostlight does with the Charleston Heights Arts Center in Vegas or the Neon Museum. Anderson said they all pitched their own project idea and NAC staff will assign groups to work together based on the pitches. They are still waiting to hear about their collaborative assignments. Whatever kind of assignment the NAC comes up with we will be working on for the next year, Anderson said. We went into it to get other artists to see what Elko has to offer, said Brad McMullen, Western Folklife Center programs and gathering manager. It was a great time and I am waiting to see what comes out of it. Representatives from the Elko Art Club were unavailable for comment. According to a press release generated by NAC, the project was created to foster relationships between urban and rural communities, connect resources, identify new funding streams and engage intercommunity arts initiatives as a way to enrich residents lives. Besides members from the three local groups, attendees included representatives of the Eureka Restoration Enterprise, City of Gerlach, The Holland Project, the Neon Museum, St. Marys Art Center, a number of individual artists and other groups from the far corners of the Silver State. Its hard to say what we can expect to see, being that we just launched the program, said Michelle Patrick, NAC community arts development specialist. We do expect to see the results of their collaborative efforts within the next six months. One of the requirements of the program is to create a partnership and produce an arts-based initiative within one year. We cant wait to see what they come up with. Other than the main NAC sponsored collaborative project that will soon take place, Anderson said she and her group made a number of beneficial connections. Eureka and Ely contacted us [to perform], Anderson said. Burning Man actually contacted us and has gifted us tickets to go there. Because of the BRX program, Burning Man has given us the opportunity to go and explore as artists. Anderson said the group is currently focused on putting together funding for the trip and working on a performing arts piece for the festival. The theme this year for Burning Man is Metamorphosis, Anderson said. We are hoping to set up a theme camp. The idea is that people can come to the camp and have a ten to fifteen minute, interactive piece. Anderson said representatives of The Holland Project have also contacted her about doing an old-time radio show. Ghostlight loves performing in Elko, but we are hoping that we can spread performance arts throughout Northern Nevada, Anderson said. If we can get our name out there, we can help our actors and technicians grow as artists. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The reason we have as many elevators in the subway as we do now is because disability rights groups sued the MTA in 1979 and won, forcing the agency to install 54 elevators in stations scattered throughout the system. And that requirement later expanded to 100 elevators by 2020. (The 1979 ruling also led to the creation of the Access-A-Ride program.) Now, turning to the power of the courts again, disability advocates want to force the MTA to install elevators at every subway station. Out of 472 stations, only 120 are accessible. The current capital plan includes funding for elevators at 25 more stations. Momentum is building for a more rapid expansion, fueled in part by legal action. In March, a judge ruled that the MTA had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it did a $27 million renovation at the Bronx Middletown Road station but failed to install an elevator. Advocates quickly filed a class action lawsuit, building on that ruling. And this week, a judge announced he could have a ruling as soon as next month on whether the MTA is violating state human rights law by failing to install elevators. On Tuesday in State Supreme Court, Justice Shlomo Hagler thanked the gallery full of wheelchair users for showing up to court, and he criticized the MTA for not reaching a settlement with the plaintiffs over the past year. He said not having the money wasnt an excuse anymore. No money? Find it. You find it for other things, he said to the MTAs three lawyers. There has to be action, no more talk. The MTAs press shop pointed out that New York City Transit President Andy Byford has a plan to create 50 accessible stations in five years and hopes to get full accessibility by 2034. Advocates said they wanted it in writing. "We dont have any binding agreements from the MTA and that's what we really need, said Susan Dooha, executive director of Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY, a plaintiff in three of the four cases. People like Byford come and go; political winds change, she said. We need a binding enforceable agreement to make sure the entire system will become accessible, not just a few stations and then stop. While the ADA requires the MTA to make stations accessible anytime it does a renovation that affects the usability of a station regardless of cost, the law also includes a caveat that it has to be technically feasible. Maia Goodell, supervising attorney at Disability Rights Advocates, which represents clients in all four current lawsuits, said she believes the MTA hasnt even bothered to see whether elevators are technically feasible in its station renovations. The MTA wont comment on any of these cases. In state court, the MTAs lawyers argued that they dont have to install more elevators due to a legal technicality: because the MTA is a state agency, and its already following a 1995 state ruling to install 100 elevators, it is therefore exempted from following New York Citys human rights laws and the accessibility requirements. Meanwhile, on Monday, the MTAs transit committee signed off on $17.8 million more in spending for the Enhanced Station Initiative (ESI), a nearly $1 billion plan which has already run out of money. Not only was it scaled back from 32 to 19 stations, but none of the plans includes a new elevator. The only board members at Mondays meeting to vote against it were Mayor Bill de Blasios three appointees. When the recently appointed Transit and Bus committee chair Sarah Feinberg asked if it makes sense to have a conversation about ESI, Polly Trottenberg, who voted against it, said, weve had years of it before your arrival. Stephen Nessen is the transportation reporter for WNYC. You can follow him on Twitter @s_nessen. We the Commuters is a weekly newsletter about transportation from WNYC and Gothamist. Sign up below for essential commuting coverage delivered to your inbox every Thursday. Loading... The previous Pony Express station I told about in this series was Bucklands Station. It served as a Pony Express station for just a short time between April 3, 1860, until the Pyramid Lake Indian War started about May 12, 1860. For the next two months, service on the Pony Express was disrupted by periodic Indian attacks on several of the riders and some of the stations. Service was sporadic at best during this time and full regular service was not resumed until a new station was established in the administrative office at Fort Churchill. Meanwhile, Bucklands Station continued to be used as the Overland Express and Pony Express station. Even after the relay station was moved to Fort Churchill, the Buckland Ranch provided livestock and hay for the Pony Express. Fort Churchill was named in honor of Sylvester Churchill, the Inspector General of the United States Army. Captain Joseph Stewart, a leader of the second battle of the Pyramid Lake Indian War, and the Carson River Expedition were ordered to construct the desert outpost to guard the Pony Express run and other mail and travel routes through the region. Construction started on July 20, 1860 using stone foundations, adobe walls and wooden roofs to build a compound in a square shape enclosing a central drill and parade ground. Several hundred soldiers were based here patrolling the routes taken by overland travelers and mail routes until the danger of Indian attacks no longer existed. The fort was abandoned in 1869, and over 20 adobe buildings were auctioned off to Samuel Buckland for just $750. In 1884, the remains of soldiers buried at the Fort Churchill cemetery were relocated to Carson City. Graves remaining at the fort today are those of the Buckland family whose nearby ranch sold supplies to the fort. Samuel Buckland salvaged much of the wooden material from the abandoned fort to build the still existing two-story hotel on the site of his original log cabin Pony Express station. The State of Nevada was offered a chance to acquire Fort Churchill in 1871 but declined the offer. In the early 1930s the Daughters of the American Revolution became interested in preserving the fort and were able to have 200 acres of the property transferred to the State. The National Park Service became involved and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made several preservation improvements to the once proud fort and constructed the Visitor Center that is still being used. In 1957, the fort became a part of the Nevada State Park System. For several years, efforts were made to repair the adobe walls, including casting new adobe blocks to reconstruct portions that have simply melted away from rain water and erosion. My landscape company submitted unsuccessful bids to perform some of this work. Several of the walls are now nothing more than rectangular mounds of dried adobe mud. Other buildings have been preserved in a state of arrested decay. The park service has set out markers at various portions of the ruins telling what the purpose of many of the buildings was. Fort Churchill State Park and the surrounding area is a popular place for visitors and contains many historical and scenic attractions. The park features a visitors center and museum at the entrance where information about how to best see the fort ruins is available. Bucklands Station is now a part of the park as well as picnicking and camping areas along the tree-lined Carson River. There are hiking trails and places to view wildlife and interesting Great Basin plants. Fort Churchill is located along the Carson River eight miles south of Silver Springs on U.S.95A. The park is 40 miles east of Carson City and 36 miles west of Fallon. Visitors are advised to enter the Park from U.S. 95A on a short, paved access road. While the Old Fort Churchill Road and Pony Express route along the Carson River from U.S.50 is scenic, it is 16 miles long through private property and is unpaved. Dayton author and historian Dennis Cassinelli can be contacted on his blog at denniscassinelli.com. All Dennis books sold through this publication will be at a discount plus $3 for each shipment for postage and packaging. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ELKO People attending NPK Mining Equipments recent grand opening got a chance to climb into some of the companys bright, yellow transport vehicles and underground mining equipment that is displayed in front of its building at 1850 Idaho St. The MinCa is a multi-purpose transport vehicle that can be used by mechanics, surveyors, electricians, and various other mine personnel, explained Dan Tyrrell, president of NPK. It has many different applications, but its a heavy-duty mining vehicle, Tyrrell said. Joined by Franz-Josef Paus, co-owner of Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik along with his brother, Wolfgang Paus, Tyrrell opened the door of the vehicle, pointing out its design and safety features. It has a back-up camera, heavy-duty suspension, ROPS/FOPS, and hydrostatic drive which helps with braking, Tyrrell explained. Hydrostatic all-wheel drive uses hydraulics to power the vehicle, which saves fuel, reduces emissions, and is optimal for driving underground, especially during long descents and steep grades. When conditions get tough, you need tough machines, said Franz-Josef Paus. One of the vehicles on the sales lot is an underground grader. It has a low profile with a tight turning radius, and is equipped with hydrostatic all-wheel drive, full vehicle auto-greasing system, ROPS/FOPS and an oscillating front axle. Options include heating and air conditioning within the enclosed cab, multiple engine choices, blade extensions and radio controls. Cost-saving engineering Paus and NPK Engineers collaborate to meet customers needs and requirements, said John Rodighiero, Elko branch manager. Heavy equipment in general, whether its surface or underground if there are lower operating costs, we are doing our job to help the mines save money as long as it doesnt compromise safety, Rodighiero added. NPK has an extensive product line such as personnel carriers, utility trucks, loaders, graders and other types of mining equipment. The full-service dealership, located in Elko, is staffed with five employees, including a field service technician. A fully stocked parts warehouse, a maintenance shop, and a mobile service truck are also on site, ready to go when a vehicle needs to be repaired, either in Elko or at the mine site. The main NKP parts warehouse is located in Walton Hills near Cleveland, Ohio. The overall goal of NPK and Paus in serving the mines of Northeastern Nevada and the western part of the U.S. is to sell and service a product that reduces downtime, added David Kuegler, NPK Elko operations support specialist. Mines have their cost down to per minute, per day, Kuegler said. Reducing time saves the mine a lot of money and a lot of headaches. Our goal is to provide service to our customers equipment with parts on hand and availability of skilled service technicians who can take care of customer needs on time, Rodighiero said. Basically, anything they might need here doesnt need to be shipped from Germany or Ohio, Paus added. The units, the parts and the service are here. Elko was NPKs first choice when the company began looking for another location, Tyrrell said. We know Elko is the mining hub of the West, and we had to be here, he explained. To further support the Paus mining vehicles, NPK also works with customers to configure equipment to meet the requirements for individual mines. A team of engineers collaborates with clients to custom design any vehicle or piece of equipment to the needs of the operation. As long as it doesnt compromise safety, Rodighiero added. Every mine has unique needs and requirements, which we acknowledge and address to keep the customer happy, said Kuegler. Nippon Pneumatic Manufacturing Co. was founded more than 100 years ago in Japan. It began focusing on the design and manufacture of construction equipment attachments in the late 1950s. More than 25 years later, it was best known for producing hydraulic hammers, crushers, shears, and pile drivers, according to the companys website. About six years ago, NPK partnered with Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik to expand the mining product line to North America. Our vision is to add personnel and expand the mining branch regarding equipment utilization within the mining industry, Rodighiero said. Elko Mining Expo Visitors to the 34th Annual Elko Mining Expo June 6-7 at the Elko Convention Center will see about six pieces equipment at their booth, including a special rescue vehicle that will be the first of its kind to the United States coming in just for the Expo. We are going to announce the unveiling of a new vehicle at a ceremony on June 6, 2019. This is the first one in the United States, Rodighiero said. Paus support staff from Germany and corporate representatives will also be available at the NPK booth. We welcome anyone curious about the yellow, low-profile mining equipment to stop by for a visit, wed be happy to show you around, Rodighiero said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. WINNEMUCCA The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have prepared a joint Draft Environmental Impact Statement to analyze and disclose environmental impacts associated with Hycroft Resources and Development Inc.s proposed Hycroft Mine Phase II Expansion Project and request for authorization to remove six inactive golden eagle nests under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The BLM is the lead agency in development of the document. The proposed project is in Humboldt and Pershing counties approximately 55 miles west of Winnemucca. The BLM and USFWS will accept written comments on the DEIS during the 45-day public comment period which ends June 30. The BLM will hold public meetings June 5 at the Pershing County Community Center in Lovelock from 6-8 p.m. and June 6 at the Winnemucca Convention Center from 6-8 p.m. The proposed Hycroft Mine expansion would extend the mining period from 2024 to 2039 and extend ore processing activities to 2041. A tailings storage facility would be constructed. Total mine-related surface disturbance would increase by 8,737 acres, from approximately 6,144 acres to 14,881 acres. The proposed project would affect eagle nests and territories; therefore, Hycroft has requested authorization from the USFWS to remove inactive eagle nests and receive a 30-year incidental take permit for golden eagles under the Eagle Act. Written comments related to the proposed Hycroft Mine Phase II Expansion project may be submitted by the following methods: Mining expansion comments: Contact: Taylor Grysen, BLM project manager, 775-623-1500; fax 775-623-1503; email wfoweb@blm.gov; mail Bureau of Land Management, Black Rock Field Office, 5100 East Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445. Eagle take permit comments: Contact: Heather Beeler, USFWS project manager, 916-414-6651; fax: 916-414-6486; email fw8_eaglepermits@fws.gov; mail U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Program, Pacific Southwest Region, 2800 Cottage Way, W-2605, Sacramento, CA 95825 Additional information regarding this proposed project is available online at https://go.usa.gov/xEmuU. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Lakewood, Colo. General Moly, Inc., which is planning a large molybdenum mine northwest of Eureka, Nevada, announced Thursday that a Kobeh Valley ranching familys protests to the Mt. Hope projects water rights applications pending before the Nevada state engineer have been formally withdrawn in exchange for the funding of an initial $1 million payment to a trust account. The release of funds to the ranchers is pending issuance of the water permits from the Nevada state engineer. We are extremely pleased to have reached a compromise settlement with the ranchers and have now resolved all remaining protests filed with the Nevada state engineer to the water permit application for the Mount Hope project, General Moly Chief Executive Officer Bruce Hansen said last week. We will continue to focus on the future development of the Mount Hope moly mine for the economic betterment of the broader community and the state of Nevada. With the withdrawal of protests, the ranchers have also forfeited any right to judicial review of any decision by the Nevada state engineer concerning the water rights applications and permits, and the ranchers agree not to oppose any other proceedings with any state or federal agency related to the Mt. Hope project. If the Mt. Hope joint venture partners at Eureka Moly, LLC secure project financing, additional consideration representing less than 1.5 percent of the remaining project capital budget will be paid to the ranchers. If EMLLC has not secured Mt. Hope Project financing within 12 months of the April 30, 2019 executed settlement agreement, EMLLC will make monthly payments of $10,000 to the ranchers until financing is achieved and the remaining consideration will be paid to the ranchers. EMLLC, which operates the Mt. Hope Project, is owned 80% by General Moly and 20% by POS-Minerals Corporation, a subsidiary of POSCO of South Korea EMLLC is working cooperatively with the Nevada state engineer for the anticipated approval of the water applications and issuance of water permits for the development and operation of the Mt. Hope Project. We are on the cusp of having the Mount Hope project fully permitted as the federal Bureau of Land Management is finalizing its review of public comments recently received on the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and preparing a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement ahead of issuing the anticipated Record of Decision later this year, Hansen said. The Mt. Hope Project is considered one of the worlds largest and highest grade molybdenum deposits. General Moly Vice President Pat Rogers said in March that the mine is expected to employ over 700 people during the construction phase, and when the mine becomes operational, it is expected to employ around 400 people. General Moly also owns 100 percent of the Liberty project, a molybdenum and copper property also located in central Nevada. The companys goal is to become the largest primary molybdenum producer in the world. Molybdenum is a metallic element used primarily as an alloy agent in steel manufacturing. When added to steel, molybdenum enhances steel strength, resistance to corrosion and extreme temperature performance. In the chemical and petrochemical industries, molybdenum is used in catalysts, especially for cleaner burning fuels by removing sulfur from liquid fuels, and in corrosion inhibitors, high performance lubricants and polymers. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ELKO An old Catholic church in Carlin may be restored to become a community center, if the City of Carlins plans work out now that Elko County Commissioners have agreed to transfer ownership to the city. Carlin must pay the $3,696 in back property taxes to acquire the historic building at 923 Main St., after commissioners voted May 15 to remove the parcel from the county tax auction rolls so the city can take over the building. Commissioner Cliff Eklund of Carlin said that the church is one of the few historical buildings still standing in Carlin, and it has been in a state of deterioration for a long time. The church was built in the early 1900s and used until the 1970s, said Ella Trujillo, director of the senior center in Carlin, who spoke on behalf of Mayor Dana Holbrook at the meeting. When the Catholic congregation outgrew the old church and moved to the new Sacred Heart Church, it passed into private ownership. None of the owners saw the potential and value of this building, she told commissioners. It means so much to everyone in Carlin, and we had to watch its neglect. The city wants to see the building restored to its former glory to be used as a community center and maybe an events center, Trujillo said. It will help revive downtown so we hope the county will turn the property over to the city. We are happy to pay the back taxes. Commissioner Jon Karr said it would be smarter to have the church go to a nonprofit entity because of construction requirements and liability issues a government faces, but he made a motion to approve after Carlin Councilwoman Margaret Johnston said the city would lease the church to the local historical society. The city already is leasing the former senior center to the Carlin Historical Society to be a museum highlighting Carlins history as a railroad town that later became the heart of the Carlin Trend gold rush. The museum-to-be was the first school building in Carlin, Johnston said in a telephone interview May 16. She said of the old church that basically the bones are still there. The building was a residence for years after the new Catholic church was built. When the church came up for back taxes, people came to city officials to ask them to do something, so the issue came for the Carlin City Council, Johnson said. The council voted to try to acquire the old church. In his letter to county commissioners, Mayor Holbrook asked the county to remove the land parcel from the tax rolls because the historical church, is a landmark for many citizens of Carlin. Unfortunately, many of the older historic buildings in Carlin have been lost, and the city is interested in trying to preserve this property. Johnston said we need all the help we can get with both projects, and any donations of money for the church or future museum can go to the Carlin Historical Society. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WEST WENDOVER A West Wendover man faces charges of kidnapping and attempted murder after allegedly trying to force a woman to jump out of a second-story window. West Wendover Police Department officers responded to a report of a domestic violence on May 15. The incident was originally reported in Wendover, Utah, but the people involved travelled into West Wendover. Based on descriptions provided by witnesses the officers were able to recognize the description of Ivan Abarca from previous incidents, stated police. Officers then went to his last known residence. Officers said they could hear sounds and voices coming from within the residence that led them to believe a female was being threatened and restrained. They spoke with Abarca and a female inside, during which time Abarca denied physically injuring the woman. He claimed that her injuries were self-inflicted. The victim provided a brief statement to officers before being transported to a hospital in Salt Lake City. Abarca was initially arrested and booked for suspicion of domestic battery. The victim was able to provide more information after she was released from the hospital. Police now believe she was taken by Abarca from her residence in Utah by force, and transported to the residence in West Wendover. While there, Abarca refused to allow her to leave while he accused her of cheating on him, police stated. Abarca allegedly held the victim against her will while striking her with weights, holding her by her neck and trying to force her to jump out of a window on the second floor of the residence. The original domestic violence charge was upgraded to attempted murder, battery with a weapon causing substantial bodily harm and kidnapping. West Wendover police said Abarca is currently in the Elko County Jail awaiting a court appearance. No booking information was immediately available from the jail. According to Elko Daily Free Press files, Abarca was arrested in July 2015 at an Elko casino on a charge of possessing a stolen vehicle. He was 29 years old at the time. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 An initial hearing for SB543, the legislation that would revamp Nevadas school funding formula, drew technical concerns from lawmakers and fractured support among rural and urban superintendents. The nearly seven-hour joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means stretched well into Tuesday night. It began with a detailed presentation from economic analyst Jeremy Aguero, who helped craft the proposed student-centered funding model, and ended with hours of testimony from school administrators, union leaders, education advocates, city employees and business representatives. The new formula, which would be phased in over two years, would transform how education money is distributed throughout the state. It would include base per-pupil funding as well as weights extra dollars funneled to serve students who are learning English as a second language, living in low-income households, have a disability or are gifted and talented. Lawmakers asked questions about everything from how a hold-harmless provision for rural districts would work to the makeup of a proposed Commission on School Finance, which would consist of members appointed by the governor and Legislature and oversee the new formulas implementation. Their questions or suggestions, mostly technical in nature, didnt dim enthusiasm for the long-awaited bill among some who spoke during the public comment period. Superintendents for the states two largest school districts Clark County and Washoe County testified in support of the bill, which likely would send more funding their direction. Clark County Superintendent Jesus Jara called the bill a game-changer for Nevada but acknowledged the difficulties it may impose on smaller school districts. Jara said he is sympathetic to their needs and wants to ensure the plan works for all students across the state. However, I hear a clear consensus among many that Clark County should no longer continue to subsidize school districts that have lower class sizes and higher ending-fund balances than we do, he said. It doesnt make sense for our 321,000 children. Traci Davis, superintendent of the Washoe County School District, said questions remain about how the proposed formula would affect the Reno-area district, which is the second-largest in the state (nearly 64,800 students) but one-fifth the size of the Clark County School District. Still, she said a transparent new funding formula would build trust within the community. I believe this is a step forward in the name of equity and adequacy, she said. But not everyone agrees it would improve equity. Yvette Williams, chair of the Clark County Black Caucus, urged lawmakers to consider adding multi-tiered weights for students who receive free or reduced-price lunch (FRL). She said the move would foster equity because not all low-income students need the same amount of support. She suggested creating separate weights for three categories of at-risk students based on standardized test scores: those who are least proficient academically, those who are nearing proficiency and those who are proficient. In other words, low-income students who are least proficient would receive more state education dollars. This system would help to hold harmless the thousands of students that are least proficient and address their needs, she said. We all agree that not every free and reduced-lunch student has the same needs. Numerous rural superintendents and teachers spoke against the proposal, saying the bill could suffocate rural schools while it tries to hold them harmless by maintaining funding at current levels. The formula does not allot more money to rural districts if their enrollment grows. David Jensen, superintendent of the Humboldt County School District, said his district would lose 12 percent of its budget if it had to take the cuts in one shot. The proposal as we look at it simply redistributes inadequate resources, creating a series of winners and losers, he said. He also raised questions about whether it would be legal to sweep mining taxes, which are protected in the state constitution, into a pot to be distributed around the state. Storey County Superintendent Todd Hesss criticism was that locally produced taxes would be divvied up statewide. He said people in his county are often willing to accept environmental and industrial impacts such as the Tesla gigafactory if they know that some of this local wealth will stay in these communities and schools, he said. But, it appears SB543 could in the short term sweep some of the local wealth away, having a strongly negative effect. Advocacy group Educate Nevada Now spoke in opposition to the bill, proposing amendments allowing more money for rural districts that are experiencing enrollment growth and setting specific targets for what funding levels would be considered adequate. The Nevada State Education Association also opposed the bill on several grounds, saying educators were not sufficiently involved in the bills development and were not included on the proposed commission. Lawmakers took no immediate action on the bill. Superintendent David Jensen raised questions about whether it would be legal to sweep mining taxes which are protected in the state constitution into a pot to be distributed around the state. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 3 ELKO Firefighters arent happy over union negotiations with the Elko County Fire Protection District and have filed a complaint with the Nevada Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board, claiming unfair labor practices and bad-faith bargaining. Matthew House, president of the Elko County Fire Fighters Association, appeared before Elko County Commissioners at their May 22 budget meeting because negotiations are still in limbo even though the budget process is ending for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The board should not approve the fire budget, he said. Elko City Assistant Manager and Chief Financial Officer Cash Minor said the county has no choice but to file the budget with the state by June 1. Commissioners approved the budget at the end of the meeting. The new fiscal year begins July 1. Thats just grand-standing, Minor said the day after the meeting regarding the complaint. He said the countys labor attorney, Jordan Walsh, will handle the complaint, and the budget could be amended later. In the letter House read to commissioners, House said the fire district violated state law by refusing to negotiate until June, after the county budget would be finalized. The deputy district attorney for county civil matters, Rand Greenburg, told commissioners he would definitely have to do some research on whether the fire district violated the law. House said the association notified the district back in November 2018 of our intent to negotiate a successor labor agreement. Chapter 288 of the Nevada Revised Statutes requires the district to promptly commence negotiations. The complaint filed on May 17 states the district and firefighters had a negotiated agreement dated Nov. 14, 2016, through June 30, 2018. House also wrote that refusing to negotiate until after budgets have been finalized evades the districts duty to negotiate in good faith under Nevada law, and negotiating after budget passage means the district will be entering negotiations with a predetermined resolve not to budge from an initial position regarding financial matters, which is inconsistent with good-faith bargaining. The complaint filed by International Association of Fire Fighters Local 5046 against the Elko County Fire Protection District states that there was a bargaining session on March 13 without meaningful response from the district, and Walsh canceled the next meeting slated for March 25. She then refused to reschedule a bargaining session until June 6, according to the complaint. After further communications, the second bargaining session is now set for June 13. The complaint points out that according to a negotiating ground rule, canceled sessions will be rescheduled to be held within five working days of the canceled session or as soon as practicable and with the agreement of both chief negotiators. According to the complaint, Walsh refused to meet in April and May, and the document details efforts to set a date. The association and its attorney, Thomas Donaldson of the law firm Dyer Lawrence LLP of Carson City, are asking the Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board for a board hearing within 45 days. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 4 Sad 1 Angry 2 Nevada is battling a behavioral health crisis thats clogging our criminal justice system and filling our prisons with people who need help, not incarceration. Law enforcement officers are on the frontlines of this struggle. During my 40 years in law enforcement, Ive seen firsthand the revolving door that is our criminal justice system. With limited treatment options in the community, individuals with mental illness or addiction too often wind up involved in the criminal justice system, where treatment resources are even less accessible. These individuals end up further traumatized, removed from their stable home environments, and usually get released with the same untreated needs as when they went in, and the cycle begins all over again. We can do better both for individuals with behavioral health needs and for taxpayers who are paying an enormous price to warehouse those individuals in prison rather than invest in more effective and less costly alternatives that prioritize treatment and supervision in the community over incarceration. As a Carson City native and a career law enforcement officer, protecting Nevadans safety is my highest priority. Too often, though, law enforcement resources are diverted away from dealing with the serious and violent criminals who pose the greatest threat to public safety in order to respond to individuals who would be better served by doctors. That does a disservice to our communities and families, and the situation is getting worse. In Carson City, our office has observed a roughly 85 percent increase in the number of mental health calls for service between 2016 and 2004. The lack of services in our state has created a crisis where people who are sick are being funneled into our justice system. The data demonstrate that our jails and prisons are packed, warehousing a significant number of individuals with behavioral health needs. The number of people sent to Nevada prisons with mental health needs has grown 35 percent over the last decade. Even more alarming, last year more than half of the women admitted to prison had a mental illness that required treatment or medication. What I have learned throughout my years of service is that incarceration does not treat addiction or mental health issues. In fact, in my experience, it makes things worse for those who suffer from these issues. Research finds that individuals with behavioral health needs are more likely to be placed in solitary confinement, are more likely to receive higher bail, and are more likely to be physically and emotionally abused by other inmates. What do you think is going to happen when these people are released? Do you think they are more likely to stay out of trouble now than before? This course of action is not smart public safety policy. In Carson City, weve begun to change the way we recognize and respond to individuals with behavioral health issues, and its making a huge difference already. Weve implemented crisis intervention training for law enforcement officers, paired social workers with deputies on patrol, and brought together mental health providers and law enforcement to address behavioral health needs in the criminal justice system. And through a partnership with the Mallory Behavioral Health Center, weve been able to get individuals in crisis the treatment they need, helping to keep most of them out of jail. These initiatives are a great start, but more work needs to be done. This legislative session, lawmakers are considering AB 236, a bill that would ensure law enforcement officers have the tools they need to effectively address our states growing population with behavioral health needs. By redistributing resources within the justice system, this bill will help fund law enforcement initiatives that identify and treat individuals in crisis. Proactive responses such as this are the best way to address crime and make our communities safer. The momentum for change in the capitol gives me hope that Nevada can and will choose a better way forward. I support commonsense criminal justice reform that seeks to safely lower our prison population and redirect taxpayer dollars to where theyre most effective strong law enforcement, public safety, and more treatment for the vulnerable individuals in our community. Its time we do better for all Nevadans. Kenneth Furlong is Carson Citys sheriff. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 If the president does it, that means it is not illegal. Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994) The revelation last weekend by Michigan Republican Congressman Justin Amash that he believes the Mueller Report accuses President Donald Trump of impeachable offenses has ignited firestorms in both major political parties on Capitol Hill. Amashs argument is simple and essentially unassailable, though his fellow congressional Republicans dont want to hear it and Democrats dont know what to do with it. Here is the backstory. When special counsel Robert Mueller delivered his report to Attorney General William Barr, it was a 448-page tome that effectively summarized nearly two years of work and nearly two million pages of documents in an effort to establish whether elements of the Russian government interfered with the 2016 presidential election, and, if so, whether the Russians had any American collaborators in the Trump campaign. The investigation of Russians and potential American collaborators expanded because of personal behavior of President Trump, which was aimed at delaying or derailing Muellers investigation. Thus, when the Mueller Report reached Barrs desk, it was in two volumes the first was about the Russians and the second was about the president. Mueller found 127 communications between Trump campaign officials and Russian agents between June 2015 and November 2016 Trump publicly said there were none and as a result of those communications, the campaign came to expect to receive dirt on Trumps principal opponent, Hillary Clinton, from the Russians. The dirt arrived in the form of hacked emails, but Mueller and his team were unable to establish the existence of a criminal conspiracy between the Russians and the Trump campaign. Mueller indicted Russians for interference, and he found evidence of a criminal conspiracy, but not enough evidence to prove the conspiracy case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The second volume of the report addressed 10 instances in which the president himself attempted to interfere with Muellers work. Such attempted interference, when done for a corrupt purpose such as protecting himself or his friends from the reach of the FBI constitutes obstruction of justice. Here is where the Mueller Report and Barrs response to it get a bit dicey. The more serious and clearly criminal of these obstruction events consists in Trump instructing those who worked for him in the White House to put documents containing material falsehoods into government files that were about to be subpoenaed, and instructing the same folks to lie to FBI agents. Mueller did not seek an indictment of the president on these crimes because he knew that Barr, his boss, would not permit one. The reasons Barr has given for not permitting the indictment are legally troublesome; they constitute a very narrow reading of the obstruction of justice statute and a misapplication of Department of Justice policy. Barr has not permitted Mueller to seek an indictment of Trump because Barr reads the obstruction statute as letting Trump off the hook because he was not charged with conspiracy to collaborate with the Russians the original crime Mueller was investigating. That view of obstruction an innocent person cannot legally obstruct an FBI investigation of himself has been rejected by nearly all law enforcement, including by Barrs own DOJ prosecutors. Barr also would not permit an indictment of Trump because of what he says is the general DOJ policy against indicting an incumbent president. But the DOJ policy barring the prosecution of a president allows a sealed and secret indictment of the president and post-presidential prosecution because, contrary to what President Richard Nixon believed, the president is not above the law. We know that Muellers obstruction allegations which have not been effectively contradicted by the White House constitute not only crimes but also impeachable offenses. We know that because when Nixon asked John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman, his principal aides, to lie to a grand jury, and when President Bill Clinton asked Betty Currie, his White House personal secretary, to lie to FBI agents, the House of Representatives either through the House Judiciary Committee by direct vote approved articles of impeachment against both of them for obstruction of justice. This is Amashs argument: The special counsel found evidence of obstruction of justice by the president, and historically presidential obstruction of justice is an impeachable offense. This is a legal narrative, not a political one. But it has heretofore not been articulated publically by any Republican officeholder, until Amash courageously did so last weekend. The Nixonian argument that the president can do no wrong was soundly rejected by the lessons of Watergate and Nixons reluctant resignation, but it has reared its head again. No serious legal thinker not even an attorney general bent on protecting the president can make it with intellectual honesty or a straight face. On the other side of the congressional aisle are bitterly divided House Democrats. Some of them see Trumps obstruction of justice as criminal and impeachable, and they add to that his refusal to abide lawful congressional subpoenas. Presidential rejection of congressional subpoenas was also an article of impeachment voted against Nixon. Most Democratic congressional leadership thinks impeaching a popular president would be fruitless, and might even help Trump solidify his base. These folks have argued that impeachment should not be undertaken, no matter how criminal or impeachable his documented behavior, without a broad bipartisan consensus in support of it. Has Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses? Even if he has, should the House move toward impeachment? Is the failure to consider impeachment a tacit ratification of Trumps criminal behavior? Is there a duty to impeach? Is temporary presidential popularity a free pass to avoid the legal consequences of presidential criminal behavior? Who beside Justin Amash will effectively address these questions? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 From l-r: Acting Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and leader of the Andalusian Socialist Party Susana Diaz. Alejandro Ruesga While Spains acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE), has not given up on his original plan to head a minority government with case-by-case support from other parties, he is inching closer to Plan B: a coalition government with Podemos. Sources from both parties said that this is becoming an increasingly likely option due to the political situation. A coalition would not be dramatic for the PSOE, although it is not our first option, said a party leader. If so, it would be a first in modern democratic history for a country that was dominated by a two-party system until the emergence of Podemos and Ciudadanos (Citizens) during the economic crisis. A coalition would not be dramatic for the PSOE, although it is not our first option Socialist Party official After winning the snap election of April 28 with 123 seats, significantly short of the 176 required for an overall majority, Sanchez is being forced to seek additional backing to form a government. No support is forthcoming from the 57 lawmakers for Ciudadanos, a liberal party that once teamed up with the PSOE on a 2016 pact that ultimately fell through, and which has since shifted to the right in response to the rise of the the far-right Vox. Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias wants portfolios for his party. OSCAR CORRAL This leaves the leftist Unidas Podemos (42), which is keen to form a coalition government with portfolios for some of its leading members. Sources said that Podemos is no longer seeking key ministries such as justice, foreign affairs, defense, interior affairs or the treasury. Negotiations will begin next week, after the local elections of this coming Sunday. Relations between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos are currently as good as they have ever been. Both parties are about to close a deal for a coalition government in Valencia (which held regional elections on the same day as the general election), and further alliances are expected to emerge from the municipal vote on Sunday. Plan A Ideally, Sanchez would like to fly solo with case-by-case support from Unidas Podemos on some issues and Ciudadanos on others. But Ciudadanos chief Albert Rivera has decided that he wants to head the opposition, despite having nine fewer lawmakers than the Popular Party (PP). In that capacity, he has already insinuated that Sanchez should not expect any help from him. That attitude, coupled with the remarkably tense mood at the inaugural session of Congress on Tuesday, is pushing the PSOE to reconsider its position and leave the door open to a coalition government after all. Both parties are analyzing case studies from other countries to determine how much Unidas Podemos can ask for, and how much the PSOE can yield. For now, nobody is mentioning the possibility of a repeat election, although there is a precedent: no candidate earned enough parliamentary support to form a government after the December 2015 election, leading to a new vote six months later. English version by Susana Urra. Pablo Ibar speaks to his lawyer in a Florida court on Monday. Giorgio Viera (EFE) Spanish citizen Pablo Ibar has been spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison by a US court in Florida. Ibar, who is of Spanish descent on his fathers side, has been behind bars for 25 years, 16 of them on death row, for the brutal killing of a bar owner and two dancers inside the formers house in Broward County, Florida in 1994. The case became known as the Caseys Nickelodeon murders, in reference to the name of the male victims place of business. Life imprisonment is not the most compassionate sentence that exists but it is a tiny step in the right direction Defense lawyer Kevin Kulik Ibars family was present in the courtroom and cried and hugged each other when they heard the sentence read out on Wednesday. His family have been a rallying force for Ibar, providing crucial testimony to support his case. Its a triumph, said his father Candido Ibar, a Basque jai-alai player who emigrated to the US in the 1960s, as he left the courtroom in Fort Lauderdale. While there is life, there is hope, he added. Pablo has been saved by the people whose lives he made a difference to, said Ibars wife Tanya Quinones, who was 15 when Ibar was arrested in 1994. The fight continues but this is a small victory in the right direction. In January of this year, Ibar was found guilty for a second time of the 1994 triple murder. But in an unexpected twist, one of the jurors who found him guilty reconsidered their decision a few days later. That same jury was given the option to sentence Ibar to the death penalty or life imprisonment. Before leaving the courtroom, Ibar looked at his lawyers and family, and with his hand on his heart, said thank you In this case, you are all eyewitnesses to a 22-minute nightmare that ended the lives of Casey [Sucharski], Marie [Rogers] and Sharon [Anderson]," said Katya Palmiotto, from the prosecutor's team in the four-day trial. The prosecutor showed the court security camera footage from June 27, 1994 that was taken from the home of victim Casimir Butch Casey Sucharski. In the grainy, black-and-white video, two individuals are seen killing the three victims in cold blood. At the end of the video, one of the culprits takes off the shirt covering his head, revealing a face with a resemblance to Ibars. The video and the shirt were key evidence in the January trial, which led to a second guilty verdict. This is what the real Mr Ibar does when nobody is watching, said Palmiotto in an effort to counter the positive character portraits provided by Ibars family. Defense lawyer Kevin Kulik tried to present the trial as a decision between life and death. The lawyer read testimony from Alex Sucharski, the daughter of one of the victims, who spoke of how much she suffered when she lost her father. Kulik reminded the jury that their decision was to be made on an individual basis: if one opposed, there would be no death penalty. Life imprisonment is not the most compassionate sentence that exists but it is a tiny step in the right direction, he said. While there is life, there is hope Candido Ibar, father of Pablo The jury withdrew at 4pm to deliberate and returned an hour later with their verdict: life imprisonment. Before Ibar was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom, he stood up, looked at his lawyers and family, and with his hand on his heart, said thank you. The next step is to appeal to the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal. If that appeals fails, Ibar will appeal again to the Florida Supreme Court. Trial history This latest trial marked the fourth for Ibar, whose first time inside a courtroom, in 1997, ended in a hung jury. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in 2000, then won a Florida Supreme Court battle to be granted a retrial on the basis that his court-appointed counsel had mounted a flawed defense. In 2016, the Florida Supreme Court also wrote that there was a lack of physical evidence connecting Ibar to the triple murders. Ibars DNA was not found on a blue T-shirt recovered from the crime scene, and which partially covered the face of the perpetrator according to grainy surveillance camera footage. None of the blood, hair and saliva samples recovered in the investigation match Ibar either. The story has been widely followed in Spain, where a Pablo Ibar Association Against the Death Penalty was set up to raise funds for his defense. Ibar was born in South Florida and took Spanish citizenship after being convicted in 2000, according to The Miami Herald. Death penalty in the US Since 1973, 165 people have been freed from death row, 29 of them in Florida. There are currently 2,721 inmates on death row in the United States, 354 of those in Florida. Since the beginning of 2019, seven people have been executed across the 30 US states that still have the death penalty. The state of Florida spends $51 million more a year enacting the death sentence than it would punishing first-degree murders with life imprisonment. Eighty-eight percent of present and past head of criminology academies agree that the death penalty does not act as a deterrent to murder. According to a report by the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI), the south of the United States, where 80% of state executions take place, has the highest murder rate, while the northeast of the country, where there less than 1% of executions are performed, has the lowest murder rate. English version by Melissa Kitson. Nicolas Maduro in Aragua (Venezuela). EFE Iran wants peace talks in Venezuela. Chaos and violence can, by no means, be a solution to political differences, said Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for the Islamic republics Foreign Ministry. The Chinese government has also insisted that Venezuelas affairs should be resolved through peaceful dialogue and political means. These sentiments have been echoed by Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, the UN, and many other countries, agencies and political pundits. So it appears that just about everyone wants Venezuelans to engage in political dialogue. Everyone, that is, except Venezuelans who already have two decades of experience with dialogue. First they participated in dialogues with Hugo Chavez and now with Nicolas Maduro. The good news is that societies, and their leaders, learn The result? Dialogue ends up strengthening the government and weakening the opposition. Between October 2002 and May 2003, for example, Cesar Gaviria, Colombias former president and then-Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), devoted himself almost full-time to fostering a dialogue between the government of Hugo Chavez and the representatives of the opposition. Former US President Jimmy Carter was also actively involved. The result? While the opposition negotiated with the government and the media focused on reporting these talks, the Cuban government surreptitiously consolidated its power over Venezuela. In 2014, the Maduro government faced strong street protests, mainly involving students. The government responded with its two favorite weapons: repression and... dialogue. This time the dialogue took place in the presidential palace and was televised and a few opposition leaders were allowed to speak to the cameras thus having the rare opportunity of being heard without the stifling censorship that was the hallmark of the regime. Maduro even invited Cardinal Pietro Parolin to act as a good-faith witness of the talks. The Cardinal had been the Vaticans ambassador in Caracas for four years and Pope Francis had just named him Cardinal Secretary of State, the number-two office in the Roman Curia. The result? The street protests were quashed, thousands of students were arrested, many of them tortured and others killed. Leopoldo Lopez, the most popular political leader in the opposition, was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Maduro consolidated his power. Sometimes the ideal solution is neither practical nor realistic Two years later, it happened again. Feeling weak, Maduro called for a dialogue, this time in Dominican Republic. It was chaos: numerous and unruly delegations, confusion, improvisation, and many promises on the part of the government that were broken almost immediately after the meeting ended. It is not surprising, then, that dialogue has a bad reputation among Maduros opponents. So far, talks have only served to strengthen the government, divide the opposition, and defuse popular protests. Ideally, it would be great if there were no need for dialogue or negotiation. In fact, it would be fantastic if Maduro and his henchmen would just implode under the weight of their unpopularity, their internal quarrels, the deepening humanitarian crisis, the discontent within the military, international pressure, and the consolidation of Juan Guaidos government. Wouldnt that be nice? But, as we know, sometimes the ideal solution is neither practical nor realistic. It is likely that the current situation is going to drag on and that the only way to get rid of Maduro and to move toward free elections and begin new policies that mitigate the lethal crisis that is currently annihilating so many Venezuelans is through negotiations. Understandably, this idea is revolting to many Venezuelans. But, unfortunately, it may also be inevitable. A prolonged status quo means the deaths of tens of thousands of people, millions of Venezuelan refugees joining their compatriots in other countries, and the deepening of what already is one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises. A prolonged status quo means the deaths of tens of thousands of people, millions of Venezuelan refugees joining their compatriots in other countries The good news is that societies, and their leaders, learn. Venezuelan society has already learned that talks, up until now, have been a ruse and should not be naively accepted. The democratic international community does not believe Maduro either, and demands concrete actions to reduce the distrust they have good reason to have in him. It is also true that in previous dialogues the opposition was weaker and more disorganized. It did not have the support of 54 countries, and the Maduro regime was not as vulnerable as it is now. It also lacked a national leader like acting president Juan Guaido. What Venezuelans have learned coupled with the current weakness of the regime allows the opposition to refuse any negotiation if the regime does not first show that it intends to make important concessions. For example, the government could unilaterally, and before starting any dialogue or negotiation push up the date of the presidential elections or release political prisoners or allow the entry of humanitarian aid. Again, these confidence-building actions would have to happen before the opposition sits down to negotiate with the regime. Expecting Maduro and his cronies to participate in talks without lying and trying to trick the opposition and the world into believing in promises that they dont intend to keep may be naive. But perhaps even more naive is to expect that, in Venezuela, it is possible to avoid political dialogue indefinitely. @moisesnaim Investors have negatively reacted to the first appointments made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and further appointments people from the circle of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky to the top positions could entail outflow of investment from Ukraine, European Business Association President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dragon Capital Tomas Fiala has said. "Unfortunately, investors judging by their reaction to eurobonds and the Ukrainian hryvnia have reacted negatively to these first appointments negatively. The first reaction is negative, he said during a forum entitled "Commitment, Trust, Inclusivity: Vision of Reforms for Tomorrow. Civil Society Proposals," organized by the Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR) in Kyiv on Wednesday. RPR is the largest coalition of leading non-governmental organizations and experts from all over Ukraine who have pooled their efforts to facilitate and implement reforms. Future appointments will be also assessed by investors as a signal, Fiala said. "The more people appointed from Kolomoisky's circle, the more it will increase the cost of our borrowing, the more difficult it will be for corporations and the government to raise money both in Ukraine and abroad. This money will be very expensive, there may even be the outflow investments," he told the Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the forum. "We hope very much that the Presidential Administration head would guide efforts on the right track. However, there is certain skepticism about his track record and proximity to one of the country's oligarchs," Fiala said. According to him, investors are skeptical about Ukraine's further potential to move towards the establishment of the rule of law, which is extremely important for attracting investment to the country. "It is hard to imagine how a person from Kolomoisky's circle, who did reverse things, will now turn 180 degrees and will act not for the good of the oligarchs, but for the good of the country" Fiala said, speaking of the newly appointed head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Bohdan. Fiala paid attention to the fact that the names of advisers mentioned by Zelensky on economic reforms, namely ex-Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius and ex-Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk, are not among Zelensky first appointments. "We would consider the appointment of Abromavicius and Danyliuk as a positive signal. Zelensky presented them to investors and the outside world as people whose opinion he hears. But for now we have not seen them among the appointments," Fiala said. "I would not call Gerus' appointment as president's representative in the Cabinet of Ministers a super-positive marker," he added. Fiala said he does not see yet who in the presidential administration will be responsible for work with business or economic policy. "I do not want the pessimistic predictions come true that these people [previously voiced by Zelensky's economic advisers] are used for the election campaign, and then minor and third-level roles will be found for them," Fiala said. At the same time, he said that it is extremely necessary for Ukraine to attract at least one tranche from the International Monetary Fund until the end of 2019. "Without this, we will not receive macro-financial assistance from the EU, the World Bank. We will have to borrow a huge amount on foreign and domestic markets. Investors can count this and in this case they will demand a much higher yield. It will cost us very dearly," he said. According to Fiala, the cost of borrowing may remain at last year's level. "Last October, we borrowed five-year money at 9%, and ten-year money at 9.75%. I think in that case [if Ukraine does not receive the IMF tranche in 2019], borrowing will be at the same level, maybe, a bit cheaper. Depending on the amount... If the amount of borrowings is $2-3 billion, their value may exceed last year's level," Fiala said. Ukraine's PrivatBank has filed a lawsuit with Delaware Court of Chancery (the United States) against former co-owners of the bank Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov, as well as other individuals and legal entities, according to a posting on the website of the bank. According to a posting of the court's website, the civil lawsuit was filed on May 21, 2019. No information when the lawsuit could be heard by judges is available on the website. PrivatBank said that by this U.S. complaint, PrivatBank is seeking redress in respect of losses amounting to hundreds of millions of United States dollars, which PrivatBank asserts it has suffered as a result of various unlawful acts perpetrated against it by its former owners, their close associates Mordechai Korf, Chaim Schochet and Uriel Laber, and various US-registered companies in which those individuals are and have been involved. According to the report, the U.S. complaint arises out of a series of schemes which bear the hallmarks of fraud and which, as PrivatBank asserts, were orchestrated by Kolomoisky and Boholiubov, together with the other defendants, to acquire hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of assets in the United States through the misappropriation and laundering of the proceeds of corporate loans issued by PrivatBank whilst under the control of its former owners. As reported, referring to Law360 ezine, the alleged scheme by the individuals and companies involved "had a particularly profound impact" in Delaware, where the allegedly fraud-supporting companies were formed, the suit said, and in Ohio, where cash was used to buy up valuable commercial real estate. Other investments were funneled to cities in Texas, Florida and Kentucky, among others, with activities in more than a dozen states implicated. The money went to acquire "strategically important" steel and ferroalloy production facilities located in Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and Kentucky, among other locations, according to the suit. Substantial commercial property investments were also made in locations that included Dallas and Cleveland. The suit accuses all involved of unjust enrichment, fraudulent transfers, civil conspiracy and alter-ego liability. Joint Stock Commercial Bank PrivatBank is represented by Abrams & Bayliss LLP, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Law360 said. Ukraine's government, at the recommendation of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and former shareholders of PrivatBank, the largest of whom at that time were Kolomoisky and Boholiubov, on December 18, 2016 decided to nationalize PrivatBank, the largest Ukrainian financial institution at the time. The ex-owners of the bank consider the nationalization, as a result of which they had completely lost their shares, to be illegal, whereas PrivatBank and the state demand additional compensation from them for damage. At present, the parties are engaged in litigation both in Ukraine and in foreign jurisdictions. Sefcovic to visit Moscow on June 13 to set date of talks on gas transit to EU via Ukraine EU Commission's Vice President in charge of the Energy Union and EU Space Policy Maros Sefcovic will visit Russia on June 13 to discuss transit of Russian gas to the European Union via Ukraine after 2019 and to set the date of relevant trilateral talks, European Commission spokesperson Anca Paduraru said at a press briefing in Brussels on Thursday. Paduraru reminded the press that Sefcovic visited Ukraine on Monday to represent the European Union at the inauguration of Volodymyr Zelensky. He met with Ukrainian officials to discuss gas transit after 2019 and expressed interest in rapidly making progress in the conclusion of a long-term contract and holding substantive negotiations before the summer vacation period. Now he will visit Russia on June 13 to meet with Energy Minister Alexander Novak and other interested officials and to discuss the date of trilateral talks, which might be held before summer vacations, Paduraru said. Ukraine could begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new long-term financing program in autumn, World Bank Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Satu Kahkonen has stated. Negotiations on a long-term program with the IMF should start in autumn because there is a need to continue cooperation, she said during the presentation of the updated economic forecast in Kyiv. The World Bank hopes that the new government will adhere to the terms of the program with the fund, she stressed. At the same time, Kahkonen refused to comment on the first appointments to senior positions by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. However, she noted that the World Bank expects the coming of educated and qualified specialists with a high level of integrity. Russia-led forces mount five attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas in past day; one Ukrainian soldier wounded JFO HQ Russia-led forces mounted five attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, Ukraine's east, in the past day; one Ukrainian soldier was wounded in action, the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) headquarters has said. "On May 22, armed formations of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire five times; 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars banned by the Minsk agreements were used in two instances. The enemy also shelled our defenders, using grenade launchers of various systems, large-caliber machine guns, and small arms... As a result of shelling, one member of the Joint Forces was injured," the JFO HQ said on Facebook in a morning update on Thursday. "The enemy opened fire twice to shell JFO positions near the town of Maryinka in the Skhid (East) sector, using grenade launchers of various systems and small arms," the update said. Under attacks were also the villages of Zolote and Novo-Oleksandrivka, as well as the town of Popasna. "There have been no enemy attacks since Thursday midnight," the JFO HQ said. According to Ukrainian intelligence reports, two enemy troops were killed, another one was wounded. What is more, one infantry fighting vehicles and one military truck were destroyed. Addressing the event, the Deputy PM lauded the efforts of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Russia in carrying out investment and charity activities in the homeland, as well as their solidarity and mutual support. Vietnam and Russia have shared a time-honoured relationship and close partnership in many areas. Vietnam is currently the only strategic partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region, he noted. He said that over a decade as strategic partners, economics, and trade have always been a spotlight in the all-round ties between the two countries. Dung, who is accompanying PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his Russia visit, said that the PMs visit aims to further deepen the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and seek new development orientations for the future. In 2020, Vietnam and Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations which obtained great achievements across politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, security-defence, science-technology, education-training, culture, and tourism. The Vietnam-Russia ties have been intensified in four major pillars of trade, investment, oil and gas, and electricity. Two-way trade has been rising, while cooperation models have been diversified. In 2018, trade between the two countries reached US$4.57 billion, up 28.6 percent from 2017, which is hoped to hit US$10 billion in 2020, noted the Deputy PM, praising the significant role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Russia in promoting Vietnamese products in the market. The Deputy PM said that Vietnam is speeding up industrialisation and modernisation process, requiring entrepreneurs, especially those abroad, to attract more investments in the homeland and seek markets for Vietnamese products. Vietnam has been pursuing an external policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of its relations, becoming a friend with all countries and engaging in many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and new generation free trade deals. This is a good condition and a chance for Vietnam to lure more investment, he said. He expressed his hope that Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Russia will continue reforming business and production methods to meet the market demands, while bettering coordination with their peers at home to expand markets in the region. Chairman of the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association in Russia Le Truong Son said that the meeting is a good chance for businesses of both sides to share experience and enhance mutual understanding. At the event, participants worked directly with each other to seek business and investment partnerships. Norway is one of the economic and trade partners of Vietnam in the North European region, he said in a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Norway from May 24 to 26. Two-way trade exceeded US$400 million in 2018, representing a year-on-year rise of 13.67%, he said, adding that Vietnam mainly exported garment-textile, footwear, cashew nut, and wood and timber products while importing aquatic products, machinery, equipment, and other spare parts from the market. According to Statistics Norway, Vietnam, the Philippines and China are the three Asian countries that have maintained stable export growth in the North European nation. In the first four months of 2019, trade between Vietnam and Norway surpassed US$150 million, up 14.4% year-on-year. As of April 2019, Norway had 42 direct investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of nearly US$164 million, ranking 41st among the 131 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Minister Anh suggested encouraging Norwegian businesses to partner with Vietnamese firms in the fields of maritime, shipbuilding, aquaculture, renewable energy, and tourism. At present, Norwegian enterprises are particularly interested in cooperation in developing aquaculture and processing aquatic products in Vietnam, he said. They are also interested in renewable energy, oil and gas production projects, he added. To boost goods exports to Norway, the Minister advised local businesses to focus on improving the quality of products and studying the market to address trade and technical barriers as well as meet strict requirements on the traceability of products, social responsibility, environmental protection, and business ethics. He also suggested increasing meetings with distributors and large-scale supermarkets to set up long-term partnerships and promote the export of Vietnamese goods. This years event will feature the participation of around 160 artists from seven ASEAN countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The host country selected four art companies with around 100 artists, representing the Northern, Central and Southern regions, to join the festival. Each troupe will register a programme with a total duration of 40 minutes to no more than 45 minutes. The Art Council for the festival will include five members, including two Vietnamese and three foreigners. The organising board will award gold and silver medals to the outstanding individuals and troupes and present trophies and souvenir flags to the participants. The opening ceremony for the 2019 ASEAN Music Festival will take place at 8pm at the Hai Phong Opera House on May 25. The event will offered an opportunity for Vietnam to promote its unique art forms to international friends, while contributing to strengthening cooperation in the field of culture and arts between Vietnam and other countries in the region. The Vietnamese NA supports and readies to create a favourable legal corridor to boost cooperation between the two countries, Ngan said. Particularly, the NA will push the implementation of the outcomes of the talks between Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Nepalese counterpart as well as cooperation agreements reached during the guests ongoing official visit to Vietnam, she affirmed. K P Sharma Oli said that his talks with PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc gained a lot of positive outcomes, meeting the wish of the two countries leaders and marking a milestone in the effort to boost the bilateral relations. NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh) He suggested the two countries enhance cooperation in the coming time, including the establishment of a direct air route. NA Chairwoman Ngan described the Nepalese PMs visit as a new development step in the two countries relations. She told the guest that many Vietnamese want to visit Nepal because it is the birthplace of the Lord Buddha. A convenient air route between the two countries will attract a lot of Vietnamese tourists to Nepal, she said. The top legislator wished Nepal to successfully host Vesak 2020. Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, told Vice Mayor of Eindhoven, Stijn Steenbakkers, that this is the first visit to the Dutch city by a Ho Chi Minh City delegation. The official expressed his hope that the two localities will set up initial relations following the visit, thus creating a foundation for their future cooperation activities. Later the same day, the delegation visited the Eindhoven University of Technology to exchange experience and discuss orientations in smart city development, while exploring the schools new technologies in this sphere. They suggested the Dutch university join hands in personnel training in service of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As part of the trip, the Ho Chi Minh delegation studied smart lighting solutions at the Eindhoven High-Tech Campus home to Signify Group, who are famous worldwide for their connected LED lighting products, systems, and services. At a working session with representatives of Signify Group, the Ho Chi Minh City side invited the group to attend a workshop on urban and decorative lighting slated for the third quarter of this year in the Vietnamese southern metropolis. Secretary Nhan called on the group to help the city implement its urban lighting programme, especially in historical and cultural sites that are in need of preservation. Signify Group, which has carried out lighting projects at Nhat Tan Bridge in Hanoi and Rong (Dragon) Bridge in the central city of Da Nang, accepted Ho Chi Minh Citys invitation and proposal. While in the Netherlands, the Ho Chi Minh City officials visited an innovation centre run by the Philips Group, where they were briefed on smart medical models. Secretary Nhan said such models fit Ho Chi Minh Citys target of becoming a smart city, with innovative urban areas. He suggested that Philips build a centre for testing medical technologies in Ho Chi Minh City, and pledged that the city will give land to the project and widely apply its outcomes in local hospitals. The Dutch group said it is interested in the proposal and will consider it. The talks were part of a working visit to Laos by a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese commission from May 22 to 24. Welcoming the trip, President of the LFNC Central Committee Xaysomphone Phomvihane, who is also a Politburo member of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP), described the visit as a contribution to the great friendship and special solidarity between Laos and Vietnam, as well as the cooperation between the LFNC and the Commission for Mass Mobilisation. Head of the Vietnamese commission Truong Thi Mai, who is also a Politburo member of the CPV, congratulated Laos on its recent achievements and voiced her delight at the substantive development of the Vietnam-Laos relations in all aspects. The two sides informed each other of the current affairs of their respective parties and countries, reviewed recent bilateral cooperation, and discussed orientations for future collaboration. They agreed to coordinate closely to effectively implement the agreements reached between senior leaders of the two parties and countries, increase the sharing of information about and experience in mass mobilisation, and boost personnel training. They will also instruct Vietnamese and Lao localities to enhance cooperation and step up communications to raise public awareness of the significance of Vietnam-Laos relations. Later on May 22, Mai chaired a seminar with the participation of officials of the LFNC, LFNCs member organisations, and commissions of the LPRP to look into mass mobilisation work and the improvement of the parties leadership over their peoples organisations amidst a market economy and international integration. On behalf of Vietnamese Party and State leaders, Mai also presented third-class Independence Orders to five LFNC officials and a first- and a second-class Labour Order to two others who have contributed considerably to the friendship and solidarity between the two countries. >>> Vietnam, Laos share experience in mass mobilisation work Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Vorachith and National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou made the statement at a reception for Truong Thi Mai, Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committees Commission for Mass Mobilisation, now on a working visit to the country. They congratulated Vietnam on the achievements it has recorded after more than three years of implementing the resolution adopted at the 12th National Party Congress. The hosts expressed their hope that under the leadership of the CPV, Vietnamese people will attain more during the cause of reform, orientating Vietnam towards becoming a modernised and industrialised nation. They took the occasion to thank Vietnam for its great and effective support to Laos at present and in the past, and rejoiced at developments of the special solidarity. The leaders also highly valued the outcomes of the meeting between the CPV Central Committees Commission for Mass Mobilisation and the Lao Front for National Construction Central Committee, during which the two sides discussed the Partys mass mobilisation work amidst the market economy and international integration. For her part, Mai reaffirmed Vietnams comprehensive support for Lao reform and believed that under the leadership of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, Lao people would go on to reap more fruits in the field. She said the pragmatic and effective collaboration between Vietnam and Laos across a range of realms has significantly contributed to national construction and defence in each country. Vietnam will make all-out efforts, together with Laos, to preserve and deepen the bilateral relationship, she stressed. The official said the Commission will partner with the Lao Front to effectively implement agreements reached by senior Party and State leaders of the two countries. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan cited statistics from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as saying in the past 10 decades, 90 percent of crop varieties and half of the breeds of many domestic animals have disappeared. Vietnam, which houses 10 percent of the worlds mammal, bird, and fish species, is also facing the risk of biodiversity loss and imbalance, he added, noting that more than 70 percent of the countrys population relies on agriculture and forests. Biodiversity plays an important role in ensuring Vietnams food security, genetic resources, and medicine sources, he stressed. Deputy Minister Nhan urged agencies, ministries and sectors to hold communications activities to raise awareness on the matter amongst the public, particularly youth. Campaigns promoting biodiversity protection in localities, green consumption, and combating wildlife trade are also necessary, he said. The official also recommended the implementation of conservation models that involve poverty reduction. At the ceremony, the ministry presented a certificate recognising the Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve as the ninth Ramsar site in Vietnam and the 2,360th in the world. The recognition will help Vietnam call for international support to research, conserve, and sustain the wetland eco-system amid challenges from the impacts of climate change. Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed that the assault on oil installations in Saudi Arabia is just the beginning of their campaign, which is aimed at 300 key military objectives of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in retaliation for the coalitions air strikes during the war in Yemen. The Middle Eastern fire pan has been heated up following violent developments in many countries across the region. King Salman of Saudi Arabia has proposed organising two regional summits later this month to talk about the drone attacks on the countrys petroleum depots, as well as the attacks on four oil tankers offshore the UAE, including the two from Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, leaders of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League (AL) will discuss measures and seek to strengthen coordination towards ensuring regional security and stability. The assault on major Saudi pipeline is said to be extremely serious as it is an alternative oil export route if the Strait of Hormuz is closed. The attack on four oil tankers near Fujairah, UAE, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, the worlds key oil and gas transport route, on May 12, has raised fears of escalating tensions in the Gulf. Two days later, Saudis main pipeline was also hit by drone strikes, which could be seen as adding oil to the Middle Easts fire pan. Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for the assault in Saudi Arabia, leading Riyadh to accuse Iran, which is said by many countries to support Houthi, to stand behind the aforementioned air strike. Saudi Ambassador to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, urged the UN Security Council to disarm Houthis rebels to prevent escalating violence. According to Al-Mouallimi, Houthi rebels actions have increased tensions, while triggering risks for a larger-scale confrontation in the region. Yemeni Houthi rebels claimed that their strikes are aimed at key military facilities and bodies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as the two countries bases in Yemen. In response, over recent days, the Saudi-led military coalition has launched air strikes against many areas in Yemen, causing nearly 100 deaths, mainly of Houthi gunmen. Riyadh warned that it is willing to retaliate with any measures after the attack on its oil tankers and stations. Meanwhile, the UAE said that the current situation in the region requires a unified stance of the Gulf and Arab countries in addressing challenges and risks. Amid tensions in the region showing no signs of cooling down, the security situation in Iraq also emerges as a worrisome issue. A rocket recently hit the Green Zone in Bagdad, where Government buildings and foreign embassies are headquartered, including the US Embassy. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed an explosion outside the US Embassy in Baghdad. The US Department of State stressed that such attacks would be resolutely responded to, and Washington would blame Iran if such attacks were carried out by forces commissioned by Tehran. In the context of skepticism and tensions covering the Middle East region, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern, and urged the parties to exercise restraint and refrain from acts that could complicate the situation further. Many countries in the region have issued security warnings and advised their citizens not to go to dangerous areas. Two regional summits later this month are being prepared in the hopes of finding a common voice, aiming to cool down tensions in the region which are being escalated to new dangerous levels. The elections start on May 23 in the UK and the Netherlands. Voters in Ireland and the Czech Republic will go to the polls on Friday, with Latvia, Malta and Slovakia on Saturday and the remainder of member states on Sunday. Prior to the election, the European Economic and Social Committee (CESE) issued a resolution calling on EU citizens to vote in the EP elections. The resolution emphasised that by exercising their voting rights, citizens have contributed to protecting the EUs values, such as democracy, protection of human rights, the rule of law and freedom of expression. At the same time, the resolution affirmed that only a unified Europe will help promote progress in the areas that can only be solved at the EU scale, such as combating climate change, inequality, poverty, unemployment, terrorism or corruption. However, analysts stated that it is not easy for the EU to gather forces to build a unified EU, and the elections are likely to witness the division of the alliances people, in the context that the old continent is being confronted with numerous challenges at the same time. In terms of economics, the EUs alliance model has no longer maintained its attractiveness and revealed many negative aspects after the economic crisis that broke out about 10 years ago. The website investigaction.net (InvestigAction) reported that the wave of criticisms aimed at the common currency, the euro, has surged again in the EU recently. Economists said that the use of the euro in the Eurozone monetary union has been entailing many uncertainties for member countries, while making the European economic crisis more serious over the past decade with a soaring unemployment rate, especially in Southern European nations. Meanwhile, extreme nationalism and populist movements have been rising strongly in many European countries, and more and more leaders of these movements have called for secession from the EU as well as acts against the euro. Last weekend, right ahead of the EP elections, tens of thousands of people took to the streets, marching in Berlin and six major German cities to protest populism and extreme nationalism. Another challenge for the EU is that the EP elections take place while the historic farewell between the bloc and the UK (Brexit) has still yet to come to an end. According to the latest polls published by the UK news agencies, Nigel Farages Brexit Party, a newly formed political party in favour of a hard Brexit (the UK leaves the EU without a deal), will win the most seats among the UK parties in the EP election. The UK currently holds 73 seats in the EP, and when the country leaves the European common roof, the number of seats in the EP will be reduced to 705. The UKs previous seats will be reallocated to some EU countries. In addition to the aforementioned issues, the EP elections take place in the context of internal divisions within the EU over a series of other domestic and foreign issues, such as the settlement of the immigration crisis and the EU relations with the US, Russia and China. European analysts and media have said that amid the piling difficulties faced by the EU, division and Euroscepticism are spreading widely. Public opinion polls before the election showed that most voters expressed dissatisfaction and indifference to the EP elections, because they no longer have confidence in the EP as over recent times, MPs have failed to work out reasonable solutions to the EUs tough problems. It can be said that the EP elections will be a test for the EU model. With any forces taking the majority of next tenures EP seats, the building of a strong and united EU should become a top priority because of its significance to both the EU as well as each member state. This is also the reason why before the EP elections, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier affirmed the importance of a strong and unified EU, while calling on the German people to participate in the EP elections. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will become overcast later during the night. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. He appeared with running mate Ma'ruf Amin and affirmed that they will be the president and vice president of Indonesia for the period of 2019 2012, adding that they will protect all Indonesian people. According to KPU, President Joko Widodo won his re-election with 55.5 percent votes, beating his arch rival, former army general Prabowo Subianto, who obtained 44.5 percent votes. The KPU will legally set Joko Widodo and Ma'ruf Amin as the elected president and vice president from May 24 to 28 unless a lawsuit is lodged in the nation's Constitutional Court (MK) related to the KPU's announcement on election results. Meanwhile, Prabowo said he would file a lawsuit to the Constitutional Court against the election result. Prabowo's supporters staged demonstrations demanding the disqualification of Widodo for what they claimed irregularities during the election. Tens of thousands of military and police forces were deployed to ensure security during the demonstration in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Iranian Customs Administration closed Soumar border crossing in Western Iran on Tuesday May 21, bringing export of Iranian goods to Iraq to a halt, Mehr news agency reported. A statement issued by the Iranian Customs Administration orders transportation companies "To stop sending export goods to the Soumar border until further notice." The Iranian Customs Administration has issued the statement reportedly after a huge backlog was built up at the border with Iraq. However, the statement does not officially announce the reason for the closure of the border. The backlog could indicate a problem with Iraq allowing Iranian goods to cross the border. In the past Iraq has indicated that it has to comply with U.S. sanctions against Iran, although some trade has continued. Iran has several border crossings with Iraq and there is no news about commercial traffic at other border points. Iran has tried hard in the last few months to save its trade with Iraq, which is the second largest export market for Iranian goods. Concerns about the impact of U.S. sanctions may have resulted in the backlog in the customs and the closure of the border. Islamic Republics Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has openly shrugged off responsibility for the nuclear agreement Iran concluded with world powers in 2015. Khamenei, who was speaking to hand-picked representatives of Iranian students on Wednesday, May 22, expressed his dissatisfaction with the way President Hassan Rouhani and his team handled the nuclear deal also known as JCPOA. He insisted that "I did not believe in the way the JCPOA was done, and I have made this clear to the president and the foreign minister on many occasions." Referring to a letter he sent to President Rouhani on October 21, 2015, Khamenei noted, "Read my letter regarding the JCPOA and the conditions set for its ratification. But, if these conditions were not met, it is not the Leaders responsibility to intervene." However, he preferred not to mention the fact that JCPOA was sealed on July 14, 2015, more than three months before his letter addressed to Rouhani. Furthermore, Khamenei maintained that the role of the Supreme Leader does not include "intervention in executive affairs" unless the entirety of the Islamic Revolution is at risk, asserting: "I believe that the Leader should not meddle in executive affairs unless there is a risk that the entirety of Revolution's movement is endangered." Once again, Khamenei stopped short of explaining why he sent the letter if the Supreme Leader is expected to keep away from executive affairs. It is a well-known fact that the Islamic Republics presidency has limited powers and basically is in charge of some ministries, while foreign policy direction, military affairs, judicial powers, religious hierarchy, public broadcasting and may other domains are directly or indirectly controlled by Khamenei. Meanwhile, Khamenei reiterated that he did not approve of the JCPOA but allowed negotiations. "But the way the JCPOA was handled, I really did not believe in it, and mentioned my reservations to the president and the foreign minister and had warned them several times, he added. Khamenei has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with JCPOA, especially after the U.S. President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the deal. In the meantime, a look at the timeline of the talks that led to the approval of JCPOA shows that they all major steps were taken with Khamenei's blessing. The nuclear talks kicked off first in June 2003, during Mohammad Khatami's presidency, after Western intelligence services and an Iranian opposition group revealed the existence of a hidden nuclear site at the city of Natanz, central Iran. Immediately later, an inspection by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed it was used to enrich uranium. The revelation forced pro-reform Khatami to engage France, Germany, and the U.K. in nuclear talks aimed at warding off the danger of international sanctions. Washington refused to take part in the negotiations. Hassan Rouhani, then the secretary of the Islamic Republic Supreme National Security Council, led the Iranian delegation in the talks with the European trio (E3). Four months later, in October 2003, Iran suspended uranium enrichment. As Khamenei has the last word in all national affairs in Iran, one can easily assume that the talks had his blessings. Nonetheless, after the election of the hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2005, Iran resumed its enrichment activities in February 2006, which delivered the coup de grace to the talks with the E3. Iran's move eventually led to a series of U.N. resolutions against Tehran. Ahmadinejad, fully supported by Khamenei, dismissed the U.N. sanctions on Iran as "fit for the dustbin." By 2011, the full weight of sanctions began seriously affecting Iran and in 2013 Iran started contacts with the U.S. through the mediation of Oman. In June, Rouhani was elected president by the fall of that year nuclear talks were in full swing. Khamenei implicitly acknowledged his approval by calling it heroic flexibility. But with Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose sanctions, Khamenei now tries to blame Rouhani and foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Irans supreme leader has defended the Islamic Republics controversial constitution, saying that politicians and officials are responsible for the shortcomings of the system. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was asked in a meeting with students on Wednesday, May 22 whether the problems Iran faces might be due to its constitution which was adopted by a referendum in December 1979. The structure of the constitution is good, but structures need to be studied and rectified, Khamenei said, leaving some room for change. But he added: There are certain shortcomings with officials and some officials are not competent enough in handling affairs. One cannot know for certain why the issue of the constitution was suddenly raised by a member of the vetted audience, but President Hassan Rouhani in recent days has asked for more powers; something Khamenei would not like. For at least the last ten years he has been the unrivaled center of all authority, refusing to share power or prestige with anyone. Opponents of the Islamic Republic are adamant that most problems arise from the near absolute power the Supreme Leader has accumulated and to make a real change means eliminating the position altogether. In his remarks Khamenei accused unnamed officials of sometimes making mistakes that cause a rift in society. He pointed to amendments to constitution, including setting up the Expediency Discernment Council in 1998, to resolve disputes between the Majles (parliament) and the 12-member Guardian Council. The supreme leader stopped short of elaborating on the nature of future amendments. When someone in the audience insisted to hear the Leaders preference on a presidential and parliamentary political systems, Khamenei asserted that both systems are problematic. We extensively studied a parliamentary system in the Council of Revision of the Constitution [in 1989], and we concluded that the problems of the parliamentary government are even more than a presidential government. In spite of this, in 2010 Khamenei said that, if needed, the governing system of Iran could be changed from presidential to a parliamentary system with the prime minister elected by the Majles in charge of the executive branch of government. Opponents say that this would mean Iran would no longer be an Islamic republic. The question of constitutional change has been the subject of heated debate in recent years. Some suggest that the positions of supreme leader and president should be combined into one executive power elected by the people, with checks on power. One veteran revolutionary and former supporter of Khamenei has even called for an end to the Velayat-e-Faqih governance by supreme leader. Last year, Abolfazl Qadiani, who is currently jailed for action against the regime, said Irans supreme leader should step down as a final solution to the Islamic Republic's problems. In an article published on opposition website Kalameh in November, the reformist politician described the Islamic Republic as a religious dictatorship and attributed "the fundamental inefficiency and corruption of the regime" to Khamenei. Qadiani is a leading member of the Islamic leftist political organization IRMO (the Islamic Revolution's Mujahedeen Organization), a group that strongly supported the Islamic Republic until 2009 when its leadership fell out of favor with Khamenei after the disputed re-election of populist president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The IRMO was key to forming the Islamic Republics internal security system in the wake of the revolution. After falling out with Khamenei, many of the organization's leaders, including Qadiani ended up in jail for a few years and one of their outspoken members, former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh spent more than seven years in solitary confinement. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: The opening ceremony of the new office of Azercells Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center under Lankaran State University was held on May 22. Equipped with the latest facilities supplied by Akhundoff Group, the office is designed to conduct training sessions for the youth on entrepreneurship and information technologies, to provide assistance in development of various projects. Nigar Shikhlinskaya, Head of Corporate Communications section of Azercell, expressed gratitude to the management of Lankaran State University and Akhundoff Group for supporting this initiative. Talking about the activities of Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center established in 2009 with the view to boost the development of entrepreneurial ecosystem in Azerbaijan, Nigar Shikhlinskaya noted that the new office will give invaluable experience for the youth in this field. She underlined that the Barama offices will provide students of Baku and regional universities with equal development opportunities in startup sphere. Imran Baghirov, Head of Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, highlighted that the new office is primarily aimed to combine agriculture with technology, train qualified specialists and programmers. Notably, Azercell has always attached special attention to the professional growth of the youth and realization of their innovative ideas. Barama Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, the first business incubator established with the initiative of Azercell, has played an exceptional role in this regard. Supported by Azercell and PASHA Bank, the center has helped a number of projects to convert into standalone businesses and conducted various events, seminars and training sessions. The leader of the mobile communication industry, the largest taxpayer and the biggest investor of the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. With 49 percent share of Azerbaijans mobile telecom market Azercells network covers 99.1 percent of the territory (excluding the occupied territories) and 99.8 percent of population of the country. Currently, 4.5 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Azercell has pioneered an important number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, mobile internet services, Metro coverage, 24/7 call center service (*1111), 7 day/week Front Office service, M2M services, one-stop-shopping approach Azercell Express offices, mobile customer services, Online Customer Care and Social Media Customer Care services, mobile e-signature service ASAN Imza etc. Azercell deployed first 4G LTE services in Azerbaijan in 2012. According to the results of mobile network quality and wireless coverage mapping surveys by international systems, Azercells network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan. Azercell is the only company in Azerbaijan and CIS region which has been awarded Gold Certificate of International Investors in People Standard. Details added (first version posted at 10:09). Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Kheyraddin Nasirzade - Trend: A meeting of the working group of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) on public debt is taking place in Azerbaijan on May 23, Trend reports. The meeting is organized with the support of Azerbaijan's Chamber of Accounts. The meeting is aimed at presentation of international standards of public debt management, exchange of experience, and discussion of the issues of mutual interest related to studying problematic issues and developing further cooperation with INTOSAI. The growth rates of incomes and expenses in the budget of Azerbaijan for 2018 are the highest in the last seven years, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Chamber of Accounts Vugar Gulmammadov said at the meeting. He said that according to the information of the financial authorities, the indicator of public debt in relation to GDP is below 20 percent, which is a good indicator. Gulmammadov noted that control over public debt is one of the most important tasks of the external state financial control authorities. It provides economic security and serves to prevent risks, he added. He said that such meetings should be held to share experience and improve results, and praised INTOSAIs activities. He added that the Chamber of Accounts, in turn, considers the regulation of public debt to be one of the main tasks of the chamber. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @1nasirzade Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Kheyraddin Nasirzade Trend: The Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan returned over 6 million manats to the state budget during the first 5 months of this year, Vugar Gulmammadov, Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan, said at a meeting of the working group of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), Trend reports. According to the chairman, this amount was recovered as a result of sending the results of the audit checks to law enforcement agencies. There were 9 such cases last year, due to which 23 million manats were returned to the budget. Moreover, errors and omissions were identified in inventory purchases, as well as incomplete tasks in progress in various departments, the chairman added. "The results of 2 inspections carried out since the beginning of the year were sent to law enforcement agencies, and criminal proceedings were instituted in connection with them," Gulmammadov said. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: Recently appointed UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Alessandro Fracassetti, presented his credentials as the Head of the United Nations Development Programme in the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan His Excellency Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov at the meeting at the Ministry. Mammadyarov welcomed Mr Fracassetti and received his letter of appointment issued by UNDPs Administrator Mr. Achim Steiner on 6 May, 2019. In this role, Mr. Fracassetti has overall responsibility for UNDP operational activities in the country, closely collaborates with national stakeholders and international partners to support Azerbaijans national priorities in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The appointment of Mr. Fracassetti as UNDP Resident Representative comes at a time when the country has laid solid foundations towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its accompanying 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through nationalised SDG priorities. During the bilateral meeting with Mammadyarov, Mr. Fracassetti stressed that UNDP will continue to extend its full support to the Government of Azerbaijan in implementing the countrys ambitious development agenda and offer expertise and innovative solutions in key priority areas such as inclusive employment and entrepreneurship, youth and women empowerment, economic diversification, digitalization, environmental protection and energy efficiency. In line with government priorities and in the spirit of Leaving No One Behind, UNDPs programme in Azerbaijan promotes inclusivity, sustainability and innovation with a particular focus for the vulnerable groups, including rural communities, women and youth, unemployed, people with disabilities, veterans of war and IDPs. Mr. Fracassetti has been leading UNDP Azerbaijan ad interim since December 2018. Mr. Fracassetti has more than 22 years of senior-level experience in international development. Prior to his appointment as UNDP Resident Representative, he had served as UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Azerbaijan since 2016, North Macedonia (2011-2016), and Croatia (2006-2011), as UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Belarus (2004-2006) and in other senior positions, including as Senior Political Advisor and Senior Election Officer with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia Herzegovina and Croatia since 1996. *** UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. UNDP has been working in Azerbaijan for close to 3 decades. It opened its office in the country in the fall of 1992 soon after Azerbaijan gained independence and joined the United Nations. In Azerbaijan, UNDPs programme of work is outlined in its Country Programme Document 2016-2020 and is a result of close consultation with the Government. The current UNDP Country Programme Document contributes to three out of five UNAPF outcomes and is aligned with the Vision 2020 National Development Concept and the SDGs. These include (i) Sustainable and Inclusive Growth and Decent Work, (ii) Enhanced institutional capacity for good governance, and (iii) Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Resilience. *** For media inquiries, please contact Arzu Jafarli, Communications and External Relations Analyst for UNDP in Azerbaijan [email protected] Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 21 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on May 23, Trend reports. 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. title changed, details added (first version posted on 12:09) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by member of the German Bundestag from the Social Democratic Party, Chairman of the Germany-South Caucasus parliamentary group Johannes Kahrs, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service. The president said the fact that the visit of the Bundestag delegation starts from regions created good opportunity for them to get more information about Azerbaijan. President Aliyev recalled German Chancellor Angela Merkel`s first visit to Azerbaijan, describing it as very successful and as a historic event in the development of the bilateral ties. The president noted that his visits to Germany also contributed to the strengthening of the relations. President Aliyev pointed out that the two countries enjoy high-level cooperation, which has good prospects. President Aliyev mentioned that relations between the two countries` business communities are developing successfully, and stressed the importance of numerous German companies` participation in various projects in Azerbaijan. The president emphasized the role of interparliamentary cooperation in developing the bilateral ties. Member of the German Bundestag from the Social Democratic Party, Chairman of the Germany-South Caucasus parliamentary group Johannes Kahrs said that Baku and the country`s regions made a great impression on them. He noted that during their visit to Gabala they met with IDPs and familiarized themselves with the work done by the Azerbaijani government to improve their living conditions. Johannes Kahrs hailed Azerbaijan`s contribution to European energy security. The significance of the interparliamentary cooperation in the development of relations between the two countries was stressed at the meeting. The sides exchanged views over the expansion of political, economic and cultural cooperation between Azerbaijan and Germany. Title changed, details added (first version posted on 11:47) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China Wang Yi, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service. The president thanked the Chinese side for inviting him to the second Belt and Road International Forum held in China, and described this as a sign of friendly relations between the two countries. President Aliyev extended his congratulations on the successful organization of the forum and the decisions adopted at this prestigious international event. The president also asked the minister to extend his gratitude to Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping for his congratulatory message on the occasion of 28 May - the Republic Day in Azerbaijan. President Aliyev noted that the meetings and fruitful discussions with the Chinese president during his recent visit to China reaffirmed that bilateral relations between the two countries are those of strategic partnership. The president noted that the Chinese foreign ministers visit to Azerbaijan is indicative of a high level of cooperation between the two countries. President Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan has always supported China on the issues that are of importance to the country. Pointing to the bilateral relations between the two countries, the president hailed a high level of political ties and good prospects for economic and trade cooperation. The president once again recalled his visit to the Peoples Republic of China, emphasizing the importance of the meetings he held with heads of Chinas major companies in terms of expanding cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment, and other areas. President Aliyev described Azerbaijan as a transit point between Asia and Europe, saying that the development of transport sector is one of the priority issues for the country. The president said that Azerbaijan was one of the first countries to support the One Belt, One Road initiative, adding that the countrys transport infrastructure can be used for cargo transportation under this project. Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi extended greetings of Chairman of the People's Republic of China, and as he underlined, President Aliyevs friend, Xi Jinping to the president. The Chinese foreign minister said he is pleased with his first visit to Azerbaijan, describing Baku as a world-renowned city. He noted that they have been deeply impressed by the beauty of the Azerbaijani capital since the early hours of their arrival. Wang Yi hailed China-Azerbaijan relations as strategic, expressing his countrys support for Azerbaijans independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. He noted that under the leadership of President Aliyev political and social stability was ensured in Azerbaijan, adding that the countrys economy continues to constantly develop, the populations well-being to steadily improve, and Azerbaijans influence on the international scene to constantly grow and strengthen. Saying that Azerbaijans success are followed with interest in China, Wang Yi extended his congratulations on the achievements gained and on the occasion of the upcoming 28 May-the Republic Day. The president thanked for Xi Jinpings greetings, and asked Wang Yi to extend his greetings to the Chinese president. Ample opportunities for cooperation between Azerbaijan and China under the One Belt, One Road project were emphasized at the meeting. The sides also exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations in the fields of transport, energy, industry, tourism, information and communication technologies. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: Well-known artist Zurab Tsereteli`s exhibition titled Possible Dimensions has opened at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Trend reports. The Moscow Museum of Modern Art together with the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Russian Academy of Arts present the Possible Dimensions exhibition. Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the opening of the exhibition. Director of the Heydar Aliyev Center Anar Alakbarov highlighted the importance of the exhibition. He noted that Zurab Tsereteli was awarded "Dostlug" Order under the order of President Ilham Aliyev and congratulated the artist on this occasion. Minister of Culture Abulfas Garayev presented "Dostlug" Order to Zurab Tsereteli. Addressing the event, Zurab Tsereteli thanked the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for supporting the organization of the exhibition. He said that he was happy to receive "Dostlug" Order for his fruitful services in strengthening cultural relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The artist thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the attention. Rector of Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts, People's Artist Omar Eldarov highlighted the creative activities of Zurab Tsereteli. Possible Dimensions represents Zurab Tseretelis fruitful creative career, including works influenced by his encounters with the world-renowned maestros Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, and Robert Rauschenberg. The project brings together more than 30 works from Moscow, Tbilisi, and London, including paintings, sculptures, and enamels that cover the artists long career. Zurab Tsereteli was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1934 and graduated from the Tbilisi State Academy of Fine Arts in 1958. He worked with bronze, stone, glass, wood, and mosaics, but it was only in the late 1960s that he started to receive widespread recognition and government orders. Tsereteli stood out among the artists of his generation: his monumental works combined images of childrens fairy tales and dreams and archaeological and ethnographic symbols with a powerful creative impulse that became especially noticeable during the approval of more free forms of artistic expression in the cultural climate of the USSR. Monumentality reveals itself in his sculptures commissioned by public orders in different countries: one sees his statues in many cities, including London, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome, and Tokyo. His large-scale works created in an expressive manner convey complete freedom in art. Tsereteli can rightly be called a citizen of the world: he has workshops in his native Tbilisi, as well as in Moscow, Paris, and New York. Working in each of the four cities contributed to the formation of his individual style. The artist claims that, after meeting Picasso and Chagall in 1946 in France, he radically revised his understanding of the creative process. The skilfull ease of the maestros in transitioning from painting and graphics to ceramics and sculpture inspired him to create a new series of works. The influence of Picasso is evident in Inessa (1968), which he painted shortly after visiting Picassos workshop in Paris. Tseretelis famous sculpture My Favorite Artists (2009) represents Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, and Van Gogh, having created sculptural images of Pirosmani and Henri Rousseau a year earlier. Tsereteli has a place in the ranks of neoexpressionists, which include Fernando Botero, Arnaldo Pomodoro, and Georg Baselitz. Among those who influenced Tseretelis creative work were also Russian artists: Tsereteli transformed Kandinskys abstract expressionism or Malevichs suprematism into his rich palette of recognizable red and blue colors. The exhibition will last until August 25. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: Electronics Laboratory Center will be created in Azerbaijan, Sumaks Technologies company head Javid Mammadov told Trend May 23. He said that experts in the field of electronics and microcontroller programming will be trained in the center. There are very few electronics engineers in Azerbaijan, and most of them dont meet modern requirements, he noted. Therefore, we plan to create a laboratory for the training of personnel, as well as an educational center for adults and schoolchildren. The laboratory will play the role of a common center. Some schools have laboratories of robotechnics. By creating a common center, we want to attract all schools and young people who are interested in it. We have submitted proposals for this to the structures. He added that certain support and investments are needed to create the center. In the center, young people will learn how to program microcontrollers, make electronics, devices and apply them, he noted. This experience was tested abroad long ago. For example, in the UK, students of 4-5th grades are involved in electronics labs. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Kazakhstan withdraws temporary quarantine phytosanitary measures, which the country introduce on February 19, 2019, Trend reports referring to the press office of the administration of the Government of Kyrgyz Republic. The decision was taken following signing the Protocol of the meeting results between Zhenish Razakov, the Vice Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Zhenis Kassymbek, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the 'Road Map' on issues of quarantine phytosanitary control on February 28, 2019. Since May 22, 2019, the Committee of State Inspection in Agro-Industrial Complex of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan lifted the ban on the import of food and seed potato, apples and persimmon from Kyrgyz Republic to Kazakhstan, the press office reports. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Some 210.5 billion tenge from the republican budget were allocated within four years for realization of the "Business Roadmap 2020" program, Yermek Alpysov, Vice-Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan said, Trend reports via Kazinform. "This sum allowed to fund 13,000 entities of small and medium business, train 20,000 of entrepreneurs, create 10,000 work places and manufacture goods worth 3.3 trillion tenge. The volume of the tax payments amounts to 175 billion tenge a year, the vice-minister said. The major part of allocated funds is directed on subsidizing the loans remuneration rate, which equals 126 billion tenge or 60.1 percent of the total sum, he said. Some 53 billion tenge or 25.2 percent were directed on providing factories, plants and entities of small and medium business with missing infrastructure. The rest of the funds was directed on loans guarantee, grants, training and consulting entrepreneurs, said Alpysov. Furthermore, Aidar Arifkhanov, the Chairman of the Baiterek National Management Holding Management Board stated that the Holding supported some 13,000 projects since the implementation of the program. That was done through subsidies. We work with akimats (administrative centers) and with all business spheres. During the realization of the Business Roadmap 2020 the volume of tax payments amounted to 900 billion tenge. The goods manufacturing equaled 13.5 trillion tenge and some 90,000 work places were created, said Arifkhanov. (1USD = 379.01 tenge on May 23) --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 Trend: Kapital Bank has always paid great attention to the development of education in Azerbaijan, Trend reports. Proof of this is Made in Azerbaijan-4 project contest, which was held for the countrys students. According to the terms of the competition, students had to show their business ideas for creation of a brand in Azerbaijan. 40 projects from various universities of the Republic were submitted for the competition of business ideas. When preparing business ideas, their relevance to the task and mission of the competition, the actuality of applying the project in the domestic market, such factors as a simplified financial plan at the business idea level, relevance and creativity were taken into account. The Expert Council evaluated the submitted business ideas and five projects passed to the final. By decision of the jury, Kitabl business idea became the winner. The aim of the business idea is to accumulate electronic materials in one portal, to possess a training video base on certain academic disciplines, to provide explanations by teachers of the tests in which students have difficulties. In 2016, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between Kapital Bank and Azerbaijan State University of Economics. This year students also presented interesting business ideas at the competition. We cooperate with various educational institutions, we support and participate in many educational projects of the country. In the near future we also plan to participate and implement new educational projects, said Director of Human Resources Management Department Fargana Mammadova. Kapital Bank, having the biggest branch network in Azerbaijan, is at the service of customers with 99 branches and 13 departments. For more detailed information about the Banks products and services, please refer to www.kapitalbank.az website, 196 Call Centre or the Banks various social network pages. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: The main types of customs offenses and crimes in the CIS are connected with the illegal movement of goods across the customs borders of states, Oleg Gubaydulin, Chairman of the Committee of Heads of Law Enforcement Units (CCPE) of the Council of Heads of Customs Services of the Member Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), told reporters on the sidelines of the 19th meeting of the committee held in Baku, Trend reports. According to the chairman, this includes the transit and movement of money and currency through the customs borders. "Under various treaties, a significant amount of money is carried across the customs borders, which then we cannot find, including in the CIS space. At the same time, we are fighting against the smuggling of drugs actively coming from Afghanistan. The fact of the matter is that international mail channels have started to be used as of late, and the form of movement of drugs across the border is changing. Here, of course, all law enforcement agencies need to strengthen cooperation. It is very important that law enforcement cooperation is carried out according to the same rules, and that we understand what we will do together," Gubaydulin said. The chairman of the CCPE noted that the main form of interaction between law enforcement agencies is controlled deliveries, as well as the improvement of the mechanisms used in organizing work in the customs sphere. To reduce the level of crimes in the customs sphere, particularly in the smuggling of drugs, it is necessary to bring the investigation to a conclusion. We must see both the supplier and the final distributor. If we work through all the chains for removing the drugs out of circulation, then in this case, we must learn to remove these very chains, and only in this case will there be some results," Gubaydulin said. Baku hosts the 19th meeting of the Committee of Heads of Law Enforcement Units of the Council of Heads of Customs Services of the Member Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The event is attended by heads of law enforcement units of customs services of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with their colleagues from Estonia and Latvia attending the meeting as observers. The representatives of the Anti-Terrorism Center of the CIS Member States, the Bureau for the Coordination of the Fight against Organized Crime and Other Dangerous Types of Crimes in the Territories of the CIS Member Nations, and the Coordination Service of the CIS Council of Commanders of Border Troops are also participating in the event. The agenda includes discussions of law enforcement work in the countries of the region, reports of the working groups, and exchange of views on the development of cooperation. The meetings participants discuss, inter alia, issues of cooperation in the fight against trafficking of drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors as well as against online offenses. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Fakhri Vakilov Trend: On May 23, General Motors Uzbekistan resumed car supplies to Ukraine, Trend reports via Uzbek media. The country will supply R4 and R2 models of Ravon brand. Earlier Trend reported that GM Uzbekistan had suspended the export of cars to the Russia in 2018. Moreover, GM Uzbekistan has already exported Nexia R3 cars for a large-unit assembly to the SararkaAvtoProm plant in Kostanay (Kazakhstan), as well as the finished R4 model to Ravon Motors Kazakhstan. Belarus receives fully finished cars. Since the beginning of this year, Uzbek cars have also been exported to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. GM Uzbekistan and SaryarkaAvtoProm LLP (Kazakhstan) signed a production development contract. The parties have agreed to release 16,000 vehicles intended for sale up to the end of 2019, both in the market of Kazakhstan and export markets, including Russia. The SKD assembly of the Ravon Nexia R3 sedan was launched at the Kazakh enterprise "SaryarkaAvtoProm" in 2017. Capacity of assembly is about 3,000 cars a year, with the possible increase in production of up to 7,000 cars. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Sara Israfilbayova - Trend: Marine Engineering Bureau in Ukraines Odessa city plans to design, jointly with Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), new vessels to be constructed at the Baku Shipyard LLC, Gennady Egorov, Director General of the Bureau, told Trend. He said that the Bureau is also ready to assist Azerbaijan in training of engineering personnel. Talking about the future projects, he noted that there are plans to build new tankers carrying chemical products with deadweight (net carrying capacity) of 7,875 tons. Under current joint projects, four vessels are being built at the Baku Shipyard by the order of ASCO, he said. The readiness of the main tanker of the project RST12C Lachin is 86 percent. He added that the tanker was set afloat on Februry 21, 2019, and its commissioning is expected in August 2019. The readiness of the second tanker Kalbajar is 60 percent, and its commissioning is expected in 2020, he said. The next project includes construction of rail-road-passenger ferries for the Caspian lines of the CNF18C project, he noted. In his words, two vessels are being built at the Baku Shipyard on the order of ASCO within the project implementation. The readiness of the CNF18C main cargo and passenger ferry is 71 percent. It is expected to set it afloat in June 2019 and commission at the end of 2019. The second ferry is 45 percent ready, Egorov said. He added that three new cutters with length of 26 meters and engine power of 313 kilowatts are being built at the new site of the Zigh Ship Repair and Construction Yard. (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on May 23) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria, can further be extended to Serbia and Romania, said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Trend reports. He made the remarks during the IGB groundbreaking ceremony that took place May 22 in Bulgarias Kirkovo. This pipeline could be extended to Serbia through the IBS (Interconnector Serbia - Bulgaria) pipeline, as well as to Romania via the Interconnector Bulgaria-Romania (IBR), which will help these countries to diversify their energy routes as well as their sources of supply, said the prime minister. Tsipras pointed out that energy security and diversification of energy sources remain a very important priority for the Eastern Mediterranean region and for the whole Europe. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), IGB, Vertical Corridor, the EastMed pipeline are projects that strengthen the economic and geopolitical role of Greece, Bulgaria and the wider region. IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets. The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn --- Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 23 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistan and Japan are holding a regular joint meeting of the committees on economic cooperation in Ashgabat on May 23, Trend reports referring to a source close to the negotiations. The delegation from Tokyo is headed by Yoichi Kobayashi, Vice Chairman of Japans Itochu Corporation. The meeting addresses issues of increasing the volume of trade, creating joint ventures in various fields, and stimulating investment activity. The possibility of implementing large projects in oil, gas and chemical industries is being evaluated, along with the further cooperation with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The parties also discuss the supply of agricultural equipment and automobiles from Japan. There are great prospects for cooperation in the spheres of transport, communication, logistics, agriculture, and other areas, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news agency noted in its earlier comments. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Uzbek Leasing International JSC signed a loan agreement worth $5 million, Trend reports citing Gazeta.uz. The loan is planned to be allocated to finance leasing projects for small and medium-sized businesses in Uzbekistan. Joint Stock Company Uzbek Leasing International A.O. was created in 1996. The organization is a universal leasing company that provides leasing services for motor vehicles, special equipment and machinery in various sectors of the economy. The EBRD is one of the founders of the company and its reliable partner for many years. During the period of the cooperation, EBRD has provided credit resources totaling to $10 million to the company. The EBRD has also provided technical assistance to the company on credit analysis, risk management and management accounting system development. Over the past two years, Uzbek Leasing International concluded similar lending agreements with international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, International Finance Corporation, AKA Bank (Germany ), investment fund Incofin (Belgium) and KDB Bank. These agreements amounted to $35 million. About 100 projects in the field of medicine, agriculture, construction, food production and building materials were financed with these funds. Uzbek Leasing International finances leasing projects of small and medium-sized businesses for a period of up to five years, with a maximum amount of up to $3 million and at a rate of 8 percent per annum. Financing is carried out in national and foreign currencies. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Fakhri Vakilov Trend: The prices of government bonds in Uzbekistan continue to show a positive trend (interest rates are correspondingly reduced) in both domestic and foreign financial markets, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan. In particular, in April-May 2019, the prices of sovereign international bonds of Uzbekistan on the financial markets were trading at or above their nominal value, i.e. with a premium. Furthermore, on May 21, prices for 5-year and 10-year sovereign international bonds of the country reached 101.723 percent and 102.025 percent of the nominal value, respectively (their yield decreased by 4.343 percent and 5.107 percent, respectively). Prices and profitability of government securities have updated their record indicators in the domestic financial market. In particular, in electronic trading on the primary placement of government securities for a period of 18 months, held on May 22, 2019 at the Uzbek Currency Exchange: -the weighted average yield of GS amounted to 10.04 percent (the weighted average price of a bond was 106.45 percent of its nominal value); -the number of active bids for the purchase of government securities at the end of auctions was almost 3 times higher than their offer. The results of trading on the domestic financial market confirm the high demand for diversified financial instruments with minimal risk and strengthen the confidence of financial market participants in government securities as a reliable and liquid investment instrument. --- Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 23 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: The representatives of the Turkmen State Customs Service participated in the recent workshop held at the Kazakh Kuryk seaport in the field of prevention and detection of illegal circulation of goods and vehicles, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen State Customs Service. The event, which also involved the staff from Kazakh officials, was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The representatives of the customs department of the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance acted as experts of the 'Border Management Programme in Central Asia' (BOMCA). The Turkmen and Kazakh customs and border services learnt from Lithuanias experience in assessing risk factors in the selection of ships and shipping containers for customs inspection. The participants learned about the types of shipping containers, methods of their verification and compliance with safety rules during the inspection. The European experts shared their experience on dealing with the smuggling of drugs in shipping containers. The secret compartments in ships and shipping containers were demonstrated during the practical sessions, the State Revenue Department of the Kazakh Mangystau district said. The EU launched the BOMCA program, aimed at strengthening security, combating illegal human trafficking and facilitating trade in Central Asia in 2003. The main task is to support institutional development in the transition to more efficient and effective methods of border management. Legal and procedural tools and practices for managing legal and illegal migration are being developed in accordance with international norms and standards. Moreover, the measures are being taken to improve the effectiveness of border procedures that facilitate legal trade, transit of goods and countering various forms of smuggling. A senior commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that Iran has full control on the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Trend reported citing Xinhua. "Iran has complete control over the north of Hormuz Strait, and the vessels approaching Iran's borders should ask for our permission," Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the IRGC, was quoted as saying by Afkar News website. The Iranian army and IRGC's naval forces also have full control over the foreign warships in the southern waters of the country, Fadavi added. "There are no concerns" over the possible threats, he noted. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important oil arteries. The strait has recently become the focus again with the rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Iran previously threatened to shut off the passage in case its interests pertaining to the oil exports are contained. President Hassan Rouhani described martyrs and war veterans as vivid testimony to the Iranian nations history of dignity and resistance, saying that Iran will once again make the enemies remorseful in the economic war, reports Trend citing to IRNA. Addressing a gathering on Thursday, he added that sacred defense is not the eight-year history alone; rather it is the culture of sacrifice, bravery and resistance which is still ongoing. Describing Khorramshahr as a big symbol of sacred defense and testament of national dignity, Rouhani said that day of Khorramshahr occupation was the hardest and most sorrowful day but the most beautiful days of Sacred Defense were the ones when Khorramshahr was liberated. Liberation of Khorramshahr was not a simple victory; rather we retook the city with all the occupiers in, he said, noting that some 19,000 Iraqi soldiers and officers were taken as prisons of war during operations to liberate the city form the enemy. Today, the youth are ready for other conquers like that of Khorramshahr, president said, noting, We will fall when our belief is captured. A planned $10 billion port project in Tanzania backed by China has hit an impasse, with the two sides disagreeing on terms of the infrastructure investment, a senior Tanzanian port official said on Wednesday, reports Trend citing to Reuters In 2013, Tanzania signed a framework agreement with China Merchants Holdings International, Chinas largest port operator, to build the port and a special economic zone that aims to transform the east African country into a regional trade and transport hub. The conditions that they have given us are commercially unviable. We said no, lets meet halfway, Deusdedit Kakoko, director general of the state-run Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) told Reuters. It would have been a loss, they shouldnt treat us like schoolkids and act like our teachers. The Tanzanian government has officially written to the Chinese port operator on the disputed terms, Kakoko said. We are waiting for them to begin new talks. When they are ready, we will resume the negotiations. China Merchants said in an e-mailed statement to Reuters that many years of negotiations with the Tanzanian side had failed to result in a legally binding agreement. This project is a purely commercial, investment project and China Merchants Port has in its overseas investments always followed the principles of commercial feasibility and win-win cooperation, the company said. Chinese Foreign Ministry Lu Kang, speaking at a daily news briefing in Beijing on Thursday, did not comment directly on the project, but noted China does its best to cooperate with Africa on infrastructure financing. China looks at the viability of projects with their African partners to ensure their sustainability, he added. Since taking office in late 2015, Tanzanian President John Magufulis government has sought to renegotiate major deals with foreign investors in mining, natural gas, telecoms and infrastructure projects as part of a new resource nationalism drive. The deal for the Bagamoyo port was signed in 2013 by the government of Magufulis predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete, during a visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the country. It is also financially backed by Omans State General Reserve Fund. Members of parliament demanded explanation from the government last week on delays in implementation of the project. A ground breaking ceremony for the project was held in late 2015 but actual construction of the port is yet to start. The port, to be built in Bagamoyo, 75 km (47 miles) north of Dar es Salaam, would dwarf neighboring Kenyas port at Mombasa, east Africas trade gateway some 300 km (180 miles) to the north, and include an industrial zone and rail and road links to a region hoping to exploit new oil and gas finds. It is meant to ease congestion at the port in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam and transform a depressed area into a trade and manufacturing hub. Yet there are practical difficulties, not least that Bagamoyos port, unlike Dar es Salaams, would most likely need regular, extensive dredging. A senior German diplomat was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and cool tensions in the region, reports Trend citing to Reuters Jens Ploetner, a political director in the Foreign Ministry, planned to meet Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as well as other officials on his visit, the German source said. Britain, France and Germany, which signed the 2015 deal along with the United States, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last years U.S. withdrawal from the deal, protect trade and still dissuade Tehran from quitting an accord designed to prevent it developing a nuclear bomb. But Irans decision earlier this month to backtrack from some commitments in response to U.S. moves to cripple its economy threatens to unravel the deal, under which Tehran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions. At the center of the political directors visit is the preservation of the Vienna nuclear accord (JCPOA), the German diplomatic source told Reuters. After Irans announcement to partly suspend its commitments under the JCPOA, there is a window of opportunity for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue to fully comply with the JCPOA. Ploetner knows Araghchi from the negotiations to clinch the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Tensions have soared between Iran and the United States after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. U.S. officials said on Wednesday the Defense Department was considering a military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East. On Thursday, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars quoted a senior commander of Irans powerful Revolutionary Guards as saying the U.S.-Iranian standoff was a clash of wills and suggesting any enemy adventurism would meet a crushing response. That followed a remark from another Revolutionary Guards commander on Wednesday that the United States and its supporters did not dare attack Iran because of its spirit of resistance. The German diplomatic source added: The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation around the Vienna nuclear accord is extremely serious. There is a real risk of escalation...In this situation, dialogue is very important. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the pending release on Thursday of John Walker Lindh, the American captured in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, and said he believed the decision needed to be reviewed, reports Trend citing to Reuters Unexplainable and unconscionable, Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News. Pompeo said Lindh still is threatening the United States of America, still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and a great CIA officer. Theres something deeply troubling and wrong about it. Best Buy Co Inc warned on Thursday that price increases from another possible round of tariffs on Chinese imports will be felt by U.S. shoppers, reports Trend citing to Reuters The impact of tariffs at 25% will result in price increases and will be felt by U.S. consumers, Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly said on a post-earnings call, adding that it was premature to speculate on the impact of further tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% earlier in May, and was expected to implement another round of levies that would impact consumer goods ranging from cellphones and laptops to footwear. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that more than 4,255 illegal immigrants have been voluntarily deported from Libya to their countries of origin in 2019, Trend reported citing Xinhua. "So far this year, over 4,255 migrants returned home safely to 26 countries across Africa and Asia with support from IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return program," the UN-affiliated group said. The voluntary humanitarian return program is carried out by the IOM, with an aim to arrange the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin. According to IOM, more than 16,000 migrants were voluntarily deported from Libya to their countries of origin in 2018. Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe because of insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of people who were rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services. A top militant commander and head of Al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwatul Hind -- Zakir Musa was killed Thursday evening in a gunfight with government forces in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said, Trend reports citing Xinhua. The gunfight broke out at village Dadsara of Tral in Pulwama district, about 39 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "On a specific information about presence of militants in Dadsara here this evening, contingents of police and army cordoned off the village and zeroed in on a suspected area. The militants present there, fired upon the position of advancing contingents, which was duly retaliated and thus a gunfight broke out," a police official on the condition of anonymity told Xinhua over telephone from Tral. "In the ensuing gunfight, two militants are said to have got killed and of them one is Zakir Musa, who was one of the most wanted." The government forces have not suffered any damage in the stand-off, police said. Police is yet to officially confirm the killing of Musa. Zakir Musa was a close associate of Burhan Wani, the slain top militant commander of Hizbul Mujahideen who was killed in 2016 during a gunfight. Wani's killing triggered massive street protests in the region and resulted in the killing of around 100 people mostly young people. Originally named Zakir Rashid Bhat and operating under nom de guerre Zakir Musa, he snapped his ties with Hizbul Mujahideen and later on went to head the Al Qaeda affiliate in the region. He advocated the establishment of an Islamic State in the region and said Kashmir was not a political dispute but a religious struggle. Authorities have suspended mobile internet services in the region including Srinagar, besides ordering closure of all schools and colleges in Muslim majority areas on Friday fearing street protests. A senior government official Baseer Ahmad Khan was quoted in local media as saying the decision was taken as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile, administration has also decided to impose restrictions in the old parts of Srinagar. A separatist movement and guerrilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump may soon have a face-to-face meeting, either in Turkey or on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan next month, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday, Trend reported citing Reuters. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said Erdogan had invited Trump to Turkey and that there were positive signals the American president would accept the invitation. We are working on the calendar now, the official said. We have some positive signals but the time has not been scheduled yet. They may meet on the margins of G20 in Japan as well, he said. For a bilateral visit, we are waiting for an exact date. The United States and Turkey have been at loggerheads recently, primarily due to Ankaras planned purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which Washington says are incompatible with the NATO defense network and would pose a threat to U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jets which Turkey also plans to buy. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and several prominent U.S. senators have warned Turkey it will face penalties for buying the S-400s, under legislation which calls for sanctions against countries procuring military equipment from Russia. Turkey says as a NATO member it poses no threat to the United States and the sanctions should not apply. Investors have been keeping an eye out for a potential meeting between the two presidents because Turkeys hopes of avoiding punishing U.S. sanctions have increasingly appeared dependent on a potential intervention from Trump. Turkeys finance minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogans son-in-law, in April met with Trump and his son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner on the issue. Few details of the meeting have emerged, but Turkish media quoted Albayrak as saying Trump had a positive understanding ... regarding Turkeys needs for the S-400s. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Military exercises have been launched in Turkey with the participation of the military personnel of the Azerbaijani Air Forces, Trend reports referring to Turkish media. The "Erciyes-2019 Tatbikat" exercises are being held in Kayseri Province. Military personnel of the air forces of Pakistan and Georgia are also taking part in the exercises. According to the media reports, representatives of Italy, Qatar, Romania and the US, will be present during the exercises as observers. Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: In January-March 2019, trade turnover between Turkey and Syria decreased by $19.3 million compared to the same period in 2018 and amounted to $313.6 million, Trend reports referring to the Turkish Trade Ministry. In the 1Q2019, Turkeys exports to Syria amounted to $295.5 million, and imports from Syria equaled to $18.1 million. In March 2019, the trade turnover between Turkey and Syria decreased by $12.2 million compared to March 2018 and amounted to $106.9 million. In March 2019, Turkeys exports to Syria amounted to $101.1 million, while imports from Syria reached only $5.8 million. In 2018, the trade turnover of Turkey and Syria amounted to $1.4 billion. The total turnover of Turkey in March 2019 amounted to $34.5 billion. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu KYODO NEWS - May 23, 2019 - 15:04 | Feature, All, Japan An Indonesian man who was contracted to work in Japan under a government-sponsored internship program on Thursday filed a suit seeking compensation from a fisheries company and a cooperative after he was sent home for lacking Japanese language skills. Ricky Amrullah, 26, filed the suit with the Hiroshima District Court, demanding that Chua International Cooperative and Maruko, a fisheries company, pay approximately 7.05 million yen ($64,000) in compensation. According to the complaint, Amrullah came to Japan in January 2018 to work at a fish farm in the city of Higashihiroshima and he participated in a Japanese language study program offered by the cooperative. Amrullah signed a three-year work contract with Maruko in February, but the cooperative forced him to return home due to "insufficient Japanese proficiency" before he could start. The man asserts he was forced to leave Japan despite his intention to continue with his language studies and is seeking compensation for the three years' wages he would have earned, and for the psychological distress he endured. After filing the suit with the district court, Amrullah told a press conference he feels he was cheated by the cooperative and stressed that he still wants to work in Japan. The cooperative said his claim "appears to not be in line with the facts." Amrullah is also seeking damages from the contracted fisheries company who approved his return home. The trainee program was launched by the government in 1993 with the objective of transferring technical skills to developing regions of the world, however it is often criticized as being a vehicle for Japanese companies to import cheap labor. UPTON, NY--Materials scientist Mircea Cotlet of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)--a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory--has been named one of seven "Inventors of the Year" by the global science and technology organization Battelle. In collaboration with Stony Brook University, Battelle manages Brookhaven Lab through the company Brookhaven Science Associates. The annual awards recognize individuals who have made significant scientific or engineering contributions with important societal or financial impacts. Cotlet, a member of the CFN Soft and Bio Nanomaterials Group, was recognized for his research in applying self-assembly methods to control the interfaces between nanomaterials and other components that interact with light, such as proteins and polymers. Self-assembly refers to the mechanism by which molecules, particles, or other components in a system spontaneously assemble into ordered structures according to the intrinsic interactions among the different components. The materials Cotlet focuses on are low-dimensional semiconductors, including graphene and other 2-D materials, 1-D nanowires (thin but very long nanostructures), and tiny 0-D nanocrystals called quantum dots. "When you transition from bulk to atomically thin materials, you get into what is known as low-dimensional physics," explained Cotlet. "At these low dimensions, strong light-matter interactions occur. In my research, I combine low-dimensional semiconducting materials together through self-assembly and look for emerging properties, or properties that do not exist in nature." Cotlet's main interest is the interfacial phenomena--including charge and energy transfer processes--that exist in these "nanohybrid" materials. To characterize these processes down to the single-molecule level, Cotlet has developed high-sensitivity and high-resolution optical imaging and probing techniques, including one that can be used to distinguish between the two interfacial processes. By first understanding the interfacial phenomena and then devising approaches to control them, Cotlet seeks to engineer next-generation materials with enhanced optical and electronic properties for solar harvesting, solid-state lighting, plasmonics, and sensing applications. His research has led to patents on self-assembly methods for improving the responsivity of photodetectors, the energy-conversion efficiency of solar cells, and the transparency of solar panel windows. Cotlet obtained a PhD in physical chemistry from Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven in Belgium in 2002, and master's and bachelor's degrees in physics from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi in Romania in 1996 and 1995, respectively. He was a visiting postdoctoral researcher In the Chemistry Department at Harvard University before becoming a director's postdoctoral fellow and then a technical staff member at DOE's Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2007, he joined Brookhaven Lab as an assistant scientist at the CFN, which had just opened. By 2014, he had been promoted to scientist with indefinite appointment. Since 2010, he has also served as an adjunct professor in the Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Department at nearby Stony Brook University. Over his career, Cotlet has co-authored nearly 80 peer-reviewed articles, mostly in high-impact journals, and several of his articles have been featured on journal covers. He has presented more than 50 invited talks, organized and chaired several local and national conferences, and serves on the editorial board of the Wiley journal Particle & Particle System Characterization. "I feel honored to have my contributions to the field of low-dimensional nanomaterials recognized, to show the nanoscience community that interfacial phenomena in these nanohybrid materials can be controlled in a successful way toward a given property or application," said Cotlet. "Brookhaven Lab and the CFN are places with talented colleagues where great ideas can be nurtured, and transformative science can be done." Cotlet and the other six Inventors of the Year were honored during Battelle's annual Celebration of Solvers Event on April 12 at the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio. ### Brookhaven National Laboratory is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov. Follow @BrookhavenLab on Twitter or find us on Facebook. By Zandi Shabalala LONDON (Reuters) - Gold miners must focus on maximizing returns and more mergers to attract investors seeking to diversify after years of under-investing in mines, Barrick Gold's chief executive said on Wednesday. "The industry is in decline and we have put ourselves in a very a tight spot because we haven't invested in exploration and our future," said Mark Bristow, who took the helm in January at Barrick after its takeover of Africa's Randgold. "The supply side of our industry is very tight." Gold miners have for years been accused of eroding profits through expensive deals but the takeovers of Randgold by Barrick and Goldcorp by Newmont Mining has spurred speculation about a pick up in long-dormant gold M&A. Bristow said of the recent consolidation "while (it) is important, we have got to become relevant." Barrick in March pulled its $18 billion offer for Newmont and agreed instead to form a joint venture in Nevada with its rival, ending a hostile takeover bid that sought to unite the world's two largest gold producers. On Tuesday, Barrick offered to buyout the remaining 36.1% of shares it does not already own in London-listed Acacia Mining at a discount to its current share price. Bristow declined to comment on the issue further. The Nevada operation, which will be 61.5% owned by Barrick, will be reviewing mine plans and based on geological and geotechnical modeling will be reviewing mining methods and along with other assets in the miner's portfolio will be focusing the combined team on driving efficiency improvements, Bristow said. "We have to be better we have to be more focused on returns if we going to attract investment around our industry," Bristow told delegates at a conference. "The world has never been more chaotic economically than it is today ... people are searching for alternative reserve currencies and gold will play a natural role as it has done." Analysts say gold has recently failed to fully capitalize on its traditional role as a hedge against financial and political uncertainties with investors betting more on a run in riskier assets such as stocks. But analysts at Swiss bank Julius Baer said investors seeking safe havens would be lured into gold by expectations of a U.S. recession and a related cooling of global growth towards the end of next year. (Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; editing by David Evans) Shares of Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) have been on fire this year. They're up nearly 35% so far in 2019, blowing past the 13.5% gain in the S&P 500. And this short-term outperformance appears to be only the beginning. That's because Devon's transformation into a U.S. oil growth company is just starting to pay dividends. That's evident from the comments of CEO Dave Hager on the company's first-quarter conference call, where he provided four reasons the "new" Devon should continue producing strong returns for investors. Two oil pumps with a bright sun in the background. Image source: Getty Images. 1. "Our go-forward asset base is delivering top-tier operating results" Hager led off his prepared remarks on the call by stating that: "The first quarter was absolutely an outstanding one for 'new Devon.' As we revealed last quarter, we are transforming Devon to a U.S. oil growth company, allowing us to focus on our world-class oil assets in the Delaware Basin, STACK, Eagle Ford, and Powder River Basin." The numbers back up those claims. Total production at "new" Devon -- which includes its position in those four regions -- rocketed 24% compared with the year-ago period. And output was 9.6% above the midpoint of the company's guidance range thanks to exceptional drilling results, especially in the Delaware Basin. As a result, Devon increased its full-year production growth forecast from 15% to 17%. Hager added that: "if well productivity from our development program continues to outperform expectations, there is certainly additional upside to our growth rates in 2019. Importantly, we are delivering this incremental production growth within the confines of our original capital budget of $1.8 [billion] to $2.0 billion, and this view is backstopped by our strong capital efficiency in Q1." 2. "Our cost reduction efforts are trending ahead of plan" Next, Hager noted that "a key area of emphasis is the aggressive reshaping of our organization with the singular focus on supporting our U.S. oil portfolio in the most cost-efficient manner possible ... We expect our U.S. oil business to achieve at least $780 million in sustainable annual cost savings by 2021 versus our 2018 baseline." That focus on reducing costs will further improve the company's profitability in the long term. Story continues Hager, however, pointed out that "with our strong cost performance year to date, we are now on track to achieve more than 70% of our targeted $780 million in annual cost savings by year end." That early success in the company's cost-cutting efforts sets Devon up to generate an even bigger gusher of free cash flow this year thanks to higher oil prices. 3. "Our portfolio transformation is on track to be completed by year end" The last phase of Devon's portfolio reshaping initiative will be to exit its positions in Canada as well as the Barnett Shale. Hager noted that in Canada, the company has "made substantial progress advancing the exit of these assets from our portfolio." It's already "having discussions with multiple parties regarding an outright sale at valuations consistent with our view of the intrinsic value of the asset." Meanwhile, it recently launched the sales process for its position in the Barnett Shale. That has the company on "track to have these assets exit our portfolio by the end of 2019." The company plans to use the proceeds from these asset sales to pay off another $3 billion of debt. That will not only further strengthen its balance sheet but will also reduce its annual interest expenses by about $130 million, or roughly 45%. 4. "We are delivering on our promise to return cash to our shareholders" Hager stated that his "final key message is that we remain unwavering in our commitment to capital discipline and increasing cash returns to shareholders." He reiterated that the company wouldn't use the cash windfall from higher oil prices to increase its drilling budget. Instead, that money "will be returned to our shareholders." Hager pointed out that the company is already on track to "reduce our outstanding share count by more than 25% by year end, and owners of our stock will also benefit from our recently raised dividend that is 50% higher than just a few years ago." Both trends appear poised to continue, given the company's promise to return its growing cash-flow windfall to investors. The dawn of a new era Devon Energy has spent the past several years repositioning its portfolio to thrive at lower oil prices. That transformation is starting to pay dividends, which was evident in the company's first-quarter report. However, with more progress on the way, this oil producer appears as if it will have the fuel to continue outperforming. That makes it among the top oil stocks to buy these days. More From The Motley Fool Matthew DiLallo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Torrington Police Department(TORRINGTON, Conn.) -- Authorities in Connecticut are asking for the public's help in capturing a suspect who teased police officers online with an unusual deal to turn himself in. Police in Torrington, Connecticut, said Jose Simms, 29, reached out to the town's lieutenant on Facebook earlier this week, saying he'd turn himself in if a Facebook post with his wanted poster received at least 15,000 likes. Simms has four arrest warrants for first-degree failure to appear in court and three warrants for second-degree failure to appear, police said. They did not offer details on any additional charges against him. The Torrington Police Department shared the wanted poster on Facebook early Wednesday morning, asking followers to help by liking and sharing the post. The department said Simms initially asked for 20,000 likes, but "negotiated" to bring him down to 15,000. "It will be difficult but is doable," the department wrote in a light-hearted post. "So please, 'like' this post, and while you're at it share it, Tweet it, Instagram it, Snapchat it, WUPHF it or use whatever other platforms are out there that I don't know about." Social media users took the challenge to heart and the post had more than 17,000 Facebook reactions, including a few "ha ha" reactions, within 13 hours. Simms was still on the run as of late Wednesday. The department issued an updated statement in the wake of the overwhelming response Wednesday night, thanking those who helped to spread the word. "We are getting a lot of inquiries as to if Mr. Simms has turned himself in yet. As of now he has not," the department said. "We will update the post again when he does turn himself in. Thank you to everyone who liked the post and messaged us with info. It's all appreciated." Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. - Company to focus on the development of AFM13, AFM24 and preclinical innate cell engagers, decides to terminate AFM11 T cell engager Phase 1 program - - Received milestone payment from Genentech, continuing to strengthen cash position from non-dilutive sources - - Clinical study updates of AFM13 as monotherapy and in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) will be highlighted in oral and poster presentations at the 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) - Heidelberg, Germany, May 22, 2019 - Affimed N.V. (AFMD), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to giving patients back their innate ability to fight cancer, today announced a plan to focus its research and development investments on advancing on-going and previously announced clinical trials for its innate cell engager candidates, AFM13 and AFM24. As part of the strategic plan, Affimed will terminate the Phase 1 clinical program of AFM11, a CD19/CD3-targeting bispecific T cell engager. The Company also provided an update on recent operational progress and reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. We are focused on advancing our CD16A-targeting innate cell engager product candidates as we progress through 2019, with the goals of initiating a market registration-directed study of AFM13 and entering the clinic with AFM24, said Dr. Adi Hoess, Affimeds CEO. We strongly believe our innate cell engagers could enhance current immuno-oncology approaches and address unmet patient needs in treating hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. We have determined that the optimal use of our resources at this time is to advance our innate cell engagers, focusing their development on indications with high unmet need and the potential for a rapid path to regulatory approval. In addition to advancing our current clinical product candidates, we are working toward expanding our early clinical stage pipeline and exploring rational combinations of our innate cell engagers with other therapeutic modalities such as adoptive NK cell therapies." Story continues Corporate Updates Affimed received a milestone payment from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, triggered by the achievement of a preclinical milestone under its research collaboration with Genentech to develop and commercialize novel natural killer (NK) cell engager-based immunotherapeutics based on Affimeds ROCK platform to treat multiple cancers. Dr. Martin Treder has informed Affimed that he intends to step down from his position as Chief Scientific Officer to pursue new opportunities. Dr. Treder will continue as a consultant to the Company. Dr. Hoess commented, Martin oversaw the development of Affimeds ROCK platform. We thank Martin for his many contributions to Affimed during his tenure as CSO, and wish him success in his future endeavors. Pipeline Updates and Upcoming Clinical Plans CD16A innate cell engager programs AFM13 (CD30/CD16A) At the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019, Affimed together with its collaboration partners from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, presented data that describe functional responses of conventional and cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) NK cells in the presence or absence of AFM13. In a poster titled, "The CD30/CD16A bispecific innate immune cell engager AFM13 elicits heterogeneous single cell NK cell responses and effectively triggers memory like (ML) NK cells," preclinical data showed that AFM13 significantly enhanced NK cell recognition of CD30-positive tumor cells and this enhanced tumor recognition correlated with superior NK cell activation. In the study, the combination of CIML NK cells with AFM13 potentiated cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity towards tumor target cells, further demonstrating the rationale for combining AFM13 with adoptive NK cell-based therapies as a promising therapeutic approach for treating CD30-positive malignancies. Abstracts providing updates on AFM13 clinical studies have been accepted for oral and poster presentations at the 15 th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML), to be held from June 18-22, 2019, in Lugano, Switzerland. The oral presentation includes updated data from the combination study of AFM13 with Merck's Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). In addition, a poster presentation will highlight data from the investigator-sponsored study of AFM13 as monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive lymphoma with cutaneous manifestations. Details on these presentations are expected to be available in mid-June through the ICML meeting website at www.lymphcon.ch. Affimed filed with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the full study protocol for the Companys Phase 2 registration-directed study of AFM13 as monotherapy in relapsed or refractory patients with peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL) and transformed mycosis fungoides, a subset of cutaneous T cell lymphoma. The study commencement is targeted for the second half of 2019 pending agreement with the FDA on the final study protocol. An investigator-sponsored study directed towards development of an off-the-shelf adoptive immunotherapy comprised of AFM13 pre-mixed with expanded cord blood-derived allogeneic NK cells in patients with relapsed/refractory CD30-positive malignancies is planned by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) with the support of Affimed. AFM24 (EGFR/CD16A) At the AACR Annual Meeting 2019, a poster titled, "Preclinical characterization of the bispecific EGFR/CD16A innate immune cell engager AFM24 for the treatment of EGFR-expressing solid tumors," highlighted potentially differentiating features of AFM24 versus standard of care anti-EGFR therapies, such as the monoclonal antibody cetuximab. AFM24 demonstrated the ability to bridge NK cells and macrophages to EGFR expressing tumor cell lines, and induced lysis through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), respectively, which was independent of RAS mutational status. AFM24 enhanced tumor infiltration of NK cells and elicited dose-dependent anti-tumor efficacy in in vivo tumor models. Importantly, AFM24 showed reduced inhibition of EGFR phosphorylation relative to the standard of care, cetuximab. Treatment of cynomolgus monkeys with AFM24 showed a favorable safety profile, even when treated at high dose levels, demonstrating AFM24's potential to have significantly lower toxicities in humans compared to standard of care. Affimed currently anticipates completing investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies of AFM24 by mid-year 2019 to support the initiation of the first-in-human study of AFM24 in the second half of 2019. Financial Highlights (Figures for the first quarter of 2019 and for the first quarter 2018 are unaudited.) Pro-forma cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits, including the milestone payment under the Genentech collaboration that the Company received in April 2019, totaled 100.4 million or approximately $113 million, as of March 31, 2019. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits on December 31, 2018 were 108.8 million. Based on its current operating and budget assumptions, Affimed anticipates that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposits as of March 31, 2019 will enable the Company to fund its planned clinical development and early development activities into 2021. Net cash used in operating activities was 13.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to net cash used in operating activities of 6.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Total revenue was 11.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to 0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The increase in revenue is primarily attributable to the recognition of 10.6 million as revenue from the Genentech collaboration in the first quarter of 2019. Research and development (R&D) expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were 8.0 million compared to 6.4 million for the first quarter of 2018. The increase was primarily related to higher expenses related to clinical study startup activities for the AFM13 registration study in PTCL, as well as early stage development and discovery activities. General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the first quarter of 2019 were higher at 2.4 million compared to 2.0 million for the first quarter of 2018. This increase was primarily related to higher personnel expenses. Net income was 1.9 million, or 0.03 per common share, for the first quarter of 2019, compared to a net loss of 8.2 million, or 0.15 per common share, for the first quarter of 2018. Net income was primarily related to significantly increased revenue, partially offset by higher R&D and G&A expenses. Note on IFRS Reporting Standards Affimed prepares and reports the consolidated financial statements and financial information in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). None of the financial statements were prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States. Affimed maintains its books and records in Euro. Conference Call and Webcast Information Affimed will host a conference call and webcast today, Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the companys financial results and recent corporate developments. To access the call, please dial +1 (631) 510-7495 for U.S. callers, or +44 (0) 2071 928000 for international callers, and reference conference ID 1083705 approximately 15 minutes prior to the call. An audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed in the Webcasts section on the Investors page of the Affimed website at https://www.affimed.com/investors/webcasts/. A replay of the webcast will be available on Affimeds website shortly after the conclusion of the call and will be archived for 30 days following the call. About Affimed N.V. Affimed (AFMD) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that engineers targeted immunotherapies, seeking to improve patient outcomes through the power of innate immunity. Affimeds fit-for-purpose ROCK platform allows innate immune engagers to be designed for specific patient populations. The Company is developing single and combination therapies to treat cancers. For more information, please visit www.affimed.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to", "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places throughout this release and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses and current expectations concerning, among other things, the value of our ROCK platform, our ongoing and planned preclinical development and clinical trials, our collaborations and development of our products in combination with other therapies, the timing of and our ability to make regulatory filings and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our product candidates our intellectual property position, our collaboration activities, our ability to develop commercial functions, expectations regarding clinical trial data, our results of operations, cash needs, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, future transactions, growth and strategies, the industry in which we operate, the trends that may affect the industry or us and the risks uncertainties and other factors described under the heading Risk Factors in Affimeds filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Affimed Investor Contact: Gregory Gin, Head of Investor Relations E-Mail: IR@affimed.com Affimed Media Contact: Anca Alexandru, Head of Communications, EU IR E-Mail: media@affimed.com Affimed N.V. Unaudited consolidated statements of comprehensive income/(loss) (in thousand) For the three months ended March 31 2019 2018 Revenue 11,353 532 Other income net 86 (11) Research and development expenses (7,987) (6,396) General and administrative expenses (2,434) (2,038) Operating income / (loss) 1,018 (7,913) Finance income / (costs) net 834 (289) Income / (loss) before tax 1,852 (8,202) Income taxes 0 (1) Income / (loss) for the period 1,852 (8,203) Other comprehensive income / (loss) Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss Equity investments at fair value OCI - net change in fair value 73 (195) Other comprehensive income / (loss) 73 (195) Total comprehensive income / (loss) 1,925 (8,398) Earnings / (loss) per share in per share (undiluted = diluted) 0.03 (0.15) Weighted number of common shares outstanding 62,430,106 54,838,038 Affimed N.V. Consolidated statements of financial position (in thousand) March 31, 2019 December 31, 2018 (unaudited) ASSETS Non-current assets Intangible assets 107 56 Leasehold improvements and equipment 1,374 1,414 Long term financial assets 3,898 3,825 Right-of-use assets 635 0 6,014 5,295 Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 63,089 94,829 Financial assets 32,043 13,974 Trade and other receivables 8,298 1,429 Inventories 325 260 Other assets 570 387 104,325 110,879 TOTAL ASSETS 110,339 116,174 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Equity Issued capital 624 624 Capital reserves 239,656 239,055 Fair value reserves 2,667 2,594 Accumulated deficit (200,292) (202,144) Total equity 42,655 40,129 Non-current liabilities Borrowings 957 1,690 Contract liabilities 33,488 37,512 Lease liabilities 302 0 Total non-current liabilities 34,747 39,202 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 6,289 9,425 Borrowings 3,083 3,083 Lease liabilities 334 0 Contract liabilities 23,231 24,335 Total current liabilities 32,937 36,843 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 110,339 116,174 Affimed N.V. Unaudited consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousand) For the three months ended March 31 2019 2018 Cash flow from operating activities Income / (loss) for the period 1,852 (8,203) Adjustments for the period: - Income taxes 0 1 - Depreciation and amortisation 210 99 - Net gain from disposal of leasehold improvements and equipment (9) 0 - Share based payments 601 370 - Finance income / costs net (834) 289 1,820 (7,444) Change in trade and other receivables (6,688) (711) Change in inventories (65) (21) Change in other assets (183) (17) Change in trade, other payables and contract liabilities (8,252) 1,345 Cash used in operating activities (13,368) (6,848) Interest received 62 26 Paid interest (77) (101) Net cash used in operating activities (13,383) (6,923) Cash flow from investing activities Purchase of intangible assets (64) (9) Purchase of leasehold improvements and equipment (66) (146) Cash received from the sale of leasehold improvements and equipment 0 1 Cash paid for investments in financial assets (21.061) 0 Cash received from maturity of financial assets 3,513 0 Net cash used for investing activities (17,678) (154) Cash flow from financing activities Proceeds from issue of common shares 0 25,042 Transaction costs related to issue of common shares 0 (1,646) Repayment of lease liabilities (82) 0 Repayment of borrowings (833) (750) Cash flow from financing activities (915) 22,646 Exchange-rate related changes of cash and cash equivalents 236 (66) Net changes to cash and cash equivalents (31,976) 15,568 Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 94,829 39,837 Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 63,089 55,339 Affimed N.V. Unaudited consolidated statements of changes in equity (in thousand) For Jason Berry, Managing Director of Alaska Air Cargo (NYSE: ALK) (a division of Alaska Airlines), it's that time of year when things get a little fishy. The opening of the Copper River salmon fishing season was last week, and early Friday morning, Alaska Air Cargo brought 18,000 pounds of the prized delicacy to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (affectionately known as Sea-Tac) in Seattle, Washington, for distribution to hungry chefs and consumers in the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the lower 48 states. Across all flights Friday nearly 50,000 pounds of salmon were carried south. While this is a single commodity trafficked seasonally on a single lane, Berry knows that Alaska Air Cargo must be diversified to succeed outside of its namesake state, and building that awareness and perception is key. "Alaska [Airlines] is not just Alaska," Berry shares one morning this spring from the airline's home city of Seattle. "Our legacy is Alaska and something we're proud of. We're called Alaska and we're so much more than that. Look at our network and where we fly. The route map speaks for itself." He's right about that map. It was only in 2001 that Alaska Airlines added its first transcontinental flight to Washington, D.C. In 2008, the company undertook its largest ramp-up ever, moving into Hawaii, which is now served with 30 Alaska Airlines flights per day. In 2016, Alaska Airlines acquired Virgin America and beginning in June 2018, the belly space was available to cargo to sell and fill. That addition meant that cargo was the fastest growing revenue segment for the airline in the first quarter of 2019, up 17.9 percent over the same period in 2018. The combined might of Alaska Airlines and Virgin Air now means that Alaska Air Cargo has access to 1,300 flights per day, all domestic, reaching from one end of the country to the other, including the Hawaiian Islands. Alaska Airlines is also moving beyond its previous single-hub of Seattle. The airline is now utilizing flights and operations in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego for transcontinental operations. Story continues But the story of Alaska Airlines cannot be told without looking at what the airline means to the state and to Alaskans themselves. In an era where the majority of the population is accustomed to easily moving between cities, for some remote communities in Alaska, it's air or nothing. For Berry, there's a reverence and responsibility attached to the name on the plane. "It's what makes us unique. The only way to get to some of these communities is by air. We've enhanced the living and life of these villages and feel we have a duty to support these communities from our hubs that our goal is to take care of everyone in the state." Alaska sells to two audiences shippers in Alaska and forwarders in the continental states. In Alaska, Regional Sales Manager Shannon Stevens will have a day of sales calls that could include school districts that are receiving produce from California and native corporations that are getting building supplies, food and prescriptions all things that cannot be brought in to many locations across Alaska in a timely fashion or in the necessary quantities by truck or even barge. "From construction companies to Vietnamese restaurants, Shannon calls on them all," he quipped. Key to what has contributed to Alaska Air Cargo's success has been the acquisition and deployment of three 737-700BDSF freighters. Alaska Airlines previously operated combination aircraft, but these three freighters, each with a capacity of roughly 40,000 pounds, allow for greater lift north and south. Of course, timing in air cargo is everything, and based on when the aircraft were delivered and put in service, all three came up on their heavy maintenance checks at times that were less than ideal. "We needed to find the time to take the aircraft in for heavy maintenance." Each aircraft is taken out of service for a month and it's not just the $1 million or so price tag for the service, but the lost opportunity cost and revenue. The maintenance takes place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where the maintenance partner and Alaska's own team work together. One of the freighters, tail number 625AS, was due back in time for the opening of salmon season and while it didn't make it, Alaska had the capacity to get the fish southwards. Looking ahead to 2019, Berry forecasts both headwinds and tailwinds appropriate for an airline operating a robust schedule of transcontinental flights crisscrossing the country. He and his "elite unit of special forces" (as his recently retired boss called the 500-person cargo team who develop, lead, sell and service cargo for the 87-year-old airline), feel good about where they're going. They know that while the freighter maintenance is causing some early-year pains, they are looking at new technology deployments and a new cargo website which, coupled with their mix of high-value, time-sensitive cargo and continued growth, will hopefully allow them to outpace the industry by a modest amount. Image sourced from Pixabay See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. McLean, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alion Science and Technology Corporation, headquartered in McLean, Va., announces today that it has entered into a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement to sell its Naval Systems Business Unit, including its Canadian business and a small number of related contract operations (collectively NSBU), to Serco Inc. for $225 million. The sale, subject to certain regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second half of 2019. Serco Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serco Group, plc, and is a leading provider of shipboard, shore and systems installation and upgrade services to the U.S. Navy. The NSBUs ship acquisition, marine engineering, ship design and construction, test and modernization capabilities are complimentary to Sercos existing portfolio. Steve Schorer, Chairman and CEO of Alion, stated We are pleased to enter into an agreement to sell Alions NSBU business to Serco. This divestiture will allow us to reinvest in our six core capability areas including C5 systems, ISR solutions, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber solutions, Electronic Warfare technology, and Live Virtual Constructive training systems. We remain fully committed to providing best-in-class solutions and supporting our customers in providing the warfighter a technical edge against advanced threats they face both today and in the future. About Alion Science and Technology At Alion, we combine large company resources with small business responsiveness to design and deliver engineering solutions across six core capability areas. Our engineers, technologists, and program managers bring together an agile engineering methodology and the best tools on the market to deliver mission success faster and at lower costs. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards, including ISO 9001:2015 certifications and a CMMI Level 3 appraisal. Based just outside of Washington, D.C., we help our clients achieve practical innovations by turning big ideas into real solutions. To learn more, visit www.alionscience.com. Story continues About Serco Inc. Serco Inc. is a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services. They advise, design, integrate, and deliver solutions that transform how clients achieve their missions. Their customer-first approach, robust portfolio of services, and global experience enable them to respond with solutions that achieve outcomes with value. Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Serco Inc. has approximately 6,000 employees and annual revenue of $1 billion. Serco Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc, a $4 billion international business that helps transform government and public services around the world. More information about Serco Inc. can be found at www.serco.com/na. Donna Charapich Alion Science and Technology 1.703.269.3473 dcharapich@alionscience.com Donna Charapich Alion 7032693473 dcharapich@alionscience.com The early weakness in Asia appears to be a reaction to Wednesdays performance on Wall Street. Shares in the U.S. were under pressure all session after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin essentially said trade talks had stalled with no new negotiations scheduled. This made investors nervous because it dampened hopes of a speedy resolution to the trade war. The major Asia/Pacific stock indexes are down across the board on Thursday amid the ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China. Accommodative U.S. Federal Reserve minutes, weak technology and energy sectors and domestic events also weighed on Asian share prices. Early in the session, losses were led by a more than 1% drop in the Shanghai composite, the Shenzhen component and the Shenzhen composite. At 04:07 GMT, Japans Nikkei 225 Index is trading 21127.68, down 155.69 or -0.73 percent. Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index is at 27340.96, down 364.98 or -1.32 percent. The South Korean KOSPI is trading 2061.90, down 2.96 or -0.84 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is trading 6496.70, down 14.00 or -0.22. In China, the Shanghai Index is at 2867.48, down 24.23 or -0.84. Asian Markets Mirroring Wall Street Weakness The early weakness in Asia appears to be a reaction to Wednesdays performance on Wall Street. Shares in the U.S. were under pressure all session after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin essentially said trade talks had stalled with no new negotiations scheduled. This made investors nervous because it dampened hopes of a speedy resolution to the trade war. China May Be Rethinking Economic Ties with US An article in the South China Morning Post also weighed on investor sentiment. According to the article, The decision by the United States to impose tariffs on all Chinese products and put smartphone maker Huawei on a trade blacklist that could choke off vital components has severely damaged the fragile trust between the two countries, forcing China to re-examine the entire bilateral economic relationship to protect itself, according to Chinese researchers. More importantly, The escalation of US trade tariffs and the Huawei blacklisting have also reinforced Beijings long-standing belief that it has to rely on itself for key technologies and resources. Story continues The trade war, as seen from the current situation, will be a long-term issue, Zhang Yongjun, a senior economist of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, said last week-end. To fight the trade war, China must boost its domestic market demand. Plunge in Softbank Group Weighs on Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225 dropped nearly 1 percent early in the session, weighed down by shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group plunged more than 5 percent after sources told Reuters that U.S. Justice Department staff have recommended blocking a deal between T-Mobile and rival Sprint. Reuters reported, The U.S. Justice Departments antitrust division staff has recommended the agency file a lawsuit to block T-Mobile USs $26 billion acquisition of smaller rival Sprint, according to two sources familiar with the matter. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: (Bloomberg) -- As the U.S. crackdown on Huawei Technologies Co. ripples across the globe, one of the largest exchange-traded funds tracking chipmakers is feeling the heat. The group of Huawei suppliers in the $1.4 billion iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF accounts for 81% of the funds weight, according to Bloomberg supply-chain data. And the fact that the company represents about 3% of the total revenue derived by SOXXs holdings puts extra pressure on the fund -- which is set for its worst month since 2008. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index breached its 200-day moving average for the first time since February on Thursday. Huawei, which the Trump administration has labeled a national security threat, is at the center of the trade war with China. The technology behemoth is facing multiple challenges such as the arrest of its chief financial officer, criminal charges and the prospect of being banned from buying American components. The U.S. is also considering widening the dragnet beyond Huawei by cutting off the flow of tech to as many as five Chinese companies. Chipmakers are on the front lines of the trade war and the groups volatility will be heavily influenced by any developments between now and the next U.S.-China meeting, Evercore ISI strategists led by Dennis DeBusschere wrote in a note to clients. Analysts now worry that the U.S. ban on Huawei could disrupt Apple Inc.s supply chain, making its business in China more difficult. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates that the iPhone makers earnings could take a 29% hit if the Asian nation were to retaliate. About 6.7% of SOXXs revenue comes from Apple, and the companys suppliers account for about 69% of the funds weight, according to Bloomberg supply-chain data. This isnt like the old-fashioned steel company where you can throw up a new steel line in six months, said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Management in Pittsburgh. All of this is very unique, one-off stuff. Huawei will have to come to these suppliers. Theres very few replacements. Story continues President Donald Trumps order banning sales to Huawei shows just how interconnected the global supply chain is, potentially hurting both domestic and international companies in the process. Thats made the semiconductor industry one of the biggest casualties in the trade war as Chinese technology companies are heavily reliant on imported chips. The majority of companies in the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor, or SMH, are also suppliers to Huawei. The fund is poised for its biggest monthly decline on record. The SOXX slumped as much as 3.2% on Thursday, joining losses in global stocks as the simmering trade dispute between the worlds two largest economies took a greater toll on markets. The Communist Partys flagship newspaper published two commentaries assailing American moves to curb Chinese companies. Until there is some sort of resolution to the ongoing and escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China, semis, like a lot of other groups with exposure to China, are going to get whipped around, Paul Hickey, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group, wrote in a note to clients. (Adds technical analysis in second paragraph and updates prices throughout.) --With assistance from Tom Lagerman and Jeran Wittenstein. To contact the reporters on this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net;Carolina Wilson in New York City at cwilson166@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Rita Nazareth, Dave Liedtka For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. The Joint Corp (JYNT) has been posting some impressive topline growth and that has helped propel some recent earnings estimate revision to the upside. When estimates move higher so does the Zacks Rank and this stock has the highest Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it is the Bull of the Day. Description The Joint Corp. is a healthcare franchisor of chiropractic clinics. The Company's plans include: Single Visit, Premium Wellness Plan and Wellness Plan. It also provides a family wellness plan. The Company also provides removal of subluxations. It operates its clinics across: Albany, New York; Austin, Texas; Brentwood, California; Fort Mill, South Carolina; Lubbock, Texas; Lynnwood, Washington; Middletown, New Jersey; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California and Spartanburg, South Carolina, among others. The Joint Corp. is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Earnings History The earning history is pretty good for JYNT. Over the last four quarters I see two beats, one miss and one NA on the Zacks website. There was no estimate data for one quarter, but looking back at the price and consensus and EPS surprise chart (https://www.zacks.com/stock/chart/JYNT/price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart) you can see of the last 6 quarters where Zacks had estimates, there were 5 beats and one miss. In looking at the topline for this name, I saw this chart in a company provided presentation: Revenue growth like that is just what I love to see. Consistent revenue growth tends to help bring in new buyers to a stock. Estimate Revisions The Zacks Rank is an algorithm that is based on the movement of earnings estimates over the last 60 days. For JYNT, I see a positive one penny move for this quarter and nothing for next quarter. The full year 2019 EPS consensus estimate has risen from $0.21 to $0.23. The 2020 EPS consensus estimate has moved from $0.52 to $0.54. Those two cent moves dont seem like much but the implied growth rate is what is really attracting more and more investors to this story. Story continues Valuation JYNT has some lofty numbers in the valuation department. That style score grade of F is hard to swallow, as is a 124x trailing PE and 77x forward multiple. Given the franchise model, the book value is very low, so the 116x price to book multiple is going to keep that Zacks Value Style Score at an F for some time. That said, the 50% annual topline growth rate is going to draw a lot of attention, even with a 6.8x price to sales multiple. Chart The Joint Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise The Joint Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise The Joint Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Joint Corp. Quote Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Joint Corp. (JYNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research SANTIAGO, May 23 (Reuters) - Chile's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a joint business agreement between LATAM Airlines, the region's largest carrier, and American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia Airlines, upending an earlier approval by Chilean antitrust regulators. Chilean consumer advocacy group Conadecus appealed the initial regulatory approval last October over concerns it could increase fares and lower quality on routes. Authorities in Uruguay, Colombia and Brazil each approved the deal last year. (Reporting by Erik Lopez; writing by Dave Sherwood; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Chinas new Silk Road represents a threat to the existing system and challenges Americas global financial leadership, according to a former White House economist. The Chinas desire to realign the global financial system to put the Chinese renminbi front and center an intended goal of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or new Silk Road. From the U.S. perspective, obviously, we have been both providing the leadership in the global financial system, but we do derive benefits from it, K.C. Fung, a former White House Council of Economic Advisers Senior International Economist under President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton, told Yahoo Finance. Since the U.S. dollar is the world's foremost currency, we also use a system to sanction other economies, Fung added, by cutting them off from access to the global dollar liquidity, and so on. Fung, now a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz, said China wants to be at least a co-equal in the next 30 years to the U.S. Consequently, Beijing is pursuing various means to get its own system up and running which is financial, technological, and other standards. Students pose for a photo with a globe during a campaign to mark World Earth Day in a middle school in Dexing, Jiangxi province April 19, 2011. (Photo: REUTERS/China Daily) And from the U.S. perspective, that effort is a threat to the existing system, Fund said, adding that the existing world order that we have maintained for several decades is challenged. Historic golden opportunity for the Chinese currency Chinas big Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which began in 2013 and hopes to bring Asia, Africa and Europe closer to China has led to billions of dollars flowing out of China and into capital-hungry countries hands from Indonesia to Italy. One part of the BRI is the Digital Silk Road, which develops communications networks across the developing world. According to D.C.-based consulting firm RWR Advisory Group, China has already spent $79 billion developing various projects from telecom infrastructure to facial recognition. And investing in digital infrastructure could not just allow surveillance or an evolved form of neocolonialism, it could also serve Beijings desire to elevate Chinese renminbi (RMB) as a gold standard in finance. Story continues [The] Belt and Road Initiative is a great undertaking beneficial to all along the line, Xinhua news, citing the executive director of Chinas International Monetary Institute (IMI), reported in 2015 report. It also offers a historic golden opportunity for RMB internationalization. China's new Silk Road spans Central Asia and Europe. (Graphic: David Foster) And Chinas official stance is that financial integration is an important underpinning for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, according to a Silk Road Vision and Actions document from 2015. We should deepen financial cooperation, and make more efforts in building a currency stability system, investment and financing system and credit information system in Asia. It also hopes to support the efforts of governments of the countries along the Belt and Road and their companies and financial institutions with good credit-rating to issue Renminbi bonds in China. But if China does manage to take over the global financial system by internationalizing the Chinese RMB the Digital Silk Road would help China circumvent external surveillance and create both an alternative and parallel to the U.S.-centered SWIFT system, according to researchers at the UK-based Institute of Development Studies. In such a scenario, countries affected by U.S. sanctions could potentially bypass those limitations and turn to the Chinese instead to retain their lifeline to the global financial system. A tourist pays for a zip tour with Alipay in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 30, 2017. (Photo credit: Xinhua via Getty Images) No evidence to panic Another expert said that there is no reason to be imminently worried about the U.S. dollar being dislodged by the renminbi as the global reserve currency. Theyre a long, long way away from that, Duff & Phelps Chief Strategist and former U.S. Treasury official Chris Campbell told Yahoo Finance. The Chinese have a very long view... on economic strategies but I did not see any evidence of that while I was at the Treasury. Campbell emphasized that he saw no evidence to panic [over] the degradation of the U.S. dollar as the common currency. The RMB is far from being in a place where it can displace the USD. China is playing a very long game on this, theres no question, added Campbell, who served as the former assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury for financial institutions. But the reality is, the one thing that is frustrating them with the Trump administration, compared to previous administrations, is that... the strategy of talking a lot and just not doing a lot of action... is just not working with this President. Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami. Read more: Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. China outpaced the United States in becoming the largest smart speaker market in first-quarter 2019. Per the latest data from Canalys, China grabbed 51% of the global market share, while the U.S. market share dropped to 24% from 44% recorded in fourth-quarter 2018. Chinas smart speaker market hit 10.6 million units, marking a year-over-year surge of almost 500% and 23% sequentially. In comparison, 5 million smart speakers were shipped in the United States during the same time frame. Overall, the global smart speaker market soared 131% to hit 20.7 million. AMZN Sustained Global Dominance, BIDU Tops China Market Amazon AMZN continued its global dominance with a market share of 22.1%, trailed by Alphabet GOOGL divisions Google with a 16.8% market share. Baidu BIDU followed with a 16% market share in the quarter. Market research firm Strategy Analytics also ranked Amazon at the top, with a market share of 21.7%. Google trailed with a market share of 18%, followed by Baidus with 15.8%. Solid demand for smart speakers in China, where Amazon and Google do not have a presence, benefited Baidu, Alibaba BABA and Xiaomi. Baidu shipped 3.3 million smart speakers in the quarter. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) stock entered the smart speaker market with its Xiaodu branded devices in second-quarter 2018. Notably, Baidu sold 3.6 million smart speakers in 2018. Alibaba, which carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), sold 3.2 million smart speakers and grabbed a market share of 15.5%. Unit shipment soared 204.3% year over year. Year-to-Date Performance Moreover, Xiaomi shipped 3.2 million smart speakers, reflecting year-over-year growth of a massive 411.4% and a market share of 15.4%. Amazon, another Zacks Rank #3 stock, shipped 4.6 million smart speakers, reflecting year-over-year growth of 84.7%. Google shipped 3.5 million devices, growing at a much slower pace of 7%. Although Canalys data didnt mention Apple AAPL, the iPhone-maker shipped 1.1 million smart speakers in the quarter, per data from Strategy Analytics. Unit shipment reflected year-over-year growth of 105% better than Amazons growth of 50% and Googles growth of 92%. However, Apples growth prospects are quite dim due to comparatively higher prices of its HomePod and the negative impact of the ongoing trade-war between China and the United States. Apple also has a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Smart Speaker: Competition Intensifying The growth projections are bullish as Canalys projects the worldwide smart speaker installed base to increase from 114 million units in 2018 to 207.9 million in 2019, suggesting stellar growth of 82.4%. IDCs growth estimates are a bit modest compared to Canalys. Smart speaker shipments are expected to hit 144.3 million in 2019. Moreover, it is anticipated to witness CAGR of 13.6% over the 2019-2023 time frame and hit 240.1 million shipments by 2023. IDC considers smart speakers as part of smart home devices. Per Canalys, China is expected to witness whopping growth of 166% in year-over-year unit shipment of smart speakers in the current year. South Korea and Japan follow with growth estimates of 132% and 131%, respectively. In comparison, the United States is expected to be up 46% year over year. Expanding linguistic features, including addition of support for languages like Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), Japanese, and improvement in speech recognition accuracy, are major growth drivers. Moreover, per Deloitte, declining complexity and manufacturing costs, partly due to technological advancement, which has lowered the requirement of number of microphones per device is a key catalyst. These factors are fueling strong demand for smart speakers in China and Asia-Pacific, which bodes well for Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi. The low cost smart speaker devices from these companies are anticipated to provide significant competition to Amazon and Google this year. Story continues Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research President Trump announced earlier this month that tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would increase to 25% from 10% on May 10. In the last two weeks, his administration also put Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that prevents it from buying from American companies without U.S. government permission. Nearly three-fourths of respondents to a joint survey by the American Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai and Beijing said the latest round of U.S. tariffs and planned counter-tariffs from China are negatively affecting their businesses. The latest U.S. actions on trade are preventing negotiations with Beijing from proceeding, China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday. "If the U.S. would like to keep on negotiating it should, with sincerity, adjust its wrong actions. Only then can talks continue," Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said Thursday in Mandarin, according to a CNBC translation. He did not mention any U.S. actions specifically, but it's been a tense couple of weeks between the world's two-largest economies. President Donald Trump unexpectedly accused China of reneging on a deal earlier this month and announced that tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would increase to 25% from 10% on May 10. Beijing retaliated with raising levies on $60 billion worth of U.S. products. In the last two weeks, his administration also put Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that prevents it from buying from American companies without U.S. government permission. Google said Sunday it would cut ties with Huawei in order to comply with the order. But after the U.S. temporarily eased some restrictions on trade for the telecom and smartphone company, Google said Tuesday it plans to work with Huawei over the next 90 days. "The U.S. ... crackdown on Chinese companies not only seriously damages the normal commercial cooperation between both countries, but it also forms a great threat to the security of the global industrial and supply chain," Gao said. "China is firmly opposed to this. We will closely monitor developments and make adequate preparations." Story continues U.S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC's Ylan Mui on Wednesday that a trip to Beijing has not been planned. Trump has said he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in late June at the G-20 meeting in Japan. When asked Thursday whether Xi would meet Trump then, Gao referred reporters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nearly three-fourths of respondents to a joint survey by the American Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai and Beijing said the latest round of U.S. tariffs and planned counter-tariffs from China are negatively affecting their businesses. Some respondents also noted increased scrutiny by customs authorities and other bureaucratic challenges. Gao said Thursday that all foreign companies in China will be protected by the Chinese government. Regarding the issues some foreign companies raised, he said that China is working to address them and improve the business environment. More From CNBC By Doina Chiacu and Stella Qiu WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday U.S. complaints against Huawei Technologies Co Ltd might be resolved within the framework of a U.S.-China trade deal, while at the same time calling the Chinese telecommunications giant "very dangerous." Washington last week effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with Huawei, the world's largest telecoms network gear maker, citing national security concerns. "You look at what they've done from a security standpoint, from a military standpoint, it's very dangerous," Trump said in remarks at the White House. "If we made a deal, I could imagine Huawei being possibly included in some form or some part of it." Trump predicted a swift end to the trade war with China, although no high-level talks have been scheduled between the two countries since the last round of negotiations ended in Washington two weeks ago. Shares of S&P technology and industrial companies, bellwethers of trade sentiment, fell more than 2% on Thursday as the market slumped in a sign the conflict was being seen as a battle not just over trade but also about who controls global technology. Earlier on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the chief executive of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, of lying about his company's lack of ties to the Beijing government, which he said represented a security risk. "The company is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese Communist Party. And that connectivity, the existence of those connections puts American information that crosses those networks at risk," he said. Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services. Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who is Ren's daughter, was arrested in Canada in December and faces extradition to the United States on charges she conspired to defraud global banks about Huawei's relationship with a company operating in Iran. She and the company deny the charges. Tech companies around the world have fallen in line with U.S. curbs on the company. Japanese conglomerate Panasonic Corp said it had stopped shipments of some Huawei components, a day after British chip designer ARM did the same, potentially crippling the Chinese company's ability to make new chips for smartphones. Story continues Asked if he believed more firms would stop working with Huawei, Pompeo told CNBC in an interview Thursday: "We do. We've been working at the State Department to make sure that everyone understands the risks." U.S. HELP FOR TECH FIRMS, FARMERS U.S. lawmakers moved on Wednesday to provide about $700 million in grants to help U.S. telecoms providers with the cost of removing Huawei equipment from their networks, and to block the use of equipment or services from Huawei and Chinese telecoms firm ZTE in next-generation 5G networks. On Thursday, China's Commerce Ministry hit back. "If the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions. Negotiations can only continue on the basis of equality and mutual respect," spokesman Gao Feng told a weekly briefing. "We will closely monitor relevant developments and prepare necessary responses," he said, without elaborating. Trump hiked tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on May 10 and threatened to slap tariffs of up to 25% on an additional list of Chinese imports worth about $300 billion, prompting China to respond with levies of its own. Sources have said the trade talks stalled after China tried to delete commitments from a draft agreement that its laws would be changed to enact new policies on issues from intellectual property protection to forced technology transfers. With no resolution in sight, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Thursday announced a $16 billion aid program to help U.S. farmers hurt by the conflict, with some funds to be used to open markets outside China to U.S. products. Farmers have been among those hardest hit by the trade war. Retailers, including Best Buy Co Inc and Walmart Inc, are also warning that the tariffs will raise prices for consumers. The newest round will cost the typical American household $831 annually, according to research Thursday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Of a list of 20 companies compiled by Goldman Sachs that derive a substantial portion of their sales from China, the average stock price decline since Trump's tweet on May 5 signaling that tariff increases were coming is nearly 15% compared with a 4.5% drop for the wider S&P 500 Index. FLASHPOINTS In Thursday's interview, Pompeo confirmed a New York Times report on Wednesday that China was using high-tech surveillance to set up an intrusive policing effort that could be used to subdue its minorities, including ethnic Muslim Uighurs. The United States is considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd over the issue, a person briefed on the matter said. Also feeding into tensions, the U.S. military said it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, prompting Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang to lodge "stern representations." Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. Trump has embraced protectionism as part of an "America First" agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade. He is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Japan June 28-29, around the time when the next levies could be ready, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's calculations. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey in Washington, and Stella Qiu and Kevin Yao in Beijing; Writing by Andrea Shalal and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Susan Thomas and Tom Brown) FILE PHOTO: China's ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai responds to reporters questions during an interview with Reuters in Washington, U.S., November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo By David Lawder and Makini Brice WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Tuesday that Beijing was ready to resume trade talks with Washington, but blamed the U.S. side for frequently "changing its mind" on tentative deals to end U.S.-China trade disputes. "China remains ready to continue our talks with our American colleagues to reach a conclusion. Our door is still open," Cui said in an interview on Fox News Channel. No further trade talks between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended in a stalemate on May 10, the same day U.S. President Donald Trump sharply increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. Negotiations between the United States and China have soured dramatically since early May, when Chinese officials sought major changes to the text of a proposed deal that the Trump administration says had been largely agreed. Asked about this reversal, Cui turned the tables and said it was U.S. negotiators that had abruptly backed away from some previous deals that had been tentatively agreed over the past year. "It's quite clear it is the U.S. side that more than once changed its mind overnight and broke the tentative deal already reached." Cui said. "So we are still committed to whatever we agree to do, but it is the U.S. side that changed its mind so often." In June 2018, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held negotiations with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on an offer by China to increase its purchases of U.S. goods by around $70 billion, U.S. officials said at the time. But U.S. President Donald Trump did not accept the offer, choosing instead to begin imposing tariffs on Chinese goods. The United States is seeking sweeping changes to China's trade and economic policies, including an end to forced technology transfers and theft of U.S. trade secrets. Washington also wants curbs on subsidies for Chinese state-owned enterprises and increased access to U.S. markets. Story continues Cui told Fox News Channel that U.S. restrictions on Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd announced last week "are without any foundation and evidence" and could undermine the normal functioning of markets. "Everybody knows Huawei is a privately owned company. It is just a normal Chinese private company," Cui said. "So all the action taken against Huawei are politically motivated." (Reporting by David Lawder and Makini Brice; Additional reporting by Eric Beech; editing by Grant McCool) WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) - Commerzbank may refine its strategy and is still open to mergers following the collapse of talks with its larger rival Deutsche Bank, the lender's chief executive said on Wednesday. CEO Martin Zielke told shareholders that the talks with Deutsche "showed where we should possibly sharpen our strategy". "We will be able to say more about this in the autumn," Zielke said at the bank's annual shareholder meeting. Earlier this year, Zielke embarked on talks to tie up with Deutsche Bank. But the talks collapsed after six weeks, with the banks citing risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands as among the reasons for their decision to walk away. With Deutsche out of the picture, both Italy's UniCredit and Dutch ING Groep have expressed interest in Commerzbank, which is Germany's second-largest listed lender, sources have said. Zielke, in response to questions from shareholders at the meeting, said that the bank was open to growing "inorganically", which means through mergers and acquisitions. He said that he meets regularly with CEOs of competing banks. For example, he has met twice with ING CEO Ralph Hamers over the past year, but there were no concrete offers for merger talks, Zielke said. Commerzbank, which is still partially state-owned after a bailout during the financial crisis, has been cutting costs and investing in technology. Profit rose sharply in 2018 from a year earlier but Zielke said profit needed to improve further. Commerzbank's supervisory board will discuss the bank's updated strategy in mid-September, with announcements likely in early October. (Reporting by Tom Sims and Hans Seidenstuecker; Editing by Michelle Martin and Jane Merriman) Investing.com - Prices of major cryptocurrencies dropped on Thursday morning in Asia after Bitcoin lost steam. Bitcoin lost 3.35% to $7,655.3 by 12:11 PM ET (03:11 AM GMT). The coin went on a downward trajectory after hitting $7,692.3 overnight. On May 16, it reached a 10-month high at $8,287.2. Ethereum dropped 5.01% to $242.82, XRP slipped 6.83% to $0.37262 and Litecoin shed 3.75% to $87.364. The total market cap amounted to $239.5 billion, down from $250 billion the day before. In a pair of separate developments, Russia moved a step closer to adopting crypto-related legislation while a court in Israel took the position that Bitcoin is an asset and not a currency. Olga Skorobogatova, first deputy governor of the Russian central bank, said the bill On Digital Financial Assets will be adopted in the coming months as it is at a sufficiently high degree of preparedness. In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin placed a direct order to adopt regulations for the crypto industry and enforce them by this July. While the Russian authorities want things to move ahead fast, they had to delay the second reading of the bill because of an order from the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The Chairman of the Russian Parliaments Committee on Financial Market revealed yesterday. The FATF and Russia are divided on the legislation of major industry terms such as Cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. The FAFT would like so but Russias central bank is reportedly avoiding so. In separate news, Israeli court ruled that Bitcoin is an asset but not a currency. It means that crypto investors will be subject to capital gains tax for their profits made from selling cryptocurrency. The Israel Tax Authority argued that currencies must have some physical manifestation under the countrys laws, hence Bitcoin should not be deemed as a currency. Related Articles Japan to Check Money Laundering Policies of Crypto Exchanges Ahead of FATF Inspection Stellar Falls 10% In Rout Cardano Falls 10% In Rout Ctrips Global Push Starts to Pay Off in Diversified Revenue Streams Ctrip serves the worlds biggest e-commerce market, China. Its next targets are outbound Chinese travelers in Southeast Asia, plus customers in India and Europe. Already more than half of its 300 million monthly customers for its brands, which include Skyscanner and Trip.com, are based outside of mainland China. Quarter by quarter, Ctrips international ambitions which it has touted since 2016 have begun to drive its numbers. In the first three months of 2019, Ctrip generated 35 percent of the groups total revenue from its international business, mostly outbound Chinese travel. One big caveat: Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan may account for roughly half of the international outbound visits of Chinese mainlanders. Ctrip hasnt publicly ranked the popularity of its foreign markets. It will take five to ten years for Ctrip to get that global share of revenue to 50 percent, predicted CEO Jane Sun during a conference call on Thursday. However, the pace of growth remains dramatic in the history of online travel. Its profitable growth, too. Ctrips gross profit as a percentage of sales is higher for international outbound travel on average than it is for domestic travel, executives said. While Ctrip isnt competing directly much yet with other global conglomerates, it is casting a longer shadow across the globe. In 2018, Ctrip claimed to have sold $104.8 billion in gross merchandise volume, compared to Booking Holdings, which processed $92.7 billion in gross bookings in 2018, and Expedia Group, which processed $99.7 billion. At home in China, Ctrip and its 45 percent-owned-affiliate Qunar together accounted for 52 percent of Chinas online travel market, according to Bernstein Research. For more insight, register for Skift Forum Asia, which will include the panel Deep Dive: OTAs Face Off in Asia Chinese customers tend to go directly to Ctrip or rivals like Alibabas Fliggy and Meituan to book travel, unlike in many Western countries, where travelers often start searches on Google. That saves Ctrip some of the marketing expense that Booking.com and Expedia pay. Story continues However, intense price competition in China depresses Ctrips commission rates, which hover at around 20 percent. Thats lower than what its Western rivals can often charge abroad, which is usually more than 30 percent. No Economic Drag Late last year, Ctrip had to retool its marketing strategy to cope with sluggishness in the broader Chinese economy and rising costs. In the first quarter, Ctrips net revenue rose by 21 percent, year-over-year, to $1.2 billion (8.2 billion renminbi). In the three months ended March 31, Ctrip generated net income of $687 million (4.6 billion renminbi), four times as much as a year earlier. To internationalize its inventory, Ctrip has set up offices in Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, Australia, and elsewhere. Trip.com, the companys international platform, runs call centers in Edinburgh, Seoul, and Tokyo. In the first quarter of 2019, Edinburgh-based Skyscanners direct booking program had 250 percent growth in bookings year-over-year. The brand lets consumers buy plane tickets without leaving the site or app. Ctrip also earlier this month announced a share swap in which it took a 49 percent stake in MakeMyTrip, Indias largest online travel agency. Planned strategic cooperation should deepen Ctrips international effort. Less well known are Ctrips recent investments in online travel companies WingOnTravel, ezTravel, Yongan Tourism, and Yiyou, to gain more share in the markets of India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Ctrip is also cutting deals with overseas hotel groups. Earlier this month, Melia, the largest hotel group in Spain, agreed to begin offering exclusive offers and benefits to Ctrip users at its nearly 400 hotels worldwide. Ctrip users can now earn stay points along with additional benefits from MeliaRewards, the hotel groups loyalty program. Soon, the two companies will also launch a loyalty membership tier-matching program, where all tiers of Ctrips paid loyalty program could join MeliaRewards via Ctrips site and receive corresponding tiers in MeliaRewards. Ctrip may not take on Western online giants by storm but rather at a pace thats a bit like climate change sneaking up on Western companies who know they should prepare but have been whistling in denial. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. (Updates throughout with more details.) By Mike Stone and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The Senate Armed Services Committee unveiled a draft bill on Thursday that targets China on several fronts, from stemming the erosion of the U.S. military advantage against Beijing to countering the growing Chinese influence around the world. The $750-billion proposal would also authorize the U.S. military to buy more Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and fully fund a program to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal. The committee acknowledged that "our margin of military supremacy has eroded and is undermined by new threats from strategic competitors like China and Russia." The panel addressed what Congress sees as the threat from China, including stricter reporting of Beijing's "Belt and Road" international lending program. The bill would require the creation of a list of Chinese institutions and companies with any links to its military, to be used for screening visa applications for students and researchers. "A lot of universities just don't have the information about whether research they're conducting is under threat," a senior committee aide told reporters. Many U.S. universities work on research with military applications and U.S. officials worry about intellectual property theft coming from China. The annual bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is several steps from becoming law. Next month, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, is due to release its own draft version. Then the two committees must come up with a single, compromise version before it can be passed. It was too early to say exactly which provisions of the Senate draft would survive, but committee aides said they expect most of its major provisions would. China and the United States are increasingly becoming geopolitical adversaries as well as economic rivals. The United States and China had a heated exchange on Thursday, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies of lying about its ties to the government and Beijing saying Washington must end its "wrong actions" if it wanted trade talks to continue. F-35 JETS, SPACE FORCE Story continues The annual NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress passes every year. As a result, lawmakers use it as a vehicle for a range of policy proposals. The Senate version of the bill contains $3.6 billion that could replenish money used to fund construction of a wall on the Mexican border, but did not authorize additional funds requested by the White House, senior committee staff told the media. It authorizes the Pentagon to buy 94 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, comprising 60 of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model; 12 of the F-35B short take-off/vertical landing version, and 22 of the F-35C, which are used aboard aircraft carriers. Lockheed is developing and building the new warplanes for the U.S. military and 10 other countries. The NDAA would remove Turkey from the list of nations that have worked together to build the fifth generation F-35 fighter jet. Like other NATO allies, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in producing the F-35. But U.S. officials say Turkey's plan to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system would compromise the security of the F-35 jets. This year's proposal authorizes the creation of a Space Force - a proposal strongly backed by President Donald Trump - as a separately aligned service, but still part of the U.S. Air Force. And it would bar the Pentagon from reducing the number of U.S. troops in South Korea below 28,500. (Editing by Chris Sanders and Alistair Bell) A coalition of Connecticut Democrats, including Gov. Ned Lamont and top legislative leaders, announced Thursday they have reached consensus on legislation that could lead to a public health insurance option for people and small businesses by 2022. Called the "Connecticut Option," premiums for the yet-to-be designed plan are expected to cost 20% less than current average market premium costs, according to proponents. The wide-ranging bill also includes other components aimed at driving down the price of insurance and expanding access to health coverage. "This is a problem of great magnitude, not just in our state, but in this entire country," said Democratic Rep. Sean Scanlon, of Guilford, referring to the high cost of health insurance. "And today, we are taking a very bold step toward a transformational bill that will change the lives of Connecticut residents." Connecticut-based insurers, a key industry in the state, immediately voiced their opposition to the bill, predicting it puts Connecticut on the path toward government-run health insurance. "As the Insurance Capital of the World, we should be embracing the growth of the health plan jobs here," said Susan Halprin, head of the Association of Connecticut Health Plans. She urged the General Assembly to instead examine "all cost drivers" in the health care system when trying to reduce rates. Lawmakers in at least eight other states have proposed their own public option measures this year. Earlier this month, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, signed a bill putting his state on track to create the first public option health insurance program in the country, using a hybrid system where private insurers would offer state-defined plans. Democratic Sen. Matt Lesser of Middletown, however, said Connecticut's wide-ranging bill would be the "most ambitious" health care bill proposed by any state this year. Besides the Connecticut Option, which would be designed partly by the state's Office of Health Strategy and offered by private health insurers both inside and outside the state's health insurance exchange, the bill seeks federal permission to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada. It also reinstates Medicaid coverage for 26,000 parents that was cut in 2016; restores on a statewide basis a program under the federal Affordable Care Act designed to stabilize insurance rates; and provides subsidies to people currently ineligible for premium relief. Story continues There's also a plan to closely monitor health care spending growth in the state, a move proponents hope will help curb prices. To pay for all these things, the bill calls for reinstating the ACA's "individual mandate" a financial penalty for those who choose not to buy health insurance. It also imposes a tax on prescription opioid manufacturers and a surcharge paid by insurance companies. News of the bill took Republicans, the minority party in the General Assembly, by surprise. It comes about two weeks before the June 5 legislative adjournment deadline. Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, of North Haven, said unveiling such a wide-ranging bill so late in the session was an example of the Democrats' arrogance. The party now holds a stronger majority in the General Assembly compared with last year. "Not once, not once, had the Republicans even known this was going on or that a bill of this magnitude was being discussed," he said. "We found out from lobbyists last night." Fasano questioned how there will be enough time to vote on such a consequential bill that "hasn't had one day of sunlight," noting there hasn't been a public hearing devoted to the proposal, which originated as a proposal to allow people to receive coverage through the state employee health insurance program. Scanlon said he's hopeful lawmakers might vote on the bill sometime next week, after the Memorial Day holiday weekend. BRENTWOOD, Tenn., May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diversicare Healthcare Services, Inc. (DVCR) today announced a pending transaction as part of its portfolio management strategy. The Company has reached an agreement in principal with Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (OHI) to amend its master lease to terminate operations of ten nursing facilities located in Kentucky, totaling approximately 885 skilled nursing beds, and to concurrently transfer operations to an operator selected by Omega. The transaction is subject to closing conditions, including but not limited to, state licensure, regulatory approval, due diligence and successful sale of the real estate by Omega. Upon the completion of the transaction, Diversicare will no longer operate any skilled nursing centers in the State of Kentucky. The transaction is expected to become effective in the third quarter of 2019. Jay McKnight, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, Diversicare has operated in Kentucky for 25 years; we have a great team of caregivers and good relationships with our patients, residents and their families. As a result, this is not a decision we made lightly, but we have concluded that it is in the best interest of Diversicare and its shareholders to focus on our operations in other regions and other opportunities within our existing portfolio. About Diversicare Healthcare Services, Inc. As of May 22, 2019, Diversicare provides long-term care services to patients in 72 skilled nursing and senior housing centers containing 8,214 licensed nursing beds. For additional information about the Company, visit Diversicare's web site: www.DVCR.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The "forward-looking statements" contained in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are predictive in nature and are frequently identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend," and similar words indicating possible future expectations, events or actions. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and present our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this release. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements made in this release. In addition to any assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with such statements, other factors, many of which are beyond our ability to control or predict, could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, our ability to complete the transfer of our operations in Kentucky and Omega's ability to sell the related real estate, our ability to successfully integrate the operations of new nursing centers, as well as successfully operate all of our existing centers, our ability to increase census at our renovated centers, changes in governmental reimbursement, government regulation, the impact of the recently adopted federal health care reform or any future health care reform, any increases in the cost of borrowing under our credit agreements, our ability to extend or replace our current credit facility, our ability to comply with covenants contained in those credit agreements, our ability to renew or extend our leases at or prior to the end of the existing lease terms, the outcome of professional liability lawsuits and claims, our ability to control ultimate professional liability costs, the accuracy of our estimate of our anticipated professional liability expense, the impact of future licensing surveys, the outcome of proceedings alleging violations of state or Federal False Claims Acts, laws and regulations governing quality of care or other laws and regulations applicable to our business including HIPAA and laws governing reimbursement from government payors, the costs of investing in our business initiatives and development, our ability to control costs, changes to our valuation of deferred tax assets, changes in occupancy rates in our centers, changing economic and competitive conditions, changes in anticipated revenue and cost growth, changes in the anticipated results of operations, the effect of changes in accounting policies as well as others. The Company has provided additional information in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, as well as in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which readers are encouraged to review for further disclosure of other factors. These assumptions may not materialize to the extent assumed, and risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to be different from anticipated results. These risks and uncertainties also may result in changes to the Company's business plans and prospects. Diversicare Healthcare Services, Inc. is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the published date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Today's buy recommendation comes from Tormont50 Research, the research platform of financial advisor firm the Tormont Group, which features growth opportunities in the small and microcap space. Analyst Jim McFadden gives Emgold Mining Corporation (TSXV: EMR) (OTC Pink: EGMCF) a fair value estimate of $0.40 per share, a premium of 150% to the $0.16 price on April 11th, the day the report was issued. For more information, please view the InvestmentPitch Media "video" which provides additional information on the company and this research report. If this link is not enabled, please visit www.InvestmentPitch.com and enter "Emgold" in the search box. Cannot view this video? Visit: http://www.investmentpitch.com/video/0_pzvcd60x/Emgold-Mining-receives-buy-recommendation-from-Tormont50-Research Emgold is a growth-oriented junior mining company with a number of key assets. Led by CEO David Watkinson, an industry veteran with 30 years experience in underground and open pit mine development, the company executed 3 significant transactions in late 2018. In December 2018, Emgold sold its Troilus North Property to Troilus Gold Corp. for $250,000 in cash and 3.75 million shares of Troilus Gold. Troilus Gold, an emerging gold producer with its principal operations in Quebec, is currently trading at $0.58, which values Emgold's holding at $2,175,000. Analyst Jim McFadden stated: "After factoring in the value of Emgold's stake in Troilus Gold Corp. we believe the market is according little value to Emgold's remaining key projects. If Troilus shares were to appreciate to a still-reasonable price of $2.00that would by itself imply about a 50% increase in Emgold's share price." In December 2018, Emgold signed an option to acquire a 91% interest in the 10,000 hectare Casa South Property in Quebec, located just south of Hecla Mining's Casa Berardi Mine. Hecla recently updated its proven and probable mineral resource estimate for its Casa Berardi property, which accounts for 35% of Hecla's revenues, reporting around 1.91 million ounces of gold. Story continues Emgold recently completed a 3,000 meter diamond drill program in the Kama Trend and expects to release assay results in May. If Emgold's program were ultimately to lead to a substantial discovery, McFadden believes that Hecla would be a natural potential acquirer of Emgold's Casa South property. In October 2018, the company acquired a 100% interest in the 7,000 acre Golden Arrow Property from Nevada Sunrise Gold for $100,000 cash and 5 million shares. A key positive for Golden Arrow is its location: along the northeastern margin of the Walker Lane structural zone in Nevada, a trend well known for bulk disseminated gold deposits. In a September 2018 report, Mine Development Associates estimated that Golden Arrow contained measured and indicated mineral resources of 296,500 ounces of gold and 4 million ounces of silver. Based on drilling records collected by previous companies over the past 20 years, gold and silver exist both in high-grade vein-hosted mineralization and in more widespread and disseminated depositions in the gold Coin and Hidden Hill zones of the Golden Arrow Property. The company has a completed plan of Operations and Environmental Assessment that allows for a major drill program, which the company anticipates in the second half of 2019. Analyst Jim McFadden added: "If we were to factor in the possibility of enhanced value from the Golden Arrow and Casa South Properties, as well as a more appropriate valuation of Troilus Gold shares, Emgold's fair value could be $0.60 or more. We believe that Emgold shares have significant upside potential with very little downside risk. Emgold should benefit from a number of potentially constructive news releases over the course of 2019 that could act as catalysts for the stock." For more information about the company and its other projects, please visit the company's website, www.emgold.ca, contact David G. Watkinson, P.Eng., President and CEO, at 530-271-0679 ext 101, or email info@emgold.com. About InvestmentPitch Media InvestmentPitch Media leverages the power of video, which together with its extensive distribution, positions a company's story ahead of the 1,000's of companies seeking awareness and funding from the financial community. The company specializes in producing short videos based on significant news releases, research reports and other content of interest to investors. CONTACT: InvestmentPitch Media Barry Morgan, CFO bmorgan@investmentpitch.com Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44998 Ireland's Data Protection Commission says its probe will examine whether Google's processing of data in advertising transactions breaches EU privacy rules. Google was fined 50 million euros earlier this year by France's privacy regulator, in the first penalty for a U.S. tech giant since the EU's GDPR law was introduced. Ireland data privacy watchdog on Wednesday announced the launch of an inquiry into Google GOOGL over the tech giant's collection of data when it comes to online advertising. The Data Protection Commission, which acts as the lead supervisory authority for Google in the European Union , said its probe would examine whether Google's processing of data in advertising transactions breaches the bloc's privacy rules. "A statutory inquiry pursuant to section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited's processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange," the regulator said in a statement Wednesday. Brussels last year introduced sweeping new privacy reforms known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which gave Europeans new powers in how they can control their data. Such powers include the right to find out how companies use their data, as well as the ability to force firms to destroy their data. It comes as tech companies face heightened regulatory scrutiny worldwide over everything from hateful content to data protection. Last year saw Facebook FB in particular hit with much criticism over how it allowed controversial political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to get access to the data of 87 million users. Meanwhile, Google was fined 50 million euros ($56 million) earlier this year by France's privacy regulator, in the first penalty for a U.S. tech giant since the EU's GDPR law was introduced. The launch of Ireland's inquiry into Google comes days before the first anniversary of GDPR, which came into effect on May 25, 2018. - CNBC's Elizabeth Schulze contributed to this report. Eversource Energys ES subsidiary NSTAR Electric Company announced that it has issued $400 million of 3.25% debentures or Green Bonds to fund the companys low-carbon, clean energy initiatives. The Green Bonds will mature on May 15, 2029. As mentioned earlier, the net proceeds from its inaugural green bond issuance will be utilized to fund various green initiatives including new solar projects and investments to help make customers homes and businesses more energy efficient. Green Bonds and Renewable Projects Its beyond doubt that renewable energy projects are being installed in increasing numbers in the United States and on a global scale to fight against emissions. Renewable projects come with a price and utility operators issue Green Bonds via their internal funds to finance the projects. A green bond or the Climate Bond is a bond, the proceeds of which are specifically utilized for the development of climate and environmental projects. Green bonds come with tax incentives such as tax exemption and tax credits, making these bonds a more attractive investment option than traditional bonds. We expect more Green Bonds to be issued in the near future in the United States as an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report indicates that all renewable sources of energy that include wind, solar and hydropower will produce 18% of U.S. electricity in 2019 and almost 20% in 2020. EIA also expects that wind generation will surpass hydropower generation for the first time to become the leading source of renewable electricity generation in 2019 and maintain that position in 2020. Eversources Green Project Initiatives Focus on renewable energy generation is expected to help the company meet renewable energy mandates by state governments, and tap the incentives offered by state and federal programs. Eversource and Denmark-based rsted have proposed to develop the Bay State Wind project. This wind project, which will have a capacity to produce 4,000 MW of renewable energy, will be located in a 300-square-mile area, nearly 25 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Eversource and rsted each hold a 50% ownership interest in Bay State Wind. Price Performance Shares of Eversource have outperformed its industry in the past 12 months. Story continues Zacks Rank & Key Picks Currently, Eversource has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the same industry are Atlantic Power Corporation AT, NRG Energy, Inc. NRG and NorthWestern Corporation NWE, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Atlantic Power reported average positive surprise of 127.4% in the last four quarters. NRG Energy delivered average positive surprise of 36.4% in the last two quarters. NorthWestern Corp. came up with average positive surprise of 18.74% in the trailing four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Atlantic Power, NRG Energy and NorthWestern Corp. has moved up 118.2%, 2.7% and 5.6%, respectively, in the past 60 days, reflecting the confidence of analysts on these stocks. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Atlantic Power Corporation (AT) : Free Stock Analysis Report NorthWestern Corporation (NWE) : Free Stock Analysis Report NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Eversource Energy (ES) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A 737 Max aircraft is pictured at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo By David Shepardson FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration is meeting with international air regulators from around the world on Thursday to determine what is needed to return the grounded Boeing Co 737 MAX to return it to service. Senior FAA officials will give detailed descriptions of the findings to date from the two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia which occurred within five months of each other and killed a combined 346 people. The agency will summarize the status of three major ongoing reviews of the 737 MAX and give an update of the recertification process and shed light on Boeing's proposed revisions to its software and pilot training. Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said on Thursday he thought travelers in the United States and around the world would respect any eventual decision by the FAA to return the plane to service. "They'll get back on the MAX and fly it again." Boeing's 737 MAX is its fastest-selling line of planes ever, and there are now roughly 5,000 of the aircraft on order. The planemaker in April slowed production and said the two crashes had cost it at least $1 billion. Boeing shares were down 1.7 percent at $346.85 at midday on Thursday. Nearly 60 air regulators from 33 governmental agencies, including from China, Brazil, Australia, the European Union, France, Ethiopia, Indonesia and South Korea, are attending the meeting at an FAA office in Texas. The agency came under criticism in March for failing to ground the Boeing 737 MAX as quickly as Europe, China and other countries. One of Thursday's sessions is titled "Data mapping to accidents: safety actions and changes to the 737 MAX training requirements." Elwell told reporters on Wednesday the FAA would share the agency's "safety analysis that will form the basis for our return to service decision process." Some air regulators have said they will conduct independent reviews of the Boeing 737 MAX. Elwell was asked by a reporter on Wednesday if he would delay ungrounding the plane in order to have "peace" with other regulators. Story continues "We have peace with other regulators," Elwell said. "Were talking to them constantly. You want to make this like, We at war with the other countries over this. Were not." The FAA is still asking Boeing questions about a proposed software upgrade and training revisions and has not decided whether to require simulator training. Elwell declined to provide a time frame for how soon the agency might approve the airplane's return to service or say if it was realistic that airlines could resume flights by August as some have suggested. Elwell told CNBC it "could definitely be a month, two months" or even longer than that. Also on Thursday, Boeing and the FAA will brief members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the 737 MAX for the first time. The FAA will not unground the plane until it obtains the findings from a multi-agency Technical Advisory Board reviewing the software fix. It consists of experts not involved in any aspect of the Boeing 737 MAX certification. Boeing said last week it had completed development of the software update on the 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system known as MCAS that is under scrutiny following the two disastrous nose-down crashes. It must still formally submit the upgrade for approval and conduct a certification flight before the FAA can act. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Fort Worth, Texas; Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Matthew Lewis) (Bloomberg) -- Executives from Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google faced congressional lawmakers Wednesday amid concerns that the companies havent done enough to guard against foreign influence campaigns in the 2020 elections. Theyre testifying alongside government officials before the national security subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The tech giants sought to assure lawmakers that they take the threat of foreign influence seriously after being blindsided by Kremlin-backed disinformation campaigns on their platforms during the 2016 election. At the same time, they warned of U.S. adversaries developing new ways of meddling. "There is no silver bullet, but we will continue to work to get it right," said Richard Salgado, Googles director of law enforcement and information security. The head of Facebooks cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, said that the company will set up an operation center in preparation for the election, and he echoed the other companies contentions that the threat is escalating and social media sites must do more to confront it. Jody Hice of Georgia, the top Republican on the subcommittee, said in his opening statement that the companies "should play an active role in securing their platforms by limiting the spread of misinformation, providing transparency of political advertising while also blocking and removing fake accounts seeking to manipulate the public." Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, urged the committee to ensure the government backs up industry efforts. "Dont let the guys on the next panel tell you they got this," said Weintraub, who spoke ahead of the company representatives. "They dont." Twitter public policy manager Kevin Kane agreed that collaborating with the government is key for halting disinformation campaigns. "Partnerships are critical to this work, including collaboration with federal, state and local election officials," he said. Story continues The companies have pressed for increased information-sharing with government entities such as the FBI. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, the Election Assistance Commission and the Federal Election Commission also participated in the hearing. We recognize that there is a significant technology deficit" within state and local election systems, Christopher Krebs, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security, said in prepared testimony. "It will take significant and continual investment to ensure that election systems across the nation are upgraded and secure, with vulnerable systems retired." (Updates with testimony starting in fourth paragraph.) To contact the reporters on this story: Alyza Sebenius in Washington at asebenius@bloomberg.net;Ben Brody in Washington, D.C. at btenerellabr@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Wendy Benjaminson For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- The worlds first passenger-drone services may debut in Asia -- but the technology behind these flying taxis will be largely European. Volocopter GmbH of Germany said Thursday it will open a landing facility in Singapore later this year for trial flights, while Austrias FACC AG is working to produce hundreds of passenger drones for Chinese partner EHang Inc. by the end of next year. While the bulk of air-taxi projects are based in Europe and North America, and several nations say theyre eager to see the craft enter service, theres concern that progress may be slowed by regulatory hurdles. In Asia, EHang is controlled by state-owned AVIC, while governments in Singapore and territories including Dubai are enthusiastically embracing autonomous transport. Volocopter, backed by Intel Corp. and Daimler AG, has partnered with U.K. developer Skyports to build a 1.5 million-euro ($1.7 million), 550-square meter Volo-Port in Singapore after conducting test flights in Dubai and Las Vegas. Chief Executive Officer Florian Reuter said the facility in the city state will be accessible and convenient. FACC, best known as a maker of light-weight composite parts for Airbus SE and Boeing Co., reckons the move into flying taxis could double annual sales to 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) within a decade, according to CEO Robert Machtlinger. The company was recruited by EHang to help lighten the Chinese firms 216 drone by at least 15% -- or about 60 kilograms -- to eke out improvements in speed and range. By the end of next year, FACC will have produced the first batch of 300 units on its Austrian assembly lines. The 216, which sells for 300,000 euros, can currently fly for 70 kilometers (44 miles) at speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour. In addition to urban shuttle services, it could carry tourists, serve offshore oil platforms and provide support flights after natural disasters. The seating area could also carry cargo. Story continues EHang, which has already logged 7,000 flight hours with prototypes, has several thousand pre-orders for the model, and is developing a test range with FACC for flights in Linz. Volocopter will use the Singapore site to test both flight and ground operations and begin validation of a design that features 18 rotors and, like its EHang counterpart, will be able to carry two passengers in autonomous flight mode. There are more than 100 different electric-aircraft programs in development worldwide, according to consultant Roland Berger. Another is Lilium GmbH, based near Munich. The company says Germany and Europe provide ready access to both the expertise and supply chain necessary to urban air vehicles. Rather than Asia, its has so far been publicly linked with operations in cities including Miami and Geneva, and its electric-powered, jet-engined, five-seat model has a range of 300 kilometers -- enough to get from New York to Boston or link cities in France and England. That extra distance is achieved by taking off vertically before swiveling its 36 jets to the horizontal and flying like a standard plane, using just 10% of the energy of multi-rotor designs. To contact the reporters on this story: Richard Weiss in St. Martin im Innkreis, Austria at rweiss5@bloomberg.net;Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Erhard Krasny at ekrasny@bloomberg.net, ;Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Christopher Jasper, Tara Patel For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. FILE PHOTO: General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp mingles with shareholders at the companys annual meeting in Tarrytown, New York, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott By Alwyn Scott (Reuters) - General Electric Co, once seen as the epitome of corporate greatness, is trying to end infighting between its divisions, tighten up management and fix quality problems in its products, Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp said on Wednesday. The 127-year-old conglomerate, which was a storied CEO training ground under prior chiefs Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt, also needs to simplify its bewildering financial reports and become more frank with investors, Culp said. The unvarnished admissions at the annual Electrical Products Group conference in Florida underscored a cultural shift Culp is attempting since becoming GE's first outsider CEO in October. "What we're really trying to do is move away ... from flashing a page of 30 metrics and leaving ... the impression that we are actively managing 30 discrete initiatives," he said. "This is ultimately all about culture." GE shares were down 0.5% at $9.91 in afternoon trading. At the start of the meeting he ticked off problems that struck him when he became CEO: GE had high ambition but lacked focus, and it had lost sight of its customers' demands for quality. When Culp asked employees about quality, a top customer concern, he said, "I got a lesson on the cost of quality." When he asked leaders of the healthcare business about meeting its delivery schedule, "they teach me about SCOT - Supply Chain On Time," he said. "The customer doesn't care if the supply chain's on time. They care about GE being on time." Culp said GE is rooting out "intramural skirmishes" between equipment and services units that hampered profit. It is trying to manage billings and cash daily to avoid "quarter-end and year-end sprints," he said. Culp also affirmed GE's grim forecast. It will lose up to $2 billion in free cash flow in 2019, but sees the outflow ending in 2020 and an "acceleration" of improvement in 2021. That is in line with earlier forecasts, and suggests stability after prior CEOs repeatedly missed targets. Story continues While he cited progress, Culp stressed the difficulties GE faces. It has cut more than 1,000 jobs at its ailing power unit this year, is not banking on a recovery in turbine sales to China and does not expect the market for power plants to improve. "I don't want anyone to walk out of here thinking this is something that is easily fixed," Culp said. "There's a lot to do here." (Reporting by Alwyn Scott in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Phil Berlowitz) Documents related to AGM available on Genkyotex website or upon request Genkyotex advancing on strategy for further development of GKT831 in fibrotic liver diseases GKT831 Ph2 DKD trial progresses and Ph2 IPF trial launch upcoming ARCHAMPS, France, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genkyotex (Euronext Paris & Brussels: FR0013399474 GKTX), a biopharmaceutical company and the leader in NOX therapies, today announced it will hold its Annual General Meeting on June 13, 2019. The company hereby invites shareholders to attend the AGM, which will be held on June 13th 2019, at 10:00AM CET at Club Confair, 54 rue Laffitte, 75009 Paris, France. Documents related to the AGM are available on the website of the Company www.genkyotex.com or upon request. Elias Papatheodorou, CEO of Genkyotex, commented: This is a very exciting time for Genkyotex as we have obtained for the first-time clinical evidence of the anti-fibrotic activity of GKT831 in our phase 2 trial in PBC. We plan to develop GKT831 in liver, lung and kidney fibrotic indications. Our phase 2 trial in kidney fibrosis is progressing and we are looking forward to the upcoming launch of our phase 2 trial in IPF. Both trials are funded by reputable institutions, the JDRF and the NIH respectively. Our cash position provides funding to April 2020 and allows us to advance our strategy for further development of GKT831 in PBC, NASH and PSC. About Genkyotex Genkyotex is the leading biopharmaceutical company in NOX therapies, listed on the Euronext Paris and Euronext Brussels markets. A leader in NOX therapies, its unique therapeutic approach is based on a selective inhibition of NOX enzymes that amplify multiple disease processes such as fibrosis, inflammation, pain processing, cancer development, and neurodegeneration. Genkyotexs platform enables the identification of orally available small molecules that selectively inhibit specific NOX enzymes. Genkyotex is developing a pipeline of first-in-class product candidates targeting one or multiple NOX enzymes. The lead product candidate, GKT831, a NOX1 and NOX4 inhibitor has been evaluated in a phase 2 clinical trial in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC, a fibrotic orphan disease) and is being evaluated in an investigator-initiated Phase 2 clinical trial in Type 1 Diabetes and Kidney Disease (DKD). A grant from the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) of $8.9 million was awarded to Professor Victor Thannickal at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to fund a multi-year research program evaluating the role of NOX enzymes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung disease that results in fibrosis of the lungs, the core component of the program will be to conduct a Phase 2 trial with the GKT831 in patients with IPF. This product candidate may also be active in other fibrotic indications. Story continues Genkyotex also has a versatile platform well-suited to the development of various immunotherapies (Vaxiclase). A partnership covering the use of Vaxiclase as an antigen per se (GTL003) has been established with Serum Institute of India Private Ltd (Serum Institute), the worlds largest producer of vaccine doses, for the development by Serum Institute of cellular multivalent combination vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases. For further information, please go to www.genkyotex.com or investors@genkyotex.com Disclaimer This press release may contain forward-looking statements by the company with respect to its objectives. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs, estimates and expectations of Genkyotexs management and are subject to risks and uncertainties such as the company's ability to implement its chosen strategy, customer market trends, changes in technologies and in the company's competitive environment, changes in regulations, clinical or industrial risks and all risks linked to the company's growth. These factors as well as other risks and uncertainties may prevent the company from achieving the objectives outlined in the press release and actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, due to various factors. Without being exhaustive, such factors include uncertainties involved in the development of Genkyotexs products, which may not succeed, or in the delivery of Genkyotexs products marketing authorizations by the relevant regulatory authorities and, in general, any factor that could affects Genkyotexs capacity to commercialize the products it develops. No guarantee is given on forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks, notably those described in the registration document (document de reference) registered by the French Markets Authority (the AMF) on 26 April 2019 under number R.19-014, and those linked to changes in economic conditions, the financial markets, or the markets on which Genkyotex is present. Genkyotex products are currently used for clinical trials only and are not otherwise available for distribution or sale. As Boeing takes steps to get its embattled 737 MAX aircraft up and flying again, investigations and lawsuits continue to pile up in the aftermath of Octobers Lion Air Flight 610 crash and Marchs Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident, taking a total of 346 lives. The crisis has caused frustrated stakeholders and corporate governance experts to question both the makeup of the board, and how theyre responding placing a collection of people who are used to operating in inner sanctums under intense scrutiny and pressure. The main question: Is the board at least partially to blame? By virtue of the fact that this company has ended up where it is, there is something wrong with the board, says corporate governance expert Nell Minow, Vice Chair of ValueEdge Advisors. At the end of the day, the buck literally stops with them. A board of directors exists to make sure a corporation is being managed properly. Before the Enron meltdown era and the financial crisis of 2008, corporate boards were known to be cushy, self-perpetuating bodies that functioned like a club rather than an overseer. Much has changed since then as shareholder rights advances have brought more independence, fewer perks, and more oversight. Boeings board is hardly a paragon of corporate governance. According to performance analytics research firm MSCI, which ranks the quality of governance, Boeing scored 5.4 on a scale of 1-10. Based on that assessment, Boeings board falls in the bottom third of S&P 500 companies. Yet Boeing board members get plum pay. An Equilar study conducted last month on the Fortune 100, found median pay for Boeing directors was $346,000, which ranked as the 23rd highest. Median for all directors in the Fortune 100 was $318,675. (Boeing did not respond to a request for comment.) Were looking at an average governance structure, says Ric Marshall, executive director at MSCI. Even with the best companies, performing really well with great profit margins and great growth, a weak board is going to struggle when that company runs into a crisis situation. And thats what were looking at here. Story continues Boeings Board currently stands at 13 directorson the larger side of S&P 500 companies, according to MSCI. The average is 10.75 directors, but approximately 80 companies in the S&P 500 have 13 or more. The larger the board, so the thinking goes, decision-making becomes more difficult and less nimble. A more detailed look reveals some concerning details around Boeings board composition. This looks like a board that is right out of 1999 instead of 2019, says Minow, who owns shares of Boeing stock. Its as though the reforms and the additional scrutiny and the best practices of the last 20 years kind of passed them by. Board Interconnections Three Boeing directors sit on the board of Caterpillar: Boeings lead director, David Calhoun, who is also the lead director of Caterpillar, Boeings CEO and Chairman Dennis Muilenburg, and Susan Schwab, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and former U.S. Trade Representative in the second Bush Administration. Two of Boeings directors sit on the board of Marriott International: Lawrence Kellner, former CEO and Chairman of Continental Airlines and Susan Schwab (who, by the way, also serves on the FedEx board). Why does this matter? These overlaps are what corporate governance experts consider soft objectivity issues. Any cross relationship is a problem because it interferes with objectivity, says Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Boeing states in its proxy that 12 of 13 directors are independent, in line with New York Stock Exchange independence criteria along with other supplemental standards. Only Muilenburg, Boeings CEO and Chairman, is deemed an insider. And technically, theyre correct, says Elson. But theres a difference between a technical definition and an objective assessment. Coziness and objectivity are related. The closer you are, the harder it is to step back and make the hard decisions because of those relationships. Strong Ties to Washington Four of the 13 Boeing directorships are currently occupied by former government officials: Edmund Giambastiani Jr., former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second highest ranking officer in the military before he retired in 2007 joined Boeings board in 2009. Susan Schwab, who joined the board in 2010, was George W. Bushs main trade adviser and negotiator from 2006 to 2009. Caroline Kennedy, a director since 2017, was the former ambassador to Japan during the Obama Administration. And Boeings newest director elected last month is Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and President Trumps ambassador to the United Nations until she abruptly resigned last year. While governor, she provided incentives in 2013 for Boeing to expand its factory and opposed union organization. (Kenneth Duberstein, a former Chief of Staff in the Reagan White House, retired at the annual meeting this year.) Nikki Haley strikes me as an odd choice to add to the Boeing board at this point of time., says MSCIs Marshall. You have to imagine that they are very concerned about their ability to trade globally. Another warning sign for Elson is that Kennedy, scion of a famous political family, and Haley are political celebrities. Hiring board members with strong name recognition is viewed with suspicion by corporate governance experts. Notably, both of these directors were referred to the Governance, Organization and Nominating Committee by other independent directors, rather than by a third-party search firm, which is considered a better practice for achieving board objectivity than a good word from another director. Says Elson: The board is there to monitor management, pure and simple. You need skill sets to do so. In an aerospace company, do either [Kennedy or Haley] have those necessary skills? What about the diplomatic and government experience they bring to the company? Hire them as a consultant, he says. Theyre there to make sure management does the right thing. Theyre not there to provide services. The Right Expertise Companies that operate in an industry where safety is a major issuemining, chemicals, autosbenefit from having board members with a background in safety says MCSIs Marshall. Determining who on Boeings board has those skills isnt spelled out. Despite the companys references in public to safety being a priority, the only reference to safety in the companys most recent proxy are the admission policies for shareholders of record to attend the annual meeting. Best guess for the slate of directors who might have relevant safety expertise? Robert Bradway is the Chairman and CEO of drugmaker Amgen. Art Collins was the former Chairman and CEO of medical device maker Medtronic. David Calhoun used to be the chief executive of GE Aircraft Engines (as a side note, former Boeing Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney who was in charge when the 737 MAX was conceived also used to be the boss at GE Aircraft Engines). Current Boeing Chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg came up through the ranks of Boeing as an engineer. And Lawrence Kellner is the former Chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines. As head of the audit committee, Kellner was technically responsible for the safety risks. In fact, shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended voting against Kellner in the most recent ballot, citing that the audit committee should have taken a more proactive role in identifying the risks associated with the 737 Max 8 aircraft. ISSs proxy analysis recommended voting for all audit committee members including Kellner, but with caution. Kellner was re-elected. When you engage in a project like that, you would expect a lot of tough questions from the board, says Elson. There are a lot of engineering questions, and thats why you would want people on the board who have some specialized knowledge to monitor it. Boeing Chairman and CEO Muilenburg recently gave some indication of who on the board has safety expertise when he asked the board last month to form a committee to confirm the effectiveness of our policies and processes for assuring the highest level of safety on the 737-MAX program. The committee is comprised of former Allstate chief exec Edward Liddy, former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman Giambastiani, Amgens Bradway, and Duke Energy Chairman and CEO Lynn Good. They were looking after the company when it fell into crisis. It remains to be seen if theyre the people who can pull Boeing out of this mess. More must-read stories from Fortune: The winners and losers in a $1 trillion buyback year Too many companies are paying too much for stock buybacks This years tech IPOs are raising $2.2 billion on average How to invest during a trade war Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily Dont miss the daily Term Sheet, Fortunes newsletter on deals and dealmakers. CALGARY, Alberta, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (Gran Tierra or the Company) (NYSE American:GTE)(GTE.TO)(GTE.L) is pleased to announce that the Company has officially signed Participation Contracts (Contracts) for three blocks located in Ecuador. The three blocks were preliminarily awarded to the Company in March 2019 by the Ministerio de Energia y Recursos Naturales No Renovables (MERNR) in the Ronda Intracampos. The three blocks are located in the Oriente Basin and are approximately 140,000 acres in total area, creating a contiguous acreage position extending from Gran Tierras existing assets in the Putumayo Basin in Colombia. Key Highlights Establishes the Company as one of the top landholders in the play trend which extends from the Putumayo Basin in Colombia through to the Oriente Basin in Ecuador; the Putumayo and Oriente Basins are the same geological basin, with different names due to the international border between Colombia and Ecuador Further strengthens and consolidates Gran Tierras position in what the Company considers is a conventional oil resource fairway; Ecuador has the same multi-zone potential in carbonate and sandstone reservoirs found in the Putumayo Basin, including the prolific Napo Formation (Villeta equivalent) and Hollin Formation (Caballos equivalent), which contribute to the majority of reserves and production in the Oriente-Putumayo petroleum system Gran Tierra has secured 100% working interest ( WI ) and operatorship in the Charapa, Chanangue and Iguana Blocks (collectively, the Blocks ), which increases Gran Tierras gross acreage position in the conventional resource plays in Ecuador and Colombia from 1.1 million to over 1.2 million gross acres Gran Tierra expects to commence its Ecuador exploration drilling program in 2020; this new exploration program is expected to be fully funded through the Companys forecasted net cash provided by operating activities Contiguous acreage extending from Colombias Putumayo Basin into Ecuadors Oriente Basin provides Gran Tierra with the ability to potentially construct strategic gathering infrastructure on operated 100% WI acreage, which would allow the Company to potentially utilize the existing infrastructure in Ecuador Gary Guidry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gran Tierra, commented, "This is a momentous event for Ecuador, one that marks material change for the oil and gas industry, and we are proud to be a part of this initiative. Our entry into Ecuador is very much aligned with Gran Tierras strategy focusing on proven conventional hydrocarbon basins, with access to established infrastructure, in a strong stable economic environment, combined with a highly competitive fiscal regime. The Blocks extend our dominant position in Colombias Putumayo Basin into Ecuadors Oriente Basin, with assets that are highly complementary to our existing land base. Ecuador represents a unique opportunity in terms of scale for Gran Tierra. We believe we are acquiring significant future potential exploration upside which could enhance our long-term growth strategy and be an excellent fit with Gran Tierras diverse reserves and resources base in Colombia. Story continues Maps Below is a link to a map of the Blocks awarded to Gran Tierra Link 1: Gran Tierra's Land Position in the Oriente Basin Contact Information For investor and media inquiries please contact: Gary Guidry, Chief Executive Officer Ryan Ellson, Chief Financial Officer Rodger Trimble, Vice President, Investor Relations +1-403-265-3221 info@grantierra.com About Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Gran Tierra Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is an independent international energy company focused on oil and natural gas exploration and production in Colombia and Ecuador. The Company is focused on its existing portfolio of assets in Colombia and Ecuador and will pursue new growth opportunities throughout Colombia and South America, leveraging our financial strength. The Companys common shares trade on the NYSE American, Toronto Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GTE. Additional information concerning Gran Tierra is available at www.grantierra.com. Information on the Company's website does not constitute a part of this press release. Investor inquiries may be directed to info@grantierra.com or (403) 265-3221. Gran Tierra's Securities and Exchange Commission filings are available on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at http://www.sec.gov and on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com, and UK regulatory filings are available on the National Storage Mechanism website at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm. Forward-Looking Statements and Legal Advisories: This press release contains opinions, forecasts, projections, and other statements about future events or results that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and financial outlook and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words expect, plan, intend, "will" and "believes", derivations thereof and similar terms identify forward-looking statements. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing, this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the Blocks and the Contracts to Gran Tierra and its shareholders, our expected timeframes for obtaining environmental and other regulatory approvals, our expected timeframes for commencing drilling, our ability to construct gathering infrastructure or access pipelines or other transport facilities, and any expected production from the Blocks. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect several material factors and expectations and assumptions of Gran Tierra including, without limitation, that Gran Tierra will continue to conduct its operations in a manner consistent with its current expectations, the accuracy of testing and production results and seismic data, pricing and cost estimates (including with respect to commodity pricing and exchange rates), rig availability, the effects of waterflood and the general continuance of assumed operational, regulatory and industry conditions in Ecuador, and the ability of Gran Tierra to execute its business and operational plans in the manner currently planned. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements in this press release are: sustained or future declines in commodity prices and potential resulting future impairments and reductions in proved reserve quantities and value; Gran Tierra's operations are located in South America, and unexpected problems can arise due to guerrilla activity; technical difficulties and operational difficulties may arise which impact the production, transport or sale of our products; geographic, political and weather conditions can impact the production, transport or sale of our products; the risk that current global economic and credit conditions may impact oil prices and oil consumption more than Gran Tierra currently predicts; the ability of Gran Tierra to execute its business plan; the risk that unexpected delays and difficulties in developing properties may occur; the timely receipt of regulatory or other required approvals for our activities; the failure of exploratory drilling to result in commercial wells; unexpected delays due to the limited availability of drilling equipment and personnel; the risk that oil prices could continue to fall, or current global economic and credit market conditions may impact oil prices and oil consumption more than Gran Tierra currently predicts, which could cause Gran Tierra to further modify its strategy and capital spending program; and the risk factors detailed from time to time in Gran Tierra's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, under the caption "Risk Factors" in Gran Tierra's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed February 27, 2019. These filings are available on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at http://www.sec.gov and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions made by Gran Tierra based on management's experience and other factors believed to be appropriate. Gran Tierra believes these assumptions to be reasonable at this time, but the forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Gran Tierra's control, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or expressed by the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the fact that this press release remains available does not constitute a representation by Gran Tierra that Gran Tierra believes these forward-looking statements continue to be true as of any subsequent date. Actual results may vary materially from the expected results expressed in forward-looking statements. Gran Tierra disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable. 55,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser imported for paddy season Urea is in high demand during the paddy plantation period which starts with the beginning of the rainy season Huawei executive reportedly accused of stealing trade secrets from microchip company backed by Microsoft and Dell CNEX, a microchip company backed by Microsoft and Dell, filed new allegations in a Texas suit accusing China's Huawei and an executive of trade secrets theft. It's the latest filing in a suit set to go to trial June 3, in which CNEX alleged Huawei spent years trying to steal its data storage secrets. Huawei has countered with its own suit filed earlier this month, alleging CNEX was the company trying to steal trade secrets. CNEX, a microchip company backed by Microsoft MSFT and Dell DELL , has filed new allegations in a Texas lawsuit accusing Chinese tech giant Huawei and one of its executives of stealing trade secrets, according to The Wall Street Journal. It's the latest filing in a suit set to go to trial June 3. CNEX claims that Huawei spent years trying to steal its data storage secrets, while Huawei has countered with its own suit, filed earlier this month, alleging CNEX is the one that's been engaged in theft of trade secrets. Both companies have denied wrongdoing. A Huawei spokesman declined to comment on the new filing. The case comes as Huawei finds itself at the center of controversy in the U.S. The company, which makes computer networking equipment, is now subject to a "blacklisting" ban by the Trump administration, and faces criminal actions , including a federal trade secrets case in the state of Washington and allegations of fraud against its CFO, who is currently awaiting an extradition hearing in Vancouver. CNEX has alleged that a Huawei deputy chairman, Eric Xu, directed an employee to pose as a potential customer and submit a report on his findings in order to obtain trade secrets for the company's chip research and development department, according to the Journal . CNEX also claims Huawei had ties with China's Xiamen University, and misappropriated trade secrets through that relationship, the paper said. This is a developing story, check back for details. More From CNBC By Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters in central Jakarta following a rally held after official results showed President Joko Widodo had been comfortably re-elected, a Reuters witness said. The General Election Commission (KPU) confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, which gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for his opponent Prabowo Subianto. Widodo won more than 85 million votes of a total of 154 million cast in the world's third-largest democracy, but Prabowo told reporters he believed there had been widespread cheating and about 1,000 supporters gathered in Jakarta. The rally ended peacefully but later Indonesian police fired tear gas as some protesters hurled fireworks and other objects at officers in riot gear in a main street in the capital, TV footage showed. Prabowo, a retired general, pledged he would "continue to make legal efforts in line with the constitution to defend the mandate of the people". Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, the legal director of Prabowo's campaign team, confirmed it planned to contest the result in the Constitutional Court. On Monday, an election supervisory agency dismissed claims of systematic cheating, citing a lack of evidence. Independent observers have said the poll was free and fair. Flanked by riot police, Prabowo's supporters had earlier gathered mainly at the election supervisory agency (Bawaslu) in the heart of the city's commercial and government district. There was also a small rally at the KPU in support of the election commission. Chief Security Minister Wiranto told a briefing there had been plans for "massive demonstrations to storm the KPU, Bawaslu, parliament and the state palace". He threatened severe punishment for criminal activity and vowed to maintain security, while denying authorities were being draconian. The KPU announced official results more than a day earlier than expected after working into the early hours of Tuesday, a move that meant the announcement came before planned protests. A relaxed looking President Widodo pledged on Tuesday to be a leader for all Indonesians. "We are grateful and proud that amid our differences, we have been mature in keeping the peace," he said on a visit to a poor neighborhood of the capital. Ben Bland, director of the Southeast Asia Project at Lowy Institute, said the election showed how identity and religious politics appeared to be increasingly "embedded in the political discourse in Indonesia". "The challenge for Jokowi is to try and find a way to defuse tensions," said Bland, using the president's nickname. TIGHT SECURITYFinancial markets were mixed, with stocks up nearly 1% and the rupiah off 0.1%. Andry Taneli, a portfolio manager at Ciptadana Asset Management, said stocks had responded positively to the official result. "On the other hand there is concern of Prabowo not accepting the result, but we can see everywhere the police and army are ready to ensure security," Taneli said. Prabowo had warned the cheating claims could trigger "people power"-style protests, though ahead of the result he had urged supporters in a video to be "peaceful in our struggle". Authorities have tightened security in the capital in a bid to choke off any civil unrest and detained dozens of militant Islamists suspected of planning attacks. Police said they had held or interrogated at least three leading opposition figures for suspected treason. Police have rolled out extra barbed wire and readied armored trucks and water cannon around the KPU. Some schools in Jakarta have also shut this week and offices allowed staff to work from home. The losing candidate can lodge a challenge in the constitutional court within three days, otherwise the election panel will officially declare the winner. Prabowo's challenge to his 2014 defeat by Widodo was rejected. (Additional reporting by Maikel Jefriando, Gayatri Suroyo, and Fransiska Nangoy; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Nick Macfie and Jonathan Oatis) * Tens of thousands of Iraqis detained with fall of Islamic State * Many say they stayed with group for fear of reprisals * Iraqi plans point to long-term detention * Persecution in al Qaeda areas led to reincarnation as ISIS By John Davison AL-HOL CAMP, Syria, May 23 (Reuters) - Iraqi farmer Shaker Salih says he feared Islamic State, but feared its defeat even more. His problem is persuading people to believe that he did not support the jihadists. When Iraqi forces drove Islamic State from his home town in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad, Salih left with the Sunni Muslim extremist group, known to its detractors as Daesh. He then stayed as long he could in its shrinking, self-declared caliphate. "We thought militias would kill us for living under Daesh, so we fled," said Salih, 49, referring to Shi'ite Muslim paramilitaries that helped defeat IS. "That's why we stayed with Daesh. We were used to them and knew what to do to survive." He now lives in the sprawling, guarded al-Hol displacement camp across the border in Syria, where among 70,000 fellow Iraqis, Syrians and others, there are thousands of die-hard IS supporters. Some are passengers in his car, which he uses as a taxi to make a living by charging one dollar a trip. "If God allows, the caliphate will return," one Syrian woman at the camp, who gave her name as Fatima, told Reuters. Iraq is preparing to bring home its citizens from al-Hol, who number more than 30,000. But it is struggling to decide what to do with them - and how to identify those with genuine IS links and those simply caught up in its caliphate. The difficulty of distinguishing those groups, sometimes from the same clans and communities now in al-Hol, means that many like Salih face long-term detention under plans the government is weighing up. Baghdad recently abandoned the idea of building a separate internment camp for those coming from al-Hol after aid agencies on which it relies to support hundreds of thousands of displaced people opposed it, rights and aid workers say. Story continues The latest Iraqi proposal is to put them in buildings and more permanent structures in isolated areas guarded by security forces, according to officials, aid workers and rights groups. "Camps are temporary, people can't live there forever. The only solution is to designate areas monitored and protected by the state and provide services and work on reintegrating these people," said Ali Bayati, a member of Iraq's semi-official High Commission for Human Rights. Aid agencies have said they will not provide support for a new internment camp or detention zone, according to several aid workers, due to the risk of rights violations. They are seeking instead to put people who pass security screening into existing displacement camps, according to a plan seen by Reuters. Iraq's immigration and displacement ministry and the prime minister's office declined to comment on current plans for the al-Hol captives. GLOBAL ISSUE Since most of those in al-Hol emerged from the last sliver of land held by Islamic State in eastern Syria, it is not easy to sort those with extremist views from non-radicalised people and ensure the latter do not change their views. If Baghdad gets it wrong, global security could again be at risk, Western officials have said, as it was when Islamic State - a reincarnation of al Qaeda groups that had taken years to suppress - took hold in Sunni areas of Iraq among communities that felt persecuted by the Shi'ite-dominated government. Iraqis with clear links to IS, such as militants and their families, have mostly been detained and some of them have been transferred to Iraq to face trial. Many other residents in the camp, which is controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, say they did not back Islamic State but survived its brutal rule by keeping a low profile. Salih and other Iraqis from his region live separately from the suspected fighters in al-Hol, and call the foreigners, who are held in a different area, "extremists". When they return to Iraq, the government says keeping them away from existing camps and the general population will protect them from vigilante attacks by people who suffered under IS and help avoid the spread of extremist ideas. New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says al-Hol residents deemed a threat may be housed in abandoned or half-completed building projects or shipping containers converted into housing rather than in camps. "What they are now thinking of creating is more permanent. It means they foresee holding people there for longer," said Belkis Wille, a senior HRW researcher. HRW has said such plans would violate international law which forbids arbitrary detention without trial. Baghdad wants to avoid a repeat of Camp Bucca, a U.S.-run detention centre where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is still at large, expanded a network of radical Islamists during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said earlier this year there was a "difference between families which were trapped by Daesh as hostages and families who accompanied the terrorists. "We will respect human rights but ... there need to be careful security measures so (IS supporters) cannot leak back into society." Existing displacement camps already host some 450,000 Iraqis, and aid groups say even there they are sometimes denied documentation and face the prospect of never returning home for real or alleged affiliation with IS. Whether in camps, guarded housing complexes or at liberty, the longer Sunnis who lived under IS are marginalised, the more likely they are to be exploited by militants seeking to regroup and expand an insurgency, Western officials say. PARAMILITARIES Most Sunni communities welcomed the defeat of IS, which they had quickly discovered persecuted all those it deemed enemies, regardless of sect. But they fear alienation and arrest if they return to areas of Iraq where Shi'ite paramilitaries now have the upper hand. Some Iraqi Shi'ite militias have been accused of revenge attacks against Sunnis who lived under Islamic State, which had carried out mass killings of Shi'ites, calling them apostates. The militias deny carrying out such attacks, saying any incidents were isolated and not systematic. Salih and his family left their native Salahuddin province as Iraqi forces drove the jihadists out in 2015, moving to Mosul for two years, then Qaim, IS's final Iraq stronghold. "When Qaim was attacked we paid smugglers to get us to Syria," he said. "We want to go home, but won't do that as long as the militias are in control there. They'll kill us or lock us up. They destroyed my farmland - I saw a video of them setting it on fire," Salih said, an account Reuters was unable to verify. Iraq's Migration and Displacement Ministry, which deals with returns and camps, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the plans for the displaced or alleged rights abuses. As tens of thousands of Iraqis and Syrians languish in camps, some say they would accept IS's return if it meant they could go home. "I didn't leave my city because of IS," said Khalid Fassal, a 30-year-old Syrian man at al-Hol who fled the town of Albu Kamal when Syrian government forces recaptured it. "But when the regime came, I didn't want to take chances. "If IS came back, we'd stay," he said. (Reporting by John Davison, additional reporting by Raya Jalabi, Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; editing by Philippa Fletcher) 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. RESTON, Va., May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR), a nuclear fuel technology development company, today announced that Ambassador Thomas Graham, Executive Chairman of Lightbridge Corporation, and Admiral Richard Mies, fourth Commander in Chief of the United States Strategic Command from 1998 to 2001, were selected to co-chair the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition (NENSC). NENSC was founded by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center in order to increase awareness about nuclear energy as a cornerstone of national security. The formal launch of NENC occurred on Tuesday, May 21 at the Senate Visitor Center in Washington, DC. At the event, Ambassador Graham and Admiral Mies announced the formation of the coalition. Lightbridge CEO, Seth Grae, is a member of NENSC. At the event, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center also released its latest report, US Nuclear Energy Leadership: Innovation and the Strategic Global Challenge . The report is the culmination of a Task Force on US Nuclear Energy Leadership convened by the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center to assess the national security implications of a decline in the US nuclear power industry. The report recommends encouraging innovation and investment in the domestic fleet and nuclear exports to the competitive international market. At the event, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) , honorary co-chairs of the Task Force, delivered keynote remarks, followed by a panel to discuss nuclear energys role in US national security, the US nuclear supply chain and infrastructure, and exports of nuclear technologies, among other topics. About Lightbridge Corporation Lightbridge (LTBR) is a nuclear fuel technology development company based in Reston, Virginia, USA. The Company develops proprietary next generation nuclear fuel technologies for current and future reactors, which significantly enhances the economics and safety of nuclear power, operating about 1000 C cooler than standard fuel. In January 2018, Lightbridge and Framatome, Inc. formed a 50-50 joint venture, Enfission, LLC, to develop, license, manufacture, and sell nuclear fuel assemblies based on Lightbridge-designed metallic fuel technology and other advanced nuclear fuel intellectual property. Enfission has the exclusive rights to this technology and is responsible for the development of manufacturing processes and fuel assembly designs for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), boiling water reactors (BWRs), water-cooled small modular reactors, and water-cooled research reactors developed around this intellectual property. PWRs and BWRs constitute the most widely used reactor types in the world. Four large electric utilities that generate about half the nuclear power in the US already advise Lightbridge on fuel development and deployment. In addition to distributions from Enfission based on the parties ownership interest in the joint venture, Lightbridge anticipates receiving future licensing revenues in connection with sales by Enfission of nuclear fuel incorporating its intellectual property. Lightbridge also provides comprehensive advisory services for established and emerging nuclear programs based on a philosophy of transparency, non-proliferation, safety and operational excellence. For more information please visit: www.ltbridge.com. Story continues To receive Lightbridge Corporation updates via e-mail, subscribe at http://ir.ltbridge.com/alerts.cfm . Lightbridge is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @LightbridgeCorp at http://twitter.com/lightbridgecorp . Investor Relations Contact: David Waldman/Natalya Rudman Tel. +1 855-379-9900 ir@ltbridge.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - MAX RESOURCE CORP. (TSXV: MXR) (OTC Pink: MXROF) (FSE: M1D1) ("Max" or the "Company") is pleased to report the first assays from its 10-week exploration program now underway at the North Choco copper gold project, located 80 km SW of Medellin, Colombia. Max is acquiring the North Choco Property through the planned acquisition of Andagueda Mining Pty. Ltd. (see our news release of May 8, 2019). Assay highlights include: Seven of 23 chip samples returned grades ranging from 155.27g/t gold to 2.94g/t gold; Three of the 7 samples returned values of >10,000 ppm copper, in excess of the upper detection limit, and will need to be reanalyzed to determine the final grade; The chip samples were taken over various widths from 4 locations within a 400 metre by 700 metre exploration area centred on the historic gold mines; Max is three weeks into the 10-week North Choco exploration program and further results will be released after receipt and interpretation. "We are very pleased with this first round of assays from our intensive exploration campaign. The assay results are delivering significant grades of gold and we expect the copper re-assay results very soon," Max CEO, Brett Matich, stated. "Our strategy is to expand our exploration efforts in all directions within the 500 sq. km land package," he continued. Details for the seven samples can be found in the accompanying table. Sample ID Gold (gram/ton) Copper (ppm) Cobalt (ppm) Location Description Width (metres) 19000188 155.27 >10,000 551 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000189 27.15 1,369 368 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000187 18.23 >10,000 513 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000185 8.52 >10,000 142 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000194 4.52 6,780 194 QMW Granodiorite with pyrite & chalcopyrite 0.25 19000197 3.92 69 26 Bocamina Granodiorite with pyrite & chalcopyrite 0.4 19000298 2.94 137 69 California Basalt diorite, contact zone 0.3 Story continues North Choco Gold-Copper and Choco Gold-Platinum North Choco Gold-Copper (500 sq. km) is located 80 km SW of Medellin and is contiguous to properties held by AngloGold Ashanti and Continental Gold and includes rights to exploration and exploitation over a 72.5 sq. km Mining Area. North Choco is 47 km SW of AngloGold's 2005 Nuevo Chaquiro copper porphyry discovery, hosting an Inferred Resource of 604Mt at 0.65% copper and 0.32g/t gold with a contained metal content of 4Mt of copper and 6Moz of gold. This is one of five known porphyry centres within a 15 sq. km area. Max cautions investors mineralization on the Nuevo Chaquiro property is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on North Choco. The Nuevo Chaquiro Resource is disclosed in the AngloGold presentation "Discovery and Geology of the Nuevo Chaquiro Cu-Au (Ag-Mo) Porphyry Deposit". AngloGold Ashanti examined the North Choco area for porphyry copper in 2005, locating porphyry copper prospects and anomalies. AngloGold was unable to follow up and the area has sat idle until Andagueda Mining completed its historic agreement earlier this year. Max's Choco Gold-Platinum Property (2.140 sq. km) is located adjacent to and SW of North Choco and covers or is adjacent to historic production of 1.5Mozs gold and 1.0Mozs platinum. Free gold was observed from hard-rock conglomerates taken from surface in February of 2019. A follow up Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) survey identified multiple conglomerate zones spread over a 1,000 sq. km area. Test work is continuing on accessing the fine gold within the conglomerates. Source for Choco: R.J. Fletcher and Associates (2011) Review of Gold and Platinum Exploration and Production in Choco Province Colombia Part 3. Private Report for Condoto Platinum Ltd.) QA/QC All rock chip samples were shipped from site and delivered by Company personnel to the SGS Colombia S.A.S laboratory in Medellin, Colombia, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited facility. All rock samples were analyzed utilizing SGS's ICM40B procedure, a four-acid digestion of a one half-gram sample with an ICP finish, with a copper upper limit of 10000 ppm (1%). All rock samples were also analyzed utilizing SGS's FAG303 procedure, a 30-gram gold fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Over limit copper values are subsequently analyzed utilizing GO ICP13B AES package with an upper limit of 30% copper. Certified blank samples from CDN Resource Laboratories Ltd. were inserted into the sample stream at regular intervals. No irregularities were noted. About Max Resource Corp. Max is a mineral exploration company focused on the development and acquisition of prospective projects in the rich mineral belts of Colombia. The company has established significant exploration infrastructure and local community support for the Choco gold and platinum project, located 100 kilometres south of Medellin, which covers, or is adjacent to, historic production of 1.5 million ounces of gold and one million ounces of platinum. The company's Gachala copper project is located 60 kilometres east of Bogota. The company is led by a seasoned management team with a record of significant discovery and exploration success. Tim Henneberry, PGeo (British Columbia), a member of the Max Resource advisory board, is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the company. For more information visit: https://www.maxresource.com/ For additional information contact: Max Resource Corp. Tim McNulty E: info@maxresource.com T: (604) 290-8100 For Max Resource's French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc. E: rs@maricom.ca T: (888) 585-MARI Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for Max Resources Corp. described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44972 New drill intersections suggest a new mineralized structure exists in the Grey Fox Area. Key intercepts include: 10.33 g/t Au over 4.36 m (0.33 opt* Au over 14.30 ft) including 14.33 g/t Au over 1.45 m (0.46 opt Au over 4.76 ft), and 9.02 g/t Au over 1.45 m (0.29 opt Au over 4.76 ft) 4.32 g/t Au over 7.27 m (0.14 opt Au over 23.85 ft) including 14.45 g/t Au over 0.73 m (0.46 opt Au over 2.40 ft) Wide spaced high-grade drill intersections generated at a second target in the Grey Fox Area. Key intercepts include: 16.9 g/t Au over 3 m (0.54 opt Au over 9.84 ft) 519 g/t Au over 0.4 m (16.69 opt Au over 1.31 ft) TORONTO, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (MUX) (MUX.TO) is pleased to report new positive exploration drill results from surface drilling in the Grey Fox Area within the Black Fox Property near Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Assay results have been received for seven holes (see Table 1), with assays pending for an additional 13 holes. The drill results reported today show positive results from two targets in the Grey Fox Area (see Figure 1). The Grey Fox Area is comprised of three deposits: 147, Contact and South, and two targets: 147NE and Gibson, which cumulatively hosts estimated Indicated resources of 465,000 ounces of gold (2.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 6.64 g/t). Sylvain Guerard, Senior Vice President Exploration, commented: The reported drill intersections at the 147NE and Gibson Targets are highly encouraging. The potential of the Grey Fox Area to host additional mineralization is improving rapidly." 147NE Target New results from the 147NE Target (see Figure 2) are defining a mineralized structure that measures approximately 300 m in strike length and 200 m vertically from surface. It is composed of quartz-carbonate veins and breccia hosting visible gold. Drilling is in progress to further define and extend the mineralization. An initial resource estimate for the 147NE mineralized target will be completed in Q3 2019. Highlights from the surface drill programs include (widths are estimated true widths unless otherwise stated): Story continues Hole 19GF-1109: 10.33 g/t Au over 4.36 m including 14.33 g/t Au over 1.45 m, and 9.02 g/t Au over 1.45 m Hole 19GF-1108: 4.32 g/t Au over 7.27 m including 14.45 g/t Au over 0.73 m Hole 19GF-1113: 8.24 g/t Au over 2.28 m, and 21.00 g/t Au over 0.81 m Hole 19GF-1114: 48.80 g/t Au over 0.49 m Gibson Target The Gibson Target was initially tested in 2018 with hole 18GF-1079, which intersected a broad interval of alteration and brecciation within an intrusive rock unit returning a grade of 3.1 g/t Au over 34 m, including 9.7 g/t Au over 7 m at a vertical depth of 450 m (McEwen Mining press release from July 25, 2018). Recent drilling 250 m down dip was completed to test the extension of this mineralization (see Figures 3). A higher-grade interval of 16.9 g/t Au over 3 m (core length), within a 60 m wide envelope of alteration and anomalous mineralization was encountered in hole 19GF-1106. An upper wedge hole was drilled between these two holes and cut a similar style of mineralization with partial results from a 20 m interval returning a high-grade assay result of 519 g/t Au over 0.4 m (core length). McEwen geologists are highly encouraged by the occurrence of these potentially minable gold grades and widths in a geologic environment where a significant volume of mineralization could be defined. Table 1 147NE and Gibson Intrusion Assays Results HOLE-ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) True Width (m) Gold (g/t) Area 19GF-1106 793.00 796.00 3.00 ND 16.90 Gibson And 806.00 807.80 1.80 ND 6.80 Gibson 19GF-1106W1* 741.60 742.00 0.40 ND 519.00 Gibson 19GF-1108 69.00 71.00 2.00 1.45 6.91 147 And 146.00 156.00 10.00 7.27 4.32 Including 155.00 156.00 1.00 0.73 14.45 19GF-1109 67.00 68.00 1.00 0.73 14.50 147 And 75.00 76.00 1.00 0.73 9.88 And 130.00 136.00 6.00 4.36 10.33 Including 130.00 132.00 2.00 1.45 14.33 Including 134.00 135.00 1.00 0.73 18.40 And 144.00 146.00 2.00 1.45 9.02 Including 145.00 146.00 1.00 0.73 14.10 19GF-1113 163.20 166.00 2.80 2.28 8.24 147 And 232.00 233.00 1.00 0.81 21.00 147 19GF-1114 60.00 65.00 5.00 4.07 3.09 147 And 145.50 146.10 0.60 0.49 48.80 147 19GF-1117 Significant hits but below the criteria of the composites Criteria: Cut off grade 3g/t Au, minimum length 3m, and maximum consecutive interval waste 3m. If grade x length > 9 the composite will be added * Assays pending for the remainder of the hole ND = True width not determined NC = Not calculated Figure 1: Black Fox Property Map http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20190523_gf/figure_1_black_fox_property.pdf Figure 2: 147NE Cross-section View Looking North East http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20190523_gf/figure_2_147ne-cross-section.pdf Figure 3: Gibson - Cross-section View Looking North West http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20190523_bf/figure_3_gibson-Cross-section-west.pdf ABOUT MCEWEN MINING McEwen Mining is a diversified gold and silver producer with operating mines in Nevada, Canada, Mexico and Argentina. It also owns a large copper deposit in Argentina. McEwens goal is to qualify for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index by creating a profitable gold and silver producer focused in the Americas. McEwen has approximately 360 million shares outstanding. Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner, owns 22% of the shares. QUALIFIED PERSON Technical information pertaining to geology and exploration contained in this news release has been prepared under the supervision of Ken Tylee, P.Geo. Mr. Tylee is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. TECHNICAL INFORMATION *Grams per tonne (g/t) converted to Troy ounces per tonne (opt) at ratio 31.1035 to 1. All intercept widths are true widths unless otherwise specified. All exploration drill core samples at the Black Fox Complex were submitted as 1/2 core. Analyses reported herein were performed by the independent laboratories: ALS Laboratories, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, Activation Labs, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, and SGS Canada Laboratories, which is ISO9001/IEC17025 certified. McEwens quality control program includes systematic insertion of blanks, standard reference material and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy. To determine the lengths of significant mineralized intervals, the following composite criteria was established: a minimum reportable interval length of 3 m was determined by establishing a cut-off grade of 3g/t gold for underground (1 g/t gold for near surface). A consecutive maximum length of 3 m of internal waste, including sub cut-off grade material, is allowed and incorporated into the reported composites. Where an interval of less than 3 m is considered, if the grade x length calculation is greater than 9 (3 for surface), it may be reported. There is no top cutting or capping of assays. For further details about the Black Fox Complex project including Tamarack, please see our NI 43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report for the Black Fox Complex, Canada" dated April 6th, 2018 with an effective date of October 31st, 2017 available on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) under our issuer profile. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US INVESTORS REGARDING RESOURCE ESTIMATION McEwen Mining Inc. is required to prepare reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43101), under the Canadian securities laws because we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and subject to Canadian securities laws. Standards under NI 43-101 are materially different than the standards generally permitted in reports filed with the United States (U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under NI 43101, we report measured, indicated and inferred resources, which are measurements that are generally not permitted in filings made with the SEC. The estimation of measured resources and indicated resources involve greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves under Industry Guide 7. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of measured or indicated resources will ever be converted into economically mineable reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. Therefore, U.S. investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of inferred resources exist, or that they can be legally or economically mined. Canadian regulations permit the disclosure of resources in terms of contained ounces provided that the tonnes and grade for each resource are also disclosed; however, the SEC only permits issuers to report mineralized material in tonnage and average grade without reference to contained ounces. Under U.S. regulations, the tonnage and average grade described herein disseminated by us would be characterized as mineralized material. We provide such disclosure about our properties to allow a means of comparing our projects to those of other companies in the mining industry, many of which are Canadian and report pursuant to NI 43101, and to comply with applicable disclosure requirements. CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves, and other risks. The Companys dividend policy will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors and is subject to change based on certain factors such as the capital needs of the Company and its future operating results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement. The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by management of McEwen Mining Inc. CONTACT INFORMATION: Mihaela Iancu Investor Relations (647)-258-0395 ext 320 info@mcewenmining.com Website: www.mcewenmining.com Facebook: facebook.com/mcewenrob Twitter: twitter.com/mcewenmining Instagram: instagram.com/mcewenmining 150 King Street West Suite 2800, P.O. Box 24 Toronto, ON, Canada M5H 1J9 (Bloomberg) -- Murray Cox chuckled when he was invited to a meeting with Airbnb representatives in downtown Manhattan in February. For four years Cox has been publishing reports that cast Airbnb as a big-city housing-villain, but the company had never reached out to him before. A rendez-vous was set for a WeWork meeting room on Broadway, across the street from Airbnb Inc.s offices in New York. Was the location suitable to Cox, Airbnb wanted to know? Well yes, Cox thought, or he could just walk downstairs since he works in the same building as Airbnb, close enough to connect to their Wi-Fi. By day, Cox spends his time on the 27th floor of a corporate skyscraper as a vice president for a tech startup, surreptitiously riding the elevator with Airbnb employees who occupy space on the 26th floor. By night, the 46-year-old often sits on his couch in Brooklyn scraping Airbnbs website, delivering curated statistics to cities around the world that are seeking to rein in the ever-expanding home-sharing giant. Cox has turned Airbnbs own data against it by highlighting thousands of illegal listings on the platform that he says distort the housing market. To Cox, Airbnb is an obnoxious multibillion-dollar corporation that thinks they are changing the world when in fact they are having negative impacts on it. And for just as long, Airbnb has vilified Cox, publicly undermining his work while accusing him of being in the pocket of the hotel industry. An Australian spokesman for Airbnb called his website garbage. But as Airbnb, privately valued at $31 billion, readies itself for a public stock listing next year, its exigencies are shifting. The San Francisco-based company needs to make peace in New York, its biggest domestic market, where its locked in a fight over regulation. To do so, it must broker a ceasefire with Cox, whose data hardens the citys stance. Airbnb spokeswoman Liz DeBold Fusco reached out to Cox earlier this year after some public sparring on Twitter and invited him to have a real conversation about the path forward for home sharing in New York. Story continues After half a decade of rebuttals mostly by press release, Cox was taken aback by the sudden prospect of a face-to-face meeting. Sitting in the apartment he shares with his dog Finch, Cox read and re-read the message, wondering if it was some kind of trick. The soft-spoken Australian native hardly seems to fit the bill of Airbnbs global public enemy No. 1, as some media have labeled him. People describe me as a watchdog over Airbnb, Cox says in an interview, dressed in a denim shirt and Nike sneakers, as he picks at a plate of vegetables and tofu at a Manhattan noodle shop. Its a label he rejects. Im just a housing activist. I believe housing is a human right; not an economic tool or a commodity. Cox studied computer science at the University of Sydney and since graduating in the mid 1990s, has worked at small tech startups and dabbled in photojournalism. His activist streak was likely passed down by his older brother, an environmentalist who worked on campaigns to protect Australias wildlife. After some globe-trotting, Cox settled down in Brooklyn in 2008. That same year, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk launched Airbnb, inviting strangers into their apartment in San Francisco for short-term stays to help pay rent. Before long, Airbnb had grown into the worlds biggest home-sharing platform, with more than 6 million listings in 191 countries. As it expanded, Airbnb has faced increasing pushback from many cities that say its model squelches the housing supply, raises rents and pushes long-term residents out.Cox first started noticing this phenomenon in his own neighborhood in the summer of 2014. At the time he was working with a youth group, teaching kids about gentrification, segregation and housing pressures. Coxs initial understanding of Airbnb was that it was a way for people to rent out spare bedrooms, bringing in a little money on the side. But in looking over the data, he was surprised to learn that, in fact, hosts were renting out entire homes. What began as a simple class project turned into an obsession that spawned the website Inside Airbnb. Cox now spends about 10 hours a week parsing statistics from listings in more than 100 cities and fielding half a dozen queries from academics and journalists around the world. Using publicly available information, Inside Airbnb gives a view into how many listings there are in a certain zip code, how many are entire private homes versus a room in a home, the price and the number of reviews each has received.Its valuable information for cities that are trying to crack down on entire networks of managed Airbnb units or serial renters whose practice eliminates apartments that would be otherwise available for people looking for a place to live. A New York law from 2010 made it illegal to rent an entire apartment in a multi-unit building for less than 30 days without a tenant present. San Francisco, Barcelona and Paris are among about 30 cities that have requested Coxs data and have imposed regulation and restrictions on Airbnb. Listings in San Francisco dropped by about half in 2015 after the city required Airbnb to automatically register hosts on its site. New York could suffer a similar fate.Airbnbs rebuttal is that Coxs data lacks context. For example, not all of the listings on Airbnb are active, meaning that just because an apartment is listed, and included in Coxs data, doesnt mean its available. His site doesnt take into account the fact that multiple listings might be advertising the same property. Airbnb also takes issue with Coxs calculation of prices and how much income a host earns per month.Academics maintain that Inside Airbnb is the best source of publicly available data about the company. ``The reality of the kind of activity that is occurring on Airbnb's platform is at odds with the kind of image they would like to project," says David Wachsmuth, a professor at McGill Universitys School of Urban Planning. Whether or not one agrees with the conclusions of Cox's data, there are no grounds for disputing the fact that hes creating a fair and accurate representation." Cox receives payments from some cities, including $200 a month from San Francisco, as well as the hotel trade association, and researchers. Maintaining the website costs him about $10,000 a year and the payments usually cover the bills, he says. In the past year, he has been flown to Barcelona, Australia, and Paris to speak at various home-sharing events about his findings. But nowhere does Cox pose more of a threat for Airbnb than in New York. The city has some 50,000 listings and is one of the worlds top tourist destinations, attracting 65 million visitors last year. Its also one of the most expensive cities in the country and has draconian housing laws as well as a powerful hotel lobby. The city is at loggerheads with Airbnb over a law that prevents anyone from renting out an apartment for fewer than 30 days unless the permanent tenant is present.Every month, Cox sends statistics to New York Citys Office of Special Enforcement with detail about what kinds of homes are being rented out. His data is the backbone of the citys recent subpoena of 17,000 Airbnb listings it presumes are illegal. Housing issues are at the core of a lot of problems in this city, Cox says. I care about social justice. I care about racial and economic equality; Airbnb is impacting those things. For example, Cox found that across 72 predominantly black New York City neighborhoods, Airbnb hosts are five times more likely to be white. His data has also shown that the majority of Airbnb listings are entire apartments rented out year round, suppressing available housing in New York by about 10% and raising rents by hundreds of dollars a year. Cox sees his biggest coup as exposing Airbnb in 2016 for quietly wiping 1,000 illegal commercial listings off its platform in New York, allowing it to paint a rosier picture of its operations and misleading the public and city officials. Airbnbs outreach in February could be linked to the upcoming public offering, said Andrew Rasiej, chairman emeritus of the non-profit organization New York Tech Alliance. Its reasonable to assume theres a correlation between Airbnb wanting to meet with a vocal critic in New York and to appear as legal as possible before an IPO in order to calm investors fears, he said. But Cox wasnt calm when he walked into the meeting room on a cold day in February. My adrenaline was up. I didnt know what they were going to talk about and theres always a chance they could try and sue me, he said. Cox was welcomed by DeBold Fusco and Andrew Kalloch, an Airbnb policy manager, who dialed in via phone from Portland, where hes based.The pleasantries were short-lived, however, and the tension quickly grew thick as they argued over a proposal to legalize and regulate home sharing in New York. Neither side was willing to give an inch. But a few weeks ago, Airbnb agreed to ban listings of subsidized or rent-controlled housing in New York in an effort to appease activists like Cox. The move reflects the fact that we are listening, said DeBold Fusco, the Airbnb spokeswoman. Cox isnt convinced. He reached out to her last month via Twitter to see if she wanted to catch up over coffee and discuss the proposal again. This time she didnt respond. To contact the author of this story: Olivia Carville in New York at ocarville1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Molly Schuetz at mschuetz9@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Construction of runway at Bhairahawa airport completed The delay-plagued national pride project has achieved 73 percent physical progress with the completion of the 3,000-metre long and 45-metre wide asphalt paved runway (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. has removed Huawei Technologies Co. from one of its websites offering cloud gear, a week after the U.S. government blacklisted the Chinese company. The worlds largest software maker still wont comment on whether it is rescinding Huaweis licence to use the Windows operating system. On the Azure Stack product website, Huaweis logo is still present on the main page but the company and its offerings have been removed from the product catalog. Huawei is one of several hardware vendors that make servers and equipment for Microsofts Azure Stack product, which helps companies run software applications on either a hybrid cloud service or in their own data centers. The catalog shows customers what servers and other hardware are available and compatible with Azure Stack. Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw has declined to discuss what actions Microsoft will take to comply with U.S. restrictions on Huawei and he couldnt be immediately reached to comment on the catalog change. Investors and industry expects have been watching closely to see how U.S. technology companies alter their relationships with Huawei to comply with the directive and what impact those changes will have on both the Chinese company and its partners. Chipmakers including Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Inc., have told their employees they will not supply Huawei until further notice, according to people familiar with their actions. Alphabet Inc.s Google wont supply crucial software to future Huawei smartphones. To contact the author of this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at dbass2@bloomberg.net For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV: MAI) (the "Company" or "Minera Alamos") is pleased to announce the appointment of Carolina Salas as Vice President - Technical Services. Ms. Salas, who has worked with the Company's senior management group at previous Mexican gold operations, will oversee final preparations related to the construction of commercial scale gold production facilities at the Santana Project ("Santana") in Sonora. Her addition will add further project development and operations expertise to an already strong in-country team with a proven track record successfully developing low capex gold projects. "We are excited to welcome Carolina back to our team," said Darren Koningen, CEO of Minera Alamos. "Her broad project experience at all stages of project advancement from initial process development through construction and into final operations will prove invaluable as we make our final plans to move the Company's Santana and La Fortuna gold projects into commercial production. Over the early part of this year as the Company awaits some final project permit documentation we have been actively involved with making final construction preparations. In addition, the next phase of exploration plans are now complete and we are excited to demonstrate the team's belief in the scale of overall mineralization at Santana throughout the remainder of the year. The ability to bring onboard someone with the experience and capabilities of Carolina to assist with our efforts is a huge opportunity for the Company and further confirmation of the potential for Minera's existing asset base to deliver significant organic production growth in the years ahead." Carolina Salas has a Master's Degree in Metallurgical Science from the University of Sonora. She is currently based in Hermosillo, Sonora but will be dividing her time as required between the Company's 100%-owned projects in Sonora and Durango. Ms. Salas brings almost 15 years of mining industry experience in increasingly senior engineering and management roles. Immediately prior to joining Minera Alamos she was a senior account manager in Mexico for Outotec, one of the world's largest mining process equipment suppliers and focussed primarily on gold and copper projects. Prior to that her experience included roles at production operations with Minera Columbia de Mexico and Penoles. As Process Manager at the Lluvia de Oro gold heap leach project in Sonora, Mexico Ms. Salas was responsible for the effective oversight of all gold processing and recovery facilities as well metallurgical testwork programs and the design/construction of new processing systems. Story continues About Minera Alamos: Minera Alamos is an advanced-stage exploration and development company with a growing portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the La Fortuna open-pit gold project in Durango with positive PEA completed, the Santana open-pit heap-leach development project in Sonora with test mining and processing completed and the Guadalupe de Los Reyes open-pit gold-silver project in Sinaloa where the Company has exposure through the planned agreement with ePower Metals to assign the current option agreement in return for a significant equity stake in the ePower. The Company is awaiting the pending approval of permit applications related to the commercial production of gold at both the Santana and Fortuna projects. The Company's strategy is to develop low capex assets while expanding the project resources and pursue complementary strategic acquisitions. For Further Information Please Contact: Minera Alamos Inc. Doug Ramshaw, President Tel: 604-600-4423 Email: dramshaw@mineraalamos.com Website: www.mineraalamos.com Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release may contain forward-looking information and Minera Alamos cautions readers that forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations of Minera Alamos included in this news release. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements", which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". These statements are based on information currently available to Minera Alamos and Minera Alamos provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements with respect to Minera Alamos' future plans with respect to the Projects, objectives or goals, to the effect that Minera Alamos or management expects a stated condition or result to occur and the expected timing for release of a resource and reserve estimate on the Projects. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, the economics of processing methods, project development, reclamation and capital costs of Minera Alamos' mineral properties, the ability to complete a preliminary economic assessment which supports the technical and economic viability of mineral production could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons. Minera Alamos' financial condition and prospects could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: an inability to finance and/or complete an updated resource and reserve estimate and a preliminary economic assessment which supports the technical and economic viability of mineral production; changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with Minera Alamos' activities; and other matters discussed in this news release and in filings made with securities regulators. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Minera Alamos' forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on Minera Alamos' forward-looking statements. Minera Alamos does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by Minera Alamos or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44997 By Jason Lange and Michael Martina WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States is at least a month from enacting its proposed tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports as it studies the impact on American consumers, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday. Washington this month hiked existing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10%, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies on U.S. imports, as talks to end a 10-month trade war between the world's two largest economies stalled. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an "America First" agenda aimed at rebalancing global trade, has threatened to slap tariffs of up to 25% on an additional list of Chinese imports worth about $300 billion. "There won't be any decision probably for another 30 to 45 days," Mnuchin said in a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. That timeline, which is accelerated compared to previous rounds of tariffs, means the next levies could be ready around the time when Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Japan June 28-29. "I'm still hopeful we can get back to the table. The two presidents will likely see each other at the end of June," Mnuchin said, adding that the impact of tariffs on American consumers was a key consideration in the U.S. trade strategy. Walmart Inc, the world's largest retailer, has said its prices will rise because of higher tariffs on Chinese goods. Mnuchin said the Trump administration is open to holding new talks with China if the two sides can proceed on the basis of previous negotiations. No high-level talks have been scheduled since the end of two days of discussions in Washington on May 10, the day Trump imposed the higher levies on Chinese goods. HUAWEI FALLOUT The seeds of the current stalemate were sowed when Chinese officials sought major changes to the draft text of a deal that the Trump administration says had been largely agreed. Story continues The Chinese government's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Wednesday that China's door would always be open to further trade talks with the United States, but added that Beijing would not accept any unequal agreements. Acrimony between the two countries has intensified since Washington put Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a blacklist that curbs Huawei's access to U.S.-made components last week. The move is a potentially devastating blow for the company and has rattled technology supply chains and investors. Some mobile operators, including the Ymobile unit of Japan's Softbank Corp and rival KDDI Corp, put launch plans for Huawei's new P30 Lite smartphone on hold on Wednesday. A person briefed on the matter said the United States is considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd over Beijing's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority. Global equity markets slid on Wednesday as investors sought safety in bonds, the Japanese yen and Swiss franc amid renewed worries over the standoff after the Hikvision report. British chip designer ARM said it had halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. blockade, and mobile operators EE and Vodafone said they had dropped Huawei smartphones from the imminent launch of their 5G networks. Huawei said it valued its close relationships with its partners but recognized the pressure some of them are under "as a result of politically motivated decisions". CHINA WILL NOT BEND China has not said whether or how it may retaliate against the measures directed at Huawei, but state media have taken an increasingly nationalistic tone and vowed Beijing will not bend to U.S. pressure. China will have to overcome major risks and challenges, state news agency Xinhua paraphrased Xi as saying on a trip this week to the southern province of Jiangxi, a cradle of China's Communist revolution. "We must be conscious of the long-term and complex nature of various unfavorable factors at home and abroad, and appropriately prepare for various difficult situations," Xi said. The report did not elaborate and did not directly mention the trade war or the United States. U.S. firms said in a survey released on Wednesday they were facing retaliation in China over the dispute. The American Chamber of Commerce in China and its sister body in Shanghai said members reported increased obstacles such as government inspections, slower customs clearances and longer waits for approval for licensing and other applications. It said 40.7% of respondents were considering relocating or had relocated manufacturing facilities outside of China. Of the almost 250 respondents to the survey, which was conducted after the latest round of tariffs, nearly three-quarters said the levies were hurting their competitiveness. The United States is seeking sweeping changes to China's trade and economic policies, including an end to forced technology transfers and theft of U.S. trade secrets. Washington also wants curbs on subsidies for Chinese state-owned enterprises and better access for U.S. firms in Chinese markets. "The idea is not to have tariffs, the idea is for them (China) to treat our companies fairly," Mnuchin said on Wednesday, and referred to the impact on U.S. agriculture, which has been among the targets of China's retaliatory tariffs. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last week a new aid package for farmers hurt by China's tariffs was likely to amount to between $15 billion and $20 billion, exceeding the up to $12 billion in aid rolled out last year. (Reporting by Jason Lange, David Lawder and Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and David Shepardson in Washington, Ben Blanchard and Zhang Min in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Writing by Paul Simao; Editing by Susan Thomas and James Dalgleish) FILE PHOTO: The Avon Products headquarters is seen in midtown Manhattan area of New York, June 21, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo By Gabriela Mello SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Natura SA said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement to buy rival Avon Products Inc via a share swap, creating the world's fourth-largest beauty company with a redoubled focus on direct sales. Under the terms of the deal, Natura will hold 76% of the combined business with over $10 billion in annual revenue, according to a statement from the Brazilian cosmetics firm. After Natura pushed into high-end retail shops with the acquisitions of Aesop in 2013 and The Body Shop in 2017, the takeover of its biggest rival in direct sales is a renewed bet on the company's core business of door-to-door distribution. Brazil is Avon's biggest market, making up nearly a quarter of sales, but its business there has suffered in recent years due to a weak economy and stiff competition from Natura. Now the 133-year-old, London-based company has agreed to a takeover offer of 0.3 Natura share for each Avon share, according to a securities filing. That values Avon's equity at around $2 billion, representing a 28% premium over its closing share price on May 21. Shares in both companies ended over 9% higher on Wednesday as investors cheered the consolidation. Avon shares jumped 9.1% and Natura reversed early losses to end 9.4% up. Social and economic trends in Brazil have protected the direct sales model for cosmetics, consisting of third-party "consultants" selling mainly to acquaintances, from the threat of online retail. Natura has a commanding lead in Brazil's direct sales market, according to research group Euromonitor, which estimates a 31% market share for the company, followed by a nearly 16% share for Avon. Natura estimated that the deal could yield between $150 million and $250 million of annual cost savings. Many consultants already offer both Avon and Natura products, which Brasil Plural analyst Andres Estevez said could help to ease the concerns of antitrust officials. Story continues The transaction, which is still subject to approval by Natura and Avon shareholders, as well as regulatory authorities in Brazil and other countries, is expected to be concluded by the beginning of 2020. If the deal closes by that deadline, Natura said it would pay $530 million to investors holding Series C preferred shares in Avon, adding that it had guaranteed funding from Banco Bradesco SA, Citigroup Inc and Itau Unibanco Holding SA to make the payment. A source familiar with the negotiated terms told Reuters that investment firm Cerberus Capital Management is the Series C shareholder. In April, Cerberus sold Avon North America, which is private, to LG Household & Health Care for $125 million. Reuters reported last week that Natura was close to striking a deal to buy Avon. (Additional reporting by Carolina Mandl, Tatiana Bautzer, Paula Laier and Alberto Alerigi; editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bill Trott, David Gregorio and G Crosse) FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured during the 152nd Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss food group Nestle SA and New Zealand's dairy producer Fonterra Co-operative Group said they would review strategic options for their Dairy Partners Americas (DPA) joint venture in Brazil, which could include a potential sale. Nestle is currently streamlining its portfolio and has divested several underperforming businesses, including its skin health unit. The review should ensure the long-term growth and success of the business that posted sales revenue of 1 billion Brazilian reais ($247.5 million) in 2018, both companies said in a joint statement late on Wednesday, adding the review was expected to be ready by the end of 2019. The two partners created DPA as a 50:50 joint venture (JV) in 2003 to manufacture and commercialize chilled and liquid dairy products in Latin America. The JV was realigned in 2014 to focus on chilled dairy in Brazil, with Fonterra taking a 51% stake and Nestle holding remaining 49%. ($1 = 4.0403 reais) (Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by James Emmanuel) 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. Niki Laudas Lasting Aviation Legacy Running an airline is the most difficult job in the world. Racing was more dangerous for my life, motorsport driver and aviation entrepreneur Niki Lauda, said in a 2009 interview. Lauda, who died on Monday at 70, was a rare example of someone who managed to succeed in two very different industries. Not only was he a three-time Formula One world champion two of these victories occurring after a horrific crash in 1976 he also spent almost four decades in the aviation industry, starting three different airlines, all of which carried his name. He was always eager to found a new airline and to show the big ones that a small company [can do] it much better, said Karsten Benz, who held senior positions at both Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines. Lauda was happiest solving problems, one of which was how to keep prices low while offering something different than the other low-cost carriers in the market. He was always very much focused on qualityespecially in catering, Benz said. Lauda walked this tightrope between cost and quality pretty successfully. When Austrian Airlines bought his first airline Lauda Air, it kept the brand going for another 13 years before retiring it, presumably because people loved flying and working under it. (Lauda later admitted he was an idiot for signing over the name.) He was incredibly direct, extremely sharp, straight to the point. And that combined with a good sense of humour made discussions very fun, said Christoph Debus, CEO of Thomas Cook Airlines. Lauda was also one of a small number of airline owners and CEOs who was also a qualified pilot. He racked up thousands of hours flying his companys aircraft. It made quite a difference that you could really spot him during the flights, being in the cockpit or welcoming the guests onboard the plane, Debus said. Not everyone loved him, however; unions disliked the pay levels and contract structure, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. Story continues Id rather keep them out, purely and simply, Lauda said. 40-Year Career Lauda founded his first airline, Lauda Air, in 1979, starting operations in 1985. The carrier eventually ended up flying long-haul, mainly from Austria to Asia and Australia. In 1991, Lauda Air Flight 004, crashed shortly after taking off from Bangkok. For Lauda the crash and death of 223 people was the worst moment of his life. Worse than his own crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix that came close to killing him and left him with extensive burns over head. Investigators eventually blamed an engine malfunction on the Boeing 767 jet. What really annoyed me was Boeings reaction once the cause was clear. Boeing did not want to say anything, Lauda said in a 2006 interview. After selling out to Austrian Airlines, Lauda caught the aviation bug again in 2003, starting up Niki. He gave himself some help by partnering with Air Berlin, who took a minority stake before becoming the sole owner in 2011. Air Berlins demise six years later gave Lauda a chance to get his hands on the airline again, using his newly formed Laudamotion carrier to take control. Again Lauda partnered with established airlines, firstly with Thomas Cook-owned Condor and then much more seriously with Ryanair. The Irish carrier bought a 24.9 percent stake gradually upgrading this to 100 percent by the end of 2018. Niki Lauda will remain in our heart and our memory as a visionary leader, a legend of Formula One and an aviation pioneer, said Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary. Lasting Legacy Lauda was an increasingly rare example of an entrepreneur who wanted to take on the established airline industry. Europe, like the United States, has seen a steady stream of airline mergers over the last few decades, with big groups making it much harder for smaller companies to succeed. The airline business has become a question of size. If you start a company your size is small, and the question is how to survive with 10, 15, 20 airplanes the bigger the better and this is something that makes it very difficult to found an airline, Benz said. Laudas tie-ups with bigger, more established players gave him a fighting chance to succeed where others did not. Its a similar approach to Richard Branson and the Virgin Group. Branson always pitched his Virgin Atlantic brand as the young upstart to stuffy British Airways, but it is arguably only still around because of its deals with Singapore Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Air France-KLM. To be a brilliant Formula One driver requires taking calculated risk. Niki Lauda took that spirit into an airline and market previously dominated by a national carrier; challenged convention, created best-in-class products, and left a lasting legacy of aviation success, said John Grant a partner at consultancy Midas Aviation. Risk takers like Lauda dont always succeed, but the industry would be a lot more boring without them. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. From California to New York, a chorus of voices have long warned of the deteriorating state of U.S. infrastructure, but as tensions in Washington D.C. boil over hopes for a federal funding package appear dashed. Now, amid inaction in Congress, states are pursuing a number of new initiatives to raise money to improve metropolitan transportation systems, roads and highways, water treatment plants and other investments. Overtime with the continued population growth expected in major metros putting a strain on existing infrastructure assets, we expect more U.S. cities to turn to alternative funding sources, the CEO of engineering firm AECOM, Michael Burke, told investors earlier this month. Anything that comes out of Washington will be a positive on top of that, [but] we're not counting it into our plans and it is not built into our growth plans. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. CEO Ward Nye also recently said the building material supplier expects state level funding through bond issuances, toll roads and tax initiativesto continue to grow at a faster rate than near-term federal funding, leading to additional growth opportunities for our company. An infrastructure bill has been a proverbial white whale in Washington D.C. While it has strong bipartisan momentum, it consistently falls behind other priorities like health care and tax reform. Optimism over such a measure rose once Democrats retook the House in the midterm elections last November. With political divisions at a fever pitch, it was one area along with drug pricing that had the promise to bring both parties together. President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had even agreed to pursue a $2 trillion infrastructure package. The prospect of legislation got early support from top companies who stand to benefit from it. Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby recently called the investment something the nations infrastructure needs. Story continues We have seen a certain amount of spending at the state and local level, which has certainly helped. But if we had a national infrastructure bill, I think that would be obviously a positive thing for Caterpillar, and we would very much welcome and support that kind of a bill, he said at the industrial giants investor meeting. The National Association of Manufacturers has also estimated that a $1 trillion injection of federal funding could spur 11 million U.S. jobs. An attempt at a grand compromise, however, collapsed on Wednesday after Trump walked out on a planned infrastructure meeting with the two Democratic leaders following warnings from Pelosi that the president is allegedly engaged in a cover-up that could warrant impeachment talks. As federal gridlock continues, states are exploring new ways to boost reserves. While federal funding is deemed essential, local funding for infrastructure is significantly higher, accounting for nearly 80 percent of all spending in the U.S., according to data from the Congressional Budget Office. And spending on state and local construction is on the rise, topping $298 billion in March, a 9 percent year-over-year increase but a decline from February's $301 billion. In New York City, increased congestion pricing at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to generate as much as $15 billion to help improve the regions decrepit subway system. Several other cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles, are pursuing similar initiatives. And in California, a state that AECOM's Burke recently called the hottest market on the planet right now, an increased gasoline tax that voters failed to overturn in the November elections will help subsidize new infrastructure investments. Following Californias actions last year, four states Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio and Virginia are pursuing similar measures to raise the gas tax. Since 2013, more than half of all U.S. states have hiked their gas tax. Congestion pricing is a more difficult option. A working group in Boston recommended a $5 fee for trips through the citys busiest areas, but Mayor Martin Walsh has yet to take a formal position on the matter. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX BUSINESS APP And while lawmakers in Massachusetts are pushing legislation on the issue, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has already registered his objection when he vetoed a bill last year to start a pilot program on congestion pricing. Related Articles FILE PHOTO: A Nokian tyre is on display at a tyre assembling centre and shop in Moscow FILE PHOTO: A Nokian tyre is on display at a tyre assembling centre and shop in Moscow, August 8, 2014.REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish tire maker Nokian Tyres expects its new U.S. factory in Tennessee to help it double its sales in North America, especially by expanding its all-season tire sales in the region, the company said on Thursday. The company, which has previously concentrated mostly on winter tire sales in Russia and Europe, said the new facility would allow it to seek growth in the significantly larger all-season tire market in North America. Two years ago Nokian, which currently has a large plant in Russia and a smaller one in Finland, announced an investment of $360 million in the new production facility in Dayton, Tennessee, set for startup in the latter half of this year. "Our goal is to double our sales in North America within five years," the company's chief executive Hille Korhonen told reporters in Helsinki. Last year, Nokian's North American sales amounted to 194.5 million euros ($217 million), a little over 12 percent of its total sales. The new factory is expected to cut delivery times in North America to weeks and eliminate the need to hold large inventories, Mark Earl, Vice President in charge of Americas, said. "Our current 120 to 180 day lead time from our Russian factory to North America is difficult to manage," Earl said. Previously the company sold only winter tyres in North America, mainly in Canada and some northern U.S. states, but has gradually ramped up its all-season tire sales. Earl said the total retail tire market amounted to 240 million units a year in the United States alone, with Nokian holding just a 1% share at the moment. "There is a lot of room in the market for a company like us," Earl said, adding the plan was to concentrate on larger tire sizes and models for premium cars. (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Mark Potter) By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures were steady on Tuesday as the prospect of mounting U.S.-Iran tensions disrupting supply was offset by concerns that a lengthy trade war between Washington and Beijing would limit crude demand. Brent crude futures settled at $72.18 a barrel, gaining 21 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $62.99 a barrel, down 11 cents ahead of the front month contract for June delivery expiring on Tuesday. The July contract settled at $63.13 a barrel. WTI fell slightly in post-settlement trade following industry group the American Petroleum Institute's data showing that U.S. crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week, by 2.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 599,000 barrels. [API/S] [EIA/S] The market will next watch for the U.S Energy Information Administration oil stockpiles report due on Wednesday morning. "I think the market is taking a breath, waiting to see how inventories respond to refiners in the U.S. returning back from maintenance," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. Crude prices were caught in limbo mainly due to counteracting disputes between the United States and other nations, analysts said. "The situation with China is as bearish as the Iran situation is bullish," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. "That's why I think we continue to be here in a stalemate." U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened Iran with "great force" if it attacked U.S. interests in the Middle East. On Tuesday, acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said that while threats from Iran remained high, deterrence measures taken by the Pentagon had "put on hold" the potential for attacks on Americans. He did not provide details. Washington suspects that militia with ties to Iran organized a rocket attack in Iraq's capital Baghdad. Iran said it would resist U.S. pressure, declining further talks under current circumstances. Tensions have mounted in an already tight market as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers have withheld supply to support prices since the start of the year in a six-month agreement. Saudi Arabia on Sunday indicated there was consensus among OPEC and allied oil producers to continue limiting supplies. Also adding to market tightness was the closure of a major pipeline in Nigeria and Russia supply disruptions. The prolonged tariff fight between the United States and China raised concerns about a global economic slowdown, however. Signs that Asian economies were already being hit by the trade conflict helped to boost the U.S. dollar to a four-week high, making crude more expensive for much of the world. Disappointing U.S. economic data that showed existing home sales fell for a second straight month also hampered crude demand sentiment. (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Sonya Hepinstall) DENVER, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PDC Energy, Inc. (PDC or the Company) (PDCE) today issued the following statement in response to the incomplete and misleading information released by Kimmeridge Energy Management Company, LLC and certain of its affiliates (Kimmeridge) regarding the clear conflicts of interest of Ben Dell, Kimmeridges Managing Partner: Kimmeridges attempt to rebut PDCs concerns about Ben Dells conflicts of interest underscores the existence of those conflicts and demonstrates his lack of understanding of public company corporate governance best practices. While Mr. Dell asserts that his interests are aligned with other PDC shareholders, and that he will not benefit in a manner that differs from other PDC shareholders, the reality is different. Below are the key concerns the PDC Board of Directors continues to have regarding Mr. Dells possible conflicts of interest and independence issues if he were elected to the PDC Board of Directors: Preferential Treatment Mr. Dell has consistently focused his priorities on engaging in M&A transactions with and through PDC, including as a financial participant. In fact, he indicated that engaging with PDC on M&A matters is the driving force for the proxy contest and is seeking preferential treatment from other shareholders. Kimmeridges proxy, when describing the last meeting Mr. Dell had with PDCs independent directors, confirms that Mr. Dell was willing to resolve the proxy contest if PDC gave Kimmeridge confidential information and entered into a stand-still agreement. Future Drilling and A&D Activity In Kimmeridges recent press release, Mr. Dell, who controls Kimmeridge, stated that he manages minerals acreage leased to PDC and in other areas. We still do not know the full scope of those interests. We believe such ownership rights present a misalignment of interest with other PDC shareholders and create potential conflicts. Both drilling decisions and potential acquisition targets should be considered by directors without regard to personal economics. Mr. Dells involvement with over 65 companies in the Delaware Basin would present conflicts with regard to critical strategic questions the Board is likely to address in the coming years. Competitive Alignment If Mr. Dell attempts to acquire further interests in the Delaware Basin through Kimmeridge, as he has in the past, he may be in direct competition with PDCs own acquisition efforts. These conflicts raise significant concerns PDC has regarding potential diversion of the Companys corporate opportunities as well as leakage of competitive information to Kimmeridge. Lack of Independence Kimmeridge completed a sizeable transaction with PDC within the last three years and Mr. Dell and an entity controlled by James Adelson, another Kimmeridge nominee to the PDC Board, received significant sums in connection with this transaction. Additionally, Kimmeridge has disclosed to the Company an ongoing commercial relationship with PDC from which Kimmeridge periodically receives revenues from royalties, lease bonus, surface use and other agreements. These facts continue to raise doubts as to whether they would be considered independent of PDC. Mr. Dell and Kimmeridge have refused to provide more specific information about Mr. Dells mineral interests, and they have still not adequately addressed the serious concerns we have about independence. PDCs Board and management team remain focused on continuing to take actions in the best interest of all shareholders. Story continues The PDC Board of Directors strongly recommends that shareholders protect the value of their investment by voting on the WHITE proxy card FOR PDCs nominees, Barton R. Brookman, Mark E. Ellis, and Larry F. Mazza at the Companys 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for May 29, 2019. Additional materials regarding the Boards recommendation for the 2019 Annual Meeting can be found at https://www.votewhiteforpdc.com . EVERY SHAREHOLDERS VOTE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, NO MATTER HOW MANY SHARES ARE OWNED. Shareholders who have questions or require any assistance voting their shares should contact PDC Energys proxy solicitor: MacKenzie Partners, Inc. Stockholders may call toll-free: (800) 322-2885 Banks and Brokers may call collect: (212) 929-5500 About PDC Energy, Inc. PDC Energy, Inc. is a domestic independent exploration and production company that acquires, explores and develops properties for the production of crude oil, natural gas and NGLs, with operations in the Wattenberg Field in Colorado and the Delaware Basin in Reeves and Culberson Counties, Texas. PDCs operations are focused in the horizontal Niobrara and Codell plays in the Wattenberg Field and in the Wolfcamp zones in the Delaware Basin. NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and the United States ("U.S.") Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding our business, strategy, the 2019 Annual Meeting, and potential nominees for the board of directors. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in and incorporated by reference into this report are "forward-looking statements." Words such as expect, anticipate, intend, plan, believe, seek, estimate and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements herein. Although forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect our good faith judgment, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known to us. Forward-looking statements are always subject to risks and uncertainties, and become subject to greater levels of risk and uncertainty as they address matters further into the future. Because such statements relate to events or conditions further in the future, they are subject to increased levels of uncertainty. Further, we urge you to carefully review and consider the cautionary statements and disclosures, specifically those under the heading "Risk Factors," made in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on February 28, 2019, and other filings with the SEC for further information on risks and uncertainties that could affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, which are incorporated by this reference as though fully set forth herein. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance occurring after the date of this press release or currently unknown facts or conditions or the occurrence of unanticipated events. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PDC has filed a definitive proxy statement and WHITE proxy card with the SEC in connection with its solicitation of proxies for the 2019 Annual Meeting. PDC SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT (AND ANY AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders may obtain the proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents as and when filed by PDC with the SEC without charge from the SECs website at www.sec.gov. Investors and shareholders can also obtain, without charge, a copy of the definitive proxy statement and other relevant filed documents from PDCs website at http://investor.pdce.com/sec-filings. CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING PARTICIPANTS PDC, its directors and certain of its executive officers may be deemed to be participants in connection with the solicitation of proxies from PDCs shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the 2019 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Contacts: Investors Michael Edwards Senior Director Investor Relations 303-860-5820 michael.edwards@pdce.com Media Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Andy Brimmer / Andrew Siegel 212-355-4449 Johnny Spann(WASHINGTON) -- Johnny Spann visited his son this week in Section 34 of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where America's first fallen hero after 9/11 in the war in Afghanistan rests forever, with a commanding view of the Pentagon and Washington's other monuments. And there at the grave, the still-grieving father, now 70, told his son, CIA paramilitary officer Johnny "Mike" Spann, how sorry he is that the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh is getting out of prison Thursday -- an apparently unrepentant extremist, according to leaked government reports and informed sources who spoke with ABC News this week. "You know every time I go there, I have to tell him that I love him, I'm proud of him," the elder Spann, from Winfield, Alabama, told ABC News. "I hate to have to apologize to him, because I feel like that we failed him, but that's what I'll have to do." In fact, Lindh, 38, will not only be set free, he will have to live somewhere outside of Washington, in the eastern part of Virginia, under supervised release when he leaves the U.S. penitentiary in Terra Haute, Indiana, three sources told ABC News. Some who have known Lindh, or have spoken to officials inside the U.S. government, said leaked assessments published by Foreign Policy in 2017 by the National Counterterrorism Center and Bureau of Prisons accurately portrayed Lindh as even more radicalized than when he was captured on an Afghan battlefield in 2001. Lindh has even sermonized to small groups of fellow Muslim inmates at Terra Haute, according to one source with direct knowledge, where he cited the words of Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood ideologue in the 1950s whose writings inspired those who later created al Qaeda. Spann said he worries that Lindh could somehow become an influencer to extremists because "he is an icon," and so this year he pressed Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to take up the matter with the White House. In an ABC News interview on Sunday, the still-grieving father delivered a direct appeal to President Donald Trump to somehow find a way to halt Lindh's release after having served 17 of 20 years with time off for good behavior. "Mister president, please do your job," Spann said. Trump may have the power to halt the release as head of the executive branch, but he has not. According to the Bureau of Prisons, the statutory release date is "the date that a person must be released at the expiration of his or her term of sentence, less any time deducted for good conduct." Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington University's Program on Extremism and a former National Counterterrorism Center official, said Lindh's apparently unwavering radicalization was troubling, but so's the fact the there is no de-radicalization program in the federal prison system he will emerge from today. "I hope Mr. Lindh moves on from his extremist beliefs," Hughes told ABC News, "but if he does, it'll be entirely of his own volition and not because of any systematic approach to the issue of released convicted terrorists." Lindh traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan before 9/11, received military training at the al Farooq terrorist training camp al Qaeda operated near Kandahar, then traveled north with an assault rifle to join the Taliban's corps of foreign fighters battling the Northern Alliance, which the U.S. threw its full might behind after the 2001 attacks. He was captured in Mazar-i-Sharif with other fighters and brought to the old prison there. The final enduring image of Mike Spann was a blurry video of him by Afghan intelligence questioning the bound-and-silent Lindh, whom Spann was told by another detainee was Irish. An hour after Spann attempted to question Lindh there, Spann was with prisoners who suddenly launched an attack and he died in the ensuing gunfight. A soot-covered Lindh was later interviewed on video by war author Robert Young Pelton as he received medical care, and photographed by the U.S. military blind-folded and strapped naked to a stretcher, before eventually winding up in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, as the first detainee in the global war on terror. He was never charged with Spann's death and only pleaded guilty in early 2002 to providing armed support to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Johnny Spann and some who were there said they believe Lindh could have warned the 32-year-old CIA officer who was hunting Osama bin Laden -- whom Lindh had met, though Spann didn't know that -- of what was about to happen in the basement of Qala-i-Janghi prison that day, where the prisoners had concealed weapons such as grenades. Pelton conducted the only news interview of Lindh on camera when he was captured after the uprising and said the California-raised Taliban volunteer bears culpability in Mike Spann's killing. "I interviewed Lindh, who had been captured with Arabic-speaking al Qaeda members. After the uprising I went down into the basement which was still littered with ammunition and weapons. The Arab-speaking survivors told me they had clustered in the back room where they had discussed what to do the next day. I found grenades tied with shoe laces so they could hang them around their crotch area to avoid being found when searched," Pelton recalled in an interview on Wednesday. Spann said he has often watched that video of Lindh "setting in front of Mike, and Mike begging him to tell him who he is and what are you doing here? And he still wouldn't open his mouth, wouldn't say a word." Lindh's parents and his court-appointed lawyers, James Brosnahan and William Cummings, declined to comment when asked by ABC News this week. In 2008, Lindh's father Frank Lindh bashed Spann's father for blaming his son for what happened in Qala-i-Janghi. "John Lindh had nothing to do with Mike Spann's death," Frank Lindh said in San Francisco at the time. "It was a shameful thing, I think, for that father to continue to make those claims against our son." The Department of Justice has not opposed Lindh's release, but in April, the government succeeded in arguing before a judge in Alexandria, Virginia, to set forth conditions of his supervised release. Lindh at first opposed these conditions but then dropped his opposition, court records show. As part of his conditional release, Lindh may only use approved electronic devices connected to the internet and continually monitored by the probation office, must communicate online only in English, cannot espouse extremist views or communicate with any extremists and must undergo mental health counseling. After Spann raised the reports of Lindh's continued extremist beliefs directly with Sen. Shelby, he tweeted last month that he had spoken to Trump about Lindh, but no known action has been taken by the president. Last week, Shelby and Sen. Margaret Hassan, D-N.H., wrote a joint letter to the acting Bureau of Prisons director asking for answers, but as of Wednesday had received none, an aide said. "Mr. Lindh is being released in accordance with applicable statutes and BOP regulations. An inmate's projected release date includes calculation of good conduct time earned by the inmate in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 3624(b) as well as any credits due to time served in custody prior to his/her sentence date (i.e. "jail credit")," the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. Johnny Spann and his granddaughters, Mike Spann's now grown children, have concerns that someone might seek revenge. "I think he could inspire people," he said. "Can somebody tell me that he absolutely will not?" Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Media Council Bill is against the spirit of constitution, editors say in a joint statement Editors of national dailies and online portals said the bill, which is in currently in Parliament, aims to curtail full press freedom, which is guaranteed by the constitution. The Annual General Meeting in Saga Tankers ASA was held today at the premises of the Company in Oslo, Norway. All items on the agenda were approved. Please find the attached minutes from the meeting in Norwegian, accompanied by an English office translation. Oslo, 23 May 2019 For further information please contact: CEO Espen Lundaas, +47 92 43 14 17 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Minutes AGM 23 May 2019 This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Saga Tankers ASA via GlobeNewswire HUG#2245074 SAP SE SAP recently announced that SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human capital management (HCM) were deployed by Eversheds Sutherland Ltd, a provider of legal service worldwide. Eversheds Sutherland is of the opinion that adoption of HCM solutions will enable it to drive digital HR transformation globally. The implementation of SAP SuccessFactors solutions has achieved an HR platform which offers better insight throughout the companys legal operations and improves efficiency of HR processes. With the solution, Eversheds Sutherland is well poised to help store employees, managers, HR and corporate office to better manage data. It will also aid in deriving meaningful insights and decision-making capabilities. With the aid of this solution, the company will be able to provide finest-in-class user experience for employees. We believe incremental adoption of SAPs SuccessFactors solutions on the back of robust visibility and traceability features is expected to favor the top line. Adoption of SAPs Solution: A Key Catalyst SuccessFactors Employee Central, which forms the backbone of the companys Human Capital Management offerings, now comprises around 3,000-employess across the U.K., France, Luxembourg, Middle East and Asia. Robust market traction of these solutions remains a key growth driver for SAP SE. Additionally; the company is well poised against its key HCM peers, even in markets outside the United States. Moreover, SAPs SuccessFactors Employee Central surpassed the 3,200-customer mark in first-quarter 2019. Management is optimistic on conclusion of SuccessFactors migration to SAP HANA platform. This move is anticipated to enhance SuccessFactors solution with integrated predictive analytics and other capabilities. Notably, SAP SuccessFactors suite is available across 96 countries in 42 languages. Bottom Line The company is also anticipated to strengthen presence in the customer relationship management market against peers including salesforce.com CRM, Oracle ORCL, among others. Story continues Additionally, continued market traction of the SAP S/4HANA platform is aiding the company significantly. SAP HANA Cloud Platform and its partners have been gaining rapid popularity, assisting clients in extending functionalities, building new applications, and integrating across cloud and on-premise platforms, in turn fueling growth. It has been acting as a catalyst since its introduction. The company constantly upgrades existing products and launches fresh ones to gain customers. Cloud still remains an expanding market with high growth prospects. In a recent report, Gartner projected the public cloud market to reach $411.4 billion by 2020. According to International Trade Administration, the Chinese cloud market is likely to touch $20 billion mark by 2020 at a CAGR of 40%. We believe that SAP, with its ongoing initiatives, is well poised to capitalize on the opportunities. In fact, the cloud computing is likely to be one of its major growth drivers in the long run. The company has been focused on expanding cloud business to become one of the leading players in the category. Further, SAP has a competitive edge over its cloud competitors as its processes are designed to be industry-specific and can be customized to meet corresponding business requirements. However, the companys stock has yielded a return of 11.7% in a year, underperforming the industrys growth of 22.1%. Continued investment in a standardized converged HANA-based cloud platform and expenses incurred for new technologies resulted in a revenue mix-shift effect between its cloud and on premise business. Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks SAP currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). A better-ranked stock in the broader technology sector is Cirrus Logic, Inc. CRUS, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Cirrus Logic has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15%. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report SAP SE (SAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report salesforce.com, inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cirrus Logic, Inc. (CRUS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Adds detail, background) JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Reuters) - Sasol has raised the expected cost of its U.S. ethane cracker project by around $1 billion following a review by the project's new management, the South African petrochemical firm said on Wednesday. The cost estimate for the Lake Charles plant has been raised to a range of $12.6-12.9 billion, which includes a contingency of $300 million, Sasol said in a stock exchange announcement. The company had said in February that the plant in Louisiana, which saw the first of seven units start production earlier this year, was expected to cost up to $11.8 billion. Sasol said a review of the project's costs and schedule identified concerns relating to its forecasting process and an increase in the projected total cost. The world's biggest maker of motor fuel from coal said the return from the project would also be lower, decreasing to 6-6.5% from 7.5% due to the increase in capital costs and the outlook for market pricing. Sasol has also lowered the project's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the financial year 2022 to $1 billion from $1.3 billion. The firm said overall project completion was at 96% with capital expenditure at $11.4 billion as of the end of March. (Reporting by Tanish Heiberg and Emma Rumney; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) By Asma Alsharif and Scott DiSavino DUBAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco signed a 20-year agreement to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a forthcoming export terminal in Texas that U.S.-based Sempra Energy is developing, the two companies said on Wednesday. The Saudi state oil giant plans to become a major global gas player, and this deal will provide it with access to some of the world's cheapest and most abundant natural gas via the U.S. shale boom. Aramco has been developing its own gas resources and eyeing gas assets in the United States, Russia, Australia and Africa. Demand for supercooled LNG hit a record in 2018 at 42.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), according to the International Gas Union, and growth is expected to keep rising as countries wean themselves off dirtier coal. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day. The sale-and-purchase agreement is for 5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, equivalent to about 0.7 bcfd of natural gas. This is Saudi Arabia's first known nonbinding agreement to buy LNG, and the largest such LNG deal since 2013, according to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. Aramco will also buy a 25% equity stake in the first phase of the multibillion-dollar project, to be constructed in Port Arthur, Texas, about 90 miles (145 km) from Houston, the companies said. Port Arthur LNG could be one of the largest LNG export projects in North America, with potential expansion capabilities of up to eight liquefaction trains or approximately 45 MTPA of capacity, the companies said. Global LNG demand is expected to grow by about 5 percent a year through the mid-2020s, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projections. Since February 2016, when the United States started exporting the fuel from the Lower 48 states, it has become the world's fourth biggest LNG exporter. Aramco said it plans to boost its gas production to 23 billion standard cubic feet (scf) a day from about 14 billion scf now. Story continues "Saudi Aramco has clearly been looking at both an LNG investment and long-term LNG purchase for some time. The market expectation was for Aramco to make a big move," said Gary Regan, a consultant with consultancy Gas Strategies. "The Sempra deal would certainly be a bold move and one that shows long-term ambition." Sempra shares were up 2% at $134.23 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon. ARAMCO PLANS FOR LNG Aramcos trading arm sold its first LNG cargo on the spot market in late March to an Indian buyer, according to sources familiar with the matter. A senior Middle Eastern-based trader said Saudis LNG trading arm has yet to get off the ground despite the sale of an LNG cargo last month. The trader said Aramco has hired an LNG originator in Singapore to develop the business but is still looking for LNG traders. They are making lots of noise about LNG, but (it) seems more politically driven. So far no concrete action; no clear strategy, the trader said. The proposed first phase of the Port Arthur project will include two liquefaction trains, up to three LNG storage tanks and associated facilities, which should enable the export of about 11 MTPA of LNG. Sempra said it plans to make a final investment decision to build the first phase of Port Arthur in the first quarter of 2020. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif in Dubai and and Scott DiSavino in New York; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Rania El Gamal and Scott DiSavino; additional reporting by Sabina Zawadzki in London; editing by David Gaffen, David Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis) 23 May 2019, Limassol, Cyprus Reference is made to announcements from SeaBird Exploration Plc ("SeaBird" or the "Company") of 11, 12 and 29 April 2019 regarding (i) the acquisition of the seismic vessels BOA Galatea and BOA Thalassa (the "Vessels"), and (ii) a private placement of new shares (collectively, the "Transactions"). The Company is pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with the bondholders with respect to all material terms for the acquisition of the Vessels. On the basis of said agreement, the bondholders have today irrevocably exercised their option to acquire the holding company for the Vessels, in order to cause it to sell the Vessels to SeaBird pursuant to said agreed terms as soon as possible. On this basis, the private placement is expected to complete shortly. SeaBird will revert with further information with respect to the completion of the Transactions. SeaBird is a global provider of marine acquisition for 2D/3D and 4D seismic data, and associated products and services to the oil and gas industry. SeaBird specializes in high quality operations within the high end of the source vessel and 2D market, as well as in the shallow/deep water 2D/3D and 4D market. Main focus for the company is proprietary seismic surveys (contract seismic). Main success criteria for the company are an unrelenting focus on Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE), combined with efficient collection of high quality seismic data. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include SeaBird`s reliance on a cyclical industry and the utilization of the company`s vessels. Actual results may differ substantially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. For further queries contact: Hans Petter Klohs CEO SeaBird Exploration Phone: +47 22402718 or Nils Haugestad CFO SeaBird Exploration Phone: +47 22402717 This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: SeaBird Exploration Plc via GlobeNewswire HUG#2245059 Nepal Stock Exchange expands electronic settlement system Investors now can conduct electronic transfers via any member bank by paying a fee Renewable energy developer brings solar to 10 more elementary schools in the in Northern California District. Stockton, California, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tomorrow Stockton Unified School District unveils the completion of their latest round of solar projects with ForeFront Power, a leading renewable energy provider for schools in California. The District, located in sunny San Joaquin Valley, has added solar parking canopies to 10 more campuses, bringing their new total to 32 sites. The 10 new solar projects, totaling 1.8 MW, are expected to produce approximately 2.68 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity annually for the district. The District is offsetting 83 percent of their annual energy consumption and is expected to save over 38,000 1 metric tons of carbon emissions over the 20 years. According to District Superintendent, Dr. John Deasy, "Stockton Unified is proud to announce we have taken another step closer towards energy independence. We are modeling the importance of saving our planet for our future generations of SUSD scholars." Conserving Energy and Budget Stockton Unified is no stranger to sustainability, having pursued lighting efficiency and solar projects over the last decade. Having now completed their second round of solar installations, and the first with ForeFront Power, the addition is part of the Districts ongoing initiatives around energy conservation. The District recognizes the value that solar provides in hedging against unpredictable, potentially volatile energy rates in California due to changes in Time of Use (TOU) periods and Net Energy Metering (NEM) rates. According to Steve Breakfield, Director of Facilities and Planning at Stockton USD, We looked to do solar to be more efficient with both our energy usage and sustainability practices. We also wanted to cut down on costs and be more mindful of our budget, which comes from taxpayer dollars. We aim to be as prudent as possible in how we spend, and the addition of solar helps us make sure we dont have to overpay for our energy. Story continues Thanks to the financing framework provided by Forefront Power, Stockton will be paying a flat rate for their solar electricity. Under the 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with ForeFront Power, the district is expected to save an estimated $2.6M in electricity costs over the term. For public entities such as school districts, having fixed electricity rates helps administrators manage limited budges more effectively and allocate funds to areas that need it most. Swiftness of the Process This decision to go solar a second time around was an easy one. Having previously installed 7.3 MW of capacity at 22 other schools in the District, the decision to go solar again was natural just a matter of allocating both time and resources to move forward. The challenge for these new projects was that Stockton was seeking a different solar provider to add additional capacity and in a much shorter time frame. ForeFront Powers development team, which has more than a decade of experience and has developed over 200 MW of renewable energy projects in California, was able to help Stockton realize these additional opportunities for solar. According to Breakfield, It was a good process figuring out what would work. Everything went much more smoothly compared to the last time [we deployed solar with another company]. ForeFront Power evaluated the rest of the sites, walked them with us, listened to our requirements, and were realistic about what they could accomplish. If some sites pencil in the future, we will definitely do it again. As a testament to the swiftness of the process, Breakfield added, ForeFront Power took this large portfolio of projects from signing to completed installations in well under a year. The experience of their team was evident throughout the entire process. With over half of their schools now on solar power, Stockton doesnt plan to slow down. Plans for more solar are extending beyond school campuses, wherein the future, Stockton Unified looks to add more solar and are evaluating additional sites. Our team is honored to partner with Stockton USD on their next phase of solar installations, says Go Mizoguchi, Co-CEO of ForeFront Power. Not only will the community benefit from having more renewable energy, but our projects will also provide an on-site learning opportunity for students. Energy Education for Future Generations For students and faculty across Stockton USDs 32 solar-powered campuses, the learning opportunities with solar extend beyond the canopied parking lots and playgrounds and into the classrooms. The District will receive solar monitoring dashboards displaying live production data which can be accessed by students and teachers in real time. In addition, ForeFront Power will make educational classroom visits and provide the District with free lesson plans that integrate the tangible experience of solar energy into the existing STEM curriculum. For more information about ForeFront Power and solar energy for schools, visit k12.forefrontpower.com. About Stockton Unified School District Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) began providing services to students in 1852 and is located in the heart of Californias Central Valley near the banks of the San Joaquin River. SUSD is the 17th largest school district in California, whereby 38,000 PK-12th grade students come to us to experience an academic journey that leads to high school graduation and success in college, careers, and as actively-engaged community members. The District also serves a number of adults through our Stockton School For Adults. SUSD is made up of thirty-seven Head Start classes, fifty-three state preschool classes, three First 5 preschool classes, forty-one K-8 schools, four comprehensive high schools, three small high schools, an alternative high school, a special education school, a school for adults, and five dependent charter schools. Our district mission is to graduate every single youth college, career, and community ready. Stockton Unified School District is dedicated to providing high-quality first instruction, rigorous curriculum, and supporting academic achievement and social-emotional development supported by Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). The District's work is guided by three goals: Every child by the end of third grade will read and comprehend at the proficient level. Every child will have access to high quality, rigorous first instruction. Every child, by the end of 12th grade, will graduate and be college, career, and community ready. About ForeFront Power ForeFront Power is a leading provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions for the public sector, utility, business, and residential customers across the United States and Mexico. Our team has delivered over 800 MW of wholesale, virtual, and behind-the-meter projects during the past decade. ForeFront Powers proven development expertise, off-balance sheet financing, and best in class asset management enables us to provide our customers with the highest quality solar and storage products, helping to reduce expenses and achieve sustainability targets with clean, affordable energy. Headquartered in San Francisco, ForeFront Power has offices in New York and Mexico City. 1 Estimated from the EPAs GHG Equivalencies Calculator https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator Attachment Madeline Milani ForeFront Power (628) 899 -1616 mmilani@forefrontpower.com By Tracy Rucinski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co's mechanics union said on Tuesday its members had overwhelmingly voted to ratify a tentative contract agreement with the airline, ending seven years of labor negotiations fraught with legal disputes and flight disruptions. The agreement, which brought to a close one of the most disruptive labor disputes to hit a top-four U.S. airline in more than a decade, came a day after rival U.S. carrier American Airlines Group Inc said it was filing a labor-related lawsuit against its mechanics. Analysts have highlighted labor issues as a main concern for airlines this year, in addition to rising fuel costs and the grounding of Boeing MAX jets after two fatal crashes. Mechanics at both American and Southwest have complained that the airlines are moving to outsource maintenance work that has traditionally been done in-house. In a statement on its website, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents around 2,500 Southwest mechanics, said about 95 percent of its members had voted to accept a labor agreement that includes significant pay increases and headcount protections. Southwest, which had been forced to cancel hundreds of flights earlier this year stemming from the mechanics dispute, welcomed the agreement. "Our mechanics will receive well-deserved pay increases, and the company will realize additional flexibilities necessary to compete in today's airline industry," Russell McCrady, vice president of labor relations, said in a statement. AMERICAN AIRLINES MECHANICS RESPOND TO LAWSUIT Separately on Tuesday, American Airlines' mechanics union, the TWU-IAM Association, said it was "ready and willing" to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract, as long as it had a willing partner. The comment followed a federal lawsuit filed by American alleging an illegal slowdown by its mechanics aimed at disrupting operations to improve their position in labor talks, which began in 2015. Story continues "We would much prefer to be at the negotiating table than in a legal battle brought on by American," the TWU-IAM Association said in a statement. American said the slowdowns had escalated following the last joint bargaining session on April 25, which was overseen by the National Mediation Board. The action has caused hundreds of flight cancellations and more than 1,000 maintenance delays, threatening further disruption during the busy U.S. summer, it said. TWU-IAM, formed in 2015 after the merger of US Airways and American Airlines, said it wants to keep the company from outsourcing more maintenance and repair work to South America, China and Europe, and is "standing strong" against cuts to medical benefits and retirement security. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Susan Thomas and Bill Berkrot) By Ekaterina Kravtsova LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - The start-up of the Bahrain liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal has been delayed to the third quarter this year from May, Teekay LNG Partners , which owns a share in the terminal, said in its financial results on Thursday. Teekay said the terminal is still under construction, which has delayed the beginning of operations until Q3. Bahrain LNG, which is developing the terminal, is jointly owned by the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) of Bahrain, Teekay LNG Partners, Samsung Construction and Trading and the Gulf Investment Corp. The terminal was initially scheduled to be completed and start supplying natural gas to the Bahrain network in the first quarter of 2019. The chief executive of Bahrain's NOGA then said in March the terminal would start commercial operations in May. The terminal will house a floating storage unit (FSU), an offshore LNG receiving jetty and breakwater, a regasification platform, subsea gas pipelines from the platform to shore, an onshore gas receiving facility, and an onshore nitrogen production facility, according to the Bahrain LNG website. The FSU, the Bahrain Spirit, arrived in the Persian Gulf in January and has been docked near Fujairah since then. Bahrain LNG was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Ekaterina Kravtsova; editing by Nina Chestney) New management team brings decades of experience in leadership and operational management of drug development and manufacturing, including the financial transition of companies from private to public markets TAMPA, Fla., May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teewinot Life Sciences Corporation, a global leader in the biosynthetic development and production of cannabinoids and their derivatives for health and wellness needs, today announced recent changes to the executive leadership team: Michael Luther, Ph.D., MBA has joined Teewinot as president and chief executive officer Steve Orndorff, Ph.D. has joined the company as chief operating officer Jeff Mathiesen, CPA has joined the company as chief financial officer Collectively, the new management team brings decades of experience in successfully building and leading biopharmaceutical life sciences companies, as well as significant expertise in drug development. We are privileged to have such an esteemed group of biotech industry veterans join and lead Teewinot as the company embarks on the next stage of growth, specifically the advancement of our impressive proprietary platform for the development and manufacturing of an unprecedented range of cannabinoids, said Charles Brink, J.D., chairman of the board of Teewinot. With the addition of Michael, Steve and Jeff to the senior management team, we are confident that Teewinot will continue to lead the industry in the generation and production of biosynthetic cannabinoids for both therapeutics and consumer health products. Dr. Luther added, I am excited and honored to join Teewinot as President and CEO. I look forward to guiding the company as we advance our revolutionary cannabinoid platform. Teewinots approach uniquely addresses the urgent need for the generation and development of cannabinoid products of high purity and consistency, including use in FDA regulated products, while enabling us to build on the current state of knowledge in the space through rigorous R&D. We are already putting in place strategic partnerships from platform to production to rapidly advance projects for both the pharmaceutical and consumer markets. Story continues The new management team joins Teewinot as the company is advancing its focus on its biosynthetic platform to produce a wide range of rare cannabinoids as well as analogs for both pharmaceutical and consumer use. Michael Luther, Ph.D., MBA President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Luther has 30+ years of extensive expertise in building, implementing and successfully leading biopharmaceutical companies and operations. His experiences include leadership roles ranging from virtual start-ups to leading major divisions for global pharmaceutical companies with roles in drug development, manufacturing, and business development. Dr. Luther served as president and CEO of Bantam Pharmaceutical, senior VP of discovery and development at AMRI, Inc., VP and head of R&D at Merck-Canada and VP of discovery at GSK. Dr. Luther holds a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from North Carolina State, an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the St. Louis University School of Medicine. Steve Orndorff, Ph.D. Chief Operating Officer Dr. Orndorff is a seasoned business executive, scientist and serial entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry in various roles of management, business development, R&D, commercialization and manufacturing. Prior to Teewinot, Dr. Orndorff served as president and CEO of IM Therapeutics, president and CEO of MicroBiome Therapeutics LLC and founder and CEO of Accera, Inc. He is past chairman of Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development. Dr. Orndorff holds a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Maryland. Jeff Mathiesen, CPA Chief Financial Officer Mr. Mathiesen has three decades of financial leadership experience as CFO of several publicly traded life sciences and technology-based companies with global operations. He has led companies through three IPOs, multiple public and private financings and several M&A transactions along with infrastructure development. Prior to Teewinot, Mr. Mathiesen served as CFO of Gemphire Therapeutics, Inc., Sunshine Heart, Inc., and Recovery Engineering, Inc. He also serves as director and audit committee chair of both public and private life sciences companies. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of South Dakota. About Teewinot Life Sciences Teewinot Life Sciences is a global leader in the biosynthetic development and production of cannabinoids and their derivatives for health and wellness needs. The company is leveraging a unique proprietary biocatalytic and chemical synthesis platform that allows for the production of an unprecedented range of core cannabinoids and novel chemical entities, while assuring the high purity and consistency of their products required for FDA approval. Teewinot is revolutionizing the synthetic cannabinoid space by implementing a cost-effective, commercial scale approach to meet the global growing demand of cannabinoid-based products, with the potential to serve a large number of unmet and underserved medical needs. Media Contact Monica Rouco Molina, Ph.D. LifeSci Public Relations +1.646.889.1200 mroucomolina@lifescipublicrelations.com Binod Ghimire covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2010, he has reported primarily on social issues, focusing on education and transitional justice. In the past five trading days, telecom stocks witnessed a gradual uptrend despite tense undercurrents related to the tariff war. With the Trump administration temporarily easing some trade restrictions on Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei, the industry appeared to be on firm footing and remained well poised to minimize any potential supply-chain disruption. As the tariff war virtually leads to intense technology warfare between the two superpowers of the global economy, the industry is likely to get polarized into two distinct halves, with the U.S. firms apparently holding a slight advantage due to their technological supremacy. Last week, Trump had signed an executive order to declare national emergency that effectively barred U.S. firms from either buying or selling any telecom equipment to firms like Huawei that are deemed to pose national security risks. The directive invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which bestowed the President with the authority to regulate commerce in view of the national emergency that threatened the country. The U.S. Commerce Department immediately added Huawei along with 70 of its affiliates to the Entity List a list of entities that are ineligible to receive any item without the government approval. However, the government later offered a 90-day window till August 2019 to Huawei to enable it purchase components from U.S. suppliers to fulfill its commitments for existing products. The temporary relief is primarily intended to aid U.S. telecom service providers, which rely on Huawei equipment, to chalk out alternate arrangements and avoid any market disruption. Estimates reveal that out of $70 billion spent by Huawei in 2018, U.S. firms reportedly received $11 billion. The current restrictions will, however, remain in force for any new and upcoming products from the stable of the Chinese firm. Responding to such stringent actions and in order comply with the U.S. government sanctions to prevent alienation, several European firms are following suit and are either suspending their deals or cancelling pre-orders. Carriers in South East Asian countries in Japan and Taiwan have also shelved future orders for new smartphone models from Huawei. This could jeopardize 5G rollout schedules in various countries as it would involve getting rid of cheaper Huawei networking equipment and build newer ones from scratch. Meanwhile, the U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill to provide up to $700 million to the telecom carriers (particularly in rural areas) to replace such equipment that are deemed a security risk. Regarding company-specific news, efforts to bypass trade ban, merger clearance, strategic investments and contracts primarily took the center stage over the past five trading days. Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories 1. Despite stringent restrictions to supply component and software to Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei, InterDigital, Inc. IDCC expects to continue licensing 5G networking technology for seamless rollout of superfast 5G networks across the communist nation. Qualcomm Incorporated QCOM is also expected to remain unaffected by the ban, and is likely to continue licensing its patented technology to Huawei without any restrain. InterDigital expects to face no threat from licensing its patented technology to Huawei, as export control laws do not cover patents as they are widely available in public domain and are not confidential technology secrets. Trade attorneys have also corroborated that Qualcomm is likely to face no objection from government authorities while licensing its patented technology to Huawei in the future. (Read more: Interdigital, Qualcomm Expect to Bypass Huawei Trade Ban) 2. It seems like T-Mobile US, Inc. TMUS and Sprint Corp. S are leaving no stone unturned to win regulatory clearance for their $26.5 billion merger. The third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers (by subscriber count) are reportedly going to announce commitments to the federal government, including asset sales and rural-service guarantees. The move is expected to help them in obtaining approval for their pending merger. Per media reports, they are now planning to promise the sale of one of their prepaid brands, a three-year buildout of 5G network and a reiterated pledge to not increase prices while the network is being built. Markedly, the new promises would follow talks with the Federal Communications Commission. (Read more: T-Mobile & Sprint Strive to Achieve Pending Merger Approval) 3. Recently, Nokia Corporation NOK announced that it has been chosen by Ooredoo Qatar a leading telecommunications company to build the latters 5G cloud native core network in Doha for improved mobile broadband services to customers. Nokias comprehensive 5G portfolio is likely to provide Ooredoos customers with ultra-high bandwidth and low-latency services, alongside new applications in areas like virtual reality, augmented reality and AI. Enterprises are also likely to gain from various IoT vertical use cases enabled by 5G as it will help enhance operational efficiency and user experiences while providing new revenue streams. (Read more: Nokia Partners with Ooredoo Qatar to Build 5G Core Network) 4. TELUS Corporation TU has announced that it is going to invest $53 million in its wireless and wireline networks in Greater Montreal this year. The move is in accordance with its five-year billion-dollar pledge in Quebec. It is aimed at helping Montreal to become one of the smartest cities in Canada, while paving the way for the impending 5G technology across the region. These investments are part of a 20-year partnership between TELUS and the Old Port of Montreal Corporation, announced in 2017, to provide the location with a number of cutting-edge technologies and a free high-speed Wi-Fi zone. The company also stated that it would deploy Centralized Radio Access Network technology to enhance the performance of its Long Term Evolution-Advanced wireless network. (Read more: TELUS to Invest $53M in Greater Montreal Networks This Year) 5. Harris Corporation HRS announced that it has secured a $284 million ground segment contract extension from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R Series weather satellites. Markedly, the three-year agreement is aimed at modernizing the ground-computing infrastructure and reducing the IT footprint, while laying the foundation for migration to cloud technologies. The move extends the partnership with NOAAs National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service to 13 years and brings the total contract value to $1.65 billion. (Read more: Harris Secures $284M Satellite Contract Extension From NOAA) Price Performance The following table shows the price movement of some of the major telecom stocks over the past week and during the past six months. Story continues In the past five trading days, Sprint Corporation was the biggest gainer with its share price increasing 9% while Qualcomm was the biggest decliner with its stock down 24.5%. Over the past six months, Harris has been the best performer with its stock appreciating 22.6%, while Juniper was the sole decliner with its shares falling 7%. Over the past six months, the Zacks Telecommunications Services industry has recorded average decline of 2.1% while the S&P 500 rallied 6.4%. Whats Next in the Telecom Space? In addition to product launches and deployment of 5G technologies, all eyes will remain glued to how the United States and China respond to the tariff war. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nokia Corporation (NOK) : Free Stock Analysis Report InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Harris Corporation (HRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sprint Corporation (S) : Free Stock Analysis Report TELUS Corporation (TU) : Free Stock Analysis Report T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Bloomberg) -- A Wall Street analyst who had a price target as high as $379 on Tesla Inc. a little more than a year ago held a private call with investors Wednesday to elaborate on why he thinks the stock may now be headed for as low as $10. Tesla was seen as a growth story, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said on the call, a recording of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. Today, supply exceeds demand, they are burning cash, nobody cares about the Model Y, they raise capital and theres no strategic buy-in. Today, Tesla is not really seen as a growth story. Its seen more as a distressed credit and restructuring story. Tesla shares extended a streak of declines to a sixth consecutive day, closing down 6% to $192.73, the lowest since December 2016. Jonas, who rates the Elon Musk-led carmaker the equivalent of a hold, issued a report Tuesday saying that Tesla may have over-saturated the market for battery-electric sedans outside of China. Representatives for Tesla and Morgan Stanley didnt immediately respond to requests for comment on Jonas wide-ranging and nearly hour-long call. Morgan Stanley was among the underwriters for Teslas offerings of new common stock and convertible bonds earlier this month. At the heart of this is demand, Jonas said of Teslas woes. What is changed is demand. That is the first domino. Whisper Number Tesla delivered 63,000 cars in the first three months of the year and told shareholders it expects to deliver 90,000 to 100,000 in the second quarter. Jonas said that the whisper number on Wall Street is for deliveries to reach the mid to upper 70,000-unit range. Business Insider reported on the call earlier Wednesday. Jonas is still bullish on Teslas technology -- from its software and ability to push over-the-air updates to consumers, to its hardware, recharging infrastructure and the volume of data it collects from drivers using Autopilot. Auto company executives describe Tesla as the white rabbit at the dog race, Jonas said. All the other companies know they are never going to catch the rabbit; they just hope they are the fastest dog. Teslas the white rabbit, but its attached to execution liabilities and real financial liabilities. What is the rabbit worth? Story continues (Updates with additional comments starting in the fifth paragraph.) --With assistance from Felice Maranz and Joshua Fineman. To contact the reporter on this story: Dana Hull in San Francisco at dhull12@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Chester Dawson For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. (Adds response from Texas Pacific) May 22 (Reuters) - An investor group that holds about 25% in Texas Pacific Land Trust installed its preferred trustee in a shareholder meeting on Wednesday that the company, one of the biggest landowners in Texas, rejected as invalid. On Tuesday, Texas Pacific postponed the special meeting where shareholders were due to fill a vacant trustee spot after filing a lawsuit against the investor group's trustee candidate, Eric Oliver, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. After the meeting was held anyway, the company accused the investor group of misleading investors. "Shareholder meetings may only be called after certain requirements are met, including providing notice and following other procedures," Texas Pacific said in a statement. "Mr. Oliver's purported 'meeting' was conducted in a secretly-booked conference room with no notice whatsoever provided to the vast majority of the shareholders," it said. Eric Oliver is president of hedge fund SoftVest LP, one of the investor group along with Horizon Kinetics LLC and ART-FGT Family Partners. The group wants to convert Texas Pacific, which has been operating since 1888, into a Delaware corporation subject to modern governance principles, to establish an experienced team around its water business and be more transparent. It also wants to sell off the firm's portfolio. The proxy contest illustrates how even strongly performing companies can run afoul of activist investors at a time both experienced corporate agitators and newcomers are pushing corporations to perform better to help boost their own returns. In this case, the activists hope to cash in on excitement around the Permian basin, which covers Western Texas and parts of Eastern New Mexico and which has been the center of the U.S. shale revolution. Texas Pacific wants shareholders to elect an independent trustee, and alleges Oliver is misleading shareholders by "making materially misleading statements and failing to disclose material information." "The Trust will announce a new date for the special meeting once the claims and issues raised in litigation are resolved", the company said in a statement. (Reporting by Debroop Roy and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sonya Hepinstall) Police begin investigation into Panchthar carnage An investigation team reached the incident site at Aarubote Village in Miklajung Rural Municipality-3 on Wednesday By Mike Stone and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday unveiled a draft $750 billion defense policy bill that would authorize more Lockheed Martin F-35 jets for the United States and effectively end Turkey's partnership in the program if Ankara pursues a plan to buy a Russian missile defense system. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump requested $750 billion for defense, a budget that included more money to build ships and buy jets. In the coming weeks the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, will release its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which must be reconciled with the version in the Republican-controlled Senate before it can be passed. Because it sets policy for the Defense Department, the annual NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress passes every year. Because it has become law every year for more than half a century, lawmakers use it as a vehicle for a wide range of policy measures. This year, the Senate version of the bill would authorize spending on eight F-15X fighter jets as the current aging fleet of about 234 jets is getting more expensive to operate. The defense arm of aircraft maker Boeing Co could potentially make 80 or more of them for the U.S. Air Force. F-35 The bill authorizes the Pentagon to buy 94 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 stealth fighter jets. The F-35 comes in three models. The bill authorizes 60 of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model; 12 of the F-35B, a short take-off/vertical landing version, and 22 of the F-35C, used aboard aircraft carriers. The F-35 program targets a fleet of more than 3,000 jets, with unit price of the F-35A closer to $80 million in 2020 as more of the aircraft are produced. Lockheed, the jet's prime contractor, is developing and building the new warplanes for the U.S. military and 10 other countries: Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Belgium. Story continues STRAINED RELATIONS The NDAA would remove Turkey from the international partnership of nations that have worked together to build the fifth generation F-35 fighter jet. Like other NATO allies of Washington, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in production of the F-35. But U.S. officials have said Turkey's plan to buy the Russian system would compromise the security of the F-35 jets. The dispute has strained relations between Washington and Ankara. Members of Congress have tried repeatedly to discourage Turkey from buying Russia's S-400 air defense system. An early version of a House appropriations bill released this month also sought to prevent the shipment of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey because of its planned Russian purchase. SPACE FORCE The legislation also authorizes the creation of a Space Force as a separate uniformed service, but still part of the U.S. Air Force. ISLAMIC STATE PRISONERS Another provision of the bill would create a special U.S. envoy to address the situation of former fighters and supporters of the Islamic State militant group now languishing in detention centers in Syria. (Repoprting by Mike Stone and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) The craft beer market is getting crowded with new brews showing up and taking share away from established craft brewers. So, the recent decision by Boston Beer Company Inc (NYSE: SAM) to get even deeper into an increasingly competitive industry by buying another craft brewery is curious, says UBS Securities. The Analyst UBS analyst Sean King raised the price target on Boston Beer from $244 to $250 and kept his Sell rating on the stock. The Thesis The company, which makes Sam Adams, has acknowledged the challenge for its kind of company one of the pioneers in the craft beer industry that grew to be a dominant brand. The company has blamed stagnation on regional fragmentation, with more and more local brews driving declines in leading national brands, like Sam Adams. Boston Beer is the second-largest craft brewer in the U.S., behind privately held D.G. Yuengling & Son. Recently, Boston Beer said it's acquiring Delaware-based craft brewer Dogfish Head for $300 million. Dogfish Head is the nations 13th largest craft brewer. And while Boston Beer's beer sales are declining, Dogfish Head sales have been growing at a double-digit rate. Still, King wrote in a Wednesday note: We question the rationale of increasing exposure to Craft. With the Dogfish Head transaction, SAMs exposure to the craft beer category will go up from about 20 percent of sales to about 30 percent and reduce the total company's underlying growth profile. Boston Beer has branched out beyond craft beer, with brands that include Twisted Tea hard iced tea, Angry Orchard ciders and Truly acoholic sparkling waters. King does think there will be incremental profit contribution from Dogfish Head, enough to at least offset any effect of share issuance on earnings. Price Action Boston Beer shares were down to $344.97 at time of publication. Related Links: Analyst Says Dogfish Head 'Could Be Trophy Material' For Boston Beer Macquarie Raises A Glass To Boston Beer, Upgrades After Q4 EPS Beat Story continues Latest Ratings for SAM May 2019 Maintains Neutral Apr 2019 Downgrades Neutral Sell Feb 2019 Upgrades Underperform Neutral View More Analyst Ratings for SAM View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. From Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance to Universal Life Insurance and Variable Universal Life Insurance, Life Ant Explains the Life Insurance Types in Great Detail NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 21, 2019 / The founder of Life Ant, a life insurance broker based in New York City, is pleased to announce that he has just posted an educational article to the website that explains the four life insurance types. To read the article in its entirety and learn more about the four types of life insurance, please check out https://www.lifeant.com/life-insurance-types-explained/. As the article notes, for people who are new to the land of life insurance, it can be confusing to decide which type of policy is best. Because it is so important for people to have a clear understanding of the four type of life insurance, which in turn can help them to determine which policy they should purchase, the founder of Life Ant was inspired to research and write the in-depth article. "For the protection of everyone purchasing a life insurance contract, we always recommend that our clients educate themselves as thoroughly as they can before making a purchasing decision," the article noted, adding that the four major types of life insurance policies are: Whole Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance, Universal Life Insurance and Variable Universal Life Insurance. In general, the article notes, Term Life Insurance is the least expensive type of life insurance. While this factor makes it an attractive policy for many people, if they outlive the length of the term policy, they will not receive any death benefits. In contrast, Whole Life Insurance is a type of life insurance policy that is meant to be permanent and last for the insured person's entire life. The policy will build a cash value over time, and in many cases, the policies will have a dividend payment that becomes high enough to pay the entire premium after a certain point. "The big advantage of whole life is that the insured person can never outlive it. Beneficiaries are always protected for the long term," the article noted, adding for this reason, whole life insurance is often used for estate planning, and to fund generational trusts. Story continues About Life Ant: Life Ant is a life insurance broker located in New York City. In business since 2013, Life Ant has helped millions of Americans save on their life insurance costs. Please visit https://www.lifeant.com for a free life insurance quote today. Life Ant 215 E 24th St., #120 New York, NY 10010 Contact: Thomas Rockford office@lifeant.com (917) 426-8093 SOURCE: Life Ant View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/546033/Understanding-the-4-Major-Types-of-Life-Insurance-is-Very-Important-Says-Life-Ant-in-New-Article View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/546033/Understanding-the-4-Major-Types-of-Life-Insurance-is-Very-Important-Says-Life-Ant-in-New-Article By Tina Bellon NEW YORK (Reuters) - A company working to make open-source self-driving software reliable enough to be used in commercially available vehicles said it had hired a former German car boss as it seeks to expand its reach. Palo Alto, California-based Apex.AI has added Karl-Thomas Neumann, an industry veteran who in the past served as the chief executive of Continental AG and led Volkswagen AG's China business, to its board. "Karl-Thomas is a great fit for us as we're trying to learn off what worked in the past and reach out to more industry players," Apex.AI co-founder Jan Becker told Reuters in an interview this week. The U.S. firm is expanding to Europe, opening an office in Munich, Germany in July. Founded by Becker and Dejan Pangercic, two longtime self-driving car engineers formerly at automotive technology supplier Bosch Corp, Apex.AI plans to make a safer and more reliable version of the so-called Robot Operating System, or ROS. That software is used by scores of labs and companies in their self-driving car and robotics efforts, including Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc. The software is open source, meaning that anyone can adopt it and use it free of charge, but it has so far mainly been deployed in research settings. Apex.AI aims to create a robust, failproof version of the software that can be deployed by carmakers in later stage commercial applications to guarantee safety-critical driving functions. It hopes to finish the software by the end of the year and submit it to German inspection firm TUV for approval in early 2020. Once certified, the software could then be deployed by carmakers worldwide, Becker said. The company wants to license the software and charge for support services, with the exact pricing model currently under discussion, Neumann said. Apex.AI to date has raised $15.5 million in venture capital funding, including from the venture arms of Airbus SA and Toyota Motor Corp. Becker said the company was well-funded into 2020. (Reporting by Tina Bellon, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) By Brian Marckx, CFA NYSE:VNRX READ THE FULL VNRX RESEARCH REPORT Q1 Results / Operational and Business Update: On May 9th VolitionRx (VNRX) reported financial results for their fiscal 2019 first quarter ending March 31st. Operating expenses, at $4.0M, were about 16% lower than our $4.6M estimate. They were also about $600k less than the prior year period, almost all of which reflects lower stock-based compensation in the most recent quarter. Operating expenses fell by approximately 7%, or $280k, on a sequential basis. As we have noted in a prior updates, we estimate that VolitionRxs average cost per sample (of all ongoing trials) is approximately $100 a small fraction of the estimated ~$3.5k per sample cost of pivotal studies of other non-invasive CRC diagnostics. And while later stage, larger, prospective registration studies may cost significantly more than $100/sample, we continue to find it impressive how much progress has been made with relatively minimal spend to-date. Cash used in operating activities was $3.7M ($3.5M ex-changes in working capital) in Q119, compared to $3.5M ($3.6M ex-changes in w/c) and $3.6M ($3.4M ex-changes in w/c) in the comparable prior year and quarter periods, respectively. VNRX exited Q1 with $16.2M in cash and equivalents, up from $13.4M at the end of 2018. Cash balance was bolstered by $6.7M in warrant exercises during Q1. Subsequent to quarter-end another 1.7M in warrants were exercised, generating gross cash proceeds to VNRX of $5.0M. View Exhibit I Relative to the operational front, while VNRX just recently provided updates when reporting Q418 results in mid-March and again during their Capital Markets Day on April 9th, it appears that the company has made substantive operational progress even since then. In fact, management indicated as much on the Q1 call, noting that we have great momentum and have made progress on many fronts even in just the past few weeks. A key highlight since the companys most recent updates was the signing of a formal contract with National Taiwan University related to conducting the companys first large-scale lung cancer study. As a reminder, following compelling initial proof-of-concept data from the first product-grade assay for lung cancer (see below), the company recently entered an MOU to extend their agreement with National Taiwan University to now include the first large-scale lung cancer study. The study will include 1,200 participants receiving low-dose CT scan, 1,000 of which have lung cancer. On May 1st VNRX announced that the MOU is now a formal contract. And 2019 is shaping up to potentially be a busy year as it relates to the release of study data and assay validations. In addition to the compelling lung and colorectal cancer data announced earlier this year, we could see data from several ongoing and just-commenced commenced clinical studies. This potentially includes data from the three Fosun March (MOU with which was announced in late-March more below) studies in CRC, lung and ovarian cancers, lung cancer data from the University of Taiwan study and initial data from the NuQ Vet program. Data from proof-of-concept studies could also be forthcoming in a variety of programs. This includes CRC, lung, prostate and pancreatic cancers as well as possibly in endometriosis. As it relates to lung cancer, up until very recently lung cancer had largely been considered a back-burner project (as far as we could tell) as the focus was mostly on colorectal cancer (and other cancers including prostate). But, with initial product grade data in lung (as well as CRC) and inbound interest in a lung cancer diagnostic (particularly as it relates to Asia), we think this may now represent one of the lead programs. VNRX recently announced initial proof-of-concept data from an initial Nu.Q product grade assay. In 76 subjects, the assay detected lung cancer, including stage 1 cancer, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 85% as compared to healthy tissue. The same (single) Nu.Q assay, when used in a confirmatory cohort of 152 subjects detected lung cancer with an AUC of 79%. As noted, earlier this month VNRX signed a formal contract with the National University of Taiwan to conduct the first large-scale lung cancer study. The study will include 1,200 participants receiving low-dose CT scan, 1,000 of which have lung cancer. The study could provide the first statistically-powered evidence of the potential utility of NuQ diagnostics as a screen for lung cancer or as an adjunct/triage test for low-dose CT. LDCT, currently the only recommended screening test for lung cancer, has drawbacks including its relatively high cost, patient exposure to radiation, overdiagnosis and a potential for meaningful rates of false-positives. As such, an adjunct or triage test that could improve accuracy of lung cancer screening and/or reduce the need for LDCT (without compromise to diagnosis) could have massive appeal, in our opinion. VNRX currently expects to announce preliminary data from the first 600 samples from this study in Q1 2020. As a reminder, VolitionRx already has a relationship with National Taiwan University. VNRX previously finalized agreements with NTU to conduct two large CRC studies; 5k-sample asymptomatic screening study and a 2k-sample symptomatic study. As it relates to colorectal cancer, VNRX recently announced initial proof-of-concept data from an initial Nu.Q product grade assay. In 123 subjects a single Nu.Q assay detected CRC with an AUC of 72%. A two-assay panel, which included this initial product grade Nu.Q assay and an inflammatory biomarker test, had an AUC of 84%. These are relatively tiny POC studies but the data is certainly encouraging. The goal will be to replicate these results with reproducible product grade assays in larger, fully powered studies. VNRX is also making substantive progress towards validating their assays in Asian populations. In addition to the studies in Taiwan, VNRX recently made a significant stride towards conducting large studies in China. Asia is a market which we have always viewed as holding significant potential value for blood-based cancer diagnostics (given a cultural aversion to fecal handling and relatively high rates of lung cancer in certain areas of that continent). In late-March VNRX announced that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shanghai Fosun Long March Medical Science Co, Ltd, a diagnostics division of Chinese pharmaceutical company, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. Per the MOU (and following consummation of a formal agreement), Fosun is expected to be instrumental in the development and subsequent regulatory activities and commercialization of the company s colorectal cancer assays in China. Initially this will include conducting clinical studies in colorectal, lung and ovarian cancers in China. Per the press release, it will also include evaluating the development of NuQ assays on Fosun s existing chemiluminescence platform ( LUMIART-II Automated Chemiluminescence Immunoassay System ). The fully-automated, high throughput system is commercialized in China. As it relates to a canine cancer diagnostic, on April 9th VolitionRx announced that they signed an MOU with Texas A&M University related to the formation of a new U.S. subsidiary, Vetco, with a focus on the veterinarian diagnostics market. It is envisioned that Texas A&M University would have an equity interest in Vetco. Management believes that a canine cancer test could be a relatively fast moving program given the less-stringent U.S. regulatory pathway for animal diagnostics (via USDA versus FDAs PMA or 510k)k)). Canine cancer also represents a sizeable market. In fact, VNRX noted that 4.2M cases of canine cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S., or nearly 2.5x as many human cancers. And, given a similar price point as a human Nu.Q test (~$100), the canine cancer opportunity could be in the many hundreds of millions of dollars. VNRX is working with Texas A&M Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine to conduct a study of Nu.Q Vet. Specifics in terms of the development and regulatory strategy are expected to be revealed in the near future. If all goes well, management believes they could have a Nu.Q test for the diagnosis of animal cancers (initially canines but potentially also other animals including horses) on the market by next year. We will be eagerly awaiting updates on all of VNRXs programs, but given the initial POC data, particularly so in their lung and colorectal cancer endeavors. Given the recent highly encouraging data in prostate cancer (and massive unmet need for a PSA replacement/adjunct), we had envisioned that a Nu.Q prostate cancer assay/panel could be a front-runner in terms of possible initial commercialization candidates. Whether that may still be in the cards, we dont know, but will be something we hope to know more about as well. View Exhibit II SUBSCRIBE TO ZACKS SMALL CAP RESEARCH to receive our articles and reports emailed directly to you each morning. Please visit our website for additional information on Zacks SCR. DISCLOSURE: Zacks SCR has received compensation from the issuer directly or from an investor relations consulting firm, engaged by the issuer, for providing research coverage for a period of no less than one year. Research articles, as seen here, are part of the service Zacks provides and Zacks receives quarterly payments totaling a maximum fee of $30,000 annually for these services. Full Disclaimer HERE. Working mothers in the U.S. are three times as likely as fathers to quit their job at some point to care for their family. Research from the Center for American Progress published in 2014 found that the average American woman who took a five-year career break at age 26 lost roughly $467,000 in lifetime earnings, including potential income and retirement savings. To help more women transition back into the workforce, many companies, including Walmart, are now offering paid mid-career internships, known as "returnships," as part of their recruiting strategy. The retail giant recently announced that it would be expanding its partnership with the non-profit organization Path Forward to facilitate its returnship program for a second year in a row. "Last year around this time I shared the exciting news of a program Walmart was launching in partnership with Path Forward," Bobbie Grafeld, VP of People for Walmart Labs, said in a statement on the company's website . "It was near and dear to my heart because it focused on creating training and career opportunities for a typically untapped talent pool that I was once a part of women and men who have paused their careers to do things like raise children or care for family members, or those who have had to relocate for their spouses' careers." Grafeld said that in 2018, more than 30 women participated in the four-month, paid returnship program working in roles that included engineering, user experience, product management and data science. Participants attended professional development workshops and networking events, all while re-upping their skills as full-time temporary employees. Afterward, they were able to apply to any full-time available role at Walmart ultimately, roughly 75% of participants accepted positions within the company. This year, Grafeld says, Walmart is expanding the program to include up to 100 candidates across multiple locations including San Bruno, Sunnyvale and Carlsbad, California; Reston, Virginia; and Bentonville, Arkansas. She says she's hopeful that they "will have a similar success rate and bring even more amazing, full-time, diverse technical talent to Walmart Labs." Story continues Goldman Sachs first introduced the concept of returnships and the term, which it trademarked in 2008, when the bank implemented a 10-week program specifically for professionals with a career gap. Since then, other companies, including Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and GM, have created similar programs. Path Forward executive director Tami Forman tells CNBC Make It that Walmart is one of more than 50 companies the organization has worked with in the past three years. Oher partners include Netflix, Uber, Intuit and Verizon, which have all announced Spring 2019 returnship programs. In most cases, Forman says, participants have five to 10 years of work experience, but have taken at least a two-year break from the workforce. Though men are welcome to participate, she says that 95% of the program's applicants have been female. "It really does just reflect that out-of-work population," she says. "We have two men in one of our current spring cohorts, but I'd love to see more men take a break and take some time for their family, too." Deborah Chin, who now works as a UX designer for Walmart Labs, joined the company last year after participating in the returnship program. She tells CNBC Make It that she took a two-and-a-half year break from the workforce after having her daughter, and had a rough time finding full-time employment afterward. "I started looking for work probably after about 14 months of being off," she says. "It was discouraging. I applied to different jobs, but I wasn't having any luck but I also knew that I needed to spend some time working on my portfolio as well." Chin says that through Walmart's program she was able to build out her portfolio, and benefit from a speaker series and networking opportunities with company executives. Hagit Katzenelson, who works as a product manager for Walmart, echoes Chin's sentiments. She says that after taking a nine-year career break to care for a sick family member and three young kids, she struggled to find gainful employment. "My total career break was nine years, and out of those years, I was actively looking for a job for the last five," says Katzenelson, who did some part-time consulting work during her break. Chin, who worked as a contract teacher's assistant before her returnship, says she hopes more companies become open to the idea of adding similar mid-career programs to their recruitment process. "I think the more that this talent pool is noticed, it will really help women to make those necessary decisions as they're trying to plan their families," she says. "As they decide whether or not they're going to take time off, it won't be as scary a decision to make because they'll know that there are ways back in." Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube! Don't miss: The top 10 cities where women are the most successful More From CNBC Innospec Inc.s IOSP stock looks promising at the moment. The company has seen its shares shot up around 33% year to date. Innospec currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of B. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2, offer the best investment opportunities for investors. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. We are positive on the companys prospects and believe that the time is right for you to add the stock to portfolio as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead. Let's see what makes this chemical company a compelling investment option at the moment. An Outperformer Innospec has significantly outperformed the industry it belongs to over a year. The companys shares have gained 8.5% compared with a roughly 31% decline recorded by the industry. The company has also outpaced the S&P 500s rise of 4.5% for the same period. Estimates Northbound Earnings estimate revisions have the greatest impact on stock prices. Estimates for 2019 for Innospec have moved up over the past three months. Over this period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year has increased by around 8.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for 2019 is currently pegged at $5.15 per share, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 6.6%. Positive Earnings Surprise History Innospec has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. In this timeframe, the company has delivered a positive average earnings surprise of roughly 9.1%. Superior Return on Equity (ROE) ROE is a measure of a companys efficiency in utilizing shareholders funds. ROE for the trailing 12-months for Innospec is 14.9%, above the industrys level of 9.9%. Growth Drivers in Place Innospecs adjusted earnings of $1.25 per share for first-quarter 2019 rose from $1.02 per share a year ago. It also trounced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15. The companys revenues also went up roughly 8% year over year to $388.3 million in the quarter. Innospec saw strong growth in its Fuel Specialties and Oilfield Services segments in the quarter. Buoyed by the strong first-quarter performance, Innospec also declared its semi-annual dividend of 50 cents per share for the first half of 2019, representing an increase of 14%. Innospec is gaining from its balanced portfolio and strategic focus on major end markets. The company remains focused on growing sales and improving margins and is also looking to improve the effectiveness of its operations. It also has significant organic growth projects in its pipeline. Innospec is also engaged in acquisition opportunities leveraging its strong balance sheet and cash flows, which the company believes will strengthen its business. Innospec, in its first-quarter call, said that it will remain focused on organic growth to develop innovative technologies along with potential acquisition opportunities. The company continues to invest in organic growth projects. Innospec also sees attractive business prospects for the balance of 2019 and beyond. Story continues Innospec Inc. Price and Consensus Innospec Inc. Price and Consensus Innospec Inc. price-consensus-chart | Innospec Inc. Quote Other Stocks to Consider Other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Materion Corporation MTRN, AngloGold Ashanti Limited AU and Israel Chemicals Ltd. ICL. Materion has an expected earnings growth rate of 23.1% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #1. The companys shares have gained around 18% over the past year. AngloGold has an expected earnings growth rate of 86.8% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #1. Its shares have rallied 40% in a years time. Israel Chemicals has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.5% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares are up roughly 13.5% in the past year. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Innospec Inc. (IOSP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Israel Chemicals Shs (ICL) : Free Stock Analysis Report AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Materion Corporation (MTRN) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research What does Narendra Modis landslide win mean for Nepal? At a time of growing major power maneuvers in the region, foreign policy observers are watching with intrigue how India will balance its interests between China and the US actively engaging in Kathmandu. Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne kept his hemp bill moving Wednesday with a new amendment worked out with the Nebraska attorney general and county attorneys. Wayne successfully removed the bill (LB657) from final reading to attach an amendment he said would close a loophole in the current law. It allows that if a person is caught with plant material without proper documentation, it can be seized by law enforcement. The amendment creates a Class IV misdemeanor, with violators facing fines of up to $1,000. Also with the amendment, a noxious weed inspector could inspect hemp, until the hemp program and its collected fees are large enough to pay for inspections, Wayne said. A handful of protesters gathered outside the Rotunda before the bill was debated. Children held signs that said, We need hope not dope, and Were Cornhuskers not Hemphuskers. During debate, Sen. Jon Lowe of Kearney continued his opposition to the bill, saying it created a slippery slope. The hemp bills a Trojan horse bill for marijuana, he said. If you dont want your children or grandchildren getting easy access (to) drugs, because thats what this is, dont vote for this bill. Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard said he didnt believe claims that allowing the growing of hemp was going to help the farm economy, save farms and improve incomes. What this will do is create a bunch of farmers who have never grown anything in their life, Erdman said. So this is the wrong way to go. The Nebraska Hemp Act would set up licensing and fee requirements for farmers who wish to grow hemp, outline reporting and enforcement requirements by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, and create a hemp checkoff program, similar to the checkoff programs that aid in marketing commodities produced in the state. Hemp crops must be registered with a GPS location and plants grown must be submitted for testing to determine they contain less than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive drug in marijuana. Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant, and has been used around the world as a fiber and oil seed for industrial and consumer products. It contains much lower levels of THC than marijuana. The 2018 farm bill passed by Congress legalized hemp as an agricultural commodity. Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSLegislature. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Guide to a Destination is the theme for the June meeting of Fremont After Five Stonecroft Ministries. The group will meet at 6:45 p.m. June 10 at the Midland University dining hall, Ninth and Pebble streets, in Fremont. Pam Wilson of Altoona, Iowa, will speak on Worlds Greatest GPS Finding Our Way Home. She has been a teacher for 36 years. She has her masters degree and supervises student teachers at Simpson College. She is an author with three grown children and four grandchildren. Laura and Company will provide music. Cost of the buffet dinner is $14. To make a reservation, call Merrilee at 402-721-2827 by June 4. Honoring your reservation is necessary. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Dodge County Board of Supervisors heard a progress update on its $11 million project with Motorola Solutions to revamp the countys emergency radio system during its meeting on Wednesday. Officials have described the $11 million project as one of the countys largest ever financial endeavors, but also as a public safety necessity brought on by a declining quality in radio service for the Dodge County Sheriffs office. The project will also put Dodge County on the same radio system as Douglas County and the city of Fremont, which law enforcement officials have said will help improve communication between different agencies. On Wednesday, Rey Freeman of Rey Freeman Communications Consulting (RFCC) provided the board with a progress update on several facets of the project including land acquisition and development of four radio tower sites throughout the county. Freeman reported that purchase agreements for the four radio tower sites near Dodge, Hooper, North Bend and Uehling have been signed by involved landowners and final site locations approved by Motorola Engineering staff. Zoning and Usage applications for all four sites were also presented at the Dodge County Zoning meeting on May 21 and were recommended for approval. The four radio tower sites purchased by the county include a parcel sold by Vernon and Becky Vodvarka located near Dodge (the North half of the Northwest quarter of Section 21, in Township 20, Range five). The second, sold by the Shirley VonSeggren Trust, will be located near Uehling (the western half of the southwest corner in Section 12, Township 20, Range 7). The third, sold by Kurt and Melissa Dunker, is near North Bend (Section 16, Township 18, Range 6). The fourth, sold by Chad Rebbe and Cara Rebbe, Brian and Stephanie Busse, Eric and Stephanie Taylor, will be located near Hooper. Each parcel of land was purchased by the county for $20,000. Now that we have things finalized, we are in the process of working with Motorola to finalize the drawings for each site and from there they can get started on their environmental review, Freeman said. Freeman added that the goal is to begin construction on the four radio towers in coming months. The goal is to get foundations in the ground and steel stacked before it gets below freezing this fall, he said. Also at the meeting on Wednesday, the county board approved several flood-related items. The board approved three interlocal agreements for the cost sharing of the Flood Disaster of 2019 between the county and Webster, Union and Everett townships. The board also authorized the recently formed Joint Water Management Advisory Board (JWMA) to file a public assistance application with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They also authorized the JWMA Board to file an application for Water Sustainability Funding with the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission and a Notice of Intent for Hazard Mitigation Grant funding with the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. This will open the door, to what we hope, is a large grant to fund a comprehensive study on the river corridor and the drainage that flows into it, Dodge County Board Chairman Bob Missel said. The board also approved a lease of the countys warehouse property at 935 Schneider St., to the Fremont Area United Way to store a variety of items that have been donated in flood relief efforts. Under the yearlong lease agreement the United Way will use the facility for storage and distribution of those donated items. The organization will pay no rent, but will pay utilities at the location. We have refrigerators, stoves, carpet and mattresses that are just waiting for a confirmation of the spot, Fremont Area United Way Executive Director Shawn Shanahan said. So, thank you so much for considering and being a great partner and helping us figure out where we can store these big items so that we can help all of Dodge County recover from the flood. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Harrison High School senior Airam Hernandez will miss her friends and teachers after she graduates Thursday. But what shell miss most is being a student ambassador for the Circle Drive bridges transportation project. In its first year, the unique opportunity gave about 15 Harrison High students an up-close look at what goes into fixing aging bridges, from how city planning, design and engineering work together to how the public process can influence governmental decision-making. I learned so much, Airam said. I feel like more people should get involved in the community and the things that are good for future generations. The $25 million replacement of four bridges on South Circle Drive is on the voter-approved list of road improvements under the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority taxing entity. The idea of engaging local students was included in the proposal from the company that was awarded the consulting contract, HDR, which has an office in Colorado Springs. The partnership is ideal because it provides students with the opportunity to learn about what it takes to work together to better our city, said Tammy Heffron, HDR project manager. The school in Harrison District 2 is going to be one of the biggest impacted entities, as the two-year process to replace the bridges gets underway in 2021, said Ryan Phipps, senior engineer for the city of Colorado Springs. This school year, Harrison students saw how the old bridges near their school are crumbling. Two of them span the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail and Fountain Creek, and two extend over Las Vegas Street, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks and Hancock Expressway. As students, we pass over these bridges every day of our lives to get to school, restaurants, the movies, Airam said. But she never really noticed how decrepit the structures are until she and other students took a field trip with city engineers. They found a dangerous situation with no sidewalks but lots of cracks and erosion. The bridges will fail in a few years, Airam said. Theyre splitting now and falling apart. Students received an extensive education in project management, as well as surveying and constructing bridges. They also composed their own design concepts. They showed us their offices and talked about different tasks and jobs and how they all come together to approve the same idea, Airam said. Students then took to the streets, to explain to their families and neighbors whats happening in their backyard and what city transportation officials are considering. We informed people about the conditions, Airam said. A lot of them didnt know about the bridges. They also surveyed people on what improvements they would like to see. What they heard back: About half of residents surveyed want the bridges repaired and the other half want them replaced to last longer. The majority favor pedestrian walkways and bike lanes. And theyre concerned about how the lengthy construction will impact traffic. They brought back a lot of feedback what are we going to do during construction, how long is it going to take, how will I get to school or work, will traffic be terrible, Phipps said. The comments students collected are being incorporated into the planning, he said. What the students did this year is extremely valuable because the public process with a big project like this is a huge challenge. Neighborhood meetings generally draw 30-50 people, he said, while motorists traveling on South Circle Drive exceed 10,000 trips per day. But with each student talking to 40 or 50 people in their neighborhood, We get a lot better feedback, and it helps us gauge the public interest better, Phipps said. Some student ambassadors also recently spoke about the project to the Colorado Springs City Council. Three members are on the PPRTA Board of Directors, which approves contracts for project design and construction. They received a certificate of appreciation and a thank-you letter. The original plan to repair the bridges has changed to replacing them because they will last longer, up to 75 years, Phipps said. The first design draft, which will include pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes, will be completed this summer. As of now, South Circle Drive will not close during construction. At least one lane of traffic will be open in each direction, Phipps said. Another possibility is to build a third bridge for vehicles to travel on while the others are being replaced. Our current goal is to try to limit that traffic impact, Phipps said. Next years student ambassadors will work on developing public art for the site. You can put up a bland structure, but this is a really important connection for neighborhoods to the north and east, and theres something about community ownership, Phipps said. Right now South Circle Drive is not functioning as well as it could, and to create that metaphorical and literal bridge that connects people is important. Airam said shes happy to end her senior year with something good. For once, its not something negative in southeast Colorado Springs. Colorado law will soon require students who receive sexual education to learn about consent. But the road to passing that bill was bumpy. The final legislation was heavily amended and passed in the last two days of the legislative session. The bill is still awaiting the governors signature. Heres how sexual education works in Colorados public schools, and what exactly was changed through this years bill. First of all, Colorado doesnt require sexual education in schools. Colorado is one of two states that doesnt require that students learn either about sexual education or HIV. School districts can choose whether or not to teach sexual education, and the state does not track how many districts do or dont teach sexual education. Colorados local control laws also mean districts choose their curriculum if they do choose to teach sexual education. State law sets some basic requirements, mainly that education should be comprehensive and medically accurate. State standards developed by the Colorado Department of Education provide broad guidelines on what kids should know at each grade level. You can see those here. Parents can opt-out In Colorado, districts offering sexual education, are required to tell parents what they will teach, and parents can choose to keep their children out of those classes. Parents can opt children out of entire sexual education courses, or only some of those lessons. This years bill doesnt change those basics The bill this year, House Bill 1032, leaves intact districts ability to decide whether to offer sex education and parents ability to opt out. So, what is changing? The most significant change to the sexual education law is districts that choose to teach it must include lessons on consent. Consent was defined in the statue as the affirmative, unambiguous, voluntary, continuous, knowing agreement between all participants in each physical act within the course of a sexual encounter or interpersonal relationship. To promote healthy relationships, the new law says schools that teach sexual education must include instruction on how to communicate consent, recognize communication of consent, recognize withdrawal of consent, and understand age of consent. Consent is a subject many states are trying to add to their sexual education requirements in response to discussions about sexual assault. Individual schools, including a Catholic school in Portland, Oregon, are also adding discussions about consent to their curriculum. What changed for LGBTQ students? Not much. A state law passed in 2013 already included a requirement that if schools teach sexual education, they must take into account the needs of all students. The existing language said sexual education must be meaningful to the experiences and needs of communities of color; immigrant communities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities; people with physical or intellectual disabilities; people who have experienced sexual victimization; and others whose experiences have traditionally been left out of sexual health education, programs, and policies. Originally, this years bill would have taught students about different relationship models including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. That part was taken out of the final bill. Proponents of the bill say the only reason they intended to include the existing language again was to reaffirm its importance. Will kindergarten students be learning about sexual education? The bill approved this year states it does not apply to students in kindergarten through third grade. Colorado law requires that any sexual education be age appropriate. As an example from the states standards which help guide that, fifth graders learn about human anatomy and puberty, while high school students learn about sexually transmitted diseases and birth control. The bill does do more to ban abstinence-only education Colorado law already prohibited abstinence-only education, but some districts contracted outside organizations to offer the programming. The new measure says schools cant engage the instructional services of such groups. That doesnt mean schools cant discuss abstinence. The comprehensive education requirement states that the sexual education instruction must include medically accurate information about methods to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including abstinence, contraception, condoms and other methods. Comprehensive sexual education also doesnt have to include pregnancy outcomes If schoolschoose to teach sexual education, certain components are required, such as pregnancy prevention, but talking about what happens after a pregnancy is optional. If schools talk about pregnancy outcomes, then they must include all options such as adoption, abortion, and parenting. The new law adds that students are now required to learn about Colorados safe haven laws which allows parent to hand over an infant, up to 72 hours old, to an employee at any fire station or hospital. What about charter schools? Charter schools, publicly funded but privately operated schools, can choose to waive many state laws. Like public schools, charters are not required to teach sexual education, but if they do, state law says that just like other schools, they must teach it in a comprehensive way. This years bill prohibits the state from giving charter schools waivers from the sexual education law. The state board shall not waive any of the requirements, the final bill states, relating to comprehensive human sexuality education content requirements. Right now, there are five charter schools that have waivers from those requirements. That means that they may be teaching sexual education in a way that doesnt conform with state law in being comprehensive. The bill also set aside money for grants The 2013 law created a grant program for schools needing more money to offer comprehensive sex education, but money was never put into that program. This year, the bill sets aside $1 million to start offering grants to schools or districts. Construction crews broke ground this month on a solar array project for Colorado Springs Utilities, to be followed soon by two other arrays. Utilities announced the early stages of two projects in July. The municipal utilitys Board of Directors approved the start of negotiations for a third, larger array in September. Once all three are finished, a fifth of Utilities electricity will come from renewable sources, Utilities officials have said. The first leg of the work began this month when crews broke ground for the Palmer Solar Project, Utilities spokeswoman Amy Trinidad said. The array will be built by Colorado-based juwi southeast of Colorado Springs and is projected to generate 60 megawatts once complete. One megawatt is enough to power about 315 homes for a year. The Palmer Solar Projects approximately 500-acre site in El Paso County southeast of Fountain is expected to come online in 2020, according to Utilities website. Juwi will be responsible for operating the facility once its finished. The second array, called the Grazing Yak Project, will be built by Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources and will generate 35 megawatts, according to Utilities. The 270-acre site will be south of Calhan. Similar to the juwi array, NextEra will be responsible for operating the facility. Construction is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Negotiations are ongoing for the third and largest project, the Pike Solar Array, which would produce 150 megawatts, according to Utilities. That work would include 25 megawatts of battery storage as well. It will be built around the Palmer Solar Project, almost like an extension, Trinidad said. The projects battery storage is the largest facility of its kind announced in Colorado, according to Utilities. That project is expected to be finished by 2023. conrad.swanson@gazette.com @conrad_swanson Windstorm blows away roofs of 200 houses in Nawalparasi district Crops and vegetables were also damaged in the area A heated debate takes place every year around Christmas time. Its not about which relatives house you should visit for the holidays, its a topic with greater importance. Its a question everyone wants to know the answer to but cant seem to agree on. Is the 1988 film Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, a Christmas movie? You voted: Douglas Bruce was convicted in absentia of five municipal citations in Pennsylvania on Thursday, opening himself up to a new criminal charge and possibly a prison sentence. Bruce, a Colorado felon, former state representative and author of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, owns dozens of blighted properties around the country. One of them sits in Pittston, a small city in northeastern Pennsylvania. That Pittston property an old bar is so decrepit that Bruce was cited by the citys code enforcement for a failure to demolish the Main Street building. In April, The Gazette reported that Bruce faced six municipal citations for a failure to demolish the building. Since then, additional citations have been filed against him. Bruce has denied wrongdoing while lobbing insults at Pittston officials and indicating he had no intention of attending his court hearing, further angering city officials. True to his word, the anti-tax advocate remained in Colorado instead of heading to Pennsylvania for the hearing. Now that hes convicted of at least three citations bearing the same charge, Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo said city officials plan to pass the case to the citys police department for a criminal charge. We figured he probably wouldnt show, Lombardo said. Were moving along in the process. Theres always an easier path, so its frustrating that were even doing this because if this gentleman could just be reasonable, theres no reason wed be doing this. Bruce declined to comment Thursday and previously declined to say whether he had physically visited the Pittston property, which he maintains is not in shambles. He bought the property from former Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Helen Collins, who has a warrant out for her arrest in the state for her part in the buildings neglect, Pittston officials have said. Bruces convictions were predicted by Harry Smith, a Pittston code enforcement and zoning officer. Now Smith, who could not be reached Thursday, will work with the citys police department to consider charges for municipal housing code avoidance, Lombardo said. That charge is a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries the possibility of up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, Lombardo said. Neither the Pittston police chief nor a representative of the Luzerne County District Attorneys Office could immediately be reached for comment. Late last month, Pittston officials filed two additional municipal citations against Bruce alleging unsanitary conditions and exterior walls, court records show. Lombardo said the city might have to demolish the building and send Bruce a bill for the effort. Bruce previously threatened to sue if his property is seized in any way. Pittston hasnt resorted to such methods for decades, Lombardo said. But at this point the building has become a public safety issue and that might be the only option in the near future. What concerns me is weve been getting a ton of rain over the last month and the building is clearly taking rain, he said. The more that happens, the more dangerous it becomes. The ultimate goal is not to extradite Bruce to Pennsylvania, though that remains an option, Lombardo said. The biggest priority is resolving the danger the building poses. In the meantime, he invited Bruce to call him about the ordeal. Im willing to have a reasonable conversation with anybody. Just fix the property up, Lombardo said. At this point, I dont expect that to happen. Hes insulted our district magistrate. Hes insulted all of us and called us stupid. Previously, a spokeswoman for the El Paso County Sheriffs Office said if someone with outstanding arrest warrants is stopped by local law enforcement even for something as innocuous as a speeding ticket they could be arrested and held while law enforcement agencies are asked whether they want to pursue extradition. Conversely, out-of-state agencies can contact the Sheriffs Office and request the arrest of a fugitive. conrad.swanson@gazette.com @conrad_swanson FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2016 file photo, Iran's Revolutionary Guard troops march in a military parade marking the 36th anniversary of Iraq's 1980 invasion of Iran, in front of the shrine of late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, just outside Tehran, Iran. The Trump administration is preparing to designate Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps a foreign terrorist organization in an unprecedented move that could have widespread implications for U.S. personnel and policy. U.S. Officials say an announcement could come as early as Monday, April 8, 2019, following a months-long escalation in the administrations rhetoric against Iran. The move would be the first such designation by any U.S. administration of an entire foreign government entity. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File) Simple compliance works best In response to the article from The Associated Press that appeared in the Saturday Gazette on May 18, Officer quits after confronting black man picking up trash. Not only is the article racist by showing the happy, smiling picture of this innocent black man with a camera (maybe identifying him as a journalist), but it outlines the evil of an angry white officer harassing an innocent man. The encounter supposedly took over 8 minutes to unfold. As the son of a 35-year veteran police officer who dedicated his life to law enforcement, serving his community, and protecting his neighbors, I was always taught to obey the reasonable request of an officer when asked. Did anyone wonder if the white officer was really doing anything wrong? Seems to me the article states that the situation escalated when the student ID didnt have anything more than the victims picture and name, and when asked for his date of birth to confirm his identity, and address, the man declined and began walking away. By asking the young man to put down a potential weapon, and sit down, was the officers request really that unreasonable? What is the big objection to following the simple orders of an officer who is doing his job? Victims cry racism when simple compliance works best. Society has been taught that defiance works and the police officer is always wrong. Even a stick with a claw can be a deadly weapon. Tom Antkow Colorado Springs Pete Lee has fixed everything After reading Pete Lees guest column, I believe we can now disband all Colorado government. Pete has fixed everything! He even pats himself on the back as he proclaims all that he has accomplished. Wow, we need more politicians like Pete! Oh, never mind. Washington is full of Petes. Jay Barnwell Colorado Springs Lowering the cost of college tuition Womens/ethnic studies may sound very nice and placates those who place feelings above all else. However, the unintended circumstances of these classes, coupled with legions of kids running around being paid to ensure that the campus is green, and the myriad of the other student workers the school pays, is that our tuition costs are exorbitant. If we eliminated some of this extraneous stuff and reduced the cost of tuition by $10,000, it will certainly help out middle-class and lower-class families. Imagine lowering the cost of education, government, taxes, etc. then, everyone gets a break, and we dont need another unfunded liability over which we incessantly argue. Imagine that. Matt Dagostino Colorado Springs An under-reported story Last Friday, an egregious assault on personal, parental and religious freedoms occurred when every Democratic representative voted for or sponsored H.R. 5, ensuring its passage by the U.S. House of Representatives. The Orwellian-named Equality Act would result in massive changes to federal civil rights laws to mandate wide-ranging, special privileges for sexual orientation and gender identity. It would affect not just public accommodations but also privately owned facilities, education, housing, health care and sports. A few examples: No longer could employers, churches and schools have separate bathrooms and showers for biological men and women. Businesses would have to provide artistic and other services celebrating same-sex marriages against their religious beliefs or close down. Current policies that help achieve equality for women in business, such as federal business loans, would be emasculated. Shelters that help battered women heal from abuse by men would be forced to allow biological men into their showers and sleeping quarters. Schools would have to allow biological males to compete in female sports. Virtually all major conservative organizations opposed H.R. 5. Its draconian provisions, if publicized, would also have been opposed by most Americans. Yet, H.R. 5 has been widely underreported by the media. Is it any wonder that many Americans believe the media has a liberal, progressive bias? Douglas Barth Colorado Springs Division over abortion continues Regarding The division between men, women letter: The division Robert Koelbl speaks of is not between men and women, rather it is between those of us who are pro-choice and those who are forced-birth. Being pro-choice means I want your wife/daughters to have the choice of saying no or yes to abortion. Thats how choice works. Those of us who are pro-choice understand that the contents of the uterus of other women are none of our business. We further understand that our religious beliefs must never impinge upon the religious or nonreligious beliefs of anyone else, and certainly must not be a basis for any law our government enacts. According to the Bible, life begins at birth when a baby draws its first breath. He is mistaken to think that abortion has become the birth control method of choice. On average, women pay $504 for an early medication abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. I do not know any woman who can afford that. He is also ignorant of the fact that beliefs about the death penalty are drawn not along political lines, but along lines of personal belief systems. I am a Democrat who firmly believes in the death penalty in cases that are without question of guilt such as those of James Holmes, Robert Dear and Nikolas Cruz. His idea that babies are being killed out of the womb only serves to point out how he has been duped by the radical right. Liz Wilcox Colorado Springs This is a video of former NASA engineer Mark Rober discussing and then tackling the challenge of filling a pool entirely with Jello, which all needs to be boiled and then chilled in order to set. How does he do it? SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER: Not with a bunch of tanned bikini babes and hunks in banana hammocks passing buckets like I suspected. "Suspected, or was really hoping for?" Was really hoping for. Keep going for the video while I wonder what it was like a day later. Thanks to hairless, who agrees Jello wrestling is cool, but thumb wrestling is significantly quicker if you need to settle an argument in a hurry. People from all over the country and especially the state of Iowa have been making their way to Forest City in preparation of this year's Tree Town Music Festival. Some people come for the music, others come to meet up with some old friends and some to get away from home for a bit and have a good time. Jace Ites, 22, Gatlin Heinzerotch, 25, Hunter Patterson, 22, and Mac Wilson, 20, are four friends who arrived at the festival grounds today, Wednesday, May 22, from Iowa Falls, to meet with some old friends and have a good time during the festival. Each of them said they were looking forward to their own favorite artists performances, including Morgan Wallen and Toby Keith, but more so to meeting with old friends they only see at Tree Town. Theres so many people here that we just only see here, I guess, you know what I mean? Ites said. This is the only place Ive seen Bruce and Missy for the last year, so its good to see them. Heinzerotch said he has been going to Tree Town since the first year it was held. All lot of my college friends, which has been several years now, its the one time of year we put on the calendar and get up and go, he said. Because theyre usually done planting by the time Tree Town comes around in the year, Heinzerotch said its nice to get away to Tree Town and start summer. Heinzerotch said he came to the first Tree Town after hearing about it from his friends from Buffalo Center. Its just grown so much, he said. Heinzerotch said one of his favorite memories of the festival was when he was on the big screen for Alan Jackson. That was pretty cool, he said. Wilson said this is his first year at Tree Town, and Patterson said since he hasnt been around for four years, he was most excited about being with his friends. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CEDAR RAPIDS U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer is not lending her voice to the growing chorus of House Democrats calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump yet. However, the freshman Democrat believes Trump has defied and disrespected Congress by preventing members of his administration from testifying before House committees. The presidents blanket refusal to comply with requests from six House committees along with Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Donald McGahn declining to testify have raised the frustration level of representatives, Finkenauer said in a phone interview Wednesday. Thats concerning, she said. You have an administration that has defied the authority of Congress and disrespected the authority of Congress to issue those subpoenas and have those folks testify. Finkenauer expects House leadership and committee chairs to press the Trump administration to allow officials to testify. We need to be taking our role very seriously as a coequal branch of government, she said. However, Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday its time for Democrats to move on. Although special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of the president found no collusion with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign, he said, Democrats just cant give up, so thats why were going through all of this. They were disappointed and want to keep the issue alive, he told reporters. Theres a difference between impeachment for legal and constitutional reasons, such as the cases of Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, and impeachment for political purposes in the case of Trump, Grassley said. In the latter case, the president is correct that Democrats run the risk of weakening the whole system of government, Grassley added. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Blog Archive December (2) November (2) October (2) September (2) August (3) July (3) June (3) May (2) April (2) March (3) February (2) January (2) December (2) November (2) October (2) September (3) August (3) July (4) June (4) May (5) April (4) March (4) February (4) January (4) December (4) November (6) October (2) September (3) August (2) July (10) June (3) May (2) April (8) March (5) February (3) January (4) December (4) November (5) October (5) September (4) August (7) June (4) May (4) April (2) March (5) February (2) January (4) December (3) November (4) October (4) September (3) August (4) July (4) June (5) May (3) April (3) March (4) February (5) January (5) December (2) November (3) October (4) September (4) August (4) July (4) June (5) May (4) April (4) March (5) February (4) January (4) December (5) November (4) October (4) September (4) August (4) July (4) June (4) May (3) April (4) March (3) February (4) January (2) December (5) November (5) October (8) September (7) August (7) July (8) June (8) May (5) April (7) March (6) February (2) January (4) December (3) November (7) October (3) September (3) August (4) July (5) June (8) May (7) April (7) March (5) February (6) January (8) December (6) November (5) October (7) September (4) August (7) July (7) June (6) May (8) April (10) March (12) February (3) January (8) December (9) November (7) October (7) September (8) August (9) July (5) June (7) May (4) April (4) March (5) February (8) January (6) December (5) November (5) October (5) September (2) August (2) July (3) June (2) May (5) April (1) March (3) February (4) January (1) December (3) November (3) October (3) September (2) August (2) July (2) June (4) May (4) April (4) March (4) February (4) January (3) December (5) November (5) October (4) The Sun is Also a Star At the Cinemark (PG-13) Grade: C Natasha is a Jamaican teenager whose family is being deported in 24 hours for living illegally in New York. Shes real cute. Daniel is a Korean teen who loves to write poems, but whose dad is forcing him to study medicine. He has an interview for Dartmouth tomorrow. Hes real cute, too. She lets him touch her Afro. He takes off his shirt and sings to her. He dares her to give him 24 hours to make her fall in love with him. This smart girl does something dumb: She accepts the challenge. Even Nicholas Sparks has more subtlety than this. Needless to say, they meet when Natasha is nearly run over by a car in Manhattan and Daniel pulls her to safety. Obviously, this romance has to hustle, because 12 hours is not much time to move through Mark Knapps relational stages: initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating and bonding. They have even less time if they want to go down the other side of the relationship mountain: from differentiating to terminating. All that in 100 minutes. No time to dilly dally kids -- the last 10 minutes is for the credits. The plot is all about fate and love. Dreamy Daniel (Charles Melton) believes in love and destiny, while practical Natasha has her feet planted on the ground, not in the stars she explains away love as hormones, and rejects fate as coincidence. And they argued and they argued with the duck swimming in the pond and the little bird hopping along the shore. The coincidences keep piling up like rear-wheel drive cars on black ice. Natasha (talented Yara Shahidi) seeks the help of an immigration attorney who has a bruise from a pedestrian mishap that seems suspiciously like the one that brought our lovers together. I liked this film, briefly, from about minute 70 to minute 80, when the script dared to let the air out of this fairy tale. A realistic ending seemed to be pending. But then, around minute 81 the fateful words five years later appeared on the screen, and I slunk back into my chair and groaned. Fool me once, its on you. Fool me twice, its on me. I hope theres no next time. Theres a lot of reasons to cringe and mutter while watching The Sun is Also a Star, and near the top of the list is the way the current political debate over immigration is hammered into the script. Lets be clear: Im all about welcoming immigrants. Soft Landing is doing wonderful work in Missoula. Mayor Jenny Durkan gave an inspiring speech on immigration that included: Seattle is not afraid of immigrants and refugees. But I think taking the camera around New York to capture closeups of immigrants from dozens of countries ends up objectifying them, not humanizing them. Feels like sympathy, not empathy to me and real close to pity. Natashas deportation is a political symbol, and shes being exploited, too. This story has all the subtlety of Thors hammer smashing a helpless dandelion. The final insult was my discovery that one of the inspirations for this film was Richard Linklaters Before Sunrise. Linklaters script started with a fateful meeting on a European train trip, where the lovers have only one fateful stop to fall in love before they ride off in different directions. Before Sunrise is a beautiful, touching love story. We shed tears watching it. Their parting is such sweet sorrow. But Sun removes all that was delicate and philosophical in Sunrise and replaces it with a dumbed down tale of coincidence. Reminds me of the skit from Rowan and Martins Laugh In. Might have been Gildna Radner, who always marvelled at what fate dealt her: What a coinkydink! shed say. I miss Gilda. The script directly traces to Nicola Yoons 2015 Young Adult novel. Im almost ready to read the book, because reviews call it intelligent and insightful. But this film adaptation has so soured me that Im afraid to pick it up. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Monday, May 27 East Helena parade East Helena VFW Post 10010 will be conducting its annual Memorial Day Parade at 11 a.m. Monday. The parade starts and finishes at the post on Main Street in East Helena. After the ceremony, luncheon will be served at the post. Thursday, May 30 Fort Harrison ceremony American Legion Post #2, Lewis & Clark Post is hosting a noon Memorial Day ceremony at the Montana Veterans Cemetery located at Fort Harrison. The cemetery is located inside the main entrance of the Veterans Administration on Fort Harrison. For information call 406-324-3742. Lewis & Clark County Veterans Memorial ceremony The Lewis and Clark County Veterans Memorial Foundation is conducting the 151st annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the Lewis and Clark County Veterans Memorial located in Helenas Memorial Park at 3 p.m. Thursday and invites all Gold Star Families, area veterans, their families and the citizens of the Helena and Lewis and Clark County to attend. This solemn ceremony is to recognize Lewis and Clark County veterans as well as all U.S. Veterans who have paid the ultimate price. At this beautiful memorial, established on August 15, 1949, 70 years ago, the foundation recognizes and honors those Lewis and Clark County citizens who have given the last full measure to this nation. The foundation has asked Robert B. Haseman, author and Vietnam Veteran, to make remarks as the keynote speaker. This is the 10th year of the 50th Anniversary period of the Vietnam War 1959-1975. In keeping with this commemoration, Vietnam era veterans are being encouraged to bring their stories forward. Haseman recently penned a book, "The Sunsets On Vietnam: The Firebase War." Autographed copies of his book will be available at the event. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Westmoreland Mining LLC is asking the state of Montana to think twice before allowing Colstrip Power Plant to buy coal from somewhere else. The companys Rosebud Mine is within walking distance of the power plant, which it has fueled for more than 40 years. Nearly 400 union miners work at Rosebud. Colstrip Power Plants coal contract with Westmoreland is running out in December and power plant operator Talen Energy is now taking steps toward a different mine. Some observers suggest Talen is merely bluffing for a better deal from Westmoreland. "Talen Montana is serious about ensuring that the Colstrip plant remains economically viable for as long as possible. Therefore, it is critical that we not be held only to one supplier," said Taryne Williams, Talen Energy spokeswoman. "Whether or not the Colstrip plant continues to take coal from the Rosebud Mine after the end of this year is heavily dependent on whether Westmoreland decides to submit an economically competitive offer rather than persisting in its efforts to impose punitive commercial terms on Talen Montana and the Colstrip co-owners by virtue of its monopoly." Talen is jumping through all the necessary government hoops to get approval for coal from a different mine, which has Westmoreland concerned. The resulting economic impacts on the city of Colstrip and the state are tremendous, argued Rosario Doriott Dominguez, attorney for Westmoreland Mining. Requesting relief from Montanas Board of Environmental Review, Dominguez said Westmoreland alone employs approximately 390 employees in Colstrip, pays over $40 million in local payroll annually, and spends over $60 million annually for goods and services in Montana. The mine and power plant together employ a majority of the households of the Colstrip community. Westmoreland Mining LLC is a privately held company owned and operated by former first lien creditors of Westmoreland Coal Co., which went bankrupt in March. Wednesday, the Board of Environmental Review handed the case over to a hearings examiner. Talen will have a chance to respond to Westmorelands insistence that the policies that created the power plant also bind the power plant to Rosebud mine. In the past year, Talen has asked Montanas Department of Environmental Quality to approve the burning of coal from a different mine, most likely a mine in Wyoming or the Spring Creek and Decker mines of Southeast Montana. The Colstrip operator has also sought permitting for a coal unloading facility for emptying coal shipped to the power plant by rail. In addition, the power plant has sought help from Republican U.S. Sen. Steven Daines in extending a tax credit for refined coal, meaning coal that must be dried or chemically treated to temper its air pollution. The tax credit is a Bush-era subsidy that last year would have been worth $7.10 a ton no small amount for a power plant the burns 10 to 13 million tons a year. Rosebud Mine coal hasnt needed refining to comply with federal air pollution laws, but coal from another mine might. Theres also the issue of the union jobs. Rosebuds miners are unionized. Cloud Peak Energy mines, several of which have been eyed as possible coal sources for Colstrip Power plant, arent. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 UPDATE: The Missing and Endangered Person Advisory issued for 9-year-old Delwin Paul Calflooking Jr. has been canceled. Authorities said he has been located and is safe. --- A Missing and Endangered Person Advisory has been issued for a 9-year-old boy who was last seen in Browning and is believed to be in Missoula. The boy, Delwin Calflooking Jr., was removed from school by his father on May 13 and has not been seen since then. The Native American boy is 4 feet and 7 inches tall and weighs 80 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. His father, Delwin Paul Calflooking Sr., is a 37-year-old Native American man. He is 5 feet and 11 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair. The alert from the Montana Department of Justice notes that officials are concerned for the boy's safety but does not provide additional details. Anyone with information is asked to contact FBI Special Agent Steven Snyder at 301-325-9274 or call 911. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 4 Angry 2 1. Yes. The economy is strong and unemployment low. Thats a good basis for a solid year. 2. Yes. Health experts are getting a handle on COVID. 2022 should be a better year. 3. No. If any large-scale COV ID-related shutdowns take place, it will hit the nation hard. 4. No. Inflation is still too much of a wild card. It could really cause a drag on the economy. 5. Unsure. There are too many variables at play to predict with any degree of certainty. Vote View Results The Bureau of Reclamation has announced that water levels at most of its reservoirs east of the Continental Divide in Montana are at or above average for this time of year. Current conditions at Bureau of Reclamation facilities include: Clark Canyon Reservoir Inflows to the reservoir are slightly below average for this time of year. The reservoir is about 1.5 feet below the top of the joint-use pool. Boaters will be able to launch at all locations around Clark Canyon Reservoir. Releases to the Beaverhead River are being maintained at about 400 cubic feet per second. Canyon Ferry Reservoir Inflows to Canyon Ferry are above average for this time of year. The reservoir level is about 9 feet below the top of the joint-use pool and releases to the Missouri River are being maintained near 6,500 cfs. Due to Canyon Ferry Reservoir being suspect for aquatic invasive mussel larvae, only Yacht Basin, Kims Marina, Shannon, Goose Bay, Silos and Hellgate boat ramps are open to all boaters. All other ramps at the reservoir are only open to certified local boaters. The ramps open to all boaters either have a decontamination station assigned to them or are near in proximity. Decontamination stations are located at Reclamations Visitor Center on the north end of the reservoir, at the Silos boat ramp on the south end, and at Hellgate and Goose Bay, both on the east side of the reservoir. All watercraft leaving Canyon Ferry will be required to go through a decontamination station unless they are registered as a certified local boater. Certified local boaters traveling to another waterbody will also need to go through the decontamination station. More can be found at: http://cleandraindry.mt.gov/Watercraft-Inspections Gibson Reservoir Inflows and reservoir level at Gibson Reservoir are near average for this time of year. The boat ramp at Gibson Reservoir is currently usable. Lake Elwell (Tiber Reservoir) Inflows to Tiber Reservoir are above average for this time of year. The reservoir level is about 2 feet below the top of the joint-use pool. Releases to the Marias River are currently being maintained near 1,500 cfs. Due to Tiber Reservoir testing positive for aquatic invasive mussel larvae in 2016, only three boat ramps remain open to all watercrafts, Tiber Marina, VFW Campground and a new site at Willow Creek. All other ramps at the reservoir are only open to certified local boaters. All watercraft leaving Tiber Reservoir will be required to go through a decontamination station unless they are part of the certified local boater program. Certified local boaters traveling to another waterbody will also need to go through the decontamination station. More information can be found at: http://cleandraindry.mt.gov/Watercraft-Inspections Fresno Reservoir Inflows to Fresno Reservoir are below average for this time of year. The reservoir level is full, at the top of the joint-use pool. Releases to the Milk River are currently near 550 cfs. All boat ramps at Fresno are currently usable. Nelson Reservoir Nelson Reservoir is full which is above average for this time of year. Boaters will be able to launch at all locations around Nelson Reservoir. Bighorn Lake (Yellowtail Dam) The reservoir level is about 23 feet below the top of the joint-use pool and rising. Releases to the Bighorn River are being maintained above average, near 3,500 cfs. Boaters will be able to launch at OK-A-BEH and Barrys Landing. Please check with the National Park Service for boat launching capabilities at Horseshoe Bend. For more information regarding recreation activities and boat launching at Bighorn Lake, recreationists are encouraged to contact the National Park Service at 406-666-3218. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR A newspaper publisher who has held positions in Texas and Mississippi will join the Herald & Review as vice president of sales. Alexander Gould, publisher of The Meridian Star in eastern Mississippi, is starting in Decatur in June. Alexander is the best choice from a deep pool of high-caliber candidates, said Michelle Pazar, president and publisher of Lee Enterprises Central Illinois group, which includes the Herald & Review. He's been a successful executive and, even more important, he's a great fit with our market and our Herald & Review team." He is a graduate of Waynesburg University in western Pennsylvania and has also worked in media-related positions in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. He was publisher of the Meridian newspaper since 2016. Before that, he worked for three years at Advocate Digital Media in Longview, Texas. Gould held several positions there, most recently integrated sales director. "We are excited to be coming to Decatur," Gould said. He and wife Jennifer have twin 9-year-old daughters, Phoebe and Dakota, and they look forward to getting engaged with the area. "We are looking forward to the opportunity to learn about the area and it's people as quickly as possible, and become active members within the community," he said. In Decatur, he will oversee the advertising operations for the Herald & Review. He replaces Joel Fletcher, who left the position to become a philanthropy specialist for the HSHS St. Marys Hospital Foundation. Said Pazar: "Im excited about what Alexanders unique experience can do for us. He brings a mix of leadership, passion and breadth of publishing/digital knowledge to the table. There is enormous potential in the Central Illinois market, and Alexander can help our customers achieve continued success. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR The historic Haines & Essick building at East William and North Main Streets will be occupied again next month when Decatur Brew Works moves in. Owners of the brewery at 101 N. Main St. announced in a Facebook post that they would relocate to their new home in at the end of June. Long a prominent part of the downtown Decatur retail scene, Haines & Essick closed its doors in April 2016, citing economic pressures. "Because Central Illinois has embraced us and craft beer so wonderfully, we find ourselves out of space," the brewery said. "The new location will allow us to meet the demand for distribution, and create new and exciting beers for the taproom not to mention more seating, a private party space, more parking, among many other things." Decatur Brew Works does not serve food apart from snacks like chips and brownies. That won't change with the new location, but owners said they are working with downtown restaurants and more details would come later. When it opened in January 2016, Decatur Brew Works was the first business of its kind in the city since Decatur Brewing Co. closed in 1934. Two others, Door 4 Brewing Co. and Golden Fox Brewing, have since followed. Haines & Essick had occupied the space at 102 E. William St. since 1927, though the business first opened in Decatur in 1902. It sold everything from books and high-end stationery to kitchen gadgets, up-market toys and a wide selection of gifts. Sue Miller, the director of retail sales, told the Herald & Review at the time of its closure that the store had struggled in the aftermath of the recession. The final sale later that month brought out a crowd of customers that wound around the block, many drawn by a strong sense of nostalgia for the store that had been part of their lives for generations. GALLERY: Remembering Haines & Essick Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The fifth annual Red Nose Day takes place Thursday, part of a fundraising effort to help end child poverty. Here's what to know: Who came up with the idea? Red Nose Day started in the U.K. in 1988. In 2015, the public charity Comic Relief USA launched the campaign in the U.S. To date, the campaign says it has raised almost $150 million, including $47 million in the past year. How do I get a nose? This year, Walgreens is selling a plain nose, along with four others with cute faces that the company calls "everyday heroes," for $2 each. Of that sum, $1.30 goes to the fund. Walgreens does not make a profit from the merchandise sales and you can't take a nose purchase as a tax deduction. Since 2015, Walgreens has sold more than 40 million red noses. People also can make a monetary, tax-deductible donation directly to the campaign through its website, rednoseday.org. Who else is involved? M&M's, a Mars Wrigley Confectionery brand, is a national partner and will contribute $1 million in funding. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a programming partner. NBC has celebrity-filled Red Nose Day programming planned at 7 p.m. Thursday. Where does the money go? Half of the money supports programs in the 50 states and Puerto Rico while the other half is used to help fund programs in poor communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The funds raised help buy vaccines and other medical services, meals, and educational assistance, among other things. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 iving into Saul Bellows archives we found correspondence from every administration from Kennedy to Clinton. And that was only 1 box out of 250 CHICAGO Soon after Saul Bellow returned to his hometown in 1962 and joined the faculty of the University of Chicago, he started donating his papers to the school library. One of the most celebrated novelists of the postwar years, credited with returning a brash vitality to the American novel at midcentury, his arrival on campus was front-page news. So much so that nearly 60 years later, the Saul Bellow Papers which is what the university now calls its archive of Bellows correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks and ephemera contains a fat folder holding only announcements and clippings from that hyped homecoming. Bellow was a good fit. He became synonymous with the university, and a cornerstone of Hyde Park. And so, he kept donating his papers to the library. He donated wedding invitations and honorary doctorates, drafts of his novels and family photographs. He donated fan letters and his faculty ID cards and even a few day planners: December 10, 1976: Collect Nobel Prize for Literature. December 31, 1976: Pay bills. Before Saul Bellow died at 89 in 2005, he made 71 separate deposits to the Joseph Regenstein Library. The school, of course, retained it all. They have so much material from Bellow today that it wasnt until the past 18 months or so, more than a decade after the authors death, that the librarys Special Collections Research Center was able to finish cataloging and organizing it all. In fact, the archive has proven so bottomless that when I requested to see, say, Box 80, I found a folder stuffed with White House correspondence from every administration from Kennedy to Clinton. During the Johnson years, aides sent letters seeking Bellows advice (Where should the Great Society go from here? What needs have we left unmet?); by the Reagan administration, Bellow was being asked to contribute to Easter egg hunts. (Because, well, what child in 1985 didnt want an Easter egg signed by Henderson the Rain King author Saul Bellow?) And thats just one folder in one box. Flipping through other boxes there are more than 250 in total, containing papers from the 1920s to 2015 is to be reminded of a time when an unabashedly intellectual, provocative literary novelist and thinker could command a presence on the world stage. Or at least TV. Another box has a handwritten post-talk show apology from Bellow to Philip Roth: I passed a silly wisecrack about you on the Cavett show. No real harm done. None was intended. I was drinking straight gin from the tumbler. Looked like water. The collection is here to do what any collection of any writers papers should do, said Dan Meyer, director of Special Collections, it should bring you closer to the writer in a way not possible on a page, closer to how ideas were first expressed. It lends a sense of the person. Because once youve read everything (from a writer), youre still missing their imagination, and as much as one can see that, you might in the handwriting, cross-outs, first or second drafts. Not surprisingly then, even before it could be organized, Bellows papers were providing raw material to the authors primary biographers, James Atlas and Zachary Leader. Creative spine At the moment, however, less obviously, the Bellow archive is lending nothing less than a creative spine to the Court Theatres new production of The Adventures of Augie March, the first stage adaptation of Bellows signature work, often called, alongside Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby, the Great American Novel. Take the stage itself. Created by set designer (and DePaul University Theatre School dean) John Culbert, its plastered with Bellows handwriting. Even the proscenium arch, crafted to resemble the steel girders of a Chicago elevated train line, is covered in Bellows thin, flowing script. That handwriting is culled from the centerpiece of the Saul Bellow Papers, the 20 commonplace notebooks into which Bellow poured the first draft of Augie March in 1947. These ledgers were part of Bellows initial deposit to the university, and if you believe that Augie March endures as one of the great American novels or at least the Great Chicago Novel, the tale of a Humboldt Park immigrant who discovers his identity amid a cacophony of cultures, compromises and allegiances then their unvarnished, direct-from-his head-to-the-page scratchings can take on the hallowed aura of seminal, consecrated literary gold. Its one thing to read Bellows famous opening line I am American, Chicago born Chicago that somber city and go at things as I have taught myself, freestyle, and will make the record in my own way: first to knock, first admitted; sometimes an innocent knock, sometimes a not so innocent. Its another to touch the ink from his pen, to trace the cadences of his handwriting. And in the Augie March notebooks, that handwriting is startling, low and hunkered, plowing forward, written on every page, and on every line, from front to back, then flipped, back to front. In other words, obsessive, but unnaturally fluid, with few cross-outs, and only the occasional margin note. Im no handwriting expert, but these notebooks carry the unmistakable air of a guy lost in fast-coming thoughts. Certainly nothing about the notebooks contradicts the origin story of the novel itself, said David Auburn, the Pulitzer-prize winning playwright (Proof) who adapted Augie March for the universitys Court Theatre. I mean, look at the pages, look at the handwriting. You can see the guy who was famously stuck on another book, who was in Paris after the war, who was sitting on a park bench watching street cleaners sending water flowing through the streets and who knew right then he wanted to write about Chicago with that same flow. The pages suggest some onward exuberant rush, a mind just racing. Nothing there looks too careful or worked over they look unleashed. Undocumented Bellow always insisted that he arrived in Chicago on July 4, 1924, smuggled across the Canadian border as a child by his Russian immigrant parents. Indeed, he remained undocumented until his late 20s. Nora Titone, the Courts resident dramaturge, said that she was tasked with figuring out how that past and the archives could inform the production. She spent nine months with his papers. Augie is a story of a Russian immigrant kid figuring out he is American, but that he is also an American writer. And its like Walt Whitman, where theres not quite a one-to-one connection between life and work, but there is a silhouette, and in (Bellows) notebooks, the writing is inspired by that flow of languages he had heard throughout Chicago. She flattened her hand on a page of Bellows handwriting: I cant help it. You get an electric charge being physically in contact! Smell the paper! And that scrawl! Its just schroom, schroom! But then, how do you get it on stage? Collecting a famous writers papers is, of course, nothing new. Meyer said that the Special Collections department gathers papers of faculty fairly often, whether or not they are well-known. For researchers, these papers can provide windows of insight; and for writers, its enshrinement, along with a tax write-off among Bellows papers is a letter from Roth, seeking advice on how to write off his own donations. The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, one of the largest repositories of literary archives (including a few of Bellows), boasts collections from Edith Wharton, Ralph Ellison and Arthur Miller. Besides Bellow, University of Chicago also holds the papers of Poetry magazine and Norman Maclean, the late English professor and author of A River Runs Through It. Whats unique about the Saul Bellow Papers, said Zachary Leader, his most recent biographer, is their sheer heft. Besides the Augie March notebooks, it holds drafts of Bellows most acclaimed novels, including Herzog and Humboldts Gift. Then theres an unfinished Chicago book, Leader said, non-fiction, about growing up, crime, Chicago gangsters, the inner city. Theres a half-dozen unpublished novels in there, too some with close to 200 pages written. Which is invaluable to understand how Bellow develops. He goes from Augie, this sprawling, wild novel, to Seize the Day, which is short, controlled. And you wonder how he did it. Well, he didnt. He worked on these other novels. Indeed, there is so much stuff a Northwestern diploma, a throw rug, test questions that as an appendix to the Court production, the universitys Regenstein Library has an exhibit of Augie-related archives through Aug. 30. By the time he died in 2005, Bellow had spent more than 60 years as a public figure, writing not especially easy literary works about outsized characters looking for nothing less than meaning in their lives. Among other honors, he won the National Book Award three times and the Pulitzer once; hes one of 11 American writers with a Nobel. And so among the things you learn from his archive is how much time he spent writing, editing and delivering speeches. You see the Bellow who was still at the center of the culture. Included in his correspondence with The New Yorker are questions from the fact-checking department, which asked: Do you recall whether or not Adlai Stevenson was well-known for his dislike of Jews? And whether he once got off a plane with one of your novels and asked if he liked the novel, he replied, I dont know, I dont speak Yiddish. Bellow responded that he thought he did, and that Stevensons sense of humor was appreciated only by his supporters. Bellows Nobel folders are thick with business cards from editors and attaches that were presumably shoved into his hands at the ceremony. Tucked between those cards, a hastily-typed recipe for the Pate Romaine that was served at the dinner. Its not hard imagining Bellow asking a subordinate to get the recipe. Especially after reading his handwritten list of requirements for his secretary: Take dictation, make travel arrangements, handle newspaper subscriptions, go to library, comb bookstores, organize calendars, meet with lawyers, make doctor appointments, organize medications, arrange books to autograph, pay bills, order fax paper. The man became an institution. Archive influential For Charles Newell, director of the Court (and director of Augie March), his goal was recapturing the looseness of the early Bellow, the headlong plunge into words. The archive especially informed the staging because we wanted the fluidity of Bellows notebooks to become a fluidity of movement. We knew we didnt want actors just narrating a novel. The problem is, that fluidity, and so much of Bellows language, its abstraction, its metaphorical. I told Dave (Auburn) we needed to capture that young mans brio and exuberance. He said, Charlie, thats for you to figure out. And so Newell brought in former dancers from Germanys Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, known for its intensely physical, tragicomic contemporary pieces, to help the actors approximate the lurching, pinging and onrushing cascades of Bellows words. Meanwhile, Titone dug into audio archives from Studs Terkel and Mike Wallace as well as interviews that Leader did with Bellows Tuley High School friends to find the first-generation immigrant dialects Bellow remembered as he wrote in his notebooks. Still, Bellow didnt offering much dialogue, or big scenes, or really even a plot, Auburn said. And so, at the end of the day, what youre left adapting is the texture of prose. By the time Auburn was an undergraduate at University of Chicago in the early 90s, that unrestrained, buoyant Bellow of Augie March had been replaced with a literary lion and a crank. I would see him on campus, at bookstores, at student demonstrations, standing on the periphery, looking skeptical. He was a kind of exalted eminence, at the top levels of the highest of ivory towers. You see this Bellow emerging in his archives, just after Augie March makes a seismic impact in 1953. Responding to Bellows attempts to get out an old contract, a 1958 letter from smallish Vanguard Press begins: When you write that you are not the kind of writer that Vanguard can do much for, you imply there is another publisher who could do more for you. More telling are The New Yorker letters, written after its negative review of Augie March. Bellow complained, and received, for months, apologies from Katherine White, the longtime fiction editor: (Editor William Shawn) feels you and your book have been done an injustice and therefore he thinks in this one instance we must make an exception to our policy of not letting authors reply to reviews and allow you, if you should care to, to write a letter to be run under our usual heading Department of Correction. (Bellow declined the offer.) As he aged, the Bellow who had scrounged in Humboldt Park, the striver who once claimed modestly that all I had to do was be there with buckets to catch (Augie March), he was replaced with the Bellow who became pen pals with Mayor Richard M. Daley. This Bellow, tone-deaf, insensitive, wrote letters to Daley, bemoaning the PC contingent and the disorder and crime encroaching on Hyde Park. He also sent a fawning thank-you note to Daley, for throwing a birthday party: You said exactly what you what felt and thought and this liberated us all from the stiffness and artificiality. What a terrific way to turn 75! Meyer said initially Bellow didnt want this archive accessible to researchers. He simply wanted it held. He worried his papers might lead to the wrong conclusions. But really it does the opposite. It only offers more complexity, and an argument against his inevitable slip into obscurity. Even into his 70s, long into his fame, while working on a speech to honor the Chicago Public Library, he noted the odds against his success. He had practically lived in his local branch library, presuming Chicago was a dead end: What was this place to Oscar Wilde when he lay in velvet knickers on a buffalo robe at the old Palmer House and received the press with a flower in his fingers? Chicago was all that was not art, I assumed. He was here as an aesthetic John the Baptist, to assure these business types and boors and bumpkins that art was on its way. He titled that speech: How in the City of Chicago Does a Young Person Become a Writer? His answer, we know only now, is 250 boxes thick. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD The Illinois State Fair will reduce the Sunday-through-Thursday price of admission for adults for the 2019 event. The cost to get into the fair on those days will be $5 for ages 13-59, down from the $10 the fair has charged on non-discount days the last three years. The price will remain $10 for adults on the two Fridays and two Saturdays of the fair. Taking into account the fair previously reduced adult admission to $5 on the first and last days of the fair, the lower price applies to five additional days, compared to last year. State fair officials said the change was done to make the 11-day event a more "affordable family-friendly experience." "With the lowering of our adult admission price, the Illinois State Fair continues to be the most affordable state fair in the Midwest," state fair manager Kevin Gordon said in a statement. Other admission prices at the fair will remain the same, including $3 for seniors and free for children ages 12 and under. Parking on the fairgrounds also will remain at $5 per day. The state fair last changed admission prices ahead of the 2016 fair, when it went from $7 to $10 for adults and from $3 to free for most children. The 2019 fair will also once again offer free admission to certain groups on certain days, including: --Sunday, Aug. 11, military veterans, including immediate family members and Gold Star Families --Monday, Aug. 12, seniors 60 years and over --Friday, Aug. 16, first responders The changes come as the fair attempts to reverse the attendance drop it saw between the 2017 and 2018 fairs. Last year's event drew 369,144 people, an 8 percent drop compared to 2017's fair. The 2019 fair runs Aug. 8-18. GALLERY: Illinois State Fair Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Booksmart Booksmart takes a familiar blueprint and uses it to build a movie we havent seen often enough: an R-rated teen comedy (meaning, a comedy about teenagers) focusing on a great female friendship. The movies not always as wonderful as that friendship. Some bits are hilarious yet life-like, while others belong to medium-high-grade situation comedy, a realm of snappy, quippy comic exaggeration all about the stereotypes, though here the stereotypes are turned inside out, at least. Mainly, Booksmart works because Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein are so magically right together. Tonewise the movie roughly halfway between the 2007 Superbad (which co-starred Feldsteins brother, Jonah Hill) and last years trenchant, affecting Eighth Grade. Somewhere in Los Angeles, another senior class is about to graduate. At this particular school the smartest, most dedicated, most purpose-driven students are Molly (Feldstein), headed to Yale, and Amy (Dever), off to Columbia University, though she has her doubts. Theyve been friends for years. Molly is straight; Amy is gay; both have yet to fully explore their sexuality. Each young woman has a titanic crush on a fellow student. For Molly, student council president, Mr. Right is the student council vice-president, a one-boy popularity contest named Nick (Mason Gooding). For Amy, Ms. Right is the sunny skateboard fiend Ryan (Victoria Ruesga). Time is short; its the final day of senior year, and Molly and Amy come to the crushing realization theyre not the only high-achieving, Ivy League-bound kids at the school. They are, however, the only ones who forgot to have any conventional, mainstream notion of fun along the way. Amy and Molly set their sights on crashing an end-of-year party held at Nicks aunts house. En route they spend some excruciating minutes-that-feel-like-months at a yacht party thrown by wildly insecure billionaires son Jared (Skyler Gisondo), as well as an equally torturous interactive murder mystery party overseen by the drama club control freaks played by Noah Galvin and Austin Crute. When we first see Feldstein (so good in Greta Gerwigs Lady Bird as the title characters best friend) and Dever together on screen, Amys picking Molly up for school. In a bit largely improvised by the actors, they run through a series of semi-ridiculous poses and dance moves as if they do that routine every morning of their lives. Thats an example (there are others) of authentic-seeming comic gold in Booksmart. Other elements of the film are more routine or consciously engineered for narrative purposes, such as the conflict that brings their friendship to a crisis point. At times Wildes direction leans on well-worn teen-trope techniques slow-motion struts, over-emphatic musical cues, a last-minute action climax, though at least this ones fairly low-keyed. The vision of high school depicted by Booksmart will no doubt look and feel alien to roughly half the country. Its a highly evolved and happily tolerant beehive of cliques and sub-cultures we see, navigated handily by Molly and Amy a liberal Eden, even with all the sniping and gossip. The party-all-night premise may be as old as the hills, but the script has been successfully finessed as a slice of the here and now, idealized but full of life. Now, all we need is a few thousand more movies about young women, all kinds of young women in all kinds of situations, and well start to see the 21st century teen comedy genres true possibilities. (R, 3 of 4 stars, 1 hr. 42 min.) Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Aladdin Theres no slowing the Disney live-action remake train. The chance to cash in on fan nostalgia for their favorite Disney animated films can be quite lucrative, even though there have been some misses among the hits. Its a fraught endeavor to try and update a film while maintaining what fans essentially love about it. Fortunately, Disney nails it with the live-action Aladdin mostly because theyve hardly messed with the original formula. Many of the live-action remakes feel like hollow pandering to audience demand for representation. Audiences do want more inclusivity in film, but when its done authentically, not when it feels like checking a box, when it seems like studios and filmmakers do the absolute least but tell us it counts. But co-writer/director Guy Ritchie has updated the characters particularly Princess Jasmine, in a way that feels both well-earned and necessary, while intrinsically understanding what made Aladdin such a beloved animated film in 1992. Because it is so faithful, its easy to love Aladdin, especially hearing new versions of the incredible songs by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. La La Land and The Greatest Showman songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul contribute lyrics to a new song for Jasmine, Speechless, which becomes an empowering anthem for the princess (though it has more of that earnestly modern ballad flair, rather than the wordy, clever, traditional tunes by Menken, Ashman and Rice). The story of Aladdin lends itself well to live action, because its a film with timeless themes and lessons about power, love and embracing your authentic self. The love story between Aladdin and Jasmine is genuinely romantic, and Aladdins struggle with his own pride and unwillingness to own his identity as a riff-raff street rat is eminently relatable. Half the battle is casting, especially for such a character-driven story. Canadian actor Mena Massoud is perfect in the role of Aladdin, accurate down to the wide side-grin and swoopy hair. However, the breakout star is absolutely Naomi Scott as Jasmine, who tears into a beefed-up role with gusto. Will Smith has stepped into the big blue shoes left by Robin Williams, who memorably voiced the Genie in one of the funniest Disney performances to date (or ever). Smartly, Smith doesnt try to be Williams, as no one could ever duplicate that performance. He does himself, adding some hip-hop flair to the Genie. If it aint broke, dont fix it, and the resulting Aladdin is fun, celebratory and yes, nostalgic. (PG, 3 of 4 stars, 2 hr. 8 min.) Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service 'Wild Nights with Emily' A sardonic Molly Shannon plays legendary poet Emily Dickinson of Amherst, and this film presents something quite different from the usual Dickinson narrative: This Emily is no gentle-voiced recluse, but a strong-minded woman happily carrying on a sexual affair with her lifelong friend and eventual sister-in-law Susan Gilbert Dickinson (Susan Ziegler) and busily pitching her poems, with endless rapid-fire enthusiasm, to editor Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Brett Gelman). Written and directed by Madeleine Olnek, Wild Nights with Emily is a bit much to take in at first; its early scenes, particularly one in which an irritated-looking Shannon is framed in a staring-at-the-camera close-up like shes in a Wes Anderson movie, feel scattershot and overly arch. Eventually, though, the movie finds its rhythms, using as a framing device Mabel Loomis Todd (sly-voiced Amy Seimetz) telling, after Emilys death, her own version of the poets life. Meanwhile, we see another version, in which Emilys sister Lavinia (Jackie Monahan) is a crazy cat lady, Ralph Waldo Emerson is a hilariously unintelligible mumbler, and the reason Emily stays upstairs in her room is because she doesnt want to interrupt frequent romantic trysts in the drawing room between her brother Austin (Kevin Seal) and the ambitious Mabel. Its a quick, funny movie I especially enjoyed the Yellow Rose of Texas singalong (a nod to the theory that all of Dickinsons poems can be sung to that tune; try it sometime) that eventually has something important to say: that the myth of Dickinson as a half-cracked, unloved recluse who was afraid to publish her work is wrong, and that posthumous edits in her work and letters helped lead to this characterization. (Susans name, for example, was removed from some poems and letters.) And while the style of the movie works against the seriousness of that message just a bit, it still gets through. Olnek hits on just the right note for her films final moments: the resolute, nubby sound of an eraser on paper, rubbing something away but leaving the faintest trace behind. (PG-13, 3 of 4 stars, 1 hr. 24 min.) Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO In the fall, Netflix acquired a major soundstage complex in Albuquerque. Last month came news that the streaming service is opening a new production hub in Brooklyn, as well. Peter Hawley, who now heads up the Illinois Film Office under Gov. J.B. Pritzker, says one of his goals is to persuade Netflix to consider the same for Chicago. "They've committed money to New Mexico, they've committed money to New York. We're a nice spot between those two places," he said when we met at his office in the Thompson Center. "I've not yet spoken to Netflix, but that is the goal. You've seen the numbers they're talking about spending on production over the coming years, it's something like $8 billion, and they can't do it all in Los Angeles, they've got to spread it around. And to do that, they need to have their own studio space. And they can't expand in Los Angeles, there's no space. So why not Chicago?" So far, Netflix has had a minimal presence in Chicago, including the Joe Swanberg series "Easy" (the third and final season premiered earlier this month); the upcoming movie "Beats" starring Anthony Anderson (from "Barbershop" producer Bob Teitel); and the series "Mixtape," a musical drama starring Jenna Dewan that is currently filming. If the streaming service had a dedicated production hub in town, the number of projects shot locally would increase substantially. That would also require more experienced crew, which is another of Hawley's goals: Building up the available workforce. Overall in Chicago, feature films have taken a backseat as of late; 80% of what was shot here last year was for TV. No broadcast network shot their pilots locally this spring, which means NBC remains the strongest player in town with Dick Wolf's "Chicago Fire," "Chicago P.D." and "Chicago Med" all returning next season; followed by Showtime, which has "The Chi" and "Shameless" (the latter of which only shoots in Chicago two weeks out of every season). "The broadcast shows strive to get to syndication, which is usually seven years, and Dick Wolf certainly knows how to create something with long legs," said Hawley. "But Netflix and Hulu and some of the other streaming services, yeah, they're doing a 10-episode season -- or even FX will follow that season length -- but they bring in a lot of money. Those budgets can be big. They're comparable to a large feature." Hawley began on the job May 1, taking over the film office from Christine Dudley (who held the post since 2015 under Gov. Bruce Rauner) and unlike his predecessor, he does have a filmmaking background with extensive directing experience. "I will tell you, in talking to a lot of industry people, they are pleased that I speak filmmaking," he said. "And that's not a knock on Christine or any of the other people who had that job, it's just who I am, right? It's just a shorthand. I know how films are made -- I know hard it is, how fun it is, how exhilarating it is. I love production and I always think of creativity as problem-solving and figuring how to put the puzzle together, I just love that." (Charity Greene, communications director for the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, was present during our interview.) Hawley has lived in Chicago since 1979. "My family are New Englanders, then we lived in Kentucky for a long time and then came here. I went to Northwestern and then went away for a little bit but came back." His first feature film, as both writer and director, is the Chicago-shot 1991 thriller "Victimless Crimes," about art world thievery starring Craig Bierko, who was Hawley's college roommate at Northwestern University. I asked him about the film's premise: "Something I always come back to in my own career is the conflict between art and business. So, it's about a struggling artist and her husband, who is an art critic. And because she's not a successful artist, she starts robbing art galleries. So she actually broke into what was then the State of Illinois art gallery on the second floor of this building (the Thompson Center)." I couldn't find any reviews of the film, which had a brief theatrical run. "Very small, like a week in Seattle or something like that. But it was back in the time when it was packaged with other films for home distribution. We made it on such a low budget that it made its money back. But it also showed people that I could tell a story and get work." After "Victimless Crimes," Hawley shifted gears and became a director of commercials. He's also a longtime college instructor -- teaching filmmaking first at Columbia College, later at Tribeca Flashpoint (which eventually merged with Columbia) and currently at Loyola University. "They've offered me classes for the fall and I told them I would know by the Fourth of July if I can juggle it." I asked what kinds film and television he watches. "I just saw 'Catch-22' on Amazon. I loved 'Dead to Me' on Netflix, which has twists all over the place. I love 'Barry' on HBO. Joe Swanberg's 'Easy.' I did not watch a frame of 'Game of Thrones,' but on the flip side I was on the 'Sopranos' bandwagon from the day it started. I am not a fantasy-type guy. I like documentaries and I really enjoy these limited series where you can get some really big name actors, like Billy Bob Thornton on Amazon's 'Goliath,' and other folks like that, to do eight or 10 episodes. "I like indie films and documentaries. I love foreign films. I love good cinema. If I was to pick an era that I would like to have been a filmmaker, it would either be World War II-era noir Hollywood, or late '60s, early '70s American cinema. I like all of those movies from those two eras." Hawley's duties as head of the state film office are distinct from that of Chicago Film Office, which handles more day-to-day logistics for TV and film projects, including access to street closure permits. (Mayor Lori Lightfoot has yet to name the head of that office.) By contrast, Hawley's mandate is more big picture: "I work for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and at the end of the day, this job is about tax revenue -- which is bringing productions to this state -- and creating jobs and keeping jobs here." A primary goal, he said, is to "get to a billion-dollar industry in the next couple of years." For 2018, money spent in-state by TV and film projects (including commercials) was $473 million. He also wants to foster more of a film scene among filmmakers themselves. "Going back 30 years, when I started being a filmmaker here in Chicago, I really wanted there to be a Chicago community of filmmakers, and there's not as much as there could be. I think I have this romantic notion of New York in the '80s and you've got Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch and Woody Allen and Scorsese, and somehow they all knew each other. You just felt that. And why don't we have that? I just emailed the chairs of film departments of all the local colleges of having some sort of battle of the bands-type film contest and that's hard enough to pull together." Here are some other items we discussed: --Fox's "Empire" will shoot its sixth and final season next year. Hawley: "I'm not really worried about 'Empire' going away. I believe that stage space is at a premium all over the country and in Canada as well (because 500 scripted series are being produced a year). And some of these shows take up stages for years, as with the Dick Wolf scenario. So I would not be surprised -- I don't have any inside knowledge on this -- but I would not be surprised if Fox does not give up those 'Empire' stages and just puts another show in there because the stage space itself it too valuable. Shows come and go, it's the nature if it. But stages, it's supply and demand and (studios or networks might think) if I've got it, I want to hold on to it. So I'm less concerned about filling those 'Empire' stages." --The Illinois film incentive -- which is a 30% tax credit on all money spent in state, minus those hefty above-the-line-salaries (director, screenwriter, producers, and non-resident actors) -- is set to expire in 2021. The incentive is a big reason productions -- including the Dick Wolf shows for NBC -- come to Chicago. Where do things stand on a renewal or extension? Hawley: "We want to extend it. The industry definitely wants to extend it. We know that is a real catalyst for production to come to the state, so it's a critical piece of the puzzle. We have 11 days left in the session, the general assembly, right now, so we'll see if they bring the bill to vote on. There's a bill, with a bunch of other things attached to it as well. I think that everybody realizes the incentive is critical, so it's imperative to get it extended." Under Gov. Rauner, the incentive (along with other programs) was suspended during the two-year state budget impasse in what was widely viewed as political strong-arming. Hawley said he wasn't concerned about the incentive being used as a pawn between the governor and the state legislature in the current administration. --In light of restrictive abortion laws recently passed in Georgia -- which is home base for a huge number of TV and film projects because of its lucrative film incentive -- at least two productions have pulled out of the state, a new Amazon series called "The Power" and the Kristen Wiig Lionsgate comedy "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar." A lawmaker in California recently introduced a bill that would offer tax breaks to TV and film productions that relocate from states with "strict abortion bans." In April, now-former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pritzker sent a letter to studios looking to exit Georgia and encouraging them to consider Chicago and Illinois a more "hospitable" location. Is there anything the Illinois film office -- or state legislature -- has planned specifically to take advantage of this circumstance and lure some of those projects here? Hawley: "In the 3 weeks I have been on the job there have been no formal plans by this office, or the (general assembly) as best I know, to do something specific to attract production away from other states. This largely has to do with timing. That said, I have had conversations with industry representatives who have told me the time is now to bring over shows from other states, and ... we are scheduling meetings with industry executives to aggressively pursue new productions, and I am sure the Georgia law will come up in those conversations." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLUMBUS, Ohio Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan is integral in the lives of Muslims, but its not always safe for everyone to participate. Some health-care providers may not understand the religious importance of fasting during Ramadan, which this year spans from May 5 to June 4. At the same time, some Muslim patients may be inclined to fast no matter what their doctor says. After realizing there was a disconnect, two Ohio doctors set out to close the gap between health-care providers and their Muslim patients by offering a series of health literacy discussions at NOOR Islamic Cultural Center in Dublin. The first discussion, in April, was on fasting with diabetes during Ramadan. It can be hard for Muslims to hear from their doctor that they shouldnt fast, said Hassam Munir, a research fellow at the Irving, Texas-based Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a Type 1 diabetic who doesnt fast during Ramadan. Fasting in Islam is something thats very highly regarded as almost a supreme form of worship, said Munir, who is based in Toronto, Canada. Its a very personally enriching experience. The idea is to stop indulging in food and drink, as people normally do, and focus their daily lives on God, what they should really be focused on, Munir said. But sometimes people need to be reminded that acts of worship are dependent on whether we are able to do it or not, said Dr. Sondos Al Sad, a family medicine specialist at Ohio State Universitys Wexner Medical Center. Theres a passage in the Quran, the Islamic holy book, on exceptions to fasting for Ramadan, Munir said, and if someone is ill they dont have to fast. God does not intend for you hardship, Munir said. If its going to put you in a serious medical situation with consequences, you should be able to follow the instructions of your medical professional. Balancing fasting and diabetes can be tricky. For some, its safe to fast with some modifications, said Dr. Luma Ghalib, a diabetes expert at Ohio States Wexner Medical Center. For others, its not safe at all. It can get a little complicated because not everyone knows the specific health concerns, she said. Mohammad Awan, 74, of Dublin, for example, has Type 2 diabetes. He makes sure to check his blood sugar a few times a day, but hasnt had issues with fasting. Its pretty easy to maintain blood-sugar levels, he said. Though Awan has noticed that his blood sugar is lower than normal when fasting, its still been in a safe range, he said. Diabetics can experience dehydration, spikes or drops in blood sugar, blood clotting and other problems when fasting, Ghalib said. She recommends that diabetics who would like to fast meet with their doctors and make a plan for Ramadan. The plan should include options to stop fasting if needed, adjust medications when necessary and to keep an eye on their blood sugar levels, she said. When they break their fast at night, Ghalib recommends they stay well-hydrated. keep their meals well-balanced, avoid simple carbohydrates and make sure to eat more than one meal. They should also continue to check their blood-sugar levels regularly. Munir struggled for years with not fasting, and he even allowed himself to almost become comatose in order to try to fast before accepting that it wasnt safe for him. Many people fast even after being told by their doctors not to do so, Ghalib said. For instance, a 2001 study from the United Kingdom reported that 43% of patients surveyed with Type 1 diabetes fasted and 79% with Type 2 diabetes fasted, she said. Munir said that may be because they want the religious experience of fasting and the socialization that comes with it. All Muslims are doing it around you, he said, adding that he tends to have a feeling of missing out. Munir now eats small meals during the day to stay healthy and avoid long-term health issues. And he tries to put his religion first in other ways, such as making sure to adhere to praying at appointed times. He said its also important for the friends and family of diabetics who cant fast to support them. This is perfectly fine. This is perfectly normal, Munir said, of not fasting. Youre not doing anything wrong, youre probably getting the same reward as everyone else because youre doing what youre told to do. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO The Food and Drug Administration is inspecting an Illinois Del Monte facility that produced vegetable trays linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis. The trays were produced at the Del Monte Fresh Produce facility in Kankakee,, and sold at Kwik Trip convenience stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Tuesday that the trays were linked to three illnesses in Wisconsin and one illness in Minnesota. Wisconsin authorities said four people reported becoming ill between April 13 and April 27, and that Kwik Trip has voluntarily removed all Del Monte vegetable trays from its tstores. Wisconsin's health department is warning consumers not to eat 6- and 12-ounce Del Monte Vegetable Trays containing broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and dill dip. Salmonellosis is caused by consuming food or water contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Diarrhea, fever, abdominal pains, and vomiting are all symptoms of salmonellosis. The FDA, the Centers for Disease Control, and authorities in Wisconsin and Minnesota continue to investigate the outbreak. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Killeen, TX (76540) Today Rain showers early with some sunshine later in the day. High 79F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. DECATUR Leaders of Decatur Memorial Hospital predict only positive changes for patients and the community when it becomes an affiliate of Springfield-based Memorial Health System later this year. Officials from both organizations said no money will change hands. They did not disclose terms of the deal in a joint statement and phone interview Thursday, but referred to Memorial Health System as the new parent company of DMH. The move would make DMH the second-largest hospital in the system on Oct. 1, pending approval from regulatory bodies. DMH President and CEO Timothy Stone Jr. and Memorial Health System President and CEO Ed Curtis both stressed their focus on prioritizing quality local healthcare. If there is any change whatsoever, it will be for the good, said Stone, who plans to step down Sept. 30. He has worked for the hospital since 1995 and was named CEO in 2015. A joint statement from both parties said the DMH executive team will continue day-to-day operations and have a local community board. The Decatur hospital will not change its name, and Curtis said wages would remain the same for employees. No layoffs are anticipated, he said. Memorial Health System includes Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln and Taylorville Memorial Hospital in Taylorville, as well as Memorial Physician Services, Memorial Behavioral Health and Memorial Home Services. Both parties said the affiliation will help increase access to care in the region. Memorial Health System has nearly 7,100 staff members and 900 partnering physicians. "This affiliation with Decatur Memorial Hospital and the physicians who serve those communities is a significant milestone in our efforts to increase access to health care across central Illinois, Curtis said in the statement. With the addition of Decatur Memorial Hospital, we are able to do more for our region. The leader of Decaturs other hospital, HSHS St. Marys, reacted positively to the news. At HSHS St. Marys Hospital, we look forward to working with Memorial Health System on initiatives that will be positive for our community, President and CEO Mike Hicks said in a statement. With this news, we foresee great opportunities to increase the health and wellness of Decatur and the surrounding areas as we continue to focus on our patients and the families we serve. Economic impact DMH has 300 beds, more than 2,300 employees and 300 medical staff. It is the third-largest employer in Decatur and Macon County and has a long history in the community, first opening on Jan. 1, 1916. If the new affiliation has any effect on the Decatur economy, Stone said, it will be positive. He said significant growth would result from the move. Ryan McCrady, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Decatur & Macon County, also said DMH's affiliation with Memorial is a plus for the community. Not only does it support the medical services that the hospital already offers, he said, but it could also lead to an expansion of the services. "It's fair to say that both (organizations) have things that they're really good at doing," McCrady said. "By combining these two organizations, the community gets access to both of these organizations going forward." McCrady said DMH has typically been in the top two or top four employers within the area for years. It had been the second-largest employer until Caterpillar, which has 3,100 Decatur employees, expanded its presence in the city. "I think this is a positive announcement for the community," McCrady said. "Health care is a huge quality of life component, and quality of life is really important in helping keep employers here and attracting employers in the future." Growing trend Hospital leaders said their boards reached an agreement in late April. Stone said the whole process took about two years, and Memorial Health System had been the only prospective affiliate partner that stood out to DMH. "Remaining on the leading edge of health and patient care is critical to delivering on our mission, Stone said. Joining a neighboring, like-minded, leading health care organization will help us provide lower-cost, higher-quality health care using innovative practices and technology. There had been speculation about a possible merger earlier in the spring. The Herald & Review in early May was told by a hospital spokeswoman those rumors were not true. "As you know, in any large organization there are always rumors about the future of the organization. However, Memorial Medical Center is not purchasing DMH. Should there ever be something to announce, I will be sure to let you know," DMH spokeswoman Anne Davis said in a May 3 email to the Herald & Review. Officials reiterated on Thursday that the hospital is not being purchased, repeatedly describing the measure as an affiliation, not an acquisition. Affiliations, acquisitions and mergers have become more common in the past decade as hospitals increasingly seek to consolidate or form partnerships, experts say. Kaufman Hall, a health care management consulting company, first began tracking hospital mergers and acquisitions in 2008. In its 2018 annual report, the firm predicted that regional health systems would continue to grow as hospitals look outside of their original markets for partners. The report cited several factors, including new competition, political and regulatory pressure, maturing markets and a desire to improve their capabilities. In 2014, trade magazine Beckers Hospital Review interviewed several hospital CEOs about the growing popularity of affiliations. They cited several driving factors, including a lack of resources for some rural hospitals and industry changes that force hospitals to look for partnerships to help them adapt. There are many reasons people seek an affiliation, but a large part of it is the transformation going on in healthcare in terms of payment models, Michelle Conger, chief strategy officer of OSF Healthcare System in Peoria, told the magazine. It's really difficult to build all of the things necessary to support pay for value independently. I think hospitals are looking for partners to really be able to share in those types of capabilities. Jaylyn Cook contributed to this story. History photos: DMH people and places through the years Contact Kennedy Nolen at (217) 421-6985. Follow her on Twitter: @KNolenWrites Contact Allison Petty at (217) 421-6986. Follow her on Twitter: @allison0512 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR An 18-year-old man who was arrested for possession of a 9 mm handgun and nearly half an ounce of crack cocaine following a raid on his Decatur home, police said. Lamentae R. Turner, 18, was arrested after police executed a search warrant at 9:57 p.m. Tuesday at his apartment in the 700 block of West Grand Avenue, according to a sworn affidavit. Officers found a loaded silver 9 mm handgun inside one of Turner's bedroom closets, the affidavit said. When police searched the closet, they found 13.7 grams of crack cocaine inside a plastic bag in a jacket pocket, which Turner can be seen wearing in photos posted on social media, the affidavit said. Turner denied possession of both the gun and the crack cocaine during a police interview, the affidavit said. Turner is facing a preliminary Class X felony charge of armed violence and three felony charges of manufacturing/delivery of cocaine between 1 and 15 grams and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Preliminary charges are subject to review by the Macon County State's Attorney's Office. Turner is being held in Macon County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday, May 29. 2019 mug shots from the Herald & Review Contact Kennedy Nolen at (217) 421-6985. Follow her on Twitter: @KNolenWrites Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DECATUR The Decatur area added 200 nonfarm jobs in April while unemployment rose compared to a year ago. In a news release Thursday, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said the Decatur metro area saw its unemployment rate rise to 5.5 percent in April, compared to 4.9 percent in April 2018. Across the state, the number of nonfarm jobs increased, the IDES said, with 80,600 jobs added year over year in April. Not seasonally adjusted, the state's unemployment rate was 4 percent, compared to 3.3 percent for the nation. "Job growth remains strong in most areas of the state, which is encouraging more Illinoisans to enter the labor force," Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes said in the news release. In the Decatur area, the IDES said, nonfarm job increases included 600 more positions in manufacturing, 200 in construction, 200 in leisure and hospitality, and 100 in other services. Those gains were somewhat offset by a loss of 400 jobs in professional and business services, 200 in retail trade and 100 in each of transportation, warehousing and utilities, wholesale trade and government. Jobs were added in 10 of the state's 14 metropolitan statistical areas, the IDES said. The Carbondale-Marion area led the way with a 2.6 percent increase while adding 1,500 jobs. The industry sectors showing the most growth across Illinois were manufacturing, and leisure and hospitality, adding new jobs in 11 of the 14 metro areas. "This administration is working to continue this growth by providing workers with the training they need and restoring fiscal responsibility in state government," Hynes said. April unemployment showed similar trends in other Central Illinois counties year over year: Christian (5.1 percent, 4.4 percent a year ago, DeWitt (4.7, 4.2), Logan (4.5, 3.9) Moultrie (3.5, 3.0), Piatt (4.0, 3.7), Shelby (4.0, 3.7). Contact John Reidy at (217) 421-6973. Follow him on Twitter: @jsreidy2099 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD Oversight of publicly funded care for more than 6,000 Illinoisans with developmental disabilities in group homes and other settings will be reduced and disrupted, putting clients' physical and emotional health at risk, if a new system expanding service regions on July 1 isn't blocked. That's the argument made by a Lincoln-based nonprofit organization and two other nonprofits known as "independent service coordination" agencies that have filed a lawsuit in Springfield's U.S. District Court requesting a preliminary injunction against the Illinois Department of Human Services. The new oversight system is a "recipe for disaster in many areas of the state," including the Peoria area, said Mary McGlauchlen, executive director of Central Illinois Service Access in Lincoln. Approximately 6,500 clients served by CISA, Western Illinois Service Coordination in Macomb and DayOnePact in the Chicago suburbs of Lisle and Geneva stand to lose caseworkers familiar with their needs and receive less monitoring, she said. "This is a long-term relationship that we have with clients," McGlauchlen said. "A lot of these individuals don't have the cognitive ability to report abuse or neglect." Organizations operating group homes often deal with staff turnover and inadequate funding from the state, making it even more important for caseworkers from outside agencies such as CISA to provide "another set of eyes and ears looking out for clients' best interests," she said. It's unclear whether the state will continue the longtime practice of giving clients and their families the choice of retaining their longtime caseworkers even if those caseworkers would be based in another service territory, McGlauchlen said. A court hearing hasn't been scheduled on an injunction that potentially would preserve the status quo for clients and the nonprofits providing oversight while the merits of the case are debated in court. Asked to comment on the lawsuit, DHS spokeswoman Meghan Powers said in an email: "Our main priority at IDHS is to serve individuals with disabilities safely and effectively. The Division of Developmental Disabilities has been discussing and working with the Independent Service Coordination agencies and other stakeholders on this competitive solicitation process since 2016 and, following the grant awards, meeting weekly since early March regarding the regions with changes in providers, with a separate team dedicated to each affected region." Powers said Human Services is "committed to ensuring a smooth transition for families and the people we serve." The new system, upending decades of past practice, is on track to reduce the number of service regions from 17 to 12 and the number of contracting independent service coordination agencies from 17 to eight. The lawsuit contends the new system of case management and coordination services for Medicaid recipients violates federal law governing people in group homes operated by nonprofit and for-profit providers. The state illegally prevented clients from "receiving services from the qualified, willing provider of their choice," the suit says. The suit also contends that DHS violated state law by not going through the formal state "rulemaking process." McGlauchlen said the state claimed that the new bidding process was a way to create more logical service territories, reallocate funds and ensure compliance with new, governmental contracting requirements. The bidding process initiated last year under Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration and being carried out by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker will mean that WISC and DayOne no longer will be able to do work they had performed for about 30 years. CISA, which also served clients for three decades, did win a contract, but its nine-county area is changing to 17 counties. The Springfield-area counties of Sangamon, Menard, Christian and Logan remain in CISA's new territory, where about 640 clients receive services. CISA is adding many counties south and west of Sangamon, including Montgomery, Macoupin, Morgan and Cass. McGlauchlen said she is trying to hire caseworkers from other agencies who serve clients in the counties in her new service territory. But 15 to 20 CISA caseworkers serving the current service territory are on track to lose their jobs, she said. Peoria County, which had been in CISA's territory for decades, will be served by Decatur-based Prairieland Service Coordination, while the counties of Woodford, Tazewell, Mason and McLean will be served by the Urbana-based Champaign County Regional Planning Commission. About 760 clients in those Peoria-area counties, including 382 in Peoria County, will receive oversight services from new providers, McGlauchlen said. Instead of being served by Macomb-based WISC, the counties of Fulton, Stark, Knox, Warren and McDonough will be served by Prairieland. McGlauchlen said CISA receives $2.3 million annually for serving clients in its current nine-county region. She said she doesn't know whether the new contract with reduce or increase CISA's funding from the state. Unless derailed by court or legislative action, the new system will result in clients in 48 counties -- including those in the Rockford area -- losing oversight services from their longtime independent service coordination agencies, according to Ed McManus, a Wilmette-based consultant for nonprofit and for-profit providers. Some nonprofits that provided oversight are going out of business after they were denied contracts or decided not to bid because they didn't want to serve larger territories, McManus said. Others, such as CISA, WISC and DayOne, aren't giving up on preserving the continuity of care for clients, he said. The state's bidding and contracting process has faced widespread criticism from independent service coordination agencies and providers of group-home services and other services for people with disabilities, he said. "The whole thing was done very poorly," McManus said. "I'm delighted that they're fighting back." Mary Fran Nordstrom, whose developmentally disabled adult son lives in a group home in Peoria, said she supports the lawsuit. "It's time somebody took a good hard look at how the state is approaching this," she said. "It's typical of the state. They decide they want to do something and they just ram it down people's throats." Barbie Perry, who lives in Metamora, 15 miles northeast of Peoria, said in January that she was devastated when she found out CISA no longer would serve her adult daughter in a Peoria group home. "Advocacy is really hard in that you really have to dig," Perry said at the time. "Right now I'm trying to find out who is going to be our new service provider -- they are there to protect my child, and I don't even know who these people are." Nordstrom said many Peoria-area residents "feel very strongly about staying with the people serving them. CISA is a very good agency, and Mary McGlauchlen is a very good person." Nordstrom said her family was taking a wait-and-see approach to Prairieland. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Members of a liberal House caucus urged action on a bill that would rewrite Illinois abortion law before session is scheduled to conclude May 31. The appeal for advancement of the Reproductive Health Act stuck in legislative limbo since early March comes the day after House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Democrat from Chicago, reportedly told members of his caucus the legislation would get a second chance. He concluded a meeting Wednesday by making clear that they were going to find us a new vehicle for the bill and it would be assigned to a committee soon, Chicago Rep. Kelly Cassidy, the acts sponsor, said. The Progressive Caucus, an 18-member group of lawmakers, pointed Thursday to recent action by states such as Alabama, Georgia and Missouri to restrict access to abortion procedures as the necessity for the Reproductive Health Act to become law. Some of those states have pursued such legislation in the hopes of advancing it to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the 1973 case Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide. At this moment of unprecedented attacks on reproductive rights across the country and the imminent threat of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the Supreme Court, Illinois must continue to be a leader in protecting womens health, said state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana. Cassidy said she knew it was a critically important issue when she introduced the bill in February, but movement by other state legislatures upped the ante. As opponents of reproductive freedom around the country have stepped up their attacks on our access to reproductive health care, it has become very, very clear that Illinois must respond in kind with equal energy behind defending reproductive freedom, and thats exactly what the RHA will do, she said. Detractors have pointed to a provision included in legislation commonly known as House Bill 40, signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017, that would solidify the legal status of abortion in Illinois as a reason why the state does not need the Reproductive Health Act. That language would be triggered if the nations highest court ever overturned Roe v. Wade, and ensures abortion would remain legal in the state. But Cassidy said her bill cleans up the states books, repealing statutes that, while not currently enforced, could be brought back if the case law the federal courts used to strike down abortion restrictions was overturned. Those include criminal penalties for physicians who perform abortions and spousal consent, she added. Right now, there are a number of punitive anti-choice laws on the books in Illinois that are only blocked from enforcement because of Roe v. Wade, Ammons said. We must remove those laws from the statute books to protect women even if that decision should be reversed. At the news event Thursday, Cassidy was wearing a small gold coat hanger necklace. She said it was a gift from her first boss and mentor, Sue Purrington, when she was working at the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women. Im wearing it to carry her with me, to carry all of the people I have worked with on these issues with me, my sisters who brought me up in this movement and just a reminder of whats really at stake here, she said. Its a reminder of what can happen in a post-Roe world. Legalizing recreational marijuana Members of the Progressive Caucus additionally addressed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The initiative is spearheaded by Cassidy and Sen. Heather Steans, a Democrat from Chicago. They have been working for two and a half years negotiating pieces of the potential program. Updated language is expected to be filed soon. Cassidy said getting it right is an ongoing conversation. Were getting very, very close to presenting what will be the most progressive, most inclusive, most expansive package ever put forth by any state, she said. Most states have done it by ballot initiative, so you get a paragraph. Here, you get 500 pages. One provision of the measure has spurred ongoing debate and questions. It calls for the automatic erasing of criminal records for those who were convicted of possessing marijuana. Robert Berlin, president of the Illinois States Attorneys Association, said that aspect of the legislation is unconstitutional. Lawmakers can dictate an expungement process, but only the governor can make pardons or commutations. But Ammons said this provision represents criminal justice reform. There is no question that black and brown communities have really carried the brunt of the war on drugs and a lot of that is tied to marijuana possession, she said. Some Republican legislators have said automatically wiping clean criminal records is not the right way to go, and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker should instead issue a blanket pardon. I would love to know that [Republicans] were going to vote for the bill no matter what the bill is, she said in response to a question about how Democrats and Republicans could reach a compromise. I dont think thats the case. Cassidy said there are ongoing conversations concerning the final version of the recreational marijuana legalization. I think we are working to balance those interests, she said. ...Theres one rule in this building: 30, 60 and 1. And thats the goal. Affordable housing, property taxes State Rep. Will Guzzardi, a Democrat from Chicago, highlighted a resolution the Progressive Caucus is unified in supporting. House Resolution 255 calls for the General Assembly to allocate $1 billion of capital spending, nearly six times the amount proposed by Pritzker, on affordable housing projects across the state. Housing as an essential human right for everyone in the state of Illinois is one of the cornerstones and the founding principles of the Progressive Caucus. We know its the kind of right on which all other rights are built, Guzzardi said. You cant have decent education or access to health care without stable housing. And while there are no proposals in the legislature to tackle high property taxes, he added it was an issue the Progressive Caucus would continue to push for in the future. High property taxes are certainly a concern for people across the spectrum for our colleagues in the suburbs, many of whom are members of this caucus, and also for those of us in the city, who represent a lot of renters who see their rents go up as a result of property taxes pushing higher, Guzzardi said. As we talk more about the progressive tax and about the other reforms that were looking to make in our revenue system, expanding state funding for public education is really the only long-term fix for the high property taxes in this state," he added. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD A group of Carlinville High School seniors managed to do something Wednesday that lawmakers often fail to do during a legislative session: bring Democrats and Republicans together to support a bill. The Senate State Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to advance a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent in Illinois year around. The bill now goes to the full Senate. Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, is sponsoring the bill after the Carlinville students came up with the idea as part of their civics class. The assignment from teacher Logan Ridenour was to pick an issue to research and advocate for. As part of the project, the students run a public relations campaign and can meet with officials who are in a position to address the issue. In this case, it was Manar who listened to the arguments about why the bill was a good idea, including the health benefits of not having to adjust to a time change twice a year. "Where I think this is heading, if you look at how states are progressing with this, I think it is eventually going to, if it keeps moving in this direction, there will eventually be dozens of states that will have adopted permanent time," Manar said. Hawaii and Arizona do not observe daylight saving time and Florida recently approved year-round daylight saving time, although the change can't take effect unless it is approved by Congress. The same would apply to Illinois if the state adopts the bill. Sen. Scott Bennett, D-Champaign, questioned if people might get confused if Illinois would use year-round daylight saving time and neighboring states didn't. But Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, said he grew up in a part of Indiana that doesn't observe it, and it didn't create any problems. Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, attended college in Arizona, which doesn't observe daylight saving time. He announced Wednesday he wants to co-sponsor the bill. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Levitt is vice president of market analysis and Beck is executive vice president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Despite some significant headwinds, 2018 was a record year for U.S. dairy exporters. Export volume was up 10 percent from the prior year, led by all-time highs in overseas shipments of nonfat dry milk and skim milk powder (NDM and SMP), high-protein whey products, and lactose. Along the way, we grew our share of global trade against our major competitors from Europe and Oceania. Why is this so important? Simply put, exports support the growth aspirations of the U.S. dairy sector. For an industry whose fortunes rose and fell almost exclusively on the mood of the domestic market in an earlier era, U.S. dairy exports have taken off in the last 15 years. Milk production has climbed 1.6 percent per year since 2013 (plus 28 percent overall), and exports enabled about half of that growth. Exports grew from 6 percent of U.S. milk solids production in 2003 to nearly 16 percent in 2018. But U.S. exporters werent exactly taking victory laps at the end of last year. Volumes sank in the second half of 2018, attributed primarily to retaliatory tariffs on U.S. dairy exports to China (and to a lesser degree, on U.S. cheese to Mexico). Likewise, 2019 got off to a slow start as the tariffs remain in place. Still, market conditions are improved this year after four years of surpluses. Global production growth has slowed to a crawl, EU government inventories have been drawn down, and world demand remains good. Its the start of market rebalancing. Thats the good news. It doesnt necessarily mean world prices will break out of their four-year range, though. Prices wont be as low as they were in recent years, but barring some unforeseen shock, there are a number of drivers that will limit a significant break to the upside. Price elasticity for dairy commodities is critical. Buyers have demonstrated that they stock up when prices are low and then back off as prices become too rich. Global demand growth is heavily reliant on China. Import growth from China was robust in late 2018 and early 2019, but when that pace slows, there really arent enough other buyers in the world big enough to pick up the slack. On the supply side, European farmers can respond quickly to higher prices, preventing markets from getting too hot. This is a big difference from the last major market boom in 2013 to 2014, when milk production quotas limited the ability of EU farmers to increase supply. Macro factors play a key role as well. Feed is cheap, maintaining margins even at lower milk prices. The U.S. dollar has strengthened over the last year, which puts downward pressure on global prices. Its unlikely well see a major breakout in oil prices anytime soon, which constrains dairy import demand from the Middle East/North Africa region. And yet, the opportunity to grow export volumes is as real today as it was 15 years ago. Dairy trade rose 2.8 percent in 2018, the best showing in the last five years. Global dairy imports continue to grow for all the reasons theyve always grown: increasing populations and incomes in emerging markets; difficulties in dairying in hot or humid climates; rising awareness of the health benefits of dairy; improved cold-chain infrastructure; and ongoing innovation in the functionality and application of dairy ingredients. We expect trade to maintain a solid growth rate of 2.5 percent annually over the next five years. On a basket of milk powder, cheese, butterfat and whey, thats an additional 250,000 tons of traded product every year. Where will this growth occur? The largest-growing import markets for cheese were Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Central America/Caribbean, and Chile over the last four years The top-growing import markets for NDM/SMP are Mexico, Southeast Asia, China, Pakistan, the Middle East, Central America/Caribbean, and Pakistan. The top-growing import markets for whey products are China, Southeast Asia, Oceania, North Africa, and South Korea. WIDENING DIFFERENCES U.S. suppliers are positioned to capture a good chunk of these growing markets, but the proliferation of trade agreements by our competitors while U.S. suppliers suffer fallout from our own trade wars threatens our progress. For instance, by 2025, the EU will have preferential access for 24,600 tons of cheese to Japan, plus 15,000 tons of milk powder and butter and 8,440 tons of whey. In Mexico, our largest export market, the EU will have new access for 25,000 tons of cheese and 50,000 tons of SMP by 2025, while New Zealand, Australia, and Canada will have new access for 37,000 tons of milk powder. Meanwhile, New Zealand and Australia already have preferential access to China. All this matters for dairy farmers, because over the last five years, less than 20 percent of the new milk produced in the U.S. went to products sold overseas. Growth in domestic consumption absorbed the bulk of the gains, but about 15 percent just went into inventory, which continues to weigh on the market. And, in fact, the U.S. milk production growth rate is slowing from the long-term pace. If global trade keeps expanding as all analysts expect it to, the world will need our milk. Europe and New Zealand cant supply it all. But whether exports can continue to support the growth aspirations of the U.S. dairy sector will depend, in large part, on suppliers ability to contend against very tough competition. Hope Summer Repertory Theatre is opening its 48th season with Murder for Two, a comedic, musical homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries, on Friday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the DeWitt Center main theatre. The production will continue on June 8, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m., with an additional 1:30 p.m. performance on June 8. Murder for Two walks the audience through a full-fledged crime investigation, using some light adult humor, when an acclaimed novelist is murdered at his surprise birthday party. Its 13 roles are performed entirely by two actors, with one wittily investigating the crime while the other portrays all the suspects and both play the piano. The New York Times named Murder for Two a Critics Pick, calling the New York City production Ingenious! A snazzy double-act! Frontiers Media praised the Los Angeles production as an ingenious and drop-dead funny play that wows on every single theatrical level. The Tampa Bay Times noted, So, who killed the novelist? Its almost beside the point. You might change your mind several times on the way to the end, which is part of what makes the show a fun, vaudevillian ride. The production, written by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, premiered at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in May of 2011, running for a little over six months. The creative masterminds behind the production were awarded the 2011 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best New Musical. Murder for Two completed consecutive runs at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre in 2013, and then the New World Stages until June of 2014. The national tour of the production then ran from November 2014 to May of 2016. The musical play has also been translated into multiple languages, and performed abroad in nations including China and Argentina. HSRTs production of Murder for Two is directed by Maggie Spanuello. The creative team includes Alex Thompson as music director, Alan Piotrowicz as lighting designer, Anthony Paul-Cavaretta as costume designer, Tyler Knowles as media and sound designer, and Stephen Hudson-Mairet as scenic designer. The cast includes New York City actor Paul Helm, (who revisits the production for the fifth time) as The Detective, and Los Angeles film and stage actor Ben Van Diepen, as The Suspects. Individual tickets for Murder for Two range from $28 to $35 for Orchestra/Balcony seating and $32 to $40 for Mezzanine/Table Seating. Tickets for audience members under the age of 18 are $15. Tickets and season packages may be purchased through the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100 E. Eighth St.). The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at 616-395-7890. Tickets can also be purchased online . The DeWitt Center is located at 141 E. 12th St., facing Columbia Avenue between 10th and 13th streets. More information can be found onlineor on facebook. Remarks: This was the number one song on the US R&B chart this year, 2021. It went to #1 in the US on both the R&B and pop charts and made the top 20 on po... 1 day ago PHOTOS BY TIM KLASINSKI Sheedy Shores Winery. You dont need to plan a road trip to have an awesome outing. Instead, embrace your inner tourist and discover some of the many hidden gems this town has in store. Get outside this summer and take advantage of all that Springfield has to offer. Downtown Springfield Spend a day rediscovering Springfields downtown. Head to Custom Cup Coffee for a freshly roasted pour over or around the corner to Wm. Vans Coffee House for a decadent caramel latte before heading over to Seventh Street to stroll though the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Do some shopping and score a unique retro find at Springfield Vintage or a lovely new frock at Itty Bitty Fashion Truck, then get lost among the bookshelves at Prairie Archives. After working up an appetite, satisfy your hunger at one of downtowns many eateries. Go all out and enjoy an al fresco lunch at one of the fine dining establishments. Maldaners, Augies Front Burner, and Loukinens on 4th are all open for lunch during the week and offer outdoor seating. For a more casual option, score an outside table and nosh on fresh Mexican offerings at Tacology 101, cafe classics at Cafe Moxo, or locally sourced fare from Long Nine Junction. If youve got littles in tow, wear them out at the Illinois State Museum or the Kidzeum before popping into Dels Popcorn Shop for an oversized ice cream cone, then find a shady bench on the Old State Capitol Plaza and try to eat it all before it melts (make sure to grab extra napkins). Sheedy Shores Winery 10300 Johns Creek Rd., Loami Sheedy Shores Winery doesnt actually make wine, and thats just fine with me. (Illinois isnt exactly the best climate for growing wine grapes.) What they do have is a gorgeous space to unwind with a glass of wine and watch the sun dip down over a shimmering 15 acre lake. After hosting huge soirees at their house for years, Mike and Gloria Sheedy decided to take the plunge and make it a business. The Sheedys live upstairs and converted their basement walk-out into a warm and inviting wood-trimmed winery featuring a concise list of old and new world wines and craft beer. Cozy up in a comfortable chair by the fire, or head outside onto the spacious patio and enjoy the view. On the day we visited, it was cold and drizzly, so instead of having live music on the patio as planned, it was moved to the large white wedding tent adjacent to the house. Round tables and gas fire pits dotted the room while a guitarist strummed in the corner. It felt like wed crashed a fancy wedding. Sheedy Shores doesnt serve food, though they do have small snack boxes for purchase. Guests are invited to bring their own snacks or picnic. Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary 9873 Withers Rd, Loami On your way home, stop by Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary, just down the road from Sheedy Shores. The 120-acre prairie restoration is operated by Friends of the Sangamon Valley. Stroll along the well-marked trails and enjoy the songbirds and prairie wildflowers. On the other end of the spectrum is Dockers Tavern in Spaulding, an altogether different BYO food watering hole. Although the beer selection is limited (no draft, and Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada are the only craft beers offered), the activities available are plentiful. Inside are several pool tables, darts and shuffleboard to keep you busy, with pool and dart leagues in the winter. For summer, there are sand volleyball leagues, as well as horseshoes and bags. There are fire pits and several grills available for guests to use. You can even buy a chicken breast, pork chop or steak complete with barbecue sauce to cook yourself. Dockers Tavern definitely has a grown-up frat house feel, but it works. El Dorado Bar and Grill. If youre craving vacation but cant get to the ocean, a visit to the Lake Springfield Marina and El Dorado Bar and Grill has got you covered. The marina rents a variety of watercraft, from large pontoon boats to stand up paddle boards. For the price of a couple movie tickets you can rent a two-person kayak for a few hours and spend the afternoon exploring the lake in the sunshine. After you return the boat, head up to El Dorado for a margarita and a plate of nachos. This is the third season that El Dorado has been serving up delicious, fresh Latin fare in the little waterside shack on the lake. Im especially fond of their juicy, well-seasoned carnitas burrito and house-made salsas. MJ's Fish and Chicken Express. MJs Fish and Chicken Express 716 E. Enos Ave., Springfield My husband and I have a rule that whenever were traveling and we pass a restaurant with a smoker and a stack of wood sitting outside, we have to pull over and imbibe. So when we pulled up to MJs Fish and Chicken Express in Springfields historic Enos Park neighborhood, my mouth began to water at the sight of the sooty black smoker and its stack of freshly chopped hickory. My tastebuds were immediately titillated as I scanned the large white board displaying the specials of the day. Several folks had told me that MJs had the best fried fish and chicken in Springfield, and in addition, the menu also features rib tips, pork tenderloin, po boy sandwiches and burgers. We ordered fried catfish, chicken and rib tips and all were as delicious as promised. And then there were the sides. Succulent collard greens, fried cabbage, and mac and cheese just like my grandma makes. Even the coleslaw and potato salad were better than average. Take my advice and get a slice of the homemade butter cake to go, then venture across the street to enjoy the small, but lovely, Enos Park sculpture garden. On the day we visited the garden was bursting with lilacs, iris and wild geraniums. We settled down under a sculpture to nibble at the luscious butter cake and watch bumblebees lazily bob from flower to flower. With GateHouse Media, owner of the State Journal-Register, things could always be worse. Five news reporters are left at Springfields daily newspaper three times that number were employed when the paper hired me in 2006, one year before GateHouse arrived. This isnt as bad as in Missouri, where the Columbia Daily Tribune last year was reportedly down to a single reporter to cover a city of more than 100,000 less than two years after GateHouse took over. The Tribune now has three news reporters, with an equal number of scribes assigned to cover sports, but still lacks a government reporter. This is not ideal if you want to be a watchdog. Content is our number one priority, a newspaper executive said in a 2018 interview about GateHouse, which has spent more than $1 billion buying papers since 2014 while treating ones it already owns like birdcage liners. The people in the industry who are making extremely excessive cuts in the newsroom are not only damaging their own products forever, but theyre damaging us, because everybody gets painted with the same brush. The executive was Michael Reed, GateHouse chief executive officer whos been in charge of the company since it came to Springfield spouting rot about hyperlocal coverage.Messiahs are rare in the newspaper business. For every Jeff Bezos and Patric Soon Shiong, billionaires whove poured money into the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, theres a Warren Buffett, who, seven years after making a $142 million bet on newspapers, declared defeat this spring, saying that local newspapers will disappear.At the SJ-R, circulation has plummeted to less than 19,000; in 2010, more than 50,000 people paid to read the paper each day. Absent reporters assigned full time to such beats as education, police and courts, the paper is filled with stories written elsewhere.Last year, Reed insisted that the number of stories can increase under a slash-and-burn business model. Three reporters who each write one story every two or three weeks, he reasoned, can be replaced by one reporter who writes four stories a week. And so, what the misnomer is, is that just because your newsroom staffing is reduced, youre doing less journalism, Reed said during an interview with Ken Doctor for the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. Reed also promised a commitment to investigative journalism.Reed always was a slickster you shouldnt let near the silverware drawer, the sort of guy whod be pulling three-card-monty schemes if working for corporate greedheads didnt pay better. I never saw a reporter file once every two or three weeks when I worked for the SJ-R. I did see fliers with Reeds name on them, with the tease stolen from a TV quiz show: Who wants to be a millionaire? GateHouse promised to give $1 million to any employee who thought of a way to save or generate $50 million. Fine print warned that the company might already have thought of your idea without telling anyone, and so you might not get paid. Winners of journalism contests didnt get prizes until months after the fact, by which time many were no longer employed by GateHouse, which still hasnt cut me a check for winning News Writer of the Year before I jumped to Illinois Times in 2011. After I left, the air conditioning broke. Temperatures in the newsroom climbed into the 80s while GateHouse took two weeks or so to fix it.The company has tried ridding itself of the Friend In Deed program that helps the needy during the holidays. Ticket prices for the papers First Citizen award ceremony have zoomed from $20 to $35 since 2010 the event was free before GateHouse bought the SJ-R. In 2011, the SJ-R didnt return calls from the National Park Service when the feds warned that the Great Western Depot, owned by GateHouse and cherished as the place where Abraham Lincoln delivered his farewell address to Springfield, might have to be shut down because it needed work. If local attorney Jon Gray Noll and his wife Pinky hadnt purchased the property, smart money says it would be shuttered.The thing that we always have to think about and remember is that our first objective is always whats the best thing for our shareholders, since were a public company, Reed told Doctor. This month, New Media Investment Group, GateHouses holding company, paid nearly $100 million in dividends, mostly to institutional investors. At 38 cents per share, the dividend has risen while the stock price has declined, from $25 in 2015 to $10 today, with same-store revenue falling by more than 5 percent annually in 2017 and again in 2018. Lee Enterprises, which owns the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and 45 other papers, hasnt paid a dividend since 2008. Gannett, second only to GateHouse in number of papers owned, sliced its dividend in 2015 and most recently paid 16 cents per share.Against this backdrop, SJ-R editor Angie Muhs, once a GateHouse Editor of the Year, resigned this month and was walked out of the building. She reportedly told her staff she hoped her departure would save sufficient salary to prevent more layoffs. She might have been gone no matter what GateHouse has signaled a move to centralized management that would have a single editor assigned to oversee multiple newspapers. The future is uncertain. But it doesnt look good. If you want to see how times have changed this legislative session, take a quick look at Senate Bill 1591. The Illinois and Chicago-land chambers have been pushing legislation all session to offer state incentives to data centers, which stores massive amounts of electronic information. Illinois has been a national leader for data center locations because the Chicago region is a national internet hub, connecting the countrys east and west, and has a reliable and plentiful electricity supply. While companies have continued building lots of new data centers in and around Chicago at an aggressive pace, they started having trouble filling them last year because other states have been recruiting the facilities. Apple, one of the richest corporations in the world, snagged a $208 million tax break to build a $1.3 billion facility in Iowa. So, the chambers and others decided to propose incentives to protect what Illinois already has and spur some new growth. SB1591 provides exemptions from and credits for a host of state and local sales and use taxes to lower costs for building and running large data centers with at least $250 million in capital investment and 20 full-time employees.The measure was not gaining a lot of traction and then proponents asked the construction unions to chat. The unions listened and suggested some changes to make the bill more labor-friendly.The unions recommended an amendment containing responsible bidder requirements, which assures that the contractors meet certain levels of qualifications (and that usually means unionized workers). The provision was added, as were Project Labor Agreements, which require building contractors to enter into labor agreements before commencing work. An income tax credit was also added for projects in areas hit hard by poverty and unemployment.All of a sudden, the bill took off. Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady, who has been looking for union support ever since anti-union Gov. Bruce Rauner was defeated, even signed on as a co-sponsor. The bill sailed out of the Senate on a unanimous roll call.This development would have been unheard-of during the past four years. Its not that Rauner was totally averse to subsidies, but he was staunchly opposed to things like responsible bidder requirements and PLAs. And Leader Brady wouldnt have dared crossed Rauner by signing onto a bill like that because Rauner never wouldve forgotten it.One of the best ways to get a bill rolling this year is to invite organized labor into the mix. Not only can it help pass a bill, because both Democratic legislative leaders are trying to do whatever they can for unions after four years of Rauners attempts to destroy them, the support can also help convince Gov. J.B. Pritzker to sign it into law.This is a big reason why securing labors endorsement of the cannabis legalization bill is deemed so crucial by some, even if some proponents were initially resistant.If you look at Rep. Marty Moylans (D-Des Plaines) House resolution urging the General Assembly to slow down the legalization process, youll see a bunch of pro-union Democrats are co-sponsors. Not to mention that Moylan himself has been consistently endorsed by labor over the years. Make this bill a union priority and you attract votes, or at least you make it more difficult for pro-union legislators to oppose it.There is one big downside. African-American and Latinx legislators have been battling with the predominantly white trade unions for years to integrate their memberships. Theres a reason why that income tax credit for impoverished areas had to be added to the data center bill when labor signed on. And the unions entry into the cannabis legalization movement was not exactly met with joy.However, some very wealthy companies are descending upon Illinois to get a piece of the legalization pie and a good argument can be made that this state needs to make extra sure it doesnt hand out licenses to print money to employers who pay their workers a pittance and only offer folks part-time jobs without benefits. Photo by Angela Aznarte John and Peg Knoepfle, married 62 years. I recently sat down with John and Peg Knoepfle at their residence in Hickory Glen to ask questions about their life experiences, both personal and literary. I quickly surmised that both are master storytellers. For more than 60 years now, their stories have been intertwined. We all have a story to tell, if you can get them to talk, said John, in a measured pace. One could not help but sense that they were covering familiar ground. Also, that they compliment one another well. Even at age 96, Johns eyes are warm and his laugh infectious. Peg is very intelligent, supportive, and remembers details well. They both give you their undivided attention they are not distracted by cellphones or social media.He succinctly described his military service, having enlisting in the U.S. Navy after Pearl Harbor and eventually serving aboard an attack transfer ship that transported supplies to the Fifth Marines on Iwo Jima and ferried the wounded back to the ships. On one run, the surf started to swamp the boat and the engine stalled. We were drifting under Suribachi, heading out to sea. We had a boatswain, his name was Kelly, and he began to sing, When Irish Eyes are Smiling and a patrol boat heard that and managed to tow us out of there. ... Later Knoepfle was wounded by friendly fire. He still carries a scar, a Purple Heart and some black, volcanic sand that he gathered from the beach of Iwo Jima.But most of our conversation was focused on his career and accomplishments as a writer. John described his early forays into poetry, encouraged by a priest in high school. That individual, Fr. Sweeney, had started a writing group called The Mermaid Tavern. Students wrote poems, shared them with their peers, learned how to critique and how to accept criticism. He then recited a few lines from memory, adding, Its terrible. But that was the beginning.When some people heard that he yearned to be a poet, they dismissed his ambition with a cryptic, Get a job! But he persisted.John shared that he once took a poetry workshop taught by Robert Lowell. I had just published a poem in the Yale Review, and I was very proud of that. And he said, Well they dont publish the best. Can you imagine that? So at that point I just stopped writing. Fortunately, a later mentor John Logan encouraged him to return to the craft. He wrote and participated in recitals, sometimes at venues filled with men who scoffed at the idea of a poet. Occasionally in those public readings he included barbs directed at such people.Perhaps the greatest break he ever enjoyed was meeting Peg. They first met in 1956 during a poetry workshop at the University of Cincinnati. Peg was a student and remembers that she had been admitted on the strength of a piece of prose. She admits that when John asked her out for a date, she had him confused with another young man and was surprised when he showed up at his door. Anyway, says John we had a date and had a pretty good time, I guess. Did they benefit from the class? Peg shared that she did not write any poetry but mostly went out with John Knoepfle. They both chuckled.Two things that drew them together were their mutual interest in bird watching and the fact that John was then unemployed. In her mind, that meant that he was not part of an oppressive economic system. He courted her, he says, amongst the ruins of Indian mounds. They were married on Dec. 26, 1956. Johns eldest brother, Rudy, a Jesuit, officiated. To understand the full breadth of their shared story, one must add they have both been committed social justice activists for more than half a century, motivated by their Catholic faith. John was a Freedom Rider, taking a bus to Alabama in 1963. John recalls that when they arrived in Birmingham, their driver described the local African-Americans as affluent, and completely ignored the bombed-out shell of the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four young girls had been murdered. Throughout the 60s, they marched in protests against the Vietnam War. More recently, they have kept a constant vigil on Saturday mornings outside the Federal Building in Springfield, giving witness against more contemporary American wars.In the decades since their marriage, John worked his way up from digging weeds for a Cincinnati landscaper, to serving as the television director of an educational program, to teaching English composition in East St. Louis and later Shakespeare at Saint Louis University, to eventually getting hired by Sangamon State University in Springfield. It was there that he met a visiting Chinese scholar named Wang Shouyi, who took one of Johns poetry workshops. They discovered a mutual passion for poetry and this in turn led to a remarkable 40-year collaboration to translate Chinese poems from several dynasties spanning centuries. Wang Shouyi rendered a preliminary transliteration of the poems and Johns task was to provide poetic flair and beauty. Several slender volumes were published in 1985 by the Spoon River Poetry Press. Soon, pirated copies of these works were in circulation in China and John became known as Johan to his Chinese admirers. John believes that the Chinese have a deeper respect for poetry and for poets than Americans. Perhaps, he muses, its because as an older civilization, the Chinese value memory more, and the role of the poet is to remember.The current editions of the poems are entitled, Snow on the River: Poems from the Tang and Song Dynasties of China and Voyage Home: Poems from the Yuan and Ming and Qing Dynasties of China. Both are published by the Heilongjiang University Press. The former has a soft violet color and the latters cover is tan these colors are associated with their respective dynasties. On one page is the Chinese script, on the other, Johns poetic translation and a delicate, pastoral illustration. John recited a few poems and noted that on the printed page, the Chinese follow different rules for punctuation and grammar than is customary in English.One example of their collaboration is the poem Wei City Song, originally composed during the Tang Dynasty:a dawn rain comesand settles the dust in Wei Cityhotels are soaked deep in dark wet colorsbut the willows are a brighter greenwhy not one more drink for the roadalthough we have had a few alreadyonce you go west of Yang Passold friends are hard to come byOn May 25, both John Knoepfle and Wang Shouyi will offer a free poetry reading and a presentation about their lengthy collaboration at a special reception 3-5 p.m. at the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Copies of both volumes will be available for purchase.Martin Woulfe graduated from college having majored in creative writing with a specialization in poetry. When his family and friends insisted that he get a job, he dabbled in many fields until landing on his feet as a minister. He now serves the Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation in Springfield. His wife, Angela Aznarte, took the photograph that accompanies this article. Photo courtesy of Planned Parenthood of Illinois Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, arrived at a rally outside the Statehouse trailed by about 60 women dressed as Handmaids, characters from Margaret Atwoods dystopian novel. Democratic lawmakers demanded their colleagues take action on a controversial, sweeping reproductive health care bill at a rally May 15 just outside the Statehouse.Their call for the Reproductive Health Act to get a committee hearing comes amid recent action by other states to restrict access to abortion procedures.The act, proposed in the House by Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, and in the Senate by Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, would repeal Illinois abortion law and replace it with what backers and detractors agree would be the most liberal reproductive health care legislation in the country.Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to make Illinois the most progressive state in the nation for access to reproductive health care, seemingly indicating he would sign the bill if it arrived on his desk.But after its introduction in February, both versions have sat in legislative limbo.Since that day, each week has brought a new horror, a new reason why this is so much more important, Cassidy said. I woke up this morning to yet more news of how close we are to losing our right to self-determination, our right to access true reproductive health care.She was referencing a law signed last week by Alabamas governor, effectively banning abortion in the state. Others, including Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio have passed other restrictive laws this year.Some of those states aim to get their laws before the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.Sara Hutchinson Ratcliffe, vice president of Catholics for Choice, called those bills onerous and cruel. The group supports the Reproductive Health Act.Cassidy and Bush were joined by about 20 legislators from both chambers of the General Assembly in urging their colleagues to codify the protections enshrined in the act, given the current political climate. Behind the group were about 60 women dressed as Handmaids, characters from Margaret Atwoods dystopian novel, The Handmaids Tale.What we saw in Alabama yesterday must mobilize us. We cant wait, we cant rest on our laurels in Illinois, Bush said. There is a war against womens rights and our ability to make decisions about our own bodies happening across this country. Its not a time to hold bills and wonder if maybe we should move them. Its a time to stand and say you picked the wrong state to mess with. You picked the wrong legislators to stand up against.Before action can be taken on the Reproductive Health Act, it must be moved to a substantive committee. For about two months, it was sequestered in the same subcommittee as all the other abortion-related bills proposed this session.Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, D-Hillside, is the chair of the Executive Committee and called for the act to be posted there. He said he is committed to giving the bill a full, fair hearing and being a proud yes vote.We need to leave here today and demand that our leadership give this bill a hearing. Give this bill a hearing. Well let the opposition have a voice, but guess what, were going to out-vote them, he said. As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday again called his former secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, "dumb as a rock" in a tweet responding to comments Tillerson made in a closed-door meeting with lawmakers this week questioning Trump's handling of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017. Rex Tillerson, a man who is dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 Tillerson met for seven hours with leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday to discuss his tenure in the Trump administration, and the challenges he faced at the State Department and in the White House. Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Putin "out-prepared" the president in a 2017 meeting in Hamburg, German that turned into a "a globe-spanning two-hour-plus session involving deliberations on a variety of geopolitical issues," according to a Democratic committee aide. The Washington Post first reported the details of Tillerson's testimony to the committee. On Twitter, Trump said he doesn't believe Putin would agree with that account of their meeting. "Its pretty outrageous and it probably explains why Rex Tillerson is no longer the Secretary of State," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC Thursday morning. In an exclusive interview with ABC News, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said he found the former secretary of state to be "forthcoming" in his assessment of President Donald Trump's handling of foreign policy and the inner workings of the administration's foreign policy apparatus. His telling to us of what life was like in that short year that he was secretary of State was very interesting, Engel said in the ABC interview. It just solidified my feeling that there was disorganization and that the president was not focused. In a prepared statement to the committee, Tillerson said it was no secret that President Trump and I disagreed on some elements of foreign policy. But at bottom, President Trump and I shared a common goal: to secure and advance Americas place in the world and to promote and protect American values. The meeting was arranged through a mutual acquaintance, according to Engel. An aide said Tillerson later called the committee and expressed his willingness to talk. Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the top Republican on the panel who participated in the Tillerson inteview, declined ABC News request to discuss the conversation. My time in government is over, but I hope that my testimony today will help you as you continue to do the critical work of this Committee Tillerson said in the statement. On Wednesday, Engel said he hoped the conversation was the first of many between Tillerson and his panel on Capitol Hill. I don't know how much he has that he hasn't told, but I suspect a great deal. And well see, the New York Democrat added. After a rocky partnership, Trump fired Tillerson on March 13, 2018 -- announcing the decision in a tweet. Tillerson stayed on the job until March 31. Engel confirmed that he and Tillerson discussed what Engel called the unusual circumstances of the presidents family members -- including the presidents adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner having the last say on administration decisions. He wasnt there to bash the president, Engel said of Tillerson, though he later added that the former secretary of State said Trump was not the most proficient on foreign policy. Before joining the Trump administration, Tillerson served as CEO of Exxon Mobil, the international oil and gas company. The committee and Tillerson also discussed Tillersons management of the State Department, according to the chairman. Engel and Democrats have raised concerns about the Trump administration targeting career officials over their perceived political affiliation. Engel was surprised that Tillerson defended his controversial proposal to reorganize the State Department, which was unpopular in Washington and among lawmakers of both parties on Capitol Hill. I thought he might push it off on Trump, but he didnt. He said it was his baby, and he defended it, because he thought it would work better if they redesigned it. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. WikiLeaks publisher and founder Julian Assange has been hit with 17 new charges under the US Espionage Act over his alleged role in leaking documents from former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010, according to the US Department of Justice. The grand jury indictment, unveiled on Thursday, carries a maximum sentence of between five and 10 years for each charge. The US has already sought his extradition to face charges of computer hacking and being involved in a compromise of classified information, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years. A special shoutout to all those pundits & politicians who were assuring us Assange's case isn't an attack on press freedom because it was about trying to break a password. Aaron Mate (@aaronjmate) May 23, 2019 "The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the US Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defence," the Justice Department said in a statement. Assange was arrested by British police on 11 April after taking refuge in the Ecuador embassy in London after the South American nation offered him asylum. This was withdrawn in April and Assange appeared in court shortly thereafter. New Assange charges set a major precedent that could be used to prosecute journalists for the work we do every day. https://t.co/xcvCLxV1Ic Eric Geller (@ericgeller) May 23, 2019 He was laterto 50 weeks in jail for skipping bail at the time he fled into the Ecuador embassy; at that time, he was wanted in Sweden for questioning on rape allegations made against him by two women. Sweden has subsequently reopened the rape probe and sought his extradition; it had dropped the charge and cancelled the warrant in May 2017. Thursday's charges claim Assange "engaged in real-time discussions regarding Manning's transmission of classified records to Assange" and "actively encouraged" Manning to hack into a military computer network. Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning before a change of sex, has been jailed twice recently for refusing to testify before a grand jury that is investigating WikiLeaks. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison originally but had her sentence commuted by former US president Barack Obama in 2017. The issue isn't whether Assange is a "journalist"; this will be a major test case because the text of the _Espionage Act_ doesn't distinguish between what Assange allegedly did and what mainstream outlets sometimes do, even if the underlying facts/motives are radically different. Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) May 23, 2019 The indictment claimed that Assange had published "classified documents that contained the unredacted names of human sources who provided information to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to US State Department diplomats around the world". It said Manning had used her access as an intelligence analyst to provide "to Assange and WikiLeaks databases containing approximately 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 US Department of State cables". No matter your thoughts on Julian Assange, the latest indictmentsunder the outdated Espionage Actare a disgrace. If you support the indictments out of hate for him, you're giving Trump a weapon to restrict the press. The charges should be dropped and the Espionage Act repealed. Mike Gravel (@MikeGravel) May 23, 2019 Trevor Timms, executive director of the non-profit Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement: "Put simply, these unprecedented charges against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks are the most significant and terrifying threat to the First Amendment in the 21st century. "The Trump administration is moving to explicitly criminalise national security journalism, and if this prosecution proceeds, dozens of reporters at The New York Times, Washington Post and elsewhere would also be in danger. The charges against Assange are equally dangerous for US journalists who uncover the secrets of other nations. If the US can prosecute a foreign publisher for violating our secrecy laws, theres nothing preventing China, or Russia, from doing the same. ACLU (@ACLU) May 23, 2019 "The ability of the press to publish facts the government would prefer remain secret is both critical to an informed public and a fundamental right. "This decision by the Justice Department is a massive and unprecedented escalation in [US President Donald] Trumps war on journalism, and its no exaggeration to say the First Amendment itself is at risk. Anyone who cares about press freedom should immediately and wholeheartedly condemn these charges." MATTOON -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois plans to move its Mattoon service center to a new, larger location on the east end of town in 2020. The company officially announced its plans Tuesday evening after the Mattoon City Council voted to apply for a $1.2 million state Community Development Block Grant to help fund water/sewer line and street work for the development of this service center in the Coles Centre business park at the southwest corner of Illinois Route 16 and Lerna Road. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois spokeswoman Colleen Miller said after Tuesday's meeting that the company is committed to expanding access to quality, cost-effective health care to as many communities as possible in Illinois. "Weve been proud to call Mattoon home to one of our service centers since 1990. We are now partnering with a local developer to modernize our presence in the community," Miller said. "We expect to open an updated service center in mid-2020. The decision to further invest in Mattoon demonstrates our commitment to supporting and empowering our local communities." Miller added later that Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans to move all of its operations from the current service center, which is in a former supermarket building at 1100 Broadway Ave., to the newly constructed facility. Agracel, Inc. of Effingham, which provides economic development services, owns the property where the new service center would be built. Agracel President Dean Bingham said Tuesday afternoon that the plans call for the construction of a two-story, 50,000-square-foot building that could accommodate more than 250 employees. The Coles County Regional Planning & Development Commission is helping the city apply for the $1.2 million grant from the state. Commission Executive Director Kelly Lockhart said during Tuesday's council meeting that the service center project would create at least 48 new jobs. Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 1. Comments must not be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted. 2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks. 3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous" or "unknown". 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. Thursday, May 23, 2019 New Mexico's Two Horse Economy Doing Some Heavy Lifting, Plus: More On APD Staffing And Some "Burque Bashing" We all know about the SE Permian Basin oil boom and the billions in state revenue it's bringing in, now add a boost from federally funded Sandia National Labs (SNL). SNL says it By Sept. 30, 2019, Sandia expects to have more than 13,000 employees. This includes all regular employees, post-doctoral students and limited-term employees at NM, California and other sites. This also includes employees who are students. Thats a good opportunity for our college students who have been leaving the state in search of jobs elsewhere. So is Trump "Making New Mexico Great Again" with his Some Dems would rather point to fossil fuels as the cause of climate change and warn of the danger of nuclear weapons designed at Sandia. But these two sectors have been the foundation of the modern New Mexican economy for decades and will remain so. Despite the regular chatter of "diversifying" away from oil and the feds, lately oil and the feds are only getting bigger. The SNL FY 2020 budget is over $3.6 billion. Energy royalties and taxes regularly comprise a third or more of the state's General Fund, currently at $7 billion. Diversify? Not in this lifetime. About 11,000 of the 13,000 Sandia employees will be based in ABQ.So is Trump "Making New Mexico Great Again" with his pro fossil fuel policies and commitment to outsized nuclear weapons budgets for Sandia?Some Dems would rather point to fossil fuels as the cause of climate change and warn of the danger of nuclear weapons designed at Sandia. But these two sectors have been the foundation of the modern New Mexican economy for decades and will remain so.Despite the regular chatter of "diversifying" away from oil and the feds, lately oil and the feds are only getting bigger.The SNL FY 2020 budget is over $3.6 billion. Energy royalties and taxes regularly comprise a third or more of the state's General Fund, currently at $7 billion. Diversify? Not in this lifetime. It's not all gravy. That program to add billions to the Los Alamos National Labs budget to manufacture "pits" for nuclear weapons appears to be 1000 IN SIGHT We quoted a newsletter from ABQ City Councilor Pat Davis Wednesday, saying that under the recently approved city budget there would be 1,059 APD officers beginning July 1. Davis clarifies. He says the actual number is about 985 starting this July and adds that the correct number for July 2020 is actually1,053, if hiring goals are met. We speculated that the increased police presence could give us an idea by the end of the year whether more officers will cut the rate of crime significantly. Davis said he believed so since 985 officers will, among other things, improve response times. Says Davis: APD is fully-funded budget is for 1,053 officers by the end of FY20 (June 30, 2020). ( I erroneously said 1,059 which included some new PSA positions, but those aren't sworn). APD's staffing plan calls for 80 of those new 100 officers to go directly into what we call "neighborhood policing," aka patrol and 911 calls in area commands. The remainder will go to fill vacancies in overburdened detective units including crimes against children, homicide and other specialized jobs. It's not all gravy. That program to add billions to the Los Alamos National Labs budget to manufacture "pits" for nuclear weapons appears to be hitting the wall . Still, recent budgets for LA don't have much pain.We quoted a newsletter from ABQ City Councilor Pat Davis Wednesday, saying that under the recently approved city budget there would be 1,059 APD officers beginning July 1. Davis clarifies.He says the actual number is about 985 starting this July and adds that the correct number for July 2020 is actually1,053, if hiring goals are met.We speculated that the increased police presence could give us an idea by the end of the year whether more officers will cut the rate of crime significantly. Davis said he believed so since 985 officers will, among other things, improve response times. Says Davis: Meanwhile the Governor says she is pleased with the deployment of about 50 state police officers in Albuquerque to help fight crime. Her office reports: The roughly 50 state police officers temporarily assigned to targeted areas of Albuquerque. . .have generated, to date, more than 257 total arrests, including several dozen felony arrests and 13 DWI arrests. State Police have also seized meth, heroin, firearms, ammunition and stolen license plates, among other evidence. BASHING "BURQUE" I'm with you, Joe. As a native Albuquerquean, I dislike the gangsta connotation of "Burque." I also don't like to hear "Isleta" pronounced with three syllables "Is-a-leta" as the casino does in their own commercials. On the other hand, "BernCo" seems real digital for the county, and distances us from the Town of Bernalillo. It seems "Bernalillo" is translated "Little Bernal." Bernal is said to be the name of a community named for a Spanish family. Maybe this explanation from the While many uneducated YOLOs claim the origin is unknown, the original gente knows. The word is short for the original spelling of the city "Alburquerque," in which you find the word burque. This is the original name of the founders and the original city in Spain. Okay, that helps. Instead of thinking of the Los Padillas gang each time we hear "Burque," we'll latch on to that historical explanation. Mayor, I think Frank and I are ready for that metal concert. Join us for some holiday film reviews tomorrow. Reporting from Albuquerque. . . er. . . Burque, I'm Joe Monahan. This is the home of New Mexico politics. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. ( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019 It's probably a generational thing but we never cared for calling ABQ "Burque" so we don't. 91 year old reader Frank Gilmer doesn't like it either. Maybe we're curmudgeons but he writes:Maybe this explanation from the Urban Dictionary will help old timers come to adopt "Burque" and "Burquenos," slap on a T shirt and go to a heavy metal concert with Mayor Keller Okay, that helps. Instead of thinking of the Los Padillas gang each time we hear "Burque," we'll latch on to that historical explanation. Mayor, I think Frank and I are ready for that metal concert.Join us for some holiday film reviews tomorrow.Reporting from Albuquerque. . . er. . . Burque, I'm Joe Monahan.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) The workhorses of New Mexico's economy are working overtime.We all know about the SE Permian Basin oil boom and the billions in state revenue it's bringing in, now add a boost from federally funded Sandia National Labs (SNL).SNL says it is in the process of hiring 1,900 employees this year, 1,100 new positions and another 800 to fill vacant positions. They say the number is unprecedented and many of the new hires are coming from NM. The new jobs are specialized and pay into the six figures, resulting in a notable economic boost for the ABQ metro. A spokeswoman for Sandia tells us:Thats a good opportunity for our college students who have been leaving the state in search of jobs elsewhere. That loss does not include capital costs, which totaled $87 million for Allo in 2018. Those costs should decrease significantly now that the build out of its fiber network in Lincoln is mostly finished. Allo has been expanding elsewhere in Nebraska and in Colorado. It is providing service in Hastings and Fort Morgan, Colorado, and President Brad Moline said Thursday that the company has signed a lease to be the sole internet provider on the city-built fiber network. Nelnet also continues to make other investments outside its core businesses. Those include venture capital investments in startups and real estate investments in projects such as the Telegraph District and the recently announced Canopy Park housing development. The company spent $67 million on those two things as well as a new investment, solar farms, in 2018. Nelnet CEO Jeff Noordhoek said the company has not disclosed where it has invested in solar farms, although he did say none are in Nebraska. He also did not say how much of the $67 million went to solar projects. Noordhoek said solar is an attractive investment for a number of reasons, including being environmentally friendly and tax efficient, and he expects Nelnet to continue to look at investing in the industry. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU. Ryan Reynolds tries hard, but can't make this live action-meets-animated movie gel. It's plodding and listless and really not funny or smart enough. PG. (Grand, East Park, Edgewood, SouthPointe) Grade: C- POMS. This cliched omedy about an elderly woman, played by Diane Keaton, who moves into a retirement community and starts a cheerleading squad is an insult to the demographic its trying to salute. PG-13. (Edgewood) Grade: C- RED JOAN. This slow-burning based-on-a-true-story espionage film looks at Britain's 'granny spy" played by Judi Dench and Sophie Cookson, who shared nuclear secrets with the Soviets for 40 years. R. (Ross) Grade: B THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR. This 24-hour romance between a pair of college-bound teenagers is contrived, underwhelming and unconvincing. And both parties involved in said romance have other things going on in their lives that are much more compelling than their love-at-first-sight. PG-13. (Grand, SouthPointe) Grade: C Break the wheel, Dany had argued, and boot all the corrupt families and immoral men from the power positions theyve held for generations. Burn it down, so to speak, and replace it with a just world. Too bad the shows creators wrote her into crazytown, and weaponized her crusade with dragon fire. She ended up the living embodiment of every female villain, from the evil queen to the crazy ex-girlfriend to the women murderers featured in the true crime series Snapped. In the end, the shows articulate and persuasive Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) argued for the least inspiring choice, and the mostly male council agreed. The empire was awarded to one of the least-qualified men for the job Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), aka Bran the Broken a candidate who did little to nothing to get where he was (where was his vision power when the Night Kings army was slaughtering all those people at Winterfell?), and who was quite literally carried around on the backs of women for years. No magic. Just a privileged son of elites who sat back and let others do the heavy lifting. Briese made his intentions clear immediately after his proposal (LB183) disappeared on Wednesday night when he said he'd "find it very problematic to support corporate giveaways after turning our backs on working Nebraskans," namely farmers and homeowners. Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson echoed that sentiment on Thursday. "In all my years here, we've been trying to find out how do we provide property tax relief," he said. "That's the biggest challenge. "The governor says we can't raise taxes," Friesen said, and that shuts off the new revenue needed to fund property tax relief. "So, the only avenue is growth," he said. "And if we give that money away in tax incentives, there is no growth." Kolterman said he believes he can hold the necessary 33 votes together. "We're gonna make it, but it's going to be very close," he said. "I think we get it done." Kolterman said supporters of the proposal "really have listened to both sides of the aisle" in making a series of adjustments to the bill. "No way I'm going to support this without simultaneously reducing property taxes," Briese had signaled in offering his proposal as an amendment to a pending tax bill (LB183) at the second stage of floor consideration. It was an afternoon and evening of legislative intrigue, with senators huddling on the floor in small groups as they appeared to tie the two major bills together in the waning days of a legislative session that's scheduled to end next week. The modernized tax incentives bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, was amended to bolster its support with approval of proposals authored by Sens. Kate Bolz and Anna Wishart, both of Lincoln. The Bolz amendment added a customized job training program to the new incentive package, and Wishart added requirements for health care benefits along with a social benefits incentive package. Kolterman said that the proposal already had been reshaped to meet rural concerns, including lowering the employment expansion threshold for earning tax incentives. Reaching out to supporters of the Briese bill following advancement of his own proposal, Kolterman said: "I like this bill; I am supportive of this bill." And neither he nor any of the other 14 teachers or office employees are happy about it. Its just a sin theyre closing it, said Jan Admire, who works in the crowded office she shares with Beck and all manner of posters and pictures and religious figurines crowded inside. They attribute much of what they love about the school to Beck. Nina is St. Marys, McEntarffer said. Theres a kindness at this school you just cant beat a lot of that comes from Nina. Having a staff that works well together is important to Beck, who asks three questions when she's considering a new hire: Can they do the job? Will we like them? Will they like us? And she wants to give them the room to do what they do best, to make sure she sees them as professionals in the most important of professions. Teachers say that philosophy has translated to a flexibility in teaching and a principal who never said no to last-minute field trip requests. Gov. Pete Ricketts will lead a Nebraska trade mission to Germany this coming November. Ricketts announced plans to travel to Berlin, Frankfurt and the Hanover and Dusseldorf regions of Germany during remarks at the Midwest International Trade Association's annual world trade conference in La Vista this week. "Germany is a global economic force with advanced capabilities in manufacturing, biotechnology and agriculture," the governor said. "Engaging with Germany is imperative in order to continue to raise Nebraska's visibility with companies in the country, several of which already invest in Nebraska." Nebraska Department of Economic Development Director Dave Rippe and staff members were in Germany in April to promote Nebraska and introduce companies to the advantages of doing business in the state. Exports to Germany from Nebraska totaled nearly $1.5 billion from 2010 to 2017. Soybean exports amounted to $696 million during that period. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is increasing water releases at Gavins Point Dam because of heavy rainfall in the past week. Releases were set to increase to 60,000 cubic feet per second, up from 50,000 cfs. John Remus, chief of the corps' Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, said there's no estimate on when releases will return to normal levels. Because of the rain, which totaled 2-5 inches in some areas, inflows into Gavins Point, as well as South Dakota reservoirs upriver at Oahe, Big Bend and Fort Randall, have increased, taking up more space in the reservoirs' flood control pools. Releases from Gavins Point, near Yankton, South Dakota, will allow more water to pass through the Missouri River reservoir system and slow the rise in the other reservoirs. Mountain snowpack continues to melt and enter the system in Montana and North Dakota, Remus said, and the corps must ensure that reservoirs have enough room to hold that runoff. The heightened releases follow flooding in March stemming in part from record Missouri River flows. Recently, some politicians and outside political groups have characterized efforts to implement Medicaid expansion as disingenuous and not honoring the will of the voters. This is not true. In fact, on the very day after the ballot measure passed, Gov. Pete Ricketts told me that we are going to honor the will of the people and get this done the right way. Over the past five months, our team has researched the experiences of other states and identified best practices. Our plan is built for Nebraska. We have learned from the mistakes of others who rushed implementation, only to see millions of dollars spent on ineligible individuals and in penalties to the federal government. Through research, planning, and assumption testing, we have determined that we can deliver expansion that works for people on Oct. 1, 2020 with signups beginning two months earlier. We have a duty to the people we serve and the taxpayers who pay for it to take the time to get this right. I encourage you to take a look at our webpage, available at dhhs.ne.gov/medicaidexpansion, to follow our progress. Dr. Matthew Van Patton is director of the Division of Medicaid and Long-Term Care for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 By Damali Mukhaye. The striking teachers want the government to tell them whether the children of this country are no longer a priority. This followed the minister of public service David Bahati asking the striking teachers to report back to class since the government has other priorities other than teachers enhancement. Speaking to kfm, the secretary general of the Uganda national teachers union says that they want to hear it from the government whether education is no longer a priority of this government. He says that their strike stands until the government comes out and informs them that their money has been found. He notes that they have however never been invited by the government to negotiate for their demands. Related Stories. Educationists attack teachers under UNATU Teachers are divided Tweheyo Sometimes it's necessary to point out the obvious, so here goes: President Trump isn't going to be impeached and removed from office unless the Republican Party decides it wants him gone. You may believe him to have already committed the "high crimes and misdemeanors" that merit such drastic action; you may even be right. But "high crimes and misdemeanors" is ill-defined. In the end, it amounts to "anything Congress thinks merits removal from office." With the Senate controlled by Republicans -- and the Democratic House majority dependent on right-leaning swing districts -- that means nothing can really happen unless the Republican Party decides to go along. But which party? There is the party of the GOP political professionals, the dreaded "establishment," happy to daydream about the soothing possibilities of a President Pence. The only thing stopping them from making that dream come true is their fear of the other Republican Party, the GOP's electoral base. Much of what happened in the four months before last week's unusual removal of a sitting Nebraska county treasurer will become clearer in coming weeks. Regardless of those facts, Lincoln County voters already have been reminded of the need to carefully scrutinize their choices for every elected public office. Nebraskans still like to fill several executive-branch offices ourselves. That's true at the state level as well as in the counties. It stems from 19th-century ideas that voters are the best judges of their own peers and that filling such "down-ballot" posts by election keeps executives from gaining too much power. For that approach to work its best, we voters must be as well informed as possible about the qualifications and the abilities of the people who put themselves forward for those jobs. But we expect our county board, for example, to make wise choices in choosing nonelected leaders of other county departments, such as roads and emergency management. Whenever we're preparing to go to the polls and no matter how "routine" the office we're voting on may seem we must hold ourselves to that same standard. - North Platte Telegraph Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A bill is pending before the Nebraska Legislature that would legalize medical marijuana, which is desperately needed by chronic pain sufferers who wish to avoid the risk of addiction from treating the pain with opioid medications. Also known as medicinal cannabis, it has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of epilepsy, and it does not open the door to legalizing recreational marijuana. In the current form of the legislative bill, it may not be smoked, and it will address severely disabling conditions, such as chronic pain, nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, spasticity (tight or stiff) of muscles from multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as symptoms from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which affects many military veterans. Although recent debate appears to have doomed the legislative solution, the bill isnt totally dead. If its rejected with negotiated restrictions, it is likely to be succeeded by an initiative adopted by voters -- potentially as many as 80% -- that will be unrestricted. Please ask your legislators to resuscitate this bill and adopt a better solution than one that is likely to be imposed by voters. Earl Scudder, Lincoln Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 KENOSHA A federal lawsuit against a Kenosha Police officer who shot and killed a man after a chase is being considered by the appellate court. The family of Aaron Siler filed suit against the city of Kenosha and Kenosha Police Officer Pablo Torres in 2017 claiming the police officer used excessive force. This spring, the federal district court issued a partial summary judgment on the case, granting Torres qualified immunity, which relieved him from liability for the 2015 shooting. The courts decision would have allowed the claim against the city to go forward. It was a decision that wasnt completely clear on all the issues, said Jonathan Safran, the Silers attorney. Safran wrote in seeking the appeal, The District Court stated that it would welcome guidance from the Seventh Circuit on the difficult issue of qualified immunity. Qualified immunity shields government officials as individuals from being sued for actions unless their actions violated clearly established federal law or constitutional rights. Torres shot Siler on March 14, 2015. Officers had attempted to stop Siler on a felony probation-parole warrant. He fled, first in a vehicle, then on foot. Torres chased Siler into a garage, shooting him after Siler picked up a bucket. Robert Zapf, then district attorney of Kenosha County, found that the shooting was justified. Safran said attorneys for the city and for the Siler family will file written arguments with the appellate court by this fall, and are likely to have oral arguments before the federal appellate court in Chicago in late fall or winter. He said a decision would likely not be issued until sometime next year. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 PLEASANT PRAIRIE After police received a call that a man had been shot in the parking lot of a busy Pleasant Prairie restaurant Monday, officers searched for several minutes before finding the victim. The victim, 19-year-old Khalad Alchaar of Pleasant Prairie, died after being taken to a nearby hospital. Alchaars family has been critical of the police response, saying that officers delayed allowing paramedics to the scene. In an interview Tuesday with Fox6 News Milwaukee, Alchaars brother, Abdul Alchaar, told the reporter that he and his wife rushed to the restaurant after he received a six-second call from his brother saying he had been shot. He said he and his wife found his brother bleeding out in front of the restaurant and tried to use a shirt to stop his bleeding while police searched for the suspect. Pleasant Prairie Police released a timeline of the call Wednesday. It shows they received a 911 call that a person with a gunshot wound was in the parking lot of Cheddars, 10366 77th St., at 8:46 p.m. The first law enforcement officers arrived at the restaurant three minutes later. Dispatchers had been told by a caller that the suspect (was) possibly on the west side of Cheddars in the woods. Victim stumbled toward U.S. Cellular holding stomach, according to police. In the police timeline, officers searched the area for the victim and found Alchaar at 8:54 p.m. Paramedics left with Alchaar five minutes later at 8:59 p.m. According to scanner traffic the night of the shooting, Alchaar was unresponsive when police arrived. Police did not respond to calls for comment Wednesday. In a statement, they said there is an active and ongoing police investigation into the shooting. The night of the shooting, officers from Pleasant Prairie, the Kenosha Police Department, the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department and the Illinois State Police searched the area, including with dogs and drones. An employee of Cheddars said police searched the restaurant with guns drawn, and checked each car in the parking lot. On Tuesday, Pleasant Prairie Police Assistant Chief Randy Myles said police do not believe the shooting was random. I would say there is no indication that this was a random act. What precipitated it were still working on, Myles said. This appears to be an isolated incident. There is no danger to the public. Myles said Tuesday that detectives were following leads and a video specialist was working with security video from businesses in the area. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 RACINE The Tuesday fire on Racine's south side that killed a man and dog does not appear to be suspicious, Racine Police Sgt. Adam Malacara said Wednesday. "At this point in the fatal fire investigation, there is nothing to indicate that it is suspicious," he said. At 4:20 a.m. Tuesday, the Racine Police and Fire Departments responded to 2527 Coolidge Ave. for a report of a structure fire with flames reaching through windows on three sides of the home, according to Police and Fire Department news releases. When firefighters got the blaze under control, they entered the home and discovered the bodies of a man and a dog. As of Wednesday afternoon, officials had not released the name of the man. No other injuries were reported. The home is considered a total loss, with an estimated $130,750 in damage. The Racine Fire Department said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. KENOSHA Kenosha Police are searching for a man who allegedly attacked a businesss employee with an ax, then fled the scene. At 1:38 p.m. Thursday, Kenosha Police officers responded to an open business in the 5900 block of 35th Avenue for a report of assault, according to a Kenosha Police Department news release. A caller reported that a man with an ax and shovel entered the business and assaulted a male employee with the ax. The suspect then fled on foot north through yards. The victim suffered two lacerations to his elbow, but refused to be transported to a hospital. No motive for the assault was given, and officers found the ax and shovel at the scene. The suspect is described as a white man approximately 20 years of age, clean-shaven with dark, curly hair and wearing jeans and a dark T-shirt. Numerous officers, including two K-9 officers, searched the area on foot and could not locate the suspect. Kenosha Unifieds K-tech West and McKinley schools were notified that the incident occurred and placed on soft lockdown for a period of time. Additional area police patrols were assigned for the remainder of the day. Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call the Kenosha Police Department Detective Bureau at 262-605-5203 or, to remain anonymous, Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RACINE Local children in need will be able to get dinner for free at four locations around the city with next Tuesdays launch of the Healthy Kids Diner program from the Salvation Army of Racine and Racine Police Department. The program is intended to help meet a dire community need for children to get regular healthy meals. Thirty percent of children in Racine live in poverty, according to a Salvation Army press release. County-wide, 20% are impoverished, according to University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute data. We all know if kids are lacking nutrition, they dont develop fully the way their body was meant to develop, so those were all areas we wanted to address when we started this program, said Maj. Ken Nicolai, a corps officer with the Racine Salvation Army. The year-round Healthy Kids Diner program will give children dinners at various locations throughout the week. The schedule is as follows: Noon Sunday and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at The Salvation Army of Racine, 1901 Washington Ave. 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Villa Street COP House, 1146 Villa St. 5 p.m. Wednesday at the 16th Street COP House, 1900 16th St. 5 p.m. Thursday at the Geneva Street COP House, 1140 Geneva St. Meals will include fruits and vegetables and anything from chicken to spaghetti and meatballs, pizza or macaroni and cheese. All meals will meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture-recommended nutrition allowances for children. All meals will be made at the Salvation Army and transported to the other locations. Cooking will be handled by paid and volunteer kitchen staff, Nicolai said. As the program develops, Nicolai said, he hopes to add service on Saturdays and eventually serve food at more COP Houses around the city, and also to add more food-service days at each COP House. The Salvation Army and Police Department began developing the program about a year and a half ago, Nicolai said. We are excited to have this opportunity to break bread with the children we serve and to develop relationships that will have a lasting impact, Racine Police Lt. Jessie Metoyer said in a statement. Other contributors In addition to the RPD, the program is also getting help from United Way of Racine County, the state Department of Public Instruction and Racine Community Foundation. Nicolai said Healthy Kids Diners complements the existing Weekend Snack Program the Salvation Army runs, in which the organization sends 400 snack packs weekly to area schools for children in need to take home on the weekends. The Salvation Army is seeking volunteers for the program; volunteers must pass a background check. To get involved, contact Nicolai at ken_nicolai@usc.salvationarmy.org or call 262-632-3147. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LAKE GENEVA When it comes to future activities at the Riviera Ballroom in Lake Geneva, most people want the iconic lakefront landmark to be a place to enjoy a meal, listen to music or be creative. Those are the results of a community-wide survey in which about 500 people provided feedback on a proposed renovation and updating of the city-owned tourism center. Although detailed survey results have not been released, MSI General Corp., the city architect for the Riviera renovation project, discussed some findings May 14 at a Lake Geneva City Council committee meeting. City officials also announced plans for a June 5 community workshop during which aldermen plan to discuss the project with city employees and others associated with the Riviera, including shop owners and past contractors doing business at the facility. The workshop, scheduled for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. June 5 in the police training room at the Lake Geneva City Hall, 626 Geneva St., is open to the public, and Aldermen Doug Skates encouraged his fellow council members to bring ideas from their constituents. Aldermen have opinions and have been getting feedback from constituents, Skates said. I would like to have an open discussion to get what youre hearing in the neighborhoods. The city is planning an overhaul of the Riviera building that could cost $5 million, based on early projections. City officials have not identified a funding source to pay for the project, and they have not decided details of the project, although roof replacement is expected to be the first job. Citizen input MSI General representatives discussed some results of the survey during a May 14 meeting of the City Council Harbors and Lakefront Committee meeting. The survey was conducted over several months ending in April. Adam Wolfe, project manager for MSI General, said most people who completed the survey were full-time Lake Geneva residents aged 65 or older. Of those, most indicated that they care more about preserving the historic integrity of the building than they do about the cost of the renovation project. Wolfe said most also said activities they would like to see at the Riviera involved music, food and community art projects. As far as the building itself, Wolfe said renovations that survey respondents want are improved elevators, upgraded restrooms and better access to different areas of the building. It basically boils down to food, music, activities and updates, whether that be accessibility, bathrooms and elevators things of that nature, Wolfe said. The contractor has not yet released full survey results. The survey was available online at the citys website, and it also was distributed at several local businesses. Alderwoman Shari Straube said she did not receive a survey. I would assume that it went out to all Lake Geneva residents, Straube said. But it obviously didnt. Skates said the city informed residents about the survey at many public meetings and elsewhere. He also said the deadline for completing the survey was extended more than once to increase participation. We reached out, reached out, reached out, he said. I felt like we saturated as much as we could. More community meetings to discuss the Riviera project are expected in the coming months. Construction work is scheduled to begin later this year, with roof replacement identified as the first priority. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 UNION GROVE On the heels of Racine being named one of five winners of the nationwide Smart Cities Readiness Challenge, Union Grove officials want to explore how the village could implement its own smart city and 5G internet features. Smart cities tap into technology and data gathering to better inform development and government decisions. The implementation could be something as simple as using LED streetlights to save on energy costs, or as high-tech as having traffic lights synced up to allow faster travel for emergency response vehicles when they are on a call. Village Trustee Gordon Svendsen, chairman of the Community Development Authority, said at the CDAs meeting Tuesday that he was inspired to see how the technology could fit Downtown Union Grove after hearing about how Kansas City, Missouri, implemented smart city features to revitalize a blighted part of its downtown. Everybody expects this now everywhere you go so I think its something we should at least begin to look at, Svendsen said. I know its not anything that we can just flip a switch and make it happen. Not just big cities Although smart cities technology sounds futuristic and is typically implemented in midsize or large municipalities, it can be scaled to smaller communities as well, said Bob Bennett, Kansas Citys former chief innovation officer. As CIO, Bennett oversaw transforming Kansas City into what has been hailed as one of the most successful examples of a smart city. I am fully of the opinion that any city can be a smart city and, in fact, most of them are, Bennett said, adding that a municipality does not even necessarily need to use technology to be smart. Officials just need to take the data they have readily available and find the best ways to analyze it to implement positive changes in the community, he said. The small cities of Parkville, Missouri (population 5,500), and Seat Pleasant, Maryland (population 4,700), have begun implementing smart-city features, Bennett said. Parkville and Kansas City have internet-connected kiosks that have slots for advertisements and provide information to passersby and serve as public WiFi hot spots. They are typically installed through a public-private partnership in which the municipality gets a share of the advertisement profits, Bennett said. In Kansas City, kiosks have been installed at bus stops in impoverished neighborhoods and offer information on travel, voting and job training, with some revenue generation from advertisements for nearby businesses. Parkville, meanwhile, placed three or four kiosks at key locations in the city to do things such as track population flow and air quality and offer information on the citys downtown shopping district, Bennett said. The kiosks cost $12,000 to $18,000 each, Bennett said, and cities have paid for portions of the installation in exchange for a cut of the advertising revenue. Looking more into it Bennett, who left his government job in April to start smart city consulting firm B2 Civic Solutions, spoke about smart cities on May 16 at Racine County Economic Development Corp.s annual meeting. It was there that Svendsen said he became interested in how Union Grove could apply smart city methods. Svendsen said he hopes to work with Village Administrator Michael Hawes to explore how to proceed. The village will begin researching other comparable communities that have implemented public WiFi and smart city technology to determine if it is feasible in Union Grove, Hawes said in an email. I think it is something Union Grove will want to be out in front of, if the quality of technology and required investment are attainable, Hawes said. Svendsen said becoming a more high-tech municipality could help drive development to the village, including redevelopment of long-vacant parcels such as the former J & K Quik Mart, 802 Main St., which the CDA considered purchasing earlier this year. Love 0 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy The Republican plan to pull the Medicaid expansion out of the budget is blatantly partisan at the expense of every person in Wisconsin and is, according to the most recent Marquette polls, against what 70% of the citizens of this state want. Speaker Vos appears to consider that his opinion, and the Republican party opinion, should override the election of Tony Evers as governor. To Speaker Vos and Senator Fitzgerald: Take the money. Hundreds of millions of dollars will benefit this state, to say nothing of the improved healthcare (and reduction of devastating health care outcomes that will be even more costly) to thousands of Wisconsinites. Across the US, 37 states have accepted the Medicaid expansion. Speaker Vos has said that he doesn't care that the majority of people in the state want it. He doesn't and that's the end of it. Not so fast, Robin. You are supposed to be representing all of your constituents, and when 70% want something, it's time to reassess your short-sighted, politically motivated stance. Get Wisconsin's share of the federal money, and help those who are going uninsured or severely struggling to buy insurance. It's time to do the right thing. Linda Haack Racine Love 7 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 PM Deuba set to expand Cabinet for fifth time today Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is all set to expand his Cabinet for the fifth time on Monday, inducting four ministers from the Pashupati Shumsher Rana-led Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Prajatantrik). House endorses governments policies and programmes as Congress accuses Speaker of siding with ruling party In a rare event in the countrys parliamentary history, the governments policies and programmes were endorsed without the prime minister answering the counter-questions by lawmakers on Tuesday, as the Speaker continued the meeting of the House of Representatives, ignoring the concerns raised by the main opposition. The Memorial Day weekend forecast calls for some sun and temperatures in the high 60s, but a rising Mississippi River may put a damper on those eager to get their boats on the water. The river near La Crosse was at 11.3 feet as of Wednesday. It is expected to rise two feet and crest Sunday at 13.3 feet, fed by half an inch to an inch of rain in the forecast for Thursday evening into Friday running off saturated soils, said Logan Lee, La Crosse meteorologist with the National Weather Service. This would be the fourth time this year the river near La Crosse has crested, Lee said. The previous three times were: April 3 at 14.55 feet April 13 at 13.48 feet April 24 at 14.33 feet The river has been in flood stage above 12 feet since March 26 and only fell below flood stage May 6, Lee said. If you go out on the water Obviously, Memorial Day is the kick-off to boating season, said Mike Horstman, La Crosse County chief deputy. However, Horstman recommended that those who venture out on the Mississippi River refresh their boaters safety courses and make sure their boats are in good condition, for example, through a trial run on calmer waters. The water is high and fast so anyone leaving their boats (to swim) should be aware of that. It also means the boat will handle differently in high water and strong currents, Horstman said. The water is full of debris. Its not uncommon for there to be full trees submerged below. Horstman also reminded boaters to mind the no-wake zone near developed shorelines with businesses or homes, which takes effect when the river stage exceeds 10 feet. The rule limits waves from pounding the banks and eroding the shoreline. Both county and city patrols will be on the river during the weekend to enforce the no-wake rule, Horstman said, adding that violators will be fined. Horstman also encouraged boaters to be keep a safe distance from dam gates, both above and below the lock and dams. High water exacerbates everything that happens around the dam, Horstman said. That water is constantly churning. You could be sucked in. It can actually pull the boat or a person underneath. Locks and dams The lock and dam navigation system is open from Lock and Dam 2 in Alma, Minn. to Lock and Dam 16 in Muscatine, Iowa, said Patrick Loch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson for the St. Paul District. Lock and Dam 1 will start locking vessels vessels through May 25. Loch advised boaters to keep enough fuel on hand so they dont lose power near the dams and get trapped by powerful currents caused by fast, high water flowing through open dam gates. Boaters are also advised to keep a marine radio tuned to channel 14 for movement of ships in or near ports, locks or waterways, and to be patient when waiting to lock through, Loch said. Government-operated boats take priority in the queue, followed by passenger vessels on a set schedule, tows and recreational boats, Loch said. The Corps also urged caution while boating as flood conditions have shifted sediment into areas that are normally much deeper. Please be aware that channel conditions and depths can change rapidly and without warning, the Corps said in a press release. Ramp access High water means fewer boats out on the river, but also fewer boat landings to choose from, said Jay Odegaard, director of the La Crosse parks, recreation and forestry department. The citys East Copeland boat landing will likely close around the 13-foot flood stage, as water covers the concrete ramp leading to the docks, Odegaard said. Savvy boaters will shy away from the 7th Street landing, which has faster currents, and opt for the West Copeland and Municipal Harbor landings, which handle high water better, Odegaard said. The city is currently removing debris that has washed into the boat landings to get them ready for the weekend, but will put up barricades if they do close a ramp, Odegaard said. Boaters can check with the department to keep track of ramp closings. High waters are also limiting access to public boat landings outside the city. In the La Crosse district of the Upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Refuge, the I-90 ramp is likely to stay open, but the Round Lake and Long Lake ramps have been closed for months because of high water, said Hallie Rasmussen, visitor services manager. Expected closings along the Mississippi River between Wabasha, Minn., and Trempealeau, Wis., include Indian Slough, Beef Slough and Pontoon Slough located on Hwy. 25 between Wabasha and Nelson; Peterson Lake and Halfmoon located near Kellogg; Weaver at Weaver; Verchota and McNally on the Prairie Island Dike near Minnesota City; and Mertes Slough on Hwy 54/43 near Winona, Minnesota, as reported in the Winona Daily News. The camping scene Pettibone Resort RV Park & Campground is closed Memorial Day weekend due to high water. We start pulling people out (of the campgrounds) at 9 feet, campground manager Rory Anderson said As of Wednesday, half the campground is covered in water a foot deep in some places, and the campground is completely covered when the river reaches 12 feet, Anderson said. The campground usually opens to campers the second week of April but hasnt been able to because of flooding, Anderson said. This is the longest Ive ever seen it going on this long and Ive been here 20-plus years. Im really hoping I can get us open (for the) Fourth of July. Goose Island Campground, which begins to flood at 14.5 feet, is open with limited site availability, according to its recorded message. Veterans Point Marina, Pettibone Park and the La Crosse Marsh Trail are closed due to flooding, Odegaard said. Correction: This story has been corrected to say that Lock and Dam 1 will open May 25. It is not open at this time. Jennifer Lu is the La Crosse Tribune environmental reporter. You can reach her by phone at 608-791-8217 and by email jennifer.lu@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 La Crosse police are leading the fight alongside community members to tear down the barbed barricades that mental health stigma has used to imprison millions of people over the years. We know that mental health challenges are common and we want our community to feel more confident in reaching out to be a supportive person to someone who may be struggling, said Lt. Avrie Schott of the La Crosse Police Department and a Mental Health First Aid trainer. Better Together, an organization focused on improving mental health in La Crosse, spearheaded a free eight-hour Mental Health First Aid training course Wednesday at Viterbo University. Trainers from several La Crosse organizations, including Independent Living Resources, La Crosse County Human Services, Mental Health Coalition and the La Crosse Police Department, partnered with Better Together to lead the discussion with more than 150 attendees. We dont talk enough about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, like has your brain received enough sleep, said Diana DiazGranados, Better Together project evaluator and trainer. The training course has two programs, one for adults and another for youth. While the program for adults focuses solely on how mental health presents itself in adults, the youth program is more for people who work with kids than the youths themselves. Parents and people who work with kids need to know youths normal range of behaviour and recognize warning signs since youth tend to be moody already, DiazGranados said. Of all organizations taking part in this training, police seem to be the most unorthodox; however, they are the ones who must combat peoples subconscious notions that police only serve the community by arresting people. Every time an officers called, (people think theyre) going to jail, Schott said. We need to break that down and ... recognize that theres other resources in the community that we can call while were on scene. Schott, who explained the importance of Mental Health First Aid on a Tribcast episode, said one in five Americans struggle with a mental health illness and police recognize that this doesnt just affect the person suffering from the mental illness, bu extends to family friends and the greater community. La Crosse police took whats called a One Mind Campaign pledge in 2017, Schott said. Its a national pledge created by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to ensure successful interactions between police and people affected by mental health conditions. Officers who assist people in crisis need resources at their fingertips, Schott said. Mental Health First Aid training gives (police) more resources (and)... tools to recognize signs and symptoms, and teaches them to look at the bigger picture so as to properly contextualize a persons actions, she said. I have anxiety and have dealt with a lot of this myself. And a lot of people just dont get it until its happened to them, said 39-year-old Heidi Stein. The Holmen resident is the employee wellness coordinator at the La Crosse mayors office and said she calls police when a person suffering a mental health condition comes in. Stein said taking this class gave her insight into what police have to deal with, and her hope is to go away with just a lot of resources and more information to be able to help those people. Stein, whose husband is a firefighter, said the training should be offered to the fire department. I think this course would be awesome for firefighters because theyre getting calls and dealing with this all the time. I think that even employers (should) offer it to their employees. Being city employees, we deal with the public everyday, Stein said. People need to realize what the symptoms are of mental health and not be afraid to ask questions and break down that stigma. In the past two years, more than 600 people in La Crosse County have been trained in Mental Health First Aid, according to a Better Together. The organization set a goal of training at least 150 community members a year through 2022. We can all be more supportive of people we care about or (even) a stranger having a panic attack, DiazGranados said. Were thankful for the community support and involvement, said Cory Brandl, a La Crosse police investigator and trainer, and while it almost seems like another full-time job, the training course plays a key role in [reducing] stigma and misinformation around mental health. I truly believe La Crosse is very pro-community, and we work together. So this is just one way that the La Crosse Police Department can take that proactive approach and say, Hey, were part of this community that we serve and we want a better everybody, Schott said. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy The images from 2021 are from all over Wisconsin and helped tell the stories of the people and places of the Badger State. The University of Wisconsin System named Dwight Watson as the next chancellor of UW-Whitewater, the first chancellor selected under a new policy that ceded majority control away from the faculty he will now lead. How the process played out at UW-Whitewater could be a harbinger of chancellor searches to come at other UW campuses. The way in which the System and its governing board handled the five-month search sparked UW-Whitewaters Faculty Senate to pen an open letter saying they and other campus stakeholders were ignored and marginalized throughout the process. System President Ray Cross told UW-Whitewater in December the interim chancellor wouldnt be considered for the permanent position. Months later, he named her as a finalist. No minutes from meetings when the search committee met were made available to faculty members despite three requests made over a two-month period, according to the Faculty Senates letter. And a former member of the UW System Board of Regents remained on the committee even after her term expired. The perception that UW System President Ray Cross is making up rules as he goes elevates concerns that the selection of UW-Whitewaters next chancellor is actually in the hands of one or two people and not the broader body of UW-Whitewater students, staff, faculty, alumni and local community members, the letter said. Religious studies professor David Simmons, who leads UW-Whitewaters Faculty Senate, said last week that none of the candidates had the facultys full confidence. Regent Tracey Klein, who led the search committee, responded to the letter earlier this month in a System statement that said the committees dedication and strong shared governance chemistry represented the Wisconsin Idea in action. The Board of Regents unanimously voted Thursday in favor of appointing Watson, who has served as provost at Southwest Minnesota State University since 2015. The institution serves about 7,300 students. UW-Whitewaters enrollment in fall 2018 was about 12,000 students. Watson was a first-generation college student who received his bachelors and masters degrees in education from the University of South Carolina and a doctoral degree from North Carolina State University. His research focused on the literacy and language acquisition of students of color and urban learners. He starts Aug. 1 and will receive an annual salary of $240,000. UW-Whitewater geography professor Eric Compas, who served as vice chairman of the search committee, said Watson is a great fit for our campus. He wants to build on the strengths that we have, help us to better tell our story, and write UW-Whitewaters next chapter, he said in a System statement. Refusal to consult The search for UW-Whitewaters next chancellor began in December when former chancellor Beverly Kopper resigned following allegations that her husband, Alan Pete Hill, sexually harassed at least seven students and staff. Cross named Cheryl Green as interim chancellor that month through consultation with the campus community that faculty members say did not happen. Cross said in the same message that Green would be ineligible for the permanent position, but reversed course in a March letter, deciding that she should be allowed to apply, after consulting with a diverse group of stakeholders. The Faculty Senates letter said they were not consulted in that decision either. Kopper was selected through a more than yearlong process by a 21-member search committee that included 11 faculty members and broad campus representation from university staff, academic staff, students, alumni, foundation members and community members, Simmons said. Terry Warfield, a UW-Madison professor who heads the universitys executive committee of its Faculty Senate, said larger search committees typically yield larger campus buy-in. People buy in and feel like theyre part of the process, he said. Chancellors dont get their power solely by virtue of their positions. Under a Regent policy adopted in 2017 designed to streamline the process, chancellor search committees now include 10 members, half of whom are Regents. The other five members selected by Cross must include two faculty, a university staff person, a student, and one community member or graduate. System officials allowed a nonvoting member of UW-Whitewaters Rock County campus to serve on the search committee because the search committee policy was made before a System-wide restructuring put the Rock County campus under Whitewaters oversight. Concessions were not made, according to the faculty letter, to add nonvoting members from two of the universitys academic colleges that lacked representation on the committee. That never sat well with the faculty, Simmons said. Regent representation Regina Millner was one of five Regents appointed to UW-Whitewaters search committee in January. Even after her term expired May 1, she remained on the committee through Thursdays appointment. The same scenario is unfolding at UW-Stout, which is in the middle of its own chancellor search process following the retirement of Bob Meyer in August. Former Regent president John Robert Behling who spearheaded the new policy that gave the Regents majority control of chancellor search committees appointed himself to the UW-Stout chancellor search committee. The appointments were released to the public April 5, less than a month before his term on the board ended. UW System spokesman Mark Pitsch said Regents are selected based on factors including their background, experience, expertise and geographic location. He said search committee members are selected to serve in accordance with both Regent policy and state law and serve through completion to ensure continuity of the work. Asked to explain how Millner and Behling who are no longer Regents, according to state law can serve on the committees through a policy that specifically calls for five Regents, Pitsch did not offer clarification. He also didnt say when asked whether it had occurred in past chancellor searches. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe City officials in San Clemente think they've found a solution to the growing homeless encampments in the area that have residents fuming: a designated campsite. The San Clemente City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow people experiencing homelessness to camp on a city-owned lot. The lot is on E. Avenida Pico, about a half mile inland from North Beach. Officials hope to move people to the lot from an encampment at the train station in North Beach. Some 20 to 30 people have been camped illegally around the station for several months. The growing encampment there has raised the ire of San Clemente residents, who say the area is becoming unsafe and unsightly. Around 200 people came to the City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, many of them to air their grievances about street homelessness and to urge council members to find a solution. The crowd erupted in cheers when the council passed an urgency ordinance designating the city-owned lot as the town's official homeless camp. The camp is intended to be temporary while the city explores options for opening an indoor shelter. Officials hope the move will allow them to enforce anti-camping regulations in the rest of the city. San Clemente plans to set up a sanctioned camp for homeless people on a city-owned maintenance yard next to a water treatment plant. (Jill Replogle/LAist) Mayor Pro Tem Dan Bane told KPCC the camp would have portable bathrooms and possibly showers. The site would also be fenced and have security. "The general idea is to confine it to an area that's not only a place that's safe for the residents, but also safe for the homeless," Bane said. The approach is unique in Orange County, although some California cities, including San Diego and Santa Cruz, have opened sanctioned tent camps in recent years. San Diego's camp was run by a non-profit organization and residents there stayed in camp-issued tents. The camp closed after just two months -- residents who hadn't been housed were relocated to an indoor shelter. Santa Cruz recently opened its second iteration of a sanctioned tent camp, this time run by the Salvation Army. Residents of the camp are subject to rules, including when and how they can enter and exit the property. Other cities in the U.S., notably Seattle, have also experimented with sanctioned tent camps, with mixed reviews and debated results. It's still unclear who, exactly, will manage the camp in San Clemente and what kind of restrictions will be placed on people wishing to stay there. But San Clemente resident Michelle Brooks said she hoped it would be a first step to getting homeless people off city streets. "I think right now it's a public safety issue where they're defecating on the sidewalks and it's unsafe for children to be around," Brooks said. Still, Brooks said she's concerned that some people currently sleeping near the train station will refuse to go to the city-sanctioned camp and that law enforcement will be unable to force them to move. A recent federal court ruling found that people experiencing homelessness have a right to sleep in public places, if there's no available shelter. San Clemente faces a federal lawsuit filed locally by advocates for the homeless over the city's failure to provide shelter. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in that lawsuit object to the city's decision to designate an official homeless campsite. They penned a letter to city leaders Wednesday casting doubt on the city's ability to enforce anti-camping laws without having indoor shelter to offer. They threatened to sue the city if anti-camping laws are enforced against people who choose not to move to the city-sanctioned lot. The lawyers also said forcing people to sleep at the empty lot with no shade was cruel. "The City's plan replicates the inhumane camps now holding refugees and asylum speakers along the southern border of the United States. Unsheltered individuals are not criminals." The Emergency Shelter Coalition, one of the plaintiffs, has repeatedly criticized the city for failing to facilitate the opening of an emergency homeless shelter. The group won a prior lawsuit against the city over the issue in 2016. City staff presented a report at the Tuesday meeting on its recent efforts to open an emergency shelter. Staff said there was no viable location in the city's state-mandated shelter zone, and recommended that the city work with the county and neighboring cities to find a regional solution. The 2019 Point-In-Time tally of homeless people in Orange County found 96 people living on the streets in San Clemente. 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12 (6) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (4) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (4) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (4) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (5) Jan 02 (4) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (2) Dec 29 (2) Dec 28 (3) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (3) Dec 22 (3) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (4) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (5) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (2) Dec 11 (6) Dec 10 (4) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (6) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (3) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (4) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (4) Nov 30 (2) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (5) Nov 24 (4) Nov 23 (6) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (4) Nov 20 (2) Nov 19 (5) Nov 18 (7) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (4) Nov 15 (6) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (4) Nov 11 (3) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (3) Nov 07 (2) Nov 06 (2) Nov 05 (2) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (4) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (2) Oct 31 (3) Oct 30 (4) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (2) Oct 27 (3) Oct 26 (3) Oct 25 (2) Oct 24 (2) Oct 23 (2) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (2) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (3) Oct 18 (2) Oct 17 (2) Oct 16 (2) Oct 15 (2) Oct 14 (4) Oct 13 (2) Oct 12 (3) Oct 11 (2) Oct 10 (2) Oct 09 (4) Oct 08 (4) Oct 07 (4) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (4) Oct 04 (5) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (6) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (3) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (7) Sep 26 (4) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (5) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (3) Sep 21 (3) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (3) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (5) Sep 16 (7) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (4) Sep 13 (3) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (5) Sep 10 (5) Sep 09 (7) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (2) Sep 06 (7) Sep 05 (4) Sep 04 (4) Sep 03 (2) Sep 02 (2) Sep 01 (2) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (3) Aug 29 (3) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (3) Aug 26 (4) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (3) Aug 23 (3) Aug 22 (4) Aug 21 (4) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (4) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (2) Aug 16 (2) Aug 15 (5) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (10) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (5) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (5) Aug 04 (5) Aug 03 (3) Aug 02 (5) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (5) Jul 30 (5) Jul 29 (4) Jul 28 (3) Jul 27 (3) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (5) Jul 23 (5) Jul 22 (7) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (5) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (5) Jul 16 (5) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (4) Jul 13 (3) Jul 12 (2) Jul 11 (2) Jul 10 (2) Jul 09 (2) Jul 08 (2) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (2) Jul 05 (2) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (3) Jul 02 (2) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (6) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (6) Jun 27 (6) Jun 26 (6) Jun 25 (6) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (4) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (4) Jun 19 (5) Jun 18 (8) Jun 17 (6) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (5) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (4) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (4) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (5) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (3) Jun 05 (3) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (3) Jun 02 (3) Jun 01 (4) May 31 (2) May 30 (2) May 29 (2) May 28 (2) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (3) May 24 (2) May 23 (2) May 22 (3) May 21 (5) May 20 (4) May 19 (2) May 18 (3) May 17 (3) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (5) May 13 (3) May 12 (4) May 11 (3) May 10 (4) May 09 (4) May 08 (4) May 07 (3) May 06 (2) May 05 (3) May 04 (4) May 03 (2) May 02 (3) May 01 (3) Apr 30 (3) Apr 29 (4) Apr 28 (2) Apr 27 (3) Apr 26 (4) Apr 25 (2) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (2) Apr 22 (2) Apr 21 (4) Apr 20 (4) Apr 19 (5) Apr 18 (7) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (10) Apr 15 (5) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (7) Apr 08 (4) Apr 07 (7) Apr 06 (4) Apr 05 (7) Apr 04 (5) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (5) Mar 31 (5) Mar 30 (5) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (6) Mar 27 (5) Mar 26 (5) Mar 25 (6) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (5) Mar 21 (4) Mar 20 (3) Mar 19 (6) Mar 18 (6) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (5) Mar 14 (4) Mar 13 (5) Mar 12 (5) Mar 11 (4) Mar 10 (4) Mar 09 (2) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (3) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (4) Mar 01 (5) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (4) Feb 26 (4) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (2) Feb 23 (3) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (6) Feb 20 (2) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (2) Feb 16 (3) Feb 15 (6) Feb 14 (6) Feb 13 (6) Feb 12 (9) Feb 11 (5) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (7) Feb 06 (3) Feb 05 (4) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (3) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (3) Jan 28 (2) Jan 27 (2) Jan 26 (3) Jan 25 (4) Jan 24 (4) Jan 23 (2) Jan 22 (2) Jan 21 (5) Jan 20 (4) Jan 19 (5) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (4) Jan 16 (3) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (3) Jan 12 (3) Jan 11 (2) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (2) Jan 07 (2) Jan 06 (3) Jan 05 (2) Jan 04 (2) Jan 03 (2) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (2) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (3) Dec 29 (3) Dec 28 (3) Dec 27 (2) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (2) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (2) Dec 21 (2) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (2) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (2) Dec 16 (2) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (2) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (3) Dec 10 (5) Dec 09 (3) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (2) Dec 06 (3) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (5) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (3) Nov 30 (4) Nov 29 (4) Nov 28 (2) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (2) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (2) Nov 22 (2) Nov 21 (2) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (3) Nov 18 (2) Nov 17 (2) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (5) Nov 14 (4) Nov 13 (2) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (2) Nov 10 (2) Nov 09 (2) Nov 08 (2) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (6) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (5) Nov 03 (5) Nov 02 (3) Nov 01 (5) Oct 31 (7) Oct 30 (5) Oct 29 (4) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (2) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (4) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (2) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (2) Oct 18 (2) Oct 17 (3) Oct 16 (5) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (2) Oct 13 (2) Oct 12 (4) Oct 11 (5) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (3) Oct 08 (3) Oct 07 (3) Oct 06 (2) Oct 05 (5) Oct 04 (5) Oct 03 (4) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (5) Sep 30 (2) Sep 29 (2) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (6) Sep 26 (2) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (2) Sep 22 (2) Sep 21 (2) Sep 20 (2) Sep 19 (3) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (2) Sep 15 (4) Sep 14 (3) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (6) Sep 10 (2) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (5) Sep 06 (4) Sep 05 (4) Sep 04 (3) Sep 03 (2) Sep 02 (3) Sep 01 (3) Aug 31 (2) Aug 30 (2) Aug 29 (3) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (3) Aug 26 (2) Aug 25 (2) Aug 24 (3) Aug 23 (2) Aug 22 (3) Aug 21 (5) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (3) Aug 18 (2) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (5) Aug 13 (2) Aug 12 (2) Aug 11 (2) Aug 10 (2) Aug 09 (2) Aug 08 (5) Aug 07 (5) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (2) Aug 04 (5) Aug 03 (2) Aug 02 (3) Aug 01 (2) Jul 31 (4) Jul 30 (2) Jul 29 (2) Jul 28 (2) Jul 27 (2) Jul 26 (3) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (2) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (2) Jul 21 (3) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (2) Jul 18 (3) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (5) Jul 15 (2) Jul 14 (3) Jul 13 (2) Jul 12 (3) Jul 11 (2) Jul 10 (2) Jul 09 (2) Jul 08 (2) Jul 07 (2) Jul 06 (2) Jul 05 (2) Jul 04 (2) Jul 03 (2) Jul 02 (2) Jul 01 (3) Jun 30 (3) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (2) Jun 26 (3) Jun 25 (1) Jun 24 (2) Jun 23 (3) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (3) Jun 20 (2) Jun 19 (2) Jun 18 (2) Jun 17 (2) Jun 16 (2) Jun 15 (2) Jun 14 (2) Jun 13 (3) Jun 12 (3) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (2) Jun 09 (4) Jun 08 (2) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (5) Jun 05 (3) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (2) Jun 02 (2) Jun 01 (4) May 31 (2) May 30 (3) May 29 (3) May 28 (3) May 27 (2) May 26 (2) May 25 (2) May 24 (2) May 23 (2) May 22 (3) May 21 (3) May 20 (2) May 19 (2) May 18 (4) May 17 (7) May 16 (2) May 15 (3) May 14 (4) May 13 (3) May 12 (4) May 11 (4) May 10 (4) May 09 (3) May 08 (2) May 07 (2) May 06 (2) May 05 (1) May 04 (2) May 03 (4) May 02 (3) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (1) Apr 29 (3) Apr 28 (2) Apr 27 (3) Apr 26 (2) Apr 25 (2) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (2) Apr 22 (2) Apr 21 (2) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (3) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (3) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (4) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (2) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (3) Apr 04 (1) Apr 03 (1) Apr 02 (1) Apr 01 (2) Mar 31 (2) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (2) Mar 28 (3) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (3) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (2) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (3) Mar 21 (4) Mar 20 (2) Mar 19 (3) Mar 18 (1) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (2) Mar 15 (1) Mar 14 (3) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (2) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (2) Mar 08 (1) Mar 07 (1) Mar 04 (2) Mar 02 (2) Feb 28 (1) Feb 24 (1) Dec 31 (4) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (4) Dec 28 (5) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (4) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (3) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (3) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (3) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (3) Dec 06 (3) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (3) Nov 30 (3) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (3) Nov 23 (3) Nov 22 (3) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (3) Nov 18 (3) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (2) Nov 15 (3) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (4) Nov 11 (3) Nov 10 (4) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (4) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (3) Nov 05 (5) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (3) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (4) Oct 30 (3) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (2) Oct 27 (4) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (3) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (4) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (3) Oct 18 (4) Oct 17 (4) Oct 16 (3) Oct 15 (3) Oct 14 (3) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (3) Oct 11 (3) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (3) Oct 08 (3) Oct 07 (4) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (4) Oct 04 (3) Oct 03 (4) Oct 02 (5) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (4) Sep 29 (3) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (4) Sep 26 (3) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (3) Sep 22 (3) Sep 21 (3) Sep 20 (3) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (3) Sep 13 (3) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (4) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (4) Sep 08 (4) Sep 07 (3) Sep 06 (3) Sep 05 (3) Sep 04 (3) Sep 03 (3) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (3) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (4) Aug 29 (3) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (3) Aug 26 (3) Aug 25 (4) Aug 24 (4) Aug 23 (5) Aug 22 (3) Aug 21 (3) Aug 20 (3) Aug 19 (3) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (3) Aug 12 (3) Aug 11 (4) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (3) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (5) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (3) Aug 03 (3) Aug 02 (3) Aug 01 (3) Jul 31 (3) Jul 30 (4) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (5) Jul 27 (3) Jul 26 (3) Jul 25 (3) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (4) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (3) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (4) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (4) Jul 15 (3) Jul 14 (3) Jul 13 (4) Jul 12 (5) Jul 11 (4) Jul 10 (4) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (3) Jul 03 (4) Jul 02 (3) Jul 01 (6) Jun 30 (4) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (4) Jun 25 (5) Jun 24 (4) Jun 23 (3) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (4) Jun 19 (4) Jun 18 (5) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (3) Jun 13 (3) Jun 12 (3) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (5) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (4) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (5) Jun 05 (4) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (4) Jun 02 (5) Jun 01 (3) May 31 (4) May 30 (3) May 29 (3) May 28 (3) May 27 (3) May 26 (4) May 25 (4) May 24 (4) May 23 (4) May 22 (3) May 21 (3) May 20 (4) May 19 (3) May 18 (3) May 17 (4) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (3) May 13 (4) May 12 (1) May 11 (3) May 10 (3) May 09 (3) May 08 (3) May 07 (4) May 06 (3) May 05 (4) May 04 (4) May 03 (3) May 02 (3) May 01 (6) Apr 30 (3) Apr 29 (3) Apr 28 (3) Apr 27 (5) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (3) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (3) Apr 22 (3) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (3) Apr 18 (3) Apr 17 (4) Apr 16 (3) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (3) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (3) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (3) Apr 09 (3) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (3) Apr 04 (3) Apr 03 (3) Apr 02 (3) Apr 01 (3) Mar 31 (3) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (3) Mar 28 (4) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (3) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (3) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (3) Mar 21 (3) Mar 20 (3) Mar 19 (3) Mar 18 (3) Mar 17 (3) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (3) Mar 14 (3) Mar 13 (3) Mar 12 (4) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (4) Mar 09 (4) Mar 08 (3) Mar 07 (3) Mar 06 (4) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (3) Mar 03 (3) Mar 02 (3) Mar 01 (3) Feb 28 (3) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (3) Feb 25 (3) Feb 24 (2) Feb 23 (3) Feb 22 (3) Feb 21 (3) Feb 20 (3) Feb 19 (3) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (3) Feb 16 (3) Feb 15 (3) Feb 14 (3) Feb 13 (3) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (3) Feb 08 (3) Feb 07 (4) Feb 06 (3) Feb 05 (3) Feb 04 (4) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (3) Jan 30 (3) Jan 29 (3) Jan 28 (5) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (5) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (3) Jan 21 (4) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (5) Jan 18 (5) Jan 17 (4) Jan 16 (3) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (5) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (4) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (3) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (3) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (3) Jan 01 (4) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (3) Dec 29 (3) Dec 28 (3) Dec 27 (3) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (3) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (4) Dec 22 (3) Dec 21 (3) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (4) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (3) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (3) Dec 08 (3) Dec 07 (3) Dec 06 (4) Dec 05 (3) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (3) Dec 01 (3) Nov 30 (3) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (3) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (3) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (4) Nov 23 (6) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (5) Nov 20 (4) Nov 19 (4) Nov 18 (4) Nov 17 (4) Nov 16 (3) Nov 15 (2) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (3) Nov 10 (2) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (3) Nov 06 (2) Nov 05 (2) Nov 04 (3) Nov 03 (2) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (2) Oct 30 (6) Oct 29 (5) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (5) Oct 26 (3) Oct 25 (4) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (5) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (4) Oct 18 (4) Oct 17 (3) Oct 16 (2) Oct 15 (3) Oct 14 (3) Oct 13 (2) Oct 12 (2) Oct 11 (2) Oct 10 (3) Oct 09 (4) Oct 08 (2) Oct 07 (2) Oct 06 (2) Oct 05 (3) Oct 04 (2) Oct 03 (4) Oct 02 (3) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (3) Sep 29 (4) Sep 28 (3) Sep 27 (2) Sep 26 (2) Sep 25 (2) Sep 24 (1) Sep 23 (1) Sep 22 (2) Sep 21 (2) Sep 20 (1) Sep 19 (1) Sep 18 (1) Sep 17 (2) Sep 16 (1) Sep 15 (2) Sep 14 (2) Sep 13 (1) Sep 12 (1) Sep 11 (2) Sep 10 (2) Sep 09 (1) Sep 08 (1) Sep 07 (2) Sep 06 (1) Sep 05 (1) Sep 04 (2) Sep 03 (1) Sep 02 (1) Sep 01 (1) Aug 31 (2) Aug 30 (1) Aug 29 (1) Aug 28 (1) Aug 27 (1) Aug 26 (1) Aug 25 (1) Aug 24 (1) Aug 23 (2) Aug 22 (1) Aug 21 (1) Aug 20 (2) Aug 19 (1) Aug 18 (1) Aug 17 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(1) Jul 06 (1) Jul 03 (1) Jul 01 (1) Jun 28 (1) Jun 24 (2) Jun 20 (1) Jun 19 (1) Jun 18 (1) Jun 15 (1) Jun 14 (2) Jun 11 (1) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (1) Jun 07 (1) Jun 06 (1) Jun 04 (2) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (2) Jun 01 (1) May 31 (3) May 30 (1) May 29 (1) May 28 (2) May 26 (1) May 25 (1) May 18 (1) May 17 (1) May 15 (1) May 09 (1) May 07 (2) May 02 (1) May 01 (1) Apr 30 (1) Apr 27 (1) Apr 26 (2) Apr 23 (1) Apr 22 (1) Apr 19 (1) Apr 18 (1) Apr 12 (1) Apr 11 (1) Apr 09 (1) Apr 07 (1) Apr 05 (1) Apr 01 (1) Mar 30 (1) Mar 27 (1) Mar 25 (1) Mar 22 (2) Mar 19 (1) Mar 18 (1) Mar 16 (1) Mar 15 (2) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (1) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (1) 11th annual Special Needs Network Pink Pump Gala Tea and Fashion Show On Sunday, May 19 over 450 powerful women and a few good men came together for the 11th annual Special Needs Network Pink Pump Gala tea and fashion show. This years Women of Distinction honorees, actress Vanessa Bell-Calloway, autism self advocate Spencer Harte and TV Personality Robin McGraw, dazzled the audience with heart-filled acceptance speeches. Attendees dressed in pink to symbolize the power of women philanthropy and to acknowledge the boldness of their collective efforts of supporting children and families. A Destination Vacation fashion show was presented by Galina Sobolev and her designer brand, Single LA. This celebration of women is held annually to raise money for Special Needs Networks famed camp Joe Patton Academy Camp (JPAC). Camp JPAC is the only autism inclusion camp in Los Angeles County and its home to 300 kids with special needs and their siblings. A full-day camp which offers sports, music, dance, computer technology and academics, the camp also employs over 100 high school and college students as camp counselors. This years event was simply incredible. I was overwhelmed by the tremendous support for the work that Special Needs Network does and Camp JPAC. With more than 1 in 59 children being diagnosed with autism, the need for the services that Special Needs Network provides has been increasing each year, says Areva Martin, Special Needs Network founder/President, award-winning civil rights attorney, CNN commentator and Cohost of Face the Truth. The event was emceed by CBS2 anchor Pat Harvey. Celebrity and special guests included Kym Whitley who served as the auctioneer, Vivica Fox, Lela Rochon, Tina Knowles Lawson, Anna Marie Horsford, Holly Robinson Peete, Cookie Johnson, Dr. Nita Landry, Dr. Judy Ho, Sherry Shepard, Essence Atkins and Elise Neal. The event was sponsored by Cal Wellness, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, L.A. Care Health Plan, UPS, Real Men Cook Foundation, NBC/Universal, US Bank, SEIU 99 and SEIU 721. ADVERTISEMENT Another Letter and Libation for Limbiko: Nurturing, Living and Linking the Good Homage to you Seba Limbiko Tembo, beloved sister and sacred friend, esteemed and honored teacher of the good, the right and the possible, on this your birthday, May 3, 6259. We pay homage and pour libation to you, Limbiko, saying the Zulu praise poem of royal greeting. For you are royal in your righteous and loving service to our people. And so, we say, Bayede, Nkosazana, homage to you royal one. Bayede, wena omnyama omuhle, homage to you, you beautiful Black one. Wena waphakati, you of the center in the center of your people and in the center of our lives and love. Wena wohlanga, you descendent of the original ones, the awesome ancestors that brought us into being. Bayede, Limbiko, righteous and royal one. Olungileyo akaqedwa, the good and righteous one cannot be defeated or undone, even by death. It has now been ten years Limbiko since you made transition, rose up in radiance in the heavens and assumed an honored place in the sacred circle of our ancestors. And as the ancestors taught, even as you are a glorious spirit in heaven, you are also a continuing powerful presence on earth, in what we do, think and feel and hold sacred, dear and indispensable. Indeed, in the tradition of the ancestors, let it be said countless times, we continue to love and miss you and will never get used to your absence or find ourselves among the short-memory people whose memory or love diminishes or dies with the cremation or burying of the body. As it is written, experienced and lived, you remain a powerful presence among us; your name endures as a monument; and the good you and all our other ancestors have done shall never perish or pass away. This year in celebration of your life and work, we held again our Annual Limbiko Tembo Majadiliano on Education. It is a continuing conversation on education as a life project and practice, on teaching our children in caring, culturally rich, rewarding and excellent ways, and on defining, reaffirming and expanding the conception and criteria of a Kawaida education. This year we celebrated Thabiti Ambatas birthday with yours and in our conversations, we linked your lives and work. The theme was Nurturing Young Hearts, Minds and Bodies: Linking the Lives of Work of Limbiko Tembo and Thabiti Ambata. And we called our gathering together: A Birthday Celebration, Conversation and Kikoa. ADVERTISEMENT Now, as you know and remember, our Kawaida celebration always contains and requires lifting up lessons from the lives and work of those we celebrate. For what better way can we celebrate their lives than by lifting up and living the life lessons they left us. Indeed, our ancestors and those of exemplary service among us are each and together a light to be constantly lifted up to show a rightful and righteous way forward. And they are a mirror to measure ourselves by the best of our history and culture; and a life-map suggesting routes and roads we must travel in continuously advancing upward and onward in the world. The annual forum on education dedicated to you and called majadiliano reflects not only our aim of a depthful, comprehensive and engaging conversation, but also the communitarian shared values we seek always to practice as African persons. The word majadiliano comes from the verb jadiliana, which by its ending ana stresses reciprocal action of giving and receiving, of doing things together in shared interest and mutual benefit. Thus, majadiliano means discussing together, inquiring and questioning together and reasoning together and in this case, to do this in celebration, honor and pursuit of an expanded knowledge and understanding and a rightful and effective assertion in the interest of human good and the well-being of the world. Always, we have a kikoa, our communal meal, with the majadiliano. For the sharing of food in the context of celebration or simply in the midst of coming together to share in various other ways is an enjoyable, binding and relation-building practice. Indeed, its never just the sharing of food, but also fostering an increased unity, cooperation and commitment to each other, to our values and always to the life we live, the work we do and the struggle we wage as African people. In a word, it is a sharing of good that nourishes, not only thru food, but also thru the joy, pleasure and beauty of just being together and sharing thoughts, hopes, memories and aspirations for our future, our people and the world. We talked about you in teaching and Thabiti in nursing, linking your lives and work as Africans, African women, nurturers of our children, servants of our people, advocates of Kawaida and of Us, sisters of the Senut society, and your coming into being on the same date, May 3. Also, we talked about each of your work in the context of your patron ancestors Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune for you and Nurse Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American professional nurse. And we linked you together thru your embrace of some of the essential values they modelled in their lives and work, i.e., caring, commitment, knowledge, self-determination and righteous struggle. Likewise, we discussed the fundamental principles of a Kawaida educational practice. That is to say, the caring, committed and comprehensive teaching of the children in our school, the Limbiko Tembo School of African American Culture: knowledge of the world; knowledge of themselves in the world; knowledge of how to successfully engage the world; and knowledge of how to direct their lives toward good and expansive ends. And we talked too about the Kawaida principles of nursing with which Thabiti did her work: respect for the dignity and rights of persons and patients; beneficent caring and avoidance of harm; responsibility as responsiveness and accountability; personal and professional integrity; and active advocacy in the interest of the patients, the community and the profession. Also, we presented a joint PowerPoint developed by Tiamoyo and me to serve as a focal point of our images and outline for our conversation. And teachers from the School presented examples of your lesson plans and other work, including Chimbuko, Thanayi, Jan, Tulivu and Tambuzi. It was a good and beautiful experience and exchange and we all left uplifted, reaffirmed and recommitted. ADVERTISEMENT I began to write the last part of this letter and report in the early morning before dawn, and now the day is coming forth, distinguishing itself from the night. It is a beautiful day outside. The sun has risen and the morning mist has lifted and melted away. And I walk out on the patio to feel and breathe the early morning freshness. There are still clouds remaining from yesterdays rain and I look up to see if I can find your face and form in them. And in my minds eye and eager imagination, you are there, holding your signature arc of kente cloth in your hand, writing rainbows of remembrance and promise in the sky. The sunlight of your smile falls softly on my face. And I say to myself, as Ive said since the Sixties, Its a good day to struggle. For an essential understanding of our ancestral legacy is one of a life well-lived, rooted in self-giving love, work and struggle. And in good conscience I can do less in the life I live, the work I do and the struggle I wage. Dr.MaulanaKarenga,ProfessorandChairofAfricanaStudies,CaliforniaStateUniversity-LongBeach; Executive Director,AfricanAmericanCulturalCenter(Us);CreatorofKwanzaa;and authorofKwanzaa: ACelebrationofFamily,CommunityandCultureandIntroduction to BlackStudies,4thEdition, www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org; www.MaulanaKarenga.org. 05-20-19 Attorneys for Unarmed Black Gay Homeless Youth Fatally Shot in Walgreens by Armed Security Guard Announce Lawsuit Courtesy Photo During a Tuesday morning press conference in Los Angeles, attorneys representing the family of Jonathan Hart announced a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit had been filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Walgreens, American Protection Group, S.E.B. Security Services, and Donald Vincent Ciota II of Covina for the Dec. 2, 2018 shooting death of 21-year-old Hart. The suit was filed by Douglas Hicks Law with co-counsel Girardi Keese on behalf of Harts estate and his twin sister Psykyssyanna Hart. ADVERTISEMENT We are alleging that Walgreens, the largest pharmaceutical retailer in the world is responsible for the tragic death of 21-year-old Jonathan Hart, said attorney Carl Douglas. They are responsible even though its clear that Donald Ciota fired the fatal shot striking Jonathan once in the back of the neck. Walgreens is responsible even though Donald Ciota was hired by American Protection Group which was hired by S.E.B. Security Services. Walgreens is responsible for the death of Jonathan Hart because of the despicable choices that they made to place profits over safety. Walgreens owns and operates more than 9,500 retail stores in the United States. Over 640 retails stores in California and over 54 stores in Los Angeles County, but the lawsuit alleges that in their senseless pursuit of profits over the safety of its millions of customers, Walgreens has chosen to despicably place armed security guards in several of its stores. Douglas went on to explain that Walgreens only places armed guards at stores in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles County. I really miss my brother, cried Psykyssyanna Hart the twin sister of Jonathan. Everyday I have to look at this necklace and carry him around and I dont want him in this position. I want him here. Our birthday passedthe first birthday without him and I wouldnt wish this on anybody. Jonathan Hart, also known as Sky Young, a homeless 21-year-old African American gay youth, was gunned down by American Protection Group and S.E.B. Security Services armed security guard Donald Ciota at a Walgreens in Hollywood, Calif. on Dec. 2, 2018, following a dispute over whether or not he was shoplifting. Hart was shot in the neck from behind. Ciota currently faces one count of murder with an allegation that he used a firearm as a deadly and dangerous weapon. We intend to fight to the finish to make sure that the life and death of Jonathan Hart will not have been in vain, added Douglas. That the pain that this young woman feels will not have to be felt by another family member. ADVERTISEMENT In addition to wrongful death, the lawsuit also alleges negligent hiring of armed security guards in select Los Angeles communities that serve predominantly African American and Hispanic customers including stores at Slauson and Western, Florence and La Brea, Downtown L.A., and Crenshaw and Coliseum. BBA Celebrates Gospel Music The Black Business Association (BBA) will recognize gospel music legends at its Salute to Black Music Awards Dinner on Tuesday, June 18, at 7 p.m., at the California African American Museum. Vicki Mack Lataillade, co-founder of GospoCentric Records will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; Lisa Collins, publisher of L.A. Focus will be the Outstanding Gospel Publication Award recipient and Byron J. Smith, president of National Association Negro Musicians, will be honored with the Outstanding Artistic Vision Award. According to Earl Skip Cooper II, BBA president/CEO, acknowledging the genre is part of the organizations annual commemoration of Black Music Month. In the past, the nonprofit has paid tribute to industry icons such as Clarence Avant, Berry Gordy, Janet Jackson and Siedah Garrett. ADVERTISEMENT Regarding this years event, Cooper said, The Black Business Association honors gospel music as few events in history have been more compelling, convincing, or persuasive than gospel music. Some of the most beautiful music of all times was born out of intense grief and suffering and gospel music has provided spiritual sunshine on the darkest of days. Honoree Collins noted that gospel music has endured throughout the decades and maintains its popularity in contemporary times. Gospel will be forever relevant, no matter the times or changes in music style. People always want to be encouraged, uplifted, emotionally stirred and redeemed. Gospel music does that whatever your preference of style. It also provides a way for people to praise the Lord in their own unique voices, she said. Before founding L.A. Focus newspaper, Collins worked 14 years as the gospel columnist for Billboard. For the past two decades, she has published the The Gospel Music Industry Roundup, which is often referred to as the bible of the gospel music industry. In 1998, Collins established the First Ladies High Tea, which attracts 1,000+ women and 90 churches together for an afternoon of inspiration and praise. The BBA, headquartered in Los Angeles, has been instrumental in the growth and development of thousands of African American businesses by providing innovative information and service programs. Cooper said, We advocate for change and adherence to laws and programs. BBA assist companies and individuals move up the ladder of success. For tickets or sponsorship information for the awards dinner, call (323) 291-9334 or visit bbala.org. Billionaire Stuns 2019 Morehouse Grads, to Pay Off Student Debt The billionaire technology investor who promised to pay off hundreds of Morehouse College graduates student loans has ties to Chicago including patenting a coffee brewing method for a company then called Kraft General Foods. (Steve Schaefer / AP) A billionaire technology investor stunned the entire graduating class at Morehouse College when he announced at their commencement Sunday that he would pay off their student loans estimated at up to $40 million. ADVERTISEMENT Robert F. Smith, this years commencement speaker, made the announcement while addressing nearly 400 graduating seniors of the all-male historically black college in Atlanta. Smith, who is black, is the Founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in software, data, and technology-driven companies. On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, were gonna put a little fuel in your bus, the investor and philanthropist told graduates in his morning address. This is my class, 2019. And my family is making a grant to eliminate their student loans. The announcement immediately drew stunned looks from faculty and students alike. Then the graduates broke into the biggest cheers of the morning and stood up, applauding. Morehouse said it is the single largest gift to the college. Though college officials could not provide an estimate of the exact amount owed by the current graduating class, students graduate with an average debt of $30,000 to $40,000, said Terrance L. Dixon, vice president of enrollment management. Smith, who received an honorary doctorate from Morehouse during the ceremony, had already announced a $1.5 million gift to the school. Smith said he expected the recipients to pay it forward and said he hoped that every class has the same opportunity going forward. ADVERTISEMENT Because we are enough to take care of our own community, Smith said. We are enough to ensure that we have all the opportunities of the American dream. And we will show it to each other through our actions and through our words and through our deeds. In the weeks before graduating from Morehouse on Sunday, 22-year-old finance major Aaron Mitchom drew up a spreadsheet to calculate how long it would take him to pay back his $200,000 in student loans 25 years at half his monthly salary, per his calculations. In an instant, that number vanished. Mitchom, sitting in the crowd, wept. I can delete that spreadsheet, he said in an interview after the commencement. I dont have to live off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was shocked. My heart dropped. We all cried. In the moment it was like a burden had been taken off. His mother, Tina Mitchom, was also shocked. Eight family members, including Mitchoms 76-year-old grandmother, took turns over four years co-signing on the loans that got him across the finish line. It takes a village, she said. It now means he can start paying it forward and start closing this gap a lot sooner, giving back to the college and thinking about a succession plan for his younger siblings. Morehouse College president David A. Thomas said the gift would have a profound effect on the students futures. Many of my students are interested in going into teaching, for example, but leave with an amount of student debt that makes that untenable, Thomas said in an interview. In some ways, it was a liberation gift for these young men that just opened up their choices. Black Youth Matter: A Message for Mental Health Month With suicide rates on the rise among Black youth, the Congressional Black Caucus recently convened a long-overdue Task Force on Black Youth Suicide. It was sparked by the tragic loss of Mckenzie Adams, a nine-year old who died by suicide last year. The child ended her own life after being mercilessly bullied by classmatesfor, among other reasons, being Black. Another Black student named Nigel Shelby took his own life last month after being repeatedly bullied for being gay. Nigel was just 15-years old. Schools are supposed to be places of hope, support, and community. For students like Nigel and Mckenzie, schools can become places of humiliation, fear, and trauma. Their stories illustrate the critical need for mental health resources for our children, especially those who are marginalized and have intersectional identities. Their stories point to the nationwide failure of schools to provide adequate mental health services to students. Because of the historic oppression and trauma perpetrated against our community for centuries, Black people have unique needs. Despite these needs, Black people are seven times more likely to live in high poverty neighborhoods with limited access to mental health resources. Students of color are more likely to attend school with fewer resources for critical staff like counselors and school psychologists. This is a travesty because studies have found 70 to 80 percent of youth receive their mental health services in schools. We recently published a report at ACLU that found severe shortages of school-based mental health (SBMH) providers in schools across the country, and especially in California. The student-to-counselor ratio was 444:1 nationwide. This suggests counselors are seriously overworked, with student caseloads 78 percent greater than what is recommended by experts (2501-to-1). California had the third highest ratio in the country with just one counselor for every 682 students; there are schools in Los Angeles where a single counselor is responsible for serving nearly 1,000 students. Meanwhile, schools have continued to divert funds that could provide these critical services to hire police officers. ADVERTISEMENT Our report also found: 1.7 million students in a school with a police officer but no counselor; 3 million students in a school with police but no nurses; 6 million students in a school with police but no psychologist; 10 million students in a school with police but no social workers; 14 million students in a school with a police officer but no counselor, nurse, psychologist or social worker. This deficit in support staff is appalling, and students and teachers alike are feeling the effects of the missing resources. Just this year teachers in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento went on strike for the first time in decades. They are demanding SBMH providers and supports for their students because they are prerequisites for a successful school. The LA County Board of Supervisors made steps in the right direction by providing LAUSD 9.7 million dollars to support mental health in schools. We know there are hundreds of millions more available to counties to invest into communities through initiatives like the Mental Health Services Act, and we need to see more of it flowing to communities in crisis. There are over 80 school districts in LA county alone, and our students are significantly less likely to see a counselor or social worker than most students across the country. Its Mental Health Month 2019, and our African ancestors came to the United States in chains exactly 400 years ago in 1619. Weve endured centuries of oppression, and students like Mckenzie are still being subjected to racism and discrimination. Black children all over the nation are suffering, in need of resources that are not readily available in schools and communities. How we prepare for and respond to children in need of support are choices, and research is clear that providing more mental health professionals is the best approach. But the lack of counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychologists, coupled with the rise in school police, has created a school environment that neglects our students needs. Student welfare has to be taken more seriously. Black minds matter. Schools, not prisons. For additional information, please contact Dr. Amir Whitaker; Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @DrKnuckyEsq; Instagram: @Dr.KnuckleHead_Esq Call 2 Worship May 23 Grace United Methodist Church plans a Karaoke Fundraiser on May 25, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 4112 W. Slauson Ave., in Los Angeles, said Pastor Cedric Bridgeforth. The program, open to all ages, will feature Stan the Prayed-Up Man, music, line dancing, games and refreshments. The donation is $10 for adults and $5 for youth. On June 29, the Back-to-Church Comedy Show takes place at 5 p.m. Lester Barrie and Friends will perform along with professional comedians. All ages are welcome. The donation is $20. To learn more about both events, call (323) 294-6653 or visit graceumcla.com. Brookins-Kirkland Community AME Church observes Annual Lay Day on May 26, at 9 a.m., at 3719 W. Slauson Blvd., in Los Angeles, said Pastor Mary S. Minor. The BKCAME Lay Organization will participate as worship leaders. Lay President Tamika Jones will be the speaker. To learn more, call (323) 296-5610. ADVERTISEMENT Pilgrims Hope Bible Church celebrates the 3rd Pastoral Anniversary of the Rev. Dr. T. Delbert and First Lady Jasmine Robinson May 26, at 5 p.m., at 7016 S. Compton Ave., in Los Angeles. The theme is A Church Connected to its Covering based on 2 Samuel 5:1 and 1 Chronicles 11:1. Bishop Milton M. White, pastor of Victory Full Gospel Baptist Church in Pasadena, will be the guest preacher. Elder Evelyn Worline and Brother Jerol Crawford are the anniversary co-chairs. To learn more, call (323) 581-7672. Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation and the County of Los Angeles present Contracting/Procurement Workshop on May 28, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, 4708 W. Washington Blvd., in Los Angeles. Representatives from the countys Internal Services and Public Works Departments will discuss how to register businesses, become a certified vendor, contracting opportunities and strategies to win bids. To RSVP, call Erika Jackson at (323) 753-2335. The Company International sponsors the 8th Annual Womens Empowerment Conference on May 30 to June 1, at the Doubletree Hilton South Bay in Torrance. Apostle Beverly Bam Crawford, TCI founder/president and pastor of Bible Enrichment Fellowship International in Inglewood, and Gabrianna Crawford, TCI vice president who also performs as the artist, Punky G, will host the event. The theme is AccelerateChange Your World. presenters. They include Dr. Jeshana Avent-Johnson, Deborah Ann Smith Pegues, Dr. Kristi Funk, actress Cynthia Pope, nutritionist Jayme Sachii, recording artist Lady Tee, and author Dorinda Walker. For registration and more information, call (310) 330-4700 or visit thecompanyinternational.com. Carson Community Deliverance Center Church holds a Womens Prayer Service on Saturday, June 8th at 10 a.m., at 555 E. 220th St., in Carson. The public is invited to attend for worship and prayer. For information, call (310) 835-7905. In Charter School Fight, Urban League and National Action Network Ask NAACP: Did You See the Numbers? Black civil rights groups in California are knuckled up in a battle of principles as the state Assembly and Senate prepare to vote on a set of three charter school bills this week. The state chapters of the National Urban League (NUL) and the National Action Network (NAN) have teamed up to oppose the bills. They say the proposals amount to a step backward for African American charter school parents and their children. While the California chapter of the NAACP has publicly expressed its support for all three pieces of legislation; two of them in the Assembly AB 1505 and AB 1506 and one in the Senate, SB 756. ADVERTISEMENT Members of the California chapter of the NAACP, the nations oldest civil rights organization, came to the State Capitol Monday to lobby the legislature on several issues, including the charter school bills. If passed, the laws would put a moratorium on authorizing any new charter schools in the state for the next five years. Critics of the law say they would also significantly restrict the operations and roll back some legal rights the taxpayer-funded independent public schools currently have. I ask my friends at the NAACP, did you see the numbers? Dr. Tecoy Porter, president of the Sacramento chapter of the NAN, told California Black Media. For both the NUL and the NAN, they say, their difference of opinion with the NAACP boils down to one fact: Black students across California are failing in the states district public schools at rates that should cause national concern. Advocates say many of the schools on the frontline that have begun to help Black students improve their literacy, score higher on state standardized tests, and prepare for college and jobs, are charter schools. African American children are not doing well in California public schools. There is a severe and persistent Black achievement gap throughout the state of California in both English Language arts and math, the NAN and the NUL wrote in an open letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, which the organizations shared with California Black Media. ADVERTISEMENT Seven-out-of-eight African American public school students are enrolled in district run schools, the letter to the governor continued. Many African American parents respond to this failure by choosing to send their kids to public charter schools. This week, local leaders of both the NAN and the NUL are requesting a meeting with Gov. Newsom to share their concerns about the bills. In California, about 80 percent of Black students score below the state standard in math and 68 percent fail to meet the English Language Arts requirement. African American children are also next to the lowest performing sub-group in the state, scoring only above students with disabilities. Last week, the Assembly passed another charter school bill, AB 1507. It required charter schools to be physically located in the boundaries of the school district that licenses it. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who is African American and a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), sponsored that bill, along with the other two bills his colleagues will hear this week. Other sponsors of the charter school bills are Assemblymembers Patrick ODonnell (D-Los Angeles) and Christy Smith (D-Santa Clarita). Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) sponsored the Senate bill. ODonnell, who is chair of the Assembly Education committee, shelved another bill Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the CLBC, introduced. That bill would have designated lowest performing subgroup students a high risk category under Californias Local Control Funding Formula. Historically, the NAACP has been in strong support of public education and has denounced movements toward privatization, the California chapter of the NAACP wrote in that statement. Considering this, we are concerned that charter schools in California are increasingly causing the underfunding of neighborhood schools. Julian Heilig-Vasquez, Education Chair of the California NAACP, argues that increased independent and private control of charter schools will lead to the resegregation of Americas public schools and The California NAACP and other community-based activists have called upon education reforms to refocus on inequities rather than privatization and private control of education, he says. Porter says he understands that the NAACP stated its opposition to charter schools long before these bills became an issue in California. But the arguments they are using to support their stance, have not evolved and are mostly out-of-touch with the needs of the majority of African American families across the state. How are they promoting segregation when they make up less than five percent of all public schools in the state? Asked Porter. Also, by law, charter schools have to be judged on their performance every five years. District-run public schools can go on failing forever. He said since Gov. Newsom signed SB 126 earlier this year, the state now requires charter schools to be more accountable and transparent in their operations. On Wednesday, May 22, the California Teachers Association (CTA), one of the largest unions in the state, is holding a rally in Sacramento on the steps of the State Capitol in support of the bills. They say, the event is being held to fix the broken laws that govern charter schools. But NAN and the NUL disagree with the NAACP and the CTA. Porter says many Black families who live in communities where traditional public schools have failed their children for decades dont have the means to get up and move to a better school district or enroll their kids in private schools. Porter says he is thankful that he had a choice. His son, who attended a mix of private, public charter and traditional public schools is graduating from high school this year. He has accepted a full ride to Harvey Mudd college in Claremont. I had a choice. I want all parents in California to have choices of where they can send their children to school for the best education for them, he says. I know there are some bad apples who have abused the charter school system, but its Black and Brown kids that end up getting the short end of the stick. They deserve better. #JusticeForPamelaShantayTurner Trending After 44-Year-Old Shot Five Times by Police Officer The hashtag #JusticeForPamelaShantayTurner is trending. Unfortunately, the reason behind the popularity of the latest social media slogan is all-too familiar. Turner, 44, was fatally shot by a Bayton, Texas, police officer at an apartment complex. Her family said she has a history of mental illness. ADVERTISEMENT In a video of the incident, Turner, an African-American woman, yells out that shes pregnant but that didnt stop a white police officer from firing five shots into her body and killing her. The ACLU of Texas calls for an independent investigation into the tragedy in Baytown and the immediate release of the officers body camera footage, The ACLU of Texas Legal Director Andre Segura, said in a statement. The escalation seen on bystander video from a simple stop to the use of brutal deadly force is shocking and raises serious concerns. There are too many questions about this tragic loss of life, and the public deserves transparency, Segura said. Baytown Police said the shooting occurred during a struggle over the unnamed officers Taser. Lt. Steve Dorris said in a Facebook post, It appears that as the officer was then attempting to handcuff the female she was able to gain control of his Taser and turned it on the officer, Tasing the officer, which forced the officer to draw his duty weapon and fire multiple rounds at the female, striking her at least once. Turner was pronounced dead at the scene. ADVERTISEMENT The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. Monday, May 13, at The Brixton Apartments on Garth Road in Baytown, according to police. The city of about 76,000 is located in Harris County, Texas, near Houston. Segura and others expressed outraged that authorities called the release of the video of the incident on social media disrespectful. The Baytown Police Department has stated that it was disrespectful for bystander video of the shooting to be posted online that is wrong, Segura said. There is nothing disrespectful or inappropriate about documenting or sharing video of the way the police act in our communities, especially when they kill someone. Community members have the right to monitor, discuss, and ultimately control the way we are policed, he said. James Edison, a neighbor of Turners said police should have used more discretion. If you know she has mental illness, why not ask for backup first before you try and detain her? Edison told KPRC, via the Heavy. He got up and she was barely getting up off the ground and he shot her like a dog. Thats wrong. And he needs to pay for it, Edison said. Turners family told local KPRC-TV that she had complained about the officer who shot her harassing her in the past. Police confirmed that the officer recognized Turner from previous interactions, but they did not provide details about those incidents. It is not clear if she had ever filed a formal complaint against the officer. They mustve had a couple of words. Things went a whole different way, and he shot her, and I really feel for the family and I hope they get some type of justice. I just pray for them honestly because life is short nowadays. Turners neighbor, Taylin Inniss, told NBC News. Another neighbor, Jonathan Little, told KPRC-TV, She would walk her dog. thats all she did was walk her dog and pick up trash. She didnt mess with anybody. It was just her and her dog. Letting the Cat Out of the Bag on Sacramento PD Shocking. Shameful. Unconscionable. Intolerable. These are just a few of the terms used by those in reaction to word that a 12 year-old child was restrained by Sacramento police officers who then placed a white plastic bag over his head and shoulders. Lets review recent events in the City of Sacramento, who many are now referring to as SacraSelma in reference to the civil rights struggles that emanated from Selma, Alabama during the civil rights battles of the turbulent 1960s. First, Sacramento police mysteriously apprehended an unarmed Mr. Daizon Flenaugh, who was detained without any legal basis. He wound up dead within 30 minutes of being detained by sacramento police officers. Next, was the late Mr. Joseph Mann, who was guilty of nothing more than screaming at police officers and throwing a plastic water bottle at them prior to his being gunned down on the streets of Sacramento. Following that was an unarmed Mr. Nandi Cain, Jr. who was beaten by a Sacramento police officer for ostensibly jaywalking when it turned out Mr. Cain appropriately crossed the street from one corner to another. Finally, and most dramatically came the assassination of Mr. Stephon Clark, who was the victim of a barrage of Sacramento police gunfire while being guilty of nothing more than entering his grandmothers home with a cellphone in his hands. Now Sacramento residents are dismayed by word that a 12 year-old child, who stands four feet ten inches tall and weighs fewer than one hundred pounds, was inappropriately constrained by police officers and had a bag placed over his head to shut him up, according to witnesses on the scene during the incident. At the time this occurred, the child was pleading for officers to call (his) mom and telling officers that he could not breathe! The young victim was born with significant upper respiratory complications and according to his mother and grandmother, suffered from breathing difficulties particularly when anxious. It did not help the childs respiratory condition that officers grasped his neck; placed him on the ground; handcuffed him with his hands behind his back; placed a knee in his back and forced his face into the asphalt. Many Sacramento residents are wondering when this madness is going to end. We were told that our new African American Chief of Police would be the one to put an end to the oppressive and at times, deadly behavior patterns of what we were told were merely a few rogue bad apples in an otherwise fine police department. ADVERTISEMENT Let me say this. Our police chief is blue and not Black. In addition, it appears to many of us that when you have as many incidents of questionable police conduct directed towards one singular demographic group, within an entire community, the cat needs to be let out of the bag. The Sacramento police department appears to be representative of a bad orchard as opposed to merely comprised of a few bad apples. Let there be no mistake. Shooting and killing an unarmed Black woman, who professed to be pregnant in Houston, Texas or bagging a small in stature, 12 year-old in Sacramento, must be called out for what it is. These actions are more reflective of the practices of slave catchers and Jim Crow era law enforcers than of proper urban policing techniques focused on de-escalation and by governments truly committed to empower police officers to protect and to serve our entire community. Mark T. Harris is a tenured lecturer and Director of Pre-Law Studies at the University California, Merced. Additionally, Professor Harris heads the Sacramento and Central Valley office of Ben Crump Law and his specialty is civil rights law. Professor Harris can be reached at: [email protected] Local Elected Officials Unite to End Child Poverty Senator Holly Mitchell was among the speakers at the End Child Poverty Bus Tour. At right are Assemblymember Autumn Burke, L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who all delivered remarks during the event held at St. Johns Well Child and Family Center on May 17. (Modern Romance Photography) Political heavyweights united on May 17 to tackle a serious topic eliminating poverty among youth and families in California. ADVERTISEMENT Officially called the End Child Poverty Bus Tour, the elected officials joined with community members to encourage state legislators to implement a comprehensive plan to remove nearly 2 million of Californias children from extremely poor living conditions. St. Johns Well Child and Family Center hosted the rally at its facility near 58th St. and Vermont Ave. in South L.A. More than 300 people were on hand to welcome Governor Gavin Newsom, Sen. Holly Mitchell, Assemblymember Autumn Burke and L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who all expressed their support for the campaign. Citing the alarming statistics, Ridley-Thomas said, Child poverty is a fiscal and moral crisis that challenges the values, the ideals, and the ethos of this very nation. California has the highest child poverty rate in the nation and nearly 20% of the 7.5 million residents of this state who suffer from poverty are children. Noting that many poor children lack permanent dwellings, he added, We need to fight homelessness at every juncture. That is our challenge, that is our charge and we cannot back away from it. The children are ours and we are here to protect them. We need to lift our hearts to end child poverty! Burke was also adamant about the importance of ending child poverty and recalled her legislative efforts to highlight the critical issue. Her bill, AB 1520 or the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Act, called for the state legislature to commit to reducing child poverty by 50 percent over 20 years. To reach that goal, AB 1520 offered a range of recommendations such as a targeted child tax credit to support the basic necessities of daily living, a Cal WORKS safety net grant to bring families receiving Cal WORKS to 50% of the federal poverty line (deep poverty), expansion of the California Earned Income Tax Credit, guaranteed access to early care and education for impoverished youth up to age 8, and voluntary home visiting programs to support families with young children. ADVERTISEMENT California families living in deep poverty have to make sacrifices on even the basic necessities and these are working families mothers and fathers that are working two and three jobs and still struggling, said Burke. I am so thankful that the governor has committed to expand the California Earned Income Tax Credit, part of the $3.4 billion investment to end deep child poverty, and that the budget has been revised. Cash infusion for children would have long term benefits like better high school graduation and college entrance rates, significant increase in adult workforce participation and higher lifetime earnings, she said. Mitchell, long known for her work in support of children and women, urged the crowd to make a personal commitment to ending child poverty. We are now poised with a governor who is going to tap into our resources to create services and resources that are important to you. But we have to make this quest, this fight, very personal because thats the only way we win, she insisted. I challenge everyone to determine when you decided that children shouldnt get do-overs. We have a unique opportunity. We have a governor, a healthy general fund and elected leaders who are all poised to end child poverty. Vowing to make that mission a reality, Newsom said that California now has an opportunity to improve the future for the states children who live below or near the poverty rate. His revised budget includes record investments to address deep child poverty. Also, several pieces of legislation and budget proposals have been introduced to carry out the End Child Poverty Plan. We finally have a plan. We have a framework and now were debating the how business the practical application of our collective ideals, implementing this plan in a strategic and nuanced way, tripling the amount of money for children under the age of six in EITC taking the budget from $400 million to $4.2 billion in a calendar year, said the governor. We also recognize that its just a down payment. We need to do so much more. Were got to build a sustainable mindset, being on a journey together with our ideals. Lets make not only this state proud, lets make America proud, Newsom said. To learn more about the End Child Poverty Plan, visit endchildpovertyca.org. Memorial Day was Celebrated by Freed Slaves Memorial Day is a day I associate with the smell of barbecue and sounds of music in backyards. Its a day celebrated by people in this country of all backgrounds, and therefore, its a holiday whose own background has been disputed. Some people trace Memorial Day back to former Union soldiers, a few people even trace it back to families of Confederate soldiers, but the most popular and widely debated theory is that the first Memorial Day was celebrated by freed slaves. Some historians consider the first celebration of Memorial Day to have taken place in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865. On that day, a group of freed slaves gathered at a former Confederate prison, where hundreds of union soldiers died, and they dug up a mass grave of Union soldiers to give them proper burials in individual graves. The burials were followed by the gathering of townspeople to sing songs, leave flowers at graves, and hear sermons delivered by Black preachers. But despite the truth that there was a ceremony held by freed slaves on May 1, the first widely recognized holiday didnt come about until three years later, when Major General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic declared May 5th, 1868, the first Decoration Day. On that day, a U.S. Army General gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and thousands of attendees proceeded to adorn the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags. That is the day the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs recognizes as the first celebration of Memorial Day, but its not the day all Americans acknowledge. For generations, many Southern states refused to recognize either of these days as Memorial Day, and in a few states, a Confederate Memorial Day is still officially observed on either Confederacy President Jefferson Daviss birthday, or on Robert E. Lees birthday, which painfully and ironically falls on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. In addition to Confederate Memorial Day, there are many towns in both the North and South that claim to be the home of the first Memorial Day, including Richmond, VA and Waterloo, NY. ADVERTISEMENT The truth is, there really is no first Memorial Day. The concept of decorating a fallen soldiers grave is older than our country itself, and following the Civil War, Americans had a lot of graves to decorate. Towns across a war torn United States had dozens of their own first Memorial Days. That being said, the celebration held by freed slaves in May of 1865 was one of the earliest recorded versions of what our Memorial Day looks like today, and one of the largest of its time. At this point, with the facts we have, we choose how to recognize Memorial Day for ourselves. That speech given in Arlington Cemetery may be widely recognized as the first Memorial Day, but that doesnt mean I cant personally recognize the work of freed slaves in Charleston instead. Surreal Lewis is a student who lives Windsor Hills. Hes currently in his first year at Columbia University in New York City. [email protected] Sanders Joins Guest Lineup at Living Word Conference Bishop Richard Sanders of Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church will be one of powerful preachers at the Living Word Conference hosted by Love Peace and Happiness Family Christian Fellowship Church. The annual symposium begins on Monday, June 3, and continues through Sunday, June 9, at the churchs campus located at 4951 S. Figueroa St., in Los Angeles, said Bishop Leon Martin. The theme is Nothing is Impossible. We invite you to join us for five great days of spiritual refreshing to bring about a change in your life, said Martin. Come and be blessed by the dynamic teaching of anointed men and women of God. ADVERTISEMENT The agenda features nightly workshops at 6 p.m., followed by worship at 7:15 p.m. The speakers include Pastor Donell Givens, Pastor Isaac Thompson, Pastor Lonnie Hogan of Sunset Baptist Church. and Pastor LaSharee Knox of Greater New Light Baptist Church. Evangelist Audrey Williams will preach on Sunday, June 9, at 8 a.m., and Evangelist John Black will deliver the sermon at the 11 a.m. worship. Dr. Arthur Wooten of Friendship Christian Fellowship Church of God in Christ in Riverside will bring the message at the closing service at 3:30 p.m. Also, Lady Rose Neale will be one of the musical guests performing throughout the conference along with the Love, Peace and Happiness Mass Choir. This conference will be like none other, as it will not be a traditional conference. Rather, it will be an anointed and glorious time of fellowship as the spirit of God flows and rejuvenate the body of Christ, explained Martin. An invitation is extended to everyone to be a part of this spirit-filled occasion that is guaranteed to revive your spirit. For more information, call (800) 757-6552 or visit lphfamily.org. Turner Shares Racial Healing Lessons in Affirmed Being biracial isnt the great fun commercials and ads portray. But, its not doom and gloom either. Rather its a journey filled with learning, loving and unique experiences as a child of a White mother and Black father, growing up in the 1960s and 70s, emerging as an accomplished woman, all while traversing the world as a mixed race person. Such is the life that author Sheli Turner recounts in Affirmed: Life Lessons in Racial Healing and Transformation. As a book signing hosted by the L.A. Sentinel on May 15, Turner shared some of her life experiences she wrote about in hopes of inspiring others to join her in healing the world by eradicating racism one person at a time. ADVERTISEMENT Noted entrepreneur Wendy Gladney, who moderated the gathering, opened by asking Turner how Affirmed will help with improving racial tensions, especially in light of the increasing number of multi-cultural families. Turner replied that three factors inspired her to write. First, there really is a lens that biracial people have, but its not exactly spoken about. I think that has to be more because our narrative is just really not out there as much as it should be or could be yet. So in that respect, I put my story out there, she explained. The second reason is that you also dont hear many womens perspective about race and culture and the intersection of those things in terms of how, just being a woman of color, biracial or not, you have to roll into your own agency and make decisions knowing that you have to navigate this space in my case, biracial space and also being very aware of Whiteness versus Blackness, said Turner. The third dynamic influencing Turner was the trending media portrayal of biracial people as navigating life without a care in the world a portrait that Turner described as unnerving. So, now we become a marketing tool and I think, in so many ways, its so disrespectful to the person that actually has to grow and survive these families, insisted Turner. I wanted to write something about my experience and how we really could, as a society, get to a place, not just healing in regards to race and culture, but to transformation and how our differences, culturally and racially, could make us better and transform us as a society. Illustrating the sub-title of Affirmed, Turners book contains a series of lessons illuminated by episodes from her life as a biracial person. Sections such as Intention outline her African American and Caucasian ancestry along with the racially discriminatory laws in place to prevent unions like her parents had. Chapters entitled Identity and Awareness not only reveal her growing realization of the demands that a mixed marriage has on family life, but also highlight her fathers diligence in instilling Black pride in his children. The book continues with several other lessons including Compassion, Fortitude and Forgiveness, which detail Turners determination to overcome race-based obstacles and succeed on her own merits. Elaborating on the Brilliance chapter, she said, I named it that because it was really important for me to message that the models of brilliance in my life were Black, unapologetically, and it was my father who gave that to me. The way that he did that is kind of unique and he made a lesson out of it. ADVERTISEMENT Considering the books range of topics, Gladney inquired about the type of person who would benefit from Affirmed. Turners response was that any adult would gain insight about racial healing from reading her words. Theres a lot that they can learn from it whoever they are, said Turner. My White grandfather was very intentional about bringing my brother and me everywhere with him because he wanted us to know that there was no room we could not be in, no situation we could not equally be in or deal with. I was affirmed very early to know that I could be in the world and that carried me throughout the world. As for her goal for Affirmed, Turner said, I wanted to write something about my experience and how we really could, as a society, get to a place, not just healing in regards to race and culture, but to transformation and how our differences, culturally and racially, could make us better and transform us as a society. Affirmed: Life Lessons in Racial Healing and Transformation is available at Amazon.com and other online bookstores. Thursday, May 23, 2019 The Utah Supreme Court has suspended a judge for six months without pay This judicial discipline proceeding requires us to decide the appropriate sanction for a judge who has engaged in repeated misconduct. Judge Michael Kwan acknowledges that he violated the Utah Code of Judicial Conduct when he made seemingly shirty and politically charged comments to a defendant in his courtroom. Judge Kwan similarly admits that he violated the code of conduct when he lost his temper with a member of the courts staff and improperly used his judicial authority to seek that individuals removal from the premises. Moreover, in response to questions at oral argument, Judge Kwan conceded that an online post critical of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump also violated the code of conduct. But Judge Kwan argues that the six-month suspension the Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC) recommends is inappropriate. He claims that sanction rests, in part, on an unlawful attempt to regulate his constitutionally protected speech, and he asserts that a less severe penalty is all that is warranted. Judge Kwan raises important First Amendment questions, but he fails to address our case law holding that a judicial disciplinary proceeding is an improper venue to press those constitutional claims. Bound by our precedent, we therefore do not address the constitutional questions, and we limit our consideration to that portion of Judge Kwans online speech that he concedes we can permissibly sanction. That statement, coupled with the other misconduct before us, as well as Judge Kwans history of prior discipline, convinces us that a six-month suspension without pay is the appropriate sanction. There were prior matters addressing the judge's behavior Judge Kwan has served as a justice court judge for the City of Taylorsville for the past two decades. On multiple occasions, the JCC has reviewed allegations that Judge Kwan violated various provisions of the Utah Code of Judicial Conduct. As a result of the JCCs investigations into those allegations, Judge Kwan has received two letters of education from the JCC and two public reprimands from this court. The Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee has also issued two opinions relating to Judge Kwan one not expressly naming him but directed to his conduct, and another issued in response to his questions regarding, among other things, rules limiting judicial commentary on statements made by a candidate for political office. See Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Committee, Informal Opinion 16-02 (2016); Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Committee, Informal Opinion 1501 (2015). This guidance has been animated by two general concerns regarding Judge Kwans behavior: his improper use of judicial authority and his inappropriate political commentary. The JCCs letters of education addressed Judge Kwans abuse of judicial authority, which manifested in improperly revoking probation, imposing jail in absentia, and ordering excessive bail... Our first public reprimand addressed Judge Kwans crass incourt reference to sexual conduct and a former president of the United States. During the underlying proceeding before the JCC concerning that comment, Judge Kwan acknowledged that the Utah Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to be patient, dignified, and courteous to those with whom the judge deals in an official capacity. See UTAH CODE JUD. CONDUCT R. 2.8(B). He also acknowledged that his comments violated that requirement and constituted conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Our second public reprimand addressed political activities associated with Judge Kwans service as president of a nonprofit organization. The organization took public positions on a range of issues, criticized candidates for political office, and posted articles and press releases online that included Judge Kwans name and judicial title. The November 2016 reprimand is linked here. Now After the Utah State Bar issued these opinions, and shortly after we handed down our second public reprimand, the JCC began investigating additional potential misconduct. Specifically, the JCC investigated allegations that Judge Kwan: (1) made political statements in court, (2) handled a dispute with court personnel inappropriately, and (3) posted political comments online. During the investigation, Judge Kwan conceded that he had engaged in the behavior underlying the allegations. An in-court comment on the tax cut drew judicial rebuke Judge Kwan contends that this was intended to be funny, not rude. It is an immutable and universal rule that judges are not as funny as they think they are. If someone laughs at a judges joke, there is a decent chance that the laughter was dictated by the courtrooms power dynamic and not by a genuine belief that the joke was funny. So true! Also true with respect to work supervisors. As to current politics With respect to Donald Trump, Judge Kwans postings were laden with blunt, and sometimes indelicate, criticism. In July 2016, for example, Judge Kwan posted an article entitled Ghazala Khan: Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice. Above the articles headline, Judge Kwan added, Checkmate. Examples On November 11, 2016, three days after the presidential election, Judge Kwan remarked, Think Ill go to the shelter to adopt a cat before the President-Elect grabs them all . . . . On January 20, 2017, the day President Trump was inaugurated, Judge Kwan commented, Welcome to governing. Will you dig your heels in and spend the next four years undermining our countrys reputation and standing in the world? . . . Will you continue to demonstrate your inability to govern and political incompetence? On February 13, 2017, Judge Kwan posted, Welcome to the beginning of the fascist takeover. He continued, [W]e need to. . . be diligent in questioning Congressional Republicans if they are going to be the American Reichstag and refuse to stand up for the Constitution, refuse to uphold their oath of office and enable the tyrants to consolidate their power. The court But the problem here is not primarily a concern that Judge Kwan has voiced his views on a range of political issues via his criticisms of Donald Trump. Far more importantly, Judge Kwan has implicitly used the esteem associated with his judicial office as a platform from which to criticize a candidate for elected office. Fulfillment of judicial duties does not come without personal sacrifice of some opportunities and privileges available to the public at large. And as a person the public entrusts to decide issues with utmost fairness, independence, and impartiality, a judge must at times set aside the power of his or her voicewhich becomes inextricably tied to his or her positionas a tool to publicly influence the results of a local, regional, or national election. Judge Kwans postings continue a pattern of inappropriate political commentary, as previously addressed in our second public reprimand, following Judge Kwans service as president of a national organization that, among other things, criticized candidates for political office. Whats more, the Utah State Bar Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee offered substantial guidance to Judge Kwan on this topic. Judge Kwan nevertheless engaged in behavior that violates our code of conduct, despite the prior attempts to dissuade him from that path. We thus conclude, as did the JCC, that Judge Kwan has violated several rules of the Utah Code of Judicial Conduct. And he has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings a judicial office into disrepute. See UTAH CONST. art. VIII, 13. Sanction We give significant weight to the fact that Judge Kwan has been the subject of prior discipline and the recipient of prior guidance. We note that previous endeavors to help Judge Kwan correct this behavior have not been successful. And we regretfully conclude that a sanction less severe than suspension without pay will suffer the same fate as our prior attempts. Repeated instances of misconduct are serious matters, which may render a judge not only subject to suspension, but also to removal from office. Judge Kwans behavior denigrates his reputation as an impartial, independent, dignified, and courteous jurist who takes no advantage of the office in which he serves. And it diminishes the reputation of our entire judiciary. For these reasons, we implement the JCCs order without modification. Had to look up "shirty." It is in fact a word. (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2019/05/the-utah-supreme-court-this-judicial-discipline-proceeding-requires-us-to-decide-the-appropriate-sanction-for-a-judge-who-ha.html Thursday, May 23, 2019 The Wisconsin Supreme Court found that an attorney's pattern of misconduct did not warrant disbarment. Attorney James Edward Hammis has appealed a report filed by Referee Lisa C. Goldman accepting concessions Attorney Hammis made in a stipulation with the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) that he committed 40 counts of professional misconduct and recommending that his license to practice to law in Wisconsin be revoked. In his appeal, Attorney Hammis primarily challenges the sanction recommendation and asserts that an appropriate sanction would be a suspension of his license to practice law in the range of one year. Upon careful review of this matter, we uphold all of the referee's findings of fact and conclusions of law. We conclude, however, that the facts of this case do not warrant revocation. Instead, we conclude that a three-year suspension of Attorney Hammis' law license is an appropriate sanction for the misconduct at issue. We also deem it appropriate to impose certain conditions upon the reinstatement of his law license. We also order him to pay $400 in restitution to one former client and, as is our usual custom, we impose the full costs of this proceeding, which are $13,160.22 as of March 4, 2019 on Attorney Hammis. He had stipulated to most of the charged misconduct The counts to which Attorney Hammis pled no contest involved nine separate client matters as well as numerous trust account and other violations. And Attorney Hammis was admitted to practice law in Michigan, but his Michigan law license has been suspended for non-payment of dues since 2001. From 2008 through at least 2012, Attorney Hammis represented himself in emails as an "experienced business and general practice attorney representing businesses and individuals in the State of Wisconsin and Michigan." While revocation was not ordered As to the appropriate level of discipline, the facts alleged in the amended complaint, to which Attorney Hammis pled no contest, show a clear pattern of neglect of his clients' needs and objectives and an utter disregard for his obligations as an attorney. His misconduct was not an isolated occurrence but occurred in nine separate client representations over the course of years. We recognize, as the dissent points out, that the misconduct at issue here occurred prior to Attorney Hammis' 2015 suspension. The complaint in this matter was filed in 2014 and the amended complaint was filed in 2015. Some of the delay in the completion of this case was caused by Attorney Hammis' failure to cooperate in the OLR's investigations as well as by his motion practice and multiple extension motions. While it may have been preferable for this matter to have been brought to conclusion sooner, the passage of time since Attorney Hammis' most recent misconduct in no way excuses or mitigates the misconduct. While Attorney Hammis portrays himself as remorseful and says he has accepted responsibility for his transgressions, some of his statements at oral argument call those assertions into question. Attorney Hammis' representation of R.G. is illustrative. R.G. retained Attorney Hammis in November of 2011 and paid him $400. Attorney Hammis never did the work. R.G. terminated his representation in December of 2011 and demanded a refund of the $400. R.G. filed a grievance in March of 2012. In April of 2013 she obtained a small claims judgment against him. In September of 2016, Attorney Hammis stipulated that he owed R.G. $400 in restitution. When asked at oral argument why he had not paid R.G. the $400, Attorney Hammis replied that he was "waiting for a court order." The small claims court rendered a judgment in favor of R.G. six years ago, and Attorney Hammis stipulated two and a half years ago that he needed to pay R.G. the $400. The fact that this modest sum remains unpaid in 2019 belies Attorney Hammis' claim that he is remorseful and has fully accepted responsibility for his actions. Revocation is the most serious sanction that may be imposed under our attorney disciplinary system and it is reserved for the most egregious cases. Although Attorney Hammis' misconduct was undeniably very serious, we are not convinced that it rises to the level of warranting revocation. ANNETTE KINGSLAND ZIEGLER, J. (dissenting). Attorney Hammis stated, both in his brief and at oral argument, that in 2012 he virtually discontinued his legal practice, with the exception of occasionally assisting family members and friendsusually without chargeand performing three to five hours of legal work per month for a longtime corporate client. He no longer has a trust account and does not make his living from practicing law. He stated he has no intention of expanding his legal practice in the future. He has expressed remorse for his admitted misconduct and questions what more he could have done in the past seven years to alleviate concerns that his extremely limited practice would be a threat to his clients or the legal profession. The majority acknowledges that all of the misconduct at issue here occurred prior to 2015, when Attorney Hammis' license was suspended for 90 days, and some of the misconduct occurred prior to the four-month suspension imposed in 2011. Indeed, the complaint in this matter was filed nearly five months before the court issued its order imposing the 2015 suspension. The serial nature of the OLR's complaints against Attorney Hammis appears to expose a flaw in Wisconsin's attorney regulatory system. If the misconduct counts at issue in this case and the counts at issue in the case resulting in the 90-day suspension had been prosecuted at the same time, the resulting discipline may well have been less than the three years and three months that was imposed in the two separate cases. In spite of the fact that Attorney Hammis has virtually not practiced law since 2012 and has committed no misconduct since 2015, he is nonetheless being suspended for an additional three years in 2019 for misconduct that occurred long ago. While the passage of time should not excuse misconduct, the majority fails to adequately justify why a three-year suspension is warranted given that the previous suspensions were for four months and 90 days and there has been no misconduct in the past four years... I am authorized to state that Justice REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY joins this dissent. (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2019/05/the-wisconsin-supreme-court-attorney-james-edward-hammis-has-appealed-a-report-filed-by-referee-lisa-c-goldman-accepting-co.html Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist party declared victory Thursday in parliamentary elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, says it won over 300 of the 542 seats in Indias lower house of parliament. If confirmed for a second term as prime minister, Modi will face a number of challenges in the weeks to come. The economy is slowing. There is a job shortage in the country. And relations with Pakistan, Indias longtime enemy, are tense. BJPs election victory was based, in part, on national security issues. The party appeared to gain strength after Modi sent warplanes into Pakistan to hit a suspected militant camp. That raid was meant to answer a bombing in Kashmir. The attack led to the deaths of 40 Indian police officers. Investors seemed hopeful about Modi winning a second term as prime minister. They think the size of his partys victory will enable the government to push through reforms. Indian stock prices rose more than 5 percent this week, with some stocks hitting record highs. But the wave of happiness did not last long. Stock prices and the value of the rupee, Indias money, ended weaker as investors turned their attention to an economy that is slowing. Modi will need to immediately push for economic growth, which fell to a yearly rate of 6.6% between October and December. That is the slowest growth for five quarters. There is also a money crisis in Indias private finance industry. Other economic measures are equally problematic: industrial production and manufacturing growth have weakened in recent months. Automobile sales, and other economic indicators fell in April. We are seeing very strong signs that the economy is under pressure, said Aishvarya Dadheech. He is with the financial company Ambit Asset Management. When things are so bad, you dont need an unstable government on top of it. Tight finances Even if Modi wants to increase federal spending to support growth, his hands are tied. Lower tax collections and populist measures meant to appeal to voters will stop his new administration from spending. When Modi became prime minister, oil prices around the world were falling. That left India with some money to spend. But now oil prices are rising and will push the current account deficit higher. Finance Ministry officials told Reuters this month there was no possibility of economic stimulus money. Concern has been growing about a liquidity problem in the private finance industry. India has more than 10,000 such businesses. They are worth about $304 billion. Last year, the government took control of one large financial company after it was unable to make its debt payments on time. Another private financial company recently said it would not permit early withdrawals. Rajesh Cheruvu is the chief investment officer at Mumbai-based WGC Wealth. He said the government had to restore confidence. Modi will also need to deal with growing concerns over the lack of jobs. Unemployment rose to 7.6% in April, up from 6.71% in March. Those numbers come from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy. While dealing with economic problems at home, Modi will also need to watch Pakistan. Tension remains high after the two countries came close to war following the militant attack three months ago. Earlier this week, Pakistan expressed a willingness to open talks with India. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi said that we want to live like good neighbors and settle our outstanding issues. But on Thursday, just as Modis victory appeared guaranteed, Pakistan appeared to speak louder. It tested a surface-to-surface ballistic missile one that had the ability to carry nuclear weapons. Im Susan Shand. The Reuters News Agency 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 challenge n. to test the ability, skill, or strength of (someone or something quarter n. a three-month period of the year unstable adj. not held in a secure position stimulus n. the act of putting money into the economy to help it liquidity adj. the state of having things that can be easily changed into money confidence n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something ballistic missile n. a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance and then falls to the ground and explodes The United Nations says more than one million plant and animal species are likely to die out because of human activity. That threat to the environment and concerns about climate change influenced people attending the Smithsonian Craft Show last month. The show recognized artists who are creating environmentally sustainable work. The Smithsonian Womens Committee is made up of volunteers from the Washington, D.C. area. JoAnn Symons is the groups president. In recent years, we've noticed that the artists in our shows have been working with more renewable materials and methods that are environmentally safe. So weve decided that we would reward those efforts by offering a Sustainability Award every year at our show. At the show last month, 120 artists from across the United States presented works of art in 12 different media or materials. They included glass, wood and objects made from animal skin. Twenty-one artists met the requirements for sustainability. By doing so, they won the right to compete for the Honoring the Future Sustainability Award. The winner received a prize of $1,000. Michigan woodworker John Guertin is one of the 21 artists. He makes birdhouses with wood he recovers from old barns, after the buildings have fallen into disrepair. If you can use recycled material from old sources to bring new generations of birds into the world -- and other creatures -- it makes a wonderful statement about our purpose in the world, that we dont just exploit it, but rather we give something back. Guertins creations include birdhouses for owls and even bats. Some look like real buildings, including one created for the Mission San Luis Rey Museum in Oceanside, California. Guertin said he once made a birdhouse for the daughter of former United States president Gerald Ford. Nashville, Tennessee artist Tim Arnold creates wooden boxes similar to those made by a religious group: the Shakers. The groups members were known for making simple, well-built chairs and other furniture. Arnold says he tries to honor that centuries old tradition, but at the same time give his artwork a personal touch. He often adds interesting, often unusual objects to the tops of his boxes. For example, one box for needlework has a pair of magnetized scissors on top of it. He also uses unusual materials, such as copper and animal skins. Mary Jaeger creates her works of art in a nearly 100-year-old factory building in Brooklyn, New York. She makes artwork that can be worn as clothing. It combines the time-honored qualities of Japanese textiles with modern Western designs. Jaeger won the Honoring the Future Sustainability Award for her silk creations. She makes them by hand, combining earlier projects with leftover, repurposed materials. The artist said, When I look at these beautiful silks that I've acquired over the years of designing, I wanted to repurpose them into something that was truly beautiful, but completely different than the original product... Fran Dubrowski heads Honoring the Future, the nonprofit organization that provided the sustainability award. She said the group was set up to harness the power of art to educate and engage the public on climate change. She added, Were trying to encourage the craft artist to really discuss sustainability with the visitors to their show, not just practice it at home. Im Jonathan Evans. Julie Taboh wrote this story for VOANews.com. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story bat n. an animal that has wings and a furry body like a mouse exploit v. to get value or use from something; to use someone or something in a way that helps you unfairly harness v. to use something for a particular purpose practice v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it recycled n. something that has been used before silk n. a smooth, soft, and shiny cloth that is made from thread produced by silkworms sustainable adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed textiles n. fabric; cloth Setbacks and delays notwithstanding, one could easily argue that 2021 was a much better year for movies than 2020. Here are the best, according to Metacritic. Another round of snow is in the forecast, so the National Weather Service has issued another winter weather advisory for the mid-Willamette Va You have permission to edit this collection. Edit Close As per FCC Guidelines , every movie I review I personally bought or rented. Every book or music CD I review I personally bought and own. KeithBinns/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Nazar Shah, a resident of Ratodero, Pakistan, cried holding his 2-year-old daughter Fatima and praying to God to "protect and cure the beautiful gift He has given them." He was confused about how Fatima could have contracted HIV when neither he nor Fatima's mother have it, he told ABC News. Shah is not alone in his shock and confusion. An HIV epidemic has been discovered in the Sindh province of Pakistan and is being linked by officials to a local physician. By the latest count, 607 patients were diagnosed as HIV positive out of 20,217 patients screened, according to Dr. Sikandar Memon, manager of the Sindh AIDS Control Programme. Of those HIV positive cases, 494 are children and 113 are adults. According to official figures, there are 23,000 registered HIV positive patients in Pakistan overall. Memon told ABC News that while an investigation is still going on, the reuse of syringes and unsafe blood transfusions are believed to be the main causes of the spread of the virus. "Dr. Muzaffar Ghanghro is in judicial custody," senior police official Kamran Nawaz told ABC News. Charges against the local doctor include "infecting children with HIV with the reuse of syringes," Nawaz said. Ghanghro told a local journalist officials "shifted the blame to me to cover up themselves." "A doctor is not anybody's enemy," Ghanghro said. "Allah provides cure; we just try." He has not yet been assigned a lawyer. Nawaz said the final investigation report will be in by the end of the week. To serve the local population, Memon said the government has established camps at various sites to screen for HIV. Fear has gripped entire villages of the Sindh province. "It's a curse and a punishment for our sins," Yousaf Sheikh, a resident of Larkana, told ABC News. There is also concern the epidemic may be spreading in other parts of the province. Villagers are travelling to centers in hot weather this month, which is also Ramadan, to get screened. Meanwhile, Memon says insensitive media coverage of the epidemic has had a huge social cost for some. According to him, a local milkman complained that people have stopped buying milk from him after his story of being HIV positive came out in the media. Now, he can barely make ends meet. Memon worries about HIV positive children growing up with a major stigma around them. All the while, the number of HIV patients is increasing every day as new patients are screened at the camps. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Patrick Keenan (University of Illinois College of Law) has posted The Changing Face of Terrorism and the Designation of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In December 2015, a terrorist group comprising elements of the Russian government, contractors, and civilians hacked in Ukraine's power grid and managed to turn of the power for hundreds of thousands of people. According to the best analysis of the U.S. Intelligence Community, elements of that same group interfered in the 2016 U.S. by hacking into e-mail databases and releasing negative information, launching a social influence campaign designed to suppress votes among groups, such as African-Americans, thought likely to support one candidate and to bolster the opinions of groups thought likely to support the other candidate. That same terrorist organization continues to attempt to hack into the databases of elections officials across the U.S., insert malicious code on computers that control parts of the U.S. power grid, and attack critical infrastructure in Europe and Asia. This Article shows how the U.S. government can use existing legal tools to more effectively combat this organization and others like it. Law enforcement officials attempting to prevent these attacks have been hampered in their efforts because one of the most important mechanisms used against other terrorist organizations has not been deployed in this case. Under U.S. law, the Secretary of State has the authority to designate an entity as a "foreign terrorist organization." Once an organization is so designated, prosecutors attempting to combat the organization have additional tools available to them. In this Article I show that the doctrinal and policy hurdles to using these tools are easily surmountable. Drawing on international criminal law and organization theory, I show that the organization responsible for these attacks shares the necessary characteristics to meet the statutory definition of a terrorist organization. Further, I argue that the kinds of harms inflicted in the U.S. and elsewhere by these attacks is similar in kind and magnitude to the harms traditionally associated with established terrorist groups. Finally, I show that my approach is consistent with U.S. counterterrorism strategy. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. What is it called when you campaign on something and then dont support it once you are elected? Unethical. If I did that in my job saying one thing to get the job and then doing the opposite of it I would lose my job. If any of us did things in our jobs that harmed the individuals that we are sworn to serve and protect, we would lose our jobs. Why shouldnt elected officials be held to the same standard? To the rest of the Joint Finance Commission whats it going to take? Is it going to take a federal lawsuit about the inequities were seeing between the have and have-not schools? Or the fact that the state is reimbursing private schools at a much higher rate than public schools in special education costs? Is it going to take a public school to fail because they cannot get their operational referendum passed so they must cut programs or close their doors? Is it going to take an elementary school to be condemned because they cannot get the money to fix a roof, so the building must be closed? Everything in our school districts fixed costs go up: transportation contracts, fuel, utilities, health and property insurances, cost of living and salaries for staff, maintenance, the costs of supplies for our students. Yet, since 1993, weve been getting less and less each year for our public schools while we are expected time and time again to do more, to be better. We are expected to compete with one another, to adjust to declining enrollments, to pay for assessments so we can be compared against our neighbors. We are expected to invest in things that didn't exist in 1993, like technology, STEM facilities and programs, software and more testing always more, more, more. We are living in an environment of fear and hope. Our hope is our U.S. Constitution, which protects us all. These checks and balances make America great, and are why I gave up my Indian citizenship over 20 years ago and became a proud American Muslim. We, as Muslims, strongly believe that what makes America exceptional and has built this great nation is the American policy of accepting any and all people, no matter their religion or color. On May 3, I was honored by FBI Director Christopher Wray with the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for the We Are Many: United Against Hate movement, founded in 2016 to build an inclusive community of people, regardless of their national origin, color, religion or even political affiliation. The FBI's selection of 57 award recipients representing diverse communities and acknowledgment of each recipients work in their communities is another example of what makes America great. This recognition by the FBI also sends a positive message to all U.S. citizens that we all are just like everybody else good neighbors, good friends and good coworkers. Its right there, in a giant point size, on the website of Nawabi Hyderabad House Biryani Place: Spicy, Tasty & Delicious Always!! I wish Id seen that before I took a friend to the Indian restaurant, far out on East Washington Avenue. Its where Chutneys used to be, and before that, another Indian place, Fast Biryani. Hyderabad Houses baseline heat was so fiery one recent weeknight, my dining partner was only able to eat a small amount of what we ordered. He has a low tolerance for spicy food and our waiter never asked how hot we wanted anything. And we never thought to make a request. Even the vegetable samosas ($4.99 for two) were hotter than your typical samosas. I enjoyed that because at some Indian restaurants, the stuffed potato pastries can be bland. These were great because, even though they were fried, they werent greasy. They also had flavor beyond the heat. The cilantro-mint and tamarind chutneys, served in small cups on the side, didnt taste like much and were of little use. Although the samosas were spicy, the heat was subtle, so my dining partner was able to eat a whole one. That couldnt be said for two of the three other dishes we ordered. BURLEY Emily Hepworth graduated in the top 10 of her class Thursday at Burley High School after undergoing three surgeries in three years, including a brain surgery that caused her to miss numerous days of school. Hepworth, 18, was one 210 students to cross the stage in the school gymnasium to collect a diploma. Ive worked really hard and its nice to be recognized like that, Hepworth said about finding out she was graduating in the top 10 of her class. I went to school for years with many of the students in the top 10 and weve been in the same classes. Its really exciting. Hepworth overcame health challenges that included having brain surgery at the end of her junior year to correct an abnormality where her cerebellum extended into her spinal cord. She will now continue to have headaches for the remainder of her life due to the condition. But, theyre treatable, she said. She also had gallbladder surgery last year, and as a sophomore she had endometriosis so severe she could not sit during her classes. I had to stand up, but the teachers were really great about it, Hepworth said. The teachers at Burley High School are incredible. If you are invested in your work, theyll work with you to help you succeed. Prior to her brain surgery, Hepworths teachers allowed her to take her final exams early, which helped her to stay on track academically. Im doing really well now, she said. Hepworth is the daughter of Rebecca and Greg Hepworth. Emily has been a very determined girl ever since she was born, Rebecca Hepworth said. She just pushes through and there are no excuses. On the day she took her AP English exam, she was having such a severe headache she could hardly see, Rebecca Hepworth said. She still rocked that exam, Hepworth said. We are so very proud of her. Its been a pleasure to have her in our home. We just have to remember to step out of her way and see where she goes. Craig Mills, Burley High senior American government teacher, taught Hepworth in a College of Southern Idaho dual credit class. She is an incredible student, Mills said. She is one of the sharpest kids Ive ever taught. She works so hard and it just comes naturally to her. I think because shes so intelligent, everything just sticks. Rebecca Hepworth said the teachers at Burley High have been unbelievably understanding and kind. They have just bent over backward to help her, she said. For Hepworth, the best part of high school was participating in the school clubs like the Business Professionals of America, the speech and debate club, and drama, where she was in six plays, including Suite Surrender and Terror by Gaslight. Her favorite role was playing Claudia McFadden in Sweet Surrender. It was a new character for me and I got to sing. It was a lot of fun, she said. Prior to the health concerns, she was also involved in sports. Hepworth was accepted to Brigham Young University, which she plans to attend this summer. She also plans to go on a mission for her church. I am really excited to move forward with my life. Its going to be great and its time to be done with high school and move on, Hepworth said. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In the early 1970s, low calorie, light lager beers were driving the growth and nature of the American beer industry. At that time, home brewing was the only way beer enthusiasts could sample a wide array of flavors since imported beer started disappearing from shelves, replaced by mostly light lagers. Highly effective marketing campaigns had changed Americas beer preference to light-adjunct lager, according to the Brewers Association, a national organization that unites, promotes and protects small and independent U.S. breweries. According to Idaho Statute 23-1001, beer is defined as any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt and/or other ingredients in drinkable water. The diminished brewing landscape in America gave rise to a grassroots homebrewing industry, which became the impetus of the craft brew industry as we now know it. The New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, California, opened its doors in 1976, which sparked what has been called a renaissance in homebrewing. Although it closed within six years, a multitude of home brewers launched businesses in its wake. The 1980s is the decade known as the pioneering era of microbreweries, but many industry experts did not recognize their importance. In 1978, Charlie Papazian and Charlie Matzen formed the American Homebrewers Association in Boulder, Colorado, in conjunction with the publication of the first issue of Zymurgy magazine. Five years later, the Association of Brewers emerged. This organization included the American Homebrewers Association and the Institute for Brewing and Fermentation Studies in cooperation with the emerging microbrewery movement across the nation. Until the early eighties the popular image of beer in America was simply that of a mass-produced commodity with little or no character, tradition or culture, the Brewers Association website says. But the quality and flavor began to improve with these new pioneers, who laid the groundwork for future beer makers. In the early to mid-1990s, momentum increased and by the mid-2000s, the trend had become a movement in America. In 2005, the Brewers Association became a recognized conglomerate. Now the land of the free is home to the most diverse brewing culture in the world, according to the Brewers Association. Innovation has marked the revolution and the movement shows no sign of slowing down. Many states have created more brewery-friendly and beer-friendly laws, which allow breweries to create and sell their product to beer lovers, said Jess Baker, editor-in-chief of CraftBeer.com. U.S. craft brewers are incredibly innovative, putting new spins on Old World beer styles, and exciting beer lovers with an endless choice of flavors," she continued. Since 2017, craft beer has been branded with the Independent Craft Brewer Seal to identify craft beer made in the U.S. and to celebrate its independent spirit. The upside-down beer bottle labeled certified independent craft is meant to unify craft breweries and their supporters across the nation, according to the Brewers Association. Since the seals inception, more than 3,000 brewing companies have joined in on the collective branding. The trend is spreading fast. In 2018, the Brewers Association recorded 7,450 operational U.S. breweries, including regional craft breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs. In the same year, 90,498 barrels of craft beer were produced in Idaho, generating $366 million, according to Brewers Association data. And that number is steadily increasing as more breweries pop up around the state. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MILNER The Bureau of Land Management Burley Field Office began construction of a new accessible trail this week, in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, at the Milner Historic Recreation Area. It will run alongside a portion of the original ruts that comprise the Oregon National Historic Trail. When finished, the new trail will boast more than a mile of 6-foot-wide access to the park. Visitors may experience some disruption during the work week. However, trail construction will not affect access or use of campsites. We are so pleased to get this project off the ground and look forward to the improved access the trail will give to those who enjoy recreating at Milner, Burley field manager Ken Crane said in a statement. We plan for trail construction to wrap up by mid-August. The Milner Historic Recreation Area is a popular area for recreation along the Snake River in Cassia County. It is some 2,050 acres and includes boat ramps and campsites that host 12,700 visitors annually. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 RAFT RIVER Police are searching in Cassia County for a man who they believe shot a person in Utah before fleeing to Idaho. Idaho State Police said Jonathan Llana, 45, of Los Angeles is believed to be armed and dangerous. As of 3 p.m., ISP said the search remained active. The Utah Highway Patrol said the search for Llana began at about 8 p.m. Wednesday when emergency dispatchers in Box Elder County received a 911 call from a passenger in a Range Rover who said the driver of the vehicle had been shot while driving west on Interstate 84 near Rattlesnake Pass, between Snowville and Tremonton. The passenger was also injured in the shooting. The passenger described the shooters vehicle as a silver Volkswagen Jetta with plates from another state, Utah Highway Patrol said. The driver was Dennis Gwyther of Salt Lake City, who was driving to Boise for work, Utah State Bureau of Investigation Lt. Ryan Van Fleet said. Van Fleet said there was no indication the two drivers had interacted before the Wednesday shooting. The attack occurred after the Jetta and Range Rover cleared a traffic slowdown that resulted when two big rigs were side by side as one passed the other, Van Fleet said. Utah officials issued an attempt-to-locate notice for Idaho and Nevada for the Jetta. Emergency workers confirmed the Range Rovers driver had died and the passenger was taken to the Bear River Valley hospital. Idaho State Police and Cassia County Sheriffs deputies later stopped the Jetta. Officers prepared to use a felony takedown procedure to take Llana into custody when he hammered the gas and sped away, Cassia County Sheriff Jay Heward told the Times-News. A high-speed chase ensued that ended with Llana driving into the Raft River, which is about 8- to 10-inches deep near Interstate 86 and Raft River/Yale Road. Llana fled south on foot, Heward said. He was last seen wearing a tan jacket but could be wearing other clothing. There are scattered homes in the area and across southern Cassia County, he said. People should keep their doors locked and not let strangers inside their homes. Dont pick up anyone when you are driving or befriend anyone. Llana is considered armed and dangerous, but it is unknown whether he still has a weapon in his possession, Heward said. The Utah Highway Patrol said a weapon was found in the car. People should be watchful and if they see anything suspicious, they should call 911, Heward said. People living in the rural area should take note if vehicles are missing from their property, he said. The Cassia County Sheriffs Office has its tactical SWAT team searching the area along with other deputies, Heward said. The Utah Highway Patrol had a plane in the air searching most of the night and Thursday morning. Llana is 45 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, police said. Anyone who sees a person matching Llanas appearance is asked to immediately call law enforcement. ISP can be reached at 208-846-7550 or by dialing *477 on cellphones. Cassia County School District Spokeswoman Debbie Critchfield said the district has heightened security at the districts schools in Malta. The district has implemented its hall check protocol, which means all the exterior doors are locked. Students are in classes but the classroom doors are locked. Classes carry on as usual but the students are not allowed outside. All staff and administration were placed on alert and parents are being notified of the implemented procedures. The doors all have access control points that limit people coming in and out of the schools to one location and are controlled through an electronic system in the office. We have been in constant communication with local law enforcement so that we are able to make good decisions and reassess when needed, Critchfield said. For parents that have more heightened concerns, we remind them that they are able to check their child out of school. At this point we feel that we are addressing the safety concerns. The Minidoka County School District said it has additional security in place at its schools and exterior doors were locked Thursday because of the search. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 8 Sad 1 Angry 2 TWIN FALLS A sheriffs deputy who accidentally shot himself at the Twin Falls County Jail in December has been cleared of negligence, a report released Wednesday said. The Twin Falls Sheriffs Office released a statement Wednesday about the incident, which took place on the morning of Dec. 29, 2018. A redacted Twin Falls Police report from the investigation into the shooting was released later in the day. While preparing for an inmate transport, Deputy Christopher Givens was injured when his firearm unintentionally discharged, the statement read. Givens, a member of the jails correction staff, retrieved his Smith and Wesson M&P 40 caliber handgun from a lockbox while preparing to accompany six jail inmates in a van. While placing the gun in the holster it became caught on his jacket and went off, striking Deputy Givens in the leg, the statement says. Numerous officers from the Twin Falls Sheriffs Office, Twin Falls Police Department and Twin Falls Fire Department responded. In a statement released the day of the accidental shooting, sheriffs office spokeswoman Lori Stewart said no inmates were in the area where the shooting occurred, but the redacted report says inmates witnessed the shooting. I reported it as the incident was explained to me, Stewart said Wednesday. I knew they were preparing for a transport and that inmates were in the vehicle, however, I was not aware of the location of the lockbox in context to where the vehicle sits. I was told that no one was nearby or in danger. The lockbox is about 30 feet away from where the transport vehicle was parked, Stewart said. In the report, one officer wrote that inmates who witnessed the event said there had been an argument between the inmates and Givens over a radio station. Deputy Givens was not paying attention to what was going on, while standing just outside the van, they reportedly said. They said Deputy Givens missed his holster and shot himself in the leg. The video recording of the incident, however, showed that as Givens was placing his weapon into his holster, he encountered resistance. He placed pressure on the butt of the weapon, with his fingers away from the trigger, the report says. The video then shows the gun discharge while an elastic strap was extended near the holster, Twin Falls Police Detective Rick Van Vooren wrote. In the course of his investigation, Van Vooren reported he tried to duplicate Givens actions to see how the weapon discharged. Van Voorens final attempt involved placing the jackets elastic strap and plastic cord retention device in the trigger guard and in front of the trigger, which seemed to be the most plausible way the weapon could have discharged, Van Vooren concluded. Givens was treated for a wound to his right thigh at St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center. He has since recovered and returned to duty, the sheriffs statement states. The investigation report has been filed with the Twin Falls County Prosecutors Office. Love 0 Funny 8 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 0 HAGERMAN One person has died and another was in serious condition after a vehicle struck a tree and jumped a canal Wednesday morning south of Hagerman. Police believe Jacob Johnson, 25, of Twin Falls, had been driving a 2007 GMC Sierra about 2 a.m. on 1200 East near Quail Run Lane in Gooding County. Johnson failed to negotiate a curve and drove off the road, Idaho State Police said. Alcohol was involved, police said in a press release. The pickup carrying Johnson and one passenger struck a tree, jumped over a canal and came to rest on private property on Quail Run Lane. Neither Johnson nor his passenger were wearing seat belts. Johnsons passenger died at the scene. Police will not release the name of the deceased until next of kin has been notified. ISP was called to the crash just after 7 a.m. Johnson was first taken by ambulance to North Canyon Medical Center in Gooding. He was later flown to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where he was in serious condition at 6 p.m. Wednesday. ISP was assisted by Gooding County Sheriffs Office and the Gooding County Coroner. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 6 Angry 0 KIMBERLY McCall Hopkins will not be alone when he receives his diploma Thursday. Hopkins younger brother, Rowdy, died in a November crash. Hopkins said that when he hears his name called during Kimberly High Schools graduation, Rowdy will be there with him. I know Rowdy will be happy, even though Rowdy thought I was kind of stupid, Hopkins said with a grin. Hopkins and his brother were inseparable best friends who frequented rodeos together. Rowdy loved fun just as much I did. There was never a dull moment between us, Hopkins said. They had been together just before Hopkins found out his brother was in the hospital. When he learned about the crash, it was just draining, Hopkins said. Hopkins sat by his brothers side until Rowdy eventually passed on Nov. 27. The idea of a rodeo family was reinforced during that time, he said. If it could have been both of us, we would have had to rent the Minidome, he said of the support his family received from the community the day after the accident. More than 900 people attended Rowdys funeral. Hopkins missed 32 days of school while he stayed with his brother in the hospital. Returning to school was a challenge, but he knew he his brother would not have wanted him to sulk. Hopkins didnt want special treatment and intended to earn the diploma for himself. Hed worked for everything else in life, he said, and has the words born to succeed tattooed across his collarbone. I wanted to show them I can do it, Hopkins said. Im not just going to sit back and let them hand me the diploma. Im going to do the work. Heather Hendren, Hopkins mom and a teacher at Kimberly High School, said she was proud of him for being willing to finish school, knowing some days its hard to even get out of bed. Its heartbreaking, she said. He tries to be so strong for me, Hendren said. You want to make it right for your kids. Hopkins will attend Colorado Northwestern Community College next year to study agriculture business. He hopes to take over his grandfathers cattle farm in Mud Lake. A third place finish in saddle bronc at the state rodeo and a nationals appearance allowed Hopkins to secure a rodeo scholarship. Rodeo is a passion for Hopkins and something he and Rowdy did together. Getting back to the sport they loved was hard knowing his brother was not there to lead out his horse. I dont look at who is heading them out, I just know that Rowdys got this one for me. In one of his first rodeos following his brothers death, Hopkins got the chance to ride Rowdys favorite bull, Outlaw. There were tears streaming down his face before the ride knowing that was the bull Rowdy dreamed to get on, he said. And for that ride, and every ride after, Rowdy is there with him, Hopkins said. Not only is God looking down on me now, but God and my best friend. Those are the two people I have when I get on those bulls. Love 18 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 9 Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy TWIN FALLS About 12% of eligible voters participated in the Tuesday election for the proposed fire department bond, which failed. Only 2,405 of 18,964 registered voters cast a ballot on the $36 million bond for fire department facilities. The bond received 63.45% approval, but not the two-thirds supermajority required to pass. Fire Chief Les Kenworthy said he was disappointed that more people in the community werent engaged. Ultimately, its for the citizens to decide how important this issue is, he said. Going forward, the department will gather public feedback to find a solution, Kenworthy said. We cant just not do anything. Other elections in Twin Falls County received similarly low turnout, with a combined 3,145 votes from 28,648 registered voters or about 11%. The participation resembled Marchs election, in which the Twin Falls School District passed a $5 million supplemental levy with 10% turnout. About 64% of county voters cast a ballot in Novembers midterm election. Election results do not become official until next Thursday, the county clerks office said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The plight of Idahos working poor is a day-to-day struggle. This is especially true for rural families who live with underfunded schools, low wages, and limited access to childcare and early-childhood education. Thankfully, however, tens of thousands of Idaho families will soon have access to quality healthcare through voter-approved Medicaid Expansion. Many of those in the gap population will see a doctor for the first time in their adult lives. Mothers and fathers all over the state will have the opportunity to become healthier and stronger, be more productive and have a fair shot at success in our great state. For these reasons and so many more, Medicaid Expansion is Idahos greatest legislative achievement in a generation. It is a testament to all of those individuals and organizations who have worked for years to expand Medicaid and to the volunteers and voters who worked tirelessly and showed up on Election Day to cast ballots overwhelminglyfor their family, friends and neighbors. The people of Idaho have much to be proud of when it comes to advocating for, and approving, Medicaid Expansion. It is within that spirit that the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians presented its Advocacy Award this year to Reclaim Idaho the volunteer group which helped mobilize an entire state to pass Proposition Two. The effort to pass Medicaid Expansion has been in the works for years by dedicated activists from Close the Gap Idaho and embodies not only the compassion and good sense of every Idahoan, but the desire to act positively in the face of a crisis. Everyday Idahoans from Sandpoint to Montpelier and all points in between steadfastly knocked on doors, talked with people in their communities, and later testified in countless hearings about the benefits of Medicaid Expansion from a fiscal perspective and a humane point of view. That message stirred more than 360,000 Idahoans of all walks of life to go to the polls and pass a measure that will bring hundreds of millions of dollars back to Idaho, buoy our rural hospitals which struggle to stay open every year, and create a state where hope is just a little bit stronger for every Gem State resident, no matter their zip code. We must not lose sight of the incredible achievement of the people of Idaho. Medicaid expansion in Idaho will be an ongoing effort with the citizens of Idaho, the Legislature and the Governor, as we continue to work together for the benefit of the health of all Idahoans. November 1, 2019 will be the first day of open enrollment for Medicaid Expansion. Coverage will become effective January 1, 2020. Mark those days on your calendar. They represent the dawn of a new day for thousands of Idaho families and numerous Idaho communities. New Years Day 2020 will bring with it not just the beginning of a new decade, but the start of something so many of us take for granted: going to a doctors office. For the first time in years, thousands of Idaho families will feel more secure and confident in their future. Such a life-saving opportunity is something every Idahoan should celebrate. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 JEROME On Saturday, 65 to 70 volunteers including Bureau of Land Management and Sheriffs deputies cleared more than nine tons of trash from the north rim of Snake River Canyons Park during the annual spring cleanup, according to Greg Moore at the Southern Idaho Off-Road Association. The total amount was nearly the same as the previous three years, Moore said. Looking at the trash, I felt we were getting a significant amount of material that had been missed in previous years, Moore said. Maybe because there was more walking and less riding through the park. The booty was mostly comprised of trigger trash (TVs, computers, glass jars, plastic containers, pieces of wood, a store mannequin), tires, yard and lawn waste, freezers one with rancid foul smelling meat, bed springs and other common household waste, according to Moore. Some unusual items were recovered, including a structure built from pallets that appeared to have signs of recent occupancy. More families and juveniles participated than in the past, Moore said. The largest single group was the Magic Valley ATV club. Don Zuck from the North Canyon Shooters Association was on site to help educate the public about new shooting regulations in the area established May 1. Now that there are noticeable site improvements, we all hope that the dumping public will become more conscious about this area being developed as a natural multi-use park and treat it as such, Moore said. The best way to deter future trashing of the park is self-policing of the area by its users. Moore encourages all users to report dumping and misuse of their public lands. Like they say, if you see something, say something, he said. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 STANLEY The Idaho Conservation League wrapped up its 34th annual Wild Idaho! conference at Redfish Lake Lodge over the weekend with Sens. Mike Crapo and Mike Simpson sharing their thoughts on ongoing conservation efforts. The meeting attracted nearly 200 people and raised more than $103,000 in donated funds to aid the conservation leagues work. Talks by conservation experts and staff members covered such topics as climate change, public lands, water quality and salmon and steelhead restoration. To mark the 10th anniversary of the legislation protecting the Owyhee Canyonlands, the league presented Crapo with a letter of gratitude signed by Owyhee Initiative members for his championing of the effort. The legislation came about from the Owyhee Initiative agreement which aims to resolve wilderness, access and other issues affecting public lands in the Canyonlands and the communities that depend on them. The legislation designated 517,000 acres of the canyonlands and surrounding sagebrush steppe as wilderness and protected 316 miles of waterways under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Simpson congratulated outgoing Executive Director Rick Johnson on his upcoming retirement by presenting him with a copy of the May 15 speech he entered into the Congressional Record recognizing Johnsons conservation work. Ricks day-to-day leadership will be missed, incoming Executive Director Justin Hayes said in a statement. During this time of transition, Im very humbled by ICLs board placing their trust in me to lead ICL as we continue to move forward to protect Idahos air, water, public lands, fish and wildlife for all Idahoans. The informal theme of the conference emphasized collaborative conservation and working with interested stakeholders and local people to find a way to protect wild Idaho, while also supporting ways to grow Idahos economy and maintain its exceptional quality of life. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 5 hours ago China pursues tech 'self-reliance,' fueling global unease BEIJING (AP) To help make China a self-reliant technology superpower, the ruling Communist Party is pushing the world's biggest e-commerce company to take on the tricky, expensive business of designing its own processor chips a business unlike anything Alibaba Group has done before. Its 3-year-old chip unit, T-Head, unveiled its third processor in October, the Yitian 710 for Alibaba's cloud computing business. Read Article 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. Read More When Dejan Markovic was preparing to premiere his film, The Blacklisted, he was expecting some pushback, but not on the scale of what actually happened. One month before the festival, there was a burglary and vandalism in my office, Markovic told NTD News. The director of the film noticed that we [were being] watched by the police, he said, and its not one or two policemenits many people, tailing us around the city in the car and whatever you do. He added, because Im experienced in that kind of tailing by the police, when you see them, it means that they want you to [see them]. So we understood this as pressure to make some kind of auto-censorship in the film. As one of six films screened at the Bel Docs International Film Festival in Belgrade earlier this month, the documentary talks about the persecution in China of the spiritual discipline, Falun Gongalso known as Falun Dafaand how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) extends this persecution to other countries like Serbia. In 2014, Serbian police detained 11 European citizens during the Chinese Summit when the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was visiting Serbia. All 11 Europeans were Falun Gong practitioners who were planning to protest during the summit. The horrifying deeds committed by the CCP that are exposed in the film continue today. Markovic said the same forces behind the persecution tried to stop the film from screening. They Just Disappeared Markovic said that before the 2014 summit with China, Serbia never had any problem with Falun Gong practitioners efforts to raise awareness about human rights atrocities in China. However, that year, everything changed, he said, the police banned all the activities of Falun Gong practitioners, without any legal reason to do it. Markovic said most practitioners who were planning to protest were forced to cancel their trip, but nine people from Bulgaria, one from Finland, and one from Slovakia did manage to enter Serbia. However, the moment they checked into their hotel, the police came and took their mobile phones, and took their passports, Markovic said, And in the end, they ended up in a detention center. They were not given the right to call a lawyer. They were not given the right to make a phone call. And this was very unusual in Serbia, he said. The practitioners were only freed after the Chinese leader left Serbia. They call this kidnapping, because they were not officially arrested, Markovic said, They just disappeared. Markovic said the arrest was particularly traumatic for one of the activists arrested, Lihua Lan, who is originally from China. She escaped the persecution there and became a refugee in Finland. She was tortured in China, arrested three times. So obviously, she is traumatized by what happened, he said, And imagine she is coming to Serbia, a democratic country. And suddenly, she is kidnapped. Of course, there was no police violence on her. But how can you not remember what happened to you in China, when you were in prison? The Pushback Markovic said the festival was forced to change venue four times, as the first three venues were all canceled for stated reasons such as fire safety, security, and celebrating the end of the second world war. After a local newspaper interviewed the film director two weeks before the premiere, hours before the paper was printed, the festival owner received a call from the Chinese embassy. In this call, they ask him if there are any Chinese films on the festival. They said no, Markovic said, And the second question was, who is the main sponsor of the festival? Is it the government? Which government body is that? And so on. Markovic said the pressure and endless police tailing almost made him give up. My family members are very annoyed by this kind of behavior. They are afraid, he said, At one point, I even said to the director, Well, we can really cancel the festival, if thats the only solution. But the director, Sarah, she said No, we need to follow this [through]. One of the protagonists of the films, he said our weapon is the truth, and we need to bring it out to the light of day, he said. Markovic said the festival organizers and some Serbian film professionals were upset by the behavior of the Chinese embassy and Serbian authorities. They raised their voice to defend the film. The festival actually appeals to the Chinese government to understand that we here, we dont ban films, Markovic said. Prominent Serbian film director Srdjan Dragojevic voiced his support through Twitter. And many young film enthusiasts working for the festival asked for the support of their professors in the film academy. Odlicno. Video sam trailer. Srdjan Dragojevic (@srdjandrago) May 9, 2019 The film eventually had a successful premiere on May 10th. After the film, many people congratulated us. And told us that we were very brave, Markovic said. He said that while people may not have believed the film initially, now they can see for themselves how the Chinese regime sabotages human rights. They are witnesses of that, he said, adding that they are now much more likely to believe the horrific stories in the film. Markovic said that Dvorana Kulturnog Centra, where the film is initially planned to be screened but was closed by the fire department five days before the premiere, is soon to be opened. As a way to apologize to the festival, they offered to screen all six films from the Serbian competition, he said. The Blacklisted will be showing on May 28. Its a small victory of all free-minded people in Serbia against darkness and lies by CCP, he said. NTD reporter Miguel Moreno contributed to this report. Credit: Pexels.com Expansion of the Affordable Care Act in 2014 improved access to insurance and represented gains in health care for adults with disabilities. But while those gains were documented, what wasn't known was what challenges still existed in accessing care for that population. A new study from the University of Kansas documents the challenges adults with disabilities still face in accessing health care and offers recommendations to improve care and accessibility. Researchers in KU's Institute for Health & Disability Policy Studies conducted interviews with 22 adults with a variety of disabilities and health insurance types about barriers they faced in accessing health care after the expansion of ACA coverage. They found challenges exist in five major areas: Information and understanding of coverage Out-of-pocket expenses Prescription medications Provider networks Transportation "We want to make it clear this is not an indictment of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA has expanded coverage for many, but that said, we want to look at what barriers still exist and what can still be improved," said Jean Hall, institute director and one of the article's authors. Co-written by Noelle Kurth and Sarah Smith of KU and Gilbert Gimm of George Mason University, the study is forthcoming in the Disability and Health Journal. The individuals interviewed provided a sample of American adults from across the U.S. with different types of disabilities and coverage provided by Medicaid, private insurers, the ACA marketplace and other sources. Nearly all reported trouble accessing information and understanding their coverage. A longstanding problem, the Affordable Care Act didn't change that for many respondents. Some reported confusion when switching from Medicare or Medicaid to private insurance about which doctors were in their networks or what services were covered. Information could be hard to find, and it was often incorrect. Studies have previously found more than half of private insurers have incorrect or out-of-date information regarding providers on their websites. Other individuals reported being referred to see specialists, even if they were not part of their plan's network. That was part of the also longstanding problem of out-of-pocket expenses. Problems existed even when specialists or other services were covered. "People with disabilities have to see specialists more often, which adds up in out-of-pocket expenses," Hall said. "That's an extra burden for people who tend to be in lower-income brackets to begin with." In terms of medications, numerous respondents reported not having all of their medications covered, having co-occurring conditions that require different prescribed medications or being prescribed medicines that contraindicate each other. The result of some being covered and not others, or confusion on which were needed, often led to people being forced to choose which medicine to go without or having to pay for needed prescriptions on their own. Appeals processes do exist, but they can take a long time to resolve, which is compounded by going without a medication, Hall said. Transportation was one of the most frequently reported issues. Numerous respondents reported having to travel long distances to see their doctor. One respondent in Alaska was forced to travel out of the state to find an in-network provider. Others had to take time from work to travel several hours, and others were unable to drive because of their disability, requiring a second person to come with them, all of which added to the time required and financial strain resulting from travel. "There was one woman who reported she not only had to travel to her doctor but had to pay for parking each time she had an appointment. That may not seem like much, but it adds up and made it hard for her to be able to afford the travel," Hall said. "And if you need another person to travel with you, either to drive or to provide assistance, that adds to the difficulty." The authors make several recommendations for policy to address the issues individuals with disabilities face. While Medicaid is required to cover transportation for people with disabilities for non-emergency visits, several problems still exist. Encouraging insurers to provide travel vouchers could help address the problem, the researchers argue. Requiring insurers to have up-to-date information and either penalizing those who don't or providing incentives for those who do could help address confusion in coverage, while moving to coverage of medications known to be cost-effective and lowering co-pays and out-of-pocket costs to ensure they are available when needed would help as well, they write. All of the barriers not only had negative effects on the individuals' health, access or finances, they also influenced whether they were able to continue working. Being unable to work, earn income and keep insurance can all negatively affect health and well-being as well. "We need to be cognizant of the fact that having health insurance doesn't necessarily mean you have access to health care and work to ensure that access is available," Hall said. Explore further Patients insured by marketplace health plan less likely to receive a medical appointment Credit: CC0 Public Domain Deaths from stroke in England halved during the first decade of the 21st century, mainly as a result of improved survival due to better care, finds a study published by The BMJ today. The number of strokes, and the number of people who died from stroke, decreased by 20% and 40%, respectively, over this period. But despite this overall reduction, the researchers warn that stroke rates actually increased in people aged under 55, suggesting that stroke prevention efforts need to be strengthened in younger adults. Deaths from stroke have been falling worldwide for several decades, but it is unclear to what extent this is due to a decrease in the number of strokes occurring (event rate), the number of people dying from stroke (case fatality), or a combination of the two. To explore this further, researchers at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford used hospital and mortality records to analyse data for all residents of England aged 20 and older who were admitted to hospital with stroke or died from stroke between 2001 and 2010. Their results are based on 947,497 stroke events, including 337,085 stroke deaths, in 795,869 people. The average age at onset of stroke was 72 years for men and 76 years for women, and the average age of those who died from stroke was 79 years for men and 83 years for women. After adjusting for age and other potentially influential factors, stroke deaths decreased by 55% during the study period. For example in men, death rates decreased from 140 per 100,000 in 2001 to 74 per 100,000 in 2010, and in women from 128 per 100,000 in 2001 to 72 per 100,000 in 2010. And while a reduction was seen in all age groups, the largest annual reduction was in those aged 65 to 74 (-8.1% in men and -8.3% in women). Most of this decline78% in men and 66% in womenwas due to a reduction in case fatality, which decreased by 40% overall and in all age groups. The remaining 22% and 34%, respectively, was due to a reduction in event rates, which decreased by 20% overall. However, in people younger than 55 years, event rates increased by 2% each year, which contrasts with the downward trend seen in other age groups. This is an observational study so can't establish cause, and the researchers point to some limitations, such as the possibility that "minor" strokes treated outside hospital may have been missed. Nevertheless, they say the large study size over a continuous period of 10 years suggests that the findings are reliable and applicable to the whole of England. "Our findings show that most of the reduction in stroke mortality is a result of improved survival of patients with stroke," write the authors. "However, acute and long term management of such patients is expensive, and the NHS is already spending about 5% of its budget on stroke care. By focusing on prevention and reducing the occurrence of stroke, major resources can be conserved," they conclude. This view is supported by researchers at the University of Toronto in a linked editorial, who say that while more people are surviving after acute stroke, prevention remains a key priority. Targeted prevention is particularly needed in populations in which the incidence of stroke is increasing, such as in younger adults, certain racial/ethnic groups, and people in low and middle income countries, they add. These findings expose another societal challenge: the growing share of overall stroke burden borne by survivors, they write. "Tackling this major public health problem requires a concerted global effort to improve stroke prevention, care, and surveillance," they conclude. Explore further Stroke survivors' beliefs seem to reduce blood pressure More information: Determinants of the decline in mortality from acute stroke in England: linked national database study of 795 869 adults, Determinants of the decline in mortality from acute stroke in England: linked national database study of 795 869 adults, www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l1778 Editorial: More people are surviving after acute stroke, www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2150 Credit: CC0 Public Domain (Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the "Game of Thrones" season finale) If you think you know the farm animal most closely related to T-Rex, or the American president who inspired the creation of blue jelly beansbut aren't entirely sureyou're more likely to bone up on the chicken-dinosaur connection or Ronald Reagan's predilection for glazed, gel-filled candies. That's because our doubts about what we know pique our curiosity and can motivate us to learn more, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley. The findings, just published online in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, challenge a popular belief that curiosity in general is the prime driver of knowledge acquisition. They also give new meaning to the Montessori approach to learning readiness, which encourages children to follow their own natural inquisitiveness. "It's very in vogue to talk about curiosity as a strategy to increase learning, but it's unclear how to engage people's curiosity," said study senior author Celeste Kidd, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. "Our study suggests it's the uncertaintywhen you think you know something and discover you don'tthat leads to the most curiosity and learning." Practical applications include tailoring classroom learning to students' misconceptions about what they know. "Asking students to explain how things work can be an effective learning intervention because it makes them aware of what they don't know and curious about what they need to know," said study co-lead author Shirlene Wade, a visiting Ph.D. scholar in Kidd's psychology lab at UC Berkeley. For example, if students are quizzed on what causes climate change, how a bicycle works or about the U.S. constitutional separation of powersand realize they only have a partial understanding of how these things worktheir curiosity is stimulated, and they're more open to learning, if only to get it right the next time. Meanwhile, the subjects we know nothingor too muchabout, can prompt disinterest or even boredom. Take "Game of Thrones," the blockbuster medieval fantasy TV series. If you're a super fan and predicted, wrongly, that Sansa would end up on the Iron Throne, you're more likely to review all the show's characters and plot twists to see what you missed. If you were the showrunner, on the other hand, you'd have no reason to be curious. And if you sat out the entire eight seasons, you just wouldn't care. "Curiosity is the gatekeeper of the knowledge we choose to absorb, and that includes information about 'Game of Thrones,'" Kidd said. For the study, 87 adults from across the country, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing platform, were each quizzed online for about an hour on 100 trivia questions. In the learning phase of the experiment, each study participant gave their best guess in response to each trivia question, and whether they thought their answer was correct. They also rated on a scale of 1 to 7 how close they thought their answers were to being accurate and how curious they were to find out the correct answer. Participants were then shown the answer to the trivia question for five seconds and asked to rate their level of surprise. Next, they entered the testing phase of the experiment and answered the same trivia questions, except for the ones they had gotten right in the learning phase. Once all the answers were submitted, independent evaluators used objective measures to calculate how close each answer was to being accurate and measured the gap between what each participant thought the answer was relative to what it actually was. On average, participants got 18 answers right in the learning phase and 69 correct in the testing phase. Their curiosity levels reflected high and low interest, depending on the question topic. Overall, those who believed their initial best guess was close to the correct answer showed the most curiosity. "Those who were more curious were better at guessing correctly in the testing phase, which suggests they were more inspired to learn," Wade said. In addition to revealing the specific kind of curiosity that promotes learning, the results could serve to advance the theories of Maria Montessori, whose child-centered approach to learning readiness in the late 1800s is practiced to this day. "Maria Montessori said you should present children with something they are ready to learn, but she didn't talk a lot about what being ready meant," Kidd said. "Our findings expand on the idea of readiness by showing that what children think they know, but don't know, can boost their curiosity and motivate learning." Click here for the journal paper, and to see the 100 quiz questions. Explore further How curiosity changes the brain to enhance learning More information: Shirlene Wade et al, The role of prior knowledge and curiosity in learning, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (2019). Journal information: Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Shirlene Wade et al, The role of prior knowledge and curiosity in learning,(2019). DOI: 10.3758/s13423-019-01598-6 Credit: CC0 Public Domain (HealthDay)There's no such thing as a safe cigarette, but unfiltered cigarettes are even more likely to kill you, a new study finds. People who smoke unfiltered cigarettes have double the risk of lung cancer death that other smokers do. And smoking unfiltered cigs was also linked to a 30% higher risk of dying from any cause. "All cigarettes are bad. They all increase the risk for lung cancer and the risk of dying from lung cancer, but unfiltered cigarettes have the highest risk of any type of cigarette," said study author Dr. Nina Thomas. She is a fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston. The researchers also found that smokers of light, ultralight or menthol cigarettes were just as likely to get lung cancer and die from lung cancer as people who smoked regular filtered cigarettes. When the public started becoming concerned about the potential health risks of cigaretteseven as far back as the 1950stobacco companies responded by making changes to cigarettes, such as lowering tar levels and adding menthol flavor, the researchers noted. Despite these changes, cigarettes are still linked to 90% of lung cancers, according to the study authors. To see whether different cigarette types made any difference in the development of lung cancer or deaths related to smoking, the researchers reviewed data from the National Lung Screening Trial. Thomas said there were a little over 14,000 people in their nationally representative sample. The participants were all aged 55 to 74, and had to have smoked for at least 30 "pack years." Pack years are calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years someone smoked. Examples of what 30 pack years might mean are smoking one pack a day for 30 years or two packs a day for 15 years, Thomas said. The average amount those in this study smoked was 56 pack years. The researchers controlled the data to account for a number of factors, such as sex, age and the number of pack years. Smokers of unfiltered cigarettes were 40% more likely to develop lung cancer. They were also about one-third more likely to be nicotine dependent than other smokers. People who smoked light, ultralight or menthol cigarettes had the same health risks as people who smoked regular filtered cigarettes. But those using light or ultralight cigarettes were less likely to quit than other smokers were, the findings showed. Eric Jacobs is senior scientific director of epidemiology research for the American Cancer Society. He said, "We have known for many years that cigarettes that were misleadingly marketed by the tobacco industry as 'light' or 'ultralight' were not meaningfully less lethal than other cigarettes, a fact that led the U.S government to ban use of the term 'light' in cigarette labeling and advertising in 2010." Thomas said this study didn't delve into why unfiltered cigarettes appeared to be more deadly, but suspects it might be due to the high levels of tar. Thomas also said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should consider stronger regulations. Despite the FDA ban on using the word "light" on cigarette packaging, cigarette makers didn't change the look of cigarette packs, they only took the word "light" off to comply with the regulations. She said smokers likely still think of those particular cigarettes as light, and therefore safer. "There's still this idea that light or ultralight might be better for you, and it's not," Thomas said. According to Erika Sward, the national assistant vice president of advocacy for the American Lung Association, "The tobacco industry has been lying to the American public, suggesting that there were cigarettes that were less harmful. It's happening again with the e-cigarette epidemic." Sward added that "the FDA has to end this merry-go-round once and for all. They need to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products. Menthol flavoring just makes it easier for the poison to go down." The study was to be presented Wednesday at the American Thoracic Society annual meeting, in Dallas. Findings presented at meetings are typically viewed as preliminary until they've been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Explore further More Americans now think vaping is harmful More information: Learn more about quitting smoking from the Learn more about quitting smoking from the American Cancer Society Copyright 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. NorthWestern Energy is seeking a $40 million rate increase for the use of its transmission lines, a move with far-reaching consequences for Montana's largest businesses, electric cooperatives and the state's renewable energy future. NorthWestern said recently it is currently undercollecting on its Montana transmission business by $39.5 million a year. The South Dakota-based utility wants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve an average 52.8% rate increase to cover costs of some services, plus a host of specialized rates. The way weve been able to manage our business over time is that weve managed costs across the entire company so that we could avoid a rate filing, said Mike Cashell, NorthWestern vice president of transmission. We havent had a rate filing since 2006 and our revenue requirements have gone up; in 2006 it was $72.3 million, and now the annual revenue requirement is $111.8 million. Rate increases on a per-customer basis are substantial. Talen Energy, which operates Colstrip Power Plant and sells electricity on the open market would face an increase of the nearly $5 million a year under the proposal. Two years ago the company put Colstrips five other utility owners on notice that it was losing millions at the power plant, which it no longer wanted to operate. The Pennsylvania-based company eventually chose to stay, but its challenges as a wholesale energy merchant persist as cheap natural gas and renewable energy prices undercut the price of coal power. The added transmission cost will make Colstrip energy more expensive for Talen to deliver. Although Talen is still reviewing the Northwestern FERC rate filing, we are very concerned about the rate increase proposed by NorthWestern and we are evaluating the matter, said Taryne Williams, a Talen spokesperson. REC Silicon, a major employer in the Butte area, would see its rates increase more than $1.5 million. Attempts to communicate with REC over three days failed to produce a response, but the company last week revealed that it had reduced production earlier in this year because of high energy costs. In Butte, REC makes silicon gas for electronics production. It told the Montana Standard that the Butte facility was still profitable despite the slowdown. REC also announced plans last week to halt production at its Moses Lake, Washington, factory. The company said the U.S.-China trade dispute was behind the stoppage in Moses Lake, where REC manufactures polysilicon for solar panels. A half dozen renewable energy businesses have filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to intervene in the NorthWestern Energy transmission rate case. Several renewable energy companies have plans for Montana projects assuming they can competitively export power to customers in the Pacific Northwest. Those renewable energy plans hinge on two things, the first being room opening up on the large transmission lines connecting southeast Montanas Colstrip Power Plant to Oregon and Washington markets. Colstrips two oldest units are scheduled to close in less than four years. Renewable energy companies would like to fill the void with solar and wind energy. Puget Sound Energy, a Colstrip owner and major consumer of Montana coal power, has short-listed several Montana projects as renewable energy sources in the future, but the prices will have to be competitive. Cashell said NorthWesterns transmission rate proposal would increase the cost of renewable energy crossing NorthWesterns lines by about $2.30 per megawatt hour for a $22 per megawatt hour project. That $2.30 difference is an amount the utilities negotiating purchase power agreements may be willing to walk away from. Changes of a few dollars in prices have been a difference maker in contracts for renewable energy in several recent utility proceedings in the Pacific Northwest, including Montana. The transmission charges are what Cashell calls postage stamp rates, meaning the rate is the same no matter the distance on NorthWesterns lines. In some cases power from generator to customer might occur entirely on NorthWestern infrastructure. In other cases, a generator might course through a NorthWestern substation before traveling a short distance to the Colstrip line, which is owned by several utilities. NorthWestern argues that it has invested $416 million in its transmission facilities during the past 13 years and that those costs arent being fully recovered under its current billing scheme. NorthWestern deserves to be compensated for its investment, said Doug Hardy, CEO of Central Montana Electric Cooperative. Its customers have the right to scrutinize NorthWesterns reasoning behind the increase, to make sure the rate adjustment is reasonable. The customers of Montanas electric cooperatives will see in their bills, some more than others, whatever transmission rate increase FERC allows NorthWestern. Were not saying, We dont want an increase, so dont do it, Hardy said. Were saying we understand there are places where an increase is warranted, but were going to work hard with them, or if necessary with FERC, to make sure the cost is minimal for our customers and still delivers a fair return to NorthWestern Energy. Central Montana Electric Co-op is owned by eight distribution cooperatives, including Yellowstone Valley Electric. Its costs relative to NorthWesterns transmission rate case are represented as belonging to Basin Electric, which would see a roughly $6 million increase. The transmission rate case before FERC is beginning as NorthWestern approaches the end of a general rate case for its captive Montana customers. In the general rate case, NorthWestern seeks a $6.5 million rate increase under settlement terms. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 An agreement letting locals get discounted passes to swim at Holland Lakes developed lakeside appears on its way out after this summer. I dont think were totally done yet, Swan Lake Community Council chairman Ken Donovan said of a meeting with Swan Lake District Ranger Chris Dowling in Condon on Tuesday. For the past three years, the Swan Lake Community Foundation has paid $500 a year for 300 visitor passes to the popular U.S. Forest Service picnic and swimming area at Holland Lake. The regular day pass costs $5, or $35 for a year. But a new concession contractor decided not to honor the arrangement beyond this summer, and it will only provide 200 passes for the $500, Donovan said. Next year it intends to drop the arrangement altogether. Holland Lake was an outlier, Dowling said of the public fee rules for most lakes and developed sites in his district. The new contractor accepted the verbal agreement for this year, but wants to phase it out. However, the wide variety of policies and levels of service at Forest Service recreation sites in Seeley-Swan Valley had many residents frustrated. For example, Lindbergh Lake, just west of Holland, also has a campground and boat ramp but doesnt charge a fee. Swan Lakes Forest Service recreation site does. This was a behind-the-door decision and very condescending, said Condon resident Marcia Tapp. Kids cant afford to pay $5 every day when they want to go swimming. Its an extra tax for the land we already paid for. Dowling said the fee covers the expense of picking up trash, maintenance and supporting a campground host who monitors safe use of the site. The private contractor is allowed to make discounts if desired, but is not obligated to uphold past agreements with other contractors, he said. I think this underestimates how serious that lake is to the people of Condon, Donovan said. We usually gave out 80% of the passes every summer. And the lake is going to start getting busy pretty soon. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 5 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After a few years off, Seeley Lakes long-lived Loon and Fish Festival returns this Memorial Day weekend. Jenny Rohrer, one of the organizers, said that 2013 was our 19th year, and thats a lot of longevity. We thought we needed to try something else for a while, but the original was really near and dear to peoples hearts up here. Its the worlds only Loon and Fish festival. The 20th edition will bring back art exhibitions featuring at least 30 painters, sculptors, beaders, woodworkers, jewelry makers and other crafts experts. The group show draws from the Seeley, Swan and Blackfoot valleys and surrounding communities. Several participating artists will give skills demonstrations each day, including beadwork, watercolor, woodworking, painting on fabric and quick-draw. The festival has also revived the Food Bank Soup Bowl Lunch, where ceramic artists Bob Korn and Carrie Darrah have produced 100 handmade bowls. Proceeds from the lunch and bowl purchases have contributed more than $32,000 to the Seeley Lake Food Bank in previous years, Rohrer said. The lunch takes places at 11 a.m. Saturday. Lunch costs $20 and includes the handmade bowl. On Sunday, the Montana Loon Society will lead a walk to loon nesting sites at 9 a.m., followed by a talk on loon natural history at 1 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. Also Sunday, volunteers will lead a wildflower walk to Holland Falls starting at 11 a.m. All events unless otherwise noted take place at the Seeley Lake Community Hall. Entry is free. A complete schedule of activities can be found at alpineartisans.org. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nearly 20 Hellgate High School students left class Thursday morning to gather in front of the Missoula County Courthouse in protest of stringent abortion laws passed or proposed in several states. The rally of students came two days after Montana organizations staged their own protest at the courthouse. Tuesday's protests across the country aimed to defend of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court case that established a woman's legal right to abortion. None of us are of age to vote, so this is the only way to make our voices heard, said 17-year-old Keyvonna Dahl, a senior at Hellgate High School. Dahl cited legislation passed in Georgia, Alabama and Ohio that banned abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, as the reason for the protest. The walkout started at 10:30 a.m., and began as an event organized on Facebook a week prior, with students making their way on foot up Higgins Avenue to the courthouse. Dahl, dressed in clothes that resembled those of suffragettes, said she doesnt want Montana to become the next Alabama. At 11 a.m., with the tolling of the courthouse bell, she led the group in a moment of silence for all of the women who died from botched abortions before Roe v. Wade, and all those who will die in light of the recent laws. Several students from Washington Middle School also joined the rally. Eight states, starting with Alabama earlier this month, have signed bills into law that restrict access to abortions and could pose a challenge to Roe. The most recent state, Missouri, passed a bill May 17 that bans the procedure after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. In Montana, during the 2019 Legislature a bill that would have asked voters to decide whether life begins at conception stalled after its proposal by GOP lawmakers. In April, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of nurses being able to provide early-term abortions. It just doesnt make any sense that those who dont have the experience, or the body, to even understand abortion should be making these decisions for us, said Hellgate sophomore class President Madisen Stiffarm. Its a beautiful day today, but even if it were pouring rain, Id still be here. Its just a shame that we have to miss school just to express ourselves, she said. We dont have any policy in place prohibiting the right of students freedom of political expression. What we do have is an attendance policy, said Hatton Littman, director of communications for Missoula County Public Schools. If any students end up missing class, teachers will mark them absent and their parents will be notified, she said. According to Littman, students can engage in any kind of protest, so long as it doesnt threaten the safety or education of other students. The students attending the rally said they didnt face any restrictions from their teachers or administrators. By noon, all of the students had left the courthouse and returned to their classes. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 Fergus County Sheriff Rick Vaughn campaigned for election in November while on duty as the departments undersheriff, according to a recently released report. The report says Vaughn acknowledged seeking political support from Lewistown Police Department, Lewistown Public Defenders Office and Montana Highway Patrol while on duty, although he disputed that during a recent conversation with The Billings Gazette. Montana law forbids public employees from campaigning while on duty, but enforcing that law falls to the Commissioner of Political Practices, which has received no complaints in the matter. The information contained in a Sept. 20, 2018, report by an investigator hired through the Montana Association of Counties was recently made public by a judge in Fergus County. Vaughn also discouraged sheriffs office employees from showing support for his opponent and may have violated federal law in his dealings with employees who serve in the military, the report found. The Gazette obtained the report after filing a public information request and lawsuit. After prevailing in court, District Judge Jon Oldenberg ordered the report released with witness names redacted. Before his election in November, Vaughn had served as undersheriff since 2001. He beat a deputy in the office, Bryon Armour, 64% to 34%, or 3,473 votes to 1,978. The report Beginning in late 2017, the county began receiving complaints about how Vaughn and then-sheriff Troy Eades were handling the upcoming sheriffs race, according to the report. Eades had decided not to run for re-election. In response, the county attorneys office sent all county employees and elected officials a memo with guidance on acceptable political activity by public employees. For instance, they could take paid time off to work on a campaign but could not use county property or time for political purposes. Complaints continued to roll in even after the countywide guidance, the report noted, and so the Montana Association of Counties was contacted, which helped hire human resources consultant Michelle Edmunds to investigate. Edmunds interviewed more than 30 witnesses and employees for the report. Sheriffs office management discussed firing probationary employees who didnt support Vaughn, according to the report. The report did not specify whether it was Vaughn or Eades who made the suggestion, referring only to management, which the report defined as including only the two men. There are multiple examples of statements by management that expressed a desire to terminate probationary employees based on who they supported in the upcoming election, the report states. Vaughn or Eades again, the report does not specify which had told employees it was unprofessional to post political yard signs at home or engage in other off-duty support of a political candidate. Both are protected First Amendment activities, the report noted. Vaughn acknowledged to the investigator it would be difficult to make future personnel decisions without considering an employees lack of support. Finally, Vaughn or Eades expressed displeasure over one employees time off required to travel to complete military orders and told another job applicant they werent qualified, saying the office already had too many military employees. Those actions could constitute a violation of federal workplace protections for military employees, the investigator found. The report made several recommendations, including disciplining Vaughn for using work time to court political endorsements and requiring countywide training on Equal Employment Opportunity laws. Response Reached Monday, Vaughn said hed read the report. "If I did something wrong, Id like to take my lumps," he said. But he also said he wasn't sure he had done anything wrong and blamed a lack of training for the statements to military employees. Regarding the report's finding that he campaigned while on duty, Vaughn said he'd been verbally reprimanded for it by Eades. But he also disputed that he made those calls while on duty, even though the report suggests he earlier acknowledged it. Yeah I asked for support, he said. I guess Im not sure that I would say it was on duty, though. Vaughn said he couldnt remember when exactly he made the endorsement requests or what he told the investigator. The report says he made them while on duty, and that "management acknowledged these events did occur. Vaugh said he had his own complaints related to the past year working with the county, and that a separate investigation was underway, being conducted by the Broadwater County Attorney's Office. "So I guess that I would just say that theres another side of the investigation and its being investigated," he said. "And it has to do with other stuff besides the sheriffs office inside the county." Vaughn declined to comment further. Fergus County Attorney Kent Sipe said his office had arranged for the Broadwater County Attorneys Office to investigate Vaughns newer complaints to avoid a conflict of interest. Sipe also said the county had followed the reports recommendation to hold a training for county employees on protections for military employees and for political speech. It did so in December. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 65-year-old Missoula man was given four 100-year sentences Thursday for molesting a young girl and forcing her into sex acts with two boys. A Missoula County District Court jury convicted Jack Eldon Jarvey in January of sexual intercourse without consent, three counts of sexual abuse of children and one count of intimidation. "This sentence may well exceed your lifetime," Missoula Judge John Larson told Jarvey at the hearing on Thursday, "and I must say what you've done will persist with them for their entire lives as well." At trial, the victims who testified said their ages ranged from third grade to fifth grade when the abuse began several years ago. The abuse went on every weekend for two years, until a girl told her mother Jarvey was forcing her to perform sex acts on boys at the home. Jarvey's attorney did not make arguments at Thursday's sentencing, opting to take the case to the state Supreme Court on appeal. "Mr. Jarvey maintains that he's an innocent man," public defender Reed Mandelko told Larson. "He's confident in his chances on appeal." Along with the four lengthy sentences on the rape and abuse charges, Larson handed down a 10-year sentence for the intimidation charge, the maximum penalty for such an offense. Each sentence will run concurrently, an arrangement offered by Deputy County Attorney Ryan Mickelson in light of Jarvey's age. The psychosexual evaluation of Jarvey completed by sentencing reportedly showed "little or no empathy for the victims" and "projected blame onto the victims," Mickelson said. Jarvey will have to complete multiple phases of sex offender treatment before he is eligible for parole. Larson also addressed the victims in the courtroom during his final statements to Jarvey. "This sentence is intended not only to punish you but to express the remorse of the state and the value the state places on the victims," he said, then turned to the victims. "You should feel valuable, you should feel full, you should feel complete in living the rest of your lives, knowing the rest of his life will be in the Montana state prison." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A late-spring storm that swept over parts of south-central Montana overnight dropped between 6 and 11 inches of snow in Red Lodge. Meanwhile, at an elevation about 1,500 feet higher, the town of Cooke City got only a dusting, according to the National Weather Service in Billings. "It all depends which way the winds are going," said meteorologist Krista Carrothers. Forecasts for the storm earlier this week showed the highest snow accumulations were likely to be found on northeast-facing slopes. By Wednesday afternoon the storm warning expired for Red Lodge, but Carrothers said mountain elevations including the Beartooth Mountains could see another foot of snow over the next 24 hours. One snowfall total at Cole Creek outside Red Lodge showed between 13 and 14 inches of snow. On Red Lodge Mountain the spring snowstorm dropped about 20 inches of snow in one place, Carrothers said. Flooding Flood watches put into effect earlier this week for a dozen Montana counties remained in effect Wednesday for only a few counties, most of them located along the Montana-Wyoming and Montana-Dakota border. Those locations include: Big Horn County. Carter County. Powder River County. Rosebud County. Sheridan County. Communities affected by the flood watch include: Ashland. Broadus. Ekalaka. Lame Deer. Sheridan. The Little Bighorn River had been a concern for flooding earlier in the week, but Carrothers said the river had remained below flood stage. The river was running at about 4.83 feet at about 2:15 p.m. Minor flood stage on the Little Bighorn River is 8 feet. Low-lying areas prone to ponding are expected to fill with water in areas affected by the flood watch. Additionally, rainfall could cause strong rises in creeks and streams within the flood watch area. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Since closing for a second time 18 months after again losing jailers and its administrator, the jail in Superior will remain closed indefinitely, leaving deputies of the Mineral County Sheriffs Office to ferry inmates back and forth from counties up to 95 miles away. At a meeting on the issue in Superior this week, the fourth since the jail closed in January, all agreed that the jail needed to reopen, and stay open. With the county attorney anticipating a visit from the head of a nonprofit who may offer a solution, residents also proposed the idea of hiring new jail staff at higher wages. I feel like weve got a three-headed snake here. First, is the inmate problem and covering the costs and running the jail, with meals and health care and all that, said Roman Zylawy, one of three county commissioners. And now were out of qualified applicants, thats the second head of the snake. And the third one is now, we do have a possible solution, if we wanted to hire people for more money. A loss of three of its jailers led to the initial closure of the jail in October 2017, with 15 inmates transferred to three other counties and three nonviolent offenders released. Community leaders said the jailers left due to mismanagement by the sheriff at the time, and inadequate pay at less than $11 an hour. Less than a month later, then Sheriff Tom Bauer also resigned. A committee of residents, members of the sheriffs office and department heads formed soon afterward. Despite a pay increase for jailers and the creation of new administrative position, the facility continued operations for only 10 months after reopening in March 2018. Roni Phillips, also the towns mayor, resigned as jail administrator after being expected to also work dispatch. Keeping the jail closed has been a drain on deputies, who have been taxiing those charged in Mineral County to jails in neighboring Sanders, Missoula and Lake counties. According to County Attorney Ellen Donohue, housing inmates 70 miles away in Sanders County alone cost $20,000 in April. Thats not including gas and overtime for the deputies, she said. On paper, that month on average is cheaper. But in the long run, if we go above 10 or 11 people, thats costing us money. If were still doing this by winter, thats also going to be very dangerous for our deputies. Donahue said the sheriffs office and justice department of Mineral County face other logistical issues, such as needing to make two separate trips for inmates of different genders. In at least one instance, an inmate was forced to stay in the Mineral County courthouse overnight when no county jail would admit him. A deputy had to monitor him the entire time. I worry that people dont realize the complexity of the problem. We have to deal with it and we need a jail, but if we say, Lets pay detention officers more, theres a ripple effect, Donahue said. Donahue and county commissioners worry that increasing the pay for jailers or the jail administrator will undermine Sheriff Mike Boone and his deputies. She has been in contact with Mike Thatcher, CEO of Community, Counseling, and Correctional Services Inc., to try and solve the countys dilemma of both a small labor pool and uncertainty as to whether the jail will consistently stay open. A nonprofit based in Butte, CCCS Inc. has established pre-release programs, addiction treatment centers and work release services in counties throughout southwest Montana. Thatcher will tour the Mineral County Jail next week. If youre going to be a county and have a sheriffs department, youve got to have a jail, said Superior resident Lance Jasper, an attorney. Jasper, who also served on the committee that created the jail administrator position, said no matter how the jail is reopened, either by hiring a new administrator or bringing in a company from outside of the county, the commissioners need to make a decision that theyve had four months to consider. Out of everybody who was at the meeting, not one said nay' to reopening the jail, he said. If this county was a business, somebody would have been fired by now. Another meeting to discuss Thatchers visit will be held May 31. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 After a quarter century, Jim Posewitzs book "Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting," still stands as one of the seminal works in hunting. In those 25 years, it has sold nearly 2 million copies, according to Chris Cauble, publisher at Riverbend Publishing. The books have gone to hunters all over the United States, handed out after hunter education courses and purchased in bookstores. "Beyond Fair Chase" moves in a Socratic-method style of writing, using stories and a building-block argument that places one foot in front of the other for hunters, both young and old, to understand what hunting requires from them. For the author, that understanding took decades to put into place. Posewitz still lives in the Helena area, working in sight of the Scratchgravel Hills and a whole lot of national forest. He wears socks and Birkenstocks, an idiosyncratic fashion decision for a man whose home showcases magnificent specimens of Montanas big game on its walls, including a mule deer buck he shot in 1958 that has a head the size of an elks. But Posewitz, or Poz, thrives on the ability to do what doesnt seem possible or usual. From a successful campaign against damming the Yellowstone River in the 1970s while at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to pushing for greater understanding of conservation history, Poz answers questions in ways that frustrate some and enliven others, no matter what there is a sense of his personality in the end. So naturally, "Beyond Fair Chases" roots are in the historical slaughter of the American bison and Teddy Roosevelts experiences hunting one of the last of the big herbivores on Little Cannonball Creek in Montana. As Posewitz tells the story, he makes it clear that only from hunting came the future presidents realization that to keep animals thriving, changes would have to be made. Posewitz's book was written in a period of six months, when he was putting together his ideas about hunting. Do you know Strunk and White? Posewitz asked. Falcon Press asked me to write a book just like that. "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is a modern classic of writing. First published in 1918, the books core ethos is to teach writers how to communicate in their work. Posewitz took that element of style and transformed it into an introduction on how hunting should philosophically, ethically and emotionally function. Thats why Jim Gillespies tale is told. Gillespie, an East Helena hunter, followed an elk he shot for 30 days before he tore up his tag without bringing it home. Posewitz explained he heard the story from someone he worked with and asked for Gillespies permission to recreate it in "Beyond Fair Chase." I sent a draft to him, and I sent the final draft to him, and I never heard anything back, Posewitz said. Then Im out helping at a check station and someone said Jim, your hunters here. Gillespie had showed up to the check station. Gillespie and Posewitz chatted for a while before Posewitz asked why he never responded to his messages. Well, you had it right the first time, Gillespie responded. In Montana, every child and adult who takes hunter ed is given a copy of Posewitz's book after the course finishes and is told to read it. Wayde Cooperider, the outdoor skills and safety supervisor for Montanas Fish, Wildlife & Parks called it a staple of the program. The messages in it are as valid today as they were then, Cooperider said. We spend time talking about ethics in our hunters' education classes; make the choice to take the shot with a clear mind, make sure its right, make sure its ethical. This book has helped to further those conversations. That seems to be the essence of the book. And for hunters with adult-onset hunting syndrome, "Beyond Fair Chase" offers stories about experiences that they hope to have and an ethical framework to start building their own personal code around. I took hunter education from Cooperider in January of 2018 and was handed a copy of "Beyond Fair Chase" as I walked out the door. Standing a few heads above most of the youngsters in the class, I felt a decade behind in experience. So when I finally cracked the slim volume and read the stories, the framing and the history Posewitz had gathered and formed into his ideas of how hunting should be, the seeds of thought fell on what I hope has been fertile ground. For me, the most important story in the book is that of the bucks on Lost Hat Pass in the Scapegoat Wilderness. When the girl chooses not to shoot but decides to take the gift of natural beauty, of communion with animals, nature and her own ethical compass. Thats when it moves beyond simply finding and killing and into hunting. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 " " Coal miners shake hands with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 16, 2017, before he repealed a rule enacted by President Barack Obama to protect waterways from coal mining waste. Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images In March 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to dismantle a regulatory plan that would have closed hundreds of aging coal-powered electrical plants to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "You know what this says?" Trump said to coal miners whom he'd invited to the event, according to a New York Times account. "You're going back to work." Trump is hardly the first American politician to champion coal mining employment. In the ongoing national conversation about the United States economy and the best way to build prosperity, saving coal jobs comes up again and again. That may be because mining so aptly symbolizes the gritty might of the industrial-era smokestack economy, as well as the American ideal of earning a living through hard work. Meanwhile, job losses in other industries such as the tens of thousands of retail jobs that have been lost in recent years as e-commerce takes customers away from traditional brick-and-mortar department stores and shopping malls barely seem to get a mention. Advertisement " " At the Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pennsylvania, coal miner Jaden Fredrickson waits prior to the arrival of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, who visited on April 13, 2017. Justin Merriman/Getty Images Data suggests that the political debate isn't aligned with economic reality. Let's start with coal. When it comes to jobs, the industry has been in a decades-long decline, which started long before government efforts to cut carbon emissions. As detailed in this 2016 report by the Analysis Group, a private-sector economics consultancy, total coal employment dropped by more than half in the last quarter of the 20th century, employing 225,000 people in 1975 but only 110,000 in 2000. During that same period, paradoxically, sales of coal actually reached record highs, as coal-burning plants provided half of the nation's electrical power. Coal companies boosted productivity in their processes, particularly in the western U.S., by turning to surface mining techniques that required fewer employees per ton of coal. But starting in the late 2000s, though, coal ran into another problem competition from abundant natural gas produced by fracking, whose price has dropped 70 percent since 2008. That's led to a widespread, ongoing shift from coal to gas for electrical power generation. Not surprisingly, slumping demand was one of the factors that led to further decline in coal industry employment. The upshot is that coal no longer is a major U.S. employer. As Washington Post writer Christopher Ingraham has noted, in 2014 U.S. coal companies employed only about 77,000 workers. That amounts to fewer people than American breweries and wineries, travel agencies, and car washes employ. And coal mining doesn't even come close to retail, which employs nearly 16 million people in the U.S. That makes politicians' apparent lack of interest in the plight of store clerks even more puzzling. Now, That's Interesting A 2016 report by a Canadian environmental think-tank predicts that robotic mining equipment and driverless vehicles may reduce mining employment by half in the foreseeable future. Old Dominion Freight Line recently broke ground on a new $8.3 million, 21,800-square-foot freight terminal on 20 acres in the Montana Connections Business Development Park. "We're very excited about it," said Karen Byrnes, Butte-Silver Bow community development director. "It does create jobs, it does help the tax base and it is another indication of how our location and our infrastructure is good for logistics and shipping freight and all of those things." Old Dominion currently operates an approximately 10,000-square-foot freight terminal almost directly across Rick Jones Way from the site of its new 42-dock facility but will move into the new facility when it is complete. Kristen Rosa, administrator of the county's Tax Increment Financing Industrial District, which captures and reinvests tax money to develop infrastructure and attract businesses, said the project represents a "great investment." While the TIFID sometimes offers businesses incentives to locate in Montana Connections, Rosa said Old Dominion did not ask for any. The building Old Dominion will now vacate was constructed in 2008 and 2009, Rosa said, and is owned by a private real estate company. Rosa said the county is already seeking new tenants to occupy it. We dont have a lot of vacant space out there, so I dont see it as a huge negative to also have a facility to assist with marketing," Rosa said. According to documents filed with the county, "It's anticipated the (new) terminal will operate seven days a week." An Old Dominion spokesperson confirmed that work on the new building is underway and said that it is one of seven company facilities in the state but declined to comment further. The project's estimated $8.3 million cost comes from county records. While it's not clear how many new jobs the terminal will create, Rosa noted that "truck-driving jobs are good-paying jobs. The company submitted plans for the project in November, and the county issued a permit for construction on April 26. Dylan Pipinich, senior planner for Butte-Silver Bow, said the permitting process was straightforward, since the freight terminal is in sync with the intended use of the business park, which is also home to a 67-door, $8 million FedEx transfer center. "It's a no-brainer," Byrnes said of the project. "That's exactly what we need to be doing." Love 10 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A judge handed down an eight-year suspended sentence Thursday to a Butte man who was shot in the arm by police after allegedly pointing a rifle at them last October. Josh Demers, a public defender for Charles Andrew May, 39, had asked for a deferred sentence for two felony convictions of criminal endangerment. That would have allowed May to eventually clear his record if he abided by all probation terms. Demers contended that May was bipolar, was off his medications, and suffered a manic episode when the incident occurred last Oct. 1. A psychiatrist testified to that Thursday and Mike Thatcher, chief executive officer of Butte-based Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc., said May had worked for CCCS and was an excellent employee. District Judge Kurt Krueger said he knew May had mental health and substance abuse issues but that the seriousness of the crime warranted a suspended sentence. It carries lengthy probation terms and the convictions will remain on Mays record. This court has to look at what occurred here, Krueger said. This resulted in officers firing (their guns). The officers felt threatened. According to prosecutors, police were called to Mays house because he was reportedly suicidal. They say May came out of the house and pointed a rifle at two Butte police officers, telling them to get off his property. The officers, fearing for their lives, opened fire. May went back inside and collapsed, having been struck in the arm, and was taken to St. James Healthcare. He has since recovered and was free on his own recognizance during Thursdays court hearing. May was initially charged with two felony counts of assault on a police officer, each carrying a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $50,000. But there is also a two-year minimum. In an agreement with prosecutors, May pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal endangerment. They also carry a maximum of 10 years, but there is no minimum sentence. Thatcher and John Rogers, a psychiatrist, testified on Mays behalf. Rogers said May has been a patient of his since 2015 and suffered from bipolar disorder, a mental health condition that can lead to intense mood swings of extreme highs and lows. Rogers said he had prescribed lithium for May and it was the best medicine to treat bipolar disorder, but May was not taking it at the time of the police shooting. When the disorder is not treated, he said, it can lead to brain malfunctions that include misperceptions of reality. But May was back on his medications and was doing fine now, he said. Thatcher said May was once a correctional officer at a state prison and started working for CCCS, which oversees the Butte Pre-Release Center and some other corrections programs, in 2016, once serving as an intake coordinator. Thatcher said Montana Department of Corrections rules required him to fire May in March when he pleaded guilty to the two counts of criminal endangerment. But he said he had been a great employee and if he could help him find work, he would. The incident was serious and it is fortunate he is (alive and) in court today, Thatcher said. But, he said, I think Charlie has a lot of great attributes that are salvageable. Chris McConnell, a prosecutor with the Montana Attorney Generals Office, asked for a 10-year suspended sentence. He said May had two drunken-driving convictions and at the time of the incident, had THC from marijuana, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, and alcohol in his system. McConnell said he wasnt asking for prison time, but lengthy DOC supervision was needed to protect society and those sworn to protect society. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ARCHIVED - 8 more African migrants picked up on the beach in Cabo de Palos The Algerian men landed at Punta Blanca to be met by the Guardia Civil It has been reported that a second small boat carrying would-be immigrants from north Africa arrived during Wednesday night at the beaches of Cabo de Palos, with all eight occupants being taken into custody after reaching land. The boat was detected 7 miles out to sea by the Guardia Civils radar vigilance unit on the coastline of Cartagena, and although it was travelling at only 6 to 7 knots it could not be intercepted at sea. However, Guardia officers were on hand to welcome the 8 Algerian men on board when they landed at Punta Blanca in Cabo de Palos, next to the small beach of Cala de las Melvas. From there they were taken to the Guardia headquarters in Cabo de Palos to be attended to by Cruz Roja staff before being placed in the hand of the Policia Nacional in Cartagena. This follows the apprehension of seven more Algerians, including a mother and baby, when their small boat reached Cabo de Palos earlier in the week. For more local news, events and other information go to the Cabo de Palos section of Murcia Today. Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/. MUSCATINE Local funeral director Ed Riley has been in the business a long time 60 years to be exact. A professional funeral directors association recognized him recently as the only funeral director in the state who has had such a long tenure. "It seems like 65 (years)," Riley, 85, said of his career. He said the award isnt a big deal. Colleagues honored the delightfully brusque licensed funeral director at Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home last week at the annual Iowa Funeral Directors Association convention. The IFDA represents more than 700 state-licensed funeral directors and 425 funeral-home locations. Riley, who said he was working, did not attend. He said the recognition wasn't a surprise to him. After all, he has earned other recognition for 40 and 50 years of service. He said during the luncheon, the honoree would stand and his or her peers would clap, "and that's plenty," he said. Still, getting to six decades of experience had its share of unexpected events. "When you've done something for 60 years," he said, "each day is just one surprise after another." Brazil is a fascinating country, very similar to South Africa and also very different. Both have tremendous beauty to offer stunning landscapes, fascinating cities, and friendly people. As I roamed around at the launch of Angola Cables new data centre in Fortaleza, I noticed a security guard hovering at the entrance to the building. He was geared in a bullet-proof vest with a pistol holstered at his chest a reminder that just like South Africa, Brazil is a country that struggles with crime. Though it has seen a decline in murder rates from 83.48 per 100,000 residents in 2017, to 69.15 per 100,000 in 2018, the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice still ranked Fortaleza as the city with the ninth-highest rates of homicide in the world in 2018. To put this in context, Fortaleza has a higher murder rate than Cape Town which had the eleventh-highest homicide rate in the world in 2018. For the launch of Angola Cables new data centre, we were 5km away from Meireles beach and about five blocks away from the nearest beachfront Praia do Futuro a popular location for undersea cables to emerge on Brazils northern cost. The launch was well attended, with government dignitaries and media from Angola, Brazil, Portugal, and South Africa represented among the guests. Grand plans The data centre forms part of Angola Cables vision to interconnect the southern hemisphere, and better connect the Portuguese-speaking world. Angola Cables is also more than 50% owned by the Angolan government through entities like Angola Telecom and Movicel, and it is Angolas instrument to establish a hub for Internet connectivity in the country. Its ultimate aim is nothing less than for Angola to overtake South Africa as the premier location for undersea cables and Internet traffic exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve these goals, Angola Cables built and operates the South Atlantic Cable System which runs from Sangano in Angola to Fortaleza. From there it connects to the MONET undersea cablewhich Angola Cables has a stake into link to Miami, Florida in the United States. With its newly-built data centres, the idea is that Brazilian developers and content owners will be able to deliver their products to more Portuguese-speaking nations cost-effectively, while also opening up the Brazilian market. Below are photos I took at the launch, and a selection of pictures taken around Fortaleza. AngoNAP launch in Fortaleza Fortaleza Jan Vermeulen was a guest of Angola Cables in Fortaleza, Brazil. Now read: From Brazil to South Africa and back in 98ms Realistic depictions of postpartum women like the photo comedian Amy Schumer shared this week on social media of herself just after giving birth could improve the way our society views childbirth and womens health, experts say, which is especially important at a time when maternal health lags in the U.S. This seems to be one small and not revolutionary, but not insignificant step for women to say, This is real life for women, said Barbara Risman, sociology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Its important when high-visibility women make it obvious that (pregnancy and childbirth) is actually hard labor. Schumer gave birth to her first child, Gene Attell Fischer, just hours after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Schumer posted a photo on Instagram, showing herself red-faced without makeup in her hospital bed, holding her baby as her husband kissed her cheek. And the royal couple scaled back the usual fanfare surrounding a birth in their family, waiting two days after Archies birth to introduce him and allow for photos with a small group of reporters at Windsor Castle. Kate Middleton and Prince William, however, revealed their three children sooner after birth, emerging from the hospital in front of large crowds. This generation of mothers is more likely to depict a real picture of pregnancy and the postpartum period, Risman said, bucking a longtime trend of society glossing over the imperfections and complications of birth. What weve done is protected young people from understanding the realities of the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and childbirth, she said. That is beginning to crack, as women who are birthing are more empowered to say, Im not going to pretend that this was easy. The significance of false imagery like donning full makeup and looking perfect after birth has broader implications, Risman said. It leads to this mythology that having children isnt dangerous work. And thats serious at a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports maternal deaths are increasing in the U.S., and most can be prevented, according to a report recently released. Womens health and related policies for new mothers in the workplace have not been taken seriously in the U.S., Risman said. If society has a clear picture of pregnancy and childbirth and starts to value womens health, things could improve, she said. A DePaul University project aims to shed light on true depictions of childbirth and postpartum experiences around Chicago in hopes of improving them. The website, called Chi Birth Stories, allows women (or others present during a birth) to share details of a birth in the greater Chicago area. Enid Montague, associate professor in the DePaul School of Computing and adjunct professor at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine, said the site will eventually present a map of all the stories, which are told anonymously, and highlight any disparities. This weeks CDC report showed African American women are about three times more likely to die a pregnancy-related death. If people start sharing their stories, we can better start to understand the complexities (of childbirth), said Montague, an industrial engineer who has studied and worked on patient safety solutions in health care settings. Pregnancy and the postpartum period defined as one year after giving birth often are misunderstood and not talked about, Montague added. And prenatal care and childbirth are often someones first real experience in a hospital, so they dont know what to expect or how to advocate for themselves as a patient, she said. The website will serve as a form of awareness, and solutions could follow. Its really supposed to be a resource for everyone, she said. Transparency can be really helpful to new moms and give new moms a voice. YOUNTVILLE A future monument in Yountville could become a symbol of the battle against gun violence by incorporating the remains of broken-down and melted-down firearms. The town Arts Commission is considering whether to join forces with a foundation devoted to organizing gun buybacks, with a goal of converting parts from such weapons into an art installation to be displayed in Yountville. What could result is a permanent, public exhibition only a short distance from where three clinicians working with military veterans at The Pathway Home died in a 2018 shooting but an exhibit that would symbolize the struggle against firearm-driven violence in all its forms. Since the beginning of April, Yountville has discussed a possible memorial with the Robby Poblete Foundation, named for a 23-year-old biotech company worker and trainer welder who was fatally shot in September 2014 during an attempted robbery. The town would acquire firearm parts from a future gun buyback event in Napa County and provide them to a commissioned artist to use in a public sculpture or other installation. Following Pobletes slaying, his family launched a foundation to buy back unwanted guns to keep them out of circulation and prevent their use in crimes, or from being accidentally fired by children in homes. In addition, the group sponsors the dismantling and melting of guns purchased or seized by law enforcement agencies, and the conversion of their parts into works of art to promote peace. Artworks created through the foundations program, known as Art of Peace, are not about guns or gun control or anything political its about ending gun violence, said arts commissioner Kimberly Cook. We want it to be about ending gun violence its not a memorial. About 50 artworks have been created from scrapped guns through Art of Peace since the first installations went on display in Vallejo in May 2018, according to Pati Navalta Poblete, a journalist and the mother of Robby Poblete. Pati Navalta Poblete, editor-in-chief of San Francisco magazine, made her case for a Yountville artwork to the Arts Commission on April 1, just over a year after the Pathway Home attack on the Veterans Home of California campus nearby. It highlighted the fact that it can happen anywhere, even in the most apparently peaceful communities, she said Tuesday. My immediate reaction was to want to reach out. In connection with a monument effort, Poblete hopes to partner with Napa County law enforcement agencies to hold a gun buy-back day by years end. Any plan for a public artwork would come before the Yountville Town Council and be tied to a buy-back program before a timetable is set to hire an artist and create an exhibit, said Samantha Holland, town parks and recreation director. On Monday, the Arts Commission discussed the scope and location of the resulting artwork, including the possibility of placing it outside Town Hall on Yount Street. Whatever form the installation takes, however, members agreed on broadening its meaning beyond specific incidents and local victims even with memories of the Pathway shootings still fresh. The goal would be to look back to the things that have happened, and look ahead to the things that, unfortunately, might happen, said Cook, who added that commissioners have steered inquiries about memorializing the fallen Pathway clinicians to staff of the state-owned Veterans Home where Pathway operated for a decade. Sponsoring such a themed artwork also may give Yountville a chance to promote firearm safety, including publicizing gun buybacks and gun-lock giveaways to protect children from accidental discharges, according to commissioner Aimee Cavenecia. Such a forward-looking approach would give people a sense that something can be done, that I can participate in some way and make a difference, she said, suggesting that an artworks unveiling could be complemented by a themed art show or a tie-in with the annual Yountville Out Loud open-mic poetry and storytelling event. The fact that were taking guns and transforming them to instruments that sheds light is the whole purpose for these pieces of art, said Poblete. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Most of us live one life. Some get to live two. More often than not, emergency medics cant save the lives of people whose hearts have stopped working. That weighs heavily on emergency responders and can even cause post-traumatic stress disorder, said Andrew Nothmann, a Queen of the Valley emergency department physician, and emcee of Napa Countys eighth annual Survivors Reunion. But sometimes and often with the help of early and continuous CPR lives are saved. More than a hundred guests gathered Tuesday night at the Black Stallion winery in honor of Napa Valleys emergency responders and five people whose lives were saved by them in the past year. Two survivors from previous years were also in the crowd. The event, which is sponsored by the Napa County EMS Society, is healing for emergency medical services personnel, said Nothmann. For us, this is what keeps us going, these memories of these success stories, he said. They keep us going through all the times that things dont work out. Guests of the event included first responders from American Medical Response, and local police and fire departments, plus doctors, coworkers, neighbors, 911 dispatchers and bystanders who helped save the lives of survivors. They sat among towering barrels of Black Stallion wines and at tables accessorized with packs of tissues. Survivors from this year were signified with purple lei and survivors from years past wore white lei. Doug Winters of American Canyon can still feel pain in his ribs from the CPR he received after he collapsed at his AmCor office in February, where hes worked for 20 years. He was declared dead for 10 minutes, but fortunately for Winters, his coworkers knew CPR. All my stars were in line, he said. Firefighters shocked him twice and saved his life. The ordeal was caught on his offices security camera, but Winters said he couldnt bring himself to watch it. His heart attack happened on a Friday and he didnt wake up until the following Wednesday. He forgot the entire week before his heart attack, but remembered that American Canyon Fire Department personnel were there when he woke up. What these guys do is amazing, he said. On a Monday morning in February, Boris Guillome of Napa was working out at his south Napa gym, In-Shape, when he started to get chest pains. He said he chalked it up to stress and headed to the nearby theater to catch a movie. Guillome took his seat, but the pain continued. It felt like a sumo wrestler was sitting on his chest, he said. He became dizzy. He told one employee that he was having chest pains and she replied by asking if he wanted a refund. Guillome moved on. He found another employee and explained his situation quickly before he sat down, blacked out and went into cardiac arrest. Thats about the same time that Sean Reiswig, a construction worker who was planning to catch a movie with his family, saw Guillome. He told his family to go ahead, checked to see if he was breathing, rolled him onto his back and started performing CPR. Reiswigs father had died from a heart attack two weeks earlier. He said it was his first time performing CPR, but he didnt hesitate. Paramedics eventually arrived, shocked Guillome and brought back a pulse. I just want to spread some gratitude, he said. When you save a life, you dont save one person, its a huge circle of people. The audience grew tense while it listened to the 911 call that came in when Guillome passed out. The crowd laughed as they heard dispatchers ask the caller to guess Guillomes age. He hesitated, but said he was around his late 30s. Guillome, who is 45, didnt take it as an insult. Napa resident Joaquin Brambila, who spoke through a translator, said he was driving down California Street when he passed out and experienced an unusual heart rhythm. Napa Police originally thought it was an accident, but quickly realized he was experiencing a medical emergency. The Napa Fire Department was on scene soon after and began to perform CPR. He said he woke up in the hospital and was surprised to hear that his life had been saved. The Survivors Reunion is important to help people understand the hard work that emergency responders do, Brambila said. He was thankful to those who saved his life. Charles Payne of Napa said he was sitting out on his deck last spring with his wife and a cup of coffee. He fell asleep, but his wife knew something was wrong when he fell out of the chair. She called 911, and gave Payne CPR until emergency medics arrived. Now, he said he much appreciates the work that first responders do. Its good to be alive, he said. I take less for granted. An anonymous woman, who was not at the ceremony, was also honored. She reportedly said that all she remembered was heading out to run errands before collapsing to the ground. Bystanders saw her, and the Calistoga Police and Fire Departments were the first to respond. Her heart started beating again, but a bit too fast, after she was put on an automatic CPR machine. She was taken to St. Helena Hospital where she recovered. Betsy Stone of Sonoma, who was honored at last years reunion, was present too. She recalled passing out at her attorneys office while waiting for a glass of ice water. Bystanders realized she had no pulse and staffers began to start CPR, she said. Now, Stone is happy and healthy. Im grateful for every day, she said. While most of us dont think much of the sound of sirens, Pastor and chaplain Jim Warnock asked the audience to be grateful for them. Sirens are a gift, he said, and so are the remarkable people behind them. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Facing intense pressure to eliminate fire risks, PG&E said Wednesday night it plans to rebuild the electric distribution system in devastated Paradise with underground power lines. The utility, which has been blamed by California investigators for causing the Camp Fire, said the underground lines will make Paradises system safer. As part of our commitment to help this community recover and to harden our electric system to protect against wildfires, PG&E has decided to build our electric distribution system underground in the town of Paradise and in some of the surrounding areas like parts of Magalia, utility vice president of electric operations Aaron Johnson said in a statement released by PG&E late Wednesday. Johnson made the announcement at a meeting of the Paradise Town Council. We decided to rebuild in this way after a careful review of factors, town planning and safety considerations, he said. The announcement came days after Cal Fire investigators officially blamed PG&E for the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people last November and destroyed about 90 percent of Paradises housing stock. PG&E had said earlier that it believed the fire started when a metal hook fell from a faulty transmission tower, igniting vegetation on the ground below. Expected liabilities from the Camp Fire, and the 2017 wine country fires, drove PG&E into bankruptcy in January. With another fire season underway, the company is under intense pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration and others in the state to prevent any major fires this year. Experts have said underground power lines reduce fire risks but are considerably more expensive. PG&E said it is still refining cost estimates for the undergrounding project, but the undergrounding will occur at no additional cost to the town as part of PG&Es overall grid hardening efforts over the coming years. The utility added that the project will take five years; temporary overhead lines will be installed where needed to meet individual and neighborhood service as people rebuild. Earlier Wednesday, a federal bankruptcy judge approved PG&Es request to spend $105 million helping Paradise wildfire survivors cope with housing expenses and other issues. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation welcomed 1,450 guests from across the country to the sold-out Culinary Evening with the California Winemasters held on May 18 on the historic Midwest Street back lot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Despite threats of rain, guests raised their glasses simultaneously at the start of the live program to toast a cure for cystic fibrosis. More than 55 acclaimed chefs paired with 75 California winemakers to present a tasting and hors doeuvres. Napa Valley has been well represented since the event was launched 30 years ago. Napans Barbara and Allen Balik are founders of the event, and this year, Michael Beaulac, winemaker at Pine Ridge was honorary wine chairperson, and Michael Mondavi of Folio Fine Wine Partners in Napa was first honorary chairperson. In addition, Napa chefs, restaurateurs, and vintners contribute to the night. Napa Chefs Itamar Abramovitch and Nate Smith of Blossom Catering of Blossom Catering Company wowed the crowd with their dishes as did Chef Jason Naaman of Tarla Mediterranean Grill. New Napa Valley wineries joining this years event included Artesa, Baldacci, Michael Mondavi Family Estate, Oakville Ranch and Silverado Vineyards. The 30th annual Winemasters raised more than $1.7 million for the Foundations vital research and care centers. In all, the event has raised nearly $34 million dollars since its beginning. The Winemasters auction included more than 700 live and silent auction items from fantasy trips to collector wines. An All About Romance in Italy lot sold for $22,000 and included luxury accommodations for two in Lake Como, Venice, Tuscany and Rome, along with private visits to iconic wineries in Tuscany and Veneto. A two-week wine tasting holiday in Argentina with a side trip to Patagonia sold for $23,000 and Magical Iceland, an eight-day gourmet adventure was purchased for $26,000. The bidding for an afternoon of magic and mystery for 50 couples at the Houdini Mansion sold for $25,000, and a seven-night stay for four couples in a four-bedroom ocean villa at the Grand Luxxe Resort in Puerto Vallarta sold for $34,000. Live auction wine lots included the 2015 Appellation Collection: A Luxury Collection of 17 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignons, which sold for $5,000; a 3.0L of 2012 Peter Michael Les Pavots with a sale price of $7,500 and a case of Bordeaux from 1990 that sold for $15,000. One magnum each of Chateau Quintus and Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc sold for $9,000. Thanks to new treatments, people with cystic fibrosis are now living one year longer for every year of research, said Barbara Balik. Sponsors, vintners, chefs and guests understand their support is the reason for this lifesaving reprieve. The 31st annual Culinary Evening with the California Winemasters event set for May 16, 2020 at Warner Bros. Studios. Yerevan has new First Deputy Mayor Taliban open fire on women protesters in Kabul Armenia PM arrives in Russia Forcibly displaced Artsakh residents hand letter to Armenia government Artsakh President receives Refugee Women's Union NGO members Mayor of Armenias Goris to remain in custody 109 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Displaced Karabakh residents staging protest outside Armenia government building Yerevan municipal council convenes special session Karabakh parliament: Artsakh, though shrunken, has statehood, its independence is indisputable China to become world's leading economy in 2030 in dollar terms Armenia premier heading for Russia World oil prices on the rise Newspaper: Who is seen in Armenia ex-President Robert Kocharyan's team as next mayor of Yerevan? Newspaper: Armenia PM attempts to implement plan to oust Artsakh President India freezes bank accounts of late Mother Teresas missionary charitable foundation Karabakh emergency situations service: Remains of 1,704 killed servicemen found after truce Armenian premier: We hope it will be possible to create completely new moods in Armenia and Artsakh in 2022 Armenia opposition MP on Constitutional Court's decision on coronavirus vaccinations and testing Armenia government discusses implementation of target program for 500 kindergartens and 300 schools Armenian serviceman Narek Yeremyan who returned from captivity is under arrest Karabakh President receives representatives of Russian community Karabakh State Minister addresses all Armenians to continue the struggle for Artsakh Armenia PM to leave for Russia to attend non-official meeting of leaders of CIS countries Azerbaijan defense minister convenes consultation Armenia ex-minister Gagik Beglaryan and family members show up at Prosecutor General's Office Azerbaijani MP sentenced to prison after beating police officers Armenians charged with murder of ex-serviceman sentenced to 5-20 years in Moscow Armenia PM visits Constitutional Court NEWS.am daily digest: 27.12.21 Armenia ex-President Sargsyan to hold press conference in 2nd half of January Dollar gains value in Armenia 26 MPs of pro-Kurdish party charged with 'offending Turkish state' after calling for Armenian Genocide recognition Armen Sarkissian sends condolence telegram over death of ex-President of Greece Armenia 2nd President says he supports a semi-presidential system of government Cavusoglu: Turkish-Armenian Protocols of 2009 have lost their significance Bayramov: Azerbaijan will file two more claims against Armenia in international arbitration Bayramov: There is no alternative to delimitation of Armenia-Azerbaijan border Bayramov says the question of enclaves is a reality that no one can deny Artsakh parliament expresses outrage at distorted formulations of Armenian PM MFA: Possibility of meeting of special representatives of Armenia and Turkey in Moscow is being discussed Baku supports normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan Azerbaijani MFA says tension between Baku and Tehran eliminated How Karabakh was left out of peace talks? Ex-President Kocharyan on international communitys disproportionate reactions: Does Armenia want that not to happen? Robert Kocharyan: If West-Russia relations escalate further, this may cause harm to Armenia Cavusoglu says Armenia-Turkish's representatives 1st meeting to be held in Moscow Armenia 2nd President: These authorities will throw Karabakh issue into Russias 'pockets' Magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits Iran Armenia ex-President Kocharyan on reopening railway link: We will have only 45 km via Meghri for transit Armenia 2nd President: These authorities serve foreign interests on Artsakh issue Ex-President Kocharyan to incumbent Armenia authorities: You have fulfilled all preconditions of Turkey Ibrahim Kalin: Armenia-Turkey process will destroy arguments of Armenian diaspora in US Zas assesses situation on border of Armenia and Azerbaijan Armenia 2nd President on Meghri option: Azerbaijan president refused to sign at last moment in Key West Kocharyan: Armenia has washed its hands of Karabakh Armenia 2nd President: We continue losing propaganda war to country where power is hereditary Copper is getting cheaper UN Secretary General Guterres urges to prepare for a new pandemic Opposition MP: Armenia authorities attempting to create internal political crisis in Artsakh Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: We lost control not only over those 40-45 km but over ten times larger areas 59 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia At least 13 people killed in Bolivia floods Armenia 2nd President Kocharyans year-end press conference World oil prices fluctuate Armenia premier: Discussions that followed my interview on Karabakh peace process revealed some falsifications Armenia ex-President Kocharyan to hold year-end press conference today starting at 11am Russian peacekeepers ensure entry of about a thousand vehicles into Nagorno-Karabakh Researchers report aurora borealis at equator Armenia PM Pashinyan will rule for another 10 years if opposition does nothing, says political scientist Peskov labels topic of NATO's security guarantees as 'a matter of life and death' for Russia Armenian political party: Artsakh can never be a part of Azerbaijan, no govt can subordinate will of people Armenia PM responds to criticism from Karabakh officials in regard to his statements Armenia and Karabakh Ombudspersons issue statement on Nikol Pashinyan's statements Karabakh President responds to Armenia PM Nikol Pashinyan Taliban advise US to not interfere in Afghanistan's domestic affairs Karabakh Parliament Speaker: We are in a sad situation, sirs Armenia opposition MP: Nikol stole from Karabakh-Armenians their small homeland, did he steal their dignity too? 2 more persons die of coronavirus in Karabakh Armenia opposition MP on Pashinyan's recent statements on Artsakh and Karabakh legislature's upcoming session Turkish drone strikes Kurds' Kobani in Syria - mass media Karabakh Parliament to convene special session for adoption of statement 102 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Stoltenberg wishes to convene session of NATO-Russia Council on Jan. 12 - mass media 2 earthquakes hit coasts of Kamchatka Peninsula in one hour Armenian President congratulates Justin Trudeau Macron calls launch of the James Webb telescope a historic event Iran closes land border with neighboring countries due to omicron strain Ariane successfully launches with latest James Webb telescope Turkey and Azerbaijan Foreign Ministers discuss situation in South Caucasus Pashinyan congratulates Trudeau on his anniversary Flight to Yerevan cancelled due to plane engine fire Yerevan ex-mayor Marutyan submits letter of resignation from his city council seat Artsakh Prosecutor's Office: Chartar village resident killed by long-range shot by Azerbaijan 4 dead after Sri Lanka policeman opens fire on fellow officers Newly appointed Yerevan mayor takes oath of office At least 16 people die after boat full of migrants capsizes off Greece coast of Amirabdollahian: Iran Azerbaijan charted roadmap to further enhance ties Christmas Eve does not pass without incident for Biden 118 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran has denied media reports that by the end of the first week of June Washington is demanding the cancellation of the purchase of the S-400, AHaber TV channel reported. According to him, in March, the US updated its previous proposal for the supply of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. During the meeting with representatives of the Turkish media in the US capital, the Deputy Foreign Minister indicated that Ankara does not agree with the use of US sanctions under the CATSA Act, since the contract with Moscow on the supply of S-400 was concluded before adoption of this law. On Tuesday, CNBC, citing sources in the State Department, said that Turkey should finally decide on the purchase of American F-35 fighter-bomber and Russian S-400 fighter aircraft in nearly two weeks. Washington is demanding that Turkey by the end of the first week of June cancel the purchase of the S-400, otherwise the US threatens Ankara with negative consequences. On May 16, a group of US congressmen representing both Democrats and Republicans introduced a resolution to several committees of the US House of Representatives calling for full application of sanctions against Turkey within the Law on Countering Americas Opportunities through Sanctions (CAATSA), as well as the Turkish exclusion from the program to create a fifth-generation fighter-bomber F-35 in the case of the acquisition of Ankara from Russia S-400. Resolutions of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are adopted separately by each House of Congress, have no legal force and are recommendatory in nature. So lawmakers express their position on a particular issue, and the executive branch has the right to either listen to such documents or ignore them. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan may soon meet with his American counterpart Donald Trump, Reuters reported. According to him, the meeting of heads of state can be held on the margins of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28-29. We are working on the calendar now, the official said. We have some positive signals but the time has not been scheduled yet. They may meet on the margins of G20 in Japan as well, he said. For a bilateral visit, we are waiting for an exact date. Reuters notes that in the relations of the two countries there has recently been tension as the US is actively trying to prevent Turkey from buying the S-400. Earlier, Washington has already warned Ankara that in the event of the acquisition of these weapons systems, the United States may refuse Turkey to sell F-35 fighter jets. WASHINGTON, DC Congressional Turkey Caucus Co-Chairs Steve Chabot and Joe Wilson joined the bipartisan leadership of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in condemning Turkish President Erdogans decision to purchase the Russian S-400 missile system, as this key panel overwhelmingly voted to block a pending sale of U.S. made F-35 jets to Ankara, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), In Defense of Christians (IDC), and ANCA welcomed the House Foreign Affairs Committee decision. Erdogans increasingly anti-American conduct has angered even Ankaras staunchest allies on Capitol Hill, said HALC Executive Director Endy Zemenides, IDC President Toufic Baaklini, and ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, in a joint statement. Now is the time for a policy review that puts back on the table legitimate issues that were, for far too long, suppressed by Turkeys former allies - from its continued occupation of Cyprus and obstruction of justice for genocidal crimes to its ongoing repression of Christian minorities. Turkeys impending purchase of the S-400 anti-aircraft system from Russia is very damaging for the U.S.-Turkey relationship, Rep. Chabot told Committee members during todays consideration of H.Res.372, calling the purchase totally unacceptable for the U.S. Rep. Wilson concurred, calling the S-400s purchase damaging and dangerous and indicative of the current governments disdain for our shared values and Turkeys democratic foundations. Rep. Wilson went on to note that the fact that they [Turkey] are now considering collaborating with the Russians on a new S-500 system just confirms this to me and others. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY), who authored H.Res.372, was blunt in his remarks. President Erdogan has tightened his grip on power and rolled back democracy in Turkey. [] Todays resolution condemns Erdogan for his authoritarian behavior and calls on Turkey to cancel delivery of the Russian weapons system. H.Res.372 is one of several pieces of Senate and House legislation currently under consideration that would block the sale of some 100 F-35s to Ankara and stop the future production of F-35 parts in Turkey. The House Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 defense spending bill would restrict U.S. funding for the delivery of F-35s to the Erdogan regime if the S-400 purchase moves forward. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is said to also include restrictions on the pending F-35 sale. Congressional Quarterly is reporting that efforts are already underway to find alternatives to Turkey manufacturing F-35 parts for European customers and Japan and others have expressed interest in purchasing the 100 F-35s optioned by Turkey. YEREVAN. At its Cabinet meeting on Thursday, the Government of Armenia approved the proposal to sign the agreement with the Chinese government, and on the mutual lifting of visa requirements for both countries citizens holding regular passports. Deputy Foreign Minister Grigor Hovhannisyan noted that under this agreement, the aforesaid Armenian and Chinese nationals will be exempt from visas for up to 90 days, and within 180 days, when visiting one anothers countries. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in his turn, noted that this agreement is within the framework of the arrangements that were reached during his recent visit to China. Also, it was noted that the Chinese side had stated that Azerbaijan had petitioned to them with a request to sign a similar agreement with them, but it was turned down. As per the Chinese side, visa issuance for China is complicated also for Turkey and the Central Asian countries. The responses from foreign countries following the blockade of courts were mainly positive. This is what Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan told journalists today, responding to the question about the possible consequences of the blockade of courts following the call of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Armenia is in the third phase of the revolution that began in May of last year. I believe the blockade of courts served its goal, and more and more people are talking about reforms in the judiciary, he noted. When told that no judge has resigned yet, Armen Grigoryan said the following: The main purpose was not to have judges resign, but to make reforms in the judiciary. The Secretary of the National Security Council also positively assesses the response of the international community, which will support the reforms professionally and financially. "The blockade of courts was successful." Lawyers fund for insolvent citizens will be created in Armenia. The corresponding draft law on amending and supplementing the Law on Advocacy was approved on Thursday at a meeting of the permanent Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Public Affairs. Chair of the Armenian Chamber of Advocates Ara Zohrabyan noted that recently there has been an increase in crime in the country, respectively, the number of citizens who seek help from public defenders has increased, but congestion may affect the quality of their services. According to him, the Government proposes to create a fund consisting of lawyers who, not being public defenders, will conduct cases for a minimum amount that, due to congestion, public defenders cannot conduct. According to the draft, which was presented by the Deputy Minister of Armenia Justice ministry, Artak Asatryan, the Chair of the Chamber of Lawyers will be able to conclude an employment contract with a lawyer who is not a member of the Chamber. He remains free from contact with the investigator, and the Chamber of Lawyers guarantees his monthly salary. The lawyers involved in this fund will be paid the minimum salary for the work done from the state budget. This will facilitate the work of public defenders, and the quality of the services they provide will not suffer, he noted. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian participated in the opening of the 16th Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty. This annual forum, which this year is conducted under the title The World Today: Transforming Reality?, has gathered under one roof over 600 participants from nearly 60 countries, and among them state and political figures, economists, Noble Prize winners, entrepreneurs, and experts. Armen Sarkissian is a co-founder of the Eurasian Media Forum. President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasim-Zhomart Tokaev, the Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko, and the mayor of Almaty sent their welcoming addresses. President Armen Sarkissian congratulated those present on the commencement of the works of the 16th Eurasian Media Forum. He underscored that he had his input to the creation of the Forum at the beginning of 2000s. I could call this Forum an institute which has a huge impact not only on the field of journalism but also on the concept of Eurasia and the entire media field. When I think of the Eurasian Media Forum, I naturally think of a couple of ideas, notions. First of them is called Eurasia. What is Eurasia? It is not only about geography but also a great history of civilizations born thousands of years ago. Some of them didnt live to get to our times, some of them became truly powerful current civilizations, President Sarkissian noted. He underscored that today Eurasia is a major center of development and global events. Speaking of Eurasia, one cannot leave out Kazakhstan because today it is not only physically but politically and economically is located right in the center. It is not accident that the ideas of economic cooperation were born here and became a reality in the post-Soviet area. Eurasian economic cooperation has become a reality which, we hope, will become another bridge to serve the main idea we cherish: Friendship of the peoples, cultures, and civilizations. I want to see the day when the Eurasian economic cooperation and the European Union will start serious negotiations on a deep cooperation, the President of Armenia said. Armen Sarkissian spoke also about the second notion, the media, and noted that in recent years, the notion of the media has undergone serious changes. Years ago, speaking about media forum, we would view that forum as a platform for journalists. But now, look how the media has changed in 20 years. Now, speaking of the media, we are not thinking of journalists only. I believe the future of the Eurasian Media Forum is the real media, the virtual life which we live. Each of us, several hours of our live, some even more, spend in the virtual realm, which has become much more comprehensive than simply news, journalism, or broadcasting. It has become part of our life. This is a small tool of the industrial revolution, or its product which includes information about our life, our relations, our photos, our banking, family, or economic ties, President Armen Sarkissian noted. He underscored that this virtual life is changing our perception of different things, for instance, when we engage in science, education, healthcare, economic as well as politics. The role of the media, virtual area has a great impact on the creation of politics, ideas, on their becoming a reality. The media, which we had 20 years ago, is not the one we are having today. The media has become the second virtual world in which we live. It is having a greater and greater impact on the real world in which we exist physically and in a sense, they are merging. Very important human values, including how we treat this planet, or democracy, have changed. We need to get ready for the world which we will have 20 years from now, the President of Armenia said. And as the third notion he mentioned the Forum and thanked the organizers, particularly, Dariga Nazarbaeva and the government of Kazakhstan. Quite naturally, the Forum are the people who created it. I would like to thank you all, all those who created this Forum, and wish us all that the Forum has a long life because problems we are facing, the humanity is facing are immense and are changing by day, President Armen Sarkissian said at the conclusion of his speech. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan (US Department of Defense)(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. Central Command is requesting additional defensive capabilities that could lead to as many as 5,000 to 10,000 additional troops being sent to the Middle East to deter Iran, a U.S. official told ABC News. On Thursday afternoon, acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan confirmed that the Pentagon is asking for more forces, but would not confirm any numbers, saying that it was not 5,000 or 10,000. "What we are focused on now is do we have the right force protection in the Middle East?," he told reporters outside the Pentagon. "What were looking at are there things we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East," he added. Shanahan acknowledged that such a request " may involve sending additional troops." There was a meeting at the White House on Thursday where the Central Command request was to be considered, according to two U.S. officials, who stressed that it was unclear which portions of the CENTCOM request could be approved at this White House meeting. The U.S. official told ABC News Wednesday that the defensive capabilities and weapons systems were being requested, and that the number of additional forces will depend on which capabilities are approved. The CENTCOM request has been in the works for some time, the U.S. official said. There are currently 60,000 to 80,000 U.S. troops serving in the Middle East including 14,000 in Afghanistan, 5,000 in Iraq, 2,000 in Syria, 10,000 in Kuwait, 10,000 in Qatar and thousands more at sea and elsewhere in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford briefed the House and Senate Tuesday on President Donald Trump's Iran strategy, including recent intelligence of an increased Iranian threat and the U.S. reaction to it, the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers and the ordered departure of non-emergency personnel from Iraq. After hearing from the officials, Democratic lawmakers expressed alarm over the administration's posture in the Middle East and the possibility of a conflict with Iran. Additional defensive capabilities could include additional Patriot anti-missile batteries like the one already deployed to an unspecified location in the Middle East to deter Iran. CENTCOM could also be requesting additional U.S. Navy ships to the region beyond the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group and the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Group that are currently in the North Arabian Sea. But it's unclear when additional ships could arrive in the region. Two weeks ago, the Pentagon announced that the USS Arlington would be headed to the Middle East to swap out with another ship, but that has yet to occur as the Arlington is currently in Spain. The new CENTCOM request for additional defensive capabilities and forces comes as Shanahan said on Tuesday that the threat of Iranian attacks against U.S. forces had been put "on hold." U.S. officials said the Iranian threat to U.S. forces continues even as Iran has pulled back some weapons systems. Two U.S. officials said that Iran has removed cruise missiles from two civilian dhows that posed a risk to U.S. Navy ships, commercial ships and land targets. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The Government of Armenia hosted the presentation of the baseline assessment report drawn up by SIGMA on public management in Armenia, and the presentation was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan and Head of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership Division of the European Commissions Neighborhood Affairs General Directorate Vassilis Maragos, reports the news service of the Government of Armenia. Greeting the guests, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed gratitude to all the experts engaged in the development of the report for their work and stated that the report will serve as a basis for the development of a strategy on reforms in the public management sector. Grigoryan introduced Armenias agenda of reforms in the public management sector and emphasized that the Armenian government looks forward to cooperating with partners for development. Vassilis Maragos welcomed the excellent cooperation with the Government of Armenia during development of the report and the governments willingness to respond to the advice of SIGMA. He stressed that the incumbent government of Armenia now has a unique opportunity to observe the recommendations within the scope of the formation of a citizen-centered public management system. At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister answered questions from the attendees that were particularly related to public service, the peculiarities of public service in Armenia and the development of a sector-specific strategy. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has sent a congratulatory message to Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election as prime minister, reports the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Government of Armenia. The message particularly reads as follows: I warmly congratulate you on your re-election as Prime Minister of India. The people of India have reaffirmed their support for your programs and their confidence in the principles of your leadership. I wish you continued success and new milestones on the way to Indias unprecedented progress. The deeply-rooted friendship between our two peoples has been on the rise ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations. I am pleased to highlight our effective cooperation in trade, tourism and education. Our countries recently embarked on cooperation in the military field, which conveys a new quality to our bilateral relations. I am confident that the deepening of mutual trust between our peoples will provide a solid groundwork for identifying new vectors of mutually beneficial cooperation. In order to discuss and build on the developments high on the Armenian-Indian agenda, I hereby invite you to pay a State visit to the Republic of Armenia at your earliest convenience. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] (Recasts with Trump's comments) May 23 (Reuters) - John Walker Lindh, the American captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, was freed early from federal prison on Thursday after serving 17 years amid concerns he might still harbor extremist views. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had asked government lawyers whether the release could be stopped but said nothing could be done. "What bothers me more than anything else is that heres a man who has not given up his proclamation of terror, and we have to let him out. Am I happy about it? Not even a little bit," Trump said. Lindh, who was 20 years old when captured, left the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Thursday morning, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. He had been sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty in 2002 to charges of supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony. Lindh is among dozens of prisoners to be released during the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the attacks on the United States by al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001. Leaked U.S. government documents published by Foreign Policy magazine show the federal government as recently as 2016 described Lindh as holding "extremist views." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Lindh's release "unexplainable and unconscionable." "There's something deeply troubling and wrong about it," he said on Fox News on Thursday morning. "What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?" asked U.S. Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The bureau said in a statement that it does not share details of specific inmates' release plans but that it does have policies for monitoring parolees with ties to terrorism. Story continues During his supervised release, Lindh will not be allowed to possess any internet-capable device without permission from his probation officer, and any such device must be monitored continuously, according to court documents. He is not allowed to hold a passport, communicate with known extremists or have any online communications in any language other than English unless approved. He also must undergo mental health counseling, court documents showed. Lindh's parents, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, did not respond to requests for comment and Lindh's lawyer, Bill Cummings, declined to comment. U.S.-born Lindh converted from Catholicism to Islam as a teenager. At his sentencing in 2002, he said he traveled to Yemen to learn Arabic and then to Pakistan to study Islam. Lindh said he volunteered as a soldier with the Taliban, the radical Sunni Muslim group that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, to help fellow Muslims in their struggle or "jihad." He said he had no intention "to fight against America" and never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism. Lindh told the court he condemned "terrorism on every level" and attacks by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were "completely against Islam." But a January 2017 report by the U.S. government's National Counterterrorism Center, published by Foreign Policy, said that, as of May 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." NBC News reported that Lindh wrote a letter to its Los Angeles station KNBC in 2015 expressing support for Islamic State, saying the Islamic militant group was fulfilling "a religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle." (Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen and Jeff Mason at the White House; editing by Bill Trott and Lisa Shumaker) (Adds comments) BUDAPEST, May 23 (Reuters) - European Union liberal lawmaker Guy Verhofstadt said on Thursday that Britain's vote to leave the bloc was a "tragedy for Europe" but had the effect that nobody else on the continent wanted to see their country leave. "Brexit is in fact a tragedy for Europe," Verhofstadt, a former liberal prime minister of Belgium and the European parliament' main liaison on Brexit, told a news conference in the Hungarian capital. "When a big country like the UK is leaving the EU its difficult to say it's fantastic." "But since Brexit in most countries people don't want an exit of their country. Nobody wants any more a Nexit, the Dutch going out, or Frexit, the French going out.... what we see since Brexit is that the European idea is more popular than ever." He added he saw "a lot of irony" that a country that wants to leave in the end has to organize European elections. "But I'm quite confident that the outcome of these elections in Britain will see an enormous support for the pro-European parties." He expressed confidence that his liberal alliance ALDE, together with French President Emmanuel Macron's La Republique En Marche, will form a strong centrist group that will become kingmakers as the Socialists and the Conservatives in the EP will fail to reach a majority for the first time since European elections were first held in 1979. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Angus MacSwan) (Adds Trump quotes about Pelosi and budget deal) By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she wished President Donald Trump's family or staff would conduct an "intervention" with him for the good of the United States after he threw what she called a temper tantrum at a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders a day earlier. Trump fired back, questioning Pelosi's mental state by saying she has "lost it" while calling himself an "extremely stable genius." As the acrid fight intensified between the Republican president and the Democrats who control the House amid talk of impeaching Trump, work on a two-year federal budget deal has ground to a near standstill as the task of basic governing in Washington has become increasingly complicated. Trump, who is seeking re-election in 2020, and Democratic leaders for a second straight day lobbed accusations and insults at each other after the collapse of an infrastructure deal that could have pumped $2 trillion into the U.S. economy, if lawmakers and the president had found a way to pay for it. "Again, I pray for the president of the United States. I wish that his family, or his administration, or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country," Pelosi told reporters. An "intervention" often refers to relatives, friends or co-workers confronting an individual struggling with a intractable problem in the hope of improving that person's behavior. Trump took aim at Pelosi. "I tell you what, I've been watching her and I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person. She's lost it," Trump said during remarks about an aid package for farmers hit by the U.S. trade war with China. Pelosi also accused Trump of obstruction of justice, which she said could be an impeachable offense. Story continues "The White House is just crying out for impeachment," Pelosi said, but added that "the House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment. And that's where he wants us to be." Trump is stonewalling multiple congressional inquiries into him, his policies, family and business holdings, while Pelosi has worked hard to tamp down demands among some Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings. Some Democrats fear that launching the impeachment process in Congress established in the U.S. Constitution to remove a president from office could backfire and benefit Trump politically. BUDGET TALKS On Tuesday, the four top Democratic and Republican congressional leaders reported progress toward a deal with the administration on setting federal spending levels for the next two years and raising the U.S. Treasury Department's borrowing limit. Without such a deal, the federal government faces the prospect of another round of shutdowns later this year and a potentially devastating U.S. credit default. Since Tuesday, lawmakers and aides have gone silent on the outlook for more talks. Asked on Thursday if a deal on the budget or on the U.S. debt would get done, Trump said, "We'll see what happens." Eventually, the main players will almost certainly have to re-engage. Failing to do so would disrupt the government and hurt the economy. Even so, questions lingered about whether the mercurial Trump would support any deal negotiators might craft. In a hopeful sign, House and Senate negotiators reached a deal on a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill that has Trump's support, senators said on Thursday. Policy chaos swept Washington on Wednesday when Trump walked out of a White House meeting with Democrats, saying he could not work with them on an infrastructure bill as long as lawmakers are investigating him. Pelosi had earlier accused him of engaging in a "cover up" over investigations of Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and other matters. Trump responded on Thursday with a tweet that said, "The Democrats have become known as THE DO NOTHING PARTY." Congressional leaders last December negotiated an agreement on federal spending that they had been assured Trump would support, only to have him back out at the last minute, triggering a prolonged, partial shutdown of the U.S. government. There also is little evidence that lawmakers and the administration will unify to address the issue of immigration along the southern border with Mexico. Also in doubt is whether Congress this year will approve a U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement negotiated by Trump's administration. Pelosi wrote on Twitter, "When the 'extremely stable genius' starts acting more presidential, I'll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Will Dunham) (Adds Zarif's comments at the end) GENEVA/LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Iran will not surrender to U.S. pressure and will not abandon its goals even if it is bombed, President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday, stepping up the war of words between the Islamic Republic and the United States. Earlier in the day, Iran's top military chief said the standoff between Tehran and Washington was a "clash of wills," warning that any enemy "adventurism" would meet a crushing response, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tensions are festering between the two countries after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday confirmed that the Pentagon was considering sending yet further U.S. troops to the Middle East as one of the ways to bolster protection for American forces there. After pulling out of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, U.S. President Donald Trump restored U.S. sanctions on Iran last year and tightened them this month, ordering all countries to halt imports of Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own. More than one year after the imposition of these severe sanctions, our people have not bowed to pressures despite facing difficulties in their lives, Rouhani was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying. Addressing a ceremony in commemoration of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he added: "We need resistance, so our enemies know that if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or taken as prisoners, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride." Irans armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, also pointed to an Iranian battle victory in the war with Iraq and said that outcome could be a message that Iran will have a "hard, crushing and obliterating response" for any enemy "adventurism." Story continues On Sunday, Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" Trump wants Iran to come to the table to negotiate a new deal with stricter curbs on its nuclear and missile programs. Reiterating Iran's stance, the spokesman for its Supreme National Security Council said on Thursday: "There will not be any negotiations between Iran and America." Keyvan Khosravi was also quoted as saying by the state broadcaster that some officials from several countries have visited Iran recently, "mostly representing the United States." He did not elaborate, but the foreign minister of Oman, which in the past helped pave the way for negotiations between Iran and the United States, visited Tehran on Monday. "Without exception, the message of the power and resistance of the Iranian nation was conveyed to them," he said. In Berlin, a German diplomatic source told Reuters that Jens Ploetner, a political director in Germany's Foreign Ministry, was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the nuclear accord and cool tensions in the region. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited neighboring Pakistan on Thursday to discuss regional issues with its top officials. Currently our region is in a very critical situation and dangerous measures are being formed in the region, so we need consultations with all our neighbors, Zarif was quoted as saying by Fars news agency upon arrival in Islamabad. Zarif called on the international community to take practical steps to counter U.S. "aggressive" and "bullying approach" against Tehran. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Toby Chopra) * Unrest followed announcement President Widodo won April 17 vote * Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannon * Eight dead, more than 700 injured - Jakarta governor * Two rioters belonged to group that backed Islamic State - police * Prabowo to mount legal challenge to election result on Friday (Adds police statement on suspects; paragraphs 16,17) By Maikel Jefriando and Wilda Asmarini JAKARTA, May 23 (Reuters) - Calm returned to the streets of the Indonesian capital on Thursday after a second night of clashes between security forces and protesters angry about the outcome of last month's election, which handed President Joko Widodo a second term. Downtown areas of Jakarta became a battlefield overnight, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters throwing rocks and firecrackers. Protesters also tore up pavement slabs, destroyed street signs and set ablaze food stalls and a security post. The unrest followed Tuesday's announcement by the General Election Commission confirming that Widodo had beaten his challenger, former general Prabowo Subianto, in the April 17 poll. The violence began on Tuesday night with six killed, and two more killed on Wednesday night, officials said. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the dead included three teenagers, and 737 people were injured in the rioting, mostly in the central neighborhood of Tanah Abang. But the ranks of protesters thinned over Wednesday night and police spokesman Dedi Praseyto said the last dispersed by 7 a.m. Roads quiet on Wednesday as office workers stayed away from the city center were busy with traffic again on Thursday. City workers in orange overalls swept up debris. Widodo won more than 85 million of the 154 million votes cast but Prabowo has alleged "massive cheating and irregularities" and refused to concede defeat. The election agency has said there was no evidence of systematic cheating and independent observers have said the poll was free and fair. Story continues Elsewhere, a mob burnt a police station on Madura island, northeast of the main island of Java, while two police posts were set ablaze in Pontianak on Borneo island, media said. 'BENT ON CHAOS' Financial markets were firmer on Thursday with the rupiah up 0.5% and the main stock index up 1.6%. Taye Shim, director of capital markets at Mirae Asset Securities Indonesia, said he did not see the demonstrations as a serious threat to Indonesia's stability. "While upset supporters might demonstrate their disagreement with the official election results, we don't think it would be a serious threat to Indonesia's democracy," he told Reuters. Police said the number of arrests over the riots reached 300. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told reporters at least two men detained during the riots belonged to Garis, a militant group that had pledged support for Islamic State. "They intended to carry out jihad during May 21 and 22 protests," Iqbal said. On Wednesday he said officers had found some of the people they searched were carrying envelopes containing money, suggesting instigators behind the trouble. "This is not a spontaneous incident, this is something by design," he told reporters. "There are indications that the mobs are paid and bent on causing chaos." In a video on his Twitter account late on Wednesday, Prabowo urged his supporters to disperse peacefully. "I beg you to return to your homes to rest, avoid any actions that would break the law," he said. Prabowo's political party, Gerindra, complained that the authorities were trying to pin the blame for the riots on him. LEGAL CHALLENGE Gerindra spokesman Andre Rosiade said a lawsuit would be filed at the Constitutional Court on Friday over the election result, which gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for his challenger. Prabowo lost the 2014 presidential election to Widodo by a slimmer margin and had objected to that result, lodging a complaint with the Constitutional Court that was rejected. Analysts say Widodo's double-digit victory margin deprives the opposition of a strong case to claim rigging but it may be able to count on agitation by a strong contingent of Islamist supporters. The government boosted the numbers of security forces to 58,000 across Jakarta and put temporary blocks on some social media to prevent unrest sparked by fake news. Police paraded suspects in orange jumpsuits besides displaying weapons and cash at a news conference. Police chief Tito Karnavian showed reporters a sniper rifle and two pistols he said had been seized days before the rioting. "There is an effort to provoke, to create martyrs, blame the authorities and invoke public anger," he said. (Additional reporting by Cindy Silviana, Bernadette Christina Munthe, Gayatri Suroyo, Kanupriya Kapoor, Fransiska Nangoy and Fanny Potkin Writing by John Chalmers and Ed Davies Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez) (Adds death of migrant child in 2018) By Andrew Hay TAOS, N.M., May 22 (Reuters) - Two more New Mexico counties have declared their opposition to taking in migrants in a growing revolt against federal authorities dropping off a surge in Central American families in the state's rural, southern communities. The record influx of asylum seekers has overwhelmed border detention facilities and shelters, forcing U.S. immigration authorities to bus migrants to nearby cities and even fly them to California. Las Cruces, New Mexico, has received over 6,000 migrants since April 12. Deming, population 14,183, gets 300 to 500 a day, according to City Administrator Aaron Sera. Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has dismissed President Donald Trump's claims of a border security crisis and advocated a humanitarian response. She is in Washington seeking federal funds to reimburse cities that give support. But some New Mexico counties say they want nothing to do with sheltering migrants, with officials saying the governor's approach may worsen the border crisis. Sierra County, population 11,116, was one of two Republican-controlled New Mexico counties to pass resolutions on Tuesday evening opposing the relocation of migrants to their communities. Sierra County also called on Trump to close the border to immigration to end the crisis. "We have to take care of our veterans, our seniors, our residents, first and foremost," said County Manager Bruce Swingle. "We're a very impoverished county." Sierra County has a median annual household income of $29,690 and a 21 percent poverty rate, according to Data USA. 'FEEDING PIGEONS' To the east, Lincoln County passed a resolution that it was not prepared to spend taxpayer dollars on housing "illegal immigrants," said Commissioner Tom Stewart. "We have a tight budget and need to focus on a new hospital that we are building," Stewart said. "As long as we continue to extend citizen benefits to unregistered aliens the flows will continue." Story continues The moves followed a similar May 2 resolution by neighboring Otero County. County Commission Chairman Couy Griffin said sheltering migrants sent the wrong message to other Central Americans thinking of leaving their homes and would deepen the border crisis. "If you begin to feed pigeons in the parking lot, pretty soon you have every pigeon in town," Griffin said. Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said there was no evidence humanitarian aid encouraged people to leave their homes. "They are moving because they have no other choice and its frankly un-American to suggest we close our doors to people in need," he said. The border situation is taking a tragic toll on the migrants themselves. On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees unaccompanied child migrants, said a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died in its custody in September, bringing to six the number of children who have died in U.S. custody, or shortly after release, in the last eight months. (Reporting By Andrew Hay Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) (Adds details on the contract) By Joey Roulette MELBOURNE, Fla., May 23 (Reuters) - NASA has picked space technology company Maxar Technologies Inc as the first contractor to help build its Gateway platform in lunar orbit, a crucial outpost for America's mission to relay astronauts to the moon in 2024, the U.S. agency said on Thursday. Shares of Westminster, Colorado-based Maxar jumped more than 20% following the announcement by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at a meeting sponsored by a Florida college. The firm-fixed price award carries a maximum total value of $375 million, NASA said in a news release. The Trump administration has made a return to the moon a high priority for the U.S. space program, saying the mission would establish a foundation for an eventual journey to put humans on Mars. Vice President Mike Pence's March 26 announcement that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to build a space platform in lunar orbit and put American astronauts on the moon's south pole by 2024 "by any means necessary," four years earlier than previously planned. Maxar Technologies, formerly SSL, will develop power, propulsion and communications components for the lunar mobile command and service module, NASA said. The power and propulsion element is a 50-kilowatt solar electric propulsion spacecraft, three times more powerful than current capabilities, NASA said. (Reporting by Joey Roulette in Melbourne, Florida Writing by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Richard Chang and Susan Thomas) (Recasts with Trump comments) By Phil Stewart and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he did not think additional U.S. troops are needed in the Middle East to counter Iran, casting doubt on a Pentagon plan to bolster forces in the region. "I don't think we're going to need them. I really don't," Trump told reporters. "I would certainly send troops if we need them." If needed, "we'll be there in whatever number we need," he added. Trump, who has been focused on trying to reduce the number of U.S. troops deployed around the world, spoke shortly before he was to be briefed at the White House on a new deployment plan by acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. Shanahan said the Pentagon was considering sending additional U.S. troops to the Middle East as one of the ways to bolster protection for American forces there amid tensions with Iran. "What we're looking at is: Are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?" Shanahan said. "It may involve sending additional troops." But Shanahan, in remarks to reporters outside the Pentagon, dismissed reports suggesting specific numbers of troops were being considered at this point, saying: "As soon as there's a change, I'll give you an update." Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been steadily escalating in recent weeks, as Trump tightens sanctions meant to cut off Iran's ability to sell oil on global markets. The Trump administration is also warning of possible Iranian plots against America and its allies. Iran denies the accusations. Any decision to send additional U.S. troops would follow a move to accelerate the deployment of a carrier strike group to the Middle East and send bombers and Patriot missiles to the region in response to what Washington said were troubling indications of possible preparations for an attack by Iran. Story continues The United States says the steps are aimed at preventing conflict by deterring any dangerous activity by Iran or Iran-backed forces. But Iran has accused the United States of brinksmanship. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Pentagon was considering a proposal to send about 5,000 troops while other media reported that up to 10,000 could be deployed. "I got up this morning and read that we were sending 10,000 troops to the Middle East, and then I read more recently that there was 5,0000," Shanahan said. "There is no 10,000 and there is no 5,000." The Pentagon regularly receives - and declines - requests for additional resources from U.S. combatant commands throughout the world. A senior commander of Irans powerful Revolutionary Guards on Thursday described the standoff between Iran and the United States as a "clash of wills." "The confrontation and face-off of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the malicious government of America is the arena for a clash of wills," Iran's armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri said. He pointed to a battle during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war where Iran was victorious and said the outcome could be a message that Iran will have a "hard, crushing and obliterating response" for any enemy "adventurism." On Sunday, Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" But he has also signaled a willingness to talk with Tehran. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva Editing by Phil Berlowitz and James Dalgleish) (Adds Trump quotes, details on ratification, response by Pelosi) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not understand the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal and had told the U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, she wanted two weeks to get to know the agreement. "Pelosi does not understand the bill, she doesn't understand it ... so she's got to get up to snuff, learn the bill," Trump said at a White House event. "She's a mess. Look, let's face it, she doesn't understand it," Trump said. Pelosi, responding to Trump's remarks, tweeted: "When the 'extremely stable genius' starts acting more presidential, Ill be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues." Pelosi was invoking a comment made by Trump earlier on Thursday, when he called himself "an extremely stable genius" as the two engaged in a heated war of words. Republicans in Congress are pushing for ratification of the USMCA, which would replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess. As the House of Representatives speaker, Pelosi, a Democrat, controls when any initial vote could take place. Text of the agreement has been published since October 2018, but some Democratic lawmakers have demanded stronger enforcement provisions for USMCA's new labor and environmental standards and it is unclear whether this can be achieved through the USMCA's implementing legislation. A two-week study period would eat up a dwindling number of legislative days before Congress starts its break on Aug. 3. "I think that's a long time," said Trump, who has been feuding with Democrats over the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Senate Republicans said on Tuesday that Lighthizer believes that negotiations with Pelosi over passage of the trade deal were making progress and being handled "in good faith." Legislatures from Canada and Mexico, as well as the United States, need to approve the new trade pact before it can take effect. (Reporting by David Alexander; editing by Grant McCool and Leslie Adler) * Trump's total aid package $16 bln, $14.5 in direct payments * First tranche of payments expected by early August * Trump says farmers are "attacked by China" * Aid package designed to help offset farmer losses on trade * Trade row between Washington, Beijing shows no sign of easing * Total of up to $28 bln for farmers authorized since last July (Adds comments from Trump, reaction from Democrats) By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a $16 billion farm aid package to offset losses from a 10-month trade war with China and said payment rates to farmers would be determined by where they farm rather than what crops they grow. The package, the bulk of which will be spent on direct payments, surprised growers and traders who had expected to learn separate payment rates for soybeans, hogs, corn and other crops in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) briefing. Many farm groups welcomed the move, but called for a trade deal with China as soon as possible. Some Democrats have slammed the plan, calling it a 'band-aid' and said the county-based payment system could leave some farmers with reduced aid. Farmers, a key constituency that helped carry U.S. President Donald Trump to his 2016 electoral win, have been among the hardest hit from a trade dispute with China, once a destination for more than 60 percent of U.S. soybean exports. "The farmers have been attacked by China," Trump said in a press conference about the aid package. "But the $16 billion of funds will ... make clear that no country has veto on America's economic and national security," he said. The trade dispute, which escalated this month after Washington and Beijing hiked tariffs on imports of each other's goods, has left U.S. farmers sitting on record volumes of soybeans with China halting purchases. USDA officials said on Thursday they will roll out $14.5 billion in direct payments in three separate tranches with the first one planned for late July. Story continues "The package we are announcing today ensures that farmers will not bear the brunt of those trade practices by China or any other nations," Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said. "While farmers would tell you theyd rather have trade not aid, without the trade ... they're going to need some support." China, the world's top soybean importer, curbed purchases of U.S. soy last year when Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting China to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. soy, pork, corn and other products. An imminent trade deal between Washington and Beijing seems unlikely as the trade tensions between the world's top two economies rose after U.S. placed China's Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist last week, triggering sharp protest from China. Perdue also said the second and third tranches, with exact amounts yet to be decided, will be dependant on the progress in the trade talks and whether the U.S. will get a deal with China. The total package also includes $1.4 billion of support through food purchases and $100 million allocated to development of foreign markets. PLANTING DECISIONS Perdue said the USDA has redesigned last year's aid program of up to $12 billion based on feedback. The new package therefore will have a single payment rate per county, calculated by the damages in that area, instead of a rate for every commodity across the nation. "Those per acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019, and therefore will not distort planting decisions," USDA said in a statement. Chicago Board of Trade corn futures turned lower and soybean futures extended earlier losses after the announcement. The county-based mechanism for the aid payments have triggered a heated debate on whether it would impact planting decisions. Some analysts said the trade aid package could encourage farmers to try to seed their crops in order to qualify for the relief despite overly wet fields that have stalled planting this spring. Jim Hefner, an Ohio farmer who has not been able to start planting due to heavy rain, said the plan could cause him to alter his initial acreage plans, however. "I guess we would make more of an effort to get something planted," Hefner said. "We may forgo corn and plant soybeans." Some farmers remain skeptical. Dan Henebry, a corn and soybean farmer in Buffalo, Illinois, said the payments are directed at rural areas that helped propel Trump into office. Henebry, who voted for a third-party candidate in 2016, said he wants the president to end the trade war with China. "If we solve the issue, we wouldn't need this," he said about the aid package. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Susan Heavey and Tom Polansek, Mark Weinraub, P.J. Huffstutter, Karl Plume in Chicago, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jeffrey Benkoe and Susan Thomas) (Deletes reference to Assange being charged by Swedish prosecutors; corrects to say Sweden may send fresh extradition request to Britain) By Sarah N. Lynch and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department unveiled 17 new criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday, saying he unlawfully published the names of classified sources and conspired with and assisted ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in obtaining access to classified information. The superseding indictment comes a little more than a month after the Justice Department unsealed a narrower criminal case against Assange. Assange was initially charged with conspiring with Manning to gain access to a government computer as part of a 2010 leak by WikiLeaks of hundreds of thousands of U.S. military reports about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He now faces a total of 18 criminal counts, and could face many decades in prison if convicted. "These unprecedented charges demonstrate the gravity of the threat the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange poses to all journalists in their endeavor to inform the public about actions that have been taken by the U.S. government," said Barry Pollack, an American attorney for Assange. The Justice Department said that not only did Assange aid and encourage Manning with the theft of classified materials, but he jeopardized the lives of human sources that included Afghans, Iraqis, journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and political dissidents from repressive regimes by publishing their identities. Law enforcement officials said on Thursday that the State Department had pleaded with Assange not to reveal the identities of such sources, but Wikileaks ignored the warning. Manning was arrested in May 2010 and convicted by court martial in 2013 of espionage in connection with the 2010 Wikileaks disclosures. President Barack Obama reduced Manning's sentence to 7 years from 35 years, but she is now in jail after repeatedly refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Assange. Story continues Wikileaks describes itself as specializing in the publication of "censored or otherwise restricted official materials involving war, spying and corruption." Assange is now fighting extradition to the United States, after Ecuador in April revoked his seven-year asylum in the country's London embassy. He was arrested that day, April 11, by British police as he left the embassy. He is now serving a 50-week sentence in a London jail for skipping bail when he fled to the Ecuadorean embassy in 2012. The decision to charge Assange with espionage crimes is notable, and unusual. Most cases involving the theft of classified information have targeted government employees, like Manning, and not the people who publish the information itself. In the wake of Assanges arrest, prosecutors in Sweden re-opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Assange sexually assaulted a woman during a visit to Sweden. Swedish authorities recently indicated they may send British authorities a fresh request for Assanges extradition. The decision regarding which country should have its chance to prosecute him first is now in the hands of Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Britains interior security minister. The Justice Department's quick turnaround with the filing of a more substantial indictment against Assange is not surprising. Under extradition rules, the United States had only a 60-day window from the date of Assange's arrest in London to add more charges. After that, foreign governments do not generally accept superseding charges. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Leslie Adler and Phil Berlowitz) (Adds Trump comments; Lowey on Puerto Rico; House procedure) By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved $19.1 billion in aid to help Americans rebound from a string of natural disasters, and President Donald Trump supported it even though it did not include the funds he requested to address a migrant surge at the southern U.S. border. The Senate, which has a thin Republican majority, approved the measure 85-8. Democrats, who have a majority in the House of Representatives, said a vote could soon follow in that chamber. The measure would assist victims of disasters across the country over the last two years, from hurricanes in the Southeast to Midwestern flooding and California wildfires. It includes funds to repair highways and other infrastructure and help farmers cover crop losses. It also includes about $1.4 billion in aid for the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, said Democratic Representative Nita Lowey. Trump had vehemently opposed sending more aid to the Caribbean island that was devastated by a hurricane in 2017. The bill does not include $4.5 billion in emergency funds that Trump had requested earlier this month to address a Central American migrant surge at the U.S. border with Mexico. But Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said: "We'll get the immigration money later, according to everybody. I have to take care of my farmers with disaster relief ... I didn't want to hold that up any longer. So, the answer is I totally support it." Senate Republicans and Democrats said they would work on addressing humanitarian needs at the southern border after lawmakers return early in June from a recess. "Some of this money is badly needed, and there's no dispute about that," said Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the appropriations committee. Most House members have left town for the recess, but the bill could still be approved in the chamber Friday under a procedure known as "unanimous consent," a Democratic leadership aide said. If any lawmaker objects, the bill will have to wait for a regular floor vote after the House returns June 4. Story continues Democrats said the bill took much longer to pass than it should have, in part because of Trump's interventions. "Each time the president messes in, things get messed up," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, referring to repeated criticism from Trump of the proposed aid for Puerto Rico and Trump's border aid request. "So I suggested this morning that we just do disaster aid and no border, and that's what we're doing. ... We got all we wanted for Puerto Rico." The Puerto Rico money included $600 million in nutrition assistance and over $300 million in Community Development Block Grant funding. The aid bill also extends the National Flood Insurance Program, lawmakers said. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; writing by Doina Chiacu; editing by Leslie Adler and James Dalgleish) (Adds trade war backdrop, comment on Uighurs) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the chief executive of China's Huawei Technologies was lying about his company's ties to the Beijing government, and he believed more American companies would cut ties with the tech giant. The United States placed Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on a trade blacklist last week, effectively banning U.S. firms from doing business with the world's largest telecom network gear maker and escalating a trade battle between the world's two biggest economies. "The company is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese Communist Party. And that connectivity, the existence of those connections puts American information that crosses those networks at risk," Pompeo told CNBC in an interview. Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services. Pompeo dismissed Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei's assertions that his company would never share user secrets. "That's just false. To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement. He is required by Chinese law to do that. The Huawei CEO on that at least isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world," Pompeo said. Asked if he believed more companies would stop working with Huawei, Pompeo said: "We do. We've been working at the State Department to make sure that everyone understands the risks." Pompeo confirmed a New York Times report https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/world/asia/china-surveillance-xinjiang.html on Wednesday that China was using high-tech surveillance to set up an intrusive policing effort that could be used to subdue its minorities, including ethnic Muslim Uighurs. The United States accused China this month https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-concentrationcamps/china-putting-minority-muslims-in-concentration-camps-us-says-idUSKCN1S925K of putting significantly more than a million minority Muslims in "concentration camps," strongly condemning Beijing for its mass detention of its Uighur minority and other Muslim groups. Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai told Fox News on Tuesday those camps were "vocational and educational training centers" for people with minor offenses. Pompeo said in response: "These are not community colleges, these are authoritarian re-education institutions and we've seen what's going on in the technology space." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bernadette Baum) (Adds background on lawsuit) May 23 (Reuters) - A Silicon Valley chip startup has accused a top executive of China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Deputy Chairman Eric Xu, of participating in a conspiracy to steal its trade secrets, the Wall Street Journal reported https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-executive-is-accused-of-involvement-in-trade-secrets-theft-u-s-startup-said-in-court-filings-11558550468 on Wednesday, citing court documents. Huawei had filed a lawsuit in 2017, accusing CNEX Labs Inc and its co-founder Ronnie Huang, a former employee of a Huawei unit, of poaching Huawei employees and stealing Huawei's trade secrets and intellectual property to build CNEX. CNEX has said in counterclaims that Huawei misappropriated its technology. It had accused Huawei of enlisting a Chinese university professor working on a research project to improperly access the startup's technology. Huawei said in a statement on Thursday the allegations against Xu were "groundless." CNEX did not respond to requests for comment. Trial on the two sets of allegations is set for June 3 in the Eastern District of Texas. In April, Judge Amos Mazzant, who is hearing the case, declined to allow further legal discovery on allegations of Xu's involvement. (Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Christopher Cushing) (Adds poll details) By Toby Sterling and Anthony Deutsch AMSTERDAM, May 23 (Reuters) - The Labour party of European Commissioner Frans Timmermans on Thursday won a surprise victory in Dutch voting for the European Parliament, easily beating an upstart right wing populist party, an exit poll showed. The leading social democrat candidate to head the EU Commission, Timmermans propelled his party to an upset win, taking more than 18% of votes. The outcome will reassure established parties fearing a surge among far-right and Eurosceptic challengers. Labour doubled its 2014 showing and beat opinion polls, most of which showed it finishing third at best. The Netherlands and Britain were the first countries to vote in the European election and British polling stations remain open until 2100 GMT. A YouGov poll on Wednesday put support for Nigel Farage's Brexit party, which is campaigning for a 'no deal' Brexit, at 37% with the Conservatives of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May on just 7%. In Dutch voting, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), took second place, at 14%, according to the Ipsos exit poll, which has a margin of error of 2%. The Forum for Democracy party of 36-year-old nationalist Thierry Baudet, which had been topping polls alongside Rutte, came in third at 11%. The Dutch result is a first test of the appeal of the Eurosceptic parties contesting elections across the bloc through Sunday. Far-right parties are expected to increase their share in the European parliament, but are not expected to take more than 20% in the May 23-26 vote. (Additional reporting by Thomas Escritt in Berlin; editing by Darren Schuettler and Toby Chopra) (Adds Missouri governor's comment, changes sourcing for death toll) By Antranik Tavitian JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., May 23 (Reuters) - The latest in a line of destructive storms pounding the central United States killed at least three people as tornadoes raked across Missouri while heavy rain flooded rivers in Oklahoma, authorities said on Thursday. The three deaths and several injuries were recorded in and around Golden City, Missouri, some 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Joplin where a tornado touched down on Wednesday evening, the Missouri Department of Public Safety said on Twitter. The casualties brought the week's weather-related death toll to at least seven, as forecasters said the rain and threat of damaging winds were not expected to let up. "It looks to stay quite wet over the next week across the central portion of the country," said meteorologist Mark Chenard of the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. A system of showers stretched from the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma north to Nebraska on Thursday, threatening to bring more flooding, Chenard said. A diminished threat of tornadoes will persist from the Texas Panhandle through Kansas, he said. In Jefferson City, the state capital of Missouri, officials said a "massive" twister caused widespread damage but no fatalities. "Many, many buildings have significant damage, and there's a lot of them that just have small damage as well, so it's just very widespread," Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told CNN. Missouri Governor Mike Parson said at least 20 people were treated at hospitals but that most had been released. "The damage tornadoes & severe storms cause is devastating, but I am encouraged & inspired by storm survivors. In a time of tragedy, Missourians came together and cared for their neighbors, and our first responders acted with speed & skill to rescue survivors," Parson wrote on Twitter. Story continues U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter that his heart went out to the people of Missouri. "You are strong and resilient, and we are here to assist," he wrote. Trump also urged Oklahomans to stay safe and listen to the warnings of local officials. "We are with you!" he tweeted. Earlier this week, a tornado killed at least one person in Iowa, while two people in Oklahoma died in accidents on rain-slicked roads and a third in flooding. The Arkansas River town of Webbers Falls was ordered evacuated on Thursday, while residents of several other communities were advised to leave, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Caine said by phone. (Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Tom Brown) (Adds details) DUBAI, May 23 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it launched a drone attack on a Patriot missile battery in the airport of the Saudi city of Najran near the Yemeni border, the group's Al-Masirah TV said on Thursday. The Houthis, who ousted the Saudi-backed Yemeni president from power in the capital Sanaa in 2014, have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi in the past ten days in a resurgence of tactics that had largely subsided since late last year amid United Nations-led peace efforts. The group claimed responsibility for last week's armed drone strikes on oil assets in Saudi Arabia and on Sunday said they would attack 300 vital military targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. This is the third Houthi strike or attempt to strike Najran in a week, according to Saudi and Houthi reports. The latest hostilities coincide with rising tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab states allied to the United States and come just as a sensitive, U.N.-sponsored peace deal is being carried out in Yemen's main port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions. There was no Saudi confirmation of Thursday's attack. Al Masirah did not say what damage resulted from the attack. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Lisa Barrington Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) Hartford Funds, a segment of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG), had total assets of around $104.8 billion under management (as of Dec 31, 2018). The company claims to manage at least 50 mutual funds across a wide range of styles and asset classes. Hartford Financial Services was founded in 1810 and is a well-recognized insurance company in the United States. Hartford Funds focuses on meeting and even exceeding traditional industry benchmarks through human-centric investing. The company believes that human-centric investing can help in creating solutions, products and advisor tools, which help in strengthening the bottom line and improving advisor-client relationships. Below we share with you four top-ranked Hartford mutual funds. Each has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds. Hartford Core Equity Fund Class R5 HGITX aims for capital growth. The fund invests the majority of its assets in common stocks. The funds portfolio aims to be diversified broadly by industry and company. The advisor focuses more on large capitalization companies with market capitalizations that are similar to those of companies in the S&P 500 Index, although the fund may invest across a wide range of market capitalizations. HGITX has a three-year annualized return of 14.7%. HGITX has an expense ratio of 0.49% as compared with the category average of 0.94%. The Hartford Small Company Fund Class R5 IHSUX aims for capital appreciation. The fund invests most of its assets in common stocks of small capitalization companies. The fund follows its investment objective by investing mostly in common stocks that are selected on the basis of potential for capital growth. IHSUX has returned 19.4% in the last three years. Steven C. Angeli is one of the fund managers of IHSUX since 2000. Story continues Hartford Stock HLS Fund Class IA HSTAX aims for long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests most of its assets in equity securities. The funds advisor may invest in stocks within a broad range of market capitalizations, but focuses on large capitalization companies that have market capitalizations similar to those in the Russell 1000 Index as selected by the fund's sub-advisor, Wellington Management Company LLP. HSTAX has three-year annualized returns of 13.5%. As of March 2019, HSTAX held 44 issues, with 3.79% of its assets invested in McDonald's Corp. Hartford Quality Value Fund Class R5 HVOTX seeks long-term capital growth. The fund achieves its investment objective by investing primarily in common stocks of issuers located in the United States. The funds sub-advisor chooses the investments using fundamental research to find high-quality companies that demonstrate a commitment to dividends and shareholders and improving or sustainable operating characteristics. HVOTX has three-year annualized returns of 10.6%. Matthew G. Baker is the fund manager of HVOTX since 2017. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Hartford mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds. Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (HVOTX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (HSTAX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (HGITX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (IHSUX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Photo: Arslan Ahmed/Unsplash From a boat party to a bicycle food tour, there's plenty to enjoy in Long Beach this week. Read on for a rundown of ideas for how to fill your calendar. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Space Yacht Boat Party 2019 From the event description: Space Yacht and Wicked Delight are back for more boat party mayhem. We set sail again on Saturday, with two stages of music on the clear blue seas of Southern California. When: Saturday, May 25, 3-8 p.m. Where: Catalina Classic Cruises, 1046 Queens Highway Admission: $55 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 'Grease' Inspired Beer Festival From the event description: Join us for the Grease Lightning Beer Festival as we take over the Queen Mary for a beer and music expeirence inspired by the hit movie. Party alongside other fans of the Pink Ladies and T-Birds while enjoying samples of over thirty summer beers. Sing all your favorite songs from the movie with our very own Rydell Party Band and dance your socks off with our Dance Off Bandstand; eat at the '50s pop up burger diner and drink adult milk shakes; stop by the carnival quarters for games and other photo opportunities. When: Saturday, May 25, 6:30-10 p.m. Where: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway Admission: $40-$50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 30th Holland Festival Long Beach 2019 From the event description: Come celebrate our shared cultural heritage of the Netherlands and Indonesia (former Dutch East-Indies). Join this special great outdoors festival with live music and dance, authentic Dutch and Indonesian food, Heineken draft beer, arts and crafts, vendors and fun children's games. When: Sunday, May 26, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Where: POA Gemmrig Park, 7390 E. Carson St. Admission: $8.50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Bike Month: West Long Beach Food Tour Story continues From the event description: Join the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and local chapter Walk Bike Long Beach on a casual neighborhood ride and food tour through the West Long Beach community. From the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) office, the ride begins with a stop at Gemmae Bakery (Filipino food), followed by quick visits to Hudson Park and Admiral Kidd Park to enjoy community green areas. The food tour continues with a stop at Tepechi Birrieria (Mexican food), before a dessert stop at Guanabana (frozen treats) and a return to the EYCEJ office. When: Sunday, May 26, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, 2448 Santa Fe Blvd. Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Day Party Long Beach Social Sundays at Table 301 From the event description: Black Entourage Presents Social Sundays Day Party at Table 301 in Long Beach with DJ Y-Not. We're back with the daytime event that so many of you grew to enjoy. Table 301 is on the promenade and has a beautiful patio with its own bar, TVs and fire pit. The inside is just as beautiful with a large bar open on both sides with large doors that open up to the patio to make it feel like one big open space. Take advantage of $20 bottomless mimosas until 4 p.m. or $65 mimosa kits. Bottle service is also available. When: Sunday, May 26, 1-8 p.m. Where: Table 301, 301 The Promenade North, #1 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Lyon (AFP) - International police group Interpol said Thursday that nine people had been arrested in Thailand, Australia and the US and 50 children had been rescued after investigators took down an online paedophilia ring. More arrests were expected as police in nearly 60 countries pursue investigations stemming from an Interpol operation launched two years ago into a hidden "dark web" site with 63,000 users worldwide. Fifty children were rescued following the arrests. Police are trying to identify an additional 100 in images that had been shared on the internet's uncharted corners. Interpol said its Operation Blackwrist began after it found material that was traced back to a subscription-based site on the dark web, where people can use encrypted software to hide behind layers of secrecy. Dark web sites can't be found through search engines, and users need to have the specific URL address to land on a site. Interpol enlisted help from national agencies worldwide, with the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) department eventually tracking the site's IP address, where new photos and videos were posted weekly. The first arrests came in early 2018, when the site's main administrator, Montri Salangam, was detained in Thailand, and another administrator, Ruecha Tokputza, was captured in Australia. - 'Child's worst nightmare' - Salangam, whose victims included one of his nephews, was sentenced in June last year to 146 years in prison by Thai courts, while an associate, a pre-school teacher, got 36 years. Tokputza was handed a 40-year prison term at his trial in Australia last Friday, the longest ever for child sex offences in the country. The Australian Associated Press reported that Tokputza, 31, pleaded guilty to 50 counts of abuse of 11 babies and children -- one just 15 months old -- between 2011 and 2018. "You are a child's worst nightmare, you are every parent's horror, you are a menace to the community," Judge Liesl Chapman said in Adelaide. Story continues Interpol did not identify the others arrested. The HSI's regional attache in Bangkok, Eric McLoughlin, said in the statement that "numerous arrests" had been made in the US. Some held "positions of public trust," he said, and one individual was abusing his two-year-old stepbrother. "Operation Blackwrist sends a clear message to those abusing children, producing child sexual exploitation material and sharing the images online: We see you, and you will be brought to justice," Interpol's Secretary General Juergen Stock said. Among the hundreds who gathered in front of the Supreme Court to protest for abortion rights on Tuesday were roughly a half-dozen candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination. As activists held up signs reading #StopTheBans to protest recent laws severely restricting abortions in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Missouri, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and others spoke, recorded video clips and took pictures with the protesters. For Ryan, who switched from being anti-abortion to pro-choice in an op-ed in 2015, the protests in D.C. and other cities showed how pivotal abortion rights may turn out to be in the 2020 election. [Abortion] is definitely going to be a part of the conversation, no question, as it should be, he told TIME as he stood just off the stairs leading up to the Supreme Court. I hope what it does is energizes a lot of women. I think theres going to be a lot of suburban women who are going to look to us, and to the Democrats hopefully, as willing to join because of this issue, when otherwise maybe they didnt. Abortion is also shaping up to be a clear campaign issue in the Democratic primary. Although the candidates largely agree they generally support abortion rights and oppose the recent state laws they differ on how much they stress its importance, whether theyve put forward specific plans to protect abortion rights and their record in past votes. Among those leading the conversation are some of the female candidates: New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand took a trip to the Georgia capitol last week to protest its anti-abortion legislation and vowed to only nominate judges who will uphold Roe v. Wade, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolled out an extensive plan to ensure access to reproductive health care. But this week it became clear that candidates were feeling the pressure to give more detail. At a CNN town hall on Tuesday night, former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke laid out his plan for reproductive rights; the following morning, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker put forward his plan, which would include creating a White House Office of Reproductive Freedom. Story continues Notably, most candidates have also now expressed support for codifying the protections of Roe v. Wade in a federal law. I think these candidates will compete to mobilize women around this issue, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky told TIME. Theyre going to see it as a way to really appeal to women voters. The majority of the voters each cycle are women, and I think that theyre absolutely going to compete on this issue. Strategists agree that the eventual nominee will be supportive of abortion rights. At the end of the day, theres going to be very little space between them on this issue, a Democratic strategist told TIME, but noted that candidates plans to expand access to abortion is indeed something that theyre competing on. I think its a great conversation that were having on the Democratic side. The issue came to a boiling point last week, when Alabamas governor signed a bill that would effectively outlaw abortion in the state, without exceptions for rape or incest. Its one of the most extreme anti-abortion bills in the country, but other states have also passed severely restrictive measures, like Georgias so-called heartbeat bill, which bans abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, typically around six weeks. Both anti-abortion advocates and abortion-rights supporters say that these laws will help kickstart the process of getting Roe v. Wade overturned in the Supreme Court. Roe is at stake here, said Stephanie Schriock, the president of EMILYs List, an organization that works to elect women who support abortion rights. This is a crisis for women and families in this country who need to have the ability to make the full range of choices in their lives, and to have access to safe abortion. And so this is just a critical moment. Democrats say the issue may play a larger role in Senate, House and state races. The answer to every question is the same: mobilize, mobilize, mobilize. Our whole country changed when women decided to march, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told the audience at the Center for American Progresss Ideas conference on Wednesday. We dont agonize, we organize, and we cannot let this happen to the families of America. Still, there are some Democrats who arent supportive of abortion rights, though their numbers are shrinking. Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, in particular, has been a lightning rod for criticism from the left for his anti-abortion stance. Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had been scheduled to headline a fundraiser for him, a decision she faced backlash for. In a sign of the times, the New York Times reported Wednesday that Bustos would no longer be appearing at the event. Washington (AFP) - While abortion is legal nationwide, Americans have unequal access to the procedure, depending on their location in the United States and how much they are able to spend. "If you live in the South or the middle of the country, access is very limited; if you live in the cities in the West and the Northeast, access is more available," said Elizabeth Nash, state policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, which campaigns for women's rights to abortion. The disparities are great indeed, from the more than 150 abortion clinics available in the most populous state of California, to only one in states like Mississippi in the South or Missouri in the Midwest. State laws also vary widely on other matters like speed limits for drivers and marriage age requirements, but the Supreme Court has set a "minimum standard throughout the entire country," noted Meg Penrose, of the Texas A&M School of Law. In a series of rulings dating back to the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision, the high court has found that "before a fetus is viable, a woman has a constitutional right to exercise the choice to terminate a pregnancy." A fetus is considered viable -- able to survive outside the womb -- from around the 24th week of pregnancy. That said, "the 50 independent states retain the right to ensure that we don't put a woman's health at risk," so long as they don't place an "undue burden" on women, Penrose added. That standard is "fairly vague" and "has really allowed abortion restriction to proliferate in the country," Nash said. The Guttmacher Institute has found more than 1,200 restrictions in place since 1973. - Progressive restrictions - Conservative states have slowly chipped away at abortion access, starting by imposing strict conditions to facilities that provided the procedure, such as requiring that they be located near a hospital or have operating rooms or halls of a certain size. Story continues In other states, like Mississippi and North Carolina, women can undergo abortion only within 20 weeks of gestation. Five states require that women be alerted to links between abortion and breast cancer that have not been proven. And doctors in 13 states must advise women considering abortion that the fetus may feel pain -- a scientifically controversial claim. Another major divide is money. Eleven states ban private medical insurance companies from reimbursing abortions, which cost around $500 each. Some 16 states with more liberal majorities use their own funds to fund abortions for the poor. Half require no parental authorization for minors and no delay between an initial consultation and the procedure. - Evangelicals - There are about 15 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in the United States, which is similar to rates in Britain and France. But in the southern state of Alabama there are just slightly more than six procedures per 1,000 women, compared to 23 per 1,000 in northeastern New York state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other factors besides local laws that influence access to abortion include "education, religion, economic development, rural versus urban," said A.E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia School of Law. Anti-abortion sentiment tends to be stronger in the so-called Bible Belt, a band of socially conservative states in the South and Midwest where socially conservative Evangelical Christians have a powerful say in politics and society. Nearly 60 percent of people living in Alabama or Mississippi want abortion to be illegal, while 74 percent of those in Massachusetts back keeping it legal, according to a 2014 Pew poll. The gap could deepen under the sway of the Supreme Court's conservative majority, reinforced with the recent ascent of two justices appointed by President Donald Trump. The most conservative states in the country have launched a major offensive against abortion in the hope that the court will overturn its 1973 decision. "The Supreme Court is not going to outlaw abortion. More likely, it will overrule Roe v Wade and leave it for the states to decide ... you could have 50 different regimes," said Howard. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (Photos: Alex Edelman/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) WASHINGTON Speaking at a gathering of progressives, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called on former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to testify on Capitol Hill about his involvement in Robert Muellers investigation into the Trump presidential campaign. Rosenstein oversaw that investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself because of his own Russian contacts as a Trump campaign surrogate I think he should be brought before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, and we are taking steps along that regard, said Schiff. The remarks came in a conversation with MSNBC host Ari Melber, who interviewed Schiff as part of the annual Ideas Conference of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Melber pressed Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, to explain what steps, exactly, he had taken to summon Rosenstein to Congress, where he would surely face tough questioning from House Democrats. Schiff demurred. I am not prepared to comment on where we are in terms of specific witnesses. I feel like you kind of did, though, Melber joked, eliciting laughter. He followed up with a question about whether Schiff had requested a voluntary interview with Rosenstein. Rosenstein was instrumental in Donald Trumps firing FBI Director James Comey, after Comey was unwilling to exonerate the president of colluding with Russia. It was also Rosenstein who appointed Mueller and oversaw his investigation, which culminated in a nearly 400-page report that resulted in no new charges from the Department of Justice. A Harvard-trained lawyer, Schiff chose his response to Melber carefully. It would be more than reasonable to infer that I think its fully appropriate for him to come and testify before Congress, he said. Schiff said he specifically wanted to know the circumstances under which Rosenstein wrote the Comey memo, and whether he was aware that Trump was planning to use that document as a pretext to fire the FBI director. Schiff also wondered if writing that memo should have led to Rosenstein recusing himself from the Russia investigation or, at the very least, to an official ethics opinion about his involvement. Story continues Lets have Rosenstein come before the Congress, and the American people, and articulate exactly what happened, Schiff said. Rosenstein left the Department of Justice earlier this month and is now a private citizen. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Cisco has announced that it will train an additional one million students over the next five years in Africa through its Networking Academy Program (NetAcad). The company made the announcement during the Cisco Connect conference held in South Africa. During the next three years, Cisco says it will focus on training students. This will be followed by reskilling initiatives for active workforce and job seekers, based on content from Cisco NetAcad. Through NetAcad, Cisco intends to support the creation of Digital Learning Hubs in public libraries, accessible by the local population. In addition, Cisco plans to actively engage with employers to identify job opportunities that align to the skills of NetAcad students and alumni. In South Africa, in April 2019, Cisco launched a talent bridge platform aimed at small and medium businesses and professionals. Talent Bridge helps match supply, the skilled talent pool coming from NetAcad, with demand, that is entry-level jobs available in Ciscos partner ecosystem. In Ciscos vision, technology enables inclusion and opportunities for people. For more than 20 years, Cisco has invested in educating and upskilling students, graduates and unemployed youth through its Networking Academy (NetAcad) the company said in a statement. NetAcad provides students hands-on digital skills to prepare them for careers in the digital economy. Since its launch in 1998, close to 700,000 students participated in NetAcad courses throughout the African continent. When the new live-action adaptation of Disneys animated classic, Aladdin, hits theaters on Friday, it will be just the latest step in the very long history of the tale one with surprising origins. The rags-to-riches story of a street urchin named Aladdin who asks a genie in a lamp to make him a prince is a work of fantasy. And yet, some scholars say the central character could be partly inspired by a real person. Heres what we know and dont know about the history of the story, according to scholars who have studied the origins the Aladdin story: How old is the original story of Aladdin? In the past, credit for telling the tale of Aladdin has often gone to Antoine Galland, a scholar and diplomat who served as a secretary to the French ambassador to Constantinople in the 17th century. He worked on Bibliotheque Orientale, a scholarly encyclopedia in French that would have been well known by anyone doing work related to the Middle East at the time. And, crucially, he was the first European translator of the Les mille et une nuits: Contes Arabes (1001 Nights: Arabian tales), sometimes known in English as One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights. One Thousand and One Nights started as a series of translations of an incomplete manuscript of a medieval Arabic story collection that dated back to the late 14th century, says Muhsin J. al-Musawi, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Studies at Columbia University and an expert on Arabian Nights. Between 1704 and 1706, Galland published seven volumes, comprising about 40 tales spread over 282 nights of storytelling. But, though those tales were of medieval origin, Aladdin may be a more recent invention. Scholars have not found a manuscript of the story that predates the version published in 1712 by Galland, who wrote in his diary that he first heard the tale from a Syrian storyteller from Aleppo named Hanna Diyab on May 8, 1709. French orientalist and archaeologist Antoine Galland (1646 - 1715), circa 1675. Engraving by J. Cazon. | Kean Collection/Getty Images By 1709, Galland had translated all of the stories in the original incomplete manuscript hed been working with, and was trying to find the others. When Galland ran out of stories in his Arabic manuscript of the Nights, his publisher inserted stories from a Turkish collection into the eighth volume [in 1709] to meet the public demand for more tales, says Horta. This angered Galland and prompted him to procure tales to fill out further volumes. Story continues Perhaps in search of more clues, Galland went to the apartment of his friend and rival Paul Lucas, a tomb raider, who traveled back and forth between Paris and the Middle East to satisfy Louis XIVs taste for jewels and other precious objects from the region. Lucas apartment, full of his collections, had become a tourist destination in its own right, and it was there that Galland first met Diyab, who accompanied Lucas as a travel companion and interpreter, on Mar. 25, 1709. When Galland asked the young Syrian if he knew any Arabian Nights stories, Diyab said he did. Over a series of one-on-one meetings, Diyab told Galland the story of Aladdin, in addition to other now-famous tales such as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. These stories ended up in volumes nine through 12 of Gallands translation of the One Thousand and One Nights, completed in 1717. Scholars have long known that Diyab gave Galland the story of Aladdin, but they dont know exactly where Diyab heard the story in the first place. We dont know whether Diyab created the story by combining elements that he learned from hearing other storytellers in Aleppo or on the journey through the Mediterranean to Paris or whether he heard the whole story in this form and recorded it in a manuscript or whether he found a now lost manuscript of the story and passed it on to Galland, says Paulo Lemos Horta, author of Marvellous Thieves: Secret Authors of the Arabian Nights, who edited a translation of Gallands Aladdin by Yasmine Seale that came out in 2018. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Where does Aladdin take place? Scholars have seen a mix of different places in the Aladdin story. In the newest film adaptation, the design of the Sultans palace is inspired by a Burmese temple. Gallands Aladdin story is explicitly set in China, but the world it describes doesnt seem to match up with the real place. The characters live in a society defined by Muslim practices, says Horta. The very fact of a genie coming out of lamp means the story has been thoroughly Arabized. (Genie, or jinni, mythology has its own long history.) Arafat A. Razzaque, a research associate at the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, points out that early Arabic descriptions of an exotic, faraway land were often about China. Early British depictions of the Aladdin story in pantomime theater productions and Victorian illustrated texts depicted Chinese elements too, reflecting Brits fascination with the region around the time when the British were fighting opium wars there. Disneys 1992 animated musical version was originally supposed to be set in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, but current events prompted filmmakers to switch gears. As one of the directors of that film John Musker has explained: We kept it Baghdad in our first treatment, and then the Gulf War happened the first Gulf War. Roy Disney said, This cant be in Baghdad. So, I took letters and did a jumbled anagram and came up with Agrabah. We came up with a few alternates. He also debunked rumors that Agrabah was post-apocalyptic, futuristic or in some other time. Will Smith is the Genie and Mena Massoud is Aladdin in Disneys live-action Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie. | Photo Credit: Daniel SmithDisney Is the character of Aladdin based on a real person? Despite the fantastical elements of the story, scholars now think the main character may actually be based on a real persons real experiences. Now a lot of new research being done about the man behind Aladdin, says Razzaque. Many scholars now think that that man could be Diyab himself. Though Galland never credited Diyab in his published translations of the Arabian Nights stories, Diyab wrote something of his own: a travelogue penned in the mid-18th century. In it, he recalls telling Galland the story of Aladdin. Historian Jerome Lentin found this document in the Vaticans library in 1993, but it didnt become more widely known until more recently. Lentin and fellow historian Bernard Heyberger published a French translation by Paule Fahme-Thiery, in 2015, and a new English translation of this travelogue and analysis of the text by Elias Muhanna and Johannes Stephan is expected to come out in 2020. In that memoir, Diyab describes his own hard-knocks upbringing and the way he marveled at the extravagance of Versailles. The descriptions he uses were very similar to the descriptions of the lavish palace that ended up in Gallands version of the Aladdin story. With that in mind, Horta believes that Aladdin might be the young Arab Maronite from Aleppo, marveling at the jewels and riches of Versailles. This idea is hugely significant in the history of the story. For 300 years, scholars thought that the rags-to-riches story of Aladdin might have been inspired by the plots of French fairy tales that came out around the same time, or that the story was invented in that 18th century period as a byproduct of French Orientalism, a fascination with stereotypical exotic Middle Eastern luxuries that was prevalent then. The idea that Diyab might have based it on his own life the experiences of a Middle Eastern man encountering the French, not vice-versa flips the script. Thats a mind-blowing revision of our understanding of where the story came from the recognition that Aladdin is not just the fantasy of a 60-year-old French scholar and translator, but that it was born through the narrative skills and distinctive experience of a 20-year-old traveler from Aleppo, says Horta. Diyab was ideally placed to embody the overlapping world of East and West, blending the storytelling traditions of his homeland with his youthful observations of the wonder of 18th-century France. In the travelogue, Diyab describes how Lucas presented him in the court of Louis XIV at Versailles as a curiosity of sorts. Lucas insisted that Diyab dress in stereotypically Oriental fashion a long tunic, baggy pantaloons, a headscarf of Damascene fabric, a precious belt, a silver dagger and a fur cap from Cairo, says Horta. Diyab was also asked to carry a cage containing two jerboas [a desert rodent] for presentation to the sultan of France. Diyab himself came from a modest background, and hungered for the class ascension that occurred in story of Aladdin, says Horta. He wanted to have a market stall, and in the Aladdin story, the magician, masquerading as Aladdins uncle, promises to set him up as a cloth merchant with a shop of his own so he might live as a gentleman. As a teenager Diyab had been an apprentice with one the great merchant families of the Levant, but he had been dismissed, ending his hopes of achieving success in the profitable textile trade of Aleppo. So Diyab ran away from home, and eventually met Lucas. Diyab eventually went back to Aleppo after Lucas reneged on his promise to get him a position at the French Kings library of Arabic manuscripts. Living in Aleppo appeared to be easier for Diyab as an adult than as an adolescent, as a census showed he had one of the bigger houses in the city. [He] went back and made good, Horta says. Why has Aladdin been remade so many times? To the scholars who study the tale, its narrative drama isnt the only reason storytellers keep finding reason to return to Aladdin. It reflects not only a history of the French and the Middle East, but also [a story about] Middle Easterners coming to Paris and that speaks to our world today, as Horta puts it. The day Diyab told the story of Aladdin to Galland, there were riots due to food shortages during the winter and spring of 1708 to 1709, and Diyab was sensitive to those people in a way that Galland is not. When you read this diary, you see this solidarity among the Arabs who were in Paris at the time. You arrive with nothing and theres a network of people helping each other out. There is little in the writings of Galland that would suggest that he was capable of developing a character like Aladdin with sympathy, but Diyabs memoir reveals a narrator adept at capturing the distinctive psychology of a young protagonist, as well as recognizing the kinds of injustices and opportunities that can transform the path of any youthful adventurer. Razzaque adds, What [Aladdins origins story] shows is a history of more complex intercultural relations. Syrians were teaching Arabic in Paris, in Rome. Aleppo was a cosmopolitan world, the place where coffee houses come from a lively story culture. And the fact that it was remade over the years is proof the story speaks to a timeless theme, not just one rooted in certain countries histories. Aladdin is one of the folk tales central to the postmodernist and also post-industrial and imperialist mind, says al-Musawi. Directors find some material there to cope with the New World Order, not necessarily to accept it, but to traverse it, parody it and also expose it. A new proposal in the Ohio House of Representatives would help people like Rayell Wilhite those convicted of non-violent, non-sexual offenses start over for good. House Bill 1, co-sponsored by Dayton Republican Rep. Phil Plummer and Toledo Democratic Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson, would allow people convicted of no more than two qualifying felonies or four misdemeanors to more easily petition for records of those offenses to be sealed. Alphabet GOOGL has been actively focused on advancing the healthcare industry. This is evident from its latest efforts to revolutionize the clinical trial methods in the pharmaceutical industry. Reportedly, the companys healthcare division, Verily has teamed up with Novartis NVS, Sanofi SNY, Otsuka and Pfizer PFE to help these pharma companies in reaching the target patients for clinical trials. 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Notably, this alliance is strongly focused on innovation of treatment and medications in the areas of cardiovascular disease, oncology, mental health, dermatology and diabetes. Alphabet Inc. Revenue (TTM) Alphabet Inc. Revenue (TTM) Alphabet Inc. revenue-ttm | Alphabet Inc. Quote Growth Opportunities Alphabets latest move is in sync with its strong focus toward enhancement of its clinical trial management capabilities while bolstering knowledge on medical studies. Apart from the recent partnership, Verily has tie-ups with Mayo Clinic and University of Pittsburgh which help in reaching patients interested in medical studies. Further, its alliance with Duke and Stanford Medicine is aiding in bolstering the enrollment rate on its Baseline registry. We believe Verily is likely to strengthen its position in the booming global market for clinical trials management system market which as per a report from Grand View Research, is expected to witness a CAGR of 12.1% between 2018 and 2025. Further, the report shows that the global clinical trials market is expected to witness a CAGR of 5.7% between 2019 and 2026. Alphabet on the back of growing initiatives by Verily is well poised to reap benefits from these potential markets. Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Ranks #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sanofi (SNY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Novartis AG (NVS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Amadeus Begins Powering Next-Gen Airline Selling Via Online Agencies Many airlines have unbundled plane tickets to sell a range of extras, such as early check-ins and Wi-Fi access, on their websites. But theyve struggled to persuade travel agencies and tech vendors to sell their fares and extras in similar ways. Corporate travel agencies have made halting progress toward meeting airline demands. For example, earlier this year, TripActions began adopting so-called next-generation storefronts, as urged by American, Delta, and United. But airlines now want online travel agencies to get with the program. Case in point is Travix, an online travel agency group owned by BCD. Travixs 500 employees run consumer-facing leisure brands, such as Vayama, Vliegwinkel, and Flugladen, in more than 50 countries. This month, consumers at all of Travixs brands began seeing and booking air content powered by the modern technical standards airlines prefer. Content from 16 airlines, such as Finnair and Qantas, have been integrated into the back-end within the computers at Amadeus, a third-party distributor for about 500 airlines. Travix and Amadeus are ramping their effort up slowly. Well be at 1,000 tickets a day pretty soon, said Travix CEO John Mangelaars. By the end of the year, Amadeus expects to release the first version of this API (application programming interface, or method of exchanging data), that online travel agencies can use to access what Travix has now. Travix has settled on commercial terms with the participating airlines to be able to access their content, and other agencies would need to do the same. New Approach Travix previously tried newer retailing methods, but its efforts were basic. A year ago, Travix began receiving Lufthansa Group content via a direct connection powered by travel tech vendor Travelfusion which can power searching, booking, and payments but has little automation for changing or canceling tickets. In 2017, Travix also signed up for rich content and branded fare family data from Travelport, another tech provider. Story continues Amadeuss approach with Travix is to mix the old and new content from multiple airlines in its shopping engine, said Valmorbida. It provides a single response to Travix whenever it requests a fare search on behalf of a consumer. We dont believe other solutions in the market are at the same level of scale and sophistication as ours, said Decius Valmorbida, president of travel channels at Amadeus. Typically other technology providers are taking an approach where, essentially, theyre creating an NDC link between one airline and one reseller, said Valmorbida. Then theyre gluing that into content from the global distribution system. Its not fully integrated. For decades, Amadeus and its peer distribution companies relied on Edifact as a technical standard for electronic data exchange. Then came the internet and XML (extensible markup language), which offered a more straightforward and flexible way to format and share data. Piggybacking on this trend, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), led the creation of new technical standards, called the new distribution capability (NDC). In the NDC world, the fares change dynamically and the periods theyre valid are shorter than before, so you need to refresh your cache of results more quickly to provide accurate results, said Mangelaars. During a year of tests, Amadeus proved it could handle ticket changes and cancellations, he added. Amadeus also dealt with the high volume of shopping requests that Travixs brands generated, delivering response as fast as the Edifact model. Not everything went smoothly, however. Each airline is approaching NDC content a bit differently, and you have to do tweaking and optimization with each one, said Mangelaars. The industry needs to make that process of adding airlines easier and easier. Broader Industry Effort In the past ten months, Amadeus and its peers Sabre and Travelport launched partnerships with airlines, travel management companies, and online travel agencies to industrialize their efforts. A similar effort is underway by airfare filing clearinghouse ATPCO [Airline Tariff Publishing Co.] and SITA, a Geneva-based technology organization owned by the air transport industry that was originally Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques. Other aggregators include Travelfusion, which says its generating 100,000 NDC-based transactions a month for airlines, Airlines Technology, and AirGateway. Given the array of solutions, the future looks like it will be a mix of efforts. We can see Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport becoming players that can aggregate content from multiple sources, where one of the pipes is their legacy pipes, another will be an NDC pipes, and proprietary ones from airlines, said Yanik Hoyles, the Geneva-based director, industry distribution programs at the International Air Transport Association. While online travel agencies are coming later to next-generation retailing than the corporate travel sector, they may have an easier time adapting. Online travel agencies like Travix control all of their core technological systems. But the typical travel management company often has to integrate with other agencies, third-party mid-and-back-office systems, corporate client systems, and payment systems. The complexity can make change daunting. We believe theres still a long journey ahead of at least a few years to overcome technical obstacles to provide the same level of end-to-end functionality and performance at scale as todays Edifact-based system, said Valmorbida. When we think of selling in multiple markets, inter-operability among partner airlines, tax issues, and so forth, we see many use cases that still need resolution. Until now, the giants of online travel Booking Holdings, Ctrip, and Expedia Group, have generally been waiting on the sidelines until the industry decides on a new path for the selling of airfares. Some brands, especially price-comparison engines like Kayak and Skyscanner, have done bespoke technical work to help some airlines display their airfares and other products in more modern ways. In turn, smaller agencies have also been waiting. However, pressure for change will likely grow. Looking ahead, 21 airlines mostly large, full-service carriers have pledged that the new distribution capability will power 20 percent of their indirect sales by the end of 2020, said Hoyles. Earlier this month, Qantas expanded its effort to cajole travel agencies to participate in its next-generation retailing effort or pay surcharges. It followed a path charted by Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France. The early talk was about cost savings and direct connections, but now airlines see the biggest opportunity is in revenue, said George Bryan, a management consultant who leads distribution at Hawaiian Airlines and is an industry observer. Many airlines are now starting to recognize they need to work with the global distribution systems [Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport] if they want to bring on that new retailing revenue at scale and cost-effectively. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) For years, Iran's supreme leader only criticized the West over Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers. Now, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is publicly chastising the country's elected president and his foreign minister as the accord unravels amid heightened tensions with the U.S. By naming President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as failing to implement his orders over the deal, Khamenei is signaling a hard-line tilt in how the Islamic Republic will react going forward. That will include how Iran handles the ongoing maximalist pressure campaign of President Donald Trump, who has piled on new sanctions and dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region over still-unspecified threats the White House perceives to be coming from Tehran. Now U.S. officials say the Pentagon will present a plan to the White House on Thursday calling for sending as many as an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East over Iran. And while not calling for Rouhani and Zarif's replacement, his words limit the already-waning influence of their relatively moderate administration as they have only two years left in their term. "For now, Tehran is likely focused on building up leverage against the U.S. in the nuclear realm and regionally before it would agree to even limited talks," wrote Henry Rome, an analyst at the Eurasia Group. Khamenei, 80, is only the second supreme leader Iran has known since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had a dominating personality that saw him lead from the front a government formed around his ideas. Khamenei, while also having final say on all state matters, portrays himself more as a fulcrum between the interests of elected politicians, its hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the clerics of Iran's Shiite theocracy. But his words, like his public appearances, are carefully considered. The Ramadan lecture he gave Wednesday night to university students in which he criticized Rouhani and Zarif was no different. Story continues Last year, as Iran still reeled from nationwide protests over its ailing economy that included calls for the government's overthrow, students at the lecture offered unusually frank criticism to Khamenei, whom hard-liners consider second only to God. On Wednesday night, the students gave no critiques, instead reacting approvingly to Khamenei's comments and even drawing some laughter. One even offered a portrait a painting of a Revolutionary Guard soldier credited with laying mines targeting U.S.-escorted oil tankers in the Persian Gulf during Iran's 1980s war with Iraq. The Guard says he was killed in a confrontation with the U.S. Navy. Since first publicly accepting the nuclear deal, under which Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, Khamenei issued a warning not to trust the U.S. A letter he sent to Rouhani in October 2015 said the deal had "numerous ambiguities and structural weaknesses that could inflict big damage on the present and the future of the country." Yet his opinion of the deal hardened with Trump's election in 2016. While initially saying who was elected in the U.S. "makes no difference to us," Khamenei has since declared: "I announce on behalf of the Iranian nation that Mr. Trump, you cannot do a damn thing!'" On Wednesday night, that criticism expanded to Rouhani and Zarif over their crowning achievement of the nuclear deal. "But the way the (deal) was handled, I did not really believe in it, and mentioned this to the president and the foreign minister and had warned them several times," Khamenei said. Neither Rouhani nor Zarif have responded publicly to Khamenei's comments. Both long have been the target of hard-liners, who say they gave too much away in negotiations with the West. Some have gone so far as to suggest Iran embrace a military-led government to counter America. Their immediate ouster, however, is unlikely. Khamenei had similarly worsening relations with hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and reformist President Mohammad Khatami in their second terms. Zarif himself publicly tendered his resignation in February after not attending a surprise meeting in Tehran between Syrian President Bashar Assad and Khamenei, only later to agree to stay on. Analysts believe Iran in part may be playing for time, waiting to see if Trump will be re-elected in 2020. Rouhani's own term runs out in 2021, allowing Khamenei to swap out "discredited negotiators" like Zarif, said Mehdi Khalaji, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who is Shiite theologian by training, Khamenei also could send negotiators from the Guard, rather than from the presidency, to allow them to negotiate on Iran's ballistic missile program, which the paramilitary force controls. However, any miscalculation amid the heightened tensions with the U.S. could force Khamenei's hand. "The initial cracks of another breaking point could become visible if he deems the U.S. military threat to be credible and unaffordably costly and, more important, if he believes it is coming to bear at a time when the economic hardship caused by U.S. sanctions and other factors is no longer bearable," Khalaji wrote. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE Jon Gambrell, the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press, has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap . The remains of the last known ship to bring enslaved people to the United States have been found nearly 160 years after its illegal voyage from Africa to Alabama, state officials say. The wreck of the Clotilda was found near Mobile on the shores of the Gulf Coast, the Alabama Historical Commission said, after months of excavation and archaeological verification of the vessel. "The discovery of the Clotilda is an extraordinary archaeological find," said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, the executive director of the Alabama Historical Commission. "The voyage represented one of the darkest eras of modern history and is a profound discovery of the tangible evidence of slavery." In 1860, the Clotilda transported more than 100 people from Benin, Africa, to Mobile, Alabama, a voyage that took place 52 years after the United States banned importing new enslaved people. "I think about the people who came before us who labored and fought and worked so hard," Joycelyn Davis, a sixth-generation granddaughter of African captive Charlie Lewis, told the Associated Press. She added, "I'm sure people had given up on finding it. It's a wow factor." 'Most complete story we have': Redoshi, the last known survivor of the US slave trade, is identified The leaders of the Clotilda voyage, Timothy Meaher and Capt. William Foster, evaded authorities and destroyed the ship by burning it after their illegal trip, the state's historical commissions says. The enslaved people on board remained captive until the end of the Civil War. A small group of survivors and descendants then reunited in hopes of returning to Africa but instead created a new community known today as Africatown in the Plateau area of Mobile. "This new discovery brings the tragedy of slavery into focus while witnessing the triumph and resilience of the human spirit in overcoming the horrific crime that led to the establishment of Africatown," Jones said. Story continues The renewed search for the Clotilda began after last January when a local news reporter believed to have found the ship's remains. State historical officials said it was not the Clotilda but soon found two dozen vessels from the 19th and 20th centuries as part of their new search in the Mobile River. In the words of a survivor: The story of the last slave cargo Soon, one vessel appeared to match characteristics of the Clotilda, the historical commission said. "Utilizing the latest scientific techniques and in-depth archival research, the team identified a target for further investigation and excavation," said Eric Sipes, a senior archaeologist for the state of Alabama. Sipes said the team studied the ship remains for a year, scouring documents, performing forensic analysis and consulting with experts. An initial report was then sent to outside experts for peer review. "We are cautious about placing names on shipwrecks that no longer bear a name or something like a bell with the ships name on it, but the physical and forensic evidence powerfully suggests that this is Clotilda," said James Delgado, who led the maritime archaeological assessment. The Alabama Historical Commission said a number of key similarities confirmed the ship remain's identity, including its unique size and building materials. Archaeologists also identified signs of fire damage that matched the claims that the leaders of Clotilda's voyage burned it after they landed in Alabama. The state said their work will now focus on preserving the ship as well as continuing to work with the descendants of the enslaved people on board. "We should not forget that the larger story here is the people and what they were able to accomplish," Clara Nobles, assistant executive director at the state historical commission, said. Earlier this year, a researcher in the United Kingdom published the story of Redoshi, the last known survivor of the U.S. slave trade, who was forcefully brought to the country on the Clotilda. Redoshi is believed to have lived two years longer than Oluale Kossola, also known as Cudjo Lewis, who was previously believed to be the last survivor and a survivor of the Clotilda. Of the Clotilda discovery, Nobles added: "Finding this important historical asset is pivotal to reconciliation with the citizens of Africatown, the State of Alabama and the nation." Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Extraordinary archaeological find': Last known US slave ship found in Alabama Christine Lagarde met with the students of leading universities in Georgia By Nika Gamtsemlidze During her first visit to Georgia, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund met with the Georgian students.The meeting was opened by Koba Gvenetadze, who introduced the Managing Director of IMF to the students, saying this is Managing Director Lagarde's first visit to Georgia and on behalf of the Georgian authorities I want to express our sincere gratitude to her for finding time in her very busy schedule to visit our country. This is one more sign that the IMF pays equal attention to both systemic economies and small countries, like Georgia."During the meeting, Lagarde discussed 'Inclusive Growth' with the students. She positively assessed the implemented reforms in the financial sector and answered the questions from the students. Georgia is successful in terms of tolerance, openness and learning from its past, noted the Managing Director of IMF.From the day of Georgias independence, the country has undergone a period of great challenges. The standard of living has decreased, the production has disappeared, and it was very painful for the Georgian economy, stressed Lagarde during her speech.As she said, the last few generations of Georgians are living in an environment where the country is in a significant transformation. The economy is changing. Tourism has become a huge part of Georgias economy, which is a very good thing because you have a lot of tourist attractions, trade is growing, creating the most favorable business environment in the country, noted the Managing Director of IMF.During the meeting, apart from discussing the Georgian economy and its potential, Lagarde also gave Georgian students personal advice for success, if you want to be seen, stand on the feet, if you want to be heard, speak out loudly and if you want to be appreciated, talk briefly.Christine Lagarde became the eleventh Managing Director of the IMF in 2011. She is the first woman to hold the aforementioned position. She was elected to a second term in 2016.Georgia became a member country of the International Monetary Fund in 1992. The IMF is an organization consisting of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Next month, presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and I will both turn 70. Warren will be the fourth septuagenarian officially in the race, joining Joe Biden (76), Bernie Sanders (77) and Donald Trump, who turns 73 on June 14. Personally, I am amazed to have chronologically made it this far. Those candidates and I were all born during the 1940s, which means we went though the 1980s as young adults. That fact alone should disqualify all of us from running for president. The '80s were exhilarating and then exhausting. As my crowd was coming of age and into positions of leadership, we had nearly limitless possibilities to define and achieve success. The war in Vietnam was over. We were allowed to take risks. We were unsupervised and unchecked, our privacy protected by analog obscurity. Boomers and our Warholian older brothers and sisters, were posing, positioning and philandering. We had loads of time to land on our feet and reinvent ourselves. Love was free. Cocaine was ubiquitous. Decadence had no consequences. We had only begun to hear about a blood disease that was affecting gay men. Read more commentary: Trump's cognitive deficits seem worse. We need to know if he has dementia: Psychologist Pete Buttigieg is priming America for a young, gay president, but probably not in 2020 You don't have to be 37 like Pete Buttigieg, but age should matter in the 2020 campaign I cast no aspersions on the emerging elderly for their youthful transgressions. My generation of geezers, through no fault of our own, lived our lives during the great social experiment that was the second half of the 20th century. Growing up in the analogue era In my 20s, I made countless poor choices that regularly led to spectacular failures (for example, in 1970, I moved to a beach in Sinaloa, Mexico, instead of going to college). As buffer to my habit of making impulsive decisions, I was absurdly lucky. I survived to my 30s and, by 1978, landed in post-Watergate Washington, D.C., with a grown-up career. Story continues President Richard Nixon had resigned, and both the American government and I were getting a new start. It turned out the times were an imperfect proving ground for noble intentions. The Reagan years were culturally flat, but politically stable and economically opportune. To quote Tom Petty, for the ambitious and energetic, "the sky was the limit." Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., during an American Federation of Teachers town hall event, at the Plumbers Local 690 Union Hall in Philadelphia, Monday, May 13, 2019. Fast-forward to 2019. The past didnt go anywhere. Archival time capsules are everywhere, and they highlight our midcentury midlife decision-making when we were developing character. While not everyones history is as colorful as these senior citizen contenders for 2020, for todays spry 70-somethings, it can be terribly uncomfortable that our hard copy records have been transcribed, digitized, cataloged and made keyword-searchable. Seemingly anyone can unearth acts and interpret motivations of our younger selves and upload them to the internet. Back while I was learning about politics in Washington, D.C., in Burlington, Vermont Sanders was fulfilling his civic duty as mayor. Coincidentally, both of us wrote down our interior thoughts on yellow legal pads. Mine are safely in my office closet stacked in a box full of self-recriminating scolds and personal pep talks in my handwriting about my work (challenging), friendships (mostly transactional) or parenting skills (lacking). Awkwardly, Mayor Sanders similarly toned, excruciatingly personal midlife existential doubts ended up among his official mayoral records sent to storage at the University of Vermont after he left office, along with, Mother Jones reports, bank statements, an overdue gas bill, and a letter from an acquaintance asking Sanders to pay back $250 he had borrowed seven years earlier. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a town hall at the Fort Museum on May 4, 2019 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. This month, more than three decades later, the now three-term senator and eight-term congressmans humanizing but hardly helpful notes-to-self ended up published. Mother Jones reported that the frustrated municipal chief, approaching middle age, complained to himself that he was losing his radical touch and maintaining a socialist vision is extremely difficult when one is confronted on every corner with the suffocating force of the status quo. Business values of the 1980s While Sanders was stewing over the meaning of his life in the mid-1980s, 300 miles south, Trump, a self-styled mogul and beneficiary of the equivalent of $4.5 million a year from his fathers clever generosity, was on a debt-fueled spending spree to build his own real estate and gambling empire in New York and Atlantic City. Any interior thoughts during the mid-80s that media darling Donald Trump might have had have so far been shielded from snoopy reporters (and congresspersons) by nondisclosure agreements, sealed lawsuits and, perhaps, his early passion for getting even. Some light has recently been shed, however, on his business acumen. The New York Times obtained printouts from his official IRS tax transcripts, from 1985 through 1994. The Times calculated that Trump claimed $1.17 billion in losses for the period. Claiming these losses allowed Trump to avoid paying income tax for eight of the 10 years. In response to this public peek into his early approach to playing the system, the 72-year-old first-term president said real estate developers were entitled to massive write-offs," and "you always wanted to show losses for tax purposes." Apparently, loading up on loopholes was a common sport among real estate developers. Thanks to my generations harrowing histories, our compromised conditions and our diminished drive, the field of members competent to sit in the Oval Office has narrowed. Thats as it should be. We are admittedly not as fresh as we once were. The future might rest on electing a sufficiently woke candidate who can connect with a gender-fluid generation, plus set a deadline to save the planet and also develop policies to protect Americans from violence. Boomers and the truly elderly added much to the culture of our era, but in these troubled times it seems right to me that we elect a candidate who will make appropriate choices for his or her contemporaries, and the ones who will follow. As I blow out my many birthday candles, Ill wish for an election that features fresh ideas. For the long term, maybe we should consider an age limit to bookend the constitutional provision making 35 years old the minimum threshold for presidential authority. A reasonable maximum might be 70 (or possibly 75 to accommodate the many geezers who would want to be grandfathered in). Bonnie Goldstein, a former U.S. Senate investigator and network TV producer, is a writer in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter @kickedbyanangel. 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'm the same age as Elizabeth Warren. We 70-somethings have no business being president. From the moment she took her first breath of warm April air, Maisa Kauser was one of the nowhere people. She was born on the floor of an unfurnished hut with no electricity and no running water. Only an untrained midwife helped her mother Umaira deliver the baby. The 20-year-old said holding Maisa felt like holding a whole new world in my arms. But no one was there to register the birth or officially record that she exists. Maisa entered the world in a refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh where nearly a million are stuck, after fleeing violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar. Spread across what used to be forested hills in the coastal district of Coxs Bazar lie dozens of makeshift ghettos that together make up the worlds largest refugee camp. The Rohingya, a majority-Muslim ethnic group from majority-Buddhist Myanmars westernmost state of Rakhine, fled here in large numbers in late 2017, when the Myanmar army began a systematic campaign of arson, rape and murder that the U.N. has called genocidal. Neither country wants them, but one will have to keep them. The official narrative of the international community holds that the Rohingya must be allowed to go home to Myanmar voluntarily, in safety and with dignity. Yet in reality that is not going to happen for a very long timeif ever. U.N. officials say it will likely take years before even a small trickle of Rohingya refugees can return to Myanmar, and then only to convince the hundreds of thousands of others that it is possible. A midwife, Nur Nahar, holds Yasmin, a girl delivered moments earlier to Janoka Bibi, 20, in Kutupalong camp in April. The girls father abandoned the family. | James Nachtwey for TIME Now, as the world looks on, a miserable slum of a million people has taken shape in Coxs Bazar, with a near total absence of governance yet at a cost of nearly a billion dollars every year. It is a dilemma because the overt policy is return, while the objective reality is that return will be extremely difficult, says Steven Corliss, who represents the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. The situation is untenable: environmentally, socially and economically. Story continues Dhaka has to decide whether it will create a city for the stateless or what amounts to a jail. The latter looks more likely. The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined that the refugees will be short-term visitors, and has enacted hard-line policies to prevent integration. It denies the Rohingya formal education, bars them from working, proposes surrounding parts of the camp with barbed wire, and wants to send 100,000 of them to an isolated and flood-prone island. Publicly, the U.N. has sided with Dhaka, recognizing that one of the worlds most densely populated countries, threatened by coastal erosion that is forecast to displace 18 million people by 2050, cannot easily accommodate a million largely unskilled rural villagers. Most of the camps are built on steep hills, making walking difficult even in the dry season. | James Nachtwey for TIME But privately, interviews with more than 20 U.N. officials, diplomats and humanitarian workers reveal they are at odds with Bangladesh on how to move forward. Several expressed explicit concern to TIME over Dhakas inflexibility on education and livelihoods, and worried that a recent rise in crime would be met with an even heavier hand. If policies are not created in recognition that this is a long-term problem, things are going to get worse, a U.N. official based in Coxs Bazar said on condition of anonymity. Things already looked bleak for the Rohingya. Since they were stripped of Burmese citizenship in 1982, they lost everything they had in a steady erosion of rights punctuated by sporadic outbursts of horrific state-sanctioned violence. They now find themselves sequestered in the smallest possible physical space with nowhere left to go. Bangladesh, which generously let them in, doesnt want them to stay. These camps are already receiving more attention than some [Bangladeshi] host communities and far better than what they had in Myanmar, Bangladeshs State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, tells TIME. If we are offering them a better life than what theyre used to, they will not go back. At a kiln outside Kutupalong camp, Rohingya refugees are employed for work that Bangladeshis wont do. | James Nachtwey for TIME The view from Camp 20 Extension in Coxs Bazar is of a population settling in for the long haul. Just past the office of the Camp-in-Charge, the only concrete building amid an endless sea of shanties, scrawny laborers carve terraces out of a barren hillside and reinforce them with a trellis made of sticks and twine. New roads are being laid of mud bricks from a nearby kiln, where, after fleeing a displacement camp set ablaze by a rocket-propelled grenade, a few dozen men skilled in the trade have found under-the-table employment. Mid-Term Housing, as a sign describes it, has sprung up beyond the lake, fashioned from woven strips of treated bamboo designed to last five to 10 years. Despite the construction activity, conditions in the camps remain abysmal. Most refugees live in small shacks made of bamboo and tarpaulin sheets, so tightly packed together that they can hear their neighbors talking, having sex and disciplining their children or, sometimes, wives. In the springtime, the huts turn into saunas. In the monsoon season, daily rainfall turns hilly footpaths into waterslides and lifts trash and human waste from open drains to float in stagnant pools. Were one of the cyclones that threaten the coastal province every year to score a direct hit on this improvised encampment, humanitarian workers predict large-scale loss of life. Inan Hossein, with his wife Halema Khatun, lost his leg to a gunshot from a government soldier in Myanmar. | James Nachtwey for TIME Life here is a fragile thing in any case. A recent report by the International Crisis Group, which researches conflict, said murders and other forms of violence occur almost nightly inside the camps and are rarely if ever investigated. Coxs Bazar is on the path of a trafficking route for methamphetamine smuggled out of Myanmar. And so an internal struggle is under way for political, economic and social control of the population. Refugees say the daylight hours, the only time foreigners and aid workers are allowed to visit, are deceptively calm. Many are afraid to leave their shelters after dark, more than half a dozen refugees said, when what they describe as shady, violent criminals domineer the alleys in the absence of overnight security. There are informants on every block, one refugee tells TIME, asking not to be named for fear of reprisals. We know who they are, but were afraid to say anything against them. They patrol the streets at night. No one wants to go outside. There is no consensus on exactly who controls the camps at night. Refugees share a widespread belief that the men are members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, the militant group that attacked Myanmar security personnel and set off the violence in 2017. Security analysts and U.N. officials say, however, that most are likely members of criminal gangs who traffic drugs and humans and bandy the name of the militants to gain authority. Their activity has simultaneously prompted urgent calls for more security and generated concern about the optics of a heavily securitized encampment that refugees are not allowed to leave. Amid the lawlessness, an assortment of archconservative ideologues, militants and criminal gangs have designated themselves as enforcers of a strict Sharia code. As was the case with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, displacement and foreign intervention led to a growing conservatism. Women suffer disproportionately; NGOs aiming to empower women with skills training and paid volunteer work have faced an alarming backlash. Since January, more than a hundred women have quit their jobs because of overt intimidation by fundamentalists, according to aid workers. Some described masked men coming to their homes and threatening their families. An internal U.N. memo seen by TIME says Rohingya women engaged in volunteer work increasingly faced individualized threats, as well as community threats via announcements made by religious leaders following prayers. Men stand during afternoon prayers at a mosque. | James Nachtwey for TIME At the same time, a nascent civil society has been trying to find its voice in Coxs Bazar. Unlike in heavily controlled Rakhine state, the Rohingya can now openly congregate for Islamic study, prayer and political discourse. But community leaders in the camps have been targeted, harassed and worse by the camps less moderate factions. Last year, one camp leader was murdered in a manner associated with ARSA: warnings circulated on WhatsApp followed by a fatal slash across the mans throat in front of several witnesses. Analysts warn that other moderate leaders are likely to be threatened with assassination in the years ahead. Whether we like it or not, eventually the government will have to become heavy-handed to control the threats and prevent radicalization, says Shahab Enam Khan, research director at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, a think tank based in Dhaka. Its not a matter of if or when, its a matter of how heavy the hand will be. But Dhakas policies have already inflamed the situation. Cutting the Rohingya off from the economy leaves them with few options but to pursue illicit forms of income. Denying them formal education has also created a network of poorly supported, unregulated madrasahs, or Islamic schools, in the camps. The potential for exploitation is clear; while theres no evidence transnational extremist groups like ISIS or al-Qaeda operate here, analysts believe a domestic Bangladeshi hard-line group called Hefazat-e-Islam, which has called for jihad against the Myanmar government, holds heavy influence over the camps mosques and madrasahs. The outskirts of Kutupalong, the far edge of construction in the Coxs Bazar complex. | James Nachtwey for TIME The mullahs who run the madrasahs say they simply want to give the camps children the chance of something resembling a future, in the form of basic education. But the madrasahs are categorically excluded from Western funding channels and receive little guidance or oversight from Bangladeshi religious authorities. Staffed by volunteers and crammed with children desperate for education, many subsist on faith alone. Abu Syed, a 39-year-old scholar who founded three volunteer-run madrasahs, says he has received no outside help except for a lump sum for building materials when he arrived. Were at risk of shutting down at any time, he says. Its hard to say how long we can keep doing this. Umme Habiba, 18, following the birth of her daughter, Zahra. | James Nachtwey for TIME Life in the camps is perhaps most dismal for adolescent girls, who by custom by and large are not allowed to be seen in public after they reach puberty. Inside a small shelter on the edge of Camp 15, a 16-year-old girl explains why, in mid-March, she tried to leave for Malaysia, more than 2,000 miles away by sea. The girl, who did not want to be named, came here with nothing but a sarong and her immediate family. Poor and illiterate, she is unable even to get married because her single mother cant afford to pay an exorbitant dowry. In a sweltering hut lined with plastic sheets, she plotted her departure for weeks before setting out one afternoon with two dresses and the equivalent of about $3. She knew that if she got across the Bay of Bengal, the smuggler would ask for more money. I had hope that if I got to the other side, someone would be kind to me, she says. If no one rescued her, then that is my fate. Mohammed Amin cares for his sick son, 7-year-old Mujibur Rahman, in a hut. The boy suffers from a nervous system disorder, his father said. | James Nachtwey for TIME She and the dozens of other passengers, mostly girls around her age, were told that rich Rohingya men who had built lives in Malaysia would be waiting on the shores to save them. More likely they would have been trafficked or left to die at sea. So perhaps she was lucky that after a fishing boat took her out to sea and circled for hours in the darkness, the big boat never came. She doesnt see it that way. I returned with a heavy heart, she says. Ill go again any chance I get. I cant be here anymore. There is nowhere else to go. Back in Rakhine state, conditions are as bad as or worse than when the Rohingya left. The homes they fled have been razed, and a new conflict between the Myanmar army and Arakanese ethnic insurgents has intensified since January. The quasi-civilian government, led by disgraced Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has little control over the situation and is still in denial about the atrocities. One senior Western diplomat based in Yangon says the government hasnt shown its ability to impose its will in Rakhine state at all. Shamsul Alam, who suffers from a chronic intestinal illness, is carried to a health clinic through the Camp 20 Extension construction zone. He is helped by a brother, Salam, left, and a nephew, Yunus. | James Nachtwey for TIME The international community, too, has failed to compel Myanmar to restore rights to the Rohingya and guarantee them a place to return to. The country has largely been protected from accountability by China, its neighbor to the north and its largest trading partner. Beijing has consistently blocked critical actions on Myanmar by the U.N. Security Council, allowing only the passage of a nonbinding statement in 2017 urging the military to end excessive force, which it didnt. Were still waiting for bold action from the Security Council which will enable the return of this population and show that we care about the principles and values at the core of this organization, Adama Dieng, the U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, tells TIME. If this issue is not resolved today, we will be setting a very serious precedent. A woman grieves for Fatema Begum, 60, in the hut of the deceased. | James Nachtwey for TIME Few countries other than Bangladesh are stepping forward to help out the Rohingya in the interim. Other countries that have long been destinations for Rohingya, such as India and Saudi Arabia, began deporting them late last year in separate crackdowns on migration. And theres evidence of donor fatigue among the countries that have promised to help the refugees stuck in Coxs Bazar. Only 18% has been pledged toward a requested $920 million for a one-year U.N. response plan. The World Bank has mobilized almost $500 million in grants for infrastructure over the next three years, but critical food and social programs are at the whim of faraway politicians. What the Rohingya want, more than money or promises of aid, is citizenship and the rights and responsibilities it guarantees. For the generations turned away from every home theyve ever had, its getting harder to hold out hope. As a child, Alom Shah dreamed of becoming an engineer, and was devastated when his people were banned from studying at university in Rakhine state in 2012. A man bathes in a man-made pond near the camp where he lives. Behind him is the construction of the Camp 20 Extension. | James Nachtwey for TIME I felt like both my wings were broken, the 19-year-old said. He taught himself English and now volunteers in the refugee camps as a translator for medics. Once we got here, it was like, What do we do now? he says tearfully, looking up at us with watery eyes and then, embarrassed, shifting his gaze to the floor. It felt like we were holding our breath, and gradually losing our hope. He says hes already asked all the foreigners he knows if they can help him get a scholarship or find some other way out. They cant. In the daytime when I meet my friends, I somehow pass the time, Shah says. But at night when Im alone, when I think about the future, all I see is darkness. Were not allowed to dream. Buenos Aires (AFP) - A dozen Argentine police officers have been suspended pending a probe into the deaths of four young people during a chase in which shots were fired into their car, officials said Thursday. "There were shots and it was a bad procedure," Cristian Ritondo, security secretary for Buenos Aires province, told a news conference after the 12, including senior officers, were suspended from duty. The incident happened Monday when a car full of young people failed to stop on police orders in the small rural town of San Miguel del Monte, about an hour's drive south of Buenos Aires. Police pursued the car and then fired several shots into it from close range, after which it crashed into a parked truck. The chase was captured on security cameras, which showed an officer leaning out the window of the patrol car and pointing into the youths' vehicle, just before the crash. Four people -- the driver, 22, a 14-year-old youth and two girls aged 13 and 14 -- were killed. The only survivor, a 13-year-old girl, is in serious condition in hospital. "In principle, the police officers fired shots," prosecutor Hector Vogliolo said. "A bullet was found in the body of one of the girls." "Not respecting a summons to stop in no way justifies the use of weapons," the prosecutor said. The mother of one of the victims, 14-year-old Gonzalo Dominguez, told local media: "It was a massacre. Those children, how could they chase them by shooting at them?" "They were happy in that car, all friends," said Susan Dominguez, adding that the group of friends had posted a video on social media shortly before the deadly incident. The Arizona legislature voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would provide $7.5 million to crisis pregnancy centers over the next three years as part of an effort to reduce abortions in the state. The bill, which was co-sponsored by the entire Republican caucus, passed the appropriations committee in both chambers of the legislature on Wednesday along party lines and will now move to the floor for a full vote, according to Arizona Central. If passed, the bill would require the states Department of Health to implement a statewide system to provide direct services, support services, social services case management and referrals to the biological or adoptive parents of children under two years of age, including unborn children. Republican representative Michelle Udall, the bills main sponsor, urged her colleagues to prove their commitment to life by backing the legislation. $7.5 million over three years to help save these lives is a small price to pay, she said during a Wednesday hearing. Arizona democrats and allied progressive groups have criticized Udall and her fellow Republicans for empowering crisis pregnancy centers, which they claim prioritize ideological concerns over the health of their patients. Crisis pregnancy centers are often run by organizations with a particular social agenda. More importantly, they do not inform women about all their options, and instead steer them toward one decision, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona executive director Jodi Liggett told Arizona Central. The Center for Arizona Policy supports the bill and has spoken with legislators about funding the pilot program. The pilot is modeled after a successful program in Texas that has reached pregnant women and informed them of available services, the groups Cathi Herrod said. Results have been positive as far as women choosing to have the child. More from National Review London (AFP) - During nearly three decades in public life, Nigel Farage has risen from a eurosceptic rabble-rouser on the fringes of British politics to a pivotal player in the country's current Brexit-dominated landscape. Farage was a driving force behind the 2016 vote to quit the EU and the 55-year-old is aiming to follow up that triumph by scoring his third political victory in five years in Thursday's European parliament polls. A serial failure at getting elected as a lawmaker in Britain's parliament, Farage is nevertheless threatening to smash the two main parties' historic hold on power with his new Brexit Party's popularity. "Brexit was the first brick knocked out of the establishment wall," he predicted in 2016. "There are great battles to be fought and I'm going to go on fighting those battles." - 'Sense of the showman' - The divorced father-of-four and vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump is on paper an unlikely populist, appearing to embody much of what he rails against. A privately educated former commodities trader, Farage has served as an MEP in Brussels for 20 years. Yet he regularly lambastes "career politicians" and "the global elite". Cheered by his supporters as a straight-talking, pint-swilling "everyman", detractors accuse him of being a hypocrite who plays to racists and far-right ideologues. But love or loathe him, Farage has increasingly mainstream appeal in bitterly divided modern Britain. "There's a massive sense of the showman," actor Paul Ryan, who portrayed him in a recent TV dramatisation of the 2016 Brexit vote, told AFP. "He's got a great sense of humour, he's charismatic and he is a great communicator. "I think that's what makes him as potent as he is." - 'Bigger risk-taker' - Farage was born in 1964 to an affluent family in Kent, southeast England. His father was a stockbroker and an alcoholic and his parents divorced when he was five. Story continues He was educated at one of England's top private schools, Dulwich College, before working in the financial world. A larger-than-life figure, Farage has had several brushes with death that have proved defining. In 1985 he had a cancerous testicle removed, and was hit by a car after a night out, suffering serious head and leg injuries. Once recovered, he married his nurse, and the couple had two sons. Following their divorce in 1997 Farage married second wife Kirsten Mehr, a German, with whom he has two daughters. They separated in 2017. His most recent scare came on general election day in May 2010 when a light aircraft crashed after a campaign banner got caught in a propeller. He escaped relatively unscathed with just broken bones and a punctured lung. - Enduring criticism - Farage's political ascent began in 1993 when Britain, under the ruling Conservatives, joined in a process of deeper European integration. He quit the Tories in disgust to co-found the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and six years later won election to the European Parliament aged 35. Farage has had two stints at the helm of the party, while also making seven failed bids to become a British MP over the years. Castigating the EU and "out of control" immigration, UKIP slowly rose in popularity and in 2014 pulled off an unprecedented win in the European parliament elections. That heaped pressure on then prime minister David Cameron to call a referendum on EU membership. Farage was kept out of the official Leave campaign, which feared his brand was too divisive. But he maintained a high profile, hammering away at the immigration issue -- and sparking enduring criticism by unveiling a poster of refugees under the slogan "breaking point". - 'Unpleasantness is constant' - In the afterglow of victory, Farage stepped down as UKIP leader claiming his mission was complete. In interviews, he said the period had taken a heavy toll on him and his family. "My life is not easy," he told the Daily Mail. "The level of aggression and unpleasantness is constant." Last week it emerged businessman Arron Banks, the biggest bankroller in the 2016 referendum, had since spent around A450,000 ($570,000, 510,000 euros) funding Farage's lifestyle. The revelations of a paid flat, office and car, among other outlays, have prompted the European Parliament to probe whether he broke rules by failing to declare the financial assistance. Farage founded the Brexit Party earlier this year, decrying the political paralysis that has prevented Britain leaving the EU. He said his aims were now broadening to include "a revolution in British politics to end the two-party structure". Europe Foundation: govt lacks vision for better inclusion of people with disabilities By Tea Mariamidze Local Organization Europe Foundations (EPF) recent study revealed that the government of Georgia does not have a unified and long-term vision for the promotion of inclusion of people with disabilities (PwDs).The foundation says that although the state allocates around GEL 212 million on the needs of PwDs annually, this amount is mainly spent on the social assistance and is not focused on the development and financing of social programs necessary for PwDs.This undermines a full integration of people with disabilities into society, the report reads.The report was prepared by an invited consultant Alexander Cote together with the expert Mikheil Kukava.Within the scope of the survey, the researchers studied Central and Local Budget of Georgia which was allocated for the needs of people with disabilities.This study aimed to figure out to which extent public resources that are spent by the government of Georgia contribute to the inclusion of people with disabilities, Alexander Cote said.According to him, most of the money is spent on social cash transfers and much less on services.There is no collective vision of what would be needed or required to make significant steps towards the inclusion of people with disabilities, he added.Lia Tabatadze from the Down Syndrome Association says that the state considers people with disabilities as objects of philanthropy:Unless these amounts of money are channeled towards the development of services, we will not get the results which we are striving for together, she said.President of the EPF, Ketevan Vashakidze says it is crucial for the interest group to mobilize, and through this engagement and participation, succeed in changing the public policy.According to expert Mikheil Kukava, a total of GEL 190 million was spent in 2018 on social assistance.This GEL 190 million is quite a large sum of money for Georgia and it will be much more effective to channel a certain amount of this sum towards services, he said.The research recommends that on the one hand the state should be guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities and on the other hand, it should ensure maximum involvement of PwDs in budgeting processes.It also reads that organizations working on the rights of persons with disabilities should improve their capabilities to be able to analyze the existing budget and advocate result-oriented initiatives.EPF was established as a local organization in 2008. Its mission is to empower people to effect change for social justice and economic prosperity through hands-on programs, helping them to improve their communities and their own lives.Europe Foundation engages citizens in social, economic, and political developments, to effect substantive and sustainable positive socio-economic change at the local, regional, and national level through both operational programs and grant-making. Barvikha (Russia) (AFP) - Controversial ballet star Sergei Polunin plays the role of Rasputin in a new work premiering near Moscow Thursday, saying that like the mystic who mesmerised Russia's royal family, he battles his "dark side." Ukrainian-born Polunin, now a Russian citizen with a tattoo of President Vladimir Putin across his chest, has garnered a reputation as "the bad boy of ballet" -- both for his passionate performances and off-stage behaviour. "I do believe that (Rasputin) meant well and he had good intentions," Polunin said ahead of the opening of the ballet choreographed by Japan's Yuka Oishi. "But he had dark sides that sometimes took him in a different direction." The charismatic holy man Grigory Rasputin won the trust of the last tsar Nicholas II with attempts to heal his haemophiliac son Alexei but was vilified by the public and murdered by a group of aristocrats. The premiere comes months after the heavily-tattooed Polunin posted on Instagram that gay dancers are "an embarrassment" and overweight people should be slapped. A ticket agency has refused to sell tickets for a planned London staging of "Rasputin" over his comments. He has since deleted the posts but gay rights activists are also protesting against his performance in another work. "I actually always have good intentions," Polunin said. "But yeah, I don't think you can conquer demons. You can -- I don't know -- you can go towards the light more. I don't know how you completely destroy your dark side." Now 29, Polunin became the British Royal Ballet's youngest-ever soloist known for his spectacular leaps before suddenly quitting and joining Russia's Stanislavsky troupe. Polunin is the latest celebrity to gain Russian citizenship, following French actor Gerard Depardieu and US former action star Steven Seagal. Depardieu has also played Rasputin in a widely-panned mini-series. Since becoming Russian, Polunin has announced that he will be artistic director of a ballet school in the city of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea. "A new complex will be built, it all starts in June and in September we will already be selecting children for the school," Polunin said. Toiling for long hours for meagre salaries and living in crowded dormitories, migrant construction workers have helped build modern-day Singapore but remain all but invisible to many in the affluent city-state. Now an award-winning book by a Bangladeshi man is shining a rare light on the lives of labourers who have come in their thousands from poorer parts of Asia in search of a better future. M.D. Sharif Uddin's collection of diary entries and poems, "Stranger to Myself", describes the ups and downs of his years in Singapore, from high hopes on his arrival to frustration and heartache at missing his family. "People will never understand the hardship we migrant workers go through. People (back home) think that we live a luxurious life in a foreign land where we earn a lot," the 40-year-old told AFP. "Even after 11 years here I don't enjoy life, I am always struggling," he added. There are about 280,000 foreign construction workers in the city of 5.6 million, which has developed over the decades at a dizzying pace, from a poor trading outpost to a financial hub home to high rises and shopping malls. Uddin is in many ways not a typical Singapore migrant worker. He owned a bookshop back in Bangladesh, but fell on hard times and was forced to leave his pregnant wife to go abroad to find work. He was ill-prepared for his new life. From being a boss with a small staff in Bangladesh, he found himself relegated to the position of a labourer doing the kind of back-breaking work native Singaporeans often shun. - 'Exile's life' - Daily life is not easy, living in a dorm with about 25 other construction workers and typically toiling from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Uddin lives quite centrally but many migrant construction workers are housed in self-contained dormitory complexes in less desireable areas of the city, meaning many Singaporeans have little contact with them. He is contracted to work 28 days a month but if he does overtime, or a project needs to be completed in a hurry, he may not get a day off at all. Story continues When he arrived, his salary was Sg$18 ($13) a day -- business-focused Singapore has no minimum wage. It has increased to about Sg$50 after he was promoted to become a safety supervisor but is still far below the average wage in the city-state. Uddin writes of living an "exile's life", far from his family, and unable to feel truly at home in Singapore. "Sometimes I feel what it means to be lonely in the crowd of migrants, feeling the burden of age though I am relatively young," he writes. "Maybe my exile from home and nation is a punishment for past sins." He is an avid reader and had long kept a diary and written poetry, but his work was only discovered when he began submitting poems to a Bengali language publication in Singapore in 2013. He started getting invites to poetry and book readings, and later agreed to have his work translated from Bengali to English and published as "Stranger to Myself: Diary of a Bangladeshi in Singapore." - 'Eye-opening' - Published in 2017, it has sold more than 700 copies and last year won the best non-fiction title at the Singapore Book Awards. Goh Eck Kheng, founder of Uddin's publisher Landmark Books, said the book's "depth of subject matter, the depth of feeling" contributed to its success. "It's very authentic, it's eye-opening," he said. Despite the challenges, there is no shortage of foreign labourers -- from Bangladesh, and other countries including Indonesia and China -- keen to come and work in the construction sector in Singapore. There are laws in place to protect foreign workers and to regulate their housing, and most employers are responsible and treat staff well, according to the ministry of manpower. Salaries are usually higher than many migrants can earn back home, or in other foreign countries where they could work. "Many foreign workers consider Singapore an attractive destination country, and want to come here to work," a ministry spokesman said. Uddin is generally positive about Singapore and his book is even dedicated to the country's founding leader Lee Kuan Yew. But he believes migrant workers' "labour and sacrifice" which helped drive Singapore's transformation remain largely unrecognised. "Nobody can wipe away the workers' agonies etched on every brick of Singapore," he said. burs-sr/lto Federal authorities on Thursday unsealed the indictment of a Chicago bank executive charged with bribing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a position in President Trumps administration. Stephen Calk, the 54-year-old founder and CEO of Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, is accused of attempting to leverage about $16 million in high-risk loans to Manafort to obtain a position in the Trump administration. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Manafort, notorious for his lavish lifestyle, took out the three loans from Calks bank in December 2016 and January 2017 to finance mortgages on homes in New York City, Virginia, and the Hamptons, all of which he ultimately defaulted on. The loans originally came to light during Manaforts Virginia trial on 15 counts of financial crimes. In that trial, he was ultimately convicted of bank and tax fraud and failure to disclose a foreign bank account, and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. Calk was appointed to the Trump campaigns Economic Advisory Council in August 2016, while discussions around whether to extend Manafort massive loans were ongoing. Months later, in November 2016 after Trump won the White House, Manafort emailed Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, asking that Calk be considered for Army secretary. Mr. Calk willingly risked his national professional and personal reputation as an active, vocal, early supporter of President-Elect Trump, Manafort wrote to Kushner. Kushner responded On it! and forwarded the recommendation to three Trump transition officials with a request that Calk be considered. Manafort also set up Calks January 2017 interview with the Trump transition team for the Armys No. 2 position in January 2017. Prosecutors said Calk had sent Manafort a list of other positions he would accept, including treasury secretary, commerce secretary, defense secretary, and 19 ambassadorships including those to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. More from National Review Venice (AFP) - The mysterious British artist Banksy has apparently left his mark on a crumbling wall in Venice, and even claimed to have set up an unlicensed art stall in Italy's famous "floating city". The image of a migrant child signalling for help, appeared, in the Banksy style, on a crumbling wall beside one of the Venice canals. Meanwhile a video posted on Banksy's Instagram account was said to show the secretive artist, buried in hat, coat or newspaper, setting up an unlicenced art stall in the central Saint Mark's Square. He sets up a series of nine oil paintings in the style of the 18th-century Venetian great Canaletto, which when placed together depict a huge cruise ship surrounded by tiny gondolas, plying their way through the Venice canals. The piece, called "Venice in Oil", seemed to denounce the mass tourism which is endangering much of Venice. At the end of the video, the artist figure, whose face is always hidden, is told to pack up his stall and move on by Venice police. There was no indication as to whether anyone had bought one, or all, of the canvases. On his Instagram account he wrote: "Setting out my stall at the Venice Biennale. Despite being the largest and most prestigious art event in the world, for some reason I've never been invited." The prestigious Venice international art fair got under way this month. Banksy's most famous, or perhaps infamous, work is now called "Love Is in the Bin". Moments after the painting "Girl with Balloon" sold for 1,042,000 ($1.4 million, 1.2 million euros) last year -- a joint record for the maverick artist -- it literally went through the shredder, which was hidden in the frame. The buyer went through with the purchase, and some art experts say it is now worth more than it had been before the stunt. Despite years in the international spotlight as he became one of the most famous artists of his generation, remarkably little is known about the British artist. Story continues "Nobody ever listened to me until they didn't know who I was," he has said with characteristic irony. Though he was hustled off the Venice streets by the police, Banksy left his more lasting image on a wall; the picture of the little immigrant girl holding up a pink distress flare, standing in the style of the US Statue of Liberty. As usual, the artist didn't sign the graffiti but Banksy fans on the internet had no doubt who was behind it. A new study has determined that the mysterious source of ozone-destroying gases that have increased in the atmosphere recently is eastern China. Last year, scientists discovered that chlorofluorocarbons, more commonly known as CFCs, were increasing despite an international ban on their use, according to CNN. The findings of a team of scientists from across the world who used computer models to determine where the gases were being emitted, will be published in Nature on Thursday, reports CNN. We used our models to show that emissions of CFC-11 from north eastern China had increased by around 7,000 tons per year after 2013, particularly in or around the provinces of Shandong and Hebei, said Luke Western, a University of Bristol atmospheric modeler, according to a statement on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where several of the researchers hailed from. CFCs, which were invented in 1928 and commercially used as refrigerants and in aerosol cans, are highly damaging to the earths ozone layer over Antarctica. In 1987, the U.S. and about two-dozen other countries signed the Montreal Protocol, which agreed to phase out the use of CFCs. China ratified the treaty in 1991. According to CNN, a global ban on the use of CFCs has been in place since 2010. Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet commented on the study, according to CNN. The scientists say that their work is not done. It is now vital that we find out which industries are responsible for the new emissions, Matt Rigby, a lead author of the study, said in the Sripps Institution statement. The ozone layer is a layer in the earths atmosphere that protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation. In recent years, scientists have said that the ozone layer was starting to show signs of healing. By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS, May 23 (Reuters) - Linguistically-split Belgium holds a national election on Sunday that polls show is unlikely to allow Prime Minister Charles Michel to renew his center-right government. Michel, 43, has been running the country of 11 million people in a caretaker capacity since December and could face many more months in that role if party leaders struggle to form a new coalition after the vote. In 2010, that task took a world record 541 days until Elio Di Rupo, who still leads the francophone Socialists, finally took office. "The lesson from 2010 is we can cope for some time with a caretaker government. There will be a government, but it could be in 2020," said Carl Devos, political analyst at Ghent University. Belgium effectively runs two separate elections in the Dutch and French-speaking regions, with no national parties, after which it will somehow have to weld together a federal government from a more left-leaning south and right-leaning north. Wallonia in the south is forecast in polls to shift more to the left, making the Socialist Party (PS) the biggest with the hard left Workers Party (PTB) gaining ground. Michel's liberal Reformist Movement (MR) is seen losing seats in both Wallonia and the capital Brussels. Among Dutch speakers, the center-right New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which ultimately wants to make richer Flanders a separate country, is expected again to win the most seats, while the far-right Vlaams Belang is also seen making gains. N-VA, expected to be the largest overall party with some 30 percent of the Flemish vote, could push for further devolution to Belgium's regions, which already have wide powers over transport, agriculture and aspects of economic policy including foreign trade. That is something the poorer south resists, fearing it will only become worse off. Belgians simultaneously elect federal and regional assemblies, as well as participating in the European Parliament vote. Story continues Climate change has emerged as one key campaign theme, to the benefit of the Greens. Mainstream parties are expected to see support slipping, as in other European countries. Economists at ING said the next government was unlikely to follow up the initial reforms of Michel's center-right government and could even reverse some, such as an increase in the retirement age to 67 from 65. They also say maintaining stable public finances of a country's whose public sector debt to economic output ratio is set to be the fourth highest in the euro zone this year will be a major challenge for any new government. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) Andrew Walwyn has been the CEO of Bigblu Broadband plc (LON:BBB) since 2015. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Check out our latest analysis for Bigblu Broadband How Does Andrew Walwyn's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? According to our data, Bigblu Broadband plc has a market capitalization of UK72m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth UK340k. (This number is for the twelve months until November 2018). That's a fairly small increase of 4.0% on year before. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK229k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below UK158m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be UK246k. As you can see, Andrew Walwyn is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Bigblu Broadband plc is paying too much. 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 Bigblu Broadband, below. AIM:BBB CEO Compensation, May 23rd 2019 Is Bigblu Broadband plc Growing? Bigblu Broadband plc has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 3.5% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 26% over the last year. It's hard to interpret the strong revenue growth as anything other than a positive. With that in mind, the modestly improving EPS seems positive. So while I'd stop short of saying growth is absolutely outstanding, there are definitely some clear positives! It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future. Story continues Has Bigblu Broadband plc Been A Good Investment? With a total shareholder return of 23% over three years, Bigblu Broadband plc shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size. In Summary... We examined the amount Bigblu Broadband plc pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group. We generally prefer to see stronger EPS growth, and we're not particularly impressed with the total shareholder return, over the last three years. In conclusion we think the company should definitely focus on improving the business before awarding any large pay rises. If you think CEO compensation levels are interesting you will probably really like this free visualization of insider trading at Bigblu Broadband. If you want to buy a stock that is better than Bigblu Broadband, 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. Three years ago, on the heels of winning the commission for Two World Trade Center, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels did what many young creatives had done before him: He moved house, to Brooklyn. Specifically, the Dumbo neighborhood, where he purchased a waterfront penthouse. Clearly, the area has not lost its appeal; last year, Ingels moved his 250-person New York office from the Financial District to a building in Dumbo. Formerly occupied by West Elm, the 50,000 square-foot space at Two Trees Management's 45 Main Street marks the firms third New York location since the Danish architect established his first office in the city in 2011. Now, BIG is inviting AD PRO inside its space in an exclusive video tour with Kai-Uwe Bergmann, one of the firms New Yorkbased partners. Dumbo is an obvious choice for BIG in New York City, Ingels said in a statement. The visual excitement and physical proximity to downtown Manhattan combined with Dumbos artistic spirit and access to public space feels like our native Copenhagen. According to Bergmann, the new location, which is more than double the size of the previous office, provides the staff with much-needed room to think. "We simply grew out of our old space, says Bergmann. We were finding ourselves increasingly cramped, and we didnt have the room to make and display our architectural models. The new location also represents a significant improvement to their staffers quality of life. Its not only Bjarke who lives here, he says. Eighty or ninety percent of our New York employees already live in Brooklyn. Spearheaded by BIGs Amir Mikhaeil, Maki Matsubayashi, Florencia Kratsman, and Francesca Portesine, the project encompassed a complete renovation of the space over six months. Interior walls were removed to accommodate the open-plan design, which includes ample room for an architectural model workshop, an exhibition hallway, meeting rooms, a canteen, a library, a Ping-Pong table, and walkways wide enough to accommodate the occasional skateboard and Hoverboard. And, in line with what Bergmann calls the firms holistic approach to design, much of the furniture and lighting was designed by BIG for KiBiSi (a Danish collaborative design group made up of Kilo Design, BIG, and Skibsted Ideation). Bergmann gave AD PRO an exclusive first look at the new offices. Story continues Tour BIGs Headquarters Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Photo: Max Touhey Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest The first black African woman to climb Everest said Thursday that people from her continent must seek "amazing" new challenges to prove they can compete with the best. "There are many places still, unfortunately if you think about it, that we still haven't broken through," Saray Khumalo told AFP in an interview after conquering the world's highest peak. The 47-year-old South African business executive reached the summit of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountain last week after three previous bids failed. Although she had not thought about being the first when she reached the top, she now knows "how big a deal it is" for black African women. "So it is such an honour and a privilege to be the one to actually do it," said Khumalo, the skin on her face still chapped by Everest's harsh conditions. "If you think about it, Everest was first climbed in 1953. It's taken us how many flipping years for us to be there? "What an honour in a small way to be that vehicle that says 'you know let's level the playing field, let's have a seat at the table, we can also do this'," she added. - Why me? - "Now it is up to us to take it to the next level and I'm hoping someone picks up the baton and does something amazing." Khumalo, who is trying to conquer the highest summits on each of the seven continents, said she took up climbing after someone asked her about Mount Kilimanjaro while on a visit to the United States. That motivated her to try Africa's highest peak, in Tanzania, and Khumalo has not stopped since -- even though she was forced back from three previous attempts on Everest through illness or bad weather. "What has worked in my favour is the learning I have taken from every summit, every interaction with the sherpas and the climbers, and every experience that I've had," she said. "It's just confirmed that giving up is never an option because the summit could be just the next step," she said. Story continues Her first attempt in 2014 was halted when an avalanche killed 16 guides on the slope. "I was shaken. I was very naive as a climber," she said. "Knowing what I know today, I shouldn't have been on the mountain," she added. "You sit there and start questioning, some of those people that died had had 15 years experience. Why them and not me who is just here for the first time? "You realise it is not your time, so you still have stuff to do which is why I came back." A devastating earthquake cancelled her expedition in 2015, while last year strong winds and frostbite forced her to turn back. "That made me a lot more cautious this year, it made me realise I can't take anything for granted. It doesn't matter how close I am until I get back to base camp." This year, an Irish professor on her expedition died on Everest. "When I got to Camp 2 and it was the first time I cried. Somebody said 'congratulations' and I didn't know how to react. Maybe it wasn't his time, but even knowing that and knowing the risks of the mountain doesn't make it easy," she said. Khumalo, one of seven sisters, said she had made a success of her life because her mother had invested in her education. "I decided that I am going to climb the seven summits around the world and I'm going to use the climbing to make a difference: build libraries, take children to school." Everest was fourth on her list after Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua in Argentina and Mount Elbrus in Russia. Attitude towards EU through the years By Levan Abramishvili On May 20, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CRRC-Georgia published poll results that show strong support for membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO from the Georgian public.In the 2019 poll, a total of 77 percent approve joining the EU, with 56 percent strongly approving. If the country held a referendum on membership tomorrow, 68 percent say they would vote for and only 14 percent against.NDI surveys public opinion in Georgia since 2010. The polls aim to capture the most relevant information to foster the development of responsive policies and governance.It is interesting to take a look at how the attitudes have shifted towards the EU and NATO over the years.The question regarding the attitude towards Georgias Euro-Atlantic integration first appeared in the NDI poll in 2014.Back in 2014, nearly 60 percent of Georgians believed that the country should join the European Union (EU) rather than the Eurasian Union, established by Russia to garner and regain influence over post-Soviet countries.The respondents in 2014 were highly supportive (78 percent) of the Georgian governments stated goal to join the EU.In 2015, NDI conducted two surveys, one in August and one in December. Choosing between the EU and Eurasian Union, between the two surveys of 2015, the support for the EU increased from 47 percent to 58.In December of 2016, the support for the European Union (EU) and NATO remained high, with 72 percent of Georgians approving the countrys goal to join the EU and 61 percent to join NATO.In April 2017, the poll showed that the support for the European Union (EU) rose to 80 percent.In December of 2018, the EU membership support increased and totaled 83 percent.Even though the questions asked through the years regarding the EU are different, it still gives us an interesting overview of the continued growth of support.Compared to the 2018 results, the May 20, 2019 results showed that the support for EU membership decreased with 6 percent from 83 to 77.This change can be attributed to several reasons, one of them being the challenges that the EU faces with Brexit and other issues.It still has to be mentioned that the close cooperation and bolstered support from EU to Georgia is appreciated within the society and the minuscule 6% decrease in the attitude shouldnt pose a serious concern for the future aspirations of the country and the strong support of the Euro-Atlantic integration from the public. Dansby Swanson and Austin Riley each smacked three-run homers as the Atlanta Braves sailed to a 9-2 victory over the host San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night. Freddie Freeman added a solo blast and went 3-for-4 with a walk for the Braves, who won for the ninth time in their past 12 games. Atlanta left-hander Max Fried (7-2) won his third straight start and became the National League's first seven-game winner. He allowed two runs and four hits over six innings, striking out five and walking two. Right-handers Anthony Swarzak and Dan Winkler each pitched a perfect inning of relief. Righty Josh Tomlin gave up two hits in the ninth before fanning Brandon Crawford to end it. Tyler Austin homered for San Francisco, which has dropped two of three in the four-game series that concludes Thursday. Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija (2-3) allowed six runs -- all unearned -- in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out seven. Samardzija's error and a wild pitch on a strikeout set up Atlanta's six-run second inning. Riley was hit by a pitch to start the frame, and he reached second safely when Samardzija made a wild throw on Ozzie Albies' grounder with one out. Matt Joyce followed with a single to load the bases. Fried's fielder's choice plated the first run, and the second scored after Ronald Acuna Jr. struck out on the errant pitch by Samardzija. Albies scored to make it 2-0. Swanson followed by drilling a first-pitch cutter 420 feet over the fence in left-center. Freeman then clubbed the second pitch he saw over the fence in center to make it 6-0. San Francisco got on the board in the fourth when Austin scored from second on Buster Posey's line single off the right field wall. Nick Markakis barehanded the ball and gunned Posey out trying for second. Austin pulled the Giants within 6-2 with two outs in the sixth when he hit an opposite-field shot over the wall in right. Atlanta pulled away in the seventh inning. Acuna drew a leadoff walk against left-hander Derek Holland, and Swanson followed with a single. Two outs later, Riley slugged the first pitch over the fence in left for his fourth homer in eight big league games to make it 9-2. --Field Level Media BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is focusing on positive agenda and "all the rest" in not on its mind, the spokesman for the bloc's executive said on Thursday when asked about Brexit. "We are geared to a positive agenda of the European Union and that's what matters to us," the spokesman, Margaritis Schinas, told a daily news briefing in Brussels in response to a question about Brexit. "All the rest is not something that is on our mind." Schinas reiterated that Britain's stalled EU exit treaty cannot be changed but that the accompanying political declaration on future EU-UK ties after Brexit could be reviewed. Asked about the bloc's relationship with any new British leader in case Prime Minister Theresa May resigns - as is now widely expected - Schinas said: "We will always be also ready to speak to the prime minister of the United Kingdom." (Wrting by Gabriela Baczynska) By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Reuters) - British Airways will resume flights to Pakistan next week a decade after it suspended operations following a major hotel bombing, becoming the first Western airline to restart flights to the South Asian country. BA halted service to Pakistan in the wake of the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing in the capital Islamabad that took place during a period of devastating Islamist militant violence in Pakistan. Security has since improved, with militant attacks sharply down in the mainly Muslim country of 208 million people, reviving Pakistan as a destination for tourist and investors. "The final touches are coming together for the airline's return ahead of the first flight on Sunday June 2," British Airways said in a statement. It will launch a three-per-week service to London Heathrow, it said. "We're on board," Pakistani Civil Aviation spokeswoman Farah Hussain said about the flights resumption. BA, which is owned by Spanish-registered IAG, will begin the London Heathrow-Islamabad service with the airline's newest long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. At present, only loss-making national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flies directly from Pakistan to Britain, but its aging fleet of planes is a frequent source of complaints by passengers. Middle Eastern carriers Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates have a strong presence in Pakistan and have been eating into PIA's dwindling market share. Turkish Airlines also lays on a regular service to Pakistan. Islamabad has been running international advertising campaigns to rejuvenate its tourism sector, which was wiped out by Islamist violence that destabilized the country following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. "We hope customers in both the UK and Pakistan will enjoy the classically British service we offer, with thoughtful bespoke touches," Andrew Brem, Chief Commercial Officer at British Airways, said in BA's statement. BA said there will be a halal meal option in every cabin and the airline would also ensure sauces in every meal do not contain alcohol or pork. (Reporting by Asif Shahzad Editing by Mark Heinrich) By Lin Taylor LONDON, May 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has returned an honorary degree awarded by Britain's Oxford University after a global backlash led by celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John for proposing the death penalty for gay sex and adultery. Nearly 120,000 people had signed a petition by April calling on Oxford University to rescind the honorary law degree awarded in 1993 to the sultan, the world's second-longest reigning monarch and prime minister of the oil-rich country. Oxford University said the sultan had decided to hand back the honorary degree on May 6, while it was reviewing its decision to award it. News of the decision was made public on Thursday. "As part of the review process, the university wrote to notify the sultan on 26 April 2019, asking for his views by 7 June 2019," the university said in an emailed statement to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "Through a letter dated 6 May 2019, the sultan replied with his decision to return the degree." The small Southeast Asian country sparked an outcry when it rolled out its interpretation of Islamic laws on April 3, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with death, including by stoning. Seeking to temper the backlash, the sultan earlier this month said the death penalty would not be imposed in the implementation of the penal code changes. The law, which the United Nations condemned, had prompted celebrities and rights groups to seek a boycott on hotels owned by the sultan, including the Dorchester in London and the Beverley Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.. Several multinational companies have since put a ban on staff using the sultan's hotels, while some travel companies have stopped promoting Brunei as a tourist destination. Socially conservative attitudes prevail across Asia where Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore ban sexual relationships between men, and Indonesia has seen an increase in raids targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people recently. Brunei, a former British protectorate of about 400,000 people nestled between two Malaysian states on Borneo island, was the first country in the region to adopt the criminal component of sharia at a national level in 2014. (Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and slavery, property rights, social innovation, resilience and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories) Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Tata Steel Limited (NSE:TATASTEEL) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! View our latest analysis for Tata Steel The method We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 Levered FCF (, Millions) -189.84k 81.02k 102.74k 124.21k 143.48k 162.32k 180.91k 199.51k 218.39k 237.81k Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x13 Analyst x13 Analyst x11 Analyst x1 Est @ 15.52% Est @ 13.13% Est @ 11.45% Est @ 10.28% Est @ 9.46% Est @ 8.89% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 22.87% -154.51k 53.67k 55.39k 54.50k 51.24k 47.18k 42.79k 38.41k 34.22k 30.33k Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= 253.21b Story continues "Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 7.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 22.9%. Terminal Value (TV) = FCF 2029 (1 + g) (r g) = 238b (1 + 7.6%) (22.9% 7.6%) = 1.7t Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV) = TV / (1 + r)10 = 1.7t ( 1 + 22.9%)10 = 212.91b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 466.12b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate of 406.16. Relative to the current share price of 473, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. NSEI:TATASTEEL Intrinsic value, May 23rd 2019 The assumptions We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Tata Steel as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 22.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.781. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Next Steps: Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldnt be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Tata Steel, I've compiled three essential aspects you should further examine: Financial Health: Does TATASTEEL have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does TATASTEEL's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of TATASTEEL? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every IN stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search 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. By Steve Scherer OTTAWA, May 23 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been criticized by some indigenous communities, on Thursday apologized and posthumously exonerated a Cree chief unjustly imprisoned for treason more than 130 years ago. The Liberal prime minister received widespread support from Canada's First Nations when he ran for office four years ago promising to reconcile Canada with the native peoples wronged during the country's colonial past. Chief Poundmaker, or Pihtokahanapiwiyin, was a Cree leader during Canada's North-West Rebellion of 1885. Historians have said he helped prevent a massacre of federal soldiers during a battle with the primarily French speaking rebels, who were descendents of First Nation and European settlers. But when the rebellion ended and Poundmaker sought peace with the government, he was arrested, accused of treason and jailed for seven months before being released because of bad health in 1886. He died shortly after. "We recognize that during his lifetime Chief Poundmaker was not treated justly nor showed the respect he deserved as a leader of his people," Trudeau said during the ceremony at the Poundmaker Cree Nation reserve in Saskatchewan. "It is my sincere hope that, by coming together today and taking this important step together as equal partners, we can continue the important work of reconciling the past and renewing our relationship," Trudeau said. Trudeau was escorted to the stage by Cree members in traditional clothing and headdresses amid ceremonial singing and drumming. Traditional Cree teepees were set up around the stage where he spoke. The prime minister later shook hands with current Poundmaker Cree Chief Duane Antoine and kneeled to place tobacco on Poundmaker's grave as a sign of respect. "Poundmaker was a diplomat, a peace maker, and was practicing reconciliation already in the 19th century," Antoine said. "The truth is now known, and he will be remembered in history as a national hero." Story continues Trudeau has made a number of apologies for Canada's historic failings. Last year he visited indigenous people in British Columbia to apologize for the hanging of six chiefs 150 years ago. Soon thereafter he said he was sorry for Canada's refusal in 1939 to take in a ship carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees. {nL8N1XI7X2] Trudeau is facing a tough re-election bid in about five months, and is trailing his Conservative Party rival slightly in opinion polls. In the past few months some indigenous groups have criticized the prime minister. In March, when an indigenous protester shouted at a Liberal Party fundraiser about the government's failure to address mercury poisoning on the reserve, Trudeau said, "Thank you for your donation." After a considerable uproar, he apologized. Earlier this year, Trudeau fired Jody Wilson-Raybould from his government and later ejected her from the party amid a scandal over allegations of government interference in a corporate corruption case. Until January, she had served as Canada's first indigenous justice minister. Her treatment was condemned by many indigenous leaders in her home province of British Columbia. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Grant McCool) Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei takes part in the conference dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of the Eastern Partnership 14-05-2019 On May 14, 2019 in Brussels the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, took part in the conference dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The event was attended by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Prime Minister of Moldova, Pavel Filip, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Teodor Melescanu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, representatives of the Foreign Ministries of the EU Member States. Speaking at the 1st Panel EaP10 achievements and challenges in delivering concrete results to citizens attended by President P.Poroshenko, Minister E.Mammadyarov, Foreign Minister of Poland J.Czaputowicz and Foreign Minister of Sweden M.Wallstrom, V.Makei informed the participants of the current state and prospects for Belarus EU cooperation. The Belarus Minister highlighted the crucial need to enhance trade and investment cooperation. V.Makei noted in particular the highly dynamic cooperation of Belarus with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Foreign Minister called for coherent and structured development of a legal basis of Belarus-EU relations and expressed hope for swift signature of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements, as well as removal of barriers for concluding the bilateral Partnership Priorities. V.Makei pointed out positive trends in the bilateral Belarus-EU dialogue, including on a range of sensitive issues. Minister also stressed that pragmatic cooperation had brought more dividends to both sides in recent years than the previous decades of EU sanctions. The Foreign Minister called for intensified dialogue between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union as an efficient way of defusing tensions in the Eurasian region. V.Makei emphasized the need for more pragmatism and delivery of concrete tangible results to the citizens in the course of the ongoing EaP implementation. He spoke out in favour of greater visibility for the Eastern Partnership in the Partner States, including Belarus. The Minister responded to a number of questions raised by other participants and held several bilateral meetings on the margins of the event. V.Makei also took part in a working breakfast of the Foreign Ministers of the EaP countries hosted by Commissioner J.Hahn and attended by the top management of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Minister gave a positive assessment of the EIB presence in Belarus. V.Makei reminded of the first agreements signed with the Bank in 2018 to finance projects with an overall value of 160 m to modernize the Minsk water treatment facility and facilitate access of SMEs to local currency loans. He praised EBRD which allocated over 360 m for projects in Belarus. Future expansion of EIB and EBRD activities in the country was also discussed at the meeting. Later on the same day, V.Makei attended a working dinner for the heads of state and governments of the EaP countries hosted by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. During the discussion, the Foreign Minister shared his vision of the EaP evolution in the next years. print version By Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been criticized by some indigenous communities, on Thursday apologized and posthumously exonerated a Cree chief unjustly imprisoned for treason more than 130 years ago. The Liberal prime minister received widespread support from Canada's First Nations when he ran for office four years ago promising to reconcile Canada with the native peoples wronged during the country's colonial past. Chief Poundmaker, or Pihtokahanapiwiyin, was a Cree leader during Canada's North-West Rebellion of 1885. Historians have said he helped prevent a massacre of federal soldiers during a battle with the primarily French speaking rebels, who were descendents of First Nation and European settlers. But when the rebellion ended and Poundmaker sought peace with the government, he was arrested, accused of treason and jailed for seven months before being released because of bad health in 1886. He died shortly after. "We recognize that during his lifetime Chief Poundmaker was not treated justly nor showed the respect he deserved as a leader of his people," Trudeau said during the ceremony at the Poundmaker Cree Nation reserve in Saskatchewan. "It is my sincere hope that, by coming together today and taking this important step together as equal partners, we can continue the important work of reconciling the past and renewing our relationship," Trudeau said. Trudeau was escorted to the stage by Cree members in traditional clothing and headdresses amid ceremonial singing and drumming. Traditional Cree teepees were set up around the stage where he spoke. The prime minister later shook hands with current Poundmaker Cree Chief Duane Antoine and kneeled to place tobacco on Poundmaker's grave as a sign of respect. "Poundmaker was a diplomat, a peace maker, and was practicing reconciliation already in the 19th century," Antoine said. "The truth is now known, and he will be remembered in history as a national hero." Trudeau has made a number of apologies for Canada's historic failings. Last year he visited indigenous people in British Columbia to apologize for the hanging of six chiefs 150 years ago. Soon thereafter he said he was sorry for Canada's refusal in 1939 to take in a ship carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees. Trudeau is facing a tough re-election bid in about five months, and is trailing his Conservative Party rival slightly in opinion polls. In the past few months some indigenous groups have criticized the prime minister. In March, when an indigenous protester shouted at a Liberal Party fundraiser about the government's failure to address mercury poisoning on the reserve, Trudeau said, "Thank you for your donation." After a considerable uproar, he apologized. Earlier this year, Trudeau fired Jody Wilson-Raybould from his government and later ejected her from the party amid a scandal over allegations of government interference in a corporate corruption case. Until January, she had served as Canada's first indigenous justice minister. Her treatment was condemned by many indigenous leaders in her home province of British Columbia. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; editing by Grant McCool) Trudy's Tattoo Parlour owner Gauge Strongarm (left) and artist Joshua Hughbanks. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline After a decade in the neighborhood, the Castro's Bulldog Tattoo has moved into a new, larger space at 2275 Market St. (at 16th St.) With the new space comes a name change: Bulldog Tattoo has rebranded as Trudy's Tattoo Parlour. Owner and tattoo artist Gauge Strongarm decided to change the name because "Bulldog sounds super-aggressive." "I felt like the name was a turnoff," Strongarm said, eliciting negative stereotypes about tattoo shops like heavy metal music and big burly bikers. The business is still named for a bulldog Strongarm's pet, Trudy but it aims to be more inviting and welcoming to everybody. Trudy's Tattoo Parlour is now open at 2275 Market St. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline Inclusiveness is important to Strongarm, a transgender man who previously worked as an ER nurse. When he was living in a female body and trying to get started in the tattoo industry, finding an apprenticeship was difficult. "There were very few females in the industry in the early '80s, and they didn't want any more females," Strongarm said. "They made it damn near impossible ... It took me 10 years to actually get an apprenticeship." Originally from Seattle, Strongarm moved to San Francisco in 1996 after completing his apprenticeship, and now resides in Oakland. He tells Hoodline he's comfortable using either male or female pronouns, and commonly refers to himself as "a queer tranny." "I'm an old-school tranny, I'm not hung up on pronouns," he said. "You can call me anything you fucking want as long as you don't call me late for dinner." But despite being a queer person working in the Castro, he no longer plans to identify the shop as queer-owned and operated in its advertising. "I don't want people to get the idea that if they're not queer, they're not welcome," he said. Strongarm's bulldog Trudy, the namesake of the rebranded tattoo parlor. | Photo: Gauge Strongarm Strongarm has decades of experience in the tattoo industry. He got his start at an Excelsior tattoo shop before moving to the now-closed Erno Tattoo at Haight and Fillmore. Story continues Strongarm then worked at the Haight's Cold Steel and 17th Street's Gotham (now Castro Tattoo) before opening Bulldog Tattoo on his own in 2009. He said his training as a nurse has informed his approach to tattooing. "I've always wanted people to feel super comfortable, taken care of and very welcome," he said. Bulldog Tattoo's former space at 2275 Market St. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline The tattoo parlor's new home is the street-facing space previously occupied by Books Inc., which closed in 2016. After Books Inc. closed, the space was subdivided by the building owner into four separate businesses. Comic Book Beardies HQ (formerly Whatever Store) and SF Nail Bar currently occupy two of the spaces, while the fourth remains vacant. Strongarm decided to move because he "literally outgrew" his old space at 2275 Market St., and needed room to house more tattoo artists. At Trudy's, he will add an additional two tattoo artists for a total of six, including Strongarm. Trudy's move was significantly delayed by construction issues caused by the building's owner. Strongarm originally signed a lease to move into the larger space two years ago, but the work on the space done by his landlord's contractors failed inspections by the Health Department and Department of Building Inspection, and had to be completely redone. Luckily, Strongarm was not required to pay rent on the new space while the work was redone. He signed a five-year lease with a five-year extension option, and plans to extend immediately. Inside Trudy's Tattoo Parlour. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline While many small businesses have moved out of the neighborhood in recent years, Strongarm said that maintaining his business in the Castro was important. "This is my community," he said. "I feel like I have a service to my community." As part of his commitment to the Castro community, he gives away $2,000-3,000 worth of tattoos annually to any organizations that ask. He says it's especially important to him in the current political climate. "With the Trump administration taking away so much right now, I didn't want to abandon that," he said. Trudy's Tattoo Parlour's new home boasts a larger workspace. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline Strongarm said he loves the large windows in his new storefront, which allow people to look in like a fishbowl. "I want all the windows I can get," he said, noting that he also opened up the windows that line the hallway. Tattoo artist Joshua Hughbanks, who's worked at the shop for four years, says he's looking forward to increased business and a larger workspace. "We're such a good family here, we all get along," said Hughbanks, adding that customers have provided lots of positive feedback about the new space and name change. To celebrate the shop's move, Strongarm will be hosting a Pink Saturday party at the shop on Pride Weekend, coinciding with the end of the Dyke March. Everyone is invited to stop by Trudy's for a drink and food, starting at 4 p.m. "I want an old-timey feel to it," said Strongarm of the new space. "I want people to feel welcome." Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry. Photo: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images A no-deal Brexit would be more than a temporary bump in the road for Ireland and could permanently hamper the islands economy, according to the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Speaking on Thursday in Dublin, Carolyn Fairbairn called for a Brexit agreement that would facilitate an open Northern Ireland border and the continuation of frictionless trade on the island of Ireland. Fairbairn said that anything else would derail the inspiring plans for an all-island economy in Ireland. A no-deal Brexit outcome would be more than short-run disruption [for Ireland]. It would be more than a temporary bump in the road, she said. It would put this vision, this incredibly inspiring vision of an all-island economy, on ice and perhaps permanently. The lost opportunities arising from the UKs departure from the European Union are not talked about enough in the Brexit debate, Fairbairn said. Its not just the disruption: its the lost opportunity of things that dont happen. And lets not allow the Irish economy and this exciting vision for an all-island economy to be one of them. On Tuesday, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney reportedly warned his government colleagues that the risk of a no-deal Brexit has never been greater. Earlier this year, leading Irish business group IBEC and the Northern Ireland branch of the CBI warned that a no-deal Brexit would have devastating economic consequences for the whole island of Ireland. READ MORE: Irish business groups warn against 'devastating' consequences of no-deal Brexit Calling a no-deal scenario an affront to rational thinking, the groups said that it would immediately put jobs and businesses at risk, and jeopardise years of positive economic development and integration across the island. Fairbairn was speaking in Trinity College Dublin, which will later on Tuesday officially open its new 70m (62m) business school. The CBI director-general did not address the swirling rumours around prime minister Theresa Mays fate as prime minister. Story continues May this week began a last-ditch attempt to win over opposition MPs with a bold, new offer on the Brexit deal she is trying to get through parliament. READ MORE: Troy plot to oust May spooks markets But on Wednesday night, leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom resigned, and the pound (GBPUSD=X) continues to slide amid speculation that May will be forced to step down by the end of the week. Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - A parade of adoptable children held in a Brazilian shopping center drew condemnation Thursday, with some comparing the event to the sale of animals or slaves. "Adoption on the Catwalk" in the central-west state of Mato Grosso was designed to "give visibility to children and adolescents who are eligible for adoption," according to an official statement promoting Tuesday's show. The parade -- organized by the local chapters of the Brazil Bar Association's Childhood and Youth Commission (CYC) and the Adoption Research and Support Association (AMPARA) -- was held in the Pantanal shopping mall in the capital Cuiaba. "As we always say, what the eyes see, the heart feels," Tatiane de Barros Ramalho, president of the CYC and a lawyer, was quoted as saying. "It's a night for potential adopters to get to know the kids and teens. The population can have more information about adoption and the children themselves will have a special day in which they will get done up for the parade." An undated photo published on G1 news site purportedly showed a girl wearing a white t-shirt and a short pink skirt walking down a catwalk in front of onlookers, who were recording images with their smartphones. But the bar association said the photo was taken during a previous "Adoption on the Catwalk" event in 2016. News of the parade sparked outrage on social media, prompting organizers to defend the event, saying none of the children had been forced to participate. "It was never the goal... to introduce children and adolescents to families in order to achieve adoption," the Brazil Bar Association of Mato Grosso (OAB-MT) said on its Facebook page. It admitted, however, that two teenagers were adopted after the 2016 edition. "The OAB-MT and AMPARA reject any kind of distortion of the event by associating it with dark periods of our history," it added, referring to Brazil's traumatic past as a slave trader. Story continues The former Portuguese colony only abolished slavery in 1888, two decades after the United States. Echoes of that period continue to reverberate today in a country where racism is deeply embedded. The bar association's statement drew hundreds of comments on Facebook, mostly critical of the parade. "Selling animals or slaves?" Juarez Ternus wrote on Facebook. Another user said: "Shameful... it's like a children's exhibition fair in the form of a cattle market." "Like the slaves of 'old' -- did they show their teeth?" wrote Silvia Morgan. The National Secretary for the Rights of Children and Adolescents expressed its "regret" over the parade, which also sparked an online petition protesting the event. So far it has garnered more than 1,100 signatures. More than 9,500 children and adolescents are waiting to be adopted in Brazil, a state news agency reported Tuesday, citing figures from the National Adoption Registry. By Joreg Pineda SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - China's Embassy in the Dominican Republic on Thursday accused the United States of trying to interfere in its relations with the Caribbean nation, condemning remarks it attributed to a U.S. official as "lacking in respect" to both nations. In a brief statement, the Chinese embassy complained about comments it said the acting president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), David Bohigian, had made during a visit to the Dominican Republic earlier this week. "The aforementioned U.S. government official questioned the Chinese-Dominican relationship without any proof, and aims to interfere in the current stable development of the (bonds) of friendship and cooperation between China and the Dominican Republic," said the statement issued on the embassy's website. "We object to this comment, which is lacking in respect to both the Chinese and the Dominican side," it added. Beijing's statement comes after Bohigian was quoted in local media calling on Dominicans to review the benefits they had obtained since the country established diplomatic and trade ties with China just over a year ago. Dominican Spanish language newspaper Listin Diario quoted Bohigian as saying it was important that "people ensure their own sovereignty to make sure that their workers are the ones who receive the financial benefits." OPIC, a U.S. development financier, did not immediately reply to a request for a transcript of Bohigian's reported remarks. (Reporting by Jorge Pineda; writing by Dave Graham; editing by Jonathan Oatis) SHANGHAI, May 23 (Reuters) - China is to blame for much of the increase in illegal ozone-depleting substances (ODS) since 2013, according a study published by the journal Nature on Thursday, with domestic companies accused of violating a global production ban. About 40-60 percent of the global rise in the prohibited ozone-destroying refrigerant trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) since 2013 could be attributed to the industrial provinces of Shandong and Hebei in northern China, researchers from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Britain's University of Bristol said. After studying atmospheric data from South Korea and Japan, they estimated CFC-11 emissions from eastern mainland China during the 2014-2017 period were around 7 million kilograms per year higher than over 2008-2012. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Thursday. CFC-11, once used in refrigerators and air conditioners, is one of the chemicals banned under the Montreal Protocol, a treaty to protect the earth's ozone layer by phasing out all global CFC production by 2010. CFC-11 in the atmosphere declined substantially until 2012 but has since rebounded. China ratified the treaty in 1991 and it said last year it has already eliminated as much as 280,000 tonnes of annual ODS production capacity and was speeding up efforts to phase out other ozone-damaging chemicals. But a report last year by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claimed dozens of Chinese companies were still using the banned CFC-11 in the production of polyurethane foam. "Because it's very effective at what it does, however, there have been rogue users of old supplies and rogue producers who flout international agreements that their governments have signed up to," said Ian Rae at the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne who was a technical advisor to the Montreal Protocol. China launched a special inspection campaign into 3,000 foam manufacturers across the country last year and promised to punish any violations of the Montreal treaty. It said in March that it had shut down two manufacturing spots that produced CFC-11 as part of the crackdown. (Reporting by David Stanway and Muyu Xu; editing by Richard Pullin) If you love to take advantage of the live music offerings near you, this week offers several great reasons to leave the house. From live jazz to an orchestra performance, read on for a local music to-do list to fill your calendar this week. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Marc Fields Quartet Concert From the event description: Enjoy the Marc Fields Quartet with Cincinnati-native Marc Fields on trombone, Jim Connerley on piano, Jon Massey on bass and Matt McCallister on drums live this Saturday evening. Note: a $10 drink minimum will be charged per person in your party if the total for beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum. When: Saturday, May 25, 8:30-11:30 p.m. Where: Caffe Vivace | Coffee House, Jazz Lounge, 975 E. McMillan St. Price: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Memorial Day Weekend Bash with DJ Scene From the event description: Straight from Las Vegas, DJ Scene is returning to Mount Adams Pavilion this Saturday night. One of the most prolific touring DJs in the United States, Scene is bringing his high energy and unique production to Pavilion's dance floor. DJ Fuseamania will first get the party started at 10 p.m. Join us this Memorial Day weekend for a party you won't forget. When: Saturday, May 25, 10 p.m. Where: Mount Adams Pavilion, 949 Pavilion St. Price: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Up to 51% Off 2019 May Festival Concert From the 2019 May Festival deal description: Music is in full bloom at the May Festival, where Cincinnati plays host to many larger-than-life performances good for everyone, featuring work such as composer Mark Simpsons 'The Immortal' and Bachs 'St. Matthew Passion.' When: Friday, May 24, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 25, at 7 p.m. Where: Cincinnati Music Hall, 1241 Elm St. Price: $28 for Select Seating (51% discount off regular price). More deal options available. Click here for more details, and to nab this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Police in Eldoret have in their custody a lawyer accused of killing his fellow advocate last week. The accused; Abel Mogaka, was arraigned on Wednesday before Eldoret Chief Magistrate Charles Obulutsa. The prosecution requested for 10 days to complete investigations as well as modify the charges against the suspect. Abel Mogaka allegedly stabbed and seriously injured his colleague after a confrontation ensued between them during a party hosted by their fellow advocate on Friday, May 17. However, the victim succumbed on Tuesday, May 21 while receiving treatment at Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret. The prosecution was set to charge Mr Mogaka with stabbing and injuring the deceased. They are now considering preferring murder charges. The motive behind the attack was not immediately established. The court will rule on the two applications today, Thursday, May 23. People really do seem to be buying things with cryptocurrency. Announced today, Coinbase Commerce the exchange unicorns app for online retailers has exceeded $50 million in transactions since launching in February 2018. Volumes really started picking up in Q2 [2019], Justin OBrien, the product lead for Coinbase Commerce, told CoinDesk in a phone call. Theyve been on an upward trend since we launched. Coinbase Now Lets Merchants Accept Payments in USDC Stablecoin Coinbase Commerce allows merchants to easily accept crypto and is built to integrate with existing payment flows. At launch, the product was already integrated with e-commerce giant Shopify. Coinbase Commerce is now also integrated with Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop and WooCommerce. To use Coinbase Commerce, merchants need to set up an account and create a non-custodial wallet for receiving cryptocurrency. At the beginning, OBrien noted, it was a minimum viable product meant for crypto enthusiasts. Now, he said, it should have all the features a merchant could want, which makes adoption easier. Once merchants join the network, he said, they tend to keep their accounts live. While Coinbase Commerce has built an experimental point-of-sale feature, this has really been a product operating in the e-commerce realm. Primarily, its been serving the crypto industry for example, companies providing portfolio management tools or taxation services. Coinbase Records Highest Weekly Ethereum Trading Volume Since 2017 But there are some non-crypto companies joining the network as well. Said OBrien: We have a grocery store in Madagascar thats accepting cryptocurrency with Coinbase Commerce. More coins, more features Payments received via Coinbase Commerce go to the wallet and remain as crypto. In order to shift funds to fiat, merchants need to withdraw the cryptocurrency and sell it. At launch, the service worked with BTC, BCH, LTC and ETH. On Monday, USDC the stablecoin created by Circle and supported by Coinbase was added to the mix. Story continues With its last update, the service is potentially ready to accept any ERC-20 token, OBrien told CoinDesk. In integrating USDC, Coinbase took advantage of a new feature of Ethereums Constantinople upgrade called CREATE2. This improves the trustlessness of Coinbases facilitation of payments between customer and merchant, OBrien explained. A stablecoin gives a merchant a way to accept crypto without the fear of volatility wiping out their income, but OBrien argued that somewhat stable prices for crypto itself have helped spur consumer usage. When there is less volatility, OBrien said, people are more likely to actually spend their cryptocurrency rather than hold onto it. E-commerce has been a recurring theme for the cryptocurrency sector. Stablecoin competitor Terra was initiated by a coalition of Asian e-commerce giants, primarily as a way to curtail credit card fees from eating into very thin margins. Online payments are also seen as a major motivation behind the cryptocurrencies being developed by social media giant Facebook and messaging app Telegram. Coinbase image via Shutterstock Related Stories (John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own) By John Kemp LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Embargoes are rarely effective in compelling a change in diplomatic behavior because they create substantial incentives to circumvent the blockade by switching trade, building indigenous capacity or changing technology. The United States this month announced sweeping restrictions on the purchase of telecommunications equipment from, or the sale of advanced technology to, Huawei as part of the broad-ranging trade dispute with China. Commentators have speculated China could retaliate by restricting exports of rare earths and other critical metals to the United States, and Chinas president this week paid a high-profile visit to a rare-earth processing plant. Neither strategy is likely to work in the longer term, though they may create some short-term disruption for both countries and their companies until supply chains can be re-routed. Experience suggests supply chains and technology are surprisingly flexible, more flexible than observers give them credit for at the time, and supply restrictions are rarely an effective form of diplomatic pressure. CRITICAL TIMBER In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, timber rather than rare earths was a critical raw material, since it was essential for the construction of wooden warships. Britains Royal Navy was totally dependent on imported masts and timber from the forests of New England, Prussia and Russia, since supplies at home were inadequate. The American Revolution and later the Napoleonic wars with France resulted in the interruption of supplies from both regions (Forests and Sea Power: The Timber Problem of the Royal Navy, Albion, 1926). The rebellious New England colonies promptly cut off exports of the great trees needed to make masts, and Napoleons administration embargoed shipments of naval timber and other supplies from Prussia and Russia. Contemporaries worried the navys fighting ability would be crippled by the lack of timber to construct new ships and repair vessels damaged by storms and enemy action, leaving the homeland open to the threat of invasion. Story continues In the event, however, the navy developed alternative supplies in Canada, the Adriatic, and eventually further afield from India. Even far-away New Zealand became a focus for possible acquisition of naval masts (Murihiku: A History of the South Island of New Zealand McNab, 1909). More timber was smuggled to Britain from territories meant to be under the Napoleonic embargo through a system of middlemen and secret agents, relying on bribery, corruption, fake invoices and false manifests. Later in the Napoleonic wars, timber supplies were offered from Jamaica, Brazil, Guiana, Honduras and Sierra Leone, though in most cases they were rejected as inferior or unnecessary. To alleviate shortages at home, some naval construction was moved from dockyards at home to Indias Malabar Coast. And Britains own domestic timber supplies, allegedly exhausted, proved surprisingly responsive to the demand - once prices rose sufficiently to incentivise the gentry to allow their prized oaks to be cut down. FAILED EMBARGOES More recent embargoes on exports or imports have rarely succeeded in forcing a change in strategic behavior because supply chains have proved surprisingly adaptable. Wartime Germany and apartheid South Africa both responded to actual or threatened disruption of oil supplies by developing the production of synthetic liquid fuels from domestic coal ("Hell's Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine," Jeffreys, 2010). Sanctions on oil exports from Iraq in the 1990s failed to remove or contain the threat from Saddam Hussein to the satisfaction of the United States, which ultimately invaded the country in 2003. Multilateral sanctions on oil exports from Iran between 2012 and 2015 and bilateral sanctions on trade between the United States and Iran since 1979 have failed to obtain their (often unclear) objectives. U.S./EU sanctions on Russia have not forced Moscow to withdraw from the Crimea peninsula and territories occupied in eastern Ukraine. And multilateral sanctions on North Korea have not (yet?) compelled the government to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology. SUPPLY FLEXIBILITY Sanctions applied between the United States and China are unlikely to prove any more successful in forcing either side to change its strategic behavior. Both countries are likely to innovate around them. The United States is likely to develop alternative sources of critical minerals from friendly countries such as Australia and domestic resources, including the abandoned Mountain Pass mine and processing facility in California. U.S. manufacturers and retailers will likely re-orient their supply chains for a range of other items away from China by shifting production to other countries in Southeast Asia or Mexico. China, too, is likely to indigenise the supply chain for its computer and telecommunications systems by developing its own domestic chipmaking equipment and computer operating systems. China will also diversify its raw materials away from the United States, buying soybeans from Latin America and developing alternative sources of oil and natural gas at home or in neutral third countries such as Qatar and Russia. In time, China will also develop alternative financial and payments systems that by-pass the U.S. dollar and strategic vulnerabilities such as the SWIFT system. Some observers claim such re-orientation of supply chains will prove very difficult if not impossible, but they are likely overestimating the difficulty. Britains traditional naval shipbuilders insisted only English oak was good enough to build warships and masts had to come from New England, other sources were too inferior. When necessity forced a change, however, it turned out that Indian teak and Canadian pines were just as good if not better for construction and masts. Indian shipyards proved just as capable as the royal yards at Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. Given sufficient financial and strategic incentive, U.S. supply chains will shift away from China, and China will develop its own fully indigenous computer industry and alternative sources of farm products and raw materials. Re-orienting supply chains will impose severe disruption for both countries and will destroy a substantial amount of wealth as previous investments are stranded and abandoned. Economic costs will be high, and there will be losers as well as winner, but supply chains will adjust. History suggests neither the United States nor China will be able fundamentally to change the others strategic behavior through trade embargoes. (Editing by Jon Boyle) (The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.) By Mark Miller CHICAGO, May 23 (Reuters) - Why does the word old come to mind for so many of us when the topic of Social Security comes up? Retirement benefits are the biggest component of Social Security. But the program also is very important for disabled people of all ages, as well as surviving children and spouses of deceased beneficiaries. And perhaps most important, todays young people will need Social Security every bit as much as todays retirees and near-retirees - and probably more so if current economic trends persist. Yet many young people have been conditioned to think they should not count on Social Security to be there when their time to retire rolls around. That is not surprising, considering the negative, often false propaganda uttered by politicians hostile to Social Security and the financial services industry, and misleading media coverage. The danger here is that the current high level of worry over Social Securitys viability could become self-fulfilling if it erodes political support. That would be especially damaging for young people when they retire, argues Peter Arno, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a scholar of both Social Security and health policy. Arno points to four trends that suggest millennials will need to rely to a much greater extent on Social Security than current retirees and those approaching retirement now. Millennials will be far less likely to receive retirement income from defined benefit pensions, and they have lower rates of home ownership than earlier generations. And, wage stagnation and crippling levels of student debt make it impossible for many to save for retirement. If you add up all these factors, you have a constellation of things that will make it very difficult for young people down the road, he said. Thats why Social Security is crucially important for both this generation and younger people. Joining forces between older folks in the boomer generation and the millennial generation offers a tremendous strategic opportunity to bolster the long-term stability of Social Security. Story continues Politicians routinely claim that Social Security is going bankrupt and that its shortfalls drive the national deficit - neither is true. I often hear so-called experts from the financial services industry advise people to count on receiving only part of their future benefits. Good luck with that - just try running the numbers with only half of your projected Social Security benefits, and you will watch your plan collapse right there on your computer screen. Much of the media coverage of the annual report of the Social Security trustees also is atrocious. Just this past April, the reports release set off the predictable wave of erroneous headlines and broadcast reports stating that Social Security is running out of money, describing its depleted funds and advising people on how to prepare for a future retirement without their expected benefits. Riddle me this: in what way is a program with a cumulative surplus of $2.9 trillion running out of money? The trustee report shows Social Security is fully funded until 2035, and 93 percent funded for the next 25 years. Yes, there is a funding problem: absent other changes, the combined retirement and disability trust funds will be empty in 2035. At that point, current revenue would be sufficient to pay about 80 percent of schedule benefits. The ensuing across-the-board benefit cut would be very damaging for retirees and workers, but it seems a highly unlikely outcome from a political standpoint, considering the strong public support Social Security enjoys. The shortfall is due to two factors: the falling ratio of workers paying into the system compared with expected retirees, and rising income inequality, which has pushed an increasing share of wages outside the payroll tax base. A straightforward, middle-of-the-road solution is available, and making its way through the House of Representatives now. The Social Security 2100 Act puts Social Security back into balance over the next 75 years by raising payroll tax rates so gradually that few would notice - one-tenth of 1 percent per year - and by adding new payroll taxes to wages over $400,000; currently, tax collection stops at $132,900 of annual income. (https://reut.rs/2HJwldz). WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE Nonetheless, the public continues to worry about Social Securitys future. According to Gallup survey data (https://bit.ly/2HTLuIn), 73 percent of Americans aged 55 or older worry about the Social Security system "a great deal" or "a fair amount." Among people age 35-54, the figure is 67 percent; among those 18-34, it is 59 percent. Arno argues we now have a historic opportunity to unite boomers and millennials in support of strengthening Social Security. In a provocative article that he co-authored recently in the American Prospect (https://bit.ly/2WeWJC2), Arno takes on the root causes of the cynicism so many young people have today about Social Security and argues that Social Security should be a centerpiece policy issue for anyone interested in civil rights and social justice. Social Security is the most successful anti-poverty policy in the history of the United States, Arno said. And this is not true just for seniors, but across the entire life cycle and the entire population. It reduces more poverty for children than any other policy, more poverty for working adults and more poverty for seniors. So it's an intergenerational antipoverty program." The programs impact is especially profound for people of color and women, he adds, noting that wage disparities create economic disadvantage that persists in retirement. This is an intergenerational justice issue," he said. "Intergenerational in the sense that it affects all generations, not just seniors, but everyone that's working and families and kids. Thats why I want to get folks to not see Social Security exclusively as a seniors issue. You can hear a longer conversation that I had recently with Arno about Social Security on my podcast. (https://bit.ly/2YH2Htc). (Reporting and writing by Mark Miller in Chicago Editing by Matthew Lewis) WASHINGTON The Justice Department agreed Wednesday to provide a House committee with intelligence files from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The compromise with the House Intelligence Committee represented a rare example of cooperation during a period of tension and multiple investigations of the Trump administration by Congress. The House Judiciary Committee found Attorney General William Barr in contempt this month for defying a subpoena for all redacted parts of the Mueller report and millions of pages of evidence underlying the report. Former White House counsel Don McGahn defied a subpoena Tuesday to testify to the Judiciary Committee. While some of the same lawmakers serve on both committees, the panels serve different functions. The compromise Wednesday came the same day the intelligence committee scheduled a meeting to enforce its subpoena, but reflected how disputes between the executive and legislative branches are usually resolved through negotiations. The chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the Justice Department agreed to begin turning over 12 categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials by the end of next week, with more documents to follow in the future. Schiff said the subpoena will remain in effect and enforcement proceedings could be revived if the department fails to comply. The department has repeatedly acknowledged the committees legitimate oversight interest in these materials, Schiff said. I look forward to, and expect, continued compliance by the department so we can do our vital oversight work. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd had written Schiff on Tuesday saying that the department was identifying, locating and reviewing the materials in the 12 categories that the committee requested, but that taking enforcement action could slow down the process. Boyd noted that the documents requested in the committees subpoena were voluminous and sensitive. Story continues Notwithstanding the concerns expressed above, the department is willing to work with the committee on a reasonable and realistic process to accommodate its request for information pertaining to counterintelligence and foreign-intelligence activities related to the special counsels investigation, Boyd wrote. More on House investigations of Trump investigation: Pelosi is trying to rein in enthusiasm for a Trump impeachment as Democrat outrage grows After months clamoring for Mueller's findings, Congress weighs what's next. First, a subpoena for everything 'Slow-motion constitutional car crash': Trump, Congress battle over investigations with no end in sight DOJ defends AG Barr's handling of Trump, Russia conclusions; lawmakers expect Mueller to testify This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In compromise, Justice Department will reveal intelligence files from Mueller probe to House committee By Tom Miles GENEVA, May 22 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo called on Wednesday for Merck's experimental Ebola vaccine to be fully licensed to facilitate its use in the Ebola-hit country, while saying Johnson & Johnson's rival drug would complicate matters. Both vaccines are experimental drugs that can be used under strictly controlled research protocols but Merck's has been used throughout the outbreak and has proven highly effective, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. Congolese Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga told reporters in Geneva that the government would roll out a "geographic ring" vaccination strategy in the coming days. "You do not only vaccinate the people in the household," he said. "You have to consider the household as the case and then vaccinate all the households around the case." The virus has killed 1,223 of the 1,847 people who have fallen ill, making it the second-worst Ebola outbreak on record. The new approach aims to protect people in an area where a new Ebola case is reported, irrespective of whether they have a known risk of contact with the patient, as is the case in the current "ring vaccination" approach. "Somehow we have to catch up with the outbreak and break the transmission chain very quickly," Ilunga said, adding that the new approach had already been used in a few remote villages. He preferred to use just one vaccine. "It would perturb the population to be faced with several different types of vaccines and that would muddle the message, and, as you know in a complex outbreak response, the message needs to be simple and clear, he said. Merck's vaccine should be fully licensed as soon as possible to make it easier to use, he said. "You must realize that all the 100,000 patients have been vaccinated according to a very strict protocol, with compliance, information, consent and so on, so it was not easy. If the vaccine is licensed, it would be easier. Merck's licensing process is underway but it was unclear how long it would take, he said. Congo's government had not discussed or requested the introduction of J&J's vaccine. Earlier this month, experts advising the World Health Organization recommended a dramatic expansion of vaccination, as well as introduction of the J&J treatment and a revised dosage of the Merck vaccine to ensure supplies last longer. [nL5N22J7M7 (Reporting by Tom Miles Editing by Mark Heinrich) Gandhi concedes the election at a press conference in New Delhi - AFP The Indian National Congress Party went from understated optimism to shellshocked defeat within the space of a few hours on Thursday as Narendra Modi and his party celebrated another landslide victory. For the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, the performance by his party was nothing short of a humiliation, with several members of his own party demanding he step down and lay the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to rest for good. Mr Gandhi suffered the sting of losing the iconic seat of his family homestead in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, which he had held since 2004 and was controlled by his father before him. He won in his second constituency candidates can run from two in India but the symbolism of the defeat was one from which he may never recover. Modi vowed to build an 'inclusive' India after a first term marred by accusations of fomenting religious hatred Credit: AFP At a brief press conference as the results were still coming in, Mr Gandhi congratulated Mr Modi and said the people are king and they have directed that the BJP and Modi have won this election. He added: I don't want to get into what went wrong today, this is not the time for that. I fully respect the Indian people's decision. During the briefing he also conceded defeat in the Amethi election and congratulated his opponent Smriti Irani, of the BJP, who was more than 28,000 votes ahead at the time. Congress party officials did not return calls by The Telegraph but there were widespread reports in Indian media that the party had wildly miscalculated the margin of any potential loss with its internal polling, and now all that was left was to call for its talisman's head. If they want to change anything, change the leadership, a Congress official in Rajasthan told Reuters, referring to Mr Gandhi and the party's high command. You need to give young people a chance. However Mr Gandhi, 48, will probably not face an immediate leadership challenge as India's establishment party does some soul searching after an inglorious defeat. Story continues Some reports claimed Mr Gandhi had offered to resign. According to sources, Sonia Gandhi and senior Congress leaders advised him to bring up the matter before the party forum, reported India Today TV. The CWC (Congress Working Committee) will meet in a week in which the proposal will be discussed, it added. Ironically the youthful pretender had grown into his role as leader in the past 18 months after previously being seen as a reluctant heir to his political lineage which stretched back to India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He campaigned vigorously and was not shy on calling out Mr Modi on the economy, national security, Hindu nationalism and women's rights. After a while the media started to take notice. However behind the scenes his inability to foster good relations with a host of regional party leaders that could have generated a tenable anti-Modi alliance may have damaged his chances. "The BJP fought these elections on the basis of social and religious divisive policies and the agenda was set by them on this basis," said Atul Kumar Anjaan, national secretary of the Communist Party of India, a potential ally. "But more significant is the fact that the unity of the opposition has been damaged by the Congress. The policies and decisions of Rahul Gandhi has weakened opposition unity, led to divisions and opened the doors for Modi's victory. Congress has ruled India for most of its history since independence from Britain in 1947, and boasts three prime ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi clan. But its weak performance in the last two elections seems to suggest it needs a drastic change of direction to take on someone with Mr Modi's political savvy. South Africa: SA attends WTO ministers' meeting Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies will today attend an informal meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministers in France. The aim of the informal gathering of WTO Ministers is to exchange views and ideas on possible outcomes for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) that will take place in June 2020 in Kazakhstan. The informal gathering will bring together Ministers from developed and developing countries from all the different regions, said the Department of Trade and Industry (dti). The Minister is attending Thursdays meeting on the sidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting, which got underway on Wednesday. The WTO Ministers informal meeting will discuss in particular WTO reforms and negotiate outcomes in preparation for MC12, as well as how to narrow the differences in the fishery subsidies negotiations. Our view is that the reform of the WTO should fundamentally be about reform for development and inclusivity, said Davies. The MC12 is the topmost decision-making body of the WTO and usually meets every two years. The last WTO MC meeting took place in December 2017 in Buenos Ares, Argentina. The informal gathering of the WTO Ministers in Paris follows a WTO Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries, which took place on 13 - 14 May 2019 in New Delhi, India. The meeting adopted an outcomes ministerial document titled Working Collectively to strengthening the WTO to promote development and inclusivity. It also committed to work collectively with the aim of developing proposals to ensure that the interests of developing countries are reflected in the WTO reform process. SA-France relations Meanwhile, Davies on Wednesday addressed a meeting of the France-South Africa Business Council. France is the 13th largest foreign investor in South Africa, with 28 French companies invested in the country. A total of 28 companies from France invested in South Africa between January 2013 and September 2018, representing a total capital investment of R15 848.57 billion during this period. A total of 32 Foreign Direct Investment projects were recorded during this period, with an average investment of R495.03 billion per project, which created a total of 4 209 jobs, said Davies. South Africas import basket from France is dominated by machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers, aircrafts such as helicopters and aeroplanes, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery as well as motor vehicles. South Africas export basket is dominated by motor vehicles, mineral fuels, as well as parts and components for the aerospace sector. Other exports include food and beverages. France is South Africas largest market for avocado pears. - SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Bill Chizek/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. Central Command is requesting additional defensive capabilities that could lead to as many as 5,000 to 10,000 additional troops being sent to the Middle East to deter Iran, a U.S. official told ABC News. There will be a meeting at the White House on Thursday where the Central Command request will be considered, according to two U.S. officials, who stressed that it is unclear which portions of the CENTCOM request could be approved at this White House meeting. The U.S. official said that defensive capabilities and weapons systems are being requested, and the number of additional forces will depend on which capabilities are approved. The CENTCOM request has been in the works for some time, the U.S. official said. There are currently 60,000 to 80,000 U.S. troops serving in the Middle East including 14,000 in Afghanistan, 5,000 in Iraq, 2,000 in Syria, 10,000 in Kuwait, 10,000 in Qatar and thousands more at sea and elsewhere in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford briefed the House and Senate Tuesday on President Donald Trump's Iran strategy, including recent intelligence of an increased Iranian threat and the U.S. reaction to it, the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers and the ordered departure of non-emergency personnel from Iraq. After hearing from the officials, Democratic lawmakers expressed alarm over the administration's posture in the Middle East and the possibility of a conflict with Iran. Additional defensive capabilities could include additional Patriot anti-missile batteries like the one already deployed to an unspecified location in the Middle East to deter Iran. CENTCOM could also be requesting additional U.S. Navy ships to the region beyond the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group and the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Group that are currently in the North Arabian Sea. But it's unclear when additional ships could arrive in the region. Two weeks ago, the Pentagon announced that the USS Arlington would be headed to the Middle East to swap out with another ship, but that has yet to occur as the Arlington is currently in Spain. The new CENTCOM request for additional defensive capabilities and forces comes as Shanahan said on Tuesday that the threat of Iranian attacks against U.S. forces had been put "on hold." U.S. officials said the Iranian threat to U.S. forces continues even as Iran has pulled back some weapons systems. Two U.S. officials said that Iran has removed cruise missiles from two civilian dhows that posed a risk to U.S. Navy ships, commercial ships and land targets. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. A look at todays top stories. A look inside Huawei, Chinas tech giant The Chinese company Huawei is one of the giants of the tech industry. Its the worlds largest provider of telecommunications equipment, a leader in next-generation 5G technology, and last year it passed Apple to become the second-biggest smartphone seller in the world. But to many, especially in the West, theres still an air of mystery around it. The Congress-White House fight pauses for Pelosi and Trump to meet Everything in Washington comes down to this: Its House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vs. President Donald Trump. Japan wants you to say its leaders name correctly: Abe Shinzo Japan has a polite request for the world: Stop saying our names wrong. US intercepts Russian bombers, fighter jets off the coast of Alaska US F-22 stealth jets intercepted four Russian bombers and two Russian Su-35 fighter jets off the coast of Alaska on Monday, according to a statement from North American Aerospace Defense Command. North Korea derides US presidential candidate Joe Biden as a fool of low IQ North Korean state media has launched a stinging attack on the former United States vice president and current presidential candidate, Joe Biden, mocking him as a fool of low IQ. Ex-WWE star Ashley Massaros brain could be donated to research Ashley Massaro, ex-WWE star and Survivor contestant, might have her brain donated to science. Massaros lawyer said she wanted her brain donated to research to see if there are signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. French widow sues Boeing for $276 million over Ethiopian Airlines crash A French widow has filed a lawsuit against US aircraft manufacturer Boeing for $276 million in damages over the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 in March, which killed all 157 people on board including her husband. Henrikh Mkhitaryan absence from showpiece final shames UEFA Arsenal and Chelsea should boycott the Europa League final Nine days before their season-defining Europa League final clash with rivals Chelsea in Baku, Arsenals preparations suffered a not insignificant setback. Finding the ship lost for more than 300 years BBC Reel The Vasa set sail in 1628 and sank after two hours. The former Swedish military vessel would lay buried under the sea until 1961, when it was found and was brought to the surface. Chinas top airlines demand Boeing payouts Chinas three biggest airlines are demanding compensation from Boeing over its grounded 737 Max fleet. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern have filed claims for payouts, according to state media reports. Chinas regulator was the first to ground the fleet in the wake of two deadly crashes involving the US-made aircraft. Do you know what an REO is? An Oreo? One is a real estate term. The other is a cookie. US Housing Secretary Ben Carson got them mixed up. Amazon set for facial recognition revolt Opposition to Amazons sale of its facial recognition technology to US police forces is set to come to a head at its annual general meeting on Wednesday. Shareholders will vote twice on the matter. First, over whether the company should stop offering its Rekognition system to government agencies. How Disney found its new Aladdin You might think the lead character in Aladdin is well, Aladdin. But not according to the end credits of Disneys new live-action remake. Unlike the animated 1992 original, the genie is the first name seen in the new cast list which is understandable given that Will Smith is the biggest name in the project by some distance. Google stored some users passwords in plain text for years Google has revealed it had left some business users passwords exposed in plain text. In a blog post on Tuesday, the tech giant said it had discovered the issue in Googles popular enterprise product, G Suite, back in January. Tesla hires the absolute unit meme guy to run its social media Tesla has reportedly hired Adam Koszary, the man responsible for the absolute unit meme, as its new social media manager. Koszary, who used to work as the program manager for the Museum of English Rural Life, is known for tweeting a photo of a large ram from the museums account in April 2018. Kit Harington, Sophie Turner respond to critics of Game of Thrones finale Game of Thrones actors Kit Harington and Sophie Turner are responding to criticism on the HBO shows ending. Heres the best reaction to Robert F. Smith paying off the student debt at Morehouse Billionaire investor Robert F. Smith, this years commencement speaker at Morehouse College, revealed Sunday that he would pay student loan debt in full for the schools entire graduating class. This was huge news for grads, many of whom were leaving school with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt. Bronn from Game of Thrones is now a cryptocurrency advisor Spoilers for the finale of Game of Thrones follow. Westeros apparently has quite the financially forward-thinking Master of Coin on its new small council! On Game of Thrones, actor Jerome Flynn played mercenary-turned-nobleman Ser Bronn of the Blackwater, whose only true north was gettin that money. Every Facebook insider who has turned against the company Some of the people who were once Facebooks most powerful executives and allies are publicly breaking up with the social network. When Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes dropped a New York Times op-ed calling for the breakup of Facebook, it prompted a terse response from the company. San Jose (AFP) - Costa Rica announced on Thursday a reduction in murders and an increase in the confiscation of illegal weapons as it put into force a law that tightens gun controls. "Up to today we've had 201 murders in the country, which sounds like a lot but if we compare it to last year, we have 47 less," Security Minister Michael Soto said at a ceremony in the capital San Jose. "This is great progress," he said, adding that 67 percent of murders are committed with firearms. The security ministry has seized 863 guns so far this year, 34 more than in the same period last year. "These weapons can take someone's life, they can be used in a crime against property," said Soto. The Central American country saw a spike in its murder rate between 2012 and 2017, reaching 12.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the police. That number dropped slightly to 11.7 in 2018 but that was still more than twice the global average of 5.3 in 2015, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. However, it is considerably lower than the 2017 average of 22 in Latin America and the Caribbean, the most violent region in the world according to an Inter-American Development Bank study from last year. Soto spoke at a ceremony in which new gun control laws came into effect that increase punishments for the illegal purchase of a weapon and for individuals or businesses that fail to report the theft or loss of a firearm. "Every effort made to regulate or educate in relation to gun control is a victory for our society," said President Carlos Alvarado. The pace of court review of President Trumps resistance to handing over his financial records to Congress quickened on Wednesday, as a second federal judge refused to protect those documents from disclosure and lawyers in a separate case moved to put that one on a fast appeal track. In a U.S. District Court in New York City, Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled promptly during a hearing on the Trump legal teams plea seeking to block enforcement of a subpoena from the House Financial Services Committee for Trump financial records held by Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Corp. As the hearing unfolded, the judge told the lawyers he was not going to block the committees demand, and then after the hearing quickly issued a one-page order refusing a temporary order against enforcement of the subpoena. He also refused to delay his ruling to allow the President, three of his children and several of his companies to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The order did not spell out his reasoning further. The judge also turned aside a request by the House committee to rule, at the same time, in a final way on the validity of the subpoena. That meant that the case could move on toward a trial in Judge Ramoss court unless the Trump team gets the Second Circuit Court to order a delay. Absent such a delay, the bank records would have to be turned over. The New York judge was the second federal jurist this week to rule against the President and his associates in their resistance to congressional subpoenas. On Monday, District Judge Amit P. Mehta of Washington, D.C., ruled in a final way, upholding a subpoena to an accounting firm for the Trump companies to hand over financial records to the House Oversight Committee. Judge Mehtas ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. On Wednesday, the two sides in that dispute filed a formal request that the appeal be put on an expedited schedule, with written legal arguments to be completed by July 12, with a hearing by a Circuit Court panel soon after that date. Story continues The two sides told the Circuit Court that they had agreed that, if the court granted the plea to expedite the review, the House committee would not seek to enforce its subpoena while the appeal unfolds. The accounting firm, Mazars USA LLP, agreed to continue collecting the records but not to turn them over during the appeal. If the Circuit Court declines the motion to expedite, the Trump team said it would file a prompt request to put Judge Mehtas ruling on hold during an appeal and the House committee said it would not try to enforce its subpoena until the delay request was decided by the court. The joint document did not mention the possibility that the case could be moved on to the Supreme Court, leaving at least the temporary implication that both sides are willing to await the D.C. Circuits review before moving on up the chain of the federal courts. However, it is expected that the constitutional issues are of such importance that this case or some other will eventually reach the Justices for a final ruling. With the Washington case continuing into the summer, any pursuit of the case to the Supreme Court would reach the Justices during their summer recess. However, they would be able to act on it, at least in a temporary way, despite being absent from Washington. The congressional committees demands for financial records of the President, his family and their business firms grow, in part, out of congressional testimony by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen that Trump routinely manipulated those records in order to enhance his chances for bank loans or to reduce his tax obligations. The committees insist that they need the records to help decide whether any new federal laws are needed, especially on the financial ties of a President. The President and his associates continue to argue, in various forums, that the congressional investigations are not being carried out in pursuit of any legitimate legislative purpose, but are simply political gestures to harm the President and impair his service in the White House. Lyle Denniston has been writing about the Supreme Court since 1958. His work has appeared here since mid-2011. How to Craigslist: 11 Tips on Selling Your Stuff If you still have unpacked boxes sitting around from your last move two years ago, chances are you dont need or want whatevers inside them. Craigslist is a platform for selling everything from bikes to cameras to cars. And it's all cash-only no credit cards. Whether you just want to declutter or fund a well-deserved vacation, there are buyers who are eager to make your trash their treasure. Here are 11 tips for selling quickly and getting the best price. 1. Take inventory trekandshoot / Shutterstock Take a look at all those boxes in the garage. You may think you dont have anything worth selling, but ransacking your own place can be eye-opening. Go through your closets, drawers, boxes, garage, and attic. People buy baby supplies, small appliances, car parts, musical instruments, sporting goods, tires, tools, and video games. The founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark, has described himself as a know-it-all nerd, so its no surprise that lots of technology is traded on the site. You will find a lot of stuff to sell and potentially use the proceeds to fill your savings account. You cant sell weapons or fireworks on Craigslist. Other prohibited items include recalled products, items whose serial numbers have been removed or altered, and unpackaged cosmetics. 2. Verify that your post is free Hamza Habib Photography / Shutterstock Things like couches or guitars are free to sell. Almost all ads for tangible items are free. However, the handful of categories that Craigslist does charge for generated just over $1 billion in revenue in 2018, according to consulting firm the AIM Group. Categories that are not free include services, jobs, temporary gigs, furniture dealerships, vehicle dealerships and brokered apartments in New York City. Ads for cars and trucks for sale by owner used to be free, but theres now a $5 charge. If youre selling tutoring or dog-sitting services, expect to pay a low fee. If youre an individual selling a sofa, a saxophone or an inflatable Santa, you wont pay a cent. 3. Price it right Vitaliy Kyrychuk / Shutterstock You won't get too much for old, junk, TVs. Theres a science to selling on Craigslist, and a little research goes a long way. Story continues Obviously, a used item wont fetch as much as a new one. Condition is crucial, especially when it comes to things like furniture, toys and clothes. You wont get much for outdated technology, such as a 10-year-old TV, even if its in great condition. Browse Craigslist and similar selling platforms to see what your item is going for. Price yours a tad higher to leave wiggle room for negotiation. If you go too low, people will assume somethings wrong with the item. 4. Clean it up SpeedKingz / Shutterstock Make sure to clean a car before listing it. Ads without pictures are usually ignored, so it pays to put your merchandise in its best light. Craigslist can boast in excess of 400 million visits per month, according to SimilarWeb. Even so, no ones going to buy a grimy stroller with a wobbly wheel if theres one that looks practically new two ads down. Whatever youre selling, remove all dust, dirt and grime. If its a car, consider having it detailed before you post. If its a bike, make necessary repairs, inflate the tires, and shine it up. 5. Do a bang-up marketing job Motortion Films / Shutterstock Don't take pictures when there's a mess in the background. Realtors stage homes to get the best price, and you should take the same approach. If possible, clear the area around the item youre selling before you take photographs. Unmade beds, moving boxes and toddlers are distracting. Photograph in a brightly lit area. Shoot the item from various angles, and get plenty of close-ups. You might add a ruler or an ordinary object, like a penny, to give shoppers a feel for size. If youve described a flaw in your ad, be sure to show it. Take pictures of everything youre including such as instructions for assembly, accessories and batteries. 6. Choose the right category and region Casimiro PT / Shutterstock Pick the right region and category for your listing. On first glance, the furniture category may seem like the best place to list an art deco armoire. The antiques category is actually a better choice. There will be more browsers in the market for something like that, and youre more likely to get a fair price. Choose your state and city from the Craigslist drop-down menu. Large cities are broken down by area, so you can choose one or more neighborhoods in which to post. If youre willing to ship small items, you can broaden your selling area. 7. Create the perfect ad Craiglist There will be quite a few listings to compete with, so make sure to have an attention-grabbing headline. Start with an attention-grabbing headline that contains as much information as possible: Binoculars, Nikon 8252 Aculon A211 Zoom, Like New. Use relevant keywords or phrases like low mileage or never opened. Even humor is a good selling tool. The ad itself can expound on features, which are best listed in bullet-point format. Name the price last to increase your chances of having the entire description read. Be completely honest in your description and images. Any deal you make will fall through if theres damage or wear and tear that you failed to mention. 8. Time it right Craiglist Listing christmas stuff during the off-season won't pay off. Common sense tells you its best to list a set of Christmas china around mid-November. Otherwise, timing is largely trial and error. If your ads are free, you could post similar ones on different days and in various time slots to see when you get the most responses. If youre downsizing to a smaller home and have several large items to sell, start listing them at least two months in advance. You can drop the price a little each week until they sell. That way, you wont be forced to take low last-minute offers. 9. Manage your post HowTech/YouTube You can manage your ads through your account dashboard. Youll receive a confirmation email from Craigslist, and your ad wont appear until you activate it using the link. Dont delete the email; you can add to your listing, make edits or repost it directly from your inbox. Create an account on the website. Craigslist will assign an anonymous email account to protect your privacy and forward responses to you. Your dashboard will show at a glance the status of your ad. If you dont get many nibbles the first time around, tweak and repost your ad. Just mind the rules against spamming or posting an identical ad within 48 hours. 10. Know when to negotiate ALPA PROD / Shutterstock Don't accept haggling on-site. If your price is firm, say so. That will weed out most bargain basement shoppers. Give your item a chance to sell at the posted price before you lower it. If you get an offer within the first hour, for example, tell the interested party that youll get back to them if the item hasnt sold within a certain time frame. Dont drop your price at the point of sale. People who have gone to the trouble of withdrawing cash and driving to a meeting place almost always intend to buy. Just politely remind last-minute hagglers that they agreed to your price. 11. Play it safe Wikimedia Commons Meet somewhere safe, like a police station parking lot. Any site that gets heavy traffic especially one in which users can remain anonymous is bound to attract some bad apples. Dont accept checks or potentially fake money orders. If possible, meet buyers in safe public places like the police station parking lot. If a buyer must pick up a large item, such as a sectional sofa, move it into your driveway or garage beforehand. Keep valuables out of sight. By all accounts, Craig Newmark is a nice guy who is well-known for philanthropy and civic engagement. Hes put safeguards in place to protect users, but sometimes you have to trust your instincts. MOSCOW, May 23 (Reuters) - A Danish adherent of the Jehovah's Witnesses jailed for six years in Russia after being found guilty of organizing a banned extremist group lost his court appeal on Thursday, a spokesman for the group said. Armed police detained Dennis Christensen, a builder, in May 2017 at a prayer meeting in Oryol, some 200 miles (320 km) south of Moscow after a court in the region outlawed the local Jehovah's Witnesses a year earlier. A Russian court in February jailed him for six years in a case critics condemn as crushing religious freedom. On Thursday, a court in Oryol ruled on his appeal. "The three-judge panel denied the appeal and upheld the six-year sentence he received in February," Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Jarrod Lopes said in a statement. Lopes said 197 Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia were facing criminal charges, and that 28 men and women among them were being held in pretrial detention and 24 were under house arrest. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn Editing by Tom Balmforth) Governor Anne Waiguru could well be part of the next Kenyan government as Deputy President. The Kirinyaga County governor says she has received two offers to become a presidential running mate in the 2022 polls. While she did not disclose from whom the offers came, Waiguru said she is considering the proposals. The former Devolution Cabinet Secretary said she will make an announcement at an appropriate time. I have at least two offers for the deputy president position, but it is not the right time to name the parties, she said in an interview with the Nation. The County Chief said she believes the ruling Jubilee Party will retain Kenyas instruments of power. She also sees herself playing a crucial role in Mt Kenya politics to make this happen. The Council of Governors vice chairperson added she will ensure Mt Kenya region gets an equitable share of government resources. I see my role as making sure counties that make up Mt Kenya get their rightful place in the next government. We dont want a boardroom appointee to lead the region, but rather a person who is the choice of the people, she said. Waiguru also supported the push for a referendum saying the current system failed to live up to expectation. The referendum should resolve the national leadership issues. We thought that the presidential system would resolve the issues of representation but this has not happened. Kafr Aweid (Syria) (AFP) - Syrian government aircraft bombed several towns in northwestern Syria on Thursday killing eight civilians as troops and militia battled jihadists on the ground, a monitor said. The new bombardment of the largely jihadist-controlled region of Idlib followed strikes on Tuesday night and Wednesday that killed 23 civilians, 12 of them at a busy market. In the Idlib town of Kafr Aweid, airstrikes on Thursday blew in the facades of buildings, littering their interiors with mounds of rubble, an AFP photographer reported. Two young girls were killed in airstrikes on the town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An AFP photographer saw a young boy running barefoot from the site of a blast covered in dust -- his eyes filled with tears, and spatters of blood visible on his feet. In neighbouring Hama province, Syrian troops battled for a third straight day to repel a jihadist counterattack around the town of Kafr Nabuda, leaving 17 combatants dead, 11 of them jihadists, the Observatory said. Syrian government forces retook the town on May 8 but the jihadists seized most of it back on Wednesday, the Britain-based war monitor said. More than 100 combatants have been killed in the fighting around Kafr Nabuda since Tuesday. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, controls much of Idlib as well as adjacent slivers of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. The jihadist-dominated region is nominally protected by a buffer zone deal, but the government and its ally Russia have escalated their bombardment in recent weeks, seizing several towns on its southern flank. The United Nations has warned that an all-out offensive on the Idlib region would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for its nearly thee million residents. More than 200,000 people have already been displaced by an upsurge of violence since April 28, the UN has said. A total of 20 health facilities have been hit by the escalation -- 19 of which remain out of service, according to the UN. A blockchain startup is bringing the fight for free speech to the domain level. Unstoppable Domains announced Thursday a $4 million Series A led by venture capital firm Draper Associates. Boost VC, which led the startups seed round, was the only other participant in the Series A. For global free speech to work, you need to be able to say what you want and you need to be able to operate a business as you want, Unstoppable Domains co-founder Brad Kam told CoinDesk. PepsiCo Blockchain Trial Brings 28% Boost in Supply Chain Efficiency By operating a decentralized domain registry, Unstoppable Domains claims to offer websites that cant be taken down by government authorities or traditional domain providers. The issue of domain registrars booting objectionable platforms surged into public view after GoDaddy removed social network Gab following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting last October. In the old world, GoDaddy is the custodian, Kam said. In this world, you control the domain yourself and no one can take it from you. When asked if censorship-resistant websites may offer a safe haven for toxic content or illegal use cases, Kam said: Similar comments were made about bitcoin early on as well. The reality is the nefarious purposes are not the main purposes. New Exchange Claims It Can Tokenize Shares of AirBnb, Uber, SpaceX Users of the service control their own .zil domains, which are stored in a wallet, just like a cryptocurrency. The service is built on the Zilliqa blockchain and the website content itself is stored on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) or other decentralized storage networks, according to the company. Importantly, Unstoppables .zil domains can also serve as human-readable addresses for accepting a variety of cryptocurrency payments. Unstoppable in the short term is solving the largest crypto UI problem, creating human-readable addresses, and, long-term, providing the toolset for creating and maintaining uncensorable websites, Boost VC partner Brayton Williams told CoinDesk. The way all companies have traditional website domains today, all individuals will have unique blockchain domains in the future for all info and payments. Story continues The San Francisco-based company was previously funded by the Boost-led $730,000 seed round in December 2018, as well as grants from the Ethereum Foundation (as BrowsEth) and the Zilliqa Foundation. The partnership with Zilliqa led to the creation of the .zil domain extension, which is set to go live after a domain auction in June. By decentralizing domain names, Unstoppable Domains has the potential to spread free speech around the world, Tim Draper, managing partner of Draper Associates, said in a statement. Kam said the company could potentially offer more domain extensions in the future, though currently .zil is the only one available. The companys website offers regular .zil domains for $10 and premium domains for $250. Kam declined to share current user numbers. Added Boosts Williams: The Unstoppable team has proven their ability to ship quality product that has closed contracts with partners and generated significant revenue. CEO Matthew Gould and CTO Braden Pezeshki photo via Unstoppable Domains Related Stories The hardest job in Washington right now belongs to a straight-talking New Yorker in his 70s. And its not President Donald Trump. As Trump ramps up his defiance of House Democratic investigations, Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler, 71, is a key player in the fight. Nadlers committee issued the first subpoena for special counsel Robert Muellers full, unredacted report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, then voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt when he didnt deliver it. The committee will likely do the same with former White House counsel Don McGahn, who failed to appear for testimony on May 21. Nadlers committee may even subpoena Mueller himself. But Nadler faces a dilemma. Liberals in the House Democratic caucus want an impeachment inquiry into Trump. Taking that first step, they argue, could help Congress in its looming court battle against the White House over the Legislative Branchs investigative powers and would please the partys base. At the same time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is effectively Nadlers boss, has been clear about the political risks of rushing to judgment amid polls showing that centrists and independents are cooling to the idea of impeachment. Nadler, who chairs the committee that would ultimately oversee the proceedings, is caught in the middle. The challenge is all the greater because of the stakes. The confrontation is a test of congressional power, and Nadler has been incensed by the constitutional crisis he says Trumps blanket defiance represents. Our fight is not just about the Mueller report, he said on May 8. Our fight is about defending the rights of Congress, as an independent branch, to hold the President accountable. Hes cognizant of Pelosis concerns that putting impeachment ahead of investigations could hurt Democrats 2020 electoral prospects on the Hill and at the White House. Balancing those pressures has become the biggest test of the New Yorkers tenure in Congress. Story continues Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is seen after a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Rayburn Building, Washington, D.C. on May 2, 2019. | Tom WilliamsCongressional Quarterly/Newscom/ZUMA Press Being in the spotlight is something of a novelty for Nadler. The son of a chicken farmer, Nadler came up through the state assembly before running for Congress in a special election in 1992. Speaking to the New York Times after his victory, then New York assembly speaker Saul Weprin categorized him as a nudnik, the Yiddish word for nag. When he has something on his mind that he wants to get done, hell never leave you alone, Weprin said. On his way up, Nadler got to know and dislike Trump. The pairs feud over Upper West Side real estate deals dates back decades, and Nadler makes no bones about his animosity toward Trump. Weve never had a liar like this in the White House, he told TIME in December. This isnt Nadlers first brush with the question of impeachment either. Ironically, his national profile rose during his opposition to President Bill Clintons impeachment two decades ago. But its only recently that Nadler assumed a starring role in such a drama. He became Judiciary chairman by surprise, after his predecessor, then ranking member John Conyers, resigned from Congress amid sexual-harassment allegations in 2017. Few think Nadlers personal history with the President or his experience under Clinton would be enough to make him buck Pelosi if she continues to resist calls for an impeachment inquiry. But the Speaker, who said on May 22 that Trump is engaging in a cover-up, is feeling the pressure too. Frustration among liberal House members over her deliberative approach has been growing for several weeks and is especially acute on the Judiciary Committee itself, half a dozen lawmakers and aides tell TIME. An increasing number of members now believe that kick-starting the impeachment process with an inquiry is necessary. That frustration erupted during closed-door meetings on May 20, when several committee members made the case to Pelosi that the party had to hold Trump accountable, to no avail. An impeachment inquiry would get more and more people to understand [Trump] should be impeached, says Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee, who challenged Pelosi. Nadler met with Pelosi and other top leadership in a separate meeting later that night, where he relayed the members case about the need for more action, but she still would not budge. There is a suspicion that Nadler, based on some of his statements, agrees with usbut hes in a tough spot just because of his position with the leadership, says one committee member who requested anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. Some committee members say Nadler is managing the competing pressures well. The committee definitely takes into consideration members like myself, says Representative Lucy McBath, who flipped a historically conservative district in Georgia in November. Representative Pramila Jayapal, a progressive who supports an impeachment inquiry, says she understands Nadlers political calculus. Hes got to make sure the whole committee is comfortable, she says. Ultimately, the Democrats will need to find a unified position on impeachment. But until then, Nadler is in the hot seat. More than 40 million Americans are expected to travel this Memorial Day Weekend, according to AAA, and many of them are going to be gold mines for cyber criminals. By 2021, damages tied to cyber crimes are expected to reach $6 trillion annually. When we think about the internet of things in general, these things are all now connected to the internet, said Caleb Barlow, VP of X-Force Threat Intelligence for IBM (IBM). The simple way to look at it [is] if it connects to the internet, you have to have a way to update it in real time and keep it secure. For more manufacturers, its a big problem going forward, Barlow said on Yahoo Finances The First Trade. That means you need to cover your digital trail at all times. While you may feel secure while at home or the office, its best not to be complacent when hitting the road. Barlow shared some advice: First of all, all those travel receipts, those itineraries dont leave them in the back of the seat of the airline. Take them home and shred them. The barcodes, they contain an enormous amount of personal identifiable information. He went on to say, one of the other things, you need to be really cautious of those USB charging stations that you see it everywhere from the coffee shop and the bar, to at the airport because a USB can pass both power and data and its really easy for an adversary to manipulate that charging station or actually just leave a cord that contains malware. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. Kenyan boychild be warned; sending fare to a girl so she can visit you is a scam. For the longest time, Kenyan fellas have complained about sending bus fare to girls only to be stood up. The sorry state of dating affairs has reached a point where an anthem has been made reminding the Kenyan boychild to remain vigilant. Enter Stamminah Gusto, a newbie afro dancehall artiste whose latest single Usitume Fare might as well be his big breakthrough. Released about a week ago, Usitume Fare is slowly but surely catching the attention of music lovers. Stamminah Gusto arranged and composed the song himself. Instead of sending the fare, the hitmaker advises the boychild to refund the money once the girlchild arrives. The songs audio is produced by Red C while the funny video is directed by Byron. Watch below. Rating 7/10. By Matt Scuffham NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is planning cuts at its U.S. equities business, including prime brokerage and equity derivatives, to win over shareholders unhappy about its performance, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing told shareholders at the bank's annual meeting on Thursday it was prepared to make "tough cutbacks" at its investment bank. Sewing is battling to convince them he can turn around Germany's biggest lender, whose shares have reached a record low. The bulk of the anticipated U.S. cuts will come from its money-losing equities business, which includes cash equities trading. Other areas of the business, including U.S. rates trading, have been earmarked for further reductions, they said. It is unclear how many of the bank's 9,275 U.S. employees will be affected and no final decisions have been made, the sources said. Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Sewing did not name which parts of the business will be cut or when the changes will happen when addressing shareholders on Thursday. However, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that job cut announcements are not imminent. The future of the bank's U.S. trading and investment banking operations has been in question for months, with some shareholders calling for further cuts on top of those announced last year. The bank had previously denied reports it planned a further U.S. restructuring, saying in a memo to staff last month that it was "firmly committed" to its U.S. franchise. However, the collapse of merger talks with German rival Commerzbank AG last month led senior management to intensify discussions over a "Plan B" for turning around the business, the sources said. U.S. cuts were high on the agenda, the sources said. Last year, Deutsche Bank said it would reduce its global headcount to below 90,000 from 97,000. That incorporated a 25% cut in equities sales and trading jobs, including a significant number in New York. However, it has continued to lag competitors in performance. Story continues Shares in Deutsche Bank have fallen by 40% during Sewing's 13-month tenure as CEO, in part reflecting concerns over the poor performance of its investment bank. The business last year eked out a slender 1% return on equity, an important profitability yardstick, trailing the 16% at JPMorgan Chase's investment bank. Adding to scrutiny on the U.S. business is the outcome of the Federal Reserve's annual stress test, which regulatory sources anticipate will be announced by the end of June. Deutsche Bank flunked the test in 2015, 2016 and 2018. A repeat would cause a bigger dent in confidence among customers and business partners. European regulators have said they fear the bank could fail the U.S. test. Even if it passes, conditions could be placed restricting how the business can operate. After the 2007-2009 financial crisis, Deutsche maintained a large presence on Wall Street, even as European rivals like Credit Suisse made big cuts. The business has brought in around half of Deutsche Bank's overall investment banking revenue, which includes corporate and investment banking as well as trading. However, encumbered by litigation and regulatory investigations, the business has struggled to compete with Wall Street rivals. (Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Edited by Neal Templin and Richard Chang) If you're interested in Nippon Dragon Resources Inc. (CVE:NIP), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. The first type is company specific volatility. Investors use diversification across uncorrelated stocks to reduce this kind of price volatility across the portfolio. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market. Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Some investors use beta as a measure of how much a certain stock is impacted by market risk (volatility). While we should keep in mind that Warren Buffett has cautioned that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk', beta is still a useful factor to consider. To make good use of it you must first know that the beta of the overall market is one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! See our latest analysis for Nippon Dragon Resources What does NIP's beta value mean to investors? Given that it has a beta of 1.92, we can surmise that the Nippon Dragon Resources share price has been fairly sensitive to market volatility (over the last 5 years). If this beta value holds true in the future, Nippon Dragon Resources shares are likely to rise more than the market when the market is going up, but fall faster when the market is going down. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Nippon Dragon Resources is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below. Story continues TSXV:NIP Income Statement, May 23rd 2019 Does NIP's size influence the expected beta? Nippon Dragon Resources is a rather small company. It has a market capitalisation of CA$3.3m, which means it is probably under the radar of most investors. Relatively few investors can influence the price of a smaller company, compared to a large company. This could explain the high beta value, in this case. What this means for you: Beta only tells us that the Nippon Dragon Resources share price is sensitive to broader market movements. This could indicate that it is a high growth company, or is heavily influenced by sentiment because it is speculative. Alternatively, it could have operating leverage in its business model. Ultimately, beta is an interesting metric, but there's plenty more to learn. In order to fully understand whether NIP is a good investment for you, we also need to consider important company-specific fundamentals such as Nippon Dragon Resourcess financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: Financial Health: Are NIPs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Past Track Record: Has NIP been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of NIP's historicals for more clarity. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. 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. If you own shares in Maharashtra Seamless Limited (NSE:MAHSEAMLES) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. The first category is company specific volatility. This can be dealt with by limiting your exposure to any particular stock. The second type is the broader market volatility, which you cannot diversify away, since it arises from macroeconomic factors which directly affects all the stocks on the market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta below one is either less volatile than the market, or more volatile but not corellated with the overall market. In comparison a stock with a beta of over one tends to be move in a similar direction to the market in the long term, but with greater changes in price. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! See our latest analysis for Maharashtra Seamless What MAHSEAMLES's beta value tells investors Zooming in on Maharashtra Seamless, we see it has a five year beta of 0.89. This is below 1, so historically its share price has been rather independent from the market. If history is a good guide, owning the stock should help ensure that your portfolio is not overly sensitive to market volatility. Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how Maharashtra Seamless fares in that regard, below. Story continues NSEI:MAHSEAMLES Income Statement, May 23rd 2019 How does MAHSEAMLES's size impact its beta? Maharashtra Seamless is a rather small company. It has a market capitalisation of 31b, which means it is probably under the radar of most investors. Companies with market capitalisations around this size often show poor correlation with the broader market because market volatility is overshadowed by company specific events, or other factors. It's worth checking to see how often shares are traded, because very small companies with very low beta values are often only thinly traded. What this means for you: One potential advantage of owning low beta stocks like Maharashtra Seamless is that your overall portfolio won't be too sensitive to overall market movements. However, this can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what's happening in the broader market. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Maharashtra Seamlesss financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: Financial Health: Are MAHSEAMLESs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Past Track Record: Has MAHSEAMLES been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of MAHSEAMLES's historicals for more clarity. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. 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. In this article: (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, is still open to T-Mobile US Inc's $26 billion acquisition of smaller rival Sprint Corp, CNBC reported on Thursday. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the antitrust division staff had recommended the agency block the deal, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Shares of Sprint were up 6% in premarket trading, while T-Mobile rose 1.2%. The DoJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) Kinshasa (AFP) - DR Congo authorities said Thursday they had detained 25 people in a probe into a massacre in a remote northwest region last December that left hundreds of dead. "So far we have heard from 105 victims, 83 witnesses have appeared before the military judicial investigators and 25 alleged perpetrators have been put in preventative detention," Human Rights Minister Marie-Ange Mushobekwa said, presenting a report from a commission of inquiry. She did not identify the suspects. According to the UN, 535 people, including women and children, were slaughtered between December 16 and 17 in three villages in Yumbi, a territory around 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Kinshasa. Days passed before details emerged about the massacre, and further time elapsed before the government acknowledged local officials had played a part in the violence. The bloodletting appeared to be rooted in longstanding intercommunal rivalry, according to preliminary UN inquiries in January. The victims were mostly members of the Banunu community, targeted by rival Batende, who had objected to the burial site of a Banunu chief. Mushobekwa reported "rights violations caused 461 deaths" including the administrator of Yumbi territory and three soldiers. Another 133 people were wounded by bullets, stabbing or burns, she said. "There were administrative officials who fanned the flames and who have already been heard by the military judiciary," she said. Provincial authorities were also to blame for failing to take measures to prevent the violence, she said. "They sinned by omission, by negligence," she said. After the bloodshed, the government replaced several territorial officials, including the police and intelligence chiefs, army staff and administrative personnel. In 2009, ethnic clashes in the region forced 130,000 people to seek shelter in Republic of Congo -- which now hosts 60,000 refugees, mainly from the DRC, the Central African Republic and Rwanda. By Tom Miles GENEVA, May 23 (Reuters) - Governments are working on a drug pricing transparency deal at the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual assembly, but activists said on Thursday they fear crucial costs may be left out, enabling pharmaceutical firms to keep prices high. Campaigners say some drugs are exhorbitantly priced, even though they are often developed with public funding, and health providers often pay far too much, since governments negotiate prices without knowing what the treatment cost to develop. "We are not talking about a revolution for the sector, we are talking about just setting a fair price according to what has been invested," said Patrick Durisch at Public Eye, a Swiss non-profit organization. "Why should it be different for the pharmaceutical industry than in other sectors?" A six-page draft published by the WHO on Thursday urges states to publish prices and costs of medicines, vaccines, cell and gene-based therapies and other health technologies, and improve the transparency of medical patents. The draft, a work in progress with many proposed changes to the text, could also mandate the WHO to collect and analyze data and costs from clinical trials and procurement prices for medicines and vaccines, although the draft showed Switzerland, Germany and Japan have asked for that section to be deleted. On Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the United States was very supportive of greater drug pricing transparency, hoping to bring down published "list prices" for drugs and "out of pocket expenses" for consumers. But there were some areas where lifting the veil of corporate secrecy may not be worthwhile, such as in R&D spending, Azar told reporters. "The question around R&D is: is that actually meaningful transparency, and information that would go into the pricing and negotiation of products? We suspect that that is not necessarily the highest value area for our efforts, but we continue to look at that." Story continues Transparency campaigners said they feared that a handful of countries, including Germany and Britain, were trying to kill the resolution with "a thousand cuts." Gaelle Krikorian from medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said she could not understand why governments, which buy medicines, wanted to blindfold themselves in price negotiations with drug companies. "We want to open the black box," she said. James Love, director of Knowledge Economy International, said that although the resolution was not mandatory, asking firms to report the cost of clinical trials was proving controversial. "Theres a strong possiblitiy that the delegates agree on a resolution that does not touch on costs at all," he said. The assembly ends on Tuesday. (Reporting by Tom Miles Editing by Alexandra Hudson) By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Governments are working on a drug pricing transparency deal at the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual assembly, but activists said on Thursday they fear crucial costs may be left out, enabling pharmaceutical firms to keep prices high. Campaigners say some drugs are exhorbitantly priced, even though they are often developed with public funding, and health providers often pay far too much, since governments negotiate prices without knowing what the treatment cost to develop. "We are not talking about a revolution for the sector, we are talking about just setting a fair price according to what has been invested," said Patrick Durisch at Public Eye, a Swiss non-profit organisation. "Why should it be different for the pharmaceutical industry than in other sectors?" A six-page draft published by the WHO on Thursday urges states to publish prices and costs of medicines, vaccines, cell and gene-based therapies and other health technologies, and improve the transparency of medical patents. The draft, a work in progress with many proposed changes to the text, could also mandate the WHO to collect and analyse data and costs from clinical trials and procurement prices for medicines and vaccines, although the draft showed Switzerland, Germany and Japan have asked for that section to be deleted. On Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the United States was very supportive of greater drug pricing transparency, hoping to bring down published "list prices" for drugs and "out of pocket expenses" for consumers. But there were some areas where lifting the veil of corporate secrecy may not be worthwhile, such as in R&D spending, Azar told reporters. "The question around R&D is: is that actually meaningful transparency, and information that would go into the pricing and negotiation of products? We suspect that that is not necessarily the highest value area for our efforts, but we continue to look at that." Story continues Transparency campaigners said they feared that a handful of countries, including Germany and Britain, were trying to kill the resolution with "a thousand cuts". Gaelle Krikorian from medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said she could not understand why governments, which buy medicines, wanted to blindfold themselves in price negotiations with drug companies. "We want to open the black box," she said. James Love, director of Knowledge Economy International, said that although the resolution was not mandatory, asking firms to report the cost of clinical trials was proving controversial. "Theres a strong possiblitiy that the delegates agree on a resolution that does not touch on costs at all," he said. The assembly ends on Tuesday. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) Pro-European Dutch parties were predicted Thursday to win most of the country's seats in the European Parliament, with right-wing populist opponents of the European Union managing to take only four of the nation's 26 seats. In a surprise forecast, the Dutch Labor Party of European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans became the country's biggest party in the 751-seat European Parliament, according to an Ipsos exit poll. "What an unbelievable exit poll!" Labor leader Lodewijk Asscher told a gathering of cheering party faithful. The poll was published by Dutch national broadcaster NOS after polling stations closed Thursday evening in Netherlands. Earlier in the day, Dutch and British voters kicked off the first of four days of voting for the European Parliament in all of the EU's 28 nations. Official results will only be announced after the last polling station in the EU closes late Sunday. The Dutch Labor party was forecast to win five seats, while the pro-European center right VVD of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte gained one seat to win a total of four seats. "There is a clear majority of people in the Netherlands, if you count them altogether, who want the European Union to continue playing a role in tackling problems that need to be solved," Timmermans told NOS, speaking from Spain. Timmermans is a broadly respected former Dutch foreign minister who is trying to become the next president of the European Commission. The Dutch right-wing populist group Forum for Democracy was forecast by the Ipsos exit poll to win three seats in its first European elections, but those gains didn't primarily come at the expense of Europe's mainstream parties. Instead, it appeared they came from other populists. The anti-Islam Party for Freedom led by firebrand lawmaker Geert Wilders lost three of its four EU seats, according to the poll. The splintered result echoes Dutch domestic politics: There are 13 parties in the 150-seat national parliament. Story continues The United Kingdom was the only other EU country to vote Thursday, even as the nation remained in political turmoil over its plans to leave the bloc altogether. No exit polls were expected Thursday night from the UK voting. The elections come as support is surging for populists and nationalists who want to rein in the EU's powers and strictly limit immigration. Meanwhile, Europe's traditional political powerhouses, both conservative and left-wing, insist that unity is the best buffer against the shifting economic and security challenges posed by an emerging new world order. But populists across several countries have united to challenge those centrist forces. On Saturday, Italy's anti-migrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini was joined at a rally by 10 other nationalist leaders, including far-right leaders Wilders, Marine Le Pen of France's National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen of the Alternative for Germany party. Wilders vowed to keep fighting the populist cause even after his party's projected big defeat. "We had hoped for more seats," Wilders said in a statement. "But with one seat in the European Parliament we will, together with our European friends, fight even harder against the EU monster, Islam and mass-migration." Voters across Europe are electing 751 lawmakers, although that number is set to drop to 705 when Britain eventually leaves the EU. The U.K. has 73 European lawmakers, who would lose their jobs when their country completes its messy divorce from the EU. Some of its seats will be reassigned to other EU member states. The British vote may have a direct impact on the future of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May, whose Conservative Party appears to be losing support amid a prolonged Brexit impasse. May has tried but failed for months to get lawmakers in the British Parliament to back her plan to leave the EU. Both the Conservatives and Labour in Britain were predicted to be heading for an electoral pasting in Thursday's vote, due to the chaos over Brexit. Results of the vote will be announced Sunday night, and a poor showing for the Conservatives would increase the calls for May to step down as party leader, which would set in motion a leadership contest. Britain's Brexit party, led by Nigel Farage, has appeared to gain strength in recent voter surveys. Farage voted Thursday, then declared that he hopes to have the shortest possible tenure as a member of the European Parliament because he wants Britain to leave the EU as quickly as possible. "If you want Brexit, you've got to vote Brexit," he said, warning lawmakers from Britain's two major parties Conservatives and Labour that they will be vanquished at Britain's next general election unless they respect voters' desire to leave the EU. Voting in Britain was marred by the inability of hundreds of the 3 million EU citizens in Britain to vote despite having a legal right to do so. EU citizens who wanted to vote in Britain had to complete a form confirming they would not be voting in their homelands. Some say they did not receive the forms. The Electoral Commission blamed the problem on the short notice that officials had to prepare for the election, which would not have been held in Britain if the country had left the EU in March, as planned. ___ Katz reported from London. Outspoken Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the cabinet citing incompetent ministers. According to Kuria, Cabinet Secretaries have been implementing policies that make life difficult for the common mwananchi. In particular, the lawmaker criticised the Kenya Bureau of Standards move to enforce tough laws on importation of used car parts. Moses Kuria said the directive will render thousands of dealers jobless as well as make Kenyans suffer. Many bad policies are making Kenyans suffer. People are being pushed out of business as ministers lie to the President that all is well, said Mr Kuria. He further asked President Uhuru to sack incompetent members of his Cabinet. People are suffering, they have no money, there are no jobs. I urge President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the Cabinet, said the vocal lawmaker. Moses Kuria singled out four Cabinet Secretaries whom he claimed had failed Kenyans. They include Trade and Industrialisation CS Peter Munya, Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, James Macharia (Transport and Infrastructure) and Health CS Sicily Kariuki. Moses Kuria argued that despite the four holding key dockets, they had failed to come up with policies to boost development in Mt Kenya region. The MP also called for Mt Kenya regions unity ahead of 2022 General Election. Its a big moment for Europes most ambitious populists. They hope that elections for the European Parliament will give them the boost they need to extend their political momentum across the E.U. But in Austria they got off to a rough start because of an embarrassing video. The details of that case are as ludicrous as they are damning. Vice Chancellor and leader of the far-right Freedom Party Heinz-Christian Strache was caught offering lucrative government contracts to a woman he believed to be the niece of a powerful Russian oligarch in exchange for her willingness to buy an Austrian newspaper and shift its editorial position to favor his party just before an election. For many, this episode confirmed two things: much of Europes far right is, or would like to be, on the Russian payroll, and its charismatic leaders lack basic good judgment. The next development says something about the predicament facing center-right parties as they try to beat back attempts by the far right to steal their voters. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, chairman of the center-right Austrian Peoples Party, spotting an opportunity to test its far-right coalition partner with voters, called for new elections. Thats smart politics, but while the result may temporarily strengthen the center right at the far rights expense, it doesnt solve the larger problem that voters are anxious and angry at mainstream politicians who they believe dont have their best interests at heart. Across Europe, mainstream conservatives continue to wrestle with this problem, but they would be wise to do so carefully. In Germany, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Chancellor Merkels likely successor, has tried to prevent the far-right opposition Alternative for Germany party from pulling away her partys voters in part by tacking to the right on the immigration policies that have undermined Merkels popularity. But she has also tried to force Merkel into early retirement, a plan that has backfired and now threatens her position within her party. Story continues In France and Italy, center-right parties have made poor attempts to imitate anti-E.U. and anti-migrant language and policies that alienate centrist voters and make them appear to be pale imitations of more aggressive conservative rivals, who benefit by the comparison. In Spain, the rise of the populist Vox party has pulled the more moderate Peoples Party and Ciudadanos party to the right, splitting the right-wing vote in ways that helped a center-left party finish first in the countrys most recent national elections. But still the glaring, and most consequential, example of a center-right partys miscalculating how best to manage a challenge from the right comes from the decision by then Prime Minister David Cameron to beat back criticism from the fledgling U.K. Independence Party by calling for a public referendum on Britains continued membership in the E.U. The punishment his Conservative Party has taken following the Brexit vote and the inability to deliver on its result has only just begun. An angry Briton doused Brexit champion Nigel Farage with a banana and salted-caramel milkshake on May 20, but its the Conservatives who are taking the biggest hit. Europes populists are so far better at campaigning than at governing, and some of its leaders are more prone to poor judgment than their mainstream competitors. But far-right politicians havent simply invented anti-E.U., anti-migrant anger, and those who would deny them votes still struggle to answer this challenge. 'EastEnders' legend Patsy Palmer will reprise her role as Bianca Jackson for a 'blistering' storyline this autumn Patsy Palmer is set to return to EastEnders as much-loved character Bianca Jackson in a blistering storyline this autumn. According to The Sun, Bianca - last seen in Albert Square five years ago - will reunite with her daughter Tiffany, played by Maisie Smith, whose recent storylines involve drug-dealing and a love triangle. Bosses are delighted to be getting Patsy back, a source close to the actor reportedly told the publication. Shes a real Enders icon and fans love seeing old faces return. Read more: 'EastEnders' adds comedian Adrian Edmondson as Jean Slater's new love interest She has yet to get her scripts but she will no doubt be at the centre of drama when she returns in the autumn. She starts filming in the next few weeks and cant wait to get going again. Executive producer Jon Sen added that he was thrilled Palmer signed on for the third time since she first joined the cast back in 1993, as bringing [her] back to the Square was high on [his wish-list] since getting involved in the long-running series back in January. "I'm thrilled to announce that Patsys agreed to return to reprise her iconic creation in a blistering storyline that will grip fans this autumn. There is no one more excited than me to see her step back into Albert Square again. Bianca and Ricky Butcher's wedding is one of the most viewed episodes of 'EastEnders' I simply cannot wait, he concluded. Having first portrayed the notoriously feisty character over two decades ago, Bianca has proved popular among soap fans. Her wedding to Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) is among EastEnders most-watched episodes, pulling in 22 million viewers back in 1997. Read more: 'EastEnders' legend June Brown says she won't stop drinking and smoking at age 92 Palmer, who has four children, quit back in 1999 to spend more time with her family and pursue other projects. She returned to the role for a special centred on Bianca and Ricky in 2002, before officially making a comeback in 2008. She left once again six years later. By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR, May 23 (Reuters) - An amnesty bill that critics say aims to whitewash crimes committed during El Salvador's bloody civil war faced an uncertain fate in Congress on Thursday following an outcry from victims' families, the United Nations and global rights groups. The bill, which was being discussed by lawmakers in committee, aims to prohibit jail time for former military personnel and leftist guerillas accused of atrocities during the 1980-1992 war in which 75,000 people were killed and 8,000 went missing. However, lawmakers with roots in opposing sides of the war are in a race against time to pass the bill, since President-elect Nayib Bukele opposes it and could veto the legislation if it is not on the books before he takes office on June 1. If the bill does not go to a vote on Thursday, it would be difficult to push it through without a special session of Congress, which usually meets only once a week. In July 2016, El Salvador's Supreme Court of Justice declared unconstitutional a 1993 amnesty law that prevented investigation, prosecution and imprisonment of people responsible for war crimes. Judges ordered Congress to adopt a new law to promote national reconciliation before July 2019. The last-minute attempt to soften punishments is part of a backlash in Central America against attempts to bring justice for excesses in the region's Cold War-era conflicts. It follows a similar bill in Guatemala that could lead to the release of former soldiers convicted of massacres. Backed by lawmakers of the ruling leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the opposition right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), the "law of reconciliation" would also release a soldier imprisoned in 2016. The two parties dominate the Legislative Assembly, controlling 60 of the 84 seats. They need a simple majority to approve the bill. The bill was not drawn up in consultation with victims' families, and human rights groups fear it means there will be no justice for those killed in notorious massacres like El Mozote and El Sumpul, as well as crimes including the 1980 murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the 1979 disappearance of former South African ambassador Archibald Gardner Dunn. Story continues U.N. Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet, a former Chilean president who herself was detained during a military dictatorship in her country, urged lawmakers to refrain from "adopting provisions that contravene international law." "If passed, these provisions will unduly benefit people who, during the armed conflict, were directly responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes," she said in a statement. "They will also result in impunity for the masterminds and military leaders who ordered such crimes, or failed to adopt measures to prevent or stop them." U.S. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kimberly Breier said any national reconciliation law in El Salvador should protect the rights of victims to seek justice. A small group of relatives of victims gathered on Thursday in front of the official residence of President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a civil war leader of the FMLN, to protest. "This law has many conflicts of interest," said Andres Garcia, 64, who said his father was killed in 1985 by members of the military. The bill foresees community service instead of jail time. "(The penalty of imprisonment) will be replaced by a penalty of community service, with work days set out in the respective ruling, whose minimum limit will be three years and whose maximum will be 10 years," the draft of the law reads. (Reporting by Nelson Renteria Editing by Phil Berlowitz) World stock markets and oil prices slumped Thursday in a "perfect storm" as Europe headed to the polls amid fresh economic gloom, the China-US trade war raged on and beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May delayed another key Brexit vote. Europe kicked off voting across the continent in a contest in which rising populist forces are hoping to make significant gains, threatening closer EU integration. Britain's EU poll is an ironic twist for a country that decided almost three years ago to leave the bloc and whose leader had vowed to avoid the vote. "The markets (are) caught in a perfect storm of UK political turmoil, US-China trade warmongering and European economic softness," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell. London's FTSE 100 shares index was down 1.4 percent at the close after the government postponed a crucial Brexit vote following an outcry from hardline Brexiteers over concessions made by May -- who faces intense speculation over her future. The pound forged another four-month low as May faces being ousted after a revised plan to push through her Brexit agreement, which sparked the resignation of cabinet member Andrea Leadsom. - Economic woes - Eurozone indices took a battering also on Thursday, with Frankfurt and Paris losing around 1.8 percent as survey data showed the bloc's economic growth remained "subdued" in May. "The last thing the market needed on Thursday was a reminder of the eurozone's manufacturing and services sector woes," added Campbell. "For the region as a whole, the former fell even further into contraction territory." Frankfurt also tanked as the key Ifo survey signalled confidence among German business leaders struck its lowest level in more than four years in May. The European single currency meanwhile touched a near one-month dollar low. On Wall Street, the Dow index was down by around 350 points approaching midday in New York, having lost ground throughout the morning. Story continues "US stocks are extending a recent slide in early action, courtesy of lingering trade concerns as the trade war between the US and China looks to be set for a prolonged fight, while global economic concerns remain following soft data out of Japan, the Eurozone and Germany," Charles Schwab analysts said. - Trade war dogs markets - China-US trade frictions continue to dog investor sentiment, particularly in the tech sector after Washington blacklisted Chinese giant Huawei. Traders ran for the hills, with no signs of a let-up in the tariffs stand-off between the world's top two economies. "Risk appetite has clearly been pushed lower by the multitude of events today," Rabobank analyst Jane Foley told AFP. "In particular, fear of a tech war or even a cold war between the US and China is now receiving greater attention." Tensions between China and the US have increased after Donald Trump banned telecoms giant Huawei from the US market and prevented American firms from selling to it. The move has led a number of companies around the world to cut back their business with the firm, including Google, Japan's Panasonic and EE in Britain, among others. The row, which has seen the trade war widen to also become a battle over technology, has hammered the sector with major firms seeing their valuations tumble in recent weeks. Back in Asia, Mumbai's Sensex soared more than two percent to break 40,000 for the first time ever as traders welcomed polls indicating business-friendly Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP was on course to win another majority. - Oil slides - Oil prices were sharply down in the late European afternoon -- with WTI oil losing more than five percent and Brent 4.5 percent -- as global economic worries took their toll, and overproduction worries resurfaced against the background of growing oil inventories. "Crude 'bears' have been getting a helping hand from slowing demand growth due to the negative impact on the global economy of the Sino-US trade war," said Oanda analyst Dean Popplewell. By contrast, he said, "the crude 'bull' has been relying on escalating political tensions between the US and Iran, as well as ongoing supply cuts led by OPEC." - Key figures around 1540 GMT - London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.4 percent at 7,231.04 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.8 percent at 11,952.41 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.8 percent at 5,281.37 (close) EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.8 percent at 3,327.20 New York - Dow: DOWN 1.5 percent at 25,403.52 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 21,151.14 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.6 percent at 27,267.13 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.4 percent at 2,852.52 (close) Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2659 from $1.2706 at 2100 GMT Euro/pound: UP at 88.17 pence from 87.84 pence Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1163 from $1.1161 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 109.64 yen from 110.50 yen Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN $3.24 at $67.75 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $3.18 at $58.24 burs-jh/gd EU citizens flooded Twitter, many angry at being denied their vote. (Getty) Thousands of EU citizens have been turned away from polling stations and prevented from voting in the European elections. Voting in the elections began at 7am on Thursday morning but it wasnt long before voters from other EU member states living in the UK began to say they had been stopped from casting their vote. Many tweeted to voice their anger, and the hashtag DeniedMyVote began trending before 10am. An EU citizens' rights group the3million has branded the government and the Electoral Commission as incompetent and said the scale of the problem was outrageous. Agata Patnya, an immigration and human rights barrister, was one of the first to tweet about the issue, saying she had specifically phoned her local council to check she could vote only to be turned away. She tweeted: Turned away from polling station this morning. Told I should vote in my EU member state. Called local council yesterday, they confirmed I could vote. Called again today. Apparently council had no time to send out forms to all EU residents. Nothing they can do now. I registered before the deadline. Have been here since 2005. Voted many times before. This is my member state. Hi @MollyMEP! Just went to vote this morning with my orange poll card and I was told I cannot vote because I figure as Italian citizen not British Italian. I really dont understand. Can you help me please? @EdWhitelaw @plymouthcc #plymouth pic.twitter.com/o5coDgFvhR Marcella Finazzi (@MarcellaFinazzi) May 23, 2019 The main problem appears to be a second form that EU citizens had to fill out which was poorly announced, and most people said that there were not even aware this was a requirement. Story continues A rule prevents people from voting twice, one in their host EU state and another in the country where theyre from, and this form was the Electoral Commissions interpretation of that rule. Stories have also emerged of administrative errors, a lack of correct forms being sent out to voters and late registration due to the council not processing the forms on time, causing people to become unable to cast their ballot. Lukas Hardt commented saying: I can't vote today because Glasgow City Council say they never received my registration form as an EU national. I posted it well in time, from a letter box in Glasgow. When I called them to enquire, it was too late. So disappointing! EUelections2019 #DeniedMyVote. If you are an EU citizen and you are denied your vote today because of the declaration form / deadline, please share your story tweet / reply to this thread and use #DeniedMyVote. This is important so we can document this mass disenfranchisement. #EUelections2019 Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@cliodiaspora) May 22, 2019 Professor Tanja Bueltmann, a migration historian at the University of Northumbia, created the hashtag last night in preparation for the EU election. She told Yahoo News UK: Im shocked. I thought there would be a number of stories, but not to this extent. The local council knew about the second form, but the Electoral Commission didnt communicate clearly about how it should be carried out, which meant that some councils informed all EU citizens in their area, and others didnt. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Nigel Farage denies hiding from milkshake-wielding protestors British woman dies on Ryanair flight from Majorca Teenager vandalises ambulance as paramedics treat patient inside This may have happened because they didnt have enough staff or time, but they should have made sure everyone knew about it. Theresa May was aware of this problem, she was even directly asked in the PMQs, and completely failed to make arrangements, like allowing EU citizens to fill out the form on the day. There have also been stories emerging of people who had filled in all the correct forms, did everything well before the deadline, and still they are being turned away. I dismay at the posts under #deniedmyvote - we cannot let fellow citizens rights be taken away by an incompetent government. If youre an EU27 citizen USE YOUR VOTE and if youre denied it dont let it rest. Seb Dance MEP (@SebDance) May 23, 2019 CEO of the3million Nicolas Hatton said: Today, we are seeing thousands of EU citizens turned away from the polling booths. It is outrageous that the incompetence and unwillingness of the government and the Electoral Commission have denied these people a vote. the3million is calling for a full investigation of this democratic disaster that has disenfranchised many of the European citizens most affected by the outcome of these elections. In the meantime, we urge all EU citizens who were denied their vote to complain on social media using #DeniedMyVote, and write to their MP and the Electoral Commission to express their outrage. This is not a new incident, as a similar matter happened at the last European election in 2014, though on a smaller scale, and the problem had been noted by the Electoral Commission. This has also corresponded with UK citizens in EU member states being denied their votes as their voting cards arrived too late. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- Brussels (AFP) - European pilots said Thursday they found it "deeply disturbing" that the Boeing 737 MAX was already being considered for a return to service after being grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes. Faulty technology in the 737 MAX was blamed for an Ethiopian Airlines crash in March and an Indonesian Lion Air crash in October, which together claimed 346 lives, and air safety agencies around the world banned it from the skies until a fix could be found. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday that Boeing has not yet handed over the proposed repair for the faulty automated control system for assessment, but some American carriers appear ready to put the plane back in the air. American Airlines and Southwest have both scheduled flights using the jet for August in the apparent hope that it will be cleared to fly by then. The European Cockpit Association (ECA), which represents more than 38,000 pilots from 36 countries, said the 737 MAX scandal had undermined confidence in the whole US air safety setup. "For European pilots... it is deeply disturbing that both the FAA and Boeing are considering a return to service, but failing to discuss the many challenging questions prompted by the MAX design philosophy," the ECA said in a statement. Global aviation regulators are gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday for a summit on the MAX as the FAA seeks to regain trust after being accused of dragging its feet in the crisis -- it was the last agency to order the jet grounded. Long considered a "gold standard" internationally, the FAA's reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of the oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the MAX. Boeing said last week that it had completed a software update to address a problem with the MAX's Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). In both recent crashes, the MCAS pointed the plane sharply downward based on a faulty sensor reading, hindering the pilots' efforts to control the aircraft after takeoff, according to preliminary crash investigations. Story continues ECA President Jon Horne urged Boeing to come clean about its approach to design, suggesting the MCAS appeared to have been tailored to avoid airlines having to pay for expensive pilot retraining. "Boeing essentially built a plane to a wish list that would sell well -- meeting attractive fuel, cost and performance metrics, with minimal additional pilot training requirements," Horne said in the ECA statement. "But the problem is that it seems there was no independent regulator to look at this in-depth from a safety perspective and scrutinise what appears to be a design philosophy driven by commercial priorities." Wireless carriers around the world are beginning to deploy 5G, the latest and greatest in mobile broadband technology. Like the evolution from 3G to 4G, the jump to 5G will mean faster speeds, lower latency and many other benefits. Itll be a major boost for businesses, gamers, livestreamers and more. It could be a huge leap in other ways, too 5G is so much faster than 4G, and has so much less latency, that it could become the platform for all sorts of new services. Of course, there are also downsides. To enjoy the benefits of 5G, youll need to upgrade to a smartphone thats compatible with the new networks. And privacy experts are worried that 5G could help law enforcement track suspects movements in ways that could violate their rights, for instance. But health concerns circulating online about 5G networks have no basis in science. Want to know more about 5G wireless technology? Heres a quick FAQ: What is 5G? Its a new cellular-network technology. It can transmit data much more quickly than 4G, which many of us use to connect to the Internet today. But it also requires towns and cities to set up a much higher number of small cells, or short-range transmitters, to provide the same geographic coverage as 4G. What will it meant to me? 5G promises to bring faster speeds and lower latencythe time it takes data to move back and forthmeaning the apps and services you use, like video chat and mobile gaming, will be much quicker. It could also enable disruptive new wireless innovations, potentially powering the next big tech unicorn like Uber or Snapchat. How much faster is 5G? Networks will be about 20 times faster than 4G networks on average, meaning you could download Avengers: Endgame in the time it takes Thanos to snap his fingers. Latency could be as low as 1 ms, compared with 50 ms for 4G. Will I need a new phone to use 5G? Yes. Smartphone makers like Samsung and Motorola are already rolling out 5G-compatible phones, and Apple is expected to follow suit soon. You can still use your current smartphone on 4G networks until you are ready to upgrade. Story continues Where can I use 5G today? The four major wireless carriers are introducing 5G coverage in dozens of cities in 2019 and 2020, including Atlanta, Denver and Washington. 5G coverage within cities may be limited at first, however, with only certain neighborhoods getting access. Who else will benefit from 5G? The technology could revolutionize businesses from agriculture to manufacturing. Factory owners could use it to control their robots. Farmers could use it to keep tabs on autonomous smart tractors. Carmakers see it as a key technology for self-driving cars, helping such vehicles talk to one another about road conditions, hazards and more. And like other groundbreaking technologies before it, 5G promises to unleash a wave of innovative new startups and services we cant foresee. Are there any downsides to 5G? Privacy advocates worry that 5G could make it easier for law enforcement and others to track a persons whereabouts with pinpoint precision as their phone connects to multiple cells. They also have concerns about its potential to greatly improve facial-recognition software. However, conspiracy theories circulating online claiming that 5G signals have been linked to cancer have no basis in science. By Allison Lampert MONTREAL, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) representatives told members of the United Nations' aviation agency they expect an ungrounding of Boeing Co's 737 MAX jets in the United States as early as late June, three people familiar with Thursday's briefing said, though there is no firm timetable for the move. FAA and Boeing representatives were briefing members of the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) governing council in Montreal on Thursday. The briefing was made by two FAA officials, one of the sources said. (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal Writing by Tracy Rucinski Editing by Matthew Lewis) By Mike Spector and Jessica DiNapoli May 23 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co has cut ties with Purdue Pharma LP over the OxyContin maker's alleged role in the U.S. opioid crisis, forcing it to find a new bank to manage cash and bill payments, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The move makes JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, the most high-profile corporation known to have distanced itself from Purdue and its wealthy owners, the Sackler family, amid thousands of lawsuits alleging the company pushed addictive painkillers while downplaying their abuse and overdose risks. JPMorgan's decision also underscores a drive among U.S. banks to reassess their relationships with clients and industries in response to controversy and political debates over matters such as immigration detention and mass shootings. After JPMorgan informed Purdue in March that it had six months to find another bank, Purdue tapped Dallas-based regional bank Comerica Inc to handle its financial transactions and accounts, the sources said. JPMorgan told Purdue that reputational risks associated with the public backlash against the drugmaker informed its decision to cut business ties, the sources added. While not a lender to Purdue, JPMorgan's commercial bank managed the company's cash and bill payments, according to the sources. It is not clear how long JPMorgan served as Purdue's bank. "Purdue is a streamlined organization with an exciting pipeline of new medicines and significant cash reserves," the company said in a statement. "The company has multiple banking relationships and will not have any interruption to its banking and financial service needs." JPMorgan and Comerica declined to comment. Purdue faces roughly 2,000 lawsuits accusing the Stamford, Connecticut-based company, and increasingly the Sacklers, of aggressively marketing prescription opioids while misleading prescribers and consumers about risks from their prolonged use. Story continues U.S. states, counties and cities are seeking billions of dollars in damages to address harm from opioids. Nearly 400,000 people have died after overdosing on opioids between 1999 and 2017, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half the deaths resulted from prescription painkillers. Purdue denies it contributed to the U.S. opioid crisis, pointing to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals of labels for the company's drugs that carried warnings about risk and abuse associated with treating pain. Purdue and its family owners argue that heroin and fentanyl are currently more significant culprits in the opioid epidemic. However, health experts have said many people turn to those drugs after first getting hooked on prescription painkillers. In March, Purdue and the Sackler family reached a $270 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma, which on Tuesday is set to take two other drugmakers to trial over claims they also helped fuel the opioid epidemic. Dozens of other states have lawsuits pending against Purdue, and in some instances the Sacklers, who made a financial contribution to the Oklahoma settlement even though they were not defendants in the case. A North Dakota judge earlier this month dismissed that state's case against Purdue. Purdue Chief Executive Officer Craig Landau in March said a bankruptcy filing remained an option for the company to address potential liabilities from widespread litigation. LATEST TO SHUN Various museums, universities and other nonprofits are now shunning donations or reassessing their relationships with the Sackler family, which has a long history of philanthropy. In New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has a wing named for the Sacklers, and the American Museum of Natural History, said earlier this month they had ceased accepting donations from the family. For JPMorgan, dropping Purdue is the latest in a series of moves aimed at steering clear of political lightning rods. In January, the bank said it would stop financing operators of private prisons, which have become the target of protests over their role detaining undocumented immigrants. Its peers have made similar moves. In March, Wells Fargo & Co's CEO at the time, Tim Sloan, told a congressional panel the bank was exiting relationships with private prison operators. Citigroup Inc, meanwhile, last year placed restrictions on firearms sales for retailers doing business with the bank following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. A Bank of America Corp executive said last year that the bank intended to avoid financing military-style firearms for civilians moving forward. (Reporting by Mike Spector and Jessica DiNapoli in New York Additional reporting by David Henry in New York Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Bill Berkrot) By Marianna Parraga, Florence Tan and Mircely Guanipa May 23 (Reuters) - German shipping firm Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has moved to legally detain three of Venezuelan PDVSA's oil tankers to collect on late payments owed to it by the state-run oil company, according to a document seen by Reuters and sources close to the decision. PDVSA has struggled for years to pay its bills due to falling crude output and limited cash flow, leaving it owing numerous firms worldwide. That was even before the United States in late January imposed tough sanctions on Venezuela's oil exports, which have since dropped by more than 40 percent. BSM operated 13 of the 32 tankers owned by PDVSA and two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) jointly owned by PDVSA and PetroChina, according to the companies. In March, BSM started withdrawing staff from PDVSA's tankers to reduce its exposure to Venezuela and later returned some of them to the firm. Hamburg-based BSM is now looking to arrest - the legal term for preventing a ship from moving, but short of an outright seizure - the three tankers in question over debt accumulated by PDVSA. "Due to the substantial fees due to BSM from owners we have placed arrest on three of the tankers, the Arita in Singapore and the Parnaso and Rio Arauca which are both in Lisbon, Portugal," said a letter distributed internally by BSM this month. PDVSA crude and fuel exports have dropped to around 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far in May, down from 1.4 million bpd just before sanctions, according to PDVSA's trade documents and Refinitiv Eikon data. BSM is not the only maritime firm taking action against PDVSA. U.S.-based shipbroker McQuilling Partners in March ended a contract for providing four tankers to PDVSA, citing sanctions. The two maritime services firms handled a large portion of vessels leased and owned by PDVSA. Without them, Venezuela is limited in its ability to store oil, move cargoes between ports internally, and even export to certain destinations. Story continues On April 6, the Arita, owned by PDVSA's subsidiary Albanave and operated by a unit of BSM, was detained in Singapore by law firm Gurbani & Co on behalf of BSM, according to the country's Supreme Court website and a source familiar with the matter. BSM's attempt to arrest the Parnaso and the Rio Arauca in Portugal has been more complicated. Those two vessels have been moored in that country's waters since 2017 due to disputes with shipping firms and fuel providers in Portugal, along with Lisbon's Port Authority. BSM, Lisbon Port Authority and PDVSA's maritime unit PDV Marina declined to comment. PDVSA did not respond to a request for comment. In March, it said its relationship with BSM had not ended. The amount owed by PDV Marina to BSM globally at the end of 2018 was at least $15 million, according to a source at the company and another document seen by Reuters early this year. The Arita, an Aframax vessel that can hold up to 700,000 barrels of oil, has not navigated much since it first set sail at the end of 2017, as it was hampered by a dispute between PDVSA and Iranian shipyard Sadra that kept it from being used. Following a few trips to China and Indonesia in 2018, it has remained in Singapore since April with its engine "immobilized," according to Refinitiv Eikon tanker tracking data. FEW OPTIONS FOR PDVSA BSM has returned four vessels to PDVSA and plans to return another nine by the end of June, but the process "has proven to be challenging and time consuming," the company said in the internal letter. The two VLCCs jointly owned by PDVSA and PetroChina have not been included in the plans. PDVSA has struggled to hire maritime services due to sanctions and mounting bills. It has started talks with a Venezuela-based firm, Blue Oceanic Services CA, for placing crew and supplying food and provisions to some tankers, the same source added. Blue Oceanic Services did not respond to requests for comment. In recent weeks PDVSA has asked some tankers to switch off transponders while in Venezuelan or Cuban waters, which could be to avoid detection due to U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan shipments, according to captains, inspectors and shipping sources. It has also sought to beef up security by putting military officers on certain vessels, the company said. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; Florence Tan in Singapore and Mircely Guanipa in Punto Fijo, Venezuela. Additional reporting by Catarina Demony in Lisbon and Luc Cohen in Caracas Editing by Marguerita Choy) FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that an eight-hour meeting with international air regulators to discuss the grounded Boeing Co 737 MAX was "exceedingly positive" and "constructive." Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Daniel Elwell reiterated that the FAA will not approve the plane for flight until they have completed a safety analysis, with no set timetable and no decision yet on pilot training on a system that played a role in two deadly crashes. He also defended the FAA's decision to move slower than other regulators in March in grounding the plane. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Fort Worth, Texas; Writing by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Sandra Maler) FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- After an all-day meeting with global aviation regulators, the chief of the Federal Aviation Administration sounded more upbeat than ever about prospects for clearing the troubled Boeing 737 Max to fly again. Aviation officials from more 30 countries met with the FAA to hear the U.S. regulator's approach to reviewing changes that Boeing is making after two crashes that killed 346 people. "We are going through an incredibly intensive and robust process to make the safety case to unground the Max," acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell told reporters when the closed-door meeting was over. He added that the agency won't let the plane fly "until we have made that safety case." Boeing has not yet submitted a final, formal application for its update to a flight-control system that has been implicated in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. That submission will be followed by test flights to demonstrate the changes to FAA experts. Elwell declined to put a timetable on the plane's return or comment on reports that FAA officials told a separate meeting of airline officials in Montreal that the plane could be cleared for flights in the U.S. as soon as late June. The meeting Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, was crucial to the U.S. agency's hopes of convincing other regulators around the world to lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. Among those scheduled to attend were regulators from China, Europe and Canada, as well as officials from Indonesia and Ethiopia, sites of the two crashes that occurred before the Max was grounded worldwide in March. Boeing is fixing flight-control software that in each accident pushed the plane's nose down based on faulty readings from a single sensor. It will tie the system to more than one sensor and make it less powerful pilots for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to counter the system's automatic nose-down pitch. Elwell has said he hopes other regulators will lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. Story continues However, regulators in China, the European Union and Canada have said they plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's software changes and have stressed the need for additional pilot training. Once airlines get the green light, they will have to remove their Max jets from long-term storage and prepare them for flying. That will take anywhere from two days to a week, said Ali Bahrami, the FAA's associate director of aviation safety. A far more significant delay in the plane's return to service could occur if regulators decide that pilots should train in flight simulators first. Boeing is pushing for computer-based training only. Elwell said the FAA has not made a final decision, and that during Thursday's meeting no other country said it would insist on simulator training. The FAA did not allow reporters to attend or watch the meeting, and it kept them away from international aviation officials who attended the all-day session at a gated FAA office. It is unclear whether the event will do much to convince travelers that the Max is safe. Barclays said that its survey this month of 1,765 travelers in North America and Europe found that nearly half plan to avoid flying on the Max for a year or longer. About half said they would pick a non-Max flight if given the choice. Airlines are making plans for a campaign to reassure nervous customers. They know it won't be easy. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told NBC that because of all the news coverage of the crashes and their aftermath, no amount of marketing will sway worried passengers. "There may be some period of time" before customers are comfortable flying on the plane, Parker said, "but we will work through that." He suggested that if passengers see U.S. pilots getting on board, they will follow. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said this week that he will be on the carrier's next Max flight. He added, however, that United would let passengers who don't want to fly on the plane rebook without the customary ticket-change fee. The Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group based in the Washington suburbs, is urging regulators to coordinate recertification of the Max. The group's CEO, Hassan Shahidi, said that would lift public confidence and be less disruptive than a fragmented, country-by-country return of the plane. ___ David Koenig can be reached at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter (Updates story moved on May 16) By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS, May 23 (Reuters) - EU citizens will elect a new European Parliament this week, the first step in a process that will change the leadership of major European Union institutions later this year. Here is a timeline: May 23 - British and Dutch voters are first of 427 million Europeans to cast ballots. Britons should not have been voting at all but must since Brexit is delayed. No British exit polls are expected to be published when polls close at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT). Dutch TV will run an exit poll when voting ends there at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT). Results will be announced on Sunday evening. May 24 - Irish and Czech voters follow suit on Friday. May 25 - Czechs keep voting, while the Slovaks, Latvians and Maltese also cast their ballots on Saturday. May 26 - Rest of the 28 states vote, using various types of proportional representation that ensure a multitude of parties get seats. From 1600 GMT, exit poll from Germany, the biggest country, will offer clues. France, the second biggest, and Spain follow at 1800 GMT. The European Parliament will publish a first projection for all seats based on exit polls in 12 countries. It will update this, adding Poland and three other countries, after 1900 GMT and again once the final vote is cast, in Italy, at 2100 GMT. An authoritative, though still provisional projection, using partial results, is due from Parliament at about 2215 GMT. May 27 - Parties will start working out how best to play the hands voters have dealt them in forming official groups in the chamber and broader coalitions, seeking a majority. Leaders of four main pro-EU groups meet in the evening to agree a push to have one of their own appointed EU chief executive. May 28 - Parliament's Conference of Presidents -- leaders of party groups -- to meet in the morning. Expected to endorse call for national leaders to nominate lawmaker to run EU Commission. From 1500 GMT, 28 EU national leaders meet over dinner in Brussels to debate their next move -- giving their chairman, Donald Tusk, a mandate to negotiate the bloc's top jobs. Story continues June - Parliamentary groups will negotiate among themselves and with Tusk, seeking to defend the legislature's demand that government chiefs nominate a party candidate to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the executive European Commission. Many national leaders are resisting that idea. June 20-21 - Leaders aim to agree on Juncker's successor and that of European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. They may also agree who will succeed Tusk himself as president of the European Council and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. July 1 - Theoretically, Britain could leave the EU on this date if the UK Parliament agrees a Brexit deal at the fourth attempt. If it did, British MEPs would not take up their seats. However, this appears extremely unlikely at the moment. July 2-4 - New Parliament convenes in Strasbourg. It should choose its own president to succeed Antonio Tajani on July 3 -- another job in the mix for the bargaining over key EU posts. July 16-18 - Parliament sits again in Strasbourg. This is the earliest it could endorse a new Commission president. July-August - If a Commission president is agreed, he or she would then build an executive team, taking one commissioner from each member state and giving them portfolios. If there is no deal on a successor, then more summits may be needed. In 2014, Tusk and Mogherini were nominated at a summit in late August. September - New commissioners face hearings in Parliament. Some, notably those nominated by eurosceptic governments in the likes of Italy, Hungary or Poland, could hit resistance but MEPs can only block the Commission as a whole, not individuals. Oct. 22-24 - Parliament due to vote in Strasbourg to confirm the new Commission as whole. It can withhold its endorsement. Oct. 31 - Britain is due to leave, deal or no deal -- though a further delay to Brexit is also possible. Nov. 1 - The Commission is due to take office. If it has not been confirmed by Parliament, Juncker's team would carry on. Draghi's successor is due to take over the ECB in Frankfurt. Dec. 1 - Tusk's successor due to take office at the Council. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Catherine Evans) (Adds details on Neophotonics Corp) May 23 (Reuters) - Global tech firms, including chip suppliers, are cutting ties with China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd after the U.S. government put the world's largest telecom equipment maker on a trade blacklist citing national security concerns. The United States has effectively banned its companies from doing business with Huawei, exacerbating an ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war. The ban applies to goods that have 25% or more of U.S.-originated technology or materials, and may therefore affect non-American firms. Huawei is allowed to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to its smartphones. Following are companies that have suspended business with the Chinese firm: ** ALPHABET INC: Google on May 19 suspended the transfer of hardware, software and technical services to Huawei, except what it has made publicly available via open source licensing. ** U.S. CHIPMAKERS: Intel Corp, Qualcomm Inc , Xilinx Inc and Broadcom Inc told their employees they will not supply critical software or components to Huawei until further notice, Bloomberg reported on May 19. ** LUMENTUM HOLDINGS INC: The optical components maker said on May 20 it discontinued all shipments to Huawei, adding it "intends to fully comply with U.S. imposed license requirements." Huawei represented 18% of the company's total revenue in the latest quarter. ** QORVO INC: The radio frequency chipmaker said on May 21 it expects first-quarter revenue to take a $50 million hit due to a halt in shipments to Huawei. The Chinese firm represented 15% of Qorvo's total revenue in the year ended March 30. ** ANALOG DEVICES INC: Chief Executive Officer Vincent Roche on May 22 said his company will not be shipping anything to Huawei for the foreseeable future. [http://bit.ly/2QfqzRz ] ** INPHI CORP: The optical communications chipmaker on May 22 lowered its second-quarter earnings forecast based on its understanding of the U.S. government blacklisting of Huawei, which accounted for 14% of Inphi's http://bit.ly/2HI5GKW sales in 2018. Story continues ** ARM: The British chip designer, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, said on May 22 it has halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. ban. ** PANASONIC CORP: The Japanese electronics giant said on May 23 it had stopped shipments of certain components to Huawei. It will still sell some components to Huawei, a point it made clear on its China website. ** NEOPHOTONICS CORP: The optical components maker said on May 23 it wrote down certain inventories as a result of the U.S. ban on Huawei, while "fully complying with the restrictions" by ceasing shipments of products. (Compiled by Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Arun Koyyur) Ama (mother) Join Us!? We call for justice for the thousands of Native American women who were victims of forced or coerced sterilization practices. It is estimated over a twenty-year period between 1960 and 1980 that tens of thousands of Native American women were sterilized without their knowledge or consent. Due to poor record keeping during this era the exact number will never be known. Many of these women went to their graves having suffered this incredible abuse of power. We will petition the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to introduce a bill calling for a public apology to the individuals and their Tribal Nations. We ask individuals around the world to stand by the victims of this horrific abuse by signing our petition. Reports of forced sterilization of Native American women began to surface in the 1970s.* Of the 100,000 to 150,000 Native American women of childbearing age during this period experts estimate up to 70,000 of these women were involuntarily sterilized through tubal ligation or hysterectomy.* Many women were not given a choice to refuse to undergo the sterilization procedure and some were even coerced into signing consent forms, making it appear that they had willing given consent. Recent evidence has suggested that the sterilization procedure was often carried out under the pretence of other operations, routine check ups or during emergency surgery relating to pregnancy or abortion when the women were experiencing high stress. Many of the victims didn't know they were sterilized until years afterwards. https://www.change.org/p/united-states-government-to-offer-public-apology-to-native-american-women-who-were-victims-of-forced-sterilization Find out more of the story at: https://www.amamovie.com/ (Reuters) - Global tech firms, including chip suppliers, are cutting ties with China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd after the U.S. government put the world's largest telecom equipment maker on a trade blacklist citing national security concerns. The United States has effectively banned its companies from doing business with Huawei, exacerbating an ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war. The ban applies to goods that have 25% or more of U.S.-originated technology or materials, and may therefore affect non-American firms. Huawei is allowed to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to its smartphones. Following are companies that have suspended business with the Chinese firm: ** ALPHABET INC: Google on May 19 suspended the transfer of hardware, software and technical services to Huawei, except what it has made publicly available via open source licensing. ** U.S. CHIPMAKERS: Intel Corp, Qualcomm Inc, Xilinx Inc and Broadcom Inc told their employees they will not supply critical software or components to Huawei until further notice, Bloomberg reported on May 19. ** LUMENTUM HOLDINGS INC: The optical components maker said on May 20 it discontinued all shipments to Huawei, adding it "intends to fully comply with U.S. imposed license requirements". Huawei represented 18% of the company's total revenue in the latest quarter. ** QORVO INC: The radio frequency chipmaker said on May 21 it expects first-quarter revenue to take a $50 million hit due to a halt in shipments to Huawei. The Chinese firm represented 15% of Qorvo's total revenue in the year ended March 30. ** ANALOG DEVICES INC: Chief Executive Officer Vincent Roche on May 22 said his company will not be shipping anything to Huawei for the foreseeable future. (http://bit.ly/2QfqzRz) ** INPHI CORP: The optical communications chipmaker on May 22 lowered its second-quarter earnings forecast based on its understanding of the U.S. government blacklisting of Huawei, which accounted for 14% of Inphi's http://bit.ly/2HI5GKW sales in 2018. ** ARM: The British chip designer, owned by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, said on May 22 it has halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. ban. ** PANASONIC CORP: The Japanese electronics giant said on May 23 it had stopped shipments of certain components to Huawei. It will still sell some components to Huawei, a point it made clear on its China website. ** NEOPHOTONICS CORP: The optical components maker said on May 23 it wrote down certain inventories as a result of the U.S. ban on Huawei, while "fully complying with the restrictions" by ceasing shipments of products. ** SYNOPSYS INC: The electronic products and software maker said on May 23 that the company is restricting trade with Huawei after the Chinese company was blacklisted by U.S. last week this will impact its revenue. (Compiled by Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Arun Koyyur) LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to resign after a backlash to her final Brexit gambit and has agreed to meet the chairman of her Conservative Party's 1922 Committee on Friday to discuss her future. Below are Conservatives who have either said they plan to put themselves forward or are widely expected to run for the leadership: Planning to run: BORIS JOHNSON, 54 The face of the official campaign to leave the European Union, Johnson resigned as foreign minister in July in protest at May's handling of the exit negotiations. Johnson set out his pitch to the membership in a speech at the party's annual conference in October - some members queued for hours to get a seat. He called on the party to return to its traditional values of low tax and strong policing. Last week the BBC reported he had told The British Insurance Brokers' Association: "Of course I'm going to go for it." He is the bookmakers' favorite to succeed May. ESTHER MCVEY, 51 The pro-Brexit former television presenter, who resigned as work and pensions minister in November in protest at May's exit deal with the EU, has said she plans to run. McVey told Talkradio: "I have always said quite clearly that if I got enough support from my colleagues, yes I would (run). Now people have come forward and I have got that support, so I will be going forward." RORY STEWART, 46 A former diplomat who once walked 6,000 miles across Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal, Stewart was promoted to International Development Secretary this month. Educated at the exclusive Eton College, Stewart was first elected to parliament in 2010 and backed remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum. He opposes a 'no deal' exit and has been a vocal advocate of May's deal with Brussels. "I do want to bring this country together ... I accept Brexit, I am a Brexiteer, but I want to reach out to 'Remain' voters as well," he told the BBC. Story continues Expected to run: MICHAEL GOVE, 51 Gove, one of the highest-profile Brexit campaigners during the 2016 referendum, has had to rebuild his cabinet career after falling early to May in the contest to replace David Cameron, who resigned the day after losing the referendum. Seen as one of the most effective members of cabinet in bringing forward new policies, the high-energy environment minister has become a surprise ally to May and has backed her Brexit strategy. Gove teamed up with Johnson during the 2016 Brexit campaign only to pull his support for Johnsons subsequent leadership bid at the last moment and run himself. He has not yet said whether he plans to run. JEREMY HUNT, 52 Hunt replaced Johnson as foreign minister in July and has urged the Conservative membership to set aside their differences over Brexit and unite against a common foe - the EU. Hunt voted to remain in the EU in the referendum. He served six years as Britains health minister, a role that has made him unpopular with many voters who work in or rely on the state-run, financially stretched National Health Service. Asked at a lunch with journalists in parliament if he planned to run for leader, he said: "Wait and see." ANDREA LEADSOM, 56 A pro-Brexit campaigner, Leadsom made it to the last two in the 2016 contest to replace Cameron. She withdrew after a backlash to an interview in which she said being a mother gave her more of a stake in the future of the country than her rival Theresa May. Leadsom quit as Leader of the House of Commons on Wednesday, saying she did not believe the government's approach would deliver on the Brexit referendum result. She has previously told broadcaster ITV she was "seriously considering standing" to replace May. DOMINIC RAAB, 45 Raab quit as Mays Brexit minister last year in protest at her draft exit agreement saying it did not match the promises the Conservative Party made in the 2017 election. Raab served only five months as head of the Brexit department. He had held junior ministerial roles since being elected in 2010. Raab, a black belt in karate, campaigned for Brexit. Asked if he would like to be prime minister, he said: "Never say never." SAJID JAVID, 49 Javid, a former banker and a champion of free markets, has served a number of cabinet roles and scores consistently well in polls of party members. A second-generation immigrant of Pakistani heritage, he has a portrait of late Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher on his office wall. Javid voted 'Remain' in the 2016 referendum but was previously considered to be eurosceptic. He has not said whether he plans to run but is considered to have been setting out his stall in speeches and media interviews. DAVID DAVIS, 70 Davis, a leading eurosceptic, was appointed Brexit minister to lead negotiations with the EU in July 2016 but resigned two years later in protest at May's plans for a long-term relationship with the bloc. He ran for the party's leadership in 2005 but lost to Cameron. PENNY MORDAUNT, 46 Mordaunt is one of the last remaining pro-Brexit members of May's cabinet. She became Britain's first female defense secretary this month. A Royal Navy reservist, Mordaunt was previously international development minister. Many had expected her to join the wave of resignations that followed the publication of Mays draft withdrawal deal. AMBER RUDD, 55 Rudd resigned as interior minister last year after facing outrage over her department's treatment of some long-term Caribbean residents wrongly labeled illegal immigrants. She backed 'Remain' in 2016 and has opposed a 'no deal' exit, meaning she could win support from pro-EU Conservative lawmakers. But she struggled to retain her seat at the 2017 election and has one of the smallest majorities in parliament. MATT HANCOCK, 40 Health minister Hancock, a former economist at the Bank of England, supported 'Remain' in 2016. First elected to parliament in 2010, he has held several ministerial roles. JUSTINE GREENING, 50 The former education minister told ITV she would consider running. Greening supports a second Brexit referendum. Many thought she might join several of her colleagues in quitting the party to form a pro-EU group in parliament earlier this year. LIZ TRUSS, 43 Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Truss has held several roles in government including environment minister and justice minister. She backed 'Remain' in 2016 but has said she has since changed her mind on Brexit. GRAHAM BRADY, 51 Brady is chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers. "It would take an awful lot of people to persuade me. I'm not sure many people are straining at the leash to take on what is an extraordinarily difficult situation," he told BBC Radio. KIT MALTHOUSE, 52 A former deputy mayor of London, Malthouse became a Member of Parliament in 2015. He is a junior housing minister and helped author the so-called Malthouse Compromise plan to replace the unpopular Irish backstop in Britain's EU exit deal with alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border. The Sun newspaper reported he was setting up a campaign team. JAMES CLEVERLY, 49 Cleverly was appointed a junior Brexit minister last month, having previously been deputy chair of the Conservative Party. He had a career in publishing before being elected to parliament in 2015. The Sun reported he was planning to run for leader. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and William James; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Janet Lawrence) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - This weekend's European Parliament election will usher in a major reshuffle of top jobs in EU institutions. These include presidents of the three political bodies -- the executive European Commission (currently Jean-Claude Juncker), the Council of national leaders (Donald Tusk) and the European Parliament (Antonio Tajani) -- plus the European Central Bank (Mario Draghi) and the EU's foreign policy chief (Federica Mogherini). National leaders meet on Tuesday to haggle and prepare to bargain with EU lawmakers (MEPs). Any deals must balance the interests of: states and Parliament; key states; big countries and small; Europe's north, south, east and west; men and women; and pan-EU political parties, right, left and center. Who gets what is anyone's guess at this stage but these are some of the names in the mix for the Brussels political posts: MANFRED WEBER - German, center-right EPP, 46, MEP. Leading EPP election campaign to be Commission president. A strong EPP result would help him but centrist French President Emmanuel Macron and others reject a parliamentary push to bind leaders into choosing an MEP "Spitzenkandidat" for the job. Many dismiss Weber for lacking national government credentials. FRANS TIMMERMANS - Dutch, center-left S&D, 58, Juncker's deputy, former foreign minister, fluent in five EU languages. Has credentials and oratory that Weber lacks but hampered by Socialists' poor showing in EU and national elections. MICHEL BARNIER - French, EPP, 68, EU Brexit negotiator, former foreign minister, MEP and EU commissioner. Dark horse, not running in election but discreetly working to capitalize on respect of leaders for Brexit negotiations; energy belies age; as a moderate French conservative, seems to have backing of liberal Macron and German EPP Chancellor Angela Merkel. Has respect in Parliament for keeping it in the loop on Brexit talks. He can cite Brexit as excuse for not seeking EPP nomination as he did in 2014, when he lost out to Juncker. MARGRETHE VESTAGER - Danish, ALDE, 51, EU commissioner. Promoted by ALDE centrists in campaign, attacks on big U.S. firms' tax affairs raised profile; as a liberal and a woman, she could please Macron, Merkel and several liberal prime ministers. KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA - Bulgarian, EPP, 65, CEO World Bank, former EU commissioner and World Bank economist. Quietly touted by some eastern governments as first EU chief executive from ex-Communist bloc. Gender also an advantage, she won kudos for frank talk while managing EU budget until 2016. CHRISTINE LAGARDE - French, EPP, 63, IMF managing director, former finance minister after success as corporate lawyer. Another dark horse, cited by those who see leaders keen to see the first woman to run the EU. Credited for keeping U.S.-based IMF helpful to Europeans during the euro zone crisis. DALIA GRYBAUSKAITE - Lithuanian, 63, EPP-allied, president since 2009, former EU commissioner and finance minister. A decade at the EU summit table gives her profile to replace Tusk at the European Council. But some see her as too blunt and too hostile to Russia to guide EU leaders toward consensus. MARK RUTTE - Dutch, 52, ALDE, prime minister since 2010. Summit veteran, his appetite for a Brussels job is unclear. Hawkish fiscal and free enterprise views could test his ability to build consensus in Council or Commission but he is effective. VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS - Latvian, 47, EPP, Commission vice president for the euro, former prime minister. An engineer and central bank economist, has won credit for rigor and fairness in euro zone but has low public profile. GUY VERHOFSTADT - Belgian, 66, ALDE, liberal leader and Brexit point man in Parliament, former prime minister. Arch euro-federalist, contender for Parliament president; some see the five-year mandate split in two, perhaps with Weber. ANDREJ PLENKOVIC - Croatian, 49, EPP, prime minister. Former MEP from Union's newest member has been courting EPP and eastern allies, diplomats say, with an eye to Brussels job. JOSEP BORRELL - Spanish, 72, S&D, foreign minister. Re-election last month, rare among Europe's Socialists, has fired up Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to push for Spaniards and, despite age, former EU parliament president is being mentioned. NADIA CALVINO - Spanish, 50, S&D, economy minister. Until last year the Commission's top budget official, she too could benefit from Sanchez's campaign. CHARLES MICHEL - Belgian, 43, ALDE, prime minister. May be out of a job after Belgian election on same day as EU vote. Could fancy replacing Tusk after years at summit table. ALEXANDER STUBB - Finnish, 51, EPP, European Investment Bank vice president, former prime minister and finance minister. Multilingual europhile, lost to Weber in EPP Spitzenkandidat race but this consummate EU networker is a perennial contender. HELLA THORNING-SCHMIDT - Danish, 52, S&D, CEO of NGO Save the Children, former prime minister. Another name routinely mentioned, her gender is an advantage but center-left woes in the EU hurt chances. ANGELA MERKEL - German, 64, EPP, chancellor since 2005. She denies any EU ambition as she serves out her last term. Her stature could bolster an EU beleaguered by nationalists but might also provoke more charges it is a vehicle for German rule. THE CENTRAL BANKERS Part of the mix, especially in arm-wrestling between France and Germany, is who will run the ECB. Possibles include: JENS WEIDMANN - German, 51, heads Bundesbank central bank FRANCOIS VILLEROY DE GALHAU - French, 60, heads central bank OLLI REHN - Finnish, 57, heads central bank ERKKI LIIKANEN - Finnish, 68, former central bank head KLAAS KNOT - Dutch, 52, central bank head (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Catherine Evans) By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI, focused intently for years on combating terrorism from abroad, is turning more attention to home-grown, U.S. domestic violent extremists, a senior FBI counterterrorism official said on Thursday. Arrests related to domestic terrorism in the current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, are at 66, exceeding international terrorism arrests, now at 63. Terrorism cases are "the FBI's number one priority," the FBI official said, noting that every one of the bureau's U.S. field offices is affiliated with a local "joint terrorism task force" involving both federal and local law enforcement agencies. While militants linked to international terrorism can be prosecuted under U.S. federal laws introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York City, no similar federal laws cover domestic terrorism. Recent violent extremist attacks in the United States include the killing of 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last October and a shooting in Kansas in 2017 when an Indian immigrant was killed by an assailant who thought the victim was Middle Eastern. The figures show international terrorism remains a major focus for the FBI, but the bureau is increasingly treating domestic terrorism as an equally important concern. The official said domestic terrorism cases relate to racially motivated extremism; anti-government attacks, animal-rights related attacks, and attacks involving abortion clinics or anti-abortion rights protesters. The internet remains a main source of radicalization for domestic and U.S.-based international terrorists. "Terrorism moves at the speed of the internet," the official said. Given the availability of radical messages in cyberspace, the official said, "homegrown violent extremists" - those inspired by foreign movements like Islamic State - now can become self radicalized in just months. "Attacks inspire attacks," the official added, noting that attacks such as one against mosques in New Zealand are the type which have inspired or been copied by other attackers. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Alistair Bell) Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Many conservationists on Thursday reacted with anger over Botswana's decision to lift its blanket ban on hunting, describing it as a "horrifying" move, though others backed the idea. Botswana fended off criticism of its decision to end the five-year ban, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population. A government statement said the cabinet had been influenced by the "high levels of human-elephant conflict" and its "impact on livelihoods". "Predators appear to have increased and were causing a lot of damage as they killed livestock in large numbers," it said. "The general consensus from those consulted was that the hunting ban should be lifted." A blanket hunting ban was introduced in 2014 by then-president Ian Khama, a keen environmentalist, to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals. But lawmakers from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) have been lobbying for the policy change, saying wild animal numbers have become unmanageable in some areas. Environment minister Kitso Mokaila said the government had found itself in the firing line over the decision. "We are trying to come up with solutions and yet we seem to be the guys that are targeted for abuse," he said, adding that many lives had been lost. "Conservation is in our DNA," he told reporters in Gaborone. Much of the controversy has focused on elephant hunting, as landlocked Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces. The London-based Humane Society International said "the horrifying decision... will send shock waves throughout the conservation world." "Resuming... hunting is not only morally questionable and flies in the face of all international efforts to protect these giants, but it will also likely damage Botswana's hugely valuable tourism industry." Story continues But the minister said "we have never been reckless and we will never be reckless. Our responsibility to conservation has not changed." A deputy director in the ministry, Cyril Taolo, said the resumption of hunting was not "intended to reduce our elephant population" and that there was an annual quota to hunt 400 animals a year. "We will ensure hunting is done ethically," he said. - 'A political move' - President Mokgweetsi Masisi took over from Khama last year and a public review began five months later, with reports suggesting growing political friction between Masisi and his predecessor. "This is a political move and not in the best interests of conservation in Botswana," Jason Bell of the US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said. "Elephants are being used as political scapegoats, but at a huge cost. "Hunting will do nothing to alleviate human-elephant conflict." But Botswanan groups said hunting would help local communities as trophy hunters pay large sums to shoot an animal. "We are very happy that hunting will be back," Amos Mabuku, chairman of the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, told AFP. "The people were the ones who had been bearing the brunt of co-existing with these animals -- we have lost brothers, we have lost our crops, we have lost our cattle due to this. "Livelihoods are dependent on the revenue from trophy hunting... controllable hunting, not poaching." The WWF said that its policy was that "scientific evidence has shown that trophy hunting can be an effective conservation tool as part of a broad mix of strategies." - Rising numbers - Some experts say the number of elephants in Botswana, renowned as a luxury safari destination, has almost tripled over the last 30 years, and that the population could now be over 160,000 -- around a third of the entire African population. Tom Milliken, a consultant with TRAFFIC, an international charity on trade in wild animals, said trophy hunting could support rural areas. "Sport hunting does get revenues going back to local communities and if we hope to maintain large landscapes for species like elephants we need to have the goodwill of local communities." Many of Botswana's elephants roam across borders into Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All four countries have called for a global ban on elephant ivory trade to be relaxed due to the growing number of the animals in some regions. New Delhi (AFP) - With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party re-elected in a landslide, AFP looks at the challenges facing his government over the coming five years. - Jobs - Modi in his first term fell short on creating jobs for the more than a million Indians entering the labour market every month, experts say. A leaked recent government report showed that unemployment rose to a 45-year high of 6.1 percent in 2017-18. Government jobs have seen staggering numbers of applicants, including many overqualified candidates drawn to the prospect of a secure position with perks. Last year 19 million applied for 63,000 positions at Indian Railways. Non-farm sectors are hampered by stringent labour laws and insufficient investment in skills, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. - Farmers - Many of those looking for work are those escaping from a dire crisis gripping Indian agriculture that has driven thousands of farmers to suicide in recent years. Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihoods in India, with 70 percent of rural households depending primarily on it. Farmers are finding it ever harder to water their crops as groundwater levels fall and monsoon rains become more unpredictable. This has prompted extreme measures including curfews and armed guards near water sources while groundwater supplies in many areas have been contaminated by pollutants. Farmers are also reeling from low prices for their produce and a lack of infrastructure meaning 40 percent of fruit and vegetables rot before reaching consumers, according to the UN. - Pollution - Modi had pledged billions of dollars to clean up the holy Ganges river, which like other waterways is awash with raw sewage and industrial effluent. But results have been mixed. India's air is also a health hazard -- the country is home to 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, according to Greenpeace. Industrial emissions, car fumes and smoke from burning crops are creating a toxic cocktail. Story continues Poisonous air was responsible for 1.24 million premature deaths in India in 2017, according to a study published last year by Lancet Planetary Health, which said tens of millions of people face serious health risks. Every winter Delhi, the world's most noxious capital, chokes through haze so extreme that levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipse safe limits by more than 30 times. But the environment barely got a mention in the election campaign. "Whilst the public across the world is generating awareness on environmental issues, it is clearly missing in India," Aarti Khosla, director of Climate Trends, a New Delhi-based initiative, told AFP. - Hindu hardliners - Modi on Thursday vowed to build an "inclusive" India but critics have accused his party of fomenting animosity towards the country's religious minorities, particularly its 170 million Muslims. Under Modi, lynchings of Muslims and low-caste Dalits for eating beef and slaughtering and trading in cattle have risen. Several cities with names rooted in India's Islamic Mughal past have been renamed, while some school textbooks have been changed to reflect Hindu right-wing ideology, culture and history. With a new mandate, Modi will be under pressure from hardline Hindu groups that have long espoused "Hindutva", or Hindu hegemony. This includes kickstarting the building of a temple in Ayodhya on the site of a mosque destroyed by mobs in 1992. That kicked off riots across Hindu-majority India that left some 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. "Whichever government comes in power, we expect it took look at key civilisational issues like the construction of a grand temple for Lord Ram at Ayodhya," said a spokesman for one Hindu group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). - Foreign policy - Modi also faces foreign policy challenges, not least with Pakistan, against which India has fought three wars since partition in 1947. In February the two nuclear-armed nations conducted tit-for-tat air strikes after a suicide bomb killed 40 Indian paramilitaries in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted on Thursday that he looked forward "to working with him (Modi) for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia". India is also concerned by China's rising influence, especially Beijing's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. One project passes through Pakistani-administered Kashmir which India claims. In 2017 India and China had a military standoff over a Himalayan plateau claimed by Beijing and Bhutan, a close ally of India. Since then China and India have sought to patch up relations. India also walks a tightrope between the United States and Russia, with Moscow still a major arms supplier to New Delhi including the S-400 missile system. Modi made the S-400 deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin last October, defying US warnings of sanctions on countries buying Russian arms. By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A 65-year-old man known as one of Florida's most notorious serial killers who was convicted of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing eight women in 1984 is scheduled to be executed on Thursday. Robert Long is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison in Raiford. Investigators said Long's crime spree began in the early 1980s when he answered ads for household goods for sale in local newspapers placed by women, went to their homes and sexually assaulted them. Authorities believe that Long, dubbed the "Classified Ad Rapist," used this tactic to rape dozens of women in California and Florida. Long was arrested for kidnapping Lisa McVey, 17, as she biked home from her job at a donut shop in Tampa in September 1984. She was taken to an apartment at gunpoint where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted, court documents said. McVey escaped and gave police a description of the man who assaulted her and his car, according to the court records. Police linked Long to several unsolved murders in the Tampa area by matching fibers that were found on victims with fibers from the carpet in his car. He confessed to killing nine women, according to court records. In September 1985, Long pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to death for the May 27, 1984, homicide of Michelle Simms, 22, whom he picked up in Tampa, according to the death warrant signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. During the same September 1985 court hearing, Long pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the abduction, rape and murder of seven additional women in the Tampa area in 1984, the death warrant said. "I pull over, they get in, I drive a little ways, stop, pull a knife, a gun, whatever, tie them up, take them out. And that would be it," he said, according to court documents. Long has unsuccessfully appealed his case in various state and federal courts. As of Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court was considering an appeal by Long, who asked the court to halt his execution so constitutional challenges to his conviction and sentencing can be considered. Long would be the eighth inmate to be executed in the United States in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, an organization that tracks executions. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler) Sydney (AFP) - Two boating brothers have been rushed to a hospital with serious injuries after a being hit by a flying marlin in the waters off Australia's east coast Thursday. The two men in their 40s were sailing in a rigid hull inflatable boat near Coffs Harbour when they were struck by the 80-100 kilogram (175-220 pound) animal. The spear-nosed fish flew through the air and crashed into the brothers on the boat, which had been travelling at around 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour. "The marlin's sharp snout sliced open the younger brother's lower right arm, causing an open fracture," New South Wales police said. "The older brother suffered a deep cut to his right shoulder." One was airlifted to hospital and the other was taken overland. "Their injuries are not considered life threatening," police said. Some Australian marlin can grow as long as five metres (16 feet) -- and weigh as much as a car. The Lithuanian-led exercises Open Spirit 2019 recently concluded, on May 16, after two weeks of manoeuvers. This exercise is an international maritime operation led on a rotating basis by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The Lithuanian-led exercises Open Spirit 2019 recently concluded, on May 16, after two weeks of manoeuvers. This exercise is an international maritime operation led on a rotating basis by Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Baltic Sea MCM exercises Open Spirit conclude in Lithuania (Picture Source: Belgian Navy) The Lithuanian Navy led the operation in 2019 in coordination with the NATO Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters. They brought together more than 15 ships from Lithuania, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom to participate in the explosive ordnance disposal operation this year. According to the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, more than 80,000 thousand naval mines and other explosive ordnance placed during World War I and World War II are estimated to be still under the water and pose a threat to individuals working on and in the Baltic Sea. Open Spirit provides a unique opportunity to train in our core warfare in a multinational and realistic environment, said Commander of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) Commander Peter Krogh, of the Danish Navy. We are pleased to make the Baltic Sea safer for those who use the sea for commercial reasons. For us as well as the civilian society it is a win-win. The NATO minehunters cleared more than 40 square nautical miles of seabed and identified and successfully neutralized more than 6 mines and 3 other unexploded ordnance on the seafloor as part of the operation. SNMCMG1 currently consists of flagship Royal Danish Navy multi-role frigate HDMS Thetis with MCM Denmark embarked and two minehunting drones, Belgian Naval Component minehunter BNS Bellis, German Navy minehunter FGS Dillingen, Royal Norwegian Navy minehunter HNoMS Hinny and Royal Navy minehunter HMS Ramsey. Brussels (AFP) - Europe's top court has upheld an order for French far-right leader Marine Le Pen to reimburse the European Parliament nearly 300,000 euros for money paid incorrectly to an aide. The European Court of Justice based in Luxembourg rejected an appeal from Le Pen, a former MEP who had contested a lower court ruling, according to a copy of the decision obtained by AFP on Thursday. The top court upheld a June 2018 General Court ruling which confirmed "the decision of the European Parliament to recover from Marine Le Pen MEP almost 300,000 euros ($334,000) for the employment of a parliamentary assistant." The lower court, also in Luxembourg, cited grounds that Le Pen "did not prove the effectiveness" of that assistant's work. In December 2016, the parliament ruled that 298,500 euros had been "unduly" paid to Le Pen over a five-year period for parliamentary assistance provided by her aide Catherine Griset, who was based in Paris and not at the legislature. The EU parliament meets in both Brussels and the French city of Strasbourg. The parliament began withholding part of Le Pen's allowances as an MEP to recover the money, but she stood down in 2017 and is so far down her party's list in this week's European elections she is unlikely to return. While campaigning for Sunday's polls, Le Pen denounced "the flagrant violation" of her rights and vowed to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Le Pen added: "Our response to these low manoeuvres will be seen at the polling booths." Photo: Jen C./Yelp A new Japanese eatery and sake bar has opened in the neighborhood. The newcomer to Fremont, called Hannyatou, is located at 1060 N. 39th St. This new business serves up sake and small bites. According to its website, the restaurant ferments its own misos, pickles, koji marinades, vinegars and tamaris. Chef Mutsuko Soma then uses these fermented items to create bite-sized dishes that are meant to pair well with sake. Soma has accolades to back up her talent in the kitchen, such as Eater Seattles Chef of the Year 2017 and she was a 2019 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Northwest. With a five-star rating out of four reviews on Yelp so far, Hannyatou is on its way to developing a local fan base. Tayler M. wrote, "This is hands down the best sake bar in Seattle! The staff are all very knowledgeable and friendly and can recommend sake to accompany any of their delicious small plates." Yelper Sadie H. added, New sake bar in Fremont! Friendly and competent servers with high quality sake and food. Can't wait to come back. Head on over to check it out: Hannyatou is open from 410 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday and 411 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. (It's closed on Monday and Sunday.) Better dentistry does exist Not all dentists in San Francisco provide you with the same experience, which is why we make your life easier by rewarding you with a $50 gift card for visiting one of the top rated dentists in your area on Opencare. Don't believe us? Opencare is also proud to offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, so if your new dentist doesn't live up to the hype, we'll also reimburse you up to $100 to cover your appointment costs! Click here to book an appointment and claim your $50 reward This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) A general strike called by Nicaragua's opposition to demand the release of political prisoners had a mixed impact Thursday. Small businesses, some supermarkets and private schools closed in the capital. But pharmacies and gas stations were open. Traffic was lighter than usual, with many private vehicles off the roads, but buses and taxis were circulating as usual. The government had warned banks they would be sanctioned if they participated in the strike called by opposition coalitions. A private school attended by some of President Daniel Ortega's grandchildren was among those closed, though it said that was for security reasons. Evelia Herrera said she opened her shop in Managua because she doesn't eat if she doesn't work. The strike seemed to be more effective in other cities. Opposition leaders claimed success, while government officials suggested the strike's impact was minimal. Jose Pallais of the Civic Alliance opposition group said 65%-70% of businesses remained closed and consumption was reduced by 90%, according to preliminary estimates from organizers. Jose Adan Aguerri, president of the business council Cosep, called the protest "very successful." But Rosario Murillo, Ortega's powerful vice president and first lady, said, without directly mentioning the strike, that "in all Nicaragua, families carried out everyday activities" such as farm work, education and health care. Bitcoin could rapidly replace gold in millennial portfolios - if the SEC finally approves a crypto ETF. | Source: Shutterstock By CCN: The US investing industry stands on the precipice of a dramatic upheaval that could see bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets replace gold in investor portfolios. Thats according to Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, an independent investment advisor. He revealed in a Bloomberg TV interview that his millennial clients are clamoring to hold bitcoin in their portfolios if only the SEC would let them. Crypto in a Landslide: ETF Expert Says Millennials Plan to Kick Gold to the Curb bitcoin vs US dollar Geraci shocked his fellow panel members when he said that millennial investors overwhelmingly desire to hold bitcoin instead of traditional hedge assets like gold. | Source: Shutterstock Responding to a question from Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas about whether he would ever invest client funds in a bitcoin ETF, Geraci stunned his fellow panel members when he said that millennial investors overwhelmingly desire to hold bitcoin instead of traditional hedge assets like gold. How overwhelming? Ninety percent. When we talk to our younger clients we have a core gold allocation in our portfolios, and theyll ask about that and say, What about crypto? And if you talk to, primarily millennials, and ask them which they prefer, bitcoin or gold, its a landslide. Its not even close, its like 90% prefer bitcoin. Geracis bold claim was more anecdotal than scientific, but theres plenty of hard data that demonstrates that younger investors are vastly more comfortable with holding cryptocurrency in their portfolios than investors who grew up in the pre-digital era. Read the full story on CCN.com. Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush won an Australian record multi-million-dollar payout Thursday after a court found that a Sydney newspaper defamed him. Local media reported the Oscar-winning actor has been awarded almost US$2 million for lost earnings and compensation, after he was accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour toward female cast members. In a front-page article published in 2017, the Daily Telegraph wrote that the Sydney Theatre Company received a complaint that Rush had inappropriately touched a female co-star during a staging of "King Lear". A Sydney judge had described the content as a "recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism." The paper, owned by Rupert Murdoch, had appealed the initial ruling that set part of the compensation. Australia's defamation laws are notoriously strict. The Age newspaper said the sum was the largest ever paid to an individual in the country. Rush won the Best Actor Academy Award in 1997 for his role in "Shine" and is one of the few stars to have also won a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Tony Award. BERLIN, May 23 (Reuters) - A senior German diplomat was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and cool tensions in the region, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. Jens Ploetner, a political director in the Foreign Ministry, planned to meet Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as well as other officials on his visit, the German source said. Britain, France and Germany, which signed the 2015 deal along with the United States, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last year's U.S. withdrawal from the deal, protect trade and still dissuade Tehran from quitting an accord designed to prevent it developing a nuclear bomb. But Iran's decision earlier this month to backtrack from some commitments in response to U.S. moves to cripple its economy threatens to unravel the deal, under which Tehran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions. "At the center of the political director's visit is the preservation of the Vienna nuclear accord (JCPOA)," the German diplomatic source told Reuters. "After Iran's announcement to partly suspend its commitments under the JCPOA, there is a window of opportunity for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue to fully comply with the JCPOA." Ploetner knows Araghchi from the negotiations to clinch the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Tensions have soared between Iran and the United States after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. U.S. officials said on Wednesday the Defense Department was considering a military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East. On Thursday, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars quoted a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards as saying the U.S.-Iranian standoff was a "clash of wills" and suggesting any enemy "adventurism" would meet a crushing response. That followed a remark from another Revolutionary Guards commander on Wednesday that the United States and its supporters did not dare attack Iran because of its "spirit of resistance." The German diplomatic source added: "The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation around the Vienna nuclear accord is extremely serious. There is a real risk of escalation...In this situation, dialog is very important." (Reporting by Sabine Siebold Writing by Paul Carrel Editing by Mark Heinrich) By Sabine Siebold BERLIN (Reuters) - Iran told a German envoy seeking to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal that its patience was over and urged the treaty's remaining signatories to fulfill their commitments after the United States pulled out, the Fars news agency reported on Thursday. Jens Ploetner, a political director in the German Foreign Ministry, met Iranian Deputy Foreing Minister Abbas Araghchi. A German diplomatic source told Reuters that talks with other Iranian official were also planned. The semi-official Fars news agency said Araghchi had relayed Iran's impatience during the talks. Britain, France and Germany, which signed the 2015 deal along with the United States, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last year's U.S. withdrawal from the deal, protect trade and still dissuade Tehran from quitting an accord designed to prevent it developing a nuclear bomb. But Iran's decision earlier this month to backtrack from some commitments in response to U.S. measures to cripple its economy threatens to unravel the deal, under which Tehran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions. "At the center of the political director's visit is the preservation of the Vienna nuclear accord (JCPOA)," the German diplomatic source told Reuters. "After Iran's announcement to partly suspend its commitments under the JCPOA, there is a window of opportunity for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue to fully comply with the JCPOA." Ploetner knows Araghchi from the negotiations to clinch the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Tensions have soared between Iran and the United States since Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. On Wednesday, U.S. officials said the Defense Department was considering a U.S. military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East. Despite such pressure, Keyvan Khosravi, a spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council reiterated on Thursday that there would be no negotiations with Washington. He said officials from several countries had visited Iran recently, "mostly representing the United States", but that Tehran's message to them was firm. "Without exception, the message of the power and resistance of the Iranian nation was conveyed to them," he said. Fars earlier quoted a senior commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guards as saying the U.S.-Iranian standoff was a "clash of wills" and any enemy "adventurism" would meet a crushing response. The German diplomatic source added: "The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation around the Vienna nuclear accord is extremely serious. There is a real risk of escalation...In this situation, dialogue is very important." (Additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in LondonWriting by Paul Carrel, Editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean) A group of Pennsylvania lawmakers led by Representative John Joyce (R., Pa.) sent a letter to Governor Tom Wolf Thursday urging him to dispatch the commonwealths National Guard units to help address the overwhelming influx of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border. Joyce and his fellow Republican lawmakers were moved to write the letter after hearing Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan testify Wednesday about the extent of the crisis at the border and the need for increased manpower to address it. Our country is currently facing a security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border. In April, more than 109,000 undocumented immigrants crossed the border. Around 98,000 of those 109,000 migrants were apprehended between ports of entry, the lawmakers write. It is our position that Pennsylvania should lend to the president as many National Guard Troops as possible until the crisis is resolved, their letter goes on to say. However, given your statement from July 19, 2018 expressing that you would not honor a request from President Trump to send the National Guard to the border, we wanted to write to you in order to ensure that is not still the case. Wolf announced in June 2018 that Pennsylvania would not deploy its National Guard troops to the border if asked to do so out of opposition to the Trump administrations zero-tolerance immigration-enforcement policy, which resulted in the separation of migrant families. While Pennsylvania proudly sent troops to help Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico in the last year to assist with disaster relief and Governor Wolf believes we need to protect our borders from real threats, he opposes state resources being used to further President Trumps policy of separating young children from their parents, Wolfs office said in a statement at the time. The letters signatories Pennsylvania Republicans Joyce, Guy Reschenthaler , Lloyd Smucker, Scott Perry, and Mike Kelly go on to argue that Wolf should extend the same help he proudly offered in the wake of recent natural disasters to address the border crisis. Story continues Joyce said in a statement accompanying the letter that he witnessed firsthand the effects that a lack of adequate resources has had on Border Patrol agents and migrants alike during a recent trip to the border. Border Patrol agents are spending far too much time on humanitarian and administrative tasks, which is hindering their ability to apprehend dangerous individuals such as drug smugglers and cartel members, Joyce said in a statement. Pennsylvanias National Guard could provide Border Patrol agents with the support necessary to free them up to spend more time catching persons of interest. Joyce went on to say that Congress must ultimately address the crisis through legislation, but that immediate action must be taken to prevent the further collapse of border security in the meantime. Update 3:37p.m.: Governor Wolfs office accused Joyce and his fellow signatories of baselessly demonizing asylum-seekers for political gain and argued a National Guard deployment is unnecessary in a statement provided to National Review Thursday afternoon: There is no crisis at the border that the federal government cannot handle. This is hyperbole to further a political agenda that seeks to demonize peaceful asylum seekers, many of whom are children, elderly and women. Further, ahead of the worst storm and flooding season for the commonwealth, it would be irresponsible to preemptively send PA troops to the border when so many federal resources are already available. This is especially true given the lack of federal resources readily available to states for storm and flooding recovery. We are surprised these congressmen seem more concerned about a border thousands of miles away than keeping PA guardsman close to home where they could be needed. As we said last year, the federal government has a request, Governor Wolf would evaluate it like any other request for assistance. But Governor Wolf has no plans to send troops away from their homes and families just to further a political goal. PA Guard troops will be prioritized for needs at home or states facing real natural disasters or emergencies. More from National Review A Silicon Valley startup accelerator is looking for companies that want to fix some of the issues the government currently is falling to solve. Y Combinator, which is based in San Fransisco and works closely with Silicon Valley, launched a request for startups that focus on addressing issues related to economic growth this week. The initiative, announced at the Collision conference in Toronto this week, is called Government 2.0 and is a response to what Y Combinator calls a lack of government commitment to provide equal access to the basic services families need to thrive. Those basic services include quality education, affordable housing, healthcare, physical safety, accurate news and information and a liveable environment. We believe that a new generation of technology startups are emerging who will start to address these needs, Y Combinator said in a release about the initiative. If you are creating a startup with the goal of making America a better place, we want to talk to you. Michael Seibel, Y Combinators chief executive officer, said that over the last several years startups are increasingly looking to create profitable businesses that help solve problems typically addressed by governments or non-profits, such as housing affordability and education. He believes that one of the reasons more startups have shifted their focus is because of the final four years of the Barack Obama administration, as well as the last three years under President Donald Trump. I think people really believed after healthcare was passed that the government could re-engage with solving the most important problems in America, Seibel said. Once there was divided government that stopped and it hasnt really restarted. And so I think this generation of founders is thinking that: If I cant rely on the government to solve this problem, maybe I have to it. Twice a year, Y Combinator provides $150,000 in seed funding to startups in exchange for a stake in the company. The accelerator then runs the selected startups through a three-month program where the companies refine their pitches before attending a demo day with potential investors. Some of the companies Y Combinator has invested in include AirBnB, Stripe, DropBox, Instacart and DoorDash. Story continues The company stressed in a news release that we do not seek to replace the government and its policymakers but seek to fund startups that create solutions that provide Americans the foundations for economic growth. Seibel pointed to companies such as CodeAcademy (which offers programs and courses that teach users how to code) and Lambda School (which trains people to be software engineers online for free and only charges tuition once graduates find a job that pays at least $50,000) as examples of startups that fit the mandate. Its so much more exciting to invest in a company thats financially going to do well, but will also make their community a better place, Seibel said. The purpose of this request for startups is to popularize that you can do that. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. HOUSTON (AP) Advocates demanded $100 million in damages Thursday on behalf of the family of a 20-year-old Guatemalan woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent last year. The legal claim on behalf of Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez was filed one year after she died. It comes as the U.S. government grapples with surging numbers of Central Americans crossing its southern border and the deaths of six children in the last year after being apprehended by border agents. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed the claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act as a precursor to filing a lawsuit. Gomez Gonzalez crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas along with several migrants who were confronted by a Border Patrol agent, who opened fire and killed her. The claim says Gomez Gonzalez "posed no threat to anyone, as would have been obvious from the slightest glance." The claim says she was unarmed and not fleeing as others in the group of migrants were. It demands $50 million each for personal injury and what it says was Gomez Gonzalez's wrongful death. "Her life was as valuable as anyone else's, and her family deserves justice for their loss," said Andre Segura, the group's legal director. "Our government has a responsibility to treat everyone lawfully, humanely, and with respect regardless of how they came into this country." U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol's parent agency, declined to comment Thursday. CBP's initial statement on May 23, 2018, about Gomez Gonzalez's death said that the agent used his gun after being attacked by "multiple subjects using blunt objects." The agency called Gomez Gonzalez an assailant. The agency revised its statement a day later to say Gomez Gonzalez was "one member of the group" that rushed the agent and ignored orders to get on the ground. The statement said the agent fired one round. The agent, who was not identified, was placed on administrative leave at the time. CBP declined on Wednesday to comment on the agent's status or the claim being filed. George Altgelt, a lawyer for the agent, did not return a phone message. Story continues Gomez Gonzalez was from San Juan Ostuncalco, outside the western highland city of Quetzaltenango. Family members have said she studied forensic accounting and sought admission to a state university but failed to pass three admission exams. Living in poverty and unable to find work, she left for the United States. More than 160,000 people from Guatemala were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border between October and April. At Gomez Gonzalez's wake, a woman said that many villagers had left for the United States looking for work. "We are poor, there are no jobs. That is why people leave," said the woman, Guadalupe Carreto. (Reuters) - British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday it will change incentives for sales representatives in some countries as it looks to retain talent. The changes mark a cautious return by GSK to performance based bonuses for sales reps after stopping them for years in response to a bribery scandal. The company said the changes reflected the shift in GSK's portfolio towards innovative specialty care products, including oncology. GSK said it would make changes to its incentive program for pharmaceutical and vaccines sales representatives, to be applied initially in the United States, UK and Canada from July 2019. In specialty care, the capped variable pay element of a sales representative's salary will be evaluated on the basis of individual sales targets, it said. "They will allow the company to attract and retain the best sales force talent, enhancing the quality of our dialogue with healthcare professionals and helping them better serve patients," it added. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Jane Merriman) New York (AFP) - A young man threatening to blow up Trump Tower and the Israeli consulate in New York was arrested Wednesday in New Jersey, the state's federal prosecutor said. Investigators found a series of threatening message posted on social media by Jonathan Xie, 20, a sympathizer of the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules the Gaza Strip. Xie, originally from the affluent New Jersey neighborhood Basking Ridge, was charged with two counts of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization -- each punishable by up to 20 years in prison -- two counts of making false statements and one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. "The threat from homegrown violent extremists who self-radicalize remains persistent," said US Attorney Craig Carpenito in a statement. "While more Americans may be familiar with ISIS, we take seriously those who wish to help any designated terrorist organization." In December, according to the prosecution's statement Xie sent $100 via virtual transfer to an individual in Gaza whom he believed to be a member of the Al Qassam Brigades. He then bragged about it on Instagram, posting, "Pretty sure it was illegal but I don't give a damn." He said in February he wanted to join the US army "to learn how to kill." In April, he posted photos of Trump Tower on Instagram superimposed with text saying he wanted to plant a bomb there. On one photo, he added a "Yes/No" poll asking, "Should I bomb Trump Tower?" along with as a bomb emoji. Later in the month, he posted an Instagram live video in which he displayed a Hamas flag and a handgun, stating he wanted to go to a "pro-Israel march" and wanted "to shoot everybody" there, the statement added. The last attempted attack in New York was in December 2017, when a Bangladeshi man, inspired by the Islamic State group, tried to detonate a bomb in a tunnel below the Port Authority bus terminal, not far from the iconic Times Square. The bomb, which he strapped to his body with zip wires, did not detonate as planned and failed to seriously injure anyone other than himself. Convicted last November, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on September 10, 2019. (Spoiler Alert! This article contains information about the last episode of "Game of Thrones.") After eight seasons, the epic "Game of Thrones" TV series finally resolved the question of who will reign with an unexpected twist. Bran "the Broken" Stark rolled into position as the new monarch of the Six Kingdoms, but no longer will a king or queen's rule be automatically inherited by their children. And that's a good thing: Much of the political upheaval throughout the HBO series stemmed from uncertainty about the lawful heir to the throne. While it's anyone's guess what lies ahead for Westeros under its new system, we know from European history that hereditary succession can cause disruptions that reverberate to this day. In fact, researchers recently found that when male heirs for medieval European monarchies were in short supply, the resulting social discord hampered economic growth for generations. As a result, countries in regions that lacked male heirs "are today poorer than other regions," scientists reported online March 11 in the journal Comparative Political Studies. [5 Real-Life Inspirations for 'Game of Thrones' Characters] During the Middle Ages in Europe, around the years 1000 to 1500, direct male descendants were the most desirable heirs for a throne or noble title. Women and distant male descendants could also fill those roles; however, these were more likely to spark dissent and violence among rival groups of supporters, and the fighting could undermine future economic growth, the researchers wrote. In regions where monarchs were lucky enough to have male heirs, allowing for uncontested leadership transitions, "rulers were able to build the state institutions necessary to support economic development," the scientists wrote. "In areas burdened by a greater potential for political instability, the path to economic prosperity was much more arduous," the researchers said. Story continues What about illegitimate male heirs? In "Game of Thrones," King Joffrey Baratheon called for the murder of all his father's bastards so that none could challenge the new king's claim to the throne. But in the study, the researchers determined that medieval taboos against succession by illegitimate sons were so strong that the number of bastard "heirs" didn't have much of an effect on medieval politics. Over the centuries, other factors across Europe also shaped social and economic fortunes, the scientist reported. But the fingerprints of medieval hierarchies left a powerful imprint; France and Naples, for example, had consistent male lineages during the Middle Ages, and even today, those areas tend to be better off economically than some of their neighbors, according to the study. "The emergence of the first modern states in this period was so important, and the states themselves so fragile, that even small disruptions could have long-term consequences," the researchers wrote. Fans of "Game of Thrones" will have to imagine for themselves whether Westeros' new approach to leadership where new rulers are chosen by a noble council, rather than preordained by heredity will prove successful. Judging from the council's uproarious reaction to Sam Tarly's proposal that they empower the common people to choose a leader, the Six Kingdoms clearly isn't ready to embrace democracy just yet. Originally published on Live Science. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! I've been keeping an eye on Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., Ltd. (HKG:2777) because I'm attracted to its fundamentals. Looking at the company as a whole, as a potential stock investment, I believe 2777 has a lot to offer. Basically, it is a well-regarded dividend-paying company with an optimistic future outlook, not yet factored into the price. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. For those interested in understanding where the figures come from and want to see the analysis, take a look at the report on Guangzhou R&F Properties here. Very undervalued with high growth potential and pays a dividend Investors in search for stocks with room to flourish should look no further than 2777, with its expected earnings growth of 23%. Earnings growth is paired with an eye-catching top-line trajectory of 74%, which indicates a high-quality bottom-line expansion, as opposed to those driven simple by unsustainable cost-cutting activities. 2777's shares are now trading at a price below its true value based on its discounted cash flows, indicating a relatively pessimistic market sentiment. Investors have the opportunity to buy into the stock to reap capital gains, if 2777's projected earnings trajectory does follow analyst consensus growth, which determines my intrinsic value of the company. Compared to the rest of the real estate industry, 2777 is also trading below its peers, relative to earnings generated. This further reaffirms that 2777 is potentially undervalued. SEHK:2777 Past and Future Earnings, May 23rd 2019 2777 is considered one of the top dividend payers in the market, and it has also been able to maintain it at a level in which net income is able to cover dividend payments. SEHK:2777 Historical Dividend Yield, May 23rd 2019 Next Steps: For Guangzhou R&F Properties, there are three essential aspects you should further examine: Historical Performance: What has 2777's returns been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity. Financial Health: Does it have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Other Attractive Alternatives : Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of 2777? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! 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. Jet lag is very common - but there are things you can do to reduce its effect [Photo: Getty] You know the feeling. Youve just touched down in New York, and while the partygoers are ready to hit the nightclubs, youre ready to hit the hay. Or as the morning sunlight shines through your Tokyo hotel room, you feel like its midnight and havent slept a wink Theres nothing quite like jet lag to put a stop to that holiday feeling. And it can do more than simply make you feel groggy and grumpy while visiting tourist attractions. A study by British Airways found that flying through time zones quickly can reduce attention by 75%, memory by 20% and decision-making by 50%. But what exactly is this travellers nemesis and how can you avoid it? READ MORE: The worlds 50 best honeymoon venues Also called desynchronosis or flight fatigue, jet lag is the disruption of the bodys biological clock, which occurs when you cross time zones faster than your bodys natural ability to adjust. It is thought that, for every time zone crossed it takes a day to recover from the symptoms. So for Brits heading to Dubai, this would eat into their holiday by four days, while a Costa Rica trip would take six hours to adjust. Jet lag is not the same as general fatigue. It occurs when the internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, is no longer synchronised with local time. Since circadian rhythm is managed by light and dark, jet lag happens because, when were abroad, we experience daylight and darkness contrary to what were used to. When you travel, the outside input (light and dark) conflicts with the internal sleep pressure that creates sleepiness, says James Wilson aka The Sleep Geek, a sleep expert who works with large organisations. The external factors dont match whats happening internally, which confuses your body clock and explains why we end up feeling tired during the day and wide awake at night. READ MORE: The best country house hotels in hotel It also takes longer to adjust if you travel east than west, because your body clock finds it harder to adapt to a shorter day than a longer one. Story continues Its easier to adapt if you fly towards America than, say, Russia or China, because its easier to make your biological sleep time later than earlier, Wilson says. Destinations with a time difference of more than three hours tend to be where travellers start feeling the effects of jet lag. And its usually poor sleepers who feel it most. Good sleepers tend to find the effects of jet lag easier to mitigate than poor sleepers, who are more sensitive to disruptions to their sleep patterns, Wilson explains. Little wonder, then, that theres a growing number of so-called jet lag remedies on the market. From effervescent tablets and aromatherapy pulse point rollers, to light therapy lamps and photon showers, there are plenty of products that claim to cure jet lag. But, what actually works? Sleeping pills arent generally recommended and can be addictive or simply leave you feeling groggy when you land. And while Bordeaux may help you drift off on the flight, drinking at 35,000ft with the air con blasting will dehydrate you. Buy a bottle of water to sip throughout the flight instead. Melatonin is the hormone released by the body in the evening to let your brain know it's time to sleep. When our body clock is out of sync, we produce melatonin at the wrong time. Some travellers take melatonin as a supplement to help drift off while abroad. But it isnt available over the counter in the UK and the NHS does not recommend melatonin supplements for jet lag because there isn't enough evidence that they work. But there are some simple tricks that can help reduce the effects of jet lag. Its usually recommended to stick to UK time if your trip is short (less than three days) and eat and sleep at the times you would at home. If youre going long-haul for longer, Wilson recommends booking a flight that lands at dusk. Its normal to want an extra day of your holiday, so you book a flight that lands early in the morning but then you have a whole day of your body being incredibly confused and its harder to go to sleep, he says. Your body will adjust to the new time zone faster if you go to bed soon after your flight and start the new day fresh. Its a good idea to get into your new local time as soon as you get on the plane. Adjust your watch and eat to coincide with new meal times. Another way to prepare is by going to bed later and waking up later if youre travelling west or the opposite if youre travelling east a few days before your flight. This will help your body clock get used to its new sleep routine. Once in your destination, make sure you have plenty of natural light during the day and that your room is dark, or use an eye mask, at night. This will help your body clock adjust more quickly, Wilson says. Taking your own pillowcase can also help because it smells like home, which can make you feel more relaxed so you sleep better. How to support a fiercely independent friend through grief Supporting a best friend through grief is hard; supporting your fiercely independent best friend through grief can feel near-on impossible. That was the experience of Celebrity Masterchef winner Nadia Sawalha when her best friend and BBC broadcaster Kaye Adams lost both parents recently. It's been really painful for me to watch because I've wanted to help more than I could, Nadia told Kate Thornton on a recent episode of the White Wine Question Time podcast. I think Kaye has been extraordinary in the way that [shes] dealt with it all. You just want to take some of that pain for somebody you love. From left: Nadia Sawalha, Kate Thornton, and Kaye Adams on the latest episode of White Wine Question Time So how do you show support for a friend who is not the type of person to lean on others for support at the best of times? 1. Communicate your support in ways that are not intrusive and choose not to get upset if they dont respond There are so many ways to let a friend know youre thinking of them without invading their personal space, or making them feel obliged to respond graciously when they have no energy left. When Kaye's mum was very poorly and with her dad, I would just send a text or send a heart, Nadia said. I will often send Kaye a text just saying Just thinking of you, because I know that's what she wants. Nonintrusive options include sending a text, a WhatsApp message (directly, not in a group), or a good old-fashioned card or letter by Royal Mail. Ask them how much or little communication they would find helpful, and respect their wishes. Even if you find it hard to relate. 2. Dont judge their process: it might look different to the way you grieve Independent personalities are often likely to throw themselves into the practical details surrounding a bereavement: phoning friends and family, organising death certificates, ordering flowers, printing funeral programmes, and so on. Its a great idea to offer your support around these tasks, but be gracious if your offer is rejected. Keeping busy might be the only thing keeping her together. Story continues Be patient: sometimes you have to wait till all those jobs are done before they will be ready to process the actual emotion surrounding their loss. 3. Dont make promises you dont intend to keep If your friend does take you up on an offer for practical support, realise that thats a big deal, and follow through. There are few things more isolating for this personality type than letting down their guard to accept help, only to be let down. 4. Share resources for self-care An independent friend might not be able to accept direct help from friends during a time of grief, but there are plenty of resources online to help them understand their feelings and process them in a private way. Marie Curie is a fantastic resource with information on practical, legal and financial matters, as well as tips for dealing with grief. The Good Grief Trust provides a database of all grief support in the UK, sorted by the type of bereavement, and services available in your area. For young grievers, Hope Again offers support and advice. Grief.com has a list of movies that might help your friend process some of their emotions in a more manageable and removed way. The Bereavement Trust offers a free helpline for those wanting to talk to someone a bit removed from their situation: 5. When theyre ready to talk, listen Self-sufficient friends might take a while to talk openly about their loss. Just let them know youre there to listen when theyre ready. Dont take it personally if youre not the person they feel comfortable opening up to. But if they do eventually want to talk, be prepared to accept a range of emotions. Grief doesnt always look like tears: sometimes it sounds angry, sometimes it takes the form of funny stories. As Marie Curie advises: When you talk to them, take your lead from them. They may want to talk to you in detail about what happened and how they feel, or they may not. Just listen, reflect back what you hear, and remember: this is not about you. You can hear the full episode featuring Kaye and Nadia, and how they learnt to negotiate each others different personalities and needs on White Wine Question Time, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or listen below. Chinese telecom giant Huawei says it could roll out its own operating system for smartphones and laptops in China by the autumn after the United States blacklisted the company, a report said Thursday. The international version of the system could be ready in the first or second quarter of 2020, said Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer business, told US channel CNBC. The company was dealt a blow this week with Google's decision to partially cut off Huawei devices from its Android OS following a US order banning the sale or transfer of American technology to the firm. "Today, Huawei, we are still committed to Microsoft Windows and Google Android," Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer business, told CNBC. "But if we cannot use that, Huawei will prepare the plan B to use our own OS." The Global Times, a Chinese state-run daily, reported on Monday that the platform -- named "HongMeng" -- was undergoing trials and will gradually replace the Android system. "We don't want to do this but we will forced to do that because of the US government. I think the US, this kind of thing, will also not only be bad news for us, but also bad news for the US companies because we support" US businesses, Yu told CNBC. "We don't want to do this but we have no other solution, no other choice." The US Commerce Department, which added Huawei and 68 of its affiliates to an "entity list" last week, on Monday announced a 90-day reprieve, allowing some services to continue. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are facing a potential drubbing in the Euro elections (Getty) Britain is heading to the polls in an election that was not supposed to happen - and the two main parties are expected to face a drubbing as a result. The Tories and Labour parties are predicted to suffer severe losses in the European Parliamentary elections, with the Brexit Party and Lib Dems predicted to hoover up the deserting voters. Theresa May is already under intense pressure to resign and the predicted losses the Tories face in the polls will only add to her woes - and give her little choice but to leave Downing Street. Latest polling shows Tories and Labour slipping behind the smaller parties (YouGov) Latest polling from YouGov put Nigel Farages Brexit Party on 37% - nearly double the second placed Lib Dems (19%). Labour are sitting in third place on 13%, while the Tories are languishing in fifth place, with 7% of the vote - putting them behind the Greens on 12%. Mrs May had hoped cross-party Brexit talks would deliver a compromise deal in time to allow her to call off the European Parliament elections. But the talks broke down without conclusion and her last-gasp effort to persuade MPs to back her deal backfired spectacularly. Read more from Yahoo News UK: Boy died after he was electrocuted by modified desk lamp Child escapes death after picking up remains of a pipe bomb in Derry Brexiteer calls pro-Brexit MP a traitor for voting for Brexit deal Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has suggested that Mrs May will cling on to power until after the results are in on Monday. In response to a question about whether Mrs May will still be PM when Donald Trump visits the UK in June, Mr Hunt said: Theresa May will be Prime Minister to welcome him and rightly so. However she could still resign before then and remain in post while a leadership battle takes place over the summer. Mrs Mays key Brexit legislation has also been pulled from the Commons schedule, prompting speculation the Prime Minister is on the verge of quitting. The predicted Euro election result will only add more pressure on Mrs May to quit (Getty) Downing Street had insisted the second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) would go before MPs in the week beginning June 3, but it was not announced when the Government set out the forthcoming Commons agenda on Thursday. Story continues On Wednesday, Downing Street had said the WAB would be published on Friday and debated by MPs in the first week of June. But Government whip Mark Spencer, outlining forthcoming business in the Commons on Thursday, said: "We will update the House on the publication and introduction of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on our return from the Whitsun recess." However, it is not clear whether the bill was pulled because Mrs May is about to quit - or whether she intends changing it following reaction from Tories. Downing Street conceded on Wednesday that they expected a "very challenging night" when the Euro results come through. A spokesman said: "The PM is focused on the task at hand which is delivering the Brexit people voted for. Cabinet reshuffles and resignations over the years (PA) Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said voting for Labour represented a vote for a "tolerant and fairer country", and an "end to the division and austerity which has devastated our communities for a decade. He said: "We will continue to oppose the Tories' bad deal or a disastrous No Deal. If we can't get an agreement along the lines of our alternative plan, we will take it back to the people whether it's through a public vote or General Election. "A vote for Labour is a vote for the only party that stands for the real change our country desperately needs, to benefit all communities, not just a privileged few. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is tipped to win the most seats and votes in the election (Getty) When Britain does finally leave the EU, the European Parliament will reduce from 751 MEPs to 705, with 27 of the UK's 73 seats being distributed among the remaining member states. Results of who has been elected as the new MEPs will not be announced until Sunday evening when the last polling station on the continent closes. England is split into nine regions: South East England has 10 MEPs, London and North West England each have eight, East of England and the West Midlands each have seven, Yorkshire and the Humber and South West England have six each, the East Midlands has five and North East England has three. Scotland has six MEPs, Wales four and Northern Ireland three. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- By John Irish PARIS, May 23 (Reuters) - Hungary's foreign minister on Thursday accused major Western European nations of "hypocrisy" and "hysteria" for criticizing central European countries' business dealings with China, and defended Hungary's use of Huawei 5G mobile phone technology. Sixteen central and eastern European countries, including 11 European Union members, held a summit with China in April during which it pledged to increase trade and provide more support for big cross-border infrastructure projects. The area is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to link China by sea and land with Southeast and Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. France and Germany oppose such independent moves, which they fear might make Europe appear disunited at a time when the EU is trying to forge a more defensive strategy towards China. On Tuesday, speaking to reporters in Paris, France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire criticized "negotiations of 16 states from the east with China in parallel to negotiations that the EU is leading with China." But Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto rejected such criticism, saying Germany and France do far more business with China than the central European states, and often negotiate directly with Beijing. "There is such a bad hypocrisy in the European Union when it comes to China," Szijjarto told Reuters on the sidelines of an OECD meeting in Paris. "The 11 central and eastern European member states ... represent 9.9 percent of EU trade with China." "When the German chancellor and French president meet China's leadership nobody thinks that's a problem," he said. "Nobody raises a question about how it is possible that they sell 300 aircraft to China, which is a bigger deal than the (entire) trade represented by the 11 central European countries." He said it was also unfair for Western European states to criticize Hungary for using technology from Chinese firm Huawei in its 5G mobile phone networks, when those networks were being built under license by German and British companies, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone. Story continues The United States and some of its European allies are pushing countries to exclude Huawei technology from their infrastructure, arguing that the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker could pose a security threat. Huawei denies that its technology could be misused by the Chinese state. The Hungarian mobile phone licenses were "signed by the biggest German and British telecommunications companies, and then the Germans, British and French accuse us of opening up our market to Huawei," Szijjarto said. "When it comes to China it's a matter of competition. Instead of crying, instead of making hysteria and accusing central European countries, we should strengthen ourselves and be ready for the competition." (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Leigh Thomas) Ilhan Omar has accused religious fundamentalists in the US of trying to manipulate state laws...to impose their beliefs on an entire society after anti-abortion bills were passed across the country. Recently passed laws in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio ban abortion after cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo. This can be as early as six weeks at which point most women do not yet know they are pregnant. Womens rights groups have reacted to the wave of state legislation with dismay, but the US religious and political right has largely supported the move. Religious fundamentalists are currently trying to manipulate state laws in order to impose their beliefs on an entire society, Ms Omar said, speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. All with complete disregard for voices and the rights of American women. Georgias bill imposes jail sentences for women found guilty of aborting or attempting to abort their pregnancies, with the potential for life imprisonment and the death penalty. The Minnesota lawmaker said the bills were only the latest in a long history of efforts to criminalise women for simply existing. To punish us when we dont conform to their attempts to control us. Because its happening here, with the support of the ultra-conservative religious right we call it religious freedom, she added, going on to accuse anti-abortion activists of hypocrisy. Lets just be honest for the religious right, this isnt simply about their care or concern for life. If they cared about or were concerned about children, they would be concerned about the children that are being detained and those that are dying in camps across our borders. Or the children who are languishing in hunger and facing homelessness. At least five migrant children have died in US detention since December. Ms Omars speech comes after Alabama governor Kay Ivey signed the most restrictive abortion bill in the US last week. Story continues Under the law, doctors would face 10 years in prison for attempting to terminate a pregnancy and 99 years for carrying out the procedure. Politicians in 16 further states are proposing further legislation to restrict abortion. If we had to name a person who totally embodied the Clever aesthetic, it would be Raquel Cayre, the mind behind the beloved @ettoresottsass Instagram account. A Memphis design movement aficionado, general design nerd, and talented curator, Raquel's collecting abilities are on display beyond her feed, in both her home and exhibitions. If you missed the chance to immerse yourself in her eclectic selection of furnishings, glassworks, and ceramics at last year's Raquel's Dream House, fear not. Raquel has teamed up with photo curation service For Your Guest Bathroom (FYGB) to decorate their new Canal Street pop-up with goodies from Memphis Milano. Max Moinian launched FYGB, a website that offers custom-framed photos to help you deck your walls affordably, this year "with a mission to bridge the gap between the great photos we scroll through on our phones and the boring, kitschy prints we see in real life." She partners with creatives who shoot on film for funphotographers by passion, not professionthen sells a selection of their works on FYGB to fit every space and style. Through the end of May, FYGB will be at ON CANAL, a pop-up space where brands and artists can test out new ideas and engage with the public in a high-traffic part of New York City. Raquel sweetened the deal, styling the space with the wildest waresthe furniture was contributed by Keith Johnson from Urban Architecture Gallery. Get a peek here at the impressive Memphis works in a low-key setting. If you're in New York, visit them in person at 359 Canal Street and buy a piece of artfrom a photo hobbyist or a master designer, your choice. FYGB5.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen FYGB4.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen FYGB2.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen FYGB8.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen Photo by Nicole Cohen FYGB9.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen Photo by Nicole Cohen FYGB7.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen FYGB6.jpg Photo by Nicole Cohen Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest India has ended all imports of oil from Iran, its ambassador in Washington said Thursday, becoming the latest country to grudgingly comply with threatened US sanctions. India had already sharply decreased its imports from Iran and bought one million tonnes (tons) of crude in April, the last month before Washington stepped up its pressure campaign against Tehran and ended all exemptions to sanctions, Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. "That's it. After that we haven't imported any," Shringla told reporters during a briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election victory. Shringla said that energy-hungry India has also ended all imports from Venezuela because it considered itself a partner of the United States -- but said the shift had caused pain at home, with Iran formerly supplying 10 percent of India's oil needs. Calling Iran "an extended neighbor" of India with longstanding cultural links, Shringla declined to say if New Delhi shared President Donald Trump's concerns about Tehran. "This is an issue that has to be dealt with, really, between the United States and Iran. We are only, in many senses, looking at it as a third party," Shringla said. But he added: "We would not like to see a move towards any escalation in any way in that area, for the simple reason that we depend very heavily on stability in that part of the world." Trump last year pulled out of a multinational pact under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear work in return for promises of sanctions relief. The Trump administration has instead ramped up economic pressure on Iran and recently deployed military assets including an aircraft carrier strike group to the area. The United States as of May 2 ended exemptions it had given to eight governments from its unilateral order to stop buying Iranian oil. Turkey, which enjoyed a waiver and vocally disagreed with the US policy, has also stopped importing oil from Iran, a Turkish official said Wednesday. Story continues State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus welcomed the news from Turkey. "We want the whole world to comply with these sanctions, and we're grateful for our partners and allies that are respecting them," she told reporters. The Indian ambassador, however, voiced confidence that US sanctions would not affect its partnership in developing Iran's Chabahar port. India wants to use the port to ship supplies into Afghanistan in a detour from its arch-rival Pakistan, which historically backed the Taliban. "I think it is in the interest of both our countries and all others concerned to ensure that that lifeline continues for the people of Afghanistan," Shringla said. By Devjyot Ghoshal NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Rahul Gandhi is set to face a backlash from within the main Indian opposition Congress party after it suffered a mauling for a second general election in a row from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party. The drubbing was so bad that Gandhi himself lost the traditional family seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. As vote-counting trends on Thursday showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning more than 300 seats against just 49 for Congress, current and former party officials blamed a lackluster campaign and a failure to overhaul its top team. "If they want to change anything, change the leadership," said a Congress official in the western state of Rajasthan, referring to the old guard around Gandhi. "You need to give young people a chance." He was among five current and three former party officials who told Reuters that Gandhi's inability to jettison older leaders responsible for a major debacle in the 2014 general election and push forward newer, younger faces was a mistake. All eight sources sought anonymity. Gandhis office did not respond to a request from Reuters for an interview. Still, the 48-year-old Gandhi remains powerful within a party that has ruled India for most of its history since independence from Britain in 1947, and is unlikely to face a leadership challenge immediately. But Congress's continued slide has raised questions both about its future and the role of his family. Younger Indians find it difficult to accept that Gandhi was appointed Congress president only because of his lineage as the son, grandson, and great-grandson of prime ministers, said prominent historian and columnist Ramachandra Guha. "The Congress should dump the Dynasty," he said on Twitter. In May 2014, after Congress slumped to its worst performance in a general election, with 44 seats, Gandhi told reporters: "There's a lot for us to think about, and, as vice president of the party, I hold myself responsible." Five years on, his party has suffered a further beating at the hands of the BJP and he even lost the family borough of Amethi in northern Uttar Pradesh, though he won the second constituency from which he had contested, in southern India. Congress also proved unable to effectively parry Modi's campaign emphasis on national security, after aerial clashes and heightened tension with arch rival Pakistan following a suicide attack in disputed Kashmir that killed 40 Indian policemen. At the end of last year, Congress's hopes of upsetting Modi had increased, after it won three heartland states in elections, largely driven by voter concerns about weak farm incomes and a lack of jobs. But Congress fumbled communications on key policies, with a publicity campaign this year that escaped the notice even of some of its own workers, and failed to forge pre-election alliances in key states, said the party officials who spoke to Reuters. The campaign was substantially delayed because of disagreements between 66-year-old Anand Sharma and other senior leaders, two party officials said. Sharma denied the accusation, saying that putting together the campaign was a complex process. "There was no delay whatsoever in the launch of Congress campaign," he added. The campaign was launched on April 7, just four days before the first round of voting began in a general election spread over seven phases across 39 days. In Rajasthan, which Congress won last year, its choice of 68-year-old Ashok Gehlot as chief minister, instead of 41-year-old Sachin Pilot, backfired, losing it the support of a key caste grouping, the official said, leaving the BJP likely to sweep all 25 seats. "COLLEGE OF SYCOPHANTS" Gandhi was encircled by a "college of sycophants", said a former Congress official who joined a rival bloc this year. "It doesn't matter if you have talent or merit," the former official said, adding, "What matters is you have the right family name or the right mentor." In contrast to Modi, a tea vendor's son who rose through party ranks, Gandhi's lineage is a weakness the prime minister has repeatedly exploited. In Uttar Pradesh, which elects the bulk of India's lawmakers, Congress this year drafted in Gandhi's charismatic sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, to burnish its fortunes. But that made little difference to results. (Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Additional reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Martin Howell and Clarence Fernandez) By Maikel Jefriando and Wilda Asmarini JAKARTA (Reuters) - Calm returned to the streets of the Indonesian capital on Thursday after a second night of clashes between security forces and protesters angry about the outcome of last month's election, which handed President Joko Widodo a second term. Downtown areas of Jakarta became a battlefield overnight, with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets and protesters throwing rocks and firecrackers. Protesters also tore up pavement slabs, destroyed street signs and set ablaze food stalls and a security post. The unrest followed Tuesday's announcement by the General Election Commission confirming that Widodo had beaten his challenger, former general Prabowo Subianto, in the April 17 poll. The violence began on Tuesday night with six killed, and two more killed on Wednesday night, officials said. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the dead included three teenagers, and 737 people were injured in the rioting, mostly in the central neighbourhood of Tanah Abang. But the ranks of protesters thinned over Wednesday night and police spokesman Dedi Praseyto said the last dispersed by 7 a.m. Roads quiet on Wednesday as office workers stayed away from the city centre were busy with traffic again on Thursday. City workers in orange overalls swept up debris. Widodo won more than 85 million of the 154 million votes cast but Prabowo has alleged "massive cheating and irregularities" and refused to concede defeat. The election agency has said there was no evidence of systematic cheating and independent observers have said the poll was free and fair. Elsewhere, a mob burnt a police station on Madura island, northeast of the main island of Java, while two police posts were set ablaze in Pontianak on Borneo island, media said. 'BENT ON CHAOS' Financial markets were firmer on Thursday with the rupiah up 0.5% and the main stock index up 1.6%. Taye Shim, director of capital markets at Mirae Asset Securities Indonesia, said he did not see the demonstrations as a serious threat to Indonesia's stability. Story continues "While upset supporters might demonstrate their disagreement with the official election results, we don't think it would be a serious threat to Indonesia's democracy," he told Reuters. Police said the number of arrests over the riots reached 300. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told reporters at least two men detained during the riots belonged to Garis, a militant group that had pledged support for Islamic State. "They intended to carry out jihad during May 21 and 22 protests," Iqbal said. On Wednesday he said officers had found some of the people they searched were carrying envelopes containing money, suggesting instigators behind the trouble. "This is not a spontaneous incident, this is something by design," he told reporters. "There are indications that the mobs are paid and bent on causing chaos." In a video on his Twitter account late on Wednesday, Prabowo urged his supporters to disperse peacefully. "I beg you to return to your homes to rest, avoid any actions that would break the law," he said. Prabowo's political party, Gerindra, complained that the authorities were trying to pin the blame for the riots on him. LEGAL CHALLENGE Gerindra spokesman Andre Rosiade said a lawsuit would be filed at the Constitutional Court on Friday over the election result, which gave Widodo a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for his challenger. Prabowo lost the 2014 presidential election to Widodo by a slimmer margin and had objected to that result, lodging a complaint with the Constitutional Court that was rejected. Analysts say Widodo's double-digit victory margin deprives the opposition of a strong case to claim rigging but it may be able to count on agitation by a strong contingent of Islamist supporters. The government boosted the numbers of security forces to 58,000 across Jakarta and put temporary blocks on some social media to prevent unrest sparked by fake news. Police paraded suspects in orange jumpsuits besides displaying weapons and cash at a news conference. Police chief Tito Karnavian showed reporters a sniper rifle and two pistols he said had been seized days before the rioting. "There is an effort to provoke, to create martyrs, blame the authorities and invoke public anger," he said. (Additional reporting by Cindy Silviana, Bernadette Christina Munthe, Gayatri Suroyo, Kanupriya Kapoor, Fransiska Nangoy and Fanny Potkin; Writing by John Chalmers and Ed Davies; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez) Tens of thousands of Indonesian military and police were deployed on the streets of Jakarta Thursday, as a deadline approached for a presidential challenger to file an appeal over claims of widespread cheating in last month's election. At least seven people were killed -- including a 17-year old high school student -- after two nights of rioting in the capital as police clashed with protesters opposed to the re-election of President Joko Widodo. The violence has been fanned by claims from Widodo's rival Prabowo Subianto, a retired general, that the April 17 poll was a fraud. Indonesia's election commission on Tuesday confirmed Widodo had beaten Subianto, who has until Friday to challenge the results at the Constitutional Court. The 67-year-old has appealed for calm and said he would pursue legal channels, as he did, unsuccessfully, against Widodo in the 2014 election. Election officials and analysts have discounted Subianto's claims of rampant cheating in the world's third-biggest democracy, after India and the United States. Nearly 60,000 security personnel were deployed Thursday, nearly double the previous number, after Widodo vowed that he "won't tolerate" more riots. The government has also partly blocked access to social media -- including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram -- in a bid to clamp down on fake news and hoaxes linked to the violence. That moves come after fresh skirmishes erupted late Wednesday outside the election supervisory agency's office in the heart of the city, with thousands of protesters chanting and waving Indonesian flags. Some hurled stones, fireworks and molotov cocktails at riot police who lined up behind a razor wire barricade near the election supervisory agency building, where a police post was torched. Police pushed back the main group of rioters after firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrators. Indonesia's capital been gripped by bigger demonstrations in the past, but the level of violence in this week's clashes has not been seen in years. Story continues Authorities said the violence was orchestrated by people who came to Jakarta to stir up trouble. But they've given few details about the circumstances of how the seven died or who was responsible, earlier saying that they had gunshot or blunt force wounds. Authorities denied firing live rounds into the crowd. Nine officers had been injured, police said, but they did not give details of wounded protesters thought to number in the hundreds. On Thursday, National Police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said two of about 300 arrested suspects were linked to a hardline organisation that had once pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Local media this year speculated about a connection between the founder of that local organisation and Subianto, after he lent his car to the politician's campaign team. Elsewhere, smaller poll protests were held in Sumatra's Medan city this week and in Pontianak on Borneo island, where over 500 demonstrators armed with stones and firecrackers blocked roads, damaged vehicles and set two police posts alight, local police said. Third And Hollywood. | Photo: Alina A./Yelp Looking for a delicious New American meal near you? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end New American restaurants around Columbus, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings. 1. Third And Hollywood Photo: Alina A./Yelp Topping the list is Third and Hollywood. Located at 1433 W. Third Ave. in Tri-Village, the New American spot is the highest rated high-end New American restaurant in Columbus, boasting 4.5 stars out of 503 reviews on Yelp. The restaurant features brunch and dinner menus, along with a wide variety of wine, beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. For brunch, try the deep dish French toast with baked brioche, berries and vanilla whipped cream. For dinner, sample the rainbow trout with fried capers. Daily entree specials include housemade gnocchi and zin-braised short ribs. 2. Mitchell's Ocean Club Photo: Christina H./Yelp Next up is Easton's Mitchell's Ocean Club, situated at 4002 Easton St. With 4.5 stars out of 382 reviews on Yelp, the New American spot and steakhouse, serving seafood and more, has proven to be a local favorite for those looking to indulge. Mitchell's dinner menu offers appetizers, a raw bar, soups and salads, sushi, chicken, lamb, steaks and seafood that can be paired with 16 different sides from smoked gouda tater tots to roasted Brussel sprouts. A gluten-free menu and a young adult menu are also featured, in addition to an extensive selection of alcoholic beverages and desserts. Save room for the ten-layer carrot cake or the chocolate peanut butter pie. 3. Lindey's Photo: Shuang S./Yelp German Village Commission's Lindey's, located at 169 E. Beck St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the New American spot and wine bar four stars out of 604 reviews. Lindey's offers regular, gluten-free and children's menus for brunch, lunch and dinner. Order the fried chicken and waffles with strawberries and jalapeno maple syrup for brunch. Prefer a gluten-free selection for dinner? Try the shrimp and lobster risotto with grilled asparagus. The beverage menu features a lengthy list of wine, beer and signature cocktails. Story continues 4. Service Bar Photo: Gus w./Yelp Service Bar, a New American spot and cocktail bar in Weinland Park, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 74 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1230 Courtland Ave. to see for yourself. Executive Chef Avishar Barua brings an eclectic menu to patrons of Service Bar, with items such as a red cabbage Caesar salad, lamb dumplings, short ribs and duck. Cocktails and desserts round out the offerings. 5. G. Michaels Bistro & Bar Photo: Miriam F./Yelp Last but not least, there's G. Michaels Bistro & Bar, a German Village Commission favorite with four stars out of 222 reviews. Stop by 595 S. Third St. to hit up the New American spot and bar next time you're looking to splurge. G. Michael's focuses on serving local and seasonal food inspired by the South's "low-country" flair, according to the restaurant's website. Try the shrimp and grits or the broiled swordfish paired with a chopped salad. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) An inmate accused of leading a riot at Delaware's maximum-security prison during which a guard was killed and other staffers taken hostage was acquitted of all charges Thursday and will soon be freed. A jury deliberated about nine hours over two days before declaring Roman Shankaras, 32, not guilty of murder, assault, kidnapping, riot and conspiracy. Shankaras recently completed a seven-year sentence for unrelated riot and robbery charges but has remained in pretrial custody on $2.8 million cash bail. "His time as a pretrial detainee will be over within the next 24 hours, I would imagine," said Shankaras' attorney, Patrick Collins. Shankaras blinked his eyes but showed little emotion as the verdicts were read. As he was handcuffed and led from the courtroom, he flashed a broad smile at his supporters. "I knew he was coming home. He's not a murderer," said Lillian Oliver, 32, who identified herself as Shankaras' wife. Shankaras is one of 18 inmates indicted after the February 2017 riot, 16 of whom were charged with murder in guard Steven Floyd's death. Two other guards were released by inmates after being beaten and tormented. A female counselor was held hostage for nearly 20 hours before tactical teams burst in and rescued her. Two previous trials against seven other inmates resulted in only one murder conviction. The verdict against Dwayne Staats, already serving life for murder, came after he boasted of planning the riot, knowing it could become violent. Another inmate, Kelly Gibbs, killed himself in November, days after pleading guilty to rioting, kidnapping, and conspiracy. One of Staats' co-defendants in the first trial, Jarreau Ayers, was acquitted of murder but convicted along with Staats of assault, kidnapping, conspiracy and riot. The jury acquitted a third co-defendant, Deric Forney. The second trial ended in February with no convictions for any of the four defendants. Prosecutors subsequently dismissed cases against six of the remaining inmates, opting to move forward only against Shankaras and two others. Story continues Lead prosecutor John Downs refused to comment on the prosecution's latest loss as he left court Thursday. A spokesman for Attorney General Kathleen Jennings declined to comment when asked whether the state would drop charges against the remaining defendants. "They have to do what they think is best, and I'm sure they'll have a meeting and they'll talk about it," Collins said. As of April 30, before Shankaras' trial, defense costs in the case had cost Delaware taxpayers about $1.3 million. With little physical evidence, and no surveillance camera footage, prosecutors have relied heavily on testimony from other inmates, whose credibility has been successfully attacked by defense attorneys. Prosecutors acknowledged there was no evidence that Shankaras participated in killing Floyd or assaulting the other guards. They argued, however, that he could be convicted under the "accomplice liability" doctrine. Under that rule, a person who agrees to commit a crime, such as a riot, can be found guilty of other crimes that could reasonably be foreseen as arising from that initial course of conduct. The prosecution's star witness in all the trials has been former Baltimore gang leader Royal Downs. Downs, serving a life sentence for murder, has claimed repeatedly that he advocated for a peaceful protest by inmates to air grievances about their treatment, perhaps by staying in their cells and refusing to come out. Once the riot broke out, however, Downs became a key player, taking a walkie-talkie from another inmate and participating in hostage negotiations with law enforcement officials. Despite his role in the riot, Downs was among several inmates allowed to leave the building during the siege. He signaled his willingness to cooperate with authorities even before the riot was over and subsequently pleaded guilty to a single count of riot, which carries no mandatory prison time. "There were significant credibility issues and motivation issues with Royal Downs," Collins said. Downs described Shankaras as the "puppet master" of the uprising, even though Shankaras reportedly stayed in his cell most of the time. Collins argued that Downs, Staats and Ayers were the true leaders of the revolt. He described Downs as an authority figure among fellow inmates with a history of getting others to do his bidding, including duping Shankaras into writing two letters to him two months after the riot. Shankaras testified that he wrote the letters after being told to do so by Downs, who indicated he was going to shoulder the blame for the riot and needed information to bolster his credibility. Unbeknownst to Shankaras, Downs was cooperating with investigators. In the first letter, Shankaras described details of the riot, some of which turned out to be inaccurate because, according to Collins, they were based not on what Shankaras saw or did, but what he heard from other inmates. The second, more damning letter, reads like a manifesto and notes that "persistence procreated the resistance." "Some had to be convinced, some had to be tricked, and others had to be forced," Shankaras wrote. Collins argued that Downs drafted the manifesto and duped Shankaras into copying it in his own handwriting so that Downs could use it as "insurance" in his cooperation and plea negotiations with prosecutors. Dennis Honruds family has been farming wheat in eastern Montana for three generations. Unashamedly old school, Honrud sows only half his 6,000 acres, leaving the rest fallow to avoid soil depletion. Theres not many of us left, he laments. Like many workers in the global economy, the 68-year-old needs to stay connected, in his case to monitor crop prices and weather updates from his green John Deere tractor. So he asked a telecom provider to put a cell tower in his backyard. The Honrud property in Glasgow, Mont., is so remote that it wasnt well covered by any of the big four American carriersVerizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. So Honrud turned to the local provider, Nemont Wireless, to install the tower. Today, cell service is pretty good. When the occasional car accident happens on the stretch of highway next to the Honrud farm, highway patrol officers no longer need to drive a mile to get a signal. Now they can place a call from the scene. If that hasnt saved a life yet, at some point in time it will, Honrud says. But theres a problem. Like around a quarter of the smaller tier 3 carriers catering to rural areas like Glasgow, Nemont uses equipment provided by Huawei, the worlds biggest telecommunications-equipment company. The Chinese firm generated a mind-boggling $107 billion in revenue last year, selling equipment to customers in 170 countries and regions around the world. It also may be the most controversial company in the world. The tower built by Nemont in Honruds yard in rural Montana. The remote property relies on Huawei technology for all its cell service | Benjamin Rasmussen for TIME Huawei has long been accused of rampant theft of intellectual property (IP), selling U.S. tech to enemy states like Iran and North Korea and being a Trojan horse for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its place as the worlds No. 2 smartphone makerbehind Samsung and ahead of Applewas achieved despite Huawei handsets being shunned by the big four U.S. carriers out of security concerns. FBI Director Christopher Wray has accused Huawei of pervasive criminal behavior designed to undermine our countrys place in the world. Story continues On May 15, the Trump Administration placed Huawei on the Commerce Departments Entity List, meaning American companies require a special license to do business with it. Google began blocking Huawei from parts of its Android operating system in order to comply. U.S. chipmakers, which together sold some $10 billion worth of components to Huawei last year alone, were obliged to follow suit. The Entity List is not only devastating for Huawei but also for any nation that uses its telecom equipment, given the firms reliance on American components. The move was always considered the nuclear option, says Samm Sacks, a cybersecurity fellow at the New America think tank who regularly briefs Congress on China policy. This is not just crippling on Huawei as a firm, but crippling on the entire concept of global tech supply chains, says Sacks. Huawei got a temporary reprieve on May 20, when the Commerce Department announced a 90-day exemption. But the firm long ago began working on cutting out its reliance on U.S. materials, producing its own semiconductor chips and working on an alternative operating system to Android. Hu Xijin, editor in chief of Chinas state-run Global Times, tweeted May 21 that the blacklisting was a real turning point for U.S. semiconductor companies gradually losing [the] Chinese market. This tech cold war matters because it could slow down or dramatically alter the rollout of a technology that is likely to define the future of the Internet for the next decadethe 5G networks in which Huawei has all but cornered the market. The race to roll out 5G is the most consequential fight for global technological supremacy since the U.S. battled the Soviet Union to put a man on the moon. The winner will take home billions, if not trillions, in profits and gain a powerful seat at the table in creating the infrastructure for the next billion Internet users. And right now, it looks like the U.S. is losing. Huawei technology on a Nemont cell tower outside Scobey, Mont. | Benjamin Rasmussen for TIME The fifth generation of network technology arrived in the U.S. on April 3 in Chicago and Minneapolis. It would have been a banner day for American IT infrastructure, were it not for the fact that citizens of Hangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan had all been enjoying experimental 5G networks for months. In Fangshan, autonomous vehicles are already using 5G to transmit data to one another to avoid collisions. Chinas edge in 5G is disorienting for the U.S., which is used to dominating new technology and the economic growth that accompanies it. If the U.S. lags in 5G, does it lose the opportunity to birth the next Amazon, the next Netflix, the next Uber? Up until now, the status quo has been that American tech companies innovate while Chinese companies duplicate, but that has much to do with infrastructural advantages in the U.S., along with world-class universities and easy access to capital. What does it mean if the U.S. doesnt have that advantage? What if the next Apple or Microsofttrillion-dollar giants that alter the global landscape with every decision they makecomes out of China? 5G means a lot more than just another bar on your cell phone. The hop from 3G to 4G meant we went from being able to read an article on our phones to being able to stream a movie. But the leap from 4G to 5G will mean an exponential rise in download and upload speeds across every Internet-connected device you own, the ability to connect those devices to a single network easily and the ability to off-load computing to the cloud. Its not only the most significant shift in computing since the smartphone, it will also enable huge advances in industries like automated vehicles (see box, right). The advent of 5G means practically everything with a chip will be tethered to a wireless network, which brings with it enormous geostrategic implications if a Chinese company is responsible for building those networks. The 5G infrastructure will intertwine factories, power plants, airports, hospitals and government agencies. If it comes under a broad, sustained attack, it would mean a total collapse of society, warns professor Lim Jong-in of the School of Information Security at Korea University. That might explain why the U.S. is taking such a hard line on Huawei, which has spent $2 billion over 10 years to ensure it is in the best position to be the architect of global 5G technology. The company has already signed contracts to provide 5G equipment with 40 international carriers and shipped over 70,000 5G base stations, or short-range transceivers. But Washington is doing everything it can to slow this technological advancenot just cracking down domestically but also putting intense pressure on allies around the world to ban Huawei from their 5G networks on national-security grounds. If a country adopts [Huawei equipment] and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we wont be able to share information with them, we wont be able to work alongside them, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in late February. Australia, New Zealand and Japan have acquiesced to bans; others, including the U.K. and Germany, are hedging their bets. Huawei has hit back by suing the U.S. government for banning its 5G equipment, claiming the ban was unlawful. Yet there is good reason to be wary. Article VII of Chinas 2017 National Intelligence Law stipulates any organization or citizen shall support, assist and cooperate with state intelligence work. Even were Huawei not complicit, there is little doubt that the Chinese government could impose its will. Every Chinese company is legally obliged to host internal CCP cellswhere employees who are party officials meet to discuss ideologywhose allegiance and purpose is murky at best. If the CCP tells Huawei to do something, then theres not going to be a lot of leeway to say no, says Adam Segal, director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. Huawei is now trying to convince the world it is a legitimate company not beholden to the party, and leading the charge is Ren Zhengfei, the former military engineer who founded Huawei with just a $5,600 investment in 1987. He transformed what began as a small outfit reselling Hong Kongmade telephone switches into todays 188,000-employee colossus. Huaweis AI-powered factory floor churns out a smartphone every 28.5 seconds. Its conference center is redolent of the Palace of Versailles. The ostentation is at odds with Rens humble beginnings. He grew up hungry as one of seven children in a dirt-poor family in Chinas impoverished central province of Guizhou, and still speaks with a thick bumpkin accent. Hes twice married and admits to neglecting his three children for long hours at the office. He established a foothold in Chinas nascent telecom market by supplying rural communities overlooked by the large foreign firms, and is famous for a customer-centric business philosophy inspired by military tactics. Former employees bemoan a cultish atmosphere where they are described as wolves expected to sacrifice to compensate for glaring inefficiencies. Its the self-immolation of employees that keeps the company running, one former executive tells TIME. But Huawei engineers also have a reputation for finding a way to make crazy projects a reality, like a 4G base station more than 17,000 ft. up Mount Everest to allow mountaineers and rescue workers cell coverage. The company plans to upgrade this to 5G soon. For a long time Ren avoided speaking to U.S. media, but he has begun speaking up as the government action intensified. The U.S. is taking us too seriously, he says in his Shenzhen office. So we hope that through dialogues like these we can reveal the truth and better understand each other. He boasts that 14% of revenue and 45% of staff, numbering 80,000, is dedicated to R&D across 14 international hubs. Huawei filed for 5,405 patents last yearthe largest number, by some distance, by a single firm in the world. Forty percent of the worlds population uses telecoms that pass through Huawei equipment, according to the firm. The U.S. government claims Huawei has made its commercial gains through unfair meansby, for example, stealing intellectual property from American businesses. Huawei offered bonuses to employees who stole other firms technology, according to a U.S. indictment filed Jan. 16 (the firm denies this). Huawei has settled IP-theft cases brought by Cisco, Motorola and T-Mobile. In 2018, U.S. company Akhan Semiconductor sent a sample diamond glass smartphone screen to Huawei for testing. It was returned late, broken and with missing pieces, the firm says. A subsequent FBI investigation concluded it had been attacked with a high-powered laser in an apparent attempt to reverse-engineer it. For Akhan CEO Adam Khan, who has invested $6 million since 2007 to hone the technology, the alleged theft was extremely disappointing and has national-security implications owing to his technologys military applications. I would encourage the U.S. government to keep Huawei at arms length, he says, adding that many, many inventors have shared similar allegations. Criminal and civil cases against Huawei related to the alleged theft are ongoing. Ren denies his firm steals technology, insisting he highly respects intellectual-property rights. As well as stealing, there are also allegations of espionage attempts. In January, police in Poland arrested Huawei employee Wang Weijing and a Polish national on suspicion of spying. Huawei fired Wang, and Ren tells TIME that all employees must not violate local laws and regulations. Asked whether he is loyal to the CCP, of which he is a member, Ren replies, I am loyal to my customers. Huawei has long been accused of leaving secret vulnerabilities or back doors in its software and hardware that would permit illicit access to private data. In 2018, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, whose Huawei-built IT system was a gift from the Chinese government, was hacked, thanks to deliberate vulnerabilities. Huawei and China have denied responsibility for the breach. Ren says he would rather disband his company and go to prison than install back doors in Huawei technology. To betray his customers, he says, risks having to repay billions of dollars in bank loans on his own. Comparatively, I think going to jail is better. A Huawei employee watches a program on his smartphone as he rests at his cubicle during a lunch break at the research and development area in the Bantian campus in Shenzhen, China, on April 12, 2019. | Kevin FrayerGetty Images The U.S. has so far been unable to prove there are deliberate back doors in Huawei-built tech. But a report in March from an oversight board of the U.K.s National Cyber Security Centre alleged flaws in Huaweis software products that cause significant cybersecurity and availability risks. Although the U.K. report found no evidence the vulnerabilities were the result of Chinese state interference, U.S. intelligence officials believe there is no doubt that Chinese intelligence has both knowledge of the flaws and sufficient access to exploit them. The greatest danger, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon tells TIME, lies not just in the hardware Huawei and other Chinese firms sell, but also in the software they run, for example the code used in routine security updates. Its little wonder, then, that the U.S. is using its powers of persuasion to drive a wedge between Huawei and the rest of the worldnot altogether successfully. The E.U.s executive body rejected U.S. calls for a ban in March. On April 24, after months of indecision, the British government decided to permit Huawei to be used for peripheral 5G equipment while banning it from core infrastructure. Pompeo slammed the decision, which divided Prime Minister Theresa Mays Cabinet. Why would anyone grant such power to a regime that has already grossly violated cyberspace? he said on May 8. In Germany, U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell told the countrys Economy Minister in a letter dated March 7 that the U.S. would limit intelligence sharing unless Germany banned Chinese firms from its 5G networks. That threat appears to have stiffened German resolve not to legislate against Huawei; two weeks later, Chancellor Angela Merkel said she did not believe in singling out a company simply because it is from a certain country. Still, German officials say they are not naive about the risks of handing this market to China. Merkels Foreign and Interior Ministers urged her to lock Chinese firms out of the 5G rollout last fall. The cost of saying no to Washington could be more than allies think, experts say. Countries who use Huawei may find they are no longer able to integrate American weapons systems and platforms, making it harder to carry out joint training and security cooperation with the U.S. The impact to military and intelligence cooperation could further corrode already strained U.S.-allied relationships, says Timothy Heath, a former analyst at U.S. Pacific Command now at Rand Corp. But cutting out China could present a threat too. After New Zealand barred Huawei from 5G, Beijing unleashed economic warfare in apparent retaliation, discouraging tourism, delaying seafood imports and even turning back an Air New Zealand jetliner bound for Shanghai after onboard paperwork referenced self-governing Taiwan as an independent country. And when Canada agreed in December to arrest Rens daughter, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, on behalf of U.S. prosecutors seeking her extradition for alleged sanctions contraventions, China leapt into action. The government detained 13 Canadian citizens, charged two with espionage and put another two on death row for drug offenses. Ren says the charges against his daughter are baseless and politically motivated, and her portrait occupies pride of place in his cluttered office. He denies the governments actions prove Huawei and the state are in cahoots. It is right for the Chinese government to protect its citizens, says Ren. Especially an executive of a large company arrested for no reason. Workers eating lunch at the Huawei campus in Shenzhen, China | Kevin FrayerGetty Images The U.S. feud with Huawei risks bifurcating 5Gs rollout into two distinct blocsnations that embrace Chinese 5G and those that reject it wholesalehampering global connectivity and hurting the bottom lines of companies forced to choose. Technology consultant Stephanie Hare says the lack of trust between the worlds No. 1 and No. 2 economies means every other country is being forced to choose sides, based on its own interests. There can be no sitting on the fence here. That choice might be easier if one side did not have such a clear commercial advantage. Huawei is around 18 months ahead of rivals in rollout capacity. Its 5G base stations and wireless networking equipment are smaller and more economical to run than 4G, as well as typically 30% cheaper than rivals. Many countries 4G infrastructure is already provided by Huawei, which would allow the firm to upgrade them to 5G more quickly and at lower cost than by using a competitor. And the competition is not exactly robust. No specialist companies in the U.S. are able to roll out 5G, meaning American consumers and businesses will have to rely on Huaweis foreign competitors, chiefly Swedens Ericsson or Finlands Nokia, if the ban persists. Major corporations would much prefer that than risk working with Huawei. Several executives of multinationals courted by the Chinese company told TIME they balk at the thought of doing business with it, both because of slipshod programming and security risks. TIME saw internal emails of one firm contracted to work with Huawei that urged staff not to install its software because of spyware concerns. Yet the costs domestically could still be high. Like Glasgow, Mont., nearly every part of the U.S. has Huawei equipment already embedded in wireless infrastructure. The rip-and-replace costs of banning Huawei wholesale$50 million for Nemont alone, says CEO Mike Kilgorewould jeopardize the survival of these smaller carriers. That means scores of rural Americansincluding small-town fire and police departments and emergency respondersmight lose their cell and broadband service. The same goes for other countries. The question now is whether the Trump Administration will find a compromise. Chinese firm ZTE almost collapsed last year after similar action to that taken against Huawei. Eventually, President Trump negotiated a $1 billion fine in lieu that allowed ZTE to keep trading. A President who can strike deals is what Honrud wanted when helike 65% of people in Glasgowvoted for Trump. He didnt expect to have his livelihood used as leverage, but says the technology is something they can negotiate with. The Commerce Department reprieve allows existing Huawei equipment like that on Honruds farm to keep running, for now. Hes not especially worried about the risk. If Huawei has something we cant look into, he says, then weve got some pretty dumb engineers here. With reporting by Simon Shuster/Berlin; Billy Perrigo/London; John Walcott/Washington; Vivienne Walt/Paris; Zhang Chi and Aria Hangyu Chen in Shenzhen; Stephen Kim/Seoul and Jake Swearingen/New York By Chang-Ran Kim TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Miwa Moriya was 6 when social workers told her she was going to a Christmas party, but instead moved her into a group home for about 60 children in a small city in western Japan. The "party" turned into more than eight years of living away from her mother, and the beginning of a long battle with loneliness, bullying, and trauma. She never knew exactly why she was sent to the home - only that the state thought she would be better off there than with her family. Unlike most developed countries, which place the majority of children who are abused, neglected, or can't live with their parents for other reasons in foster homes, Japan puts more than 80% of the 38,000 such children in residential-care facilities, according to government figures. Once there, about one in seven stay for more than a decade, data show - despite UN guidelines that say children should grow up in a family setting. The government has made the issue a legislative priority after several high-profile child-abuse deaths and a sharp rise in overall abuse cases. Local authorities have been given a deadline of next March to draw up a plan to improve the situation. Last summer, the Japanese government said it wanted at least three-quarters of preschoolers in need of state care to live in foster homes within seven years, and the number of adoptions to double to at least 1,000 within five. Hundreds of care facilities were set up after World War Two to shelter orphaned street children, and state care has largely been relegated to them since then. About 600 are operating today. Such facilities - most of which house 20 or more children - have helped many, but are a poor alternative to a healthy family setting, experts say. A government investigation last month found sexual violence among children was widespread at institutions. "Everyone here says, 'Children are important,' but that's bogus," Yasuhisa Shiozaki, an influential lawmaker who has led efforts to improve children's welfare in recent years, told Reuters. "Children have always taken a back seat to adults' interests in Japan. That has to change." Story continues 'NO ESCAPE' Miwa, now 23, said that when she first got to the institution, called Kobato Gakuen, in Wakayama Prefecture, she cried at night for days, pining for her mother. But once Miwa realized that crying wasn't going to bring her home, she gave up and stopped. "That made the staff think the children had adapted, but that's a big mistake," she said. Some of the staff were nice, she said. But caretakers came and went without warning. Children lived in fear of the bullies and the strict, chastising adults, she said. "There's no escape when you live with your adversaries," Miwa said. In such scenarios, and without nurturing attention, institutionalized children can develop what specialists call Developmental Trauma Disorder, said Satoru Nishizawa, a clinical psychologist who has worked with children in state care for nearly 40 years. "The child doesn't feel protected and safe," he said. The disorder can hinder self-control, triggering fits of rage over seemingly petty things. "To calm those tendencies, a person might turn to self-injury, and relationships often go haywire." SLEEPLESS NIGHTS Miwa has many of those symptoms. Every so often, she changes her phone number to sever ties with acquaintances, she said, or is driven to smash things around the flat. The scars on her wrist are a reminder of self-harm. Still, at Kobato, Miwa considered herself lucky. Unlike the others, she eventually started spending weekends and long breaks with her mother. Many kids rarely, if ever, saw their parents. She said she never knew why she was living at Kobato, and never thought to ask. It was only in the past six months that she started to wonder. Her mother told her that welfare workers convinced her Miwa would be better off at a group home, noting she had failed to complete paperwork for Miwa to enter primary school. In February, Miwa requested the release of her casework to learn more. The 276-page file paints a picture of a struggling mother who needed someone to look after Miwa while searching for work or a place to live away from her partners, including Miwa's father. The file shows social workers were in no rush to reunite Miwa and her mother. Miwa doesn't recall a caseworker ever visiting her when she was little - a fact the records corroborate. It's a case in point for critics of the system, who argue that child welfare workers are too busy and may lack the training and expertise to make informed decisions for children. Shiozaki, the lawmaker, is still trying to push through changes that would boost the number of child welfare workers and require state-level certification, but opposition has been fierce, with critics citing a lack of both people and money. Miwa's psychological state also isn't discussed much in the records until she was a teenager. In 2008, she began having trouble sleeping at night. Soon after, doctors diagnosed Miwa with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, characterized by delays in socialization skills. A year later, they prescribed Paxil for depression, the files show. By the time the welfare office sent Miwa back to her mother, she was 15. Kobato Gakuen and Wakayama prefecture declined to discuss Miwa's case with Reuters, citing privacy policies. SOCIAL PATHOLOGY Government surveys show that when children leave state care and enter the "real world" at age 18, they struggle most with loneliness and financial strife. Only a third enter university, versus 80% of high-school graduates nationwide. With few options, about a tenth end up in work that provides housing. Many can't hold down a job; a tenth end up on welfare, and some become homeless. As social costs mount, Japan has asked local governments to draw up by next March a roadmap to base alternative care around family scenarios. That includes recruiting foster and adoptive parents, and turning large group homes into family-sized units. "We have the laws and policies in place," said Shiozaki, who as a cabinet minister helped revise the Child Welfare Law in 2016 to state that children - not just parents - have rights. "Now the problem is implementation, and making sure things actually change." Many experienced caretakers say it won't be easy. A ten-fold rise in child-abuse cases in the past two decades raises the question of whether Japanese society has what it takes to properly care for its most vulnerable young members, they say. "Personally, I want to know what took the government so long," said Norihisa Kuwahara, who heads a group home in western Japan and is chairman of the national council of children's residential-care facilities. Kuwahara says he has no objections to family-based care. But as someone who has worked at the same facility for more than 50 years, he said he knows first-hand the difficulty of caring for a growing number of abused children with increasingly complex psychological scars. "Now, when the family unit has become so fragile and child-rearing so dysfunctional, rushing through these changes is the wrong approach." (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Gerry Doyle) By Steve Keating INDIANAPOLIS, May 23 (Reuters) - One family's curse can be another family's blessing but for the Andretti clan they are one and the same when it comes to the Indianapolis 500. For more than five decades the Andrettis, starting with family patriarch Mario, have had a complicated relationship with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). American motor racing royalty, the Andrettis have ruled over open wheel racing in the United States with a string of victories that have connected generations -- father, to son, to grandson. But for all their success at circuits around the world, Mario Andretti's Indy 500 victory in 1969 stands alone. That win 50 years ago this weekend was expected to be the first of many for Mario at the Brickyard. He had already won a Daytona 500 and in 1978 would claim the Formula One drivers' title but he would never again roll on to Victory Lane at IMS. His son Michael, a five-times winner of the Indy 500 as a team owner, tried 16 times as a driver but never chugged from the winner's quart of milk. Neither has Mario's youngest son Jeff, nephew John or grandson Marco, who will carry the family flag into Sunday's race. Such has been their cruel misfortune that the thinking is there could be no other explanation for the Andretti heartbreak than a curse. Exactly what it was that so angered the racing gods, however, is uncertain. Folklore has it that in 1970 Mario got in the middle of a feud between team owners Andy Granatelli and Clint Brawner. When Andretti sided with Granatelli, Brawner's wife put a hex on the family promising no Andretti would win the Indianapolis 500 again. "I never took it seriously, as a matter of fact I don't endorse it (a curse) whatsoever," Andretti told Reuters. "When I look at the big picture of what Indy has meant to us, what we have been able to do there, ok we were not able to control certain things that were out of our control but the fact that we led so many laps, between Michael and I especially, they knew we were there. Story continues "Between Michael, Marco and myself we have 16 podiums," he added. "Indy has done a lot for us so, no not a curse. I say a blessing." If the Andrettis are infatuated with the Indy 500 it is because the race has been a shameless flirt. JILTED FEELING Certainly the Andrettis have plenty of reasons to feel jilted with Michael and Marco both having posted runner-up results. Mario reflects on his own bad luck with an "it is what it is" shrug until the controversial 1981 race enters the discussion. That year, Andretti crossed second but was declared the winner when Bobby Unser was disqualified for an illegal pit stop. Five months later on an appeal Unser was fined $40,000 and reinstated as the winner. "By the rule book I won that race," Andretti said. "I would have paid $40,000 all day to cheat 11 cars and cross the finish line first. " At 79-years-old Andretti, who still takes passengers for two-seater rides around the Brickyard at close to 200 mph, remains the most popular and best known racing driver in the United States. Fifty years on, his victory still resonate with race fans. Museums have set up displays to mark the anniversary, a commemorative bronze pin has been stamped and Andretti merchandise is flying off the shelves of specially set up Mario merchandise stores. Marco Andretti will pay tribute to his grandfather on Sunday by driving a car with the same day-glow red livery Mario used for his memorable 1969 victory. The only detail yet to be worked out is an Andretti win on Sunday which would be a fairytale bookend to a family dynasty. "There is something about that place that is so special," Andretti said. "You would hear my screams wherever you are if Marco wins, I guarantee it. "This would be the sweetest moment. For what it means and the amount of time that we have devoted to that (the Indy 500) would be the ultimate reward." (Editing by Ed Osmond) By Beh Lih Yi KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A leading Taiwanese gay activist on Thursday called on the LGBT+ community in other parts of Asia to take their battles to court after his successful legal fight paved the way for the region's first same-sex marriage law. Chi Chia-wei, who was the first person to come out publicly as gay in 1986 on the self-ruled island, has mounted numerous legal challenges for gay unions in a three-decade fight. But his latest culminated in a landmark 2017 court ruling which declared same-sex couples had the right to marry, setting the stage for a law passed in Taiwan's parliament last week. Chi called on gay couples to take similar legal action elsewhere in Asia where the push for same-sex marriage remains slow despite global advances in recent years.. "Taiwan has taken a big step, other countries will not need another 30 years to get there," the 60-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from the capital Taipei. "We did not achieve this overnight. If Taiwan can do it, what about all the other Asian giants?" he said, a day before Taiwan celebrates the new law with mass weddings. Socially conservative attitudes prevail across Asia, with Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore banning sexual relationships between men, while Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, has seen an increase in raids targeting LGBT+ people in recent years. Thailand has drafted a civil partnership bill while Vietnam allows gay marriage ceremonies but couples do not enjoy the same legal protections as heterosexuals. Often spotted in pride rallies draped in a rainbow flag, Chi has campaigned relentlessly for same-sex marriage for over 30 years, sending numerous petitions to authorities and courts. He was jailed for five months in 1986 for robbery, an accusation he said was trumped up to intimidate his campaign soon after he filed the first petition for gay unions. Story continues His latest petition led to the 2017 ruling but conservative groups fought back with campaigns, including at a referendum last year in which two-thirds of voters wanted the definition of marriage to stay between a man and a woman. The government later proposed same-sex marriage to be allowed under a separate new law, a move it said respected both the court ruling and the referendum results. On Friday, Chi will witness the marriage registration for dozens of same-sex couples, the first among those who wed under the new law. But personally, he was in no rush to marry his long-time partner, a 52-year-old who works in a securities brokerage. "This is never about me or my partner. I did it because I knew many other same-sex couples who needed the legal protections," he said. "Life goes on for me." (Reporting by Beh Lih Yi @behlihyi; Editing by Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) Tehran (AFP) - Iran will not hold talks with the United States "under any circumstances" while the rights of the Islamic republic are not respected, said an official quoted Thursday by state media. "We have said clearly... as long as the rights of our nation are not satisfied, as long as words don't change into action, our path will stay the same as now," said Keyvan Khosravi, spokesman of the Supreme National Security Council. "There will be no talks under any circumstances," he was quoted as saying by the official state news agency IRNA. Khosravi said there had been an uptick in official delegations travelling to Tehran from various capitals, although "most of them are coming on behalf of America". "Without exception we have responded with the message of the Iranian nation's strength, reason and resistance" in line with the policies of the Islamic republic, he added. Oman's Foreign Minister Yusef Bin Alavi arrived in Tehran on Monday followed by the German foreign ministry's political director Jens Plotner on Thursday. Despite its efforts to isolate Iran, the United States said it welcomed the initiative and noted that Germany had diplomatic relations with Tehran. "So we think that this is normal behaviour between two states. And we appreciate any efforts by the Germans to help de-escalate the situation," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters in Washington. Oman played a crucial role in bringing Iranian and US negotiators together for preliminary talks that ultimately led to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with major powers including the United States. But US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for Iran scaling back its nuclear programme. With tensions between the two sides already high, there has been a dramatic escalation in recent weeks after the US labelled Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a "foreign terrorist organisation". The United States also deployed a naval carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Middle East over unspecified alleged Iranian "threats" and the acting defence secretary, Patrick Shanahan, said Thursday that Washington may send more troops to the region. Iran in turn rolled back parts of its commitments within the nuclear deal and gave an ultimatum to the remaining sides that more would follow if they did not provide relief from sanctions. GENEVA, May 23 (Reuters) - The standoff between Iran and the United States is a "clash of wills," a senior commander of Irans powerful Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday, suggesting any enemy "adventurism" would meet a crushing response, Fars news agency reported. Tensions have spiked between the two countries after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. "The confrontation and face-off of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the malicious government of America is the arena for a clash of wills," Irans armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri said. He pointed to a battle during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war where Iran was victorious and said the outcome could be a message that Iran will have a "hard, crushing and obliterating response" for any enemy "adventurism." On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh, Editing by William Maclean) GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - Iran will not surrender to U.S. pressure and will not abandon its goals even if it is bombed, President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday, stepping up the war of words between the Islamic Republic and the United States. Earlier in the day, Iran's top military chief said the standoff between Tehran and Washington was a "clash of wills", warning that any enemy "adventurism" would meet a crushing response, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tensions are festering between the two countries after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Thursday confirmed that the Pentagon was considering sending yet further U.S. troops to the Middle East as one of the ways to bolster protection for American forces there. After pulling out of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, U.S. President Donald Trump restored U.S. sanctions on Iran last year and tightened them this month, ordering all countries to halt imports of Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own. More than one year after the imposition of these severe sanctions, our people have not bowed to pressures despite facing difficulties in their lives, Rouhani was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying. Addressing a ceremony in commemoration of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he added: "We need resistance, so our enemies know that if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or taken as prisoners, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride." Irans armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, also pointed to an Iranian battle victory in the war with Iraq and said that outcome could be a message that Iran will have a "hard, crushing and obliterating response" for any enemy "adventurism". Story continues On Sunday, Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" Trump wants Iran to come to the table to negotiate a new deal with stricter curbs on its nuclear and missile programmes. Reiterating Iran's stance, the spokesman for its Supreme National Security Council said on Thursday: "There will not be any negotiations between Iran and America." Keyvan Khosravi was also quoted as saying by the state broadcaster that some officials from several countries have visited Iran recently, "mostly representing the United States." He did not elaborate, but the foreign minister of Oman, which in the past helped pave the way for negotiations between Iran and the United States, visited Tehran on Monday. "Without exception, the message of the power and resistance of the Iranian nation was conveyed to them," he said. In Berlin, a German diplomatic source told Reuters that Jens Ploetner, a political director in Germany's Foreign Ministry, was in Tehran on Thursday for meetings with Iranian officials to try to preserve the nuclear accord and cool tensions in the region. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited neighbouring Pakistan on Thursday to discuss regional issues with its top officials. Currently our region is in a very critical situation and dangerous measures are being formed in the region, so we need consultations with all our neighbours, Zarif was quoted as saying by Fars news agency upon arrival in Islamabad. Zarif called on the international community to take practical steps to counter U.S. "aggressive" and "bullying approach" against Tehran. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Toby Chopra) WASHINGTON (AP) Sometimes even the president of the United States needs somebody to vouch for him. No, Trump insisted Thursday, he did not have a temper tantrum a day earlier when he cut off a White House meeting with congressional Democrats after just three minutes. To prove it in the middle of a meeting with farmers he called on five members of his staff to bear witness to his demeanor. One by one, his advisers dutifully stepped forward to testify, saying Trump had been "very calm," albeit "direct," in his meeting with the Democrats. Then the president questioned the mental capacity of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had irked him Wednesday with her suggestion that he was engaged in a "cover-up" as he directed aides to refuse to cooperate with congressional inquiries. The testimonials were a wild detour amid Trump's announcement of new federal assistance for farmers caught up in his escalating trade war with China. First up was White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, his unwavering defender on cable news. "Kellyanne, what was my temperament yesterday?" Trump asked. "Very calm," she said, adding that the president did not throw a temper tantrum. Next up: White House spokeswoman Mercedes Schlapp. "You were very calm. You were very direct," she said. "You yourself have tried time and time again to negotiate and work with them on issues like border security, which they call a manufactured crisis. It's time for them to wake up and to stop waging this political war." Trump's desire for public affirmation from those serving under him has been a defining trait of his administration. It was clear at his first Cabinet meeting nearly two years ago, when almost all his advisers offered saccharine praise for the president. World leaders have learned to shower Trump with accolades before television cameras if they want to get on his good side. Now it was his staff's turn. Story continues White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had stepped out of the room, so Trump turned to Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, to weigh in. "You were very calm. You laid out your case," Kudlow said. Trump was on a roll. "The narrative was I was screaming and ranting and raving and it was terrible," Trump said. "And I watched Nancy and she was all crazy yesterday she was with the hands she reminded me of Beto. She actually reminded me of Beto, maybe a little bit worse." Trump has repeatedly accused Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke of excessive gesticulation. By then, Sanders had been summoned and returned to do her part. "Very calm. I've seen both," she said of Trump's personality, getting a laugh from those in the room. "Very calm and straightforward and clear that we have to actually get to work and do good things for the American people." Bringing up the rear was Hogan Gidley, the deputy press secretary, who said Trump was calm but had "every right" not to be. There was one other order of business for Trump: He gave Pelosi a nickname "Crazy Nancy." But then he took it back, not wanting it to appear derivative of his moniker for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. He added of Pelosi: "I've been watching her a long time. She's lost it." For her part, Pelosi suggested a staff or family "intervention" for Trump for the good of the nation. Trump concluded with his concise verdict on his own mental state, declaring, "I'm an extremely stable genius." ___ This story has been updated to delete a reference to Gidley not being at the Pelosi meeting; he says he was. By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, May 23 (Reuters) - Italy's Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday enacted a new policy on reporting suspected cases of sexual abuse by priests, but they stopped short of making it mandatory to inform police at first instance. Under the policy, church authorities would carry out a preliminary investigation then decide whether to refer it to police. The measure drew a skeptical response from victims' groups mindful of past Church cover-ups of abuses by clergymen. The policy does however go further than that laid out by Pope Francis earlier this month which mandated the world's one million priests and nuns to report all suspicion of sexual abuse by clerics of any level to their superiors. The papal document left it up to individual national bishops conferences to decide whether to report suspected abuse to police, depending on local law. Bishop Lorenzo Ghizzoni hailed the Italian policy, made at a four-day bishops' meeting, as going beyond what was required by universal Roman Catholic Church law. "We think this is an important step forward," he told a news conference. Ghizzoni said Church authorities would first carry out a preliminary investigation to determine if the accusation against a priest was credible and, if so, inform police and the Vatican at the same time. The Church would also encourage victims to go directly to police, he said. The pope's move was an attempt at taking forceful action against the sexual abuse of children by priests in thousands of cases across the world dating back at least three decades. The abuse and cover-ups by authorities have battered the Church's credibility and forced it to pay billions of dollars in settlements to victims. Victims and their advocates have long called for Church law to be changed to make reporting to civil authorities mandatory. "I don't find this terribly reassuring," Anne Barrett-Doyle of U.S. abuse tracking group BishopAccountability.org, told Reuters. "We have had many examples of bishops withholding allegations that later proved to be true." Story continues Francesco Zanardi of the Italian victims group Rete L'Abuso, was also skeptical. "If the pope really wanted to do something, he would just change Church law to order all bishops to report all suspected cases directly to police for them to investigate," he told Reuters. In February, a report by the United Nations Commission on the Rights of the Child criticized Italy for what it said was a low number of investigations and criminal prosecutions of child abuse by clergy in Italy. The commission asked Italy to establish an independent body to investigate suspected sexual abuse by clergy. This has not yet happened. (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Design is global, therefore design management software should be tooat least that's the thought behind Ivy's latest move. The platform, which services more than 5,000 design firms in the U.S. and was acquired by Houzz last spring, announced this morning that it has launched versions for the U.K., Canada, and Australia. The expansion comes as a response to designer demand in international markets, said Adi Tatarko, Houzz CEO and cofounder, in a statement. Ivy is already the most-used business management software by design firms in the U.S., and we can now empower designers in the U.K., Australia, and Canada to run their businesses more efficiently and effectively. In addition to providing Ivys standard workflow tools, which span client billing, vendor purchasing, time tracking, and more, the targeted versions will feature the currency, spelling, date formats, and terminology specific to each region. International users will have access to both Ivys desktop and mobile apps (for iPhone, iPad, and Android) formats. Ivy has hired local service representatives to assist in the rollout of the new editions, expanding its team beyond its current offices in Irvine, California; San Francisco; New York; Nashville; and Tel Aviv. Along with expanded accessibility, Ivy is progressing its service capabilities as well. The platform recently unveiled Room Boards, a grouping tool that allows users to curate products, services, and budgets by room. The extension comes in handy at almost every stage of the design process, from sharing concepts with clients pre-proposal to receiving client feedback on product picks in real time to turning the approved products into tearsheets or an invoice. Were always looking for new ways to help designers run an organized and profitable business, said Lee Rotenberg, Ivy cofounder, in a statement. Room Boards is a highly requested tool, and were thrilled to deliver it to our community, helping designers further streamline their workflows with both current and potential clients. Thats a mission any designer can supportno matter where they call home. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest The Circle CEO cited an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment in the U.S. as part of the impetus for laying off 30 employees. | World Economic Forum/YouTube By CCN: Bitcoin has been booming lately, but Circle, the parent company of crypto exchange Poloniex, announced yesterday afternoon that about 30 employees are leaving as part of organizational changes. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire cited an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment in the United States as part of the impetus for the move. Today we made organizational changes at Circle and eliminated approximately 30 positions, which is about 10% of our employees. We made these changes in response to new market conditions, most importantly, an increasingly restrictive regulatory climate in the United States. Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) May 21, 2019 Circle: Regulations Are Strangling U.S. Crypto Industry The announcement follows a blog post by Jeremy Allaire in which he decries the regulatory situation for cryptocurrency in the United States. The Circle CEO wrote: Innovators, including those working around the clock at Circle and many other companies in the U.S. and abroad, have continued to transform whats possible with crypto and blockchain technologies. Unfortunately, regulation has failed to keep up. [] [L]awmakers who take the time to learn about crypto and blockchain technology recognize its economic potential. [] [I]nnovation happens quickly and global competition is fierce. We urge lawmakers to recognize the unparalleled economic power that permissionless innovation has unleashed and to act to let crypto and blockchain technologies flourish. We know lawmakers want to support economic growth and want them to cease the opportunity to lead the charge. The Trump Administration, embroiled in the fallout from the Mueller investigation, has been extremely quiet on the issue of cryptocurrency or blockchains difficulty to flourish in the Land of the Free. Bitcoins overall future remains uncertain, with some politicians suggesting permissive legislation like the Token Taxonomy Act and others calling for an all-out ban. Story continues Bull Market Layoffs Met With Hostility Reactions to the tweet were mostly negative. Much of the response was criticism for Circles acquisition of Poloniex, which one Twitter person tied directly to Circles failure. Own your failure. You bet on scam ICOs and shitcoins over Bitcoin, and you lost. Ragnar Lifthrasir (@Ragnarly) May 21, 2019 Read the full story on CCN.com. Jack Letts' parents face trial in the UK over claims they funded terrorism by sending their son money (PA) A Muslim convert dubbed Jihadi Jack was sent money by his parents while in Syria, despite evidence he was a member of Isis. Farmer John Letts, 58, and his wife Sally Lane, 56, are on trial accused of sending or trying to send sums totalling 1,723 to their son. Jack Letts left the family home in Oxford in 2014 aged 18, the Old Bailey heard. The court heard how his mother, a former fundraising and marketing officer, had bought him a flight to Jordan, despite warnings that he planned to go and fight in Syria. He then travelled to Kuwait and then on to Iraq and Syria, the jury was told. John Letts and Sally Lane, the parents of Jack Letts, dubbed Jihadi Jack, arrive at the Old Bailey, London (PA) On October 1 2014, Lane told one of her sons friends he was OK for now but in the worst place possible and doesnt want to leave. The next day, Letts revealed to a friend that he was in an Isis area but not fighting. The friend allegedly said: It sounds like hes having the adventure of a lifetime. By early 2015, the defendants knew their son had married in Iraq and had no intention of returning to Britain, jurors heard. Mr Letts accused his son of lying about his plans to leave and said he was a pawn helping to spread hatred, pain, anger, suffering and violence. In March 2015, police visited the defendants and formally warned them they risked prosecution if they sent their son property or money, jurors were told. Read more on Yahoo News UK Man jailed after firing air rifle into Swansea street British woman, 58, dies on Ryanair flight Child, 3, dies after putting phone charger in his mouth in India When he found out about the raid, Jack Letts allegedly responded: Please convey to the British police that Im not planning on coming back to their broken country. Convey to them from me Die in your rage soon youll be the ones being raided! In May, he posted a picture of himself standing on the Taqba Dam in Raqqa, the heartland of IS territory, jurors were told. In July 2015, a former school friend called Linus Doubtfire, posed a picture to Facebook with a group of British Army colleagues after completing his Commando Artillery Course. Story continues Letts commented: I would love to perform a martyrdom operation in this scene. Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told how the defendants appeared shocked by his Facebook post. Lane allegedly urged her son not to be so stupid, saying: How did we bring you up to be so easily manipulated? Jack Letts left the UK in 2014 when he was aged 18 (PA) He responded: I admit it was wrong if I seemed like I was joking. I genuinely believe attacking the British Army is a very praiseworthy action when the intention is correct. I would happily kill each and every one of Linus Unit personally. This message for you, Mum and (younger brother) Tyler, I honestly want to cut Linus head off. I hope he finds himself lost in Beji or Fallujah one day and sees me whilst Im armed and I put six bullets in his head. His mother replied: Im really hoping that your disgusting comments about cutting peoples heads off are not coming from you, i.e. someone else is using your account. Ms Morgan said the significance of the exchange was that the defendants were never sure they were communicating directly with their son, let alone that the transfers they went on to make would go to him or what the money would be used for. The couple, of Chilswell Road, Oxford, have denied three charges of funding terrorism. Judith Kerr author of the Tiger Who Came to Tea, accompanied by Kitty Forbes, 7, dressed as the character Sophie from the book, blow out a candle to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book at the Storystock Festival at Circus West Village, Battersea Power Station, Battersea, London. Judith Kerr, writer of the much-loved children's book The Tiger Who Came To Tea and creator of Mog, has died at the age of 95. Her death was announced by her publisher, Harper Collins and prompted an outpour of tributes for the beloved author and illustrator whose works have been a staple of childrens bookshelves for decades. HarperCollins said: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Judith Kerr OBE, author and illustrator of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Mog the Forgetful Cat and many other classic childrens books, died at home yesterday aged 95 following a short illness." Read more: 50 Timeless Childrens Books You'll Love as Much as Your Kid Does The Tiger Who Came to Tea has never been out of print since being published in 1968, selling more than five million copies. Kerr wrote it after visiting a zoo with her three-year-old daughter. It tells the story of a little girl and her mother who are having tea at home when a friendly tiger arrives unannounced, eats all the food and drinks all the water in the tap. Children's author Judith Kerr signs books for fans during the Tingle Creek Christmas Festival at Sandown Park Kerr told Reuters on 2015 that when her daughter Tacy was a toddler, the girl would often say "Talk the tiger". Years later, when both of her children were at school and she was wondering what to do next, she hit upon the idea of a book. It was published in 1968 to critical acclaim and has been a bestseller ever since, with Mog the Forgetful Cat following in 1970, the first of a long series. Kerr was often asked whether the tiger has a hidden meaning, and some people have suggested that it might represent Hitler or the Nazis, invading her home and stealing her possessions. Kerr dismissed this, saying the creature was harmless. "I never think about telling small children what to think," she said. I am so sad to hear that Judith Kerr has died. She was a legendary author and illustrator, whose stories and illustrations gave pleasure to millions around the world, not least me and my son. Judith is gone but her books will live on forever. pic.twitter.com/U36klRiQcM David Walliams (@davidwalliams) May 23, 2019 Kerr was born in Berlin and her family left Germany in 1933 to escape the rise of the Nazi Party and came to Britain via Paris. Story continues The family's struggle to get by as impoverished refugees in Paris and then wartime London formed the subject of Kerrs autobiographical trilogy that started with When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, published in 1971. The book has been translated into many languages and taught to school children as an introduction to a dark chapter of history. It won the prestigious Youth Book Prize in Germany, and in 1993 a school was named after Kerr in her native Berlin. As a young woman, Kerr worked as a textile designer, art teacher and script writer at the BBC before taking time out from work to raise her and her husband Tom's two children. Some books light up the world. Thank you for The Tiger Who Came to Tea and rest well, Judith Kerr. pic.twitter.com/VxDzCTyRgC Tony Parsons (@TonyParsonsUK) May 23, 2019 Goodbye Judith Kerr. All my four boys have adored you and Ive loved reading your work to them. Forever on our bookshelves and in our imaginations. #JudithKerr pic.twitter.com/fJhfsIH8eI Gary Kemp (@garyjkemp) May 23, 2019 Judith Kerr was a wonderful woman and a wonderful soul. I was lucky enough to have met her several times. Her love of life and her decency simply shone from her face. RIP Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) May 23, 2019 WASHINGTON (AP) Easing some of the escalating tension between Congress and the White House, the House intelligence committee postponed efforts to enforce a subpoena against the Justice Department on Wednesday after officials agreed to hand over a cache of documents related to special counsel Robert Mueller's Trump-Russia report. The agreement came a day after the department said it would be willing to provide documents from Mueller's investigation but only if the committee didn't take action against Attorney General William Barr. The panel had been expected to vote at Wednesday's meeting now postponed on an unspecified "enforcement action" against Barr or the department after they refused to hand over an unredacted version of Mueller's report and other documents related to the Russia probe. Democrats have accused President Donald Trump and Barr of trying to stonewall and block their constitutional oversight duties. A separate House panel voted earlier this month to hold Barr in contempt after he failed to comply with a similar subpoena. The Justice Department will begin turning over 12 categories of "counterintelligence and foreign intelligence materials as part of an initial rolling production," and that process should be completed by the end of next week, Rep. Adam Schiff, the intelligence committee's chairman, said in a statement. Schiff, a California Democrat, warned that the subpoena would remain in effect and "will be enforced should the Department fail to comply with the full document request." Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd told Schiff in a letter Tuesday that the Justice Department would be willing to make less-redacted portions of the report available to members of the committee and that officials were reviewing troves of investigative documents that were also requested by the committee. "We appreciate the continued dialogue with the Committee and look forward to working toward appropriately accommodating their requests," department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Wednesday. New York (AFP) - A US banker was charged Thursday with approving millions of dollars in loans to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort in expectation of getting a top level position in the new administration. Stephen Calk, the chairman of Chicago-based Federal Savings Bank, overturned resistance in his bank to lending $16 million to Manafort, who at the time in late 2016 faced losing valuable properties to foreclosure if he could not come up with new financing. In exchange, Calk detailed his preferred positions in the Trump cabinet in emails to Manafort, including Treasury secretary, Defense secretary, and secretary of the Army. If not any of those jobs, Calk told Manafort, he could accept an ambassadorship, listing by order of preference the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. Calk was charged with one count of financial institution bribery, which can bring a maximum 30 years in prison. The indictment said that Manafort, who continued to advise the Trump campaign after stepping down as chairman in August 2016, recommended Calk to a senior member of Trump's transition team that November. The transition official was not identified in the indictment, but emails produced as evidence in Manafort's fraud trial last year showed it was Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. In one November 30, 2016 email, Manafort proposed to Kushner that Calk be made Army secretary, stressing his loyalty and advocacy for the incoming president. Calk and two others being suggested for jobs by Manafort would advance Trump's agenda, he wrote, and "will be totally reliable and responsive to the Trump White House." Kushner replied the same day : "On it!" Calk was eventually interviewed to be deputy secretary of the army, but did not get the job. In late 2017, Manafort was arrested and charged with multiple counts of bank and tax fraud and money laundering, as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling. That case exposed his relationship with Calk and the Federal Savings Bank, leading to Thursday's charges. Manafort was eventually sentenced to 90 months in prison in two separate court cases. Since it opened earlier this month, hundreds have flocked to Manhattans Upper East Side to meander through the Kips Bay Decorator Show House and its parade of interiors by some of decorating's top talents. But the biggest draw for AD PRO at this years edition stands just shy of five feet tall. On a recent Saturday afternoon, after pushing through a crowded vestibule, AD PRO finds the subject in question in the backyard, reclining in a curved deck chair that heats your rear like the seat of a Lincoln Town Car. He pops up and ceremoniously presents a business card. It reads in a crisp font, Graham Gilbert: Junior Design Consultant. Gilberta.k.a. @Instagrahamdesignerhas flown in from his hometown near West Palm Beach, Florida, on the eve of his 11th birthday to fulfill what for him is a dream come true: to visit the legendary show house, now in its 47th year. GrahamGilbert-01jpg Photo by Manuel Rodriguez The youngster has become something of an Instagram sensation, known for his quippy yet earnest observations of the design world. On his Instagram feed, you can find shots of Gilbert hamming it up with decorators, inspecting fabric samples, flipping through the latest issue of AD, and, of course, doing typical 11-year-old things like attending an orchestral version of Star Wars: A New Hope or sitting triumphantly in front of a pile of candy. The budding designer rises from the heated chair and sits down on a low-slung retaining wall near a series of babbling fountains installed by Delaney + Chin. While Gilberts twinkling blue eyes and sprinkling of freckles might bring to mind a character straight out of the Sunday funnies, his natty attire (navy slacks, waistcoat, brogues) lends him the air of a C-suite executive. Gilbert attributes his interest in interior design to his mother, Fran Sachs, who heads up the business operations for Krista + Home, a firm servicing greater Palm Beach County. I came with her to the marketing events, mainly for the food at first, Gilbert admits, but I started meeting with the people there and I started learning about design. Story continues The fifth grader soon became a regular fixture in the office and impressed everyone with his winning grin, sponge-like intellect, and charming old-soul mannerisms. So taken was the design office with the aspiring designer that Krista Watterworth Alterman (whom Gilbert refers to simply as Ms. Krista) eventually offered him the honorary position of junior design consultant. Back at the show house, Gilbert, trailed by his mom, his dad, Jon, and a photographer, makes his way inside. His friend and mentor the Los Angelesbased designer David Phoenix arrives, looking dapper and unruffled despite having just spent nearly an hour in traffic from JFK. The pair met in February at the Kips Bay Palm Beach satellite show house in Florida. He was at the show house like every weekend, and he was looking at things and touching things and I said, Who are you? Phoenix recalls. "After a few moments, I said, Wait a minute, I have to tape this because no one is going to believe me. The subsequent Instagram interview Phoenix posted of Gilbert describing his dream bedroom (navy blue walls, dark wood furnishings, white curtains) was a viral hit, garnering hundreds of views and supportive comments from prominent decorators and members of the Schwarzenegger family. The success of the clip led Gilbert and his mom to set up his own social media account. Gilbert and Phoenix work their way through the show house, making stops at Cullman & Kravis Associates Rhapsody in Blue dining room, a study by Paloma Contreras (one of Gilberts idols), and a room by Eve Robinson Associates (hard to dust, Phoenix observes of a particularly intricate light fixture). They make their way down the show houses spiral stair, outfitted by Gluckstein Design. This was my friend Jeremiah Goodman, a very famous illustrator, Phoenix explains to Gilbert, gesturing to a series of ethereal watercolors on the wall. Gilbert nods in approval. Phoenix sees a lot of himself in Gilbert. The designer grew up outside of Boston copying floor plans from magazines and walking, entranced, through furniture stores. I wish I would have had a place like the Kips Bay show house, Phoenix says. It was through a mentor in his teens that Phoenix honed his craft as an interior designer. And Gilbert will continue to hone his craft once back in Florida. Thereamid homework assignments, tae kwon do class, theater practice (he recently played Melman, a hypochondriac giraffe, in a local production of Madagascar Jr.), and violin lessonshe will resume his after-school routine at Krista + Home, pulling up a chair at his mothers large desk and diving into his tasks, still in his school uniform. GrahamGilbert-3.jpg Photo by Manuel Rodriguez Though he has only been at it for a short while, Gilbert speaks of the business with the ease of a professional five times his age. Dont be afraid to get what you want, he advises. You are going to be a lot happier with the original thing you wantednot the thing that was a bit cheaper and maybe not as extravagant. Of course, earning respect from your grown-up peers when you are still in elementary school can be an uphill battle. But Gilbert is not bothered by those who might dismiss him: I meet some designers and I say, I am an interior designer myself, and they go, Hahaha [mimics bellowing laugh]. He shrugs off such encounters. I understand. As an adult youre more inclined to expect that adults will be workingnot kidson interior design. Ultimately, Gilbert has the last laugh: He recently landed his first-ever client, a local homeowner in need of a discerning eye to help her select backyard furniture. She said it would be a great learning experience, Gilbert explains. And I said, Why not? I love learning. Indeed, there are more lessons to be learned. Inside the show house Phoenix and Gilbert enter a Jeff Lincolndesigned room, filled with surrealist furnishings and sculptures. It looks like Mars, Gilbert remarks as he and Phoenix pad across a swirling carpet. Gilbert is particularly taken by the softness of some taupe alpaca wool drapes. I want to rub my face on them, he declares. Phoenix swiftly intervenes. "Oh my God," he says to his young design squire, thats expensive! Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest When the Knicks decided to trade injured All-Star Kristaps Porzingis in January, New York was facing trade-me-or-else pressure to make the move. Team president Steve Mills said Wednesday that it wasn't the Knicks' preference to part with Porzingis, but he made it clear through an ultimatum that New York was no longer his preferred home. "(Porzingis) point-blank said to us, 'I don't want to be here,'" Mills said Wednesday at a public speaking engagement. "(He said): 'I'm not going to re-sign with the Knicks and I'm going to give you seven days to trade me, or I'm going back to Europe.' Fortunately for us, through that process we (started) in September, we had a number of deals lined up, and we started the trade calls as soon as he walked out of the office." Trading Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks helped create two supermax contract slots the Knicks could use to score a pair of big-ticket free agents in a class headlined by Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler. Porzingis, 23, did not play in 2018-19 while recovering from a knee injury. He averaged 22.7 points in 48 games in 2017-18. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Porzingis have said publicly the two sides are pushing forward on a contract extension. --Field Level Media Pristina (AFP) - A mayor in Kosovo has refused to cede contested land to a UNESCO-listed Serbian Orthodox monastery despite a court order and pressure from the EU, in a long-running The status of Serbian Orthodox church sites in mainly Muslim Kosovo is an acute source of tension between the neighbours, who were split by war 20 years ago. One of the most revered churches, the 14th-century Decani monastery is still guarded by NATO-led forces and has been embroiled in a decades-old dispute with local authorities over 24 hectares (59 acres) of land. In 2016 Kosovo's constitutional court ruled that the land belonged to the monastery, which has been using the plot for agriculture. But the mayor of Decan municipality has made clear he would not respect the decision, despite a recent call from the European Union to honour the ruling. "Although we are aware of the consequences of not implementing the decision issued by the Constitutional Court, we are very determined not to apply it," Mayor Bashkim Ramosaj posted on Facebook. "I stand firm at this point," he added when contacted by AFP Thursday. His comments came after the EU's special envoy to Kosovo on Monday expressed "deep concern" over Kosovo's failure to honour the court ruling. "Decisions by Kosovo's highest legal authority are final and must be implemented without further delay," the envoy, Nataliya Apostolova, said in a statement. Speaking to local media, a church representative said the dispute "creates a feeling of insecurity and discrimination". The Decan municipality is a stronghold of Kosovo's Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerilla fighter who takes a hardline position against Serbia. The neighbours are now under EU pressure to normalise ties, a condition for either to possibly someday join the bloc. But their dismal relations have sunk further in recent months, with EU-led negotiations grounding to a halt after a series of diplomatic clashes. Serbia still refuses to accept Kosovo's 2008 unilateral declaration of independence, considering it a renegade province. Paris (AFP) - The managing director of the newspaper Le Monde, Louis Dreyfus, said Thursday he has been summoned for questioning by France's domestic intelligence agency, following a similar order against one of the daily's senior reporters. Dreyfus told AFP he and Ariane Chemin -- who broke the story of an explosive scandal concerning a security aide to President Emmanuel Macron, Alexandre Benalla, who was fired after being filmed roughing up a protester while police stood by -- have both been told to appear at the headquarters of the DGSI service on May 29. It was an article in July 2018 by Chemin that first reported that Benalla had beaten a May Day demonstrator while wearing a police helmet. The Elysee has been accused of covering up the affair by failing to report Benalla to the authorities. The summonses have created disquiet in French media over journalistic independence and freedom of expression, especially as they follow DGSI orders against four reporters of an investigative website, DIsclose, after they reported on leaked military intelligence about how French weapons sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE were being used in Yemen. "It is to be feared that, with these summonses, authorities are trying to intimidate the journalists and identify their sources so as to punish or dissuade them," said the head of the Reporters Without Borders watchdog group, Christophe Deloire. Le Monde on Wednesday reported that Chemin was summoned for her articles on Benalla as well as a profile she did of a former air force officer, Chokri Wakrim, who is the partner of the former head of security in the prime minister's office. The ex-security chief, Marie-Elodie Poitout, resigned after media revealed she and Wakrim had welcomed Benalla to their home in July but insisted it had only been a social affair. Dreyfus and Chemin were being questioned as part of a DGSI probe into the alleged revelation of "a member of special forces units". Several sources said the investigation stemmed from a complaint made in mid-April by Wakrim. By Mayank Bhardwaj AYODHYA, India, May 23 (Reuters) - A thumping election win for India's Hindu nationalist party on Thursday has instilled a sense of resignation among Muslims, some of whom are now willing to concede the demand for a Hindu temple at the site of a razed mosque. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to win a bigger majority than in 2014, Election Commission data showed, cheering its conservative base that is expected to double down on demands of the majority Hindu community. Many Hindus believe a mosque razed in 1992 in the northern town of Ayodhya was built in the same place where Lord Ram, a physical incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, was born. They also point to evidence there was a temple there before the mosque was built in 1528. The destruction of the mosque by a Hindu mob had led to riots that killed about 2,000 people across the country. Reuters spoke to more than two dozen Muslims in Ayodhya and all of them said they were fine with the construction of a Hindu temple there. Many, however, are bound to remain resentful of the construction of a temple on the site of what they call the martyred mosque. "We congratulate the prime minister and urge him to ensure that Muslims don't get to suffer any longer," said Haji Mahboob Ahmad, a 65-year-old Muslim community leader who lives near the site of the 16th century mosque. "There's no denying that there's a sense of resignation among millions of Muslims who fear further alienation. For us, the issue of temple is like the sword Damocles. Let the temple come up. We need to get over it." Ahmad, a litigant in a case seeking to preserve the Muslim claim to the site where the mosque once stood, said Muslims in Ayodhya would not oppose the temple in a bid to keep the peace. Other Muslims agreed. "Since the prime minister has been re-elected with a bigger mandate, he's well-placed to solve the issue that has only deepened the divide between Hindus and Muslims," said Ashraf Jalal, the imam, or main priest, of Ayodhya. Story continues "For the sake of peace and development, we've decided to support the idea of the temple." Late last year, dozens of Hindu monks and tens of thousands of followers, gathered under the banner of groups affiliated to the BJP, assembled in Ayodhya and New Delhi to push Modi to build the temple. Hindu groups told Reuters this week they would press Modi on their demand for a Ram temple on the Ayodhya site, life in jail for killing cows - considered sacred by many Hindus - and ending the autonomy of India's only Muslim-majority state. Currently a court-appointed panel is arbitrating the temple dispute. The panel is likely to give its views to the court by Aug. 15, when its term ends. "We hope that the verdict of the panel will put the issue to rest," another Muslim man, Azam Qadir, said. "We've no problem with the construction of the temple. We want peace and progress and the dispute has time and again come in the way of development." The BJP said in its election manifesto that it would "explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution and all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya." In the western town of Nagpur, the base for BJP parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, many Muslims echoed the sentiments expressed by Ayodhya's Muslims. "I don't have any problem with the BJP getting re-elected but the party must peacefully solve the issue of the Ram temple," said Wasim Shaikh, a young taxi driver in Nagpur. But Zafaryab Jilani, a secretary of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board and a lawyer in the legal case over the site, said he would only go by the verdict of the Supreme Court. "Theres no question of surrendering our claim over the site, he said. Many Muslims are also spooked by the win of a Hindu ascetic accused of plotting a bomb attack on Muslims. BJP's Pragya Thakur, the first person accused of terrorism to be fielded by a major political group in India, has boasted of her role in demolishing the mosque in Ayodhya. She has denied any links to the attack on Muslims. (Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in NAGPUR; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Nick Macfie) New York (AFP) - UN envoy Ghassan Salame has bitterly denounced the conflict in Libya saying it is "committing suicide" and plundering its oil wealth to pay for the war. The north African country was "a textbook example of foreign interference today in local conflicts," Salame told a New York-based think tank late Wednesday. Between "six and 10 countries (are) permanently interfering in Libya's problem" funnelling arms, cash and military advice to the country, he warned. But the Libyans do not need outside help to fuel the conflict, which has ravaged the country since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted in 2011, he said. "The truth is that Libya can pay for its own suicide," Salame lamented. "I always considered my compatriots in Lebanon as stupid enough to commit suicide with somebody else's money. The Libyans are even worse. They are committing suicide with their own money," he told the International Peace Institute (IPI). Lebanon was devastated by a civil war between 1975 and 1990, fuelled by regional rivalries. Salame stressed that Libya was a rich country, producing 1.2 million barrels of oil a day. "This is big money," the UN envoy said. "Plus there are mines of gold, platine ... The country is very wealthy, so it (the conflict) can expand." He again urged the international community to "not only contain this conflict". "We need to work in order to put an end to this conflict," Salame said, regretting the lack of unity at the UN over the issue. He was speaking a day after warning the UN Security Council that the ongoing battle for Tripoli launched by strongman Khalifa Haftar on April 4 was "just the start of a long and bloody war". More than 75,000 people have been driven from their homes in the latest fighting and 510 have been killed, according to the World Health Organization. More than 2,400 have also been wounded, while 100,000 people are feared trapped by the clashes raging on the outskirts of Tripoli. The war has pitted Haftar's forces against those of the UN-recognised government based in Tripoli. The Security Council failed last month to agree on a draft resolution demanding a ceasefire in Libya and a return to political talks to end the conflict. By Marine Pennetier PARIS (Reuters) - Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, speaking on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, ruled out a ceasefire and said he wanted to rid the capital of militias that had "infested" the U.N.-backed government, a French presidential official said. The flare-up in the conflict in Libya - which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 - began in early April, when Haftar's Libyan National Army advanced on the capital Tripoli. The LNA is now bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA). Macron and French officials have for weeks repeated their official support for the GNA and have called for an unconditional ceasefire. But some European countries, including France, have also supported Haftar as a way to fight Islamist militants in the country. "The distrust we see between the Libyan actors is stronger than ever today," said the official after the meeting between Macron and Haftar in Paris. "When the question of the ceasefire was put on the table, Haftar's reaction to this was to ask: 'negotiate with whom for a ceasefire today?'" the official said. The battle for Tripoli has killed at least 510 people, forced 75,000 out of their homes, trapped thousands of migrants in detention centres, and flattened some southern suburbs. It has also forced closures of schools, split families on different sides of the front line, and brought power cuts. "He (Haftar) considers that the GNA is completely infested by militias and it is not for him to negotiate with representatives of these militias," the official said. The official said Macron had asked Haftar to make a public step towards a ceasefire and Haftar responded by saying that an inclusive political dialogue was necessary and he would be ready for it if the conditions for a ceasefire were in place. Story continues However, the official said Haftar had given no indication as to when he would be ready for any potential talks. Speaking on Euronews television on Wednesday, Serraj also appeared to rule out a ceasefire, warning that the fighting would not stop until Haftar's troops had pulled back east. The United Nations' Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, said on Tuesday the current fighting could be the start of a long and bloody conflict in the country that could permanently divide it. "We can clearly see the impasse that exists today between the desire of the international community to say that there must be a ceasefire and a resumption of political discussions and the way in which Haftar sees things with his explanation of the lack of legitimacy of the interlocutors (on the other side)," the French official said. The official also said Haftar had rejected suggestions he or forces loyal to him were benefiting from oil sales in the east of the country. (Additional reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tunis; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Frances Kerry) The Louvre in Paris can thank the Carters -- Beyonce and Jay-Z -- for helping the museum retain its position as the most visited museum in the world for 2018, with 10 million people treading its hallowed halls last year. According to the latest edition of the TEA/AECOM Theme Index and Museum Index, attendance at the most iconic museum in Paris jumped 26 percent -- or by 2 million visitors in 2018, widening the gap with its closest rival, the National Museum of China in Beijing which saw 8.6 million visitors. Rounding out the podium of top museums in the world is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, at 7.36 million visitors. Analysts cited a number of contributing factors for the surge in attendance to the Louvre last year. Most notably, the report credits Jay-Z and Queen Bey for bringing renewed interest to the museum after using it as a backdrop for their music video "Apes***". The video has racked up more than 172 million views since it was released last June. Its popularity has even resulted in a thematic "Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Louvre" tour which takes guests on a trail of all the artworks featured in the video. In general, museum attendance is also driven by temporary exhibitions. In 2018, the Louvre featured the works of Eugene Delacroix, which drew 540,000 visitors. The museum's history made recent headline news with the passing of the architect responsible for its 1989 pyramid addition, I.M. Pei, on May 16. The Natural History Museum in London also owes a record-breaking year to temporary exhibits and events like Dippy the Dinosaur, the installation of a 25-meter blue whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling, and collaborations with the Roald Dahl Story Company and the LEGO Group. Overall, global museum attendance was steady in 2018, growing from a modest 108 million to 108.1 million in 2018. European museums continue to dominate the top 20 list, with 9 out of 20 museums on the ranking, representing nearly half (48%) of worldwide attendance. The list also reveals a particularly strong museum culture in London, which scored four of the top 10 spots. Here are the top 10 museums of 2018: 1. The Louvre, Paris 2. National Museum of China, Beijing 3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 4. Vatican Museums, Vatican 5. National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC 6. British Museum, London 7. Tate Modern, London 8. National Gallery, London 9. Natural History Museum, London 10. American Museum of Natural History, New York Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - Malawian President Peter Mutharika leads his main rival in this week's election, winning more than 40 percent of votes cast, according to figures released on Thursday with three-quarters of votes counted. Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is fighting for a second five-year term, has 40.49 percent of the vote, the Electoral Commission said. "It feels excellent. The results are within our predictions but certainly we are not naive enough to celebrate before the final whistle is blown," DDP campaign chief Ben Phiri told AFP. Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera had 35.44 percent, while Vice President Saulos Chilima was on 18 percent, according to the partial results. Mutharika, 78, campaigned for a second five-year term on his record of improving Malawi's scant road and power infrastructure. But his government has been dogged by several high-profile cases of corruption and nepotism. Chakwera on Wednesday warned of alleged attempts to rig Tuesday's election, saying his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) was conducting its own count that showed he was ahead. The southeastern African country has around 6.8 million potential voters, with more than half aged under 35. Turnout data has not been published after Tuesday's elections, which were also for lawmakers and local councillors. The European Union observer mission described the vote as "well-managed, inclusive, transparent and competitive". But it said that tension during the campaign "was not helped by various claims of 'rigging'". Political analyst Rafiq Hajat told AFP that the count could still be close. He added that Mutharika's team had "the incumbency advantage and the disposal of public resources at their disposal and also the public media that works in their favour". - Graft scandals - Malawi has a "winner-takes-all" system and in 2014 Mutharika won with just 36 percent of the vote. Story continues He came to power vowing to tackle corruption after the "Cashgate" scandal erupted a year earlier, revealing massive looting from state coffers. But he has also faced corruption allegations. Last November, Mutharika was forced to return a $200,000 (180,000 euro) donation from a businessman facing a corruption case in a $3-million contract to supply food to the Malawi police. At his final campaign rally last weekend, Mutharika told supporters in Blantyre: "My priorities for this country are development and building skills." Former evangelist Chakwera, 64, came a close second to Mutharika in the 2014 polls. Chilima was a member of the ruling party but quit last year to form the youth-focused United Transformation Movement, while staying on as vice president. Under Malawi law, the president cannot fire the vice president. Malawi won independence from colonial ruler Britain in 1964, and was then ruled by Hastings Banda as a one-party state until the first multi-party elections in 1994. The country, which has a population of 18 million people, has one million adults living with HIV -- one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Malaysian police on Thursday raided the Kuala Lumpur offices of auditor Deloitte as they ramp up investigations into a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal, an official said. Huge sums were stolen from Malaysian state fund 1MDB, allegedly by former leader Najib Razak and his cronies who spent it on everything from yachts to rare artwork. Deloitte has come under scrutiny after it audited 1MDB's 2013 and 2014 financial statements. Mazlan Mansor, the police's head of commercial crimes, confirmed to AFP that a raid had taken place on Deloitte's office "in the course of 1MDB investigations". Police seized documents and files during the operation, The Star newspaper reported. Malaysia's securities regulator had already fined the firm 2.2 million ringgit ($525,000) in January for breaches related to a 1MDB bond issuance. Deloitte was the third major accounting company to audit 1MDB's books, after KPMG and Ernst & Young. Deloitte quit as 1MDB's auditor in 2016. The same year, the firm said its audits of 1MDB's financial statements could no longer be relied upon after the US filed lawsuits linked to the scandal. US authorities are seeking to claw back assets allegedly bought in America with funds stolen from 1MDB and believe $4.5 billion was looted from the fund. The allegations played a large part in persuading voters to eject Najib's coalition at historic elections last year after more than six decades in power. He has since been hit with dozens of charges linked to the scandal, and last month went on trial. He denies wrongdoing. Brian Anderson homered for the second straight game, Garrett Cooper smacked his first career homer and the Miami Marlins stretched their winning streak to five games with a 6-3 triumph over the slumping Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Neil Walker rapped a two-run double during a three-run seventh that tied it up. Miguel Rojas added three hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh. Winning pitcher Jose Urena (2-6) gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings. Sergio Romo collected his eight save with a spotless ninth. Christin Stewart had three hits and an RBI for Detroit, which has lost eight straight games. Detroit starter Daniel Norris was charged with two runs on six hits in six-plus innings. Losing pitcher Buck Farmer (2-3) gave up two runs in one-third of an inning. The Tigers scored a run in each of the first three innings. Gordon Beckham led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on Niko Goodrum's single up the middle. An error aided Detroit in the second. John Hicks reached on an infield single. A throwing error on JaCoby Jones' fielder's-choice grounder by third baseman Anderson put runners in scoring position. Beckham's RBI grounder knocked in Hicks. With two down in the third, Ronny Rodriguez hit a single that deflected off of Urena. Stewart then ripped a double down the right field line as Rodriguez came in to score. Cooper hit his breakthrough homer with one out in the sixth. He drilled a 2-1 fastball over the center field fence. Miami took a 4-3 lead in the seventh. Norris departed after Harold Ramirez led off the inning with a single. Farmer relieved him and promptly blew the lead. Martin Prado singled to put runners on the corners, and Walker hit a double into the right-center gap, bringing home both runners. After getting an out, Farmer gave up a single up the middle from Rojas, which allowed Walker to score the go-ahead run. Miami stretched the lead to 6-3 in the eighth against Victor Alcantara. Cooper walked, and Anderson blasted a homer to right field. --Field Level Media Tens of thousands of celebrators gathered outside Taiwans parliament on May 17, waving rainbow flags as the islands government became the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The move comes at a moment of change for LGBTQ rights in Asia: even as nations like Indiawhose Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality in 2018have expanded rights, others including Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei have cracked down. Advocates in the region now hope Taiwans example can help tip the scales toward inclusion. While strongly supported by President Tsai Ing-wen, marriage equality provoked strong opposition from conservative and religious groups in Taiwan. Conservative lawmakers had tabled two rival bills proposing same-sex unions, but the governments own legislationthe bill that passedincludes the word marriage and grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as heterosexual couples. About 200 same-sex couples were reportedly planning a mass marriage registration in Taipei on May 24, the day the law comes into effect. Human-rights group Amnesty International has said the law falls short of genuine and full marriage equality, as it does not provide equal adoption rights. The law also does not recognize marriages to foreigners whose countries do not permit same-sex marriage. Despite such limitations, the legislation gained the backing of LGBTQ groups, which saw it as the best option available for equality. Chinese state media tweeted a congratulatory message in support of the law on May 18, but Taiwans lawmakers rebuked the praise, seeing it as an attempt by Beijing to take credit for the new law while diminishing their autonomy. (The mainland views Taiwan, an island of 23 million people that lies 112 miles off the coast, as its sovereign territory.) The social scuffle came amid a wave of censorship of LGBTQ subjects on social media in China, where homosexuality is legal but same-sex marriages are not. Leaders werent the only ones talking about the news: posts about Taiwans law trended on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, attracting over 100 million views. Click the photo to write a caption and have a chance to win a free subscription to the Norfolk Daily News. "We are obsessed with perfection, artist and designer Mauro Mori says, citing a distinctly modern problem. But perfection doesnt exist, especially with natural things. That ethos is at the heart of Moris eponymous new exhibition of limited-edition art furniture, which runs from May 22 through July 22 at Les Ateliers Courbet in Manhattans Chelsea gallery district. There, in a collection of seductively organic tables and consoles, Mori coaxes the natural, imperfect beauty out of wood, metal, and marble, drawing attention to the preciousness of natural resources and, as he puts it, a respect for something bigger than us. Each of his designs is imbued with evidence of the artists hand and, even more ephemerally, his emotions. Its all there to see, touchand perhaps even hear and smell. Thats because the Italian creative, whose work bridges the art of sculpture and the design of furniture, thinks of every detailcarefully choosing scented wax or essence (never varnish!) to finish wood, and using specialized materials on the interior of his metal furniture to ensure it doesnt sound like an empty Coca-Cola [can], Mori says. Some clients dont care, or they dont even knowbut for me its important. The sum of the details makes the difference, not for the market, but for yourself. Photo: Gian Paolo Barbieri That focus on handcraft and workmanship is a value Mori shares with Melanie Courbet, who founded her gallery in 2013 to celebrate master craftspeople. Theres another energy, another vibration in pieces that comes from the hand, Mori explains of crafts enduring appeal. For his latest exhibition, Mori created a number of limited-edition pieces through the gallerys Les Editions Courbet initiative, including the Mama table, a lyrical wood form that recalls a mother cradling her child. That design got its start in the Seychelles, where Mori maintains a small workshop for creating pieces in local albizia wood, an invasive species the artist obtains as felled trees from government lumberjacks. (For me, the material is the tree, not the wood, Mori explains.) There, on the Indian Ocean archipelago, he gives the material its first rough cuts with a chainsaw before shipping the piece to his Italian atelier for finishing. This rooted sense of place is a hallmark of his process that extends to the marble he hand-selects and works locally in Carrara, Italy. Story continues Photo: Gian Paolo Barbieri While Moris work offers the functionality of designthink: tables and consoles in battuto-style hammered brass, hand-carved wood, and copperhis process is more in line with ancient traditions of sculpture than with industrial design. He often works in a subtractive method, starting with a raw block of material and carving away until the desired form is revealed. You change the tools [to suit the material], but the technique is the same: You take away until you find the shape you want, says Mori. Through this process, the artist finds inspiration in the forms and proportions of the materials he usesa method that puts him in a direct artistic continuum with Michelangelo and other masters. Its a method that allows him to celebrate the natural variations in materials that make each piece, even in an edition, a unique work of art. For me, using hand is very important; its a very magical moment, the moment I completely focus on where I am, he says. And while the process infuses the resulting work with emotion and personal history, Mori is hesitant to ascribe meaning to each individual piece. After all, he says, when Im finished [with] a piece, everything is inside. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest The Duchess of Sussex is experiencing the same narrative in the media as Princess Diana, says a royal biographer. Just months after her wedding to Prince Harry, reports about Meghans so-called difficult behaviour began to emerge, following the resignation of four palace aides within the past year. Andrew Morton says there were similar headlines about Princess Diana soon after her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. He told Yahoo UKs The Royal Box: What I find interesting shes [Meghan] been criticised as the Duchess Difficult and theres been attacks on her because her Scotland Yard bodyguard resigned and various members of staff have resigned. Meghan pictured in Bristol, in February [Photo: PA] It was the same narrative as Diana. She started off as the fairytale princess and within 18 months, she was being described in the media as a fiend and a monster because various members of her staff had left, so it is a bit of a cliche to use that narrative about her. Morton also spoke about how Meghans friends have publicly defended her. He says: Meghan is all about reaching over the heads of the UK media and using her American friends because how many of Prince Harrys friends have spoken up for Meghan and for Harry? Theyve all been silent because thats the traditional way. Its the American friends, this cohort of George Clooney, Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey and in a way, rightly so. Diana, Princess of Wales, wearing tiara in New Zealand during April 1983. In February, actor George Clooney told a press panel that Meghan has been pursued and vilified and chased in the same way that Diana was. He later added in an interview with Good Morning Britain that the duchess hadnt done anything except live her life. American talk show host Oprah Winfrey has also spoke out against the negative press coverage surrounding Meghan, calling it unfair. MEXICO CITY, May 23 (Reuters) - Mexican tomato growers have submitted new proposals to the U.S. Commerce Department to govern trade of their products in a bid to end a dispute that led to tariffs being slapped on Mexican tomato exports to the United States this month. In a statement on Thursday, the tomato growers said they had updated an offer issued last month to the United States. That offer failed to head off the spat with American rivals looking to restrict supply of Mexican tomatoes to the U.S. market. Tariffs of 17.5 percent on Mexican tomatoes came into force after the United States allowed a so-called suspension agreement from 2013 to lapse just over two weeks ago. For six years that agreement halted an anti-dumping investigation sought by U.S. producers against Mexican growers. Mexico's tomato growers were required to make a formal proposal on May 22. The latest offer includes new reference prices with increases of up to 180 percent for more categories of tomatoes, and expands a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) marketing order to cover all types of tomato, the statement said. It also includes the terms under which defective product can be returned to Mexico, among other proposals, the statement said. The step follows a U.S. decision last week to lift tariffs on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum. (Reporting by Dave Graham and Sharay Angulo Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) By Andrew Hay TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - Two more New Mexico counties have declared their opposition to taking in migrants in a growing revolt against federal authorities dropping off a surge in Central American families in the state's rural, southern communities. The record influx of asylum seekers has overwhelmed border detention facilities and shelters, forcing U.S. immigration authorities to bus migrants to nearby cities and even fly them to California. Las Cruces, New Mexico, has received over 6,000 migrants since April 12. Deming, population 14,183, gets 300 to 500 a day, according to City Administrator Aaron Sera. Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has dismissed President Donald Trump's claims of a border security crisis and advocated a humanitarian response. She is in Washington seeking federal funds to reimburse cities that give support. But some New Mexico counties say they want nothing to do with sheltering migrants, with one official saying the governor's approach may worsen the border crisis. Sierra County, population 11,116, was one of two Republican-controlled New Mexico counties to pass resolutions on Tuesday evening opposing the relocation of migrants to their communities. Sierra County also called on Trump to close the border to immigration to end the crisis. "We have to take care of our veterans, our seniors, our residents, first and foremost," said County Manager Bruce Swingle. "We're a very impoverished county." Sierra County has a median annual household income of $29,690 and a 21 percent poverty rate, according to Data USA. 'FEEDING PIGEONS' To the east, Lincoln County passed a resolution that it was not prepared to spend taxpayer dollars on housing "illegal immigrants," said Commissioner Dallas Draper. "This is a small county. We have 19,000 people, and housing right now is already an issue for the people who are here," Draper said. The moves followed a similar May 2 resolution by neighboring Otero County. County Commission Chairman Couy Griffin said sheltering migrants sent the wrong message to other Central Americans thinking of leaving their homes and would deepen the border crisis. "If you begin to feed pigeons in the parking lot, pretty soon you have every pigeon in town," Griffin said. Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said there was no evidence humanitarian aid encouraged people to leave their homes. "They are moving because they have no other choice and its frankly un-American to suggest we close our doors to people in need," he said. (Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) MEXICO CITY (AP) Police in northern Mexico have freed 24 kidnapped Cuban and Central American migrants and arrested five Hondurans accused of abducting them. Drug and kidnap gangs in Mexico frequently target migrants, extorting money by forcing them to call relatives in the United States to get money. But the kidnappers are seldom also migrants. Prosecutors in the northern border state of Sonora said Wednesday that the migrants were freed after one of them managed to make a call to police. The victims included six minors and one pregnant woman. Four Honduran men and one woman have been charged with kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. Migrants from other countries frequently cross Mexico without proper documents trying to reach the U.S. border. Washington (AFP) - The American military is going to set up tents near the US-Mexico border to temporarily house adult undocumented migrants held by immigration authorities, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Military personnel will erect the tents, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will run the camps, a statement by Pentagon spokesman Major Chris Miller said. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan approved a DHS request to lend the tents and help "construct temporary facilities to house and care for a minimum of 7,500 total single adult male and female aliens," Miller said. These migrants will have been processed by Customs and Border Protection agents, "and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Enforcement Removal Operations custody." Military personnel "will conduct site assessments over the next two weeks to determine the scope, cost, and timeline" to erect the tents, Miller said. The temporary housing sites are set to open in Tucson and Yuma, Arizona, and at four locations in Texas: Tornillo, Donna, Laredo, and Del Rio. Around 500,000 people have been detained on the US-Mexico border since October 1, 2018. Most of these people are undocumented migrants from Central America seeking asylum in the United States. Many migrants are released pending a court hearing on their asylum applications because there is not enough room at the detention sites. MIT professor Ram Sasisekharan made his name on the idea that algorithms and computer models could lead to better and more potent therapies, a promise that launched three biotech companies and attracted hundreds of millions of dollars. But two treatments purportedly discovered with Sasisekharans computational approach are almost identical to compounds that had previously been described by other labs, according to a new paper by outside researchers. The finding casts serious doubts on the integrity of Sasisekharans research, the authors claim. We looked at exactly two cases, and in both did we find irregularities, said Tillman Gerngross, CEO of the private biotech firm Adimab and a co-author of the paper. To me, if youre sitting in the kitchen and two fat cockroaches walk across the floor, whats the chance that theres only two? In a paper published Monday in the journal mAbs, Gerngross and his Adimab colleagues said two antibody therapies described by Sasisekharans lab one for influenza and one for Zika virus show striking similarities to the past work of other scientists. Sasisekharans influenza therapy, described in 2015 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is nearly identical to one published four years earlier in Science, according to Adimab. The researchers said the Zika antibody, which Sasisekharans lab described in Cell last year, bears a strong resemblance to one described in Nature in 2016. In an email, Sasisekharan said the paper was inaccurate and slanderous. There are fundamental differences between the Zika antibody he discovered and the one published in 2016, he said. And the influenza therapy in question was designed by Visterra, a biotech company he co-founded, not by Sasisekharan himself, he said. In a statement, an MIT spokeswoman said that while federal regulations and MIT policy do not allow us to comment on any particular matter, research integrity at MIT is paramount. MIT has policies and confidential processes in place to assess concerns that might be raised. Story continues In each example examined by Adimab, Sasisekharans lab did not publish the amino acid sequences of the antibodies it purportedly designed. In order to check the work, the Adimab researchers sought out the resulting patent applications and cross-checked the details on GenBank, an open-access database of sequences. Thats where they found similarities to earlier work, according to Gerngross, who is also a professor of bioengineering at Dartmouth College. We find it difficult to view these authors approach in any light other than an intent to mislead as to the level of originality and significance of the published work, the Adimab group wrote. William Schief, a professor of immunology at the Scripps Research Institute who reviewed the Adimab work before it was published, said the paper makes a very strong case. If you look at the original [MIT] papers that reported these antibodies, they dont give a really clear description of how they identified the epitope or how they designed the antibodies, he said. The implications of Adimabs paper stretch beyond academia. Visterra was developing the flu antibody when it was acquired by the Japanese drug maker Otsuka for $430 million last year. A spokesman for Otsuka did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Sasisekharan, who is a member of MITs prestigious Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, has received prominent recognition for his work, including from the National Institutes of Health. A Minnesota woman has been able to return a lifesaving favor to a first responder who came to the rescue of her baby daughter. In August 2016, volunteer firefighter Bill Cox arrived on the scene to treat Becca Bundys then 1-year-old daughter, Hadley, who was having a seizure in the familys northern Minnesota home. I got there and helped settle people down until an ambulance could get there and take care of her, Cox, who was with the Bearville Volunteer Fire Department, told CNN. Though their meeting was brief, Bundy said the firefighters kind demeanor left a lasting impression on her. He seemed to care, it wasnt just another call, Bundy recalled, according to KARE 11. In October, Bundy and Cox crossed paths once again, this time at a local bar where he was bartending. It was there that Bundy noticed the heartbreaking message Cox had printed on the bright green shirt he was wearing, which read, Im in end-stage kidney failure and in need of a kidney. As she would find out, Cox was born with only one kidney and has been waiting for a transplant for two years. He was recently placed on dialysis. I couldnt get it out of my head, Bundy said. I just said, Im the one and I know it. Becca Bundy | Kare11.com While some of the bars patrons had offered to be tested to see if they were a match for Cox, none were candidates that is, until Bundy got tested herself. She was a perfect match for me, Cox, 66, told CNN. Bundy added, I can remember us both crying tears of joy of course and Bill thanking me. The two underwent a successful transplant operation in February at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, and now Cox has discontinued dialysis and is spending time with his wife at their lakeside home. RELATED VIDEO: Four Brothers with Same Fatal Bone Marrow Disease Fight for Their Lives: We Might Not Live Past 30 Kidney disease affects some 30 million people in the United States, and nearly 90 percent of people with kidney disease dont even know they have it, the National Kidney Foundation reports. Story continues About 20 people a day die awaiting organ transplants, according to the American Transplant Foundation, and there are over 115,000 people currently on the waiting list to receive a life-saving organ. A healthy person can donate a kidney, or a part of their liver, lung, intestine, blood or bone marrow, and make a valuable difference in someones life, the foundation says. RELATED: 10-Year-Old Girl Dying of Kidney Disease to Receive Transplant From Teacher I feel pretty blessed to be chosen to be on his journey with him, Bundy told KARE 11. It is that lifetime bond that will never go away. By Alan Baldwin MONACO, May 23 (Reuters) - McLaren boss Zak Brown shouldered the blame on Thursday for the team's failure to qualify Fernando Alonso for this weekend's Indianapolis 500 and said he would do things very differently next time. Speaking to reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix, the American was confident there would be a return to The Brickyard but the post-mortem into what went wrong this year was still being carried out. Brown said the reasons why McLaren felt they should be at Indianapolis had not changed and highs and lows were part of the sport. "I think you have to dust yourself off, learn by your mistakes and come back fighting. So that's what we intend to do," he said. "To not do something is easy but that's not what winners do. "There's very good reasons why McLaren should be in Indianapolis, it's a big market and partners want to be there. Our motor business is strong there." Spaniard Alonso, a double Formula One champion and Le Mans 24 Hours winner who is chasing the so-called 'Triple Crown of Motorsport', failed in regular qualifying and then finished fourth in a shootout for the last three grid positions. A list of errors made by the team emerged subsequently, from having to scrounge a steering wheel at short notice to missing vital track time because the spare car was the wrong shade of orange and was elsewhere being resprayed. Mechanics even confused inches with centimeters. Brown said there had been "a lot of mistakes that snowballed." Bob Fernley, the man in charge of the McLaren Indy program, left immediately after the failure but Brown said that "ultimately it was a people issue, starting with myself, of not having all the bases covered and we just were unprepared. "I got a variety of my decisions wrong. I think it would be unfair to blame Bob for us not qualifying. I put that on me because I put the team together." He said he had not wanted to cover anything up but some context was needed. Story continues "It's not like we showed up to the test and went 'someone forgot the steering wheel'," he said. "We were going to do our own steering wheel and we didn't get it done in time. And you need a steering wheel. "At Cosworth you can buy them off the shelf, they didn't have any on the shelf. And so I had to pull some favors and (partners) Carlin helped to get us a steering wheel." After qualifying was over, there was talk about possibly buying Alonso a place with another team but that was not felt to be the right thing to do. "When we do it again, I'll make sure I've got all the right people in the right places," said Brown, adding that the decision to continue would be independent of Alonso's future. "We were never doing Indianapolis for Fernando," he said. "Whether Fernando wanted to drive with us or not wouldn't drive our decision on whether we go back to Indy or not." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis) psamtik/Shutterstock When Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a 24-year-old who had been confined to a wheelchair for most of her life, was charged in the murder of her mother DeeDee in 2015, those who knew the two were in shock. Gypsy had a history of leukemia, asthma, muscular dystrophy, severe allergies, and other illnesses, and her mother was her doting caregiver. But as the facts surrounding the murder began to unfold, it became apparent that things weren't at all as they seemed. Gypsy was the victim of a type of medical child abuse known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. The shocking-but-true tale is now the subject of a Hulu miniseries called "The Act" starring Patricia Arquette as DeeDee and it has left many viewers wondering how any mother could willingly and willfully harm their own child. This condition is a form of child abusehere are 12 subtle signs that a child is being abused that everyone should know. What is Munchausen syndrome by proxy? Marc D. Feldman, MD, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, has devoted his career to understanding the condition and other related disorders. "Munchausen syndrome by proxy occurs when a caretaker either feigns, exaggerates or induces illness in a child victim to gain attention and sympathy," he explains. (Munchausen's syndrome refers to acting as if you are the one who is ill. Both conditions are named for a fictional characterBaron von Munchausenwho was based on an 18th-century German officer known for exaggerating his war stories.) Sometimes financial gain or other tangible rewards are the motivation. "This is called malingering by proxy," he says. "It can start out as loving the attention and then shift to money over time," he says. This was the case with Gypsy and her mom. Many sympathizers sent cash, Habitat for Humanity built them a home, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent them on multiple trips to Walt Disney World and gave them backstage passes to a Miranda Lambert concert. Story continues How common is Munchausen syndrome by proxy? "It is unusual, but I wouldn't call it rare," says Dr. Feldman. "It is bathed in deceit and we can only count cases where deception has been found out." There are many barriers in diagnosing Munchausen syndrome by proxy, says Joni E. Johnston, PsyD, a clinical and forensic psychologist in San Diego, Calif. "It's not routine to question a mom when a child is ill." How does Munchausen syndrome by proxy happen? Often the condition begins with real illness: Gypsy did have legitimate health issues soon after her birth. "Often, the child is viewed as impaired or imperfect in some way," Dr. Feldman says. Another common denominator in cases is a lack of proper bonding between parent and child. This may occur because a child spends days or weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit right after birth; in some cases, untreated postpartum depression may play a role. "The lack of bonding predisposes some moms to engage in this form of child abuse." "Having a sickly child can provide a person with an instant definition as to who they are and what they were placed on this earth to do," Dr. Feldman says. His latest book, Dying to be Ill: True Stories of Medical Deception, details the lengths that some mothers go to harm their children and the toll it takes on their child victims. Fathers are rarely the culprit in Munchausen syndrome by proxy, he says, though they may turn a blind eye to the abuse and fail to protect the child. "Many of the abusers have a history of Munchausen syndrome," adds Johnston. "They may have started out by using their own illness to gain attention, and then they transferred it on to a child." Identifying bizarre beliefs in yourself can be a challengehere's how to tell if your weird thoughts are normal or not. Tawan Jz/Shutterstock What are the consequences of Munchausen syndrome by proxy? "Sometimes the child victim is pressured to continue the charade," Johnston explains. "Children victims are raised from day one in a bizarre reality and told all of these things that later turn out to be blatant lies," she says. "Most victims are infants or not yet verbal, so there is limited capacity to speak out. When they are older they may feel helpless and have become very dependent," Dr. Feldman says. There are times when savvy health care professionals or keen observers grow suspicious and call attention to the matter. The first call to action is to get the child out of the toxic environment, he says. Recovery is a long and challenging road. Munchausen syndrome by proxy survivors may remain physically or emotionally impaired, Dr. Feldman says. Many report depression and or post-traumatic stress disorder that overshadows their adulthood. Survivors of Munchausen syndrome by proxy are less likely to seek medical care as adults, which could lead to undiagnosed illnesses. Gypsy is currently serving 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. As far as the abuser, jail time is unusual in cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. "That's unfair considering that the estimated mortality rate of Munchausen syndrome by proxy is as high as 9 percent, making it one of most lethal forms of child abuse," he says. Caregivers may not always intend to kill their victims, but repeated induced illnesses can lead to death. Another Munchausen syndrome by proxy case that made headlines involved the death of a five-year-old boy. While hospitalized, the boy's sodium levels increased dramatically and he ultimately passed away. His mother, Lacey Spears, had documented her son's long history of health problems on a blog and on Facebook. She was charged with second-degree murder for injecting sodium into the feeding tube in his stomach. Not all Munchausen-by-proxy cases end in murder. Typically, parental rights are terminated and the parent may be placed on probation. Often times the victims may not even realize what happened until much later when their parents are removed from the house. "When the parent is taken away, it's like losing a parent ten times over because even when mistreated, people still love their parents and then they must come to grips with the reason their parent was taken away," Johnston says. What is Munchausen by proxy by Internet? The advent of social media has further complicated this complex illness largely by offering up a new outlet for endless sympathy and attention. "There are instantly accessible and endlessly supportive groups out there that will pray with you and cry with you if you purport your child to be ill," says Dr. Feldman who was the first to identify Munchausen by proxy by Internet. "It used to be that these moms had to read up on procedures and medications and really decide how to sicken their child, but now you can take a shortcut for the same attention by posting about 'suffering' online," he says. Here's one woman's horrifying story of Munchausen by Internet. If you suspect someone you know is a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). If you own shares in China Lesso Group Holdings Limited (HKG:2128) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market. Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Check out our latest analysis for China Lesso Group Holdings What we can learn from 2128's beta value Zooming in on China Lesso Group Holdings, we see it has a five year beta of 0.88. This is below 1, so historically its share price has been rather independent from the market. This means that -- if history is a guide -- buying the stock would reduce the impact of overall market volatility in many portfolios (depending on the beta of the portfolio, of course). Many would argue that beta is useful in position sizing, but fundamental metrics such as revenue and earnings are more important overall. You can see China Lesso Group Holdings's revenue and earnings in the image below. Story continues SEHK:2128 Income Statement, May 22nd 2019 Could 2128's size cause it to be more volatile? China Lesso Group Holdings is a small cap stock with a market capitalisation of HK$16b. Most companies this size are actively traded. Small companies can have a low beta value when company specific factors outweigh the influence of overall market volatility. That might be happening here. What this means for you: One potential advantage of owning low beta stocks like China Lesso Group Holdings is that your overall portfolio won't be too sensitive to overall market movements. However, this can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what's happening in the broader market. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as China Lesso Group Holdingss financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 2128s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 2128s outlook. Past Track Record: Has 2128 been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of 2128's historicals for more clarity. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how 2128 measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options. 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. By Joey Roulette MELBOURNE, Fla., May 23 (Reuters) - NASA has picked space technology company Maxar Technologies Inc as the first contractor to help build its Gateway platform in lunar orbit, a crucial outpost for America's mission to relay astronauts to the moon in 2024, the U.S. agency said on Thursday. Shares of Westminster, Colorado-based Maxar jumped more than 20% following the announcement by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at a meeting sponsored by a Florida college. The Trump administration has made a return to the moon a high priority for the U.S. space program, saying the mission would establish a foundation for an eventual journey to put humans on Mars. Vice President Mike Pence's March 26 announcement that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to build a space platform in lunar orbit and put American astronauts on the moon's south pole by 2024 "by any means necessary," four years earlier than previously planned. (Reporting by Joey Roulette in Melbourne, Florida Writing by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Richard Chang) Today, the New York School of Interior Design celebrated its 2019 graduating class. As is customary at commencement day ceremonies, the school conferred honorary doctorates upon two accomplished individuals, who then in return shared their experiences, anecdotes, and advice with the assembled graduates. This being NYSID, the information imparted by designers Nate Berkus and Elaine Griffin was particularly worth mining for gems of interiors-focused wisdom. The speeches vacillated between serious and humorous moments. At one point in her address, Griffin stated, "So while, yes, its important to share your creativity with folks who can write big checks, nothing feels better than sharing it with people who cant." Elsewhere, however, she joked, "If there are 111 students graduating today, I can guarantee you that there are also 111 different ideas in this room of what is the perfect white." Below, AD PRO shares the two speeches' 12 most memorableand educationalquotes. Nate Berkus On designers changing lives: ". . .There has never been a more exciting and dynamic time to be a young designer out in the world creating beautiful spaces, and even changing lives. Yup, I said it. Changing lives." On the lessons he learned from his first job as an assistant at an auction house: "One, play to your strengths. I was a really awful assistant, but a great designer who instinctively knew how to put a room together. I didnt let the 'terrible assistant' part define me. Instead, I focused on what I could do. Secondly, I realized that working for someone else was not for me. It was wildly important to me thenand still isthat I get to set my own schedule, and live and work by my own rules. So, that was how I found myself, at 24, the founder of Nate Berkus Associates. A firm that I still have today." On what designers are really doing: "What we are really doing, as designers, is mining for stories. Stories about where someone has come from, where they hope to go, and who they aspire to be. What makes someones heart sing, what makes us different, what makes us the same. We all want to see ourselves reflectedin each other, in our communities, in the world, and especially in our homes. This represents meI see myself in this. This is your work as designers. Its not just about which finish, or what cabinet, or which paint color. Not really." Story continues On listening to clients: "Everyone deserves to live well in their homes . . . When you get quiet and really listen to what people reveal about themselves, and honor what they hold dear and create spaces for them to have those things, its a big deal." On believing in yourself: "Give yourself permission to be inspiring . . . give yourself permission to believe you are inspiring. That is a big one. Permission to believe that you are inspiring to the people in your life. Thats not to say you wont make mistakes or fall flat on your face. My talk show was canceled after two seasons, because I was really bad at cooking chickens. And more to the point, I hated doing it. True story. . . . But heres the thing: My talk show ending opened up other exciting, better opportunities . . . things that I was genuinely passionate about, that inspired me. That I cared about." Elaine Griffin On why interior designers are superheroes: "Everyone in this room is a superhero, because weve all been given an incredible superpower: We are creators. We have the supernatural ability to see a completed room where there is nothing. To see light where there is darkness. To look at 12 finishes and instinctively know that only one is right. If most people dream in soft pastels, we dream in Technicolor brights." On the importance of lookingand what she did while working for Peter Marino: "Youre going to get understanding by looking. Be a visual sponge. Go everywhere, and look analytically at everything you see. Ask questions. I learned about proportion when I worked for Peter Marino by pestering his in-house furniture designer with 20,000 questions about the dimensions he specified in his drawings. This was my favorite way to spend my lunch break, much to his chagrin." On how the eye is a muscle that needs to be trained: "Heres a confession: As a neophyte designer, I hated Art Deco. Loathed does not begin to describe how I felt. But its our job as interior designers to serve our clients by interpreting their vision for their homesand not just imposing our stylistic will on them; dictatorial design is a no-no. So I knew that Art Deco I would have to learn to love. I spent nights at Barnes & Noble (this was before the Internet), studying the shapes, colors, and textures that made Art Deco chic . . . It took a lot of work, but today, if Barbra Streisand, one of the worlds biggest collectors of Art Deco furniture (seconded only by Cher, naturally) called me to do an Art Deco house for her in Hollywood, I could design one that shed be proud to call home. Your takeaway here is that your eye is a muscle. The more you train it, just like your biceps, the better it is." On the idea of soul in interior design work: "I want to leave you with the secret of being even better still: And that is, soul. If you will seek the soul of everything you doof your clients, of a table, of a tree whose colors you look to for inspiration, or of a child that just asks for a pretty pink bedroomif you will seek the soul, and not yourself, in whatever you create, you will be unstoppable. And that, graduates, is my wish for your future, in everything you do." Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest London (AFP) - The head of NATO told Russia and other potential foes Thursday that the Western military alliance was ready to use all means at its disposal to respond to cyber attacks. Jens Stoltenberg's warning came with the bloc's members on alert for interference in European Parliament elections that kicked off in Britain and the Netherlands on Thursday. Western allies accuse Russia of trying to sway the outcome of the 2016 US presidential vote and using cyber technology to cripple the infrastructure of rival Ukraine -- charges Moscow flatly denies. "For deterrence to have full effect, potential attackers must know we are not limited to respond in cyber space when we are attacked in cyber space," Stoltenberg said during a joint press appearance in London with UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. "We can and will use the full range of capabilities at our disposal." Hunt said that Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has shared details of malicious Russian activity with 16 of the 29 NATO members over the past 18 months. He accused Russian "proxies" in 2014 of trying to tamper with the voting system and delaying the final results of a presidential election in Ukraine that followed the ouster of a Moscow-backed leader. "In the cyber age, authoritarian states possess ways of undermining free societies that dictators of earlier times would have envied," Hunt said. "Recent events demonstrate that our adversaries regard democratic elections as a key vulnerability of an open society." - 'Constructive ambiguity' - The European Union last week adopted the power to impose "targeted restrictive measures to deter and respond to cyber attacks". Stoltenberg and Hunt refused to say what steps might be taken by NATO -- a Cold War-era military alliance that Russia still views as a top national security threat. "We need to balance clarity about our determination to act with constructive ambiguity about exactly what we would do in specific circumstances," Hunt said. Story continues He called the new EU sanctions regime just one of the potential options. Longstanding tensions between London and Moscow culminated in the poisoning last year of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal on British soil. Britain says it has evidence that the attack was plotted by senior leaders in Moscow and carried out by members of Russia's military intelligence agency. Britain says it has evidence that the attack was plotted by senior leaders in Moscow and carried out by members of Russia's military intelligence agency. The Kremlin calls Britain's case inconclusive and politically motived. But it saw Western allies join forces and expel nearly 150 Russian embassy staff from around the world. Moscow immediately followed suit. Stoltenberg's visit came as part of his preparations for a NATO summit London will host on December 3-4. Photo: Courtesy of Natuzzi Italian furniture maker Natuzzi has tapped tech companies Microsoft and Hevolus Innovation for a new project: a virtual reality technology that lets users simulate interior or exterior spaces and create designs with actual product. This virtual and augmented reality program, launching this week at the brands NoMad showroom, blends holographic display, advanced 3D modeling, and an interactive product configurator with existing retail techniques, and the result is nothing short of innovative. The HoloLens, Microsoft Dynamics 365, mixed-reality systemthese give us an incredible opportunity to showcase our collection without boundaries, lower the stock and inventory at our stores, minimize the space and architectural investments required to set up a location, and dramatically increase our sales, Natuzzis creative director Pasquale Junior Natuzzi tells AD PRO. By wearing mixed-reality headsets, like Microsoft HoloLens, the visitor inserts themselves into an interior with access to an endless supply of the brands offerings. Users gain the ability to move around a projecteither their own design that's been rendered in the technology, or one chosen from existing templatesand see the furnishings from every point of view. For Natuzzi, collaborative visualization is an area with a lot to mine, says Terry Farrell, Microsoft's director of product marketing in mixed reality. The idea of visualizing a room layout before building physical models I think is the foundation for a lot of the great work that the brand is doing with this new platform. Customers can "enter" the rooms themselves, select merchandise, and then make changes to colors, finishes, and materials to find the best design solutions for their space. The holographic technology shows a scaled 3D model of the room at hand. Before leaving, customers are emailed a 360-degree rendering that they can look at on their phones and share. Story continues Most of all, Farrell says this technology and program will create efficiencies for brands like Natuzzi. Where were going nextand where we think the industry is goingis really breaking free of screens," says Farrell. "How can we take the physical and digital worlds and blend them together? This merging is poised to be particularly useful for both designers and the brands that serve them. Natuzzi, the young talent at the creative helm of the family-owned brand, sees infinite potential. Were looking to expand into downtown areas where spaces are typically too small to accommodate our classic store format, he says. With HoloLens 2 and mixed reality, we can have a very small spaceor eventually, a store without products altogether. Less inventory. Less back-and-forth of floor samples. Fewer people moving goods. In fact, the concept of store clearance would all but disappear, since your inventorys going to be virtual. This game-changing idea may catch on especially well in New York, where showroom rents are always skyrocketing. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest By Steve Gorman SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A judge in the court-martial of a decorated Navy SEAL charged with war crimes in Iraq said on Wednesday the trial would start at least a few days late as lawyers on both sides grappled over allegations that prosecutors illegally snooped on the defense. The timing of the trial could be rendered moot in light of reports that President Donald Trump is considering offering a pardon to Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher and other U.S. military personnel accused or convicted of battlefield atrocities. Gallagher is charged with fatally stabbing a helpless, wounded Islamic State fighter in his custody and with shooting two unarmed civilians - a school girl and an elderly man - from a sniper's perch during his 2017 deployment to Mosul, Iraq. In addition to murder and attempted murder, Gallagher is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to intimidate his accusers into silence. The 39-year-old career combat veteran and platoon leader has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Defense lawyers say the allegations against Gallagher were fabricated by subordinate SEAL team members disgruntled with his leadership style and seeking to force him from his command. The New York Times reported on Sunday that Trump was reviewing several high-profile U.S. war crimes cases, including Gallagher's, for possible pardons to be announced over the Memorial Day holiday honoring military veterans at month's end. PREEMPT JUSTICE? Timothy Parlatore, the civilian attorney leading Gallagher's defense, told reporters after the hearing on Wednesday at U.S. Naval Base San Diego that he had discussed the possibility of presidential clemency with his client. He declined to say whether Gallagher was inclined to accept a pardon. "We've not asked for one," he told Reuters on Tuesday night. During a recess in court, Gallagher, dressed in Navy whites, declined comment when asked about a pardon by reporters in the courtroom. Story continues Characterizing Gallagher's court-martial as a wrongful prosecution, Parlatore disputed the notion that granting a pardon before the case concludes would preempt justice. "If the president decides to step in, that's what the commander does," he told reporters. The presiding judge, Navy Captain Aaron Rugh, granted additional time to resolve questions over tactics Navy prosecutors used to pinpoint the origin of leaks from case files the judge had placed under seal. He ordered prosecutors to furnish the defense more information about the scope and nature of its probe, including notice of whether anyone remained under scrutiny. Parlatore insisted he would need at least two more weeks to prepare for trial once matters of alleged prosecutor misconduct were settled. He has accused prosecutors and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) of conducting illegal surveillance of defense attorneys and reporters with electronic tracking software secretly embedded in emails. Such methods were tantamount to warrantless wiretapping, he said. Prosecutors said the email "auditing tools" it used were designed merely to detect the flow of emails without revealing their content. Nevertheless, Parlatore said he may request that the lead prosecutor be disqualified from the case, and for recusal of the judge. Rugh, denying that he had ordered a leaks investigation, gave Parlatore until this Friday to file any remaining pleadings on the issue and set a hearing for May 29 - the day after the trial had been scheduled to commence - to argue those motions. Barring any further upheavals, Rugh said, he hoped to seat a trial jury by May 31 and to begin hearing testimony the following week. Trump weighed in on the Gallagher case publicly in March, ordering the defendant moved to less restrictive pre-trial confinement "in honor of his past service to our country." (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Tarrant, Susan Thomas and Leslie Adler) Nevada has passed comprehensive legislation to remove a series of restrictive statewide abortion guidelines, defying a wave of newly-imposed limits and bans towards womens reproductive health across the country. The new measure, which passed 27-13 in the state Assembly on Tuesday, will overturn decades-old policies requiring physicians to determine a womans age and marital status prior to performing an abortion. Supplying medication to induce an abortion without prior advice from a doctor will also be decriminalized under the new bill. Women will also no longer have to be told about physical and emotional implications that could possibly result from having an abortion a policy critics have said was implemented to effectively deter women from ever receiving the procedure. While one of the nations most restrictive laws was passed recently in Alabama with only male politicians voting in favour of the bill Nevadas majority-female state legislature passed the measure mostly along party lines, according to NPR. When the rest of the country may feel hopeless, may feel bleak, they should look to Nevada as the shining beacon that we are for women's rights," Democratic Senator Yvanna Cancela reportedly said in a statement outside of the Nevada legislature prior to the vote being held. The easing of abortion restrictions in Nevada arrived as states like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota and Mississippi have all passed opposite measures in recent years, with most of them going into effect in 2019. Georgias latest bill will ban abortions at the first detection of a heartbeat, which often occurs before many women even learn they are pregnant. Alabamas recent law has sparked national outrage as it flew directly in the face of constitutional law and the Supreme Courts decision in Roe v Wade. The states conservative politicians understood that, effectively designing the law to yield challenges that could result in a case reaching the Supreme Court. Story continues To the bills many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God, Republican Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement while signing the bill on Wednesday. A new poll showed the vast majority of Americans support providing choice in women's reproductive health, with 82 per cent saying abortion should be legal in cases of rape an incest. That exception was not included in the Alabama law. That polling, released by Quinnipiac this week, includes 68 per cent of Republicans. Nigel Farage insists he was not hiding from protestors armed with milkshakes (Getty) Nigel Farage has insisted that he was not cowering on his campaign bus to avoid being pelted by milkshakes from protestors outside. The leader of the Brexit Party was in Rochester, Kent, on the final day of campaigning for the Euro elections when two men and a woman were spotted waiting for him with, red with milkshakes. Bus driver Michael Botton, who was alerted to the protestors, reportedly told Mr Farage about the small group and he is said to have decided to wait on the bus until they left. However, Mr Farage - who was doused with a milkshake in Newcastle on Monday - denied he was hiding, instead insisting he was giving interviews on his bus at the time. A spokesman for Mr Farage said: Nigel did media interviews on top of the campaign open-top bus and then got off to mix with supporters afterwards, taking photographs and signing boards. Suggestions that he hid on board the bus are simply not true. Mr Farage was pelted with milkshake as he campaigned in Newcastle (Getty) Mr Farage was later seen outside of the bus, chatting to supporters who had turned up to greet him. The group of protestors told police that the milkshakes were for themselves - and not to be thrown at Mr Farage. Paul Crowther, 32, was charged with common assault and criminal damage after a banana and salted caramel milkshake was thrown at Mr Farage on Monday, Northumbria Police said. Read more from Yahoo News UK: British woman dies on Ryanair flight from Majorca Tories and Labour brace for Euro elections disaster Child, 3, dies after putting phone charger in his mouth in India Speaking after the incident, Mr Farage has said he is "concerned" about the level of "hatred" being directed at him. He said he did not know what was being thrown at him, and called for a message to be sent that "people can't behave like this. Asked if he would change the way he campaigns, Mr Farage said: "I hope not but I am concerned about the sheer level of hatred coming from those who think they're better than me. Paul Crowther was charged with common assault and criminal damage after throwing milkshake at Mr Farage on Monday (AP) "I just think we've reached a point where normal campaigning is becoming very difficult, and that in a democratic society cannot be a good thing. Story continues He said what happened to him was "part of something bigger that's going on. "Civilised democracy only works if you've got the loser's consent - you know, you lose the election, you don't like it, but you accept it because that's the system. "Ever since 24 June 2016 we've had senior members of the British establishment - including two former prime ministers - literally refusing to accept the result, saying that those that voted Brexit didn't know what they were voting for - they're thick, they're stupid, they're lazy, they're racist, they're working class, they're fat, they're horrible. "And that gives people on the other side of the argument a sense of moral superiority. And if you think you're better than everybody else that then leads, I'm afraid, to a breakdown, not just in democracy, but in the civilisation that goes with it. "And I think we're in a very bad place with this. Sound Energy, the Moroccan focused upstream gas company, said a sale of the East Morocco operations would be a preferred option ahead of the final investment decision for the well TE-5 production area. The East Morocco operation comprises three areas Tendrara, Greater Tendrara and the Anoual Permit. In August 2018, Sound Energy signed an eight-year petroleum agreement that pulled together the Tendrara and Matarka exploration areas into one license and also brought long-term partner Schlumberger in with a direct interest. Sound holds 47.5% of the area, alongside Schlumberger, which has a 27.5% direct interest and the states oil and gas authority ONHYM, which retains a 25% stake. This deal also united Greater Tendrara, the Anoual permit and TPE, the 25-year production concession for the Tendrara TE-5 gas discovery. Recent exploration has already seen Sound hit substantial additional quantities of gas at Tendrara through the TE-6 and TE-7 wells. However, the company reported that the A1 prospect 19km from Tendrara was disappointing, while the TE-9 and TE-10 wells proved uncommercial with further exploration suspended while the company reviews its options. As of 14 May 2019, the company had a cash balance of over 11mln, while losses for 2018 were 11.75mln, a slight reduction on the previous year. Whilst clearly disappointed with the outcome of the recent well test at TE-10, the team and I are encouraged to have delivered gas to surface from another TAGI discovery and remain confident in the potential of our Eastern Morocco basin, James Parsons, Chief Executive Officer, said. By Naomi Tajitsu YOKOHAMA (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co is not considering the possibility of a merger with top shareholder Renault at the moment, and none of the nominees to the Japanese automaker's board are pressing to make it an issue now, an external director said on Thursday. As Nissan ponders its future without former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who orchestrated its financial rescue two decades ago, French partner Renault SA has been quietly maneuvering for merger talks, sources at both automakers have previously told Reuters. France's government has also weighed in, saying on Wednesday that the status quo was weakening the alliance and could not continue. But given Nissan's current focus on improving corporate governance and recovering from a run of poor results, Keiko Ihara, who has been overseeing efforts to overhaul governance, told Reuters in an interview that the issue of a merger was not on the table at the moment. "We don't have time to feel any of the pressure which appears to be coming externally," she said. "We're not aware of any director nominee who wants to make this an official topic of discussion at the moment." Ihara, who also chairs a provisional council for an external nominations committee to be set up next month, said the process to find eventual successors to CEO Hiroto Saikawa and other executives would begin soon after the group is formed. Saikawa, a protege of Ghosn, has come under pressure to lift Nissan's dismal operational performance just as Renault has been looking at ways to merge the two companies, a move opposed by Saikawa and some of his colleagues. Ihara also said that Nissan has a lot of internal talent from which it can choose its next generation of executives after an exodus of top-level officials following the ouster of Ghosn. Nissan is overhauling its board structure and the way it appoints top executives and determines their pay as it seeks to improve its corporate governance after it accused Ghosn of financial misconduct. Story continues Ghosn denies all charges against him. Last week, Nissan announced a list of 11 nominees for its expanded board of directors, which include Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard and CEO Thierry Bollore, to be voted on by shareholders next month. It also decided that Saikawa would stay on as chief executive though Renault had earlier pushed for a change in Nissan's leadership. "Once the nominations committee is up and running, it will start considering a succession plan," Ihara said. She said the provisional council believed there were "dozens of people" within the company who could eventually take over as CEO, chief operating officer or other management positions. "Nissan is a global company so it has a wealth of people who have deep global experience and expertise," Ihara said. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Anshuman Daga) By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng is unlikely to get a plea deal this week on criminal charges linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at the Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB, both sides told Reuters on Thursday. Plea negotiations are not yet on the agenda, a lawyer for Ng and a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice said. Instead, they plan to only discuss scheduling for case proceedings at a Brooklyn federal court. Prosecutors and Ng's lawyer, in a May 6 court document related to the case, requested delaying the trial date for Ng because they believed plea negotiations "are likely to result in a disposition of this case without trial." The U.S. Department of Justice accused 46-year-old Ng last year of conspiring to launder money and bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi through bond offerings that Goldman Sachs handled. He was extradited on May 3 to New York from Kuala Lumpur, where he had been jailed since November. Ng pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 6 and was released in exchange for a $20 million bond. Government lawyers have said they hope to avoid a trial by reaching a plea deal, though Ng's attorney, Marc Agnifilo said this month it was too early to tell. Ng, who left Goldman Sachs in 2014, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the three charges based on alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Malaysia's home minister wanted Ng to face criminal charges there first, but agreed to temporarily surrender him to the United States for 10 months, Malaysia's attorney general, Tommy Thomas, said in a statement. The period may be extended, Thomas has said. The 1MDB case has shaken Goldman Sachs, which is also being probed by the Justice Department for its role as underwriter and arranger for some $6.5 billion worth of 1MDB bond offerings. Prosecutors estimated that high-level 1MDB fund officials and their associates misappropriated $4.5 billion between 2009 and 2014, including some of the funds that Goldman Sachs helped raise. Story continues Goldman Sachs has consistently denied wrongdoing and said certain members of the former Malaysian government and 1MDB lied to it about how the bond proceeds would be used. Ng was charged in Kuala Lumpur with four counts of abetting the bank to provide misleading statements in the offering prospectus for 1MDB bond sales. Tim Leissner, another former Goldman Sachs banker, and Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho have also been charged in the United States over 1MDB. Leissner has pleaded guilty. Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, has consistently denied wrongdoing through spokesmen. Malaysia has said it was seeking up to $7.5 billion in reparations from Goldman over its dealings with 1MDB, set up in 2009 by then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib, who lost a general election last year, faces 42 criminal charges related to losses at 1MDB and other state entities. He has pleaded not guilty. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur Editing by Lauren LaCapra and David Gregorio) OSLO, May 23 (Reuters) - Norwegian cruise ship operator Hurtigruten has signed a 7.5-year deal to buy liquefied biogas (LBG) made from dead fish and other organic waste to power its vessels, the firm said on Thursday. Under the contract with Biokraft, Hurtigruten ships will start receiving near-daily supplies of LBG, with the first delivery taking place in 2020, it added. The company last year said would invest about $800 million to refit six vessels to partly run on the renewable fuel. (Reporting by Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, editing by Terje Solsvik) Notre Dame landed the commitment Thursday of Chris Tyree, the No. 1 all-purpose back in the Class of 2020. Tyree, a four-star recruit from Chester, Va., also is listed as the No. 29 overall player in his class by the 247Sports composite. The 5-foot-9 back had offers from schools in every Power Five conference, and narrowed his choices to the Fighting Irish, Alabama and Oklahoma. He announced his decision in a ceremony at Thomas Dale High School. --Field Level Media Don McNaughton, 81, was allegedly hit by a milkshake that was thrown by a passer-by in Aldershot (TWITTER/DOMINICFARRELL) An elderly veteran was pelted with milkshake as he campaigned for the Brexit Party. Don McNaughton, 81, who served in the British Army for 22 years, was campaigning for the party in North Lane, Aldershot when he was attacked. Brexit Party member Dominic Farrell posted a photo of the pensioner on Twitter. He said: Radicalised Remainers are now attacking old men in Aldershot. A very popular man with the local community, many are very angry about this. Radicalised Remainers are now attacking old men in Aldershot. A very popular man with the local community, many are very angry about this. Thoroughly disgusting. The politics of the mob. pic.twitter.com/7JiZhowvrB (((Dominic Farrell))) (@DominicFarrell) May 23, 2019 Thoroughly disgusting. The politics of the mob. In a further tweet, Mr Farrell said witnesses saw the alleged attacker buy a milkshake from a nearby shop. He wrote: Bloke on a cycle passed by, saw his rosette, gave him the finger and abuse, then went to a shop, bought the milkshake and attacked him. Read more: Blackburn man filmed throwing milkshake over Tommy Robinson Nigel Farage pelted with milkshake during Brexit Party campaigning in Newcastle Nigel Farage denies cowering from milkshake-wielding protestors Those commentators making fun of milk shaking are as much to blame as the yob. What if as a result he had a heart attack. Mr McNaughton, a widower, moved to the UK from Canada in 1960 and served in the Paratroop Regiment until 1982. Pictures of veteran showed him standing outside the polling station covered in pink liquid. (TWITTER/NIGELFARAGE) Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage posted on Twitter: Yet more disgusting behaviour. When democracy fails, civility ends. Let's get Brexit done and finish this. It comes after a man was charged with common assault and criminal damage after throwing a milkshake over Mr Farage in Newcastle. Story continues A spokesman for Hampshire Police said of the incident: We received a report at 10.06am from a third party about an assault on a man in his 80s at North Lane, Aldershot. We are investigating the incident and are trying to make contact with the victim. CINCINNATI An Ohio State University police officer who fatally shot a knife-wielding attacker on campus received the Medal of Valor on Wednesday at the White House. Alan Horujko ended a terrorist attack on a group of university students and faculty in November 2016 when he fatally shot Abdul Razak Ali Artan, who drove a car into a crowd before stabbing people. The man charged toward Alan after doing a lot of damage to others, but Alan shot him and killed him immediately, President Donald Trump said during a ceremony to honor Horujko and other law enforcement recipients of the honor from around the country. Thanks to Alans swift action, not a single innocent person that day died, Trump said. The FBI determined the attacker appeared to have been influenced by Islamic State propaganda. Horujko graduated from Fairfield High School in suburban Cincinnati in 2007. He was previously recognized by former Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine with the Distinguished Law Enforcement Valor Award. Horujko credited training provided by the Ordinance Team for preparing him to react quickly to halt the attack. In concluding his words about Horujko, Trump said, "We are forever grateful, thank you very much." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio State campus police officer honored by President Trump for response to knife attack Maltese cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has issued a cryptic message on social media in regards to an upcoming Litecoin event. In an official press release shared with Coin Rivet, OKEx states it is about time to light up the market amid the recent cryptocurrency market recovery. OKEx is confirmed to be co-organising the LTC Blockchain Technology Seminar Summit in Wuhan, China scheduled for June 1. Further announcements are being planned over the coming days, while OKExs Head of Operations Brad Laurie tweeted: There are millions of possibilities in crypto. Guess what is going to happen on @OKEx next? Litecoin founder Charlie Lee recently revealed that the upcoming halvening could see price exceed $1,000. Tweets by OKEx The halvening will see the block reward for miners reduced from 25 to 12.5 coins. Historically, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have rallied significantly on the back of halvening events. Speculation on social media has suggested that OKExs planned event will tie in with Litecoins halvening, although this remains unconfirmed. Litecoin has been one of the top performing cryptocurrencies in 2019, rallying 336% since the December low of $20. While the $100 level remains a key point of psychological resistance, upside targets to consider are $128 and $163. Litecoin is currently the sixth largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $5.5 billion and an average trade volume of $3.4 billion. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here. The post OKEx leaves cryptic hint about upcoming Litecoin event appeared first on Coin Rivet. Lima-based Peruvian Solidarity Council with SADR, the Sahara republic, self-proclaimed by the Polisario with the support of Algeria, has dropped its support for an independent entity as claimed by the Polisario and urged the separatist movement to align itself with Moroccos proposal for autonomy that is backed by the UN Security Council and world powers. The NGO in a statement said it came to the conclusion after a profound revision of its previous positions on the conflict that the referendum and independence options advocated by the Algeria-backed separatist are not viable, news portal Le360.ma reports. The NGO, chaired by academic Ricardo Sanchez Serra, also announced it had changed its name, becoming henceforth Peruvian Council of solidarity with the Sahrawi people (instead of the RASD). We will always be in solidarity with the Sahrawi people, said the president of the Peruvian NGO. We are very concerned and frustrated by the uncertain future of the Sahrawis in Tindouf (Algeria), who have been living in the most arid desert in the Sahara for more than 44 years, lacking food and medication, he said. He insisted that the demand for independence and referendum is unattainable and urged the Polisario to align with the position of the Security Council which insists on the need to achieve a realistic, viable and lasting political solution to the Western Sahara conflict, based on compromise. We should stop clinging to axioms such as the referendum and independence, which, because of their non-viability, only protract the Sahrawi peoples suffering, urges the president of the NGO, who emphasized at the same time the merits of the Moroccan offer of autonomy. We think there is a need to end this useless difficult situation and that families separated for decades should be reunited, the autonomy plan proposed by the Kingdom of Morocco and approved by the Security Council is viable and is the most realist option, the statement added. The NGO called on the Polisario leaders to put aside their egoism and advantages and think more of the noble Saharawi people who want to live in peace, with their families. New Delhi (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani rival Imran Khan sent messages highlighting the need for "peace" Thursday after Modi's hawkish party won a new term in power. While the nuclear-armed rivals launched cross-border air strikes at each other barely three months ago, some analysts say the return of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a new landslide could help peace prospects. Khan congratulated Modi on the win by the BJP, which has long taken a strong anti-Pakistan stance. "Congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted. "Thank you PM @ImranKhanPTI. I warmly express my gratitude for your good wishes. I have always given primacy to peace and development in our region," Modi responded, also on Twitter. The messages came just hours after Pakistan said it had tested a surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads. India on Wednesday staged a new test of its BrahMos missile, the world's fastest cruise missile. In February, India launched an air strike inside Pakistan accusing its neighbour of harbouring a group that staged a suicide bomb attack on Indian troops in Kashmir. Pakistan launched its own raid the next day amid fears of a war, but tensions have calmed since. Muslim Pakistan had watched Modi's campaign warily, frequently accusing him of using events in the disputed Kashmir region as a ploy to gain votes. In April, however, Khan said a Modi win could help settle the Kashmir showdown and his government has repeatedly stated it is open to dialogue with the rival. Pakistanis consider Modi a hardliner, analysts say, but welcomed his win even so -- predicting it could lead to improved relations. "The expectation in Pakistan is that there will be an incremental improvement in Pakistan-India relations as Modi's attitude would be more relaxed," retired Pakistani general Talat Masood told AFP. Story continues "He is not going to get anything by continuing with the previous policy, because that will not help him at the international level and at the regional level." Tensions with Pakistan may have boosted his campaign, but with a fresh mandate "you have to deliver", Masood continued. "If you want to focus on the economy, if you want to focus on the regional co-operation and (for) a better image internationally, it is important to have good regional relations with neighbours," he said. The Kashmir fuse continues to burn, however. Pakistani and Indian forces regularly fire over the Line of Control -- the de-facto border dividing Kashmir -- leaving civilian dead on both sides. Pakistan has restricted large swathes of airspace near its eastern border with India since the February clashes, effectively closing off major international flight routes in and out of Islamabad and Lahore while also disrupting Indian flights headed west. By James Mackenzie ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Pakistani and Indian prime ministers exchanged messages via Twitter on Thursday hoping for peace, after Narendra Modi returned to power in New Delhi in an election fought in the wake of confrontation between the nuclear-armed enemies. With official data showing Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on course to increase its majority in India's parliament, Pakistani premier Imran Khan said he was ready to cooperate with the government as it resumed office. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted. Shortly after a victory speech before thousands of supporters gathered outside the BJP's headquarters on Thursday evening, Modi thanked Khan. "I warmly express my gratitude for your good wishes. I have always given primacy to peace and development in our region," he said in a tweet. But in a possible warning to India, Pakistan earlier announced that it had conducted a training launch of a Shaheen II surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which it said is capable of delivering conventional and nuclear weapons at a range of up to 1,500 miles. "Shaheen II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistan's strategic needs towards maintenance of deterrence stability in the region," Pakistan's military said in a statement that made no direct mention of its neighbour. On Wednesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi spoke briefly with his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. "We never speak bitterly, we want to live like good neighbours and settle our outstanding issues through talks," he said following the encounter, in which Swaraj presented him with a gift of sweets. Story continues There was no immediate reaction from the Indian Foreign Ministry on Khan's offer to work with Modi towards peace. The exchange follows months of tension between the two countries, which came close to war in February over the disputed region of Kashmir, which both sides have claimed since independence from Britain in 1947. Following a suicide attack in Kashmir that killed 40 members of an Indian paramilitary police force in February, Indian jets launched a raid inside Pakistan, striking what New Delhi said was a training camp of Jaish-e Mohammed, the radical group that claimed the Kashmir attack. In response, Pakistan conducted a retaliatory strike of its own and jets from the two countries fought a dogfight in the skies over Kashmir during which an Indian pilot was shot down and captured. Amid international pressure to end the conflict, Pakistan returned the pilot and there were no further strikes but tensions remained high, with regular exchanges of artillery fire from both sides in Kashmir. Pakistan has also kept part of its airspace closed to international air traffic, disrupting flights to India and other parts of the region. On Thursday, a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman said the Kashmir dispute could only be resolved through implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that call for an end to hostilities and a plebiscite in the region. "Dialogue is hence essential. We remain committed to the same, irrespective of whoever forms the new government in India," he told reporters in Islamabad. Khan has repeatedly offered to start talks with India to resolve the Kashmir issue, which has been the cause of two of three wars between the countries, and officials have said that they hoped the process could start once the election is concluded. Last month he said he believed there was more prospect of peace talks with Indian if the BJP won the election. (Additional reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in NEW DELHI; Editing by Nick Macfie and Toby Chopra) TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp said on Thursday it has stopped shipments of certain components to Huawei Technologies to comply with U.S. restrictions on the Chinese company. "Panasonic has instructed employees to halt transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates covered by the U.S. ban," the company said in a statement. The Osaka-based company does not have a major production site for components in the United States, but it said the ban applies to goods having 25% or more of U.S.-originated technologies or materials. The company, which makes a wide range of devices for smartphones, cars and factory automation equipment, declined to comment on which components are subject to the ban and where they are produced. The U.S. Commerce Department blocked Huawei from buying U.S. goods last week, saying the firm was involved in activities contrary to national security. The United States temporarily eased the restrictions on Huawei on Monday, to minimize disruption for customers. (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Stephen Coates) Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! As an investor, I look for investments which does not compromise one fundamental factor for another. By this I mean, I look at stocks holistically, from their financial health to their future outlook. In the case of Peking University Resources (Holdings) Company Limited (HKG:618), it is a financially-sound company with a an impressive history of performance, trading at a great value. Below, I've touched on some key aspects you should know on a high level. For those interested in understanding where the figures come from and want to see the analysis, take a look at the report on Peking University Resources (Holdings) here. Undervalued with proven track record 618 delivered a triple-digit bottom-line expansion over the past couple of years, with its most recent earnings level surpassing its average level over the last five years. Not only did 618 outperformed its past performance, its growth also surpassed the Real Estate industry expansion, which generated a 6.9% earnings growth. This paints a buoyant picture for the company. 618's strong financial health means that all of its upcoming liability payments are able to be met by its current cash and short-term investment holdings. This suggests prudent control over cash and cost by management, which is an important determinant of the companys health. 618's has produced operating cash levels of 0.34x total debt over the past year, which implies that 618's management has put its borrowings into good use by generating enough cash to cover a sufficient portion of borrowings. SEHK:618 Income Statement, May 23rd 2019 618's share price is trading at below its true value, meaning that the market sentiment for the stock is currently bearish. According to my intrinsic value of the stock, which is driven by analyst consensus forecast of 618's earnings, investors now have the opportunity to buy into the stock to reap capital gains. Compared to the rest of the real estate industry, 618 is also trading below its peers, relative to earnings generated. This further reaffirms that 618 is potentially undervalued. Story continues SEHK:618 Price Estimation Relative to Market, May 23rd 2019 Next Steps: For Peking University Resources (Holdings), I've compiled three pertinent aspects you should further examine: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 618s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 618s outlook. Dividend Income vs Capital Gains: Does 618 return gains to shareholders through reinvesting in itself and growing earnings, or redistribute a decent portion of earnings as dividends? Our historical dividend yield visualization quickly tells you what your can expect from 618 as an investment. Other Attractive Alternatives : Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of 618? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! 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. By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she wished President Donald Trump's family or staff would conduct an "intervention" with him for the good of the United States after he threw what she called a temper tantrum at a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders a day earlier. Trump fired back, questioning Pelosi's mental state by saying she has "lost it" while calling himself an "extremely stable genius." As the acrid fight intensified between the Republican president and the Democrats who control the House amid talk of impeaching Trump, work on a two-year federal budget deal has ground to a near standstill as the task of basic governing in Washington has become increasingly complicated. Trump, who is seeking re-election in 2020, and Democratic leaders for a second straight day lobbed accusations and insults at each other after the collapse of an infrastructure deal that could have pumped $2 trillion into the U.S. economy, if lawmakers and the president had found a way to pay for it. "Again, I pray for the president of the United States. I wish that his family, or his administration, or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country," Pelosi told reporters. An "intervention" often refers to relatives, friends or co-workers confronting an individual struggling with a intractable problem in the hope of improving that person's behavior. Trump took aim at Pelosi. "I tell you what, I've been watching her and I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person. She's lost it," Trump said during remarks about an aid package for farmers hit by the U.S. trade war with China. Pelosi also accused Trump of obstruction of justice, which she said could be an impeachable offense. "The White House is just crying out for impeachment," Pelosi said, but added that "the House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment. And that's where he wants us to be." Trump is stonewalling multiple congressional inquiries into him, his policies, family and business holdings, while Pelosi has worked hard to tamp down demands among some Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings. Some Democrats fear that launching the impeachment process in Congress established in the U.S. Constitution to remove a president from office could backfire and benefit Trump politically. BUDGET TALKS On Tuesday, the four top Democratic and Republican congressional leaders reported progress toward a deal with the administration on setting federal spending levels for the next two years and raising the U.S. Treasury Department's borrowing limit. Without such a deal, the federal government faces the prospect of another round of shutdowns later this year and a potentially devastating U.S. credit default. Since Tuesday, lawmakers and aides have gone silent on the outlook for more talks. Asked on Thursday if a deal on the budget or on the U.S. debt would get done, Trump said, "We'll see what happens." Eventually, the main players will almost certainly have to re-engage. Failing to do so would disrupt the government and hurt the economy. Even so, questions lingered about whether the mercurial Trump would support any deal negotiators might craft. In a hopeful sign, House and Senate negotiators reached a deal on a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill that has Trump's support, senators said on Thursday. Policy chaos swept Washington on Wednesday when Trump walked out of a White House meeting with Democrats, saying he could not work with them on an infrastructure bill as long as lawmakers are investigating him. Pelosi had earlier accused him of engaging in a "cover up" over investigations of Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and other matters. Trump responded on Thursday with a tweet that said, "The Democrats have become known as THE DO NOTHING PARTY." Congressional leaders last December negotiated an agreement on federal spending that they had been assured Trump would support, only to have him back out at the last minute, triggering a prolonged, partial shutdown of the U.S. government. There also is little evidence that lawmakers and the administration will unify to address the issue of immigration along the southern border with Mexico. Also in doubt is whether Congress this year will approve a U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement negotiated by Trump's administration. Pelosi wrote on Twitter, "When the 'extremely stable genius' starts acting more presidential, I'll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Will Dunham) Washington (AFP) - Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi says Donald Trump is angry that her party is not rushing to impeach him, as the relationship between the rivals reaches new lows. Thursday was the second straight day of a very public war of words between Trump and the speaker of the House of Representatives, who earlier questioned the president's mental fitness for office and expressed hope that those close to Trump would stage an intervention "for the good of the country." Trump responded by branding Pelosi "crazy Nancy," in what appeared to be the first time he has ascribed a pejorative nickname to the woman who is his congressional nemesis. The president later tweeted a Fox Business Network video of Pelosi that had been edited to focus on sections of a speech in which she stuttered and mispronounced certain words, with the caption "Pelosi stammers through news conference." Another video of Pelosi shared by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in which her speech was slowed down to give the impression she was drunkenly slurring her words had been viewed 2.3 million times. The back-and-forth attacks are highlighting the bitter feud that has swelled since the release last month of the special counsel's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election. According to Pelosi, Trump's strategy is to get his opponents to commit themselves to impeachment -- a process that would almost certainly pass in the House, and then fail in the Republican-controlled Senate, ultimately energizing Trump's core voters during his re-election bid. "The White House is just crying out for impeachment," she told journalists. Trump is "disappointed" that the Democrats are holding off for now, Pelosi said, even as they intensify congressional investigations into the president's links to Russia and his alleged obstruction of justice -- probes that Trump is trying to block. Story continues "It may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment or not, but we're not at that place," she said. Under pressure from the congressional probes, Trump on Thursday ordered the US intelligence community to "fully cooperate" with an investigation into what he has termed "spying" on his 2016 election campaign. According to Trump, court-approved surveillance of his campaign's links to Russians amounted to "spying." He has even called the probe treason and indicated he would like to see criminal charges brought against his investigators. Pelosi, who repeated her charge that Trump was engaged in a "cover-up," goaded the president, declaring that she was praying for him and that she wished "his family or his staff or his administration would have an intervention for the good of the country." - 'Extremely stable genius' - Trump responded with demeaning accusations, branding her "crazy Nancy" and questioning her mental fitness. "She's not the same person," he told reporters at the White House during a prolonged rant. "She's lost it." Trump watched Pelosi during their meeting "and she was all crazy with the hands and everything," he said, waving his arms around for emphasis. "She is a mess." The remarks came in a week of legal setbacks for Trump, including a federal judge's ruling that a House subpoena of Trump financial records was lawful. "I think what really got to him was these court cases and the fact that the House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment, and that's where he wants us to be," Pelosi said Thursday. A day earlier Pelosi and other Democrats came to the White House to discuss infrastructure, only to have the president abruptly cancel the talks and proclaim there could be no progress on policy issues until Democrats end their "phony" investigations. Pelosi said Trump threw a "temper tantrum" at the meeting, pounded his fists on the table and then stormed out. Trump vehemently disputed the account, and during his press event Thursday took the unusual step of calling separately on five aides to defend their boss's behavior. "Very calm," said Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president. "They said you were fuming, temper tantrum, rage. It's a lie." The president went so far as to praise himself as "an extremely stable genius," a line that swiftly boomeranged back at Trump in the form of a withering Pelosi tweet. "When the 'extremely stable genius' starts acting more presidential, I'll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues," she posted on Twitter. Several Democratic lawmakers and 2020 presidential contenders are eager to move forward with impeachment proceedings, citing what they say is Trump's obstruction of justice and refusal to respect congressional oversight powers. But there are concerns among senior Democrats that the impeachment tactic could backfire, energizing Trump's base ahead of the 2020 election. Asked directly if he was seeking that outcome, Trump was cautious. "I don't think anybody wants to be impeached," he said, while expressing confidence that American voters would see the process as "a bad thing for our country." The Pentagon expected on Thursday to present the White House with plans to send up to 10,000 extra troops to the Middle East to bolster forces against potential threats from Iran, officials said. The morning meeting between defence chiefs and Trump administration officials comes as tensions continue to simmer with Tehran. Any move to deploy more forces would signal a shift for Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasised the need to reduce the US presence in the region. Its unclear whether the White House might approve all or some of the requested forces. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press the possible surge is not in response to any new threat from Iran. They said troops would be defensive forces and discussions include additional Patriot missile systems, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iranian activities. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Mr Trump was currently evaluating the forces required in the region every day. He told Fox News: Were evaluating the risks, making sure that we have it right. US officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats but indicated missiles have been taken off the boats near Irans shore. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defence leaders told congressional officials the US doesnt want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Patrick Shanahan, left, and Mike Pompeo speak after a classified briefing for members of Congress on Iran (AP) Mr Pompeo and the acting secretary of defence Patrick Shanahan have insisted the US was only seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran despite Mr Trumps posting a series of hostile tweets over the past week. On Sunday the president tweeted: If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again. In early May, the US accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East and sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defence missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. Story continues The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019 On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdads heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling US Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad, home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Mr Trump is responsible for drawing Irans anger. Last year he abruptly pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production. The president also has re-imposed sanctions that have hurt Tehrans economy, and designated Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation. The tensions with Iran comes as the US military revealed it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, angering China at a time of fraught relations between the worlds two biggest economies. If you want to know who really controls Jay Bharat Maruti Limited (NSE:JAYBARMARU), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented. With a market capitalization of 5.1b, Jay Bharat Maruti is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have not yet purchased much of the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about JAYBARMARU. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Check out our latest analysis for Jay Bharat Maruti NSEI:JAYBARMARU Ownership Summary, May 23rd 2019 What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jay Bharat Maruti? Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. Since institutions own under 5% of Jay Bharat Maruti, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too. NSEI:JAYBARMARU Income Statement, May 23rd 2019 Jay Bharat Maruti is not owned by hedge funds. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage. Story continues Insider Ownership Of Jay Bharat Maruti The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Jay Bharat Maruti Limited. Insiders have a 944m stake in this 5.1b business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently. General Public Ownership The general public, with a 18% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. Private Company Ownership Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 29%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company. Public Company Ownership We can see that public companies hold 29%, of the JAYBARMARU shares on issue. We can't be certain, but this is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free . If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. By Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - PG&E Corp may set up a $105 million housing fund for victims of 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, which set records for devastation and were blamed on the utility's equipment, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the investor-owned power producer ruled on Wednesday. Creditors, which include wildfire victims, are fighting for funds as PG&E navigates bankruptcy stemming from the blazes and as the state plans for increasingly long and dangerous fire seasons its officials attribute to climate change. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali at a hearing approved a motion by PG&E seeking permission to establish the fund for people who lost homes in the fires and were uninsured or have used up or will exhaust their insurance. San Francisco-headquartered PG&E sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January in the face of liabilities it estimated at over $30 billion in the aftermath of November's Camp Fire, California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire in modern times. The Camp Fire killed more than 85 people and destroyed more than 14,600 houses, mobile homes and other housing units, according to California's Department of Finance. More than 11,000 of those housing units were lost in the town Paradise, which the Camp Fire leveled. State fire investigators earlier this month formally determined PG&E's power lines caused the Camp Fire, the world's most expensive natural disaster of 2018 with overall losses of $16.5 billion, according to reinsurance company Munich Re. Montali said at Wednesday's hearing he wants to see PG&E's proposed fund up and running as quickly as possible and urged the company and committees for its unsecured creditors and wildfire victims to try to agree on a fund administrator in five days. "I'll make sure the process moves forward quickly," Montali said, adding he would appoint an administrator if PG&E and the committees could not agree on one. The administrator will develop eligibility requirements and make payments to wildfire victims, PG&E has said in court papers. According to PG&E, the $105 million for its fund will come from its available cash. The company's shares were up 3.6% at $19.12 late on Wednesday afternoon. Lawyers for the wildfire victims had urged a fund of at least $250 million, but Montali said he could only approve or deny PG&E's motion for its proposed fund. Montali also approved extensions to PG&E's so-called exclusive periods in which it is the sole party in its bankruptcy entitled to file a reorganization plan and to seek support for it from stakeholders. Montali approved four-month extensions urged by PG&E's unsecured creditors committee instead of the six months the company wanted. PG&E now has until Sept. 29 to file a plan and until Nov. 29 to round up support for it. California Governor Gavin Newsom's office had argued extensions should be capped at 75 days to push PG&E to quickly settle wildfire claims and craft a reorganization plan seeking sacrifices from its investors instead of ratepayers. The committee for wildfire victims had objected to any extensions, arguing PG&E has been stalling for time. PG&E said the stability of its business would be undermined without more time, adding it needed extensions to determine liabilities it faces from wildfires. The company also said it needed more time to see if it obtains regulatory and legislative relief from state officials. They are considering changes to California's strict liability standard for utilities, which are held accountable for damages caused by their equipment even if negligence was not involved. (Reporting by Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Peter Henderson and Matthew Lewis) After the UN Security Council adopted on April 30 resolution 2468 on the Sahara with an overwhelming majority, a resolution in which the US played a crucial role consolidating Moroccos stand, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita held lately intensive meetings with US officials in Washington-DC. According to reliable sources cited by Hespress website, Mr. Bourita held over the weekend several meetings with top US government officials on the Sahara issue. This diplomatic offensive launched by Rabat in the United States is part of a new a proactive strategy adopted by the Moroccan Foreign Ministry in dealing with the Sahara issue. Under this strategy, the Moroccan diplomatic campaigns will be dynamic and no longer tied to the month of April or October coinciding with the renewal of the MINURSO mandate and the UN Security Council reports on the Sahara issue. The United States, the pen-holder of resolutions on the Sahara, did not give in to the pressure exerted by Algeria and the Polisario within the frame of their orchestrated hostile campaigns launched against Morocco. UN resolution 2468 reinforced Moroccos legitimate stand as it reaffirmed the preeminence of the autonomy plan offered by Rabat for the Sahara, stressed the need to count the Sahrawis sequestered in the Tindouf camps and renewed UN calls for the Polisario to respect the ceasefire, honor its commitments and stop its provocative actions in the east & south buffer zones. Furthermore, the Trump administration supports Algerias participation in the efforts engaged to reach a final solution to the Sahara conflict. During the latest UN Security Council debate and vote on the Sahara resolution, Rodney Hunter, the political coordinator for the US mission to the United Nations, called on neighboring countries to cooperate more in order to achieve a political solution, describing Algeria as a party to the Sahara issue. The UN resolution also deems Algiers as a main stakeholder in the UN-led process aiming to find a political, realistic, practical and lasting solution to the Sahara regional conflict. The US diplomat had also stressed that the goal of the Security Council should be to propose a timely and mutually acceptable political solution. According to diplomatic sources, there is an earnest desire among Security Council members, especially the United States, to advance the Sahara political process with a view to reaching an enduring political solution to this dispute. HOUSTON (Reuters) - Environmental groups and demonstrators arrested near an Energy Transfer LP crude pipeline filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a 2018 Louisiana state law that made trespassing near oil and gas pipelines a criminal offense. Felony charges that carry sentences of up to five years in prison were brought last year against protesters and a journalist near the Dallas-based operator's Bayou Bridge pipeline, which was then under construction, according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. After protests erupted near Energy Transfer's Dakota Access Pipeline and Bayou Bridge beginning in 2016, 18 states including Texas, Pennsylvania and South Dakota have introduced bills similar to the Louisiana law, according to the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights. Trespassing near pipelines previously drew misdemeanor charges in Louisiana. The new law aims "to chill, and harshly punish, speech and expression in opposition to pipeline projects," the plaintiffs said in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs include environmental groups Louisiana Bucket Brigade, 350 New Orleans and four of the people arrested for trespassing at Bayou Bridge. They also include landowners opposed to the pipeline. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and two other state and local officials were named as defendants in the lawsuit. A Landry spokesman said the attorney general will vigorously defend the 2018 law, and that environmental groups are free to protest but not "in a manner that obstructs and threatens infrastructure." "Our state has an obvious and compelling reason to protect vital infrastructure from criminal trespass, damage, or possible attack," Landry spokesman Jacques Ambers said in an email. "That should be immediately apparent to rational people." "We respect that there are varying opinions on infrastructure projects such as ours and we support the right of all Americans to protest lawfully," Energy Transfer spokeswoman Vicki Granado said in an email. (Reporting by Collin Eaton in Houston; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Richard Chang and Sonya Hepinstall) NEW YORK (AP) Plans to build a new Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York are moving forward, a sign that the interstate feuding that stalled the process over the last several years may finally be coming to an end. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Thursday that it is starting a formal environmental review process to replace the crumbling, 1950s-era facility, the nation's busiest, with a new terminal in midtown Manhattan. A plan to build a new terminal on the site of the current facility, at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, has been considered the leading option for the Port Authority and has been the focus of preliminary engineering discussions, Port Authority Executive Director Richard Cotton said earlier this year. Previously, a plan to construct a new terminal a block west prompted a bitter dispute in which New York lawmakers and community leaders accused the bistate agency's New Jersey contingent of ignoring their concerns and blundering ahead without their input. "We are committed to building the replacement bus terminal and to do so in full consultation with the community, with elected officials in both New York and New Jersey, and with all stakeholders," Cotton said in a statement Thursday. The terminal handles more than 250,000 passenger trips on weekdays and is a destination for tens of thousands of commuters from New Jersey. It has come under withering criticism in recent years for its leaky ceilings, faulty air conditioners, dirty rest rooms and frequent delays. A planning document released Thursday will be available for public review and comment during the next four months, with public hearings in July and September. The estimated cost of a new bus terminal could be as much as $10 billion, and construction likely wouldn't be complete for at least a decade. The Port Authority, which operates the region's bridges, tunnels and transit hubs and owns the World Trade Center site, was criticized after its 10-year capital plan released in 2014 didn't include money to replace the terminal. In 2017, the authority's board approved $3.5 billion for the terminal in a revised 10-year plan after months of political sniping. New York legislators demanded that then-authority chairman John Degnan recuse himself from the bus terminal negotiations because of allegations of favoritism to New Jersey's interests. New Jersey legislators accused Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of holding the bus terminal project hostage to preserve more money for a redevelopment of New York's LaGuardia Airport. A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New York, has seven arrest warrants and is being sought as a fugitive after failing to appear in court on charges that range from breach of peace to risk of injury to a child. Tokens for next-generation protocols, including Polkadot, are circulating on a semi-liquid secondary market at a deep discount, The Block has confirmed. Major crypto funds and investors say they have been approached by over-the-counter (OTC) desks offering large volumes of tokens bought in private sales from the protocols' managing foundations. The tokens are distributed (and redistributed) in the form of SAFTs Simple Agreements for Future Tokenswhich gives funds the rights to tokens startups issued in the future, when they launch. There are at least four separate sellers offering between 15,000 and 60,000 in Polkadot DOTs, according to multiple sources. At least one deal has gone through, with each DOT sold at a 50% discount to the $120 private sale price (which gave Polkadot its rumoured billion-dollar valuation). Polkadot has not yet closed its private sale of DOTs but sold its pre-sale DOTs at $30, hoping token holders would "contribute in some meaningful way to the system" and also be diverse enough to avoid collusion, Jutta Steiner, Parity's CEO told The Block earlier this year. The token will also be used for staking. There are also at least three Dfinity SAFTs being floated "at vastly different prices and discounts." There is also believed to be an "active" FileCoin SAFT market, although no specific deals have been sourced. Details of the tokens sellers remain murky, as parties often reportedly sign NDAs before engaging in negotiations. However, it is possible they are early investors from the pre-sale who are now trying to sell at a profit or are in need of capital after the price drop. "Some funds have been trying to sell their [token] positions," one source confirmed, saying a liquidity squeeze meant funds were eager to convert positions into cash. They added foundations often sell below market-price to those building on their protocols, or to funds buying large volumes. That means selling at a small premium on secondary markets could be profitable. Story continues Playing with fire There are three major potential repercussions around the existence of this noteworthy albeit small market. First, the billion-dollar valuations of the protocols could be bought into question if tokens are falling into lower price-bands. Second, the sellers could be in breach of the agreements in place for buying a SAFT, which often forbid third-party sales. And third, those buying SAFTs from third parties may be exposing themselves to significant counter-party risks, given the nature of the deals. Indeed, the risk arises because the deal involves paying upfront with the promise of getting the private key with the tokens later. However, there is no guarantee the seller will ever send the tokens. Moreover, there are fears the seller might keep a copy of the passphrases for the private key. Alternatively, as these tokens have not yet been physically issued, there is the risk of non-assignment from the relevant foundation. "It's the most risky OTC trade in crypto," said one Asia-based analyst, noting the greatly reduced price makes sense because the risks are so high. One way to mitigate that risk is by sending the USD funds to a lawyer who holds them in escrow until the token has been transferred. Or, the OTC desk themselves can promise to absorb the risk at a fee. Still, investors remain wary albeit interested. "I'd only ever buy SAFTs from an OTC desk at a very severe discount, maybe 50-70% off the market price," said a partner at one investment firm. He added that he was approached by DOT sellers twice in the last year - including once by a "legitimate" fund offering large volumes. The partner pursued but eventually cancelled both deals - which he believes are still on the market - citing concerns about the sellers' credibility and the "enormous counterparty risk." "The seller did not seem to be somebody who does what they say...It was very heavily shopped. I don't know if they are even real." As a result, he added, legitimate token sales on the secondary market are still very rare. Its incredibly hard to find DOTs on sale," he said, adding that some of the U.S.' largest OTC desks, which include Cumberland, Genesis, and Galaxy, told him they had "never seen a Polkadot SAFT, ever" when he inquired. Another prospective buyer also said he turned down the deal on DOTs after the seller failed their due diligence process. Indeed, the risks are real. Nevin Freeman, CEO of Reserve - a stablecoin firm - said that an internal investigation found "scammers" had created a fake OTC market of their RSR tokens on Telegram, taken advantage of the token's delayed delivery clause. "I want people to know about the dangers of some of these second-hand token sales," he said. "I want to warn them." He added nonetheless that some peer-to-peer brokers were legitimate, selling at an inflated price rather than a discount due to limited supply. In breach? Another important feature of these secondary markets is they take place behind closed doors. For one, protocols like Polkadot do not allow public sales of tokens to U.S.-based funds or investors. The purchase of SAFTs also have strict rules around them. "These OTC deals are usually in breach of contract because most of these agreements have clauses that restrict sales before genesis [the launch]," said one source familiar with SAFTs. Still, arguably if investors' confidence in protocols peaks before they launch, they may well take the risk. Nonetheless, Aragon CEO, Luis Cuende, explained that the rules were there because secondary sales are a nuisance to foundations that haven't yet concluded their private sales. "These OTC desks and secondary markets make it very hard to raise a traditional funding round, where normally everyone has the same price," he said, with the project having stayed clear of an OTC offer on DOTs themselves. The Web 3 Foundation, which manages the sale of DOTs and oversees Polkadot's development, declined to comment. Dfinity could not be reached for comment by press time. President Ali Bongo Ondimba Tuesday dismissed his Vice-President and the minister of forestry, a statement of the presidential office said without elaborating on the rationales. Maganga Moussavou has been Vice President of the Central African country since 2017 after the restauration of the position. Moussavou, from the opposition lost to Ali Bongo during the 2016 controversial elections. Guy Bertrand Mapangou also in charge of climate fell from grace despite being a key player in the Ali Bongos regime. The minister had been spokesman of the cabinet also the prominent position of interior minister. Though the statement does not provide reasons for their dismissals, the decision came in the backdrop of wide spread calls for Mapangous ejection from the government over a timber scandal connected to the smuggling of a tree species banned for export. Authorities early March discovered 5,000 cubic meters of Kevazingo wood in two warehouses belonging to Chinese companies at Owendo port, in capital Libreville, reports say. A part of the reddish timber, known locally as bubinga or guibourtia, was found in containers with false labels from forestry ministry, indicating Okoume, a species approved for export. Gabonese authorities last year decreed a ban on Kevazingo export to protect the tree viewed by locals as sacred but much valued in parts of Asia mainly in the furniture industry. After the discovery, head of the forest ministry at the port and his team have been arrested for alleged involvement in the smuggling. Also late April, more than 300 containers of Kevazingo went missing but 200 were recovered later after being found in depots of foreign companies. The African country covered mostly by forest has lost greatly because of illegal export of timber to foreign countries mainly to Asia. 'Relaxed'. President Trump is said to be unconcerned about UK political woes (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) President Trump is unconcerned about Theresa Mays political troubles and only wants to meet the Queen on his state visit to the UK next month. A Whitehall official has told the Times that the US President and his entourage are relaxed about the political uncertainty in the UK - and more interested in meeting Her Majesty. They seem delightfully oblivious to what is going on to be honest, the official told the paper. President Trump will visit the UK on June 3. Trump and May in Buenos Aires last year (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Under the current arrangements, he is due to hold a series of bilateral meetings in Downing Street with the prime minister two days later. However, it is unclear at this moment, with fevered speculation about Mrs Mays political future, who could be the PM on that date. Westminster has been buzzing for the last 24 hours that Mrs May, who has already said she will leave Number 10, is about to step down amid huge opposition to her Brexit plan. The latest rumours suggest she will resign after the results of the European elections, where the Conservatives are expected to fare badly in the face of a surge from other parties including Nigel Farages Brexit party. Trump will also take part in commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Veteran Ted Emmings is seen the Portsmouth HQ of the landings (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) According to tradition, a state banquet hosted by the Queen will take place on the first evening of the presidents visit. There are usually around 150 guests for such a banquet. President Trump will be accompanied by his wife, Melania. American media have reported that the President will also be accompanied by his children and spouses, including, Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, Tiiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and his wife Lara. London bound? Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump (AP) It has also been confirmed that Trump will meet Prince Charles for afternoon tea during his visit at Clarence House, the Princes official residence. The president will also attend a D-Day commemoration ceremony in Portsmouth on June 5 to mark 75 years since the historic day. Other details of his visit remain to be confirmed however. House of Commons speaker John Bercow has stated he would be strongly opposed to accommodating the President at the Commons. Story continues It will be Trumps second visit to the UK as President. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- Two Chinese American professors at Emory University have been fired for failing to disclose research fundings from China and their work for Chinese universities while receiving federal grants from the U.S. government, the latest example of how the U.S. is battling with Beijings growing influence on academic activities and addressing intellectual property protection in the science field. Xiao-Jiang Li and his wife Shihua Li, both professors of human genetics at Emory University School of Medicine, have been dismissed this week, Yahoo Finance learned. The investigation on Li was prompted by a letter that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sent to over 10,000 academic research universities last August. The letter urged institutions to work with NIH and other agencies including the FBI to crack down on foreign influence, particularly from China. Recipients of U.S. federal funds have to disclose if they are receiving funds from other countries and are not allowed to share their grant applications with foreign governments. Xiao-Jiang Li disputed the allegations in an interview with Science Insider on Friday, saying he has been disclosing his Chinese research activity to Emory University every year since 2012 and cooperating with the investigation, which began in early November 2018. I was shocked that Emory University would terminate a tenured professor in such an unusual and abrupt fashion and close our combined lab consisting of a number of graduates and postdoctoral trainees without giving me specific details for the reasons behind my termination, Li said in a statement. The dismissal of Xiao-Jiang Li, a tenured Emory professor since 2005, came as a surprise to many. He is a distinguished professor, who also runs Emorys Li Laboratory, which has 11 researchers. Information about the couple and the lab has been removed from Emorys website. Through an internal investigation, Emory discovered that two of its faculty members named as key personnel on NIH grant awards to Emory University had failed to fully disclose foreign sources of research funding and the extent of their work for research institutions and universities in China. Emory has shared this information with the NIH, and the faculty members are no longer employed at Emory, Emory said in a statement on Thursday. Story continues Xiao-jiang Li (middle) with his team members. (Credit: Jinan University) Li moved to the U.S. from China to obtain a doctoral degree in the late 1980s and became a naturalized American citizen. Li and his team made a major breakthrough by establishing a pig model of Huntington's disease through genetic engineering technology, which was well-received after their research was published in Cell magazine in March 2018. Chinas Jinan University, where Li is a professor, says the work is sponsored by state and provincial funds as well as NIH grants. Records show Li received over $1.7 million in the form of four NIH awards in fiscal 2018. Since 2007, Li has held various positions at Chinese universities and was recruited into Chinas Thousands Talents Program in 2010. The highly-selected program came under fire in Washington for targeting top Chinese talent overseas and bringing them back to the country to enhance Chinas high-tech industries and emerging disciplines. Over 8,000 scientists have been recruited to the program. Lis participation in that program likely triggered the investigation. This is not the first time Chinese-descent researchers lost their jobs as a result of NIH investigations. In April, the top cancer research center MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas ousted three Chinese senior researchers after NIH notified them about their foreign ties. Individuals that are being reviewed are not all of Chinese ethnicity. However, Chinas Thousands Talents Program is a known prominent player, NIH said in a statement to Yahoo Finance. U.S. and China are rivals in tech Professor Xiao-Jiang Li (right) and Shihua Li (second from the right) Credit: Emory University Against the backdrop of the U.S.-China trade tension, the two countries are increasingly seeing each other as strategic rivals in key tech and scientific areas including 5G. Recent developments have sparked unease among Chinese communities in the science industry. Several groups of Chinese or Chinese American scientists published a letter in Science in March, calling the recent political rhetoric and policies that single out students and scholars of Chinese descent working in the United States as threats to U.S. national interests. Foreign nationals make important contributions to American institutions and to science. Twenty-four percent of Nobel prize winners in the U.S. were foreign-born scientists. The challenge is to find ways to build and continue important and successful relationships with foreign scientists around the world while simultaneously protecting the nations biomedical innovations and intellectual property, NIH said. In Lis case, Chinese national researchers who worked for Li Lab, could lose their visa status and face deportation. Emory values the international diversity of its students, faculty, and staff, including those from China, and we will continue to honor that diversity as we build upon our commitment to improving the world around us, an Emory spokesperson said in a statement. Note: This story was updated on Friday, May 24, 2019. Krystal covers tech and China for Yahoo Finance. Write to Krystal via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow her on Twitter. Moscow (AFP) - Vladimir Putin is unlikely to watch a new BBC comedy chat show hosted by a cartoon version of the Russian leader as he "does not look at caricatures" of himself, the Kremlin said Thursday. The British broadcaster on Wednesday announced a new semi-scripted show called "Tonight with Vladimir Putin", set to be aired on BBC Two channel next month. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that Putin "does not read the books written about him and does not look at caricatures." "He does not want to resemble them in any way," he said. The star of the show will be a 3D digital cartoon version of Putin, created using motion-capture technology. This will enable him to walk around and sit behind a desk "interviewing real human guests in front of a studio audience, all in real-time," the British broadcaster said in a statement. "Everybody's favourite bear-wrestling global strongman Vladimir Putin has finally achieved his ultimate goal - a chat show on the BBC," it said. "Forget global politics, landing two pilot episodes on BBC Two of his soon to be world-famous chat show marks the ultimate victory for Vlad, leader of the free world." The short pilot episodes will each feature two guests, the broadcaster said, with British spin doctor Alastair Campbell set to appear in the first episode. A preview of the show showed a 3D image of Putin in front of Buckingham Palace. "Greetings, people of the United Kingdom," the cartoon says in a simulated Russian accent. In one of the shows, the fictional Russian president is shown trying to get his head around feminism -- in another he thanks Campbell "for his part in making such a mess of things," the BBC said. Britain and Russia are at loggerheads following the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the city of Salisbury last year. Putin has honed an image of a steely man-of-action. While he enjoys telling sometimes coarse jokes at public events, he apparently is less keen on laughing at himself. Shortly after he came to power in 2000, a Russian television channel was forced to axe a popular satirical show called "Kukly," or puppets, that included a Putin character. The Russian leader was thought to be irked by his depiction in the programme. Q2 Holdings (NYSE: QTWO) released better-than-expected first-quarter 2019 results earlier this month, setting a new high mark for quarterly bookings, showcasing the fruits of recent acquisitions, and highlighting the sustained momentum of its core digital-banking platform. Though shares of Q2 Holdings initially pulled back modestly in response, they've since all but recovered to trade within 2% of their all-time highs as of this writing. That raises the question: Is Q2 stock worth buying and holding today? Let's dig deeper into its start to the new year to find out. Man holding a credit card with a notebook computer and smartphone in front of him. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES Q2 Holdings results: The raw numbers Metric Q1 2019 Q1 2018 Year-Over-Year Growth Revenue $71.3 million $54.8 million 30.1% GAAP net income (loss) ($19.3 million) ($6.1 million) N/A GAAP earnings (loss) per diluted share ($0.44) ($0.14) N/A DATA SOURCE: Q2 HOLDINGS. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. What happened with Q2 Holdings this quarter? By comparison, revenue arrived above the high end of Q2's guidance provided in February for a range of $70 million to $71 million. On an adjusted (non-GAAP) basis, quick excludes items like stock-based compensation and acquisition costs, Q2's net loss was $2.3 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to net income of $0.06 per share in the same year-ago period. Most analysts were looking for a slightly narrower net loss of $0.04 per share. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $0.3 million from $5.0 million in the same year-ago period -- technically below guidance for a range of $1.2 million to $1.8 million. But the drop was driven by a combination of timing of payroll taxes on equity incentives and, to a greater extent, investments in its recently closed acquisitions of lending and leading platform company Cloud Lending, and digital sales and onboarding specialist Gro. Registered Q2 platform users grew 19% year over year and 2% sequentially from last quarter to 13.1 million. Notable new contracts included: A Q2 Open deal using the Q2 digital banking platform as the front end for a direct bank initiative at a $5 billion financial institution, A digital onboarding contract using Gro with a new $8 billion bank in the Northeast -- representing Gro's single largest contract to date. A digital banking contract with a $10 billion bank in the Northeast. A digital lending agreement with a $1 billion bank in Texas (and current Q2 platform customer) to utilize Cloud Lending's platform. What management had to say Story continues Q2 Holdings CEO Matt Flake stated: We had a strong start to the year in the first quarter, particularly on the sales side of the business. We achieved record bookings for a first quarter, powered by a broad mix of deals that included our newly acquired Gro and Cloud Lending products in multiple combinations. We also continued our sales execution on the digital banking side, with a balanced performance across bank and credit union markets. With our current pipeline and newly expanded product portfolio, I'm as optimistic as ever about the opportunity ahead of us through 2019 and beyond. Looking ahead For the second quarter of 2019, Q2 sees revenue arriving in the range of $75.5 million to $76.5 million, good for year-over-year growth of 29% to 31%, with adjusted EBITDA ranging from $2.7 million to $3.3 million. As such, for the full year of 2019, Q2 increased its outlook to call for revenue of $308.8 million to $311.8 million (up from $305 million to $309 million previously), good for growth of 28% to 29% from 2018. Q2 simultaneously reiterated its outlook for 2019 adjusted EBITDA of $20 million to $22 million -- indicating the company expects a particularly strong second half as its strategic investments in acquired businesses begin to wane. Where does that leave investors today? It might be tempting to avoid Q2 right now with shares trading hands at a whopping 162 times this year's expected earnings and nearly 13 times trailing 12-month sales. But the former also measures from a minuscule adjusted-earnings base as Q2 edges into the black this year. Further, as management noted during their annual Investor Day a few months ago, the combination of Q2's expanded product portfolio (both through acquisitions and organic innovation), as well as cross-selling opportunities as demonstrated in the Gro contract signed this quarter, has effectively increased its total addressable market to $8 billion today. Assuming it can sustain its momentum and grab a meaningful piece of that pie -- and as long as the company isn't acquired before then -- that leaves Q2 Holdings with an enviable runway for growth from its aforementioned 2019 revenue guidance. So with the caveat that it almost certainly won't be a straight line upward, I think patient, long-term shareholders would do well to consider buying Q2 stock today. More From The Motley Fool Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Q2 Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Qualcomm's (NASDAQ: QCOM) stock plunged on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission won its five-month antitrust case against the mobile chipmaker. The U.S. district court ruled that Qualcomm "strangled competition" with "unreasonably high" royalty rates, unfair business strategies, and exclusive partnerships. Judge Lucy Koh stated that Qualcomm could no longer offer exclusive deals to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), withhold chips from OEMs that don't license its technologies, or penalize customers for cooperating with regulators. Qualcomm will also be required to license its technologies to rival chipmakers at lower rates, renegotiate existing contracts to meet those conditions, and be monitored for seven years to ensure its compliance. That ruling suggests that Apple's lawsuits against Qualcomm, which were abruptly settled in April, were justified. Qualcomm's stock previously rallied after Apple dropped its lawsuits and signed a six-year licensing agreement, but the latest court ruling indicates that the chipmaker's legal problems are far from over. A wooden gavel Image source: Getty Images. The case against Qualcomm Qualcomm is the world's largest maker of wireless modems and mobile SoCs (system on chips), which bundle together a CPU, GPU, and modem on a single module. It also holds the largest portfolio of wireless patents in the world, which entitles it to a cut of each smartphone sold worldwide. Most of Qualcomm's revenue comes from its lower-margin chipmaking (QCT) business, but it generates most of its profits from its higher-margin patent licensing (QTL) business. The QTL unit's average royalty rate once hovered at about 5% of a device's selling price (although the price used in that calculation was capped at $400). Smartphone makers, many of which operate at thin margins, argued that Qualcomm should only take its cut from the wireless components instead of the phone's sale price. That controversial business model sparked regulatory probes in the U.S., Europe, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Story continues The plaintiffs in these cases argued that Qualcomm leveraged its dominance of mobile chips and wireless patents to secure exclusive deals. In 2003, Qualcomm offered Huawei a royalty rate of 2.65% if it exclusively used its modems, but that rate would rise to 5% to 7% if it used a rival's chips. Between 2011 and 2016, Qualcomm paid Apple billions of dollars in rebates to prevent the iPhone maker from using another chipmaker's modems. Rival chipmakers also argued that the licensing fees made it impossible to match Qualcomm's prices and margins. All of those moves likely locked competitors out of the market and ensured that Qualcomm would dominate the mobile chip market. An illustration of a computer chip Image source: Getty Images. What's at stake for Qualcomm? Qualcomm was already fined in China, South Korea, and Europe, and the new FTC ruling could take a big bite out of its U.S. profits. In early May, Qualcomm stated that the Apple settlement would nearly double its third-quarter GAAP revenue annually with a one-time payment between $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes that payment, Qualcomm expects its third-quarter revenue to decline 2% to 16% annually, and for its EPS to fall 21% to 31%. Qualcomm expects its QTL revenue to fall 10% to 16% due the softness of the smartphone market and a tough comparison to the prior-year quarter, which included a $500 million gain from a settlement with an unnamed licensee. Qualcomm desperately needs its QTL business to keep growing since it accounted for 62% of its pre-tax earnings last quarter. If Qualcomm renegotiates all of its existing contracts with OEMs -- including giants like Apple, Huawei, and Samsung -- its QTL profits would inevitably tumble and dent its earnings. What's Qualcomm's next move? Qualcomm plans to appeal the ruling, so the case could drag on for months as it keeps generating licensing revenue from its existing agreements. Qualcomm will also likely argue that it already lowered its licensing fees over the past few years, and that it would be unfair to punish the company for earlier deals. Qualcomm claims that the QTL unit currently takes a 2.275% cut of the selling price of single-mode 5G handsets, and a 3.25% cut of the selling price of multimode (3G/4G/5G) devices. Both figures are much lower than the 5% cut that's often cited in cases against Qualcomm. Nonetheless, Qualcomm now faces an uphill battle, and the FTC case could spark a fresh rebellion among OEMs, who could halt their licensing payments until the deals are renegotiated. In other words, Qualcomm's legal troubles won't end anytime soon. More From The Motley Fool Leo Sun owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm and has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Anti-trust Laws Violated Qualcomm QCOM took a hit today in the markets, plummeting over 10%, as some of the companys practices are ruled illegal. US District Judge Lucy Koh made a ruling on the FTCs Qualcomm case, saying they did violate US anti-trust laws. According to Judge Koh, "Qualcomm's licensing practices have strangled competition in the CDMA and premium LTE modem chip markets for years, and harmed rivals, OEMs, and end consumers in the process." Qualcomm immediately appealed the ruling and is attempting to expedite the legal process so the adverse effects of the ruling dont materialize on their balance sheet. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charged Qualcomm with operating a monopoly back in January of 2017 on the grounds that they are charging unreasonable licensing fees and forcing customers like Apple AAPL and Samsung to have exclusive contracts with them. Qualcomm has been making significantly more on its patent licensing than its chip products over the last decade. The charges finally came to fruition today with Judge Kohs ruling. The ruling is ordering Qualcomm to renegotiate licensing contracts with its customers to ensure that both buyers and other chip makers arent paying excessive licensing fees on QCOMs patents. They are also being directed to end any exclusivity agreements they might have with customers such as their exclusive supplier deal with Apple which inhibits any competing chip makers from making a production bid. Qualcomm just settled a lawsuit with Apple last month regarding licensing fees, claiming that Apple has been withholding these royalties. This case was settled when Apple caved and paid around $5 billion in overdue royalties. QCOM jumped 38% in the 2 days surrounding this settlement. Even with the sharp decline in price today, QCOM is still up 23.5% YTD, outperforming S&P 500 by almost 9 percentage points. As a shareholder or potential investor, we need to assess the chances of this ruling being reversed and if it is not reversed how negatively will this impact Qualcomms income statement. Considering that a significant portion of the firms profits are coming from licensing fees, I would speculate that if this decision isnt reversed there will be a substantial material effect on QCOMs bottom-line. This will not only decrease their immediate revenue base, but it will also increase competition in an already overly competitive space. Story continues The Chip Industry Above is a chart showing earnings growth over the last 2 years and expected earnings over the next 4 quarters. As you can see, the industry is extremely cyclical, as demand fluctuates with consumer trends. In 2017 a lot of growth was being driven by cryptocurrency miners that needed vast amounts of processing power in order to profit off of mining these coins. This industry has turned south, as the marginal costs increased and marginal profits decreased. Cloud computing also spread its reach in 2017/2018, buying up as much processing power as possible to gain a competitive edge in this fast growing industry. I think the demand for this processing power has largely been met and only to be revitalized as the industry shifts to meet consumer needs. The chip industry is also affected by smartphone demand, which has seen declines in the last year or so as the industry matures. Innovation in smartphones has also hit a speed bump as developers struggle to add new and exciting features to their phones to attract buyers. Semiconductor Performance Semiconductors (blue) have underperformed the market (red) over the past 52-weeks, with a massive dip in the last month. The cyclical nature of the semiconductor business makes it very sensitive to economic factors. The escalated trade conditions between the US and China is the leading cause of these stocks taking a 16.5% haircut in the last 4 weeks. If Trump is able to negotiate a favorable trade deal soon, I am confident that semi stocks like MU, AVGO, and INTC will see some positive returns. Take Away Be wary of investing in Qualcomm as the negative impact of the anti-trust violation comes to fruition. I believe that if this ruling stands, QCOM will have quite a bit more downside potential. The cyclical semiconductor industry is something to continue to keep an eye on, especially as US-China trade tensions ease. The industry is expected to have negative EPS growth throughout this year and turn positive again in 2020. This is all subject to change as economic conditions do. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year. See their latest picks free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Intel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research LONDON (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth saw the ticket from her first long-haul flight after her coronation when she visited British Airways' Heathrow headquarters on Thursday to mark the airline's centenary. The ticket was for a trip to Jamaica with her husband Philip in November 1953. "Name of passenger: HM Queen Elizabeth II" it read, specifying that the trip would be from London to Montego Bay. Staff dressed in various British Airways uniforms from the 1930s to the present day greeted the Queen as she was shown highlights from the airline's history. Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T), a forerunner of British Airways, started the world's first daily international scheduled air service between London and Paris on August 25 1919. Several mergers later, British Airways was founded in 1974, and privatised in 1987. It is now part of International Airlines Group, created by the merger of British Airways and Iberia in 2011. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison) Quentin Tarantino got prickly yesterday after he was called on giving Margot Robbie not a great deal to do in his new movie. Robbie plays Sharon Tate in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the wife of Roman Polanski who was murdered in their home by members of the Manson Family. But during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie made its premiere on Tuesday, one reporter questioned the Pulp Fiction director why Robbie has so few lines. Read more: Six-minute ovation for new Tarantino movie at Cannes Quentin, you have put Margot Robbie, a very talented actress, actor, in your film, she said. She was with Leonardo in Wolf of Wall Street, I, Tonya, a person with a great deal of acting talent - and yet you havent really given her many lines in the movie. Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate (Credit: Sony) I guess that was a deliberate choice on your part and I just wanted to know why that was that we dont hear her actually speaking very much. Tarantino, seeming visibly irritated by the question, shot back: Well I just reject your hypothesis. Read more: Tarantino poster criticised for air brushing Margot Robbie He said nothing more, leaving Robbie to break the palpable awkwardness. I always look into the character, and what the character is supposed to serve. I think the moments that I got on screen gave an opportunity to honour Sharon, she said. I think think the tragedy was ultimately the loss of innocence and to really show those wonderful sides of her, I think could be adequately done without speaking. The movie premiered to rave reviews, and six-minute standing ovation from the audience at Cannes, where Tarantino made his name with Pulp Fiction 25 years earlier. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up TV western actor, and Brad Pitt as his confidant and stunt double, as the navigate the underbelly of late 60s Hollywood. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood arrives in the UK on August 14. (Reuters) - Weather forecasters on Wednesday expected drenching rains to roll into the storm-ravaged U.S. southern and central states, where thunderstorms and tornadoes killed at least three people and triggered widespread flooding. More than 30 tornadoes struck a swath from Texas to Iowa since Monday, according to the National Weather Service, and residents in at least three Oklahoma riverfront communities were urged to evacuate due to flooding. One person was killed and another was injured when a tornado struck the rural town of Adair, Iowa, about 50 miles (80 km)west of Des Moines, at about 1:30 a.m. local time, the weather service said. While the weakening storm system moved into the Great Lakes region early Wednesday, another system was expected to brew Wednesday night into Thursday, said Brian Hurley, a forecaster with the service's Weather Prediction Center. "The southern Plains can't catch a break," Hurley said. "That whole area is still under the gun." Rainfall is predicted to be about 2 inches (5 cm) across eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and into western Missouri, with localized spots getting up to 5 inches (13 cm), he said. In Oklahoma, heavy rainfall prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to plan to increase the water flow at the Keystone Dam on the Arkansas River by nearly 30%, putting some low-lying communities at risk. State emergency officials issued evacuation advisories for residents in parts of the Tulsa suburb of Sand Springs, Fort Gibson, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Tulsa, and Webbers Falls, 70 miles (113 km) southeast of Tulsa. "At this point it is voluntary," Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokesman Jerry Lojka said by phone. "The major concern is that all of those communities are right on the Arkansas River," said Lojka. "Theyre pretty close to flood stage as it is and if they increase the flow, theyre afraid that its going to go over its banks." Story continues In Missouri, cresting rivers prompted Governor Mike Parson to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday. Forecasters said the Missouri River was expected to crest on Thursday at more than 32 feet (9.75 meters) at the state capital, Jefferson City. Local media said that would be 2 feet (61 cm) higher than the city's levees. Two people died in a traffic accident late Monday on a rain-slicked Missouri highway, police said. Another seven people were injured in Wheatland when a tornado struck the Lucas Oil Speedway. (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis) How do burglars target houses? (Picture: Getty) For a lot of people, being burgled is their worst nightmare. So is there anything you can do to reduce the chances of burglars picking your home to break into? According to former police detective and Crimewatch presenter Rav Wilding, yes you can. Wilding, who spent two years on a burglary unit whilst serving as a police officer, said he had picked up plenty of tips from burglars on exactly how they pick which houses to target. The TV presenter shares the tips on the latest episode of Yahoo UK and YouGovs podcast Britain Is a Nation Of..., which looks at crime. Rav Wilding spent two years working on a burglary unit while serving as a police officer (Picture: Jon Furniss/Invision/AP) A burglar will look at a row of houses in a street and they will just simply pick the easiest one to get into, Wilding told the podcast. They will say, Whats the easiest one? Which ones the most well lit? Okay, Im not going to that one. Which ones got a big hedge that the front doors behind? Okay, thats good because I can hide behind it - no-one can see me going in there. Which ones got a burglar alarm? Actually that one Im not going to try, that one hasnt got a burglar alarm next door so Ill try that one. Its almost like [the board game] Guess Who, thats how they would target a home. Listen to the full episode of Britain is a Nation of... below Burglars will also choose homes that look unoccupied, including looking at letterboxes to see if flyers pushed through them are still there an hour later, suggesting someone is away or out. The Crimewatch presenters advice to prevent burglars targeting your home is simple: Basically dont make your house look like its an easy target. This survey was made possible by YouGovs panel of 6 million respondents. Join the trend and share your opinions with the world today. Fort Worth (United States) (AFP) - Civil aviation regulators from around the world failed to make a determination Thursday on when Boeing's popular 737 MAX aircraft can return to the skies after being grounded following two deadly crashes. "The only timetable is to make sure the aircraft is safe to fly," Daniel Elwell, acting head of the US Federal Aviation Administration, said at the conclusion of the day-long meeting in Texas. There was "enthusiastic agreement to continue the dialogue," he said, but acknowledged that "each country has to make its own decision." "If they unground relatively close to when we unground I think it would help with public confidence," Elwell said, while adding that: "We can't be driven by some arbitrary timeline." Until the 737 MAX crashes in Ethiopia in March and Indonesia in October which left a combined 346 people dead, common practice was that air regulators would follow the assessment of the agency overseeing the model, in this case the FAA. On Wednesday, Elwell threw cold water on hopes of a speedy resolution, after revealing Boeing had held off submitting a proposed software fix for review after his agency raised additional questions. "Once we have addressed the information requests from the FAA, we will be ready to schedule a certification test flight and submit final certification documentation," Boeing said in a statement. Investigators have focused on the MAX's anti-stall Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System in inquiries into the two deadly crashes. Boeing last week said the MCAS update was ready for the certification process, and US airlines were hoping the planes could be back in the skies in time for part of the summer travel season. But Elwell on Thursday said the process could take one month, two months or longer. "It is all determined by what we find in our analysis of the application," he said on CNBC. Story continues Once Boeing has submitted all documentation, the FAA will conduct a test flight and detailed analysis to evaluate the safety of the software. Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst at Teal Group, said Boeing wants to avoid having to repeat the process. "There's a lot at stake in terms of the first impression by the world's regulators," he told AFP. US air carriers that operate the 737 MAX, including American Airlines, Southwest and United, have said they hope to have the planes flying again by mid-August at the latest. The FAA's reputation has taken a beating since the March crash, and faced accusations of an overly cozy relationship with the aviation giant. Other aviation authorities now appear less likely to follow the US agency. Michel Merluzeau of Air Insight Research, said American officials could end the 737 MAX's grounding toward the end of summer, with authorities in other countries following suit "several months" later. "We're headed for a return to service that could drag on in time," he said. - 'Frank discussion' - Elwell said regulators also have yet to decide on changes to pilot training once the adjustments have been approved. The United States has differed with a number of countries on this issue, including Canada. Washington believes training on computers or tablets is sufficient for seasoned pilots but Ottawa wants to require training on flight simulators. Transport Canada said it had "full confidence" in the FAA and its processes, but did not rule out the possibility that pilots of 737 MAX jets would be required to receive simulator training. Nicholas Robinson, director-general of civil aviation, told Canadian media the training was a "possible option" but added it was too early to say if it would be mandatory. The European Aviation Safety Agency, Canada and Brazil are among countries saying they will conduct their own evaluations of the MCAS fix. What China, the first country to ground the 737 MAX, will do is also an unknown given the flare-up in trade frictions with the United States. About five dozen representatives from 33 countries accepted the FAA's invitation to attend the regulators' conference in Texas. Elwell said the closed-door meeting involved "frank questions and a frank discussion," adding that his counterparts wanted "clarifications" on US procedures. Regaining public trust will take time, according to opinion polls conducted by Southwest showing that many passengers are not yet ready to get back aboard a 737 MAX jet. And pilots also have qualms. "Before the Boeing MAX's return to service, we need answers and transparency," the European Cockpit Association said Thursday in a statement. The organization, which represents 38,000 pilots from 36 countries, said it was "deeply disturbing" that the FAA and Boeing were considering a return to service while not disclosing "the many challenging questions prompted by the MAX design philosophy." Beyond Boeing's reputation, the 737 MAX crisis comes at a major financial cost, given that the plane represented 80 percent of the company's order backlog as of the end of last month. The company, which has suspended deliveries, is only paid at the moment of delivery and will have to indemnify air carriers for losses. TAMPA, Fla. President Donald Trumps reported plan to pardon a series of accused and convicted war criminals on Memorial Day is not popular with retired special operations leaders attending a conference here. Its not going to have a good effect on the force, said a retired senior special operations officer. People might see it as supporting the troops. Its not supporting the troops. This will not go well. The New York Times reported May 18 that the White House was expediting the paperwork required to pardon individuals involved in a series of high-profile war crimes. Those mentioned include: Special Warfare Operator Chief Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL charged with shooting civilians and killing a prisoner; Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, a Special Forces officer accused of murdering an unarmed prisoner; a group of Marines who urinated on a Taliban fighters corpse; and Nicholas Slatten, a former sergeant in the Armys 82nd Airborne Division who was convicted of murder for his part in the killing of 14 Iraqis in Baghdads Nisour Square in 2007 while working as a security contractor for Blackwater. President Donald Trump delivers a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House, May 22, 2019, in Washington. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP) The White House declined to comment on the record about the possibility of those pardons, and Trump has given no recent public indications that he plans to do so. Earlier this month, however, Trump pardoned Michael Behenna, who served five years in prison after being convicted of murdering a prisoner as a lieutenant in the Armys 101st Airborne Division. That single pardon drew sharp public criticism from some former military personnel. Now special operations veterans attending the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference are highly critical of Trumps reported plan to pardon more convicted and accused war criminals. Michael Behenna answers a question during a news conference, May 8, 2019, in Oklahoma City. Behenna has been pardoned from his 2009 conviction for killing an Iraqi prisoner. (Photo: Sue Ogrocki/AP) Youre sending a signal out there that we as a country dont have the appropriate moral values to recognize right and wrong, said retired Brig. Gen. Howard Yellen, a former deputy commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The pardons would send a message that you can go out there in the heat of battle, in the fog of war, and be able to commit a law of land warfare crime, and not receive any punitive actions for it, that you can act with impunity, he said. Story continues If Trump pardons Gallagher on Memorial Day, it will be before the SEALs court-martial, which was scheduled to begin on May 28, but was delayed this week by the judge following claims that the Navy prosecutors spied on defense attorneys and a reporter). The retired senior special operations officer said the notion of pardoning someone accused of war crimes without even allowing the military justice system to play out would be the most damaging aspect of what Trump was reported to be planning. I cannot imagine a case where it would benefit good order and discipline to preemptively pardon someone without letting the process work, he said. You will not find anybody who thinks this is a good idea. The Navys case against Gallagher is reportedly based on accusations from other SEALs in his unit, including numerous subordinates, raising concerns that a preemptive pardon would inhibit junior service members from speaking out in the future. Youve got a guy, half of his own platoon came forward to testify against him, said the retired senior special operations officer. If that gets cut off, whos ever going to speak up again? Such fears are overblown, according to retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Mike Hall, who served as the senior enlisted adviser for all U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010. Trumps reported plans are unfortunate, but the armed forces culture of adherence to the law means service members are still likely to report serious wrongdoing in the future, said Hall, who also served as the command sergeant of Joint Special Operations Command from 2000 to 2001. The military has a long history of knowing right and wrong and that culture starts to get embedded in you on day one of basic training or boot camp, Hall said. However, Hall said he found the presidents reported plan to issue the pardons a little bit appalling because it amounted to a second-guessing of the military justice system, which is a very fair system, he said. It quite frankly leans very heavily toward the rights of the accused. Yellen said he was also concerned that the message sent by any pardons would undercut the efforts of military leaders at all levels to reinforce standards and the law of armed conflict regarding the treatment of prisoners and civilians on the battlefield. Youre a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine out there in the field, your chain of command is talking about good order and discipline and in the back of your mind youre saying, Yeah, but, hey, if something goes wrong Ill get a pardon for it later on, said Yellen, who commanded the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment from 1997 to 1999. Im concerned that were inculcating an ethic that is not in the norms of the United States military and what we put out there on a day-to-day basis. Special Warfare Operator Edward R. Gallagher is accused by fellow SEALs of stabbing an injured teenage Islamic State fighter in the neck. (Photo: Navy) But a retired Special Forces colonel who has commanded in combat disagreed that the pardons would encourage U.S. service members to commit future war crimes. It wont spread, it wont contribute to ill discipline, he said. Nobodys going to be able to count on the president pardoning them if they do something wrong. The special operations veterans were particularly infuriated at the idea that Trump might choose Memorial Day to announce the pardons. I cant think of a more inappropriate day to do it, Hall said. Its a complete misunderstanding of what Memorial Day is about. Yellen said he had been asked to give a Memorial Day speech in his hometown of Gallatin, Tenn. Im very concerned Im talking about the honor and the sacrifice of heroes who went to battle to protect the national and foreign interests of our country, and while Im talking about these heroes, the president is talking about alleged war criminals, he said. Asked whether it would be appropriate for Trump to announce the pardons on Memorial Day, the retired Special Forces colonel who has commanded in combat paused for several seconds before answering. I dont think you should do anything on Memorial Day except what Memorial Day is made for, he said. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Citing Reuters report, health groups push tech firms to police tobacco marketing More than 100 public health and anti-tobacco organizations are calling on Facebook Inc, Instagram, Twitter and Snap Inc to take "swift action" to curb advertising of tobacco products on their platforms. The organizations' letter to the firms cited a recent Reuters report https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philipmorris-ecigs-instagram-exclusiv/exclusive-philip-morris-suspends-social-media-campaign-after-reuters-exposes-young-influencers-idUSKCN1SH02K documenting how cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc has used young personalities on Instagram to sell a new "heated tobacco" product called IQOS. Novartis CEO plans gene therapy price 'far lower' than $4 million to $5 million range Novartis AG's top executive said on Wednesday it expects to price its gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy far lower than the $4 million to $5 million figure the Swiss drugmaker has said it could be worth. U.S. regulators are expected to make a decision this month on whether to approve Zolgensma, a one-time therapy seen as a potential long-term solution for the rare disease that is the leading genetic cause of death in infants. The company has previously said it could price the treatment in a range of $1.5 million to $5 million. In landmark case, Brazil sues top tobacco firms to recover public health costs Brazil is suing the world's largest cigarette makers, British American Tobacco Plc and Philip Morris International, in a landmark case aimed at recovering the public health treatment costs of tobacco-related diseases over the last five years. The Brazilian solicitor general's office, known as the AGU, announced the lawsuit late on Tuesday against the two multinational companies and their Brazilian subsidiaries, who produce most of the cigarettes sold in the country. Story continues Venezuela turns to Russia, Cuba, China in health crisis Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government is increasingly turning to allies Cuba, China and Russia to offset a health crisis caused by U.S. sanctions, a minister said on Wednesday. Venezuelans have been suffering dire shortages of medicines and health equipment for several years as it has spiraled into economic chaos and political conflict. Parents get conflicting advice about mixing infant formula National and international pediatric and health organizations should develop a uniform set of guidelines around infant formulas, says a group of pediatric experts. Several existing recommendations from top groups contradict one another, especially when it comes to the temperature of water used to mix formula and when to mix it, note the authors of a commentary in the journal Pediatrics. U.S. measles outbreak spreads to Maine, 25th state to report case Maine became the 25th U.S. state to confirm a case of measles amid the country's worst outbreak of the disease in a quarter century, as state medical officials on Wednesday reported that a child was infected but is now fully recovered. The afflicted school-aged child from Somerset County, whose measles case was confirmed on Monday, was vaccinated and had no complications while the disease ran its course, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said. PG&E wins court approval to set up $105 million wildfire assistance fund PG&E Corp may set up a $105 million housing fund for victims of 2017 and 2018 wildfires in California, which set records for devastation and were blamed on the utility's equipment, the judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the investor-owned power producer ruled on Wednesday. Creditors, which include wildfire victims, are fighting for funds as PG&E navigates bankruptcy stemming from the blazes and as the state plans for increasingly long and dangerous fire seasons its officials attribute to climate change. Congo wants more use of Merck vaccine rather than J&J newcomer: minister Democratic Republic of Congo called on Wednesday for Merck's experimental Ebola vaccine to be fully licensed to facilitate its use in the Ebola-hit country, while saying Johnson & Johnson's rival drug would complicate matters. Both vaccines are experimental drugs that can be used under strictly controlled research protocols but Merck's has been used throughout the outbreak and has proven highly effective, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. U.S. judge appoints Ken Feinberg mediator for Bayer Roundup settlement talks A U.S. judge on Wednesday appointed prominent attorney Kenneth Feinberg as mediator for court-mandated settlement talks in the federal litigation over allegations that Bayer AG's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused cancer. Feinberg has been instructed to meet with lawyers for Bayer and plaintiffs within the next 14 days, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said during a court hearing on Wednesday. Children of opioid users more likely to attempt suicide: U.S. study The U.S. opioid crisis is taking a toll on children of users as a study published on Wednesday showed they were more likely to attempt suicide. The study in JAMA Psychiatry published by the American Medical Association found children whose parents were prescribed opioids were twice as likely to attempt suicide as the offspring of people who did not use those drugs. Following is a summary of current health news briefs. WHO drug pricing talks may fail to end secrecy, activists fear Governments are working on a drug pricing transparency deal at the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual assembly, but activists said on Thursday they fear crucial costs may be left out, enabling pharmaceutical firms to keep prices high. Campaigners say some drugs are exorbitantly priced, even though they are often developed with public funding, and health providers often pay far too much, since governments negotiate prices without knowing what the treatment cost to develop. Exclusive: JPMorgan cuts ties with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma - sources JPMorgan Chase & Co has cut ties with Purdue Pharma LP over the OxyContin maker's alleged role in the U.S. opioid crisis, forcing it to find a new bank to manage cash and bill payments, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The move makes JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, the most high-profile corporation known to have distanced itself from Purdue and its wealthy owners, the Sackler family, amid thousands of lawsuits alleging the company pushed addictive painkillers while downplaying their abuse and overdose risks. Swimming, s'mores and shots: Camps harden vaccine rules in U.S. measles outbreak As the United States battles its worst measles outbreak in 25 years, summer camps are tightening their policies on vaccines, with some prepared to turn away children whose parents opted not to vaccinate them against the disease. With more than 10 million American children attending summer day and overnight camps, camp owners and industry associations said they are urging parents to follow medical experts' advice to prevent their camps from becoming transmission sites for the highly contagious and sometimes deadly illness. GSK's shingles vaccine approved for use in China in adults aged 50 and above GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Thursday its shingles vaccine had been approved for use in China in adults aged 50 and above. Shingrix was launched in 2017 and has witnessed robust growth, with the British drugmaker predicting the sale of the vaccine to be "significantly" more than 1 billion pounds in 2019. Story continues 'Smart' hearing aids would identify speakers in crowded room People wearing hearing aids often struggle to differentiate between speakers in a crowded environment, but a small experiment suggests that brain-controlled assistive hearing devices would be able to detect which voice the user is paying attention to, and enhance it. To do this, the devices would need to separate individual voices in the room, then decode a user's brainwaves to identify the one the user is giving the most attention, the study authors write in the journal Science Advances. Novartis has 25 blockbusters in the pipeline: CEO Novartis has 25 potential blockbuster treatments in development, the company said ahead of a management event in the United States on Thursday. "Our pipeline is industry-leading with more than 25 potential blockbusters and this pace of innovation positions Novartis well for the future," said Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan in a statement. African swine fever threatens French deli meats producers French deli meats makers are being squeezed by a surge in pork prices linked to an African swine fever epidemic that has decimated the pig herd in China, they said on Thursday, warning of potential bankruptcies in the sector. African swine fever, a highly contagious virus, has spread to every province on the Chinese mainland since August last year, killing millions of animals and prompting China - the world's biggest pork producer - to turn to imports earlier this year. Lens replacement because of cataracts may improve sleep (Reuters Health) - Seniors who get new lenses implanted during cataract surgery may not only see better but also experience better sleep, suggests a new study of how light entering the eye regulates the body's internal clock. In the small laboratory study, researchers determined that people with new lenses spent more time in deep sleep and performed better on tests of cognition than healthy age-matched individuals, according to the results published in JAMA Ophthalmology. U.N. creates new Ebola chief role to tackle security, political issues in Congo The United Nations named an Emergency Ebola Response Coordinator on Thursday, creating a new position to boost efforts to contain a 10-month epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed more than 1,200 people. The drive to rein in the deadly virus has been hampered by attacks on treatment centers by armed groups operating in Congos lawless east as well as by distrust among local residents, many of whom view the disease as a conspiracy. Weight-training may help reduce hot flashes Postmenopausal women can fight off hot flashes and night sweats by pumping iron, a new clinical trial shows. "Resistance training is already recommended for all women always, but now we can see it may be effective also for hot flashes around menopause," Dr. Emilia Berin of Linkoping University in Sweden, who led the study, told Reuters Health. Moscow (AFP) - A Russian court on Thursday upheld a six-year jail sentence for "extremism" for a Danish Jehovah's Witness in a case that has drawn worldwide condemnation. In the first such conviction since Russia outlawed the religious movement in 2017, 46-year-old Dennis Christensen was originally sentenced to six years in prison in February. Christensen -- who moved to Russia as an adult and is married to a Russian -- appealed, but a court in the southwestern city of Oryol upheld the sentence on Thursday. It was not yet known when he would start his prison term. The case has drawn widespread condemnation, notably from Denmark and the European Union, but also from other foreign governments. A spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses in New York, Paul Gillies, accused Russia of returning to Soviet-style crackdowns on religious believers. "Reminiscent of the Soviet-era, in Russia it is again a crime to be a peaceful Christian believer," Gillies said. Rights group Amnesty International called Christensen a "prisoner of conscience jailed for his faith." It said that, since Christensen's conviction, the homes of more than 115 Jehovah's Witnesses have been raided in Russia, with 74 criminal cases being brought. "This brings the total number of Jehovah's Witnesses under investigation in the country to 188," the rights group said in a statement. "Today's decision sends a bleak message that reprisals will continue and much worse may still come," it warned. Christensen has said that he "never committed any criminal acts." Russian authorities have detained several Jehovah's Witnesses following the Dane's arrest, some of whom have publicly said they were tortured in custody. Russia brands the US evangelical Christian movement, which was set up in the late 19th century and preaches non-violence, as a totalitarian sect and in 2017 designated it an extremist organisation and ordered its dissolution in the country. Earlier this year, the UN criticised Russia's definition of extremism as too vague and urged Moscow to release those imprisoned for exercising their religious freedom. Moscow (AFP) - A Russian tabloid on Thursday published what it said was an audio recording of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned along with his daughter in Britain last year. The Skripals were discovered unconscious in the English town of Salisbury in March 2018 after they were poisoned by what investigators said was a highly toxic nerve agent. UK authorities say the Skripals recovered from the attack and are kept in a secret location under the protection of the British state. The popular Moskovsky Komsomolets daily published the 30-second recording on its website, saying it was the voice of the former double agent talking to his Russia-based niece, Viktoria Skripal. If authentic, the audio would be the first the outside world has heard from the former spy since the attack in the English city of Salisbury that sparked a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and London. While his daughter Yulia Skripal released a video statement last May, calling for her family's privacy to be respected, her father has not addressed the media and his whereabouts are unknown. But Viktoria Skripal has given frequent interviews to Russian press and TV. The Russian tabloid said Skripal called his niece to wish her well on May 9, the day Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany, and left a message on the voicemail. "Everything is fine with me, with us, with Yulechka (diminutive for Yulia) also," the male voice in the recording is heard saying. "I wanted to know how you are." "Phone calls between Sergei Skripal and his family are a private matter," a spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said. It was "disturbing that their privacy appears to have been abused in this way," the spokesperson added. The mass circulation daily claimed it was the second time Skripal had contacted his relative, who lives in Yaroslavl, a city northeast of Moscow. He first called his relatives, the paper said, after Viktoria's husband was beaten, allegedly after a man had insulted her for being related to a defector, in April. After the attack, the British government said the military grade nerve agent was produced in Russia and the attempted assassination was "almost certainly" approved by the Russian state. Moscow has denied involvement. Kigali (Rwanda) (AFP) - A rebel leader accused of orchestrating deadly attacks in Rwanda's border regions pleaded guilty Thursday to terrorism and other charges, and admitted to working with foreign governments against Kigali. The admission of conspiracy by Callixte Nsabimana, the spokesman for the National Liberation Front (FLN), risks further escalating tensions between Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and his immediate neighbours, whom he has accused of spying. Nsabimana was arrested last month for his involvement with FLN, an insurgent movement blamed for attacks inside Rwanda from a forested area near Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nsabimana plead guilty to 16 charges including terrorism and murder, and offered an unconditional apology for his crimes. "I apologise for all things I did," he told the court. "I want to declare that my work with FLN is over, and anything else they do from now on is their business, not mine. I would like to apologise to the president, those that we injured and the families of those who died. I apologise to all Rwandans." His lawyer requested bail, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The prosecution opposed bail, declaring Nsabimana a flight risk. In December last year, Nsabimana claimed responsibility for setting fire to passenger buses in Nyungwe Forest -- a region popular among tourists coming to see endangered mountain gorillas -- which led to the death of two people and many injuries. Those attacks prompted many Western governments including France, Germany, Canada, and Australia to advise their nationals against travel to the area. A number of rebel groups opposed to Kagame -- who has ruled for decades and pursued his political opponents at home and abroad -- have proliferated just over Rwanda's borders in remote forest regions of DR Congo and Burundi. In his guilty plea, Nsabimana admitted to collaborating with Burundi's intelligence services and Uganda's military. Story continues "We asked them for military and diplomatic support against Rwanda, and they were willing to help us," he said. Kagame has accused his neighbours of meddling in Rwanda's affairs and sponsoring armed movements against his government in Kigali. In February, he ordered the border with Uganda shut, and ties with Burundi have long been sour. The FLN is the armed wing of the Rwandan Movement for Democratic Change, a political opposition group founded by Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier whose actions during the 1994 genocide were depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster Hotel Rwanda. Rusesabagina, in a video posted to YouTube in December, said the FLN was seeking to "liberate" Rwanda from an oppressive government in Kigali. "Many Rwandans are taken by security forces and are never seen again," said Rusesabagina, who has lived in Belgium since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The FLN is also affiliated with the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), another rebel group based in DR Congo, which occasionally carries out cross-border attacks against Rwandan forces. By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Safaricom will start a joint venture with Vodacom to acquire the intellectual property rights to the popular M-Pesa mobile financial services platform from Britain's Vodafone, Safaricom's CEO said on Thursday. The 12 million euro ($13.4 million) deal will let both purchasers make significant savings in royalties paid to Vodafone and expand the service to new African markets, said Bob Collymore, Safaricom's CEO. "We are taking ownership of M-Pesa, the brand and the intellectual property. Joint ownership between us and Vodacom and we then use that as a platform into running into other markets across the continent," Collymore told Reuters in an interview. Safaricom, the most profitable company in East Africa, pays 2 percent of its annual M-Pesa revenue to Vodafone. Revenue from M-Pesa stood at 75 billion shillings ($741 million) in Safaricom's financial year to the end of March. Vodacom, a South African operator which owns 35 percent of Safaricom, pays 5 percent in an intellectual property fee to Vodafone from its M-Pesa business, which is mainly in Tanzania. "More important than the significant savings is about us determining the future, the roadmap of M-Pesa because at the moment the roadmap is determined by Vodafone," Collymore said. "Given that the bulk of the M-Pesa business is in Africa, between Tanzania and Kenya, it is right for us to be determinants." The acquisition of the intellectual property rights by the new joint venture will allow the partners to more easily develop local products, Collymore said, pointing to Fuliza, an M-Pesa overdraft facility launched in Kenya in January. Fuliza, which is operated jointly with two local banks, has garnered 8.8 million users who have borrowed a combined 45 billion shillings, Safaricom said earlier this month. Apart from developing new products based on the M-Pesa platform, Safaricom and Vodacom also want to launch into other African markets. Collymore cited Ethiopia, where economic liberalization plans put in place by a new prime minister last year have left firms scrambling to position themselves for entry. "We are watching Ethiopia closely because as we see the liberalization of the markets, both the mobile payments market, the telecoms market and the banking sector, we think there could be opportunities," he said. Vodafone holds a 5% stake in Safaricom. Safaricom's plan to form a joint venture with Vodacom and acquire the intellectual property rights to M-Pesa still requires regulatory and shareholder approvals in South Africa. It also requires regulatory approval in Kenya, Collymore said. "We are putting everything in place just subject to getting the right approvals," he said, adding the joint venture should be set up and the deal with Vodafone completed this year. (Editing by Mark Potter) The anti-abortion Democrat Dan Lipinski will need to raise his own money. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP/REX/Shutterstock In a major win for pro-choice activists specifically and for progressive Democrats generally who dont like their partys reflexive support for each and every congressional incumbent, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Cheri Bustos has canceled a DCCC fundraiser for her fellow Illinois House member Dan Lipinski, whos in a tough primary against an opponent more in line with Democratic positions on abortion and other issues. The New York Times has the story: Ms. Bustos did not say directly why she was backing out of the planned $1,000-per-person breakfast in Chicago next month for Representative Daniel Lipinski, an Illinois Democrat facing a progressive primary challenger who supports abortion rights. But she left little doubt her decision was driven by her partys anger over the new abortion laws in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and elsewhere and rising fears that Roe v. Wade could be in jeopardy. Im proud to have a 100 percent pro-choice voting record and Im deeply alarmed by the rapidly escalating attacks on womens access to reproductive care in several states, Ms. Bustos said in a statement. As my colleague Sarah Jones reported earlier this month, an array of progressive and reproductive-rights groups had defied DCCC warnings against support for Lipinskis primary opponent, Marie Newman (who gave him a close race in 2018): The DCCC recently formalized a policy that penalizes vendors and consultants who work for insurgent candidates taking on incumbent Democrats. A consultant who signs on to work for Newmans campaign can expect to be blocked from working for the DCCC a significant disincentive. Last month Politico reported that Newmans campaign had already lost four consultants as a result of the blacklist. But Mondays endorsements could tip the odds back in Newmans favor. Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America are major allies for the Democratic Party, and their support may well embolden consultants to defy the blacklist. The canceled fundraiser signals that Bustos and indirectly the House Democratic leadership may be throwing in the towel on Lipinski, or at least making him pay his own freight. We will now, of course, hear alarums about Lipinski being purged by angry leftists who can no longer tolerate a big tent party and are driving anti-abortion Democrats into the arms of the GOP. Trouble is, Lipinskis Cook County district is safely Democratic enough that any tent erected by Newman will likely be more than big enough. And the broader principle here isnt an ideological litmus test but rather the willingness of the House leadership and the party Establishment to accept primary challenges to incumbents in the right circumstances. Lipinski strayed from Democratic loyalty on issues other than abortion: He opposed, for example, the Affordable Care Act and wouldnt support Barack Obamas reelection. Hes rightly on his own. Photo: Victoria Bilsborough/Unsplash If you're a fan of the arts, mark your calendars: there's plenty to do when it comes to artsy events in San Antonio this week, from circus act to painting classes. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Circo Hermanos Vazquez From the event description: Circo Hermanos Vazquez delivers a turbo-charged take on the traditional circus that's sure to thrill audiences of all ages. From graceful dancers and daring aerial acrobats to crazy clowns and jaw-dropping feats of strength back on Earth, this gasp-inducing performance gathers tons of talent under the giant tent for a huge dose of family fun. When: Friday, May 24, 7:30 p.m. Where: Crossroads Boulevard, 310 Crossroads Blvd. Price: Free-$45 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Up to 50% Off BYOB Painting Class for One or Two From the Vintages Art Studio deal description: Painting preselected images such as Van Gogh masterworks and beachside landscapes while sipping on wine and beer. Art explores the great mysteries of the world, such as the secret of Mona Lisas smile and why the Renaissance was swarming with winged babies. Delve into the unknown with this voucher. Choose between two options. 1.) $21.99 for a three-hour BYOB painting class for one (a $40 value). 2.) $39.99 for a three-hour BYOB painting class for two (an $80 value). Where: 619 S.W. 24th St., Las Palmas Price: $22-39 (50 percent discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to get this deal Briscoe Western Art Museum Up to 55% Off Admission From the Briscoe Western Art Museum deal description: Museum traces the rich history of the American West through artwork, educational programs, and events. Choose between two options. 1.) $10 for admission for two (up to $20 value). 2.) $18 for admission for four (up to $40 value). Children 12 years old and under and active military members and their families receive free admission. Story continues Where: 210 W. Market St., Downtown Price: $10-18 (50 percent discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to score this deal Up to 39% Off Painting Class at Whimsy Art Studio From the Whimsy Art Studio deal description: While sipping BYOB beverages, adults of varying artistic skills bring blank canvases to life with provided paints. Art helps people reach a wide audience without shouting from the top of radio towers, provocatively dancing behind local TV field reporter or tying speech bubbles to migrating birds. Express yourself with this voucher. Choose between two options. 1.) $28 for a 2.5-hour BYOB painting class for one (a $45 value). 2.) $55 for a 2.5-hour BYOB painting class for two (a $90 value). Using provided supplies, guests of varying art skills paint a predetermined subject such as a cowboy boot or a bouquet of daisies. Guests alternate brushstrokes with sips of BYOB beverages, which can be poured into provided glasses. Where: 2211 N.W. Military Highway, Castle Hills Price: $28 (38 percent discount off regular price) Click here for more details, and to nab this deal This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: San Diego Biotechnology Network/Facebook San Diego-based therapeutics company Gossamer Bio has secured $150 million in post IPO debt funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced May 2 and financed by MidCap Financial. According to its Crunchbase profile, "Gossamer Bio is a San Diego-based company focused on the discovery and development of novel and differentiated therapeutic products, to address high unmet needs amongst various targeted patient populations. Founded by the former Receptos executive team, Gossamer Bios strategy will be to leverage an asset-rich in-licensing environment, with a focus on areas of high unmet need, utilizing a team with a strong track record of execution in immunology, inflammation, fibrosis and oncology." The four-year-old startup has raised two previous funding rounds, including a $230 million Series B round in 2018. The round brings total funding raised by San Diego companies in biotechnology over the past month to $374 million, and increase of $367 million from the month before. The local biotechnology industry has seen 54 funding rounds over the past year, securing a total of $2.2 billion in venture funding. In other local funding news, analytics company Tealium announced a $55 million Series F funding round on May 15, led by Silver Lake Waterman. According to Crunchbase, "Founded in 2008, Tealium is the leader in enterprise tag management and digital data distribution. Tealium brings order to marketing chaos and serves as a foundational data layer for all marketing cloud applications. Hundreds of top brands worldwide rely on Tealium to seamlessly manage their digital marketing deployments." Founded in 2008, the company has raised eight previous rounds, including a Series E round in 2017. This story was created automatically using local investment data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As a part of a push to increase the minimum wage for American workers, Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate, on Thursday waded into a dispute between McDonald's Corp and its employees. Sanders, one of the two dozen Democrats running for the Democratic presidential nomination, held a virtual town hall, taking questions from McDonald's workers in Dallas who protested the company's annual shareholders meeting. "You guys are being exploited," Sanders, speaking from Washington, told the workers. McDonald's is under fire from activist groups for failing to protect workers from sexual harassment and violence. Employees at the company are also demanding higher pay, and are backed by a labor organizing group, Fight for $15, which is pushing 2020 presidential candidates to support a $15 national minimum wage and advocate for union rights. As of Thursday morning, hundreds of McDonalds workers had walked off the job, according to the group. Other 2020 Democrats have gotten involved. On Thursday, Julian Castro, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, appeared with striking McDonald's workers in North Carolina. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Washington state Governor Jay Inslee were scheduled to stand with workers later in the day in Des Moines and Chicago, respectively. Sanders has made workers' rights and raising the minimum wage centerpieces of his presidential campaign. "If elected president, trust me, every worker in this country will make at least $15 an hour, and people will have the right to join unions," said Sanders. He added that he would be part of an effort to pressure the fast-food industry to raise wages. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Chicago-based McDonald's said it has more than 14,000 locations in the United States with some 850,000 workers. Since more than 90 percent of its restaurants are franchised, the company has maintained, it cannot set wage rates, bargain collectively with unions or be responsible for the behavior of employees in its franchises. On Tuesday, more than two dozen McDonald's workers across the country represented by Fight for $15 filed complaints of sexually harassment by coworkers or managers. Five of the workers filed lawsuits and the others lodged complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or with state agencies. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the candidates' actions or the labor protests generally. (Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) By Francois Murphy VIENNA, May 23 (Reuters) - Conservative Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has faced down the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) and now heads a caretaker cabinet with no FPO members after a secretly filmed video set off a scandal that scuppered their coalition. But to stay in power until an autumn snap election, and use that position to present himself as a victim of the political crisis rather than a midwife to it, he must survive a no-confidence vote, likely to be put forward when parliament meets on Monday, and held by Wednesday. Defeat could harm his chances in the election, which will most likely be held in September. It could also shift some blame for the scandal and its fallout away from the FPO, which has been one of the most successful anti-immigrant nationalist parties in Europe. President Alexander Van der Bellen, who has the power to dismiss the government, has said an orderly transition to the election is vital. Here is how this political crisis could pan out: KURZ MUDDLES THROUGH Kurz needs a simple majority to win the confidence vote, as long as at least 92 of the 183 members of parliament are present. But as his own People's Party (OVP), the biggest faction, only controls a third of the seats, he will need support - or at least abstentions - from either the FPO or the Social Democrats (SPO) - each of which controls just over a quarter of the seats. If the vote of no confidence is proposed on Monday, it may be put off for no more than two days if a fifth of members of parliament request it - something that Kurz could ensure. Much of the Freedom Party is furious at Kurz for ending their coalition and then persuading Van der Bellen to sack FPO Interior Minister Herbert Kickl. There is a strong chance it will vote against Kurz. That means the SPO is likely to determine the outcome. They are torn between voting against Kurz for his part in bringing the FPO to power and governing with them for 17 months on the one hand, and heeding the president's call for stability on the other. Story continues The SPO has said Kurz failed to consult it before filling departing FPO ministers' posts with civil servants. Kurz also collapsed the previous government, a coalition led by the SPO, in 2017. They accused each other of using underhand tactics and their relations have been sour ever since. To secure SPO backing, Kurz is likely to have to make concessions. The SPO's deputy leader has urged him to take steps such as increasing transparency on large party donations, which is aimed at Kurz's party, or bolster media freedom, which the FPO has been accused of trying to undermine. Both FPO and SPO have said they will wait until Monday to decide how to vote. KURZ FALLS If Kurz loses, Van der Bellen will have to nominate a new chancellor to put together a government. Given the current political situation, that person is likely to be an elder statesman. One option mentioned in Austrian media is Van der Bellen's popular predecessor, 80-year-old Heinz Fischer, who retired after the maximum two terms. Another is the retired head of the Constitutional Court, who is 71. SPO leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner has said that rather than replacing the departing FPO ministers with technocrats, Kurz should have stepped down to make way for an entirely non-partisan interim government. If Kurz loses, that is the most likely outcome. EU ELECTION - TRUMP CARD? The European Parliament election will be held in Austria on Sunday, the day before parliament meets, and Kurz hopes to use it to strengthen his hand. He has said the election is a chance to set Austria's future course and urged his party's supporters to turn out to vote, saying it would help him "very personally." Since a video sting felled far-right vice chancellor and FPO leader Heinz-Christian Strache last weekend, the little polling that has been done suggests Kurz's OVP has gained support. Kurz would hope to use that as leverage and argue that he has popular backing to stay in office. (Editing by Kevin Liffey) By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - The end of Theresa May's premiership will usher in an even more turbulent phase of Britain's exit from the European Union as any new leader is likely to seek to strike a tougher divorce deal, and there could be an election within months. Ultimately, the United Kingdom will either leave with a transition deal of some kind to smooth its way out, leave abruptly without a deal, or not leave at all. Another delay is likely. Boris Johnson, the face of the official Brexit campaign in 2016 and the bookmakers' favorite to succeed May, wants a harder divorce than May was proposing. Other top candidates for the job are Sajid Javid, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt. Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn wants to implement a range of classic socialist policies. He voted against EU membership in 1975, gave only reluctant backing to the 2016 campaign to remain in the EU, and has signaled only lukewarm backing for another referendum. 1) 'NO-DEAL' BREXIT Whoever succeeds May as Conservative Party leader will almost certainly have to demand a tougher Brexit deal from Brussels - yet the EU has repeatedly said it will not rework the Withdrawal Treaty. That means a confrontation of some kind with the bloc before the scheduled departure date of Oct. 31. To strengthen the hand of a future prime minister, some ministers want to step up preparations for a no-deal exit. This is the nightmare scenario for many big businesses; by stripping the world's fifth-largest economy of many foreign trade relationships at one stroke, it would dislocate supply chains across Europe and beyond. The political and social impact is unclear but, judging by past behavior, financial markets would be spooked and sterling would fall. While parliament has repeatedly demonstrated its opposition to a no-deal Brexit, it is unclear how it could actually be blocked if the government was intent on it. "Parliamentary procedure offers no route, and the only apparent way to blocking 'no deal' a vote of no confidence would be a massive gamble for (Conservative members of parliament)," wrote the non-aligned Institute of Government. Story continues The U.S. investment bank JPMorgan has raised its probability of a no-deal Brexit to 25%, saying its base case is that Boris Johnson will become prime minister, followed by a parliamentary election. In a research note to clients titled "Brexit: Time to be afraid, as 'no deal' probability rises," it put the likelihood of a delay to Britain's divorce date at 60%. BNP Paribas said on Thursday it now saw a 40% probability of a no-deal Brexit, up from 20% before. 2) ELECTION Britain's next national election is not due until 2022, but there are two ways a vote can be called sooner: - Two-thirds of parliament's 650 lawmakers vote in favor. - A motion of no confidence in the government is passed by a simple majority of lawmakers, and no party succeeds in winning the confidence of the House of Commons within 14 days. The outcome of an election would be unpredictable as both major parties are losing support to smaller parties such as Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Nationalist Party and the Greens. A Conservative majority government would be likely to implement a more decisive split from the EU; a Labour majority government would try to nationalize a number of strategic firms; or there could be a minority or coalition government. 3) NO BREXIT May's impending departure will, within Britain, reset the debate about how exactly to leave the EU. But it will also give time for opponents of the divorce to push for a new referendum or even a revocation of the 'Article 50' divorce notification. After years of saying she opposed another referendum, May's final gambit was to dangle the possibility of a second vote and closer trading arrangements. One route is through a Labour victory at an election; while Corbyn has talked vaguely about a 'confirmatory referendum', his party is clear it wants a second vote. Another is via parliament; in a power vacuum, lawmakers could simply vote for one, although the proposal has fallen short of a majority in previous votes. If parliament did decide to hold another EU referendum, Britain would have to ask for its departure date to be put back from the end of October to allow enough time for a campaign. Both sides of the Brexit divide are preparing for the possibility of another referendum, but it is far from clear how Britons would vote. If there were a majority for staying in the EU, Brexit supporters might demand a third and decisive vote. 4) NEW DEAL? Any new prime minister facing a remaining bloc that has seven times the population of Britain would find it extremely hard to negotiate an entirely new deal, especially after May spent over two years negotiating her agreement. The EU is ready to rework the Political Declaration on bilateral ties after Brexit, but not the legally binding Withdrawal Treaty - the part of the settlement that contains the Irish border 'backstop' arrangement, which undermined May's deal. In April, French President Emmanuel Macron argued against a one-year Brexit extension, saying it was too risky for EU institutions, though German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly sought to avert a disorderly departure, which would be certain to hurt the European economy. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Serko, Travel Tech Provider of Zeno, Nearly Doubles Headcount New Zealands Serko, one of the more interesting technology providers in corporate travel, is staffing up amid a serious push into North American and European markets. The company reported strong growth in its preliminary release of financial data for the 2019 fiscal year, but its earnings are weighed down by an intense cash burn to help it meet new demand for its products abroad. Serkos total operating revenue rose 28 percent in the last financial year and grew travel bookings by 17 percent year-over-year. While the company boasted strong recurring product revenue of $20.7 million nzd ($13.5 million), a 26 percent jump, it only posted $1.6 million nzd ($1 million) in profit after tax. A major factor that limited profit was increased investment in research and development, which totaled an 87 percent year-over-year increase, along with a 32 percent surge in operating expenses at the same time. The company grew from 106 employees to 173 over the last year, as the company staffs up to improve its products and better sell into international markets. Despite burning through cash, the outlook for Serko remains strong as it grows in order to meet the demands of new clients around the world. Demand for Zeno in North America has exceeded our in-house capacity to deliver, said Serko chairman Simon Botherway in a release. In response, we have boosted our resourcing and prioritized development as we configure Zeno to meet the operational and marketing needs of these customers Our expanded team and the use of contractors will result in the progressive delivery of the commercial Zeno rollout in the U.S., commencing early in the second half of the 2020 financial year. This investment will result in another year of cash burn; however this is an extraordinary level of investment, which is subsequently expected to normalize in the 2021 financial year. Serko now offers its Zeno booking tools through companies like CWT, ATPI, and Direct Travel. It acquired Interplx, an expense software provider, in early January for a reasonable price. It also maintains a strong presence in the Australian corporate travel market, providing services to travel companies like Flight Centre and Corporate Travel Management. Serkos 2019 financial outcome was much the same as it was in 2018, but 2020 will likely prove a pivotal year for the company as the effects of its international growth strategy come into view. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. Two years after the Philippine city of Marawi was overrun by jihadists it remains in ruins, with experts warning that stalled reconstruction efforts are bolstering the appeal of extremist groups in the volatile region. The May 23, 2017 invasion by gunmen waving the black flag of the Islamic State group sparked a five-month battle that shattered swathes of the southern city. Demolition of blast-pocked buildings has finally begun, but after several false starts the government does not expect rebuilding to be finished before the end of 2021. The delays have left about 100,000 residents in squalid relocation camps or sharing homes with relatives, feeding simmering anger among the displaced and providing a recruiting tool for extremists. "The narratives (to join IS) used to be about the Middle East and the plight of Muslims around the world," said Mouhammad Sharief, who co-founded a support group for Marawi's youth. "Now it's closer to our hearts because the narrative is Marawi," said 32-year-old Sharief, who was himself displaced by the fighting. Marawi is symbolically important because it is the Muslim capital of the nation's south, which has been locked in a cycle of poverty and extremism as separatist insurgencies have raged for decades. It is all the more significant as IS works to maintain a presence via its global affiliates following the fall of its self-proclaimed "caliphate" in the Middle East. IS regularly claims responsibility for killings of Philippine government troops and took credit for the January bombing of a Catholic cathedral during Sunday mass that was the nation's deadliest attack in years. - Duterte's orders - The organisation has links to local extremist networks, including the kidnap-for-ransom group Abu Sayyaf, that have long operated in the Philippines' restive south. In this context, an angry displaced population in Marawi is not a risk that can be ignored, experts say. Story continues "The government needs to be concerned about the threats of ISIS attracting young (locals) because of the ongoing resentment from the failure to rebuild and general anger over the destruction," analyst Sidney Jones told AFP. Fixing the city has been repeatedly delayed. A Chinese-led consortium initially tapped to spearhead the rehabilitation plan was disqualified over legal and financial issues. The clearing of debris, the first step before the actual construction, also hit a snag due to legal problems and the government hopes it will finally be finished in November. "This will be used as an example again of government discrimination against Muslims and the government neglect for the responsibility of rebuilding Marawi," said Francisco Lara, an adviser with peace group International Alert. The government says it is making progress in repairing the city, which was pounded by military air strikes and artillery as it struggled to dislodge the jihadists. "We are following the guidance and instructions of the president that he will see to it that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again," Eduardo del Rosario, a retired general overseeing the rebuilding efforts, told journalists this week. "We... are all undertaking the task given to us as per instruction of the president," he added. Though President Rodrigo Duterte has tried to portray himself as sensitive to the Philippines' Muslim minority, he has sent mixed signals about Marawi. He has claimed the city was home to illegal drug activity, a very serious accusation from a leader whose narcotics crackdown has killed over 5,300 alleged dealers and pushers. "I don't think that I should be spending for their buildings. People there have a lot of money," he said in reference to Marawi in an April speech. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The Trump White House has long been a place of internal strife, from the early days of Steve Bannon versus everyone else, to the daily sparring of John Kelly and his boss, to the current conflict between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton. According to a new report from CNN, Pompeo is frustrated by Bolton overstepping his role and circumventing the usual policy-making processes. Since becoming national security adviser in April 2018, Bolton has hosted fewer principals meetings involving high-level Cabinet officials and has pursued shorter, more informal briefs with the president and his staff. Generally, he has reengineered his role into a decision-making perch instead of a position meant to funnel information to the President, per CNN. At times, thats left other top-ranking officials, including Pompeo, feeling excluded and out of the loop. During a recent debate over how to handle North Korea, Bolton left Pompeo off messages he sent to the CIA that included a list of questions he wanted answered, according to a source in the intelligence community. That infuriated Pompeo, who as secretary of state has led negotiations with the North Koreans. In its replies to Bolton, the CIA started sharing information with both Bolton and Pompeo. Bolton is also reportedly holding meetings at the CIA headquarters as an easy way to keep State Department staffers from attending. One source told CNN that John Bolton is playing secretary of State. Pompeo and Bolton agree on foreign policy in broad strokes and are separated mostly by degrees of hawkishness. For example, Pompeo wants to put pressure on the Iranian government, while Bolton has long been an advocate for regime change in Tehran. But the two diverge in their approach to sharing information. While Pompeo tends to be careful in his media appearances, Bolton is happy to put himself at the forefront of policy debates on television and on Twitter, to the consternation of his counterpart at State. Bolton will also attempt to use lawmakers to forward his policy goals, reportedly sending staff to the Hill in advance of representatives meetings with Trump, hoping they will rebroadcast an idea of his in their sessions with the president. Not only is Boltons jockeying causing open conflict with Pompeo in national security meetings, Trump also appears to be frustrated by his unconventional adviser. The president reportedly said that he felt undermined by Bolton on North Korea, and that Bolton is pushing a war agenda on Iran, when he would prefer diplomatic talks. Naturally, the president also doesnt like his advisers public-facing role. Boltons Twitter presence and media appearances are not appreciated by the president, a source close to Bolton told CNN. He wants it to be all about him. By Tamara Mathias In U.S. medical society boardrooms, far from legislative chambers, social conflict is forcing board members to deal with laws that raise issues of medical ethics. Take the Association of University Radiologists (AUR), a group of more than a thousand medical school radiology faculty whose stated mission is to "inspire and educate the academic radiology community." In May 2017, less than a year before the organization's annual national meeting was to be held in Nashville, Tennessee, board members were notified of a new California law that barred reimbursements for state employees' travel to Tennessee because of that state's anti-LGBT laws. The law had been signed by then-Governor Jerry Brown in an effort to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. AUR board member Dr. Alexander Norbash, who chairs the department of radiology at the University of California, San Diego, told Reuters Health in a phone interview that faculty in his department were informed of the new law because they are state employees. Confronted with the fact that some members would be barred from attending the meeting - and faced with the possibility that holding the meeting in a state with discriminatory laws would violate the organization's code of ethics - the AUR board decided to consider moving the conference. In a case study report in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, Norbash and colleagues document the board's decision-making process that resulted in moving the conference from Tennessee to Florida. When making its decision, the board sought to minimize the financial impact on the Tennessee hotel that had been booked for the conference. It also deliberately excluded California when assessing replacement venues to ensure that Tennessee's revenue loss did not mean California would gain financially. "I do believe that these discussions are going to take place more frequently in boards than they have in the past," Norbash said. "I have been on the boards of organizations for a number of years and I have not seen this degree of involved discussion as I'm seeing now . . . Boards are becoming more mindful of their responsibility and board training is becoming more of a real thing." Story continues Norbash said selecting board members who have experience dealing with issues of ethics is important, particularly since such issues are often met with conflicting opinions. "Although organizations may rarely think about their mission and vision statements once they are created, familiarity with these statements may be highly beneficial when debating the best course for an organization to pursue, particularly when there are competing interests expressed within the group," he and his colleagues write in their report. Mark Meaney, executive director of the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder, reviewed the case study for Reuters Health. The AUR's process "was rigorous and based on respect for their own code of ethics," Meany said. "They concluded that they could not be complicit in discriminatory law and that they would be complicit if they held their annual conference in Tennessee." Meaney observed that when organizations take stances on ethical issues, they can sometimes effect political change. "There are instances where because of the amount of money an association brings to a city, that when that association threatens to pull out because of the discriminatory nature of laws or policies of a city, that city revisited those policies and . . . changed them," he said. Although the AUR board was able to agree on a course of action, not everyone in the organization supported the decision. At the relocated annual meeting, the group organized a panel discussion to review the issue. "It was a lively discussion," Norbash said. "We talked about the value of boycotting and what it actually achieves. Sometimes it's not as much as you anticipate, but at least it initiates a dialog." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2wlO9CR Journal of the American College of Radiology, online April 30, 2019. Dividend paying stocks like Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX:MND) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. A 3.0% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Monadelphous Group has some staying power. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying Monadelphous Group for its dividend - read on to learn more. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Monadelphous Group! ASX:MND Historical Dividend Yield, May 22nd 2019 Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Payout ratios Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Comparing dividend payments to a company's net profit after tax is a simple way of reality-checking whether a dividend is sustainable. Looking at the data, we can see that 83% of Monadelphous Group's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. It's paying out most of its earnings, which limits the amount that can be reinvested in the business. This may indicate limited need for further capital within the business, or highlight a commitment to paying a dividend. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. With a cash payout ratio of 175%, Monadelphous Group's dividend payments are poorly covered by cash flow. Paying out more than 100% of your free cash flow in dividends is generally not a long-term, sustainable state of affairs, so we think shareholders should watch this metric closely. While Monadelphous Group's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, free cash flow is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Monadelphous Group to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign. Story continues Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Monadelphous Group's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health. Dividend Volatility From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. Monadelphous Group has been paying dividends for a long time, but for the purpose of this analysis, we only examine the past 10 years of payments. The dividend has been cut by more than 20% on at least one occasion historically. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was AU$0.74 in 2009, compared to AU$0.57 last year. This works out to be a decline of approximately 2.6% per year over that time. Monadelphous Group's dividend has been cut sharply at least once, so it hasn't fallen by -2.6% every year, but this is a decent approximation of the long term change. Dividend Growth Potential With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to evaluate if earnings per share (EPS) are growing - it's not worth taking the risk on a dividend getting cut, unless you might be rewarded with larger dividends in future. In the last five years, Monadelphous Group's earnings per share have shrunk at approximately 17% per annum. If earnings continue to decline, the dividend may come under pressure. Every investor should make an assessment of whether the company is taking steps to stabilise the situation. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that Monadelphous Group's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. First, the company has a payout ratio that was within an average range for most dividend stocks, but it paid out virtually all of its generated cash flow. Earnings per share have been falling, and the company has cut its dividend at least once in the past. From a dividend perspective, this is a cause for concern. Using these criteria, Monadelphous Group looks quite suboptimal from a dividend investment perspective. Given that earnings are not growing, the dividend does not look nearly so attractive. Businesses can change though, and we think it would make sense to see what analysts are forecasting for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%. 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. A firebrand Sri Lankan Buddhist monk serving a six-year jail term for contempt of court was freed Thursday following a presidential pardon, officials said. Galagodaatte Gnanasara was driven out of the Welikada prison hospital where he had spent much of his sentence since his first imprisonment in June last year. The controversial monk left through a backdoor, avoiding journalists and hundreds of supporters who gathered outside. Gnanasara has been serving concurrent jail sentences extending up to six years over his disruptive behaviour in a lower court, and for intimidating a woman litigant in 2016. He has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against minority Muslims in the Buddhist-majority country, but denied involvement in anti-Muslim riots in 2014 that left four people dead. Officials said President Maithripala Sirisena pardoned Gnanasara days after releasing 762 other convicts to mark Vesak, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. Gnanasara's Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) group was not linked to anti-Muslim riots that left at least one dead after April 21 suicide bombings blamed on Islamic extremists which killed 258 people. Gnanasara has maintained close ties with Wirathu, an extremist monk based in Myanmar, whose hate speech has stoked religious tensions in that country. Wirathu visited Sri Lanka as a guest of Gnanasara shortly after the 2014 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka's coastal town of Aluthgama, and the duo vowed to fight what they called the threat to Buddhism from Islamic jihadists. Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.09 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.07. This compares to earnings of $0.18 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -28.57%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this shipping company would post earnings of $0.25 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.33, delivering a surprise of 32%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Star Bulk Carriers, which belongs to the Zacks Transportation - Shipping industry, posted revenues of $166.49 million for the quarter ended March 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.04%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $121.06 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Star Bulk Carriers shares have lost about 9.7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 14.3%. What's Next for Star Bulk Carriers? While Star Bulk Carriers has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Story continues Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Star Bulk Carriers was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.24 on $138.36 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.07 on $669.69 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Transportation - Shipping is currently in the top 37% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (SBLK) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Fast-food workers and union members protest outside of a McDonalds on February 12, 2018, in Oakland, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images As McDonalds shareholders conduct their annual meeting on Thursday, many of the fast-food chains workers are going out on strike. The action comes days after Fight for $15 and a Union announced a new round of sexual-harassment charges and lawsuits against McDonalds. In a press release, the campaign said the strikes also mark the launch of Fight for $15 2020, a worker-led effort to push candidates to embrace unions as the best way to tackle inequality and fight racism. The Fight for $15 campaign is not a union, but it demands one for low-wage workers, and it is supported by the Service Employees International Union. Its strategy for 2020 in some ways mirrors the endorsement processes rolled out by the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. The campaign says it will hold town halls in early primary states and host walk-a-days, where candidates will will experience a day in the life of McDonalds workers; the AFT, for example, announced a similar plan in March. But overall, Fight for $15s 2020 program is unique to it and the low-wage workers it organizes. It will deploy its own organizers in Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, and New Hampshire, and plans to hold protests at the first two Democratic debates. A voter-engagement program will launch in Michigan and Wisconsin, among other key battleground states, the campaign says. Its a major show of force from an increasingly successful movement, and presidential candidates are paying attention. Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Bill de Blasio, and Jay Inslee are joining workers on picket lines. Bernie Sanders emailed supporters on Wednesday, urging them to go to picket lines to support workers, and streamed a video town hall with McDonalds workers on Facebook. Claire Sandberg, the national organizing director for the Sanders campaign, told New York in a statement, As Bernie says, this is not just a campaign, its a movement. Were building the largest volunteer army in the nation not just to win the Democratic nomination, but also to mobilize people to show up in key fights where peoples lives and livelihoods are on the line. We are proud to uphold Bernies commitment to workers and we will continue to activate our supporters and urge them to join picket lines across the country to support the fight for a strong labor movement. Labor votes are valuable to Democratic candidates, though their commitment sometimes seems fickle. Joe Biden held his campaign kickoff rally at a Teamsters hall in Pittsburgh, but walked past protesting members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers to attend a fundraiser hosted by a Kaiser Permanente board member in California. (NUHW, which represents mental health clinicians at Kaiser Permanente, is engaged in a labor dispute with the hospital chain.) Other front-runners more consistently match rhetoric to action. Sanders has now repeatedly used his email list to encourage supporters to demonstrate at picket lines. Elizabeth Warren rallied with striking Stop & Shop workers in April. Kamala Harris unveiled a major policy proposal to raise teacher salaries in March, a gesture toward restive education unions. Support for a $15 minimum wage is also becoming mainstream among Democratic candidates, and in the party itself. But McDonalds workers, like union members, plan to keep up the pressure on the men and women who want to be their president. The campaigns 2020 strategy is designed to keep the movement and its emphasis on the right to organize firmly in the public eye. Candidates will have to work for their votes, just as they compete for union endorsements. Bleu Rainer, a McDonalds worker who is based in Tampa, Florida, and will join a demonstration in Dallas, Texas today, told New York that he hopes candidates will commit to a universal, $15 minimum wage. But he wants a union, too, and he wants candidates to listen. Weve had these same demands since 2012, when people thought we were crazy, he said. They thought that we would never receive the victory that we have received so far. And its only happened because workers like myself got up in the street, went on strike, did everything they can do, did whatever it took to get our rights and get $15 an hour because our families couldnt survive anything less. We want to make sure that every candidate in 2020 understands how serious we are about getting union rights and higher wages to work in this nation, he added. Justin Sullivan/Getty Trouble is once again brewing for Starbucks, the global coffee empire that Seattle billionaire Howard Schultzwho recently flirted with running for president before backing offspent three decades building into a highly-caffeinated behemoth. On Tuesday, the iconic companywhich claims more than $22 billion in annual revenue and more than 27,500 outlets in nearly 80 countrieswas slapped with two lawsuits alleging that thousands of customers who patronize Starbucks 100-odd Manhattan stores have been exposed to a potentially lethal pesticide. The lawsuits represent yet another public relations challenge for a company that has aggressively promoted, under Schultzs leadership, a socially conscious, environmentally-friendly corporate image. In April 2018, Starbucks suffered a PR catastrophe when the white manager of a Philadelphia store called the cops on two African-American men who were simply waiting there quietly for a business meeting, resulting in their arrest and temporary jailing. Now, a class-action lawsuit filed by 10 Starbucks customers in New York Supreme Court claims that Starbucks stores throughout Manhattan have for many years been permeated with a toxic pesticide called Dichlorvos (2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate or DDVP), which is highly poisonous and completely unfit for use in proximity to food, beverages and people. The Starbucks Music Store Under Howard Schultz Was Painfully White Starbucks knows about the poisonous qualities of DDVP and knows that it has been used in Starbucks stores throughout Manhattan, the lawsuit adds, but has neither taken appropriate action to stop its use nor informed customers about the dangerous conditions to which they have been unwittingly being exposed. The lawsuit continues: DDVP is an active ingredient emitted into the air by products called No-Pest Strips, which are only intended to be used in unoccupied structures to rid such structures of vermin, bugs and insects. However, they are explicitly not to be used anywhere human beings are present, and especially in situations where the pesticide could come into contact with food and/or drinks. The label on these products clearly warns: Do not use in the food/feed areas of food/feed processing or food/feed manufacturing or food/feed service establishments, and Do not use in kitchens, restaurants or areas where food is prepared or served. Story continues The federal governments Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says prolonged exposure to DDVPaccording to the lawsuitcan cause loss of bladder control, muscle tremors, labored breathing, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea, muscle weakness, convulsions and paralysis, and that more severe exposure can even result in coma, inability to breathe and death. In an email to The Daily Beast, a Starbucks spokesperson dismissed the class-action suit and a second lawsuit filed in federal court by a fired Starbucks store manager and two of the coffee companys extermination contractorswho claim Starbucks executives retaliated after they repeatedly warned of the pesticide dangersas a bogus attempt to shake the company down. The lawsuits filed by the plaintiffs and their attorneys lack merit and are an attempt to incite public fear for their own financial gain, the Starbucks spokesperson emailed. We go to great lengths to ensure the safety of our partners [the Starbucks term for employees] and customers, and we are confident they have not been put at risk. Starbucks takes the concerns of its partners very seriously and does not take action or retaliate against partners who express them. Top Progressive Firm Tells Dems to Leave Starbucks Alone The federal lawsuit claims that Starbucks stores located throughout Manhattancontinuously failed to take necessary or adequate measures to ensure their cleanliness and instead recklessly hid hazardous pesticides throughout their stores, including in close proximity to food and food preparation areas Moreover, this dangerous misconduct occurred systematically and with the apparent knowledge and approval of Starbucks Corporate Leadershipdespite repeated warnings that such conduct was dangerous and unlawful, the federal lawsuit asserts. Contrary to the allegations in the two lawsuits, however, a Starbucks insider claimed that the No-Pest Strips were immediately removed from the Manhattan stores on orders from management upon hearing reports that employees had used a product that violated company guidelines. No dates for the removal were provided, however, and attorneys for the plaintiffs speculated to The Daily Beast that Starbucks management ordered that the strips be gotten rid of only over the past month when the litigation was being organized. The Starbucks spokesperson, meanwhile, said outside experts working for the company had declared that the No-Pest Strips had not posed a health hazard. I can confirm that we consulted with experts who concluded that based on how the strips were used in stores, employees and customers were not exposed to health risk, the spokesperson emailed. Asked for the names and credentials of these experts, the spokesperson said: Due to the impending litigation, I unfortunately cannot share further details right now. Howard Schultz Gets Shouted Down At Book Event: Dont Help Elect Trump! Plaintiffs attorney Ariel Graff, who represents fired Starbucks store manager Rafael Fox (who claims he was wrongfully terminated after complaining repeatedly about the alleged health hazards) and pesticide control experts Paul DAuria and Jill Shwiner, emailed The Daily Beast that his clients reported the dangers directly on more than a dozen different occasions, in writing, to the managers responsible for Manhattan stores who could have easily ended the practice (but chose not to). Graff added: If Starbucks is claiming to have anonymous internal experts who are secretly authorizing it to use what are indisputably hazardous pesticides in an illegal manner in virtually all of its Manhattan stores for a period of yearsthats something the public ought to know because its utterly outrageous. Im proud to represent my clients for insisting that this cant disappear into the shadows at the expense of untold tens of thousands of unsuspecting customers, workers, and visitors who never agreed to expose themselves to an invisible poison gas when they step inside for a cup of coffee, Graff continued. Attorney David Gottlieb, who is representing the Starbucks customers in the class-action lawsuit, said that while the current litigation involves only the Manhattan stores, it could expand to New Yorks four other boroughs and even Starbucks stores nationwide, depending on the results of the discovery process. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Green Papaya Food Truck & Fast Casual. | Photo: Kevin J./Yelp Looking to try the best food trucks in town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable food trucks in Stockton, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture next time you're on the hunt. 1. Green Papaya Food Truck & Fast Casual Photo: sandra s./Yelp Topping the list is Green Papaya Food Truck & Fast Casual, specializing in Lao and Thai foods. Located at 7840 N. West Lane, Unit D4 in Weber Ranch, the food truck is the highest-rated budget-friendly food truck in Stockton, boasting four stars out of 295 reviews on Yelp. 2. Tacos La Palmita Photo: Melissa V./Yelp Next up is Swain Oaks's Tacos La Palmita, situated at Porter Avenue. With 4.5 stars out of 62 reviews on Yelp, the food truck, offering tacos and quesadillas, has proven to be a local favorite for those looking for a budget-friendly option. 3. El Tarasco Taco Truck Photo: Awesomeness S./Yelp El Tarasco Taco Truck, a food truck and Mexican spot, is another inexpensive go-to, serving tacos, burritos and quesadillas. With four stars out of 36 Yelp reviews, head over to 7711 Thornton Road to see for yourself. 4. Tacos Y Mariscos El Sabroso Photo: Antonio D. M./Yelp Over in Anderson, check out Tacos Y Mariscos El Sabroso, which has earned four stars out of 33 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the food truck, which offers torta Cubana and flautas Mexicanas on the menu, by heading over to 6632 Pacific Ave. Frontage E Road. 5. Tito's Mexican Grill Photo: Venessa A./Yelp Finally, there's Tito's Mexican Grill, an Anderson favorite with four stars out of 17 reviews. Stop by 6406 Pacific Ave. to hit up the food truck and Mexican spot for tacos, burritos and tortas next time you're looking to satisfy your cravings on a budget. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan's protest leaders said Thursday they will seek advice from demonstrators camped outside the army headquarters on how to break a deadlock in talks with the military on installing civilian rule. Talks between the two sides have been suspended since Monday after a disagreement over who should lead a new governing body -- a civilian or the military. The protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, said it would launch a campaign to urge demonstrators who have been rallying for weeks outside the army complex in Khartoum, and in other cities, to come up with a solution to overcome the impasse. "We will give them all the information, we will listen to their views on how they want to go ahead with the revolution," the umbrella protest group said in a statement. The group has led the nationwide protest movement against longtime leader Omar al-Bashir that finally led to his ouster on April 11. The generals who seized power after Bashir was toppled have resisted calls from the demonstrators and the international community to step down, insisting that a new governing body be headed by an officer. "We have one pending issue with the Transitional Military Council, the composition of the new sovereign council for which we have no agreement," said the alliance. The statement, addressing thousands of supporters camped outside army headquarters, warned of "alternatives" to put pressure on the general. "We have all alternatives, to launch a strike or a civil disobedience movement. The decision is yours," it said. On Thursday, employees of several companies as well as government institutions, including the central bank, held spontaneous demonstrations in parts of Khartoum in support of the protest movement, witnesses said. Later, scores of medics held a rally in front of a hospital in the capital. They expressed their solidarity with the protesters, chanting "Fall of the military rule" and "Civil rule is the people's decision". Story continues "We came from hospitals to make our voice heard that we are with the revolution from its beginning until now," said Omar Abdoun, a surgeon. Medics along with engineers and teachers played a key role in nationwide protests against Bashir's rule by forming the Sudanese Professionals Association, the group that initially launched the anti-Bashir campaign. The ruling military council meanwhile announced one of its members had left on "health grounds," adding that he had been replaced by Lieutenant General Jamaleddine Omar. Several rounds of talks have failed to finalise the makeup of the new ruling body, with both the generals and protest leaders insisting on their demands. By Gabriella Borter NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the United States battles its worst measles outbreak in 25 years, summer camps are tightening their policies on vaccines, with some prepared to turn away children whose parents opted not to vaccinate them against the disease. With more than 10 million American children attending summer day and overnight camps, camp owners and industry associations said they are urging parents to follow medical experts' advice to prevent their camps from becoming transmission sites for the highly contagious and sometimes deadly illness. Scott Rosmarin, whose family has operated Rosmarins Day Camp in Monroe, New York, for three generations, said he has already sent past camp families a letter warning that he will turn away longtime campers if their parents cite religious or philosophical objections to the vaccine. "I used to accept kids if they had a religious exemption, but now I'm not," Rosmarin said in a phone interview from his camp in the Hudson Valley, about 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. "If I lose a couple kids, I lose a couple kids ... You've got to do what's right." Rosmarin has particular reason to be concerned. New York State accounts for the majority of the almost 900 new measles cases reported in the United States this year, with outbreaks concentrated in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and Rockland County, north of the city. Health experts have called the rapid spread of the disease, which hit a 25th U.S. state with a confirmed case in Maine this week, "completely avoidable." They attribute the ongoing outbreak to a campaign of misinformation about the vaccine among a vocal fringe of parents who believe it may cause autism, although medical science has debunked this concern. The New York State Department of Health sent out a warning about the virus last month to the approximately 2,550 licensed summer camps in the state. The letter, seen by Reuters, emphasized that the department "strongly recommended" anyone working at or attending summer camps get the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which confers immunity to the disease. Story continues Health officials in the six other states where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring active outbreaks told Reuters they have not taken similar steps. 'BEING VERY STRICT' But camps across the country have sought counsel from their local health departments as they prepare to take the necessary steps to prevent the disease from spreading, said Kelley Freridge, a spokeswoman for the American Camp Association. "This year in particular, similar to schools and other places, camps are being very strict about allowing children without immunizations," said Susie Lupert, executive director of the camp association's New York and New Jersey chapter. Nationally, the group accredits some 3,100 camps that serve about 10.3 million children a year. That represents just a fraction of the total number of camps in the United States, which range from historic lakefront properties in New England, where children live in cabins, to camps focused on particular sport skills, to local day camps featuring crafts and songs. The Association of Camp Nursing, a national professional organization for camp nurses and other staff, posted a letter on its website this month warning that everyone at camp should be fully immunized unless they have a medical exemption. Summer camps are subject to a patchwork of state regulations, many of which do not stipulate whether they can admit children who have not received the measles vaccine for non-medical reasons. Some camps face no regulation at all. The New York State Department of Health regulates sleepaway and day camps that offer multiple activities, but state law exempts camps that focus on a single activity, such as theater, music or a sport. Ben Esposito, director of Camp Alvernia in Centerport, New York, east of New York City, said a couple of families had already withdrawn from camp since he sent out the updated vaccine policy. He said the lost business was worth it to protect his youngest campers who, at 3 years old, are too young to have received the second recommended dose of the MMR vaccine and are particularly vulnerable to contagion. "It is something that is very easy for folks to prevent," Esposito said. "We really value the health and safety of the children." (Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot) By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss government on Wednesday proposed new laws aimed at preventing extremist violence and forcing people including children deemed a threat to be registered with authorities, with house arrest a last resort in some cases. The measures, due now to be considered by Switzerland's parliament, are part of an evolving national action plan against violent extremism introduced in 2017. Though Switzerland has, so far, been spared deadly Islamist militant attacks that hit Germany, France and Belgium in recent years, it is wary and has been tracking hundreds of suspected extremist threats under a national jihad monitoring program. Federal Police Director Nicoletta della Valle told a news conference in Bern she expects "a few dozen people" could be affected by the expanded measures, should they be enacted. Such individuals, according to the legislation, could be made to report their whereabouts to police stations. Their passports could be confiscated, to prevent travel abroad, and they could be slapped with no-contact orders. People slated for deportation who are deemed threats would be incarcerated, while Swiss police would get new powers to covertly track suspected threats via electronic media. "House arrest is seen as a last resort and would require permission from the Swiss Federal Police as well as approval from the courts," a cabinet statement said. Such measures could last six months and be renewed. Children as young as 12 could be required to register with authorities, placed under surveillance or have passports confiscated. Those as young as 15 could get house arrest, according to the legislation. The 28-page legislative proposal stops short of allowing so-called "secure housing" for suspected extremists -- something Swiss law enforcement agencies had wanted - "because it was determined to have violated the European Convention on Human Rights," the cabinet said. Switzerland has prosecuted several extremism-related cases in recent years, including three Iraq men jailed in 2016 for between 42 and 56 months for belonging to or supporting a terrorist organization. In July, a trial is slated for a 48-year-old Kosovo native accused of breaking Swiss laws forbidding Islamic State and Al Qaeda. Of 92 Swiss "jihad travelers" identified as having journeyed to the Middle East to participate in violent conflicts since 2001, 31 are dead. Another 16 have returned to Switzerland, the government has said. "All this shows that while Switzerland is a safe country, there's still a threat," Interior Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said with respect to why the new measures are needed. (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Synopsys Inc. SNPS delivered second-quarter fiscal 2019 non-GAAP earnings of $1.16 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. The bottom line was also higher than the year-ago quarters figure of $1.08. Revenues grew 7.6% year over year to $836.2 million and also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $827 million. Growing demand for advanced technology, design, IP and security solutions is creating a solid market opportunity for Synopsys. Rising impact of AI, 5G, IoT and big data is boosting investments in new compute and machine-learning architectures, which is a tailwind. Further, with the growing need for enhanced security measures, demand for the companys solutions is shooting up. On the contrary, geo-political challenges coupled with uncertainties hovering around government actions to restrict trade with Huawei are a concern. As a result of the trade ban, management mentioned that the company is unable to book new business and recognition of currently contracted revenues is on hold. Quarter in Detail Time-Based Products revenues (66.8% of the total generated) came in at $558.3 million. Upfront revenues (17.1%) were $143.4 million. Maintenance and service revenues (16.1%) were $134.5 million. Segment wise, Semiconductor & System Design revenues (90% of total) were $753 million, up 5% year over year on the back of strength across the board. Within the segment, EDA revenues were $492.7 million and the same from IP & Systems Integration was $259.2 million. A solid progress in fusion technology and platform roll-out is driving EDA revenues. Notably, Fusion Design Platform, launched last November, is witnessing high demand. This, in turn, helped it generate strong results in the quarter under review. The companys Verification Continuum platform steadily witnesses excellent demand and competitive wins. Further, ZeBu Server 4 product is generating a broad-based adoption by customers designing storage, networking and AI chips. Story continues Software Integrity revenues grew 23% to 83 million, reaching approximately 10% of the total metric in the reported quarter. Geographically, Synopsys revenues in North America (52% of total) were $433.9 million while Revenues in Europe (10%) were $83.5 million. Asia Pacific revenues (29%) were $246.1 million whereas revenues in Japan (9%) were $72.7 million. Synopsys, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Synopsys, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Synopsys, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Synopsys, Inc. Quote Margins Per ASC 606, non-GAAP operating margin was 25.1%. Semiconductor & System Design delivered an adjusted operating margin of 26.8% while that of Software Integrity came in at 10%. Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Synopsys exited the fiscal second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $631.2 million compared with $592.3 million at the end of the previous quarter. During the quarter, the company generated $353 million of cash from operational activities. The company repurchased its stock worth $100 million, bringing the total so far this year to $129 million. Guidance For the fiscal third quarter, the companys revenues are likely to be in the $810-$850 million band. While non-GAAP costs and expenses are anticipated within $620-$640 million. Management assumes non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.07-$1.12. The company raised its guidance for earnings and also the top-end of revenues for fiscal 2019. Revenues are now projected in the range of $3.29-$3.35 billion compared with $3.29-$3.34 predicted earlier. Non-GAAP earnings per share for fiscal 2019 are forecast between $4.24 and $4.40, up from $4.20-$4.27 envisioned earlier. Double-digit growth in non-GAAP earnings is expected to be driven by revenue growth in high-single-digits, reflecting mid-to-high single digits for EDA, low-double-digits for IP and Software Integrity growth in the 20% range. The company predicts operating margin to be 24.2% in fiscal 2019. Software Integrity business is assumed to be profitable for the year. The company estimates to boost its operating margin in the high-20s by 2021 and in the longer-term, within the 30% range. Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider Synopsys currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A few other top-ranked stocks in the broader Computer and Technology sector are Cadence Design Systems CDNS, Rosetta Stone RST and Verint Systems VRNT, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . Long-term earnings growth rate for Cadence, Rosetta and Verint is projected at 12%, 12.5% and 11%, respectively. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Verint Systems Inc. (VRNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Rosetta Stone (RST) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research New York Post columnist John Crudele is at it again. Embarrassing himself with his anti-bitcoin rhetoric. | Source: AFP/Reuters/Shutterstock; Edited by CCN By CCN: Barely a week after New York Post columnist John Crudele crudely predicted that Bitcoin will soon be worth zero, the tabloid journalist has once again muddied the waters by calling on governments to launch a massive investigation on Bitcoin manipulation madness. Bitcoin manipulation madness calls for massive investigation https://t.co/Opl7PO7C90 pic.twitter.com/5mbLVy5ef0 New York Post (@nypost) May 23, 2019 Specifically, Crudele called on China, the EU and the US to probe those responsible for the manipulation of bitcoins price. Citing ties to Donald Trump, the tabloid journalist urged the U.S. president to order the investigation in his Wednesday column: And since I happen to know Donald Trump and I also happen to know that the president reads my column regularly, thats what Im suggesting right now. No need to even make a phone call. Genuine Concern or Just Hating on Bitcoin? It is not clear what prompted the tabloid columnist to call for the investigation into the manipulation of bitcoins price. However, there have been claims, sometimes theories fronted by crypto-skeptics, decrying the existence of price manipulation in the cryptocurrency markets. In Crudeles view, the investigations into the bitcoin market manipulation should be launched right away. This is before before gullible investors take another hit like they did when bitcoin fell from $20,000. Crudele, whose favorite bitcoin slur appears to be confidence game, also called the cryptocurrency a con thats worth nothing. Read the full story on CCN.com. NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - The newest round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports will cost the typical American household $831 annually, according to research on Thursday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Washington this month hiked existing tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10%, prompting Beijing to retaliate with its own levies on U.S. imports, as talks to end a 10-month trade war between the world's two largest economies stalled. Research published by the New York Fed estimated that as tariffs grow larger importers have more of an incentive to switch to goods from more expensive countries. That could end up reducing the revenue the U.S. is able to collect from its tariffs on Chinese goods, the authors of the report wrote. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Pete Buttigieg Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images Six days ago, Pete Buttigieg gave an interview to right-wing talk show host Hugh Hewitt. The subject of the Democratic Partys tradition of naming annual dinners after Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson came up, and Buttigieg thoughtfully distinguished between the two men: You know, over time, you develop and evolve on the things you choose to honor. And I think we know enough, especially Jackson, you know, you just look at what basically amounts to genocide that happened here. Jeffersons more problematic. You know, theres a lot to, of course, admire in his thinking and his philosophy. Then again, as you plunge into his writings, especially the notes on the state of Virginia, you know that he knew that slavery was wrong. HH: Yes. PB: And yet, he did it. Now were all morally conflicted human beings. And its not like were blotting him out of the history books, or deleting him from being the founder fathers. But you know, naming something after somebody confers a certain amount of honor. And at a time, I mean, the real reason I think theres a lot of pressure on this is the relationship between the past and the present, that were finding in a million different ways that racism isnt some curiosity out of the past that were embarrassed about but moved on from. Its alive, its well, its hurting people. And its one of the main reasons to be in politics today is to try to change or reverse the harms that went along with that. Then, wed better look for ways to live out and honor that principle, even in a symbolic thing. Hewitt defended his guest, explaining he hadnt called for taking down monuments to Jefferson. For a short time, Hewitts intervention tamped down the spread of the false account of Buttigiegs comment. But the lie is too useful to expire. Today Karl Rove uses it, in a column devoted to the hilarious premise that escalating rhetorical nuttiness could cause some independents to view the Democratic Party including its presidential candidates as out of sync with mainstream America. Here is Rove characterizing Buttigiegs comments: Naming something after somebody confers a certain amount of honor, the mayor opined. One of the main reasons to be in politics today is to try to change or reverse the harms of racism, so wed better look for ways to live out and honor that principle, even in a symbolic thing. If thats what he thinks, then why stop at renaming dinners? It seems Mr. Buttigieg would also want the U.S. to rename cities, counties, streets and colleges named for slaveholders including Washington and Madison as well as Jefferson. Note that Rove does not have anything even close to a quote from Buttigieg saying what Rove claims it said. Instead, in the next sentence, he hops to a why stop at slippery-slope argument, when Buttigieg has plenty of reasons to stop. In the following sentence he arrives at an it seems conclusion to support a complete fabrication of the original comments. By this method, you could argue that if Rove thinks owning slaves was fine, why stop at merely preserving all monuments to slaveowners? It seems Rove wants to build a new monument to Jefferson Davis next to the Lincoln memorial! Roves conclusion that people would vote for Trump over Buttigieg because of Buttigiegs rhetorical nuttiness seems rather, uh, farfetched. But it becomes partially plausible when you realize the Republican base gets information from liars like Rove. Master communicator and battle-hardened political scrapper, Narendra Modi fought his way off the streets to become one of India's most popular and polarising prime ministers. There is no middle ground between admirers and adversaries of the 68-year-old, who is on target to become the first leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win two five-year terms. After helping his father run a railway station tea stall in the small Gujarat town of Vadnagar, Modi ran away as a teenager to devote his life to politics. He now makes much of his humble roots, unashamedly portraying himself as India's tough guy protecting national security and Hindu values, and pressing the country's claims to be the world's rising power. At traditional rallies where he draws crowds tens of thousands, Modi fires up the masses like few leaders can. He is also a social media ace, with more than 47 million Twitter followers -- one of the world's top 20 most-followed accounts. A specially-formed channel, NaMo TV, pumped out his speeches and rallies throughout the election campaign. While doubts have been expressed over his economic reforms, little mud sticks to "NaMo". He proved adept at driving the national agenda, expertly baiting neighbouring Pakistan and the opposition Congress party -- especially its leader Rahul Gandhi. With his neat white beard and vast collection of headgear, Modi regaled rallies with stories of how he is "a son of soil", contrasting himself with a Gandhi he said was a spoiled member of a dynasty that has dominated India since independence. "They dislike me because of my humble origins. Can a party stoop so low?" he said at one event. "Yes, a person belonging to a poor family has become prime minister. They do not fail to hide their contempt for this fact. Yes, I sold tea, but I did not sell the nation." - Assiduously hard worker - Narendra Damodardas Modi is said to have joined the Hindu hardline Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) nationalist group at the age of eight, and left home at 18 -- abandoning an arranged marriage to become an RSS activist. Story continues An assiduously hard worker -- days off are rare -- Modi rose through the RSS ranks and then the BJP to become Gujarat's chief minister in 2001. Bolstering the economy of the western state and espousing outspoken nationalist causes provided the launchpad for him to lead the BJP into the 2014 general election. The country was seduced by his story and he won the biggest landslide in India's history, decimating Congress. But Modi is not without shadows in his history. After a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was set on fire killing about 60 people in 2002, riots broke out that left at least 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, dead. Modi was accused of complicity in stirring up the troubles, but a Supreme Court investigation team found there was not enough evidence for a case. Sometimes his comments come back to haunt him. While campaigning in 2014 he claimed to have a 56-inch muscle-man's chest to make tough decisions. His opponents and comedians still mock him as "Mr 56 inch". Modi has never given a press conference as prime minister, and critics say his rare television interviews are carefully stage-managed. "Mr Modi believes that he is the lord of India, just like the British believed," Rahul Gandhi said. But Modi's personalised politics were the defining issue of the Indian election, his party admits, and he carried the BJP -- attending up to five rallies a day during the campaign. He can be compared to founding prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in his ability to dominate the conversation, said Harsh Pant, an international relations professor at King's College in London. "Modi dominates the message in an extraordinary way," said Pant. "The young follow him because of his story, 'If I made it, then so can you'. He has the Nehruvian touch." Pant and others say, however, that Modi's real impact will only be revealed when he completes that second term. Logo of jester cap with thought bubble. Image source: The Motley Fool. Teekay Corp (NYSE: TK) Q1 2019 Earnings Call May 23, 2019, 11:00 a.m. ET Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: Operator Welcome to the Teekay Corporation's First Quarter 2019 Earnings Results Conference Call. During the call, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, you will be invited to participate in a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded. And now, for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to now turn the call over to Mr. Ken Hvid, Teekay's President and CEO. Please go ahead, sir. Lee Edwards -- CFA-Financial Analyst Before we begin, I'd like to direct all participants to our website www.teekay.com, where you'll find a copy of the first quarter of 2019 earnings presentation. Kenneth and Vince will review this presentation during today's conference call. Please allow me to remind you that our discussion today contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from results projected by those forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the first quarter 2019 earnings release and earnings presentation available on our website. I will now turn the call over to Vince to begin. Vincent Lok -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Thanks Lee, and thank you all for joining us today for Teekay Corporation's first quarter 2019 earnings conference call. I will review our first quarter results and Teekay Parent highlights before I hand over the call to Kenneth. Starting with Slide 3 of the presentation. In the first quarter, Teekay Corporation generated total adjusted EBITDA of $237 million which is up over 40% from the same period of the prior year. We also reported a consolidated adjusted net loss of $13 million or $0.13 per share, an improvement from an adjusted net loss of $18 million or $0.19 per share in the same period of the prior year. Our stronger first quarter consolidated results were driven by the start up of various growth projects across the Teekay Group, certain LNG carriers commencing new charters at higher rates and higher spot tanker rates. However our results were impacted by lower revenues from Teekay Parent's directly owned FPSO units as a result of some unplanned maintenance, low oil production and timing differences arising from the adoption of the new lease accounting standard on January 1, which in aggregate reduced revenues by approximately $8 million in the first quarter of 2019. We will cover this in more detail later in the presentation. Story continues Also in the quarter, Teekay Parent generated negative adjusted EBITDA of $2 million which includes EBITDA from our directly owned assets and cash distributions from our publicly traded Daughter Entities. This was down compared to the first quarter of 2018 mainly as a result of lower revenues from our three FPSOs as mentioned earlier, partially offset by a 36% increase in Teekay LNG's quarterly cash distribution during the quarter. For further details on our first quarter results as well as our second quarter outlook, please refer to the slides in the appendices to this presentation. In May, we completed the sale of our remaining interest in Teekay Offshore for total cash proceeds of $100 million and refinanced Teekay Parent's 2020 bond maturity with a new $250 million, 9.25% secured bond due in November 2022. I will touch on these transactions in more detail later in the presentation. We are also pleased to announce that earlier today we signed a one-year charter extension for the Banff FPSO out to August 2020 with Canadian Natural Resources for the Banff and Kyle fields in the UK sector of the North Sea. Turning to Slide 4. We believe we have now reached a positive turning point and are positioned to create greater long term value. Over the past few years, we have completed a number of initiatives with the objective of de-risking, delevering and preserving value and optionality. This has been challenging as we simultaneously had to execute on a very large project order book that was committed in a much stronger market than we had been facing over the last three to four years. Strategic transaction with Brookfield relating to Teekay Offshore in September 2017 was of critical importance. We raised $750 million of new capital and with Brookfield as a new controlling owner, eliminated over $500 million in Teekay Parent guarantees of Teekay Offshore liabilities. We also reduced guarantees of Teekay Tankers' debt facilities, completed over $2.5 billion of fixed rate gas projects and adopted more conservative financial policies to retain more capital to strengthen our balance sheet, including the recent elimination of Teekay Corporation's dividend in conjunction with the 2020 bond refinancing. In addition, after being approached by Brookfield in late April, we agreed to sell to them our remaining ownership interest in Teekay Offshore which was an important milestone in our evolution and is aligned with Teekay's strategy to simplify and focus on our core gas and tanker businesses. Importantly, the net proceeds from this divestment allowed us to further delever Teekay Parent's balance sheet while also enabling us to reduce the size of our new secured bond offering to $250 million and shorten the tenure to three and a half years which provides a more flexible and lower cost capital structure to better suit our delevering strategy going forward. The completion of these initiatives has provided a number of benefits including a stronger, more stable balance sheet, it positions us to benefit from a stronger outlook for our Daughter Entities and it provides the opportunity to maximize the value of Teekay Parent's existing FPSO units and our IDRs and Teekay LNG including potential monetization of these assets. Moving to Slide 5. Over the last three years, we have focused on delevering Teekay Parent's balance sheet. Since the beginning of 2018, we have paid all of Teekay Parent's secured bank debt facilities, while reducing our bond debt by over $180 million for a total gross debt reduction of over $260 million or almost 40%. And we expect to further delever our balance sheet through potential asset sales. In addition, we've reduced our Teekay Parent financial guarantees from approximately $750 million at the end of 2016 to $161 million as of March 31, 2019. Turning to Slide 6. Pro forma for the 2020 bond refinancing and the sale of Teekay Offshore that took place in early May, our net debt now stands at $347 million. With $65 million of cash on the balance sheet and $114 million of availability under our equity margin revolver which was reduced as a result of the sale of our Teekay Offshore common units that were collateralized under revolver, we have approximately $175 million of liquidity to support of operations and repay the remaining balance of our 2020 bond. The debt reduction since the beginning of 2018 and as a result of the 2020 bond refinancing, have resulted in cash interest savings of approximately $23 million per year to a run rate level of $35 million per year or $8.75 million per quarter, commencing in May of 2019. I will now turn the call over to Kenneth. Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Thank you, Vince. And first of all I just -- must apologize for my godfather voice here today. Now turning to Slide 7. We have a diversified business model. We're building growth with market-leading positions in each of our coal, gas, and tanker businesses, as well as exposure to offshore production through our three directly owned FPSOs. This provides us with stable and growing LNG cash flows, which makes up 68% of our invested capital that is supported by an unrivaled portfolio with a diverse customer base totaling over $10 billion of forward revenues with an average remaining contract duration of 12 years, with upside from our tanker cash flows, where we're well-positioned to benefit from a tanker market recovery. Turning to Slide 8. I will now provide an update on our three directly owned FPSOs. I'm pleased to report that earlier today we signed a one-year contract extension on the Banff FPSO to August 2020, on substantially similar terms with upside from a formula based on both oil price and production. Unfortunately, our FPSO results during the first quarter were negatively impacted by lower revenues from the Banff and Foinaven FPSOs, due to unplanned shutdowns and lower oil production, which reduced revenues by roughly $4 million and the adoption of the new lease accounting standard this quarter that resulted in deferring the recognition of approximately $4 million of revenues to future quarters. Excluding the impact of these items, the FPSO adjusted EBITDA would have been approximately $5 million during the first quarter. Unfortunately, we have continued to experience further downtime during the second quarter and despite an increase in oil prices, we expect the adjusted EBITDA for our three FPSOs in Q2 to range between negative $7 million to $2 million and oil prices between $60 and $80 per barrel. We're working with the customers and operational teams to avoid these unplanned shutdowns in the future and we will also be addressing the same in connection with our plant maintenance program for the Foinaven and Banff over the summer. With the Banff FPSO contract extended by another year, we are now focusing on addressing the negative financial performance on the Foinaven FPSO, which has contributed a total of negative $40 million of adjusted EBITDA since the beginning of 2017. Adjusting for the negative $10 million of adjusted EBITDA expected in Q2 for the Foinaven, our other two FPSO units are expected to generate positive $2 million to $7 million at oil prices between $60 and $80 per barrel, which includes some higher maintenance costs and additional downtime for the Banff during Q2. In addition to addressing the current operational issues, we continue to follow a strategy of contract extensions and potential sale of any or all of this -- of our three FPSOs. These units are needed by our customers to continue producing on their fields. In a relatively strong and constructive oil price environment, we believe this is the right strategy for maximum value creation on these units which are no longer considered core assets for us. I will continue -- I'll just briefly review the next four slides on our Daughter Entities as I will assume most of you listened in to their respective calls earlier today. On Slide 9, we have summarized Teekay LNG's recent results and highlights and the status of its growth projects. Teekay LNG Partners generated continued strong results with total adjusted EBITDA of up 35%, adjusted net income per unit up 51%, and adjusted earnings per unit up 79% compared to the same period of the prior year. Since February, Teekay LNG has secured one to three year charters on four LNG carriers locking in additional $70 million of adjusted EBITDA. Teekay LNG increased its quarterly cash distribution by 36%, commencing in the first quarter which will increase Teekay Parent's annual cash flows from the partnership to over $20 million in 2019. While Teekay LNG continues to focus on delevering its balance sheet, they may opportunistically repay -- repurchase units to create further value for unitholders should unit prices dip significantly below intrinsic value. Lastly, Teekay LNG reiterated its 2019 guidance which is significantly higher than 2018. Looking at the LNG Shipping market on slide 10, the fundamentals appear to be very strong at least for the next couple of years where demand for LNG carriers exceeding supply. Liquefaction capacity growth is expected to grow to more than 90 million tons of additional liquefaction capacity between 2018 and 2020 which leads to incremental demand for LNG shipping of over 90 LNG carriers during the same timeframe. We expect this demand to increase ton-mile growth of 12% in 2020 which would exceed anticipated low fleet supply growth of 7% in the same year which should further increase fleet utilization and charter rates. Turning to Slide 11. Teekay Tankers' reported total adjusted EBITDA of $63 million and adjusted net income of $15 million or $0.05 per share which significantly increased from adjusted EBITDA of $22 million and a net loss of $22 million or $0.08 per share respectively reported in the same period of the prior year. In addition, Teekay Tankers recently completed two financings which provides an additional $40 million of liquidity resulting in a current liquidity position of approximately $160 million. With a strong liquidity position, market leading positions and significant operating leverage, we believe Teekay Tankers is one of the best options for investors to benefit from an expected Tanker market recovery which I'll discuss shortly. Looking at the graph on the right, we highlight Teekay Tankers' significant operating leverage to a Tanker market recovery. If spot market -- if spot Tanker rates are admits cycle levels, Teekay Tankers' estimated annual free cash flow per share would be approximately $1 per share over the next 12 months, which is extremely attractive relative to its last closing price of $1.35. Turning to Slide 12. We look at our outlook for the conventional Tanker market which we believe is set to improve significantly from the second half of the year and into 2020. Tanker spot rates have shown resilience in the face of near-term headwinds, at the start of 2019 with TNK registering its highest Q1 earnings since 2016. Spot rates have subsequently softened during the second quarter which is typical at this time of year due to seasonally lower demand. The market also faces some near-term headwinds in the form of OPEC supply cuts, heavier than normal refinery maintenance and relatively high fleet growth at the start of the year. However, TNK spot earnings during Q2 to date are significantly higher year-on-year which shows that the market is fundamentally better balanced than 12 months ago. Looking at the second half of the year, we believe that the Tanker market is set to tighten considerably due to positive developments on both the demand and supply side. As Kevin talked about earlier today, but I just wanted to focus on the chart on the bottom right of the slide which illustrates our view of an improving freight market later this year and next as strong demand growth spurred by IMO 2020 and an increase in long haul oil movements is expected to outstrip fleet growth by a considerable margin. This should lead to a much firmer Tanker market starting in the second half of 2019 and continuing through 2020. I would like to finish the call today on Slide 13 which summarizes why we believe the Teekay Group is now positioned to create greater value. The energy markets are providing tailwinds for our businesses. Each of our companies has, and are expected to continue to strengthen financially. And our cash flows are growing, noting that there is more to come that has not yet been -- not yet been reflected in our financial results. As these factors continue to strengthen in unison, we believe they will increase the intrinsic value of our Daughter Entities and narrow the GAAP between current unit share prices and their respective intrinsic values, thereby, increasing Teekay's value. To illustrate this point, based on yesterday's closing share prices, for every 10% increase in our Daughter Entity unit and share prices, that translates into a value uplift to Teekay of just under $0.50 per share or approximately 12% based on yesterday's closing price. With that, operator, we're now available to take questions. Questions and Answers: Operator Thank you. At this time, we will open the floor for questions. (Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from Michael Webber with Wells Fargo. Michael Webber -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst Good morning, guys. How are you? Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Good. How are you? Vincent Lok -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Hi, Mike. Michael Webber -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst Good, good. First of all, congrats on the refi, now that's -- was something you guys have been working on for quite a while. And I kind of want to touch on that and kind of what you can do on a go forward basis in a second. But I wanted to first touch on the FPSO. So, you mentioned in the -- did a subsequent release where you extended the Banff for a year. I guess, one, can you talk to what the chartering prospects look for the other two FPSOs? And then two, we had heard (ph) you'd extend the contracts on those and ultimately look to sell them. Does the contract extension on the Banff for a year get you there? Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Yes, let's go through them one by one, Mike. So on Banff, I don't think a one year contract extension gets us to a sale, it doesn't materially change our position from a year ago. What it does give us though is more time for the operator to continue their assessment of the field. We know that they're looking at the potential further drilling there and there's still good gas flow. So we are in discussions in terms of if we were to extend the Banff for an even longer period, what kind of upgrades would we need to make to the unit to say keep it out there for another three to four years. So that's probably more what we would be focused on as it relates to Banff. Hummingbird, there isn't really much to report from when we reported last quarter. We're still on this contract that runs out until September 2020. And I think we commented on last quarter, we wouldn't expect a real move in terms of further development plans on that field until the second half of this year. So that we would still need to watch and of course following up on. And as it relates to Foinaven, as you know this is a legacy contract that hasn't created a lot of value for Teekay over the years. The Foinaven is obviously getting older, we have an extended maintenance period planned, scheduled for this summer. And we are again in dialogue with BP to see what we can do there. So I can't really comment on exactly where we're going to end up on Foinaven, but hopefully we can report something next quarter. Michael Webber -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst Got it. Okay, that's helpful. And then maybe just big picture, you know the Jan 2020 is kind of hovering over the story for quite a while. So largely getting that bind is helpful. Can you maybe talk a bit about -- for the first time -- where do you see taking Teekay, now that that's largely behind you. Obviously, you can only work with the tools you've got, but you've got TGP sitting, with two Daughter Entities and the Parent Entity. Can you just talk a bit about how you see the structure going forward? And to the point where you are deploying capital at the Teekay level at some point in the future where you think is an interesting place to look? Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Yes, I think you're absolutely right. I mean we have obviously had the 2020 bond facing us for the last couple of years, and a lot of the decisions were made over the past couple of years have been guided by coming into a position where we have a more sustainable capital structure post 2020. I think what you're hearing from both Kevin and from Mark is that, we've done a lot of work, we've been very prudent in our conservatism, I would say around our financial management of the balance sheet and the business there. For example in TGP, we have delivered $2.5 billion of projects and not raised any equity. We know and understand that, that has left the company with an elevated leverage. But as they also pointed out on their call, as we really start to delever rapidly here, we're building a lot of equity value. And that is what we look at as kind of the financial or strategic flexibility that we've been working on for the past number of years. We're not quite there in 2019 but we definitely are building that flexibility as we enter into 2020. And I think then we can really start looking and having more of these capital allocation discussions which is all about creating value as opposed to managing the business for liquidity which admittedly we've been doing over the past couple of years. Michael Webber -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst Got you. Okay. I appreciate the time, guys. Thanks. Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Thanks. Operator And that does conclude today's Q&A session. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Kenneth Hvid. Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Well, thanks for listening in today. We look forward to reporting back to you in August. Operator Thank you ladies and gentlemen. That concludes today's teleconference. You may now disconnect. Duration: 24 minutes Call participants: Lee Edwards -- CFA-Financial Analyst Vincent Lok -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Hvid -- President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Webber -- Wells Fargo -- Analyst More TK analysis All earnings call transcripts AlphaStreet Logo More From The Motley Fool This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. Motley Fool Transcribers has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. By Zeba Siddiqui BHOPAL, India, May 23 (Reuters) - A Hindu ascetic accused of plotting a bomb attack on Muslims in India defeated an opposition strongman by a big margin on Thursday as her ruling Hindu nationalist party won a massive victory in the country's general election. Pragya Thakur, contesting from the central city of Bhopal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is the first person accused of terrorism to be fielded by a major political group in India. Latest Election Commission data showed she had received 69 percent more votes than her opponent, Digvijaya Singh, a two-term chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state and a senior member of the main opposition Congress party. Final results are likely to come later in the day, but two TV stations said she had won, spooking many Muslims. "This will be a victory of religion," Thakur, clad in her usual saffron, told reporters. The 49-year-old - described as a pious nationalist, fiery orator and champion of women's rights by her family members - stoked a controversy this month by calling the killer of India's independence hero, Mohandas Gandhi, a patriot. Modi said he would never be able to forgive her for the remark. She has also boasted of her role in demolishing a mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya in 1992, which had sparked nationwide riots and killed about 2,000 people. The BJP has said Thakur was given an election ticket "so that the whole world can know that these accusations against her were fabricated." Many voters said Thakur's election was more a reflection of their desire to see Modi as prime minister for another term than anything else. "She's only popular because people are voting for Modi, otherwise people dont know her much," said Osama Khalid, a Muslim running a lemon juice stall by a busy street. "I had voted for Congress. Everything I have heard about Pragya Thakur is bad. She has spent time in jail." Story continues Thursday's victory completes Thakur's emergence to prominence alongside the rapid rise of a Hindu nationalist movement since Modi first took office in 2014, and which is showing increasing intolerance towards minority Muslims. Thakur, who is facing charges under an anti-terrorism law for plotting a bomb attack on Muslims in 2006, said this month that the election would deliver a "fitting reply" to those calling Gandhi's killer, Nathuram Godse, a terrorist. The BJP quickly distanced itself from the comments and Thakur later apologized. According to court filings, Thakur had planned attacks to avenge "jihadi activities" and the motorcycle on which the explosives were strapped was Thakur's. She denies all links to the attacks. (Writing by Sudarshan Varadhan Editing by Krishna N. Das and Nick Macfie) By Zeba Siddiqui BHOPAL, India (Reuters) - A Hindu ascetic accused of plotting a bomb attack on Muslims in India defeated an opposition strongman by a big margin on Thursday as her ruling Hindu nationalist party won a massive victory in the country's general election. Pragya Thakur, contesting from the central city of Bhopal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is the first person accused of terrorism to be fielded by a major political group in India. Latest Election Commission data showed she had received 69 percent more votes than her opponent, Digvijaya Singh, a two-term chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state and a senior member of the main opposition Congress party. Final results are likely to come later in the day, but two TV stations said she had won, spooking many Muslims. "This will be a victory of religion," Thakur, clad in her usual saffron, told reporters. The 49-year-old - described as a pious nationalist, fiery orator and champion of women's rights by her family members - stoked a controversy this month by calling the killer of India's independence hero, Mohandas Gandhi, a patriot. Modi said he would never be able to forgive her for the remark. She has also boasted of her role in demolishing a mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya in 1992, which had sparked nationwide riots and killed about 2,000 people. The BJP has said Thakur was given an election ticket "so that the whole world can know that these accusations against her were fabricated". Many voters said Thakur's election was more a reflection of their desire to see Modi as prime minister for another term than anything else. "She's only popular because people are voting for Modi, otherwise people dont know her much," said Osama Khalid, a Muslim running a lemon juice stall by a busy street. "I had voted for Congress. Everything I have heard about Pragya Thakur is bad. She has spent time in jail." Story continues Thursday's victory completes Thakur's emergence to prominence alongside the rapid rise of a Hindu nationalist movement since Modi first took office in 2014, and which is showing increasing intolerance towards minority Muslims. Thakur, who is facing charges under an anti-terrorism law for plotting a bomb attack on Muslims in 2006, said this month that the election would deliver a "fitting reply" to those calling Gandhi's killer, Nathuram Godse, a terrorist. The BJP quickly distanced itself from the comments and Thakur later apologised. According to court filings, Thakur had planned attacks to avenge "jihadi activities" and the motorcycle on which the explosives were strapped was Thakur's. She denies all links to the attacks. (Writing by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Krishna N. Das and Nick Macfie) Tesla shares rose for the first time in seven days even after more Wall Street analysts joined the growing list of brokerages concerned with the company's financial health. The latest downward revision came from Loup Ventures co-founder Gene Munster, who wrote that Tesla will likely fall short of delivery expectations this year as the trade war between the U.S. and China worsens. Munster lowered his 2019 delivery estimates by about 10% to 310,000 vehicles versus guidance in a range between 360,000 and 400,000. "First, we are now factoring in that Tesla deliveries will be impacted by tariffs entering China," Munster wrote. "Second, non-tariff factors that will impact China demand include Chinese consumers boycotting Tesla and Chinese officials adding complexity to the delivery process." Munster added that his estimate cut included a reduction in expected China deliveries to 40,000 vehicles from 70,000 vehicles. The new number implies that China would account for 13% of deliveries in 2019 versus a prior forecast of 25%. But despite the gloomy outlook, Tesla shares rose about 2% on Thursday. As of Wednesday's close, Tesla had declined by 17% since May 14, a $6.88 billion drop in the company's market value about equivalent to the size of Macy's or TripAdvisor. The share price had declined by more than 50% from its 52-week high by Wednesday's close. 'A distressed credit and restructuring story' Munster wasn't alone in his more sober outlook. In a private call with Morgan Stanley clients on Wednesday, analyst and longtime Tesla bull Adam Jonas cast doubts on the electric car marker and recent speculation that it would be bailed out by a larger tech company. "Tesla is not really seen as a growth story," Jonas said on the call, which CNBC heard in a recording. Today, "It seems like a distressed credit and restructuring story." Jonas went on to say that neither Amazon nor Apple rumored to once have made a bid for the Palo Alto carmaker would want to acquire the company. Story continues Those big tech giants "may not want to exposure themselves to the unlimited liability of being involved in owning a business where occasionally a car catches on fire, takes down a building, or accidentally kills a pedestrian or passenger," Jonas said. "The roads are very dangerous. There's a lot of stored energy in a vehicle. And the regulatory environment [around autonomous cars] has not had time to cure yet." The sharp drop in the company's equity value began last week after an e-mail surfaced in which CEO Elon Musk directed employees to cut spending and promised to personally review expenses. CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) Nihar Janga, an eighth-grader from Austin, Texas, with an already impressive array of awards, took home top honors Wednesday in the 31st annual National Geographic GeoBee, an elite test of geographic knowledge. Janga triumphed during a competition at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington. The student from Austin's Canyon Ridge Middle School was also a co-champion of the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee and a top-ten finalist in the 2018 GeoBee. The society also held the first-ever national-level competition of the GeoChallenge, a team competition that asked for innovative solutions to modern problems. This year's challenge: plastic pollution in our waterways. A team from Flushing Christian School in Flushing, New York, won by building a model filtration device to clear plastic debris from the Hudson River. The winning team will receive $25,000 plus support to implement their project. Janga will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an expedition to the Galapagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavour ll. Michael Rice performing during the filming for the Graham Norton Show at BBC Studioworks 6 Television Centre, Wood Lane, London, to be aired on BBC One on Friday evening. The Eurovision Song Contest have lowered the score for the UKs Michael Rice, despite being placed last. The scores for the contest - which saw the Netherlands Duncan Laurence crowned the winner with his song Arcade - have had to be revised due to the disqualification of the Belarusian jury for breaking the rules. Rice was placed in 26th place at the competition in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday night after scoring just 16 points, 3 of which came from the public vote. But the score for his song Bigger Than Us has now been lowered by five points to just 11 following the recalculation. Read more: Britain's Eurovision flop Michael Rice blames Brexit for finishing last The scores awarded for the final performances by the Belarusian jury were not counted after their first semi-final votes were revealed, in breach of the rules. The Eurovision Broadcast Union said it calculated a "substitute aggregated result" based on the results of other countries with similar voting records to determine the Belarusian jury scores for the final. But, "due to a human error an incorrect aggregated result was used". It added: "The EBU and its partners... deeply regret that this error was not identified earlier and will review the processes and controls in place to prevent this from happening again." Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands celebrates with the trophy during a press conference after winning the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest grand final with the song "Arcade" in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) The countries which finished in the first four places remain unchanged and the Netherlands is still the winner, actually gaining another six points under the recalculation, taking his total to 498 points. Italy, Russia and Switzerland made up the top four, all gaining extra points. Norway fell from fifth to sixth place. Read more: Madonna slammed by Israeli culture minister for political Eurovision performance Rice, 21, has blamed Brexit as the reason the UK was placed last. He said: I always knew I was going to come in this position because of Brexit. Do you know what? If it was Gary Barlow or Elton John, they still probably would have come last, too. Icelands could face punished after displaying Palestinian flags during the live song contest. Story continues In a statement, Eurovision said the consequences of this action will be discussed by the contests executive board. It said: In the live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, Hatari, the Icelandic act, briefly displayed small Palestinian banners whilst sat in the Green Room. The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and this directly contradicts the Contest rules. The banners were quickly removed and the consequences of this action will be discussed by the Reference Group (the Contests executive board) after the Contest. Madonna - who performed live at the event - also came under fire for displaying Israeli and Palestinian flags during her performance. Retirement can be a tricky subject, and there are so many questions to ask yourself as you're drafting your retirement plans. How much should you save? How will Social Security benefits factor into your retirement budget? Are you taking healthcare costs into account? For many people, though, one of the most important questions is this: where should you put your money? Most people choose to invest their retirement savings in a 401(k) or IRA, but not everyone knows whether they even have access to one of these accounts. In fact, nearly a third of Americans said they were unsure whether their employer offered a retirement savings account such as a 401(k), according to a survey from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards in partnership with Morning Consult. A 401(k) is a powerful retirement tool, and if you have access to one but aren't taking advantage of it, you could be missing out on some serious savings. Confused man with question marks above his head Image source: Getty Images Why the 401(k) is so powerful Both 401(k)s and IRAs have their advantages, but 401(k)s, in particular, offer a few key benefits. First, your employer may offer matching contributions -- which is essentially free money. Typically employers that offer this perk will match part or all of an employee's 401(k) contributions up to 3% to 6% of his or her salary. So, for instance, if you earn $50,000 per year and your employer will match 100% of contributions up to 3% of your salary, that's $1,500 per year you can receive from your employer simply by stashing money in your 401(k). That may not sound like winning the lottery, but matching contributions can potentially double your savings, making it easier to reach your retirement goals. Another key perk of 401(k)s is higher contribution limits. With an IRA, you're limited to saving a maximum of $6,000 per year, according to the IRS's 2019 guidelines. The contribution limit for 401(k)s, however, is $19,000 per year. Will most people contribute the full $19,000 every year? Probably not. But if you decide you want to kick your savings into high gear, you have the ability to save more with a 401(k). And those nearing retirement age can contribute even more -- workers age 50 and over can contribute an additional $6,000 per year to their 401(k). Story continues You may not be able to max out your 401(k), but there are still ways to ensure you're making the most of it. Taking full advantage of your retirement resources Even if you don't have much to save, if your employer offers matching contributions, do everything you can to earn the full match -- anything less and you're leaving money on the table. Contributing an additional $50 or so every month may not seem like it would make much of a difference, but if your employer is matching that money, it can amount to significant savings over time. For instance, say you're currently contributing $1,200 per year to your 401(k), and your employer will match your contributions up to $1,500 per year. If you continue saving $1,200 each year (and receiving an additional $1,200 per year from your employer), you'd have around $227,000 saved after 30 years, assuming a 7% annual rate of return on your investments. But if you upped your yearly contributions to $1,500 to earn the full match, you'd have around $283,000 saved. In other words, contributing an extra $25 per month on your end could result in an extra $56,000 over time. If you're struggling to find money to put toward retirement, you might try having part of your paycheck automatically transferred to your 401(k). When you don't even see that money in your bank account in the first place, it's easier to avoid spending it before you can save it. Don't forget to update your contributions as your income increases, too. Whether you earn a raise or snag a promotion, your retirement contributions should increase as well. Sometimes it's easier to save a percentage of your income rather than a set amount every month or year. When your goal is to save, say, 10% of your paycheck, your savings will automatically get a boost when your paychecks get bigger. Your 401(k) may still be confusing, so don't be afraid to ask for help. Sixty-one percent of companies offer one-on-one financial guidance, according to a survey from Alight Solutions, and 60% offer online counseling to help answer any questions. Talk to your human resources representative to see if your organization provides any retirement planning assistance. You don't (and shouldn't!) have to plan for retirement entirely on your own, and learning as much as you can about the resources you have available is the best way to ensure you're on the right track. More From The Motley Fool The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Ex-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Photo: Andrew Harrer - Pool/Getty Images On Tuesday, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a surprise appearance in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee to rag on President Trump. In the meeting, the purpose of which was unknown until the Washington Post revealed it Wednesday night, Tillerson told committee members that Trump was steamrolled by Vladimir Putin during the first meeting between the two leaders, which took place in Germany in 2017. Tillerson was invited to speak to the committee by chairman Eliot Engel, the New York congressman, and the former Exxon CEO was reportedly eager to do so. In the seven-hour session, Tillerson said the U.S. was not prepared for an extended sit-down between Trump and Putin in Hamburg. And the president was especially unprepared. We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted, an aide who was present for Tillersons remarks told the Post. There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing. Tillerson also reportedly offered criticism of Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, though it wasnt anything we havent heard before. Kushner, Tillerson said, projects overconfidence and a lack of historical knowledge the traits for which hes becoming best known. Claims about Trumps lack of preparation for the Putin meeting are not surprising. We know he has unending faith in his ability to make decisions purely on gut instinct and that he hates to read. But this type of preparation, or lack of preparation, is especially risky in a meeting with Putin, Russia expert Andrew Weiss told the Post: Putin is a very nimble adversary whos been at this for 20 years now. The Hamburg meeting sounds like it was one of Putins wildest dreams: a freewheeling backroom-style conversation with a U.S. president. News of Tillersons trash talk drew a response from Trump. First, to the Post, he gave a rather subdued statement that said, I was perfectly prepared for my meetings with Vladimir Putin. We did very well at those meetings. Then, Thursday morning, he got a little angrier, tweeting that Tillerson, who once reportedly called Trump a fucking moron, is wrong on substance and also dumb as a rock. Rex Tillerson, a man who is dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 Weve come a long way since December of 2016. The thing I like best about Rex Tillerson is that he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016 I have chosen one of the truly great business leaders of the world, Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, to be Secretary of State. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016 London (AFP) - British author and illustrator Judith Kerr, who wrote the cherished children's book "The Tiger Who Came To Tea", has died aged 95, her publisher HarperCollins announced on Thursday. The writer behind a host of other classic children's books, including "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" and "Mog the Forgetful Cat" passed away at home on Wednesday "following a short illness", it said. "It is with much sadness that we confirm the death of our beloved author and illustrator, Judith Kerr," HarperCollins said on Twitter. Ann-Janine Murtagh, the executive publisher of its children's books, said in a statement: "It has been the greatest honour and privilege to know and publish Judith Kerr. "She embraced life as one great big adventure and lived every day to the full." Kerr, one of Britain's most-loved children's authors, kept working well into her 90s, telling AFP in an interview last year that she had even picked up the pace in old age, drawing inspiration from events in her own long and event-filled life. She is best known for "The Tiger Who Came to Tea", released in 1968 and which became a global classic of children's literature, with at least five million copies sold and published in more than 30 languages. It tells of a girl and her mother interrupted at teatime by a huge, fluffy tiger who eats everything in sight before leaving again. Born in Berlin in 1923, Kerr's family fled Germany in the early 1930s after a policeman tipped off her father Alfred Kerr, a prominent Jewish writer, that the family was in danger from the rising Nazi power. The family first moved on to Paris before settling in London in 1936. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to childrens literature and Holocaust education. "Judith Kerr was a wonderful and inspiring person who was much loved by everyone at HarperCollins," the company's CEO Charlie Redmayne said on Thursday. "She was a brilliantly talented artist and storyteller who has left us an extraordinary body of work." By Sarah White and Johnny Cotton CAP D'ANTIBES, France, May 23 (Reuters) - From Pamela Anderson to Dua Lipa, the great and good of the movie and music world mingled at the Cannes Film Festival's most glamorous fixture on Thursday night, a fundraiser for AIDS research where stars including Mariah Carey were set to perform. Reality TV star and model Kendall Jenner, actors Antonio Banderas and Andie MacDowell, and designer Tommy Hilfiger were among guests at the swanky AmfAR dinner on the French Riviera, put on by the U.S.-based Foundation for AIDS Research. Attendees and AmfAR representatives said this year's event, also set to feature a performance by crooner Tom Jones, was particularly poignant, following medical breakthroughs in trying to find a cure for AIDS. An HIV-positive man in Britain became the second known adult worldwide to be cleared of the AIDS virus after he received a bone marrow transplant from an HIV-resistant donor, his doctors said in March. "As optimistic as we are going forward, this disease is nowhere near finishing," AmfAR board Chairman William Roedy told journalists ahead of the party on the grounds of the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, an exclusive hotel on the Cap d'Antibes, which juts out into the Mediterranean along the coast from Cannes. "We have to keep our foot on the pedal," he said. Australian actress Rebel Wilson presented one of the items on auction at the event, a marble Mickey Mouse statue, which sold for 450,000 euros ($503,235) after bids started at 50,000 euros. A stay on a private island off Tanzania went for 100,000 euros. A painting by Andy Warhol, a motorbike and a collection of designer dresses were also up for auction, as well as a stay in London that included a chance to meet Prince Charles and participate in events linked to his charitable foundation. Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein used to be a staple of the AmfAR event in Cannes. Last year's dinner was the first in his absence after he was embroiled in a scandal when more than 70 women accused him of sexual misconduct. ($1 = 0.8942 euros) (Reporting by Sarah White and Johnny Cotton; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) NEW DELHI (AP) Charismatic but polarizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi surged to a landslide victory in Indian elections, propelling his Hindu nationalist party to back-to-back majorities in parliament for the first time in decades. With most of the estimated 600 million votes counted by early Friday, Modi's reelection mirrored a trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil to Italy, often by promoting a tough security stance and protectionist trade policies. India's elections were seen as a referendum on Modi's Hindu-first politics, which critics say have bred intolerance, as well as his muscular stance on archrival Pakistan, with whom India nearly went to war earlier this year. NEW DELHI (AP) The man in the saffron robe sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, back to the wall of a cave framed by the Himalayas. This was India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's latest production, traveling to a remote mountain temple with a preferred TV news crew to show the world India's leader meditating days before the country's marathon elections ended. Modi, 68, has carefully constructed an image of himself as a pious man of the people, a would-be monk called to politics who has elevated India's status globally and transformed its general elections from a contest of political parties on social and economic issues into a cult of personality. JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) Seven people have died in election violence in the Indonesian capital, police said Thursday, as calm returned to the city and the losing presidential candidate prepared to challenge the result in court. The apparently orchestrated chaos that turned central Jakarta into a battleground started Tuesday night during peaceful protests over official results that confirmed President Joko Widodo had won the April 17 election, securing him a second term. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said several hundred have been arrested and seven deaths were confirmed. Police, who responded to the rioting with water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas, deny using live ammunition. Story continues Asian superheroes assemble. Marvel Comics is giving ink to an unprecedented team-up of its mightiest Asian and Asian American heroes, also known as the new Agents of Atlas. Established icons like martial arts master Shang-Chi and newbies like Wave, the newest Filipino superhero, will team up in a stand-alone, five-part comic book series starting this summer, the publishing giant told The Associated Press Thursday. The roster of 10 super-powered pan-Asian champions made their debut as a team earlier this month in "The War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas." That comic book is one piece of an ongoing saga involving several different groups across the Marvel universe, including the Avengers, doing battle with a fire goddess. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump rolled out another $16 billion in aid for farmers hurt by his trade policies, and financial markets shook Thursday on the growing realization that the U.S. and China are far from settling a bitter, year-long trade dispute. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that the first of three payments is likely to be made in July or August and suggested that the U.S. and China were unlikely to have settled their differences by then. "The package we're announcing today ensures that farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners," Perdue said. LONDON (AP) The World Health Organization is publishing its first-ever global strategy to tackle the problem of snakebites, aiming to halve the number of people killed or disabled by snakes by 2030. Nearly 3 million people are bitten by potentially poisonous snakes every year, resulting in as many as 138,000 deaths. Last week, Britain's Wellcome Trust announced an 80 million-pound ($100 million) program to address the problem, saying there were new potential drugs that could be tested. In a statement, Doctors Without Borders said it was "cautiously optimistic" WHO's snakebite strategy could be a "turning point" in addressing snakebites. The agency called the problem of snakebites "a hidden epidemic" and said most bites are treatable. LAS VEGAS (AP) The former head of a Tokyo and Las Vegas investment firm was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in prison for bilking thousands of Japanese victims in what prosecutors called a $1.5 billion international Ponzi scheme that ranks among the largest-ever fraud cases in the U.S. Defendant Edwin Fujinaga, 72, also was ordered to pay nearly $1.3 billion in restitution to victims, including many vulnerable retirees in Japan who were told they were safely investing in a medical collections business that could earn a 6% to 10% annual return. Evidence at the trial showed that some lost their life savings while Fujinaga spent lavishly on himself, buying a Las Vegas golf course mansion, private jet, luxury cars and real estate in California wine country, Beverly Hills and Hawaii. TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) Two U.S. warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait in an apparent show of support for the government of the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own. Taiwan's defense ministry said in a statement the ships passed through from south to north on Wednesday without incident, adding they were free to sail in the Taiwan Strait. China, which last month complained about a French ship's passage through the strait, said it had expressed concerns to the U.S. side. "According to information learnt from the relevant department, China followed closely the passage of the U.S. warships through the Taiwan Strait, and we are fully aware of the whole process," ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a news conference. SYDNEY (AP) Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush was awarded an Australian record of 2.9 million Australian dollars ($2 million) damages by a Sydney judge on Thursday in defamation case against a newspaper publisher and journalist over reports he had been accused of inappropriate behavior toward an actress. The 67-year-old Australian had sued Sydney's The Daily Telegraph's publisher and journalist Jonathon Moran in the Federal Court over two stories and a poster published in late 2017. Justice Michael Wigney found in April the publisher, News Corp.-owned Nationwide News, and Moran were reckless regarding the truth when they reported Rush had been accused of inappropriate behavior by actress Eryn Jean Norvill. BANGKOK (AP) A Thai court on Thursday blocked the leader of a new anti-junta political party from taking his seat in Parliament while it determines whether he violated election rules. The ruling against Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit is likely to increase political tensions in Thailand, where the military has seized power from elected governments twice in the past 13 years and courts regularly issue rulings that critics call biased. The Constitutional Court accepted the case against Thanathorn on the recommendation of the state Election Commission, which accused him of breaking election law by holding shares in a media company. Photo: Huihui Zhang/Pexels Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in Dallas. Traveling grandmother jailed in Texas for CBD oil talks about ordeal Lena Bartula, at age 71, is an accomplished artist and proud grandmother who had an unsettling experience as she passed through North Texas on her way to visit her granddaughter in Oregon. Read the full story on NBC LA. 'Theres got to be an end to this:' May marks deadly month for Dallas The Dallas Police Department has responded to 26 homicides in 22 days. Read the full story on WFAA. Suspect arrested after Dallas road rage "bat" attack caught-on-video The man who police say bashed in the windows of a driver along Interstate-635 in Dallas during a road rage incident caught on tape is now behind bars. Read the full story on CBS DFW. Book worms rejoice! Dallas libraries ditch fines for late returns Good news for North Texans patronizing Dallas Public Libraries! The City Council has voted to abolish the practice of charging fines for items returned late. Read the full story on CBS DFW. Dallas County tax office says Fenton Hyundai still needs to transfer 400 car titles as customer complaints pile up The number of complaints filed against a North Texas auto dealership has quintupled following a Ones For Justice investigation. Read the full story on CBS DFW. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: Henry Desro/Unsplash Missed the the most recent top news in Denver? Read on for everything you need to know. Denver jail deputy suspended for 30 days for 'veritable grit storm' incident The deputy flung an inmate's tray full of grits, according to a City and County of Denver document. Read the full story on 9NEWS. Metro Denver landlords are learning how to manage their relationships with tenants under new laws A briefing at the Apartment Association of Metro Denvers annual trade show Wednesday focused largely on advice that can help landlords cope. Read the full story on Denverite. Police investigating death in Denver Tech Center Officers with the Denver Police Department are investigating a death in the southeast part of the city. At 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, DPD said via Twitter that the investigation was being conducted in the 4800 block of Niagara Street. The area is just northeast of the intersection of South Monaco Parkway and East Hampden Avenue. Read the full story on KDVR. Denver man could avoid prison for threatening to kill as many girls as I see Only hours before women marched through many U.S. cities in January, Christopher Cleary of Denver set off a manhunt when he posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection. Read the full story on KDVR. Deadly crash closes SB lanes of I-25 for hours north of Denver A man was killed in a crash on southbound Interstate 25 between 58th and 48th early Wednesday morning. Read the full story on CBS Denver. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: Andrew Peterson/Pexels Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in Kansas City. UPGRADED RISK: Tornado watch issued for areas just south of the Kansas City metro area Butler, Warrensburg, Clinton, Sedalia and Marshall need to be weather-aware Wednesday afternoon. Read the full story on KMBC. Navigating downtown Kansas City's ring of highways is throwing pedestrians for a loop Matt Staub considers himself to be a forward-thinking guy. And lately, he's been wondering whether, if he'd been a city leader in the 1950s, would he have wanted to build the downtown loop those four highway arteries that form a boundary around Kansas City, Missouri's central business district. Read the full story on KCUR. Mayoral candidates Lucas, Justus explain the differences in their vision for Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. In less than a month, Kansas City voters will pick a new mayor for the first time in eight years. While both of the candidates on the June 18 ballot have a great deal in common (both lawyers, Democrats and city council members) there are stark differences between mayoral candidates Jolie Justus and Quinton Lucas. Read the full story on Fox 4 Kansas City. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Warrens campaign is chugging along, fueled by her many plans. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP/REX/Shutterstock In recent weeks, as most of the attention in the chattering classes has focused on Joe Bidens presidential bid, something interesting has been going on a bit below the surface: Elizabeth Warren has emerged as the solidly third-place candidate behind Biden and Bernie Sanders. Thats evident in horse-race polls: In the Real Clear Politics average of national surveys, shes at around 10 percent, comfortably ahead of Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, with the rest of the field (including the steadily fading Beto ORourke) not making much of an impression so far. Its harder to get a grip on the infrequently polled early states, though Warren does seem to be running a bit behind her national averages in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. But on the other hand, she has invested the most of any candidate in early-state staff and infrastructure, and has an especially impressive organization in Iowa, as the New York Times reported earlier this month: [Warren has] about 50 paid staff members already on the ground in Iowa, far more than any other Democratic candidate is known to have hired in the state. The growing Warren juggernaut reflects a bet that rapidly hiring a large staff of organizers will give the senator an advantage over her rivals who are ramping up their efforts at a slower pace. You can add to that her enormous credibility among Democrats nationally when it comes to policy chops, which she has enhanced significantly during the early stages of the campaign, and the opportunity she may have to excel during this summers first two rounds of candidate debates. Her favorability ratings in her own party are solid; shes at 57/16 in the Morning Consult tracking poll, with some room for growth. 28 percent of Democrats say either theyve never heard of her or dont know enough about her to form an opinion, as opposed to only 8 percent with no opinion of Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. The major rap on Warren among political observers has involved poor electability credentials, which is a big deal in 2020 given the obsession of Democrats with denying Trump a second term. Actually, in nine head-to-head trial heats against Trump published this year, Warren has led in six (including two this month). But her favorability ratios beyond the ranks of Democrats have been weak: a recent Quinnipiac poll showed her well underwater at 32/41 in the general electorate, and at 28/44 among independents (in both cases, there are plenty of people who havent formed an opinion of her yet). Its unclear how much Warren is still suffering from the poor impression she made with her handling of claims that she erroneously identified herself as Native American some years ago claims that Trump and his allies have kept alive with their racist but effective Pocahontas sobriquet for her. But time is on her side. Generally speaking, presidential candidates who grow in strength in their own party ranks eventually develop better electability indicators. Strategically, Warren is one candidate with little initially to fear from Joe Bidens front-runner status. Indeed, it benefits her if Biden beats Sanders and Buttigieg in Iowa and New Hampshire and Kamala Harris in South Carolina. Shes not that strong presently in New Hampshire, which is troubling given her residency in next-door Massachusetts, but historically candidates who overperform in Iowa get a nice bounce in the Granite State. If she can finish ahead of Bernie Sanders in Iowa or New Hampshire, thats a very big deal, since his expectations are higher (especially in New Hampshire, where he trounced Hillary Clinton in 2016) and he is perceived as occupying the same lane as she does. Warren has more potential as a party-unifier than Sanders, and would probably thrive if the field melts down quickly to a battle with Biden. For now, though, Warrens She Persisted catchphrase fits her campaign quite well. Shes broadly admired in her party, and has a quality of toughness that is the next best thing to a lead in trial heats as evidence she can go toe-to-toe with the sinister incumbent. She will always be vulnerable to someone younger or flashier catching fire as caucus and primary voters prepare to start voting. But if that doesnt happen, she should have her chance to compete and win. Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in Phoenix. NEW: Arizona prisons ban book on black men in the justice system PHOENIX (AP) Arizona has banned prisoners from reading a book that discusses the impact of the criminal justice system on black men, drawing outcry from First Amendment advocates who say the move is censorship. Read the full story on Yahoo News. Man arrested after firing at police officer in west Phoenix PHOENIX (AP) - Authorities say a man has been arrested after allegedly firing gunshots at a police officer from a second-story window in west Phoenix. Read the full story on Houston Chronicle. Phoenix police: Couple dead in apparent murder-suicide PHOENIX (AP) - Phoenix police say a husband and wife are dead in what appears to be a murder-suicide. Sgt. Tommy Thompson said in statement that 36-year-olds Michael Ruf and Susan Ruf were found dead in their home Monday evening and that he apparently shot her and then himself. Read the full story on Houston Chronicle. Mail carrier helps save Phoenix woman's life A mail carrier's compassion and quick thinking helped save a woman's life after she noticed the woman hadn't collected her mail in a couple of days. Read the full story on 12NEWS. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Missed the the most recent top news in Raleigh? Read on for everything you need to know. Sheriff: Missing Raleigh woman's body found in shallow grave in Nash County Sarah Denise Patterson's body was found in a shallow grave outside of Spring Hope, the sheriff said. Her nephew one of two in custody in connection with the case is charged with first-degree murder. Read the full story on WNCN. Raleigh pilot Christian Martin charged with triple murder pleads not guilty The pilot from Raleigh accused of killing three people in Kentucky in 2015 pleaded not guilty to the crimes Wednesday, according to ABC News. Read the full story on ABC Raleigh, WTVD. Raleigh City Council bans full-home, short-term rentals The ban affects sites like Airbnb. Read the full story on Spectrum News North Carolina. Study: 'Some evidence' supports 'driving while black' concept in some parts of Raleigh The RTI research notes that the drivers stopped by RPD dont match the demographics of the city. Read the full story on WNCN. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: Lucas Fonseca/Pexel Missed the the most recent top news in San Diego? Read on for everything you need to know. 2 elderly African lions die at San Francisco, San Diego zoos The San Diego Zoo says a 15-year-old lion named M'bari was euthanized Wednesday. Read the full story on CBS 8 - San Diego News. DA releases August 2018 bodycam video of San Diego police officer shooting, killing man armed with chain Witnesses reported seeing Vaughn Denham, 48, attack another man in the head and torso with a machete, causing serious injuries. Read the full story on CBS 8 - San Diego News. Police now say woman was raped in Rancho Penasquitos and arrest suspect - Times of San Diego In a rapidly evolving case, police announced the arrest of a 32-year-old man for allegedly raping a woman a day earlier in Rancho Penasquitos. Read the full story on Times of San Diego. Possible tuberculosis exposure reported at Mar Vista Academy - Times of San Diego Officials announced they are working to notify students, faculty and staff at Mar Vista Academy who may have been exposed to tuberculosis. Read the full story on Times of San Diego. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: Peter Gonzalez/Unsplash Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in San Jose. Google executives talk San Jose development near Diridon Station City officials also provided an update on the station redesign itself. Read the full story on Mercury News. New South Bay BART station transforms neighborhood in San Jose A new city-within-a-city is springing up in San Jose and a new BART station is the big reason why. Read the full story on CBS San Francisco. San Jose teens arrested in Palo Alto home-invasion robbery Authorities say one suspect also assaulted a San Jose police officer with a deadly weapon. Read the full story on Mercury News. Lumentum buys big north San Jose office park where it will move HQ Milpitas-based Lumentum Holdings, through its Lumentum Operations unit, paid $54 million for the three-building office campus near the corner of Ridder Park and Fox drives. Read the full story on Mercury News. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Washington (AFP) - Rescuers searched door-to-door for survivors Thursday in the central US state of Missouri following a deadly storm that swept through the region, triggering dozens of tornadoes and damaging floods. Three people were killed in the small town of Golden City, Missouri, officials said, while residents in the state capital Jefferson City were taking stock of damage caused by what the National Weather Service called a "large and destructive" tornado Wednesday night. "Last night's tornado activity and the increased flooding has been devastating our state," Governor Mike Parson said on Twitter. The weather service estimated that the tornado was an EF-3 on a scale of zero to five, with peak winds of 160 mph (257 km per hour). The twister destroyed homes, ripped away walls and sheared roofs in Jefferson City. Splintered trees and downed power lines clogged roads. The full extent and cost of the damage was not immediately clear. "I didn't realize how emotional it would be to see the devastation in this town and everything torn up," resident Eric Powell told KMOV television as he surveyed the aftermath. "It's just devastating to see the damage," he said. One bit of good news came from the state's Office of Administration which announced Thursday afternoon that the Missouri State Capitol building was not damaged. Rescue workers checked door-to-door for survivors. Some 20 people were treated at hospitals overnight, officials said. Despite the widespread destruction, there were no reports of deaths or additional injuries in Jefferson City. - More storms expected - The widespread damage was expected to displace some residents for weeks. The University of Missouri offered housing on its campus. "As we talk with local and state officials to understand the full scope of the disaster and recovery efforts, we will deploy additional help," Gary Ward, the university's operations chief, said in a statement. Story continues More than two dozen tornadoes were reported overnight in Missouri and neighboring Oklahoma. Thousands were left without electricity. Ameren Missouri, an energy provider, said more than 400 crews were working to restore power in Jefferson City, but that outages could last through the weekend. The weather service predicted strong and severe storms would continue through the weekend in Missouri and adjacent Illinois, causing "continued river flooding throughout the Missouri and Mississippi River basins." Floodwaters rose in Oklahoma, damaging or destroying homes along swollen waterways. There were concerns that some dams could give way and residents were urged to be ready to evacuate. Several homes were reported destroyed in the small town of Crescent along the Cimarron River, while people living close to a dam on Keystone Lake in the city of Tulsa were encouraged to evacuate or be prepared to do so because the dam could breach. KJRH television reported loose barges hit a dam on the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Oklahoma. There were no immediate reports of dam failure. By Anna Irrera (Reuters) - Money transfer startup TransferWise has closed a $292 million secondary funding round which doubles its valuation to $3.5 billion, the company said on Wednesday. The round was led by growth capital investors Lead Edge Capital, Lone Pine Capital and Vitruvian Partners, TransferWise said. Existing investors including Baillie Gifford and Andreessen Horowitz expanded their holdings in the company and some of the investment came from funds managed by BlackRock Inc, the London-based company said. TransferWise, one of Europe's most well-known fintech startups, has gained popularity by offering a simpler and cheaper alternative to banks for international money transfers. Launched in 2011, the company serves 5 million customers worldwide and processes 4 billion pounds ($5.08 billion) each month. The company posted 6.2 million pounds ($7.88 million) in net profit after tax and revenue of 117 million pounds ($148.61 million) in the fiscal year ending in March 2018. Kristo Kaarmann, TransferWise's chief executive and co-founder, said in an interview the round allowed the company to add shareholders more in line with its stage of growth. "It's an opportunity to bring on new investors, to bring on the right people for the next phase of growth and get validation that we are building something of increasing value," Kaarmann said. The company currently employs 1,600 people across a dozen global offices and plans to hire 750 people over the next year, it said. The latest round brings the total raised so far by TransferWise in both primary and secondary funding to $689 million from investors including Sir Richard Branson, Valar Ventures and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin. ($1 = 0.7873 pounds) (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Chris Reese) (TWITTER/LUPINETRAVEL) Calling all intrepid explorers: a travel company is launching a train journey from Wigan to North Korea. The month-long adventure, arranged by Lupine Travel and due to start in 2020, will make its way from the north west of England to North Korean capital Pyongyang. Travellers will be treated to local delicacy pie barm and a can of vimto on departure, before spending time in London, Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing. Fancy a trip to North Korea? (GETTY) The train leaves on April 26 and eventually arrives in Pyongyang by sleeper from Beijing on May 19. You'll then spend four nights seeing the sites in Pyongyang, visiting the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and other local sites. The once-in-a-lifetime expedition will cost 3,195 and will include accommodation, meals and a tour guide. Read more: Ten million North Koreans in 'dire need' of food after worst drought since 1982 North Korea fires short-range missile, says South Korea Putin lends support to Kim Jong-un for ending nuclear standoff However, the cost excludes all visas and travel insurance. The website says sections of the tour can be booked independently, meaning you can start your journey in London and skip out Wigan entirely. Lupine Travel describes itself as a company that offers secure routes offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences in unique and hard-to-reach destinations and open them up to our clients. Next year will see the launch of the first ever Wigan to Pyongyang train journey! Go here to download an info pack: https://t.co/pYMnUENi7Z pic.twitter.com/TIXqXgMbpi Lupine Travel (@LupineTravel) May 22, 2019 For an extra 450, you will even be able to extend your stay in North Korea by an extra three nights, and visit Wonsan on the East Coast and Mount Kumgang National Park. But Lupine are not the first company to arrange trips to the Hermit State. The Man in Seat 61 reports how companies including Regent Holidays and Koryo Tours can organise train travel to Pyongyang via either Moscow or Beijing. Still not popular. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Intelligencer staffers Benjamin Hart and Ed Kilgore discuss the presidents political standing and reelection outlook right now. Ben: You wrote the other day that after ticking upward ever so slightly at least according to certain polls President Trumps approval ratings are back around where they have tended to revert throughout his presidency: the low 40s. Its a year and a half until he has to face reelection, but what does his level of popularity right now say about his chances of pulling off another win? Ed: Hes still slightly more popular than he was in 2016 when he lost the popular vote and pulled off an inside straight in the Electoral College, but not much more popular. The odds of that changing are low. He needs an opponent as unpopular as Hillary Clinton, a Democratic base as unenthused and complacent as it was in 2016, and again, a lot of luck. Ben: Weve also seen the inverse effect of what you described; that is, weve seen his popularity dip a few points into the mid to upper 30s, then bounce back. What would it take, if this is even possible, for a more permanent downshift in popularity? A recession? A war? Would either of those even shift the current dynamic, do you think? Ed: Probably not as much as it would for a normal president in less polarized times. His only really serious extended dip was in the fall of 2017 when he was trying to kill Obamacare. But sure, a recession would probably cook his goose. A war is another matter. Wars can be tricky. Ben: Beyond the topline numbers, weve seen some other grim numbers for the president. His state-by-state ratings are poor, hes underwater in many places he would need to win, and several recent polls report that more than half of voters will not vote for him next year. Is this kind of data a better measure of where he stands than simple approval ratings? Ed: As we get closer to the election, the kind of data is probably less important than who is being polled. Some approval-rating polls dont screen for voter registration (though fewer now than a year ago). Some horse-race or reelect numbers could miss the right profile of the electorate. Turnouts probably going to be crazy high in November 2020. Also keep in mind, as we learned in 2016, state polling can be unreliable. Ben: We sure did learn that. Thanks, Pennsylvania. Ed: Whats really hard to anticipate is whether Trump and his minions will be able to drag the Democratic nominee right down to the pit of hell alongside him, making this a comparative turnout election.We know thats their strategy, but whether it will work twice is another matter. Ben: Most people think of crazy high turnout as benefiting Democrats. But could it redound to Trumps benefit? Might there be yet another large swath of unactivated conservative voters out there who didnt bother in 2016? Ed: If they exist, Im sure Salena Zito will find them for us in those places the elites never visit. You know, the bowling alleys of southwest Pennsylvania. Ben: Do you think that, because everyone has such a strong and unvarying opinion of Trump, the benefits of incumbency are more diminished for him than for past presidents? Ed: Yes. Ive found it interesting the extent to which the two main arguments for Trumps electability are in direct conflict. One holds that hes a political unicorn for whom the usual rules just dont apply. The other holds that traditional election models that focus on macroeconomic indicators and incumbency show him doing well. If hes a unicorn, which I think he is to some extent, then things like incumbency wont matter, except perhaps to reduce his attractiveness to the I hate everything voters who just want change. Ben: So the unicorn theory might also hold that if the economy tanks, he wouldnt suffer as much as a normal president? Ed: Right. If you love the man because he owns the libs and stands up to the godless foreigners, monthly jobs numbers are probably an afterthought. Conservative Evangelicals who want him to end legalized abortion and same-sex marriage arent focused on GDP growth rates much at all. Ben: Given his persistent unpopularity, are Democrats overthinking the fabled electability argument in their calculations of who to nominate? With the caveat that its still very early in the primary. Ed: Im conflicted about that. On the one hand, electability isnt really that easy to measure and tends to change as the general election grows nigh. On the other hand, from a Democratic point of view, giving Trump a second term would be an existential calamity. Ben: Yeah, I think were all struggling with that to some extent. Ed: Normally primary voters think their candidate, whoever it is, is the most electable. But I think Biden is being sustained by those for whom electability has become an independent and decisive factor. Ben: A common line of thinking among voters seems to be that OTHER people will find him electable. Ed: I often compare him to (look out! Old Guy reference incoming!) Nelson Rockefeller in 1968, who ran a pure 100 percent electability campaign against Richard Nixon. On the eve of the convention, when Rocky was putting together a coalition with Reagan to stop Nixon on the first ballot, a Gallup poll came out showing Nixon running better against Humphrey than Rocky. Biden is very vulnerable to that kind of development. Ben: I was too busy getting knocked around by the Chicago PD to be paying attention to polls. Ed: Haha. Right. Ben: But yes, I think thats right. One thing Democrats wont be this time around, at least, is overconfident. Mostly theyll just be petrified. Ed: Yes, Ive said for some time that this could be the X factor for Democrats. Even if their nominee is up by 30 points in the polls, nobodys going to relax. Theyll be like: Hand me a wooden stake. WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he doubted that the United States needs to send more U.S. troops to the Middle East to counter Iran as he prepared to meet Pentagon officials to discuss it later in the day. U.S. military leaders have discussed sending some 5,000 troops to the region with tensions running high with Iran. Trump, asked by reporters about the plan, said he did not think they would be needed, but that he was willing to consider it. (Reporting By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; editing by Grant McCool) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a big election victory that put his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its parliamentary majority. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory," Trump said on Twitter. "Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" (Reporting by Tim Ahmann Editing by James Dalgleish) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump attacked House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, after infrastructure talks with Democratic lawmakers collapsed the day before amid sprawling congressional probes into Trump's business and administration. "I tell you what, I've been watching her and I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person. She's lost it," Trump said during remarks about an aid package for farmers hit by the trade war with China. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Tim Ahmann; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Leslie Adler) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump attacked House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, after infrastructure talks with Democratic lawmakers collapsed the day before amid sprawling congressional probes into Trump's business and administration. "I tell you what, I've been watching her and I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person. She's lost it," Trump said during remarks about an aid package for farmers hit by the trade war with China. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Tim Ahmann; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Leslie Adler) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump characterized Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd as very dangerous on Thursday but said its dispute with the United States could be resolved in a trade deal with China. Citing national security concerns, Washington last week effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with Huawei, the world's largest telecoms network gear maker. The move prompted many tech companies around the world to fall in line. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Susan Thomas) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States would be closely watching John Walker Lindh, the American captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, after his release from prison. Trump told reporters at the White House that he had asked government lawyers whether the release could be stopped, noting that Lindh had not given up on his views, but said there was nothing that could be done to prevent Lindh's release. (Reporting by Jeff Mason, writing by Roberta Rampton Editing by Susan Thomas) The OECD Observer online archive takes you on a journey through half a century of public policy and world progress. Since November 1962, the OECDs experts and leading guests offer insights on the questions facing our member countries with concise and authoritative analysis, and provide our audiences with an excellent opportunity to understand policy debates and consider solutions. Each edition of the OECD Observer reports on a core theme of the OECDs on-going work, from economics and society through governance, finance, and the environment, and articles are bolstered by tables and graphs. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States would be closely watching John Walker Lindh, the American captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, after his release from prison. Trump told reporters at the White House that he had asked government lawyers whether the release could be stopped, noting that Lindh had not given up on his views, but said there was nothing that could be done to prevent Lindh's release. (Reporting by Jeff Mason, writing by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Susan Thomas) Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a new $16 billion aid package to help farmers caught in the crossfire his trade war with China. "The farmers have been attacked by China," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We're going to help out our farmers and we're giving them that level playing field that is so important." Trump again claimed that China is paying the 25 percent tariffs he has imposed on $200 billion in imports, which economists agree are paid by businesses and consumers. "Some of that money will go to the farmers to help them out during a period where trade has been very unfair to them," Trump said. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the bulk of the funds will go to direct payments to crop and livestock producers, while a small portion will be used to purchase food to use in US aid programs like food banks and school lunch programs. "The plan we are announcing today ensures farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners," Perdue told reporters in a conference call. "Farmers would rather have trade than aid but without the trade they are going to need some support." Trump's aggressive tariff strategy, especially against China, has drawn stiff retaliation from Beijing and others designed to hit the United States where it hurts: farm country. Soybeans and pork have been primary targets, but many other crops have suffered directly or indirectly. Soybean exports to China fell 75 percent in 2018, according to Commerce Department figures. The Trump administration ramped up the aid from the $12 billion provided last year but officials said they increased and redesigned the program this year to make it easier to understand. There were high hopes early this month that a resolution with China was within striking distance but that optimism largely evaporated when Trump said Beijing had backed away from commitments considered already settled. Story continues - Not playing by the rules - He more than doubled existing punitive tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, and threatened to hit all the goods that had been spared so far. "China hasn't played by the rules for a long time and President Trump is standing up to them, sending the clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate their unfair trade practices," Perdue said. The US Department of Agriculture will calculate damage done by the retaliation, and officials said the first of three payments is expected to go out in July or August. The officials did not indicate the expected size of the payments, but Perdue said the aid will be "heavily skewed" towards the first payment, while the others will depend on the market and the status of the trade talks. But reaching an agreement now "depends on China." USDA officials said the amount each farmer receives will be based on the damage calculated to each US county, with equal payments made to all farmers based on the acreage planted, regardless of crop, to prevent distorting planting decisions. Crops covered include alfalfa, barley, canola, corn, lentils, rice, peanuts, chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Dairy and pork producers, as well as growers of cherries, cranberries and nuts, also will receive support, officials said. The Trump administration unveiled on Thursday a $16 billion aid package for U.S. farmers hurt by President Trumps ongoing trade war with China and other nations. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the money would come from the tariffs on Chinese imports being collected by the U.S. Treasury, which he falsely claimed were being paid by China, sticking with a now well-established and misleading script. Chinas going to pay for these, the $16 billion of tariffs coming in, Purdue told Fox Business. Its a transfer coming in, and were doing again through the CCC [Commodity Credit Corporation] program which was authorized, as we used last year, but actually the tariff money that we were receiving, the revenue we were receiving is what the president has intended to fund the farmers who have been hurt by these retaliatory tariffs. In fact, tariffs are paid by American businesses and consumers, who will be the ultimate source of the bailout funds. The payments: The $16 billion aid package is larger than the $12 billion package offered last year, and Bloombergs Mike Dorning and Jennifer Jacobs reported that the payments for farmers will be more generous this time around. Last year, farmers received $1.65 per bushel for soybeans, 14 cents per bushel for wheat and 1 cent per bushel for corn; the new package will reportedly offer $2 per bushel for soybeans, 63 cents per bushel for wheat and 4 cent per bushel for corn. Growers of other commodities including cotton, chickpeas and cherries will also be eligible to receive subsidy payments. The program will pay about $14.5 billion directly to farmers starting as soon as this summer, distributed through the Commodity Credit Corporation. An additional $1.4 billion will be used to purchase surplus commodities including fruits, vegetables, meat and milk and distribute them to food banks and schools. About $100 million will be used to develop new markets for American exports. Farmers still not happy: Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said the payments may not be enough to satisfy farmers, despite being more generous this year. Corn farmers are going to be very upset about this, Ernst said. Its better than the 1 cent per bushel that they got earlier but its not enough. Story continues The U.S. agricultural sector has been under strain for several years due to falling commodity prices, Dorning and Jacobs said, and American farm income dropped by 16% last year, to about half the level it was in 2013. Worries about market distortions: Economists have warned that the subsidy payments may influence farmers decisions about which crops to grow. Higher subsidies for soy could prompt farmers to move away from corn to maximize their payments from the government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that as of Sunday farmers had planted only 49% of the corn they said they had planned to plant, the lowest percentage at this point in the calendar since 1980. While a wet spring is likely playing a role in the delay, a shift toward higher soy production may be involved as well. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump dropped the pretense of working with congressional Democrats on Wednesday and sent a clear message that his re-election campaign will be centered on condemning overzealous investigations rather than advancing a robust domestic policy agenda. Both sides may have feigned surprise at Trump's angry outburst, in which he said he won't work with Democrats until they drop their probes of his administration. But they were on a collision course long before Wednesday's confrontation in the Cabinet Room. Trump has been betting the future of his presidency on trying to goad Democrats into impeaching him, and the three-minute meeting marked a new low in the slow-moving drama over executive powers, congressional oversight and the critical needs of the nation. Trump's declaration that he would end any attempt at bipartisan cooperation until Democrats drop their probes of his administration was eagerly retold by representatives of both parties. The two sides echoed long drawn rhetorical battle lines in the hours that followed. But the roots of the disagreement trace back more than six months, to when White House aides strategized over how handle to an anticipated Democratic takeover of the House. Trump first delivered the warning publicly the day after Nancy Pelosi secured her return to the speakership last November, when she said her party would not have to choose between investigations and compromise. "You can't do them simultaneously," Trump countered. Promising GOP-led investigations and political attacks of his own if Democrats tried it, Trump predicted, "I could see it being extremely good politically, because I think I'm better at that game than they are, actually." Now Trump is putting that confidence to the test. "You can go down the investigation track," Trump said Wednesday, "or the track of 'Let's get things done for the American people.'" Expecting Democrats to stick with the former, Trump added: "Let them play their games. We're going to go down one track at a time." Story continues As the subpoenas have flown in recent weeks, White House officials have adopted a quasi-official policy of trying to goad Democrats into impeachment. Trump has ordered his administration to stop complying with House Democrats' probes, stonewalling efforts across the board while challenging the legislative body's basic constitutional role of oversight. His intransigence has animated more and more Democrats to talk impeachment, even if just to begin proceedings in order to get further access to documents and testimony. White House aides believe that Pelosi cannot withstand the clamor from her rank-and-file to impeach Trump, and believe that when Democrats take that step, it will assure Trump's re-election. "We believe the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up," Pelosi told reporters Wednesday morning, barely an hour before the Democrats' scheduled meeting with Trump. Speaking later, at an event sponsored by the liberal Center for American Progress, Pelosi seemed to try to strike a balance between answering the desire to begin impeachment proceedings with concern for the political implications of that action in 2020. "The fact is, in plain sight in the public domain, this president is obstructing justice and he's engaged in a cover-up and that could be an impeachable offense," Pelosi said. Even Democrats acknowledge that Trump has long excelled at playing the victim: As a candidate and president, he has railed against the "rigged" electoral system and the conspiratorial Deep State that he claims is trying to block him. He has sold his supporters on a belief that the system secular society and the government have worked to hold them down. The narrative of an overreaching Democratic Congress persecuting a president who has not been found guilty of any crime plays nicely into that, the Trump team believes. Still, Trump himself has expressed a leeriness of what he calls "the I-word." He told confidants that he doesn't like discussing impeachment, yet advisers have found that the president constantly talks about it, often veering there mid-conversation to express worry or frustration at the prospect. In one meeting with Pelosi, Trump couldn't help himself and blurted out a question for the speaker, asking if she was planning to try to impeach him. Pelosi assured him that she was not. Though Trump has worried that impeachment would be the first line of his political obituary, even though he was confident of being saved by the Senate, those around him think it may be the best thing that could happen to his re-election campaign. White House officials believed Trump and Democrats were braced for impact in Wednesday's meeting and they were prepared to take advantage of the moment. Even before the session meant to be a follow-up conversation on infrastructure spending signs were building that it could signal a new phase in relations between the White House and Congress. At the same time, Trump has been increasingly freed from the forces of containment around him in the past. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has been open about viewing his role as executing on Trump's decisions and instincts, rather than steering him toward safer ground. On Tuesday, two senior Trump aides including legislative affairs director Shahira Knight announced they were departing. That signaled the shift from legislating toward campaigning even before Wednesday's blowup in the Cabinet Room. ___ Lemire reported from New York. ___ Follow Miller on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@zekejmiller and Lemire at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire By Mike Stone and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Armed Services Committee unveiled a draft bill on Thursday that targets China on several fronts, from stemming the erosion of the U.S. military advantage against Beijing to countering the growing Chinese influence around the world. The $750-billion proposal would also authorize the U.S. military to buy more Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and fully fund a program to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal. The committee acknowledged that "our margin of military supremacy has eroded and is undermined by new threats from strategic competitors like China and Russia." The panel addressed what Congress sees as the threat from China, including stricter reporting of Beijing's "Belt and Road" international lending program. The bill would require the creation of a list of Chinese institutions and companies with any links to its military, to be used for screening visa applications for students and researchers. "A lot of universities just don't have the information about whether research they're conducting is under threat," a senior committee aide told reporters. Many U.S. universities work on research with military applications and U.S. officials worry about intellectual property theft coming from China. The annual bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is several steps from becoming law. Next month, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, is due to release its own draft version. Then the two committees must come up with a single, compromise version before it can be passed. It was too early to say exactly which provisions of the Senate draft would survive, but committee aides said they expect most of its major provisions would. China and the United States are increasingly becoming geopolitical adversaries as well as economic rivals. The United States and China had a heated exchange on Thursday, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies of lying about its ties to the government and Beijing saying Washington must end its "wrong actions" if it wanted trade talks to continue. Story continues F-35 JETS, SPACE FORCE The annual NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress passes every year. As a result, lawmakers use it as a vehicle for a range of policy proposals. The Senate version of the bill contains $3.6 billion that could replenish money used to fund construction of a wall on the Mexican border, but did not authorize additional funds requested by the White House, senior committee staff told the media. It authorizes the Pentagon to buy 94 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, comprising 60 of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model; 12 of the F-35B short take-off/vertical landing version, and 22 of the F-35C, which are used aboard aircraft carriers. Lockheed is developing and building the new warplanes for the U.S. military and 10 other countries. The NDAA would remove Turkey from the list of nations that have worked together to build the fifth generation F-35 fighter jet. Like other NATO allies, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in producing the F-35. But U.S. officials say Turkey's plan to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system would compromise the security of the F-35 jets. This year's proposal authorizes the creation of a Space Force - a proposal strongly backed by President Donald Trump - as a separately aligned service, but still part of the U.S. Air Force. And it would bar the Pentagon from reducing the number of U.S. troops in South Korea below 28,500. (Editing by Chris Sanders and Alistair Bell) By David Shepardson FORT WORTH, Texas, May 23 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration is meeting with international air regulators Thursday from around the world to assess the status of the grounded Boeing Co 737 MAX and what steps are needed to return it to service. Senior FAA officials will give detailed descriptions of the findings to date from the two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia which occurred within five months of each other and killed a combined 346 people. The agency will summarize the status of three major ongoing reviews of the 737 MAX and give an update of the recertification process and shed light on Boeing's proposed revisions to its software and pilot training. Nearly 60 air regulators from 33 governmental agencies, including from China, Brazil, Australia, the European Union, France, Ethiopia, Indonesia and South Korea are attending the meeting at an FAA office in Texas. The agency came under criticism in March for failing to ground the Boeing 737 MAX as quickly as China, Europe and other countries. One of Thursday's sessions is titled "Data mapping to accidents: safety actions and changes to the 737 MAX training requirements." Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell told reporters on Wednesday the FAA would share the agency's "safety analysis that will form the basis for our return to service decision process." Some air regulators have said they will conduct independent reviews of the Boeing 737 MAX. Elwell was asked by a reporter on Wednesday if he would delay ungrounding the plane in order to have "peace" with other regulators. "We have peace with other regulators," Elwell said. "Were talking to them constantly. You want to make this like, We at war with the other countries over this. Were not." The FAA is still asking Boeing questions about a proposed software upgrade and training revisions and has not decided whether to require simulator training. Elwell repeatedly declined to provide a time frame for how soon the agency might approve the airplane's return to service or say if it was realistic that airlines could resume flights by August as some have suggested. Story continues "If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us the confidence to lift the (grounding) order, so be it," Elwell said. The FAA will not unground the plane until it obtains the findings from a multi-agency Technical Advisory Board reviewing the software fix. It consists of experts not involved in any aspect of the Boeing 737 MAX certification. Boeing said last week it had completed development of the software update on the 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system known as MCAS that is under scrutiny following the two disastrous nose-down crashes. It must still formally submit the upgrade for approval and conduct a certification flight before the FAA can act. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Fort Worth, Texas Editing by Matthew Lewis) TOKYO, May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the U.S. island of Guam takes place ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to Japan this weekend, as Washington looks to allies in Asia to help counter China's military might in the region. "Pacific Vanguard joins forces from four, like-minded maritime nations that provide security throughout the Indo-Pacific based on shared values and common interests," Vice Admiral Phillip Sawyer, commander of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, said in a statement. The six-day exercise involves two Japanese destroyers, two Australian frigates and a destroyer from South Korea, with as many as 3,000 sailors participating. The U.S. Navy has deployed five ships as well as fighter jets and maritime patrol planes for the drills, which include live fire and anti-submarine warfare exercises. Pacific Vanguard is the latest show of combined naval force in the Asia Pacific region. This month U.S. ships conducted drills with French, Japanese and Australian ships in the Bay of Bengal, and held separate exercises with a Japanese helicopter carrier and warships from India and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea. China claims almost all of the strategic South China Sea, through which passes about a third of global seaborne trade. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to the waterway. On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy sent two ships through the Taiwan Strait, its latest transit through the sensitive waterway and a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world's two biggest economies. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a bitter trade war, U.S. sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Darren Schuettler) (Corrects party affiliation for Wicker, paragraph 5) WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to provide about $700 million in grants to help U.S. telecommunications providers with the cost of removing Huawei equipment from their networks. The bill also moves to block the use of equipment or services from Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE in next-generation 5G networks, according to a statement by the senators. The United States has accused ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd of working for the Chinese government and has expressed concern their equipment could be used to spy on Americans, allegations the Chinese government and the companies say are baseless. "With so much at stake, our communications infrastructure must be protected from threats posed by foreign governments and companies like Huawei," Tom Cotton, a Republican senator co-sponsoring the bill, said in a statement. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Roger Wicker, Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, are also backing the bill. While large U.S. wireless companies have severed ties with Huawei, small rural carriers have leaned on Huawei and ZTE switches and equipment because they are often less expensive. The Rural Wireless Association, which represents carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers, estimates that 25 percent of its members have Huawei and ZTE in their networks, and have said it would cost $800 million to $1 billion to replace it. The move goes further than steps taken so far by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, even as it has hardened its stance on Huawei. Last August, Trump signed a bill barring the U.S. government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment. Then, last week, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei and 70 affiliates, barring the company from buying parts or components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval. Five days later, the U.S. government temporarily eased trade restrictions, allowing the Chinese firm to buy American-made goods to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei headsets. (Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) * UNRWA helps Palestinian refugees across Middle East * U.S.: host countries should take over agency's services * Not up to "one or two states" to decide mission -UNWRA * Trump administration halted funding to UNRWA last year By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, May 23 (Reuters) - The head of the United Nations agency that has supported Palestinian refugees for seven decades hit back on Thursday at a U.S. proposal to have host countries take over the services it provides across the Middle East. The suggestion, from U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, that UNRWA should be effectively dismantled was the latest U.S. attack on an agency that began operations in 1950. Formerly UNRWA's largest donor, the United States halted its funding to the agency in 2018, deeming its fiscal practices "irredeemably flawed" and stoking tensions between the Palestinians and U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. "We need to engage with host governments to start a conversation about planning the transition of UNRWA services to host governments, or to other international or local non-governmental organizations, as appropriate," Greenblatt said after the Security Council was briefed by UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl. Asked at a Gaza news conference on Thursday about Greenblatt's remarks, Krahenbuhl said UNRWA's mandate was a matter for the entire U.N. General Assembly to consider, not by "one or two individual member states." "Therefore, Palestinian refugees should remember that the mandate is protected by the General Assembly, and of course we will engage with member states to ensure what we hope is a safe renewal of that mandate," Krahenbuhl said. STRONG BACKING IN U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY UNRWA's mission is due to come up for renewal later this year in the General Assembly, where support for the agency has been traditionally strong and the United States would likely face an uphill battle to change or cancel its mission. Story continues Greenblatt said UNRWA was "currently running on fumes, surviving on a surge in foreign donations in 2018," and it was time for the international community to address the needs of Palestinians in refugee camps in a sustainable way. More than half of the 2 million Palestinians in the Islamist Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli blockade, receive food aid from UNRWA. "UNRWA's business model, which is inherently tied to an endlessly and exponentially expanding community of beneficiaries, is in permanent crisis mode," Greenblatt said. Since Trump assumed office in 2017, Palestinians have grown concerned that he intends to bring about UNRWA's demise. U.S. ally Israel says the work of UNRWA - short for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - only perpetuates the plight of Palestinians. "Year after year, Palestinians in refugee camps were not given the opportunity to build any future; they were misled and used as political pawns and commodities instead of treated as human beings," Greenblatt told the Security Council. UNRWA says it provides services to about 5 million registered Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza, and that it safeguards and advances their rights under international law. Most are descendants of about 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes or fled fighting in the 1948 war that led to Israel's creation and claim a right of return to the lands they left. Israel has ruled out such an influx, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority. Palestinian leaders reject settling refugees in host countries, saying their presence there should be considered temporary. Palestinians in host countries complain of restrictions on jobs and benefits there. (Writing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem Editing by Mark Heinrich) May 23 (Reuters) - The case of Robert Bowers, the man accused of massacring 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue last year was set to return to a federal courtroom on Thursday, as prosecutors weigh whether to pursue the death penalty against him. Bowers, 46, is accused of bursting into the synagogue on Oct. 27 with a semi-automatic rifle and three handguns and shouting "all Jews must die" as he fired on congregants gathered for a Sabbath service. Bowers has pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to a 63-count indictment. Some of the charges, including murder as a hate crime, can carry the death penalty. At Thursday's hearing, prosecutors may discuss whether they will seek the death penalty. The session is a routine hearing to review the status of the case. The United States is seeing a rise in the number of hate crimes and the number of hate groups, according to separate reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Southern Poverty Law Center. One of Bowers' attorneys, death penalty specialist Judith Clarke, said at his last hearing that the defense hoped to settle without trial. A negotiated plea deal could allow Bowers to avoid facing the risk of execution. It was not clear whether Bowers would be present at the hearing. Prosecutors say Bowers frequently posted anti-Semitic comments on right-wing social-media websites, including a post on the morning of the shooting in which he decried the work of a U.S. Jewish charity, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Among those killed in the attack were a 97-year-old woman, two brothers in their 50s and a married couple in their 80s. Two civilians and five police officers were wounded before the gunman was shot by police and surrendered. Ahead of Thursday's hearing, Bowers filed a motion to the court through his lawyers, which Judge Donetta Ambrose allowed to be sealed from public view per Bowers' request. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman) By Anna Irrera NEW YORK (Reuters) - PayJoy, a startup that has developed smartphone technology to facilitate access to credit in emerging markets, has raised $20 million from venture capital firm Greylock Partners, the company said on Thursday. Union Square Ventures, EchoVC and Core Innovation Capital also participated in the round, PayJoy said. The San Francisco-based startup said it will use the funding to expand, secure more partners and develop new technologies. PayJoy enables consumers with no bank accounts or formal credit history to purchase smartphones on installment payments and get cash loans. It does so by turning the smartphone into collateral through software that locks the phone when payments have not been made. It believes that making smartphones more affordable can be a stepping stone toward increasing financial inclusion since more financial services are now being provided digitally. "We're building technology to help people carve a path into the financial system," Mark Heynen, the company's co-founder and chief business officer, said in an interview. Globally, 1.7 billion adults do not have a bank account, but two-thirds of them own a mobile phone which could help them access financial services, the World Bank said in a 2018 report. Josh McFarland, a partner at Greylock, said he believes PayJoy's technology and distribution network could help emerging markets unlock some of their economic growth. "Credit is a major piece of the infrastructure needed to help the global middle class better their quality of life," McFarland said. PayJoy, which employs around 90 people globally, operates in more than 10 countries including Mexico, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya and Guatemala. In most markets the startup does not provide financing itself, but partners with retailers and credit providers. Partners include Telefonica, Vodacom and Orange SA. It is launching in six more countries through new partnerships with local companies, Heynen said. These include Mutual in Brazil, Waynimovil in Argentina, MyBucks in South Africa, Panacredito in the Dominican Republic, Omnipagos in Honduras and COINFIN in Colombia. PayJoy's technology does not make underwriting reliant on traditional credit scores, but seeks to increase consumers' willingness to pay by taking advantage of their desire to access the phone, which in turn can help keep default rates in check, Heynen said. He declined to disclose default rates. "Customers like it because it makes the phone pay-as-you-go," Heynen said. "In some cases, if they decide they can't pay, they can send in the phone and have their contract canceled." (Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Suzanne Barlyn NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday handed over the first of 1 million evidentiary documents to the lawyers of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker facing criminal charges linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at the Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB. The U.S. Department of Justice handed over to Ng's lawyers a "small subset" of more than 1 million documents the government is relying on to prosecute the case, said Assistant United States Attorney Drew Rolle during a hearing at a Brooklyn federal court. The United States accused 46-year-old Ng last year of conspiring to launder money and bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi through bond offerings that Goldman Sachs Group Inc handled. He was extradited on May 3 to New York from Kuala Lumpur, where he had been jailed since November. Ng pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 6 and was released in exchange for a $20 million bond. Prosecutors are working on how to best format and organize the remaining documents, which they will likely send to Ngs lawyers on a rolling basis, Rolle said. Prosecutors and Ng's lawyer, in a May 6 court document related to the case, had requested delaying the trial date for Ng because they believed plea negotiations "are likely to result in a disposition of this case without trial." Government lawyers have said they hope to avoid a trial by reaching a plea deal though Ng's attorney. Im not ruling anything out, said Marc Agnifilo, Ngs lawyer, to reporters after the hearing about a possible plea deal. There is a full range of possibilities for a criminal defendant, and there are still options. Ng, who left Goldman Sachs in 2014, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the three charges based on alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Malaysia's home minister wanted Ng to face criminal charges there first, but agreed to temporarily surrender him to the United States for 10 months, Malaysia's attorney general, Tommy Thomas, said in a statement. The period may be extended, Thomas has said. But that issue is for the U.S. and Malaysian governments to discuss, Agnifilo told reporters. Given the complexity of the case, its going to require us to do a lot of work up front and as soon as possible, Agnifilo said to reporters about the 10-month period. Malaysia has said it was seeking up to $7.5 billion in reparations from Goldman over its dealings with 1MDB, set up in 2009 by then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib, who lost a general election last year, faces 42 criminal charges related to losses at 1MDB and other state entities. He has pleaded not guilty. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Lauren LaCapra and Phil Berlowitz) WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department unveiled 17 criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday, saying he unlawfully published the names of classified sources and conspired and assisted ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in obtaining access to classified information. The superseding indictment comes a little more than a month after the Justice Department unsealed a narrower criminal case against Assange. He was charged with conspiring with Manning to gain access to a government computer as part of a 2010 leak by WikiLeaks of hundreds of thousands of U.S. military reports about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) The new government at the centre faces a winner's curse when it comes to jobs - if the last five years were difficult, the next 10 would be equally challenging. Growth creates fewer jobs than it used to. Azim Premji University's State of Working India report states that a 10 per cent rise in gross domestic product (GDP) now results in less than one per cent increase in employment. In the 1970s and 80s, when GDP growth was around three-four per cent, employment grew at two per cent an annum. One of the reasons for this divergence is the mega trend of automation driven by newer technologies. This is the reason why any government will struggle to show good jobs numbers in either manufacturing or services. Companies are building smart factories that require one-fourth or less of the manpower needed even five years ago. The second mega trend is anti-globalisation, which could lead to lower exports growth support for Indian manufacturing and services companies. Complicating these two secular trends are a few historical neglects. India, over the decades, has under-invested in healthcare, education, and skills development. All of this will come to bite the new government as it braces up to the challenge of finding millions of jobs every year. So what could the government do? And what would be the new engines of jobs generation? Here are four ideas: 1. The Centre for Sustainable Employment at Azim Premji University has proposed the creation of a National Urban Employment Guarantee Programme, similar to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) that guarantees 100 days of work to any rural household that chooses to avail of it. The Centre suggests that the pan-India scheme covers towns with population less than one million. There are about 4000 such towns with 126 million people of working age. Workers with varying levels of formal education up to standard 12 could be made eligible for 100 days of guaranteed employment a year at Rs 500 per day. The proposed programme, the Centre states, seeks to address "underemployment and low wages in informal workforce; migration to large cities from small towns; poor quality of urban infrastructure and public services; ecological degradation; shortage of human and financial capacities of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs); unemployment and lack of skills among the educated youth". 2. In India, some states have the supply of labour (northern parts), while other states the demand. The matchmaking of supply with demand is not very efficient yet and economic migration comes with its own share of issues. How could jobs be created where the supply is? Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global, suggests that the central government, in partnership with states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, set up labour intensive industries near small towns linked to major roads. To incentivise industries to move to these locations, governments got to offer ready-made infrastructure. "Industry will be interested if they don't have to invest much capital. They don't want to take the risk of going to a different area. Governments, therefore, have to develop ready-made infrastructure like factory sheds with power, water connection etc.," Pai says. The bigger cities have no capacity to expand - the government must increase minimum wages in these cities so that industries that are labour-intensive are forced to shift to the smaller towns, he adds. "Once you generate a lot of jobs in these towns, the money will go into consumption. That will generate bigger demand. That demand will lead to the creation of more white-collar jobs at the top - jobs in distribution, in consumer goods, sales," Pai says. 3. Santosh Mehrotra, Professor of Economics and Chairperson, Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, suggests an Industrial Policy with many interlocking components - India doesn't really have an industrial policy. The first element of an industrial policy would be to correct India's inverted duty structure (IDS), he says. In many sectors, the tariff rates on imported finished products are lower than the tariffs imposed on raw material, which are inputs to domestic manufacturers of the same finished product. "If I am a trader and a consumer, I like to import and consume an imported finished product. The GST talks of getting the benefit of an input tax credit in a situation where IDS is applicable. This somewhat offsets the IDS but at best, it might create a level playing field. An infant industry - for instance, a solar module manufacturing or microchip industry - needs a field that favours them. We need a trade policy aligned to the industrial policy," he suggests. The new industrial policy also needs to develop special packages for five sectors that contribute to half of all manufacturing jobs, or about 30 million. Apparel and garments, wooden furniture, leather and footwear, textiles and food processing. The third leg of Mehrotra's suggestion has to do with cluster development. Most of the manufacturing in the country exists in the form of clusters. There are 5,500 clusters in our economy. "Our cluster programmes today are poorly designed, under-funded, and is split between different ministries. There are no providers of services at the local level. India needs an integrated programme, a package of services. This means that you cannot split cluster development between ministries. In addition, cluster programmes must deliver a package of services (credit, technology support, market development, skills) at the cluster level," he says. An interlocking policy suggestion to this has to do with the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) programme that intends to cover 500 cities. Each city was to get Rs 100 crore. "Bring the money to improve infrastructure to where the clusters are because that's where the jobs are," Mehrotra suggests. 4. Of course, none of the above would fly without the ease of doing business. In the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings, India ranked 77 in 2019 - India jumped 65 ranks in the last four years. Nevertheless, at Number 77, the task is only half done. Many sectors, such as real estate and food services companies, struggle with multiple approvals that are required from multiple departments. In fact, in many states, a restaurant starting-up may need to wait out six months before it can manage all its licences. Today, the difficulty of doing business even extends to the number of government numbers issued. Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder- EVP at employment services company TeamLease stresses on the need to introduce a Unique Enterprise Number to replace over 25 current numbers that enterprises get from the government. These include a Corporate Identity Number (unique 21 digits); a Taxpayer Identification Number for commercial taxes (unique 11 digits); GST (15 digits); PAN (10-digit alphanumeric); a Provident Fund Number (11-digit alphanumeric); a Professional Tax Registration Certificate (9 digits); a Profession Tax Enrolment Certificate (9 digits); and an Income Tax Deduction and Calculation Number (10-digit alphanumeric), among many others. A Unique Enterprise Number would make life easy for a company while enabling better enforcement and regulation by the government. Chakraborty also suggests the formation of a GST-type council of state and centre that commits to "rationalisation, simplification and digitisation of the 60,000 compliance rules, 3,100 filings and 5,500 changes a year any average sized company needs to comply with". Many of these suggestions are workable but remain a long haul. Nevertheless, a start must be made right away if India is serious about avoiding a demographic disaster. Big ideas 1. A new Industrial Policy that aligns trade policy to industrial goals, cluster development 2. Hike minimum wages in big cities so that labour-intensive industries are forced to relocate to smaller towns in states with high labour supply 3. Centre-state governments can create ready-to-use infrastructure for industries re-locating to smaller towns to make it capital-lite, and less risky 4. A National Urban Employment Guarantee Programme, on the lines of MGNREGA 5. Ease of business: Introduce a Unique Enterprise Number to replace over 25 current numbers that enterprises get from the government SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. government is lobbying South Korea not to use Huawei Technologies Co Ltd products, a South Korean newspaper reported on Thursday, amid a wider push by Washington to get its allies to reject the Chinese tech firm's goods. In one incident, a U.S. State Department official said in a recent meeting with a South Korean counterpart that local telco LG Uplus Corp, which uses Huawei's equipment, should "not be allowed to serve in sensitive areas in South Korea", Chosun Ilbo reported. The official added Huawei needs be eventually driven out of the country, if not immediately. LG Uplus shares dropped 6 percent in Thursday's morning trade, which compared to a 0.4 percent drop in the benchmark KOSPI. "LG Uplus has not received any statements or requests from either South Koreas foreign ministry or the United States regarding our use of Huawei equipment," a LG Uplus official told Reuters on Thursday. Washington has been pressing its allies not to use equipment made by Huawei over concerns it could be used for espionage or cyberattacks, a concern that Huawei says is unfounded. The anti-Huawei campaign intensified last week, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively banned the use of Huawei equipment in U.S. telecom networks on national security grounds. Additionally, the Commerce Department put limits on the firms purchases of U.S. technology. While South Korea is a U.S. ally, China is its biggest export market. China took in nearly a quarter of South Korea's total exports in the first four months of this year, according to South Korea government data. The U.S. government has repeatedly sent the message to South Korea's Foreign Ministry through various diplomatic channels that using Huawei products could cause security problems, Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Seoul. "The U.S. has stressed the importance of security for 5G equipment, and we are aware of the U.S.'s position," South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that Seoul and Washington have been in continued talks on this issue, but declining to elaborate. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to request for comment. (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Additional reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Sam Holmes) BOGOTA (Reuters) - Ride-hailing app Uber will spend $40 million over five years to open its third support center in Latin America in September in the Colombian capital Bogota, the company said on Wednesday. The center, which Uber said in a statement will eventually create 600 jobs, will "give specialized support in services and security to users, partner drivers and partner deliverers for the applications Uber and Uber Eats in Latin America." Uber is popular in Colombia even though the government has said it is illegal to use the app and it will suspend for 25 years the licenses of drivers caught working for the platform. Uber said in the statement that it hopes to have a dialogue with the government that will contribute to regulation of ride-hailing apps. Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said last month it is beginning to recruit drivers ahead of its launch in Bogota in the coming months. (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) London (AFP) - UK election authorities acknowledged Thursday that some EU citizens were turned away at UK polling stations while trying to cast ballots in the European Parliament polls. The hashtag #DeniedMyVote began trending in Britain as voters cast their ballots in one of the 28 countries taking part in four days of voting. "Early morning visit to cast my vote only to have it disenfranchised because my declaration that I wouldn't be voting in Sweden (my country of citizenship) hadn't been processed in time," Twitter user Lina Dencik wrote. The lobby group, The3Million, representing the interests of EU nationals working and living in Britain said it had been contacted by "hundreds" of people who were turned away. Britain's Electoral Commission said it was monitoring the situation but refused to take the blame. "We understand the frustration of some EU citizens of other EU member states," it said in a statement. It attributed the incidents to misunderstandings by some people of European election rules for those living abroad. "The very short notice from the government for the UK's participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process among citizens," the UK election body said. Prime Minister Theresa May's government only acknowledged on May 7 that Britain will have to take part in the European election because it had not been able to complete the Brexit process in time. This limited the time both EU and UK authorities had to explain the different voting rules each country has for its expatriates. The pro-EU Liberal Democrats accused May's government of deliberately trying "to silence the voices of our fellow Europeans". "Liberal Democrats will hold the government to account for this bureaucratic shambles," the party said in a statement. Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian with no previous political experience, on Thursday said his first days in office have been "a bit of a shock". "There's a lot of work," the 41-year-old told AFP on the sidelines of an international book fair in the capital Kiev. Zelensky, who won a landslide victory last month, reiterated his pledge to move out of the presidential offices in a hulking Soviet-era building in centre city. "I do not like the atmosphere, the building," said Ukraine's sixth president since independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union. "So we'll think what to do about it," he added, noting that such a move would present difficulties. The father-of-two spoke to AFP as he was buying books for his children. Zelensky beat incumbent Petro Poroshenko in last month's polls on promises of rebooting the political system and purging the influence of powerful oligarchs. The political neophyte -- who has described himself as "an ordinary guy come to break the system" -- was sworn in as president on Monday. The next day he called snap parliamentary elections for July 21. In his inaugural address, which won wide praise, Ukraine's youngest post-Soviet president vowed to halt a war with Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country that claimed around 13,000 lives. But some of Zelensky's first staffing decisions have raised eyebrows, sparking fear that he might be beholden to tycoon Igor Kolomoisky despite repeated denials. The controversial oligarch owns the television channel that broadcasts Zelensky's comedy shows. Zelensky appointed Kolomoisky's personal lawyer, Andriy Bogdan, as his chief of staff. Kolomoisky, 56, and the Ukrainian government have been locked in a high-profile legal battle over ownership of the country's largest lender, PrivatBank. The tycoon reportedly returned to Ukraine last week after almost two years of self-imposed exile in Israel and Switzerland. Story continues - 'Investors call every day' - Many observers -- including Tomas Fiala, CEO of the Kiev-based investment company Dragon Capital -- expressed doubt that Bogdan would work for the benefit of Ukraine and not Kolomoisky. Zelensky angrily batted off those claims on Thursday. "I don't know who Fiala is, he's not holding any state office so it's unclear on what grounds he's commenting," the new leader told AFP. He added that foreign investors were keen to commit to Ukraine. "They are calling us every day, they want to invest money as long as the president and the government can guarantee their rights are protected -- that's our weak link." "This is the main reason why investors will invest or not," he said. "It really has nothing to do with Bogdan." Bogdan's recent suggestions that Ukraine may conduct a referendum over any peace plan with Russia have caused an uproar. Zelensky walked back those comments, saying it would be an "electronic poll" and not a full-fledged plebiscite. An online petition calling for Zelensky's resignation has gathered more than 35,000 signatures since Wednesday. The petition said the leader's first steps as president were disappointing. London (AFP) - Britain's former foreign secretary Boris Johnson knowingly lied during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign over the cost of the UK's EU membership, a court heard on Thursday in an application with potentially far-reaching implications. A private prosecution bid against Johnson accused him of misconduct in public office over the claim that Britain sends A350 million ($440 million, 400 million euros) a week to the European Union. In a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, lawyers for businessman Marcus Ball, who crowdfunded for the bid, lodged an application to summons Johnson. After considering the arguments, judge Margot Coleman said she would issue her decision on Wednesday. Johnson was not present, but his lawyer Adrian Darbishire said the former London mayor and pro-Brexit figurehead -- who is now bidding to replace Prime Minister Theresa May -- staunchly denied any wrongdoing. Ball's lawyer Lewis Power argued that Johnson knew the A350-million-a-week figure was wrong, but he "repeatedly misrepresented the amount the UK sends to Europe." Johnson's conduct "was both irresponsible and dishonest. It was, we say, criminal. "Democracy demands responsible and honest leadership from those in public office. When politicians lie, democracy dies," Lewis said. In response, Johnson's lawyer, Darbishire, "absolutely denied" that his client had "acted in an improper or dishonest manner at any time," suggesting that the case was politically motivated. LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May held separate meetings with her foreign and interior ministers on Thursday to discuss legislation to enact her Brexit deal, May's spokesman said. May has faced a backlash to the legislation, which is likely to be rejected if a vote on it goes ahead in parliament next month. She is under growing pressure to resign and is due to meet the chairman of her party's 1922 Committee on Friday. The spokesman said May was giving full consideration to the views of others on the legislation, and he was not aware of any plans for May to make announcements on Thursday or Friday. (Reporting by William James Writing by Kylie MacLellan Editing by William Schomberg) Geneva (AFP) - The UN named a pointman on Thursday to coordinate the global response to the devastating Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as it ramps up efforts to contain the outbreak. David Gressly, currently serving as the UN's deputy special representative in DRC, will take charge of the anti-Ebola effort, the World Health Organization said in a statement. The outbreak declared in eastern DRC last August has killed more than 1,200 people in two provinces -- Ituri and North Kivu -- and new cases have surged in recent weeks. Containing the virus has proved especially challenging because of militia violence in the region. "We have no time to lose," Gressly said in the statement, adding that the epidemic required "an enhanced, UN-wide response." WHO has also accused political leaders in the affected region of manipulating the Ebola issue to turn people against health workers. The response has been helped by the use of a new vaccine, given to an estimated 120,000 people. But the UN remains concerned the virus could still spread beyond eastern DRC into neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda. The outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-16. Khartoum (AFP) - Weeks after the army ousted veteran leader Omar al-Bashir, Sudan is gripped by uncertainty as talks between the military rulers and protesters on the transition to civilian rule remain deadlocked. Protest leaders have said that preparations are under way for a "general strike and civil disobedience" to pressure the generals to cede power, after the latest round of talks fell through with no agreement. What are the stakes and what is happening on the ground? - Current situation - Thousands of protesters have remained camped around-the-clock outside the army headquarters in Khartoum clamouring for civilian rule since Bashir's ouster on April 11. Although their determination has not waned, they have been unable to reach a deal with the military despite three rounds of talks on forming a new governing body that would replace the generals. The latest round broke up early Tuesday but neither side has said when the talks will resume. There are three forces at play: the ruling military council, the protest umbrella group Alliance for Freedom and Change and the demonstrators themselves. According to prominent Sudanese journalist Khalid al-Tijani, the military council is determined to "have a role because it considers itself a key partner in change". The Alliance, he said, "is divided over the role the generals should play" in a future government. The demonstrators are also divided into two camps, with one "leaning towards negotiations" with the generals on a future transition while the other is adamant that the military council must be ousted, said Tijani. "The situation seems to have hit a dead end because the negotiating parties are focused on the form and not the substance," he added. Last week violence flared at the protest site, leaving five protesters and an army major dead and many civilians and security forces wounded from gunshots. - Status of negotiations - On April 14, protest leaders handed the new military rulers a list of demands, topped by the immediate transfer of power to a civilian government. Story continues Sudan's military rulers held a first round of talks with protest leaders on April 20. There was a breakthrough on April 27 when the two sides agreed to establish a joint civilian-military ruling council. However differences remained over the composition of the council, with each side wanting it to be weighted in their favour. Talks resumed on May 13 and after nearly 12 hours of staunch negotiations the two sides announced they had agreed to have a three-year transition period. But the talks again stalled on who will lead the transition. The negotiations were suspended for 72 hours with the generals demanding that protesters remove roadblocks erected on several Khartoum roads before talks can resume. On May 20 a new round of talks to finalise the makeup of a new ruling body took place but the dispute over who should lead it persists, and once again the negotiations were suspended. - Sticking points - The generals who seized power after ousting Bashir are resisting growing calls from the international community and the street to cede power to a civilian governing body. They demand that a soldier lead a three-year transition period. "The key point of contention between the military council and the Alliance for Freedom and Change is over the percentage of representation (in a future governing body) and who will lead it," the council said. Protest leaders insist that a civilian must head a new sovereign council and that civilians should be the majority in such a body. "The military council has categorically rejected that a civilian head the (future) council," Alliance member Sateh al-Hajj told AFP. He said the composition of the future government body is also disputed. "We have requested that it includes eight civilians and three military representatives, while the military council wants it to include seven representatives from the military and four civilians," Hajj said. - Possible scenarios - According to Tijani both sides are bound to compromise because "they realise that they are on the edge of an abyss and that the country could be engulfed by chaos". One possible way out, said Tijani, is for protest leaders to accept that a future governing body be led by the military in exchange for approval by the generals that most of its members are civilians. He also expects the military to up the ante by announcing early elections before the end of the year. The next five years of prime minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government is likely to speed up some of financial services agenda. The banking industry has seen clean up of balance sheets, a work that is still going on. The NBFC sector, which had supported consumption, is now facing asset-liability mismatches. Following are the issues that should catch the attention of the new government: 1) Consolidation in the PSB space The last five years of BJP-led government saw a beginning of consolidation in the public sector banking space. Five associate banks of State Bank of India (SBI) got merged with the parent. The exercise was smooth as in the last decade, the government was able to merge only a couple of associate banks. Similarly, the Bank of Baroda (BoB), Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank merger is already going through the integration process. IDBI Bank also saw LIC coming in as a new promoter. So, there was some movement in the consolidation drive, which is likely to speed up. The government had earlier talked about creating a few large banks of international size. 2) Investment holding company The government had also set up a Bank Board Bureau (BBB) for recommending top-level appointments in PSBs. The next logical step was to set up an investment holding company (IHC) for housing the stake of the government. IHC was planned to raise funds and take powers to appoint directors in the banks. There is likely to be more progress in the creation of IHC. 3) Framework for resolution of stressed assets The biggest policy initiative by the BJP-led NDA government was in the area of faster restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings in case of corporate failure. There are already amendments to make the code more efficient but the enabling environment was not able to keep pace with changes. For example, the 'Project Sashakt' had come out with a plan to form Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and Asset Management Company (AMC). The February 12 circular of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was also struck down by the Supreme Court. The market is currently awaiting the RBI's response to bring back the restructuring schemes. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Also Read: Narendra Modi effect: Morgan Stanley sees Sensex at 45,000, Nifty at 13,500 by June 2020 Also Read: Modi wave sweeps market: Sensex crosses 40,000 for first time ever, Nifty breaches 12,000 Also Read: What Modi 2.0 could mean for the Indian pharma industry? 4) RBI's surplus capital The Bimal Jalan committee will be submitting its report to the government soon on RBI's surplus capital. There are indications that the surplus capital will be in the region of Rs 1-3 lakh crore. This transfer of capital to the government will provide a great relief as government finances are already constrained to support the public sector banks. This can be used to recapitalise the PSBs, which are in dire need of funds. Urijah Faber says he's seriously considering a return to MMA competition, at 40. (AP) One of the best MMA fighters in history is considering coming out of retirement. Forty-year-old former featherweight world champion, and Team Alpha Male head Urijah Faber has not fought since a Dec. 2016 win over Brad Pickett, but admitted this week to The MMA Hour that he just might be ready to step back into the ring. Its serious, he said. After being offered a couple of short-notice fights Im like, Man, thats kind of tempting. The reason I retired in the first place is just because I wanted to. I felt like it ... if Im thinking about it, it may be the time. That kind of trusting his gut is what may very well end up getting The California Kid back into MMA competition, especially since he says the UFC continues to try and goad him into fighting, and on short-notice. The same reason why Im thinking about coming back out and taking a fight. It sounds like fun, a little [fear of missing out]. Faber still trains at his gym with some of the best active fighters in the world. Its an alarmingly common refrain from aging fighters who cant kick the itch to compete, but that experience gives him confidence he could still do well in the UFCs cage. I know at my age I do really well against the guys, still, and if Im going to do it, you dont want to wait longer. I just turned 40, which is crazy. I kind of teased that once I did turn 40 Id like to challenge myself ... and do some fights. I got the new baby. Some names have been thrown out there for opponents and its real possible. It seems possible that dates have been thrown out there as well, and might have included July 13, when the UFC is scheduled to hold an event in Fabers hometown of Sacramento. More from Yahoo Sports: Fort Worth (United States) (AFP) - The US's aviation regulator has still not received Boeing's proposed fix for its 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded globally following two deadly crashes, the agency's chief said on Wednesday. Boeing has said it will patch the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) stall prevention system, which has been blamed for the two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people and caused the best-selling planes to be taken out of service. Boeing said last week that it had finished making changes requested by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but the agency's interim chief Dan Elwell told reporters the agency hadn't yet seen the fixes. "We are still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software for approval," he said on the sidelines of a summit of global aviation regulators in Fort Worth, Texas. Elwell said the FAA sent Boeing additional questions about its proposed fixes for the MAX planes, which caused the delay. The summit set to begin Thursday will see the FAA attempt to re-establish trust with aviation regulators from 33 countries including China, Canada, the European Union, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The regulator called the summit to walk through the steps taken to address concerns with the MAX aircraft after it was criticized for dragging its feet on ordering the jets grounded. Canadian and American regulators have differed on the proper training for the 737 MAX 8, with Canada insisting pilots train in a flight simulator and the US saying a training course on a computer or iPad is enough. "We haven't determined the final training yet," Elwell said. Two American carriers -- Southwest and American -- have announced plans to restart flights on their MAX aircraft from August in hopes the fix will be completed by then. The FAA chief added that he couldn't say when the jet would be back in the air, blaming the recent delay. "It takes as long as it takes to be right," Elwell said. "We need to be the first to lift the prohibition." A 10-year-old girl from El Salvador has died in US custody, it has emerged, bringing the total number of migrant children to have died after being detained by border authorities in the last eight months to six. Mark Weber, a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services, said the girl was medically fragile, with a history of congenital heart defects. She died in September 2018. Mr Weber says the child entered the custody of an Office of Refugee Resettlement in San Antonio, Texas on 4 March, 2018. He said that complications from an unspecified surgical procedure left her in a comatose state. Officials say she was released from the hospital in May and sent to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona for palliative care. She died on 29 September of fever and respiratory distress in a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Officials say she had been moved to Omaha to be closer to family. The girls name, as well as when and how she entered the US have not been disclosed. HHS provides care to children the government considers unaccompanied. Democrats are calling for investigations into her death, and the five other reported deaths of migrant children detained by the US border patrol. Representative Joaquin Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accused the Trump administration of covering up the 10-year-old girls death. "It's outrageous that another child has died in government custody and that the Trump administration didn't tell anybody," the Texas Democrat told CBS. They covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the question about whether any child had died or been seriously injured. We give them billions of dollars, and they want to use it on a wall instead of spending it to make sure that people don't die and that they can medically treat emergencies that migrants maybe come into or that their own agents may come into, he continued. On Wednesday, it was reported that the $1.57b Congress appropriated for Donald Trumps proposed border wall has so far yielded 1.7 miles of fences. Washington (AFP) - The Justice Department on Thursday charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with violating the US Espionage Act in the publishing of military and diplomatic files in 2010, rejecting his claim that he is a journalist. The department unveiled 17 new charges against Assange, accusing him of aiding and abetting Chelsea Manning with stealing secret US files and also recklessly exposing and endangering confidential sources in the Middle East and China who were named in the files. The charges against Assange, now 18 in total, reject his claim that he was simply a publisher receiving leaked material from Manning, an action that is protected under the US Constitution's First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of the press. A new indictment alleges that Assange conspired with Manning to steal the hundreds of thousands of classified files "with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation," the Justice Department said. It also said that Assange rejected the US State Department's warning in 2010 to redact the names of its and the US military's confidential sources in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran and China, sources it said included journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents. "Assange's actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention," the department said. "The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers. "But Julian Assange is no journalist." "Indeed, no responsible act of journalism would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential sources in war zones, exposing them to the gravest of dangers," he said. Story continues Assange is in prison in Britain for jumping bail and faces a US extradition request when he is released 11 months from now. WikiLeaks blasted the new charges, saying it threatened reporters broadly. "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment," the group tweeted. Washington (AFP) - The Justice Department on Thursday charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing military and diplomatic files in 2010, rejecting his claim that he is a journalist. The department unveiled 17 new charges against Assange, accusing him of directing and abetting intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing secret US files, and also recklessly exposing confidential sources in the Middle East and China who were named in the files. The charges against Assange, now 18 in total, reject his claim that he was simply a publisher receiving leaked material from Manning, an action that is protected under the US Constitution's First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of the press. A new indictment alleges that Assange actively conspired with Manning to steal the hundreds of thousands of classified files "with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation," the Justice Department said. It also said that Assange rejected the US State Department's warning in 2010 to redact the names of its and the US military's confidential sources in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran and China, sources it said included journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents. "Assange's actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention," the department said. "The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers. "But Julian Assange is no journalist." - 'Attack on press freedom' - A native of Australia, Assange, 47, is currently in prison in Britain for jumping bail, and faces a US extradition request when he is released 11 months from now. Story continues But it is not yet clear whether the British government will honor that request, and the new charges could complicate it. WikiLeaks blasted the charges, saying the threatened reporters broadly. "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment," the group tweeted. Wikileaks later denounced the charges as "an unprecedented attack on the global free press" and an "extraterritorial application of US law," saying in a statement that the "Department of Justice wants to imprison Assange for crimes allegedly committed outside of the United States." Media rights groups also reacted sharply. "The charges brought against Julian Assange under the Espionage Act pose a direct threat to press freedom and investigative journalism, both of which are undermined when those who inform the public are prosecuted for sounding the alarm," said Reporters Without Borders. The charges escalate the US government's effort to crack down on leakers of national security materials. While the previous administration of president Barack Obama pursued leakers, including Manning, it appeared to draw the line on transparency groups like WikiLeaks, not wanting to enter a battle over press freedom. But after WikiLeaks played an important role in the Russia meddling operation in the 2016 US election, publishing materials stolen by Russian hackers that were damaging to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Washington officials began to paint the group as acting in concert with US enemies. In 2017, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at the time director of the CIA, called WikiLeaks a "non-state hostile intelligence service." - Leaks rocked the world in 2010 - WikiLeaks put itself on the map as a potent force in 2010 when it began publishing the files extracted from classified US databases by Manning, then a low-level US army intelligence analyst angered by the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The documents, videos, and communications exposed possible war crimes, torture, and secret military operations, as well as unveiling the often-unseemly behind-the-scenes activities, discussions and analyses of US diplomacy. The 40-page indictment paints Assange specifically as a co-conspirator of Manning, who was sentenced in 2013 under the Espionage Act to 35 years in prison for the leaks, her claim of being a "whistleblower" rejected. Her sentence was commuted by Obama in 2017. But she was sent back to jail earlier this year for refusing to cooperate with the investigation into Assange. The Justice Department said that in 2009, before Manning acted, WikiLeaks publicly solicited specific classified materials involving the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq so that it could publish the materials. "Assange wanted the 'Most Wanted Leaks' list to encourage and cause individuals to illegally obtain and disclose protected information," the indictment says. It says Assange went far beyond the actions of a simple publisher. "No responsible act of journalism would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential sources in war zones, exposing them to the gravest of dangers," said Demers. Washington (AFP) - The United States is considering deploying more troops to the Middle East as it looks for ways to enhance the protection of its forces in the turbulent region, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Thursday. But Shanahan denied news reports that plans call for the deployment of as many as 10,000 more troops to the region, where tensions between the US and Iran are on the rise. "What we're looking at, are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?" he said, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon. "It may involve sending additional troops." The Pentagon has dispatched B-52-bombers and a Patriot missile battery to the region, and accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf. The movements have come in response to intelligence warnings of a heightened threat to US interests in the Middle East. But they have also provoked skepticism among members of Congress who worry that brinksmanship with Tehran could lead to a dangerous miscalculation. Shanahan earlier in the week said the US response had put the threat "on hold." "We have deterred attacks based on reposturing of assets -- deterred attacks against American forces," Shanahan told reporters Tuesday after delivering a classified briefing to the full US Congress. "Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation. We do not want the situation to escalate," he said. Washington (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it was considering deploying more troops to the Middle East as it looks for ways to enhance the protection of its forces in the turbulent region amid simmering tensions with Iran. But acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan denied news reports that plans under consideration call for the deployment of as many as 10,000 more troops, a move that would further rattle frayed nerves in the region. "What we're looking at, are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?" Shanahan told reporters on a possible further buildup of the US military presence. "It may involve sending additional troops," he said. Earlier this month, the administration of President Donald Trump announced the deployment of an aircraft carrier task force as well as B-52 bombers, an amphibious assault ship and a missile defense battery to the Gulf. The movements have come in response to what the US says are intelligence warnings of a heightened threat to its interests or allies in the Middle East from Iran. But they have also provoked skepticism among members of Congress who worry that brinksmanship with Tehran could lead to a dangerous miscalculation. Media reports Wednesday said the Pentagon was mulling adding 5,000 or 10,000 troops to the region, but Shanahan dismissed both figures. "There is no 10,000 and there is no 5,000. That's not accurate," he said. Shanahan said he was in regular contact with Marine General Frank McKenzie, who leads US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East. "We talk to CENTCOM all the time," he said. The acting Pentagon chief said he would brief Trump on Thursday about the situation before the president heads to Japan. The United States currently has between 60,000 and 80,000 troops deployed in the area covered by CENTCOM, which includes the 14,000 currently on duty in Afghanistan, 5,200 personnel in Iraq and less than 2,000 in Syria. Story continues Earlier in the week, Shanahan said the US response had put the alleged threat posed by Iran "on hold." "We have deterred attacks based on reposturing of assets -- deterred attacks against American forces," Shanahan told reporters Tuesday after delivering a classified briefing to the full US Congress. "Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation. We do not want the situation to escalate," he said. The United States on Thursday unveiled a new $16 billion aid package to help farmers caught in the crossfire of President Donald Trump's trade war with China. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the bulk of the funds will go to direct payments to farmers, while a small portion will be used to purchase food to use in US aid programs like food banks and school lunch programs. "The plan we are announcing today ensures farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners," Perdue told reporters in a conference call. "Farmers would rather have trade than aid but without the trade they are going to need some support." Trump's aggressive tariff strategy, especially against China, has drawn stiff retaliation from Beijing and others designed to hit the US where it hurts: farm country. Soybeans and pork have been primary targets, but many other crops have suffered directly or indirectly. Soybean exports to China fell 75 percent in 2018, according to Commerce Department figures. The Trump administration ramped up the aid from the $12 billion provided last year. There were high hopes early this month that a resolution with China was within striking distance, but that optimism largely evaporated when Trump said Beijing had backed away from commitments considered already settled. He more than doubled existing punitive tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, and threatened to hit all the goods that had been spared so far. "China hasn't played by the rules for a long time and President Trump is standing up to them, sending the clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate their unfair trade practices," Perdue said. The tariffs collected by the US Treasury will indirectly support the farm aid, he said. The US Department of Agriculture will calculate damage done by the retaliation, and officials said the first of three payments is expected to go out in July or August. Story continues Perdue said the size of the aid will be "heavily skewed" towards the first payment, while the others will depend on the market and the status of the trade talks. But reaching an agreement now "depends on China." USDA officials said the amount each farmer receives will be based on the damage calculated to each US county, with equal payments made to all farmers based on the acreage planted, regardless of crop, to prevent distorting planting decisions. Crops covered include alfalfa, barley, canola, corn, lentils, rice, peanuts, chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Dairy and pork producers, as well as growers of cherries, cranberries and nuts, also will receive support, officials said. Apparel, footwear, and workwear conglomerate V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) reported its final quarter of 2019 on Wednesday, while opening a new chapter in its business operations. The company announced that it's completed the spinoff of its jeans business into Kontoor Brands, which is expected to begin trading as a stand-alone company on Thursday. Below, we'll review details from the quarter and look ahead to management's financial expectations for the new fiscal year. V.F. Corp: The raw numbers Metric Q4 2019 Q4 2018 Growth (YOY) Revenue $3.21 billion $3.05 billion 5.2% Net income $128.8 million $252.8 million (49.1%) Diluted EPS $0.32 $0.63 (49.2%) Data source: V.F. Corporation. EPS = earnings per share. YOY = year over year. What happened with V.F. Corp. this quarter? Management attributed the company's revenue improvement to strength in its largest brands, higher direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, and contributions from its active, outdoor, and work segments. The company confirmed that it has completed the separation of its jeans business, which includes the Wrangler and Lee jeans labels, via a distribution of shares. Kontoor Brands was scheduled to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, May 23 under the ticker symbol "KTB." Shareholders of V.F. Corp. will receive one share of Kontoor Brands for every seven shares of V.F. Corp. stock owned on the date of record: May 10, 2019. V.F. Corp. will retain zero share interest in Kontoor Brands. The company completed the sale of its Nautica brand to Authentic Brands Group, LLC, on April 30. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. With the dispositions of Kontoor Brands and Nautica, V.F. Corp will focus on a slimmer portfolio that will center around its three primary brands: Vans, Timberland, and The North Face. During the quarter, these businesses posted year-over-year revenue growth rates of 14%, 1%, and 8%, respectively. Notably, Vans' expansion slowed a bit versus previous quarters due to sluggish growth in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region. Operating margin declined by 400 basis points, to 6%. The company listed several adjusting items to operating income, including transaction and integration expenses from recent acquisitions such as Williamson-Dickie, Reef, Icebreaker, and Altra, expenses from the Kontoor spinoff, and relocation costs in moving V.F. Corp.'s headquarters from Greensboro, North Carolina to Denver, Colorado. After accounting for these adjustments, operating margin decreased 110 basis points. A female hiker with dog pauses in front of a mountain lake. Image source: Getty Images. Story continues Management's perspective V.F. Corp. enters its new fiscal year having alleviated management's responsibility of turning around its struggling jeans business -- Kontoor Brands' own management team will now undertake the revival of the jeans labels. CEO Steve Rendle shared his thoughts on the separation in V.F. Corp.'s earnings press release: Fiscal 2019 marked one of the most significant periods of transformation in VF's 120-year history, highlighted by our announcement to spin off our Jeans business as an independent, publicly traded company. Despite the tremendous workload, we remained sharply focused and delivered another year of strong financial results and top quartile returns to our shareholders. As we enter fiscal 2020, our portfolio is well positioned, and our growth and momentum are strong, fueled by the investments we are making in support of our long-term strategy. The bold decisions we continue to make to evolve our company underpin the transformational journey we're on to deliver on our commitment to be a purpose-led, performance-driven and value-creating enterprise capable of delivering sustainable long-term shareholder value. Looking forward V.F. Corp. issued full-year fiscal 2020 guidance alongside earnings on Wednesday. Net of the Kontoor and Nautica divestitures and excluding the impact of acquisitions, revenue is expected to fall between $11.7 billion and $11.8 billion, reflecting growth of 5%-6%. DTC revenue is expected to improve 9%-11%, propelled by an anticipated 25% increase in digital sales. V.F. Corp. projects adjusted operating margin of 13.7% in fiscal 2020, which will represent an improvement of 60 basis points over 2019's adjusted operating margin. Excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, the company is aiming for adjusted EPS of $3.30-$3.35, which will equal 16% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of the range. It's notable that V.F. Corp's revenue is slated for fairly mild expansion in the current fiscal year. After all, freeing up faster-growing brands from the drag of the mature jeans business was a primary rationale presented to investors for the Kontoor divestiture. Now that management can attend to the sales velocities of Vans, Timberland, and The North Face without distraction, investors will likely expect a positive revision to the revenue outlook in the coming quarters, or at the very least, indications of a more vigorous growth story in 2021. More From The Motley Fool Asit Sharma has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rattan Lal Kataria is leading against Congress' Kumari Selja in Lok Sabha election 2019 from Ambala Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana, according to early trends. In this Lok Sabha constituency, there is a direct contest between Dalits. The community holds around 25 per cent of the electoral base in Ambala and plays the kingmaker in the constituency. But unlike most of the regions, the Dalits are further divided among Balmikis and Ravidasias. Out of a total 16,92,227 electors, there are 4.50 lakh Ravidasias community voters, followed by Balmikis, 98,000 votes. Kumari Selja, from the Ravidasia community, is facing challenges from Balmikis, who don't endorse her. The Balmikis are against Congress for not giving the ticket to a candidate from their own community. However, Congress did field a candidate from Balmikis, Raj Kumar Balmiki in the previous general election. The party was defeated by BJP's Rattan Lal Kataria, who was from Ravidasia community, by a margin of around 3.40 lakh votes. In this Lok Sabha election, Congress is banking on Kumari Selja, who is not only from majority Ravidasia community but also a popular face among her own community members. However, the possible polarisation of Balmikis by Rampal Balmiki of Indian National Lok Dal, and her disconnection with urban voters could become a hurdle in the battle. Ambala has around 45 per cent backward class voters. The rest are Sikhs, Punjabi, Jats, Brahmins, upper caste Rajput, among other communities. (Edited by Vivek Dubey) Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: India keeps faith in Modi, casts shadow over RaGa's political career Also Read: Not just India, Modi supporters kick off celebrations in Australia too Cloak and Dagger. | Photo: Kasheem J./Yelp If you love to take advantage of the live music offerings near you, this week offers several great reasons to leave the house. From an EP release concert to a performance by a vibraphonist and vocalist, read on for a local music to-do list to fill your calendar this week. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Sandra Ash's EP Release Concert From the event description: Spend an Evening with Sandra Ash accompanied by her 10-piece band as she releases her much anticipated EP. The concert begins at 9 p.m. and will be preceded by a D.C. Statehood Film Festival and panel. Tickets are required for all events. When: Friday, May 24, 5:30-11:30 p.m. Where: Carnegie Institution for Science, 1530 P St. NW, Ballroom and Auditorium Price: D.C. Statehood Film Festival and D.C. Statehood panel discussion are free; $25, EP release concert only. More ticket options available. Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Dusse Kickback - Memorial Day Weekend Edition From the event description: We're turning the Capital upside this Memorial Weekend and letting y'all drive the boat with your favorite cognac. Food by chef Cisero and music by DJ Dont Trip and DJ Kidd Fresh. When: Friday, May 24, 6-10 p.m. Where: Cloak & Dagger, 1359 U St. NW Price: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Res From the event description: Vocalist Res grew up listening to a broad spectrum of music: R&B and soul, psychedelic rock and folk in Philadelphia. Those early influences encouraged the development of her own distinct style, a sound that has consistently defied categorization and courageously refuses the constraints of fleeting trends. Genre blending is where music is right now, Res notes. Thats what I do but, in a rock n roll way." When: Saturday, May 25, 7:30-10 p.m. Where: Sotto, 1610 14th St. NW Price: $20 advance for shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.; $25 at the door Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Story continues Tiffany Gouche Concert From the event description: The multi-instrumentalist Tiffany Gouche has blazed her way to the forefront of the soul and R&B scene. She has collaborated, toured and shared stages with a myriad of artists, including Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Daley, K Michelle, Solange, Anderson Paak, Ty Dolla $ign, Kelela, Little Simz, Kehlani and more. She also produced Lalah Hathaway's entire "Honestly" album, and her hit "Red Rum Melody" was featured on BET's "Being Mary Jane." Her nostalgic, yet futuristic-soulful sound takes on a hip-hop flow, while giving room for innovation in the form of R&B. When: Sunday, May 26, 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Where: Ivy City Smokehouse, 1356 Okie St. NE Price: $30 advance, standing room only Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Roy Ayers From the event description: Vibraphonist/vocalist Roy Ayers is among the best-known, most loved and respected jazz/R&B artist on the music-scene today. Now in his fourth decade in the music business, Ayers - known as the Godfather of Neo-soul - continues to bridge the gap between generations of music lovers. In the '60s he was an award-winning jazz vibraphonist, and he transformed into a popular R&B band leader in the '70s/'80s. Today, the dynamic music man is an iconic figure still in great demand with music industry heavyweights, including Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, 50 Cent, A Tribe Called Quest and Ice Cube. When: Saturday, May 25, 8 p.m. Where: 1350 Okie St. NE, Washington, DC 20002 Price: $45; other ticket options available Click here for more details, and to get your tickets This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. Raised in northern Iraqs small Yezidi religious minority, S. was 9 years old when the so-called Islamic State killed his father and brother, kidnapped him and turned him into a child soldier. He witnessed unspeakable violence, saw friends tortured and was beaten by the teachers who indoctrinated him into the groups severe version of Islam. Three years later, when his mother ransomed him back from ISIS for $10,000, he was returned against his will to a family he barely remembered. He tried repeatedly to run back to his former captors. He threatened his sisters with a knife, calling them infidels; hit his mother, saying he wasnt really hers; and more than once tried to set fire to his uncles house. Brainwashed by ISIS with a combination of savage cruelty and lionizing praise, S. was wracked by interior conflict, a lonely pariah in a family alien to him, lashing out violently at the slightest provocation. What to call the war on ISIS now that the group has lost the last of its territory in Iraq and Syria? President Donald Trumps declaration of victory appears premature, given how much of the conflict exists not on battlefields but in the minds and souls of individuals. Thikran Kamiran, now 19, was deemed too young to be executed with the men of his village. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME In wars between countries, the losing side retreats to its borders. But since the late 1990s, the U.S. has been locked in wars against terrorist groups with no fixed address. The territory ISIS briefly did claim as a state served to enhance its attraction as something more difficult to confront: a global movement. Thus the question that now preoccupies counter-terrorism officials: What devotion does the group retain among the 8 million Iraqis and -Syrians it ruled at the height of its power, the estimated 40,000 people who traveled from elsewhere to join its caliphate and the millions around the globe who may be entertaining its extreme vision of Islam? And what will become of the thousands of youngsters press-ganged into ISISs forces in northern Iraq? The terrorists separated Yezidi children from their families, sometimes killing their parents in front of them. In the soil of that trauma, they planted the idea that the boys were the future army of ISIS, indoctrinating them with the arrogance of conquerors. They laced the boys food with Captagon, an amphetamine, to dull their fear and trained some as suicide attackers. Many more were sent to the front lines where fighting was bloodiest, forced to wear suicide belts at all times, with instructions to blow themselves up if the enemy got too close. Story continues A photograph of Kamiran, as an ISIS fighter, among family pictures at his home. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Each of these boys could grow up to become a threat to thousands, and each must be healed. In Iraq, some 1,500 Sunni Muslim children ages 13 to 17 are being held, charged with being members of ISIS, according to Human Rights Watch. Hundreds of others have returned to live with relatives, bearing the scars of battle, inside and out. The Yezidi boys like S. now occupy the gray zone between guilty and forgotten. No one experienced the violence of ISIS as they did. It came from every side. Kamiran in Duhok in February. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME The Nineveh Plain, which extends north and east of the city of Mosul, has for centuries been a kind of showcase for ancient faiths: Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac. Yet there the perhaps half-million Yezidi believers were such frequent targets of persecution that the groups elders speak of 72 genocides even before ISIS swept over the entire region in 2014. The extremists displaced around half the Yezidis, killing, capturing and enslaving more than 6,000, according to Hussein al-Qaidi, director of the Kurdish governments kidnapped affairs department. As ISIS retreated from its last redoubt, around 3,000 were still missing. Some survivors tell how their Arab neighbors joined ISIS to seize their lands, kill their loved ones and drive them out. Hundreds of thousands now live in refugee camps, in the homes of relatives or in drafty, half-constructed buildings at the edges of Kurdish towns and villages. They say they dont trust the Iraqi government to protect them from the next attempt at genocide, and many are seeking sanctuary in Canada, Germany, Australia or anywhere else that will have them. The scattering will make it harder for their tribe to survive. The ancient Yezidi religion is inherited through birth, based on bloodlines via the father, and the tribe is divided into three castes that cannot intermarry. Shrinking the available pool makes the survival of the faith even harder one more reason the boys who were taken, then brought back, need to be healed and woven back into the fabric of their community. Boys and young men have little to do and lots of time to think at the camps around Duhok, where some of the roughly 250,000 Yezidis have been displaced from their homes, afraid to go back. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME TIME met a number of survivors, interviewing several older boys extensively about their time with ISIS. Those under 18 were asked limited questions, with guardians or caregivers present. Every boys story starts the same way. They tell you the moment ISIS attacked and their fathers, brothers or uncles were taken away. Sometimes they were permitted to stay with their mother and sisters for a while, but somewhere along their journey, moved like cattle from schoolrooms or wedding halls, they were singled out and taken away with other boys for religious indoctrination and military training. Around the age of 13, the unlucky ones were sent to fight. Thikran Kamiran, 19, described the moment ISIS arrived in his large northern village and tricked his grandfather, the village leader, into gathering everyone together in the school courtyard, allegedly for safe passage out if they chose not to convert to Islam. ISIS fighters led the Yezidi men and older boys away in three truckloads, supposedly carrying them to safety at nearby Sinjar mountain. Thikran, then 15, was with his mother and sister, cowering in the school courtyard, when they heard thundering volleys of gunfire in the distance. The ISIS fighters told the panicked women and children that it was just animals, but everyone knew their husbands, brothers and sons had just been killed. The ISIS fighters saved Thikrans grandfather for last, letting him listen in horror to that gunfire and realize hed led his people into a trap, before taking him outside and shooting him too. Khayri Abdullah Massi ransomed family members, but his wife went back to raise the child she had by her Thats the day Thikran learned to hide his anger and fear. He was taken with his mother and sister to the ISIS stronghold of Tal Afar, and sent to an Islamist school to study the Quran from sunrise to sometimes well after sunset. He said he learned to recite the Quran and ISIS ideology better than his peers so well that his ISIS overseer offered to make him an instructor, though he turned that promotion down. He said his scholarship is why he never had to fight. We converted to Islam and told them We will obey you, he said. I made that sacrifice to protect myself and my family. He doesnt feel guilty for playing along, he says; he feels nothing, a frequent answer from many of the boys. Burying anger, pain and fear was a survival skill. Reactivating emotion means facing grief over loved ones killed, guilt over anyone they may have killed or whatever else they did to remain alive. So they stay numb. The Yezidi child soldiers were often grouped together with others of their tribe, yet ISIS trainers also worked to break down any connection among them, by putting one of them in charge of their unit and making him responsible for meting out vicious beatings for infractions like failing to reassemble a weapon fast enough. Shalal, 15, and his sister Rawa, 12. Two cousins, both 16, explained how they were trained in an all-Yezidi unit, then deployed to the Line of Paradise ISISs name for the Syrian front lines where many Yezidi boys were sent as cannon fodder, surrounded by enemy troops and hammered from above by airstrikes. The cousins say they had to wear suicide belts much of the time, packed with metal intended to kill attacking troops if they overwhelmed the Yezidi front line. Many Yezidi boys got detailed lessons on how to kill. In some camps, the student soldiers were forced to watch instruction videos on beheading, from how to lift the prisoners head by his scalp to where to cut the throat. Yezidi boy returnees described learning how to remove hands, arms or legs as punishment for crimes like theft. One described an operating-theater-like room where they watched a limb removed from an anesthetized patient. Some boys were also taught how to crucify those found guilty of disobeying ISISs dictates, a punishment several boys say happened almost weekly. The dead were left rotting for days in public squares or busy intersections, wearing a sign describing their crime usually refusal to convert. Subha, 35, and the hands of her children: Fahad, 15; Fahdi, 13; Linda, 10; Liza, 7; and Salam, 5. Photographed in February, they were captured by ISIS in 2014 and held as slaves until recently escaping the battle in Baghouz. Fahad, who had been trained as a fighter, led the way to safety. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Amid these horrors, the boys were offered grandiose metaphysical escape. Their captors told them that their Yezidi families were destined for hell, but that they were the righteous ones who would inherit the caliphate. ISIS told us about heaven, told us we were on a good path, said ISIS escapee Shalal, now 15, his voice still high and childlike. He was 11 when he was taken, along with his mother, younger sister and brother, and indoctrinated in a military training camp. It affected our minds, he recalls. Whenever we talked to our families, we would tell them what ISIS told us, that they needed to become Muslims too. As coalition bombing intensified against ISIS, Shalal decided it was time for his mother, sister and brother to escape the groups self-declared capital, Raqqa. He reached his father by telephone back in Iraq, who arranged for a smuggler to meet the boy and his brother Hachim, now 7, at the front lines. It was very scary, Shalal recalls, describing how he guided his brother through bushes in the dark. Shalals mother and sister were smuggled out later for roughly $10,000 each. The familys escape was in part the result of the bizarre economy of ISISs wartime loss of territory. In its waning days as leaders of a would-be state, ISIS had a sort of Craigslist of captives it was offering for sale cashing in on the victims it had seized during its march across Syria and Iraq. The government of Kurdistan, in northern Iraq, set up a $10 million fund to help pay for the return of kidnapped children. Many, including Shalals father who ransomed them and now cares for them all, are still waiting to be reimbursed. Clothes dry on a fence at a camp for displaced Yezidis near Duhok. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Physical deliverance for the Yezidi boys was just the beginning of the journey back. Shalal was aggressive and angry when he first returned, said his father, who had narrowly escaped capture himself while traveling for business. Now he seems quiet and subdued, sitting next to his father as he describes his time with ISIS, looking down at the floor of their unfinished house and playing with his smartphone. He wont give many details about what else he saw or did as a fighter for the group. His father, a teacher who studied psychology, insists his son is fine and doesnt need counseling. But as the boy listens to his older cousin Ashrawe describe fighting for ISIS, his far-off gaze suggests otherwise. Ashrawe manned checkpoints in the middle of some of the fiercest fighting in Syria, and he was badly wounded in a mortar strike that killed two other boys in his unit. His leg still hurts from embedded shrapnel. He also came back with a young Yezidi wife given to him by ISIS. But at 18, with no job, he struggles to take care of her, so he too relies on his uncle the psychologist, for food and the shelter of the incomplete concrete apartment block they live in, its windows just blank holes open to the chilling February wind. The family is also dealing with another tragedy of the war. Shalals mother had a child by an ISIS fighter while in captivity. Shalals father had refused to take the child in, so she left the infant at an orphanage in Mosul where other former ISIS children were being sent, when she was rescued from ISIS along with her daughter and sons. Torn by the memory of the abandoned child, her husband said, she chose late last year to leave her family and go back to find her baby. Father Patrick Desbois is on a mission to heal the boys, and to keep them from hurting anyone else. The Catholic priest has recorded interviews with more than 100 Yezidi survivors, focusing primarily on the children. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME The familial trauma has been made worse by a quirk of the Iraqi constitution. Under that document, children born of ISIS fathers, or an unknown father, are automatically registered as Muslim. That registration in turn automatically switches the mothers religion to Islam as well. Yezidi elders call this genocide by constitution and have appealed to Iraqi officials in Baghdad to change it. Yezidi elder Hadi Babashekhi, son of the Yezidi religious leader Baba Shekh, claims that his community is finding a place for children like Shalals halfsibling. But other Yezidi community leaders, and former Yezidi slaves, say the community rejects such children, so an unknown number of former ISIS slaves like Shalals mother are forced to choose between their faith and family, or exile with their child born in captivity. Shalals father is angry and resentful, frequently bringing up what he says is his wifes betrayal, when asked about his son, one more emotional weight for Shalal to bear. Handprints of worshippers who came to pray at the Yezidi holy site of Lalish, tucked within a valley north of Duhok, in February. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME When the fight against ISIS was on the battlefield, there was no shortage of resources: through fiscal year 2019, the U.S. military has committed $54 billion to the war effort, according to a Brown University estimate. But its a different story now that the contest has moved into the personal space, where funding for social services and counseling is hard to come by. The Yezidi boys have a certain amount of help from their faith. The religions leadership passed a decree in 2014 that forgave their people for the sin of being forced to convert, or for being raped, or for being forced to kill and maim for ISIS. With that came the offer of a ritual of return that includes a rebaptism ceremony for men, women and children to cleanse them of the sin of whatever they were forced to do. We will slowly, step by step, convince those children to put the Yezidi communitys humanity back into their heart, because there is no more peaceful religion than Yezidi, says Babashekhi. The rebaptism takes place at the Yezidi holy site of Lalish, tucked within a valley north of Duhok, a scenic city encircled by mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan. All members must visit at least once in their lifetime to submerge themselves in the 4-to-5-ft. deep well inside a small, worn stone shrine, sacred to Yezidis. Judge Ayman Mostafa is trying to build a case against ISIS for war crimes to the Kurdish High Commission on Recognition of Genocide. He has no power to indict or prosecute its fighters. A genocide charge can be brought only by a U.N. body. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Adult survivors say the ceremony helps, but others say it is not enough to stop the nightmares or flashbacks or to purge the guilt a child feels, which can be channeled inward into depression and outward to rage. Duhok also happens to be the home of one of Iraqs only child and adolescent mental-health centers. But counselors there explained they dont have the funding or the staff to seek out the children and treat them on a regular basis the kind of treatment thats needed to undo how these children were conditioned to kill. Calling it brainwashing is to underestimate what has happened to the kids, said one of the only other child psychologists there, Galavej Jafaar. Another psychologist, Araz Adil with the Kurdish nonprofit SEED, said, When they arrive, everyone gives them so much attention. After a while when they stop getting that attention, their symptoms start to appear, and you see PTSD, depression and anxiety, and thats when they have a longing to go back. The boys recovery from trauma has immense implications not only for the individuals but also for international security. Yet the matter is muddled by conflicting agendas. Yezidi elders downplay the risk, while Baghdad, though obligated by international convention to rehabilitate child soldiers, ignores Yezidi boys and jails Sunnis as young as 13. Theres also uncertainty about the numbers involved. Out of the roughly 6,400 Yezidis taken by ISIS, 1,855 children had returned as of mid-February. Of the boys, around 300 ticked the box on the form admitting that they had fought for ISIS. But al-Qaidi of the Kurdish governments kidnapped affairs department thinks the number is much higher. Some 1,200 kids between the ages of 13 and 17 were taken to the military bases to be trained to be fighters, he said, citing interviews with hundreds of returnees. Those kids who are still in captivity and being trained are a threat to the whole world These kids, ideologically and practically, have been prepared to attack, al-Qaidi said. They are made into a bomb, ready to be triggered by ISIS. A man mourns at a Yezidi cemetery in Duhok, where many Yezidis killed by ISIS are buried, in February. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME Father Patrick Desbois, a Catholic priest who runs a nonprofit called Yahad-in Unum, has recorded interviews with more than 100 Yezidi survivors, focusing primarily on the children and how they were trained to believe they would carry on after the ISIS territorial caliphate is gone. The French clerics Yezidi team keeps track of new arrivals. For interviews, a cameraman, photographer, translator, Desbois and a former Belgian police investigator all pack into a tent or drafty sitting room and start the questions. Was the suicide belt you had to wear heavy? Desbois will ask. Desbois says he uses some of the accounts to explain to officials from other Western countries that the children they are welcoming could be dangerous if not carefully deprogrammed and healed. He tells the story of one boy now resettled in the West whose socialmedia posts swing from anger that ISIS killed his mom to slogans that ISIS will rise again. As evidence that his program can rehabilitate the lost boys of ISIS, the priest offers the story of another returnee. At a camp near Duhok, the boy rounded up former child soldiers and started a gang that built several improvised explosive devices. The bombs were spotted and the plot foiled, and the Yezidi community and Desbois nonprofit intervened to keep the child from going to jail. After counseling and sport and art therapy, Desbois says, the child has returned to his community. The best deradicalization program is a successful integration program, says David Manicom, Assistant Deputy Minister at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Canada. He declined to say whether the 1,400 mostly Yezidi survivors of ISIS the country has taken in included child soldiers, but noted that trauma is so common that therapists have learned not to leave a child alone with an adult for any length of time, because of how violently it upsets the child living with memories of abuse. Questions of justice, meanwhile, remain unresolved. In northern Iraq, Judge Ayman Mostafa is trying to build a case against ISIS for war crimes to the Kurdish High Commission on Recognition of Genocide. But he has no power to indict or prosecute its fighters, and a genocide charge can be brought only by a U.N. body, which Iraq regards coolly because it will not consider capital punishment. All the while, thousands of ISIS fighters have simply returned to the fabric of their old lives, living openly in Mosul and Tel Afar. Thats one of the main reasons that hundreds of thousands of Yezidis wont go home they know who awaits them there. The Yezidi boys know it too. Sairan Khalaf speaks Kurdish; her daughter, 11, knows only Arabic after three years of captivity. | Newsha TavakolianMagnum Photos for TIME For his part, S. no longer tries to run away from home. Months of slow, careful attention from a team of therapists working with him and his mom have brought him a long way. The first time I met him, he ran away, said Adil, the psychologist from the Kurdish nonprofit SEED. The second time, he was beating up his mother violently. Adil worked to teach S. about where his own emotions were coming from how a surge of adrenaline fuels a faster-beating heart, stoking emotion and driving his anger higher. The idea was to return to S. the control of his body and mind that ISIS had taken from him. At the same time, his mother was taught not to respond to her sons violence with more of the same. Most tribal families in Iraq hit their children to discipline them, Adil explained. Both the mother and the child learned how to express their emotions without physically hurting each other. Now her almost teenage son still gets angry but doesnt hit her, the mother said. She compliments him on keeping his control. He in turn compliments her for the verbal praise. The work is not done. S. still holds some of the values ISIS taught him, telling his therapist, Men and boys we are one lot. Women and girls are worthless. But a year after his return from ISIS, he helps around the house and tells his mother that hes glad he came back, because hes the only man the family has left. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/Pool/Getty Images) The strict anti-abortion laws passed recently in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Kentucky, Iowa and North Dakota contain thousands of words. Tens of thousands more will be contained in court filings as these laws are appealed through the judicial system over the next year or more. And in their wake will come editorials, ad campaigns, speeches, fundraising letters from groups working for and against abortion rights. And the implicit target of all those arguments and pleas is one man the chief justice of the United States. What will John Roberts do? has been the question among court watchers in recent years, one asked with increasing frequency in the months since former Justice Anthony Kennedy was replaced by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, effectively making 64-year-old Roberts the new swing vote on the court. With the spate of legislation that bans abortion almost entirely permitting it only to save the life of the mother in Alabama, or before the sixth week of pregnancy in the others the question has taken on new urgency. What will John Roberts do, and when will he do it? Ever since Roe v. Wade established abortion as a constitutional right in 1973, those who disagree with the decision have been strategizing to overturn it. In what constitutional expert Linda Greenhouse has called a long game, opponents have waited for an amenable court, and the addition of Brett Kavanaugh creates the first true conservative majority in 50 years. As an ideological minority, conservative justices have spent the decades effectively whittling away the broad protections of Roe by allowing states to add restrictions such as waiting periods, mandatory counseling and pre-procedure sonograms. As a majority, might they go one dramatic step further and nullify Roe? The parade of bills headed their way laws that are clearly and deliberately unconstitutional under Roe are an attempt to pave the way for such a reversal. Justices Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor and Breyer can be expected to uphold Roe, while Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have indicated in writings and public statements that they would be inclined to reverse it. Which is why the spotlight is on Roberts and the conflicting ideological threads of his legal career. Story continues The only one who truly knows Robertss mind is the man himself, but court observers are watching closely, testing assumptions they have come to hold over the years, and wondering how those might play out in this new normal. Roberts and his wife, Jane, following the funeral of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, Feb. 20, 2016. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Roberts, a practicing Catholic whose wife, Jane, has been active in the anti-abortion group Feminists for Life, is widely assumed to be personally opposed to abortion. As what Newsweek called a rock-ribbed Republican, he served in both the Bush and Reagan administrations. As deputy solicitor general in 1990, he authored a brief saying the 7-2 Roe decision was wrongly decided and should be overruled and that a right to abortion find(s) no support in the text, structure or history of the Constitution. At his confirmation hearing for chief justice, he noted that the roles of political employees and judicial appointees are different, and told a Senate panel that Roe was settled law and that theres nothing in my personal views based on faith or other sources that would prevent me from applying the precedents of the Court faithfully. In a memorable exchange with then-Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who was a pro-choice Republican moderate back when such a thing was more possible, Roberts said, It is a jolt to the legal system when you override a precedent because precedent plays an important role in promoting stability and evenhandedness. It is not enough that you may think the prior decision was wrongly decided. Specter went on to ask whether Roe was in fact a super-duper precedent because its core reasoning had been upheld in the 1992 opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In that case, Roe had seemed in danger of being overturned, but instead the court held that state regulations of abortion are unconstitutional if they pose an undue burden for patients. Roberts refused to agree with Specters super-duper language, but did affirm his commitment to stare decisis, Latin for to stand by things, which is the legal term for respecting precedent. He added, however, that sometimes there is reason to overturn previous decisions, including when precedent has been eroded by subsequent developments in the law. In his votes on abortion cases over the years, he has often sided with states seeking to restrict abortion rights. Notably, he voted with the majority to uphold the federal partial birth abortion ban in 2007, and to overturn a California law which regulated anti-abortion crisis centers last year. In between, he voted with the minority in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016, in which the majority ruled that a Texas law setting stringent requirements for abortion providers requiring that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges within 30 miles of their clinic and that abortion clinics meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers posed an undue burden. Protesters on both sides of the abortion issue rally outside the Supreme Court prior to the Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt ruling in 2016. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images) And yet, in keeping with his belief in stare decisis, he then voted with the majority last year in agreeing to put on hold a Louisiana law that was essentially a copy of the Texas law he voted to uphold in Hellerstedt. That vote, however, was simply to keep the law from going into effect while giving the justices more time to consider whether they would agree to hear it. Perhaps Robertss most deeply held belief is that he and the court as an institution should not be seen as having an agenda. His conception of his role as chief justice includes taking responsibility for the reputation of the court, and he has periodically mused publicly that he is aware he is creating a legacy both for himself and the institution. He has spent a lot of time talking about court legitimacy, said Sarah Benesh, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin. She cites his vote to uphold Obamacare several years ago as an attempt to keep the court from being seen as having a partisan agenda. He demonstrated that there were concerns about the court as an institution that might sometimes trump his sincere policy wishes, she said in an interview with Yahoo News. New York University law professor Melissa Murray, who specializes in constitutional law and reproductive rights, agreed with Benesh: I think Chief Justice Roberts is very different from who Associate Justice Roberts would have been. Were he not chief justice, he would be more like a Justice Alito. But he feels the responsibility of this role very deeply. Which does not mean Roberts has never voted to reverse standing precedent. But he has done so incrementally. Court observers have been finding a two-step process in those reversals, specifically in the areas of labor rights and voting rights. In both realms, the Supreme Court let a prior ruling stand, but also allowed states to enact laws that effectively gutted those prior rulings, what Yale law professor Reva Stein has called a stealth overruling. Murray, noting that the first blows against Roe have been landing for years, predicts that the knockout punch would be unlikely to come before the next presidential election. I dont think this is a court that would overturn Roe v. Wade with a full stop, she said. Roberts certainly wouldnt do that in an election year. During his September 2005 confirmation hearing to become chief justice of the United States, Roberts was questioned repeatedly about Roe v. Wade. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) But with partisan divides hardening in every other part of society recently, it is perhaps inevitable that those divisions would begin to be felt at the Supreme Court as well, and that Robertss instincts toward incrementalism and a desire to keep the court ostensibly neutral might not be able to hold. State legislators are acting on their belief that the moment is ripe to overturn Roe by passing bills they themselves describe as bait. Its being done with a vigor that has surprised even longtime anti-abortion activists. Events have overtaken us, Samuel Lee, an anti-abortion lobbyist in Missouri, told the New York Times. The advice of lawyers is of less concern than it ever has been in the pro-life movement right now. Sometimes people just want something. Social movements can take on a life of their own. Will events overtake the chief justice as well? In addition to responding to pressures from without, he must also corral dissenting voices within, and there are hints that this has been difficult of late. An appeal by the state of Indiana to reinstate a law, struck down by a lower court, that would require a sonogram 18 hours prior to any abortion and mandate burial for fetal remains had been in front of the justices since January, and was apparently discussed at more than a dozen separate conferences, before the court decided to take no action, meaning the law will not take effect. Thats a long time, and possibly a sign of internal dissent, said Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston. The justices rarely give reasons for not accepting cases, and it is possible that the push to hear the case came from the right, among justices who wanted to uphold the law, Blackman says, or even use the case as an excuse to overturn Roe. But it is also possible the push came from the liberal justices seeking to force the court to take it, to see if they are serious about overturning Roe. Its a weird dance between the conservatives and the liberals, Blackman said. There will be much more dancing to be done. Although legislatures seem to be elbowing each other out of the way to bring the jackpot Roe killer case before the court, the wave of bills passed this month will take years of appeals to get there and then, most scholars believe, there is little chance they will actually be heard and decided. Demonstrators in Montgomery, Ala., rally against HB 314, a bill passed by the Alabama Legislature last week making almost all abortion procedures illegal. (Photo: Julie Bennett/Getty Images) There is absolutely no world in which the Supreme Court takes that case and upholds it unless they are willing to throw out all existing precedent on privacy, says Benesh of the Alabama law, which only permits abortion if the health of the mother is in serious danger, and which exposes doctors to 99-year jail terms for performing an abortion. I agree it will be a much less extreme law, says Murray. Any one of the challenges in the pipeline has the capacity to tee up the question. And once it is teed whether by the Louisiana law that he voted to stay, or a separate Indiana law that prohibits abortion in cases of a fetal diagnosis of Down Syndrome, or nearly a dozen other laws potentially making their way to the docket for the next session it will likely come down to Roberts. Will he do as he did with the Affordable Care Act and vote against his ideological interests in favor of protecting the nonpartisan image of the court? Or will he do as he did last year, joining the four conservative justices in voting to overturn a 1977 decision requiring workers to pay dues (or agency fees) to unions even if they arent members? And will he remain the deciding vote long enough for any of this strategizing to matter? We could have another vacancy before any of these cases are decided, Blackman said. Thats entirely possible. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 18 charges, including conspiracy to obtain national-security secrets and leaking classified information. The Justice Department charged the embattled self-described journalist with conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, including one count of conspiring to receive classified national-security information, including State Department reports on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, seven counts of obtaining that information, nine counts of releasing it, and one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. Only the computer intrusion charge was included in the original indictment, which was unsealed when Assange was arrested in London in April after his eviction from the Ecuadoran embassy. The WikiLeaks founders behavior risked serious harm to the U.S., according to the indictment. Prosecutors, who charged Assange under the espionage act, said the WikiLeaks databases had close to 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 State Department cables. The issue of Assange prosecution became politically fraught over concerns that the Wikileaks founders First Amendment rights were being violated, but the Justice Department drew a line between journalists and Assange, who they argued severely compromised national security. The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy and we thank you for it. It is not and never has been the departments policy to target them for reporting. But Julian Assange is no journalist, said John Demers, chief of the Justice Departments National Security Division. Indeed, no responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential human sources in war zones. Story continues Assange, 47, is currently detained in London as the U.S. attempts to extradite him. More from National Review JERUSALEM, May 23 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Thursday battled wildfires that scorched swathes of forests in central Israel, forcing some small towns to be evacuated, during a heatwave that brought record temperatures to parts of the country. Rescue efforts focused on a wooded area between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where ground teams and airplane tankers fought back the flames for hours. By nightfall, the fires were mostly under control, according to police. Some 3,500 residents of small towns were evacuated, officials said. More than a dozen houses burned down, local media reported. Jerusalem, which sits higher up on hilltops, recorded temperatures of 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit). Moving west toward the Mediterranean, the heat grew much more stifling. One town near Tel Aviv hit 43.5 degrees Celsius, according to the Israel Meteorological Service. The heatwave was expected to continue into Friday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached out to nearby countries to see if they could help if the wildfires worsen. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Hugh Lawson) A woman jumped out of her moving van in fear after spotting a spider on her lap (GETTY) A womans van ended up at the bottom of a river after jumping out due to a spider on her lap. The eight-legged creature crawled on to her while she was driving in Georgia, US. The woman was backing her Kia van down the Neels Landing boat launch at the time of the incident, so she could place her kayak into the river. But when she noticed the spider, the woman jumped from the van in fear while it was still moving. Sunset in Etowah river just behind Indian Mounds She then watched the vehicle roll into the Etowah river, where it was submerged within seconds. Police sent officers to the boat launch, located in the western part of Bartow County, near Kingston. But when they arrived the vehicle had disappeared in the river and could not be located. A Georgia State Patrol spokesperson said: She stated that it floated downstream a few feet and within seconds, it was totally submerged. Read more on Yahoo News UK: Do TV programmes like Line of Duty help or hinder the police? Animals are getting smaller because humans are destroying their habitats Travel company launches train route from Wigan to Pyongyang A passerby in a boat attempted to locate the van, but without success. The spokesperson added the womans insurance company pay for a dive team to locate the van and tow it out of the river. The womans identity has not yet been revealed. The Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) supporters have started celebrating in Chennai as the party leads on 22 seats, as per official Election Commission (EC) trends. The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha Polls 2019 is underway and the final results will be declared soon. DMK is contesting in alliance with The Indian National Congress (INC) in Chennai. The Congress-DMK alliance is likely to win 34 to 38 seats out of the total 39 Lok Sabha Seats, according to India Today-Axis My India forecast. The AIADMK and BJP alliance may win at most 4 seats, as per the exit poll results. DMK is hoping to come back to power in the state as the results of the bypolls in the 22 Assembly seats will also be announced today along with the Lok Sabha results. #TamilNadu: Celebrations outside DMK headquarters in Chennai; According to Official EC trends, DMK is leading on 22 seats pic.twitter.com/rWYr7DfBjQ - ANI (@ANI) 23 May 2019 The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is contesting in alliance with the BJP, the PMK, the DMDK, the PT and other parties. The DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance comprises the Congress, the CPI, the CPI (M), the MDMK, the VCK and smaller parties. Both AIADMK and DMK contested on 20 seats and left the remaining to their alliance partners. Tamil Nadu, which has 39 seats in the Lok Sabha, had seen polling in all of them, barring Vellore due to abuse of money power, on April 18, 2019. (Edited by: Nehal Solanki) Also read: West Bengal Election Result Live Updates: Mamata Banerjee congratulates winners as BJP is poised to return to power Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: India keeps faith in Modi, casts shadow over RaGa's political career Youre going to drink a little more than you like, and you cant refuse, the late Anthony Bourdain told his co-star Eric Ripert when they ventured to Chinas Sichuan Province on his Parts Unknown television show. Bourdains statement perfectly expresses the Chinese style of drinking, and at the center of the countrys drinking culture is the national drink baijiu, or clear liquor. The potent grain-based spirit has been produced for thousands of years in China and is much stronger than most Western spirits, typically coming in at between 40% and 60% alcohol by volume. (Whisky or vodka, by comparison, are around 40%). Its not sipped the way a fine single malt might be. Instead, shots of baijiu are taken neat during meals. If a toast is made, which happens often during dinners in China, it can be considered gauche not to throw back a slug of baijiu, tequila style. Baijius popularity in the country of 1.4 billion people makes it the worlds most consumed spirit10.8 billion liters were sold in 2017, according to an analysis by the International Wines and Spirits Record (IWSR). But outside of China it is not well known and many of those who have tried it consider its taste an acquired one. Normally made from sorghum, the drink is fermented with a naturally harvested yeast and the same microorganism culture that is used to ferment soy sauce and rice vinegar. Indeed, one variety is called sauce baijiu because of its savory, umami-like flavors. Other styles are more appealing to non-Chinese palates, coming in fruity, light and sometimes sweet versions. Most people taste baijiu for the first time, the flavors are unfamiliar to themits easy to write off it off and assume theres something wrong with the drink, says Derek Sandhaus, author of the first English language book on the beverage, Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits. Story continues A few businesses are trying to change that perception, however, and with it baijius global appeal. One such outfit is Ming River, of which Sandhaus is a cofounder. Its a venture between one of Chinas oldest baijiu distilleries and a group of expatriate enthusiasts of the drink, who ran a baijiu bar in Beijing that was popular with both foreigners and locals. The bar came to the attention of Luzhou Laojiaoa state-owned in distillery in Sichuan, where baijiu is said to originateand the firm approached them for help in getting into the American market. Ming River is not alone in its quest. A Portland family has been making baijiu for more than seven generations, bringing their baijiu recipe with them with when they emigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam in 1979. The familys patriarch, Phan Ly, began distilling the spirit at home. When he retired from the family restaurant business, he decided to start a proper distillery. Today the Vinn Distillery is the U.S.s only domestic baijiu distillery. Lys five children took over the running of it when he passed away in 2012. When we first introduced baijiu to the consumers here in Portland it was rough going because we came to quickly realize that no one knew what baijiu was, Michelle Ly, one of the children, tells TIME. To make the drink more approachable, she says Vinn Distillery reduced the potency of its signature bottling to 40% alcohol by volume, a level similar to vodka, and notes that the attitude toward the drink has slowly begun to shift. I think it has a lot to do with where craft spirit is today. People are much more embracing of spirits that taste different. Ming River is hoping to capitalize on this new receptivity. The brands founders are working with U.S. restaurants specializing in regional Chinese cuisine to create food pairings. They are also encouraging bartenders to come up with creative cocktail recipes. Cocktails made with Ming River baijiu are seen at an event in Brooklyn, New York City, on June 13, 2018. H. Joseph Ehrmann, proprietor of the San Francisco bar Elixir, tells TIME that when he first encountered the drink he did not know what to do with it, but his bar now serves it in highballs, sours and punchesalbeit with a word of warning. You wouldnt tell someone to drink an ounce of hot sauce or pickle brine without explaining what they are getting into. Its kind of like that, Ehrmann says. But bartenders and customers alike are starting to get into it as a shot, just as they have in the past with other flavors that were new to them, like Fernet or mezcal, he says, respectively referring to the aromatic Italian spirit and agave liquor. Its still early days. Products from Vinn Distillery are only found in five states and drinks featuring Ming River are on the cocktail lists of not more than 65 bars and restaurants across the U.S., so far mostly in New York and California. (Its also available in some European cities.) If youre looking for it on store shelves, youll need to track it down in hipster enclaves like Brooklyn. Read More: A Clean Chinese Food Restaurant in New York Is the Latest Flashpoint in a Debate Over Cultural Appropriation Nevertheless, there is optimism among its devotees that baijius appeal will grow. Amelie Kang, the cofounder of a popular Sichuan restaurant called MaLa Project, which has two locations in Manhattan, says she plans to put Ming River on her menu in the coming weeks, both as a straight drink and in cocktails with ingredients like passionfruit puree and osmanthus syrup. Kang drank baijiu in her native China, but she says never really appreciated it until she moved in New York and missed the drink from home. I thought it was a grandpa and dads drink, Kang tells TIME, adding that baijiu is going through a reinvention. Brands in China are trying to appeal to younger audiences, she explains, using trendy packaging and releasing versions of the drink that are supposed to be added to cold teaa popular cocktail mixer. Some experts say that the fiery drink has a long way to go before it makes an impact on happy hour. A lot still needs to be done to educate [American drinkers] about the categoryits history, where and how it is made and from what ingredients. They also need to be exposed to it and develop a taste for it, Tommy Keeling, Asia-Pacific research director at IWSR, tells TIME. Its encouraging to see that some companies are trying, but it is likely to remain niche for a long time, Keeling says. But both Ly and Sandhaus are convinced that the spirit will continue to gain a following in U.S. and elsewhere. I dont think all Americans are ready for baijiu, but I think enough of them are ready, Sandhaus says. There are enough consumers who arent put off by itwho are, in fact, ready for new experiences and new flavors. DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement on Thursday launched a drone attack on a Patriot missile battery in the airport of the Saudi city of Najran near the Yemeni border, the group's Al-Masirah TV said on Thursday. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said the drone was intercepted and destroyed by the kingdom's air defenses. The Houthis, who ousted the Saudi-backed Yemeni president from power in the capital Sanaa in 2014, have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi in the past 10 days in a resurgence of tactics that had largely subsided since late last year amid United Nations-led peace efforts. The group claimed responsibility for last week's armed drone strikes on oil assets in Saudi Arabia and on Sunday said they would attack 300 vital military targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. This is the third Houthi strike or attempt to strike Najran in a week, according to Saudi and Houthi reports. "The royal Saudi air defense forces intercepted a drone laden with explosives (..) targeting the Najran regional airport which is used by thousands of civilians daily," a spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition said, cited by the Saudi Press Agency. The hostilities coincide with rising tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab states allied to the United States and come just as a sensitive, U.N.-sponsored peace deal is being carried out in Yemen's main port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Lisa Barrington, Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, William Maclean) Photo: Matthias Wagner/Unsplash If you're a fan of the arts, mark your calendars: There's plenty to do when it comes to artsy events in New York City this week, from a free comedy show to a ninja ballet. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Escape East From the event description: Please join our popular monthly mixer for arts and culture enthusiasts. Enjoy free admission to the exhibit "Radicalism in the Wilderness: Japanese Artists in the Global 1960s" and live music. For this special occasion, internationally acclaimed violinist Mari Lee will perform music ranging from the foundational mastery of Johann Sebastian Bach to the delicate contemporary prism of Gyorgy Kurtag, represented by pieces written in the '60s. When: Friday, May 24, 6-9 p.m. Where: Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St. Price: Free Click here for more details, and to register Stand-up comedy show From the event description: Comedy Evening is a completely free comedy show in the heart of the West Village, featuring comedians who have appeared on Comedy Central, TruTV, "Late Night with Stephen Colbert" and more. Please note that you must be 21 and over to attend, as the venue is a bar. While there is no cover or item minimum for the show, it is recommended that you purchase a drink or food item to support the bar and help keep the show free. When: Friday, May 24, 7:30-9 p.m. Where: O.P.P.A., 162 W. 4th St. Price: Free Click here for more details, and to register 'Freedom' Presented by Ninja Ballet and The Secret Theatre From the event description: Come celebrate your freedom to dance, move and be moved. The show features an opening performance by Richard Mazda's band at 7:30 p.m., live music and the debut of three new Ninja Ballet company dancers. Martial Arts choreography is by Tony Ortiz, founder of New York Eskrima. The performance is to be immediately followed by a sound bath meditation with musical accompaniment. Story continues When: Saturday, May 25, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Where: The Secret Theatre, 4402 23rd St., Queens Price: $45 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets The Liquid Highway From the event description: This urban intervention and printmaking workshop honors our shared collective history and the commitments we have to one another. Through the act of printmaking, the public will have the opportunity to print a section of the landscape and own their own piece of this complex history. The Loisaida Festival is a unique New York City neighborhood Festival, rooted in the celebration of local legacies and achievements, yet international in scope and impact. When: Sunday, May 26, 1-3 p.m. Where: The Loisaida Center, 710 E. Ninth St. Price: Free Click here for more details, and to register This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. ROCHESTER, N.Y. A New York man forged inspection reports for critical products that were used by a major aerospace business, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday. James Smalley, 41, of Penn Yan is charged by criminal complaint with falsifying inspection reports for space parts. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. While working as a quality assurance engineer at PMI Industries in Gates, New York, Smalley allegedly forged the signature of an inspector on reports for products that were sold to California-based SpaceX. "James Smalley took the act of forgery to a new level, FBI Special Agent Gary Loeffert, who is in charge of the agency's western New York district, said in a statement. A potentially catastrophic level with the potential to not only cost millions of dollars, but also jeopardize years of irreplicable work. PMI makes critical parts used to build space flight vehicles by SpaceX and Department of Defense contractors, authorities said in a release. PMI made structural rocket parts, according to the criminal complaint. That includes the nosecone fairing, which is a fracture critical part, and if this part were to malfunction, it could result in catastrophic failure of the mission, the complaint said. The investigation revealed that Smalley allegedly falsified 38 source inspection reports for parts purchased by SpaceX for the manufacturing of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy series of space vehicles. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sits on the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Wednesday, May, 15, 2019. Launch of the rocket, carrying 60 Starlink internet communications satellites, was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. And at least 76 individual parts had falsified inspection reports, were never inspected, and then were shipped to SpaceX, prosecutors said. Smalley started working at PMI on March 6, 2017. One of his bosses said Smalley was hired to oversee quality operations and instructed to be a document control manager, the person responsible for overseeing audits. This was required by all parts manufactured for SpaceX, the complaint said. SpaceXs subcontractor physically examined the products and certified all processes were properly conducted, the complaint continued. Story continues He worked specifically on contracts for SpaceX, which has produced the Falcon launch vehicle series and the Dragon spacecraft line. Both deliver payloads into orbit for NASA, the Air Force, other government agencies and some private companies. SQA Services, a SpaceX subcontractor, "provides multiple quality assurance functions within the aerospace and defense manufacturing industries," a release said. In January 2018, an internal audit by SQA, which was ordered by SpaceX, found a number of instances of falsified source inspection reports and non-destructive testing certifications from PMI for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy flight critical parts, the criminal complaint alleges. Representatives from SpaceX then told PMI of the issues. Smalley told investigators he forged the signatures of at least three SQA employees, the complaint said. He also used their quality stamps without permission. Smalley admitted he didn't sign the signatures himself or use their quality stamps. Instead, he used his company-issued laptop to "copy and paste the signatures and stamps onto the falsified source inspection reports," the complaint said. Then on Feb. 16, 2018, the NASA Launch Services Program alerted NASA's Office of Inspector General about the forged reports from PMI. Some of the reports were linked to space launch vehicle components that were to be used for an upcoming mission, which launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on April 18, 2018. Seven NASA space flight missions, two Air Force space missions, and one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration space flight mission were identified as impacted by parts purchased by SpaceX from PMI. SpaceX then ended its partnership with PMI and PMI subsequently closed. That resulted in 35 people losing their jobs, the complaint said. When one of his bosses asked him why he allegedly did this, Smalley said that "he wanted to ship more product for the company," the complaint said. The success of Americas reinvigorated space program depends not just on American ingenuity but on American integrity as well, U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy said in a release. Such fraudulent conduct jeopardizes no only the success of the program but the lives of the brave men and women who rely on the integrity of not just the space vehicles themselves but all those who help to design and build them. Smalley is scheduled to make an initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Rochester. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: New York man put SpaceX rockets in jeopardy by forging inspection reports, feds say The counting of votes began today at 8 am and BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is leading in the state of Maharashtra, as per early trends. The India Today Axis My India predicts the alliance to win 38-42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Meanwhile, the Congress party which is contesting in alliance with Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is likely to win 6-10 seats. Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats and stands at second place after 80 seats of Uttar Pradesh, which holds the highest number of Lok Sabha constituencies in the country. Voters in the state exercised their right to vote in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections. BJP contested from 25 seats while Shiv Sena fielded its candidates from 23 seats. On the other hand, Congress party contested from 25 seats while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP fought from 19 Lok Sabha seats. Three Lok Sabha constituencies were left for other UPA allies- YSP, BVA and Swabhimani Paksha. Several notable candidates had contested from the seats of Nagpur and Mumbai South in Maharashtra. The saffron party had fielded Union Minister Nitin Gadkari from the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency against Nana Patole from the Congress party. Meanwhile, the Mumbai South seat saw Milind Deora of Congress party duke it out against Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had won 41 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. (Edited by: Nehal Solanki) Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: BJP leads in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan; Modi wave yet again! Also read: Lok Sabha Election result 2019: BJP's Gautam Gambhir leads against AAP's Atishi Marlena in East Delhi Istanbul's deposed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said Wednesday that no one believed the "lies" used to overturn his recent election and called on voters to "correct this great shame" in next month's re-run. "Nobody believes their claims," Imamoglu said at a meeting in Istanbul to launch his re-election campaign. He accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party of peddling "lies" and "excuses" to overturn his narrow victory in the mayoral election in March. "When I look at their facial expressions, I see that they themselves do not believe them either," Imamoglu said. The election board earlier this month accepted the ruling party's allegations of "irregularities" and called a re-run of the vote for June 23. Imamoglu's victory for the opposition of the Republican People's Party (CHP) was the first time Erdogan's Islamic-conservative party and its predecessors had lost control of the metropolis in 25 years. - Patronage resources - Analysts say the government is reluctant to cede control of Turkey's biggest city, which provides its mayor with significant resources for patronage as well as a high-profile platform. "We will show the whole of Turkey on June 23 that there is no way out other than democracy and the ballot box," Imamoglu said. "Come and let's correct this great shame and unfairness all together." Imamoglu said his campaign would focus on reversing extravagant spending in the city's finances which he said he discovered during his brief 18-day stint as mayor. "The resources of Istanbul municipality are being plundered... Istanbul municipality is not the property of a handful of people," he said. The opposition candidate also accused the ruling party of copying his proposals, including reduced water bills and discounted student transport, saying it was like a schoolboy copying his homework. But he sought to maintain a positive message, in line with his efforts to bring unity to Turkey's fiercely partisan politics. "We will embrace everyone... Everyone is a patriot... You will see at the end of this process we will love each other more." The election board released its full explanation for cancelling the results of the first election late Wednesday, citing a spate of irregularities including in the appointment of polling station heads which under law must be civil servants. In a 250-page document, the board said the number of "suspicious votes" were more than 300,000. Imamoglu won a tight 13,000-vote lead over his rival Binali Yildirim of the ruling party, a former prime minister. The top election body ruled seven against four in favour of a re-run. It did not annul the votes for the city council that were cast at the same time, and where the majority of seats went to Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party. Imamoglu accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party of peddling "lies" to overturn his narrow victory in the mayoral election in March Imamoglu has focussed on reversing extravagant spending in the city's finances which he said he discovered during his brief 18-day stint as mayor COPYRIGHT NZCIVAIR All information and photographs used on this blog are copyright to NZCIVAIR. BJP President Amit Shah is leading against the Congress candidate Chavda Chatursinh Javanji in Gandhinagar seat, one of the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat, according to the early trends. Amit Shah, who is contesting his first Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar, is in direct fight with the Congress's C. J. Chavda. Chavda, who is the ex-president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, is a two-time MLA representing Gandhinagar North seat. Gujarat went for the polling on a single day during the third phase of polling across the country on April 23. The voter turnout was 65.57 per cent, 0.08 per cent higher than last Lok Sabha Election. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results: 'India wins yet again! Together we'll build a strong country', says PM Modi The battle for Gandhinagar has shot into limelight in 2019 after the BJP dropped senior leader Lal Krishna Advani from the party's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The party's central election committee has fielded Shah from Gandhinagar, a seat from where Advani won six times in the past. Advani, a veteran BJP leader, has been fighting elections from Gandhinagar since 1998, a time when Shah used to be his poll manager. In 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Advani had won from Gandhinagar by a huge margin of 4.83 lakh votes against his closest opponent Kiritbhai Ishvarbhai Patel of Indian National Congress (INC). Gandhinagar has been a stronghold of the BJP and since 1989 this constituency has been represented by a member of the saffron party. Late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also represented this seat in 1996 but chose to resign it so that he could represent Lucknow in UP. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Edited by Chitranjan Kumar There is a growing push in the U.S. Congress to slap sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The pipeline under construction would carry Russian natural gas to Germany, and has been a lightning rod of controversy both in Europe and across the Atlantic. Many governments and officials from Eastern Europe fear deeper dependence on Russia for gas supplies, a sentiment echoed by the U.S. government. Meanwhile, many in Western Europe are less concerned, viewing Russia as a rather reliable low-cost supplier of gas. The U.S. has long tried to pry away Europe from Russia for geopolitical ends, and Nord Stream 2 is merely the latest chapter in this Cold War-era calculus. But, increasingly, the pipeline has commercial implications for the United States. The U.S. has become a major exporter of LNG, a position that will only grow over time with several gas export terminals along the Gulf Coast. The flood of shale gas is finding its way around the world. At first, when U.S. LNG exports began in 2016, shipments were going to a smattering of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Soon, top importers included South Korea, Japan and China. Only a handful of countries in Europe have imported U.S. LNG in any significant way. But that is starting to change with more U.S. shipments arriving in European ports. U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has likened U.S. gas to American soldiers liberating Europe from the Nazis. The United States is again delivering a form of freedom to the European continent, he told reporters in Brussels earlier this month. And rather than in the form of young American soldiers, its in the form of liquefied natural gas. Related: Moscow May Use Nuclear Option In European Gas Race Over-the-top American bravado notwithstanding, U.S LNG shipments to Europe are on the rise. The wave of new LNG export terminals coming online this year in the U.S., but also in Australia, among other places has led to a glut for LNG. Spot prices in Asia have collapsed. Lower prices have made Europe a more attractive destination for gas, particularly as transit costs are lower than for shipments heading to Asia. The U.S.-China trade war has also boxed out American LNG from China, rerouting cargoes elsewhere. As a result, more U.S. LNG has found its way to Europe (although in grand scheme of things, the U.S. is a marginal supplier of gas to Europe when compared to Russia, Norway or Algeria). However, gas prices in Europe, too, have collapsed, which pose a challenge to U.S. LNG exporters. The U.S. government may offer a lifeline to gas exporters in Texas and Louisiana by targeting Nord Stream 2. Recently, Sec. Perry predicted that U.S. sanctions on Nord Stream 2 were coming in the not too distant future. Sanctions would hit companies working on the project. It may or may not be a coincidence that some of the biggest proponents of sanctioning Nord Stream 2 hail from Texas, home to a growing number of LNG export terminals. We are looking at that issue, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), ranking member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, told Politico, referring to sanctions. I think we're going to have legislation on it as well. The pipeline is going to empower Russia. I'm against it, Rep. McCaul said. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has spearheaded a sanctions bill in the Senate. Related: The Fear Driven Oil Price Rally Wont Last But, to be clear, the fight to punish Russia has bipartisan support. Politicos Morning Energy pointed out that the House Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA), which calls on Congress to continue to oppose construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and other Russian Federation gas pipelines in northern Europe; and take affirmative diplomatic steps to halt the construction of such pipelines. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the committee, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) told Politico that he was open to sanctions on technologies used for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The overarching motivation for American politicians in targeting Nord Stream 2 continues to be geopolitical reducing European dependence on Russian gas. However, cutting down on Russias market share in Europe over the long run would also have major implications for the billions of dollars worth of investments along the U.S. Gulf Coast. And because there is almost no constituency in the Congress in favor of Nord Stream 2, Sec. Perry might be correct in saying that sanctions are on the way. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: WTI fell below $60 per barrel for the first time in two months, dragged down by growing fears of a global economic slowdown. Oil had been stuck between geopolitical risk and supply outages on the one hand, and the U.S.-China trade war and grim economic news on the other. Depending on the day, whichever concern seemed more pressing drove oil price movement. For the time being at least, economic concerns seem to be winning out. While the Trump administration announced higher tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods a few weeks ago, global financial markets seemingly thought there was a decent chance that the worst would be avoided and that the two sides would reach a deal. However, the rhetoric on both sides has changed, with top American and Chinese officials digging in and striking a more nationalistic tone. The Trump administration has not only hiked tariffs, but has since taken a hardline on Huawei Technologies and is rumored to be drawing up sanctions on other Chinese companies. For its part, China is beginning to steel itself, a sign that it wont take the conflict lying down. We are here at the starting point of the Long March to remember the time when the Red Army began its journey, Xi said at a rally in Jiangxi province. We are now embarking on a new Long March, and we must start all over again! Only a few weeks ago, China was much more cautious in how it discussed its standoff with the U.S. The shift in language suggests that the trade war will be a protracted affair. The higher tariffs 25 percent on $200 billion of Chinese imports, and reciprocal tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. imports into China is bad enough. A worse scenario awaits, however. Trump has threatened another round of tariffs, consisting of a 25 percent levy on a further $300 billion of Chinese imports, which would just about cover everything. Once seen as unthinkable, analysts at Nomura have made that scenario their baseline forecast and said the odds of such an outcome is roughly 65 percent, as Bloomberg notes. The U.S.-China relationship has moved further off track over the past two weeks after a period of what appeared, on the surface, to be steady progress towards reaching an admittedly narrow agreement, Nomura analysts wrote. We do not think the two sides will be able to get back to where they seemed to be in late April. Related: Oil Tanks On Worst Day In Six Months Oil markets have taken note. Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday and WTI dipped below $60 per barrel during midday trading on Thursday. Crude is set for its worst week in six months. In addition to trade fears are tangible cracks in the global economy. Global auto sales continue to slow and automakers around the world are slashing their payrolls. The latest was Ford, which just announced that it was laying off 7,000 people, or 10 percent of its white-collar workforce. In total, roughly 38,000 job cuts have been announced by carmakers around the world. The gloomier outlook comes at a time when U.S. crude oil inventories continue to rise. Stocks jumped by another 4.7 million barrels last week, rising to their highest level in nearly two years. The increase in inventories is feeding the narrative that the oil market is not, in fact, under-supplied, despite a series of major supply outages around the world. U.S. crude inventories should not necessarily be taken as gospel, however, especially since OPEC+ is watching closely. It is misleading to look only at stock trends in the US when assessing the situation on the global oil market, Commerzbank wrote in a note. After all, stocks in the US are influenced considerably by US-specific factors such as the rise in domestic oil production and insufficient pipeline capacities. Consequently, WTI is still trading at a significant discount of nearly $10 as compared with Brent. What is more, the further rising US stocks could make Saudi Arabia even more reluctant to step up production. The sudden weakness in the economy and the oil market adds pressure on OPEC+ to keep its cuts in place in the second half of the year. Commerzbank said that price weakness is likely temporary. But precisely because U.S. inventory data is so closely watched, it may take inventory declines before everyone starts believing that the oil market is seriously tightening up. For now, economic gloom is taking hold. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As the U.S. finds itself embroiled in a host of problems around the world, from trying to convince North Korea to come back to the bargaining table, to ramping up tensions with Iran, smoothing over differences in the decades long U.S.-Saudi alliance and hiking punishing tariffs on of $200 bn worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to an economically damaging 25 percent, it is also at odds with Russia over its continued meddling in Ukraine, allegations of election interference in the U.S. and its support of the al-Assad regime in the ongoing Syrian Civil War. Now, it seems that the U.S. and Russia could soon be vying for a share of Vietnams fledgling liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. On Wednesday, Russias largest independent gas producer Novatek said that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vietnams Ninh Thuan Provincial Peoples Committee to develop an integrated energy-generating project with the use of LNG within Vietnam. Novatek added that the project provides for the delivery of LNG utilizing existing infrastructure as well as developing new infrastructure, including the construction of an LNG regasification terminal and new gas-fired power plants within Vietnam. Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson, noted strong economic growth within Vietnam generates additional demand for energy, which can be sustainability met with the development of an integrated gas generation project. The building of gas-fired power generation increases the demand for us to provide competitively priced LNG supplies to the country. This project could be realized in a relatively short period of time with the support of the Ninh Thuan province. Significant take-aways There are several significant takeaways from Novateks disclosure. First, it comes as Vietnam is on the verge of an energy crisis. Due to both population and increased economic growth, the country needs to find alternative energy sources to offset its own domestic gas production. The problem for Vietnam isnt that it doesnt have ample offshore natural gas reserves, but those reserves are in waters that Beijing also claims - despite being in Vietnams UN-mandated 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Beijing has thwarted Vietnams plans twice in the last few years with both economic and military threats if the country continued to push through with two of its nearly completed offshore gas production projects. Related: Natural Gas Prices In The Permian Flip Negative Again Vietnam has to turn to solar, wind and LNG to make up the difference in its energy mix. In December, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) said it would fund a feasibility study that will aid Vietnam Electricity Corporation (EVN) in its assessment of site selection opportunities and other important core elements of LNG development, including a receiving terminal, marine port, storage, regasification, and related infrastructure. In March, T&T Group and its U.S. partner Gen X Energy 5 had a meeting with leaders of Vietnams Ba Ria Vung Tau Province to discuss a plan to invest in an LNG project with a total price tag of nearly $6 bn. Other U..S.LNG producers would also like to lock in long term supply deals with Vietnam. This is where the situation becomes interesting. The U.S. is about to be propelled to become the worlds third-largest LNG exporter, while it could be the mid part of the next-decade vie with both Australia and Qatar as global LNG leader in terms of liquefaction capacity if the so-called second phase of the U.S. LNG development story materializes. However, the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Beijing and fresh duties of 25 percent on U.S. LNG as well as the reluctance of Chinese firms to sign long term supply deals with U.S. greenfield LNG projects could thwart U.S. plans for LNG Dominance. On the other hand, even only a percentage of the current LNG project proposals are built, the U.S. will solidify its hold as the third or possibly second largest LNG exporter though the next decade and likely beyond. However, Russias gas ambitions arent just limited to maintaining its decades-long geopolitically charged gas monopoly in Europe, it also wants to rival the world top LNG exporters. Arguably, it a tough sell due to both Qatars and Australia's LNG capacity, but Russias LNG development will progress, and it will pose greater competition for both Europe and Asian market share. Geopolitical intersection In the foreseeable future, both Russia and the U.S. will work with Vietnam to develop new LNG receiving terminals, with long term off-take deals attached to their assistance. In so doing, Vietnam will have also become a focal point between Russian and American gas pursuits as well as global hegemony pursuits of both countries. The U.S and Vietnam are already allies in a mutual pursuit of checking China's push in Asia and Beijings problematic building of artificial islands in the South China Sea. Russia, for its part, has a long history of working with Vietnams energy sector, dating back to the cold war. The trick for Hanoi will be how it will juggle two competing world powers just as it has to currently micro-manage its relations with both the U.S. and China. By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Staying true to their promise from the campaign trail, Albertas Conservatives have introduced a bill to repeal a carbon tax introduced by their predecessors at the helm of the province, the New Democratic Party. Reuters reports that the repealment of the carbon tax was planned to be the first piece of legislation to be tabled by the new Conservative government of Jason Kenney, but adds that it would automatically enact a federal law on carbon taxes that targets provinces that do not have their own legislation to this effect. The carbon tax has been all economic pain and no environmental gain. If Justin Trudeaus government then seeks to impose a federal carbon tax in Alberta, we will see him in court, Albertas Premier told media. This will add Alberta to three other provinces that have taken the federal government to court over the carbon tax: Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The last of these provinces lost its case in a win for the federal government. According to the Alberta government, repealing the tax will bring more than a billion dollars into the provincial coffers and create as many as 6,000 new jobsa sensitive issue in the energy industry-dependent province that has yet to fully recover from the 2014 oil price crisis. The carbon tax repealment effort is just part of Jason Kenneys agenda. The new Premier came to power pledging to help the industry recover and so far he has been following his priorities in this respect. Related: Hydrogen Fuel Tech Just Got A Major Boost As soon as it became clear who won the elections in Alberta, Kenney threatened British Columbia to turn the gasoline tap off within an hour of taking office if it continues to try and stop the Trans Mountain expansion. While he didnt do that, he did immediately table the pipeline issue at talks with the Premiers of both British Columbia and Quebec once he took office earlier this year. You dont start a relationship by shouting at each other. You start it by talking and trying to find common ground, the Alberta Premier-designate told media. We will begin with the path of diplomacy and we hope that we dont need to use more forceful measures to assert Albertas vital economic interests, the Alberta Premier told media at the time. In addition to pipeline pressure and the removal of the carbon tax, Kenney has said he planned to hold a referendum in Alberta regarding the so-called equalization payments that the federal government distributes to smooth out financial inequalities among provinces. Plans are to tie these payments to the construction of new pipelines. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The worlds newest offshore hotspot, Guyana, is in the early stages of a probe into how oil exploration rights were awarded for oil blocks that are currently controlled by ExxonMobil and Tullow Oil, Clive Thomas, director of Guyanas State Assets Recovery Agency, told Bloomberg in an interview published this week. Neither Exxon nor Tullow Oil are targets of the investigation. The two companies are not accused of any misconduct either. They are operators of the oil blocks which will be included in the scope of the investigation as the current administration in Guyana is looking to assess the procedures under which the oil blocks had been awarded. The Stabroek, Kaieteur, Canje, and Orinduik blocks will be part of the investigation. Exxon is operator of Stabroek, Kaieteur, Canje, while Tullow Oil operates the Orinduik block. Were building up a case. This is an area of investigation into how the blocks were allocated and the decisions that were made, Thomas told Bloomberg. The little known South American country bordering Venezuela has become one of the worlds top hotspots for oil offshore operators in just a few years. Some critics of the way Guyana handled the oil block leases, such as the presidents former energy adviser Jan Mangal, argue that Guyana sold off its oil riches too cheaply. A curious fact was also the timing of a lease for the Kaieteur block to Exxon in the final days of the previous administration in 2015the awarding of the block took place just nine days before Exxon announced its first (of now more than a dozen) discoveries offshore Guyana. Related: Kuwait, Qatar Look For Alternatives For Strait Of Hormuz Exxon was the worlds top oil and gas explorer in 2018, thanks to its significant investment in Guyana, according to Rystad Energys annual exploration review. Guyana is one of Exxons key growth areas for the coming years, alongside the Permian. Earlier this month, Exxon gave the green light to the development of Liza Phase 2 offshore Guyana after it received government and regulatory approvals. Phase 2 is expected to begin producing up to 220,000 bpd in mid-2022, while Phase 1 is on schedule for first oil by first quarter of 2020, with up to 120,000 bpd of production. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate with Iran threatening to choke off shipments through oils most critical chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, two countries are looking for a workaround to avoid the Strait in the event of a closure, according to an Iraqi lawmaker said on Wednesday, cited by Kurdistan24. Regardless of how unlikely it may be that Iran make good on its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz should the United States effectively bring Irans oil exports to zero, the countries that rely on the shipments through the Strait are working in the background, pre-emptively finding a way around should the worst-case scenario come to fruition. Qatar and Kuwait have both approached Iraq, proposing to use Iraq as an alternative path for oil transport should the need arise, through the Iraqi pipeline. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minster Adil Abdul-Mahdi suggested that it would be possible to move Iraqi oil through the Kurdistan region to the Port of Ceyhan in Turkey. Source: USAID Threatening to close off the Strait of Hormuz is a particularly mouthwatering prospect that sees about 18.5 million barrels per day of oil through its narrow passage, according to the EIA, about 80% of which heads to Asian markets. "According to international law, the Strait of Hormuz is a marine passageway and if we are barred from using it, we will shut it down. In case of any threat, we will have not even an iota of doubt to protect and defend the Iranian waters. We will defend our prestige and embark on reciprocal acts when it comes to defending Iran's right," Iranian Fars news agency quoted Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as saying last month. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Thailands Energy Ministry has asked regulators to keep a close eye on developments in the Middle East lest these cause an oil and gas shortage in the import-dependent country, local media report.According to the Bangkok Post, the ministry had also ordered six oil refineries to start reporting their supply rates and sales volumes as well as throughput on a daily basis. Until now, refineries had to report these on a monthly basis. Thailands strategic petroleum reserve is required to hold enough of the commodity for 30 to 45 days, which is within the average standard globally, and the ministry has not yet proposed to change this in anticipation of a possible supply shortage. Yet it is preparing for higher prices: the ministry said the countrys State Oil Fund has a sufficient amount of money in it to respond to price hikes. rude oil is the top import commodity in Thailand, with refined oil products its top export commodity. The country produces oil locally as well, but nowhere near enough to satisfy demand. The average daily production has been falling as well: from over 150,000 bpd in 2017 to about 120,000 bpd since the start of 2019. The saber-rattling in the Middle East has got more than just Thailand worried about oil prices. An exchange of thinly veiled threats between President Trump and the Iranian government was what sparked the latest bout of worry on the oil market as some expect an open military conflict. Related: Natural Gas Prices In The Permian Flip Negative Again The worry spiked when the U.S. ordered the evacuation of all non-emergency government employees from Iraq, suggesting the evacuation could be part of preparation for open confrontation with Iraqs neighbor, Iran. Exxon also evacuated staff from the West Qurna 1 field in Iraq citing security concerns, which prompted a reaction of dissatisfaction from Baghdad. Despite the intensifying concern about a possible confrontation in the Middle East, prices have not trended as high as they might have a few years ago before U.S. production really took off. Although Brent is still around US$70 a barrel, with WTI above US$60 a barrel, the benchmarks have yet to rise to US$80 and over as some analysts have predicted. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The United States has resumedat least for the time beingoil imports from Venezuela, according to new data published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The United States saw a decrease in oil imports from Venezuela starting in week ending February 1 2019, when shipments fell to 345,000 barrels per day, from between 500,000 and 700,000 bpd earlier in the year. In earlier 2017 prior to any of the sanctions, Venezuela shipped over 1 million barrels per day to the US. The United States has long relied on Venezuelan oil imports to feed its perfectly suited oil refineries with heavy oil. In March, these shipments trailed off complete for a few weeks, then resumed sporadically in April. The first few weeks of May saw zero oil imports from Venezuela to the United States, as the US continues to sanction Venezuela to effect change by way of ousting Nicolas Maduro. But for week ending May 17, oil shipments again resumed, in small quantity, to the tune of 49,000 barrels per day. The rogue shipment of oil to the United States means that the United States still hasnt gone a whole month without taking any Venezuelan crudeever. US refiners are still able to complete the transactions with Venezuelas PDVSA that they had contracted prior to the United States implementing sanctions in January, although they are obligated to place the funds into a separate account that PDVSA cannot access. Prior to the sanctions going into effect, Chevrons Pascagoula refinery, Citgos Lake Charles and Corpus Christi refineries, and Valeros Port Arthur and St. Charles refineries chewed up more than 90% of all the Venezuelan crude oil that came into the United States. The uncertainty around the rules for paying for the cargoes has caused quite the confusion, with some cargoes earlier stranded off the coast of Venezuela waiting for payments to clear. Citgo and Valero have proposed returning crude oil to Venezuela that had already been loaded prior to sanctions going into effect, and Chevron had previously tried to find a way to pay PDVSA for millions of outstanding barrels, according to Reuters. It is unclear to whom the 49,000 barrels was delivered. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur is ahead in the race from the high-profile seat of Bhopal, while the 'Raja of Rahogarh', Digvijaya Singh, is trailing behind. Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency went to polls in the penultimate phase 6 on May 12. The Lok Sabha constituency comprises eight Assembly seats, five of which were won by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last Assembly elections. Hoping to win the seat, the Congress party had fielded former two times chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and senior Congress leader, Digvijaya Singh, from Bhopal. But the BJP's decision to give the ticket to Sadhvi Pragya, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, changed the whole political equation for the Congress. While the BJP projected her candidature as an answer to the Congress' "minority appeasement" politics, the Congress tried its best to project Singh as a pro-Hindu candidate. Knowing well that any statement against Sadhvi Pragya and her Hindu credentials could hurt his prospects in the RSS-dominated seat, Singh avoided taking any pot shots at her and talked about 'Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb'. However, the BJP successfully made it a pro-Hindu vs pro-Muslim election in Bhopal. "Pragya Thakur's candidature is a satyagraha against a fake case of fake bhagwa (saffron) terror. I want to ask Congress, some people were earlier arrested in 'Samjhauta Express' who were related to LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba). A fake case of "bhagwa terror" was made in which the accused have been acquitted," BJP President Amit Shah said during a May 17 press conference that was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the poll campaigning, the BJP blamed Digvijaya Singh for inventing the term 'Hindu terror'. Singh had actively spoken against the RSS, Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Shrikant Purohit after they were named in the Malegaon blast. Bhopal as a Lok Sabha seat has always been a BJP stronghold. The party has won 12 of the total 16 Lok Sabha elections held from the seat. The seat has always gone to the BJP's kitty since 1989. Digvijaya Singh had first faced the biggest defeat at the hands of the Uma Bharti-led BJP in the 2003 Assembly elections when he was the MP CM. The BJP had then emerged victorious on 173 out of 230 seats in MP. Singh is contesting the Lok Sabha polls 2019 for the first time since 1993. There are total 19.5 lakh voters in Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, of which 4.5 lakh are Muslims. From projecting herself as a victim of Congress' minority appeasement policy to a strong Hindu proponent, Sadvhi Pragya Thakur's had used every trick in the book to woo voters. Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: BJP leads in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan; Modi wave yet again! Also read: Lok Sabha Election result 2019: Smriti Irani leads against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi; Congress scion ahead in Wayanad Wendy Williams 18-year-old son, Kelvin Jnr has been arrested for reportedly getting into a fist-fight and breaking the nose of his father, Kelvin Hunter. According to TMZ, Wendy Williams had taken her son to their family home to pick up some stuff from the house. She then left the young man in the house without knowing his father was in the house. Things took a different dimension at midnight in the parking lot of a store in New Jersey as father and son both got into a heated argument. Sources claim the two were arguing about Kevins demand for spousal support from his wife. Hunter allegedly called 18-year-old Kevin Jr. brainwashed and proceeded to put him in a headlock. Kevin Jr. then reportedly punched his father on the nose which left him with a broken nose. The publication also reported that the police have arrested Kevin Jr and they are investigating the incident. However, Kelvin Hunter has refused to press charges apparently because of his relationship with his son. Speaking with TMZ on the assault, Hunter said: I love my son very much and I will not be pursuing this matter legally. Things are not always how they appear. Last month, Wendy Williams filed for divorce from Kevin Hunter, her husband of nearly 22 years after he welcomed a child with his longtime mistress. As the early trends of Lok Sabha election results 2019 indicate towards a clear victory for the BJP, Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and NDA today. Kotak took to Twitter to congratulate the party. "Time for transformation of India. Time for deep reform. I dream of us as a global superpower in my lifetime. Heartiest congratulations to @narendramodi, the BJP, and the NDA," Kotak posted on twitter. Time for transformation of India. Time for deep reform. I dream of us as a global superpower in my lifetime. Heartiest congratulations to @narendramodi , the BJP, and the NDA. - Uday Kotak (@udaykotak) 23 May 2019 Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: PM Modi will remain PM, Rahul Gandhi must wait 5 more years Meanwhile, Anand Mahindra, the Chairman of Mahindra Group also took to Twitter and hailed women as well as young and new voters as new power blocs who will shape India's future. "As I watch the counting, I get the unmistakable feeling that a turning point in history is unfolding before my eyes. 2 new power blocs are overthrowing the establishment. Not talking about political parties but Women & Young, new voters. Increasingly, they will shape India's future," Mahindra tweeted. As I watch the counting,I get the unmistakeable feeling that a turning point in history is unfolding before my eyes. 2 new power blocs are overthrowing the establishment.Not talking about political parties but Women & Young,new voters. Increasingly, they will shape India's future - anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) May 23, 2019 Also Read: Election results: 'Turning point in history is unfolding before my eyes,' says Anand Mahindra With the counting of votes underway, the BJP-led NDA is appearing all set to retain power, clearly leading over the Congress-led UPA and comfortably crossing the majority mark of 272. The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 that started on April 11 and wrapped up on May 19, saw around 900 million voters exercising their right to vote and deciding the fate of 7,928 candidates across 542 seats in the country. Also Read: Uday Kotak warns of more liquidity crisis, muddying waters for financial sector again The Police say men of the Operation Puff Adder have launched an offensive on bandits and kidnappers who have converted the Kogo forest in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State to their hideout. Taking to its verified Twitter handle @PoliceNG, the Force tweeted: Operation Puff Adder goes offensive, takes the war to the camp of the bandits and kidnappers located in the Kogo forest, Faskari LGA of Katsina State. This video shows Police operatives taking control of the camp after overpowering the bandits. Share this: " " The playing cards tell each other off in this illustration by John Tenniel from "Alice in Wonderland." The Print Collector/Getty Images Someone cuts you off on the highway, so you flip him the bird. You're mad, and now he's mad. You both go to work and snap at your unsuspecting colleagues, who in turn fling some vitriol at others. And so, the cycle continues. Rudeness is unpleasant. But it's also highly contagious and can affect your physical and mental health, says Danny Wallace, author of "F You Very Much: Understanding the Culture of Rudeness -- and What We Can Do About It." Wallace discussed the rudeness scourge on a recent episode of the podcast Part Time Genius, cohosted by Will Pearson and Mango Hattikudur. Advertisement "When someone has been truly rude to you and broken the rules [of civility], it's very confusing," says Wallace. "Which is one reason why people can't think of anything witty to say in the moment [as a retort]. And because you've been disrespected, you're trying to claw back some of that respect somehow." Which is why, he says, you keep replaying incidents of rudeness over and over in your head particularly when you didn't make the perfect comeback at the time you were dissed. And rudeness is contagious, he notes. In an article published in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers cited three separate studies that showed that if someone was rude to you, you were more likely to behave uncivilly toward someone else. So, if you were cut off driving to work, later you might open an email from a colleague that asks, "Will you be at today's meeting?" and feel he is implying that you're going to skip it without a good reason. Even if you merely witnessed a rude interaction between two strangers, you became more likely to be nasty to someone else. Rudeness affects your brain's frontal lobes, the area responsible for working memory. And those feelings can make your work suffer. Research shows that your creativity and job performance nosedive when someone is nasty to you. That's because rudeness is emotionally draining. One of the most chilling aspects of uncivil behavior is that it can affect health and safety. Wallace says a study on surgeons in Israel showed that rudeness made them 50 percent less effective they didn't communicate well, picked up the wrong instruments and missed changes that affected the initial diagnosis. In fact, says Wallace, had the simulation in the study been real, the infant being "operated" on would have died. Despite this alarming intel, there's hope. Workplace rudeness can be addressed through plans of action set up by management. In fact, some scientists are working on a "rudeness vaccine" for doctors a video game that they could do when they come to work to take a breath and reset their minds. Simple awareness of incivility's contagion can help you monitor your own behavior so that you don't pass it on. NOW THAT'S INTERESTING The top three rudest behaviors in America, according to Paired Life, are not cleaning up after your dog; talking and using your cell phone in movie theaters; and driving slowly in the passing lane. CEBUANO exporters will continue to enjoy tariff perks even after the United Kingdom (UK) exits the European Union (EU) trade bloc, as the UK promised to continue giving out similar trade preferences for CEBUANO exporters will continue to enjoy tariff perks even after the United Kingdom (UK) exits the European Union (EU) trade bloc, as the UK promised to continue giving out similar trade preferences for exporters. In a media briefing Thursday, May 23, 2019, British Ambassador Daniel Pruce stressed the importance of maintaining its trade relationship with its allies, even after it leaves the EU. Pruce said Brexit will have no negative impact on the trading relationship with the Philippines, as it plans to continue its trade deals with the country to provide predictability for Filipino business owners exporting goods to the UK. When the UK leaves the EU, we will come out of the European Union Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) but we have already made a commitment that as soon as we will leave the EU, we will establish our own trade preference scheme that will maintain the same level offered in the current EU GSP+, said Pruce. Pruce was in Cebu for his first diplomatic visit as British ambassador to the Philippines. The Philippines is a beneficiary of the EU GSP+ where 6,000 export products to any of the 28-member countries of the EU are at zero tariff. Over 3,000 export goods destined for the US also get zero tariff under the same scheme. The UK accounts for less than 10 percent of total Philippine exports to the EU, with almost 11 percent of Philippine exports to the EU under the GSP+ going to the UK, and 35 percent of total Philippine exports to the UK for 2017 being made under GSP+. The countrys exports to the UK include costume and fine jewelry, holiday decor, housewares, garments, furniture, seaweed, footwear and leather goods. The UKs withdrawal from the EU remains a continuing discussion and debate. But Pruce assured that whatever process the UK needs to undergo, it will continue to maintain and develop its existing relationships with its trade partners like the Philippines. The Department of Trade and Industry said the Philippines has engaged the UK in three high-level dialogues where the UK assured the countrys representatives about the continuation of the Philippiness GSP+ level market access to the UK post-Brexit. Story continues The retention of the Philippiness GSP+ level preferential market access to the UK is a huge assurance for Philippine exporters. For products that are not covered by the GSP+, Most Favored Nation (MFN) rates will apply. On this front, the Philippines is also actively engaged in negotiations in the World Trade Organization for the final MFN bound rates that the UK will apply after Brexit to ensure that products of interest for the Philippines will not be prejudiced by any changes, said DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, in a statement. The economic consequences of the UK exiting from the EU bloc will not have a significant impact on Philippine exports, said Fred Escalona, executive director of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.-Cebu, in past interviews. I personally do not think our exporters need to worry about anything. It will be the British economy that would suffer in the long term by exiting the EU rather than the rest of the EU states and countries they trade with, said Escalona. Trade with the EU, whether we are exporting from the Philippines or exporting as part of Association of Southeast Asian Nations will continue to prosper, he added. Pruce added that the UK is also holding consutations on its migration policy after the EU exit. He said they will review the skills needed when they become an independent state. But he noted that the Philippines has been one of the UKs excellent sources of healthcare professionals, particularly for nurses. There are currently 17,000 Filipinos working in the UK. Tons of garbage from Canada were illegally exported to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014. MANILA, Philippines The Canadian government has taken its next step to bring abandoned waste materials back to its home country. In an official statement, the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines said it has hired a company to do the job of repatriating the waste materials illegally shipped to the country between 2013 and 2014. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced that the Government of Canada awarded a contract to Bollore Logistics Canada to safely bring the waste back to Canada as soon as possible, Canada said in the statement. The Canadian Government said the company will begin preparation for shipping in the coming days with the removal expected to be completed by the end of June. The safe and environmentally sound disposal in Canada of the waste material will take place before the end of summer 2019. The costs associated with the preparation, transfer, shipment, and disposal of the waste will be assumed by the Government of Canada, the statement added. On May 15, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has recalled the Philippine ambassador and consuls to Canada after the Canadian government failed to begin shipping back its garbage as promised. On Wednesday (May 22), President Rodrigo Duterte ordered concerned officials to look for a private shipping company to transport the garbage to Canadian territory even at the expense of the Philippines. Marje Pelayo The post Canada hires company to ship abandoned wastes back from PH appeared first on UNTV News. THE Center for Global Best Practices (CGBP) will bring its best programs to Seda Ayala Center Cebu in Cebu City on June 19-21, 2019. The CGBP granted the clamor of business owners and decision-makers based in the Visayas for more world-class trainings. On June 19, the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines will be discussed by a lecturer, including the changes brought by the law. On the same day, there will be a lecture on the essential Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations issued from 2017 until the early part of 2019. The second program on June 20 will tackle the best practices in implementing effective business controls. Participants are expected to learn the best practices in designing and implementing controls that would help them safeguard their business assets, enhance the integrity of their financial reports and protect them from business operational risks. The other discussions include the best practices in financial processes and controls, operational policies and good business examples. Accountants attending the event will earn points as their presence will be credited to their continuing professional development requirement. On June 21, a master class on writing the minutes of meetings will be held. The attendees will be informed about the legal guidelines on the meetings as mandated by the SEC. The programs are open to the public and interested participants are encouraged by CGBP to avail of the early bird rate. Seats are limited and pre-registration is required. CGBP is an accredited training provider of the Civil Service Commission. To see CGBPs complete list of its SEC-accredited programs such as the best practices in corporate governance, sustainability reporting, certification course for compliance officers, implementation of parliamentary procedures in meetings and other programs, visit its website at www.cgbp.org. CGBP can be also reached through its Manila lines: (+632) 842-7148/59 and 556-8968/69, and Cebu lines: (+6332) 512-3106/07. Courtesy : PVI-PRESS by Rodel Acuvera Luminares MANILA, Philippines An election law expert recommends the use of hybrid election system in the 2022 presidential elections. According to Atty. George Erwin Garcia, the government should do something to cast public doubts on the automated election system that was used in the 2019 midterm polls. Garcia explained that under the hybrid election system, vote counting is done by machines but is accompanied by a parallel manual counting of election returns (ERs) that will be tallied on the board. Watchers will be allowed on site to monitor the counting until results on the ERs and the board are matched with the results from the machines. Once done, the results will be sent to the canvassing center through electronic transmission. Through this process, candidates will have the opportunity to check if the results transmitted to the canvassing center are accurate in comparison with the ERs coming from the polling center. Titingnan mo talaga (kung) 10 lang ba talaga ang boto sa ER, 10 lang ba ang boto doon sa blackboard na nakikita ng tao, Garcia said. (You may check: Is it accurate that the votes from the ER are just 10 in comparison with that on the board? The people would see.) At least walang duda ngayon, walang hocus pcos, walang sinasabing mga computerized na dayaan, he added. (At least, there will be no doubts, no chance for hocus pcos no one can accuse of computerized fraud.) Garcia said the public has no way of confirming if the results from the vote counting machines are accurate with the current system. The lawyer said a thorough preparation is needed for the 2022 election because that is the time the Filipinos will be choosing their next president. Mas mabigat iyan kaya kailangan sigurado tayo na ang mahahalal nating pangulo ay ang pangulong pinili talaga ng sambayanang Pilipino, hindi pinili lang ng machine, Garcia said. (Its more serious thats why we have to make sure that the next president will be the one the one whom the Filipino people voted, not the one chosen by the machine.) He noted the importance of the upcoming probe of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee set on June 4 regarding the outcome of the recent polls because it is when lawmakers from both houses of Congress will be able to scrutinize and delve into the root causes of the glitches in the recently concluded automated elections. (with reports from Rey Pelayo) Marje Pelayo The post Election law expert suggests hybrid election system in 2022 appeared first on UNTV News. BJP's candidate in Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi has gained an advantage in the Lok Sabha elections 2019 against Samajwadi Party candidate Hemraj Verma, according to the early trends. If Varun Gandhi manages to win from Pilibhit, it won't be his first victory from the constituency. Back in 2009, BJP had fielded Varun Gandhi as its candidate from Pilibhit constituency instead of his mother Menaka Gandhi. Varun Gandhi had won it by receiving 4,19,539 votes, defeating his closest opponent V.M. Singh of Indian National Congress (INC) by 2,81,501 votes. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: Counting to begin at 8am Pilibhit has been a stronghold of Maneka Gandhi and since 1989 she has won this seat by contesting on the tickets of different parties or independently. In 2004, Maneka Gandhi won the seat on BJP's ticket for the first time. Varun Gandhi had first won the Pilibhit parliamentary seat in 2009 after his mother vacated the seat for him. It was during this time that Varun Gandhi emerged as a firebrand Hindutva leader. He even had to spend 19 days in jail for giving an inflammatory speech. In 2014, Varun Gandhi shifted and won from Sultanpur, a constituency which neighbours Amethi, Congress' citadel. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: 5 ways to get real-time updates on counting day In 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi had swapped their seats with Varun Gandhi contesting from where her mother Maneka Gandhi won in 2014. Maneka Gandhi is the sitting lawmaker of Pilibhit. In 2014, she won with a 52 per cent vote share. The 43-year-old Hemraj Verma was the Food and Civil Supplies Minister under the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh. In the 2012 assembly elections, Verma had won from Barkhera assembly constituency. Being a rural constituency, some of the biggest poll issues in Pilibhit were related to development and electrification. Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency represents five Vidhan Sabha sections out of which one is reserved for SC category. Also Read: Election results 2019: What time will counting start, how are EVM votes counted? Dogs really are mans best friend. Facebook user Maria Kristina Paola Demafelix shared a now-viral post on Tuesday of a dog named Buboy who was taken to see the dead body of his caretaker, a teacher named Carmelito Marcelo, at the St. Louie Memorial Chapel in Mabalacat, Pampanga province. Demafelix said the 4-year-old dog was taken to see his close hooman friend on Tuesday. In the photos, the white and brown spotted aspin (mixed breed dog) was seen sitting by Marcelos coffin. Demafelix told Coconuts Manila through a Facebook message that Marcelo used to be her professor at the Mabalacat City College and that Buboy is a known campus dog that freely roams their school. While Marcelo isnt Buboys official owner, he might as well have been. Demafelix told Coconuts that the two formed a strong bond and were inseparable. Even when Sir Marcelo didnt have work, he would go to school just to give Buboy food, she told Coconuts. Demafelix said in her Facebook post that Buboy would run to greet Marcelo whenever the dog visits their campus and that the animal would wait outside the faculty room during lunchtime to get food from him. Whenever Marcelo had a class to teach, Buboy would go with him. Wherever he would go, Buboy would follow, Demafelix said in Filipino. Even when Sir Marcelo would head home, Buboy would escort him to the [school] gate. She told Coconuts that Marcelo had a stroke early last week and was brought to the ICU. On Friday, they thought he would recover because he woke up and seemed ok, but on Saturday, he passed away. Demafelix said she saw Buboy on Monday scratching his paw on the faculty rooms door, as if he were knocking. Buboy had no clue [that Marcelo had died], she shared. She said that when it was time to go home from Marcelos wake on Tuesday, Buboy didnt want to let go of or leave Marcelos coffin. Story continues Demafelix said, however, that even though Marcelo has departed, Buboy is being taken care of by the faculty and students of Mabalacat City College. Demafelixs Facebook post had over 138,000 likes and 75,000 shares as of this articles posting. Many netizens thought the photos were bittersweet and drew comparisons to the Japanese Akita dog Hachiko, known for his loyalty to his owner. Photo: Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix/FB Photo: Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix/FB Dogs have hearts, sometimes even bigger than other humans, said Mary Jean Gonzales. Photo: Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix/FB Ricklene Lagasca said: Its saddening and makes me want to cry. I feel sadness for Buboy. Photo: Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix/FB Mary Rose Rivera thanked Marcelo for loving Buboy. Photo: Ma Kristina Paola Demafelix/FB Have you ever experienced having a pet as loyal as Buboy? Leave a comment below or tweet us @CoconutsManila. This article, Filipino Hachiko: Loyal dog sits by coffin of deceased caretaker , originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! Hong Kong men jailed for life in Philippines for drug possession to appeal to higher court after review judge upholds their convictions Mainland Chinese officials and Hong Kongs leader were urged on Thursday to help four men jailed for life in the Philippines for drug possession after a court upheld the convictions. Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun, who made the plea to Beijing and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said the Hongkongers would now take their appeal to a higher court in the Philippines. According to To, the judge heard the defence offer 11 grounds for overturning the convictions in a review held this month, including video evidence showing one of the men did not have the drugs in his backpack during an initial search. But the judge thinks the prosecution only had to prove the defendants had possessed illegal drugs and not where the drugs came from, a statement from Tos office said. To said he hoped Lam and mainland Chinese officials could ask the Philippine authorities to study the evidence again, including some not presented in court. The Security Bureau said on Thursday night that immigration officials would monitor the case if the four filed an appeal, to ensure they would have a fair trial. In December, Lo Wing-fai, Chan Kwok-tung, Kwok Kam-wah and Leung Shu-fook were sentenced to life in jail for possession of 467.8 grams (1 pound) of methamphetamines. The group was detained in July 2016 on board a 50-metre (64-foot) fishing boat about 3km (1.9 miles) off the coast of Zambales province, northwest of Manila, amid a high-profile operation led by then-police chief Ronald dela Rosa. Authorities alleged the men were part of a racket moving drugs from the vessel to the mainland, and that equipment used for the production of crystal meth known as shabu in the Philippines had been seized in the police operation. But the families claimed it was a set-up. They said officers found nothing in an initial search but later said they had discovered half a kilogram (about a pound) of Ice in one of the mens backpacks, which had been taken out of their sight for a few minutes. Story continues Four Chinese arrested after Manila seizes meth hidden in tea wrappers To, the lawmaker, said the four would appeal their cases but he could not estimate how long it would take. Their lawyer would need to file the notice of appeal to the Regional Trial Court in Olongapo, the same court which declined the motion for reconsideration this month. The court would then transfer records to the Court of Appeal in Manila. To hoped the chief executive and Chinese officials could request a review of the evidence to find out the truth, adding: We do not lay all our hope on the court system. This case is unique. What other case has had several cameras capturing the initial searching process that found nothing at the scene? he said. If the case cannot be overthrown, then it is so unjust. He said there were three cameras filming the process, with five to six reporters at the scene, and the Philippine authorities should review the two other videos that were not presented to the court and contact other journalists. Lo Shu-ho, the sister of Lo Wing-fai, cried foul over the decision. She said she wept after being informed of the news at her office on Wednesday. Its very disappointing. The four have not learned about it yet, she said. Its like waiting for the time and days to pass. But when I wait, it doesnt come with a good result. She said she had expected the review failure because the defence could not present new witnesses or fresh evidence. Young lives destroyed: the hidden cost of Thailands cheap meth The Hong Kong government did not help the group much during the process, she said, and she was not confident about the appeal without support from local officials. If there are not many people who understand or support it, I have no confidence and the chance [of winning] is slim, she said. But she vowed to continue striving for justice and hoped the chief executive would take a serious approach to handle the case. The Chief Executives Office referred the Posts inquiries to the Security Bureau, which said the government was always concerned about cases involving local residents being detained or jailed overseas and had provided assistance. The bureau said a task force under the Immigration Department had been following the case through the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinas embassy in the Philippines after the groups families sought help from the department. Four Chinese arrested over seizure of meth chemicals in Australia The Immigration Department will continue to keep in touch with the four families, the office and the embassy and ask the embassy to provide the help they need, the bureau said. If the four file an appeal, the task force will follow up the case through the office and the embassy to ensure they will have a fair trial. More from South China Morning Post: This article Hong Kong men jailed for life in Philippines for drug possession to appeal to higher court after review judge upholds their convictions first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. MANILA, Philippines Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Thursday (May 23) said President Rodrigo Duterte will not allow a delay in the return of trash shipment to Canada. Thus, Panelo said Dutertes order of tapping the service of a private shipping company to immediately ship the abandoned trash back to Canadian territory will push through at the soonest possible time even at the expense of the Philippine government. I understand from secretary Dominguez that malapit nang ipadala. The trash will be sent back the soonest, the Presidential Spokesperson said. On Wednesday (May 22), the Canadian government through its Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said they have already hired a shipping company to safely bring the waste back to Canada. But Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said: The removal will be complete by the end of June, as the waste must be safely treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements. Sabi nila it will take end of June pa. Hindi papayag si President noon, Panelo stressed. We will not allow ourselves to be a dumping ground of trash, he concluded. (with reports from Rosalie Coz) Marje Pelayo The post Malacanang opposes delay in return of Canada trash appeared first on UNTV News. Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales MANILA, Philippines Malacanang on Thursday (May 23) said there was no harassment inflicted against former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales when she was barred by immigration officials at Hong Kong International Airport on Tuesday (May 21). Thus, Malacanang believes there is no reason for the Philippine government to file a protest against the Chinese state. Parang ang gusto yata ng iba, bumanat tayo. But you know, tinanong ko si ano, kumusta naman ang trato? Kung binastos siya o minis-treat siya, hindi pwede sa atin iyon. We will definitely protest pero hindi naman, said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo. (Others want us to hit back. But you know, I asked how she was treated. Was she harassed or mistreated? If thats so, we will not allow that. We will definitely protest but that was not the case.) Panelos remarks were in response to opposition senator, Risa Hontiveros who urged the government to protest against Hong Kong over the incident. Panelo said the Palace does not want to speculate of the reason why Immigration authorities denied the former Ombudsman entry to their domain. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said that the incident might be related to the charges filed by Morales to the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Chinese President Xi Jinping over territorial dispute in the South China and West Philippine Sea. Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui Chi-Fung, meanwhile, criticized the actions of the Hong Kong Immigration personnel against Morales saying: This incident yet again showed that Beijing has exercised control over Hong Kongs immigration which is clearly against the Rule of Law and Hong Kong Basic Law. But for Malacanang, Panelo said they do not consider Morales a threat to national security nor a destabilizer. She is entitled to her opinion she exercises her right to freedom of expression. And we respect that, all of us, Panelo concluded. (with details from Rosalie Coz) Marje Pelayo The post No need to protest Morales HK incident Malacanang appeared first on UNTV News. Researchers have developed a unique high-resolution imaging method that can capture mid-infrared spectral images of fast events or dynamic processes that take place on the order of milliseconds. This spectral range is used for many applications because it can reveal the detailed chemical composition of a sample. "This novel approach could one day be used to prescreen medical biopsies to identify the ones that need closer examination," said Peter Tidemand-Lichtenberg, a member of the research team from DTU Fotonik in Denmark. "It could be used to look for the chemical signatures of cancer and other diseases in ways that would increase the accuracy and speed of diagnoses." A multi-institutional group of researchers describe the new imaging approach in Optica, The Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high-impact research. They also demonstrate some of the technique's potential applications by imaging a gas flow and distinguishing cancerous and normal samples of esophageal tissue. "Although mid-infrared spectroscopy is recognized as a powerful tool for chemical analysis, its applicability has been hampered by a lack of affordable light sources and sensitive detectors," said Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "To overcome this barrier, we used an approach that translates information from the mid-infrared region, where the chemical signatures are most distinct, to the near-infrared, where today's camera technology is most mature and sensitive." Practical mid-infrared spectroscopy The researchers drew on a process known as nonlinear frequency conversion in which energy is added to a photon to change its wavelength, and hence its color. Although frequency conversion, or upconversion, is often used to change the wavelength of a laser's output, the researchers from DTU Fotonik developed a detection system that could shift an entire mid-IR image into the near-infrared wavelength range while preserving all the spatial information. The system incorporates a new mid-infrared light source developed by collaborators from The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). This single-wavelength light source can be tuned to different wavelengths and it also uses frequency conversion to generate the mid-infrared light. In fact, the researchers used the same pulsed near-infrared laser for two things: to generate the tunable mid-IR light and to achieve the image upconversion. "This approach yields high peak power pulses in perfect synchronism, eliminating the need for sophisticated temporal control of the pulses, leading to images with a good signal-to-noise ratio," explained Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "In addition, our optical setup is designed in a way that requires very little post-processing after the images are acquired." Imaging fast events and complex samples The researchers demonstrated the imaging speed of their new mid-infrared upconversion spectroscopy approach by tuning the illumination laser to match the peak absorption of a gas flow and acquiring a video with 40 images per second. They also conducted a pilot study, headed by the team members from Exeter University, in which the system was used to evaluate cancerous and healthy esophageal tissue samples. They found that morphology and spectral classification using their system matched well with the standard stained histopathology images. "Our upconversion imaging approach is generic and constitutes a major simplification in realizing video-frame-rate, mid-infrared monochromatic imaging," said Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "The spectral information provided by this technique could be combined with machine learning to enable faster, and possibly more objective, medical diagnostics based on chemical signatures without the need for staining." Barcelona taxi drivers took strike action in January A Barcelona-based association of taxi drivers on Thursday announced it would lodge a legal complaint against ride-hailing services Uber and Cabify for fraud and other offences. In all the Elite Taxi group, which represents 2,000 drivers, will take on 11 firms and 15 individuals, as well as US-based Uber and Spanish company Cabify, according to Alberto Alvarez, spokesman for the association. The legal complaint, to be lodged in Madrid next week, is just the latest attempt by registered taxi drivers in several countries to stop potential customers using the new, less regulated, services which they believe provide unfair competition. The accusations will include fraud but also money-laundering, tax infringements and flouting workers' rights. Rideshare companies maintain that drivers are able to thrive and maintain work flexibility, and that their business model would not work if drivers were treated as wage-based employees. In late 2017, the Elite Taxi association obtained a judicial victory when the European Court of Justice ruled that Uber is an ordinary transportation company instead of just an online app and should be regulated as such. Last year Spanish taxi drivers went on strike for several days, calling in the authorities to restrain the activities of the ride-hailing operators. In several Spanish cities, including Valencia and Barcelona, new rules have been adopted including requiring customers of ride-hailing services to book a ride at least 15 minutes in advance. Explore further Uber, Cabify stop services in Barcelona due to tighter laws 2019 AFP A young caribou near Peace River, B.C. Credit: Jean-Guy Dallaire/Flickr British Columbia is home to the most biodiversity of any Canadian province or territory, with a vast array of species from the coast to the Rockies. Not only is B.C. home to the most species at risk in Canada, it also lacks dedicated species at risk legislation. On May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity, UBC researchers Sarah Otto and Cole Burton discuss British Columbia's efforts to develop comprehensive species at risk legislation. Along with colleagues from UBC, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the University of Northern British Columbia, they've just released recommendations for designing species at risk legislation in the province. What's the current state of species at risk legislation in British Columbia? For a province with such incredible natural heritage, we're behind the curve. We have a patchwork of laws that don't consistently protect all species at risk from all types of human impacts across all types of land use. It's an approach that hasn't effectively prevented species declinesBC caribou herds are a prime example. And recent comments from the provincial government have the research community concerned that the province might be backing away from its plans for proposing legislation. Protecting and recovering endangered species is a major challenge, but the good news is we can learn from successes and failures in other jurisdictions. What would effective species at risk legislation look like in BC? It would focus on recovery and independent oversight. Laws that generate lists and plans without accountability for species recovery are ineffective. An effective law requires the commitment of resources to conservation and coordination among sectors to ensure that enough is done to halt species declines. We recommend a strong and immediate program for monitoring and reporting on recovery efforts, and the formation of specialized recovery teamsworking together much like a team of doctors to save a dying patient. We also recommend transparency in determining which species are listed as endangered, based on evidence and determined by independent experts. Some jurisdictions in Canada allow government discretion to list or not list species, even in cases where the evidence is clear that the species is endangered. That means some species fall between the cracks, without coordinated recovery efforts. There are also ways to speed up the listing process by making it automatic for species already listed under Canada's federal Species at Risk Act. That would avoid delays and the costs of evaluating species twice. Explain the partnership approach you are recommending in any provincial legislation. Any new law needs to use lessons from natural and social sciences and from Indigenous knowledge to have the best chance of making a difference for species on the ground. To save species from extinction requires deeper integration among provincial, federal, and Indigenous governments, academic, industry, and non-governmental sectors. A key aspect is nation-to-nation engagement with Indigenous peoples to co-develop policies that protect species at risk. Explore further Even more amphibians are endangered than we thought This image of Europes Columbus space laboratory was taken by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during his spacewalk on 9 July 2013. Credit: ESA/NASA The International Space Station will host the most precise clocks ever to leave Earth. Accurate to a second in 300 million years the clocks will push the measurement of time to test the limits of the theory of relativity and our understanding of gravity. Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity predicted that gravity and speed influences time, the faster you travel the more time slows down, but also the more gravity pulling on you the more time slows down. On 29 May 1919 Einstein's theory was first put to the test when Arthur Eddington observed light "bending" around the Sun during a solar eclipse. Forty years later, the Pound-Rebka experiment first measured the redshift effect induced by gravity in a laboratorybut a century later scientists are still searching for the limits of the theory. "The theory of relativity describes our Universe on the large scale, but on the border with the infinitesimally small scale the theory does not jibe and it remains inconsistent with quantum mechanics," explains Luigi Cacciapuoti, ESA's Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) project scientist. "Today's attempts at unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics predict violations of the Einstein's equivalence principle." Einstein's principle details how gravity interferes with time and space. One of its most interesting manifestations is time dilation due to gravity. This effect has been proven by comparing clocks at different altitudes such as on mountains, in valleys and in space. Clocks at higher altitude show time passes faster with respect to a clock on the Earth surface as there is less gravity from Earth the farther you are from our planet. Negative photo of the 1919 solar eclipse. Credit: Royal Astronomical Society Flying at 400 km altitude on the Space Station, the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space will make more precise measurements than ever before. Internet of clocks ACES will create an "internet of clocks", connecting the most accurate atomic timepieces the world over and compare their timekeeping with the ones on humankind's weightless laboratory as it flies overhead. French space agency engineers working on the Pharao atomic space clock. Pharao is part of the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space, ACES, that will fly to the International Space Station. Credit: CNES Comparing time down to a stability of hundreds femtosecondsone millionth of a billionth of a secondrequires techniques that push the limits of current technology. ACES has two ways for the clocks to transmit their data, a microwave link and an optical link. Both connections exchange two-way timing signals between the ground stations and the space terminal, when the timing signal heads upwards to the Space Station and when it returns down to Earth. The unprecedented accuracy this setup offers brings some nice bonuses to the ACES experiment. Clocks on the ground will be compared among themselves providing local measurements of geopotential differences, helping scientists to study our planet and its gravity. The frequencies of the laser and microwave links will help understand how light and radio waves propagate through the troposphere and ionosphere thus providing information on climate. Finally, the internet of clocks will allow scientists to distribute time and to synchronise their clocks worldwide for large-scale Earth-based experiments and for other applications that require precise timing. Columbus module with ACES. Credit: ESAD. Ducros "The next generation of atomic clocks and the link techniques that we are developing could one-day be used to observe gravitational waves themselves as ESA's proposed LISA mission," adds Luigi, "but right now ACES will help us test as best we can Einstein's theory of general relativity, searching for tiny violations that, if found, might open a window to a new theory of physics that must come." The clocks have been tested and integrated on the ACES payload and the microwave link for ACES is undergoing tests before final integration with the full experiment. ACES will be ready for launch to the Space Station by 2020. Explore further Timely arrival of Pharao space clock This simulation shows a proposed new way of colliding two spherical electron beams. It could allow scientists to test QED, the theory that describes interactions of light and matter, in extremely strong electromagnetic fields (red areas). Such experiments could explore intriguing phenomena, including the collision of dense gamma-ray beams (yellow) produced in the electron-electron collision. Credit: Physical Review Letters A new idea for smashing beams of elementary particles into one another could reveal how light and matter interact under extreme conditions that may exist on the surfaces of exotic astrophysical objects, in powerful cosmic light bursts and star explosions, in next-generation particle colliders and in hot, dense fusion plasma. Most such interactions in nature are very successfully described by a theory known as quantum electrodynamics (QED). However, the current form of the theory doesn't help predict phenomena in extremely large electromagnetic fields. In a recent paper in Physical Review Letters, researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and their colleagues have suggested a new particle collider concept that would allow us to study these extreme effects. Extreme fields sap energy from colliding particle beamsan unwanted loss that is typically mitigated by bundling particles into relatively long, flat bunches and keeping the electromagnetic field strength in check. Instead, the new study suggests making particle bunches so short that they wouldn't have enough time to lose energy. Such a collider would provide an opportunity to study intriguing effects associated with extreme fields, including the collision of photons emerging from the particle beams. The study was a collaboration of researchers at SLAC; Princeton University; University of Lisbon, Portugal; University of Dusseldorf, Germany; and National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Russia. Parts of this project were funded through a DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program award. A workshop on exploring extreme-field QED and the physics phenomena it creates will be held at SLAC in late summer. Explore further Tangled magnetic fields power cosmic particle accelerators More information: V. Yakimenko et al. Prospect of Studying Nonperturbative QED with Beam-Beam Collisions, Physical Review Letters (2019). Journal information: Physical Review Letters V. Yakimenko et al. Prospect of Studying Nonperturbative QED with Beam-Beam Collisions,(2019). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.190404 Credit: PinkBlue/Shutterstock Because of their delicate organic and decomposing nature, fossilized fungi are extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that a new discovery has just pushed back the earliest evidence of fungi by at least 500m yearsdoubling their age. Until now, the oldest confirmed fungal fossils dated to around 450m years agoabout the same time that plants migrated from sea to land. One of the most famous fossilized fungi from this period is the Prototaxites, which could grow up to eight meters tallleading to its misidentification for many years as a tree. But previous examination of the fungal "molecular clock", using DNA-based methods, suggested that fungi may have evolved much earlier, between 760m and 1.06 billion years ago. Extracted from Arctic Canadian shales, the newly discovered billion-year-old fossilised fungal spores and hyphae (long thin tubes) plug the gap in the fossil record and suggest that fungi may have occupied land well before plants. The fungal fossils were found in rocks that were probably once part a shallow-water estuary. Such environments are typically great for fungi thanks to nutrient-rich waters and the build up of washed-up organic matter to feed on. The high salinity, high mineral and low oxygen content of these ancient coastal habitats also provided great conditions to perfectly preserve the tough chitin molecules embedded within fungal cell walls that otherwise would have decomposed. Natures plastic, chitin is also found in modern insect exoskeletons and the shells of crabs and lobsters. Credit: tienduc1103/Shutterstock While it's not certain whether the newly-discovered ancient fungi actually lived within the estuary or were washed into the sediments from the land, they show many of the distinctive features you'd expect in modern terrestrial fungi. The germinating spores are clearly defined, as are the branching, thread-like tubes that help fungi explore their environment, named hyphae. Even the cell walls are distinctively fungal, being made up of two clear layers. In fact, if you didn't know they were so old, you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish them from modern fungi. Fungal forefathers As you might imagine from their ancient origins, fungi have played a critical role in shaping Earth's terrestrial biosphere over the last billion years. The first plants to emerge onto land 500m years ago formed intimate partnerships with fungi. Lacking roots, these early plants relied on their fungal partners to grow inside them and spread outwards into the primordial mineral soil. In a process known as biological weathering, fungal hyphae would secrete organic acids to dissolve rocks and extract nutrients held within. In return, the plants would transfer nutrients produced through photosynthesis to the fungi. This exchange of resources between early plants and fungi powered the growth, evolution and diversification of Earth's flora into ever more complex species, communities and ecosystems, and remains the norm today. Over 90% of land plants associate with a fungal partner of one type or another, and some are entirely dependent on fungal assistance to survive. The gathering of nutrients by fungal hyphae, collectively called a mycelium, is vital for healthy ecosystems. Credit: Kichigin/Shutterstock The symbiotic rise of land plants and their fungal partners also had dramatic effects on our atmosphere. Now with abundant access to mineral-based energy building blocks, plants evolved more efficient mechanisms for photosynthesis to capture this energy, for example through better control of the movement of carbon dioxide and water into and out of leaves. Over millions of years, this increased absorption of carbon dioxide produced a massive rise in oxygen concentrations, supporting the emergence of much larger, more complex animal life than the tiny insect-like life forms that previous oxygen levels could support. From there, the evolutionary story is clear. But in showing that fungi probably arrived on land 500m years before plants, the new fossil evidence raises fundamental questions about the start of this symbiotic journey. It was previously thought that plants made the transition to terrestrial life simultaneously with aquatic fungal partners, but the new discovery opens up the possibility that Earth's lands may have been already being prepared for successful plant life for hundreds of millions of years. Dissolving mineral-rich rocks and secreting carbon-based organic acids, we know that fungi were extremely important in converting barren lands into the fertile, carbon-rich soils we know today. It could be that the emergence of plant life was only made possible by aeons of groundwork by ancient fungal forefathers. The outstanding challenge for scientists now is to resolve with certainty whether these ancient fungi were terrestrial in origin, and pinpoint their placement on the evolutionary tree of life. With the focus now on finding further fossil fungi, our understanding of the evolution of the early biosphere will make leaps and bounds. What is already clear is that without fungi, we would not exist. Playing a vital role in the maintenance of healthy ecosystems across the planet, from the Antarctic deserts to the tropical rainforests, fungi underpin all life on Earth today. Now, it appears we may have another 500m years to thank them for. Explore further One billion year old fungi found are Earth's oldest This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: In a speech after his party's emphatic victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that "the 2019 poll verdict is for new India". He said the huge number of seats that the BJP won was itself a "unique phenomenon" in the history of democracy."Since the country got Independence, so many elections took place, but the maximum voting took place in this election, and that too in 40-42 degree temperature," he added. He said the people of the country had answered (by casting votes for the BJP) like Lord Krishna, who during the Mahabhartha, had said that he was on no one's side. The people of India have given a strong mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the country for the next five years. As the counting of votes comes to an end, the BJP seems set to form the government at the Centre once again. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: 5 ways to get real-time updates on counting day As the mammoth saga comes to an end, here are the latest updates on the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Results: 11.18 PM: US President Donald Trump on PM Modi's victory: "Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm." Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 11.17 PM: The results on as many as 278 seats have been declared, of which 169 have gone to the BJP. 278 results have been declared of which 169 have gone to BJP, 31 to INC, 10 to AITC, 9 to Shiv Sena and DMK, 8 to JD(U), 7 to TRS, 6 to LJSP, 5 to BSP, 4 to NCP, 2 each to JKNC, SAD, IUML, and rest to Others. Here's a look at #DadraandNagarHaveli#Karnataka#Maharashtrapic.twitter.com/THb3zTk0jG - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.00 PM: Actor Akshay Kumar on the BJP's victory: "Heartiest congratulations Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji on the historic win." Heartiest congratulations Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji on the historic win. All your efforts to advance the nation and put it on the global map have been acknowledged. Wishing you an even more successful second term. - Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) May 23, 2019 10.27 PM: Defeat of LDF in Kerala during Lok Sabha elections was unexpected, said Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The casuses will be examined in detail, he said. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Defeat of LDF in Lok Sabha elections in Kerala was unexpected. Will examine the reasons in detail. The sentiments against the ruling party in center is reflected. That is why BJP did not get any seat in Kerala. Sentiments against BJP benefited Congress pic.twitter.com/Rc2IFTazdv ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 10.25 PM: Sikkim Assembly polls: Sikkim Democratic Front wins on 10 seats, leading on 5. #SikkimAssemblyElectionResults: Sikkim Democratic Front wins on 10 seats, leading on 5; Sikkim Krantikari Morcha wins on 14 seats, leading on 3, out of total 32 assembly constituency seats pic.twitter.com/iAROHXQCTS - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 10.21 PM: The BJP wins on 23 seats, while it is leading on 7 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. #ArunachalPradeshAssemblyElectionResults: BJP wins on 23 seats, leading on 7; Congress wins on 3 seats, out of total 47 assembly constituency seats pic.twitter.com/OZKLsPhvVs - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 10.19 PM: BJP candidates Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwari win East Delhi and North East Delhi, respectively. Gautam Gambhir was polled 6.95 lakh votes, while his closest opponent Arvind Singh Lovely was polled 3.04 lakh votes. AAP's Atishi Marlena came distant third with 2.19 lakh votes. 10.12 PM: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi wins from Hyderabad. Owaisi was polled 5.17 lakh votes, while his nearest rival Bhagvanth Rao was polled 2.35 lakh votes. 10.07 PM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate Narendra Modi on his election victory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate Indian Prime Minister @NarendraModi on his election victory. "Narendra, my friend, congratulations! What an enormous victory!" pic.twitter.com/MzhQRb3q26 - PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 23, 2019 10.05 PM: The BJP's Parliamentary Board meeting is underway. All top leaders present in the meeting. 10.01 PM: Former Union Minister and National People's Party (NPP) candidate Agatha Sangma wins from the Tura Lok Sabha seat. 9.56 PM: The latest tally as per the Election Commission. 243: Results declared 146: Won by the BJP 29: INC 8: Shiv Sena 8: DMK and AITC 7: JD(U) & TRS 4 each: NCP, BSP & LJSP 2 each: JKNC, SAD, IUML Rest to Others 243 results have been declared of which 146 have gone to BJP, 29 to INC, 8 to Shiv Sena, 8 to DMK and AITC, 7 to JD(U) & TRS, 4 to NCP, BSP & LJSP, 2 each to JKNC, SAD, IUML, and rest to Others. Here's a look at #Meghalaya, #Haryana & #Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/FRKQIuYoiS - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 9.49 PM: Sunny Deol wins by 82,459 votes. He was polled 5.5 lakh votes, while his closest rival, Sunil Jakhar, of the Congress party, was polled 4.74 lakh votes. 9.42 PM: As per the EC, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been polled 5.34 lakh votes. Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP got 3.67 lakh votes. 9.40 PM: Smriti Irani offers prayers at a temple in Amethi. Union Minister Smriti Irani offers prayers at a temple in Amethi; she is leading by 48078 votes in the parliamentary constituency. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, outgoing Amethi MP, has conceded defeat pic.twitter.com/uqxGzt7eNX - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 9.39 PM: Harsimrat Kaur Badal dances to celebrate NDA's victory in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. #WATCH Punjab: Union Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal danced to celebrate, earlier today in Bathinda. She has won the Parliamentary seat by 21,772 votes. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/2bf8Z3LbHV - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 9.37 PM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh got 6.3 lakh votes while SP's Poonam Sinha got 2.85 lakh votes. Acharya Pramod Krishnam of the Congress party got 1.8 lakh votes. 9.35 PM: BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Varun Gandhi secure victory in Lucknow and Pilibhit, UP. 9.33 PM: 'Khel-Tamasha' has taken place in UP, Bihar, WB and AP, says Congress' Shatrughan Sinha, reports ANI. He was defeated by Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib. 9.22 PM: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has won from Azamgarh by 256,581 votes. His nearest rival Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua got 3.54 lakh votes. 9.20 PM: Rahul Gandhi won by over 4.3 lakh votes from Kerala's Wayanad. However, he faced a humiliating defeat in Amethi where BJP's Smriti Irani defeat the Congress President by 48,078 votes. 9.08 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won by 4,79,505 votes in Varanasi. Union minister Meneka Gandhi wins from Sultanpur. Shalini Yadav of SP got 1.9 lakh votes, while Congress' Ajay Rai for 1.5 lakh votes. 9.04 PM: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sunny Deol has won from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Lok Jan Shakti Party candidate Chirag Kumar Paswan has also won from Jamui (SC), Bihar. 8.53 PM: Narendra Modi wins from Varanasi. SAD candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal also wins from Bathinda, Punjab. Her husband and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has emerged victorious from Firozpur, Punjab. 8.46 PM: Latest Election Commission numbers: Total 127 results have been declared, of which 77 sent to the BJP. 127 results have been declared of which 77 to BJP,20 to INC,5 to TRS,ShivSena,4 to JD(U),3 to DMK&2 to JKNC,SAD,LSJP&1 each:AITC,NCP,BSP,Kerala Congress&JD(S).Of remaining 415 const,BJP leading in 225,INC in 31,AITC in21,DMK in20&YSRC in 22.A look at #HimachalPradesh#JnK#Punjabpic.twitter.com/h9cI42PrIb - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 8.39 PM: They used to make fun of 'panna pramukhs', now they can see what power and importance a 'panna pramukh' has. PM Narendra Modi: They used to make fun of 'panna pramukhs', now they can see what power and importance a 'panna pramukh' has. pic.twitter.com/cJe23AfvYV - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8.30 PM: PM Modi slams the secular lobby. "From 2014 to 2019, the secular lobby stopped speaking," he says. 8.28 PM: This is poor man or common man's victory, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 4-5 : pic.twitter.com/esPyuOSGRG - BJP LIVE (@BJPLive) May 23, 2019 8.25 PM: "We accept the people's verdict," says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. , - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 23, 2019 8.23 PM: PM Modi said now there's only two castes left in India, and that those are poor and those who work towards alleviating the poverty. 8.19 PM: Watch live streaming of PM Modi's speech at the BJP headquarters. #WATCH live from Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses party workers at the BJP Headquarters. #ElectionResults2019https://t.co/aIYJI4HYVX - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8.17 PM: "This is the people's victory, the democracy's victory," says PM Modi. 8.05 PM: Congratulating over 130 crore people of the country, PM Modi said that they had filled the poor man's pocket. 8.02 PM: He says people of the country have answered (by casting votes) like Lord Krishan, who during the Mahabhartha had said that he was no no one's side. Thank you India! Watch from the BJP Headquarters. https://t.co/6WTN8almav - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 7.58 PM: "Since the country got Independence, so many elections took place, but the maximum voting took place in this election, and that too in 40-42 degree temperature," he added. 7.54 PM: Reacting for the first time after his party's emphatic victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that "the 2019 poll verdict is for new India". He said the magical number of seats that the BJP won was itself a "unique phenomenon" in the history of democracy. 7.51 PM: "Even after so much violence and rigging, the BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal. It tells that in coming days, BJP will establish its might in West Bengal," says Amit Shah. Amit Shah: We had told party workers that they'll have to get on the field to fight the battle of 50%. I can proudly say that in 17 states, people blessed us with more than 50% votes...On the other hand Congress had to face a crushing defeat. In 17 states Congress got a 'big 0'. pic.twitter.com/6C0fW3x3PL - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.49 PM: "I would like to tell Chandrababu Naidu ji, had he worked so hard to get votes then TDP's account would have opened," says Amit Shah. #WATCH Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah says, "...I would like to tell Chandrababu Naidu ji, had he worked so hard to get votes then TDP's account would have opened." #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/GtNqMKz1yN - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.46 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah says the party is proud the rare opportuniry to form the government with a clear majority twice went to PM Modi. 7.43 PM: Latest election trends: 66 results have been declared of which 42 have gone to BJP & 11 to INC, 3 to TRS & 2 to JKNC, 1 each to DMK, NCP, LJSP, BSP, Shiv Sena, SAD & JD (S). 66 results have been declared of which 42 have gone to BJP&11 to INC,3 to TRS & 2 to JKNC,1 each to DMK,NCP,LJSP,BSP,ShivSena,SAD&JD (S).Of d remaining 476 const.,BJP is leading in 260,INC in 40,AITC in 22,DMK in 22,Shiv Sena in 17 & YSRC in 22 const. Here's looking at #Rajasthanpic.twitter.com/ilPVgzOCxZ - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 7.41 PM: DMK chief MK Stalin: "I thank people of Tamil Nadu for the resounding victory." DMK chief MK Stalin: I thank people of Tamil Nadu for the resounding victory. I would like to thank DMK cadres and allies. We will go to Karunanidhi's memorial and dedicate this victory to him. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/KvKMBln5G3 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.40 PM: Amit Shah on the BJP's victory: "This is a historic victory. After 50 years someone has won an absolute majority for the second time in a row." 7.39 PM: The BJP makes a clean sweep by winning all 10 seats in Haryana. 7.37 PM: "When all the institutions of the country start bending their knees before the government, the public has to take a stand," says BSP supremo Mayawati. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief, Mayawati: Today's result is against the expectations and sentiments of people. Anyway, when all the institutions of the country start bending their knees before the government, the public has to take a stand. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/Qu7pTh4yNw - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 7.29 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, rose petals showered by party workers. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, rose petals showered by party workers. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/V6Pcq1c0ki - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.28 PM: Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan greet people at BJP Headquarters. Delhi: Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan greet people at BJP Headquarters. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/VVcwwLuviO - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.27 PM: Salman Khan congratulates Prime Minister Narenra Modi on the BJP's decisive victory. Many congratulations Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi on your decisive victory. We stand by you in building a stronger India. - Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) May 23, 2019 7.15 PM: PM Narendra Modi arrives at BJP headquarters; to address workers soon. Thank you India! Watch from the BJP Headquarters. https://t.co/6WTN8almav - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 7.07 PM: Winners' from Punjab Congress' Manish Tewari wins from Anandpur Sahib, SAD'S Sukhbir Singh Badal wins from Firozpur, Congress' Ravneet Singh Bittu wins from Ludhiana and Congress' Preneet Kaur wins from Patiala. 7.02 PM: BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, Ravi Kishan, wins by 3,01,664 votes. Says, "This is a victory of the truth." -- ANI. 7.00 PM: Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir wins from EastDelhi against Aam Aadmi Party's Atishi Marlena. 6.59 PM: The BJP is leading on all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttrakhand. 6.57 PM: Total 49 results declared: 30(BJP), 10(INC), 2(TRS), 1 each: DMK, JKNC, NCP, LJSP, BSP, JD (S). 49 results declared-30(BJP)10(INC), 2(TRS),1 each-DMK,JKNC,NCP,LJSP,BSP,JD (S).Of the remaining 493 const.,BJP leading in 272,INC in 40,AITC in 23,DMK in 22,Shiv Sena in 18,YSRC in 22,BJD in 12,JD(U) in 16&BSP in 10 const. Here's looking at #Telangana#Punjab#Kerala#Lakshadweeppic.twitter.com/hSwPynOJBm - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 6.56 PM: EVM ki rigging nahi hui hai, Hindu mind ki rigging ho chuki hai, says Owaisi. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi: Election Commission must show their independence, I believe VVPATs should be 100% (100 per cent matching of VVPAT slips with the Voting Machines). EVM ki rigging nahi hui hai, Hindu mind ki rigging ho chuki hai. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/wcXmNmBit8 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6.55 PM: Capt Amarinder Singh congratulates Narendra Modi for an impressive victory. "India's 1.3 billion people look to you and the new NDA government for a better tomorrow. I wish you all the best for meeting their aspirations and ushering all-round & inclusive progress in the country," he says. 6.50 PM: Total 49 results declared-30. BJP: 10 INC: 2 1 each: TRS, DMK,JKNC,NCP,LJSP,BSP, and JD (S) 6.44 PM: The BJP crosses magical mark of 300, while the Congress party has even failed to hit half-century. 6.40 PM: Smriti Irani tweets after defeating Rahul Gandhi. "Kaun kahta k aasaman mei surakh nahi ho sakta," says Smriti Irani. ... - Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 23, 2019 6.36 PM: DV Sadananda Gowda of the BJP wins in Karnataka. 6.35 PM: PM Modi-led BJP witnessed a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. One of the first things the winning party did is to remove the prefix of 'chowkidar' that all the BJP leaders had put before their names on Twitter. 6.30 PM: "Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India's progress. The word 'Chowkidar' goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!" says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people of India became Chowkidars and rendered great service to the nation. Chowkidar has become a powerful symbol to safeguard India from the evils of casteism, communalism, corruption and cronyism. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 6.28 PM: A total of 34 results been declared of which 22 have gone to BJP & seven to INC, 1each to DMK, JKNC, NCP, TRS & JD (S). 34 results been declared of which 22 have gone to BJP&7 to INC,1each to DMK,JKNC,NCP,TRS & JD (S).Of the remaining 508 const,BJP leading in 282,INC in 43,AITC in 23,DMK in 22,ShivSena in 19,YSRC in 22,BJD in 12,JD(U) in 16&BSP in 10 const. Here's Looking at #Karnataka & #DamanDiupic.twitter.com/FIWEClay6f - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 6.20 PM: "I accept people's mandate," says Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Reports of Congress President Rahul Gandhi offering resignation are incorrect, says Randeep Singh Surjewala. When asked on fixing responsibility for loss, Rahul Gandhi said, "This is between my party and I. Between me and the Congress CWC." #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/vaTGPNCz7a - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Reports of Congress President Rahul Gandhi offering resignation are incorrect, says Randeep Singh Surjewala. 6.05 PM: National Conference senior leader Farooq Abdullah wins from Srinagar, J&K. BJP candidate, Bandi Sanjay Kumar has won from Karimnagar, Telangana. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate, Farooq Abdullah has won from Srinagar, J&K.#ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 6.03 PM: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the poll debacle: "We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers." Congress General Secretary for UP east, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/dMuzXTQ8u1 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6.01 PM: Here are the latest party wise trends in Karnataka. 6.00 PM: Capt. Amarinder Singh's wife, Preneet Kaur, has won from Patiala, Punjab. INC Candidate, Ravneet Singh Bittu has won from Ludhiana, Punjab. INC candidate, Preneet Kaur has won from Patiala, Punjab. TRS candidate, Manne Srinivas Reddy has won from Mahbubnagar, Telangana.#ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 Congress President Rahul Gandhi concedes defeat in Amethi, says, "I respect the decision and congratulate Smriti Irani ji." 5.48 PM: "I want to congratulate the BJP and PM Narendra Modi for amajor victory. Our fight is on the basis of our parties' 'thinking'. I believe PMModi and the BJP have won the election, so I want to congratulate them," says Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Congress President Rahul Gandhi: I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/vO5HBkoorb - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 5.45 PM: BJP candidate Hema Malini wins from the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency for the second time. 5.40 PM: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia loses from bastion in Guna, MP. The Congress has suffered a major defeat in MP. 5.37 PM: The latest visuals from West Bengal. The BJP workers celebrate the BJP's victory. 5.36 PM: The Election Commission: Total 16 results have been declared, of which 14 have gone to the BJP and 1 each to INC and JD (Secular). Of the remaining 526 constituencies, BJP is leading in 288, INC in 50, AITC in 23, DMK in 23, Shiv Sena in 18, YSRC in 23, BJD in 13, JD(U) in 16 and BSP in 11 constituencies. 5.34 PM: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan congratulates PM Narendra Modi. Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan congratulates PM Narendra Modi. #ElectionResults2019 (file pic) pic.twitter.com/TkIvMgtrnp - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 5.30 PM: Three more candidates secure victory in Karnataka. BJP candidate, Anantkumar Hegde has won from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Akshaibar Lal has won from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. BJP candidate, Pralhad Joshi has won from Dharwad, Karnataka. 5.25 PM: More BJP victories in Karnataka. BJP candidate, Bhagwanth Khuba has won from Bidar, Karnataka. BJP candidate, B.N.Bache Gowda has won from Chikkballapur, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Nalin Kumar Kateel has won from Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka. 5.20 PM: "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies," says Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia - Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 5.20 PM: "...all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all," says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched - Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 23, 2019 5.18 PM: The BJP has secured victory on 12 seats, while the Congress has won just one seat. The saffron party-led NDA is ahead on 342 seats while the UPA is leading on 95 seats. 5.15 PM: Four more candidates have been declared winners in Karnataka. BJP candidate Bhagwanth Khuba has won from Bidar, Karnataka. BJP candidate, B.N.Bache Gowda has won from Chikkballapur, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Nalin Kumar Kateel has won from Dakshina Kannada. BJP candidate, Anantkumar Hegde has won from Uttara Kannada. 5.14 PM: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi wins from Rae Bareli; Rahul Gandhi is trailing by over 22,000 votes in Amethi. 5.13 PM: BJP candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, wins from Bhopal against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. 5.07 PM: "Fake issues don't work. The final results point in the same direction as the exit polls," says Finance Minister Arund Jaitley. Fake issues don't work. The final results point in the same direction as the exit polls. What is the accountability of those who were bringing a bad name to India's democracy both domestically and internationally by raking up the VVPAT issue? - Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 23, 2019 5.04 PM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani leads over Rahul Gandhi by over 22,000 votes. 5.02 PM: BJP candidate, Y Devendrappa wins from Bellary, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Y. Devendrappa has won from Bellary, Karnataka.#ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 5.00 PM: BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, actor-turned politician Ravi Kishan, secures victory. 4.59 PM: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from the BJP is leading by over 3 lakh votes against her nearest rival Digvijay Singh from the Congress party. 4.53 PM: BJP leader Babul Supriyo wins Asansol in West Bengal. 4.42 PM: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wins Patna Sahib; Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha loses. 4.39 PM: Visuals of celebrations from Wayanad. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is leading by 8,38,371 votes. Kerala: Visuals of celebrations from Wayanad. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is leading by 8,38,371 votes. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/zF1BgzV6lR - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 4.37 PM: Candidates who have won so far. BJP candidate Gopal Jee Thakur has won from Darbhanga, Bihar. BJP candidate Lalubhai Babubhai Patel has won from Daman & Diu. INC candidate, D.K. Suresh has won from Bangalore Rural, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Udasi. S.C. has won from Haveri, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Karadi Sanganna Amarappa has won from Koppal, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Jigajinagi Ramesh Chandappa has won from Bijapur, Karnataka. 4.35 PM: Six results have been declared of which five have gone to the BJP and one to INC. 6 results have been declared of which 5 have gone to BJP and one to INC. Of the remaining 536 constituencies, BJP is leading in 294, INC in 50, AITC in 23, DMK in 23, Shiv Sena in 18, YSRC in 23, BJD in 14, JD(U) in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies. - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 4.32 PM: Take a look at the latest election trends in Andhra Pradesh. 4.30 PM: Urmila Matondkar, Congress candidate from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency: "I congratulate Gopal Shetty. We have noticed discrepancies in EVMs, we have prepared a report on it that we will submit to Election Commission at the end of the day." Urmila Matondkar, Congress candidate from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency: I congratulate Gopal Shetty. We have noticed discrepancies in EVMs, we have prepared a report on it that we will submit to Election Commission at the end of the day. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/nX2ONYA08d - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 4.28 PM: Take a look at election trends in Chattisgarh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737FP4u Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Chattisgarh#Mizoram#HimachalPradesh#AndhraPradeshpic.twitter.com/f3DxkCGXDN - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 4.26 PM: In a bad news for Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Smriti Irani leads by almost 19,000 votes from Amethi. 4.13 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Jagan Mohan Reddy in Telugu and Naveen Patnaik in Odia for securing big wins in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Assembly elections. Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term. @Naveen_Odisha - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Dear @ysjagan, Congratulations on the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure. @ysjagan, . . . - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 4.11 PM: Senior BJP leader LK Advani gives heartiest congratulations to Narendra Modi for steering the BJP towards this unprecedented victory in elections. L K Advani, BJP: It's such a wonderful feeling that in a country as large & diverse as India, electoral process has been so successfully completed & for that, my compliments to the electorate & all the agencies involved. May our great nation be blessed with a bright future ahead. https://t.co/cAX8plrlzr - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 4.10 PM: Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh on Congress's Sunil Jakhar trailing from Gurdaspur: "Sunil ji is a fine candidate, he had done a lot of work there. This is one thing I didn't understand that people gave preference to an actor than to experience." Captain Amarinder Singh on Navjot Singh Sidhu: Indians especially servicemen will not tolerate hugging the Pakistani Army Chief. pic.twitter.com/AVZFgIraR2 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 3.48 PM: BJP President Amit Shah arrives at party Headquarters, welcomed by party workers. Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah arrives at party Headquarters, welcomed by party workers. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/5J9gYnmfu6 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 3.35 PM: Congress President Rahul Gandhi leading with over 7,90,000 votes from Kerala's Wayanad. 3.27 PM: Visuals from BJP headquarters in Delhi. 3.25 PM: "People of Bathinda went with development, voted for 'Sabka saath, Sabka Vikas', I thank them," said Harsimrat Kaur Badal who is winning from the Bathinda seat. 3.23 PM: Yogi Adityanath congratulates PM Modi. " I want to congratulate Prime Minister Modi for this victory. BJP is touching 300 mark for the first time and NDA is touching 350. I also congratulate the party President Amit Shah," said Yogi Adityanath. 3.17 PM: Russia's President Vladimir Putin calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate him. 3.15 PM: Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 3.14 PM: Sharad Pawar, NCP, said, "I accept people's decision but this is also a fact that people had their doubts about EVMs. Congress had performed really well in Rajiv Gandhi's time, but nobody doubted elections then, same when Atal Bihari Vajpayee won." 3.11 PM: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani congratulates PM Modi. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani tweets, "Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government & the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies" #ElectionResults2019 (file pic) pic.twitter.com/pql5Ge7rJx ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 3.10 PM: BJP's Amit Shah leading over Congress's CJ Chavda from Gandhinagar with a margin of 511180 votes. 3.08 PM: King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephonic conversation. 3.05 PM: A meeting of JD(S) leaders is going on at the residence of party chief HD Deve Gowda in Bengaluru. CM HD Kumaraswamy, Sa Ra Mahesh, KM Shivalinge Gowda and other party leaders are present at the meeting. 3.01 PM: Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." -- ANI 3.00 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah is leading over Congress' CJ Chavda from Gandhinagar in Gujarat with a margin of 5,11,180 votes. BJP's Amit Shah leading over Congress's CJ Chavda from Gandhinagar (Gujarat) with a margin of 511180 votes. (file pic) #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/5YfulT41s7 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 2.58 PM: Kerala election trends: Rahul Gandhi ahead with over 3 lakh votes in Wayanad. UDF-19 Ldf-1 2.57 PM: As per latest trends available for the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 300 while INC is leading in 50, DMK in 23, AITC in 22, YSRC in 24, Shiv Sena in 18, JDU in 15, BJD in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies. As per latest trends available for the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 300 while INC is leading in 50, DMK in 23, AITC in 22, YSRC in 24, Shiv Sena in 18, JDU in 15, BJD in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies #ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 2.46 PM: India wins yet again! Together we'll build strong country, says Modi. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 2.43 PM: Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates Narendra Modi on victory. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates PM @narendramodi on the electoral victory under his leadership.#ResultsWithAIR | #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/MwtxpLOh9X - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 2.41 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah congratulates PM Modi for the stellar victory. "The result is India's mandate against propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless politics by the opposition," says Shah. , , , - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 23, 2019 2.36 PM: As per the Election Commission, the BJP is ahead on 60 seats in UP, while BSP on 11, and SP on 6. The Congress party is ahead on just 1 seat. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, stay connected to our Twitter handle.#UttarPradesh#Haryana#MadhyaPradesh#Keralapic.twitter.com/3WBR8Yx008 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 2.32 PM: BJP's Manoj Tiwari ahead with 4,40,050 votes; distant second is the Congress' senior leader Sheila Dikshit. She is trailing by 2 lakh votes. 2.26 PM: RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka: "In the dark of the night, when the others were in deep slumber, the Chowkidar kept awake. He went after corruption, gagged illegal money and gave a fitting response to terror attacks. The nation is upbeat, the economy will boom and investments will happen." In the dark of the night, when the others were in deep slumber, the Chowkidar kept awake. He went after corruption, gagged illegal money and gave a fitting response to terror attacks. The nation is upbeat, the economy will boom and investments will happen.#ElecctionResults2019 - Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) May 23, 2019 2.19 PM: UP Lok Sabha Election Results: Smriti Irani takes huge lead over Rahul in Amethi; leads by 9,000 votes. 2.16 PM: BJP-Shiv Sena is leading in 41 seats in Maharashtra; INC-NCP in 5; AIMIM and Independent in 1 each. 2.12 PM: India Today-Axis My India exit polls had predicted 345-368 seats for the NDA in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 2.08 PM: Giriraj Singh leads by over 2 lakh votes from Begusarai; Kanhaiya Kumar trails. Read here. In Bihar, Giriraj Singh is leading by more than 2 lakh votes from Begusarai.#ResultsWithAIR | #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/0Knz1dkb5k - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 2.06 PM: The BJP is not winning because of people's mandate but 'cheating', says Hardik Patel. 1.47 PM: Here are the latest trends across 11 states that recorded historic voter turnout in Lok Sabha Elections 2019. 1.38 PM: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watches Lok Sabha Elections 2019 trends in Lucknow. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watches #LokSabhaElections2019 trends in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/SPGJSMOKTN - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 1.36 PM: Benjamin Netanyahu on BJP's major win: "Greetings from my heart, my friend @Narendramodi, for your impressive victory in the election!" , @Narendramodi, ! . . , ! - Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 23, 2019 1.35 PM: Will continue to strengthen our friendship between India and Israel, says Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Modi. 1.27 PM: Latest election trends as per the EC: As per latest trends available for the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 294 while INC is leading in 52, DMK in 22, AITC in 23, YSRC in 23, Shiv Sena in 19, JDU in 15, BJD in 15 and BSP in 12 constituencies. 1.22 PM: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is trailing behind BJP's Umesh G Jadhav by 50,000 votes. 1.20 PM: With half the votes counted (50.1%), my lead stands at 21,411, says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. With half the votes counted (50.1%), my lead stands at 21,411! #TharoorForTvm - Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 23, 2019 1.10 PM: My salute to the untiring workers of BJP, says Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore. I am on my way to the counting center at Jaipur to meet our counting representatives, my salute to the untiring workers of @BJP4India and Jaipur Rural, this is their service to the nation. #ModiAaRahaHai#ElecctionResults2019 - Chowkidar Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) May 23, 2019 1.08 PM: All that's left is to congratulate BJP, NDA for stellar performance, says NC leader and former J&K CM Omar Abdullah. So the exit polls were correct. All that's left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance. Credit where credit is due PM Modi Sahib & Mr Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years. - Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 23, 2019 1.05 PM: Himanta Biswa Sarma of BJP: "People of India have once again given Modi ji a chance to lead the country, they love him." Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP: People of India have once again given Modi ji a chance to lead the country, they love him. I would like to thank the people of India, especially people of North-East for supporting Modi ji. I want to assure people that Modi ji will take us forward. pic.twitter.com/vNAv2UENDj - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 1.04 PM: Andhra Assembly polls 2019: YS Jaganmohan Reddy to take oath as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on May 30. 1.03 PM: "One Nation One Choice! Modi wave was always here and will always be in the heart of India," says Union Minister Suresh Prabhu. .@BJP4India on the road to a path-breaking victory in the history of elections once again. The efforts of the party have been commendable. Nothing is more important than seeing love and support of the people that have made this victory a reality. @narendramodi@AmitShah@PMOIndia - Chowkidar Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) May 23, 2019 12.54 PM: The BJP leads in all 26 per cent in Gujarat. The vote share of the BJP is 61.78 per cent, the Congress party in second place with 32.40 per cent. #ElectionResults2019 at 12:10 #gujaratelections2019 BJP leads in all 26 PCs in #Gujarat The vote share of BJP is 61.78%, Congress in second place with 32.40 %# 26 61.78% , 32.40% pic.twitter.com/0p3QDEUuaL - PIB in Gujarat (@PIBAhmedabad) May 23, 2019 12.51 PM: Election Results 2019 for Maharashtra, at 12.35 PM: BJP-Shiv Sena leads in 43 seats, INC-NCP in 4, AIMIM in 1. #ElectionResults2019 for Maharashtra, at 12.35 PM: BJP - Shiv Sena leads in 43 seats, INC- NCP in 4, AIMIM in 1.#LokSabhaElections2019pic.twitter.com/CmQxLpPLC0 - PIB in Maharashtra (@PIBMumbai) May 23, 2019 12.49 PM: Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulates PM Narendra Modi on a 'magnificent victory'. Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you. - Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) May 23, 2019 12.46 PM: This is the latest nationwide trend right now. Lok Sabha Election Result 2019 | Overall Trend Nation wide #ElectionResults2019 | #ResultsWithAIRpic.twitter.com/e9hgMKofQt - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 12.45 PM: Celebrations outside Bharatiya Janata Party office in Rajasthan's Jaipur. #WATCH Celebrations outside Bharatiya Janata Party office in Rajasthan's Jaipur. pic.twitter.com/w1qYDG7J05 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12.44 PM: The BJP has finally lost former CM Parrikar's Panaji Assembly seat to Congress, reports ANI. 12.34 PM: Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo leading from Asansol, BJP's Arjun Singh leading from Barrackpore and TMC's Mimi Chakraborty leading from Jadavpur. #WestBengal: Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo leading from Asansol, BJP's Arjun Singh leading from Barrackpore and TMC's Mimi Chakraborty leading from Jadavpur pic.twitter.com/sxtjsZ41dF - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12.33 PM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh says he congratulated PM Narendra Modi and BJP National President Amit Shah for BJP's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "Modi is now all set to build a New India," says Rajnath Singh. Spoke to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and the BJP National President Shri @AmitShah over the phone and congratulated them for @BJP4India led NDA's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. 1/3 - Chowkidar Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 23, 2019 12.23 PM: Latest Assembly election trends in Odisha. BJD leading on 88 seats BJP leading on 27 seats Congress leading on 11 seats 12.21 PM: The BJP is set to win all four seats in Himachal Pradesh, says EC data. 12.18 PM: SP patriarch Mulayam Singh is leading from Mainpuri. His son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav are ahead from Azamgarh and Kannauj. 12.14 PM: Party wise Vote share in Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission of India. 12.11 PM: Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne celebrate as trends show party leading on 292 seats. #ElectionResults2019: Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne celebrate as trends show party leading on 292 seats. pic.twitter.com/WphGVy1KeP - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12.06 PM: BJP's Jay Panda trailing by over 2000 from Odisha's Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency. 12.04 PM: Sensex climbs 476 points, Nifty at 11,882; Adani Ports, BPCl, YES Bank top gainers. Indian Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty has made new record highs today. Sensex has hit 40,000 level and Nifty has crossed 12,000 level, hinting strong possibility of Modi coming back to power. Share Market Live: Adani Ports, BPCl, YES Bank top gainers 12.02 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at the BJP headquarter at 5 PM today. The BJP is heading towards a clear majority in the Lok Sabha election 2019. 11.59 AM: As per latest trends available for all the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 292 while INC is leading in 51, DMK in 22, AITC in 24, YSRC in 25, Shiv Sena in 20, JDU in 16, BJD in 14 and BSP in 11 constituencies. 11.58 AM: The latest election trends for Goa Manipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Goa#Manipur#AndamanandNicobarIslands#DadraandNagarHavelipic.twitter.com/KMJXmNNSEj - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.56 AM: Varun Gandhi is leading from Pilibhit; actor-turned-politician, Sunny Deol, is leading by over 4,000 votes from Gurdaspur. 11.53 AM: RLD chief Ajit Singh leading by over 25,000 votes from Muzaffarnagar in Lok Sabha seat. 11.53 AM: The YSR Congress Party set to wrest power in Andhra Pradesh with a landslide victory. 11.52 AM: Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP: "This is the first election for a generation that opened its eyes in the 21st century, the millennium generation has voted & given a millennium mandate. I think we should wait for final results, the indications are now gradually settling down to same thing." -- ANI 11.49 AM: BJP Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur on trends showing she is leading: Nischit meri vijay hogi, meri vijay mein dharm ki vijay hogi, adharm ka naash hoga. Mein Bhopal ki janta ka aabhaar deti hun.-- ANI 11.48 AM: BJP chief Amit Shah leads by over 3.5 lakh votes from Gandhinagar. 11.46 AM: Latest election EC trends in Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#DamanandDiu#Delhi#JammuAndKashmir#Tripurapic.twitter.com/UAveDl4B19 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.44 AM: Union Ministers Manoj Sinha and Maneka Gandhi trailing from Ghazipur and Sultanpur respectively. Union Ministers Manoj Sinha and Maneka Gandhi trailing from Ghazipur and Sultanpur respectively (file pics) pic.twitter.com/0Ut7SypUB3 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 11.44 AM: BJP leader Sambit Patra leads by 700 votes from Odisha's Puri Lok Sabha Constituency. BJP leader Dr Sambit Patra leading by over 700 votes from Odisha's Puri Lok Sabha Constituency. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/ihTxZ3xynf - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 11.41 AM: Check latest Lok Sabha result updates for Bihar, Telangana, TamilNadu and Puducherry. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Bihar#Telangana#TamilNadu#Puducherrypic.twitter.com/RopvlQrC8P - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.32 AM: In Varanasi after round 5, Narendra Modi leading over Shalini Yadav by margin of 92,999 votes. In Varanasi after round 5, Narendra Modi leading over Shalini Yadav by margin of 92,999 votes.#ElectionResults2019 | #ResultsWithAIRpic.twitter.com/4YTnh1lI12 - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 11.29 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar. pic.twitter.com/yR2Zi9eeL1 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 11.29 AM: Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda and Aam Aadmi Party's Bhagwant Mann leading from Sangrur. #Punjab: Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda and Aam Aadmi Party's Bhagwant Mann leading from Sangrur pic.twitter.com/5FbzD30aQW - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 11.18 AM: The BJP is leading on all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. 11.14 AM: BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi. #Elections2019 : BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi pic.twitter.com/vLRd0AySyt - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 10.56 AM: Union Minister Maneka Gandhi is trailing from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat. 10.54 AM: RJD's Saharad Yadav is trailing by over 48,300 votes in Madhepura, Bihar. 10.51 AM: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi leading by over one lakh votes in Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. 10.50 AM: BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans leading by 58,613 votes from North West Delhi constituency. 10.50 AM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takes a lead in the Lok Sabha election results in Odisha. As the vote count for the 21 #LokSabha and 146 Assembly seats began in #Odisha on May 23 morning, initial trends showed that the #BharatiyaJanataParty was leading in #LokSabha seats while the #BijuJanataDal in Assembly.#LokSabhaElections2019#Dangal2019 Photo: IANS pic.twitter.com/1PoGnRcaV1 - IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 23, 2019 10.48 AM: BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 1,25,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. 10.47 AM: In West Bengal, TMC leading in 21 seats, BJP in 14. Both Central Ministers - Babul Supriyo, SS Aluwalia are leading. Prominent TMC candidate Avishek Banerjee is trailing from Diamond Harbour. In West Bengal TMC leading in 21 seats, BJP in 14. Both Central Ministers - Babul Supriyo, S. S. Aluwalia are leading. Prominent TMC candidate Avishek Banerjee is trailing from Diamond Harbour.#Electionresult2019 | #ResultsWithAIRpic.twitter.com/Bnei6DjLnl - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 10.43 AM: Rajnath Singh leading by more than 50 thousand votes in Lucknow; Hema Malini ahead in Mathura. 10.39 AM: In Chhattisgarh, of the total 11 seats, the BJP is leading on 9 seats, while the Congress is leading on two seats. 10.37 AM: Latest Election Commission Trends: Total trends for 527 constituencies. BJP leading on 282 seats INC leading on 51 seats DMK leading on 22 seats AITC leading on 22 seats YSRC leading on 24 seats Shivsena leading on 19 seats 10.29 AM: BJP-Shiv Sena leading on all six seats of Mumbai. 10.28 AM: Check the latest election results for Chattisgarh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, and AndhraPradesh. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Chattisgarh#Mizoram#HimachalPradesh#AndhraPradeshpic.twitter.com/6j7cg9cnEC - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 10.25 AM: Latest numbers: NDA leads in 328 seats, UPA 103. 10.20 AM: The Election Commission of India: As per current trends available for 511 constituencies, BJP is leading in 277 while INC is leading in 52, DMK in 21, AITC in 21, YSRC in 21 and Shivsena in 18. As per current trends available for 511 constituencies, BJP is leading in 277 while INC is leading in 52, DMK in 21, AITC in 21, YSRC in 21 and Shivsena in 18. #ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 10.19 AM: The Congress party is leading on 8 seats in Punjab, while the BJP & SAD leading on 2 seats each and Aam Aadmi Party leading on 1 seat. 10.15 AM: Latest details from Maharashtra. BJP leading on all 22 seats Shiv Sena leading on 18 seats NCP leading on 4 seats Congress leading on 2 seats 10.14 AM: Supriya Sule, daughter of NCP stalwart, has taken a lead from Baramati. 10.13 AM: Early election trends show that UP Congress chief Raj Babbar is trailing from Fatehpur Sikri. 10.11 AM: Karti Chidambaram, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son, is leading from the Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat. 10.10 AM: Bharatiya Janata Party leading on all 7 seats in Delhi. 10.06 AM: The latest tally as per the Election Commission. Bharatiya Janata Party: Leading on 269 seats Indian National Congress: Leading on 52 seats 10.05 AM: Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Elections result. BJP: Leading on 7 seats 10.04 AM: Odisha election result 2019. Biju Janata Dal: Leading on 16 seats BJP: Leading on 5 seats Congress leader Milind Deora is trailing, while Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant leads from the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat. 10.01 AM: In Goa, the Congress party is leading from Panjim, which was Manohar Parrikar's Assembly seat. 9.59 AM: Take a look at the party-wise trends and results for the following states. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#UttarPradesh#Haryana#MadhyaPradesh#Keralapic.twitter.com/G4Yg4JcnhW - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 9.57 AM: PM Narendra Modi is leading by over 20,000 votes from UP's Varanasi, BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. PM Narendra Modi leading by over 20,000 votes from UP's Varanasi, BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar (file pic) pic.twitter.com/kZ6TRadqb9 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 9.51 AM: Sonia Gandhi leading in Raebareli by over 1,000 votes. 9.50 AM: Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections trends: YSRCP leading on 35 seats, Telugu Desam Party leading on 6 seats. 9.48 AM: Jammu and Kashmir election: NC leader Farooq Abdullah leading from Srinagar; Union Minister Jitendra Singh leading from Udhampur. 9.46 AM: Official tally by 9.30 AM BJP: Leading on 229 seats Congress: Leading on 56 seats 9.45 AM: BJP candidate and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi trailing from Sultanpur. 9.44 AM: BJP leading on Chandni Chowk, North West Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi parliamentary seats out of 7 seats -- ANI. 9.40 AM: The Congress is leading on three seats in Gujarat; the party is also ahead on three seats in Haryana. 9.30 AM: BJP candidate and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi trailing from Sultanpur, Sonia Gandhi leading from Rae Bareli. Varun Gandhi leading from Pilibhit 9:17am: BJP leader Giriraj Singh leading from Bihar's Begusarai over CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar. 9:16am: Official EC trends: BJP leading on 133 seats, Congress leading on 41 seats. 9:15am: BJP's Sunny Deol leading from Gurdaspur, Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib and Gurjeet Singh Aujla leading from Amritsar, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda. 9:08am: BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri is leading from South Delhi and BJP's Parvesh Verma leading from West Delhi. 9:07am: Sonia Gandhi is leading from Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli and Rahul Gandhi leading from Kerala's Wayanad. 9:00am: Senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna and Vivek Tankha from Jabalpur, trailing in Madhya Pradesh. 8:58am: TMC is leading from 2 constituencies. 8:56am: As per early trends, BJP is leading in 70 constituencies, while Congress is leading in 17. 8:51am: Visuals from Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh: Visuals from a counting centre in Bhopal; Congress's Digvijaya Singh and BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur are contesting from the Lok Sabha seat pic.twitter.com/MbigpFh65V ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:45am: Official EC trends: BJP-9, Congress-3, JDS-1, Mizo National Front-1, NCP-1, NDPP-1, Shiv Sena-1. 8:41am: Counting of votes for 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal began at 8 am on Thursday, an election official said. Around 25,000 personnel have been deployed to count votes in 379 counting halls, which are being guarded by 82 companies of Central forces. 8:40am: Counting of votes for elections to two Lok Sabha constituencies and four Assembly seats where bypolls were held, began at 8 am Thursday at two centres. Votes for North Goa district were being counted in Panaji and for South Goa district in Margao, an election official said. 8:35am: Counting of votes for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh got underway at 292 centres in 51 district headquarters on Thursday and the first results are expected by 10 pm, an election official said. 8:30am: Visuals from Chandigarh. Visuals from inside a counting centre in Chandigarh; Congress's Pawan Kumar Bansal, BJP's Kirron Kher and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan are contesting from the Lok Sabha seat. pic.twitter.com/8EuV2wWi9M ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:24am: Amit Shah had a meeting with party general secretaries and instructed them to call all party candidates and instruct them to have their representatives present at polling stations across the country, especially sensitive states like Bengal, Odisha... basically non-BJP ruling states... and not leave under any circumstances. All district presidents have been asked to tell all winning candidates to reach Delhi by 25th May, after which there will be a parliamentary party meeting which will elect leader of the party. 8:20am: ECI's two new directions to reduce the delay in counting of votes: EVM counting can go ahead irrespective of the stage of counting of postal votes. Mandatory recounting of only rejected postal votes and not the entire postal votes if the margin is less than the postal votes. 8:16am: Counting underway in Siri Fort, Delhi. Delhi: Counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 underway at Siri Fort complex. pic.twitter.com/upNrskGMAA ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:09am: Counting of votes for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 begins at counting centre in Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. Bengaluru: Counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 begins at counting centre in Mount Carmel College. #Karnatakapic.twitter.com/4kVkwBkP8b ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:00am: Counting of votes begins. 7:53am: "Roshan Baig has tried to help the BJP and sabotage my campaign. But in his own constituency Shivaji Nagar, people have supported me overwhelmingly and blessed me. Workers of Congress party have defied his diktats and supported me," said Rizwan Arshad, Congress candidate from Bangalore Central. 7:45am: Visuals from Dehradun. Uttarakhand: Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM; visuals from a counting centre in Dehradun. #LokSabhaElections2019pic.twitter.com/xSjNWuVDTC ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:40am: Visuals from Guwahati. Assam: Counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8am ; Visuals from outside a counting centre in Guwahati. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/jIEQmzGu5S ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:35am: Visuals from a counting centre in Wayanad. Rahul Gandhi is contesting from that constituency. Kerala: Visuals from outside a counting centre at Kalpetta, Wayanad; Rahul Gandhi is contesting from the Lok Sabha constituency. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/D9Au7jS6YZ ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:30am: Gayatri havan has begun at the Congress'Delhi office ahead of the counting of the votes. 7:24am: "The results will be definitely in favour of Congress. We're expecting that Congress will win and form govt. Rahul Gandhi will be the PM. The fight in Delhi is between BJP and Congress," said Ajay Maken, Congress candidate from New Delhi. 7:22am: "Will it be D for Deliverance from 5 years of misgovernance, ineptitude and bigotry, or D for Disappointment & Despair?" asks Shashi Tharoor. D-Day at last! Will it be D for Deliverance for the nation from 5 years of misgovernance, ineptitude & bigotry, or D for Disappointment & Despair for all who who believe in #InclusiveIndia, responsible governance, liberal social values & economic justice? pic.twitter.com/DJ7zqCgbEp Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 23, 2019 7:19am: Visuals from Kolkata. West Bengal: Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM; visuals from a counting centre in Kolkata. #LokSabhaElections2019pic.twitter.com/uXdi6RlgF9 ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:13am: Visuals from a counting centre in Jalandhar. Punjab: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Jalandhar as counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8 am. pic.twitter.com/5DotoLEWua ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:09am: Ravi Kishan offers prayers before counting starts. He is contesting from Gorakhpur. Actor Ravi Kishan, who is fighting on Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, offers prayers as #ElectionResults2019 will be announced today; counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8 am. pic.twitter.com/b1d38nuq02 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 7:04am: Umesh Jadhav, BJP candidate from Kalaburagi said, "Narendra Modi will become the PM. I am hopeful of winning the seat. After this, within a day or two this coalition govt is going to fall on its own and BJP govt will be formed." He is contesting against Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge. 7:03am: Visuals from a counting centre in Hyderabad. Telangana: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Hyderabad; counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8 am. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/Mp550QffXk ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:00am: BJP candidate from Bengaluru South constituency, Tejasvi Surya, "I am sure we will win. I am confident I will be able to contribute to legislation and policy making in this country." 6:55am: "For development of the state and welfare of its people,I think Kerala should move along with NDA govt in Delhi. Now that Kerala is coming up in mainstream, I am very much confident that I'll win in this election," said BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan. Rajasekharan is contesting against Congress' Shashi Tharoor. 6:51am: JD(S) candidate from Mandya, Nikhil Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore. #Karnataka: JD(S) Hassan candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore . #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/hoqTJ9MsQk ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:47am: Can BJP to turn the tide in Madhya Pradesh after losing assembly polls? For more read here. 6:42am: Visuals from a counting centre in Bengaluru. Karnataka: Security outside a counting centre in Bengaluru; counting of votes to begin at 8 am. #LokSabhaElections2019pic.twitter.com/nKctC7DP6M ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:40am: From 173 million in 1951 to 910 million in 2019, here's how India's electoral strength has grown over the years. A pulsating democracy! Presenting a snapshot of the electoral strength of India over the years. #LokSabhaElections2019#NoVoterToBeLeftBehindpic.twitter.com/JlAzKTaZsX Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 22, 2019 6:39am: BJP candidate from Rampur, Jaya Prada said, "We are winning. This fight is of women's asmita, respect . Fight for voice of poor. If god permit we will break their ego." 6:35am: Shashi Tharoor's opponent, BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan offers prayer at Ayyaguru Ashram before counting. Kerala:Kummanam Rajasekharan,BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram constituency offers prayer at Ayyaguru Ashram,Thycaud.Rajasekharan is fielded against Congress' Shashi Tharoor&Left Democratic Front candidate C Divakaran.Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM. #LokSabhaElections2019pic.twitter.com/dO0OCUHcNQ ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:30am: Visuals from a counting centre in Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Bhopal. Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM. #LokSabhaElections2019pic.twitter.com/csFq9RTM5R ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:25am: Actor Vivek Oberoi has been provided protection, a police official said on Wednesday evening. There were intelligence inputs about threat to the Bollywood actor, the official said. Oberoi was provided with two personal security officers on Wednesday, he said. A police vehicle has also been parked outside his residence here, the official added. 6:20am: Poll Recap:Indian equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty had hit a record high on May 16, 2014 as investors celebrated the Lok Sabha election results which showed that Narendra Modi would become the Prime Minister with a landslide victory. Read more about How the Sensex, Nifty reacted after Modi won 2014 elections . 6:15am: Poll Recap: The exit polls, including the India Today-Axis My India, have predicted a landslide victory for the BJP-led NDA.As per India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA will win around 339-365 seats, while the Congress party will be reduced to 77-108 seats. 6:13am: What is the counting procedure? What time will the results be declared? To know this and more, read Election results 2019: What time will counting start, how are EVM votes counted, will final results be delayed? 6:07am: Check real-time trends and results on the Election Commission's websites - eci.gov.in and results.eci.gov.in. The election results will be covered live throughout the day by India Today TV, beginning at 6:30am. 6:04am: Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa is learnt to have submitted his written response to the Election Commission on his stand that dissent and minority views in cases of model code violation should be made part of the order. Though it was not immediately known what he has written, it is learnt that in Wednesday's 'full commission' meeting, he maintained that since EC orders on model code are issued under Article 324 of the Constitution they are more than administrative decisions, at times involving campaign ban. (PTI) 6:00am:The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Modi government over what it called "foreign minister-level talks" with Pakistan, alleging with the end of electoral politics pro-Pakistan policy has begun. The sharp attack came after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries during a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Bishkek on Wednesday and sat next to each other during a joint call on Kyrgyz president. Reacting to the development, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, "Election Over, Votes Garnered, Pulwama Martyrs Forgotten!" "Foreign Minister-level talks with Pakistan begin, business as usual!" he added. (PTI) Credit: Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods CRISPR/Cas9 technology enables convenient and effective genome editing in diploid cell lines based on the isolation and expansion of edited single-cell clones. However, this approach is ineffective for aneuploid cell lines, and a group has now reported an improved method for genome editing based on multiple rounds of modification. The article is published in Tissue Engineering. Maxim N. Karagyaur, MD, Ph.D., Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia, and a team of colleagues have presented their research in an article titled "Optimization of CRISPR/Cas9 Technology to Knock Out Genes of Interest in Aneuploid Cell Lines." The authors treated four different human and mouse aneuploid cell lines in pooled populations and knocked out a combined six different genes. Their newly developed protocol includes repeated rounds of genome editing and GFP-positive cell sorting. Both on-target and off-target editing was assessed by sequencing predicted sites, and the results showed that additional rounds did not increase the rate of off-target cleavage despite enhancing gene knockout efficacy. "Dr. Karagyaur and colleagues from Russia describe a critical development in CRISPR/Cas9 technology to create functional cell models from aneuploid cell cultures," says Tissue Engineering Co-Editor-in-ChiefJohn P. Fisher, Ph.D., Fischell Family Distinguished Professor & Department Chair, and Director of the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland. "Utilizing an innovative approach of repetitive cycles of CRISPR-/Cas9, the group showed that target protein expression could be suppressed, and therefore bypass clonal effects which are often observed in these complex systems." Explore further New strategy improves efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing More information: Daniyar T. Dyikanov et al. Optimization of CRISPR/Cas9 Technology to Knock Out Genes of Interest in Aneuploid Cell Lines, Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods (2019). Daniyar T. Dyikanov et al. Optimization of CRISPR/Cas9 Technology to Knock Out Genes of Interest in Aneuploid Cell Lines,(2019). DOI: 10.1089/ten.tec.2018.0365 Areas across the Northeast have lost an average of one-fourth of their local plant biodiversity in the last 50 to 150 years. Certain plant families had even higher rates of loss, says Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maine. When her research team compared 19th century botanical records from Mount Desert Island (most of which is protected as Acadia National Park) to a recent survey of plants, it found 16 percentapproximately one of sixof the plants documented in the late 1800s are now extinct on the island. Forty-three percent of orchids and 43 percent of lilies recorded in 1894 are gone from Mount Desert Island, says McDonough MacKenzie. Another 33 percent of the plant species declined in abundance. "The loss of native plants is dramatic across our region, right here where we live. It is not confined to faraway places like tropical rain forests or areas being paved over for development," says McDonough MacKenzie. Causes are likely a combination of habitat loss, climate change, damage from deer, and pollution, she says. Each of the 13 Northeast sites examined by the research team showed a drop in the proportion of native plant species in local flora. The study found no correlation between conservation status and the magnitude of local plant biodiversity loss. While losses ranged between 3.5 percent (Finger Lakes region in New York) and 53 percent (Staten Island, New York) of local plant species, the presence of conservation lands was not associated with smaller losses. "We can't point to a particular species and say, "This one was lost because of climate change, this one because of acid rain, this one because of habitat loss, and this one because of random chance. Sometimes species go extinct in nature,"" says McDonough MacKenzie. "Our study primarily sheds light on just how widespread those losses are, including in areas that are protected and that people care deeply about. Even protecting areas as reservations or state or national parks did not prevent the loss of species." The Northeast is one of the best places in the United States to study changes in plant biodiversity, says Richard Primack, professor at Boston University and one of the study's co-authors. "Professional and citizen scientists have left a long legacy of botanical specimens, field notes, and published floras," he says. "Their records provide the opportunity for contemporary scientists to resurvey the same sites and compare changes." The dramatic losses of native plants, gains in non-native species (which can harm and displace native species), and variation in how particular locations and species changed throughout the region highlight the importance of historic records and of local knowledge, says McDonough MacKenzie. "Understanding the changes taking place is essential for managers working to protect these areas and their floras," she says. McDonough MacKenzie and her co-authors recommend targeted monitoring of rare species and taxonomic groups like orchids and lilies that have experienced high losses, as well as continued management of invasive species. They encourage botanists and ecologists to carefully document present-day biodiversity for future generations of researchers. "The 1894 flora of Mount Desert Island was started by a college kid on a summer trip," says McDonough MacKenzie. "He fell in love with botany and sought out mentors and collaborators, but there was nothing on his resume in 1880 that indicated he was a serious botanist who would create a lasting legacy. Go outside and start looking at flowersthat's where Edward Rand started and 125 years later his data is the foundation of our work." McDonough MacKenzie's study, "Floristic change in New England and New York: regional patterns of plant species loss and decline," is in Rhodora, a botany journal devoted to the flora of North America. Explore further Meet Eugenia walkerae, a newly named plant species from Anguilla More information: Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie. Floristic Change in New England and New York: Regional Patterns of Plant Species Loss and Decline, Rhodora (2019). Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie. Floristic Change in New England and New York: Regional Patterns of Plant Species Loss and Decline,(2019). DOI: 10.3119/18-04 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Dolby, the company most of us know for bringing premium sound to movie theaters and high-end home audio, wants you to listen to music in a different way. People of a certain age might recall Quadrophonic sound, which brought four-channel sound to recordings. Now try true multichannel, in the home, with immersive sound that goes beyond left and right to come at you from all directionsin front, in back, to the side of you and even over your head, should you chose to install speakers there. Dolby's Atmos system, popular with high-end TVs and movie theaters for bringing multi-dimensional sound to the cinema, said Thursday it's adding music to its portfolio, and the company hopes to begin releasing tracks for streaming this year. Dolby says the technology lifts "songs with space, clarity and depth as never before." The San Francisco-based company announced a deal with Universal Music Group, the largest recording label and home of artists ranging from Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga to Abba, Elton John and The Who, to begin re-mastering older and new tracks in Atmos. Samuel Lindley, better known as "The Legendary Traxster," a producer who has helmed recordings for Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Ludacris, says Atmos is a "new way of expressing yourself in music." Lindley, who now serves as senior vice-president of Universal Music, likes that the music isn't "just in front of me, but it can surround me in a more natural capacity." Beyond Universal, Dolby is looking to bring on other labels as well. At a demo in the historic Capitol Records studio here, Dolby and Universal executives showcased the system, beginning by playing the classic song "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, over 16 speakers. The sound was distributed into several of the speakers, with the street chatter that opens the song appearing in front and the conga players in the back of the room. Fans of listening to streaming music through their smartphones won't get as far with Atmos for mobile and listening on earbuds as they would in a recording studio. Dolby says Atmos just brings "enhanced sound" to mobile. For folks to get the most of it, they'll need to listen on speakers or home soundbars. The Atmos system has been added to Universal's recording studios, which includes Capitol in Hollywood (where the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and Neil Young all recorded classic albums) to Abbey Road Studios in London (The Beatles) and Berry Hill Studios (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash) in Nashville. Atmos technology currently works with Netflix and Amazon Prime for certain streaming titles and the Apple TV set-top box as well as some 40 soundbars from the likes of Sony, Vizio and Yamaha. (c)2019 U.S. Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Boeing said last week that it had completed a software update to address a problem with the MAX's Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System European pilots said Thursday they found it "deeply disturbing" that the Boeing 737 MAX was already being considered for a return to service after being grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes. Faulty technology in the 737 MAX was blamed for an Ethiopian Airlines crash in March and an Indonesian Lion Air crash in October, which together claimed 346 lives, and air safety agencies around the world banned it from the skies until a fix could be found. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday that Boeing has not yet handed over the proposed repair for the faulty automated control system for assessment, but some American carriers appear ready to put the plane back in the air. American Airlines and Southwest have both scheduled flights using the jet for August in the apparent hope that it will be cleared to fly by then. The European Cockpit Association (ECA), which represents more than 38,000 pilots from 36 countries, said the 737 MAX scandal had undermined confidence in the whole US air safety setup. "For European pilots... it is deeply disturbing that both the FAA and Boeing are considering a return to service, but failing to discuss the many challenging questions prompted by the MAX design philosophy," the ECA said in a statement. Global aviation regulators are gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday for a summit on the MAX as the FAA seeks to regain trust after being accused of dragging its feet in the crisisit was the last agency to order the jet grounded. Long considered a "gold standard" internationally, the FAA's reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of the oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the MAX. Boeing said last week that it had completed a software update to address a problem with the MAX's Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). In both recent crashes, the MCAS pointed the plane sharply downward based on a faulty sensor reading, hindering the pilots' efforts to control the aircraft after takeoff, according to preliminary crash investigations. ECA President Jon Horne urged Boeing to come clean about its approach to design, suggesting the MCAS appeared to have been tailored to avoid airlines having to pay for expensive pilot retraining. "Boeing essentially built a plane to a wish list that would sell wellmeeting attractive fuel, cost and performance metrics, with minimal additional pilot training requirements," Horne said in the ECA statement. "But the problem is that it seems there was no independent regulator to look at this in-depth from a safety perspective and scrutinise what appears to be a design philosophy driven by commercial priorities." Explore further Boeing finishes software update for grounded airliner 2019 AFP Illustration. Quasi-two-dimensional gold. Credit: Ella Maru Studio Researchers from the MIPT Center for Photonics and 2-D Materials have synthesized a quasi-2-D gold film, revealing how materials not usually classified as two-dimensional can form atomically thin layers. Published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, the study shows that by using monolayer molybdenum disulfide as an adhesion layer, quasi-2-D gold can be deposited on an arbitrary surface. The team says the resulting ultrathin gold films, which are only several nanometers thick, conduct electricity very well and are useful for flexible and transparent electronics. The finding might contribute to a new class of optical metamaterials with the unique potential to control light. The first 2-D material discovered, graphene is a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms in a honeycomb formation. Its synthesis and the study of its exciting properties have given rise to an entirely new field of science and technology. The groundbreaking experiments regarding graphene earned MIPT graduates Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics. Since then, more than 100 graphene cousins have been discovered. Their intriguing properties had applications in biomedicine, electronics and the aerospace industry. These materials belong to the class of layered crystals whose layers are weakly bound to one another but have strong internal integrity. For example, the graphite in a pencil is essentially many stacked-up layers of graphene bound so weakly that Geim and Novoselov famously used sticky tape to peel them off. However, many materials, like gold, silver, and copper, do not have a layered structure. Still, they could theoretically form 2-D layers, which would be indispensable for flexible and transparent electronics. Among the possible applications are even ultrathin electrodes that would enable neural interfaces with potential to solve medical problems, and eventually integrate the nervous system of a living being with electronic devices. Until recently, the only technology for depositing metal films on arbitrary surfaces yielded layers that were not thin enough. It involves thermally evaporating a 3-D metal sample in high vacuum. The evaporated metal particles then adhere to a silicon-based substrate, forming nanosized islands, which gradually grow, eventually closing the gaps between them. This process yields relatively homogeneous films only by the time they are 20 nanometers thick. Engineers require transparent films, which means they need to be more than two times thinner. Stopping the deposition earlier is not an option either, because the films still have too many gaps and inhomogeneities (see the lower right image in figure 2), impairing their electrical conductivity. Similarly, a metal mesh is a worse conductor compared with a sheet of metal. Figure 1. The method used in the study: Gold (Au) is deposited on a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS), which rests upon a silicon (Si) substrate with an oxidized layer labeled SiO; vdW gap denotes the van der Waals gap. Credit: MIPT The researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology began by hypothesizing that 2-D metals could be deposited on other 2-D materials. Graphene was the first candidate, but gold exhibited poor wetting to it. As a result, gold was deposited in the form of pillars. This vertical mode of growth made closing the gaps in the film problematic. Although gold deposition on graphene is interesting for other applications, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, the sub-10-nanometer films obtained in this way do not conduct electricity. The team went on to investigate metal film growth on 2-D transition metal dichalcogenides. Specifically, molybdenum disulfide was used, because sulfur compounds are known to be among the very few to form stable bonds with gold. "We have had that idea for quite some time. However, many of the technologies for working with 2-D materials are still in development. Not all of them are widely available," explained Yury Stebunov, one of the lead authors of the paper. "This study required substantial resources, both human and material. It is by securing a grant under the presidential program that we could put our ideas into practice." The MIPT researchers used thermal evaporation in high vacuum to deposit thin gold films on a silicon substrate covered with silicon dioxide and a monolayer of molybdenum disulfide (figure 1). The team employed electron and atomic force microscopy to compare the structure of these gold films at various thicknesses to analogous films grown on pure silicon dioxidethat is, without the molybdenum disulfide monolayer (figure 2). The added 2-D material interface resulted in continuous gold films with superior electrical conductivity at a lesser thickness of merely 3-4 nanometers. Since photonic and optoelectronic devices are a key application of such quasi-2-D metal films, the physicists studied the optical properties of their samples via spectral ellipsometry, reporting for the first time the optical constants for ultrathin gold films. Figure 2. Gold films (Au) of varying thickness indicated in nanometers (nm) deposited on the conventionally used silicon dioxide substrate (SiO, bottom row) and a molybdenum disulfide monolayer (MoS, top row), as seen with an electron microscope. Credit: The researchers The paper's senior author, professor Valentyn Volkov of the University of Southern Denmark, who also heads the Laboratory of Nanooptics and Plasmonics at MIPT, commented: "Any researcher can use our data to model photonic or optoelectronic devices or even the artificial materials known as metamaterials. Eventually, the technology we proposed can help to design such materials and devices." A single added layer of molybdenum disulfide enabled record-thin and smooth metal films. The team emphasizes the universal applicability of their technique: The monolayer can be deposited on an arbitrary surface with any properties to produce an ultrathin, ultrasmooth metal film coating. Such quasi-2-D metal layers can be integrated into multilayer "sandwich" structures incorporating various 2-D materials. Known as van der Waals heterostructures, they might feature diverse "ingredients," including semiconductors, dielectrics, semimetals, andfrom now onmetals, too. A co-author of the study, Aleksey Arsenin, who heads the Center for Photonics and 2-D Materials at MIPT, added: "We expect that this is merely the beginning of quasi-2-D metal science. A while ago, these materials were inaccessible even to scientists. With our technology, we can talk about the prospects they hold for flexible and transparent electronics. Hopefully, we will soon see it in production." Explore further Scientists revisit optical constants of ultrathin gold films More information: Dmitry I. Yakubovsky et al. Ultrathin and Ultrasmooth Gold Films on Monolayer MoS 2, Advanced Materials Interfaces (2019). Dmitry I. Yakubovsky et al. Ultrathin and Ultrasmooth Gold Films on Monolayer MoS 2,(2019). DOI: 10.1002/admi.201900196 Egyptian fruit bats. Credit: S. Greif Egyptian fruit bat females living in captivity will consistently take food right from the mouths of their male peers. Now, the team that made that discovery is back with new evidence to explain why the males don't mind. As reported in the journal Current Biology on May 23, those males are often repaid with sexand offspring. "We found a strong relationship between producer-scrounger feeding interactions and reproduction," says Yossi Yovel of Tel-Aviv University. "Namely, females bore pups of the males they often scrounged food from." Their observations revealed that those foraging interactions start many weeks before the mating begins. Over time, the females strengthen those interactions with several males before eventually mating with one of them. After watching three captive bat colonies over the course of a year, Yovel's team earlier found that either individuals collected food for themselves or they scrounged it from other individuals. This raised an obvious question: why do males allow other individuals and primarily females to literally take food out of their mouths? There are a variety of potential reasons why animals might be willing to share food. In some cases, food is shared with relatives. In others, the cost of defending food resources just may be too great. But, it's also possible that sharing food sometimes comes with other delayed benefits, including sex. A classic scrounging event, where one bat takes food from another. Credit: Lee Harten To explore the food-for-sex hypothesis in the new study, the researchers monitored producer-scrounger interactions of a captive Egyptian fruit bat colony for more than a year. They later determined the paternity of the pups that were born in the colony. The results were quite clear. Females gave birth to the young of males from which they had scrounged food, lending support for the food-for-sex hypothesis in this species. An Egyptian fruit bat with pups. Credit: A. Dnilovich There were some other intriguing findings. For instance, the researchers found that there was almost no overlap between males preferred by each female. It suggests that females choose males to scrounge from based on some form of individual preference. Those personal preferences also changed from year to year. The researchers say that in future studies, they would like to explore how these relationships evolve and change over longer periods of time. They'd also like to find out how these interactions observed in captivity play out in wild populations. Explore further With flower preferences, bees have a big gap between the sexes More information: Current Biology, Harten et al.: "Food for sex in bats revealed as producer males reproduce with scrounging females" DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.066 Journal information: Current Biology , Harten et al.: "Food for sex in bats revealed as producer males reproduce with scrounging females" www.cell.com/current-biology/f 0960-9822(19)30495-6 German car parts supplier Bosch will pay a hefty fine for supplying components used in the "dieselgate" scandal German prosecutors said Thursday they had fined car parts supplier Bosch 90 million euros ($100 million) over its role supplying components in the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal. In a statement, Stuttgart investigators said they had "levied a fine against Bosch for negligently infringing its quality control obligations." The investigators added that the German company, the world's biggest auto parts maker, had agreed not to contest the fine. The 90 million-euro sum is made up of a penalty of two million, while the remaining 88 million covers the estimated economic benefit Bosch gained from the crimes. Beginning in 2008, Bosch "delivered around 17 million motor control and mixture control devices to various domestic and foreign manufacturers, some of whose software contained illegal strategies," the prosecutors found. "Cars fitted with the devices emitted more nitrogen oxides than allowed under regulations." Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to fitting 11 million cars worldwide with such technology. The fallout has so far cost the German car behemoth more than 30 billion euros. Further legal proceedings are outstanding against both VW and former executives as individuals. In its own statement, Bosch said it "will continue to expand its compliance organisation continuously in order to minimise the risk of violations of applicable law". The firm promises "product development that is focused on the protection of human health and the environment". It added that it had also retrained one-in-four of its workforce, or 100,000 workers, most of them in research and development, in a new code of conduct. For Bosch, the fine closes legal proceedings against the company over dieselgate. While prosecutors are still probing whether employees were involved in criminal actions, authorities believe "the initiative for the integration and form of the illegal strategies both came from employees at the car manufacturers" rather than suppliers like Bosch. Explore further Porsche fined 535 mn euros over diesel cheating 2019 AFP Credit: CC0 Public Domain In swaths of rural America, along roads where there are just a few farms or homes within a mile-long stretch, customers are so few that the likes of AT&T and T-Mobile don't bother to build cell towers for coverage. The only operators providing wireless access are small carriers, many of which can't afford equipment from suppliers such as Ericsson and Nokia Corp. and instead rely on cheaper network infrastructure from Huawei Technologies Co. and other Chinese companies. President Trump's move last week to bar U.S. telecommunications networks from acquiring or using equipment from foreign suppliers left these small broadband companies under a cloud of uncertainty. If they can no longer rely on affordable foreign equipment to run their networks, will they run at all? "Small carriers face a constant uphill battle both in terms of limited vendors who will supply to us ... compounded by the regulatory challenges we're up against," said John Nettles, president of Pine Belt Communications, a small telecommunications company in Alabama that relies on the Chinese company ZTE Corp. for its 4G network. "Sometimes it feels like the cards are really stacked against us." Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department separately added Huawei and its affiliates to a list of firms considered a risk to national security, effectively preventing Huawei from buying parts from American companies. Huawei immediately began to feel the effects of the administration's crackdown, with Google initially cutting off Huawei from many Android hardware and software services. (After the Commerce Department announced a 90-day buffer period, Google walked back, saying it would continue to work with Huawei in the meantime). U.S. companies such as Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp., which provide the Shenzhen telecommunications giant with crucial chips and other special parts, told employees they wouldn't supply Huawei until further notice. The move also left rural broadband companies that use Huawei equipment scrambling to figure out what it might mean for their day-to-day operations. Though small carriers don't export to Huawei, they often need to send technical drawings or data to Huawei in order to maintain their current network infrastructure. The 90-day window announced by the Commerce Department on Monday allows companies that rely on Huawei equipment for crucial services to continue operations for now. "In short, this license will allow operations to continue for existing Huawei mobile phone users and rural broadband networks," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a news release. Ross had indicated last week that his department was not looking to harm rural providers. More pressing to the carriers is the executive order, which the administration will shape over the next five months. Rural broadband carriers could be forced to rip out and replace entire networks because they wouldn't be able to import spare parts or software updates to maintain infrastructure, said Roger Entner, a telecom analyst at Recon Analytics. "If something breaks, what are you going to tell your customer? 'I'm sorry you have an outage. We don't know when we are going to fix it because it's Huawei equipment. Until then, sorry. No internet for you,'" Entner said. "You don't want to tell that to a customer." Nettles estimates that replacing Pine Belt's network would cost $5 million to $10 million. And downtime from installing new equipment would probably cause Pine Belt to forgo $1 million to $3 million in roaming fees, according to Federal Communications Commission filings. Carri Bennet, general counsel for the Rural Wireless Assn., a trade group for carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers, said her organization is waiting to see how the Trump administration's move will affect members. She estimated that 25% of the association's members used Huawei or ZTE gear in their networks. "When something new comes up, we're sent scrambling," Nettles said. "What it's going to mean for us in the long term is difficult to say at best." Nettles' company is small, with about 40 employees and some 60 cell sites. That's a "drop in the bucket" for big companies such as Ericsson and Nokia, which often don't see a reason to scale down their services for such small accounts, Nettles said. Whereas national carriers operate in more densely populated parts of the region, Pine Belt covers many of the roads farmers regularly travelareas overlooked by big providers. Its 4G network offers rural drivers cell service and even provides household internet access in areas without broadband cable. "I'm aware of the need to have secure networks. We're not trying to suggest security is not an important consideration," Nettles said. "But how do you balance it with providing service to underserved marketswhich is mainly where we operate?" The Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund funnels money to smaller telecom companiesincluding members of the Rural Wireless Assn. - to provide internet services in rural areas. Since June 2018, a group of rural broadband companies mostly in the Midwest have been fighting an FCC proposal that would ban the use of federal subsidies to purchase Huawei and other Chinese equipment that might pose a national security threat. In a series of filings to the FCC, the Rural Broadband Coalition argued the ban would force many small rural broadband providers into bankruptcy. Sagebrush Cellular, a cell service provider in northeast Montana, said that when it considered options for 4G deployment, Lucent equipment was double the price of Huawei. Ericsson technology was almost four times the cost of Huawei equipment. One unnamed prominent alternative vendor didn't even give Sagebrush a price quote, according to the filing, stating only that a small company would be "unable to afford them." Sagebrush moved forward with Huawei, spending more than $25 million on its equipment. It would cost Sagebrush an estimated $57 million to replace its network, the company said in the filing. Its network size would shrink by two-thirds, losing coverage in many areas where Sagebrush is the only wireless carrier, including 173 miles of the U.S.-Canadian border. The FCC proposal is still pending, as it awaits guidance from the Trump administration on how it should proceed. Nettles is waiting to see what will happen with the rule-making process, but he expects he will have to find a new vendor to replace current network infrastructure. The question is: Where will he get the capital to make the change? Pine Belt relies on federal funds for capital costs. He's hoping the government will provide assistance. Otherwise, he's not sure what he will do: Pine Belt could fold as a result. "I'm really counting on the system to do right by all of us," he said. Explore further US delays Huawei ban for 90 days 2019 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The ortolan bunting, like one seen here in Lithuania, is a prized delicacy in France Every year, nearly five million breeding pairs of ortolan buntingsa type of tiny songbird classified as endangered in several countriesmigrate from Europe to Africa for the winter. About 300,000 of the birds pass through southwestern France, where they fall prey to hunters who for decades have defied bans on harvesting them in the name of gastronomic tradition. You see, the ortolan bunting is seen by elite chefs and foodies as a rare culinary treatone that is consumed whole, bones and all, with a napkin over one's head, for privacy and to better inhale its aroma. Late French president Francois Mitterrand was a noted fan. And even though his country listed the species as protected in 1999 after his death, the hunt has gone on. Now, European experts say in a study published Wednesday in the US journal Science Advances that illegal hunting is precipitating the demise of the ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana), which is already suffering due to loss of its natural habitat and other factors. "If hunting of the ortolan continues, it will lead to the ortolan's disappearance," Frederic Jiguet, a professor at France's national museum of natural history and the study's main author, told AFP. Extinction? Jiguet had already led a study commissioned by France's environment ministry to try to settle the battle between the French state and hunters about the ortolan on a scientific basis. That study, published in 2016 and financed in part by the hunting federation in the southwestern Landes region, estimated the number of songbirds migrating across France had dropped 20-30 percent from 2000 to 2014. Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of France's Birds Protection League, releases an ortolan caught in a cage in August 2009 in Tartas, Francethe bird is seen as a delicacy by many foodies In the new study, researchers went farther, calculating the risk of the bird's extinction under several scenarios. The most optimistic case would yield a risk of extinction of 66 percent within a century, if the hunt in France were to be cut by 15,000 birds a season, out of the estimated 30,000 that are caught each year. "Removing 30,000 birds each autumn from the population crossing France constitutes a significant contribution to the decline of the species," Jiguet said. Like all birds in rural areas, the ortolan buntings are also falling victim to modern agricultural practices, a drop in the insect population, and pesticide use, but hunting is seen as compounding those factors. "Ending the hunt would give the ortolan an average of twice the chance of survival," Jiguet said. "It would not necessarily save it. We'd then have to change ways of farming." European and activist pressures The ortolan only weighs 20 grams (0.04 pounds). Its consumption is seen by many as something of a transformative culinary experience. Michelin-starred celebrity chef Alain Ducasse angered animal rights activists by serving the birds at an invitation-only meal at the posh Le Cirque in New York in 1995. "It's sort of a hot rush of fat, guts, bones, blood and meat, and it's really delicious," the late chef Anthony Bourdain told Stephen Colbert of the meal in a 2011 interview. Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of France's Birds Protection League, and members of his group face off with a hunter in November 2015 The bird was even consumed in an episode of the Showtime drama "Billions" last year. In 1979, the European Union's Birds directive listed the bird as a protected species, but the French state long turned a blind eye to ortolan hunting, only proceeding with its own listing 20 years later. But in the Landes region, local authorities still allowed a limited number of traps despite pressure from Brussels, which eventually filed a legal complaint over the practice before an EU court in 2016. France's Birds Protection League has consistently battled for the hunt to end. Its members regularly tried to destroy trapsprompting an angry scene in 2015 that went viral, with an underwear-clad hunter wielding a shovel to chase them away. Last week, France's highest court upheld a ruling that fined hunters who had violated the laws on ortolan hunting. Frederic Dutin, a lawyer for an association of traditional trappers in the Landes, told AFP on Wednesday that the group wanted "the re-establishment of a strictly regulated 'tolerance' to allow for observation of the evolution of ortolan populations." But for Jiguet, recent studies have "helped the government to make decisions, and hunters to accept them." Explore further Bird populations in French countryside 'collapsing' More information: Frederic Jiguet et al. Unravelling migration connectivity reveals unsustainable hunting of the declining ortolan bunting, Science Advances (2019). Journal information: Science Advances Frederic Jiguet et al. Unravelling migration connectivity reveals unsustainable hunting of the declining ortolan bunting,(2019). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau2642 2019 AFP Study author Dr. Sylvie Graf, Institute of Psychology, Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern. Credit: Sylvie Graf Sylvie Graf and Sabine Sczesny from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Bern are investigating how positivity or negativity of news about immigrants and language that describes immigrants in mass media shape prejudice against them. Their project, "Immigrants in the Media," is funded by the European Commission. The psychologists recently published the results of three experimental studies in the journal Media Psychology. Positive news reduce prejudice In the studies, the researchers examined prejudice against two negatively perceived groupsthe Roma and Kosovo Albaniansand one positively perceived groupItalian immigrants. The studies were carried out in different cultural contextsnamely the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Participants in the studies read fictitious newspaper reports that described either positive (e.g., helping), negative (e.g., attacking), or mixed (e.g., helping and attacking) behaviours of immigrants. Across the studies, prejudice against the given minority group changed after having read a single report about the acts of its members. "Positive reports led to less pronounced prejudice, while negative reports led to more pronounced prejudice against the described minority group," explains Sylvie Graf. Interestingly, mixed reports that contained both positive and negative information also reduced prejudicelike the positive reports. "This suggests that including positive information into negative news may attenuate prejudice," according to Graf. Study author Professor Dr. Sabine Sczesny, Institute of Psychology, Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern. Credit: Luca Christen Nouns arouse prejudice more than adjectives Whether a report is positive or negative is usually clear. However, news can also contain subtler cues, which shape how people view minorities. An example of such cues are the small variations in language describing the ethnicity of immigrants. A person can be either described as an "immigrated Italian" or an "Italian immigrant." Previous studies have shown that information about a certain person described with a noun influences our opinion about the given person to a greater extent than the same information described by an adjective. For instance, people believed that a Catholic would attend a church more regularly than a Catholic persondespite the fact that both the noun and adjective are the same word and describe the very same thing, namely a person's religion. No study before has systematically tested the effect of nouns and adjectives in positive versus negative texts. Graf and colleagues showed that nouns used for describing ethnicity ("saving Roma") led to more pronounced prejudice against the given ethnic group than adjectives ("Roma saviour"). "Nouns enhance existing prejudice more than adjectives, independently of the positivity or negativity of newspaper articleseven if news report on positive events," says Graf. Explore further UK prejudice against immigrants amongst lowest in Europe More information: Sylvie Graf et al, The effects of news report valence and linguistic labels on prejudice against social minorities, Media Psychology (2019). Sylvie Graf et al, The effects of news report valence and linguistic labels on prejudice against social minorities,(2019). DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2019.1584571 The BJP and its ally Apna Dal(S) has consolidated its position in Uttar Pradesh by bagging four seats and leading in 59 others, according to the available trends. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won from Varanasi by defeating his nearest rival SP's Shalini Yadav by a huge margin of 4,79,505 votes. According to the trends available till 7 pm, the BJP wrested Bahraich and Gorakhpur seats, while Apna Dal (S) won from Robertsganj. The fifth seat went to the BSP. The party had drawn a blank in the state during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Gorakhpur seat was wrested by Bhojpuri star and BJP candidate Ravi Kishan by defeating SP's Rambhual Nishad by a margin of 3,01,664 votes. As Union minister Smriti Irani has also won from Amethi. She quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties. As the mammoth saga comes to an end, here are the latest updates on the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Results in UP: 10.08 PM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate Narendra Modi on his election victory. #WATCH: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today where he congratulated him, "Narendra, my friend, congratulations! What an enormous victory!" #ElectionResults2019 (Video courtesy: PM of Israel) pic.twitter.com/5HoPkgv8Mt - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 9.56 PM: The latest tally as per the Election Commission. 243: Results declared 146: Won by the BJP 29: INC 8: Shiv Sena 8: DMK and AITC 7: JD(U) & TRS 4 each: NCP, BSP & LJSP 2 each: JKNC, SAD, IUML Rest to Others 9.42 PM: As per the EC, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been polled 5.34 lakh votes. Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP got 3.67 lakh votes. 9.40 PM: Smriti Irani offers prayers at a temple in Amethi. Union Minister Smriti Irani offers prayers at a temple in Amethi; she is leading by 48078 votes in the parliamentary constituency. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, outgoing Amethi MP, has conceded defeat pic.twitter.com/uqxGzt7eNX - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 9.37 PM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh got 6.3 lakh votes while SP's Poonam Sinha got 2.85 lakh votes. Acharya Pramod Krishnam of the Congress party got 1.8 lakh votes. 9.35 PM: BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Varun Gandhi secure victory in Lucknow and Pilibhit, UP. 9.31 PM: 'Khel-Tamasha' has taken place in UP, Bihar, WB and AP, says Congress' Shatrughan Sinha, reports ANI. He was defeated by Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib. 9.24 PM: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has won from Azamgarh by 256,581 votes. His nearest rival Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua got 3.54 lakh votes. 9.21 PM: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: Modi wins from Varanasi by 4.7 lakh votes; thanks people for big mandate. 9.15 PM: Union minister Meneka Gandhi wins from Sultanpur. Shalini Yadav of SP got 1.9 lakh votes, while Congress' Ajay Rai for 1.5 lakh votes. 7.29 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, rose petals showered by party workers. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, rose petals showered by party workers. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/V6Pcq1c0ki - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.00 PM: BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, Ravi Kishan, wins by 3,01,664 votes. Says, "This is a victory of the truth." BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, Ravi Kishan, wins by 3,01,664 votes. Says, "This is a victory of the truth." #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/IiwZY8fSD2 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 6.32 PM: The BJP ahead on 60 seats in Uttar Pradesh; SP-BSP alliance at a second second. 5.51 PM: Congress President Rahul Gandhi: "I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP." Congress President Rahul Gandhi: I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP. #ElectionResults2019pic.twitter.com/vO5HBkoorb - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 5.15 PM: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath: "I want to congratulate Prime Minister Modi for this victory. BJP is touching 300 mark for the first time & NDA is touching 350. I also congratulate the party President Amit Shah." ,- , , pic.twitter.com/loCGmkt6ju - Chowkidar Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) May 23, 2019 5.09 PM: "Aspirational India has proved it once again that India wants growth and a leadership that believes in country first & acts tirelessly for the people. Let us work together & make lives of every countrymen better. Jai Hind," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 5.00 PM: BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, actor-turned politician Ravi Kishan, secures victory. 4.46 PM: BJP President Amit Shah will address media at 5 pm. 4.26 PM: In a bad news for Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Smriti Irani leads by almost 19,000 votes from Amethi. 3:20 PM: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as the party touches 300-mark for the first time & NDA is touching 350. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath: I want to congratulate Prime Minister Modi for this victory. BJP is touching 300 mark for the first time & NDA is touching 350. I also congratulate the party President Amit Shah. #LokSabhaElectionresults2019pic.twitter.com/0JxtURwjLL ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 2.53 PM: India wins yet again! Together we'll build strong country, says Modi. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 2.40 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah congratulates PM Modi for the stellar victory. pic.twitter.com/epgoj6FIVQ - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 23, 2019 SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is leading by over 5,000 votes from Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh. 2.36 PM: As per the Election Commission, the BJP is ahead on 60 seats in UP, while BSP on 11, and SP on 6. The Congress party is ahead on just 1 seat. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, stay connected to our Twitter handle.#UttarPradesh#Haryana#MadhyaPradesh#Keralapic.twitter.com/3WBR8Yx008 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 2.29 PM: Smriti Irani is leading over Rahul Gandhi with 11,226 votes from Amethi. 2.21 PM: Smriti Irani takes a huge lead over Rahul Gandhi in Amethi; leads by over 9,000 votes. 1.58 PM: KP Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal, Tweets: "I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019." I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you. #PMOIndia - K P Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli) May 23, 2019 1.49 PM: Here are the latest trends across 11 states that recorded historic voter turnout in Lok Sabha Elections 2019. 1.38 PM: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watches Lok Sabha Elections 2019 trends in Lucknow. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watches #LokSabhaElections2019 trends in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/SPGJSMOKTN - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 1.24 PM: The initial trends appear to be mixed for the Yadav clan of the Samajwadi Party, with party supremo Akhilesh Yadav's cousins trailing from Firozabad and Badaun seats. In Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav is leading by 45,023 votes against Bhojpuri actor and BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirhua', according to the Election Commission website. The SP chief's wife, Dimple Yadav, is leading by 5,420 votes over the BJP's Subrat Pathak in Kannauj. --PTI 12.30 PM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh says he congratulated PM Narendra Modi and BJP National President Amit Shah for BJP's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "Modi is now all set to build a New India," says Rajnath Singh. 12.24 PM: SP patriarch Mulayam Singh is leading from Mainpuri. His son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav are ahead from Azamgarh and Kannauj. 12.13 AM: Party wise Vote share in Uttar Pradesh. 11.59 AM: As per latest trends available for all the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 292 while INC is leading in 51, DMK in 22, AITC in 24, YSRC in 25, Shiv Sena in 20, JDU in 16, BJD in 14 and BSP in 11 constituencies. 11.47 AM: The BJP leads in 55 Lok Sabha seats against SP-BSP ahead on 23 seats in Uttar Pradesh. 11.32 AM: In Varanasi after round 5, Narendra Modi leading over Shalini Yadav by margin of 92,999 votes. In Varanasi after round 5, Narendra Modi leading over Shalini Yadav by margin of 92,999 votes.#ElectionResults2019 | #ResultsWithAIRpic.twitter.com/4YTnh1lI12 - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 11.15 AM: BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi. #Elections2019 : BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi pic.twitter.com/vLRd0AySyt - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 10.59 AM: Union Minister Maneka Gandhi is trailing from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat. 10.42 AM: Rajnath Singh leading by more than 50 thousand votes in Lucknow; Hema Malini ahead in Mathura. 10.22 AM: The BJP is leading on 50 seats; SP-BSP ahead on 20 Lok Sabha seats. 10.13 AM: Early election trends show that UP Congress chief Raj Babbar is trailing from Fatehpur Sikri. 9.58 AM: PM Narendra Modi is leading by over 20,000 votes from UP's Varanasi, BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. PM Narendra Modi leading by over 20,000 votes from UP's Varanasi, BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar (file pic) pic.twitter.com/kZ6TRadqb9 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: 5 ways to get real-time updates on counting day Also Read: Election results 2019: What time will counting start, how are EVM votes counted? Hall and Lords quarters. Credit: University of St Andrews The lost medieval home of the Lords of the Isles has been reconstructed virtually by experts at the University of St Andrews. Major archaeological work by the National Museum of Scotland has enabled the University of St Andrews' Open Virtual Worlds Team, and spin-out company Smart History, to digitally recreate Finlaggan. In collaboration with the Finlaggan Trust, the reconstruction is based on discoveries made by the Finlaggan Archaeological Project, led by archaeologist Dr. David Caldwell (formerly of the National Museum of Scotland), who provided advice to the St Andrews team. Documentary research and comparison with other late medieval sites has been used to ensure the reconstruction is as accurate as possible. The digital research in St Andrews was led by Dr. Alan Miller of the School of Computer Science, while digital modeling was undertaken by Sarah Kennedy of the School of Computer Science, with additional historical research by Dr. Bess Rhodes of the School of History and the School of Computer Science. The reconstruction represents Finlaggan in the early fifteenth centurya time when it was the administrative and ceremonial center of the Lordship of the Isles. Credit: University of St Andrews During the Middle Ages the Lords of the Isles ruled the Hebrides and parts of mainland Scotland and Ulster. Traditionally the Lordship was held by the MacDonald family. However, following disputes in the fifteenth century the Scottish kings sought to curtail the MacDonalds' influence, and in the 1490s James IV sent a military expedition to sack Finlaggan. Many of the buildings at Finlaggan were destroyed at this time, and over the centuries that followed the site sank into relative obscurity. The reconstruction shows what Finlaggan may have looked like in its glory days when it was the seat of the Council of the Lords of the Isles, and the scene of inauguration ceremonies for the Lords. It depicts the twin islands of Eilean Mor (or Large Isle) and Eilean na Comhairle (or Council Isle), and their surroundings on Loch Finlaggan. Interestingly, by the late Middle Ages, the Lords of the Isles' residence at Finlaggan had little in the way of defensive structurespossibly indicating how secure the MacDonalds felt in the heart of their powerbase on Islay. Credit: University of St Andrews The reconstruction will be available as an interactive virtual reality experience at the Finlaggan Trust's visitor center on Islay. There is also a virtual reality app and an online video. Dr. Bess Rhodes, of the University, said: "Finlaggan was an amazing place to recreate digitally. Even today the islands of Eilean Mor and Eilean na Comhairle are beautiful places, and in the Middle Ages they were the site of a remarkable complex of buildings which blended local traditions with wider European trends. Great hall interior. Credit: University of St Andrews General view of islands. Credit: University of St Andrews Causeway between islands. Credit: University of St Andrews "The work by Dr. David Caldwell and the Finlaggan Archaeological Project has transformed our understanding of this sitegiving us a glimpse of the relative comfort in which the Lords of the Isles and their followers lived, pampering their dogs with decorative collars, and enjoying music, imported wine and board games." Dr. Ray Lafferty, Secretary of the Finlaggan Trust, said: "Despite its impact on the shaping of Scottish culture, Finlaggan and the Lordship remains little known to many. "With this virtual reality reconstruction, we hope to give some sense of the site at the zenith of its power, when MacDonald rule stretched from the Glens of Antrim in Ireland to Buchan in the northeast of Scotland." Explore further Travel back in time to see iconic St Andrews building as it appeared 500 years ago The L6 ordinary chondrite El Medano 128, a 556 g meteorite recovered in the Atacama Desert. Photo courtesy CCJ-CNRS, P. Groscaux. Credit: Photo courtesy CCJ-CNRS, P. Groscaux. Earth is bombarded every year by rocky debris, but the rate of incoming meteorites can change over time. Finding enough meteorites scattered on the planet's surface can be challenging, especially if you are interested in reconstructing how frequently they land. Now, researchers have uncovered a wealth of well-preserved meteorites that allowed them to reconstruct the rate of falling meteorites over the past two million years. "Our purpose in this work was to see how the meteorite flux to Earth changed over large timescalesmillions of years, consistent with astronomical phenomena," says Alexis Drouard, Aix-Marseille Universite, lead author of the new paper in Geology. To recover a meteorite record for millions of years, the researchers headed to the Atacama Desert. Drouard says they needed a study site that would preserve a wide range of terrestrial ages where the meteorites could persist over long time scales. While Antarctica and hot deserts both host a large percentage of meteorites on Earth (about 64% and 30%, respectively), Drouard says, "Meteorites found in hot deserts or Antarctica are rarely older than half a million years." He adds that meteorites naturally disappear because of weathering processes (e.g., erosion by wind), but because these locations themselves are young, the meteorites found on the surface are also young. "The Atacama Desert in Chile, is very old ([over] 10 million years)," says Drouard. "It also hosts the densest collection of meteorites in the world." Large meteorite found in the Atacama Desert. Photo by Jerome Gattacceca (CEREGE). Credit: Jerome Gattacceca (CEREGE). Meteorite with thin, dark, fusion crust in the Atacama Desert. Photo by Jerome Gattacceca (CEREGE). Credit: Jerome Gattacceca (CEREGE). Meteorite recovery campaign in the Atacama Desert (Nov. 2017). Credit: Katherine Joy (University of Manchester). The team collected 388 meteorites and focused on 54 stony samples from the El Medano area in the Atacama Desert. Using cosmogenic age dating, they found that the mean age was 710,000 years old. In addition, 30% of the samples were older than one million years, and two samples were older than two million. All 54 meteorites were ordinary chondrites, or stony meteorites that contain grainy minerals, but spanned three different types. "We were expecting more 'young' meteorites than 'old' ones (as the old ones are lost to weathering)," says Drouard. "But it turned out that the age distribution is perfectly explained by a constant accumulation of meteorites for millions years." The authors note that this is the oldest meteorite collection on Earth's surface. Drouard says this terrestrial crop of meteorites in the Atacama can foster more research on studying meteorite fluxes over large time scales. "We found that the meteorite flux seems to have remained constant over this [two-million-year] period in numbers (222 meteorites larger than 10 g per squared kilometer per million year), but not in composition," he says. Drouard adds that the team plans to expand their work, measuring more samples and narrowing in on how much time the meteorites spent in space. "This will tell us about the journey of these meteorites from their parent body to Earth's surface." Explore further The first extraterrestrial mud ball in 50 years More information: The meteorite flux of the past 2 m.y. recorded in the Atacama Desert, Geology, doi.org/10.1130/G45831.1 , pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/g st-2-m-y-recorded-in Journal information: Geology The meteorite flux of the past 2 m.y. recorded in the Atacama Desert, A female red wolf emerges from her den sheltering newborn pups at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., on Monday, May 13, 2019. The Associated Press found that over the last two decades, more than half of Mexican wolf deaths and about one in four red wolf deaths resulted from gunshots or were otherwise deemed illegal. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Illegal killings and longstanding political resistance have undercut the return of two species of endangered wolves to the wild, frustrating government efforts that already cost more than $80 million but have failed to meet recovery targets. The number of red wolves roaming the forests of North Carolina has plunged to fewer than three dozen in recent yearsthe most precarious position of any U.S. wolf species. In the Southwest, a record number of Mexican gray wolves turned up dead in 2018, tempering an increase in the overall population to 131 animals. With such small numbers in the wild, biologists say poaching has a big effect. Over the last two decades, more than half of Mexican wolf deaths and about one in four red wolf deaths resulted from gunshots or were otherwise deemed illegal, The Associated Press found. "It's basically a numbers game," said Brady McGee, who heads the Mexican wolf recovery program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "As we're trying to recover these wolves in the wild, illegal mortalities are still one of the biggest threats." For red wolves, gunshot deaths are a problem particularly when hunting season collides with wolf breeding season, said Pete Benjamin, a Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor in North Carolina. Wolf recovery is further hindered by political opposition over attacks on livestock or game animals and longstanding arguments over whether the wolves should be treated as distinct species warranting continued protection. With no changes to current management, the wild population of red wolves likely will be lost within the next decade, according to federal officials . The Mexican gray wolf recovery team is more confident and hopes to double the number in the wild over several years. A red wolf peers from behind a tree at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., on Monday, May 13, 2019. For red wolves, gunshot deaths are a problem particularly when hunting season collides with wolf breeding season, said Pete Benjamin, a Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor in North Carolina. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) ___ FRAUGHT HISTORY, MIXED RESULTS Conflicts over wolves have persisted since Europeans arrived in America. Bounties paid by early settlers gave way to government extermination campaigns as the animals clashed with the agrarian way of life. When federal officials began recovery efforts in the late 1960s, only remnant populations remained outside AlaskaWestern gray wolves along the U.S.-Canada border, red wolves on the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana and Mexican wolves south of the border. Reintroduction programs faced stiff resistance from ranchers and rural communities, a hurdle that so far the Western gray wolf alone has overcome. Western gray wolves now number around 6,000 in the Northern Rockies, Pacific Northwest and Western Great Lakes. They're legal to hunt in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, and U.S. officials in March announced plans to end their remaining federal protections across the Lower 48 states. The main reason for their success is location: Western gray wolves were reintroduced to areas with expansive public lands and plenty of deer, elk and other prey. "The habitat was so good that it didn't matter if half the people hated them," said Ed Bangs, a retired federal biologist who led recovery efforts in the Northern Rockies. A pair of red wolves huddle at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., on Monday, May 13, 2019. With less than three dozen roaming the forests of North Carolina, the red wolf has seen its numbers crash in recent years, putting it in the most precarious position of any wolf species in the U.S. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) By contrast, Mexican wolves live in isolated desert mountain ranges, where year-round livestock grazing increases their odds of running into trouble. Red wolves are in an area dominated by farms and private land. At least 96 red wolves died of gunshot wounds over nearly three decades. For Mexican wolves, 83 deaths were classified as "illegal" over 20 years and that doesn't include any of the 21 deaths in 2018 still under investigation. The Mexican and red wolf populations are struggling despite a great amount of money and work put into their reintroduction. Since 1977, more than $44.2 million has been spent on the Mexican wolf, according to federal reports. At least $39.4 million has been spent on red wolves over the past three decades. About $160 million more has been spent primarily on Western gray wolves. ___ DWINDLING RED WOLVES Legal protections for red wolves have been solidified by the recent scientific conclusion that they're a distinct species, not a wolf-coyote hybrid as some landowners argued. But conservationists worry the news comes too late, with only 25 to 30 of the canines left in the wild and 200 or more in captive breeding programs. A red wolf roams its habitat at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., on Monday, May 13, 2019. Wolf recovery is hindered by political opposition over attacks on livestock or game animals and longstanding arguments over whether the wolves should be treated as distinct species warranting continued protection. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) After red wolves were reintroduced to North Carolina in 1987, the wild population grew beyond 100 and remained stable through 2012. "For almost 25 years, this was hugely successful. It was money well-spent," said Ramona McGee, a lawyer for the Southern Environmental Law Center. Yet a 1990 federal recovery plan goal for 220 animals in the wild was never met. Wolf numbers were bolstered by releases of captive-born pups and sterilization of coyotes that competed for space. But those approaches were halted in 2015 amid pressure from conservative politicians and landowners who deemed wolves a nuisance. Conservationists contend the government abandoned proven techniques. "The biggest problem now is not the mortality, it's the lack of releases," said McGee, the lawyer. Benjamin, the government field supervisor, said the wild red wolf population already was declining before pup releases stopped, declining to say whether political pressure influenced the decision. Bill Rich, an eastern North Carolina landowner, complains wolves have made it harder to fight coyotes that kill deer on game land. A federal judge in 2014 banned night hunting of coyotes in red wolf territory because the canines are easily mixed up. Rich says the reintroduction program is a failure and should be scrapped. A female red wolf peers from within a tree trunk in its habitat at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C., on Monday, May 13, 2019. Conflicts over wolves have persisted since Europeans arrived in America. Bounties paid by early settlers gave way to government extermination campaigns as the animals clashed with the agrarian way of life. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) ___ HURDLES IN THE SOUTHWEST Federal managers face similar resistance in the Southwest, where ranchers see Mexican wolves as a threat to their livelihood. Wolves were found responsible for killing nearly 100 cows and calves last year. In March alone, livestock kills totaled 20, and ranchers say their calving rates are dropping because of the wolves. Wolves also represent competition to outfitters and hunters seeking elk in southwestern New Mexico and Arizona. Tom Klumker, a hunting guide in the Gila backcountry, fears the reintroduction program will push ranchers, hunters and rural residents from the land. "We were doing pretty well with just the mountain lion and bear and coyotes but when they added the wolves to the mix, why, things started to go south pretty quick," he said. Environmentalists have long criticized the Fish and Wildlife Service for not releasing more captive-bred Mexican wolves. They're suing over the federal recovery goal of 320 wolves in the wild, saying it should be vastly more than that. Retired biologist Dave Parsons, who led Mexican wolf recovery efforts during the 1990s, said the government has a responsibility under the Endangered Species Act to ensure the predators have a chance to fulfill their ecological role. Otherwise, he said, the wolves risk becoming "museum pieces in the wild." Explore further Government-funded study says red wolves are distinct species 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Credit: Michigan State University When Stella first entered the emergency department at the Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center on a Wednesday night, Feb. 13, 2019, she had second- and third-degree burns across 10% of her body. Stella, a 1-year-old female Rottweiler, had miraculously escaped a house fire in Lansing, Michigan, while her owners were away. Although lucky, she didn't escape burns across her head, nose, ears, hind end and sides of her body, as well as severe smoke inhalation and respiratory problems. She also developed ulcers and scarring in both eyes due to fire exposure. For two weeks, she fought for her life. "Stella's will to live was amazing; she never quit fighting," said Rose Wahl, one of the licensed veterinary technicians who was there when Stella arrived. "Her resilience and strength have astounded everyone who has worked with her." The immediate threat for Stella upon arrival was the trauma and thermal injuries to her trachea and lungs. So, she was put on intravenous, or IV, fluids and pure oxygen to help her breath. Once stabilized, the MSU soft tissue surgery team went to work, while ophthalmologists cared for her eye injuries. "We had to get creative with her burns because of the significant trauma to Stella's lungs," said Brea Sandness, a veterinarian and surgical resident at MSU. "She wasn't a great candidate for anesthesia because of her respiratory injuries." Credit: Michigan State University That's when the surgical team turned to a less traditional methodusing Icelandic, descaled cod fish skins donated by Kerecis, a company developing fish-skin products for use in burn and other medical procedures in humans and animals. Because of the makeup of the tissue and high omega-3 fatty acids in the cod skin, these grafts have anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties, important for healing and tissue regeneration. They don't require heavy sedation, either. "We were able to place them on her with minimal sedation, which not only allowed us to heal her without additional stress to her lungs, but improved the way her burns healed," Sandness said. The descaling of the cod skins is what differentiates them from other fish grafts, such as tilapia. While scaled tilapia grafts, which gained national attention during the California wildfires earlier this year, are effective, they act more as an organic covering while the skin underneath heals itself. (Content warning: This video contains images that may be considered graphic.) Michigan State University veterinarians used a creative approach to treat the burns of Stella, a Rottweiler puppy, who escaped a house fire. Credit: Michigan State University According to Sandness, descaled grafts have been shown to stimulate the production of cells and become functional, living tissue. In Stella's case, these grafts, which can be changed as often as the burn requires, were absorbed by her body as new tissue grew into the graft. Today, Stella is back to being a relatively active pup. But even though her burns are healing well, she still struggles with respiratory issues that will likely need close monitoring and care throughout her life. "Stella is one of the bravest and strongest patients I've ever encountered," Wahl said. "Not only did she show incredible endurance and resilience, she has maintained a sweet and kind attitude throughout this whole ordeal." Sandness added that beyond her lovable personality, Stella's case, which will be presented at the Society of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgery convention in June, will help inspire discussions of using fish grafts in the veterinary medical field, potentially helping other animals who have experienced what Stella has. "Stella's case is an inspiration, and her grafts have the potential to be a new and highly effective treatment tool in the veterinary profession," Sandness said. "She's a living example that the fire within her burned stronger than the fire that injured her." Credit: Michigan State University Explore further Mechanism safeguarding unique epigenome of oocytes and maternal fertility Researchers doing fieldwork at Aluto in East Africa. Credit: Ben Clarke Unusual rocks discovered on a remote mountainside have alerted scientists to the dangers posed by a little-studied type of volcano. Researchers say that the rocks, found in East Africa, provide vital clues into the hazards associated with active volcanoes elsewhere. The volcanic remnants from Aluto in Ethiopia were formed by intense eruptions that could be far more dangerous than previously thought, researchers say. Their findings provide fresh insight into the hazards posed by a type of volcanic activityknown as a pumice cone eruptionwhich, until now, was poorly understood. Previous studies had suggested the eruptionswhich last took place on Aluto more than 2,000 years agowere quite small and presented a low risk to all but those living very near them. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh used a range of precise techniques to analyse the rocks and better understand the eruptions that formed them. Their findings could build a clearer picture of the risks posed by these rare volcanoes, which are among the most common types found in East Africa. Others are found in Iceland and on Mayor Island, New Zealand. The rocks are composed of a thin layer of volcanic glass surrounding a porous, foam-like interior. This structure reveals that the rocks were still hot and sticky when they hit the ground, researchers say. Researchers at site of Aluto volcano is East Africa. Credit: Ben Clarke These small, ultra-light rocks were found a long way from the volcano, suggesting they were carried in a hot jet of volcanic materialknown as an eruption columnand fell from the sky. Eruption columns are formed only during powerful eruptions, and collapse to form fast-moving avalanches of super-heated rock, ash and gas, researchers say. The study, published in Nature Communications, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. The work involved researchers from Addis Ababa and Wollega Universities in Ethiopia. It forms part of the collaborative RiftVolc project between UK and Ethiopian universities. Ph.D. student Ben Clarke, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, who led the study, said: "Many people live on and around these volcanoes, which also host valuable geothermal power infrastructure. Our work suggests that future eruptions at these volcanoes have the potential to cause significant harm, further from the volcano than we previously thought. Continued interdisciplinary research to understand and manage this risk is required to safeguard people and infrastructure in Ethiopia." Explore further Tracking the hazards and benefits of volcanoes in East Africa More information: Ben Clarke et al. Fluidal pyroclasts reveal the intensity of peralkaline rhyolite pumice cone eruptions, Nature Communications (2019). Journal information: Nature Communications Ben Clarke et al. Fluidal pyroclasts reveal the intensity of peralkaline rhyolite pumice cone eruptions,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09947-8 Number of school choices allowed, shown by LAs across England. Credit: School choice in England: evidence from national administrative data The first ever study to assess secondary school choices made across all households in England has shown that the system is unfair to households in areas where they are given fewer options on the application form, with these parents having to make "less ambitious" choices. Whilst it was shown that most parents actively use the school choice system and 85% of households receive their first-choice school, the system's constraints still restrict education equality across England with parents who are allowed six optionscompared to the more regular threebeing afforded less caution in their choices. This new research, which has published in the Oxford Review of Education, looked at a two large data sets making up more than 526,000 pupils in England. It found: contrary to a widely held belief, only a minority of parents (39%) choose their local school as their first option 27% of parents make the maximum number of choices permitted and so having more options may be beneficial. Almost twice as many choices are made in local authorities (LAs) where more choices are allowed. Conducted by a team from the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol, the study also investigated the extent to which parents actively use the school choice system and how use of this system varies across households and neighbourhoods. Black or Asian families (or families of children with English as an Additional Language, EAL) make more use of the school choice system (41% of White British households only make one choice, compared to 17% of Asian households and 12% of Black households); prefer higher performing schools; and are far less likely to apply for their local school (only 27% of EAL students compared to 42% of non EAL pupils). Despite making more choices, EAL students have a lower chance (73% relative to 88% for non EAL students) of receiving an offer from their first-choice school, perhaps because they were more ambitious in their choices There was almost no difference in the number of choices made by more and less affluent families. However, households in more affluent neighbourhoods were more likely to choose their closest school, perhaps reflecting the higher quality of their nearest school. In addition, the study, which looked at data from the 2014/15 academic year, found: 35% of households make only one school choice those that make one choice, only 55% nominate their closest school 97% of households that make only one choice receive an offer from this school For those making the maximum number of choices, 77% received an offer from their first-choice school. Professor Vignoles at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge believes that the current system is causing a situation where families are being made to make cautious decisions about their school choice. She said: "There appears to be a degree of caution being exhibited whereby parents are more likely to put down the school that they have the greatest chance of their child being admitted to (often their nearest) when they are only permitted three choices. "Due to the limit in the number of options allowed, first choice schools may be 'safe' rather than 'ambitious'. The data show that the quality of parents' first choice school is higher in LAs where more choices are permitted, suggesting that where more choices are allowed, parents are more ambitious. "On average we found parents and pupils usually attempt to try to study at the highest attaining school, rather than the one which is closest." Importantly, although most households receive an offer from their first-choice school (85%) this is probably masking a wider issue, co-author, Professor Simon Burgess from the University of Bristol added: "Households seem to make pragmatic choices based on the probability of admission at each school. 85% may therefore be viewed negatively as reflecting parents being very cautious in their choices. "A successful system with active and ambitious choices by parents would result in a lower percentage of parents getting their first choice. "Allocating places to popular over-subscribed schools by proximity means that some households have negligible chance of admission to the best schools and it seems that many therefore do not bother applying. This is what needs to change to increase fairness in the English system." Co-author Ellen Greaves, from the University of Bristol, added: "The school a pupil attends can affect their attainment and enjoyment of school, ultimately affecting their life chances. Understanding the functioning of the school choice system and how pupils are allocated to schools is therefore critical if we are to understand and improve educational equality and social mobility. "Our data suggests that many parents are making active choices for schools and appear to value academic attainment. While many households clearly engage with the school choice process, choice is curtailed for others by the limited number of choices permitted, these households may decide that making an 'ambitious' choice would be wasteful." The planned next stage of the research is to determine the relative importance of parental choice and constraints in school allocation. Explore further School choice does not achieve social mix across schools More information: Simon Burgess et al, School choice in England: evidence from national administrative data, Oxford Review of Education (2019). Simon Burgess et al, School choice in England: evidence from national administrative data,(2019). DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2019.1604332 Prosopis in Baringo County, Kenya. Credit: CABI A team of international scientists, including CABI's Dr. Urs Schaffner, have recommended ways to manage the devastating spread of the woody weed Prosopis juliflora, where in Baringo County, Kenya, its coverage rapidly increased by 2,031 percent in just 28 years. Ph.D. student Purity Rima Mbaabu, affiliated with the University of Nairobi and co-supervised by Simon Choge, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Dr. Sandra Eckert, Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Switzerland, Profs. Maina Gichaba and Prof. Daniel Olago, University of Nairobi, and Dr. Schaffner, is lead author of new research which states that the rates of Prosopis invasion in Kenya are a "major threat to the environment and rural people's livelihoods." The study calls for the "urgent implementation of coordinated and sustainable Prosopis management in Baringo County and other invaded areas in East Africa." Ms Mbaabu and fellow researchers, in the Remote Sensing published paper "Spatial evolution of Prosopis invasion and its effects on LULC and livelihoods in Baringo, Kenya," propose that the invasive Prosopis - which increased from 882 ha in 1988 to 18,792 ha in 2016can only be managed through an integrated management approach. Integrated weed management is usually based on a combination of chemical, biological and mechanical control measures to reduce density of a weed in the invaded range and to slow down or stop its spread into uninvaded areas. The scientists used a combination of dry and wet season Landsat satellite data, acquired in a seven-year time interval between 1988 and 2016 and performed a supervised Random Forest classification, to assess the impact of the Prosopis on land use and land cover (LULC) in the local environment, and its associated impact on (agro)-pastoral livelihoods. In parallel/in exchange to the striking increase in Prosopis-dominated land, LULC classes important for rural people's livelihoods experienced serious losses: grasslands were reduced by 86 percent, irrigated cropland by 57 percent, natural shrubland by 42 percent and rainfed cropland by 37 percent. Ms Mbaabu said, "While Prosopis species provide wood for local use and for charcoal production, they are a major threat to the environment and to rural people's livelihoods because they can suppress or replace native biodiversity and alter ecosystem functions and services. In particular, they severely limit livestock production, increase costs of crop production and consume a lot of water, thereby causing significant economic damage. Overview map (A) and LULC maps (B-F) of Marigat subregion, Baringo County, Kenya, for the years 1988, 1995, 2002, 2009, and 2016. The overview map shows the topography, waterways and lakes, and Perkerra irrigation scheme. The red boundary zone is the extent of the study area. Credit: Remote Sensing "Building on the long-term management experience gained in Australia, we propose that a combination of management options is required to achieve the sustainable and effective control of Prosopis in Baringo and other areas where it has spread. "This includes regular inspection of areas at risk of invasion and the targeted removal of small Prosopis populations at the invasion front as well as ensuring active land use which also plays a critical role in controlling its spread." Prosopis was introduced in Baringo County in 1982 as part of the Fuelwood Afforestation Extension project to help reduce soil erosion, provide fodder for livestock and help reduce the effects of dust storms. But the species, whose spread can be explained by a number of different factors, including dispersal of seed by livestock and wildlife and extreme climatic events such as the floods of 2013, soon became unmanageable due to their fast proliferation and ability to survive cutting by coppicing. Dr. Schaffner added, "Many exotic trees and shrubs have been introduced into Africa, but a few have escaped cultivation and have become destructive alien invasive species reducing native biodiversity and limiting the livelihoods of those that live in rural communities. "In Eastern Africa, where those living in rural communities are more vulnerable to the impacts of invading species, there is a lack of coordinated and effective sustainable management of woody alien invasive species. This latest research will help form sustainable land management' strategies that will help the countries to mitigate the impacts of the species." The paper was published as part of the wider CABI-led project "Woody invasive alien species in East Africa: Assessing and mitigating their negative impact on ecosystem services and rural livelihood" which is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and also involves research in Ethiopia and Tanzania. Explore further Study reveals massive ecological and economic impacts of woody weed invasion in Ethiopia More information: Spatial Evolution of Prosopis Invasion and its Effects on LULC and Livelihoods in Baringo, Kenya Purity Rima Mbaabu et al. Remote Sens. 2019, 11(10), 1217. Spatial Evolution of Prosopis Invasion and its Effects on LULC and Livelihoods in Baringo, KenyaPurity Rima Mbaabu et al.2019, 11(10), 1217. doi.org/10.3390/rs11101217 Provided by CABI VEGAS image of NGC 5846_UDG1. The image shows a 210210 arcsec g band image cutout of the larger VEGAS image, with North up and East left. UDG1, and its system of globular clusters, can be seen at the centre of the image. The centre of the NGC 5846 group is located to the South-West. Credit: Forbes et al., 2019. Astronomers have detected a new ultra diffuse galaxy (UDG) located most likely in the NGC 5846 galaxy group. The discovery is part of the ongoing VEGAS survey aimed at investigating early-type galaxies in a range of environments. Details of the finding were presented in a paper published May 15 on arXiv.org. UDGs are extremely-low-density galaxies. The largest UDGs have sizes similar to the Milky Way, but have only about 1 percent as many stars as our home galaxy. The mystery of UDGs is still baffling scientists as they try to explain why these faint but large galaxies are not ripped apart by the tidal field of their host clusters. Although many UDGs have been found to date, the number of such galaxies identified in our cosmic neighborhood (within 100 million light years from the Earth) is still relatively small. Hence, any new addition to this short list of nearby UDGs is of high importance for astronomers aiming to disentangle the mysteries of these objects. Now, a team of astronomers led by Duncan A. Forbes of Swinburne University in Australia, reports the finding of a new nearby UDG. Using the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, they conducted deep imaging of the NGC 5846 galaxy group as part of the VST survey of Early-type GAlaxieS (VEGAS). Located some 81 million light years away from the Earth, the NGC 5846 group is dominated by two large ellipticals: NGC 5846 and NGC 5813. When analyzing the data from VEGAS, the researchers found one large, low-surface-brightness object, which turned out to be a UDG. The object was identified much closer in projection to NGC 5846 than NGC 5813, and received designation NGC 5846_UDG1. "Here, we present the discovery of an ultra-diffuse galaxy, which we assume to belong to the NGC 5846 group. We name this object NGC 5846_UDG1," the researchers wrote in the paper. According to the paper, NGC 5846_UDG1 is located most likely at a distance of about 81.5 million light years from the Earth and has an effective radius of approximately 6,850 light years. The galaxy's absolute magnitude was found to be -14.2, while its g band surface brightness at the effective radius was measured to be at a level of around 26 mag. sq. Moreover, the study found that NGC 5846_UDG1 has a stellar mass of about 100 million solar masses and a halo mass greater than 80 billion solar masses. The astronomers say that these values confirm the UDG nature of the newly identified galaxy. However, spectroscopic follow-up observations of this object are still required to verify that it belongs to the NGC 5846 group. Such studies could also provide essential information regarding internal kinematics of NGC 5846_UDG1 and its stellar population properties. In concluding remarks, the researchers also noted that their discovery is promising in terms of finding other nearby UDGs. They hope to find more objects of this type in the deep and wide VEGAS survey images of massive nearby early-type galaxies. Explore further Discovery of many new ultra-diffuse galaxies in galaxy clusters More information: Duncan A. Forbes, et al. An Ultra diffuse Galaxy in the NGC 5846 group from the VEGAS survey, arXiv:1905.06415v1 [astro-ph.GA]. Duncan A. Forbes, et al. An Ultra diffuse Galaxy in the NGC 5846 group from the VEGAS survey, arXiv:1905.06415v1 [astro-ph.GA]. arxiv.org/abs/1905.06415 2019 Science X Network In this May 15, 2019, photo, people stand near the ocean at Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you would expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons Oahu's Kailua Beach Park has been selected as the best stretch of sand for an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being water cleanliness, safety and management of the beach environment and its facilities. Leatherman uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water quality and has been to all the beaches on his list. Beaches in Hawaii are consistently ranked high, sometimes at the top of his list. "I love Waikiki Beach. No question about thata world-famous beachbut Kailua is a lot smaller and quieter," Leatherman said. "It's so much more peaceful. ... You don't have big high-rises and all that. Kailua is on the other side of the mountains. It's like a different world." In recent years, Leatherman has awarded extra credit to beaches that prohibit smoking , which all Oahu beaches do. He thinks other beaches around the state and country should follow suit. In this April 5, 2018, file photo, paddleboarders watch a dolphin swim by near Grayton Beach State Park in Florida. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Grayton Beach State Park the third-best in the country. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP, File) Leatherman also looks for powdery soft white sand, something Kailua Beach Park has in abundance. Vari Singh and her family were visiting Oahu from Los Angeles and spent a day in Kailua. "The color of the sea is something like we've never seen before. The sand is super soft and fun to play with, it makes good sandcastles," she said as her daughter wiped sand from her face. "And the scenery is beautiful, you just come over the hill and it's just this majestic scene of green ocean." Leatherman acknowledged that not everyone appreciates the publicity his lists give to top beaches. This May 13, 2010, file photo shows Coopers Beach in Southampton, N.Y. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Coopers Beach the fourth-best in the country. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File) "I get a lot of people who are very happy about it. They like to know where to go," Leatherman said. But "I always get some pushback. Oh yes, people say, 'Oh no, we already have too many people coming here. What are you doing?' It's almost like they think it's a secret beach or something. (Kailua) is not quite a secret beach. It is a real gem though." Braden Marquez, 18, who grew up in Kailua, says he is worried about overcrowding but also hopeful about the future of his hometown. "This beach is pretty special to me just because my family has been coming here for years and years," he said, noting the area has changed a lot since his childhood. "(My) biggest concern would be losing the locals because of the influx of people," he said during a recent visit to the beach. "But other than that I'm pretty excited about all the new things to come." In this Sept. 16, 2015, file photo, beachgoers keep an eye on the seals swimming at Coast Guard Beach in North Eastham, Mass. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Coast Guard Beach the sixth-best in the country. (Steve Heaslip/The Cape Cod Times via AP, File) In this June 8, 2007, file photo, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach," poses on the beach at Ocracoke, N.C., as Mara Chemerinsky, 8, a visitor from Durham, N.C., plays in the sand. Since 1991, Leatherman has compiled an annual list of America's best beaches, making sand and surf a science and earning the nickname "Dr. Beach." His latest list will be released Thursday, May 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Mary Haggerty, File) In this May 25, 2005, file photo, international beach expert Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach," goes barefoot on Fort De Soto's north beach in Tierra Verde, Fla. Leatherman released his 2019 list of the 10 best beaches in the U.S., Thursday, May 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File) In this May 15, 2019, photo, people stand near the ocean at Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) This Aug. 30, 2006, file photo, shows Hapuna Beach Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Hapuna Beach Park the eighth-best in the country. (Michael Darden/West Hawaii Today via AP, File) This May 21, 2014, file photo shows Duke Kahanamoku Beach in the Honolulu tourist neighborhood of Waikiki in Hawaii. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Duke Kahanamoku Beach the fifth-best in the country. (AP Photo/Sam Eifling, File) In this May 15, 2019, photo, people stand near the ocean at Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) In this May 15, 2019, photo, people paddle away from Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) In this March 25, 2017, file photo, riders and owners prepare their horses before the start of the inaugural Kiawah Cup Island Beach Race at Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Beachwalker Park the 10th-best in the country. (Michael Pronzato/The Post And Courier via AP, File) In this May 15, 2019, photo, a kitesurfer rides off Kailua Beach Park in Kailua, Hawaii. In Kailua, the sand is soft and white, the water is clear and calm, and the view is exactly what you might expect from a beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Those are among the reasons the beach has been selected as the best stretch of sand on an annual list of top U.S. beaches. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting the list under the alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones) In this May 22, 2012, file photo, a couple sits on the sand on Coronado Beach in Coronado, Calif. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Coronado Beach the ninth-best in the country. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File) This May 21, 2008, file photo shows the main beach at Caladesi Island State Park, a barrier island along the Gulf of Mexico, on Florida's West Coast in Dunedin, Fla. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Caladesi Island State Park the seventh-best beach in the country. (AP Photo/Craig Litten, File) In this June 7, 2007, file photo, beachgoers enjoy the surf on Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on Ocracoke Island, N.C. Stephen Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, has been drafting a list of the best beaches in the U.S. under alias "Dr. Beach" since 1991. This year he has named Ocracoke the second-best in the country. (Chris Curry/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File) For the first 25 years of ranking, any beach that won the top spot on Leatherman's list was ineligible for inclusion in subsequent years. But in 2015, Dr. Beach cleared the slate to allow any beach in the nation to once again be eligible, resetting the clockand perhaps the relevance involving his annual contest. Kailua was named the best beach in 1998, making it a two-time winner. Leatherman is again retiring new winners and posting them on his website . The other beaches on this year's list are Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach on North Carolina's Outer Banks in second place, followed by Grayton Beach State Park in the Florida panhandle; Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York; Duke Kahanamoku Beach on Oahu; Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin-Clearwater, Florida; Hapuna State Beach Park on Hawaii's Big Island; Coronado Beach, San Diego, California; and Kiawah Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Leatherman's goal in producing the list each year, he says, is to reward high-quality, safe beaches that balance nature with accessibility and amenities. He hopes beaches that haven't made his list will make changes for a better experience and a healthier coastal ecosystem. Explore further Border collies chase away beach contamination 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. BJP has made massive inroads into West Bengal, with victory in ten seats and lead in 8 more constituencies, after a bitterly fought elections. Mamata Banerjee's TMC has already won 14 seats and is going strong on eight more. The Congress, true to pattern in most of the country, is trailing way back with lead on just two seats. This election comes as a bad scare to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose party had won 34 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 while the BJP could win only two constituencies. So, in a sense, the 2019 poll results for West Bengal are actually a win for the saffron party - it had wanted to make inroads into the state boasting the third-highest number of Lok Sabha seats after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and has done that with aplomb. On the other hand, Banerjee seems to be barely hanging on to her fortress. TMC, the fourth largest party in the Lok Sabha, has governed the state since the former railways minister ended decades of communist rule there in a 2011 vote. ALSO READ:Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: Modi wins from Varanasi by 4.7 lakh votes; thanks people for big mandate The West Bengal poll results are more or less true to the exit polls, which had predicted that the BJP will win 19-23 seats. The party's Look East policy for this election was based on its concerns over the Hindi heartland states after the debacle in the assembly polls. The BJP had increased its focus on West Bengal in order to retain power in New Delhi should it lose in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh again. As it turns out, those fears proved unfounded today with the BJP set to win big in all three states. As expected, the breakdown of the Congress-CPI(M) seat sharing talks ended up hurting the ruling party in the state since the BJP was able to bag the bulk of the anti-incumbency votes. Had the alliance worked out, it would have eaten into BJP's share of such voters, which would have been advantage TMC. Let's not forget that in the 2016 state assembly polls, the CPI(M)-Congress alliance had weighed heavy on the BJP. ALSO READ:Lok Sabha Election result 2019: VK Singh ahead of SP's Suresh Bansal in Ghaziabad Incidentally, the BJP is also on its way to win four out of the eight assembly bypolls held in the state. Election Commission data suggests that the saffron party is leading on four seats while TMC is behind on three. Bypolls in West Bengal were held Bhatpara, Darjeeling, Habibpur, Islampur, Kandi, Krishnaganj, Nowda and Uluberia Purba. The writing on the wall is clear: The BJP has completely replaced the CPI(M) as the main opposition in the state. GLENS FALLS Former teacher Brian George will return to the Abraham Wing School as superintendent for the 2019-20 school year. Abe Wing students draw inspiration for mural A new mural designed and painted by Abraham Wing School students is nearing completion and w George started at Abraham Wing School, more formally known as the Glens Falls Common School District, nearly 15 years ago and was a teacher there for nearly a decade before taking the middle-high school principal position in Hartford. He said his new position as superintendent at Abraham Wing School is also a bit of a homecoming. Its where I started my career so Im excited about coming back, and its also a district Ive lived in for most of my life as well, George said. George spent seven years as the principal of Hartford Middle-High School, and he said the experience has taught him plenty of lessons he will bring back to his old district. He said being a principal at the middle and high school level taught him a great deal about how students need to be prepared to succeed before transitioning out of elementary school. Abraham Wing School students transfer to Glens Falls City School District after the sixth grade, and George said he knows what students need to make the jump seamlessly. George also said because of the relationship the two districts have, he thought it was important they collaborate before students make the switch. I think its important that we create a good relationship with the city district so we can build those relationships before the kids even get there and really help ease that transition, George said. George said his early priorities will include familiarizing himself with the staff that wasnt there when he left for Hartford and focusing on what the district does well and where the gaps are. Abraham Wing school board President Peter Blackbird said in a news release that the hiring process was thorough and it was clear George had the qualifications and skills needed to lead the district. Medical professionals teach students about vascular health GLENS FALLS Doctors, nurses and surgeons volunteered to come to Glens Falls Middle School His leadership background and educational experience are a great fit for our district. Mr. George will be an integral part of Abe Wings continued mission to support and develop our students to their maximum potential, Blackbird said. The board is offering a three-year agreement with an initial salary of $100,000, and George will assume duties July 1, according to a Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES news release. George holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Brockport and a masters degree in elementary education from the College of St. Joseph, and he will replace Superintendent John Godfrey, who is retiring at the end of the school year. Im really excited about the opportunity, George said. Ive certainly learned a lot at Hartford and grown, but Im looking forward to the opportunity. Samuel Northrop is the education reporter for The Post-Star. He can be reached at snorthrop@poststar.com. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Oscar Mayer, Rise Against Hunger And Roush Fenway Racing Team Up To Fight Hunger Posted by: newsla on May 22, 2019 - 06:28 PM Oscar Mayer, Rise Against Hunger And Roush Fenway Racing Team Up To Fight Hunger Before taking to the race track Memorial Day weekend in Charlotte, Oscar Mayer, in partnership with Rise Against Hunger and NASCAR race team Roush Fenway Racing, are joining forces in the fight against hunger. Driver of the No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang, Ryan Newman, and more than 30 volunteers will come together on May 23 at Roush Fenway Racing in Concord, North Carolina to help package meals to fight food insecurity and malnutrition around the world. At Oscar Mayer, we believe in always finding a better way, whether that means making the highest quality meats, putting a solid car on the race track, or joining with our partners to give back to the community, said Matt Riezman, Associate Director of Marketing, Oscar Mayer. Oscar Mayer has supported Rise Against Hunger for more than six years and this month, with the help of volunteers and NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, well roll up our sleeves to package meals for children and families in need. Since 2013, Oscar Mayer and Kraft Heinz have partnered with Rise Against Hunger to alleviate hunger in developing nations through employee volunteerism at meal packaging events and the donation of micronutrient sachets. Rise Against Hungers mission is to end hunger by 2030, which is also encompassed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2. The organizations meal packaging events are part of a volunteer-based program that coordinates the streamlined packaging of highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and minerals. After packaging, the meals are shipped to countries around the globe and distributed to beneficiaries in critical need. What we want everyone to know is that hunger is solvable and is the common thread among the worlds most challenging issues, said Peggy Shriver, Chief Development Officer of Rise Against Hunger. When hunger is targeted, you give leverage and hope to every other cause including poverty, disease, education and the welfare of women and children. Everyone at Roush Fenway is excited to team up with Oscar Mayer and Rise Against Hunger to feed those in need, said Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang. Giving back has long been a common theme across everyone in the NASCAR industry, and were honored to continue that with this event alongside our outstanding partners. For more information about Oscar Mayer, visit OscarMayer.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. PaddockTalk Perspective Ken Brownell was 20 in 1977, tall and tanned and strong, a skilled carpenter working for the U.S. military to create a base camp on the island of Lojwa, a spot of land in the Pacific Ocean almost 3,000 miles west of Hawaii. His crew cleared the island, scraping up dirt and sending clouds of dust into the air. They worked in shorts and boots, and at the end of the day, leapt in the lagoon to wash off the sweat and dust. Sometimes, theyd use the shower stalls theyd built, which had a 55-gallon drum on the roof. Theyd dip the bucket of a bucket loader into the lagoon then empty the sea water into the drum. The dust, the sea water, the air, the lobsters they plucked off the reef and ate were all contaminated with radioactivity from 43 nuclear bombs the U.S. exploded in the 1950s during tests on Enewetak Atoll. We lived, breathed, ate, drank, did everything in contaminated materials, Brownell said. Lojwa is one of the tiny islands that circle Enewetaks lagoon, forming the atoll. A collection of the atolls, including Bikini, where more atomic testing took place, make up the Marshall Islands. In 1952, Enewetak was the scene of the first-ever detonation of a hydrogen bomb. It vaporized a small island and created a crater more than a mile wide. On the island of Runit, crews that came after Brownell filled another bomb crater with contaminated soil and other materials, then capped it with a huge concrete dome, but that toxic waste is leaking out. Ken Brownell is 62 now, still tall and strongly built. His hair is graying but thick, and a trim white beard covers his chin and jaw. He lives in Northumberland with his wife and four Doberman pinschers in a house he rebuilt himself. He was diagnosed in 2001 with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, one of the cancers classified as a presumptive illness under legislation that covers atomic veterans. Bill Jones of Glens Falls, whom I interviewed a couple of weeks ago, is an atomic veteran. He spent 13 months on Enewetak Atoll in the 1950s and has been lucky enough to reach his 80s despite a bout with skin cancer. Veterans on the crews from the 1970s, like Ken Brownell, dont get presumptive benefits, which means they dont automatically qualify for help if they develop certain diseases. Mostly, they dont qualify for help at all. Brownell got swept up for Marshall Islands duty because of his carpentry skills, shipped from one tropical posting, on Hawaii, to another. We went swimming all the time. The islands were beautiful. The water was crystal clear, he said. Government officials said the workers had been exposed only to low-level radiation, and anyway, theyd been wearing protective gear. Unfortunately, that was false. Not even a dust mask, Brownell said. He made lifelong friends on Lojwa, and several have died from cancers. Brownell recovered from his cancer, but he worries. We wake up every morning every one of us do and wonder, is today going to be my day? he said. He regrets the American legacy in the Marshall Islands. The native people, the Marshallese, were moved out before the tests. The environment was made so toxic that, 60 years later, it is still a danger. I think honestly they dont want us to survive, Brownell said, of the governments attitude toward him and the men he worked with on Enewetak. Because with us surviving, the government will have to eventually admit what its done to the world. Will Doolittle is projects editor at The Post-Star. He may be reached at will@poststar.com and followed on his blog, I think not, and on Twitter at @trafficstatic. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 6 Angry 3 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. QUEENSBURY Starting at 7 a.m. Saturday, boats can get a free scrubdown at the Adirondack Welcome Centers boat washing and inspection station to help keep invasive species out of the Adirondack Park, and just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Its the first station in New York built into a highway rest stop, said Robert Stegemann, regional director for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, at its grand opening Thursday south of Exit 18 of the Northway. The DEC and state Department of Transportation worked with multiple local officials and environmental groups to get the $700,000 inspection station at the gateway to the Adirondacks. Its the latest edition to the welcome center, which opened its doors in September. The decontamination station will help protect the tourism economy that the approximately 6 million acre park relies on, said Pat Barnes, regional director of the DOT. This actually is a pinch point for where we can actually intercept invasive aquatics that are hitching a ride on boats and watercraft before they get to the Adirondack Park, said Peg Olsen, director of the Nature Conservancys Adirondack Chapter. Adirondacks Welcome Center opens near Exit 18 QUEENSBURY The Adirondacks Welcome Center, located off the northbound lanes of the Northway near Exit 18, had its grand opening Thursday, sh The station will be staffed by up to six boat inspection stewards from the Adirondack Watershed Institute, a component of Paul Smiths College. Jeff Sann, one of the stewards, said the station can inspect up to six boats at a time. If the boats are found to have invasive species on them, they can get cleaned at the decontamination station. Decontamination usually takes between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the circumstances, Sann added. Once the inspection and cleaning is done, boats can get a green seal hooked to their boat and trailer, which signals to inspectors on other water bodies in the Adirondacks that the boat is already set for launching. The seal is broken once the boat is detached from the trailer. Sann and DEC staff arent sure what traffic numbers will be like coming through the station, but they plan to keep track this summer to help influence next years schedule and operation. While boat inspections and cleaning are not mandatory, the state does have a law requiring boaters to take reasonable precautions from spreading invasive species. Signs with the states mantra of clean, drain and dry are also posted, as are signs leading up to the rest stop showing where the boat washing station is and an electronic sign that says if it is open. If youre driving by, and youre not towing a boat but you have a boat, youre learning something, and from then on youre going to think about, worry about cleaning your boat and invasive species going from one lake to another, and then hopefully stopping the spread of them, said state Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury. Eric Holmlund, director of the watershed stewardship program at the Adirondack Watershed Institute, said all New Yorkers need to become better stewards themselves. The Adirondack Council, which has called on the state to make boat decontaminations mandatory in the Adirondack Park, said in a news release Thursday that it hopes the public will use this new wash station. Adirondack Council: Boat washing should be mandatory throughout Adirondacks A state law requiring boaters to take reasonable care not to spread invasive species is set to expire June 1, and the Adirondack Council wan It only takes a few minutes, and its free, said William Janeway, executive director of the Adirondack Council, in a news release. But it will make a huge difference to our lakes and rivers. Most of them dont have invasive species in them, yet. Wed like to keep it that way. Boat inspections and washes have proven to protect water bodies, especially on Lake George. The Lake George Park Commission has a mandatory inspection program that has been in place since 2014. It has helped keep out Eurasian watermilfoil, zebra mussels, curly leaf pondweed, water chestnut, spiny water flea and rusty crayfish, according to the programs five-year review. Five-year review shows boat inspections up on Lake George LAKE GEORGE In its five years of operation, the Lake George Park Commissions mandatory boat inspection program was its busiest ever this pa David Wick, executive director of the park commission, said about 50 stewards will rotate shifts at the inspection stations on Lake George this summer. The inspection station on Transfer Road has been closed and more inspectors have been directed to the popular Million Dollar Beach launch. The Adirondack Council would also like to see a network of decontamination stations like this one at all of the entrances to the park, something that Barnes hinted is in the works. Were working to identify other inspection stations along New York state highways in the Adirondack Park, Barnes said. Were working with DEC on managing the state highways within the park while retaining the park-like character. Reporter Gwendolyn Craig can be reached at (518) 742-3238 or gcraig@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @gwendolynnn1. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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 Menards/Knauf Insulation Team To Honor Spec. David Hickman At Charlotte Posted by: newsla on May 23, 2019 - 02:33 PM Menards/Knauf Insulation Team To Honor Spec. David Hickman At Charlotte There are many holidays on the calendar, but none quite like Memorial Day. Its an important one for the sport of automobile racing, beginning with a Formula One race in Monaco on Sunday morning followed by the Indianapolis 500 and concluding with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Its also about cemeteries across the globe, with rows of white crosses, each representing a service member who paid the ultimate price for his or her fellow Americans. For the past five years, the NASCAR community and Charlotte Motor Speedway have come up with an appropriate mix of the solemn and the spectacular. As part of the 600 Miles of Remembrance, each car in the field carries on its windshield the name of a fallen service member. In most cases, race teams host family members or friends of the deceased hero. The track also hosts thousands of active-duty service members and their families, as well as veterans. Goodyear, the official tire supplier for the series, replaces its customary Eagle logo with Honor and Remember for the 600 weekend. Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Knauf Insulation Ford Mustang will honor the late U.S. Army Specialist David E. Hickman, 23, of Greensboro, N.C. He died Nov. 14, 2011, while serving during Operation New Dawn in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and died from injuries incurred when his armored truck was hit by a roadside bomb. He was the 4,474th member of the U.S. military to die in the Iraq war, according to the Pentagon. Before joining the Army, Hickman was a team captain and all-conference linebacker for Northeast Guilford High School. The son of a U.S. Air Force veteran, Hickman was into fitness, held a Black Belt in Taekwondo, and hoped to one day join the Special Forces, according to a profile on the Honor and Remember website. He always seemed like Superman, Spec. Morgan Corbett, who met Hickman in basic training and became one of his closest friends, said in an article on Honor and Remember. Everyone looked up to him. Eddie Wood said his race team considers it an honor to carry Hickmans name on the No. 21 Mustang and to host members of his family on Sunday. The sport has done a great thing with the 600 Miles of Remembrance program, Wood said. Its what Memorial Day is all about. Its important to pause and remember the people who made the ultimate sacrifice so the rest of us can enjoy the freedoms we have. I never got to meet David Hickman, but Im glad we will have the opportunity to thank his family members for his sacrifice for us all. Wood has known some of the fallen service members his team has recognized through the 600 Miles of Remembrance program. Last year, the team honored the late U.S. Army First Lt. Leevi Barnard, who like the Wood family was from Patrick County, Va. In 2015 they honored the late Marine Cpl. Jonathan Bowling, another hometown soldier who also was a friend of the Wood family and a great nephew of Chris Williams, who was an original race team partner with the late Glen Wood. This program means a lot to us, Wood said. Our race team is going to do its best to put on a performance that properly honors Specialist Hickman. Qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Thursday at 7:05 p.m, and the race is set to start just after 6 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on FOX. PaddockTalk Perspective However, government never seems to let the facts stand in the way of a tax increase! The administration continues to say, 97% of the people in Illinois will not see an increase in their taxes with a graduated income tax. Several Democrats, including Rep. Robert Martwick and even Pritzker himself, state there are no guaranteed tax rates and no guarantee on future rates. As a matter of fact, the original proposed rate have already been amended. With zero certainty in rates and by not specifying rates in the constitutional amendment, how can Illinoisans know if their rates will soar this year, or years down the road? Sadly, if this graduated tax is approved, Springfield Democrats will continue to divide and conquer the middle class to create new definitions of "rich." I promise you, top income earners do not have enough income to feed the insatiable wants of our greedy government. Middle-income earners had better hide their wallets! Heads of household, business owners, and community leaders have to be creative and look at a broader view to survive tough times and succeed. If you want to help Illinois, help Illinois grow. Do not give up and move across the border. Fight! Earlier this month, our billionaire president called gaming the tax system sport. As we all know, Pritzker sloughed off $330,000 he owed in property taxes onto other people by removing toilets from one of his mansions and calling it uninhabitable. Despite his current rhetoric that only rich folks should have their taxes hiked, he hasnt been reticent to engage in a bit of chicanery of his own to make taxpayers earning a lot less than he pay more. He ought to practice what he preaches. And tax avoidance goes well beyond toilets. A few years back, I worked for a man who had five homes scattered from California to Paris. How hard do you think it would be for a rich fellow like that to simply change his official state of residence to someplace else and not pay a dime to the state? Not hard at all. And for others, the answer to higher taxes will be to move. When the tax burden exceeds the cost of moving, little incentive remains to stay. When either of these things happen, someone will have to make up the difference and the way the proposed constitutional amendment is written, it offers no protection to the middle class. Our taxes will go up too. The college is deeply sorry for the inconvenience this may cause and continues to express our regret to the individuals who have reached out, she said. The issue of where the notifying letters were sent has some alumni worried that their information might be jeopardized again. If those letters were sent to the last address Augustana had, that could create a whole additional set of risks, Wynes said. These letters do have personal information in them. This is not something I would want someone else to have access to. Individuals whose data were stolen have been directed to a free assistance line at 855-662-8108. In the wake of the breach, the college has launched a number of measures, including complimentary two-year credit monitoring and identify-theft safeguards. From the usage rates created by our external partners, the calls to the free assistance line and the number of people signing up for the free credit monitoring match the averages of what they typically see, Johnston said. For alumni, a refrain has emerged: They want to hear from the college directly. There are many people who give the impression of, Why are you worrying about this? This is being overdramatic about nothing. Maybe it is, said Wynes. But Id rather be overdramatic about nothing than ignore something that could have serious consequences and not try to seek a remedy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Health Minister Dr. Zafar Mirza reached Larkana Islamabad: Minister of Health Dr. Zafar Mirza has reached Larkana to help with addressing situation arising out of HIV outbreak in the district. Upon arrival, the Minister had detailed discussions with Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho to review and analyze the situation. Dr. Zafar Mirza while assuring provincial authorities of fullest support of the federal government in controlling the outbreak said when it comes to health we have to work together as one team and take all necessary measures in coordination to safeguard the health and well being of our people. In this regard the Health Minister said he had convened a National Stakeholder meeting where experts have pledged technical support to Sindh health department The Federal Ministry through National AIDS Control Program would arrange all Diagnostic kits and medicine for treatment of affected children and adults. The Federal Health Ministry will support in establishing 3 new AIDS treatment centres in Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Hyderabad shared Dr. Zafar Mirza. 2005-2022 All contents of this blog are the property of Bonnie K. Hunter, and cannot be reproduced in any way without prior written consent. Nebraskas Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) are celebrating the 10th year of Adventure Camp about the Environment (ACE) June 16-19 at the State 4-H Youth Camp near Halsey. Nebraskas 23 NRDs encourage middle school students interested in the outdoors to sign up for this educational, action-packed camp. To qualify, students should have completed sixth, seventh or eighth grade in the 2018-2019 school year. The four-day adventure camp provides students an opportunity to dive into different hands-on activities with a natural resources focus. Sessions educate youth on Nebraskas water resources, wildlife, soil, trees, range and grasslands, outdoor cooking, technology and more. ACE Camp gets students outdoors to explore the world around them. Campers also have the opportunity to tube the river, experience archery, zip line, build water rockets and much more. Expect students to have a better awareness of possible careers in natural resources by learning from professionals working to conserve them every day. Fees and registration are $215/camper. The Upper Loup NRD offers several full-ride scholarships to the four-day camp, and registrants are encouraged to check with their local NRD on camp scholarships. To find out more information about ACE Camp, get a copy of a registration form or sign up for a scholarship, visit: www.upperloupnrd.org or call 308.645.2250. Registration deadline is May 31, 2019. Space is limited, so campers are encouraged to register early. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Two young women from Chadron, Brooklynn Fritzler and Elizabeth Harrison, received superior ratings in statewide fine arts competition this spring and have been invited to participate at the national level at Orlando, Fla., in late July. They were among youths from the Chadron Community Church who entered competition sponsored by Nebraska Youth Ministries at a gathering in Kearney in March. During the national competition, both Brook and Elizabeth will submit original artwork, and Fritzler also will present a business plan to a team of judges. They also are excited to have the opportunity to participate in mission work in the Orlando area, view the other projects selected for the event and worship with thousands of other youths from across the nation. Donations to help them make the trip may be dropped off at Farmers State Bank in Chadron or be made through their Go Fund Me page at gofundme.com/brooklynn-and-elizabeth-qualified-for-nationals. They also will host other fundraising activities in the near future. Fritzler will be a senior and Harrison will be a junior at Chadron High School this fall. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 EAGLE BUTTE | A road on the Cheyenne River Reservation has been deemed unsafe and is closed, according to tribal officials. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe said in a news release that Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 8 is closed until further notice. A culvert that washed out and a road caved in made the road unsafe, according to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Emergency Command Center, which is responsible for emergency operations on the reservation. Officials say the road will be closed from about 17 miles from Highway 212, east on Route 8. "Everyone including Jeremy Means to Route 8 east/north east will have to exit north to high 212 by swift bird day school," the statement reads. The road closure will disrupt school bus runs and will add additional time for emergency service response to remote areas serviced by the road. "Response time and distance will increase dramatically all along the route due to the closure," officials said in the press release. For more information, call 964-6559. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Rapid City Area Schools plan to better prepare students for life after graduation by doubling down on career education, expanding opportunities for dual-enrollment and offering work experiences through local businesses. Early exposure to a wide variety of careers will be integral to the district's proposed "Pathways" program, which is slated to be implemented in the fall of 2020. At a press conference held Thursday at the City and School Administration building, district officials and local business leaders shared new details of the program. Similar approaches are already employed by schools in Sioux Falls and in Nashville, Tenn. "Most of us at one time or another perhaps asked our teachers or our parents, 'why do I have to learn this?' or 'when am I ever going to use this?'" Superintendent Lori Simon said during the conference. "Our goal is to make learning more relevant and engaging for all students through career-connected learning so that students no longer ask these questions or at least ask them less." A student's chosen course of study, or pathway, will fall under one of six academies, each of which focuses on different career fields. Those academies are: Health services Construction and technical trades Human services and education Computer arts and sciences Business, entrepreneurship and hospitality Science and engineering During their first year of high school, students will explore each one through a seminar included in a proposed Freshman Academy. During their sophomore year, they will be required to take an introductory course to the academy that most interests them. Before moving on from the 10th grade, students will have to select a career-specific pathway from within that academy to begin studying their junior year. Students have the option to change academies that same year. As seniors, they can choose to either take a specialized pathway course or complete a capstone project. School officials said the program will present students with opportunities to complete internships and earn post-secondary credits. Black Hills State University, Western Dakota Technical Institute and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology have already pledged to support the initiative. School spokesperson Katy Urban said that 200 local business have signed on to sponsor work opportunities and provide monetary support as well. Simon said Thursday that faculty and staff are already training for the launch of the 2020 Freshman Academy pilot. As the Pathways program gains steam, she said new employees may need to be hired or brought on. "We have a lot of expertise within our existing staff and so part of our work, in fact a lot of it, will be identifying the certifications that our teachers already have," she said. "But we do know that there may be some situations where we may have to look to industry to bring someone in." For now, Simon said that both Stevens and Central high schools will be able to operate the new programs without modifying their respective facilities, though she did not rule out the possibility of future additions or renovations. The district will not be eliminating electives in fine arts, language and physical education as part of the new program. To account for the new career and technical education course requirements, the schools are looking to increase the number of graduation credits students need to earn from 22 to 24, a move that would require approval from the school's board of education. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 PIERRE | Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has requested federal disaster relief and an emergency declaration to help rebuild communities after blizzards and floods wreaked havoc on the state in March and April. According to a news release from her office, Noem on Wednesday, May 22, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to declare a presidential disaster and allocate Federal Emergency Management Agency resources to help repair approximately $46 million in damages assessed statewide. During preliminary damage assessments conducted earlier this month, local and federal officials estimated about $43 million in storm-related damages to public property, individual homes and businesses across 58 counties and on three American Indian reservations. Approximately $3 million in individual assistance damages were assessed in 16 counties and on three reservations. The Pine Ridge reservation, which was devastated by March's floods, was not included in Noem's request for public property damage assistance because the tribe is independently pursuing its own emergency declaration and FEMA request. Oglala Sioux tribe Public Relations Liaison Chase Iron Eyes said Pine Ridge's absence from Noem's request was unrelated to an ongoing conflict between Noem's office and the tribe on the Keystone XL pipeline. Noem wrote in her letter that the aftermath of the storms continue to take a physical and emotional toll on residents, and that although South Dakotans pride themselves on being a hardy group of citizens," federal assistance "will help individuals, businesses, and government inch closer to recovering from this disaster. South Dakota's congressional delegation U.S. Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, all Republicans also wrote to the President on Wednesday, supporting Noem's request. The congressmen said the state responded to the damage "with the resources immediately available to them," but the state's and FEMA's preliminary damage assessment "makes clear the scale of the storms impact exceeds the states response capacity and therefore justifies federal assistance." "The storms damaged our roads, bridges, and culverts, while also impacting livestock, homes, and businesses," the congressmen said. "Rural roads, many of which are gravel and highly vulnerable to water damage, form critical infrastructure for our farmers and ranchers whose work forms the backbone of the South Dakota economy." The state Senate on March 29 before the second storm hit passed a resolution urging the state's congressional delegation to push for federal assistance. Per Wednesday's news release from Noem's office, there are currently six other open presidential disaster declarations for separate events in South Dakota, and the state is "working with FEMA on the recovery process for each of those disasters." Since March's Winter Storm Ulmer and April's Winter Storm Wesley, the state hasn't caught much of a break, with ongoing wet conditions and a rare winter storm in the Black Hills this week. According to Susan Sanders, a National Weather Service meteorologist, some areas west of Rapid City saw as much as 22 inches of snow accumulation between Monday and Wednesday. Sanders said the area has seen winter weather into May in the past including 2015's infamous Mother's Day weekend snowstorm but that accumulation to this degree is "unusual" this late into the month. And, much like the two severe storms earlier this spring, areas are now experiencing severe flooding as the snow melts. Sanders said parts of the White River, in particular, are in a major flood stage as of Wednesday. From the looks of the National Weather Service's forecast, precipitation won't let up for the next several days, with rain expected through Friday throughout the state. In anticipation of the first storm this spring, Noem on March 15 signed a statewide emergency declaration, which eventually encompassed both March and April's storms and floods. Spokesperson for the state Department of Public Safety Tony Mangan said this was because there was no break between the storms: "It was blizzard, flood, blizzard." Once conditions improved, Mangan said the state emergency declaration was lifted on April 26. Noem has not, as of Wednesday afternoon, declared a separate emergency for this week's snow in the west and rain in the east. On top of low commodity prices and an ongoing tariff war, the cold, wet spring certainly hasn't helped South Dakota's farmers and ranchers. Spokesperson for the state Department of Agriculture Maggie Stensaas said Wednesday via email that this week's weather has caused more flooding and "could impact the health of livestock, particularly young calves." Agriculture is South Dakota's number one industry. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Shah Mehmood-Sushma Swaraj met in Shanghai SHANGHAI: Foreign ministers of the two South Asian neighbours shook hands with each other on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday. I made it clear to Sushma Swaraj that Pakistan wants resolution of all issues [with India] through consultations, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said after an informal interaction with his Indian counterpart here on Wednesday. Prime Minister Imran Khan had noted in his first speech that if India takes one step forward, we will take two steps, he noted. We are ready for dialogue even today, he added. Swaraj complained about bitter statements and she also brought sweets so we can speak in a sweeter tone, Qureshi was quoted as saying about the meeting. Weve however reiterated our desire for peaceful resolution of all outstanding issues between the two countries, he maintained. Earlier, Qureshi was seated next to Swaraj during the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers. However, when the foreign ministers gathered to take a group picture, Swaraj switched her spot when she realised that she was standing next to Qureshi. Swarajs vacated spot was taken by Russias Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov. Qureshi is visiting Kyrgyzstan to represent Islamabad at the SCO meet. Addressing the plenary session, while linking Pakistans future with shared Pan-Asian prosperity, he said an institutional framework among the regional states is important to address common challenges mainly terrorism, poverty and economy through dispute resolution. Enduring peace and prosperity in South Asia will remain elusive without good faith diplomacy and result-oriented dialogue, he said. Qureshi pointed out that South Asia, as part and parcel of SCO, lags behind other regions in terms of regional cooperation, economic integration and connectivity that resulted in formidable challenges including poverty, illiteracy and disease. He said political differences and unresolved disputes among the states have compounded the predicament. On a positive note, he said Pakistan has initiated work on the Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate Sikh pilgrims visit their holy shrine, adding that the Shanghai Spirit is being reinforced through the Kartarpur Spirit. Qureshi presented a seven-point agenda at the meeting focusing on confidence-building measures among member states, including control on weapon race, establishment of joint fund and international framework to combat corruption and crime. He stressed developing regional consensus to arrest buildup of missile defence systems by individual states or groups of states and to keep outer space free of weapons. For integrated economy, he called for setting up SCO Development Fund and SCO Development Bank and also finalising proposals for trade in local currencies. He also stressed the need for evolving a comprehensive international framework to fight white collar crime and check production, supply, trafficking and demand for illicit drugs. Qureshi said leveraging SCOs institutional capacity can synergise various connectivity initiatives including Belt and Road Initiative, Economic Cooperation Organisation, and Eurasian Economic Union. He also suggested strengthening the SCO Youth Council to promote cultural understanding and said Pakistan looks forward to joining the council soon. He mentioned that as the leadership of SCO member states will meet in June, there is a need to discuss the challenges confronting sustainable growth, environment and collective security. He stressed that the SCO provids an excellent platform for collective endeavours and coordinated approaches. He mentioned that the SCO region representing 42 percent of humanity, 23 percent of worlds land mass, and 22 percent of global nominal gross domestic product is imbued with the Shanghai Spirit, aiming the way forward. He said Pakistan is a product of centuries of amalgamation of foreign and local influences along with other SCO states that have been epicenters of civilisation. He highlighted the fast-reaching fruition in shape of the transformational China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and said the geography of SCO region provides an opportunity for air, land and sea links connecting South with Central Asia, Middle East with China, Europe with the Far East, and Eurasia with the sea. After two days of heavy snow and rain, flooding is now the top concern in the Black Hills as Memorial Day weekend nears. "That is definitely a concern of ours," Katie Pojorlie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Rapid City, said Wednesday. Pactola Reservoir and Rapid Creek are already at high levels and should fill up more after the lake received 25 inches of snow as of Wednesday morning, she said. "We are thinking that Rapid Creek could flood," Pojorlie said, adding that a flood warning is in place until 2 p.m. Sunday for areas alongside the creek in eastern Rapid City and Rapid Valley. "Flooding's our next big concern" and people shouldn't try to drive through roads covered with water, said Captain Tony Harrison with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. Harrison said most major roads in Pennington County were clear by midday Wednesday, but some secondary roads are flooded. The flooding risk comes after on-and-off snow in the hills since Monday and rains and snow in Rapid City. As much as 3.5 inches of snow fell within two miles of Rapid City as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, Pojorlie said. The Spearfish area saw up to 13 inches by 7 a.m. Wednesday while the Deadwood area recorded 20 inches by 10:40 a.m. Custer had 15 inches as of 10:35 a.m. Wednesday, Mount Rushmore recorded 12.5 inches by midnight and Hill City saw 17 inches as of 10:20 a.m. The weather seemed to discourage some tourists. Three people stayed at Kemp's Kamp near Keystone on Tuesday evening but two had left by Wednesday and only one was booked through Memorial Day weekend, according to owner Tom Morris. The snow closed the Custer School District and Custer State Park's visitors center, downed trees and caused power outages throughout the area. The visitors center and all state parks are expected to be open for Memorial Day weekend, said Chris Hull, spokesman for South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. He said some individual campsites and trails may be closed. Campgrounds within the Black Hills National Forest expect to be open, said spokesman Scott Jacobson. While motorized trails will be closed due to the mud, trails for horses, cyclists and hikers remain open. Pojorlie said the recent rain was caused by a strong low-pressure system and cold air from the north turned it into snow. "I think we're all ready for it to be done," she said of the wintry weather. Pojorlie said it's "pretty unusual" but not unheard of to have spring snow storms in the Black Hills. She said 3.2 inches of snow fell in Rapid City on June 1 and 2, 1951. The rain and snow tapered off Wednesday, and today is expected to be dry with temperatures in the 40s and 50s, Pojorlie said. Rain and snow are expected to pick back up this evening while Friday will be dry and temperatures could reach the mid-60s in Rapid City. The weekend will have temperatures in the mid-60s and be mostly dry with the exception of possible showers on Sunday. It's supposed to rain again on Memorial Day. Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Couples once staked out the Rushmore Mall food court to pounce upon the first opening table. Harried teens behind the Orange Julius counter never looked up for fear of being beckoned by another waving dollar. And wives shopping for a new purse could peruse 17 mall stores before returning to the first one to make their purchase. If a giant sporting goods store held nothing of appeal, one of the book stores did, and if not them, Sears offered Craftsman tools and Maytag dishwashers. Kiosks tempted those who tarried. The mall was not only a place to shop. Friends met up there, bumped into old acquaintances and painlessly killed hours of dreary winter afternoons. It was the new town center but with climate controls. And then a decade ago the gold rush moved to more promising mountains, just as it had from downtown Rapid City a generation earlier. Target and Scheels vacated first. Sams Club joined them at Rushmore Crossing shortly thereafter, making it the citys preferred retail destination. Change wasnt novel to Rapid Citys mall. The era of Amazon and online shopping had arrived, and then accelerated as retail moved to smart phones and high-speed internet. The Great Recession of 2007 made for a triple whammy. Like a fission reaction losing critical mass, Rushmore Mall cooled quickly, its downfall hastened by a lack of credit for reinvestment. Mall managers did all they could to stem the overwhelming tide. Financial cracks were publicly apparent by 2012, and mall owners refinanced their debt in 2014. In January 2018, Sears announced the impending closure of its Rapid City store. Toys R Us followed weeks later. The closure of Herbergers was announced in April. The restaurant chain Fuddruckers soon followed. Mall ownership defaulted on $100 million in loans last May, so in July, Wells Fargo Bank asked a judge to foreclose. Carmen Spinoso, a Syracuse, N.Y.-based real estate investor, took over as court-appointed receiver before the month ended. Charlotte Russe and Pay Less Shoe Source soon announced their departures. As Thanksgiving approached, Black Friday seemed more in line with the Black Death, but things inside were changing. Empty spaces vacated by national chains began to fill with local boutiques and service centers, following the path taken earlier by downtown storefronts. April brought the opening of Traders Market, a locally owned and operated weekend market for artisans and entrepreneurs. Dickeys Barbecue Pit replaced Fuddruckers. The South Dakota Museum of the Medal of Honor plans to open Aug. 1 in the space formerly occupied by Charlotte Russe. Other spaces have been claimed by Barb and Naomies Gifts, the Native American youth outreach and cultural center I. AM. Legacy, and Tailored Faith Co. Giddy-Up and Go Boutique of Chadron, Neb., and Attic Addict, a high-end consignment and new merchandise shop, will soon move to Rushmore Mall. Mount Rushmore Motorsports, formerly Power Brokers of the Black Hills, specializing in consignment sales of ATVs, motorcycles, watercraft and snowmobiles, will move to the former Toys R Us. Rushmore Mall is becoming more grassroots and more intimate with the local community. It no longer looks like every other mall in America. If these pioneering entrepreneurs can draw the curiosity of Rapid City shoppers and prove their value, interest and excitement will build. Like the ancient Romans and Egyptians, people still feel a need to head off toward the market during off hours to touch the wares and reconnect. After nearly dying, the 41-year-old Rushmore Mall could build on this and experience a renaissance. You should check it out. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The brainchild of Hot Springs Nate Ritterbush, the Wildcat Classic Mountain Bike Race offers a day of racing through tough, but beautiful terrain in the southern Black Hills. This years race, to be held Aug. 17, will again feature a 40-mile race, 28-mile quickie and a seven-mile kids and beginners race. The races begin and end at Chautauqua Park in Hot Springs and take riders through about 31 miles of singletrack, nine of which features passing lanes, about 6 miles of gravel and about 2.5 miles of paved road in and out of Hot Springs, according to the race website. Ritterbush has been a long-time mountain biker in the area. The sale of about 4,000 acres of land to the State expanded Ritterbushs available biking area and opened the possibility for him obtaining a permit to hold the kind of mountain bike race the Wildcat Classic would eventually become. Ritterbush wanted to bring the perks of the area he regularly rode to others and brainstormed the race and debated obtaining the permit from the Forest Service for a while. But the suggestion from his wife that it was time to make a decision one way or another pushed Ritterbush to make the event a reality. Now in its fourth year, the Classic continues to grow from the 61 riders who attended the first ever race to the 108 who attended last year. Ritterbush says the races have included a strong presence from the five-state area of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and Colorado and have also had riders from Wisconsin, Utah and Florida. This years ride will be capped at 150 riders per the conditions of his permit. Ritterbush says the course is hard to describe, though he says its a fast course. He suspects the top riders average around 13 mph. The course has a total elevation gain of 5,300 feet and takes riders though canyon bottoms and rims, meadows, ridge tops, dowhills, and gradual climbs, according to a statement on the races website. Ritterbush calls it a very fun, ride-able and sustainable course with beautiful scenery and access to isolated places not accessible by motor vehicles. The course hugs the west side of Wind Cave National Park. The kids and beginners seven-mile race is chaperoned and provides children of riders an opportunity to do some biking of their own. Family members of riders can also entertain themselves by visiting attractions in Hot Springs including nearby Evans Plunge. Ritterbush says in the past local businesses have supported the race by offering specials to riders and theyre families. Buy one get one free passes from Evans Plunge, free bowling and free kids tours at Hot Springs Mammoth Site are examples of offers given in the past, though Ritterbush says its not yet known what might be offered this year. Ritterbush celebrates the atmosphere at the park during and after the race. Those interested in riding in the Classic can register online via www.bikereg.com/wildcatclassic. Cost to register varies from $15 for the kids and beginner ride, $60 for the 28 mile quick ride, and $65 for the 40 mile Classic. Past races have included an official race t-shirt and post-race meal, among other things, with registration. Music and festivities typically follow the race. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Missoulian is tracking Miss Montana to Normandy, the Museum of Mountain Flyings DC-3 that left Missoula on Sunday, May 19. The six-person crew across the U.S. was made up of pilots Jeff Whitesell, Eric Komberec, Bryan Douglass, Nico Van Pronay and mechanics/EMTs Randy and Crystal Schonemann. Pilot Art Dykstra joined the crew in Connecticut. Tuesday, May 21 Took a morning flight to New York City with a CBS television crew while stopping for the day at Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Connecticut. Wednesday Bad weather blocked the way to the first scheduled international stop at Goose Bay, Newfoundland. Miss Montana flew 3 hours from Oxford to Presque Isle, Maine, a few miles east of the New Brunswick, Canada, border. Notes Were staying in Presque Isle for the night, planning to make Goose Bay tomorrow in prep for crossing in better wx Friday or Saturday, Douglass said in a text Wednesday afternoon. Also Wednesday, four planes from the D-Day Squadron landed safely in Prestwick, Scotland; one made it to Reykjavik, Iceland; two landed in Kangelussuaq, Greenland, and four others, including a support King Air, made it safely from Goose Bay to Narsarsuaq, Greenland. Miss Montana trails the pack Clipper Tabitha May reached the final destination of Duxford, England, on Sunday. Miss Montana and her crew were greeted at the Presque Isle airport by the president of the Presque Isle Air Museum and a limousine ride to the terminal. On Sunday, 11 other DC-3s in the D-Day Squadron stopped to refuel at Presque Isle, drawing a crowd of 1,000. Presque Isle housed an Air Force base during World War II that was a major departure point for U.S. fighter planes. It became a key missile base during the Cold War. Facebook video post Komberec in Presque Island: This is a really friend community. Very awesome. The whole towns excited to have us out. Took us to lunch. Weve repositioned the airplane out of the wind to help keep Randy warm and happy. Going to pull the engine cowlings off and check for oil leaks, tighten everything down. Tracking Links Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In a slowing brewing debate about the nature of American capitalism, the heiress of Disney is now chiming in--from the sidelines--to address CEO salaries and employee benefits at a time when income equality is starting to meet with serious blowback. The latest attack on Americas biggest companies and CEOs who get outsized salaries comes from Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Roy Disney, the co-founder of the Walt Disney Company. Speaking before Congress, the Disney heiress--an American philanthropist and filmmaker--suggested everyone jump on the learning curve here and better understand capitalism and how we practice it. Disney brought up the huge pay gap between CEOs and workers, calling for a rethink of the system. Of course, the $65 million paid in 2018 to Disney's CEO Bob Iger compared to what an average worker makes comes to mind. The minimum wage that Disney pays in Florida, where the company operates multiple parks and dozens of hotels, is $11 an hour, which is below living wage standards for Florida residents. According to a recent Equilar study, Iger's pay was 1,424 times that of the median Disney employee. I like Bob Iger, Disney told a panel held by business magazine Fast Company in April. Let me be very clear: I think hes a good man. But I think hes allowing himself to go down a road that is the road everyone is going down. When he got his bonus last year, I did the math, and I figured out that he could have given personally, out of pocket, a 15% raise to everyone who worked at Disneyland, and still walked away with $10 million. Iger is being rewarded for a number of things. When he became CEO in 2005, the companys stock was trading at $24. Today its over $130 a share. Market cap has increased $47 billion in the past six weeks alone. More than 70,000 jobs have been added to the company since Iger become CEO and the end of the fiscal year 2018. But does he really deserve a $65-million salary? Related: Ireland Declares Climate Emergency In her testimony, Disney noted: I do not speak for my family but only for myself. I have no role at the company, nor do I want one. I hold no personal animus toward Bob Iger nor to anyone else at the Walt Disney Company. I have repeatedly insisted, in fact, that he and the rest of management at Disney are brilliant and that performance-based compensation for them is totally appropriate. The questions I am raising are simply Is there such a thing as too much? Does what a CEO gets paid have any relationship to how much his janitors and wait staff and hotel workers are paid? And, Do the people who spend a lifetime at the lowest end of the wage spectrum deserve what they get, or does every person who works full-time deserve a living wage? Disney criticized corporate executives for what she called their "addiction" to money and the "extreme unfairness" of paying their workers less than a living wage. We have begun to cannibalize the very people that make this economy thrive. After all, no middle class, no Disney, Disney told the House Financial Services Committee. She also proposed a few changes to make life easier for Disney workers: renovating empty housing near Disney parks for employees to reduce travel time and cost restoring stock options for all employees Giving leftover food to employees (currently, its simply tossed) Free passes for employees and their families (an old tradition that no longer exists). But beyond employees, her proposal also includes changes to executive benefits, including cutting bonuses in half and used the savings to help employees pay for things such as medicine, childcare, and emergencies. Earlier this month, the company laid off several dozen workers at its film studios in cuts across Walt Disney studios and the 20th Century Fox film unit, which was absorbed by Disney two months ago in a $71.3-billion deal. About two dozen executives, mostly high-level, received termination notices with handsome severance packages, according to the Los Angeles Times. The layoffs are expected to continue throughout the year, with another 4,000 employees expected to lose their jobs. By Fred Dunkley for Safehaaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: As Lompoc continues to deal with a budget crisis that could soon have the city operating at a deficit, a group of residents is planning a demonstration that it hopes will catch the attention of policymakers. A nonpartisan Give Us the Vote rally has been planned for 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, in front of Lompoc City Hall. The rally, which will take place ahead of that nights regular 6:30 p.m. meeting of the Lompoc City Council, is aimed at encouraging City Council members to place a 1% sales tax increase on a future ballot, a move that has been recommended by city staff as a way to generate revenue and help balance the city's budget. In a mass email sent Thursday night, Lompoc resident Lorraine Waldau encouraged community members to join the demonstration. 'Substantial cuts': Lompoc leaders address budget deficit; services, salaries face chops The city of Lompocs budget discussions kicked off in earnest Wednesday night as city department heads detailed the ways in which cuts could negatively impact the community, and at least one City Council member called for slashing the salaries of city administrators. Wednesdays workshop was the City Councils first full meeting dedicated solely to the citys 2019-21 biennial budget, which is facing a deficit projected at nearly $4 million. Community members filled the council chambers for the four-hour meeting, which ended in an impasse with council members giving direction for staff to compile further data to present at a future budget meeting. The health of Lompoc affects us all, she wrote in the message. Can we afford to cut fire, police and other services? For those who dont live in town and dont vote in City Council elections, remember that your property values and services also depend on a healthy robust Lompoc. Share widely and come out to support the 1% tax increase. A potential sales tax increase has divided some segments of the Lompoc community as far back as 2017. During budget discussions two years ago, then-City Manager Patrick Wiemiller first proposed a half-cent sales tax increase, along with two other tax hikes, as a way to bring in additional revenue as the city faced looming deficits brought on in large part by the city's unfunded liability to CalPERS, the states pension system. That 2017 proposal by Wiemiller was ultimately shot down by Councilmen Jim Mosby, Dirk Starbuck and Victor Vega. 'Reality check': Lompoc mayor delivers sobering State of City address Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne delivered a sobering State of the City presentation Thursday afternoon that emphasized several of the challenges particularly those related to projected budget shortfalls that the city is already dealing with or will be navigating in the near future. Before concluding, however, she assured her audience of mostly business and civic leaders that the tone wasnt meant to be somber. Current City Manager Jim Throop reintroduced the idea of a 1% sales tax increase on March 19 as part of this years discussions of the 2019-21 biennial budget. Mosby, Starbuck and Vega have continued to raise concerns about introducing new taxes, however, and they used their majority at that March 19 meting to direct city staff to develop a draft budget that does not take into account any potential new taxes and that instead considered cuts. During an ensuing budget workshop on April 17, city department heads presented a budget with across-the-board cuts and suggested that several services would be greatly reduced or eliminated entirely with no additional revenue. Speakers at recent City Council meetings have advocated for putting the tax measure before voters, while some have commended the council majority for looking at other ways to balance the budget aside from taxing community members. If the 1% sales tax were to pass, city staff has projected it would generate about $4.9 million per year. City administrators have said that the tax would not be applied to groceries, prescription medications, rents or mortgages. Among those on the dais, Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne has been the most vocally supportive of placing the tax measure on the ballot. She used much of her State of the City address on April 4 to advocate for the move, suggesting that it could aid in solving the city's budget crisis, which she referred to as the "elephant in the room." The elephant isnt going to move on its own; frustration and anger wont eliminate it, she said during that presentation. Being proactive can reduce its impact on our quality of life. Hollywood, Elon Musk mentioned as potential solutions for Lompoc budget woes Lompoc leaders presented a gloomy outlook regarding the citys finances during an informal budget workshop Saturday morning that also featured No budget item was included on the agenda for Tuesday nights City Council session, so it is unclear how much, if at all, the issue will be discussed during the open meeting. While people who attend the pre-meeting rally are encouraged to bring signs, organizers are asking that no sticks be used to hold up those signs. The Lompoc Valley Democratic Club has provided its offices for meeting and sign-making spaces, but the organization is not sponsoring the rally. Waldau concluded her email by encouraging would-be attendees to remain respectful. Please keep this a positive rally keep the message to what we want to happen to help balance the budget, she wrote. On Saturday, May 25, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will unveil two summer exhibits: Butterflies Alive! and Prehistoric Forest. This will mark the Museums first full run of Butterflies Alive! following a $20 million renovation supported by its Centennial Campaign. US lawmakers urged Trump to help Pakistan WASHINGTON: US lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to help Pakistan overcome the current economic crisis while asking Islamabad to focus its attention on creating more opportunities for its people. At the annual bipartisan Iftar of the Pakistani American Political Action Committee (PAKPAC) on Tuesday evening, the lawmakers also advised the Trump administration not to go to war with Iran as it would destabilise the entire region. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, the founder chairperson of the Pakistan caucus in the US Congress, while highlighting the need to revive the once close relationship between the United States and Pakistan, emphasised the need to help Pakistan overcome the current economic crisis. We should do whatever we can to ensure that theres an improvement in the lives of Pakistani people, she said. The Pakistani government, she said, should also focus on providing education and development opportunities to its people. Underlining Pakistans role in the war against terror, Congresswoman Jackson Lee, a Democrat, noted the sacrifices the Pakistani people, particularly its armed forces, had made in this war. To me it (Americas relationship with Pakistan) matters because of the important contributions you (the Pakistani American community) make here, said Congressman Jim Banks, the Republican co-chair of the Pakistan caucus. And also because the two countries have had a broad and deep relationship that has promoted peace and stability in the world, he added. I want to make it better and stronger because it has helped both. Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, urged the Pakistani American community to actively participate in American politics. She said she was elected to Congress with 50 votes and this could not have happened without support from the Pakistani Americans in my constituency. Congressman Jack Bergman, a former general, advised the Trump administration to avoid muscle flexing and peacefully resolve its differences with Iran. Rashida Tlaib, a Muslim Congresswomen, said that Muslims have been unjustly targeted to ignite fear and promote an agenda of hate. By a Sharp Knife, a drama by up-and-coming Slovakian director Teodor Kuhn, is described by the creators as a generational film. Mainly, it's because real-life events that inspired the film impacted a whole generation, the one where the director and the producer of By a Sharp Knife belong. At the same time, the film serves as a grim memento immortalizing the incident that left one family to suffer the consequences of a wider social issue purposely ignored by authorities. In 2005, a group of 15 people attacked a group of eight people by the Danube River in the capital of Slovakia. Six people were injured, one gravely. Daniel Tupy, the 21-year old student, succumbed to eight stabbing wounds. A senseless and unmotivated act of violence that seems to suggest that Daniel and his friends were simply at a wrong place at a wrong time slowly unearthed the deeply flawed system. The attack by a group of neo-Nazis with strings attached to the mafia and mid-level politics proved to be a ghastly wake-up call, and a giant hurdle to properly investigating the homicide. So far, it has not yet been finalized, the perpetrators not judged, justice not served, and Daniel's parents left devastated. If unacceptable events, such as Daniel's mindless murder, are a country's weatherglass, the filmmakers did not finalize their film under a different social climate. The country, and more precisely the society, received yet another ghastly wake-up call in 2018. Journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova were killed in their home, news that shocked the world. The act has been allegedly motivated by the young journalist's work uncovering large-scale shady and illicit dealings, with ties leading to the upper-rungs of politics, and in one particular case even to the Italian mafia, 'Ndrangheta (his last unfinished article revolved around 'Ndrangheta matters in Slovakia that went under the radar of local authorities). Under such conditions, By a Sharp Knife is not solely a story of one innocent victim and his family to be remembered, the film serves as a statement of social activism encapsulating not just a random act of violence but a metastasizing symptom. However, instead of an investigative docu-drama or a provocative expose, the filmmakers decided to adopt a point of view of a shocked and grief-stricken father searching for justice in a corrupted system amid a personal tragedy. Not solely for dramaturgical reasons, but also out of respect to the family, the filmmakers applied a creative license, such as changing the names while still preserving the general outlines of the case. The protagonist loses the only son. Soon after the incident, the police apprehend the alleged perpetrators, a group of neo-Nazis. To the family's utmost surprise, they soon walk free. As the father descends deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of the dysfunctional justice system, indifference of authorities and eventually discovery of different powers in motion, the weight of revelations and his impotence to act against them start to take a toll on his marriage and his relation with his now only child, his young daughter. In the beginning, By a Sharp Knife addresses a generational schism between the father and his son, the conflict of the father's expectations about what his son's future will be and the son's different plans. The misunderstanding of his son translates further into the narrative arch of the father's self-flagellation. His unconditional dedication to getting justice served and exonerate his son's name from shameful accusations remains fuelled by his deep sense of consuming self-blame. By adopting the father's lens, the filmmakers tell a story of an ordinary unprivileged citizen while reenacting his tribulations against the injustice on a self-destructive quixotic mission. Despite thorny issues, By a Sharp Knife sees an ordinary man lost in overwhelming machinery beyond his comprehension. In one of the scenes which were based on the real experience of Daniel Tupy's father, the protagonist fails to get a lawyer who would be willing to take his case. In one of many moments of desperation, he asks how is it possible that nobody wants to defend the innocent victim while the perpetrators have a squad of high-ranking advocates on their side. By a Sharp Knife blends intimate and legal (courtroom) drama, hitting obvious political notes, in a poetics borrowing heavily from Eastern European social realism dramas as a sort of territorial and aesthetics stamp of local arthouse production and conventions. The rising, talented cinematographer Denisa Buranova of the Crystal Bear-winning Little Harbor (read the review) lenses with regard to the social realism tendencies, however, her interior shots stand out, especially those set in institutions. The outdated brutalist labyrinthine corridors imply the struggle against an impersonal entity, the state's machinery of justice, in which the father gets lost, yet proceeds to charge onwards with a masochistic verve. Teodor Kuhn's film By a Sharp Knife diverges from previous local political thrillers (domestic box-office hits), as they dabbled more on the genre side of filmmaking, notwithstanding the cases adapting infamous real-life incidents from political circles, such as the Kuhn's case. Besides the family tragedy and courtroom drama, By a Sharp Knife wields one more layer - social activism. The film is not solely a reminder of the tragedy but a testament to the larger stain that the pointless homicide left on a generation. Over the past week, I slurped up Catch 22 on Hulu, which is more contemplative and rueful than Mike Nichols' wildly uneven big-screen adaptation, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge's caustically funny Fleabag on Amazon Prime, which is six episodes of brilliance. What did you watch? I also watched multiple episodes of three anime series on Netflix: Baki, which is good if you love action; Ingress The Animation, a decent stab at adapting a mobile game, which was far more interested in mysteries and puzzles than in people. (Still, I was sufficiently intrigued to watch all 11 episodes). My favorite, however, was something that's possibly more designed for older children and adults. Revisions Now streaming on Netflix. Debuting last week (May 14), the brighter color palette suggests a more elementary tale, appealing to younger audiences, and, indeed, the first episode is mainly spent introducing five high-school students (three boys, two girls) who grew up together and now have a sibling-like relationship, bickering and fighting and smoothing things over. One of them, named Daisuke, has maintained his distance from his mates because he is convinced that he is The One Who Will Save Them All. The inciting incident is explained succinctly, and it all comes true soon enough when the neighborhood where they all live -- the Shibuya ward in Tokyo, Japan -- is struck by disaster. Composed of elements that are personal faves, including time travel and monstrous robot-creatures who are not what they appear to be, the series won me over because of the empathetic way it develops the characters. The teens themselves are reasonably authentic teens under stress (i.e., sometimes annoying, sometimes lovable). Beyond the team, however, time is taken to feature other characters as well, and to reveal their motivations and reactions. This is not a deep, necessarily, but I really enjoyed the combination of visceral actions and melodramatic reactions, which made it easy to become absorbed in the story. Summing up: Twelve episodes in all; well-structured and easy to enjoy. The Defected Now streaming on Netflix. Fresh off its premiere run on TVB, where it ran for 30 episodes from Monday through Friday, April 1-May 10, Hong Kong drama looks and feels quite solid. Primarily, it appears to focus on cops in one bureau in conflicts with the narcotics bureau as they both pursue the same criminal gang, all while their superiors are fighting with each other, and one is seeking revenge for the death of her police officer son. Whew! I've only watched three episodes so far, but there is definitely plenty of melodrama to go around, along with a fair bit of action -- vehicular mayhem, pedestrian chases through bewildered-looking crowds -- and a whole lot of location shooting, which is very pleasing to a fan of Hong Kong, such as myself. That being said, this is the first Hong Kong television series I've ever seen, I think, and so it may be old hat to many readers, and surely the location shooting may not seem special to local residents. For me, however, even with closed captioning (rather than English subtitles, which are not currently available), the series scratches my Hong Kong crime itch, and seems to do a pretty fair job of it. Summing up: I'll keep watching; 27 episodes to go! The Man Who Feels No Pain (Mard ko Dard Nahin Hota Now streaming on Netflix. This Hindi-language action-comedy is next up on my "to watch" list, based on Screen Anarchy's review by J Hurtado, who saw it in connection with the Toronto International Film Festival last year: "The action and comedy all land in a big, goofy cavalcade of crowd pleasing moments that add up to one of the most fun experiences I've had with a film this year. " Summing up: Yes! I will watch this for myself, as soon as I post this article. If you have a problem with a stock brokerage firm, either as an investor or a financial professional, call Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC Let's find out if our attorneys, who are former SEC Enforcement attorneys and broker-dealer counsel, can help you. In the last 10 days, the collectives of Anonymous and LulzSec continued their operations carrying out several cyber attacks. The main objectives of the attacks carried out by Anonymous and LulzSec ITA were the Italian doctors and the Law enforcement agencies Forces, in particular, the Police and the Carabinieri. They protest against the abuses the Public Health, they want to raise the attention on the scandal of the mysterious deaths in the hospitals accused to have been covered by the authorities. The Anonymous expresses resentment for the arrests of alleged members of the collective. The group calls the agents and the military to stand against the corrupt policies. I decided, once again, to interview a representative of the collective of Anonymous and LulzSec: In recent weeks, you have published the data of the doctors working with public Healthcare. You are blaming them for a rotten system. Do you think it is correct? I know very well the dynamics of the public Health and I believe that Hippocrates is also a victim of the politics. Everyday many doctors work in frontier hospitals where their work is very hard and exposes them to serious risks. Dear Livio we are not the ones who make all the grass a bundle, we hate fascists: p. As we have said before, we do not want to hit ordinary people, but our operations aim at calling them to fight against Hippocratic cases. They should all follow our example, and that should do anything that could reveal disgusting abuses that politics do, as you say said before. In these days you carried out several attacks against the Italian law enforcement agencies. Let me tell you that in this case, you made a political choice. I understand that you are angry, but you have ignored that these servants of the State respond to government orders and everyday risk their lives for a few pennies. Did you have generalized too much in this case too? Are you questioning again a political choice? We also wrote it in our post, we know that we know how much a cop gets, and for this reason, he should be on this side of the barricades, but no! They continue to protect a murderer who is challenged at his rallies, and they beat students, elders, and women. Is the title of our post unclear? Speaking of politics, what is the connection between you and the Pirate Party? What is the Pirate Party? Although you call yourself independent, from an ideological point of view you closer to the anarchist left, you share the same vision. What do you expect from European elections? We hope that a policy of acceptance and humanity towards others will win. We are all children of the same land, with no boundaries of any kind. We act on the internet, which notoriously has never had borders. It is true that the giants of the WEB are not your problem, but in Italy, we live in a very ambiguous situation, as always. One of the main parties, M5S, is opening to China with ZTE that inaugurated the first Cybersecurity center in Italy. Do you think national computer security should be shared with other nations? How do you judge current government policy on this strategic aspect? As you said in the question Livio, (in Italy we live in a very ambiguous situation, as always, after all). What have we not sold? Should we wait for the ZTE ??? But LOOOOOL China already bought half Italy in the past, how many products and brands are no longer Italian!?! See the industrial huns of major cities like Florence, Milan, and here we could make a longer list of 5 starts LOL. But these are things that the Chinese mafia has agreed with the Italian ones, we must be careful. Have you ever thought of hanging a mouse and keyboard to serve the country in the light of the skills that you have? Yes, each of us has thought about it at least a thousand times, especially for what we are risking. See, we protest and what they do?? They want to arrest us, lock us up in a cell believing that this will be the end of a nightmare. Our motto has always been: you cant stop an idea !! And moreover, as the saying goes, it is better to die as a child with the hair on your ass than to die from big soldiers with burned ass hair, but here we are not talking about war, we are talking about burns caused by rubbing. We hope you understood the joke. About the Author: Livio Varriale If you appreciate my effort in spreading cybersecurity awareness, please vote for Security Affairs in the section Your Vote for the Best EU Security Tweeter Thank you Pierluigi Paganini ( SecurityAffairs Lulz S ec, anonymous) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On UK Government has provided to 16 NATO allies evidence of malicious Russia s cyber activity in their countries over the last 18 months. According to the foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, the UK Government has provided to 16 NATO allies evidence of cyber attacks carried out by Russia against their countries over the last 18 months. Hunt explained that Russias intelligence apparatus is carrying out a global campaign targeting critical infrastructure. The foreign minister will formally accuse Russia of these cyber campaigns during a speech at the NATO Cyber Defence Pledge Conference in London, in presence of NATOs head Jens Stoltenberg. This global campaign also seeks to compromise central government networks, reads an excerpt from the speech released by the Hunts department. I can disclose that in the last 18 months, the National Cyber Security Centre has shared information and assessments with 16 NATO Allies - and even more nations outside the Alliance of Russian cyber activity in their countries. According to the UK, the misinformation campaigns backed by Russia aimed at influencing elections in the United States and Ukraine. The campaigns breach international law and justify a proportionate response. Together, we possess options for responding to any attacks. We should be prepared to use them. The tension between Russia and the UK has deteriorated due to the activity of Russian intelligence in the country, one of the most clamorous debated operations is the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal on British soil. If you appreciate my effort in spreading cybersecurity awareness, please vote for Security Affairs in the section Your Vote for the Best EU Security Tweeter Thank you Pierluigi Paganini ( SecurityAffairs Russia, hacking) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Montgomery wards: noticing the lack of originalism analysis of sentencing finality | Main | Lots of media previews of today's two big SCOTUS sentencing cases The title of this post is the title of this intriguing new idea/report coming today from the Brennan Center for Justice. Here is the report's introduction: Leaders across the political spectrum agree: The United States must end mass incarceration. But how? What bold solutions will achieve this change? Our prison crisis has many causes. One major contributor: a web of perverse financial incentives across the country that spurred more arrests, prosecutions, and prison sentences. A prime example is the 1994 Crime Bill, which authorized $12.5 billion ($19 billion in todays dollars) to states to increase incarceration. And 20 states did just that, yielding a dramatic rise in prison populations. To reverse course, the federal government can apply a similar approach. It can be termed a Reverse Crime Bill, or the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act. It would provide funds to states to reduce imprisonment and crime together. The United States has 5 percent of the worlds population, yet has 25 percent of the worlds prisoners. If the prison population were a state, it would be the 36th largest bigger than Delaware, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. Worse, our penal policies do not work. Mass incarceration is not only unnecessary to keep down crime but is also ineffective at it. Increasing incarceration offers rapidly diminishing returns.The criminal justice system costs taxpayers $260 billion a year. Best estimates suggest that incarceration contributes to as much as 20 percent of the American poverty rate. During the crime wave of the 1970s and 1980s, lawmakers enacted stringent laws to instill law and order in devastated communities. But many of these laws went too far. The federal government played an outsize role by financially subsidizing states to incarcerate more people. Today, the federal government sends $3.8 billion to states and localities each year for criminal justice.These dollars are largely focused on increasing the size of our justice system. But times have changed. We now know that mass incarceration is not necessary to keep us safe. We now know that we can reduce both crime and incarceration. States like Texas, New York, Mississippi, and California have changed their laws to do just that. For the first time in 40 years, both crime and incarceration have fallen together, since 2008. How can this momentum be harnessed into action? Just as Washington encouraged states to incarcerate, it can now encourage them to reduce incarceration while keeping down crime. It can encourage state reform efforts to roll back prison populations. As the country debates who will be the next president, any serious candidate must have a strong plan to reform the justice system. The next president should urge Congress to pass the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act. It would encourage a 20 percent reduction in imprisonment nationwide. Such an Act would have four components: A new federal grant program of $20 billion over 10 years in incentive funds to states. A requirement that states that reduce their prison population by 7 percent over a three-year period without an increase in crime will receive funds. A clear methodology based on population size and other factors to determine how much money states receive. A requirement that states invest these funds in evidence-based programs proven to reduce crime and incarceration. Such an Act would have more reach than any of the other federal proposals. It could be implemented through budgeting procedures. It could be implemented as a stand-alone Act. Or, it could be introduced as an amendment to a pending bill. Two very different (but perhaps similar) tales of prison sentencing from outpost Virginia in incarceration nation | Main | Murderers admit they went on prison murder spree in order to get death sentences June 29, 2017 Pair of Senators introduce the "Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017" As reported in this article from The Hill, "Senate Democrats unveiled a proposal Wednesday to push back against Attorney General Jeff Sessions's 'tough on crime' policies." Here are the details: Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) introduced the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017 to incentivize states through grant funding to decrease their prison populations. It's intended to counter the 1994 Crime Bill, otherwise known as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. That law authorized $12.5 billion in grants to fund or offset the costs of incarceration, nearly 50 percent of which was earmarked for states that adopted tough truth-in-sentencing laws, which required offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.... The Booker-Blumenthal bill provides $20 billion in grant funding to be divvied up every three years among eligible states. States would only be considered eligible to apply if the total number of people in correctional or detention facilities in the state decreased by 7 percent or more in that three-year period. States must also keep crime rates from increasing by more than 3 percent. The proposal is estimated to reduce the national prison population by 20 percent over 10 years. State sentencing policies are the major drivers of skyrocketing incarceration rates, which is why weve introduced legislation to encourage change at the state level, Booker said in a statement. We need to change federal incentives so that we reward states that are addressing this crisis and improving community safety, instead of funneling more federal dollars into a broken system. The idea is based on a 2015 proposal from the Brennan Center for Justice. The federal government has a long history of dangling money in front of state and local leaders to spur policy changes, program Director Inimai Chettiar said in a statement. We saw it with the 1994 Crime Bill, which helped put more people behind bars. This bold bill shifts the current flow of funding in the opposite direction. It is one of the single biggest steps we can take to reduce imprisonment. The full text of the Reverse Incarceration Act runs only about two pages and is available at this link. I would be very surprised if this bill gets any traction in Congress, but even its formal introduction seemed notable. June 29, 2017 at 12:02 AM | Permalink Comments Booker may argue, we are picking on black people. I would reply, he is devaluing the black crime victim. I would point out, Booker is the former Mayor of Newark, NJ, a high crime area. If you want the murder rate of Honduras, follow this fool. Mexico and Honduras are low carceration jurisdictions. He is not one to lead on the question of public safety. Then, Cory Booker, Yale Law 1997. Dismissed. Asshole. This conflict or debate is moot. There will be 20% fewer criminals anyway from other developments. The sides should move on. Posted by: David Behar | Jun 29, 2017 8:44:48 AM "Mass Incarceration". Go to a Catholic church on Sunday and view the inmates. They call it "Mass". They cannot just get up and leave. They are obligated to come to the lock down ward and sit still or knee down. There is nothing worse. At least in prison you can talk and smile and be happy about nothing. At Catholic Mass you are a total inmate. Posted by: Liberty1st | Jun 29, 2017 11:53:36 PM Post a comment Should and will SCOTUS take up constitutional challenge to Minnesota's sex offender confinement program? | Main | "Why are we sentencing children to life in prison without parole?" The Hill has this new commentary authored by former Representative Donna Edwards under the headline "What ever happened to mass incarceration reform?". The piece makes a pitch for the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act, and here are excerpts: Though it feels like eons ago, the summer of 2016 promised to be one of bipartisan efforts to tackle the issue of mass incarceration. Unfortunately, the summer for criminal justice reform dissolved without fanfare into the craziness of the 2016 election. And, with the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who ushered in a 1980s throw-back Department of Justice directive on low-level drug offenses, it remains unclear whether there might be a return to a bipartisan approach to criminal justice reform in the 115th Congress. Nonetheless, a promising alternative strategy to reverse mass incarceration seems to have emerged. In the lead once again is Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, joined by former prosecutor, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, both Democrats. In the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017 (RMIA), the senators apply the lessons learned from the failed approaches of the 1990s to lower crime and lower incarceration. The bill was modeled off of a Brennan Center proposal of the same name. When the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (1994 Crime Bill) passed, a prescient few predicted the extreme escalation of incarceration in the nations prisons, a trend that likely began in the two decades before the 1994 law. According to a recent Brennan Center analysis, even as crime declined by 10 percent from 1991-1994, prison populations exploded pre-1994 by 400 percent and doubled in the decade following the laws passage. With todays well-documented growth in state and federal prison population, most people, including President Bill Clinton, accept that the 1994 incentives he championed were a mistake, rewarding states to build and fill more prisons.... A disproportionate number of people of color fill federal and state prisons. According to The Sentencing Project, more women than ever are behind bars and 60 percent of them have children at home. In the last three decades incarceration rates for women have outpaced men by 50 percent, a 700 percent rate of growth since 1980. And, while incarceration rates for African-American women have declined since 2000, twice as many African-American women as white women are incarcerated. Incarceration rates for white and Hispanic women have continued to increase over the same period, by 56 percent and 7 percent, respectively. In recognizing the creativity and diversity of states, as well as the overwhelming number of persons incarcerated under their jurisdiction, the RMIA provides incentivizes to states to reduce their incarceration rates. Rather than mandate states to reduce incarceration, the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017 would instead enable states that achieve a 7 percent reduction in incarceration rates over 3 years without a significant increase in crime to access a $20 billion grant program. Unlike the so-called tough on crime approaches of the 1990s, RMIA would support evidence-based programs that reduce incarceration and crime. Perhaps one of the chief benefits of this approach is behavior changes that occur throughout the system, from the prosecutors and sentencing judges, to the social service providers, to policy makers. These positive incentives can have nationwide impact to reduce incarcerated populations, providing the moral, social and fiscal incentives to help states reverse incarceration. States are encouraged to be creative and to find solutions that best fit their state. Eligible states might support ideas like drug treatment, education, job training, diversion or re-entry programs. Some states are engaging in these strategies already, and they and others should be encouraged to do more. The good news is that within the last decade, 27 states have decreased both crime and imprisonment, so there is a path forward.... While Congress may be deeply engaged in the Russia election-meddling investigation, this may be just the time to revive criminal justice reform. The Reverse Mass Incarceration Act of 2017 is a simple and straightforward approach to federal lawmaking, incentivizing good behavior helping states to do the right thing to curb incarceration and keep communities safe. Its an approach thats ripe for bipartisanship. "The Second Step Act should give white-collar criminals a chance after release" | Main | "Equal justice depends on properly funding public defenders" May 23, 2019 Making the case, now a quarter century after the 1994 Crime Bill, for the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act Lauren-Brooke Eisen and Inimai Chettiar, who helped draft of the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act back in 2015 (first discussed here), have this new New York Daily News commentary making the case for this approach to prison reform under the headline "Joe Biden, Cory Booker, the 1994 Crime Bill and the future: How to unwind American mass incarceration." I recommend the full piece, and here are excerpts: As the 2020 field of candidates gets more crowded, Democrats have started weaponizing one of the most influential pieces of criminal justice legislation in the last 50 years the 1994 Crime Bill. Joe Biden, a key author of the bill when he served in the Senate, has doubled down, while his primary opponents correctly point to how it helped contribute to mass incarceration. The debate is important, but an exclusive focus on the past underplays a crucial question: Moving forward, how will the country end mass incarceration that decades of federal funding helped create? And what are presidential candidates plans to reverse failed policies? The size of the U.S. prison system is unparalleled. If each state were its own country, 23 states would have the highest incarceration rates in the world. People of color are vastly overrepresented. African Americans make up 13% of the countrys population but almost 40% of the nations prisoners. In response, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), have just reintroduced the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act. The bill, which they first introduced last Congress, provides financial incentives to states (which house 88% of Americas prison population) to reduce imprisonment rates. It starts to unwind the web of perverse incentives set in motion by the Crime Bill and other laws. To receive federal funding awards under the Act, states must reduce the imprisonment rate by 7% every three years and keep crime at current record lows. States can choose their own path to achieve those goals, since the legislation sets targets instead of dictating policy.... The federal government has a long history of using federal funds to shape the criminal justice landscape. For example, a bill passed in 1968 amid concerns over rising crime rates set up grant programs that allocated money to states to be used for any purpose associated with reducing crime. Over two years, it authorized $400 million (roughly $2.7 billion in todays dollars) in grants. Two decades later, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 played a central role in government policy in the War on Drugs by reinstating mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession, establishing $230 million (nearly $500 million today) in grants to fund drug enforcement while not permitting funding of drug prevention programs. The 1994 Crime Bill extended that trend. It promised $8 billion ($13 billion in todays dollars) to states if they adopted truth-in-sentencing laws, which required incarcerated individuals to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. A study by the Urban Institute found that between 1995 and 1999, nine states adopted truth-in-sentencing laws for the first time, and 15 states reported the Crime Bill was a key or partial factor in changing their truth-in-sentencing laws. By 1999, a total of 42 states had such laws on the books.... Over the past decade, states have taken steps to move away from harsh sentencing laws. And Congress has made reforms to sentencing at the federal level, including the FIRST STEP Act, passed last year. Certainly, one piece of federal legislation alone will not end mass incarceration, just as the 1994 Crime Bill was not solely responsible for causing it. Innovative changes at the local level must continue.... But the Reverse Mass Incarceration Act is one of the strongest steps the federal government can take to end mass incarceration. By providing financial incentives to help power important changes at the local level, its a national bill that would help set a tone across the country. It will encourage states to orient criminal justice strategies across the country toward more just and fair outcomes. A few prior related posts: May 23, 2019 at 09:42 AM | Permalink Comments As usual, articles like this get it exactly backwards. If you stop mass criminality, incarceration takes care of itself. Posted by: TarlsQtr | May 23, 2019 1:24:18 PM FTA: African Americans make up 13% of the countrys population but almost 40% of the nations prisoners. The author should be embarrassed to write the above sentence with no discussion of black crime rates (most committed against fellow blacks). Posted by: TarlsQtr | May 23, 2019 1:45:33 PM Tarls, if you look at state-by-state violent crime rates and incarceration rates, you see that government policies clearly contribute to incarceration realities. For example, Kentucky and Virginia are in the bottom 10% among US States in violent crime rate, but both are in the top 25% in incarceration rates. Conversely, states like Alaska and Maryland have (way) above average crimes rate and below average incarceration rates. Meanwhile, in most other states relatively crime rates and relative incarceration rates are mostly in step, but in all states the current incarceration is way above historical and world norms. Indeed, if we look at some international comparisons, this story becomes even more obviously about government policies. The incarceration rate in states like Louisiana and Oklahoma is 8 to 10 times higher than the rates in countries like Mexico, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Senegal and Greece (and I could go on and on). I have a hard time thinking that Okies are 8 to 10 times more criminal than the citizens in all these and so many other countries. And if you think this is mostly a story of black criminality, how do we explain how Montana (with the nation's lowest black population) has an incarceration rate that is nearly 7 times higher than Canada's? In short, the story is complicated. And, as you know, folks on the left argue that much higher government investments in schooling and other social services are better ways to address "mass criminality" than using prisons, which are costly and often counterproductive if measured by recidivism rates. This Reverse Mass Incarceration proposals aspires to incentivize states to look for ways to reduce crime with heavy reliance on prisons: "To receive federal funding awards under the Act, states must reduce the imprisonment rate by 7% every three years and keep crime at current record lows. States can choose their own path to achieve those goals, since the legislation sets targets instead of dictating policy." That all said, I always appreciate your engagement and perspective. Posted by: Doug B | May 24, 2019 10:25:40 AM Of course government policies can impact incarceration one way or the other. Of course it is a complicated issue. Of course more than keeping criminals in prison will impact crime rates. None of that changes my statement. Comparing black incarceration rates with their demographic without discussing black crime rate is either an oversight that would erode any credibility these two may have or a blatant attempt to deceive. A quick question. One of the authors is a senior fellow at NYU and the other a director at the Brennan Center. If a student of yours wrote a paper on this topic, including the statement about black incarceration compared to their demographic size, would you just let such an oversight go by? Keep in mind that as a layperson it was the first thing I picked up on. Posted by: TarlsQtr | May 24, 2019 1:03:36 PM Trls, I agree that any simplistic comparison of incarceration rates and general population is an incomplete story. In my classes, I make this point with a focus on gender, since roughly 50% of the US population is male but nearly 90% of our prison population is male --- and nobody seriously complains about anti-male bias in our CJ system (though there are some data showing women often do better at sentencing). That said, just about every rigorous study concerning the operation of various facets of our criminal justice system show some measure of racially disparate impact against blacks. Thus, while the population comparison is simplistic, it captures in a (too) simple way the broad concern that various systemic biases in the CJ system contributes to "people of color [being] vastly overrepresented" in our prisons. As you noted in comments to another post, op-eds often include simplistic and incomplete statements. So while I understand your concern about this statement in this op-ed, I generally do not expect op-eds to have the same rigor as an academic paper (even one written by a student). And I am not sure how one can simply, in just a few words or sentences, fully capture the disparity realities that are reflected in hundreds of studies about the operation of the CJ system. Put differently, I do not see this statement as evidence that authors here are trying to deceive, but rather that the authors think the racial percentages in prison is disconcerting and one addition reason we should try to shrink the prison population. Posted by: Doug B | May 24, 2019 3:48:04 PM There is a difference between a layperson writing a persuasion piece and two very highly qualified attorneys doing the same thing. Persuade, but at least bring up the other sides argument even if it is only to refute it. Posted by: TarlsQtr | May 24, 2019 4:51:06 PM Fair point, Tarls, but the main theme of this piece is that we should try to reduce incarceration levels. The side-point about the over-representation of people of color in prison is really just designed to set out another reason to be troubled by the oversized US prison population. Interesting, though, to see how this side-point turned you off, and that itself is a good lesson in the importance of making arguments to persuade effectively. Posted by: Doug B | May 24, 2019 6:55:24 PM Post a comment Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Iran in complete control of waters north of Strait of Hormuz: Revolutionary Guards commander A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Wednesday that Guards and regular Iranian military forces had complete control of Gulf waters north of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. "Everything north of the Strait of Hormuz is under our control," Ali Fadavi was quoted by Fars as saying, referring to the strait at the Gulf's eastern end through which about a fifth of the oil that is consumed globally flows. British protesters inflate snarling orange 'Trump baby' blimp ahead of visit British protesters inflated a blimp depicting Donald Trump as a snarling, nappy-wearing orange baby on Wednesday, a trial run ahead of a planned flight during the U.S. president's state visit to Britain next month. At the invitation of Queen Elizabeth, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are due in Britain on June 3-5 for a state visit - a pomp-laden affair involving a carriage trip through London and a banquet at Buckingham Palace. New Mexico counties revolt against migrant releases Two more New Mexico counties have declared their opposition to taking in migrants in a growing revolt against federal authorities dropping off a surge in Central American families in the state's rural, southern communities. The record influx of asylum seekers has overwhelmed border detention facilities and shelters, forcing U.S. immigration authorities to bus migrants to nearby cities and even fly them to California. Brexit crisis: Minister quits, piling pressure on Britain's May Prominent Brexit supporter Andrea Leadsom resigned from Prime Minister Theresa May's government on Wednesday, piling pressure on the British leader after a new Brexit gambit backfired and fueled calls for her to quit. So far May has resisted, vowing to press on despite opposition from lawmakers and other ministers to her bid to get her Brexit deal through parliament by softening her stance on a second referendum and customs arrangements. Story continues Pentagon mulling U.S. military request to send 5,000 troops to Middle East: officials The U.S. Department of Defense is considering a U.S. military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Tehran and Washington have this month been escalating rhetoric against each other, following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to try to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and beef up the U.S. military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. Exclusive: Guaido says Washington should help Venezuela keep U.S. refiner Citgo The United States should help Venezuela keep control over U.S. refiner Citgo by preventing its seizure by creditors seeking to collect on unpaid Venezuelan debts, opposition leader Juan Guaido said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. Venezuela's opposition is pushing to remove President Nicolas Maduro amid a catastrophic economic collapse that has created a humanitarian crisis. It also wants to protect overseas assets that it says will be crucial for a future economic recovery after Maduro leaves office. Explainer: China's rare earth supplies could be vital bargaining chip in U.S. trade war Rare earth elements are used in a wide range of consumer products, from iPhones to electric car motors, as well as military jet engines, satellites and lasers. Rising tensions between the United States and China have sparked concerns that Beijing could use its dominant position as a supplier of rare earths for leverage in the trade war between the two global economic powers. India prepares to count votes, with Modi looking at second term India begins counting hundreds of millions of votes in its general election on Thursday, with a coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party already preparing to form the next government. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is expected to surpass the 272 seats needed to command a majority in the lower house of parliament, six of seven exit polls showed on Sunday. Turkey stopped purchasing Iranian oil as of May: Turkish official Turkey stopped purchasing Iranian oil as of May as U.S. waivers granted last November to eight buyers expired, and will continue to abide by Washington's demand that it halt all imports of crude oil from the Islamic Republic, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday. "We are not getting any oil from Iran now," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We were one of the eight countries getting an exception from those sanctions, and now we are ready to abide by them," he said. Iran youth will witness demise of Israel, 'American civilization': Khamenei Iran's youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday in comments published on his official website. "You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel," Khamenei said in a meeting with students. (Adds comment from Deloitte) KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian police raided the Kuala Lumpur office of audit firm Deloitte on Thursday as part of a widening probe into a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, two police sources told Reuters. Investigators seized documents and records related to the firm's dealings with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), one of the sources said. In a late email to Reuters, Deloitte confirmed that the police sought the firm's assistance in the provision of records relating to 1MDB. "Deloitte Malaysia is not the subject of the investigation and is cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigation," the firm said. Authorities in at least six countries are investigating alleged graft and money laundering at 1MDB, set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009. Najib, who was ousted in an election last year, is facing dozens of criminal charges over losses at 1MDB and other state entities. He has consistently denied wrongdoing. U.S. prosecutors say about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2014. Deloitte has been under scrutiny for its role in auditing 1MDB's financial statements in 2013 and 2014. In January, Malaysia's securities regulator fined Deloitte 2.2 million ringgit ($524,746) for failing to report irregularities in relation to an Islamic bond issued by a 1MDB-linked company. After the U.S. Justice Department filed civil lawsuits in 2016 over 1MDB, Deloitte said the 1MDB finance statements it had audited should no longer be relied upon. Deloitte was 1MDB's third auditor after the fund fired its earlier auditors, KPMG and Ernst & Young, authorities have said. It resigned as the fund's auditor in early 2016. ($1 = 4.1925 ringgit) (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Liz Lee; Editing by Nick Macfie and Hugh Lawson) (L-R) Vice President Leni Robredo and Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo MANILA, Philippines Malacanang on Thursday (May 23) refused to give its assessment on the credibility of Peter Joemel Advincula alias Bikoy following the retraction of his previous claims. Advincula previously confessed as the man behind a series of narco-videos entitled Ang Totoong Narcolist that linked President Rodrigo Duterte and his family to illegal drugs trade. According to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, Advincula should submit first evidence that would prove his claims and allegations against the personalities he was implicating. The Palace is leaving it up to the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on what charges they will file against Advincula as consequences of his actions and for any violations of the law. We will have to wait for Bikoy or Advincula to substantiate his charges and after that well see if there are charges to be filed in court then the truth will come out, Panelo said. As I said repeatedly, no matter how you close, you cover, truth will always come out, he added. Malacanang, meanwhile, strongly denied the allegation of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV who claimed that alias Bikoys retraction was another ploy by the Duterte administration to pin down the opposition. In the first place the opposition has been harassing this government, this administration. they are the ones sowing intrigues as we repeatedly said, Panelo said. Advincula surrendered to the police and revealed that everything he said in the videos were orchestrated by the Liberal Party (LP) and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. Vice President Leni Robredo in a televised conference following Advinculas surrender said all allegations is unfair to the opposition party. Napakaraming pangalan na nasambit. Ang Liberal Party once again (ay) nahila dito sa controversy. I can speak for the party. Wala kaming kinalaman dito sa Bikoy issue, Robredo said. There were so many names mentioned. The Liberal Party was once again tagged in the controversy. I can speak for the party. We have nothing to do with this Bikoy issue.) Story continues Unfair na isali uli ang LP dito. Kung ito ay harassment, kung ito ay ginagawang paraan para lalong yurakan o tapakan ang Liberal Party o kaming nasa oposisyon, hindi ito magiging dahilan para magpatinag tayo, para huminto tayo sa pagpupuna kung may kailangang punahin, she concluded. (I find it unfair to again tag LP. If this is harassment to pull down the Liberal Party or the opposition, this will not be a reason for us to stop to criticize.) (with reports from Rosalie Coz) Marje Pelayo The post Alias Bikoy should prove allegations to be credible Malacanang appeared first on UNTV News. Kenneth Oh, head of the Malaysia Budget Hotel Associations (MyBHA) Kuala Lumpur chapter, said revenue for budget hotels or hotels with three stars and below have suffered a 15 per cent to 20 per cent decline in revenue. Reuters pic KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 Local budget hotels called for a review of tax policies to help them cope with competition against Airbnb and low profit margins from online hotel booking sites. Kenneth Oh, head of the Malaysia Budget Hotel Associations (MyBHA) Kuala Lumpur chapter, said revenue for budget hotels or hotels with three stars and below have suffered a 15 per cent to 20 per cent decline in revenue, with some of the 500 budget hotels in Kuala Lumpur even suffering losses in the past two years. This has resulted in some operators selling off their properties due to lack of business, he was quoted saying by local daily The Star. MyBHA national president Leong Pui Kun noted that Airbnb listings throughout Malaysia numbering 44,000 now is growing fast, adding that local female Airbnb hosts earned a total of RM159 million last year and predicted the amount to be more for male hosts. This amount goes out from the hotel industry yearly, he said of the amount of money that local Airbnb hosts are making. Leong said budget hotel operators desperate for business have resorted to turning to online travel agencies (OTA) like Booking.com and Agoda - to manage their hotel bookings, believing that they can market their hotel to a larger number of clients. But he said using such OTA eats into the profits of budget hotel operators, as 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the room rates are paid as commission to the online booking sites, while the room rates offered are also kept low to attract customers with competitive prices. As a result, budget hotel operators end up earning lower profit margins, he was quoted saying. Aside from such competition, budget hotels also have to cope with taxes. Leong reportedly highlighted the absence of a level playing field, noting that Airbnb customers do not have to pay the tourism tax and that this has led to tourists favouring Airbnb over hotels. A tourism tax of RM10 per room per night is imposed on foreigners staying in hotels or registered private accommodations. Story continues Leong contrasted the effect of the tourism tax on budget hotels and hotels with four or five stars, noting that RM10 is only a low percentage of the latters overall room rates and that the corporate sector that usually books rooms in these hotels do not mind paying the tourism tax. Leong said MyBHA is now discussing with Tourism Malaysia for a review of the tourism tax, and are also appealing for the government to only impose the Sales and Services Tax on budget hotel operators if their revenue hits RM1.5 million instead of the current threshold of RM500,000. Aside from competition and tax, The Star also noted that there is an oversupply for hotel rooms in Kuala Lumpur and that the number of tourists that entered Malaysia fell from 25.95 million in 2017 to 25.83 million last year. Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) executive director (Socio-Economic Department) Datuk Ibrahim Yusoff reportedly said DBKL is currently collecting data on Airbnb hosts, with a study required on how to license such businesses as it involves all sorts of business models. Without suitable policies in place, the government is losing in taxes, he was quoted saying by The Star when noting that DBKL would be pursuing this issue. The Star said local Airbnb hosts in Kuala Lumpur have to register with DBKL since last year, but said there are currently no laws for the regulation of Airbnb. Related Articles Airbnb, illegal operators causing Penang hotels occupancy to drop, group says Unlicensed hotels, Airbnb operators urged to register with Tourism Ministry Airbnb flourishing in Malaysia with 18,000 listed properties The tenth generation of Hondas answer to the Toyota Camry has already been launched in the neighboring Southeast Asian country of Thailand. Will ours be next? Not that were aching to have the car replaced soonon the contrary, the 2019 Honda Accord is as current as any car can be, and worthy of a few months more in the market. Take a look at what makes the car a good purchase in this 2019 Honda Accord Buyers Guide. Specification The 2019 Accord is available in the lone 2.4 S Navi variant, which comes powered by an inline 4-cylinder, 16-Valve DOHC i-VTEC engine with Earth Dreams Technology. Output is at 173 hp and 226 Nm, and the engine is matched with a five-speed automatic transmission controlled by paddle shifters. Overall dimensions for this five-seater sedan stands at 4,890 mm long, 1,850 mm wide, and 1,465 mm high. The wheelbase is 2,775 mm, and ground clearance 150 mm. Exterior The Honda Accords sharp and sporty look starts off with the signature Solid Wing Face front grille that has been the brands calling card since 2013. The prominent chrome grille is sandwiched by a sleek set of LED headlights consisting of nine individual bulbs lined up in horizontal fashion. The look is mirrored by the foglamps underneath, giving the Accords front facade a truly imposing look. Speaking of LEDs, all the exterior lights are made of them. At the sides, character lines run the cars entire length, magnified by a stylish downward curve at the front. Wheels are 17- x 7.5-inch Alloys. Buyers get to choose from four different color options, including Crystal Black Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic, Modern Steel Metallic, and White Orchid Pearl. Interior Honda describes the Accords cabin as Executive Space, focusing on spaciousness for both front and rear passengers. All black leather trim surrounds the entire cabin, enhanced by faux wood accents at the dash and steering wheel. A seven-inch touchscreen advanced display serves as the cars infotainment system, which is linked to six speakers. As for connectivity options, the 2019 Honda Accord gives you Bluetooth, two USB ports, an HDMI-in, and iPod and iPhone capabilities. An intelligent dual-zone automatic air conditioning system ensures everyone is feeling cozy and comfy. Story continues Safety As expected of a Honda, the 2019 Accord some of the most advanced safety and driver-assistance features that can be seen in this price range (PHP1,938,000). Starting with the basics, which include adjustable three-point seatbelts on all seats, two ISOFIX anchors, driver and passenger seatbelt reminder, multiple airbags and a multi-view reverse camera with dynamic guidelines, the Accord also has Stability Control, Lane Departure Warning System, Cruise Control, and Keyless Entry. Our Verdict The Accords consistent evolution has earned it a reputation as one of the most reliable sedans in the market in terms of quality, performance, and comfort. The car manages to hit a home run year after year, and has proven time and again to be an excellent choice for an executive family car. The post BUYERS GUIDE: 2019 Honda Accord appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. Diamond jewellery worth $1.7 million, allegedly bought by a Malaysian financier for his mother with money stolen from scandal-hit fund 1MDB, will be handed over to the US government, a report said Thursday. Billions of dollars were allegedly pilfered from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund by toppled leader Najib Razak and his cronies, who spent it on everything from high-end real estate to artworks. Financier Jho Low allegedly played a central role in the fraud and has been charged in Malaysia and the United States, which is seeking to recover assets purportedly bought with looted funds via civil lawsuits. Among these assets were a pair of diamond earrings and a diamond ring which Low allegedly bought for his mother, Goh Gaik Ewe, using some $1.7 million taken from 1MDB. Low commissioned a top American jeweller to make the pieces. US prosecutors said in a court filing this week that the set's custodian had reached an agreement to hand over the jewellery, Bloomberg News reported, citing documents filed in a California court. The transfer should not be construed as an admission of wrongdoing or liability, it said. The filing did not say who the custodian was. Low's mother is reported to be living in Thailand. A spokesman for Low said he was "pleased to learn that the United States Department of Justice and all the relevant parties are working to amicably resolve these matters". The current whereabouts of Low, who gained a reputation as a jet-setting playboy, are unknown. The 1MDB scandal played a huge part in the election loss last year of Najib's coalition, which had governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957. Najib has since been arrested over the fraud and went on trial last month. File photo: PNP recruits MANILA, Philippines Police recruits will now train under the command of the Philippine National Police (PNP). President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law transferring the jurisdiction on the training of police recruits to the Philippine National Police (PNP) from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC). Signed on April 12 by President Duterte, a copy of the law was released to the media only on Thursday (May 23). Republic Act 11279 mandates the transfer of the control of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and the National Police Training Institute (NPTI) to the PNP from PPSC. Marje Pelayo The post Duterte signs law transferring training of police recruits to PNP appeared first on UNTV News. FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore SINGAPORE A team of researchers in Singapore has calculated the minimum household budget needed for a single elderly person aged 65 and above to get by, and it comes up to $1,379 a month. For an elderly couple aged 65 and above, the budget comes up to $2,351 per month. For single persons aged between 55 and 64, the budget is $1,721. Minimum Income Standard research method The research team, led by Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, derived their answers by conducting focus group discussions involving over 100 participants. The participants included people who lived in rental flats as well as private property, and a larger representation of some groups, such as minorities and women, to ensure a diversity of views. Using the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) research method first developed at Loughborough University, participants generated lists of basic-needs items and services related to housing and utilities; things needed in a two-room HDB flat; personal care items and clothing; food; transport; leisure and cultural activities; and healthcare. Left out of the lists were things deemed extravagances, like air-conditioning and a car. From these lists, the household budgets necessary to meet those basic needs were determined. "This study reveals that ordinary members of society can come to a consensus about a basic standard of living in light of norms and experiences in contemporary Singapore, Dr Ng said in a media release on the qualitative study on Wednesday (22 May). Such income standards can help by translating societal values and real experiences into unambiguous and substantive benchmarks that policy can aim for." Key findings from research Other key findings from the research include: A definition for basic standard of living: There is a consensus among participants that a basic standard of living goes beyond just housing, food and clothing. It is also about having opportunities to education, employment, and work-life balance, as well as access to healthcare. Participants feel that a basic standard of living enables a sense of belonging, respect, security, and independence. Prominent differences in healthcare and recreation/culture expenditures: As the study is based on the assumption of good health, the percentage of actual expenditures on health among retired households is much higher than in the budgets derived from the study, which do not account for the cost of treatment for chronic conditions and major illnesses. Also, the budgets derived from the study have much larger recreation and culture components than in actual expenditure, reflecting the participants strong emphasis on social participation needs and that such needs may not be fully met among the current older population. Budget vs income: In 2017, the median monthly work income of full-time workers aged 60 and above was $2,000, about 1.5 times the derived budget for meeting basic standards of living among single elderly households. However, for older people working as cleaners or labourers, their median monthly incomes fall below the derived budget ($1,200, or 0.9 times of the budget). This means that, for some elder people, employment alone does not ensure the achievement of budgets for basic standards of living. Access to government income measures is not assured: A range of government income measures target older persons who are either in employment, retired with Central Provident Fund (CPF) incomes, or retired with low incomes. Coverage depends on many factors such as the individuals occupation, amount of CPF savings, and qualification through means tests. The study says that CPF retirement sums remain theoretical targets for many older people. Even for people who are covered, the total sums they stand to receive fall short of or just reach the household budgets required to meet basic needs. Heavy dependance on family contributions Story continues The study said that the overall picture of elderly income in Singapore is one of heavy dependence on family contributions with limited support from the state. The most common income source is adult children (78 per cent of elderly people reported such income in 2011), followed by wage work (21 per cent), and the CPF or other annuities (13 per cent). Other sources such as private pensions (4 per cent) and public assistance (2 per cent) are negligible in terms of coverage. Due to rapid socioeconomic development, current cohorts of older people have steep educational and skill disadvantages compared to younger workers, the study added. When work incomes and wage interventions fall short, some older people either do not have the means to ever retire or will be permanently dependent on public and informal transfers. Gaps in capacity to meet basic standards of living The study said that the gaps in peoples capacity to meet basic standards of living must be urgently addressed. This is so that all older people in Singapore can achieve what its participants describe as basic needs for a sense of belonging, respect, security, and independence. Associate Professor Teo You Yenn of Nanyang Technological Universitys School of Social Sciences, another member of the research team and author of the best-selling This Is What Inequality Looks Like, said in the media release, To tackle inequality, it is critical to establish an agreed floor below which no one should fall. The MIS method can be usefully applied to generate societal consensus across a range of household types. Other Singapore stories: HPV vaccine: Better safe than sorry, say parents Married Singaporean man jailed for registering marriage to mistress in Las Vegas M1 fibre outage affects users in northern, eastern parts of Singapore over 2 days In a study done by researchers from NUS Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, it was found that elderly Singaporeans above 65 required S$1,379 each month to meet their basic needs. With focus group discussions involving 103 participants aged 55 and above from all walks of life, the survey led by Assistant Professor Ng Kok Hoe centered on basic standards of living, and its findings were revealed in a media release yesterday. Apart from the aforementioned figure for single elderly Singaporeans, other household monthly budgets determined included S$2,351 for couples and S$1,721 for individuals between 55 and 64 years old. Using a method called Minimum Income Standards, which has been employed in the UK, Japan, and France, the study called for participants to come up with items and services commonly regarded, and justified, as a basic need. This list included safe and comfortable homes, use of mobile phones, inexpensive restaurant meals on occasion, and annual holidays around the region priced at about S$500. Air-conditioning and cars were not considered as part of the index, which was then used to calculate household budgets based on prices at stores like NTUC FairPrice. Experts were also consulted for food and healthcare expenses. Beyond housing, food, and clothing, the basic standard of living included education and employment opportunities, work-life balance, and healthcare. It was also deemed important to have security, independence, respect, and a sense of belonging. To tackle inequality, it is critical to establish an agreed floor below which no one should fall, said research team member, Associate Professor Teo You Yenn from the School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The researchers said the general outcome of the household budgets was similar to retired households actual expenditure patterns. But the budgets were bigger on recreation and culture, not so much healthcare, as major illnesses were not taken into account. Story continues It was noted that some of the aging population in Singapore would have to boost their incomes with help from family members and their savings in order to retire with their desired basic standard of living. Only 55 percent of those turning 55 had sufficient savings in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts to meet the Basic Retirement Sum in 2013, which meant that the rest would not get the basic annuity of less than $800 each month. This study reveals that ordinary members of society can come to a consensus about a basic standard of living in light of norms and experiences in contemporary Singapore, said Dr Ng. Such income standards can help by translating societal values and real experiences into unambiguous and substantive benchmarks that policy can aim for. This article, Elderly Singaporeans need $1,379 each month for basic living needs: Study, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters! International personalities speak during a roundtable session titled Regional Integration in Central Asia at the Eurasian Media Forum 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 22, 2019. Picture courtesy of the Kazakhstan Foreign Affairs Ministry ALMATY (Kazakhstan), May 23 The 16th Eurasian Media Forum which began here yesterday is set to discuss various economic trends, particularly in the Central Asia region. The three-day event has 500 delegates from 60 countries, consisting of politicians, journalists and experts from the East and West. The forum, with the theme The World Today: Transforming Reality? will have panel discussions on diverse agenda, such as artificial intelligence and de-globalisation and kicked off with a series of intensive training sessions for journalists. A roundtable session yesterday Regional Integration in Central Asia discussed the way forward for Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. One of the speakers at the roundtable, former US congressman Curt Weldon, spoke on nations empowering its people in order to drive the economy forward, giving the system used in the US as an example. There needs to be new innovations in healthcare, education, but you have to determine how to implement that and what the priorities are, whether the key challenge is determined by the government or the people. People around the world want a say, young people want a say. The question is do you unleash them and let them become the engines for driving the economy or does the government want to control that? Our system may not work in every country but it is empowering the people who have good ideas you become the drivers of your own dreams, become the people that allows the economy to grow and create jobs, he said. Kazakhstan is a key partner in Chinas One Belt One Road (BRI) Initiative, in which Malaysia is involved through the successfully renegotiated the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project with China. Yesterday, it was reported that Malaysia will be expanding its halal service to 10 new countries though Chinas BRI, which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Story continues Malaysia and Kazakhstan have worked on strengthening bilateral ties over the years, including the formers plans to bring more Malaysian investors into the field of education, transport, and food. Last October, Malaysia and Kazakhstan launched the Malaysia-Kazakhstan Business Council (MKBC) to strengthen bilateral relationship. Related Articles MRL and China contractor denies appointing agents for ECRL projects ECRL to boost activities at Kuantan Port, says Pahang MCCC chief Mida unit tasked with driving development along ECRL corridor Despite the departure of the Android Operating System (OS) from Huawei amid a growing trade war between the US and China, tech experts believe the company can design and implement their own OS. Reuters pic KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 Malaysian Huawei owners should hold on to their devices despite the recent news that Google has cut off its Android services with the China-based company, said tech experts. Despite the departure of the Android Operating System (OS) from Huawei amid a growing trade war between the US and China, tech experts believe the company can design and implement their own OS. I would not worry too much about Google pulling out of Huawei, because if you look at the size of the company, designing their own operating system is nothing difficult and furthermore I believe they have developed their own operating system, said Cybersecurity company LGMS director Fong Choong Fook. Fong added that Huaweis overall experience and expertise could see the company create its own ecosystem for its devices and not be reliant on the Android OS. However, Fong explained that the challenge now is to convince Huaweis sizable consumer base to remain with their brand amid claims that it has ties with Chinas intelligence community and is conducting data mining on its consumers. Now the biggest challenge is how to push these OS to assist users and another challenge is whether existing Huawei users want to transform from current Android OS to the Huawei OS. Security is always a debatable topic. Some researchers claim that Huawei phones contain backdoor services that report back to Huawei or China but same goes for Google because we do not know whether they have the same software. Basically, it is a matter of trust... whether the consumers have the confidence and in this case, confidence in Huawei, he said. Huawei, however, has reassured that they will continue to provide security updates and services for its smartphones and tablets. Fong added that another problem many users are still unaware of is whether other US-based tech services will be accessible through Huaweis devices. Huawei users are concerned about whether WhatsApp, Facebook and a lot more US-based services be affected, he said. Story continues Amin Ashaari, Malaysian tech site SoyaCincau co-founder, feels Malaysian Huawei phone owners should hold on to their purchases. First of all, we have to look at it from a geopolitical situation. the US is putting sanctions on China and China is doing the same thing, and Huawei has become like the collateral damage that is stuck in the middle, Amin told Malay Mail. Then Amin pointed out that yesterdays news of a 90-day respite from the prohibition of Huawei purchasing components from US companies could provide time for certain issues between the two superpowers to be resolved. It is within the interest of all the parties involved, Huawei, China and the US, for this to be settled amicably. Because if it doesnt, American companies stand to lose US$11 billion (RM46 billion) in terms of revenue to supply to Huawei, he said. The Huawei phone and laptop owner also believes that Googles reputation among consumers is at stake as well. It doesnt bode well for Google to take sides because it is seen as an open and impartial company. So for them to be okay with simply complying with US (government) orders means that, hey, does this mean that Google is not being impartial in handling our data? Amin questioned. Also, as a capitalist democracy, its not right for the American government to get involved in businesses. In todays world, he added, collaborations between diverse entities are important, especially when they delve into the artificial intelligence (AI), 5G and automotive sectors, Google would need the collaborative assistance of businesses like Huawei. As for the Malaysian social media chatter where some Huawei users say they will use the phones simply as cameras or purchase them when they drop in prices, Amin brushed it aside as online rhetoric and gossip. He advised Huawei phone users against panicking and selling their devices. If you own a Huawei device right now, should you sell it? Should you let it go? No, because you stand to lose because things can get better, Amin said. The tech site editor also predicted that Huawei, as the worlds second largest mobile phone manufacturer, will do whatever it takes for the company to continue thriving in the future. If you look at the long game, for them to survive they would do whatever it takes right now for that to happen. Does survival mean taking a hit in their mobile and network business until things get better? If it comes to that, then Huawei will take that hit so that they will continue to operate. Being in business and having a second chance at being number one in mobile phones manufacturing, networking and also dominate in Industry 4.0 with artificial intelligence and other technology... that is more important than winning the battle today, he added. Related Articles UK chip designer ARM complying with new US rules on Huawei Huawei unwanted: Asian shops shun phone trade-ins on Google suspension worries Chinese surveillance giants stocks dive on US blacklist report Standing in front of a tent at Sudan's sit-in, protesters listen to an elderly man recount the horrific atrocities unleashed by recently ousted president Omar al-Bashir's regime in war-torn Darfur. Some protesters are from Khartoum and want to know more about the conflict; others have travelled from the vast arid region itself, an area which has seen repeated waves of conflict since 2003. "I know the history of Darfur well," said Suleiman into a microphone, before listing widespread atrocities by Bashir's forces and allied militiamen in Darfur during the early, most intense years of the conflict. Darfur, in western Sudan, suffered one of the deadliest military campaigns of Bashir's ironfisted rule. Hundreds of thousands were killed, while millions were displaced; most survivors still live in sprawling displaced camps. The conflict erupted when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's then Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of social and economic marginalisation. Scorched earth tactics unleashed by Bashir's forces saw village after village looted and razed. The Hague-based International Criminal Court has charged Bashir with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Bashir, who was deposed by the military on April 11 in response to protests outside army headquarters, denies the charges. - 'To kill and rape '- Although the level of violence in Darfur has fallen in recent years, atrocities in the vast region the size of France still haunt its residents. "Our unity is our strength," reads a slogan displayed on a tent built by Darfuri victims at the ongoing sit-in. While protesters from across Sudan were happy to see Bashir deposed, they remain encamped outside army headquarters, to demand a military council that has held power these past few weeks hand over to civilian rule. Many of those gathered at the tent in Khartoum are from Al-Salam camp in North Darfur. "I lost my father and four brothers in attacks by Janjaweed," said Abdallah Yassin, referring to much feared militia unleashed by Bashir's government at the height of Darfur's conflict. Nomadic Arab raiders were recruited and armed by Khartoum, before being sent to attack villages on camel and horseback. They were accused of murder, rape, looting and poisoning wells, in a campaign against ethnic groups suspected of supporting the rebels. "When the militiamen attacked the village, they were in large numbers and we couldn't defend ourselves," said Yassin, 30, wearing a light blue shirt and grey trousers. "They would gather us in one place, to kill, rape our sisters, our mothers, our grandmothers." "We demand that all those who committed crimes and massacres, all the symbols of (the former regime) be held responsible," he said, adding that the victims must be compensated by the new authorities. Ahmed Mahmoud, also a resident of Al-Salam camp, said he can't forget what he witnessed during those years. "Armed militiamen, on camels and horses, attacked defenceless men and raped women," he said. "There were air raids, people died." The carnage was such that "the flesh of murdered men and women mixed with those of animals," he added, taking a sudden pause. - 'Stability, security' - Mahmoud said the suffering of those in camps persists, although the violence has abated. "What we fundamentally want in Darfur is stability, security, education and health facilities," said Ibrahim al-Haj, who hails from South Darfur. "You get all that in Khartoum." Protest leaders who spearheaded the nationwide campaign against Bashir say that the ruling generals want to retain power, to help keep security across the country during a three year transition period tentatively agreed between the two sides. But for protesters who come from Darfur, the generals are complicit in the atrocities committed in their homeland. One personality who provokes particular ire is Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chief of the ruling military council. Dagalo is the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group that has carried out operations against rebel groups in Darfur. Darfuri protesters say they cannot countenance the idea of Dagalo and other generals having any hand in running the country. Rights groups and victims of the Darfur conflict accuse Dagalo, widely known as Himeidti, of widespread abuses. "Himeidti has committed crimes against us and he is still there," said Ahmed Idris. "We want a civilian government" he added, saying that it is the least people deserve after suffering so much. "I'm here from North Darfur to explain how much we have suffered," Idris emphasised. The catwalk came to a Brazilian prison Wednesday when models from the Sao Paulo Fashion Week paraded a collection at a maximum security facility in front of the inmates who created them. Intricate crochet bodices, cheeky skirts and denim finishes featured in the fashion show at the Adriano Marrey prison outside Sao Paulo, where inmates looked on, lavender-colored yarn in hand. A rehabilitation project at the facility teaches convicts crochet -- a technique similar to knitting -- to build self-esteem and life skills. "I was proud of myself seeing my creation being modeled for the public and even more proud to know that people liked that piece that I made," said Fidelison Borges, 41, who is serving a combined 18 years for armed robbery and drug trafficking. Around 120 detainees have completed the program, called Ponto Firme, Portuguese for Fixed Point, since Brazilian fashion designer Gustavo Silvestre brought needlework to the cells in 2016. As an incentive, participants' sentences are reduced by one day for every 12 hours completed in the program. Silvestre has taken the project twice to Sao Paulo Fashion Week, with some former inmates even modeling the crochet creations in front of the who's who of Latin American fashion. The theme of this year's collection, chosen by the inmates, was "opportunity," Silvestre told AFP. "Sometimes the detainee has the desire to change and reevaluate their life and search new paths for his life, but when he gets outside prejudice and the lack of opportunity are the biggest challenges," Silvestre said. "Often the person can't get past this stage and returns to crime." For this year's Sao Paulo Fashion Week, held in April, Silvestre shepherded prisoners and former inmates, who now work with him, to complete the 35 pieces in three months. - 'Calms me down' - The inmates dismiss those who mock the idea of men doing crochet. "There are people who say that it's only for women, but I don't see it that way," said Islan da Luz, a 28-year-old drug trafficking convict, while crocheting a powder blue skirt for his wife and a magenta one for his mother. "I think those who think like that are ignorant and prejudiced, and a minority." Most of the 2,200 inmates at Adriano Marrey were convicted for drug trafficking. Seventy percent did not finish primary school. Crochet "created a will in me, it calms me down, it helped me overcome smoking and using drugs," said Felipe Santos da Silva, 28, who is serving 11 years for robbery. Silvestre recalled a former inmate who, upon his release, sold some of his crochet work to fund his application for a driver's license. "He won't carry on with crochet, but it is helping him to build his path," said Silvestre. "He wants to drive his Uber, be a taxi driver, own a business, but it's crochet that's helping him with these first steps." Sultan Ahmad Shah died at the National Heart Institute (IJN) Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Bernama pic JOHOR BARU, May 23 The Permaisuri of Johor Raja Zarith Sofiah Idris Shah today penned a touching tribute about the late Sultan Ahmad Shah Al-Mustain Billah, describing the former Pahang Ruler a humble royal who gave more thought to human lives and values than palace protocol. Raja Zarith said Sultan Ahmad Shah was a Ruler who was very close to his subjects, pointing to his kind and compassionate nature. We will remember that it was not uncommon to see images and photos of Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang, casually-clad in a tracksuit, sitting quite at ease on the floor of a simple kampung home, chatting to an elderly man who was ill, and who needed medical help. Almarhum, however, was not there to offer medical advice but instead, wanted this man to know that he had his Sultans sympathy and attention, she wrote on the official website of the Royal Johor family. Raja Zarith said that Sultan Ahmad Shah was also a concerned Ruler to his subjects when it comes to natural disasters in Pahang. If there was a natural disaster in Pahang most often, it was floods it would be Sultan Ahmad Shah who would be the first to be on the scene. For my family in Perak, we had become so used to see photos of him in the newspapers, always with his rakyat, that we did not see his unexpected appearance at a kampung house as anything uncommon, she said. In her tribute, Raja Zarith recalled the many times Sultan Ahmad Shah, her cousin, touched her life from her wedding to the death of her son third child Tunku Abdul Jalil Ibrahim. With their royal background, she remembered her parents discussing protocol and seniority when it came to her wedding, saying they were unsure who should be first to start the merenjis or blessing ceremony, which took place some weeks before the actual marriage solemnisation ceremony to the current Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar when he was the then state crown prince in 1982. I was trying hard to understand the complexity and sensitivity of royal protocol, and who was considered more senior: my father as the Sultan of Perak and the father of the bride, or Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Shah, his nephew, but who was also at the time the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the King of Malaysia! Story continues And, of course, to make matters even more complex was that my husbands father too was a Sultan. In the end, in the same way that Almarhum would sit on the floor with an elderly villager, he let my father his uncle begin the merenjis ceremony. He discarded protocol. He had made his own decision: he was the Yang DiPertuan Agong, he was our King, and should rightly supercede all other Sultans, but he chose instead to adhere to his own values of being nobler by being humbler, said Raja Zarith. Protocol can be bended or done away with, but family and rakyat mattered more, said Raja Zarith of Sultan Ahmad Shahs unique persona as a royal. The 59-year-old Permaisuri of Johor also shared the concern Sultan Ahmad Shah had showed her family when her late son Tunku Abdul Jalil was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2014 and was warded at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. She said Sultan Ahmad Shah was one of the first and most frequent visitors to see her son and the Johor royal family. Raja Zarith said her family did not expect Sultan Ahmad Shah to show so much concern or care for Tunku Abdul Jalil as he was someone he hardly saw or knew. We cannot deny he made all of us and Jalil feel terribly special. When Jalil lost his fight against his cancer a year later, Almarhum came to his funeral. The fact that his health had slowed him down, and he was not as strong as he used to be, made his presence there with our family all the more meaningful to us, she wrote, adding that her husband had also shown gratitude and indebtedness towards Sultan Ahamd Shah for all his other acts of kindness during the critical illness his father, Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail in 2010. Raja Zarith said what she remembered most about Sultan Ahmad Shah was his acknowledgement of her as his cousin. By acknowledging me as his cousin made me feel less insignificant as a much younger and junior royal. There will be many other people who will have as many special memories of Almarhums words and actions. These are, however, our own and the ones which we shall never forget, said Raja Zarith. Related Articles Sombre atmosphere at Istana Abu Bakar as Sultan Ahmad Shah lies in state The legacy of Sultan Ahmad Shah a peoples sultan Late Sultan Ahmad Shah a firm, caring president, says FAMs Hamidin Media experts said Lim may very well be walking into Najibs trap by accepting the former prime ministers challenge. Picture by Hari Anggara KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 Lim Kit Siang and by extension the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration have far more to lose and nothing to gain if the DAP lawmaker engages Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a public debate, several media professionals said. Long-time journalist Terence Fernandez, who is now the media adviser to the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre, said Lim may very well be walking into Najibs trap by accepting the former prime ministers challenge. Najib has always been able to outsmart his political opponents by drawing them into his game. He creates narratives and they just fall right into it. Is this the narrative that they are falling into? We dont know what they will debate but dont forget, Najib has been part of the ruling coalition for the past 40 years and prime minister for 11 years. He has enough facts and figures to throw at Lim Kit Siang, he told Malay Mail. As an example of what to expect from the Lim-Najib debate, Fernandez cited current debates in Parliament between the PH government lawmakers and those from the Opposition. He said government MPs tended to get flustered and appeared unsure of the facts when challenged with factual and statistical information by the Opposition. Fernandez said Najibs debate dare to Lim is a diversion tactic to draw public attention away from his ongoing corruption court cases. In court, you cant say anything you want to say, but in an open debate you can say a lot of things. I dont know if Najib can fall into contempt of court by talking about a particular issue in the hopes of creating enough public pressure or steer the narrative and public perception of his trial to his benefit. And Lim Kit Siang is being used as a conduit for this. Fernandez said Lim was experienced enough to know better than to engage a man charged with squandering the nations wealth and give the latter legitimacy to fan racial politics, especially when Najib had twice backed out of debating Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad previously. Story continues Though the Pekan MP and his DAP political foe signalled they were both fine with debating each other over current affairs, Fernandez said Lim would be at a disadvantage if Najib presses attacks against the Iskandar Puteri MPs son and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. If the senior Lim turns emotional, it would weaken any arguments he may make against Najib then. Senior publicist Ivlynn Yap also deemed a public debate between Lim and Najib as unnecessary for PH, saying such engagements can only put the embattled former prime minister and BN at an advantage. The Citrine One managing partner said that from a public relations viewpoint, Lims position is currently more tenuous because of the matriculation controversy even though the latter has distanced his party from calls for Education Minister Maszlee Malik to be sacked as alleged. He said Lims proposed debate topic How Malaysia became a global kleptocracy and how we can become a leading nation of integrity is unlikely to win over new supporters as long as Najib is not convicted in a court of law for the over 40 corruption-related charges linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad. The rakyat have already chosen and its pointless because everyone has heard what they have to say. Thats why theres a change in government, Yap told Malay Mail. Lumos Public Relations founder and media consultant Justin Then said Lim should ignore Najibs challenges and instead focus on its electoral promises to Malaysia through proper governance and economic policies. There is nothing to gain for PH and LKS. By ignoring Najib, it will hurt Najib even more. Now Kit Siang has to find a way to back out from this debate. His advisers are probably not advising him properly. Thats the problem with the new administration too focused on blaming Najib instead of fixing problems, Then said. Najib and Lim both agreed to a public debate earlier this week. Najib has suggested the debate take place after Hari Raya Puasa next month and for the event to be broadcast live. Related Articles Setuju debat Kit Siang secara langsung, Najib beri satu syarat Kit Siang: Okay to debate other topics with Najib, but don't change kleptocracy subject Kit Siang, Hanif Omar may settle defamation suit out of court, says lawyer Interfaith activist group Projek Dialog said educating children to adapt and accept cultural and religious differences at an early stage can help create a conducive environment for peaceful discussions on a thorny subject like faith. Picture by Saw Siow Feng KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 Children should be taught to discuss religions openly as this will help pave the way towards a more open society, suggested several civil society groups. They say there is a definite need to foster interfaith dialogue at the primary school level. Interfaith activist group Projek Dialog said educating children to adapt and accept cultural and religious differences at an early stage can help create a conducive environment for peaceful discussions on a thorny subject like faith, often at the heart of communal strife today. If we have the right syllabus written by the right academics and teachers trained in the right way, it will be a boon to the nation more than anything else, said its lead programme manager Victoria Cheng. I think the earlier we introduce such topics, the better. If we wait till university before we discuss these topics, the harder it is for the young adult to adapt. Cheng is among those who disagree with Education Minister Maszlee Maliks opinion that interfaith dialogue as part of the syllabus for primary school students is unnecessary. Maszlee was responding to a proposal made by the Malaysian Youth Council that a special subject about religions be introduced in schools and universities. The minister said his view was consistent with the ministrys previous suggestion that every school and university should organise more cross-cultural programmes. Federal religious authority Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) has also publicly backed Maszlee and rejected the proposal. Its director-general Datuk Mohamad Nordin Ibrahim said although Jakim does not agree with the proposal, it nonetheless backs cross-cultural programmes in schools and universities, so as to lessen misunderstanding between the faiths. Cheng, however, said such programmes have failed to bring the countrys multiracial communities together because they lack the critical foundation needed to encourage students to be more open when discussing their respective faiths. Story continues Conversation in universities is so basic. It doesn't probe deeper and I think the fault lies in early education, she said. There's no critical thinking or basic philosophy. In defending his decision, Maszlee deemed it more appropriate for schools to share about each others culture instead of learning about other religions. He said the ministry feared that the move could yield more negative than positive results. Like Cheng, Angkatan Belia Islam (Abim) president Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim felt early stage civilisational studies would only lead to good things, but said perhaps it would be best to start small with focus given on identifying and appreciating similar values from various faiths. Is teaching different religions to pupils wrong? Absolutely not, he said. It's only right that we learn about others, their religion and culture especially about South-east Asian religions and cultures to know and understand about people around us better. But Raimi said other technical factors could have prompted Maszlees decision. I think the main issue among educators is the complication that comes with adding another subject, he said. Students are already complaining that there are too many subjects in schools now, there's a lot of work not just for the pupils but for the teachers as well. Raimi suggested that regulators make it seamless for students and teachers by incorporating civilisational study in the existing syllabus, instead of rolling it out as another stand-alone subject. This way, he added, schools can keep the number of subjects small enough to keep students more focused. Critics of the government claim the country has become more polarised since Pakatan Harapan took power, an allegation its leaders deny. The multiracial bloc, albeit comprising one ethnic-based party, said it would put into place key political reforms to bridge the division, starting with freeing education from partisan interests. Iman Research, a think tank that studies religious extremism, said shaping cultural and religious sensitivities at an early stage at a time of heightened communal distrust is crucial to address faith-based violence. In a world fraught with violent extremism white nationalists, terrorists et al hate has become a powerful cultural currency, its director Dina Zaman said. Learning about other religions can also help build resilience if done correctly. Related Articles Saudi Crown Prince commits to interfaith tolerance, says Anglican church We need better interfaith dialogue Joshua Woo Think you know Muslim womens rights? Join Malaysias first online quiz to find out Malaysian officials are disguising themselves as cooks and waiters to catch Muslims who don't fast during Ramadan, with a rights group Thursday blasting the "disgraceful act of spying". Thirty-two enforcement officers from a local council in the Muslim-majority country are going undercover at food outlets as part of the scheme, the New Straits Times newspaper reported. Muslims are required to fast from dawn until dusk during Islam's holiest month, unless there are special circumstances such as illness. While Muslims in multi-ethnic Malaysia have traditionally followed a tolerant form of Islam, critics say conservative attitudes have been gaining ground in recent years. The team in Segamat district, in southern Johor state, will be monitoring 185 outlets, with two of the officers selected as they are good at making popular dishes such as spicy fried noodles. "We have specially selected enforcement officers who are dark skinned for the undercover job," Mohamad Masni Wakiman, president of the Segamat Municipal Council, was cited as saying by the paper. "They sound convincing when they speak in Indonesian and Pakistani lingo, so that customers will believe they are really hired to cook and serve meals, and take menu orders." Many staff at food outlets in Malaysia are migrant workers. If Muslims are seen ordering food during the daytime, the officers will secretly take pictures of them and contact the local religious affairs department for further action, Masni said. Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with Muslims subject to Islamic laws in certain areas. In Johor, Muslims who skip fasting can be punished with up to six months in jail or a fine of up to 1,000 ringgit ($240), or both. Sisters in Islam, a group promoting the rights of Muslim women in Malaysia, said that the plan was "shameful and gives the wrong impression of Islam in the eyes of fellow Muslims and people from other faiths. "We strongly demand that all parties cease this disgraceful act of spying." Over 60 percent of Malaysia's 32 million inhabitants are ethnic Malay Muslims and the country is also home to substantial ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, who do not typically follow Islam. Getty Images: Photo of a Husky puppy SINGAPORE A man who hid puppies in a car to bring them illegally from Johor Bahru to Singapore was fined the maximum $10,000 on Thursday (23 May). Poh Wen Chye, a 36-year-old Singaporean, was caught after Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers found a Husky puppy under boxes of ceiling fans in his car. The handyman pleaded guilty in the State Courts to one charge of importing the puppy without a license. One similar charge involving a Pomeranian dog was taken into consideration for sentencing. Prior to his arrest, Pohs name had been placed on a watchlist after the then-Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) was alerted to a Facebook post of a pet owner who had bought a Pomeranian from a pet shop in Johor Bahru. The pet owner had bought the dog from Super Pets on 16 January for RM9,360 (S$3080.46). The price included pet grooming items, accessories, importation and delivery fees to Singapore. Poh successfully delivered the dog to the pet owner. On 18 January, the dog became sick and was rushed to two vet clinics for treatment. It died the next day. Pohs information was retrieved and he was placed under the ICA watchlist for suspected smuggling activities. On 26 February, Poh was returning to Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint from Johor Bahru when an ICA officer checked his car. According to his lawyer, Amarjit Singh, the Husky puppy was discovered after Poh removed the boxes containing the ceiling fans. The puppy was placed in a black canvas bag under the rear passenger seat. AVA was alerted and its officers placed Poh under arrest. Poh alleged that he had bought the puppy for his daughters birthday. Further investigations revealed that Poh couriered goods including dogs from Malaysia to Singapore to earn money and he later admitted to doing so. Singh sought an $8,000 fine for his client. Poh was remorseful for his actions, said the lawyer from Amarjit Sidhu Law. For importing a dog without a license, Poh could have been jailed up to a year and/or fined $10,000. Story continues Other Singapore stories Grab driver jailed after refusing to return $30k mistakenly transferred to him by company Man charged for molesting 30-year-old woman at Woodlands coffeeshop Elderly people in Singapore need $1,379 a month for basic living standards: Study The Celepets hand out duit raya to single mothers and their families during the launch of the mentoring programme. Picture by Hari Anggara PETALING JAYA, May 23 A decade ago close-knitted celebrity friends Aishah Sinclair, Atilia Haron, Daphne Iking, Dynas Mokhtar, Sazzy Falak, Serena C and Yasmin Hani joined forces to help the community. Known as the Celepets, which is short for Celebrating Pet Projects Together, the seven women recently launched their latest community project. A mentoring programme to help single mums achieve financial independence. The Power to Empower mentorship programme is a collaboration with Mompreneur Asia, a platform for mums and like-minded women who want to kick-off their own enterprises. Singer Atilia Haron serenades guests at the launch of The Power to Empower. Picture by Hari Anggara Launched on Tuesday during the Malam Amal & Iftar Bersama Celepets, the evening was saw 15 single mothers and 30 children from Kindness Malaysia attend it as well. The three-month programme will see 10 single mums undergo a series of training once they are matched with a mentor from their respective industries. The idea sparked when we had our first meeting for our malam amal (charity night) and because this is the 10th year anniversary of our friendship, we wanted to do something different, Sazzy told Malay Mail. The Celepets previous community engagements included working with single mums living in poverty association, refugees, refugee children and orphanages. The Celepets comprise Sazzy Falak (left), Aishah Sinclair and (not in picture) Atilia Haron, Daphne Iking, Dynas Mokhtar, Serena C and Yasmin Hani. Picture by Hari Anggara One after another everyone became mothers and we realised the nucleus of the family is the mum and a lot of mums are actually doing this alone, said Aishah, who co-founded Mompreneur Asia with Niney Chong. They are not just raising children, they are the breadwinner of the family. Through its two pillars of nourish and equip, Mompreneur Asia provides a support system for women to share their challenges and brainstorm solutions as well as to establish a business networking platform to help them compete in the digital economy. The idea is also to channel them into the digital economy simple because mothers would like to have businesses that they can run from home, Chong said. Mompreneur Asia co-founder Niney Chong says the programme aims to help single mums start a business at home. Picture by Hari Anggara On top of training, the programme will also include an aptitude test before the mums move on to a weekly training where they will be given challenges and assignments. Story continues The single mothers are registered with Kindness Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation that promotes kindness regardless of background and skin colour. Many of the mums and their families are classified as the urban poor from the hardcore poor housing programme who have lost their source of income because of spousal deaths, abandonment and divorce. Many of them are passionate about baking and sewing but dont know how to turn their passion into sustainable income, Chong said. We hope this mentoring programme would enable them to realise their dreams of attaining financial freedom. Related Articles Yuna finally shares photos of boyfriend Adam Sinclair on social media Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill on Thursday denied claims that he holds Australian citizenship as the embattled leader faces a deepening political crisis. The country's attorney general this week launched an investigation into the status of all 111 members of parliament after opposition MP Bryan Kramer accused O'Neill of being both a PNG and Australian citizen. Dual citizenship status disqualifies a person from office. "I am the current Parliamentary Member for Ialibu-Pangia and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and therefore I am authorised to depose to the facts herein stated," O'Neill stated in a court affidavit Thursday. O'Neill states that his father was born in Melbourne and his mother in PNG's southern highlands, but he is "not an Australian citizen". "I have never been an Australian citizen. I do not hold an Australian passport," the legal document viewed by AFP states. O'Neill has accused Kramer of spreading "extreme" and "malicious" false comments and has sought a court order to prevent the opposition MP from "making further defamatory statements about me". The prime minister narrowly avoided being turfed out of office on a vote of no confidence earlier this month when he successfully adjourned parliament until May 28. He has been besieged by a recent string of party defections, with detractors accusing him of using the office to further his own interests. Momentum against O'Neill has been building for months, but came to a head with the inking of a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with France's Total and US firm ExxonMobil last month. Opponents say the deal does not benefit local communities enough and they want a review. Australia last year went through its own citizenship crisis, forcing a slew of resignations due to an obscure provision in the country's 1901 constitution that forbids dual citizens from serving in federal parliament. R3hab entertains the partygoers at the grand opening of Zouk Genting. Picture courtesy of Resorts World Genting GENTING HIGHLANDS, May 23 Heres an exciting news for partygoers opting for an exceptional twist to their late-night revelry. Resorts World Genting (RWG) has added another feather to their cap with the grand opening of Zouk Genting. Spanning over 3,252 sq m of space, the club promises a complete experience with its hip-hop club Empire by Zouk, RedTail by Zouk gaming bar, RedTail Karaoke and upcoming vibe dining restaurant FUHU Restaurant & Bar. To top it all off, the nightlife venue was masterminded by the nightlife experts behind Zouk Singapore, voted as the best club in Asia for the last 10 years by industry bible DJ Mag. To mark the grand opening, the club recently hosted a night-long party, where thousands of visitors danced to the electrifying tunes of renowned DJs including R3hab and Malaysian-born talents BATE, who truly set the club ablaze with excitement. (From left) Zouk Group special project director and general manager Joseph Ryan, chief executive officer Andrew Li, Genting Malaysia Berhad deputy chief executive and executive director Lim Keong Hui, leisure and hospitality executive vice president Datuk Edward Holloway and business operations & strategies head Lee Thiam Kit officiating the grand opening of Zouk Genting. Picture courtesy of Resorts World Genting Prior to that, the crowd gathered outside the club to witness a roaring lion dance performance and ribbon cutting ceremony by Genting Malaysia Berhad deputy chief executive and executive director Lim Keong Hui, leisure and hospitality executive vice president Datuk Edward Holloway, Zouk Group chief executive officer Andrew Li and special project director and general manager Joseph Ryan. Commenting on the milestone, Li said Zouk was proud to be part of RWG and was on its way to making the brand a global lifestyle label. Its been 28 years that Zouk has been creating experiences for legions of fans in Malaysia and Singapore, he added. Our proudest accomplishment is our guests having an emotional connection with the brand, which takes a long time to achieve. RedTail by Zouk gaming bar offers guests various entertaining games including Giant Connect, Beer Pong, Arcades and Pool. Picture courtesy of Resorts World Genting With new concepts such as social gaming bar, Li said the nightlife venue offers multiple outlets to take the guests on an exciting journey of eating, drinking and playing. In the future we may also have a Zouk hotel, he added. Li also hinted that Zouk has a major expansion plan to tap into different territories including Las Vegas in the coming years. Story continues One of the projects in the pipeline is to put Zouk concepts on the giantatic Dream Cruises within the next two years, he said. Li also noted that they already have a 10,300-sq m space in Las Vegas to open an exciting club beginning 2021. Guests enjoying the set by R3hab at the grand opening of Zouk Genting. Picture courtesy of Resorts World Genting During the grand opening, Dutch-Moroccan record producer and remixer R3hab wowed the crowd throughout his two-hour set that kept party vibes at the peak. Before starting his set, the award-winning DJ, who has been playing here since 2011, said he loves visiting Malaysia to entertain dance music fans here. Its great to be in Genting because the weather downtown is hot but as you make the drive up here it gets nice and cold, he added. With a capacity of 1,200 people, the clubs main space is designed to illuminate guests by an ecstatic blend of music and pyrotechnics. Zouk Genting main stage, hip-hop club Empire is designed with state-of-the-art equipment to offer an extraordinary experience to partygoers. Picture courtesy of Resorts World Genting The state-of-the-art sound system by The Void flows seamlessly together with the 54 x 20 square feet LED screen to set the mood with alluring loop visuals. The ceiling also features CO2 canisters, infinite lasers, over 1,000 LED lights and a flame unit, which will be used for live performances and acrobatic aerialists. Those looking for a private but lavish party can head upstairs to one of the two Capital suites. Zouk Genting is located on Level G, SkyAvenue at RWG, and its main stage operates every Friday, Saturday, and on the eve of public holidays from 11pm until 5am. For more bookings or further information call + 603 6101 1118 or surf over to Zouk Genting or RWG websites. Related Articles Zouk Genting promises an exciting 2019 after launch of third outlet Immersive 'Star Wars' VR experience is coming to Resorts World Genting (VIDEO) Shila Amzah to kick off Loving You tour at Genting on Sept 29 (VIDEO) Dutch pro-EU parties headed for a surprise win Thursday in European Parliament elections, defying a predicted surge for populist forces as voters in Brexit-bound Britain and the Netherlands kicked off 28-nation polls. With British Prime Minister Theresa May looking set to resign after postponing her forlorn bid to push her divorce deal through parliament, Eurosceptics across the continent had hoped for major gains in the four-day EU-wide elections. But the populist momentum took an early hit with one of the main pretenders to the throne of European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, Dutchman Frans Timmermans, leading his social democrats to lead a Dutch exit poll released late Thursday. Campaigning on a fiercely pro-Europe platform, Commission Vice-President Timmermans's party was set to beat the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and an upstart populist group, the exit poll said. "There is clearly a majority in the Netherlands that wants the European Union to continue to play a role," Timmermans told the NOS public broadcaster. "I realise that everywhere in Europe there is a need for another Europe, one that fights harder against climate change, that we have to cooperate on a social level, and where big business has to pay more taxes." His social democrats were projected to win five seats out of the 26 allocated for the Netherlands, the Ipsos poll for NOS said. Rutte's Liberals and the pro-Europe Christian Democrats were set to win four seats, while the right-wing Forum for Democracy of climate-sceptic populist leader Thierry Baudet was projected to win three seats, the same as the Groenlinks environmental party. The anti-Islam Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, which has lost votes to Baudet, was meanwhile set to slump to one seat, from its current three. Opinion polls in the run-up to the vote predicted Rutte and Baudet's parties would share the lead. - 'We've been let down' - More than 400 million European voters are eligible to elect 751 European Parliament members, with the first results expected late Sunday once voting in the 28 member states is over. In Britain the elections were a surreal spectacle in a country that was supposed to have already left the European Union on March 29 after voting for Brexit in a referendum almost three years ago. The Brexit crisis mirrored deep divisions across the continent, where rising nativist, anti-establishment forces are bidding to make significant gains in the elections. MPs have rejected May's withdrawal agreement and the country now finds itself electing lawmakers to an institution it plans to leave. "We've been let down by both of the main parties," Rex Taylor, a 79-year-old retired professor, said as he voted in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The newly-created Brexit Party, formed only this year by Eurosceptic figurehead Nigel Farage, is leading the latest opinion polls with 37 percent of the vote. However, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats also look set to capitalise on the mixed Brexit messages of the main parties. Some EU citizens reported being turned away at British polling booths, with many complaining they were the victims of clerical errors in the last-minute scramble to organise the vote. "I've been turned away from the polling station saying I'm not eligible to vote despite the fact I've got a polling card and have registered too. My local council... failed to send out the declaration," EU citizen Peter Baier wrote on Twitter. - Risk to integration - Around the continent, national leaders are scrambling to mobilise supporters to resist the populist surge, with opinion polls showing nationalist parties leading in France, Italy and Hungary, among others. Pro-European leaders fear a good showing for the Eurosceptics will disrupt Brussels decision-making, threatening reform efforts at closer integration. Matteo Salvini of Italy's anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels. The League has topped opinion polls in Italy. Le Pen wants to strike a blow to Emmanuel Macron's faltering French presidency by overtaking his centrist, pro-European party Republic on the Move. Polls give her RN party a slight edge, with around 23 percent support. "Everything has changed," Le Pen told AFP. "A whole range of political forces have risen up in spectacular fashion." - Centre-right set to win - However, Eurosceptics are not expected to sweep the whole bloc, with voters from Spain to Ireland and the former Soviet Baltic states indicating solid backing for the EU. In Germany, surveys show Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party -- a heavyweight in the EU-wide centre-right EPP group -- in first place, with the Greens second. The latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament found 61 percent of respondents calling their country's EU membership a good thing -- the highest level since the early 1990s. The polls will open on Friday in the Czech Republic and Ireland, and on Saturday in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia. But most countries will be voting on Sunday, with the results expected overnight into Monday. Juncker is stepping down after five years as president of the European Commission. The hunt will also be on for someone to replace former Polish premier Donald Tusk as head of the EU council. burs-dk-cvo/har Ex-minister Abyzov to stay detained on embezzlement charges for 2 more months RIA Novosti, Alexander Natruskin 19:07 23/05/2019 MOSCOW, May 23 (RAPSI) The Basmanny District Court of Moscow on Thursday extended detention of ex-Russian Minister for Open Government affairs Mikhail Abyzov, who stands charged with 4-billion-ruble ($62 million) embezzlement and organizing a gang, until July 25, the courts spokesperson Yunona Tsareva told RAPSI. Abyzov pleads not guilty. He petitioned for softening the restrictive measure or release on bail. In April, the court seized 437 million rubles ($7 million) deposited in the bank accounts of Abyzov, two land plots and cottages in the Moscow Region, three flats, four rooms and a car parking space in Moscow belonging to the former minister. According to investigators, between April 2011 and November 2014, Abyzov, the owner of several offshore companies, organized and headed a criminal group. The defendant along with his accomplices allegedly embezzled 4 billion rubles from Novosibirsk Regions Siberian Energy Company and Regional Electrical Services generation and transmission corporations and transferred the money abroad. A criminal case was opened against Abyzov on March 25. The former minister was arrested the next day. On April 3, Moscows court detained Abyzov until May 25. Also, on March 26, the court considered investigators motions to detain other alleged members of the criminal group including president of the Novosibirsk Regional Sambo Federation Nikolay Stepanov, board chairman of the First Construction Fund Alexander Pelipasov, deputy CEO of Ru-Com company Maxim Rusakov and finance director of REMIS firm Galina Fraidenberg. Ilichev, who had absconded investigators, was arrested later. Their detention terms were recently extended until late July as well. Transport Minister Anthony Loke expressed his belief that the jetty could help with Port Dicksons tourism if expanded, sharing the same ideas as Negri Sembilans state government. Picture by Miera Zulyana KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 Port Dicksons tourism industry will benefit if the existing jetty there is upgraded to accommodate more ship passengers, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said today. Loke expressed his belief that the jetty could help with Port Dicksons tourism if expanded, sharing the same ideas as Negri Sembilans state government. I am of the view that this jetty can be optimised. Now it is used for ferries to Dumai (in Indonesia) and occasionally cruises from Genting, but it is not regular, not long-term. If we have a bigger facility, a bigger capacity and operated and managed in a more comprehensive and orderly manner, then I view this jetty as potentially becoming a catalyst to develop the economy, especially the tourism sector in Port Dickson. That is something which we at the Ministry of Transport and the state government will see how we can cooperate on, he said in a press conference after visiting the jetty. A video clip of his press conference was posted on his official Facebook page. In the same press conference, Loke said the docking of Gentings cruise ships for a few times at Port Dicksons jetty has drawn the attention of the Negri Sembilan government, which views this as a potential for local tourism. Because each time the cruise ship docks, the ship will bring in thousands of passengers. If we can attract passengers to disembark, walk around and spend, this will develop the local economy, especially in Port Dickson, he said. The cruise ships from Genting currently dock outside the jetty, with boats then used to bring passengers to the jetty. He noted that the Negri Sembilan government has proposed the upgrading of the jetty to become a bigger facility that can cater to more tourists. This morning, we received a briefing from the Marine Department. I suggest the state government gives a more comprehensive proposal paper to the Transport Ministry, whether the state government wants to operate or they want to take over the management and operations of the jetty, we can discuss how the direction can be done, Loke said. Story continues Loke also referred to a plot of reserve land belonging to the Railway Assets Corporation at the old jetty near the Marine Department, adding: That land, we will discuss with the state government on how we can do a joint-venture to develop a tourism product there. Loke, who was himself born in Seremban in Negri Sembilan, noted Port Dicksons location by the Straits of Melaka and its economic potential. Port Dickson has all these while been a tourist destination and the proximity to Kuala Lumpur and KLIA gives Port Dickson an advantage. And we really hope to develop Port Dickson together with the state government and certainly together with Port Dickson MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is capable of attracting many investors to come in to Port Dickson. We hope with these various factors, it can help develop the economy in Port Dickson, he added. Anwar, who is PKR president, won the Port Dickson parliament seat in a by-election last October. The Negri Sembilan state administration is led by Pakatan Harapan (PH), the same coalition helming the federal government and to which both Anwar and Loke belong. Related Articles Anwar: Port Dickson Hard Rock Cafe, Hotel projects on Anwar: Penduduk PD salah faham, projek Hard Rock Cafe diteruskan Anwar: PD development plan to be adjusted Peter Joemel Advincula, claims to be Bikoy in the Ang Totoong Narco List video series that linked President Rodrigo Dutertes family to illegal drug trade. MANILA, Philippines Vice President Leni Robredo and members of the opposition group on Thursday denied allegations they were conniving to topple the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. Peter Joemel Advincula, who claimed to be Bikoy in the Ang Totoong Narco List video series uploaded online, alleged that Robredo and other opposition members made him lie about the Duterte familys supposed links to the narcotics trade. Advincula, who faced media in Camp Crame following his surrender to the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday night, said the video series was orchestrated by the opposition Liberal Party under the guidance of Senator Antonio Trillanes III. READ: Peter Joemel Advincula alias Bikoy surrenders to PNP Prior to the May 13 midterm elections, Advincula surfaced in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to ask legal assistance to file charges against some members of the Duterte family and close associates who were supposedly linked to a drug syndicate. He also said that he was not connected to any political party, including the opposition slate Otso Diretso. READ: Man claiming to be Bikoy asks help from IBP But after the elections, Advincula changed tune and claimed that the videos were fabricated by Trillanes to discredit the Duterte government and help put Robredo to power. He further said that they came up with a scheme called Project Sodoma together with the Otso Diretso senatorial candidates, with the exception of former Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. He claimed to have personally known Trillanes and have met with the seven Otso Diretso candidates. Advincula also alleged he had seen Robredo in meetings about the supposed plan to oust Duterte. Sinabi niya ang pangalan ko na nagkita kami, ni anino nya ay hindi ko nakita so sigurado ako sinungaling sya. Robredo said in a press briefing at the Vice Presidents reception house in Quezon City. Never ko pa siyang na-meet sa aking buhay. Walang any political meeting o event na nangyari sa Ateneo eh. Pag sinabi niyang nagkita kami talagang sinungaling sya. she added. Story continues Robredo also said that while it is true that she there is communication between her and Trillanes, they only talked about the elections and never about ouster plot. She also stressed that she will never be part of any destabilization. In all of our meetings, walang mention about destabilization, walang mention sa pagpapabagsak sa gobyerbo, walang mention tungkol kay Bikoy. I will never be part of any destabilization, she said. Otso Diretso senate bets, Samira Gutoc and Gary Alejano also refuted Advinculas allegations. I do not know Bikoy, I never met or talked to him, said Gutoc in a statement. I do not know him and have never met him. Further, the Otso Diretso did not meet Bikoy ever, said Alejano, who represents Magdalo Party-list in the House of Representatives and an ally of Trillanes. Robredo said she is ready to face any investigation on the supposed destabilization plot but questioned the administrations sudden giving of credence to Advinculas statement. Kayo yung nagsasabi na sinungaling ang taong ito, hindi napagkakatiwalaan tapos ngayon dahil hindi na kayo ang tinuturo, ang oposisyon na, all of a sudden kailangan na sya pakinggan, she said. The Vice President said they are now looking into possibilities of filing charges against Advincula. (with details from Grace Casin) The post Robredo, Otso Diretso bets deny meeting, knowing Bikoy appeared first on UNTV News. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks to former Hamas chairman Khalid Meshaal at Perdana Putra May 22, 2019. Bernama pic KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 A DAP lawmaker clarified today that the scholarships offered to Palestinian students will be privately funded by the universities themselves after concerns were raised over the priority given to foreigners instead of deserving local students. Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen said the scholarship announced yesterday by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad only be generated by the universities themselves, including the local private institutions of higher learning or private universities (IPTS). They will not involve any government funding or affect scholarships that are being offered to local Malaysians. This was confirmed by Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching upon verification after the announcement yesterday, he said in a statement on Facebook. Dr Mahathir yesterday said the government has decided to offer scholarships to Palestinian students to pursue bachelor, masters, and PhD courses in 12 Malaysian universities. The scholarships worth RM11.48 million and an initiative by Education Minister Maszlee Malik, will be offered through the Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia (PCOM). Yii said he contacted the Education Ministry to clarify on the policy whether it will involve public funds and also affect places in public universities, especially for the local Malaysian students. I believe it is important that priority should be given to the locals not just on scholarships but also entry into public universities or institution of higher learning, he said. Among the 12 universities are Albukhary International University, Mahsa University, Kolej Universiti Islam Perlis, Multimedia University, UCSI University, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Sunway University, Universiti Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Utara Malaysia. He said even though only one university is a government university out of the 12, funds for the scholarship must be raised by the university itself and no government grants will be used for this purpose. Story continues It is common practice for these private universities to offer scholarships to foreign students on a yearly basis, as it is part of their strategy to attract international students as it helps to improve their ranking as well. So for this year, such scholarships for international students will be offered or given priority for Palestinian students instead. There have been a certain level of confusion over the matter and I hope this clarification can clear some doubts over the matter, he added. Related Articles Kit Siang says debate with Najib off amid fears of racial conflict Review PTPTN repayment policy, says PBS after Dr M announces Palestinian scholarships PBT Segamat nafi pegawai menyamar tangkap kaki ponteng puasa Lawyer David Thomas Mathews is seen at the Kuala Lumpur High Court May 23, 2019. Picture by Mukhriz Hazim KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullahs lawyer today accused Attorney General (AG) Tommy Thomas of failing to practise full disclosure towards the court when presenting facts over a contempt of court case involving Shafee himself. David Thomas Mathews, when presenting his submission today, argued that it was not made known to the court that Shafees words that were being scrutinised were actually an answer to a question posed by a journalist. He pointed out the responsibility of the plaintiffs to practise full disclosure when bringing forward the facts of the case, saying matters deemed negative to their case should also be presented in court. It would be deemed incurably ineffective and fatal if there is a breach in duty (in full disclosure), he said before High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Firuz Jaffril. Mathews then explained how Shafees statement was a response to a journalists question asking about how he felt about his chances of winning the cases involving Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Mathews pointed out how the AGs initial application had not included the fact that the statement was a response to a question, arguing such facts were imperative to the case and the court when judgement is made. It was an answer to a question; it was a statement of opinion on his chances of success. It was not a pre-prepared statement, and you could say off the cuff, just outside the courtroom, he said. The question of what are your chances is conspicuously absent from the statement. These materials should have been properly placed within the statement so that My Lord can fairly decide, he said referring to the plaintiffs initial application documents. Mathews claimed that the stance of the AG, who he said saw Shafees statement on the judges level of impartiality as being able to affect the publics perception on the judiciary system, as an invalid position as it referred to an incident yet to happen. The public perception would depend on the eventual outcome of the case involving Datuk Seri Najib, whether positive or negative through him either being convicted or an acquittal. Story continues The important point is this, that it hinges on the eventual outcome of the case; when the statement was made, it cannot be contempt of something that may or may not happen, he said. On March 1, Mohd Firuz allowed the AGs application for leave to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Shafee. In the motion, Thomas said Shafee was an advocate and solicitor representing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who had been charged with several offences related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He said that on February 7, 2019, Muhammad Shafee was interviewed outside the High Court after a court proceeding involving Najib. Thomas claimed that the defendant knew or ought to have known that the offensive statement (reportedly made during the interview) was contemptuous to the judge and would undermine the administration of justice and public confidence in the judicial system in Malaysia. Todays proceedings were part of Shafees application to strike out the leave granted by the Mohd Firuz. Later on, Mathews alleged the contempt case was only brought against Shafee as a sign of the AG retaliating towards the lawyers comments during the same media interview. He explained how previous sections of the interview saw Shafee express frustration at the practices of the prosecution team in Najibs SRC International Sdn Bhd case which were also in response to questions posed by reporters. I dare to speculate, this application was largely brought about because they are unhappy about the comments made against them, the prosecution, he said. Proceedings then stood down, where Mohd Firuz then set proceedings to continue on Monday at 2pm, with Mathews to present the rest of his submission. Related Articles Arbitration centre's ex-chief gets green light to argue on his immunity Sime Darby unit wins leave to challenge alleged land grab in Melaka Judge chides federal counsel for 11th hour submission in Shafee contempt case By Cassell Bryan-Low, Colin Packham, David Lague, Steve Stecklow and Jack Stubbs CANBERRA (Reuters) - In early 2018, in a complex of low-rise buildings in the Australian capital, a team of government hackers was engaging in a destructive digital war game. The operatives agents of the Australian Signals Directorate, the nation's top-secret eavesdropping agency had been given a challenge. With all the offensive cyber tools at their disposal, what harm could they inflict if they had access to equipment installed in the 5G network, the next-generation mobile communications technology, of a target nation? What the team found, say current and former government officials, was sobering for Australian security and political leaders: The offensive potential of 5G was so great that if Australia were on the receiving end of such attacks, the country could be seriously exposed. The understanding of how 5G could be exploited for spying and to sabotage critical infrastructure changed everything for the Australians, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Mike Burgess, the head of the signals directorate, recently explained why the security of fifth generation, or 5G, technology was so important: It will be integral to the communications at the heart of a country's critical infrastructure - everything from electric power to water supplies to sewage, he said in a March speech at a Sydney research institute. Washington is widely seen as having taken the initiative in the global campaign against Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a tech juggernaut that in the three decades since its founding has become a pillar of Beijing's bid to expand its global influence. Yet Reuters interviews with more than two dozen current and former Western officials show it was the Australians who led the way in pressing for action on 5G; that the United States was initially slow to act; and that Britain and other European countries are caught between security concerns and the competitive prices offered by Huawei. Story continues The Australians had long harboured misgivings about Huawei in existing networks, but the 5G war game was a turning point. About six months after the simulation began, the Australian government effectively banned Huawei, the world's largest maker of telecom networking gear, from any involvement in its 5G plans. An Australian government spokeswoman declined to comment on the war game. After the Australians shared their findings with U.S. leaders, other countries, including the United States, moved to restrict Huawei. The anti-Huawei campaign intensified last week, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively banned the use of Huawei equipment in U.S. telecom networks on national security grounds and the Commerce Department put limits on the firm's purchasing of U.S. technology. Google's parent, Alphabet, suspended some of its business with Huawei, Reuters reported. Until the middle of last year, the U.S. government largely "wasn't paying attention," said retired U.S. Marine Corps General James Jones, who served as national security adviser to President Barack Obama. What spurred senior U.S. officials into action? A sudden dawning of what 5G will bring, according to Jones. "This has been a very, very fast-moving realization" in terms of understanding the technology, he said. "I think most people were treating it as a kind of evolutionary step as opposed to a revolutionary step. And now that light has come on." The Americans are now campaigning aggressively to contain Huawei as part of a much broader effort to check Beijing's growing military might under President Xi Jinping. Strengthening cyber operations is a key element in the sweeping military overhaul that Xi launched soon after taking power in 2012, according to official U.S. and Chinese military documents. The United States has accused China of widespread, state-sponsored hacking for strategic and commercial gain. A THREAT TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE If Huawei gains a foothold in global 5G networks, Washington fears this will give Beijing an unprecedented opportunity to attack critical infrastructure and compromise intelligence sharing with key allies. Senior Western security officials say this could involve cyber attacks on public utilities, communication networks and key financial centres. In any military clash, such attacks would amount to a dramatic change in the nature of war, inflicting economic harm and disrupting civilian life far from the conflict without bullets, bombs or blockades. To be sure, China would also be vulnerable to attacks from the U.S. and its allies. Beijing complained in a 2015 defence document, "China's Military Strategy," that it has already been a victim of cyber-espionage, without identifying suspects. Documents from the National Security Agency leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden showed that the United States hacked into Huawei's systems, according to media reports. Reuters couldn't independently verify that such intrusions took place. However, blocking Huawei is a huge challenge for Washington and its closest allies, particularly the other members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. From humble beginnings in the 1980s in the southern Chinese boom town of Shenzhen, Huawei has grown to become a technology giant that is deeply embedded in global communications networks and poised to dominate 5G infrastructure. There are few global alternatives to Huawei, which has financial muscle the company reported revenue for 2018 jumped almost 20 percent to more than $100 billion (78.8 billion) as well as competitive technology and the political backing of Beijing. "Restricting Huawei from doing business in the U.S. will not make the U.S. more secure or stronger," the company said in a statement in response to questions from Reuters. Such moves, it said, would only limit "customers in the U.S. to inferior and more expensive alternatives." For countries that exclude Huawei there is a risk of retaliation from Beijing. Since Australia banned the company from its 5G networks last year, it has experienced disruption to its coal exports to China, including customs delays on the Chinese side. In a statement, China's foreign ministry said it treated "all foreign coal equally" and that to assert "China has banned the import of Australian coal does not accord with the facts." Tension over Huawei is also exposing divisions in the Five Eyes group, which has been a foundation of the post-Second World War Western security architecture. During a trip to London on May 8, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stark warning to Britain, which has not ruled out using Huawei in its 5G networks. "Insufficient security will impede the United States' ability to share certain information within trusted networks," he said. "This is exactly what China wants; they want to divide Western alliances through bits and bytes, not bullets and bombs." Huawei's 74-year old founder, Ren Zhengfei, is a former officer in China's military, the People's Liberation Army. "Mr. Ren has always maintained the integrity and independence of Huawei," the company said. "We have never been asked to cooperate with spying and we would refuse to do so under any circumstance." In an interview with Reuters at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, Eric Xu, a deputy chairman, said Huawei had not allowed any government to install so-called backdoors in its equipment - illicit access that could enable espionage or sabotage - and would never do so. He said 5G was more secure than earlier systems. "China has not and will not demand companies or individuals use methods that run counter to local laws or via installing 'backdoors' to collect or provide the Chinese government with data, information or intelligence from home or abroad," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement in response to questions from Reuters. Washington argues that surreptitious backdoors aren't necessarily needed to wreak havoc in 5G systems. The systems will rely heavily on software updates pushed out by equipment suppliers - and that access to the 5G network, says the United States, potentially could be used to deploy malicious code. So far, America hasn't publicly produced hard evidence that Huawei equipment has been used for spying. Asked whether the United States was slow to react to potential threats posed by 5G, Robert Strayer, the State Department's lead cyber policy diplomat, told Reuters that America had long been concerned about Chinese telecom companies, but that over the past year, as 5G loomed closer, "we were starting to talk more and more with our allies." Banning Huawei from 5G networks remains "an end goal," he said. THE TECH THREAT The West has long harboured concerns about Chinese telecom equipment. In 2012, a U.S. House Intelligence Committee report concluded Chinese tech companies posed a national security threat. Huawei denounced the finding. Despite such concerns, the U.S. government's response to the threats posed by 5G only took shape more recently. In February 2018, Malcolm Turnbull, then prime minister of Australia, flew to Washington D.C. Even before Australia's eavesdropping agency had run its war game, Turnbull was already raising red flags in Washington. A former technology entrepreneur, he believed 5G presented significant risks and wanted to press allies to act against Huawei. "He was warning about how important 5G networks would be and the security risks we all needed to think about around countries that had capability, form and intent, as well as coercive laws," a senior Australian source told Reuters. A spokesman for Turnbull declined to comment. Turnbull and his advisers met U.S. officials, including Kirstjen Nielsen, then U.S. secretary of homeland security, and Michael Rogers, then head of the U.S. National Security Agency, the U.S. signals-intelligence operation. The Australians said they believed Beijing could compel Huawei to do its bidding and that this posed a threat should tensions with China rise in the future, said two of the Australian officials familiar with the meeting. The U.S. officials were receptive to the Australian message, but imposing restrictions on the world's largest maker of mobile network gear didn't appear to be a high priority, according to the two Australian officials. "They didn't share our concern with the same urgency," said one. Rogers declined to comment. A Department of Homeland Security official did not elaborate on the meeting, but said the agency works closely with Australia on security issues and that "China will continue to use cyber espionage and bolster cyber-attack capabilities to support its national security priorities." 5G technology is expected to deliver a huge leap in the speed and capacity of communications. Downloading data may be up to 100 times faster than on current networks. But 5G isn't only about faster data. The upgrade will see an exponential spike in the number of connections between the billions of devices, from smart fridges to driverless cars, that are expected to run on the 5G network. "It's not just that there will be more people with multiple devices, but it will be machines talking to machines, devices talking to devices all enabled by 5G," said Burgess, the Australian Signals Directorate chief, in his March address. This configuration of 5G networks means there are many more points of entry for a hostile power or group to conduct cyber warfare against the critical infrastructure of a target nation or community. That threat is magnified if an adversary has supplied equipment in the network, U.S. officials say. Huawei said in its statement that the company does "not control in any way the networks in which our equipment is deployed by our clients. The US and Australian allegations are fanciful and are not rooted in any evidence at all." In July 2018, Britain delivered a blow to Huawei. A government-led panel that includes senior intelligence officials said it was no longer fully confident it could manage national security risks posed by the Chinese telecom equipment giant. That panel oversees the work of a laboratory that was set up by the British government in 2010 and is funded by Huawei to vet the company's equipment used in the UK. The facility was established because even then Huawei was perceived as a security risk. The oversight panel said serious problems it had identified with Huawei's engineering processes "exposed new risks in the UK telecommunication networks and long-term challenges in mitigation and management." That report was a "bombshell," shaping how the Americans viewed the Huawei 5G risk, said one U.S. official. U.S. officials also point to Chinese laws enacted in recent years that they say could compel individuals and companies to assist the Chinese government in conducting espionage. China's foreign ministry called this portrayal by U.S. officials of Chinese legislation "a misreading and a wanton smearing of relevant Chinese laws," adding: "Trying to smear others to wash oneself clean is futile." THE WEST AWAKES Through the middle of last year, the Australians continued to apprise other countries of their worries about 5G. "We were sharing our concerns about security with many allies, not just the U.S. and not just the traditional partners," said one of the senior Australian officials. "We shared our thoughts with Japan, Germany, other European countries and South Korea." In Washington, the administration began imposing restrictions on Huawei. In August, Trump signed a bill banning federal agencies and their contractors from using equipment from Huawei and ZTE Corp, another Chinese telecom equipment maker. Huawei has since filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas challenging the ban. In late August, the Australians went further: They banned companies that didn't meet their security requirements, which included Huawei, from supplying any equipment for the country's 5G network, whether run by the government or by private firms. Australia's decision, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "has no basis in fact, and is an abuse of 'national security' standards. China urges the Australian side to abandon Cold War thinking and ideological prejudices, and provide a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies." In November, New Zealand's intelligence agency blocked the country's first request by a telecom service provider to use Huawei kit for a 5G network, citing national security concerns. Like the Australians and Americans, British security officials had concerns over China's potential use of Huawei as a channel for conducting espionage. But the options are limited. Huawei is one of only three major global companies that analysts say can supply a broad range of advanced mobile network equipment at scale. The other two are Ericsson and Nokia. And Huawei has a reputation among telecom operators for supplying cost-effective equipment promptly. Nevertheless, British security officials were becoming increasingly frustrated with what they viewed as Huawei's failure to fix software flaws in its equipment, particularly discrepancies in the source code the programs' underlying set of instructions. This problem means the laboratory near Oxford set up to vet Huawei equipment can not even be sure that the code it is testing is exactly the same as the code Huawei deploys in its real-world equipment. This makes it difficult to provide safety assurances about the company's gear. British officials say the array of flaws could be exploited by China, as well as other malevolent actors. Ian Levy, a British security official who oversees the UK's review of Huawei equipment, told Reuters the company's software engineering is like something from 20 years ago. "The chance of a vulnerability with a Huawei piece of kit is much higher than other vendors," he said. The company said it has pledged to spend at least $2 billion "over the next five years" to improve its software engineering capabilities. British ministers have agreed to allow Huawei a restricted role in building parts of its 5G network, but the government has yet to announce its final decision. The European Union has left it to individual governments to decide whether to ban any company on national security grounds. Some European security officials say banning one supplier doesn't address the broader issue of the risks posed by Chinese technology in general. HUAWEI FIGHTS BACK As the tensions between the West and Huawei intensified through last year, they suddenly took a personal turn. U.S. law enforcement officials had for some time been investigating links between Huawei and Iran, including the involvement of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, who is the daughter of the company's founder. The probe followed Reuters stories in 2012 and 2013 that revealed links between Huawei, Meng and another company that allegedly attempted to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran. When U.S. officials became aware that Meng would be travelling through Vancouver in December, they pounced, asking Canada to detain her on allegations of bank and wire fraud. Meng remains free on bail in Canada while the U.S. government tries to have her extradited. Huawei said in its statement that Meng "is not guilty of the charges she faces," and that they are "politically motivated." The Huawei conflict isn't only about U.S.-China superpower rivalry: The activities of Meng and Huawei were under scrutiny by U.S. authorities long before Trump began a trade war with China, according to interviews with people familiar with those probes. But there is no doubt the wider showdown with Huawei has now become intensely geopolitical. In recent months, the U.S. has ramped up diplomatic efforts to urge allies to sideline Huawei. 5G is a "game-changing technology with implications across all aspects of society from business, government, military and beyond," Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, told Reuters in February. "It seems common sense to me to not hand over the keys to your entire society to an actor that has demonstrated malign conduct." Asked whether there is evidence of Huawei equipment having been used for espionage, Sondland said "there is classified evidence." He declined to expand on the nature of the material beyond saying there was no doubt that Huawei had "the capability to hack a system" and "the mandate by the government to do so upon request." Pompeo has publicly gone further than most U.S. officials by directly linking the company to Beijing. "Huawei is owned by the state of China and has deep connections to their intelligence service," he said in March. "That should send off flares for everybody who understands what the Chinese military and Chinese intelligence services do." Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the government, military or Chinese intelligence services. "U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo is wrong," the company said in its statement, adding that it is owned by its employees. While Huawei was initially muted in its public response, it too has become more combative. In late February, the company confronted the United States at a major annual gathering of mobile industry executives in Barcelona, where Huawei's red logo was ubiquitous. Top American officials arrived intent on warning government and industry representatives off Huawei. But the company had flown in a team of senior executives to offer customers and representatives of European governments reassurance in the face of the U.S. accusations. In a keynote speech, Guo Ping, a deputy chairman at Huawei, took aim at America's own spying operations. "Prism, Prism on the wall. Who's the most trustworthy of them all?" he said. Guo was referring to a mass U.S. foreign-surveillance operation called Prism that was disclosed by former NSA contractor Snowden. The barb drew laughter from the audience. Europeans pushed back, too. During one closed-door session, senior representatives from European telecom operators pressed a U.S. official for hard evidence that Huawei presented a security risk. One executive demanded to see a smoking gun, recalled the U.S. official. The American official fired back: "If the gun is smoking, you've already been shot. I don't know why you're lining up in front of a loaded weapon." (Reporting by Cassell Bryan-Low, Colin Packham, David Lague, Steve Stecklow and Jack Stubbs. Additional reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Wellington; Yoshifumi Takemoto in Tokyo; Jonathan Weber; Sijia Jiang; Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping in Beijing. Edited by Peter Hirschberg and Richard Woods.) A United Nations arms experts who was arrested in Tunisia in late March on espionage charges has been released and is recovering at home in Berlin, the UN spokesman said Wednesday. Moncef Kartas, a German-Tunisian dual national, is a member of the UN panel of experts investigating allegations of violations of an arms embargo and other sanctions imposed on Libya. "The UN confirms that Moncef Kartas was released from detention and that he is now at his home in Berlin in Germany," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "We are pleased to see that Mr. Kartas has been freed and is recovering at home." Kartas was released on bail Tuesday following a review of the case by an appeals court in Tunisia. He was arrested on arrival in Tunis on March 26. Kartas's defense team has said the charges are linked to the arms expert's possession of a device allowing him to have access to data on flights of civil and commercial aircraft. Last week, the United Nations rejected Tunisia's reasons for Kartas's arrest and demanded charges be dropped and his immediate release, arguing that he was subject to diplomatic immunity as a UN employee. The US's aviation regulator has still not received Boeing's proposed fix for its 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded globally following two deadly crashes, the agency's chief said on Wednesday. Boeing has said it will patch the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) stall prevention system, which has been blamed for the two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people and caused the best-selling planes to be taken out of service. Boeing said last week that it had finished making changes requested by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but the agency's interim chief Dan Elwell told reporters the agency hadn't yet seen the fixes. "We are still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software for approval," he said on the sidelines of a summit of global aviation regulators in Fort Worth, Texas. Elwell said the FAA sent Boeing additional questions about its proposed fixes for the MAX planes, which caused the delay. The summit set to begin Thursday will see the FAA attempt to re-establish trust with aviation regulators from 33 countries including China, Canada, the European Union, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The regulator called the summit to walk through the steps taken to address concerns with the MAX aircraft after it was criticized for dragging its feet on ordering the jets grounded. Canadian and American regulators have differed on the proper training for the 737 MAX 8, with Canada insisting pilots train in a flight simulator and the US saying a training course on a computer or iPad is enough. "We haven't determined the final training yet," Elwell said. Two American carriers -- Southwest and American -- have announced plans to restart flights on their MAX aircraft from August in hopes the fix will be completed by then. The FAA chief added that he couldn't say when the jet would be back in the air, blaming the recent delay. "It takes as long as it takes to be right," Elwell said. "We need to be the first to lift the prohibition." The head of the US air safety agency said on Wednesday his agency hadn't yet evaluated Boeing's patch for its 737 MAX 8 jet, ahead of a Thursday summit of global aviation regulators. The 737 MAX was grounded following the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which together with an Indonesian Lion Air crash in October claimed 346 lives and were both blamed on faulty technology in the aircraft. The summit in Fort Worth, Texas is expected to provide clues as to whether global aviation safety authorities will be willing to set aside any hesitation about the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which was the last to ground the plane and has not yet given the green light for the 737 MAX to fly again. In a sign of the work remaining to be done before the MAX 8 can fly again, interim FAA chief Dan Elwell said his agency has not yet received Boeing's proposed fix for the automated control system blamed in the crashes. "We are still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software for approval," Elwell said ahead of the summit. "It takes as long as it takes to be right," Elwell said, saying the delay was caused by the FAA sending Boeing additional questions about its proposed fix. However US carriers appear ready to put the plane back in the air, with American Airlines and Southwest both scheduling flights using the jet for August in the apparent hope that it will be cleared to fly then. - Explanations - But before that can happen regulators "are going to want a lot of explanation," said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. "We're going to learn a lot." The FAA would prefer to have other agencies quickly follow its lead -- which previously would have been likely -- but several aviation experts think that is improbable. Fifty seven agencies from 33 countries will attend the summit, including China, France, Germany, Britain, India, Indonesia and Ethiopia, as well as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the UN International Civil Aviation Organization. Officials from the European Union and Canada said Wednesday they will not clear the 737 MAX for takeoff until their questions are answered. "There are conditions for us to have (the 737 MAX) return to fly and that is we do our independent review," said Jagello Fayl, communications chief for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Meanwhile, Transport Canada "has provided US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing a list of questions and action items to address as part of the validation process and evaluation," Transport Canada spokeswoman Frederica Dupuis said in an email. "Our expectation is that all data required to address these inquiries will be provided." Dupuis said she "cannot speculate on the timelines" for approval of the 737 MAX by the FAA or Canadian officials. - Still the 'gold standard'? - The meeting comes after Boeing announced on May 16 that it had completed a software update to address a problem with the flight handling program known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). In both of the MAX crashes, the MCAS pointed the plane sharply downward based on a faulty sensor reading, hindering the pilots' effort to control the aircraft after takeoff, according to preliminary crash investigations. China's three largest airlines have sought compensation from Boeing over the grounding and delayed further delivery of the jets, state media reported Wednesday. A Boeing spokesman said the company does not comment on conversations with customers, but that they are providing additional information to the FAA in anticipation of a certification test flight, a key step in winning regulatory approval. Long considered a "gold standard" internationally, the FAA's reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of the oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the 737 MAX. US lawmakers last week once again castigated Elwell for lagging behind virtually all other regulators in grounding the planes, acting only after seeing data linking the two crashes. Elwell meanwhile said the agency would permit the 737 MAX to resume flights "only when the FAA's analysis of the facts and technical data indicate that it is safe to do so." Elwell said he hoped other regulators "make their un-grounding as close to ours as possible." US senators from both political parties will reintroduce legislation on Thursday committing the government to punish Chinese individuals and entities involved in what they call Beijings illegal and dangerous activities in the South and East China seas. If it becomes law, the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act would require the government to seize US-based financial assets and revoke or deny US visas of anyone engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security or stability of areas in the South China Sea that are contested by one or more members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). This bipartisan bill strengthens efforts by the US and our allies to counter Beijings illegal and dangerous militarisation of disputed territory that it has seized in the South China Sea, Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican who is leading the legislation with Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin, told the South China Morning Post. This legislation reiterates Americas commitment to keeping the region free and open for all countries, and to holding the Chinese government accountable for bullying and coercing other nations in the region. The bill would require the US secretary of state to provide Congress with a report every six months identifying any Chinese person or company involved in construction or development projects in areas in the South China Sea contested by Asean members. Activities targeted by the bill include land reclamation, the making of islands, lighthouse construction and the building of mobile communication infrastructure. Those who are complicit or engaged in activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability of those regions or areas of the East China Sea administered by Japan or the Republic of Korea would also be subject to sanctions, the bill says. The legislation was previously introduced in 2017 but never moved from the Foreign Relations Committee to the full Senate, which, along with the House of Representatives, must approve a bill before it goes to the president to be signed into law. Story continues Those supporting the new bill are hoping for a different outcome this time, with some drawing confidence from a new Foreign Relations Committee chairman Senator James Risch who has made scrutiny of Beijings policies and practices a staple of his tenure since taking over from fellow Republican Bob Corker in January. Were very optimistic, given chairman Rischs interest in China issues, a spokeswoman for Rubio said on Wednesday, adding that there would be no difference in language between Thursdays version of the bill and the one introduced in 2017. Also bolstering hopes that the legislation will progress is rising hawkishness towards Beijing among lawmakers in both houses of Congress and on both sides of the political aisle. Across a broad range of matters, including national security, trade and intellectual property, the administrations position on China has won support from even the most ardent critics of US President Donald Trump. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for instance, has applauded Trumps waging of a costly trade war with Beijing, including his escalating use of tariffs. In a possible indicator of increased support for congressional resistance to Beijing, the current bill is co-sponsored by 13 Democratic and Republican senators, a significant increase from the two who signed on to the 2017 legislation. Bonnie Glaser of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington, said it was right that we now have a very harsh atmosphere in the Congress when it comes to China, but predicted that the obligatory, binding language of the legislation would have to be toned down for it to make its way to the presidents desk. I think most administrations tend to baulk at Congress having that much say over foreign policy, said Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia and specialist in Chinas foreign and security policy at CSIS. If it ever gets support within the Senate, therell probably have to be a compromise with the House. My guess is that it would not ultimately be passed in this form. But it was important to have this discussion and debate, said Glaser, who noted that the South China Sea had not been on the front burner of the Trump administrations policy agenda. And so introducing it in Congress might not be a bad idea. Reintroducing the legislation had been on Rubios radar for about a month, said the senators spokeswoman, though it had become very timely given the US Navys recent freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) in the region, each of which has elicited firm resistance from Beijing and, in some cases, close encounters with Chinese naval vessels. After a US destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Sunday, the second of such FONOPs in a month, Beijing said the ships actions had violated Chinas sovereignty and undermined the peace, security and good order in the relevant sea areas. The Trump administration has done a much better job at conducting regular and frequent FONOPs than previous administrations, said Glaser, adding that the US government had been successful in encouraging other stakeholders in the region to engage in joint cruises and exercises. Earlier this month, for instance, the US conducted naval drills with India, Japan and the Philippines, a joint show of force that Glaser characterised as unusual, adding she was glad to see [it]. And while economic sanctions could play more than a symbolic role in going after offenders, Glaser said it was important to recognise that, while China may commit the most egregious violations of international law, it was not the only entity engaged in harassing activities in the region. Recent data from CSIS China Power Project, which is headed by Glaser, found that 73 per cent of major maritime incidents in the South China Sea since 2010 involved a Chinese law enforcement vessel. Its a high percentage, but its not 100 per cent, said Glaser, suggesting that was something that Thursdays legislative proposal did not account for. The bill, she said, was not about bad actors, its really just about China. More from South China Morning Post: This article US Senate bill proposes sanctions for involvement in illegal activities in South and East China seas first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. Top image: Creamy Mushroom Toast with Scrambled Eggs from Atlas Coffeehouse. Image credit: Burppler Melissa Chee The story of brunch begins with a hangover. In 1895, Guy Beringer, an Englishman, wrote an essay for Hunters Weekly advocating for a new kind of meal. In his view, the arguments for it were incontestable. In the first place, wrote Beringer, it renders early rising not only unnecessary but ridiculous You are, therefore, able to prolong your Saturday nights, heedless of[t]he fear of the next mornings reaction. In other words, such a meal offered a realistic compromise for the impulse to get wasted and sleep in. Enter his solution: the playful love-child of breakfast and lunch. A century on from Beringers manifesto, brunch has become a fully-fledged cultural phenomenon and staple of the weekend dining scene. We are, it seems, still completely in love with it. The question is: why? Before we can explore the rise of brunch, we must first understand what this ritual entails. For the benefit of the uninitiated, let me, as a Basic Bitch who Brunches, say this: brunch is no mere meal. It is a ritual, and like every ritual, it has steps that must be followed. First, preliminaries. Brunch needs to be organised around 1-2 weeks in advance. This is to give the chat group the requisite period of festering in silence, while everyone procrastinates on deciding where to eat. Two nights before, someone will realise no progress has been made. The Burpple Guide to The Best Cafes in Singapore is hastily consulted, and a cafe settled on. Everyone agrees to meet at 11:00 AM in the tacit understanding that half the group will be late anyway. The morning of, crack an eye open 20 minutes before you have to leave the house. Scramble to get dressed and to the cafe, praying that your one responsible friend shows up early enough to secure a table. When everyone eventually tumbles into their seats, spend the first 10 minutes catching up. When the staff come to take your orders, grin sheepishly and ask for a few more minutes so you can actually look at your menus. Story continues Then the real fun starts. No matter how many times youve seen a brunch menu, looking at one sparks a crisis of indecision. However firmly you think youre in Team Sweet or Team Savoury, your resolve will be tested. Do I get the butterscotch banana pancakes? The creamy mushrooms on sourdough toast? A flat white or a mint mocha? How do you feel today, you ask your stomach. I dont know, replies Stomach. I want everything. Ask your friends what theyre ordering, in the hope of a) getting inspiration, or b) that someone is looking at one of your top two choices, so that you can share. (This is the civilised, coordinated version. Alternatively, just steal bites from them anyway.) Marvel at how the words candied bacon are the two most beautiful in the English language. Marvel at how you, sucker that you are, might actually be willing to shell out $6 for those two measly strips of glory. Again. Continue to languish in the throes of indecision. When the waitress returns, throw the friend seated furthest from you under the bus by suggesting they order first. Make up your mind in the last 5 seconds before the waitress turns to you. When the food arrives, start snapping photos like youve never seen Eggs Benedict in your life. Get your friends to take a photo of you with your food. Take a photo of your friends taking photos of their food. Finally relax into conversation as everyone tucks in. This gradually dies down as the plates empty and people slump back into their seats, giving their food babies a satisfied pat. Eventually haul yourselves out of your seats, get the bill, hug goodbye, go home, and pass out. Repeat from the top two months later. If this sounds all too familiar to you, its because you were probably a member of the Basic Brunch Club, which hit peak membership around 2014/15. Back then, if you threw a coin around Tanjong Pagar or Clarke Quay, youd hit someone standing in line at one of the innumerable cafes in the area. No menu was complete without some mention of brioche, truffled, or sriracha, and half the population under 35 was suffering from a mild case of scrambled egg fatigue. We were slightly bored and more than slightly broke. Brunch, it seemed, was starting to lose its sparkle; cafes began to shut as quickly as they opened, forced out by stiff competition and high operating costs. Yet here we are now, in 2019, and while the honeymoon has ended, its clear the party hasnt stopped. On any given weekend, the queue at places like Ronin and Five Oars Coffee Roasters can be formidable. Long-time players Forty Hands opened their second branch last year, while Craftsmen Specialty Coffee now has six outlets around the island (I was at one two weekends ago, and only just grabbed the last free table before the crowd set in). Meanwhile, Burpples Best Cafes & Coffee guide is easily its most-viewed page every year, racking up over 500,000 views in all since 2014. Food fads come and go, but our hunger for brunch shows no signs of abating. Why? First, the ever-evolving array of options. Over time, brunch fare has arguably shifted away from its origins as glorified all-day breakfast and into a more complex, sophisticated creature, a mash-up of breakfast food, lunch staples like burgers, and dessert, with a heavy dose of Australian cafe culture and international or fusion elements. As cafes innovate to try and keep customers coming back, we wind up with dishes like mentaiko mac and cheese or breakfast steak tacos. Second, the sheer, slightly embarrassing, decadence of brunch. As much as brunch fare has grown increasingly sophisticated, its core staplesthe classics that form the backbone of every menu, like scrambled eggs on toast or pancakesremain things we can essentially make at home. (It also bears mentioning that many of them are Western dishes, which most of us would have grown up eating relatively infrequentlyand for whom, as such, remain slightly novel.) But the fact still stands that if you strip out the fancy extras, like soft shell crab or whipped ricotta, most brunch dishes are relatively simple and inexpensive to make yourself. Everyone knows this. Its why were still horrified at shelling out $14 for what is, strictly speaking, eggs on bread. (Any restauranteur will tell you that brunch foods are amongst the easiest to make a decent profit margin from.) In other words, brunch feels indulgent precisely because we could make it ourselves, if we really wanted. The premium we pay for this outsourcing casts it firmly as one of lifes little luxuries: a more accessible one, perhaps, but a luxury nonetheless. Its generally not prohibitively expensive, but still costly enough that it can only be enjoyed as an occasional treat. And after all, what is more decadent than paying someone else to make something you could do yourself? Which leads me to the last point: brunch is aspirational. Its about turning the ordinary into something celebratory, evenor especiallywhen theres no reason to. Nobody rushes brunch; its not a meal you can wolf down on the go. Its not a meal you do by yourself. You make an effort to get together with people you love and dress up nicely for the occasion. The food is often outrageously photogenic, with special attention paid to plating and presentation in the age of the gram. Moreover, the ambience of a cafe is orchestrated to create good vibes: plants, an abundance of natural light, a mix of wood and concrete furniture, and low-key, chilled-out tunes are virtual givens in any cafe, but theyre used so often because they work. You almost always have a good time, and leave with good memories. With this reliable cocktail of factors, brunch has become a special, cherished space; one where, for two hours, you get to play at being your best self. I dont remember what I ate the very first time I had proper brunch, back at Wild Honey in 2011. In fact, I dont remember what I ate at most of the brunches Ive been to. What I do remember is how that first brunch made me feel: grown-up, put-together, someone closer to the glamorous women of Sex & The City (or so I hoped), rather than the awkward 18-year-old I was. Of course, the food is key to the experience; its not brunch without the thrill of smoked salmon and hollandaise. But at the end of the day, food is never just about whats on your plate. Its about the emotional experience we attach to it, and brunch, with its magic sparkle sauce of deliciousness, decadence, company, and conversation, makes for one hell of a dopamine rush. In this, I leave you with the timeless words of Guy Beringer: Brunch is a hospitable meal; breakfast is not. Eggs and bacon are adapted to solitude; they are consoling, but not exhilarating. They do not stimulate conversation. Brunch, on the contrary, is cheerful, sociable, and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper; it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow-beings. It sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week. The advantages of the suggested innovation are, in short, without number, and I submit it is fully time that the old regime of Sunday breakfast made room for the new course of Sunday Brunch. This story is part of a new food column on Rice and a collaboration with Burpple, Singapores leading dining discovery platform and 1-for-1 dining membership program. Do you think brunch is #basic? Overrated? Or the best thing since sliced brioche? Write to us at community@ricemedia.co. The post The Enduring Popularity of Brunch, Explained appeared first on RICE. The Polisario Front, which has been running out of air in recent times, seeks to stir up trouble in the Moroccan Sahara in an attempt to conceal the many diplomatic setbacks it has suffered in the Western Sahara issue. The Polisarios setbacks and isolation got worse recently as Algerian leaders focus on the internal situation in their country, where popular uprisings are claiming, since February 22, a change of the regime. To divert attention from their failures, the Polisario leaders encourage their pawns in the Moroccan Sahara, called the separatists from the inside, to paralyze road traffic at the Guergarate border crossing between southern Morocco and northern Mauritania. They also encourage trafficking of all kinds, including narcotics smuggling, to line their coffers, which have virtually dried up since Algeria, their main funder, reduced cash flows. It is in this context that the Moroccan gendarmerie and Royal Navy led last week, in just three days, two separate operations that allowed the arrest of several drug traffickers. Some of the traffickers work for the Polisario in the Ain El Bida area, between southern Dakhla and northern Mauritania. The Royal Gendarmerie arrested two individuals aboard a Nissan Patrol all-terrain vehicle with a false license plate carrying a ton and a half of chira (cannabis resin), Moroccan daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia reported this Wednesday May 22. The gendarmerie also seized in the vehicle a Kalashnikov-type firearm and two ammunition loaders. For its part, the Royal Navy neutralized on May 16 a fishing boat that was heading from the coast of Dakhla to the extreme south of the Kingdom with a cargo of 100 kg of chira and 600 liters of gas, the daily added. Moroccan security forces in the southern zone are currently on the alert to face up attempts by mafia groups in connection with the Polisario, to turn the region into a hub of international narcotics trafficking. ANI New Delhi [India], December 27 (ANI): The follow-up year to a tough 2020 wasn't exactly the kind of "normal" that everyone was hoping for, but it did give us some headlines that didn't have to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the beautiful celebrity weddings. Photo credit: Courtesy From Esquire Loro Piana is pretty much the worst-kept secret in the world of luxury. The northern Italian lifestyle brand has been a textile and raw materials leader since its founding as a weaver in 1924, and it has supplied cloth and yarns to the top tier of mens and womens clothing ever since. In short, its lofty pedigree guarantees means its the kind of clothing brand that inspires life-long loyalty. Provided you know about it, that is-and it seems the power players of the art world have caught on. But before we get to that, a bit more on Loro Piana. Its pedigree stands on one thing: those raw materials. The company's technicians regularly go further than most-literally. Their journeys take them to the ends of the earth (the Alashan Desert of Inner Mongolia, Machu Picchu in Peru, even remote marshes in Bhutan) to secure the finest natural fibers known to man. Yet the nearly 100-year-old company also has a reputation for painstaking technical research and material innovation at its HQ in the Biella region, where most of Italys top-end weavers are based. In 1994, Loro Piana developed the revolutionary waterproofing treatment for cashmere and wool called Storm System. The cloth is so highly regarded it often gets its own label alongside a broad range of high-end nametags. Storm System was, and is, a gamechanger; it meant an overcoat could finally feel luxurious and effectively repel the rain. Photo credit: Courtesy Loro Pianas advantage, however, in a world of 24/7, in-your-face global fashion brands, is precisely that it is not as well-known as others. And since it was bought by LVMH in 2012, the brand has deliberately not rushed to stake a claim on a wider market. Yet. That means every step out into the consciousness of the buying public-like the pop-up shop that opened this week in New Yorks rapidly upscaling Meatpacking District-is a carefully measured one. Whats telling here is that for the pop-up (a permanent store will follow in situ at the end of the year), Loro Piana decided to focus not on its stellar cashmere and vicuna, but almost exclusively on shoes. Story continues Just two or three designs are sold at the store on Ninth Avenue, with the deceptively low-key Open Walk and Summer Walk laceless slip-ons leading the way. These streamlined and extremely comfortable shoes come with low-profile white soles and in a range of tastefully muted suedes in ready-to-wear, but many more are available in the made-to-measure service that has also launched in the store. Why? you may well ask. Well, one reason may be the proximity to the art galleries of Chelsea, for these shoes have lately become something of an insider's badge of office for power-players in the art world all the way up to Larry Gagosian himself, who is described wearing them in Michael Schnayerson's new book Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers and the Rise of Contemporary Art (out today on Amazon). At a meeting in Basel, Switzerland, Schnayerson provides an accounting of the shoes' status. Gagosian-in a uniform of dark-blue linen and black, rubber soled Loro Piana moccassins, the ne-plus-ultra of slip ons-padded off with a panther-like gait into a waiting Mercedes. That, right there, is just the sort of niche appeal with which the right brand can take on the world. ('You Might Also Like',) Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla - Getty Images From Esquire Right now, every couple of hours, the United States starts lurching toward some sort of military confrontation with Iran, and then it lurches back. It's what The Guns of August would have read like if it had been written by Tom Robbins. It makes the high diplomacy portrayed in Duck Soup look like the Congress of Vienna. The fact that the people calling this particular square dance are John Bolton and Mike Pompeo fills me with confidence in neither my government's competence in this regard nor in its honesty. And now, from the Washington Post, comes just the kind of story you want to hear when the United States is flirting with war in Persia. Acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan has mandated new restrictions on the way the Pentagon shares information with Congress about military operations around the world, a move that is straining ties with key Republican and Democratic lawmakers. In a May 8 internal memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post, Shanahan lays out the criteria for when Pentagon officials may provide congressional offices or committees information they request about operational plans and orders... ...The memo was shared widely inside the Pentagon but was sent to key lawmakers only after inquiries by The Post. It outlines a half-dozen guidelines, including requirements that military officials and political appointees evaluate whether the request contains sufficient information to demonstrate a relationship to the legislative function. The memo urges Defense Department officials to provide a summary briefing rather than a requested plan or order itself. The memo appears to have been inspired by concerns that lawmakers, who have security clearances, will not safeguard military plans. It calls on officials to assess whether the degree of protection from unauthorized disclosure that Congress will afford to the plan is equivalent to that afforded by the Pentagon. Clearly, somebody in the White House counsel's office-or, perhaps, in the office of the Attorney General, and the person is perhaps standing right at this moment in the AG's socks and underwear-has fallen in mad monkey love with this "relationship to legislative function" dodge, which two federal judges already have laughed out of court in matters concerning the president*'s finances. Now it's being trotted out any time the administration* wants to do something of which the House of Representatives disapproves. Story continues What is being attempted here is the de facto redefinition of the powers of the Legislative Branch by members of the Executive, who maintain the preposterous position that they themselves can define the limits of congressional inquiries into their own action. This not only turns the Constitution on its head, it rewrites the first two articles thereof in a way that would've sent James Madison diving head-first into a cask of fine Madeira. Photo credit: Martin H. Simon - Getty Images This is pure, authoritarian audacity. You try something and, if it works, and there is no effective resistance, you try the next thing you want and see if there's effective resistance against that. And, in this case, the Constitution is unambiguous: the war powers of the government reside with the Congress. Granted, Congress has ceded this power too readily to the Executive over the past 80 years or so, much to the discomfort of many congresscritters and a whole bunch of people in Southeast Asia. But there is absolutely no question that Congress is entitled to ask from the Department of Defense any information that it wants to have. If these new DoD regulations prevail, the president* could station 150,000 troops at the border with orders to shoot to kill, and the DoD would be empowered to deny Congress any information about it. If these regulations are put into effect, they will almost certainly be shredded in court as soon as a case against them is brought. But, more than that, this is an issue that requires the opposition of the uniformed military, or at least those retired brass hats who are on television all the time. Once upon a time, the executive branch tried to run a war while keeping uncomfortable truths from the Congress and the American people. They hired a young researcher named Daniel Ellsberg to put together a true history of this war so that its architects would have a record of their failure, but that nobody else would. Then, one day, that report hit The New York Times, and then it hit the Washington Post. And a previous criminal presidency went to the Supreme Court to stop the publication of that report. It lost. And, siding with the media, Justice Hugo Black wrote: In other words, we are asked to hold that, despite the First Amendment's emphatic command, the Executive Branch, the Congress, and the Judiciary can make laws enjoining publication of current news and abridging freedom of the press in the name of "national security." The Government does not even attempt to rely on any act of Congress. Instead, it makes the bold and dangerously far-reaching contention that the courts should take it upon themselves to "make" a law abridging freedom of the press in the name of equity, presidential power and national security, even when the representatives of the people in Congress have adhered to the command of the First Amendment and refused to make such a law. Laws, not men, and especially not these men. Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here. ('You Might Also Like',) When traveling abroad, its important to not seem like an obnoxious tourist wherever you go. After all, you wouldnt want to give other tourists a bad rep. This means you have to play by the local rules. But sometimes, some people just dont get the memo. Much like Florence, Italy banning tourists from snacking in the street, or Rome arresting people for swimming in the Trevi fountain, authorities near the Tottori dunes in Japan are asking tourists to stop writing in the sand or face a fine. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images According to Lonely Planet, local authorities in Japan are doubling down on their efforts to stop anyone from writing messages and other annoying acts along the Tottori coastline. The famous dunes found in San-in Coast National park gets millions of visitors every year. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, the number of visitors staying overnight in Tottori topped 3.29 million in 2018. Its not clear whether all visitors visited the sand dunes. Unfortunately, so many visitors can also cause problems for the environment. Back in 2008, the government was already aware of the sand graffiti problem and issued an ordinance that says anyone caught writing sand messages larger than 10 square meters (107 square feet) would face a fine of 50,000 (about $456 USD), Lonely Planet reported. Apparently, this has not deterred sand vandals. According to The Guardian, there have been more than 3,300 incidents of sand graffiti in the last decade. There were over 200 in 2018 alone. One particular instance last January involved someone writing Happy Birthday, Natalie in a space that was about 25 meters (82 feet) long, The Guardian reported. The couple was ordered to erase it themselves, but most of the time, graffiti is erased by volunteers and government workers. To try and curb the continuing graffiti problem, officials are increasing the number of warning signs in different languages, including English, Chinese, and Korean to deter visitors from sand writing. Story continues Sure, writing in the sand isnt exactly permanent, but locals consider it a big nuisance and an eyesore to the natural beauty of the area. According to The Guardian, its one of the many complaints locals have against foreign tourists. It remains to be seen what extra warning signs will do to the physical beauty of the landscape, though. Getty Images If anything, being aware of the $400+ fine should probably be enough for most people. Page Content We can't wait to welcome you to the SHRM 2019 Annual Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas! SHRM has launched new learning opportunities and conference experiences to bring our theme of "Creating Better Workplaces" to life. Read below to learn about these new offerings and how to get the most out of #SHRM19. Conference Program With over 200 sessions to choose from, the program is full of critical topics to inform, inspire and help you transform the workplace. A new series to check out this year: Change-Makers. These leaders, from Zappos, Airbnb, Universal Music Group and other influential businesses, will share bold ideas to keep you ahead of the curve. Create Personal Connections at Work: A Q&A with Dan Schawbel New York Times best-selling author Dan Schawbel wants to help professionals reclaim their humanity and build deeper relationships. His Q&A explores how employers can help workers do that. And at his #SHRM19 mega session, you'll learn about the biggest workplace trends for 2019 that will have an impact on HR departments, as informed by research, insights and case studies. Learn to Elevate Your Voice and Engage with Policymakers on Workplace Issues SHRM members impact the lives of over 115 million people each day at work. Wielding that influence, they are best suited to be a valuable resource and advocate--not just to SHRM or to our work, but also to policymakers for developing policies that create better workplaces and a better world. At this session, you will hear directly from policy leaders about commonsense solutions to critical workplace issues and what they need to learn from you to make real change. Explore Curiosity with Dr. Diane Hamilton In this All Things Work podcast, SHRM's Tony Lee is joined by Dr. Diane Hamilton, a nationally syndicated radio host, speaker and author whose work in the area of curiosity has garnered wide attention. They discuss how she became interested in studying curiosity, closing the curiosity gap between the C-suite and employees and what she'll be covering during her mega session on June 25 at 3:30 p.m. at the SHRM 2019 Annual Conference and Exposition. Calling All Young Professionals and Students! Are you an HR student or YP (young professional) who's looking for a "next level" #SHRM19 experience? Check out the new SHRM19 YP Experience page. Find all the info you need to build your conference network quickly, connect with other YPs on-site and make the most of this incredible experience. Connect with Attendees Before you arrive in Las Vegas, there's an opportunity to connect with other HR professionals via our online Conference Community! Explore a range of topics, from which are the best shows to see to suggestions for departments of one, first-time attendees, activity groups, regional connections and more. Whether you're looking for a fellow Fitbit enthusiast or someone to connect with "IRL" (in real life!), the Conference Community has something for everyone. You can access the Conference Community with the e-mail address and password you use to log on to SHRM.org. SHRM Foundation Brunch There is no better way to kick off your #SHRM19 experience than a fun and festive brunch with industry leaders, hosted by the SHRM Foundation. Join us Sunday, June 23, at 10 a.m. More details on the event and how to reserve your seat. Best Practices in Veteran Employment This one-day event provides HR professionals with resources and mentorship to support their work to build or strengthen a veteran employment program. "Veterans at Work: Activating Veteran Employment" is a free workshop made possible thanks to support from USAA and JPMorgan Chase. An application to attend the workshop is required. Join us Saturday, June 22, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to learn best practices and receive mentorship from leaders at award-winning organizations that are driving veteran employment. SHRM Specialty Credentials Demonstrate your competitive advantage, develop your specialized knowledge and expand your influence by earning a SHRM Specialty Credential. These five credentials allow HR professionals to be recognized among peers and leaders for their elevated competence in specialized, key fields of practice. By attending one of the educational programs marked with **, you are more than halfway to earning a SHRM Specialty Credential in California Law HR, HR Department of One, People Analytics, Talent Acquisition or U.S. Employment Immigration. SHRM Senior Leadership Programs New for this year, the SHRM Senior Leadership Programs will help you transform your leadership skills and strategic outlook to make you an invaluable asset to your organization's executive team. Add a program to your conference experience today. Session Recordings On Demand: Take Your Learning Home For the special conference rate of only $199, you can purchase a subscription to the SHRM eLearning Library and have access to the concurrent session recordings from #SHRM19. With 20 concurrent sessions happening at the same time throughout the conference, it's impossible to attend every session you want to. Now you don't have to choose! This attendee-only offer expires on June 26, 2019. Order now with code EL2019AC. Reminder: Recertification Credits Maintain your SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP! Attendance at #SHRM19 is approved for 27.25 PDCs. PDCs will automatically upload to your Certification Portal within two weeks of the conclusion of the conference. SIOUX CITY -- A Holstein, Iowa, man pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing a pickup truck from a Sioux City auto dealership and threatening one of its employees with a gun. Ryan Ruble, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, which was reduced from first-degree robbery as part of a plea agreement. Ruble will be sentenced to 10 years in prison, and will be required to serve five to seven years before he's eligible for parole. How many years he must serve before he can be paroled will be determined at sentencing, which Senior Judge John Ackerman scheduled for July 15 in Woodbury County District Court. Ruble admitted that he stole the pickup from Iowa Auto Sales, 804 S. Lewis Blvd., on Dec. 14 after displaying a gun to one of the employees. Court documents said that Ruble had fired two shots with the handgun, but did not hit anyone. Ruble fled in the stolen pickup, and police found him minutes later stuck in a snowbank behind Casey's General Store, 1132 N. Lewis Blvd. Police found a loaded handgun inside the pickup. Charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent and false imprisonment will be dismissed as part of Ruble's plea agreement. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SOLDIER, Iowa -- A woman is being treated for gunshot wounds after her husband mistook her for an intruder at their rural Soldier home and shot her. Monona County Sheriff Jeffrey Pratt said in a news release that emergency responders were called to the home of Brian and Jackie Krier, 36813 Highway 37, at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. Emergency personnel who arrived at the scene discovered that a shooting had taken place and waited for law enforcement to arrive before entering. Pratt said that Jackie Krier, 48, had been outside the house, and Brian Krier, 49, mistook her as a possible intruder trying to get into their home. Pratt did not say in the news release how many shots were fired or where on her body Jackie Krier was struck. She was transported to Burgess Hospital in Onawa, Iowa, and later transferred to a hospital in Sioux City. The incident remains under investigation. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 5 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- A judge has ordered that three former Sioux Honey Association workers must disclose all computer passwords and network credentials to sensitive information to the company. The three also are prohibited from attempting to access Sioux Honey's computer network and programs and may not take any other actions detrimental to the company. District Judge Julie Schumacher granted a temporary restraining order against Julie Chmelka, Mark Chmelka and Matthew Vanderpool after Sioux Honey filed a May 15 petition in which it said the company had decided to terminate the three, who had sole access to and control over company passwords, banking information and other critical information. "The petition establishes that Sioux Honey Association Cooperative will sustain irreparable harm unless a restraining order is entered in this action," Schumacher wrote in her order, filed May 15 in Woodbury County District Court. According to the petition: -- Julie Chmelka provided critical accounting functions and had accounting software passwords not known to other company employees. -- Mark Chmelka was vice president of transportation and purchasing and possessed confidential information pertaining to those departments. -- Vanderpool was head of Sioux Honey's IT department and, in many cases, was the only person with knowledge of the company's IT system, including critical passwords and other information critical to Sioux Honey's daily operations. The petition said the three have the ability to remotely access Sioux Honey's computer network and are the only employees who can terminate their ability to operate remotely. The three collectively are the only employees, the petition said, who possess critical system information such as administrator passwords, access to the domain name siouxbeehoney.com and other domain names, network device credentials including the firewalls at all of Sioux Honey's locations, passwords for their individual cell phones and laptops issued to them by the company, all banking information and passwords for electronic filing of all state reports including payroll, sales tax and unemployment. Sioux Honey said in the petition that the three have acquired critical and sensitive information regarding the company's IT and accounting systems and are keeping it to themselves. Court records did not list any attorneys representing the Chmelkas or Vanderpool. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 7 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. By the end of April this year, there were only four solar power plants being put into operation but by mid-May this year, there were 27 plants. It is expected that there will be 88 more plants in operation by the end of June. Regarding power supply, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said that power load in the first four months of this year reached 74.35 billion kWh, 628 million kWh higher than this years plan, up 11 percent over the same period last year. It is expected that in May and June, power load will continue to increase to 42.8 billion kWh, an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period last year. Maximum capacity is expected to be at 37,000-39,000 MW, up 11-14 percent over the same period last year. Besides, due to El Nino phenomenon, water volume at hydropower reservoirs is forecasted to remain at low level in central and central highlands provinces in May and June. However, Mr. Ngo Son Hai, deputy CEO of EVN, affirmed that power supply will be sufficient during dry season as well as the rest of the year. By Lac Phong Translated by Thuy Doan SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a 2016 beating that left the victim in a coma. Benjamin Gallaugher, 23, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of willful injury. Gallaugher is the sixth person sentenced in connection with the June 22, 2016, beating of Bradley Coan, then 22, of Waterbury, Nebraska, in the 700 block of Riverside Drive. Gallaugher was among a group of people who punched and kicked Coan and beat him with metal pipes. Coan had to be induced into a coma because of serious brain injuries. Police said the group beat Coan because he had jumped Gallaugher's brother Brody Dula earlier. Among the five people who have been sentenced in connection with the beating is Gallaugher's brother, Jacob Gallaugher, who was sentenced in January to seven years in prison. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- A 24-year-old man believed to be involved in a fatal assault on Fourth Street in July 2018 was arrested in Mexico Monday, according to a statement from the Sioux City Police Department. Police were seeking Ray Avila, of Sioux City, on charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault causing serious injury in connection with the death of 31-year-old Peter Johnson. A warrant was issued for Avila's arrest in August. According to the statement, U.S. Marshals narrowed their search to a small town in Jalisco, Mexico, where Avila had familial connections and was thought to have been hiding since fleeing the United States. Acting on information provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, Mexican authorities located and arrested Avila Monday evening. Chad McCormick, who leads the marshals task force effort in Sioux City, said in an email that the tips law enforcement received from the public were crucial in locating Avila. The statement said Avila will be transported back to Woodbury County to face both charges, which each carry a possible sentence of five years in prison. Shortly after 2 a.m. July 29, police were called to the 1100 block of Fourth Street for an assault. A man later identified as Johnson had suffered a head injury in the incident and later succumbed to his injuries. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 4 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 4 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City School District has been honored as one of two Iowa districts for a U.S. Department of Education award. The U.S. Department of Education in a Wednesday release listed the 35 entities designated as Green Ribbon Schools. The schools were picked for their innovative efforts to address three pillars of the program: reducing environmental impact and utility costs, improving health and wellness, and ensuring effective sustainability education. "I want to congratulate this year's U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School honorees," U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said. "They have truly embraced the challenge to create healthy, safe, sustainable and efficient learning environments for students, faculty and staff. Their innovative approaches to learning will help students prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st Century." The Davenport School District was the other Iowa district to receive the honor. The honorees were named from a pool of candidates covering 28 states. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX CITY -- Tim Lennon stood at the corner of 10th and Douglas streets Thursday the steeple of the Cathedral of the Epiphany rising high above him as he held the picture of a 12-year old boy who had been sexually abused by a Catholic priest in Sioux City in 1960. It was a photo of himself. Now 72 and living in Tucson, Arizona, Lennon has been fighting for justice for other victims of abuse by Catholic officials. Back in his hometown Thursday, he accused the Diocese Sioux City of continuing to shroud itself in secrecy, even though the diocese earlier this year made public the names of 28 priests accused of sexually abusing children. Lennon said the diocese, in its Feb. 25 disclosure, excluded nuns, brothers and deacons and religious order priests who have been accused of abuse. The church also did not list priests or other church officials who victimized other adults, he said. We want to have full disclosure, Lennon, president of a victims advocacy group called Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said at the news conference Thursday. Thats one of the purposes, to say, to call out to victims to step forward. If not to us, to family members, to police, to brothers and sisters, wives and husbands. A diocese review board, after examining records dating to the diocese's founding in 1902, identified 28 priests they said were "credibly" accused of abusing more than 100 children while serving in the diocese, which covers a large territory in Northwest Iowa. It was the first such disclosure by the diocese, despite repeated calls by SNAP and other victims advocacy groups to do so earlier. In a statement Thursday, the diocese noted its independent review board "worked diligently" to review all allegations of priests including deacons and religious order priests who have been credibly accused of abuse of a minor while serving in the diocese. Any allegation brought against a brother or nun is referred to their individual religious order for review and action, the diocese said in the statement. "We take accusations seriously and urge any person with information on a case of abuse to contact their local police department immediately, and then alert our victims assistance coordinator," the diocese said in the statement. "We will continue to update our list as appropriate." Lennon's press conference in Sioux City Thursday came just one day after he stood alongside Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, at the state Capitol. They jointly called for state lawmakers to take more action on behalf of victims. Under state law, the criminal statute of limitation is 10 years for cases like Lennons and hundreds of other sexual abuse victims. Petersen has pushed legislation that would extend or eliminate that time limit. Iowa provides better protections in our laws to child rapists and organizations that cover up the crime than we provide to children and adult supervisors of child sexual abuse," Petersen said. "That is morally wrong and inexcusable. According to Child USA, an organization for child protection, the average age for an individual to disclose the sexual abuse they suffered in childhood is 52. Lennon said he wants Iowas politicians to hold the Church responsible and give justice to its citizens. Victims never get justice, Lennon said. The parishioners need to decide, whether they want those people in authority to represent their church They need to decide what kind of church they want. And I would say one where theres zero tolerance. One where theres full disclosure, and a removal of all those that have sexually abused children. None of the 28 credibly accused priests identified by the Sioux City diocese currently serve in the ministry or are active with youth, and all but six are deceased. Every morning, when Lennon wakes up, he says that he is filled with anger. All he can do is remember what happened and try to change the lives of individuals today. But Lennon says his anger is not bad, it is the fire that keeps him going. Now I can fight back, Lennon said. And I do every day. Journal Des Moines Bureau reporter Erin Murphy contributed to this story. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 OMAHA -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will increase water releases at Gavins Point Dam Thursday because of heavy rainfall over Nebraska and South Dakota in the past week. Releases will be increased to 60,000 cubic feet per second, up from 50,000 cfs. "There is no estimate on how long releases will remain at 60,000 from Gavins Point," John Remus, chief of the corps' Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, said in a news release. "We will continue to monitor conditions and make adjustments as necessary." Because of the rain, which totaled 2-5 inches in some areas, inflows into Gavins Point, as well as reservoirs upriver at Oahe, Big Bend and Fort Randall, have increased, taking up more space in the reservoirs' flood control pools. Releases from Gavins Point, near Yankton, South Dakota, will allow more water to pass through the Missouri River reservoir system and slow the rise in the other reservoirs. Mountain snowpack continues to melt and enter the system in Montana and North Dakota, Remus said, and the corps must ensure that reservoirs have enough room to hold that runoff. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NEWCASTLE, Neb. -- All through the spring, summer and fall, farmers keep at least one eye on the sky. They look for breaks in cloudy spring skies that will allow the sun to warm and dry the soil for planting. They watch summer storm fronts roll in, hoping that gathering clouds bring needed rain and not damaging winds or hail. For the past five years, the Rev. Andy Sohm has helped northeast Nebraska farmers look beyond the clouds for help with a bountiful crop. The pastor at St. Peter Catholic Church in Newcastle, St. Joseph in Ponca and St. Patrick in Jackson, Sohm has taken God's blessings to his parishioners' fields, reviving an old Catholic ritual of blessing fields and seeds at planting time. He'll also return at harvest, if asked, to bless the crops. A farm kid from Danbury, Iowa, Sohm knew from experience that divine intervention, in addition to favorable weather conditions, plays an important role from planting through harvest. "Having grown up on a farm, I realized and recognized all you need, the stress and pressure, and the need for the Lord," Sohm said. "I think it's extremely important to put our trust in the Lord." When he was assigned to the parishes in Ponca and Newcastle five years ago (Jackson was added a year ago), Sohm decided that reintroducing the crop-blessing ritual was not only a way to help farmers realize their faith, but also to meet and connect with parishioners. "It's a good way to connect with families rather than let them come my way," said Sohm, who was ordained in 2005. "I was fascinated, too, because farming has changed so much since I was on the farm." Sohm's ministry led him over the muddy roads in rural Newcastle recently to the farms of Chad Kneifl and his parents, Sy and Ellen Kneifl, who together plant 2,200 acres in corn and soybeans. Inside the machine shop at Chad Kneifl's farm sat bags of seed corn and the planter, waiting for the fields to dry out so planting could begin. As Sohm pulled out his prayer book and set a container of holy water on the floor, Chad and Sy Kneifl took off their hats and, along with Ellen, folded their hands. After an opening prayer and scripture reading, Sohm prayed an Our Father with the Kneifls and concluded with a prayer that began with the words, "Lord of the harvest, you place the gift of creation in our hands and called us to till the earth and make it fruitful. We ask your blessing as we prepare these seeds and the earth. May the care we show these seeds remind us of your tender care for your people." Sohm sprinkled holy water on the bags of seed and the planter, then went to Sy and Ellen Kneifl's farm to repeat the blessing on the soybean seed. It's a ritual the Kneifls believe in, one that Sy remembers from years ago, when farmers would take a sample of their seed to town each spring for the priest to bless. Yes, they've had dry years, hail and other challenges, but Sy believes the blessing is as important as rain and fertilizer. "Last year we had an excellent crop. That doesn't happen every year," he said. It's probably safe to say that farmers offer prayers throughout the growing season until the crops are in the bin. The blessing is another way to seek God's help for a good harvest and protection from flooding, drought and hail, Ellen Kneifl said. "It's very important to us," she said. "We've always had a lot of faith. We have to. There are so many things that can happen." Sohm said he'd like to see the blessing, once common, become more widespread again. It's a good reminder not only to him, but to the people he serves, that there's a higher power looking over them and their fields. "Together we're putting our trust not in man, but in God," he said. Sharing that blessing, that trust, Sohm said, is a glorious experience. "It's helped me grow closer to God, and it's a real blessing for me to bless this seed. I feel the blessing of the Lord to be able to do this," he said. "It's really the blessings of the people. I do it for the people." By doing so, Sohm's spreading God's blessings to the crops and fields vital to each farmer's way of life. As those seeds sprout, take root and grow stronger, so does their faith. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Pela has put together a gardening to-do list to help you start preparing for spring while waiting out the cold months of the year. CEDAR RAPIDS -- Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed off on funding for an additional 10 Iowa State Patrol troopers, but they wont be on Iowa roads anytime soon. The Legislature approved a $1.7 million line item in the justice systems budget, Senate File 615, to hire and equip 10 troopers to rebuild the patrol. The statewide agency has seen its numbers fall due to a combination of a tight budget and retirements. The patrol has 368 sworn troopers including 291 road troopers, which is nearly 10 percent less than the 404 sworn troopers the agency was authorized to employ, said Sgt. Nathan Ludwig, patrol spokesman. The patrol had a hiring wave from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, and now those veteran troopers are beginning to retire. SF 615, which the governor signed Wednesday, appropriates nearly $584 million from the state general fund for 5,425 full-time equivalent positions in the departments of Justice, Corrections, Inspections and Appeals, Public Defense, Human Rights, Public Safety, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management, as well as the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, Board of Parole and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Thats an increase of $13 million and 32.5 positions. An increase of $3.8 million and 25 positions in Public Safety includes $350,000 and five positions in the Division of Criminal Investigation, $200,000 to Narcotics Enforcement and $1.6 million for department-wide expenses. To address the shrinking number of troopers, the patrol has graduated two classes from its academy one in November and another in April resulting in 38 new troopers to offset some of those retirements, Ludwig said. He said the patrol anticipates hiring additional sworn personnel in the coming year, but it is impossible to know how many given the number of presently unknown variables. The hiring process can take up to six months. The patrol hopes to begin its 18- to 20-week basic academy later this year, Ludwig said. The recruits will graduate with Trooper II status and be assigned to the patrols 13 districts. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DES MOINES -- Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a legislative measure Wednesday seeking to limit the Iowa Attorney Generals ability to join out-of-state lawsuits after she and Tom Miller reached a good-faith accord on how future litigation will be handled. Reynolds signed a $584 million budget bill funding justice-system functions in the fiscal year beginning July 1 including more money for state troopers and criminal investigators but she used her item-veto power to remove a provision requiring the elected attorney general, when joining an out-of-state lawsuit, to first obtain permission from the governor, Executive Council or Legislature. The language would have limited the attorney generals authority to prosecute any action or proceeding, including signing onto or authoring amicus briefs or letters of support, in any court other than Iowa. While noting she shared GOP legislators concerns over Democrat Millers participation in lawsuits in conflict with policy goals of her office and the lawmakers, Reynolds said she was cautious about a provision that redefines the scope of the attorney generals duties given hes an independently elected official. As a result of the Legislatures leadership on this issue, Attorney General Miller and I have had the opportunity to engage in a thoughtful discussion about the appropriate balance of authority between the governor and the attorney general with respect to Iowas involvement in litigation. And ultimately, Attorney General Miller agreed to my proposal to adjust our litigation practices in a manner that I believe addresses my core concerns without amending Iowas current statutes, Reynolds wrote in her item-veto message. Attorney General Miller has agreed that so long as he serves as attorney general, he will not prosecute any action or proceeding or sign onto or author an amicus brief in the name of the State of Iowa in any court or tribunal other than an Iowa state court without the consent of the governor, she wrote. He retains the authority to participate in litigation or author letters in his own name, as attorney general of Iowa. Miller, a 10-term Democrat in his 37th year as the longest-serving attorney general in the nation, issued a statement saying he entered into the good-faith agreement to protect the powers of the office. My greater concern was always about the institution of the attorney general and its powers and duties, Miller said in a statement. Miller said he agreed to get the consent of the governor to bring out-of-state cases when the state of Iowa is the plaintiff, but not when the attorney general of Iowa is the plaintiff. This means that generally I will not be suing the Trump administration, said Miller, who noted he had brought a selective number of lawsuits against the administration since 2017 that he believed were well grounded in the law. However, he said he will leave it to the other 26 Democratic attorneys general in the nation to consider any future litigation in exchange for the ability of his office to protect Iowans through consumer enforcement actions, which are primarily filed in Iowa courts. It also allows me to express my opinion on matters affecting Iowans before federal agencies and Congress, he stated. Rep. Gary Worthan, R-Storm Lake, co-chairman of the justice-systems budget bill (Senate File 615) and a proponent of the policy language, expressed appreciation that the governor recognized the concern raised by GOP legislators. If the attorney general wants to continue participating in partisan lawsuits that arent in the best interest of Iowans, he needs let Iowans know that he is making that decision on his own, Worthan said in a statement. House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City said he was pleased Reynolds rejected the political power grab passed by House and Senate Republicans. While it is a good step, it is unfortunate that House and Senate Republicans wasted time on political games when our state faces real challenges with health care and our farm economy, he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Next week, Europeans may be able to gauge how high the tide of populism and nationalism has risen within their countries and on their continent. For all the returns will be in from three days of elections in the 28 nations represented in the European Parliament. Expectation: Nationalists and populists will turn in their strongest performance since the EU was established, and their parliamentary group -- Europe of Nations and Freedom -- could sweep a fourth of the seats in Strasbourg. Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party is predicted to run first in the British elections, winning two to three times the votes of the ruling Tory Party of Prime Minister Theresa May. In France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally is running even with the party of President Emmanuel Macron, who pleads for "more Europe." Matteo Salvini, interior minister and leader of the League, predicts his party will finish first in Italy and first in Europe. At Salvini's invitation, a dozen nationalist parties gathered in Milan last weekend. A week from now, they could be the third-largest bloc in the European Parliament. If so, their gains will come at the expense of the center-left and center-right parties that have dominated European politics since World War II. Speaking before tens of thousands in front of Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Salvini threw back in the faces of his enemies the taunt that these new parties are rooted in the old ugly politics of the 1930s. "In this piazza, there are no extremists. There are no racists. There are no fascists. ... In Italy and in Europe, the difference is between ... those who speak of the future instead of making trials of the past." Tomorrow versus yesterday, says Salvini. While the European establishment draws parallels between the populist parties of the present and what happened in the 1930s, it fails to recognize its own indispensable role in generating the mass defections to the populist right that now imperil its political hegemony. The populist-nationalist parties are energized and united by both what they detest and what the EU has produced. And what is that? They resent the inequities of the new economy, where the wages of the working and middle class, the core of the nation, have fallen far behind the managerial class and the corporate and financial elites. People who work with their hands, tools and machines have seen their wages arrested and jobs disappear, as salaries have surged for those who move numbers on computers. The disparities have grown too great, as has the distance between national capitals and national heartlands. Then there is immigration. Native-born Europeans do not welcome the new ethnic groups that have come uninvited in considerable numbers in recent decades, failed to assimilate and created enclaves that replicate the Third World places whence they came. If one could identify a cry common to populists, it might be: "We want our country back!" Whatever may be said of populists and nationalists, they are people of the heart. They love their countries. They cherish the cultures in which they grew up. They want to retain their own unique national identities. What is wrong with that? Patriotism is central to nationalist and populist movements. Globalism is alien to them. They believe in De Gaulle's Europe of nation-states "from the Atlantic to the Urals," not in the abstract Europe of Jean Monnet, and surely not in the Brussels bureaucracy of today. The nation, the patria, is the largest entity to which one can give loyalty and love. Who would march into no man's land for the EU? Europe's nationalists are not all the same. The ruling Polish Law and Justice Party disagrees on Putin's Russia with the ruling Fidesz Party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Hungary. While the EU Parliament does not possess great power, these elections are not without great meaning. Consider Farage. Should his Brexit Party run first in Britain, how can the Tory Party not carry through on the 2016 vote to withdraw from the EU, without betraying its most loyal constituency on its most critical issue? Nationalism in Europe is spreading, even deepening rifts between the premier powers in the NATO alliance. Germany will not be reaching the promised 2 percent of GDP for defense President Donald Trump has demanded. And Berlin is going ahead with a second natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany from Russia, Nord Stream 2. Turkey is taking possession of a Russian-built S-400 air defense system this summer, despite a U.S. warning that our sale of 100 F-35s will not go through if the Turks go forward with the Russian system. Have the nationalists of Europe caught the wave of the future? Or will the future see the revival of the idea of One Europe, a political and economic union that inspired the dreamers of yesteryear? From here it looks like Matteo, not Macron. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 The League of Women Voters of Iowa and League of Women Voters of Sioux City call upon Sen. Charles Grassley to support the For the People Act introduced March 27 in the U.S. Senate after passing in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending and ethics for the three branches of government. The For the People Act will give states the power and resources to secure their election systems. It improves American elections by modernizing voter registration, establishing the public financing of elections through small donor matching funds and restoring transparency in our government. The bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions. We have already experienced voting restrictions that suppress when and where voters can vote in Iowa. The For the People Act will restore voting rights for all and strengthen our democracy. It will put power back in the hands of the American people. The power to advance this legislation lies in the hands of the Senate Finance Committee, where Sen. Grassley is the chair. He needs to schedule a hearing on this historic legislation in the U.S. Senate and show his dedication to a strengthened democracy. Dagna Simmons, president, League of Women Voters of Sioux City Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 For all of those who are searching for a fun, out of the ordinary experience, Alibi Booze Cruise is here for your party-bus needs and the owners are planning a benefit booze cruise to help out Noahs Hope Animal Rescue. Alibi Booze Cruise owners Derek Parker and Coressa Tiny Bowman are planning a party for Bowmans golden birthday that involves the buses, booze and the great cause of raising money for animals in need. This party will be happening on June 28 and is open to anyone of drinking age who wants to have some fun and lend a helping hand (in the means of money). This Sioux City bar power-couple has been in the bar industry for a combined 15 years. Weve always been involved in the industry of partying, said Parker. We have always worked at the big bars, said Bowman. I wanted a party bus for my birthday last year and Derek had a buddy that was getting rid of one, so it worked out. Here we are a year later, said Parker. We have two buses now and we are trying to build it up from there. We also try to keep it Sioux City prettynot too expensive to rent out. But what was the inspiration behind this business other than Bowman wanting a bus for her birthday? We wanted to do something, said Bowman. We didnt know what we wanted to do in the beginning, but we thought about starting a bar. We decided to go this route instead. Since starting this business the owners have had to learn every day about how to keep things legitimate. They have learned much about the DOT inspections and laws and use privately contracted drivers with CDL permits. As for company growth, the owners want to add a bus or two to their fleet. Wed like to have three or four buses, but we want to keep it a small business, said Parker. As stated earlier, Alibi will be teaming up with Noahs Hope for a fun benefit. With a $10 minimum donation, you can hop aboard one of these buses for an evening of friendly, safe drinking. Also, in lieu of the $10 minimum donation, Alibi and Noahs Hope will accept donations of laundry detergent, kennel pads, dry Diamond puppy food, Iams puppy food, trash bags, paper towels, rope leashes, puppy pads, sheets, towels and rubber gloves. There will be Noahs Hope volunteers to collect the donations starting at 6 p.m. at The Marquee on June 28. After the donation process, the party will go from 7 p.m. until midnight. After donating, you get on the bus and we head out to the local Sioux City bars, said Bowman. It is BYOB on the bus so there is no alcohol being taken out of the respective bars. We also are very serious about not letting minors on the bus. Why did the owners of Alibi Booze Cruise decide to team up with a charity benefiting animals? "We can do a party bus any weekend we want," said Parker. "She (Bowman) decided she wanted to do something special for her birthday. We decided to do something for charity, and Noahs Hope is a good one and they are easy to work with. "We have two mastiffs at home and we love dogs," said Bowman. We also have a Noahs Hope just right down the street from where we live. It is a good charity that we both could agree on. As for the reason for the name of the company? Ease of access and ties to a popular television show. "I was looking for something that started with 'a' because that is the first letter that comes up in searches, said Parker. "Then I got 'ABC' in my head and started thinking of 'Alibi.' We were also watching 'Shameless' at the time (the bar in this show is called 'The Alibi'). This is a comfortable ride from place to place. You can have fun and dont have to worry about a driver." Alibi Booze Cruise is available for renting out at times other than this specific party, as well. It costs $100 per hour to rent out the smaller bus and $125 per hour for the larger one. You can find more information by visiting their Facebook page by searching for Alibi Booze Cruise LLC or by calling (712) 577-1254. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Over the course of her career as a law professor, Elizabeth Warren was regularly hired to represent clients or consult on lawsuits. Most of the work involved bankruptcies, a subject on which she was considered a leading national expert. This sort of freelancing is basically standard in the legal academy, and even encouraged; after all, who wants to take courses from a pointy headed prof who never actually sets foot in court? On Wednesday, Warren released a long rundown of her private legal work with a bit of uplifting framing: Elizabeth was one of the nations top experts on how to make sure victims hurt by bankrupt companies eventually got paid. Throughout her career, she worked to help set up trusts and other mechanisms to return $27 billion to victims and their families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Washington Post, which appears to have been digging around on this issue separately, responded with an article headlined: While teaching, Elizabeth Warren worked on more than 50 legal matters, charging as much as $675 an hour. The story leads off similarly, foregrounding the the $675 figure. The implication seems to be that Warren was cashing in or something, which is a bit odd. I mean, heres where they got the figure: In a separate review, The Washington Post found that a wave of Warrens legal work came in the early 2000s as manufacturing companies whose products contained asbestos were forced into bankruptcy by waves of personal injury claims. A nationally recognized expert in bankruptcy law, Warren consulted for more than a dozen committees representing claimants and creditors in these cases, often in partnership with the law firm Caplin & Drysdale, for an hourly rate of $675. Advertisement Advertisement In human speak, that translates to the following: A lot of people got cancer from asbestos products and sued the manufacturers, which declared bankruptcy. The victims lawyers then hired Warren as a consultant in cases where they ultimately set up compensation funds. That is pretty unobjectionable, especially considering the kinds of legal work some of her Harvard colleagues took on. I mean, Alan Dershowitz helped his billionaire buddy Jeffrey Epstein secure a sweetheart plea deal after he was accused of preying on underage prostitutes. And what about the fee? Some on Twittermyself included at firstthought it actually seemed a bit low (we now live in a time where top attorneys can rake in $2,000 an hour). Was Warren being underpaid? Advertisement Frankly $675 an hour for Warren seems very very low. Ben White (@morningmoneyben) May 23, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Turns out she was not being lowballed. In 2002, The New York Times reported that billing rates for elite law partners in New York were approaching $700 an hour. According to a National Law Journal survey from 2001, hourly billing rates reached above $600 at just 14 law firms. The Justice Department determined that a reasonable fee for an attorney with at least a decade of experience in 2000 was $305 per hour (thats according to the Laffey Matrix, which is used in cases where one party recovers legal costs from another). Consultants like Warren and expert witnesses sometimes earn a higher rate than lead partners on a case, but the bottom line seems to be that she was compensated like a top legal professional for the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its possible that some of Warrens other legal work might raise questionsthough its hard to tell from the Posts review. She seems to have helped set up a victims compensation fund on behalf of Travelers Insurance that the company later wriggled out of having to distribute. (She told the Boston Globe that she hadnt seen that coming.)There was also a case that pitted her against the future president of the AFL-CIO, though he later backed her Senate campaign. But anyway, Warren appears to have made money by charging clients like asbestos victims an acceptable hourly rate practicing law. Scandal! This recipe originally appeared on Food52. Before I ever tasted spaghetti Napolitan (or what I like to call ketchup spaghetti), I had omurice, a Japanese-style fluffy omelet over a bed of ketchupy fried rice. Regularly, in fact. My family and I ate it once a week at Don Quixote, a Korean bunsik (food made from flour) restaurant down the street from our church in Buford, Georgia. In the late 80s, as South Korean immigrants were just starting to move to Atlanta and set up shop, the one place to get comfort food from back home (like noodles, rice cake soup, and Korean fried chicken) was on Buford Highway, now a veritable treasure trove of immigrant cuisines. Advertisement As Irene Yoo tells it, during the 1960s in South Korea, Park Chung-hee strived to regulate rice consumption among his people in order to grow the nations reserves. No rice days were implemented, and citizens were encouraged to eat more flour-based dishes and mix alternative grains into their white rice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The result? Bunsik restaurants that served affordably priced, big-portioned plates, like jjajangmyeon, tteokbokki, and omurice. Spaghetti Napolitan is tangentially related to omurice for a couple of reasons: 1. First, its base is also a ketchup-laden carbohydrate, fried in butter, then topped with an egg. 2. Second, its long and twirly story, like omurices, most likely starts in Japan. Due in large part to colonization, Korea and Japan have for centuries been linkedculturally, linguistically, and especially culinarily. So tomato ketchup is, for me, as Korean and Japanese as it is American. Advertisement Advertisement Theres a connection here, actually, with the United States: namely what happens when Asian countries start to interpret Western food, but also the influence of war on cuisine. As Namiko Hirasawa Chen of the Just One Cookbook blog claims, The strongest theory is that ketchup spaghetti originated in [postwar] Yokohama. Around the 1950s, the head chef at the New Grand Hotel created this recipe when he was inspired by the spaghetti and tomato sauce dish served for the American military. Since tomato sauce was a rare ingredient, ketchup was used as a substitute for the pasta. He then named it Spaghetti Napolitan, after Naples, Italy. The ketchup in ketchup spaghetti, aka Napolitan, has certainly piqued my interest as a lover of food history and unique trends. Yet Ive found that my peers are significantly less excited about this dish whenever I mention it to them. Advertisement Advertisement Ketchup spaghetti?! Gross! People hear the words ketchup and spaghetti together and cringe without knowing its history and, most importantly, how fabulous it actually tastes. So why are people so scared of Japans best pasta dish? I have a theory: Ive found that the American palate has for so many decades been conditioned to associate Heinz ketchup as a condiment, disallowing any acknowledgement of it as an ingredient in its own right. Which is unfortunate because (hear me out) when you caramelize it in butter, onions, and red bell peppers, it gains an almost tomato pastelike flavor that pairs beautifully with pasta. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is telling, too, when you realize that the word ketchup may borrow from the Cantonese ke chap (tomato juice), or from the Southern Min koe-chiap (Xiamen) and ke-chiap (Zhangzhou). This can be a little confusing because koe or ke means salted or pickled fish or shellfish. But theres a reason for that: While not its current tomato variation, koe/ke-chiap was a table fish sauce that the British brought over from China around the 1700s, which means tomato ketchup is, at least etymologically, Asian by origin. But maybe you have your own ketchup spaghetti story. Our Big Little Recipes columnist Emma Laperruque, for instance, remembers eating something she called ketchup spaghetti, thanks to her doting grandma who boiled a packet of spaghetti and doused it in the tomato-y condiment. Advertisement It was literally my favorite thing, and she was the only one who made it for me, she tells me. And her fridge was always stocked with grape juice boxes to go with. Though my version may be less nostalgic than that, it certainly relies on ketchup in the same way, i.e. as feature presentation. Its a sweeter tomato sauce for pasta, thats for sure, but its also got some sharpness from the vinegar which adds a bright note to an otherwise simple spaghetti dish. Advertisement Advertisement My advice? Dont knock it till youve tried it. Serves 1. 4 ounces spaghetti (I prefer thin, but regular is fine) Kosher salt, to taste 1 large organic egg Olive oil, for frying egg Freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons ketchup^ 1 pinch sugar 1 tablespoon milk 1/4 cup Parmesan 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley See the full recipe on Food52. More from Food52: 5 Pantry Pastas That Ask Basically Nothing of You & Give You Everything in Return A Comforting One-Pot Chicken Pasta, by Way of Peru For the Best Fried Rice, Turn to Peru Veggie and Chicken Pasta for One Weeknight Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce Spaghetti with Porcini and Tomato Sauce The U.S. government acknowledged Wednesday that an unaccompanied 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died in custody last September, CBS News reports, the sixth known minor in the past eight months to die in government custody or shortly after being released. The young girls death had not previously been publicly disclosed, as the government is only required by law to notify local child welfare authorities, but the timing of her death makes her the first unaccompanied minor fatality in U.S. custody since 2010, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for the care of unaccompanied minors that come across the border, and according to a HHS spokesperson the girl was in a medically fragile state with a medical history of congenital heart defects when she entered an Office of Refugee Resettlement facility in San Antonio on March 4, 2018. Following a surgical procedure, complications left the child in a comatose state. She was transported to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona for palliative care in May after release from a San Antonio hospital, a DHS spokesperson said. On September 26, she was transferred to an Omaha, Neb., nursing facility to be closer to her family. On September 29, the child was transported to Childrens Hospital of Omaha where she passed due to fever and respiratory distress. On Monday, a 16-year-old boy died at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas. A Border Patrol official said Monday that the boy, Carlos Hernandez Vasquez, was brought there the day before, after he told personnel at the McAllen, Texas immigrant processing center that he felt sick, CBS News reports. The four other deaths in U.S. government custody occurred among children either detained by Border Patrol, or released by the agency to a hospital. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump called a press conference at the White House to attack the Russia investigation. Twice, he denounced it as a witch hunt. The whole thing with Russia was a hoax, as it relates to the Trump administration and myself, Trump told reporters. Its a hoax. The greatest hoax in history. Trump has been peddling this smear for two years. But now he has an ally in his smear campaign: Attorney General William Barr. And Barrs complicity exposes the attorney generals dishonesty. Hes not working for the Justice Department. Hes lying to protect Trump. Advertisement Trump fired Barrs predecessor, Jeff Sessions, for failing to protect the president from the investigation. Barr was hired to replace Sessions, in large part because Barr had written a memo that would exempt much of Trumps conduct from prosecution. In March, when special counsel Robert Mueller turned in his report on the investigation, Barr misrepresented it. Mueller outlined a case for prosecution based on Trumps multiple attempts to abort, disrupt, or curtail the investigation. Barr, however, decreed that none of these acts would be prosecuted. To this day, Barr has issued no report explaining his reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, in a Fox News interview with Bill Hemmer, Barr defended Trumps smear campaign. Hemmer: The president calls this a witch hunt. He calls it a hoax. Do you agree with that? Barr: If you were the president, I think you would view it as a witch hunt and a hoax. Because at the time, he was saying he was innocent and that he was being falsely accused. And if youre falsely accused, you would think [it] was a witch hunt. He has been hammered for allegedly conspiring with the Russians. And we now know that was simply false. Hemmer: Are you comfortable using those words? Witch hunt, hoax? Barr: I use what words I use. And it was an investigation. But I think if I had been falsely accused, Id be comfortable saying it was a witch hunt. Advertisement Advertisement Thats a remarkable betrayal by the attorney general of his own department. Its also a lie. Barr is claiming that when Trump made these charges, the president had a basis in fact or in personal knowledge. Thats provably false. Lets go back to July 8, 2017. On that day, according to Muellers report, Trumps communications director, Hope Hicks, showed the president a draft statement that his son, Donald Trump Jr., planned to issue about the now-infamous June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower. The draft statement said that Trump Jr. had accepted the meeting with an individual who I was told might have information helpful to the campaign. Trump has repeatedly claimed that this moment in July 2017 was the first time he heard of the meeting and the emails leading up to it, which offered documents and information that would incriminate Hillary as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What did the president do with this surprising information? First, he altered his sons statement to omit the part about being offered information helpful to the campaign. Second, he sent a back-channel message to Sessions to shut down the investigation. Third, he publicly dismissed the investigation as meritless. This Russia story is a hoax made up by the Democrats, Trump told Reuters on July 12, 2017. Theres no coordination, this was a hoax, this was made up by the Democrats. That night, speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump ridiculed the Russia story five times as a witch hunt. When Trump made these comments disparaging the investigation as a fraudulent and baseless fishing expedition, he wasnt just wrong. He was lying. He had just learned (in case he hadnt known it already) that there was a real basis to investigate contacts between Russia and his campaign. These were contacts the president claimed not to have known about, and for whose innocence he couldnt directly vouch. Advertisement Advertisement Trump did the same thing a year later. On July 9, 2018, he was briefed on a forthcoming indictment from Mueller. The indictment detailed how 12 Russian intelligence officers had orchestrated the hacking and dissemination of Democratic Party emails to influence the election. The indictment said the perpetrators had communicated with U.S. persons about the release of stolen documents, including a person who was in regular contact with senior members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump. Officials confirmed that this intermediary was Trump adviser Roger Stone. Advertisement Advertisement Again, Trump was presented with ostensibly new information about contacts involving Russia and his campaign. And again, he dismissed the investigation. At a press conference on July 13, Trump lambasted the inquiry three times as a witch hunt. He did the same on Fox News. At a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 16, Trump brushed aside a question about the 12 indicted Russians, claiming that the whole concept of Russian interference had been concocted as part of a witch hunt to rationalize Hillary Clintons defeat. Advertisement Advertisement In January, Mueller indicted Stone. The indictment charged Stone with false statements, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. It revealed that in the summer of 2016, after WikiLeaks released Democratic emails that had been hacked by Russia, a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton Campaign. Thereafter, Stone passed specific requests to WikiLeaks for documents damaging to the Clinton campaign. In return, On multiple occasions, Stone told senior Trump Campaign officials about materials possessed by [WikiLeaks] and the timing of future releases. Hours after Stones arrest, Trump denounced the investigation again. Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! he tweeted. The next day, the president wrote, WITCH HUNT! Two weeks later, Trump said of the investigation, It is all a GIANT AND ILLEGAL HOAX. Advertisement While bending over backward to justify Trumps lies, Barr offers no such cover to the Justice Department employees who investigated the president. These three episodes and others, all of them documented in Muellers report or Trumps public statements, show that when the president smeared the investigation as a hoax and a witch hunt, he was lying. In each case, Trump knew that the investigation had just unearthed real connections between his campaign and Russiaconnections of which the president claimed to have been ignorant. So when Barr says that if he were in Trumps shoes, Id be comfortable saying it was a witch hunt, there are only two ways to interpret that remark. One is that Barr is endorsing slander. The other is that Barr is claiming Trump was sincere. But anyone who knows the facts of the investigation well, as Barr purports to know them, would know that any such claim about Trumps sincerity is false. All the evidence in Muellers report and in the public record shows that Trump knew his smears werent true. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To excuse Trumps smears, youd have to reinterpret them. Youd have to argue that Trump didnt really mean to dismiss the whole investigation as a hoax or a witch hunt, even though the record shows he explicitly did. You could peddle that spin if you were Trumps lawyer. But not if your allegiance was to the truth or to the Department of Justice. Advertisement Advertisement While bending over backward to justify Trumps lies, Barr offers no such cover to the Justice Department employees who investigated the president. In his Fox News interview, Barr insinuated that these employees did strange and suspicious things. A lot of the answers have been inadequate, said Barr, hinting at misconduct but declining to reveal his evidence. Some of the explanations Ive gotten dont hang together. We should be worried about whether government officials abused their power. Hemmer asked, Do you smell a rat? And Barr replied: The answers Im getting are not sufficient. Barr plays his part well. He projects calm, looks authoritative in a suit, and is skilled at using legal terms to justify his conclusions. But theres no way to reconcile his behavior or his statements with prosecutorial integrity. Hes an accomplice to Trumps smear campaign. Barrs job was to end the investigation, block Trumps prosecution, and help Trump attack the investigators. And thats exactly what hes doing. Should judicial nominees be disqualified from the bench because of their vigorous advocacy on behalf of clients? Republican Sen. Josh Hawley apparently thinks so. On Tuesday, Hawley launched into an astonishing attack on Michael Bogren, whom Donald Trump has nominated to a federal district court in Michigan, on the basis of Bogrens legal work. In a six-minute harangue, Hawley twisted Bogrens words to accuse him of anti-Catholic bigotry, conflating the nominees legal arguments for his personal views. Advertisement Hawleys umbrage revolved around Bogrens representation of East Lansing, Michigan, as the city attempted to enforce its LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinance against Country Mill Farms. A for-profit business, Country Mill grows fruit and sells its products at the East Lansing Farmers Market. It also hosts weddings (for a fee) on its propertyso long as they are heterosexual; same-sex couples are turned away. City law, however, requires farmers market vendors to comply with the citys prohibition against anti-gay discrimination. And upon learning of Country Mills discriminatory policy, the city barred the business from the market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Country Mill then sued, alleging that East Lansing had violated its constitutional right to freedom of speech and religion. The city hired the law firm Plunkett Cooney, where Bogren works, to represent it. Bogrens participation in the case infuriated Hawley, who claimed he evinced animus against the religious beliefs of Country Mills owners. The senator began by charging Bogren with comparing a Catholic familys adherence to the teachings of their church to the activities of the KKK and the teachings of radical imams. Advertisement Advertisement Do you stand by those statements? Hawley asked, bristling with indignant outrage. Respectfully, that is not what I said, Bogren responded. The two then tussled over the language in Bogrens brief as Hawley grew increasingly outraged. Advertisement Advertisement Hawley, a former Missouri attorney general and clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts, should know better. His assault on Bogrens advocacy is in extreme bad faith. To start, it is simply wrong to say that the nominee compared the beliefs of Country Mills owners to the activities of the KKK. What Bogren actually wrote is that if secular, for-profit businesses could win an exception to civil rights statutes, rampant discrimination would follow. Some religious groups, including those affiliated with the KKK and radical Islamic sects, hold extreme views on race and gender. If they opened a business and asserted a constitutional right to impose those views on customers, the entire edifice of modern civil rights law would be undermined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Country Mill argued that the government has a stronger interest in barring discrimination on the basis of race and gender than in outlawing anti-gay discrimination. But, Bogren explained, from a constitutional standpoint, the government has authority to forbid all forms of discrimination in public accommodations. Country Mill has no right to discriminate against gay customers; a business owner affiliated with the KKK has no right to turn away interracial couples; and a Muslim who opposes women driving and runs a business that taught drivers education cannot reject a female client. The Constitution, Bogren concluded, does not allow any would-be discriminator to use the First Amendment as a shield against civil rights laws. Advertisement Advertisement It is absurd to claim, as Hawley did, that Bogren wrote the beliefs of Country Mill and the KKK are equivalent. He merely invoked the KKK to make a point about a neutral principlea standard strategy that Hawley condemned as hateful comparisons. The senator can certainly dispute the accuracy of Bogrens constitutional theory, but it is misleading and offensive to warp his words into bigotry. Advertisement Bogrens briefs included a second statement that infuriated Hawley: He wrote that Country Mills owners apply their faith selectively. The senators declared that this argument demonstrated impermissible hostility toward religious believers by questioning the sincerity of [their] religious beliefs. That is unfair and wrong. What Bogren wrote is that Country Mill permits weddings that violate Catholic teachings in other respects: Its owners do not inquire about prior divorces, non-religious officiants, or a couples faith. Bogren raised this point not to question the sincerity of the plaintiffs religious beliefs about same-sex marriage, but to demonstrate that Country Mill rents out a wedding venue as part of a business venture, not as conduct undertaken for a religious purpose or reason. And for that reason, it may not cite the First Amendment to impose its beliefs on customers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Bogren pointed out that the contested statements appeared in briefs on behalf of clients, Hawley sneered. Oh, but you made personal statements, the senator said. You made statements outside of your brief where you said that these are discriminators, these kind of people shouldnt be allowed to participate in the market in question. Right? I made those statements in court, Bogren said, sounding puzzled. Hawley tried to paint the nominee as some marauding activist when, in reality, he was defending his clients in a court of lawin other words, doing his job. It got worse from there. Hawley asked Bogren to go on the record and say that this kind of rhetoric that demonstrates anti-religious animus is wrong and you disagree with it. Bogren, to his credit, refused: I dont believe that thats what that is, he told the senator. I believe its vigorous advocacy. Hawley doubled down, telling Bogren that his briefs raise a question of whether you can faithfully apply the Constitution on the bench. Bogren replied: My role as an advocate is far different than what my role would be as a judge. Hawley then snapped at Bogren, telling him: Dont fence with me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Bogren pointed out that the contested statements appeared in briefs on behalf of clients, Hawley sneered. But Bogren wasnt fencing; he was trying to explain to Hawley that he cannot renounce his briefs in the case because it remains pending before the court. When Bogren noted that he still represents East Lansing, Hawley looked appalled. Why? the senator spat. Because I am still employed by my firm and we are still representing my client, Bogren answered. Hawleys tirade provoked condemnation from an unusual number of conservative commentators, and rightly so. Ed Whelanyes, that Ed Whelanwrote that Bogren was advancing legal arguments on behalf of his client, not expressing his personal views. Bogrens arguments strike me as exactly what youd expect from someone representing his client. Margot Cleveland, an arch-conservative writer for the Federalist (and Bogrens cousin) wrote that the nominee is not anti-Catholic. Conservatives using Bogrens clients and zealous representation of their legal interests to scuttle a nomination arent thinking this through. Catos Ilya Shapiro and Josh Blackman agreed that Hawley was off-base. Blackman also noted that, earlier in his career, Bogren represented a Methodist group seeking a religious exemption from a housing discrimination law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why would Bogren represent both a city trying to enforce a nondiscrimination law and a religious group trying to exempt itself from a nondiscrimination law? Because he is a lawyer, and lawyers do not have to agree with their clients in order to represent them. Hawley, an attorney himself, surely knows this. Yet he feigned ignorance of basic tenets of the legal profession in an effort to humiliate and castigate a perfectly qualified nominee. And for what? Praise in the Daily Wire? Advertisement Perhaps Hawley is competing with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to be the most disingenuous person in Congress. Or maybe he wants to paint all attorneys who defend nondiscrimination laws as rank bigots. If so, he should pick a better target than Bogren, whose sterling record indicates no whiff of religious bias. And the senator should reconsider the tactic of slandering judicial nominees by conflating their legal arguments with their personal beliefs. Plenty of Trumps other nominees defended draconian anti-abortion legislation, anti-LGBTQ, and voter suppression laws. Can the views in their briefs be imputed to the nominees themselves? Hawley seems to think so, and Democrats should take note. By bullying Bogren, the senator has kicked opened the door to vicious, disingenuous attacks on lawyers who dared to represent disfavored clients. Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party has won a commanding victory in Indias national election, giving the controversial Hindu nationalist prime minister a firm mandate for a second five-year term. Votes for the election, held over seven phases beginning on April 11, are still being counted, but the BJP appears to have won around 300 seats in the Lok Sabha, Indias parliament, up from 282 seats won in the election five years ago and well over the 272 needed for an absolute majority. He will be the first Indian prime minister to lead his party to back-to-back victories in almost half a century. Its a humiliating defeat for the opposition Congress party, which ruled India for most of its post-Independence history, and for its leader, Rahul Gandhi, scion of the countrys most prominent political family, who was defeated in his own constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The largest democratic election ever held, with 900 million eligible voters and record turnout, the contest was, if nothing else, a stunning achievement of logistics. Indian law requires no voter to be more than 2 kilometers from their polling station, meaning that about 1 million polling stations were needed, including one delivered by helicopter to an altitude of 15,000 feet in the Himalayas. Modi had been expected to win, but the magnitude of his victory is stunning. All the more so because five years of BJP rule hasnt exactly delivered on the partys economic promises. Unemployment is at a 20-year high, initiatives to tackle red tape and corruption have faltered, and a surprise move to eliminate Indias largest currency bills caused economic chaos that fell most heavily on Indias poorest. The BJP suffered setbacks in municipal elections last December, suggesting the party might be vulnerable. Advertisement Advertisement But the BJP doubled down on its Hindu nationalist roots, casting Congress as soft on terrorism and beholden to Muslims, who make up 14 percent of the countrys population. Recent military tensions with Pakistan may also have boosted Modis credentials on national security. As one Kolkata voter told the BBC, It is all right if theres little development, but Modi is keeping the nation secure and keeping Indias head high. But at times the partys rhetoric crossed the line into outright anti-Muslim bigotry and stoked sectarian violence in some places. Among last nights BJP winners, in the city of Bhopal, is a controversial Hindu ascetic accused of several bombings targeting Muslims. Human rights groups have accused Modis government of tacitly encouraging an alarming spike in communal violence and hate crimes. Advertisement Advertisement This isnt exactly new for the BJP. Modi himself was barred from entering the United States until 2014 because of his alleged role in a 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom while he was chief minister of Gujarat. (The ban was quietly lifted by the Obama administration in 2014 when it became clear Modi would become prime minister.) But many skeptics, both inside India and internationally, were willing to give Modi the benefit of the doubt, due to his credentials and self-presentation as an economic modernizer. Thats a harder case to make today. Following his win, Modi wrote on Twitter, Together we will build a strong and inclusive India, but it seems as if his path to maintaining power relies on division. During the first few days of the trial of Keith Raniere, the man accused of leading a sex cult in the guise of a Randian self-help group, the prosecution presented a remarkable chart. It showed Ranieres inner circle with photographs of the 25 men and women who co-founded, worked for, or otherwise cooperated in NXIVM, Ranieres company, and ESP (Executive Success Programs), the personal development courses that have ensnared at least 16,000 people over the last 20 years. The faces around Raniere included actress Allison Mack, Seagram heiress Clare Bronfman, co-founder Nancy Salzman and her daughter Lauren, all of whom have pleaded guilty to different charges as part of the process against Raniere. Advertisement Coverage of the evidence has mostly focused on Mack or Bronfman, prominent figures who tarnished their reputations to protect a dreadful man. For me, though, the diagram offered a different, more chilling piece of information: Almost half of Ranieres closest associates were Mexican. The list included Emiliano Salinas, son of former President Carlos Salinas, and Rosa Laura Junco, whose family owns one of Mexicos most influential newspaper groups. The prosecution then provided another chart. The pictures of eight women around Raniere, all members of Dominus Obsequious Sororium (DOS), an alleged sex ring masquerading as a sorority in which women were enslaved and branded with Ranieres initials. Five of the eight women were Mexican. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One would think that given the number and nature of Ranieres Mexican associates, the story would have caught fire in Mexico. In fact, the opposite happened. Ranieres deep Mexican connections have been conspicuously underreported by the countrys press. Different media outlets offered Salinas, an eloquent speaker whose father served as president from 1988 to 1994, softball interviews and numerous other opportunities to distance himself from Raniere, a man he had defended vehemently in the past, calling him heroic. Salinas and his business partner, Alejandro Betancourt, eventually announced they would sever ties with ESP, the self-help program they had helped create, promoted, and managed in Mexico for over 15 years. Salinas then claimed he was unaware of the existence of the alleged sex ring. With two noteworthy exceptions, almost no one in the Mexican press has dared to really probe his claim. The investigative website Aristegui Noticias published five recordings in which Salinas fully acknowledged and justified the existence of the secret branding group, while the news site Univision Noticias (for which I work) ran a series of pieces on Raniere written by journalist Gerardo Reyes. Other than that, the silence from Mexico has been deafening. Advertisement Advertisement Its unfortunate. Advertisement Ranieres involvement in Mexico was unlike anything he attempted throughout his career as self-anointed cult leader. In Mexico, Raniere found a cult leaders trifecta: access to the countrys political elite, gullible followers with deep pockets, and a country in crisis that could offer him both influence and money. The documentary film Encender el Corazon (Turn on the Heart), one of Ranieres last projects in Mexico, offers some clues to his intentions. Directed by South African filmmaker Mark Vicente, one of Ranieres associates, it is set in Mexico during the countrys brutal drug war. When I interviewed him in 2017, Vicente told me the movie was originally meant to suggest a way out for the countrys spiral of violence. Instead, the film became a recruiting video for NXIVM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Encender el Corazon focuses on Ranierebespectacled, slightly disheveled, and mild-manneredsurrounded by adoring Mexican followers, many of them Mexicans who would later appear in the prosecutions trial charts. Raniere indeed offers a solution of sorts for Mexicos troubles: Follow his teachings to the letter. In his messianic scheme, the country would become an experiment. One would think that, given the number and nature of Ranieres Mexican associates, the story would have caught fire in Mexico. In fact, the opposite happened. The film shows Raniere advising Julian Lebaron, a serious and hardworking man whose brother, Benjamin, had been brutally abducted from his home and killed just outside their Mormon community in northern Mexico in 2009, afer having refused to pay ransom for the kidnapping of another of the Lebaron brothers. Raniere latched onto Lebarons story to suggest a path of supposed nonviolent resistance in Mexico. Mexicans (the poor in particular), Raniere said, should lead a peaceful revolution, simply declining to take part in unlawful activities, accept extortion, or, like in Lebarons case, capitulate to criminal demands. The films oversimplified and risky diagnosis of Mexicos inequality and the countrys convoluted 12-year war on crime could have been harmless if it werent a thinly veiled disguise for something different: a massive propaganda effort to raise Ranieres profile in Mexico. The film ends with a call to action unrelated to Lebarons harrowing story or violence in Mexico: Join Ranieres movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I later spoke to Lebaron, he was stunned. I never agreed for the film to be used as a recruiting tool of any kind, he told me. As for the possible consequences of his peculiar strategy to abate Mexicos violence, Raniere seemed nonchalant. One of the films producers would later tell me Raniere was aware that his method could lead to further bloodshed: Nonviolent resistance might be met with an increasingly desperate and violent response from the countrys criminal organizations. It would be, he probably reckoned, a small price to pay to be proved right. Advertisement Raniere never got to put his nation-building model for Mexico to the test. In October 2017, the New York Times broke the shocking story that would eventually lead to his capture and trial. One of Ranieres close associates, a woman named Sarah Edmonson, had fled the group after being branded with a cauterizing device as part of DOS. A few months later, in March 2018, Mexican authorities arrested Raniere in Puerto Vallarta, along the countrys Pacific coast. He would be charged with sex trafficking soon after. Mark Vicente, the film director, was one of the prosecutions first witnesses. Its a fraud, its a lie, Vicente said in court. This well-intentioned veneer covers a horrible evil. Advertisement Advertisement If recent revelations are any indication, the prosecution will likely uncover the full extent of NXIVMs network in Mexico. While he currently doesnt face charges in the United States, prosecutors recently identified Salinas as one of Ranieres alleged co-conspirators. In her trial testimony, Lauren Salzman named Rosa Laura Junco as the woman who recruited her into DOS. (Junco was also apparently responsible for buying a house for members of the sex ring group near Albany, New York.) Some of Ranieres Mexican associates and victims are expected to take the stand in Brooklyn, New York, in the next few days. If thats the case, major Mexican media outlets, some of which have slowly begun to air pieces mainly about the trial, may have no choice but to treat the story as what it truly is: a shocking and unprecedented affair that transcends the Brooklyn legal proceedings and reached the upper echelons of Mexican society and the countrys political establishment. To do otherwise would not only be journalistic malpractice, it would also offer undeniable proof that, in Mexico, political connections can still be more relevant than the full pursuit of the truth. Rex Tillerson, the former secretary of state, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Vladimir Putin was far more prepared than President Donald Trump for their first meeting, giving the Russian president an advantage in their ranging two-hour conversation, according to the Washington Post. The admission, which he made in a seven-hour closed meeting with the committee on Tuesday, is not entirely surprising, given Trumps tendency to ignore intelligence briefings and his repeated assertion that instinct matters more than preparation . Advertisement According to Tillerson, who attended the 2017 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, the White House expected a short meeting focused on courtesies, but Putin instead entered the meeting prepared for a long conversation about various foreign policy topics. A House Foreign Affairs Committee aide told the Post that Tillerson had relayed that the mismatched levels of preparation harmed the White Houses position. We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted, the aide told the Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, in a statement, said he was perfectly prepared for my meetings with Vladimir Putin. We did very well at those meetings. Tillerson has not spoken much about the president since he was fired in March 2018, but he has said in the past that he had had to refuse orders and demands from the president that violate[d] the law. In speaking before the committee, according to the Post, Tillersonwho famously is alleged to have once called Trump a fucking moronlisted the American values of freedom, democracy, individual liberty and human dignity as guiding his political career but said he and Trump did not share a value system, refusing to elaborate further. On Wednesday, Donald Trump held a press conference to announce that he wont speak to congressional Democrats unless they end the various ongoing committee investigations into his conduct. At the press conference, he displayed a graphic about Robert Muellers special counsel investigation, which noted how many search warrants, interviews, etc. it had conducted. His point was that if Muellers extensive inquiry didnt find grounds to charge him for conspiring with Russian intelligence, what was the point of investigating further? Advertisement As an ABC reporter pointed out, though, that graphic was originally created by her network. And there was a second part to it: The part about how many of Trumps advisers and associates were charged by the special counsels office for crimes including fraud, perjury, and witness tampering. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump held up an ABC News graphic during the Rose Garden event today -- but notably did not hold up a second page of that graphic -- that details the numbers of indictments, guilty pleas and people sent to prison. Here's both pages --> https://t.co/3yZAwegb7L pic.twitter.com/VTDsVBAgYK Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) May 22, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Mueller moreover referred a number of related cases to other Department of Justice prosecutors. We dont know what all those cases are yet because information about them was redacted from his report to Attorney General William Barr. But one of them was likely revealed Thursday as the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Yorks Southern District announced charges against Stephen Calk, the CEO of Federal Savings Bank. Calk is accused of facilitating loans in 2016 to Trumps campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, that Manafort might otherwise not have qualified for because he was on the verge of going brokeand Manafort, the feds say, paid Calk back by getting him a spot on the Trump campaigns economic advisory committee and, later, recommending that the Trump transition team consider him for the position of undersecretary of the Army. [Update, May 23, 2019, at 3:25 p.m.: An attorney representing Calk says he has done nothing wrong and will be exonerated at trial.] Advertisement Advertisement Barr implied at a press conference before releasing the Mueller report that Trump was justified in his efforts to end Muellers investigation because he was frustrated that it was unfair to him. The attorney general then explained in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that the president has a right to shut down DOJ investigations into his conduct if they are groundless and based on false allegations. And yet here we are with another DOJ indictment describing an illegal scheme involving Trumps campaign. One can only imagine what an investigation into Trump that wasnt groundless might look like. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that Donald Trump is considering a preemptive pardon for a Navy SEAL named Edward Gallagher, who has been charged in military court with murdering a captive and shooting two unarmed civilians. This week, meanwhile, a judge ruled against Trump in a lawsuit, which hes filed as a private citizen, that seeks to prevent Deutsche Bank and Capital One from turning over his financial records to congressional investigators. As it turns out, the same lawyerMarc Mukasey, son of former Attorney General Michael Mukaseyis working on both cases. On Wednesday, as the military-affairs site Task and Purpose reported, he was even working on them at the same time: Advertisement Appearing via telephone, Mukasey a longtime law partner of Rudy Giuliani and the son of a former attorney general for President George W. Bush had to drop from the Gallagher hearing after about 15 minutes since it conflicted with court proceedings in New York related to the release of Trumps banking records. Im a trial lawyer, Mukasey told Task & Purpose in a phone interview. I represent the president in court and I represent Eddie Gallagher in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This seems like a bit of a conflict of interest for someone? At the least, its a reminder that Trump does not have a stellar record of enforcing ethical boundaries involving his relationships with lawyers: According to federal prosecutors, he directed former personal attorney Michael Cohen to carry out an illegal hush-payment scheme during the 2016 election; the Mueller report documents his effort, as president, to get former White House Counsel Don McGahn to end the special counsels Russia investigation (and, later, to get McGahn to deny that Trump had done so); the report also includes descriptions of contacts between Trumps personal attorneys and individuals like Cohen, Paul Manafort, and Michael Flynn that could conceivably constitute witness tampering; and on Monday we learned that Cohen told lawmakers that Trump attorney Jay Sekulow encouraged him to lie to Congress about the dates the Russia Trump Tower project was being considered. This latest episode seems like another opportunity for presidential malfeasance. Advertisement Advertisement According to professor David Luban of Georgetown Law, though, theres nothing technically wrong with the Trump-Gallagher-Mukasey arrangement. Luban says that while the situation smells horrible and raises the possibility that individuals seeking pardons from Trump could essentially use his personal attorneys as their lobbyists, there dont appear to be any specific ethical rules forbidding it. Said Luban: If the president was a judge, he would have to recuse himself from the Gallagher case because his impartiality could reasonably be questioned. But there is no requirement that presidential pardon power be wielded impartially. Nothing except political backlash would prevent the president from pardoning his own family members if they got into legal trouble. (There could be post-hoc remedies in cases of abuse: Other experts have argued that a president could be prosecuted if he used his pardon powers with intent to obstruct justice or as the reward for a bribe, and Congress could vote to impeach. But there are few restrictions on who pardons can be issued to in the first place.) Luban further says he doesnt believe that Trumps role as the head of the branch of government thats prosecuting Gallagher constitutes the kind of directly adverse collision of interests that would preclude Mukasey from representing both men. (For his part, Mukasey told Task and Purpose that he has not asked Trump to pardon Gallagher.) Soalarming, and rife with the potential for abuse, but probably not technically forbidden. Great! Abolitionist Harriet Tubman was supposed to make a number of firsts when her image was scheduled to begin being used on the $20 note in 2020. Tubman, a former slave and leader of the Underground Railroad, was set to replace former President Andrew Jackson on the note, as part of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. On Wednesday, however, the Trump administration announced the new billthe first honoring a black womanwould not be going into circulation as planned. In fact, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday, a Tubman $20 would have to wait until at least 2026, and likely 2028, before it goes in circulation, well after a Trump presidency, if democracy goes as planned. Advertisement Why the delay? Mr. Mnuchin, concerned that the president might create an uproar by canceling the new bill altogether, was eager to delay its redesign until Mr. Trump was out of office, some senior Treasury Department officials have said, according to the New York Times. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Mr. Trump criticized the Obama administrations plans for the bill. That April, Mr. Trump called the change pure political correctness and suggested that Tubman, whom he praised, could be added to a far less common denomination, like the $2 bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the campaign, Trump became a fan of Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, despite growing condemnation of Jacksons abhorrent treatment of Native Americans, including forcible relocation that resulted in widespread death and disease. Its unclear what Trump admired in the man, but you can probably venture a guess. The Tubman-for-Jackson swap was an Obama administration initiative, and Trump has pretty much made it his mission to be against anything that came before his presidency. That left the new bill vulnerable to the new presidents fancy and soon the signs pointed to the Trump administration sandbagging the change: The Treasury Department wiped any mention of the redesign from its website and Mnuchin began hedging on the new bills future. People have been on the bills for a long period of time, Mnuchin said to CNBC in 2017. This is something well consider. Right now, weve got a lot more important issues to focus on. In scrapping the bill, Mnuchin didnt give much of a reason. It is my responsibility now to focus on what is the issue of counterfeiting and the security features, Mnuchin said Wednesday. The ultimate decision on the redesign will most likely be another secretary down the road. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos rejected Donald Trumps attempt to invalidate the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees subpoenas of the presidents financial records on Wednesday. His decision, if upheld on appeal, would allow Congress to compel Deutsche Bank and Capitol One to provide the House with information regarding the Trumps and their businesses. The presidents attorneys will now seek a stay from an appeals court, and, if spurned there, probably the Supreme Court. Neither is likely to intervene in Trumps favor, though it is not entirely out of the question. Advertisement Ramos rulingwhich he read from the bench and had yet to be released as of publication timeis similar to U.S. District Judge Amit Mehtas Monday decision affirming Congress authority to scrutinize the executive branch. Under the Constitution, congressional committees have broad power to conduct investigations, both to carry out its enumerated powers (like impeachment) and to inform potential legislation. The Supreme Court has held that courts have a limited ability to impede Congress oversight so long as its actions fall within a legitimate legislative sphere. So long a congressional committee has stated a facially legitimate justification for its investigation, courts must treat its subpoenas as valid. They may not seek some hidden, illicit motive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here, the House Oversight Committee has provided multiple legitimate reasons why it seeks Trumps financial records. As Courthouse News Adam Klasfeld reports, the committees seek to gauge the Trump business empires compliance with money laundering laws and to what extent foreign actors may have financial influence over the president. It is considering legislation to tighten these laws and close loopholes that the Trumps may have exploited. To determine whether reforms are necessary to address deficiencies with current laws, rules, and regulations, the House says it needs these records. That claim provides a legitimate legislative purpose, one that, according to precedent, the judiciary has no power to second-guess. Advertisement Advertisement Because the Trumps are unlikely to prevail on the merits and have not raised any serious questions of law, Ramos concluded, the subpoenas should not be enjoined as Trump was requesting. The presidents attorneys plan to appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They are currently appealing Mehtas orderwhich involves a subpoena for Trumps financial records at Mazars USA, his former accounting firmto the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. If neither appeals court stays these rulings, and the Supreme Court declines to intervene, the House will soon obtain a trove of the Trump familys financial materials. Advertisement Deutsche Bank seemed to indicate it would comply with any final court rulings that the subpoenas were lawful. We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations and will abide by a court order regarding such investigations, said Kerrie McHugh, a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman. Advertisement It is easy to see why the president is so desperate to conceal these records; the New York Times reported on Sunday that anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank proposed flagging Trumps account for suspicious activity, though bank managers overruled them. The odds of a Trump victory over the House, however, are extremely low, even at this conservative Supreme Court. In order to rule in his favor, the justices would have to ignore Congress sweeping constitutional power to investigate and overturn decades of precedent. Theyd also have to look beyond the Houses stated justifications to uncover some impermissible motive. A majority court refused to engage in such scrutiny when evaluating Trumps own policies, such as his travel ban, even in the face of significant public evidence of unlawful motives; it would be odd if the conservative justices applied a more stringent standard to the (Democratic) House. The sad truth for Trump is that his legal theory here never made any sense. Even if the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees do have a flagrantly partisan purpose, the Constitution strictly limits courts ability to block a facially legitimate congressional subpoena. Elections have consequences, and Democrats control over the House probably ensures that the presidents long-concealed financial records will finally see the light of day. Room 18 is a 5-year-old female, a refugee from Honduras, who is here with her foster mother and has had high fevers for a week, said the nurse in the middle of our weekend afternoon shift, her eyes puffy and tearing up. As attending physicians in a busy New York City pediatric emergency department, weve each spent almost a decade working to provide compassionate emergency care to hundreds of kids on a daily basis. Weve trained for the worst of disasters, resuscitated patients, cried with parents, and broken devastating news. But it is rare that we see a 5-year-old sob as inconsolably as our new patient, whom well call C.K. Advertisement Pause, think, protocol. We check her airway, her breathing, and her circulation. All are stable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resident physician exits the room. Its complicated, she says. Her mother is in immigration jail and her foster mother, who she only met six days ago, was not given any medical or vaccination records. Pediatricians rely on this critical information to help triage, accurately diagnose, and treat their patients. If there is no family to provide a medical history, and the guardian she is here with does not know anything about her, how can we do our jobs? She is a 5-year-old girl who recently emigrated from Honduras with high fever, cough, red eyes, and runny nose the resident continues, before she is cut off. Like detectives, physicians are trained to recognize patterns and clues that, taken together, suggest a list of possible diagnoses before doing tests. With the current measles epidemic in New York City, weve heightened our suspicion and vigilance around this disease, given the imperative to protect patients and the community. Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease, but C.K. had no documented immunity to this disease, a disease that has been making a comeback of epidemic proportions in recent months. Advertisement Advertisement We decide how to examine C.K. We congratulate ourselves for making smart diagnostic decisions and bringing safety to the emergency department with isolation protocols. One of us gears up in the personal protective equipment and enters the room to examine her. She is crying, weeping. Her fear and anxiety swirl around the room. Under her mask, tears turn into words: Quiero a mi mama. It translates to I want my mama. It is Mothers Day. Advertisement As doctors, we have been taught how to protect our patients, to test and to treat, to accept minimal risk and ensure patient safety. We know how to test C.K. to find out what is making her sick. But how are we supposed to be good diagnosticians if there is no parent or guardian who can provide us with answers to simple questions that would help guide us? Why does this child need to suffer with the unnecessary pain of needlesticks because of a system that separated her from her family? She did not break the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We recognize, on a daily basis thanks to the jobs we do, that the healing process for children mandates something we, medical providers, cannot providethe compassion of a familiar face, the love of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, or guardians. How can it be in the best interest of this child to separate C.K. from those who can heal her? Wethe doctors, nurses, child life staff, and her foster parentall tried to calm her. But we are not a familiar face, and there is nothing we could do to change that. We could treat her. We wish we could have reassured her. The following essay is derived from The Making of Measure and the Promise of Sameness. If you didnt notice, its OK, but Monday marked an important shift in the sciences, one that has taken decades to implement. Last November, scientists at an international conference in Versailles, France, finally agreed that all the measurement standards employed around the worldthe meter, the second, the ampere, the kelvin and so onwould acquire new definitions based on physical constants. (A constant, as its name makes clear, is a quantity that physicists take as fixed and usually retrieve in the atomic world, such as the mass of a proton, or the charge of an electron.) That shift happened Monday, May 20. The new era is upon us. But again, you probably missed itin fact, you were supposed to miss it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before getting into the reasons why our collective failure to notice means the transition was a success, let me briefly recap what this whole business is about. Since the 18th century, many scientists and international traders have been frustrated by the need to convert dimensions every time they crossed a national border. It was not just that every country was using different systems, but many cities within the same country employed different standards, one for each activity (land was not measured with the same rulers employed for cloth, for example). So, in 1875 (on May 20, not a coincidence), a group of 17 countries that included Italy, the Dominican Republic, Russia, and the United States agreed to adopt the same measurement standards as a way to boost commerce and facilitate technological cooperation.* They decided on the metric system, which had been created in France in the late 1790s ( more on that later) and aggressively promoted across the globe. Advertisement Advertisement At the 1875 conference, each adopting country was rewarded with a platinum bar that measured one meter and a cylinder whose mass corresponded to one kilogram. Other countries followed suit (Japan in 1885, Mexico in 1890, Thailand in 1912, I could go on). Members of this metric covenant felt reassured as more and more countries subscribed to it. Yet, over time, scientific advancements also continued to redefine what the meter meant. In 1960, for instance, at the meeting in which Indonesia joined the group, the participants agreed that it was too risky to have the worlds standard of length embodied by only one metal bar. What would have happened if, despite all the precautions, such a bar were damaged or went missing? How to deal with the countless disputes regarding the replication of an object that was, by its very definition, irreplaceable? The bar had to go, and the length of one meter was defined as a multiple of the wavelength of the orange spectral line so that any laboratory could retrieve it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But soon after, in 1983, scientists made such progress in measuring the frequency of radiations that they had to redefine the speed of light, and the meter with it. The other standards didnt receive the same treatment, though. Until Monday, for instance, the kilogram was still defined in relation to the 19th-century cylinder that is still preserved in a suburb of Paris. And this is why the representatives of 85 countries agreed that on May 20, 2019, all standards would switch to definitions based on physical constants, constants that could be derived anywhere, rather than replicas of a literal object. Its the paradox of the gesturechanging a few things so that everything can stay the samethat I find intriguing. And yet, while many of the worlds scientists regard this moment as the epochal transformation it rightly is, they are quick to tell everyone that nothing is changing. Press releases celebrate the change but minimize its significance, stressing that its only the definitions of the standards that have been correctedthat is, the instructions as to how to create and replicate themnot their dimensions. We can continue measuring our morning jogs or weighing baking ingredients as we have always done: Everything will stay the same. Advertisement Advertisement Its the paradox of the gesturechanging a few things so that everything can stay the samethat I find intriguing. And after having researched the history of measurements for 15 years, I can also tell you that this paradox is not circumstantial, but an expression of the ambiguity that gives measurements their exceptional power. Advertisement Advertisement You see: Measurements are strange objects. They occupy a unique place in cultural history as a whole. To start, measurements are ambivalent entities that exist between physical objects and ideal ratios. When we talk about measurements, we simultaneously refer to two things: both the plastic ruler that we may hold in our hands, and the dimension that the ruler represents. The physical object is thought to be a mere representation of a ratio, but things are more complicated than that. Before Monday, many measurement standards were in fact like the pre-1960 meter, for which the ratio did not really exist outside of the physical object that was supposed to simply represent it. Advertisement Advertisement Lets go back to the creation of the meter. When, in the late 18th century, the members of the Academy of Science in Paris worked to make it a reality, they defined it as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator. They believed that taking the size of the Earth as the starting point would make the new standard eternally retrievable. Even if the object were lost, such a standard could be found again by remeasuring the earth, which, moreover, made the meter appear universal: a tool that all humans would recognize as deduced from their own planet. Yet, when the French went to measure the meridian, they selected the one crossing Paris without realizing (actually, deliberately ignoring) that not all meridians are identical, since the Earth is not the perfect sphere that we see in the solar systems hanging over cribs. Which means that the final metal bar that the French produced was a peculiar object, related to one specific dimension of the earth. (Its because of this distinctness that the London parliament refused to adopt it.) And yet, when promoting it, the French omitted this peculiarity and described the standard as a universal, utterly constant ratio. Advertisement Advertisement It was not, however, only the French that played this game. Measurements have always existed in suspension between the material and the ideal. In medieval Italy, for instance, standards of length were not hidden in safes protected by guards, as it is the case today. They were instead incised in the facades of cathedrals for everyone to see (and for everyone to guard). The very officers in charge of the incisions, however, were the first ones to say that the standard was not the incised slab itself, which was regularly substituted, but the ratio that it visualized. Critics further objected that if someone went to chip the rut with a chisel, even the abstract dimension that the wall incision supposedly represented would change. But those voices mattered little, in part because measurements are not just technical tools of quantification, but distinct cultural objects that, like all cultural objects, exist amid the discourse that validate them. Measuring requires instructions: Someone needs to tell you where to start and where to end, how to read an edge that falls between two divisions. Discussing measurements is never just technical: They pose questions about frameworks of reference, theories of knowledge, and the stuff that shapes our beliefs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measurements derive their efficacy from an idea of incorruptibility that does not belong to the human world. Measurement standards are as artificial as anything else produced by humans. Over the centuries they have been chipped, weathered, and destroyed by fires (that is what happened to the 15th-century measurements standards of England, engulfed in the blaze that destroyed the London Parliament in 1834, after which: chaos). Yet, measurements are routinely presented as if their material existence is secondary to their abstract reality. This is because measurements derive their efficacy from an idea of incorruptibility that does not belong to the human world. The moment measurement standards are physically constructed, they are immediately said not to matter as objects, but as transfers to something abstract. It is only as abstract forms that they maintain that promise of incorruptibility that lends them validity. I would also add: It is only through ideals that the various incarnations of measurements (such as your ruler not being exactly like mine) can overcome their differences, regardless of how inconspicuous they may be. Advertisement This notion explains why scientists changed the definitions of the standards while insisting that nothing changed. Their anxiety is the same that has seized all scientists of the past three centuries: how to improve the tools employed to describe the laws of nature without disrupting everyone elses life? (Can you imagine what would happen if people started questioning measurements? If at every visit to the supermarket, every shopper would inspect the calibration of each scale?) Its better to say that there is nothing to see while scientists continue in their pursuit and skew the oscillation of measurements more toward the abstract than the physical. Which is precisely what happened on Monday: an attempt to erase the last traces of the bodies of measurements to finally turn them into utterly incorruptible dimensions. Or this is, at least, what we are told. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I may be cynical, but May 20 seems to be less a step forward than a reiteration of the very paradox of human life in which measurements participate: the effort to produce something absolute, eternally stable, and utterly uncompromisable in an ever-changing universe while having only human-made, imperfect tools at hand. By recurring to physical constants, scientists can claim to have equipped themselves with definitions that allow them to retrieve standards forever. Yet, such confidence evaporates once they leave their laboratories. For who can measure the mass of a proton or the speed of light outside of scientists? Most of us did not notice what happened because May 20 marks the day when measurements became a scientific appanage. Advertisement Correction, May 23, 2019: An earlier version of this article misidentified Russia as the Soviet Union. Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. The warning will be in place until morning of May 23. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The northern districts of Slovakia have to prepare for the threat of intensive rains and floods in the upcoming days. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) issued both first- and second-level warnings against rain for most northern districts in the Trnava, Trencin, Zilina and Presov Regions, valid until May 24, 6:00. In some places, up to 120 millimetres of precipitation may fall. At the same time, in all northern Slovak districts, along with the districts of Michalovce and Sobrance (both in the Kosice Region), SHMU issued warnings against floods. In many cases, there is a second-level warning that may endanger peoples activities and cause damage to their property, the TASR newswire reported. Firefighters on the watch As many as 290 professional and volunteer firefighters intervened in more than 80 incidents until the morning of May 23. The most interventions were reported by the Zilina Region, where they were called on 47 cases. There were 11 interventions in the Trnava Region, nine in the Bratislava Region and six in the Trencin Region. They mostly helped with the removal of fallen trees from streams and roads, draining water from flooded streets and cellars, and monitored the situation, said Katarina Krizanova from the Fire and Rescue Corps Presidium (HaZZ), as quoted by TASR. The Danube has also risen Meanwhile, the water level of the Danube significantly increased. Close to the Devin station, it reached 495 centimetres on the morning of May 22, which was 174 centimetres more than the day before. In Bratislava, the level was 593 centimetres, which was 152 centimetres more than on May 21, the SITA newswire reported. On the morning of May 23, the water level stood at about 570 centimetres. It is now expected that the Danube will gradually drop. The Danubes water level has increased, but there is no threat of floods, said Marian Bocak of the Slovak Water Management Company, as quoted by SITA. Meanwhile, a curious situation emerged in Cadca, where one man decided to fight the floods in a very interesting way: Dalondo Moultrie is the assistant managing editor of the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at dalondo.moultrie@seguingazette.com Henry's legacy must be understood as a challenge - to defend ourselves, not to be indifferent and to change society. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Around 100 people gathered at SNP Square in Bratislava on May 23 to remember the death of Henry Acorda, a Filipino expat who died in Bratislava last year, succumbing to injuries sustained during an aggressive attack. One of the reasons for organising the gathering was the ruling issued in mid-May. The court sentenced Juraj Hossu, who attacked and beat Acorda to death, to six years in prison, which caused outrage among many people. I want to thank the people who helped us, Acordas mother wrote in a letter read out at the gathering. My family and I are very disappointed by the six-year sentence court ruling for [Juraj] Hossu, the killer. Are six years enough for my sons life? Read also: Read also: Acorda case: Justice is not about draconian punishment Read more The speakers said at the gathering that Acorda died because of the escalating aggressivity and violence against women, minorities and foreigners in our society. Henry's legacy must be understood as a challenge - to defend ourselves, not to be indifferent and to change society, Alena Faragulova of Povstanie Pokracuje (Uprising Continues), the organiser of the gathering, said. The gathering then moved to Obchodna Street, to the spot where Acorda was beaten on May 26, 2018. People laid flowers and lit candles. There may be a lack of honey because of the weather. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled On the occasion of World Bee Day, which falls on May 20 every year, Slovakia accepted the Slovenian invitation to join the event at Conway Hall in London. It presented the Centenary of Organised Beekeeping in Slovakia, with Branislav Novosedlik of the Slovak Beekeepers Union being present, as Slovak Ambassador to the UK Lubomir Rehak wrote in a Twitter post. Meanwhile, the bees in Slovakia face serious problems. Due to the recent warm weather without any rain, the Varroa destructor parasite multiplied, causing the death of bees across Slovakia, the Hospodarske Noviny daily reported. 11,000 bee colonies dead The bees attacked by the parasite are less likely to resist viral diseases and their lifetime is shortened by a month or two. The combination of climate fluctuation, attacks by the parasite and wrong treatment resulted in the death of thousands of bees in some regions of southern Slovakia, Hospodarske Noviny wrote. The Slovak Union of Beekeepers registered that as many as 11,000 bee colonies had died by the end of April. This represents almost 5 percent of the overall 232,000 winterised beehives of its members. Read also: Read also: Slovak beekeepers experience another poorer-than-average season Read more Among the most affected regions are Bratislava, Pezinok, Komarno, Nitra, Prievidza, Skalica, Sahy, Sala, Topolcany, Zeliezovce and other towns and villages mostly in the south of Slovakia. In some of these localities, there is about a 15 percent death-rate of bees, in other places it is even 20 percent, Hospodarske Noviny wrote. Chemicals and weather are also problems Milan Rusnak of the Slovak Union of Beekeepers said that chemicals used by farmers to kill insects could be the reason behind the death of the bees. The deaths are vaster at places with intense agricultural production. However, it is not possible to detect if the substance is present in the bees in laboratory tests. The production of honey this year is not threatened, according to Rusnak, because over the nationwide average it is a common outage and in addition it has not touched all regions. "Production is not affected by the death of 4 or 5 percent of bee colonies, but is affected by the weather," Rusnak explains, as quoted by Hospodarske Noviny. The production of rape honey is threatened as a result of weather fluctuations and customers will also experience acacia breakdowns if the weather does not change for the better soon. According to beekeepers, 24 to 25 degrees Celsius is ideal for developing bees along with cloudy weather, according to the daily. The only country with a worse plan is Slovenia. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia has one of the worst climate plans in the EU. The only country with a worse result is Slovenia. This stems from the evaluation by the experts from the European Climate Foundation, who focused on whether the countries are heading towards zero emissions. The Slovak plan was prepared by the Economic Ministry. It received minus points because the ministry did not invite the wider public, expert organisations, or the third sector to work on it, the Dennik N daily reported. (Source: European Climate Foundation) As a result, Slovakia received only 12.5 points out of 100. Spain received the highest score, gaining 52.4 points. The conclusion is that there is much work to be done: this assessment is a clear call to the member states to improve their plans by the end of the year when final drafts are to be submitted, the authors wrote in the study. It is also a call on the European Commission to make clear and unambiguous recommendations to the member states by June, in line with the EU 2030 package and the net-zero Emissions objective for 2050. Read also: Chris Baca and Jared Truby, the chill Santa Cruz coffee bros better known as Cat & Cloud, are being sued. Did they steal someones killer wave? Did they harsh someones vibe in a felonious manner, possibly related to a wicked 360 ollie of some sort? No and no. They are being taken to court by Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar, the worlds largest construction equipment manufacturer with net revenue exceeding $54 billion in 2018, owns the trademark for CAT, the shorthand moniker they go by that is plastered over all their equipment. Cat & Cloud owns the trademark for their name as it relates to the coffee space. Caterpillar is suing Cat & Cloud to cancel their trademark. In a podcast published on May 20th, Baca and Charles Jackthe third founder/owner of Cat & Cloudshare their side of the story. According to Cat & Cloud, the initial notice of potential litigation came on August 4th, 2018. After filling out 70-question interrogatories and spending thousands of dollars on legals feesthe coffee company expects to spend upwards of $20,000 once its all said and doneBaca and Jack say they have decided to not roll over but to fight what they consider to be a frivolous law suit. Now, a petition has been created on Change.org to tell Caterpillar Inc. to stop bullying Cat & Cloud and other small businesses. In a little over a day, the petition has already received over 500 signatures, and the number continues to grow with each subsequent browser refresh. The saga of Cat & Cloud v Caterpillar Inc. appears to be just the latest example of brands vigorously pursuing copyright claims in the coffee space. This is an issue we profiled at length in Jenn Chens landmark three-part investigative feature on intellectual property in coffee, which you should definitely read here (part one) (part two) (part three). Sprudge Media Network have reached out to both parties for comment and will update this article once we hear back. This story is developing Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge. Top image from Inside Cat & Clouds Santa Cruz Dream Cafe Are you a Bay Area coffee professional looking to take the next step in your career? Or how about a non-coffee professional considering removing the non from your title and embarking on a specialty coffee journey? If you are either of these things, then Oaklands Royal Coffee would like to have a word. Taking place at The Crown on June 28th, the green coffee importing company has teamed up with coffee companies from across the Bay Area to host the first-ever Specialty Coffee Job Fair. Completely free to attend, the Specialty Coffee Job Fair runs from 10:00am to 2:00pm and includes premier coffee companies like Blue Bottle, Andytown, Equator Coffees, and Red Bay Coffee, with even more expected to be added. The goal of the event, per Royal Coffees website, is to give coffee professionals the opportunity to connect with hiring managers and learn about employment opportunities. As well as being a hub for potential employment in the coffee sector, the Specialty Coffee Job Fair doubles as an educational opportunity. During the four-hour event, the Bay Area Coffee Community will host a panel discussion on key topics facing job seekers in the specialty coffee industry. And make sure you come dressed for success. Royal suggests all attendees come in professional attire and bring with them printed resumes and cover letters. It all gets going at 10:00am on June 28th at The Crown in Oakland. While the event is free to attend, Royal does ask that all interested parties RSVP via Eventbrite, which can be done here. For more information, visit Royal Coffees official website and check out the Specialty Coffee Job Fair Facebook event page. Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge. Disclosure: Royal Coffee, Blue Bottle, and Equator Coffees are advertising partners with the Sprudge Media Network In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Valerie Bustamante is a staff writer for the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail her at valerie.bustamante@seguingazette.com. Alawites living on the Syrian coast are watching the unfolding events in Hama and Idleb and are concerned about what the developments might mean for them writes Al-Modon. Alawites are watching the current battle in the Hama and Idleb countryside with a great deal of interest. Their children are fighting on the fronts against the opposition. The Russian warplanes in the skies over Idleb and Hama are launching from Hemeimeemand the opposition are responding with bombardments using grad rockets and drones. It is the most important battle says Ahmed, a young man from Lattakia. Idleb is still a source of concern for this area. The residents of the Syrian coast have not forgotten when Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) advanced and took control of Idleb in March 2015 and then some of its commanders announced that the next goal was Lattakia. This spread fear among usespecially with the major retreat of the army and the apparent strength of the militants, continues Ahmed. He adds: I know that the fear was major. But this fear has pushed many to decide that fighting is the only option. At that time, everyone was following the militant commanders and sheikhs on the internet. Their rhetoric was sectarian and worrying, and therefore they contributed to mobilizing the coast, men and women, to repel them. Riyad, from Tartous, agrees, adding: The army now being victorious in what remains of the Hama countryside and in Idleb and bringing these areas under state control will have positive effects. Idleb is one of the biggest remaining fronts outside the control of the Assad regime. If it is able to win there, it will remove one of its biggest obstacles. And therefore, this area remaining in the hands of militants means that the state areas will remain cut off. The most important roads toward the north and its capital Aleppo run through Idleb. Putting an end to this front will have a positive impact on all levelsespecially economically, according to Riyad, who continued to say: Finally, it will provide the areas adjacent to Idleb with security, and therefore will reduce the drain on the army, which is deployed in these areas to protect them. This is positive in general because it means that the state has regained its control over new parts of Syria. Samir, a young man from the coast who supports the revolution and has experienced a lot of trouble because of that, confirmed what had been stated about the fears of Alawites when the Jaish al-Fatah approached their areas: I noticed this. Their advance was swift, and so everyone prepared for fighting. For me, I was (and still am) in support of the downfall of the regime, but I was not at all with Jaish al-Fatah coming into Lattakia. With regards to the fighting currently ongoing in Idleb, many people on the coast are following intensively, because Idleb and Hama are close to the coast or because their children are fighting there. But at the same time, there are many who are indifferent, because people are preoccupied with earning a living more than with anything else. Samir continues: Many people are exhausted and really uninterested in anything but their situation and their families. For me, everything happening is a nightmaresad and scary for people in Idleb and everywhere. The problem is that I dont see any future for anything. Riyad was not hesitant to say: Yes, in Idleb there will certainly be casualties. This is a war. And especially among women and children. I dont want that. But I know that this will happen. The problem is that there is no other alternative to this battle. It will happen now or later because the situation and the truces cannot continue without end. For him, The state will try sooner or later to regain control over the areas in their enemies hands. In contrast, he adds: If rebel forces were the ones advancing on our areas, for example, wouldnt there also be casualties among women and children? Isnt this what happened when they attacked the northern countryside in Lattakia? I dont say this to make justification. I hope that it will not happen and that there will be a solution to keep children and women and non-fighters neutral. Hassan, a university student, was asked by Al-Modon about what was being said about people on the coast calling for the extermination of Idlebs people, if necessary. He said: Yes, this opinion exists but with whom? You find it for example with some of those who have combined sectarianism with ignorance and arrogance, or some people who have been affected by the disasters of this war, such as losing loved ones. I can tell you that this view is rejected by many people here, and that the people who are saying it are rejected as well. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Anisseh Shawkat, the daughter of Assad's brother-in-law, has been living in a Knightsbridge flat and is accused of receiving money from the Assad regime reports Al-Araby al-Jadeed. On Tuesday, the niece of Bashar al-Assad, who was living and studying in London despite international sanctions, lost more than 30,000 dollars after a British court ruled the money was transferred to her by the Syrian regime. Anisseh Shawkats assets were frozen last month when the National Crime Agency sought an order to forfeit the cash on grounds that it could have been transferred from sanctioned members of the Syrian regime, British media reported. Shawkat, the 22-year-old daughter of Assads brother-in-law and former security chief Asef Shawkat, was discovered to be a student in London, despite sanctions on her family when the court case became public. She has been living in the capital for five years, where she completed a degree in spatial design at the London College of Communications, and is currently enrolled in a masters degree program. Shawkat has been able to live a life of luxury in the British capital. Regime-linked funds have enabled her to rent a 75,997 dollar a year flat in Knightsbridge, an affluent area of West London. Seven years ago, 12 members of the Assad family including Shawkats mother Bushra al-Assad, sister of the Syrian president were placed under sanctions by the European Union, which imposed a travel ban and froze their assets as a result. Under existing international sanctions, no prominent members of the Syrian regime should be able to transfer cash to the UK. On Tuesday, a Westminster court heard that Shawkat had received transfers of 191,843 dollars into her British bank account between 2017 and 2018, The Evening Standard reported. The court seized the remaining 31,282 dollars, ruling that the funds had been transferred from the sanctioned regime, which has been widely accused of war crimes, by way of a middleman connected to a UK-based criminal network. Her lawyer Zubair Ahmed said she was a model student and law-abiding person with no political involvement, claiming that she had not suspected the payments to her account to be in violations of sanctions against her family. Shawkat will not contest the seizure. The April revelation of Shawkats presence in the UK raised multiple questions. The Home Office has so far refused to offer an explanation as to how a member of the Assad family could have entered the country. It was widely known at the London College of Communications that Assads son Hafez al-Assad had visited her in the British capital, a source told The Evening Standard last month. While it has not been confirmed whether Hafez and his brothers Zein and Karim are British citizens, their mother Asma al-Assad is a dual British-Syrian national. Asma was born and raised in London and has in recent years faced calls for her British citizenship to be revoked. It was also revealed last year that an aunt and three cousins of the Syrian dictator, who had been living in the UK for more than a decade, had been refused British citizenship. The UK authorities did however grant his aunt the fourth wife of uncle Rifaat al-Assad, widely known as the Butcher of Hama for his role in the brutal 1982 crackdown that claimed between 10,000 to 40,000 lives indefinite leave to remain in the UK in 2012. Ibrahim al-Olabi, director of the UK-based Syrian Legal Development Program, told The New Arabs Arabic service that he welcome the action against Shawkat. The authorities do not pursue children, he said. They pursue the funds of those avoiding sanctions. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. The Syrian American Medical Association has said that a large number of Syrian refugees are suffering from mental problems brought on by the crisis in their country writes Zaman Al Wasl. The Syrian American Medical Association (SAMS) in the Turkish border city of Gaziantep has established a center for psychological and social care for Syrian refugees who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. SAMS is a non-political, non-profit medical relief organization working on the frontlines to provide relief to those in need during. It was established by a number of Syrian and American doctors to save victims, alleviate suffering, defend medical neutrality and ensure a healthier future for Syrians. The center is aiming to treat the psychological problems of refugees especially children and youths who have suffered psychologically as a result of displacement. According to local statistics, 20 percent of the Syrian refugees in Turkey suffer from mental disorders, anxiety and depression. Dr. Mazen Kwara, Regional Director of SAMS in Turkey and northern Syria, told Zaman Al Wasl that the psychological situation of the Syrian refugees is no better than the Syrians inside Syria, because they have endured shelling and the bad economic situation caused by asylum. He said that over the last eight years, severe psychological stresses due to security situation in particular is the main reason that SAMS is interested in mental health and psychosocial support for Syrian refugees. The most important psychological problems for Syrian refugees currently are depression and anxiety disorders and various types of infections he said. SAMS relied on statistics and studies conducted by the Turkish Ministry of Health at a national level. The center will provide, Psychotherapy services with individual medical supervision and psychotherapy and, Counselling services for various psychological and social problems for all age groups (family, behavioral, learning disabilities and rehabilitation for children with special needs) and training and capacity building in the field of mental health and psychosocial support. The center also ensures privacy and confidentiality of beneficiaries and information for all reviewers. The center was set up in an area that is crowded with Syrians, in order to be accessible to children, young people and complex cases. Dr. Mazen called on Syrian refugees and others to pay more attention to their mental health, to take their mental disorders seriously and to go to institutions that can serve them in this subject. Dr. Fawaz al-Momani, a psychology professor at al-Yarmouk University in Jordan, told Zaman Al-Wasl that the studies confirm that there are high levels of post-traumatic stress among the refugees, ranging from 25 to 75 percent. He added that one of the most important variables in this aspect are the special reasons related to the traumatic events, such as scenes of destruction, killing, loss of land and sexual assaults on women, children and the elderly. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. The Free Syrian Army along with other military factions have launched attacks against the regime's forces, causing a number of casualties and destroying heavy weapons reports Alsouria Net. On Wednesday, the Free Syrian Army along with other military factions started a new offensive on the northwestern Hama front after advancing and taking control of the town of Kafr Nabudah, following a counter-attack in which Assads forces suffered heavy losses. The National Front for Liberation said that their artillery and rockets regiment used BM-21 rockets and heavy artillery rounds to strike positions and barracks of Assads forces and the Russia-backed Fifth Corps militias who were stationed in the northern and western Hama countryside. The National Front added that it had destroyed two of Assads forces anti-tank launchers east of Tel Huwash in the northwestern Hama countryside with anti-armor rockets, while Assads forces destroyed two tanks with anti-armor rockets on the Tel Huwash front. Rebel groups were able to capture Colonel Abdel Kareem Youssef Souleiman during the fighting in Kafr Nabudah on Tuesday-Wednesday night. In addition, warplanes carried out airstrikes on villages in the Idleb countryside, with the town of Saraqeb subjected to three airstrikes, which killed four civilians and wounded more than 20 others. On Tuesday morning, a number of rebel groups began a counterattack against Assads forces. At the beginning they were able to take a number of areas, including Tel Huwash and al-Humairat in the northern Hama countryside, and to break Assad forces defensive line in Kafr Nabudah. All rebel groups present in the northern Hama countryside took part in the fighting, most prominently the National Front for Liberation, Jaish al-Izza, as well as fighters from the National Army, who arrived in convoys two days earlier to the fronts in the Hama countryside coming from the northern Aleppo countryside. Signs of Turkish-Russian Division The attack carried out by the rebel groups is considered to be a sign of Turkish-Russian divisions regarding Idleb province and its fate. The attack came after intensive communications between the Russians and Turks to reach a truce in Idleb that was rejected by the National Front for Liberation, which continued to strike Assad forces positions in the western Hama and northern Lattakia countrysides. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Wisdom of the Crowd: 63% of the respondents said that it is more important to have a system that can produce a good government that takes ... Both sides are claiming victory in a new court ruling that has at least temporarily put a hold on six-year-old plans to rezone Clatskanie-area farmland for industrial uses. The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) decision on the Port Westward rezone, but on much narrower legal grounds than environmental groups suggest. Riverkeeper, a Hood River, Ore., environmental group, said the appeals court upheld a finding that Columbia County ignored Oregon law when it doubled the size of Port Westward and opened high quality farmland to polluting industrial development. The Port of Columbia County wants to rezone 837 acres at Port Westward, and last year it got approval from the Columbia County commissioners. Riverkeeper challenged that approval on nine legal points. In December LUBA rejected eight of those arguments, but it agreed with Riverkeeper on one of them: That the county failed to demonstrate that the industrial uses would be compatible with adjacent uses such as farming (such a finding is required under state law). Both sides appealed that decision to the Oregon Appeals Court. This week, the court upheld LUBAs finding, which will force the port to go back to the drawing board to address that issue and resubmit its zoning change request to the county. The Port can now work with the county to address the one remaining question on compatibility with other land uses, according to a port press release issued Wednesday. The decision provides a clear pathway to the last remaining question, said Doug Hayes, executive director for the Port. We continue to move in a positive direction for economic development in north Columbia County. Port Westward is a deepwater port with existing dock facilities and direct access to the 43-foot navigation channel in the Columbia River. The 837-acre expansion area will address the need, both at the local and state level, for industrial land, according to the port. Without the rezone, there is no developable acreage at Port Westward not encumbered with wetlands, conservation easements, existing rural industrial facilities, transmission lines and long-term leases, according to the port press release. Riverkeeper urged the port to reconsider its rezone effort, launched in 2013, and the group may have allies in two newly elected port commissioners who question the rezone application (see related story on this page). Oregonians value farms and strong salmon runs. The Port of Columbia Countys proposal to trade the countys prime farmlands for dirty fossil fuel development ... ignores mounting concerns about health, safety and impact to farmland and water quality, Dan Serres, Riverkeepers conservation director, said in a prepared statement. Contact City Editor Andre Stepankowsky at 360-577-2520. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 In a brief ceremony Tuesday morning in Olympia, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation ending the immediate sales tax exemption for residents of Oregon and other states, a bill that Washington retailers predict will have severe consequences for them. Beginning July 1, the immediate sales tax exemption for Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Delaware and New Hampshire residents will expire. Out-of-state retail purchasers will instead have to apply for a reimbursement, according to the provisions of the bill, which was approved in the closing days of the legislative session as part of the two-year state budget. Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce president Bill Marcum said he believes the bill will be devastating for communities like Cowlitz County, which lie along the state border and attract clients from across the Columbia River. Many of our businesses are going to see a loss of revenue, a loss of sales, Marcum said. I havent talked to any local businesses or (Chamber of Commerce) members that said they felt it was not going to harm their business. Starting in January, Oregon residents and others seeking reimbursement for the states 6.5 percent sales tax must save sales receipts to submit together and complete special reimbursement paperwork. They will be reimbursed for state-paid sales taxes, but not local taxes, totaling $25 or more. Only one application per calendar year will be allowed. Its a process that used to be paperless and took just seconds and the flick of an ID at checkout stands. The state anticipates the change will generate nearly $53 million in fiscal years 2020-21. Marcum said the state lawmakers are counting on the hope that many people wont apply for the tax rebates or will forget about small-ticket purchases. Shoppers would be required to hold onto receipts for up to a year, and they may decide its just not worth the effort, Marcum said. Use (Bobs Sporting Goods) as an example: If (shoppers) make six trips a year and spend $100 dollars each time, thats $600 dollars, $60 in tax, Marcum said. (The state is) hoping they will not save all the receipts. Theres a $600 dollar loss to Bobs if they dont come over. The change comes after at least five years of off-and-on attempts to alter or eliminate the sales tax exemption. The previous proposals often featured Washington retailers along the Columbia River saying the exemption was necessary to keep them competitive with Oregon, which has no sales tax. Proponents said the exemption was an unfair tax loophole and a drain on potential money for Washington. On Monday, 38 legislators, including local state Reps. Ed Orcutt, Brian Blake, Jim Walsh and Richard DeBolt and state Sens. Dean Takko and John Braun, sent Inslee a letter urging him to veto the sales tax exemption changes, saying they would put too many retailers at a disadvantage. Areas like Longview/Kelso have lost significant retailers in recent years retailers such as Sears and Macys, the letter said. We are concerned that non-resident shoppers will switch to shopping in Oregon jeopardizing retailers ability to keep their doors open for Washington residents. While the new law does not affect vehicle sales, it will apply to most other tangible goods, such as furniture, appliances, electronics and vehicle parts. Sales of marijuana or marijuana-infused products cannot be exempted under the bill since Cannabis is illegal under federal law. Marcum said he doesnt believe the Washington-Oregon sales tax divide was a problem to begin with. I think it was working fine the way it was, Marcum said. There was no necessity to need those funds, and yet they still chose to do it. The bills second part takes aim at Washington residents with cars illegally registered in Oregon and other states to avoid paying sales taxes on the vehicles. It cites a 2007 Washington State University study which found the Department of Revenue lost $80 million dollars of taxes and fees in a five-year period from improperly registered vehicles, as well as a public safety risk from inaccurate information being provided to law enforcement and car insurance companies. It allows prosecutors to impose a $500 fine on those who are cited for failure to register but manage to properly register their vehicle within 90 days of the citation. Otherwise, the prosecutor must seek the full penalty available, the bill says. Love 6 Funny 3 Wow 3 Sad 1 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Caregivers should make sure they engage with dementia patients through eye contact, touch and other means so they connect with them and make them feel alive and that they belong, an international expert on the topic said at Lower Columbia College Tuesday. Joao Partel Araujo said in many cases of patients resisting care or being combative, they are in a geriatric limbo where they are physically present but dont understand and arent understood by others. We need to make sure she gets us and we get her, said Araujo, a resident of Portugal who has degrees in nursing and healthcare management. About 100 Cowlitz County caregivers and community members gathered at LCC to hear Araujo describe and advocate for Humanitude. He also answered questions from a six-member panel of local doctors and emergency responders. The Humanitude method of care was founded by two French caregivers who developed more than 150 techniques based on four pillars of care: gaze, speech, touch and verticality, or being upright. Koelsch Communities, which owns four senior living facilities in Longview, got a $20,000 grant from WorkSource to bring Araujo and his team to Longview and Vancouver for presentations and training. This week, 12 Koelsch staff were trained in Humanitude practices and Araujos team gave Koelsch information to continue the techniques in the future. He has taught the Humanitude method of care in a variety of countries and healthcare settings. Benjamin Surmi, Koelsch director of people and culture, said when he found out about Humanitude, he was impressed by the method and hands-on training. He said the Humanitude training is unlike most in the United States because it teaches caregivers specific actions rather than just theory. Araujo said most caregivers know the principles behind good care, such as the importance of eye contact, but they dont have the tools to implement them. The Humanitude pillars are based on things humans need after they are born to show they are a part of society, Araujo said. These interactions tell us were alive and that we belong, he said. Araujo said most patients dont get enough eye contact, limited speech and are only touched to get them to do something. This is not intentional, he said, but many caregivers dont know the best way to get a positive reaction from patients resisting care. For example, the tone of speech should be soft and calm when addressing those with dementia, much like the way parents would address children, he said. To increase positive reaction and response from patients, caregivers should continue talking even if the patient is not responding, Araujo said. He said caregivers announcing what they are doing before they do it and explaining as they go helps patients understand their surroundings better. Araujo said the results of Humanitude include a reduction of behavioral dementia symptoms, use of some medications and burnout among staff. Were getting these results not because they were ill but because they were lost, he said. Were finding them again and bringing them back to Humanitude. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban" whose capture in Afghanistan riveted a country in the early days after the September 11 attacks, has been released from prison, authorities said. After serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, Lindh, the first US-born detainee in the war on terror, on Thursday walked out of a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, the Bureau of Prisons confirmed, and will join the small, but growing, group of Americans convicted of terror-related charges attempting to re-enter into society. Lindh will live in Virginia subject to the direction of his probation officer, his lawyer, Bill Cummings, tells CNN. But some are already calling for an investigation into his time in prison -- where he is said in two US government reports to have made pro-ISIS and other extremist statements -- that could send him back into detention. Reports of Lindh's maintained radicalization, detailed in two 2017 official counterterrorism assessments, are also driving questions about the efforts of the US government to rehabilitate former sympathizers like him, who are expected to complete prison sentences in waves in the coming years. Raised in the suburbs north of San Francisco, Lindh took an interest in Islam at a young age, converting to the religion at 16 and moving to the Middle East to learn Arabic after finishing high school. In 2000, according to documentation of his interrogations, Lindh went to Pakistan and trained with a radical Islamic group there before moving to Afghanistan and joining the Taliban. Because he was not native to Afghanistan and did not speak the local languages, Lindh told investigators that he joined the "Arab group," or al Qaeda, studying maps and explosives, fighting on a front line, and at one point, meeting with Osama bin Laden. When US troops first encountered Lindh in November 2001, just weeks after the September 11 attacks, he was bedraggled and injured. A CNN camera filmed as Lindh, a daze cast over his dirty face, told American forces how he had wound up at a detention camp in northern Afghanistan and survived a Taliban uprising there that killed hundreds of prisoners and a CIA officer, Johnny Michael Spann. Lindh admitted to participating in the revolt near Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, but prosecutors did not say that he had a role in Spann's death. Initially charged with a raft of serious offenses, including conspiracy to kill US nationals, Lindh, in 2002, struck a deal reportedly offered by prosecutors in part to prevent details of the apparent mistreatment of Lindh at the hand of US forces by his defense. Lindh pleaded guilty to fighting alongside the Taliban. At a sentencing hearing in Virginia that year, he sniffled and nearly broke down as he addressed the court in a 14-minute speech. "Had I realized then what I know now about the Taliban, I would never have joined them," Lindh said. "I never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism or terrorism." That contrition has been contested by a pair of official reports, from the National Counterterrorism Center and the federal Bureau of Prisons, that were first published by Foreign Policy in 2017. According to the NCTC report, as of May 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." In March 2016, the report says, he "told a television news producer that he would continue to spread violent extremist Islam upon his release." Lindh had made "pro ISIS statements to various reporters," the Bureau of Prisons report also stated. In an email to his father included in the BOP report, Lindh said that he was "not interested in renouncing my beliefs or issuing condemnations." The two assessments do not provide details for the statements, and the BOP and the NCTC declined to comment to CNN on the reports. On Wednesday, a local NBC News station in Los Angeles released excerpts from correspondence a producer there had with Lindh from behind bars, where Lindh said in 2015 he thought ISIS was doing a "spectacular job." "The Islamic State is clearly very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation of establishing a caliphate through armed struggle, which is the only correct method," Lindh told the producer, according to the report. Lindh denied a request by CNN to be interviewed in prison and his lawyers declined to comment on the counterterrorism assessments. Prison term In prison, Lindh was known to be deeply religious -- he recited the entire Quran from memory each week, and regularly gave a call to prayer for the other Muslims in his unit, according to a narrative written by an inmate who served with him. Lindh went by the name Yayha, the inmate wrote in the anonymous essay, which was published by CAGE, a group started by someone released without charges after being detained in Guantanamo that advocates for those arrested or prosecuted in the war on terror. The human rights group Amnesty International cut ties with CAGE because of some of its statements and relationships with terror suspects. "His whole life revolves around reading, writing, praying, and working out in his cell. His Muslim brothers know he is busy so they don't hesitate to cook for him in order make sure he eats well," the inmate wrote. Lindh discussed his values in his own essay, published by CAGE in 2014 and titled "Memorising the Qur'an: A Practical Guide for Prisoners." "Free time is a great gift from Allah and few people enjoy more of it than prisoners," Lindh wrote. "The best way we can express our gratitude to Allah for this gift is through the study, recitation, memorisation, contemplation, and implementation of His Noble Book." On Monday, Johnny Spann, the father of the CIA officer killed in the Taliban uprising that Lindh participated in, petitioned the Virginia judge overseeing Lindh's case to investigate the extremist comments he allegedly made while in prison. "You need to find out for sure, is this guy still the same al Qaeda member we put in jail? If he is still the al Qaeda member we put in jail then we need to throw the plea agreement away and do something else," Spann told CNN in an interview. Spann has protested Lindh's early release to lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, who said last month that he raised the issue with the White House. In a tweet, Shelby wrote that President Donald Trump agreed that Lindh should serve his full sentence. Lindh's early release this week appears to be the result of time taken off of his sentence for good behavior. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on this story, and legal experts question what power the President could have to prevent Lindh's release outside of a wider regulation change, which would likely invite a backlash. Feds not prepared, experts say After he leaves prison, Lindh's actions will be closely watched as part of a sweeping set of conditions imposed on his three years of supervised release by Judge T.S. Ellis, who oversees his case in Virginia. Under the conditions, Lindh is not allowed to possess any "internet capable device" without permission from the probation office, and any approved device would be "monitored continuously." Lindh is not allowed to have any online communications in any language other than English unless otherwise approved, cannot communicate with a known extremist, and cannot possess or view "material that reflects extremist or terroristic views." The strict impositions are likely to be mirrored in dozens of cases like Lindh's. As of last week, there were 421 inmates with a history of, or nexus to, international terrorism, in the federal prison system, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Some 60 to 100 of those prisoners are expected to be released in the next five years, said Mitch Silber, the former director of Intelligence Analysis at the NYPD, who now runs a nonprofit that works to rehabilitate radicalized individuals. Counterterrorism experts have said that the federal government has not done enough to prepare for the coming trend of releases. "Right now there is no program to rehabilitate and reintegrate them, give them the type of skills that will make it less likely they will recidivise to some type of criminality," Silber said. Mary McCord, the former acting assistant attorney general for National Security at the Justice Department, said officials at the Justice Department had only begun to consider the impending releases during her tenure, which ended in 2017. "At the time I left not nearly enough had been done and we were nervous about it," McCord said in an interview. The Justice Department referred CNN to the BOP for comment, which said in a statement that it has policies to monitor communications of inmates with known or suspected ties to domestic and foreign terrorism and that they share information with law enforcement as appropriate. The BOP also says it encourages all inmates, including those linked to terrorism, to participate in programs "that assist offenders in developing the skills necessary for a successful reintegration into society." "Based on a series of focused interviews conducted by BOP staff, the BOP has found that many inmates have turned away from radicalized ideology in prison based on self-study, or due to participation in programming or sentence length," BOP said. Silber, who founded his non-profit Parallel Networks with a former American al Qaeda sympathizer convicted of conspiring to solicit murder, said that prisons could adapt already existing re-entry programs for gang offenders to fit extremists. He also noted that a dialogue about the origins of an extremist's turn to radicalization can be helpful in determining how to move away from an ideology. In the absence of that, or in the case of a return to criminal behavior, federal investigators could open a new investigation into a released prisoner. "Ultimately the hammer that the federal government has over (Lindh) is that if he does behave in a way that looks like he is turning toward terrorism, they can open up a new investigation on him and essentially we can begin the process again," Silber said. Terms of release In emails Lindh wrote from behind bars referenced in the BOP report, he expressed interest in moving post-release to Ireland, where he is a citizen, as well as Puerto Rico. Lindh said that he had gained Irish citizenship in 2013 "as a result of having an Irish grandparent" and wanted to petition the country to take him in by explaining the "unique circumstances that make my survival in the US practically impossible." "Essentially I am seeking asylum from one country where I am a citizen in another country where I am also a citizen," Lindh wrote in an email to CAGE, who he had asked to help him with his attempt to relocate to Ireland. A person familiar with Lindh's status confirmed he is an Irish citizen. It appears likely that Lindh's plan to move to Ireland may be prevented at least for now by the terms of his supervised release, which say that he cannot hold a passport and can't leave the United States "without the express permission of this Court." Prisoners leaving detention under terms of supervised release are required to send a release plan to the probation office of the district in the country where they want to go, who will investigate the case and decide whether or not to allow the residency. CAGE's Outreach Director Moazzam Begg, who has spoken with Frank Lindh about his son's case, told CNN that it would make sense for Lindh to move back with his father in northern California. "His father has always been a great supporter of him and has believed in his son's cause," Begg said. Frank Lindh denied an interview request from CNN. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Researchers at Washington State University are teaming up with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians in an effort to chart the tribes outcomes prescribing medicinal marijuana to patients. The partnership between the land grant institution in Pullman and the Tacoma-based native tribe is intended to create a standard to evaluate treatment plans at a natural healing clinic the Puyallups opened in October, and to determine the effectiveness of the drug as an alternative to opioids in managing pain. Well hand them an iPad, and ask them to fill out a couple quick surveys, said Michael McDonell, chair of WSUs Collaboration on Cannabis Policy, Research and Outreach. Some of the outcomes were interested in looking at, is what kind of cannabis are they using? What effect is it having on their pain or well-being, and their quality of life? The Puyallup tribe has staked several claims in the states legal marijuana industry, opening two recreational stores in the Tacoma area. One opened its doors last month with celebrity guests Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, the comedians responsible for several stoner-inspired comedies of the 1970s and 1980s. The clinic is named Qwibil, a native word for fixing ones self mentally, physically or spiritually, and is in the tradition of the Puyallup people, said its chairman. From time immemorial, the Puyallup have practiced traditional healing, said Bill Sterud, chairman of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, in a news release from WSU announcing the team-up. This partnership with WSU and Qwibil will help us research the safety and efficacy of cannabis as medicine for our patients use. The clinic serves native and non-native patients, according to the news release. McDonell said research institutions are limited in their access to cannabis users by federal laws that could affect funding. The partnership will allow researchers at the university to gather data that can be used to develop treatment strategies based on strain, the effectiveness of cannabidiol in treating pain and other disorders and the method of delivery, be it smoked or ingested, McDonell said. Theyre in a unique space, McDonell said of the Puyallup tribe. They want to know the answers, and they want to be doing something thats positive for the community. McDonell said he was approached by the tribe to work with them following a presentation at an addiction conference. Research into the effectiveness of medicinal marijuana has been hindered by the federal governments classification of marijuana as illegal in all instances under drug enforcement laws. Bills have been repeatedly introduced in Congress to end that classification, as more and more states move to legalize the drug for recreational and medicinal purposes and lawmakers push for other reforms, including allowing pot businesses access to banking services. Collecting patient data is an important step in legitimizing cannabis as a potential therapeutic drug, said Debbie Churgai, interim director for the national group Americans for Safe Access, which pushes for reform of marijuana laws to allow for medicinal uses. While there are methods available for collecting that data, including a smartphone app called Releaf, there are still patients who are wary of sharing information, even anonymously, due to federal laws, she said. This medicine has grown on people telling stories of how it helped them, Churgai said. Were finally at that point where we need to actually put these stories into something quantitative, and look at the numbers and see how it really is affecting people. Jake Felice, a naturopathic medicine practitioner who consults for cannabis businesses in Washington state seeking medicinal approval, said any data collection system for patients should be far-reaching. The role or roles of the bodys endocannabinoid system, which interacts with the chemical compounds in marijuana, is not yet completely understood and many of the effects of those chemical interactions remain unknown. We are dealing with a very new system thats extremely important biologically, that we hardly know anything about, Felice said. Its like we just discovered a new ocean, and its time to go and explore. The tribe is scheduled to fund the research project for a year. McDonell said he hopes enough patients will submit their health data so that the research team can begin to develop theories about successful medical marijuana treatment plans, leading to more grant funding and a greater understanding of the drugs potential therapeutic effects. We need a good chunk of people, he said. Were hoping its an ongoing effort. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Yakima Valley apple industry officials are relieved that U.S. apples sent to Mexico will no longer be hit with a 20 percent tariff. Mexico is the No. 1 export market for Washington state apples. Apple growers and processors are hoping for a boost of shipments to the country, which had imported upward of 13 million 40-pound boxes of apples in a given year, according to figures from the Washington Apple Commission, a Wenatchee-based organization that promotes the fruit internationally. This is going to have an immediate impact and bring more money into the pockets of growers, said Kate Tynan, senior vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council, the Yakima-based organization that represents the tree fruit industry in public policy issues, such as trade. The 20 percent tariff on U.S. apples to Mexico ended after the United States, Mexico and Canada reached an agreement regarding the U.S.s tariffs on steel and aluminum. The U.S. agreed to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico. In turn, Mexico decided to lift retaliatory tariffs it imposed on the U.S., including the one on apples. Canada did not impose any tariffs on U.S. apples. The three countries also agreed that if the U.S. imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico and Canada in the future, retaliatory tariffs would be limited to those two items. That shields our apple, pear and cherry growers from being pulled into these disputes in the future, at least with Canada and Mexico, Tynan said. Combined, the two countries represent a $500 million market for U.S. growers. For Washington state, they make up 40 percent of all apple exports, according to industry figures. Upward of 10 percent of all Washington state apples end up in Mexico. The Mexican apple tariff, implemented in June, was a big hit to the apple industry statewide. As of May 15, more than 6.2 million boxes of apples harvested last fall were shipped to Mexico. Thats a drop of 29.3 percent from the same period a year ago. Part of the decrease is also due to a smaller crop. This years crop, which wont be shipped for several more months, is estimated at 117 million boxes, well below the 133 million boxes seen in 2018. A small crop means fewer apples are exported. Typically, about a third of the apple crop is exported. As a result, the impact of the tariff was likely to be reduced with a smaller crop. This would be the year to have to deal with a tariff, said Toni Lynn Adams, spokeswoman for the Washington Apple Commission. Jon Alegria, president and CEO of the CPC International Apple Co. in Tieton, said he expects the demand for apples in Mexico to increase during the final shipping months for last falls crop. You may see more fruit going to Mexico without the tariff, he said. The Washington Apple Commission looks to further boost the presence of Washington apples in Mexico through marketing and promotion efforts that will happen this fall, Adams said. Those promotions are funded through an $8.5 million grant through the Agricultural Trade Promotion program, which was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program aims to grow or develop new markets to counter the negative impacts of tariffs. It was a challenging year, Adams said. What we have now is an opportunity to build (on the Mexican) market with these (federal) funds that will support the apple growers and the industry. The end of the steel and aluminum tariffs may lead to further progress on the ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which would replace the 1990s-era North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Several members of Congress said they would not act on the new trade agreement until the three countries resolved the steel and aluminum tariff, said Tynan of the Northwest Horticultural Council. There might be other issues that remain in the ratification process, but its definitely a step forward, Tynan said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Editors note: Todays editorial originally appeared in The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and The (Tacoma) News Tribune. Editorial content from other publications and authors is provided to give readers a sampling of regional and national opinion and does not necessarily reflect positions endorsed by the Editorial Board of The Daily News. Does the state of Washington have an obligation to ensure the safety and security of all students at public schools? Certainly. Yet, the state government offers only enough funding to cover the cost of a single security officer for the Walla Walla School Districts 6,000 students. Its about the same at other districts throughout the state. While educating students is the paramount duty of the state, as written in the Washingtons Constitution, having an environment where all are safe and secure would seem to be integral to that mission. This is an area state lawmakers should address sooner rather than later. To be fair, lawmakers have added billions of dollars to basic education funding in recent years. Theyve raised taxes and redone funding formulas. So coming up with even more money for security wont be a simple task. Nevertheless, schools today are far more dangerous places than they were a decade or two ago. Horrifyingly, school shootings have become a regular occurrence in America. There are problems with violence between students, and the use of drugs on campuses still occurs. We, as a society, cant turn a blind eye to this sad, harsh reality. School Superintendent Wade Smith said the district spends a total of $340,000 on security while receiving $48,000 from the state. Smith said the state needs to do a better job of making sure school districts can afford adequate school security, and we agree. The states formula that decides one security officer is plenty for Walla Walla also says the district needs just one-third of a social worker and less than one school nurse, half of a family engagement counselor (a position required by law) and just over nine teaching assistants. Thats for 1 million square feet of buildings in 12 school sites on a total of 200 acres of campus, Smith said. Thats concerning. Its wise that Walla Walla officials spend the additional dollars to provide real security, but not other communities are as fortunate. Beefing up security at schools statewide has to be a priority. More free tuition, less student debt ahead in Washington Way to go, Class of 2019. College graduates ought to toss their mortarboards with joyful abandon as they enter the next phase of life with hard-earned degrees in hand. Statistically speaking, the odds were against them. Only 49 percent of local high school graduates pursued postsecondary studies in 2017, according to new data from the education advocacy group Graduate Tacoma. So, yes, they have cause to celebrate though not as much as this years grads at Morehouse College in Atlanta. On Sunday, a billionaire tech investor provoked cheers and tears during his commencement address at the historically black, all-male college; Robert F. Smith announced he would pay all student debt for the nearly 400 members of the Morehouse Class of 2019. Many local graduates will join their U.S. peers carrying a heavy student-loan burden. In Washington, more than half of graduates are bracing for debt payments, with an average load of $23,936, according to the national Institute for College Access and Success. Thats a daunting sum for local placebound students of limited means, and it helps explain why many end up stuck in a rut after earning a high school diploma or GED. The outlook is much brighter for the next wave of students aspiring to college degrees or career-connected certificates. The Legislature this year adopted a bold overhaul to the State Need Grant, a program for free or reduced tuition thats been underfunded more than a decade, leaving thousands of eligible low-income applicants on the outside looking in. In 2018, 68,205 students received a grant; another 22,600 students qualified but were placed on a wait list. Under the plan pushed by majority Democrats, which Gov. Jay Inslee signed Tuesday, the program is rebranded as the Washington College Grant, and it will no longer ebb and flow on the whims of lawmakers juggling competing demands as they draft general fund budgets every two years. Starting in the 2020-21 academic year, all students of all ages from households up to 100 percent of median income will be guaranteed an award of some size on a sliding scale. Applicants from the poorest households, with a median income up to 55 percent (for a family of four, thats $50,400), will get free tuition and have other campus fees fully covered. It doesnt quite pack the drama of Sundays bombshell at Morehouse College. But its more predictable and sustainable over time including during recessions, when state higher-ed dollars are typically slashed. House Bill 2158 also has a loan-refinancing component to help graduates escape a morass of high-interest debt. The state will contract with a short list of preferred private financial institutions to leverage more favorable payment terms. Republicans opposed the far-reaching financial-aid plan because it will be funded through a so-called Workforce Education Investment Surcharge. Thats a euphemism for raising the B&O tax increases on a wide range of professional-service businesses including engineers, lawyers, doctors, insurance carriers and financial brokers. But Washington businesses will benefit from better-educated, well-trained employees, and the steepest B&O increases will appropriately fall on multi-billion-dollar tech companies. So let us be the first to offer early congratulations to the graduating classes of 2020 and beyond. As they chase the American dream and invigorate Washingtons workforce, theyll be less financially disadvantaged than their predecessors. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The Honor 20 has been officially announced in Malaysia starting from RM1699 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB of internal storage variant, and it will be available at all Honor authorised dealers and distributors across Malaysia very soon. Not only that, there are also special promotion with free gifts and up to RM500 in voucher which we will provide more information as soon as the information is available. The HONOR 20 series, which was originally launched about 2 days ago in the United Kingdom, includes notable features such as the 30x zoom capabilities thanks to its rather fast 48MP f/1.4 + 16MP + 8MP + 2MP main sensor in the rear of the HONOR 20 Pro as while the HONOR 20 comes with a 48MP f/1.8 + 16MP + 2MP + 2MP. Not only that, DxOMark has done comprehensive tests on the camera and awarded the HONOR 20 Pro with up to 111 points, placing it within the top 5 best smartphones cameras to date. The devices also come with various features such as GPU Turbo 3.0 which improves gaming performance, SuperCharging technology with up to 22.5W charging, and more. It is available in Sapphire Blue, Midnight Black, and Icelandic white for the Honor 20 while the Honor 20 Pro comes in Phantom Blue as well as Phantom Black colour schemes. HONOR has yet to announce when the Pro variant of the HONOR 20 will be available in Malaysia. That being said, stay tuned to TechNave.com as we report when the HONOR 20 Pro will arrive in local shores. HONOR 20 specifications [May 22, 2019] Salesforce Ventures Launches New $125 Million Europe Trailblazer Fund LONDON, May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced that Salesforce Ventures, the company's global corporate investment group, has launched a $125 million Europe Trailblazer Fund to continue to fuel enterprise cloud startups. Salesforce Ventures was the most active Corporate VC in Europe1 last year and has invested in companies pioneering digital payments, machine vision, artificial intelligence, blockchain and the API economy. "Europe is a clear leader in cloud technology today, and we are excited to deepen our investment in the region," said John Somorjai, EVP of Corporate Development and Salesforce Ventures. "Our commitment to European startups reflects the growth of innovation, our belief in the local entrepreneurs and our focus on creating the world's largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies to drive customer success." There was 28 billion invested in European and Israeli startups last year, representing over a three times growth compared to the level in 2013. Of the overall funding, SaaS companies received more than 35 percent2. The global shift to the cloud has created new, cutting-edge technology that has fueled customer success across industries. IDC forecasts that the EMEA public cloud services market will more than double between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $105.3 billion in 20233. "We see tremendous opportunity to invest in companies across Europe as this market continues to grow at scale," said Miguel Milano, President, International at Salesforce. "At Salesforce, we focus on backing ambitious entrepreneurs who are building the most innovative solutions to support our customers' digital transformation." With this new fund, Salesforce Ventures will continue to invest in companies at various stages of growth to provide Salesforce executive support, product alignment and financing as they scale. Investments to date include innovative enterprise companies in various industries, including retail, financial services, CPG and public sector: UK: GoCardless, Privitar and Onfido France : FinalCAD, Akeneo and SigFox : FinalCAD, Akeneo and SigFox Israel : Bringg, Forter and TechSee : Bringg, Forter and TechSee Germany : Wefox, Contentful and EMPAUA : Wefox, Contentful and EMPAUA Rest of Europe : 4C, Unbabel and Carto "As we scale our business internationally, making the right funding choices is critical for the team at GoCardless. It's even more important to choose the right investment partners: not just for the funds, but for the deeper value those partners bring, through their expertise and ecosystem. Salesforce Ventures is a great investment partner for GoCardless. They are hugely supportive of our team, connecting us to the right people and proactively sharing best practices," said Hiroki Takeuchi, CEO of GoCardless. "Salesforce Ventures has been an invaluable partner, opening countless doors for us and acting as an advocate for our delivery orchestration platform and the customer experience we provide," said Guy Bloch, CEO of Bringg. "But beyond our shared vision, Salesforce Ventures is also a committed partner with the expertise and the experience to work with companies that need to quickly scae and expand their operations. Having Salesforce Ventures as a partner has been a real x-factor in our own growth, and we welcome their increasing commitment to provide investment and support to European tech companies." "Salesforce Ventures has been instrumental for our growth in Europe and our expansion into the North American market, and they keep providing the best support and insights to address the typical challenges a B2B SaaS startup could face," said Fred de Gombert, CEO and co-founder of Akeneo. "Getting funded by Salesforce Ventures is a tremendous opportunity to work with a thoughtful investor partner with deep knowledge of enterprise customers and the journey a startup takes on its path to scaling to be a major enterprise itself. Bottom line, Salesforce Ventures helps us show customers we're a well-backed company that will be here for the long haul," said Sascha Konietzke, CEO of Contentful. Continuous Investment and Growth in Europe In 2015, Salesforce Ventures introduced its first $100 million investment commitment in Europe and brought on Alex Kayyal as partner and head of Europe to lead the fund. Since then, Salesforce Ventures has fully deployed this initial fund and backed more than 50 startups in 13 countries in Europe. As the most active Corporate VC in Europe, Salesforce Ventures will continue to make strategic investments to fuel momentum in the enterprise space. The growth of Salesforce Ventures is a testament to the company's overall momentum -- in 2018, Salesforce grew faster year-over-year than any other top 10 CRM vendor in EMEA and is #1 in CRM in EMEA based on market share4. Additional Information: To learn more about Salesforce Ventures, please visit: www.salesforce.com/company/ventures/ Like Salesforce on Facebook http://facebook.com/salesforce Follow @Salesforce and @SalesforceVC on Twitter Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking information related to the company and Salesforce Ventures. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. About Salesforce Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com . Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit https://www.salesforce.com , or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE. About Salesforce Ventures Salesforce Ventures the company's corporate investment group invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Customer Success Platform. Portfolio companies receive funding, access to the world's largest cloud ecosystem and guidance from Salesforce's innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in more than 300 enterprise cloud startups in 20 countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures. 1 Pitchbook 2018 data 2 Dealroom 2018 Full Year Report 3 IDC, Worldwide Semiannual Public Cloud Services Tracker, May 2019. 4 IDC, Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker, April 2019. CRM market includes the following IDC-defined functional markets: Sales Force Productivity and Management, Marketing Campaign Management, Customer Service, Contact Center, Advertising, and Digital Commerce Applications. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/salesforce-ventures-launches-new-125-million-europe-trailblazer-fund-300855251.html SOURCE Salesforce [ Back To SIP Trunking Home's Homepage ] Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on May 23, 2019 2019/05/23 At the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, President Xi Jinping's Special Envoy, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Chairman of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association Hao Mingjin will attend President Ramaphosa's inauguration ceremony on May 25 in Tshwane, the administrative capital of South Africa. At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parrilla will pay an official visit to China from May 28 to 30. At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn will pay an official visit to China from May 30 to June 1. Q: Recently there have been many reports that foreign companies are cutting supply to Huawei due to the US government's restrictive measures. Earlier reports say that British and Japanese telecom companies terminated or delayed cooperation with Huawei. But yesterday Germany's Infineon and Japan's Panasonic both clarified rumors and stated that they have not stopped supplying Huawei. British telecom operator EE reiterated that it will continue to use Huawei equipment in 5G development at home. Huawei spokesperson said that although some global partners have come under political pressures from the US, Huawei has every confidence in overcoming difficulties and retaining growth. What's your comment? A: You may have noticed the recent interview with Huawei founder Mr. Ren Zhengfei that has won widespread praise at home and abroad. With its openness, resolve and magnanimity, Huawei has shown the world that a broad mind sees a vast world. The clarifications made by some of Huawei's cooperative partners, as you mentioned, show once again that no company will disregard its own interests and blindly follow the selfish political maneuverings of another country. In fact, with fresh memories of the Alstom precedent, most countries in the world have been on high alert to the US practice of using state power to oppress foreign businesses, disrupt market operations and thwart mutually-beneficial cooperation between other countries. China will continue its support for Chinese tech companies like Huawei in deepening global cooperation, which will not only enable companies to achieve win-win results, but also contribute to technological progress and economic development of the world. I would like to reiterate that we hope other countries will foster a fair, just, stable and predictable market environment for Chinese businesses to carry out investment, operation and cooperation, which will serve the fundamental and long-term interests of those countries as well. Q: You said that President Xi Jinping's special envoy will travel to South Africa for President Ramaphosa's inauguration ceremony. What is China's comment on Mr. Ramaphosa's election as the new president? A: China extends sincere congratulations to Mr. Ramaphosa's on his election as South African president. President Xi Jinping has sent a letter of congratulations to him. We believe that under the leadership of President Ramaphosa and the ANC-led government, the South African people will make new strides in their national development. China attaches high importance to relations with South Africa, a comprehensive strategic partner. We stand ready to work with the administration in its new term to deepen friendly exchange and cooperation in various areas for greater benefits to the two countries and peoples. Q: Tanzanian officials said a major port project backed by China has stalled and accused the Chinese side of unfair treatment. Is the foreign ministry aware of this and does it have any comment on the accusations? Also, the US military said it sent two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. What's the ministry's comment on that? A: On your first question, I just saw relevant reports. You may be aware that backward infrastructure and lack of funds are the main bottlenecks of Africa's independent development. As a friend and partner of African countries, China has been doing its best in conducting cooperation on infrastructure, investment and financing with Africa. Also, we have carried out feasibility studies to ensure the socio-economic benefits and sustainable development of projects. The Chinese government will continue to support Chinese businesses in participating in infrastructure construction, including the port project in Tanzania you mentioned, in accordance with market principles. Regarding your second question, the Chinese side has been closely monitoring from start to end the passage by the US warships through the Taiwan Strait. We have raised concerns to the US side. The Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive one in China-US relations. We urge the US to observe the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques and prudently and properly handle Taiwan-related issues so as to avoid negative impacts on China-US relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. Q: Many reports say that Chinese high-tech companies like Huawei, Dajiang (DJI) and Hikvision are facing US restrictive measures on technology supply, which is widely viewed as an attempt by the US to exert pressure on China. At the same time, US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said that the US is open to new trade talks on the basis of previous negotiations and hopes China will come back to the negotiating table. Under current circumstances, how does China see the likelihood of continuing consultations? A: We have noted relevant reports. As we stated repeatedly, our door is wide open for talks, but it takes sincerity to make a consultation meaningful. A good agreement must be based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. We hope the US actually means it when they say "coming back to the negotiating table". The US, out of political purposes, has been employing state power to oppress Chinese tech companies without just cause. It has severely undermined global technological development and cooperation and taken a toll on the interests of businesses in relevant countries. Such moves will by no means win the endorsement and support from the international community. Apparently they are not conducive to creating a favorable atmosphere and environment for consultations, either. Q: According to media reports, US Senator Marco Rubio will propose on Thursday the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act, which would sanction Chinese individuals and entities that participate in construction activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea. What is China's response to the proposal? A: Regarding the so-called proposal by some in the US, China's position on the South China Sea and the East China Sea is consistent and clear. Construction on Chinese territory in the South China Sea is a matter completely within our sovereignty. The act you mentioned runs counter to international law and basic norms governing international relations. China firmly opposes it. We urge the US not to move forward the review process to prevent further disturbance to bilateral relations. Q: Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi held a meeting with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO foreign ministers' meeting in Bishkek. They discussed matters of mutual interest and regional and global issues. Do you have more information to share with us? A: Yesterday State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bishkek. You may have seen our press release on it. Both affirmed in the meeting that the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan has been further deepened and broadened in BRI cooperation. They also agreed to follow through on the important consensus reached between the two leaders when Prime Minister Imran Khan attended the second BRF in China by strengthening high-level interactions and deepening cooperation for new progress in bilateral relations amid a complex and fluid international landscape. As you said, they also had in-depth discussions on important issues of mutual interest. For example, both agreed to step up cooperation on counter-terrorism at bilateral and multilateral levels. They also exchanged views on the Afghanistan issue and reached important consensus on how to better safeguard regional peace and stability. *** For scheduling reasons, the MFA regular press conference on May 24 (Friday) will begin at 2 p.m. at the same venue. WEST FRANKFORT The Old King Coal and Coal Miners Memorial Park committees, along with Pride Committee, honored Dr. Andrew Wilton Springs, of Dewmaine, on Wednesday at a ceremony in Coal Miners Memorial Park. A brick honoring Dr. Springs was placed in the park. Springs was honored for heroic deeds that saved many lives on Oct. 27, 1914, during a gas explosion at Royalton North No. 9 Mine, which was located about 3 miles from Miners Cemetery at Royalton. Springs, who was half Comanche and half black, was one of 40 to 50 doctors at the mine that day. Springs insisted on going into the mine with a pulmotor, an early version of a respirator. Deep in the mine, he and his team resuscitated man after man, some of whom had been left for dead. The event also served as a birthday celebration. Wednesday was the 150th anniversary of Springs birth and the 94th birthday of Dayton Franklin, a special guest at the ceremony. Franklin was a former member of Springs Boy Scout troop. Springs started the first African-American Boy Scout Troupe in the nation. The Colp-Dewmaine Troop became integrated and was the first Boy Scout Troop in Southern Illinois. Jim Gentile, of the Colp Pride Committee, served as emcee for the event. He told the audience this event would be a neighborhood event instead of a formal event. Its hard to express how much we appreciated what Old King Coal Committee has done by honoring Dr. Springs with this brick, Gentile said. Gentile introduced Herrin Mayor Steve Frattini, Colp Village Trustee Marcella Clark, 2019 Old King Coal Paul Wilburg and Steve Sawalich, president of the Old King Coal Committee. Sawalich had never heard of Dr. Springs and his heroic actions until he was asked to participate in a ceremony to honor Springs last year in Royalton. After Sawalich and other members of the memorial committee learned about Springs, they knew he needed to be honored as a part of Coal Miners Memorial Park. Franklin called Springs a mentor and friend. He was a wonderful man," Franklin said. "I can talk until Im blue in the face, and I couldnt cover all the things this man did when he was here with me. He said Springs used to walk to No. 9 and then to Carterville from his office in Dewmaine for Boy Scout meetings. Franklin said sores were a problem in those days and it was not uncommon for a person to get a sore that would not heal. He said Springs made a salve from a stump in the woods that would heal those sores. I am honored to be able to talk about and honor this man who is so important to me, Franklin said. Franklin said Springs had a lot of influence on him and his advice made sense. Some of those who knew him didnt appreciate him, maybe because of his color. Color did not mean anything to Dr. Springs. To him, everybody was a human being, Franklin said. The event ended with two birthday cakes, one for Springs 150th birthday and another for Franklins birthday. Sawalich also told the crowd that Coal Miners Memorial Park Committee is working on a new memorial to honor the men who died in the Orient Mine explosion on Dec. 21, 1951. It will be a 6-foot-tall black granite monument. The committee is accepting donations to help with the project. Donations can be sent to OKC, P.O. Box 242, West Frankfort, IL 62896 or through the committees Go Fund Me page, Old King Coal Monument Fund. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MURPHYSBORO A Murphysboro man has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison for his role in the 2016 shooting death of Detrick Rogers. According to a news release from Jackson County States Attorney Michael Carr, Juwan Jackson, 28, of Murphysboro, was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and three years of mandatory supervised release after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Police responded at about 1:32 a.m. Oct. 24, 2016, to the corner of 20th Street and Shoemaker Drive in Murphysboro after being notified of shots fired. According to the release, they found Rogers in a yard with a gunshot wound to the head. Also found on the scene were several shell casings. Rogers was taken to a hospital, where he died the following day. Video surveillance showed shots being fired from a car, which had driven by the house where Rogers was located. In addition to 15 shell casings found in the road where the shooting happened, officers also found numerous rounds inside the car from which the shots were fired, the release states, and determined one of those shots killed Rogers. The release also says that co-defendant Cortez Turner was sentenced last week to 29 years on a first-degree murder charge for his role in the killing. Turner was found guilty this past December following a four-day bench trial in Jackson County. Both Turner and Jackson were deemed by the state to have been responsible for the others actions. Turner was also sentenced to consecutive terms of eight years for aggravated discharge of a firearm, and concurrent terms of six years for conspiracy to commit aggravated discharge of a firearm and two years each on two counts of perjury to the grand jury related to the incident. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 2 SPRINGFIELD Lawmakers and supporters of a bill that would strengthen the Firearm Owners Identification card system chanted Fix the FOID in front of the statue of Abraham Lincoln outside the Capitol on Wednesday. Speakers like Milagros Burgos told their stories of loved ones whove died because of gun violence. Burgos husband, Rafael, stood next to his wife, holding a photo of their daughter, Alexandria. Burgos voice cracked as she spoke to a group from a podium about her daughter. Alexandria was a college student who was killed by a stray bullet in 2014 in Chicago when she was 18. Burgos said Alexandria had no idea what a gun looked like, or what it sounded like when fired. Enough guns, enough lives taken away from families, enough gun violence, Burgos said. ... We cannot get loved ones back, but we can make a difference, together. Alicia Schemel with Moms Demand Action said legislation like Senate Bill 1966 would have prevented the death of her father, who was shot while on his way to pick her up from work. "I know many of you have stories about tragedies that have hit your family and friends," said Democratic Rep. Kathleen Willis, of Addison. "We're going to make sure we have less and less of those stories. If passed, the bill sponsored by Willis would overhaul the states FOID system. It would increase renewal and licensing fees from $10 to $50, require a-one-time fingerprint, better define clear and present danger, and prioritize those who fall within that definition for license revocation. When pressed on her position of mandated fingerprinting during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Willis said she supports the measure if it means keeping people safe. We want to make sure we keep this state as safe as possible, allowing people who are lawful gun owners to own them in a safe manner, Willis said during the rally. Cindy McMullan, who attended the rally and is a member of Moms Demand Action, said she made the trip from Columbia, Illinois, because she wants to see sensible gun laws in the state. She said shes not opposed to lawful gun possession and the measures she supports such as preventing domestic violence abusers or convicted felons from legally owning firearms are also supported by gun owners. The current system, she said, obviously has weaknesses that put her family at risk. Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, the bills chief sponsor in the Senate, said SB1966 is a necessary change to policy and practices that will save lives. She also told the crowd to not accept no as an answer when requesting other lawmakers to support the bill. This is your state, this is our communities, and this is our problem were trying to fix together, Morrison said. You elected these people. They need to listen to you. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 8 This is an open letter to The Southerns editorial staff: Sundays Voice of The Southern column A lack of funding is a harsh reality, hit the nail squarely on the head. Our once proud state is in a mess and based on the results of the recent election, better days seem elusive as more taxes are the predictable and predicted cure. Imagine the dedication to disservice, divisiveness and malfeasance by our state government to have finally driven our once solvent states credit rating to the lowest in our nation. The symptoms of our states disease are well known but what of the cause or cure? Do we even understand the how and why of how we got into this mess? As to those inept, self-serving, often crooked politicians we keep blaming, they have always been a known quantity yet we elect each and every one of them over and over and over again. So whos to blame? Theres but one answer. We the voters are the only ones responsible. Period. The great cartoon-page philosopher, Pogo, brilliantly encapsulated our plight. We have met the enemy and he is us. Our state has been on the decline for more than 30 years and despite 30 years of promises to improve our lot, our elected leaders in Springfield have failed us over and over and over again. Our once proud state trails the nation on virtually every quality of life measure, our employers and citizens are fleeing, while our states and Chicagos debts have reached unsustainable levels. Were broke, living from hand to mouth and our children will inherit the mess we made. Considering that our states tax burden is one of the highest in our nation, even a person with a room-temperature IQ would ask: How do neighboring states with lower state taxes fund their schools, maintain their roads and bridges, while also providing critical services? The answer to this query seems obvious. In aggregate, voters in neighboring states must be smarter. And as long as we Illinoisans (especially the super majority from Cook County) fail to extract their craniums from deep within their lower posteriors prior to stepping into the voting booth, our states race to the bottom will go on and on and on and on. Its high time we halt droning on about our states failures, and take a more proactive approach. Its high time we shift the blame from those inept, self-serving, often crooked politicians, to the majority of voters, the very voters who insist on voting for those inept, self-serving, often crooked politicians, over, and over, and over again. I beseech all of us as well as The Southerns editorial staff to commence the cure by reminding us voters especially the tribal variety that only we and no one else can right this ship. And please let us remind ourselves of this fact over and over and over again. Gus Maroscher, of Marion, is the retired U.S. chief operating officer of a European industrial-chain manufacturer and is a regular letter writer to The Southern. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 To the Editor: Man never learns, it seems, from his mistakes for they are too often repetitious. An example of this is found in the word tariff. An innocent enough sounding word, but has always caused suffering. History tells us that both sides will suffer from such action. The United States and China is in a tariff struggle. The United States levied a tariff on goods coming into the U.S. from China and, in turn, China has responded likewise by imposing a tariff on the United States. This almost sounds like children at play. But far from it, the results can be extremely damaging to both parties. President Trump has now said that he is considering increasing tariffs on everything coming into the U.S. from China. This is an escalation of his first tariff levies. For us in the United States, our farmers will see a drastic drop in grain prices and especially soybeans and it is estimated that all household cost will rise by $500 to $1,000 each for this year. Many jobs losses will occur. Gasoline prices will rise and every part of our economy will be effected. The United States and China have the two largest economies in the world. It is hard to understand why such actions occur and, in my opinion, are unnecessary. It would seem, without a stretch of the imagination, that a simple resolve could be reached by negotiations. What kind of rationale exist in such actions as tariffs? None that I can think of. Tariffs has always been around and often they are revised. These revisions come about by different people, organizations and government. As an example one such revision was the Tariff of 1824 a general revision of the tariffs of 1816 and 1818. Woolen goods, glass, iron and lead rates were increased, and a 25 percent rate applied to hemp. The act received the general support of the Pennsylvania iron interests, the wool interests of Ohio and the middle states, and the hemp growers of Kentucky. History when pertaining to tariffs has proven without a doubt, when two nations are involved, both will suffer. The big question in my mind is why cant an agreement of equalization be reached so both parties are unhurt? Charles Burdick Grand Tower Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Denmark Technical College celebrated 71 years of teaching students at its graduation ceremony on May 3. A boisterous crowd was in attendance. The commencement speaker was Barnwell Mayor Marcus A. Rivera, who spoke about his upbringing and how important education was in his life. The Student Presidential Achievement Award for 2019 was given to Marcus Ford. This award is given in recognition to the student who has given outstanding contributions to the college over the past school year. Among the graduates were 22 dual-enrollment students from Blackville-Hilda High School and Denmark-Olar High School who graduated with a certificate in general studies. Denmark Techs dual enrollment program enables high school students to earn college-level credit while still attending high school at no charge. Afterward, the graduates and their guests were invited to a reception. Denmark Technical College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate degrees, diplomas and certificates. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The names of the 895 South Carolinians killed in the Vietnam War are engraved for history on the polished Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The wall has helped heal the nations wounds and honor Vietnam veterans. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation has also been working to add faces to these names by collecting photographs of all who died fighting in the Vietnam War. The Faces Not Forgotten project has worked to collect photos of more than 58,300 U.S. military service members who served our country and sacrificed their lives in Vietnam. Since 2014, S.C. newspapers have helped collect all but four photos of the 895 South Carolinians killed in Vietnam. One Orangeburg County soldier is among the missing four photos: Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Hunter of Orangeburg, who was killed May 6, 1970. He is buried in North Orangeburg UMC Cemetery. It was reported that he was killed by a hostile exploding artillery round. His obituary from 1970 listed his survivors as widow, Mrs. Delores Blume Hunter; two daughters, Cynthia and Vivian; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Luther Hunter; a brother, Luther Hunter Jr.; and two sisters, Katie L and Gloria Hunter. If you can assist in providing a photo of Leroy Hunter, contact us at 803-533-5520 or lharter@timesanddemocrat.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This image shows the wide variety of boulder shapes, sizes and compositions found on asteroid Bennu. It was taken by the PolyCam camera on NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on March 28 from a distance of 2.1 miles (3.4 km). The field of view is 162.7 ft (49.6 m). For scale, the large, light-colored boulder at the top of the image is 15.7 ft (4.8 m) tall. Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Citizen scientists assemble! NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu needs extra pairs of eyes to help choose its sample collection site on the asteroid - and to look for anything else that might be scientifically interesting. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has been at Bennu since Dec. 3, 2018, mapping the asteroid in detail, while the mission team searches for a sample collection site that is safe, conducive to sample collection and worthy of closer study. One of the biggest challenges of this effort, which the team discovered after arriving at the asteroid five months ago, is that Bennu has an extremely rocky surface and each boulder presents a danger to the spacecraft's safety. To expedite the sample selection process, the team is asking citizen scientist volunteers to develop a hazard map by counting boulders. "For the safety of the spacecraft, the mission team needs a comprehensive catalog of all the boulders near the potential sample collection sites, and I invite members of the public to assist the OSIRIS-REx mission team in accomplishing this essential task," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. For this effort, NASA is partnering with CosmoQuest, a project run out of the Planetary Science Institute that supports citizen science initiatives. Volunteers will perform the same tasks that planetary scientists do - measuring Bennu's boulders and mapping its rocks and craters - through the use of a simple web interface. They will also mark other scientifically interesting features on the asteroid for further investigation. The boulder mapping work involves a high degree of precision, but it is not difficult. The CosmoQuest mapping app requires a computer with a larger screen and a mouse or trackpad capable of making precise marks. To help volunteers get started, the CosmoQuest team provides an interactive tutorial, as well as additional user assistance through a Discord community and livestreaming sessions on Twitch. "We are very pleased and excited to make OSIRIS-REx images available for this important citizen science endeavor," said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "Bennu has surprised us with an abundance of boulders. We ask for citizen scientists' help to evaluate this rugged terrain so that we can keep our spacecraft safe during sample collection operations." Sample return isn't new for NASA - this year, the agency is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions to the Moon, which allowed astronauts to bring back 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of rocks and lunar soil. Those samples helped scientists discover that the Moon has water locked in its rocks and even permanently frozen in craters. These findings and others inspired the agency to create the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon by 2024 and start preparing for human exploration on Mars. "The OSIRIS-REx mission will continue the Apollo legacy by giving scientists precious samples of an asteroid," said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These samples will help scientists discover the secrets of planetary formation and the origins of our planet Earth." The Bennu mapping campaign continues through July 10, when the mission begins the sample site selection process. Once primary and secondary sites are selected, the spacecraft will begin closer reconnaissance to map the two sites to sub-centimeter resolution. The mission's Touch-and-Go (TAG) sampling maneuver is scheduled for July 2020, and the spacecraft will return to Earth with its cargo in September 2023. Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission's science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. To volunteer as a Bennu mapper, visit: Bennu.cosmoquest.org Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. A second "Youth for Climate Luxembourg" march is taking place on Friday 24 May after the large-scale march organised on 15 March. The movement will be turning to civil disobedience on Friday. While the date for the second wide-scale march has been scheduled long in advance, details have only been released this week and the second event certainly sounds like it will make its mark. Perhaps inspired by the eleven-day long Extinction Rebellion protests in London, which culminated in over 1,000 arrests, "Youth for Climate Luxembourg" has promised an act of civil disobedience on Friday. The movement plans to block traffic on the Red Bridge (Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge) from 3pm onwards. On 15 March, the movement managed to assemble between 7,000 and 15,000 participants on their march through Luxembourg (numbers vary between those given by the police and the organisers). Stressing that climate indicators are warning of a disastrous scenario, the group condemned the lack of political action, claiming politicians have not changed their trajectory. The movement cited the lack of action as a reason why "Youth for Climate Luxembourg" is opting for a different method. The group will move from protesting to "occupying". The organisers have repeatedly highlighted that the occupation will be non-violent in nature. Before stopping traffic, protesters will meet on Place de l'Europe in Kirchberg at 3pm in front of the Ministry of the Environment building. The mayors of Metz and Trier have written letters to President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel urging them to pressure the Grand Duchy in terms of taxes. The mayors have called for Luxembourg to provide financial compensation to the areas populated by cross-border workers in Germany and France. The district administrators of Trier-Saarburg and Bitburg-Prum have thrown their support behind the mayors in the issue. Both border areas have called for Luxembourg to compensate the areas, as they provide compensation to Belgium. The Grand Duchy pays around 30 million per year as a financial balance to the Belgian border municipalities. The mayors both conceded that their regions benefit from the increasing purchasing power of cross-border worker, but highlighted that cross-border workers pay income tax in Luxembourg, yet use infrastructures in their countries of residence. Previously, the Grand Duchy has rejected requests for compensation from Germany and France. Nuclear energy was discussed at the parliamentary commission on environment and climate. It is now no longer only the Luxembourgish Government, but the Chambers too, who are looking to put pressure on France in terms of the running of nuclear power stations. According to Mars di Bartolomeo of The Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), now is the time to pressurise the French: not only are the plans for the upcoming energy transition to be settled at The French National Assembly but Luxembourg also has the support of the German Bundestag too. Previously, Luxembourg had always attended meetings with representatives of the other federal states. That is, Luxembourg as a country, and its provincial neighbours: Saarland and Rheinland Pfalz. Now they would be able to approach the French Government at a combined, national level. The French Government however tends to remain obstinate when it comes to nuclear energy. Max Hahn of the Democratic Party stated that this means a difficult and complex situation has arisen. The French believe in their atomic energy, they believe in the safety of their nuclear power plants, the same way the Germans still believe in coal-fired power plants. Therefore Luxembourg needed to make a show of doing it differently. Efforts still need to be increased tremendously, and this was the wish of both the Government and the Chambers: to demonstrate that renewable energy is a viable alternative. Everything needs to be done in order to make the conditions of nuclear power plants, including Cattenom, not only secure, but also as inexpensive as possible. Aside from political pressure, France was put under financial and technical pressure. Nuclear energy is no no longer financially viable in the long term: due to increasing security measures, the plants would only become more expensive to run. Following the call for Luxembourg to provide fiscal compensation to bordering areas home to significant numbers of cross-border workers, Minister for the Greater Region Corinne Cahen repeated the party line. At a conference in Arlon, Cahen confirmed that Luxembourg does not envision any fiscal handovers to Germany and France. A number of mayors in Germany and France demanded fiscal compensation given that residing cross-border workers pay income tax in Luxembourg, but use infrastructures in their home countries. The mayors notably demanded benefiting from the same advantages that Belgian border municipalities benefit from, namely 30 million in annual compensation. This amount represents 14% of the budget of a town like Arlon, as pointed out by the town's mayor Vincent Magnus. Luxembourg has always been dismissive of paying out the same type of compensation to areas like Metz and Trier. Prime minister Xavier Bettel has rejected the idea on multiple occasions, claiming that Luxembourg does not want to pay for bordering municipalities' "Christmas decorations." RTL Archives Cahen, as Minister for the Greater Region, was in Arlon to present the coalition programme. She addressed the issue, highlighting that the government line is its preference in investing in infrastructures in both countries, as they would be beneficial to both cross-borer workers and Luxembourgers. In particular, Cahen cited infrastructures such as the rail network and car parks. Luxembourg has, for example, co-financed park-and-ride facilities in Thionville and Longwy. Cahen also reiterated the benefits of resident cross-border workers, who have higher than average purchasing power. The image on the left shows that the positions of molecular clouds (blue) and young stars (pink) do not coincide on small spatial scales. The two branches on the right quantify this displacement by showing that molecular clouds and young stars are correlated only when averaged over a large part of the galaxy (1,000 parsecs, corresponding to 3,000 light years). Star formation within interstellar clouds of gas and dust, so-called molecular clouds, proceeds very rapidly yet highly "inefficiently". Most of the gas is dispersed by stellar radiation, revealing galaxies to be highly dynamic systems, like "cosmic cauldrons", consisting of components that constantly change their appearance. Based on new observations of the NGC 300 spiral galaxy, a team of scientists led by astrophysicist Dr Diederik Kruijssen from Heidelberg University has now managed for the first time to reconstruct the time-evolution of molecular clouds and the star formation process within them. Their analysis shows that these clouds are short-lived structures undergoing rapid lifecycles, driven by the intense radiation from the new-born stars. The findings were published in "Nature". The observed intensity of star formation in the NGC 300 spiral galaxy can be explained in two ways. Molecular clouds may be very long-lived and eventually convert all of their mass into stars. In this case, the positions of young stars should generally match those of the molecular clouds from which they formed. Alternatively, stars may form very rapidly within molecular clouds and disperse the gas with their intense radiation, causing only a small fraction of the gas to be converted into stars. In this case, young stars and molecular clouds should generally reside in different locations. To decide which of these models of the molecular cloud lifecycle is correct, Dr Kruijssen and his team combined two different sets of observations of the NGC 300 galaxy, which is about six million light years away from the Milky Way. The first observation is a map of light emitted by carbon monoxide which shows where molecular clouds reside. The second is a map of hot, ionised hydrogen which marks the positions of massive, newly formed stars. These maps were obtained using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the 2.2-meter telescope of the Max Planck Society and ESO. The ALMA observations were carried out by Dr Andreas Schruba, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching and one of the co-authors of the study. The scientists analysed the data using a new statistical method which determines how molecular gas and star formation in galaxies are related on different spatial scales. For the first time, this method enables the positions of molecular clouds and young stars to be precisely quantified relative to one another. According to the scientists, the results left no doubt: the positions of molecular clouds and young, massive stars rarely coincide. This effect becomes stronger on smaller scales. The scientists conclude that stars form very rapidly, such that gas and young stars represent distinct, subsequent phases in the lifecycle of molecular clouds. "Our findings demonstrate that star formation proceeds very rapidly and highly inefficiently," explains Dr Kruijssen, research group leader at the Institute for Astronomical Computing. "Molecular clouds in NGC 300 live for about ten million years and take only about 1.5 million years to be destroyed, well before the most massive stars have reached the end of their lives and explode as supernovae." Dr Melanie Chevance, a researcher in his team and also co-author of the paper, adds: "The intense radiation from young stars disperses their parent molecular cloud by heating it and dispersing it in the form of hot interstellar gas bubbles. This way, only two to three percent of the mass in molecular clouds is actually converted into stars." The team of researchers now wants to apply their new statistical method to observations of very distant galaxies to infer how star formation in molecular clouds proceeded across the history of the Universe. "We will now proceed to investigate the relation between molecular clouds and young stars in galaxies throughout the cosmos. In the near future, this will allow us to understand galaxies as collections of components that undergo star formation-driven lifecycles and together shape the appearance of their host galaxies," explains Dr Kruijssen. ### The research was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands. The work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the European Research Council (ERC). Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. OliveRidley sea turtles at shore, silhouettes of dolphins spotted against the golden-dusky sunset at a distance and the surreal tran-quillity accompanied by endless slapping of waves against the white sandy coastline! This is no panoramic scene from a Hollywood film or a fantasy-destination depicted by an adventurous artist; this is a sight from the Morjim beach beds laid at the deck of Goa's Marbela Beach Resort that was established in 2007. When its owner Jaydeep Rajebhosale then used Marbela as their beach-house getaway, an idea struck and Jaydeep erected two tents that were eventually hired by a Swedish couple who stayed the entire season. A Russian couple followed, reserving the place for a month-and-a-half. Acknowledging prospects, the duo setup another shack in 2008 and thus began a journey that scripted the vacations of hundreds of sight-seer s trotting the spans of Goa ever since.Surrounded by a combination of simple pleasures, beauty and privacy, Marbela Beach boutique hotel draws chic and exclusive crowds, where visiting for just business or pleasure becomes a blur. The resort accommodates six Spanish villas, 12 white luxurious tents and royal suites with an open-air beach-front lounge, restaurant and bars, starring local and international DJs and performers, with an exclusive spa and fashion boutique. Offering exhaustive scrumptious menus that include wood-fired pizzas, to Italian cuisines and Indian Tandoori specials that are nutritiously prepared and aestheti-cally presented, the resort also avails a new beach menu with its chef's expertise in Japanese, Thai and Indonesian dishes. A Champagne terrace and a recently launched night club host some of the most engaging vibrant parties (white & themed parties), no doubt making it the first-choice rendezvous core even among well-known celebrities. "Apart from its most celebrated vivacious vibes and contrasting serenity, Marbela's attentive and skilled staff cater to making the guests experience a time like never before" Marbela's Relaxed Sophistication Apart from its most celebrated vivacious vibes and contrasting serenity, Marbela's attentive and skilled staff cater to making the guests experience a time like never before. Several beach activities like volley ball, mini soccer, water surfing and kayaking under the expertise of an in-house trainer is carried-out to boost holiday spirits. Several tepees and Cabana tents are also strategically placed along Fridays Highlights Friday support meetings Alcoholics Anonymous: 6:30 a.m., 917 N. Beech; 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 10 a.m., 328 E. A; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 1124 Elma, Imitate the Image Church; 5:30 p.m., 328 E. A; 8 p.m,. 328 E. A; 8 p.m., 328-1/2 E. A, closed; 8 p.m., 917 N. Beech; 10 p.m., 917 N. Beech. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back). Unless otherwise noted, Casper info: 266-9578; Douglas info: (307) 351-1688. Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 6 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 8:30 p.m., 302 E. 2nd St., Methodist Church. Web site: www.urmrna.org. Overeaters Anonymous: 10 a.m., 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott. Info: Candace, 359-6225; Rebekah, 320-6779. Al-Anon Family: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, Ste. 200, 12-24 Club, all ages welcome. Info: 377-7260 or 258-1444. International Addictions Program: 7 p.m., Calvary Baptist Church, 1800 S. Conwell. Info: 266-5417. Cruizin with the Oldies set Its time for the 19th annual Cruizin With The Oldies. The cruising fun starts Friday with four Casper car dealers hosting their own car shows. These run 10 a.m. to about 3 p.m. All dealers handle their own registration and awards at the respective events. All Ford Show at Greiner Ford, 3333 CY Avenue; All Mopar Show at Fremont Motors, 6101 East 2nd Street; All GM car show hosted by Casper GMC Buick and Cadillac, 6307 E. 2nd Street; Import car show hosted by Foss Motors, 6280 E. 2nd Street. Saturday, May 25, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., is the Old Yellowstone District Cruise-in show where local merchants will have food available and later that evening there will be live band music, courtesy of John Huff and the Old Yellowstone Garage. This is a great opportunity to look at most cars that will be at the Car Show at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds on Sunday. Registered car show participants will Cruise for Cash starting at 3 p.m., on Saturday, leaving from the Ramkota Hotel. While there is no official parade, this is a great opportunity for the public to see the parade of cars that are on the cruise. All entries must be registered at the show registration booth at the host Ramkota Hotel to participate in the Donut Cruise, Cruise for Cash and the Sunday car show. Registration cutoff deadline is Saturday at 4 p.m. No registration Sunday at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds. On Sunday, May 26, Show and Shine welcomes entries from all types of vehicles such as classics, muscle cars, street rods, rat rods, trucks, sport compact/tuner and age 25 and under. The Sunday car show is free to the public to attend. There will be several vendors, a swap meet for automobile pieces, parts, and treasures. Included in the activities at the show, Pop in the Shop will be hosting valve cover racing for the young at heart. For more information check the Oil Capitol Auto Club website www.ocac.cc. Facebook security The Natrona County Library will host a Facebook Security class at 10 a.m. This class will explain Facebooks basic and advanced security features. Learn how to tell if your account has been hacked and how to avoid scammers. Call 577-7323 for more information. Red Plaid Shirt opens The Casper Theater Company presents A Red Plaid Shirt Friday through Sunday, and May 31, June 1-2. All Sunday performances are at 2 p.m., and Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. A Red Plaid Shirt, stars two couples played by Nancy Engstrom and Dave Shultz, Gretchen Hogan and Don Schell, who are contemplating what to do during retirement. The play is a comedy written by Michael Wilmot, and depicts the comedic dilemmas encountered by both the retired husbands and their wives. The first weekend, a bonus program, sponsored by the Wyoming Humanities Council, will be presented after the play, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, entitled American comedy, Then and Now, by Dr. Audrey Cotherman and supported by artistic director Donna Fisher. The show and discussion is supported by a grant from the Wyoming Humanities Council. Theater patrons will have a chance not only to discuss the play itself, but learn more about the development of American stage comedy ranging from Burlesque to the roaring twenties and beyond. Casper Theater Company is located at 735 CY Avenue and tickets are available online at www.caspertheatercompany.net, the Casper Senior Center, and at the door for $15 adults and $10 for seniors and students. Free tire checks at Plains Plains Tire will be offering free tire checks during National Tire Safety Week through the weekend. The checks will be performed at all nine Wyoming locations including the two in Casper, Laramie, Rock Springs, Gillette, Evanston, Sheridan, Riverton and Green River. The safety check includes an inspection for air pressure, tread depth, irregular wear patterns, nails, cuts, punctures and other visible damage and visible structural integrity issues. Additionally, a free 21-point inspection will also be available. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. City of Casper employees will receive one-time bonuses July 1 after the City Council approved the measure during a budget discussion May 22. The City Council met to discuss the fiscal year 2020 budget, but before delving into next years finances, they had to decide what to do with a $2 million surplus from the 2019 budget. The council voted to approve $1,000 in tax-adjusted bonuses for full-time city employees and $500 bonuses for permanent part-time employees. The total cost of those bonuses will be just under $746,800. Of that total, $141,379 will come from the utility budget to pay full-time and permanent part-time utility employees and will not be deducted from the $2 million surplus. Roughly $534,000 will be taken from the surplus for the full-time employee bonuses and roughly $70,500 for the part-time employee bonuses. After paying the bonuses, the remainder of the surplus roughly $1.4 million will be added to the citys general reserve fund. Best practices dictate that a citys general reserve fund should have enough money to keep the city operating for 120 days in a financial emergency. For Casper, that would mean having $15.8 million in the fund. City of Casper to consider new model for avoiding wage stagnation Casper officials will consider adopting a new compensation model that focuses on advancement The bonuses came after some debate over how to use the money. Councilman Chris Walsh said he thought padding the reserve fund was critical, particularly as it would make the city less reliant on direct distribution money allocated from the state, an amount apt to change each legislative session. We ride the roller coaster like everybody else, Walsh said. Energy tax money goes directly to the state, and the state then decides how much of that tax money local governments receive. The amount local governments receive can vary depending on state lawmakers discretion. It has dropped to under $100 million and exceeded $175 million in past bienniums. Local governments have increasingly looked for ways to strengthen their independence from state money, particularly in the shadow of some state lawmakers voicing concerns over whether Wyoming would be able to afford direct distribution in the future. Walsh said saving emergency funds to avoid that uncertainty would be important five to six years down the line, especially given the states reliance on energy and how that reliance affects the money given to local governments in times of hardship. He recommended making sure the city was in a position to maintain operations if the state was forced to reduce its support of local governments during the next bust cycle. Walsh, whose wife is a city employee, abstained from the conversation about bonuses. Councilman Mike Huber shared similar concerns about the energy industry but said he still thought the bonuses were important. I think we do need to protect that reserve, but I absolutely think we need to take care of our employees also, Huber said. Last year, the city gave $1,000 bonuses to full-time employees as well, but did not extend those bonuses to part-time workers. Councilman Kenneth Bates wanted things to be different this year. Id like to see at least the part-time employees get something, somehow, some way, Bates said. Some of the part-time employees arent putting in the hours, but theyre putting in the same work. The city has permanent, seasonal and variable part-time workers, and because of the wide range of part-time work the city hires for, the council decided to offer the bonuses only to permanent part-time employees. Huber said while he supports the bonuses, he would rather see employees receive percentage raises. The rest of the council said they did not yet have the money to accomplish that, even for cost-of-living raises. In the past, raises have been a tenuous topic for the city. Last year, the council lifted a wage freeze and approved 2 percent cost of living raises and $1,000 bonuses to full-time city employees. But other than occasional cost-of-living raises, city employees arent often able to move up in their departments to earn more money. Currently, most city employees will advance as far as they can, wage-wise, within five years of working for Casper. City officials have shared concerns about the effect this has on employee retention. It seems like a prescription for how to lose people once they learn how to do their job, Mayor Charlie Powell said at a recent work session. The council is now considering options to counteract this. They approved a new wage model for the Casper Police Department, which is expected to cost $100,000. The police department has been in talks with the city for several years about how to address its retention and recruitment issues. The new wage model is expected to help. The proposal creates several new positions in the department with varied wage bands attached. Officers would move through the ranks by earning achievement points for taking on additional assignments and certifications. Casper Police Chief Keith McPheeters previously told the Star-Tribune the new model encourages career development within the department, while adding more value to the community. The money for the police department change came from $225,000 the council set aside in the FY 2019 budget for that conversation. The remaining $125,000 has not yet been allocated, according to Powell. Council members are supportive of looking at how to offer the same advancement opportunities to other departments but are asking for more information on how it would look for each department. The council will vote to approve the FY 2020 budget by June 18. Follow city reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @morganhwrites. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The former Plains Furniture property may soon be under construction. The Casper City Council voted to approve a proposal to create residential housing in place of the lot in the Old Yellowstone District during a May 22 work session. The council approved selling the property for $500,000 to Flag Development LLC, an entity created by Downtown Development Authority board members Brandon Daigle and Kevin Hawley. The cost of the property is less than what the council has discussed in the past, but the council agreed the proposal would meet a need in the area. Were not getting any takers on it, Councilman Chris Walsh said. If Flag puts together the designs ... that would change the face of downtown as we know it. He said the development might also spur other developers to take similar action. Earlier this month, Flag Development submitted an $8 million proposal to build townhouses and row houses on the Plains lot, a property they plan to call The Nolan. Their proposal includes plans for up to 11 townhouses and seven three-story row houses. Under the Flag Development proposal, the historic Livery Stable would be turned into a parking lot and the historic Nolan Service Building would be turned into an 8,200 square foot office space. Casper City Manager Carter Napier said he believed the proposal fills a need routinely identified by the city to further develop the area. Casper Mayor Charlie Powell said hes optimistic about the project, despite the purchase price being less than what the city initially hoped for. Its no small challenge to turn an old auto dealership building into market rate residential housing, Powell said. I believe the proposal will do that. Daigle and Hawley proposed the same project earlier this year, but that proposal was rejected because the bid was for less than the propertys appraised value. After the city changed the language on its request for proposals to require that bids meet market value, rather than appraised value, the pair resubmitted their proposal. Daigle previously told the Star-Tribune he believes the downtown area is in need of housing options. And hes not alone. Casper has conducted a number of studies over the past decade indicating a need for downtown housing options. Those studies include the 2008 Old Yellowstone District Master Plan, 2012 Downtown Strategic Plan and 2017 Generation Casper Comprehensive Plan. One of those studies estimated there could be demand for as many as 750 new housing units in the 100 acres of the Old Yellowstone District. The council still needs to formally vote on the agreement during a future public hearing. A draft agreement requires that the developers preserve the sites historic features and attempt to leverage the sites history to qualify for historic tax credits. Pending environmental assessments and formal council approval, Daigle and Hawley hope to break ground on the project in the coming months. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The number of people living in Casper fell by 351 last year, mirroring a trend that occurred in about three-quarters of Wyomings larger cities and towns, new estimates show. The Oil Citys population fell by 0.6 percent between July 2017 and July of last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday by the state. While Casper lost the most population last year among the states municipalities, Thermopolis experienced the largest proportional drop, with its number of residents falling by nearly 3 percent. The towns of Worland (1.9 percent) and Rawlins (1.8 percent) also experienced sizable drops, as did Rock Springs, Jackson and Evanston, which each saw their populations fall by 1.2 percent. On the positive side of the ledger, Cheyennes population grew by more than any other city of town in Wyoming, gaining 370 new residents (0.6 percent). The towns of Cody (0.5 percent), Mills (0.4 percent) and Buffalo (0.4 percent) ranked near the top in terms of proportional population growth. Wyomings population began to fall after the 2015 energy bust, which saw downturns in the coal, oil and natural gas sectors. Workers began to leave the state in search of jobs elsewhere. However, because of a moderate recovery in the energy industry, Wyomings total population figures have began to stabilize. The state lost about 1,200 residents last year, compared with 5,300 residents a year earlier. Love 4 Funny 4 Wow 5 Sad 6 Angry 4 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A jury of five men and seven women began deliberations Wednesday in the case of a doctor accused of operating a drug conspiracy out of his Casper office. The start of deliberations marks the final phase of a trial that spanned nearly a month, during which federal prosecutors presented more than 10,000 exhibits and called dozens of witnesses in their 21-felony case against Shakeel Kahn. They alleged he operated a multi-state drug conspiracy that led to the 2015 overdose death of an Arizona woman. His brother, Nabeel, faces two felonies in the case. Another three former co-defendants pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year and testified for the government during the proceedings against the two men. Kahn testified in his own defense over the course of two days, telling jurors he followed the law while attempting to help his patients treat chronic pain and that the treatment methods he used were medically appropriate. Beau Brindley, a defense attorney representing the doctor, said during closing arguments Tuesday that his client had been set up by co-defendants desperate to improve their own standing with the U.S. Attorneys Office, and by prosecutors who looked away while the same co-defendants lied on the stand. Wednesday morning, a defense attorney for Nabeel Kahn told jurors that prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that his client had committed the crimes alleged. Quite frankly, its not close, Sean Barrett told the jury during his 50-minute statement. It isnt even close. Barrett then ceded the lectern to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Sprecher. The prosecutor, who on Tuesday spoke for only 90 minutes of her allotted two-and-a-half hours, told jurors that Brindleys characterization of the governments witnesses and the rewards they would receive for cooperation were inaccurate. Statements witnesses made on cross-examination and that Brindley presented as lies were sometimes in response to convoluted or confusing questions, Sprecher said. She said modified medical records were an attempt by Shakeel Kahn to deceive authorities, not mere sloppiness. He knew he was committing crimes and he needed a way to cover it up, Sprecher said. The prosecutor said the doctor lied extensively to jurors, and pointed at a record of deception including in the medical records she referenced and in a medical school application to support her claim. She said that although the doctor would initially expect that patients lie about their drug use and pain to obtain medications, it was only to create a veneer of legitimacy. Why the lies? Sprecher asked, rhetorically. Because there was a possibility that this day would come. After Sprecher concluded her argument, Judge Alan Johnson read through an eight-page verdict form and whittled the jury from 15 to 12 by drawing numbers from a wooden box. Jurors were led from the courtroom to begin deliberations by 10:48 a.m. The jury remained in deliberations Wednesday evening. Follow crime reporter Shane Sanderson on Twitter @shanersanderson Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Wyoming woman was involved in an international methamphetamine distribution conspiracy connected to a Mexican cartel, prosecutors alleged in federal court filings unsealed Tuesday. By the end of the day Tuesday, police had arrested 33 of the 43 people charged in the case and seized roughly 80 pounds of meth, four guns and more than $100,000 cash, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Southern California said in a statement released Tuesday. Although prosecutors filed the indictment Friday, it remained under seal until Tuesday. The vast majority of the defendants live in southern California. However, Billie Jo Reynolds, 40, of Gillette, was one of 10 people that law enforcement was still seeking on Wednesday evening. Online court records indicate she faces a single count of conspiracy to launder money and a single count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Court documents and the governments statement do not specify if any of the money, drugs or guns were seized in Wyoming. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Sausedo, who is one of two federal prosecutors handling the case, said Reynolds has previously been convicted of meth distribution in federal court. Reynolds pleaded guilty in 2005 to distributing more than a kilogram of methamphetamine. She was released from federal prison prison in 2007, according to online Bureau of Prisons records. Federal prosecutors in New Jersey, Virginia, Texas and Arkansas have also charged people in connection to the case, as have the Florida Office of the Attorney General and the Yuma, Arizona, County Attorneys Office. Among the 18 law enforcement agencies involved in investigating the federal case in California are the DEA, the IRS and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Local law enforcement from California, Texas and Florida have also worked the case as have the Abu Dhabi Police. Information made available does not specify the nature of the prison agencys involvement in the investigation. Information available Wednesday did not identify what specific actions prosecutors will say Reynolds took as part of the alleged conspiracy. In the statement, prosecutors allege that the conspiracy consisted of a distribution network based out of San Diego. From Southern California, participants used the postal service and FedEx to send both around the country and to the United Arab Emirates meth and GHB, which is a drug that can be used recreationally but has also been tied to the facilitation of sexual assaults. The drugs were sent on a weekly to basis to hotels, homes and rentals from the online service Airbnb, prosecutors said. People involved in the scheme also created FedEx accounts, which they then billed to large corporations, in an attempt to hide the distribution among the corporations high volume of shipments, according to the statement. People receiving the drugs would then pay the Californians by mailing cash, depositing money directly into bank accounts and through online money transfer apps like Venmo, the prosecutors office says. Today we have completely dismantled this San Diego-based international drug trafficking network with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer in a written statement. Replicating this kind of aggressive law enforcement takedown is critical to breaking the backs of these criminal networks and continuing our efforts against the Sinaloa Cartel. Prosecutors did not specify the nature of the alleged conspiracys connection to the Sinaloa Cartel. It is not the first time federal prosecutors have alleged a Wyoming connection to the criminal organization, however. In February, proseuctors from the U.S. Attorneys Office in Wyoming filed a civil complaint alleging three Wyoming restaurants participated in a multistate drug money laundering scheme that implicated Colorado restaurants and had ties to San Diego drug distributors. A judge earlier this month put the civil case on hold for six months so law enforcement could continue a related criminal investigation. The details of that criminal investigation have not yet been made publicly available and prosecutors have not indicated that there is any connection to the case unsealed this week in southern California. Sausedo, the federal prosecutor based in California, said he did not know of any connection between the two cases. Authorities say the cartel has used violent tactics to facilitate the smuggling of billions of dollars of cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana into the United States. Earlier this year, a jury convicted Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, a Sinaloa cartel leader and one of the worlds more notorious criminals, of various federal crimes, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder drug proceeds and international drug distribution. Follow crime reporter Shane Sanderson on Twitter @shanersanderson Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Although a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Crow elk hunter Clayvin Herrera appears to be a win for the Montana tribe by affirming its 1868 treaty rights, his attorneys arent taking a victory lap yet. We are gratified that the Supreme Court held that the treaty hunting right guaranteed to the Crow Tribe and Mr. Herrera was not abrogated by Wyomings admission to the Union or the creation of the Bighorn National Forest, Steven Small, an attorney with the Billings law firm Holland and Hart, wrote in an email. The law firms attorney Kyle Ann Gray represented Herrera when, as a tribal game warden in 2014, he was cited for illegally killing a bull elk in Wyomings Bighorn National Forest. Herrera is being advised by his attorneys to remain silent. Thats because the high court remanded the case back to Sheridan County District Court to work out two issues. So what the ruling may mean for Wyomings elk, elk hunters and other tribes with treaty rights in the state is still open to interpretation, argument or settlement negotiations. Necessity One issue that Wyoming could address is why the state thinks conservation regulations are necessary to regulate Crow tribal hunting in the state. The state would have to demonstrate that there is a conservation necessity to preserve the species, in this case elk, said Monte Mills, a University of Montana law professor who filed a brief arguing in favor of Herreras case. Other lawsuits in the Northwest have dealt with limiting tribal take of salmon citing conservation necessity, Mills said. Its really been limited what the states can do, he added. The tribes cant pursue the last steelhead into the net. Thats a high bar for the state to meet. Occupied The other issue the state of Wyoming can address is the definition of what areas of the Bighorn National Forest, where Herrera killed the contested bull elk, are considered occupied and therefore not open to Crow hunts under their Fort Laramie treaty rights. The state had argued that the entire forest was occupied. The U.S. Supreme Court disagreed but wrote in its 5-4 opinion, On remand, the State may argue that the specific site where Herrera hunted elk was used in such a way that it was occupied within the meaning of the 1868 Treaty. In other areas of the country the tribes and state have cooperatively worked out how those treaty rights can be exercised, Mills said. So defining where Crow hunters could pursue game might be negotiated between the sovereign tribe and the state. Hunting Dwayne Meadows, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, said his group is reserving judgment on how the high courts ruling might affect the states elk populations or elk hunters. At this point its hard to be concerned because there are so many steps yet to go, he said, and it could take years more in court. Were going to have to wait and see how its defined, Meadows said. Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill said she would not comment on pending litigation. But Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon issued a statement that said in part, Until these remaining issues are resolved, the State of Wyoming will continue to regulate the take of game animals in the Bighorn National Forest to ensure equal hunting opportunities for all. With the remand, my administration will stand up for a system that preserves the decades of conservation work that has built a strong wildlife population in the Bighorns, and we will work to find solutions for all those who hunt. Other tribes The U.S. Supreme Court decision is not likely to apply to other tribes in the state, such as the Shoshone-Bannock, according to one legal scholar. Todays opinion is best thought about as the resolution of a narrow dispute over treaty language between the Supreme Court (in 1896 and 1999), the Tenth Circuit (in 1995), and the Wyoming Supreme Court (this case, in 2017), Matthew Fletcher, professor of Law and director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University, wrote in an email. Since the treaty language at issue is limited to only a few tribes, it is unlikely to have much precedential value elsewhere. ACLU But the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a brief in favor of Herrera, sees the courts decision as a win for Indian Country on a broader scale and the second one for tribes and treaty rights from this Supreme Court. The other ruling in March favored the Yakama Nation of Indians in a dispute with Washington state over fuel taxes and referenced the tribes 1855 treaty. Its hard not to count this as a win, said Lillian Alvernaz, Indigenous Justice Legal Fellow with the ACLU of Montana. The arguments seemed pretty clear, but its always scary when the Supreme Court considers Indian law. On a practical level, this means that members of the Crow Tribe can continue to hunt on unoccupied lands like the Bighorn National Forest to provide sustenance for their families and children, Alvernaz said in a statement. This is especially important for the well-being and health of the tribe because access to healthy food on the reservation is limited. More broadly, through this decision, the Supreme Court held the federal government accountable to its treaty obligations and affirmed tribal sovereignty, she added. Throughout the history of colonization, tribes have upheld their end of treaties while the federal government has consistently fallen short of its obligations. Were hopeful that this ruling marks a new day, one where the federal government lives up to its treaty obligations and recommits to the important principles of tribal sovereignty and self-determination of tribes in the United States. At Crow While some Wyoming hunters may be imagining the worst following the ruling, on the Crow Reservation professor Timothy McCleary of Little Big Horn College said social media was blowing up with celebration of the high courts decision. Its pretty exciting, he said. I wasnt particularly surprised. McCleary was one of the signatories to a friend of court brief filed in Herreras case before the Supreme Court. He said a previous court ruling that found in favor of Wyoming over the Crow Tribe had left some tribal members feeling wronged. Now the issue will be how Wyoming handles the issue of conservation and occupation, he said. Wyoming cant take away the hunting right; its there, he said. Were all human beings, its just a matter of figuring out how to work together. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Local journalism is important and producing it costs time and money. To continue viewing content on tucson.com, please sign in with your existing account or subscribe. New simulations suggest that carbon (C) routinely bonded with iron (Fe), silicon (Si) and oxygen (O) deep within the magma ocean that covered Earth when it was young. Those heavy molecules would have eventually sunk to the planet's core, hinting at hidden stores of carbon at our planet's center. Most people behave differently when under extreme pressure. Carbon and ice are no different. Two new studies show how these key planetary ingredients take on exotic forms that could help researchers better understand the composition of Earth's core as well as the cores of planets across the galaxy. Craig Manning, a UCLA professor of geology and geochemistry, is a co-senior author of one of the papers, which was published today in the journal Nature, and senior author of the other, which was published in Nature Communications in February. The Nature Communications paper revealed that high pressure deep inside the young Earth may have driven vast stores of carbon into the planet's core while also setting the stage for diamonds to form. In the Nature report, researchers found that water ice undergoes a complex crystalline metamorphosis as the pressure slowly ratchets up. Scientists have long understood that the amount of carbon sequestered in present-day Earth's rocks, oceans and atmosphere is always in flux because the planet shuffles the element around in a vast cycle that helps regulate climate. But researchers don't know whether the Earth locked away even more carbon deep in its interior during its formative years -- information that could reveal a little more about how our planet and others like it are built. To pursue an answer to that question, Manning and colleagues calculated how carbon might have interacted with other atoms under conditions similar to those that prevailed roughly 4.5 billion years ago, when much of Earth was still molten. Using supercomputers, the team created simulations to explore what would happen to carbon at temperatures above 3,000 degrees Celsius (more than 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit) and at pressures more than 100,000 times of those on Earth's surface today. The experiment revealed that under those conditions, carbon tends to link up with iron, which implies that there might be considerable quantities of carbon sealed in Earth's iron core today. Researchers had already suspected that in the young planet's magma ocean, iron atoms hooked up with one another and then dropped to the planet's center. But the new research suggests that this molten iron rain may have also dragged carbon down with it. Until now, researchers weren't even sure whether carbon exists down there. The team also found that as the pressure ramps up, carbon increasingly bonds with itself, forming long chains of carbon atoms with oxygen atoms sticking out. "These complex chains are a form of carbon bonding that we really hadn't anticipated at these conditions," Manning said. Such molecules could be a precursor to diamonds, which consist of many carbon atoms linked together. Solving an icy enigma The machinations of carbon under pressure provide clues as to how Earth-like planets are built. Frozen planets and moons in other solar systems, however, may also have to contend with water ice. In a separate paper, Manning and another team of scientists looked at how the molecular structure of extremely cold ice changes when put under intense pressure. Under everyday conditions, water ice is made up of molecules laid out in honeycomb-like mosaics of hexagons. But when ice is exposed to crushing pressure or very low temperature -- in labs or possibly deep inside remote worlds -- the molecules can assume a bewildering variety of patterns. One of those patterns, known as amorphous ice, is an enigma. In amorphous ice, the water molecules eschew rigid crystalline order and take on a free-form arrangement. Manning and colleagues set out to try and understand how amorphous ice forms. First, they chilled normal ice to about 170 degrees below zero Celsius (about 274 degrees below zero Fahrenheit). Then, they locked the ice in the jaws of a high-tech vice grip inside a cryogenic vacuum chamber. Finally, over the span of several hours, they slowly stepped up the pressure in the chamber to about 15,000 times atmospheric pressure. They stopped raising the pressure periodically to fire neutrons through the ice so that they could see the arrangement of the water molecules. Surprisingly to the researchers, the amorphous ice never formed. Instead, the molecules went through a series of previously known crystalline arrangements. However, when the researchers conducted the same experiment but raised the pressure much more rapidly -- this time in just 30 minutes -- amorphous ice formed as expected. The results suggest that time is the secret ingredient: When pressure increases slowly, tiny seeds of crystalline ice have time to form and take over the sample. Otherwise, those seeds never get a chance to grow. The findings, published May 23 in the journal Nature, could be useful to researchers who study worlds orbiting other suns and are curious about what conditions might be like deep inside frozen planets. "It's entirely likely that there are planets dominated by ice in other solar systems that could obtain these pressures and temperatures with ease," Manning said. "We have to have this right if we're going to have a baseline for understanding the interiors of cold worlds that may not be like Earth." ### Both papers were funded in part by the Deep Carbon Observatory, a 10-year program started in 2009 to investigate the quantities, movements, forms and origins of deep carbon inside Earth. The Nature Communications paper was also funded by the European Research Council and was co-authored by researchers at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon in France, one of whom -- Natalia Solomatova -- completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA. The Nature paper was co-authored by UCLA geologist Adam Makhluf and researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Research Council of Canada. (Written by Christopher Crockett) Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Tobin, who attended the commissions open meeting via teleconference from Ajo, said the increases were too much for ratepayers to bear and faulted Freeport and its predecessor, Phelps Dodge Corp., for letting the utility systems fall into disrepair and then delaying requests for new rates for more than a decade. This burden is not reasonable. It pretends the rate increases will not affect the community, and this should never have been prolonged beyond the closure of the mine (in 1983). The commission rejected Tobins amendment to extend the rate increase phase-in period to 25 years, before voting down the proposed rate order. No one can believe this rate case is in standing with this commissions long history of protecting the ratepayer, Tobin said. Michael Patten, an attorney representing Ajo Improvement Co., noted that the company had made a number of concessions in its rate request to mitigate the impact of the rate increases. After a series of hearings, a Corporation Commission administrative law judge issued a recommended order in early April that lowered the increases and stretched the phase-in period for the new rates over seven years instead of five. Masters of War Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway. Live Theatres late-night arm, Etcetera, stages this play by Tucsonan John Vornholt. The story concerns six young men who have gathered around a TV set on Dec. 1, 1969, to see if they are headed to war. It was that day that the U.S. government held a draft lottery. If your birthdate got a low number, you were likely headed to the Vietnam War. Though not quite old enough to be eligible for the lottery, Vornholt remembers the drama of that night vividly; it became the inspiration for this play. Maryann Green directs and the cast includes Julian Cardenas, Sean Cronin, Tyler Gastelum, David Gunther, Quinn McBrayer and Joe Ross. 10:30-11:30 p.m. May 25; 7-9 p.m. May 26. $10. 327-4242. Candel-Lit Yoga Three Jewels Tucson. Teens and adults. Taught by Sheilah O'Loughlin. 7:15-8:15 p.m. Tuesdays. $5. 248-8621. 3jewelstucson.com. Gentle Beginning Yoga Mindful Yoga Studio. Great for those with little or no yoga experience. Ages 18 and up. 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wednesday. $11. 300-4378. mindfulyogatucson.com. Clothing Optional Yoga Movement Culture, 435 E. Ninth St. Encourages self-expression and personal development within a safe and respectful space. Participants are free to wear as much or as little clothing as they'd like. Open to all levels of experience. Ages 18 and up. 6:15-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays. $15. 603-8043. movementaz.org. PHOENIX If state lawmakers get their way, Arizonans will be spending an extra $6.2 million a year to support the folks who make our laws. And the people who support them. Thats on top of the $23.5 million cost to operate the House and Senate. Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, said she can justify the 38 percent increase in her chambers budget. We are losing employees every year to the House and other departments because they are literally wooing them away because we have no money for raises, she said. Fann said many of the staffers who work for individual senators have not seen a pay hike in years. Fann also said there is a need for additional staff workers to help lawmakers analyze bills. And she said thats not just the majority Republicans, saying that the last staffer she had funds to hire went to the Democrats. And what of the $2.5 million that the House wants? Thats a different story. In essence, it comes down to a me, too move. A Pima County grand jury has indicted a former account manager in connection with the theft of about $12,300 in cash from parents and students at the Pima Joint Technical Education District. Tyler Jeffrey Buntrock is accused of receiving money from JTED parents and students, recording the money in the districts accounting system and depositing that money at the bank, a news release from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said. Buntrock faces six felony counts alleging violation of duties of a custodian of public monies one count for every month he worked for JTED. The Arizona Auditor Generals Office first published an investigation into Buntrocks money management practices in March. The office found that Buntrock had stolen nearly half of the cash payments he collected between March 2016 and August 2016, the Star reported. The proposal, if accepted by legislative leadership, would provide a crucial victory for Boyer and advocates for victims who have been trying for years to alter the statute of limitations. Arizona, which now has a hard-and-fast limit of age 20, has been at or near the bottom of the time to sue. It also could break the logjam that is holding up enactment of the $11.8 billion budget. Boyer and Sen. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, vowed to withhold their votes for the spending plan unless Republican leaders agreed to expand the time to sue. And with only 17 Republicans in the Senate and Democrats to this point solidly opposed their votes are needed for approval. In a series of news conferences, Boyer sought to shine light on the problem, bringing victims to the Capitol to tell their stories about how they were abused as children by adults who were in a position of trust. Assailants ranged from an Olympic skater to a priest and a judge. But there are foes. Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, said the legislation was being pushed by trial lawyers anxious to collect legal fees. He said providing more time to sue doesn't help victims as no amount of money can compensate them for what they endured. Boyer, however, said this is about more than getting justice. He said that, in many of these cases, the same people who had abused these victims were still in positions of responsibility and still working with children who need to be exposed. On Twitter: @azcapmedia Thousands of Vietnamese consumers jammed Auchan supermarkets in Vietnam on Tuesday, hoping to scoop up their fill of heavily discounted goods ahead of the companys downsizing its business in the Southeast Asian country. Auchan Vietnam announced on Monday that it will close 15 of its 18 Auchan stores in the country on June 3, according to online newspaper VnExpress. The three remaining locations are all in Ho Chi Minh City, two in District 7 and the other in Tan Binh District. The announcement came days after Frances Auchan Retail announced its plan to sell its loss-making Vietnamese business. As a farewell to Vietnamese customers, the French retailer discounts huge swaths of its stock from May 20 to 31, according to a representative of the Auchan outlet in Go Vap District. In turn, crowds of locals flocked into Auchan stores to take advantage of the deals. At the Auchan location on Pham Van Dong Street in Go Vap District, security had to restrict the number of customers entering the store on Tuesday in order to quell the chaos. Those who did manage to get inside were left to wander through a desert of empty shelves. Customers pick up products from sparse shelves at an Auchan supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre Customers pick up products from sparse shelves at an Auchan supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre Minh, a shopper at the Go Vap outlet, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that not a single pot was left, and there were no instant noodles to buy. In the same fashion, a sea of customers scouted the aisles at the Auchan on Cao Thang Street in District 10 where check-out lines stretched dozens of shoppers long. The most chaotic scene, however, might have been at the Auchan outlet in the southern province of Tay Ninh, where customers took advantage of the crowds to use products right in the store without paying. According to a Facebook post by a user named Nguyen Ngoc Hong Tham, some children heedlessly opened and drank cartons of milk and canned juices. Likewise, a family spontaneously picked up and ate food straight from the shelves. Unsurprisingly, nearly all of Auchans outlets ran out of stock on the first day of its 11-day sale. Goods are left on the floor at an Auchan supermarket in the southern province of Tay Ninh on May 21, 2019 in this screenshot. Goods are left on the floor at an Auchan supermarket in the southern province of Tay Ninh on May 21, 2019 in this screenshot. Customers wait outside an Auchan supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre A notification is stuck in front of an Auchan supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21, 2019, informing customers that the store has been closed for a while due to crowding. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre Customers tie up shopping bags after shopping at an Auchan supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21, 2019. Photo: Nguyen Tri / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Balder Son ($2.50) lived up to fours-on billing in his City of London elimination on Wednesday night (May 22) at The Raceway at Western Fair District, posting a 1:55.3 victory to prove fastest among 25 Ontario-sired male pacers. Jody Jamieson set the three-year-old Betterthancheddar gelding into motion out of third nearing a :58.3 half mile from Century Fury (Nick Steward) in the night's fourth $7,000 elimination, carded as race eight. After offering mild pressure on the far turn, Balder Son edged away to a 1-1/2 length victory, the second of his career for trainer Gregg McNair and owner Roderick Smith. He and Century Fury will advance to the $20,000 added final, to take place on May 31. The win with Balder Son capped a City of London double for Jamieson, who posted a 1:57 win aboard Surprising Credit ($5.90) in the first split for male pacers. Silas Seelster ($2.50, Paul MacDonell, 1:57) and Camsking ($2.20, Scott Young, 1:57.2) proved victorious in their eliminations as well. Among Ontario-sired pacing fillies and mares, Sporty Tori ($2.70) posted an impressive 1:56.1 win in the third $7,000 elimination (race nine). Trainer Gord McKnight angled the sophomore Sportswriter filly out from midfield and around stalled cover before coasting clear by three lengths over the late-closing Persistant Xample (Robert Shepherd). Significance ($3.30, Colin Kelly, 1:57) and Dan Dar Mal ($9.10, Robert Shepherd, 1:58.4) prevailed in the earlier distaff eliminations to lead next Friday's $20,000 added final. Ontario-sired trotters contest their City of London eliminations on Friday (May 24). To view Wednesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results The Raceway at Western Fair District. Your browser does not support the audio element. Vietnamese designer Ho Tran Da Thao has introduced her countrys heritage to the world through a fashion collection she debuted at Penang Fashion Week in Malaysia earlier this month. Thaos Dau Ann Duong Dai, or Contemporary Marks," collection features dresses inspired by some of Vietnams most awe-inspiring sights. Thao, who owns the TSAFARI fashion label, says her own travel experience has also helped shape her artwork. This collection started to come together after I toured the country, the designer said. I wanted to keep a record of the impressions I got from Vietnams beautiful landscape and landmarks so that I could introduce them to others through elegant outfits. A model showcases a dress featuring a Vietnamese village, part of Ho Tran Da Thaos newest collection, Dau An Duong Dai Thaos dresses spotlight several of the countrys national landmarks, including Ben Thanh Market and the city hall of Ho Chi Minh City, villages in northern Vietnam, and lakes covered with lotus flowers. As a contrast to her previous collections, the Dau An Duong Dai collection is simple and minimalistic, predominantly featuring white, blue, black, and green. The accessories worn by her models included bold and bright orange, yellow, and blue in order to accentuate female strength, confidence, optimism, and beauty. A model showcases a dress featuring a Vietnamese village, part of Ho Tran Da Thaos newest collection, Dau An Duong Dai Penang Fashion Week is an annual fashion event showcasing well-known fashion brands from around the world, including Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Charles & Keith, and Pedro. This years event ran from May 3 to May 5, 2019. Ho Tran Da Thao is a renowned and influential designer in Ho Chi Minh City, known for her nature-inspired dresses, as well as her own brand TSAFARI, which has stores in several markets including Canada, Singapore, the UK, the U.S., and Hong Kong. Thao graduated from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, with a bachelors degree in literature in 2001 and attained a certificate in fashion/apparel design from Australias leading vocational provider TAFE NSW that same year. Check out these photos of Thaos most recent collection Dau An Duong Dai: Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Ho Chi Minh City Party chief Nguyen Thien Nhan is currently in Germany on a trip meant to offer insight into partnership opportunities and expand cooperation between the two sides. The visit is part of Nhans business trip to Europe scheduled for May 19 to 26. Nhan, secretary of the municipal Party Committee, commenced his trip with a visit to the Embassy of Vietnam in Germany shortly after landing in Frankfurt on Wednesday afternoon (local time). The trip is meant to seek out ways to bolster cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and the European country in such fields as the digital economy, vocational training, and the building of smart urban and financial centers, Nhan said during a meeting at the embassy. According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu, the trip serves as a significant opportunity for the southern metropolis to learn from Germany. Vietnam-Germany ties have seen positive developments over recent years, especially in science and technology, Vu elaborated. Nguyen Thien Nhan (R) and Boris Rhein, chairman of the Hessen States parliament. Photo: Vien Su / Tuoi Tre The strategic partnership between the two nations has also deepened, creating more cooperative opportunities for Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular. On Wednesday evening, Secretary Nhan and his delegates met with Boris Rhein, chairman of the Hessen States parliament, and attended the 70th anniversary of Germanys constitution. Nhan previously paid a working visit to the Netherlands from May 19 to 22 to learn about the countrys approach to flood control and smart city development. Ho Chi Minh City officials also met with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Carola Schouten, the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, and the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have agreed to continue diversifying cooperative relations between their two countries, especially in economic matters and trade. The two leaders joined talks in Moscow on Wednesday afternoon (local time), as part of PM Phucs official visit from May 20 to 23. They expressed their delight at the trade partnership that has been growing strongly, dynamically, and stably over the past years. Both sides discussed many measures to promote cooperation, especially in economic ties, trade and investment. The two countries will step up collaboration in energy, industrial production, and food production, while creating favorable conditions for oil and gas cooperation between local businesses. PM Medvedev highlighted traditional connections between Vietnam and Russia, adding that more than 600,000 Russian tourists have visited the Southeast Asian nation, and over 50,000 Vietnamese students have studied in Russia. Replying to his host, Phuc affirmed Vietnams focus on cementing its comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia. He also underlined the determination to develop bilateral relations in a result-oriented and sustainable manner in all fields, thus benefiting both nations. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on May 22, 2019. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal Both sides consented on the maintenance of peace and stability, and the solution of disputes via amicable measures in the Asia-Pacific region, including the East Vietnam Sea. Vietnam hopes that Russia would further contribute to the preservation of regional and global peace, security, and stability, PM Phuc said. Following their talks, the two premiers witnessed the signing of 14 cooperation documents between ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses of Vietnam and Russia. Within the framework of his visit, the Vietnamese head of government also convened a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the same day. During their conversation, President Putin believed that PM Phucs visit would create a positive impetus for the two countries relationship to thrive. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Herere todays leading news stories. Politics -- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivered a speech at the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum in Moscow on Wednesday, as part of his official visit to Russia from May 20 to 23. Society -- The African swine fever has spread to three Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang, Hau Giang, and Vinh Long as of Wednesday. -- A 2,000-square-meter factory in Viet Huong 1 Industrial Zone in the southern province of Binh Duong was partially burned during a fire that took five hours to extinguish on Wednesday. -- No casualties were recorded following the collapse of a pier at the Ba Son Wharf into the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, the municipal Peoples Committee said on Wednesday. -- Prosecutors in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City said on Wednesday they have filed charges against Nguyen Huu Linh, a retired deputy chief prosecutor in the central city of Da Nang, for molesting a person under 16 years old, one month after he was placed under investigation. Business -- Vietnam's interbank e-payment system handled 37 million transactions worth nearly VND21 quadrillion (US$898.4 billion) in the first quarter of the year, up 23 percent and 17.8 percent respectively compared to 2018, according to the State Bank of Vietnam. Education -- Room to Read, a leading nonprofit for children's literacy and girls' education programs at work in Vietnam, has presented 51,000 books to 14 libraries set up in remoted areas in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. Lifestyle -- A green grass hill, some 13km from the heart of the romantic city of Da Lat, the capital of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, has become the top destination for couples to shoot their pre-wedding albums. -- A book about late President Ho Chi Minh, the first to be published in Thailand in both Vietnamese and Thai, was launched at a ceremony in the Thai northern province of Lampang on Wednesday. Sports -- Vietnams hope to play at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 was shattered on Wednesday when FIFA delayed the plan to organize the first-ever 48-team competition to 2026, when the football feast is co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A former Vietnamese procuracy official has been prosecuted for molesting an under 16-year-old girl, after CCTV footage captured him groping the child inside an elevator in a Ho Chi Minh City apartment complex in early April. The Peoples Procuracy in District 4 officially charged Nguyen Huu Linh, 61, for sexually attacking the young girl, Duong Ngoc Hai, head of the municipal Peoples Procuracy confirmed on Wednesday evening. In accordance with Vietnams Penal Code, anyone convicted of molesting a child under the age of 16 faces up to three years in prison. Officials in Ho Chi Minh City initiated legal proceedings against Linh in late April and placed him on house arrest at his residence in Hai Chau District, Da Nang, where he previously served as deputy head of the municipal Peoples Procuracy until he retired in June 2018. CCTV footage captured at 9:10 pm on April 1 appears to show Linh grabbing and kissing a young girl, estimated to be between five and seven years old, in an elevator in the Galaxy 9 apartment building in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. He was visiting a relative who lives at the apartment complex on the day of the incident. Linh admitted to hugging and kissing the little girl during an interrogation by police officers, but said his actions were based on a combination of alcohol and how adorable the little girl was, rather than any sexual desire. The victims family said that they would prefer criminal chargers not to be brought against Linh, instead stating they only wanted a formal apology, citing that the girl was not harmed. Vietnamese law, however, allows police to overrule the family's wishes and press charges if they see fit. In this situation, clear video evidence of the crime was enough to continue with their indictment. A mass call for action to be taken against Linh ripped through the country after the video clip went viral on social media. Since then, his house in Da Nang has been vandalized on several occasions and the words child sex abuse were painted on the front gate. The management board of the Galaxy 9 previously petitioned the municipal Peoples Committee and Peoples Procuracy to launch legal proceedings against Linh. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! (Reuters) - John Walker Lindh, the American captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, was freed early from federal prison on Thursday after serving 17 years amid concerns he might still harbour extremist views. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had asked government lawyers whether the release could be stopped but said nothing could be done. "What bothers me more than anything else is that heres a man who has not given up his proclamation of terror, and we have to let him out. Am I happy about it? Not even a little bit," Trump said. Lindh, who was 20 years old when captured, left the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Thursday morning, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. He had been sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty in 2002 to charges of supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony. Lindh is among dozens of prisoners to be released during the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the attacks on the United States by al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001. Leaked U.S. government documents published by Foreign Policy magazine show the federal government as recently as 2016 described Lindh as holding "extremist views." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Lindh's release "unexplainable and unconscionable." "There's something deeply troubling and wrong about it," he said on Fox News on Thursday morning. "What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?" asked U.S. Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The bureau said in a statement that it does not share details of specific inmates' release plans but that it does have policies for monitoring parolees with ties to terrorism. Story continues During his supervised release, Lindh will not be allowed to possess any internet-capable device without permission from his probation officer, and any such device must be monitored continuously, according to court documents. He is not allowed to hold a passport, communicate with known extremists or have any online communications in any language other than English unless approved. He also must undergo mental health counselling, court documents showed. Lindh's parents, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, did not respond to requests for comment and Lindh's lawyer, Bill Cummings, declined to comment. U.S.-born Lindh converted from Catholicism to Islam as a teenager. At his sentencing in 2002, he said he travelled to Yemen to learn Arabic and then to Pakistan to study Islam. Lindh said he volunteered as a soldier with the Taliban, the radical Sunni Muslim group that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, to help fellow Muslims in their struggle or "jihad." He said he had no intention "to fight against America" and never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism. Lindh told the court he condemned "terrorism on every level" and attacks by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were "completely against Islam." But a January 2017 report by the U.S. government's National Counterterrorism Center, published by Foreign Policy, said that, as of May 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." NBC News reported that Lindh wrote a letter to its Los Angeles station KNBC in 2015 expressing support for Islamic State, saying the Islamic militant group was fulfilling "a religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle." (Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen and Jeff Mason at the White House; editing by Bill Trott and Lisa Shumaker) FILE PHOTO: A BNP Paribas logo is seen outside a bank office in Nantes, France, February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit against BNP Paribas SA by alleged victims of a genocidal regime in Sudan, who sought to hold the French bank liable for aiding in the government's atrocities. The 3-0 decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan came nearly five years after BNP Paribas pleaded guilty and agreed to pay an $8.97 billion (7.08 billion pounds) penalty to settle U.S. charges it transferred billions of dollars for Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban entities subject to economic sanctions. Circuit Judge Barrington Parker said claims against BNP Paribas based on genocide in Sudan were subject to U.S. judicial review, and a lower court judge erred in concluding otherwise. Twenty-one refugees now living in the United States filed the proposed class action against BNP Paribas in 2016, over its role as the Sudan regime's main bank from 1997 to 2007. They said BNP Paribas' processing of thousands of illegal transactions through its New York offices furthered the regime's campaign of murder, mass rape, torture and deliberate HIV infection against its own people. A bank spokeswoman declined to comment. In dismissing the lawsuit in March 2018, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said the act of state doctrine barred her from examining the validity of Sudan's official actions, and therefore whether BNP Paribas should be liable for aiding them. Parker, however, said Sudan's own laws and the "universal international consensus" against genocide prevented U.S. courts from declaring genocide an "official act" of Sudan. "Considering the lack of evidence introduced by BNPP that genocide is the official policy of Sudan, and the countervailing evidence that genocide blatantly violates Sudan's own laws, we conclude that there is simply no 'official act' that a court would be required to 'declare invalid' in order to adjudicate plaintiffs' claims," he wrote. Story continues The appeals court also said Nathan erred in dismissing some claims as untimely, and returned the case to her. Tobias Barrington Wolff, a University of Pennsylvania law professor representing the plaintiffs, said they will pursue their claims in the district court. "U.S. courts should never give deference to human rights atrocities such as mass rape and ethnic cleansing," he said. BNP Paribas' June 2014 guilty plea was the first by a global bank to large-scale, systematic violations of U.S. economic sanctions, the Department of Justice said at the time. The case is Kashef et al v BNP Paribas et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 18-1304. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas) In the restive gold-mining northern Chad region of Tibesti, Chadian government officials working together with locals could de-escalate the current blockade and crisis between army officials and locals in Miski, according to a new report out by International Crisis Group.The rpeort suggests that issues with rebels in southern Libya are unrelated.Whats happening in Miski is not linked to whats happening with armed insurgents in southern Libya. Its a local issue, Richard Moncrieff, a report contributor and Central Africa project director for ICG tells RFI.Last November, the local Teda communitys small self-defence militia in Miski clashed with the Chadian army, resulting in the army stationing themselves 100km from the town, effectively preventing movement into or out of the area.Moncrieff, author of the ICGs latest report Chad: Avoiding Confrontation in Miski says that this is due to mistrust on both sides, especially on how the issue of gold has been tackled.Amateurs have come in to the town to mine gold, polluting the water sources and damaging the area, including army officers and those of the Zaghawa ethnic group, who are seen as being supported by the army, he says. The other issue is the possibility of industrial gold mining.The possibility of digging out significant quantities of gold in this area has created disquiet in Miski, and the local population wants to pressure the government to make sure if that was ever to happen, that they would have what they see as their fair share as local resources, he says.The relationship between the ethnic Teda and the government has been a difficult one, because the majority of Teda do not trust outsiders, especially the government, and recent events such as the skirmishes and the blockade have reinforced this.An insurgency in the north ended only some 10 years ago after negotiating peace with NDjamena, says Moncrieff.Its peace based on you leave us to run our area and we wont bother you -- Its a peace that the Teda understand that allows them a degree of control in Tibesti and along the border with Libya, he says.And while the region borders Libya, these issues are perceived as a localized problem, not a direct connection to Chadian rebels in southern Libya. While a few of the non-Toubou groups have made statements regarding he Miski issue to try to use this to their own advantage, Moncrieff says they have no evidence of concrete links.The Teda belong to the larger Toubou community that extends into southern Libya and Niger.Its very reasonable to assume that the pressure that the army is putting on the population of Miski will certainly encourage some people to go to Libya; its already encouraged some people to take up arms in the Miski area. This is a dangerous combination, says Moncrieff.Local mediation, government trustPart of the solution is perception, according to Moncrieff, because this local issue cannot be treated as other complex problems along the Chadian borders.The demands of the Teda people in the Miski Valley remain localized, and therefore are far easier to resolve than the issue of the status of the rebels of southern Libya or Boko Haram, who dont make demands that are easily treatable, says Moncrieff.The Chadian government has a strong interest in de-escalating the tensions in Miski, because it is something which can be dealt with, he adds.One measure includes reversing the recent government decision to change administrative boundaries within the country, a move that triggered the skirmishes in Miski.Miski was shifted from the Tibesti region to the Bourkou region, effectively cutting their influence on regional matters. Moncrieff believes that the government has wanted greater control in the area.Certainly we know for sure that was the perception of local populations, because we know that local chiefs complained to the minister of interior security concerning the breakup of Tibesti and thats the expression we had sent to us by those in Tibesti, he says.There are a number of local actors from both the Teda people and the government who could mediate a settlement of these localized issues, which should not be perceived as part of a greater problem. Migrants in the area have also been swept up into the mix, but the reality is not as complicated.The government has a strong tendency to conflate migrants and terrorists, or migrants and rebels, and this is very unhelpful, because people migrate for lots of different reasons, including migrating for work, says Moncrieff.The other issue is the army blockade. According to ICG, the Ministry of Public Security in Tibesti said it was going to shut down wells and had already shut down some of them in the area.This is an ill-judged approach, and shows a desire of the government to clamp down and take a security-oriented approach, which we feel is a mistake. There is a scope for talking here rather than sending in the army and shutting down wells and setting up blockades, says Moncrieff.If they dont deal with this there is the possibility it could sow discontent among the Teda population, which of course extends further than Miski, he adds.Dealing with the issues that are raised in Miski in a reasonable way, some give and take, would keep the Teda on side in a very tense environment along the Libyan border, says Moncrieff, including dismantling the blockade. In the restive gold-mining northern Chad region of Tibesti, Chadian government officials working together with locals could de-escalate the current blockade and crisis between army officials and locals in Miski, according to a new report out by International Crisis Group. The rpeort suggests that issues with rebels in southern Libya are unrelated. Whats happening in Miski is not linked to whats happening with armed insurgents in southern Libya. Its a local issue, Richard Moncrieff, a report contributor and Central Africa project director for ICG tells RFI. Last November, the local Teda communitys small self-defence militia in Miski clashed with the Chadian army, resulting in the army stationing themselves 100km from the town, effectively preventing movement into or out of the area. Moncrieff, author of the ICGs latest report Chad: Avoiding Confrontation in Miski says that this is due to mistrust on both sides, especially on how the issue of gold has been tackled. Amateurs have come in to the town to mine gold, polluting the water sources and damaging the area, including army officers and those of the Zaghawa ethnic group, who are seen as being supported by the army, he says. The other issue is the possibility of industrial gold mining. The possibility of digging out significant quantities of gold in this area has created disquiet in Miski, and the local population wants to pressure the government to make sure if that was ever to happen, that they would have what they see as their fair share as local resources, he says. The relationship between the ethnic Teda and the government has been a difficult one, because the majority of Teda do not trust outsiders, especially the government, and recent events such as the skirmishes and the blockade have reinforced this. An insurgency in the north ended only some 10 years ago after negotiating peace with NDjamena, says Moncrieff. Its peace based on you leave us to run our area and we wont bother you -- Its a peace that the Teda understand that allows them a degree of control in Tibesti and along the border with Libya, he says. Story continues And while the region borders Libya, these issues are perceived as a localized problem, not a direct connection to Chadian rebels in southern Libya. While a few of the non-Toubou groups have made statements regarding he Miski issue to try to use this to their own advantage, Moncrieff says they have no evidence of concrete links. The Teda belong to the larger Toubou community that extends into southern Libya and Niger. Its very reasonable to assume that the pressure that the army is putting on the population of Miski will certainly encourage some people to go to Libya; its already encouraged some people to take up arms in the Miski area. This is a dangerous combination, says Moncrieff. Local mediation, government trust Part of the solution is perception, according to Moncrieff, because this local issue cannot be treated as other complex problems along the Chadian borders. The demands of the Teda people in the Miski Valley remain localized, and therefore are far easier to resolve than the issue of the status of the rebels of southern Libya or Boko Haram, who dont make demands that are easily treatable, says Moncrieff. The Chadian government has a strong interest in de-escalating the tensions in Miski, because it is something which can be dealt with, he adds. One measure includes reversing the recent government decision to change administrative boundaries within the country, a move that triggered the skirmishes in Miski. Miski was shifted from the Tibesti region to the Bourkou region, effectively cutting their influence on regional matters. Moncrieff believes that the government has wanted greater control in the area. Certainly we know for sure that was the perception of local populations, because we know that local chiefs complained to the minister of interior security concerning the breakup of Tibesti and thats the expression we had sent to us by those in Tibesti, he says. There are a number of local actors from both the Teda people and the government who could mediate a settlement of these localized issues, which should not be perceived as part of a greater problem. Migrants in the area have also been swept up into the mix, but the reality is not as complicated. The government has a strong tendency to conflate migrants and terrorists, or migrants and rebels, and this is very unhelpful, because people migrate for lots of different reasons, including migrating for work, says Moncrieff. The other issue is the army blockade. According to ICG, the Ministry of Public Security in Tibesti said it was going to shut down wells and had already shut down some of them in the area. This is an ill-judged approach, and shows a desire of the government to clamp down and take a security-oriented approach, which we feel is a mistake. There is a scope for talking here rather than sending in the army and shutting down wells and setting up blockades, says Moncrieff. If they dont deal with this there is the possibility it could sow discontent among the Teda population, which of course extends further than Miski, he adds. Dealing with the issues that are raised in Miski in a reasonable way, some give and take, would keep the Teda on side in a very tense environment along the Libyan border, says Moncrieff, including dismantling the blockade. Five children died in Conakry, Guinea, in the early morning of May 18 after heavy rains caused flooding in the capital. Our Observer said garbage had blocked the drainage canals, further contributing to the floods.The children were sleeping in their home in the Dabondy neighbourhood in Matoto, Conakry, when a torrent of water and garbage made the wall collapse. Fatoumata Cherif, a blogger who launched a social media campaign in 2017 to raise awareness about waste in the city, posted photos of the destroyed home on social media. Fatoumata Cherif shared photos of destroyed homes and wrote on Twitter that "urgent garbage management measures needed to be taken".Video: Can selfies help Guineas rubbish problem? 'We must learn from this flood'Cherif says the floods were caused by trash buildup.> The water couldn't flow through the drainage canals because garbage had piled up, so the water took another path.> > The drainage ditches are used as dumps. Its very hard to get people to understand that they shouldnt throw garbage there. And in this neighbourhood, a large number of houses were built right on top of these drainage ditches, which obstructs them. So these children were victims of the garbage.A drainage ditch in Matoto filled with rubbish. (Photo courtesy of Fatoumata Cherif.) 'We wait for a disaster to hit before taking action'Local authorities in Matoto began demolishing homes that blocked drainage canals on May 19. In a post on the mayor's office Facebook page, officials said they had cleared out a 5-metre-deep water pathway that had been clogged with waste for 10 years. Cherif said the neighbourhood needed better construction methods to prevent further obstruction of the drainage system. > We need to do more than just knock down houses. We wait for a disaster to hit before taking action. The government steps in during emergencies but we need a solution to this problem. > > We need to rethink the layout of these neighbourhoods and figure out ways to build homes that wont impede drainage. But, most importantly, we need to improve waste collection. Currently, waste is collected by small private businesses. In this neighbourhood, garbage isnt collected regularly because it is hard to get close to the houses. The road is rough and the houses are built one on top of another. So lots of people end up dealing with garbage themselves. > > We need to learn from this flood. We should set up public dumpsters so that people can dump their garbage themselves without waiting for it to be collected. If we don't, people will start blocking up drainage canals again even if they are afraid of further flooding. When you see the damage caused by one night of rain, imagine if it rained for 24 hours. The two heavy favourites, Moonshiner Hanover and Tight Lines, battled through heavy rain during Harrahs Philadelphias $18,000 featured trot on Thursday afternoon (May 22). It was Moonshiner Hanover that reversed the publics final opinion by edging his rival by three quarters of a length in 1:53.1. George Napolitano Jr. got away third from Post 2 with Moonshiner Hanover, who is a son of Andover Hall. Tight Lines and Jeff Gregory had started from the difficult Post 8 and had to tuck into fifth with many leavers inside of him. G-Nap moved Moonshiner Hanover to the lead in front of the stands before Gregory and Tight Lines came first-over nearing turn two. Tight Lines battled valiantly the rest of the way, but Moonshiner Hanover was able to withstand his determined foe in the lane. Chris Beaver conditions the winner of $583,417, and he also co-owns him with Synerco Ventures Inc. and Bill Manes. It was the pacer Undertaker who sounded the death knell for the accumulating Jackpot Hi-5 pool, as the 9-1 shot edged out 1-2 favourite Western Dynasty N in the final steps of the fifth race. Following behind were 7-2 second choice BBs Harley, 34-1 shot Skyway Billy, and Vodka Is Terror, the longest shot in the field of nine at 54-1. The 3-2-5-7-8 combination was used on only one 20-cent ticket whose lucky holder took down a windfall of $35,989.90. Sunday will feature one of the best cards of the year at Harrahs Philadelphia, as the $100,000 Betsy Ross Mares Pace, the $100,000 Maxie Lee Trot, and the $100,000 Commodore Barry Pace will bring many of the best Open performers to the riverside oval. The card will also feature a star of the glamour division, Captain Crunch, in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action for three-year-old pacing colts. Six divisions of the PA Stallion Series will headline a special live Memorial Day Monday card. First post for each day will be at 12:40 p.m. (With files from PHHA / Harrahs Philadelphia) Hundreds of people gathered outside the Minnesota Capitol Building in St Paul on Tuesday, May 21, to protest against restrictive abortion bans, such as those outlined in new laws in Georgia and Alabama. Similar protests against abortion restrictions were held around the country on Tuesday, including in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Texas, and in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. Credit: A Better Minnesota via Storyful By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May was clinging to power on Thursday after her final Brexit gambit backfired, overshadowing a European election that has shown a United Kingdom still riven over its divorce from the EU. May's departure will deepen the Brexit crisis as a new leader is likely to want a more decisive split, raising the chances of a confrontation with the European Union and an election that could usher in a socialist government. In such a fluid situation, Britain faces an array of options including an orderly exit with a deal, a no-deal exit, an election or a second referendum that could ultimately reverse the 2016 decision to leave the EU. May, who won the top job in the turmoil that followed the EU referendum, has repeatedly failed to get parliament's approval for her divorce deal, which she pitched as a way to heal Britain's Brexit divisions. Her last gambit, offering a possible second referendum and closer trading arrangements with the EU, triggered a revolt by some Brexit-supporting ministers and triggered the resignation of the minister in charge of her parliamentary business. On Thursday, with Britons voting in a European election in which pre-poll surveys suggested May's Conservatives would be thrashed by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, May was digging in. The chairman of the powerful Conservative 1922 Committee, which can make or break prime ministers, has said May would meet him on Friday to discuss her leadership. George Osborne, a former Conservative finance minister and now editor of the London Evening Standard newspaper, said on Twitter he had been told that May would then announce she would step down on June 10, after the state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump. Other newspapers also suggested this was the probable timeline for her departure. Amid dissent across her party at her latest Brexit proposal, the government delayed the planned publication of legislation to enact her divorce deal from Friday until June 3, in the hope that it could still be put to parliament on June 7. Story continues LISTENING TO CONCERNS May held separate meetings with her foreign and interior ministers. Amid suggestions that the proposed bill could be rewritten, her spokesman said she would listen to colleagues' concerns. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that interior minister Sajid Javid had told May he could not vote for the bill because it went further than what senior ministers had agreed to in cabinet. Earlier, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said May would still be prime minister when Trump arrived for his trip on June 3. But newspapers said her time was up. The mass-circulation Sun's front page was headlined "May set to go after Brexit fiasco", while the Times led with "May prepares to quit after cabinet mutiny". EU supporters fear Brexit will undermine Britain's economy - the fifth-largest in the world - as well as London's position as one of the world's top two financial capitals. They also say it will weaken the West as it grapples with Trumps unpredictable presidency and growing assertiveness from Russia and China. May, who has been obdurate through one of the most tumultuous premierships of recent British history, had promised to leave office if lawmakers approved her Brexit deal, but is now under intense pressure to name a date. Sterling, which tumbled on the 2016 Brexit vote to its biggest one-day fall since the early 1970s, dropped 0.4% on Thursday to a new 4-1/2 month low of $1.2605. The yield on Britain's 10-year bond fell to 0.991%, the lowest since March 29, the day Britain had been due to leave the EU. SHALL WE STAY OR SHALL WE GO? Nearly three years after Britain voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU, it remains unclear how, when or even whether it will leave the European club it joined in 1973. The current deadline to leave is Oct. 31. When May goes, her Conservative Party will elect a leader who is likely to want to renegotiate the deal she agreed with the EU in November, raising the chances of a confrontation with the bloc and a national election. The bookmakers' favourite to succeed May is Boris Johnson, the face of the official campaign to leave the EU, who has said he wants a more decisive split. More than a dozen others are seen as potential candidates. If there were an election and the Conservatives lost, the winner would be Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who wants to nationalise swathes of the British economy but has not said what shareholders will get in return. Corbyn also says he wants to take Britain out of the EU. The Investment bank BNP Paribas said it now saw a 40% probability of Britain leaving the EU without a transition agreement in place. European election results are expected after 2100 GMT on Sunday. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan and William James; Editing by Jon Boyle and Phil Berlowitz) Global sea levels could rise by more than two metres causing catastrophic consequences for the world, according to a team of scientists. Such a rise could result in the loss of 1.79 million km2 of land, including critical regions of food production, and the potential displacement of up to 187 million people. Traditional methods for predicting rising sea levels from the melting ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic are based on numerical modelling, but these remain challenging due to changing factors. A team of international scientists used a technique called structured expert judgement to ask 22 ice sheet experts to estimate plausible ranges for future sea level rises. They asked them to consider the projected melting of each of the Greenland, West Antarctic and East Antarctic ice sheets under low and high future global temperature rise scenarios. Lead author professor Jonathan Bamber, from the University of Bristol, said: "Structured expert judgement provides a formal approach for estimating uncertain quantities based on current scientific understanding, and can be useful for estimating quantities that are difficult to model. "Projections of total global subsequent sea level rise using this method yielded a small but meaningful probability of subsequent sea level rise exceeding two metres by the year 2100 under the high temperature scenario, roughly equivalent to 'business as usual', well above the 'likely' upper limit presented in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change." Prof Bamber added: "Such a rise in global sea level could result in land loss of 1.79 million km2, including critical regions of food production, and potential displacement of up to 187 million people. "A subsequent sea level rise of this magnitude would clearly have profound consequences for humanity." The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. :: Sky's Ocean Rescue campaign encourages people to reduce their single-use plastics. You can find out more about the campaign and how to get involved at www.skyoceanrescue.com . Reuters MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia moved within tantalising reach of retaining the Ashes in Melbourne on Monday but the fate of the series may be decided in a laboratory rather than on the field after the England camp was hit by a rash of COVID-19 cases. Two England support staff and two of their family members were in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, throwing a scare through the team as they prepared to head to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for day two of the third test. The players were all cleared after rapid antigen tests and play proceeded without disruption barring a half-hour delay. [May 23, 2019] StreamSets Showcases Major Attractions at DataOps Summit 2019 SAN FRANCISCO, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StreamSets, provider of the industrys first DataOps platform for modern data integration, today announced some of the main attractions at DataOps Summit 2019, to be held September 3-5, 2019 in San Francisco. Sponsored by partners Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, Snowflake and Trifacta, the conference will feature speakers from marquee-name customers, as well as a full day of in-depth technical training on critical DataOps practices. StreamSets DataOps Summit 2019 is the first professional conference devoted to thought leadership and technical education for the emerging domain of DataOps. The conference boasts a speaking lineup from some of the worlds best-known brands like energy giant Shell, healthcare leader Humana, international broadband provider Ericsson, pharmaceutical leader GlaxoSmithKline and unified communications provider RingCentral. Each will take the stage to share use cases and best practices with an audience of customers, partners, open source users and industry experts. Tuesday, September 3 will be dedicated to hands-on training with the StreamSets Data Platform and associated technologies, including Apache Kafka and Apache Spark. Open source users and customers will enjoy a full day of instruction on the basics of data movement, and will learn how to ingest and manage data into platforms like Hadoop, AWS, Azure and Google. StreamSets DataOps Summit 2019 showcases the convergence of new ideas and advanced technology solutions that savvy business leaders rely on to drive their companies forward, said Shekhar Iyer, StreamSets. Combned with our elite lineup of presenters, engaged ecosystem partners and immersive hands-on training, this user conference is poised to be a genesis point for an emerging and critical practice area. The StreamSets DataOps Summit 2019 will take place at the Hilton Financial District in San Francisco, September 3-5, 2019. For more information or to attend the conference, please visit www.dataopssummit-sf.com. Sign up before May 31, 2019 and take advantage of a 30% discount on registration. If youre interested in sponsoring the event, click here. About DataOps DataOps is the application of DevOps practices to data management and integration to reduce the cycle time of data analytics, with a focus on automation, collaboration and monitoring. DataOps is essential for a data landscape marked by architectural complexity with accelerating change. About StreamSets StreamSets built the industrys first multi-cloud DataOps platform for modern data integration, helping enterprises to continuously flow big, streaming and traditional data to their data scientists and data-intensive applications. It uniquely handles data drift, those frequent and unexpected changes to data that break pipelines and damage data integrity. The platform combines the open source StreamSets Data Collector for execution of any-to-any pipelines (the data plane) with a cloud-native StreamSets Control Hub for the design, monitoring and performance management of multi-pipeline topologies (the control plane). Founded in 2014 by Girish Pancha, former chief product officer of Informatica, and Arvind Prabhakar, a former engineering leader at Informatica and Cloudera, StreamSets is backed by top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firms, including Battery Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and Accel Partners. For more information, visit www.streamsets.com. Media Contact: Sammy Totah BOCA Communications [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Vietnam always welcomes Russian enterprises, says PM Vietnam always welcomes and is willing to create favourable conditions for Russian enterprises to do business and invest in the country, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed when addressing the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum held in Moscow on May 22. PM Phuc, who is on an official visit to Russia from May 21-23, said that the forum aimed to seek better and more effective and timely measures to ensure that bilateral cooperation matches the Vietnam-Russia sound relations. He briefed participants on Vietnams socio-economic achievements after more than 30 years of renewal. Last year, the countrys GDP growth rate made an 11-year record high at 7.1 percent, while its import-export turnover reached nearly 500 billion USD. Inflation was curbed under 4 percent and the macro-economy remained stable. According to the government leader, at present, Vietnam has 28,000 foreign-invested projects from 131 countries and territories, with a combined capital of over 350 billion USD. Last year, the country welcomed 15.5 million foreign tourists, a year-on-year rise of 20 percent. PM Phuc attributed these positive results to improvements in Vietnams business environment and its efforts to integrate into the global economy by signing 11 free trade agreements (FTA) and preparing for the signing of an FTA with the European Union (EU). He underlined the positive impacts of the Eurasia Economic Union-Vietnam FTA on Vietnams trade and investment, thus contributing to a 28.6-percent increase in its trade turnover with Russia to hit 4.57 billion USD in 2018. Vietnam is now the 23rd biggest trade partner of Russia and is running 20 projects worth 3 billion USD in the country, while Russia has 123 projects (excluding those related to oil and gas) totaling 1 billion USD in Vietnam. However, the PM said that these results have failed to match with potential of both nations. He expressed his hope that two-way trade can reach 10 billion USD by 2020 after non-tariff barriers on major commodities are removed and a bilateral payment channel using local currencies is launched. For his part, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov noted that economic and trade cooperation between Russia and Vietnam has been built on the firm foundation of the time-honoured bilateral friendship. Vietnam has affirmed itself as a key partner of Russia in Southeast Asia as it accounts for one-third of Russias imports from the regional countries, the Deputy PM stated. He suggested that both sides intensify collaboration in high technology, affirming that Russia is willing to support Vietnam in the fields of digital government and smart city building, as well as cybersecurity. Earlier the same day, PM Phuc laid flowers in tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in Moscow. Ben Tre coconut products to be sold online Nguyen Thi Kim Truyen from Ben Tre Provinces Chau Thanh District, who has been making coconut oil for decades, has started selling her product online. Truyen has learned how to post photos and information about her products on the Lazada website under a scheme to help businesses sell products via e-commerce platforms. At first, Truyen, 51, struggled to learn how to use a smartphone or computer but she never felt discouraged. We should try something new to be able to reach more customers, she said. She has confidence in the scheme as today people prefer buying products online due to fast shipping, affordable and reasonable prices, she said. Her shop is one of many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) making coconut products in the province, known as the countrys coconut capital. Coconut in Ben Tre has gained a reputation for high quality from local and foreign experts. Products include food (cakes, candy, jelly, milk); cosmetics (oil, masks, lip balm, essential oil, shampoo, mosquito repellent); handicrafts (coconut shells, spoon sets, tea sets) and products for the industrial sector (activated carbon from coconut shells, coconut fiber), among others. Many businesses have become more aware of using technology to improve productivity and quality. However, most coconut enterprises in Ben Tre find it hard to increase sales via traditional selling. Le Thi Hue My, owner of Yes Coco, a company that produces handicrafts, in Huu Dinh Commune in Chau Thanh District, said that previously most businesses sold their products via traders at much lower prices. Cheap products with unstable revenue have caused obstacles for farmers, she said. Last month, nearly 50 representatives from businesses that make coconut products in Ben Tre took part in the seminar Bringing E-commerce to the Countryside Ben Tre Online Coconut Village. The workshop was organised by the Viet Nam E-commerce Association, VECOM, and Lazada Viet Nam in collaboration with Ben Tre Department of Industry and Trade. Nguyen Ngoc Dung, vice chairman of VECOM, said that farmers and small business households in rural areas lacked information and skills needed to bring their products to market. The workshop provided knowledge for producers of speciality coconut goods in rural villages to reach consumers in the fastest way. E-commerce will help crafts villages expand their businesses, save marketing costs, and increase product value, he said. This is one of Lazadas key projects in its plan to build a sustainable e-commerce ecosystem by 2030. Yes Coco enterprise was among the first beneficiaries to receive support from the project. Many of the companys coconut tree products such as dining room appliances, pots for plants, handbags and greeting cards have become popular. Businesses participating in the project can open free online booths without commission fees paid to the Lazada platform. Enterprises are also provided with management tools such as inventory and sales management. Ben Tre Province is home to 163,000 households involved in farming 71,000 ha of coconut trees, or half of Viet Nams coconut-growing land. They produce 800 million coconuts and ship about US$200 million worth of coconut products abroad annually. Ben Tres coconuts are exported to about 84 countries and territories worldwide. Indian and VN enhance co-operation in silk sector A delegation of business executives representing 30 Indian companies led by the chairman of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council met their Vietnamese counterparts at the Buyer-Seller meet held in HCM City on Tuesday. The visitors were from companies producing silk, fabrics, ready-made garments, silk scarves, stoles, Pareo shawls evening wear, beachwear, fashion accessories, tops, bottoms, trousers, jackets, kaftans, bags, embroidered shawls, silk blended products, natural silk carpets and others. Dr. Bimal Mawandia, chairman of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, said: India is promoting exports of all textiles. We are presenting the silk sector in India and as per the guidance of the Government of India, we want to increase exports and we are exploring different markets worldwide. We come here to promote export of not only silk but also other fibers in this market. The trip was the first to Viet Nam for all of the participating companies, he said. Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery-Knitting, said trade relations between Viet Nam and India in the garment and textile sector had increased significantly but was still modest compared to the potential of the two countries. The event is expected to enhance connection between businesses of the two sides in the sector, where there is still a lot of potential, he said. Vietnamese garment and textile companies want to have stronger co-operation with Indian counterparts. They have high demand for importing raw materials from India. According to the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association, there are 7,000 enterprises in the industry, providing jobs for three million workers in the country. Viet Nams garment and textile exports increased by 12 per cent last year to reach over US$36 billion and exports is expected to top $40 billion this year. A similar buyer and seller meet will be held in Ha Noi on May 23. Firm exports 71 tonnes of mango to US Vina T&T Import - Export Service Trading Co Ltd (Vina T&T) has said its mango shipments to the US amounted to 71 tonnes. Following it first mango batch of 20 tonnes to the market via air and sea routes a month ago, the company has so far sent the fruit to the US every week. In 2018, Vina T&T reeled in 30 million USD from fruit export. The USs permission for the import of Vietnamese fresh mango is said to be helpful to increasing the revenue by 15 to 20 percent this year. Mango is the sixth fresh fruit of Vietnam allowed to enter the market after lychee, longan, rambutan, star apple and dragon fruit. It is one of Vietnams fruits of strength with a total plantation of nearly 90,000ha nationwide, producing nearly 800,000 tonnes per year. Vietnam has exported the fruit to 40 countries over the world. Its main importers are China, European countries, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Deputy PM wants to increase value of Vietnamese brands Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant departments to join hands to increase the value of Vietnamese brands to make inroads into international markets. He made the request at a conference in Hanoi on May 21 to review the 10-year implementation of the campaign Vietnamese people prioritise using Vietnamese goods. The Deputy PM told the ministry to continue improving the efficiency of its steering committee for the campaign while strengthening coordination with ministries and localities for domestic market development. Particularly, the market management forces must strictly handle goods smuggling and infringements of intellectual property rights. According to local departments of industry and trade, the rate of Vietnamese goods remains high in the domestic market from 80 percent to 90 percent at modern distribution network and from 60 percent at traditional retail channels. Some key industries such as garment-textile, footwear, automobile manufacturing, milk processing, yarn and dyeing have increased the rate of localisation and volume of science-technology in products. An exhibition on achievements of the 10-year campaign Vietnamese people prioritise using Vietnamese goods was held on May 21-22 with the participation of such big groups as Vinfast automotive startup manufacturer, Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), Vietnam National Coal Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin), and Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). Indian garment firms seek opportunities in HCM City A delegation of business executives representing 30 Indian companies led by the chairman of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council met their Vietnamese counterparts at the Buyer-Seller meet held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21. The visitors were from companies producing silk, fabrics, ready-made garments, silk scarves, stoles, Pareo shawls evening wear, beachwear, fashion accessories, tops, bottoms, trousers, jackets, kaftans, bags, embroidered shawls, silk blended products, natural silk carpets and others. Bimal Mawandia, Chairman of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, said India is promoting exports of all textiles. We are presenting the silk sector in India and as per the guidance of the Government of India, we want to increase exports and we are exploring different markets worldwide. The trip was the first to Vietnam for all of the participating companies, he said. Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery-Knitting, said trade relations between Vietnam and India in the garment and textile sector had increased significantly but was still modest compared to the potential of the two countries. The event is expected to enhance connection between businesses of the two sides in the sector, where there is still a lot of potential, he said. Vietnamese garment and textile companies want to have stronger cooperation with Indian counterparts. They have high demand for importing raw materials from India, Hong said. According to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, there are 7,000 enterprises in the industry, providing jobs for three million workers in the country. Vietnams garment and textile exports increased by 12 percent last year to over 36 billion USD and exports is expected to top 40 billion USD this year. A similar buyer and seller meet will be held in Hanoi on May 23. Vietnam c.bank stands ready to intervene for FX market stability The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is ready to sell foreign currency to ensure forex market stability amid the weakening of the Vietnamese dong against the US dollar, according to Pham Thanh Ha, head of the SBVs Monetary Policy Department. On May 21, the SBV set the reference rate of USD selling price at a record high of VND23,069. Banks can set their own quotes with a band of 3% on the either side of the benchmark rate. The USD selling price at Vietnam Export Import Commercial Bank (Eximbank) increased slightly by VND10 to VND23,450, while that of Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) remained unchanged at VND23,465, and Sai gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) at VND23,470. The USD buying price in cash fluctuated from VND23,310 to VND23,345, making a difference between buying and selling prices of VND100 120 per USD. In the free market, the USD selling price stood at VND23,430 and buying price at VND23,380. The USD/VND exchange rate has been on an upward trend since the end of April to date. The head of the SBVs Monetary Department attributed the higher USD/VND exchange rate to growing uncertainties regarding the US-China trade talks, putting the market in a state of concern. Meanwhile, the ongoing devaluation of the Chinese yuan since late April to date has caused a negative impact on Vietnams foreign currency market, again putting pressure on the exchange rate, Ha added. Nevertheless, Ha said market liquidity and the supply/demand balance on the market remain stable. As of mid-April, the SBV has bought in a large amount of foreign currency in a bid to ensure national finance-monetary security and greater capacity to intervene the foreign exchange market if needed, he stressed. In the coming time, the SBV would continue to monitor the domestic and foreign markets and adopt a flexible management of the reference rate. In case of necessity, the SBV is willing to sell foreign currency to stabilize the market and the macro-economy, Ha stressed. Economist Le Xuan Nghia previously said the escalation of the US China trade war, including the recent depreciation of the yuan, is causing concern, particularly with countries having large trade turnover with China, including Vietnam. In the first four months of 2019, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) bought in US$8.5 billion, bringing the countrys total foreign reserves to US$65 billion, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC). Never before did the SBV manage to purchase such large amount in just a short time frame, said VDSC in its latest report. According to the governments report read before the National Assembly on May 20, the average consumer price index (CPI) in the first four months rose 2.71% from a year earlier, the lowest recorded over the last three years. Notably, the foreign exchange market stayed stable with foreign reserves hitting record high, stated the government, without giving a specific number. Vietnam posted year-on-year GDP growth of 6.79% in the first quarter of 2019, lower than the 7.38% expansion recorded in the first quarter of 2018. The expansion rate, however, remained the best first-quarter performance in the 2009 2017 period. The country posted exports of US$78.8 billion in the four-month period, up 5.8% year-on-year, leading to a trade surplus of US$711 million. Seminar sharing immigration information to kick off Wednesday As many Vietnamese people are showing keen interest in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program offered by the United States, a seminar aimed to share immigration experience and information is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 22. The seminar themed Reduce risks and protect assets of EB-5 participants will be co-organized by the Saigon Times Group and Global Residents LLC, a member of American Immigration Group, at the media groups head office at 35 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street in HCMC's District 1. Qendrese Sadriu-Rrustemi, global managing director at American Immigration Group, said that the EB-5 visa program was initiated in China 10 years ago, so potential investors from Vietnam and other countries could learn from the former to get an EB-5 (Employment Base Fifth) visa. To avoid the traps of fraudsters and reduce the risk of loss, investors should work with experts recognized by the U.S. government to guarantee their investment under the EB-5 program to secure visas for them and their family, she said. Accessing correct and transparent information will help investors make a right decision related to the EB-5 immigration program, Sadriu-Rrustemi added. The event is expected to feature speakers who are immigration experts and lawyers recognized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. They will supply adequate information and details on the EB-5 program in Vietnam, as well as the standards and regulations applicable to the program. Vietnam promotes agricultural products in China The Vietnam Agricultural Trade Promotion Forum was held in Liaoning province, China, on May 20 with the participation of more than 100 Vietnamese and Chinese agricultural enterprises. Speaking at the forum, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that with over 1.4 billion people and a high demand for agricultural products, China is an important market for Vietnam. Vietnamese agricultural products and Vietnamese enterprises need to make good use of this large market. At this forum, the two sides shared information on agricultural investment and the potential of developing agricultural trade between Vietnam and China. In the context that Vietnam's agricultural exports to China have decreased in the first four months of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is cooperating with Vietnam Trade Office in China to create forums to connect businesses of the two countries in order to promote Vietnamese agricultural exports to the Chinese market in a stable manner. In the coming time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will ask the Chinese side to accelerate the process of opening markets for Vietnamese fruits through commercial channels, including durian, passion fruit, avocado, grapefruit, and coconut. Vung Tau master scheme adjusted PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently approved adjustments to Vung Tau city by 2035. By 2025, the city will have a population of 500,000-520,000. By 2035, the citys population will touch 620,000-650,000. The city will have two centers in Go Lang and Long Son; key functional sections including industry-urban area-tourism; A Chau, Bau Sen, Bau Trung, Rach Ba, Cua Lap water surface system; mangrove ecosystem, Big Mountain, Small Mountain, and Nua Mountain. The city will comprise seven sections namely Long Son island, Go Gang area, Bac Phuoc Thang area, industrial and port area, urban area, Northern Vung Tau area, Chi Linh-Cua Lap coastal tourism area. Long Son island is a national petroleum industrial center, specializing in auxiliary industries, petroleum industry, ecological urban area. E5 RON92 still flying under locals' radars E5 RON92 petrol has performed rather poorly during the two years since its launch, despite the governments efforts to narrow the price gap with RON95 to fit consumers wallets. Many petrol stations in Ho Chi Minh City last week temporarily halted selling E5 RON92 petrol (5 per cent ethanol and 95 per cent RON 92), and even replaced some E5 gas pumps by RON95 pumps. A petrol station of Saigon Fuel JSC on No Trang Long Street (Binh Thanh district in Ho Chi Minh City) on May 15 temporarily stopped selling E5 petrol. Similarly, PV Oils three petrol stations on Pham Van Tri (Go Vap district) only sell RON95 petrol. According to newswire tuoitre.vn, all petrol stations of one fuel firm in South Vietnam do not sell E5 RON92 petrol at all. Nguyen Van Tiu, general director of Tu Luc 1 JSC,said that trading in E5 RON92 petrol requires substantial investment in the construction of a mixing plant, billions of VND to erect the necessary infrastructure system, and current sales cannot recover these expenses. Accordingly, sales are low and capital returns at a snails pace, and wastage rates arehigh. According to the latest report of the MoIT, the total E5 RON92 petrol consumption in this years first three months was 740,000 cubic metres, equalling 37.8 per cent of the total amount of petrol consumed. This number is lower than last year's 3.148 million cb.m, when it made up 42 per cent of the petrol market. Therefore, if policies do not provide significant incentives to E5 RON92 over RON95, E5 will find it hard to survive in the market, said Tiu. Tuoitre.vn quoted a petrol distributor in the northern province of Vinh Phuc as saying that with 4,000 litres of E5 RON92 petrol, 25-30 litres are wasted, while this is only 5-6 litres for RON95. The consumption of E5 RON92 recently fell by 20-30 per cent, leading to increasing stocks and significant costs for the maintenance of containers, said Tiu. The business performance of ethanol fuel over the past time has shown that it is really necessary to create a big difference between the price of E5 and RON95. Accordingly, the environmental protection tax on E5 RON92 fuel is VND3,610 per litre, only 5 per cent less than the tax on RON95. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) also suggested the government to increase the price difference by adjusting the tax rate on E5 RON92 petrol. Inspection conclusion at VEAM Corporation On May 16, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced Inspection Conclusion No.3202/KL-BCT about the management and usage of capital and assets as well as the production and business activities of Vietnam Motors and Agricultural Machinery Corporation (VEAM). In the document, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) stated that in the period between 2010 and June 2018, in spite of producing profit in its annual consolidated business reports, revenue mainly came from joint venture companies like Toyota or Honda. Meanwhile, the inspection uncovered inefficient production and business activities at other business units under the management of VEAM, leading to reduced profitability or even losses. The management and administration at VEAM and its members feature many errors and shortcomings. Specifically, the inspectors found many violations in the staff organisation, management, and use of capital, assets or debts, causing damage and wasting state assets. The MoIT also transferred documents to the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) to clarify and handle violations following the law. In 2018, VEAM achieved a revenue of VND7.047 trillion ($306.4 million), which mostly came from joint ventures with Ford, Honda, and Toyota Vietnam. Currently, VEAM shares are priced at VND50,000 ($2.17), with the corresponding capitalisation of VND66 trillion ($2.87 billion). Formerly known as 1-member State Company Limited, VEAM operates under the MoIT under the parent company-subsidiary company model. It was established on May 12, 1990 with the central goal of promoting the industrialisation of Vietnam's mechanical industry and the modernisation of agriculture and rural areas. VEAM currently holds 30 per cent stake in Honda Vietnam, 20 per cent in Toyota Vietnam, and 25 per cent in Ford Vietnam. Each year, VEAM receives trillions of VND in dividends from these joint ventures. In January 2017, the company changed to a joint stock model with the charter capital of VND13.288 trillion ($577.7 million). Suntory Pepsico Vietnam partners with Deloitte Consulting Vietnam As a part of its commitment to sustainable development in the Vietnamese market, Suntory PepsiCo Beverage Vietnam Limited (Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam) invested in the implementation of the most advanced Enterprise Resource Planning solution (SAP S/4HANA). Today, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam officially signed the strategic partnership agreement with Deloitte Consulting Vietnam to start the worlds leading enterprise resource planning project (SAP S/4HANA) for Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam. After 25 years of sustainable development in Vietnam, the company has run successful business and contributed thousands of billion of dong to the states budget, offering thousands of jobs for Vietnamese employees as well as conducted many meaningful activities to support the community. However, in the rapidly changing technology world, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam decided that it is time the company has to invest for business transformation. The application of SAP S/4HANA helps Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam in effectively planning and managing all corporate business activities. After completing the project, the company will own a world-class corporate administration system with all business data being recorded and retrieved in real time. This system will assist the board of directors in supervising the always-on key performance indicators, making timely yet accurate decisions and increasing competitive advantage in the market for the corporate. Besides, SAP S/4HANA also supports the business in processing financial statements in a prompt, exact and transparent manner. Commenting on the implementation of this project, Aamir Muhammad, senior vice president & CFO of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam said, The company made the choice to embrace the change and have chartered a course towards becoming a future ready organization to ensure sustainable growth and also continue our contribution in the success of Vietnam. The company has partnered with SAP and Deloitte Consulting Vietnam to help us in taking the first step in this journey by investing in SAP S/4HANA, a state of art cloud based ERP solution, which sits at the heart of our pursuit for change. According to the agreement, Deloitte Consulting Vietnam is responsible for comprehensively implementing the SAP S/4HANA solution for Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam. The solution will be applied in Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam at the nationwide scale and is expected to go into official operation from 2020. Nowadays, SAP S/4HANA has been successfully applied in various companies across the world. In Vietnam, Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam is one of the first beverage companies to apply the most advanced Enterprise Resource Planning solution - SAP S/4HANA in the intention of building a solid corporate administration platform for promoting the accelerated and sustainable development in the future. This is a bold but promising decision of the company in the age of Industry 4.0. The thorough application of technology for business operation and administration is a part of the sustainable development strategy of Suntory PepsiCo in Vietnam in Vietnam market. Pankaj Rathi, Vietnam country consulting leader of Deloitte Consulting Vietnam emphasised, The SAP S/4HANA project of Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam is one of the largest projects nowadays due to its large scope of work and requirement of huge investment in finance and human resources. The company has been working closely with Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam in building solutions and procedures based on the most advanced international standards, which are suitable for their business operation model in Vietnam. Markets liquidity stays stable amidst exchange rate uptrend The monetary markets liquidity has remained stable and foreign currency supply and demand are relatively balanced amidst the uptrend of USD/VND exchange rates over the last few days, an official from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has assured. Director of the SBVs Monetary Policy Department Pham Thanh Ha said on May 21 that the exchange rate hike was mainly driven by the markets concern about the possibility of US-China trade talks worsening and the continuous depreciation of the Chinese yuan since late April. After the central bank listed the USD buying rate at 23,200 VND per USD on January 2, exchange rates in the market stayed relatively stable until mid-April. Therefore, the SBV purchased a large amount of foreign currencies to raise foreign exchange reserves, thus helping to consolidate the national financial-monetary security and improve the capability of making interventions when necessary. Exchange rates have tended to increase since late April, but the markets liquidity and legal demand for foreign currencies have been still ensured, he said. On May 21 morning, the SBV set the reference exchange rate at 23,069 VND per USD, up 23 VND from May 8, when the rate reached a record high. At 8:15 am, Vietcombank posted the buying rate at 23,345 VND/USD and the selling rate at 23,465 VND/USD, up 15 VND from the same time of May 20. BIDV offered the respective rates at 23,350 23,470 VND/USD, up by 20 VND. Techcombank posted 23,325 VND/USD (buying) and 23,465 VND/USD (selling), up 15 VND. Ha said the central bank will continue keeping a close watch on both the domestic and foreign markets to set the daily reference exchange rate in a flexible manner. It will also use synchronous measures and policy tools to stabilise the market. If necessary, the SBV is ready to sell foreign currencies at suitable prices to keep the market and macro-economy stable, the official added. First Mekong Delta one commune one product fair in June The first one commune one product (OCOP) fair of the Mekong Delta region is scheduled for June 6 10 in Ben Tre province. According to Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Le Van Khe, the event is expected to feature between 300 and 350 stalls from 12 localities in the delta, as well as the southeastern, Central Highlands, northern, and central regions. Khe said provinces and cities have so far registered 260 stalls to display local specialties, including food, beverage, herbs, fabric, souvenirs, and agricultural services. On the sidelines, there will be conferences and seminars on OCOP building, farming tourism, and OCOP start-ups, among others. Ngo Tat Thang, Deputy Director of the National New-Style Rural Areas Operation Department, said the expo aims to promote goods developed under the OCOP programme and experience sharing among participating localities in terms of OCOP-related production and goods development. In 2013, Quang Ninh was the first locality in Vietnam to implement the programme, which was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following the model of Japans One Village, One Product (OVOP) drive and Thailands One Town, One Product (OTOP). The OCOP programme is now being carried out in all localities across Vietnam for the 2018-2020 period, aiming to promote rural economic development towards increasing internal strengths and values. It focuses on developing high potential agricultural and non-agricultural products, and services in each locality based on the value chain. Ben Tre is striving to have 100 percent of its communes joining the programme by 2020. It sets to develop at least 30 OCOP goods rated three stars by the time; the figure is expected to be 250 a decade later. Ca Mau takes steps towards tourism expansion The southernmost province of Ca Mau has taken steps to tap into its potential and make the most of its advantages towards speeding up tourism development. In recent years, Ca Mau has seen an annual growth of 12-14 percent in the number of tourists. In 2017, the province welcomed over 1.2 million visitors, up 61.29 percent against 2010, with tourism revenue rising 3.5 times during this period. In 2018, Ca Mau served more than 1.4 million tourists, a rise of 16 percent year-on-year, with a revenue of 2.2 trillion VND (94.6 million USD). Major tourism routes of the locality include Ca Mau-U Minh Ha National Park-Hon Da Bac, Ca Mau-Song Trem eco-tourism area, and Ca Mau-Mui Ca Mau National Park-Dat Mui Tourist Site. Thanks to a developed and connected road system, the province has formed four tourist areas and 14 community-based eco-tourism sites. In the five years since Mui Ca Mai National Park launched its community-based ecotourism service, which was supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, local tourism has seen rapid growth. According to Phan Quoc Khai, Director of the Mui Ca Mau National Park, the annual number of domestic visitors to the park has risen over the years to reach roughly 300,000 people in recent times. Tran Hong Quan, Vice Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Ca Mau, said that ecotourism and community-based tourism are now the major tourism products of Ca Mau. Therefore, the locality has focused on plans to preserve and develop the Mui Ca Mau mangrove forest ecotourism area and U Minh Ha National Park ecotourism area; along with the tourism sites of Hon Khoai, Hon Da Bac, and Khai Long beach. However, insiders held that Ca Maus tourism industry lacks professionalism and needs to select key highlights. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, from the Ca Mau Tourism Promotion Centre, said that compared to other regional localities, tourism development in Ca Mau has yet to match its full potential and live up to its advantages. The localitys tourism products have yet to meet the demand of tourists, while tourism promotion has been ineffective. According to the Mekong Delta Tourism Association, the number of foreign tourists travelling to Ca Mau has remained modest as out of the 2.8 million foreign tourists to the region, only 25,000 (less than 1 percent) travel to Ca Mau. Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Tran Hieu Hung said that localities in the province are not yet active in developing tourism products and community-based tourism models, while the transport infrastructure to tourism sites has been poor and incentives for tourism businesses has remained modest. Only 50 percent of the tourism workforce has been trained, affecting the quality of tourism services, he added. Amidst the current situation, Quan said that in the future, the province will design a number of preferential policies to attract more investment in tourism, including those related to land use and ground clearance. Ca Mau will encourage businesses to invest in ecotourism development in Mui Ca Mau and U Minh Ha National Parks. Poor areas will be supported to develop infrastructure system for tourism expansion, he said. Hoa Phat exports over 6,000 tonnes of rolled steel to Japan Hoa Phat, a major industrial group in Vietnam, said it is preparing its shipment of 6,000 tonnes of high-quality rolled steel to Japan. This is the first shipment to Japan carried out by Hoa Phats newly opened Hoa Phat Dung Quat Iron and Steel Production Complex in the central province of Quang Ngai. Prior to the complex opening, Hoa Phats overseas shipments were often sent via the Hai Phong port in the northern city of Hai Phong. The steel will be delivered to four ports in Japan using two shipping vessels. Last year, Hoa Phats rolled steel exports to Japan soared 20 times to over 58,500 tonnes. In the first five months of 2019, the groups total steel exports to the market are estimated to reach 22,000 tonnes. The Hoa Phat Dung Quat complex is designed to have a total of 11 ports, able to handle up to 32 million tonnes of goods each year. More solar power plants to come into operation in June Deputy director of the National Load Dispatch Center Nguyen Duc Ninh said that the national power supply will increase when many new solar power plants come into operation in June. By the end of April this year, there were only four solar power plants being put into operation but by mid-May this year, there were 27 plants. It is expected that there will be 88 more plants in operation by the end of June. Regarding power supply, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said that power load in the first four months of this year reached 74.35 billion kWh, 628 million kWh higher than this years plan, up 11 percent over the same period last year. It is expected that in May and June, power load will continue to increase to 42.8 billion kWh, an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period last year. Maximum capacity is expected to be at 37,000- 39,000 MW, up 11-14 percent over the same period last year. Besides, due to El Nino phenomenon, water volume at hydropower reservoirs is forecasted to remain at low level in central and central highlands provinces in May and June. However, Mr. Ngo Son Hai, deputy CEO of EVN, affirmed that power supply will be sufficient during dry season as well as the rest of the year. Several products exported to Japan see slumps in turnover According to the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first quarter of this year, although export turnover of Vietnam to Japans market rose 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year, some key export products have seen sharp declines. Particularly, exports of cell phones and components dropped heavily compared to the same period last year when merely reaching US$98.2 million, a decrease of 31.9 percent. This was caused by a slump in production of Samsung. The groups global cell phone sales in the last quarter of last year were merely 70.4 million units, the lowest level in the past six years. Exports of vegetables and fruits also slightly slid by 0.5 percent compared to the same period last year to touch $28.2 million. In addition, the number of shipments of agricultural products exported to Japan being returned is higher than previous years, causing shipments of fresh dragon fruit to be intensively checked for 30 percent of total shipments imported into Japan. Because of difficult customs clearance, some Japanese importers have become more cautious of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. At the same time, some steel and iron products and automobile spare parts also tend to decline. Deputy PM chairs meeting of Vietnamese, Russian businesses Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung addresses the meeting Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on May 21 chaired a meeting between representatives of 100 Vietnamese firms in Vietnam and Russia and Russian businesses to foster partnerships between the two sides. Addressing the event, the Deputy PM lauded the efforts of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Russia in carrying out investment and charity activities in the homeland, as well as their solidarity and mutual support. Vietnam and Russia have shared a time-honoured relationship and close partnership in many areas. Vietnam is currently the only strategic partner of Russia in the Asia-Pacific region, he noted. He said that over a decade as strategic partners, economics, and trade have always been a spotlight in the all-round ties between the two countries. Dung, who is accompanying PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his Russia visit, said that the PMs visit aims to further deepen the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and seek new development orientations for the future. In 2020, Vietnam and Russia will celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations which obtained great achievements across politics-diplomacy, economy-trade, security-defence, science-technology, education-training, culture, and tourism. The Vietnam-Russia ties have been intensified in four major pillars of trade, investment, oil and gas, and electricity. Two-way trade has been rising, while cooperation models have been diversified. In 2018, trade between the two countries reached 4.57 billion USD, up 28.6 percent from 2017, which is hoped to hit 10 billion USD in 2020, noted the Deputy PM, praising the significant role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Russia in promoting Vietnamese products in the market. The Deputy PM said that Vietnam is speeding up industrialisation and modernisation process, requiring entrepreneurs, especially those abroad, to attract more investments in the homeland and seek markets for Vietnamese products. Vietnam has been pursuing an external policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of its relations, becoming a friend with all countries and engaging in many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and new generation free trade deals. This is a good condition and a chance for Vietnam to lure more investment, he said. He expressed his hope that Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Russia will continue reforming business and production methods to meet the market demands, while bettering coordination with their peers at home to expand markets in the region. Chairman of the Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association in Russia Le Truong Son said that the meeting is a good chance for businesses of both sides to share experience and enhance mutual understanding. At the event, participants worked directly with each other to seek business and investment partnerships. Macaus biggest junket operator Suncity Group will open its own US$4-billion casino-integrated resort in Vietnam by years end, Bloomberg reported. The companys integrated resort is located in Hoi An, near the emerging tourist destination of Da Nang in central Vietnam. The company plans a soft opening at the end of this year with 140 gaming tables and 300 slot machines. About 70% of the initial revenue is expected to come from VIP gamblers, but Suncity is confident Vietnams economy is strong enough to bring in more mass gamblers. So far, Suncity and its partners have invested more than US$1 billion in the project, which is expected to take 13 years to complete. Suncity said more than 30% of the groups revenue now comes from markets outside Macau, compared with 10% five years ago. The overseas push comes as Suncity expects that its betting volume will drop by 10% to 15% in Macau in the second half of the year, as tensions from the US-China trade war and stricter industry regulations damp VIP sentiment. Suncitys urgency to diversify beyond Macau is the latest indication that a major shift is taking place in the gaming hub and challenging its prospects for growth. A sluggish Chinese economy and stricter regulations, including a smoking ban in casinos, have been keeping high-end customers away from the baccarat tables. The emergence of regional gaming spots across Asia is offering an attractive alternative to Chinese high rollers, who increasingly feel more comfortable further away from Beijing. Overall casino revenue at the worlds largest gaming hub slumped 8.3% in April, the most in almost three years, with the VIP segment sinking 23% from a year earlier. Union Gaming analysts Grant Govertsen and John DeCree said in a note on May 20 that there is a growing realization that Macau VIP play is bleeding to regional markets, with Cambodia and Vietnam being the primary beneficiaries. While its typical for high rollers to try out regional resorts and eventually return to Macau, analysts said this time is different. The regional properties have improved in quality, and infrastructural expansion has made them easier to reach, they wrote, noting that junket operators are sending a steady stream of Macau players to these locations. Hanoitimes Hai Yen Vietnams industrial real estate is undergoing a turnaround to cash in on the rising wave of foreign capital influx and factories moving out of China. Early last month, a representative from a large China-based engine manufacturer was busy searching for a suitable site to feed their production expansion plan in Vietnam. We are looking for a site that is spacious and has the requisite infrastructure to engage in ship and auto engine manufacturing to serve the fast-growing demand in Vietnam as well as in export markets, said the company representative. Early this year, TTI, Inc., a world-class leader in power tools, outdoor power equipment, floor care, and appliances from the US, expressed interest in developing a solar panel manufacturing plant and a research and development centre in southern Vietnam. This movement has pushed their vendors to follow in their footsteps. According to BW Industrial Development JSC, the leading for-rent industrial real estate developer has secured two of TTIs suppliers at My Phuoc 3 Industrial Park (IP) and is receiving more enquiries from these customer groups. International investors like TTI are creating a strong impulse to drive the development of the industrial real estate market across Vietnam. The US administrations fresh announcement of raising tariffs on Chinese imports into the US is threatening the progress achieved in recent negotiations between the two countries. There is no end in sight for the US-China trade war, which is augmenting the wave of investors moving out of China to avoid impacts on their production plans. In anticipation of new foreign direct investment streams into Vietnam, global equity fund Warburg Pincus and local partner Becamex IDC last year teamed up to establish BW Industrial Development JSC with an initial seed capital of around $200 million. The fledgling company is expected to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for modern logistics warehouses, as well as build-to-suit and ready-built factories in Vietnam. The trend of shifting manufacturing from China to Vietnam is bringing many opportunities for industrial real estate developers like us. We have acquired over 230 hectares of projects over the country in 2018 and will expand by another 170ha in 2019 to meet the rising call from our customers, said Michael Chan, head of sales and marketing of BW Industrial. The jump in the number of foreign businesses setting up shop in Vietnam leads to ever-increasing demand for high-specification factories across the country. The trend of leasing out ready-built and build-to-suit factories is, thereby, booming at major IPs in the country. Ready-built factories are flexible in size, helping investors to quickly set up production, while build-to-suit factories are tailor-made to fit with companies business plan and budget, while balancing design and function elements. Ecco Vietnam managing director Alexander Christopher Falter shared, We aim to put in place a large shoe manufacturing facility in Vietnam and we plan to build a factory by ourselves. However, Ecco is a cautious company so we wanted to lease ready-built factories in the first five years before taking further steps. We had visited a great many IPs in southern Vietnam before visiting Bau Bang by BW Industrial, where we found ready-built factories with modern and contemporary design, perfectly fitting our requirements. Especially, with active support from the developer, it only took four months since the date we received the business license until we officially began production, Falter said. Ready-built factories from esteemed developers prove the best solution to address particular demands from both domestic and foreign businesses at the moment. Chan from BW Industrial explained that the company offers a wide portfolio of factories that are flexible in size from 500 square metres to meet investors abundant demand. With nine projects located in five key metropolises, we are well-positioned to support investor plans for business development in Vietnam, he added. BW Industrial Development JSC has succeeded in courting big local and foreign investors such as Kaidi, Ecco, Condor, and Watanabe Rubber, to name but a few. The developers top target is to build up state-of-the art industrial and logistics real estate infrastructure that is best suited to the ever-growing demand from multinationals, logistics providers, and e-commerce businesses. VIR The attempted restriction on transaction value via e-wallet has faced strong opposition from both wallet users and goods and service providers. Under the draft circular on payment service management, transaction value via e-wallets must not be higher than VND20 million per day and VND100 million per month for individuals, and VND100 million per day and VND500 million per month for institutions. Even economists who think it is necessary to keep close watch over online payment transactions for security reasons also commented that asset holders must be given the right to use the assets as they want. A representative of the Vietnam Railway Corporation said with the limit of VND20 million daily, passengers may have to shift from making payment via e-wallets to banks mobile apps, because VND20 million, in many cases, would be not enough to buy tickets. VND20 million is not enough to pay for a brand-new smartphone, commented Nguyen Thanh, 49, in Dong Da district in Hanoi. With the limit of VND20 million daily, passengers may have to shift from making payment via e-wallets to banks mobile apps, because VND20 million, in many cases, would be not enough to buy tickets. Nguyen Thanh Hung from the Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom), said the monthly limit of VND100 million is a big problem if he wants to book a tour to Europe for him and his wife. Meanwhile, Tran Quang Huy from Fintechs Club, said the limitations are just like a kind of sub-license which the government tells ministries to remove in order to create an open business environment for enterprises. Once SBV sets transaction limits, it will indirectly set the revenue of all the 29 payment service providers (fintechs). If commercial banks also have e-wallets, the e-wallets of fintechs wont be able to compete with banks, Huy said. The explanation by SBV, the compiler of the draft circular, that e-wallets are used for small transactions has surprised institutions and businesses. Phung Anh Tuan from the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI) affirmed that the current laws dont have provisions which say e-wallets can be used only for small transactions. Moreover, there are no criteria for determining what small transactions means. Tuan also pointed out another unreasonable regulation which stipulates that clients can only use one e-wallet of one service provider. E-wallet service providers have been told to apply authentication measures to find out if clients use different mobile phone numbers, debit cards and payment accounts to register more than one e-wallet from one service provider. Clients are allowed to use three simcards for each network, while banks allow clients to open two or more accounts at one bank. Why can e-wallet service providers grant only one wallet to every client? he said. The latest report of Standard Chartered about cash digitalization in ASEAN showed that Vietnam tops the region in using cash for payment for online purchases, at 90.17 percent. RELATED NEWS Users concerned about e-wallet security Vietnam consumers become fonder of e-wallet Ha Dung When Chris Ryder pulled up his entries Monday evening and saw that Bettors Wish had drawn Post 6 for the $300,000 final of the Art Rooney Pace, the trainer was dismayed. However, the isolated snippet of Bettors Wishs post position didnt tell the whole story. After Ryder saw the full field, he was intrigued. When I saw I had the six hole on my USTA entry line, the full field wasnt there, it just showed my horse having the six hole, I thought, here we go again with a bad draw in the final, as usual, Ryder said. But then when the full field came out and I saw the good ones were outside of me, I thought, well, maybe its not so bad. When you have the six hole at Yonkers, the good thing about that is its not the seven and its not the eight. I think its very interesting. Its definitely opened up the race. Bettors Wish drew inside fellow Rooney elimination winner Air Force Hanover, who will start from Post 8 in the open-draw stakes. Blood Money, the runner-up to Bettors Wish last week, will start from Post 7. Im sure theres going to be action in this race, Ryder said. Its going to be a very interesting race. I think its a drivers race. Although Bettors Wish figures to be at the forefront of the action, the colt initially wasnt eligible to the race. A $20,000 buy from the 2017 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, Bettors Wish didnt stand out as a yearling or a two-year-old and had limited stakes engagements, primarily in Canada. We bought him off of Brittany Farm, Ryder remembered. I liked his video before I went to the sale, I liked his pedigree page. When I saw him, he was a bit small, but that didnt really put me off. He didnt particularly stand out, Ryder continued. Hes always trained well, but did he really stand out? Not completely. But he qualified well straight away at Chester (Harrahs Philadelphia). Even now, you wouldnt know hes in the barn. Hes really quiet, hes not a flashy colt. He just does everything pretty well. After starting his career with a pair of qualifiers at Harrahs Philadelphia last June, Ryder sent Bettors Wish to Chantal Mitchell in Ontario. The colt won on debut in a Woodbine Mohawk Park overnight on July 5 and was then second-placed-first in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold race two weeks later. Bettors Wish won an elimination of the Battle of Waterloo at Grand River Raceway and was second in the final before notching another OSS Gold victory on August 15. After a pair of placings in Kentucky Sire Stakes and a fourth in the final, Bettors Wish shipped back to Ontario and won another OSS Gold race before finishing second in his OSS Gold Final to cap his freshman season. Ryder gave Bettors Wish a break before he returned to the barn to train down for his three-year-old season. The colt had started to grow up and he made a good impression. Hes grown up a little bit, hes physically filled out. Hes still not a big horse, but hes big enough, Ryder said. We gave him six weeks out in the field, left him alone completely. We trained him down normally. We were happy with him training back. He just trained really well. Ryder was so pleased with Bettors Wish that when the February 15 deadline came to supplement the colt to the Art Rooney, he pulled the trigger and paid the $6,000 fee, favouring the Hilltop stakes over an OSS leg. When I was doing the staking, I noticed there was a supplement to the Rooney, Ryder said. I saw it was available and I thought, you know what, we might as well take a shot. Its $300,000 instead of $80,000 or $90,000 Canadian on the same day. So, we opted to cough up the extra $6,000 to make him eligible. After a qualifying win in 1:53.3 on April 16 at Harrahs Philadelphia, Ryder brought Bettors Wish to Yonkers to test the waters in a $20,000 overnight on April 29. Sent off as the 6-5 favourite, Bettors Wish raced in the pocket, but driver Dexter Dunn edged him to the outside with five-sixteenths to pace. He advanced alongside leader Twin B Tuffenuff while passing the three-quarters, extended through the stretch, and ultimately won by one and three-quarter lengths in 1:52. Obviously, I brought him to Yonkers to race him in that overnight race specifically because we were going to the Rooney, Ryder commented. Hes been on a half in Canada in the Battle of Waterloo and he handled it, so that made it easier to supplement. Seeing that Bettors Wish was ready for the Rooney eliminations May 18, Ryder opted to qualify the three-year-old at the Meadowlands on May 11 rather than race again. Bettors Wish then cruised in his elimination, as he scored a gate-to-wire win in 1:53.2 with a :27.1 final quarter. We just went to the Meadowlands to qualify because I really didnt think he needed a race, Ryder said. He was ready, just qualified him wanting to keep him fresh. Thats all he needed, particularly when you have an elimination and a final. I was really happy with his elimination, Ryder continued. I was happy with the way he got away from the gate and happy with the way he finished. It wasnt a particularly tough race, which I was pleased about. Youd rather have an easier race than a tougher race with the final coming up. The driver was happy and I think the horse is happy. Entering the final Saturday night (May 25), Bettors Wish is 7-for-14 for Bella Racing Ltd., Fair Island Farm, and Ken Solomon, who own in partnership with Ryder. Dexter Dunn, who has driven Bettors Wish in each start so far this year, will take the lines again. Ryder is happy to be paired with the New Zealand transplant. Hes been dedicated to driving since he was a little fellow, and hes always been good at it. Im not surprised to see him doing as well as he is. And Im very happy to have Dexter on the horse, Ryder said. His father was a good friend of mine growing up. I kind of encouraged him to come over here. Its not an easy decision for the guy whos the leading driver in New Zealand to come somewhere where you might struggle for a few years. Hes done extremely well. The full field for the $300,000 Art Rooney Final appears below. (Post Horse Driver Trainer Morning Line Odds) 1 Captain Malicious Mark MacDonald Ray Schnittker 8-1 2 Rollwithpapajoe Joe Bongiorno Jenn Bongiorno 7-1 3 Branquinho Tyler Buter Ray Schnittker 7-1 4 Buddy Hill Brian Sears Marcus Melander 6-1 5 Price Hanover Dan Dube Tom Cancelliere 12-1 6 Bettors Wish Dexter Dunn Chris Ryder 7-2 7 Blood Money Scott Zeron Nancy Johansson 5-2 8 Air Force Hanover David Miller Brian Brown 5-1 Saturday nights card will also feature the $109,234 final of the Lismore Pace, along with the regular $44,000 pacing and trotting co-features. Yonkers will see its first race roll behind the starter at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday. (SOA of NY) A high number of steel manufacturers have reported loss as export markets have shrunk, while the domestic battle is fierce because of competition. An analyst said steel manufacturers are experiencing the toughest period in their history: in the domestic market, supply exceeds demand, while in the world market, they face international lawsuits. Steel is a key product of many countries and an oversupply is seen all over the world. Countries are setting technical barriers to protect local industry. The Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) on May 8 announced anti-dumping duties on some hot rolled coil steel imports from Vietnam, ranging between 2 and 13.68 percent. The duties will be applied for two years, which means that Vietnams steel products will find it difficult to enter the market in the coming two years. Steel manufacturers are experiencing the toughest period in their history: in the domestic market, supply exceeds demand, while in the world market, they face international lawsuits. Vietnams steel products have to bear anti-dumping duties imposed by regional countries, Europe and the US for the last few years, which has pushed many steel manufacturers against the wall. This, plus the prolonged trade war which prompted Chinese enterprises to boost exports to Vietnam, has made the situation more serious for Vietnam. Many steel manufacturers have reported low growth rates and profit reduction in Q1 in comparison with the same period last year. Nam Kim Steel JSC (NKG), for instance, has reported a loss of VND102 billion in Q1, attributing this to the input material price fluctuations. Prior to that, the company unexpectedly reported a loss of VND173 billion for Q4 2018. Pomina (POM) reported a slight increase in revenue in Q1 (VND3.124 trillion, 2.7 percent). Of this, domestic sales made up 72 percent, while exports brought 28.25 percent. However, the post-tax profit of the holding company was minus VND83.66 billion because of the high cost price, 9.3 percent higher than the same period last year. As for SMC Investment & Trade, though its Q1 revenue increased by 27 percent, the profit decreased by 50 percent. Even Hoa Sen, a big sheet metal manufacturer, is also meeting big difficulties, witnessing revenue decreasing since Q3 2018, from VND10.35 trillion in Q3 2018 to VND8.561 trillion in Q4 2018 and VND7.557 trillion in Q1 2019. The profits were unsatisfactory, dropping from VND82 billion in Q3 2018 to minus VND101.8 billion the next quarter and then increasing to VND60.6 billion in Q1 2019. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh, at a conference on May 2 discussing how to exploit the CPTPP trade agreement to boost exports, commented that Vietnam needs to develop hot rolled coil (HRC). If not, Vietnams steel manufacturing industry will not be able to export and can only exploit the domestic 100 million-consumer market. RELATED NEWS Vietnams steel manufacturing in a whirlwind of lawsuits Chinese steel manufacturers flock to Vietnam to avoid US trade war Mai Lan The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is under the process of drafting up the investment law on the basis of public-private partnership (PPP), the governmental portal reported. In Vietnam, the Vietnamese government started adopting the PPP model in 1997 with the issuance of decree No.77, stipulating investment regulation under the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT) for domestic investment. Currently, PPP activities and investors selection process are regulated in decree No.63 and 30. As of the end of January, a total of 336 PPP projects have completed signing contracts, including 140 BOT projects, 188 build-transfer (BT) projects and eight projects under other forms of contract, according to a governments report. The report also suggested through PPP form, the government has been able to mobilize capital from the private sector to address urgent needs for infrastructure development. Nevertheless, it is essential to continue perfecting the PPP regulation to better reflect the actual practices, stated the report. In the new investment law, the MPI proposed PPP form be applied to projects under B category and onwards. According to the revised public investment law, projects in fields of transportation and electricity, among others, with investment capital from VND240 billion (US$10.2 million) to VND4.6 trillion (US$197 million) are classified as B category. Statistics showed 233 out of 336 projects have investment capital of over VND200 billion (US$8.56 million) each, accounting for 69.34% of the total, excluding BT projects, total projects with investment capital over VND200 billion would be 113 out of 148 projects, or 76.35% of the total. Under this circumstance, the MPI proposed setting an investment capital threshold for PPP project at VND200 billion (US$8.56 million). Additionally, PPP projects with investment capital of over VND20 trillion (US$856.56 million) are subject to the approval of the National Assembly, while projects from VND4.5 trillion (US$192.7 million) onwards are subject to Prime Ministers approval, including projects with state capital from over VND1.5 trillion (US$64.23 million). Hanoitimes Ngoc Thuy The government has so far advanced USD97 million to pay debts for the Phuong Nam Pulp Mill which is one among 12 loss-making projects of the Ministry of Indsutry and Trade. Phuong Nam Pulp Mill has been offered for sale for a third time The government recently reported to the National Assembly on the public loans and debts in 2018 and updated the operation of the Debt Accumulation Fund which had a balance of VND82.7 trillion by December 31. According to the Government report, the fund advanced USD8.13 million to repay the debts of the Phuong Nam Pulp Mill last year, raising the total amount to USD97 million by far. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Phuong Nam Pulp Mill hasn't been able to sell the mill's assets to repay the fund, the report said. The loss-making Phuong Nam Pulp Mill, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Paper Corporation (Vinapaco), was auctioned off in July 2017 with an initial price of VND1.885 trillion (USD82.94 million). According to the Vietnam Auction Company, Phuong Nams entire fixed assets, goods inventory and usage rights of a 453,755 sqm plot of land in Thuan Nghia commune of Thach Hoa district, has been put up for sale. The pulp mill is one of the 12 state-owned projects under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade which have incurred huge losses over recent years. Over VND3.4 trillion (US$149.6 million) has been poured in the Long An province-based mill but the mill has been unable to operate effectively as malfunctions were continuously encountered since its initial trial run. Tracodi, a company under the Ministry of Transport, initially provided investment for the project in 2003, but it was later transferred to Vinapaco in 2009. According to an independent consultant hired by Vinapaco, in the optimal conditions, the mill would incur a loss of VND4 million (USD176) per tonne of product. Besides Phuong Nam, the fund also has also advanced USD44 million to pay debts for the La Son-Tuy Loan Expressway project which was carried out by the Ministry of Transport. Some other loss-making projects include the Ninh Binh Fertilizer Plant, the Bio-Ethanol Dung Quat Plant, and the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant. According to the ministry, as of December 31, 2017, the 12 inefficient projects had total equity of VND33.41 billion, down VND4 trillion over the same period in 2016, while their assets and debts were VND58 trillion and VND58.5 trillion, up by VND366.7 billion and VND3.4 trillion respectively. Nguoi Lao Dong/Dtinews Vietnam should take advantage of the next wave of digital technologies such as blockchain, AI, IoT and cloud-based services to become Asias next high-performing economy and improve the living standards of its residents, experts said. Dr Lucy Cameron, lead author of the report Viet Nams Future Digital Economy Towards 2030 and 2045, speaks at a meeting held on Wednesday in the city. Dr Lucy Cameron, lead author of the Viet Nams Future Digital Economy Towards 2030 and 2045 report and Australian senior research consultant, said the country should carefully navigate a number of risks while undertaking digital transformation. Viet Nam has been one of the worlds fastest-growing economies and has already become one of the most dynamic countries in the East Asia region, she said. A boom in digital hardware and software exports has occurred, and Viet Nams young population is rapidly taking up new mobile internet services, the report said. The Government is also implementing Industry 4.0 policies to modernise major existing industries and develop new ones, it added. Digital transition is expected to add about 1.1 per cent of GDP growth each year for Viet Nam by 2045, while Viet Nams growth is fast and inclusive, which is suitable for digital transformation, according to Cameron. But to sustain high growth, Viet Nam will need to overcome substantial challenges, Cameron said. The population is ageing, while climate change and rapid development is straining the environment and food production as the country rapidly urbanises. The workforce needs to learn higher-level skills, especially as jobs are becoming automated in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Nguyen Van Binh, chairman of the Central Economic Commission, said that mastering the digital economy created an opportunity for Viet Nam to maintain rapid and sustainable growth through the next phase of development. Strong leadership and institutions will be key in Viet Nams development across all economic sectors, including the private sector, he said. Digital transformation resulting from this strong leadership will unblock bottlenecks to promote further economic development. Chu Ngoc Anh, minister of Science and Technology, said the report provided a blueprint for the country to plan for the countrys digital future. It is a tremendous example of successful collaboration between our national innovation systems, he said. Craig Chittick, Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam, said the report was the first major output of the Aus4Innovation partnership between Australia and Viet Nam. It will guide our work over the next three years as we deepen the collaborative linkages between our two countries and help strengthen the Vietnamese innovation system as it adapts to the challenges and opportunities of the digital economy, he said. Australia has worked with Viet Nam to identify seven mega-trends affecting Viet Nams future digital economy. These include the impact of emerging digital technologies, new export markets for Viet Nam, the development of modern digital infrastructure, the push to smart cities, the rise of digital skills and services, and changing consumer behaviours. Mega-trends informed the reports development of four potential future scenarios, which provide a blueprint for decision-makers to plan for Viet Nams future digital economy. With a young population, high investment and a location in the heart of high-growth Asian economies, Viet Nam has a good chance of surging forward with new digital tools, if the transition is managed well. Digital economy In 2017, the Viet Nams Future Digital Economy Towards 2030 and 2045 report was launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. The report provides economic modelling for potential scenarios of growth for Viet Nams digital economy up to 2045. It aims to serve as a strategic decision-making tool for leaders in government and businesses negotiating the new wave of digital innovation and the next phase of economic development. The first report Viet Nam Today, which was released last year, examined the state of Viet Nams macro-economy and digital economy. The present report, which was released in May, updates this research and examines the state of Viet Nams economy and digital economy in early 2019 with a main focus on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The report is part of the Viet Nams Future Digital Economy project, an innovative joint venture between the governments of Viet Nam and Australia. The project is the first major output of the Aus4Innovation programme launched in 2017 by the governments of Viet Nam and Australia. VNS A recent draft circular on safety limits for banking operations, which applies a credit risk ratio three times higher than the current ratio, has created controversy among real estate consultants, developers, and buyers. High-end properties are historically the first to suffer from any major jolts in market changes. Photo: Le Toan According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), a new legal document aims to limit loans for the high-end real estate segment to ensure the sustainable development of the market and safety of the banking sector. In a statement, the bank said, The SBV will continue to control all loans for individuals especially in the high-end segment of accommodation. The draft circular, however, has caused a shock to the whole market. It sets limits and a safety ratio for bank operations to apply a credit risk ratio of 150 per cent as from January 1, 2020 for any home purchasing loan worth more than VND3 billion ($130,430), three times higher than the current ratio of 50 per cent. According to many experts, that increase of credit tightening for homes could undermine the real estate market. Banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said that this limit would have a very big impact on the market. If this draft circular is put into force, homebuyers will have to burden a very high interest from banks for their loans. This can have negative impacts on borrowers and it also decreases the liquidity of the entire market, said Hieu. Loans for buying homes now are mostly for the mid- and long-term, from five to 15 years. At some banks. the period can be as long as 20 years, Hieu continued. Therefore this credit squeezing will force bankers to increase long-term credit to restructure their capital resources. In fact, to minimise their risk, lenders will mostly have short-term credit at the banks. And, in a circular fashion, to attract long-term loans, banks will have to increase their saving interest and the loan interest therefore also must be increased. Considering the long-term According to Nguyen Van Dinh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association for Realtors, tightened credit in any segment would also impact the investment and transactions of the market. If this is long-lasting, it will impact the high-end segment at a time when Vietnam is on its way to making the infrastructure system more complete in both modern urban and residential areas, Dinh said. Therefore, the tightening for the high-end segment should be in the short-term only, in an aim to avoid negative impacts on the market, especially in cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. A real estate developer who declined to be named told VIR that, with high-end apartment units starting from VND3 billion ($130,430) and villas being priced from VND7 billion ($304,350), the majority of buyers are using loans from banks, especially investors who buy the property and then re-sell it for profit or set up for lease. This developer said that instead of limiting credit for buyers, banks should review all current loans for developers and wipe out discredit and incapable ones to avoid incoming credit risks. Former Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam agreed that credit limitation should not be applied at this moment. The limit for loans worth more than VND3 billion ($130,430) is not reasonable, because only wealthy people can afford them and people should not be limited because they are incapable in paying loans, Nam said. Instead of limiting credit in homes, Nam said, the SBV should limit loans on land purchasing, since in most cases people are buying land plots and keep it for price hikes. Therefore, they bear much risk if their land cannot be sold and they would not be able to pay loans to the banks. The solution to market control Despite facing opposition on the drafts details, banking experts also said that under the view of controlling the market, credit tightening is a must-need solution. According to economist Vo Tri Thanh, if the limit is put into force, developers may be faced with obstacles in the short-term. However, businesses could be better off over time. We should not soon conclude that credit tightening into real estate would make only a negative impact yet. We must have close control on the market to avoid bubbling in the real estate market which will have a domino effect into the whole economy, Thanh said. This tightening may have temporary impacts to real estate developers but it will make the market more stable and healthy in the long-term. Nguyen Manh Ha, vice chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said that the credit squeeze on the high-end segment was significant because experience from previous crises in real estate shows that the high-end segment would be the most impacted. Large units with high prices must be controlled because these are the foremost segments to be impacted when the market experience any turbulence, Ha said. Elsewhere, Nguyen Manh Khoi, deputy director of the Ministry of Constructions Department for Housing and Property Market Management, said that the draft circular is expected to have positive impacts on the market, but it needs some time to prove the effects. The central banks tightening of credit for real estate will also be a chance for businesses to restructure their investment strategies and financial resources from other channels such as international partners or from issuing bonds or stakes in the security market, not to be too dependent on bankers, Khoi said. Draft circular on credit tightening The State Bank of Vietnam is currently gathering opinions from the public on a draft circular about limits and safety ratio for bank operations in credit institutions and foreign banks, to replace Circular No.36/2014/TT-NHNN regulating prudential ratios for the operations of credit institutions and foreign banks. Accordingly, a credit risk ratio of 150 per cent is to apply for any home purchasing loan worth more than VND3 billion ($130,430) as from January 1, 2020. The central bank also plans to apply risk ratio of 50 per cent for loans which are deposited by house, land, and construction sites for the purpose of doing business; loans for individuals to buy social housing, and buying houses from projects supported by government; and individual loans worth below VND1.5 billion ($65,220). It also expects to reduce the short-term funds used for mid- and long-term loans from 40 per cent by June 30, 2020 to 35 per cent from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, and to 30 per cent from July 1, 2021 onward. The aim is to limit loans for the high-end real estate segment to ensure the sustainable development of the real estate market and safety of the banking sector. Apartments sold in the first quarter of 2019 Attributed to the governments tightening of credit into real estate, in the first quarter of 2019, there were 4,423 newly-launched units in Ho Chi Minh City, a fall of 54 per cent on-year. In times of limited new supply, inventory is being absorbed very positively, evidenced through busy activities at recent sales events. There were 5,924 units that were sold in this quarter, 1.3 times higher than the new supply level. Meanwhile in the first quarter of this year, the Hanoi condominium market recorded one of the highest number of units launched in a quarter. A total of 11,822 units were launched from 26 projects, up by 46 per cent as compared to the same period of 2018. An estimated 9,390 units were sold during the quarter, 36 per cent higher than that of the same period of last year. Ben Gray - Director of Capital Markets Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam The proposed adjustment to the risk weighting of residential properties will require a lender to carry a capital cushion relative to these loans of 1.5 times the loan amount. This mirrors Circular 36s requirement for banks to increase their risk weighting for lending into the real estate sector and is a sensible move by the SBV to bring bank lending into the real estate sector under control, and in line with international standard for capital adequacy ratios (CAR). In the short term, this may see bank lending to buyers of residential developers product slow nominally. However, the retail home buyer mortgage market accounts for a very low volume of primary sales made by developers as their projects are released to market. The penetration of retail mortgage debt into the market in Vietnam is very low at 4.7 per cent of GDP. Compare this to Singapore at over 52 per cent and Malaysia at 44 per cent of GDP, it can be seen that buyers in Vietnam do not borrow from banks at nearly the same level as our regional peers at present. Developers should therefore not see a significant impact on sales velocity in the short-term, and we feel that the banks need to increase lending into this market, so will be incentivised to ensure that their CAR are sufficient. LE HOANG CHAU - Chairman, Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association We suggest the SBV extend the application of regulations on banks maximum ratio of short-term funds used for medium- and long-term loans until the end of 2020 instead of June 2020 as expected. We propose the rate should be reduced to 37 per cent starting from January 1, 2021, 34 per cent from July 1, 2021, and 30 per cent from July 1, 2022. The moves were announced after the SBV released a draft circular stipulating that the maximum ratio of short-term funds used for medium- and long-term loans at banks would be reduced from the current 45 per cent to 40 per cent from 2019 to June 30, 2020. Under the SBVs draft circular, the rates of 37 and 30 per cent will be applied from July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, respectively. This draft circular, if put into force, will damage the real estate market as property enterprises are in dire need of medium- and long-term loans. It has been explained that due to the large proportion of short-term capital in banks total mobilised capital, lenders will find it difficult to meet the demand of the real estate market. Peter Ryder - CEO, Indochina Capital The Vietnamese government is definitely tightening credit, which will make it more difficult for people to borrow. We are foreign developers who also depend on local credit. Typically, we invest around 50 per cent equity and then borrow 50 per cent from local banks, not foreign banks. This is because we want to match the revenue with the debt in VND. I think there is going to be an impact via these changes. Successful real estate developers will continue to be able to borrow from banks because they have track record and have feasible projects. So it wont really impact too much on foreign developers compared to domestic ones. Especially, it may be more difficult for domestic developers who are inexperienced and have a poor borrowing track record. However, I think there will continue to be enough credit to support the developers. The tightening also helps make the market become healthier because credit institutions and banks should be forced to be very careful and stay out of trouble. If we look at the global financial crisis we can see that actions from banks can kill the economy. Many bankers were arrested for giving loans to developers with poor track records, and have to burden bad debts. VIR Bich Ngoc Vietnams top leaders have asserted the strategic role of the domestic private sector in some statements as many privately-run conglomerates have shown their superiority to state-owned ones. Party Chief and President Nguyen Phu Trong said that it should have some wise guidance in running the economy. Illustrative photo That private sector must be treated fair without any discrimination, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Nguyen Phu Trong said at the 10th plenary session of the Party Central Committee on May 16. There must have noteworthy rewards and titles for good private enterprises, the president said, noting that private sector is showing good performances in the economy, local media has reported. Journalist Nhi Le, deputy editor-in-chief of the CPV-run Tap Chi Cong San (Communist Magazine), said the presidents statement reveals a long-term planning with specific tactics. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh in his speech delivered at the National Assemblys 7th session on May 20 said that the government is creating favorable conditions for some big private corporations to come into being and to be able to compete with regional and global peers. In a report submitted to the NA at the 7th session, the government has designated private sector as a driving force for the economy. How big of Vietnams private sector? Wage in private sector in 2008-2017. Source: AmCham Vietnam Private investment capital and the number of private companies account for the highest ratio and mark the fastest growth rate in the economy, VietNamNet cited the governments report as saying. The growth rate of private investment capital and private companies was at 9.5%, 17.1%, and 18.5% in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively, compared to 7.3%, 6.9%, and 3.9% in the state sector, and 10.4%, 12.8%, and 9.6% in the foreign-invested sector. In terms of revenues, in 2016 non-state sector fetched VND9.7 million (US$422 billion) in revenues, accounting for 56% of the whole economy, compared with VND2.88 million (US$120 billion) by the state sector. In terms of profits, in the same year private firms earned VND188 trillion (US$8 billion), accounting for 26.4% of the whole economy. Meanwhile, state-owned enterprises reaped VND197 trillion (US$8.5 billion), making up 27.7% of total profits of enterprises in Vietnam. Regarding contributions to the state budget, the private sector contributed VND434.7 trillion (US$19 billion) to the state budget in 2016, the largest part among three economic sectors; whereas, the state sector added VND277.3 trillion (US$12 billion) to the state coffer in the same year. In terms of jobs, as of 2016, private firms employed 8.57 million people, compared to 1.31 million by state-owned enterprises. In 2018, investment in the private sector hit VND1,850 trillion (US$80 billion), up 18.5% on year. The figure accounted for 43.3% of the total investment. In comparison, the investment in state sector was VND619 trillion (US$27 billion), up 3.9% on year while that from FIEs was VND434 trillion (US$18.5 billion), up 9.6% on year, economist Nguyen Minh Phong told The Leader. Challenges to non-state sector Vietnam's domestic credit to private sector for years. Source: World Bank/Tradingeconomics The private sector is undeniably strong in the economy. However, this sector has somehow been unfairly treated and sometimes troubled by management agencies namely customs, taxation, among others. In other words, they are operating in an unhealthy environment. Economist Nguyen Minh Phong has addressed the biggest challenge to the non-state sector is authorities-backed enterprises which are covered up by state officials to take advantages of state resources and get privileges. A survey conducted in 2016 by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) showed that more than 40% of 2,600 small- and medium-sized private enterprises working in manufacturing in 10 localities had to bear informal costs such as bribing state agencies. The rate was 64% in 2015. Vietnam needs breakthroughs in management mechanism in a substantive way to make private sector a driving force of the economy, economist Nguyen Minh Phong emphasized. Hanoitimes Linh Pham Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev discussed measures to enhance the two countries cooperation during talks in Moscow on May 22. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (R) welcomes his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Moscow on May 22nh: The host welcomed PM Phucs official visit, affirming that Russia always wishes to strengthen the countries comprehensive strategic partnership. In return, PM Phuc reiterated that Vietnam always treasures traditional cooperation and friendship with Russia. The two leaders highlighted the importance of organising the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam in 2019 and 2020, describing these as major events in bilateral ties, contributions to the time-tested friendship, and a new driving force for their cooperation. They said political relations have continually been solidified with frequent mutual visits and meetings at all levels and through all channels. They noted with satisfaction that as a result of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union that came into force in 2016, Vietnam-Russia trade and investment have made strong progress as bilateral trade reached 4.57 billion USD (over 6 billion USD in Russian data) in 2018, up 28.6 percent year-on-year. To further tap into their trade partnership potential, the two sides said they will continue working together to create conditions for their businesses and goods to enter each others markets. The two PMs affirmed that energy is one of the most important pillars of Vietnam-Russia cooperation. They agreed to promote businesses cooperation in oil and gas exploration and exploitation in Vietnams continental shelf and Russias territory. They shared the view that despite the many projects proposed and carried out, much potential remains in investment partnership between their countries. They also welcomed Vietnamese and Russian firms attention to collaboration in developing urban transport and railway infrastructure in Vietnam. The leaders also agreed to accelerate the construction of a research centre for nuclear science and technology in the Southeast Asian nation. Highly valuing the fruitful cooperation in defence-security, PM Phuc and PM Medvedev said it has helped enhance the two countries strategic mutual trust. They concurred in continuing to expand ties in other potential spheres such as science-technology, education-training, culture, sports, and tourism. They also voiced their support for direct relations between Vietnamese and Russian localities, which will help diversify the all-round cooperation. Some measures were also devised to bolster labour cooperation a potential area that matches demand on both sides. PM Phuc took this occasion to thank Russian leaders and relevant agencies for creating conditions for Vietnamese people to live, do business, and study in the country. At the talks, the PMs also exchanged views on many international and regional issues of shared concern, including the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in Asia-Pacific, including the East Sea. Vietnam spoke highly of Russias role as a powerful nation and hopes that it will continue helping ensure regional and global peace, security, and stability. PM Phuc invited his counterpart to visit Vietnam in the near future. For his part, PM Medvedev thanked and accepted the invitation with pleasure. Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of many cooperation documents in such fields as nuclear energy, oil and gas, construction, tourism, justice, and locality-to-locality ties. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev hold talks in Moscow, May 22 VNA Vietnam is among several countries and territories affected by Indias new anti-dumping probe against digital printing plates, said the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industrys Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) on May 16 began its investigation into alleged dumping of products coded 844250, 3701.3000, 3704.0090, 3705.1000, 7606.1190, 7606.9190, and 7606.9290 from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and Vietnam. The DGTR has sent questionnaires to exporters, and parties concerned could present and send their opinions about the case to the address The Designated Authority Directorate General of Trade Remedies Ministry of Commerce & Industry Department of Commerce Government of India. They are required to send answers, feedback and relevant materials in both electronic and paper versions within 40 days since the launch of the probe. DGTR also warned that in case exporters failed to provide sufficient answers to the questionnaire, investigators have the right to use available data for analysis. In order to ensure rights, the MoIT recommended that the Vietnamese exporters should prepare resources and actively provide sufficent information for DGTR during investigation.-VNA Hanoi-Lao Cai highway to halt transportation of pigs from ASF infected areas The northern province of Lao Cai Peoples Committee has requested localities in the region cease their transportation of pigs from areas affected by the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak and asked the Vietnam Expressway Corporation to co-operate in enforcing tight controls on the Noi Bai-Lao Cai highway. Accordingly, the provincial Peoples Committee has asked localities and agencies to mobilise all necessary resources in order to prevent the further spreading of the epidemic. At national highways and major routes across the province, nearly 20 quarantine checkpoints have been established in a bid to closely monitor the vehicles that pass through the region. The animal husbandry and veterinary branch under the provincial department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the ASF epidemic was reported in 35 households in five hamlets in the communes of Ban Lau and Lung Vai in Muong Khuong district between May 11 and May 19. A total of 310 infected pigs have also been culled so far. In addition, veterinary workers were also forced to cull seven dead pigs out of a group of 32 at pig-farming households in Bao Yen district as results taken from the pig farm tested positive for the ASF virus. According to a report by the provincial animal husbandry and veterinary branch, veterinary workers have culled a total of 363 infected pigs from 37 households across four communes in the districts of Muong Khuong, Bao Thang, and Bao Yen, as of May 19. The epidemic in the region has been attributed to the trading and transportation of pigs, pork products, and cattle feed by local residents from other localities into the province. Meanwhile, Phu Tho province has destroyed 72 tons of pigs that have been infected by the ASF virus. The Ha Hoa district Peoples Committee has also declared an ASF epidemic in the communes of Vinh Chan and Mai Tung. According to a report released by Phu Tho provinces department of Agriculture and Rural Department, sick and dead pigs were detected in 48 pig-farming households in 38 communes and wards across 11 districts in the region between February 19 and May 19. Veterinary workers in the locality were forced to cull 1,058 infected pigs while 25 sick pigs in the districts of Phu Ninh and Doan Hung have also been strictly monitored. To cope with the complicated nature of the development of the ASF virus, the proivnce has set up 15 mobile inspection teams and six quarantine stations at provincial and district levels on major transport routes and the Noi Bai-Lao Cai highway route. 277 inspection teams and 17 quarantine checkpoints at commune levels have also been set up to monitor the transportation, slaughter, and trading of pigs in the region. The area of land needed for the Long Thanh International Airport project in Dong Nai Province in the first phase has been adjusted upward to 1,810 hectares from the original 1,165 hectares. A map of the Long Thanh airport project site in Dong Nai Province. The province has agreed to add more land to the project The Peoples Committee of Dong Nai Province has written to Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) approving the land area adjustment plan. Also, the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment has been asked to work with Long Thanh District and the relevant agencies to determine the exact boundaries of the project and expedite site clearance work. Earlier, ACV wrote to the provincial government, noting that the projects prefeasibility study had excluded land for functional zones, including a warehouse, an express cargo terminal and other facilities for technical services. Accordingly, ACV suggested the provincial government review the demand for land and expand the area assigned to the first phase of the project. A report by Long Thanh District showed that 5,000 hectares of land will be recalled, so more than 4,700 local households and individuals and 26 organizations will have to relocate to make room for the project. Among some 15,000 people affected by the project, 70% are farmers, while the remainder work at rubber farms or have other jobs. Site clearance and resettlement costs total VND23 trillion. Of this, the National Assembly has approved the use of VND5 trillion from government bond sales in the 2017-2020 period to complete site clearance, while the remainder has yet to be finalized. In addition, the Ministry of Transport is currently working on the prefeasibility study, which will be presented to the National Assembly for approval. With a total investment of over VND330 trillion, the airport project will be executed in three phases. During the first phase, slated to begin next year, one runway and one passenger terminal, along with other facilities will be constructed, with an annual capacity of 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo. The first phase, costing more than VND110 trillion, is expected to be completed and put into service in 2025. In the next phase, one more runway and one passenger terminal will be built to serve 50 million passengers and transport 1.5 million tons of commodities per year. After the final phase is completed, the airport is expected to reach an annual capacity of 100 million passengers and five tons of cargo. SGT Le Anh Conservationists have reacted with outrage and concern to a decision by Botswana to lift its ban on elephant hunting. The southern African country said the move was justified by an increase in population and its impact on farmers livelihoods. Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces. Botswana condemned for lifting ban on hunting elephants. The country with Africas largest elephant population says its growth is affecting farmers. Picture: SIPHIWE SIBEKO/REUTERS The former president Ian Khama, a keen environmentalist, introduced a prohibition on elephant hunting in the southern African country in 2014. But lawmakers from the ruling Botswana Democratic party (BDP) have been lobbying to overturn the ban, saying numbers of the animals have become unmanageable in some areas.Advertisement The current president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, took over from Khama last year and a public review began five months later, with reports suggesting growing political friction between Masisi and his predecessor. 4. BREAKING: Botswana is lifting the ban on elephant hunting. Many believe this is an attempt by President Masisi to curry favor with rural voters ahead of the elections later this year. Elephants are being used as a political tool. #ProtectElephants pic.twitter.com/N3YWw7HRJ5 Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) May 22, 2019 The countrys environment ministry said in a statement that a cabinet committee review found that the number and high levels of human-elephant conflict and the consequent impact on livelihoods was increasing.. The general consensus from those consulted was that the hunting ban should be lifted, it added, vowing that hunting would be restarted in an orderly and ethical manner. Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces. Some experts say the number of elephants in the country, renowned as a luxury safari destination, has almost tripled over the last 30 years, and that the population could now be more than 160,000. Farmers struggle to keep elephants out of their fields, where they eat crops and can kill people, making the move to lift the hunting ban a potential vote winner among rural communities in the run-up to elections in October. BREAKING Botswana lifts elephant hunting ban under guise of helping communities as Masisi destroys Ian Khamas globally respected legacy of policies that saw elephants protected. Expect mass culling next & aggressive efforts 2 reopen ivory trade. Impact will b felt across Africa pic.twitter.com/M2oaltfHvv Dr. Paula Kahumbu (@paulakahumbu) May 22, 2019 Experts say the move would be counterproductive as hunting elephants makes them fearful and aggressive, exacerbating conflict with local communities. There are also widespread concerns among environmentalists that Botswanas decision is a precursor to a concerted effort to allow ivory to be bought and sold. This would be have a catastrophic effect on elephants across Africa, Kahumbu said. Many of Botswanas elephants roam across borders into Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All four countries have called for a global ban on the elephant ivory trade to be relaxed due to the growing number of the animals in some regions. We cannot continue to be spectators while others debate and take decisions about our elephants, Masisi told a meeting of the countries presidents this month in Botswana. While elephant numbers have increased in some areas, over the past decade the population of elephants across Africa has fallen by about 111,000 to 415,000, largely due to poaching for ivory, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Zimbabwe Zimbabwe said this month it had sold nearly 100 elephants to China and Dubai for a total price of $2.7m over six years, due to overpopulation. According to Zimbabwes ministry of information, it is almost 13 years since the countrys last commercial sale of ivory. Our ivory stockpile is worth over $300m [235m], which we cant sell because countries without elephants are telling those with them what to do with their animals, Nick Mangwana, the ministrys permanent secretary, said. Zimbabwe will also make a separate appeal at the conference for permission to sell some of its elephants, as conflict between people and wildlife escalates. The country has a booming elephant population, which is increasingly coming into contact with people. About 200 people have died from elephant attacks in the past five years. Botswana last year rejected claims by a leading conservation charity that there had been a surge in elephant poaching. The African elephant, lion and hippo appear on the International Union for Conservation of Natures (IUCN) red list of animals at risk of extinction, and needing greater protection. Too bad they dont care about their wildlife! Follow us on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. Share your thoughts in our DISCUSSION FORUMS. Donate through Paypal. Please and thank you [The Guardian] The death of a man who was working as a tour guide on an unlicensed tour in Khanh Hoa province shows the negative consequences of underground tours. The Cam Binh commune Peoples Committee in Cam Ranh City has confirmed the death of a tour guide who led a group of travelers to tour the island on a jeep. The man fell out of the car and died on the spot. The case has raised concerns for local travel firms as they fear the accident would affect Cam Ranhs image as a tourism city. The firms said the citys tourism is being harmed by the explosion of low-cost, low-quality tours. Reporters on May 9 contacted a man named H when dialing 090200xxxx, the phone number given on internet. H admitted he was not a professional tour guide, but had been living in Nha Trang for many years and his knowledge about the city was more than enough to lead travelers. The fee for a canoe to carry travelers to three islands of Nha Trang Bay is VND370,000 per traveler, H said. When asked about insurance policy and invoices, H said he could buy invoices for accommodation, meals and transport at a cost equal to 12 percent of tour fee. The unlicensed tours have become the choice of many groups of travelers, because they dont have to pay much for tours. But in exchange for this, they have to accept high risks, when problems arise and tour guides escape. When contacting T, another tour guide, at 09840xxxx, the man quoted the fee of VND650,000 per traveler to Ghenh Nhay Waterfall in Ninh Van Commune. T said that there would not be an insurance policy and invoices for the tours. Unlicensed tour guides also exist in HCMC. Travel firms said some freelance tour guides take orders from travelers, or cooperate with tour guides with work permits to provide tours. The director of a travel firm in Nha Trang City said the low-cost tours of this kind have mushroomed recently as they are supported by social networks. The tours are operated by self-proclaimed tour guides, so the tour fee is very low, thus attracting travelers, he explained. The unlicensed tours have become the choice of many groups of travelers, because they dont have to pay much for tours. But in exchange for this, they have to accept high risks, when problems arise and tour guides escape. A local resident in Nha Trang City commented that the demand for adventure tours is increasingly high, while licensed tourism companies dare not risk taking travelers to places with insufficient or uncomfortable services. Self-proclaimed tour guides lead travelers to anywhere they want. The Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association warned that underground tours will harm the authentic tourism industry. However, Khanh Hoa Tourism Department deputy director Nguyen Thi Le Thanh said information about the tours is posted on social networks, so it is difficult to punish the violators. RELATED NEWS Vietnamese tour guides lose jobs to Chinese 61 missing Vietnamese tourists found in Taiwan Ha Le The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting South Korea is forecast to reach one million by 2020, up 550,000 arrivals against 2018, stated Gyeongsangbuk-do Provinces Deputy Governor Yoon Yong-jin. A representative of local travel firm Fiditour (L) and their South Korean counterpart pose for a photo at an MoU signing ceremony on May 21 in HCMC. The Daegu-Gyeongsangbuk-do region expects to attract some 100,000 Vietnamese tourists in 2020 PHOTO: DAO LOAN The forecast has followed strong growth in the number of Vietnamese visitors to this country in recent years. Tourism agencies from many popular destinations in South Korea have visited Vietnam to promote tours, including those from the Daegu-Gyeongsangbuk-do region, which expects to attract some 10% of the total number of arrivals. The Daegu-Gyeongsangbuk-do region will organize a tourism year in 2020 and expects to see a flourishing number of Vietnamese tourists next year, reaching some 100,000 arrivals from the current 2,100, Yong-jin remarked at an event to promote tourism for the region, held on May 21 in HCMC. The target is based on positive signs in tourism development between the two countries. In recent years, the number of Vietnamese visitors to South Korea has been surging, and flights connecting Vietnam with the Daegu-Gyeongsangbuk-do region have now been put into service. In addition, tourism products offered in this region are more distinct from those seen in popular destinations such as Seoul, Jeju or Nami. Also, better cooperation between tour operators and the authorities of both countries will encourage stronger growth in travel activities. Yong-jin took Taiwan as an example of robust tourism growth buoyed by the launch of direct flights and effective tourism-promotion measures. The number of Taiwanese visiting South Korea totaled 300,000 arrivals last year, rising threefold year-on-year. As for the local market, an air route linking Vietnam with South Koreas Daegu City was launched two years ago. There are 14 flights operating on the Hanoi-Daegu route, 46 flights on the Danang-Daegu route and eight on the Nha Trang-Daegu route every week. Most of these flights carried South Koreans to popular Vietnamese destinations, but in the coming years, travel operators will collaborate to attract more Vietnamese to Daegu. The region has promoted tourism in the local market since last year, including through the HCMC-Gyeongju World Cultural Festival, which was held over 20 days in HCMC and attracted three million participants. Yong-jin added that representatives of the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam, Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province would sign agreements with local travel firms, such as Fiditour, Vietravel and Saigontourist, to provide them with information and advertisement costs to launch new tourism products. SGT Dao Loan Four people involved in a trans-national human trafficking case are detained in Lai Chau Province. VNA/VNS Photo LAI CHAU Border guards in Phong Tho District in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau have detained four people in connection with human trafficking, Captain Nguyen Manh Linh, deputy head of Ma Lu Thang border point, said. At 8:30am on Tuesday, border soldiers at the Ma Lu Thang border point found four women and one man wading in a stream that extends from China into Viet Nam. They were taken to the border point for investigation. The four women, aged 19 to 25, from ien Bien Province said they had been sold to China to work as prostitutes. The man who accompanied them was oan Xuan Vinh, 20, from Gia Lai Province. Vinh confessed that one of his friends had asked him to take the women to the border to sell them. Five days ago, Vinh took the four women to China to an individual and the women were then sent to a massage shop to work as prostitutes. After an inspection by Chinese authorities, Vinh took the women back to Viet Nam. Based on Vinh's testimony, provincial border soldiers arrested three additional people related to the case. VNS WATERLOO -- A Waterloo man has been arrested for allegedly firing a shot with a military-style rifle during a television deal gone bad in March. Waterloo police arrested Jordan James Booker, 22, on Wednesday for reckless use of a firearm and possession of marijuana. Bond was set at $1,500. Police were called to Booker's home at 522 Iowa St. around 12:05 a.m. March 9 and located numerous bullet holes in the residence. Booker told police that someone had been over to buy a TV he had for sale, and the buyer attempted to use counterfeit money for the sale, according to court records. Booker told police he told the man to leave and retrieved his AK-47 rifle when he refused. The would-be buyer left, and Booker said he fired a single round into the ground to scare him, records state. Police found a single spent 7.62mm shell casing in the yard. Officers also found marijuana on the kitchen table. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO A developer is suing the city of Waterloo and Ramada Hotel over his failed attempt to buy and renovate the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. LK Waterloo filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids against the city and Watermark Hotel Equities, which owns the downtown hotel. LK Waterloo, headed by Edwin Leslie, of Omaha, Neb., claims it suffered financial damages because the city and Watermark breached deals for LK Waterloo to take over the downtown convention complex. It was represented to LK Waterloo that the Waterloo City Council was behind the project, LK Waterloo claimed in court filings. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Members of the Waterloo City Council voted repeatedly against key aspects of the city contracts, the suit continued. Furthermore, certain Waterloo City Council members disparaged LK Waterloo and its principals by circulating false information. LK Waterloo does not specify an exact dollar amount it seeks but indicated the firm had spent more than $850,000 before the project disintegrated last October. The Waterloo City Council voted 4-0 on July 17, 2017, to approve an agreement for LK Waterloos planned $20 million renovation of the convention center and hotel. The city would donate the convention center, grants and tax incentives to LK Waterloo subject to the developer getting financing and completing the work. LK Waterloo also had an agreement to operate and acquire the Ramada Hotel from Watermark Hotel Equities. LK Waterloo managed both the hotel and convention center until October 2018, when Watermark and the city both terminated the agreements. An architect and food distributor also have pending lawsuits against LK Waterloo for unpaid bills. Leslie butted heads with former Councilman Tom Lind and current Councilman Bruce Jacobs, who both had questioned the developers ability to finance the project and cited a failed hotel venture in Omaha that ended in litigation. LK Waterloo singled out Jacobs in the suit. Bruce Jacobs pressured plaintiff to use the bank he worked for as a local partner despite the obvious conflict of interest, the suit states. When plaintiff declined to do business with Mr. Jacobs bank, Jacobs acted in his capacity as Waterloo city councilman to frustrate plaintiffs ability to purchase and operate the hotel and convention center. Jacobs, who abstained from voting on any aspects of the LK Waterloo contract, had denied he acted inappropriately when Leslie raised the issue in 2017. Leslie filed a complaint with the Black Hawk County Attorneys Office against Jacobs, although no action has been taken to date. The lawsuit also claims the city failed to provide promised parking spaces and building repairs; refused to recognize LK Waterloos liquor license; and, along with Watermark, benefited from events booked by LK Waterloo and improvements made to both buildings. The Courier reached out to the city of Waterloo for comment but received no answer by press time. Love 0 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 8 Cannabis could come to the beach cities. This is how WATERLOO About 50 people attended a rally Wednesday evening at Lincoln Park to protest a wave of laws passed by states in recent weeks to severely restrict access to abortions. Originally planned Tuesday as one of more than 400 events across the nation, the rally was postponed a day by rain. New state laws in Missouri, Georgia, Ohio, Alabama and Kentucky greatly restrict abortions in hopes of spurring the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. A new law in Alabama bans all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest. Rapes cause pregnancy for more survivors than you can imagine, said Gwen Bramlet-Hecker, 51, of Riverview Center, which works with victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Denying reproductive justice to survivors is inflicting yet another traumatizing event. Bramlet-Hecker said reproductive rights are human rights. When you look at a 12-year-old girl who has been raped by an uncle who finds herself pregnant, in no way, shape or form should anybody be telling that young girl that she must take that baby to term, she said. State Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, criticized a bill passed by the Legislature and signed into law this month by Gov. Kim Reynolds that cuts funding to Planned Parenthoods sex-education courses. My partners in the House want smaller government, unless it has to do with your uterus, Brown-Powers said. Many at the protest emphasized the role of sex education in reducing abortion. If we truly want to reduce abortions, we dont want to reduce education in schools to our teens, Brown-Powers said. We need to make sure that women and men have the education and the contraception and the protection that they need. Bramlet-Hecker agreed. We know and its criminal to act like you dont that sex education is a way to stop unwanted pregnancies, and if you stop unwanted pregnancy or unplanned pregnancies you stop abortion, Bramlet-Hecker said. Also attending the rally was Eddie Mauro, who announced this week he will challenge U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Chris Schwartz, Black Hawk County supervisor, helped organize the event. Reproductive freedom and reproductive health has been under attack, Schwartz said. Women and the trans community are under attack, and the autonomy over their own bodies is under attack. Love 0 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 WATERLOO The Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective is encouraging people to pedal their way to this weeks FridayLoo celebration. The collective is offering a free and secure bicycle valet during the FridayLoo event from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday in Lincoln Park. Persons who use the bike valet can register for a drawing and prize giveaway. More than $2,100 in potential prizes have been donated by downtown businesses. Waterloo offices closed Monday WATERLOO City of Waterloo offices will be closed on Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. There will be no curbside garbage or yard waste collection on that day. Residents with Monday as their normal collection days should put their garbage and yard waste containers out by 6 a.m. on Tuesday for pickup. Questions may be directed to the Sanitation Department at 291-4455. Waverly pool opens Saturday WAVERLY The Waverly Outdoor Swimming Pool will open for the pools 52nd season on Saturday, weather permitting. For Saturday, Sunday and the Memorial Day Monday holiday, the hours will be 1 to 7 p.m. While the public schools are in session, weekday hours will be 4 to 8 p.m. until June 7, which will be 2 to 7 p.m. Regular hours will begin on June 8. Regular hours will be Monday-Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. Historical group receives grant CEDAR FALLS The Cedar Falls Historical Society has received a $3,949 Preservation & Restoration grant from the Iowa State Questers. Funds were applied for on behalf of the historical society by the Yesterdays Heritage Questers chapter, which contributed an additional $1,051 for a total of $5,000. The money will support purchase of new archival-quality boxes for the historical societys collection of Black Hawk County probate records. Anyone interested in viewing the probate records or other archival materials can contact the Cedar Falls Historical Society any time to set up an appointment at 266-5149 or cfhistory@cfu.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The demand of Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee for live testimony by former White House Counsel Donald McGahn reminds me of the questions from college students that drive professors nuts such as, How much does the final exam count for? Generations of long-suffering instructors have responded with the same answer: Its in the syllabus. Likewise, what Democrats supposedly want to know from McGahn is in the syllabus or, in this case, the 448-page report by special counsel Roberts S. Mueller III. The report describes in detail McGahns eyebrow-raising interactions with Trump, including this blockbuster: On June 17, 2017, the President called McGahn at home and directed him to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed. McGahn did not carry out the direction, however, deciding that he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre. (Trump has denied that he instructed McGahn to fire Mueller, a claim that earned him four Pinocchios from the Washington Posts fact-checker.) McGahn is not ready for his congressional closeup. On Tuesday, he failed to show at a committee hearing, despite having been subpoenaed. Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) warned that McGahn would be cited by the panel for contempt of Congress. In defending a Justice Department opinion holding that McGahn cant be forced to testify before Congress, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders noted that Mueller and his team conducted hours and hours of interviews from White House officials, including more than 30 hours from former Counsel to the President, Don McGahn. Thats a lot of evidence, even if you dont agree with the White House that it makes live testimony by McGahn inappropriate. So why do Democrats insist on bringing McGahn before the committee? (Presumably their goal is not to afford their Republican colleagues an opportunity to try to discredit McGahn.) Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman offers a plausible answer. Writing in the Washington Post earlier this month, Litman noted: McGahn is already locked into an account of Trumps conduct that appears to amount to multiple felonies for obstruction of justice. Detailing that conduct in a congressional hearing would provide a moment of drama akin to John Deans Watergate testimony. And it is that sort of drama that seems to be the Democrats only hope for putting impeachment into serious play. Actually, House Democrats are still arguing among themselves about whether to put impeachment into serious play, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi apparently adhering, for now, to a more cautious approach. But even if McGahn were to testify publicly as part of a stealth impeachment process, his presence would send a powerful message that mere words in a written report one that few Americans have read just cant convey. Michael McGough is the Los Angeles Times senior editorial writer, based in Washington, D.C. 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17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) Michael Hirsh in Foreign Policy: But now that the backlash against Democratic centrism has made itself felt at the hands of an angry middle class many of whom voted for Trumpand the party has tacked leftward in his direction, Stiglitz finds himself in the unusual position of urging caution. Stiglitz is worried that if Democrats shift too far left, theyll be smeared as socialists and lose the 2020 presidential electionin which he believes the very institutions of Western civilization hang in the balance. For the famed economist, it is a consummate irony to be defending markets at all, since for years Stiglitzs critics have faulted him for depending too much on government solutions. Stiglitz spoke with Foreign Policy on the publication of his latest book, People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent. More here. Heidi Ledford in Nature: Minute fossils pulled from remote Arctic Canada could push back the first known appearance of fungi to about one billion years ago more than 500 million years earlier than scientists had expected. These ur-fungi, described on 22 May in Nature1, are microscopic and surprisingly intricate, with filament-like structures. Chemical analyses suggest that the fossils contain chitin, a compound found in fungal cell walls. If that analysis holds up, it could reshape understanding of how fungi evolved and whether they might have facilitated the movement of plants onto land. But some researchers are not yet convinced that the finding is truly a fungus. It looks to me as if theres reason for believing its real at this point, says Mary Berbee, a mycologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. But more data would be really useful. Palaeobiologist Corentin Loron at the University of Liege, Belgium, and his colleagues found the fossils while exploring a region of Arctic Canada called the Grassy Bay Formation. The team had to travel to the study site, nestled amid the areas dramatic cliffs, by helicopter. Because the rocks there formed without exposure to high temperatures and pressures, the fossils within them are remarkably preserved, says palaeobiologist Emmanuelle Javaux, Lorons adviser at the University of Liege. From there, the team painstakingly sectioned the fossils into thin sheets that could be analysed with an electron microscope. Those images revealed branched filaments ending in spheres. The filaments were divided into segments by septae, walls that are found in some modern fungi. The fossils were discovered in billion-year-old rock, and the presence of chitin in the specimens further persuaded the researchers that they were preserved fungi that died a billion years ago. The team named the fungus Ourasphaira giraldae. More here. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing overnight. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. For Subscribers Top prep performers: Roncalli's May boosts Cavaliers to two wins Maddox May, of Roncalli, recorded a double-double in a win against Northwestern, with 15 points and 16 rebounds. See who else stood out over the week. NEW YORK Saudi Arabias state owned oil company will begin buying liquid natural gas from a U.S. company under a 20 year agreement, reflecting the shifting dynamics in the worlds energy markets. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., also known as Aramco, said Wednesday it would buy 5 million tons of liquid natural gas per year from Sempra Energy, based in San Diego. Aramco also will make a 25% equity investment in an LNG export facility under development in Port Arthur, Texas, as part of the deal. The agreement is a major step forward in Aramcos long-term strategy to become a global LNG player, said Amin Nasser, the companys CEO. With global demand for LNG expected to grow by around 4% per year we see significant opportunities in this market and we will continue to pursue strategic partnerships which enable us to meet rising global demand for LNG, Nasser said in a news release. The U.S. fracking boom over the last decade led to an abundance of natural gas, and the U.S. quickly became one of the worlds top exporters of liquid natural gas after it began exporting the fuel in 2016. Its exports of LNG ranked fourth largest in the world in 2018 behind Qatar, Australia and Malaysia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Port Arthur facility is one of Sempras five LNG development opportunities in North America, and it received authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct and operate the facility and related pipelines last month. At Sempra Energy, we are developing one of the largest LNG export infrastructure portfolios in North America, with an eye towards connecting millions of consumers to cleaner, more reliable energy sources, said Jeff Martin, CEO of Sempra, in a statement. Partnering with Aramco will help develop the facility and enable the export of American natural gas to global markets, Martin said. The U.S. has been a net exporter of natural gas every month for the past year, fueled by an increase in exports of liquid natural gas. The largest markets for U.S. exports of liquid natural gas in 2018 were South Korea, Mexico and Japan, according to the E.I.A. The liquid natural gas purchased by Saudi Aramco will most likely be sold on the spot market in Europe and Latin America, said Ira Joseph, head of gas and power analytics at S&P Global Platts. This is by far and away the Saudis largest investment ever in LNG, Joseph said. The size of the deal, the volume of the LNG, is very out of step with size of LNG contracts that have been signed recently. Companies such as Sempra have been looking for investors for LNG projects, but finding buyers to sign long-term deals has been difficult. Liquid natural gas is mostly used for power generation, and renewable energy sources have made the market for fuels for power generation more competitive, Joseph said. Saudi Arabia burns a lot of crude oil in its electric power sector, and the move could help the country diversify its power mix and potentially export crude oil that it might have burned, said Jonathan Aronson, research analyst at Cornerstone Macro. If they want to play in the global energy markets, this is a way to get a foothold on the natural gas side, and U.S. natural gas is some of the lowest-cost natural gas in the world, Aronson said. TEHRAN, Iran Irans supreme leader publicly chastised the countrys moderate president and foreign minister Wednesday, saying he disagreed with the implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal they had negotiated with world powers. The extraordinary comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the first time hes criticized both politicians by name, came amid tensions with the United States a year after Washingtons withdrawal from the accord. Khamenei has final say on all matters of state, and his blaming the deals unraveling limits the influence of President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif relative moderates within Irans Shiite theocracy who had struck the deal. It also shows the growing power of hard-liners. The White House earlier this month sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceived from Iran. Since that development, Iran has announced it will back away from the atomic accord. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, alleged that four oil tankers were sabotaged off its coast, and Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen have launched drone attacks into Saudi Arabia. Both Washington and Tehran have said they want to ease heightened tensions in the region in recent days. But many fear a miscalculation between the two countries, who have a 40-year history of mistrust, could escalate the situation. On Thursday, U.S. officials say the Pentagon will brief the White House on plans to send up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as the plans had yet to be formally announced. Khamenei made the comments before hard-line students gathered for a Ramadan lecture. For years, hard-liners have criticized the accord for giving too much away to the West. Khamenei had given his implicit stamp of approval on the deal, which when signed sparked spontaneous celebrations across Iran. The accord saw Iran limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. But the deal has unraveled after Trumps withdrawal, with the U.S. re-imposing old sanctions and coming up with even stricter new ones. To some extent, I did not believe in the way that the nuclear deal was implemented, Khamenei said, according to his official website. Many times I reminded both the president and the foreign minister. Khamenei has previously warned the West, especially the U.S., wasnt trustworthy. But he hasnt named the countrys top elected politician and his top diplomat before Wednesday night. Hes previously said the two had done the best they could. Even before Trump became president and later withdrew from the deal, there were concerns in Washington that the supreme leader might turn on the agreement if the envisioned sanctions relief fell short of what Tehran expected. For that reason, the Obama administration dispatched senior officials to Europe, Asia and elsewhere to explain to foreign governments and countries what was permitted. Former Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew each encouraged foreign investors to do business with Iran so that the benefits of the deal would be apparent to the Iranian people. Since Trumps pullout last year and the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions in November, remaining parties to the deal have been unable to keep up the pace of relief and Irans economy has been significantly harmed, notably because of the loss of revenue from oil exports and the risk of incurring U.S. penalties that has dissuaded international companies from opening shop in Iran. The role of the supreme leader within Iranian society, while overseeing its elected representatives, is spiritual rather than political. Khamenei acknowledged that in his speech Wednesday night, saying the gravity of the situation called on him to speak. Our belief is that the leadership should not enter into the executive issues, unless if it affects the entire revolution, Khamenei said. There was no immediate comment from either Rouhani, who is serving his second four-year term as president, or Zarif. Khamenei did not directly address the ongoing tensions, which include a heightened U.S. naval presence in the region. However, during his appearance with the students, one came up to Khamenei with a painting of Revolutionary Guard soldier credited with laying mines targeting U.S.-escorted oil tankers in the Persian Gulf during Irans 1980s war with Iraq. The Guard says he was killed in a confrontation with the U.S. Navy. On Monday, Iran announced it had quadrupled its production capacity of low-enriched uranium. Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the nuclear deal, making it usable for a power plant but far below whats needed for an atomic weapon. But by increasing production, Iran soon will exceed the stockpile limitations set by the nuclear accord. Tehran has set a July 7 deadline for Europe to set new terms for the deal, or it will enrich closer to weapons-grade levels in a Mideast already on edge. Earlier Wednesday, a prominent reformist lawmaker who chairs parliaments national security and foreign policy commission stressed that neither Iran nor its proxy allies are seeking armed conflict with the U.S. Under no circumstance will we enter a war, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said, according to the semi-official ILNA news agency. No group can announce that it has entered a proxy war from Irans side. Meanwhile, Irans army chief Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi alleged without providing evidence that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. were behind the sabotage of the oil tankers off the UAE, as well as a rocket that landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The U.S. has blamed Iran for both incidents without publicly offering evidence. America also has evacuated nonessential diplomatic staff from Iraq amid the tensions. The U.S. Air Force also announced Wednesday that a B-52 bomber deployed to Americas vast Al-Udeid Air Base over the tensions took part in a formation flight with Qatari fighter jets. That comes as Qatar has grown closer to Iran after facing a nearly two-year boycott by four Arab nations also allied with the U.S. This flight was conducted to continue building military-to-military relationships with Qatar, the Air Force said. ___ Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee, Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report. The co-founder of Burque Media was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for shooting and killing a man in a former mayoral candidates campaign office. Steve Kramer, 44, was found guilty in November of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the death of Vincent Gutierrez. According to police, Kramer and a colleague were at Stella Padillas mayoral campaign office near Old Town in October 2017 when Gutierrez arrived to pick up some furniture. The colleague reported that the group had been sitting and talking and she heard a popping noise as she stood up to leave. She said Kramer had been acting strangely and called the shooting absolutely random, and without provocation. Kramers attorney said that multiple people spoke on Kramers behalf at his sentencing hearing Wednesday, and the judge opted to run the time for his aggravated assault conviction concurrent to his life sentence. In New Mexico, a person sentenced to life in prison is eligible for parole after 30 years. Performance Maintenance Inc. of Espanola has won a five-year, $52 million subcontract to provide janitorial services and supplies to Los Alamos National Laboratory. Performance Maintenance is a 25-year-old family-run business that started as a part-time cleaning business. It now has 170 employees and provides commercial and residential building maintenance, food service and hotel supplies as well as janitorial services. It also offers a line of green cleaning products. Enhancing opportunities for small businesses like PMI to provide goods and services to the laboratory is a priority, said Thom Mason, LANLs director, in a news release. The laboratory needs to partner with regional companies to carry out our work, and theres also an important economic benefit to Northern New Mexico. Eric Quintana of PMI said, Growing up with this business has helped show me that hard work and patience really does pay off. Nothing comes easy and seeing from where we started to where we are now is really amazing. Watching my parents start out as cleaners themselves and building this company to what it is today has been an honor to be a part of. In terms of world-record attempts, 12-year-old Sandia Prep student Turner Liotta came up a just a bit short in his effort to be the youngest to reach the high point of each state. Last summer, a freak blizzard caught Turner and his dad, David Liotta, on Bonney Pass near the 13,000-foot mark on Wyomings Gannett Peak, forcing the intrepid Albuquerque residents to turn around about two miles from the 13,810-foot peak. It left Turner two summits shy of his goal, with Alaskas Denali also still waiting. When we had a good amount of them done, right in the middle of our goal, I thought about it a little bit and I was pretty nervous, he said. I was pretty worried we werent going to do it and I tried to keep a positive attitude. Toward the end, when I recognized it wasnt going to happen. I was a little sad. Still, Turner said, the experience and the journey were well worth it. Weve traveled everywhere, he said. Just traveled. Im not sad, Im bummed a little bit, but Im still happy I got to travel with my dad. The adventure began three years ago, about a year after David Liotta was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is now in remission, he said. It was shortly after my treatments were up and that was a huge thing, he said. It made me look at how I spent my time when I realized how little time we actually have on this earth. An Ironman athlete and avid hiker, Liotta had never been much for climbing until he and his wife, Amy Liotta, reeled off four 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado shortly after his treatments were completed. Turner was actively involved in the planning of the excursion, and it piqued his interest. He soon suggested what became known in the family as the Project. For the next couple of years, father and son flitted about the country, reeling off high points as quickly as possible. Some, such as 14,410-foot Mount Rainier in Washington and Mount Hood in Oregon, are so technical that they used a guide, but on many of the excursions it was just the two Liottas and Mother Nature. Mama Nature eventually put her foot down and put an end to the record-breaking effort. The plan has gotten sideways on us. In order to have broken the record, we would have to have it done, both states by May 19, David Liotta said. We gave it one hell of an incredible shot, for sure. The plan now is to get No. 49 with another attempt at Gannett this summer. Well go to Denali, when hes a little bit older, he said. Well eventually get all 50. Its not going to happen in the time frame we wanted, but thats a part of climbing. Sometimes the mountain allows you to summit, and sometimes it does not. The Gannett experience was memorable in that it was one of the sites where Turner hit a bad patch as they were crossing a vertical snowfield. It was just packed and very icy and flashy at some points, Turner said. A couple of times, just walking, I fell. If I didnt have my ice ax, I probably would have slid pretty far. But I self-arrested with my ice ax, and I was fine. Meanwhile, Dad was, well, not so fine. There was a 1,000-foot drop and into the abyss. I was not so cool, Liotta recalled. Im screaming at him, Self-arrest. Self-arrest. Turner thought the scariest experience was the first time having to pass a crevasse. I was really worried before, because you see pictures of crevasses, he said. We passed my first on Hood. It wasnt that bad, but it was scary. After three or four times, your stress goes down. On Rainier when I was going down, I didnt even notice them. Now that the Project has been put on hiatus for a bit, neither father nor son wants to give up the mountains. Liotta is looking at climbing Pico de Orizaba in Mexico, while Turner has other thoughts. Id like to do Kilimanjaro in Africa, he said. I would like to do that after the 50 or maybe before Denali as a warm-up. FARMINGTON The Navajo Nation is working toward acquiring one of three copies of the 1868 treaty between the tribe and the United States. The treaty was signed on June 1, 1868, and is significant because it acknowledges tribal sovereignty and emancipated Navajos who were forcibly removed for internment at Bosque Redondo in eastern New Mexico. This version of the treaty was discovered last year by the great-grandniece of Samuel F. Tappan, an Indian peace commissioner who assisted in the negotiation process for the treaty. Clare Weaver is Tappans descendant and is donating the item to the tribe after finding it in the attic of her home in Manchester, Massachusetts. While Tappan kept the peace commissions copy, the version signed by federal representatives and Navajo leaders is housed at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. That copy was lent to the Navajo Nation and was the focus of an exhibit last year at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. The third version was given to Navajo leader Barboncito for the tribe, but its location is unknown. Tappan acted as secretary during the May 28-June 1, 1868, proceedings and when the treaty was signed at Fort Sumner, according to the museum. As part of the process, he hired three clerks to produce the copies. Weaver declined this week to comment about her donation. She confirmed that discussion among herself, the Navajo Nation Museum and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez began last summer. The treaty holds significant cultural and symbolic value to the Navajo people; the signing of the treaty marks the return of the Navajo people from Bosque Redondo to our traditional homelands, which is partly the present-day Navajo Nation. It is also an acknowledgment of our inherent sovereignty, Nez wrote in a May 13 letter to Weaver. Before the donation is complete, the tribe must formally accept it, and a bill to do so was introduced by Navajo Nation Council Delegates Otto Tso and Herman Daniels last Thursday. The outcome of the legislation will be determined by the Naabikiyati Committee. If the donation is accepted, the museum will house and assume responsibility for the treaty. Museum Director Manuelito Wheeler was unavailable for comment about the transaction. Information attached to the bill describes the features and condition of the treaty. It consists of 17 lined pages, each approximately 8 by 12 inches, and tied with a faded red ribbon. Small tears on the cover pages were stabilized last spring by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts. A July 2018 appraisal listed it in very good condition, with a market value of $10,000. The donation form by the Navajo Nation Museum says that because it is the peace commissions copy, it was not signed by Tappan or by Lt. Gen. William T. Sherman, and markings for the Navajo leaders were printed by a clerk. It does have the signature of Delgadito, the only Navajo leader who could write his name. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE When NASA approved Los Alamos National Laboratorys SuperCam for the next Mars rover, officials referred to it as a Swiss Army knife of an instrument. The nickname came from all the different tools the device will be able to use to study rocks and soil on the Red Planet, according to Roger Wiens, LANL scientist and principal investigator of SuperCam. By expanding the scope of whats been possible with the ChemCam camera currently on Mars aboard the Curiosity rover, Wiens says, scientists will be able to unlock more clues about whether life once existed out there. The SuperCam instrument recently completed testing in New Mexico. SuperCam is expected to undergo several rounds of additional tests at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California over the next several months before the anticipated launch of the Mars 2020 rover in July of next year. Its kind of the whole gamut of geology and geochemistry that we are looking at with this, Wiens said in a recent interview. Its really the eyes and the ears of the rover. Its like a geological observatory of sorts where we get all kinds of different information about the rocks before we even drive up and touch them. Wiens team at LANL has been working on SuperCam since 2014, with the help of scientists with the French space agency and other team members based in Spain, Canada and elsewhere in the U.S. SuperCam was designed as an evolution of ChemCam, which launched with Curiosity in 2011. In addition to its high-resolution camera and telescope, the ChemCam also has a laser that has been able to help scientists determine the chemical composition of rocks by zapping them from about 25 feet away. The vaporized rock emits a plasma that scientists can analyze for different elements. The technique is known as Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, or LIBS. The new instrument can do all that, and more, Wiens said. The most important add-ons, he said, are spectrometers that will allow scientists to determine mineralogy. Mineralogy provides another kind of composition, very complementary to the chemical composition, he said. But you can imagine that in some cases chemistry doesnt tell you nearly everything. For example, Wiens compared a diamond and lead from a pencil. Although the two are very different, they have the same chemical makeup. To measure mineralogy, SuperCam will use infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, named after C.V. Raman, the scientist who created it. According to Wiens, the Raman also uses a laser beam, but it is altered to emit a bright green color. Instead of zapping the rocks, the green beam tickles them to excite the molecules on their surfaces. The light that is reflected back to the rover is the same green as the laser beam, unless the vibration frequency of the rocks molecules alters the color. So you can tell the sort of bond strength of the molecules by certain colors that are coming back that are not quite the same green color as the laser light that we send out to that rock, he said. The slightly different colors we get in the Raman spectroscopy tell us about the mineral makeup of the rock. Infrared spectroscopy, on the other hand, uses sunlight and infrared wavelengths, which Wiens said can detect different types of clay minerals. Wiens emphasized that with the mineralogy tools, scientists will also be able to detect organic materials. There are organic molecules out in space that do not derive from living organisms, but other organics could be indicative of some kind of living processes that existed on Mars, he said. We see the solar system as having two planets that were once habitable, Wiens said. Earth is, of course, imminently still habitable, but Mars is not nearly as habitable as it was in the past. So were very interested in finding if there would have been life on Mars at one point in time, given it was habitable, with lakes, rivers and streams and a warmer climate. The new techniques will also be able to help the rover team better study Mars climate changes over time and previous existence of water, Wiens said. The Curiosity rover has examined lake bed sediments in Mars Gale Crater and discovered chemical evidence of water. If SuperCam can analyze the existence and the properties of clay minerals in those sediments which form in areas where standing water once would have been that can help indicate whether water flowed for a long period of time. SuperCam will also be equipped with a microphone, Wiens said. Which may sound like its just for fun, he said. But when a rock is hit with the laser to extract its chemical breakdown, he said, being able to hear the shock waves, and the actual zap sound the instrument makes can provide insight into the physical properties of the formations without having to feel or touch them. The sound actually tells us something about the rock, Wiens said. When we add the microphone, its not just listening for Martians. Its very much working to tell us about the hardness of the rock and also how deeply we penetrate with the laser (when we) make a little pit. The LANL team also had a hand in another Mars 2020 rover instrument that will use a form of Raman spectroscopy and has a similar goal of searching for signs of previous life. According to Wiens, the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals device, also known as SHERLOC, is being led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with some parts that were built at LANL. SHERLOC will be on the arm of the rover rather than the mast, Wiens said, and it will have a smaller laser. At closer range, SHERLOC can be used for fine-scale analyses of the materials, Wiens said. Talking about the big-picture implications of the Mars 2020 rover, Wiens said it is designed to preserve rock samples that can someday be brought back to Earth. The rover will be able to drill cores in Martian rocks, encase them in titanium tubes and leave them on Mars surface. Before astronauts can be sent to explore the planet, Wiens said, the first step would have to be sending a small rocket to Mars that is capable of retrieving and returning with something like these rock samples. Of course, its going to take some time for those future missions to happen, but we think itll happen within the next decade or so, Wiens said. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE New Mexico has dodged the widespread measles outbreaks that have hit some states, but the confirmation of the states first measles case in nearly four years could spark new scrutiny of the states immunization laws. A Democratic state lawmaker said this week that shes considering revisiting legislation that would tighten the states current allowable immunization exemptions as the number of New Mexicans opting not to vaccinate their children has steadily increased in recent years. As of 2018, there were 4,441 school-age children with immunization exemptions on file with the state Department of Health. Thats up more than 30% from the 3,322 children with exemptions in 2014. Rep. Deborah Armstrong, D-Albuquerque, said she plans to meet with Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel to discuss immunization-related matters in light of the measles concerns and suggested that New Mexicos immunization exemption laws should be examined, along with other issues. I think that ought to be on the table, Armstrong told the Journal. Under New Mexico law, there are three types of allowable immunization exemptions: a medical exemption that requires a physicians certification, a religious exemption that requires a written affirmation from a religious leader and a religious exemption that parents or legal guardians can submit. The largest increase in New Mexico immunization exemptions in recent years is attributable to forms submitted by parents, said state epidemiologist Dr. Michael Landen with the Department of Health. A 2015 bill proposed by Armstrong would have eliminated that category of exemption, but the legislation generated opposition and failed to advance out of its first assigned committee. Armstrong acknowledged that such an effort is a tricky balance and said there may have to be a different approach to the issue. Currently, there are three states California, Mississippi and West Virginia that do not allow religious or personal belief exemptions for immunizations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. There are also 16 states that allow personal belief or nonreligious exemptions to required vaccinations, and attempts in states including Washington to remove such exemptions have been met with fierce resistance. Rep. Gregg Schmedes, R-Tijeras, a medical doctor who previously participated in a vaccination program in Africa through the World Health Organization, said he supports educational efforts to increase vaccination awareness. But he said he would oppose efforts to reduce parents ability to decide whether their children get vaccines. I would not support a government-mandated vaccine, Schmedes said. When the government is telling you what you must put in your body, that gets a little sci-fi scary. The New Mexico measles case confirmed last week by the state Health Department is in a 1-year-old in Sierra County. It is the states first confirmed measles case since December 2014. State health officials have been tight-lipped about the cases details, and Landen said its unclear how the child contracted the measles virus. Overall, although the total number of New Mexico children with immunization exemptions filed with the Health Department is less than 1% of the total number of school-age children statewide, Landen said some schools appear to have vaccination rates of less than 95% either because of allowable exemptions among students or because the schools records arent kept up to date. In those situations, we would be concerned about a sustained measles transmission, Landen told the Journal. He said having immunization rates of 95% or higher is preferable because it provides a herd immunity effect in which sustained outbreaks are less likely to occur. We have been very fortunate that one measles case has not turned into an outbreak, Landen said. He also said that percentage-wise, the largest pockets of nonvaccinated children in New Mexico are in Santa Fe, Taos and Los Alamos counties. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease with symptoms that include a high fever, runny nose and, eventually, a rash that can spread across the body. It was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 but has made a comeback, with 880 cases nationwide this year. New York has reportedly had the largest outbreak, but other communities with pockets of unvaccinated people could also be at risk, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. New Mexico health officials are not currently investigating any additional possible measles cases in the state, Landen said. Proponents of New Mexicos energy industry say emails exchanged among environmentalists and a key member of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams cabinet represent a conflict of interest as the state was creating landmark legislation that set ambitious new renewable energy goals. In one email, state energy secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst asked a renewable energy trade group to review some of the bills language related to energy storage policies. Officials with the organization Power the Future say the emails recently obtained through a public records request show the secretary was coordinating with several groups that included the same renewable energy firm she led before taking her job with the state. Its concerning. It looks like out-of-state environmental groups were major players in writing this bill, said Larry Behrens, Power the Futures western states director. Power the Future argues that the environmentalists didnt have the interests of average working New Mexicans in mind. This bill, from our point of view, is going put thousands of people out of work. Its going to raise electric bills, and so thats why its important that New Mexicans know whos behind it, said Behrens, who previously worked for former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez. With much fanfare, the current Democratic governor signed the energy act in March, codifying the requirement that investor-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives get at least half of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030. That would jump to 80 percent by 2040. A 100% carbon-free mandate would kick in five years later for utilities. Electric co-ops would have until 2050 to meet that goal. Aside from the renewable energy quotas, funds will be established to help ease the economic pains of closing the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station near Farmington. Critics have described the new law as a boon for Public Service Co. of New Mexico, which operates the power plant. Language in the law allows the utility and other owners of San Juan to recover investments in the plant by selling bonds that will be paid off by utility customers. At least one environmental group, New Energy Economy, also is concerned the law strips state regulators of their constitutional responsibilities to review utility plans and decide which costs can be passed on to the ratepayers and which must be absorbed by the utility. Cottrell Propst is defending the law and her role in the legislative process. She said the administration has been clear about its renewable energy agenda and that there were dozens of stakeholders involved. Cottrell Propst described a flood of emails and conversations surrounding proposed provisions a few days ahead of when the bill was introduced. One exchange involved the secretary, a legislative staffer and representatives of Environment New Mexico, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Western Resource Advocates. One of the representatives also was a board member of Interwest Energy Alliance, the firm Cottrell Propst worked for. There were references in the emails to whether utilities would have heartburn over certain renewable energy mandates. One message mentioned the makeup of the independently elected Public Regulation Commission, suggesting the state would have a responsible commission by the time the mandates kicked in. Cottrell Propst said it was her job to shepherd the bill on behalf of the governors office. She said the priority was boosting New Mexicos renewable portfolio standard and establishing a carbon-free goal. There were just lots and lots of people to coordinate with, she said. I certainly wasnt trying to somehow advantage my former employer. They just happened to be the entity that has the expertise. Cottrell Propst said her emails were being singled out to make something out of nothing. Environmentalists were critical of the energy secretary under the previous Republican administration. They often complained about Ken McQueens ties to oil and gas, suggesting the former energy executives policies were favorable to the industry. Similar complaints were made on the national level about former Vice President Dick Cheneys employment history with oil giant Halliburton. State House Minority Whip Rod Montoya of Farmington, who previously worked in the coal mining industry for decades, said the same concerns can be raised about Cottrell Propst and her connections to the renewable energy industry. He suggested Democratic officials are going after coal with the energy law and that natural gas and crude oil are next. If this is how things are going to be run, Id like to see that energy secretary step down, he said. Cottrell Propst said she has worked with industry to reach consensus on other legislation and that the administration is focused on solving problems without steamrolling anyone. Thats what I do, she said, so if that sometimes crosses paths with a renewable energy company or even my former employer, Im not going to run away from it. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal With election deadlines fast approaching, Albuquerques ranked-choice voting legislation remains in limbo. But supporters of the proposal to change the way Duke City residents select councilors and the mayor have not abandoned their quest to see it implemented by the Nov. 5 local election. City Councilors Isaac Benton and Pat Davis, Democrats, and Brad Winter, a Republican, introduced the ranked-choice legislation in April. To have it in place this year, the council would have to approve it by June 30 the deadline for the city to submit election details to the New Mexico Secretary of State. But the bill has not advanced out of committee. Benton considered a procedural fast-track move during Mondays council meeting but said he did not feel he had the requisite support from the council. He said he wanted ranked-choice advocates to have more time to make their case to his peers. That leaves a narrow window to get it done in time. It would likely require the council agreeing to pull the bill from committee during its June 3 session and then voting to adopt it at the June 17 meeting the councils last scheduled session of the month. Maria Perez of Common Cause New Mexico one of the organizations backing the measure said securing the bills passage would be a challenge for the 2019 election but she thought it remained possible. Its not going to be an easy lift, but we hope the councilors will see this as a benefit to their constituents and a good policy for the city of Albuquerque, she said. Under the proposal, voters would rank candidates by preference instead of picking one. Supporters say it would negate the need for costly runoff elections, which occur under the current Albuquerque ordinance when no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote. Runoffs in 2013 and 2017 cost the city a combined $1.5 million, according to the legislation. Now that the municipal election happens in November instead of October, Perez says ranked-choice would spare voters a possible runoff election during the heart of the holiday season. Councilor Don Harris has expressed concern about implementing ranked choice at this juncture, saying it would mean changing the rules in the middle of election season. Davis and Benton are both seeking reelection. Harris has also proposed letting the voters decide whether to adopt the policy. NEW DELHI Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis party claimed it had won reelection with a commanding lead in Thursdays vote count, while the stock market soared in anticipation of another five-year term for the pro-business Hindu nationalist leader. Election Commission data by midafternoon showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 299 out of 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The data didnt indicate what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes cast over the six-week election had been counted. Although the final tally was not expected until Thursday evening at the earliest, BJP President Amit Shah claimed a victory, crediting Modis leadership. Modi himself tweeted: India wins yet again. The election has been seen as a referendum on Indias 68-year-old prime minister, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog in Indias highly stratified society has endured. Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks exacerbating social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people. On the campaign trail, Modi presented himself as a self-made man with the confidence to cut red tape and unleash Indias economic potential, and labeled Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that lost power in 2014, as an out-of-touch elite. The BJPs performance is absolutely stunning. Modi is the predominant leader in India today. He has pushed everybody else aside. Nobody in the opposition is a match for him, said political commentator Arti Jerath. Half a dozen exit polls released after voting concluded Sunday showed Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party winning. A party or coalition needs a simple majority of 272 seats, or just over half the seats in Parliaments lower house, to govern. Mr. Modis going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that, said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. Shortly after officials began tabulating the votes, Indias Sensex jumped 2.3% to an all-time high over 40,000. If BJPs lead holds, it wont need a coalition partner to stay in power and could even improve its position compared to 2014, when it won 282 seats. This election may mark the first time in the partys history that it has two consecutive elections on its own. World leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, congratulated Modi on Twitter. Trends in the election data suggest that BJPs strategy of pursuing an aggressive campaign in eastern India paid off, with the party breaking into the citadels of Trinamool Congress Party in West Bengal state and the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha state. Picking up seats in these two states would compensate for projected losses in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The biggest losers appear to be the communists who ruled West Bengal state for 34 years until they were ousted by Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress Party in 2011. Coalition partners of the Congress-led government in New Delhi between 2004 and 2008, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was leading in only three constituencies and the Communist party of India in two constituencies. Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of people cheered and shouted party slogans, lifting cardboard cut-outs of Modi and BJP President Amit Shah into the air as other people played drums and set off fireworks. Mohit Sharma, a 29-year-old who runs a bathroom fittings business, said India had never had a prime minister like Modi. In the past, when leaders after they won elections, they sat in air-conditioned rooms and they never reached out to people, but Modi was never like that. He was always connected to the people through social media, Sharma said. Fashion designer Sandeep Verma, 39, said he wasnt a BJP supporter but had voted for the party in the elections. A country like India needs a decisive leader and the people did not find that in Rahul Gandhi. There was no alternative to Modi, Verma said. The BJP harnessed social media, including Twitter, where Modi has 47.4 million followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters. Modi also capitalized on a suicide bombing in Kashmir in February that killed 40 Indian soldiers. India retaliated with airstrikes at alleged terrorist training camps in Pakistan, fanning the flames of nationalism and helping the BJP turn voters attention away from the flailing economy and onto matters of national security. The airstrike gave him the narrative he needed to counter all these allegations of non-performance, unemployment and rural distress. It reenergized him and enabled him to reclaim his image as a strong leader India needs at this juncture, Jerath said. As votes were counted across India, Pakistans military said it has successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. At Congress headquarters, only a few party workers stood outside looking dejected. Jagdish Sharma, 50, blamed the counting method, using electronic voting machines, saying Rahul Gandhi is the crowds favorite, but has always lost only due to EVMs. While EVMs exist even Lord Vishnu cant defeat Modi, he said, referring to a powerful Hindu god. Voters cast ballots on some 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse. But losing candidates and political parties have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the electronic method, doing so again this week. Top opposition leaders met with Election Commission officials on Tuesday after videos appeared on social media showing some electronic voting machines being moved. The party officials alleged that the machines were going to be altered, but the commission said the images showed unused machines being moved into storage. ___ Associated Press journalists Rishabh R. Jain, Bharatha Mallawarachi and Ashok Sharma contributed to this report. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. A violent tornado touched down in Jefferson City, causing heavy damage in Missouris capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing three deaths and leaving many people trapped in the wreckage of their homes. The service reported that a confirmed large and destructive tornado was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph (64 kph). The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of St. Louis. Across the state, Missouris first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people, Governor Mike Parson said. I want our responders and all the neighbors who acted selflessly to help their neighbors to know how much their heroic efforts are appreciated by all Missourians. Missouri Public Safety confirmed in a tweet that three people were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, and several injured in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said around 2:15 a.m. Thursday that there were no reports of fatalities in the capital, but authorities had received multiple calls of people being trapped in homes. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest. Its a chaotic situation right now, Williams said. Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriffs office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Area hospitals did not see an immediate influx of patients but set up command centers in case the need arises. We have four patients with minor injuries, said Jessica Royston, spokeswoman at St. Marys Health Center. Power outages were reported in parts of the city. Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding. Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his apartment complex to do his wash and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers. After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage. Theres basically one building thats basically one story now. Every building there is two stories. The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. The Arkansas River town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, was one such town. Town officials ordered a mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon because of the rivers rising level. But Wednesday evening, a posting on the towns official Facebook page sounded the alarm about the runaway barges for its 600 residents: Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!! There was no word by midnight Wednesday where the barges were on the river, but local television stations showing live video of the river and the lock and dam said they had not yet arrived. The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather on Thursday. Deaths from this weeks storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified womans body was sent to the state medical examiners office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isnt yet listed as what would be the states first storm-related death. Planes spread out across the sky, nearly wingtip to wingtip. A snipers bullet whizzing by the ear. Squeezing a dying soldiers hand, so he knew he was not alone. Across three quarters of a century, the old veterans remember that epic day on the beaches of Normandy. For historians, D-Day was a turning point in the war against Germany; for men who were among the 160,000 Allied fighters who mounted historys largest amphibious invasion, June 6, 1944, remains a kaleidoscope of memories, a signal moment of their youth. Not many of those brave men remain , and those that do often use canes, walkers or wheelchairs. Few are willing or able to return to Normandy for the anniversary. But listen to the stories of some who are making that sentimental journey that spans thousands of miles and 75 years. ___ The day before Dennis Trudeau parachuted into Normandy, he wrote his parents a letter saying he was about to go into battle but they shouldnt worry. Everything is going to be fine and dandy, he wrote. After all, Im not scared. Trudeau had joined the Canadian military at 17 and became a paratrooper, in part because they were paid an extra $50 a month. Hes 93 now, living in Grovetown, Georgia. But his memories of D-Day and the day before D-Day are undimmed. On June 5, 1944, he and the other paratroopers sat on the tarmac and joked about how theyd be in Paris by Christmas. But when they climbed into the plane, the chatter stopped. Trudeaus position was by the open jump door; he could look out across the vast array of planes and ships powering toward Normandy. Planes were strung out across the horizon. He prayed: I just kind of told the Lord, Let me see one more sunrise.' And then, he jumped. Trudeau landed in water up to his waist in a flooded field. In the dark, he rendezvoused with other paratroopers. They were on the way to their objective when friendly fire hit an Air Force bomb. Thrown into a ditch, Trudeau heard a dying friend nearby, calling out for his mother. You train with him and you ate with him and you slept with him and you fought with him. And in less than three hours, he was gone, he said. Within hours, combat would be over for Trudeau, as well. He was captured by German forces, and spent the duration in a prisoner-of-war camp. By the time the war was over he had gone from 135 pounds to about 85. He returned to Normandy in 1955 to see the graves of eight platoon members who didnt survive. This time, hell say a prayer over their graves. Theyre the heroes. Theyre the ones who gave everything they had, he said. __ There had been a number of false starts ahead of the invasion of Normandy. But Vincent Corsini knew June 6 was different. There was a certain feeling in the air an edge, as he describes it. Chaplains on deck encouraged troops to pray and troops were given a good breakfast. Certain other D-Day memories are crystal clear: peeking out over the edge of the landing craft with amazement at the U.S. firepower directed at the beach. Machine guns splattering the water as he unloaded. The weight of the 60mm mortars he carried. Tucked against the bottom of the hill overlooking Omaha Beach, he heard someone yelling for help from the water. Taking off as much equipment as he could, he ran back to the waves and found a stranded officer. As I was standing there looking at him, somebody up on the hill pulled the trigger, he said. The bullet narrowly missed his ear, feeling like a sonic boom, as it passed. Corsini grabbed the officer and pulled him to safety. Corsini went on to fight through the dense hedgerows of Normandy with the 29th Infantry Division until they captured the strategic city of Saint-Lo. At his home in a retirement community in Burlington, North Carolina, a plaque on the wall D-Day to St. Lo commemorates his efforts. Another marks his receipt of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, Frances highest decoration. He went back for the 50th D-Day anniversary and looked across a cemeterys field of white crosses. His wife and members of the French Club he meets with monthly encouraged him to go on the 75th anniversary, at age 94. His wartime experiences affected his life forever, he said. I wouldnt change my experience for a million dollars, he said, adding: I wouldnt go through it again for a million dollars. ___ Frank DeVita remembers the moment he froze. He had wanted to join the Air Force but had no peripheral vision. He wanted to join the Navy but it would take weeks to start basic training. Thats how he ended up in the Coast Guard on D-Day, ferrying troops to Omaha Beach. His job was to lower the ramp when the craft got to shore and then raise it after the troops clamored out. But in the early morning hours, as machine gun fire rained down on the boat, that ramp served as DeVitas shield, protecting him and the other men inside. The coxswain screamed at him to lower the ramp, and in the roar of the cannons and the crafts diesel engines, DeVita couldnt hear him. The coxswain screamed again. I froze. I was so scared because I knew when I dropped that ramp the bullets that were hitting the ramp were going to come into the boat and Id probably be dead in five minutes, said DeVita, 94, speaking from his home in Bridgewater, New Jersey. When he finally dropped the ramp, he said 14 or 15 troops were immediately raked by machine gun fire. One soldier fell at his feet, his red hair full of blood: I reached down and I touched his hand, because I wanted him to know he wasnt alone. Then, when he tried to lift the ramp, it was stuck. DeVita had to crawl over dead bodies lining the bottom of the landing craft to fix it. Again and again, the landing craft ferried men to the beach. When there were no more men to ferry, DeVita and the other sailors pulled bodies from the choppy seas. For decades until recently he never spoke of these things. This June hell make his 12th trip back to Normandy. Eager to keep the memory of what happened there alive, he has often brought others along to places like the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer . Pick out a tombstone, any tombstone. Place your hand on that white marble and say to yourself, Six feet down is a boy. . He gave his life for his country and then you lift your eyes up and you see 9,400 white marble tombstones, he said. They all gave their lives for their country. ___ At 93, Norman Harold Kirby looks back at D-Day and the months of fighting that followed and finds it hard to remember exactly what happened. A lot of it, I tried to forget, he said. The Canadian, who now lives in Lions Bay, British Columbia, had joined the army when he was only 17 and was barely a 19-year-old private when he climbed into the landing craft that would take him to shore. The landing craft hit a mine, blowing a hole in the ship. His ears ringing from the explosion, Kirby abandoned the heavy gear he was carrying, his Bren machine gun and ammunition, and climbed over the side. Many who couldnt swim died in the water. I landed on the on the beach with my knife, fork and spoon, he said. On Juno Beach, he remembers an intense cacophony of sounds. Aircraft flying overhead. Navy shells rocketing toward the German positions. The noise was just unrealYou couldnt hear anything, anybody talking or anything. People were yelling, he said. You couldnt hear them because of all the racket going on. Kirby went back to France and Europe several times after the war as a tourist but for years never returned to Juno Beach. I would not go to the beach. I always stayed away from it. I didnt want to go, he said. Finally his wife sent him on a trip to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of the invasion. This time, shell accompany him to the 75th anniversary. ___ Climbing into the plane that would take him to Normandy, Eugene Deibler had no idea what to expect. The 19-year-old had joined the paratroopers to avoid being a radio operator, trained for months and survived a broken ankle in jump school, but had yet to see combat. Gathered at Merryfield Airfield in southwest England, the paratroopers had already gotten geared up to jump the night before, and then the operation was called off due to bad weather. All that pent-up energy had to go someplace, and Deibler remembers troops getting into fights. The second night, it was a go. Climbing into the plane, Deibler remembers telling himself that if his buddies could do this, so could he. If you werent scared something was wrong with you, he said. Because youre just a kid, you know? As they arrived at the French coast, he remembers heavy antiaircraft fire and tracer bullets from machine guns lighting up the sky like fireworks. We said Lets get the hell out of this plane,' he said. The jump light went on, and out they went. On the ground, their job was to secure a series of locks on the Douve River to prevent the Germans from opening the locks and flooding the fields. But they ran into such fierce resistance trying to secure another objective a set of bridges that they had to fall back. Deibler went on to fight across Normandy, Holland and Belgium, in the Battle of Bastogne. This will be his first time back to Normandy since the invasion, and hed like to see whats changed. At his Charlotte, North Carolina, home, the 94-year-old retired dentist has a collection of World War II books. Hes afraid that the great conflict will be forgotten. How many people remember the Civil War? How many people will remember World War I? And now its the same with World War II, he said. World War II will fade away also. ___ Of all the medals and awards that Steve Melnikoff received as a 23-year-old fighting his way across Europe, the Combat Infantry Badge means the most to him. It signifies the bearer had intimate contact with the enemy, he said. And Melnikoff certainly did. When he landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day-plus-1 June 7, 1944 victory was far from secure. His unit was part of the bloody campaign to capture the French town of Saint-Lo through fields marked by thick hedgerows that provided perfect cover for German troops. He remembers the battle for Hill 108 dubbed Purple Heart Hill for its ferocity. His job was to take up the Browning Automatic Rifle should the man wielding it go down. The Germans had shot and killed his friend who was carrying the BAR, and Melnikoff picked it up. About an hour later, he too was shot. As he went down, he looked to the side and saw his lieutenant also come under fire. Hes being hit by the same automatic fire, just standing there taking all these hits. And when the machine gun stopped firing he just hit the ground. He was gone, Melnikoff said. That is what happens in war, he said, speaking from his Cockeysville, Maryland, home. For decades he didnt talk about the war and knows some men who went to their graves never speaking about it again. But he feels an obligation now to talk about what he and others went through. In his hundredth year, he works closely with The Greatest Generations Foundation which helps veterans return to battlefields where they fought. This year on June 6, hell go back to the cemetery and pay his respects. This prosperity and peace that weve had for all these years, its because of that generation, he said. It cant happen again and thats why I go there. __ Associated Press reporters David Martin in Bridgewater, N.J. and Tom Sampson in Cockeysville, Md. contributed to this report. BILLINGS, Mont. The Trump administrations decision to lift a moratorium on coal sales from public lands could hasten the release of more than 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases, but officials concluded Wednesday it would make little difference in overall U.S. climate emissions. That conclusion from the Bureau of Land Management comes after a judge ruled last month the administration had failed to consider the environmental effects of resuming coal sales from public lands. Sales were largely halted in 2016 under President Barack Obama over worries about climate change. But the moratorium was rescinded by then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke soon after President Donald Trump took office, fulfilling a campaign pledge from the Republican. Critics said the Trump administrations contention that resuming sales would have negligible effects on the environment was absurd given the scope of the federal coal program. About 40% of coal burned in the U.S. comes from federal leases, primarily in Western states including Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Montana and New Mexico. Companies have mined about 4 billion tons of coal from federal reserves in the past decade, contributing $10 billion to federal and state coffers through royalties and other payments. In Wednesdays report , the Bureau of Land Management analyzed applications from companies for coal leases totaling more than 2.5 billion tons of the fuel. Just over 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases would be produced by burning the fuel for electricity over the next 20 years, the agency said. Thats equivalent to just over 1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector for 2017, according to the agency. The agencys conclusion was based on the assumption that coal sales would have resumed as normal once the moratorium ended in 2019. The lifting of the coal leasing pause would not change the cumulative levels of (greenhouse gas) emissions resulting from coal leasing, officials wrote. Environmentalists who sued to reinstate the moratorium said that assumption was flawed. They also blasted officials for providing only a 15-day comment period. This seems to be both absurd and tremendously insulting to the public, said attorney Michael Saul with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several groups that sued to block the moratorium. Economics plus physics tell us that mining more cheap coal means burning more coal, which means more CO2 in the atmosphere and a hotter planet. The attorneys general of California, New Mexico, New York and Washington all Democrats also had challenged Trumps move to end the moratorium. In his April ruling, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Montana said federal officials wrongly avoided an environmental review of their action by describing it as a mere policy shift. In so doing, officials ignored the environmental effects of selling huge volumes of coal from public lands, the judge said. The office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement that the Trump administration had rushed through its response to Morris order without making any substantive changes. Attorneys for the state were prepared to return to the judge to seek full compliance with the ruling, Becerras office said. A spokeswoman for the National Mining Association, which intervened in the court cases on behalf of the Trump administration, declined to comment on Wednesdays report. The industry group has said previously that it was the Obama administration that violated federal law, by imposing the moratorium without first analyzing its effects on the coal industry. In February, Interior Department officials had announced a sale of coal leases on public lands in Utah by issuing a statement headlined The War on Coal is Over. They said the sale would not have been possible if the administration had not overturned the Obama-era moratorium. __ Follow Matthew Brown at https://twitter.com/matthewbrownap Since its creation more than six decades ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has cemented a reputation as the arbiter of flight safety, with regulators around the world routinely adopting its approvals. In the wake of two deadly incidents with Boeing Co.s latest 737 Max model, that order was turned on its head. Right after the second crash, which left 157 people dead in Ethiopia on March 10, China took the lead in suspending the Max. A worldwide cascade of bans followed. The FAA was the notable holdout for several days until it declared that the U.S. would also stop all flights, a humbling about-face for the American agency. The agencys effort to rebuild its stature reaches a pivotal moment Thursday when it convenes a meeting in Texas for global regulators including those of China, the European Union, Canada and Brazil to review plans to get the plane airborne again. The Maxs grounding is now entering its 10th week. Today, the FAA and Boeing have zero credibility after the Max crashes, said Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation consultant and former pilot based in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Europe and China will definitely take the lead in breaking the American hold. Defiance of the FAA showed a rare lack of coordination in an industry that has worked to unify processes such as airworthiness approvals and air-traffic control. The confusion handed China soon to unseat the U.S. as the worlds largest aviation market a powerful voice as the FAA struggles with allegations that serious design flaws on the Max werent properly detected or disclosed. The gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, is likely to feel the pull of competing forces: A technical discussion on the surface, interlaced with political and financial considerations as governments try to strike a balance between holding the FAA and Boeing accountable and keeping their people safe, while getting the latest model of the worlds most widely flown plane back in business. Even before the meeting kicks off, some regulators are suggesting that any return to operation wont be swift because theyll want to run their own vetting processes first. The FAA said the purpose of the gathering is to work with technical experts from other civil aviation authorities to address specific concerns related to the 737 Max. In another sign of push-back against the FAA and Boeings traditional lead role in such matters, executives from some of the worlds largest airlines are also gathering on Thursday for a private meeting in Canada to discuss 737 Max issues. Acting administrator Daniel Elwell acknowledged in testimony to Congress that the swift groundings of the jet around the world had tested the agencys image. Internationally, we are collaborative 99% of the time, Elwell told the House aviation subcommittee on May 15. When the Ethiopian accident happened, it was not a collaborative process from Sunday night till Wednesday morning, despite our best efforts and attempts to have conversations. I know countries act and they act for various reasons. At the heart of the 737 Max issue is a stabilizing software that may have contributed to its deadly descent in Ethiopia and, five months earlier in Indonesia. Both crashes occurred shortly after takeoff. Boeing said May 16 that the Max had successfully performed 207 flights with a software upgrade. Once a full package is adopted, the FAA will schedule a flight test by its pilots. That may not be enough to appease some critics. Wed really like to see some transparency and for Boeing and the FAA to take responsibility for whats happened, said Jon Horne, the president of the European Cockpit Association, a Brussels-based pilot lobby. At the moment, theres still an awful amount behind closed doors. Boeing spokesman Chaz Bickers said the company has been working with U.S., European and other global regulators on the process for certifying the updated software, along with the associated enhanced pilot training and education that will help prevent accidents like these from ever happening again. Chinas response to the Boeing crisis, in particular, is a complicated maneuver. By the mid-2020s, the nation will displace the U.S. as the worlds largest aviation market, the International Air Transport Association estimates. A growing number of newly mobile Chinese citizens are creating huge demand for aircraft. Its airlines, most of which are state-owned, have received more than 2,000 Boeing jets to date, double the number half a decade ago. No other country has greater demand for aircraft: In the 20 years through 2037, Boeing estimates Chinese purchases at 7,690 new planes worth $1.2 trillion. In aircraft manufacturing, however, China is a bit player in an industry firmly locked in the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus SE. While state-owned Comacs C919 had its maiden flight in May 2017, that plane is years from being a commercial proposition. So regulators in the U.S. and Europe remain the global pace-setters. China has never built planes acceptable to the world market, said Neil Hansford, chairman of Strategic Aviation Solutions, an Australian consultancy firm. Chinese regulators are followers, not leaders, and have shown no independence from the government. I dont believe China will influence any world aviation decisions anytime soon. The Boeing crisis comes at a difficult moment in U.S.-China relations. The trade war is intensifying, though China has so far refrained from extending tariffs to its orders of Boeing aircraft. (Chinese airlines made up about 20% of 737 Max deliveries worldwide through January, according to Boeing.) China is well versed in the language of business diplomacy. In 2017, Airbus was locked in a standoff with Beijing, which was slow-walking certification of the A320neo model because of what analysts at Bernstein described as a mini trade war as the Chinese agency sought recognition as a certifying authority in Europe. A bilateral safety agreement came into effect just this week, strengthening Chinas global role because its jets will face less scrutiny in the European market. The FAA, too, is keen on these accords. The agency signed agreements with regulators in Singapore, Brazil, China and with the European Aviation Safety Agency in the last two years. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury cautioned on May 16 that the industry shouldnt dial back its collaborative approach, despite what he called a lot of tension and a lot of questioning from authorities in the wake of the Boeing crash. Its very important that we have one system when it comes to safety of aviation, Faury said at a briefing in London. This has led to a continuous increase in safety and a continuous increase in standards. How regulators approach the next steps for the 737 Max will test the industrys appetite for collaboration. Europe and Canada have both said they want to conduct independent studies before letting the Boeing plane fly again. Some authorities have turned much more negative. Indonesia may keep the aircraft grounded until next year in the wake of the crash there, Director General of Civil Aviation Polana Pramesti said. Two of the nations carriers are among the biggest customers of the aircraft. Boeing has to be able to assure us, the regulators, that the aircraft is safe, Pramesti said in an interview on May 20. They also have to regain confidence from the pilots and the airlines, then educate Indonesian customers. I cannot say whether we will keep using the aircraft or not. That tough stance risks eroding the global detente among regulators, an outcome that Alexandre de Juniac, director general of IATA, says would hurt the entire industry. Competition between regulators would be detrimental, de Juniac, whose organization represents more than 280 carriers, said in Paris this month. Airlines want to avoid each model being certified 1,000 times. Bloombergs Harry Suhartono, Julie Johnsson and Yan Zhang contributed to this report. Paris, TX (75460) Today Rain showers early with some sunshine later in the day. Thunder possible. High 77F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will become overcast later during the night. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 56F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Sunrise Stars and Stripes Flag Program, a service project of the Rotary Club of Rio Rancho-Sunrise, is leasing flags to homes and businesses to celebrate patriotism this Memorial Day. Customers can sign up to receive a flag for a business or residence. They can lease flags for one or all of the five major patriotic holidays: Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day. A couple of days before the holiday, this beautiful flag just appears in their front yard, said Raymond McKinney, who runs the program. We would have already come by and put a pipe sleeve in their yard, and just put the flag in that sleeve. A couple of days after the holiday, we go back and collect the flags and put them away for them. Then theyll see another flag like that at Flag Day, and then Fourth of July. So, this flag just magically appears in their yard. McKinney said the only care customers must take toward the flags is to bring them into their porch or garage at night, because they are not supposed to be displayed in the dark. Businesses are also encouraged to lease flags for the holidays. For businesses, Sunrise Stars and Stripes will put the flags up and take them down every day, so owners dont have to worry about handling multiple flags. Proceeds from leased flags support many local programs and activities, including DeGroot-Atkins Nursing Scholarship for Nursing Students, Rio Rancho Schools Student and Teacher of the Month, Sunday is Funday and Youth Exchange Program. Our Rotary club is one of 33,000 Rotary clubs throughout the world so all of the proceeds from this go to support all kinds of projects, McKinney said. We do a big nursing scholarship every year over $100,000 worth of scholarships for nurses over the past 10 years. We also support projects around town. For instance, were meeting later this week with Rio Rancho Police Department about their canine program we want to help support police dogs. The flag program is also looking to work with partners that might need a fundraising opportunity. An organization like the Boy or Girl Scouts, or ROTC could deliver and pick up flags, and the flag program would then donate a part of the proceeds to that group. McKinney said one of the most rewarding parts of participating in the flag program is getting to see the flags flying high in the sky especially around Intel and Don Chalmers Ford. People will stop us when were putting them out or picking them up and say, Hey, we love the flags thank you so much for doing that. So, thats probably the best part, he said. A lot of people really enjoy it. For more information on the Sunrise Stars and Stripes Flag Program and to lease a flag, go to rioranchorotarysunrise.org NORFOLK, Va. The mystery of whether Gov. Ralph Northam was in the racist yearbook photo that upended Virginia politics may never be solved, but one thing is clear: The governor has survived what many initially thought was a fatal blow and has managed to return to something resembling normal. Since a picture surfaced in February from Northams 1984 medical school yearbook page showing a man in blackface standing next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe, Northam has managed to fend off demands for his resignation. Hes even won praise from black lawmakers for such moves as ending the suspension of drivers licenses for unpaid fines and ordering a review of how schools teach Americas racial history. Im looking forward to seeing what else comes out of the administration, said Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, a member of the black caucus and a rising star in her party who is considering a statewide run in 2021. Stephen Morris, an African American from Suffolk, reacted with a shrug Wednesday after attorneys hired by Eastern Virginia Medical School said they couldnt conclusively determine the identities of either person in the 35-year-old photo. I dont take it to be a big thing. As long as hes doing the right thing with our government, I dont think he should leave office at all, Morris said. Such a muted response is a far cry from a few months ago when Northams clumsy response to the picture caused a major uproar. The Democrat initially acknowledged he was in the photo and apologized, then reversed course the next day, saying he was not in it. The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, the state House Democratic Caucus, the state Senate Democratic Caucus, the Democratic Party of Virginia, and every Virginia Democrat in Congress called on Northam to resign. So did Democratic presidential hopefuls and several key progressive groups that have been some of the governors closest political allies. People he naively thought were friends didnt even make a phone call to at least tell the governor they were going to call for his resignation, Northams chief of staff, Clark Mercer, told lawyers investigating the yearbook picture. In a statement Wednesday, Northam, a 59-year-old pediatric neurologist, repeated that hes not in the photo and apologized again to Virginians, admitting his handling of the episode deepened pain and confusion. The picture started a wave of scandals that quickly enveloped Northams two potential successors, both Democrats. Two women publicly accused Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, which he denied. And just days after calling on Northam to resign, Attorney General Mark Herring announced he, too, had worn blackface in the 1980s when he was in college. Both Fairfax and Herring also ignored calls to resign. The Democratic Party of Virginia recently rejected a bid by Fairfax to sponsor a table at the partys biggest fundraising dinner of the year. And Herring, who had previously announced a run for governor in 2021, faces an uncertain political future. And while Northam has been able to return to a sense of normalcy, his tenure will forever be marked by the scandal. He recently had to cancel a political fundraiser where protesters gathered, and withdrew as a commencement speaker at his alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute. The three interlocking scandals briefly raised the possibility that Virginias top three Democrats would lose their jobs and the Republican House speaker would become governor. On Wednesday, GOP House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert panned the investigation, saying the report didnt prove Northam isnt in the picture. He also noted that according to the report, the medical schools leaders knew about the picture before it became public and said nothing. It certainly appears that there was an effort to avoid public disclosure of such a racist photograph on the yearbook page of the most prominent alumni in school history, Gilbert said. ___ Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia. John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for the Taliban and was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, got out of prison Thursday after more than 17 years, released under tight restrictions that reflected government fears he still harbors radical views. President Donald Trump reacted by saying, I dont like it at all. Heres a man who has not given up his proclamation of terror, he said. Lindh, 38, left a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, after getting time off for good behavior from the 20-year sentence he received when he pleaded guilty to providing support to the Taliban. It was not immediately clear where the man known as the American Taliban will live or what he will do. He turned down an interview request last week, and his attorney declined to comment Thursday. In a Fox News interview, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decried Lindhs early release as unexplainable and unconscionable and called for a review of prison system policies. The president said he asked lawyers whether there was anything that could be done to block Lindh from getting out but was told no. Trump said the U.S. will closely monitor him. Under restrictions imposed by a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, Lindhs internet devices must have monitoring software; his online communications must be conducted in English; he must undergo mental health counseling; he is forbidden to possess or view extremist material; and he cannot hold a passport or leave the U.S. FBI counterterrorism officials work with federal prison authorities to determine what risk a soon-to-be-released inmate might pose. Probation officers never explained why they sought the restrictions against Lindh. But in 2017, Foreign Policy magazine cited a National Counterterrorism Center report that said Lindh continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts. On Wednesday, NBC reported that Lindh, in a letter to a producer from Los Angeles-based affiliate KNBC, wrote in 2015 that the Islamic State group was doing a spectacular job. Lindh converted to Islam as a teenager after seeing the movie Malcolm X and eventually made his way to Pakistan and Afghanistan and joined the Taliban. He met Osama bin Laden and was with the Taliban on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Lindh was captured on the battlefield after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11 and was initially charged with conspiring to kill Mike Spann, a CIA operative who died during an uprising of Taliban prisoners shortly after interrogating Lindh. Lindh denied any role in Spanns death. But he admitted carrying an assault rifle and two grenades during his time with the Taliban. Spanns daughter Alison Spann, now a journalist in Mississippi, posted a letter on Twitter that she said she had sent to Trump. In it, she called Lindhs early release a slap in the face to everyone killed on 9/11 and in the war on terror since then, along with the millions of Muslims worldwide who dont support radical extremists. Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan also expressed concern about Lindhs release in a letter last week to the federal Bureau of Prisons. We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence, they wrote. The bureau defended itself Thursday in a statement that said Lindhs release followed federal laws and guidelines. It said it works closely with outside agencies to reduce the risk terrorist offenders pose inside and outside of prisons, and added that no radicalized inmate has returned to federal prison on terrorism-related charges. Moazzam Begg, a former detainee at Guantanamo, now serves as director of outreach for London-based CAGE, which supports the rights of those accused of terror-related crimes. He said the criticism over Lindhs early release is misguided. If anything, Begg said, Lindh was imprisoned too long. He noted that many of the other Taliban fighters who were sent to Guantanamo as enemy combatants were released much earlier. As for Lindhs letter in support of the Islamic State, Begg noted that it was written four years ago and that Lindh might not have had full knowledge of the groups atrocities from behind bars. Nobody really knows what his views are right now in 2019, he said. In a statement, Begg said: It is now time for him to be allowed to restart his life in peace and freedom. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Alison Spann is a journalist in Mississippi, not Alabama. ___ Barakat reported from Falls Church, Va. Contributors include Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama and Eric Tucker in Washington. BAYTOWN, Texas A Houston-area police officer who fatally shot a woman with mental illness is back on the job but not the streets. Baytown police Officer Juan Delacruz returned to work Monday, according to a department spokesman. Hell be on administrative duty during the investigation into his shooting of 44-year-old Pamela Turner. Delacruzs return to duty was announced Thursday as community leaders, elected officials and Turners family gathered at a Houston church to memorialize her and call for justice. I want Baytown, Texas, to know this is not something youre going to brush under the rug and send the policeman back to work, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights activist, said during a eulogy. If hes going back to work, were going back to work too to get justice for Pamela Turner. Turner is the latest in a line of black people whose deaths in police shootings were captured on video and drew national attention. Delacruz shot Turner on May 13 after she hit him with his Taser in a struggle during an attempted arrest, police have said. Turners family has presented the Hispanic officer as the aggressor, saying he was Turners neighbor , knew she had paranoid schizophrenia and should have de-escalated the situation. A lawyer for the family said Wednesday that video of the incident and a private autopsy show Delacruz shot Turner in the stomach, chest and face while a safe distance away. The Texas Rangers and the civil rights division of the Harris County district attorneys office are investigating the shooting. FORT WORTH, Texas After an all-day meeting with global aviation regulators, the chief of the Federal Aviation Administration sounded more upbeat than ever about prospects for clearing the troubled Boeing 737 Max to fly again. Aviation officials from more 30 countries met with the FAA to hear the U.S. regulators approach to reviewing changes that Boeing is making after two crashes that killed 346 people. We are going through an incredibly intensive and robust process to make the safety case to unground the Max, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell told reporters when the closed-door meeting was over. He added that the agency wont let the plane fly until we have made that safety case. Boeing has not yet submitted a final, formal application for its update to a flight-control system that has been implicated in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. That submission will be followed by test flights to demonstrate the changes to FAA experts. Elwell declined to put a timetable on the planes return or comment on reports that FAA officials told a separate meeting of airline officials in Montreal that the plane could be cleared for flights in the U.S. as soon as late June. The meeting Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, was crucial to the U.S. agencys hopes of convincing other regulators around the world to lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. Among those scheduled to attend were regulators from China, Europe and Canada, as well as officials from Indonesia and Ethiopia, sites of the two crashes that occurred before the Max was grounded worldwide in March. Boeing is fixing flight-control software that in each accident pushed the planes nose down based on faulty readings from a single sensor. It will tie the system to more than one sensor and make it less powerful pilots for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to counter the systems automatic nose-down pitch. Elwell has said he hopes other regulators will lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. However, regulators in China, the European Union and Canada have said they plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeings software changes and have stressed the need for additional pilot training. Once airlines get the green light, they will have to remove their Max jets from long-term storage and prepare them for flying. That will take anywhere from two days to a week, said Ali Bahrami, the FAAs associate director of aviation safety. A far more significant delay in the planes return to service could occur if regulators decide that pilots should train in flight simulators first. Boeing is pushing for computer-based training only. Elwell said the FAA has not made a final decision, and that during Thursdays meeting no other country said it would insist on simulator training. The FAA did not allow reporters to attend or watch the meeting, and it kept them away from international aviation officials who attended the all-day session at a gated FAA office. It is unclear whether the event will do much to convince travelers that the Max is safe. Barclays said that its survey this month of 1,765 travelers in North America and Europe found that nearly half plan to avoid flying on the Max for a year or longer. About half said they would pick a non-Max flight if given the choice. Airlines are making plans for a campaign to reassure nervous customers. They know it wont be easy. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told NBC that because of all the news coverage of the crashes and their aftermath, no amount of marketing will sway worried passengers. There may be some period of time before customers are comfortable flying on the plane, Parker said, but we will work through that. He suggested that if passengers see U.S. pilots getting on board, they will follow. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said this week that he will be on the carriers next Max flight. He added, however, that United would let passengers who dont want to fly on the plane rebook without the customary ticket-change fee. The Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group based in the Washington suburbs, is urging regulators to coordinate recertification of the Max. The groups CEO, Hassan Shahidi, said that would lift public confidence and be less disruptive than a fragmented, country-by-country return of the plane. ___ David Koenig can be reached at http://twitter.com/airlinewriter 10 NM again posts fifth-highest unemployment rate in the nation ABQnews Seeker CORTEZ, Colo. Authorities say a man died hours after he was booked into a jail in southwestern Colorado. Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin told the Cortez Journal that jailers found 33-year-old Michael McMordie unresponsive and not breathing in his cell early Wednesday. Nowlin says CPR was performed, but McMordie could not be revived. He says the death is under investigation, and an autopsy will be conducted. Cortez Police Patrol Sgt. Rex Brinkerhoff says McMordie was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for failing to appear in court on a trespassing charge. Nowlin says McMordie did not show signs of distress when he was booked into the county jail that evening. ___ Information from: Cortez Journal, http://www.cortezjournal.com/ CHICO, Calif. - The Chico Chamber of Commerce announced that Chico is having trouble recruiting new workers because of the growing housing shortage. The Katy Thoma, the president of the chamber say organizations that are affected by this worker shortage include Chico State and Enloe Medical Center. In addition, Thoma says Chico lost workers because of the housing shortage. A recent survey by the chamber found that after the Camp Fire, 600 workers lost homes, and a handful of those who lost homes chose not to come back to Chico. Not only that, but 100 of those workers have still not been able to find housing. "If you don't have labor, you don't have business, right? The fact that folks are leaving town, our businesses are having trouble recruiting," Thoma said. The chamber endorses Housing Bill AB 430, which would speed up housing production by exempting projects from review under the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill passed the state assembly on Monday. The chamber plans to host a discussion with the city this summer to evaluate how much housing is available in the city. UPDATE 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 23, 2019 - The Yuba County Sheriff's Office has identified the victim in a shooting on Highway 70 Wednesday night as Alejandro Escobar, 36, of Sacramento. The second victim was treated at a local hospital and released overnight for a minor injury. The suspects and suspect vehicle are still outstanding. Stay tuned for updates. --- YUBA COUNTY, Calif. - The Yuba County Sheriff's Office said two men traveling from Chico to Sacramento were victims of a car-to-car shooting on Highway 70, south of Plumas Lake Boulevard. There was a verbal altercation around 5:51 p.m. on Wednesday evening before the shooting happened between the two cars in Marysville. An investigation to find the suspects is now underway. Deputies said the victims were shot by occupants in what is described as a gold sedan. The sheriff's office said one person died at the scene. A passenger in the victim's car was injured but the driver was not injured. The suspects were reportedly unknown to the victims. The Yuba County Sheriff Investigations Unit said anyone with information is asked to call the office at 530-749-7777 or the anonymous tip line at 530-749-7930. REDDING, Calif. - The Shasta County District Attorney has found that officers involved in a July 2018 shooting are justified. Just before 6 a.m. on July 23, 2018, officers were dispatched to Shasta High School due to reports of an assault on campus. A school district employee told officers that a man he did not recognize punched him in the head multiple times and threatened to kill him. Around 8:26 a.m. on the same day, officers in the area searching for the suspect also responded to reports of a residential burglary on Overhill Drive. Video surveillance was available to authorities during both incidents. They were able to identify the suspect as Masa Warden, 32. Officers then received reports of a man matching the description of the suspect engaging in threatening behavior near the river trail. At around 9:47 a.m., officers found Warden in the river trail area. After multiple attempts to get Warden to comply and show officers his hands, he continued to reach for his waistband, which made officers think he had a weapon. Warden received multiple gunshot wounds to his lower body and received medical treatment on scene and at a hospital after he was detained. Investigators determined that Warden was a wanted fugitive out of Las Vegas, NV. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation for kidnapping and had an active warrant for his arrest for probation violation. Criminal charges were filed against Warden for an assault on the Shasta High School employee, the residential burglary, and resisting arrest by force or violence. He pled to the crimes and was sentenced to four years in state prison in August of 2018. To read the district attorney's full report, CLICK HERE, or see below. CHICO, Calif. -- PG&E made a stunning statement at the special Paradise town council meeting on Wednesday night. Aaron Johnson, PG&E's Vice President of Electric Operations, also announced the utility would place its electric lines underground. "On behalf of my company, I want to apologize for the role our equipment had on this tragedy," said Johnson. A brief moment of applause happened as PG&E apologized, one week after fire officials said the company's equipment started the Camp Fire. "I thought it was sincere, I thought they did a nice job. I feel like they're trying," said Scott Norman, a Camp Fire survivor. "Nothing I can stand up in front of you and say is going to undo that. We also understand it creates an obligation for us to do the right thing for this community," said Johnson. "We've all been expecting the news about PG&E and there's a lot of people who lost, you know, people here and that wasn't mentioned," said Cathy Gallentine, a Camp Fire survivor. PG&E talked about their latest plan in the rebuilding efforts. "Moving forward we will be undergrounding the entire distribution system for the town and surrounding areas," said Johnson. The special meeting also covered ideas Camp Fire survivors wanted for the future of Paradise. People gave feedback on ideas such as having interior sprinklers and a permanent perimeter foundation. "We love our town and we're not going anywhere else, we're in for the long haul," said Dawn Carey, a Camp Fire survivor. The project boards will be available at the Paradise Town Hall for one week for anyone who hasn't had a chance to come to this meeting and give their input. We are getting a little warmer for your Thursday across Northern California, but the chance for mountain showers will be lingering for your afternoon. We're starting out dry today with partly cloudy skies. Temperatures have stayed warmer overnight. Valley areas are in the 50's to low 60's this morning, and mountain areas are starting out in the 40's to 50's this morning. Skies will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy in the valley today, and mostly cloudy in the Sierra. There is a decent chance for scattered showers in the Sierra this afternoon, and a slight threat of thunderstorms in that region later today. Winds will be out of the North to around 20mph. High temperatures will top out in the low to mid 80's in the valley this aftenoon, and in the mid 60's to mid 70's in the mountains. Lower humidity and breezy North winds will push fire danger into the moderate range for your afternoon. We'll be dry for the start of your Friday, but another wet system will drop down from the Pacific Northwest on Friday afternoon. Scattered showers will be possible across the majority of our region for the latter part of your Friday forecast. Temperatures will be slightly cooler than today on Friday, and are expected to top out just below average for this time of year. Cooler, and unsettled weather is on the way for your Memorial Day Weekend. We'll have the chance for widespread showers and thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday. The best threat of active weather will extend from the North Valley through the Sierra. Temepratures will top out in the mid 70's in the valley on Saturday, and then drop into the mid to high 60's in the valley on Sunday. Most of the active weather will move into the mountains for your Memorial Day, but we can't rule out at least some showers in the valley. The chance for mountain showers will continue through the middle of next week, but valley areas will be dry by Tuesday. Temperatures will warm back into the high 70's to low 80's in the valley on Tuesday, and then into the mid 80's on Wednesday. Fujifilm India Private Limited, a pioneer in imaging technologies, announces Celebrity and Ace Fashion Photographer, Dabboo Ratnani as their Brand Ambassador for promoting its Medium Format GFX range of mirrorless cameras. As part of this strategic partnership, Fujifilm India will be rolling out various brand building initiatives with Dabboo Ratnani for its GFX range. Fujifilms medium format GFX range continues to be a popular choice among the photo enthusiasts and professional photographers across the world. The top-notch performance and easy functionality of these cameras have helped the brand successfully create a respectable name in the professional photography industry. The GFX series cater to its audience and professional photographers by helping them to experience the complete range of cameras, lenses and related accessories as per their requirement. With this state-of-the-art range of digital cameras, the company hopes to strengthen its foothold in the Mirrorless Segment and plans to achieve a 30% share in the Indian mirrorless market in the next 3-4 years. Dabboo Ratnani, one of Indias most coveted fashion and celebrity photographers, commands a strong foothold in the photography industry. His success and personality in the industry makes him align perfectly with Fujifilm. This new relationship will not only help Fujifilm further enhance its positioning in the camera industry, but also amplify the awareness and excitement around the X and GFX range of mirrorless cameras. Commenting on the occasion Mr. Haruto Iwata, Managing Director, Fujifilm India Pvt. Ltd. said, Mr. Dabboo Ratnani, Indias most renowned professional photographer in the industry connects strongly with todays generation of camera professionals and enthusiasts. The reputation that the photography king of Bollywood holds is completely in-line with our brand values. At Fujifilm, we constantly innovate and create products that resonate with the needs of our customers. We are really excited to have him as the face of Fujifilm GFX Series range and are looking forward to a wonderful journey together. Throwing light on the association, Mr. Dabboo Ratnani added, Being a celebrity and fashion photographer for over two decades, I am constantly looking to capture real moments that I can develop cinematically with DSLR and SLRs. I am thrilled to be associated with Fujifilm, as I have always admired their mirrorless cameras that pack suave features such as great image quality, impeccable colours and a body that is so easy to handle. I am looking forward to capture the diverse aspects of life with the help of their cutting-edge technology. This association will be a perfect opportunity for me to engage with camera enthusiasts and professionals around the globe while revelling the power of photography through Fujifilms range of mirrorless cameras. By Trend The Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan returned over 6 million manats to the state budget during the first 5 months of this year, Vugar Gulmammadov, Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan, said at a meeting of the working group of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), Trend reports. According to the chairman, this amount was recovered as a result of sending the results of the audit checks to law enforcement agencies. There were 9 such cases last year, due to which 23 million manats were returned to the budget. Moreover, errors and omissions were identified in inventory purchases, as well as incomplete tasks in progress in various departments, the chairman added. "The results of 2 inspections carried out since the beginning of the year were sent to law enforcement agencies, and criminal proceedings were instituted in connection with them," Gulmammadov said. Hopscotch - Indias new-age, kids fashion brand, has built its consumer base of 2.2 million monthly users solely based on their digital marketing efforts. In spite of being in the kids fashion space, the company is more invested in tech and social media related activities than any other player in the sector. From using technology to gathering detailed user data for better operations, to coming up with the most innovative digital campaigns and engaging with its consumers, Hopscotch always strives to stand out. Hopscotch recently unveiled its Mothers Day campaign in association with TikTok worlds leading short- video app. The campaign, which received up to 2 billion views in a week, focused on one of the lighter roles that every mom plays in her kids life, which is of a first-stylist. Hopscotch and TikTok partnered on a fun Rap-Challenge asking moms across the country to create videos that capture their experiences styling their kids while rapping to a Hopscotch rap song. The top 10 creative entries won Hopscotch vouchers worth 50,000 as a reward. Puneet Sehgal, Chief Operating Officer, Hopscotch India says, At Hopscotch, we are always looking for fun, creative ways to talk to our customers. Through our Mothers Day campaign, we not only wanted to thank Mothers for playing that role of our first-stylists, but also wanted to engage with them through a memorable activity in which both mother and child have fun participating; hopefully theyll look back at this video with fond memories. Our association with TikTok has helped us ensure that our message echoes across the country while reach our target audience in a fun way. Through this association, both brands created a partnership of many firsts by tapping a completely different target group. Hopscotch reached out to influencers between the age group of 17-35 years who participated with their mothers and kids. As the campaign picked up pace, TikTok saw a whole new audience of young mothers between 25-40 years participating and creating content on the platform with their kids. During the three day period of the challenge, at least 1 million mothers created videos and received a total of 995 million views, and now the number stands at 2 billion views in one week. Talking about the success of the campaign, Sachin Sharma, Director of Sales and Partnerships, TikTok said, TikTok gives an opportunity to the brands to connect with its users in the most fun and entertaining way, through 15-second short videos. We have seen a lot of parents making interesting content with their kids on TikTok, which also results in bonding and spending time together. We are looking forward to Hopscotchs campaign being another great example of this, as it touches upon a very emotional side of the relationship between a mother and child. TikTokers use the platform for creative expression and Hopscotchs campaign is an example of the diverse content available on the platform. Using its very own social media platform, Hopscotch encouraged consumers to be part of this fun challenge and showcase their creativity on TikTok. The rap video was also leveraged across other platforms like Gaana, Instagram and YouTube as well. Hopscotch is a one-stop destination for all kids needs and is accessible pan India across 1,300 cities. Launching about 500 new styles daily on their website, Hopscotch is trailblazing the Indian kids fashion space by offering the latest trends at an unbeatable value. Ketki Karandikar, Pervin Bhesania and Saiket Sengupta have been appointed as Senior Creative Directors and Creative Director respectively. Each of these new team members come with multifaceted experience across categories and brands. Ketki Karandikar joins Network Advertising as Senior Creative Director from L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. Prior to that, she was with Leo Burnett, McCann Erickson, Law & Kenneth and Saints&Warriors. In her 12 year stint in advertising she has worked on various FMCG brands across categories. Some of the brands Ketki has worked on would be Pampers, Mondelez, Stayfree, Saffola, Parachute and Whisper to name a few. Pervin Bhesania joins Network Advertising as Senior Creative Director. Before this, she has been with Publicis Capital, Scarecrow Communications and Grey Worldwide. In her 13 year stint in Advertising, Pervin has worked extensively on various brands in the beauty sector from a consumer and category perspective. Some of the brands that Pervin has worked on in the past would be Garnier India, ITC brands Fiama and Vivel etc. Saikat Sengupta joins Network Advertising as Creative Director. Prior to this, he was with Wunderman International, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi and R K Swamy BBDO. In his 9-year stint in the communications business, he has worked on several brands like Kelloggs, HSBC, Hungama,com, Yatra.com, Fun Foods, Bose, Snickers, Raymond, Anchor Panasonic, and many more. Commenting on the latest hires Shayon Chief Creative Officer says We were in the process of consolidating critical leadership positions in the Creative team. I am delighted to get Ketki Karandikar and Pervin Bhesania on board as Senior Creative Directors. Ketki and Pervin come to Network with solid creative reputations across agencies and categories. I am also excited to get Saikat Sengupta on board as Creative Director. I look forward to collaborate with them and do work that shines through. As the nation awaits the election results, TIMES NOW, Indias leading English news channel and countrys election news headquarters with MANDATE 2019 presents the most realistic virtual reportage of election results LIVE on May 23, 2019. Augmenting the elections news viewing experience like never seen before on Indian Television, TIMES NOW deploys state-of-the-art technology using Unreal Engine to deliver fastest graphics rendered in a virtual space with the most authentic and reliable data. Through the Unreal Engine, TIMES NOW will recreate the Lok Sabha as the anchor explains the formation of the parliament and what permutations and combinations will enable the formation of the government at the Centre. Unreal Engine comes from the gaming pedigree known for its unparalleled rendering of scenes, real-life entities and movements. This LIVE segment has been created in association with Pixotope, a virtual production system developed in Norway by The Future Group. Additionally, TIMES NOW through its unique innovations will keep its viewers ahead with the fastest updates on the counting day. TIMES NOW with 600+ screens across Mumbai and Delhi key locations including metros, railways, airports, etc. will LIVE broadcast and share updates on the 2019 election results. Steering a first-time ever experiential advertising, the channel will have announcers at Mumbai Metro share LIVE updates of election results through their public-address system. Outside the Mumbai metro stations, Lookwalkers wearing Times NOW billboard screens will also lead the outreach, thereby providing an unparalleled experience to the viewers. The channel has also rolled out an aggressive marketing campaign promoting its election results day coverage which includes: As the nation awaits the election results, TIMES NOW, Indias leading English news channel and countrys election news headquarters with MANDATE 2019 presents the most realistic virtual reportage of election results LIVE on May 23, 2019. Augmenting the elections news viewing experience like never seen before on Indian Television, TIMES NOW deploys state-of-the-art technology using Unreal Engine to deliver fastest graphics rendered in a virtual space with the most authentic and reliable data. Through the Unreal Engine, TIMES NOW will recreate the Lok Sabha as the anchor explains the formation of the parliament and what permutations and combinations will enable the formation of the government at the Centre. Unreal Engine comes from the gaming pedigree known for its unparalleled rendering of scenes, real-life entities and movements. This LIVE segment has been created in association with Pixotope, a virtual production system developed in Norway by The Future Group. Additionally, TIMES NOW through its unique innovations will keep its viewers ahead with the fastest updates on the counting day. TIMES NOW with 600+ screens across Mumbai and Delhi key locations including metros, railways, airports, etc. will LIVE broadcast and share updates on the 2019 election results. Steering a first-time ever experiential advertising, the channel will have announcers at Mumbai Metro share LIVE updates of election results through their public-address system. Outside the Mumbai metro stations, Lookwalkers wearing Times NOW billboard screens will also lead the outreach, thereby providing an unparalleled experience to the viewers. The channel has also rolled out an aggressive marketing campaign promoting its election results day coverage which includes: Digital Film: A digital film titled India Ka Result, where a child protagonist builds intrigue and anticipation around results, highlighting it as India Ka Result to his family members. The film will be featured across TIMES NOW social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) Digital Advertising: Display ads and video promotions across YouTube, Facebook and in-app promos Print ads across The Times Group dailies OOH across Mumbai & Delhi Promo playout across Times Network channels Americans, New Englanders in particular, do NOT like having the government tell them what they CAN and CAN NOT do. Liberty is the reason the United States of America exists. Religious freedom is at the core of our liberty. Vaccination has become an Orthodox religion in this country. Measles is the sin. The VaxEducated (formerly known as anti-vaxxers) are the sinners. Pharma is God. Public health officials and Politicians are the Cardinals. Pediatricians are the Parish priests. Nurses are the Nuns. And our kids are the altar boys and girls..... serving on the altar of Merck... with their pants around their ankles. ### NOW The Maine Senate is expected to take a final vote Thursday on a bill that would end most nonmedical exemptions for childhood vaccines. Hundreds of people opposed to the bill were protesting Thursday morning at the State House. Read more here. Advertisement The bill would end the state's religious and philosophical exemptions to vaccines. The House voted 79-62 Tuesday to enact the legislation. If approved Thursday by the Senate, the bill will go to Gov. Janet Mills. By Trend Military exercises have been launched in Turkey with the participation of the military personnel of the Azerbaijani Air Forces, Trend reports referring to Turkish media. The "Erciyes-2019 Tatbikat?" exercises are being held in Kayseri Province. Military personnel of the air forces of Pakistan and Georgia are also taking part in the exercises. According to the media reports, representatives of Italy, Qatar, Romania and the US, will be present during the exercises as observers. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. Deloitte, a leading provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services, has appointed Ahmad Al Qassabi as managing partner of the firms Oman practice, effective June 1. Al Qassabi replaces Anis Sadek who retires from the firm on that date. In his current partner role at Deloitte, Al Qassabi handles key clients in audit, financial advisory and consulting in Oman, and leads the firms corporate governance initiatives. He has been pivotal in Deloittes Omanization program, which focuses on developing the skills and careers of Omani youth to enable them to hold leadership positions in the Firm. We continue to expand our offerings to the clients and market in Oman said Omar Fahoum, CEO, Deloitte Middle East. I am pleased that Ahmed brings his deep understanding of his country Omans market and clients to lead Deloittes practice in the Sultanate as part of the Deloitte ME network in the region. Anis Sadek said: Having worked closely with Ahmed over the past years, I know that he embodies the values and principles of our Firm and I am happy to see him take this important step in his career, a role which will benefit both our clients and our people in Oman. Al Qassabi said: I am honoured and excited to lead the business in Oman. Deloitte is a great firm and I will be pleased to continue working with our talented professionals in Oman to serve our clients and make an impact that matters. Prior to joining Deloitte, Al Qassabi spent several years at the Oman Capital Markets Authority (CMA), where he held the position of director general - Issues and Disclosures. He is a graduate in accounting from Sultan Qaboos University and is a Fellow of the UKs Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA). TradeArabia News Service The supposedly defeated Islamic State (IS) remains at the center of a circle of violence and retribution in areas of Iraq. Iraqi parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi is calling for community reconciliation to settle tribal and regional conflicts in Salahuddin and other provinces caused by differing attitudes toward IS. While some tribes battled against the extremist Sunni organization which invaded western parts of Iraq in 2014 others supported the organization, and their members even joined its ranks. Such diverging positions have generated a tribal and social divide, leading to murder and acts of revenge that go back for months and continue to plague the area. A few examples include: In September, groups launched campaigns to deport families of IS members in southern Ninevah province after an IS attack targeted civilians and an official of the Tribal Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Ashairi) and his family. According to reports, on March 16, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and Tribal Mobilization Forces conducted campaigns to remove IS families from their houses. On May 6, unidentified people bombed a house owned by the family of an IS member in the center of Heet city in Anbar province. A security source reported May 9 that eight members of a local officials family were slaughtered in an IS attack at their house in Mosul. The bloody vengeance has created a level of fear, leading Sabah al-Mahlawi, leader of the Albu Mahal tribe, to warn May 2 against the random return of IS families, because their members will be killed. This is due to the availability of weapons and weak law," he said. The need for reconciliation has reached a peak, not only within the Sunni community, but also between the Sunni and Shiite communities as well. More than three years ago, more than 900 civilians disappeared from the Sunni areas IS held. While their fate remains unknown, the general consensus points an accusing finger at the Shiite PMU factions. (The PMU is an umbrella military organization of mainly Shiite factions, but there are some Sunni members as well.) This is how the conflict and vengeance between those who supported IS and those who fought the organization have become exacerbated. "Serious measures are required to bring about peace in the community, Rafea al-Fahdawi, head of the Anbar anti-terrorism tribal council, told Al-Monitor. "The tribes in Anbar seek to end the tribal conflict, vengeance and retaliation, which has caused a big social divide between IS supporters and victims. Fahdawi said it is a complicated situation. Family members were split up between IS supporters and opponents," Fahdawi said. "Killings were witnessed, with a father killing his own son and another killing his brother in the tribal community. This could lead to a series of acts of retaliation, given the customs. Calls for community reconciliation aren't new. In August 2017, the Anbar tribes released a document in which they rejected violence and retribution and committed to resolving problems stemming from the IS era. The document bans acts of vengeance, be they physical or moral, individual or collective, without referring to the judiciary or tribal customs. The reconciliation efforts aren't limited to the tribes. They also involve the Anbar police command, which witnesses the exchange of killings and retaliation as a result of IS actions, said Col. Walid al-Mashhadani of the community police. The police are impartial when dealing with a crime or a displacement. It does not matter whether the perpetrator is with or against IS. This is because the key goal is to end the vicious cycle of vengeance. Mashhadani noted that one practical measure includes setting up community police stations in most of the areas, be they villages or rural, where very high rates of incidents are recorded. To promote reconciliation in Sunni areas, the head of the Sunni Endowment, Abdullatif al-Humaim, attended a March 31 community meeting to reconcile al-Fadous and Albu Heshmeh tribes in the Dujail district of Salahuddin province. Moreover, Halbusi, the parliament speaker, discussed this agenda April 11 with the Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution (NOREF). Nevertheless, some Sunni political forces call into question the purported humanitarian objectives of measures that seem politically motivated. Speaking to the press Jan. 8, Hamid al-Hayes, chairman of the military faction umbrella group Anbar Salvation Council, warned against the potential revival of terrorism through alleged "community reconciliation" and the subsequent return of IS leaders and Anbar tribal leaders who supported the organization. Abdullah al-Kharbit, a member of parliament for the Sunni National Axis bloc (al-Mehwar al-Watani), told Al-Monitor, The reconciliation will not be promoted unless the political parties focus on a settlement of the agenda relating to compensating those affected by and holding accountable the perpetrators of killings. He added, "The issue related to IS families is the most complex in the reconciliation dossier. This is because many Anbar residents fear them and fear that they will commit acts of killings and vengeance if [IS returns]." Attempts to bring about community reconciliation have focused on invitations and conferences. Aras Habib Kareem, secretary-general of the Iraqi National Congress, called May 4 for reactivation of the reconciliation dossier. Also, on April 27, NOREF organized a conference on civil peace in Erbil (the headquarters of the Kurdistan Regional Council), and Minister of Displacement and Migration Nofal Baha Mousa discussed reasons why displaced families are not returning to their hometowns. Yet such efforts need to be accompanied by practical steps to achieve tangible outcomes, which continue to be limited. They include what Qatari al-Samarmad, commander of al-Baghdadi tribal forces in Anbar, revealed to Al-Monitor: "The tribes in western Anbar agreed to allow the families of IS members to return to their houses after [they are subjected] to a security check and after making sure they aren't involved in any terrorist acts. Community reconciliation in the Sunni parts of Iraq has become a pressing need. Yet the reconstruction, return of the displaced and the provision of services depend on the availability of a solid foundation for civil peace to allow for indispensable societal and infrastructure development. For many months, the US administration has labored over an Israel-Palestinian peace plan. But the recent announcement of a Bahrain economic conference at the end of June suggests that the administration of President Donald Trump would like the Palestinians to be satisfied with economic incentives instead of statehood. In other words, using cash to pressure them. So what is really behind the Peace to Prosperity economic workshop the Trump administration has asked Bahrain to host? Does it express a total lack of understanding and racist contempt for Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular? Is this yet another step coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to waste time and exhaust Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas? Could we be witnessing another display of ignorance regarding the forces at play in the Middle East? Israel is no stranger to the racist use of economic sanctions designed to stifle the aspirations of a nation struggling against a foreign occupier. Who can forget the notorious 1946 order by Gen. Evelyn Hugh Barker, the head of the British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan, to boycott businesses owned by Jews? In July of that year, following the bombing of the British headquarters in Jerusalems King David Hotel by the underground Jewish movement Irgun, Barker said, [We] will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes as much as any, by striking at their pockets and showing our contempt of them. For over two years, the Trump administration has been striking the pockets of the Palestinians in an effort to force them to accept its unilateral measures that benefit Israel chief among them US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the relocation of the US Embassy there last year. The administration has cut US aid to the Palestinian Authority and revoked its support for UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency dedicated to humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. It has also used defunding to undermine activities by humanitarian organizations and initiatives promoting Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. Having run Seeds of Peace for several years, what the Trump administration is doing to Israelis and Palestinians is cruel, stupid, and counterproductive, Aaron David Miller, who served for years on US Middle East peace teams, tweeted last year after the defunding of a summer camp program for Israeli and Palestinian youth. The Trump administration had a good teacher on using cash as a pressure tactic against the Palestinians. Israel has been delaying the tax revenues it collects for the PA for years. Recently it started deducting the PA's payments to families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed in resistance actions. However, more than a quarter of century after the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accord, it is time for Washington to realize once and for all that economic sanctions will not make the Palestinians give up their aspirations for an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital and including Palestinian sovereignty over Haram al-Sharif (the Temple Mount). One might have expected the United States to understand that money can at most buy a temporary truce with the terrorist organizations in Gaza striving to crush the PA which they regard as the rotten fruit of Oslo and to take control of the West Bank. Thus, while Israel enables Qatar to line the pockets of Hamas' leadership in Gaza, it portrays the PA to residents of the West Bank as useless. Of course, Hamas would not hesitate to slander Abbas were he to consider for a moment selling out his people for an Arab-American pittance. Judging from the experience of the November 1997 Doha conference convened during Netanyahus first term as prime minister, only a handful of Arab heads of state will show up in Bahrain, if any. These memories could explain the silence from the prime ministers office, which is always quick to welcome every hiccup from Trump. Most Arab states boycotted the 1997 conference, and those that did take part did not hesitate to condemn the injustice of Israels occupation of Palestinian lands. The final communique underscored the need for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement based on the principle of land for peace as well as on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. A senior Israeli diplomat who participated in the conference said the Israeli delegation had found itself completely isolated. One can assume that in the coming days, once it becomes clear which Arab leaders will accept the American-Bahraini invitation, Netanyahu will order his plane prepared. He will never be caught saying no to the US president he dubs the best friend Israel has even had in the White House. Netanyahu aide and spokesperson of his Likud Party Yonatan Urich said last April that the prime minister would respond positively, in principle to Trumps long-awaited deal between Israel and the Palestinians. We will never have a friendlier administration than this one, Urich said. If we go along with it and the Palestinians dont, when a Democratic administration takes over we can always say that there was an American plan to which we said yes and they said no. Historically speaking, this is an opportunity to reinforce Israels willingness vis-a-vis the Palestinian hatred and blindness. Yaakov Amidror, who served as head of Netanyahus National Security Council from 2011 to 2013, has a more scientific diagnosis for Israels problem with the Palestinians. He claims that those struck by blindness are the architects of the Oslo Accord and their leftist supporters who believe in resolving the conflict with a diplomatic agreement. At a May 13 seminar held by the Steinmetz Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University, Amidror opined that recognition of the State of Israel "runs counter to the Palestinian DNA." Yes, the former head of the research division of military intelligence who also served in the prime ministers office attributes the difficulty of reaching a peace agreement to a genetic mutation in another people. The Middle East is not ripe, either, for what you have in mind, Amidror told veterans of the peace process attending the seminar. The expression on the face of moderator Ephraim Lavie, formerly head of military intelligence for the Palestinian arena, showed astonishment at Amidrors remarks. Perhaps he, too, was reminded of the anti-Semitic general who presumed to diagnose a genetic Jewish weakness for money. In the newly published compilation 25 years to the Oslo Process, Lavie along with fellow editors Yael Ronen and Henry Fishman wrote that a promise of material aid could incentivize the sides to renew their long stalled diplomatic process. That aid, however, must be an integral part of the guarantees and assurances required for implementation of any agreement they reach not before a deal is achieved and obviously not instead of one. The Palestinian Authority (PA) once again refused to accept the monthly transfer of tax revenues from Israel on May 2, after Israel deducted the portion earmarked for Palestinian prisoners and families of those killed in resistance activities before depositing the remainder in Palestinian banks in the West Bank. This is the third month the PA has refused to receive the partial delivery of customs duties on goods imported into Palestine and collected by Israel on its behalf. These funds represent the largest part of Palestinian public revenues at around 700 million shekels ($196 million), after the deduction. On Feb. 17, Israel began deducting $138 million a year from the tax revenues it collects for the PA in the name of blocking terror funding. In the implementation of the so-called pay-for-slay law passed in July 2018, Israel started in March withholding from the tax revenues it transfers to the PA funds equal to the amount allocated by the PA to Palestinian prisoners and families of Palestinians killed in confrontations with Israel. The law labeled these funds as salaries for terrorists. Under the Paris Economic Agreement signed in April 1994, Israel collects Palestinian tax revenues on goods entering the Palestinian territories through the crossings and ports controlled by Israel. These tax revenues are returned to the PA on a monthly basis. The spokesman for the Palestinian government in the West Bank, Ibrahim Melhem, told Al-Monitor, Israel withholds 40 million shekels [around $11 million] monthly from the Palestinian funds, which amounts to about 800 million shekels [around $220 million] per month, in violation of the Paris Economic Agreement. He added, No contacts were made between the PA and Israel to discuss the matter. Some international mediators have been trying to persuade the PA to accept the transfer and negotiate on the deducted part. The PA rejected this suggestion outright. Melhem went on, The complete tax revenues are a legitimate right of the Palestinian people according to the Oslo Agreement and the Paris Economic Protocol. What Israel is doing is robbery denounced by the PA and not subject to negotiation. Israel must pay the complete funds. He noted that the PA has approached several heads of powerful nations such as the United States and France to brief them on Israels confiscation of its tax revenues, pointing to international pressure exerted on Israel to renege on its decision to cut these funds. In February and April, the European Union and France denounced Israels breach of the agreements signed with the Palestinians, urging it to return the deducted funds. Israel insisted on the legitimacy of its position. The PA banned medical transfers of Palestinians to Israeli hospitals earlier this year in response to the deduction of the tax revenue funds. PA spokesman Osama Najjar told al-Itihad newspaper in April that the bill of Palestinian medical transfers to Israeli hospitals amounted to about $10 million a month. The PA observes all agreements with Israel. Stopping medical transfers is part of the Palestinian vision of strategic disengagement from Israel, argued Melhem. Palestinian economic expert and former economic adviser to the PA Samir al-Durqan told Al-Monitor that Israel was eager to assume the task of collecting the Palestinian tax revenue funds under the Paris Economic Agreement This allowed it to keep a trump card to pressure the PA into accepting any political decision in its favor, Durqan said. He continued, Israel had withheld tax revenue funds more than once on various pretexts since the signature of the Paris Agreement. But it always returned the funds and backtracked on its decision. This time, it is the PA that is refusing to accept the transfer of the deducted funds. The effects of this decision are not only economic but also political. Durqan argued that without the tax revenues, the PA will not be able to pay the salaries of its employees and meet its governmental obligations. Former Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah affirmed as much via media statements in February. The PAs rejection of the deducted clearing funds forced it to borrow from local banks to fill its financial deficit. It borrowed 250,000,000 shekels [around $69 million] from local banks in March. Deputy Minister of Finance Farid Ghannam told Al-Monitor that the Finance Ministry developed a financial emergency plan through the end of July to manage the crisis that includes borrowing $350 million from local banks. According to the Paris Economic Agreement, the PA may reconsider and amend the agreement every six months, said Durqan, adding, Unfortunately, this did not materialize; otherwise, the PA would not have been exposed to flagrant embezzlement of its funds on the pretext that it is paying salaries of terrorists. Political analyst Mowaffaq Matar told Al-Monitor, The PAs refusal to accept the partial tax revenue funds is tantamount to a rejection of the Israeli classification as terrorists of Palestinian prisoners and victims. He argued, The PA had agreed every time to receive the funds after deduction of water and electricity taxes and theft of income tax revenues paid by Palestinians workers in Israeli settlements. It negotiated these deductions after receiving the tax revenue transfer. But this time the deduction of share allocated to Palestinian prisoners and families of victims is not limited to economic objectives. The PA was right in refusing the transfer of partial funds. The PA sees that its refusal to receive the partial funds is the best option to force Israel to backtrack on its decision, especially since this decision is not only economic. The PA considers it a political decision that affects the resistance against the occupation a resistance that Israel considers terrorism. Criticizing Israel for violating bilateral agreements, Matar noted that the PA is honoring all laws, agreements and treaties made under international auspices. The PA sees in international law an umbrella of protection of the Palestinian cause. Its acceptance of the partial funds would mean that it is condoning and aiding Israels infringement of international law. It would also mean classifying the noble struggle against Israel as terrorism. Democrats and anti-war activists are sounding alarm bells that the Donald Trump administration intends to enact rarely used emergency powers to transfer precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia in an end-run around Congress. The looming battle over arms transfer comes after the House attached legislation ending US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen to a must-pass defense spending bill on Tuesday. Trump vetoed a similar stand-alone bill last month. The very next day, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., an original co-sponsor of the Yemen war powers resolution, blew the whistle on the unusual arms sales maneuver. Congress has blocked the sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia since last year because of concerns for Yemeni civilians. I am hearing that Trump may use an obscure loophole in the Arms Control Act and notice a major new sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia (the ones they drop in Yemen) in a way that will prevent Congress from objecting, Murphy tweeted. He went on to assert that there is no new emergency reason to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia to drop in Yemen and that Trump knows he would lose a vote on the sale in Congress. The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, D-N.J., echoed Murphys concerns in a statement today, adding that the emergency provision could include an arms sale to the United Arab Emirates: In addition to suffering the reputational problems of delivering deadly weapons to governments that clearly misuse them, US defense firms should exercise extreme caution that they are not opening themselves, their officers and their employees to criminal and civil liability by exporting weapons pursuant to potentially invalid licenses. My understanding from multiple contacts is that the emergency [Trump's] citing is going to be Iran and the emergency in the Gulf. My guess is its related to the tankers and Houthi drone attacks. Menendez has placed a congressional hold on the sale of more than 120,000 precision-guided munitions to the Saudis and Emiratis since May 2018, which they need to replenish their diminishing stockpiles. My understanding is that the precision-guided missiles are the centerpiece of this arms sale, which is the exact munitions that theyre using to drop on civilian infrastructure inside Yemen, Murphy told Al-Monitor. Theyre the precise weapons that the [Barack] Obama administration refused to sell to the Saudis because they believed that if we did, we would be complicit in human rights crimes. But the potential human rights violations may give Congress the avenue it needs to overrule Trump on the sale. Brittany Benowitz, a lawyer with the Forum on the Arms Trade and former defense adviser to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that another provision in the Foreign Assistance Act could allow lawmakers to use an expedited resolution based on civilian casualties to override any emergency declaration. I think its moot, Benowitz told Al-Monitor. The Congress has the power to overrule him on this. Benowitz added that eight out of 10 unlawful coalition strikes on Yemeni civilians involve the precision-guided munitions. Anthony Weir, who handled legislative affairs in the State Department under Obama, also noted that the language isnt clear as to whether Trump can use an emergency declaration for countries other than Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand or NATO allies. However, he noted that didnt stop President George H.W. Bush from doing it for arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Im confident it probably has happened a few other times, he said, but its fair to say its an extremely rare step. Still, an emergency declaration could force Congress to race against the clock. The question thats unknown right now is whether or not the weapons in the sale are already stockpiled, said Kate Kizer, the policy director for Win Without War, a coalition of activist groups opposed to the weapons sale. If theyre stockpiled they could get delivery done very quickly. If theyre not stockpiled, it could take two years or however long to manufacture them. Kizer noted that the Trump administration may also use the emergency powers mechanism in the Arms Export Control Act in sales to Jordan and Thailand. My understanding from multiple contacts is that the emergency hes citing is going to be Iran and the emergency in the Gulf, Kizer told Al-Monitor. My guess is its related to the tankers and Houthi drone attacks. Republicans have blamed Iran for an attack on four oil tankers two Saudi, one Emirati and one Norwegian near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. The Houthis have also claimed credit for a recent attack on a Saudi oil pipeline. Democrats, meanwhile, have prioritized ending support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee voted to attach the Yemen war resolution Trump vetoed last year to their annual defense spending bill on a 30-22 party line vote. And Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Al-Monitor that he tried to attach a similar provision to the Senates annual defense authorization bill during a vote this week, only to have Foreign Relations Chairman James Risch, R-Idaho, forestall a committee vote over procedural issues. But Democrats may have better luck with the Senates defense spending panel. Three of the panels Republicans Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jerry Moran, R-Kansas joined Democrats in March to pass the Yemen war powers resolution 54-46 despite Trumps veto threat. And another member, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has introduced a bill with Menendez that would end offensive arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other forms of support for the Yemen coalition. The escalating situation in Idlib is exposing the limits of Turkish-Russian cooperation in Syria. Having effectively surrendered to its need to maintain good ties with Moscow, Ankara is unable to openly criticize Russia over its participation in military operations by the Syrian regime in Idlib province. In a state of selective denial, Ankara refuses to see the Russian involvement in these operations and is exhorting Moscow to prevent the regime from launching these attacks. Following a May 10 meeting with top Turkish generals in Hatay province, near the Syrian border, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar called on Russia to take effective measures to prevent regime operations in Idlib. Akar argued that the regime was trying to gain control of territories in the south of Idlib province in violation of agreements reached between Turkey, Russia and Iran under the Astana process. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 13 after the situation in Idlib showed signs of increasing tension, with reports that regime and Russian jets were targeting hospitals and schools and causing mass civilian displacement. Erdogans communications director Fahrettin Altun tweeted that Erdogan had warned Putin that the regime was aiming to sabotage Turkish-Russian cooperation in Idlib and to undermine the Astana spirit. He was referring to the September 2017 Astana agreement between Turkey, Russia, and Iran that established a de-escalation zone in Idlib between the Turkish-supported Free Syrian Army and the Syrian regime's forces. It allowed Turkey to maintain a military presence in the region tasked with monitoring cease-fire violations. In September 2018 at the Russian resort of Sochi, Erdogan and Putin arrived at a new accord on preventing an assault on Idlib by the Syrian army. Turkey was concerned that such an assault, which appeared imminent at the time, would create a new humanitarian crisis that would leave Ankara with a fresh deluge of Syrian refugees. Under the Sochi agreement, Turkey was also tasked with neutralizing jihadist groups in Idlib, starting with Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which were excluded from the cease-fire agreement. Altun explained that Erdogan had also underlined to Putin that major strides had been made under the Sochi agreement, which he said regime attacks on Idlib would undermine. Moscow, however, continues to complain that Turkey has failed to fulfill its obligations. Following an April meeting of the Astana group in Nur-Sultan, the new name of Kazakhstan's capital, Russias Syrian envoy Alexander Lavrentiev openly expressed Moscows dissatisfaction in this regard. Our Turkish friends have failed to eliminate the remaining terrorists [in Idlib]. The fact that [HTS] has managed to gain control of a large part of territory there has naturally resulted in many questions and is a great disappointment for us, Lavrentiev told reporters. Ankara has generally refrained from responding to such Russian criticism, preferring instead to blame the Syrian regime for the situation in Idlib. Moscow also argues that HTS and its affiliates in Idlib have been targeting Russias Hmeimim airbase near Syrias coastal city of Latakia, which it maintains is an added reason for Russian and regime operations in Idlib. The readouts from Ankara and Moscow regarding Erdogan and Putin's May 13 phone conversation were not in tune. Not referring to any of the topics Altun mentioned, the Kremlin said in its own account of the talks that the two presidents had focused on the increasing cease-fire violations of radical armed groups in the de-escalation zones in Idlib. The Kremlins reference to cease-fire violations of radical armed groups appeared to also contain nuanced criticism of Turkey. HTS and other jihadist groups were excluded from the cease-fire deal arrived at in Sochi, and remained legitimate targets for Russian forces and the Syrian army. The Free Syrian Army and other groups backed by Turkey, however, were included in the accord. By pointing to the cease-fire violations of radical armed groups in Idlib, Moscow is saying in effect that Turkey is supporting radical groups and not reining them in. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to recapture every inch of Syrian territory and has Russian and Iranian backing for this goal. Moscow has also called on Ankara on multiple occasions to turn over territories it captured previously in northern Syria from the Islamic State and the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to the regime. Veteran foreign policy analyst Sedat Ergin wrote in Hurriyet that the intensive diplomatic telephone traffic between Ankara and Moscow appears to be doing little to change the situation on the ground in Idlib. The announcement by the Syrian military last week that it has declared a unilateral 72-hour cease-fire in Idlib appeared to suggest that Turkeys calls on Russia may be working. Nevertheless, the announcement was taken with a pinch of salt by analysts. Reports from Idlib indicating that regime attacks are continuing appear to justify their doubts. Ergin highlighted the contradiction in Ankaras reliance on Moscow to rein in the regime in Idlib, writing, All the news from the field shows that Russia is actively participating in these operations and that the Russian air forces bombardments are playing a key role. He added that although Turkey is not in an alliance with HTS, the view that jihadist groups close to Turkey are also clashing with the Russian-supported Syrian army is gaining ground. We can say that we have entered a stage of controlled clashes between Turkish-supported Syrian opposition groups and the Russian-supported Assad regime, Ergin wrote, suggesting a proxy war between Russia and Turkey is in the making. In the background, Erdogan and members of his government continue to insist that Turkey will not revoke its decision to buy Russian S-400 missile defense systems despite US threats of sanctions and other punitive measures. Ankara is also expressing hope that the S-400s will be delivered earlier than planned this summer. Meanwhile, Erdogan has started to float the notion that Turkey will also participate in the production of the even more advanced S-500s, although Moscow has not fully corroborated this news. Given its position over the S-400s, which is clearly intended to send a strong message to the United States with whom Turkey also has deep differences in Syria Ankara is unlikely to take a position on any topic that will anger Moscow. However, this reluctance weakens Turkeys hand in Syria, where it hoped that closer cooperation with Russia would enable it to upset American plans east of the Euphrates River in territory held by the US-supported YPG. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group, and its main focus in northern Syria has been to eliminate it rather than taking on jihadist groups. Ankaras expectations, however, have not panned out. Its failure to get the YPG evacuated from Tal Rifaat, where the group has a degree of protection from Russia, also exposes its weak hand against Moscow. Turkey is also relying on its ties with Russia to counterbalance its deteriorated ties with the West, where its commitment to its NATO membership is also being questioned. Security analyst Nihat Ali Ozcan believes that Ankaras burgeoning ties with Moscow cover a wide area ranging from military and economic cooperation to energy cooperation, and argues that this is preventing it from openly criticizing Russia for its actions in Syria. Turkey is also in an embarrassing position with regard to Russia because it has failed to realize the commitments it undertook at Sochi, Ozcan told Al-Monitor. Referring to Turkeys silence over Russian attacks in Idlib that it blames on the Assad regime, he invoked an old Turkish saying: He who cant beat his donkey will end up beating its saddle. The bottom line is that Turkey's ties with Russia have effectively given Moscow the upper hand against Ankara, which the Russian side is clearly intent on using to its advantage. Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has recorded a 95.3 per cent compliance regarding the disclosure of the first quarter results of its listed public joint stock companies within the deadline of 45 days from the end of the financial period. A total of 61 out of 64, local and foreign, public listed companies disclosed their 1st quarter financial statements for 2019 within the 45 days period given. The combined net profit of all listed companies as of March 31, 2019, has shown a decrease of 2.85% in comparison to the same period in 2018, said the statement from ADX. Yet, the banking sector witnessed an increase in profit with 2.69%, followed by telecommunication sector with a 0.51% profit increase, it added.-TradeArabia News Service SANAA, Yemen Clashes erupted May 15 between forces loyal to Yemens internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels in the port city of Hodeidah, despite what the United Nations said was a successful withdrawal by Houthis from the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Issa. Yemen's internationally recognized government's Minister of Information Moammar al-Eryani took to Twitter May 12, describing the Houthis withdrawal as misleading and unacceptable. Ibrahim al-Dhufri, a father of three from the Old City of Sanaa, has welcomed the withdrawal of Houthis from the three ports. He said, It [the withdrawal] is a positive step. We expect [President] Abed Rabbo [Mansour Hadi] and his companions to take a similar step. Dhufri said the war and the economic situation have taken a toll on his life and that of public servants. He is one of tens of thousands of government employees in Houthi-controlled areas who have been paid half a salary every three months since 2016. I just got paid last week a half salary, said Dhufri, who works at the government-affiliated Tribal Affairs Administration in Houthi-controlled Sanaa. Dhufri lives near four historic houses that were destroyed by Saudi-led coalition warplanes in 2015 in the UNESCO-listed Old City of Sanaa. Speaking to Al-Monitor May 15, Dhufri urged the Yemeni warring sides to put their differences aside and prioritize the countrys interests during their meeting in Amman, Jordan May 13 to discuss the economic part of the Stockholm Agreement reached in Sweden last year that calls for the redeployment of forces from Yemens Hodeidah and for warring parties to swap prisoners. [The warring sides] have to avoid external pressures and work in the countrys interests, Dhufri told Al-Monitor. Things did not go as Dhufri wished, however. On May 16, the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on a populated neighborhood in Sanaa, killing six civilians including four children according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry. On May 17, Reuters reported that the UN-sponsored meeting in Jordan ended with no agreement. The Houthis said they do not trust the government-run Central Bank and refuse a deal to share the banks revenues. A source with the Houthi delegation at the meeting who asked to remain anonymous told Al-Monitor May 17 that the delegation was surprised by the deliberate absence of Hafez Muaiad, the governor of the Central Bank based in Aden. According to the source, the Saudi-backed government appointed Mohammed al-Omrani as head of the government delegation instead of Muaiad. [Omrani] is an intelligence official with no economic background, the source added. Omrani is the director of the Technical Office for Consultations of the Hadi government and head of the National Information Center. The source also said the Houthi delegation at the Amman talks was headed by the Central Bank in Sanaa Gov. Mohammed al-Sayani, noting that the warring sides refused to meet face to face at the talks and UN mediators had to shuttle between them. The internationally recognized government, which is based in Aden, moved the Central Bank from Sanaa to Aden in August 2016, claiming Houthis stole the banks funds and used them to pay their fighters leading the war against the Saudi-backed government. But Houthis deny this. The Saudi-backed government has been promising to pay the salaries of public servants, even in the main population centers, which are mostly in Houthi hands. But this has yet to happen. Hopes were further shattered with the failure of the warring sides to reach an agreement at the Amman talks. Ali Shawee, another resident of the Old City of Sanaa, is one of the many public servants who have been paid half a salary every three months since 2016. We hope [the warring sides] will reach a solution as people are running out of patience, Shawee told Al-Monitor. Some 28 million Yemenis are waiting for a solution, he added. Speaking to Al-Monitor May 15, Mohammed Abdul Qader, from the Old City, did not expect the meeting in Jordan to result in a solution. I don't expect any economic solution. They are all liars, he said, adding that he has no hope not even in the United Nations. Abdul Qader, whose house was destroyed in the 2015 strike and now lives in his grandfathers home in the same neighborhood, said a member of the UN mission in Yemen had visited owners of the houses targeted in the Old City and told them the United Nations was ready to help them rebuild. But reconstruction has yet to happen. Only one woman was able to rebuild her house with financial help from some traders, Abdul Qader added. Al-Monitor toured the neighborhood targeted in 2015. It was hard to find a family breaking fast in the streets during the holy month of Ramadan. People now prefer to eat at home, as their meals are only getting smaller. In the past, people would break fast at mosques or in alleys to share their meals with the poor. But Yemen is now facing the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, and the UN World Food Program says nearly 10 million Yemenis are one step away from famine. Amid outrage over the release Thursday of so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh, an Alabama congressman introduced a bill that would bar early release of future federal inmates convicted of terrorism-related charges. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, announced the No Leniency for Terrorists Act hours after Lindh was released from a medium-security federal prison in Indiana. The legislation is co-sponsored with Sens. Richard Shelby and Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Lindhs release stirred controversy in Alabama. The 38-year-old California native-turned-Taliban fighter was interrogated by Johnny Mike Spann, a CIA officer from Winfield, hours before Spann, 32, was killed during an uprising at Qali-Jangi fortress at Mazar-e Sharif in 2001. The Alabama CIA officer was the first person killed in combat during the invasion of Afghanistan. A convicted terrorist walking free before his sentence is completed should never happen again, said Byrne. The Spann family asked me to address this injustice, and I want to make sure no other family has to go through what the they have been through. The No Leniency for Terrorists Act will prevent terrorists from taking advantage of our laws to avoid paying their debt to society. We must ensure that terrorists will remain behind bars where they belong. The early release of convicted terrorists sends the wrong message to those who have fought against terrorism and those who want to cause us harm, said Shelby. This legislation will help us prioritize the safety and security of our nation above all else. Todays early release of John Walker Lindh is disheartening and unacceptable, and I am proud we are taking this step to make terrorists ineligible for early release. Our safety depends on keeping dangerous terrorists where they cant harm Americans, but right now even unrepentant terrorists are eligible for early release from prison, sometimes for so-called good behavior, said Cotton. "Supporting radical Islamist groups like ISIS is savage behavior, not good behavior. Our bill would make convicted terrorists ineligible for early release. Under federal law, any federal prisoner can be released early for exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations. There are no exceptions to this law, including those who have been convicted of terrorism charges, and there are 108 other terrorist offenders who are scheduled to complete their sentences and be released from U.S. federal prison over the next few years, according to Byrnes office. The No Leniency for Terrorists Act amends federal law to say those currently serving or those convicted of crimes related to terrorism in the future cannot be released early for good time served. Spanns family has blamed Lindh for the CIA officers death because he failed to warn a fellow American about the uprising. He had a chance to say he was an American and save Mikes life and other Americans lives. He did not do that, Spanns father, Johnny Spann, told AL.com in a late March interview. Its no different than if he pulled the trigger. John Walker Lindh had the opportunity to tell Mike right there, Youre an American, Im an American, Spanns mother, Gail Spann, said after Alabama lawmakers passed a resolution honoring her son and condemning Lindhs release. Hes a traitor to our country. He could have had an opportunity to save a great man that actually saved a lot of lives that day. Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony in 2002. He was released three years early due to good behavior. The congressmans announcement comes after Shelby wrote to the acting head of the Federal Bureau of Prisons pressing for answers in Lindhs case. Shelby is concerned that federal prison officials may be ill-prepared to keep the public safe now that Lindh is free. The American Taliban will have a number of restrictions placed on him as he leaves federal prison for supervised release. He will be barred from using any Internet-capable device without prior approval, having online communication in any language besides English and prohibited from possessing, viewing or accessing material that reflects extremist or terroristic views, according to an early April order signed by T.S. Ellis, the Virginia federal judge assigned to Lindhs case. Lindh will also not be able to obtain a passport or leave the country without court permission and is banned from communicating with any known extremist. He will also have to undergo mental health counseling. Before a big rocket booster loaded onto a bigger boat in Decatur on Thursday, American pride specifically, American space flight pride shined as if the Stars and Stripes on Independence Day. What actually happened was that United Launch Alliance celebrated the imminent shipment of its Atlas V booster to Cape Canaveral in Florida. What it actually meant was so much more. "The Atlas V first stage will launch our first NASA and Boeing astronauts to the International Space station from U.S. soil and we could not be more honored to support this historic mission," Gary Wentz, ULA's vice president of government and commercial programs, said at the outset of his remarks at the ceremony inside the giant ULA factory. "It's extremely critical for our country to return human space flight form U.S. soil and be able to deliver our crews to the International Space Station." Proudly built on American soil! ULA built #AtlasV for #Starliner in their 1.6 million square foot manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama. It started from raw materials and soon will launch American astronauts to the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/MoeqW8EvjT Rep. Robert Aderholt (@Robert_Aderholt) May 23, 2019 Indeed, Americas slumbering space program is awakening on the strength of its own rockets launched from its own soil and no longer will be purchasing seats on Russian rockets and the only U.S. pathway to space. Since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, American manned spaceflight from America has been dormant. "It's hard to overstate the importance of the hardware behind me," Rick Navarro, director of launch and mission operations for Boeing space and launch engineering, as he spoke from the podium next to the Atlas V booster. "It will be what returns American astronauts launched from American soil something we haven't done since 2011. "We take this very seriously. It's a sacred mission." The Atlas V will carry Boeings Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station later this year in an inaugural test flight and precursor to U.S. astronauts catching rides on U.S. vehicles. Once the ceremony ended, the Atlas was driven down Red Hat Road in Decatur to ULAs dock on the Tennessee River and loaded onto Mariner ULAs launch vehicle transport vehicle for the 2,000-mile journey to Cape Canaveral on Floridas east coast. ULA employees streamed out of the factory to watch it go along with invited VIPs from around north Alabama. "Today is all about commercial crew and our excitement to see the first crewed flight test booster depart the Decatur factory on Mariner and head to Cape Canaveral in support of this historic flight," Wentz said. This is the rocket that will carry humans back to space from American soil. History in the making. #Starliner #AboutDarnTime pic.twitter.com/sUrNvwhoY1 Tory Bruno (@torybruno) May 23, 2019 During his remarks, Navarro said, "This ceremony and this occasion is especially important for me. It marks a turning of the page to the next phase of our launch preparation." Loaded alongside the Atlas V first-stage booster was ULA's upper stage booster Centaur. The boosters will be mated with Starliner at Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida, Wentz said. "The Atlas has conducted 79 successful launches to date and it is considered a trusted, proven launch vehicle within the aerospace industry," Wentz said. "We at ULA are focused on building and launching vehicles that are safe, reliable and deliver these critical missions exactly as designed with 100 percent mission success." Navarro said Starliner was designed to land not only in the water but also on land and could be refurbished and returned to spaceflight up to 10 times. And once the testing is done, Starliner will be ferrying American astronauts to space. Outside the ULA factor in the visitors' parking lot, it was also not lost on Navarro the spaces reserved by signs that said, "Astronaut Parking." Its a good indicator, Navarro said, of how things have changed over the years. Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon took the unusual step of making remarks on the House floor this morning, telling members he would be quicker with the gavel and to cut off microphones if lawmakers stray from debating issues and make personal attacks. McCutcheon tried to clear the air after Wednesday nights abrupt adjournment, which came after Rep. Arnold Mooney read a letter asking the House to censure Rep. John Rogers for comments Rogers made several weeks ago during debate on the bill banning abortion. McCutcheon interrupted Mooney before Mooney finished the letter, which was addressed to the speaker. There will be no official action taken against any member in this chamber based up the actions of last night, McCutcheon said this morning. The letter that was presented was a personal letter to me and we will address that in my office as such. McCutcheon prefaced his remarks by saying he also wanted to address behavior that has increasingly appeared as this session has progressed. The well of this chamber is not a professional wrestling ring, McCutcheon said. And the microphones are not to be used for grandstanding, personal promotion, or blindside attacks on other members. These microphones are meant to be for serious debate, respectful debate and polite debate. Several Democrats said McCutcheons call for respectful debate would not fix the underlying issues causing tension between the 76 House Republicans, all white, and the 28 Democrats, who are mostly black. Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Guntersville, followed McCutcheon to the mic and said racism was the biggest elephant in the room. He said the Republicans push legislation they intend to be divisive. And then we want to just make a statement and everything is supposed to go away, Jackson said. Well it doesnt seem to happen that way, Mr. Speaker. Love is not like a faucet you turn on and off. Either you love or you dont love. The Alabama House of Representatives gave final passage today to a bill that would end the issuance of marriage licenses by probate judges and instead have them record documents that would serve as the official records of marriage. The bill goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who could sign it into law. The legislation came in response to the legalization of same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. In Alabama, some probate judges stopped issuing marriage licenses four years ago because they did not want to sign same-sex marriage licenses. Under the bill that passed today, couples wanting to get married would submit to the probate judge a form that includes an affidavit saying they meet the legal requirements of marriage and the probate judge would record that as the official marriage document. The House passed the bill, by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, by a vote of 67-26. It had already passed the Senate. Probate judges in some counties are still not issuing marriage licenses. The current law does not require them to issue licenses, but says they may. Under Albrittons bill, probate judges would be required to accept and record the official marriage documents. It allows everybody in the state now to go to their local courthouse, or wherever, to accomplish this without traveling somewhere else, which is the intent of the law, Albritton said. The bill also would end the requirement that a marriage be solemnized by a minister or another person qualified to do so. Albritton said he thought it was appropriate to separate that religious component of marriage from the state law. Among those voting against the bill today was Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, who is gay and married his partner of 15 years in December. I feel like while in and of itself it is not prejudiced, I feel like it was born out of prejudice though," Rafferty said. "Thats just kind of my ultimate feelings, why I ultimately couldnt support the bill, even though in and of itself it does create a system that treats everyone equal before the state. Rafferty said he believes the bill would allow probate judges who are not issuing marriage licenses because of their personal beliefs to skirt their responsibilities. I think its far less about good governance and more about protecting folks that dont want to do their jobs," Rafferty said. Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, was among those voting for the bill today. Allen is the former probate judge in Pike County and stopped issuing marriage licenses in 2015. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, as do a lot of Alabamians, Allen said. He noted that about 80 percent of Alabama voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a unique relationship between a man and a woman in 2006. The probate judge has to sign the marriage license, Allen said. "And effectively, by your signature going on that marriage license, basically in my opinion, youre endorsing it. Because its your signature, just like youre signing a check, youre endorsing it. And that was one of the objections that I had back in 2015." Albrittons bill had passed the Senate in previous years but never made it through the House. The senator, who is an attorney, said hes been working on the issue since 2015. Im trying to find a path thats legal and has the least effect with the greatest amount of benefit," Albritton said. "And I think I found that. The flashing sign outside the Sumter County Health Department advertises family planning services every Wednesday. That means birth control and STD testing. Its one of the few places in rural Sumter County where women can get birth control, and its available for free. But the lines there can be long and the wait time can take two hours or more, said KiErra Bailey, 22. Earlier this month she graduated from the University of West Alabama, just down the road from the health department. People in the cities dont know what its like to drive 45 minutes to get the healthcare you want, she said. The nearest OBGYN is about an hour north, in Tuscaloosa, or 45 minutes west over the state line, in Meridian, Miss. Tuscaloosa is also home to one of the states three remaining abortion clinics. A look at the data shows that families in Black Belt counties like Sumter will likely be the ones most impacted by the nations strictest abortion law. It was signed last week by Gov. Kay Ivey, herself a Black Belt native. The law bans nearly all abortion and makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Alabama counties with the highest abortion rates, like Sumter, are in the Black Belt. Its a region once known for its rich soil, but is now home to some of Alabamas poorest, and often majority-black counties. When youre trying to make ends meet, an unplanned pregnancy can threaten your entire family, said Bailey. In Sumter County, the median household income is not quite $22,000 a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Thats less than half the state average of $46,000. I dont think people understand that when we say were struggling, were struggling, said Bailey. She recently moved back to her hometown in nearby Hale County and is looking for work. You have to make a decision. Do I eat today, or take my kid to the doctor? The abortion law was designed as a legal challenge to Roe v. Wade and championed by Alabamas Republican legislators. It was sponsored in the House by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, and in the Senate by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville. Both represent districts where the abortion rates are below the state average. Its a distinction not lost on some in the Black Belt. When youre affluent and making decisions for the poor, you cant possibly see where were coming from, said Bailey. You want us to conform to your way of living and we dont have the means. You have access and we dont. KiErra Bailey, a resident of Hale County, Ala. is a recent graduate of the University of West Alabama. Hit the hardest A few years ago, Adley Joyce thought she was pregnant. At the time, she was a college student and wasnt sure what to do or where to go. She eventually learned her pregnancy test had been a false positive. It was a huge relief. But in that situation where I thought I was pregnant, I wanted to have a choice, said Joyce, now 26. She works in Sumter County at a packaging company and is in school to earn a masters degree in business. Now that women cant have a choice, its a big deal. Adley Joyce lives in Demopolis and is working on a master's degree in business. In Alabama, 65 percent of abortions are performed on black women and women of color, though they account for only one-third of all pregnancies. And while the Alabama Department of Public Health doesnt report socioeconomic status of women who get abortions, nationwide nearly half of women who get abortions live in poverty. Greene and Sumter Counties two of Alabamas poorest counties, according to the 2017 median household income reported by the U.S. Census have the second- and third-highest rates of abortion according to 2016 data, the most recent available from the Alabama Department of Public Health. The highest rate is over in Macon, near the Georgia state line. There, about 20 percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. The state average is about 9 percent. Alabama Abortions as a percent of all pregnancies by county. Where we are is a big Bible Belt area, said Joyce. But Ive actually been really surprised to see people I thought would be so against (abortion) say this law is too extreme, that theyre taking it too far. Hard to access One of the reasons women in places like Sumter County seek abortions is the lack of healthcare options, said Candace OBrien, vice president of health care access at the Yellowhammer Fund, a Tuscaloosa-based organization that provides financial assistance to women seeking abortions. Theres a lack of reproductive and sexual healthcare access in the area, said OBrien. Or they dont have transportation to get to a medical care facility. That lack extends to women who choose to have their babies. Half of all births to Greene County mothers get less than adequate prenatal care, according to ADPH numbers. Statewide, just one-quarter of mothers receive less than adequate prenatal care. And about 47 percent of children in Greene and Sumter Counties live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Because Alabama did not expand Medicaid, only the poorest Alabamians are eligible. That leaves many women without insurance. When I stopped being eligible for Medicaid, it was hard, said Bailey. Shes now on her fathers insurance for a few more years, she said, but still has high co-pays and deductibles. I started not going to the doctor. Do I risk not going, and getting sick? Or having these bill collectors calling? More of a say Tandreka Holloway, 23, is a student at the University of West Alabama and plans to graduate in December with a degree in criminal justice. Shes from Chambers County, which also has an abortion rate much higher than the state average. While she said she personally is against abortion, she doesnt like the way the law was passed. I feel like all women should be able to decide if they want to keep their child or not, especially if they may not be financially stable, she said. I just feel that more people who are affected, who might need to have abortions, should have had more of a say-so in this. If they had asked people in the state, it may not have passed. Tandreka Holloway is a student at the University of West Alabama. Leaving About 10 years ago, Bailey said, her mother had to have an abortion because an ectopic pregnancy threatened her life. She already had three children, she said. My mom said it was the hardest decisions to make. Its something that changes you on the inside. These women arent heartless. They made a decision and chose themselves. Bailey said she hopes eventually to leave Alabama. So does Joyce. Nothings changing around here, said Joyce. Ive always said I wanted to be the change, and to try to make change in this area and the state. But were only going backwards. I dont feel the need to stay where were not moving forward. A former Buffalo Wild Wings employee has filed suit against the restaurant chain alleging managers allowed discrimination against black customers. Gary Lovelace reportedly worked as a cook at the Overland Park, Kansas, location for more than 10 years, the Kansas City Star reported. In his suit, Lovelace said managers at the restaurant made derogatory comments about African-American customers and allowed employees to refuse service or provide them with a lower level of service. White employees were allowed to refuse service black customers because, the plaintiffs attorney said, blacks dont give good tips. Lovelace also said he was the target of racial comments that went unpunished. A spokesperson for Buffalo Wild Wings told The Star the company is conducting an internal investigation but could not comment on ongoing litigation. Buffalo Wild Wings values an inclusive environment and we have no tolerance for discrimination of any kind, the company said. Buffalo Wild Wings has more than 1,200 locations in the U.S., including 18 in Alabama. You can read the complete story here. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold consulted Planned Parenthood before issuing a news release restricting travel to Alabama in response to its strict anti-abortion law, emails show. 9 News in Denver published a series of emails showing conversations between Griswolds staff and representatives of Planned Parenthood just hours before the travel ban was announced Thursday. In the emails, the Secretary of States staff asks for input and edits on a press release about the ban. In one case, the news station said the original title of the boycott press release was In Response to New Law in Alabama Limiting Womens Civil Rights and Right to Choose, Secretary Griswold Calls for Boycott of Alabama and Takes Action at Department of State." In response, Whitney Phillips, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood of the Ricky Mountains said: "We dont recommend using right to choose/pro-life/pro-choice language anymore, all polling indicates it is further polarizing and turns folks off." The term right to choose was not included in the final release. Instead, the new headline read In Response to New Law in Alabama Limiting Womens Civil Rights and Rights to Reproductive Health Care, Secretary Griswold Calls for Boycott of Alabama and Takes Action at Department of State. You can read the full release here. You can see copies of the emails here. In response to the report, Griswold said she consulted with Planned Parenthood about the Alabama travel ban since they are one of the largest providers of, and leading experts on, womens health care. Phillips said Planned Parenthood provides opinions and general thoughts when contacted about abortion issues. That is our job as reproductive health experts, Phillips told the news station. Colorado is one of the areas restricting official travel to Alabama after passage of the nations most restrictive abortion law. Maryland, Colorado and Los Angeles have all banned state or county employee travel to Alabama unless the law is repealed. Letters from two Birmingham doctors presented to legislators this week argue against the need for a born alive bill that would require doctors to try and preserve the life of a child who is born alive after an attempted abortion. Not only does this bill fail to improve infant survival in Alabama, but it intrudes on nuanced medical practices in ways that may cause harm to the very infants you wish to protect, Dr. Jesanna Cooper, a Birmingham OBGYN stated in her letter. In Alabama, terminations are not performed when the limit of viability is surpassed. Thus, to medical providers, HB 491 (the bill) is a fallacy, actually, a painful joke, Dr. Morissa Ladinsky, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UAB Medicine, wrote in a letter where she noted those were her personal view points. Both letters were read aloud during the debate. The House of Representatives, in a 66-18 vote along party lines, this week passed the bill by Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, that says if a child is born alive after an attempted abortion the doctor who tried to abort the child must try to preserve its life and health or face criminal penalties. Republicans supporting the measure said it was basic human decency. Democratic lawmakers questioned the purpose and read letters from doctors saying that the situation suggested by the bill doesnt happen in Alabama. The bill is now awaiting action in a Senate committee. The bill comes on the heels of Gov. Kay Ivey signing into law a bill to make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion in Alabama except to protect the woman from a serious health risk. The law is not in effect but is intended to spark a legal challenge to Roe vs. Wade. Read the full letters by the doctors below. A Florida lawmaker said he will introduce an anti-abortion bill modeled on Alabamas recently passed strict legislation. According to the Pensacola News Journal, Rep. Mike Hill, R-Escambia County, said he plans to introduce a bill that would ban abortion once fetal heartbeat was detected. Unlike a previous bill introduced by Hill, this version will not include exceptions for rape, incest, domestic violence, human trafficking or if the life of the mother is in danger. Hill said he feels God has directed him to introduce the measure at the next Legislative session. "As plain as day, God spoke to me," Hill said, describing an experience during an anti-abortion rally. "(God) said that wasn't my bill, talking about the heartbeat detection bill that I filed. He said that wasn't my bill. I knew immediately what he was talking about. He said, you remove those exceptions and you file it again. And I said yes Lord, I will. It's coming back. It's coming back. We are going to file that bill without any exceptions just like what we saw passed in Alabama." Alabamas bill make it a felony for a physician to perform or attempt to perform an abortion. It does not include exceptions for rape or incest but does allow for the procedure in the health of the mother is endangered. The Alabama bill, which is expected to be challenged in court, goes into effect in six months. JLL, one of the worlds leading real estate investment advisory firms, said it had acted as an advisor for the development of Qasr Al Watan, the latest cultural attraction in Abu Dhabi. Qasr Al Watan is a unique cultural landmark housed within the presidential compound in Abu Dhabi. Qasr Al Watan offers visitors the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the UAEs governing traditions and values, as well as the role that the emirates continues to play in shaping the future of the nation. The new landmark also attracts visitors to explore the well-preserved intellectual legacy of the Arab world, and its contributions to various fields of knowledge, said the statement from JLL. Opened in March, JLLs project, design and construction managers worked on an array of elements including the visitor car park, public park, security infrastructure, food and beverages (F&B) and retail outlets besides the visitor centre, public library, exhibit installations and a state-of-the-art 3D mapped projection, light and sound show. Benjamin Jackson, the head of Project Development Services for Middle East and North Africa (Mena) said: "JLL is committed to supporting the UAEs vision and strategic plan in promoting cross-cultural dialogue and intellectual empowerment across the Middle East." "Abu Dhabi is a vibrant, fast developing city of the future one that is set to significantly enhance the UAEs position as a global tourist destination. We are therefore delighted to have worked on this exciting project," noted Jackson. "The Abu Dhabi governments long-term development vision, is creating an incredibly attractive tourism and leisure offering in the UAE capital, and we look forward to playing our part in its future growth and development," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Los Angeles County has instituted a one-year travel restriction to Alabama in response to the states new restrictive abortion law. HB 314 makes it a felony for doctors in Alabama to perform or attempt to perform an abortion. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, author of the travel measure, said the bill is nothing more than an attack on reproductive rights and economic justice. We must stand in solidarity and in opposition against extremist and unconstitutional laws that put the health and wellbeing of families at risk, Solis said. The constitutional and human right to a safe and legal abortion is part of the very fabric of the United States. As such, Los Angeles County will stand against all attempts to dismantle the protections afforded by Roe v. Wade and the U.S. Constitution. The ban covers all LA County employees traveling to Alabama for official business, with exceptions for emergency response training or other legally-required trips. LA County officials are also sending a letter to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Legislative leaders calling for the measures immediate repeal. Similar letters will be sent to officials in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah, all states considering their own restrictive abortion laws. LA County is the latest to protest the Alabama law. Lawmakers in Colorado and Maryland have threatened to cut any official travel to the state due to the abortion measure. A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouris capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart. The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight on Wednesday. "Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Gov. Mike Parson said. Missouri Public Safety said the three were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, near Missouri's southwest corner, as the severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest. The damage spanned about a 3-mile area in the state capital, Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said. About 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel, and although there were no reports of missing people, authorities planned to make door-to-door checks on Thursday, he said. This image provided by John Dolson shows the damage of a car dealership in Jefferson City, MO., Thursday, May 23, 2019. A "violent tornado" touched down in Jefferson City, Missouri, causing possible fatalities, according to the National Weather Service.(John Dolson via AP)AP The weather service reported that a "confirmed large and destructive tornado" was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph (64 kph). The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of St. Louis. "It's a chaotic situation right now," Williams said. Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities were discouraging people from beginning clean-up efforts until power is safely restored. Area hospitals set up command centers in case the need arises. Downed power lines stretch into a street in tornado-hit Jefferson City, MO., Thursday, May 23, 2019. The National Weather Service has confirmed a large and destructive tornado has touched down in Missouri's state capital, causing heavy damage and trapping multiple people in the wreckage of their homes. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)AP Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding. Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings to do his wash and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers. After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage, and retrieved a stuffed animal for his daughter from his damaged apartment. "There's basically one building that's basically one story now," he said. The weather service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday; some could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. Flood water encroach homes near 118th and Delaware on the Arkansas river on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Authorities on Wednesday encouraged people living along the Arkansas River in the Tulsa suburb of Bixby and low-lying areas near creeks both north and south of Okmulgee, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Tulsa. to leave their homes. (Tom Gilbert/Tulsa World via AP)AP One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported. The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam. A posting on the official Facebook page of the river town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, said the runaway barges posed a dire threat to its 600 residents: "Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!" This still image taken from video provided by Chris Higgins shows a tornado, Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Carl Junction, Mo. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport. (Chris Higgins via AP)AP Authorities located the barges Thursday morning, stuck on rocks in the swollen river. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the barges were still tied together, and crews were working to secure them. Still, the Interstate 40 bridge and a state highway bridge remain closed over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls as a precaution, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water. Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth weather-related death occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified womans body was sent to the state medical examiners office, which confirmed Wednesday that the death was attributed to the flooding. The remains of a north Alabama sailor killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor which were unidentified for decades until last year are set to be buried in Athens on Memorial Day, AL.com news partner WHNT 19 in Huntsville reported Tuesday. Navy Water Tender 2nd Class Edgar Gross, 39, of Athens, was on the USS Oklahoma when it capsized during the attack on Dec. 7, 1941. His remains were recovered by 1944 but remained unidentified and were eventually buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In 1949, Gross remains and the others on the USS Oklahoma who could not be identified were classified as non-recoverable. Advances in technology led to the disinterment of the remains in 2015. Gross family provided DNA that was used to identify the fallen sailor. Seventy-eight years since the attack, Gross is coming home. On Memorial Day, a procession starting at Limestone Chapel will go down Highway 31 to Pryor Street, where Gross family will meet up with the procession at the Alabama Veterans Museum, according to WHNT. From there, the procession will travel north on Jefferson Street and then take Elm Street to Alabama 99 before ending at Cherry Grove Baptist Church. Several law enforcement agencies including the Athens Police Department and Limestone County Sheriffs Office are scheduled to escort Gross remains from Huntsville International Airport to Limestone Chapel at 6:45 p.m. Friday. Cudjo Lewis remembered the morning he woke at daybreak to a violent raid on his African village, led by a king that had come to capture his people and sell them into slavery. Lewis remembered when the soldiers tied him up in a line with dozens of others and made them march to the coast for days. How, when they arrived in the Kingdom of Dahomey, they were all placed in a barracoon, a pen for slaves, and how, when a white man arrived to buy them, they were stripped naked and herded below deck in a ship called the Clotilda. It was the last ship to ever make the transatlantic slave-trade journey from the coast of Africa to the shores of the U.S. in 1860, long after the slave trade had been outlawed. Huddling in the dark, Lewis remembered thinking, "We all lonesome for our home," as he would recall in 1927 to author Zora Neale Hurston, who recorded Lewis's words and dialect exactly how he pronounced them. "We doan know whut goin' become of us, we doan want to be put apart from one 'nother." For many years, the firsthand accounts of those on the Clotilda, as documented by Hurston and others, were all that remained of the proof of the illegal journey's existence. Nobody knew what happened to the Clotilda, the palpable evidence of the final Middle Passage journey that brought 110 Africans to the United States and an elusive artifact that the descendants of Lewis and the other slaves had been hoping to find for generations. Now, after a renewed search effort by archaeologists, divers and historians, the day has finally come: The Clotilda has been discovered along the Mobile River, the Alabama Historical Commission announced Wednesday. The discovery, as reported by National Geographic and Smithsonian Magazine, "is an extraordinary archaeological find," representing "tangible evidence of slavery," the commission's executive director, Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, said in a statement. The descendants were overjoyed, she said. Many still live in Africatown, Alabama, a town founded after the Civil War by the emancipated slaves who had all survived together on the Clotilda. "By this ship being found, we have the proof that we need to say this is the ship that they were on and their spirits are in this ship," Lorna Gail Woods - a descendant of Cudjo Lewis's brother, Charlie - told Smithsonian Magazine. "No matter what you take away from us now, this is proof for the people who lived and died and didn't know it would ever be found." The mission to find the Clotilda was headed by the Alabama Historical Commission, the Slave Wrecks Project of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and SEARCH Inc., with financial support from the National Geographic Society. As Hurston described in her posthumously published book, "Barracoon: The Story of the Last 'Black Cargo,'" the ship was previously never found because those who led the expedition burned it, seeking to bury the evidence of the illegal smuggling. The slave trade had been outlawed in the United States in 1808. Numerous attempts to recover the schooner had failed over the years - but interest was renewed a couple years ago, at the request of descendants and after a shipwreck discovery by former AL.com reporter Ben Raines, who was the first person to touch the Clotilda since it sank and put a spotlight on the then-potential discovery. The buzz captured attention of archaeologists, who continued the search where Raines left off. Last year, buried in silt, they found what they believed was the real Clotilda, using 3-D scanners and other technology, according to National Geographic. To confirm its authenticity, historians involved in the search gathered hundreds of records from more than 2,000 ships docked in the Gulf of Mexico in the late 1850s. Finding 19th century insurance and registration documents for the Clotilda, they managed to compare the ship's materials and other identifying qualities to those of the ship discovered in the Mobile River, National Geographic reported. At every step, it was a match, James Delgado, a maritime archaeologist on the project, said in a statement. "We are cautious about placing names on shipwrecks that no longer bear a name or something like a bell with the ship's name on it," he said, "but the physical and forensic evidence powerfully suggests that this is Clotilda." The story of the Clotilda has been documented by anthropologists like Hurston and even by the ship's own captain in firsthand accounts, allowing historians to piece together the full journey despite the great lengths the captain initially went to conceal it. The Clotilda set sail from Alabama in March 1860 on an expedition headed by Timothy Meaher and the ship's builder, Capt. William Foster, as Foster recorded in a handwritten journal. The schooner, refurbished with a slave cargo hold, arrived in July that year in Dahomey, present-day Benin, where Cudjo Lewis had been held. Foster purchased the 110 Africans with $9,000 in gold, he wrote. The nearly two-month journey, as described by Lewis in his interviews with Hurston, was at times unbearable. "Soon we git in de ship dey make us lay down in de dark," he said, as recorded in "Barracoon." Lewis said they were given water twice a day, that they were often starving and that the waves roared so loud that they sounded like a thousand beasts growling in the bushes. Having been stripped of his clothes, Lewis said he felt ashamed, afraid that once he arrived on American soil, the Americans would think they were "naked savages." The Clotilda entered U.S. waters and docked at 12 Mile Island along the Mobile River on July 9, 1860, lurking in the dark to avoid detection by government authorities. The slaves were transferred to a steamboat, smuggled away and sold off to plantation owners or other slavers. Lewis worked for Meaher, toting freight from the ships at a Mobile dock. On one of his first nights in America, Lewis said he felt such immense sorrow he thought he might die in his sleep, dreaming of his mother in Africa. "We cry for home. We took away from our people. We seventy days cross de water from de Affica soil, and now dey part us from one 'nother," he told Hurston. "Derefore we cry. We cain help but cry." Upon emancipation, those who survived the Middle Passage with Lewis founded Africatown as a way to revive all that they had lost, in whatever way possible. In Africatown, they spoke their native language, carried on their native customs, wore their native garb. The future generations would grow up hearing the stories of how their ancestors were abducted from their homelands and forcibly taken to America on the Clotilda, Woods told National Geographic. When the search efforts forged ahead last year, she told the magazine that the discovery of the ship would do the community "a world of good." All Mama told us would be validated, she said. The new Statue of Liberty Museum opening Thursday in New York Harbor boasts a number of treasures: the original torch, which was replaced in the 1980s; an unoxidized (read: not green) copper replica of Lady Libertys face; and recordings of immigrants describing the sight of the 305-foot monument. It also revives an aspect of the statue's long-forgotten history: Lady Liberty was originally designed to celebrate the end of slavery, not the arrival of immigrants. Ellis Island, the inspection station through which million of immigrants passed, didn't open until six years after the statue was unveiled in 1886. The plaque with the famous Emma Lazarus poem wasn't added until 1903. "One of the first meanings [of the statue] had to do with abolition, but it's a meaning that didn't stick," Edward Berenson, a history professor at New York University and author of the book "The Statue of Liberty: A Transatlantic Story," said in an interview with The Washington Post. The monument, which draws 4.5 million visitors a year, was first imagined by a man named Edouard de Laboulaye. In France, he was an expert on the U.S. Constitution and, at the close of the American Civil War, the president of a committee that raised and disbursed funds to newly freed slaves, according to Yasmin Sabina Khan, author of the book "Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty." Laboulaye loved America - often giving speeches described by a New York Times correspondent in 1867 as "feasts of liberty which move the souls of men to their deepest depths" - and he loved it even more when slavery was abolished. In June 1865, Laboulaye organized a meeting of French abolitionists at his summer home in Versailles, Berenson said. "They talked about the idea of creating some kind of commemorative gift that would recognize the importance of the liberation of the slaves," Berenson said. Laboulaye secured the partnership of sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, who took his sweet time developing an idea. An early model, circa 1870, shows Lady Liberty with her right arm in the position we are familiar with, raised and illuminating the world with a torch. But in her left hand she holds broken shackles, an homage to the end of slavery. (A terra cotta model still survives at the Museum of the City of New York.) One theory has her face being adapted from a statue Bartholdi had proposed for the Suez Canal, meaning her visage could resemble that of an Egyptian woman. The Times reported she was based on the Roman goddess Libertas, who typically wore the type of cap worn by freed Roman slaves. In the final model, Lady Liberty holds a tablet inscribed with the Roman numerals for July 4, 1776. The broken chains are still there though, beneath her feet, "but they're not all that visible," Berenson said. Bartholdi made a number of trips to the U.S. to whip up support for his colossal structure, according to the National Park Service. And sailing into New York Harbor, he spotted the perfect location for it: Bedloe's Island, then occupied by the crumbling Fort Wood. Fundraising in both France and the United States took awhile, and according to the NPS, Bartholdi cast the project in the broadest terms possible to widen the net of potential donors. He also built the torch-bearing arm to tour around and inspire people to open up their wallets. Bartholdi finished building the statue in Paris in 1884. Two years later, he oversaw its reconstruction in New York. "Liberty Enlightening the World" was "unveiled" on Oct. 28, 1886 - but that did not involve a very big sheet. Instead, there were fireworks, a military parade, and Bartholdi climbing to the top and pulling a French flag from his muse's face. By then, "the original meaning of the abolition of slavery had pretty much gotten lost," Berenson said, going unmentioned in newspaper coverage. In fact, black newspapers railed against it as meaningless and hypocritical. By 1886, Reconstruction had been crushed, the Supreme Court had rolled back civil rights protections, and Jim Crow laws were tightening their grip. In his book, Berenson quotes an 1886 editorial in the black newspaper the Cleveland Gazette: "Shove the Bartholdi statue, torch and all, into the ocean until the 'liberty' of this country is such as to make it possible for an industrious and inoffensive colored man in the South to earn a respectable living for himself and family . . . The idea of the 'liberty' of this country 'enlightening the world,' or even Patagonia, is ridiculous in the extreme." W.E.B. Du Bois also mentioned this in his autobiography, recalling seeing the statue upon arriving back in the United States in 1894 after two years in Europe: "I know not what multitude of emotions surged in the others, but I had to recall [a] mischievous little French girl whose eyes twinkled as she said: 'Oh, yes, the Statue of Liberty! With its back toward America, and its face toward France!'" There were immigrants on board that ship with Du Bois, but he didnt talk to any of them. The ship was segregated. The Alabama Department of Corrections today released a plan for change in a prison system plagued by violence, crowding, and understaffing, and facing federal intervention. The release of the Strategic Plan 2019-2022 comes as the ADOC, the Gov. Kay Ivey administration and the Legislature work to respond to an April 2 report from the Department of Justice that alleged conditions in mens prisons violate the Constitution. The report said the DOJ could sue the state in federal court after a 49-day notification period that ended Tuesday if the state failed to adequately respond. Jay Town, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said in a statement Tuesday that the DOJ was encouraged by the states response so far. The ADOC is also embroiled in a five-year-old federal lawsuit over health care for inmates. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled in 2017 that mental health care was "horrendously inadequate." The Strategic Plan released today sets goals for staffing, infrastructure, programs and culture that the ADOC says can transform the troubled system. The goal is for the ADOC to be a professional organization where recidivism is reduced through effective inmate rehabilitation, and where motivated employees with a sense of belonging and camaraderie up and down the chain of command are working in fully staffed, new and/or improved facilities, the plan says. The plan is not all new. It includes initiatives for hiring and keeping more staff and replacing and consolidating prisons that the ADOC has previously announced, as well as healthcare staffing standards like those ordered by the court in the federal lawsuit. Staffing The ADOC has one-third the number of correctional officers needed and is under a federal court order to add 2,000 officers over the next few years. The Strategic Plan lists several key performance indicators for staffing, including maintaining correctional officer staffing of 85 percent or more by the end of 2021. The plan says it will achieve the goals by streamlining hiring; seeking legislative approval for increased pay and recruiting and retention bonuses; expanding training and leadership development; reducing mandatory overtime; and expanding education discounts and tuition assistance. The plan calls for a fully staffed healthcare and recidivism programming workforce. It calls for development of partnerships with universities in healthcare, behavioral, and social sciences educational programs. Infrastructure The plans calls for the design, development and construction of regional correctional complexes. The Ivey administration has previously said it is pursuing plans to build three mens prisons housing 3,000 or more inmates, with one of the three for inmates with special health needs. The plan calls for appointment of a consolidation committee to identify which prisons should be re-purposed. It calls for meetings with local civil leaders to gain acceptance for the plans and for setting a timeline to move inmates and reassign staff. The plan also calls for the ADOC to acquire and develop information technology for a new offender management system and for hiring a vendor through an RFP. Programming -- Develop evidence-based rehabilitation programs with goals that include reducing incidents of misconduct by 10 percent a year and reducing recidivism by 3 percent. -- Gain approval to hire the necessary staff for the programs and train the staff on the program goals. -- Designate office and classroom space for the program, modifying facilities as needed. -- Develop quality assurance programs to track effectiveness of the programs. Culture -- Improve the working environment at the ADOC. -- Develop and implement a strategic communication plan and a holistic leadership development program. -- Develop a staff wellness program. Edited at 8:58 a.m. May 24 to add some missing words. Via Airlines will no longer serve the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport or the Mobile Regional Airport effective immediately, airline officials confirmed. Officials cited challenges in recruiting and training qualified crews as the reason to suspend flights. Regrettably, upon considering the carriers on-going challenges in recruiting, training and retaining a suitable level of qualified crews, Via Airlines Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to suspend all flights to/from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport effective immediately. All guests with confirmed and paid reservations will receive a full refund, said Don Bowman, vice president for Business Development and Distribution for Via Airlines. Via Airlines wishes to thank the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport management for its support to date, and regrets this painful, but necessary decision which we feel is in the best interest of the community at this point in time. Bowman said all scheduled service flights, except for Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) to and from Jackson, MS (JAN) have been suspended. The Orlando-based carrier launched its first nonstop routes to and from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Austin, Texas on April 11. A nonstop route to Raleigh-Durham International Airport was set to begin on June 29. That route launch date had been pushed back from the original launch date of April 28. Officials cited a crew shortage as the reason for delaying the Raleigh-Durham launch. The airline canceled all flights from Mobile Regional Airport in April. The airline, in January, announced it had selected Birmingham as a focus city. If the ruins of the slave ship Clotilda have indeed been found -- and researchers seem confident they have been -- what comes next? The ship's significance as the vessel that delivered the last known cargo of Africans into slavery in the United States is both deeply specific and of worldwide interest. Many of those captives went on to found a community that became known as Africatown thanks to the extent to which they preserved their language and folkways. Generations later, many residents of that area north of Mobile, overlapped in part by the city of Prichard and the Plateau area of Mobile, take pride in being descendants of Africatown's original population. If raised from the Mobile River muck and restored for display, whats left of the Clotilda could give Africatowns descendants something theyve never really had: a landmark that can serve as a focal point for preservation of their historical legacy, and a destination for tourists interested in that legacy. This is so huge. This could be one of the top tourist attractions in the world once everything is developed in that community, state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures said Wednesday. Figures, who on Wednesday announced the discovery on the Senate floor, said it was a moment she'd been waiting for since her first boat trip into the delta with researchers hunting for the vessel. "I knew it was out there," she said. "It was like you could feel the souls of those people." Excitement around previous shipwrecks thought to match the Clotilda have raised hopes only to let them fall, but Figures said she felt the Alabama Historical Commission had done its due diligence on this one. I do, she said. I have worked with them every step of the way. Figures said that in March she and top officials with the AHC visited Washington, where they spoke with U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne and with representatives of Sen. Doug Jones and Sen. Richard Shelby. The purpose of that visit, Figures said, was to make the point that if this wreck is confirmed as the Clotilda, money will be needed for its preservation and possible display. "It was about being proactive," she said. Many details remain to be settled. Figures said that based on the condition of the ship's remains, she wasn't sure if it could be raised. But she said she believes the Africatown community can rally around a vision for what to do with the find. "I don't think it will be hard at all," she said. "It's going to be an effort of the entire community pulling together." Robert Battles, a Mobile County School Board member who formerly directed an Africatown Welcome Center, said he hopes various groups and organizations of Africatown descendants and supporters can indeed overcome any divisions among themselves. 5 Slave ship Clotilda found in Alabama "If those splintered groups can come together, it'll be a joy to the whole community," Battles said. "This will open a dialogue on the relationship between the African-American community and the community at large." Battles said it's important to recognize that the legacy of Africatown and the Clotilde is about freedom as well as slavery. Africatown was a "free community," he said, where freed slaves established a culture of self-determination amid the hostile climate of Reconstruction and Jim Crow. The welcome center Battles once ran was closed after being seriously damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But a round of grants funded by penalties from the Deepwater Horizon disaster includes millions for a new one. Between that new center and the Clotilde find, Battles said, Africatown could become a "gateway to Mobile." He said he thinks that given the level of interest in the find, it won't be hard to find investors to help with the cost of raising what's left of the ship. Such an artifact might also be of passionate interest from state or national institutions, though Figures has previously vowed she would do everything in her power to keep the ship from leaving the state. The Clotilda offers Americans of African descent something that many of European descent take for granted: A specific idea of how their ancestors arrived in North America and where they came from. In December 2017, musician Questlove was featured in an episode of the PBS program "Finding Your Roots." In a first for the series, his family history was traced all the way back to a slave ship: The Clotilda, which carried his great-great-great grandfather. "I'm on the absolute last ship that ever came here," Questlove says in the episode as historian Henry Louis Gates lays out the documentation. The realities of the ship's condition may make it hard to turn it into an exhibit on dry land, however. A National Geographic report published Wednesday describes both the exacting methodology used to identify the ship and the challenges inherent in the find. In the article, maritime archaeologist James Delgado of Search, Inc., a partner in the high-tech underwater search, says that whats left of the wreck is in very poor condition and that restoring it would cost millions of dollars. The ship apparently was scuttled, burned and later damaged with dynamite, all in an attempt to destroy evidence of its illegal slaving voyage. The National Geographic article suggests another possibility: a national slave ship memorial along the lines of the Pearl Harbor memorial to the U.S.S. Arizona. Under federal law, the Alabama Historical Commission is charged with the management and guardianship of maritime archaeological sites abandoned and embedded in Alabama waters. On May 30 the organizations that shared in the search will hold a press conference revealing details of the search. The mission of the Alabama Historical Commission is to protect, preserve and interpret Alabamas historic resources. We are working diligently with state and local agencies to secure site protections, Major General (Ret.) Walter Givhan, Chair of the Alabama Historical Commission, said in an announcement of the find. The State of Alabama holds this artifact as an irreplaceable cultural treasure and will prosecute any tampering or encroachment to the fullest extent of the law. With the confirmation of this discovery, the responsibility to preserve it only increases, and the Alabama Historical Commission will continue to assess security needs and the most effective way to meet them. It is important to preserve the site so that additional research may be conducted and the story may emerge," Stacye Hathorne, state archaeologist of Alabama, said in the same announcement. Just after Mobiles city and county leaders celebrated a bright future at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau once again depict the Port City as a slowly dwindling city missing out on explosive growth across the bay. Even among Baldwin Countys booming municipalities Fairhope stands out as being in a league of its own. Mayor Karin Wilson said that if anything the new numbers may underestimate Fairhopes real growth, since they only count whats going on inside the city limits. The new numbers estimate the change in population for cities as of July 2018. For the first time, they show Mobile dipping below the 190,000 mark. The loss of an estimated 929 residents from 2017 to 2018 brought the city to an estimated population of 189,572, a decline of 0.49%. Compared to the 2010 census count of 195,111, thats a drop of 5,539 or 2.84%. Mobile isnt alone: Montgomery and Birmingham are shrinking as well, and third-place Huntsville, the only large city to show growth, seems on track to leapfrog them. Huntsvilles estimated 197,318 puts it less than 1,000 people behind Montgomerys 198,218 and closing in on Birminghams 209,880. Meanwhile, Baldwin County growth continues unabated. Among Alabama cities of more than 10,000 people, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores and Daphne are all in the states Top 10 fastest-growing since 2010. All have had growth of more than 20% over that span. Fairhope, Foley and Gulf Shores also are in the Top 10 for single-year growth. Fairhopes numbers are staggering. Its 44.1% growth since 2010 compares to 32.9% for second-place Chelsea, southeast of Birmingham. It also had a wide margin in single-year growth: 5.5% compared to 3.9% for Chelsea. The numbers for Baldwin: Fairhope -- 2010 census, 15,326. 2018 estimate, 22,085. 2010-2018 growth, 6,759 people (44.10%). 2017-18 growth: 1,151 (5.5%) Foley -- 2010 census, 14,618. 2018 estimate, 18,928. 2010-18 growth, 4,310 (29.48%) 2017-18 growth, 629 (3.44%) Gulf Shores -- 2010 census, 9,741. 2018 estimate, 12,517. 2010-18 growth, 2,776 (28.5%). 2017-18 growth, 252 (2.05%) Daphne -- 2010 census, 21,570. 2018 estimate, 26,506. 2010-18 growth, 4,936 (22.88%). 2017-18 growth, 500 people, 1.92%. Like other Baldwin County officials addressing growth in recent years, Wilson said she and other leaders can't let Fairhope become a victim of its own success. "Our challenge continues to be managing this growth while ensuring the quality of life that attracted it," she said. "These numbers also highlight how important it is for all residents to participate in the 2020 census. By being counted, it helps us accurately report our population which helps plan and qualify for funding needed to support the programs and services that make Fairhope such a great place to live." Mobiles slow loss is a long-running story. That has continued despite successes such as the growth of shipbuilder Austal USA and Airbus decision to build two aircraft assembly lines in the city. Census numbers released two years ago showed Mobile losing its place as the states third biggest city to Huntsville. More recent numbers showed Mobile County holding steady as the states second most populous county while Baldwin Countys growth pushed it into fifth place. On Tuesday, two days before the release of the new numbers, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson delivered an upbeat address at the State of the City and County Luncheon hosted by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. Stimpson said the city was experiencing unprecedented momentum. He cited a range of positive developments large and small including the launch of limited commercial passenger service from the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. He said efforts to improve the Mobile County Public School System, under new superintended Chresal Threadgill, were a particularly promising development. He also referenced the ongoing annexation of some neighborhoods in west Mobile, a move driven by the citys decision to pull back fire and emergency service in its police jurisdiction. A request for comment on the numbers was pending with Stimpson's office as this story was published. Elsewhere in Mobile County, the latest figures ranked Prichard fifth among the state's fastest-shrinking cities of 10,000 or more. (The others on that list were Selma, Eufala, Anniston, Jasper, Gadsden, Hueytown, Fairfield, Sylacauga and Center Point, with the range spanning from Selma's 13.9% loss to Center Point's 4.1%.) Prichard's 2010 census count was 22,659. Its 2018 estimate of 21,521 represented a loss of 1,128 people or 4.98%. The latest figures seemed to show a pause in Saralands growth: The estimated population of 14,649 represented growth of 9.28% since 2010, but virtually no change from 2017 to 2018. More from the census in Huntsville More from the census in Birmingham More from census statistics statewide: Alabamas fastest growing and shrinking cities Who Belongs in Alabama? What if I told you a typhoon and flood in the Philippines were successfully overcome, and lives saved, because of a Huntsville initiative? This Alabama program also shared concrete plans on subjects as diverse as social reconciliation, biotechnology, agriculture, breast cancer awareness, and combating extremism. Global Ties >Alabama is a nonprofit that brings future foreign leaders through US State Department programs to Alabama. It introduces them to our areas of expertise, challenge, and measured hope. These visitors, carefully vetted by our embassies in their countries, come here in select groups to study common interests. What they learn, of course, is much more than what they hear in presentations. They see and get to know average Americans, and how our values are reflected in reality. In frank and transparent discussions, they find all questions are on the table, the good, the bad, and the embarrassing. Noteworthy as well, they see America is a land whose Declaration of Independence is a work in progress, not a dead sheet from the misty past. Alabamians the guests meet are extremely honest, too. We speak openly about our historical and present trials and successes with racial matters, voting, immigration, and democratic practices in our state. The tiny Global Ties>Alabama office of Huntsville coordinates several US State Department projects. They are supported by a host of dedicated Alabama volunteers, businesses, and government organizations. Each offers the hospitality of time, tours, presentations, and home visits to these enthusiastic guests. The United States, shortly before World War II, thought it a national security requirement to let future foreign leaders know the real America. They knew even then that media alone could not capture the real America. Average Americans, inspired by a belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can best be seen and understood in their places of work, at ease at home, and in our countryside. We are a good, democratically minded people, whose story can be told best by ourselves. An earlier young French visitor Alexis de Tocqueville noticed some two hundred years ago when he visited this young republic, that The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults. If you believe this too, then youll believe that we should encourage other foreign guests to see us as we really are. We want the world to know our new Alabama. We want to showcase you as a U. S. citizen diplomat. We would like to give you the chance to serve as a guide to international visitors and invite them into your home for dinner and Southern hospitality. You can do that with Global Ties Alabama! Information at 256-532-3560 or online at Luxury property developer Seven Tides said it is offering a special Ramadan promotional rate for new tenants at The Residences within the Ibn Battuta Gate development in Dubai. Valid throughout the month, potential tenants can secure a 12-month tenancy agreement at a reduced rate in either a furnished or unfurnished one or two-bedroom apartment at the iconic Residences located near Ibn Battuta Mall. The Residences at Ibn Battuta Gate is located just a few minutes drive from several of Dubais key business centres such as Jumeirah Lake Towers, Jebel Ali Freezone and the Expo 2020 site as well as being just 30 minutes from Dubai International Airport and a 40-minute drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport. Ibn Battuta Gate is also home to 467 offices. Adjacent to Ibn Battuta Gate is the popular Ibn Battuta Mall, the largest themed mall in the world. The mall has close to 400 stores and also comes complete with a multi-screen cinema and a comprehensive food court. The one-bedroom apartments, which range in size from 703 sq ft to 861 sq ft, are available unfurnished from Dh72,000 or furnished from Dh82,000. Two-bedroom apartments, ranging from 1,027 sq ft to 1,274 sq ft, can be rented from Dh100,000 unfurnished or Dh110,000 furnished; while two-bedroom apartments at 1,323 sq ft in size, are available from Dh110,000 unfurnished and Dh120,000 furnished. All rental agreements at The Residences at Ibn Battuta Gate are fully inclusive of utilities such as Dewa and cooling charges plus internet and cable TV. CEO Abdulla Bin Sulayem said: "This is an excellent opportunity for new tenants to secure a one-year tenancy agreement in a contemporary and stylish apartment at a competitive price point with the added benefit of a very attractive and easy payment option over four to six cheques." "These apartments allow residents to take advantage of the facilities and amenities within the adjacent five-star Movenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai," stated the top official. According to Seven Tides, these 156 stylish apartments, located within walking distance from Ibn Battuta Mall, the metro station and all public transport routes from Sheikh Zayed Road, can be rented fully-furnished or unfurnished. Each apartment features a top-of-the-range kitchen, high-end fixtures and fittings, built-in wardrobes and spacious balconies as well as being wired and equipped with TV and internet services plus central air-conditioning units, it stated. In addition, tenants will have access to a state-of-the-art gym, rooftop swimming pool and underground parking facilities as well as being able to enjoy discounts of up to 20 per cent on F&B and spa treatments at the Movenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai, said the developer. Office tenants taking advantage of the special Ramadan promotion will be exempt from paying any agency fees when renting directly from Seven Tides through Asteco, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Since trade talks broke down earlier this month, the US has unleashed a slew of measures against Chinese trade. When Donald Trump first took office in 2017, officials in Beijing saw a pragmatic businessman: All that tough campaign talk, they argued, was merely Art-of-the-Deal negotiating tactics rather than deeply held beliefs. Yet more than two years later, President Xi Jinping finds himself on the verge of a new Cold War his government sees fanned by Washingtons most ideological China hawks. Whats worse, the view that China is a strategic competitor that must be thwarted at all costs is picking up supporters across the U.S. political spectrum by the day. As Trump continues to raise the stakes with threats to kneecap Huawei Technologies Co. and other companies over what the U.S. says are rising national security risks, officials in Beijing are weighing their options to respond. They are stoking up anti-U.S. sentiment and drawing up contingency plans to bail out Huawei, while also still calling for dialogue to resolve the dispute. I dont think there is a clear strategy thats being conveyed through the system, said Ether Yin, a partner at Trivium China, a Beijing-based consultancy. On the one side, party media is stoking nationalism, but when you talk to officials they are still quite restrained in their criticisms of the U.S. Hard to Tell That hesitancy stems from uncertainty over whether Trump is simply ramping up threats before ultimately reaching a deal, or if the U.S. is fundamentally looking to curb Chinas rise as a global superpower. Its a question that even seasoned Washington policy wonks are struggling to answer. Its very hard to tell whether the effort to deal with Huawei is simply a national security issue or a negotiating tactic to make progress in the trade negotiations, said Scott Kennedy, director of the Project on Chinese Business and Political Economy at CSIS in Washington, who was in Beijing last week for meetings when the Commerce Department placed Huawei on an entity list. The list prohibits U.S. companies from providing critical technology to Huawei without an export license. It could be the NSC agrees with the conclusions that the only safe Huawei is a dead Huawei, but theyre also interested in resolving the trade dispute, Kennedy added, referring to the U.S. National Security Council, which is led by longtime China hawk John Bolton. John Bolton [Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg] Since trade talks broke down earlier this month, the Trump administration has unleashed a slew of measures that would amount to containing China. In addition to the moves against Huawei, which could potentially curtail its ability to help nations around the globe roll out critical 5G mobile networks, the U.S. is also considering cutting off vital American technology to five Chinese companies leading the world in video surveillance. Chinas response so far has been largely rhetorical. Diplomats have blasted the U.S. for bullying, and state media has called the trade dispute a peoples war. Anti-Americanism is rising on social media, with a viral song declaring: If the perpetrator wants to fight, we will beat him out of his wits. Speaking in the southeast province of Jiangxi this week, Xi readied Chinese officials for a lengthy fight. He warned cadres of the complicated and long-term effects of external influences and called for a new Long March recalling the partys revolutionary struggles in the 1930s. Xi said China should become self-reliant in core technologies and even issued a veiled threat when he visited a rare earths processing plant, signaling to Trump that China may restrict sales of the elements used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. Chinas government is drawing up plans to potentially bail out Huawei if necessary, according to a person familiar with discussions on how to respond to the threats to the company. One possible option includes offering financial assistance to Huawei, according to the person, who added that nothing had been decided yet. The Chinese government will probably wait to see if other provocations come from the Trump administration, but certainly theyre sending some signals, said Wang Dong, secretary general of the Pangoal Institution, a Beijing-based think tank, who has served as a Chinese delegate at international security conferences. The whole concept that the Trump administration can do things like harming Huawei without being hurt is completely inaccurate. Trumps moves against Huawei are part of an emerging great-power competition with China that the administration spelled out in its 2017 National Security Strategy. The approach essentially equates economic security with national security. Obama-Era Concerns Despite some initial reluctance, more and more European nations are now coming around to the U.S. view that they should avoid incorporating Huawei equipment into 5G networks because of the security risks the Chinese technology poses, according to an administration official who asked not to be identified. U.S. security concerns about Huawei and Chinese trade practices arent new. The Obama administration began raising alarms about the potential threats posed by the Shenzhen-based company at least as far back as 2010. A report released in 2012 by the House Intelligence Committee tagged Huawei and ZTE Corp. as potential security threats, saying their hardware could be tweaked to enable widespread surveillance. The company has long denied that it helps Beijing spy on other governments or companies. The Communist Partys flagship Peoples Daily newspaper on Thursday accused U.S. politicians of waging a technology cold war and warned that targets in other countries could also suffer from the U.S.s zero-sum mentality. G-20 Meeting Initially, international resistance to Trump was mainly due to his cack-handed style rather than disagreements over Chinas trade practices, said Chris Patten, who was the last British colonial governor of Hong Kong. What he should have done is to talk to what used to be Americas allies, Japan and Europe and so on, because we have a common set of worries, he said. One possible route to get U.S.-China talks back on track is the Group of 20 summit in Japan at the end of June. Trump and Xi managed to work out a temporary truce at the last meeting of the group in Argentina late last year, and the leaders are expected to meet again. The U.S. business community sees that meeting as one of the last chances to reach an agreement before the 2020 election campaign makes doing so unfeasible. Trump has already hit out at potential re-election challenger Joe Biden, saying at a campaign rally Monday that Beijing wants the former vice president to replace him so it can continue to make $500 billion dollars a year and more ripping off the United States. About a fifth of U.S. companies in China are considering moving some or all of their production out of the country to deal with the trade tensions, and a third are delaying or canceling investment decisions, according to a survey of 239 firms in the market by American business groups in China. Theres going to have to be blinking on both sides, Myron Brilliant, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. Theyve boxed themselves in with the escalation of tensions, but at the end of the day this is too big a relationship to fail. Nobody likes an unforeseen expense. But for nearly 40 percent of United States adults, getting an unexpected $400 bill could derail them economically. The US Federal Reserve Board on Thursday released its 2018 report on household economic health. While the report showed a slight improvement in financial resilience over the previous year, millions of Americans are still financially fragile. When asked about their overall economic wellbeing, 75 percent of the 11,000 adults surveyed said they were doing OK or living comfortably, which was a 12-percent increase since 2013. Many families report experiencing substantial gains in the last half-decade, consistent with the ongoing US economic expansion. However, only 61 percent of Americans said they would be able to afford a hypothetical unexpected expense of $400, which theyd pay with cash, savings or a credit card. Another 27 percent said they would need to borrow money or sell an asset, while 12 percent said they would not be able to cover the expense at all. In 2013, only half of respondents said they would be able to afford the expense, so this years survey marks an increase of about 10 percent. While the survey revealed significant improvements in the last few years, it also showed major financial problems as well as persistent differences by race, education level, and, in some cases, geography. Nearly 8 in 10 whites reported doing at least OK financially, compared with two-thirds of blacks and Hispanics, the survey said. Those with a bachelors degree or higher were 23 percent more likely to report at least doing OK than those with a high-school degree or less. Two-thirds of graduates with a bachelors degree or more said their tuition investment had paid off financially. Respondents in middle- and upper-income areas were 20 percent more likely to report overall satisfaction with their community than those in low- and moderate-income neighbourhoods. This report is interesting because it goes beyond some of the basic data that we get around employment and income, said Valerie Wilson, director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute. Its supportive of some of the more empirical data of where the economy is, Wilson told Al Jazeera. Self-assessed well-being has improved since 2013as the economy continues to improve and recover. Struggle to save The Report on the Economic Well-Being of US Households in 2018 was produced by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, drawing on the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. It covers a wide range of topics, including employment, income, banking, housing and retirement. We continue to see the growing US economy supporting most American families, said Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle W. Bowman. At the same time, the survey does find differences across communities, with just over half of those living in rural areas describing their local economy as good or excellent, compared with two-thirds of those living in cities, Bowman said. Across the country, many families continue to experience financial distress and struggle to save for retirement and unexpected expenses. While most adults are working as much as they want to, some remain unemployed or underemployed. According to the report, African Americans, Hispanics and those with less education are less likely to be satisfied with how much they are working. Of the 10 percent of adults in the not working, want work category, 51 percent said they were not doing OK financially, 60 percent said they were in the bottom half of the social ladder, and 27 percent reported to be worse off than their parents. Many adults report having trouble saving for retirement. One-quarter said they had no retirement savings or pension. Even among those with some savings, many said they lacked investment knowledge or did not feel comfortable making financial decisions. The outcome could hurt Qualcomm in its race against rivals like Chinas Huawei for high-speed mobile tech supremacy. A US federal judge has ruled that Qualcomm unlawfully squeezed out cellphone chip rivals and charged excessive royalties to manufacturers such as Apple in a decision that undercuts a key part of its business. The decision vindicates the US Federal Trade Commission two years after it filed its antitrust lawsuit against the San Diego chipmaker. Its a potentially costly setback for Qualcomm, as the decision could slash its ability to extract big royalties from phone makers. Qualcomm said on Wednesday that it would appeal, suggesting the case could still take a few years to resolve. We strongly disagree with the judges conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law, Qualcomm General Counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement. The outcome seems likely to reduce the licensing fees paid to Qualcomm, but its unclear if device makers will pass on any of their savings and lower their prices. The royalties represent a relatively small portion of smartphone prices that now top $1,000 for some premium models. US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, ruled on Tuesday that Qualcomm Inc. must renegotiate licensing deals with customers. It must license its patents to rival chipmakers at fair prices and cant sign exclusive agreements that block competitors from also selling chips to smartphone makers like Apple. Qualcomm must submit to FTC monitoring for seven years. Politically sensitive The case has geopolitical ramifications. If Qualcomm suffered a big hit to its profitability, that could mean less spending on research and development a knock to an American tech icon as the US embarks on a politically sensitive race with China to update to 5G, a new wireless technology. The Trump administration views Qualcomm as almost the crown jewel for the US in terms of US technology development. Similar to the way China views Huawei, said Angelo Zino, CFRA analyst. It will be interesting to see if this gets revisited. Qualcomms rivals are mostly Asian companies, including Huawei, Zino said. The Trump administration has set bruising sanctions against Huawei and pushed European allies not to use the Chinese companys technology due to national-security concerns of China spying. The US government is also in a spiraling trade war with China. Qualcomm is a rival to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei but also supplies it with some chips [File: Thomas Peter/Reuters] The Trump administrations attitude to Qualcomm can be seen in a case from last year, when it blocked a Singapore company, Broadcom, from buying Qualcomm over concerns about national security and who would dominate 5G technology. Trade group Computer & Communications Industry Association said Tuesdays ruling was a win for wireless technology, as it would mean more competition. Qualcomm has justified its no license, no chips system as a repayment system for the $40bn it has spent through several decades working on wireless technology essential to smartphones. Last month Apple and Qualcomm settled a bitter financial dispute centered on some of the technology that enables iPhones to connect to the internet. The deal requires Apple to pay Qualcomm an undisclosed amount. It also includes a six-year licensing agreement that likely involves recurring payments to the mobile chipmaker. Apple had already lost an earlier battle with Qualcomm in March when a federal court jury in San Diego decided the iPhone maker owed Qualcomm $31m for infringing on three of its patents. Critics question Irans claim that it cant afford to keep hosting Afghan refugees. Iran says its a warning to Europe. Tehran, Iran Iranian foreign policy ignites its fair share of Twitter storms. But when a member of President Hassan Rouhanis administration said earlier this month that the countrys deepening economic crisis could lead to the expulsion of millions of Afghans from Iran, the criticism hit social media like a flash flood. Our countrys problems wont be resolved with [the] departure of the dear Afghans, tweeted conservative academic Mohammad Hosseini. Perhaps they have even been more effective in bringing prosperity to the country than the government supported by you. The editor-in-chief of the conservative news website FardaNews, Mohammad Saleh Meftah, was equally scathing. Would that we would think about what our words do to three million of our Afghan brothers and sisters, he tweeted. Imagine you have become used to your life in Iran for years (perhaps generations) and a diplomat says he will displace you with a smile! The diplomat he referred to is Irans deputy foreign minister for political affairs, Abbas Araghchi. During a May 8 interview on state television, Araghchi warned that Iran may be forced to ask our Afghan brothers and sisters to leave if the economic crisis spawned by sanctions from the United States continues to squeeze the country. 160511103759873 He later said his comments had been misunderstood and called upon European leaders to welcome Afghans who might be forced to leave Iran or help Tehran cope with the financial burden of hosting them by meeting pledges made to international organisations that support migrants. European leaders are already dealing with large waves of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa, and the anti-immigrant sentiment that has bubbled up as a result is altering the political fabric of many European nations. By raising the spectre of millions of Afghan refugees adding to that burden, Araghchi illustrated how Irans economic hardships could become Europes problem. A squeeze on an already squeezed state Iran is grappling with a painful economic crisis resulting from US President Donald Trumps decision last year to unilaterally withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions that the White House officials have described as the toughest ever placed on Iran. 190512201108239 The countrys currency, the rial, has plunged in value. Jobs have been wiped out, the cost of living has soared, and the central bank is scrambling for foreign currency to pay for sanctions-exempt humanitarian goods such as food and medicine. Against that deteriorating economic picture, Iran hosts an estimated three million documented and undocumented Afghans, including an estimated one million refugees that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) describes as one of the largest and most protracted urban refugee populations worldwide. Afghan refugees first started migrating to neighbouring Iran during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Considering it a religious duty to protect Muslims, Irans late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, welcomed Afghans as religious migrants. We are Muslims, they are also Muslims, [and] we must welcome and serve them, he said. Iran extends documentation to Afghan refugees and gives them permission to work in a range of occupations. The government also gives them a comprehensive range of state-funded services such as access to subsidised healthcare and education. In 2015, all Afghan children in Iran, regardless of status, were granted access to primary and secondary education a move the UNHCR described as groundbreaking. Since 2015, all Afghan children in Iran have had access to education, putting a strain on the sanctions-hit country [File: Gabriela Baczynska/Reuters] But those services cost money. And during his controversial interview with state television, Araghchi gave a detailed account of how much. Afghan migrants currently hold more than two million jobs in Iran, said Araghchi. And those earning a living collectively send between three and five billion euros ($3.35bn-$5.58bn) abroad to their families each year money that could help shore up Irans foundering if it was spent and invested in Iran. The nearly half a million Afghan children attending public schools for free in Iran each cost the state 600 euros ($670) annually, while the 23,000 Afghans in Iranian universities each cost 15,000 euros ($16,743) a year. When American sanctions have an impact, and Irans financial resources are limited, and Irans oil exports turn zero which will not happen we are forced to implement special policies for the economy, said Araghchi. Leaving in droves Not everyone believes Araghchis initial comments were anti-immigrant. I think he wanted to shine a light on vulnerable groups and let international decision-makers know that wholeheartedly supporting refugees is a must, said Fatemeh Ashrafi, CEO of the non-profit HAMI Association for Protection of Refugee Women and Children. Ashrafi, who works with both documented and undocumented migrants and refugees, told Al Jazeera that the international community pitched in only $4m towards the primary education of refugees in Iran last year. She added that US sanctions arent just harming Iranians, but the migrants and refugees that Iran is hosting. If we cannot afford to provide their expenses from public funds, then immigrants, especially Afghan workers in construction and industrial projects, will be the first to fall victim [to the faltering economy] because the priority will automatically move towards safeguarding the Iranian nationals first, she said. Most Afghans in Iran work in the countrys informal economy, and demand for their labour has plummeted along with the value of the rial. This has contributed to an unprecedented 767,663 undocumented Afghans either leaving Iran voluntarily or being deported in 2018 a 40 percent increase over the previous year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The trend has continued in 2019. A further 175,491 Afghans have left Iran so far this year, according to the latest IOM report, which also projects that over half a million will have left by the end of the year. #OpentheBorders In the wake of Araghchis initial comments, some took to Twitter to question the motives of right-wing critics who accused the deputy foreign minister of fomenting anti-immigrant sentiment. 180412130623615 There is no doubt that Abbas Araghchis use of words was wrong, but accusing him of racism is the height of political opportunism, tweeted Iranian academic and pundit Sadegh Zibakalam. Others immediately interpreted Araghchis comments as a tactic to pressure Europe to help Iran shoulder the burden of hosting millions of Afghans. Some Afghan migrants travel to Iran in the hopes of crossing over the border into Turkey [File: Umit Bektas/Reuters] Adopting the Farsi hashtag #OpentheBorders, the Twittersphere implied that Iran should threaten to open its Western borders, which could allow millions of Afghans to enter Europe via Turkey. Mr Araghchi, you only need to open the countrys borders with Turkey and you can rest assured that all Afghans will go willingly, tweeted Fariba Qolizade, a freelance journalist from Afghanistan. In 2016, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said a state-commissioned survey had found that 60 percent or roughly 1.6 million Afghan immigrants in Iran wished to emigrate to Europe. Meanwhile, others including Afghanistans Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation drew a hard line against using migrants and refugees as political pawns, and urged Iran not to politicise the status of vulnerable populations. As immigration policies tighten in the US, two filmmakers document a womans battle to avoid being separated from her family. Two years since Juana Luz Tobar Ortega sought sanctuary in an attempt to avoid deportation from the United States, there is still no end in sight to her ordeal. In fact, the world outside has become even more dangerous for her and other migrants trapped in a similar situation. Originally from Guatemala, the 47-year-old mother-of-four took sanctuary at St Barnabas Episcopal Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2017. In the years since she has spent her time sewing pillows and other items as a way to raise funds and pass the monotonous days. She puts the number at possibly 1,000 pillows and several hundred bags. Before [seeking sanctuary], I had a secure job. I sewed and made a salary, she says. But now being in sanctuary its a complete change. I used to work 40 hours a week. Juana first migrated to the US after fleeing violence in Guatemala over 25 years ago. Although her formal asylum claim was denied, she says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowed her to stay in the US and work for many years, while they did routine check-ins. Then in May 2017, she was told she had to leave the country, and Juana and her family were forced to make an impossible decision. Juana sought sanctuary at St Barnabas Episcopal Church in South Carolina after she was threatened with deportation [Pilar Timpane/Al Jazeera] Through the social justice organisation, American Friends Service Committee of North Carolina, Juanas oldest daughter Lesvi Molina connected with St Barnabas and brought her mother there to learn about the possibility of sanctuary. They were immediately welcoming. A few months earlier, Reverend Randall Keeney and the vestry of St Barnabas had decided that if someone needed sanctuary, they would fashion an apartment-type space in their fellowship building. So Juana and her family decided that she would move into St Barnabas some 80km from the home she and her husband Carlos have shared to avoid being deported from a country she has known for more than 25 years. Juana relocated her belongings to the small room in the cinderblock building that became both her refuge and at the same time, an isolating enclosure, as she is not allowed to work or travel. Juana migrated to the US after fleeing violence in Guatemala over 25 years ago [Bridgette Cyr/Al Jazeera] When Juana entered the church in 2017, she was the first person to publicly take sanctuary in North Carolina in the contemporary movement (prior to this wave of sanctuary cases, a movement had begun in the 1980s in Tuscon, Arizona to shelter undocumented immigrants from deportation). Others took sanctuary after her, each seeking to avoid deportation. But each sanctuary case is different, involving various legal outcomes. Minerva Cisneros Garcia, who took sanctuary at a different church in Greensboro, was given a stay of deportation just 100 days after she entered and in one of the most positive turns since the movement began was recently granted residency by a federal judge. In Durham, a man named Samuel Oliver-Bruno was violently arrested and held at an ICE biometrics appointment almost one year after taking sanctuary. Jose Chicas, Rosa Ortez Cruz, and Eliseo Jimenez have all remained in sanctuary in North Carolina without any change to their statuses. Around the US, and in European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, sanctuary and church asylum have seen a resurgence, and sanctuary cases appear to be on the rise. The Church World Service estimates there are close to 50 people in sanctuary (including families with children) in the US today and hundreds of congregations committed to supporting sanctuary in various forms. Juana makes papusas for friends and family at St Barnabas Episcopal Church almost two years after seeking sanctuary [Bridgette Cyr/Al Jazeera] For Juana and her family, the two years that she has been in sanctuary have been painful and challenging. The worst part, she says, is not being able to go to my house. When my family has to go home and when they leave, I stay here. Juanas family and community have taken her situation very seriously. Many have written letters, knocked on Members of Congresss doors, and engaged in social action campaigns publicly requesting that their local legislators (including Republican Congressman Mark Walker, Senator Thom Tillis, and Senator Richard Burr) take steps to help Juana get her freedom and return home. Group activism has been tried to support collective sanctuary bills and movements. These requests and actions have been continually ignored. Sanctuary already is family separation, says Lesvi, Juanas daughter, who has taken up a lot of the advocacy for her mom over the past years. In sanctuary, Juana is not able to go to major events in her familys life. The immigration system has quite literally ripped her family apart. My husband is a citizen, my two children are citizens, my other two daughters have DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] and I am the only one left out. My daughter Jackie is going to graduate from college this year. I cant go out and she wants me to be there that day. But I have to tell her I cant go. She is sad because I cant be there at her graduation. When my family has to go home and when they leave, I stay here, Juana says [Bridgette Cyr/Al Jazeera] In the two years since Juana took sanctuary, North Carolina perhaps the entire country has become a less protected place people living and working without documentation in the US. On a national level, the Trump administration has taken steps to close borders, ban religious and ethnic minorities from entering the country, reverse the decades-long Temporary Protected Status for some immigrants, and regularly threatens DACA. In North Carolina, many anti-sanctuary city bills, like the recent HB 370, have been pushed, which would require sheriffs and law enforcement to work with ICE to arrest and deport immigrants. Recently in Juanas familys backyard, huge raids have led to the arrests of many undocumented people and were suspected by many activists to be retaliatory against sanctuary policies. Juana is surrounded by friends and family at the church congregants also stay with Juana in shifts when her family cant be there [Bridgette Cyr/Al Jazeera] All of these are symbols of what has been shifting in immigration policy, however flimsy, towards rescinding prosecutorial discretion, a practice that had essentially limited non-criminal deportations. While ICE continues to respect the memo on sensitive locations that keeps law enforcement at bay from protected spaces like churches and other spaces of worship, this doesnt change the threat outside the church walls, or provide pathways for citizenship for those in sanctuary. For two years our film team has followed Juanas progress, producing the short documentary Santuario, codirected by Christine Delp and Pilar Timpane, and bringing her story to audiences around the country. Juana and her familys fight is ongoing. Were not asking a lot. Were asking for an opportunity, a work permit, or residency would be the best thing, Juana says. Wed be able to be at peace. Learn more about Juanas story here. Egypt has announced the opening of the worlds widest suspension bridge, across the Nile, in what is one of a series of military-led, mega-projects designed to improve infrastructure and provide jobs, said a report. The bridge, which crosses the Nile just north of central Cairo, is a key link in a highway stretching from the Red Sea in the east to Egypts northwestern Mediterranean coast, and is meant to help reduce congestion in the capital, reported Africa News. Traffic ground to a halt in parts of central Cairo on Wednesday morning as president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi travelled to open the bridge with ministers and military generals, stated the report. At its widest, the bridge has six traffic lanes in each direction and measures 67.3 m across. A regional director for the Guinness Book of World Records present at the opening said that makes it the worlds widest suspension bridge. Around one million cu m of concrete as well as 1,400 km of steel wire for 160 suspension cables were used in its construction, it added. Around 6,000 asylum seekers live in 35 centres and many complain of poor conditions and lengthy delays in the process. Dublin, Ireland On the doorsteps of Stoneybatter, an increasingly gentrified patch of inner-city Dublin, Ellie Kisyombe is making her case to be the neighbourhoods newest local councillor. She fields questions on vandalism, public housing and how to fight climate change. When residents ask if Kisyombe lives in the neighbourhood, she says, I used to, but circumstances changed. Kisyombe is an asylum seeker the first to receive a party nomination to run for election in Ireland and lived nearby with her son and daughter for several years until their accommodation centre was shut down and they were moved to another in Dublins northwest. The vote takes place on Friday. For almost a decade, she has lived under a system called direct provision, in which asylum seekers are placed in centres around the country while their claims are determined, a process which often involves years of waiting and appeals. Its so different to have someone from an asylum background and also a black woman whos been active in Irish society, Kisyombe tells Al Jazeera between slipping her bright purple leaflets into every letterbox she passes. I feel like people are more accepting. Kisyombe, a Malawian, is already well-known through OurTable, a pop-up project she established to raise awareness of direct provision through food. Like her bid for a local council seat, its part of a wider attempt to reform the asylum system in Ireland, which has been sharply criticised by the UN and human rights groups, by those within it. Ellie Kisyombe in Stoneybatter, Dublin [Ruairi Casey/Al Jazeera] More than 6,000 asylum seekers, more than 2,000 of them children, live in 35 direct provision centres across Ireland on a stipend of 38 euro ($42.45) a week per adult and 29 euro ($32) for children. The state pays tens of millions of euro each year to private contractors, including US multinational Aramark, to run them. Living conditions and prolonged waiting times more than 150 people have been waiting over seven years for a decision have had damaging psychological effects. Several residents have attempted suicide and at least two have killed themselves. Ive been so depressed, Ive felt not appreciated, not accepted, and Ive felt alone and even scared, says Kisyombe. Im still in the system and still these emotions are with me but maybe these fears drive you to bring change. She does not believe her election campaign could have happened even a few years ago, but now there is a growing energy. Lucky Khambule arrived from South Africa in 2013 to seek asylum, and after three months in Dublin, immigration authorities sent him to a direct provision centre on the outskirts of Cork city, where he was to a cramped room to share with two other men. He was given a book of rules that would govern his daily life. Food was served at set times in the canteen and residents would not be permitted to make their own. If he didnt collect toiletries at the allotted time, he forfeited them. Khambule grew angry at the staffs attitude, which he describes as disrespectful. We got tired of it and we started talking among ourselves, Khambule told Al Jazeera. It was hard but we managed to get it done and we organised ourselves and started forming small committees where we would be discussing things. The almost 300 residents arrived at a solution: a strike. For 10 days, they took over the centre, locking out staff and issuing a list of demands. Families cooked their own meals, children played without restrictions and residents spoke to journalists who came to see them. Eventually, the management conceded, promising a play area for children, new gym equipment and no more than two people in each bedroom. The mood was exceptional, said Khambule, who has since been granted refugee status and works at an insurance firm. It changed 180 degrees the attitude of the people and many of the staff It was the best time in direct provision, those 10 days. There was real freedom. The government should start engaging and having dialogue ... They shouldn't ignore the people that are standing up. Ellie Kisyombe, local councillor candidate That strike was the beginning of what would become the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), which now has members in every centre. The group wants to see the end of direct provision and deportations, and supports speeding up the processing of asylum claims and getting full access to work and education. Grassroots organising has become a lifeline for Bulelani Mfaco, as he waits for the decision on his asylum claim. Mfaco, who is LGBT+, applied in Ireland in 2017, fearing for his safety after a lesbian was murdered near his home in Cape Town. He was led to a centre outside Limerick city, where some residents taunted him with the same homophobic slurs he had heard in South Africa, leaving him socially isolated and worried about being attacked. The bureaucracy weighed him down, too: if he wanted coffee, he had to ask a staff member to make it; to use an ironing board, he had to present his immigration card. You have no personal time; you have no privacy; there is not much dignity, says Mfaco. I feel useless every time I go ask them for food. Im used to making my own food and paying my own bills and living my life independently. Now, I have to depend on the state. Since contacting Khambule through Facebook and becoming active in MASI, he crisscrosses the country on long bus journeys, giving talks or meeting with other activists. MASI cannot organise in centres so members use social media or gather in cafes, charity offices or public spaces instead. Mfaco has degrees in politics and public administration. Despite the government last year lifting a long-standing ban on asylum seekers working, only 15 percent are now in employment as restrictions and bureaucracy limit opportunities. I didnt want to [start campaigning], I want to live my life but direct provision itself has robbed me of that, he says. Minor tweaks make very little difference The Reception and Integration Agency, which oversees the direct provision system, told Al Jazeera that though it does not have any formal relationship with MASI, it welcomes the collaborative approach that ensures the needs of applicants in accommodation centres are met and works with established NGOs. It added that accommodation centres are rolling out self-catering facilities to promote autonomy and all are expected to install them by mid-2020. But Mfaco says much more needs to be done. Those minor tweaks make very little difference to the limbo people are facing Youll still be waiting there for years and years, he says. Khambule agrees it cannot be reformed, and believes the Irish government must come to face reality. The last major government review of direct provision in 2015 did not include asylum seekers as part of its committee and did not consider the abolition of the system in its terms of reference. MASI is proposing alternatives, he says, but political leaders must listen. I think its time that now the government should start engaging and having dialogue with people that are more involved asylum seekers themselves, says Kisyombe. They shouldnt ignore the people that are standing up. Recent studies show that people with degrees find it harder to land jobs than those without. Mumbai, India Down a dimly-lit backstreet known locally as Study Lane in central Mumbai, Indias financial capital, Rohit Singh can frequently be found poring over his textbooks. He is trying to get into an expensive Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programme. And he is not alone; dozens of other students also study there, oblivious to the loud motorbikes tearing along the small road. If I get admitted to a good MBA college, then Im sure I will get a better job, the Bachelor of Commerce student told Al Jazeera. So many people are graduates these days that its hard to see how either the private sector or the government can provide enough employment. Singh, 21, and his friends along Study Lane feel they need to stand out in Indias increasingly competitive job market, and this place offers them a chance to focus and compare notes. He also says he is escaping the distraction of his mothers TV. But recent evidence suggests that a sterling education record is no longer the guarantee to a good job it may once have been. Poor education standards and burdensome corporate regulation are just two of the reasons why jobs remain hard to come by for Indias graduates despite enviable economic growth rates. According to a report released this year by the Azim Premji Universitys Centre for Sustainable Employment, people with a graduate degree are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than the national average. The findings are based on surveys of 160,000 households across the country. The report also says women are more likely to be unemployed than men. Many of the students down Study Lane are the first ones in their families to ever go to university. Government figures show the proportion of Indias 18 to 23-year-olds enrolled in higher education has more than doubled to 25.8 percent from 12.6 percent in 2004. Indias government hopes this figure will rise to 30 percent by 2020. The informal sector Yet, unemployment remains a major hurdle for the Indian economy and became a major issue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this months election as he sought a second term. In February, the Business Standard newspaper published a report that it said was based on leaked government figures showing that unemployment had hit a 45-year high of 6.1 percent. Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley first said the figures were not final and later described the report as disinformation. But many analysts say the data supports anecdotal evidence. One of the main reasons graduates and people with postgraduate degrees find it hard to land jobs is the large size of the so-called informal economy, analysts say. The majority of Indians work without formal contracts [File: Amit Dave/Reuters] More than 80 percent of Indians work in jobs without regular pay or social benefits, according to the International Labour Organization. In the cities, they are employed as street vendors, construction workers and in mom-and-pop shops, or as labourers on farms and in fields. The World Bank says agriculture accounts for 42 percent of the workforce. Analysts such as Amit Basole, head of the Centre for Sustainable Employment and an author of the Azim Premji University survey, told Al Jazeera that insufficient job creation in the private sector has meant that the growth of high-skilled jobs has lagged behind that of the overall economy. The failure to develop a large manufacturing base has been a big disappointment, he added, explaining that such industries could have generated jobs across the skill spectrum and absorbed huge increases on the supply side of the labour market. Jayati Ghosh, an economics professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi said India has lagged behind places like South Korea, Taiwan and China, where governments have invested heavily in manufacturing, infrastructure and providing companies with access to credit. Openly unemployed Graduates are also becoming more selective. Rising expectations mean many graduates are holding out for jobs that match their qualifications, Ghosh told Al Jazeera. As you get higher up the education scale, people are more willing to be openly unemployed. If theres no jobs available and youve done your BA degree, youre not going to then become a rickshaw driver. It doesnt make sense for them, she said. For those graduates who decide to take up low-skilled work, the competition can be intense. The government remains a major source of such jobs. In a recent case reported by Indian media, nearly a third of the 93,000 applicants for 62 police courier jobs in the state of Uttar Pradesh had doctorates. Government jobs provide security, benefits, and relatively good pay. Minimum salaries are currently set at 18,000 rupees ($259) a month, while 67 percent of the workforce earn less than 10,000 rupees ($144). But for graduates like Singh, thats not good enough. He says he wants to work for a multinational company, which he hopes will pay more than the 30,000-40,000 rupees ($430-$575) monthly wage his father earned. Studying for a brighter future, but competition for jobs in India is fierce [Tish Sanghera/Al Jazeera] But even if he succeeds in earning his MBA from a local university, future employers may still question the quality of his education. In a recent survey by Aspiring Minds, a skills assessment and research firm, employers said 80 percent of Indian engineering graduates did not meet the minimum requirements of the companies looking to hire them. Many such firms say prospective candidates lack sufficient industry experience because their courses are too theoretical. Poorly-trained teachers, an exam system that rewards rote learning and teaching institutions that dont meet the needs of industry, are some of the reasons graduates face a skills deficit, says Varun Aggarwal, cofounder of Aspiring Minds. Few graduates have done internships or heard an industry talk and few professors discuss industry applications for the skills they teach, Aggarwal told Al Jazeera. We found over 90 percent of engineering graduates are not even able to write ten lines of code, a major reason why many large companies are investing in sizeable training campuses and three- to six-month long bridging courses. The government has tried to offer alternatives to the typical college or university route through skilling and vocational training programmes like the National Skill Development Corporation and Skill India scheme. But with a lack of available data and follow-up surveys, experts have found it difficult to assess their effect. We do know, however, that the emphasis has been on meeting targets and pushing people through the programme, with no clarity on them securing jobs or gaining employable skills, says Basole of the Centre for Sustainable Employment. Despite the odds apparently being stacked against him, Singh remains optimistic that an MBA and good old-fashioned hard work are his tickets out of the backstreets of Mumbai. My father has always told me one thing whatever you do, do it well and you will be fine, he said. Although Sudan has witnessed two previous revolutions since independence, it has not had much luck with democratic transitions. After the 1964 and 1985 popular uprisings, civil wars continued to rage, material changes were not forthcoming for ordinary families, and no robust economic plans were set in motion. Lasting democratic reforms never materialised. In both cases, the revolutionary movements were led by mostly urban, professional elites, dominated by men, and were largely ideologically informed. As a result, neither of these uprisings managed to create a nationwide front that was inclusive of all socioeconomic classes and ethnic and religious groups that could withstand pressure from counter-revolutionary forces and ensure that the major societal divides which fuelled violence were mended. A major takeaway from those two periods was that the weak link in post-uprising political processes was self-interested political parties. Their failures led to the country sliding back into autocratic military rule in 1969 and again in 1989. Today, Sudans revolutionary movement must take care not to repeat the mistakes of the past by rushing into a quick takeover of power. Decades of authoritarian rule have left a toxic legacy of conflict, state capture, weakened institutions, a decimated opposition, and deep public distrust. It will take a lot of time to overcome all these challenges so the solid foundations of a successful, peaceful civilian transition can be laid. Building the new country the Sudanese protesters are dreaming of will be a slow, lengthy and fraught process which cannot and should not be expected to end with the first election. Dismantling a toxic legacy Having successfully achieved that which multiple armed groups, outside interests (at various points) and years of bilateral high-level negotiations were unable to the removal of President Omar al-Bashir Sudans protest movement now faces the formidable task of dismantling his regime and undoing all the wrongs it had done. One of the major issues protesters will have to face are the consequences of Sudan never undergoing a full-scale intentional nation-building project since independence. Its borders, drawn largely through imperial conquest and bargains, circumscribed an area of almost 2.5 million square kilometres and locked in dozens of tribes and ethnic groups who were supposed to get on with the business of becoming Sudanese on their own. State-building in Sudan followed the typical decolonial story of cultural elites seizing and maintaining power and marginalising those who did not share with them the same identity or socioeconomic class. Naturally, this resulted in social upheaval and conflict that plagues the country to this day. Subsequent peace-building efforts have failed because they too were negotiated by and for the elites. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, which ostensibly ended the 22-year civil war was not inclusive, rather it re-entrenched the power of the governing National Congress Party (NCP) and the rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) in relation to other political actors. It intentionally left out Darfur, where the conflict continued raging, and gave little ownership of the process, the document or its prescriptions to civil society. Domestically, the NCPs home-grown efforts at structured political dialogue, modelled, no doubt, after the CPA negotiations, came in the form of the failed National Dialogue process and document. Like the CPA, it was so concerned with the what that it neglected to mention the how a telling symptom of induced, fast-paced transformation and transition. A meaningful political transition in Sudan would have to make the first steps into proper nation-building, which would take time. Another major challenge before the Sudanese revolution is the problematic relationship between the state and the army shaped by three military coups, 52 years of government headed by generals and decades of conflict. Having spawned al-Bashirs regime, the military was naturally given a privileged position in the country, swallowing at times as much as 70 percent of the budget and having a say in both military and civilian affairs. Closely aligned with the ruling party, the top brass was in a position to reap the rewards of absolute power, underscored by a hegemonic idea of the military as a public good. Today, for all its seeming legitimacy as the last institution to remain intact through 30 years of pillage and its attempt to reframe itself as the saviour of the nation, the military does not have the best interest of the civilian population at heart. Instead, its leadership is very much interested in preserving their privileges and dodging accountability for past crimes committed against civilians. Depoliticising the military and having its top officers break with old habit would undoubtedly take a lot of time. Another challenge the protest movement is facing today is undoing the legacy of 42 years of Islamist influence. The Islamists, led by Hassan al-Turabi, first infiltrated the government of Jaafar al-Nimeiri in 1977, causing political and social schisms in Sudan, alienating various political factions and bringing about the Sharia laws of 1983, a key instigator of the second civil war (1983-2005). Over the next decade, they positioned themselves in such a way within the political sphere that they became the heirs apparent of the 1985 revolution, seizing power with the help of the military in 1989. Decades of governance, marked by discrimination, kleptocracy and conflict and underwritten by a distorted form of Islamic thought, ought to take time to dismantle. Not doing so would risk Sudan backsliding into autocracy. Although al-Bashir and al-Turabi had a public falling-out in 1999, the Islamists remained a formidable force at the heart of government, which once again can see them play a major role in the post-revolution chaos. Instead of rushing as its Egyptian neighbour did into elections, which benefited the well-organised Muslim Brotherhood, Sudan needs time to develop its political sphere, which has been severely depleted by authoritarian rule. A quick look at the state of the Sudanese opposition illustrates this well. Over the years, the regime has managed to co-opt, buy off or fragment the majority of Sudans opposition groups, which today hold little sway with younger, politically savvy, locally entrenched yet increasingly globally connected Sudanese people. In this new political landscape, doing politics the old way putting self and party ahead of the people is unlikely to garner any more support. Yet the temporary unity of the political scene which allowed for al-Bashirs removal may not last long, as cracks are already showing. Parties like the Umma, headed by political veteran and octogenarian Sadiq alMahdi, are already trying to position themselves within the political space the revolution opened up in order to benefit as much as possible from the transition period at the expense of the non-partisan Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which led the demonstrations. With newer iterations of various, fragmented domestic interest groups and political parties untested in the business of representing peoples welfare rather than ideology, untrained in the art of political negotiation, and ill-equipped to address Sudans grave developmental issues a gradual pace of change stands as the surest bulwark against a hapless and doomed transition. The country also needs time to recover after 30 years of unions being dominated by the regime and independent ones being banned. Indeed, Sudan has had a strong history of unions and these have been integral to both the 1964 and 1985 uprisings and the democratic ideas that fuelled them. Professional unions in Sudan like the SPA are led by the belief in representing people rather than ideology. As the political landscape in Sudan transforms, the Sudanese public will also have to change its attitudes. Decades of authoritarian rule and conflict have broken the publics trust in the state, its institutions, and political processes, and left it democratically inexperienced. The Sudanese people at large, and especially the youth, will have to learn to do politics and build a relationship of trust, first with political forces and then, eventually, with the state. The leadership of the protest movement, civil society and the broad segments of the Sudanese public that they represent need time to develop their governance styles, manifestos, consultation mechanisms and communication strategies. This will be neither a smooth nor short-term process, but it is essential for ensuring a successful transition. Already on the right track The good news is that for now, the protest movement seems to be on the right track. Over the past few months, it has managed to maintain a nation-wide front. Previous protests in 2013 and yearly from 2016 did not draw as much widespread support. Todays protesters come from all over the country and from all social classes, geographic areas, ages and a variety of political and religious persuasions. At the same time, the protest movement has demonstrated countless times its resolve to stand its ground. Its members understand their power lies in continuing their sit-ins and have pledged that they will only go home once their demands for real change have been fully achieved. In doing so, they are providing the type of broad civic support that strengthens the political leverage of the SPA in its negotiations with the military. Crucially, the protesters seem to have learned from the previous Sudanese uprisings. Their revolution feels different. Protests chants dont just call for the fall of the regime but for the building of a new country. For the first time after a Sudanese uprising, efforts are focused on building not merely a government but a nation one that will be as inclusive as possible. Protesters have been holding civic education circles, taking surveys and consultations about the makeup of the transition government, in real time, and outlining what a social contract could look like to those gathered around. This, they contend, has to guarantee rights for all Sudanese citizens, be inclusive of women and youth and, unlike previous iterations of democratic rule that ultimately failed, work to dismantle some of the structures that precipitated war, conflict, armed and otherwise, and wide-scale systemic discrimination. Could this then be third time lucky? Sudans first real and complete revolution? The same historical trajectory is currently being followed: an uprising, followed by military transition, then swift elections and a weak democratic government that paves the way for more autocratic military rule. But the hope is that the protest movement and the SPA have learned well from the past and are working to set up a transition hewn through collaborative, widespread, and organic organising. The hope is that they have gleaned from their neighbours experiences that doing so slowly and carefully is a far better portent of sustainable democratic change than a quick-fix political settlement which would not reach the very people that have struggled for change and are rarely included in democratic transformation. Swift transitions pushed for by entrenched political elites and impatiently planned by the military will only bring about a faulty transition rushed, brittle, alienating and elitist. And that will surely not lead to the political, social and economic transformation Sudanese people have dreamed of and fought for. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Demonstrations against the result of Indonesias presidential election have turned violent for a second consecutive night, with protesters opposing the re-election of President Joko Widodo clashing with security forces in the capital, Jakarta. On Wednesday, protesters threw fireworks and rocks at the police, who responded by firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. Medical workers were seen treating dozens of protesters affected by tear gas and using oxygen to revive some who had passed out. Authorities blamed the violence on paid provocateurs, citing money-filled envelopes they said were found on some of the 257 demonstrators arrested. After questioning, the suspects admitted that they were told to riot and that it was planned, Argo Yuwono, a spokesman for Jakarta police, told reporters. We are still looking for the person who gave the instruction and the money. Anies Baswedan, the governor of Jakarta, said six people were killed in rioting on the first night, while state news agency Antara reported that three hospitals had so far treated more than 350 people for wounds. Election result The unrest followed an announcement in the early hours of Tuesday by the General Elections Commission confirming that the incumbent leader who is popular as Jokowi had beaten rival Prabowo Subianto in last months vote. Widodo won more than 85 million of 154 million votes cast but Prabowo alleged massive cheating and irregularities and refused to concede defeat. The retired general has said he would challenge the results in court, as he did, unsuccessfully, against Widodo after losing the previous election five years ago. Election officials and analysts have discounted Prabowos claims, but many of his supporters appeared convinced of rampant cheating in the April 17 polls. They cheated on us in 2014, we dont want it to happen again, enough is enough, a protester told Al Jazeera earlier on Wednesday, when the crowd was small and peaceful. Getting justice through the courts is impossible with the government we have now. So we came here. We dont care about our safety, we are prepared to give our life. Protesters throw rocks and other objects towards police [Achmad Ibrahim/AP] Calls for calm For his part, Widodo called for calm but also warned against disruption. I open myself to anyone who wants to develop this nation, but I wont tolerate anyone who tries to disrupt public security, the democratic process or the unity of our country, Widodo said at a press briefing, flanked by his chief security minister and the head of the military. On Thursday, Prabowo called upon the protesters to go home and urged them to avoid violence. Trust in your leaders. We are struggling in the legal and constitutional way, he said in a video on his Twitter feed. Were all looking for the best solution for the nation. Al Jazeeras Florence Looi, reporting from Jakarta, said the protests were likely to continue into Friday, when Prabowo is expected to file a complaint with the Constitutional Court to challenge the election result. Authorities say 40,000 police and soldiers have been deployed across Jakarta to maintain security this week. The government has also temporarily blocked some social media functions, saying the move was aimed to prevent inflammatory hoaxes and fake news that could fan unrest. Protesters say the government in Tirana has failed to crack down on criminal gangs. Tirana, Albania In a police storage facility just outside the Albanian capital, drugs are piling up to the rafters. Inside the nondescript building, the scent of cocaine and cannabis is evident, produced by the tonnes of narcotics scattered over the floor and inside large metal closets. The storage units in this dusty building are full, so more bags of drugs are left in a stairwell. While the sheer volume of narcotics confiscated from organised crime groups is impressive, the political discussion on this issue is even larger. Organised crime is a divisive issue in Albania. 190320160647747 Violent protests over allegations of vote-rigging have rocked the capital of Albania, a small Balkan country trying to become part of the European Union. Protesters attacked police and government buildings with Molotov cocktails, stones and fireworks. Protesters say the government is not doing enough to fight organised crime, which they allege influenced the 2017 general elections in favour of the ruling party. The government rejects the allegations, noting the elections were certified by the international community. Unfortunately, everything is being polarized in Albania. Luckily, there are facts and figures, Elisa Spiropali, minister of state for Parliament relations, told Al Jazeera. The fight against drugs is real and this government has delivered tangible results. According to Guardia di Finanza (police specialising in financial crime), the suspected area of cannabis plantations was 323.5 hectares in 2013, when todays opposition was in power. Compare that to the reported 0.8 hectares in 2018. But the opposition is not buying it. The biggest problem is not corruption of institutions; this has always been a problem, Gazment Bardhi, secretary-general of the Democratic Party, told Al Jazeera. It is the connection between organised crime and the government. These groups made a deal with the prime minister This made us decide to leave the parliament. Boycott According to Bardhi, the upcoming local elections will not be held in an atmosphere of calm. There will be no elections because [Albanian Prime Minister] Edi Rama is unable to guarantee us elections or a normal voting day on 30th June, he said. The MPs who have relinquished their mandates are being replaced. This is far from being an ideal situation, but the parliament is legitimate, and the government, as well, said Luigi Soreca, the EU ambassador to Albania. We fully recognised the constitutional principle of right of assembly to express political positions. But we have at the same time condemned any form of violence in public protest. 190317085036417 Asked about the threats of violence, the EU ambassador was clear. We hope that local elections will happen in an orderly fashion, in full application of the relevant laws. As has happened in the past, the EU will participate in the election monitoring, and we are confident that the competent authorities will apply the relevant national law in case individuals decide to break the law, Soreca said. The opposition, however, does not seem convinced. We are working with our local party offices to create local elections structures that will operate in every voting centre and will make it impossible to organise farce elections, said Bardhi. We are determined. Dust always settles The governments Spiropali said the opposition was going about its dissent the wrong way. Attacking state institutions and the police with Molotov cocktails along with the decision to leave the parliament and [make] public threats about the upcoming election is absurd. This is not normal, she said. In 2017, we gave the opposition everything they asked for after we brokered a political deal. The 2017 elections were certified by the OSCE and EU as free and fair, but they still continue with their ridiculous threats. Elections will happen in June. We are determined to guarantee law and order and offer Albanians their constitutional right to vote freely. Back in the drug-storage facility, one police officer, while locking away his multimillion-dollar booty, had one thing to add. The dust inside the storage gives me the biggest headache, he said. Dont worry, in the end, the dust always settles. Collecting biometric data such as facial scans in mass surveillance schemes undermines human rights, say activists. Youre a law-abiding citizen. How would you feel if your face was scanned by police cameras and your biometric details collected in a mass surveillance programme? Would it bother you? It bothered Ed Bridges, who was scanned by a vehicle-mounted Automatic Facial Recognition (AFR) camera while Christmas shopping in South Wales in 2017. But it really bothered him when, the following year, he was again scanned at a protest against the arms trade. On that occasion, the van was parked opposite the crowd, Bridges told Al Jazeera. I felt it was there to sort of intimidate people and dissuade them from using their peaceful right to protest. This week in a landmark case, Bridges mounted a legal challenge against South Wales Police after crowdfunding a campaign to establish a judicial review. AFR has given the police extraordinary power, his lawyer Dan Squires told the hearing at the court in Cardiff on Thursday, the third and final day of hearings. Police say a persons biometric details are not stored except for those who match someone on their watch list but this is not a legal requirement in the UK. The way South Wales Police have operated to date has been responsible and limited, Squires said. But none of that comes from the law. That comes from self-restraint. Bridges is calling for a code of conduct to be established. It belongs in a police state and not in a democracy like ours Megan Goulding, Liberty Civil liberties Lawyer Gerry Facenna, speaking for Britains information commissioner, suggested a legal framework needed to be drawn up for AFR use, saying there was a lack of clarity on how police forces compiled these watch lists and then use facial recognition to search for suspects. Civil liberties groups are also concerned. As they walk past the camera, it takes their really sensitive biometric data from them without their knowledge or consent, said Megan Goulding, a lawyer working with human rights group Liberty. So, its really akin to them walking down the High Street and the police forcibly taking their fingerprint or their DNA. And so we say it belongs in a police state and not in a democracy like ours. The technology has been banned in the US city of San Francisco. A trial operation of Automatic Facial Recognition in London has now ended, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Al Jazeera, but not before a man was fined for disorderly conduct after covering his face while passing a police van in the British capital, the court heard on Thursday. Al Jazeeras Paul Brennan said deep learning artificial intelligence technology had greatly improved the accuracy of AFR. That still leaves wider questions, he said, reporting from Cardiff, of governance and purpose, and when exactly the protection of the public becomes intrusion and oppression. Facenna, speaking on Thursday at the judicial review, said there was serious doubt whether the legal framework currently in place was good enough. Its all a bit ad hoc, he said. Theres nothing sufficiently precise and specific. The governments Home Secretary Sajid Javid was represented in court by Richard OBrien, who welcomed the claim against the police and agreed that guidance should be provided to ensure the publics rights were not abused. A judgement in Bridges legal case against South Wales police is expected to be handed down in the autumn. At least two sites shut down in a month with no reason given by authorities. Dhaka, Bangladesh Authorities in Bangladesh have blocked at least two popular vernacular news websites in the past month. Access to Poriborton.com was blocked on May 19, while Bangla.report was blocked by the government last month without any explanation. Abu Sufian, the managing editor of Poriborton.com, told Al Jazeera he was still in the dark about why the website was shut down. No reasons were given to us. We contacted Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), but they said they didnt block access to the website. We are still contacting other authorities to find out, said Sufian. The editor of Bangla.report, Rafiqul Ranju, said the website was probably blocked as an incumbent minister threatened to shut it down unless the website pulls a particular report. 190322083809377 We didnt remove that news and within hours access to our website was blocked, said Ranju. So we have considerable reason to believe that it was shut down with the order of that minister. In recent months, authorities have shut down 54 news portals and websites, including that of the main opposition party, citing security reasons. They blocked access to Al Jazeeras website in March after it published an article alleging the involvement of a senior defence official in the disappearance of three men. Access to Al Jazeera is still blocked in the South Asian nation. Report on Muslim militancy Citing a Bangladesh media industry source, AFP news agency reported that a government security agency issued the order to block Poriborton.com after it published a report raising questions about the financing behind a newspaper advertisement against Muslim militancy. Muslim groups condemned the advertisement, saying it described some signs of the Islamic faith as marks of radicalisation. On May 12, the advertisement, titled Identification of terrorists, was published in a number of Bangladeshi newspapers. A citizen platform called Sampriti Bangladesh was cited as the source behind it. Sampriti Bangladesh, however, denied any link with the advertisement in a press conference held on May 16. Publication of such an advertisement is an evil attempt of the anti-Liberation War forces to mislead the nation through disseminating false information about our organisation. We have no link with this advertisement, claimed its convener Pijush Bandyopadhyay. Based on the coverage of that press conference, Poriborton.com published a report titled If not Pijush, who published the advert? on May 16, following which access to it was blocked. Ministers threat In the case of Bangla.report, Al Jazeera received two recorded phone conversations between one of the sites reporters and Bangladeshs Minister of Post and Telecommunication Mustafa Jabbar. In the first recorded conversation, Jabbar asked the reporter to remove a particular report from the website, threatening to take legal measures if it was not done. The report Kamrul comes back from BPO summit with heavy heart talked about a person named Kamrul who wanted to meet Minister Jabbar at the BPO Summit but his attempt was thwarted. 190111063015054 In the second recorded conversation, the reporter asked the minister why access to the website was blocked. Jabbar replied: I did what I needed to do. I have nothing more to say. There are laws in the country and if the government wants, it can take legal measures against a news website if it feels it publishes any news that goes against any law. But such blocking of websites cant be accepted, said Ranju. However, Jabbar told Al Jazeera the BTRC has the power to shut down access to any website. If the website publishes news that goes against the state interest, then that website could be shut down, said Jabbar. I am the minister of Post and Telecommunication, so I, of course, have my say on the matter. Bangladesh was ranked 150th out of 180 in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index, dropping four places from last years list. Sweden-based Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil told Al Jazeera that Bangladesh was increasingly becoming a police state where government agencies were arbitrarily deciding what sort of news and commentary people could access. Blocking access to Poriborton.com is the latest case of brazen censorship in which the agencies do not bother to serve a notice or show a cause for their actions, said Khalil. US hosting civil aviation officials from around the world to discuss future of Boeing 737 MAX. The United States Federal Aviation Administration is hosting officials from around the world in Texas to discuss the Boeing 737 MAX, but the meeting is not open to the public or the media. This comes a week after Boeing said it completed a software update to fix the glitch that may have been the cause of crashes. In less than five months, 346 people were killed in two separate plane crashes. Al Jazeeras Shihab Rattansi reports. British prime ministers latest attempt to deliver a Brexit deal has provoked a backlash from within her own party. London, United Kingdom The political survival of Prime Minister Theresa May was hanging by a thread on Thursday after she was forced to abandon plans to publish a bill formalising the countrys withdrawal from the European Union. The Brexit bill was set to be published on Friday and would have represented her fourth attempt to get her deeply unpopular divorce deal through a divided Parliament. But concessions to lure opposition MPs provoked a ferocious backlash in her Conservative Party. The bill has become intimately linked to her survival, with calls for her to resign at fever pitch as she prepares on Friday to meet her partys kingmakers and attention now focuses on the scale of the Conservatives drubbing in Thursdays European Parliament elections. What happens to Mays Brexit bill next? Downing Street says the EU exit bill will now be published in early June, although massive opposition to it across Parliament means it could be abandoned completely. The bill has brought anger at Mays Brexit approach to a head because it was accompanied by concessions to the opposition Labour Party following talks with its leadership not least the promise of a vote in Parliament on whether to hold a second Brexit referendum. Maddy Thimont Jack, a researcher at the Institute for Government in London, said: A lot of people in the Conservative Party were already hostile to the fact that she was holding cross-party talks in the first place and then to see the outcome end up with commitments in the bill that they were opposed to was a step too far. Will May resign? May does not have to resign - she won a previous confidence vote and Conservative rules mean a new one cant be held until next year but if she signals that she is determined to struggle on in Fridays talks with the 1922 Committee, its executive is under pressure to change the rules. {articleGUID} Dr David Jeffery, a Lecturer in British politics at the University of Liverpool who has studied the Conservative Party, said: The party is not really cut out to deal with this kind of thing a leader in a position such as May normally resigns gracefully and moves on based on a kind of gentlemans agreement. May seems to have completely jettisoned that, and every day she remains is now damaging the partys brand. If she were to resign as party leader, the 1922 Committee will then hold several rounds of voting among Conservative MPs to whittle down the candidates until there are just two, whereby the choice would then be put to the partys dwindling membership. However, if MPs decide to rally around and anoint one candidate, the UK could have a new prime minister within weeks. Who is in the running? A proxy leadership contest has been under way for some time, but the frontrunners are led by the brash and often divisive Boris Johnson. Although he is the darling of hardline Brexiteers, he has been cosying up to a new One Nation caucus within the party that favours some kind of deal with the EU a sign of the political shape-shifting that has defined his career. Johnsons fans say he is the only politician who can take on the Conservatives arch enemy Nigel Farage leader of the new Brexit Party that is eating into Conservative support. 190523100914050 Jeffery said the two clear frontrunners now are Johnson and former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, although his own research indicates considerable support for defence secretary Penny Mordaunt. Fear of Farage will certainly influence the decision of MPs when it comes to choosing. Jeffery said: One of the things that other MPs voting for them will be thinking is: whos best to stem the tide of Farage and bring those voters home? Thimont Jack said: At this stage, we know that the party is so divided they really dont agree on what they want from Brexit so I think the idea that they will rally round one person does seem at this stage unlikely. But also they might recognise the fact that time is running out and having to go for a long drawn out process really does put the UK on the back foot in terms of Brexit. So, there will be conversations going on at the moment about whether there is someone who can come forward as a unity candidate to unite both sides. If there is a new leader does it mean there will be an election? Even if May were to resign on Friday or soon after next weeks recess she would remain acting PM until a new party leader is chosen and there is no guarantee that her successor will immediately call an election. 190522113213865 If Johnson were to assume the leadership and call an election, Jeffery says that despite his divisive nature, Johnson would have a realistic chance of winning largely because his main opponent, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, remains unpopular. If he does get a sudden boost after a winning a leadership contest he will be very tempted to go to the country because, unlike May, Boris Johnson would not be an unknown quantity. Where does this leave Brexit? Whoever takes over from May will inherit the problem of resolving Brexit and neither the parliamentary arithmetic nor the position of the EU will have changed. A major consideration at the back of a new leaders mind will be Farage, and what the upstart decides to do next based on his assessment of whether Brexit has been delivered. Jeffery said: If the Conservatives drag out Brexit they will continue to be punished for it, especially if Farage decides that his strategy is to destroy them and then they should be very worried. Leading regional and international speakers are expected to take part in the upcoming Human Capital Forum in Bahrain, said event organisers FinMark Communications. Human Capital Forum Harnessing the Power of Mentorship will be taking by end of November in strategic partnership with Tamkeen, added FinMark. The event aims to showcase the important role that mentorship can play in accelerating human capital development and the realisation of the development goals of the GCC economies and companies across all sectors. Mentorship has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to drive talent development, but its place in the development and training agenda of most organisations in the Gulf region still remains negligible. The Forum has been designed to highlight the vast benefits that mentorship can provide for all stakeholders and for both emerging corporate leaders and entrepreneurs (i.e. start-ups and SMEs). Themes and topics, to soon be announced, will help build awareness of the need for mentorship, how to harness its power and what effective best practices look like in terms of the mentoring of both entrepreneurs and corporate professionals. Mentorship will be discussed as a way to both advance personal and organisational development and we will bring on board and feature examples of successful programmes and tools for creating impactful mentoring programmes and partnerships. Zahraa Taher, managing director of FinMark Communications, said: Mentoring can play a critical role in the process of accelerating professional and leadership development. It's a proven, low-cost and extremely effective way to prepare future leaders simply through the leveraging of existing human resources within organisations at no or little cost through the development of networks and partnerships. We are confident the Forum can support further thought, investment and uptake of both existing mentorship schemes and encourage organisations themselves to develop internal mentorship programmes of their own. We are grateful for Tamkeens support and the opportunity to leverage and showcase their experience and knowledge of mentoring at the Forum. Chief investment and marketing officer at Tamkeen, Dr Nasser Qaedi, said: With Tamkeens main purpose to support talent development and innovation in the private sector, were pleased to be the Strategic Partner for this important Forum focused on harnessing the power of mentorship. Across all organisations, one of the key concerns is training and succession. Yet, most companies dont have formal strategies for preparing their future leaders or mentorship built into their development plans. With our support for this Forum, we hope to encourage leading organisations across the region to look more closely at mentorship as part of their development and training plans and to utilise the many important platforms, including Tamkeens, that are out there today, he added. TradeArabia News Service Announcement comes on the heels of a threat made by Philippine government to dump the waste into Canadian waters. The Canadian government says it has hired a shipping company to finally remove truckloads of rotting rubbish shipped to the Philippines years ago. Relations between the two countries have been deteriorating since a Canadian company sent scores of containers filled with household waste and electronic garbage to Philippine ports in 2013 and 2014. The row escalated last week when the Philippines announced it was pulling its ambassador and consuls from Canada, saying Ottawa had missed a May 15 deadline to take back the containers. In a statement on Wednesday, Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said the government had awarded a contract to shipping giant Bollore Logistics Canada to bring back the rubbish. The company will begin preparation for shipping in the coming days. The removal will be complete by the end of June, as the waste must be safely treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements, the statement added. The rubbish is expected to be back in Canada by the end of summer. Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for Rodrigo Duterte held a news conference to announce that the Philippine president had ordered officials to look for a private shipping company to transport the waste to Canadian territory. 190425135433811 If Canada will not accept their trash, we will leave the same within its territorial waters or 12 nautical miles out to sea from the baseline of any of their countrys shores, Salvador Panelo said. The presidents stance is as principled as it is uncompromising: The Philippines as an independent sovereign nation must not be treated as trash by other foreign nations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that Canada had been working hard with Philippine officials to resolve the problem and hoped to strike a resolution quickly, without, however, giving a time frame. In 2017, Trudeau said legal issues preventing the return of the garbage to Canada had been resolved. This is a situation that is unacceptable and has gone on too long, Trudeau said on Wednesday. Canada is also looking at ways to hold the responsible parties to account. Irritant issue At least 103 containers of household trash, including plastic bottles and bags, newspapers and diapers, were shipped in batches from Canada to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014. Thirty-four were already dealt with by Filipino authorities. Most of the other 69 containers are in two ports in the capital, Manila, and northern Subic Freeport, sparking protests from environmental activists. Philippine officials say all the containers were falsely declared by a private firm as recyclable plastic scraps and asked Canada to take back the garbage. This has been quite an irritant for both sides, Al Jazeeras Jamela Alindogan, reporting from Manila, said. With the new commitment of the Canadian government to resolve this issue, they hope that this tension between the two countries will be resolved soon as well. Duterte raised the issue in a speech last month while officials from both countries were already discussing a resolution. The president said he was ready to declare war against Canada over the issue. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said she hoped her governments move would calm the matter. I think we have taken a big step with the announcement today and we are moving as quickly as we can, bearing in mind, you know, the need to take due care to get this resolved once and for all, she said on Wednesday. Chinas commerce ministry spokesperson says US must also show maturity if trade talks are to continue. China has lodged solemn representations with the United States after it escalated a trade war between the two countries by placing Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei on a blacklist for US suppliers. No further trade talks between top Chinese and US negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended in a stalemate on May 10, the same day US President Donald Trump sharply increased tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. China retaliated with its own levies on US imports, but it was Washingtons subsequent move against Huawei that took the trade war into a new phase, stoking fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets. Regarding the relevant US measures, China has lodged solemn representations, Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng said at a weekly briefing in Beijing on Thursday. The best response to the US bullying is that Chinese firms continue to grow stronger. 190522193313746 Gao said the US needs to correct its actions if it wants to continue negotiations with China, adding that talks should be based on mutual respect. Gao also warned that the escalation by Washington raised the risk of a global economic recession, and said Beijing would take steps necessary to safeguard Chinese firms interests. The US has accused Huawei of activities contrary to national security, a charge the company denies. The Trump administration softened its stance slightly this week by granting the firm a licence to buy US goods until August 19 to minimise disruption for customers. Huawei said it can ensure a steady components supply chain without US help. Show sincerity Earlier this week, Google said it would partially cut off Huawei devices from its Android operating system after the effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei. Huawei has since indicated that it could roll out its own operating system in China this year and globally in 2020. 190522174800056 Earlier this month, top negotiators held talks that ended with the Chinese side saying more negotiations would take place in Beijing, but no date has been set and the tone has soured since then. If the US wants to continue to talk, it should show sincerity and correct its mistaken actions. Only on the basis of equality and respect can the negotiations have the chance of continuing, Gao added. Panasonic severs ties Huawei was also dealt a new blow on Thursday as Japans Panasonic announced it would stop supplying some components to the company. In an official statement emailed to AFP news agency, Panasonic said it had announced in an internal notification that it would suspend transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates that were banned by the US government. 190523025719153 Japanese firm Toshiba also announced it was temporarily halting shipments to Huawei to check whether US-made parts were involved, in order to comply with Washingtons new restrictions. Washingtons restrictions affect products made fully or partially in the US where Panasonic manufactures some of its components. Regrettable situation The trade dispute has snowballed into a tech war, with Huawei at the epicentre of a battle for supremacy in technologies that could shape the future of the world economy, such as next-generation 5G networks in which the Chinese firm is a global leader. On Wednesday, major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets, upping the pressure on the worlds second-largest smartphone manufacturer. In the United Kingdom, Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, had been due to bring Huaweis first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X to Britain, but chief executive Marc Allera said Wednesday the company had paused the launch. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a temporary suspension of pre-orders for Huawei handsets. In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the countrys number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they were delaying the release of Huawei handsets. And the BBC reported British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, would also cut ties with Huawei. Huawei said on Wednesday that it recognised the pressure placed on its suppliers and that it was confident this regrettable situation can be resolved. At least seven children were among 14 killed in the raids in Helmand and Kunar provinces, UN says. Air raids in Afghanistans southern Helmand and eastern Kunar provinces have killed at least 14 civilians, the UN said on Thursday. Seven children were among those killed in the attacks that took place in Helmands Gereshk and Kunars Chawki districts on Monday and Wednesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement. The statement said civilian casualties from air raids continue to rise while calling for the parties to respect international obligations to protect civilians from harm. 190518084342224 UNAMA did not disclose information on who conducted the air raids. Aerial operations between January 1 and March 31 by both Afghan and international military forces caused 145 deaths, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the total deaths during that period, UNAMA said in its quarterly report in April. Women and children comprised half of those casualties (145 deaths and 83 injuries), according to UNAMA. In the same quarter of last year, air attacks caused 67 deaths and 75 injuries. Last week, an air attack killed at least eight policemen by mistake during a battle with the Taliban outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah in southern Helmand province, the US military and Afghan officials said. The Taliban, which was removed from power by US-led forces in 2001, has been waging a bloody rebellion against the countrys Western-backed government. Pro-government forces have been struggling to combat the armed group, which holds sway over nearly half of the war-torn country. War monitor says at least eight people were killed, including two children, as government intensifies air campaign. Air raids by Syrian warplanes in the countrys restive northwest killed at least eight civilians, including two children, as troops and rebels battled for a town that has changed hands over the past two weeks. Thursdays air raids followed an intensification of fighting in the last rebel-held stronghold in the country after a coalition of armed groups launched a counter-offensive two days earlier aimed at regaining territory lost to government forces. More than 200,000 people in the region have fled since Syrian and allied Russian forces renewed a military campaign to rid the northwest of various rebel groups. Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad seized control of Kafr Nabuda in Hama province on May 8 but were repelled by rebel fighters on Wednesday. More than 100 combatants have been killed in the fighting around the town since Tuesday. 190523151515026 Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly the al-Qaeda wing in Syria, alongside other rebels control much of Idlib province as well as slivers of the adjacent Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces. In the Idlib town of Kafr Aweid, air raids on Thursday blew in the facades of buildings, littering their interiors with mounds of rubble, an AFP news agency photographer reported. A young boy was seen running barefoot from the site of a blast covered in dust his eyes filled with tears and spatters of blood visible on his feet. Two young girls were killed in attacks on the town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said. It said ground clashes had subsided but government warplanes carried out more than 60 raids on various parts of southern Idlib. One of the attacks knocked out a health facility in Kfar Oweid village, the Observatory said. Power station hit Rights groups say since the offensive was launched in late April, Syrian and Russian attacks have hit at least 18 health facilities, including five identified to the government by the United Nations. Some of the facilities were targeted twice. 190521190324583 Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutly said Thursday that al-Zara power station in Hama province was back online and linked up to the national grid. Station manager Mostafa Shantout said a drone operated by rebels dropped a number of bombs late Wednesday on the facility. The comments by both officials were carried by the official state news agency SANA. Naji al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the fighters, denied the fighters targeted the power station. He said the rebels have shelled Hama military airport because it is used to attack their stronghold. Journalists attacked Separately, a British journalist working with Sky News reported on Thursday that her team was deliberately shelled by Syrian forces. We were spotted by a military drone and then repeatedly shot at with what we believe were 125mm shells probably fired from a T-72 Russian battle tank, correspondent Alex Crawford said. As we retreated to leave the area, the targeting of us continued, said the journalist. This is the moment Sky News' crew in Idlib was targeted and fired upon by Syrian regime forces.@AlexCrawfordSky says they were attacked with tank shells, as an activist they were travelling with was hit by shrapnel. Here's her exclusive report: https://t.co/mh7YcQBMS7 pic.twitter.com/ThrIVgqPkR SkyNews (@SkyNews) May 23, 2019 She said one of the Sky crew had press markings on his flak jacket, while the other was carrying a clearly visible green medical trauma pack. 190515163715038 They were all clear violations of the normal standards of operation in a battle zone, she said. Even when we withdrew to the nearby town some 10km away, the shelling followed us there and continued. Mahmoud Husseins release order follows more than two years of imprisonment without charge or trial. A court in Egypt has ordered the release of Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein from prison after more than 880 days of detention. The court ruled his release on Tuesday. However, following an appeal by the prosecution, Hussein was brought to a different court on Thursday. It upheld the earlier decision. However, it remained unclear exactly when the Qatar-based Egyptian producer will be freed from prison. Husseins lawyer Taher Abul Nasr said his release is expected to take place within days. Az-Zahra Hussein, his daughter, said in a Facebook post her father will be released with precautionary measures, and will soon be transferred to a police station from the prison. Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said under Egyptian law Hussein must be freed within 24 hours. This is a final court ruling but the problem is that security forces tend to delay releases when they do not like those freed, said Eid, adding in some previous cases the execution of the release order took several months. The journalist has been in custody since 2016 without formal charges, trial or conviction. Hussein was accused of incitement against state institutions and broadcasting false news with the aim of spreading chaos, allegations he and Al Jazeera Media Network deny. Nasr told Anadolu news agency the Cairo Criminal Court rejected the prosecutors appeal on Thursday. This case shows the misuse of pre-trial detention as a form of punishment in Egypt, said Eid. He said there are at least 20,000 people currently in detention without charge in Egypt for political reasons. Hundreds of them have already exceeded the legal two-year pre-trial term, he added. Since the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Al Jazeera Media Network has been portrayed as Egypts national enemy for its coverage of the group. Many of its reporters have been arrested on grounds of spreading lies and supporting terrorists a reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organisation. Arbitrary detention Husseins detention was in violation of both Egyptian and international laws, with the former setting 24 months as the maximum period for pre-trial detention. Egyptian authorities have repeatedly renewed his two-year detention. 181223084527884 He was arrested on December 20, 2016, by Egyptian authorities upon his arrival in Cairo to visit his family. In February, the United Nations called Husseins jailing arbitrary detention , saying the appropriate remedy would be to release Mr Hussein immediately. In 2013, Egypt also arrested and later imprisoned Al Jazeeras Abdullah Elshamy, Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste on charges of spreading false news cases that were widely condemned by international media outlets and many politicians. All have since been freed. Ibrahim Helal, former editor-in-chief of Al Jazeera Arabic, was sentenced to death in absentia for purportedly endangering national security. Several other colleagues have also been charged in absentia, such as journalists Sue Turton and Dominic Kane. Since his coup removed Morsi, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent, arresting thousands and rolling back freedoms won after the 2011 uprising that ended decades of rule of Hosni Mubarak. In 2017, the Egyptian government blocked access to Al Jazeeras news website along with dozens of others deemed too critical of Sisis regime. According to a 2018 report by the New York-based Committee to Protest Journalists, Egypt, along with Turkey and China, was responsible for more than half of journalists jailed around the world for the third year in a row. Reporters Without Borders ranked Egypt 163rd out of 180 in its 2019 Press Freedom Index. Ghassan Salame says between six and 10 countries are permanently interfering in Libyas problem. The United Nations envoy to Libya has bitterly denounced the conflict raging in the North African country, describing it as a suicide that was robbing its inhabitants of the lands vast oil riches. The country has become a textbook example of foreign interference today in local conflicts, Ghassan Salame told the New York-based International Peace Institute on Wednesday. [Between] six and 10 countries are permanently interfering in Libyas problem, funnelling arms, cash and military advice to the country, Salame warned. I always considered my compatriots in Lebanon as stupid enough to commit suicide with somebody elses money. The Libyans are even worse. They are committing suicide with their money. Lebanon was torn apart by a brutal civil war between 1975 and 1990, which observers say was exacerbated by foreign intervention. Salame stressed that Libya was a rich country that can pay for its own suicide. He again urged the international community to not only contain this conflict. We need to work in order to put an end to this conflict, Salame said, regretting the lack of unity at the UN over the issue. He was speaking a day after warning the UN Security Council that the ongoing battle for Tripoli launched by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar on April 4 was just the start of a long and bloody war. More than 75,000 people have been driven from their homes in the latest fighting and 510 have been killed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). More than 2,400 people have also been wounded, while 100,000 people are feared trapped by the clashes raging on the outskirts of Tripoli. The war has pitted Haftars forces against those of the UN-recognised government based in Tripoli. The Security Council failed last month to agree on a draft resolution demanding a ceasefire in Libya and a return to political talks to end the conflict. Armed groups attacks on health facilities and workers in DRC must stop to prevent spread of virus, officials say. Health officials have warned that the second-deadliest outbreak of Ebola may spiral out of control unless attacks by armed groups on medical facilities and workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) stop. Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Wednesday, Oly Ilunga Kalenga, the DRCs health minister, said the government of his country was struggling to contain the spread of the virus amid a spike in violent attacks against doctors and hospitals that were dangerously delaying the emergency response. The real emergency we face right now is security, Kalenga said on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly, which is under way this week in the Swiss city. Each time there is an attack on a health facility or medical personnel, the response to the epidemic is put on hold and we lose precious time to stop the virus from spreading further. Complex health emergency Kalengas comments highlighted growing concerns by the worlds health authorities, who fear a new pandemic just three years after the last outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016. We are fighting one of the worlds most dangerous viruses in one of the worlds most dangerous areas, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), told health ministers on Monday. This outbreak is one of the most complex health emergencies any of us have ever faced. Unless we unite to end this outbreak, we run the very real risk that it will become more widespread, more expensive and more aggressive. Violence, mistrust Intercommunal violence has afflicted eastern DRC for decades, with a number of armed groups operating across a region that has historically been neglected by the central government in the capital, Kinshasa. The situation has worsened over the past years, creating hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people and almost a million refugees in neighbouring countries, according to the UNs refugee agency. In addition to violent attacks, medical workers efforts to contain the spread of the disease have been hampered by widespread community distrust of health agencies and institutions. A recent study by the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal showed that more than 30 percent of respondents believed that the virus was fabricated for the financial gain of local elites or to cause further destabilisation. For his part, Kalenga dismissed the suggestion that the attacks may hide a political agenda. I think these are just spoilers in some of the provinces who want to see the governments response to the epidemic fail, he said. I dont think there is a clear agenda behind these attacks but the security agencies are studying the situation. Vaccination campaigns Since the start of the outbreak in eastern DRCs North Kivu in August last year, at least 1,223 people have died out of 1,847 confirmed Ebola cases, Kalenga said. Thirty percent of those who died were children, according to WHO figures. The transmission remains most intense in seven hotspot areas: Katwa, Mabalako, Mandima, Butembo, Musienene, Kalunguta and Beni. Kalenga said, however, that the Congolese authorities had been successful in containing the epidemic from spreading further. Still, the growing number of assaults is discouraging people from reaching life-saving treatments and delaying the vaccinations campaigns, thus increasing the risk of transmission. In Butembo, vaccinations were taking place at the rate of 1,000 per day until an armed group killed a WHO doctor on April 19, bringing the vaccination campaign to a temporary stop. According to UN figures, more than 130 attacks on health facilities have taken place since the start of the outbreak. Thirty-eight people, including civilians and health workers, have died as a result of these assaults. The precarious security situation has forced Congolese to flee the country and heightened concerns about the possible cross-border spread of Ebola into Uganda, Zambia and Burundi. Meanwhile, the main focus of the DRCs authorities remains prevention through vaccination and awareness campaigns run in accordance with local authorities and tribal leaders. Ten months into the outbreak, more than a 100,000 people have been vaccinated, Kalenga said. The vaccine has proven successful in 97 percent of the cases. Twenty-five per cent of those vaccinated were at a very high risk of contagion. The 20142016 outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone involved both urban and rural areas. It was the deadliest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976, ending with more than 28,600 cases and 11,325 deaths. Officials say 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died in US custody in September 2018 in a case not previously reported. US authorities said on Wednesday that a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died last year after being held by border authorities in a previously unreported case. The death marks the sixth known case in the last year. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that she died on September 29 at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital, of fever and respiratory distress. Spokesman Mark Weber said the department began caring for the unidentified girl in March 2018. Weber said the girl was medically fragile, with a history of congenital heart defects. He did not say when she entered the United States or whether a parent or adult accompanied her. HHS provides care to children the government considers unaccompanied. The deaths of immigrant children in US government custody have sparked calls for investigations and changes to the Trump administrations policy. Weber said the department was committed to protecting the children in its custody. Fleeing poverty, violence and drought The five other children who have died after being apprehended by the Border Patrol were from Guatemala, which is ravaged by violence, poverty and drought. More than 114,000 people from Guatemala have been apprehended by the Border Patrol between October and April. Many have been held in Mexico, which has faced pressure from the US government to restrict migration. In early December, seven-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin died of a bacterial infection. 190520183648045 Eight-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo died on Christmas Eve of a flu infection. He had been held with his father for a week before falling ill. CBP acknowledged it transferred Gomez Alonzo and his father between stations because it did not have space at the El Paso station. The last place the son and father were hald was a highway checkpoint. After Gomez Alonzos death, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would expand medical checks and ensure that all children in Border Patrol custody would receive a more thorough hands-on assessment at the earliest possible time. Juan de Leon Gutierrez, 16, died on April 30 after officials noticed he was sick at a youth detention facility operated by US Department of Health and Human Services. The medical examiner in Corpus Christi, Texas, said Juan had been diagnosed with a rare condition known as Potts puffy tumour, which can be caused by a severe sinus infection or head trauma. Gutierrezs mother told Al Jazeera earlier this month, that the teen left Guatemala in search of opportunities to send money back home after the family suffered from several years of drought in the countrys dry cone. US President Donald Trumps administration has for months warned that the US immigration system was at a breaking point. The administration has asked for $4.5bn in emergency humanitarian funding and for Congress to change laws that would allow agencies to detain families longer and deport them more quickly. Many immigration detention facilities are overflowing and unequipped to house families with young children, especially as the numbers of families crossing the US-Mexico border surge to record highs. The Border Patrol made 99,000 apprehensions on the southern border just in April. More than half were parents and children travelling together. In recent weeks, the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas has held families for hours outside in a car park and under an international bridge. Migrant parents complained of having to sleep at that location on the ground outside or in poor conditions in tents. The agency this month opened a larger, 500-person tent in El Paso as well as in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas. Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party sweeps general elections as it gets a mandate to pursue pro-Hindu policies. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his way to a second term in office after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took an unassailable lead in the South Asian countrys general elections, according to preliminary results. The Hindu nationalist party is leading in 294 seats out of 542 seats, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress (INC), ahead in 50 seats, according to the latest data from the Election Commission of India. However, it was not clear what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes had been counted. Here is what you need to know about the BJP. Origins of the BJP The Hindu nationalist BJP (Indian Peoples Party) was founded in 1980, but it actually emerged from its precursor the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS). The BJS was founded in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mukherjee, a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a Hindu supremacist organisation that wants India to be defined as a Hindu nation. Modi, like many leaders of his party, is a lifelong member of the RSS, which was formed in 1925, and is inspired by European ethnonationalism and fascism. BJS leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed the Janata Party to oppose the emergency imposed in 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress. In 1977 general elections, the Janata Party swept the polls and its leader Morarji Desai became the prime minister. The Janata Party government, however, collapsed two years later due to political bickering. Vajpayee, along with another BJS leader Lal Krishna Advani, founded the BJP in 1980. BJPs ideology The BJP advocates the ideology of Hindutva (or Hinduness), which insists that multireligious and multiethnic India is fundamentally a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation). Hindutva seeks to define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values. The party came to national prominence in the late 1980s after it led a nationwide movement to build a temple in place of a mosque in Ayodhya town built during the reign of Mughal emperor Babar. In 1992, the BJP and another right-wing organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) rallied more than 100,000 Hindu mobs which tore down the 16th-century mosque. The demolition sparked nationwide religious riots that left about 2,000 people dead, and created a fissure in Hindu-Muslim relations that have not recovered. In this election, the BJP ran a divisive campaign, with its leaders accused of indulging in anti-Muslim rhetoric to polarise votes. Political appeal In the 1996 general elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament), forming its first coalition government led by Vajpayee. But the coalition government lasted only for 13 days as it could not prove the majority in the House. The BJP and its allies came back to power again after 1998 elections, with Vajpayee becoming prime minister for the second time. However, after 13 months in office, the Vajpayee government collapsed yet again after its main ally pulled out of the government. In 1999, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of over 20 parties, which went on to win the elections. Vajpayee came to power for the third time as part of the NDA coalition. But in 2004 elections, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Congress party came to power. The UPA returned to power in 2009 elections on the back of impressive economic growth. Modi led the BJP to a landslide victory in 2014 on an anti-corruption plank. Before taking over as the prime minister, he was the chief minister of Gujarat state for 13 years. The right-wing party won 282 seats gaining absolute majority the first party to do so in three decades. In the past five years, India recorded a disturbing number of hate crimes, including assault, rape and lynchings. Earlier this year, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned against divisive politics. We are receiving reports that indicate increasing harassment and targeting of minorities in particular, Muslims and people from historically disadvantaged and marginalised groups, such as Dalits and Adivasis, Bachelet said in her annual report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March. Hindu nationalist BJP storms back to power with thumping majority, winning more than 302 of the 543 parliamentary seats. New Delhi, India Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has returned to power registering a landslide victory in the Indian elections. The BJP, which ran a presidential-style campaign with Modi as its mascot and based its campaign on a hardline Hindu agenda, won 302 seats and was leading on one seat out of the 542 seats up for grabs on Thursday. The party has improved its performance compared with the 2014 elections when it won 282 seats. It is not Modis victory, but a win of peoples hope and aspirations, Modi said, addressing supporters at party headquarters in New Delhi. Whatever happened in these elections is in the past, we have to look ahead. We have to take everyone forward, including our staunchest opponents. The return of the right-wing party to power with a bigger mandate has caused concern among the countrys Muslim community, which suffered attacks by Hindu vigilante groups over the past five years. Although widespread agrarian distress and record levels of unemployment had put pressure on the BJP before the vote, Modi successfully steered the campaign away from these issues, harnessing rising tensions with Pakistan to focus on national security and foreign policy and his partys vote share increased by more than 10 percentage points. Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party celebrate after the election results in New Delhi [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] A poignant scene The pall of gloom was palpable in some of New Delhis Muslim neighbourhoods such as Jamia Nagar and Batla House. By the time Al Jazeera reached the area at around noon, the general trend of the results was clear, people could be seen huddled in groups discussing the results with trepidation. A poignant scene played out at an apparel shop in Jamia Nagar, owned by 74-year-old Rahmat Hussain. In the shop, a crowd had gathered to watch the results on Hussains TV. When it became clear that the opposition was nowhere close to challenging the BJP, he switched off the TV and said: Its all over. Mohammad Ansari, who owns a meat shop in Batla House area, said: This result shows that our Hindu brothers cutting across caste lines, even the Dalits, have voted for the Hindu Rashtra [nation] project of the BJP. If this is not a clear message of hate against Muslims, what is? In the lead-up to the results, the oppositions hopes were pinned on a good showing in states such as West Bengal in the east and the Hindi-speaking heartland states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. But these were the states where the BJP performed exceedingly well and dashed the oppositions hopes. Modi is the first non-Congress prime minister in India to return to power after a full five-year term [Altaf Qadri/AP] Biggest upset The biggest upset was arguably in West Bengal where the right-wing party has never had a significant presence in the past and was fighting against the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, which runs the state government. Weathering a spirited fight led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP won 18 seats in the state, which is significantly more than the two seats it won in 2014. In Uttar Pradesh where archrivals Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) came together to counter the Modi wave, the BJP still managed to win 64 of 80 parliamentary seats. Ajai Kumar of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies who travelled extensively in Uttar Pradesh during the elections said that the SP-BSP coalitions social engineering project to bring the most marginalised Dalits, Muslims and backward classes together had failed. But it managed to merely bring the leaders of these social groups together. The voting public remained divided as ever despite their shared experience of social exclusion, he told Al Jazeera. The biggest loser in these elections, however, is the principal opposition party, the Congress, which won 52 seats. Its President Rahul Gandhi, who lost his own seat from the Gandhi pocket borough of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, conceded defeat and congratulated Modi on the victory. I congratulate Narendra Modi and BJP for their victory in this election. the people of India have decided that Narendra Modi is going to be our PM and I totally respect that, he said at a press conference in New Delhi. The party took solace from the fact that it marginally improved on its seat share in 2014 when it was reduced to 44. What made the defeat of the Congress more striking was that it faced a virtual washout in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh despite heading the state governments. BJP won 61 out of the 65 seats in the three states. There is no denying that this is the result of a formidable Modi wave. Nilanjan Sirdar, political economist In a repeat performance of the 2014 elections, the BJP swept the elections in the Hindi belt, from Rajasthan in the west to Bihar in the east. These results show that the geographic core of the BJP in the north and the west of the country are intact despite a good showing by the Congress in the state elections [in December], Nilanjan Sirdar, a political economist, told Al Jazeera. Supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party celebrate after learning of initial poll results in Chandigarh [Ajay Verma/Reuters] He noted that 70 percent of the BJPs seats in 2014 had come from the north and west, adding that, support for the BJP has only gone up in the last five years of Modi rule. There is no denying that this is the result of a formidable Modi wave, Sirdar said. Karan Bishnoi, a Congress worker from Rajasthan, who was working as a volunteer with the Congresss social media campaign team in the state, was at the partys New Delhi headquarters on Thursday in the hope of celebrating a Congress victory. When the results came out, he accused the Congress of being top down and said its leadership was disconnected from the workers. The top leadership makes strategies while sitting in the air-conditioned rooms without taking feedback from the workers at [the] ground. The party needs to change its strategy and listen to its workers who are the heartbeat of the party, he told Al Jazeera. Additional reporting by Bilal Kuchay in New Delhi Maqta Gateway Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, said that its chief executive officer Dr Noura Al Dhaheri was recognised with the Young Person of the Year Award at the 31st Seatrade Awards, held recently in London, UK. Dr Al Dhaheri was presented the award in front of nearly 250 esteemed guests by Chris Morley, event director, Seatrade Maritime, said a statement. Morley said: Our award has an impressive list of academic achievements including a Bachelors and Masters Degree, and a PhD from MIT, in multiple information-technology-based disciplines applied to engineering systems, software and logistical operations. Dr Al Dhaheri embodies the future of the maritime industry - a future which embraces digital innovation, globalisation and gender diversity, he added. Further high-profile personalities honoured at Seatrade Awards 2019 included: Outstanding Contribution to the Growth of the Cruise Industry: Madam WANG Hong, party secretary general of Shanghai Municipal Peoples Government, Baoshan District; Integration of Women in the Maritime Sector Award: Dr Kirsi Tikka, executive vice president and senior maritime advisor, ABS; Global Performer 2019 sponsored by DP World: Hapag-Lloyd AG (collected by Dr Maximilian Rothkopf, chief operating officer, Hapag-Lloyd AG); Personality of the Year 2019: John Platsidakis, honorary chairman of InterCargo, director of Angelicoussis Shipping Group, managing director of Maran Dry Management Inc; Lifetime Achievement Award 2019: Lord Mountevans, chairman, Maritime London and president, Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. A total of 13 winners were announced at the event which was hosted by Bob Jaques, editor, Seatrade Maritime Review, in the presence of special guest RT Hon Chris Grayling MP, secretary of state for Transport and official guest of honour, Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director, British Antarctic Survey. Further Seatrade Awards 2019 winners include: Safety at Sea - sponsored by Bureau Veritas: Viking Life-Saving Equipment (product:Viking LifeCraftTM); Clean Shipping: Thordon Bearings (product: Compac); Investment in People: Synergy Marine Group (product: Investment in People); Digital Technology sponsored by CCS: Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine (product: VisionMaster Net); Cyber Security: ABS (product: FCI Cyber Method); Fuel Efficiency: Teekay Offshore (product: Teekay E- Shuttle Training Emissions into Fuel); Deal of the Year: Reed Smith. The sponsors for the event included Bureau Veritas; China Classification Society; DNV GL and DP World. TradeArabia News Service Meliana, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail for blasphemy, has been released on parole. Medan, Indonesia Meliana, a woman from Indonesias ethnic Chinese minority sentenced last year to 18 months in prison for blasphemy, has been released on parole. The 44-year-old, a Buddhist, celebrated her freedom on Tuesday night at a local dim sum restaurant in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, with friends and relatives, having spent almost a year behind bars. Im delighted that I could meet my family tonight, with my children and my kind husband who has been so loyal to me and who brought me food in prison every day, she said. The mother of four also thanked the prison staff for treating her well throughout her incarceration. Meliana was jailed in August 2018 after being found guilty of committing blasphemy over remarks she allegedly made on the volume of the speakers at a mosque near her home in Tanjung Balai, nearly 200km south of Medan. A crowd laid siege to Melianas house and 11 temples were torched after the July 2016 incident was picked up on social media, with some claiming that she had asked for the call to prayer to be stopped a claim denied by Meliana and her lawyer. There is no evidence that she committed blasphemy. This hoax spread in the course of a week and ruined a womans life in the process, her lawyer, Ranto Sibarani, had previously told Al Jazeera. Meiliana said that in her conversation with a neighbour she had only ever remarked that the azan the Muslim call to prayer had become a little louder, and had not asked for the volume to be lowered. She was convicted based on the testimony of several mosque custodians and a local lecturer who came to Melianas home to confront her about the exchange with her neighbour. In a statement, they claimed that Meliana screamed at them and said the sound of the azan hurt her ears. No recorded evidence of their claims was submitted in court. An appeal against the conviction, which was criticised by human rights groups, was rejected in April. Meliana sits in a court in Medan last August [Irsan Mulyadi/Antara Foto via Reuters] Very happy Under Indonesian law, Meliana was eligible for parole having served two-thirds of her sentence. She also received remission for Wesak Day, the celebration of Buddhas birthday which is a national holiday in Indonesia. Inmates are usually given sentence reductions around religious celebrations in accordance with their religious beliefs. While Sibarani, the lawyer, said that he was pleased Meliana had won parole, he also believed that his client should not have spent a single day in prison. We are very happy that Melianas parole request was granted and that Meliana was released on parole today after serving a year in prison for a crime we believe that she should never have been sentenced for, he said, adding that he was in the process of deciding whether to file a judicial review to establish his clients innocence. Indonesia has the worlds largest Muslim population, but it is also home to sizeable numbers of Buddhist and Christian minorities. In Tanjung Balai, there are about 11,000 Buddhists out of a population of 185,000. There has been widespread criticism of Indonesias blasphemy law, which in recent years has been wielded against minority groups, including the former governor of Jakarta, Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese. He was freed from prison earlier this year. Now that she is a free woman once more, Meliana plans to start a new food business. She said she harboured no animosity regarding her sentence, despite the fact that her family home was attacked during the rioting and her children threatened. They were rescued from the house by a passing pedicab driver, a Muslim. We need to stay united, we need to be good Indonesian citizens, she said. War rhetoric ratchets up again as Iranian president says his people will never give up the fight for their independence. Iran will not surrender to US pressure and will never abandon its goals even if it is attacked, President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Irans top military chief said the standoff between Tehran and Washington was a clash of wills, warning any enemy adventurism would meet a crushing response, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Tensions are festering between the two countries after Washington sent more military hardware to the Middle East in a show of force against what US officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. After pulling out of Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, US President Donald Trump restored punishing American sanctions on Iran last year and tightened them this month, ordering all countries to halt imports of Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own. More than one year after the imposition of these severe sanctions, our people have not bowed to pressures despite facing difficulties in their lives, Rouhani was quoted by the state news agency IRNA as saying. Addressing a ceremony in commemoration of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he added: We need resistance so our enemies know that if they bomb our land, and if our children are martyred, wounded or taken as prisoners, we will not give up on our goals for the independence of our country and our pride. Crushing response Irans armed forces chief of staff, Major-General Mohammad Baqeri, also pointed to an Iranian battle victory in the war with Iraq, and said that outcome should be a message that Iran will have a hard, crushing and obliterating response for any enemy. The confrontation and face-off of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the malicious government of America is the arena for a clash of wills, Baqeri said. The war of words between the two rivals shows no signs of abating. On Sunday, Trump tweeted: If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again! Acting US defence chief Patrick Shanahan on Thursday confirmed the Pentagon was considering sending additional American troops to the Middle East as one of the ways to bolster protection for US forces there amid the rising tensions with Iran. What were looking at is: Are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East? Shanahan said. It may involve sending additional troops. But Shanahan denied news reports that plans call for the deployment of as many as 10,000 more American soldiers to the region. Window of opportunity Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told German envoy Jens Ploetner who is seeking to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal that Tehrans patience was over. He urged the treatys remaining signatories to fulfil their commitments after the United States pulled out, the Fars news agency reported on Thursday. Britain, France and Germany, which signed the 2015 deal along with the US, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last years US withdrawal from the deal, protect trade, and still dissuade Tehran from quitting an accord designed to prevent it developing a nuclear bomb. But Irans decision earlier this month to backtrack from some commitments in response to US measures to cripple its economy threatens to unravel the deal, under which Tehran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment programme in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions. After Irans announcement to partly suspend its commitments under the [nuclear deal], there is a window of opportunity for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue to fully comply, an unnamed German diplomatic source told Reuters News Agency. Tensions have soared between Iran and the US since Washington sent more military assets to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles. The German diplomatic source said: The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation around the Vienna nuclear accord is extremely serious. There is a real risk of escalation In this situation, dialogue is very important. French President Macron has for weeks called on warring sides in Libya to reach an unconditional ceasefire. Libyas renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar has ruled out a ceasefire, saying he wants to remove groups from the capital that infested the United Nations-backed government, a French presidential official has said. The flare-up in the conflict in Libya which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Ghaddafi was toppled in 2011 began in early April, when Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced on the capital Tripoli. The LNA is now bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarrajs Government of National Accord (GNA). 190521153432432 President Emmanuel Macron and French officials have for weeks repeated their official support for the GNA and have called for an unconditional ceasefire. But some European countries, including France, have also supported Haftar as a way to fight the armed groups in the country. Haftar said the conditions for halting hostilities were not met while acknowledging that a political dialogue is needed to end the standoff with his rival, Prime Minister al-Sarraj, the official said on condition of anonymity. When the question of the ceasefire was put on the table, Haftars reaction to this was to ask: negotiate with whom for a ceasefire today, the official said, acknowledging an impasse between the international communitys desire for a ceasefire, and marshal Haftars way of seeing things. Political impasse The battle for Tripoli has killed at least 510 people, forced 75,000 out of their homes, trapped thousands of migrants in detention centres, and flattened some southern suburbs. It has also forced the closure of schools, split families on different sides of the front line and brought power cuts. 190520192808892 He [Haftar] considers that the GNA is completely infested by militias and it is not for him to negotiate with representatives of these militias, the official said before adding that Haftar had given no indication as to when he would be ready for any potential talks. Speaking on Euronews television on Wednesday, al-Sarraj also appeared to rule out a ceasefire, warning that the fighting would not stop until Haftars troops had pulled back east. On Tuesday, the UNs Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, said the current fighting could be the start of a long and bloody conflict in the country that could permanently divide it. We can clearly see the impasse that exists today between the desire of the international community to say that there must be a ceasefire and a resumption of political discussions and the way in which Haftar sees things with his explanation of the lack of legitimacy of the interlocutors [on the other side], the French official said. The official also said Haftar had rejected suggestions he or forces loyal to him were benefiting from oil sales in the east of the country. Ongoing efforts In Paris, Haftar did not make a statement after the meeting with Macron, a visit that follows Haftars surprise trip to Rome last week for talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Both Macron and Conte had already met al-Sarraj, who has accused Paris of supporting Haftar and tacitly backing his assault on Tripoli, claims denied by French officials. After the talks with Haftar, Macrons office said the president reiterated Frances priorities in Libya: Fight against terrorist groups, dismantle trafficking networks, especially those for illegal immigration, and permanently stabilise Libya. France and Italy are the two leading European powers seeking to find a solution to years of instability and a migrant crisis in Libya. Haftars self-styled LNA is backed in particular by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Test conducted as early results from Indian election put Prime Minister Modi in line for re-election. Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistans military has said it successfully conducted a test of its surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, a day after the countrys foreign minister reiterated an offer to India to resume peace talks. The Shaheen-II missile, test-fired on Thursday, can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads to a range of up to 1,500km, the military said. The training launch was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command, said a military statement released on Thursday. The test comes as tensions between India and Pakistan remain high after a military standoff earlier this year that saw both countries launch air attacks on each others territory, in which an Indian fighter jet was shot down in an aerial dogfight. India launched its attack on Pakistani soil on February 26, days after a deadly attack in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir earlier that month that Indian authorities blamed on Pakistan. 190220091805765 India claimed to have destroyed a training camp run by armed group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), but an Al Jazeera visit to the site revealed little evidence to support the claim. At least four Indian bombs appeared to land close to a JeM-run school, wounding one man. Pakistan denied any involvement in the Pulwama suicide bombing, and launched retaliatory attacks on February 27, targeting unpopulated areas as a show of force. Thursdays test was conducted to reiterate Pakistans nuclear deterrence posture, military spokesperson Asif Ghafoor said in a statement. Shaheen-II fully meets [Pakistans] strat[egic] needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region, he tweeted, alongside a video of the test. Successful training launch of surface to surface ballistic missile Shaheen-II conducted. Capable of carrying both conventional & nuclear warheads upto a range of 1500 KMs. Shaheen-II fully meets Paks strat needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region. pic.twitter.com/I9t468wxnq DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) May 23, 2019 The test was conducted as votes from the Indian general elections were being counted. Exit polls and partial results showed incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heading towards another win. Air raids on Pakistan formed a large part of Modis re-election campaign, alongside his platform of promising economic growth and promoting Hindu nationalism. On Wednesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi briefly met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. It was the highest-level interaction between the two countries since Februarys conflict when almost all bilateral dialogue was suspended by India. I made it clear to her that we want to amicably resolve all issues, Qureshi said in a statement released after the meeting. The Indian foreign ministry did not comment on the meeting. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim. Reports citing unnamed US officials say Department of Defense is considering deploying extra forces over Iran tensions. The United Statess Department of Defense is reportedly mulling a military request to deploy thousands of additional troops to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran. Two US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that the request for 5,000 more soldiers had been made by US Central Command, but they added it was not clear whether the Pentagon would approve the request. In a separate report, The Associated Press news agency quoted unidentified officials as saying that the Pentagon on Thursday would present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East. The officials also said no final decision had been made yet. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. The Pentagon regularly receives and declines requests for additional resources from US fighter commands throughout the world. It is unclear at the moment whether or not these discussions take place and if these reports are indeed accurate, Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said. This is all speculation at this particular point, and we cannot even confirm if indeed such a meeting is taking place and if there is going to be a briefing given to the national security advisers. Fiery rhetoric Tehran and Washington have this month been escalating the rhetoric against each other, following US President Donald Trumps decision to try to cut Irans oil exports to zero and beef up the US military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. 190522205021503 Washington has not publicly shown any evidence of specific intelligence on what it says is an Iranian threat, and its claim has been met with widespread scepticism outside the US. The Pentagon declined to comment on the reports of additional US troops being sent to the Middle East. As a matter of longstanding policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential future plans and requests for forces, Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said on Wednesday. Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Tuesday that while threats from Iran in the Middle East remained high, deterrence measures taken by the Pentagon had put on hold the potential for attacks. The US military accelerated the deployment of a carrier strike group to the Middle East and sent bombers and Patriot missiles to the region earlier this month in response to what Washington said were troubling indications of possible preparations for an attack by Iran. Trump has warned that Iran would be met with great force if it attacked US interests in the Middle East. Iranian officials have previously warned that the US was playing a dangerous game by boosting its military might in the Gulf Congress president loses his own parliamentary seat in the Gandhi family borough of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh state. Rahul Gandhi, president of Indias main opposition Congress party, conceded on Thursday he had lost his seat in the famous familys long-held home constituency. Smriti Irani [of the BJP] has won in Amethi and I congratulate her. The people of Amethi have given their mandate, Gandhi told a news conference. Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) handed a heavy defeat to Congress and regional parties and Gandhi could not save his own seat in the constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh state. Congress has held Amethi in Uttar Pradesh state since 1967 except for one three-year stint in 1977-80 and a separate one-year period in 1998-99. Gandhi, 48, won the seat in 2004, 2009 and 2014 and the constituency is considered one of the two Nehru-Gandhi family bastions. The heavy losses suffered by Congress to Modi put an end to Gandhis hopes of becoming the fourth member of his famous dynasty to lead the worlds biggest democracy. Votes counted so far indicated that the party won just 50 seats against 301 for the BJP, which secured an even bigger majority than at the last election in 2014. I cant comment on the results today. I want to say that our fight is a fight for ideology. I want to tell our leaders, who won and lost, dont worry, dont lose confidence. We will fight together for our ideology, Gandhi told the news conference. It doesnt matter what I think went wrong. Frankly, people of India have decided that Modi should be the prime minister, as an Indian person, I accept it, he said. The Congress leader is, however, leading from Wayanad constituency in the southern state of Kerala. Ten men have tried killing themselves since Australias conservative government returned to power, refugees say. Melbourne, Australia Refugees on Papua New Guineas (PNG) Manus Island say there is increasing desperation on the Pacific island and at least 10 people have attempted suicide or committed self-harm following the re-election of Australias conservative government at the weekend. For years, the Australian government has been sending asylum seekers who attempt to reach the country by sea to the remote islands of Manus and Nauru where they are held indefinitely with no chance of being resettled in Australia. Many of the roughly 900 people now on the islands live in squalid conditions and were hoping for a change in government to the left-leaning Australian Labor Party and a softening in Canberras hard line on asylum seekers. But in a surprise result, Prime Minister Scott Morissons Liberal-National coalition on Saturday defied opinion polls to secure a victory over Labor. Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian-Kurdish journalist who has been detained on Manus since 2013, told Al Jazeera that 10 men had attempted suicide or self-harm by various means, including cutting themselves with a razor, since then. Several had been sent to a local medical centre, which he said is not a real hospital, not a place with facilities. Two people receiving medical treatment in PNGs capital, Port Moresby, who were due to be transferred back to Manus Island had attempted suicide prior to the election, he added. Morrison stepped up the use of indefinite offshore detention in 2013, when he was immigration minister. A prime minister since August last year, he has vowed to undo recently-passed legislation known as the Medevac Bill that allowed people held on the remote Pacific islands to be brought to Australia for urgent medical treatment. Big shock PNG remains one of the poorest nations in the Asia Pacific. Security is volatile, health facilities lack resources and local people have previously attacked refugees and asylum seekers. Surrounded by his family, Morrison waves to supporters after the conservative coalitions surprise election victory [Saeed Khan/AFP] When we found out that the current government won the election, it was a big shock, Shamindan, a refugee from Sri Lanka who is living on Manus, told Al Jazeera. Since Saturday, two or three people were attempting suicide or self-harm daily by cutting themselves, overdosing with tablets, setting themselves on fire, and hanging themselves, he said. There have been 24 deaths in Australias onshore and offshore detention facilities since 2010, according to refugee groups, with 14 confirmed as suicides. More than half of the recorded deaths were people held on Manus and Nauru. We expected that if Labor got into power, they would accept New Zealands offer, Boochani said. The election was our big and last chance. New Zealands government has on several occasions offered to resettle 150 refugees from Manus and Nauru annually, an offer rejected by Canberra which claims it could provide a backdoor for refugees to get into Australia. New Zealand nationals are able to live and work in Australia without the need for visas. Labor had pledged to revisit the proposal. Asked about the suicide attempts, a spokesperson for Australias Department of Home Affairs said the welfare of the people on Manus was the responsibility of the PNG government. The Department of Home Affairs takes seriously its role in supporting the government of PNG to ensure refugees and failed asylum seekers are provided with a range of health, welfare and support services arrangements. This has not changed, the spokesperson added. Morrison has said his government will prioritise the repeal of the Medevac law. People were hoping that [a] Labor government would solve many problems [including] the problem of the sick people, facilitate the process with the United States, and accept the New Zealand offer so the men could be sent there out of that nightmare, Sudanese refugee Abdul Aziz Muhamat, told Al Jazeera over the phone from Geneva where he recently travelled from Manus to receive an international human rights award. As someone who has been detained for six years I have never seen people in that stage of mental health anguish, Muhamat said. Aziz Abdul Muhamat walks with friends on Manus Island [Bill Code/Al Jazeera] Duty of care Under a deal signed in 2016 with the administration of former President Barack Obama, the US agreed to consider resettling refugees held on the islands, as well as those transferred back to Australia for medical reasons. So far, the US has resettled several hundreds out of a promised 1,250 refugees, but President Donald Trump has called the deal stupid. Australias Treasurer Josh Frydenberg reiterated this week that it was the governments policy to reverse the Medevac legislation and prevent the Pacific refugees from being transferred to Australia. But the opposition and the members of the crossbench in the upper house are likely to make it difficult for them to do so. The policy of offshore detention and boat turn-backs cost Australia an estimated 9.6 billion Australian dollars ($6.6bn) between 2013 and 2016, according to the United Nations children agency and Save the Children. It has also brought condemnation from the UN and human rights groups. Australia still has a duty of care to these people, Elaine Pearson, director of Human Rights Watch in Australia, told Al Jazeera. [It] transferred these people there, and under these conditions, people have developed such serious and acute health conditions. Some 80 percent of the refugee population in offshore detention suffer from mental health conditions, and do not have proper access to psychological support, she added. The Morrison government claims the law does not allow authorities to return people seeking asylum back to Manus or Nauru after receiving treatment in Australia. Legal experts and Labors shadow immigration minister say the law means no change to the existing system of return. We dont want to go to Australia, said Boochani, whose autobiographical account of his detention on Manus, No Friend but the Mountains, recently won a prestigious Australian literary prize. Only freedom [can help] these people because people have been separated from their families for six years. Nothing else makes them happy, he said. Turkey-Russian ties extend beyond Syria but Idlib is where they are bargaining and strengthening their negotiating hand. In northwestern Syria, rebels have launched a counterattack against pro-government forces. Fighting has been intensifying in Idlib and Hama provinces since last month despite a Turkish and Russian-brokered ceasefire. At least 200 civilians have been killed. Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr reports. John Walker Lindh served 17 years of a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. The California man who became known as the American Taliban after his capture in Afghanistan in November 2001 was released from prison on Thursday, US media reported. John Walker Lindh, who was 20 years old when he was captured, left prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, on probation after serving 17 years, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the release. Lindhs plea deal called for a 20-year sentence, but hes getting out a few years early for good behaviour. Now 38, Lindh is among dozens of prisoners to be released over the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Unconscionable His release brought objections from elected officials who asked why Lindh was being freed early. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Lindhs release unexplainable and unconscionable. Theres something deeply troubling and wrong about it, he said on Fox News on Thursday morning. A judge recently imposed additional restrictions on Lindhs post-release supervision, including monitoring of his internet use. Leaked US government documents published by Foreign Policy magazine show the federal government as recently as 2016 described Lindh as holding extremist views. What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society? asked US Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. John Walker Lindh is led away by a Northern Alliance soldier near Fort Qali-i-Janghi prison near Mazar-i-Sharif on December 1, 2001, after he was captured among al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners following an uprising at the prison [Reuters] [Daylife] Lindhs parents, Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh, did not respond to requests for comment and Lindhs lawyer, Bill Cummings, declined to comment. Melissa Kimberley, a spokeswoman for the prison in Terre Haute, could not immediately be reached for confirmation of the Posts report. No intention to fight against America US-born Lindh converted from Catholicism to Islam as a teenager. At his 2002 sentencing, he said he travelled to Yemen to learn Arabic and then to Pakistan to study Islam. He said he volunteered as a soldier with the Taliban to help fellow Muslims in their struggle or jihad. He said he had no intention to fight against America and never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism. Undated file photo of John Walker Lindh, obtained from record of religious schools where he studied for five months in Bannu, 304km southwest of Islamabad, Pakistan [AP Photo] [Daylife] Lindh told the court he condemned terrorism on every level and attacks by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were completely against Islam. But a January 2017 report by the US governments National Counterterrorism Center, published by Foreign Policy, said that, as of May 2016, Lindh continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts. NBC News reported that Lindh wrote a letter to its Los Angeles station KNBC in 2015 expressing support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), saying the armed group was fulfilling a religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle. Democrats warn Trump may use emergency loophole to sell missiles to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval. Washington, DC Democrats in the United States Senate have warned that the Trump administration is preparing to approve a major new arms sale to Saudi Arabia, using an emergency loophole to bypass Congress. I am expecting that the administration is going to notice a major arms sale through emergency powers, Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, told Al Jazeera on Thursday, after he said an administration official gave the Senate Foreign Relations Committee informal notice of the forthcoming announcement. US arms control law allows Congress to reject weapons sales to foreign countries but an exemption in the law allows the president to waive the need for congressional approval by declaring a national security emergency. The White House referred requests for comment to the State Department. The State Department referred Al Jazeera to a department spokeswomans comments to reporters on Wednesday in which she said, We do not comment to confirm or deny potential arms sales for transfers until Congress is formally notified. My guess is that if they are declaring an emergency it has to do with Iran but there is no new emergency inside Yemen, there is no new emergency why Saudi Arabia needs precision-guided missiles, Murphy said. Tensions between Iran and the US mounted this month, a year after Trump pulled the US out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Terrible mistake Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has previously blocked missile sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, warned the administration would be making a terrible mistake. 190521211715564 In a statement, Menendez said he would pursue all appropriate legislative and other means to nullify the planned sale and he warned US weapons makers could be subject to criminal and civil penalties if they export weapons under potentially invalid licenses. Calling Saudi Arabia one of the worst human rights abusers in the world, Menendez said the USs reputation would suffer from delivering deadly weapons to governments that clearly intend to misuse them. The munitions the Trump administration wants to sell are precision-guided missiles fired from combat aircraft that Saudi Arabia and UAE jets have used previously in Yemen, causing civilian deaths, senators said. The dispute with senators over arms sales comes amid a broader divergence between Congress and the Trump administration over the handling of the US strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia. Congress would be very unlikely to give approval to any arms sale to Saudi Arabia that may be linked to civilian deaths in Yemen. Earlier this year, the House and Senate approved a resolution that would have ended US involvement in the Saudi-UAE war in Yemen. Trump vetoed the measure and Congress failed to muster sufficient votes to override the president. Members of Congress have also been outraged over the murder Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed last October in the Saudi consulate in Turkey. US intelligence has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder, a conclusion the kingdom denies. 190520201653885 The potential arms sales is very much of a concern because we have not seen the administration take significant action with respect to the Khashoggi murder, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine told Al Jazeera. And the administration has been approving Part 810 transfers of nuclear know-how to the Saudis without informing Congress, which is completely contrary to previous precedent, Kaine said. The Trump White House and Department of Energy have approved secret licences for a number of US nuclear power companies to share information with Saudi Arabia which is pursuing plans to build civilian nuclear power plants, according to a February report by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Very concerned Arms control advocates fear that without strong international safeguards, a Saudi nuclear power programme would be used by Riyadh as a cover for developing nuclear weapons. 190520003050499 When you put those things together with additional reporting of Saudi development of missile programmes and things like that, we are very, very concerned about what they are doing, Kaine said. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, said the Trump administration should not pursue the arms deal right now. I am not going to do business as usual with the Saudis until we have a better reckoning of the MBS situation, Graham told Al Jazeera. Under the Arms Control Act of 1976, Congress requires presidents to notify it of any pending arms sale, and in the case of sales to the Middle East to certify that any shipments would not adversely affect Israels qualitative military advantage over its regional neighbours. Congress can block any arms sale simply by passing a resolution of disapproval. Hensoldt, a leading Germany-based independent sensor house, is showcasing its new radar warning system Kalaetron RWR at the Electronic Warfare Europe Conference, being held in Stockholm, Sweden. The conference will conclude on May 15. The new radar warning system revolutionises the protection of aircraft and helicopters from radar-guided weapons, said a company statement. Celia Pelaz, head of the spectrum dominance / airborne solutions division, said: With the help of the latest artificial intelligence and digital signal processing methods, our Kalaetron RWR detects radar-based threats early and reliably. Our new product thus increases the assertiveness of aircraft and helicopters and their survivability, especially in view of the increasingly dense signal spectrum and the growing threat posed by highly integrated air defence systems, Pelaz added. Due to its fully digital design, the new radar warner detects and identifies threats incredibly quickly and with a very low false alarm rate, over an extremely wide frequency range, it said. The Kalaetron RWR uses artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to detect new threat patterns from a huge amount of collected raw data. This is especially important to identify the latest air defence radar systems that cover an extremely wide bandwidth or which hop between particular frequencies in fractions of a second. Kalaetron thus enables fighter or transport aircraft to be protected even against upcoming anti-aircraft weapons and integrated air defence systems, while also offering great potential for adaptability to cope with future threats, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Head of UN agency rejects US proposal for countries hosting Palestinian refugees to take over food aid services. The head of UNRWA, the United Nations agency that has supported Palestinian refugees for seven decades, has rebuffed a US proposal to have host countries take over the services it provides across the Middle East. The suggestion, from US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, that UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, should be effectively dismantled was the latest US attack on an agency that began operations in 1950. Formerly UNRWAs largest donor, the US cut off its roughly $300m annual donation in 2018, deeming its fiscal practices irredeemably flawed, stoking tensions between the Palestinians and US President Donald Trumps administration. We need to engage with host governments to start a conversation about planning the transition of UNRWA services to host governments, or to other international or local non-governmental organisations, as appropriate, Greenblatt said after the Security Council was briefed by UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl. Asked at a Gaza news conference on Thursday about Greenblatts remarks, Krahenbuhl said UNRWAs mandate was a matter for the entire UN General Assembly to consider, not by one or two individual member states. Therefore, Palestinian refugees should remember that the mandate is protected by the General Assembly, and of course, we will engage with member states to ensure what we hope is a safe renewal of that mandate, Krahenbuhl said. Strong backing in UN General Assembly UNRWAs mission is due to come up for renewal later this year in the General Assembly, where support for the agency has been traditionally strong and the United States would likely face an uphill battle to change or cancel its mission. Greenblatt said UNRWA was currently running on fumes, surviving on a surge in foreign donations in 2018, and it was time for the international community to address the needs of Palestinians in refugee camps in a sustainable way. He said it was time to hand over services assured by the UN agency to countries hosting Palestinian refugees and NGOs. 190423123902553 Greenblatt said the US had given six billion dollars in aid to UNRWA since it was founded in 1949 and yet, year after year, UNRWA funding fell short. More than half of the two million Palestinians living in the besieged Gaza Strip, under Israeli blockade, receive food aid from UNRWA. We need to be honest about the situation. UNRWA is a bandaid and the Palestinians who use its services deserve better, Greenblatt said. Since Trump assumed office in 2017, Palestinians have grown concerned that he intends to bring about UNRWAs demise. US ally Israel says the work of UNRWA only perpetuates the plight of Palestinians. Year after year, Palestinians in refugee camps were not given the opportunity to build any future; they were misled and used as political pawns and commodities instead of treated as human beings, Greenblatt told the Security Council. Krahenbuhl however, rebuffed Greenblatts criticism at a conference in Gaza saying UNRWA cannot be blamed for stalled peace efforts. 180920220447731 I unreservedly reject the accompanying narrative that suggests that somehow UNRWA is to blame for the continuation of the refugee-hood of Palestine refugees, of their growing numbers and their growing needs, Krahenbuhl said in response to a question about Greenblatts comments. The fact that UNRWA still exists today is an illustration of the failure of the parties and the international community to resolve the issue politically and one cannot deflect the attention onto a humanitarian organisation. UNRWA says it provides services to about five million registered Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and that it safeguards and advances their rights under international law. Most are descendants of about 700,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes or fled in the 1948 war that led to Israels creation and claim a right of return to the lands they left. Israel has ruled out such an influx, fearing the country would lose its Jewish majority. Palestinian leaders reject settling refugees in host countries, saying their presence there should be considered temporary. Palestinians in host countries complain of restrictions on jobs and benefits there. Houthi fighters launch a new drone strike on an airport along the border with Saudi, as Riyadh says it shot it down. Yemens Houthi rebels said they targeted the airport in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran the third attempt to hit the facility in a week. The groups Al Masirah TV reported the drone attack on Thursday came as the Houthis said they would step up their offensive against Saudi targets. The Saudi-Emirati-led coalition fighting the armed group said the drone was intercepted by the kingdoms air defences. An explosive-laden drone sent by the terrorist Houthi militia to target Najran airport which is used by thousands of civilians daily was intercepted and destroyed by the Saudi air force, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying. Maliki also warned of a response, but did not elaborate. The attack targeted a Patriot missile air defence system, Al Masirah TV said. An armed drone sent on Tuesday hit a weapons depot at the same airport, setting off a blaze, according to Al Masirah. 190521080525385 Attacks on Saudi Arabia had largely subsided since late last year amid United Nations-led peace efforts. The conflict that began in late 2014 has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say. About 24.1 million more than two-thirds of the population are in need of aid. Arms depot Najran, 840km southwest of Riyadh, lies on the Saudi-Yemen border and has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis. On Tuesday, Al Masirah reported the Yemeni group launched a bomb-laden drone to hit what it described as an arms depot at the Najran airport. The rebels also claimed responsibility for last weeks drone attacks on oil assets in Saudi Arabia. On Sunday said they would attack 300 vital military targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The latest hostilities coincide with rising tensions between Iran and Gulf Arab states allied to the United States and come just as a sensitive, UN-sponsored peace deal is being carried out in Yemens main port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions. The United Nations has described the war in Yemen as the worlds worst humanitarian disaster with millions facing famine and with disease rampant. New York politicians gave final passage to legislation Wednesday that would allow US President Donald Trumps state tax returns to be released to congressional committees that have, so far, been barred from getting the presidents federal filings. The Democrat-led Senate and Assembly both approved the measures Wednesday, sending them to Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. A spokesman has said the governor supports the principle behind the legislation but will review the bill carefully before deciding whether to sign it. The legislation does not target Trump by name, but it would allow the leaders of the US House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee or the Joint Committee on Taxation to get access to any New York state tax returns filed by elected officials and top appointed officials. The legislation would apply to personal income tax returns, as well as business taxes paid in New York. An earlier version of the proposal passed the state Senate two weeks ago that would have allowed congressional committees to get any New Yorkers returns, regardless of whether they held public office. Politicians later narrowed the legislation to address concerns that it went too far, prompting the Senate to hold a second vote on the new language Wednesday. New York Republicans have railed against the bill. John Flanagan, who leads the states Senate Republicans, called the legislation troubling and bad public policy. 190522172337796 Fellow Republican politicians said the new proposals narrower focus shows Democrats went too far with their first proposal, which would have required state tax officials to hand over any New Yorkers state tax returns. This bill is nothing more than political showmanship, and we all know it, said Assembly Andrew Goodell, who represents a mostly rural western New York district. Republicans also blasted Democrats for going after the president instead of focusing on challenges closer to home. The fact that were talking about taxes in this house is ironic because were not talking about the taxes that New Yorkers pay, which are the highest in the nation, said Rob Ortt, a senator from the Buffalo area. But the proposals Democratic sponsors, Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblyman David Buchwald, said the legislation promotes government transparency at a time when Americans need to know whether their elected leaders are putting the publics interest first. We are affirming Congress role as a co-equal branch of government and the sacred constitutional principle that nobody is above the law, not even the highest elected official in the land, Hoylman said. Federal returns The proposed changes to state law were made amid a battle going on in Washington over Trumps federal returns. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said he would not comply with a congressional subpoena seeking six years of Trumps tax returns, in part because the request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose. 190522132035824 US Democratic Representative Richard Neal, who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has threatened to go to court to get the administration to comply. Democrats are seeking six years of Trumps personal and business tax returns to aid a committee investigation into whether the IRS is doing its job properly to audit a sitting president and whether the law governing such audits needs to be strengthened. With New York being Trumps home state and headquarters of many of his business enterprises, the legislation could give Democrats access to the presidents state tax returns at a time when the White House and Democrats who control the House continue to wrangle over the presidents federal tax returns. Much of the information on Trumps state returns would mirror the information included on a federal return, giving the Democrats a potential end run around the IRS if they wished to take it. If Congress does request and obtain Trumps state tax returns, that does not mean the public would see them. Under federal law, the confidential information in the returns is supposed to be for the committees eyes only. The New York bills have no time limitation on the tax filings that could be shared with Congress. They require that the returns be requested for a specified and legitimate legislative purpose, wording that could ostensibly give state officials the ability to refuse some requests they felt were primarily political in nature. The New York bills would become law immediately upon being signed by Cuomo, though it could be delayed by a court challenge. Authorities in Zimbabwe have charged five human rights campaigners arrested earlier this week with plotting to overthrow the government. Five activists accused of plotting to overthrow the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Zimbabwe have appeared in a court. They were arrested on Monday at the airport in Harare when they were returning from a foreign trip. They have been charged with the plot to subvert a constitutional government. Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa reports from Harare. In the basement of an old museum in a village in Albania, a 78-year-old woman protects the last remnant of a dictator. A look at the factors that have forced Libya to postpone a vote seen as crucial to end its 10-year-long crisis. Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has signed a deal with UAE-based Yellow Door Energy, a key regional commercial solar developer, to bring solar power to Carrefour stores in Jordan. The 17-megawatt build-own-operate-transfer (Boot) wheeling agreement will provide Carrefour stores located in Amman, Zarqa, Madaba and Al-Salt with 29 gigawatt-hours of clean energy in the first year of operation, meeting 100 per cent of the retailers electricity needs in those areas. Boot is a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, own, and operate a facility stated in the contract. Alain Enjalbert, the country manager for Carrefour Jordan at Majid Al Futaim Retail said: "Sustainability plays an important role in our business as illustrated by our Net Positive strategy, which aims to over compensate our water consumption and carbon emissions resulting in a positive corporate footprint by 2040." "The Boot solar agreement will prove not only integral to helping us achieve our goals but also halving our energy costs, allowing us to pass the savings on to our loyal customers across Jordan," he stated. As the Boot solar provider, Yellow Door Energy will invest in, design, construct, commission, operate and maintain the solar park. Located east of Amman, the solar park will span an area of 366,000 sq m and will comprise 300,000 solar panels. The park is expected to be completed and generating clean energy for Carrefour Jordan by the spring of 2020. Rory McCarthy, chief commercial officer of Yellow Door Energy, said: "We are proud to support Carrefour and Majid Al Futtaim in their sustainability endeavors while helping them reduce energy costs and improve competitiveness." "Our solar park epitomises Carrefours sustainability leadership and we hope it will inspire other retailers and multi-nationals to transition to solar power," he stated. Jordan is a leader in the Middle East for its rapid adoption of renewable energy. Owing to the nations forward-thinking wheeling legislation, Yellow Door Energy will be permitted to build the solar park outside of Amman and send clean energy to the grid. Furthermore, by 2020, one-fifth of the countrys energy will be generated through renewables, as stated by His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa in April 2019.-TradeArabia News Service Joe Biden may give Donald Trump a run for his money in the race for irreverence. Trump slaughters sacred cows of propriety like a walleyed abattoir worker with a bolt gun. But gaffe-prone Biden once again proved that savoir-faire isn't his strong suit, and it may cost him a key Democratic Party demographic. No, I'm not referring to his blue joke about being a politically apathetic college jock, when he and his rakish peers had only two concerns: "jobs and panty raids." That comment may leave #MeToo adherents miffed, but it's endearing enough to make the Scranton-born V.P. competitive in Pennsylvania. The quip in question is Biden's depiction of Millennials. Tired of the endless tirades about toxic Boomerism, Biden took America's self-pitying young adults to task for their woe-is-me fatalism. "The younger generation now tells me how tough things are. Give me a break. No, no, I have no empathy for it," he insisted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, lifting his approval rating a tick or two in Sumter County, Fla. File photo, 2017. Ordinarily, it's wise to pay lip service to the grievances of an audience you're wooing. It's what Democrats learn at their party-sponsored junkets: do like Bill Clinton and profess to feel voters' pain, no matter how incongruent the circumstances. You're an aging white male being told by a young black man that he's tired of being racially profiled by police? Good! Claim to have a half-minority cousin, or better yet, a "good friend," who grouses frequently about the same thing. Say you grok him, then ask for a donation to end the morally depraved practice. Rinse, repeat, cash the check. Biden, who commands majority support from all Democratic demographics except Millennials, isn't devising a Napoleonic strategy to capture the last outstanding territory in his massive coalition. His refusal to mollycoddle Millennials in their nursed resentment shows he's leaving that part of the party to Bernie. It's a gamble worth taking, given the power divide between those who experienced the Kennedy assassination and those who've only read about it in history books. On Twitter, the contrived public square for Millennials too lazy to leave their bedsits, the indignation was raw and intemperate, a 280-character tempest in birdie-embossed teacup. "Joe Biden is severely detached from reality," fumed a HuffPost contributor. "Biden should have really thought about the millennial vote before saying he has no empathy for them," lectured one Trump-hater. Much of the outrage was directed at New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, a token conservative at the Gray Lady, who praised Biden's dismissal of young victimology. Stephens's complimentary column brought Biden's comments to the fore, proving in the minds of many progressives that Biden is too Republican-Boomer-friendly to be trusted. And it provided fodder for Millennials to do what they do best: feel bad about themselves. "Do you think the thought has ever dawned on Bret Stephens that young people are mourning the loss of a future that his generation has burned up gleefully in front of our eyes?" wailed a progressive journalist. One jokester made an attempt at a geriatric gibe, only to engage in ageism: "I just [G]oogled how old Bret Stephens is and 45 is too young to be 'old man yells at cloud' age" The reference, if you aren't culturally swotted up enough to get it, is from The Simpsons, specifically the ornery Grandpa Simpson, whom Bernie Sanders increasingly channels in appearance and demeanor. Stephens struck a nerve for the same reason Biden did: the characterization of Millennials as too sanctimoniously sensitive is apodictic. Millennials can't respond to it without proving it. In most cases, they lack the historical knowledge or moral breadth to explain why the current time period is harsher than any in the past. A brief review of America's accomplishments circa 2019 is revealing: slavery is abolished; modern dentistry is widely available; indoor plumbing is standard; polio is rare; no world war has broken out in half a century; dysentery is a meme rather than a common affliction; men no longer have to wear powdered wigs and spatterdashes to appear respectable; women are manumitted from the constricting tyranny of the bodice. All in all, Americans have never had it so good. As David Harsanyi points out, Millennials lack the wealth accumulation, and thus prosperity, of their parents mainly because of the choices they make. Delaying marriage and putting off buying a home stunt the growth of personal equity. Compounded interest is a modern financial marvel, but tying the knot and combining incomes is the oldest wealth-multiplier in the world. Older Americans understand this. It's why Biden's lack of fellow-feeling with Millennials will be a plus in his column when it comes to consolidating the older Democrat vote. Young tweeters trying to do down the V.P. over his comments will find no resonance outside their already piqued peer group. Trump won despite the scorn of twenty-somethings. Biden can do the same, as long as he doesn't make the same mistake he's been making after every comment that cuts into Trump's truculent persona. Threatening to take Trump "behind the gym and beat the hell out of him" was the pugnacious rhetoric Democrats long to hear. The problem is, he didn't stick to it. When rhetorical push came to rhetorical shove, he bowed out and apologized. The same happened to Anita Hill, whom Biden excoriated during the Clarence Thomas hearings but later regretted treating like an accuser instead of a glass doll. Saying sorry gets you nowhere in politics. If Biden is considering revising his contemptuous comments about Millennials, he should forget about it. Standing his ground will make him the only adult in the Democratic field. Photo credit: Doug Jones for Senate (cropped). The myth that all student debt can and should be eliminated, and why free tuition would hurt the American dream. The phrase Free college tuition for all! has been passed around like Halloween candy for a while now. The mainstream left has used this as a springboard in nearly all campaigning done in recent history, without really any clarification of not only how it would work, but how it would affect the common American on his bottom line. This notion that higher education should be available for everyone is another idea that is great in theory but has several holes that the country and common Americans cannot fill. Nor should we have to. Colleges and universities in this country are prestigious for the education they provide to thousands of Americans and foreign students every year to help get them on track for a successful professional path. No one would really argue this is a bad thing. However, there are plenty of people in this country who do not have the capability to go to college. Whether that is due to financial reasons, pursuit of other fields not requiring higher education, or even just lack of desire to go. This isnt a bad thing either. A college education is something to take pride in, but the left fail to see that Americans without one take pride in many other things and even put those thing higher in importance than a diploma. Se nator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has called numerous times to eliminate all student debt. Thats wonderful, except that it could very well be illegal under the Constitution. The last sentence of the Fifth Amendment reads: nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Now, this amendment has been interpreted in many ways, including that it only pertains to government seizure of land and limitations on eminent domain. What Sen. Warren promises for students, though, can fall under this amendment. The students who accrue these debts are doing so willingly. Why should the American people, many of whom have not pursued a college education or did not finish onet, be required to pay for something that isnt theirs? Therefore, it does not qualify as public use. It is solely benefitting those who accrued the debt for their education. Not to mention that by allowing this, you are giving a government even more leverage over yourself. Paying off these debts for every student would be astronomical in cost but would also dilute the pursuit of happiness to being nothing more than an entitlement. Lets say that this does happen. All student debt is paid off, all colleges and universities are free, and anyone can get in with acceptance. Now, a student at a university that you are paying higher taxes for so they can pursue that diploma drops out or flunks. What compensation will the government assure you? Answer: none. The modern left is in the business of getting students into universities (and hopes to do so on your dime) so they can gain votes and continue to stack their elite with the college educated many of whom have degrees that are essentially useless in most professional markets. Well, if they flunk out or drop out, they could join the military as a form of repayment. That sounds great too, except that the military, even for enlistees, has high standards. The armed forces will accept those with high school diplomas and G.E.D.s. But, the number of those who enlist with a G.E.D. are very small. So by sending those who drop out or flunk out of an already free system to go serve and get paid, once again by taxpayers, is illogical in and of itself. Not to mention that you are asking those who couldnt handle the pressures of a classroom to go into something that requires more, up to the sacrifice of their own lives. The American military, minus times when the draft was used, thrives on a desire to be there. A college dropout just paying back his dues, all while getting paid, would not be the ideal candidate for serving the country. Most Democrats pursuing a 2020 run, like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg, among others, vehemently disagree with the idea of economic competition. But anyone who has taken high school economics knows that competition is key to any free-market capitalist economy. Without competition, colleges would have an even higher number of students fill their campuses and keep the cash flowing. All without regard for the standard of education they provide. Now since this is available to everyone, the demand will go up, in turn making costs higher. Without competition for students, the number of the essentially worthless degrees goes up because colleges will have much more capacity to offer them. Once again, why should the taxpayer be saddled with a students debt so she can pursue a degree in lesbian dance theory? Higher education is already offering a great number of degrees in programs that there are very small, if not, no markets for. This causes students to miss out on that career of grandeur theyve built up in their heads the last four years. Instead, they end up with debt they arent able to pay off. If academia and students alike would use the same critical thinking they preach about, then they would stop offering and taking worthless programs that there is no demand for. Learn to focus on ones that can offer rewarding careers that can easily pay off student debt, which then in turn encourages alumni to donate to their alma mater. This country has always persevered. I pray it continues to. But the promises being put out by the left that are not only illegal and fiscally irresponsible, they are also a heavy burden on the American people. As mentioned above, the left is diluting the American dream into an American entitlement. One that many would squander without any remorse or gratitude for the common taxpayer who put them there. People need to see that opportunities for its citizens are always there. Some of the opportunities may be harder to obtain than others, some may be easier, but hard to obtain for the particular individual. That does not mean that society needs to make the dream easier. Nor does it mean everyone should receive higher education, but that they should have an opportunity to pursue it -- which they already do. The opportunity is there for all. Whether someone is willing to put in the work, appreciate the pursuit, relish in the achievement, and seize the opportunity is strictly up to the individual. A line must be drawn. No longer can the phrase "obstruction of justice" be allowed to mean something obscenely different from what any fair-minded, free person knows it was intended to mean. In the minds of most, the phrase refers to blocking the discovery of truth, truth being the only legitimate basis on which appropriate redress can be made for some wrong that has been suffered. Any codified law that uses the phrase "obstruction of justice" to mean something other than precisely this is in jeopardy of obstructing true justice. If a law is needed to insure that an official investigation is not obstructed, then the language of the law must refer to obstruction of an investigation or obstruction of police work or obstruction of intelligence activities. Any reference to this sort of thing as "obstruction of justice" assigns a specialized definition to the word "justice" that does more than just legalistically narrow its established commonplace meaning; it creates a misleading new meaning with the explicit intention of illegitimately assigning to some formal entity all the virtue that English-speaking people naturally and universally associate with the word "justice." The Department of Justice is not synonymous with "justice." We all sincerely hope that the Department pursues true justice most of the time, but anybody with any worldly experience knows that sometimes it doesn't. Obstructing the activities of the Department of Justice should not be automatically viewed as obstructing justice. Even if the Department of Justice is behaving honorably, a person who interferes with its investigation to keep it from arriving at a false conclusion should not be found guilty of obstructing justice. Only a person who attempts to block the department from discovering something true should even be considered for prosecution based on obstruction of justice. This brings us to President Trump and the Mueller Report. Mueller found that there was no compelling evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Given the nature of our legal system, this effectively clears Trump of the charge and that charge was the predicated reason for doing the investigation in the first place. The remaining controversy now before us is whether Trump obstructed justice while Mueller investigated the matter. For Trump to have done so, he would have had to hinder Mueller's team from establishing his lack of guilt. How silly! It is irrational to think Trump would have deflected Mueller from discovering Trump's innocence (the recognized status of anybody who is not guilty). The way in which Trump might now be found guilty of obstruction of justice is if he hindered the activities of the Mueller investigation. Anybody with a clear vision of what "obstruction of justice" means recognizes that obstructing the activities of a government agency is not the same thing as obstructing the discovery of truth. Nothing is ever quite that simple: a person might obstruct an investigation leading to exoneration for a particular crime because it will reveal some other crime for which that person is indeed guilty. But this would be an exceptional situation. Those who claim that Trump is guilty of obstruction of justice need to identify what specific crime he committed and what specific action he took to keep that misbehavior from being discovered. If they cannot do so, then the obstruction charge should be dismissed. Regardless of how an obstruction law might read, no citizen who is innocent of a crime should ever be found guilty of having obstructed justice if his actions facilitated a correct conclusion regarding it. If that citizen murdered the investigator or forged documents, well, those are different crimes. The citizen who only makes it harder for an investigation to prove as true something that is not true is not engaging in criminal behavior. The American legal system is essential for the business of assuring that the constitutionally accorded rights of citizens are protected. For much of our history, it served this function reasonably well, but in recent years, linguistic doublespeak has wormed its way into the specialized legal vocabulary in such a way as to put ever more power into the hands of those who administer the laws. "Obstruction of justice" has become a device for insuring that investigators and prosecutors can pursue their aims without regard for whether those aims are just or properly motivated. Anybody who stands in their way, for no matter what reason, has now been classified as a criminal for obstructing their will. An example of the malignant authoritarianism that has emerged as part of our legal system is the way in which our growing multiplicity of laws has permitted the legal authorities to charge individuals with multiple offenses against the law when in fact the crime committed was a single crime. This allows the police and prosecutors to bludgeon an indicted person into submission by insuring that a vigorous defense will open up the prospect of endless time in prison if the defense attorney does not get the defendant to agree to a plea deal. Often it is the case that both the prosecution and the defense will find it in their interest to have a malleable defendant. In a sane world, this sort of practice would be viewed as true obstruction of justice. For example, General Flynn might have said to his FBI investigators, "I didn't talk with the Russian ambassador on the phone and lobby him about the Russian reaction to sanctions." That would have been a lie. But what if he had said, "I didn't talk with the Russian ambassador on the phone. I didn't lobby him about the Russian reaction to sanctions"? That would have been two lies. Would it have been just for the Mueller investigation to have doubled the charges against him, making him vulnerable to ten years of jail time instead of five? Would Flynn have deserved double punishment based on how he constructed his lie? The freedom and flexibility we have accorded to law enforcement has exceeded the bounds of reasonableness. Image: James Ledbetter via Flickr. Because of the manipulative leftist ideology rampant in schools, black children are not permitted any pride in their own achievements. Instead they are pumped full of an inordinate opinion of themselves merely because of the color of their skin. It is an abuse of the potential that they actually possess, and it is leading to frustration, failure, and anger at many levels. Examples abound. In Saratoga Springs, New York students are asked to tabulate their "privilege" and as a result their race, gender, religion, appearance, and disability status are used as a means "to enlighten students on their relative status in society." Achievement is cast aside. Instead, a false self-aggrandizement for certain groups is established. Jason D. Hill, a black immigrant who has chosen to embrace the American dream takes issue with author Ta-Nehisi Coates. Hill writes that Coates' beliefs "[t]hreaten to alienate [his] son from his country and afflict him with a sense of moral inefficacy and impotence." Hill maintains that by "imparting this credo, [Coates has] potentially paralyzed [his son and other black children because he has] "alienated them from their own agency and emancipatory capabilities." Hill asserts that Coates presumes that "black people are mostly treated as mindless automatons who can't seem to help themselves." Such "abnegation of personal responsibility" sadly results in many of the woes of the black community where no one is shouting from the rooftops that finishing school, obtaining a job, getting married, and then having children should occur and in that order. Why is there not an ongoing outcry from black leaders when 70% of black children are growing up without their fathers? Instead they will be exposed to "A Queer Approach to Addressing Gender and Sexuality through Literature Discussions with Second Graders." As if they are not already confused about a structured family lifestyle. Journalist and author Jason Riley describes how black activists and white progressives stress racism so that far too many "young black Americans today maintain that they are victims, first and foremost." Riley reminds us that it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said to his community that "we've got to do something about our moral standards." Hence, "[w]e can't keep on blaming the white man. There are things we must do for ourselves." Yet black activists and leftists continue the drumbeat of disaster when they promulgate such programs as Black Lives Matters at School which is a "national committee of educators organizing for racial justice in education." Begun in 2016 in Seattle (the land of exploding homelessness), this program promotes ending "out-of-control suspensions and expulsions," hiring more black teachers in the school, and including Black History and Ethnic studies. What is never addressed is the reason behind the high rate of violence and disruption among black students or why the race of the teacher and not his/her educational credentials are what should be evaluated? And, in fact, about the only history that any American student is taught nowadays is the Civil Rights movement. But BLM's true intent is stoking hatred of America and fomenting racial unrest. They are using black children in a most despicable manner. It is compassionate suicide. The BLM movement is merely an outgrowth of the Afrocentric curriculum which in the early 1990s was seen as the panacea to the difficulties that afflicted many urban African-American student populations. The idea "behind Afrocentrism is that black schoolchildren can learn effectively only in an environment that recognizes and amplifies their African heritage." In a monograph titled Alternatives to Afrocentrism put out by the Manhattan Institute and the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, such writers as Linda Chavez, Michael Meyers, Shelby Steele and others debunk this idea. Chavez demonstrates that "Afrocentrists can summon scant empirical evidence to show that students actually improve performance when they feel good about themselves and their heritage, despite the conventional wisdom in educational circles on this point." Erich Martel's essay in the monograph "criticizes not only the numerous factual errors" in many Afrocentric study guides but the racialism that is inherent in them." Michael Meyers "urges that students of all colors get beyond the glorification of race." Stanley Crouch "asserts the need for the black community to reaffirm its commitment to excellence." In a 2011 article titled "High School Flight from Reading and Writing" author Will Fitzhugh points out "if public high schools were preparing their graduates adequately, they should be able to read and write in college." Contemplate that last sentence! Remedial writing and math courses are now integral in two and four-year schools of higher education. Fitzhugh points out that "the Harvard Graduate School of Education, for example, doesn't seem to be paying attention to student reading and writing." In fact no one seems to be interested in the academic work of students, whether in history, physics, literature, foreign languages, chemistry or the reading of nonfiction books and the writing of real term papers. Instead, they are interested in issues of race, gender, community, leadership, ethnicity, poverty, disability, management, psychosocial difficulties, social justice, and the like." The diversity route versus the merit route is a huge part of the woes of all students but particularly black students. Because they are held to lower expectations, they underestimate the workload, have poor time-management skills, procrastinate and have a lack of motivation and an inability to complete tasks. They have not been taught to balance critical, analytical, and creative thinking since they have been indoctrinated into believing that their feelings are what really count. Forget the details, the facts, the logic that go into true analysis. One college is proud to advertise that they have done away with "unrelated curriculum." So nursing students are not required to study U.S. history and a student majoring in Information Technology does not need to take Philosophy 101. This is countered by Jack Kerwick, who describes a liberal arts education as supplying students "with 'the habit of attention;' 'the art of expression;' 'the art of assuming at a moments notice, a new intellectual position;' 'the art of entering quickly into another persons thoughts;' 'the habit of submitting to censure and refutation;' 'the art of indicating assent or dissent in graduated terms;' 'the habit of regarding minute points of accuracy;' and 'the art of working out what is possible in a given time [.]'" It seems as though that nursing student should certainly attain these attributes, as it might be a matter of life or death. Yet students in a college setting are heard saying "I don't see nothing wrong with [.]" Many believe that extra credit is the pathway to success even though they failed to do the assigned work in the first place. Far too many students simply cannot concentrate on the written words on paper and have no sense of the nuance and tone of words. I have lost count as to the many times students have told me that they just did not submit their proofreading checklist. But they ardently believe that they have absolved themselves by "being honest" with me about their oversight. Then there is the 19-year old university senior who does not know what the word "shawl" means or the 18-year old who could not explain the word "tousled." As Thomas Sowell has written "if there is ever a contest for words that substitute for thought, 'diversity' should be recognized as the undisputed world champion." The supposed benefits of diversity are all that matters according to the progressive leftist perspective. But excellence, merit, hard work, drive, perseverance, a respect for the true art of argument, and a solid foundation of the important principles that comprise our country's values, -- these enduring ideas are cast aside -- much to the detriment of all students and ultimately that of the country. In 1972 "to encourage Americans to support the United Negro College Fund, the slogan "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" was established. It is galling that the left and particularly its black adherents have instituted programs that do the very opposite. What potential are we losing? What frustrations are being created? It is a terrible abuse of children. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com The hottest political leader in Europe is 23-year-old Christian Jordan Bardella of France, who is leading a youth rebellion to gain control of the 28-nation EU Parliament. With unemployment for 15-24-year old at 14.9 percent in January, a youth rebellion has broken out across the European Union aimed at overthrowing the establishment to stop illegal immigration and defend European culture. Demeaned by mainstream media as far-right, the leadership of the movement includes Bardella in France and 26-year old Dries Van Langenhove of Belgium. Pre-election polls for the 705 Parliament seats reveal that the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) conservatives coalition will more than triple its membership from 37 to 127 seats. The size of the EFD gains are crucial to the conservative movements future, because the EU funds eight political coalition groups in relationship to their parliamentary membership. With European political groups granted over $35 million for 2017, 15 percent was distributed equally, and the remaining 85 percent was distributed in proportion to their share of elected members. The EFD was the smallest group funded at 5 percent, or about $1.7 million. But pre-election polls indicate the EFD will win at least 18 percent of the membership and be eligible for $6.3 million in funding. The energetic Jordan Bardella has risen to become spokesman and the first candidate for Frances National Rally party -- formerly the National Front. He is barnstorming France and many European nations to upturn the table. Bardella proclaimed to a large Paris student rally, "It is time to take back power, it is time to make us feel at home again." Bardella lit up social media in mid-May when he gave support to Renaud Camus's The Great Replacement, a book that argues that open-borders immigration is part of a plot by progressives to overshadow the EU predominantly white French Catholic and European Christian population and its culture with non-Europeans from the Middle East and Africa. Dries Van Langenhove has been pounding social media platforms with clickbait headlines regarding establishment leaders denials that illegal immigration is a significant issue. The most recent Google search found 1.1 billion links to Great Replacement. Bardella and Van Langenhove both blame the combination of open borders and the EU Parliaments support for radical environmental laws that are responsible for have youth unemployment rates of 20 percent in France and up to 39 percent in Greece. French President Emmanuel Macron has disastrously led the establishment response to conservative youth under the campaign banner, "Never since the Second World War has Europe been so necessary. And yet never has Europe been in such a danger." Macrons manifesto, published in mainstream newspapers on Tuesday, calls for a "European Renaissance" that will protect democracies and their electoral processes by creating a new agency to fight cyberattacks and fake news by drawing up rules to ban "hateful and violent speeches from the internet." The Internet exploded with concerns that Macron wanted to set up a modern-day equivalent of Communist East Germanys Ministry for State Security (Stasi) Zersetzung, the psychological warfare techniques used during the Cold War to stifle political opponents. Chriss Street is an economist and cofounder of the New California movement. It began on the upper floors of the FBI, the DOJ, and the CIA, where it festered and oozed. There were a few outbreaks overseas as well in the U.K. and perhaps a case or two in Australia. The conspirators invented a narrative and fabricated a document to support their cock-and-bull story to poison the United States. After the 2016 election, the disease broke out throughout the Democratic Party, infecting millions of progressives who had confidently assumed that Hillary Clinton would be their president. Unable to accept their loss, they descended into a depression of their own making. Those first afflicted, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, Robert Mueller, et al., rather than do their due diligence to stop the epidemic they had begun, doubled down and did everything they could to exacerbate the plague. For nearly three years now, this truth-resistant cancer has eaten away at our body politic. So blighted are the Democrats in Congress that they have been unable to perform any of their duties as representatives of their constituents. The effects on the neurological health of those suffering from the malady have reached nearly catastrophic levels. These Democrats have been rendered senseless, unable to recall what they once knew, if they ever knew, of the Constitution. They refuse to show the respect for the office of the president once honored by both parties. Now this tragic illness has brought the nation to a standstill. The principal purveyors of the disease in Congress are Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler, but there are numerous others in need of mental health assistance. The patients zero of this disease, Comey and Brennan, etc., are by now beyond a cure. They are sick beyond help, and they feel no guilt over their part in spreading the disease. They are the suicide bombers of their own party. Persons like Schiff, Nadler, Pelosi, Blumenthal, Swalwell, and their fellow invalids in Congress are the second wave of the illness, now as bilious as the originators of the ailment. The epidemic has raged now for nearly three years, infecting the entire structure of the host body, the American government and the rule of law. The millions of Americans who support and are grateful for the president they elected are being battered by the pandemic. The nation is being invaded on the southern border; hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants are being ushered into the country by recalcitrant leftists, who are so brain-damaged by their derangement that they no longer care about native citizens. They care only about destroying the source of their hysteria: President Trump. Why are they so maniacally berserk by this man's presidency? Because they and their partners in the media cannot abide his many successes: record-low unemployment, a roaring economy, his unwavering support for Israel, the revitalization of manufacturing in the U.S., tax cuts that have worked spectacularly on several levels. Hillary would have seen to it that none of these things happened. The deplorables, those who support the president, would remain where they had been kept over the eight years of the Obama administration. She would have continued to import millions of refugees from third-world nations to further take us down a peg or two. She would have institutionalized the anti-Americanism of the progressive left. She and her allies in the upper floors of all the Beltway alphabet agencies would have kept their jobs, covered up her and their own crimes forever, with the blessings of the NYT, the WaPo, CNN, and the rest of the leftist media who have long aided them to that end. The ultimate goal of all the afflicted? To unseat Trump as president by any means necessary, the Constitution be damned. Their frenzied attempts to achieve this have exposed the criminality of all those who have taken part in spreading this pestilence throughout the Democratic Party and the media. Newt Gingrich in his new novel, Collusion, includes a quote by Putin: "Those who serve up poison will eventually swallow it and poison themselves." The home-grown perpetrators of this nearly chronic disease have poisoned the nation and shredded the Constitution. They all thought they were above the law, immune from the contagion they let loose on an unsuspecting nation. They believed they could achieve their goal of destroying a duly elected president without blowback, without becoming contaminated themselves. But contaminated they are and forever will remain. They tried to overthrow a president simply because they did not like him and the people who elected him. They are scarred for life, their legacy something like leprosy. They will soon all be untouchables, and their fate will been well deserved. Cicero said: A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. May the men and women who orchestrated this scheme be exposed, charged, and sentenced for their guilt commensurate to the grief they have caused so many innocents and the calumny they have visited upon this country. President Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize and did nothing as Venezuela spiraled into poverty, despair, and murder while becoming a narcotics money-fueled failed state run by emerging war criminals. President Trump simply took direct action by reaching out to President Putin with profound consequences for good. President Trump has personally engaged on the Venezuelan campaign to craft strategic economic debt servicing maneuvering space for President Guaido to succeed. January 23, 2019 demonstration in Caracas (VOA photo) A recent New York Times article is reflective of their bias an agenda to destroy Trump, giving him zero credit for doing the right thing. If President Trump had not reached out to President Putin and followed up with Secretary Pompeo, Maduro would have never agreed to the Oslo meeting with Guaido. But as the Times portrays it: Mr. Guaido has been forced to consider negotiations with Mr. Maduro. Both sides have sent representatives to Norway for talks, a concession Mr. Guaido previously rejected. The sentence is factually backward it should read, Mr. Maduro has been forced to consider negations with Mr. Guaido. It is so very obvious that Maduro forces would not be in negations if it werent for President Trump calling President Putin. Excellent reporting by Ben Kew of Breitbart captures the will blindness and ignorant stupidity of those who claim to be our moral superiors, praising Venezuelas socialism. The list includes Labor Party leader of UK Jeremy Corbin; stand-by UK, you could be next. Many liberal pols, pundits and especially Hollywood fuzzy thinkers, all of whom we should consider acting like spoiled children, bought into the much over-hyped glories of the Venezuelas socialist experiment, which has proven to be an abject dismal failure. Additionally, Venezuelan leaders taking away weapons is a perfect example of why Americans should be very thankful we all have 2nd Amendment rights, Venezuelan citizens most certainly do not . The Venezuelan Campaign to free a country by very brave people such as Juan Guiado and his followers may symbolically have a Valley Forge Moment. But such courage makes them capable of metaphorically crossing their Delaware. They just did that by bring on board a very experienced US debt workout specialist, sovereign debt lawyer Lee Buchiet. Lee has great respect in the sovereign debt community and among commercial creditors, government lenders and public officials, said Ricardo Hausmann, the oppositions representative at the Inter-American Development Bank. Buchheit will be representing Venezuela on a pro-bono basis, according to Jose Ignacio Hernandez, who Guaido has tapped as a special prosecutor representing the countrys interests abroad. With negotiations commencing and a very smart US debt workout specialist now in play, it will become very obvious to Russia and China that Maduro, fueled by narco-criminal money, in no way can service the billions they loaned to Venezuela. President Trump, NYC real estate developer, knows this as does President Guiado. The oil fields whose production has declined are the only hope to turn around this economic and human rights Venezuela disaster. So much for the reporting of NYT and all the news thats fit to print, in its view. Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki recently asserted that his government would never agree to pay restitution for properties stolen from Jews during the Holocaust. This is in stark contrast to other former Soviet members of the European Union, which have passed comprehensive legislation regarding private property confiscated by the Nazis or successive regimes. According to Gideon Taylor, chair of operations, World Jewish Restitution Organization, Prime Minister Morawiecki's statement is "deeply insensitive to Holocaust survivors and their families[.] ... We call on Poland to meet its commitment to non-Jewish and Jewish property owners who have waited many years for Poland to provide them with a measure of justice." Holocaust restitution payments are a widely accepted way to right a historic injustice: the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jewish men, women, and children by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The guiding principle behind restitutions is that human dignity that had been revoked can be regained by punishing lawbreakers and compensating victims. According to author and Holocaust survivor Jean Amery, human dignity was the primary virtue the Nazis sought to eradicate. No Dignity For Europe's Jews Unfortunately, reimbursement for Jewish property stolen by the Nazis and subsequent regimes has done little to restore the dignity of Jewish people living in Europe. The European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) published a report that found anti-Semitism to be intensifying. Jews are more and more worried about being harassed, according to this major survey of 12 E.U. countries. The FRA reports that in these countries, which, except for Poland, have laws on the books for the compensation of property stolen from Jews during World War II, incidents of anti-Semitic abuse are so rampant that most victims don't even bother to report them. The survey found that 47% of European Jews are worried about anti-Semitic verbal insults or harassment, and 40% fear being physically attacked in the next 12 months. The Sad Story of Israel's Holocaust Survivors According to Gideon Taylor, restitutions are meant to "provide the means for survivors to live with the dignity that they deserve." Yet dignity is in short supply for the approximately 200,000 people living in Israel whose lives were uprooted by the Nazis. A quarter of these individuals live in poverty . This sad state of affairs is in spite of the fact that total German reparations paid to Israel since the Reparations Agreement was executed by Israeli foreign minister Moshe Sharett and German chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1952 exceed $78 billion . But these funds aren't sent directly to individual Holocaust survivors. Reparations are channeled through the Israeli government and Jewish Claims Conference, with disastrous results. In 2016, the Israeli government published a report finding that 20,000 survivors in Israel had never received the assistance owed to them. The report documented how bureaucracy and the multiple agencies dedicated to Holocaust restitution created a situation in Israel where survivors go hungry and suffer from cold and neglect. Organizational overhead is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars money that was supposed to go to Holocaust survivors. From Retribution to the Restoration of Dignity The Center Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, made up of 55 organizations representing communities that suffered from Nazi persecution during World War II, states that its purpose is to "fight for the survivors' rights in Israel and abroad, in order to allow them to live in dignity and ensure their welfare." Why have they failed? Because the Holocaust restitution model is based on an application of retributive justice, a theory that considers punishment to be a morally acceptable response to crime. Meanwhile, restorative justice focuses on the needs of victims instead of the need to satisfy the rules of law. While retributive justice is backward-looking, restorative justice looks forward to what's best for society as a whole. The primary need of Holocaust survivors and their descendants is to live in dignity. A onetime official apology and financial arrangement hasn't produced dignified lives. Such an approach to obtaining justice brings to mind the Catholic practice of selling indulgences as a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins. In 1567, the church outlawed the sale of indulgences. As Jackie Robinson said: "The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity." Ultimately, it's dignity that protects an individual from unjust treatment. Last month, Benjamin Netanyahu squeaked out a narrow election victory over a recently formed party called Blue and White, headed by former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz. Final results gave Netanyahu's Likud party 36 seats to Gantz's 35. Thus, the nod to form a government was given by President Reuven Rivlin to Netanyahu. That's the headline. However, the real story is whether Netanyahu will actually be able to put together a coalition in order to form a government. In Israel, all governments are coalitions due to the fact that no single party has ever garnered enough votes to obtain a 61-seat majority of the 120-seat Knesset. Thus, once general elections take place, the party with the most votes begins the process of talking to other parties in order to get them to join in forming a coalition. This is where the real story takes place. Compromises and deals have to be made in order to get parties to link up with each other. In some cases, one individual can end up being in a position of significant influence in the ability of the lead party to form a coalition. Such a person has the power to make or break a potential coalition. Enter Avigdor Lieberman. Last November, Lieberman, who is head of the Yisrael Beteynu party, resigned from the government in protest over two issues. He was dissatisfied with what he felt have been weak responses by Netanyahu to the reoccurring terror attacks by Hamas. The other issue is that he has demanded that the Haredim (religious Jews) be required to serve in the military. Current law has them pretty much exempt from serving. Netanyahu's coalition included both Lieberman and the Haredim. Thus far, he has been rather soft on forcing them to serve in the military. Doing so would risk losing them as a coalition partner. Lieberman realized that Netanyahu didn't want to push the Haredim, so he chose to step away, which resulted in the collapse of the government and a call for new elections. While Lieberman and the Haredim are conservative, Lieberman is fiercely secular. There is no love lost between him and the Haredim. Fast-forward to April of this year. The elections are over. Netanyahu finds himself in an uneasy position of trying to put together a majority coalition of at least 61 seats. Currently, he has garnered 60 seats, which include the Haredim. Lieberman's party, which holds five seats, has thus far refused to join the coalition unless Lieberman's demands are met. In addition to requiring the Haredim to serve in the military, he is demanding the interior secretary Cabinet position. Due to the difficulty forming a coalition, Netanyahu has already been forced to ask President Rivlin for an extension in an effort to put together a government. That extension was granted. The deadline is May 28, which is rapidly approaching. If Bibi is unable to bring about a compromise between Lieberman and the Haredim and fails to secure the necessary 61-seat majority, President Rivlin may turn to Benny Gantz and give him an opportunity to form a government. The left-wing parties are aware of this possibility and have already started talking to Lieberman, trying to convince him to join them to form a ruling coalition. Thus, Lieberman is fully aware of his position as kingmaker, knowing that the formation of the next government is in his hands. If he abandons the conservative bloc in favor of the liberal one, he will find himself part of an entirely different political landscape. The liberals are prepared to make huge changes, which include security and territory sacrifices that will put Israel in a risky position. Such moves play directly into the hands of the Palestinians. Lieberman will have to think hard about whether joining the left is a wise move. We should not forget that the Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. In other words, they have yet to sign off on even the most radical of offers that previous prime ministers Barak (2000) and Olmert (2008) made. The clock is ticking. Bibi may be the prime minister, but Lieberman is clearly the kingmaker. Dan Calic is a free lance writer, speaker, and history student. Rachel Withers, an Australian writing in Slate, wonders, "What the bloody hell just happened in Australia?" The recent Aussie election was to that polity what the Trump triumph was to America, and the chattering class can't come to grips with it. It's the Trump story all over again. All the indicators showed the Establishment Left (E.L.) candidate comfortably ahead. All the experts predicted E.L. victory. The polls showed it, the scribes touted it, and the talking heads agreed that the bloke who eventually won, one Scott Morrison, had no chance. So why did he win? No mystery. Whoever underwrites the E.L. in Australia is to blame for everybody getting it wrong. Well, that and the self-delusion the Left has become so famous for. People are tired of ineffectual government, and even more, they're sick to death of E.L. lies, obfuscation, thuggishness, and criminality. Polling is not trustworthy because it's always rigged to favor the Left. Segments of polling populations known to tilt Left get larger representation in the samples. It happens all the time here in the States. People are now aware of it, and the more it persists, the less it convinces anybody. There's also the known fact that conservatives are far more private than leftists, who scream their beliefs from the rooftops. Conservatives remain quiet to avoid leftist unpleasantness. Given the relative conservative silence, all the leftist racket may make it seem everybody favors the Left. Finally, most people aren't leftist, but conservative. The average guy votes against somebody more than he votes for somebody else. The more lying and misrepresentation he sees and hears, the more it reinforces his determination to vote against the noise and the unpleasantness. This electoral outcome may have been unpredictable, but anybody with any sense could see it wasn't impossible. We wish Mr. Morrison all success in Making Australia Great Again. Du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), is showcasing the future of 5G to guests and customers who visit the companys Al Majlis at the Madinat Jumeirah throughout Ramadan. Demonstrating the differences between the 4G network and 5G connectivity through a live interaction, du is giving people the opportunity to interact with 5G technology and learn about the potential this will deliver for consumers, enterprises and government entities in the UAE. 5G networks will introduce a connected experience like nothing before, while also ushering innovative possibilities and better capabilities for all, said Saleem AlBooshi, chief technology officer at EITC. By enabling customers to witness the immense benefits that 5G will bring first-hand through our live demonstration, we are proud to be opening up a window to the future of network connectivity within the UAE. Presenting the future of 5G at dus Al Majlis, dus senior executive team provided a detailed demonstration to the companys guests on the importance of 5G and the vast differences it has compared to 4G. Earlier this month, du welcomed new and existing customers across the country to visit its flagship stores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to learn about the benefits and potential that 5G mobile and industrial connectivity will bring. The telco plans to be one of the first providers in the world to make next-generation connectivity available when it rolls out its world-class 5G network later in 2019. - TradeArabia News Service Its been a tough week for Huawei. After Trump signed an executive order on Thursday which put the company on its entity list, it then got cut off from some of its biggest partners. That included Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Micron and Microsoft. But the biggest blow didnt come until Tuesday, when ARM also cut business ties with Huawei. ARM cutting off Huawei is a far bigger deal than Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Micron and Microsoft cutting it off. And heres why. Advertisement Huawei loses an ARM ARM or Advanced RISC Machines, is a pretty big company, in the world of computing. Many outside of the mobile industry may not know this but, ARM is responsible for every single smartphone, tablet, and wearable that is on the market right now. Even though those devices may be running Snapdragon, Exynos, or Kirin chipsets, ARM is still responsible for them. You see, ARM designs the architecture that is used by just about every chipset that powers a mobile device (with the exception of some iPhones that are powered by Intel chipsets). Its architecture and instructions are licensed out every smartphone maker out there, making them the lifeblood of any smartphone. And without their help, Huaweis smartphone business is dead. Even if it does launch its own mobile platform and its a success, it cannot make chipsets for those smartphones without ARMs help. The skinny of this is the fact that Huawei not only cannot make a smartphone now, it cannot even make a new processor for that smartphone. Which means as soon as they run out of the stockpile of Kirin chipsets it has currently, it wont be able to make any more smartphones, tablets or smartwatches. Now that, my friends, is a pretty big freaking deal. Advertisement Existing chipsets can still be manufactured The interesting thing about this, is the fact that Huawei will still be able to manufacturer existing chipset designs, like the Kirin 980 that powers the Huawei P30 line. So even when it runs out of Kirin 980 chipsets that have already been manufacturer, it can still make more. But it cannot make a Kirin 990, until ARM decides to resume business ties with Huawei. But that doesnt mean much for Huaweis future. Without ARMs architecture and instructions, it wont be able to compete with Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek and other chipset makers out there. Huawei is at a huge disadvantage, and seeing as they cant buy chipsets from Qualcomm and Intel right now, that means it really cannot even make a smartphone. The Kirin 980 is a pretty impressive chipset, but at this point, its already pretty old. It debuted last fall, and has been powering the HONOR Magic 2, 20 and 20 Pro and the Huawei Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, P30 and P30 Pro. Its not really that new, and while it is faster and benchmarks better than the Snapdragon 855, that wont last long. Advertisement What about the many Chinese chipset competitors? There are many mobile chipset competitors in China that Huawei could get chips from. But, Huawei would still run into the same issues. While another Chinese company, like MediaTek can still use ARM technology. MediaTek would likely not be able to sell its chipsets to Huawei, without risking itself getting banned from the US, the UK or any other country. Huawei could definitely find the other parts needed to build a smartphone, from other companies in China. Remember, just about every company that makes parts in the US, has a Chinese clone that will likely make it for less. But the only thing there is, Huawei would need to spend more money on R&D, and building up relationships with those companies. Companies that they never worked with before. So its just a huge mess for Huawei, unfortunately. Theres also the fact that these Chinese competitors are likely on the entity list as well. Meaning that they cannot work with US companies either. Trump did add a pretty large number of Chinese companies to the entity list, in an effort to protect US technology companies. But Huawei is the one getting all of the attention, because its the biggest one on the list. Itll likely all go away magically, once Trump and Xi get their Trade Deal in place, which hopefully will happen sooner rather than later. Advertisement Losing Google was big, but losing ARM was a much bigger blow When news broke over the weekend that Google had cut off Huawei, and revoked its Android license, many though that it was the end of Huawei. Which is a fair thing to say. How can you make a smartphone without Googles services, or getting Googles help in getting Android on your smartphone. This is a bigger deal in the West than it is in China, but still a big deal. Mostly because Google services are banned in China, so a Google-less Android operating system is par the course in that country. Not only did Huawei lose Google services, it also lost access to early Android code. Meaning it would need to wait for new versions of Android to hit AOSP before they could start building these updates for their phones. Since AOSP doesnt get the code as quickly as it used to, this puts Huawei at a severe disadvantage, compared to its competitors. Advertisement These days, open-source Android is very barebones. If you were to compile AOSP and put it onto a Pixel 3 XL today, it would look a lot different than the version of Android that Google ships on the Pixel 3 XL. That is because there are a lot of changes that Google adds to Android, but those are not part of the open-source version. And with Huawei being forced to use the open-sourced version of Android, it would lose out on all of that. Losing Google did put Huawei in a big hole, but it was something that Huawei could recover from. It might take some time, but it was recoverable. Now ARM on the other hand, is a much bigger blow. As weve explained here, ARM is essentially responsible for the brains of every smartphone on the planet. So without their help, Huawei cannot even make a smartphone. Now, one might argue that you cannot make a smartphone without Google, while many would agree, it is possible. It might not be a great smartphone or a popular one, but it is possible. Without ARM, it is not possible. Advertisement Temporary license is just that, temporary Huawei did get a temporary license from the US Commerce Department on Monday. Which does allow it to work with US companies until August 19 (or 90 days). This gives Huawei time to work things out, and possibly update all of its smartphones and other products that are already on the market. But it also makes this look very similar to what happened with ZTE. For those that might not remember, last year, ZTE was effectively kicked out of the US. ZTE USA had to shut down, after the Trump Administration banned it. Now it was for different reasons. ZTE was selling technology that included some US tech, to countries that the US had sanctions in place for. Those included Iran and North Korea. ZTE eventually was let back in, after a few temporary licenses were given, and a huge payment to the Commerce Department was made. It does look very similar to ZTE, but Huawei has been a problem for the US government for a much longer time than ZTE has. So while it looks like Huawei is a pawn in Trumps Trade War, this might just be the end of Huawei in general. But rest assured, China will be retaliating at some point. In fact, its a little surprising that they have not retaliated yet. Advertisement Wrap Up Losing ARM was a bit of a surprise for a lot of people, possibly even Huawei themselves. The reason why is, ARM is not a US company. The executive order that Trump signed, banned Huawei from working with any US company, without a permit from the US Commerce Department. ARM is a UK-based company, so they did not need to abide by that executive order that Trump signed last week. However, the UK has also been following the US lead when it comes to banning Huawei. Including Vodafone and EE cancelling their orders for the Huawei Mate X 5G that was supposed to launch today, but its now nowhere to be seen. Weve never seen a systematic destruction of a tech company, the way that Huawei has been killed off. In the matter of a week, Huawei has essentially been killed off, not only from the US, but basically any country outside of China. Its pretty insane how this all came about, and how quickly all of these companies are cutting ties with Google. But Huawei is being used as a pawn in Trumps Trade War with China, which really sucks for consumers and especially Huawei. Whos next to cut off Huawei? Well have to wait and see. It seems everyday this week, more companies are coming out and cutting ties with Huawei. China has retaliated after the US banned Huawei from doing business in the country, but not in the way that many expected. The Chinese government says that it will not negotiate with the US on a trade deal until it undoes its wrong actions. The wrong actions that the Chinese are referring to are, banning Huawei from working with US companies. Chinas Commerce Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said today that if the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions. Negotiations can only continue on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Feng continued by stating that we will closely monitor relevant developments and prepare necessary responses. Advertisement Last Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order, which was meant to protect US technologies. It put Huawei and a number of other Chinese companies on an entity list. That list basically means that those companies cannot do business with any US companies, without a permit from the US government. Following that executive order, it was a trickle-down effect of US companies cutting ties with Huawei. That includes Google, Qualcomm, Intel and Microsoft. Since then, weve seen some other non-US companies also follow suite. Like ARM and Panasonic. Which have essentially killed off Huawei altogether. As it cannot even make chipsets for its smartphones without being able to do business with ARM. There are theories that Huawei is being used as a pawn in the trade war between China and the US. Given the response from the Chinese, it definitely appears to be that way. Advertisement Huawei has long been targeted by the US, dating back to 2012. The US government believes that Huawei is used by the Chinese government to spy on its customers. That doesnt sit well with the US government, as it wants to be the only one able to spy on its citizens. There have been numerous investigations opened, to look into Huawei and their ties to the Chinese government. But those investigations have found zero evidence. The government had been pushing Huawei out of the country long before Trump became president. But things intensified once Trump took over at The White House. After forcing carriers to drop Huawei products in early 2018, it has now, outright banned Huawei from even doing business in the US. The ironic thing is, the US is going after Huawei for its networking gear. But these bans are hurting its smartphone business a whole lot more than its networking business. Huawei is a pretty big company, of course you dont need us to tell you that. While it is now the second largest smartphone maker in the world, that is not where it makes the majority of its money. Huawei also makes networking gear that ISPs and mobile carriers use on their networks. Many rural carriers use Huaweis networking gear because its cheaper and performs better. So this whole mess is likely more about 5G than anything. Advertisement Its possible that the US will reverse this ban on Huawei, but it likely wont happen until China retaliates and bans a major US company. Though most US companies are already banned in China, so theres not a lot of leverage for the Chinese. CNEX, a prominent American startup with high-profile investors including Microsoft and Dell, expanded its accusations of chip trade secret theft against Huawei, having done so just over half a year after originally pressing charges. Its now claiming Huawei Deputy Chairman Eric Xu personally ordered an employee to spy on it and attempt stealing its protected technologies or at the very least covertly assess them. The person in question allegedly did so by falsely representing themselves as a potential customer, as stated in the expanded lawsuit filed by the San Jose, California-based firm. Huawei is accused of targeting the entirety of its research and development unit which continues to pursue new semiconductor tech to this date. CNEX filed a lawsuit at a Texas court whose jurisdiction encompasses Huaweis American headquarters. According to the startup, Huawei misappropriated a number of its trade secrets, both on its own and via a working relationship with the Xiamen University in China. The plaintiffs legal team previously suggested Huawei has been spying on it for years, having supposedly done so in a wide variety of ways. Huawei not only denied all of its accusations including the newly added ones implicating one of its top executives but has actually filed a countersuit, claiming its CNEX that misappropriated its very own intellectual property and not the other way around. Advertisement Following preliminary proceedings that are now coming to an end, the case is moving to a courtroom environment, with the trial being scheduled to commence on Monday, June 3rd. The dispute with CNEX is just one among many issues Huawei has in the United States; the Shenzen-based conglomerate also sued the American government itself several months back, claiming Washington has been discriminating against it due to baseless accusations of spying. The White House unsurprisingly disagreed with that assessment, having doubled on the national security angle just last week by blacklisting Huawei and preventing American companies from supplying it with both software licenses and hardware. The firm managed to obtain a temporary license in a matter of days but the future of its consumer electronics operations is still highly uncertain, especially seeing how the Department of Justice is already pursuing litigation against the Chine company based on some two dozen charges, alleging its guilty of trade secret theft against T-Mobile and a systematic effort to violate trade sanctions imposed on Iran. The latter case is also the basis for the extradition request for Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou whos been detained in Canada since December. Advertisement Ms. Meng, who also happens to be the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is hence facing up to 30 years in federal prison, pending the U.S. extradition request and its case against her that alleges she was personally involved in Huaweis efforts to obfuscate ties to a satellite used for doing illegal business in Iran. Whether this latest episode in the manufacturers long history of issues with the U.S. ends up dealing a long-term, crippling blow to the conglomerate remains to be seen, though the case is certainly much more bizarre than most. European mobile operators EE, Vodafone, and BT have now reportedly decided not to carry Huawei devices, citing concerns about support over the lifecycle of the smartphones as uncertainty lingers stemming from sanctions imposed by the US. EE, representing the largest company and expected to cover as many as 50 regions of the UK by 2020, has effectively put a pause on every Huawei device halting sales of new gadgets. Its relatively smaller competitors have explicitly stated they wont be carrying any 5G devices from the company, for the time being. Specifically, Vodafone has announced a reversal of plans to open up pre-orders for the Huawei Mate 20 X (5G). The changes appear to chiefly affect the sale of the OEMs smartphones in the UK but it isnt out of the question for other regions to see similar adjustments made regarding support for the handsets. Advertisement Just a small portion of Huaweis trouble The steady flow of missteps and controversies surrounding the Chinese manufacturer presently the second largest OEM in the world and among the largest networking equipment suppliers globally has been well publicized over the past year. Between investigations into the theft of trade secrets and spying concerns expressed by the US government, the embattled company has faced growing opposition over that period. The latest trouble for Huawei in the UK began with sanctions culminating from those mounting reports, imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this week via executive order, preventing the company from conducting business with US technology companies. As part of those sanctions, the company lost support from Google in terms of Android OS and updates. Simultaneously, the companys Huawei Mate 20 Pro has been pulled from the search giants Android Q beta program. Advertisement More pertinently, Huawei also lost support from British chip supplier ARM, forcing it to take a more serious look at using its own chip technology and accelerate work on its own operating system. That stacks on top of dropped support from US-based hardware manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Intel. Carriers in the European region have also begun removing Huawei components from their respective core networks, creating a layer of separation against risks the US has expressed concerns over. A short-term probationary license was later granted by the US government, allowing Google to provide some relief and the companys work to continue but the length of that term 90 days seems to be the underpinning issue here. Advertisement Because Huawei is actively pursuing alternatives to working with US companies, there is a level of uncertainty about whether or not planned devices such as those that have been dropped will continue to see support in the long term. What does this mean for 5G itself and for Huawei? Plans to roll out a 5G network dont appear to have changed for any of the carriers that will no longer be carrying Huawei gadgets. That doesnt mean it wont affect the adoption of the technology by end users and ultimately the rollout itself. The UK and Europe represent key sales areas for Huawei and its 5G devices had been expected to do considerably well in those regions. Advertisement As a result of the OEMs 5G handsets removal from the initial rollout of the next-gen network, telecoms analyst Paolo Pescatore has predicted that consumers in the UK will be slower to adopt 5G. That could increase the overall cost of the roll-out with fewer subscribers buying into the plans and, in turn, slow down the roll-out. For Huawei, the cut to its sales will represent another hurdle that needs to be overcome if it hopes to hold onto its position as the worlds second largest smartphone seller. It remains to be seen whether or not carriers elsewhere follow suit. Regulators from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) are now officially checking into whether or not Googles Ad Exchange practices stack up to meet the strict conditions for security required by the EUs GDPR rules, TechCrunch reports. The formal inquiry stems from complaints filed against the company last year, centered around its real-time bidding system and particularly to its DoubleClick/Authorized Buyers ad system. More directly, the DPC is inquiring as to whether Googles system conforms to transparency, data minimization, security, and retention guidelines set by EU regulation citing section 110 of Irelands Data Protection Act 2018. Other ongoing inquiries into the real-time bidding system have been filed across the EU in the UK, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Google Ireland acts the data controller for EU users, so the investigation into the search giant will be carried out by the Irish DPC. Not a first for Google Advertisement The EUs GDPR rules, put into place in early 2018, are not complicated but that hasnt served to help keep Google and other tech giants from repeatedly coming into conflict with the regulations. In fact, investigations have effectively been ongoing since the very first day of enforcement across several major entities. At the heart of the matter, most of the investigations have been the result of complaints filed regarding how each company handles user privacy. In some cases, that has been tied to how tech giants store the personal information of users and how much control users are given over their own data. In others, the point of contention has been whether or not users have explicitly consented to collections, to begin with. In one case, Google ultimately was forced to pay as much as $57 million in fines based on a combination of the violations listed above. Advertisement Googles take Google has reportedly responded to inquiries about the now official investigation, stating that it will be engaging with the DPC investigation and suggesting that authorized buyers using its real-time bidding systems and other ad systems are already subject to stringent requirements. As such, the company indicates that it views the inquiry as a learning opportunity and a chance to gain further clarification of the relatively new regulations. That doesnt necessarily mean that Google wont contest the findings of the investigation if those result in additional fines or changes to its underlying practices. Historically, the company has resisted those types of changes and repercussions which can total up to four-percent of its annual revenues, potentially equating to billions of dollars in fines. Advertisement The latest investigation differs in that it holds a basis in the same regulations but applies more directly to how Googles ad practices either do or do not protect personal user data across the EU. Complaints against the company and others allege that the practice of utilizing real-time bidding systems as part of the process is inherently insecure from the user protections perspective. Googles business model relies heavily on practices associated with advertising. Ads make up the largest segment of income for the company and thats not by a small margin. So this investigation and any changes required following its completion are likely to have a much bigger impact on Google, and on its products and services, than previous objections. Google is currently deploying a redesign of its mobile search results page, which aims to better guide users through websites and other sources of information present on the internet. One of the key design changes incorporated into the revamped mobile search results page is the renewed emphasis on website branding. The uppermost part of a listing or a result card on the Google search page now shows the name of the website and an icon unique to it. This redesign makes it easier for users to find which websites could provide them with the information that they need, reducing the time that people spend on searching for sources of reliable information. Advertisement To make it easier for users to stand out from other websites, Google allows web developers to choose icons that will represent the website in organic search results, as long as these icons follow the guidelines set by the tech giant. For example, the icons should not feature symbols or images that Google considers inappropriate, like the use of hate symbols and pornography. This redesign also affects advertisements shown at the top of the Google search results. The tech firm also moved the label for the advertisement and the address of the website towards the top portion of the search listing, making the design consistent across all search results. Aside from making it easier for users to explore websites, the redesign of the search results also permits Google to more clearly attribute the sources of the information shown on its mobile search results page. It also allows the tech giant to add in the future more previews and buttons that make it easier to access portions of the website. Advertisement Users will see this redesign within the next few days, although Google also intends to make this redesign available on the desktop version of Google Search. However, the tech firm did not provide more information on when the new search design will become available on desktops. Google has been actively redesigning and introducing new features into its search results page to improve how it relays information to users. Last year, the search giant tested design changes to the search results pages based on revised Material Design guidelines, which resulted in the rounding of the search bar and the reduction in the size of the Google logo and the top part of the user interface. This redesign also made product ads more prominent through the efficient use of white space. Advertisement Within the last few months, Google also added subtopics related to the search keyword on the search panels. This feature provides users with more details about the topic they are searching for. On the other hand, the search giant also intends to introduce augmented reality into Google Search. During the Google I/O event, Google noted that in the future, searching for certain items may include AR exhibitions that not only provide more information about the subject but also allows people to better understand certain topics through better visuals and interactive displays. Google hints that more changes could come to Google Search, likely to keep its lead over its search engine rivals. Cinepolis, a leading global cinema chain, is continuing to move ahead with ambitious expansion plans across the Middle East with the opening of a new movie theatre in Sohar, Oman. Cinepolis second GCC theatre will welcome film lovers from Sohar, the capital city of Al Batinah North Governate, and surrounding areas from May 23. Cinepolis newest cinema will open with a screening of the Hollywood blockbuster Aladdin with regular screenings of Bollywood and global hit movies taking place each day. Located in the newly opened Landmark Groups Oasis Mall, Sohar, the Cinepolis cinema will feature an impressive eight state-of-the-art screens. The first Junior theatre of Oman is set to be a huge hit with parents and youngsters. The one-of-a-kind cinema has been designed to allow families to enjoy their favourite movies in a welcoming and fun space that expertly caters to their needs. The Junior Theatre features a colourful Jungle Gym, complete with slide and ball pit, as well as fun bean bag seating. Every screening shown in the Junior Theatre will be split to include a 15-minute intermission to allow restless children to take a break, enjoy some snacks or play a while. Only films rated G or PG will be shown in the Junior Theatre. The theatre also boasts one Macro screen complete with Dolby Atmos sound that creates a powerful audio experience thanks to the high-tech combination of the latest generation of audio speakers located throughout each of the venues premium auditoriums. Guests can relax with three super-comfortable seating options - Recliner, Deluxe or Premium, all with an uninterrupted view of the screen with rocking or fully reclining leather chairs available. The Sohar opening comes five months after Cinepolis, Latin Americas largest cinema exhibitor and the fourth largest in the world, made its debut in the GCC with the launch of its Bahrain movie theatre at the Atrium Mall, Saar. Founded in Mexico in 1971, Cinepolis boasts over 1.1 million seats worldwide. The companys new Oman location will increase its international reach to 17 countries. Cinepolis plans to open two more cinemas in Oman this year as part of long-term plans to further expand across the region. Visitors to Cinepolis Sohar cinema will be able to enjoy a premium range of delicious movie treats including buttered popcorn and nachos or opt for a hot drink prepared by in-house baristas at the specialty coffee shop, Coffee Tree. A full menu of gourmet snack items and concessions is also available to movie-goers, including paninis, sandwiches, crepes and high-quality coffee drinks. Ashish Shukla, CEO of Cinepolis Gulf, said: The launch of the first Cinepolis movie theatre in the Sultanate of Oman is an important part of our ongoing strategy to establish Cinepolis as the number one choice for film fans across the GCC." Movie-lovers in Sohar are invited to discover the very best cinema experience in our brand-new, state-of-the-art theatre that merges fantastic audio and visual technology with wonderful food, comfort and hospitality." Cinepolis is proud to serve the Sohar community and we look forward to welcoming film fans and their families to our new premium movie theatre, he said. - TradeArabia News Service More companies joined efforts to cut ties with Huawei and stop supplying the Chinese electronics giant with their technologies following a ban signed by United States President Donald Trump last week. Panasonic is one of the latest to comply with the executive order and subsequent blacklisting that saw the American government forbid the delivery of any stateside technologies to the company, citing national security concerns. The Japanese firm clarified that while the move is global in nature, it does come with an exception seeing how its Chinese branch will continue collaborating with Huawei, meaning its decision may not be as consequential seeing how Huawei bases the vast majority of its manufacturing operations in the Far Eastern country. Regardless, any Panasonic solutions including American tech will be pulled from the table, assuming they havent been already. Given the high degree of uncertainty stemming from the current situation, Panasonic isnt expected to start reworking its technologies solely with the goal of making them less reliant on American hardware and software so as to be able to continue working with Huawei unobstructed, though that possibility may become more plausible if the U.S. government signals the newly enacted ban is more permanent in nature than it seems so far. Advertisement Taiwanese semiconductor firm TSMC is one of the rare few major technology providers thats still doing regular business with Huawei in the aftermath of the U.S. ban. The chipmaker insists the executive order from the White House doesnt affect its business with the Shenzen-based conglomerate in any way, essentially saying none of its solutions are based on American technologies patented or otherwise. As the same time, the Trump administration is pressuring South Korean companies into falling in line while simultaneously asking the Seoul-based government to follow suit and join its anti-Huawei campaign. The electronics juggernaut itself is labeling those lobbying efforts as being anti-China in nature, claiming the U.S. is simply trying to cripple its operations because it realizes its own companies are not able to compete with neither its smartphones nor its wireless infrastructure which is currently in the process of being upgraded to support the fifth generation of mobile networks. Washington repeateadly denied those accusations, yet never shied away from the fact that part of the reason for its push against Huawei has to do with its ongoing trade negotiations with China that have been ongoing for about a year now without much progress. That sentiment is what Huawei CFO Meng Wenzhou is currently using as the basis for claiming her persecution in Canada which is currently evaluating an extradition request from the U.S. Department of Justice is politicized. Advertisement On the other hand, the DOJ is accusing her of being personally involved in an illegal banking scheme that defrauded a number of American financial institutions as part of a cover operation aimed at circumventing stateside trade sanctions the Department of Commerce imposed on Iran. The highly unusual case isnt expected to be concluded until at least early next year, though it remains to be seen in what state will Huawei be at that point. South Korean Electronics company Samsung was granted a patent for a new foldable smartphone design. The patent reveals the phone folding outwards instead of inwards like the already announced, and postponed Galaxy Fold. Back on February 20 of this year, Samsung announced the first Galaxy Fold along with its Galaxy s10 lineup. The bendable smartphone certainly gained lots of attention as it was the first folding phone that would be available to purchase. This brand new patent reveals that Samsung has plans to create a new Galaxy Fold design. This new design shows a flexible display that can be in both folded and unfolded positions, just like the original Fold. Thats mostly where the similarities end. Advertisement The new design shows the phone having a case around it. One part of the case supporting each side of the crease, or point of folding. There also appears to be a piece that connects the two sections together that will likely have a lock mechanism to keep the phone from folding back when flat and unfolded. The lock mechanism might also have a sliding cover that connects to both sides of the device, as well as a locking lever to keep the sliding cover in a locked position when needed. There will likely be rail grooves where the sliding cover transitions from one side of the display to the other when the phone is being maneuvered from folded to unfolded. It is important to note that this design would prohibit the device from folding if the sliding rail was blocked. This patent is not the first the world has seen of an outward folding smartphone. The Huawei Mate X features an outward folding display with its own version of a locking mechanism to hold positions. Samsung originally filed its fold-out patent in Korea in 2015 and in the U.S. in Q3 of 2018. Advertisement It isnt clear as to how much inspiration Samsung took from Huawei, but it is clear that this patent comes at an opportune time for Samsung. Upon the Galaxy Fold receiving feedback of errors and defects, Samsung postponed the official launch of the device and is reportedly fixing the design and issues. The initial problems included debris entering the hinge, a display film peeling up and destroying the display, and a few cases where the screen blacked out for no apparent reason. Its safe to say that Samsung has its hands full with ridding the Fold of all issues and some dont believe the company has achieved that in such a short time. This new patent comes to Samsung amidst all of the Galaxy Fold drama. Its likely that this new design is still a long ways off and Samsung still plans to release the fixed Galaxy Fold when its ready. With all the history that Samsung has in the foldable smartphone division, its clear it will have a major impact on how folding displays enter the marketplace and ultimately consumers lives. This new design shows that Samsung has plans for foldable phones in the future and doesnt plan on giving up yet. On Thursday, the US Senate passed an anti-robocalling bill, with a vote of 97-1. The result wasnt much of a surprise, as not a single person likes getting robocalls. This bill was introduced by Senator John Thune (R-SD) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), and it is called the TRACED Act. Now that it has passed through the US Senate, the next stop is the House of Representatives. When it gets passed through the house, it would raise the fines that the FCC is able to levy on robocallers, and also increase the statute of limitations for bringing those cases. This would also create and agency within the FCC, that would address the problem. That task force would then be able to push carriers to deploy call authentication systems like the STIR/SHAKEN protocols that the FCC is pushing and T-Mobile has already enabled. Advertisement Senator Markey stated that its a daily deluge of calls that Americans experience. Its a consumer protection crisis. Consumers around the country face an epidemic of robocalls. And he is absolutely correct. Robocalls are over 80-percent of the calls that consumers get every single day. And they are never for anything interesting. Luckily some carriers are now marking them as spam, or not even allowing your phone to ring when those robocalls do come in. Which has made things slightly better. As companies get better at combating these robocalls, however, robocallers get better at getting around them and still getting to the consumer. That is why the ability to fine robocallers more heavily is a big deal. As mentioned already, the bill now moves onto the House of Representatives. But its unlikely to not get passed in the House, considering the overwhelming vote for this bill in the Senate. Only a single Senator voted against the bill, and that was Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky. Advertisement This is a cause that the FCC Commissioner, Ajit Pai is actually on-board with. Considering he has been on the opposite side of most issues that Americans are on, this is actually a bit surprising. He actually began forcing US carriers to start implementing the STIR/SHAKEN protocol earlier this year. As a way to combat these robocalls. And now with more authority, these robocalls should start going away, or at least decreasing. Last year, over 48 million calls in the US were robocalls. And that number is expected to at least double in 2019. But the government isnt standing by and letting it happen. Which is a bit surprising, to be perfectly honest, especially with the current administration. Robocalls are not only annoying, but they are costing Americans time and money, that could be better spent elsewhere. Thanks to the internet, robocalls have really thrived. This is because robocallers are able to use the internet to make calls from other countries (like China, India and Russia), for little to no cost. And unfortunately, users have noticed a huge uptick in robocalls in the past decade. Hopefully the TRACED Act will help combat these annoying calls once and for all. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to build a strong and inclusive country following a massive election win. Mod's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security, said a Reuters report. Official data from the Election Commission showed BJP ahead in 300 of the 542 seats being contested, up from the 282 it won in 2014. Modi's coalition partners are ahead in more than 40 other seats. The oppoisiton Congress-led United Progressive Alliance could muster only to 85 seats, according to TV channel reports. The victory will give BJP the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India, Modi said on Twitter. India wins yet again! Modis victory boosted financial markets as investors expect his government to continue to pursue economic reforms. He will be under pressure to provide work opportunities for the tens of millions of young people coming on to the job market in the next few years and to boost depressed farm incomes. The immediate challenges are to address employment, the issue of agricultural income and revive the banking sector, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Ratings in Mumbai. Pakistan PM Khan congratulated Modi on election victory and called for peace. Cheering supporters set off firecrackers and showered the mastermind of the campaign, BJP president Amit Shah, with petals as he arrived at party headquarters in New Delhi. Its a stamp of approval by voters on the honest and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Modi, said Nalin S Kohli, a BJP spokesman. Congress leaders were sombre. Why despite a weak economy people preferred the BJP is something we have to understand, said Salman Soz, a party spokesman. People have given them a second chance. I hope they use it well. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Cloudy early with showers for the afternoon hours. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 44F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Rain. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. What would we be saying if what happened in the Spanish Congress had happened in Westminster? If some Scottish MPs one of them the winner of the elections in Scotland had been allowed to briefly leave the prison where they were held on remand to be sworn into office. If the chamber spitting in the face of Montesquieu (1) had to decide itself whether to suspend them or not and, therefore, whether the votes of the majority of Scots were effectively to be tossed in the trash. And they decided it now, not when the elections were called, because they hoped that by keeping the MPs out of sight (in pre-trial prison for more than one year, under fabricated charges) they would not be voted in, and then the MPs would be able to say: "I believe in democracy". What would we say if one of the opposition MPs in the British Parliament had exclaimed, as one of the Scottish elected prisoners was being sworn into office: "F**k you, scumbag!". If the cameras boradcasting the event did not show them as they took their oaths! If reporters were banned from taking pictures and videos, and doing interviews with them! We have come from years of Franco-ism in which the idea of homeland was imposed by the force of blows, and in which the Catalan language was prohibited. All to no avail. One thing is clear, seeing the show on Tuesday: many, many, many Catalans do not feel Spanish, as we do not feel Italian, and we would like to see Spain as an ally and not as an obligation like the draft. But, above all, something else is clear, which is directly related to this. For Albert Rivera and his ilk, most Catalans (those represented by imprisoned politicians) are not their fellow countrymen. He hates us, and he shows it with the sort of tweets youd exepect from a teenager whos been put in charge. __________ Translators note: (1) in reference to the French philosopher who articulated the concept of separation of powers. Design collective TheLoveTriangle has designed and completed its off-grid pavilion in Baabdat, Lebanon. The pavilion aims to provide its members with a space for experimentation, exhibitions and art residencies. The designers aimed to create a peaceful space, a gesture that would not compete with the surrounding landscape and would provide a neutral canvas for the artists and exhibitors.therefore, the design of the pavilion was stripped down to a pure and primitive architectural form a rectangle of 96 sqm (1033 sqft), discreetly nested in a clearing between the pine trees. The structures transparent glazing allows for a natural connection with the site. The pavilion sits in a location that was historically used for agricultural purposes. The site features stone terraces gently following the slope, abandoned stone structures, a molasses press, a small water creek and a 400-year-old oak tree collectively owned by one of the villages families. a narrow gravel road runs through the terrain and connects the different structures to each other and to the main road. The open plan, flat-roofed structure recalls the traditional and modest stone construction found in mount lebanon prior to the introduction of more complex design strategies in the mid-nineteenth century. The pavilion features a minimal metallic black ladder on one of its facades that matches the glazings black frames that clad the structures four sides. The existing retaining stone walls had to be reinforced to be used as foundation, and in order not to disturb the natural setting, the pavilions construction was mostly off-site. four pre-cast concrete modules were lifted over the trees with a mobile high-boom crane to their final position. The resulting modular open plan gives full flexibility for interior installations, and large glass windows frame the landscape. Reciprocally, the interior spaces are framed from the outside, creating intertwined exterior-interior opportunities. The structure is oriented on an exact north-south axis, ensuring that in the warmer summer days, sunlight is filtered through the surrounding trees, keeping the space cool and resulting in a particular shadow play of branches and leaves. In the colder winter season, the suns path now tilted on a more southern trajectory brings natural light and warms from the more exposed southern facade. The pavilion was conceived to be completely off-grid and does not depend on any form of energy consumption such as electric power or heating. the aim is to experiment with what the space has to offer, taking advantage of the natural light and surrounding elements to create any desired experience or installation. However, an infrastructure of power outlets and electric connections is in place in the floor, which could be used by artists or exhibitors if they wish to bring and connect their own renewable energy source. The LoveTriangle Gallery will be inaugurated on july 2nd during beirut design week 2019 and will host the latest research work of the collective entitled Anonima Plastica. Project Credits Project Location Baabdat, Lebanon Lead Architect Wassim Melki Photography Rana Rmeily Builder Toni Faisal Contracting Glazing HTG s.a.r.l Lebanon www.thelovetriangle.love A federal court in Sydney ordered that Rupert Murdochs News Corp. must pay the Oscar winner A$1.98 million (US$1.36 million) compensation for economic loss on top of the A$850,000 (US$584,000) in punitive damages awarded in April for a Sydney Daily Telegraph story accusing Rush of inappropriate behaviour towards the actress playing Cordelia to his King Lear at the Sydney Theatre Co. in 2015. (Rush had earlier offered to settle for A$50,000; News Corp. rejected the offer.) Reuters The 2019-20 season will be Alan Gilberts first with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg. On paper, a German radio orchestra, with the systems long tradition of advocacy for new repertoire, would seem to be an excellent fit for Gilbert. Over two conversations, one in a Hamburg cafe, the other on the phone, we talked about how taste is made, gender quotas for orchestras, self-doubt, and parenthood. Van The objects are called tabots, theyre plaques meant to respresent the Ark of the Covenant, and their presence is what makes an Ethiopian church a sacred space. The British Museum has 11 of them, most of them looted by soldiers after the 1868 Battle of Maqdala; since no layperson may see them (including museum curators), theyre kept in a locked basement. The government of Ethiopia has requested their return; a spokesperson says the suggestion of a long-term loan of the tabots may be discussed. The Art Newspaper Vivek Oberoi starrer PM Narendra Modi to release on May 24, after the results of 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Mumbai: The city police on Wednesday provided protection to actor Vivek Oberoi after he received threats to his life. Sources said that "police protection has been provided to Vivek Oberoi on the basis of the threat he has received." It is worth mentioning that Vivek on Monday had tweeted a collage of three images featuring him, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her husband Abhishek Bachchan, their daughter Aaradhya and superstar Salman Khan. The post referred to Salman and Aishwarya's relationship as the 'opinion poll,' Vivek and Aishwarya's affair as the 'exit poll' and her current family with husband Abhishek and daughter Aaradhya as the 'final result.' On Tuesday, the Mumbai Mahila Congress had demanded the police to lodge an FIR under Section 509 (gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Oberoi. "This is to bring to your attention that actor Vivek Oberoi has insulted women modesty by his statement. Being an artist, his political interference needs limitations. Now, he has disrespected womanhood for which he should be punished. Mumbai Mahila Congress workers demand an FIR under Section 509 of IPC. Therefore, please consider the issue and take serious action and do the needful," Mumbai Mahila Congress president Ajantaa R Yadav said in the letter. Also Read | Heres why Abhishek Bachchan wont react to Vivek Oberois tweet However, while talking to ANI, Vivek had said that he doesn't see anything offensive in his tweet and will not apologise since he has not done anything "wrong." "Those who are in the meme have no objection while scores of politicians are trying to politicise the issue. They don't work on issues but start their politics on such non-issues. There is a 'Didi' in West Bengal who puts people behind jail for a meme. Now, these people are demanding to put Vivek Oberoi behind bars. They were unable to stop my film and hence are now are trying to put me behind bars," Vivek had said. Refusing to tender apologies, Oberoi had said: "People are asking me to apologise. I have no problem in apologising, but tell me what wrong have I done. If I have done something wrong, I will apologise. I don't think I have done anything wrong. What's wrong in it? Somebody tweeted a meme and I laughed at it." The National Commission for Women (NCW) had later issued a notice to actor Oberoi demanding explanation over his tweet on the exit polls. 87-year old Gowda was trailing by a margin of 12,387 votes in Tumkur against BJP's G S Basavaraj. Reflecting the coalition's plight, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Gulbarga and former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda in Tumkur were trailing their BJP rivals, Election Commission trends showed. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: The BJP appeared headed for a spectacular win in Karnataka as it bagged 11 seats and was leading in 14 others, leaving the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance in a tizzy over the stability of its one-year old government. Reflecting the coalition's plight, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Gulbarga and former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda in Tumkur were trailing their BJP rivals, Election Commission trends showed. With the BJP dealing a hammer blow, Congress and JD(S) managed to win only one seat each, indicating that neither arithmetic nor chemistry worked for the two, which apparently failed to reconcile with each other at the ground level. Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, supported by the BJP, was leading by 1,26,436 votes in Mandya in a fiercely fought battle against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil. 87-year old Gowda was trailing by a margin of 12,387 votes in Tumkur against BJP's G S Basavaraj. Gowda's another grandson Prajwal Revanna,son of minister H D Revanna defeated A Manju of the BJP by 1,41,324 votes in Hassan. Gowda had shifted to Tumkur from his traditional bastion Hassan to make way for his grandson. Kharge, a veteran Congressman, who has never tasted electoral defeat, was trailing by 95,168 votes against BJP's Umesh Jadhav, who resigned as MLA and joined the saffron party ahead of the elections. Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily faced defeat against BJP candidate B N Bache Gowda in Chikkaballapur by 1,82,110 votes. Seven time MP from Kolar K H Muniyappa was trailing against BJP candidate by a margin of 2,09,707 votes. Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North) was leading against his Congress rival by a huge margin, his colleagues Ramesh Jigajinagi (Bijapur) and Anant Kumar Hegde (Uttara Kannada) won their respective seats by a margin of 2,58,038 and 4,79,649 votes, respectively. Other BJP candidates who won are Devendrappa(Bellary), Bhagwanth Khuba (Bidar), Nalin Kumar Kateel(Dakshina Kannada), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad),C S Udasi (Haveri), Karadi Snaganna (Koppal). State BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra (Shimoga) also won in Shimoga defeating his nearest rival Congress' Madhu Bangarappa by a huge margin of 2,33,360 votes. Among leading BJP candidates are Annasaheb Jolle (Chikkodi),Tejavi Surya (Bangalore South), A Narayanaswamy (Chitradurga), G M Siddeshwar (Davangere), P C Mohan (Bangalore Central), Prathap Simha (Mysore), Muniswamy (Kolar), Gaddigoudar Parvatagouda Chandanagouda (Bagalkot) and Suresh Angadi (Belgaum). The Lok Sabha poll outcome was widely expected to have a bearing on the stability of the one-year old H D Kumaraswamy government, which has been bogged down by inner contradictions within the coalition, keeping the state in political turmoil. The coalition government is also living in constant fear of losing the support of its MLAs, against BJP's alleged bid to topple the government. BJP has been claiming that 20 MLAs within the ruling coalition were ready to jump ship post the Lok Sabha poll outcome, which has put the government on the edge and made it struggle to keep its flock in tact. Under the seat sharing arrangement, Congress had contested in 20 constituencies and JD(S) in seven. Calling the Lok Sabha election results "unexpected", Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said leaders of his party JD(S) and Congress would deliberate on the reasons behind the defeat in the election. Kumaraswamy conceded defeat and said he respected the mandate of the people. "Leaders of both parties of coalition will hold a discussion about the loss of JD(S)-Congress coalition candidates. Our party has seen many victories & losses over the years and party workers need not lose heart on this loss. Let us strive to strengthen the party in the days ahead," the Chief Minister tweeted. He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for emerging victorious for the second time saying that he respected the mandate of the people. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday resigned from his post following the TDP's loss in the Assembly elections. According to sources, the party meeting would take place on May 25, while Jagans swearing-in is likely to happen on May 30. (Photo: YSR Congress website) Mumbai: People of Andhra Pradesh in their first full-fledged election have chosen Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress. YSR Congress led in 149 seats, TDP in 25 and Janasena Party in 1. Confident of a victory from initial trends, the YSR Congress camp is reportedly in talks of finalising dates for Jaganmohan Reddys swearing-in as the new Andhra Pradesh chief minister. According to sources, the party meeting would take place on May 25, while Jagans swearing-in is likely to happen on May 30. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday resigned from his post following the TDP's loss in the Assembly elections. He submitted his resignation to the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan who accepted it, a Raj Bhavan press communique said here. "Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh submitted his resignation to the Governor. The Hon'ble Governor while accepting the resignation with effect from the afternoon today, requested Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu to continue in office till the formation of a new government," it said. The counting began at 8 am to decide the fate of parties in this first-ever, full-fledged Andhra Pradesh elections after its bifurcation into Telangana in 2014. As far as Assembly polls are concerned, at least two exit polls have predicted that TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu might get another term as Chief Minister, while one has predicted a huge win for YSR Congress. Read: Who will win the 17th Lok Sabha? Verdict today As predicted by the India Today Axis exit poll, YSR Congress gets 130-135 seats and TDP 37-40 seats. The exit poll also predicted 1-3 seats for the Jana Sena Party (JSP) while others are expected to win a maximum of two seats. Meanwhile, a poll of exit polls conducted by local news channels predicted YSR Congress to win 106 seats out of 175 Assembly seats and predicted 65 seats for the TDP. The poll of polls is a collective prediction of Lagadapati Exit Polls, People's Pulse Exit Polls, and Mission Chanakya. Both People's Pulse and Mission Chanakya have given an upper hand to Jagan Reddy with 112 and 91-105 seats respectively. These polls were also the first since Naidu broke the alliance with BJP-led NDA over the delay in granting special status to Andhra. In the 2014 election, the TDP led by N Chandrababu Naidu emerged with a majority with 103 seats. Of the 175 seats, 88 were required to prove majority. The voting for 175 Assembly and 25 parliamentary seats was held in a single phase on April 11. The voter turnout recorded was 79.88 per cent which was 1.92 per cent higher than the 2014 Assembly elections. The highest turnout of 85.93 per cent was recorded in Prakasam while Visakhapatnam recorded the lowest turnout of 73.67 per cent. The state elections were held simultaneously with the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The key parties contested in the polls are Jana Sena Party (JSP) in alliance with Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the reigning Telugu Desam Party (TDP), YSR Congress (YSRC) as the opponents. The prime narrative in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Election 2019 has, however, been around the special category status for the state as Chandrababu Naidu targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reneging on the commitment. Read: Tamil Nadu results LIVE: Will Stalin become the next CM? Also Read: 2019 Odisha Assembly Election results LIVE: BJD on course of majority? Also Read: Sikkim Results Live: Will Sikkim see a change or it's going to be SDF again? Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Thuraya Telecommunications has won the Top Mobility User Experience Solution at this years Mobile Satellite Innovation award organized by Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA) for its X5-Touch, the worlds smartest satellite phone. The announcement was made during the companys participation at the Satellite 2019 Conference in Washington DC, US. The award recognizes the X5-Touchs superior usability, as well as its market-leading status, which is underpinned by a series of category-firsts. The X5-Touch is the first satellite phone to run on the Android operating system a fundamental pillar of its award-winning flexibility and user experience. The operating system provides users with a multitude of apps on purchase, while developers gain the freedom to develop and customize bespoke apps to meet the unique needs of device users. This complements the bring your own application (BYOA) concept, where customers can download any app of their choice. An unrivalled 5.2-inch HD touchscreen protected by a rugged Gorilla glass display, front and rear camera, and high-capacity battery bring everyday smartphone functionality to the remote environments of satellite communication. Meanwhile, the X5-Touchs omni-directional satellite antenna ensures uninterrupted communications in more than 160 countries, including a number across Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. In addition, full dual-mode and dual-SIM capabilities provide the flexibility to effortlessly switch between satellite and terrestrial networks. A host of crucial safety features such as advanced navigation and tracking functions, alongside a built-in SOS button, reinforce the X5-Touchs credentials as a device built for the most remote and testing environments. Congratulations to all at Thuraya for securing todays award, which is testament to the inventive mindset we encourage at every level of our organization, said Ali Al Hashemi, Thuraya CEO. Our customers rely on dependable communications to do their job and, in many cases, remain safely connected in remote environments. With this award, the X5-Touch continues to reinforce its credentials for the most demanding of users. Through the design and functionality of the X5-Touch, we set out to create a device that felt as natural and effortless to use as our personal smartphones, but with added ruggedness, commented Shawkat Ahmed, Thurayas chief commercial officer. Usability is in many ways more important in remote and testing environments than it is elsewhere, and as this award demonstrates, the X5-Touch provides fast, simple and trusted connectivity wherever users venture. The Thuraya X5-Touch was launched in November 2018 with a high-profile promotional campaign that included digital display advertising in Times Square, New York City. Just four months earlier, Thuraya and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) announced an agreement that saw Yahsat acquire a majority and controlling stake in Thuraya. The agreement enabled Thuraya to significantly expand Yahsats satellite solutions portfolio on both commercial and government fronts, while creating a strong platform to capture the growing opportunity around IoT and M2M applications across both sectors. TradeArabia News Service The board is likely to pass a resolution to thank voters for their support and also hailing Modi's leadership. The Prime Minister is also expected to address party workers. (Photo: File) New Delhi: With the BJP set to return to power, its parliamentary board is expected to meet Thursday evening at the party headquarters where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a speech. Top party leaders, including BJP president Amit Shah and some senior Union ministers besides Modi, are members of the parliamentary board, its highest decision making body. The board is likely to pass a resolution to thank voters for their support and also hailing Modi's leadership. The Prime Minister is also expected to address party workers. Talking to reporters here, Mr Chouhan categorically said that he was not in favour of demanding that the Nath goverment carry out a floor test. Bhopal: Cracks surfaced in the BJP in Madhya Pradesh over Opposition leader Gopal Bhargavas demand for the Kamal Nath government to prove its majority in the Assembly with former chief minister and partys national vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday voicing his opposition to it. Talking to reporters here, Mr Chouhan categorically said that he was not in favour of demanding that the Nath goverment carry out a floor test. The state Congress government will fall on its own due to infighting in the ruling party. The BJP will not pull down the Kamal Nath government, he said. The party high command has also disapproved of the unilateral move by the Opposition leader to call for a special session of the House for floor test by the Congress government. The BJP high command has sought a report from state party leadership on it, a senior party leader told this newspaper requesting anonymity. The issue has threatened to bring to surface the simmering rivalry betw-een Mr Chouhan and Mr Bhargava, said to be formers bete noir. Mr Chouhan appeared to be upset over unilateral decision by Mr Bhargava to write a letter to governor seeking special session of the House for a floor test. Mr Bhargava has not taken senior leaders of the party into confidence before making the demand. His move has irked senior leaders, the BJP leader said. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. The Governors rule was replaced by Presidents rule in November 2018. Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Satya Pal Malik, on Wednesday said that he wants the Presidents Rule in the state to end at the earliest but the final call on the timing of holding the Assembly elections will be taken by the Election Commission (EC). We want this (Presidents rule) to end as soon as possible. But the final call on holing elections for the State Assembly will be taken by the EC, he told reporters here, refuting the charge of some political parties that certain officials of his administration were not keen on transfer of power to an elected government. In the recent past, Mr. Malik has been publicly criticised by various political parties and their leaders over his taking major policy decision including those pertaining to the States constitution. They also accused the Narendra Modi government of making sinister moves by using the Governors office to further dis-empower the State. J&K was brought under Governors rule in June last year after the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government. The Governors rule was replaced by Presidents rule in November 2018. The 87-member J&K Assembly- thrown up by the 2014 polls- which had been kept in suspended animation was dissolved by Mr. Malik on November 22 last year after PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, supported by the National Conference and the Congress had staked claim to form the government. Simultaneously, the two-member Peoples Conference led by Sajjad Gani Lone had also staked claim to form a government with 25 members of the BJP and other 18 unknown members While various mainstream political parties barring BJP had termed the Governors move of dissolving the Assembly as undemocratic and unconstitutional, Mr. Malik had justified his move saying that he had satisfied himself that the best course of action was to dissolve the Assembly so as to provide stability and security to the State and hold elections at an appropriate time so that a government with a clear mandate is duly formed. He had also claimed receiving reports of extensive horse trading and possible exchange of money in order to secure the support of legislators belonging to widely diverging political ideologies just to be able to form a government. However, despite all major political parties seeking simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in J&K, the EC chose to defer the Assembly elections in the State in view of constraints in number of security forces and recent violent incidents. Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, recently indicated a decision on holing the State Assembly elections could be announced by the EC after the completion of the Lok Sabha polls. Meanwhile, Mr. Malik on Wednesday apologised to the public for the inconvenience due to civilian traffic ban on vital Srinagar-Jammu, but asserted that the decision was taken in the national interest. I apologise to the people for the inconvenience they had to face due to the highway restrictions but the ban was imposed in national interest, he said. The State government had in April this year imposed a complete ban on civilian traffic movement along the Baramulla-Udhampur section of the 350-km long highway between 4 am and 5 pm on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31. It had said that the decision was taken keeping in view the large movement of security forces on the national highway during the Parliamentary elections and associated possibility of fidayeen terror attack on security forces convoys. It also said that the additional security personnel were being brought in for anti-militancy operations. The decision was taken following a directive from the Union Home Ministry in the backdrop of the February 14 terror attack on a CRPF convoy at Lethapora (Pulwama) along the highway which left as many as 49 security personnel dead and several others wounded. The government had said that another possible fidayeen attack on another security force convoy at Banihal took place on March 30. As per poll trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to retain power at Centre for the second term. A man was found walking around with an LCD screen displaying results on his back at a Mumbai Metro Railway station a twitter user posted. (Photo: Twitter/ @Jesal_Sampat) Mumbai: The 17th Lok Sabha election that began last month has grabbed the headlines all over the nation, with people discussing politics in every nook and corner and getting hooked to their smart phones and television screens, tracking the results. Ahead of the counting of votes, a man was found walking around with an LCD screen displaying results on his back at a Mumbai Metro Railway station a twitter user posted. This is what I came across today at a Metro station in Mumbai! #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/6mTTjukcec Jesal Sampat (@Jesal_Sampat) May 23, 2019 As per poll trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to retain power at Centre for the second term. Earlier in the day, the mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Heeraben came out of her home to greet the media. Read: Watch: Mother Heeraben Modi greets media after son gets second term The 2019 elections, which spanned six weeks, registered the highest ever voter turnout in the history of Indian parliamentary elections. Read: Watch: Mother Heeraben Modi greets media after son gets second term I congratulate Narendra Modiji for a historic mandate, says Mehbooba Mufti. Srinagar: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is poised to return to power with a bigger majority, various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir mainstream and separatist alike have hoped that the party will seize the historic decisive mandate given to it by the people for taking bold decisions to resolve Kashmir and all other outstanding issues with Pakistan to bring about lasting peace in South Asia. The BJPs policy towards Kashmir during its five years of rule has been unrealistic and too harsh. We hope it will use the decisive mandate it has been given by the people of India for breaking the walls and ushering an era of durable peace in South Asia by taking bold decisions to resolve the Kashmir issue, said Kashmirs chief Muslim cleric and separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. He added, The lingering dispute over Kashmir is the main stumbling block to peace in the region. It must be resolved through dialogue and the BJP has emerged as strong enough to make a serious move on this. Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah while congratulating the BJP for its stellar performance in the elections hoped that the new government headed by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will carry out the mandate with better accountability and address the issues faced in J&K with the utmost care and with a view to take the state out of the difficult situation it has been caught in for the past three decades. Analyst Dr Sheikh Show-kat Hussain said, The wor-ld has already seen the imp-act of the BJPs rule on the situation of Kashmir. It has completely been alienated from India. The separatist leanings here only incr-eased sharply after the BJP took the reins of power in New Delhi five years ago. But we can hope that the BJP will now seize the fresh mandate which is more dec-isive than the previous one towards resolving the Kashmir issue. NC president and three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah who has been elected on Srinagar Lok Sabha seat for the second time in a row said, This Parliament will not be easy. There are several important issues with respect to J&K because we have to fight them on their intention to do away with Article 370 and Article 35A. Another issue is that they want to divide the Muslims and Hindus in the country; we have to fight that as well. He asserted, This country belongs to all and we have to keep this country strongly on that secular path enshrined in our Constitution. We have to protect the Constitution, drafted by (B R) Ambedkar, and take the country forward. He also hoped that the new dispensation at the Centre will initiate a dialogue with Pakistan. He said, I hope that the new government at the Centre will do justice with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I hope it will follow the policy of reconciliation and rapprochement in the state. He added, Every time there is a confrontation between India and Pakistan, it is our state that comes in the line of fire. It is our state that would straight benefit from the bonhomie between the two countries. PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, I congratulate Narendra Modiji for a historic mandate. Today surely belongs to BJP and its allies. Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah. BJPs state unit chief Ravinder Raina said, It is a vote for nationalism in the battle of nationalists and anti-nationalists. It is a victory of the countrys people. It is a victory of nationalism. He added, This election was between the idea of Bharat and the idea of terrorism-launching-pad Pakistan. It is the victory of India and Modiji and his strong and bold steps on all fronts. The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha took place simultaneously in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. Mumbai: Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) clinches a clean sweep in the Odisha assembly elections. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tried to increase the vote margin than the previous elections. The BJD has secured 104 seats. While the BJP has joined the race with 25 seats, the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to attain 15 seats and the Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPM) with 1 seat. The counting of votes began at 8 am. The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha took place simultaneously in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. In 2014 Odisha assembly election, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had won 117 seats out of the total 147. The Congress had won 16 seats while the BJP, on the other hand, 10 of the 147 assembly seats. An Odisha-centric exit poll jointly done by Sambad, the most circulated regional daily in the state, and Kanak News, its group-owned TV channel, gives BJD a massive lead over its closest rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sampling a survey of over 100,000 respondents, the exit poll forecasts BJD winning 85-95 of the 147 Assembly seats, where outcomes were polled till this report was filed. The BJP is seen contending with a distant second spot with 25-34 seats, while for the Congress, the poll trend is a reprisal of its mortifying electoral performance in 2014. Congress partys presence is seen diminishing to 12-15 seats. Read: Andhra Pradesh results LIVE: It is TDP vs YSR Congress A collective prediction of Kanak News and News18 Odia for the Odisha Assembly Election 2019 projects BJDs win. On the other hand, the BJP may add more to its 2014 tally by 16 seats, which comes up to 26 of the 147-seat assembly. Congress, on the other hand, may manage to win only 12 seats, a drop of four seats less than what it had won in the 2014 polls. The other parties will collectively win 24 seats in Odisha. Among the main candidates in Odisha, Naveen Patnaik contested in two seats - Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bijepur in Bargarh. Senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra contested from Bolangir assembly seat, while BJP's legislature party leader KV Singhdeo is contested from Patnagarh. Read: Tamil Nadu results LIVE: Will Stalin become the next CM? Before the gradual rise of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) formed by Biju Patnaik and his son Naveen Patnaik, the political arena was dominated by the Congress. The upsurge of Congress party in the state as the only secular, progressive force in Odisha was countered by the BJD, which has managed to gain a majority for the last three consecutive terms. The BJP has also made its presence felt in the state, and is considered an important political party in Odisha. Read: Who will win the 17th Lok Sabha? Verdict today The regional parties apart from BJD in the state are Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Janata Dal(United), Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Samajwadi Party (SP). Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPM), Indian National Congress (INC) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are the national parties in Odisha at present. Also Read: Sikkim Results Live: Will Sikkim see a change or it's going to be SDF again? Odisha, earlier known as Orissa, has a rich and varied political tradition. From the ancient times, the state has remained politically active. However, Odisha's political prominence was heightened after it was granted complete statehood in 1950. Odisha has a 147-member strong Vidhan Sabha. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading. Shah also tore into the opposition parties and took a jibe at N Chandrababu Naidu whose TDP lost the Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh. Amit Shah said if Naidu had worked this hard in the elections, TDP could have performed better. (Photo: ANI twitter) New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday hailed as "historic" his party's thumping victory in the Lok Sabha polls, outlining that it was after 50 years that a Prime Minister is returning to power for a second consecutive term with a majority. "This is a historic victory. After 50 years someone has won an absolute majority for the second time in a row", Shah said, addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters here. Attacking Congress, he said, "There are 17 regions including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Daman Diu, Uttarakhand among others where Congress has got zero seats. For 50 years Congress and other parties were moving forward with a vote bank of dynasty and appeasement but today's mandate will finish such politics for forever". Shah also tore into the opposition parties and took a jibe at N Chandrababu Naidu whose TDP lost the Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh. "In Uttar Pradesh, we are winning 60 seats after defeating SP-BSP alliance. This thumping majority says that in coming times, dynastic and casteist politics is going to lose its existence. The 21 dynastic parties were roaming around Delhi questioning exit poll and to create confusion among people." He said if Naidu had worked this hard in the elections, TDP could have performed better. He outlined BJP's performance in West Bengal where the party was leading in 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats and said that it confirms that in the near future, BJP is going to dominate in the state. "Over 80 people have lost lives their lives in West Bengal in last two years while working for BJP's expansion in the state. Even after so much violence and rigging, BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal. It tells that in coming days, BJP will establish its might in West Bengal. In Kerala and Karnataka also a lot of our party workers have lost lives", he said. Shah lauded party workers for the emphatic win in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and said, "After Assembly election results I had told the BJP workers that Congress might have won but we have not lost. Today out of 65 seats in the three states, we have won 63 seats which confirms our resolve to put up a fight." He also congratulated YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling and Arunachal BJP chief Prema Khandu for their stellar performance in assembly elections in their respective states. "This is a victory of 11 crore party workers and that of the public. This is the victory of our Modi government's policy of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. In these five years, the Modi government had uplifted the living standard of 28 crore poor families of India. Such positive steps were taken for the first time after Independence and their blessings have led us to win." Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present at the BJP headquarters. Before his address, Shah had welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the gates of the party office. Rose petals were showered on the two leaders by BJP supporters who had gathered, Celebrations had started at the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg since afternoon after the initial trends showed a massive win for the party. Out of 542 Lok Sabha seats which went to poll, BJP has won 103 and is leading in 199. Congress has bagged 26 seats and is leading in 25 constituencies. With barely 5 seats to hang on to this time, its chances are less than bleak. Mumbai: In the light of the recent election results that are still coming out, the Left is practically nowhere to be seen. Heres a little history into the sickle and the hammer flag in India. A historic revolution shook the country of Russia, in the year 1917, overthrowing the Tsarist autocracy and the rise of the Soviet Union. It showed the people of the world that the common man held the power in themselves to rise up to overthrow their exploiters and establish a rule that was for the benefit of all. Nearly a decade after this historic event, Jawarharlal Nehru paid his first ever land to the last of Socialism, something which he had been following very closely ever since its inception. His motivation was to find a solution to solve the problems of the British colony of India. He had studied the works of Marx and Lenin and was greatly influenced by the ideologies of development and socialism. Now, as India neared the end of the first half of the twentieth century, the Marxist ideology of the working class, overthrowing the propertied exploiter, by sheer force, struck a chord deep within the hearts of the agitators of nationalism in India. For all those people who had started believeing that the Gandhian principles of peaceful demonstration was not as effective as the principles propounded by Marx and Lenin. Even a staunch Gandhian like Nehru had been inspired by it. There have been a host of well renowned faces through the history of Indian independence struggle who have been strongly influenced by the ideas of Marx and Lenin but it wasnt until Manabendra Nath Roy, the founder of the Communist Party of India, someone who had been personally mentored by Lenin in Russia to prepare the Indian public for revolution against the foreign colonisers. Despite the broad appeal of the so-called Leftism, it was MN Roys CPI and its later offshoots that went on to become the face of Left in India. Hence, it cant be denied that the Indian freedom struggle and the political landscape of free India was, for a long time, hued with shades of red. Post-independence, it was directly involved in the armed conflicts against the princely states who were unwilling to give up power. Not only that, they led up agrarian and trade union issues which soon led them to believe that they could even take some space in governance and not just on the streets with weapons in arms. By 1952, it joined mainstream parliamentary politics. By 1957, the party, for the first time, came to power in Kerala and within two more decades, it gained firm footing in West Bengal and Tripura soon after. The expansion of ideologies led to arguments and soon, the fragmentation of the CPI into the CPI-Marxist in 1964 who eventually overshadowed the former in politics. The CPI(M) soon had a dissension, leading to the formation of another, violent section known at the Maoist movement in India. Led by Charu Mazumdar, and starting with attacks in the village of Naxalbari (and the coining of the term, Naxals) exploded into a widespread violent movement spreading fromWest Bengal into states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and as far as Maharashtra. Incidents of violence in Maharashtras Gadchiroli have been in the news even recently and even though most of this movement has been vehemently crushed out, it still survives in pockets. Even with the conflicts within the party, the Left Front in Kerala kept alternating with the Congress in presiding over the government, in West Bengal the CPI(M), once elected to power in 1977 under Jyoti Basus leadership, held on to power for the three decades until ousted by the now CM Mamata Banerjee. In Tripura too the CPI-M came to power in 1988, and except a brief moment of Congress rule between 1992 and 1998, the state was governed by the Left up until the overthrown by the early last year. Over the last decade or so, CPI and the CPI(M) has been tragically ousted from the political landscape of India, mostly being replaced by the strong Hindutva motivated nationalism and votebank politicisation based primarily (again) on religion. Tripura, a state which had been strongly run by the CPI(M) for the longest time has now been taken over by Biplab Kumar Deb of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP has now paved strong wide inroads in the state of West Bengal and is also slowly inching into Kerala but that still has some time to go. Vijay Parshad, Director of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of Leftword Books, in a tweet said the reason for the tragic state of the Left has been, The liberals & neoliberals have exhausted their agenda entirely, they are unable to provide solutions to the problems that capitalism has given the world. The Left is decidedly weak, at its weakest point globally. In that context, another thing that must be kept in mind is that culture and ideology arent the only factors that determine the chances of victory, or even survival in electoral politics. India adopted the policy of rapid industrialisation of the state in 1994, post which a spree of forcible land acquisition ensued leading to the alienation of a large rural public which created space for an alternate political party to come to the fore. This first came to light in the state of West Bengal when the government run by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, for 11 years and by the party for more than 3 decades, was roughly ousted from the state in the year 2011 bringing Mamata Banerjee into the fore of politics in the state. Apart from Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala, there is practically negligible presence of Leftist political parties present in the other states and it stands to reason that the chances of it surviving in the cut-throat competition, proved once again in the 17th Lok Sabha elections, 2019. With barely 5 seats to hang on to this time, its chances are less than bleak. Looking over its brief history in Indian politics, its ending is coming soon but supporters of the ideology and scholars say the chances of this going completely out of fashion is highly unlikely, since it is an oppositional party. The rest only time can tell. Before casting her vote in Ahmedabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the blessing of his mother. Heeraben came out of her home to greet the media on Thursday morning. (Photo: Screengrab) New Delhi: As India prepares to welcome Narendra Modi as Prime Minister a second time, proud mother Heeraben came out of her home to greet the media on Thursday morning. Before casting her vote in Ahmedabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the blessing of his nearly 99-year-old mother at her house in Gujarats Gandhinagar. PM Modi's mother Heeraben lives with his younger son Pankaj Modi in the village. Watch the video: Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar. pic.twitter.com/yR2Zi9eeL1 ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Is aggressive Hindutva working on the ground? The BJP-led by Modi completely evaded issues of unemployment, price rise and everything related to economic hardship. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: Has aspirational India changed towards Hindu India? If BJP's stupendous electoral triumph across the country and in West Bengal is anything to go by, the nation overwhelmingly voted for majority nationalism, security and anti-Pakistan rhetoric. The BJP-led by Modi completely evaded issues of unemployment, price rise and everything related to economic hardship. Despite attempts there were no takers for the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi's narrative on Rafale and economic issues. The nation rejected his slogan-"chowkidar chor hain". Instead India decided to vote for the "chowkidar", who it thinks is the ultimate saviour or protector of India's internal security. In rally after and rally, Modi and BJP president Amit Shah's major thrust was on the line Hindu khatre mein hain. They did not say it in so many words but the signal was clear. Modi's trip to Kedarnath before the seventh and the last phase, sitting inside a cave in a saffron robe went on to show that this leader was openly wearing his religion on his sleeve. This narrative created a tornado which wiped out Congress and the much-hyped mahagathbandhan. In Uttar Pradesh, the Hindutva ruled clearly over the caste cauldron of SP-BSP. The polarisation actually hit bulls-eye in West Bengal. BJP was on the verge of winning the same number of seats as the Trinamool Congress. In Bengal, the party played the Hindu card to the hilt. The party went on an aggressive mode on the Hindu plank by holding sword-wielding rallies during Ram navami, accusing TMC chief and state chief minister Mamata Banerjee of spawning anti-Hindu sentiments and harping on illegal immigration across the Bengal border. As BJP's Hindu card played havoc for the Opposition, it also needs to be mentioned that the rivals miserably failed to counter this strong narrative. Regional forces like RJD, SP, and BSP failed completely to counter Modi. Narendra Their attempt to surround Modi and defeat him failed miserably. As psephologist, Yogendra Yadav said: "left liberals and intellectuals failed to read BJP's narrative". Incidentally sensing that the party did not have much to show on the economic front, BJP immediately after the Pulwama attack took control of the narrative and changed the election plank to muscular nationalism and anti-minority rhetoric. The possible victory of BJP candidate PragyaThakur, facing terror charges and out on bail over senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, goes on to show that aggressive Hindutva is working on the ground. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Help India! By Meher Ali for TwoCircles.net Aligarh ki matri or Aligarh ke biscuit, as it is also called, is nothing special to look at: it just looks like a giant cookie, the size of a quarter plate. Support TwoCircles But when you bite into it, its taste arguably puts any French biscuit to shame: it is sweet with a subtle taste of spices, especially cardamom, and is usually eaten with butter lathered on top, with your morning cup of tea. No one knows who invented Aligarh ki matri but the oldest kaarigar or craftsman, as the matri-makers call themselves, that everyone refers back to is Latif Khan. Khan was born in the late 1890s in Pathano-ki-basti, Gorakhpur, according to his grandson Mohammad Shaffo (65), who was also his student. Making matris was Khans baap-dada ka kaam or his ancestral work, says Pervez Alam (62), his former pupil. Khans other grandson, Abdul Tauheed (46), says that Khan learnt it from his father. Khan worked in the military in Gorakhpur where he used to bake double rotis, says Shaffo. It would have been the British Indian Army that employed Khan since Gorakhpur, like the rest of India, came under the direct rule of the British after the 1857 Rebellion. Latif Khan moved to Aligarh after his marriage; Alam conjectures that he or his wife had relatives there. This would have been before 1913, as that is when Khan took on a new student, Rehmat Beg, according to the latters son Rahat Beg, himself a kaarigar and owner of Khurram Pappe and Bharat Bakery in Russellganj. He lived in Sarai Hakim, a neighbourhood right next to Russellganj, where he established a tandoor or earthen oven in his house and started a bakery business from there. With passed-down knowledge, a tradition begins Mohammad Shaffo also remembers that his grandfathers matri workshop was full of students in training to become matri-kaarigars. This included all of Latif Khans brothers, his sons, and even his grandsons. Shaffo was ten when his turn came. He even recalls the moment that it happened he was carrying a pail of water up the stairs when his uncle came up and told him that his grandfather wanted him in his workshop. Another person to benefit from this passed-down knowledge was Sajid Khans father Bundu Khan. Sajid Khan, who is a tailor, says his father was trained at the Sardar Biscuit Factory, established in the 1920s, by a kaarigar called Babu Khan. He, in turn, was taught by Latif Khans younger brother Majeed Khan. As a child, Sajid Khan recalls seeing his father carry matris on his bicycle to the Aligarh Muslim University, where it was popular among the students. But before independence the matri faced stiff competition from the double roti, says Tahir Warsi (90) who worked at the Sardar Biscuit Factory in the 1940s. He said that this was because the British preferred the double roti to matris and they would eat the former with a plate of qorma at noon sharp. After independence was another story as the matri overtook the double roti and went from being a neighbourhood favourite to becoming a town favourite. Shaffo says that Latif Khan became so famous for his matri that people would bring huge baskets and fill these to the brim to take with them and eat later. This is because matris, like biscuits, can last long if kept in a cool, dry place. Even after Khans death, in the 1970s, matri shops continued to multiply. By the 1980s, there were 50-60 shops selling matris in the Sarai Hakim neighborhood alone, says Mohammad Bashir (55), owner of Azad Bakery, whose brother, Mohammad Suleiman, was Latif Khans student. A special taste One of the main reasons for the matris popularity back then was its unique taste. Kaarigars would add cardamom, nutmeg, and poppy seeds, all of which many can now not afford. Another ingredient was a special masala of 25-30 traditional medicines that the kaarigars would add to curd and then use this mixture to leaven the bread. Though the curd was replaced by industrial yeast 15 years ago, kaarigars continue to use this special masala even today. All of them say that it was invented by a traditional healer by the name of Luqman Hakim. Luqman is a popular historical figure, also referred to as Luqman the Wise, whose proverbs are part of pan-Islamic folklore. One can also find YouTube videos that talk about his medicinal teachings, including on plant-based remedies. Tauheed, however, disagrees saying that it was not Luqman but Latif Khans family who came up with the recipe; the latter used to prepare the masala himself by hand. Whatever the origin, each kaarigar I spoke to said that they had the recipe for this masala written down on a piece of paper, although none ever showed it to me. All of them said that this recipe had been passed down to them by their ustad or teacher. In most cases, the ustad was Latif Khan. Matri making is long, hard work. When they used curd to leaven the bread, it took kaarigars three days to make matris. But even now, after having switched to industrial yeast, it takes them an average of 16 hours, says Alam who now works at Taj Bakery, in Upar Kot, a ten-minute walk from Sarai Hakim. A kaarigar spends more than an hour kneading the dough, another hour tossing it, three hours cutting it into individual pieces, and about four hours rolling each into a flatbread. Yet the kaarigars wages are less than the Rs 400 a daily-wage bricklayer earns for an 8-hour workday, says Alam. As a result, most kaarigars do not plan on passing on their knowledge of making matris to their children. Mohammad Nizamuddin (28), co-owner of Taj Bakery, says he continued working as a kaarigar on his fathers advice and now, after his death, wants to continue the family name. But when I ask him if he will teach his children, he says: Nahi nahi, bilkul bhi nahi. (No. Absolutely not). In his five decades as a kaarigar, Alam says his children have grown up watching him come home at all hours of the night, dead tired. They dont see any reason to learn this work. Door bhaagte hai, he says. (They run away from it.) The kaarigars are also aging. Nizamuddin was one of the only ones in his 20s. His brother, Mohammad Fakhruddin (26), says that the average age of a kaarigar is sixty. Most whom I met were not less than 50 years old. 15 saal maan lo, he says. (Give it 15 years). Once they pass away, this knowledge goes with them. Listening to the khameer As Alam rolls a piece of dough into a perfect circle, he recalls one of Khans tips: Khameer batayegaa ki main kaise chal raha hoon. (The fermented bread will tell you how its cooking.) What Khan meant, Alam says, is that a kaarigar who trains himself to listen to an almost imperceptible chu, chu sound that the khameer makes when it is rising, will always be able to gauge if it is cooking too slowly or too fast. For now though, for Alam, it is yet another day of making matris. Latif Khan passed away at the age of eighty in the late 1970s. Before that, he lost his home in Sarai Hakim after the India-Pakistan war of 1965. Two of his brothers had left for Pakistan during the Partition. Even though he stayed back, his house was marked as custodian property by the government. He shifted to his daughters and started working at his son-in-laws bakery in Upar Kot. There, he continued teaching others how to make matri; Alam continued to train under him. Meher Ali is an independent journalist based in Aligarh. This article was originally published on meheraligarh.blogspot.com and on her personal Medium blog. According to Swamy, these election results signify that religion has prevailed over caste. The results, according to Swamy, suggest that Indians have forgiven the Modi government for its dismal economic performance. (Photo: File) Mumbai: It looks like a clean sweep for BJP-NDA in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As their slogan "Ab ki baar 300 paar" turns into reality, BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy has credited it to Hindutva wave and not Modi wave, the HuffPost India reported. According to Swamy, these election results signify that religion has prevailed over caste. He also emphasised on the importance of the Indian youth. "They are young nationalists. They don't care about caste," he said. The results, according to Swamy, suggest that Indians have forgiven the Modi government for its dismal economic performance. "People have, instead voted for a relative corruption free five years," he said. He also said that people recognise the current government's efforts to identify illegal Bangladeshi migrants from India. Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, where he has been leading since morning. Rahul Gandhi, his party's chief campaigner across India, was accused by the BJP of neglecting his own constituency, while Smriti Irani has been strongly campaigning in that constituency. (Photo: AP | File) New Delhi: Marking a historical win at Congress's stronghold, Smriti Irani clinched the ancestral throne of Amethi from the party president Rahul Gandhi. Smriti is leading with approximately 30,300 votes and around 3,00,000 lakh votes are yet to be counted. Accepting the deafeat, however, Rahul in a media briefing bravely accepted his defeated. ''I congratulate her and would request her to take care of Amethi... I respect the decision of India,'' Rahul said. Amethi has been an undisputed territory of the Gandhi family for the last three decades, except in 1998 when it lost to BJP's Sanjay Singh. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been winning the constituency since 2004. Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, where he has been leading since morning. Amethi, a dusty, largely rural constituency around 130 km from UP capital Lucknow, features one of the most watched battles in this national election. A historical stronghold of the Congress, it is now slowly tipping the scales in the other direction. Smriti Irani, capitalizing on Rahuls absence, campaigned aggressively in Amethi, where she had contested and lost to Rahul Gandhi in 2014 but had managed to reduce his winning margin to one lakh. She kept visiting the constituency regularly and launched central schemes there to rally support for the BJP. Rahul Gandhi, his party's chief campaigner across India, was accused by the BJP of neglecting his own constituency. At the height of the election campaign, the Congress president visited Amethi only once, when he held a roadshow before filing his nomination papers. His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned in Amethi and her mother Sonia Gandhi's Raebareli and visited the constituencies several times. Rahul Gandhi's struggle was telling in his traditional seat, a Congress stronghold that has remained with the Gandhi family for decades. The Congress has not lost the seat in the last three decades, except in 1998. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Congress has maintained it aimed at strengthening its organisation and that the 2022 Assembly polls were its real target. However, what can be safely assumed now is that the Grand Old Party of India has actually done was to gnaw away at a large chunk of the Muslim votes from the SP-BSP kitty, thus helping the BJP surge ahead. (Photo: ANI | AP | PTI) New Delhi: Among the biggest unravellings of this election has been the fizzling out of the SP-BSP ganthbandhan in Uttar Pradesh which was supposed to be the one alliance which could prevent Narendra Modis march to the Lok Sabha. Despite its promise of holding the Modi juggernaut in the three Lok Sabha bypolls of Gorakhpur, Kairana and Phulpur, the SP-BSP alliance made little dent in the BJP tally of 72. The party is expected to win at least 60 seats this time. Around noon, the Samajwadi Party vote share stood at 18.3 per cent, Bahujan Samaj Party at 19.3 per cent and the BJP at 49.1 per cent -- an improvement from its 2014 and 2017 performances. As far as ground politics go, the one reason which could have been attributed is the Congress fielding separate candidates in at least more than 30 seats has cut into the anti-BJP votes. Officially the Congress has maintained they have cut into the BJPs upper caste votes and thus helped the SP-BSP in pockets. Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi had hinted at so when she said the Congress had deliberately fielded weak candidates in certain pockets. However, what can be safely assumed now is that the Grand Old Party of India has actually done was to gnaw away at a large chunk of the Muslim votes from the SP-BSP kitty, thus helping the BJP surge ahead. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had hinted the same when he had said towards the end that the entire Muslim votebank had shifted to the Congress. The Congress has maintained it aimed at strengthening its organisation and that the 2022 Assembly polls were its real target. But the fact that Rahul Gandhi was trailing behind Smriti Irani in Amethi shows how far from ground realities the party was. Out of the 1,00,815 votes counted so far, Irani got 49,188 and the Congress President 44,539. In hindsight, Rahuls decision to contest from Wayanad was a wise after all. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Illegal hunting threatens songbird prized as delicacy: study. Ending the hunt would give the ortolan an average of twice the chance of survival. (Photo: AFP) Washington: Every year, nearly five million breeding pairs of ortolan buntings, a type of tiny songbird classified as endangered in several countries migrate from Europe to Africa for the winter. About 300,000 of the birds pass through southwestern France, where they fall prey to hunters who for decades have defied bans on harvesting them in the name of gastronomic tradition. You see, the ortolan bunting is seen by elite chefs and foodies as a rare culinary treat one that is consumed whole, bones and all, with a napkin over one's head, for privacy and to better inhale its aroma. Late French president Francois Mitterrand was a noted fan. And even though his country listed the species as protected in 1999 after his death, the hunt has gone on. Now, European experts say in a study published Wednesday in the US Journal Science Advances that illegal hunting is precipitating the demise of the ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana), which is already suffering due to loss of its natural habitat and other factors. "If hunting of the ortolan continues, it will lead to the ortolan's disappearance," Frederic Jiguet, a professor at France's national museum of natural history and the study's main author, told AFP. Jiguet had already led a study commissioned by France's environment ministry to try to settle the battle between the French state and hunters about the ortolan on a scientific basis. That study, published in 2016 and financed in part by the hunting federation in the southwestern Landes region, estimated the number of songbirds migrating across France had dropped 20-30 per cent from 2000 to 2014. In the new study, researchers went farther, calculating the risk of the bird's extinction under several scenarios. The most optimistic case would yield risk of extinction of 66 per cent within a century, if the hunt in France were to be cut by 15,000 birds a season, out of the estimated 30,000 that are caught each year. "Removing 30,000 birds each autumn from the population crossing France constitutes a significant contribution to the decline of the species," Jiguet said. Like all birds in rural areas, the ortolan buntings are also falling victim to modern agricultural practices, a drop in the insect population, and pesticide use, but hunting is seen as compounding those factors. "Ending the hunt would give the ortolan an average of twice the chance of survival," Jiguet said. "It would not necessarily save it. We'd then have to change ways of farming In the heart of Delhi, one can gorge on sumptious Tibetan delicacies at Majnu ka Tilla. The climatic miracle here makes the whole colony seem five degrees cooler than the rest of Delhi. Hidden between tall buildings and colorful triangular flags, this place, despite being part of the Capita,l projects a different picture. Suddenly you get the feeling as if you are part of a mini Tibet. Monks walk around sharply dressed in red and yellow robes, and an uncommon aura of silence and pleasant scents take you to a different world altogether. Only a rickshaw ride from Delhi Universitys North Campus takes you to a completely different ambience as you enter Majnu ka Tilla a Tibetan refugee hamlet. Majnu ka Tilla, otherwise is a beautiful Gurdwara situated on the banks of the river Yamuna. Legend has it, a muslim hermit who would ferry people across the river, was blessed by Guru Nanak Dev for his selfless devotion, and thus this sanctuary immortalises his memory. However, apart from the pristine white Gurudwara, the place is better known for its range of cafeterias. Built upon makeshift houses, the place boasts of restaurants, guesthouses, retail stores of books and souvenirs, offices, and even kiosks dealing in foreign exchange. There is also a small monastery and a Buddhist temple are located at the bank of the river Yamuna. This place is a refugee settlement since the residents left Tibet in 1959-60 when Dalai Lama too came to Dharamshala. The climatic miracle here makes the whole colony seem five degrees cooler than the rest of Delhi. The narrow winding alley makes it seem as if you are traversing through a higher altitude. This Little Tibet officially called, as the New Aruna Nagar apart from being a well-preserved Tibet, it has become a popular destination for tourists and the students to satiate their appetite, gorging on sumptuous Tibetan food. This place has a lot to offer from coffee shops one of the most known being the AMA cafe to exotic Tibetan cuisines and is also a shopping paradise for the people as it offers a variety of colorful clothes and jewelry. It transports you to a different world. Indeed, the refugee hamlet at Majnu ka Tilla showcases the efforts made to preserve a culture that could have so easily been lost due to the physical displacement of people from their homeland. Its indeed a pleasurable escape from Delhis heat and crowd. One can find solace sitting here in the middle of the colourful flags with birds chirping and a coffee in hand. The counting for 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal will be taken up Thursday along with the rest of the country. The EC will deploy 200 coys of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal in addition to the 82 companies present to ensure security at the counting centres and check any post-poll violence when the exercise is taken up, an EC senior official said Wednesday. (Photo: AP) Kolkata: The EC will deploy 200 coys of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal in addition to the 82 companies present to ensure security at the counting centres and check any post-poll violence when the exercise is taken up, an EC senior official said Wednesday. The counting for 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal will be taken up Thursday along with the rest of the country. A tight three-tier security layer has been laid out during the counting process. Section 144 Cr PC has been imposed in a 100 metre radius of counting venues, while the innermost security layer is being manned by Central forces. State police personnel will not be allowed to enter the counting hall, the official said. We already had 82 CAPF coys of central forces for the security of the strong rooms. Now the EC has directed deployment of another 200 CAPF coys for the security of the counting centres and counter post-poll violence in West Bengal, the official said quoting the EC directive. There will be 58 counting centres with around 25,000 counting personnel in 78799 polling stations spread over 294 assembly segments in the state, he said. The strong rooms will be opened at around 7 am and counting will start at 8 am. First we will start counting the postal ballots and then go on to the EVMs. Only after it the VVPATs will be tallied, the EC official said. The Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal was held in seven phases in 42 Lok Sabha constituencies which saw 466 candidates contesting in the poll fight. Washington has been pressing its allies not to use equipment made by Huawei over concerns it could be used for espionage. While South Korea is a US ally, China is its biggest export market. (Photo: AP) The US government is lobbying South Korea not to use Huawei Technologies Co Ltd products, a South Korean newspaper reported on Thursday, amid a wider push by Washington to get its allies to reject the Chinese tech firms goods. In one incident, a US State Department official said in a recent meeting with a South Korean counterpart that local telco LG Uplus Corp, which uses Huaweis equipment, should not be allowed to serve in sensitive areas in South Korea, Chosun Ilbo reported. The official added Huawei needs be eventually driven out of the country, if not immediately. LG Uplus shares dropped 6 per cent in Thursdays morning trade, which compared to a 0.4 per cent drop in the benchmark KOSPI. LG Uplus has not received any statements or requests from either South Koreas foreign ministry or the United States regarding our use of Huawei equipment, an LG Uplus official told Reuters on Thursday. Washington has been pressing its allies not to use equipment made by Huawei over concerns it could be used for espionage or cyberattacks, a concern that Huawei says is unfounded. The anti-Huawei campaign intensified last week when US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively banned the use of Huawei equipment in US telecom networks on national security grounds. Additionally, the Commerce Department put limits on the firms purchases of US technology. While South Korea is a US ally, China is its biggest export market. China took in nearly a quarter of South Koreas total exports in the first four months of this year, according to South Korea government data. The US government has repeatedly sent the message to South Koreas Foreign Ministry through various diplomatic channels that using Huawei products could cause security problems, Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Seoul. The US has stressed the importance of security for 5G equipment, and we are aware of the USs position, South Koreas Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that Seoul and Washington have been in continued talks on this issue, but declining to elaborate. The US Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to request for comment. The two countries are locked in tit-for-tat tariff increases on each others imports, after talks broke down to resolve their dispute. Beijing: China must prepare for difficult times as the international situation is increasingly complex, President Xi Jinping said in comments carried by state media on Wednesday, as the country faces increased tariffs in a bitter trade war with Washington. The two countries are locked in tit-for-tat tariff increases on each others imports, after talks broke down to resolve their dispute. Acrimony has intensified since Washington last week blacklisted Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a potentially devastating blow for the company that has rattled technology supply chains and investors. During a three-day trip this week to the southern province of Jiangxi, one of the cradles of Chinas Communist revolution, Xi urged people to learn the lessons of hardship of the past. Today, on the new Long March, we must overcome various major risks and challenges from home and abroad and win new victories for socialism with Chinese characteristics, state news agency Xinhua paraphrased Xi as saying. Our country is still in a period of important strategic opportunities for development, but the international situation is increasingly complicated, he added. We must be conscious of the long-term and complex nature of various unfavourable factors at home and abroad, and appropriately prepare for various difficult situations. The report did not elaborate on those difficulties, and nor was there a direct mention of the trade war or of the United States. Xi also talked about the importance of technology, and emphasised that technology innovation is the lifeblood of companies. Only by having indigenous intellectual property and core technology can products possessing core competitiveness be produced, and only then can an invincible position be attained amid fierce competition. China must master more core technologies and seize the high ground in industrial development, he added. Xi visited a rare earths firm too, sparking speculation the sector could be the next front in the Sino-U.S. trade war. Xi learned in detail about Chinas rare earth resource situation, exploitation techniques, applications, and environmental protection measures, Xinhua said. Rare earths are important strategic resources, and are non-renewable resources. Duterte has moved to have truckloads of garbage that Filipino officials say were illegally shipped to the Philippines years ago. The Philippine government recalled its ambassador and consuls in Canada last week over Ottawas failure to comply with a May 15 deadline to take back the garbage. (Photo:AP) Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has moved to have truckloads of garbage that Filipino officials say were illegally shipped to the Philippines years ago be forcibly shipped back to Canada, Dutertes spokesman said Wednesday. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo held a news conference to announce that Duterte has ordered officials to look for a private shipping company to transport the garbage to Canadian territory in an escalation of his increasingly adversarial stance. The Philippines will shoulder the cost of the garbage shipment, Panelo said. If Canada will not accept their trash, we will leave the same within its territorial waters or 12 nautical miles out to sea from the baseline of any of their countrys shores, Panelo said. The presidents stance is as principled as it is uncompromising: The Philippines as an independent sovereign nation must not be treated as trash by other foreign nations. The Philippine government recalled its ambassador and consuls in Canada last week over Ottawas failure to comply with a May 15 deadline to take back the garbage. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that Canada has been working hard with Philippine officials and hopes to strike a resolution shortly but did not specify a time frame. In 2017, Trudeau said legal issues preventing the return of the garbage to Canada had been resolved. At least 103 containers of household trash, including plastic bottles and bags, newspapers and diapers, were shipped in batches from Canada to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014. Most of the shipping containers remain in two ports in Manila and northern Subic Freeport, sparking protests from environmental activists. Philippine officials say they were falsely declared by a private firm as recyclable plastic scraps and have asked Canada to take back the garbage. Duterte raised the garbage issue in a speech last month while officials from both countries were already discussing a resolution to the issue. The volatile president said he was ready to declare war against Canada over the issue. Panelo said Duterte was upset about the inordinate delay of Canada in shipping back its containers of garbage, adding We are extremely disappointed with Canadas neither here nor there pronouncement on the matter. Obviously, Canada is not taking this issue nor our country seriously. The Filipino people are gravely insulted about Canada treating this country as a dumpsite, Panelo said. Dutertes moves have been the latest strain in Philippine relations with Canada under Duterte. Last year, Duterte ordered the cancellation of a multimillion-dollar agreement to buy 16 helicopters from Canada after its government decided to review the deal due to concerns that the Philippine military might use the aircraft in counterinsurgency assaults. The BJP party look set to have a clean sweep in the recently contested Lok Sabha Elections after counting of votes today. Mumbai: US President Donald Trump congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his resounding win at the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, outlining that "great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm." Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 The US President joins scores of other world leaders in extending their wishes to PM Modi, as he's slated to undertake his second consecutive term as India's Prime Minister. Terming "India's elections an inspiration" across the world, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on their resounding victory in 17th Lok Sabha elections. Congratulations to @narendramodi and the NDA for their victory in Indias election, and to the Indian people for casting their votes in such historic numbers. As the worlds largest exercise in democracy, #Indias election is an inspiration around the world. pic.twitter.com/S7qAuX8lcq Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 23, 2019 Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, congratulated PM Modi on Twitter. He said that he looks forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in Southeast Asia. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/vOtNwnkMZk ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina have written to PM Modi congratualting him. Renil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka took to Twitter to congratulate his Indian compatriot Narendra Modi after poll results show a staggering victory for the Indian Prime Minister in the recently elected Lok Sabha polls. Narendra Modi's coalition is set to win around 340 out of 543 seats in the lower house of the parliament, leaving its arch nemesis Congress who barely managed to cross 100. Renil Wickremesinghe said that he is looking forward to working closely with the Indian Prime Minister. This comes after India showed groundbreaking support toward Sri Lanka after the recent Easter Bombings which took place on 21st April in six churches and hotels which led to the death of as many as 150 people. India provided intelligence support to its neighbour. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe tweets, "Congratulations to #NarendraModi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you." (file pic) pic.twitter.com/J8W6EvgLVl ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Next up to take to social media to heap congratulatory praise towards Narendra Modi was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In only a few days Netanyahu will become the longest serving Preseident ever to lead Israel. Congratulating PM Modi, he said he looks to strengthen the friendship between India and Israel. Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Prime Minister #NarendraModi, says, "will continue to strengthen our friendship between India and Israel". pic.twitter.com/zF9o2iHadE ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli also congratulated PM Modi after poll results. Nepalese PM KP Sharma Oli extends warmest congratulations to PM Modi for election victory.#ResultsWithAIR | #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/NMJQljgVFW All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 China's Xi Jinping and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe too congratulated PM Narendra Modi in two separate telephonic conversations. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani tweets, "Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government & the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies" #ElectionResults2019 (file pic) pic.twitter.com/pql5Ge7rJx ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." Help India! TCN News Lateef Mohammed Khan, who was working as a Gazetted Head Master at Govt. High School in Hyderabad was suspended from service on 17th May by the Regional Joint Director of School Education on behalf of Govt of Telangana. Support TwoCircles Khan, who is also an activist has championed for the cause of justice seeking redressal from the Government for the violations of civil liberties of citizens irrespective of their religion, caste and social standing from the last 20 years. He is the general secretary of Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) a committee comprising citizens who work towards questioning and exposing the state representatives on their immoral actions and making them answerable and accountable to the law of the land. The press statement issued by the activist members of CLMC state that Khan has been suspended from service on the charges that he has criticized the Chief Minister of Telangana K. Chandrashekar Rao by sharing and uploading a video on his social media account titled KCR Exposed. And that the proceedings initiated against Khan by the Telangana Government are a classic example of violation of principles of natural justice, wherein a vague and ambiguous show cause notice was issued to him. There was no mention of either the complainant or the nature of complaint in the notice. However an ex-parte inquiry was conducted behind his back and he was declared guilty without being given a chance to reply or explain. The most unfortunate part, states the press statement is that the Department of School Education is becoming a tool at the hands of vested interests by conducting a lopsided inquiry in a rush, and acting in an unreasonable manner by not even adhering to the basic minimum required standards of fair play and justice say CLMC members. By joining Government service, one does not loose sight of ones constitutional duties towards the nation. Questioning the government is every voters right. Article 19 of the Constitution provides for Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression, and this important right of free speech is not merely to express laurels for the authorities but also to criticize them for their illegitimate actions. Not just Lateef Mohammed Khan, many teaching faculty in colleges and Universities have time and again questioned and criticised the policies of the Government through their writings and talks not just in Telangana but across India. Many activists, after learning about Khans suspension orders expressed that actions such as these mean there is no space for dissent and no space for democratic processes in the worlds largest democracy. Appealing to intellectuals, civil rights groups and other organisations to support Khan and resist this attack on civil liberties the CLMC members say that the true spirit of democracy needs to be protected. They have also demanded the Government of Telangana to drop the arbitrary and whimsical proceedings initiated against our organization General Secretary Lateef Mohammed Khan The firms said the transaction is the first syndicated sustainability-linked facility in Australia. It is also the largest of its kind in both Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the first for an airport in the world. The KWM team was led by partner Yuen-Yee Cho, who is the firms global practice coordinator for banking and finance. She was supported by senior associate Zoe Anderson, solicitor Hilary Qin, and law graduate Anita Wu. The Allens team was headed by banking and finance partner Renee Boundy, who was assisted by senior associate Edward Chuah and lawyer Kate Buchanan. Tax matters were handled by senior associate Elise Ho. This innovative transaction demonstrates Sydney Airports commitment towards sustainability by linking its sustainability performance to pricing under the facilities, Cho said. Cho said that as far as KWM knows, the facility is the first to close in the market applying the SLLPs. Atterrati. Si accorge che si trova a Bari e non a Cagliari. #Ryanair volo Pisa - Bari pic.twitter.com/yIHTk6GrUs vee2.run (@RunVee2) May 20, 2019 One man from Italy boarded a Ryanair flight from Pisa Airport that he thought would take him to Cagliari, Sardinia, CNN reports. Instead, he ended up in mainland Italy, in Bari, and he only realized what had happened when the plane landed.To make matters worse, he didnt have any more money to book the correct flight. Video of the rage he went into when he found out has been posted to Twitter by fellow passenger Vito Scotella.The man isnt seen in the video but his voice rings loud over the noise of the entire cabin getting ready to de-plane. Hes furious with flight attendants because he passed through 2 different checks and wasnt told on either that he was getting on the wrong plane.I went to the wrong gate? And how did you manage to get me through ticket checks? he can be heard saying. I have to meet a friend who is sick in Cagliari. I spent 400 euros. I have no money left.Scotella tells CNN that the snafu probably occurred because both flights took off at about the same time because of an unexpected delay. Passengers boarded the flights by walking across the tarmac, so the man probably got confused then. Still, they probably didn't check his ticket when he got on the plane, Scotella adds.In a statement to La Repubblica, Ryanair says the incident is now subject to an investigation. We have asked the operator in charge of ground assistance services for Ryanair planes and passengers at the Pisa airport to shed light on this case and make sure it does not happen again, the airline says.No word on whether they left the poor bloke (literally so, in this case) in Bari or made sure he got to visit his sick friend in Sardinia. The half-brother of the Hyundai Sonata will also be offered as a station wagon, and the plug-in hybrid will return with better specifications than the current generation. In the first instance, customers will be treated to a 1.6-liter turbo and a 2.5-liter engine with natural aspiration. Speaking of Hyundai, the Sonata station wagon will replace the i40 in Europe starting in 2020.Next up in the product plan, the year 2019 will end with the production start of the Ceed SW plug-in hybrid in September and XCeed crossover in October. Crossover shouldnt be taken seriously in this application, more so because the XCeed isnt expected with all-wheel drive.Moving on to 2020, theKEEA.com understands that three models are planned for this year. A fuel cell electric vehicle packaged as a sedan will enter production in January, followed by the next generation of the Sorento mid-size crossover in August and an electric vehicle in December.Curiously enough, the product plan skips 2021 altogether. The year 2022 is when Kia plans to replace the Sedona in January. Even though the South Koreans arent big on commercial vehicles outside of their domestic market, the Ford Ranger rival is expected to enter production in June 2022.Hyundai is in the process of putting the Santa Cruz concept into production, having finished the design for the interior and exterior of the compact pickup truck. The unibody workhorse has been eyed by Kia according to the chief operating officer and executive vice president of the automaker in the United States, adding that its a long way down the road .It remains to be seen what platform will be utilized for the Santa Cruz, but so far, reports suggest the underpinnings will be shared with the next generation of the Hyundai Tucson . A long-wheelbase Tucson has been spied in South Korea at the beginning of the year, and unless Hyundai plans to launch a three-row version of the compact crossover, the prototype in question could be the test bed for the Santa Cruz pickup truck. In September, the Portuguese town of Alcacer do Sal will host what is likely to become a momentous event in its history: RM Sothebys is coming there to assist with the sale of over 130 vehicles, some of them pre-war greats, others American classics of all eras and even rare and diminutive microcar gems.All the cars are owned by a certain Mr. Saragga, a car collector and enthusiast who started amassing the great deal of pieces in his garage three decades ago, with a small grouping of rare Mercedes-Benz models. And each of them will be sold without reserve meaning no starting price for unspecified reasons this fall.The huge collection includes the 1920 Rochet-Schneider Type 16500 as one of the oldest cars available, and the 2 017 Aston Martin Vantage AMR as the latest. In between, names like the 1946 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane Drophead Coupe, 1990 BMW M3 Convertible or 1957 Bentley S1 Saloon proudly hold their ground.The Saragga Collection reflects the discerning and eclectic personal tastes of its owner, with many cars combining broad desirability with strong Portuguese provenance and history, said the auction house in a statement.This September's Saragga collection sale is one of the biggest announced so far this year. In 2018, another huge car collection went on sale, this time at the hands of Bonhams.Considered the largest rare Ford collection in the world, the Den Hartogh Museum in the Netherlands liquidated its garage and released over 200 Ford and Lincoln cars and commercial vehicles and more than 50 motorcycles into the wild in exchange for over $7 million. In a post on the official Facebook page, Hamburg Police reveals the mom and dad had just welcomed their second child. The mother and baby were discharged from the hospital and they summoned a taxi to take them home.Once at their destination, they got out and the man paid the fare. He didnt realize something was missing until he had already closed the door and the taxi drove off. Police say he tried to run after the car, while signaling the driver to stop, but to no avail. The dad called the police and told them his child was missing, which spanned a wide search across the city.The driver took his lunch break right afterwards, taking the car to an underground garage. When he came back, his clandestine passenger was still sound asleep, so he continued with his daily work, going to the airport to pick up passengers.When he did find one, they informed him that he had a baby in the backseat. The driver panicked and called the cops, who, in turn, brought the child back into the parents loving arms.The post doesnt say how long the child was missing, but at least a couple of hours mustve passed since the moment mom and dad forgot about him / her and the moment the airport passenger saw him / her in the back of the taxi. The baby slept soundly during all this time, but the parents must have been through hell.This was their re-admission into parenthood: the land of the perpetually exhausted and occasionally forgetful. The womans identity hasnt been made public, but the Georgia State Patrol confirms for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution responding to a call of a vehicle that had rolled into a river. When they arrived at the scene, they found the female owner but not sight of the car.To her bad luck, it became fully submerged and was then carried away. No word on what happened to the poor spider that was inside and that, apparently, caused this chain of events.The woman told the police that she was backing her Kia van down a boat launch, in order to put her kayak in the Etowah River. At that moment, she saw a spider landing in her lap and she panicked so badly that her only thought was to get out of the car ASAP.That she should put the car in park first didnt even cross her mind, so as she ran from the vehicle, it slowly rolled backwards into the river. She watched it disappear from sight.She stated that it floated downstream a few feet, a GSP spokesperson tells AJC. And within seconds, it was totally submerged. A passerby in a boat attempted to locate the van, but without success.There is some good news, though: the woman was informed by her insurance company that they would be paying for a dive team to come and search for the vehicle and fetch it back to dry land. She will still be car-less, but at least she will now have a physical reminder of why its never a good idea to jump out of your car without proper precautions , regardless of how scared you are of spiders. April 23, 2019 (Loudon, New Hampshire) - Hundreds of the world's top engineering students are expected to arrive at Dartmouth's one-of-a-kind Formula Hybrid Competition when it starts April 29, ready to put to the test the earth-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles they designed and built over the last 10 months. This year's 20 teams hail from Canada, India and across the U.S. Their eight hybrid and 12 electric vehicles will need to pass numerous technical and safety inspections in order to make it on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway track where the event will be held through May 2. Many top engineering students engage in this technical competition because they want to collaborate with a team to build something highly complex and important not only to them but to the future of the world. "Participating in Formula Hybrid specifically is like a vote for a more sustainable future," says Annika Garbers, the chief mechanical engineer for the all-female Rochester Institute of Technology team Hot Wheelz. "When we design our car to perform well with sustainability in mind, it's 1) educating the next generation of engineers to be prepared to work on hybrid and electric technology in the automotive industry, and 2) proving that electric and hybrid vehicles can perform as well as and better than traditional IC [internal combustion] cars." Similar to the Formula SAE competition, students compete in aspects of design, acceleration, handling, and endurance of their vehicle while abiding by rules that minimize risk and preserve students' freedom to innovate. At Formula Hybrid, they also have to optimize energy efficiency and incorporate sustainable materials when building their vehicles. "We are the only hybrid competition of its kind," said Douglas Fraser, founder of Formula Hybrid and senior research engineer and laboratory instructor at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, which runs the event. "There are competitions that look a lot like ours, but those vehicles are gasoline powered or powered entirely by electric. We are the only competition that combines the two, with gasoline engine on one side and electric power on the other. Blending the output can be done any number of ways. Students have to work together and decide which system gets to do what. It's pretty tricky." As a result, Formula Hybrid is the only competition that requires a unique collaboration between mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and computer scientists in the planning and building of their cars. For outside spectators, Wed. May 1 is the "most fun-filled" day to visit, according to Jessica Kinzie, the competition's coordinating manager. The autocross and acceleration events run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It's also Formula Hybrid School Day for middle and high school students who enjoy guided tours with volunteers from the SCCA New England Section and other knowledgeable experts. For more information and a complete schedule, please visit the competition website. New research has found the natural vibrations of cars make people sleepier, affecting concentration and alertness levels just 15 minutes after drivers get behind the wheel. With about 20 per cent of fatal road crashes involving driver fatigue, researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, hope their findings can be used by manufacturers to improve car seat designs to help keep drivers awake. Professor Stephen Robinson said the effects of physical vibration on drivers were not well understood, despite growing evidence that vibration contributes to feelings of sleepiness. "We know 1 in 5 Australians have fallen asleep at the wheel and we know that drowsy driving is a significant issue for road safety," Robinson said. "When you're tired, it doesn't take much to start nodding off and we've found that the gentle vibrations made by car seats as you drive can lull your brain and body. "Our study shows steady vibrations at low frequencies - the kind we experience when driving cars and trucks - progressively induce sleepiness even among people who are well rested and healthy. "From 15 minutes of getting in the car, drowsiness has already begun to take hold. In half an hour, it's making a significant impact on your ability to stay concentrated and alert. "To improve road safety, we hope that future car seat designs can build in features that disrupt this lulling effect and fight vibration-induced sleepiness." Led by chief investigators Associate Professor Mohammad Fard and Professor Stephen Robinson, the research team tested 15 volunteers in a virtual simulator that replicates the experience of driving on a monotonous two-lane highway. The simulator was set up on a platform that could be vibrated on different frequencies, with the volunteers tested twice - once with vibrations at low frequencies (4-7Hz) and once with no vibration. The tiredness induced by vibration makes it psychologically and physiologically harder to perform mental tasks, so the body's nervous system activates to compensate, leading to changes in the heartbeat. By looking at the volunteers' heart rate variability (HRV), researchers were able to gain an objective measure of how drowsy they were feeling as the 60-minute test progressed. Within 15 minutes of starting the vibrating test, volunteers were showing signs of drowsiness. Within 30 minutes, the drowsiness was significant, requiring substantial effort to maintain alertness and cognitive performance. The drowsiness increased progressively over the test, peaking at 60 minutes. Associate Professor Mohammad Fard said more work was needed to build on the findings and examine how vibrations affected people across different demographics. "We want to study a larger cohort, particularly to investigate how age may affect someone's vulnerability to vibration-induced drowsiness as well as the impact of health problems such as sleep apnea," he said. "Our research also suggests that vibrations at some frequencies may have the opposite effect and help keep people awake. "So we also want to examine a wider range of frequencies, to inform car designs that could potentially harness those 'good vibrations'." The midterm elections may have been a sign of what's ahead for the 2020 presidential election: experts say the voter turnout could be the highest in a century. The big picture: According to Michael McDonald, an elections expert at the University of Florida, turnout for the 2020 presidential election could be as high as 67% the highest it's been since at least 1916. If that happens, President Trump will have a tougher fight for a second term. He's driving turnout among those most unhappy with him (younger voters and people of color) even when he's not on the ballot. among those most unhappy with him (younger voters and people of color) even when he's not on the ballot. And Trump voters aren't a growing demographic group. The share of whites with less than a 4-year degree Trump's constituency dropped by 3% from 2014 to 2018. Between the lines: McDonald is basing his prediction of "a hundred-year storm" on the 2018 midterms, which had the highest off-year election turnout in more than a century (50%). He says that momentum will only get stronger. Prior to 2018, turnout rates for midterms since 1974 had been languishing around 40% to 41%. "It doesn't seem to be the candidates who were running in 2018; there wasn't hyper competition driving turnout; some states made it easier to vote, but that can't explain it because the increase was happening in every state," McDonald said. "So the only explanation is Donald Trump because hes the only major factor thats changed in our politics since 2014." Turnout in the 2016 presidential election was 60%. "The safest prediction in politics is for a giant turnout in 2020," said Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia. "Nobody's going to believe the polls after 2016, and everyone will assume a tight race." "Anti-Trump Democrats and the pro-Trump base will both set human adrenaline records the intensity across the country is going to be spectacular. Let's hope the polling places can accommodate the crowds." With that kind of increase, turnout rates would likely go up for everybody. But: Older white people already tend to vote at high rates, and they're close to their maximum turnout already. already tend to vote at high rates, and they're close to their maximum turnout already. By contrast, you'll see bigger turnout increases among young people, people of color, and low-income people generally important constituencies for the Democratic Party because they vote in lower numbers. you'll see bigger turnout increases among young people, people of color, and low-income people generally important constituencies for the Democratic Party because they vote in lower numbers. From 2014 to 2018, turnout among whites with a 4-year degree went up 17%, while non-white voters' turnout increased by 15%. Yes, but: There could be some increase among Trump voters, too. Turnout among whites without a 4-year degree went up by 12% in the same period. "I'd imagine these people are going to be activated in 2020 with Trump on the ballot," McDonald said. While the country is becoming more diverse, it's also getting older, particularly in places like Ohio and throughout the Midwest, according to the 2020 Census Bureau projections. That's another group that Trump tends to perform well with with, especially older white voters. The Trump campaign isn't buying it. "Predicting turnout this far in advance of an election is a fool's errand," said campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany, noting that there's no sure way to know which voters will turn out. The bottom line: For all of his struggles in the polls, Trump is the incumbent and he has a booming economy. But a historic election turnout could wipe out those advantages and the early signs suggest that's exactly what we're about to get. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated India's general election results Thursday. Details: Modi posted a celebratory tweet, saying, "Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!" The big picture: Take a look in pictures at moments from the election, in which 900 million registered voters cast their ballots over 7 phases from April 11 to May 19, to vote counting day. A BJP supporter celebrates the poll results in Patna, northeast India. Supporters and party workers of the BJP celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Bangalore. Photo: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images BJP supporters celebrate the election result in Siliguri, northeast India. Nuns from the Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charities queue to cast their votes in Kolkata. Photo: Amit Datta/AFP/Getty Images Indian election officials show an open Electronic Voting Machine to counting agents in Faridabad, northern India. Photo: Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images Sweet shops prepare laddus on orders from political candidates in Patna, northeast India, ahead of poll results. Photo: A P Dube/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Voters at a polling station in Amoni village in northeast India. Photo: Biju Boro/AFP/Getty Images An Indian National Congress party election rally in Bandanwara, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Photo: Shaukat Ahmed/AFP/Getty Images Indian voters queue to cast their votes in the Ghoramara island. Photo: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images An Indian Sadhu (Hindu holy man) voter in Uttar Pradesh state. Photo: Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images Go deeper: India's Modi poised for 5 more years in office after landslide In a tweet on Thursday, Joe Biden mourned the 6th migrant child who died in September while detained in U.S. custody: "Over the last year, six children have tragically died in US custody at the border. Its unacceptable. Its not who we are. And silence is complicity. Its on all of us to stand up and speak out. America is a nation of immigrants. We must guarantee everyone's treated with dignity." The big picture: Biden and many other 2020 Democratic candidates have condemned the Trump administration's policies and handlings of the border crisis. Biden has consistently run on attacking Trump's divisive rhetoric on immigration and white supremacy. Details: On Monday, Customs and Border Protection confirmed 16-year-old Carlos Hernandez Vasquez from Guatemala died of influenza while detained by the Border Patrol in south Texas. On May 14, an unidentified 2-year-old Guatemalan boy died of a severe case of pneumonia after he was apprehended, per the Washington Post. In April, 16-year-old Juan de Leon Gutierrez from Guatemala died in a Texas hospital after being apprehended crossing the border. In December, 8-year-old migrant Felipe Gomez Alonzo from Guatemala died after developing the flu. In December, 7-year-old Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin from Guatemala died of sepsis. The death of a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador in September was disclosed on Wednesday for the first time. She had a history of medical problems and was hospitalized for months until her death. Go deeper: On the scene: The Pentagon commits to the border crisis Where's Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock? The backdrop: In October, Fink was on a long list of CEOs who made a big show of pulling out of Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative, also known as Davos in the Desert. In November, Fink was honored by the International Rescue Committee at its annual dinner, where he received the charity's Humanitarian Award. This week , Fink was back in Riyadh for the Saudi Arabian Financial Sector Conference. He appeared on a panel alongside the Saudi finance minister discussing "the link between purpose and profit." One of the questions posed: "How can investment best be used as a force for positive change?" , Fink was back in Riyadh for the Saudi Arabian Financial Sector Conference. He appeared on a panel alongside the Saudi finance minister discussing "the link between purpose and profit." One of the questions posed: "How can investment best be used as a force for positive change?" Fink's panel took place one day after 37 Saudis were executed by the government, one of whom was subsequently crucified. According to Amnesty International at least 104 people have been executed by Saudi Arabia this year, 44 of whom were foreign nationals. Fink gushed about the tightening spreads on Saudi Aramco's recent bond issue, and he said that when it comes to issues raised by journalists, "the power of the press allows most issues to be mitigated." That, he explained, is why he is optimistic about the region as a long-term investor. "The changes here in the kingdom in the last two years are pretty amazing," he declared. Fink had lots of bold-faced company at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. (Yes, the conference hotel is the same building that was formerly a luxury prison.) Its a privilege to be back in Saudi Arabia, said HSBC CEO John Flint, also an October refusenik. Other speakers included representatives from JPMorgan, Societe Generale and the London Stock Exchange Group. The bottom line: Back in October, it wasn't clear whether Saudi Arabia would become a toxic destination for capitalists or whether the Jamal Khashoggi outrage would turn out to be a temporary blip. Now we know the answer. In an interview with the Washington Post, 2020 presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg took stances on a string of key 2020 issues, and readily attacked President Trump on his foreign policy decisions as commander-in-chief. On Iran: Buttigieg said he would rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. "I'm extremely rattled by the sabre-rattling. ... Its mystifying to me that John Bolton, one of the architects of the Iraq war, probably the greatest American policy disaster of my lifetime, is allowed anyone near the situation room. Climate change: He wants to rejoin Paris climate agreement with a focus on combatting climate change through multilateral foreign policy. He also wants to restore the EPA's carbon emissions rule for new coal plants. On his husband Chastens role: Buttigieg said he doesnt plan on putting Chasten in the West Wing if elected. "He'd make an amazing First Gentleman. I've never hired family. .. He helps me govern right now." Trade war with China: Buttigieg said he would remove the tariffs and launch a new conversation with China. "We need to be on the front foot standing up to China." U.S.-Mexico border wall: He would not tear down what has been built by the Trump administration. "Building them was a waste of money. Tearing them down would be another waste of money." Breaking up Big Tech: Buttigieg dodged whether he would regulate Big Tech like Facebook. He said its clear that the U.S. needs a different type of regulation. On Israel: "Being supportive of Israel doesnt have to mean youre supportive of the Israeli political right wing. Im not. Go deeper: Pete Buttigieg on the issues, in under 500 words President Trump fired back at former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a Thursday tweet after reports that Tillerson disparaged the president's preparation for a 2017 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin: "Rex Tillerson, a man who is 'dumb as a rock' and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing!" The backdrop: After a request from House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Tillerson told the committee in a closed hearing Wednesday that "a discrepancy in preparation ... created an unequal footing" for the meeting in Hamburg, per the Washington Post. Tillerson and other aides were present for the meeting, unlike the sit-down between Trump and Putin last year in Helsinki. The U.S. side apparently anticipated a short meeting with Putin, but it turned into a wide-ranging, two-hour conversation between the leaders. Tillerson told the committee that he thought the U.S. could be doing more to counter Russia, a person who was in the room told the Post. Worth noting: Tillerson did not explicitly bash Trump during the hearing, stating that they share a common goal "to secure and advance Americas place in the world and to promote and protect American values." Go deeper: Trump mocks Tillerson, who accused him of wanting to break the law Short of a highly improbable climbdown by China, President Trump, confronting a strong re-election challenge from Democrats, is likely to maintain an aggressive public posture toward Beijing at least through the 2020 campaign cycle, experts tell Axios. The big picture: Standing tall against China is one of the very few issues with strong bipartisan popularity across the country, which will make Trump hesitant to let it go, especially given the strong economy. For China's Xi Jinping, too, there is much greater political safety in not caving to Trump. too, there is much greater political safety in not caving to Trump. "Whether or not we get a deal on trade, the U.S.-China relationship is heading towards greater confrontation," says Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group. What's happening: As we reported Monday, health care appears to be a key bipartisan campaign issue. But for Trump, China could be as much or more important, exemplifying what he sees as his key attribute strength against the foes he sees everywhere. In a piece yesterday, the NYT's Trip Gabriel reported that Trump's China stance is helping him to solidify support among blue-collar workers in Ohio. Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, one of the two dozen Democratic candidates for president, told Gabriel that when local people observe Trump's China policy, they see that "at least he's punching somebody in the face, and no one else is." one of the two dozen Democratic candidates for president, told Gabriel that when local people observe Trump's China policy, they see that "at least he's punching somebody in the face, and no one else is." This dynamic the deeply visceral support for a sharp-edged approach to China is likely to change the complexion of the election. "If anything, I expect Democratic presidential candidates to attack Trump from the hawkish side, as being too accommodating to China by seeking a deal," said Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The big picture: Last August and September, we surveyed economists and other experts on the U.S.-China tension, most of whom said they expect the trade war to last at least a year and perhaps longer (see here and here). This week, I asked a half-dozen of them whether their opinion had changed. Some said that the outcome is not locked in Trump and Xi could have a breakthrough next month at the G20 summit in Osaka, for instance. Some said that the outcome is not locked in Trump and Xi could have a breakthrough next month at the G20 summit in Osaka, for instance. But all said the likelihood is a trade or cold war lasting through or past the November 2020 election. Gary Hufbauer, a trade specialist with the Peterson Institute, said the best-case scenario would be that Trump and Xi call a truce through the 2020 election, and agree not to escalate further. As we noted in our 2019 geopolitical forecasts, uppermost in Beijing's mind is the humiliation of the 19th century Opium Wars, when the Chinese were forced into far-reaching concessions. Now, Trump is reinforcing that century-and-a-half-old lesson. "The one key lesson Beijing has taken away from the trade war with the U.S. is they never want to be in a position of such vulnerability again. Theres no trust between the two countries," Bremmer told me. For now, both countries are flexing their muscles, feeding their mutual political frenzies: This week, Huawei has descended into a full-blown crisis following a Trump executive order last week effectively barring U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese company. into a full-blown crisis following a Trump executive order last week effectively barring U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese company. On Monday, Trump slightly softened the order, but tech, mobile carriers and other companies in the U.S., Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have either halted business with Huawei or said they will, report the FT's James Kynge and Mercedes Ruehl. Among them are Google, Intel and Qualcomm. softened the order, but tech, mobile carriers and other companies in the U.S., Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have either halted business with Huawei or said they will, report the FT's James Kynge and Mercedes Ruehl. Among them are Google, Intel and Qualcomm. In the U.K., it was the chip designer ARM suspending business with Huawei, reports the BBC's Dave Lee. If the suspension persists, it would be an "'insurmountable' blow to Huawei's business," an analyst told Lee. On Monday, Xi took his turn with a veiled threat to cut off U.S. supplies of rare earth metals, elements that are crucial to everything from high-tech devices to military jets, writes Bloomberg's David Fickling. A high-profile Xi visit to a rare earths magnet plant reminded observers of China's cutoff of rare earths to Japan in a 2010 confrontation, reports Foreign Policy's Keith Johnson. Edward Alden, a trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, "The longer this drags on, and the more it escalates with the sanctions on Huawei, possible Chinese counter-moves on rare earths etc., the more difficult it will be to find a face-saving way for both countries to climb down. And if theres no room for face-saving compromise, the trade war could certainly extend to November 2020 and beyond." The bottom line: The brinkmanship is likely to continue as long as the two leaders worry more about saving face and projecting strength than a deal. Trump has already signaled that China will be a pillar of his campaign. Data has consistently shown that trade between the U.S. and China is slowing down significantly, so much so that Mexico recently supplanted China (and Canada) as the top U.S. trading partner. The bottom line: Deutsche Bank Securities chief economist Torsten Slok points out that the U.S. has clearly shifted one-to-one its imports away from China and toward the rest of the world. Investors expect things to work themselves out, but economists and market analysts at major banks are starting to worry more publicly that the trade war isn't ending anytime soon. What they're saying: Analysts at Nomura now say there's a 65% chance the U.S. puts tariffs on all imports from China, and strategists at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are rewriting expectations as well. "Additional trade-related actions taken over the last several days further raise the risk of additional US tariffs on imports from China and further reduce the chances of a formal agreement at the June G20 meeting," Alec Phillips, a strategist on Goldman Sachs' economic research team, wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. taken over the last several days further raise the risk of additional US tariffs on imports from China and further reduce the chances of a formal agreement at the June G20 meeting," Alec Phillips, a strategist on Goldman Sachs' economic research team, wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. "While there is substantial uncertainty, we believe the odds are slightly greater that further US-China tariff escalation is avoided. That said, this is a close call and without additional signs of progress over the next few weeks, implementation of the next round of tariffs on $300bn of imports from China could easily become the base case." Go deeper: U.S. firms in China say tariffs are hurting business Despite warnings from economists that the U.S-China trade war could cause a global economic recession, investors have been buying rather than selling. What's happening: Both institutional investors and hedge funds have gone bargain-hunting in the weeks since President Trump reignited the trade war by increasing tariffs on Chinese imports to 25%. Investors remain largely convinced that the public squabble between the 2 countries is bluster, and that a deal is likely sooner rather than later. Details: Bank of America-Merrill Lynch equity analysts said Tuesday its clients "bought the dip" for the second straight week, with $2.2 billion worth of cash flows to stocks, "which may suggest optimism that a deal will be reached and global growth will continue to recover," Jill Carey Hall, an equity and quantitative strategist at BAML, wrote in a note to clients yesterday. To wit, the bank's data shows 85% of investors expect a deal on trade while just 10% expect further escalation. Investors' survey responses imply only a 17% probability of a recession in the next 12 months. The intrigue: Even at the height of selling, when the market sank 5%, investors were not panicking. Data from Deutsche Bank found that net long positions in equity futures which were at the top of their historic range before the selloff have only fallen modestly and remain above average levels. The selloff was even weak compared to traditional pullbacks after a long stock rally, like the one the U.S. market has seen for much of 2019. That leaves the market "vulnerable in the near term," Deutsche Bank Research strategist Parag Thatte said in a note. But data shows that investor confidence may be misplaced, as tariffs are already starting to make an impact. Goldman Sachs analysts note that U.S.-China trade is showing significant slowing in items hit by initial tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by Trump in early 2018. Even so, fund managers remain bullish and hedge funds have significantly cut back on defensive positioning, Masanari Takada, a quantitative strategist at Nomura, said in a note to clients. "It would appear that the majority of hedge funds do not expect another sharp rise in volatility, and that they have concluded that the correction has run its course." Go deeper: The world can't afford a trade war right now There are no calm waters in sight in the U.S.-China trade fight, but even before the latest round of tariffs, the retail industry had been tumbling in a whirlpool. The backdrop: For the past few quarters, retailers have warned analysts about the U.S.-China trade war's potential to hurt sales as tariffs push prices up and turn shoppers away. But those effects have been invisible so far because the first two rounds of tariffed products largely excluded consumer goods. Now things are changing, with tariffs being imposed on the third and fourth "lists" of goods set out by the Trump administration. Steep 25% tariffs on the third list, which went into effect this month, will affect things like instant coffee and bathrobes. The fourth list includes all imports from China and will touch common consumer products like clothes and shoes. Worth noting: Several types of apparel are heavily tariffed even without the additional duties, says Hun Quach of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. For example, swimsuits already face a 25% tariff and dresses, 16%. Where it stands: In recent earnings calls, big retailers like Kohl's, Nordstrom and JCPenney have reported disappointing sales numbers and said that the impact of tariffs could make things worse. The big picture: The threat of tariffs comes amid decades-long changes in U.S. retail that have been shuttering malls and emptying out Main Streets across the country. The latest: Dressbarn plans to close all 650 of its stores, and Payless ShoeSource will close its 2,600 stores by July. Hundreds of footwear sellers, including Nike and Adidas, sent an open letter to President Trump saying the effect of tariffs would be "catastrophic" for them. Even the retailers reporting strong growth, such as Macy's and Walmart, said tariffs will likely drive prices up. As many as 12,000 store closures could happen this year if tariffs become a tipping point for smaller or struggling retailers, writes UBS analyst Jay Sole. The bottom line: "This last round of tariffs, should it occur, is going to be a big challenge," said Mike Zuccaro, an analyst with Moody's. Go deeper: The world can't afford a trade war right now One week after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians visit to Beijing, the Armenian government formally approved on Thursday an impending agreement on visa-free travel between Armenia and China. Pashinian said that the agreement is due to be signed during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yis upcoming trip to Armenia. We hope that it will invigorate relations between our countries and Armenias citizens will be able to visit China without obstacles, he told a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. Presenting the draft agreement to the cabinet members, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigor Hovannisian said it will allow Armenian and Chinese citizens to stay in each others country visa-free for up to 90 days. He said it also commits the two states to quickly deporting travellers abusing the new rules. The signing of the agreement is expected to lead to more active commercial, business and tourism contacts between the two countries and a more effective use of the potential existing in this area, added Hovannisian. Pashinian noted that the agreement was reached during his working trip to China which began on May 14. The Armenian leader met with Chinas President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang and took part in an international conference held in Beijing. Constructive and productive relations with China are very important for us, Pashinian told Xi. Xi reportedly reaffirmed his governments desire to deepen political, economic and cultural ties with Armenia. According to an Armenian government statement, he said Chinese firms are ready to participate in major infrastructure projects in Armenia. China is Armenias second largest trading partner. According to official Armenian statistics, Chinese-Armenian trade soared by over 29 percent in 2018, to $771 million. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) accused the government of not delivering on its promises and seeking to establish one-man rule instead as it held a rally in Yerevan on Thursday. Armenias authorities do not have a program or vision for countrys development and a professional team to address challenges facing the country, Ishkhan Saghatelian, a leader of the opposition party, told hundreds of supporters who gathered in the citys Liberty Square. Instead of forming a common national agenda, consolidating the society, establishing social solidarity the authorities continue to work, live and breathe with the past, he said. Saghatelian deplored Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians latest verbal attacks on his political foes and allegations that some of them are plotting treasonous acts in Nagorno-Karabakh. He claimed that such statements are only destabilizing the political situation and could even provoke clashes in the country. Stop looking for enemies among your own people, Saghatelian said, appealing to the authorities. Understand that those who do not share your views or criticize you are also the people. Give up [political] shows, populism, demagoguery and intentions to establish one-man rule on behalf of the people though force and threats. Do not repeat the mistakes of which you yourself had accused others in past. Or else, it could be too late. The peoples patience has limits, he warned. Another senior Dashnaktsutyun figure, former Agriculture Minister Artur Khachatrian, attacked the governments economic record. Where is the [promised] economic revolution? he said. I dont see results of that revolution. They say there are no oligarchs anymore, Khachatrian went on. But has the structure of our economy changed? Which company with dominant positions in the market has ceded its positions? Khachatrian was one of the two Dashnaktsutyun-affiliated members of Pashinians first cabinet formed in May 2018 following the Armenian velvet revolution. The prime minister sacked them in October, accusing Dashnaktsutyun of secretly collaborating with former President Serzh Sarkisians Republican Party (HHK). Dashnaktsutyun has since been increasingly critical of Pashinians government. The center-left nationalist party, which is particularly influential in the Armenian Diaspora, failed to win any seats in the Armenian parliament in snap general elections held in December. In a declaration adopted at a congress held late last month, Dashnaktsutyuns organization in Armenia said that the authorities have failed to achieve tangible results in any area of public life. It also joined other opposition groups on Sunday in condemning Pashinians calls for a blockade of all court buildings in the country. Pashinian appealed to his supporters to stage such protests on Monday morning following the release from custody of his bitter foe and former President Robert Kocharian, who is facing corruption and coup charges. He went on to state that many Armenian judges remain linked to the former corrupt system. Dashnaktsutyun, which was allied to Kocharian during his 1998-2008 rule, criticized his arrest last year on charges stemming from the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. Speaking to reporters after Thursdays rally, one of the partys veteran leaders, Armen Rustamian, described the coup charges as absurd. By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 21 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on May 23, Trend reports. 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova The crucial infrastructure projects implemented by Azerbaijan in the region open up great opportunities for foreign countries to transport their goods from West to the Eastern markets and vice versa. Estonia and Azerbaijan can discuss opportunities to expand cooperation in the port industry, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Trend. There are opportunities to expand cooperation in the port industry that can bring benefits to both countries, said the minister, noting that preliminary negotiations and meetings have been held. He added that if both countries show interest, this issue will be discussed at the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, which will be held in Estonia at the end of 2019. Reinsalu also touched upon the prospects for the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Estonia in the field of tourism. The total number of tourists still has potential for growth, and we must do more to mutually popularize our countries. He noted that Estonian travel agency Germalo organizes regular tours to Azerbaijan, stressing that the number of visas issued to Azerbaijani citizens to visit Estonia has remained the same for the last couple of years. In his words, expansion of contacts between people as well as cultural and business ties can help attract tourists. The minister further added that Estonia is interested in diversification of areas of cooperation with Azerbaijan. Bilateral relations between Estonia and Azerbaijan are stable. In recent years, we have made progress in strengthening political cooperation through high-level meetings, he said. We have established very good contacts between our parliaments. I am glad that our vice speaker visited Baku in October 2018. He added that an Estonian-Azerbaijani parliamentary group has also been formed in the Estonian parliament, and good contacts will certainly continue. We are interested in intensifying political dialogue and diversifying areas of cooperation. Reinsalu stressed that the parties are already cooperating excellently in the field of ICT and education, but there is great potential for the further development of economic relations and increasing trade flows. The minister went on to note that the Estonian government appreciates the cooperation with all the countries of the Eastern Partnership and actively promotes this initiative in the European Union. The EU is an important partner for Azerbaijan, and we welcome the positive dynamics in relations between the EU and Azerbaijan. The Minister recalled that the EU foreign ministers and their colleagues from the six Eastern Partnership countries met in Brussels on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership on May 13, 2019, to confirm the importance of this initiative, note its successes and also think about the future of strategic partnership. I am glad that I met with my Azerbaijani counterpart in Brussels, and I look forward to establishing good and productive working relations with him, said the minister. Diplomatic relations between Estonia and Azerbaijan were established in 1992. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Azerbaijan is an ally of Estonia in the South Caucasus. About 15 agreements have been signed between the countries, and 22 Estonian companies operate in Azerbaijan. Approximately 2,500 Azerbaijanis live in Estonia. The economic relations between Azerbaijan and Estonia have gradually increased in recent years. The intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Estonia was established in 2011. There is a great potential for the development of ties. Azerbaijan is interested in cooperation in the field of food industry, energy supply, textile, furniture and wood industry, tourism, while the Estonian side is interested in sharing their experience particularly in ICT and e-government. Estonia considers Azerbaijan as a possible corridor to the markets of Iran, Middle East and India. Estonian railway companies and sea ports have good relations with Azerbaijan Railways and Baku International Sea Trade Port. Estonia is currently working on opening a transit corridor between Scandinavia, Middle East and Central Asia. The trade turnover with Estonia amounted to $5 million in 2018, according to State Statistical Committee. Estonian exports reached $3.7 million, while Azerbaijani exports made up $1.3 million. The main goods of export from Estonia to Azerbaijan were machinery (68 percent), timber and wood production, paper and cardboard. At the same time, Estonia mainly imported foodstuffs, such as nut, juice and water, from Azerbaijan. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) is a regional project which starts from Southeast Asia and China, runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further to European countries. Kazakh and Azerbaijani national transport companies are the key participants in TITR, a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan told Trend. The representative stressed that Azerbaijan is a key political and economic partner in the Caucasus region for Kazakhstan, adding that the Kazakh side is optimistic about the future development of bilateral relations. It was noted that operation of Kazakh Kuryk and Azerbaijani Alat seaports is an important point of bilateral cooperation. The ferry complex construction in the Kuryk port was completed in December 2016. It is focused on transshipment of oil products, grain, chemicals, fertilizers and other goods, allowing transshipment of goods without unloading them from wagons,the ministry representative added. To reduce the time for processing ferry cargoes between the Kazakh and Azerbaijani ports, a new procedure for issuing transportation documents according to the "one window" principle has been introduced. "As a result, the time reduced from 10-12 hours on average to four hours, and border authorities as well as customs and temporary storage warehouses work around the clock," the representative noted. Providing direct transportation of passengers and cargo through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line project implementation serves to increase the transit potential of the countries in the region. This project implementation, as well as the implementation of freight traffic between the European and Asian countries along this line, also contributed to the increase in the volume of intermodal and container traffic in both directions, according to the Kazakh ministry. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia agreed on the conditions for the carriage of goods by rail and ferries on the Alat-Aktau-Alat and Alat-Kuryk-Alat routes on March 2017. In addition, the representative noted that a container train from the Kazakh-Chinese logistics terminal in the Chinese Lianyungang port was launched on November 28, 2018. The container train will proceed via TITR through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to its final destination in Istanbul. The current plans imply that transportation to this destination will be carried out on a regular basis, according to the ministry. "Container shipments will be sent from the port of Lianyungang every month. The frequency of shipments will be increased in the future," the representative concluded. In December 2016, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the participants of the Coordinating Committee for the Development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, decided to establish the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Since February 2017, TITR has started its activities. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend A meeting of the working group of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) on public debt is taking place in Azerbaijan on May 23, Trend reports. The meeting is organized with the support of Azerbaijan's Chamber of Accounts. The meeting is aimed at presentation of international standards of public debt management, exchange of experience, and discussion of the issues of mutual interest related to studying problematic issues and developing further cooperation with INTOSAI. The growth rates of incomes and expenses in the budget of Azerbaijan for 2018 are the highest in the last seven years, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Chamber of Accounts Vugar Gulmammadov said at the meeting. He said that according to the information of the financial authorities, the indicator of public debt in relation to GDP is below 20 percent, which is a good indicator. Gulmammadov noted that control over public debt is one of the most important tasks of the external state financial control authorities. It provides economic security and serves to prevent risks, he added. He said that such meetings should be held to share experience and improve results, and praised INTOSAIs activities. He added that the Chamber of Accounts, in turn, considers the regulation of public debt to be one of the main tasks of the chamber. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova Being strong economic partners, Azerbaijan and UK are keen on further expansion of bilateral cooperation by implementing large-scale projects in both energy and non-energy sectors. The Azerbaijan-UK energy forum was held within the framework of the third meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in London on May 22. The forum, led by the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Azerbaijan Baroness Emma Nicholson and Azerbaijans Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, focused on the development of the oil and gas sector, the implemented projects, new bilateral cooperation opportunities, as well as the measures taken in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Azerbaijan. Speaking at the event, Shahbazov spoke about the importance of energy cooperation and joint implementation of the Contract of the Century first signed in 1994. In his words, energy partnership with the UK is not limited to the investment of more than $25 billion in the oil and gas sector of Azerbaijan. The minister stressed that successful cooperation in the energy sector plays an important role in the recognition of Azerbaijan as a reliable oil and gas supplier in the international markets and a guarantor of energy security for many countries ensuring diversification interests. Shahbazov highly appreciated the British oil and gas company BP's role in the implementation of Azerbaijan's energy strategy, noting that new projects will ensure that this collaboration will continue until the middle of the century. He also noted that presently, two countries' joint energy cooperation agenda includes projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor, the development of a new phase of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields, the D 230 perspective block, the Dayazsulu Absheron and Shafag-Asiman projects as well as joint activities in renewable energy. The minister further added that the UK's experience in this area will contribute to the development of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, and small rivers. At the forum, the head of the Apparatus of the Energy Ministry Zaur Mammadov made a presentation on energy reforms in Azerbaijan, SOCARs Vice President Rafiga Huseynzade - on oil and gas sector, and representatives of BP and SNC Lavalin-Atkins companies - on renewable energy development. On the same day, the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held, co-chaired by Minister Parviz Shahbazov and the UKs Minister of State for Trade Policy George Hollingbery. At the meeting, the sides discussed existing relations in various spheres of cooperation and prospects for expanding bilateral ties. Shahbazov briefed on the economic relations between Azerbaijan and the UK, stressing that there is successful cooperation between the two countries in various fields. He went on to say that the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 61.1 percent last year and 89.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2018. Shahbazov noted that currently there are 437 British companies operating in Azerbaijan, and the UKs investment in Azerbaijan's economy amounted to $28 billion. Hollingbery, in turn, expressed interest in developing relations with Azerbaijan in various directions, adding that joint activities will play an important role for this purpose. Given the fact that oil and gas sector plays an important role in the bilateral cooperation, the meeting identified future priorities in energy cooperation, which include reducing production costs in the oil and gas sector, improving hydrocarbon productivity, developing new technologies, as well as renewable energy and energy efficiency. Moreover, the interest for cooperation to create a better business environment for trade and investment was noted. The Azerbaijani side said that industrial parks, in particular, Sumgayit Chemical Park and Pirallahi Industrial Park, public-private partnership projects create new opportunities for further cooperation, noting the need for cooperation with UK companies in agriculture, tourism and other areas of the non-oil sector. It was mentioned that the UK can share its experience in agriculture, production technology, and can implement joint projects on priority directions. The signing of a memorandum of understanding between relevant bodies contributes to the process. The meeting noted that it is important to exchange experiences on the establishment and development of tourism and recreation zones, and to continue cooperation within the framework of exhibitions and business forums. In the field of education, the opportunities for expansion of relations between universities of both countries, English language teaching, vocational training and other opportunities should be considered. It was said that cooperation in the areas of high technology, digital public services, space industry, transport, food security, and ecology is one of the most important aspects for the development of bilateral relations. At the end of the meeting, the Protocol on the results of the third meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission was signed by the co-chairs. The fourth meeting of the Azerbaijan-UK Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation will be held in Baku in 2020. Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom were established on March 11, 1992. The UK is a strategic partner of Azerbaijan in many spheres of cooperation and both countries are interested in expanding economic ties. For the UK, the Caspian region is an area of great opportunity as Azerbaijan makes the most of its strategic geographic position, energy resources and transport links. BP is the largest foreign investor in Azerbaijan that helped the Azerbaijani government transform the economy, establishing a solid foundation to build business success. In recent years, the bilateral relations have been made even stronger with the establishment of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between the two countries and the UK-Azerbaijan Partnership Program in the Oil and Gas Sector. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Georgia has increased considerably in January-April and reached $362.1 million. According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, Azerbaijan became the third largest trade partner of the neighboring country after Turkey and Russia. In January-April 2019, Georgia's foreign trade turnover amounted to $3.8 billion. Azerbaijan's share in the total trade turnover of Georgia made up 9.4 percent in the four months. During the reporting period, Georgia exported goods worth $126.3 million to Azerbaijan, which is 5 percent more than in the same period of last year. At the same time, Georgia imported goods of $235.8 million from Azerbaijan in January-April. Thus, Azerbaijani exports to Georgia increased by 2.6 percent compared to the first four months of 2018. In 2018, the total trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan amounted to $1.1 billion. Georgian exports to Azerbaijan amounted to $502.7 million, while Azerbaijan exported goods worth $586 million to Georgia. Georgian exports to Azerbaijan mainly include cement, locomotives and other railway vehicles, mineral and chemical fertilizers, mineral waters, strong drinks, glass and glassware, pharmaceuticals, etc. Azerbaijan mainly exports oil and oil products, natural gas, electricity, plastic, cement, anhydrite and gypsum binders to Georgia. Azerbaijan and Georgia maintain high-level relations in all spheres, especially in the economic field. The two countries have long taken joint initiatives for global projects in the region. Close bilateral ties play a key role in the development of regional cooperation. In 1995-2018, Georgia invested $93.8 million in the Azerbaijani economy, while Azerbaijan invested $3 billion in Georgia. Since 2012, Azerbaijan has been holding the first place in terms of investments in Georgia. Currently, more than 300 Georgian companies are registered in Azerbaijan, while some 650 Azerbaijani companies operate in Georgia. It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan was named the number one investor in Georgia in 2018. Last year, Azerbaijan invested $240 million in Georgia's economy. Azerbaijan's share in direct investments in the economy of the neighboring country was 19.5 percent. Although it is 1.9 times less than in 2017, Azerbaijan maintained its leadership. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Local artists will take part in the workshop to be held at Art Tower Gallery on May 25-26 and June 1 as part of H.E.Art ecological art project. The workshop will be organized as part of a series of events held by Arts Council Azerbaijan in 2019 on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the birth of Azerbaijani artist and animation director Nazim Mammadov (1934-2004), Trend Life reported. Inspired by his animation, talented artists Eldar Babazade, Nuray Allahverdiyeva, Leyla Orujova, Matanat Niftaliyeva, Kamila Muradova, Roya Hasanova and Teymur Garibov will paint metal barrels within the workshop. Characters and scenes from animated films - "Fox Goes on a Pilgrimage", "The Shah and the Servant", "The Dog and His Shadow", "New Adventures of Jirtdan", "Beautiful Fatma" etc. will be depicted on the barrels. The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve and Arts Council Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that the metal barrels are waste material and their removal and disposal is not cheap. H.E.Art art is an environmental project created by Arts Council Azerbaijan to contribute to the post-processing of oil barrels. The project allows to use metal barrels in an environmentally responsible manner as well as to develop creative thinking. Bright painting ideas turn the barrels into colorful and beautiful yard decorations. The mobility of barrels allows to quickly move them to new locations. The author of the project is the head of Arts Council Azerbaijan Dadash Mammadov. Nazim Mammadov was born in Baku in 1934. In 1957, he graduated from the Azim Azimzade Art Academy, and in 1961 - the animation courses at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in Moscow. In the same year, he began to work as the animation director at the Azerbaijanfilm studio. The name of Nazim Mammadov is inextricably linked with the most beloved domestic cartoons: being the creator of the first Azerbaijani cartoons, Mammadov made a great contribution to the development of animation in Azerbaijan. He made his first animated film, "The Bear and the Mouse", in 1970. Mammadov took part in the filming of 40 documentary films at Azerbaijanfilm studio. In 1988, he created the first cartoon opera in Azerbaijan in five parts, "Beautiful Fatma". The creator of the first national cartoons was also engaged in easel painting, graphics and children's books illustration. His paintings are widely known both in Azerbaijan and beyond. Nazim Mammadov died in Baku on October 29, 2004. Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Works of the world-famous artist and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli have been showcased in Baku. The exhibition "Possible Dimensions" solemnly opened at the Heydar Aliyev Center on May 22, Azertag reported. The project continues the series of anniversary exhibitions celebrating the Russian-Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, timed to coincide with his 85th anniversary. Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the event. Anar Alakbarov, the director of the Heydar Aliyev Center, stressed the importance of the exhibition. Noting that the friendship and cooperation of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Heydar Aliyev Center with the outstanding artist has continued for many years, Alakbarov said that several joint projects with the master have been implemented. He emphasized that Zurab Tsereteli has been awarded the "Dostlug" Order upon the relevant order of President Ilham Aliyev. The Minister of Culture Abulfas Garayev said that the opening of the exhibition of works by the world-famous master Zurab Tsereteli in Baku is one of the largest cultural events. He noted that long with regularly organizing such exhibitions, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation also implements numerous projects and takes successful steps to promote the Azerbaijani culture. Then Garayev awarded Zurab Tsereteli with the "Dostlug" order. The artist expressed his gratitude to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for the support in organizing the exhibition. He admitted that he had not received such a valuable award so far. Tsereteli expressed deep gratitude to the head of the state for special attention and care. The rector of Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, People's Artist Omar Eldarov spoke about the work of Zurab Tsereteli. Speaking about the artists creative activities both in the Soviet era and in the modern period, he noted the uniqueness of the masters style. Then the guests got acquainted with the exhibition. Possible Dimensions represents Zurab Tseretelis fruitful creative career. The exhibition includes works influenced by his encounters with the world-renowned artists Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, and Robert Rauschenberg. The exposition brings together more than 30 works from Moscow, Tbilisi and London, including paintings, sculptures, and enamels that cover the artists long career. Zurab Tsereteli is famous for his monumental sculptures and public monuments. He works with bronze, stone, glass, wood and mosaics. In the late 1960s, Tsereteli started to receive widespread recognition. His bright and large-scale monuments were erected in many cities, including London, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome and Tokyo. After meeting Picasso and Chagall in 1946 in France, Tsereteli completely revised his understanding of the creative process. The way these masters easily moved from painting and graphics to ceramics and sculpture, inspired Tsereteli to create new series of art works. The influence of Picasso is evident in Tseretelis "Inessa" (1968), which he painted shortly after visiting Picassos workshop in Paris. Tsereteli's works were also influenced by Russian artists, in particular, the abstract expressionism of Wassily Kandinsky and the suprematism of Kazimir Malevich. Tha artists exhibition at the Heydar Aliyev Center will last until August 25. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Military exercises have been launched in Turkey with the participation of the military personnel of the Azerbaijani Air Forces, Trend reports referring to Turkish media. The "Erciyes-2019 Tatbikat" exercises are being held in Kayseri Province. Military personnel of the air forces of Pakistan and Georgia are also taking part in the exercises. According to the media reports, representatives of Italy, Qatar, Romania and the US, will be present during the exercises as observers. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova Baku Metro continues to upgrade the subway facilities to provide convenience of passengers as well as to take security measures. The capitals subway will receive ten railroad cars from Russia next week, chief engineer Alikhan Osmanov told journalists. He noted that the delegation of Baku will go to Moscow on May 28, and during the visit, ten cars will be purchased. This year we have to purchase 30 railroad cars from Metrowagonmash, ten of which are ready to be handed over, Osmanov said. He also added that Baku Metro will use alternative energy sources. To this end, diesel power generators will be used, which will provide alternative energy to Baku Metropolitan when emergencies occur. Establishment of diesel power stations as an alternative source at the regional substations of Azerishig OJSC was considered as optimal variant. In the case of accidents, the energy will be supplied to the subway from these substations, Osmanov said. After a thorough discussion with Azerishig, the places where diesel-power stations will be located have been identified and a joint concept has been developed. Main energy needs of the subway will be provided from at least 10 substations of different sources of power. Osmanov also noted that a diesel power station with a capacity of 16 megavolt amperes is also constructed along with the third station of the Baku Metros purple line, which currently has two stations in operation. In accordance with the project, diesel generating stations to be installed at two 35 kilovolt substations providing energy to 12 stations to be constructed on this line will meet all emergency requirement of the line. All new lines to be built in the future will also be equipped with spare energy sources. In January-April of this year, the transport services of Baku Metro were used as many as 77.1 million times. Baku Metro, which was put into operation on November 6, 1967, is the public urban transport system linking underground railway lines in the capital. Having 25 stations on three lines Green, Red and Purple the Baku Metro is 36.63 km in length. By 2030, it is planned to expand the infrastructure of Baku Metro and create a giant underground transport network consisting of 76 stations, six electric depots, and five lines with a total length of 119.1 kilometers. On April 19, 2016, the first two stations (Avtovagzal and Memar Ajami-2) of the purple line of the Baku Metro were put into operation. The distance between these two stations is 2.07 km. A total of 12 stations are planned to be built on the line. All stations of the purple line are capable of receiving trains consisting of seven railcars. Recently, Bakmil station of Baku Metro was opened after major overhaul. The reconstruction work started in August, 2017. Bakmil was commissioned at the operating land site of Nariman Narimanov station on September 25, 1970 and has been operating as a station since 1979. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova Azerbaijan is continuously working on the modernization of the transport infrastructure in the country, and the railway system catches particular attention in this regard. The country needs additional 50 passenger trains and 4,000 freight railcars, said Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC. In his words, Azerbaijan Railways has ordered three trains from Stadler company for this year, and 12 more trains are planned to be purchased in the following years. We plan to expand the infrastructure of railway transport in Baku. The railway will be extended to the airport. A positive feature is the safety, comfort and affordability of rail services, he noted. The chairman added that so far, 3,100 freight railcars have been purchased. As a result of negotiations with Stadler company, we bought seven trains, with four cars each, he said, adding that some of the trains will run on diesel. In total, we should buy 50 passenger trains and about 4,000 freight railcars. Gurbanov also stressed that new railway stations are being built on the basis of a new concept. The new concept is based on comfort and safety. There are parks around the stations where people can relax. Special attention is paid to safety issues. A shopping center, cafes and other catering facilities are planned to be opened at the stations, he noted. The chairman further underlined that a transport hub is planned to be built in the Sabunchu settlement in Baku. The essence of the negotiations with the Baku Transport Agency is related to the fact that the number of buses entering the city center will decrease thanks to this hub. Sabunchu settlement will become a kind of urban center, he added. Railway transport, which is one of the main sectors of the transport system of Azerbaijan, is today going through a period of dynamic development. Therefore, projects, large-scale works on the development of this sphere and bringing it to high world standards are being implemented. Sabunchu railway station was solemnly opened on May 21. Baku passenger-Sabunchu railway line was rebuilt on the basis of the presidential decree dated January 22, 2018. As part of the project, Sabunchu railway station was completely reconstructed. The total area of the three-story building, the construction of which began in June last year, is 4.1 thousand square meters. Currently, the Sabunchu railway station complex is fully ready for passenger service. The station has modern security cameras, fire and ventilation systems, as well as an escalator, elevator, 17 turnstiles, two underground pedestrian crossings. As part of the project, two new platforms were built at the Sabunchu station. In addition, lighting pillars and modern stations have also been built. Three railway lines at the station were completely reconstructed. A three-storey railway police building was also built and equipped with the necessary facilities at the Sabunchu station. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, the groundbreaking ceremony of which took place on May 22, will contribute to creation of integrated gas market in Balkans, said Greek Minister of Energy and Environment Georgos Stathakis, Trend reports citing the ministry. "Today we celebrate the imminent start of IGB's construction work, which will be carried out by Greek companies. It is a historic moment for the Balkans, but also for the wider area of Southeastern Europe. We are laying the foundation stone for moving to a unified gas market in our region while ensuring security of supply. I would like to thank all those who worked to implement this project, and especially my colleague, Teromenuska Petkova, for the excellent cooperation, he said. The Greek Ministry of Energy and Environment said that it is the foundation stone of the Vertical Corridor that will transport the natural gas from the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to the heart of the Balkans. In the future, the pipeline may be an option for channeling gas from the Eastern Mediterranean deposits to Europe's markets. In addition to enhancing security of supply, the IGB will also contribute to the creation of an integrated gas market in the Balkans, with stable product flows and low prices, which will allow the entry of new players, said the ministry. IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets. The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria, can further be extended to Serbia and Romania, said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Trend reports. He made the remarks during the IGB groundbreaking ceremony that took place May 22 in Bulgarias Kirkovo. This pipeline could be extended to Serbia through the IBS (Interconnector Serbia - Bulgaria) pipeline, as well as to Romania via the Interconnector Bulgaria-Romania (IBR), which will help these countries to diversify their energy routes as well as their sources of supply, said the prime minister. Tsipras pointed out that energy security and diversification of energy sources remain a very important priority for the Eastern Mediterranean region and for the whole Europe. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), IGB, Vertical Corridor, the EastMed pipeline are projects that strengthen the economic and geopolitical role of Greece, Bulgaria and the wider region. IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets. The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov In recent years, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan have been experiencing increase in mutual relations, which is reflected in the growing indicators of trade turnover. Kazakhstan Export Insurance Company KazakhExport has opened its representative office in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. At the opening ceremony, Ruslan Iskakov, Chairman of KazakhExport Management Board, mentioned that the task of the KazakhExport representative office in Tajikistan is to establish contacts with the business community, to inform entrepreneurs and financial institutions about KazakhExport tools. He believes that this will greatly facilitate the work between entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, and, accordingly, increase the turnover. In turn, Jamshed Jumahonzoda, Head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tajikistan, said that the opening of the office is an important event, taking into account the tasks set for the company by the Kazakh government to increase trade with Tajikistan. At the office presentation, the parties reached agreements on the support of Kazakh exporters by Tajik banks. In paricular, KazakhExport signed agreements with Orienbank JSC, Bank Eskhata CJSC and International Bank Tajikistan CJSC on cooperation in insurance and financing of Kazakh producers exporting from Kazakhstan to Tajikistan. KazakhExport provided support for the supply of metal products, cars and buses, oil and fat products, confectionery to the Tajik market. For instance, Tajikistan is constructing the Rogun HPP from Kazakh fittings supplied through KazakhExport. The memorandum on the supply of fittings to Tajikistan with the use of KazakhExport financial and insurance instruments was signed in 2018. Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan were established on January 7, 1993. Kazakhstan is one of the main trading partners of Tajikistan. The trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan totaled $836 million in 2018, according to official statistics of Tajikistan, In particular, Tajikistan's exports to Kazakhstan amounted to about $300 million, and imports of Kazakh products were worth more than $536 million. Today, over 80 joint ventures with Kazakh investors operate in Tajikistan. The two countries closely coordinate their foreign policy efforts on a multilateral basis, in the framework of international and regional organizations such as the UN, OSCE, CIS, CSTO, SCO. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Although Uzbek automotive brand Ravon has suspended its activity in Russia, there are signals that it will soon return to the Russian market. Uzbek cars Ravon can return to the Russian market already this year, Rashid Temrezov, the Head of Russias Karachay-Cherkess Republic, said in a message to local MPs. He noted that cars will be assembled at the Derways plant in Cherkessk. From the second half of the year, the plant is planning to launch a project for the assembly production of Ravon cars. Deliveries of the Uzbek brand cars to Russia were suspended in late spring 2018. Over the past year, the brand has not sold a single car in Russia. Recently, information about the possible return of Ravon to Russia appears more and more often. Diplomatic relations between Russia and Uzbekistan were established on March 20, 1992. The trade turnover between Russia and Uzbekistan increased by 21 percent to $5.7 billion in 2018. The structure of Russia's exports to Uzbekistan includes metals and products, wood and pulp and paper products, machinery, equipment and vehicles, food products and agricultural raw materials, mineral and chemical products. The structure of Russia's imports from Uzbekistan includes textiles and footwear, chemical products, machinery, food products and agricultural raw materials, metals and products from them. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz South Africa: Street closures for Presidential Inauguration Citizens in Tshwane, especially those in the vicinity of Loftus Versfeld and motorists, are advised to make alternative arrangements as some streets will be closed due to the Presidential Inauguration on Saturday. The democratically elected President of South Africa will be inaugurated on 25 May 2019 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the capital. Loftus Versfeld is situated along Kirkness Street in Clydesdale. More than 200 buses from all the provinces in South Africa will arrive in Pretoria from different directions, which will affect streets around and leading to the venue. The Tshwane Metro Police Department, with other law enforcement agencies, will deploy members along venue routes for traffic control and total road closures in Soutpansberg, Loftus and Hatfield. Rietondale Park, which will be used as a park-and-ride area for invited guests, will also be affected. Residents of Loftus and Rietondale affected by the street closures were advised to collect permits from Friday, 17 May to Wednesday, 22 May 2019. These residents were advised to bring along their Identity Documents, proof of residence and vehicle registration numbers when collecting the permits. Residents in the Loftus vicinity were advised to collect their permits at Loftus Versfeld at the reception area in Kirkness Street from City of Tshwane staff. The City of Tshwane has urged residents of Loftus and Rietondale, who will be affected by the closures, to collect permits until Wednesday. The Tshwane Metro Police Department and other law enforcement agencies will be deployed at all street closures and other affected streets for traffic control and road closure monitoring. All residents and road users are urged to comply and work together with law enforcement officers to avoid any mishaps, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement. Road closures will commence on Friday, 24 May 2019 at 3pm and end on Saturday, 25 May 2019 at 10pm. Streets will be closed as follows: Soutpansberg/Rietondale Soutpansberg Road and Gordon Street Soutpansberg Road and Wren Street Woodlands Drive and Gordon Street Soutpansberg Road and Tom Jenkins Drive Soutpansberg Road and Van der Merwe Street Soutpansberg Road and Nuffield Street Soutpansberg Road and Parker Street Rose Street and Parker Street North Street and Nuffield Street Van der Merwe Street and North Street Lys Street and 18th Avenue Kieser Street and Lys Street Russel Street and Tom Jenkins Drive Eastwood Street and Government Avenue Loftus/Hatfield Eastwood Street and Francis Baard Street Orient Street and Francis Baard Street Arcadia Street and Hill Street Park Street and Hill Street University Road and Burnett Street Lynnwood Road and Roper Street Lynnwood Road and Jan Shoba Street Lynnwood Road and University Road University Road and Walton Jameson Avenue University Road and Justice Mahomed Street Jorissen Street and Walton Jameson Avenue Bond Street and Walton Jameson Avenue Villa Street and Walton Jameson Avenue Brecher Street and Walton Jameson Avenue Ivy Street and Maple Street Myrtle Street and Maple Street Park Street and Beckett Street Arcadia Street and Beckett Street Farenden Street and Francis Baard Street Kirkness Street and Park Street Kirkness Street and Bond Street Kirkness Street and Lynnwood Road Bond Street and Farenden Street Farenden Street and Park Street Ayton Street and Farenden Street Soutpansberg Road at the entrance of Rietondale Park for the park and ride. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are going to create a single global anti-terrorism front. According to the secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, Afghanistan is the main source of terrorism. At the same time, the ministers of foreign affairs of the SCO countries developed a "roadmap" for cooperation with Afghanistan. The SCO Secretary-General, Vladimir Norov, said that this and other issues will be discussed at the SCO summit on June 13-14 in Bishkek. The working meetings of the security councils secretaries and the ministers of foreign affairs of the SCO countries were already held in Bishkek. The situation in Afghanistan was discussed during both meetings. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev is convinced that "Afghanistan remains the main source of terrorism in the SCO region. According to the information of the main Russian security official, in the northern provinces of the Islamic Republic, there are about 2.5 -4 thousand militants of the banned in Russia ISIS group. Terrorists consider the SCO member states, primarily the countries of Central Asia, as a recruiting base for replenishing their ranks and spreading the radical extremist ideology. According to Patrushev, "the political situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate." The Afghan government is losing influence as a competent center for managing the states political system. At the same time, in Afghanistan, ISIS is increasingly gaining strength and poses the most serious threat, including through resonance terrorist attacks. The foreign ministers, in turn, developed a draft roadmap of further actions in the framework of the SCO - Afghanistan cooperation. " For the first time, the draft document is submitted for consideration by the heads of state," the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Chingiz Aidarbekov said. So far, the cooperation with Afghanistan has been of a bilateral character. The expert of the MGIMO Institute of International Studies, Leonid Gusev considers the development of an SCO-Afghanistan roadmap as an attempt to stimulate Kabul for cooperation with the SCO countries. As it was stressed many times on the highest level, security and development of Central Asia are linked to Afghanistan. Central Asia countries have their own interests, especially in economic areas. In particular, Uzbekistan. (President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Afghanistan has always been and will remain an integral part of Central Asia). Kazakhstan also has projects with Afghanistan. However, law enforcement agencies put a spoke in the wheels, declaring that Afghanistan poses a threat for Central Asia, Leonid Gusev told Vestnik Kavkaza. The expert believes that the situation may change, since the Taliban organization, which is banned in the Russian Federation, tightly participate in the negotiations. If earlier, only the US negotiated with them before, now the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan have joined the talks, Gusev said. Uzbek interests are met by the implementation of transport projects capable of connecting Central Asia with ports in Iran and Pakistan through Afghanistan. To discuss the prospects for building the Mazar Sharif Kabul Peshawar railway, not only representatives of Afghanistan and Pakistan but also Russia and Kazakhstan came to Tashkent. This road can be included in the Eurasian concept of interconnectivity, which is currently supported by the European Union. Another major infrastructure project is the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power line, which will connect Kabul to the unified energy system of Central Asia. The power lines will increase the supply of electricity from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan by 70% - up to 6 billion kW / h per year. At the same time, from January 2018, Uzbekistan reduced the price of electricity supplied to the neighboring state by almost 45% to 5 cents per kW. The third area of cooperation is related to the training of Afghan specialists. An educational center for Afghan citizens successfully functions in Termez, where 130 students study. In the future, it is planned to increase the number of students to 250. Special importance is given to the trade relations with Afghanistan. Thus, the international logistics center with the Termez-Cargo-Center customs terminal was opened in Termez. Its aim to increase the export-import and transit cargo flows. In the framework of the Termez free economic zone, it is planned to launch production for projects and programs implemented in Afghanistan. In the second half of 2019, a meeting of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) will be held in Tashkent. Tajikistan is ready to provide electricity to Afghanistan. Dushanbe plans to deliver about 5 billion kW / h when the construction of the first major inter-regional project CASA-1000 is completed. The construction of the Tajik section of the regional CASA-1000 project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2021. Dushanbe also plans to complete the construction of the Tajikistan-Turkmenistan railway through Afghanistan. The memorandum on the construction of this railway line was signed in March 2013 by the presidents of three countries. Through this road, Tajikistan can gain access to the international railway routes bypassing Uzbekistan, which previously under various pretexts prevented the movement of Tajik freight trains through its territory. However, after improving the relations with Tashkent, Dushanbe is not in a hurry with the completion of construction. Kazakhstan is the largest Central Asian sponsor of Afghanistan. According to the Foreign Ministry, Kazakhstan provided Afghanistan with approximately $ 75 mln. "The provided sum includes the training of Afghan citizens in Kazakhstani universities, delivery of food, clothing, essential goods and the construction of infrastructure facilities," the department explained. The 2016 environmental health inspection report that produced the lowest failing grade in the history of the Kern County Public Health Service SCORING SYSTEM Grades issued by the Kern County Environmental Health Services Department: A: 90 to 100 points B: 80 to 89 C: 75 to 79 (reinspection seven days later is required) Closure: Below 75 (restaurants must pass free county "food school" before they can reopen) View letter grades and scores for all inspected facilities here or at kernpublichealth.com/restaurants-markets-and-kitchens. The health department offers free "food school" to any restaurant that requests it. To learn more, call 661-321-3000. Note: Of 2,029 restaurants inspected, all but 26 currently have an A. Bakersfield, CA (93308) Today Overcast. High 46F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early followed by increasing clouds with showers developing later at night. Low around 40F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Latest Articles is Indias #1 and most trusted website for Banking Jobs. The portal has complete information about all Banking and Insurance Jobs, its latest notifications, from all state and national level jobs, and updates. These exams and jobs are regularly updated as per the official information available. Check thehere. More than half of Americans believe the US will go to war with Iran "within the next few years," according to a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. Fewer than 40% approve of President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis. Deutsche Welle reports in its article Americans believe war with Iran is coming that US President Donald Trump's administration has ratcheted up its "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran in recent months, raising concerns that the United States and Iran are on a path to war. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday, 64% percent of Americans including a large majority of Republicans support the 2015 deal designed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. Amid the brewing tensions, 51% of respondents indicated that the United States and Iran would go to war within the next few years, up 8 percentage points from a poll last June. Nearly half 49% of all Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling relations with Iran, the poll found, with 31% saying they strongly disapprove. Overall, 39% approve of Trump's policy. At the same time, 54% of Americans view Iran as a "serious" or "imminent" threat. US building up its military presence In April, hardliners in the Trump administration pushed to label Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, despite warnings that the move could endanger US personnel in the Middle East. A month later the US restored all sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Trump's national security adviser John Bolton in May made a show of an already scheduled US aircraft carrier group's deployment to the Persian Gulf and announced a B-52 bomber force would be sent to the region. Days later, the Pentagon added a Patriot missile defense battery and an amphibious assault ship to the deployment. Iran has allegedly sabotaged oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and Yemen's Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels have carried out drone attacks on Saudi oil pumping stations amid US intelligence warnings that Iran or Iran-backed groups could threaten US interests. Weighing up war options Analysts say that provocative US moves could be perceived by Iran as a potential imminent military threat at a time when the US has already engaged in economic warfare. Concern is growing that an incident whether intentional, accidental or staged could trigger an uncontrollable escalation into a devastating regional war. If Iran attacked US military forces first, 79% of poll respondents said that the US military should retaliate: 40% preferred airstrikes on Iranian military targets, while 39% favored a full invasion. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted May 17-20 on a sample of roughly 1,007 adults in the United States. The sample includes 350 Democratic registered voters, 289 Republican registered voters, and 181 independent registered voters. To honor his contributions to and support for the Sabine Neches waterway, U.S. Rep. Randy Weber will soon be honored with an outstanding service award. The Sabine-Neches Waterway Outstanding Service Award was made in memory of a past general manager of the Jefferson County Waterway Navigation District who spearheaded efforts to deepen and widen the waterway system, among other accomplishments, according to a news release from the Seafarers' Center of Beaumont. Director of Germanys leading government think tank, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP Berlin), political expert, professor Volker Perthes, speaking with journalist Gabor Steingart, commented on the current situation in the Middle East in the context of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which became more acute in recent weeks. According to Perthes, U.S. President Donald Trump "has unequivocally brought Iran on its knees." Iranians never had such a hard time in economic terms as now. But I highly doubt that the U.S. will consider that these actions would be enough to bring down the Iranian regime, the expert believes. Answering the question of whether the withdrawal of of U.S. diplomats from Iraq can be considered a harbinger of a new war, the expert said: At the moment, tensions in the Middle East and Iraq, where there are both American soldiers and pro-Iranian military formations, remain high. In this situation, the risk of a military confrontation becomes especially great, therefore the U.S. withdraws its diplomatic personnel from Iraq. Abstractively, these actions can be explained by the Bolton principle: first, tensions are deliberately created, after which they say that it is necessary to do something because of these dangerous tensions." At the same time, John Bolton advocates a military regime change in Iran, while Donald Trump opposes this scenario. At least in this matter there is no mutual understanding between the president and his closest adviser, Volker Perthes noted. The deployment of the navy and the bombers to the Persian Gulf is part of the strategy to whip up tension. We know that the the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships were expected to be sent from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean anyway, so they only made a small detour through the Persian Gulf. This step can be viewed as a necessity. After all, the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization and the last, most stringent sanctions against Iran caused tension in the last two weeks," the director of SWP Berlin commented on the growing U.S. military presence in the region. The German expert predicts that the world will witness new military actions in the near future. This may not necessarily be a big war, it can be limited to sporadic small clashes. Perthes compared the current situation in the Middle East with the Thirty Years' War in Europe, because of the religion's role in conflicts. However, today's conflict is not about religion, but about the struggle for domination and power in the economically and politically significant Middle Eastern region. As a South Texas migrant processing center temporarily shutters amid a flu outbreak, photos from West Texas show the life of migrants on the U.S. Mexico border who are trying to make it into the country. The photographs, shot by photojournalist Mario Tama in El Paso and other border towns last week, show families, women, children and men crossing the border, many of whom are seeking asylum in the United States. Their journey comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection is experiencing overcrowding problems at detention facilities in South Texas, according to the Washington Post. Kim Brent / The Enterprise Any session of the Legislature will have its share of disappointments for bills that didnt achieve something new and significant. But at least lawmakers should remember the primary rule of medicine: First, do no harm. Unfortunately, they ignored that advice by passing a bill that would remove deadlines for appraisal appeals and expand a problem that is already undermining industrial tax payments. Gov. Greg Abbott must veto it even though it is being passed off inaccurately as property tax relief, a key campaign goal of Republicans in this session. Property owners currently have 30 days to protest a valuation, usually by the middle of May. That time span could have been extended a bit, but the bill effectively removes it, allowing owners to file retroactive appeals going back many years. If their appeal is approved, local governments would owe them refunds, even though that money would have been spent long ago. All dressed up with no place to go. Weve all been in that position before, and its frustrating. Youre ready to get going, but youre stuck on hold. Imagine if youre the manager of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Southeast Texas or Southwest Louisiana. These facilities are designed to export LNG. (Actually, most were originally designed to import the gas before the fracking boom in the United States started producing vast quantities of it, but thats another story.) These huge facilities, either nearing completion or operating now, need customers all over the world for their product, and their gas will end up in many countries. But China, with its booming economy, is the worlds fastest-growing LNG importer. The United States, for reasons stated above, is the worlds fastest-growing LNG exporter. In normal times, the market would link that seller and that buyer, and both would be happy. But were not living in normal times, at least in terms of international trade. President Trump rightly believes that China is not opening its markets for enough U.S. exports and is stealing our intellectual properties. He has slapped tariffs of 25% on Chinese imports to this country until China amends its trade policies. China, to no ones surprise, has slapped tariffs of 25% on American imports like LNG. So there we are, for now, in a place neither side wants to be. We have gas that China needs. The Chinese demand for LNG is expected to reach 95 million metric tons per year in 2025, up from 53 million last year. For comparison, U.S. exports of LNG are expected to quadruple in coming years mostly to Asia and reach 84 million metric tons annually by 2025. But the tankers arent moving through the Gulf of Mexico because of the tariffs, at least in the numbers they should be. The dispute is in its early stages, so no one is being hurt too much now. But like any dispute, the longer it lingers, the worse it becomes. And its not coming at a good time. Company officials are considering final investment decisions for some of these facilities, like Calcasieu Pass LNG in Cameron Parish, La. Clearly, its tough to make that final call while this squabble is still going on. Cheniere Energy, another local plant, has negotiated a 20-year deal with the Chinese energy company Sinopec worth an estimated $18 billion. But neither side is signing on the dotted line while you guessed it the tariffs are still in place. Cheniere officials are also nearing a final investment decision on expanding their Sabine Pass complex in Louisiana. President Trump is aware of these ramifications, and in fact he touched on them in his recent visit to the Cameron LNG terminal in Hackberry, La. Were independent and we dont need anybody, Trump said. We also dont need to be ripped off by other countries anymore. Top importers of U.S. LNG (in billion cubic feet of gas) 1) Mexico 290 bcf 2) South Korea 230 bcf 3) China 185 bcf 4) Japan 150 bcf 5) Chile 85 bcf 6) India 75 bcf 7) Jordan 65 bcf 8) Argentina 50 bcf 9) Brazil 45 bcf 10) Turkey 40 bcf Source: U.S. Department of Energy See More Collapse The second part is true, but the first part is not. We are finally energy-independent, but do need somebody somebody to sell our excess oil and gas to. The smart money says the tariffs will be rescinded, and fairly soon. Again, we both need the other, and there has to be some kind of compromise out there. But on our side, Trumps erratic tweets and policy shifts could make this complicated. On the other side, Chinas leaders view these disputes as part of their efforts to restore national pride. China was exploited by imperial powers in the 19th century and wants to be respected by Western powers. Factors like that keep both sides from closing the deal that both want. So for now, the threats and insults cross the ocean, not LNG tankers. At some point it will end, but frankly, no one knows when. A good guess is that the president wants to use this battle as a campaign point in 2020, and it needs to be a success. Meanwhile, in Asia and Southeast Texas, we sit and wait, hoping for a solution all dressed up, with no place to go. TTaschinger@BeaumontEnterprise.com The United States is increasing its oil imports from Russia, according to a Bloomberg source, as US refineries clamor for more oil now that Venezuelan oil supplies have dried up. Oil Price reports in its article Russian Oil Flowing To US Refiners As Venezuela Supplies Dry Up that the amount of oil that flowed into the United States from Russia so far in May was exponentially greater, said Russ Dallen of Caracas Capital Markets. United States took a total of 5 million barrels of Russian crude so far this month, and more are on the way. The United States imported less Russian crude in January and February, purchasing a total of 16.13 million barrels of crude and other oil products, according to the Energy Information Administration. This compares to 20.25 million during that period in 2018. But the US is expected to increase this as much as three times now that Venezuela is no longer a crude supplier to the United States. In January and February, Venezuela shipped 27.67 million barrels to the United States. This is lower than in January and February 2018, when oil shipments from Venezuela to the United States came in at 29.589 million for the two-month periodthe latest official EIA data availablewith an expectation that these have plummeted to zero in May. The data suggests that Russia is all too happy to pick up the slack left by Venezuela and profit from it much like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are happy to do as Iranian oil exports fall to new lows. For Russia, this could be viewed as a rather opportunistic hedge against the money it has lent to Venezuela, with slim hopes of Venezuela ever paying it back. A Wyoming county judge dismissed third-degree sexual assault charges against Northern Wyoming Surgical Center nurse Robert Guty, the Cody Enterprise reports. What you should know: 1. A coworker accused Mr. Guty of sexually assaulting a woman under general anesthesia in January 2015. 2. Park County District Judge Bill Simpson dismissed the case against Mr. Guty with prejudice, after a filing from Mr. Guty's attorney claimed that the defendant's alleged actions were "substantially and materially inconsistent with the information that was provided to law enforcement and what the state relied on in filing this matter." 3. The accuser allegedly made a "substantive change" in her statements between the initial investigation in 2015 and a second investigation in 2018. Mr. Guty's attorney wrote, "The state no longer has a prosecutable case based upon these inconsistent statements. This dismissal in no way involves the credibility of the confidential victim in this matter." 4. The surgery center fired Mr. Guty, and he let his nursing license expire at the end of 2018. He is currently not a registered nurse in Wyoming. 5. He entered into a plea deal in November 2017, but appealed to the state supreme court. The court sent his case back to Park County, where it was dismissed. More articles on surgery centers: New Jersey practice avoids paying ransom after cyberattack 4 details 12 orthopedic-focused ASCs & practices opened in Q1 2019 3 ASCs, facilities adding total joint procedures | May 2019 SurgCenter Development received city plan commission approval to build a surgery center in Boyne City, Mich., the Petoskey News Review reports. 1. The Townson, Md.-based ASC management company proposed building an orthopedic facility called Boyne City SurgCenter. 2. The center will be 7,269 square feet if approved by the city's common council. 3. Boyne City SurgCenter would feature two large procedure rooms, one small procedure room, pre- and postoperative recovery spaces, a waiting room and physician offices. More articles on surgery centers: New Jersey practice avoids paying ransom after cyberattack 4 details 12 orthopedic-focused ASCs & practices opened in Q1 2019 3 ASCs, facilities adding total joint procedures | May 2019 Four of the top vendors that hospitals use to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program are Allscripts, Cerner, Epic and Meditech, according to 2018 ONC data. Sixteen hospitals and health systems posted job listings seeking EHR and information technology expertise during the past two weeks: Editor's note: This is not an exhaustive list. Job listings were compiled from job seeker websites. Allscripts: 1. Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Newport Beach, Calif.): Seeks an IT clinical systems and applications analyst. 2. Methodist Hospital of Southern California (Arcadia): Seeks a clinical IT analyst. 3. St. Joseph Health/Covenant Health (Lubbock, Texas): Seeks an associate healthcare IT analyst. 4. Signature Healthcare (Brockton, Mass.): Seeks a clinical director. Cerner: 1. Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle): Seeks a clinical information systems manager. 2. Seattle Children's Hospital: Seeks a health information analyst. 3. Huntington Hospital (Pasadena, Calif.): Seeks a clinical informatics analyst. 4. George Washington University Hospital (Washington, D.C.): Seeks a clinical analyst. Epic: 1. UW Health (Middleton, Wis.): Seeks a clinical systems manager. 2. Stanford Health Care (Palo Alto, Calif.): Seeks a clinical systems analyst. 3. Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage, Calif.): Seeks a clinical applications information systems director. 4. UNC Health Care (Chapel Hill, N.C.): Seeks an application systems analyst. Meditech: 1. Christus Health (Irving, Texas): Seeks a clinical informatics system director. 2. Lawnwood Regional Medical Center (Fort Pierce, Fla.): Seeks a clinical informatics director. 3. Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Healthcare: Seeks a data systems analyst. 4. Frisbie Memorial Hospital (Rochester, N.H.): Seeks a clinical applications analyst. The outline of a forthcoming House proposal to end surprise medical bills has drawn mixed reactions from healthcare groups. Here are four: 1. American Medical Association President-elect Patrice A. Harris, MD: "The American Medical Association commends Reps. Raul Ruiz, MD, Phil Roe, MD, and the other co-sponsors of the Protecting People from Surprise Medical Bills Act for their efforts to address the impact that unanticipated medical bills can have on families. The outline released today represents a common-sense approach that protects patients from out-of-network bills that their insurance companies won't pay while providing for a fair process to resolve disputes between physicians and hospitals and insurers. We look forward to working with these members as further details emerge." 2. American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons Washington Committee Chair Ann R. Stroink, MD: "The nation's neurosurgeons are very concerned when patients receive unanticipated medical bills, particularly as Americans continue to struggle with rising healthcare costs. With their legislation, [lawmakers] strike the right balance to protect patients from unanticipated medical bills for out-of-network care, while at the same time facilitating a process to quickly, efficiently and fairly resolve physician and health plan billing disputes." 3. American Society of Anesthesiologists President Linda Mason, MD: "The approach to addressing the problem of surprise medical bills is a fair proposal that puts patients first by holding them harmless from unanticipated bills. The proposal doesn't pick winners or losers but instead places the dispute where it should be between the healthcare provider and the insurance company. I'm also pleased this proposal helps patients by providing greater transparency of their in-network providers while ensuring an independent dispute resolution system to resolve billing disputes." 4. American College of Emergency Physicians President Vidor Friedman, MD: "Patients need a legislative solution to protect them when they have surprise gaps in their expected insurance coverage, and this proposal takes critical steps to do so by encouraging more transparency from insurance companies and making sure that patients can better understand the limitations of their insurance." 5. America's Health Insurance Plans: "Patients should not receive a surprise bill for care they did not choose or didnt even know they received in the first place. And Americans shouldn't see their premiums go up because of the actions of a few specialty doctors. "However, we do have concerns that this proposal relies on a costly and cumbersome system of dispute resolution that utilizes inflated charges of certain specialty providers to determine payment. These arbitrary rates bear no relation to the cost of care and this approach would likely lead to increased healthcare spending at a time we need solutions to reduce costs for patients." More articles on healthcare finance: 10 hospitals seeking RCM talent Tax-exempt hospitals provided $95B in total community benefits in 2016, analysis finds 5 legislative updates on surprise medical bills Neuroscientist and psychiatrist Tom Insel, MD, is California's new "mental health czar" who will advise the governor on mental health issues, according to Los Angeles Times. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, named Dr. Insel to the role May 21, in connection with the formation of a task force to address the state's homelessness crisis. California has nearly 130,000 homeless people, according to Los Angeles Times. The Homeless Supportive Housing Advisory Task Force will meet periodically throughout the year in different cities, gathering input and expanding the best ideas to address homelessness statewide. "Mayors, county supervisors and city councils around the state are working hard to reduce homelessness and its underlying causes. We'll be watching these local and regional solutions closely, to lend a hand and help them scale," Mr. Newsom said in a press release. Dr. Insel served as director of the National Institute of Mental Health, a division of the National Institutes of Health, from 2002 to 2015. He led the mental health team at Verily, the life sciences division of Alphabet, previously Google Life Sciences. Dr. Insel left Verily in 2017 to cofound Mindstrong Health, a startup focused on providing objective measures to diagnose and treat mental health disorders. Read more here. More articles on health IT: 16 hospitals, health systems seeking Allscripts, Cerner, Epic, Meditech talent Bill calls for $2.2B in federal AI funding Baystate Health to implement mobile platform to improve physician query process The Georgia Department of Public Health is teaming up with Appriss Health to integrate the state's prescription drug monitoring program into EHR systems across Georgia. Appriss Health's PMP Gateway service is a platform that provides prescribers and pharmacists with access to data from PDMPs within their clinical workflows. By adding PMP Gateway to the state's EHR systems, Georgia's public health department aims to increase providers' access to patient information on controlled substance prescriptions. "Substance use disorder is a public health crisis in Georgia and all across the country," Appriss Health President Rob Cohen said in a news release. "Working together with Georgia's [department of public health] to make the state's PDMP efficiently accessible to all providers statewide enables them with the clinical decision support tools to truly help make an impact on this crisis." Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Mich., is working to reopen its surgical center by May 24 after a small fire epupted at the facility, according to radio station WKZO. The May 15 fire in the sterilization and reprocessing room resulted in damaged or destroyed surgical supplies, according to the station. The hospital shut down operations after the fire. Denise Neely, BSN, senior vice president, COO and CNO of Bronson Healthcare, told WKZO the hospital has been rescheduling surgeries and transferring about 100 patients to other hospitals daily. Under the impression they're choosing comprehensive health coverage, more consumers are purchasing "skimpy" health plans due to misleading websites, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Five things to know: 1. Insurance-quote websites are spending millions of dollars to come in as the top Google searches for keywords like "Obamacare plans" and "ACA insurance." Ads for these sites are aimed at getting clicks and often use "Healthcare.gov" in hyperlinked text, ultimately leading to a homepage with ACA-like phrasing. 2. However, these websites hand off consumer information to brokers, who might sell comprehensive health plans, but often mislead consumers into buying skimpier health plans that may not cover the ACA's "essential benefits" like pregnancy, mental health services and prescription drug coverage, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. 3. While these types of lead-generation sites aren't new, since the Trump administration expanded short-term health plans in 2018, they've become a larger concern for consumers who may be misled into choosing a short-term plan that isn't intended as a long-term, primary health insurance plan. 4. Proponents of the short-term health plans argue they should be available for consumers who don't wish to purchase all the parts folded into ACA-compliant plans, such as maternity and mental health coverage. Still, these plans often leave out coverage for preexisting conditions, which may surprise some consumers. 5. Dania Palanker, assistant research professor at Washington, D.C.-based Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that lead-generation websites may be purposefully making their ads hard to tell apart from government websites. "There are websites that are designed to confuse people or at least they seem designed to confuse," she said. More articles on payers: Judge steps down from UnitedHealth case over 'immoral' denial of cancer treatment House Democrats unveil Medicare expansion plan: 8 things to know Humana posts $566M profit in Q1 Fannie Mae chose five organizations to receive contract awards under the housing finance firm's $10 million Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, which is aimed at tackling social determinants of health. The award recipients were chosen because of their potential to "reimagine housing as a prescription for a healthy life," said Maria Evans, vice president of Fannie Mae's sustainable communities partnership and innovation. Housing insecurity can affect health outcomes, she added. Here are the five awardees: 1. Children's National Health System (Washington, D.C.): To combat childhood asthma-related hospital visits, the health system will lead a program for virtual home visits. Medical providers will use smartphones to conduct the virtual visits and assess whether conditions in a resident's home could trigger asthma-related illnesses. The provider will also connect home residents with resources to mitigate conditions. 2. Community Opportunity Fund: The nonprofit affordable housing agency will extend its telehealth intervention for seniors to an affordable housing community in Newark, N.J. As part of the program, telehealth equipment will be installed in seniors' homes so nurses can measure their vitals and check their health status. 3. Local Initiatives Support: To incentivize hospitals and payers to invest in affordable housing as a way to improve health outcomes, LISC will establish an innovative capital funding structure that illustrates how health and wellness services can be integrated with housing development initiatives. 4. HRDC (Bozeman, Mont.): The nonprofit community action agency, which provides services for housing, food and nutrition and community development, will build a community of trauma-informed designed tiny homes for previously homeless adults. The project aims to help formerly homeless individuals feel safe in their homes while addressing stressors of homelessness and mental illness. 5. Vertical Harvest (Jackson Hole, Wyo.): Vertical will help improve food security and nutrition by employing underserved populations in Chicago for the organization's vertical greenhouses initiative. Vertical's farming helps support affordable housing and provides fresh produce to low-income communities. At age 17, Frank Baez started working as a janitor for NYU Langone Health in New York City. This week, the 29-year-old man received his nursing degree from the same institution, reports ABC News. Mr. Baez emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 2004 and got a weekend housekeeping job at NYU Langone's Tisch Hospital in New York City to help his mom support their family, according to CNN. A few years later, Mr. Baez became a patient transporter at the hospital. After earning his bachelor's degree from New York City-based Hunter College, he worked closely with nurses as a unit clerk at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, also located in the city. "While working [at NYU] with the nurses, I realized I wanted to be one of them," Mr. Baez told ABC News. "I learned how much they advocate for their patients and the passion they have for their job." Nurse colleagues encouraged him to apply to the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing where he earned his nursing degree in 15 months through an accelerated program. Mr. Baez is now preparing for his licensing boards and said he hopes to work as a nurse at NYU Langone. Today, the Pentagon will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats , U.S. officials said. Daily Mail in the article Pentagon briefs White House on plan to send 10,000 more troops to the Middle East and deploy more ships to the Gulf over tensions with Iran writes that according to the officials, no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested forces. Officials said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran but is aimed at reinforcing security in the region. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans have not been formally announced. Thursday morning's meeting comes as tensions with Iran continue to simmer, and it wasn't clear if a decision would be made during the session. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday Trump was evaluating the force posture in the region 'every day.' 'We're evaluating the risks, making sure that we have it right,' he told 'Fox and Friends.' U.S. officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats but indicated they initially involved missiles loaded onto small Iranian boats. This week officials said the missiles have been taken off the boats near Iran's shore, but other maritime threats continue. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During back-to-back closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defense leaders told congressional officials the U.S. doesn't want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told lawmakers the U.S. is seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran, even while accusing Tehran of threatening U.S. interests in the Mideast. Shanahan told reporters, 'Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation.' Many in Congress are skeptical of the administration's approach to Iran, questioning whether it is responding to significant new Iranian threats or escalating a situation that could lead to war. In early May, the U.S. accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Mideast and sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defense missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad - which is home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Trump is responsible for drawing Iran's ire. Last year he abruptly pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production, without crafting a coherent strategy for how to combat other Iranian behavior like supporting extremist organizations. He also has reimposed punishing sanctions that have crippled Tehran's economy, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization in April. 'I have yet to see any exhibited strategy,' said Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, a former CIA officer. She said she finds many of the administration's recent statements on Iran to be 'deeply troubling.' UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group, has once again been named the most valuable healthcare brand in the world by Brand Finance, a business valuation and strategy consultancy. Each year, Brand Finance uses a seven-step process to assess and rank the value of thousands of companies' brands from around the world. Brand Finance uses a variety of metrics, including marketing investment and business performance, to evaluate brands to determine their strength. Access additional information about the brand valuation methodology here. UnitedHealthcare snagged the No. 1 spot on the list in 2018 and defended its title as the world's most valuable healthcare brand in 2019. The other major insurance companies in the U.S. Anthem, Aetna, Humana and Cigna were also named among the top 10 most valuable brands this year. "The healthcare industry continues to be dominated by major U.S. brands, with only one company in the top 25 from Europe. Germany's Fresenius is ranked eighth, with a brand value of just under $7 billion," states the Brand Finance report. Here are the most valuable healthcare brands in 2019, as ranked by Brand Finance: 1. UnitedHealthcare 2. Anthem 3. Optum 4. Aetna 5. Humana 6. Medtronic 7. Cigna 8. Fresenius 9. HCA Healthcare 10. Centene 11. McKesson 12. Express Scripts 13. AmerisourceBergen 14. BD 15. Cardinal Health 16. HealthNet 17. Stryker 18. Tenet Healthcare 19. DaVita 20. Boston Scientific 21. Henry Schein 22. LabCorp 23. Baxter 24. Illumina 25. Quest Diagnostics More articles on rankings and ratings: Primary care physician supply in all 50 states, ranked Preventable hospitalizations: All 50 states, ranked 5 best, worst states for healthcare in 2019 Eight recent partnerships between health systems and telehealth vendors: 1. Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health partnered with Contessa, an acute home care management company, to offer its patients home recovery care services, including virtual visits by a physician and remote monitoring. 2. Texas A&M University Health Science Center is teaming up with Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, a telehealth teaching model for clinicians, on a program to address the opioid epidemic. 3. Hazard, Ky.-based Appalachian Regional Healthcare System will launch Advanced ICU Care's remote monitoring technology for intensive care unit patients across all 12 of its hospitals. 4. Optima Health is piloting telehealth company MDLive's recently launched quality performance product CareLink, which aims to help health systems improve various clinical quality metrics. 5. AdventHealth Dade City (Fla.), part of AdventHealth system in Altamonte Springs, Fla., added Advanced ICU Care's remote monitoring technology for patients in its intensive care unit. 6. New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System partnered with TytoCare to offer patients access to a remote patient examination device developed for virtual appointments. 7. Teladoc Health is working with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to develop its first consumer-specific pediatric telehealth platform. 8. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health added remote monitoring technology from Advanced ICU Care, an intensive care unit telemedicine provider, for patients at Baptist Medical Center Nassau. Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina will begin providing telehealth services to Hampton Regional Medical Center in Varnville, S.C., The Augusta Chronicle reports. Through the new partnership, MUSC Health and HRMC aim to help provide primary and specialty medical care to patients in rural areas. "Oftentimes, people living in the service areas of rural hospitals travel to larger facilities in urban areas to receive care that, with today's telehealth technology, can be provided closer to home," MUSC Health CEO Patrick J. Cawley told Augusta Chronicle. HRMC physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants will use telehealth technology and satellite clinics to provide care to HRMC patients. HRMC is a 32-bed, nonprofit hospital. Two spine surgeons, Brian R. Gantwerker, MD, and Issada Thongtrangan, MD, discuss their hopes for the next five years of their career. Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. We invite all spine surgeon and specialist responses. Next week's question: What is the next major regulatory change you would like to see in the spine field? Please send responses to Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com by Wednesday, May 29, 5 p.m. CST. Question: What is your professional five-year plan? Brian R. Gantwerker, MD. Founder of the Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: My goal is to survive in practice. Partnering with other private physicians and forming associations of independent doctors remains a viable option for those wanting to stay independent. I still have faith that doctors remain, and must remain, the ones that protect patients from big data and fancy footwork with statistics to hide an undercurrent of unhappy and poorly taken care-of patients. My faith in my fellow physicians remains strong, and I think we will be able to pull back the doctor-patient relationship from its erosion by huckster MBAs and other non-doctors who see 'shifts,' DRGs and dollar signs rather than individual lives. My ultimate aim is to take back practice and make it about the doctor and patient again and relegate the insurers and government to serve the interests of patients, not the other way around. Issada Thongtrangan, MD. Orthopedic Spine and Neurosurgeon at Minimally Invasive Spine (Phoenix): I would like to see my practice shifting more toward truly minimally invasive spine surgery utilizing endoscopic techniques, navigation techniques and virtual reality or even artificial intelligence, as data have shown excellent patient outcomes. The advanced technology can bring us to the next level of spine care, especially 'endoscopic technique' which is a true MIS and can be utilized in many aspects of surgery including decompression and even fusion. I am also preparing my practice for value-based care as I predict that this will be widely utilized in the near future. My practice has been collecting patient outcome data which will be transparent to the public in an era of direct consumer care. A Belfast family is to open the first retail store in Belfast's fast growing City Quays in a 767,000 investment that will create 15 jobs. The Graceys, who run two grocery stores in the city, will open their first Centra outlet with the Musgrave Group in the ground level of City Quays 2 building on Tuesday. It comes as work begins on Monday on Belfast Harbour's City Quays 3 project next door. The 16-storey structure will become Northern Ireland's tallest office building when completed in 2021. It will be capable of housing another 1,800 office workers in the expanding City Quays and Clarendon Dock area, where around 5,000 workers are already based. Construction firm Farrans has said up to 500 workers will be involved in the building phase. Anna McErlean, who now runs the family business after coming on board seven years ago, said: "Our business was founded by our father Tony Gracey 22 years ago. At one point he had 10 stores before deciding to consolidate the business in 2010 to two stores - Mace Newton Park and Mace Gasworks." She said the new Centra store will largely cater for the considerable number of office workers in the vicinity, with opening hours based around the working week: "It's a similar footprint to our Gasworks store, where we have catered for office workers for the past 15 years. We have a good idea of what those customers wants, which is food and coffee to go and high convenience. Nigel Maxwell, sales director for SuperValu and Centra, said the new store followed an approach from Belfast Harbour. "They were looking for a convenience solution for the area, because it is lacking at the moment. We are delighted to support the Gracey family in this new venture. We are confident that our new-look Centra stores offer customers an enhanced shopping experience," he said. Demand for private housing in Northern Ireland is continuing to outstrip supply, a leading real estate agent has said. Simon Brien was speaking as new government figures for the first quarter of 2019 showed a 3.5% rise in the average price of a home in Northern Ireland since last year. While the figures from Land and Property Services showed a 1% decrease between the end of 2018 and the start of this year, some areas significantly bucked the trend. The Causeway Coast and Glen area, which is preparing to host The Open in Portrush this summer, saw a 2.3% rise over the quarter and a 10% surge over the year. The last quarter of 2018 was very strong, and even with the slight decrease in Q1, Northern Ireland is proving itself a strong and resilient market, said Mr Brien. As has been the case for the past number of years, we know that demand is currently outstripping supply in the private resale market. In the face of the well documented Brexit uncertainty, we anticipate the housing market to remain steady as, in this market, there is a massive shortfall of new housing following the downturn of 2008 to 2013 when new house building virtually halted. Managing director of the Construction Employers Federation, John Armstrong agrees. Due to a variety of market factors, not least the lack of construction of new homes following the economic downturn, demand is currently outstripping supply and this trend is forecast to continue. We estimate that to keep pace with demand around 9,000 new homes should be built year-on-year and despite an upturn in construction since 2014, this figure is not being met, ultimately leading to increased demand as pressure is put on the supply chain. According to the new data, the average house price in Northern Ireland stood at 134,811 for the first quarter of 2019, well below the UK average of 226,798. Lisburn and Castlereagh remains the most expensive place to buy a home, with the average sitting at 160,301 for the first quarter. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon remains the cheapest, with an average of 119,951. According to Simon Brien, average house prices in Northern Ireland remain about five times average salaries, that compares with England and Wales, where the difference is eight-fold. The affordable level of house prices and potential return on investment is proving attractive to investors and whilst the market is still dominated by local private buyers we are seeing more and more interest from buyers outside the market, who are attracted by the value and the average growth of 4% to 5% year on year, he said. There is also an increased interest from Ireland and the rest of the UK, whilst buyers from Northern Ireland who have lived much of their professional lives elsewhere are choosing to relocate back with young families for the schooling, community and quality of life that Northern Ireland offers. The Northern Ireland stores in Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group appear to have escaped the axe after the retail company announced plans to shut 23 stores in the UK and Ireland, putting 520 jobs at risk, as part of a rescue plan. Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Topshop and Topman stores have been earmarked for closure as part of a company voluntary arrangement. Six of the closures are in the Republic. The retail group's proposals will also see rent cut at another 194 outlets. All of the retailer's 11 Topman and Topshop stores in the US are also set to close. As part of the plan, Lady Green, wife of Sir Philip and ultimate owner of Arcadia, has offered landlords a 20% stake of any proceeds if the group is eventually sold. Lady Green will also inject 50m of equity into the business, on top of 50m she had already loaned the company. Arcadia directors will hold meeting with creditors on June 5 to seek approval for the proposals. The plans need the consent of 75% of creditors. Arcadia chief executive Ian Grabiner said: "Against a backdrop of challenging retail headwinds, changing consumer habits and ever-increasing online competition, we have seriously considered all possible strategic options to return the group to a stable financial platform. "This has been a tough but necessary decision for the business." Aston Martin has released a special edition of the DBS Superleggera to mark the 50th anniversary of the sixth James Bond movie On Her Majestys Secret Service. The 3000,000 V12 super grand tourer is inspired by the 1969 Aston Martin DBS featured in the classic Bond film, in which the British agent battles SPECTRE boss Blofelds plot for global mass murder. The release is a collaboration between the British manufacturer and EON Productions, the company that produces the James Bond films with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios. The new model is painted Olive Green to match the original 1969 Aston Martin DBS driven by James Bond in the movie, and it takes the already-menacing road presence of the DBS Superleggera to a new level of brutish elegance. The limited-edition car goes on sale from the end of this year, priced from a significant 300,007. Just 50 cars will be made. Youll recognise the Bond-themed Superleggera (its the flagship of the Aston Martin DB11 series) due to its special features, many of which are James Bond-related. A bespoke metal grille featuring six bright horizontal vanes, adorns the front of the limited-edition car to replicate the distinctive feature of the DBS featured in On Her Majestys Secret Service. Each numbered model is also stamped OHMSS edition and bears the 007 logo. Other features include include carbon fibre, splitter, aero blade and unique diamond turned and forged wheels. The exterior paint surface is enhanced with body coloured cantrails and roof. Inside the cabin, the new model is trimmed in pure black leather, accented by grey blend Alcantara, as in the original 1969 DBS. The cockpit is accented in red, inspired by the red trimmed glovebox in the original car, which held Bonds telescopic-sight rifle in the movie. Customers can optionally purchase a bespoke designed drinks case for the boot. The black drinks case opens via the bright metal clasp to reveal the matching red felt lined interior, with space for two bottles of champagne and four champagne flutes. Expand Expand Previous Next Close / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer said: Aston Martin is synonymous with James Bond and the DBS from On Her Majestys Secret Service has provided great inspiration to the team tasked with creating this very special edition. This new DBS Superleggera will be an extremely distinguished brute in a suit, designed to capture the essence of the iconic DBS from the 1969 film but with a 5.2 litre twin-turbo V12, 715bhp engine! The On Her Majestys Secret Service DBS Superleggera special edition is the latest in a series of 007 inspired Aston Martins, which includes a Goldfinger DB5 continuation and the 2015 DB9 GT Bond Edition. There have been rumors in the German media recently that German Chancellor Angela Merkel may step down ahead of schedule and transfer power to the current leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Program Manager at the Russian International Affairs Council Vladimir Morozov predicted the situation under such a scenario: "Most of the experts who followed the election of the new CDU leader noted that Kramp-Karrenbauer would most likely continue Merkel's policy. It was one of the reasons why Merkel supported her candidacy in the election of a new party leader. First of all, we should expect the commitment to support the unity of the European Union will be preserved - this is Germanys foreign policy priority, despite such current problems as the endless Brexit and the growing popularity of European skeptics, including in the elections to European institutions. One of Kramp-Karrenbauer's main challenges in foreign policy will be an attempt to form a new foreign policy identity not only in Germany, but also in the European Union due to the changes in relations between the European Union in general and Germany in particular, and the United States. Washington is moving away from its good cops policy and unhappy that its European allies are using the protection of American forces, in particular through NATO, and most of the NATO budget is contributed by the American side." Therefore, according to Vladimir Morozov, in addition to preserving the EU and deepening further integration, one of the key challenges for German foreign policy will be searching for new partners outside the U.S., searching for new growth points to apply their foreign policy efforts. At the same time, the expert does not expect that Germanys relations with Russia will change for the better: The key difference between Merkel and Kramp-Karrenbauer is not just age and experience as the head of government. Merkel, unlike many of her colleagues, can rely on her own knowledge of Russia. She rarely left the topic of relations with Russia to anyone at the Foreign Ministry or the Federal Chancellery. Crump-Carrenbauer is less interested in relations with our country. This is generally a key feature of German foreign policy since the 1990s, that is, since the German reunification. It should be noted that our relations are unlikely to reach a new level and in the best case scenario will continue in the business-as-usual format. Paul Young calls his good friend Sir Bob Geldof a "force of nature" but he has demonstrated his own strength of character to get back on tour despite the heartache of losing his wife little over a year ago. Stacey was just 52 when she died from brain cancer in January 2018 and he admits immersing himself in work has come as a welcome distraction. "I'm doing fine," he says stoically. "I might have buried my head in the sand a bit by going straight out to work. "But I've had times before and after Christmas to contemplate and get used to it and for the family to all get together and we're getting on with life now. "With this tour and to get recording again and all these things, it's good to get back to it." It's 36 years since the release of his debut solo album No Parlez, the first of three number one albums, which quickly established him as an Eighties teen idol with a string of hits such as Love of the Common People, Wherever I Lay My Hat and Every Time You Go Away. He is 63 now and tonight he will roll back the years by performing the record at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, but does he still feel like a pop pin-up? He says: "It's weird. When I go out there, because I did a month's worth of these shows at the tail end of last year, I must admit, it felt pretty much the same. "They weren't screaming, but they were certainly enjoying themselves in a way that they would have done back then, only most of them wouldn't have been allowed to drink, but now they are." Paul has fond memories of previous shows in Northern Ireland and says that one of the best reviews he ever had back in his pomp came after one of his performances here. He says: "I played the Ulster Hall and somebody interviewing me said it was the best show he'd seen since Prince and I took that as high praise indeed." Paul adds he was never in the music business to become famous and admits that he is still getting used to the modern world where fans can have instant access to celebrities - himself included - through social media. And while he says he goes through bouts of activity on Twitter, he knows too well that the reaction from people can be both good and bad. "That's right, there's always a yin and yang," he says. "If you think back to the Hollywood era there was that element of mystery about all of the stars, that's why people would sit in and watch Parkinson because they might reveal this facet of their character that they don't see on the screen, which was a great thing. "But also on the downside of that it was covering up a hell of a lot of sin in Hollywood with Fatty Arbuckle and all those stories. "There's a yin and a yang, so yes we're directly contactable through Twitter and things like that but then we also get trolled by some horrible people. "I think that happens more to younger people because they're just more like that whereas my fans are a lot more complimentary. You get the odd person who wants to stir it up a bit but in general they're nice. "But I do tend to have phases of doing Twitter and then I go off it and just like things and don't comment much, but the downside is that they want too much of you." Away from music he has a real passion for cooking, which saw him try his hand in the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen as well as on Hell's Kitchen with Marco Pierre White. He's adamant though that he only took those offers up because of his love for food - he says you won't see him eating bugs in an Australian jungle any time soon. He adds: "I do get those kind of offers but I've turned most of them down - the cooking ones I wanted to do because I wanted to learn something. "I quickly found out that in Celebrity MasterChef they don't teach you anything, they want to see what you already know. "But when I did Hell's Kitchen I did it with Marco Pierre White and not Gordon Ramsey - I turned down Gordon two or three times. "Then Marco was doing it the next time and I said 'yes, I'll do it' because I felt I had a bit of feeling about working under Marco, he's great. "In fact, the great thing about him is Gordon Ramsay gave the TV companies what they want, which was a lot of shouting and crying, but Marco was more rock 'n' roll because he was sticking it to the man. "And when they were telling him what to do and saying stuff in his ear-piece he kept taking it out and dropping it on the floor, he said, 'they keep talking in my f****** ear. What I want to tell you is' "He'd really bolster us to do a good job, like a great team leader. "That was a fascinating thing but obviously it didn't last long with him because the production company weren't getting what they wanted, which was tears and shouting. "I'd say that I had a rudimentary knowledge, but I started getting interested in cooking in the mid-Eighties and it's been my hobby ever since." Young grew up in Luton and was raised believing that "being born in Luton, growing up in Luton and getting a job in Luton" was the natural order of life. Famously, he was working at the local plant of Vauxhall Motors when he got his big break. One of the big heart-throbs of the era, moody shots of Young adorned thousands of teenage girls' bedroom walls, but his heart was captured by model Stacey, whom he met on the video shoot for his second single Come Back and Stay in 1983, and married four years later. They had three children, but split up in 2006. However, they got back together three years later and Paul became stepdad to Stacey's son Jude, who she had with Israeli businessman Ilan Slazenger. A former Brit Award winner for Best Male vocalist, Paul famously sang the opening lines on the original Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas? and performed at Live Aid in 1984. And he is convinced that only a man with the relentless drive and personality of Sir Bob Geldof could have pulled off such a mammoth campaign and event. "He's a force of nature in whatever he does," he laughs. "The funny thing is that over the last few years we've been sharing our musicians quite a lot and the guitar player that's with me now, who's also in Los Pacaminos (his Tex-Mex band) with me, was also in Bob's band. "Also, the accordion player/keyboard player that sometimes plays with Bob, he sometimes plays with my Tex-Mex band. "And when we did a charity thing recently for Kenney Jones from the Small Faces I saw Bob there, so you do bump into people all the time. "And it's a great feeling to know we've all been through the same s***. And we're still there and we're still doing it, we've made a life out of being musicians, so there's a camaraderie there that one we're all still alive, and two we're all enjoying what we do. It's a great thing. "With Bob, I think he suited the era. It's a funny thing, I think sometimes people grow up in eras that they really belonged to, the same as you can sometimes look at some people and think, 'they weren't born for this decade'. They look like they should have been born in the Sixties or whatever. "But I think Bob was definitely a product of his decade and he fitted in perfectly." When she couldn't find a product to tackle her teenage acne, Fermanagh woman Shauna Gallagher created her own. Using her parents' kitchen and researching online, she spent months developing various cleansers, toners and moisturisers, until she found a combination of ingredients that cleared up her skin. Long before clean beauty was even heard of, and at the tender age of just 19, Shauna became a pioneer in the industry when she created a range of organic skincare products. She was just 20 when the line went into production, and now, at the age of 30, she is celebrating 10 years in business with a UK-wide relaunch of her The Natural Beauty Pot brand. For Shauna, it is all about taking skincare back to basics, offering simple formulas that use high-quality ingredients and produce gentle but effective products that really work and are suitable for everyone. With her glowing complexion, she is walking proof of their effectiveness. Shauna's acne overshadowed her teenage years and had such a big impact on her quality of life that it shaped her career. However, it wasn't until she had a particularly bad breakout of cystic acne after a very stressful period in her life last year that memories of just how tough her teenage years were came back to haunt her. "I had a really difficult year in my personal and business life," she begins. "My 34-year-old cousin died in February in an accident at work. It was sudden and very traumatic. "In July I invested a lot of money in what turned out to be a very bad trade show, then in August my partner's father died. Expand Close Shauna Gallagher with her partner Eoin Maguire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Shauna Gallagher with her partner Eoin Maguire "It seemed like just as I was trying to get over one hurdle, another came along, and it led to a really bad breakout, which I hadn't had in years. "I'm a fairly confident person but suddenly I felt really self-conscious and didn't want to go out. When I did go out, I found myself walking down the street with my head down, so that nobody could see my face. "It brought me right back to what it was like when I was younger. "When I was a teenager, I was always so self-conscious and used to layer up with make-up that was not the right colour for my face to try and hide (the acne), but it only made it worse. "Two years ago I was at a wedding and bumped into a girl from school. She said to me, 'Your skin was so bad at school but it's amazing now. What do you use?' "I was really taken aback because no one would have ever said to me how terrible my skin was. It made me realise that it wasn't just in my head - it really was that bad." Expand Close Winning formula: Shauna prepares her best-selling facial oil / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Winning formula: Shauna prepares her best-selling facial oil Shauna discovered she had become sensitised to some of the ingredients in her products, which contributed to the unexpected outbreak of acne. She tweaked the ingredients and developed a new product that cleared up her skin. She has since added the product to her range and is currently developing new cleansers, all of which she makes by hand at her studio in The Buttermarket in Enniskillen. As a teenager, Shauna chose to study to become a beauty therapist because of her experience with acne, and her venture into beauty products came about almost by accident, rather than design. After developing her own products, her skin looked so good that customers often asked what she used. When Shauna was 19, she decided to do a course in cosmetic regulations, so she could set up a studio and sell her products. "You never see a beauty therapist with bad skin, which is why I decided to become one," she explains. "I tried lots of products on my face, but they never worked. Then someone recommended this well-known product because it was supposed to be natural. I used it but had a really bad reaction. "I started to Google the ingredients, then I realised it wasn't natural at all - and then I realised that I could make natural products. "I love making things, and I made up lots of concoctions. Through trial and error, I developed a product that worked for me. I kept it simple and focused on quality ingredients. "People started to comment on how good my skin was, which was something I had never experienced before. It was a great compliment to get. "They were also asking what I used and if they could buy a pot, and that's when I decided that I could start a business." The Natural Beauty Pot's line of aromatherapeutic cosmetics fuses tried-and-tested formulas with active essential oils, all carefully crafted by hand by Shauna, who believes skincare should be simple, gentle and effective. She has worked hard to source ingredients from all over the world, all of them specially selected for their quality, aroma and texture. Her products are packaged in eco-friendly glass bottles with wooden lids, and a refill service is available to limit packaging waste. Shauna has a comprehensive collection featuring 14 skin and bodycare products for men and women, as well as a range of soy wax candles. Every product is handmade in small batches to maintain quality and freshness, and the range is entirely free from water, and also free from preservatives. It includes mood-boosting aromatherapy bath salts, four vegan-friendly facial oils, a multi-purpose beauty balm and a relaxing body oil. The Natural Beauty Pot's ethos is all about the power of simplicity and providing products that are ethical and healthy for both people and the planet. The rise in demand for natural skincare has grown hugely in the past few years, but in 2009 Shaun was very much ahead of the pack. In fact, clean beauty was so unheard of at the time that people struggled to understand what she was trying to do. "When I first told people about my products, I would have got funny looks, as if to say 'Is she serious?' Clean beauty wasn't even heard of back then," she explains. "Now it is very popular because people have become savvier about what's in their skincare and how natural, clean ingredients can benefit their bodies. But natural ingredients can cause reactions too, so it is very important to test products. "Safety has always been a big thing for me. I did a course in cosmetic regulations, which was very tedious, but I wanted to do everything by the book. "It was really important to me to comply with all the regulations." Initially, Shauna launched her collection under the title 'Nature's Inspiration', only to be hit with a setback in 2014 when she discovered the trade name already existed. With her labels, website and uniform branded, she had to start all over again. "It was the most devastating thing that has happened in my business," Shauna says. "To have to change everything at that point after building up the brand and the name, it was a nightmare. "In hindsight, though, it is the best move I ever made because it made me really look at what worked and what didn't work and what my customers were passionate about. "Veganism had become very important to my customers, and I had used beeswax in some of my products, so I decided to eliminate all animal by-products from my range." Remarkably, while developing new products and setting up and running a new beauty brand, Shauna also decided to study for a degree in management in her mid-20s. When working on her dissertation, she was surprised - but also somewhat relieved - to discover she had dyslexia, which makes her achievements all the more remarkable. "I went to a local grammar school. I would have come home, started my homework and worked until dinner time. "Then I went back to it after dinner until 11pm, but I still wouldn't have finished," she says. "When I was doing my dissertation for my degree, my lecturer said he thought that I might be dyslexic. "I was 25 when I was diagnosed. "The assessor told me that I had developed coping mechanisms and had learnt how to work around it. "He said I wasn't a severe case, but I read slower and write slower than 99% of people at my age and intelligence. "It all made so much sense to me because I was always the last person to finish my work in school. "I don't perceive myself as dyslexic because I have been diagnosed at such a late stage. "It is not something I feel is important, although it does make life harder in some ways." When she is not working on new products or fulfilling her latest batch of orders, Shauna spends time with her long-term partner, Eoin Maguire (33), who works as an engineer for Northern Ireland Electricity. "Eoin is a fantastic trade show helper," she says. "He has been to two trade shows in England with me and did the stand maintenance. I call him 'the muscle'. "We've been together six years - life is good." A Belfast-based author has said she is "delighted" after being named as the Irish laureate of the 2019 European Union Prize for Literature. Jan Carson's The Fire Starters was chosen ahead of three others - Her Kind by Niamh Boyce, Catholic Boy by Rosemary Jenkinson, and The Watch House by Bernie McGill - as winner of the 4,400 prize. Her book has three intertwining narratives against a backdrop of a city in flames. The main story concerns fires that rampage through Belfast sparked by an elusive arsonist who spurs others to like-minded destruction. She said: "I'm delighted to have won this prize and really hope it will help in showcasing The Fire Starters to a wider European audience. "It was such an honour to be shortlisted alongside three Irish writers whose work I really admire and I'm particularly proud to have a book so definitely set in Belfast chosen to represent the island of Ireland this year." The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) is an award that recognises outstanding new and emerging literary talents across Europe, and highlights the wealth of contemporary European literature, while drawing attention to the Continent's unique cultural and linguistic heritage. Carson was named as one of the 14 laureates by Romanian Minister of Culture and National Identity Valer-Daniel Breaz, and Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport at the Permanent Representation of Romania to the EU. She previously wrote the critically acclaimed magical realist novel Malcolm Orange Disappears, which tells the story of a boy who slowly but surely begins to vanish from sight. She followed that up with a collection of short stories, Children's Children, and postcard stories, which started out as a challenge to write a short story every day for 365 days straight, scribble them down on postcards and mail them to friends, family and acquaintances far and wide. Her love of literature was instilled from a young age. She attended Carniny Primary School in Ballymena and later Cambridge House Grammar School for Girls, and remembers her parents Robin and Joye reading to her often. Carson added: "I've always been blessed by an over-leaping imagination. My dad likes to read crime fiction and my brother Alan has had a life-long obsession with Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books. "My parents took me to the library weekly and encouraged me to read and write, which I'm really grateful for." National juries, consisting of experts in literature, publishing and bookselling, are set up in each country participating in the EUPL in the respective year. After shortlisting three to five authors, the national juries choose their laureates who receive a financial prize but also benefit from increased international visibility and cross-border promotion, starting with the awards ceremony in Brussels and continuing at major book fairs in Europe and beyond. So far the EUPL has rewarded 108 authors from 41 countries during a decade of its existence. The awards ceremony will be held on October 2 in Brussels. The Welsh writer Rachel Trezise is fretting about her latest play, Cotton Fingers, arriving in Northern Ireland. "It feels like I've dipped my pen in someone else's blood," she admits, when we meet in a rehearsal room in the National Theatre of Wales. "It feels like it should be an Irish writer tackling this subject, but it was sort of an accident." Cotton Fingers is a one-woman show about a young woman travelling from Belfast to Cardiff to get an abortion. Trezise wrote it after the National Theatre of Wales commissioned five writers to make a new piece of work to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service. "I didn't want to do a nice 'the NHS saved my life' story," she says, "so I thought I would do something on abortion - and that very week, the NHS had started funding abortions for Northern Irish women if they travelled over." The monologue tells the story of Aoife, a young working-class Catholic woman who finds herself alone in a Cardiff abortion clinic, after making the type of journey that more than 900 real-life Northern Irish women make each year. "I wanted to write about women caring for each other in the NHS," says Trezise. "I was thinking about nurses and the silent pact that women have where things are implicitly understood." Even though Trezise isn't Northern Irish, her project ended up being about that part of the United Kingdom that is so often overlooked - in art, in the media, in politics. The 40-year-old had visited Belfast only once before, in the late 1990s, when she was studying in Limerick as part of an exchange programme with her Welsh university. At the time, Ireland's conservatism shocked her. "When I went to Limerick, I realised that divorce had only been legal for two years. I thought, 'What is this place?'" she recalls. "I'd open up Elle magazine and all the abortion information had been scratched out at the back." Twenty years on, she relied on her memories of that time, as well as newspaper reports, to write her play. Trezise grew up "very poor, very working-class" in the Rhondda Valley, a part of south Wales that was devastated by the collapse of the mining industry. Her mother, who worked as a cleaner, brought her up "mostly by herself". Trezise was abused by a stepfather, an ordeal that informed her debut novel, In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl, published when she was just 24. She grew up in a house without any books and didn't see a play until she was an adult and had become a well-respected novelist. But she had always loved reading at school and was particularly moved when she studied Maya Angelou's memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. "It was the first book I read about sexual abuse," she says. "I thought, 'Somebody has written about it. Maybe I can write about it'." Expand Close Tough topic: playwright Rachel Trezise / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tough topic: playwright Rachel Trezise Her second book, a collection of short stories called Fresh Apples won the Dylan Thomas Prize, which at the time was worth 60,000. It opened doors, with London publishers calling and theatres commissioning her to write plays. She never left Wales, however, and she and her welder husband live in the same area in which she grew up. She writes every day from 6am to 4pm, taking a half-hour break to eat her lunch in front of a daily politics show. To help pay the bills, she takes on occasional editing and teaching work. Trezise, like almost everyone else, has been won over by the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls, and sees its prominence as almost serendipitous. "Weirdly, when I started writing Cotton Fingers, the first series of Derry Girls was airing," she says. "And I thought that was strange, because usually there's very little about Northern Ireland." She thinks Derry Girls is doing a great job of educating British people about the reality of life in 1990s Londonderry, and wonders if Cotton Fingers can do something similar. Louisa Harland, who plays Orla in Derry Girls, was cast in the first production of Cotton Fingers last summer, and Amy Molloy takes on the role this year, when the show arrives in Northern Ireland. Watching her play performed for the first time was a moving experience, Trezise says. "I didn't realise how emotional it was until I first saw it performed on stage. I cried. I thought, 'Oh, you can't cry at your own work', but I was looking around and other people were crying too. "I can't say categorically that theatre does help, but you would hope that it does. "You would hope that people start talking to each other, that they'll be more inclined to have those discussions." It is quite possible to never make a single recipe by Nigel Slater but still read his cookbooks - like novels that comfort and nourish through words alone - cover to cover. But that would leave you feeling unbelievably hungry, and when his food - often just the putting together of a few ingredients - is so reassuring and good, it's tough not to start pulling things from cupboards and perusing the fridge for willing participants. His new cookbook, part one of two (Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter will be out later in the year), looks to be as restorative and encouraging as ever... Who will love it? People who eat, especially those who really like vegetables and those who look forward to spring and summer, not solely for the weather but, more importantly, for the way it changes how and what we scoff for dinner and even where we eat it. This will have you carrying dishes outside to eat, whether you have a huge lawn or just a chair and a wedge of space on a balcony. What is it trying to get us cooking? You never get the feeling Slater would try and get anyone to do anything - he's too gentle for that. Instead, he's simply providing options and ideas, based on what he himself would like to eat for dinner. However, the focus is very much veg. Slater is not vegetarian but, as he explains, vegetables rather than animals have been increasingly dominating dinnertime in his house. It's a way of eating that more and more of us are adopting, so why not eat well while we're at it? How easy is it to use? Slater's recipes are never counter-intuitive - mostly, the ingredient lists are mercifully short. The same goes for Greenfeast. Nothing is fear-inducingly complicated, and the sections are broken into sensible areas: 'In a bowl', 'On the grill', and 'Pudding', for instance. The best recipe is... Aubergine, honey, sheep's cheese - it looks so luxurious, there'd be no sharing it. The recipe that we're most likely to post pictures of on Instagram is... Halloumi, melon, chilli - the bright pink of melon, the blazing red of chilli and tomatoes, a hunk of charred halloumi and green hits of coriander - it's a winner. The dish we're least likely to try is... Fennel, onions, eggs - while we trust Slater's palate implicitly, this sounds marginally less appetising than, say, asparagus, broad Beans and eggs. Overall rating: 8/10 - full of vibrancy and brilliantly simple ideas, it'll keep you going all summer. Our only question: Why are there no corn on the cob recipes? Greenfeast: Spring, Summer by Nigel Slater, published by 4th Estate Books, 22 Nigel's miso, mushrooms, pak choi What you'll need 150g sugar snap peas or shelled peas 750ml vegetable or chicken stock 4tbsp white miso paste 3 spring onions 125g pak choi 100g enoki mushrooms Thai basil, a small bunch 1 lime Expand Close Greenfeast: Spring, Summer by Nigel Slater, published by 4th Estate Books, 22 PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Greenfeast: Spring, Summer by Nigel Slater, published by 4th Estate Books, 22 Light soy sauce Method 1. Bring a medium-sized pan of water to the boil. Add the sugar snaps or shelled peas and let them boil for two minutes, then lift them out with a draining spoon and drop them into a bowl of cold water. 2. Warm the stock in a large pan. When the stock is hot, add the miso, stirring until it has dissolved. The stock should be very hot but not boiling. Finely slice the spring onions and add half to the stock. Halve the pak choi and push them down into the stock. Remove and discard the roots from the enoki mushrooms, then add to the stock. 3. Tear up the Thai basil leaves. Squeeze the juice from the lime. Divide the hot broth between four bowls and add the remaining spring onions, the peas, basil leaves and lime juice. Pass soy sauce around at the table, leaving everyone to season as they wish. (serves 4) Paul Stewart holds the remains of his sons phone after it caught fire Paul Stewart holds the remains of his sons phone after it caught fire A Co Armagh man has warned of a potentially deadly defect in a Chinese-made smartphone after one spontaneously combusted in his home. Paul Stewart (56) is still in shock after the Xiaomi device belonging to his son Gary (24) burst into flames on Saturday night. The phone, which cost 220 and was bought new just five months ago through Amazon, wasn't being charged when it ignited. Now the Lurgan family are warning others of the danger. Paul, who is medically retired, said: "We had friends round on Saturday night when the smoke alarm went off. "Gary was in his room and the phone was lying on his bed when all of a sudden sparks started to fly out of it. "He lifted it just as it burst into flames and carried it into the bathroom sink. The house was full of toxic fumes. "We were all shocked. "I actually lay in bed the next day thinking how different the outcome could have been if it had happened when we were all asleep. "There could have been fatalities and that's a scary thought, or if it had been left in the house during the day then the house could have burned down." The phone was completely destroyed. The family has contacted the company who sold the device and they said they are investigating the issue, but Mr Stewart believes they need to act now and recall all similar models. He added: "It is a cheap smartphone so it is probably really popular with young people who can't afford to fork out hundreds of pounds. "There is an obvious fault and the company really does need to recall them. People need to know the risks. "The customer services department told us they would have to bring it to the attention of senior management but we haven't heard anything back yet." Mi International, which manufactured the phone, said: "We take this issue extremely seriously and we're sorry that the customer experienced this. "As such we're communicating with the customer at the moment to know more. "Customer safety and quality is of paramount importance to us and we will continue to analyse the phone to ensure this is an isolated incident." A Co Tyrone man declared bankrupt has been sent to jail for six months for contempt of court. The prison term was imposed on 52-year-old John Attwood after he failed to provide full co-operation about his financial affairs. Proceedings were brought against him at the High Court in Belfast by the Official Receiver. Madam Justice McBride imposed the prison term following a hearing on Tuesday, the Lord Chief Justice's Office confirmed. Mr Attwood, with an address at Burnbank in Cookstown, was adjudicated bankrupt in November 2017. Under insolvency legislation he was then required to provide full assistance to the Official Receiver. However, it was claimed that he continually declined to cooperate, failed to attend for interview or to make the necessary disclosure of any assets. Lawyers representing the Official Receiver sought to have his financial affairs examined in court. Amid Mr Attwood's alleged continued refusal to answer questions contempt of court proceedings were initiated. Despite being given a further chance to comply, he declined to take the opportunity. Based on the relevant sentencing guidelines for contempt of court, Madam Justice McBride committed him to prison for six months. Mr Attwood can still seek to be discharged from jail at any time by offering the necessary cooperation. However, the court has yet to receive any notification that he intends to take the steps required to purge his contempt. A 17-year-old youth allegedly raped a schoolgirl and incited others to take indecent photographs for him, the High Court has heard. He is charged with carrying out of an online campaign which also involved distributing and disclosing the images without consent. The Co Antrim teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of targeting five girls - including one he allegedly tried to blackmail for cash. During a bail hearing it emerged that he faces a total of 21 charges said to have been committed between August and November last year. They include claims of raping one girl and causing another to engage in sexual activity. The case also involves two counts of inciting girls to take indecent photos of a child, four charges of harassment, and three counts of disclosing a private sexual photo or film of complainants. He is further accused of possessing and distributing indecent images of a child. A charge of blackmail relates to allegations that he demanded 500 from one girl with menaces. All of the alleged victims are believed to be aged between 13 and 16. Prosecutors opposed the youth's release, arguing there was a risk of re-offending or interference with witnesses. Defence barrister Thomas McKeever confirmed the charges are denied and stressed his client's clear record. He said the accused was seeking to live more than 30 miles away from an area of Co Antrim where offences were allegedly committed. "There are safety concerns should the applicant be granted bail," counsel acknowledged. The youth's family are prepared to shut off wifi access at their house to ensure he cannot go online, the court heard. Mr McKeever also submitted: "This is a vulnerable young man himself." But adjourning the application, Judge Donna McColgan QC stressed the gravity of the charges. She said she needed more information from the relevant authorities and on the possibility of removing all internet-capable devices. The judge added: "These are very, very serious alleged offences, and the way it has been opened I would have serious concerns about the risk of further offences." The Northern Ireland Fire Service is dealing with a large gorse fire at Cavehill in Belfast. Firefighters are dealing with a large gorse fire at Cavehill in Belfast. The Northern Ireland Fire Service said it was alerted to the incident this afternoon. They dispatched three fire appliances to the scene who are currently dealing with a large gorse fire on the cliff face of Cavehill. Firefighters have been able to stop the fire from spreading. There are no further details. Five Armenian citizens were injured in a road accident involving a tourist bus in Italy, the Armenian embassy in Italy said in a Faceebook post. "The list of injured tourists includes five citizens of Armenia. The embassy is in direct contact with the prefecture of Siena to receive regular information about the citizens of the Republic of Armenia," the embassy said. The accident occurred on Wednesday on the highway connecting Siena with Florence near the city of Monteriggioni. According to Italian media, one person died and 37 people were injured. A Northern Ireland minister has said there is "a hint of progress" in talks to restore power-sharing at Stormont. The glimmer of hope to resolving the long-standing deadlock and resurrecting the institutions was offered by Lord Duncan of Springbank, in a debate on devolution at Westminster. Stormont collapsed more than two years ago following a breakdown in relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein. The latest bid to revive the power-sharing government follows the murder of journalist Lyra McKee. Lord Duncan told peers: "That's the part where devolution isn't working as it should. We see the consequence of a failure of devolution day after day." He added: "I will not comment too far upon the talks, which are ongoing, but there is a hint of progress. "There is a belief now that we are perhaps on the track of reaching that elusive resolution to bring the Assembly and the Executive into being once again." Earlier in the House of Lords debate, Labour former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain lambasted the failure to tackle the "real crisis", which he blamed on "a serious leadership vacuum". He said: "We have a palpable lack of leadership, not just among the political parties in Northern Ireland, particularly the DUP and Sinn Fein, but in Number 10 on the part of the Prime Minister. "She does not really grip Northern Ireland in the way that other prime ministers have done, including Tony Blair and John Major. "She does not give it priority. It is no excuse to say that Brexit overwhelms her as it is overwhelming our whole government system." From left: Invest NI chief executive Alastair Hamilton, John Park of McDonalds and Ciaran Doherty of Huhtamaki Food Services The head of Belfast-based Huhtamaki Foodservice Delta has described how the food packaging firm moved rapidly to open a new factory in Antrim just months after McDonald's announced its plans to dump plastic straws in June. General manager Ciaran Doherty was speaking as the firm officially opened the manufacturing facility in Kilbegs Business Park yesterday, which will roll out paper straws to 1,300 McDonald's restaurants across the UK and Ireland. Up to 100 jobs will be created over the next five years, with the company investing 12m in the project. Invest NI has offered the company 480,000 for the move. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, he said: "We had to move really quickly to secure the machines, secure the factory, employ people, get them trained and get ourselves to speed with accreditation. We had a big undertaking from June 2018 to now." He explained there has been a massive shift to sustainable packaging in the past few years. "The market is moving really quickly," he said. "We are listening to the market and moving with it. Sustainably is the future. "Five or six years ago, sustainable products were niche, they're now mainstream." Mr Doherty said the firm is investing in additional new machinery, with a number of products already in development, including a folded carton container to replace plastic containers. The Belfast-based packaging firm has been owned by Finnish-based Huhtamaki since May 2016. It already makes burger boxes and French fry cartons for McDonald's. The group, which employs some 17,700 people in 34 countries, also operates a fibre packaging operation in Lurgan. Mr Doherty said that Brexit still remains a concern for the company, which imports its paper from Austria, Germany and Scandinavia. "We are getting lots of reassurances from Invest NI and the ports that they have good contingencies in place," the general manager said. "It's not a short shelf-life product, so we can build resilience to our customers by putting four to five weeks of stock ahead. McDonald's chief financial officer John Park, who opened the new factory yesterday, said the fast food chain had made the move to paper after listening to its customers. "We are proud to be doing the right thing in rolling out paper straws across our UK and Irish restaurants and will continue to invest in making our business as environmentally sustainable as possible - this is just one step on that journey," he added. Former Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has rejected a proposal from SDLP veteran Seamus Mallon to amend the conditions for a vote on Irish unity under the Good Friday Agreement. In his new book, the former SDLP deputy leader writes that the current conditions for Irish unity, a referendum result of over 50% in favour, would not create a peaceful and prosperous united Ireland. Mr Mallon argued that a united Ireland should wait until the majority of unionists are in favour of it. "My concern is that a very narrow vote for unity would lead to more division, instability and probably violence. Look at the chaos caused by the narrow vote for Brexit in the UK and by the lack of preparation, reasoned debate and public education before that referendum," he wrote. Read More Writing in his weekly Andersontown News column Mr Adams rejected the proposal saying that it undermines the "equal and democratic value that should be given to every vote". The long-serving former Sinn Fein leader wrote that he never believed Mr Mallon was a "big fan" of the Good Friday Agreement in the first place and that he believed it was partly responsible for the decline in popularity of the SDLP. Mr Adams wrote that Mr Mallon's proposal would give unionists an "entrenched veto over the issue of rights" and the "right to self determination". Expand Close Seamus Mallon on the campaign trail. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Seamus Mallon on the campaign trail. In the article the Louth TD says that Mr Mallon "hasn't moved on from the deeply flawed Sunningdale Agreement". "In short Mr Mallon is saying that a unionist majority can maintain partition, and the union with Britain, but a majority which favours a united Ireland cannot achieve this without the agreement of a majority of Unionists," Mr Adams wrote. The former West Belfast MP pointed to recent referendums in the Republic of Ireland on marriage equality on abortion rights, saying that a majority vote was considered good enough in these instances. Mr Adams argued that if Mr Mallon's proposals were adopted it would make rights, like those of Irish language speakers and the LGBT community, harder to secure. Despite the proposal the former Sinn Fein President said that Mr Mallon "must know such a change will not be agreed". Mr Adams said that every "united Irelander wanted the biggest possible majority for unity" and acknowledged that it would take hard work to persuade unionists that it was the best way forward. Expand Close Gerry Adams and John Hume / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gerry Adams and John Hume However he rejected the suggestion that nationalists and republicans should "stop pushing for unity". "Where in the tortured history of the northern state is there evidence to support the view that nationalists acquiescing to unionism ever worked?," Mr Adams wrote. "On the contrary, from the civil rights movement through the peace process, and the many periods of negotiations, progress has only been achieved when nationalists and republicans stood up for and asserted our rights alongside the rights of everyone else. Its equality stupid!" The former Sinn Fein leader said that the SDLP veteran's suggestion that a narrow unity referendum win risks a return to the past was "spurious and offensive". Mr Adams wrote that he did not believe that "there is any support for a return to the conflict of the past". He said that following events of the past few years that Irish unity was now "firmly fixed on the political agenda". "We will not take it off that agenda nor will we acquiesce to a new unionist veto. My preference is for a unitary state but as republicans have said many times we are open to agreeing transitional arrangements. In fact, transitional arrangements are a necessary part of our journey as an island people," Mr Adams wrote. "As republicans we are working for a shared space, a new harmonious dispensation, in which sectarianism is a thing of the past and where people of every political persuasion and none can live, work and socialise together on the basis of equality. Thats the way forward." Northern Ireland's Secretary of State is facing renewed legal action over the ongoing failure to introduce compensation for survivors of historical abuse. A solicitor for elderly victims confirmed they are seeking to overturn a ruling that Karen Bradley's stance in the absence of a Stormont Executive is not unlawful. Claire McKeegan said: "A notice of appeal of the decision of the High Court has been served on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Executive Office. "The appellant will be seeking an expedited hearing of this urgent matter." Proceedings are being taken by a man in his seventies, identified only as JR80, in a bid to have Mrs Bradley compelled to implement a redress scheme for institutional abuse victims. Last month a judge dismissed his initial judicial review challenge after describing the continued political vacuum as defective and damaging for society, but not unconstitutional. The verdict represented a setback for those fighting to secure the compensation envisaged when a major report into the abuse at children's homes run by religious orders and the state between 1922 and 1995. Since then Mrs Bradley has come under intense criticism amid demands for her to put draft legislation for compensating victims before Parliament. She has defended her decision to table questions for Northern Ireland's political parties about the proposed scheme, insisting that she wants the process concluded as quickly as possible. In 2017 the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry published a report recommending compensation ranging from 7,500 to 100,000 to those who suffered neglect and assaults. With no functioning Assembly at Stormont since devolution collapsed, JR80's challenge has been aimed at having the Secretary of State and Executive Office compelled to take immediate steps on the pay-outs. The High Court heard that up to 30 people who suffered abuse have died since the report was issued. Counsel for JR80 argued that the deaths were continuing amid a complete loss of democratic accountability and branches of government "pass the parcel" over responsibility for implementing the redress scheme. He told the court the survivors are enduring a "dystopian nightmare". Details of the beatings and molestation suffered by JR80 after he was taken to a home at the age of seven were disclosed during the initial hearing. Lawyers representing the Secretary of State and the Executive Office argued that they had no legal power to intervene over the stalled compensation. Steps are now underway to secure a fresh hearing at the Court of Appeal as soon as possible. Margaret McGuckin of the campaign group Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse (SAVIA) said: "We have been let down everywhere we turn. "Our people need this redress and our government have failed us continually." The man was found injured in the Point Street area of Larne. Credit: Google A man has suffered suspected fractures to his face after an attacked in Larne. He was found injured in the Point Street area of the town at around 10.35pm on Wednesday. Detective Sergeant Robinson said: "The male was taken to hospital for a number injuries, including suspected fractures to his eye sockets and cheekbones and a laceration to his face. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening." Enquiries are continuing and we would appeal to anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 2244 22/5/19." Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Masked men followed the body of Martin McElkerney. The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) The death of INLA child killer Martin McElkerney was "such a tragedy" a priest told mourners at his funeral on Thursday. McElkerney's Requiem Mass took place at at St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast at 11am. He will then be cremated at Roselawn Crematorium. Read More A large crowd of men with their faces covered and wearing berets led the funeral procession to the church. His coffin was draped in the tricolour and the starry plough flag. At McElkerney's funeral, family friend Fr Gary Donegan said that his family are in "confusion, bewilderment and grief" at his death. Fr Donegan told those gathered that McElkerney had experienced "a good start in life". "The family were burnt out of their home in north Belfast early on in the Troubles," Fr Donegan said. He told mourners that the deaths of friends led McElkerney to join the INLA. Expand Close The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The funeral of INLA man Martin McElkerney takes place in Divis, west Belfast on May 23rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) "According to his family, the loss of many friends in the conflict, had a profound influence on Martins decision to get directly involved in what is euphemistically referred to as the Troubles,'" Fr Donegan said. "Those were sad and difficult times, and are hardly recognisable 21 years after the Good Friday Agreement which saw Martin released from Long Kesh after a decade and a half of incarceration." Fr Donegan said that McElkerney was aware of the impact of his actions during the Troubles. "Following his release from prison, Martin became aware that the choices he made in life, had significant and lasting consequences for others, including his family," he said. McElkerney (57) died last week after he was found with a gunshot wound at the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. On Monday evening masked men fired shots in west Belfast to mark McElkerney's death. Video footage emerged on social media showing one man firing a rifle into the air outside a house, before retreating inside. Triple killer McElkerney was jailed in 1987 for his part in a 1982 booby-trap bomb which killed two schoolboys, Kevin Valliday (11) and his friend Stephen Bennet (14), as well as 20-year-old Lance Bombardier Kevin Waller. The INLA man had been identified in court as the lookout for the bomber who triggered the device at Divis Flats in 1982. McElkerney received three life sentences in 1987, but was released in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Final salute Marty Mac pic.twitter.com/47ix1Zcsrm lone wolf (@lonewol22156321) May 20, 2019 Thousands of children sit the transfer test every year in Northern Ireland The head of one of Northern Ireland's transfer test providers has said new plans for a single test are "not fit for purpose". Association for Quality Education (AQE) chair John Mulholland criticised the plans in a letter to school principals and governors. Two different assessments currently operate in Northern Ireland, but a proposal for a unified test was put to consultation in June last year. The PPTC, which operates the GL assessment widely used in Catholic grammar schools, said the response from its schools had been extremely positive. If approved the new test would be the first single transfer test since the 11-plus was scrapped in 2008. The AQE runs the other exam option and Mr Mulholland said the organisation had been kept in the dark during discussions on a joint test. Read More The BBC has reported the majority of grammar school principals expressed support for the new proposals during the consultation. "During the two years of discussion the negotiators chose to maintain confidentiality and AQE Ltd were not appraised of developments," Mr Mulholland said in his letter. "Based on the very limited information available, the board are adamant that the proposal for two tests with one to count does not meet the standard which is required to combat criticism from experts who oppose the concept of academic selection." He said that the new test would be a "halfway house", and less reliable than the current AQE exams. "The three-test format is key to the current assessment and the board have been convinced this approach offers the best opportunity to children, particularly to those from less advantaged backgrounds," Mr Mulholland said. "Advice received indicates the new arrangements could be more easily manipulated by middle class parents." Mr Mulholland also expressed concerns that parents would have to pay much more for the single test. Parents currently pay 50 for their children to take part in AQE tests unless they are eligible for free school meals. "The current proposal takes the form of a compromise whereby entrants will be charged 20 with schools providing the balance, which could be in the region of 6,000-7,000 and potentially considerably more," the letter said. The AQE chair said that he felt it was his duty to make his feelings known on the new proposal. "I reiterate that our board was and is very supportive of the concept of a unified test but does not accept that it should be adopted at any price," the letter finished. Director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Carolyn Fairbairn claims 940m in economic output will be lost by the end of 2019.(Niall Carson/PA) The Northern Ireland economy stands to lose almost 1bn if the Executive is not restored this year, one of the biggest figures in UK business has claimed. Carolyn Fairbairn, the director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), told hundreds of business figures in Belfast on Thursday last night that 940m in economic output would be lost if the institutions were not up and running by the end of the year. Read More The figure is based on analysis carried out by the CBI using government data and growth rates forecast by Danske Bank. Ms Fairbairn (below) also said a hard border would be an economic wrecking ball and warned that the cost of a no-deal Brexit could amount to the equivalent of over 10% of Northern Irelands economy by 2034. Speaking at the CBIs annual dinner at the ICC Waterfront, she urged politicians to adopt a business-like approach to Stormont, which remains stalled over issues including an Irish language act and marriage equality. Ms Fairbairn said: In boardrooms across the country, business leaders know all about differences of opinion and robust debate over questions about where to invest, who to hire and how to run a company. But for the most successful among them, stalemate simply is not an option. They have no choice but to reach consensus. Northern Ireland has been without a functioning government since January 2017. A fresh round of talks to restore Stormont is under way. Speaking to an audience that included high-profile political figures, Ms Fairbairn said: I have just one message to those involved in power-sharing talks here in Belfast. Why not adopt the business approach? You bear a historic responsibility. Business is crying out for compromise because the cost of failure now would be so great. (The lost) money could help fix roads, eradicate waiting lists in hospitals or transform education in primary and secondary schools. Restoring power to Stormont is the only way to do achieve this. What was once pressing is now desperately urgent. The CBI is one of the biggest business organisations in the UK, representing around 190,000 companies, employing some seven million people. Addressing the issue of Brexit, the CBI director-general said: With thousands of goods vehicles and people crossing the border each day, business has been clear a hard border would be an economic wrecking ball for Northern Ireland. Facts must be at the heart of this debate. The CBI and many businesses in this room have given politicians the economic evidence they need. Describing the thousands of jobs created by Northern Irish businesses since 1998, she added: It must be the business voice that shapes the policies that work for Northern Irelands people and its future prosperity. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraphyesterday, Ms Fairbairn said analysis produced by the CBI on both Stormont and Brexit was incredibly well evidenced. This has been a debate where the economy has not had enough of a voice, which is one of the reasons why we have been so vocal, she added. We recognise there are very deeply held ideological views that if were not careful are going to have a lasting effect on peoples living standards and life here in Northern Ireland. Discussing the decision by Theresa May to pull back from reintroducing her withdrawal agreement to the House of Commons, Ms Fairbairn said while she did not think the deal was perfect, she believed that it had the backing of Northern Ireland businesses. We are disappointed and our profound message now is that it is deeply and desperately urgent that a compromise and a consensus and a deal is reached as soon as possible, she stressed. Weve seen data for the second quarter of this year showing that the entire growth rate of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, is entirely driven by stockpiling. It is totally wasted investment that could have gone into skills and infrastructure. She also warned the economy would continue to stall until Brexit was resolved. I think that every business in the country still needs to regard no-deal as a possibility, Ms Fairbairn said. We continue to hope that it does not happen, but businesses have no choice but to prepare for the worst. The impact is huge, and if you put it together with the lack of an Executive in Stormont, its a double-hit. Army technical officers at the scene of the alert on Moss Road in Londonderry. Credit: Leona O'Neill Petrol bombs have been thrown at police officers while they were dealing with a security alert near a polling station in Londonderry. Police were called to the Moss Park area of the city at around 7pm after reports of a suspicious device in the vicinity of St Paul's Primary School, which was being used as a polling station. When officers attended the scene they came under attack with five petrol bombs being thrown at them. One of the petrol bombs was thrown in the Glengalliagh Park area where there was a number of children in close proximity to where it landed. Police have recovered six petrol bombs, along with 20 paint bombs and two crates of empty bottles. ATO have carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect device in Moss Road in Galliagh outside St Pauls PS Polling Station #Derry #EuropeanElections2019 pic.twitter.com/kOGCgXyg3I Leona O'Neill (@LeonaONeill1) May 23, 2019 Two teenagers aged 17 and a boy aged 12 have been arrested in connection with the disorder. All three remain in custody. The bomb squad attended the scene and carried out an examination and controlled explosion on the suspicious device. The device has been declared an elaborate hoax and has been taken away for further forensic examination. Moss Road has since re-opened. Last month journalist Lyra McKee was shot dead in Derry by dissident republicans during unrest in the city. Disgraceful attacks on the PSNI in Galliagh tonight. Petrol bombs and other missiles thrown during the security alert on Moss Rd. Two teenage boys and a child arrested. Shameful. Thankfully no one injured. Gary Middleton MLA (@Gary_Middleton) May 23, 2019 Superintendent Gordon McCalmont said: "There is no doubt my officers were lured into the area this evening and that those involved in this orchestrated disorder had one aim in mind - to attack police. "This was all the more reckless by the fact that one of the petrol bombs hurled at police landed in close proximity to young children who could have been left seriously injured, or worse. "This security alert is the second this month in this area, impacting the same community that was disrupted on May 2 during local Council elections. "It cannot be lost on anyone the disruption this has caused in the local community, let alone the potential for serious harm that could have been caused. I want to thank the public for their patience however when it comes to keeping people safe we take no chances. I would urge anyone who has information about the disorder this evening to contact police at Strand Road on 101 quoting reference number 1639 of 23/05/19." Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Foreign Minister of the Peoples Republic of China Wang Yi, the Azerbaijani presidential press service reported. Firefighters at the Thornhill College site, where there was a second arson attack on Tuesday night Youths who set fires on the derelict site of a former school have been warned they are putting their lives in danger. A gang of teenagers is being blamed for two blazes in as many days at Thornhill College in Londonderry. The Fire Service had to deal with incidents on Monday and Tuesday nights. They are believed to have been the work of a teenage gang. The first fire was in the assembly hall. Firefighters returned to the site the following night to deal with a second blaze, this time on the roof. Three appliances and 25 crew were called out to deal with that incident. The buildings, which have been vacant for over a decade, are deemed unsafe and have been repeatedly vandalised. The old school will be demolished once the new owner begins work on a retirement village on the site, planning permission for which was recently secured. Derry Sinn Fein councillor Sandra Duffy warned young people to keep off the site for their own safety. She said: "After speaking with security staff who patrol this site about these two arson attacks, they told me up to 30 young people have been hanging around and the PSNI neighbourhood team have identified some of those youths and will be speaking to them in relation to these fires. "If there is evidence that they were there then charges will be brought, so these young people could be facing a criminal record. "Besides that, these young people should be aware of the great danger they are putting their own lives in, because none of these buildings are safe and there is a risk they could fall in around them. "The developers are not concerned about the buildings because once they go on site they are going to be demolishing them, but they, too, are worried about the safety of the youths, who are in their early teens." Ms Duffy added: "Not only are these young people putting their lives at risk but they are also wasting valuable Fire Service resources which could be better spent dealing with real emergencies. "I would call in the strongest terms possible for these young people to keep out of this site and to stop wasting the time and resources of the Fire Service." SDLP councillor Angela Dobbins also hit out over the arsons. She said: "The youths involved are putting their lives and the lives of their friends in extreme danger. The roofs of these derelict buildings are so unsafe now that if they were to collapse it would result in a 15-20 foot drop with severe consequences." Thieves have carried out a raid on new homes in a new Northern Ireland housing development. Four houses in the Spring Meadows area of the Hamiltownsbawn Road, Armagh were broken into sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Electrical appliances with an estimated value of 6,000 were stolen, along with 2,000 worth of joinery tools. Items taken include boilers, cookers, radiators and dishwashers. Police are appealing for anyone with information, or who may be offer items for sale in unusual circumstances to contact investigators. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Three men have been arrested after police discovered drugs worth an estimated 640,000 during searches in Armagh. Detectives from the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch made the arrests after the planned search of a property in the Newry Road area of the city on Thursday. Suspected herbal cannabis and drug-related paraphernalia was seized. Two men aged 44 and a third man aged 42 were arrested on suspicion of a number of drug-related offences, including possession of a Class B controlled drug and possession of a Class B controlled drug with intent to supply. All three men remain in custody. Detective Inspector Barry Hamilton said: These arrests and seizures are further evidence of our ongoing commitment to removing and disrupting the illegal supply of drugs in Northern Ireland. "We know that drugs can ruin lives and line the pockets of organised criminals, and we are determined to disrupt these criminal gangs. "We are committed to making Northern Ireland a hostile environment for those in our community who are involved in the drugs trade and anyone involved in the drugs trade, or anyone tempted to become involved should be under no illusion - we will seek to identify them, arrest them and place them before the courts. "I would appeal to anyone who has any information to call police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 969 of 23/05/19." Voters go to the polls today in what is one of the most competitive EU elections in Northern Ireland in decades. Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson and the DUP's Diane Dodds are expected to be safely returned to Brussels. Alliance leader Naomi Long is the bookies' favourite to take the final seat from the Ulster Unionists, with SDLP leader Colum Eastwood also mounting a strong challenge. Eleven candidates are vying for three seats. The 614 polling stations across Northern Ireland open at 7am and close at 10pm. Voters must have valid photographic ID. The election is being conducted by Single Transferable Vote, a proportional representation system. Turnout in the 2014 EU election here was 52%. The verification of ballot papers takes place tomorrow but counting won't begin in Magherafelt Leisure Centre until Monday. A lengthy count is expected which could continue overnight or be postponed until Tuesday morning if a full result looks some way off. Bookmakers Paddy Power last night had Mrs Long as 5/6 favourite for the third seat, followed by Mr Eastwood at 2/1 and the UUP's Danny Kennedy on 11/4. In an eve of poll message, Mr Kennedy said: "I'm urging people to come out and vote Danny Kennedy 1 to deliver a sensible Brexit and secure Northern Ireland's position within the UK. This is a time to demand an end to uncertainty and vote for stability. Don't let someone else decide your future and the future of the UK by not voting." Mrs Long said: "Brexit is not an orange or green issue and I'm not an orange or green politician. That is why Alliance is picking up support from right across our community. An Alliance voice in the European Parliament will say we have truly seen a watershed in local politics, where people reject the politics of division and fear." Expand Close European elections by numbers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp European elections by numbers The wife of former SDLP leader John Hume urged voters to support Colum Eastwood to win back the seat once held by her husband. Pat Hume said: "We need another passionate advocate for Europe and for Northern Ireland's place in Europe. I believe that Colum Eastwood is that advocate." TUV leader Jim Allister said: "My overriding priority on the national issue will be to haste our overdue Brexit. I will readily work with the Brexit Party in this pursuit. A clean Brexit is required and no-deal is now the only viable route to an ultimate deal, as such will bring Brussels to the table. "I invite unionists to speak through their number one vote the essential message that 'Out means Out'." Voters across Northern Ireland are heading to the polls for a 2019 European Parliament elections. It is election no one expected to see, with the UK originally due to leave the EU back in March 29. Brexit fallouts, stalemates and politically wrangling, however, has forced UK voters back to the polls for the second time in less than a month. Read More With three seats up for grabs, eleven candidates are fighting for a place in the European Parliament. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close SDLP Leader and MEP candidate Colum Eastwood arrives with his wife Rachael and their two daughters to vote in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, as voters head to the polls for the European Parliament election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ulster. Photo credit should read: Aoife Moore/PA Wire PA Boris Johnson leaves his home in London, ahead of the European Parliament elections. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: David Mirzoeff/PA Wire PA SDLP Leader and MEP candidate Colum Eastwood arrives with his wife Rachael and their two daughters to vote in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, as voters head to the polls for the European Parliament election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ulster. Photo credit should read: Aoife Moore/PA Wire PA Scottish Conservative party leader Ruth Davidson after casting her vote in the European Parliamentary election at the polling station in the Wilson Memorial Church Hall, Edinburgh. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. Photo credit should read: Jane Barlow/PA Wire PA Handout photo issued by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of Ulster Unionist candidate Danny Kennedy (right), as he arrives to cast his vote for the European Parliament elections with his wife and two children (left to right) Philip, Hannah and Karen, at a polling station at Bessbrook primary school in Bessbrook, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ulster. Photo credit should read: Ulster Unionist Party/PA Wire PA Handout photo issued by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of Ulster Unionist candidate Danny Kennedy, as he arrives to cast his vote for the European Parliament elections with his wife Karen, at a polling station at Bessbrook primary school in Bessbrook, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ulster. Photo credit should read: Ulster Unionist Party/PA Wire PA Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage arrives to cast his vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station at the Cudham Church of England Primary School in Biggin Hill, Kent. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire PA Sitting MEP Diane Dodds, with husband Nigel Dodds, arrives at Bannside Presbyterian Church in Banbridge to cast her vote for the European Parliament election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Sitting MEP Diane Dodds, with husband Nigel Dodds, arrives at Bannside Presbyterian Church in Banbridge to cast her vote for the European Parliament election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Election. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd May 2019 - Polling stations open across Northern Ireland for the European Election. Northern Ireland can return three candidates tot he European Parliament. Alliance Party leader and EU candidate Naomi Long, and her husband Michael, pictured voting at St. Colmcilles polling station on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast. . Photo by Jonathan Porter / Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 23rd May 2019 - Polling stations open across Northern Ireland for the European Election. Northern Ireland can return three candidates tot he European Parliament. Alliance Party leader and EU candidate Naomi Long pictured voting at St. Colmcilles polling station on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast. . Photo by Jonathan Porter / Press Eye. Sinn Fein MEP candidate Martina Anderson arrives at the Model Primary School in Londonderry to cast cast her vote for the European Parliament election. Credit: PA Wire PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SDLP Leader and MEP candidate Colum Eastwood arrives with his wife Rachael and their two daughters to vote in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, as voters head to the polls for the European Parliament election. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday May 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ulster. Photo credit should read: Aoife Moore/PA Wire The seats are currently held by Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson, the DUP's Diane Dodds and the Ulster Unionist's Jim Nicholson, who is not standing again this time round. Danny Kennedy is standing for the Ulster Unionist Party. While the two seats held by Sinn Fein and the DUP are generally considered safe, the third seat held by the Ulster Unionists is less secure with SDLP's Colum Eastwood, Alliance's Naomi Long and TUV's Jim Allister battling for the final spot. A total of 1,278,951 people are eligible to vote in Northern Ireland. The election is decided using the single transferable vote (STV) system, meaning voters pick their candidates by preference: 1,2,3 and so on. Voters can mark as many or as few preferences on their ballot paper as they like. We will have full results for when counting begins on Monday on our election hub page here. Here are the full list of candidates: Leo Varadkar said Brexit was going to be back centre stage in the coming days (Brian Lawless/PA) Ireland needs to send out a message that it is pro-European and rejects Brexit, the Taoiseach has said. Leo Varadkar said voters needed to use their vote in the European elections to demonstrate that they want to stay at the heart of Europe. The Republic heads to the polls on Friday. It comes as speculation mounts that British Prime Minister Theresa May is on the verge of quitting. Demands from Conservative Party MPs for her to resign are continuing to surge following Cabinet turmoil over her Brexit strategy. It's really important that here in Ireland we send out a message that we're pro-European and we want to stay at the heart of EuropeLeo Varadkar The Taoiseach would not be drawn on the potential impact Mrs Mays resignation would have on getting the Withdrawal Agreement over the line, if she made the decision to step down. But he said Brexit was going to be back centre stage in the coming days because of potential political changes in Westminster and the results of the European elections in the UK, where it seems the Brexit Party is going to win. Its really important that here in Ireland we send out a message that were pro-European and we want to stay at the heart of Europe, he said. Were rejecting Brexit and Nigel Farage, that were going to put in the European Parliament seven Fine Gael MEPs, those who will be part of Team Ireland, those who will build alliances and coalitions, those who will make friends for us in Brussels and Strasbourg and those wholl defend the interests of Irish people, citizens, farmers and businesses. The Tories are widely expected to be hammered by Mr Farages Brexit Party in the UK European elections. Presiding Officer Carmel McBride and Garda Adrian McGettigan carry the ballot box to the polling station on Inishbofin (Niall Carson/PA) Residents on islands off the coasts of Donegal, Galway and Mayo are casting their votes in the European and local elections for what could be the last time they are able to do so a day ahead of the rest of the country. More than 2,000 people are eligible to vote on the remote islands. It is expected to be the last time early voting on the islands is allowed under changes within government. Presiding officer Carmel McBride and garda Adrian McGettigan were dropped off by helicopter on the island of Inishbofin on Thursday morning, with Mr McGettigan delivering the ballot box to the polling station. Ms McBride has been the presiding officer for around 30 years. The rest of Ireland will vote in the European and local elections on Friday. They will also cast their ballots in a referendum on Irelands divorce laws with a Yes vote set to reduce the lengthy period separated couples have to wait before they can obtain a formal divorce. Voters in Cork, Waterford and Limerick will also be able to participate in separate plebiscites on government proposals to create directly elected city mayoral positions with executive functions. Expand Close The ballot box arrived on the island by helicopter (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The ballot box arrived on the island by helicopter (Niall Carson/PA) Counting in the local elections and divorce referendum will begin on Saturday morning. The European election count for Irelands three constituencies Dublin, South, and Midlands-North-West will commence on Sunday morning at centres in Dublin, Cork and Castlebar, Co Mayo. A Europe-wide embargo means the first results in that poll cannot be declared until 10pm that night. If previous elections are a guide, counting is likely to continue into Monday. Counting in the mayoral plebiscites is likely to get under way in the three impacted cities on Monday. The European and local government elections will be the first electoral test for Irelands main parties since the inconclusive general election of 2016. Expand Close Lucky the dog helps oversee voting on Inishbofin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lucky the dog helps oversee voting on Inishbofin (Niall Carson/PA) The result delivered a hung parliament and precipitated months of negotiations between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two parties with a century-old enmity dating back to Irelands Civil War. A historic accord emerged that saw Fianna Fail agree to support a minority Fine Gael-led government through a confidence-and-supply deal for three years. The parties renewed that arrangement late last year, extending what has been dubbed an era of new politics until early 2020. While Fridays elections focus on European and council issues, the results will no doubt be interpreted as a public judgment on Fine Gaels performance in government and how effectively Fianna Fail has managed the delicate balancing act of holding an administration to account while at the same time propping it up. Other smaller parties in the Oireachtas parliament, such as Sinn Fein, the Green Party and Labour, will hope to be the beneficiaries of any potential public disaffection with new politics. A member of the Garda at the scene of the shooting in Walshestown A man was shot dead as he was walking with his four-month-old baby in a buggy outside a Dublin primary school yesterday. The victim - named locally as Jordan Davis (22) - was shot dead just 17 hours after his friend Sean Little (22) was killed in a separate gun attack in the city. Detectives are investigating if the two close friends were murdered by a crime gang over a significant drugs debt. Sean Little was the victim of an apparent double cross - his body was found in Balbriggan shortly after 11pm on Tuesday. Yesterday Davis was shot multiple times in front of his infant child in a buggy in the Primrose area of Darndale. He was targeted shortly before 4pm outside Our Lady Immaculate Primary School, close to his home, just minutes after posting an online tribute to Little. In the post he wrote "Rest in paradise you were a gent" along with a picture of both murder victims and a third man. Little was discovered with fatal gunshot wounds and his car, a 161 D Opel Insignia, was discovered on fire a short distance away. Emergency services were alerted to the scene in Balbriggan shortly after 11pm on Tuesday night. When they arrived they discovered Little with fatal gunshot wounds. Little was well-known to gardai and had close links to a Finglas mob boss, known as 'Mr Flashy', as well as a young associate of the Kinahan cartel based in Crumlin. The mob led by 'Mr Flashy' are involved in an escalating feud in the Corduff area of west Dublin. A separate non-fatal gun attack in Mulhuddart on Tuesday night is believed to be linked to that dispute. Little, originally from Coolock, was also connected to Zach Parker, a drug dealer shot dead outside a Swords gym in January. Detectives are investigating if both Little and Davis were murdered by the same criminal gang over a significant drug debt, but sources stressed a number of motives are being investigated. Gardai believe Little was lured to Walshestown in a possible gangland double cross. His body was removed from the scene yesterday afternoon to the Mater Hospital and a post-mortem examination was due to be carried out. Gardai believe a lone gunman, who arrived on a pushbike and was wearing a cap, carried out the shooting of Davis. Police at the scene in the Marigold Road area of Darndale, as a second man has been shot dead in Dublin in less than 24 hours (Brian Lawless/PA) Young people have been warned not to get involved in drug dealing at any level after two friends were shot dead in Dublin within a number of hours. Assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy made the comments as gardai launched two separate murder investigations into the deaths of the men, both aged 22. Sean Little and Jordan Davis were shot dead in different parts of north Dublin within 24 hours of each other. Expand Close The scene in the Marigold Road area of Darndale (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The scene in the Marigold Road area of Darndale (Brian Lawless/PA) Gardai believe the two friends were killed for different motives but said they would pursue all avenues of investigation. It is understood Mr Davis was targeted by a lone gunman in the Marigold Road area of Darndale at about 4pm on Wednesday. He was approached between a school and a church in the area. Gardai believe the gunman used a red mountain bike which was seen in the area in the days and hours before the killing. We are really appealing to the young people that are out there ... please do not get involved at any level with the drugs tradeAssistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy Mr Littles body was found dead beside a burning car in Balbriggan on Tuesday night. Gardai said the shooting happened at Rowans Little, Walshestown, at about 11.20pm. Mr Leahy made a direct appeal to young men and women in a bid to discourage them from getting involved in the drugs trade. He said: Its difficult to even term them as young men at the age of 22 because they are really only just after coming out of their teenage years and all of a sudden their lives are taken unceremoniously in the fashion that has been described over the last couple of days. Expand Close Police at the scene in Darndale (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police at the scene in Darndale (Brian Lawless/PA) We are really appealing to the young people that are out there, not only in the city but across the country, please do not get involved at any level with the drugs trade. Low-level dealing is enough to have your life taken at a young age. The community in Darndale have come forward and helped us really well around this issue, however we know there are people in the community that know some information around that particular incident. We will be sensitive in relation to any information that we receive. He also made an appeal in relation to Mr Littles murder and asked anyone with dash-cam footage who was in the area at the time to come forward. Mr Leahy said he thought there was a possible generational change in people getting involved in the drugs trade. Its certainly a possible outcome as we know we have been dealing with a serious feud that has strong international links, he added. Lots of the people involved in the top tier have been convicted of murder and attempted murder around that feud and a lot of them have left the country and perhaps left a bit of a void in terms of whos going to continue the trade so we do see young people getting involved in that vacuum that has been created. Unfortunately, an unintended consequence of that is that people who are living in the communities are seeing people with access to money and access to cars and women and everything that goes with more funding from the drugs trade. He said that discouraging young people from getting involved in drugs was not a policing matter on its own, adding that it took work from a number of different agencies. The German Economy Ministry has taken note of the threat of U.S. sanctions being placed on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, a spokeswoman said. She added that Berlin rejected sanctions that have extraterritorial effect, Reuters reported. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said earlier that a sanctions bill putting onerous restrictions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 project would come in the not too distant future. The woman died on board a Ryanair plane due to leave Majorca for Edinburgh (Niall Carson/PA) A British passenger has died on a Ryanair flight as it was due to take off from Majorca. The woman, who is said to have been 58 years old, was taken ill on the plane as it prepared to leave Palma for Edinburgh on Wednesday. Paramedics boarded the aircraft to treat the passenger but she sadly passed away, Ryanair said. The Foreign Office said officials were supporting the womans family. A Ryanair spokeswoman said: This flight from Palma to Edinburgh (May 22) was delayed ahead of take-off after a customer became ill prior to departure. Paramedics boarded the aircraft after medical assistance was requested but the customer sadly passed away. Ryanair extends its deepest sympathies to the bereaved and is providing any assistance required. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: Our consular staff are supporting the family of a British woman following her death in Spain. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage arrives to cast his vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station in Biggin Hill, Kent (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive to cast their votes at a polling station near her Maidenhead constituency (Victoria Jones/PA) Nigel Farage has issued a warning to Westminsters politicians that his Brexit Party would be coming for their jobs ahead of his expected success in the European elections. Opinion polls have suggested his party is on course for victory in the elections, which are taking place because of the delay to Brexit. Meanwhile the election watchdog said it was aware of reports that EU citizens had been unable to vote in the UK and blamed the late notice from Theresa Mays Government that the poll would be going ahead. Both Mrs May and Jeremy Corbyn are braced for a backlash from voters, with both Mr Farages party and from the opposite side of the Brexit divide the Liberal Democrats expected to pick up votes. Seventy-three MEPs will be elected to represent the UK, with England, Scotland and Wales using a form of proportional representation called the DHondt system and Northern Ireland using the single transferable vote method. Results will not be announced until Sunday evening when the last polling station on the continent closes. Mr Farage, who is standing in the South East constituency, said: If you want Brexit, youve got to vote Brexit. We did it once, they ignored us, so were going to tell them again. This time they will realise it isnt just the votes we get today, its what we might get at a general election that would cost them all their jobs. So they better listen to what people have to say today or theyll all be unemployed. In a polling day video message, Mr Corbyn warned that the far right is on the rise and Britain was at a crossroads. The actions we take now will have huge consequences for our future, he said. On a campaign visit to Worthing, he added: This Government cant last very long. And so, get ready for a general election. The European elections are taking place almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU because of Mrs Mays failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. The late confirmation on May 7 that voters would go to the polls was highlighted by the Electoral Commission as a factor in the difficulties faced by some EU citizens in casting their ballots. An Electoral Commission spokesman said: We understand the frustration of some citizens of other EU member states, resident in the UK, who have been finding they are unable to vote today when they wish to do so. All eligible EU citizens have the right to vote in the EU elections in their home member state. If an EU citizen instead chooses to vote in the EU election in the UK, there is a process for them to complete to essentially transfer their right to vote, from their home member state to the UK. This is a requirement of EU law, which specifies that this has to be done sufficiently in advance of polling day. UK law sets this as 12 working days in advance of the poll. Were aware that some EU citizens, resident in the UK, have been unable to vote today and understand the frustration this has caused. Heres our statement: https://t.co/jziu14L9Nf pic.twitter.com/7ukg7arASJ Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) May 23, 2019 The spokesman added: The very short notice from the Government of the UKs participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process amongst citizens, and for citizens to complete the process. Labours Cat Smith, shadow minister for voter engagement, said: We repeatedly warned the Government that European citizens living in the UK would be denied their right to vote because of its incompetent approach to Brexit. From day one, the Tories have buried their heads in the sand about these elections, even at the eleventh hour when it was clear that the Governments botched Brexit deal would not pass. The 3 Million group, which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens in the UK, demanded a full investigation of the democratic disaster. These European elections are significant to so many EU citizens as this might potentially be the last nationwide vote before our voting rights will be downgraded to potholes and bin collections in local elections, a spokesman said. The Electoral Commission, but also local authorities, must urgently answer why so many people were denied their right to vote. It is outrageous that the incompetence and unwillingness of the Government and the Electoral Commission have denied these people a vote. A Downing Street spokesman said: I do recognise there is frustration. The running of polls is rightly a matter for independent returning officers. Its for them to put in place the necessary planning and contracts with suppliers to produce and deliver items like poll cards and postal votes to meet necessary timetables. Im sure the Electoral Commission will take any reports seriously. A Local Government Association spokesman said: Councils are hugely experienced at running elections and have worked tirelessly around the clock to get everything in place for these EU elections at short notice. Judith Kerr put pen to paper on her first book The Tiger Who Came To Tea following pleas from her bossy daughter. The story of a tea-guzzling tiger, who turns up unannounced and eats and drinks Sophie and her mother out of the house, was published in 1968. It became a picture book classic children are still turning its pages and it has never been out of print. And the story the tiger does not return has sparked debate about its true, hidden meaning. Expand Close Judith Kerr, author of The Tiger Who Came To Tea, during a reading to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book (Gareth Fuller/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Judith Kerr, author of The Tiger Who Came To Tea, during a reading to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book (Gareth Fuller/PA) The author and illustrator, also famous for her Mog the cat books, was born in Berlin in 1923. She has said she could not remember a time when I didnt want to draw. Her family left Germany in 1933 to escape the rise of the Nazis and Kerr, as a child, came to England. Her father, Alfred Kerr, a German-Jewish writer and theatre critic, had openly criticised the Nazis and the regime would go on to publicly burn his books. Kerr studied at the Central School of Art and she later worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC. Expand Close Judith Kerr proudly holds her OBE medal, after it was presented to her by the Prince of Wales during the Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace (John Stillwell/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Judith Kerr proudly holds her OBE medal, after it was presented to her by the Prince of Wales during the Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace (John Stillwell/PA) The writer and illustrator, who was made an OBE, wrote about her childhood experiences fleeing Nazi Germany. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was an autobiographical retelling of her familys escape from Germany in the 1930s, the first part of her Out Of The Hitler Time trilogy. I did write about dark things because dark things happened to my family, she told the Press Association. Kerr married the celebrated screenwriter Nigel Kneale in 1954. She left the BBC to look after their two children, Matthew and Tacy, who inspired her first picture book, The Tiger Who Came To Tea. It is with much sadness that we confirm the death of our beloved author and illustrator, Judith Kerr OBE. https://t.co/mMzIZiW8YR (picture copyright Eliz Huseyin, 2013) pic.twitter.com/8YA7pXZkRr HarperCollinsUK (@HarperCollinsUK) May 23, 2019 Kerr recently told an audience, at an awards ceremony, how the book about the greedy tiger came to fruition. The Tiger Who Came To Tea is a story I made up for my two-year-old daughter, who was very bossy, she said. I used to tell her all sorts of other stories as well, which I thought were perfectly good, which she dismissed with the words Talk the tiger. So, when she and her brother were both at school, I thought Id try to make it into a picture book, she said. The much-loved childrens book has since sold more than five million copies and is being adapted for the small screen. Channel 4 will air a special animated adaptation of the story this Christmas. Kerr never stopped doing what she loved telling the Press Association just months ago she was working most days. Recent books included Katinkas Tail, announced when Kerr was 94 and inspired by the authors ninth cat. It hit the shelves 47 years after her first Mog book, Mog The Forgetful Cat, was published. Mog had featured in more than 15 titles, until Goodbye Mog in 2002. Katinkas Tail told the story of a perfectly ordinary cat with a not-so-ordinary tail, and featured a wondrous journey into a forest and on to the moon. Kerrs most recent book was Mummy Time, published last year, about a parent distracted by her phone. But Kerr told the Press Association: I didnt want to knock mothers. It can be very boring. She added: I dont do any of the screen stuff myself. I love to see the world. Im the only person who sees the world! Asked if other people are missing out, she said: I think they probably are I am an illustrator. I look at things. I think people who draw all do. I love looking at things. Anything is interesting. HarperCollins Childrens Books said Kerrs new book, The Curse Of The School Rabbit, would be published by June this year. Kerr was awarded the Booktrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Just last week, she was named Illustrator Of The Year at the British Book Awards. Kerr died aged 95, following a short illness. Results will not be announced until Sunday evening (Andrew Matthews/PA) Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are expected to face a drubbing as Britain heads to the polls for the European elections on Thursday. The Conservative and Labour parties are predicted to suffer severe losses, with the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party likely to hoover up votes. Seventy three MEPs will be elected to represent the UK, using a form of proportional representation called the DHondt system. Results will not be announced until Sunday evening when the last polling station on the continent closes. England is split into nine regions: South East England has 10 MEPs, London and North West England each have eight, East of England and the West Midlands each have seven, Yorkshire and the Humber and South West England have six each, the East Midlands has five and North East England has three. Scotland has six MEPs, Wales four and Northern Ireland three. Mrs May had hoped cross-party Brexit talks would deliver a compromise deal in time to allow her to call off the European Parliament elections. But, more than a month after the talks began, her de facto deputy David Lidington acknowledged time was too tight to get a Withdrawal Agreement Bill through both Houses of Parliament by the date of the poll. Downing Street conceded on Wednesday that they expected a very challenging night when the results come through. A spokesman said: The PM is focused on the task at hand which is delivering the Brexit people voted for. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said voting for Labour represented a vote for a tolerant and fairer country, and an end to the division and austerity which has devastated our communities for a decade. He said: The threat from the far-right is real. They serve only to sow division and offer no solutions. A vote for Labour today will challenge the far-right in Britain and across Europe. A vote for Labour is a vote to bring our divided country together, whether you supported Remain or Leave. We are the only party working for a sensible solution to break the Brexit deadlock and protect jobs, rights and living standards. We will continue to oppose the Tories bad deal or a disastrous No Deal. If we cant get an agreement along the lines of our alternative plan, we will take it back to the people whether its through a public vote or general election. A vote for Labour is a vote for the only party that stands for the real change our country desperately needs, to benefit all communities, not just a privileged few. When Britain does finally leave the EU, the European Parliament will reduce from 751 MEPs to 705, with 27 of the UKs 73 seats being distributed among the remaining member states. Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive to cast their votes at a polling station near her Maidenhead constituency Theresa May is to meet with Cabinet colleagues to discuss her heavily-criticised Brexit legislation as speculation mounted that she is on the verge of quitting. The Prime Minister was understood to be holding talks with senior ministers on Thursday as the key Bill was pulled from the Commons schedule. Downing Street had insisted the second reading of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) would go before MPs in the week beginning June 3, but it was not announced when the Government set out the forthcoming Commons agenda. On Wednesday, Downing Street had said the WAB would be published on Friday and debated by MPs in the first week of June. But Government whip Mark Spencer, outlining forthcoming business in the Commons on Thursday, said: We will update the House on the publication and introduction of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on our return from the Whitsun recess. He later told MPs: We do intend to publish the Withdrawal Agreement Bill the week commencing the 3rd of June. Number 10 announced it had appointed Mel Stride, a Remainer, as Commons Leader following the dramatic resignation of Andrea Leadsom on Wednesday night who stormed out of Government in protest at Mrs Mays Brexit stance. Asked if it was time for Prime Minister Theresa May to resign, Andrea Leadsom told reporters on Thursday: Well, thats a matter for her. But, for me, I felt I couldnt in all conscience stand up and deliver the business statement today with the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in it that I couldnt support elements of. So, I have no doubts that I made the right decision and, of course, its for the Prime Minister to decide whats right for her and for the country. Mrs Mays fate looks set to be sealed on Friday when she meets Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs. Demands from Tory MPs for her to resign are continuing to surge following Cabinet turmoil over her Brexit strategy. However Mrs Mays spokesman refused to be drawn on speculation about the future of her premiership. I want her to give a timetable for when she will go.1922 Committee Treasurer Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Ahead of the PMs showdown meeting with Sir Graham, 1922 Committee treasurer Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown told the Press Association: I want her to give a timetable for when she will go. I think this blank denial from Number 10 today may be a smokescreen because she does not want to influence the outcome of the European elections. Maybe she will still quit tomorrow. Asked what would happen if the PM did not announce a resignation date, Sir Geoffrey said: I think there will be overwhelming pressure for the 22 to change the rules and hold a ballot on confidence in the Prime Minister. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has requested a meeting with Mrs May on Thursday but refused to say what would be discussed, insisted she would still be PM when US President Donald Trump makes a state visit to the UK from June 3. And Digital minister Margot James said the PM is being hounded out of office. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Ms James, speaking after attending an event in London on Thursday, told the Press Association: Its all very regrettable but shes being hounded out of office because Parliament will not make a decision and the parties just have an inability to compromise. But in the end theres got to be a compromise. Mrs May has previously agreed to set out the timetable for the contest to replace her after a vote on her latest Brexit deal. But that deadline appears to have been brought forward with the announcement she will meet Sir Graham the day after the EU vote in which the Tories are widely expected to be hammered by Nigel Farages Brexit Party. The 1922 Committees executive had been expected to consider a rule change to allow another attempt to force Mrs May out. Following the failed bid to oust her in 2018, under existing rules Mrs May would be safe from another confidence motion until December. Reports suggest the committees executive took a secret ballot on bringing a confidence vote forward, and could release the results if Mrs May fails to set a firm exit date on Friday. Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband, Philip, after casting their votes for the European Parliament election (PA) Theresa May is expected to set out when she will quit Number 10 after a Cabinet revolt over her Brexit plan. The Prime Minister will meet the leader of backbench Conservatives, Sir Graham Brady, on Friday to discuss her future after her authority was left in tatters following the backlash against her new Brexit deal. Senior ministers set out their concerns in frank talks with the beleaguered premier as Downing Street delayed publication of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) which sets out her Brexit plan in law. The Prime Ministers private meeting with Sir Graham, chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, could be the moment that Mrs May sets the date for her exit from Downing Street. A 1922 Committee source told the Press Association they expected June 10 to be the day Mrs May chooses. Hopefully what will happen is she will stand down as Tory leader I think on or before June 10, and she will hopefully remain as caretaker Prime Minister until such time as a new Tory leader is elected, they said. My feeling is that she will stay until June 10. The source said a new leader would ideally be in place by the end of the summer to get a Brexit deal through Parliament before October 31, the date currently set for the UKs exit from the European Union. Mrs Mays leadership appears fatally damaged by the reaction to her latest Brexit deal, which offers MPs a vote on whether to hold a second referendum and a choice which could leave the UK in a temporary customs union with the EU both measures which are unacceptable to Tory Eurosceptics. The scale of Cabinet anger at the legislation which led to Andrea Leadsoms resignation on Wednesday night was made clear by two of Mrs Mays most senior ministers. Expand Close Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt leaves the Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, London. PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt leaves the Cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street, London. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is understood to have told the Prime Minister to ditch the WAB completely, saying it was clear it would not pass. It was a step too far to ask Tory MPs to vote for it under those circumstances, he told the Prime Minister. Expand Close Home Secretary Sajid Javid set out his concerns about the prospect of another referendum (Isabel Infantes/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Home Secretary Sajid Javid set out his concerns about the prospect of another referendum (Isabel Infantes/PA) Mr Javid had a frank discussion with the Prime Minister about the plan, making it clear he does not believe the Government should be paving the way for a second referendum. He was understood to be pleased with the delay to the publication of the WAB and neither minister is expected to follow Mrs Leadsom out of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is listening to her colleagues about the Bill and will be having further discussions, Mrs Mays spokesman said. Scottish Secretary David Mundell has concerns the offer of a vote on a referendum could be exploited by the SNP to bolster Nicola Sturgeons demands for a second independence vote. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt also said she had given my advice to Number 10. The WAB had been due to be published on Friday but that has been delayed in a sign of the chaos at the top of the Government. MPs were told that the Government now intends to publish the Bill in the week beginning June 3. Downing Street had previously insisted the WAB would go before MPs for a vote that week, but it was not announced when the Government set out the forthcoming Commons agenda. In a sign that Mrs Mays departure may come within weeks, rather than days, the Foreign Secretary said he expected her to still be Prime Minister when US President Donald Trump visits the UK on June 3. In response to a question following a speech at the National Cyber Security Centre, he said: Theresa May will be Prime Minister to welcome him and rightly so. Digital minister Margot James told the Press Association Mrs May was being hounded out of office because Parliament will not make a decision and the parties just have an inability to compromise over Brexit. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Mrs Leadsom said the Prime Ministers future was a matter for her. Great honour to join the Cabinet. My first Red Box as Leader of the House of Commons has just arrived. Now to work... pic.twitter.com/s2YtfsiXQM Mel Stride (@MelJStride) May 23, 2019 Mrs May appointed Mel Stride as Commons Leader following Mrs Leadsoms departure. Theresa May is under pressure to step down as Prime Minister (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA) The papers have given their view of Theresa Mays premiership and when it should end after the Prime Minister came under huge pressure to resign. The Daily Telegraph says Mrs May must go now, describing the situation as a national emergency. What can the Prime Minister be thinking? Its over. She can no longer pass critical legislation; the latest draft of her Withdrawal Agreement is dead in the water; her backbenchers are up in arms; Cabinet members would like to meet to discuss her future, the paper says. Either Mrs May must go as soon as humanly possible or the Conservative Party must finally remove her. The front page of tomorrows Daily Telegraph: 'May besieged in No 10 as Leadsom resigns and her Cabinet revolts' #tomorrowspaperstodayhttps://t.co/tEviPTVaJo pic.twitter.com/Utup0u4qgR The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 22, 2019 The Daily Mail says it could not be clearer that Mrs Mays tenure as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party is at an end. Despite her valiant efforts to deliver an honourable Brexit, she has finally run out of road, the paper says. This is a woman who has always been driven by duty, and whose honest search for compromise was thwarted on all sides. Its essential now that she be allowed to leave No10 with the dignity she deserves probably either during or just after the coming weekend. The Daily Mirror is less kind, calling Mrs May another Tory Downing Street dud not up to the job of leading Britain. Calling for a general election, the paper says: She should apologise for the past three tortuous years. Incapable of resolving the Brexit crisis, the arrogance of her strong and stable boasts badly boomeranged. We need a change of Government, not another change of Tory Prime Minister. MIRROR: Tears in the back seat 2 #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/OYNfOUjr5D Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 22, 2019 The Guardian says Mrs May has nowhere left to fail after her final act. Giving its verdict on the PMs time in office, the paper says she lacked the vision and judgment to define Britains future relations with Europe, let alone convince MPs and the public to trust her. (Her) profound and protracted failure is in large part the reason why the whole Brexit process has broken down, why British voters will participate in European parliamentary elections on Thursday, and why that poll is certain to administer a brutal verdict on the prime minister and her party. The Times focuses on Thursdays European elections, saying that the electorate should stand up for the centre right and still vote Conservative. Tomorrow's front page : 'May prepares to quit after cabinet mutiny' Read more here : https://t.co/HQJ5YN7s2v Pictured : Theresa May pictured leaving No. 10 today by Times photographer Jack Hill (@jackhillphoto) pic.twitter.com/GYT0GVo1Qs The Times Pictures (@TimesPictures) May 22, 2019 Mrs May seems likely to leave office imminently and the next Tory leader is almost certainly going to be a Brexiteer, the paper says. A powerful Brexit Party vote in these elections will encourage Conservative Party members to push that leader towards a no-deal Brexit. A vote for the Tories today might seem quixotic but the danger is that a collapse in its support will only encourage a further lurch towards populism. The Daily Express says MPs would be foolish if they dismiss this storm as nothing more than a protest vote. Tomorrow's Daily Express #frontpages - A four-page special asking just where can Theresa May turn to next? How much more can she take? #TheresaMay #brexit #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/2y8YFxLYTC Daily Express (@Daily_Express) May 22, 2019 Theresa May understood it was her duty and her mission to take the country out of the European Union in a way that honoured the result of the referendum, restored sovereignty in key areas of our national life and minimised job-threatening disruption to our economy, the paper says. MPs in different parties fail to recognise they share this same solemn responsibility. The Sun says the Tories richly deserve an election kicking like never before. Tomorrow's front page: Theresa May set to go after Brexit fiasco https://t.co/A9KQIrednC pic.twitter.com/mUQ5qYFn3n The Sun (@TheSun) May 22, 2019 The Conservatives have failed catastrophically on Brexit. We should have left the EU on March 29. Were still in. Labour have angered Leavers and Remainers with their lies and trickery, the paper says. It adds: Those who predicted Theresa May would be a poor Prime Minister have regrettably been vindicated. In fairness, her task has been harder than any predecessors since Winston Churchill. Even so, Mrs May and her woeful Cabinet of mainly third-rate friends have failed on Brexit and the social justice mission she initially championed. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage arrives to cast his vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station at the Cudham Church of England Primary School in Biggin Hill, Kent (PA) Polls have closed in European elections which Theresa May hoped would never have to be held and which could deliver a damaging blow to her Tory party. Nigel Farage issued a warning to Westminsters politicians that his Brexit Party would be coming for their jobs ahead of his expected success. Results of the European contests will not start being announced until Sunday night but opinion polls have suggested Mr Farages party is on course for victory in the elections, which are only taking place because of the delay to Brexit. Meanwhile the election watchdog said it was aware of reports that EU citizens had been unable to vote in the UK and blamed the late notice from Mrs Mays Government that the poll would be going ahead. Results will be announced after 10pm on Sunday, when the final polls have closed across Europe. Both Mrs May and Jeremy Corbyn are braced for a backlash from voters, with Mr Farages party and from the opposite side of the Brexit divide the Liberal Democrats expected to pick up votes. Seventy-three MEPs will be elected to represent the UK, with England, Scotland and Wales using a form of proportional representation called the DHondt system and Northern Ireland using the single transferable vote method. Mr Farage, who is standing in the South East constituency, said: If you want Brexit, youve got to vote Brexit. We did it once, they ignored us, so were going to tell them again. This time they will realise it isnt just the votes we get today, its what we might get at a general election that would cost them all their jobs. So they better listen to what people have to say today or theyll all be unemployed. In a polling day video message, Mr Corbyn warned that the far right is on the rise and Britain was at a crossroads. The actions we take now will have huge consequences for our future, he said. On a campaign visit to Worthing, he added: This Government cant last very long. And so, get ready for a general election. But in a sign of Labours divisions over Brexit, pro-EU MPs Wes Streeting and Ben Bradshaw both spoke of difficult doorstep experiences. Former Cabinet minister Mr Bradshaw said it was a dispiriting experience to see Labour voters flocking to the Remain-supporting Greens and Lib Dems, while Mr Streeting said it was not the easiest of polling days. That was the most dispiriting Election Day in 35 years a Labour member. Our voters are flocking to the Greens & Lib Dems because of their clear & unequivocal support for a #FinalSay #peoplesvote & Remain. So sad & so avoidable. #BrexitShambles #EUelections2019 Ben Bradshaw (@BenPBradshaw) May 23, 2019 Not the easiest of polling days to be honest. Its usually a day for turning the vote out, not trying to persuade voters - and members - to stick with us instead of voting Lib Dem or Green. Huge, huge thanks to everyone who turned out to help @IlfordNorthCLP. Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) May 23, 2019 Mrs May smiled as she arrived to cast her ballot alongside husband Philip in her Maidenhead constituency, but she knows the Tories are in for a difficult set of results after a distinctly lacklustre campaign. Expand Close Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband, Philip, arrive to cast their votes (Victoria Jones/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband, Philip, arrive to cast their votes (Victoria Jones/PA) The European elections took place almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU because of Mrs Mays failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. The late confirmation on May 7 that voters would go to the polls was highlighted by the Electoral Commission as a factor in the difficulties faced by some EU citizens in casting their ballots. An Electoral Commission spokesman said: We understand the frustration of some citizens of other EU member states, resident in the UK, who have been finding they are unable to vote today when they wish to do so. All eligible EU citizens have the right to vote in the EU elections in their home member state. If an EU citizen instead chooses to vote in the EU election in the UK, there is a process for them to complete to essentially transfer their right to vote, from their home member state to the UK. This is a requirement of EU law, which specifies that this has to be done sufficiently in advance of polling day. UK law sets this as 12 working days in advance of the poll. Were aware that some EU citizens, resident in the UK, have been unable to vote today and understand the frustration this has caused. Heres our statement: https://t.co/jziu14L9Nf pic.twitter.com/7ukg7arASJ Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) May 23, 2019 The spokesman added: The very short notice from the Government of the UKs participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process amongst citizens, and for citizens to complete the process. Labours Cat Smith, shadow minister for voter engagement, said: We repeatedly warned the Government that European citizens living in the UK would be denied their right to vote because of its incompetent approach to Brexit. From day one, the Tories have buried their heads in the sand about these elections, even at the eleventh hour when it was clear that the Governments botched Brexit deal would not pass. The 3 Million group, which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens in the UK, demanded a full investigation of the democratic disaster. These European elections are significant to so many EU citizens as this might potentially be the last nationwide vote before our voting rights will be downgraded to potholes and bin collections in local elections, a spokesman said. The Electoral Commission, but also local authorities, must urgently answer why so many people were denied their right to vote. It is outrageous that the incompetence and unwillingness of the Government and the Electoral Commission have denied these people a vote. A Downing Street spokesman said: I do recognise there is frustration. The running of polls is rightly a matter for independent returning officers. Its for them to put in place the necessary planning and contracts with suppliers to produce and deliver items like poll cards and postal votes to meet necessary timetables. Im sure the Electoral Commission will take any reports seriously. A Local Government Association spokesman said: Councils are hugely experienced at running elections and have worked tirelessly around the clock to get everything in place for these EU elections at short notice. European elections are taking place, despite the UK voting for Brexit almost three years ago (Rui Viera/PA) The European elections should never have taken place but now that they are it is no surprise they are all about Brexit. Voters across the UK opted to quit the European Union almost three years ago, despite almost two thirds of Scots backing Remain. Unsurprisingly then the SNP, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, are urging Scots to send a message to Theresa May that Scotland is for Europe in the ballot. Two of the six Scottish MEPs who were elected five years ago came from the SNP, with another two from Labour and one each from the Conservatives and Ukip. The SNPs Alyn Smith, who has spoken out strongly against Brexit in the European Parliament, is hoping to be returned there after the votes are counted on Sunday. Tomorrow, it is vital that the pro Europe vote does not fragment. The independent analysis is clear - if you want to secure a majority of pro Europe MEPs, vote for the strongest Remain supporting party in your area. In Scotland, that is @theSNP #VoteSNP Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 22, 2019 But with three parties in Scotland campaigning on an anti-Brexit platform the Greens and the Liberal Democrats as well as the SNP Ms Sturgeon has insisted it is vital that the pro Europe vote does not fragment. Tweeting before polling opened she said: The independent analysis is clear if you want to secure a majority of pro Europe MEPs, vote for the strongest Remain supporting party in your area. In Scotland, that is @theSNP. But the Greens, whose campaign slogan has been Choose Hope Over Hate, are hoping anti-Brexit sentiment could see their lead candidate, co-convenor Maggie Chapman elected. Support for the Liberal Democrats in the South has been boosted by the partys strong pro-EU message. And in Scotland the lead candidate for the anti-Brexit group Change UK, David Macdonald has already urged voters to back the Liberal Democrats in a bid to keep Britain in the European Union. Ending his candidacy he said: I have come to the point where I have realised I must do what is best for the future of this country before anything else. With Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn having come under fire from within his own party for failing to take a strong stance on Brexit, lead candidate David Martin has been stressing his pro-European credentials. Im % with Rory on this. https://t.co/PMjnqKbVWW David Martin (@davidmartinmep) May 10, 2019 Mr Martin, who was first elected to the European Parliament in 1984, is the UKs longest serving MEP. As well as being a supporter of a second European referendum, he has been urging Scots to back a progressive Europe. Theresa Mays failure to deliver Brexit has seen support for the Conservatives slump across the UK. Glorious day to be out with @EdinburghTories ahead of the final push before election day. Even brought our own #dogsatpollingstations @ScotTories #TeamTory pic.twitter.com/a0DxQMlOjF Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonPC) May 21, 2019 And in Scotland the party is at risk of losing the European seat it won in 2014 to Nigel Farages Brexit Party. But the party has been campaigning hard, arguing that the results of both the 2014 independence referendum where Scotland voted to stay part of the UK and the 2016 Brexit vote should be respected. Lead candidate Baroness Nosheena Mobarik has called on Scots to back her party and use the election to send a message to Nicola Sturgeon that there should be no more divisive referendums. Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure to announce a timetable to resign (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Theresa Mays fate as Prime Minister looks set to be sealed on Friday when she meets the Tory grandee who speaks for Conservative backbenchers. As the leadership crisis intensifies, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs. Demands from Tory MPs for Mrs May to resign are continuing to surge following Cabinet turmoil over her Brexit strategy. Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom stormed out of Government on Thursday in protest at the PMs EU withdrawal plan. Ahead of the PMs showdown meeting with Sir Graham, 1922 Committee treasurer Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown told the Press Association on Thursday: I want her to give a timetable for when she will go. I think this blank denial from Number 10 today may be a smokescreen because she does not want to influence the outcome of the European elections. Maybe she will still quit tomorrow. Asked what would happen if the PM did not announce a resignation date, Sir Geoffrey said: I think there will be overwhelming pressure for the 22 to change the rules and hold a ballot on confidence in the Prime Minister. But Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has requested a meeting with Mrs May on Thursday, insisted she would still be PM when US President Donald Trump makes a state visit to the UK from June 3. In response to a question following a speech at the National Cyber Security Centre, he said: Theresa May will be Prime Minister to welcome him, and rightly so. Theresa May must now resign. We need a new PM a new Cabinet and a new approach to Brexit. Sir David Evennett MP (@DavidEvennett) May 23, 2019 When asked what he would discuss with Mrs May at the meeting on Thursday afternoon, Mr Hunt, widely seen as a front-runner in the looming Tory leadership battle, said: All discussions between Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister should remain confidential and Im not going to change that this morning. Sir David Evennett is the latest Conservative to demand Mrs Mays resignation. Previously viewed as a loyalist, the Bexleyheath and Crayford MP used European Parliament election day to insist Mrs May must go. He tweeted: Theresa May must now resign. We need a new PM a new Cabinet and a new approach to Brexit. Mrs Mays meeting with the 1922 Committee chairman looks pivotal to how her premiership ends. She has previously agreed to set out the timetable for the contest to replace her after a crunch vote on her Brexit deal, widely expected on June 7. That deadline appears to have been brought forward with the announcement she will meet Sir Graham the day after the EU vote in which polls suggest the Tories will be hammered by Nigel Farages Brexit Party. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Sir Graham told reporters: I will be meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday following her campaigning in the European elections and following that meeting I will be consulting with the 1922 executive. He said the executive discussed all sorts of things in the meeting. The 1922 Committees executive had been expected to consider a rule change to allow another attempt to force Mrs May out. Following the failed bid to oust her in 2018, under existing rules Mrs May would be safe from another confidence motion until December. Reports suggest the committees executive took a secret ballot on bringing a confidence vote forward, and could release the results if Mrs May fails to set a firm exit date on Friday. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, a prominent Brexiteer, told reporters: I have given my advice to Number 10 and today I am going to be getting on with my job which is to keep the country safe and look after our armed forces. The Cabinet turmoil intensified after Mrs Leadsom said she resigned with a heavy heart, adding she no longer believed the Governments approach would deliver on the referendum result to leave the European Union. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) The PM, writing in reply, disagreed with the ex-ministers assessment, but said she was sorry to lose someone of Mrs Leadsoms passion, drive and sincerity. Mrs May said: I do not agree with you that the deal which we have negotiated with the European Union means that the United Kingdom will not become a sovereign country. She agreed a second referendum would be divisive, but said the Government was not proposing to hold one. Mrs Leadsom acknowledged her resignation came on the eve of the European elections, but said she felt she could not announce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) in Thursdays Business Statement containing new elements that I fundamentally oppose. She wrote in a letter to the PM: I fully respect the integrity, resolution and determination that you have shown during your time as Prime Minister. No-one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this Government and our party. Mrs Leadsom was one of a number of Brexit-supporting colleagues in the so-called Pizza Club who were absent for the start of Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday. She told reporters it had been a really tough day but she still found time for social media pleasantries with her former special advisers and Labour MP Jess Phillips. After Ms Phillips said she had liked Mrs Leadsom and praised her work on Commons complaints and proxy voting, the Tory replied like you too Jess. There was no sign of Mrs Leadsom outside her Westminster home on Thursday morning. It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to resign from the Government. pic.twitter.com/f2SOXkaqmH Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) May 22, 2019 Her husband Ben Leadsom stopped on his bicycle to tell reporters: It was a tough day yesterday, but shes happy she made the right decision. He said he could not comment when asked if the MP for South Northamptonshire would run for leader of the Conservative Party. In a sign of unrest at the highest levels of the Tory party, a series of Cabinet ministers asked for meetings with Mrs May to raise their concerns about the WAB which would put the Prime Ministers Brexit plan into law. After going through something as life-altering as a car accident, the best thing you can get out of it is... Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the 1st International Congress of Azerbaijani Hematology Specialists dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the activity of Thalassemia Center in Baku. Executive Director of the Thalassemia Center Valeh Huseynov made opening remarks at the conference co-organized by Azerbaijans Ministry of Health, Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Thalassemia Center, and Azerbaijan Hematology Specialists public union. He briefed the participants on For the sake of life without thalassemia project which has been implemented on the initiative of President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva since 2005. The purpose of this project is to organize the quality treatment of existing patients, as well as to prevent the birth of patients with thalassemia. Other speakers hailed the importance of the event and wished the conference success. The conference will run until 25 May, AzerTAc reported. Theresa Mays deal has been pulled from the Commons timetable, despite her insistence it would be tabled this month and voted on in the first week of June. Mrs Mays survival is tightly bound to the fate of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill and, up until now, she has pledged to quit once her deal is through. The resignation of Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom, who said she could not put forward the latest version of the deal, could well be the final nail in its coffin. Expand Close Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom (Victoria Jones/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom (Victoria Jones/PA) Hopes of a fourth vote on the Brexit deal are fading fast and, with them, any reason for the Prime Minister to continue as leader. So, when is Mrs May likely to stand down? What has happened to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill? The resignation of Commons Leader Mrs Leadsom, who would have introduced the Business Statement to MPs on Thursday, meant Government whip Mark Spencer was roped in to deputise. He told the Commons that an update about when the Bill would be published would not be made until after the Whitsun recess, which would be Tuesday June 4 at the earliest. Separately, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said they could not say when the Bill would be published. Expand Close Henry the Labradoodle outside a polling station at Spike Island in Bristol (Claire Hayhurst/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Henry the Labradoodle outside a polling station at Spike Island in Bristol (Claire Hayhurst/PA) Will Theresa May survive Thursday? Even the most optimistic onlookers will conclude that Theresa Mays premiership is entering its final weeks, if not days. Mrs Leadsoms resignation brings the total number of ministers quitting Mrs Mays Cabinet to 36, 21 of whom left over her Brexit strategy. Expectations of Conservative performance in the European elections are at rock bottom, but the official results will not be announced until Sunday, giving her some breathing space. What about Friday? Mrs May will meet Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, for a meeting that should shed some light on whether Mrs May will be forced out or able to go on her own terms. Mrs May had previously agreed to set out the timetable for her departure after a crunch vote on her Brexit deal, widely expected on June 7. Expand Close Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers (Victoria Jones/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers (Victoria Jones/PA) That deadline appears to have been brought forward with the announcement she will meet Sir Graham the day after polling day for the European elections, but ahead of the results in the early hours of Monday. Following his meeting with Mrs May, Sir Graham will then consult with the 17 other members of the 1922 executive, with reports they have held a secret ballot on whether to allow a rule change for an early no confidence vote should Mrs May want to stay in post. Will anyone else resign? Rumours had been circulating in Westminster on Wednesday that Mrs Leadsom could quit after she and a number of other Brexit-supporting colleagues in the so-called Pizza Club were absent for the start of Prime Ministers Questions. Mrs Leadsoms resignation will spark fears in Downing Street that others could follow suit, and eyes will be firmly on the likes of Brexiteer Cabinet ministers including Liam Fox, Penny Mordaunt, Michael Gove and Chris Grayling. It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to resign from the Government. pic.twitter.com/f2SOXkaqmH Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) May 22, 2019 What will happen to Mrs May if she is still Prime Minister after the weekend? European election results will be announced in the early hours of Monday morning and are expected to be dire for the Tories, so pressure for Mrs May to hand over the reins will be intense. A decision will need to be made on whether to make a fourth attempt at winning support for her deal in June, or whether to officially pull the trigger for a Conservative leadership race. The first week of June will also see another state visit by US president Donald Trump, Downing Street has confirmed. And Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday he believed Theresa May would be Prime Minister to welcome him and rightly so. Vodafone will introduce 5G in seven UK cities in July as the telecoms firm revealed its plans to launch its version of the next generation mobile network. The firm said it will also be the first network to launch 5G roaming overseas. Vodafones 5G network will launch in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and London on July 3, with 12 more towns and cities to be added by the end of the year, the company confirmed. Customers will be able to roam over 5G in Italy, Spain and Germany during the summer. 5G technology is the next generation of mobile network and is expected to offer internet speeds several times that of current generation 4G. Expand Close Scott Petty, Vodafone UKs chief technology officer discussing 5G (David Parry/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Scott Petty, Vodafone UKs chief technology officer discussing 5G (David Parry/PA) Vodafone confirmed it has omitted Huawei devices from its 5G smartphone line-up, as the stand-off between the Chinese company and the US government continues. Vodafone UKs consumer director Max Taylor said: With regards to Huawei handsets, we are only pausing pre-orders for the Huawei Mate 20X 5G in the UK. This is a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices. We will keep this situation under review. The omission of Huawei comes after Google confirmed compliance with a US government order which forces American companies to stop trading with the Chinese firm. The block means Google will stop supplying its Android operating system which powers Huawei phones to the companys new devices, although it will continue to support phones already on sale. Vodafones announcement comes a day after fellow telecoms giant EE confirmed its own 5G rollout will begin on May 30, and also said it was pausing sales of 5G Huawei handsets. Vodafone will offer the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G as its first devices on the new network. 5G provides both businesses and consumers with three main benefits. These are improved data speeds, greater reliability in busy areas and super low latency, Mr Taylor said. Taking each benefit in turn, by offering speeds over 5G up to ten times faster than 4G, weve shown commuters at busy airports and railway stations that they can download TV box sets or movies in a matter of seconds before they embark on their journey. 5G will also ensure faster data speeds for customers in congested areas, such as busy shopping centres, sporting events or music concerts. Vodafone is already the best network in London and now, with the extra capacity offered by 5G, consumers and businesses in the capital can expect even greater reliability in busy areas due to the greater bandwidth offered by 5G. And last but not least, super-low latency means that 5G responds really quickly to a command or request, for example, in multi-player gaming one can react instantly to an opponents move. What the papers say May 23 (PA) Speculation over the final throes of Theresa Mays premiership dominates Thursdays papers. Many carry images of the bleary-eyed Prime Minister in the back of her car, the scenes said to be reminiscent of Margaret Thatchers departure from Downing Street. The Daily Telegraph says Mrs May bunkered down in Number 10 on Wednesday night after her Cabinet revolted over the final version of her Brexit Bill and leader of the Commons Andrea Leadsom resigned. The front page of tomorrows Daily Telegraph: 'May besieged in No 10 as Leadsom resigns and her Cabinet revolts' #tomorrowspaperstodayhttps://t.co/tEviPTVaJo pic.twitter.com/Utup0u4qgR The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 22, 2019 Mrs Leadsom said she was quitting because she no longer believed the PMs Brexit plans delivered on the referendum result, The Independent says. The PM defied an attempt to force her from office, saying she would spend Thursday campaigning vigorously in the European elections, The Times reports. Tomorrow's front page : 'May prepares to quit after cabinet mutiny' Read more here : https://t.co/HQJ5YN7s2v Pictured : Theresa May pictured leaving No. 10 today by Times photographer Jack Hill (@jackhillphoto) pic.twitter.com/GYT0GVo1Qs The Times Pictures (@TimesPictures) May 22, 2019 But Mrs May was left facing the stark choice of whether to quit or be turfed out of Downing Street by her own party, The Guardian says. The Guardian front page, Thursday 23 May 2019: Barricaded inside No 10, May clings on to power pic.twitter.com/7tN3RyXyvA The Guardian (@guardian) May 22, 2019 The Daily Mail reports that Mrs May is set to reveal details of her departure from Downing Street on Friday amid the threat of further resignations by ministers. Tory MPs expect her to be out of office within days, according to the Financial Times. Just published: front page of the Financial Times UK edition Thursday May 23 https://t.co/LCUesrCgVK pic.twitter.com/lfLtTrkOZM Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) May 22, 2019 The isolated Prime Minister appeared bleary eyed when she was photographed on Wednesday, The Sun reports. Tomorrow's front page: Theresa May set to go after Brexit fiasco https://t.co/A9KQIrednC pic.twitter.com/mUQ5qYFn3n The Sun (@TheSun) May 22, 2019 The Daily Mirror compares the image to one of Baroness Thatcher captured as she left Number 10 for the final time as prime minister in November 1990. Mrs May had earlier expressed how she had tried everything I possibly can to find a way through the Brexit morass, the Metro reports. The Daily Express asks how much more the beleaguered Mrs May can take. Julian Assange is currently jailed in Britain over a bail breach but US authorities are seeking his extradition (Victoria Jones/PA) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged in the United States with receiving and publishing thousands of classified documents linked to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Justice Department has indicted the 47-year-old, who is currently jailed in Britain, on 18 counts that relate to his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States, it said. He is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defence, a statement said. The Justice Department said that by publishing unredacted versions of the leaked files, Assange put named human sources at a grave and imminent risk. After a federal grand jury returned the indictment on Thursday, WikiLeaks swiftly issued a tweet describing the move as madness. This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment. https://t.co/wlhsmsenFw WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 23, 2019 It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment, it said. Manning handed over databases containing roughly 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports and 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, the Justice Department said. There were also 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs and 250,000 US Department of State cables, it added. Assange was dramatically dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, last month, some seven years after he sought political asylum after the documents were published. He was then jailed for 50 weeks for a bail breach and is fighting against extradition to the US. US authorities allege the whistleblower conspired with Manning, 31, with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation. Assange published the documents on WikiLeaks with unredacted names of sources who gave information to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. These human sources included local Afghans and Iraqis, journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents from repressive regimes, the Justice Department said. WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Charged in 18-Count Superseding Indictment https://t.co/N1rfnPHs3l Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) May 23, 2019 According to the superseding indictment, Assanges actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention. It added: Many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning that their unauthorised disclosure could cause serious damage to United States national security. Classified rules of engagement files for the Iraq war were also handed over by Manning, US officials said, and Assange is said to have agreed to hack into secure government networks. The Justice Department said: Assange actively encouraged Manning to provide more information and agreed to crack a password hash stored on US Department of Defence computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a United States government network used for classified documents and communications. Assange is also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to crack that password hash. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count except conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which is punishable by five years. I find no satisfaction in saying I told you so to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism. https://t.co/NkUfZWYan8 Kristinn Hrafnsson (@khrafnsson) May 23, 2019 WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a tweet: I find no satisfaction in saying I told you so to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism. Botswana has lifted its ban on elephant hunting in a country with the worlds highest number of the animals, a decision that has brought anger from some wildlife protection groups. The southern African nation is home to an estimated 130,000 elephants. The lifting of the ban raised concerns about a possible increase in illegal poaching of elephants for their tusks to supply the ivory trade. Expect mass culling next, the chief executive of WildlifeDirect, Paula Kahumbu, said in a post on Twitter, adding that the impact of Botswanas decision will be felt across Africa. MEDIA INVITATION |The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism wishes to inform the public that following extensive consultations with all stakeholders, the Government of Botswana has taken a decision to lift the hunting suspension. pic.twitter.com/u3ODVtcOdQ Botswana Government (@BWGovernment) May 23, 2019 Botswana has long been a refuge for elephants on a continent where tens of thousands have been killed over the years for their ivory. The decision to lift the hunting ban comes amid growing conflicts between humans, particularly farmers, and elephants, the Botswana governments statement said. It said hunting will resume in an orderly and ethical manner but does not say how it will be regulated. The country, with a population of just over two million people, suffers some human-wildlife conflict but has more space than many other countries for animals to roam. The elephant hunting ban was put in place under previous president Ian Khama but current President Mokgweeti Masisi began to look into it not long after taking office last year. The decision to lift the ban comes months ahead of general elections in October. This is a political move and not in the best interests of conservation in Botswana, Jason Bell, vice president for conservation with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a statement. Expand Close Elephants drink water in the Chobe National Park in Botswana (Charmaine Noronha/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Elephants drink water in the Chobe National Park in Botswana (Charmaine Noronha/AP) Botswana is among several African countries with some of the worlds largest elephant populations that have pushed for looser controls on legal ivory trade. They assert that commerce will help them pay to conserve elephants, while critics assert that even limited trade fuels demand and drives up illegal killing. Botswana and neighbouring Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa are estimated to have about 256,000 elephants, or more than half of the total estimate for Africa. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate their partys victory in the general elections in New Delhi, India (Manish Swarup/AP) Indian prime minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist party claimed it won re-election with a commanding lead in Thursdays vote count, while the head of the main opposition party conceded a personal defeat that signalled the end of an era for modern Indias main political dynasty. Election Commission data by mid afternoon showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 299 out of 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The data did not indicate what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes cast over the six-week election had been counted. Although the final tally was not expected until Thursday evening at the earliest, BJP President Amit Shah claimed a victory, crediting Mr Modis leadership. Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for Indias progress. The word Chowkidar goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too! Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Mr Modi himself tweeted: India wins yet again. The election has been seen as a referendum on 68-year-old Mr Modi, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog in Indias highly stratified society has endured. Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks exacerbating social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people. Expand Close Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in their partys Assam state office (Anupam Nath/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in their partys Assam state office (Anupam Nath/AP) On the campaign trail, Mr Modi presented himself as a self-made man with the confidence to cut red tape and unleash Indias economic potential, and labelled Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that lost national power in 2014, as an out-of-touch member of the elite. Mr Gandhi conceded defeat for his own parliamentary seat to his BJP rival in Amethi, a constituency in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh that had for decades been a Congress party bastion. Congress, the party of Indias first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and peace activist Mahatma Gandhi, ruled India for nearly half a century after it achieved independence from Britain in 1947. In 2014, it won only 44 seats, and was projected to win only slightly more this time. The BJPs performance is absolutely stunning. Modi is the predominant leader in India today. He has pushed everybody else aside. Nobody in the opposition is a match for him, said political commentator Arti Jerath. Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India in the future.@narendramodi Maithripala Sirisena (@MaithripalaS) May 23, 2019 A party or coalition needs a simple majority of 272 seats, or just over half the seats in Parliaments lower house, to govern. Mr Modis going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that, said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. Shortly after officials began tabulating the votes, Indias Sensex jumped 2.3% to an all-time high over 40,000, though it closed Thursday off 0.76% at 38,811. If BJPs lead holds, it will not need a coalition partner to stay in power and could even improve its position compared to 2014, when it won 282 seats. This election may mark the first time in the partys history that it has won two consecutive elections on its own. I accept the verdict of the people of India Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 23, 2019 World leaders, including Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, congratulated Mr Modi on Twitter. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Mr Khan tweeted. Trends in the election data suggest that BJPs strategy of pursuing an aggressive campaign in eastern India paid off, with the party breaking into the citadels of Trinamool Congress Party in West Bengal state and the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha state. Picking up seats in these two states would compensate for projected losses in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The biggest losers appear to be the communists who ruled West Bengal state for 34 years until they were ousted by Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress Party in 2011. Coalition partners of the Congress-led government in New Delhi between 2004 and 2008, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was leading in only three constituencies and the Communist Party of India in two constituencies. Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of people cheered and shouted party slogans, lifting cardboard cutouts of Mr Modi and Mr Shah into the air as other people played drums and set off fireworks. Mohit Sharma, a 29-year-old who runs a bathroom fittings business, said India had never had a prime minister like Mr Modi. In the past, when leaders after they won elections, they sat in air-conditioned rooms and they never reached out to people, but Modi was never like that. He was always connected to the people through social media, Mr Sharma said. Fashion designer Sandeep Verma, 39, said he was not a BJP supporter but voted for the party in the elections. A country like India needs a decisive leader and the people did not find that in Rahul Gandhi. There was no alternative to Modi, Mr Verma said. The BJP harnessed social media, including Twitter, where Mr Modi has 47.4 million followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters. Expand Close Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah displays the victory sign (Manish Swarup/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah displays the victory sign (Manish Swarup/AP) Mr Modi also capitalised on a suicide bombing in Kashmir in February that killed 40 Indian soldiers. India retaliated with airstrikes at alleged terrorist training camps in Pakistan, fanning the flames of nationalism and helping the BJP turn voters attention away from the flailing economy and onto matters of national security. As votes were being counted across India, Pakistans military said it successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Tensions with Pakistan gave him the narrative he needed to counter all these allegations of non-performance, unemployment and rural distress. It reenergised him and enabled him to reclaim his image as a strong leader India needs at this juncture, Ms Jerath said. Expand Close Counting officials open electronic voting machines (EVM) (Bikas Das/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Counting officials open electronic voting machines (EVM) (Bikas Das/AP) Analysts also said that Mr Modis victory could embolden Hindu hard-liners calling for Hindu cultural practice to colour more of Indias laws and norms. BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya, a Hindu holy woman who is awaiting trial on charges connected to a 2008 bombing that targeted Muslims, and who recently called independence leader Mahatma Gandhis assassin a patriot, was leading the polls in Bhopal. At Congress headquarters, a few party workers stood outside looking dejected. Jagdish Sharma, 50, blamed the counting method, using electronic voting machines, saying Rahul Gandhi is the crowds favourite, but has always lost only due to EVMs. While EVMs exist even Lord Vishnu cant defeat Modi, he said, referring to a powerful Hindu god. Voters cast ballots on some 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse. Expand Close A BJP supporter displays a sari with a portrait of prime minister Narendra Modi (Mahesh Kumar A/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A BJP supporter displays a sari with a portrait of prime minister Narendra Modi (Mahesh Kumar A/AP) But losing candidates and political parties have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the electronic method, doing so again this week. Top opposition leaders met with Election Commission officials on Tuesday after videos appeared on social media showing some electronic voting machines being moved. The party officials alleged that the machines were going to be altered, but the commission said the images showed unused machines being moved into storage. North Korea has labelled Joe Biden a fool of low IQ and an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being after the US presidential hopeful called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a tyrant during a recent speech. Pyongyangs official Korean Central News Agency said the former American vice president had insulted the countrys supreme leadership and committed an intolerable and serious politically-motivated provocation against the North. Mr Biden during a campaign launch in Philadelphia on Saturday accused President Donald Trump of cosying up to dictators and tyrants like Mr Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin. What he (Joe Biden) uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politicianKCNA, North Korean news agency What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician, KCNA said. The piece, labelled a commentary, said Mr Biden had gone reckless and senseless, seized by ambition for power. It went on to mention apparent Biden gaffes, such as once appearing to fall asleep during a speech by President Barack Obama. It is by no means accidental that here is nonstop comment over his bid for candidacy that he is not worth pinning hope on, backed by the jeer that he is a fool of low IQ, KCNA said. It mocked Mr Bidens belief that he was the most popular presidential candidate. This is enough to make a cat laugh, the report said. Expand Close North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (AP) A spokesman for Mr Bidens campaign, Andrew Bates, responded: Given Vice President Bidens record of standing up for American values and interests, its no surprise that North Korea would prefer that Donald Trump remain in the White House. North Korea has often unleashed crude insults against US and South Korean politicians to criticise what it sees as slanderous remarks toward its leadership or hostile diplomatic and military policies against Pyongyang. The insults have included racist and sexist diatribes, including when the North called Mr Obama a monkey and former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the countrys first female leader, a prostitute. Expand Close The USNorth Korea summit in Singapore (Kevin Lim/The Straits Times/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The USNorth Korea summit in Singapore (Kevin Lim/The Straits Times/PA) During tensions created by a provocative run in missile tests in 2017, Mr Kim called Mr Trump a mentally deranged US dotard after he said that the United States would totally destroy North Korea if forced to defend itself or its allies. The Norths description of Mr Trump dramatically improved after Mr Kim initiated diplomacy with Washington and Seoul in 2018 while attempting to leverage his nuclear arsenal for economic and security benefits. The nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang stalled in February when a summit between Mr Kim and Mr Trump collapsed over mismatched demands in sanctions relief and disarmament. The flags of the nations of Benin and Togo, the west African homes of the survivors of Clotilda (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) Researchers working in the murky waters of the northern Gulf Coast have located the wreck of the last known ship to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States, historical officials said. Remains of the Gulf schooner Clotilda were identified and verified near Mobile, Alabama, after months of assessment, a statement by the Alabama Historical Commission said. The wooden vessel was scuttled the year before the Civil War to hide evidence of its illegal trip and had not been seen since. The discovery of the Clotilda is an extraordinary archaeological find, said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the commission. Expand Close Old Plateau Cemetery, the final resting place for many who spent their lives in Africatown (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Old Plateau Cemetery, the final resting place for many who spent their lives in Africatown (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) She said the ships journey represented one of the darkest eras of modern history, and that the wreck provided tangible evidence of slavery. In 1860, the wooden ship illegally transported 110 people from what is now the west African nation of Benin to Mobile. The Clotilda was then taken into delta waters north of the port and burned to avoid detection. The captives were later freed and settled a community that is still called Africatown USA, but no one knew the location of the Clotilda. A descendant of one of the Africans who was brought to the South aboard the ship said she got chills when she learned its wreckage had been found. I think about the people who came before us who laboured and fought and worked so hard, said Joycelyn Davis, a sixth-generation granddaughter of African captive Charlie Lewis. She added: Im sure people had given up on finding it. Its a wow factor. Expand Close Joycelyn Davis, a direct descendant of slave ship Clotilda survivor Charlie Lewis (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joycelyn Davis, a direct descendant of slave ship Clotilda survivor Charlie Lewis (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) A Mobile-area news reporter discovered wooden remains of what was initially suspected to be the Clotilda, but the wreck turned out to be that of another ship. That publicity helped spark a renewed search last year that found another wreck now identified as the slave ship. Officials did not say how much of the ship remains or what might become of its remnants. But the dimensions and construction of the wreck match those of the Clotilda, the commission said, as do building materials including locally sourced lumber and metal pieces made from pig iron. There are also signs of fire. We are cautious about placing names on shipwrecks that no longer bear a name or something like a bell with the ships name on it, maritime archaeologist James Delgado said in a statement. But the physical and forensic evidence powerfully suggests that this is Clotilda. Officials said they were working on a plan to preserve the site where the ship was located. Expand Close Homes line Richardson Drive in Africatown in Mobile, Alabama, established by the last boatload of Africans abducted into slavery and shipped to the United States just before the Civil War (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Homes line Richardson Drive in Africatown in Mobile, Alabama, established by the last boatload of Africans abducted into slavery and shipped to the United States just before the Civil War (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File) The United States banned the importation of slaves in 1808, but smugglers kept travelling the Atlantic with wooden ships full of people in chains. Southern plantation owners demanded workers for their cotton fields. With Southern resentment of federal control at a fever pitch, Alabama plantation owner Timothy Meaher made a bet that he could bring a shipload of Africans across the ocean, historian Natalie S Robertson has said. Clotilda sailed from Mobile to western Africa, where it picked up captives and returned them to Alabama, evading authorities during a tortuous voyage. They were smuggling people as much for defiance as for sport, Ms Robertson said. Officials said they planned to present a report on the findings at a community centre in Africatown next week. Prince Charles, who knows from personal experience the horror and pain that terrorism causes, was careful on his visit to the Republic and Northern Ireland this week to show a considered even-handedness in his engagements, where possible making them cross-border or cross-community. True, they may have been carefully choreographed events but they set a tone, just as his mother, the Queen, did on her Dublin visit in 2011. It was encouraging to see young GAA and rugby players come together in a game for the prince and his visit to a synagogue in Belfast showed respect for diversity. More could follow his example. The early parliamentary election campaign will start in Ukraine on the day after the relevant presidential order's publishing, Ukrainian Central Elections Commission Chairperson Tetiana Slipachuk said. "The Ukrainian president's order of May 21, 2019, regarding the Verkhovna Rada's dissolution and the early parliamentary elections was published today, May 23, 2019, in accordance with the Law on the Verkhovna Rada Elections," Slipachuk said at a press briefing dedicated to the early parliamentary elections. "The campaign starts the day after publishing, i.e., on May 24, 2019, and there is no need for additional decisions of the Central Elections Commission in order to begin it," Interfax cited her as saying. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskys decree on the dissolution of Verkhovna Rada and holding the snap parliamentary elections on July 21 has been published in the Uryadovy Kuryer government newspaper today, which means that the document has officially come into force. Zelensky signed the decree dissolving the Ukrainian Parliament and announcing the snap elections the next day after his inauguration - on May 21. The head of state pointed to the lack of a ruling parliamentary coalition lasting more than 30 days as the reason for dissolving Rada, citing the corresponding articles of the constitution. The deputy dean of the Faculty of Global Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University, Andrei Suzdaltsev, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that almost all current political forces may stand against Zelensky in this election. There will be Poroshenkos bloc and the Voice party will grow. The Servant of the People party plans to unite with Tymoshenko, but this is the only politician ready for an alliance with Zelensky. The Rada failed the vote on the new draft electoral law, which means the elections will be held according to the old scheme, with the preservation of the majority system, which is unprofitable for Zelensky," he said. The fact is that Zelenskys rating is of protest nature, and the majority system of parliamentary elections will suppress his advantage, the expert said. "In general, it turns out that Zelensky needs to work with this Rada to achieve what he wants, but he refused to do this, disbanding parliament in the first minute. Meanwhile, it is impossible to pass a law repealing the majority system without the Rada's support. Zelensky needs such a system since out of his team only he has a strong personal rating," Andrei Suzdaltsev noted. No change in attitude towards Russia will be brought by a new Rada. Only the referendum proposed by the Zelensky administration regarding dialogue and negotiations with Russia could make a difference. It would be an interesting option, and that's why Poroshenkov team opposed it, as they perfectly understand how the people will vote - not for the war, but for peace. Therefore, the former authorities are trying to declare that Zelensky will parasitize on this result of the referendum and use it in their goals," the deputy dean of the Faculty of Global Economics and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University concluded. Police and photographers gather in front of the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) headquarters in Jakarta as anti-riot police clash with protesters, May 22, 2019. Updated at 3:18 p.m. ET on 2019-05-23 The death toll in two days of clashes between police and supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto rose to eight Thursday, as officials indicated that a group once linked to the Islamic State might have incited the violence. Violence erupted in Jakarta on Tuesday night after protesters hurled fuel bombs, rocks and firecrackers at police outside the offices of the Election Supervisory Agency in the nations capital. The demonstrators torched more than two dozen vehicles, police said. The latest death toll is eight people, Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan told reporters after visiting the scene of the clashes. He said 737 people were taken to hospital with injuries, including at least 79 with serious wounds. Anies declined to reveal the cause of deaths of the eight fatalities. Protesters disbanded Thursday morning after an overnight unrest, authorities said. National police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters Wednesday that he believed the rioting was not spontaneous but incited by what he called thugs taking advantage of an otherwise peaceful protest. Tito hinted that extremists might have been linked to the deaths as he displayed a sniper rifle, two handguns and cash that he said had been seized from suspects, who were paraded wearing jumpsuits during a news conference. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal told BenarNews at least 442 people had been arrested on suspicion of attacking police and damaging property. He said at least seven demonstrators were killed in the two days of rioting. He did not explain the discrepancy in the figures provided by the governor. Police also did not say who was behind the killings, but the Jakarta Post quoted city police spokesman Senior Commander Argo Yuwono as saying that four of the fatalities had died of stab wounds. Iqbal said an investigative team had been set up. He also insisted that the fatalities were rioters. They were not there to pray or ply their trade, Iqbal said, adding that security personnel were only equipped with batons, shields and tear gas and no live bullets. Unrest first broke out Tuesday night after protesters attacked police with rocks and firecrackers, forcing security forces to fire tears gas and water cannons, authorities said. They had gathered to demand action over claims by Prabowo that the April 17 presidential election was stolen by the government of incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo. The countrys election commission on Tuesday said Jokowi had garnered 55.5 percent of ballots cast in the presidential polls, beating his challenger, Prabowo, for the second time in a row. In the 2014 elections, Jokowi received 53.1 percent of the votes and Prabowo took 46.8 percent. Police: Two people belonged to IS-affiliated group Iqbal alleged that two people in custody belonged to a West Java-based group called the Islamic Reform Movement (Garis). We have identified two suspects from outside Jakarta who are affiliated with a group called Garis (Gerakan Reformis Islam or Islamic Reform Movement), he said. Garis founder, a cleric named Chep Hernawan, claimed in 2014 that he was the Indonesian head of Islamic State (IS), although he later renounced the terrorist group. But Iqbal said Garis was affiliated with IS and had sent members to Syria. They stated (during questioning) that they intended to wage jihad, Iqbal told a news conference. This is clear that the protests were infiltrated. They wanted to trigger unrest and turn victims into martyrs. Chep, a Prabowo supporter, told BenarNews that he and his group had no ties to IS. He also denied that Garis members were involved in the violence. That's not true. That's a lie. We have nothing to do with ISIS. The police can't just accuse us of having ties to ISIS, Chep said, using another abbreviation for IS. He said he sent several of students from his boarding school to the scene of the protest as part of medical teams. "They were taking injured victims to hospitals when they were stopped by Brimob (riot police) and two of the students in the ambulance were detained," he said. He said the two teenage students had 15 million rupiah ($1,000) in cash to be donated to the poor and orphans in Bekasi, a suburb near Jakarta. He urged the police to release them and give back the money. Police assist their colleagues who suffered injures during the clash with protesters in front of the of the Election Supervisory Agency headquarters in Jakarta, May 22, 2019. [Keisyah Aprilia/BenarNews] Calm returns in Jakarta Shops and restaurants were re-opening and a cleanup operation was underway Thursday in areas where rioting took place, local television reported. This weeks unrest was one of the worst in Jakarta since a crippling economic crisis in May 1998 triggered widespread unrest that killed more than 1,000 people and forced longtime president Suharto to resign, analysts said. Prabowo, in a video message posted online late Wednesday, appealed to the protestors to return home. Avoid illegal acts, always compromise and obey the law, he said. We have to keep in mind the greater interests of the people, so I appeal to you to be calm and patient. On Wednesday, Jokowi vowed to take firm action against rioters, saying there was no room for those who seek to undermine the security, democratic process and unity of our beloved nation. Prabowo, a retired army general, has repeatedly urged his supporters to protest peacefully after the official results of the election that were announced Tuesday, a day earlier than scheduled amid concerns about mass protests. The final vote tally nearly matched the numbers from quick count exit polls from independent pollsters. A spokesman for Prabowo, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, said the campaigns legal team would lodge a challenge to the election results with the Constitutional Court on Friday. The court will have until June 15 to rule on the dispute. The government on Wednesday imposed temporary restrictions on social media and instant messaging services amid fears that photos and videos from the riot could incite emotions. Facebook, Instagram and WhatApp are among social media and messaging services affected, said Rudiantara, the communication and information technology minister. He said the restrictions could last several days and urged citizens to turn to mainstream media for news. Meanwhile, press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday urged Indonesian authorities to investigate what it said were seven attacks on journalists that had taken place during the post-election rioting. We call on all the protagonists, both protesters and police, to respect the work of the media by ending all acts of violence and intimidation against journalists, said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSFs Asia-Pacific desk, said in a statement Wednesday. Allowing reporters to cover these events freely is the best way to enable the public to keep abreast of this conflict and not depend on rumors at this crucial moment for Indonesian democracy, he said. Updated to include a statement from Reporters Without Borders. The leader of a pro-democracy party in junta-ruled Thailand denounced the Constitutional Court after it suspended him from his parliamentary seat Thursday, just a day before the king officially opens the new House of Representatives. The court ruled on an allegation by the Election Commission that Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, head of the Future Forward Party (FFP), improperly held stocks in V-Luck Media Co. Ltd. during the campaign for the March 24 general election, Thailands first polls since the military seized power in a coup five years ago. [The nine-judge panel] unanimously decided to take the case for consideration and has informed the accused to clarify the case within 15 days, according to a press release. It went on to state that Thanathorn would be suspended from parliament until the court ruled on the allegation. No date has been set for that ruling. Later, the politician met with reporters where he challenged the decision and criticized the military government. I disagree with the Constitutional Court decision, Thanathorn told reporters at his partys headquarters in Bangkok. Its not the time for despair, but its time to expose the evilness of dictatorship, Thanathorn said, adding that he had volunteered to stop the junta regime, to halt the dictatorship. A former tycoon of an auto-parts chain, Thanathorn, 40, took the Thai political arena by storm with his calls to cut the militarys political power and his promises to bring greater democracy to Thailand. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was officially crowned earlier this month, and Queen Suthida are scheduled to preside over the opening session of parliaments new lower house on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, lawmakers are expected to hold a confidential vote to elect the house speaker and two deputies. The house speaker will then establish a session for the house, in conjunction with the 250-member senate, to elect the prime minister. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, who appears to have enough votes to retain his post, took control of the government after leading a military coup on May 22, 2014 that overthrew the civilian government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. To be elected, the prime minister must have at least 376 votes one more than half of the 500-member lower house combined with the senate. Because Prayuths government picked all the senators, they are expected to support him, meaning he needs only 126 additional votes to remain in office. A deputy prime minister said he expected the new prime minister be named no later than the end of May. Thanathorns FFP won 80 of the 500 seats in the lower house of parliament, finishing behind only Palang Pracharat Party, which supports Prayuth and won 115 seats, and the Phu Thai Party, which backs the Shinawatra family and won 136 seats. Yinglucks older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted from the prime ministers office by an earlier military coup in 2006 and is living in exile. Sedition charges The decision to suspend Thanathorn was the second blow in as many days for the FFP. On Wednesday, house member Rangsiman Rome was charged formally with sedition stemming from an incident in 2015 that marked the first anniversary of the coup. He was one of about a dozen students who were arrested for participating in anti-government protests, violating a law imposed by the junta that limited political protests to five or fewer people. In February, police questioned Thanathorn for his role in allegedly helping Rangsiman and others escape from the 2015 protest, claiming he used his mothers van to aid in the escape. International diplomats and other observers showed up outside of a Thai police station in April when he was charged with sedition tied to the incident. The action against Thanathorn was politically motivated, according to a Thai analyst. What happened reflects the use of the law as a tool to undercut Thanathorn. It is an unwise political move by the junta because it showed that the country has not returned to democracy, Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of the political science faculty at Ubon Ratchathani University, told BenarNews. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High near 75F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Russias Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina said there are no grounds to accuse Moscow of manipulating the ruble exchange rate, as she stated. Nabiullina recalled that Russia has a floating exchange rate. "We dont use currency interventions to support the ruble exchange rate at a certain level. The Central Bank purchases currencies for the Finance Ministry only under a budget rule aimed at ensuring the economys independence from oil prices and not at supporting certain exchange rates," she said in an interview with Izvestia. "There is absolutely no reason to accuse us of manipulating the exchange rate," the Central Bank chief pointed out. Bloomberg said earlier, citing sources that the US administration was going to expand the list of countries Washington suspected of currency manipulation. According to the news outlet, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam may be included in the list. US President Donald Trump earlier accused the European Union, China and Russia of manipulating their currency rates. Bowling Green State University is the first public four-year university in Ohio to partner with the Community College of the Air Forces (CCAF) General Education Mobile (GEM) program. CCAF students now have the opportunity to complete their general education requirements through BGSU. We are excited to expand our partnership with the Air Force, said Barbara Henry, assistant vice president of Nontraditional and Military Student Services. We know that access to general education courses reduces the time to degree completion for airmen and increases opportunities for promotion within the Air Force. Our partnership provides airmen a flexible, online schedule with personalized assistance to accommodate their demanding schedules and duties. It is part of our mission to make education attainable for everyone, said Joe Whitehead Jr., Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. Bowling Green State University welcomes members of the Air Force through our three Air University-Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative degree completion partnerships. This program is another opportunity for BGSU to respond to the needs and provide access to higher education for our military personnel. Students complete 15 hours of general education courses, which are offered online in seven-week sessions. Students will receive personalized advising from the Nontraditional and Military Student Services office. Airmen will be able to utilize their tuition assistance benefits for GEM at BGSU beginning Summer 2019. In the last couple of weeks, there has been much debate regarding the created order and the Fall in Genesis 1-3, and how they relate to women preaching, teaching, and leading in the church according to the apostle Paul. What has really taken center stage are not Pauls words themselves, but rather a position being articulated by some that comes from a singular interpretation of one particular passage. The truth is, there are literally hundreds of other Scriptures that speak into the discussion on the roles of women in the church and its leadership. As a result, I would argue it is impossible to form a comprehensive view based solely on one text, or even a handful of texts. Hopefully even those who might differ from my position on this issue would agree that we are not practicing solid exegesis if we form rigid views without addressing each of the texts that inform the issue. So lets do this right by applying a more comprehensive hermeneutic. What is Paul saying about women? The primary passage in question is 1 Timothy 2:11-14: A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. If we are to approach this text fairly, we must wrestle with some of the difficult contextual questions that accompany it. For example: When Paul mentioned full submission, did he mean to say that all women are to submit to the male leadership in a church, or was he referring to wives submitting to their own husbands as they do to the Lord (Ephesians/Colossians)? How does his admonition to both men and women to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21) affect this? When Paul said, I do not permit, should we read it as a command from God and also as prescriptive for all churches always and everywhere? If we take Paul literally in 1 Timothy 2:11-14, should we not back up to the previous verses and exhort women not to adorn themselves with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes (1 Timothy 2:9-10)? Should we not also take literally Pauls commands elsewhere that women be required to cover their heads in worship (1 Corinthians 11:5-13), and be forbidden from cutting their long hair (1 Corinthians 11:14-15)? Did Paul really mean to say that Eve sinned while Adam did not, or that Eves sin was worse than Adams? Did Eve being deceived result in the female gender becoming more toxic than the male gender among humanity? If so, wouldnt that contradict Gods own specific curses of both genders (Genesis 3:16-19), and Pauls much more common attribution of sin and death to Adam rather than Eve (Romans 5:15-21, 1 Corinthians 15:22)? Is it correct or even fair for us to equate the more Protestant, evangelical Sunday sermon time to that of the apostolic or elder-authoritative teaching setting of the first century church? How much did the temple and worship of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus, and the accompanying elevation of feminine over masculine, play into Pauls lone reference to the order of creation of human beings without mentioning that man also came from woman (1 Corinthians 11:7-12)? Also, as is often the case when the 1 Timothy 2 passage is addressed in the manner it was, no attention was given to the very problematic statement in 2:15: But women will be saved through childbearingif they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.What do we do with that? Surely Paul did not mean to imply that childbearing is salvific, right? Was Paul saying that women who are unable to conceive cannot be saved? Was he limiting the role of a woman to that of domesticity and child-rearing? Or was he referring to the birth of Christ? With all of this in mind, perhaps we might be able to approach this topic more humbly and generously. Perhaps we can dig into the Scriptures joyfully, and with thankfulness for the ways the Holy Spirit equips and uses both women and men in the work of the gospel ministry. In what follows, we will take a much wider look at the both the Old and New Testament canons, which will hopefully lead us to be more thoughtful about our attitudes, words, and actions, and have a more balanced discourse. Mens and womens roles in the Bible First, there are some significant concepts we cannot miss in the overall theology of the New Testament. The most applicable comes from an Old Testament reference on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, when the disciple/apostle Peter interpreted current events according to the prophecy of the Hebrew prophet Joel: Your sons and daughters will prophesy . . . on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy (Acts 2:17-18, Joel 2:28). The word for prophesy (propheteuo) 1 is a word that has a much more specific meaning of "divine inspiration" than do the more broadly defined words translated as preaching (kerusso) 2, proclaiming (euangelizo) 3, or teaching (didasko) 4. Prophesying is the reception and declaration of a word from the Lord through a direct prompting of the Holy Spirit and the human instrument thereof 5. Prophecy is listed as an even higher and authoritative gift than teaching or interpretation on two occasions by Paul (Romans 12:6-7, 1 Corinthians 12:7-10). Throughout Pauls letters, women prayed and prophesied publicly and in worship (Acts 21:8-9, 1 Corinthians 11:5) and demonstrated other gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, 14). There is also Pauls racial, social, and gender unifying statement to the Galatians: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). The nine Fruit of the Spirit, which are produced by the Holy Spirit, are each feminine nouns in Greek (Galatians 5:22-23). This certainly argues against the thought that the feminine is of lesser spiritual value than the masculine, both linguistically and effectively. The idea of mutual submission between husband and wife (Ephesians 5:21) is not only that of wife to husband, but of husband to wife in sacrificial love, as Christ loves the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27). The husband is commanded to love his wife as he loves himselfas an equal (Ephesians 5:28-33). Husbands are also commanded to not treat their wives harshly as had been the custom of so many (Colossians 3:19). Wives are given an equal amount of authority over their husbands body, and thereby their own bodies, as that of the husbands authority over his wifes body (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). Women can live such godly lives in the view of their husbands that many will be drawn to faith in Christ by seeing such faithfulness (1 Peter 3:1-6). Women, though often seen as weaker socially in many parts of the first century world, are equally co-heirs to Christs promises with men (John 1:12-13, Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 3:7, Revelation 21:7). Paul reminded early Christians that it was Gods plan from the beginning to bring Christ into the world through a woman of his choosing (Galatians 4:4). When asked about divorce proceedings, which in his day were heavily slanted in favor of men, Jesus referred the Pharisees back to the first book of the Hebrew Scriptures: The Creator made them male and female (Matthew 19:3-6). This verse in its fuller context actually reads: So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. The creation account does not read, in the image of God he created him. Instead it is, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27). Women and ministry in the Old Testament Turning to the Hebrew Scriptures for a moment, not a small number of women are praised throughout the Tanakh. During a time when the world belonged to men as much as it ever has, the Book of Genesis mentions five different women who are given burials of honor: Sarah (Genesis 23), Deborah (Genesis 35:8), Rachel (Genesis 35:19), Rebekah (Genesis 49:31), and Leah (Genesis 49:31). Most of these women are also mentioned on multiple occasions throughout both the Old and New Testaments. There are of course many other Hebrew women who are given significant attention like Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, and Esther. Many women actually spoke and/or wrote words that became Scripture. Such women include Miriam (Exodus 15:1-21), another Deborah (Judges 5:1-31), and Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Deborah was herself a judge of Israel (Judges 4-5). God spoke prophetically to David through Abigail (1 Samuel 25:24-31), and Huldah was a prophetess in Jerusalem who spoke the words of God (2 Kings 22:14, 2 Chronicles 34:22), as was the wife of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3). Women and ministry in the New Testament Moving specifically to the Gospels of the New Testament, women are seen in the most prominent roles. Four womenRahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Maryare singled out in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-16). Elizabeth (Luke 1:25, 41-45) and Mary (Luke 1:38) confirmed with their mouths the promise of the Messiah and the word of the Lord from an angel. Mary herself also sang words that became Scripture (Luke 1:46-55, the Magnificat). After Jesus was born and presented in the temple, he was blessed and spoken about publicly by the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38). Women were also at the center of Jesus teaching, such as the parable of the woman and the yeast (Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21), the parable of the woman and her lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-18), and the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). There is also the woman who Jesus refused to condemn in a near-execution because of adultery, leading to one of the most teachable moments anywhere in Scripture (Luke 7:36-50). And Jesus praised the impoverished widow for giving two mites all she had with a pure heart as opposed to several rich people who gave selfishly and pridefully out of their wealth (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4). There were also the women who followed and cared for Jesus in Galilee and Jerusalem (Mark 15:40-41, John 11:5), along with the women who followed Jesus and supported him and the other disciples out of their own means Susanna, Joanna, and Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1-3). There is Mary of Bethany who sat as Jesus feet in the posture of a disciple and was taught by him (Luke 10:39), and the Samaritan woman who Jesus not only engaged in a theological discussion regarding worship, but who also went back to her town and proclaimed that Jesus was in fact the Messiah, leading to a spiritual awakening among many people (John 4:28-42). Then there were the women who were Jesus followers from Galilee (Luke 23:49), and Mary Magdalene who was not only the first person to see the resurrected Christ but also the first person, man or woman, to be commissioned directly by the resurrected Christ to declare his resurrection to the other disciples (John 20:14-18). In all four Gospels, the women (not just Mary Magdalene) are sent directly by the resurrected Christ to proclaim his resurrection to others (Matthew 28:7,10, Mark 16:7, Luke 24:9, 23, John 20:17). In the first days of the early church, we are told that the women who had followed Jesus, along with his mother Mary, were still present with the remaining disciples from among the twelve praying and seeking Gods will together (Acts 1:12-14). Tabitha (Dorkas) from Joppa is called a disciple and was known for always doing good and helping the poor (Acts 9:36). Lydia was a person of peace whom Paul, Silas, and Timothy met in Philippi and soon thereafter had a church meeting in her home (Acts 16:14-15, 40). There is also Damaris in Athens among those of the Areopagus, who believed and became a disciple (Acts 17:34). And there is Priscilla, Pauls co-laborer in Christ Jesus (Romans 16:3), who taught and corrected Apollos and, along with her husband Aquila, also had a church meeting in her home. Priscilla was publicly, not only privately, associated with a leadership role in the Church (Acts 18:2, 18-26, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Timothy 4:19.) There are the four virgin daughters of Philip the evangelist (he was one of the seven from Acts 6), who each prophesied (Acts 21:8-9), just as Joel 2 and Acts 2 had said. At the end of Romans, several prominent women are mentioned and details about them are given in some cases. Phoebe, who delivered the letter of Romans to the church at Rome, is called a diakonon, or deacon (Romans 16:1). Junia is named among the apostles (Romans 16:7). Tryphena and Tryphosa are described as women who work hard in the Lord (Romans 16:12). Paul says Rufus mother was like a mother to him (Romans 16:13). Honorable mentions also go to Julia, Nereus sister, and Olympus (Romans 16:15). In Corinth, there was Chloe who clearly had a role of leadership and influence in that church (1 Corinthians 1:11). Paul also praises Timothys grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5), for their sincere faith which was imparted to Timothy. And in Philippi, Euodia and Syntyche were not only co-laborers but also contended at Pauls side in the cause of the gospel along with other leaders like Clement (Philippians 4:2-3). Build up, train up, send out Are we quite sure that all of these women Paul mentioned were completely restricted from preaching and teaching men and seen by him as disqualified as such by the created order? Are we really sure? Did Paul view these women as more corrupted by sin than their male counterparts? Is it possible that Paul was referring primarily to a few specific women from Ephesus in his letters to Timothy? Were the roles of pastor and preacher in the first century the same as we understand them today? The topic is not nice and neat, and yet it need not be nearly so divisive. It is not a matter of if we are going to err; we will err. We are erring. So why should we not choose to be less dogmatic about our views, and more committed to building up, training up, and sending out in the freedom that only Christ can give? We can do this together, as brothers and sisters, leading and serving in the humility and generosity required for all who seek first his Kingdom and righteousness. Notes [1] See BDAG (Third Edition), 890, which defines propheteuo as in Acts 2:17 and 21:8-9 as meaning, to proclaim an inspired revelation. [2] Ibid., 543-44. Though this word is most often associated with "preaching" in a public setting, the NT does not always apply divine inspiration or even speaking by the Holy Spirit to kerusso. On a few occasions this is used for making an official announcement or making a public declaration. [3] Ibid., 402. Euangelizo is often used for the kind of preaching and proclaiming which announces the gospel message of salvation, but was also a very common word for messengers who simply came announcing "good news." This is the case with the angels at Jesus' birth (Luke 1-2), and also countless classical Greek letters, treatises, and writings. [4] Ibid., 241. The word didasko carries the meaning "to teach" in both formal and informal settings. Both men and women have the opportunity to be "teachers" in the corporate worship setting (Colossians 3:16), and Paul even refers to non-corporeal entities such as "nature" (1 Corinthians 11:14) as teachers of sorts. [5] Source: Holman Bible Dictionary Eric Costanzo is lead pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla. He is a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University (B.A) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., Ph.D.) He also serves on the Board of Directors of Jesus Economy, a nonprofit creating jobs by empowering women entrepreneurs.He is married with four children and has several published articles and one book, Harbor for the Poor (Wipf and Stock). You can follow him on Twitter @eric_costanzo Photo credit: GettyImages/Viktor Capp BILD interview with Europes most controversial prime minister, Viktor Orban, in Budapest. BILD: Mister Prime Minister, all of Europe seems to be bewildered by the political earthquake in Austria including you? Viktor Orban: We dont want to interfere in Austrias domestic politics at all. This must be decided by the Austrian voters. Mister Strache visited you only two weeks ago. Are you disappointed that an ally of yours is now out of action? You were also his role model. Orban: The most important thing for a politician is the trust of the people. Strache was a fighter for his cause, but he lost the peoples trust. What Strache said is unacceptable. Lesen Sie auch Your partys membership in the EPP group has been suspended and you no longer want to support frontrunner Manfred Weber. Whose fault is this escalation? Orban: The Scandinavians and the Benelux countries. They actually wanted our exclusion from the EPP. 13 parties initiated this, three months prior to an important election I have never seen a bigger political nonsense in my entire life. And the EPP leaders were too weak to reject it. Instead, Mister Weber stated that he does not want to become President of the European Commission with the votes of the Hungarians. Thats such an insult to the Hungarian people, the Hungarian voters, that he has become untenable as a candidate. From this point on, he cannot be supported. Its his own fault. How do you explain his statement? Orban: He is a weak leader. If you want to be a leader, you have to fight for your convictions. As far as I can see, Manfred Weber is a decent man, but he is not willing to fight for his own values. He adjusts. At this point, I can only see external differences between him and Social Democratic candidate Timmermans. He is no longer a conservative politician. Orban (mid-left) talking to BILD reporters Christian Stenzel (l.) and Ralf Schuler (r.) Manfred Weber also visited you here in Budapest. Are you disappointed on a human level? Orban: I was surprised. Disappointment doesnt describe it, it was more of a painful feeling. I think faithfulness is also important in politics, and I supported Mister Weber at the expense of a part of my own political capital. Is the EPP still your political home? Orban: Yes. Do you want to remain in the EPP family? Or are you striving towards a new alliance with far-right politicians such as Italys minister of the interior, Salvini? Orban: That depends on the EPP. Im doing everything I can for its success. I want the EPP to win the European Elections. But we will face a painful debate about our orientation after that. I do not want the EPP to tie its fate to the political left. The political left in Europe today is defending things that are ruining Europe, including Germany. They do not want to stop migration, but manage it. And they make suggestions for a European socialism for which the Germans will pay the price and, to a lesser degree, also we in Central Europe, of course. Salvini is doing a good job in Italy, for example, so one should not preclude an alliance for the time after the elections. Auch Interessant Is your turning away from Mister Weber also a turning away from Germany? Orban: No. Europe always did well when Germany and Hungary closely cooperated. So we seek cooperation with the Germans. But the Hungarian saying is also true: We wont jump into the well afterwards. Where something is going wrong, we wont take part. Where exactly is that? Orban: For instance, we wont support the German suggestion that foreign-policy decisions in the EU should no longer require unanimous decisions, but only majority decisions. That would be the end of an independent foreign policy for countries of Hungarys size. This is a proud country. You can convince Hungarians, but not forcefully bend them into shape. We are supporters of the Europe of Helmut Kohl, who always paid attention to the interests of the smaller countries as well. If you wont support Weber, who will then be your favourite for the European Elections? Orban: We will say this at the right moment after the elections, but we will certainly not be the first ones to put their cards on the table. You were also criticized by the head of the CSU, Soder, and the head of the CDU, Kramp-Karrenbauer, who have previously always stood by your side. Couldnt it be the case that YOU also made mistakes? Orban: Everybody who works makes mistakes. But this is about convictions and national interests. History will show who was right. There is a saying: Hungarians arent right they will be in the right. (laughs) On posters, Manfred Weber is promoting safe external borders. That must be to your liking? Orban: It is. It would be good if Europe were to support the Hungarian border protection. However, not a cent was given towards building the fence. Contradiction is a feature of European policy. Would you accept Frontex units at the Hungarian border? Orban: No. Frontex belongs where the borders cannot be protected. We have proven that we can do this. The EU wants to be strong against Russia and China; it wants to act united. You, however, keep going your own way. Orban: Let us look at the facts. The sanctions on Russia have led to growing trade between Germany and Russia. A Russian gas pipeline was even built leading to Germany. At the same time, Hungarys exports to Russia decreased by 8 billion euros. From my perspective, it looks as if the big European countries have pushed us Central Europeans out of the trade and have taken our places. And all of this was then called sanctions. Something similar applies to China. Or is it because you actually feel closer to Russia than to the EU? Orban: Russia is a different world. Our world is Europe, the West. However, I do not try telling the Russians how they are supposed to live. I also didnt like it when they tried to tell us. Our experience is: when there is a conflict between Russia and the West, its always bad for Hungary. Thats why we seek a balance. We have to be strong in the areas of security and military defense, but in economic cooperation, we have to negotiate. Hungarys economy is looking quite good. Still, thousands went to the streets because of your new labour law. Is the increase in prosperity not affecting enough people? Orban: We have an economic growth of more than 5%, a competitive tax system, and we are approaching full employment. But we need further investments. Investments from Germany would also be welcome. At the demonstrations, I promised the people that we will adjust the law if it doesnt work. But it is working. Sometimes it even happens that a government is right. Hence there hasnt been a single demonstration for months. Last week, you visited US president Trump a politician who is, like you, sometimes heavily criticized in Europe. Is that why you got on so well? Orban: Thats one reason. (laughs) We are related in injustice: His achievements are not acknowledged, and neither are mine. This is another difference to Brussels and Europe: Donald Trump speaks a simple and easy to understand language and not this Euro gibberish. Of course, America and Hungary are different weight divisions, but we are both successful in our own leagues. The US economy is developing better than before. We also strongly agree on the issue of immigration, and we both support the fair treatment of Israel. Talking about Israel: you have been heavily criticized for your campaign against US investor George Soros, who is of Hungarian-Jewish descent. You were also accused of anti-Semitism in Israel! Orban: You must not allow someone to hide behind his ancestry in a political discussion. Thats not correct. Our argument with Soros has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. We have a problem with casino capitalism; with NGOs that are non-transparently funded and that serve political interests; and with speculators. Yes, there were accusations in the Israeli media. But there is zero tolerance in Hungary when it comes to anti-Semitism. This is also acknowledged by Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Jewish community might be the safest here in all of Europe. This also has to do with the fact that there are no big Muslim communities here, and that the government resolutely protects the Jewish community. However, imported anti-Semitism from the Muslim world is a constantly growing problem in Western Europe. Surely you dont mean to say that all Muslims are anti-Semites! Orban: That would be a big insult. I do not judge groups of people. Everybody has to be assessed based on their actions. But the problem exists. Hungarys economy is doing well, but the freedom of the press is getting worse. Orban: People always laugh wholeheartedly about this accusation in Hungary. I am severely criticized in all media reports. It would be good if I were to get support from the Hungarian press, for a change, because they constantly oppose me. The opposition is supported by the biggest commercial TV broadcaster, RTL, the biggest news channel, ATV, the biggest daily newspaper, Nepszava, the biggest online portal, Index, the biggest weekly newspaper, HVG, and the biggest tabloid, Blikk. Nonetheless, well-respected organisations such as Reporters Without Borders criticize that the freedom of the press is restricted in Hungary and that the media are brought in line. What do you reply to that? Orban: Thats ridiculous. If you look at the newspapers today, youll see that Im being criticized from all sides. The five big weekly newspapers were published yesterday. Three of them are badmouthing me again this week. So youre saying: if a journalist criticizes you today, he or she will still have their job tomorrow? Orban: These are all privately-owned press organs that we cannot, and do not want to, influence. The biggest TV station is even in German hands. Do you really think that journalists are fired there if they criticize me? Angela Merkel will resign from politics in 2021, at the latest. What do you think the EU will look like after Merkel? Orban: Ill only believe that Mrs. Merkel is leaving when I see it. After all, we are talking about Europes biggest fighter here, who has outclassed many men over the past few years. If you underestimate her, youre wrong. And there is also a problem: she leaves a big vacuum in Europe. Ever since she has decided on a partial retreat, we are not being led in Europe at all. Europe needs a strong German chancellor with clear and firm ideas. Thats the truth, whether we like it or not. Angela Merkel has not yet left, but she is already missing. Can you pronounce the name Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer? Orban: No, thats very challenging even for a Hungarian. Could she fill the vacuum? Orban: Politics is a curious world. Time and again, miracles happen. Alleged heroes fall. Others, that nobody had counted on at all, stay around for years. The baton is also in the pocket of the German head of the CDU. Do you know this advert for Opel where the streets of Budapest are shown to be so bad that they are proof of the toughness of Opels cars? Orban: No, I dont know that one. But I will think about whether there could be some truth to it. At the same time: When something is already bumpy for a German, its still smooth as glass for a Hungarian. You have continuously argued that the Central European countries Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia should be taken more seriously. Which role do you see for yourself in this alliance of the Visegrad states? Orban: The alliance is headed by Poland with its strong economy and 40 million inhabitants. The era of Europe with its German-French axis is over. France, Germany, and the Visegrad states thats Europes new geometry. Politically, emotionally, and economically the Visegrad states will form a permanent alliance. The time will come when Germany will realize that it also belongs to this Central European group. This will change European politics. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, my take on the first leg of the Trump-O'Reilly History Tour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Wild & Weird: Two Colorful Characters From North Carolina Good news for two North Carolina river-dwellers: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed protecting the Neuse River waterdog and Carolina madtom under the Endangered Species Act. The waterdog is a spotted salamander with red, flame-like gills. It's an enthusiastic eater devouring large aquatic arthropods, invertebrates and the occasional small fish all in one go. (Some of the bigger items are regurgitated and reswallowed.) The madtom is a striped catfish with "furious" built right into its scientific name, Noturus furiosus. And no wonder: The madtom is one of North America's most poisonous catfish, with a powerful sting delivered by its spines. Both waterdogs and madtoms tend to avoid the press. But to celebrate the news that they may soon be protected, we're happy to shine the spotlight on these delightfully weird critters. NATO and the U.S. are very, very focused on resolving the differences with Turkey as the country reportedly faces a new deadline to decide between the F-35 and Russia's S-400 system, the head of U.S. European Command, USAF Gen. Tod Wolters said. Wolters, speaking at a meeting of the NATO chiefs of defense in Brussels, said even though both the governments of Turkey and the U.S. have expressed their opinions on the situation, You never know what the future will reveal. Ge added that the U.S. will not allow the existence of the F-35 in the vicinity of the S-400 system, Air Force Magazine reported. Earlier it was reported that the U.S. State Department has set a deadline of the end of the first week of June to reject the S-400 system, or be removed from the F-35 program. Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain This company article has been removed. Denny dazzles at Spar Earlier this month MegaVision Media designed and executed a glorious display for Denny Mushroom at the newly renovated Spar in Athol Square, Johannesburg. The MegaVision Media team designed the artwork, provided testing tables, pull-up banners, header boards, menu cards and created really beautiful and functional perspex fins which clipped onto the shelves and held high-gloss recipe cards. click to enlarge click to enlarge click to enlarge We got great exposure and it certainly increased engagement and trial, both the pick-up of recipe cards and increased tastings in store," said Nick Dougherty, head of commercial at Denny. "We also received positive feedback from customers on the look and feel, and heightened experience. MegaVision Media looks forward to working closely with Denny on their brand exposure and activation rollout in the near future. We got great exposure and it certainly increased engagement and trial, both the pick-up of recipe cards and increased tastings in store," said Nick Dougherty, head of commercial at Denny. "We also received positive feedback from customers on the look and feel, and heightened experience.MegaVision Media looks forward to working closely with Denny on their brand exposure and activation rollout in the near future. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump may soon have a face-to-face meeting, a senior Turkish official said. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said Erdogan had invited Trump to Turkey and that there were positive signals the American president would accept the invitation. We are working on the calendar now. We have some positive signals but the time has not been scheduled yet," he said, adding that the leaders may meet on the margins of G20 in Japan as well. "For a bilateral visit, we are waiting for an exact date," Reuters cited the official as saying. 18 Effective Home Remedies For Asthma Symptoms Wellness oi-Amritha K A chronic disease, asthma causes inflammation and narrowing of airways in the lungs. It causes wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. During an asthma attack, your airway muscles constrict and mucous membranes produce excess mucus, blocking your breathing. Allergens such as dust, spores, animal hairs, cold air, infection and even stress can trigger asthma. According to various studies, about 15 per cent of the Indian population is suffering from asthma. The respiratory problem is diagnosed at an early age and since this ailment is not curable, people try to do everything they can to keep the symptoms under control, in efforts to lead a normal life[1] . Asthma can be treated with medications and lifestyle changes. However, certain medications prescribed for asthma can have severe side effects on the body. So, many people are now choosing natural remedies for asthma. From herbal medicine to Ayurveda, the natural remedies for asthma attack do not pose severe side effects like that of the prescribed medications. However, consult a doctor before adopting the remedies [2] [3] . Home Remedies For Asthma From flax seeds to steam inhalation, the natural cures for asthma as mentioned below [4] [5] [6] 1. German chamomile This is one of the best and effective natural herbs for asthma treatment. German chamomile has antihistamine properties that help fight off allergic reactions and asthma attacks. The herb in its dried version is available in the form of tea bags which you may drink at least twice a day. 2. Turmeric Used as a natural herb for asthma wheezing and shortness of breath in China for several years, turmeric helps relieve the symptoms of asthma. Turmeric also has antibacterial, stimulant, astringent and antiseptic properties. Curcumin, a compound present in turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties that help keep inflammation of the respiratory passage under control. Include one teaspoon of turmeric in a meal or add it to a glass of water and drink twice a day. 3. Lavender Possessing anti-inflammatory properties, lavender is an effective cure for asthma. It also has antiseptic, antibacterial and antispasmodic properties, and help manage the symptoms. Lavender is also beneficial in other respiratory infections such as bronchitis, phlegm, and lung disorders. Note: Lavender has to be used in controlled quantities as excessive use can lead to toxicity. 4. Liquorice The chemical compounds present in liquorice roots are extremely beneficial in reducing the inflammation in the lungs. An effective remedy for asthma, liquorice has been used for breathing problems and clearing the air passageways for ages. However, it should be used in moderate amounts to avoid its unwanted effects [7] . You can make a cup of liquorice tea and drink it twice a day. It is also available in capsule form. 5. Ginkgo biloba The anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory properties of the herb make it beneficial in the treatment against asthma. Ginkgo biloba can be used to prevent asthma attacks triggered by allergens and exercise [8] . You can take 120 to 240 mg of ginkgo supplements, or 3 to 4 ml of regular tincture three times daily. 6. Butterbur The plant is extremely useful for asthma treatments. Butterbur can be used to relieve airway inflammation caused during asthma attacks. The extract from the plant is useful in reducing the incidence and severity of asthma attacks as well [7] . You can take 50 to 150 mg of butterbur extracts once per day. Consult a doctor to get the correct consumption rate. 7. Slippery elm Mostly found in North America, the bark of slippery elm can relieve asthma symptoms such as an obstruction in the airways. When taken as tea or capsule, slippery elm helps in preventing bronchial spasms which are normally associated with asthma. It is also useful for people with respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and cough [9] . You can make dried slippery elm tea and consume it twice a day. 8. Garlic An excellent remedy for asthma, the herb contains active compounds that may help cure and eliminate symptoms of asthma. Various studies have been conducted on understanding the effect of garlic on asthma attacks and have asserted that garlic is one amongst the most beneficial remedies[6] . Crush three cloves of garlic, add two cups of water and let it boil. Once the water reduces, let it sit for 5 minutes and consume. 9. Flaxseed Packed with omega-3 fatty acids, flax seeds can be used in the treatment of asthma. The anti-inflammation properties aid in curing an infection caused in the respiratory tract. Regular consumption of flax seeds can help soothe the symptoms of asthma and may help cure it permanently[10] . 10. Honey Known for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and healing properties, honey is an ideal remedy for treating asthma. It helps prevent the bacterial infection and the anti-inflammatory property helps in lowering inflammation, which soothes the wheezing and provide relief [9] . Mix 1 teaspoon of honey with 8 ounces of hot water and consume this mixture twice or thrice a day. 11. Black coffee Many perceive black coffee as not a very healthy component, as it contains a lot of caffeine; but several studies have proven otherwise. Black coffee can be a great remedy to cure asthma. It helps in melting the mucus formation in the chest, thereby keeping shortness of breath caused by asthma in check [11]. Consuming 2-3 of black coffee in a day can help keep inflammation and wheezing under control as well. 12. Eucalyptus oil One of the worst symptoms arising due to asthma is that it clogs the air passage which causes shortness of breath. Eucalyptus oil helps in clearing these blocked passages due to its decongestant properties and also provides immediate relief from the shortness of breath [12] . It is recommended to pour a few drops of eucalyptus oil in some hot water and taking the steam to gain some relief. 13. Fig Draining phlegm and alleviating breathing difficulties are the key points in managing asthma. Figs can do this effectively. Soak three dried figs in a cup of water overnight. Drink the solution next morning on an empty stomach. This is a long-term treatment that should last for a minimum of three months [7] . 14. Pomegranate Rich in polyphenols and consisting of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, pomegranate can be used in treating asthma attacks. Mix ginger juice, pomegranate juice and honey in equal quantities and consume one tablespoon of this mixture daily for three times. This will help to manage the airway inflammation and inhibit airway constriction [13] . 15. Fenugreek Possessing cleansing abilities, these can be used as an effective cure for asthma symptoms. Fenugreek has an excellent property in cleansing your lungs [13] . Boil one tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in a cup of water. You can add one teaspoon each of ginger juice and honey to the solution and drink this two times a day. 16. Camphor & mustard oil It is extensively used for the management of asthma. You can use some mustard oil also for this purpose. Heat some mustard oil with camphor and gently massage the warm oil on the chest and upper back areas to get relief from the inflammation and blockage [12] . 17. Clove One of the most effective ways to treat asthma is by using clove. The essential oil produced from clove help reduce symptoms such as wheezing, chest pain, and difficulty breathing [11] . Boil few cloves in water along with honey. Drink this mixture at least twice in a day to suppress the condition. 18. Onion Consume onions in a good amount as it helps in getting relief from asthma and its symptoms. With the anti-inflammatory properties possessed by onions, they help in clearing the air passages [13] . On A Final Note... While choosing the right home remedy to treat asthma, make sure to go over the possible reactions or side effects it can cause you. It is best to discuss with a doctor before incorporating the remedies into your lifestyle. View Article References [1] Barnett, D. J., Mommers, M., Penders, J., Arts, I. C., & Thijs, C. (2019). Intestinal archaea inversely associated with childhood asthma.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. [2] Mirzakhani, H., Carey, V. J., Zeiger, R., Bacharier, L. B., O'Connor, G. T., Schatz, M. X., ... & Litonjua, A. A. (2019). Impact of parental asthma, prenatal maternal asthma control, and vitamin D status on risk of asthma and recurrent wheeze in 3yearold children.Clinical & Experimental Allergy. [3] Johnston, R. A., & Shore, S. A. (2019). Obesity and asthma: What have we learned from animal models?. InMechanisms and Manifestations of Obesity in Lung Disease(pp. 111-142). Academic Press. [4] Ledogar, R. J., Penchaszadeh, A., Garden, C. C., & Garden, I. (2000). Asthma and Latino cultures: different prevalence reported among groups sharing the same environment.American Journal of Public Health,90(6), 929. [5] Pachter, L. M., Cloutier, M. M., & Bernstein, B. A. (1995). Ethnomedical (folk) remedies for childhood asthma in a mainland Puerto Rican community.Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine,149(9), 982-988. [6] Dolan, C. M., Fraher, K. E., Bleecker, E. R., Borish, L., Chipps, B., Hayden, M. L., ... & TENOR Study Group. (2004). Design and baseline characteristics of the epidemiology and natural history of asthma: Outcomes and Treatment Regimens (TENOR) study: a large cohort of patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma.Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology,92(1), 32-39. [7] Chipps, B. E., Zeiger, R. S., Borish, L., Wenzel, S. E., Yegin, A., Hayden, M. L., ... & Weiss, S. T. (2012). Key findings and clinical implications from The Epidemiology and Natural History of Asthma: Outcomes and Treatment Regimens (TENOR) study.Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,130(2), 332-342. [8] Slavin, R. G., Haselkorn, T., Lee, J. H., Zheng, B., Deniz, Y., Wenzel, S. E., & TENOR Study Group. (2006). Asthma in older adults: observations from the epidemiology and natural history of asthma: outcomes and treatment regimens (TENOR) study.Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology,96(3), 406-414. [9] Savithramma, N., Sulochana, C., & Rao, K. N. (2007). Ethnobotanical survey of plants used to treat asthma in Andhra Pradesh, India.Journal of Ethnopharmacology,113(1), 54-61. [10] Singh, B. B., Khorsan, R., Vinjamury, S. P., Der-Martirosian, C., Kizhakkeveettil, A., & Anderson, T. M. (2007). Herbal treatments of asthma: a systematic review.Journal of Asthma,44(9), 685-698. [11] Bielory, L., & Lupoli, K. (1999). Herbal interventions in asthma and allergy.Journal of Asthma,36(1), 1-65. [12] ien, T., Storr, O., & Johnsen, R. (2010). Do early intake of fish and fish oil protect against eczema and doctor-diagnosed asthma at 2 years of age? A cohort study.Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health,64(2), 124-129. [13] Samarghandian, S., Farkhondeh, T., & Samini, F. (2017). Honey and health: A review of recent clinical research.Pharmacognosy research,9(2), 121. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran has rejected media reports that the United States demands cancelling the deal on purchasing Russias S-400 missile system by the end of the first week of June, A has reported. "Nothing of that kind was at the official level. In March the US renewed its previous proposal on supplies of Patriot missile systems. Actually, we believe that this concerned this proposal," the Haber TV channel cited Kiran as saying. At the meeting with representatives of Turkish mass media in Washington, the deputy foreign minister noted that Ankara opposed the U.S. sanctions under the "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act" because the deal with Moscow on the S-400 had been signed before the law was passed. The CNN quoted sources at the Department of State as saying Turkey had a two-week deadline to make up its mind regarding the purchase of U.S. fighter-bombers F-35 and Russias air defense systems S-400. Washington demands Turkey sever the S-400 contract by the end of the first week of June or face negative consequences. Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan signed a decree appointing Vahe Ghazaryan as deputy chief of the Armenian Police and commander to the countrys police troops, the presidents press office reports. He succeeded Levon Yeranosyan in office. The later is now being tried for abusing powers with committing violence and using arms and special means. He is also charged with pocketing financial resources from the polices social packages, ARKA recalls. The students' first assignment was to create videos for the local animal shelter. "I wanted to start with something that grabbed the students," said Erin Johnson, who is a visiting assistant professor of art and of digital and computational studies. This is the second year she has taught the digital and computational studies class. "And they did, they loved it," Johnson continued. "We went to Midcoast Humane many times during class and outside of class, and a lot of them became especially invested in particular animals." Johnson asked her students to pair up and create short films about different aspects of the shelter that the public might not know. Working with Midcoast Humane's marketing manager, Jane Siviski, the students went down several paths. One pair made a video to explain the organization's transport program, Welcome ME Home, which delivers animals from southern US to Maine. Another video features kitten yoga (in which cats assist nearby yoga studio classes). A third short documentary explains the program's efforts to find homes for "overlooked" animals in a program called No Paw Left Behind. "We began by collectively discussing the needs of the organization and our key messages, and after that, their creativity led the way," Siviski said. Besides spending time with staff to learn about the organization's culture, scope of work, and messaging objectives,Siviski said, "The students spent plenty of time with the animals, getting gorgeous footage they incorporated into their videos. Under Professor Johnsons guidance they learned the techniques that helped bring each subject to life." Lucas Johnson 22 In April, Johnson was one of several people who testified at the state house in Augusta in support of the bill LD 1024, which ensures that mental health education be taught to students in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the state. "If implemented, this bill would assist Maine in addressing the tragedy of teen mental illness, and bring the discussions surrounding mental health out of the shadows and into the forefront of our society," Johnson said. Johnson already has experience fighting for legislation of this kind. In his home state of Virginia, he helped advocate for a new law requiring mental health instruction for ninth- and tenth-graders. It was signed into law in 2018. National statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that up to one in five adolescents between the ages of thirteen and eighteen have a mental disorder. In Johnson's testimony, he cited even more local figures: Maines rate of major depressive episodes among adolescents aged twelve to seventeen is at 11.2 percent, compared to 9.9 percent nationally." Brownie Carson, a democrat who represents Brunswick and nearby towns in the state senate, said in his testimony that news reports and clinical studies both demonstrate that mental health education is essential in today's world. "Teaching our kids how to be more conversant about mental health...will help kids who are experiencing mental health problems to recognize them and seek out counseling and peer support more often," he said. "It will help students to avoid the isolation that so often afflicts young people who experience mental illness, and it may help friends and fellow studentsand teachers, toorecognize signs and symptoms that a classmate may be in trouble, and to offer a hand." Johnson said he was motivated to help bring mental health education to schools after hearing from peers about their own challenges with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or suicidal thoughts. "Mental illness discriminates against no one, and strikes everyone, making it a struggle far too many of us can relate to," he said. Nasca bridge-spout vessel with condor, ca.100-300 C.E. (Bowdoin College Museum of Art, 1969.86) "So much of archaeology is about the material," Kohut said recently. "We study the material remains from past people, and fieldwork is so important to learning about archaeology. So I'm trying to bring that experience of archaeology to students so they can have a better sense of what it's like." In her Descendents of the Sun course, students examine 12,000 years of cultural transformation in the South American Andes. Starting with the first settlers in the region about 18,000 years ago and ending with the Spanish conquest, the class studies religious movements and state formation from the Moche and Nazca people to the Wari, Tiwanaku, and, finally, the Inca. To make this extraordinary history more accessible to her students, Kohut has them work withand createboth cutting-edge and ancient technology. This semester, they spun yarn with a drop spindleand examined textile fibers under a microscope. They studied ancient ceramics, and made digitized 3D models of them. Alex Gates 22, who took the class, said, "You can read books and papers about artifacts and history all day, but making something those people made thousands of years ago made me feel like I was connecting with the past on a deeper level." 3D Renderings of Andean Vessels The proposed catchment area for Brandons new K-8 school will help alleviate population pressure at three nearby schools. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Brandon School Division trustee Kevan Sumner speaks to a room full of community members on Wednesday about the proposed catchment area for Maryland Park School. (Melissa Verge/The Brandon Sun) The proposed catchment area for Brandons new K-8 school will help alleviate population pressure at three nearby schools. Brandon School Division trustee Kevan Sumner presented the proposed area to a packed room of approximately 100 community members on Wednesday evening during an information session. The proposed catchment area for Maryland Park School outlined in blue. (Submitted) There are 373 students who currently attend King George School, Riverheights School and George Fitton School that will now fall within the catchment area of Maryland Park School. "Riverheights weve been talking about for years being a school thats really critical in terms of being so close to capacity," Sumner said. "King George and George Fitton are also pretty full right now, so it will open up a lot of space in those schools." There are 161 students from Riverheights School who will now fall within the proposed catchment area for Maryland Park, 124 from George Fitton and 88 from King George. Community members have until May 31 to submit feedback on the catchment recommendation, which they can do online through the Brandon School Division website. "Were certainly hoping people that didnt make it here tonight for whatever reason will take advantage of the opportunity to provide input online." On June 10, the catchment area will be approved by the board. When creating the proposed area they wanted to focus on creating a walkable school, he said, get the best value for their transportation and to build a sense of community identity around Maryland Park. "We wanted this new school to be the heart of the community, really be a centre for residents that live within that walking distance." It will have a capacity to hold 450 students, and expand to hold 650. Although there are only 373 students currently attending other schools that will fall within the proposed catchment area, there are an additional 77 students in the area who are attending schools of choice right now, not in their proposed catchment areas. They anticipate that some of those students may choose to go to Maryland Park School now, Sumner said. "We expect some families will prefer the neighbourhood school even if theyre going elsewhere." As it alleviates stress in those three schools in the division, there are other schools close to capacity and it may require adjustments to the existing catchments, he said. They estimate that the new school will accommodate four years of enrolment growth in the division. It will temporarily relieve capacity issues, but they expect to be in a similar situation four years from now, he said. Parents can submit a request to attend one of the other schools until Jan. 30. Otherwise, if they fall within the new school catchment area, they will automatically default into it. The school is set to open for its first batch of students in September 2020. The 65,660-square-foot school will include a child care centre, a life skills suite, band room and an industrial arts and home economics lab. mverge@brandonsun.com Twitter: @Melverge5 OTTAWA - China's ambassador to Canada says the bilateral relationship is now at "rock bottom" compared to any time since diplomatic ties were first established decades ago. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ambassador of China to Canada Lu Shaye speaks during an interview with the Canadian Press at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Ottawa on Thursday, May 24, 2018. China's ambassador to Canada says the bilateral relationship is now at "rock bottom" compared to any time since diplomatic ties were first established decades ago. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - China's ambassador to Canada says the bilateral relationship is now at "rock bottom" compared to any time since diplomatic ties were first established decades ago. In prepared text for a speech Thursday, Lu Shaye said he's saddened Canada-China relations are at what he called a "freezing point." Lu's remarks come at a time of heightened tensions following the December arrest of Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on an extradition request by the United States. The Huawei executive's arrest has enraged China, which has since detained two Canadians on allegations of endangering Chinese national security, sentenced two Canadians to death for drug-related convictions and blocked key agricultural shipments. Lu did not mention Meng's arrest but he said the China-Canada relationship is now facing serious difficulties. He said China has long valued its relationship with Canada, particularly since it was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic ties with the Asian country. "For clear reasons, the current China-Canada relations are facing serious difficulties and are situated at the rock bottom since the two countries have established diplomatic relations," said a copy of Lu's speech, which was posted on the Chinese Embassy's website. "It saddens us that the current China-Canada relations are 'at a freezing point' and face huge difficulties. The knots shall be untied by those who got them tied." He continued by urging Canada to view China's development in a "fair and objective" manner and to respect its concerns. Lu also warned Canada to "stop the moves that undermine the interests of China." In recent months, Beijing's envoy has used strong words when talking about the relationship. In January, he told Canadian journalists that Meng's arrest was the "backstabbing" of a friend and said it was evidence of white supremacism. Lu also warned of repercussions if the federal government bars Huawei from selling equipment to build a Canadian 5G wireless network. He made the remarks in Toronto at an event hosted by the Globe and Mail. The document said former prime minister Jean Chretien was in attendance as was Darryl White, chief executive of BMO. OTTAWA - Applications for temporary resident visas issued to visitors, students and temporary workers in Canada have more than quadrupled since 2015, stretching the Immigration Department's ability to process them, according to a federal report. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Minister of Immigration Ahmed Hussen makes an announcement in Toronto on January 14, 2019. Canada is seeing a significant spike in demand for temporary Canadian visas -- a phenomenon immigration officials say is due in part to an increase in international tourists to Canada. But advocates who fight for migrant workers and students say the surge highlights Canada's increasing reliance on temporary workers who don't have the same rights and protections as other immigrants to Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn OTTAWA - Applications for temporary resident visas issued to visitors, students and temporary workers in Canada have more than quadrupled since 2015, stretching the Immigration Department's ability to process them, according to a federal report. The Immigration Department's annual plan shows that in the fiscal year that ended March 2018, officials issued more than 5.7 million temporary visas and electronic travel authorizations, an increase from the 1.3 million issued two years earlier. Federal officials say the surge is due in part to an increase in international tourism in Canada something the federal government has been trying hard to achieve. "The promotion of tourism to Canada and strengthening people-to-people ties has been a part of Minister (Ahmed) Hussen's message when travelling abroad," said Hursh Jaswal, a spokesman for the immigration minister. "As a government we have promoted tourism across the globe through various ministries ... At IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) we have also focused on tourism through our 'apply early' campaign and promoting how to apply as a visitor through our social media channels." Numbers provided by the department show more than 1.3 million visitor visas were issued in 2018 a 45-per-cent increase over 2015, for one category of entry permit. This figure does not include the number of electronic travel authorizations, known as eTAs, issued to tourists during that same period, under a streamlined process for low-risk temporary visitors from certain countries, including the United States. As of Sept. 30, 2018, more than 9.9 million eTAs had been issued since 2015. The spike in demand for temporary visas has created logistical challenges for the department in processing applications. To help with this, 17 new overseas visa-application centres have been opened and there are plans for further expansions this year. Updated technology is also allowing visa offices to move applications around digitally to be processed at visa offices that aren't as busy. But the rise in demand is also setting off alarms with advocates for temporary workers and international students. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change says the numbers highlight Canada's increasing reliance on migrant workers who don't have the same rights and protections as other immigrants. Syed Hussan, co-ordinator with the alliance, says migrant workers and students should be given permanent status upon arrival in Canada. "We have a multi-tiered immigration system where people are coming into the country with non-permanent-resident status on arrival, and that lack of permanent-resident status is tied to limited access to rights and services," he said. Migrant farm workers, for example, are not allowed to unionize, do not make minimum wage and are not paid overtime. There have also been a number of documented cases across the country of these workers facing labour exploitation, human-rights abuses and squalid housing situations. International students also face barriers in Canada, Hussan said. His group is presenting a petition with over 50,000 signatures to Hussen's constituency office on Friday highlighting the case of one international student facing deportation because he exceeded the maximum number of hours he was allowed to work in a week. Jobandeep Sandhu, an international student from India, was arrested and handed over to immigration enforcement after Ontario police discovered he had been working as a commercial truck driver longer than the 20-hour weekly maximum permitted for international students studying in a public post-secondary institution. "What is happening to me is happening to a lot of people. International students don't get the same labour rights that everyone else gets. There is a broader structural issue in our laws that limit these rights to only a few." Sandhu wrote on his petition page. Hussan, the migrant-workers' advocate, says this case is just one example of many in which temporary workers and students are not afforded the same basic rights available to all other newcomers to Canada. "They need to have the same rights as every other immigrant in the country and that is status on arrival. Otherwise we will have these stories of exploitation and abuse, and I can tell you so many." Follow @ReporterTeresa on Twitter. HALIFAX - It has been years since a major tropical storm wreaked havoc in Canada, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre is warning against complacency. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 23/5/2019 (949 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Meteorologist Bob Robichaud discusses the potential impacts of the upcoming 2017 hurricane season at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S. on May 25, 2017. The Canadian Hurricane Centre is urging citizens to guard against any complacency arising due to the years that have passed since the most powerful tropical weather wreaked havoc in a coastal community. The United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its latest hurricane activity outlook Thursday, predicting nine to 15 named storms this season, with four to eight becoming hurricanes and two to four being major hurricanes. Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist at the centre, noted today the overall frequency was similar to last year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan HALIFAX - It has been years since a major tropical storm wreaked havoc in Canada, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre is warning against complacency. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its hurricane outlook Thursday, predicting nine to 15 named storms this season, with four to eight becoming hurricanes and two to four being major hurricanes. Bob Robichaud of the Canadian centre noted that's similar to last year's hurricane season, when only two storms hit Canada, including post-tropical storm Chris, which made landfall in Newfoundland in July 2018. However, Robichaud warns that some Atlantic Canadians may be forgetting storms like post-tropical storm Arthur, which snapped trees and caused massive power outages in 2014, and hurricane Juan's widespread wrath in 2003. And he reminded journalists attending a briefing in Halifax about hurricane Michael, which flattened parts of the Florida panhandle last October. The Halifax-based centre helped create Environment Canada's recently launched smart phone app WeatherCAN, and recommends people begin tracking storms as soon as they start and then monitor for shifts in direction and intensity. "What we advocate is for people to really stay in tune with weather information because the forecast can change as the storms are approaching," Robichaud said. Robichaud says studies show that complacency levels rise about seven years after a storm like hurricane Juan, and that as a result people do less to prepare. "People tend not to take any preparedness action if they haven't had any kind of hurricane in recent years," said Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist. "For us it's been five years since any major impactful storm ... so it's even more important to take the necessary precautions to get ready." The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo has published a simple guide for Canadians on basic measures to prepare in particular for flood risk from extreme weather. The centre has repeatedly pointed out that without basic measures, basement flooding can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage during hurricanes. Its publications include a Home Flood Protection Program that begins with such simple steps as testing sump pumps, cleaning out eavestroughs and maintaining backwater valves. More advanced measures include removing obstructions from basement drains and creating grading to move water away from homes. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to early November. Robichaud said hurricanes tend to "feed on" warmer waters, and as result the centre is closely monitoring those trends. The meteorologist said as summer progresses it's projected the water will warm in the eastern Atlantic and become warmer than average. In addition, Robichaud said the Atlantic Ocean continues to be in an overall period of high hurricane activity that hasn't yet come to the end of a cycle. Follow (at)mtuttoncporg on Twitter. The deputy general secretary of the Mandate trade union, Gerry Light, says that landlords need to face the reality between disproportionate rents and actual sales. He was speaking following the news that the group that owns the Dorothy Perkins-Evans-Miss Selfridge stores said it was closing six shops, including in Cork, Dublin, and Galway with the loss of between 125-150 jobs in Ireland. The closures are part of owner Philip Greens make-or-break plan to restructure his Arcadia fashion empire would see the closure of six stores in the Republic: four in Dublin, one in Cork and one in Galway. The closures will span Arcadias retail brands, including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis. The flagship Topshop outlet at St Stephens Green in Dublin will be among the closures, as will the brands shop in the Jervis Shopping Centre in Dublin. Mr Light told RTE radios Morning Ireland that a number of factors had led to a seismic shift in shopping trends including the rise of online shopping. This was not a surprise. It is a bleak day for traditional retail. The decision did not come as a surprise, he said, but it was still a shock for staff and their dependents. High rents and landlords who wont face the reality of rents that are disproportionate to sales along with unfair taxation in relation to online sales, were also factors, he added. Mr Light said the union is not certain of the exact number of jobs that will be lost in Ireland, but he estimates it is between 125 and 150. One of the positive aspects of the announcement on Wednesday, he said, is the plan to actively deploy as many staff as possible. Unfortunately this is not the first closure within the Arcadia group, but it does mean that there is already in place an agreed voluntary redundancy package, but in this case this will be a compulsory redundancy. The full list of Irish stores is as follows: An 18-year-old youth has been denied bail after a loaded sub-machine gun and a silencer were found wrapped in a tea towel in a wheelie bin in Dublin. Mark Skelly with an address at Bulfin House, Dublin 8, was charged with unlawful possession of a 9mm Ingram Mach pattern sub-machine gun, a sound suppressor or silencer, and one round of 9mm Luger ammunition, on May 21 at a house in Ballyfermot. The charges were contrary to Section 27 of the Firearms Act and followed an investigation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Special Crime Taskforce. He was charged this afternoon and brought to appear before Judge Bryan Smyth at Dublin District Court. Detective Garda Donal Donoghue said the defendant made no reply when he was charged at Kilmainham station at 1.20pm today. Objecting to bail, he said the offences can, on conviction, carry a sentence of up to 14 years. He alleged Mr Skelly was in control of the machine gun and silencer which were wrapped in a tea towel. He said they were moved to a house in Ballyfermot and placed in a bin. Detective Garda Donoghue said there was one round of ammunition in the breach of the firearm. The defendant was not at the house at the time of the weapon seizure. He agreed with Mr Skellys barrister Donal Pattison that the investigation was on-going and forensic analysis of the items seized had to be carried out. Pleading for bail, the barrister proposed that his client could undertake to abide by strict terms including a curfew and residency conditions. He said Mr Skelly would sign on daily at a Garda station and provide his mobile phone number. Judge Smyth said Mr Skelly faced very serious charges and he was not disposed to granting bail. Legal aid was granted after Judge Smyth was told the youth was unemployed and on social welfare. He was remanded in custody to appear on May 30 at Cloverhill District Court. Two men, aged 47 and 52, arrested at the time of the search were released by gardai without charge from custody on Wednesday evening. Files are to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Gardai in Dublin have made 14 arrests and seized 42,000 worth of drugs in a four-day operation which finished today. The operation targeting street dealers in Ballymun started on Monday and involved 14 house searches where 14 males were arrested. One of two boys on trial accused of the murder of Anastasia Kriegel told gardai that she cried and repeated: "No, no, don't do this," after his co-accused "flipped her" and started to remove her clothes, the Central Criminal Court has heard. Boy B also told gardai that he saw his co-accused Boy A on top of Ana, choking her as he took off her clothes. Boy B drew a picture of what he remembered for detectives and signed it. During his final interview at Finglas garda station in May 2018 after he was arrested on suspicion of Ana's murder, Boy B gave a changing account of what he saw when he visited an abandoned house with Ana and his friend Boy A. The accused, who are both 14, cannot be named because they are minors. They have each pleaded not guilty to murdering the 14-year-old Kildare schoolgirl at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road, Lucan on May 14 last year. Boy A is further charged with the 14-year-olds aggravated sexual assault in a manner that involved serious violence to her. He has pleaded not guilty to that count. The jury has been viewing video footage of Boy B's interviews on May 24 and 25, 2018. In the fifth and final interview, Detective Garda Donal Daly told Boy B he needs to tell the truth, adding: "This is real life, not Anime, tell me everything you know." Ana Kriegel Boy B said Boy A and Ana first crossed the ditch into the field where the abandoned house is located while Boy B dropped behind to give them space. They walked to the house and Boy B went inside, walked around, picked up a white stick in the corridor area and then put it down. He said he walked out and that was when Boy A and Ana started walking in. Boy B followed them but Boy A, he said, turned around and said, "it's fine,". So Boy B left, he said. After he left he heard Ana "screech" and ran "as fast as I could around the corner". He said he realised he was safe and then realised the scream came from the house but he thought Boy A would be able to protect Ana because he is "big and strong and powerful". Boy B said he went to the nearby park ranger's hut, had a drink and a sit down and then went home, did his homework and watched a series. He added: "But I could barely sleep worrying about what happened." When he heard Ana was missing, he said, "it hit my mind that [Boy A] was with her." '...bruises on his back' He added: "The next day [Boy A] had bruises on his back and injuries and I was wondering what happened and that is why I stopped talking to him." When he heard on the Thursday that Ana was found dead at the abandoned house he realised: "It was either [Boy A] or someone else. Since he was in the house my thought was that he ran away and something else happened to Ana but it turns out that wasn't true." Det Gda Daly asked him to think back to the house, telling him: "I think you have a little more to tell us." Boy B began again, saying he was in the house by himself, went to the kitchen first, then the "really broken down dirty type of area" and then to a corridor next to the kitchen. In the corridor he picked up a "white plank" and looked into a room with a carpet but didn't see anything so he went outside. Again, he said, he met Ana and Boy A who were now walking in. He followed them but, he said, Boy A told him he would be "ok", so Boy B left. "That was the last time I saw [Boy A] and Ana that day." Det Gda Daly asked Boy B to tell him "everything, everyone, every movement." Boy B recounted the same movements and agreed with Det Gda Daly that the carpeted room was the one where Ana's body was found. He said: "I looked into it but I didn't go in." He denied looking into the room while Boy A and Ana were in there. Det Gda Daly asked Boy B to tell, "the truth, the truth now." Boy B then said Boy A and Ana were "just outside the room" when Boy A turned and said: "You can go now, we will be alright." When Det Gda Daly asked why he left, he said, "[Boy A] told me to." Det Gda Daly said: "But after walking all that way I can't see why you just turned around." Boy B said he was just there to support his friend and didn't think much of it. Det Gda Daly told Boy B that he was holding back and asked him to "please" tell the truth. The accused then said he saw Boy A and Ana in the room together but Boy A told him to leave. He said he turned to Ana and then walked out. "I didn't see what happened next," he said. The garda asked him to tell him what he saw Boy A and Ana do. He said he saw Boy A look at Ana, she looked at him, and then Boy A put his arm around her and he "kind of hugged her I guess." He said he didn't know what was happening and left. He described Boy A putting his arm around Ana as "weird" and added: "I thought something was about to happen so I left." Det Gda Daly told Boy B he just wanted the truth and added: "You know you just haven't told me everything." Boy B then told gardai that when Boy A put his arm around Ana he, "kind of flipped her and that is when I ran away." When asked to describe the "flip" he said: "He kind of like put his arm around her, flipped her and then he started like putting his hands like on her and he put his right arm on her neck and then he put the other hand on her shirt." 'He choked her and put his hand on her shirt' He continued, saying: "He choked her and put his hand on her shirt and that is when I started out of the house and that is the last time I saw Ana." Det Gda Daly said he could not believe "for one second" that he ran away when he saw Boy A holding Ana by the neck and pulling her shirt. "I just can't see how that would happen," he said and added: "The truth please! Just the truth. Every detail that you have." Boy B then said he walked down the corridor to the room where Ana and Boy A were. He saw Boy A "flip" Ana and start to choke her. He said: "When I saw that I instantly knew what was happening and I was shook. I didn't know what to do." He said that as Boy A was taking off her clothes he looked at the door where Boy B was standing. Boy B said: "I sprinted away and [Boy A] didn't follow me. That's when I heard the scream." He was asked to describe the scene again and said that Ana was starting to cry and kept saying: "No, no don't do this." He said Boy A first took off her jumper, then her t-shirt. "It looked horrifying," he said. He described it again, saying: "First he started to choke her, then the jumper, then the shirt and just before he got to the bra I ran away and that is when I heard the scream." He described it again, saying she was lying on the floor, Boy A was on top of her, choking her as he took off her clothes. Boy B then drew a picture of what he remembered and signed it. The drawing was shown to the jury by Det Gda Daly under examination by Brendan Grehan SC for the prosecution. Boy B said he couldn't tell gardai anything about a sexual assault on Ana and when asked if he had told the truth he said: "That is all. That is when I ran away." Next Monday the jury will hear interviews given by Boy B following a subsequent arrest on July 7, 2018. The trial continues in front of Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of eight men and four women. The senior barrister who led the prosecution team that secured the conviction of 50-year-old Patrick Quirke for the murder of Bobby Mr Moonlight Ryan received more than 155,000 in fees for his work in the case. New figures released by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in response to an FOI request show that Michael Bowman SC received 156,274 (ex VAT) for his work in the case. In the longest-running murder trial in the history of the State at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Bowman presented the circumstantial evidence that led to the conviction of Tipperary farmer, Mr Quirke. In his closing speech, Mr Bowman told the jury: The evidence has been laid painstakingly before you over the last 13 weeks. When you weave those strands together it is of sufficient strength to bear the burden and weight placed upon it. The 156,274 is made up of Mr Bowman receiving a brief fee of 8,316 to take on the case and the first day in court along with a refresher fee of 2,000 for each day in court after the first day. The total bill to the DPP for the three-strong counsel team was 297,841 (ex VAT) with Mr Bowmans colleague, David Humphries BL receiving 95,447 for his work on the case. Mr Humphries's fees were made up of a brief fee of 5,544 and a refresher fee of 1,334. In its FOI response, the DPP FOI unit didnt name Mr Bowman or Mr Humphries due to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The bill to the taxpayer for Mr Quirkes defence team will be higher as it consisted of two senior counsel, Bernard Condon SC and Lorcan Staines SC along with Edward Doocey BL. The defence barristers were instructed by one of the best known criminal defence legal firms in the country, Michael Staines & Co. Mr Condon and Mr Staines would receive the same level of fees as Mr Bowman showing that the senior counsel on both sides of the case cost a combined 468,816. Mr Bowman led the State prosecution team in the Quirke case but has established his reputation in the law library as the most in-demand defence barrister in the country. Last year, Mr Bowman was the highest paid barrister under the Criminal Legal Aid scheme earning 533,460 (ex VAT) in fees and this followed Mr Bowman being ranked the top paid criminal defence barrister under the legal aid scheme in 2017 when he received 460,289 in fees. Last year, Mr Bowman represented accused persons in some of the most notorious crimes to come before the criminal courts in recent times. Mr Bowman represented Estonian hitman, Imre Arakas (aged 60) of Sopruse, Tallinn, who was contracted by an international crime cartel to murder James Gately. Mr Arakas was jailed for six years. Mr Bowman also represented Eoin Berkley (aged 25) of Hampton Wood Way, Finglas, Dublin, who was jailed for 14 years for the repeated rape of a Spanish student in July 2017. A young teenage boy has gone missing from his home in Cork city. Gardai in Mayfield are asking for help to find 14-year-old Danny Coffey who is missing from Glanmire, Cork. Danny was last seen on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 8, at Ryans Supervalu, Hazelwood, Glanmire. He is described as being five foot five inches tall with a medium build, brown hair and green eyes. When last seen he was wearing a black tracksuit and white runners. Anyone who has seen Danny or who can assist in locating him is asked to contact Mayfield Garda Station on 021 - 4558510, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. A post room worker accused of disclosing sensitive information when he worked in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) told gardai he had raised security concerns about people reading files, a trial has heard. Service officer, Jonathan Lennon, 35, from Clonee, Dublin 15, denies breaking the Official Secrets Act in connection with criminal proceedings resulting from the 2013 murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly during an internal feud in the IRA. Mr Lennon is accused of disclosing information without authorisation about the arrest of a named suspect, on September 7, 2017, and the following day. His trial before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court continues tomorrow. The State has closed its case today and the defendant does not intend to testify, Judge Hughes was told. Closing speeches are to be made by prosecution and defence counsel. A suspect was arrested on September 8, 2017, and gardai believed he had been alerted beforehand and that information about another man may have been disclosed, the trial heard. In his eighth and final interview, Mr Lennon told gardai, If I had given them such information why did they not go on the run?. He disagreed that CCTV evidence showed him looking in the Butterly file and putting an envelope away as his supervisor approached. He said that was a coincidence and it could have been a personal letter that got sent to staff. He denied ingratiating himself with a solicitor in the DPPs office who had prepared the Butterly case file. The court heard he did not like one of the suspects who owed him money. He was also asked about disclosing information. You said I was passing on information to the IRA, I definitely did not, he replied to Detective Garda Martin Geraghty. He was also questioned about messages mentioning revenge and Im just going to sit here and let karma f*** you up. He said he did not know what that was about. In another message, he said: just got the best news and was asked to explain that. "I don't know, I think at the time I was going for clerical officer but I can't remember," he replied. He told the detective he did not know what it was about. He said he also raised his security concerns in work about people being able to read files. Everyone was reading files, I was just following suit, I raised the security concerns that we should not be able to look at files and have our phones, he told the detective. Two brothers, Damien and Conor Metcalfe, had been contacted by the defendant on the day before the arrest of a named suspect. The trial heard the brothers had since been convicted of IRA membership. Conor Metcalfe, aged 28, with an address at Monastery Park, Clondalkin, Dublin was found guilty in December of membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, on 24 November 2015. He was jailed by the non-jury Special Criminal Court for four years, Judge Hughes was told. Damien Metcalfe, aged 33, with an address at Blackditch Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was also convicted of the same charge. At the time he was living at Monastery Park, in Clondalkin. He is due to be sentenced on tomorrow. Messages sent via SMS, WhatsApp and Facebook messenger were decoded from Mr Lennon's phone. The trial has heard Mr Lennon he had bought Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association badges for 20 from Damien Metcalfe after arranging to meet him in a cemetery in Muldhuddart, a day before the suspect was arrested. The court heard he said he often went for walks with his friend Conor Metcalfe who had told him not to tell people where he worked. Text messages from his phone used the word "lured" to describe how Mr Butterly was killed. Mr Lennon had told investigating gardai he only spoke about matters already in the public domain. The trial has heard Mr Lennon admitted to gardai he read files about people or incidents known to him. He would have a quick read and put it away, nothing sinister, he said. If there was a file, I would pick it up and have a flick for pictures.proper nosey stuff." He had taken photos of files if they shared the name of other people known to him. The civil servant also saw some of the Butterly file but claimed he only read the introduction. He told one interviewing detective, I had a peek at a few pages. Mr Lennon commenced working in the DPP's office on January 3, 2017, and it was his role to collect, deliver and circulate files in the building. Dissident republican Butterly was shot dead in view of students waiting for their school bus on the afternoon of March 6, 2013, outside The Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, Co Meath. It led to a number of trials and some men had been convicted of the murder and others of firearms offences or IRA membership. Defence Forces members, their families and retired military personnel are expected to vote en masse against Fine Gael in both the local and European elections. The Irish Examiner has learnt that already many soldiers, sailors and air crews have used their postal votes to vote against Fine Gael candidates. Their families and retired members of the Defence Forces are likely to follow suit on Friday when polling gets underway around the country. A major campaign has been launched on social media against the Government in recent weeks by a number of groups associated with military personnel, including those who organised two protest marches in Dublin and Cork to highlight the near-poverty being endured by military families. They have been angered that the Government hasn't moved to improve pay and conditions for Defence Forces personnel, who are the poorest paid public servants. There were hopes that the Public Service Pay Commission (PSPC) would recommend substantial increases in allowances for Defence Forces personnel, especially in the run-up to the elections. There were noises from Government circles that an announcement would be made this week, but following leaks about the PSPC recommendations nothing has emerged from the Government. A number of serving Defence Forces members told the Irish Examiner that their colleagues, across the ranks, had been talking openly about how they used their voting right to send a distinct message to Government and that would be repeated if they failed to improve military pay and conditions before the next General Election. "If they (the Government) want to pull a rabbit out of the hat now it's too late. We have voted. If anything, the leaks from the Public Service Pay Commission have galvanised opinion even more," one serving member of the Defence Forces said. "We've all had enough. More and more of my colleagues are saying they want out. We're being treated like shit," said another. The journal Industrial Relation News (IRN) reported that the PSPC was recommending a 10% increase in the Military Service Allowance (MSA). This caused anger among the Defence Forces rank-and-file, as it worked out at an increase of just 96c a day before tax. A former Lord Mayor of Cork has hit out at 'cowards' who have twice damaged election posters at his house in recent weeks. Both incidents occurred in the early hours of the morning and Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill said that the culprits have "crossed a line" in targeting his family home. Mr Cahill, who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork from 2016 to 2017, put a large poster up outside his home at about 9pm on Wednesday night. By 2.30am this morning, it had been defaced with grey paint. Separately, several of his posters were set on fire on Wednesday evening, with the fire brigade required to respond to these incidents. Mr Cahill criticised the culprits for 'wasting the time' of first responders who attended the scene on Temple Hill in Cork. He said gardai were notified about both incidents and are looking into them. CCTV from nearby businesses is being reviewed in an effort to identify any people or vehicles that may have been involved. Thank you to @CorkCityFire for safely extinguishing the burning of my election posters on Temple Hill last night These criminal cowards wasted the time of our valued first responders pic.twitter.com/hXRM4LSPDz Des Cahill (@CllrDesCahil) May 23, 2019 This week was the second time that Mr Cahill's home has been targeted. At the end of April, several of his posters were painted over and a tin of paint was thrown over a poster at this home. This incident took place at about 4am. The tin of paint was left outside his home and Gardai reviewed CCTV footage from a nearby pub in a bid to identify the culprit but were unsuccessful in doing so. He said: "This is the second time that the poster has been obliterated. "It is a line that should not be crossed. There is always some shenanigans with posters - every candidate has to deal with that - but targeting my home crossed a line." "This incident happened at 2.30am and the previous one was 4am. They are cowards doing it at night." Mr Cahill's wife and children were at home during both incidents. He said that his family have been shaken by the incidents. Mr Cahill said: "It is unsettling. I am in the public eye, I put myself out there so I have no problem engaging with people and speaking for myself but these types of actions, in the early hours of the morning, are cowardly. It is people who have no interest in democracy." The incident was criticised by a number of Mr Cahill's election rivals - Labour candidate Peter Horgan and Green candidate Lorna Bogue both spoke out on Twitter to criticise the destruction of posters and to offer support. A number of other local election candidates in Cork city have also reported issues with posters and election materials in recent weeks. Sinn Fein councillor, Eoghan Jeffers, has spoken out on social media about individuals 'repeatedly' destroying billboards he had placed throughout the south side of the city, while campaigner Noreen Murphy said she was targeted at her home, too, with manure and farm waste dumped on her car. Gardai are appealing to the public for assistance in tracing the whereabouts of a missing 17-year-old in Dublin. Clinton Darcy (also known as Clinton Kanda) was last seen in the Clondalkin area around 7pm on Monday. The Data Protection Commissioner is investigating whether Google has breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the way it processes user data to provide personalised online advertising. The investigation follows a number of complaints, including one from Dr Johnny Ryan of private web browser Brave, who has claimed that Googles DoubleClick/Authorized Buyers system is responsible for the "most massive leakage of personal data recorded so far". It has been claimed that DoubleClick/Authorized Buyers is installed on over 8.4 million websites, and broadcasts personal data about visitors to the sites to over 2,000 companies, hundreds of billions of times a day. The data can include peoples locations, inferred religious, sexual, political characteristics, what they are reading, watching, and listening to online, and unique codes that allow long term profiles about each person to be built up over time, Brave said in a statement. It further said there is no control over what happens to the data once broadcast. Surveillance capitalism is about to become obsolete, said Dr Ryan. The Irish Data Protection Commissions action signals that now, nearly one year after the GDPR was introduced, a change is coming that goes beyond just Google. We need to reform online advertising to protect privacy, and to protect advertisers and publishers from legal risk under the GDPR, he said. In a statement, the DPC said: "The purpose of the inquiry is to establish whether processing of personal data carried out at each stage of an advertising transaction is in compliance with the relevant provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation. "The GDPR principles of transparency and data minimisation, as well as Google's retention practices, will also be examined." A Google spokesman said the company will engage fully with the DPC's investigation and welcome the opportunity for further clarification of Europe's data protection rules for real-time bidding". "Authorised buyers using our systems are subject to stringent policies and standards," the tech giant said. The DPC has the power to fine companies up to 4% of their global annual turnover. Ravi Naik, a partner at ITN Solicitors instructed by the complainants, said he was pleased the DPC was taking action. For too long, the AdTech industry has operated without due regard for the protection of consumer data," he said. It has been a busy day for most of the flight crews in the D-Day Squadron. As of 9:00 am EST, Betsys Biscuit Bomber and Pan Am are both in the air heading for Reykjavik, Iceland after departing Sndre Strmfjord. This outpost was once Sondrestrom Air Force Base, a waypoint code named Bluie West-8 on the Blue Spruce ferry route during WWII. The station is now known more formally as Kangerlussuaq. While there, the two crews spent some time taking a look around the historic site. Commenting on the journey to Greenland, our founding editor, Moreno Aguiari related, The flight was very smooth, mostly on top of the cloud layer. We landed and right after the entire airport came out to greet us. A local tour guy took us inland, deeper in the Kangerlussuaq Fjord. This is the beginning of the vast, massive ice mass that covers Greenlad. The man was great, he even brought vodka for us! Miss Virginia, Legend Airways Liberty, Placid Lassie and Thats All Brother arrived at Prestwick yesterday. As of writing, Thats All Brother had just arrived in Coventry for a Commemorative Air Force event being held there this weekend, and Spirit of Benovia was heading for Dublin, Ireland. A grandmother has been sentenced to four months in jail after being convicted of possessing drugs for sale or supply her car and handbag were searched when a garda in the public office of the local garda station smelt cannabis. Julie Burke, aged 43, of 11 Dromleigh in Bantry, Co Cork, had pleaded guilty at Bantry District Court in March to possession of cannabis but had denied a charge of possession with intent to sell or supply the drug. At that court sitting, Garda Louise Kingston said she was walking through the public office at Bantry Garda Station at 2.45pm on Dec 18 last when she smelled what she believed was cannabis. Garda Kingston said Ms Burke, who is mother to seven children and a grandmother to two, was sitting there with her handbag. Garda Kingston asked Ms Burke if she would consent to a search. That was negative and the garda asked Ms Burke if she had driven to the station. On hearing she had the garda asked to search the car. The court heard that on opening the glove compartment of the car a see-through bag containing what later turned out to be cannabis weed worth 700 fell out. A later search of Ms Burkes handbag showed she had 885 in her possession. Under interview later she said the drugs were for her own personal use and that she had recently taken out a loan with the local credit union. Her solicitor, Flor Murphy, said that while under interview Ms Burke mentioned friends coming around, she never said she supplied them with drugs. He also said a letter from the credit union proved the loan application the previous month for 1,500. However, Judge James McNulty convicted her, saying it was not credible that this grandmother with seven children and two grandchildren had this amount of cannabis for her personal use. Today he sentenced her to four months in prison, saying: I have no doubt that Julie Ann was involved in the sale and supply of drugs locally. Her solicitor, Flor Murphy, said his client has since stopped taking cannabis and is aware of its ill effects, but the judge said a custodial sentence could not be avoided. An appeal was lodged on her own bail bond of 1000 and Ms Burke also paid a 300 fine for simple possession of cannabis having pleaded guilty to that charge in March. He remanded Ms Burke, who had some previous convictions for minor road traffic matters and two historical theft convictions, on continuing bail until May 23 for penalty and also convicted her on the simple possession charge, fining her 300. A grandmother has been sentenced to four months in jail after being convicted of possessing drugs for sale or supply - her car and handbag were searched when a garda in the public office of the local garda station smelt cannabis. Julie Burke, 43, of 11 Dromleigh in Bantry, Co Cork had pleaded guilty at Bantry District Court in March to possession of cannabis but had denied a charge of possession with intent to sell or supply the drug. At that court sitting, Garda Louise Kingston said she was walking through the public office at Bantry Garda Station at 2.45pm on December 18 last when she smelled what she believed was cannabis. Garda Kingston said Ms Burke, who is a mother to seven children and a grandmother to two, was sitting there with her handbag. Garda Kingston asked Ms Burke if she would consent to a search. That was negative and the garda asked Ms Burke if she had driven to the station. On hearing she had, the garda asked to search the car. The court heard that on opening the glove compartment of the car a see-through bag containing what later turned out to be cannabis weed worth 700 fell out. A later search of Ms Burke's handbag showed she had 885 in her possession. Under interview later she said the drugs were for her own personal use and that she had recently taken out a loan with the local credit union. Her solicitor, Flor Murphy, said that while under interview Ms Burke mentioned friends coming around, she never said she supplied them with drugs. He also said a letter from the credit union proved the loan application the previous month for 1,500. However, Judge James McNulty convicted her, saying it was not credible that this grandmother with seven children and two grandchildren had this amount of cannabis for her personal use. Yesterday he sentenced her to four months in prison, saying: I have no doubt that Julie Ann was involved in the sale and supply of drugs locally. Her solicitor, Flor Murphy, said his client has since stopped taking cannabis and is aware of its ill effects, but the judge said a custodial sentence could not be avoided. An appeal was lodged on her own bail bond of 1000 and Ms Burke also paid a 300 fine for simple possession of cannabis having pleaded guilty to that charge in March. He remanded Ms Burke, who had some previous convictions for minor road traffic matters and two historical theft convictions, on continuing bail until May 23 for penalty and also convicted her on the simple possession charge, fining her 300. The Garda Ombudsman, GSOC, has opened a public interest investigation into alleged irregularities in voter registration in Kerry. A full garda investigation is also underway into allegations surrounding registration forms for the supplementary electoral register and a garda superintendent from outside the Kerry Division has been assigned to the matter. The enquiry centres on the Killarney electoral area, it is understood. The central allegation is that that large numbers of forms, involving up to 200 additional voters, or voters who were changing address, were stamped by a garda in a garda station without the presence of the voters asking to be registered, as required. On Wednesday said GSOC said they were aware of the matter. The GSOC investigation is under Section 102 (4) of the Garda Siochana Act, 2005 which means it has opened without a complaint having been made. Under those provisions, the Garda Ombudsman may if it appears desirable in the public interest and without receiving a complaint, investigate any matter that appears to indicate that a member of the garda may have committed and offence, or behaved in a manner that would justify disciplinary proceedings. The matter had been raised at the monthly meeting of Kerry County Council on Monday and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was called on to conduct an immediate full investigation into the allegations surrounding registration forms for the supplementary electoral register in County Kerry. The supplementary register was revealed to candidates at Wednesday, lunchtime. It contains over 2,700 additional voters. Some 250 applications were rejected by the council, though this was not to do with the current investigation, the council has said. Candidates have said they fear that a legal challenge will be brought if results are tight. An Irish family facing deportation from Australia have asked for public support as their visa ends on June 18. Christine Hyde from Dublin has asked people to share their story and sign their petition as they wait to see if the Immigration Minister will intervene in their case. Christine said the family have until June 18 for the Minister to intervene in their case. Anthony and Christine Hydes application for permanent residency was refused because their three-year-old son Darragh has cystic fibrosis. The couple appealed their case to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and were given fresh hope when the tribunal recommended their case be considered for ministerial intervention. In an update to the familys petition on Change.org, Christine urged the public to support their campaign to remain in Australia. She said: We have received a decision from the AAT referring our matter to the Minister for Home Affairs to consider exercising his discretionary powers to intervene in their case and grant them a visa. The AAT have referred the matter based on my unique and value skillset to my regional community, the overwhelming support from the Australian community and our sons involvement in research projects aimed at improving the treatment of cystic fibrosis patients Because our visa application has been refused we now only have until June 18 for the Minister to intervene. We are waiting on clarification on the exact date as to when our bridging visa will end. Please share our story and help us get his attention. A spokeswoman for the Department of Home Affairs said they do not comment on individuals cases when contacted. The family were given some fresh hope earlier this month after Immigration Minister David Coleman chose to intervene in a similar case. Mr Coleman granted permanent residency to Kinley Wangchuk, 18 and his family who were facing deportation back to Bhutan because of his hearing problems. Christine and Anthony Hyde moved from Dublin to Australia in 2009 and the familys plight has made headlines across Australia where there is strong support for their case. Over 74,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Hydes to be allowed to remain in Australia. One supporter wrote the familys Change.org page: This family must stay in Australia. This beautiful little boy was born here so he is a Australian. How very cruel to send him away from here. I am so very ashamed of the ministers to do this." Christine works as an assistant principal at a local primary school and Anthony is a part-time bus driver. The couple applied for permanent residency in 2015 before Darragh was born. Shortly after his birth, the toddler was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and their application was rejected on the basis that Darragh would be a burden on the state. The family argued that Darraghs condition is mild and have doctors reports to back that up. They also argued that Darragh is Australian born and therefore should not be deported. Explained Christine: Darragh is Australian he was born in Australia and has never set foot out of Australia. Hes never been to Ireland. Its really unfair. A child born in Australia does not automatically become a citizen unless their parents are already citizens. They cannot apply for citizenship until they are 10 years old. The barrister for a woman charged with murdering her boyfriend says the jury must acquit her if its reasonably possible that him coming towards the knife had caused the fatal wound. Caroline Biggs SC also asked the jury to consider self-defence during her closing speech today in the trial of the mother of two, who is accused of murdering the man in their Tipperary home. Inga Ozolina (aged 48), originally from Latvia, but with an address at Old Court Church, Mountrath, Co Laois, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Audrius Pukas at The Malthouse, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on November 20, 2016. The Central Criminal Court has heard that the 40-year-old father of two died at the scene from a stab wound to his chest. Ms Biggs said that nothing the pathologist or forensic scientist had found was inconsistent with the accuseds account. Ms Ozolina had said that she grabbed the nearest thing with which to defend herself after her violent boyfriend began hitting and biting her. Such fights had happened before, she said. The barrister said that there was evidence of a fracas from her clients injuries, Mr Pukass more trivial injuries and the broken glass and broken picture frames found at the scene. Ms Biggs said that, If there was an alternative, it was for the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. There is no such proof, she added. She noted that her client had said a number of things in her garda interviews. Ultimately, youve to consider whether theres a reasonable possibility that the cause of the fatal wound was him coming towards the knife, a reasonable possibility she was acting in justifiable self-defence, or a reasonable possibility that she didn't have the intention to kill or cause serious injury, she said. On any of the three, shes entitled to acquittal. She told the jury that it must look at the issue of self-defence from her clients state of mind. Shes been with him for a number of years and thats how her state of mind is formed, she pointed out. She gives an account of what her life was like. "She says it was hell. She said the jury must consider whether the history of domestic abuse informed her mind at the time of the incident. She knew his ex-wife had been put into hospital, she said. She also reminded the jury of an aggressive interaction hed had with gardai, and of a witness, who said Mr Pukas had assaulted him in front of a child. That is what informed her mind, she said. She knows he has the capacity to assault her, to assault men and be aggressive to gardai in their uniforms. You heard (from a neighbour) that on an occasion, she would not go into her own house, gardai were called, that he was always the aggressor. We know there are safety orders. She noted that the jury had heard about signs of domestic violence from a neighbour, their landlord, her doctor and her own friends. They had heard about neck injuries, black eyes, and a bitten nose. She asked the jury to acquit the accused. Paul Murray SC gave the closing speech on behalf of the prosecution. He said that it would be a natural, human reaction to have sympathy for Ms Ozolina and to completely abhor and condemn the actions alleged against Mr Pukas. But you must put those strong emotions to one side, he said. Remember this, that Mr Pukas was a brother, a father of two children, a son, a good friend. He reminded the jury of CCTV footage that showed the couple doing their shopping in Lidl about 12 hours earlier. There were good times too, he said. Referring to the definition of murder, he asked what the natural and probable consequences of putting the knife used into the left torso of Mr Pukas to the extent that it penetrated various bodily organs. Of all the knives to pick up on the night, it just happened to be the biggest knife of the lot, he said, referring to a number of knives seized from the kitchen. He noted that the accused had been working all day, had failed to get Mr Pukas on the phone a number of times, had come home and found that hed had friends over and had been drinking. An argument starts and, yet again, she says theres violence on his part directed towards her, he continued. The question has to be asked: Had she had enough at that stage? He said that the three knife wounds to Mr Pukas could not constitute an accident. This was not a situation of self-defence either, he suggested. Even if you pay credence to the account given by Ms Ozolina of what happened, at the end of the day, it was she who had the knife used on an unarmed, drunken man. He asked for a verdict of murder. The jury had been told earlier that Ms Ozolina had arrived frantic and distressed to a friends house with a bite on her nose earlier in the relationship. Niamh Hyland told Ms Biggs that she had been friends with Ms Ozolina for the past 10 years and that they had been neighbours for part of that. She testified that Ms Ozolina had arrived, banging at her front door, in the early hours on two occasions while living with Mr Pukas. There was blood on her nose and she was quite frantic, she said of the first occasion. She stayed with us for a couple of hours. She was quite distressed and wanted to make sure that the house was secure, she continued. There was a bite on the bridge of her nose and her nose was bloody, she added. She said that she arrived under similar circumstances a week or two later. This time she had a swollen eye, she said. Ms Hyland said that she had been in the home of the accused and deceased many times. His interactions with her were often quite aggressive, she said. Mr Justice Alexander Owens has now begun charging the jury of seven men and five women, who will begin deliberations tomorrow. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned that the risks of a no-deal Brexit are growing. Amid continued political chaos in Britain and growing pressure on its prime minister Theresa May to resign over the Brexit impasse, Mr Donohoe called on businesses here to make preparations. Speaking in Dublin, he said: "The risks of a no-deal Brexit scenario facing Ireland later on this year are building. I still believe it is still very much possible for an agreement to be reached that protects our national interests and facilitates an orderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union." He also said the message needed to go out to businesses that they have to be Brexit-ready and have special customs numbers for trade reasons after October. As we approach budget 2020, I will be giving careful consideration to the work that needs to be done from a budgetary perspective, to prepare Ireland for the challenges of a disorderly Brexit, the Finance Minister added. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe speaking at today's Global Tax Policy Conference in Dublin. Pic: Julien Behal. Meanwhile, in London, calls by Tory MPs for Theresa May to quit as Prime Minister are growing following Cabinet turmoil there over her Brexit strategy. Ahead of Mrs May's showdown meeting with the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady tomorrow, the committee's treasurer, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said: "I want her to give a timetable for when she will go. "I think this blank denial from Number 10 today may be a smokescreen because she does not want to influence the outcome of the European elections. Maybe she will still quit tomorrow." Asked what would happen if the PM did not announce a resignation date, Sir Geoffrey said: "I think there will be overwhelming pressure for the 22 to change the rules and hold a ballot on confidence in the Prime Minister." Mrs May is facing a backlash over her proposals for a so-called bold new Brexit deal for MPs. Andrea Leadsom quit as Commons Leader this week, saying she could not announce the bill which had "new elements that I fundamentally oppose". The British government has now pulled plans to publish the new Withdrawal Agreement Bill and instead said it will be released in the first week of June. Canvassing in Cork, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called on voters to return pro-European candidates with so much uncertainty ahead. "We dont know what is going to happen over the next few days in the United Kingdom but we do know that the Brexit is going to be very much back centre stage either because of the political changes in London or because of the results of the European elections where it seems the Brexit party is going to win in the United Kingdom," he said. Mr Varadkar is also expected to discuss the latest Brexit developments when he meets other EU leaders for an informal summit in Brussels next week. But Brussels and Dublin have both said, no matter if there is a change in the British government leadership, that the Brexit deal will not be reopened. Voting in the European elections in Britain began today with speculation that a disastrous result for the Mrs May's party could in fact trigger her resignation. The Minister for Finance says the risk of Britain leaving the EU with no deal is building. Minister Paschal Donohoe says the threat of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal is growing: "The risks of a no deal Brexit scenario facing Ireland later on this year are building. "I still believe it is still very much possible for an agreement to be reached that protects our national interests and facilitates an orderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union," he said. Pressure is mounting on the British Prime Minister to step down, with prominent Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom resigning her cabinet post in anger at Theresa May's Brexit policies. Mrs May will meet the Chair of a group of backbench Conservative MPs tomorrow, where it's expected she will give a timeline for her departure. A fourth vote on the withdrawal agreement is due to take place at the start of June. While European elections take place in Ireland tomorrow, in the UK they are at the polls today. The gangland killer of Limerick rugby player, Shane Geoghegan, has failed in his attempt to get Europes top human rights court where he claimed he didn't have a fair trial. The European Court of Human Rights ruled today by a 6-1 majority that restrictions placed on Barry Doyles access to a solicitor during garda interviews did not breach his right to a fair trial - a blow in his attempt to overturn the conviction. Doyle, who is currently servicing a life sentence in Mountjoy, had taken a challenge to the Strasbourg-based court to attempt to have his conviction for the murder of Mr Geoghegan quashed. The Garryowen player was killed in a case of mistaken identity as he arrived home to his house in Dooradoyle in Limerick on November 9, 2008, Doyle (33) from Portland Row in Dublin had been recruited by members of Limericks notorious Dundon gang to carry out a hit on a rival gang member, a man known as John Pitchfork McNamara, but he wrongfully identified his target as Mr Geoghegan. He was arrested in February 2009 and taken to a garda station where he was informed of his rights and given access to a solicitor. Doyle was subsequently interviewed many times and had access to a solicitor in person and by phone prior to and during interviews but the solicitor was not physically present at the actual interviews. He admitted killing Mr Geoghegan in his 15th interview by gardai in which he also provided details about the crime. In a retrial before the Central Criminal Court in February 2012, after a jury failed to reach a verdict in his first trial for murder, Doyles lawyers sought to have his admissions to gardai while in custody excluded amid claims that he had been induced, threatened and denied access to legal advice. Such objections were dismissed by the trial judge, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and he was convicted of Mr Geoghegans murder by a jury. Doyle subsequently failed in appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court where a 6-1 majority ruled against his challenge. In its ruling, the ECHR said it was a fundamental aspect of a right to a fair trial that every accused had a right to be defended by a lawyer. It noted that all three Irish courts which had heard Doyles case had established that his admissions had not been brought about by inducement or threat. The court noted that he had been able to challenge the admissibility of the evidence during a 10-day trial within a trial in his prosecution for the murder of Mr Geoghegan. The ECHR said there were sound public interest considerations in prosecuting Doyle as he had been charged following the killing of an innocent victim as a result of a mistaken identity in a feud between criminal gangs, There had been other procedural safeguards, such as the fact that all police interviews, had been recorded on video and had been made available to judges and the jury, the ECHR said. The ECHR said the majority of judges in the Supreme Court ruling had wrongly concluded that Doyles right of access to a lawyer did not extend to having a lawyer physically present during interviews by gardai, although it noted that the practice has subsequently changed. However, the ECHR said it concluded that the overall fairness of the case had not been irretrievably prejudiced having assessed the impact of the restriction on access to a lawyer at the pre-trial stage. The Ukranian member of the seven-judge court, Ganna Yudkivska, issued a minority judgement in Doyles favour. It remains open for Doyle to ask for today's judgement to be referred to the ECHRs Grand Chamber for a final ruling. A hospital has lost, by a four to one majority, a Supreme Court appeal aimed at preventing a man suing it for damages over allegedly contracting a severe MRSA infection during surgery. The appeal by the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork centred on whether Oliver O'Sullivan's claim was statute barred, brought outside the two year period for personal injuries suffered due to alleged negligence and breach of duty. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal because it raised issues of general public importance concerning proper interpretation and application of sections 2 and 3 of the 1991 Statute of Limitations Act. Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan said all of the judges agreed that reconsideration of the complex statutory limitation periods applicable to personal injury actions is "desirable". Mr O'Sullivan, with an address at Cul Ard, Carrigtwohill, Cork, issued a personal injuries summons on August 19, 2008 alleging he contracted MRSA during surgery on September 20, 2005 due to alleged negligence and breach of duty by the hospital. No negligence was alleged concerning the actual intestinal surgery, carried out when Mr O'Sullivan was aged 25. As a result of contracting a severe MRSA infection, Mr O'Sullivan became very ill, was re-admitted and underwent further surgery. In a pre-trial application, the hospital claimed the action was not commenced within two years of accrual of the cause of action, or from the date of knowledge of that, if later, within the relevant provisions of the 1991 Act. Court of Appeal After a 2-1 Court of Appeal majority upheld a High Court refusal to halt the case, the Supreme Court heard a further appeal. On Thursday, Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan, Mr Justice William McKechnie, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne and Mr Justice Peter Charleton allowed the appeal. Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell dissented. Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan said the issue was whether or not Mr O'Sullivan's date of knowledge within the meaning of section 2 of the 1991 Act was on or after August 20, 2006, with the effect the personal injury summons issued on his behalf on August 19, 2008 was within the two year limitation period. According to agreed facts for the appeal, Mr O'Sullivan became infected with MRSA on September 20, 2005 during an operation at the hospital, she said. When he was very ill on October 4, a doctor told him he had been infected with MRSA during the earlier surgery. In March 2006, his mother watched a TV programme about people who had become infected with MRSA in hospitals in Ireland, told her son about it and gave him the number of a participant in the programme. Mr O'Sullivan then contacted a solicitor explaining he had "picked up" MRSA in hospital and wanted to find out what happened to him and what went wrong. In May 2006 he sought his hospital medical records and got those on July 17, 2006, including a report on a swab collected on September 30, 2005 stating 'MRSA (heavy growth) isolated'. In February 2007, a preliminary report was received from a doctor, a final report from a consultant surgeon and microbiologist was received in June 2008 and the personal injuries summons was issued on August 19, 2008. Having considered the facts, including receipt of 800 pages of medical records in July 2006, and the applicable legal principles, Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan found the date of knowledge was sometime after August 20, 2006. Her judgment set out guidance on how to determine a plaintiff's date of knowledge for the purpose of Section 2, distinguishing between "actual" and "constructive" knowledge. In a concurring judgment, Mr Justice Charleton also set out factors to be considered in such cases. Noting the full case has still to be heard 13 years after the alleged wrong, he said this case showed how a departure from a unitary trial principle had "not aided the administration of justice". Dissenting, Mr Justice O'Donnell said he had set out his minority view concerning correct interpretation and application of the 1991 Act because the limitation periods may require to be reconsidered and a "fresh approach" taken. Noting a proposal to extend the general period to three years, he said specific attention could usefully be addressed to the difficulties posed by claims arising from alleged medical negligence. The Supreme Court has dismissed an unusual application by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries to review its decision upholding a 49,600 damages award to the owners of two fishing vessels. The award was made over negligence by department officials in incorrectly advising the vessels could lawfully fish for scallops in an area of the Bay of Biscay. The damages were awarded by the High Court in 2011 after the vessels owned by Eugene Bates and Brendan Moore, business partners in scallop fishing, were arrested by the French Navy. Both men claimed damages of almost 912,000 but the High Court ruled the only sustainable claims were those directly consequent on the arrest of the vessels - the MFV William Joseph and MFV Alicia - conviction, and penalties. In February 2018, a three-judge Supreme Court dismissed the Minister's appeal over the High Court decision. Six weeks later, as the court was about to make final orders, the Minster applied for a review of its findings, alleging error in the judgment. It was claimed the judgment contained an incorrect narrative of events of August 18 and 19, 2003, which account was central to the decision to dismiss the appeal and uphold the High Court judgment. The events over those two days related to the two boats having been observed as engaging in scallop fishing about 4.30am on August 18 and being arrested at 2.30am on August 19. The Minister claimed the Supreme Court effectively held there had been "proximate assurances" by his officials when that was not part of the owners' case. The owners argued the Supreme Court judgment accurately reflected the description of events as set out in the High Court judgment. In a unanimous 75-page judgment today, Mr Justice John MacMenamin, with whom Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne and Mr Justice Peter Charleton agreed, refused the review application. The judge noted the High Court judgment, in this case, was given before the Supreme Court ruled in the separate 'Cromane' fishing case, the executive should not be held liable for negligent misstatement except in limited circumstances, a relationship of close proximity or conduct tantamount to misfeasance in public office. That meant the Supreme Court, when considering the appeal in the Bates case, had to consider the proximity issue. The judge said the transcript of the High Court case did not actually disclose the precise times when the Minister's officials were said to have given misinformation to the owners. The owners' reply to particulars had identified a number of such occasions between 1999 and 2002, he noted. In fairness to the Minister, what seemed to have occurred here is that issues not considered central in the High Court became "highly relevant" to the appeal and the Minister's application for review. The Supreme Court's description of events in its 2018 judgment, including identification of the place of arrest of the vessels, was informed by what it was told orally and in submissions, he said. What a court is told in oral submissions as to fact "must be accurate" but, unfortunately, these obligations were not fulfilled, he said. Stressing there was no reflection on the competence or integrity of counsel and no suggestion counsel on either side acted mala fides or sought to mislead the court, he said what occurred here could only be described as "a most unfortunate series of mishaps". However, having examined all the relevant material, he said the indications now available are that the narrative in the Supreme Court judgment is in fact a "fair reflection" of evidence on proximity as adduced in the High Court and as found in the High Court judgment. An analysis of the material leads to the conclusion there was evidence of proximate reassurance or advice to the owners which evidence was not rebutted, he said. The narrative part of the judgment is "integral" to it and forms part of the court's reasoning and decisions of the Supreme Court are final and conclusive, the judge stressed. The Minister's application, if successful, could only have the effect of a reassessment of the outcome or merits, he said. The court cannot simply vacate parts of a judgment in the absence of a constitutional basis for doing so, no constitutional want of fairness arose here and there was "no defect" in procedure. Ten local authorities around Ireland are to roll out Wifi4EU hot spots in the coming months. In total, 22 hotspots will be funded in Galway, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin, Westmeath and Wicklow. The Taoiseach, a qualified doctor, side-stepped an opportunity to give advice on how best to use a swing while a Fine Gael TDs personal injuries claim for falling off a hotel swing is before the courts. But Leo Varadkar has defended the Governments record on driving down insurance costs. He was reacting to suggestions from Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, who said Dun Laoghaire TD Maria Baileys claim contradicts the Governments campaign against the so-called compo culture. Ms Bailey, 43, has taken a case to the Circuit Court against the Dean Hotel in Dublin, claiming damages of up to 60,000 over injuries she alleges she suffered to her head, back and hip after falling off a swing in the hotel in 2015. Her legal team argued in the Circuit Court this week that the swing should have been supervised. The hotel, which is defending the claim, alleges that Ms Bailey was holding items in both hands when she sat on the swing. While canvassing in Cork today, Mr Varadkar declined to comment on the details of the case while its before the courts: This is a case before the courts and I think its important we allow the courts hear all of the evidence and then make a decision and I trust the courts to make the right decision in that regard. But on the wider issue of insurance, this has been a priority for Government. We have brought in a lot of actions to help reduce insurance for everyone motor insurance is down about 25% from a peak of 2016 and will, I believe, fall further. Because of lifetime community rating, we have stopped the increase in health insurances that used to be an annual event. Thats no longer the case. "And we have passed three new laws this year to reduce insurance costs, particularly for people who are in business. It might take a bit of time before that is reflected in lower premiums but this is an issue that government has shown its form on by getting motor insurance down and stopping the increase in health insurance and now we are really focusing on business insurance as well. But he laughed and moved on to other questions when asked if he could give advice to any Fine Gael TDs on how they could use a swing safely. An event is taking place in Dublin today to mark the first anniversary of the passing of the abortion referendum. On May 25 last year, almost 67% of the population voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment. The campaign group 'Together for Yes' will mark the event in Essex Street today, where the 'Repeal' heart symbol was painted last year. Ailbhe Smyth, who was a director with the lobby group, says it's important to recognise the landmark occasion: One year ago, over 66% of Irish people voted to remove the Eighth Amendment from our Constitution. The campaign has had the greatest and most immediate everyday impact for women who are now entitled to access abortion services here in Ireland as part of normal healthcare," she said. "There has also been a wider societal and political impact, as evidenced by the number of women getting involved in grassroots campaigns and putting themselves forward for election. Last years result came about after decades of hard work and, over the coming days, we look forward to celebrating with everyone who played a part in bringing about this momentous change," she added. Meanwhile, the Pro-Life Campaign have urged voters to support pro-life candidates in tomorrow's elections. Pro-life supporters feel betrayed by the leadership of the main political parties and how they abandoned the rights of unborn babies and denied the public the opportunity to adequately hear the pro-life side of the story before last years referendum," said Eilis Mulroy. "More than ever, Ireland needs politicians with backbone and who dont renege on promises given." Preparations for the massive security operation being mounted for next month's visit of US President Donald Trump to Co Clare. With less than two weeks before Air Force One carrying President Trump and the US First Lady lands at Shannon, gardai are planning what is expected to be an unprecedented security operation. The White House only confirmed on Tuesday night that the president will arrive in Ireland on June 5, however gardai were deployed at Shannon Airport and Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg last week in anticipation of the announcement. While uniformed and plain-clothes gardai have been monitoring traffic entering Shannon Airport where Air Force One will land, officers are carrying out similar duties at Trump International in Doonbeg where President Trump and the First Lady will stay during their visit. Gardai are patrolling the 400-acre property in both marked and unmarked vehicles while officers are also monitoring traffic movements onto the site and around the hotel itself. Members of the Defence Forces arrived at the Doonbeg property in west Clare this morning and the Army, Navy and Air Corps are expected to play a part in the plan. Meanwhile, companies based in the vicinity of Shannon Airport have been requested to submit details of employees and other persons who are expected to visit their premises while President Trump is in the mid-west. The Managing Director of Trump International in Doonbeg, Joe Russell, has been meeting with other hoteliers in the United States who have hosted Mr Trump in the past. Mr Russell told Clare FM this morning, that on his return from the US, hotel management will be engaging with locals to inform them of what to expect during the visit which he said will be unlike anything experienced there before. A solicitor for two of the three girls raped while living at a foster home in Galway between 2003 and 2007 says it is "not an isolated incident". Ronan Hynes made the comments in the wake of a damning report which identified systemic flaws in management in how the cases of the abuse of three girls while in foster care were handled by the HSE and Tusla. The report lists a catalogue of failures, which saw three children suffer grave and heinous sexual abuse while in the care of the State. Mr Hynes told RTE's News at One that the contents of the report "call into serious question the ability of the State agencies to properly exercise their statutory functions which are, of course, to improve outcomes for children". When asked if Tusla is fit for purpose, Mr Hynes said that anyone reading the report "would struggle to find in the affirmative". He also said that, while the standard of foster care is very high in Ireland, "this is not an isolated incident". "I think the time has now come, and the report findings certainly warrant, that there is an independent audit and review within Tusla carried out by an independent expert to review its systems, its structures, its level of resources to ensure that that organisation is fit for purpose to carry out its statutory functions which are to protect the welfare and safety of children in this country," he said. Speaking in Cork, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that, while he hasn't seen the unpublished report, the Government will act once it is published. Mr Varadkar said: We have made some very significant strides when it comes to child protection in recent years - in particular, the fact that reporting of child abuse is now mandatory, and that was only introduced in the last two years. But there is definitely more to be done." Details of the case were first revealed by RTE Investigates in April 2016. A girl placed in the foster home for monthly respite care told her biological mother that she had been sexually abused by a then-teenage son of the foster family. She also reported that a second girl who had been living with the foster family for more than a decade had also been raped by the same son. The girls allegation was assessed by the HSE to be credible, but at the time the second girl did not disclose any abuse. Gardai sent a file to the DPP but no prosecution followed. The second girl and another foster child, a boy, continued to live with the family. However, in 2011, the second girl came forward and said she too had been raped, prompting a new garda probe which identified a third victim, another female foster child, who also was regularly raped. Last year, Keith Burke was found guilty and jailed for the rape and buggery of the three foster girls between 2003 and 2007 when all three were aged under 10. Tusla, which was established in 2014, said it accepts the findings and recommendations of the report and is acting on them. It acknowledged that the decisions made in 2007 and 2011 "were not robust enough to keep the children safe" but said that "this report reflects a certain point in time, prior to the establishment of Tusla which has resulted in an improvement in standards, staffing and services". Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 16, 2019 | PADUCAH By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 16, 2019 | 05:02 PM | PADUCAH A Kevil man appeared in court Thursday on an animal abuse charge. According to the McCracken County District Court Clerk, Jayce Bryant entered a not guilty plea to a charge of torture of a dog or cat resulting in serious injury. A preliminary hearing was set for May 28. Bryant was arrested by McCracken Sheriff's Deputies on May 2 after an investigation into how a black lab and great dane mix puppy, approximately 6-9 months old, was found earlier that week with tape around its mouth. A veterinarian told investigators the puppy suffered serious physical injury because its muzzle was taped shut for an extended period of time. The dog's back legs had also been taped together, but it had managed to free itself. Information from witnesses led to Bryant, and he reportedly admitted that he had taped up the dog because it had bitten him. He told police he intended to remove the tape while dumping the dog in another neighborhood, but it ran away. Prior to his arrest, Bryant was an employee at McCracken County Jail. He was fired immediately by Jailer David Knight. Secures Important Tax Incentive for Magnolia LNG Perth, May 23, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - LNG Limited ( ASX:LNG ) ( OTCMKTS:LNGLY ) (LNGL or the Company) is pleased to announce that Magnolia LNG (Magnolia) has received its Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) incentive from the State of Louisiana following approval by the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry, local governments and Gov. John Bel Edwards. The ITEP program is designed to offer a tax incentive for manufacturers who make a commitment to jobs and payroll in Louisiana. Magnolia was eligible for the property tax incentive for a portion of the building and materials, machinery and equipment, and labor costs of Magnolia, a $4.354 billion project. Magnolia will generate 1,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent direct positions for Louisiana, as well as substantial cascading benefits into the Southwest Louisiana region and the State of Louisiana overall.The savings from this exemption improve Magnolia's competitiveness in the global LNG market and provide an important economic boost to help the project along its path to a final investment approval."On behalf of LNG Limited's Board of Directors and my colleagues, I wish to thank Governor Edwards, Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Secretary Don Pierson, the Southwest Louisiana legislative delegation, Calcasieu Sheriff Tony Mancuso, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Calcasieu Parish School Board, Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter, and the Port of Lake Charles for their steadfast support of Magnolia LNG and our ITEP application process," said Greg Vesey, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LNG Limited. "We are aware of our corporate responsibility to the State of Louisiana and particularly the Lake Charles area, and we will continue to support the community through job creation and community involvement as Magnolia moves toward a final investment decision.""Louisiana leads the U.S. as an exporter of liquefied natural gas, and the Magnolia LNG project will extend our state's production and technology leadership in this vitally important energy market," Gov. Edwards said. "By the end of 2019, Louisiana producers will generate enough LNG to fuel 24 million homes on a daily basis. Our next wave of LNG projects, which will include Magnolia, can raise that total to the equivalent of 63 million homes. With a projected 38 billion cubic feet of natural gas to be produced daily along the Gulf Coast, Louisiana is well-positioned to continue our LNG leadership.""Projects such as Magnolia LNG generate thousands of important construction jobs on the front end, hundreds of high-paying permanent jobs once operations begin, and thousands more permanent new indirect jobs in the Louisiana economy," LED Secretary Don Pierson said. "At the same time that we are strengthening our midstream logistics and industrial economy in Louisiana, we're seeing major investors like LNG Limited provide key clean energy solutions for customers around the globe. Louisiana is proud to enable this key energy connection for our future."ABOUT MAGNOLIA LNG PROJECTMagnolia LNG proposes to construct and operate up to four liquefaction production trains, each with a capacity of 2.2 mtpa or greater using the Company's patented OSMR(R) LNG process technology. Construction and operation includes two 160,000 m3 full containment storage tanks, ship, barge, and truck loading facilities, and supporting infrastructure. The LSTK EPC contract includes all elements of the project necessary to bring the facility into full guaranteed production operations. Magnolia LNG is fully permitted, having received its FERC Order and both FTA and non-FTA approval from the DOE. Final investment decision and initiation of construction is expected upon execution of sufficient offtake agreements to support financing.About Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG) ( OTCMKTS:LNGLY) (LNGL) is an ASX listed company whose portfolio consists of 100% ownership of the following companies: - Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia LNG), a US-based subsidiary, which is developing an eight mtpa or greater LNG export terminal, in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA; - Bear Head LNG Corporation Inc. (Bear Head LNG), a Canadian-based subsidiary, which is developing an 8 12 mtpa LNG export terminal in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada with potential for further expansion; - Bear Paw Pipeline Corporation Inc. (Bear Paw), which is proposing to construct and operate a 62.5 km gas pipeline lateral to connect gas supply to Bear Head LNG; and - LNG Technology Pty Ltd, a subsidiary which owns and develops the Company's OSMR LNG liquefaction process, a midscale LNG business model that plans to deliver lower capital and operating costs, faster construction, and improved efficiency, relative to larger traditional LNG projects. While most energy companies have urged the re-elected Scott Morrison government to back off its 'big sticks' plans to drive down power prices, one electricity retailer says they cannot come soon enough. Fears have been raised that the Morrison government's proposed plans to forcibly break up 'misbehaving' power companies could scare off new investment in the energy industry and damage market stability. Energy Locals chief executive Adrian Merrick welcomed the government proposed plans to punish misbehaving power companies. But Adrian Merrick, the head of electricity retailer Energy Locals and a former EnergyAustralia director, said power prices had risen to unsustainable levels and, since the market had failed to correct itself, it was time the government took action. "We're really supportive of the potential of forced divestment to change the energy sector," Mr Merrick said. Victoria will reluctantly sign up to the Morrison governments school funding deal amid growing concerns that federal funding to the state's schools will run out next month. Facing intense pressure to provide funding certainty to state, Catholic and independent schools, Premier Daniel Andrews said hed been left with no choice but to ink an agreement with the Commonwealth. Mr Andrews said while hed fought for a better deal, Australians had elected a Prime Minister who was not going to budge on his school funding offer. Victoria will become the last Australian state to sign up to the Gonski 2.0 school funding deal "We're really faced with a clear choice. We can either have no funding come from the Commonwealth to schools, or we can sign on to a deal that we dont think is a good deal, he said on Thursday. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Elizabeth Gilbert's partner died in 2018 at the dawn of the new year. Fifteen months later she still loves to talk about her, invoking the name of her beloved at every opportunity. It's what grief compels us to do to rehearse the disaster over and over, to tell stories, to keep the flame burning. A friend I hadn't seen for 20 years once tracked me down and spent an hour on the phone giving a detailed account of her husband's illness and eventual death. I guessed she had run out of sympathetic listeners closer to home. Gilbert has no such difficulty. Since the publication of her bestselling, post-divorce memoir Eat, Pray, Love and subsequent books a treatise on marriage, a self help manual, a novel about a 19th century female plant hunter - she has had millions of fans and followers hanging on her every word. "Dear Ones," she addresses her Facebook friends, "May your heart have mercy today on your poor, tired mind. Offer yourself some grace." On Twitter and Instagram, in Ted talks and the Moth hour, she memorialises her "epic, magnificent, rebellious" friend and lover Rayya Elias ex-addict, ex-con, punk artist, hairdresser, who got clean for 20 years then died of pancreatic cancer, nursed by Gilbert. I imagined her dying without knowing how much I loved her. Elizabeth Gilbert on Rayya Elias "I honour Rayya by telling stories about her," says Gilbert when we meet. She is just off a flight from New York, looking pale and nursing a chest cold with ginger and honey. How has she reconciled herself to the loss? "What got me through the grief, and continues to do so, is a tremendous pride in knowing what I did, what I sacrificed, what I gave up." When Elias's cancer was diagnosed, Gilbert left her husband of nine years, Jose Nunes, whom she met during the writing of Eat, Pray, Love, to be with her. "I saw a vision of her in the last moments of life," she tells me, "I imagined her dying without knowing how much I loved her. My soul was appalled by that vision. I couldn't let it happen so everything, the whole life I had created, had to change accordingly." Advertisement The two women had known each other for 17 years, since Gilbert was recommended to Elias for a hair makeover. Was Nunes included in the friendship? "Yes," says Gilbert hesitatingly and then, in a rare moment of discretion, adds, "but I don't want to talk about that too much out of loyalty to my ex-husband." Elias lived for 18 more months, defeating expectation: "She was the comeback kid," says Gilbert, "in her previous life as a heroin addict she'd died any number of times." The couple moved to Detroit to be near Elias's family and, towards the end, Elias's exwife and a former lover came to help: "Rayya took us on the wildest ride," says Gilbert, her eyes shining, "she was such a tornado, it took three of us to care for her." She pauses, a look almost of rapture on her face: "In all the sorrow and loss there is a sense of great achievement. She died knowing she was loved." Gilbert returned to New York, to an apartment she had bought for herself in anticipation of being alone, and threw herself into writing again. "It was a novel I had promised my publishers a fun, sexy story. I'd dropped it for the 18 months I was with Rayya, now I needed a restoration project and it brought me back to my vitality. I don't know how I would have survived without work." The result is City of Girls, a light, witty romp of a book, the first half set in a down-at-heel theatre in a poor area of New York during the 1940s. Vivienne, a Vassar drop out from a small-town conservative family, arrives with a suitcase and is given a job sewing costumes. She pals up with showgirl Celia and the two of them cut a swathe through the city's nightclubs, inhaling serial cocktails, loftily rejecting advances from men, having dodgy sex with others and weaving home at dawn, high heels in hand. Gilbert's last book was The signature of all things, a weighty tome exploring the intersection of science and faith in the early part of the 19th century, admired by high-minded critics. It featured Alma Whittaker, a self made botanist and plant hunter with a disappointing sex life. So after that was Gilbert ready for a bit of frivolity? Advertisement "I was ready for sensuality," she nods, "So much of the last book was about a woman's frustrated desire; I wanted to strip the corsets off, to make an addition to the Western literary canon by creating 'bad' girls who are not destroyed by enjoying sex and having a lot of it. The wages of desire need not be death, ruination and shame." Soon after Vivienne's arrival at the theatre, Celia and her fellow showgirls discover she is a virgin and insist on arranging for her deflowering at the hands of an obliging doctor they all know. The curious episode, narrated by Vivienne from her prone position on the doctor's marital bed, is exquisitely funny. "I thought how do I write about a woman losing her virginity which is neither romantic nor traumatic," says Gilbert, "it's usually one of the two. So what about comically, clinically ridiculous?" It takes a long time for a woman to figure out how to create her own pleasure. Vivienne is now ready to hit the town, but though she loves dressing up, and the novelty of discovering her sexual power, it is clear that the end game fumbling and sometimes threatening encounters in alleyways and strange hotel rooms is not always enjoyable. "It takes a long time for a woman to figure out how to create her own pleasure," says Gilbert, "and yet Vivienne got pleasure out of the chase, the idea that she was doing something deviant. By the time she's in her 50s, she's got this down." At this stage Vivienne is single, wised up, running her own successful business a wedding gown atelier and sleeping with a lot of men. A friend asks if this makes her happy. "It makes me satisfied," she says, "I have a certain darkness within me and being with all those men it satisfies that darkness." Without it, she adds, she would become unhappy. Gilbert once identified herself as a seduction addict: "Seduction was never a casual sport for me," she wrote, "it was more like a heist, adrenalising and urgent. I would plan the heist for months, scouting out the target, looking for unguarded entries. Then I would break into his deepest vault, steal all his emotional currency and spend it on myself." Advertisement She addressed this monkey on her back through therapy and tells me now: "Like most women I know I've had a rich, complicated sex life wonderful encounters and regretful ones. But even the worst mistakes we all got through it. That's what this new book is about." Since the global success of Eat, Pray, Love and her non-fiction book, Big Magic, exhorting readers to release their creative mojo, Gilbert has become something of a guru. She long ago stopped replying to fan mail, explaining at the time: "They want to know what they should do about their drug addictions and tragic marriages and bladder infections and which city to visit in Italy, and I was becoming everything from travel agent to psychiatrist and, with respect, I am not capable of being all that." These days she gives talks and lectures and runs workshops on creativity. Elizabeth Gilbert's new novel is a witty romp. Credit:John Davis "I've come to love it," she admits, "I have two vocations, writing and speaking." She is a polished performer, in turns confiding, shocking and amusing, with a fine sense of timing. "I'm comfortable on stage," she says, "though it's a high-wire act and it's never not scary." Her chief demographic is middle aged women but she is on the corporate speaker circuit too. "The first few times I went to talk to Silicon Valley types I thought, what can I tell them? But they are all humans, struggling to understand relationships, addictions, worries about kids, health issues. Once I stopped thinking about them as business people I just talked to them the same way I talk to 45-year-old divorced ladies." Initially giddy with the wealth attendant on success, she gave money away and set friends up in properties. It didn't always work out. "Mother Theresa said give till it hurts, but the guru I studied with in India told me: if you give people more than they are capable of receiving, they will hate you for it. I didn't understand it then, but I do now. The answer is not to stop giving, but I am not as reckless a giver as I was." Advertisement A favoured recipient of her largesse is Row New York, a youth programme for girls based at a boathouse in the Bronx. "They take these 13-year-old girls from the tenements and projects and put them in boats on the river," she explains, "They work out all day, then volunteers come in to help with their homework. They get into private colleges, usually on a sporting scholarship, and the volunteers support them through the four years so they don't drop out." I learned humanity from her: mercy and clear boundaries. Elizabeth Gilbert on Raqqa Elias Gilbert encourages other donors by offering match funding up to $25,000 a pop and does fundraising gigs. "I go out and give a speech to some Fortune 500 company, they write a huge cheque and I give it to Row NY." Like Robin Hood? She smiles. "It's about creating opportunities for these girls." She is guided by Elias, she says. "I talk to her, write to her, receive answers from her, I still rely on her. She had been a derelict for so long, she understood that sometimes people are trapped in dreadful behaviour. I learned humanity from her: mercy and clear boundaries." Last year she and fellow authors raised US$1.4m ($2 million) in 24 hours to support migrant children detained under President Trump's family separation policy. "This presidency is a catastrophe," she says, "I'm shattered that 54 per cent of women voted for Trump; I can't bear it but I'm hopeful that this appalling business of separating children has awakened even those women to his inhumanity." Trump has to go, she says: "but an impeachment would mean a Mike Pence presidency, which would take us out of the frying pan into the fire." Advertisement What if some of the refugees are carrying an exotic disease that could wipe out all of humanity in our time? The whole thing is uncomfortably laden with what might be seen in one way as a reflection of contemporary Western anxieties, and in another as a collection of all of that vile old antisemitic conspiracy nonsense that has suddenly gained such widespread currency. The mystery deepens when Jude realises one of the new arrivals possesses heightened abilities and is a threat to his town, setting the two of them on a collision course. Credit:ABC/Jack Rowand Loading That series creators Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie (producer-writer veterans of Criminal Minds, Revenge and Star Trek: Discovery) give most of the apparent goodies names fresh out of the Tanakh might or might not mean something. Perhaps the Welsh angle is more significant. Fans of The Terminator will recall that the character sent back from the future to save Sarah Connor's son was named Kyle Reese. So why given all the anglicised Welsh names in the world is our new, slightly Terminator-y pal from the future (Kingdom's Natalie Martinez) named Reece? If that question can be answered it's perhaps only by diving into The Crossing, a series so well cast and so skilfully written that it's hard to imagine that the American ABC network cancelled it after this single season. Perhaps "mainstream" American audiences just aren't into stories involving refugees, even when most of the refugees are white. Wanda Sykes is at her hilarious best in Netflix's Not Normal. Credit:Netflix Wanda Sykes: Not Normal Netflix The marvellous Wanda Sykes is at the peak of her powers in this new stand-up special, excoriating Donald Trump and the entrenched social inequities of modern America without ever forgetting to make fun of herself or neglecting to keep the audience in stitches. The humour is thoughtful, but the physical comedy is brilliant too, not least when Sykes is opining that Tiffany Trump probably doesn't need a secret service detail and could get by with a mall cop on a Segway scooter instead. Game of Thrones fans might like American professor Jennifer Paxton's 36-part series on medieval England. The Viking Invasions Kanopy Kanopy carries loads of The Great Courses' university-level lecture series, covering everything from mathematics to photography and comparative religion. Viewers whose interest in history has been piqued by Game of Thrones might want to check out American professor Jennifer Paxton's 36-part series on medieval England. In The Viking Invasions Paxton explains how the Viking incursions into Anglo-Saxon England grew from bloody small-scale raids to large-scale settlements that would change the face of England forever. Free with a library card from a participating library. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a scene from the documentary Knock Down the House. Credit:Netflix via AP Knock Down the House Netflix This absorbing documentary follows Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and three other progressive female Democratic outsiders as they fought shoestring campaigns against well-funded establishment incumbents in Democratic primaries ahead of last year's congressional mid-term elections. The David-and-Goliath nature of the contests is clear from the outset, as is the motivation and commitment of the women, who feel that establishment Democrats have failed working-class voters on such life-and-death issues as healthcare and industrial pollution. Only Ocasio-Cortez got through, but the insurgency continues. The real-life Guava Island: Rihanna and Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) in a scene from Guava Island. Credit:ninevms Guava Island Amazon Prime Video Donald Glover and Rihanna bring us a dark, disturbing Caribbean fairytale that sits somewhere between musical feature film and long-form music video. In a dilapidated island town, happy-go-lucky musician Deni (Glover) is everybody's friend and a bit of a local celebrity. Deni and his girlfriend, Kofi (Rihanna), might be able to live a small but contented life were it not for tyrannical businessman Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie), who rules the island in Orwellian style and forces everyone to work on his docks and in his factories seven days a week. Long-time Glover collaborator Hiro Murai who directed the stunning music video for Glover's song This Is America is behind the camera once more, and he and Glover treat viewers to a tropical reimagining of the This Is America video staged in a dockside warehouse. It's one of several musical interludes involving songs Glover recorded as his musical alter-ego, Childish Gambino, and all of them make good use of the film's gritty Cuban locations, many featuring local musical talent. It's something quite different which you'd expect from Glover. Just Tattoo of Us Stan "One of the things about the suburbs is the issue of aspiration. People do aspire to improve their living standards, their wages, and they do want more opportunities for their kids." Mr Albanese, a senior member of Labor's left faction and the deputy prime minister during Kevin Rudd's second period as prime minister, said he was a "proud supporter" of the unions but believed working with business was critical to success. "People have got conflict fatigue," he said in an interview. "They see politicians yelling at each other, they see a lot of conflict, and what they want is for people to come up with practical solutions that improve their lives. "They want things that improve their living standards and improve their quality of life. Loading "And we need to listen to those people and engage with them." Mr Albanese made no criticism of former leader Bill Shorten but set out his approach to the leadership in the wake of Labor's shock election loss, leaving it with a likely 67 seats compared to the Coalition's 78. The race is now on for the position of Labor deputy leader, with a three-way contest in the party's right faction threatening to split its Queensland and Victorian branches after Mr Chalmers, Clare O'Neil and Richard Marles said they would consider replacing high-profile Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek. In a sharp shift away from the Shorten era, Labor is now also canvassing a new climate change stance that calls for action to reduce emissions but drops a market-based solution to reach the target. Labor's environment spokesman, Tony Burke, said the science had been compromised by the mechanism and it was now time to consider a direct-action model, as advocated by the Coalition, to avoid an "unthinkable" 15 years without action. Labor's policy would force businesses that exceeded their emissions cap to buy credits from other businesses through a market-based scheme. "The principle that we base targets depending on the science, we must not shift on," Mr Burke told the ABC. "If there is going to be any room for compromise, the compromise has to be in what the method is." Clare ONeil says she's been encouraged to run for Labor deputy to ensure there is a woman in the leadership team. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Mr Albanese told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the key decision was about outcomes on climate change rather than the mechanism but that the first decision was for the government to propose a better policy after its disunity over the National Energy Guarantee. Loading "We need to take action on climate change, we need to listen to the science, but we need to do it in a way so that the transition in the economy is in the interests of working people and job creation," he said. Labor is also grappling with its position on the $158 billion in income tax cuts the Coalition took to the election. The government is looking to ram the cuts through Parliament as soon as it returns to deliver a $1000 boost for many workers, but is refusing to split its seven-year package. The full package will also see tax cuts of up to $11,000 delivered to workers earning more than $200,000 a year by 2024. Mr Albanese said Labor was prepared to support only the first stage of the package for low- and middle-income earners - potentially delaying tax relief for workers beyond the end of this financial year. He said the government should not try to legislate changes that would come into effect years after the new Parliament. "If the government plays politics with this by trying to introduce policies that have an effect on future parliaments, then I think that's hubris on behalf of the government," he said. Illustration: Matt Golding Credit: Labor MPs are furious at the impact of the party's franking credit policy and the confused message on the Adani coal mine in Queensland, which they say cost them the crucial northern seat of Herbert. "We equivocated and sent all the wrong messages, not only to coal miners but working class people right across the country," Labor's agriculture spokesman, Joel Fitzgibbon, said. Outgoing Labor senator Doug Cameron warned Mr Albanese not to abandon the "class warfare" that had characterised Mr Shorten's time as leader. Geoffrey Rush holds the record for the largest defamation payout to a single person in Australia after The Daily Telegraph agreed to pay the actor almost $2 million for lost earnings, on top of an $850,000 payout, for a series of reports accusing him of "inappropriate behaviour" towards a female actor. On Thursday, the Federal Court heard that lawyers for Mr Rush and Nationwide News, the publisher of the Telegraph, had agreed the Oscar winner should receive $1.98 million in damages for past and future economic loss resulting from the reports. Geoffrey Rush outside the Federal Court in November. Credit:Peter Rae The court heard Mr Rush had previously offered to settle the case for $50,000, plus costs, and an apology. The $1.98 million figure is in addition to $850,000 in compensatory and aggravated damages, plus $42,302 in interest, that Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney previously awarded Mr Rush to vindicate his reputation and compensate him for the "personal distress and hurt" caused by the reports. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size A grief-stricken sister had a simple plea. She petitioned officials to allow her to travel to Gibson Island and place a wreath on her brothers grave after he suddenly fell ill and died. Officials rejected her request. It was one of the 57 plague deaths recorded in Brisbane during the 1900 outbreak. In that year, at least 16 plague victims were interred on the low-lying island before the practice was abandoned partly because it was deemed inhumane. The precise location of the graveyard and how many victims were buried there is unclear but these men, women and children are among the number based on reports at the time. Body taken on plague boat for burial Wrapped in a sheet covered with corrosive sublimate and placed in a coffin filled with quicklime, Richard John Joseph Shanahans body was transported on the plague boat for burial on Gibson Island. There was some delay in identifying the case because the 18-year-old was suffering from a strain caused by using dumbbells when he went home sick from work at the rear of Quinlan, Gray and Co's premises at Petrie Bight. The teenager lived in Gibbons Street, Woolloongabba - close to James Drevesen, the first person reported to be infected with the plague in Brisbane in the 1900 outbreak. Advertisement Sources: The Telegraph May 16, 1900, The Telegraph May 17, 1900, and Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette May 17, 1900. Umbrella mender succumbs to black death Plague victim Hugh McTafferty lived in a squalid-looking home - which was poorly furnished and undoubtedly dirty - in Spring Hill. The umbrella mender shared a weatherboard tenement, on the corner of Boundary and Bradley streets, with his wife when he fell ill and was taken to the Colmslie Plague Hospital. He never recovered, with his body interred on Gibson Island with other plague victims. Sources: The Week May 25, 1900, The Queenslander June 2, 1900, Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser May 22, 1900, and Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser May 22, 1900. High fences restrict public access to the highest point of Gibson Island where the plague victims were buried, according to records. Credit:Tammy Law Advertisement Cancer sufferer struck down W.E. Walkers health had been failing for years, forcing him to quit his long-held position as a state school teacher then his role with the Department of Public Instruction. The unfortunate man, who lived in Robert Street, Kangaroo Point, and was aged in his 60s, was suffering from tongue cancer when he was struck down with the plague and died. He was buried at Gibson Island, leaving behind a widow and grown-up children. Sources: The North Queensland Register May 28, 1900, The Brisbane Courier May 22, 1900, Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser May 22, 1900, Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser May 22, 1900, and The Telegraph May 21, 1900. Dead at the hospital gate It was feared Thos Moroney could choke because his throat was so swollen. Advertisement The unemployed blacksmith, who lived in Rode Road, Heidelborough Estate at Nundah, had travelled in the railway van to Brunswick Street about 7pm before concerned friends bundled him into a cab bound for Brisbane General Hospital, believing it would make him more comfortable. As the vehicle arrived at the hospital gate, the plague victim died and his body was taken to Gibson Island for burial. Source: The North Queensland Register May 28, 1900, The Telegraph May 22, 1900, Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser May 22, 1900, Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser May 22, 1900, and The Week May 25, 1900. While Gibson Island is an industrial hub today, there are reminders that it was once thickly covered by vegetation. Credit:Tammy Law Lunatic dies of plague A lunatic from the Townsville-Charters Towers area was buried on Gibson Island after he struck down with the plague. William Lee arrived in Brisbane on the A.U.S.N. Company's steamer Arawatta and was placed in quarantine, where he died. Advertisement The vessel was thoroughly fumigated. Sources: Western Star and Roma Advertiser May 23, 1900 and The Queenslander June 2, 1900. Insurance inspector leaves behind a wife and child Before Edward Henry McGregor could be moved to hospital, the insurance inspector died from the plague. He left behind a widow and one child who were quarantined in their home off Main Street, Kangaroo Point, because the residence was deemed remarkably clean and suitable for proper isolation. His body was taken on a special plague boat to Gibson Island, where he was buried. Sources: The Telegraph June 12, 1900, The Telegraph June 13, 1900, Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette June 14, 1900, and Evening News June 13, 1900. Advertisement Champion racehorse owner Damion Flower will plead not guilty to working with a Sydney Airport baggage handler to import more than 50 kilograms of cocaine into Australia. Mr Flower was arrested by a joint strike force at his home in Moorebank, in Sydney's south-west, on Wednesday evening and charged with the commercial importation of cocaine. Damion Flower at the Golden Slipper barrier draw at Rosehill Gardens racecourse in Sydney last year. Credit:AAP The drugs were allegedly being smuggled into the country hidden in the baggage holds of Qantas flights from South Africa. Court documents obtained by the Herald show that Mr Flower allegedly began importing commercial volumes of the drug on January 22 this year, then did so once a month until Wednesday when he was arrested. The traffic problem The former Coalition government argued that a cross-city road bypassing the CBD would provide an alternative to the Monash and West Gate freeways, taking pressure off the West Gate Bridge. The road's business case which was based on traffic forecasts discredited by peer reviewers and the Victorian Auditor-General proposed that it would deal with a shortage of east-west routes. The document outlined that it would help deal with congestion on the Eastern Freeway, where traffic stops abruptly at traffic lights at Clifton Hill. This causes cars to bank up on Alexandra Parade and spread across residential streets in the inner-north and inner-west. The RACV's red spot survey shows that motorists' biggest concern is traffic on Alexandra Parade in Clifton Hill, where over 64,000 vehicles per day crawl through, at average speeds as low as 20 km/h in peak hour. The East West Link is still listed as a high-priority initiative by Infrastructure Australia, with congestion along this corridor set to cost $144 million by 2031 (in 2011 dollars). Peter Anderson, who speaks for Victorias truck lobby as head of the Victorian Transport Association, has warned that widening the Eastern Freeway to up to 24 lanes as part of the North East Link would create a need for the East West Link. "The widening of the Eastern Freeway will feed more cars into Hoddle Street without the East West Link," he said in a position echoed by federal MP Alan Tudge. Its impact During the morning peak, roughly 30 per cent of motorists expected to use the East West Link were estimated to be heading into the city, according to the business case kept secret by the Coalition but later released by Premier Andrews. This would have increased traffic congestion on some of Melbourne's busiest arterials in the inner-north, exacerbating a problem that the road aimed to fix. Moreland and Yarra City Councils, who were part of the Supreme Court appeal against the road in 2014, are already sounding the alarm about the road's possible resurrection. This toll road will only worsen traffic in Yarra," Yarra's mayor Danae Bosler warned. It also needed the compulsory acquisition of 96 homes and 33 businesses. Doesn't stack up The road's traffic forecasts were exposed in the business case as being unreliable by peer reviewers, while a VicRoads whistleblower said the projections ''smacks of a desire to enhance the quantum of benefits''. Meanwhile, industry groups were calling for the western section to be prioritised, which was likely to be a better bang for the taxpayer's buck, the Victorian Auditor-General reported. The road's economic benefit was also a key problem. An initial economic assessment of the East West Link in 2013 found that it would return an abysmal 45 cents for every dollar spent. This was improved slightly to a loss-making return of 84 cents for every dollar, after a series of "wider" economic benefits were controversially factored in. Loading These extra benefits are not typically included in cost-benefit analyses and were "unusually high", according to the Victorian Auditor-General in a scathing review of the project. Eventually, a new business case bumped up the road's value to a benefit-cost ratio of $1.40 for every $1 invested. This was after separate transport projects such as the CityLink widening were included. The politics After retaining a swag of eastern seats targeted in its East West Link push in this federal election, it's now up to the Morrison government to explain the kind of road it wants to build. Is it the East West Link proposed by Napthine and dumped in 2015? Or is it the pre-election alternative proposed by then state opposition leader Matthew Guy last year, to go underground from the Eastern Freeway and link to an elevated section of the West Gate Tunnel? The project's cost also needs clarification. Prior to the election, the federal government said the private sector would stump up an extra $3 billion. But it has since acknowledged that a business case must be updated, and this may provide more "accurate figures". Meanwhile, Victoria's Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien is accusing Premier Andrews of trumping "partisan politics" over "public interest" in refusing to build the road, but the same was said about the Coalition four years ago. Mr Andrews, for his part, has claimed credit for saving Victorians from a dud project, albeit at the cost of $1 billion. But axing the road was also based on poor advice that the road plan could be ripped up at no cost, the watchdog found. Two Melbourne men have been ordered to do hundreds of hours of community work to make up for "ugly" graffiti attacks on dozens of train carriage across the city. Leo Hocking, 35, and Brayden Constantini, 20, filmed and took stills of their tagging, which was what eventually got them caught. Their damage cost Metro Trains $31,435 and Bombardier $2112 to clean and repair. Both men pleaded guilty to intentionally causing criminal damage and trespass Hocking to 157 charges and Constantini to 79 charges. County Court Judge Michael O'Connell ordered the pair to complete hundreds of hours of community work for the graffiti, which included the slogans GURL, ROKS and TIMR. Appointment of New Chairman Perth, May 23, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The board of Eon NRG Limited ( ASX:E2E ) ( OTCMKTS:ICRMF ) (the "Company" or "Eon") is pleased to advise that it has appointed Mr Matthew McCann as Chairman of the board.Mr Stowell was a founder the company in 2009, has served on the board since then and has been Chairman for 5 years. He retired by rotation at the AGM and did not stand for re-election. Mark desires to focus on his private equity business which has long term investments including Eon NRG Ltd.The board thanks Mr Stowell for his leadership, mentoring and inspiration during his tenure which has seen the company transition from an exploiter of existing oilfields to its current exploration focussed expansion phase, and acknowledge his continued support as a shareholder of Eon.Matthew McCannMr McCann has been a member of the board since 2014 and brings a wealth of corporate experience and a deep knowledge of the US oil and gas industry. He has 24 years in the sector in various roles including Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of both public listed (NYSE and TSX) and private companies. Mr McCann was instrumental in growing TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd from a junior explorer to a significant international oil and gas producer (Market cap >US$1B). Matt brings substantial knowledge and experience in US capital markets, acquisitions and corporate strategy and has a strong track record of building shareholder value. He has an extensive network within the US energy sector across finance and industry and will drive the Company as it moves towards development of its Powder River Basin and other future assets.Chairman, Matthew McCann said"As the new Chairman of Eon, my priority is to work with the board and our management team to deliver value for the shareholders.We have worked hard the past couple of years to develop value-creating opportunities. Now we need to execute effectively on those opportunities. Effective execution will result in value that can be realized by our shareholders."About EON NRG Ltd EON NRG Ltd (ASX:E2E) is an USA onshore focused energy exploration and production company. The Company's growth path is through drilling of high impact oil exploration wells, supported by its 100% owned and operated long life oil and gas production assets and associated cashflow. The company also has a battery minerals division with prospective leases in Nevada which are at the early stages of low-cost exploration. A man who was acquitted over the Russell Street bombing has faced court over allegations of raping a woman the night before the infamous attack on police. The alleged victim was inside the Russell Street police complex when the bomb exploded hours after the attack, a court has heard. Peter Komiazyk was charged on Thursday after his bombing co-accused, Craig Minogue, was charged earlier with abducting and raping two young women in 1985 and 1986. Peter Komiazyk arrives at Melbourne Magistrates Court in police custody. Credit:Nine News The second attack was on the eve of the infamous bombing, on March 27, 1986 that killed police officer Constable Angela Taylor, 21, and injured 22 others. The Labor Party and a peak union have descended into a damaging row in the wake of the federal election over the lingering flash-point issue of the Adani coal mine in Queensland. Two factions of the powerful Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union are at odds over the approval of the proposed mine in the Galilee Basin, while Labor MPs are furious the issue was allowed to derail their campaign in Queensland. Annastacia Palaszczuk says her government has moved quickly in response to community frustration with the Adani approval process. Credit:AAP Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Thursday that she would fast-track Adani's planned Carmichael mine, just days after federal Labor's stunning election defeat. "I think everyone's had a gutful so that's why we have moved quickly to resolve this," Ms Palaszczuk told reporters in Townsville. NSW Labor MP Chris Minns has launched his bid for the party's leadership, promising a "fresh and new approach", which would put the NSW planning system and climate change at the forefront of the policy agenda. Mr Minns, who was elected to the NSW Parliament in 2015, said that, after three successive state election defeats, if the party did not embrace change "we are not going to survive as a political movement". NSW Labor MP Chris Minns is to launch his bid for the party leadership. Credit:Janie Barrett "I believe we should turn to a new generation of leadership," Mr Minns said. "We should have new ideas and a fresh approach. "We have to provide answers to the pressing problems facing NSW and, if we don't do that, we are going to continue to fail at the ballot box." This is not because they are interested in protecting child abusers from criminal prosecution, but because Catholic and Eastern Orthodox priests view confession as a sacrament, an act of worship between the penitent and God. You might disagree of course, many do but priests devote their lives to the sacraments, including confession. And this is why they won't violate it. In fact, the confessional seal is so important to the Church, priests who break it by revealing what is said during the sacrament face losing their jobs, expulsion from the priesthood and excommunication. Not only that, why would someone confess child abuse to a priest who would then face criminal charges if he didn't report it? What kind of child abuser goes to confession, anyway? And if they did, they can do so in a way that is anonymous. Even though confession isn't what it looks like in the movies, you get the idea. The penitent is anonymous, behind a screen; the priest doesn't know who they are. A view from the pulpit A Perth priest who spoke to WAtoday on the condition of anonymity said the priesthood would happily comply with mandatory reporting laws for information about child abuse discovered outside the confessional. He said the issue had been discussed at meetings of priests over the past year since it became apparent Labor would introduce the law. "We're unanimous that we would report if it was in a situation outside of the confessional that we learnt this information, but we would never report what happened within," the priest said. "A confession is a sacrament and I think people don't understand that, that it's not equivalent to counselling, or a professional relationship. This is a sacred relationship. "During the prohibition era in the United States, the government created an exception for the sacramental use of wine in Catholic churches. "We cannot interfere in the worship of a religion." The priest said more and more of his colleagues were hearing confessions behind a partition and moving away from face-to-face confessions. "As Thomas Aquinas would say, it's an unenforceable law, therefore it's a bad law," he said. But Ms McGurk and the McGowan Government know this. So why is the government pushing these laws? Ms McGurk says the laws are about implementing a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and "sending a message" the government is serious about protecting children. The crimes uncovered by the Royal Commission were horrendous, and the commissioners did recommend laws forcing priests to report abuse uncovered in confessionals. Even though Ms McGurk said the laws would apply to all religious ministers including imams, rabbis and Salvation Army officers only Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe confession is an inviolable sacrament. Shadow Child Protection Minister Nick Goiran said the laws were a political platitude. "When it comes to this minister, I've got no confidence that she will have a plan on how to enforce this," he said. "It's one thing to say you are implementing a recommendation of the Royal Commission, that is true, but what work has the minister done to ascertain the enforceability of these provisions from the very few jurisdictions in Australia that have so far implemented this? "Be that as it may, the two greatest priorities in child protection at the moment surely must be for the government to get on with providing a comprehensive response to the coroner's report on the 13 child deaths in the Kimberley, that would surely be priority number one. "And a close second in a really tight contest for first spot would be the government's ongoing policy which allows victim a to continue to see their perpetrators at school every day." Mr Goiran was referring to the abused children in the Pilbara. On Thursday morning, Ms McGurk defended the government's response to youth suicide in the Kimberley. "We made an announcement yesterday which was a statement of intent in relation to the coronial inquest and parliamentary inquest into youth suicides, particularly in the Kimberley," she said. "One of the cornerstones of that response was that we would work with the local communities, particularly Aboriginal leaders and members of the community, to understand better how to better respond to youth suicides in their communities. "What we do know is that we don't want the need for this situation to be responded to urgently to compromise effective action." But what is the effective action? We're all short on detail. An attack on the Church? While the government denies the priest confession laws are a distraction from its record on child protection, some within the Catholic Church wonder whether the announcement is just the latest front in a bigger confrontation. One priest told me he believed it was part of a continuing war on the Church in the wake of Australian and international child abuse scandals, which he said was in some ways understandable. "A lot of secular people, or people who may have been in the Church as children but have left, are angry with the Church and this is a way of punishing the Church," he said. Islamabad: Pakistan's military says it has successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. A statement from the military said the surface-to-surface Shaheen-II missile, which has a range of 1500 kilometres was launched on Thursday and ended in the Arabian Sea. A Pakistan-made Shaheen-II surface-to-surface ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in 2004. Credit:AP/File The announcement comes after a six-week general election in neighbouring India, Pakistan's chief regional rival. Both nations have nuclear arms and have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. They regularly test-fire missiles. Birmingham, Alabama: Researchers working in the murky waters of the northern Gulf Coast have located the wreck of the last ship known to have taken enslaved people from Africa to the United States. A statement by the Alabama Historical Commission on Wednesday said remains of the Gulf schooner Clotilda had been identified and verified near Mobile after months of assessment. "The discovery of the Clotilda is an extraordinary archaeological find," Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the commission, said. She said the ship's journey "represented one of the darkest eras of modern history", and the wreck provided "tangible evidence of slavery". Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Police cuffed a Long Island man accused of selling an 80-year-old Bedford-Stuyvesant womans $1 million brownstone home without her knowledge. The defendant, a 51-year-old Mount Sinai resident, was arraigned Tuesday on charges including second-degree grand larceny and second-degree money laundering in Kings County Supreme Court, and faces up to 15 years in prison, according to District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. The Long Islander, who acted in cahoots with another suspect, who remains on the lam, allegedly stole the deed for the victims Clifton Place brownstone located between Bedford and Nostrand avenues where she and her family had lived for 30 years, until a fire forced them to vacate the property in 2010, Gonzalez said. The defendant and his accomplice sold the older womans home to a developer for $850,000 in 2015, forging the victims signature on the stolen deed, before wiring $190,000 to an account in Athens, Greece, withdrawing $120,000 in cash, and transferring a whopping $250,000 to an account owned by his wife, according to the district attorney. The victim would later discover her whole house had been stolen after a neighbor informed her that a worker there had introduced himself as the new owner, according to Gonzalez. This defendant allegedly thought he could take advantage of an elderly homeowners absence to steal her house and sell it before she or anyone else noticed, said the prosecutor. Brooklyns robust real estate market continues to be an attractive target for theft and fraud. The defendant was ordered held on $150,000 bond, or $75,000 cash bail, and is due back in court on Aug. 14. Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixs on@cn gloca l.com or by calling (718) 260-4505. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Brooklyns top prosecutor has indicted four scammers for allegedly selling a Canarsie home which they did not own. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the charges on May 22 against Ramjit Jaikaran of Queens, Colin Hill of Queens, Kaso Rampersad of Florida, and Justin Codrington of New Rochelle in relation to the 2017 scheme. Prosecutors allege the four men fraudulently convinced a Guyanese couple to pay $276,000 for the home, located on E. 94th Street in Canarsie. The home was actually registered to Ruth Adelman, who died in 1993 and did not have a will. According to a subsequent investigation, Jaikaran acted as a real estate agent on behalf of Rampersad, who posed as the heir to the deceased homeowner. Hill, impersonating a lawyer, presented the victims will falsified documents, including a fraudulent deed and birth certificate, purporting to show Rampersads legal ownership of the property. The victims handed over two bank checks, totalling $276,000, to the con artists, believing they were purchasing the legal rights to the Southern Brooklyn home, according to Gonzalez. Codrington deposited one of the ill-gotten checks to a shell corporation, Gonzalez said, while the other was chased by a company controlled by Jaikarans wife. The victims learned that they had been defrauded several months later, when they were sued by Valley Capital Partners, LLC, which had truly purchased the home from the deceased homeowners actual next of kin, according to prosecutors. The four men face a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charges. Each was hit with various charges in the 20-count indictment, which included conspiracy, identity theft, and falsifying business records. Codrington is being held on $30,000 bail, while the other three were released without bail, prosecutors said. The four men are due back in court on June 26. Gonzalez used the indictment to reaffirm his offices pledge to the prosecution of homeowner fraud. I am committed to protecting homeowners and home purchasers in Brooklyn and will now seek to hold the defendants accountable for this alleged scheme, said Gonzalez. As property values continue to rise in Brooklyn, protecting residents from fraudulent real estate schemes is a top priority. Beyond regulation, demand for sustainable and long-term investment is significantly higher than the supply of appropriate assets, as shown by recent green energy/infrastructure projects that were oversubscribed. Action is also therefore needed to achieve the creation of suitable, sustainable investment opportunities. This was the message from Insurance Europes president, Andreas Brandstetter, CEO and chairman of UNIQA Insurance Group, speaking at the 11th International Insurance Conference that takes place today in Bucharest. Brandstetter said that insurers can contribute towards a more sustainable Europe in multiple ways: through stewardship, investment and divestment strategies, and co-investment with governments in key green infrastructure programmes. Insurance Europe estimates that European insurers have committed to invest well over 50bn in sustainable investments between 2018 and 2020, he said. Through the combined efforts of all stakeholders, including industry, civil society and governments, we can make Europe sustainable for generations to come. Brandstetter also called on policymakers to help insurers refine the protection they offer against cyber-attacks, which are increasing in both frequency and severity. One of the main barriers to the development of the cyber insurance market is the lack of data on cyber risks. However, recent pieces of legislation that require companies to report cyber incidents to relevant authorities (eg, GDPR and the NIS Directive) have created a wealth of useful data. Policymakers could help insurers to better protect society by providing them with access to anonymised information about cyber-attacks, he said. Brandstetter also highlighted closing the pension savings gap as a key priority. This is another challenge where insurers can play a key role but requires EU policymakers to improve Solvency II, so that capital requirements reflect the real risks insurers face. This will enable them to offer the best possible returns to customers with long-term insurance savings products and, in turn, could help to address the growing pension savings gap by encouraging more people to save in private pension products. Pension provision is and will remain under the remit of national governments. However, their solvency regulation falls under the remit of EU co-legislators, so it is encouraging to see that they recognise the potential of personal pensions as a way to stimulate long-term savings, he said. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The Narendra Modi dispensation has little time to celebrate the landslide win in the Lok Sabha election as it will have to immediately address challenges facing the economy, which is witnessing a slowdown. While the economy is stuck at 7-7.2 per cent growth for the last two financial years, and is not expected to grow any better this time, the government found hard to meet the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent for FY19. The challenge now is to turn around the economy in these circumstances. The incoming government is set out to stamp its reform agenda fast, with the buzz that ... Responding to the developments, ClientEarth climate finance lawyer Megan Clay said: The Pensions Minister warned pension fund trustees that they will be breaching their statutory duties if they do not take into account the risk of climate change. This is hugely significant and shows the government feels climate risk and opportunities should be central to pension funds investment decisions. Pension fund trustees must take note. If catastrophic climate change is allowed to continue on the current trajectory, pensions savings will suffer, as will quality of life in retirement. The law already requires trustees to consider the financial risks posed by climate change when making their investments. But we hope that these conversations will lead to new legislation clarifying and strengthening this duty to push pension funds to invest in line with the Paris Agreement. That means they, and their savers, will support and benefit from the transition to a low carbon economy. The Minister went on to observe that the UKs pensions regulator is acutely mindful of the risks climate change poses to pension funds and may take punitive measures. ClientEarth has already alerted the Pensions Regulator to multiple funds they believe are falling short on climate risk action. Clay said: Proper enforcement of investment regulations in respect of climate change is crucial. The Pensions Regulator must make sure the right resources are available to ensure that trustees who continue to breach their duties by neglecting climate change are held to account. Initial trends during the first few rounds of vote count show the tide in favour of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha. BJD was leading in 73 of the 102 seats where counting had taken off. The number is just one seat shy of the magic figure of 74 in the state assembly's total strength of 147. If preliminary trends are any indication, the party is coasting home for a fifth straight term. Though unable to topple BJD, the BJP's tally in the state assembly is bound to go up with the party leading in 21 constituencies. At 2014 assembly polls, ... The BJP has not only registered an emphatic victory in Lok Sabha elections 2019, but also nearly doubled the number of states and Union Territories (UTs) where it has polled more than 50 per cent votes. From seven in 2014, the number of such states and UTs has in 2019 gone up to 13, according to the Election Commission (EC) data. At 9 pm, EC trends showed that the BJP had won 109 seats and was leading on 194. The BJP has improved its 2014 Lok Sabha performance, which in itself had been quite comprehensive with an absolute majority 282 out of 543 seats. The saffron ... On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first ever non-Congress prime minister to return to power after a full term, and also the first in 48 years to return with a majority. The BJP, at the time of filing this report, was leading in 303 seats, and in 353 seats along with its allies. The last time a party crossed the 300-seat mark was in 1984, when the Congress won more than 400 seats in ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor With a saffron tide washing over most of India, the question that needs answering is: What worked and what did not, and why? Nationalism or rashtra hit was the central theme adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Lok Sabha election campaign, especially in Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition adopted middle- and low-caste unity as its central theme in the state against the thakurvad of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The former worked, the latter did not, and it is now evident that not just Dalits but also Other Backward Classes (OBCs), including Yadavs, ... Created with the intention of under-cutting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, the Mahagathbandhan seems to have self-destructed into oblivion. Probably, the only gains of what Modi called the unholy and adulterated alliance seems to have accrued to Mayawati and her party. Leads show that the Samajwadi Party (SP), which was expected to gain big from this alliance, will end up winning no more than six seats in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will end up winning not more than 12 seats in different states. In Uttar Pradesh, which ... The Congresss precipitous defeat in the Lok Sabha election has many top leaders of the party wondering if it will still be around or whether the BJP has attained its objective of Congress-mukt Bharat. The party that hovered around 50 seats, marginally more than the 45 in the last Lok Sabha, managed to get seats primarily in Punjab and south India (four in Telangana, eight in Tamil Nadu and 19 in Kerala). We seriously have to introspect. It is time for a complete organisational overhaul, said a party contestant from Tamil Nadu, who was leading his ... With counting still on at the time of filing this report, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had already won 61 parliamentary seats and was leading in three others across UP, the state which elects the maximum (80) members to the Lok Sabha. In one of the biggest upsets of the election, Congress President Rahul Gandhi was stunned in the Congress stronghold of Amethi ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor A tally above 300 for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is good news. This is what the market was hoping for. The budget NDA government put out last time will help consumption, but I think the new government needs to now come back with extra measures, which will help kick-start the economy without going overboard on the fiscal deficit. If the new government can do that, that is kick-start the economy again, then I think the markets will go higher. In doing so, I dont think the markets will mind if there are minor slippages. The growth is slowing and the trade war is ... Union Minister Harshvardhan on Thursday said that BJP will perform better in 2019 Lok Sabha elections in comparison to 2014 polls. "I have repeatedly said that 2019 results will be better than 2014. Now as you are seeing trends, I am leading. You have also seen exit polls. People are appreciating that Narendra Modi-government served people honestly," Harshvardhan told ANI. The Union Minister is seeking re-election from Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency in Delhi where he is leading by a margin of over 14,000 votes. He is pitted against Congress heavyweight and former union minister Jai Prakash Agarwal from Chandhi Chowk. When asked to comment on Congress president Rahul Gandhi trailing in Amethi, Harshvardhan said, "In 1977, I had campaigned in Rae Bareli and Amethi. I have seen people defeating Late Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. That's why I am not surprised if I get to see the same result in Rae Bareli and Amethi in this election there." The Union Minister said that Congress' negative would lead to their defeat in the ongoing elections. "Congress who worked for independence is now indulged in negative They do not have any program. Congress is a synonym of corruption. Ten years of UPA rule was famous for scams," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 5th Smart Cities India 2019 expo, including Transport India, Solar India, Buildings India and Water India expos, was inaugurated by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, at the Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Organised by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) and Exhibitions India Group, the event builds upon Government of India's 'Smart Cities Mission' through a display of a vast array of products and solutions relevant to building smart cities in India, including: Solutions for home automation/IoT; building intelligence monitoring (BIM) of smart buildings; green building solutions; water/sanitation technologies; environment-related solutions for pollution monitoring; urban planning and smart IT and communications; security systems; smart transport; smart grid, clean energy and energy storage devices, etc. "Urbanisation is growing at a very fast pace across the world: Total global urban population in 1950 was 30per cent and today it is close to 58 per cent, with projections of 68 per cent in the times to come. This is unprecedented growth, with the rate of urbanisation being the fastest in India. Our urban population was around 31 per cent in the 2011 census and is projected to grow beyond 40 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2050. This is the speed of urban transformation in the country. Today, urbanisation is at the forefront. Experience from the world over has shown that cities are engines of growth. But urbanisation also leads to many challenges in terms of mobility, utilities, infrastructure, etc. A citizen living in an urban setting many expectations and unless he gets a conducive environment, he may not be able to achieve his full potential. In the last five years, the path we have taken for urban transformation is not incremental, but transformational, especially in terms of cleanliness, employment and livelihood opportunities, and housing", said Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. "In India, we have a population of 1.36 billion people, which is nearly 30per cent of India's population living in urban environments. This 31 per cent of the population contributes 63 per cent of India's GDP. Everyone talks about modernising the Tier I cities to create state-of-the-art pockets that would deliver the economic and infrastructural support for industries to expand, attract FDI, etc. But the emphasis is not just on Tier I cities; it is also being expanded to Tier II and Tier III cities as well, and work is in progress to uplift these environments also. And this is the mission of the Smart Cities India expo as well. In the last few years, the government and the industry have invested large sums of money in realising the dream of the Smart Cities Mission. To many of us, their hard work may not be visible, and there are many nay-sayers on the achievements, but there is a segment of the population that is already reaping benefits of this movement, and that is being shared by a larger audience", said Prem Behl, Chairman, Exhibitions India Group. The inaugural session also witnessed the release of a knowledge paper by the Knowledge Partner KPMG, titled "IoT in Smart Cities". "In the last 5 years, over Rs 10 lakh crore has been earmarked for urban development plans such as the Smart Cities Mission, Swachh Bharat and AMRUT. Many levers have also been used, whether it is policies, reforms, institutional changes, access to finance, etc. that have actually made this happen and brought us here today to be able to talk about what India should be looking at as far as smart cities is concerned," said, Sameer Jain, Partner, Government Advisory (Urban and Smart Cities), KPMG. "Pollution and congestion are the foremost challenges for our cities. The Government of India has taken a calculated stand where privatisation in the transport sector has come through the FAME I & II schemes, with focus on public transport. We are talking about a mind-shift to encourage public transportation using electric as well as clean fuel technologies. That is the direction India has taken. Courtesy the FAME schemes, the citizens are now accepting those electric vehicles are an efficient, clean, economic, as well as a fairly well-established segment of the transport industry in the country", said a release of a whitepaper prepared by pManifold, Rahul Bagdia, Director and Co-founder. Also released was a whitepaper by Industry Partner Mazars Advisory. The whitepaper - Synchronising a SMARTER India - discusses at length the global smart cities market, the inception of the Smart Cities Mission and its focus areas. "The report examines and analyses the development pipeline of Indian smart cities today, being centred on synchronising a smarter India. Market-wise IT opportunity brought about by the Smart Cities Mission is projected to be around USD 25 million per smart city, creating a robust window of around USD 30-40 billion over the next 5 to 10 years", said Ankur Malhotra, Director, Mazars Advisory LLP. "We are proud to be associated with the 5th Smart Cities India 2019 expo, organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and Exhibitions India Group. Fast-paced social, infrastructural and economic development is definitely on the cards and it is imperative to streamline momentum across the country. This expo is an enriching and dynamic opportunity for a multitude of public and private leaders, industry experts and social groups to get together every year, looking at the progression pipeline, addressing any impending criticalities and canvassing best practices that can further smarten up Indian cities on both a local & global level", said Bharat Dhawan, Partner, Mazars India. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the counting trends showing BJP-led NDA heading towards a comfortable majority in Lok Sabha, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the first world leader to make a congratulatory telephone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Leaders of several countries, including China, Russia, Bangladesh and Vietnam, also sent congratulatory messages to Modi. During the conversation, Modi and Abe noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared visions of peace, progress and prosperity. The two Prime Ministers were looking forward to their meeting during the G20 Summit in Osaka next month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. In a letter addressed to Modi, Chinese President Xi Jimping noted the great importance he attached to the development of India-China ties and his desire to work with the Indian Prime Minister to take the "closer development partnership" between the two countries to a new height, the MEA said. Xi also expressed satisfaction over the strong momentum of development in India-China relations in recent years with joint efforts on both sides. In a congratulatory telegram sent to Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote, "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India." Shortly after that, Putin also called Modi to congratulate him over his party's victory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa, and former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom took to Twitter to send their congratulations to Modi. "Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel.Well done, my friend!" the tweet by Netanyahu read. The Afghan President wrote on Twitter, "Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia." "My heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi for his great electoral victory. Together, we will make sure that relations between #Portugal and #India will rise to a new level of friendship and cooperation in the next years," the Portugal Prime Minister said on Twitter. "Warm congratulations to Indian PM HE @narendramodi on his election victory. Wish him a successful tenure. Maldives and India share common ideals of peace, democracy, human rights and progress," Abdul Gayoom wrote. Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also sent their congratulatory messages. Sirisena wrote on his official Twitter handle, "Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India in the future.@narendramodi" The Sri Lankan Prime Minister tweeted, "Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you." As the counting for the world's largest democracy is underway, the ruling BJP seems set to cross the 300-mark along with its allies in Lok Sabha. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 282 seats, 10 more the halfway mark, on its own and crossed the 300-mark with its allies. If the trends convert into seats, this would be the first time in more than 40 years in India, a party with a majority on its own will be coming back to power with a similar showing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that he accepts people's decision but added that "this is also a fact that people had their doubts about EVMs". "I accept people's decision but this is also a fact that people had their doubts about EVMs. Congress had performed really well in Rajiv Gandhi's time but nobody doubted elections then. Same when Atal Bihari Vajpayee won," he told the media here. As per the latest trends, the ruling BJP is storming back to power with a comfortable majority on its own for the second consecutive time and is set to cross the 300-mark along with its allies in the Lok Sabha. The BJP, whose campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank, was leading in 292 seats, 20 seats more than the halfway mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Its allies Shiv Sena (20), JD-U (16) and Lok Janshakti Party (6) were also doing well in Maharashtra and Bihar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aeon Co. Ltd of Japan has established one of its largest shopping hubs in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam to cater consumers with various high-quality products. 'Aeon Mall Binh Tan' is one of the largest shopping hubs in Ho Chi Minh City where the retail company provides a variety of original products used by consumers both for recreation and serious shopping. "This hand soap is developed by Topvalu. The purpose of this product is mainly to improve the daily lives of Vietnam people. This product realizes a unique value to Vietnam," said Mai Cat Phuong from Aeon Topvalu in Vietnam. At the same time, the company had also considered the fact that living conditions differ in every country depending upon their geographical locations, features, and terrain. For example, water in Vietnam is course and the soap developed in the country is according to the needs of the people. However, the soap only makes hair stiffer and the skin rough. Aeon's product has been developed to solve the inconvenience faced by the people. "Through the effort in the production process, we have been able to provide customers with high-quality products at affordable prices, contributing to the satisfaction of the people who bought Topvalu products," said Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Mai from Aeon. The company considers not only producing good quality products but also contributes to the improvement of living standards and consumer satisfaction. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, after his party BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections. Responding to Khan's message, Modi on Thursday said that he has always "given primacy to peace and development in our region." Messages of support for PM Modi have been pouring in after the BJP secured a resounding mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Dozens of world leaders have either personally called him to laud his victory in the general elections or have extended their wishes on Twitter. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted earlier on Thursday. Responding to him, PM Modi wrote: "Thank you PM @ImranKhanPTI. I warmly express my gratitude for your good wishes. I have always given primacy to peace and development in our region." Ahead of the polls, Khan had said that there might be a better chance of peace talks with India if PM Modi wins the elections. He reportedly said that if the next Indian government were to be led by the Congress party, it might be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir, fearing a backlash from the right wing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) American actor Amber Heard is fighting a very serious issue. Heard is putting in efforts to make the distribution of sexually explicit content of individuals without their consent, a federal crime. TMZ reported that Heard was advocating for the 'SHIELD act' on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The bill emphasizes on making the sharing of obscene content without a person's consent, a crime punishable up to five years in prison. This comes in the wake of a similar experience that the actor faced in 2014 when hackers posted topless pictures of Heard online. The 'Justice League' actor is voicing concerns after facing the adversity. Last month, Heard opened about the years she spent with ex-husband Johnny Depp, referring him as 'the monster'. Depp also filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against her ex-wife and submitted a statement that Heard 'painted on bruises' and caused 'serious bodily injury', in support of his suit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In yet another blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is struggling hard to get a Brexit deal cleared through both houses, one of her key minister, House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom resigned on Wednesday. Leadsom, a Brexit supporter, has supported May's Brexit deal in the Parliament. This comes amid the calls of May's resignation have gone louder. However, the embattled leader is making all effort to convince the opposition to go with her deal. In her resignation letter, Leadsom said she no longer believed May's approach to Brexit could "deliver on the referendum result" or ensure "a truly sovereign United Kingdom." Leadsom said a second Brexit referendum would be "dangerously divisive." May, too, has opposed a second referendum, but on Tuesday she offered Parliament a chance to vote on whether there should be a second public vote. Leadsom added that tolerance for those in May's leadership team "who advocate policies contrary to the government's position had led to a complete breakdown of collective responsibility." The Prime Minister's office has said that May was "disappointed" that Leadsom had resigned but she "remains focused on delivering the Brexit people voted for." Recently, as a last-ditch effort by the PM to gather support for the deal, May gave a chance to those in the Parliament asking for a second referendum on Brexit to have their way by introducing a new Brexit deal, even as she maintained her stand against the move. The MPs supporting a second referendum would still need to pass the new deal in order to have their way, as per the British leader. This comes after the talks between and the opposition-led Labour Party which have lasted nearly two months have been collapsed. The Brexit deal has already been defeated three times by the British Parliamentarians and the chances of it being passed at the fourth time look slim. It was confirmed on Thursday that May would outline a timetable for her departure after the June vote is held, regardless of the outcome. In other words, the Conservative Party would hold an election to choose a new Prime Minister, this summer, likely bringing with it a new round of political uncertainty. May's attempt to reach an agreement has angered the hardline pro-Brexit faction in her party. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday hailed as "historic" his party's thumping victory in the Lok Sabha polls, outlining that it was after 50 years that a Prime Minister is returning to power for a second consecutive term with a majority. "This is a historic victory. After 50 years someone has won an absolute majority for the second time in a row", Shah said, addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters here. Attacking Congress, he said, "There are 17 regions including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Daman Diu, Uttarakhand among others where Congress has got zero seats. For 50 years Congress and other parties were moving forward with a vote bank of dynasty and appeasement but today's mandate will finish such for forever". Shah also tore into the opposition parties and took a jibe at N Chandrababu Naidu whose TDP lost the Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh. "In Uttar Pradesh, we are winning 60 seats after defeating SP-BSP alliance. This thumping majority says that in coming times, dynastic and casteist is going to lose its existence. The 21 dynastic parties were roaming around Delhi questioning exit poll and to create confusion among people." He said if Naidu had worked this hard in the elections, TDP could have performed better. He outlined BJP's performance in West Bengal where the party was leading in 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats and said that it confirms that in the near future, BJP is going to dominate in the state. "Over 80 people have lost lives their lives in West Bengal in last two years while working for BJP's expansion in the state. Even after so much violence and rigging, BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal. It tells that in coming days, BJP will establish its might in West Bengal. In Kerala and Karnataka also a lot of our party workers have lost lives", he said. Shah lauded party workers for the emphatic win in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and said, "After Assembly election results I had told the BJP workers that Congress might have won but we have not lost. Today out of 65 seats in the three states, we have won 63 seats which confirms our resolve to put up a fight." He also congratulated YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling and Arunachal BJP chief Prema Khandu for their stellar performance in assembly elections in their respective states. "This is a victory of 11 crore party workers and that of the public. This is the victory of our Modi government's policy of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'. In these five years, the Modi government had uplifted the living standard of 28 crore poor families of India. Such positive steps were taken for the first time after Independence and their blessings have led us to win." Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present at the BJP headquarters. Before his address, Shah had welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the gates of the party office. Rose petals were showered on the two leaders by BJP supporters who had gathered, Celebrations had started at the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg since afternoon after the initial trends showed a massive win for the party. Out of 542 Lok Sabha seats which went to poll, BJP has won 103 and is leading in 199. Congress has bagged 26 seats and is leading in 25 constituencies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the BJP and its allies looking at a historic mandate in the Lok Sabha polls, actor Vivek Oberoi took a swipe at the opposition leaders. The actor tweeted a meme in which "Modi" brand detergent literally whitewashes leaders of the opposition who joined hands to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi out of power but failed to do so. He also advised the politicians, writing, "A humble request to you all - please spend less time hating #Modi and more time loving #Bharat." The 'Prince' actor told leaders that "India needs a sensible opposition for a healthy democracy". In the photo, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia Gandhi, JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy, BSP's Mayawati, NCP's Sharad Pawar, and other leaders are seen hand-in-hand. Modi brand detergent swipes by leaving a white-washed patch- a parallel to the mammoth victory of the BJP. "To all the politicians who were united by their hate against @narendramodi. A humble request to you all - please spend less time hating #Modi and more time loving #Bharat. India needs a sensible opposition for a healthy democracy. Jai Hind #ElectionResults2019 #ModiPhirSe," he tweeted. Oberoi plays Narendra Modi in the Prime Minister's yet-to-be-released biopic and has also campaigned for his party. The ruling BJP is set to storm back to power with a comfortable majority on its own for the second consecutive time and is set to cross the 300-mark along with its allies in the Lok Sabha. Their campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank. On the other side, the main challenger Congress is way behind, leading in only 50 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the spectacular performance of the NDA in the general elections. "I would like to congratulate honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi on getting huge support across the nation. The public has given a clear mandate which is a big responsibility on our shoulders," said Kumar. He further said that the public of Bihar has rejected the bitter atmosphere created during this election. "Attempts were made to create a bitter atmosphere during the elections but I am happy that the public has rejected it." Evading the question of his party's stand on Article 370, Kumar said, "As a party, we have already clarified our position on such issues. All the NDA allies will work in consensus." Asked if his party colleagues would join the cabinet of the Modi government, Kumar said, "The leadership and other political allies will think about it and there is nothing special about it." To the possibility of the NDA government granting special status to Bihar, Kumar said, "In the recently held meeting of all NDA allies, I laid emphasis on taking a special initiative for the backward states. PM Modi also said that he will give extra attention to the Eastern region." Explaining the reason for not interacting much with media during the campaigning, Kumar said, "Media usually asks for reactions on other leaders' statement and I don't find it appropriate to react to what others say." . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP made deep inroads in West Bengal and Odisha in the Lok Sabha with its "Look East policy' penetrating the two greenfield states for the party. The BJP led in 17 out of 42 seats in West Bengal and and 7 out of 21 in Odisha. The ruling Trinamool Congress has suffered a setback leading only in 25 seats, a loss of 9 sets in comparison to 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2014 general elections, BJP had won only two in West Bengal and one in Odisha. BJP leader and Union Minister Babul Supriyo is ahead of actress-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen in Asansol Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of over 69,749 votes. Last year, Supriyo won this seat with a lead of 70,480 votes. In Odisha, BJD is leading in 14 seats out of 21, BJP ahead on 7. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 10 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat while Naveen Patnaik's BJD had won 117 assembly seats and 20 Lok Sabha seats. BJP's heavyweight candidate Aparajita Sarangi, a former IAS orficer, is leading with a margin of 11,201 votes sitting MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo of BJD in Bhubaneswar. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra is leading with 1,970 votes against BJD's Panaki Mishra in Puri. It is worth mentioning that six months ago, BJP president Amit Shah predicted winning 23 sets of 42 for his party in West Bengal. Since then, he kept claiming in every election rally that his party will be surging ahead in Bengal with almost two dozen seats, which is more than half of total 42 in the state. And no wonder why Prime Minister Modi held around 17 rallies in West Bengal including one at the historic Brigade Parade Ground in April. Earlier this month, Shah repeated the same tally during a press conference in the capital, which was held in the presence of Prime Minister Modi. While the Prime Minister had accused Mamata of "despotic rule" in the state and turning democracy into "goondacracy", Mamata equated him with Duryodhana, the main villain of the epic Mahabharat. As Odisha and West Bengal were among the two keenly watched states in this Lok Sabha elections, majority of party workers and supporters of TMC and BJD exchange blows with BJP's candidates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Riding on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP on Thursday got an overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha, crossing on its own the 300 mark while storming back to power for the second consecutive term. The BJP-led NDA was close to touching the 350 mark like in the previous elections in 2014. The half-way mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha is 272. Putting up a spectacular show in the new eastern regions, like West Bengal and Odisha, the BJP improved on its 2014 performance by winning 42 seats and was leading in 260 seats till late evening while the Congress has bagged two seats and was ahead in only 48 others. The BJP, which had won 282 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections also helped the NDA coalition to notch 343 seats overall. This will be the first time when a non-Congress party has managed to secure a majority on its own for the second consecutive term after Indira Gandhi had won in 1971. Earlier her father Jawaharlal Nehru had performed that feat. The saffron surge covered the Hindi heartland, entered in a big way in the east, in West Bengal and Odisha and also the west where it swept Maharashtra. Karnataka, the only state in the south where it had formed a government in the past, fell to BJP's sweep. Only Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh were untouched by the BJP storm. Modi who exploited his government's campaign against terrorism by the aerial strikes in Pakistan that overshadowed a number of anti-incumbency issues like economic downturn and agrarian unrest to repeat his 2014 show in crucial states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and made fresh gains in Karnataka. Like five years ago, the BJP also swept Gujarat (25), Delhi (7), Haryana (10), Himachal Pradesh (4) and Uttarakhand (5). The ruling party has added 22 seats to its tally of 282 in the 2014 election of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha. BJP allies Shiv Sena were ahead in 19, JD-U (16) and Lok Janshakti Party (1 win and 5 leads) were also doing well in Maharashtra and Bihar. Its ally SAD was leading in two seats in Punjab. On the other side, the main challenger Congress did no better than the previous elections and was way behind BJP. Congress president Rahul Gandhi suffered a humiliating defeat in Amethi, the Gandhi bastion in Uttar Pradesh at the hands of Union Minister Smriti Irani by over 38,000 votes. However, he had a face-saving victory in Wayanad in Kerala where he was leading by 4.2 lakhs to his nearest CPI(M) rival. Congress ally DMK has put up a good show bagging one seat and leading in 23 of the 38 seats in Tamil Nadu. The Congress was leading in eight of the nine seats it contested in the state. The party was also doing well in Kerala where it was leading in 15 out of total 20 parliamentary seats. The Congress rout was so huge that nine of its former chief ministers lost in the hustings. They were Shiela Dikshit (Delhi), Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Haryana), Digvijaya Singh (Madhya Pradesh) Ashok Chavan and Sushil Kumar Shinde (Maharashtra), Mukul Sangma (Meghalaya), Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh) and Veerappa Moily (Karnataka). Prime Minister Modi was leading comfortably in Varanasi where he is seeking a second term while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led in Raebareli. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was leading in Lucknow and BJP President Amit Shah won by a big margin in Gandhinagar. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was leading in Azamgarh while his father Mulayam Singh Yadav was leading in Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. Senior SP leader Azam Khan was leading in Rampur. Union Minister Maneka Gandhi was trailing in Sultanpur, whereas her son Varun Gandhi was leading from Pilibhit constituency in UP. BJP's ride back to power was also enabled by its spectacular show in West Bengal where it was leading in 18 of the 42 seats in the state. The ruling Trinamool Congress has suffered a severe setback as it could lead only in 23 seats against 34 it had in the outgoing Lok Sabha. In Odisha, the BJP made inroads into BJD's strongholds and was leading in 9 seats. It had won 1 seat in the last elections. The ruling BJD was ahead in 12 seats. The BJP also was set to sweep in Bihar where the party and its ally JD(U) were ahead in 16 seats each and the other ally LJP was leading in six seats. The BJP has already bagged one seat in the state, which has 40 seats. Karnataka also was going the BJP way where it was leading in 23 of the 28 seats, pushing the ruling Congress-JDS behind. The Congress-JDS alliance managed to win two seats in the state. former Prime Minister Deva Gowda lost in Hassan and chief minister Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil was defeated in Mandya. He lost to actress Sumalatha, who was backed by the BJP. Apart from fresh gains, the BJP put up a sterling show in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where it had lost the Assembly polls five months ago. In the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP was set to lose 11 of its seats it had won in 2014. In the last elections, the BJP had bagged 71 seats while its ally Apna Dal got two seats. The SP-BSP-RLD, which was projected to give a tough challenge to the BJP was ahead in 16 seats. The BSP has already bagged one seat the lone seat in which the Congress was leading was that of Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli. In Delhi, the AAP and Congress, which failed to broker a deal, drew a blank. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The counting of votes in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies began on Thursday amidst tight security, capping a two-month long election process which witnessed high-octane campaigning and charges of tampering EVMs and violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The counting process also started at 8 am for four state assemblies -- Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, and by-elections in 22 seats in Tamil Nadu, which went to polls along with the general elections. The outcome of the by-polls could change the fate of the AIADMK-led government in the state. Representatives of political parties were present at the counting centres across India where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were kept in strong rooms. Most exit polls have predicted a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA whose campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition, however, has rejected the exit polls, calling them wrong and erroneous. Among the keenly watched constituencies are Varanasi from where Prime Minister Modi is seeking re-election and Amethi represented by Congress president Rahul Gandhi since 2004. Rahul is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala. His mother Sonia Gandhi is seeking another term from Raebareli. The Election Commission on Wednesday rejected the demand of 22 opposition parties for counting of five VVPAT samples first and also taking up 100 per cent counting of VVPATs in case of any mismatch with an EVM. Opposition parties also alleged that EVMs were replaced from the strong rooms in some constituencies in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh after what they said was suspicious movement of the voting machines on Tuesday. However, the EC had rubbished the charge, terming it as "absolutely false". A 24-hour control room has been made functional at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi to monitor complaints relating to the voting machines. Ahead of the counting process, a three-tier security system was put in place at the EVM strong rooms. The counting of votes is being carried out under CCTV surveillance. As per the EC's directives, five polling stations per Assembly segment will be selected on a random basis for verification of VVPAT slips. The verification process of VVPATs may take four to five hours. The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections commenced on April 11 and the last phase of voting was held on May 19. The dates were announced by the EC on March 10, following which the MCC had come into effect. Over 8,000 candidates are in the fray for 542 Lok Sabha seats. The election to the Vellore seat in Tamil Nadu was countermanded following the seizure of cash from a godown allegedly belonging to a DMK leader. In the two-month long election process, leaders cutting across party lines were engaged in a high-decibel campaign, making promises and launching attacks on their opponents in a bid to woo the voters. At a dinner hosted by BJP president Amit Shah for NDA allies on Tuesday, the Prime Minister had said that the NDA is an alliance which would represent the country's expectations and ambitions. "We have become an organic entity. The NDA has played an important role in fulfilling the regional aspirations," Modi said. Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, is banking on his party's proposed NYAY scheme, which promises to provide Rs 72,000 annually to 20 per cent of the country's poorest. He and other Congress leaders repeatedly attacked BJP for alleged irregularities in Rafale fighter jet deal, demonetisation and GST, besides employment and agrarian issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After facing a humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections, Congress Working Committee (CWC) is expected to meet on Saturday in Delhi, sources said. Congress in this election suffered a defeat in the hand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP. The grand old party could only manage to get 49 seats while leading on other three seats. Whereas the BJP repeated its 2014 landslide victory with winning more than 300 seats so far. Even Congress' chief Rahul Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh could not save themselves from the saffron' wave. Earlier in the day, Rahul held a press conference and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for BJP's bumper win in the general elections. Boosting the morale of the party candidates and workers, he said, "Our candidates fought with all their heart. I say to the people of Congress party and those who believe in our ideology that you do not need to be scared." Gandhi congratulated Modi but refused to comment on the mandate his party got. "Frankly, today is the not the day to discuss what I think went wrong because people of India have clearly decided that Narendra Modi is going to be their Prime Minister and as an Indian, I respect that," he said. He also conceded defeat in Amethi parliamentary constituency - a bastion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and congratulated his BJP opponent Smriti Irani, whom he defeated with a landslide margin in 2014 general elections. "She has won and I congratulate her," he said. Gandhi has been an MP from the parliamentary constituency since 2004. He, however, won from Wayanad with a landmark 4 lakh margin. After the Congress' drubbing in elections, there were reports that Gandhi offered to resign as party president. However, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed these reports as "incorrect". When asked on fixing responsibility for the electoral loss, Gandhi said, "This is between my party and I. Between me and the Congress CWC. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The number of passengers flying domestic airlines dropped by 4.5 per cent to 109.95 lakh in April as compared to 115.13 lakh in the same month of the previous year, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The key reason was grounding of Jet Airways on April 17, which cut the total seat capacity and shrank the market. Taken together in the first four months of calendar 2019, however, the number of flyers was up 2.5 per cent at 464.47 lakh compared to 453.03 lakh in January to April of 2018. Of these, 404.23 lakh passengers were flown by private carriers while the government-owned Air India flew 60.25 lakh travellers. SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor in April at 93.7 per cent followed by GoAir at 90.8 per cent and IndiGo at 87.8 per cent. Air India's PLF was 81.2 per cent, according to DGCA figures. GoAir had the best on-time performance followed by Air Asia, Vistara, IndiGo, and Air India. IndiGo had a market share of 45.6 per cent from January to April while SpiceJet had 13.4 per cent, GoAir at 9.6 per cent and Air India at 13 per cent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday made a congratulatory phone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for BJP's emphatic win in the Lok Sabha elections. "The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together towards further strengthening of the Strategic Partnership between India and France," an official statement said. Modi thanked Macron for his country's "steadfast support" to India on "critical issues," apparently referring to United Nation Security Council recently declaring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, among other issues. JeM had claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. "Describing PM Modi as one of the foremost leaders of the democratic world, President Macron reiterated his invitation to Prime Minister Modi to visit France in August 2019 for a bilateral meeting and also to attend the G7 Summit at Biarritz," the statement added. In 2016, India signed an agreement with France for acquiring 36 Rafale combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Google has overhauled the design of its Search pages to show results embedded with more helpful information for an easy and quick experience. With the new Google Search refreshed design on mobile, a website's branding will be more prominent with the icon appearing at the top of the results card, the official blog explained. When you search for a product or a service, the ad results will have a bold label on the top of the result card, alongside the web address to identify the source of information. The redesigned Google Search will be rolled out gradually and is coming first to mobile. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) American actor and filmmaker George Clooney, who met with an accident last July in Italy, didn't believe that he would survive it. "If you get nine lives, I've got all of them used up, so I can let go of motorcycle riding for a while," People quoted Clooney as saying as he appeared on The Hollywood Reporter's First Look. "I hit him at 70 miles per hour, so it was bad. I split my helmet in half. It knocked me out of my shoes, it hit hard," Clooney explained. Sharing his near-death experience, the Oscar-winning actor said, "It was bad and I was waiting for the switch to turn off because I broke his windshield with my head. I thought, 'Okay, well, that's my neck'," he jokingly added. George Clooney's fellow producer Grant Heslov also recalled the incident and spoke of a vow he took that if the actor survives, he will never ride again. "I made a deal as I was holding him waiting for the ambulance. I said to myself, 'If he lives, I'll never ride a motorcycle again'," he said. Clooney added, "It got both Grant and I -- after 40 years of riding together -- off of motorcycles for good." The accident happened last year in July when Clooney was riding a motorcycle at 60 MPH and a car cut into his lane and they both crashed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday sharply criticised his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu by asserting that Indians, especially servicemen, will not tolerate hugging the Pakistani army chief. While replying to a question about Sidhu's alleged pro-Pakistan stand affecting the Congress performance in Lok Sabha polls, Singh said, "I have said since day one, Indians, especially servicemen, will not tolerate hugging the Pakistani army chief. Every day there is some ceasefire violation, our soldiers lose their lives. It is the Pakistani general who gives the order for these things and you cannot go and hug him". Upon being asked by Navjot Sigh Sidhu's statements denting the party's electoral prospects, he said, "I think it has cost us Bhatinda. Sidhu is the minister of urban development and we have lost in urban areas like Bhatinda and Gurdaspur. Cities are the places that Congress used to win. There is a reason because urban development is not there. I will take this issue up." Singh also expressed shock over Congress trailing from Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency and said that people have given preference to an actor over an experienced candidate. "Our candidate Sunil Jakhar has worked very hard in the constituency and had spent every weekend there. It is very unfortunate that he lost. I am unable to understand how a new candidate comes and wins because he is an actor. People give him preference rather than experience. Maybe as the democracy grows people may start thinking differently," said Singh. Commenting on election results and whether Congress president Rahul Gandhi must resign because of party's poor performance, he said, "Rahul Gandhi is a very fine leader. I have seen him grow from the time he has entered In politics, the ups and downs come. There was a time when Congress had an absolute majority and BJP had only two MPs. In politics, numbers keep changing." The Congress party in Punjab, where 13 Lok Sabha seats are at stake, is maintaining its lead against the rival Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP alliance. The seats where the Congress leading are Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib, Ludhiana, and Patiala. In Sangrur, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Singh Mann was leading over Kewal Singh Dhillon. SAD is leading in Bathinda, Ferozepur, while the BJP has established its lead in Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister is expected to arrive here today to brief the Pakistani leadership about the ongoing tensions between Ankara and Washington, a senior diplomatic source said on Thursday. Radio Pakistan quoted sources from the Foreign Ministry who confirmed that Zarif, during his two-day visit, is expected to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. One of the major issues that would top the discussion is the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. Pakistan has recently informed Iran that it could not proceed with the project as long as US sanctions remain on Tehran. Zarif's visit has come in the backdrop of rising tensions in the Arabian Gulf region after Washington's recent deployment of an aircraft carrier and a bomber taskforce to the Middle East in response to what the US officials called "a credible threat" by Iranian regime forces. The top Iranian diplomat has already travelled to other regional countries, including China, Japan, India, and Turkmenistan and briefed the top officials of the countries about Iran's commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan would not join any camp in case of a conflict, warning that any escalation in tensions would be detrimental for the entire region. Pakistan has also urged both the US and Iran to show maximum restraint and insisted for dialogue as the only way possible to resolve contentious issues, Express Tribune reports. The Foreign Office officials were quoted as saying that Islamabad would reiterate its stance during Zarif's visit. It is expected that the two sides would also review the bilateral ties during the visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for BJP's bumper win in the general elections. Calling the results "people's mandate", the Congress chief said, "I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' (public is the decision maker) and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP." "What matters today is that people have decided Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister and I respect that," Gandhi said while briefing the media here. He further maintained, "There are two visions. One is of Modi ji and another of Congress'. We will make our ideology win. But now we have to accept that in these elections, the BJP and Narendra Modi ji has won." Boosting the morale of the party candidates and workers, he said, "Our candidates fought with all their heart. I say to the people of Congress party and those who believe in our ideology that you do not need to be scared." Gandhi refused to comment on the mandate his party got and congratulated Modi. "Frankly, today is the not the day to discuss what I think went wrong because people of India have clearly decided that Narendra Modi is going to be their Prime Minister and as an Indian, I respect that," he said. He conceded defeat in Amethi parliamentary constituency - a bastion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and congratulated his BJP opponent Smriti Irani, whom he defeated with a landslide margin in 2014 general elections. "She has won and I congratulate her," he said. Gandhi has been an MP from the parliamentary constituency since 2004. He is, however, looking at victory in Kerala's Wayanad. After the Congress' drubbing in elections, there were reports that Gandhi has offered to resign as party president. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed these as "incorrect". When asked on fixing responsibility for the electoral loss, Gandhi said, "This is between my party and I. Between me and the Congress CWC." So far, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won 22 seats and is leading on 282 others, hence clocking a comfortable majority all by itself. Congress, on the other hand, has won 7 seats and is leading on 43 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the massive victory of PM Narendra Modi, a string of Bollywood actors extended their hearty congratulations which also include the 'Queen' Kangana Ranaut who recently returned from the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. The 32-year-old actor opted for a unique yet appetizing way to congratulate PM Modi for his democratic victory. Kangana prepared some Pakora and Chai for her family. Sharing her pictures right from the kitchen, her team wrote, "#KanganaRanaut celebrates the legendary win of narendramodi and BJP4India at the #LokSabhaElections2019 by spending time with her family!" In the series pictures, she can be seen cooking delicious Pakodas, wearing a taffy pink suit. In another picture, she was spotted enjoying the Indian delicacy with her family. Sharing the same series of pictures, Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel told that, "Kangana cooks rarely, when she is absolutely exhilarated, today she treated us with chai pakodas for narendramodi Ji's win #JaiHind #JaiBharat" Ahead of this, Rangoli posted a congratulatory message praising the PM and wrote, "Today no party, no individual won, today is that historic day when India won. We are very fortunate to have a leader like Narendra Modi ji in our times, this is the beginning of a new era, time to break free and regain our lost glory. Bharat Mata ki Jai. Jai Hind." Kangana Ranaut raised the temperature with all her sizzling looks at the Cannes Film Festival which she recently attended. On the work front, Kangana will be seen in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's 'Panga'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sumalatha Ambareesh, the veteran actor and wife of late former Congress lawmaker MH Ambareesh created history on Thursday by becoming the first independent candidate to successfully contest Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka in 52 years. According to Election Commission of India (EC) website, Sumalatha got 51.02 per cent votes (701122 votes). Janata Dal (Secular) candidate from the seat, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, came second with 41.89 per cent votes (575740 votes). Nikhil is the son of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. In February this year, Sumalatha made headlines for declaring that she would contest Lok Sabha elections from Mandya - a seat her husband had represented both as Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assembly. MH Ambareesh passed away in November last year. On March 18, Sumalatha announced that she would contest from Mandya parliamentary constituency as an independent candidate in the Lok Sabha elections after Congress gave the seat to JD(S) as a part of the seat-sharing deal finalised between two alliance partners. BJP had supported her by not fielding any candidate from the Lok Sabha seat. The BJP-led NDA is comfortably set for a return to power at the centre with the alliance in a comfortable lead on about 340 Lok Sabha seats in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister and his party colleague Narendra Modi after the party is leading on the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha elections as per the counting trends. "Heartiest congratulations to Narendrabhai Modi for steering the BJP towards this unprecedented victory in the elections," Advani said in a statement. He also praised the efforts of the party workers and Amit Shah for rendering his role as the party president successfully. "Amitbhai Shah as the BJP President and all the dedicated workers of the party have put in enormous effort in making sure that the message of BJP reaches every voter of the country," the BJP leader said. "May our great nation be blessed with a bright future ahead," he said. Afternoon trends showed the ruling BJP leading in over 300 Lok Sabha seats. Counting of votes for 542 seats is underway. The seven-phased elections ran through April 11 to May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP has won 192 Lok Sabha seats, while is leading on 111 other seats, as per the latest details of vote counting on the website of Election Commission of India (ECI). The counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections is underway across the country, which voted for 542 seats in seven-phases, beginning April 11 and ending on May 19. The Congress party has been declared victorious on 32 seats and is leading on 20 seats. In all, the result has been declared for 309 seats so far. The counting for remaining 233 seats is still underway. All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) has won 12 seats, while is leading on 10 seats in West Bengal. Biju Janata Dal is leading on 12 seats in Odisha. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu has won nine seats, while is leading on 14. Janata Dal-United, an ally of BJP in Bihar, has won 10 seats and leading on six seats. Shiv Sena in Maharashtra has won nine seats and leading on nine. In Andhra Pradesh, YSRCP is leading on 22 seats. In Telangana, TRS has won seven seats and leading on two seats as per details updated by the ECI at 10.30 pm. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Thursday thanked the people of Tamil Nadu, DMK cadres and alliance partners for the "resounding victory". "I thank people of TN for the resounding victory. I would like to thank DMK cadres and alliance partners for this victory," he said while addressing supporters here. He also said that he will go to former DMK president Karunanidhi's memorial and dedicate this victory to him. "The only sorrow is that Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) is not here with us today. But I am happy that I am standing before Kalignar's statue and the statue of Anna who formed Kalaignar," he said. Acknowledging that there is still a difference in the Lok Sabha polls results and the by-poll results of the assembly seats, Stalin said, "There is still a difference in the by-poll results and the people in power now are trying to play tricks and to stop that we are taking all precautionary measures and are hopeful there will be a fair play." The DMK-led alliance in the state, which included the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) along with several smaller parties was leading in 36 out of the 38 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As counting of votes is underway for 542 Lok Sabha seats, an elated Dharmendra Deol, father of Sunny Deol who is the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate from Gurdaspur, posted a picture of Sunny Deol shaking hand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his Twitter account. Dharmendra wrote, "Faqeer Badshah Modi JI , Dharti puttra sunny Deol, Congratulations. Achhe Din Yaqeenan Ayen Ge (King Modi ji, son of soil Suuny Deol, congratulation. Good days will definitely come)". Actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol contested the election from Gurdaspur seat against Congress leader and sitting MP Sunil Jakhar from Gurdaspur. All 13 constituencies of Punjab went for voting in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections May 19. Minutes after posting the above tweet, Dharmendra tweeted again but this time to congratulate his wife, Hema Malini. The picture posted along the tweet shows Hema sitting with the PM Modi. "Hema, Congratulations. We love Mother India. We have proved in Bikaner and Mathura. We will keep our flag flying. always," he tweeted. Actor-turned-politician Hema Malini contested against Narendra Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and local industrialist Mahesh Pathak of Congress from Mathura. Since morning, the social media is flooded with the tweets and posts by the B-town celebrities who are excited enough to witness the election results. Anupam Kher was the first one who exuded confidence in people that India's future will shine with the results. The actor's wife, Kirron Kher, is eyeing a consecutive victory from Chandigarh parliamentary constituency. Anupam held extensive election rallies in Chandigarh while canvassing for his wife, who is pitted against former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress party. The Lok Sabha polls that commenced on April 11 and wrapped up on May 19, saw approximately 900 million voters exercising their franchise and deciding the fate of 7,928 candidates across 542 seats in the country. Out of those candidates, 724 were women and four were transgenders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling BJP appeared to be storming back to power with a comfortable majority on its own for the second consecutive time and is set to cross the 300-mark along with its allies in the Lok Sabha. The BJP whose campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank was leading in 292 seats, 20 seats more than the halfway mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Its allies Shiv Sena (20), JD-U (16) and Lok Janshakti Party (6) were also doing well in Maharashtra and Bihar. On the other side, the main challenger Congress was way behind BJP leading in only 51 seats. Its ally DMK has put up a good show leading in 22 of the 30 seats in Tamil Nadu. The Congress was leading in eight of the nine seats it contested in the state. The party was also doing well in Kerala where it was leading in 15 out of total 20 parliamentary seats. Prime Minister Modi was leading comfortably in Varanasi where he is seeking a second term while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led in Raebareli. Congress President Rahul Gandhi was trailing behind Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi while leading in his second seat in Wayanad in Kerala. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was leading in Lucknow and BJP President Amit Shah led in Gandhinagar. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was leading in Azamgarh while his father Mulayam Singh Yadav was leading in Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. Senior SP leader Azam Khan was leading in Rampur. Union Minister Maneka Gandhi was trailing in Sultanpur, whereas her son Varun Gandhi was leading from Pilibhit constituency in UP. BJP's ride back to power was also enabled by its spectacular show in West Bengal where it was leading in 15 of the 42 seats. The ruling Trinamool Congress has suffered a setback leading only in 25 seats. It has 34 seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha. The BJP also was set to sweep in Bihar where the party and its ally JD(U) were ahead in 16 seats each and the other ally LJP was leading in six seats. Karnataka also was going the BJP way where it was leading in 23 of the 28 seats, pushing the ruling Congress-JDS behind. Apart from fresh gains, the BJP put up a sterling show in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where it had lost the Assembly polls five months ago, bettered its showing in Maharashtra compared to 2014 and retaining its hold in states like Gujarat and Haryana. In the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh, it appeared to have conceded some ground to the SP-BSP-RLD combine. Out of the 80 seats for which trends were available, the BJP was ahead in 58, the BSP 11, SP 8 and Congress, Apna Dal and Apna (S) were leading in one seat each. In the last elections, the BJP had won 71 seats and its ally Apna Dal 2. In the capital of Delhi, the BJP was ahead in all the seven seats which it had won in the last elections. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 282 seats, 10 more the halfway mark, on its own and crossed the 300-mark with its allies. If the trends convert into seats, this would be the first time in more than 40 years in India, a party with a majority on its own will be coming back to power with a similar showing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections underway, leaders across the political spectrum expressed confidence of victory on Thursday. Poonam Sinha, Samajwadi Party's Lucknow candidate and wife of Congress' Shatrughan Sinha, reiterated her claim of trumping Union Minister and sitting lawmaker Rajnath Singh. "Our alliance (SP-BSP-RLD) is very strong in Uttar Pradesh. It has worked for the people in the state and I feel people have voted for the alliance," she said. Contrary to Sinha's claim, Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj counted on the development work done by his father and said, "With the blessing of the almighty, we will win the polls with a record margin." In New Delhi, BJP leader Prem Shukla stated that the Democratic Alliance will bag more than 300 seats as predicted by most of the exit polls. "There is no chance for 'if and but' because 'abki baar 300 par' (this time, we will cross 300)," he said. Jaipur Rural Congress candidate and Olympian Krishna Poonia, who is pitted against Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, refused to buy Shukla's claim and said: "I am fully confident that the people have voted for the Congress and the Congress is going to form the government." Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary exuded confidence to claim results in favour of the grand-alliance in Uttar Pradesh and stated that BJP's ideology is harmful. He said, "Alliance has tried its best to remove the BJP. It is sure that people in UP are with alliance and results will also be in favour of it. BJP 's ideology is not good for the people of this country." Leaders in Tamil Nadu, where 22 Assembly seats are up for grabs along with 38 Lok Sabha constituencies, also claimed victory. DMK spokesperson Saravanan said, "We are very confident that we will be able to sweep both the parliamentary elections and assembly by-poll elections. There will be the change of government both at the Center and in Tamil Nadu. Our president MK Stalin has already said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be the prime ministerial candidate of the DMK." Countering Saravanan's claims, ruling AIADMK leader Kovai Sathyan said his party will register a "historic win" in the by-elections and polls. "AIADMK is going to rewrite history as we did in 2016. We expect that people here have accepted the leadership and cadre of AIADMK," he said. He said: "DMK hopes of Congress coming to power in the centre has been shattered. Stalin is a daydreamer and we wish him to continue with his dreams." Counting of votes for 542 Lok Sabha seats and assemblies of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh and bypolls for 22 seats of Tamil Nadu Assembly is underway. The voting of the elections ran through April 11 to May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As counting of votes for 542 Lok Sabha seats is underway, Preity Zinta expressed her excitement over the results and will make sure she remains awake the entire night to witness the results. "Tonight is going to be special cuz I'm staying up all night to watch the Indian election results," she tweeted. Preity Zinta, who is in Los Angeles at the moment will be staying up all night to witness the final results of the elections. The 'Veer Zara' actor earlier in April urged her fans to step out and vote by posting a short video on her Twitter handle. In the video, she can be seen explaining the responsibilities of a responsible citizen and urging all fans to step out and vote as a vote can make a difference. "Are you cool enough to make a difference? Let's find out ..," she captioned the video. In another tweet, Preity posted a selfie with the inked finger and wrote, "The ballot is stronger than the bullet. Voting today is the best way to contribute towards a better future for us & our country. Let's chat about why voting is important & what are the issues that are important to us." Since morning, the social media is flooded with the tweets and posts by the B-town celebrities who are excited enough to witness the election results. Anupam Kher was the first one who exuded confidence in people that India's future will shine with the results. "Today, the future of India will shine even brighter on this festival of democracy. Jai Ho," Kher tweeted. The actor's wife, Kirron Kher, is eyeing a consecutive victory from Chandigarh parliamentary constituency. Anupam held extensive election rallies in Chandigarh while canvassing for his wife, who is pitted against former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress party. The voting of the elections ran through April 11 to May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home Minister Rajnath Singh won Lucknow Lok Sabha seat by over 3 lakh votes against SP-BSP alliance candidate and Shatrughan Sinha's wife Poonam Sinha. Singh polled a total of 6,27,881 votes while his nearest rival Sinha got 2,82,858 votes. Singh on Thursday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah for the performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won 271 Lok Sabha seats, while is leading on 32 other seats, as per the latest details of vote counting on the website of Election Commission of India (ECI). The counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections is underway across the country, which voted for 542 seats in seven-phases, beginning April 11 and ending on May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As counting of votes for 542 Lok Sabha seats went underway on Thursday, veteran actor Anupam Kher exuded confidence that India's future will shine with the results. "Today, the future of India will shine even brighter on this festival of democracy. Jai Ho," Kher tweeted. [{15ae04f8-fe9b-4ce1-948e-c24b8f26f6df:intradmin/Anupam_Kher.JPG}] The actor's wife, Kirron Kher, is eyeing a consecutive victory from Chandigarh parliamentary constituency. Anupam Kher held extensive election rallies in Chandigarh while canvassing for his wife, who is pitted against former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal of the Congress party. Kirron, the actor-turned-politician, won the Chandigarh seat with a whopping 1,91,362 votes in 2014 general elections against Congress rival Bansal, whom she defeated by nearly 70,000 votes. During one of his rallies held in support of his wife, Anupam Kher dubbed Bansal as a corrupt man, saying "Even the corrupt people can have confidence, they (Pawan Bansal and party) rely on their corruption while the honest ones rely on their honesty. Doesn't mean they will win. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Prakash Raj, who contested as an independent candidate from Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency, on Thursday described his defeat as "a solid slap on my face". "A SOLID SLAP on my face as More ABUSE, TROLL, and HUMILIATION come my way. I WILL STAND MY GROUND. My RESOLVE to FIGHT for SECULAR INDIA will continue. A TOUGH JOURNEY AHEAD HAS JUST BEGUN. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WERE WITH ME IN THIS JOURNEY. JAI HIND," he tweeted. The 54-year-old veteran actor fought against Congress' Rizwan Arshad and BJP's PC Mohan. Since morning, the social media is flooded with the tweets and posts by the B-town celebrities who are excited enough to witness the election results. Anupam Kher was the first one who exuded confidence that India's future will shine with the results. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday ordered armed forces to be "vigilant" to deter a possible United States invasion. "I have ordered all military branches to be vigilant and be ready to protect the peace, to make any attempt by the North American empire to try anything against our homeland impossible. Peace will be our victory!" Maduro tweeted in Spanish. This comes after Guaido's envoy to Washington Carlos Vecchio has sent a letter to US Southern Command calling for "strategic and operational planning so that we may fulfil our constitutional obligation to the Venezuelan people", reported Sputnik. Venezuela is witnessing a political crisis, which has exacerbated after National Assembly leader Juan Guaido declared himself to be the President of the nation, calling for the elected Maduro, to step down. The United States immediately extended support to Guaido, recognising him as the official interim President. Maduro, however, has refused to resign, citing the support of the armed forces. Maduro has accused the US of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet and take over Venezuela's natural resources. Washington also slapped fresh sanctions on two shipping firms for allegedly transporting Venezuelan oil to Cuba. In a statement, the US State Department said on Friday, "We have designated two companies, Monsoon Navigation Corporation and Serenity Maritime Limited, that operate in the oil sector." The US has been pursuing a policy of economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation against the Maduro government in support of Guaido. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MilkLane, a Bengaluru based dairy start-up, launches its first milk product for the retail consumers in the city. The company, which adheres to international quality standards, is promoting and differentiating the new product as 'Toxin and Antibiotic Safe' milk. Its forays into the mass market consumer segment, after being active in the B2B segment delivering milk to industrial scale off-takers such as FMCG companies, industrial processors and milk product manufacturers. The high-quality milk is available in packaging of 500 ml and at an attractive price point of Rs 35. With no added preservatives, the milk is processed with Ultra-High-Temperature (UHT) technology to provide safe and enhanced 90-days non-refrigerated shelf life. Earlier test-marketed in Bengaluru, MilkLane continues to receive a good response from consumers and the retail stores. Within a very short span, the company has been able to expand its network with the product available on most e-commerce platforms such as Big Basket, BigBasket Daily, Grofers, Amazon Prime Now, Flipkart, Daily Ninja, Doodhwala and others. It has a presence in more than 450 retail stores in the city as well. "Rise in urbanization has led to change in lifestyles and consumers are increasingly opting for healthier options. There is a huge market appetite for high-quality milk in India. With our entry into the retail segment, we have laid the foundation for our business's next growth pillar. The company has set an ambitious target of grabbing at least 10 per cent of market share in Bengaluru within a year", said Akshaya Kamath, Director at MilkLane. "MilkLane aims to create awareness and set the benchmark for offering high-quality milk to the Indian consumer. In fact, every batch of milk undergoes multiple stringent quality checks. Contamination of milk with aflatoxin and misuse of antibiotics in dairy farms could have serious public health implications. So, we take extra care by working closely with dairy farmers, providing proprietary high-quality cattle feed to mitigate the risks of milk contamination arising out of poor-quality feeding", said Gaurav Haran, COO at MilkLane. Unlike typical central chilling/cold storage model followed by conventional milk companies, MilkLane works with a unique 'bulk milk chiller'(BMC) model which helps bring down the time taken for collection of milk thereby increases the shelf life and quality of the milk. Additionally, the BMC model is driving rural micro-entrepreneurs and providing livelihood opportunities to the youth. MilkLane is associated with over 7,000 farmers spread across multiple states assisting them on the complete life cycle of the milk procurement process, providing veterinary supervision to enabling animal loans. MilkLane's integrated procurement system ensures transparency and better earnings for the dairy farmers, while helps maintain strong quality checks as well. MilkLane does not dry the milk to reduce the cost of transporting and storing. Thereby the company promises high-quality cow milk with 3 per cent fat and great taste confirming to the international standards of milk quality. What makes MilkLane truly good milk? * Toxin Safe - Aflatoxins are toxins produced by fungi that grow on maize, brans, oilseed cakes normally fed to cows. MilkLane provides the farmers with high-quality feed ration free of toxins, which results in consumers getting toxin safe milk every day. * Antibiotic Safe - It's the same with antibiotics. Cows fall sick and may require antibiotics to recover. These antibiotics flow through into the milk. However, MilkLane is careful enough to educate the farmer on disease prevention, to keep the cows healthy. If a sick cow requires medication to recover, the company has guidelines to keep them away from healthy milking cows. It conducts regular tests to always provide healthy and antibiotic safe milk for consumers. * Healthy Milk is Good Milk - Free-range cows which are happy, healthy and loved will only yield the best quality milk. To experience the same, consumers can visit MilkLane's procurement facility and meet the farmers associated with the company. They can see where your milk comes from, how and where the cows live. What they eat and how they are cared for. * Produced by entrepreneurs - MilkLane's farmers take pride in their They nurture healthy cows that give tasty milk. Due to purity, farmers find more demand for their products which in turn leads to better profits and them rearing more cows. This is not a cooperative. This is a driven by their passion- A passion that navigates their journey towards producing only the best milk for consumers. * Processed on location - MilkLane follows BMC (bulk milk cooler) model which helps bring down the time taken for collection of milk, which is collected directly from the farms and immediately chills it to 4 degrees Celsius in cooling chambers located in the village. This is important because bacteria start growing exponentially every 20 minutes and cooling helps suppress that. The cooling tankers are then taken to the pasteurization plant where the milk is immediately packed for storage. The company goes the extra mile and test every batch of our milk for impurities and toxins to ensure delivering 100 per cent safe milk every single day. * UHT Milk - Ultra-heat treatment (UHT) involves processing and sterilizing milk at high temperatures (up to 135 degrees Celsius) to destroy bacteria and germs. The process enhances the shelf life of the milk, which can be stored at room temperature and need not to be boiled or even stored in a refrigerator before consumption. UHT process does not use any preservatives to improve shelf life but preserves all the nutrients in the milk that is then packaged in pre-sterilized tetra packs. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian woman climber died on Mount Everest after falling sick while descending from world's highest summit on Wednesday, her expedition organisers said. The Mumbai-based climber, identified as Anjali S Kulkarni, breathed her last above the Camp IV of Mount Everest at an altitude of 7,906 metres. Thupden Sherpa, an official at Arun Treks expedition company, informed that Kulkarni had successfully made it to the summit with her husband on Wednesday morning. "We are trying to retrieve her body," she added. Kulkarni is the 13th climber to die on mountains in the range with elevations above 25,000 feet in this year's spring climbing seasons. Meanwhile, Nepalese authorities are continuing their search for Dipankar Ghosh, an ace Indian mountaineer who reportedly went missing on Nepal's mount Makalu last week. Ghosh, 52, a resident of Kolkata, had last year successfully ascended Mount Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the on the China-Nepal border, 20 kilometres west of Mount Everest. "We are carrying out the search operation of the missing climber in Mount Makalu in coordination with local agents here," an official from the Indian Mission in Nepal told ANI. Hundreds of climbers every year attempt to scale the high Himalayan peaks during the popular spring climbing season in Nepal that begins in March and ends in May. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to tender his resignation on Thursday after his party Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is set to lose the Assembly polls, according to the official trends. As per YSRCP senior leader Ummareddy Venkateswarlu, YS Jaganmohan Reddy would be taking oath as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on May 30. Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party appears to be sweeping the Assembly polls in the initial trends and is leading on 149 Assembly seats in the 175-member House. Naidu-led TDP is ahead on 25 seats, the trends four hours after counting of votes began at 8 am showed. Jana Sena party of actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan is leading on one seat. The state went to polls on April 11. In the 2014 Assembly elections, TDP formed the government with 102 seats while YSRCP bagged 67 seats. In the Lok Sabha elections, which was held simultaneously with state Assembly polls, YSRCP is leading on 24 Lok Sabha seats out of 25 while TDP is ahead on one seat only. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Prime Ministers of Nepal, Bangladesh and Australia joined their fellow world leaders in extending their congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as electoral trends point towards a sweeping victory for him in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli extended his wishes in a congratulatory phone call to Prime Minister Modi today, during which both the leaders reiterated their commitment to further strengthen the warm bilateral relations shared by India and Nepal. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi was also congratulated by his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. "The two leaders pledged to continue to raise the India-Bangladesh relationship to unprecedented new heights. They recognised the importance of rapidly completing on-going plans for deepening the partnership in security trade, transportation, energy and people to people ties," an official statement said. The two close neighbours also discussed the importance of rapidly completing on-going plans for deepening the partnership in security trade, transportation, energy and people to people ties. "Doing so within the next 3 years would have specific significance in view of the centenary of the birth of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020 and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's Liberation in 2021," the statement added. Furthermore, both Prime Minister Modi and Hasina agreed to meet at the earliest to deepen bilateral ties. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who recently won the Australian elections against all odds, also congratulated the Indian leader on his "historic re-election." "Congratulations @narendramodi on your historic re-election as Prime Minister of India. Australia and India enjoy a strong, vibrant and strategic partnership, and our India Economic Strategy will take our ties to a new level. I look forward to meeting again soon," Morrison said. Riding on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank spearheaded by Prime Minister Modi, the BJP on Thursday got an overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha, crossing on its own 300-mark while storming back to power for the second consecutive term. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP's Puri candidate Sambit Patra is trailing by 11284 votes from Biju Janata Dal candidate Pinaki Misra, as per the latest details of vote counting on the website of Election Commission of India (ECI). Out of the total 20 Lok Sabha seats in the constituency, the BJD is leading on 12 seats, while the BJP is leading on 8 seats, as per details updated by the ECI at 11.25 pm. The counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections is underway across the country, which voted for 542 seats in seven-phases, beginning April 11 and ending on May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan hit out at the opposition for weakening the constitution by complaining about the 'manipulated Electronic Voting Machines (EVM).' "Those who revolt against EVMs, want the 'booth capturing' reign back. This is a step to weaken the constitution," Paswan said while speaking to media person here on Wednesday. The opposition parties had, on May 21, moved the Election Commission, pressing their demand of tallying VVPAT slips with EVM figures in an entire constituency, in case a discrepancy is found at any polling booth. The polling body had, however, rejected the opposition parties' demand on the basis of the impracticability of its implementation and cited Supreme Court's (SC) order on the subject. Continuing his tirade against the opposition parties, LJP chief said: "If you win, you say that the EVMs were not faulty, otherwise you blame it for your loss. In the face of imminent defeat, you have started complaining about the manipulated EVMs." "If Congress cannot come on terms with Aam Aadmi Party for sharing seven seats in the capital, how will they come to an understanding of 543 seats?" he asked. Exuding confidence, he also said that the Democratic Alliance (NDA) will come to power. Polling for seven-phased Lok Sabha elections started on April 11 and concluded on May 19. The much-awaited results of the general elections will be announced today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As counting of the ballot for 542 Lok Sabha seats for the world's largest democracy is underway, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is surging ahead in Varanasi with a margin of 1,12,476 votes, while BJP president Amit Shah is leading by 1,77,350 votes in Gandhinagar. In Varanasi, Modi's contenders - Congress Ajay Rai and Samajwadi Party's Shalini Yadav - are trailing far behind. Amit Shah's competitors in Gandhinagar - Congress' Dr C J Chavda and BSP's Jayendra Karshanbahi Rathod - are facing a similar fate. Prime Minister Modi is seeking a second term Varanasi, a parliamentary seat he won in 2014 by defeating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by a massive margin of 3.37 lakh votes. Shah, who is a Rajya Sabha member, is contesting the Lok Sabha elections for the first time from Gandhinagar which was last represented by BJP veteran LK Advani. Out of 542 parliamentary seats, the BJP was leading in 288 seats while the Indian Congress was placed second in the list with 50 seats, as per official Election Commission trends. With early trends in favour of the BJP, party workers and supporters burst into celebrations at various party offices as well as its headquarters in New Delhi. Workers distributed sweets, raised slogans and were seen dancing on the beats of drums at various places. Large scale orders for sweets have also been placed by parties across the country. The Lok Sabha polls that commenced on April 11 and wrapped up on May 19, saw approximately 900 million voters exercising their franchise and deciding the fate of 7,928 candidates across 542 seats in the country. Out of those candidates, 724 were women and four were transgenders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad is leading the battle on the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat by 1.5 lakh votes against Congress candidate and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha. "I have always said that the people of Patna Sahib want to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again," the Union Minister for Law and Justice told a press conference here. "My agenda has always been that of hope vs opportunism. On the one hand, there was an opportunistic alliance while on another end there was a belief of development of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi," Prasad added. Out of a total 40 seats in Bihar, BJP is ahead on 16 seats and its ally JD(U) is leading on 15 seats. Ramvilas Paswan-led Lok Jan Shakti Party is ahead on six seats, according to Election Commission trends. Congress is leading on one seat while RJD is ahead on two seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed gratitude to the US President Donald Trump after the latter congratulated him on his resounding win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "Thank you, Donald Trump. This victory represents the aspirations of a nation of 1.3 billion people. I'm looking forward to working closely with you for closer bilateral ties, which also augur well for global peace and prosperity" the PM wrote on Twitter. This comes after Donald Trump congratulated Modi on his win at the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, outlining that "great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm." "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" Trump tweeted on Thursday. The US President joins scores of other leaders in extending their wishes to PM Modi, as he's slated to undertake his second consecutive term as India's Prime Minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two chain snatchers involved in almost 51 snatching cases were arrested on Wednesday. The accused have been identified as Yempada Chandra Sekhar and Yempada Gopinath Reddy, said police. "After conducting the interrogation, we found that they were involved in almost 51 chain snatching cases. We have recovered 1117.50-gram gold and 5 bikes from their possession," Commissioner of Police, Mahesh Chandra Laddha told ANI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat for the second consecutive term, by over 4 lakh votes. Retaining his sway in the Hindi heartland, PM Modi-led BJP won by a margin of 4,79,505 votes. He was pitted against Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Shalini Yadav and Congress candidate Ajay Rai in the constituency. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won by a margin of 3,71,784 votes. PM Modi had defeated Rai by bagging record number of votes. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, too, contested the elections from Varanasi in 2014 and was defeated. Earlier on the D-day, Prime Minister took to the micro-blogging website to thank Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his wishes. "Thank you @RahulGandhi for your good wishes," he stated in the tweet. The Gandhi scion had congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA for its victory in the Lok Sabha polls. He had said, "I accept the verdict of the people of India Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi and the NDA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress's Bengaluru Central candidate Rizwan Arshad on Thursday hit out at his party's miffed lawmaker Roshan Baig stating that he has tried to help the Bharatiya Janata Party and attempted to sabotage his campaign. "Roshan Baig has tried to help the BJP and sabotage my campaign. But in his own constituency Shivaji Nagar, people have supported me overwhelmingly and blessed me. Workers of the Congress party have defied his diktats and supported me," Rizwan Arshad told ANI. Earlier on Tuesday, Baig had called Congress general secretary KC Venugopal a "buffon", the party's state unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao "a flop show" and blamed Congress Legislature Party Leader (CLP) Siddaramaiah for the "collapse" of the Congress-JD(U) alliance in the state. When he was asked whether Congress should have given more thought before assigning minister portfolios, Baig said, "Portfolios were sold. How can I blame Kumaraswamy for it? He wasn't allowed to function. From day one Siddaramaiah said he is going to be the chief minister. You have gone to their doorstep to form the government." Responding to this, Gundu Rao said: "It is unbecoming of a politician of his stature to be speaking like this, it reeks of pure political opportunism. We will take the required action when the time is right." Soon after his statement, the party served a show cause notice seeking an explanation from him within a week. In his reply, Baig said he will not even bother reading the notice as it has "clearly been sent on the orders of the same people whose incompetencies were highlighted" by him. Arshad called Baig an "opportunist" and asked him to resign from the party. "He is an opportunist. If he has guts let him resign and contest from the BJP. If Congress is such a bad party which gave him power for the last 10 years and made him MLA for the last four terms let him resign and contest from BJP. Let's see what happens in Shivajinagara," he said. Karnataka has 28 parliamentary constituencies. Polling for the seven-phased Lok Sabha elections concluded on May 19. The much-awaited results of the general elections will be announced today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh welcomed BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha elections, calling it "the triumph of the forces". "Crores of people of Bharat are fortunate to have once again a stable government. This is the triumph of the forces. Many compliments to each and everyone who have contributed to this victory of democracy. The spirit and ideal of democracy have once again been established for the world to witness," RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said. Joshi reposed faith in the abilities of the Narendra Modi-led government. "We trust that the new government shall endeavour and succeed in fulfilling the aspirations and ambitions of the common people. We wish that with the completion of polling process all bitterness will end and the verdict of the masses is welcomed with humility," Joshi remarked. The BJP is looking to win over 300 seats, which is well clear of the majority 272-mark, while the Congress has been decimated to around 51 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Condemning the US threat to eliminate Turkey from a programme on creating F-35 multi-role fighters over its deal to buy Russian S-400 defence system, Kremlin on Wednesday said such ultimatums by Washington is "unacceptable". "We consider such ultimatums to be unacceptable and we are going on the many statements made by representatives of Turkey's leadership - headed by President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan - that the S-400 deal is already complete and will be implemented," Al Jazeera quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. This comes hours after Turkey said it is preparing for potential US sanctions over the purchase of Russian missile system. Earlier Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon said that the US considers Russia deal with Turkey as a "strategic trick" of Moscow to disconnect Ankara from its western allies. However, Turkey has indicated that it would not go back on its deal, regardless of the US decision. "Turkey could cooperate with any other country if the US refused to supply F-35 fighters," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The development would further strain the already fragile US-Turkey relations. Russia and Turkey signed a deal for S-400 in 2017 after engaging in hectic negotiations for a year. Reportedly, Turkey has already transferred the advance payment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The death toll of those killed in a car explosion in the capital of Somali has risen to nine, reported Al Jazeera. Former foreign minister Hussein Elabe Fahiye, who was an advisor to the current president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, was among those killed in the Yesterday's blast. The responsibility for the Wednesday's attack has been claimed by Al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab. The explosive-laden car exploded when the police were checking vehicles in Mogadishu's Bondhere District. A Somali military officer and her bodyguards are amongst those feared dead, the unnamed police officer added. This latest attack comes just four days after another car filled with explosives went off at Mogadishu's Hamarweyne District. However, no casualties were reported in the incident. The terrorist group is responsible for a string of attacks in Somalia which have claimed the lives of scores of people. At least 10 people lost their lives and dozens were injured when a car bomb exploded at a crowded mall in the business district of Hamarweyne here in February. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actors Sophie Turner and Jessica Chastain want to normalise strong female characters and empower women with the kind of roles they take up. After playing Sansa Stark in HBO's 'Game of Thrones' and portraying Jean Grey in 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix', Turner is taking up more roles to inspire women. 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' marks the first film in the franchise whose main character is a woman. Turner and co-star Jessica Chastain, who plays a shapeshifter that manipulates Turner's character talked to E! News about playing prominent and strong female roles. "Growing up, I didn't really feel like...I'd seen a superhero movie with a really strong female at the helm," Turner told E! News. "Now, it's so great that young girls and young boys and your daughter can grow up and watch this movie and look at it and say, 'Oh wow, what a strong, well-rounded, accurate representation of a woman," she added. Echoing similar sentiments, Chastain said, "Also, all women are strong and all women are incredible and powerful. It'll be nice, when we get to the point too when we make these films, that we don't have to say, 'It's great to see a strong female character, well, it's just normal.'" "Yeah," Turner agreed. "It's just a character." 'Dark Phoenix' is the sequel to 'X-Men: Apocalypse' and the seventh installment in the film series. The film will also feature Jennifer Lawrence, returning as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops and Evan Peters as Quicksilver. The trailer of the film gave an in-depth look at Jean Grey's journey from an unwanted child who accidentally contributes to a car accident, to a young woman who resorts to seeking out counsel form Magneto (played by Michael Fassbender) after feeling betrayed by Charles Xavier (played by James McAvoy). Written and directed by Simon Kinberg who also served as the scriptwriter for the 2006's 'X-Men: The Last Stand', the movie is all set to release on June 7, this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A gunfight broke out between terrorists and security forces at Dadsara village in Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday. Exchange of fire is going on between two sides. The operation was launched following inputs about the presence of the militant commander of Ansar Gazwatul Hind -- Zakir Musa. After the state police forces killed three terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen on May 18, there has been tension in the area. Terrorists on Tuesday evening hurled grenade at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post situated at State Bank of India (SBI) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. No loss of life or injury was reported in the incident. No loss of life or injury to the security forces was reported in the incident which is taking place currently in the region. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iraq Archbishop Makes Urgent Appeal to UK Foreign Secretary Archbishop Bashar Warda (center) meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (left). ( ACN) An Iraqi church leader has met UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and called on the British Government to provide urgent help to prevent persecuted minority faith groups from dying out in their ancient homelands. At meetings in London yesterday (Tuesday, 21st May 2019), Catholic Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil appealed to the UK Government to provide direct aid to Christians and others who have suffered genocide in Iraq. The Archbishop, who also met Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, went on to ask the UK to apply diplomatic pressure to the Government of Iraq to improve security and end institutionalised discrimination against Christians and other minorities. Later that day, at a meeting in the House of Commons organised by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, the archbishop said UK "engagement" was vital if his people are to recover from "one of the darkest moments in our long history". He thanked the Mr Hunt for conducting a global review into the persecution of Christians, saying he was "shocked and delighted" when he heard the news about the initiative, which he described as "unprecedented". Christians in Iraq numbered more than 1.5 million before 2003 and latest reports say that, following the Daesh (ISIS) genocide in 2014-17, Christians are now down to well below 150,000. Archbishop Warda said that, during their occupation of ancient Christian villages in the Nineveh plains, Daesh militants came close to destroying "the beating heart of our community". He said that, with notable exception of Hungary, Western governments had failed to match words of sympathy with action and reported slow progress in the task of rebuilding schools and medical care, and declining security. In the meeting, which was co-chaired by MPs Chris Green and Mike Kane, Archbishop Warda said: "Rebuilding infrastructure is urgently needed but the Government in Iraq has said it has no money. They have told us 'You will have to rely on your friends'. But this surely should be the task of government." He said that, with most governments failing to help, his community had been largely reliant on support from Church organisations, praising ACN. He said: "When Daesh invaded, our people left with nothing. But thanks be to God and thanks to ACN they were able to survive. "The help of ACN and other charities -- through prayers and generous gifts -- have reminded us that we have not been forgotten. This help has made a huge impact." ACN has helped rebuild 2,000 homes in the Nineveh Plains and provided food, shelter and schooling for displaced Christians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked the voters for placing their "faith" in the Democratic Alliance (NDA) and thanked all BJP workers for their hard work. "Thank you, India! The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us the strength to work even harder to fulfill people's aspirations. I salute every BJP 'karyakarta' for their determination, perseverance and hard work. They went home to home, elaborating on our development agenda," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. Earlier, Modi tweeted in regional language Odia to convey his best wishes to Odisha Chief Minister Patnaik, saying, "Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term..." Patnaik has continued his invincible grip over Odisha with his party -- BJD -- leading in 110 seats in the 147-member House and himself set to become the Chief Minister for the fifth consecutive term. In yet another tweet, Modi congratulated YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Telugu, saying, "Dear @ysjagan, Congratulations on the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure..." Reddy, who steered his party -- YSR Congress Party -- to a spectacular victory in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, will take oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30. The BJP-led NDA is comfortably set for a return to power at the Centre with the alliance in a comfortable lead on about 340 Lok Sabha seats in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "It is time for Congress to get an Amit Shah," former Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister and once an ally of BJP, Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet as the trends showed BJP, led by Amit Shah, headed for yet another stellar victory in the Lok Sabha polls. Indeed, as the captain of the winning team, Shah deserves credit for turning the party into an election-winning machine. With one Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls of Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, his record as the BJP president has been unmatchable. Shah took over as the BJP president soon after NDA emerged victorious in 2014 general elections. A trusted lieutenant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he was appointed party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh just ahead of the 2014 elections. With his sharp organisational skill and political acumen, Shah helped the party and its allies win 73 out of 80 seats in the stat,e leading PM Modi to proclaim him as "man-of-the-match" of BJP's victory. But his journey has not been as smooth as it seems. Shah was born in Mumbai in 1964. He was brought up at his paternal village in Maansa, Gujarat till the age of 16. According to his website, as a young boy, he was always inspired by the stories of the great patriots of the nation and dreamt of working for the progress of the motherland. He was especially inspired and influenced by the nationalist spirit and vision of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and became its active member in Ahmedabad, it says. Shah worked for Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of RSS for some time before he joined BJP in 1984-85. There, Shah was noted for his organisational skills and was appointed the treasurer of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha and subsequently the state secretary and state vice-president of the party in Gujarat. With his excellent election management expertise, Shah managed the election campaign of BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani's election from Ahmedabad constituency in 1989. During these years, Shah came in contact with Narendra Modi- then a rising star in the BJP. He and Narendra Modi, who was then an organisational secretary of the party in Gujarat, helped BJP mobilise its workers, which bore fruitful results for the BJP in subsequent elections. BJP came into power in Gujarat in 1995. However, its government fell in 1997. According to the BJP president's website, Shah successfully contested the Assembly Elections from Sarkhej that followed the BJP government's fall. BJP returned to power in the state with Narendra Modi as its Chief Minister in 2002. Shah handled several key portfolios in the state government including the Home Ministry. However, challenges grew for Shah in 2010 when he was jailed in Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Later, a special CBI court dismissed the case. It is 2019 now and the BJP led by Shah is on its way to scripting history by becoming the first party in India, since 1971, to return with full majority. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Tiger Shroff on Thursday celebrated his Bollywood journey as his debut film Sajid Nadiawala's 'Heropanti' in which he starred along with Kriti Sanon turned five. The 'Baaghi' actor shared a heartfelt message for producer Sajid Nadiadwala on his Instagram along with a picture of Sajid and himself. He captioned the "My father in the industry, my mentor, my friend, my guide and my boss! Thank you for giving me life and always putting me in line and putting up with all my decisions no matter how wrong! And of course, thank you for giving me my biggest successes. Love you sir." [{6fcf198e-2d61-4632-859a-9719c348c957:intradmin/TigerINSTA.JPG}] Dedicating a special message to his co-star Kriti and director Sabbir Khan, Tiger shared a picture of himself with the duo. "Blessed to have started my journey with you, and couldn't have asked for more! Thank you so much for holding my hand throughout this whole journey that couldn't have been manifested or possible without you here's to many more to come together! Love u pa ji," Tiger captioned the picture. Earlier today, Kriti went on a picture sharing spree to express her gratitude and thank all the people involved in the film 'Heropanti'. Thanking Sajid for giving her an opportunity to work in "Heropanti", Kriti wrote on her Instagram account, "I cannot thank you enough Sajid sir & Warda Khan Nadiadwala (bhabs) for giving me the best opportunity ever and for treating me like a bachcha, for guiding me through and for all the love and pampering. love you both! Being today on NGE sets for Housefull4 is just so nostalgic and overwhelming!" The 'Luka Chuppi' actor also dedicated a post to Tiger, "We started out together in the same boat, equally excited, equally lost, equally fascinated by this world. I saw his hard work, his discipline and passion and i knew he's gonna blow people's minds away," Kriti captioned the post. "You'll always have this super soft corner in my heart Tiggyyy! Tiger Jackie Shroff i feel so so happy seeing you fly higher and higher (literally too!) Happy 5year Anniversary lol.. i feel its time for Heropanti2 .. What say?" she added. Kriti Sanon has three films in her kitty- 'Arjun Patiala', 'Panipat' and multi-starrer comedy 'Housefull 4'. While Tiger who was last seen in 'Student Of The Year 2', will next be seen in 'Baaghi 3' and 'Rambo'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his resounding win at the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, outlining that "great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm." "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" Trump tweeted on Thursday. The US President joins scores of other leaders in extending their wishes to PM Modi, as he's slated to undertake his second consecutive term as India's Prime Minister. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Friday to pass a resolution on the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. Also, the Parliamentary Board of BJP will meet today in the evening while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the party workers here at 5.30 pm. Council of Ministers meeting will also be held on Friday. The ruling BJP is set to storm back to power with a comfortable majority on its own for the second consecutive time and is set to cross the 300-mark along with its allies in the Lok Sabha. Their campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on muscular nationalism and a strident anti-Congress plank. On the other side, the main challenger Congress is way behind, leading in only 50 seats. Prime Minister Modi is leading comfortably in Varanasi where he is seeking a second term while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi leading in Raebareli. Congress president Rahul Gandhi was trailing behind Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi while leading in Wayanad in Kerala. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China accused the United States of resorting to "typical economic bullying" with regard to the latest crackdown on Huawei, which has led to the Chinese telecom giant suffering setbacks in major economies like Japan. Beijing's statement comes as the USA and China are locked in a bitter trade dispute which has seen the two sides exchange a string of tariff hikes. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters here that "some people in the United States do not want China to have legitimate rights to develop and attempt to impede China's development process," according to Xinhua. He further said that Washington uses its state power to clamp down on Huawei without any factual basis. "This is typical economic bullying," Wang stated.Speaking on the sidelines of the now-concluded Shanghai Cooperation Council meeting, the Chinese minister added that "such an egocentric approach by the United States will not win the recognition and support of the international community." Recently, Huawei's latest smartphone model took a hit in Japan after major carriers suspended its preorders along with postponing the phone's sales. The Japanese carriers have raised concerns regarding Huawei's capability of providing a reliable supply of the phone in the wake of the US-China trade spat. Huawei Technologies Japan has abstained from commenting on the issue. This is the latest in Huawei's mounting list of worries, especially after US President Donald Trump blacklisted the Chinese company, citing national security risks. Following this, Google cut off Huawei's access to future Android updates. The company's Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, is currently under house arrest in Canada, after being detained last year. The United States seeks Meng's extradition on suspicions of circumventing US sanctions on Iran. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday congratulated the people of India for voting for stability in the Lok Sabha elections. "I congratulate the people of India for making their choice so clear with resounding clarity and voting for stability. I congratulate the Election Commission for the smooth and efficient conduct of elections," the Vice President said in a release. "I congratulate all the winning parties and candidates in whom the people have reposed immense trust," he added. "I hope that all of us irrespective of party affiliations, will continue to deepen the roots of our rich democratic tradition and focus our collective energies on development, reforms, and enhancement of the quality of our people's lives," said Naidu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A retired US Army Reserve colonel, who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and on a humanitarian mission to West Africa, accused Pakistan of its duplicity that has "caused the United States to lose in Afghanistan." "For over 17 years we have wrongly applied counter-insurgency doctrine to a proxy war waged by Pakistan against the United States and Afghanistan. At the same time, we supplied Pakistan with generous aid packages to bribe them from pursuing a course of action opposed to our own, which they considered in their national interest," said Lawrence Sellin in his article published by The National Interest. "Counter-insurgency was never a winning strategy as long as Pakistan controlled the supply of our troops in landlocked Afghanistan and regulated the operational tempo through its proxy army, the Taliban, which has maintained an extensive recruiting, training and financial support infrastructure inside Pakistan, where it has been immune to attack," the veteran added. Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to dismantle terrorist group Al Qaeda. They also aimed at denying the terror group a safe base of operations by trying to removing the Taliban from power. The war in Afghanistan is the longest war in US history. "Pakistan's objectives for Afghanistan have always been different than those of the United States. Not only has Pakistan not helped the United States in Afghanistan, but from the very beginning through its support of the Taliban, Pakistan has actively worked against our interests and is responsible for the prolongation of the war and the deaths and maiming of thousands of Americans and Afghans," Sellin stated. For example, Jalaluddin Haqqani, the then-leader of the Haqqani Network controlled the Khost region of eastern Afghanistan, which is where most of Osama bin Laden's training camps and supporters were. He was a CIA asset in the 1980s and met with US officials soon after 9/11. Sellin quoted Gary Berntsen, one of the first CIA operatives to arrive in Afghanistan that the United States was aware of Pakistan's duplicity early on. "I assumed from the beginning of the conflict that ISI advisers were supporting the Taliban with expertise and material and, no doubt, sending a steady stream of intelligence back to (Pakistan)." The same pattern of duplicitous behaviour by Pakistan has continued over the last seventeen years. Late last year, during a Taliban attack on the Afghan provincial capital of Ghazni, large numbers of Pakistani nationals were found among the dead, presumably fighting with the Taliban. The bodies were subsequently returned to Pakistan. In a video released recently, Al Qaeda emphasized its unity with Taliban and its role within the Taliban insurgency, as the jihadists, including Pakistanis, fight together to resurrect the Taliban's "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." Even then, American political leaders and senior military officers have done nothing, preferring to remain puzzled or indifferent as to why we have not won in Afghanistan, he added. The retired US Army Reserve colonel also claimed that Pakistanis openly brag that they have defeated the United States. Shortly before his death in 2015, Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, the former head of Pakistan's ISI, a committed Islamist and known as the "godfather of the Taliban," said in an Urdu language television interview: "One day, history will say that the ISI drove the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan with the help of USA and another sentence will be recorded that says the ISI drove the USA out of Afghanistan with the help of the USA." This statement was met with roaring laughter in the audience. "The problem of Pakistan as the actual instigator of the Afghan conflict was never adequately addressed and Taliban safe havens in Pakistan remained largely untouched," the war veteran lastly said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Television host Wendy Williams' son Kevin Hunter Jr. was arrested after allegedly getting into a fight with his father and TV producer Kevin Hunter. A spokeswoman for the Ethics County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey told People on Wednesday that the incident took place at 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday night in West Orange. According to the spokeswoman, he was charged with simple assault following the fight in West Orange. He was processed and later released by West Orange Police Department the same evening and was not taken to county jail. On Wednesday, TMZ had reported that Williams' husband and their son got into a physical altercation that resulted in the cops being called. "I love my son very much and I will not be pursuing this matter legally. Things are not always how they appear," Hunter said in a statement to TMZ. According to TMZ, Williams dropped her 18-year-old son off at her house, not knowing Hunter was there. Although she planned to return shortly, Kevin Jr. and Hunter made a quick trip to a nearby store in the meantime. While standing in the parking lot of the store, the two got into an argument about his divorce from Williams. Hunter claimed Williams was attempting to "brainwash" their son, reported TMZ. The fight escalated, with Hunter reportedly putting his son in a headlock and Kevin Jr. fought back by punching his father in the face. A source told People that Hunter was actually trying to calm his son down by placing him in the headlock. Although Hunter told TMZ that he did not plan to press charges against his son, police told the outlet they were investigating "an incident" between the two. Williams filed for divorce from her estranged husband in April. The news about their separation came amid reports that he had allegedly fathered a child with his mistress. Hunter broke his silence on the breakup in a statement to People, addressing the cheating scandal and admitting he was "not proud of my recent actions." According to a source, they have "had zero contact" since then and Williams "has nothing to say to him. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP is making inroads in West Bengal by leading on 17 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats, according to Election Commission trends. Trinamool Congress of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is ahead on 24 seats, the trends showed. Congress is leading on one seat. In the 2014 general elections, BJP had won only two parliamentary constituencies, while TMC garnered 34 seats. Union Minister Babul Supriyo is ahead of actress-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen in Asansol Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of over 45,000 votes. Sitting MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress is leading by over 8,000 votes in Baharampur seat against TMC's Apurba Sarkar. The Election Commission had curtailed campaigning by a day ahead of the May 19 elections in nine constituencies in the state after violence marred BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata on May 14. A bust of iconic social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalised at a college named after him. West Bengal went to polls in all seven phases from April 11 to May 19. During the campaigning, Chief Minister Banerjee had repeatedly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him as "expiry babu" and "liar." BJP had hit back at Banerjee, accusing her of "murdering" democracy in the state. The Prime Minister had dubbed the TMC supremo "speed breaker didi" for allegedly stalling development. Both BJP and TMC had traded allegations against each other for inciting violence. The counting of votes in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies began at 8 am today amidst tight security, capping a two-month long election process which witnessed high-octane campaigning and charges of EVM tampering and violations of the Model Code of Conduct. According to EC trends, BJP is leading on 292 seats, while Congress is leading on 51 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran Closes Assyrian Presbyterian Church in Tabriz Iranian intelligence agents stormed the 100-year-old Assyrian church, which is a National Heritage site, and tore down the cross from the tower. The Assyrian Christian community in the northwestern city of Tabriz has been left it a state of shock, after the Presbyterian church was forcibly closed earlier this month. Intelligence agents stormed the 100-year-old church, which is a National Heritage site, on Thursday, 9 May, changed all the locks, tore down the cross from the church tower, and ordered the church warden to leave. "They made it clear that the Assyrian people are no longer allowed to hold any worship service there," explained a trusted source to Article18. The source said church members had been fearful since just a few days after Christmas, when pastors from other churches were prevented from visiting the Tabriz church for a joint worship service with other Assyrian and Armenian Christians. Then on 9 May "a large number" of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence and EIKO, an organisation under the direct control of the Supreme Leader, "entered our church compound and changed all the locks on the doors, removed the cross from the church's high tower, installed some monitoring instruments and started to threaten and force our custodian to leave his place inside the compound immediately." Services at the church continued after the 'confiscation' order was issued in 2011. The church, belonging to The Assyrian Presbytery, offered services in Assyrian for many years, was "confiscated" by the Revolutionary Court order in 2011, but church members had been able to continue using the building for services in the Assyrian language -- until now. "Many churches owned by Protestants have been confiscated in Iran," explains Article18's Advocacy Director, Mansour Borji, "In most cases the government has been unable to repurpose them, especially if they were listed. So they typically remain as empty buildings, often neglected, and turn into ruins before being demolished, as was the case with the church in Kerman." Christians from Iran's historic Assyrian and Armenian communities are a recognised minority, who are usually able to freely practise their faith, providing they don't open their doors to Muslim-born Iranians by holding services in Persian. Pragya Singh Thakur, the Malegaon blast accused and Bhopal BJP candidate, expressed confidence about winning the Lok Sabha elections as trends showed her beating senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. "I will definitely win. My victory will be a victory of dharma. Adharma (evil) will be wiped out," Thakur said. According to the figures on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, Thakur was ahead of Singh with a margin of 370696 votes. Expressing thanks to the people of the constituency, she said, "I express my gratitude to the people of Bhopal," she said. Thakur faced a lot of flak during her canvassing for calling Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse a 'true patriot'. The BJP condemned the remark, following which she apologised. On another occasion, Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case said that former Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Hemant Karkare lost his life because she had cursed him. Karkare was killed along with two other senior police officers while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. Pragya Thakur is among the seven accused facing trial in Malegaon blast case. Six people were killed and a dozen others were injured after a bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra's Malegaon on September 29, 2008. She was arrested in 2008 but was given a clean chit by the Investigation Agency in 2015 for lack of evidence. However, the trial court refused to let her off, saying it was difficult to accept since her motorcycle was used in the blast. Thakur has been cleared of charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act and was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in 2017 but remains an accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. She joined the BJP in April. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, whose party is set to win the first seat outside Hyderabad, is planning to expand his footprint into other states also as opposition parties have "failed" to defeat BJP. This comes after the latest trend of vote counting has depicted that AIMIM candidate Imtiaz Jaleel Syed is leading with 389042 votes in Aurangabad in Maharastra. "Expanding all over India is our agenda now. At first, we want to spread to West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh," Owaisi told ANI. "Opposition parties have failed to defeat BJP. Parties like Congress have promised to the public that they will hinder the juggernaut of BJP. But they have failed to deliver the promise. Now AIMIM will fill that gap and move forward in achieving the target of stopping BJP," he added. Meanwhile, Owaisi on his home turf-Hyderabad- is leading with 5,17,471. Owaisi is contesting against BJP's Bhagavanth Rao, Congress' Firoz Khan and TRS' Pusthe Srikanth from the seat. Hyderabad is the bastion for AIMIM. However, the party is contesting in other states for a few years. It had contested in Maharashtra and Bihar assembly elections. But it did not win outside Hyderabad till date. The counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections is underway across the country, which voted for 542 seats in seven-phases, beginning April 11 and ending on May 19. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday extended best wishes for his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for his dynamic leadership as the BJP-led NDA is heading towards a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha elections. "The election results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," Netanyahu tweeted. Apart from Netanyahu, Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also took to twitter saying, "Heartfelt best wishes and congratulations @narendramodi for a second term in office. We wish you and the people of India the very best under your dynamic leadership, as you continue your journey in taking India forward." "We hope both our nations will build on the existing strong bilateral relationship that we share and work together to further strengthen it for mutual benefit under your leadership," he added in a series of tweets. Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also congratulated Prime Minister Modi as the NDA government looked all set to form the government for the second term at the Centre. "Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you," Wickremesinghe said. As the counting for the world's largest democracy is underway, the ruling BJP seems set to cross the 340-mark along with its allies in the Lok Sabha elections the results of which are being announced on Thursday. In the 2014 General Elections, the BJP had won 282 seats, 10 more than the halfway mark on its own and had crossed the 300-mark with its allies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Local stocks ended with modest losses in choppy trade on weak global stocks after strong mandate given to the ruling Narendra Modi-led NDA propelled the key indices to record high. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, lost 298.82 points or 0.76% at 38,811.39. The Nifty 50 index lost 80.85 points or 0.69% at 11,657.05. Shares of index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC dropped. Trading for the day began on a strong note as election results showed the Narendra Modi-led NDA leading in early trends. Stocks extended gains in morning trade after election trends showed that Narendra Modi-led NDA is leading in over 300 seats. Key indices pared gains in volatile trade soon after scaling fresh record high in mid-morning trade. The Sensex scaled record high above the psychological 40,000 mark while the Nifty scaled fresh record high above the psychological 12,000 mark in mid-morning trade. Stocks further trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. Shares regained strength in afternoon trade. Volatility ruled the roost in mid-afternoon trade as the key indices regained positive zone soon after erasing strong intraday gains. Indices dropped in negative zone in late trade. Counting of votes is underway today, 23 May 2019. Latest trends showed that NDA is leading in 351 seats, while UPA is leading in 89 and others leading in 102 seats. The 2019 Lok Sabha polls for 542 seats were held from April 11 to May 19. A party or coalition needs 272 seats in parliament to form a government. Coming back to today's trade, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.15%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.11%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1196 shares rose and 1317 shares fell. A total of 174 shares were unchanged. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC lost 3.52% to Rs 289. HDFC Bank fell 2.32%. HDFC Bank said that its board pproved sub-division of one equity share of face value of Rs 2 each to two equity shares of face value of Re 1 each. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019. Wipro shed 0.32%. Wipro announced that it has developed a blockchain-based payment solution for Travacoin, a company specializing in an eponymous digital payment solution. Travacoin is a digital payment system which enables airlines to refund and compensate passengers in a timely manner when a disruption occurs. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019. Bank of Baroda rose 1.03% after the bank's net loss narrowed in Q4 March 2019. Bank of Baroda reported net loss of Rs 991.37 crore in Q4 March 2019 compared with net loss of Rs 3102.34 crore in Q4 March 2018. Total income rose 20.02% to Rs 15284.59 crore in Q4 March 2019 over in Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 48232.77 crore as on 31 March 2019 as against Rs 53184.28 crore as on 31 December 2018 and Rs 56480.39 crore as on 31 March 2018. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 9.61% as on 31 March 2019 as against 11.01% as on 31 December 2018 and 12.26% as on 31 March 2018. Overseas, European shares were trading lower amid ongoing US-China trade concerns and political uncertainty across the EU. Politics are a central focus as voting in the EU elections begins in the UK and the Netherlands. Brexit uncertainty also continues to weigh. Asian stocks fell on Thursday as worries over US-China tensions grew. The US said it will impose trading restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from August 19. A private survey suggested that Japan's manufacturing contracted in May. The Markit/JMMA flash purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 in May from 50.2 in the previous month. US stocks finished lower Wednesday as lingering trade woes overshadowed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting that was largely interpreted as accommodative. Minutes for the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee's April 30-May 1 meeting indicated that the voting members agreed the current accommodative policy can remain for now and that they were comfortable with the wait-and-see approach. They were, however, split on whether higher rates were necessary if the economy continued to evolved along the predicted path while others argued that higher productivity could indicate more economic softness than the low unemployment rate suggests. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Key indices were trading on a strong note as election results showed the Narendra Modi-led NDA leading in early trends. At 9:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 568.94 points or 1.45% at 39,679.15. The Nifty 50 index was up 133.05 points or 1.13% at 11,870.95. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, scaled record high in early trade. Investors are closely watching results of Lok Sabha polls scheduled to be announced today, 23 May 2019. Most exit polls had predicted that Narendra Modi-led NDA will return to power for a second term The 2019 polls, held from April 11 to May 19, will decide which party presides over the 17th Lok Sabha. Elections were held for 542 seats. A party or coalition needs 272 seats in parliament to form a government. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.12%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.21%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 939 shares rose and 138 shares fell. A total of 27 shares were unchanged. Overseas, Asian stocks fell on Thursday with the unfolding deterioration in Sino-US relations again giving investors little reason for cheer. US stocks fell on Wednesday with the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting doing little to perk up equities. Back home, HDFC Bank rose 1.24%. HDFC Bank said that its board approved sub-division of one equity share of face value of Rs 2 each to two equity shares of face value of Re 1 each. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019. Bank of Baroda gained 4.56%. Bank of Baroda reported net loss of Rs 991.37 crore in Q4 March 2019 compared with net loss of Rs 3102.34 crore in Q4 March 2018. Total income rose 20.02% to Rs 15284.59 crore in Q4 March 2019 over in Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019. Wipro rose 0.44%. Wipro announced that it has developed a blockchain-based payment solution for Travacoin, a company specializing in an eponymous digital payment solution. Travacoin is a digital payment system which enables airlines to refund and compensate passengers in a timely manner when a disruption occurs. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for achieving sustainable development that is equitable and people-centred and stressed the need for efficient and frugal use of natural resources. Inaugurating the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) celebrations, in Chennai, the Vice President said Biodiversity is fundamental to the survival of the human race and said that man must re-establish the link with nature, as did the ancients in India centuries ago, and take from earth and the only so much as we can replenish. Observing that sustainable development mandates the efficient and frugal use of available natural resources including biodiversity, the Vice President said a grave challenge we face today is the destruction of forests and the loss of species. Expressing his concern over the loss of trees at an unbelievable pace due to deforestation, urbanization, industrialization, and pollution, Shri Naidu said India's forest cover stands at 21% against global standard of 33.3%. India has lost over 1.6 million hectare of tree cover between 2001 and 2018, according to a new study released by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Shri Naidu added. Lamenting that the symbiotic relationship of man with nature was being threatened as societies develop, the Vice President warned that any damage to would put the well-being of future generations in peril. He also pointed out that the current consumption patterns especially in the industrialized world are unsustainable as they put enormous pressure on natural resources. The Vice President also spoke of the need to secure international cooperation in fields ranging from sustainable agriculture and food security to health and sustainable development to urban resilience and adaptation, to climate change and disaster risk reduction. Stating that India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Shri Naidu said that the concern for was an innate aspect of the Indian psyche and faith, reflected in religious practices, folklore, art and culture permeating every aspect of the daily lives of the people. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development and the BJP's candidate from Punjab's Amritsar Lok Sabha seat Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said he would "abide by what he (the almighty) decides". "Everyone is subject to Hukam; no one is beyond it. O Nanak! One who understands Hukam, does not speak in ego," Puri tweeted. "As I wait for the result, I shall with no doubt, remorse or ego abide by what he decides," he added. Puri had earlier said the election campaign was spirited and yet dignified after meeting his rival and Congress' incumbent MP Gurjeet Singh Ji Aujla. "Met my colleague in Parliament Sardar Gurjeet Singh Ji Aujla at Sri Durbar Sahib Ji this morning," he tweeted along with photos in which he was seen exchanging pleasantries and exchanging notes with Aujla on day of polling for Punjab's 13 Lok Sabha seats on May 19. --IANS vg/pg/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The saffron surge in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls has put the political legitimacy of the state' ruling Trinamool Congress at stake, analysts said on Thursday. They also said that the BJP could come to power in the 2021 Assembly polls, or even earlier, by ousting the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government in the state. "The BJP's rise is all set to bring structural changes in the state Prevailing political narratives like secularism and welfare of poor were developed by the Left Front, while the Congress and Trinamool mostly followed the same," political analyst Bimal Shankar Nanda told IANS. "If the BJP manages to win more than 15 seats, political legitimacy of the Trinamool government would be at stake." He said there "could be repetition" of what happened in the last two years of the erstwhile Left Front regime after most their candidates lost in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Eventually, Trinamool swept to power in the state in 2011. Amid apprehensions of losing seats in the cow belt, the BJP made a strong pitch to woo voters in West Bengal and increased its vote share on the back of the rising popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, polarisation, and exploiting issues like nationalism. Moreover, the BJP also got the help of leaders that the party poached from the Trinamool Congress, analysts said. According to one, the BJP's new narratives of nationalism and its campaign of "no appeasementa to any particular community have clearly paid dividend to the saffron party in the eastern state." "There has been a massive polarisation in West Bengal and it would not be surprising if the BJP comes to power in 2021 or even before, ousting Trinamool government," political analyst Udayan Bandyopadhyay told IANS. According to analysts, the BJP's relentless attacks on the Trinamool supremo, accusing her of appeasement politics, helped polarisation in the state and the consolidation of Hindu votes. "Trinamool Congress introduced a model of development in the state although it was widely criticised. In spite of the development work undertaken by the Mamata government, Hindus, who comprise over 70 per cent of electorate, felt let down in the state and believed that they were deprived of the fruits of development," Nanda said. The latest trends suggest that Trinamool Congress is leading in 21 seats while the saffron party was ahead in 20 seats. Trinamool had won 34 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP bagged only two seats in 2014. Some policies of the Trinamool, like offering stipends to Muslim clerics and special arrangements for the minorities in areas like education, have been given a "thumbs down" by the voters. "Such appeasement created doubts among Hindus on whether the state government is favouring Muslims more. Banerjee too acknowledged indirectly of her party's appeasement policy towards the minority community as she started chanting mantras during campaigns to woo Hindus. But it was too late," Nanda said. The shift of the Left vote in the state to the Right, which has been debated intensely, is largely the result of "Mamata's suicidal strategy" to ruin the Left parties in the state. The party-wise vote share clearly shows that the Trinamool Congress suffered from the sharp drop in the Left Front's vote's share to below 10 per cent. The Left Front vote share was over 29 per cent in 2014 and fell to about 22 per cent in 2016. In 2014, the BJP, despite its weak organisational strength in the state, managed to increase its vote share to 17 per cent, which came down to around 10 per cent in 2016. Analysts, however, said the BJP's challenge would be to project a leader to match Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections. According to them, Modi may have done it for the party in this election, but for the state polls the BJP needs to find a good chief ministerial candidate. --IANS bdc/ssp/bc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on the way to bust caste code of the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) in Uttar Pradesh as it maintains lead in most of the constituencies, demolishing the poll arithmetic myth of the Bahajuan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). This is the first time when the SP and the BSP -- relying on Yadav, Muslim, and Jatav votes -- are ending on losing side even after fighting together. Till last reports came in, the BJP candidates were leading in at least 30 seats perceived to be MGB strongholds. The only constituencies where the MGB is seen to be wresting seats from the BJP are mainly Muslim-dominated pockets like Nagina, Amroha, Ghazipur, Rampur and Moradabad. Among other MGB stronghold seats, BJP is trailing in Ballia, Sambhal, Kairana (the SP is leading on all three), Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Machlishahar, and Bhadohi (the BSP is leading on all). The BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in the state in 2014. Defying all the arithmetic, the party is leading on 59 seats as per the trends at 2.40 p.m. The SP seems to be holding on family bastions Kannauj from where Dimple Yadav is leading, Mulayam Singh Yadav's Mainpuri and Akhilesh Yadav's Azamgarh. However, there is setback for Yadav clan as SP is trailing in Firozabad (from where Akshay Yadav is contesting) and Badaun (the seat represented by Dharmendra Yadav). A combination of SP and BSP votes in 2014 (when the two parties had contested separately) had shown that MGB was strong on over 40 seats in the state. But in 2019, it is clear that the two parties were not able to get their vote base transferred to each other. For instance in Chandauli, BJP's state unit president Mahendra Nath Pandey is leading when all the caste arithmetic on the seat favoured the MGB. Within the MGB, it is a major gain for BSP which is leading on 12, a major stride forward from nil scored by Mayawati in 2014 elections. Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the third constituent of MGB, is trailing on all three seats (Muzaffarnagar, Mathura and Baghpat) it is contesting including his son Jayant Chaudhary from Baghpat. --IANS gd/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Celebrations have already started in BJP office even before the official announcement of the victory is being declared in the state with almost all its candidates leading by over 2 lakh votes. In Jaipur Rural, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is leading by over 3.5 lakh votes, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyant Singh, a BJP candidate from Jhalawad-Baran is leading by 4.8 lakh votes, sitting MP from Jodhpur Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is leading by 2.45 lakh votes, Rajsamand candidate Diya Kumar is leading by 5 lakh votes and in Barmer, Kailash Chaudhary is leading by 2.75 lakh votes leaving behind Congress candidate Manavendra Singh. In BJP office, the party workers wearing the mask of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were seen dancing to the tune of folk songs praising Modi. Many women leaders were seen wearing Modi Kurta and raising slogans in Modi's favour. Dancing, singing, sloganeering and bursting firecrackers BJP workers celebrated as winning trends flashed on a screen installed at the party office. Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje entered the BJP office amid rousing welcome. Speaking to IANS, Raje said: "Neither this is storm nor wind or tsunami, but this is magic of NAMO. Visionary leadership of Modi and Amit Shah has helped party register this historic win." In Alwar, BJP's Baba Balaknath is leading with a huge margin and in Kota-Bundi, BJP's Om Mathur is near victory. NDA candidate Hanuman Beniwal from Nagaur said that in last five years Modi has shown his exemplary work and in next five years, it will shut shops of parties working for self seeking goals. As celebrations galore at BJP office, Congress office wore a deserted look. Speaking to IANS, Congress spokesperson Suresh Chaudhary said: "This is the time of self introspection for Congress. We accept the pubic mandate and will evaluate the reasons for this defeat." --IANS arc/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP made stunning inroads in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal, with the trends of the Lok Sabha elections on Thrusday showing that the saffron party was leading in 17 of the 42 seats, up from only two last time. The Trinamool Congress was ahead in 24 seats, down from 34 which it had won in the last Lok Sabha elections. Among the prominent BJP candidates leading in the state were Union Ministers Babul Supriyo and S.S. Alhuwalia in Asansol and Burdwan-Durgapur, respectively. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is leading over his nearest rival Nilanjan Roy of BJP by close to 20,000 votes, according to the latest trends. In Bongaon Lok Sabha seat, which is dominated by the Dalit Matua community, BJP candidate and late Matua matriarch Binapani Thakur's grandson Shantanu Thakur is leading over his aunt and Trinamool Congress' sitting MP Mamata Bala Thakur. Several Trinamool stalwarts like state minister Subrata Mukherjee (Bankura) and sitting MP Kalyan Banerjee (Sreerampore) are trailing. The state, which went to polls in seven phases, witnessed the most bitter electioneering between the TMC and the BJP and was marred by large scale violence. In the 2014 elections, the TMC had increased its tally by 15 seats over the 2009 poll results by wresting seats from the Left Front. The BJP this time went all out to make electoral gains in the state, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself holding several rallies. The party chief Amit Shah also addressed many public meetings besides holding road shows in the state. The Congress led in one constituency while the Left, which had ruled the state for decades, faced a washout. --IANS mgr/ssp/in/akk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP made stunning inroads in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal, with the trends of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday showing a virtual saffron sweep in the state's northern parts as also the western tribal heartland while Chief Ninister Mamata Banerjee's party managed to hold on to its ground in and around Kolkata and a major chunk of the south Bengal. After close to nine hours of counting, the saffron party was leading in 18 of the 42 seats in the state, up from only two in 2014, while the Trinamool was ahead in 23 seats, 11 down from 34 which it had won in the last Lok Sabha elections. The Congress became more marginalised leading in only one seat, while for the first time after independence, the Left failed to open its account in the state, as the Trinamool and the BJP engaged in a see-saw battle in many of the seats. A saffron storm swept the entire northern West Bengal including the Darjeeling hills notwithstanding Trinamool's attempt to forge alliance with a faction of the dominant hill outfit Gorkha Janamukti Morcha. The BJP also managed to cut deep into West Bengal's tribal belt by going ahead in Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Bishnupur and Medinipur seats with substantial margins. The Trinamool, however, seems to be retaining its hold over its bastion in Kolkata, Howrah, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas districts. In Darjeeling, that simmered with the statehood agitation of Gorkhaland in 2017, BJP candidate Raju Bista is leading over his nearest rival, former Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai of Trinamool Congress by a mammoth 3.5 lakh votes. In Alipurduar, bordering Bhutan, saffron party's John Barla was ahead of Trinamool's Dashrath Tirkey by over two lakh votes. BJP candidate and Trinamool turncoat Nisith Pramanik was leading over Trinamool's Paresh Chandra Adhikari by more than 50,000 votes. Another north Bengal constituency Jalpaiguri was also painted in saffron as BJP's little-known leader Jayanta Kumar Roy - a doctor - was leading over Trinamool's Bijoy Chandra Barman by 1.37 lakh votes. The real surprise came from Muslim-dominated Malda, a traditional Congress bastion, where BJP candidates were ahead in both Malda North and Malda South seats with slender margin. In Raiganj, where two BJP youth activists were allegedly shot dead by police during an agitation demanding science teachers at Daribhit High School last year, BJP candidate Debasree Chaudhuri was leading. Sitting MP Mohammad Salim of the CPI-M was in the third spot. In Asanol, Union Minister Babul Supriyo was on the verge of victory over his Trinamool rival and yesteryears actress Moon Moon Sen, while his ministerial colleague S.S. Ahluwalia was in a neck and neck contest with Mamtaz Sanghamita of the Trinamool in Bardhaman-Durgapur. In Bengal's tribal heartland and Junglemahal, once a hotbed of Maoist insurgency, the saffron flag fluttered high as BJP candidates led over many a stalwart of the state's ruling party. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh has opened up a comfortable 87,000 plus lead over former state minister and Trinamool candidate Manas Bhunia in Medinipur. BJP's Subhas Sarkar was leading over veteran Trinamool leader and state minister Subrata Mukherjee in Bankura by over a lakh votes while the saffron party's Kunar Hembram was ahead of Trinamool's Birbaha Soren in Jhargram. In south Bengal's Hooghly constituency, West Bengal BJP's women wing president Locket Chatterjee was leading over Trinamool's Ratna De Nag by 72,000 votes. Trinamool, howeverm performed handsomely in the four constituencies in Kolkata and Howrah. Its Kolkata South candidate Mala Roy was leading over BJP candidate and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose by 1.5 lakh votes while its Kolkata North candidate Sudip Banerjee was ahead of BJP heavyweight Rahul Sinha. The Trinamool candidates had left behind their BJP rivals in both Howrah and Uluberia constituencies in Howrah district. Its actress-turned-candidates Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty were also leading in the Basirhat and Jadavpur constituencies, respectively. Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee was on his way to a handsome victory as he was already ahead of his nearest rival BJP's Nilanjan Roy by over three lakh votes in Diamond Harbour. The state, which went to polls in seven phases, witnessed the most bitter electioneering between the TMC and the BJP and was marred by large scale violence. In the 2014 elections, the Trinamool had increased its tally by 15 seats over the 2009 poll results by wresting seats from the Left Front. The BJP this time went all out to make electoral gains in the state, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself holding several rallies. Party chief Amit Shah also addressed many public meetings besides holding road shows in the state. The Congress led in one constituency while the Left, which had ruled the state for decades, faced a washout. --IANS mgr/ssp/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress humiliation is complete. Madhya Pradesh joined the other heartland states in bowing to Modi brand of "nationalism" by handing all but one of the 29 Lok Sabha seats to BJP. Barring Chhindwara that returned the sole Congress candidate Nakul Nath, the BJP swept all including the Guna seat. The Congress had won two seats of Chhindwara and Guna in 2014. In the next year's by-election Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria wrested back Ratlam-Jhabua seat to take the tally to three. It will be the first time that Lok Sabha will be without a member from the Scindia family from erstwhile Gwalior state. Even more humiliating for the Scindias is the defeat of a scion at the hands of former humble worker of the Congress and old fan of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Krishnapal Yadav. Scindia was projected a popular choice as a youthful Chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the assembly elections last year. He failed to vindicate that tag. Kantilal Bhuria the former union minister who had won a by-election in 2015 raise the Congress tally to 3 out 29 seems to have lost hold on the constituency. This would be Bhuria's second defeat of the career. Kamal Nath who retained the PCC chief's post even after becoming the chief minister is now being accused of focusing on personal interest. Kamal Nath now makes a debut in the assembly. But the BJP is already baying for his blood. The state BJP chief who just retained his Jabalpur Lok Sabha seat has already demanded Kamal Nath's resignation on moral grounds. There are murmurs within the Congress too on why Kamal Nath was allowed to retain two posts. But given the frictions in the Congress, it would be hard to believe the results would be any different particularly after the Modi undercurrent swept all states. Chhindwara had remained loyal to the Congress bastion even during the earlier sweep that was witnessed 42 years ago. In the elections held in 1977 to mark the end of the Emergency, the undivided Madhya Pradesh had returned 39 Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) candidates while Congress had to be content with only Chhindwara. The winner for the Congress in that poll was Gargi Shankar Mishra. After the carving out of Chhattisgarh, which got 11 of the 40 seats from the mother-state, the sole Madhya Pradesh seat going to Congress out of 29 is Chhindwara. With an improved performance over 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has tossed up quite a few questions about the Congress' strategy and its execution in Madhya Pradesh. Nakul, son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has defeated his BJP rival Nattanshah Kawreti in Chhindwara. The Congress owes its supporters an explanation for frittering away in less than six months the advantage of returning to power after 15 years. Chief Minister Kamal Nath showed a lot of restraint to turn an unruly organisation into a fighting unit. But he has apparently fallen short of expectations in an election that was fought on emotive issues rather than political logic and public issues. The current election will be remembered for polarisation, acrimony and unprecedented tension. The complete failure of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to make an impact in the state may have surprised even the BJP supporters. Rahul Gandhi had made seven trips to the state and Priyanka one over the past two months. The Congress had many chinks in its armour. It was said the Congress had won the assembly elections in spite of itself because factionalism was rampant when it squared up against a considerably weakened BJP -- thanks to Shivraj Singh's inept third stint. Now the even the ruling party members privately concede the Congress markedly benefited from the BJP's incumbency. Many faces of the BJP had put off the voter. The strategy to replace most of the old hands, including some sitting MPs, seems to have worked wonders for the BJP. But many pollsters say the candidates of the party did not matter this time around. It was just brand Modi that counted. --IANS naidu/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surprised many by making deep inroads into West Bengal and Odisha, considered bastions of the Trinamool Congress and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), respectively. The BJP was leading in 18 of the 42 seats in West Bengal, and 9 out of 21 parliamentary constituencies in Odisha. In the 2014, the BJP had won only two parliamentary seats -- Asansol and Darjeeling -- in West Bengal. On the other hand, the ruling Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress was heading for a major setback by leading in only 23 seats. In 2014, it had won 34 seats. The Communist Party of India-Marxist, which had won two seats in 2014, was staring at a wipe-out. The Congress, which had won four seats in 2014, was leading in one seat. In Odisha, where the BJP had won one seat in 2014, was leading in nine out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats. The BJD may suffer a setback of eight seats as it was leading in 12 seats. However, the BJP was unable to make any inroad into Kerala despite riding the Sabarimala temple issue. The Congress-led UDF was leading in 15 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. ---IANS aks/in/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is heading towards a landslide in Karnataka as it leads in 24 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, according to data on the Election Commission's website. This comes as a major improvement for the saffron party from the 17 seats it won in the 2014 General Elections. The victory would gain significance, as in the last state Assembly elections held just a year back, there was neck and neck fight between the BJP and the Congress, which, after a lot of political drama, led to a Congress-Janata Dal-Secular coalition government in the state. The Congress is so far leading in two seats and JD-S in one, the EC data showed. In Bangalore South, 28-year-old Tejaswi Surya, BJP's youngest candidate led the race by 3.22 lakh votes, against Congress's B.K. Hariprasad. Surya was selected as the BJP candidate after the death of six-time MP and former Union Minister Ananth Kumar last year. The candidature of Surya came as a surprise to many as there were expectations that Kumar's wife Tejaswini Ananth Kumar would be given the party's ticket from the constituency. D.V. Sadananda Gowda, the incumbent MP from the Bangalore North constituency, seems well in place to retain the seat as he leads the race by 1.4 lakh votes ahead of Krishna Byregowda, the current Rural Development and Law Minister in the Karnataka government. The BJP leads in three out of the four constituencies in Bengaluru, with the party's P. C. Mohan leading against Congress' Rizwan Arshad. Congress' D.K. Suresh is leading in Bangalore Rural. In a massive blow to the Congress, its heavyweight and current MP, M.Veerappa Moily is trailing by 1.81 lakh votes to BJP's B.N.Bache Gowda in Chikkballapur constituency. In the 2014, he won the seat by 9,520 votes. --IANS rrb/sn/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday dubbed BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha polls as a triumph of national forces and hoped that the opposition parties would welcome mandate with humility. "Crores of people of Bharat are fortunate to have once again a stable government. This is the triumph of the national forces. Many compliments to each and everyone who have contributed to this victory of democracy. The spirit and ideal of democracy have once again been established for the world to witness," Bhayyaji Joshi, RSS General Secretary, said in a statement. The saffron organisation expected that the new government would endeavour and succeed in fulfilling the aspirations and ambitions of the common people while the opposition parties accept the defeat with all humility. "We wish that with the completion of polling process all bitterness will end and the verdict of the masses is welcomed with humility," Joshi said. --IANS bns/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amidst loud 'Jai Shree Ram' cheers, BJP's West Bengal headquarters located in a narrow central Kolkata lane on Thursday buzzed in a celebratory mood as its workers were euphoric over the party's brilliant performance in the state. As the vote count progressed and gained momentum, the party's impressive show brought out its members on the streets outside their 6, Muralidhar Sen Lane office. Donning saffron attires or flaunting other party paraphernalia, they were seen smearing 'abeer' (the dry colour used in Holi celebration) and distributing sweets to the passers-by. At around noon they halted the buses and autos to share their unfathomable joy. Youth activist Sonu Shah greeted everyone wearing a Modi cut-out mask while others echoed 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. An enthusiastic biker gave a 'thumbs-up' and rode away shouting "this is what we needed". However, senior members alerted the youth activists to stay away from the traffic and let ambulances and all other vehicles pass by. "In 2014 elections, CPI-M's vote share was close to 30 per cent but now the BJP's poll percentage is nearly 40 per cent, which has brought down the CPI-M's vote share. It shows that Bengal is whole-heartedly voting for development and wanting Narendra Modi as their Prime Minister," Prashant Gupta, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth leader, told IANS. Gupta, who led other workers in cheering, waving party flags, hinted at further 'saffronisation of Bengal'. "More than a lakh workers will join BJP after the declaration of final results, forgetting all communal differences," he said. Taking a dig at Trinamool Congress's aunt-nephew duo Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, one of them cheered "Didi bole Jai Shree Ram, Bhaipo bole Jai Shree Ram" (Sister and Nephew also say Jai Shree Ram). After some time, the workers left the road and celebrated with earthen tea cups, savoured sweets and exchanged greetings among themselves. When asked about their take on the celebrations and BJP's prospects, Manoj Mandal, a 25-year-old passer-by, said: "As expected, BJP will get around 15-16 seats here and nationally it will cross 300. This victory definitely calls for celebrations." BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly beamed with happiness when she reached the venue. "I still cannot talk about the prediction of 23 seats but at least Didi's prediction of us getting Rosogolla has been proved wrong," she said. Ganguly mentioned that Mamata Banerjee who is a "Chief Minister should behave like one". "Mamata Banerjee was loved by the people of West Bengal. So she became the Chief Minister. She should sit and think why she is losing that love," she added. --IANS bnd/ssp/mag/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Proving exit polls right, the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday appeared set to retain power as its candidates alone led in 294 of the 541 Lok Sabha seats with its allies faring equally well across the country, stunning the opposition. The BJP made stunning inroads in West Bengal where its candidates were ahead in 15 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats while the ruling Trinamool Congress was on the top in 25 places. The BJP had won only two seats in 2014. The Congress led in one place while the Left, which ruled the state for decades, faced a washout. Good news for the BJP poured in from almost all parts of the Hindi heartland and even beyond including Uttar Pradesh, where the SP-BSP alliance was expected to trip its path to victory, as well as Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra besides the Congress-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and in Karnataka where the Congress-JD-S are in power. In Uttar Pradesh, which elects 80 members to the Lok Sabha, the BJP led in a whopping 57 constituencies, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 8 and 11 seats respectively. BJP candidates were on the victory path on all 26 seats in Gujarat, 24 of the 25 seats in Rajasthan, 28 of the 29 seas in Madhya Pradesh and 9 of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh, virtually ending Congress dreams of unseating Modi and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Bihar too proved lucky for the BJP which led in 15 of the 37 seats while its allies Janata Dal-United (JD-U) also led in 15 constituencies and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in 5, puncturing the Grand Alliance led by the RJD. A see-saw battle raged in Amethi between BJP's Smriti Irani and Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who was again trailing after taking a slight edge earlier. But Gandhi was guaranteed a victory in Wayanad in Kerala where he led by over 1 lakh votes over his Left rival. The BJP led in 23 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra and its ally Shiv Sena on 19, dealing a major blow to the Congress-NCP alliance. The BJP's best news in southern India came in Karnataka where its candidates led in 23 of the 26 seats, shocking the Congress-Janata Dal-S alliance which rules the state. The BJP leaders who were on the victory lap included Modi (Varanasi), Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Union Minister Maneka Gandhi (Sultanpur), Union Minister Giriraj Singh (Begusarai) and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur (Bhopal). UPA Chairperson and senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi led in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. The TRS was leading in 11 seats in Telangana and the YSR Congress Party in 24 in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP was ahead in only one seat in Andhra Pradesh. The DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu was leading in 22 of the 39 seats while the Congress was on the top in Punjab. The best news for the Congress came from Kerala where its candidates were leading in 15 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats. Officials on Thursday morning began counting the millions of votes cast in the Lok Sabha elections across the country whose verdict will determine who gets to rule India for the next five years. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters exercised their franchise in the seven-phase elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. Election in Vellore in Tamil Nadu was countermanded by the Election Commission. --IANS aks/mr/in/akk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a major setback to the Congress, the BJP has taken a massive lead in 28 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, with Malegaon blast accused and BJP candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, on Thursday thanking voters for their support. Speaking to the media outside the BJP office here, she said: "Dharm ki jeet hogi, adharm ka nash hoga (it will be victory of faith and defeat of those who are against it)." She also thanked the party workers and people of Bhopal for supporting her in the entire election campaign. The counting of ballots started at 8 a.m. in 51 district headquarters of the state's 29 parliamentary constituencies. Sadhvi Pragya took a big lead against her nearest rival former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh by over 70,000 votes.Besides Digvijaya Singh, Congress senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia was also trailing from his Guna Lok Sabha seat by over 53,000 votes. The only good news for the Congress came from Chhindwara where Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Kamal Nath was leading by over 34,000 votes. The Congress came to power in the state last December after it won the state Assembly elections against the Bharatiya Janata Party. --IANS aks/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In what could be described as a mixed bag of results, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa won one Lok Sabha seat, but lost the other amid a saffron tsunami in the country on Thursday. However, the BJP won three Assembly by-elections in the state, while losing the prestigious Panaji Assembly seat, which was held by the ruling party since 1994. Victory in three Assembly seats has now put the BJP-led coalition government in the state on a firm footing, according to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik won the North Goa Lok Sabha seat by over 62,000 votes (provisional) against his nearest Congress rival Girish Chodankar who polled 1,50,466 votes (provisional). Naik, a four-time MP, battled both anti-incumbency as well as a potential backlash from the aggrieved sections of Goa's banned mining belt, but managed to ride the proverbial Modi wave to victory. "The victory exposes the Opposition's negative campaign. The people of North Goa are with Modiji," Naik said. In the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency, sitting BJP MP Narendra Sawaikar conceded defeat even before the final votes could be tallied. While Sawaikar polled 1,89,798 votes (provisional), Congress' Francisco Sardinha, a former Chief Minister of Goa, got 1,99,688 votes (provisional). "I accept my defeat. I thank everyone for the support and co-operation shown to me throughout my tenure as an MP," Sawaikar said. The BJP performed creditably in the Assembly by-elections, winning three of the four seats. The significant loss came in the Panaji Assembly seat, which was held by the BJP since 1994, largely represented by the late Manohar Parrikar. "It is time to put Panaji on the development track after 25 years of inefficiency," said Congress' Atanasio Monserrate after he beat the BJP's Sidharth Kuncalienkar by 1,758 votes. Meanwhile, Chodankar accepted responsibility for Congress' defeat in North Goa and in the three Assembly by-elections but maintained that by winning the prestigious Panaji Assembly seat, the Congress had "wrested the heart" of Goa from the BJP. "As the state President, I accept moral responsibility for the Congress' losses... But Panaji is the heart of BJP and Goa and the Congress has won it after 25 years. I want to thank the people of Panaji for this," Chodankar said. BJP's Dayanand Sopte, Subhash Shirodkar and Joshua D'Souza won the Assembly by-elections in Shiroda, Mandrem and Mapusa, respectively, the latter two by relatively narrow margins. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the three by-election wins, which took his party's tally to 17 in the 40-member Goa legislative Assembly, would lend further stability to the coalition government in the state. "The government will be more stable now with these wins," Sawant told reporters. According to political analyst and former Independent MLA Radharao Gracias, the BJP-led coalition government is now "mathematically" stable. "To add to the mathematical stability, there is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre," Gracias said. And signs are that BJP's local allies, such as Goa Forward Party (GFP), which have blown hot and cold against the majority alliance partner in the past, already appear to have fallen in line, especially with the mammoth victory projected for the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combination. "As partners in the NDA, I congratulate you on your personal victory and your party's win. May this historic win pave the way for even closer partnership between our parties in the state and help take Goa forward," Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai of the GFP said soon after the counting trends suggested a big win for the NDA. Sawant's government is supported by three MLAs of the GFP and three Independents, which takes its tally to 23 in the 40-member House. --IANS maya/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Voters in Britain were heading to the polling stations on Thursday for the European Parliament elections, as the political deadlock over the UK's withdrawal from the bloc continues. Britain is split into 12 regions for the elections, including 9 in England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A total of 73 members, known as members of the European Parliament (MEPs), will be elected in the constituencies, the BBC reported. Polling stations in Britain will be open till 10 p.m. BST. The Netherlands was also voting on Thursday while voting in other EU nations will take place at various times over the next three days. The results will be announced once all EU nations have voted, with the voting process expected to be completed by 10 p.m. BST on Sunday. Initially, the elections were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. However, at the European summit in April, the British government and the European Council agreed to delay Brexit until October 31. It is uncertain for how long British MEPs will sit because of the uncertainties over Brexit. The elections are the 9th time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament. British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives in the European Parliament have 18 seats, the same as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, followed by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party with 14 seats, which earlier belonged to the UK Independence Party. The rest of the seats are held by other parties, including two of Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party and one of Vince Cable's Liberal Democrats. --IANS soni/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Voters in Britain cast their ballots on Thursday for the European Parliament elections, as the political deadlock over the UK's withdrawal from the bloc continues. Voting began at 7 a.m. and vote stations were set to close at 10 p.m. (local time). The announcement of results will begin on Sunday night, after the rest of the European Union member states have gone to the polls over the next three days. Britain is split into 12 regions for the elections, including 9 in England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. British voters will elect 73 members to the European Parliament (MEPs) out of the 751 for a term that starts on July 2, the BBC reported. The election was being held in a climate of widespread voter apathy over the uncertainty surrounding Brexit as the House of Commons has rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's deal three times and there had been calls for a second referendum. The results from Britain will show whether the newly launched Brexit Party, founded by veteran eurosceptic Nigel Farage, will win the largest number of the 73 British seats in the European Parliament as is forecast. In Liverpool, England, retired teacher Pauline Roy said she would vote for opposition Labour Party. Roy said she had considered spoiling her ballot paper. "But upon reflection, I have decided I must vote (for) Labour, mainly because I trust them, more than any other party, to deliver Brexit." Roy, who voted to leave in the 2016 referendum, said, "More than anything else, I want this issue sorted so that we can address the issues, which are running down our country." Initially, the elections were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. But at the European summit in April, the British government and the European Council agreed to delay Brexit until October 31. The UK is obligated to participate in the elections as it is still a member of the EU. But it's uncertain for how long British MEPs will continue because of the uncertainties over Brexit. The elections are the 9th time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament. Theresa May's Conservatives in the European Parliament have 18 seats, the same as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, followed by Farage's Brexit Party with 14 seats, which earlier belonged to the UK Independence Party. The rest of the seats are held by others, including two of Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party and one of Vince Cable's Liberal Democrats. --IANS soni/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Urmila Matondkar, who is the Congress candidate from Mumbai North parliamentary seat, on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) over an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) being substituted. "On the form of EVM 17C from Magathane, the signatures and the machine numbers are different. A complaint has been filed with the EC," Matondkar tweeted. As the counting progressed, her nearest rival - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sitting MP Gopal Shetty - had secured around 2,01,767 votes while Matondkar trailed behind at 69,370 votes at 12 p.m. Terming it as a "fight between a film-star and a road-star", Shetty asserted that not only was his victory assured, but the BJP and Shiv Sena would bag all the six seats in Mumbai. --IANS qn/mag/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the Congress has to pay for his cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's visit to Pakistan. "The loss of Bathinda for the Congress is because of Sidhu's reckless remarks on the desecration of the religious texts in 2015," he told reporters here. "Indians will not tolerate anyone hugging the Pakistan Army chief," the Chief Minister, who once served in the Indian Army, said. The Congress in Punjab is set to win at least eight of the 13 seats. The Chief Minister's wife Preneet Kaur managed to win the Patiala seat again and that too with a record margin. This is her fourth victory. Amarinder Singh expressed gratitude to the voters and party activists for the win. --IANS vg/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress headquarters in the capital wore a deserted look on Thursday with counting trends showing only a marginal improvement in the partys tally from the previous Lok Sabha elections. Senior party leaders were conspicuous by their absence as the trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead on 298 seats while the cCongress was leading in 52 seats, as per the Election Commission website. Congress spokespersons present at the party headquarters were also keen to know the trends to firm up before giving their opinion. Some Congress workers who gathered outside the party office blamed the results trends on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They also held a protest carrying placards demanding that EVMs should not be used in elections. Earlier in the morning, some party workers performed a "havan" outside the party office, praying that the day will bring good results for the party. However, the party leaders were taken aback by the trends as they were expecting a minimum of 100 seats. Congress leader Gaurav Vallabh said the party fought the Lok Sabha elections on issues which affected the common man and focused on development matters. "Let us wait for the final results," he said. --IANS ss-ps-aks/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The counting of 1.37 crore ballots for the 13 parliamentary seats of Punjab began on Thursday morning amidst tight security, electoral officials said. Amid reports of minor skirmishes, 65.96 per cent voting was recorded on May 19 in the seventh and final phase of the general elections. The result will decide the fate of 278 candidates, including 24 women. Thirty-nine companies of central forces have been deployed for the security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at 21 locations across the state, an official said. The main contest in the state is between the ruling Congress and the Akali Dal-BJP combine. However, all eyes are on two seats -- Amritsar and Gurdaspur -- witnessing a clash of personalities. In Amritsar, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is making his electoral debut against sitting Congress MP Gurjit Aujla. In Gurdaspur, actor Sunny Deol is the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate against Congress state President Sunil Jakhar, who won the October 2017 by-election by 1.92 lakh votes. Political dynasties continue to dominate the state's As many as four Congress and three Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidates belong to political families. SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal's daughter-in-law and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur is locked in a multi-cornered contest in the SAD stronghold of Bathinda. His son and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is in fray from Ferozepur. In Patiala, former Union Minister Preneet Kaur, wife of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, is in the fray for the fifth time. The three-time MP was defeated by the AAP's Dharamvira Gandhi by over 20,000 votes in 2014. This time Gandhi is in the fray as a nominee of the Nawan Punjab Party, a new outfit. In Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu, grandson of late Chief Minister Beant Singh who was assassinated in 1995, is seeking re-election. Former Union Minister Manish Tewari (Congress) is in the fray from Anandpur Sahib. He is pitted against sitting Akali Dal MP Prem Singh Chandumajra. Unlike 2014, the infighting-ridden AAP is now struggling to save its sinking ship, with several leaders either having defected or facing suspension. Countering defections within the party, actor-comedian Bhagwant Mann, the AAP's only hope to retain the Sangrur seat, accused party rebel leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira of being an agent of both the Congress and the Akali Dal and of engineering defections of AAP legislators to the Congress. Of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the Akali Dal-BJP combine currently holds five (four Akali Dal, one BJP), while the Congress and the AAP have four each. In the 2014 polls, Punjab saw 70.61 per cent polling. --IANS vg/rs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Counting of votes for the two Lok Sabha seats in Tripura began on Thursday amid heavy security, election officials said. Tripura Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti said that the counting is taking place in 40 centres across the state. "Around 520 teams would count the votes sealed in the EVMs. Central paramilitary personnel have been deployed in and around the 40 counting centres in eight districts," the CEO told IANS. Thirteen candidates, including a woman, are in the fray from the Tripura West seat while 10 candidates, including two women, are contesting from the Tripura East constituency reserved for tribals. Re-polling was held on May 12 in 168 of the total 1,679 polling stations in the Tripura West seat as huge electoral malpractices were found during the first phase of voting held on April 11. Polling for the Tripura East seat was held on April 23. --IANS sc/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here on Thursday reserved order on the plea of former INX Media director Indrani Mukerjea seeking to become approver in the INX Media case. The order will be delivered on May 29. Mukerjea, who is in Mumbai's Byculla Jail as she faces trial for murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, appeared before special judge Anurag Sain. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are probing how former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram managed to get clearance for INX Media from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father was Minister. The probe so far showed that for the FIPB approval, INX Media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea met P. Chidambaram so that there was no hold-up or delay in their application. The agency has supported Mukherjea's plea. --IANS ak/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A meeting of Congress Working Committee is expected to be held early next week to look into reasons for the partys debacle in the Lok Sabha elections with party chief Rahul Gandhi expected to give his assessment of what went wrong and the remedial steps that need to be taken. It is the second successive debacle of Congress in Lok Sabha elections and Rahul Gandhi had been a prominent face in both the elections. Gandhi lost from the party's pocket borough of Amethi in a shocking defeat that will have implications for the party's revival plans in Uttar Pradesh and his own political standing as a leader. He won from Wayanad. There was speculation that Gandhi had offered to resign following the results but the party officially denied it. Asked at a press conference if he would resign, Gandhi said: "We will have a meeting of the working committee. That you can leave between me and the working committee." In the run-up to the meeting of CWC, the party's highest constitutional body, the party has to decide on its course of action including whether Gandhi should step down. Even as Gandhi has taken responsibility for the defeat, party leaders have said that no individual can be blamed for the outcome. The party finished at its second lowest tally in its history and is only marginally better than the 44 seats in 2014. The results show that Gandhi, who became party chief in 2017, has not been able to galvanise the party enough to make it a fighting unit against the BJP which has been turned into an election winning machine by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. Congress suffered in most states and failed to dent the BJP in the Hindi heartland states. The party's poor electoral strategy has allowed BJP to become a dominant force in West Bengal and strengthen itself in Karnataka where it was relatively weak. Gandhi indicated that the road for the party is long and tough and asked party workers and leaders not to lose heart. "It is a battle of ideology. There are two ways of thought, one is of Narendra Modi and BJP and the other of Congress. But we have to accept that in this election, we have to accept that Modi ji and BJP have won," Gandhi said. He did not go into reasons for the party's debacle. "Today is the day of the mandate and I don't want to colour the decision of the people of India by getting into a long conversation with you about what I think went wrong. Today it doesn't matter what I think went wrong. People of India have decided that Narendra Modi is going to be Prime Minister and as an Indian, I fully respect people's verdict," he said. Gandhi did not elaborate how Congress, which had focused on issues like unemployment and problems of farmers, will strategise its battles ahead. "This is the battle of ideology. I want to tell Congress workers, the leaders who have lost and won, that do not be afraid. We will together fight and ensure victory of our ideology. You do not have to lose faith at all. We know that there are a lot of people in the country who subscribe to Congress ideology, who have faith in Congress and we want to tell them, do not feel scared," he said. Gandhi said it was a long campaign. "I insisted that whatever language is used against me, I will answer that with love. I want to say whatever happens, I will speak with love. This is my philosophy. Love never gets defeated". Gandhi was the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, but he had said that a decision on the leadership will be taken after the elections in consultation with opposition parties. The issues raised by the party included the Rafale fighter jet deal, its promise of a loan waiver and its pitch for providing Rs 72,000 crore to the poorest 20 per cent families in the country. --IANS ps/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bucking the national trend that favoured the BJP, the DMK-led alliance on Thursday led in a whopping 36 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, dealing a major blow to the ruling AIADMK and its allies. Prominent candidates of DMK and its allies like the Congress, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India (CPI) and others were leading over their rivals belonging to the AIADMK-led alliance across the state, Election Commission officials said. As per the trends available from the counting centres, the DMK was leading in 21 places, the Congress in 8, CPI-M and CPI and VCK in two each and IUML in one seat. The MDMK, KMDK and IJK contested under DMK's "rising sun" symbol. On its own, the DMK was leading in 18 seats. Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats. The Election Commission had rescinded the poll in Vellore on the grounds of money play by the DMK candidate. The results are a big blow to the ruling AIADMK as its number of members in the Lok Sabha will be drastically go down to two if the current trends continue till the end. The AIADMK is leading in Theni and Chidambaram Lok Sabha seats. The BJP contested and lost all five seats including that of Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan (Kanyakumari). In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, under the leadership of then Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK contested on its own in 39 seats and won 37. The remaining two seats went to the BJP (Kanyakumari) and PMK (Dharmapuri). The star candidates of DMK this time like Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi, former Union Ministers T.R. Baalu, A. Raja and Dayanidhi Maran weree in the lead, officials said. Prominent Congress candidates Karti P. Chidambaram, H. Vasanthakumar, S. Jothimani and Su. Thirunavukarasar were also on the victory lap. The Lok Sabha polls saw a four-cornered contest. The two major fronts are: the AIADMK-led front comprising the PMK, BJP, DMDK, TMC, PT, PNK and others and the DMK-led front consisting of the Congress, MDMK, IUML, CPI, CPI-M, VCK, KMDK and IJK. The AMMK floated by independent legislator T.T.V. Dhinakaran and the MNM floated by actor-politician Kamal Haasan made their electoral debut. BJP leaders blamed "negative propaganda" by its political foes for its poor showing. --IANS vj/mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rain and gusty winds failed to dampen the spirits of the BJP workers who gathered at the party headquarters here in large numbers on Thursday to celebrate the party's resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections. Enjoying the drizzle and the wind, the saffron party supporters claimed that even the nature was celebrating the occasion of BJP's landmark victory. The BJP headquarters wore a festive look with slogans of "Modi once again", "Har Har Modi", "Vande Mataram" and "Modi, Modi" filling the air as the jubilant party workers danced and distributed sweets to mark the occasion. It all started at 9 a.m. after the picture of an astounding BJP show started to emerge. With the counting trends showing an overwhelming majority for the BJP, the saffron party supporters burst firecrackers and blew the conch as they danced to drum beats amid intense sloganeering. By the afternoon, thousands of BJP workers and supporters gathered at the party headquarters on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg braving the scorching sun. Waving party flags in the air, many BJP supporters burst firecrackers in front of the party office while others clicked selfies while warmly greeting each other. School children aged between 6 and 15 years too were seen at the BJP headquarters where huge cut-outs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah swung in the air. A couple of artists made tattoos on the children's arms or wrote "Modi" on their cheeks, while the women supporters danced and rejoiced sensing a massive victory for the saffron party. Several BJP supporters even came from the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to be a part of the celebrations. Most of the party supporters were provided T-shirts and caps with "Chowkidar phir se" and "Main bhi chokidar" printed on them. Glued to the television screens in the courtyard, many BJP supporters clapped and raised slogans as the results in BJP's favour started to trickle in. Amid the rejoicing crowd, many wore Modi masks while few others held cut-outs of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the message "truth wins". "Making allegations of EVM tampering would not work any more," said Deepak, a Delhi-based businessman and BJP enthusiast. --IANS rak/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) surged to power, a section of Twitteratti on Thursday created a new acronym for the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) -- "Everyone Voted Modi" -- and made it go viral. "EVM Everyone Voted Modi for Central and for YS Jagan in Andhra Pradesh," tweeted one user. Another user tweeted: "Yes Narendra Modi Won Because Of EVM (Everyone Voted Modi)." The Election Commission had earlier dismissed claims by Opposition parties that EVMs were being moved around in the days ahead of the counting of votes. It also rejected allegations of discrepancies at the strong rooms where the EVMs have been kept prior to the election results. A delegation of 22 opposition parties met the Election Commission earlier this week, demanding that VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) slips should be counted before the commencement of counting of votes polled in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They had also demanded matching of all VVPAT slips with the EVMs in an Assembly segment in case of a discrepancy in random matching. --IANS na/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A giant mural depicting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern embracing a Muslim woman in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack has been unveiled in Australia. The mural is 25 meters tall or just over 80 feet and shows the two figures towering across a silo in the suburb of Melbourne's Brunswick. It has been created by street artist Loretta Lizzio after a GoFundMe surpassed its 11,000 Australian dollars goal in under 24 hours, SBS News reported. In March, 51 people were killed when Australian man Brenton Tarrant stormed two mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch and opened fire. He is facing 92 charges -- 51 for murder, 40 for attempted murder and one for terrorism -- in relation to the killings. The iconic image of Ardern wearing a hijab and consoling a member of New Zealand's Muslim community at Christchurch's Kilbirnie Mosque has previously been projected on landmarks throughout the world, including on Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Through GoFundMe, organizers raised 11,506 Australian dollars (about $7,920) which covered art supplies, along with costs to fly artist Lizzio to Melbourne and lodge her family while she was painting. After clearing the funding goal in a single day, the organizers said they donated the extra funds to a Christchurch victims fund in New Zealand. The campaign organizers wrote that the image of Adhern wearing a hijab and embracing the woman had "become a beacon of tolerance, love and peace in these divisive times". They said they wanted "this message, this moment in time, remembered. We want to learn from it, we want it to hold us up, to strengthen us". But for depicting a foreign leader in an Australian town, the mural generated pushback from nearly 15,000 people who signed a Change.org petition to stop the painting and put up something Melbourne-related instead. --IANS soni/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the Lok Sabha poll victory and said that he looks forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," tweeted Khan as the Modi-led BJP headed for a landslide victory in the general elections. Khan's congratulatory message came a day before Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek They were seated next to each other during an interaction with Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov amid strain in ties between the two neighbours following the Pulwama terror attack which killed over 40 CRPF personnel that resulted in heightened military tensions. But according to MEA sources, there was no meeting and only exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders. Pakistan media outlet Dawn however, said that Qureshi and Sushma Swaraj held "an informal dialogue" on the sidelines of the SCO meeting. "Today (I) met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Foreign Office, according to the Dawn. "We made it clear to her that we want all the matters resolved through dialogue, and that Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward. Even today we are ready for a dialogue," he was quoted as saying. Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad were triggered after the February 14 attack which was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). India had later carried out air strikes at a terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26. A day after, the Air Forces of both the countries engaged in an aerial combat in which Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman shot down one of the Pakistani Air Force jets. He was then captured by Pakistan but was released later by Islamabad as a "peace gesture". Both countries are now expected to look for a thaw in bilateral ties after a new government assumes office in Delhi. --IANS soni/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As he retained power with a resounding electoral victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday received congratulatory messages and phone calls from a host of foreign leaders, including his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Among other foreign leaders to congratulate Modi were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. Imran Khan tweeted his message on Twitter. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," he posted. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: "From a long standing friend! Russian President Putin has sent a congratulatory message to PM and has confirmed his readiness to work together to build the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs." The Chinese President wrote a letter to Modi, saying he attached "great importance" to the development of Sino-India relations and expressed his desire to work with the Indian leader to take the development partnership between the two countries to a new height. Xi said under the leadership of the two leaders, Sino-India ties have "shown strong momentum of development". Netanyahu tweeted: "Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India and Israel." "Well done, my friend!" Macron called up Modi to congratulate him and the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together towards further strengthening of the strategic partnership between India and France. Modi thanked France for its steadfast support to India on critical issues, the MEA spokesperson said. Describing Modi as "one of the foremost leaders of the democratic world", the French President reiterated his invitation to him to visit the country in August for a bilateral meeting and to attend the G7 Summit at Biarritz. Shinzo Abe also called up Modi and the two leaders reiterated their commitment towards strengthening the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership, according to the MEA spokesperson. Sirisena tweeted: "Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India." The island country's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also congratulated the Indian Prime Minister for his "magnificent victory". Oli wished Modi "all success ahead" and said, "I look forward to working closely with you." Ghani tweeted: "The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia." Hasina wished "peace, happiness and prosperity for the people of India". Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said it was "a strong affirmation of the Indian people's confidence in the BJP-led government. I look forward to closer and enhanced ties". Bhutan, Australia, Vietnam and Portugal Prime Ministers Lotay Tshering, Scott Morrison, Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Antonio Costa, respectively, as well as Tanzanian President John Magufuli extended their congratulations to the Indian leader and sought to boost bilateral relations. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong "welcomed India's deepening engagement in the region". Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan also congratulated Modi. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters in India exercised their franchise in the seven-phased elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. IANS pgs/akk/soni/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Film: India's Most Wanted; Starring: Arjun Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma; Writer and Director Rajkumar Gupta; Rating: ****(4 stars) In a milieu of bustling violence, terrorism has been reduced to a formula in our cinema. A pretext to show larger-than-life villains with heroes to match. But what about those real terrorists and those unsung heroes who have apprehended dreaded terrorists not for fame recognition or, God forbid, money. But simply because to them, that seems the right thing to do. India's Most Wanted is that rare film on counter-terrorism which seems to show no inclination to overplay its cards, Rajkumar Gupta's target here is to not show his hero indulging in scene-stealing heroics (the kind Akshay Kumar would be seen doing), but to put the protagonist, a docile humble unostentatious man Prabhat who never smiles because...well, what is there to smile about? Have you seen the number of bomb blasts that have occurred in the last two decades? Prabhat believes nabbing India's most dangerous terrorist is not a negotiable job. He just has to do it. And if he get no help from official agencies then he will do it on his own with a ragged quartet of like-minded government officials, so nondescript they could pass off as vegetable vendors on a crowded street. As played by Arjun Kapoor, Pravin Singh Sisodia, Aasif Khan, Devendra Mishra and Prasanth Philip Alexander this is the most unlikely army of heroes you will ever encounter in mainstream cinema. There is no effort to portray them as anything except what they really are: penniless counter-terrorists driven only by a passion to make this world a better place for peace-loving citizens. Barring Arjun Kapoor, most of the faces used in this excruciatingly authentic cat-and-mouse game are the kind that don't act. They Aseem to merge into the milieu with a fluency that could be perceived as the opposite of grace. But then who said anything about acts of terrorism and counter-terrorism being graceful? India's Most Wanted is a slow-burner of a film. It derives immense power out of its writer-director's proclivity to keep the physicality of the actors as authentic as possible. The emotional quotient simply follows. The narrative begins in Patna and then moves with noisy fluidity into Nepal where the chase to hunt down the primeval terrorist is chronicled in graphic detail, one step at a time. Please be patient. While Arjun Kapoor immerses himself in looking and feeling like a Bihari terror-annihilator (he had played Bihari earlier in Two States) most the actors don't even need to try. It's a no-win circumstance for these unconditional heroes. No guns, no back-up. Only a junoon to get the most dreaded terrorist. It can't get any more basic. The shoot-out at the end is so convincingly shot it feels like documentary footage. Quickly before the film lapsed into a show of realistic espionage, Rajkumar Gupta gives us 20 minutes of heartstopping climactic action. The buildup is slow and steady. And the culmination is overpowering in its fluency. This is a film that is in no hurry to get to the end. Gupta knows we are living in a dangerous world where violence is a given. He treads with empathy and warmth into this world. The climactic payoff is not our reward for watching the film so intently. It is the fate of unsung heroes to indulge in their heroics when no one is watching. This film is shot as though it didn't know audiences would watch it. Instinctive and spontaneous it is game-changer for its makers, and for us too. --IANS skj/rs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling NDA is leading on 11 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand where the opposition alliance is trailing. Former Chief Minister and JMM President Shibu Soren is trailing with over 17,000 votes against BJP's Sunil Soren. Another former Chief Minister and JVM-P president Babulal Marandi is trailing by over 70,000 votes against BJP candidate Annapurna Devi. While former Chief Minister and BJP candiate from Khuti Arjun Munda is also trailing with over 600 votes against Congress candidate Kalicharan Munda. Union Minister Jayant Sinha is leading with more than 50,000 votes against Congress candidate Gopal Sahu. In Ranchi BJP candidate Sanjay Seth is also leading with over 50,000 votes. --IANS ns/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said that he looks forward to work together with him for the city's people. "I congratulate Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi," the Aam Aadmi Party chief said in a tweet. The BJP is leading on 303 seats, including all seven seats in Delhi. Earlier in the day, the AAP congratulated the saffron party for its victory and said it hopes that Modi would do good work in his future tenure. Meanwhile, as terror accused BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur led the contest in Bhopal, the AAP said it is time for the people to introspect. "The one who called Mahatma Gandhi's assassin a 'patriot' has reached the Parliament and we all remain mute spectator. This is the time for the people to introspect," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a tweet. --IANS nks/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The "chowkidar chor hai" campaign by Congress President Rahul Gandhi to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his proposed Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) clearly failed to impress the Indian electorate which gave a resounding victory to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday, putting a question mark on the leadership of the grand old party. The Congress, according to the trends available, once again performed dismally, with the party leading at 54 Lok Sabha seats, just 10 more than what it bagged in the 2014 general elections to the 543-member Lower House of the Parliament. In view of the second consecutive poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls, serious questions will definitely be raised over the leadership of 49-year-old Rahul Gandhi, who was made the President of the Congress in 2017 with an aim of rejuvenating the party after its worst ever show in the last general elections. The party fared badly even in the three states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where it was elected to power only six months back. Worse, Rahul Gandhi was himself on the verge of losing to BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi constituency, which has been the pocket borough of his family. As reflected by the outcome of these elections, his campaign and strategy turned out to be a total failure. Gandhi had made the 'chowkidar chor hai' the main plank of his electioneering, alleging corruption and wrongdoings in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter planes from France, a charge which was repeatedly rubbished by the government. However, the fact that the BJP swept the elections by bagging more seats than even the last time goes on to demonstrate that the plank grossly misfired for Gandhi. Another major poll plank of Gandhi was the NYAY scheme, under which he promised that if the Congress was voted to power, it would provide a financial assistance of up to Rs 72,000 annually to the poorest people of the country. But clearly, this too failed to impress the electorate. In the wake of the results, the question arises whether there will be a serious introspection in the Congress. Some Congress leaders confide in private that Gandhi doesn't have it in him to lead the grand old party but nothing can be done since the party is controlled by his family. "Rahul Gandhi is our weakness, but it is our compulsion to let the family control the party as otherwise the party can break," according to a Congress leader. After the poll debacle the last time, several Congress leaders had openly blamed Gandhi, then the Vice President of the party, and his team of advisers for an "uninspiring and lacklustre" campaign and "faulty distribution" of tickets. The Congress, under the Presidentship of Sonia Gandhi, had then set up a four-member committee headed by senior leader A.K. Antony to analyse the reasons for the poor show. Among other things, it had blamed the party's strategy of pitching the general elections as a battle between communalism and secularism and perceived minority appeasement, which ironically were again the main themes of the 2019 polls. --IANS akk/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Buoyed by encouraging trends of the vote count for the Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, BJP Chief Rakesh Singh on Thursday asked Chief Minister Kamal Nath to resign on moral grounds. "The BJP is leading on 28 of the 29 seats in the state. Congress bigwigs are losing the elections. In such a situation, the Congress does not have the moral authority to stay in power and Chief Minister Kamal Nath must resign from his post," Singh told reporters at the party headquarters here. Congress came to power in Madhya Pradesh in the recently held Assembly elections. The Congress government is supported by the SP, the BSP and independent candidates. --IANS hindi/rtp (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BSE Sensex jump-started to cross the 40,000 mark for the first time ever on Thursday with the ruling NDA leading the Lok Sabha vote count from early in the day. In an unexpected turn, however, the markets witnessed a sharp fall in the second half owing to profit booking that washed away all the early gains. From the historic peak of 40,124.96, reached within an hour of market opening, the Sensex ended trade on counting day at 38,811.39, which was over 1,300 points lower than the highs reached earlier. With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading the vote count from the beginning, the markets saw a massive gap-up opening. The morning gains went up to the magical figure of 12,000 (Nifty50) but then saw a sudden fall, said Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking. "In fact, the profit taking was so immense, we not only wiped off all gains but also went on to sneak into well inside negative territory," Chavan added. As political uncertainty went out of the picture, the volatility index or the India 'VIX' dropped by nearly 30 per cent during the trade session. The Sensex closed in the red, 298.82 points lower, or by 0.76 per cent, at 38,811.39. It hit an intra-day high of 40,124.96, and a low of 38,651.61. The Nifty also declined on Thursday by 80.85 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 11,657.05 after it had touched a lifetime high of 12,041.15 Globally, major Asian markets have closed on a negative note. European indices like FTSE, DAX and CAC are also trading in the red. "World shares have fallen four consecutive days on Thursday as concerns grew that the China-US trade tiff was fast turning into a technology war between them," said Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities. "Any credit implications of the outcome of India's general election will be determined by the policies adopted by the government in the next few years. These policies have yet to be formulated," US rating multinational Moody's Investors Service Vice President (Sovereign Risk Group) William Foster said in a statement. "At this stage, we expect the broad push towards fiscal consolidation to remain, although with greater policy emphasis on supporting low incomes," he said. "Unlike in 2014, NDA-II has to deal with a much weaker economy. Rural distress and slowing investment in the country are two major issues that need to be addressed in an urgent manner," said Deepthi Mathew, Economist at Geojit Financial Services. "The developments in the global economy are also not favourable, especially with regard to the rising crude oil prices. The low crude oil prices benefited NDA-I in a bigger way," she added. --IANS ravi/sn/bc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Theresa May is continuing to face pressure from her own MPs to resign after one of her senior ministers quit the cabinet. The Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, stepped down on Wednesday night over the PM's Brexit policy, the BBC reported. Several cabinet ministers have also said that the PM cannot stay in her post. May said she was "sorry to lose someone of passion, drive and sincerity". Speaking to reporters, Leadsom said May's new Brexit plan had "elements I cannot support, that aren't Brexit". The minister had been due to appear in the House of Commons on Thursday to give a business statement to MPs. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Leadsom said she did not believe "the UK would be a truly sovereign United Kingdom through the deal that is now proposed". She also described holding another referendum as "dangerously divisive", and said she was opposed to the government "willingly facilitating such a concession". May has offered MPs a chance to hold a vote on another referendum if they back her Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the legislation needed to implement the agreement between the UK and EU on the terms of Brexit. Leadsom was set to announce when the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement Bill - the legislation needed to implement the agreement between the UK and EU on the terms of Brexit - would be introduced to the Parliament. However, it is now not clear who will take her place at the dispatch box. --IANS rs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the world's "most popular" leader and credited him for party's spectacular victory in Lok Sabha polls. Addressing party workers here at the BJP headquarters, Shah also hit out at opposition, saying the 2019 mandate has buried the of casteism, dynasty and appeasement and is "a victory of nationalism". "Modiji is the 'mahanayak' of the BJP's grand victory. BJP's victory is most historical after Independence. This is victory of every workers of the party. This is victory of BJP government's policy of the 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' and ofcourse, it is victory of popularity of Modiji," Shah said amid chants of "Modi-Modi" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". "The opposition's defeat and BJP's emphatic victory is also against those parties promoting the ideology of 'tukde-tukde' gang. It is victory of nationalism," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several union ministers and senior leaders were also present on the occasion. Hitting out at the opposition parties for forming alliances to defeat Modi, Shah said that BJP was fighting for 50 per cent votes and today the party has garnered over 50 per cent vote share in 17 states including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "I had told party workers that they will have to get on the field to fight the battle of 50 per cent. I can proudly say that in 17 states, people blessed us with more than 50 per cent votes. On the other hand, the Congress faced a crushing defeat and it could not even open its account in 17 states," he said. He said that the BJP's tremendous victory reflects that there will be no significance of of the parties promoting of casteism, appeasement and dynasty in the days to come. "In last 30 years, the Congress and other opposition parties did the of casteism, dynasty and appeasement but with hard work of party workers and the Prime Minister, this election has buried these ills in politics. "In Uttar Pradesh, we won 60 seats. The mandate is a befitting reply on those parties promoting politics of dynasty, casteism and appeasement," he said. Taking a swipe at former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who was in the forefront of uniting the opposition parties against the BJP, he said if he would have spent that much of time in his state, he could have succeeded in opening his account. Shah also congratulated the victors of the Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim Assembly bypolls. Hitting out at West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, Shah said despite so many atrocities, the BJP won 18 seats in the state and also bagged four of the five Assembly constituencies which went to bypolls. "It shows that in the coming days, the BJP is going to establish its domination in Bengal," he said. --IANS rak-bns/vd (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.) Narendra Modi has achieved the distinction of becoming only the third Indian Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Manmohan Singh to return to office after completing a full term with the results of the 2019 general election being announced on Thursday. Nehru, independent India's first prime minister, had led the Congress to victory in the 1951, 1957 and 1962 Lok Sabha elections. Nehru died in office in May 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri became the Prime Minister. He never faced a general election as he too died in office in January 1966 after signing the Tashkent Accord on restoring subcontinental peace after the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi, who was then the Information and Broadcasting Minister, became the Prime Minister and led the Congress to victory in the 1967 general election, albeit with reduced numbers. Gandhi called elections a year early in 1971 and won a decisive mandate and saw the country win its biggest military victory the same year that saw the decimation of the Pakistani Army and the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh. Four years later, fighting off an opposition onslaught for her resignation after an adverse court verdict holding her guilty of electoral malpractices, Gandhi declared Emergency in 1975, due to which the elections which were due in 1976, were not held. Indira Gandhi lifted the emergency in 1977 and called general election that saw a conglomeration of disparate parties under the Janata Party umbrella being swept to power. That experiment lasted a little over two years and Indira Gandhi led the Congress to a resounding victory in the 1980 general election. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984 and her son Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister. He called early elections the same year that saw the Congress being returned with a thumping majority, winning 414 of the 533 seats where polling was held. The Congress, however, lost power in the 1989 elections largely due to the taint of the Bofors gun purchase deal. V.P. Singh became the prime minister of a Janata Dal government that had outside support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left. However, the tensions generated over a 'Rath Yatra' undertaken by BJP leader L.K. Advani saw the party pulling out its support, which led to the government's collapse. The Congress then propped up a dispensation headed by Chandra Shekhar but pulled out after a little over 100 days, accusing the government of spying on Rajiv Gandhi. Elections were called early in 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while on the campaign trail and the Congress rode to power on a huge sympathy wave. P.V. Narasimha Rao became the prime minister and served a full term but the corruption taint again saw the Congress losing power in the 1996 elections. The BJP emerged as the single largest party and Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the prime minister, but the government lasted only 13 days as it could not cobble together the required numbers in the Lok Sabha. A United Front coalition then assumed office, first with H.D. Deve Gowda and then I.K. Gujral as the Prime Minister. Not unexpectedly, the coalition experiment lasted just two years and elections were called in 1998. Atal Bihari Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister to head a BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition that collapsed a year later. The BJP, however, retained power in the 1999 elections. Riding what it believed was a popularity wave prompted by its "India Shining" campaign, the BJP called elections a few months early in 2004 but faced the mortification of being voted out. Manmohan Singh then became the Prime Minister for the first time - and returned to power on May 16, 2009. Riding a Narendra Modi wave, the BJP achieved majority of 282 of the 543 LOk Sabha seats (NDA 336) for which elections were held in 2014 and Narendra Modi was sworn in as India's 14th Prime Minister on May 26. The NDA-BJP is set to replicate the effort in 2019 and Narendra Modi is al set to be sworn in for a second term. (Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in) --IANS vm/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reach the BJP headquarters and address a gathering of party workers on Thursday evening as the party was set to return to power. Although the counting was in progress, the trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to the polls indicated the BJP was leading on 290 seats while the Congress on only 52 seats. The party has planned a huge gathering for a grand welcome for Narendra Modi as it has invited people to reach its headquarters in large numbers. "You are invited to join BJP's victory celebrations at BJP headquarters at 6/A Deendayal Upadhyay Marg," the message read. BJP chief Amit Shah is also likely to reach the party headquarters around 2 p.m. Parliamentary Borad, the BJP's highest decision making body, is also to meet late in the evening or on Friday, a party official said. --IANS rak-bns/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Following the US trade ban against Chinese companies, Japanese tech major Panasonic and UK-based chip designer ARM have "suspended transactions" and cut ties with Huawei, the media reported. "Panasonic announced in an internal notification that it should suspend transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates that were banned by the US government," BBC quoted the company as saying on Thursday. Later, the Japanese company appeared to contradict that position with a statement posted on its China website that said the company was continuing supplies to Huawei. The company specified that the ban applies to goods having 25 per cent or more of US-originated materials, but did not clear what transactions Panasonic was suspending, or why they were subject to US restrictions. On the other hand, saying that its designs contained "US origin technology," ARM instructed employees to halt "all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements" with Huawei and its subsidiaries, BBC reported on Wednesday. Analysts believe that ARM's decision of breaking off with Huawei would affect the Chinese tech company's ability to develop its own chips, many of which are currently built with ARM's underlying technology, for which it pays a licence fee. On May 15, US President Donald Trump effectively banned Huawei with a national security order. The US publicly asked its allies to steer clear of using Huawei products over concerns that the equipment could be used by the Chinese government to obtain private information. Following the trade clampdown, tech majors including Google, Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm put restrictions on businesses with Huawei. --IANS rp/gb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jumping parties has augured well for most of BJP candidates, who defected either from state's ruling Trinamool Congress or the Left parties, as they were in the lead in the Lok Sabha polls, according to the Election Commission data on Thursday. The BJP candidates in at least 10 of the state's 42 constituencies have been imported from other parties, or are fresh recruits into the saffron fold. Arjun Singh, a Trinamool 'strongman' and former MLA from Bhatpara, was leading over his nearest candidate for Trinamool and former Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi by a slender margin in the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat. Singh crossed over to the BJP days after the party leadership turned down his plea for being nominated as a candidate from Barrackpore. Former Trinamool MP Saumitra Khan who was expelled for "anti-party activity, and secured the saffron party's nomination from his old constituency Bishnupur, was leading over Shyamal Santra of Trinamool. Khan is barred from entering the district for six weeks by the Calcutta High Court due to ongoing criminal cases against him. He was, however, allowed to file his nomination by the court, but the bar on his entry into most areas of the constituency remained, forcing his wife to do the campaigning on his behalf. In North Bengal's Cooch Behar, the saffron party's Nisith Pramanik, a former Trinamool youth leader against whom, at one time, BJP workers had a litany of complaints, was ahead of state's ruling party candidate Paresh Chandra Adhikari. Incidentally, Adhikari is also a turncoat, having switched his allegiance from the Forward Bloc to the Trinamool. In another battle between two turncoats, three-term CPI-M MLA, Khagen Murmu, who had joined the BJP ahead of the general elections, was leading in Malda North against Trinamool's Mausam Noor who won the seat last time on a Congress ticket. Two other party switchers, who fought on BJP tickets, however, were trailing. After crossing over to the BJP following his expulsion from the Trinamool for "anti-party activities", Visva Bharati University Assistant Professor Anupam Hazra, a member of the outgoing Lok Sabha from Bolpur, was trailing against Bengali actress and ruling party nominee Mimi Chakraborty in Jadavpur constituency. Formerly a two-time CPI-M lawmaker, Mafuja Khatun - the only Muslim woman candidate nominated by the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections - was in the second place in Jangipur of Murshidabad district. Trinamool's Khalilur Rahaman was in the lead from the constituency. Trinamool seems headed for mixed results by roping in political leaders from the Congress. Abu Taher Khan, a former Congress MLA, was leading from Murshidabad over his nearest rival Abu Hena of the Congress. However, Apurba Sarkar, another ex Congress lawmaker, was trailing against Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency. --IANS bdc/ssp/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Ayushmann Khurrana says he is known for middle-of-the-road cinema, where there is a collaboration of critical and commercial success. "It's a default setting for me to choose novel content. I'm always known for middle-of-the-road cinema, where there is a collaboration of critical and commercial success. It's also my intuition," Ayushmann told IANS. "My gut has never let me down. I look at stories as a layman and an audience member. I make films that I would like to see myself. It feels great that my choices have been accepted so far," he added. After his stint on the small screen, Ayushmann entered the industry in the role of a sperm donor in 2012 with "Vicky Donor". He faced failure with "Nautanki Saala!", "Hawaizaada" and "Bewakoofiyaan". But he returned with a bang with "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" as a school dropout, who hesitantly marries an educated but overweight girl. He continued his successful streak with "Bareilly Ki Barfi", "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan", "Badhaai Ho" and "AndhaDhun". He will next be seen in "Article 15", "Dream Girl", "Bala" and gay love story "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" -- the second part of the 2017 film "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan". He will also be seen with megastar Amitabh Bachchan in Shoojit Sircar's upcoming film "Gulabo Sitabo". But what about getting into production or directing a film? "I would love to produce and direct at some point, but as of now, I'm content with my acting and music," said the actor, who has been roped in as the brand ambassador of globally renowned watch brand Daniel Wellington. --IANS sug/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 257 people were arrested following deadly protests in the Indonesian capital against the re-election of President Joko Widodo for a second five-year term, police said on Thursday. At least six people were killed died and more than 200 have been wounded since the riots started on Tuesday night, reports Efe news. The clashes between police and hundreds of followers of the losing candidate, former army general Prabowo Subianto, have paralysed central Jakarta for two days. On Wednesday night, protesters threw flares, stones and other objects at the riot police, who responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and selective arrests outside the headquarters of the Elections Supervisory Agency and the surrounding areas. Jakarta Police spokesperson Prabowo Argo Yuwono told the media that the arrests were made in connection to the destruction of public property and inciting violence. The fatalities resulted from bullet wounds and blunt objects, according to the police, who denied the use of live ammunition and accused the rioters of using firearms. The official number of those wounded is 200, although sources from several hospitals told the official Indonesian news agency Antara that that figure exceeds 350, many of whom have already been discharged. Security Minister, Wiranto, on Wednesday announced certain restrictions of social media, such as distributing pictures and videos on Whatsapp in certain areas to prevent the spread of rumours, false information and the escalation of violence. The Elections Commission of Indonesia on Tuesday announced the victory of Joko with 55.5 per cent of the votes as against 44.5 per cent secured by his rival Prabowo in the April 17 polls. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Marking the 500th death anniversary of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, a recently-restored 16th century painting by his favourite pupil Francesco Melzi (1493-1570) would go on display here from Thursday. The painting "Flora", dating back to about 1520, will be seen outside Russia for the first time after being restored by the State Hermitage Museum. It would be exhibited at the National Gallery here. Melzi, Leonardo's companion and assistant, was largely responsible for preserving the master's notebooks and drawings for posterity. "Flora", his exquisite painting in question, depicts the goddess of springtime and flowers - Flora - seated in a leafy grotto sprouting with fern and ivy. "Flora's exposed breast and the way she tenderly inspects a sprig of aquilegia -- a symbol of fertility -- emphasise her role as 'mother of flowers'. On her lap she caresses a spray of jasmine, signifying purity, besides anemones representing rebirth," the London gallery said. After its restoration, the picture's true colours, including the powerful ultramarine blue, and hidden details have been revealed. "Infrared reflectography has also shown that Melzi ensured anatomical correctness by modelling Flora's naked figure before adding her clothing," it added. "The female facial type with its downcast look is characteristic of Leonardo's Milanese style, as is the mastery of subtle modulations of tone, known as 'sfumato'," the gallery said of da Vinci's influence on the artwork. It is the first opportunity to see the painting, together with its details and rich colouring which had been lost for decades under layers of old varnish. This rare masterpiece by da Vinci's favourite pupil has been loaned by the State Hermitage Museum to the National Gallery. The Gallery is already showcasing two works by da Vinci -- "The Virgin of the Rocks" and "The Burlington House Cartoon". Starting June 6, the British Library here will also show "Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind in Motion", that will bring a selection of his notes and drawings together. The painting is up for a free, month-long display. --IANS sj/mag/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan on Thursday announced training launch of Shaheen-II surface-to-surface ballistic missile, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear war-heads up to 1,500 km. "The training launch was aimed at ensuring (the) operational readiness of (the) Army Strategic Forces Command. (The) Shaheen-II missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear war-heads up to a range of 1,500 km," the Pakistan military's media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The test came a day after India conducted second test of air-launch version of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile. It described Shaheen-II as a "highly capable missile, which fully meets Pakistan's strategic needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region". The launch had its impact point in the Arabian Sea, Dawn newspaper reported citing ISPR. The launch was witnessed by the Director General of the Strategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command Lt. Gen. Qazi Muhammad Ikram Ahmad and senior officers from the Army Strategic Forces Command, scientists and engineers of the strategic organisations. President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan extended their congratulations to scientists upon their achievement, the statement said. --IANS soni/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi won Kerala's Wayanad seat - the second seat he contested in the 2019 polls - with a record margin of 431,770 votes. Gandhi defeated his nearest rival P.P. Suneer of the Communist Party of India who secured 274,597 votes, while Gandhi got 706,367 votes. This margin of victory is the highest in the state for any Lok Sabha constituency. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who was the first person to announce the candidature of Gandhi expressed happiness at the huge victory . "This result was a foregone conclusion , as right from the day his name was announced, we could sense that the people in Wayanad had accepted him. His visits to the constituency... first when he came to file his nomination and then for a day's campaign, really made every Congress worker excited," said Chandy. "His presence as a candidate boosted the confidence of all the candidates and that's one reason, why we could register such a huge victory in Kerala," added Chandy. In the 2014 polls, Congress candidate M.I. Shanawas won the seat with a margin of 20,970 votes. He passed away last year and since then the seat was lying vacant. Gandhi, however, lost his traditional Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh, to Union Minister Smriti Irani, by over 50,000 votes. --IANS sg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to retain power at the Centre. In a tweet, Rajinikanth said: "Respected dear @narendramodi ji hearty congratulations... You made it !!! God bless." Rajinikanth had said his party would contest the next Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. --IANS vj/ksk/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) C. Lalrosanga, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate, is set to secure the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram as he is leading his nearest Independent rival Lalnghinglova Hmar by 8,307 votes. The party has won the Assembly by-election in the state. Lalrosanga, a former Indian Broadcasting Programme Service (IBPS) officer and retired Director General of Doordarshan, secured 223,509 votes (44.99 per cent of the total valid votes). Hmar, backed by the opposition Congress and the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) alliance, bagged 2,15,202 votes (43.32 per cent). C.L. Ruala of the Congress had won the Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram in 2014. Altogether six candidates, including Lalthlamuani the first woman to fight the parliamentary polls in Mizoram, were in the fray. The constituency voted on April 11. In case of Aizawl West-1 Assembly by-election, MNF nominee Zothantluanga won the seat defeating Independent candidate Lalbuanga Sailo by 7,035 votes. The by-election to the seat was necessitated after ZPM legislator Lalduhoma vacated it to retain Serchhip constituency. The MNF, led by Chief Minister and party President Zoramthanga, had delivered a humiliating defeat to former Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla-led Congress in the November 28, 2018 Assembly polls. With the Aizawl West-1 Assembly win, the MNF's strength in the 40-member Assembly rose to 27. --IANS sc/ksk/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Sharjah-based Indian boy is encouraging his neighbours and the rest of the community to use the small library at his home, which he has put together from book donation drives, the media reported on Thursday. Kashinadh Pranesh, a nine-year-old student at GEMS Millennium School in Sharjah, is on a mission to inspire people to know more about the world and instil the love of reading in the youth, reports the Khaleej Times. He has previously been recognised in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for his academic and philanthropic achievements. Last year, he donated the funds he won in a spelling bee contest to the victims of the Kerala floods. Earlier this month, he won the Distinguished Student Award of the Hamdan Foundation. His efforts and achievements were also mentioned by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Twitter. "In 2016, the Year of Reading in the UAE, I came to know the importance of reading, so I have started collecting books through book drives and charity drives and started my own small library," the student told the Khaleej Times. "Through this library, I wish to encourage my friends and neighbours to read more." Pranesh is also an active member of various eco-groups in the UAE. He has been involved in activities such as planting trees and has collected and recycled more than 1.5 tonnes of newspaper, 50 mobile phones, and 50 kg of plastic. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has started shooting for the second season of "TED Talks" here. "TED Talks India: Nayi Soch", the first season, was a Hindi TV talk show created in partnership with TED, a non-profit organisation devoted to "ideas worth spreading". It featured speakers from various fields sharing ideas in TED's signature format of short, powerful talks. It marked the first time TED was collaborating with a major network to produce a TV series, featuring original "TED Talks" in Hindi. As for the new season of the STAR Plus show, Shah Rukh shot the first episode for it on Monday. The first season was shot at the Yash Raj Films Studio. But this time, the shoot is taking place at the Filmistan Studios, a source told IANS. Some of the names likely to feature in the second season are acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, whose life has inspired Deepika Padukone's next film "Chhapaak", and actress Tanushree Dutta, who opened the floodgates of India's #MeToo movement, the source told IANS. "TED Talks 2" may go on air in the second half of 2019. "The Hundred-Foot Journey" producer Juliet Blake, head of Television for TED Talks, is currently in India to curate the speakers and themes for the new season. --IANS dc/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the BJP's victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Palaniswami in a letter to Modi said: "I congratulate you on the magnificent victory in the General Elections. The people of our country have honoured you with a second consecutive term." "I wish you and the Government of India under your stewardship the very best," Palaniswami added. --IANS vj/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Kriti Sanon, who completed her five-year-journey in Bollywood on Friday, says her first co-star Tiger Shroff will always have a super soft corner in her heart. Kriti made her Bollywood debut in 2014 with the romantic thriller "Heropanti" alongside Tiger Shroff, who made his acting debut with the film. "I saw his hard work, his discipline and passion and I knew he is going to blow people's minds away. You'll always have this super soft corner in my heart Tigy! Tiger Shroff, I feel so happy seeing you fly higher and higher (literally too)," Kriti tweeted. The 28-year-old actress wished Tiger for the five-year anniversary. "Time for 'Heropanti 2'," she added. The film revolves around a girl Renu, who elopes with her lover. Her father, Chowdhary, kidnaps Bablu who knows Renu's whereabouts, along with two of his friends. But Bablu falls in love with Dimpy, Chaudhary's younger daughter. Kriti is currently shooting for "Panipat" and Tiger will next be seen sharing screen space with actor Hrithik Roshan. --IANS dc/rb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Just days after US President Donald Trump said he used Twitter as a "typewriter", the Co-founder of the micro-blogging site, Ev Williams has called Trump "master" of the platform. In an interview, Williams said "What Trump has done with Twitter is pretty genius, frankly. He's a master of the platform like few others," CNN Business reported on Wednesday. Trump, who is infamous for making controversial statements, war threats and spelling errors on his Twitter handle, recently admitted that the micro-blogging site to him is a "typewriter" and "a modern way to communicate" in order to get things noticed distinctly. But Williams argued the potential negative effects of the President's tweets on the country's political discourse are "trivial compared to the effect of the broader media", the report said. The statements come in compliance with a view popular in the Silicon Valley that believes that traditional media outlets have extensively covered the destructive effects of big tech companies while not examining their own role in creating a more polarised society. Williams said Twitter was not as destructive of a platform as Fox News is. "The vast majority of the electorate is not on Twitter reading Trump's tweets and being convinced by that. What they're convinced much more by is the destructive power of Fox News, which is much, much more powerful and much more destructive than Twitter," Williams was quoted as saying. Williams co-founded Twitter in 2007 with Jack Dorsey. Later, in 2008, he became the CEO of Twitter, replacing Dorsey. After 12 years of being associated with the company, in February 2019, Williams stepped down from Twitter's board to "focus his time on other projects". Williams now runs online publishing platform Medium -- a site he describes as a network for longer-form, more in-depth content, the report noted. --IANS rp/mag/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US should show sincerity and correct their wrong practices if the country wants to continue trade talks with Beijing, Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday. China's stance on talks has always been clear, Commerce Ministry's spokesman Gao Feng told a press conference. "The US has been escalating trade frictions using various moves, dealing a heavy blow to bilateral economic and trade talks. Only on the basis of equal treatment and mutual respect will talks be likely to move on," Gao was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. He added that Beijing will never compromise on major issues of principle, as cooperation is based on certain principles and there are bottom lines for negotiations. According to him, the latest wrong practices of Washington "added to economic and trade tension, not only seriously hurting the interests of enterprises and consumers of both countries, but also having a recessionary impact on global economy". The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has lowered its forecast for global economic growth, saying that trade tensions have weighed on global growth and will continue to threaten investment and growth. --IANS soni/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath received a tumultuous welcome when he reached the BJP state headquarters here on Thursday evening. With 'gulal' flying in the air and the beating of drums, Adityanath was swathed with garlands of all shapes and sizes. Flanked by two Deputy Chief Ministers, Keshav Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, Adityanath thanked party workers for the victory and said that it was the collective efforts of all and the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that ensured a huge win for the party in the general elections. He asked party workers to start preparing for the 2022 Assembly elections and ensure a second term for the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh which he said would be a befitting reply to the rivals. Enthusiastic party workers distributed 'laddos' and lotus shaped sweets at the party workers and danced with gay abandon to celebrate their victory. --IANS amita/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 300 fighters from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), designated a global terror organisation by the US and the UN, are active in war-torn Afghanistan, a pentagon report has said. The report also identified LeT among the three terrorist groups posing the greatest threat to the US and its allied forces in Afghanistan. The LeT was responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 that killed 166 people. Among the 20 prominent terrorist organisations active in Afghanistan, LeT ranks fifth in terms of fighters along with al Qaeda and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, stated the Pentagon report, 'Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom's Sentinel', for the quarter ending March 31. The report said the Department of Defence "identified the Haqqani Network, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba as groups that present the greatest threat to US and allied forces in Afghanistan". The report also stated that an estimated 300 LeT and 1,000 Islamic Emirate High Council operatives are active in the war-torn country. The ISIS-K, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Haqqani network with an estimated 3,000-5,000 fighters each top the list of terrorist groups active in Afghanistan, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From a small-time businessman to a formidable political leader, YSR Congress president Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy popularly known as Jagan has had a rather smooth and bumpy ride in the last two decades of his career. While the first decade of his career was spent in building a business in a hassle-free manner, the second decade had been tumultuous for Reddy as he set on the political path. But his single-minded focus of becoming Chief Minister paid off as his YSR Congress Party is poised to secure a landslide win in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls. It was virtually a ten-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming Chief Minister soon after his father's death in September 2009. The only son of former Chief Minister of (united) Andhra Pradesh, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy began his business career in 1999-2000 by establishing a power company Sandur in neighbouring Karnataka and then expanding it to the north-eastern states. His business graph rose meteorically once his father became the state Chief Minister in 2004 and Jagan started venturing into many other businesses including cement plants, infrastructure and media. Jagan's political ambitions were first revealed in late 2004 when he aspired to become an MP from his home turf Kadapa but the Congress high command nipped that in the bud. He had to wait till 2009 to fulfilhis dream and make a formal political debut by winning the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat as Congress nominee. His father's tragic death in a helicopter crash in September 2009, literally changed everything for Jagan. He wanted to succeed his late father to the Chief Minister's throne but the Congress high command was unwilling to grant him the wish despite a majority of legislators rallying behind him. Disillusioned, Jagan gradually began defying the Congress bosses and, by early 2010 was meticulously charting his own course. He took the 'Odarpu Yatra' route to build his political career independently, much to the Congress' discomfiture. Jagan's emergence as "leader" began with the Odarpu Yatra as he went round villages and districts to console families whose kin allegedly committed suicide following YSR's sudden demise. In no time, his popularity graph shot upwards steadily while that of the ruling Congress' dipped gradually. He succeeded in striking a positive chord with common people largely based on the goodwill that his late father earned for himself through a slew of "welfare" programmes. As the Congress objected to his yatra and rejected "permission," Jagan decided to snap his association with the party. The flashpoint came in November 2010 when the Congress made N Kiran Kumar Reddy the Chief Minister of AP in place of ageing K Rosaiah in an ostensible bid to effectively counter Jagan. On November 29, 2010, Jagan called it quits and walked out of the Congress, which his father loyally served for three decades, and also resigned from his Lok Sabha membership. In March 2011, Jagan announced the setting up of his own Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress YSR Congress throwing a challenge primarily at Congress and also Telugu Desam Party. He won the by-election to Kadapa Lok Sabha seat with a record margin of over five lakh votes in May 2011 while his mother Y S Vijayamma won the Pulivendula Assembly seat in an emphatic fashion. There was no looking back thereafter as the fledgling YSRC won successive by-elections in the then united state and emerged as the favourite to caputre power. But, the bifurcation of AP put paid to Jagan's ambitions as the voters preferred an experienced Chandrababu Naidu over the upcoming politician to rule the truncated state. Jagan was charged by the CBI in several cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Money Laundering Act and also IPC in alleged quid pro quo deals that were struck during his father's tenure as Chief Minister. He was arrested on May 27, 2012 and had to spend 16-odd months in jail as an "un-convicted criminal prisoner" in the spate of corruption cases. He is still attending trial in these cases in the special CBI court in Hyderabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Aam Aadmi Party is set to lose on all seven seats in Delhi as it is trailing by lakhs of votes and coming third in most of the constituencies. Except North-West and South Delhi seats, where they are at the second spot, the ruling party in Delhi is trailing at the third position in all the other five constituencies. AAP had fielded seven candidates in Delhi - Brijesh Goyal from New Delhi, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Raghav Chadha from South Delhi, Atishi from East Delhi, Dilip Pandey from North East Delhi, Gugan Singh from North West Delhi and Balbir Singh Jakhad from West Delhi. In New Delhi, Goyal is trailing by a margin of 4 lakh votes to BJP candidate Meenakshi Lekhi, Gupta is trailing by over 3 lakh votes to BJP candidate Harsh Vardhan, Chadha is trailing by a margin of over 3 lakh votes to BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and Atishi is trailing by a margin of over 4 lakh votes to BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir. On the other hand, Dilip Pandey is trailing by over 5 lakh votes to BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari, Singh by a margin of over 6 lakh to BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans and Jakhar by a margin of over 6 lakh to BJP candidate Parvesh Singh Verma. The star performer of AAP - Atishi who is given credit of revolutionising the education system of government schools - has come third position after Gambhir and Congress candidate Arvinder Singh Lovely. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday for the "historic" win of the NDA in the Lok Sabha election. "I congratulate Sh Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. Right from slapping of Kejriwal during a road show to the Delhi chief minister claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would murder him to even the issue related to distribution of obscene and derogatory pamphlet against Atishi, AAP was in the midst of a number of controversies this election season. AAP was expecting to form an alliance with the Congress but the matter turned sour with pubic war of words between Kejriwal and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The speculations became rife after Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with other 'mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) leaders shared stage during a farmers rally last year. While the AAP, on one hand, was looking for forming an alliance on 33 seats in Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Haryana and Chandigarh with the grand old party, the Congress proposed a tie-up only in the national capital which proved to be a deal breaker for the Aam Aadmi Party. While on one hand both the BJP and the Congress had started their campaign in the last two weeks before the voting in Delhi on May 12, the AAP had began its campaign right from March. The AAP had divided their LS poll campaign in three phases. The first phase was from March 10 to April 7 while the second phase was from April 10 to 25. In the first phase, 'jan sabhas' were conducted while in the second phase, door-to-door campaigning was done. The third phase of AAP's campaigning started from May 1-10. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces, on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory, saying he looked forward to working with him to deepen the strong bilateral ties. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "I was pleased to talk to my dear friend Narendra Modi, India's PM, over the phone to congratulate him on his party's election win," said Mohammed, colloquially known as MbZ. "We look forward to working together to deepen our strong bilateral ties. The UAE wishes India & its friendly people more development & prosperity," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu said Thursday he accepted the verdict of the people of Andhra Pradesh and congratulated YSR Congress on its victory in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state. He also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over their electoral victories. "Elections are over, results have come. In a democracy, it is our responsibility to accept peoples verdict. I congratulate YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy on his partys victory," Naidu said at a press conference. He said the TDP would now review the results and announce the future course of action. "We will review how the party should now function and go forward. I will not talk anything now," he said in response to a question. The TDP that won 102 Assembly seats in 2014, now looks set to bag a mere 24 seats in the 175-member AP Assembly as the main opposition YSR Congress is headed for a landslide victory with 150 seats. While the TDP contested the 2014 election in alliance with the BJP and outside support of Jana Sena, it fought the 2019 general elections on its own and faced a rout. Naidu forwarded his resignation from the Chief Ministers post to the state Governor E S L Narasimhan, who accepted it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) and Special Economic Zone will set up its first container terminal outside India in Myanmar at an estimated cost of $290 million (over Rs 2,000 crore). The company signed an agreement Thursday to develop and operate a container terminal at Yangon Port in Myanmar. Construction for phase one of the project will commence next month and will be completed by June 2021. It is a two-phase project. "Total project cost for both phases would be $275-290 million. The investment is in line with APSEZ strategy to have a footprint in Southeast Asia and expand the container terminal network," and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said in a statement. Also, the terminal will be integrated with APSEZ ports/terminals along the east and south coast of India, unlocking synergies by offering multiple entry/exit points for shipping lines, APSEZ, the logistics arm of Adani Group, said. The BOT (build, operate, transfer)/ lease agreement is signed for 50 years and extendable twice for ten years each. "The terminal will have a capacity to handle 0.80 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent unit) of containers... The estimated cost for implementing phase I of 0.5 million TEUs is between $220-230 million and phase II expansion to 0.8 million TEUs is expected to cost between $5560 million," it added. The terminal will have a quay length of 635 meters with capability to handle three vessels at a time. APSEZ said it would introduce its operating and technological expertise to Myanmar by using modern equipment to ensure efficient handling of containers, thereby reducing the average turnaround time of vessels. All requisite clearances/permissions for setting up the terminal have been received in the form of Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) permit, it added. "We are proud to be the first Indian company to set up a container terminal outside India. With a good balance of EXIM trade and a ten per cent growth prospect, the project is an ideal investment for us. The terminal will generate meaningful employment for over 1,100 local people," Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of APSEZ, said. Dominating the country's for decades, the future of the Congress is now uncertain as it faced its second consecutive and humiliating Lok Sabha defeat at the hands of the BJP. The grand old party could manage to win only a few more seats than its 2014 tally of 44 and its severe drubbing again has raised questions over its existence, with voices raised within for having serious introspection on what went wrong despite the party's all-out efforts to reach out to the electorate. The biggest shock to the Congress is its leader Rahul Gandhi losing the family pocket-borough of Amethi, held by the party since decades. It has again failed to get the post of Leader of Opposition in the lower house. Some insiders feel the party's negative and highly-personalised attack on Prime Minister Modi in the poll campaign like 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' digs and too much talk about Rafale did not work and harmed the party at the hustings. The party's proposed "Nyay" (Nyuntam aay Yojna) scheme failed to enthuse voters. Soon after the humiliating defeat, Rahul Gandhi was quick to take "100 per cent responsibility" for it and said the working committee would soon sit together and brainstorm on what went wrong. "I take 100 per cent responsibility for this defeat," he said, while sidestepping a question on whether he will resign. He added that the party's highest decision-making body - the working committee - will take a decision on this. He also congratulated Narendra Modi and BJP for their victory and said he respected the people's verdict, but hoped Modi will look after the interests of the country. "Today is not the day for me to go into the details of this mandate. Today is the day that a new prime minister has been elected and today is the day to wish him all the best and, hopefully, he will look after the interests of this country," Rahul said. However, veteran Janardan Dwivedi, in a cryptic remark on the party's dismal showing said, "I am not surprised" with the results, but did not elaborate on the reasons for his reaction. Once a strategic and key member of the Congress core team holding the all-powerful post of general secretary in the party, Dwivedi was last year replaced by Ashok Gehlot, who was brought in the CWC. Apart from not holding any party position, he remained away from the party decision-making processes, including the poll strategy for this Lok Sabha election. Senior party leader Anand Sharma also called for serious introspection, saying it is time to reflect on what went wrong and evolve ways on how to rejuvenate the party. "Accepting the people's verdict with all humility, I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his victory. I hope the mandate gives grace and wisdom to leave the campaign bitterness behind and work towards unity," Sharma said. "It is time to collectively introspect and reflect on what went wrong and mistakes made that led to this humiliating defeat. We remain committed to the Congress ideology and values and reflect on how to rejuvenate the party for the larger interest of the Indian democracy, with all honesty," Sharma said. The Congress scored a zero in as many as 17 states and Union territories, including in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, where the party had fared well in last assembly elections in 2017, besides in Rajasthan where it formed its government only a few months ago. The party merely managed to win one seat, that too by a narrow margin in Madhya Pradesh, where it had just formed its government, and only two seats in another state ruled by it - Chhattisgarh. It drew a naught in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and some northeastern states except Assam, where it won three seats, and one seat in Meghalaya. In Uttar Pradesh, only Sonia Gandhi managed to win. The saving grace for the party came in Kerala, where it won 15 seats, while it was victorious in eight seats in Punjab. In Tamil Nadu, it won eight out of nine seats it contested in coalition with the DMK. In Puducherry, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa, the Congress managed to win only one seat each. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, is the third prime minister of the country who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. As counting goes on across the country on Thursday, trends show the Modi-led BJP would be easily able to cross the halfway mark of 272 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, the BJP had won 282 seats out of total 543 in Lok Sabha. Jawaharlal Nehru won around three-fourth of the Lok Sabha seats in the first elections in the country during 1951-52. Subsequently, he was able to win 1957 elections as well as 1962 elections with full majority. Since the elections were happening for the first time in the independent India in 1951, the polling had to be spread over a period of five months from October 1951 to February 1952. While the Congress hegemony was insurmountable in 1951, various other political strands such as Bhartiya Jana Sangh, Kisaan Mazdoor Praja Party, Scheduled Caste Federation and Socialist Party had started to take shape by then. The Congress was able to win 364 out of 489 seats during 1951-52 elections. The party polled around 45 per cent of the total votes then. In 1957, when Nehru was up for re-election, India was going through a difficult phase as the PM was battling the right wing inside and outside his party after passage of the Hindu Marriage Act in 1955. The country was facing many language disputes. Consequently, after establishment of States Reorganisation Committee in 1953, many states were formed on the basis of language. The country was also feeling the heat due to food insecurity. However, among all this, Nehru was able to win a spectacular victory of 371 seats in 1957 elections. The Congress's vote share even increased from 45 per cent in 1951-52 to 47.78 per cent in 1957. In 1962 elections, Nehru won again bagging 361 seats out of total 494 seats in Lok Sabha. After 20 years of Independence, the Congress's hegemony in the country's politics finally started breaking down in 1967 when it lost six state assembly elections. Out of this six, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal was lost by the Congress for the very first time. However, in 1967 elections, Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi was able to get 283 seats out of total 520 seats. This was Indira's first electoral victory in general elections. In 1969, Indira expelled the old guard of the party, which were called as Congress (O). This section of Congress was led by Morarji Desai. It was during this time that Indira coined the slogan "Garibi hatao", which found a wide emotive appeal among the Indian voters. As a result, she was able to increase her tally to 352 in 1971 elections for her second term. In between 2010 and 2014, with UPA government facing multiple allegations of massive corruption scandals, the BJP decided to appoint the then Gujarat Chief Minister as their Prime Minister candidate for 2014 general elections. With a promise of development (vikas) across India, won his first ever general elections with full majority in 2014 with 282 seats. After the Congress's poor showing in the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh, murmurs of protest have started against Chief Minister Kamal Nath, who took charge just six months ago, in the ruling party. On the other hand, buoyed by its speculator performance in the state, the BJP is seeking to put pressure on the Congress government, which has a wafer thin majority in the 230-member assembly, and also sought Nath's resignation. Till late night, the BJP had won 26 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats and was leading in two others. The Congress has won only seat - Chhindwara - till now. The saffron party has already petitioned Governor Anandiben Patel, requesting her to convene a special session of the Assembly to test the Congress's legislative strength. Besides being the Chief Minister, Nath is also the state Congress president. "Nathji should take the moral responsibility for the defeat as he is chief minister and mostly importantly the state party chief as well, a Congress leader said. "He remained too busy in Chhindwara to ensure his son Nakuls victory from there and left other candidates to fend for themselves in Lok Sabha elections, he added. "Congress leaders have to wait for days to meet him, he said. "He should resign from either post (the CM or state Congress president), he opined. Already Nath has ruffled feathers of party stalwart Digvijay Singh, who lost to BJP candidate Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal by a big margin. Singh was averse to fight elections from Bhopal and was keen to contest from Rajgarh, his home district, but Nath prevailed over the central leadership, Congress insiders said. Besides, the BJP has stepped up efforts to put pressure on the Nath government. Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava of the BJP Monday wrote a letter the Governor, requesting her to convene a special session of the Assembly to test the Congress's legislative strength on the floor of the House. The Nath government is backed by two BSP MLAs, one legislator of SP and four Independent lawmakers. In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress won 114 of the state's 230 seats, two short of the majority mark of 116. The BJP, which ruled the state since 2003 before being ousted from power, bagged 109 seats. "Nath should resign, not on moral ground but due to the overwhelming people's mandate in favour of the BJP in the state," state BJP president Rakesh Singh said. "Neither the Congress won the assembly polls last year, nor we lost it," said the BJP leader, referring to the close contest between the two parties. The BJP won half a per cent more vote share than the Congress, but failed to bag enough seats to retain power in the state. Nath Wednesday had claimed 10 of his MLAs have told him that they were receiving phone calls and being offered money and posts to switch sides. However, he had expressed complete faith in his party's MLAs. His statement came after the BJP said the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh was in a minority. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) John Walker Lindh, the US Muslim convert who came to be known as the "American Taliban" after being captured while fighting in Afghanistan in 2001, was released from prison Thursday after serving 17 years, US media reported. CNN and The Washington Post reported his early morning release from the federal high security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, quoting his lawyer, Bill Cummings. Cummings told CNN that 38-year-old Lindh, still suspected by some of harboring radical Islamic views, will settle in Virginia under strict probation terms that limit his ability to go online or contact other Islamists. Known as "Detainee 001" in the US War on Terror, Lindh's early release on an original 20-year sentence has resurrected memories of the September 11 attacks, when he became for many Americans one of the faces of the jihadist threat against the United States. But his release also underscores the fact that, almost two decades later, the US remains mired in a fight with the Taliban with no end in sight. Other than that he will settle in Virginia, the state abutting the US capital Washington, there was no information about Lindh's plans. His family, which lives near San Francisco, California, has not recently commented on his case and could not immediately be contacted Thursday. His release comes amid concerns that he may not have abandoned support for hardline Islamic thinking while incarcerated. In a letter this week to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, two senators asked how his alleged threat would be contained, citing unproven allegations that he "openly" supports extremist violence. "We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh," they said. Lindh, 38, earned a three-year early release from the Indiana prison for good behaviour. The quiet son of a middle-class couple, he converted to Islam at age 16 and travelled to Yemen in 1998 to study Arabic. After returning home for several months, Lindh went back to Yemen in 2000, and then on to Pakistan to study further in a madrassa, or religious school. In mid-2001, ostensibly drawn by stories of the mistreatment of Afghans, he enlisted in the Taliban's fight against the Northern Alliance. After the United States intervened in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Lindh was one of hundreds of Taliban fighters captured by Northern Alliance forces on November 25. He revealed his American identity to two CIA officers. One of them, Johnny Micheal Spann, was killed in a prisoner revolt hours after he interrogated Lindh, making him the first American killed in post-9/11 conflict in Afghanistan. While Lindh had no role in Spann's death, his case became politically and emotionally entwined with it. Once back in the United States, he was branded a traitor and accused of murdering the CIA officer. Lindh was quickly charged with multiple counts of terrorism and conspiracy to kill Americans, with politicians and generals demanding he be given the death penalty. But in July 2002, he pleaded guilty to much-reduced charges of illegally aiding the Taliban and carrying weapons and explosives in the commission of that crime. By most accounts, Lindh clung firmly to Islam throughout his imprisonment. He spent years with a few dozen other Muslim prisoners in the Communications Management Unit of the Terre Haute prison, where their contacts with outsiders, media and information were tightly controlled. An internal 2017 report from the US National Counterterrorism Center, obtained by the Foreign Policy website, said that Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." The claim was not supported by any public evidence. But Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, a researcher at the George Washington University Center for Extremism, says that while in prison Lindh became close Ahmad Musa Jibril, an Arab-American who, since his 2012 release, has preached an extremely conservative version of Islam that is popular among jihadists. He will face extremely tough conditions in his three-year probation. Lindh, who gained Irish citizenship while in prison, cannot obtain a passport or travel abroad. He can only possess or use an internet-capable computer or phone with official permission, and the device has to be monitored continuously by authorities. He will also remain under tough scrutiny from a society where many believe he should be imprisoned for life. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who previously led the CIA, denounced his release. Lindh is "still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and a great officer," Pompeo said on Fox (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It is barely 7 am as the Padmavat Express train chugs into the Gauriganj railway station, in Congress president Rahul Gandhi's Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. An animated discussion is on among the rickshawpullers outside the station on the possible election result here. Some porters sipping tea outside the main station place a friendly bet on the outcome for the seat, which till now was considered a bastion of the Gandhi family. But this time even hardcore Congress loyalists have felt the heat of the aggressive campaigning by the BJP for its candidate, Union minister Smriti Irani. A few hours later, counting trends released by the Election Commission showed Irani actually ahead of Gandhi. Amethi has remained the citadel of the Congress, but this time round, BJP's Smriti Irani is giving Rahul a run for his money," Congress supporters Ram Abhilash Dubey of Jais tells PTI. Though Dubey is confident of Rahul Gandhi's win, he feels the victory margin will come down, considering the all-out electioneering by the ruling party here. BJP supporter Shiv Pujan Pandey says Smriti Irani will break into the Congress citadel as she has proved her dedication to the constituency, keeping in touch with the people even after losing in 2014. Local student Anjali feels that though the campaign was loud, Amethi's voters have largely kept their views to themselves. She says though Gandhi remained busy elsewhere during the campaign, his sister, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, filled in the gap. Priyanka Gandhi is equally important for the voters here, she feels. Congress worker Gaurav Prakash says the Gandhis' legacy and the constituency's personal relationship with the family matter in Amethi. "The Gandhi family is directly associated with the constituency, and for the people here it is sort of an extension of their family," he says. He feels sure of the result. But so do some BJP workers gathered outside the district magistrate's office. "The Congress president is the laapata (missing) MP. Smriti 'didi' is all set to wrest the seat," says Arun Singh, a BJP worker. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is trailing in Kuppam Assembly segment according to trends available from the Election Commission. The Telugu Desam Party supremo was trailing by 67 votes against YSR Congress' Krishna Chandra Mouli when the first round of counting was taken up. The YSR Congress established early leads after counting of postal ballots was done for the 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls on April 11. YSRC president Jaganmohan Reddy secured a lead of over 2,000 votes in Pulivendula assembly segment, according to the Election Commission. As per initial trends, the YSRC is leading in over 15 assembly segments while the ruling Telugu Desam Party is ahead in four. YSRC candidates have also established early leads in Kadapa and Rajampet Lok Sabha constituencies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu's son and Andhra Pradesh Information Technology minister Nara Lokesh lost his maiden electoral battle from Mangalagiri assembly constituency. He was defeated by YSR Congress's sitting MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy by a margin of 5,337 votes. In 2014, Reddy had won the seat by a margin of 12 votes. Lokesh is currently a member of the AP Legislative Council. His father-in-law and Telugu film star Nandamuri Harikrishna retained the Hindupur assembly seat by 17,028 votes. He defeated retired IPS officer Sheik Mohammad Iqbal of the YSRC. The YSRC, which is set for a landslide victory in the 175-member AP Assembly, so far bagged 104 seats, as per ECI data. It is leading in another 46 seats. The ruling TDP won 17 seats and is ahead in another seven. The final results are expected by Friday morning. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday telephoned her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his victory in the general elections during which the two leaders pledged to raise the India-Bangladesh relationship to unprecedented new heights. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards an emphatic victory for a second term in office. The Bangladesh Prime Minister telephoned Modi to congratulated him on the clear mandate given by the people of India to the NDA Government, an official statement said. During the telephonic conversation, which lasted over five minutes, Hasina said "this emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you (Modi) by the people of India." She said that the people of South Asia would be happy over this win and expected to pave ways for the people of the region to work together. "The two leaders pledged to continue to raise the India-Bangladesh relationship to unprecedented new heights. They recognised the importance of rapidly completing on-going plans for deepening the partnership in security, trade, transportation, energy and people-to-people contact," the statement said. It said that doing this within the next three years would have specific significance in view of the centenary of the birth of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman in 2020 and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's Liberation in 2021. The two leaders also agreed to identify dates for a meeting at the earliest, to resume work in service of the bilateral relationship. Earlier, in her congratulatory message to Modi, Prime Minister Hasina said, "On behalf of the Government and the people of Bangladesh and on my own behalf, I extend my heartiest congratulations to you on the resounding victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under your dynamic leadership in the 17th Lok Sabha elections in India. "This emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy." She said that Bangladesh attaches highest importance to its multi-faceted relations with India which is driven by genuine goodwill, mutual trust and respect. India's critical role in support of Bangladesh's War of Independence under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 was a watershed moment in the relations, she said. "I strongly believe that with the renewed mandate given to both of us by our respective peoples, Bangladesh-India ties, which have already been termed as a role model of good neighbourliness, will be further consolidated and our relations will scale newer heights," Hasina said. Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen, congratulating Modi, said that Dhaka waits to welcome the new Indian government in the world's biggest democratic nation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Buoyed by phenomenal Lok Sabha poll verdict, senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers as also NDA allies credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the superb showing, described by many as a "tsunami" amid Modi's assertion that "India has won again". Hailing the BJP's performance as "victory of India", Shah said it is people's mandate against the Opposition's propaganda and personal attacks as well as their total rejection of of dynasty, appeasement and casteism. While there was euphoria in the BJP-led NDA camp, both the Congress and the Left parties were muted in their reactions after the trends clearly showed that they were heading towards another poll debacle after 2014. However, TMC and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's reaction was more pragmatic."Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched," she tweeted. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 294 while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls in seven phases.. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said. In a series of tweets, Shah said this victory is a "win of people's confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi ". "Today's result is India's mandate against Opposition's propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless It is also people's mandate who have chosen development and nationalism and rejected casteism, dynasty and appeasement," Shah said. Asserting that this win is a victory for the whole of India, he said, "It is the victory of the hopes of youth, the poor and farmers. This grand victory is a triumph of people's confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development work and strong leadership." Hailing BJP's performance, RSS' Bhaiyaji Joshi said,"This is the triumph of the national forces." Senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Suresh Prabhu and Ramvilas Paswan were among those who credited Modi for the stupendous electoral triumph. Singh tweeted,"spoke to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the BJP National President Shri Amit Shah over the phone and congratulated them for BJP4India led NDA's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji's visionary leadership, Amit Shahji's dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground," he said, adding Modi is now all set to build a New India. "It is not an election but Modi tsunami. I heartily congratulate Narendra Modi," Consumer Affairs Minister and Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted. His ministerial colleague, the BJP's Suresh Prabhu, also likened the win to a tsunami and tweeted "It's nothing short of a landslide, a political tsunami sweeping entire country, east or west, BJP is the best, is a reality. North to south people have voted for a clear, unambiguous choice... country must progress further under the leadership of Narendra Modi...". Another minister Rajayavardhan Singh Rathore said,"My salute to the untiring workers of BJP and Jaipur rural, this is their service to the nation." If the trends translated into final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014. Staring at a massive defeat of the party, the Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said,"Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place." "If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why it's campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he added. Immediately after the poll outcome, cracks appeared in the opposition camp with CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan saying decisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition. He asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory. "We have some setbacks and we find that unfortunately Congress didn't performed up to the mark," senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party Majeed Memon told a TV channel. "This is clear mandate for Modi led BJP government...caste combination looks good on paper but merely caste combination does not work. You need a big loud message that opposition did not had," Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India said. National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah said the country has rejected an alternative to the BJP, and that Modi's "second term" is not a "fluke". A vocal critic of Modi-led NDA government, Abdullah also requested the BJP leader to "take everyone along" in the coming five years as "this country belongs to all". "We fought the election and tried to have an alternative to the BJP and the NDA and put it before the country. The country did not accept it. The reality is that the places from where we were expecting the opposition to win, the number of seats from there has come down rather than going up," Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar. Reacting to the trends, Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharwaj said,"in democracy, mandate of the people is considered to be very powerful. We respect the mandate of India and congratulate the BJP for its victory. We offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi best wishes for his future tenure. We hope he would do good work in his future tenure." "Combination of (Narendra) Modi and (Amit) Shah is very unique and important. This victory is result of leadership of Modi and Shah and hard work of lakhs of party workers," said Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar. The BJP leaders said the poll outcome unambiguously indicated that the "grammar of is under transformation" and Modi's work has defeated the "negative" politics of opposition. BJP's vice president Vinay Sahasrabudhe said,"once again people have reposed their confidence in BJP and Modi in a big way. The trends indicate unambiguously that grammar of politics is under transformation" Party's spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said those who thought that by forming coalition based on caste politics they can defeat development, "this is the new era...Modi era...an era of development politics. Whoever will bring development, will win." BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said,"the people on the ground are not buying narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the BJP heading for a historic win in the Lok Sabha polls, senior ministers and alliance partners credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for the victory described by many as a "tsunami". While there was euphoria in the BJP-led NDA camp, both the Congress and the Left parties were muted in their reactions after the trends clearly showed that they were heading towards another poll debacle after 2014. However, TMC and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's reaction to the poll outcome was pragmatic."Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched," she tweeted. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 298 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 52, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. Senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Suresh Prabhu and Ramvilas Paswan were among those who credited Modi for the stupendous electoral triumph. In a series of tweets, Singh said, "Spoke to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and the BJP National President Shri Amit Shah over the phone and congratulated them for BJP4India led NDA's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji's visionary leadership, Amit Shahji's dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground," he said, adding Modi is now all set to build a New India. "It is not an election but Modi tsunami. I heartily congratulate Narendra Modi," Consumer Affairs Minister and Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan said in a tweet. His ministerial colleague, the BJP's Suresh Prabhu, also likened the win to a tsunami. "It's nothing short of a landslide, a political tsunami sweeping entire country, east or west, BJP is the best, is a reality. North to south people have voted for a clear, unambiguous choice... country must progress further under the leadership of Narendra Modi... ," Prabhu said in tweet. "Election results clear vote for performance, vision, leadership, huge outreach, charisma, non stop-24/7 hard work, service to nation by Narendra Modi," he added. Another minister Rajayavardhan Singh Rathore said,"My salute to the untiring workers of BJP and Jaipur rural, this is their service to the nation." If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014. Staring at a massive defeat of the party, the Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said,"Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place." "If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why it's campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he added. Immediately after the poll outcome, cracks appeared in the opposition camp with CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan saying decisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition. He asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory. "We have some setbacks and we find that unfortunately Congress didn't performed up to the mark," senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party Majeed Memon told a TV channel. "This is clear mandate for Modi led BJP government...caste combination looks good on paper but merely caste combination does not work. You need a big loud message that opposition did not had," Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India said. "Combination of (Narendra) Modi and (Amit) Shah is very unique and important. This victory is result of leadership of Modi and Shah and hard work of lakhs of party workers," said Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar. The BJP leaders said the poll outcome unambiguously indicated that the "grammar of is under transformation" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work has defeated the "negative" of opposition. BJP's vice president Vinay Sahasrabudhe said,"once again people have reposed their confidence in BJP and Modi in a big way. The trends indicate unambiguously that grammar of is under transformation" Party's spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain described the party's excellent performance as "the victory of the developmental work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defeat of negative politics." He further said those who thought that by forming coalition based on caste politics they can defeat development, "this is the new era...Modi era...an era of development politics. Whoever will bring development, will win." BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said,"the people on the ground are not buying narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "India has won again", said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday while reacting to BJP's stupendous showing in the Lok Sabha polls as the Union ministers and NDA allies credited him and BJP president Amit Shah for the feat, described by many as a "tsunami" that virtually drowned the Opposition. While there was euphoria in the BJP-led NDA camp, the Congress and other opposition parties were muted in their reactions after the poll verdict clearly showed that they were headed towards another poll debacle after 2014. Congress president Rahul Gandhi took "100 per cent responsibility" for his party's defeat but asserted that the party will continue to fight the ideological battle with the BJP and asked his party workers and leaders to not be afraid. He also congratulated Modi and the BJP on their electoral win, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said,"People of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect that." Hailing the BJP's performance as "victory of India", Shah said it is people's mandate against the Opposition's propaganda and personal attacks as well as their total rejection of of dynasty, appeasement and casteism. However, TMC and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's reaction was more pragmatic."Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched," she tweeted. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set for a phenomenal victory for a second term in office, surpassing its 2014 feat when it got 282 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said. In a series of tweets, Shah said this victory is a "win of people's confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi". "Today's result is India's mandate against Opposition's propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless It is also people's mandate who have chosen development and nationalism and rejected casteism, dynasty and appeasement," Shah said. Asserting that this win is a victory for the whole of India, he said, "It is the victory of the hopes of youth, the poor and farmers. This grand victory is a triumph of people's confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development work and strong leadership." Hailing BJP's performance, RSS' Bhaiyaji Joshi said,"This is the triumph of the national forces."Asserting that people have given a befitting reply to the opposition parties which created "an atmosphere of illusion" against Modi, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said,"the entire country is 'Modi-may' (in thrall of Modi)...The truth has to be accepted that no one could counter Modi. Today's mandate is such that no one can counter (Modi) for the next 25 years."Senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Suresh Prabhu and Ramvilas Paswan were among those who credited Modi for the stupendous electoral triumph. Singh tweeted,"spoke to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the BJP National President Shri Amit Shah over the phone and congratulated them for BJP4India led NDA's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji's visionary leadership, Amit Shahji's dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground," he said, adding Modi is now all set to build a New India. "It is not an election but Modi tsunami. I heartily congratulate Narendra Modi," Consumer Affairs Minister and Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted. His ministerial colleague, the BJP's Suresh Prabhu, also likened the win to a tsunami and tweeted "It's nothing short of a landslide, a political tsunami sweeping entire country, east or west, BJP is the best, is a reality. North to south people have voted for a clear, unambiguous choice... country must progress further under the leadership of Narendra Modi...". Another minister Rajayavardhan Singh Rathore said,"My salute to the untiring workers of BJP and Jaipur rural, this is their service to the nation." Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said,"Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place." "If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why it's campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he added. Immediately after the poll outcome, cracks appeared in the opposition camp with CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan saying decisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition. He asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory. "We have some setbacks and we find that unfortunately Congress didn't performed up to the mark," senior leader of Nationalist Congress Party Majeed Memon told a TV channel. "This is clear mandate for Modi led BJP government...caste combination looks good on paper but merely caste combination does not work. You need a big loud message that opposition did not had," Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India said. National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah said the country has rejected an alternative to the BJP, and that Modi's "second term" is not a "fluke". A vocal critic of Modi-led NDA government, Abdullah also requested the BJP leader to "take everyone along" in the coming five years as "this country belongs to all". "We fought the election and tried to have an alternative to the BJP and the NDA and put it before the country. The country did not accept it. The reality is that the places from where we were expecting the opposition to win, the number of seats from there has come down rather than going up," Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar. Terming the Lok Sabha poll results as unprecedented, BSP president Mayawati again raised doubts over EVMs and indicated that her alliance with the SP and the RLD will continue. "We had not contemplated that the alliance will fare so badly. People are not able to digest the poll results. It is against their sentiment and aspirations," she said. Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharwaj said,"in democracy, mandate of the people is considered to be very powerful. We respect the mandate of India and congratulate the BJP for its victory. We offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi best wishes for his future tenure. We hope he would do good work in his future tenure." "Combination of (Narendra) Modi and (Amit) Shah is very unique and important. This victory is result of leadership of Modi and Shah and hard work of lakhs of party workers," said Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar. The BJP leaders said the poll outcome unambiguously indicated that the "grammar of is under transformation" and Modi's work has defeated the "negative" politics of opposition. BJP's vice president Vinay Sahasrabudhe said,"once again people have reposed their confidence in BJP and Modi in a big way. The trends indicate unambiguously that grammar of politics is under transformation" Party's spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said those who thought that by forming coalition based on caste politics they can defeat development, "this is the new era...Modi era...an era of development politics. Whoever will bring development, will win." BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said,"the people on the ground are not buying narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) consolidated their position in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh by bagging 15 seats and leading in 49 others, while the rival SP-BSP alliance has won five seats and is leading in just 10 out of 80 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won from Varanasi seat defeating his nearest rival SP's Shalini Yadav by a huge margin of 4,79,505 votes, bettering his previous margin. While Modi got 6,74,664 votes, Shalini got 1,95,159 votes and Congress candidate Ajay Rai bagged 1,52,548 votes. In the 2014 general election, Modi had won by the margin of 3,71,784 votes from his nearest rival AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. According to the trends available till 9 pm, the BJP has won 13 seats and its ally Apna Dal (S) two seats. The BSP was leading in six seats, SP in four and Congress in one seat, they said. In Aligarh, BJP's Satish Kumar Gautam defeated BSP candidate Ajeet Baliyan by 2,29,261 votes. R K Singh Patel of BJP defeated Shyama Charan Gupta (SP) by 58,938 votes in Banda, while in Unnao, Swami Sakshi Ji Maharaj (BJP) defeated Arun Shanker Shukla (SP) by 4,00,956 votes. The BJP also bagged Bahraich and Gorakhpur seats, while its ally won from Robertsganj. Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) opened its account by winning from Nagina Lok Sabha seat. The party had drawn a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from the state. In Bahraich, Akshaywar Lal of BJP won by defeating Shabbir Balmiki of Samajwadi Party by a margin of 1,28,752 votes. Gorakhpur seat was wrested by Bhojpuri star and BJP candidate Ravi Kishan by defeating SP's Rambhual Nishad by a margin of 3,01,664 votes. In the by-election, the seat was won by the SP-BSP combine. Robertsganj seat went to Pakauri Lal Kol of BJP's alliance partner Apna Dal (Soneylal) who defeated his closest rival Bhai Lal of Samajwadi Party by 54,336 votes. The BSP won from Nagina where its candidate Girish Chandra defeated Yashwant Singh of BJP by a margin of 1,66,832 votes. As Union minister Smriti Irani was poised to wrest Amethi from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, she quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. "Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahin ho sakta," she tweeted after leading by over 45,000 votes in the seat considered a Congress bastion. Her tweet came immediately after Gandhi conceded defeat and congratulated the minister. The 43-year-old BJP leader took the political hotbed of Amethi by storm after trends indicated that she was heading for a win in the Gandhi-stronghold. The Congress chief had also contested the Lok Sabha election from Wayanad in Kerala, a decision political pundits believed was widely influenced by the tough fight Irani posed to him in his home turf. The Gandhi scion had defeated Irani in 2014 by a margin of 1.07 lakh votes. In neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, Rahul's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led over her nearest rival by over 1.67 lakh votes to give the grand old party a saving grace. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties. "It is high time for the opposition to introspect and shun of negativity," he told PTI, giving full credit to Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the "historic victory". As the trends indicated a clear picture, BSP supremo Mayawati said she had not contemplated that the BSP-SP-RLD alliance will fare so badly. Expressing doubts over the outcome, she said most of the parties want the elections to be conducted through ballot papers. Mayawati added the alliance partners will sit together to decide the future course of action following such "unprecedented" results. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is set to form the next government in Arunachal Pradesh as it has crossed the magic figure bagging 32 seats so far with results of 43 assembly constituencies being declared by late Thursday night. The state assembly has 60-seats, but elections were held for 57 as three BJP candidates have won unopposed. The three seats the BJP won uncontested are -- the Along East constituency in West Siang district from where Kento Jini has been elected, Yachuli seat in Lower Subansiri district from where Taba Tedir was declared elected, and Dirang seat in West Kameng district from where Phurpa Tsering has been declared as winner. In its debut in the state's electoral scene, the Janata Dal United performed remarkably well, winning seven seats. The Congress, which bagged 42 seats in the 2014 polls, could secure only four seats, till the latest EC update. Another debutant, National People's Party (NPP) won one seat, while the lone regional forum the Peoples' Party of Arunachal (PPA) also won one. Two independents also tasted victory in the state. Among the major winners include Chief Minister Pema Khandu (Mukto seat in Tawang district, bordering China), his third victory in a row and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, who had contested from the Chowkham constituency instead of his permanent bastion Lekang. Former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki (Congress) retained his Sagalee seat while Health and Family Welfare Minister Al Libang was reelected from the Tuting-Yingkiong constituency for a Third consecutive term, defeating longest serving Chief Minister Gegong Apang. Geology and Mining Minister Kamlung Mossang (BJP) retained the Miao constituency for his fourth consecutive term defeating Chatu Longai of the Congress by 3,856 votes. Education Minister Honchun Ngandam, who was seeking re-election from Pongchau-Wakka seat won from the constituency, defeating his nearest rival Thangkai of the Congress by a margin of 3,788 votes. In a major setback, Power Minister Tamiyo Taga of BJP had to taste defeat at the hands of newcomer Talem Taboh of the JDU, while BJP candidate Tsering Tashi retained the Tawang seat for a second term defeating veteran Congress leader Thupten Tempa by 3,592 votes. In another setback for the BJP, Assembly Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok, who represented the Kalaktang constituency in West Kameng district for the last two consecutive terms lost to newcomer Dorjee Wangdi Kharma of the JDU by a margin of 1,726 votes. Home Minister Kumar Waii representing Bameng seat in East Kameng district for last two terms, lost the seat to newcomer Goruk Pordung of the BJP. PHE Minister Wangki Lowang (BJP) retained the Namsang seat in a multi-cornered contest, defeating his nearest rival Ngonglin Boi of the NPP by a margin of 1682 votes. While Lowang polled 3202 votes Boi could manage 1520 votes, election office sources said. Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Takam Sanjoy, who tried his luck from the Lekang assembly seat, was trounced by newcomer Jummum Ete Deori of the BJP by a margin of 5,493 votes. Deori is the daughter-in-law of former Rajya Sabha MP from the state Omem Moyong Deori. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP has repeated the near improbable feat of repeating its landslide victory in north and west India with its vote share jumping over 50 per cent in many states, as the party appeared set to surpass its 2014 total of 282 Lok Sabha seats in this general election. The saffron tsunami- powered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma, his planks of nationalism and development, and the BJP's organisational heft- rolled on in the Hindi heartland once more and even the apparently formidable SP-BSP combine was blown away. In reality, the BJP has bettered its show this time as its vote share in several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, was well over 50 per cent, nothing short of a statistical wonder in Indian electoral history. BJP president Amit Shah's claim of achieving over 50 per cent vote share to ensure the defeat of the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradsh came true as the saffron party had pocketed more than 49 per cent votes, as per the latest Election Commission figures. The BJP's tally of 71 in UP could only be dealt a minor dent by the opposition's alliance as the party had won or was leading in 60 seats. It also appeared set to repeat its stupendous show of 2014 in Rajasthan and Gujarat by leading in all 25 and 26 seats respectively and better its tally in Madhya Pradesh by winning or leading in 28 of its 29 seats. The saffron party is set to almost retain its strength in Chhattisgarh by being ahead of its rivals in nine of its 11 seats. The BJP, which sacrificed its winning seats in Bihar to forge an alliance with Nitish Kumar's JD(U), is winning or leading in 16 of the 17 seats it fought. It had won 22 of the 31 seats it contested in Bihar in 2014. In Maharashtra, it was set to win 23 of the 25 seats it contested. Its ally Shiv Sena contested on the remainder 23 seats and was sweeping as well. In Haryana, the BJP was set to better its tally by establishing huge heads over its rivals in nine of its 10 seats. It had won seven in 2014. Issues about the unpopularity of some BJP-ruled state governments or local candidates turned out to be meaningless as people plumped for Modi's leadership. In Jharkhand, the BJP won or was leading 11 of 13 seats it fought, garnering over 49 per cent votes. The BJP had won or was leading in more than 300 seats across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP will surpass its 2014 performance, and likely cross 300 seats. Until 6 p.m., the BJP had won 26 seats and was leading in 278 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck with seven victories and a lead in 43 seats, according to the trends. Modi himself was leading in Varanasi with a margin of over 4.3 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah was ahead in Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 5.5 lakh votes. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said In the end, BJP's prediction in the final stages of campaigning of "ab ki baar 300 paar" appeared coming true, as Congress President Rahul Gandhi's campaign slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" found no resonance among voters. In almost all the states where BJP won, its vote share was more than 50 percent. The results have raised questions about Gandhi's leadership and his party's future. At a press conference, Gandhi refused to address that issue, saying the party will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the future. "The people of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect it," Gandhi told reporters. He also congratulated Modi and BJP, adding that today is not the day to into the cause of the defeat but to respect the will of the people. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will likely end up with 344 seats, up from 336 in 2014. The BJP, which is now tantalisingly close to the 300 mark in Lok Sabha, had won 282 seats on its own in the last election. Congratulating Modi and party workers "for achieving this miraculous win," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said "aspirational India does not accept Royalties, Dynasties and caste based parties." The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security following the Balakot air strikes, nationalism and Hindutva. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes, including endemic corruption. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. Still, the trend shows that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP had won two and was leading in 59 of the 80 seats at stake. The SP was ahead in six and BSP in 10. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is much better than what many exit polls had forecast. The BJP state headquarters in Lucknow was drenched in saffron hue with jubilant party workers wearing saffron stoles, adorning 'genda' flowers around their necks and holding lotus cut outs. They also burst crackers and danced to drum beats as women supporters wore saffron attire and painted their nails in the same hue. In a stark contrast, Congress, BSP and SP offices wore a forlorn look. Under the scorching sun, even shop owners selling campaign material outside the SP office sat in stunned silence as those gathered around the tea kiosks talked in hushed tones The Congress Party was ahead only in one seat in Uttar Pradesh. Even Gandhi lost his seat in Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. He, however, was on course to win Wayanad in Kerala. "Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters. "If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why its campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he said. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP was ahead in four seats, the same as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Narendra Modi is the third prime minister of the country _ and the first non-Congress one -- who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. The results were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent Assembly elections: in Madhya Pradesh, BJP was ahead in 28 out of 29 seats with a vote percentage of nearly 60; in Rajasthan it was leading in all but one of 25 seats; similarly in Chattisgarh, BJP was ahead in nine compared to Congress' 2 seats. The BJP is expected to take all 10 seats in Haryana. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP's Amit Malviya said. In Odisha, the BJP made huge gains, forging ahead in six of the 21 seats while the Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 15. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. Odisha also held simultaneous Assembly polls, in which the BJD is set to return to power, indicating that the voters chose smartly, opting for the status quo in both state and centre. BJP and its ally Janata Dal (United) were ahead in 16 seats each in Bihar out of 40 at stake. The Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 23 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 19, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. The DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu while the AIADMK was leading in only two. In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF was ahead in 19 out of 20 seats. As the trends came in, pointing to another tenure of Modi as prime minister, celebrations broke out in the BJP's party offices across the country with people dancing to the sounds of drums and distributing sweets. The trends of the ruling party's leads were in sync with the exit polls, most of which predicted that the NDA would be on course to retain power for a second term. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said final results are expected only by late evening. The voting was staggered between April 11 and May 19 in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. For the first time in Lok Sabha polls, the EC is tallying the vote count on Electronic Voting Machines with voter verified paper audit trail slips in five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency. It will effectively mean that out of nearly 10.3 lakh polling stations, the EVM-VVPAT matching will take place in 20,600 such stations. In case of a mismatch, the results based on paper slip count will be considered as final. Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the ground of excessive use of money power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, national security and Hindu pride struck a chord among voters across large swathes of India. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP was expected to surpass its 2014 performance. It was leading in 296 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck at 51 seats, according to the trends. Modi himself was leading in Varanasi with a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah was ahead in Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 4 lakh votes. "This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji's visionary leadership, Amit Shahji's dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said. Markets cheered the trends, as the benchmark BSE Sensex touched 40,000 for the first time and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level. The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar trade. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will likely end up with 344 seats, up from 336 in 2014. The BJP, which is now tantalisingly close to the 300 mark in Lok Sabha, had alone won 282 seats in the last election. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- Many Congratulations for securing such a big victory for the BJP. I am thankful to the people," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security, nationalism and Hindutva. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. Still, the trend shows that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP was leading in 58 of the 80 seats at stake. The SP was ahead in eight and BSP in 11. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is much better than what many exit polls had forecast. The Congress Party was ahead only in one seat in Uttar Pradesh. Even, Congress President Rahul Gandhi was trailing BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi by nearly 9,000 votes but was clearly ahead in Wayanad in Kerala with a lead of more than 1 lakh votes. "Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters. "If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why its campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he said. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP was ahead in four seats, the same as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress. The Lok Sabha trends were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent Assembly elections: in Madhya Pradesh, BJP was ahead in 28 out of 29 seats with a vote percentage of nearly 60; in Rajasthan it was leading in all but one of 25 seats; similarly in Chattisgarh, BJP was ahead in nine compared to Congress' 2 seats. Haryana also is expected to send nine BJP MPs out of 10. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP's Amit Malviya said. In Odisha, the BJP made huge gains, forging ahead in six of the 21 seats while the Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 15. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. Odisha also held simultaneous Assembly polls, in which the BJD is set to return to power, indicating that the voters chose smartly, opting for the status quo in both state and centre. BJP and its ally Janata Dal (United) were ahead in 16 seats each in Bihar out of 40 at stake. The Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 22 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 19, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. The DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu while the AIADMK was leading in only two. In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF was ahead in 18 out of 20 seats. As the trends came in, pointing to another tenure of Modi as prime minister, celebrations broke out in the BJP's party offices across the country with people dancing to the sounds of drums and distributing sweets. The trends of the ruling party's leads were in sync with the exit polls, most of which predicted that the NDA would be on course to retain power for a second term. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening. The voting was staggered between April 11 and May 19 in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. For the first time in Lok Sabha polls, the EC is tallying the vote count on Electronic Voting Machines with voter verified paper audit trail slips in five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency. It will effectively mean that out of nearly 10.3 lakh polling stations, the EVM-VVPAT matching will take place in 20,600 such stations. In case of a mismatch, the results based on paper slip count will be considered as final. Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the ground of excessive use of money power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what is certain to be a resounding victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP will surpass its 2014 performance. Until 4.30 p.m., the BJP had won five seats and was leading in 294 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck with a lead in only 50 seats, according to the trends. Modi himself was leading in Varanasi with a margin of over 4.3 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah was ahead in Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 5.5 lakh votes. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said In the end, BJP's prediction in the final stages of campaigning of "ab ki baar 300 paar" appeared coming true, as Congress President Rahul Gandhi's campaign slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" found no resonance among voters. Markets cheered the trends, as the benchmark BSE Sensex touched 40,000 for the first time and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level. The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar trade. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will likely end up with 344 seats, up from 336 in 2014. The BJP, which is now tantalisingly close to the 300 mark in Lok Sabha, had won 282 seats on its own in the last election. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- Many Congratulations for securing such a big victory for the BJP. I am thankful to the people," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security following the Balakot air strikes, nationalism and Hindutva. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes, including endemic corruption. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. Still, the trend shows that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP was leading in 59 of the 80 seats at stake. The SP was ahead in six and BSP in 11. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is much better than what many exit polls had forecast. The BJP state headquarters in Lucknow was drenched in saffron hue with jubilant party workers wearing saffron stoles, adorning 'genda' flowers around their necks and holding lotus cut outs. They also burst crackers and danced to drum beats as women supporters wore saffron attire and painted their nails in the same hue. In a stark contrast, Congress, BSP and SP offices wore a forlorn look. Under the scorching sun, even shop owners selling campaign material outside the SP office sat in stunned silence as those gathered around the tea kiosks talked in hushed tones The Congress Party was ahead only in one seat in Uttar Pradesh. Even, Gandhi was trailing BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi by nearly 20,000 votes but was clearly ahead in Wayanad in Kerala with a lead of more than 8.3 lakh votes. "Congress party is feeling dejected and the trends are not in line with the expectations of the party. I would not jump to the results till complete counting has taken place," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters. "If they (trends) hold, then Congress needs to introspect as to why its campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he said. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP was ahead in four seats, the same as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress. The Lok Sabha trends were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent Assembly elections: in Madhya Pradesh, BJP was ahead in 28 out of 29 seats with a vote percentage of nearly 60; in Rajasthan it was leading in all but one of 25 seats; similarly in Chattisgarh, BJP was ahead in nine compared to Congress' 2 seats. Haryana also is expected to send nine BJP MPs out of 10. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP's Amit Malviya said. In Odisha, the BJP made huge gains, forging ahead in six of the 21 seats while the Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 15. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. Odisha also held simultaneous Assembly polls, in which the BJD is set to return to power, indicating that the voters chose smartly, opting for the status quo in both state and centre. BJP and its ally Janata Dal (United) were ahead in 16 seats each in Bihar out of 40 at stake. The Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 22 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 19, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. The DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu while the AIADMK was leading in only two. In Kerala, the Congress-led UDF was ahead in 18 out of 20 seats. As the trends came in, pointing to another tenure of Modi as prime minister, celebrations broke out in the BJP's party offices across the country with people dancing to the sounds of drums and distributing sweets. The trends of the ruling party's leads were in sync with the exit polls, most of which predicted that the NDA would be on course to retain power for a second term. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening. The voting was staggered between April 11 and May 19 in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. For the first time in Lok Sabha polls, the EC is tallying the vote count on Electronic Voting Machines with voter verified paper audit trail slips in five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency. It will effectively mean that out of nearly 10.3 lakh polling stations, the EVM-VVPAT matching will take place in 20,600 such stations. In case of a mismatch, the results based on paper slip count will be considered as final. Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the ground of excessive use of money power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP was on its way to a landslide victory on Thursday with leads in 292 seats, showing major gains in Odisha and West Bengal but a nought in Kerala, prompting leaders to say they will redouble efforts to make inroads in the southern state the next time. The BJP will do well in Kerala in the next elections in the same way it has done in West Bengal and Odisha this time, BJP national spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao told the media. Of Kerala's 20 seats, the Congress was ahead in 15., the CPI(M) in one, the IUML in three, Kerala Congress (M) in one and the RSP in one, according to the Election Commission. As votes for the seven-phase Parliamentary polls were counted on Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 24 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 17, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. In Odisha, the BJP was leading in seven of 21 seats while the BJD was ahead in 14. In 2014, the BJP got only one seat in the state and the BJD bagged 20. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he has done a phenomenal job," BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is leading in all the five Lok Sabha seats out of 28 in Karnataka as per the initial trends available so far, the Election Commission said. According to trends available for the five seats on the Election Commission of India website, Y Devendrappa of BJP was leading against Congress' V S Ugrappa by a margin of over 311 votes in Bellary. In Dakshina Kannada, the saffron party's sitting MP Nalin Kumar Kateel was leading against Congress' Mithun M Rai by 1,912 votes. In Davangere, BJP's sitting MP and former Union Minister G M Siddeshwara was leading against Congress' H B Manjappa by a margin of 953 votes. In former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's family bastion of Hassan, his grandson Prajwal Revanna of JD(S) was trailing against A Manju, who quit Congress and joined BJP ahead of polls. Manju was leading with a margin of 216 votes. Sitting BJP MP Karadi Sanganna was leading in Raichur against Rajashekar Hitnal of Congress by a margin of 1,710 votes. Counting of votes began at 8 am in 28 counting centresacross the state, where 3,224 tables have been arranged forthe purpose, and the total number of rounds are expected to beabout 4,215, poll officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee is leading from Hooghly constituency, where supremo launched her anti-land acquisition agitation in Singur, which catapulted her into the national spotlight. Chatterjee was leading by over 64,000 votes over Trinamool Congress candidate Ratna De, according to the latest Election Commission trends. In 2014, De had won the seat by 1,89,084 votes. Ten years ago, had built a factory for the world's cheapest car, Nano, at Singur, but the project was abandoned and shifted to Gujarat following a massive agitation by the farmers, led by Banerjee and her party. The project was moved to the western state on the invitation of the then chief minister Narendra Modi. In 2016, the Supreme Court had quashed the Left Front-led government's acquisition of 997 acres of agricultural land by Tata Motors' and ordered its return to 9,117 farmers. Though Banerjee-led government, which came to power in 2011, returned the land to the farmers in November 2016, three years later only 30 per cent of the land could be made cultivable as the plots on which the concrete structures had come up remained barren. The NDA inflicted a body blow to the four-party 'grand alliance' on Thursday, winning 27 of the state's 40 seats and leading in 12 others. Mohammed Javed of the Congress was the only candidate of the 'Mahagathbandhan' who won. He defeated Syed Mahmood Ashraf of the JD(U) by a margin of over 34,000 votes in Muslim dominated Kishanganj seat. The RJD, the main opposition party in the state assembly, was totally decimated and even failed to to open its account. The party had won four seats in 2014. Prominent winners included Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who trounced his Congress rival Shatrughan Sinha by over 2.84 lakh votes from Patna Sahib. Sinha, a strident critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, was a two-term MP from the seat, and had shifted to the Congress just ahead of the polls. Union minister and firebrand BJP leader Giriraj Singh retained the Begusarai seat for his party, trouncing his nearest rival Kanhaiya Kumar of the CPI by a staggering margin of over four lakh votes. Singh had moved to Begusarai from Nawada after initial reluctance over having to give up his sitting seat. Kanhaiya Kumar, who first shot to fame after being booked in a sedition case while he was the president of the JNU students union, polled 2.68 lakh votes. Union minister Raj Kumar Singh and his ministerial colleague Ashwani Kumar Choubey won their respective Lok Sabha seats of Arrah and Buxar. Singh retained the Arrah Lok Sabha seat, defeating his nearest CPI(ML) rival Raju Yadav by a comprehensive margin of 1.41 lakh votes. Choubey retained the Buxar Lok Sabha seat defeating RJD veteran Jagadanand Singh by a margin of 1.15 lakh votes. Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh retained his East Champaran seat, drubbing his nearest RLSP rival Akash Singh by over three lakh votes. RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, a member of the union council of ministers before he quit the NDA and joined the grand alliance, was trailing his JD(U) rival Mahabali Singh in Karakat. Another Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav has established a lead of over 38,000 votes over his RJD rival Misa Bharti in Pataliputra seat. Bharti is the eldest daughter of party supremo Lalu Prasad. Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar lost his Katihar Lok Sabha seat to JD(U)s Dulal Chandra Goswami by a margin of about 57,000 votes. In Samastipur, Lok Janshakti Party candidate Ramchandra Paswan defeated Ashok Kumar of the Congress by over 1.5 lakh votes. Anwar, who returned to the Congress last year after a gap of nearly three decades, had represented the seat four times in the 1980s and 1990s before he severed his ties with the party and floated the NCP along with Maharashtra stalwart Sharad Pawar and Meghalaya leader PA Sangma. LJP leader Chirag Paswan won from Jamui, defeating Bhudeb Choudhary of RLSP by 2,41,049 votes. Paswan, son of LJP president Ramvilas Paswan won the Jamui (SC) seat for a second time. The LJP, a constituent of the BJP-led NDA, contested six seats and won all. Chastened by the partys worst-ever drubbing since its formation about three decades ago, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav thanked his workers and allies in the Mahagathbandhan for putting up a brave fight. He vowed to make a comeback while remaining steadfast in the principles laid down by Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan and Karpoori Thakur. The party, formed by Yadavs father Lalu Prasad in 1997, currently has the largest number of legislators in the state assembly but is set to draw a blank as none of its 19 candidates appears likely to win. Heartiest congratulations to Narendra Modi with due respects to the popular mandate. Hope the Prime Minister will pay adequate attention to jobs, agriculture and economy in his fresh tenure and live up to the expectations of the people, Yadav, who has taken over as the partys de facto leader in the absence of his father, said in a statement. I also commend my party workers and allies in the Mahagathbandhan for having put up a brave fight in the elections. We will analyse the poll results and brace for the great battles that lie ahead while remaining steadfast in the principles of Gandhi, Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan and Karpoori Thakur, the RJD leader, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid expectations of a clean sweep by the ruling TRS, the pulled off surprise wins in Telangana, winning four Lok Sabha seats. Close on the heels of its spectacular victory in the assembly elections in December last, was widely expected to win at least 13-14 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats. had kicked off its campaign for the parliament elections, declaring that it aims to win 16 seats (leaving Hyderabad to ally AIMIM) to play a key role at the Centre. It had also predicted that neither the NDA nor UPA would get a majority on its own. nominees emerged victorious in Adilabad (neighbouring Maharashtra), Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituencies Thursday. What makes BJP's win more surprising is the party had lost security deposits in more than 100 out of the total 119 segments in the Assembly polls in December last year. BJP's win in Secunderabad did not come as a surprise as it is represented by the party (former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya) in the outgoing Lok Sabha. candidate in Adilabad Soyam Bapu Rao had joined the party just ahead of Lok Sabha elections and Adilabad is not a known party stronghold. BJP nominee in Karimnagar Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who lost the Assembly polls, is known for his strong Hindutva moorings. Sanjay Kumar's Congress rival Ponnam Prabhakar, who is a working president of the Congress in Telangana, claimed that certain comments of Chief Minister made at Karimnagar on Hindus led to BJP's win. Karimnagar was earlier represented in the Lok Sabha by Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao. The biggest morale booster for BJP, however, came from Nizamabad, where its nominee Aravind Dharmapuri defeated Chief Minister Rao's daughter and sitting MP K Kavitha. "It appears that the Modi wave in the country is reflected here. Some kind of polarisation is also possible (in Telangana)," political analyst Telakapalli Ravi told PTI. It appears that BJP's "hyper-nationalism and aggressive Hindutva" also have had some impact, he said. BJP fought the Lok Sabha seats in without any alliances. A jubilant state BJP president K Laxman hailed the party's wins in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Secunderabad and Nizamabad. "There is a massive response in First time in the political history of Telangana for BJP, we are winning four Lok Sabha seats on our own and not less than 19 per cent votes. I feel proud as BJP's president," he said. The ruling BJP in Arunachal Pradesh moved ahead winning 10 out of the 13 assembly seats results of which were declared so far Thursday. It has already won three seats uncontested taking the total number of those bagged by it to 13 and is poised to annex more as the party is leading in another 10 seats trends of which were available. First timers JD(U) has bagged two and an independent one in the election to the 60-member house held on April 11. BJP, however, received a major setback with Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok, who represented the Kalaktang constituency in West Kameng district for the last two terms, facing defeat in the hands of Dorjee Wangdi Kharma of JD-U, a new comer, by a margin of 1726 votes. In another setback home minister Kumar Waii representing Bameng seat in East Kameng district for the last two terms lost to new comer Goruk Pordung of the BJP. Among those who won are Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein who had contested from Chowkham constituency for the first time, won the seat by a margin of 7,291 votes defeating his lone rival Khunang Kri of the Congress. The BJP retained the seat, which was represented by Meins elder brother C T Mein earlier. The deputy chief minister, who won from Lekang seat in Namsai district in the past five consecutive terms since 1995, had to leave his citadel this election following the Permanent Residence Certificate issue which had turned violent. Education Minister Honchun Ngandam, who was seeking re-election from Pongchau-Wakka seat, defeated his nearest rival Thangkai of the Congress by a margin of 3788 votes. PHE Minister Wangki Lowang of BJP retained the Namsang seat in a multi-cornered contest by defeating his nearest rival Ngonglin Boi of the NPP by a margin of 1682 votes. Sitting BJP MLA from Liromoba constituency in West Siang district Nyamar Karbak won from the seat for the third time defeating his nearest rival Jarpum Gamlin of the National Peoples Party by a margin of 664 votes. Sitting BJP MLA from Khonsa East seat, Wanglam Sawin retained the seat by defeating his nearest rival Danhang Phuksa of the NPP by a margin of 1594 votes. Gum Tayeng who represented Dambuk constituency in Lower Dibang Valley district, retained the seat by defeating her nearest rival Tony Pertin of the NPP by 873 votes. New Comer Tana Hali Tara of the BJP won from Doimukh constituency defeating his nearest rival Nabam Vivek of National Peoples Party (NPP) by 2, 385 votes. In prestigious Itanagar constituency, JD(U) candidate Techi Kaso retained the seat winning by a slender margin of 302 votes in a multi-cornered contest and defeating his nearest rival Kipa Babu of the BJP. Sitting MLA from Lumla constituency in Tawang district, Jambey Tashi was re-elected from the seat by defeating his lone rival Jampa Thirnly Kunkhap of the Congress by a margin of 1288 votes. The BJP retained the seat. Sitting BJP MLA from Nari Koyu constituency Kento Rina retained the seat by defeating his nearest rival Tojir Kadu of the Congress by a margin of 216 votes in a triangular contest. In Bordumsa-Diyun seat in Changlang district, independent candidate Somlung Mossang tasted victory by defeating his nearest rival Jawra Maio of the BJP by a margin of 2379 votes. The saffron party had won 11 seats in the 2014 assembly polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP repeated it superlative performance in five key Hindi-speaking states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, as the party along with its allies not only bagged or was leading in 165 out of 185 Lok Sabha seats, but also enjoyed a massive vote swing in its favour. The NDA's strike rate of nearly 90 per cent was similar to 2014 when it won 166 of 185 seats, including 73 (BJP 71, Apna Dal 2) out of 80 in Uttar Pradesh. The NDA won 29 seats and was leading in 35 others in Uttar Pradesh, despite facing the formidable caste arithmetic of SP-BSP-RLD alliance. The party also increased it vote share to a whopping 49.5 per cent in the state, where it won the prized trophy of Amethi, a pocket borough of the Nehru-Gandhi family. The party also proved wrong the political observers who were of the view that the BJP will find it difficult to repeat its 2014 success in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh after losing power in the three states to the Congress in 2018. It again swept all 25 seats in Rajasthan, improved its tally by one in Madhya Pradesh by winning or leading in 28 out of 29 seats. In Chhattisgarh, it was ahead in nine of the 11 seats. BJP leaders have insisted that the support for Modi combined with the three state governments' "unimpressive" performance swung the electoral pendulum in the saffron party's favour. BJP president Amit Shah had asserted that his party will repeat its sweep of the three states and also do better in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, where the BJP joined hands with the JD(U) this time and sacrificed its winning seats, the party won all 17 seats it contested. The JD(U) bagged 16 while the Lok Janshakti Party got six seats, leaving just one for the rival Congress. The NDA had won 31 out of 40 seats in 2014. The NDA's vote share also neared 50 per cent in the state with BJP, JD(U) and LJP accounting for 23.6 per cent, 21.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent of votes respectively. The BJP's vote share jumped to a whopping 58 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and 50.7 per cent in Chhattisgarh. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With early trends indicating BJP's return to power, senior leader and Home Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday termed it "historic" and credited it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "astute" leadership and party chief Amit Shah's "dynamism". In a series of tweets, Singh said the people of India have once again given a decisive mandate to the BJP-led NDA and reposed their faith in Modi's leadership and vision of New India. "Spoke to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and the BJP National President Shri @AmitShah over the phone and congratulated them for @BJP4India led NDA's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modiji's visionary leadership, Amit Shahji's dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground," he said. The home minister said Modi is now all set to build a New India. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. Singh, who is contesting from the Lucknow seat, himself is leading by over 1.5 lakh votes as per available trends. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP's West Delhi candidate Parvesh Singh Verma, who rode on the Modi wave and his father Sahib Singh Verma's goodwill, is all set to win a second term as he was leading with a record breaking margin of over five lakh votes. In 2014, he had set a new record of victory margin by winning the seat by a margin of over 2.68 lakh votes, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party candidate Jarnail Singh, who ended up at the second spot. He had polled more than AAP and Congress candidates together. History is set to repeat itself for Verma as is poised to win by a huge margin by defeating Congress' Mahabal Mishra, who was elected as an MP from the seat in 2009. Verma's victory will mean he would break his own record set earlier. "This is not just a win, this is a historic landslide win for @narendramodi ji @AmitShah ji, for all us, their comrades & every BJP Karyakarta and above all for the People of India," he posted on Twitter. Before the polls, Verma had exuded confidence that he would retain the seat. "Water scarcity has been an issue in West Delhi for years. When I took over, I ensured regular water supply in so many colonies so that the role of tanker mafias could be reduced. "People have seen my work, I am confident I will win again and get a chance to further work on the issues in the constituency," Verma had said. The son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, in his rallies, urged people to vote for him because of his father's legacy and for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tough stand against terrorism. Verma's poll planks were promises of regularisation of unauthorised colonies, Delhi University's West Campus for students and decongestion of west Delhi. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held public meetings to garner support for Verma while Sunny Deol, who made his electoral debut from Gurdaspur in Punjab, held a roadshow in west Delhi for him. Verma had also said he had used Rs 26 crore of the MPLAD funds available to him for building around 650 open gyms in parks and starting several medical van services. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP's West Delhi candidate Parvesh Singh Verma, who rode on the Modi wave and his father Sahib Singh Verma's goodwill, won a second term with a record margin of over 5.7 lakh votes. In 2014, he had set a new record of victory margin by winning the seat by a margin of over 2.68 lakh votes, defeating Aam Aadmi Party candidate Jarnail Singh, who ended up at the second spot. He had polled more votes than AAP and Congress candidates put together. History repeated itself for Verma as he won by a huge margin of 5,78,486 votes defeating Congress's Mahabal Mishra, who was elected as an MP from the seat in 2009. Verma not only broke his own record but also became the candidate who registered the highest victory margin in Delhi. "This is not just a win, this is a historic landslide win for @narendramodi ji @AmitShah ji, for all us, their comrades & every BJP Karyakarta and above all for the People of India," he posted on Twitter. Before the polls, Verma had exuded confidence that he would retain the seat. "Water scarcity has been an issue in West Delhi for years. When I took over, I ensured regular water supply in so many colonies so that the role of tanker mafias could be reduced. "People have seen my work, I am confident I will win again and get a chance to further work on the issues in the constituency," Verma had said. The son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, in his rallies, urged people to vote for him because of his father's legacy and for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tough stand against terrorism. Verma's poll planks were promises of regularisation of unauthorised colonies, Delhi University's West Campus for students and decongestion of west Delhi. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held public meetings to garner support for Verma while Sunny Deol, who made his electoral debut from Gurdaspur in Punjab, held a roadshow in west Delhi for him. Verma had also said he had used Rs 26 crore of the MPLAD funds available to him for building around 650 open gyms in parks and starting several medical van services. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP's sitting MP from Sonipat Ramesh Chander Kaushik emerged as a giant killer defeating Congress veteran and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda by a margin of 1,64,864 votes. The loss of the 71-year-old leader from Sonipat dealt a big blow to the Congress in Haryana, where it faces a rout. Hooda, who had been twice chief minister of the state from 2005-2014, is at present a sitting MLA of the Congress from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak district. He had jumped into the fray from Sonipat, contesting the Lok Sabha polls after a gap of 14 years. Earlier, he had remained a four-time MP from the Rohtak parliamentary seat. During his heydays, he even had defeated former deputy prime minister Devi Lal from there. When asked what factors he felt worked in his favour, Kaushik said, "The people saw the works done by the central and the state governments." "The people were impressed with our policies and a strong and decisive leadership we gave. If I talk about Haryana, our government brought transparency in all spheres of the administration. We gave jobs on merit and laid thrust on e-governance," he said. Kaushik also said a number of developmental works were carried out in Sonipat, which eventually put him on a strong footing despite facing a veteran leader of the rival party. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is set to repeat its 2014 stellar performance in Rajasthan as the latest trends show the party leading in 24 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with its ally the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leading in the other seat. The Congress, which has a wafer-thin majority in the state Assembly, has failed to breach the BJP fortress of Bikaner, Churu, Jhalawar and Jalore where lotus has bloomed in the last three parliamentary elections. In the Bakiner seat, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is leading by more than 2.60 lakh votes over his cousin and former IPS officer Madan Gopal Meghwal. Arjun Ram Meghwal had won the seat in 2009 and 2014 and before him, it was veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra won the seat for BJP in 2004. The Jat-dominated Churu parliamentary seat has been a BJP bastion for over a decade now. Former MP Ram Singh Kaswan's son Rahul is leading in the seat by 3.29 lakh votes over Congress' Rafiq Mandelia. Dushyant Singh, the son of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, is leading by over 4.30 lakh votes and is all set to get elected for the fourth time from Jhalawar seat. The Congress had fielded Pramod Sharma, who had joined the party from the BJP. Raje had represented the constituency in the parliament for five consecutive terms from 1989 to 2004. In Jalore, the BJP's sitting MP Devi Ji Patel is leading by 2.61 lakh votes over the Congress' Ratan Devasi. Patel won the seat in 2009 and 2014 while in 2004 the saffron party's B. Susheela was elected from the seat. The BJP alone had won all the 25 parliamentary seats in the state in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP was set to make a clean sweep in Haryana and icing on the cake for the saffron party was its candidates either winning or surging ahead by massive margins ranging between 3-6 lakh votes on the eight Lok Sabha seats. While it would be BJP's best ever performance in Haryana, carved out as a separate state in 1966, the Congress was facing a likely rout after a gap of 20 years, as per results and latest trends made available by the Election Commission. In 2014, the BJP had won seven of the eight seats it contested while the INLD had won two and the Congress one. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Modi juggernaut continued propelling the ruling BJP in Haryana to the top spot. Many exit poll projections for Haryana also proved right as they had predicted a stupendous performance by the BJP. BJP's local leader from Panipat and state general secretary Sanjay Bhatia surprised many with his massive win from the Karnal seat by a margin of 6,56,142 votes over his nearest rival and sitting Congress MLA Kuldeep Sharma. Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar was set to register a massive victory over Congress' Avtar Singh Bhadana as he was leading by over 6.38 lakh votes. Another Union minister in the contest Rao Inderjit Singh retained his Gurgaon seat, winning by a margin of 3,86,256 votes over Congress' Ajay Singh Yadav. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda lost from Sonipat to BJP's sitting MP Ramesh Chander Kaushik by 1,64,864 votes. His defeat has dealt a further blow to the Congress, which was eyeing electoral gains with Assembly polls barely four months away. State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar also lost from Sirsa while senior leader Kumari Selja was also staring at defeat from Ambala. In the "tsunami" as Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar put it while commenting on BJP's performance in Haryana, parties like the Indian National Lok Dal, the Jannayak Janata Party-Aam Aadmi Party and the BSP-Loktantra Suraksha Party alliance, too, had to bite the dust at the hustings. Congress' three-time MP Deepender Singh Hooda was the only candidate who remained in a neck-and-neck fight from the Rohtak seat right till the end. As counting was still in progress there, turncoat Arvind Sharma, a former Congress MP who had joined the BJP ahead of the elections, was maintaining a slender lead. BJP's previous best was in 2014 when it had won seven seats of the eight it contested while its the then ally Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) unsuccessfully contested two seats. In 1999, when it was in an alliance with the INLD, the Bharatiya Janata Party had won five seats while the remaining five were won by its ally. That year, the Congress had suffered a rout. Of the 11 women, out of a total of 223 candidates who were in the fray, only BJP's Sunita Duggal (Sirsa) could taste the win. She defeated state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar from the reserved constituency by a margin of 3,09,918 votes. Except Hisar, from where sitting MP Dushyant Chautala of the fledgling JJP finished at second spot behind Union minister Birender Singh's son Brijendra Singh, the Congress was at second place in the remaining nine seats. Opposition INLD's political graph continued to be on downslide as it suffered electoral debacle with the party candidates performing poorly on all the 10 seats. The opposition's sitting MP from Sirsa, Charanjeet Singh Rori, was among the losers as the party candidates were relegated to fifth spot on many seats. The JJP, formed after INLD split, which contested on seven seats and left three for the AAP, comparatively performed better than O P Chautala-led party ending up at the third spot on more than half the seats it contested. However, the AAP, which had lost all the ten seats in 2014, again disappointed and was set to lose all the three seats it contested that included Faridabad, from where its state unit chief Naveen Jaihind was in the fray. The Bahujan Samaj Party, which fought on eight seats and left two for its ally the LSP to contest, was at the third spot on six seats. The BJP in Haryana continued its winning momentum from the previous general elections, something which is likely to come as a boost to party's prospects in the Assembly polls, which are due in October. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar hailed the BJP-led NDA's performance in the Lok Sabha polls and gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and the state government's pro-people policies for the stupendous show. After winning seven of the eight seats it contested in 2014, the BJP went on to form its government on its own for the first time in Haryana when the assembly polls were held later that year. The high-voltage electioneering in Haryana saw the ruling BJP and the Congress fielding a galaxy of stars. The Congress targeted the BJP government at the Centre over "failed" promises and the Rafale aircraft deal, while Modi and other BJP leaders talked about the alleged land scams when the Congress was in power. The party also raised the issue of national security, and brought up the 1984-anti-Sikh riots issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The BJP appeared headed for a spectacular win in Karnataka as it bagged 11 seats and was leading in 14 others, leaving the ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance in a tizzy over the stability of its one-year old government. Reflecting the coalition's plight, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in Gulbarga and former Prime Minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda in Tumkur were trailing their BJP rivals, Election Commission trends showed. With the BJP dealing a hammer blow, Congress and JD(S) managed to win only one seat each, indicating that neither arithmetic nor chemistry worked for the two, which apparently failed to reconcile with each other at the ground level. Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, supported by the BJP, was leading by 1,26,436 votes in Mandya in a fiercely fought battle against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil. 87-year old Gowda was trailing by a margin of 12,387 votes in Tumkur against BJP's G S Basavaraj. Gowda's another grandson Prajwal Revanna,son of minister H D Revanna defeated A Manju of the BJP by 1,41,324 votes in Hassan. Gowda had shifted to Tumkur from his traditional bastion Hassan to make way for his grandson. Kharge, a veteran Congressman, who has never tasted electoral defeat, was trailing by 95,168 votes against BJP's Umesh Jadhav, who resigned as MLA and joined the saffron party ahead of the elections. Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily faced defeat against BJP candidate B N Bache Gowda in Chikkaballapur by 1,82,110 votes. Seven time MP from Kolar K H Muniyappa was trailing against BJP candidate by a margin of 2,09,707 votes. Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North) was leading against his Congress rival by a huge margin, his colleagues Ramesh Jigajinagi (Bijapur) and Anant Kumar Hegde (Uttara Kannada) won their respective seats by a margin of 2,58,038 and 4,79,649 votes, respectively. Other BJP candidates who won are Devendrappa(Bellary), Bhagwanth Khuba (Bidar), Nalin Kumar Kateel(Dakshina Kannada), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad),C S Udasi (Haveri), Karadi Snaganna (Koppal). State BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra (Shimoga) also won in Shimoga defeating his nearest rival Congress' Madhu Bangarappa by a huge margin of 2,33,360 votes. Among leading BJP candidates are Annasaheb Jolle (Chikkodi),Tejavi Surya (Bangalore South), A Narayanaswamy (Chitradurga), G M Siddeshwar (Davangere), P C Mohan (Bangalore Central), Prathap Simha (Mysore), Muniswamy (Kolar), Gaddigoudar Parvatagouda Chandanagouda (Bagalkot) and Suresh Angadi (Belgaum). The Lok Sabha poll outcome is widely expected to have a bearing on the stability of the one-year old H D Kumaraswamy government, which has been bogged down by inner contradictions within the coalition, keeping the state in political turmoil. The coalition government is also living in constant fear of losing the support of its MLAs, against BJP's alleged bid to topple the government. BJP has been claiming that 20 MLAs within the ruling coalition were ready to jump ship post the Lok Sabha poll outcome, which has put the government on the edge and made it struggle to keep its flock in tact. Under the seat sharing arrangement,Congress had contested in 20 constituencies and JDS in seven. Calling the Lok Sabha election results "unexpected", Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said leaders of his party JD(S) and Congress would deliberate on the reasons behind the defeat in the election. Kumaraswamy conceded defeat and said he respected the mandate of the people. "Leaders of both parties of coalition will hold a discussion about the loss of JDS-Congress coalition candidates. "Our party has seen many victories & losses over the years and party workers need not lose heart on this loss. Let us strive to strengthen the party in the days ahead," the Chief Minister tweeted. He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for emerging victorious for the second time saying that he respected the mandate of the people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling in won seven Assembly seats and is leading in 11 constituencies, election officials said on Thursday. The Janata Dal United and an Independent candidate also won a seat each. Assembly has 60-seats, but were held for 57 seats as three candidates had already won unopposed. Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein won the Chowkham seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Khunang Kri by 7,291 votes. The deputy chief minister who had won from the Lekang constituency in Namsai district for the last five consecutive terms since 1995 but this time contested from the Chowkham seat. Tana Hali Tara of the won from Doimukh constituency defeating his nearest rival Nabam Vivek of the National Peoples Party (NPP) by 2, 385 votes. BJP retained the seat as in 2014, Nabam Rebia of BJP had won from the seat. In the Itanagar constituency, Janata Dal United candidate Techi Kaso won by a slender margin of 302 votes in a multi-cornered contest, defeating his nearest rival Kipa Babu of the BJP. Kaso who retained the seat, polled 12,162 votes while Babu polled 11, 860 votes. First timer Goruk Pordung of the BJP won the Bameng Assembly seat defeating Home Minister Kumar Waii of the NPP by a margin of 393 votes. Sitting MLA from Lumla constituency in Tawang district Jambhi Tashi of BJP was re-elected by defeating his lone rival Jampa Thirnly Kunkhap of the Congress by a margin of 1,288 votes. While Tashi polled 4,567 votes, Kunkhap could poll 3,279 votes. PHE Minister Wangki Lowang (BJP) retained the Namsang seat in a multi-cornered contest, by defeating his nearest rival Ngonglin Boi of the NPP by a margin of 1,682 votes. While Lowang polled 3,202 votes Boi could manage 1,520 votes. Sitting BJP MLA from Nari Koyu constituency Kento Rina retained the seat by defeating his nearest rival Tojir Kadu of the Congress by a margin of 216 votes in a triangular contest. The BJP retained the seat. While Rina polled 2,489 votes, Kadu polled 2,273 votes. In the un-reserved Bordumsa-Diyun seat in Changlang district, Independent candidate Somlung Mossang tasted victory by defeating his nearest rival Jawra Maio of the BJP by a margin of 2,379 votes. BJP woman candidate Gumtayeng won the Damduk seat defeating her nearest NPP rival Tony Pertil by a margin 873 votes. With trends favouring BJP at the Centre and the party making deep inroads in West Bengal, the saffron party workers and supporters burst into celebrations outside its headquarters here and elsewhere. BJP workers were seen distributing sweets, shouting slogans "phir ek bar Modi sarkar" and dancing to the beat of drums in various parts of the state. Trinamool Congress headquarters at the E M Bypass on the other hand wore a deserted look as trends showed that TMC is ahead only in 25 seats. The CPI(M) and Congress party offices too wore a deserted look. The BJP and the ruling TMC had been locked in a fierce battle in West Bengal. BJP had set a target of winning more than 23 seats, while the TMC had set its sight of winning all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Reacting to initial trends, BJP national general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya said the trends reflect the "anti-TMC mood" of Bengal. "The initial trends reflect the anti-TMC mood. Despite so much terror in Bengal, the people have reposed faith in BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The days of TMC's misrule are numbered in Bengal," Vijayvargia said. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP is set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 51, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. The BJP seems appeared to make deep inroads into West Bengal by leading in 16 seats, while Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is ahead in 25 seats in the state. The Congress is leading in just one constituency, while the Left is yet to to take a lead in any of the 42 seats. As per initial trends, the TMC has so far secured 44.61 per cent votes closely followed by BJP, which has bagged 38.99 per cent votes. BJP state president and the party's candidate from Medinipur Lok Sabha seat, Dilip Ghosh said he is confident that the party will cross the mark of 23 seats in Bengal out of the 42 seats. In the outgoing Lok Sabha, the TMC has 34 seats in West Bengal, whereas the BJP has only two. The Congress and the CPI(M)-led Left Front have four and two seats respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The British government on Thursday postponed a crucial Brexit vote scheduled for the first week of June, following an outcry from hardline Brexiteers over concessions made by Prime Minister Theresa May. The beleaguered premier is in the last throes of a tumultuous period in power focused all-but exclusively on guiding her fractured country out of the European Union. "We will update the house on the publication and introduction of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on our return from the Whitsun recess" on June 4, government official Mark Spencer told MPs. Spencer said the government had planned to hold the vote on a landmark piece of legislation to implement Brexit on June 7 but had not been able to fix this date. May is under intense pressure to resign after holding out the prospect of a parliamentary vote on a second referendum to try and persuade MPs to support the divorce deal she has struck with EU leaders. The deal has already been rejected three times in parliament, forcing a delay to the planned date of Brexit on March 29, and still faces strong cross-party opposition. Meanwhile there are already several leading Conservatives, including members of her own cabinet, who are campaigning to take over from May when she quits. The prime minister's woes were made worse on Wednesday when Andrea Leadsom -- one of cabinet's strongest Brexit backers -- resigned from her post as the government's representative in parliament over her handling of the slowly-unfolding crisis. "I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the (2016) referendum results," Leadsom said in her resignation letter. In her response May thanked Leadsom for her "passion, drive and sincerity", but took issue with her assessment of the government's Brexit strategy. "I do not agree with you that the deal which we have negotiated with the European Union means that the United Kingdom will not become a sovereign country," May said. Many of Thursday's newspaper front pages pictured May leaving Downing Street late on Wednesday apparently with tears in her eyes. "May set to go after Brexit fiasco," said The Sun tabloid. Thursday's European elections are being interpreted in Britain as a referendum on Brexit and on May's ability to get the job done. They make grim reading for the government team, with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party well ahead in the polls. The current deadline for Brexit set by EU leaders is October 31. The Brexit Party and leading Conservatives are calling for Britain to leave the EU on that date without an overall deal but businesses fear this could cause severe disruption. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A BTech student, the main accused in violence on campus of a college earlier this week in a college here, has arrested, police said. At least 13 students, including three girls, of a college here were injured Monday when they were attacked by another group over old enmity. The main accused, Rohit Kumar, was arrested Wednesday, Station House Officer (SHO) of Miranpur police station, Pankaj Tyagi, said. He said, while Kumar, a BTech student of the Bhagwant Institute of Technology, was held, efforts are on to nab the remaining accused. The college management has expelled Kumar. An FIR was earlier filed by assistant director of the college, Raghav Mehra. According to the complainant, the students were in class when another group of students entered the college and beat them up over old enmity. The students were attacked with sticks. Six students were named in the FIR besides several others, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canada said Wednesday that by the end of June it will remove truckloads of garbage which Filipino officials say were illegally shipped to the Philippines years ago. Canadian Environment Minister CatherineMcKennasaid the government has awarded a contract to French shipping giant Bollore Logistics Canada that calls for the return of 69 containers filled with household waste and electronic garbage. "The company will begin preparation for shipping in the coming days. The removal will be complete by the end of June, as the waste must be safely treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements," McKenna's department said in a statement. The trash is expected to be back in Canada by the end of summer. Salvador Panelo, a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, held a conference earlier Wednesday to announce that Duterte has ordered officials to look for a private shipping company to transport the garbage to Canadian territory in an escalation of his increasingly adversarial stance. "If Canada will not accept their trash, we will leave the same within its territorial waters or 12 nautical miles out to sea from the baseline of any of their country's shores," Panelo said. "The president's stance is as principled as it is uncompromising: The Philippines as an independent sovereign nation must not be treated as trash by other foreign nations." The Philippine government recalled its ambassador and consuls in Canada last week over Ottawa's failure to comply with a May 15 deadline to take back the garbage. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that Canada has been working hard with Philippine officials to resolve the problem and hoped to strike a resolution quickly though he gave no time frame. In 2017, Trudeau said legal issues preventing the return of the garbage to Canada had been resolved. "This is a situation that is unacceptable and has gone on too long," Trudeau said Wednesday. Canada is also looking at ways to hold the responsible parties to account. At least 103 containers of household trash, including plastic bottles and bags, newspapers and diapers, were shipped in batches from Canada to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014. Thirty-four were already dealt with by Filipino authorities. Most of the other 69 containers are in two ports in Manila and northern Subic Freeport, sparking protests from environmental activists. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than 50 people were reportedly killed in an attack by a militia on several villages in the Central African Republic's volatile northwest near the border with Chad, the United Nations said Thursday. The UN peacekeeping mission in the country, known as MINUSMA, condemned Tuesday's attacks and its peacekeepers are undertaking "robust patrols in and around Ouham Pende prefecture" where the killings took place, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The government issued an ultimatum to the leader of a militia group known as 3R, calling on him to hand over those responsible. Government spokesman Ange-Maxime Kazagui says the group retaliated against several communities in the Ouham Pende prefecture after an incident in which one man was killed. Lucien Mbaigoto, a legislator from the area, said that militia fighters on the ground are not abiding by the peace agreements signed by their leaders, including one in February. Human rights groups have blamed the 3R group for killing and raping civilians since 2015. UN spokesman Dujarric said a joint mission by MINUSCA, the government, the African Union, and the Economic Community of Central African States is expected to deploy to the affected areas on Saturday "to defuse tensions, assist victims and displaced persons and reassure communities." He said MINUSCA and the government are also engaging on a local level dialogue "to ease tensions and prevent a retaliatory response by anti-Balaka," a group of militia groups that are mostly Christians and people who follow traditional animist beliefs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Thursday resigned from his post following the TDP's loss in the Assembly elections. He submitted his resignation to the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan who accepted it, a Raj Bhavan press communique said here. "Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh submitted his resignation to the Governor. "The Hon'ble Governor while accepting the resignation with effect from the afternoon today, requested Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu to continue in office till the formation of a new government," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu won the Kuppam Assembly seat by a margin of 30,722 votes against his YSR Congress rival K Chandramouli, the Election Commission announced Thursday night. In 2014, his margin of victory against the same rival was 47,121 votes. Chandrababu bagged 1,00,146 votes of the total of 1,81,499 votes polled, while Chandramouli managed 69,424. Chandramouli is a retired IAS officer who served under Naidu as well. It was the seventh consecutive time that the TDP chief has won the Kuppam seat in his native Chittoor district though his victory margin has seen a decline over the years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court has directed a chartered aircraft firm and an insurance company to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to the families of each of the two doctors and a nurse who were killed in a plane crash while on a medical emergency flight in 2011. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait asked Delhi-based Air Charter Services Pvt Ltd to pay Rs 7.5 lakh as per statutory liability under the Carriage by Air Act, 1972, and the insurance firm to pay Rs 42.5 lakh along with interest to the three families each within four weeks. Ten persons including all seven on board a small civil chartered aircraft were killed when the medical ambulance flight to Delhi from Patna had crashed into a densely-populated residential area in bad weather near Faridabad in May 2011. The airplane was ferrying a critically ill patient Rahul Raj, a young Patnabased businessman, to be taken to Apollo Hospital in Delhi for further medical management. The patient was undergoing treatment in a Patna hospital and the airplane was arranged by Apollo Hospital. The seven persons onboard were two doctors, two pilots, a male nurse, a patient and an attendant. The air ambulance named 'Pilatus' along with the patient, his cousin and others took off from Patna at 8:30 PM on May 25, 2011. The aircraft crashed in Jawaharnagar locality near the IAF station at around 10:35 PM, shortly before landing at IGI airport in Delhi. It had caught fire as soon as it crashed on two houses sending up plumes of smoke. The present three petitions were filed by the families of doctors Rajesh Jain and Sayad Arshad Abbas and male nurse Cyril P Joy. They were working for Apollo Hospital here. The families of the pilots, who lost their lives in the incident, were granted Rs 50 lakh compensation earlier in 2016 with the court coming to the conclusion that crew members also come in the category of passengers. While deciding the present three petition, Justice Kait said, "Accordingly, I am of the view that each passenger is entitled compensation for an amount of Rs 50 lakh ." The counsel for the aircraft company had claimed that the petitions were not maintainable and liable to be dismissed for the reason that as per the Carriage by Air Act 1972, the petitioners were entitled to a fixed and specified compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh and the firm had obtained coverage of Rs 50 lakh from the insurance company. The insurance company had contended that the crew were not covered under the insurance policy. It had accepted the fact that the compensation had been paid to the aircraft firm for the damage to the plane. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is leading in nine out of the 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, while the ruling Congress is ahead in the remaining two, according to the latest counting trends in the state. The saffron party's showing in the Lok Sabha elections is remarkable as just six months ago, it had received a severe drubbing at the hands of the Congress in the assembly polls, marking an end to its 15-year-old rule in Chhattisgarh. In the last three Lok Sabha polls since 2004, the BJP had won 10 of the 11 seats in the state each time. According to trends available till now, BJP candidates are leading in nine parliamentary constituencies. State BJP vice-president Sunil Soni is leading over his Congress opponent and Raipur Mayor Pramod Dubey by a whopping margin of 3,16,900 votes in the Raipur seat. In the Durg seat, BJP's Vijay Baghel is ahead of Congress nominee Pratima Chandrakar by a huge margin of 3,57,315 votes. In Rajnandgaon, BJP nominee Santosh Pandey is leading over Congress rival Bholaram Sahu by 1,06,296 votes. In the Raigarh (ST) seat, BJP candidate Gomtee Sai is leading over Congress nominee Laljeet Singh Rathiya by 65,934 votes, as per EC trends. In the Surguja (ST) seat, BJP candidate Renuka Singh is ahead of Congress's Khel Sai Singh by 1,52,099 votes. In the Janjgir-Champa (SC) seat, BJP's Guharam Ajgalley is leading over Congress rival Ravi Bhardwaj by 82326 votes. In the Kanker (ST) seat, BJP's Mohan Mandavi is ahead of Congress's Biresh Thakur by a thin margin of 4,967 votes, while in Bilaspur, BJP candidate Arun Sao is leading by 1,28,529 votes against his Congress rival Atal Shrivastav. In Mahasamund, BJP's Chunnilal Sahu, who was initially trailing, has now taken a significant lead of 84,553 votes over his nearest Congress rival Dhanendra Sahu. The ruling Congress is leading in just two Lok Sabha seats - Bastar (ST) and Korba. BJP's Jyotinand Dubey, who was leading over Congress candidate Jyotsana Mahant, the wife of Assembly Speaker Charandas Mahant, from Korba is now trailing by 8,217 votes. In the Bastar (ST) seat, sitting Congress MLA Dipak Baij is ahead of BJP's Baiduram Kashyap by 39,812 votes. The Naxal-affected state recorded a heavy 71.48 per cent voter turnout in the 11 Lok Sabha seats where polling was held in three phases - on April 11, 18 and 23. Counting of votes was taken up Thursday morning. Buoyed by the trends, the BJP said they reflect people's faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "This Lok Sabha poll was to re-elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people of the country have once again shown faith in Modi ji. "Works done in Modis five-year tenure are being compared to what was done in the 55-year rule of the Congress. "People have given mandate for development," BJP national vice-president and former chief minister Raman Singh told reporters. He said the people of Chhattisgarh have rejected policies of the six-month-old Congress government. "Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had claimed to win all the 11 seats (for the Congress). People have rejected the Congress governments policies, schemes, of revenge and conspiracy. "Law and order situation has collapsed in the state. The people of the state have taught a lesson to the Congress, added the former three-time chief minister. Meanwhile, state Congress media wing head Shailesh Nitin Trivedi claimed that despite 'Modi wave' in the entire country, the ruling party has performed well in the state. "Despite Modi wave in the entire country, the Congress has improved its tally from the 2014 Lok Sabha election and is leading in two seats in the state. "Credit for this goes to Congress workers, Trivedi said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over the span of two years, a Chinese national in Oregon sent devices that looked like iPhones to Apple, saying they wouldn't turn on and should be replaced under warranty. He didn't just submit a couple of the devices -- he delivered in person or shipped to Apple around 3,000 of them. Apple responded by sending almost 1,500 replacement iPhones, each with an approximate resale value of USD600. But the devices that Quan Jiang sent Apple were fake. Jiang, 30, a former engineering student at a community college in Albany, Oregon, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to trafficking in counterfeit goods, the US Attorney's office in Portland announced. The presence of fake iPhones and other high-tech gadgets has become an issue in global resale markets, with some counterfeit versions operating so well it's hard for users to tell the difference between them and the genuine products. But in the Oregon case, the makers of the thousands of fake phones apparently didn't even have to bother with having working operating systems. An Apple official quoted by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Thomas Duffy in a court document exposed a vulnerability that Jiang exploited. "Submission of an iPhone that will not power on is critical to perpetuating iPhone warranty fraud, as the phone will not be able to be immediately examined or repaired by Apple technicians, triggering the Apple iPhone replacement process as part of its product warranty policy," Duffy wrote, quoting Apple brand protection representative Adrian Punderson. The US Attorney's office in Portland said Jiang would import the counterfeit devices from Hong Kong and submit them to Apple using various assumed names. The genuine replacement phones Jiang received would be sold in China. Jiang's associate would pay Jiang's mother, who lives in China, who then deposited the money into Jiang's bank account. Jiang received packages containing between 20 and 30 counterfeit iPhones from associates in Hong Kong between Jan 1, 2016, and Feb 1, 2018, according to court documents. Apple realised something was amiss as early as June 30, 2017, when its legal counsel sent Jiang a "cease and desist" letter to an address in Corvallis where 150 warranty claims emanated. The lawyers said the company knew he was importing counterfeit Apple products, according to Duffy's affidavit. Jiang didn't respond, so the Apple lawyers sent a second letter. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case. Apple rejected 1,576 warranty claims associated with Jiang, Duffy said. The 1,493 claims that resulted in replacement iPhones being delivered by Apple represented an USD895,000 loss to the Cupertino, California-based company, Duffy wrote. Brad Bench, who heads the Homeland Security Investigations office in Seattle, said in a statement that trafficking in counterfeit goods hurts the economy, legitimate businesses, and impact consumers directly. Jiang faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a USD2 million fine or twice his proceeds, whichever is greater, when he is sentenced on Aug 28. Under a plea agreement, the US Attorney's office will recommend a prison sentence of three years, at least USD200,000 in restitution to Apple. And Jiang must forfeit his black 2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 coupe. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his election victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. The BJP was set to return to power Thursday as the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that it was leading in 296 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck at 51 seats. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Modi, President Xi congratulated him on the electoral victory of the NDA under his leadership, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet. In the letter, President Xi noted the great importance he attached to the development of India-China relations and his desire to work with Prime Minister Modi to take the closer development partnership between the two countries to a new height. President Xi also expressed satisfaction at the strong momentum of development in India-China relations in recent years with the joint efforts of both the sides. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday extended his "heartfelt congratulations" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning the general elections, in a rare gesture of greeting a foreign leader well before the official announcement of the results. In a letter delivered by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi to the Ministry of External Affairs amidst the counting of votes, Xi said: "on the occasion of the National Democratic Alliance wining the 17th Lok Sabha elections of India under your leadership, I would like to extend my heart-felt congratulations. "As important neighbours to each other, China and India are the two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides". Significantly, Xi in his letter to Modi highlighted the "good" coordination and cooperation between the two countries on multi-polarisation, economic globalisation and multilateralism. China, which is battling a bruising trade war with the US, has emerged as a bitter critic of President Donald Trump's policies putting America first, undermining the process of globalisation which had benefitted the developing countries. On the bilateral front, Xi who last year held the historic first informal summit with Modi at Wuhan to set the Sino-Indian relations on track after the 2017 Doklam stand-off, said he attached "great importance" to the ties between the two countries. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with the you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi said as he ended the letter saying "with my best wishes for your good health and every success". Xi's message congratulating Modi well before the official announcement of the results came as a surprise to many China watchers as normally, by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of foreign countries only after the official results are announced. Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years, officials said the Chinese President did not wait for an official declaration of the polls. In 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was the first world leader to dial-up Modi after he was sworn in and announced Beijing's plan to send the then Foreign Minister Wang Yi to establish contact with the new government. Xi and Modi are expected to meet at the G-20 summit scheduled at Osaka in Japan on June 28-29. Wang announced here last month that Xi would visit India later this year for the second Wuhan-style informal summit, for which officials said preparations would begin immediately after the formation of the new government. In December last year, Prime Minister Modi met President Xi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina and discussed joint efforts to further enhance mutual trust and friendship between the two giant neighbours. The April 27-28 Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi was largely credited to have turned around the bilateral relations soured by the 73-day Doklam standoff, triggered by Chinese troops attempts to build a road close to Indian border in an area also claimed by Bhutan in 2017. After the Wuhan summit, both the countries stepped up efforts to improve relations on different spheres including the military-to-military ties. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a resounding victory for a second term in office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress failed to capitalise on Assembly poll victories in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh barely six month ago, as the BJP made almost a clean sweep in the two states Thursday. In Madhya Pradesh, which has 29 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP won 25 and was leading in 3 seats as of 11.30 pm. The Congress was leading one one seat. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP won nine and the Congress bagged the remaining two Lok Sabha seats. The BJP victory in MP is expected to spell trouble for the Kamal Nath government. Senior BJP leaders have claimed that the government will topple if they challenge it but they preferred to wait till the national elections are over. Earlier this week, claiming the Congress government is in minority, the BJP had asked Governor Anandiben Patel to convene the state assembly, presumably for a test of strength. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP had bagged 10 seats and the Congress one in the 2014 general elections. The Congress had won the state Assembly elections late last year by dislodging the BJP from power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress veteran JP Agarwal, who contested from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency, Thursday alleged that EVM strong rooms were opened in the absence of his party's counting agents, a charge denied by Delhi's Chief Electoral Office. Agarwal had approached the election officials with a formal complaint, who claimed that neither Agarwal nor his polling agents had reached on time when the strong rooms were opened. "Strong rooms of Shakur Basti, Tri Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Wazirpur, Aadarsh Nagar, Sadar Bazar and Model Town were opened without our presence by a second team which was not informed to us. We register strong objections," Agarwal alleged in his complaint letter submitted to the returning officer of the constituency. He also alleged that his son Mudit Agarwal, who is also his election agent, was accompanying the other team and had got the seal of Matia Mahal opened. "In Chandni Chowk Assembly constituency, second strong room was found to be broken. When we went to Ballimaran assembly strongroom with the election observer, the room was already open and the seal was opened not even in the presence of election observer," he further alleged. Agarwal, who is pitted against BJP's Harsh Vardhan, claimed "malafide intentions" were behind this and urged the returning officer to stop the counting process immediately. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer, Ranbir Singh said the complaint was enquired into and the allegations were found to be untrue. "After receiving the complaint we got it enquired. The time for opening of the EVM strongrooms was 7 AM and the all the candidates had been informed about it. Some candidates including Agarwal did not reach on time and the EVM strongrooms were opened in the presence of other candidates and their polling agents". "The entire proceedings were videographed and there were no discrepancies found," Singh told PTI. On the voting day, Agarwal's wife, daughter and niece had also alleged that there were discrepancies in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as the wrong bulb had lit up when they were casting their vote. Re-polling was conducted by the Election Commission at one of the polling booths in Chandni Chowk which said the presiding officer in the booth had forgotten to delete the 'mock votes' before conducting the actual polls on May 12. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accepting the results of the Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Kamal Nath said Thursday night that the Congress will review the reasons of its rout in the state. Of the 29 seats in the Congress-ruled state, the BJP has won 25 and is leading on three seat, while the Congress managed to win only one seat, Chhindwara. Nath's son Nakul Nath won from the family bastion. In a statement, Nath said, "It is true that the results are not as per our expectations but we accept the mandate and respect it....We will review it. "Victory and defeat are part of democracy... It seems we could not put our point of view across to the public in the right way," he said. The veteran Congress politician also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. Former chief minister Digvijay Singh, who was defeated by the BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, said he accepted the verdict with humility. Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, who lost in his traditional Guna seat to the BJP's Dr K P Yadav, said he will continue to work for the people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Council of Europe's assembly on Thursday rejected the creation of a political grouping of far-right European parties as nationalist movements look to make gains in this week's European Parliament elections. The Strasbourg-based Parliamentary Assembly has no binding powers, but brings together around 300 lawmakers from 47 states to make recommendations on rights and democracy. The Council of Europe is separate from the European Union and its parliament, and includes nations such as Turkey and Russia. "The assembly's bureau today decided not to recognise the formation of new political grouping of New European Democrats/Europe of Nations (NDE/ENL)," the council said on its Twitter account. Led by Austrian lawmaker Martin Graf of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the NDE/ENL group looked to bring together nationalist lawmakers from Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany's AfD party and the Italy's League. The request to recognise the new grouping was made last year. "The Council of Europe was founded to protect democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The FPOe, AfD and the League want to destroy democracy," said German Social-Democrat and assembly member Frank Schwabe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe currently has six political groupings. The delegations are chosen to equally represent the political parties. Eurosceptic, anti-immigration parties including France's far-right National Rally and Italy's League want to score more seats in this week's European Parliament election to shake up the Brussels establishment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Counting of votes for two Lok Sabha constituencies and 57 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh began on Thursday amidst a massive security blanket, an official said. Overnight downpour could not dampen the spirit of the people as they were seen making a beeline to the counting centres since early morning to know the result of candidates. The Election Commission of India has set up 24 counting halls in 20 counting centres spread across 20 districts of the state. The counting of votes for Lok Sabha seats as well as for assembly seats would be held simultaneously, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu said. The announcement of results would be delayed as voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) slips of five booths in each Assembly constituency will be tallied with EVMs. The state election authorities have set up two counting halls each for Papum Pare, Yingkiong, Koloriang and Longding counting centres. The VVPAT will be selected on a random basis through a transparent lottery system. The fate of 181 candidates including 11 women for 57 Assembly seats in the state besides, 12 candidates for Western and eastern Arunachal Parliamentary seats will be decided on Thursday. The ruling BJP had fielded candidates in all the 60 assembly seats while Congress contested in 46 seats, the NPP in 30 seats, JDU in 15 constituencies, JDS (12), PPA (9) and one from the All India Party (AIP). There are also 11 independents who contested the assembly polls. The BJP had already opened its account by winning three seats unopposed including, Kento Jini from Along East constituency in West Siang district, Taba Tedir from Yachuli seat in Lower Subansiri district and Phurpa Tsering from Dirang seat in West Kameng district. IGP Sunil Garg who, is also the state nodal officer (Election) said that a total of 45 companies of Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF) comprising ITBP, CRPF and IRBn along with over 6,000 state civil police personnel have been deployed in the counting centres throughout the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Counting of votes polled during the Apr 23 Lok Sabha polls for 20 seats in Kerala began Thursday morning amidst heavy security. The southern state had witnessed a heavy polling of 77.68 per cent, the highest in 30 years, where the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition Congress-headed UDF put up a fierce fight to garner maximum seats. BJP also gave a tough time for the traditional fronts at least in three seats this time, riding on the Sabarimala women entry issue. Counting began at 8 AM at 140 centres across 29 locations in the state. Kasaragod District Collector has imposed prohibitory orders at Kalliyot and Periya in the district, where two Youth Congress activists had been hacked to death, allegedly by CPI(M) workers in this February. The polling officials will count the postal votes first that have been received till 8 AM this morning, Election commission sources said. The strength of the electorate in the state is 2.61 crore. As per the Election Commission figures, 77.68 per cent of the total of 2.61 crore electors had turned up in 24,970 polling stations across Kerala on polling day to cast their franchise. The high range constituency Wayanad, which came into national prominence after Congress chief's Rahul Gandhi's candidature, had registered a record polling of 80.31 per cent against the 73.25 per cent registered in the 2014 elections. It was a do-or-die battle for both the LDF and UDF in most of the 20 Lok Sabha seats this time in the state, known for its decades-long bipolar The BJP-led NDA put up a formidable challenge to the two traditional fronts in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur constituencies. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who contested from Wayanad in addition to Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, his party colleague Shashi Tharoor, BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan (both Thiruvananthapuram) and Union Minister Alphons Kannamthanam (Ernakulam) were among prominent candidates in the fray. Kannur in north Kerala had recorded the highest polling percentage of 83.05 in the April 23 polls, while the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram constituency, which saw a fierce triangular contest between Tharoor, CPI leader C Divakaran (LDF) and Rajashekharan, the percentage touched 73. 45, the lowest. Pathnamthitta, which was the ground zero of frenzied protests on the Sabarimala women's entry issue, polled 74.19 per cent votes. A total of 227 candidates were in the fray in the state, including 23 women. Wayanad constituency had the maximum number of candidates-- 20 and the lowest are in Alathur in Palakkad district (6). In the 2014 polls, 74.02 per cent votes were polled in the southern state, in which the UDF had won 12 seats, LDF 8 while BJP failed to open its account. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) in appeared to be headed for a clean sweep as it led in 35 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state on Thursday. The ruling AIADMK, which had registered a landslide in the 2014 elections under the leadership of its supremo late Jayalalithaa, is trailing in most of the 20 seats it contested as also its allies, including the BJP. The AIADMK-led NDA is ahead in only three constituencies, according to the latest Election Commission trends. AIADMK's greenhorn and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's son P Raveendranath Kumar was leading over Congress veteran EVKS Elngovan in Theni. NDA constituent Anbumani Ramadoss of PMK is leading in Dharmapuri over his nearest SPA candidate. The votes polled in the April 18 elections held for 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state is underway in 45 centres across the state. Election in Vellore constituency has been countermanded. alone was leading in 22 seats while its key ally, the Congress, surged ahead in eight of the nine seats it fought as a total reversal appeared on cards compared to the 2014 poll when the had 37 seats. Reacting to the early trends of surge, its leader and Chennai Central constituency candidate Dayanidhi Maran attributed it to a "severe anti-Modi wave" in the state. Crediting chief M K Stalin for cobbling up a "formidable alliance", he alleged NDA regime had neglected the state. "Our leader Stalin has ensure a formidable alliance which has triumphed. Strategy adopted by him is the reason for our sweep in Tamil Nadu," he told PTI at a counting centre. In an apparent bucking of the trend in the Lok Sabha polls, was in a neck-to-neck race with DMK in the 22 Assembly seats which went for bypolls. If the ruling party managed to hold on to the nine seats it was leading, it could ward off any threat to the K Palaniswami government. The DMK was leading in 11 seats while in nine, according to the EC trends. In the Lok Sabha trends, Prominent DMK candidates, including Kanimozhi, sister of Stalin, former Ministers Dayanidhi Maran, A Raja, TR Baalu and SS Palanimanickam registered comfortable leads against their rivals, including those from AIADMK and BJP. Congress' star candidates Karti P Chidambaram and former TNCC chief Su Thirunavukkarasar took comfortable leads in Sivaganga and Tiruchirappalli, respectively. SPA allies CPI (M) and CPI were also leading in their respective seats. Contrary to expectations, TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) failed to make any impact in their debut Lok Sabha polls. So far, they were no reports of any untoward incidents as counting was proceeding smoothly, officials said. For the AIADMK, stakes are higher in the assembly by-polls, as the outcome would determine its continuance in power. In a much needed morale booster for the DMK, the party swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, while arch rival AIADMK managed to pull off wins in nine of the 22 Assembly seats that went for bypolls, virtually ensuring its continuance in power till 2021. Another key feature of the outcome is the relegation of Kamal Haasan's fledgling Makkal Needhi Maiam and AIADMK rival T T V Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam to the status of spoilers. The DMK-led front, which faced the Lok Sabha polls under a new nomenclature "Secular Progressive Alliance," appears set to win in 36 of the 38 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. In Chidambaram LS seat, the prospects of VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan (DMK ally) and ruling AIADMK's nominee P Chandrasekar is on a swing as they alternate to lead with slender margins round after round. For the AIADMK, its candidate (son of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam) P Raveendranathkumar in Theni is set to post victory. The M K Stalin-led party had eight allies, including the Congress, which won the lone Parliamentary seat in Puducherry as well. The DMK chief said it was a "resounding victory" given to his party led alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu. "In the next five years, we will work hard to fulfil the promises made and protect the interest of our state," he said. Though trends point to a DMK win in as many as 13 assembly seats, a clear cut possibility of victory in nine seats for AIADMK's has cemented its position in the Tamil Nadu assembly, where it was previously in a precarious situation. The official declaration of the results are awaited. Three AIADMK MLAs had sided with Dhinakaran and the stand of two other allies who had won in 2016 on the ruling party's Two Leaves symbol had been a question mark. Officially, though the AIADMK has 114 MLAs, including the Speaker, the stand of these five legislators had virtually brought down the strength of the ruling party to 109. Now that the party has won nine seats, the ruling party sources indicated that the five dissident legislators would prefer to sail with the government. With or without the support of these five MLAs, the AIADMK has a simple majority of 118 legislators. Still, the outcome of a case pending in the Supreme Court over 11 AIADMK MLAs, including O Panneerselvam voting against the government in 2017 may have a bearing on the stability of the incumbent regime in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK garnered a vote share of 18.53 and 38.54 per cent in the Lok Sabha and Assembly by elections respectively. Its principal rival, the DMK posted an impressive 32.81 per cent and 44.87 per cent in Parliamentary and Assembly by polls. Dhinakaran's party caused a significant split in votes in several Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, eroding the victory prospects of AIADMK. For instance, in Periyakulam Assembly constituency, while DMK was leading by bagging about 44.83 per cent votes, AIADMK and Dhinakaran's candidate K Kathirkamu had scored 34.48 and 13.84 per cent votes respectively. Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam also has cut into the vote share of the Dravidian majors. Its nominee had a 11.95 per cent votes at Perambur Assembly seat here. At Aravakkurichi, where Haasan had made the controversial "Hindu extremist," remark, could garner only about 0.8 per cent votes and 2.12 per cent in Sivaganga Lok Sabha poll, as per EC data at 10.45 PM. Besides being a shot in the arm for AIADMK, the bypoll win in nine seats is seen by party workers as an endorsement of the leadership of Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam in the post-J Jayalalithaa era. The debacle in Lok Sabha polls, however, has made the overall outcome bittersweet for the ruling party. Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy Panneerselvam said the bypoll 'results' showed that only the AIADMK had the locus standi to govern Tamil Nadu and invited party workers yet again who had switched to the Dhinakaran camp, to return to the parent outfit. "We will continue to provide good governance in tune with the expectations of the people," they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump is a "master" of Twitter and him causing a "lot of noise" certainly directs more attention, according to the microblogging site's co-founder Ev Williams. Trump, who became the 45th President of the United States after defeating former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in 2016 elections, often uses the platform to express his opinion on various issues, target his political opponents and advertise his policies. Twitter co-founder Williams, at the Collision tech conference in Toronto on Tuesday told CNN Business that "What Trump has done with Twitter is pretty genius, frankly". "He's a master of the platform like few others," he said. As for whether Trump's daily tweets were good for Twitter's business, Williams said it's "hard to say." "The fact that the president is on there and causing a lot of noise, it certainly directs more attention. But it doesn't necessarily direct more users or... more money," he said. Trump had once said that he uses the social media not because he likes to, but because "it is the only way to fight a very dishonest and unfair press". Trump, 72, has been at loggerheads with several US mainstream media outlets including the CNN, ABC News, The New York Times and the Washington Post. He has quite often described these popular media houses as "fake media". Williams, however, said that the potential negative effects of the president's tweets on the country's political discourse are "trivial compared to the effect of the broader media." "The vast majority of the electorate is not on Twitter reading Trump's tweets and being convinced by that. "What they're convinced much more by is the destructive power of Fox News, which is much, much more powerful and much more destructive than Twitter," said Williams. A Fox spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning, the CNN Business report said. "Why the media's not critiquing itself I think is kind of obvious, and it's very easy to blame the tech platforms. But it's an ecosystem and the traditional media companies that have benefited financially from Trump very much outweigh the tech companies," the Twitter co-founder said. Williams also said that Twitter should have invested more money and resources into fighting abuse on its platform while he served as CEO but said he didn't believe there were any "silver bullets." Williams now runs online publishing platform Medium -- a site he describes as a network for longer-form, more in-depth content. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dutch leftists scored a surprise victory to win the most seats in European Parliament elections Thursday, beating the party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and an upstart populist group, an exit poll said. The Labour party of European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans was projected to win five seats out of the 26 allocated for the Netherlands, the Ipsos poll for public broadcaster NOS said. Rutte's Liberals were set to win four seats and the eurosceptic Forum for Democracy of populist leader Thierry Baudet was expected to win three seats, the poll said. Opinion polls ahead of the vote had shown Baudet and Rutte's parties on course to win five each, and the two leaders had a fiery televised debate on Wednesday night focusing on issues including immigration. The Netherlands and exit-bound Britain were the first countries to vote on Thursday in the four-day European elections, in which populist parties had been expected to score big gains. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists have discovered 18 Earth-sized planets beyond the solar system, including one of the smallest known so far and another that could offer conditions friendly to life. The exoplanets are so small that previous surveys had overlooked them, said researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany. The study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, re-analysed a part of the data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope with a new and more sensitive method that they developed. The team estimates that the new method has the potential of finding more than 100 additional exoplanets in the Kepler mission's entire data set. Somewhat more than 4,000 planets orbiting stars outside our solar system are known so far. Of these so-called exoplanets, about 96 per cent are significantly larger than our Earth, most of them more comparable with the dimensions of the gas giants Neptune or Jupiter. This percentage likely does not reflect the real conditions in space, however, since small planets are much harder to track down than big ones. Moreover, small worlds are fascinating targets in the search for Earth-like, potentially habitable planets outside the solar system. The 18 newly discovered worlds fall into the category of Earth-sized planets. The smallest of them is only 69 per cent of the size of the Earth; the largest is barely more than twice the Earth's radius. Common search algorithms were not sensitive enough, researchers said. In their search for distant worlds, scientists often use the so-called transit method to look for stars with periodically recurring drops in brightness. If a star happens to have a planet whose orbital plane is aligned with the line of sight from Earth, the planet occults a small fraction of the stellar light as it passes in front of the star once per orbit. Small planets, however, present scientists with immense challenges. Their effect on the stellar brightness is so small that it is extremely hard to distinguish from the natural brightness fluctuations of the star and from the noise that necessarily comes with any kind of observation. The team, including Rene Heller from MPS, has now been able to show that the sensitivity of the transit method can be significantly improved, if a more realistic light curve is assumed in the search algorithm. The new algorithm does not search for abrupt drops in brightness like previous standard algorithms, but for the characteristic, gradual dimming and recovery. This makes the new transit search algorithm much more sensitive to small planets the size of the Earth. "Our new algorithm helps to draw a more realistic picture of the exoplanet population in space," said Michael Hippke of Sonneberg Observatory. "This method constitutes a significant step forward, especially in the search for Earth-like planets," Hippke said. "In most of the planetary systems that we studied, the new planets are the smallest," said Kai Rodenbeck of the University of Gottingen in Germany. Most of the new planets orbit their star closer than their previously known planetary companions. The surfaces of these new planets therefore likely have temperatures well in excess of 100 degrees Celsius; some even have temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. Only one of the bodies is an exception: it likely orbits its red dwarf star within the so-called habitable zone. At this favourable distance from its star, this planet may offer conditions under which liquid water could occur on its surface -- one of the basic prerequisites for life as we know it on Earth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union, China, and Thailand have expressed interest to join consultations in a case filed by Japan at the WTO against India's import duties on certain information and communication technology products, including mobile phones. Singapore, Canada and Chinese Taipei too have earlier sought to join this dispute consultation against India under the WTO's dispute settlement body. According to a communication of EU, China, and Thailand to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), these countries claimed that they have a substantial interest in the trade of information and communication technology (ICT) goods and in joining the consultation process. On May 14, Japan dragged India to the WTO over the import duties imposed on certain electronic goods, including telephones for cellular networks, machines for reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data; and parts of telephone sets. It alleged that imposition of import duties on these products by India infringes WTO norms as India has committed zero per cent bound tariffs on these products. While bound tariffs or duties refer to the ceiling over which a WTO member country cannot impose import duty, the applied tariff is the duty which is currently in place. In a separate communication, China said that it has a substantial trade interest in the consultations as it is one of the main exporters of information technology products in the world. "In 2018, China's export of telephones for cellular networks to India amounted to USD 1.9 billion, base stations amounted to USD 0.23 billion, and machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data amounted to USD 0.28 billion," it said. The EU, which has already filed a similar dispute case against in India in the WTO, stated that in light of its substantial trade interest, it desires to join the consultations. Similarly, Thailand claimed that the import duties on these goods by India may "substantially" affect Thailand's sales and exports of these products. "As a result of this substantial trade interest, Thailand requests that it be permitted to join the consultations in this dispute," it said. As per the WTO rules, seeking consultation is the first step of dispute settlement process. If the bilateral consultations requested by the complainant (in this case Japan) with India do not result in a satisfactory solution, Japan can request the WTO to set up a dispute panel to pass a ruling on the matter. All the countries that are seeking to join the consultations require approval from India and Japan. A WTO member country can file a dispute if it perceives that another country's trade policies or actions are violating global trade norms and impacting their trade. European Union, China, and Thailand are key trade partners of India. In October last year, India hiked import duty on certain communication items, including base stations, to up to 20 per cent as part of efforts to check a widening current account deficit by curbing imports. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress veteran and candidate from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency JP Agarwal Thursday alleged that EVM strong rooms were opened in the absence of his party's counting agents. "The strong rooms were opened in the absence of our counting agents. We were not even allowed to take breakfast inside while the BJP was free to carry any material inside," Agarwal told reporters. The Chief Electoral Officer said that they had not received any official complaint. "We have not received any complaint from any candidate with regard to counting of votes including from JP Agarwal. "If any issue arises at the counting centres, the returning officers are fully competent to deal with it," Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh said. The Congress leader is pitted against BJP's Harsh Vardhan. On the voting day, Agarwal's wife, daughter and niece had also alleged that there were discrepancies in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as the wrong bulb had lit up when they were casting their vote. Re-polling was conducted by the Election Commission at one of the polling booths in Chandni Chowk which said the presiding officer in the booth had forgotten to delete the 'mock votes' before conducting the actual polls on May 12. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representatives from more 30 countries met with Federal Aviation Administration officials Thursday to hear the US regulator's approach to determining how soon the Boeing 737 Max can resume flying after two crashes that killed 346 people. Before the meeting, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell declined to give a timetable for the plane's return. He hinted it could be several months, saying that even October a later return than airlines expected might not be realistic. The meeting is crucial to the US agency's hopes of convincing other regulators around the world to lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. Among those scheduled to attend were regulators from China, Europe and Canada, as well as officials from Indonesia and Ethiopia, sites of the two crashes that occurred before the Max was grounded worldwide in March. Boeing is fixing flight-control software that in each accident pushed the plane's nose down based on faulty readings from a single sensor. It will tie the system to more than one sensor and make it less powerful pilots for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to counter the system's automatic nose-down pitch. Elwell has said he hopes other regulators will lift their bans on the plane soon after FAA does. However, regulators in China, the European Union and Canada have said they plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's software changes and the need for additional pilot training. The FAA did not allow reporters to attend or watch the meeting, and it kept them away from international aviation officials who attended the all-day session at a gated FAA office in Fort Worth, Texas. It is unclear whether the event will do much to convince travelers that the Max is safe. Barclays said that its survey this month of 1,765 travellers in North America and Europe found that nearly half plan to avoid flying on the Max for a year or longer. About half said they would pick a non-Max flight if given the choice. Airlines are making plans for a campaign to reassure nervous customers. They know it won't be easy. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told NBC that because of all the coverage of the crashes and their aftermath, no amount of marketing will sway worried passengers. "There may be some period of time" before customers are comfortable flying on the plane, Parker said, "but we will work through that." He suggested that if passengers see US pilots getting on board, they will follow. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said this week that he will be on the carrier's next Max flight. He added, however, that United would let passengers who don't want to fly on the plane rebook without the customary ticket-change fee. The Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group based in the Washington suburbs, is urging regulators to coordinate recertification of the Max. The group's CEO, Hassan Shahidi, said that would lift public confidence and be less disruptive than a fragmented, country-by-country return of the plane. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Many conservationists on Thursday reacted with anger over Botswana's decision to lift its blanket ban on hunting, describing it as a "horrifying" move, though others backed the idea. Botswana fended off criticism of its decision to end the five-year ban, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population. A government statement said the cabinet had been influenced by the "high levels of human-elephant conflict" and its "impact on livelihoods". "Predators appear to have increased and were causing a lot of damage as they killed livestock in large numbers," it said. "The general consensus from those consulted was that the hunting ban should be lifted." A blanket hunting ban was introduced in 2014 by then-president Ian Khama, a keen environmentalist, to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals. But lawmakers from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) have been lobbying for the policy change, saying wild animal numbers have become unmanageable in some areas. minister Kitso Mokaila said the government had found itself in the firing line over the decision. "We are trying to come up with solutions and yet we seem to be the guys that are targeted for abuse," he said, adding that many lives had been lost. "Conservation is in our DNA," he told reporters in Gaborone. Much of the controversy has focused on elephant hunting, as landlocked Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces. The London-based Humane Society International said "the horrifying decision... will send shock waves throughout the conservation world." "Resuming... hunting is not only morally questionable and flies in the face of all international efforts to protect these giants, but it will also likely damage Botswana's hugely valuable tourism industry." But the minister said "we have never been reckless and we will never be reckless. Our responsibility to conservation has not changed."A deputy director in the ministry, Cyril Taolo, said the resumption of hunting was not "intended to reduce our elephant population" and that there was an annual quota to hunt 400 animals a year. "We will ensure hunting is done ethically," he said. President Mokgweetsi Masisi took over from Khama last year and a public review began five months later, with reports suggesting growing political friction between Masisi and his predecessor. "This is a political move and not in the best interests of conservation in Botswana," Jason Bell of the US-based International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said. "Elephants are being used as political scapegoats, but at a huge cost. "Hunting will do nothing to alleviate human-elephant conflict." But Botswanan groups said hunting would help local communities as trophy hunters pay large sums to shoot an animal. "We are very happy that hunting will be back," Amos Mabuku, chairman of the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, told AFP. "The people were the ones who had been bearing the brunt of co-existing with these animals -- we have lost brothers, we have lost our crops, we have lost our cattle due to this. "Livelihoods are dependent on the revenue from trophy hunting... controllable hunting, not poaching." The WWF said that its policy was that "scientific evidence has shown that trophy hunting can be an effective conservation tool as part of a broad mix of strategies." Some experts say the number of elephants in Botswana, renowned as a luxury safari destination, has almost tripled over the last 30 years, and that the population could now be over 160,000 -- around a third of the entire African population. Tom Milliken, a consultant with TRAFFIC, an international charity on trade in wild animals, said trophy hunting could support rural areas. "Sport hunting does get revenues going back to local communities and if we hope to maintain large landscapes for species like elephants we need to have the goodwill of local communities." Many of Botswana's elephants roam across borders into Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All four countries have called for a global ban on elephant ivory trade to be relaxed due to the growing number of the animals in some regions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Known for his controversial remarks, Bihar's firebrand Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh will commence his second term as a Lok Sabha member from Begusarai, Bihar. Singh in 2019 elections defeated CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar, former Jawaharlal Nehru University student union leader, by over 4.22 lakh votes. 66-year-old Singh, who was Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Narendra Modi-government, began his political career as a member of Bihar legislative council in 2002. During 2008 and 2010, he was a minister in the cabinet of the then chief minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar. He served as minister of cooperative, animal husbandry and fisheries resource development in the Government of Bihar. In 2014, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nawada constituency and was inducted into the council of ministers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is one of the important upper caste leaders in the Bihar BJP who play a fundamental role in the mobilisation of upper caste votes in the state. Interestingly, Singh was reluctant to contest Lok Sabha polls from Begusarai in 2019 as Nawada seat was alloted to Ramvilas Paswan's LJP as per the seat sharing arrangement with the BJP. Singh is among leaders who are old time 'foot-in-the-mouth' politicians, frequently in the headlines for their outspoken and sometimes outrageous views. He had caused a stir ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when he said "those opposed to Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan". He also stoked a controversy during the high-voltage poll campaign this year. He was censured by Election Commission for his controversial remarks. In December 2018, Singh advocated for a law to control population in the country, stating that it was becoming an impediment for development and social harmony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two boating brothers have been rushed to a hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a flying marlin in the waters off Australia's east coast Thursday. The two men in their 40s were sailing in a rigid hull inflatable boat near Coffs Harbour when they were struck by the 80-100 kilogram (175-220 pound) animal. The spear-nosed fish flew through the air and crashed into the brothers on the boat, which had been travelling at around 40 kilometres (25 miles) per hour. "The marlin's sharp snout sliced open the younger brother's lower right arm, causing an open fracture," New South Wales police said. "The older brother suffered a deep cut to his right shoulder." One was airlifted to hospital and the other was taken overland. "Their injuries are not considered life threatening," police said. Some Australian marlin can grow as long as five metres (16 feet) -- and weigh as much as a car. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his electoral victory and the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together towards further strengthening of the bilateral Strategic Partnership. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Macron congratulated Modi over telephone and the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together towards further strengthening of the Strategic Partnership between India and France, an official statement said. Modi thanked France for her steadfast support to India on critical issues. Describing Modi as one of the foremost leaders of the democratic world, Macron reiterated his invitation to the Indian prime minister to visit France in August 2019 for a bilateral meeting and also to attend the G7 Summit at Biarritz. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was flying to the national capital to attend the party meeting after its stupendous victory in general elections, could not land because of bad weather as his plane was diverted to Lucknow Thursday, his office said. The special flight is now en route to Lucknow and he is likely to return to Delhi whenever Airport Traffic Controller (ATC) gives clearance, the office said. The BJP had called a meeting of the party's parliamentary after results and trends showed it storming back to power with an absolute majority on its own. The aircraft was priority No.1 for landing when it was approaching Delhi from Nagpur, sources said. The pilot attempted landing but due to strong transverse winds couldn't land, waited for some more time before deciding to divert to Lucknow, they said. Throughout this period Gadkari's aircraft was priority No.1 for landing and no other aircraft landed during this time. Gadkari himself leading by a margin of 1.59 lakh votes over his nearest Congress rival Nana Patole from the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a big blow to the ruling coalition in Karnataka, JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda was defeated in Tumkur constituency by his rival by a margin of over 13,000 votes, the Election Commission said Thursday. G S Basavaraj secured 5,96,127 votes while Gowda got 5,82,788 votes, according to the EC details. The fight in Tumkur was also seen as battle between - Lingayats and Vokkaligas - two dominant communities in to which both Basavaraj and Gowda belong to respectively. Gowda, the joint candidate of ruling Congress-JDS coalition, chose to contest from Tumkur at the last minute, after vacating Hassan-his home turf, to grandson Prajwal Revanna. It is also said Gowda, who had indicated about his retirement from electoral politics, reluctantly decided to contest, due to pressure from the party workers. had ceded Tumkur seat to JD(S) as per the seat sharing arrangement, denying ticket to sitting MP Muddahanumegowda, causing resentment within. Even though Muddahanumegowda, who had filed his nomination as a rebel had withdrawn his papers, there were doubts regarding complete support to Gowda as many still considered him as an outsider. There were 15 candidates in the fray from Tumkur Lok Sabha seat that went to polls on April 18. While for Gowda it was his first electoral battle from Tumkur, Basavaraj had represented the seat in Lok Sabha in thepast - thrice from and once from Basavaraj was defeated by Congress' Muddahanumegowda in 2014 Lok Sabha polls by a margin of over 74,000 votes. State-owned Hindustan Copper Thursday said that next week, its board will consider increasing borrowing limits from the existing Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,500 crore. In a filing to the BSE, the company said "the board of directors in its meeting scheduled on May 28, 2019, will inter alia consider and recommend increase in borrowing limits from existing Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,500 crore...and creation of security/charge for seeking approval of shareholders of the company". Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) is a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines. The company had earlier said its board has approved raising up to Rs 1,400 crore through an issue of equity shares to qualified institutional investors. The Cabinet last year had approved a fresh equity issue of 15 per cent by Hindustan Copper to help it raise over Rs 900 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) said Thursday he takes "100 per cent" responsibility for the defeat in polls and congratulated Prime Minister and BJP on their spectacular victory, but asserted his party will continue to fight the ideological battle with the saffron party. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Gandhi said the Working Committee will meet soon and decide whether he should resign as the party chief following the electoral debacle. "I congratulate Narendra Modiji and BJP for their electoral victory. People of have decided that will be the PM again and I fully respect that," Gandhi said. He said he accepts the people's verdict and congratulated the winners. "I take 100 per cent responsibility for this defeat," he told reporters. "Our candidates fought with whole of heart and courage. I want to thank them from my heart. Our fight is that of an ideology. There are two different set of thinkings one is that of and BJP, and the other one is .. We would have to accept that in this election, BJP and Narendra Modi have won," he added. The Congress could manage to add only a few seats to its 2014 tally of 44 seats. Gandhi has conceded defeat in Amethi, a traditional bastion of his family, to BJP's Smriti Irani but won from the second seat he contested in Kerala's Wayanad. "I accept the verdict of the people of Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi and the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers and leaders for your hard work in this campaign," Gandhi tweeted later. Asked if he would step down as the Congress president, Gandhi said, "We will have a meeting of the Working Committee. And they will decide that there." Asked again whether he would offer to resign, he replied, "That you can leave between me and the Working Committee." "Frankly today, with all due respect, is the day of the mandate and I don't want to colour the decision of the people of by getting into a long conversation with you about what I think, went wrong. "Frankly today, it doesn't matter what I think went wrong, what matter is that the people of India have decided that Shri Narendra Modi is going to be prime minister and as an Indian, I fully respect people's verdict," he said. "I want to say that today is not the day for me to go into the details of this mandate. Today is the day that a new prime minister has been elected and today is the day to wish him all the best and, hopefully, he will look after the interests of this country," he said. Gandhi said Congress will continue to fight the ideological battle with BJP and asked his party workers and leaders to not be afraid. Gandhi also congratulated Irani, his rival in Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, on her victory. The Congress had won three consecutive terms since 2004. "On Amethi results, I would like to say that Smriti Irani has won... Amethi's people have taken a decision and I respect it. This is democracy. I would like that Smriti Iraniji would take care of Amethi with love and I hope that she will reward the trust that Amethi's people have placed in her," he said. Gandhi said there are a lot of people who believe in Congress's ideology and he would like to assure them there is nothing to worry. "I had said during the campaign that whatever you say to me or whatever you say to abuse me, I will be responding with love. And I would like to say that whatever may happen now, I will be responding with love only. This is my philosophy," he added. Filmmaker Atul Agnihotri says working with superstar Salman Khan on their upcoming film "Bharat" is both overwhelming and stressful as there are high expectations. Atul worked with Salman in his directorial debut "Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa" (2004) and produced 2011 hit "Bodyguard". The two are now looking forward to the release of their much-awaited movie "Bharat". "Having a superstar like him (Salman) you are both relieved and worried. With him comes the responsibility as well. There are huge challenges and expectations from his films. "He has so much love, adulation and support from everyone. He has such a big fan base. With 'Bharat' we are consciously catering to his fans. He is iconic in many ways. He has larger than life persona and people like that. We have to keep this in mind while work ing with him," Atul told PTI. Atul is married to Salman's sister Alvira, but the filmmaker said when it comes to making movies things are completely professional between them. "He is busy and over-committed and so you can't be impractical about your demands and have to respect his work and time. There is a personal relationship (that we share) but the work discipline is different. Work has to be done in different spirit and emotions are different," he added. Atul said the team, including director Ali Abbas Zafar, faced a lot of challenges while making "Bharat", an official adaptation of Korean film "Ode to My Father". "We are adapting the film in Indian set-up so we had to get all right elements, right story, emotions, right team, etc. They have set the story on a man and their Korean history. The setting of the story (referring to partition) was similar but we replaced it with events that were related to India. "In this film we have added flavours like drama, emotion, conflict, song-dance, action, etc through the character Bharat." After Salman's last two films "Tubelight" and "Race 3" did not impressed the actor's fans, Atul said the team was very particular about how they present Salman in "Bharat". "We looked for a story that we felt allows us to incorporate elements of commercialism and at the same time has a beautiful story, filled with emotions and has other elements as well. We have been very conscious of his audience. Also, the director-actor combination is hit, the story is great so we are hoping people like it," he added. The film also starring Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Grover, Sonali Kulkarni and Tabu will release on June 5. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his victory in the general elections and expressed desire to work with him for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. On Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his country has delivered a "message of peace" by opening the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India as he underlined the importance of "conflict resolution" for peace and stability in South Asia. Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, also attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Qureshi said enduring peace and prosperity in South Asia will remain elusive without good-faith diplomacy and result-oriented dialogue. India has ended all imports of oil from Iran, its ambassador in Washington said Thursday, becoming the latest country to comply with the US sanctions. India had already sharply decreased its imports from Iran and bought one million tonnes (tons) of crude in April, the last month before Washington stepped up its pressure campaign against Tehran and ended all exemptions to sanctions, Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. "That's it. After that we haven't imported any," Shringla told reporters during a briefing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election victory. Shringla said India has also ended all imports from Venezuela because it considered itself a partner of the United States -- but said the shift had caused pain at home, with Iran formerly supplying 10 percent of India's oil needs. Calling Iran "an extended neighbour" of India with longstanding cultural links, Shringla declined to say if New Delhi shared President Donald Trump's concerns about Tehran. "This is an issue that has to be dealt with, really, between the United States and Iran. We are only, in many senses, looking at it as a third party," Shringla said. But he added: "We would not like to see a move towards any escalation in any way in that area, for the simple reason that we depend very heavily on stability in that part of the world." Trump last year pulled out of a multinational pact under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear work in return for promises of sanctions relief. The Trump administration has instead ramped up economic pressure on Iran and recently deployed military assets including an aircraft carrier strike group to the area. The United States as of May 2 ended exemptions it had given to eight governments from its unilateral order to stop buying Iranian oil. Turkey, which enjoyed a waiver and vocally disagreed with the US policy, has also stopped importing oil from Iran, a Turkish official said Wednesday. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus welcomed the from Turkey. "We want the whole world to comply with these sanctions, and we're grateful for our partners and allies that are respecting them," she told reporters. The Indian ambassador, however, voiced confidence that US sanctions would not affect its partnership in developing Iran's Chabahar port. India wants to use the port to ship supplies into Afghanistan in a detour from its arch-rival Pakistan, which historically backed the Taliban. "I think it is in the interest of both our countries and all others concerned to ensure that that lifeline continues for the people of Afghanistan," Shringla said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India was among 116 nations to vote in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded the UK withdraw its "colonial administration" from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within six months, supporting Mauritius in its quest for the restoration of sovereignty over the island chain in the Indian Ocean. The General Assembly adopted the resolution Wednesday 'Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965' with 116 votes in favour, 56 abstentions and six nations voting against, including the UK, the United States, Australia, Israel and the Maldives. The UK retained sovereignty over the islands after Mauritius gained its independence from Britain in 1968. The islands have since been used for defence purposes by the UK and the United States, which established a military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The entire Chagossian population was forcibly removed from the territory between 1967 and 1973, and prevented from returning. The resolution welcomed the February 25, 2019 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The principal judicial body of the UN had said in its opinion that the UK Government is "under an obligation" to end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago "as rapidly as possible". The resolution affirmed, in accordance with the advisory opinion of the Court, that the Chagos Archipelago forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius. It demanded that the UK withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally within six months, enabling Mauritius to complete the decolonization of its territory as rapidly as possible. India voted in support of the resolution, with its Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin telling the 193-member that as part of New Delhi's longstanding support to all peoples striving for decolonisation, India has consistently supported Mauritius in its quest for the restoration of sovereignty" over the Chagos Archipelago. "In accordance with our consistent approach on this important issue of decolonization, India supports the draft resolution, submitted by Senegal on behalf of members of the Group of African States. India, therefore, will vote in favour of the draft Resolution, he said adding that Mauritius is a fellow developing country from Africa, with which India has age-old people-to-people bonds. Akbaruddin said the ICJ, the highest international legal authority that can consider such issues, has advised that all member states are under an obligation to cooperate with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonisation of Mauritius. "India shares, with the international community, security concerns relating to the Indian Ocean. We are conscious of the need for collective commitment towards ensuring the security and prosperity of our oceanic space. However, this is a separate matter on which we urge the concerned Governments to reach a mutually agreeable understanding as soon as possible," Akbaruddin said. Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth told the UNGA meeting that the ICJ's findings show the "gravity and extent" of the wrongful act under international law that the colonial power has committed in carrying out the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 and maintaining the Chagos Archipelago as a colony ever since. UK Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Karen Pierce told the General Assembly that Britain is not in doubt about its sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean territory. "It has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Contrary to what has been said today, it has never been part of the Republic of Mauritius, she said. Pierce added that the joint United Kingdom and United States defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory plays a vital role in its efforts to keep "our allies and friends, including Mauritius, in the region, and beyond, safe and secure. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian-Americans from across the US Thursday celebrated the electoral victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by distributing ladoos and watching election results in movie theatres and restaurants. Election watch parties were held in restaurants and in homes where scores of Indian-Americans, along with their friends and families, gathered late Wednesday night to watch election results live either on Indian new channels or Facebook. The election results were shown live in at least two theatres, including one in Minneapolis. Overseas Friends of BJP USA (OFBJP USA) said that it was planning to organise victory celebrations in more than 20 cities around the country, including Boston, New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Seattle. Congratulating the Prime Minister on his massive victory, Krishna Reddy Anugula OFBJP USA president said, adding that Modi will transform India and improve the livelihood of the people. "The NDA government has provided basic amenities like toilets, electricity, gas cylinders in the last 5 years. During the next 5 years, the NDA government is going to take India to the next level with the proposed investments in infrastructure, health care and farming sectors," he said. Prime Minister Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears set to post an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha election, bringing Modi back into office for a second term. People of India have chosen a strong and incorruptible leader in Modi and his vision of New India as they rejected divisive caste and dynastic of the self-indulging "Maha-Milavat" opposition, said OFBJP vice president Adapa Prasad. "The 2019 elections show that the new generation in India is finding its roots in the historical Hindu heritage of India, while aspiring to make India a modern, developed and confident state. Narendra Modi-led NDA represents those emotions and aspirations," Indian-American community leader Utsav Chakrabarthy said. NRIs4Modi and OFBJP teams had organised more than one hundred programmes in the USA during the last four months. The programmes includde 'Chai Pe Charchas', Call-A-Thons, 'Chowkidar Marches' among others. The teams made approximately one million calls to voters in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian national is among 18 sailors arrested in Nigeria for allegedly attempting to illegally export stolen crude oil to Ghana, according to media reports. The arrested sailors were planning to move stolen crude oil from Nigeria with two foreign vessels, MT Apecus and MT Invictus, believed to be owned by Petrogress Incorporation, which has offices in Nigeria, Greece and the US, the Nigerian Navy said. Capt Adegoke Ebo, Executive Officer Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder Port Harcourt, Capt. Adegoke Ebo made this disclosure on Wednesday while handing over the suspects and vessels to the police at the naval base in Port Harcourt. According to him, the suspects were on the verge of moving the crude oil to Ghana before they were arrested by naval forces. Among those arrested was the Managing Director of Petrogress Incorporation in Nigeria, Osimili Adah, Nigerian media reported. "Our findings revealed that Adah has been actively involved in sourcing crude oil from Nigerian creeks and shipping it to Platon Gas Oil Refinery in Tema, Ghana without clearance and approval," Ebo said. The identity of the Indian national arrested was not disclosed. "Evidence available to us suggests that the illicit crime had been going on for a while," Ebo alleged. Ebo said that the suspect later disclosed names of his accomplices and facilitators and also presented evidence and proof to the illicit trading. The suspect during interrogation, revealed that the report of pirate attack on MT Apecus on April 19 was stage managed, he said. Five Indians and two Nigerians were reportedly abducted onboard MT Apecus by suspected sea pirates off the coast of Bonny in Rivers on April 19. According to Ebo, the pirate attack occurred following disagreement between two alleged oil thieves over rights to lift stolen crude oil abroad. "Contrary to the initial reports, our investigation revealed that the abduction was rather as a result of failed oil theft collaboration," Ebo said. "Investigation revealed that one of the aggrieved syndicate resorted to the abduction of the five Indians and two Nigerians," Ebo said. A sister maritime agency revealed that MT Apecus had been conducting trading activities in Nigerian waters since 2014 without clearance and approval," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian business tycoons and expats in UAE hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP's resounding election victory on Thursday, saying they look forward to the continued focus of the government for the growth of trade and commerce in India. "Modi's previous term made Indians living outside the country very proud. NRIs are very pleased with the return of the Modi government," said Kamal Vachani, businessman and Group Director of Dubai-based Al-Maya. Dr B R Shetty, founder of NMC Healthcare, said with the Modi government coming back to power, "black market will be completely wiped out" from the country, the Gulf reported. Joy Alukkas, chairman and managing director of the Joyalukkas Group, said as an entrepreneur he "look forward to the continued focus of the government for the growth of trade and commerce in India". The positive response of the Sensex post announcement of the election results is surely reassuring for trade, commerce and businesses in India, he said, expecting some "great initiatives" for the gold and jewellery industry in the next five years. Vasu Shroff, chairman of the Regal Group of Companies, expressed hope that the new government fulfil the needs of the lower segment of the society. "They have basic needs for good education, electricity, clean drinking water, houses, roads," he said. Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of the Danube Group, said the results clearly showcases the "outstanding performance" of the NDA government in the last five years. "The NDA government's infrastructure push and its efforts to strengthen 'Brand India' is one of its biggest achievements. Also, I would like to thank the government for simplified tax structures and an easy tax administration which helped many brands like us to enter Indian market to generate more business and provide employment opportunities," he said. Dhananjay Datar, CMD of Al Adil Trading, said Modi has done much to put India on the global map. "We as Indians can look at investment opportunities anywhere in the world with the confidence that we are recognised," he said. Ram Buxani, chairman of ITL Cosmos Group, said Modi's re-election shows a "more stable India". However, he said, some of Modi's achievements have been short-lived. Citing examples, he said, "We have a long way to go as far as infrastructure is concerned. Water transportation is an area that requires much thought to be given into...Our ports too are not very developed. Exports are hampered." Bindu Suresh Chettur, a Dubai-based lawyer and former president of one of the most influential business forums in the UAE -- the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC), said she expects Modi to build a "newer and stronger" India. "This poll result is the reflection that soft power of India needs to be complemented with a strong economy by eradicating the shortcomings and make India a strong nation," she said. "It is proved beyond doubt that the people of India, especially the youth, have the capacity to identify and look for building a good future," Chettur said. However, for some, the end of the month-long election process, that had its share of mudslinging and political bickering, comes as a major relief. "Indian elections were one massive mudslinging affair I have ever witnessed...the results are just as astonishing. I just hope BJP rises above its saffron pursuit and gets empathetic towards the evident needs of our great nation," said Deeba Irfan, author and founder of TheWriteScene.com, a portal for writers. Sreedhar Bevara, General Manager at Panasonic, said, "Last five years, the foreign policy has been best in decades and my pride being an Indian is shining while representing India outside." "Modi," he said, "while continuing his successful reforms; I request him to continue to work on the major reform of incessant (no terms & conditions) and absolute free education and health to everyone, especially to those below poverty line," he said. Meanwhile, Sajeev Purushothaman, spokesperson of the NRI cell of BJP, said the party's victory is a reflection of the last five years of governance under the leadership of Modi and other BJP leaders. "We feel India has never had such a leadership earlier and it is absolutely the epitome of governance," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP appears to be making smart gains in Telangana leading in four Lok Sabha seats while ruling TRS was ahead in nine, much below its own expectations, as per official trends for all 17 segments in the state. The Congress also appears to be on way to improving its performance, as the party's candidates have established leads in four seats, according to the information available at 1 PM Thursday. AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi was ahead in Hyderabad seat, where he is seeking reelection for the fourth successive time, according to Election Commission sources. Owaisi was leading by 1.47lakhvotes over his BJP rival Bhagavanth Rao. The TRS headed by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the AIMIM had an electoral understanding in the April 11 elections, votes polled in which are being counted Thursday. The two parties had repeatedly claimed they would sweep the polls in a repeat of the December, 2018 assembly elocution outcome. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TRS had bagged 11 seats and the Congress two. The BJP, TDP, YSRCP and AIMIM had shared one each then. The BJP had suffered humiliating defeat in the assembly elections, winning just one seat and forfeiting deposits in more than 100 constituencies. The TRS had returned to power with a rich haul of 88 seats in the 119-member assembly. The Congress had turned in a poor performance with its candidates winning only in 19 assembly segments. But the Rahul Gandhi-led outfit suffered huge setbacks in the state with 11 MLAs announcing switching loyalty to the TRS since the beginning of March. TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Ministers daughter K Kavitha was trailing in Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat by 32,621 votes to BJP's D Arvind. BJP candidates were leading in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Secunderabad also. Congress nominees were ahead in Bhongir, Nalgonda, Chevella. Telangana Congress working president A Revanth Reddy was leading in Malkajgiri by 1,070 over TRSs M Rajasekhar Reddy as per the latest trends available. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy has established a lead of 18,370 votes in Nalgonda. Chevella sitting MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who joined the Congress on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections jumping the TRS ship, was leading by 12,700 votes over his nearest ruling party rival Ranjith Reddy. BJP candidate B Sanjay was leading by 74,198 votes against his nearest rival and sitting TRS MP B Vinod Kumar in Karimnagar after the second round. Soyam Bapurao of BJP was leading by 51,721 votes over his TRS rival Godam Nagesh in Adilabad, official sources said. Reacting to the poll trends, BJP General Secretary P Muralidhar Rao said the party represents "the of change in the southern states." BJP has put in efforts to emerge as the alternative in Telangana for many years and it is now clear that the state is extending its support to the leadership of Modi, Rao said. In Medak, TRS nominee Kotha Prabhakar Reddy was leading by 3.02 lakh votes over his Congress rival Anil Kumar Gali. Former union Minister Renuka Chowdary was trailing by 1.07 lakh votes in Khammam segment to TRS nominee N Nageswara Rao. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court will pronounce its order on May 29 on whether to grant pardon to Indrani Mukerjea, an accused in the INX Media corruption case in which former Union minister P Chidambaram is also an accused. Mukerjea was produced before Special Judge Anurag Sain on Thursday after being brought from Mumbai's Byculla Jail, where she is lodged for the alleged murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora. The court reserved the order after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted that it was in support of Mukerjea's plea to be made an approver as her statement would consolidate the evidence in the case. During the hearing, the court asked Mukerjea if there was any pressure on her, which she denied. "I am voluntarily willing to turn approver," she told the court. Besides Mukerjea and Chidambaram, the name of the former finance minister's son, Karti, has also cropped up in the case involving an amount of Rs 305 crore, which relates to a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media. The CBI had registered an FIR in the case on May 15, 2017 alleging irregularities in the FIPB clearance granted to the media group for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister. Thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also lodged a case against the company's founders -- former media baron Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani -- and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Mukerjeas are facing trial in a Mumbai court for allegedly conspiring to kill Sheena Bora, Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, in April, 2012. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid overwhelming trends in favour of the BJP, the party's Jammu and Kashmir chief, Ravinder Raina, said Thursday it is victory of nationalism in the country. Celebrations have started at the BJP state headquarters here as supporters chanted slogans and distributed sweets amid drums beats and bursting of firecrackers. "It is a vote for nationalism in the battle of nationalists and 'anti-nationalists'. It is a victory of the country's people. It is a victory of nationalism," Raina told reporters here. Raina said the country's 130 crore people have expressed full faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and given a befitting reply to the "mahamilawati" conglomeration led by the Congress. "This election was between the idea of Bharat and the idea of terrorism-launching-pad Pakistan," he claimed. "It is the victory of India and Modi ji and his strong and bold steps on all fronts," he said. Raina said the Congress and the Opposition's slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is a thief) have backfired. The BJP leader said elections should be held in the state and exuded confidence that the party would form the government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was Thursday discharged from AIIMS where he was admitted for at least one day for treatment of an undisclosed illness. Jaitley, 66, has not been attending office for about three weeks now and was admitted to AIIMS for undergoing tests and treatment for an undisclosed illness, sources said. A lawyer by profession, he has been the most important leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet and has often acted as the chief troubleshooter for the government. He is widely tipped to return as a minister in the second term of the Modi government but his health remains a key concern. While as Finance Minister he has steered through parliament major economic legislations such as the nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- which had languished for nearly two decades, he has also played key role in getting through several other laws such as the bill to ban the Muslim instant divorce practice known as 'triple talaq'. One of the most prolific voices in the Modi government and a key strategist, Jaitley did not contest the current Lok Sabha elections presumably because of his ill health. He lost his first parliamentary election from Amritsar in 2014 -- a loss which was considered one dark cloud in the BJP's largely blue sky that year. Suave and articulate, he has been the party's spokesperson for many years. He came to parliament at the age of 47 when he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, where Modi was the chief minister. Jaitley was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and when Modi swept to power in 2014, he was made the finance minister and also handled the additional charge of defence and information and broadcasting ministries for a short time. He had undergone surgery in the US on January 22 for a reported soft tissue cancer in his left leg, an illness that led to him not being able to present the Modi government's sixth and final budget of its current term. Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal was the stand-in finance minister who presented the interim budget for 2019-20. Jaitley had returned to India on February 9 after undergoing skin grafting. He is believed to had undergone some kind of a medical procedure again when he last month visited the US to attend the IMF-World Bank Group Spring Meetings. Jaitley had undergone renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS, New Delhi, with Goyal filling in for him at that time too. Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April 2018, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018. Earlier in September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Janata Dal(U), which is headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Thursday declared that the party would extend full support to the BJP which is heading for majority in Arunachal Pradesh assembly even if it emerged as the main opposition. We (JD-U) have already won six seats and are leading in another. The tally entitles us to the status of the main opposition party. But we will offer full support to the BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh. Even if we get the opposition party status we will be a friendly opposition, JD(U) national general secretary and chief spokesman K C Tyagi told PTI over phone. The BJP has won 30 seats and is leading in another in the 60-strong assembly in the north eastern state. Though allies in Bihar, the BJP and the JD(U) had fought separately in the remote north-eastern state bordering China. Nitish Kumar asserted that the tie-up was specific to Bihar. Arunachal Pradesh is the second state after Nagaland where the JD(U) has been able to make its footprint. It is a testimony to the growing appeal of our brand of that focusses on social justice coupled with development, Tyagi said. Notably, the JD(U) had vehemently opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, brought in the Parliament by the Narendra Modi government, which has been a volatile issue in the entire north-east. At its national executive meet held here earlier this year, the party had lashed out at the Congress for staging a walkout when the Bill was tabled in the Parliament saying it was tantamount to support. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A US banker was charged Thursday with approving millions of dollars in loans to President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort in expectation of getting a top level position in the new administration. Stephen Calk, the chairman of Chicago-based Federal Savings Bank, overturned resistance in his bank to lending USD 16 million to Manafort, who at the time in late 2016 faced losing valuable properties to foreclosure if he could not come up with new financing. In exchange, Calk detailed his preferred positions in the Trump cabinet in emails to Manafort, including Treasury secretary, Defense secretary, and secretary of the Army. If not any of those jobs, Calk told Manafort, he could accept an ambassadorship, listing by order of preference the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. Calk was charged with one count of financial institution bribery, which can bring a maximum 30 years in prison. The indictment said that Manafort, who continued to advise the Trump campaign after stepping down as chairman in August 2016, recommended Calk to a senior member of Trump's transition team that November. The transition official was not identified in the indictment, but emails produced as evidence in Manafort's fraud trial last year showed it was Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. In one November 30, 2016 email, Manafort proposed to Kushner that Calk be made Army secretary, stressing his loyalty and advocacy for the incoming president. Calk and two others being suggested for jobs by Manafort would advance Trump's agenda, he wrote, and "will be totally reliable and responsive to the Trump White House." Kushner replied the same day : "On it!" Calk was eventually interviewed to be deputy secretary of the army, but did not get the job. In late 2017, Manafort was arrested and charged with multiple counts of bank and tax fraud and money laundering, as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of the Trump campaign and Russian election meddling. That case exposed his relationship with Calk and the Federal Savings Bank, leading to Thursday's charges. Manafort was eventually sentenced to 90 months in prison in two separate court cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Special US Representative on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has done an amazing job by bringing the parties to the peace table, the Trump Administration said as the envoy briefed lawmakers in the US capitol on the progress in the peace process. "I think that the ambassador has done an amazing job at bringing the parties to the table that many in the US government probably thought would never be able to get to the table," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters here Wednesday. "He's making slow and steady progress in these talks," Ortagus said soon after Khalilzad briefed Congressmen. "I know he completed another round recently. While he has an incredibly tough job, I think that he is doing something that is important to the president, the secretary and the American people: to try to get a peaceful solution in Afghanistan," she said in response to a question. The Congressional hearing titled "The Reconciliation Process in Afghanistan" by Khalilzad was classified. During the briefing, Senator Bob Menendez said the peace process must incorporate the views of the different ethnicities and political factions across the country.The US must insist on an intra-Afghan dialogue and actively participate in helping to shape the terms of those negotiations, he said. "After being such an enormous factor in the course of Afghanistan over the past 18 years, it is neither fair nor realistic to expect Afghan political leaders to settle these differences without us at the intra-Afghan table and without the leverage afforded by US troops," he said. Referring to the recent remarks by Khalilzad about securing counter-terrorism guarantees, Menendez said this was perhaps the most critical component of a very complex peace deal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Thursday hailed the BJP-led NDA's performance in the Lok Sabha polls and gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and the state government's pro-people policies for the stupendous show. He said nationalism has been a major issue in the polls and since early days, it has been a core principle of the BJP. Khattar said Congress leaders failed to understand the public sentiment on nationalism and targeted the BJP for raking up the issue. Countering opposition's attack on BJP leaders for seeking votes in Modi's name, he said there was nothing wrong in doing so. "I had been maintaining from the beginning that the NDA will win with a comfortable majority. I had also said that in Haryana we will sweep. It is a big victory for us. This shows that there is a strong pro-incumbency. The credit for this victory goes to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah and pro-people policies of the government," Khattar said. He was talking to reporters here after the latest trends showed that the NDA appeared set to retain power at the Centre with a landslide margin. In Haryana too, the Bharatiya Janata Party was maintaining an unassailable lead on nine seats and was locked in a fight only in Rohtak constituency, where sitting MP Deepender Singh Hooda of the Congress is pitted against BJP's Arvind Sharma. "People saw through Congress' game plan. What did Congress promise in their manifesto regarding the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and sedition law, everyone knows. What was their stand on the Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. As far as our position is concerned, we remain committed to scrap the Article 370," Khattar said. "Privately, Congress leaders admitted that they did not have a tall, popular and a strong leader like Modi, which is why they used to object to BJP leaders seeking votes in Modi's name," he said. When asked was it "Modi factor" alone which worked in Haryana or whether "Khattar factor" worked as well, the chief minister said, "Interpretations are for media to make." Khattar said people fully backed his government for giving a transparent and clean administration, for providing good governance, giving jobs on merit and showing zero tolerance towards corruption. "People also rejected dynastic and regional and defeated it. In Haryana, it used to be said this area is stronghold of a particular leader and that leader is strong from other area, but we rose above these factors and undertook all-round development with spirit of Haryana ek, Haryavanvi ek and Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas," he said. Khattar said after exit polls showed the BJP-led NDA was headed to a landslide win, the opposition again started raising the EVM issue. "I often dub their EVM concerns as 'Ek Veham Mera'," he said. Asked about Hooda's performance in the polls, he said, "The Congress has paid for its policies, its culture of being self-centric and for its negative campaign." Meanwhile, the chief minister said the party was ready for the assembly polls now, which are due in October. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tirong Aboh, the National Peoples Party (NPP) candidate who was gunned down by suspected NSCN militants, has retained the Khonsa West assembly constituency in Arunachal Pradesh. Aboh, who was killed along with 10 others at 12 mile area in Tirap district on May 21, has defeated his lone rival Phawang Lowang of the BJP by 1055 votes as per results declared by the Election Commission Thursday. This is the first time that NPP has entered the electoral scene of Arunachal Pradesh thanks to Aboh but its win will be shortlived as the EC will soon announce the mandatory by-poll in the seat. Aboh was elected from the constituency in 2014 on Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) ticket. He was on his way to Khonsa from Dibrugarh on the fateful day when the suspected Naga militants opened fire on his convoy consisting four vehicles and killed him along with his son and nine others. Among the dead were two police personnel, officials said. Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu said that the Election Commission has to conduct by-election in the seat within six months as per rules. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajashekharan, who contested from Thiruvananthapuram constituency was defeated atthe hands of senior Congress leader and former union minister Sashi Tharoor. For Tharoor it was a hat-trick of wins from the prestigious constituency by over a margin of nearly a lakh votes. A former diplomat and well known author, Tharoor managed to garner over 4.16 lakh votes whereas Rajashekharan got 3.16 lakh votes. The Left had fielded its sitting MLA of CPI, C Divakaran, who managed only 2.5 lakh votes. Rajasekharan had resigned as governor of the North eastern state in March to contest as the BJP's candidate in the Lok Sabha polls from Thiruvananthapuram. The 66-year-old Rajashekharan began his career as a RSS worker in the 1970s and served aspresident of the Kerala unit of the BJP between December 2015 and May 2018 before his elevation to the gubernatorial post. It was under Rajasekharan's leadership that the BJP opened its account in Kerala by winning the Nemom seat in the 2016 assembly polls. Rajasekharan was made the Mizoram Governor on May 25 last in a surprise move when the crucial Chengannur Assembly bypoll was round the corner. A section of party workers had demanded since then the return of the senior leader to active O Rajagopal, a senior BJP leader and the party's sole MLA in the state assembly, had given a tough fight to Tharoor in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He had garnered 2,83,226 votes then with Tharoor winning by a margin of little over 15,000 votes. The BJP had pinned its hopes on Thiruvananthapuram, especially in view of the Sabarimala issue over which a large number of people, including women, had come out against the LDF government's decision to implement the Supreme Court verdict, permitting women of menstrual age to offer prayers at the Lord Ayyappa shrine. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Pakistani court, in a first of its kind verdict in the recent history, Thursday sentenced a lawyer to over 18 years in jail for injuring a judge by throwing a chair at him during the hearing of a case in Faislabad. The Faislabad anti-terrorism court sent Advocate Imran Manj in prison for 18-and-a-half-years and also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on him for attacking the judge. Manj had on April 25 thrown a chair at Civil Judge Khalid Mahmood Waraiach during the hearing of a case in the Jaranwala district court in Faislabad, about 150 kms from here. The judge suffered injuries in the attack. Following the attack, the judges also boycotted work in protest against the attack and demanded action against the lawyer. The Punjab Bar Council has also cancelled the lawyer's licence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Registering its worst poll performance in over six decades, the Left Front was virtually wiped off its bastions on Thursday with the Lok Sabha poll trends showing that it was headed towards a debacle. With the latest trends showing the Left parties leading in only six seats, both party leaders and ideologues acknowledged that the need of the hour was not just bringing in changes in the organisational structure, but also altering their approach towards electoral The 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be the first time since 1952 that the Left Front will not end up with double digits in the general election. Till now, while it had put up its most dismal show in 2014, winning only 12 seats -- 12 less than what it had won in 2009 -- its highest ever tally of 59 seats had come in 2004. "The political ideology of the Left still has relevance, but it is not in tune with electoral We need to do serious introspection, rework strategies, reorganise and reconnect with the masses," CPI leader D Raja said, adding that young blood had to be infused for the resurgence of the Left in the country. Once a Left stronghold, the CPI(M) is leading in only one seat in Kerala -- Alappuzha. Another Left party, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), is leading in the Kollam seat in Kerala, but it is a part of the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the southern state. The Left parties had bagged five seats in Kerala in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In West Bengal, a state ruled by the Left for 34 uninterrupted years, it is all set to draw a blank in its worst-ever performance. It had won two seats in the state in 2014. Five years hence, it has not even managed to bag the second spot in any of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats. "To think that the Left Front has an ideological influence over people is the basic failure of the Left parties. Communities seem to be Left-leaning because of class interests like farmers, who feel their issues will be addressed by these parties. However, I am not sure they vote for the Left as their ideology may be different. "The Left has failed to culturally influence them with its ideology and thus, it remains confined to their basic class interests," professor, author and Left ideologue Chaman Lal said. The Left Front, comprising the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the RSP, enjoyed its golden period in electoral in the 1990s and early 2000s. It had governments in three states during this period and held around 55-60 seats in Parliament. It played the role of kingmaker for the Third Front governments during 1996-98 by joining a 13-party coalition and for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004. However, with the loss in the hands of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal in 2011, to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tripura in 2018 and staring at a humiliating defeat against the Congress in Kerala in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, its ideological influence seems to be waning. In West Bengal, where the Left Front bagged around 23 per cent votes in 2014, its vote share has reduced to a mere seven per cent five years down the line. At the same time, the BJP's vote share has gone up to 40.1 per cent from 17.2 per cent. The TMC too has increased its vote share from 39.7 per cent in 2014 to 43.5 per cent. "When we talk of the Left's relevance, we have to differentiate between the Left ideology and the Left-leaning political parties. The Left ideology is based on equality and the parties have not been able to reach out to the people and explain it. They are in electoral politics, but they never prepared themselves for it. "They have never fought for power at the Centre. They have never contested over 100 seats. So, they are perceived by the voter to be an ally, a regional force, never the prospective ruling party at the Centre. Their flaw also lies in the fact that they think that the Left ideology has an answer to all problems. Due to this arrogance, they have failed to reinvent themselves with the changing times," Apoorvanand, a professor of the Delhi University, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bollywood celebrities including Asha Bhosle, Rajinikanth, Dharmendra and Ekta Kapoor have congratulated the ruling BJP for the Lok Sabha Polls result after current trends indicate a clean sweep for the party for a second consecutive term. This year, actors like Sunny Deol, Urmila Matondkar, Shatrughan Sinha and Prakash Raj among others contested polls. While Sunny, a BJP candidate from Gurdaspur is leading by over 82,000 votes, Urmila is trailing against BJP's Gopal Shetty in Mumbai North. Dharmendra took to Twitter to congratulate both his son and PM Narendra Modi with a picture of the two. "Faqeer Badshah Modi Ji, Dharti puttra Sunny Deol, Congratulations. Achhe Din Yaqeenan Ayen ge (Dervish-king Modi ji, son of soil Sunny Deol, Congratulations. Good days will definitely arrive)" the veteran actor captioned the post. Dharmendra also congratulated his wife, actor Hema Malini, who is contesting from a BJP ticket from Mathura for a second time in a row. She is currently leading with over 180,000 votes. "Hema, Congratulations. We love Mother India, we have proved in Bikaner and Mathura. We will keep our (national flag) flying. Always," he said referencing to his own win from Bikaner in 2004. Malini, on her part, credited Modi for BJP's win. "What a clean sweep!The opposition & the Congress silenced totally! Modiji, after having suffered so many insults, many personal, stands totally vindicated as a true nationalist in whom the masses have reposed complete faith & view as a leader who can make India excel in all spheres," the actor tweeted. Rajinikanth, who has been planning his political debut for a while now, congratulated Modi for the win. "Respected dear @narendramodi ji hearty congratulations... You made it !!! God bless," the South superstar wrote on Twitter. Producer Ekta Kapoor posted a picture on Instagram with her son Ravie sitting in front of the TV, watching the results for Amethi, where her long-time friend and former actor Smriti Irani is contesting from. "All eyes on Amethi, we are rooting for our aunt," she captioned. Futher, in a tweet, the producer said the country has "decided its leaders for the next five years and most Indians are on different platforms seeing them emerge! JAI HIND!" Actor Riteish Deshmukh took to Twitter and wrote, "India has decided - Democracy needs to be celebrated. Many Congratulations to our Hon Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji on this huge verdict." Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur in a tweet wondered why the world "does not want to believe the Indian Voter has a mind of its own.""The rubbish I have been reading makes them look like sheep following a herd. 85 million are first time voters who voted for a better future. The results will declare who they believe will give it to them," he tweeted. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta wrote that it is time for "many of us to understand the changed narrative of our times". "People have voted and their vote is for a firm and stable government at the centre. Was there any need for the violent, vitriolic and personal campaign run by parties, leaders and media?" On a lighter note, the election also saw actor Sunny Leone trend on Twitter after a leading TV anchor slipped up during his election broadcast, mistakenly saying "Sunny Leone" instead of "Sunny Deol". The joke was not lost on Leone, who joined the meme-fest with her own tongue-in-cheek remark. "Leading by How many votes?" she tweeted with a wink emoji. Amid the congratulatory messages, there were some who could not help but take a pot shot at the condition of the opposition in India. "BJP ki vishaal jeet ke liye saare Vipaksh ko badhaaiyaan. Aap sab ke sehyog ke bina ye jeet lagbhag namumkin thi. (Congratulations to the Opposition for the great victory of BJP. This win was nearly impossible without your support)," actor Deepak Dobriyal wrote on Twitter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) He lost his bastion Amethi, failed as party president, handing the BJP an unprecedented victory, and left many with this question -- is it time to write Rahul Gandhi's political epitaph? In a classic case of win some and lose plenty, Gandhi was poised to enter the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala with trends showing he might win with more than 7 lakh votes, amongst the highest totals in this Lok Sabha election. Dismissed as Pappu by some and crown prince by others, Gandhi appeared to take the poll debacle on the chin, congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for their win and also expressing the hope that the BJP's Smriti Irani takes care of Amethi "with love". "I accept 100 per cent responsibility," Gandhi said at a press conference after it became evident the party was headed for a rout. He sidestepped a question on whether he will resign, saying it was for the CWC to take a call on this. Gandhi singularly led the 2019 campaign, holding 150 rallies, 10 press conferences and many road shows during the poll campaign starting February. But it came to nought. As the grand old party prepared for five years in the pale shadows of its glorious past, it seemed the party may not get the Leader of Opposition status in the Lok Sabha for the second time in a row. The party won 11 and was leading in 40, giving it a possible 51 seats, three less than the 54 it needs for the LOP post. The shock verdict will be fully attributable to the 48-year-old and his sister and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The brother and sister were the star campaigners for the in this election and together steered the party narrative and line. This was the first Lok Sabha election where their mother, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, did not campaign and neither did former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Many in the party questioned the strategy of keeping Singh away from the campaign circuit. That the managed a measly gain of around 10 per cent since it won 44 MPs, its lowest ever in the 2014 LS polls, makes matters worse for Gandhi who took over as party president in December 2017 and promised a revival. Until late last year, when Gandhi successfully captained the party to victory in the three Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it seemed he was in some position to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi has grown in confidence over the years, addressing press conferences, answering questions and tackling the BJP government on a host of issues. He often challenged Modi to a debate. But the gains were soon squandered as the dithered on strategy for national elections jumping from issue to issue and never quite understanding what would work. The party and its president, it seemed, were also unable to articulate their views effectively enough. The Rafale fighter jet deal was one such example, turning a cropper in the electoral battlefield, party leaders said. Although Gandhi addressed over 10 press conferences on the issue in the hope that it would stick, today's results show people were not even listening. Party insiders privately speak of having flagged the futility of Rafale to Gandhi but to no avail. What's worse was the "chowkidar chor hai" slogan Gandhi coined for Modi and used it relentlessly during the campaign. Modi turned it around with his counter "Main bhi chowkidar" to great effect. Results show Modi's counter was accepted by the people something a section of Congress leaders had a hunch about. Veteran Congress people were therefore never heard raising the "chowkidar" slogan which many thought was needless and negative. Gandhi's flagship minimum income guarantee scheme "Nyay", which he personally steered, also came rather late in the day and eventually did not resonate on the ground. "It seems the 'Chowkidaar' proved heavy over the 'Nyay' scheme and the Rs 72,000 per year dole to wipe out poverty from the country did not work," a party veteran said. Party leaders also said the top leadership would have to sit and deliberate on why their narrative failed to resonate on the ground. Gandhi's personal decision to not strike potential alliances with AAP in Delhi and BSP, SP and RLD in Uttar Pradesh and to field his own candidates against anti-BJP fronts also proved dear. The BJP held on to Uttar Pradesh, leading in 60 seats, leaving the SP-BSP alliance with 16 and the Congress with only one, and swept Delhi's seven seats. That the Congress, once led by titans like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, has come to look like regional players is a matter of huge concern to Congress veterans who feel Gandhi would need to undertake brutal and honest personal and organisational dissection to keep the party afloat. The absence of its charismatic leader late J Jayalalithaa appeared to have cost the ruling AIADMK dear as it is staring at a virtual rout with the DMK staging a spectacular electoral comeback in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats,the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the BJP. Trends in the counting of votes polled in the April 18 indicate a possibility of victory in only two of the 20 Parliamentary constituencies AIADMK contested, of the total 38 in the state. The AIADMK fought the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on its own and Jayalaalithaa had famously said then "this lady is better than BJP's Modi" as she led the party to the landslide victory. In a total reversal, DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance is ahead in 36 seats, leaving AIADMK far behind with leads in just two seats as Tamil Nadu remained untouched by the "Modi wave". Ousted leader TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK damaged the prospects of the AIADMK in several constituencies though the new party is not in a position to win seats. The downslide of AIADMK saw heavyweights including Deputy Speaker in outgoing Lok Sabha M Thambidurai trailing by huge margins. Its ally BJP's nominee and union minister Pon Radhakrishan is also facing defeat in Kanyakumari seat. Striking an alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls, AIADMK top guns Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam had bet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership to steer the nation. The ruling party campaign by Palaniswami took pride that the AIADMK-led combine is a "mega coalition" and would win the polls hands down. In all campaign meetings, Palaniswami did not miss an opportunity to mention about how the country was safe in the hands of Modi - a reference to the Balakot air strikes- and why such a secure ambience was essential for development. Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah addressed rallies in Tamil Nadu, highlighting how the Central government had facilitated several schemes, including setting up of an AIIMS Hospital near Madurai. The DMK targeted the AIADMK regime as being 'subservient' to the BJP-led government 'compromising' interests of Tamil Nadu on a host of issues, including on the National Eligbility cum Entrance Test. The NEET, over a period of time emerged as an emotive issue, especially among the youth. The only saving grace for AIADMK was that Panneerselvam's son P Raveendranathkumar was ahead of his nearest Congress rival E V K S Elangovan in Theni and P Chandrasekar leading in Chidambaram by a slender margin. AIADMK candidates too are trailing in all the three seats in Chennai and in the party's traditional strongholds, including Pollachi in western Tamil Nadu. While the DMK is looking to wrest all the 19 seats it fought, its allies the Congress appears set to win eight, IUML one and CPI (M) and CPI two each. Besides, MDMK, VCK and KMDK and IJK had contested one seat each on DMK symbol and will take the Dravidian party's tally to 23. to 38 seats in the state were held on April 18. Polling in Vellore constituency had been countermanded following allegations of malpractices. With election trends suggesting the NDA making huge gains, UPA ally Nationalist Congress Party Thursday conceded defeat of the alliance in the Lok Sabha polls, saying "unfortunately" the Congress' performance was not up to the mark. Saffron party leaders have attributed the performance to the "leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, and termed it "historic". The BJP, on its own, is leading in over 290 seats, while its main rival Congress is ahead in 52 of the 542 Lok Sabha constituencies that went to polls across the country. The NCP is leading at four seats. "We have some setbacks and we find that unfortunately the Congress didn't perform up to the mark," senior NCP leader Majeed Memon told a private channel. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014. Swaraj India president and political analyst Yogendra Yadav told a private TV channel, "This is clear mandate for the Modi-led BJP government...Caste combination looks good on paper but merely caste combination does not work. You need a big loud message that opposition did not have." "Combination of (Narendra) Modi and (Amit) Shah is very unique and important. This victory is a result of the leadership of Modi and Shah, and the hardwork of lakhs of party workers," said Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar. The results are a resounding endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security and nationalism. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma said,"Hard work pays.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah worked very hard...Let me tell you there is no TINA (there in no alternative) factor. Its pro-incumbency votes." "This is the victory of India. The BJP has created history under the leadership of Amit Shah. Congratulations to countrymen and party workers," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said. On poll trends for West Bengal, BJP leaders said people were angry with Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who they said, has failed on all fronts. BJP's Tripura in-charge Sunil V Deodhar said,"The election results in Bengal show that people are angry with Banerjee.People are under threat. The TMC has failed on all fronts." The work done by Modi gave people the confidence that he should be reelected, he said. While Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told a TV channel the days of Banerjee are numbered, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said the people of Bengal were "fed up" with Banerjee, and that is why BJP is winning In a tweet, Railway minister Piyush Goyal congratulated Modi for the historic win and Yoga Guru Ramdev said policies of the prime minister is for the welfare 125 crore Indians. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Counting of votes for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh got underway at 292 centres in 51 district headquarters on Thursday and the first results are expected by 10 pm, an election official said. All eyes will be on the Bhopal Lok Sabha which seat saw a keen contest between Congress veteran Digvijay Singh and Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur. Around 1,800 CCTV cameras have been installed at the counting centres where internet and wi-fi services will not be available, state Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters. "The counting of votes began from 8 am. Given the number of candidates and counting rounds, the first result may start coming in by 10 pm," he said. After the end of counting, five randomly selected Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips from each Assembly segment of that particular Lok Sabha seat would be matched with the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said. The highest 29 rounds of counting will be held in Indore and the lowest 14 in Katni, he said. Around 9,000 personnel, including 17 companies of central forces, have been deployed for the security of strong rooms in which the EVMs have been kept, Rao said. Polling for the 29 seats in the central state was held in four phases on April 29 (six seats), May 6 (seven seats), May 12 (eight seats) and May 19 (eight seats). In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJP bagged 27 of these seats while the Congress managed to win only two. Later, the Congress increased its tally to three by winning the Ratlam seat by-election. After wresting power from the BJP in the state after last year's Assembly elections, the Congress is optimistic of a good show in the Lok Sabha polls. The Guna and Chhindwara seats, won by Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath, respectively, in 2014 were in limelight this time. The Congress this time nominated Nakul Nath from Chhindwara after his father and sitting MP Kamal Nath became the state's chief minister. Other prominent faces in this election were BJP state president Rakesh Singh (from Jabalpur), party leader Prahlad Patel (Damoh), Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar (Morena), ex-Union ministers and Congress nominees Kantilal Bhuria (Ratlam-Jhabua), Arun Yadav (Khandwa), and former leader of opposition Ajay Singh (Sidhi). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Counting of votes began Thursday for 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra where trends are likely to start coming in by afternoon while the final results are expected in the evening, officials said. A total of 98,430 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used for the four-phase polls in the state where counting is taking place at 48 counting centres in 38 locations from 8 am, an election official said. "The trends are likely to start coming in by afternoon and results by 4 pm," he said. Over a lakh polling staff and around 50,000 police personnel have been deployed in the state, the official said. Maharashtra, which has the second highest number of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the country after Uttar Pradesh's 80, went to polls in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 and a total of 867 candidates were in the fray. The voter turnout this time was 60.80 per cent, up from 60.32 per cent in 2014. According to officials, maximum counting rounds of 35 each will be held in Palghar and Bhiwandi seats, followed by 33 in Bhandara-Gondiya and Thane, and 32 in Beed and Shirur. Hatkanangale will have the lowest 17 rounds of counting while there will be 18 rounds each in Amravati and Sangli, they said. "Counting personnel will randomly select five EVMs from each Assembly segment for VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) checking. If a candidate demands a particular EVM be chosen, it will be done and one of the voting machines randomly chosen will be dropped," the official said. Information and trends would be uploaded on the website ceo.maharashtra.gov.in and would also be available on toll free number 1950, he said, adding a control room was set up at the state secretariat for the media. "Several digital hoardings have been set up at the state secretariat in Mumbai. For the first time, the election trends and results will be seen on digital signboards of the traffic police department. At the district level, information will be provided after every round of counting," he said. Union ministers Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Hansraj Ahir (Chandrapur), Subhash Bhamre (Dhule), Anant Geete (Raigad), Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan (Nanded) and former Union Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde (Solapur) were among the key contestants from the state. Police are guarding three counting centers in Mumbai Thursday with the help of Central forces, officials said. Counting of votes for six parliamentary constituencies in the city is being held at the NESCO Complex in Goregaon, Udayanchal School in Vikhroli and New Sewree Warehouse in Sewree East. Strict security arrangements have been put in place in other parts of Maharashtra for the counting day, a police official said. As many as 1,500 police officers and personnel are guarding the counting centers in Mumbai along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Reserve Police Force, Quick Response Teams (QRT) and Riot Control Police, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A rare blend of grit and pragmatism, Mamata Banerjee was seen as a potential prime minister in the event of the NDA failing to pass muster with voters in the Lok Sabha elections. But that was before Thursday when any such ambition she may have cherished got drowned in cacophonous celebration of the BJP's resounding victory. But for a tweet she made congratulating the "winners", the once obscure milk vendor-turned-slayer of the 34-year-old communist rule in West Bengal lay cocooned at her Kalighat home in south Kolkata through the day. The sharp-tongued leader made friends across parties and jettisoned them with equal ease during her political career spanning nearly four decades, but probably failed to see which way the wind was blowing this time. Arguably the most strident critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee was courted by regional satraps of all hues--from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to her Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao. Born in 1955 into a lower middle class family to Promileshwar and Gayatri Banerjee, she lost her father when she was quite young. She worked for a while at a milk booth as vendor- attendant. Banerjee cut her political teeth as a student leader of the Congress during the tumultuous 1970s when a massive public upsurge against the Indira Gandhi dispensation led to its downfall and saw the installation of the first non- Congress government in New Delhi. She was mentored by Subrata Mukherjee, then a firebrand Congress leader who, ironically, is now a minister in her government. A graduate in history and Islamic history, with a law degree to boot, she first hit newspaper headlines when she held a dramatic protest against Narayan. It was alleged that she danced on the bonnet of the car of JP, as the socialist icon was fondly called by his supporters. But the turning point in her career came in 1984 when she defeated CPI(M) veteran Somnath Chatterjee in Jadavpur in her maiden outing in a Lok Sabha election. Impressed with her organisational skills, Rajiv Gandhi, then the Congress president, appointed Banerjee, one of the youngest MPs aged 29, as general secretary of All India Youth Congress. She lost Jadhavpur seat to redoubtable Somnath Chatterjee in 1989 but was back there in 1991 from Calcutta South Lok Sabha seat, considered her pocket borough from where she remained an MP till 2011 before she took over as the chief minister. She was appointed Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development by P V Narasimha Rao in 1991. In 1993, she was divested of her portfolios after differences arose over her plans to develop sports. Banerjee's differences with the Congress leadership and its policy of keeping the Marxists in good humour in New Delhi angered her, and in 1996, during one such protest against the state Congress leadership, she had wrapped a black shawl around her neck and threatened to immolate herself. In January 1998, she broke away from the Congress and formed Trinamool Congress, vowing to oust the Left Front from the state. In her bid to defeat the Left, she cosied up to the BJP and was the railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet from 1999 to 2001. Just ahead of the state assembly polls in 2001, she walked out of the NDA over Tehelka expose on murky defence deals and joined hands with the Congress. The assembly elections were a fiasco for the TMC chief and she was back into the NDA fold in 2004, holding the mines and coal portfolios. Later that year, when the Congress stormed back to power, she was the only TMC MP in the Lok Sabha, marking one of the lowest points of her political career. Another debacle came in the 2006 assembly elections, when her party could win just 29 of the state's 294 seats. When political pundits began writing her epitaph, the 'street fighter Didi' of Bengal sprang to life as protests erupted in Singur and Nandigram the same year over forcible acquisition of farmland for setting up industries. The four years that followed were the most momentous in the contemporary political history of West Bengal as it witnessed a tectonic political shift, with Banerjee leading a spirited fight against the Left Front government over the alleged excesses in Singur and Nandigram. She reaped the dividends of the pervasive public anger in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The TMC joined hands with the Congress and bagged 19 seats, virtually setting the stage for the downfall of the once formidable Left Front. The assembly elections of 2011 were historic, as she decimated the Left in one of its longest-standing bastions. Banerjee's party ended the Left Front's 34-year unbroken stint in power, winning a whopping 184 seats riding the crest of massive public outrage against the Communists, who were restricted to just 60 seats. The tempestuous and temperamental leader, however, walked out of the Congress-led UPA 2 in 2012 to protest the government's decision to allow FDI in retail. Her grip over West Bengal grew stronger when she beat the Communists hollow in the 2016 assembly polls, winning a staggering 211 seats. The Left Front, with just 32 seats in its kitty, even lost its position as the main opposition party which went to the Congress that clinched 44. With the BJP making deep inroads into her territory, it remains to be seen if and how the 'Bengal tigress' manages to halt the BJP juggernaut when Kolkata and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporations and 93 other municipal bodies go to polls next year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police in northern Mexico have freed 24 kidnapped Cuban and Central American migrants and arrested five Hondurans accused of abducting them. Drug and kidnap gangs in Mexico frequently target migrants, extorting money by forcing them to call relatives in the United States to get money. But the kidnappers are seldom also migrants. Prosecutors in the northern border state of Sonora said Wednesday that the migrants were freed after one of them managed to make a call to police. The victims included six minors and one pregnant woman. Four Honduran men and one woman have been charged with kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. Migrants from other countries frequently cross Mexico without proper documents trying to reach the US border. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi should prioritise land and labour reforms in his second term, analysts said Thursday. The people's verdict - which has the NDA cruising to power such that the BJP will itself have a comfortable majority - will ensure in policy continuity, they said. Domestic rating agency Crisil said the policy continuity presents at "opportunity to push tougher reforms particularly - land and labour". It added that the economy is undergoing cyclical downturn at present which has seen a dip in growth to the 7 per cent levels. The agency's peer Care Ratings said the developments on the political front are extremely positive for the economy as the government can continue to pursue its economic framework "without any legislative hindrance as the majority is absolute". It said labour reforms are necessary from the point of industrial flexibility as well as employment generation and asked for it to be looked into in a time-bound manner. A re-look is needed on land acquisition policies, it said, adding that this will help get investments from foreign and private capital. American brokerage Goldman Sachs suggested the land reforms can include transparent auctions and digitisation on the land front, an enabling environment for labour. The government should also look at privatisation - a politically sensitive issue - beyond being a source of revenue, Care Ratings said, adding such a measure will help in efficiency enhancement. Crisil advised the government to take long pending hard decisions upfront and also create necessary fiscal space for infra spending. Among other priorities, it should also look at financial sector distress, ease out GST and IBC frameworks and address the distress in farm sector. Both the rating agencies said employment creation -- lack of which was attempted to be exploited by the Opposition in the campaign -- should be a key focus for the new government. "Unlike the BJPs first term, where prudence came at the cost of growth, the policy priority in the second term will be reigniting growth with prudence as a secondary priority," analysts at the Japanese brokerage Nomura said. Watchers will be keenly look at composition of key Cabinet ministers, it added. Private sector lender Yes Bank's chief economist Shubhada Rao said boosting rural consumption, the troubled non-bank lenders and wading through the global trade war will be the immediate economic priorities for the new government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a super-sized victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. The BJP got an absolute majority bagging 272 of the 458 seats, results of which were declared past midnight and was on course to touch the 300-seat mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Leading in another 31 seats, the BJP is set to surpass its 2014 performance when it won 282 seats. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) are poised to clinch around 350 seats as against their previous 336. Such was the force of the BJP wave that even Congress President Rahul Gandhi lost in his bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to Smriti Irani, but in consolation prize won the Wayanad seat in Kerala. Former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda also bit the dust when he lost the Tumkur seat in Karnataka where the BJP bagged 25 of the 28 seats. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Modi is the third prime minister of the country and the first non-Congress one -- who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. The victory margin left the combined opposition in the dust, with the Congress Party topping the group winning or leading in 52 seats, according to the partial results. Much like the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, the lower house of the Parliament may be again bereft of the leader of opposition (LOP) since going by the available trends, the Congress may fall short of the 54-mark needed for the LOP status but marginally improve its all time low tally of 44 in 2014. The euphoria of the victory was capped by a sombre speech by Modi in which he promised to devote "every moment of my life and every fibre of my body" to the welfare of the nation. He also vowed that he will never do anything with ill-intention, nor will he do anything to enrich himself. "Whenever you judge me, judge me on these three parameters. If I fall short on these, curse me. But I assure my countrymen that what I have said in public I will do my best to fulfil," he said. "We had gone to people seeking mandate to build a new India. People have given us their blessings for it." Striking a conciliatory political tone, he also reached out to his rivals, urging everyone to put the rancour of the bitter and often nasty campaign behind them. What's past is past, he said. "We have to move ahead. We have to take everyone with us, even our opponents. We have to work for the benefit of the country," he said. "You have filled this fakir's bag with a lot of hope. All your hopes, dreams, ambitions are dependent on it," he told cheering partymen at BJP headquarters in the national capital. Modi easily won his seat in Varanasi with a margin of over 4.5 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah took Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 5.5 lakh votes. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted in his first reaction to BJP's landslide win. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said. Modi and Shah arrived at the party headquarters to a rapturous welcome by supporters. Modi waved victory signs with both arms in the air as rose petals were showered on the duo, the two most powerful men in the country. He then proceeded to garland the statues of BJP idealogue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Minutes later, a gigantic garland in BJP colours of saffron and green was held around Modi by other dignitaries. In the end, Modi's proclamation of "Ab ki baar 300 paar" just a few days ago looks set to come true as Gandhi's campaign slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" and promises of annual income guarantee were soundly rejected by voters. In almost all the states where BJP won, its vote share was more than 50 percent while the Congress failed to open the account in 13 states. The results have raised questions about Gandhi's leadership and his party's future. At a press conference, Gandhi refused to address that issue, saying the party will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the future. "The people of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect it," Gandhi said. He also congratulated Modi and BJP, adding that today is not the day to into the cause of the defeat but to respect the will of the people. The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security following the Balakot air strikes, nationalism and Hindutva. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes, including endemic corruption. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. Still, the results show that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. "The of casteism, dynasty and appeasement has been buried in this massive mandate to BJP," Shah said in the presence of Modi. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP is expected to win 62 of the 80 seats at stake. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is far better than the 30-40 seats many exit polls had forecast. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also bulldozed through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP is expected to win four seats, while the Telangana Rashtra Samiti will get nine. However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress. The results were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent Assembly elections: it swept all but one of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 24 out of 25 in Rajasthan and nine out of 11 in Chattisgarh. Similar was the story in Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Delhi. Among the big-name casualties were Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge who lost his Kalburgi seat in Karnataka and Jyotiraditya Scindia in Guna Madhya Pradesh. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh lost the Bhopal seat to Sadhvi Pragya Sharma. The BJP also made huge gains in Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana In Odisha, the BJP was ahead in eight of the 21 seats, up from one last time. In West Bengal, it was expected to win 18 seats, up from two in 2014, all at the expense of the Left while the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC's tally is set to come down to 22 from 34. In Telangana, the BJP was set to win four. Congress ally DMK won or was ahead in 23 of the 38 seats in Tamil Nadu while in Kerala, the Congress-led UDF won or was leading in 19 out of 20 seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP will not only surpass its 2014 performance but also cross 300 seats on its own. Until 7.30 p.m., the BJP had won 42 seats and was leading in 260 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases in April and May. It demolished the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck at 11 confirmed victories and a lead in 40 seats, according to the partial results. Modi easily won his seat in Varanasi with a margin of over 4.3 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah took Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 5.5 lakh votes. "With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India," Modi tweeted. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said. Modi and Shah arrived at the party headquarters in New Delhi to a rapturous welcome by supporters. Modi waved victory signs with both arms in the air as rose petals were showered on the duo, the two most powerful men in the country. He then proceeded to garland the statues of BJP idealogue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Minutes later, a gigantic garland in BJP colours of saffron and green was held around Modi by other dignitaries. In the end, Modi's proclamation of "Ab ki baar 300 paar" just a few days ago looks set to come true as Congress President Rahul Gandhi's campaign slogan of "chowkidar chor hai" and promises of annual income guarantee found no resonance among voters. In almost all the states where BJP won, its vote share was more than 50 percent. The results have raised questions about Gandhi's leadership and his party's future. At a press conference, Gandhi refused to address that issue, saying the party will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the future. "The people of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect it," Gandhi told reporters. He also congratulated Modi and BJP, adding that today is not the day to into the cause of the defeat but to respect the will of the people. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will likely end up with 344 seats, up from 336 in 2014. The BJP, which is now tantalisingly close to the 300 mark in Lok Sabha, had won 282 seats on its own in the last election. Congratulating Modi and party workers "for achieving this miraculous win," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said "aspirational India does not accept Royalties, Dynasties and caste based parties." The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security following the Balakot air strikes, nationalism and Hindutva. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes, including endemic corruption. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. Still, the results show that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP is expected to win 59 of the 80 seats at stake. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is far better than the 30-40 seats many exit polls had forecast. The BJP state headquarters in Lucknow was drenched in saffron hue with jubilant party workers wearing saffron stoles, adorning 'genda' flowers around their necks and holding lotus cut outs. They also burst crackers and danced to drum beats as women supporters wore saffron attire and painted their nails in the same hue. In a stark contrast, Congress, BSP and SP offices wore a forlorn look. Under the scorching sun, even shop owners selling campaign material outside the SP office sat in stunned silence as those gathered around the tea kiosks talked in hushed tones Even Gandhi lost his seat in Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. He, however, was on course to win Wayanad in Kerala. "Congress party is feeling dejected," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters. "Congress needs to introspect as to why its campaign failed to resonate with the people of the country," he said. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also bulldozed through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP is expected to win four seats, while the Telangana Rashtra Samiti will get nine. However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the Assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Modi is the third prime minister of the country _ and the first non-Congress one -- who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. The results were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent Assembly elections: it swept all but one of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 24 out of 25 in Rajasthan and nine out of 11 in Chattisgarh. Similar was the story in Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Delhi and notably Karnataka, where it is expected to win 25 out of 28 seats. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP's Amit Malviya said. In Odisha, the BJP made huge gains, forging ahead in nine of the 21 seats while the Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 12. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP had taken one. Odisha also held simultaneous Assembly polls, in which the BJD is set to return to power, indicating that the voters chose smartly, opting for the status quo in both state and centre. In West Bengal, a stronghold of Trinamool Congress Party, the BJP made terrific gains with 18 expected victories, up from two in 2014, all at the expense of Left parties. The TMC is expected to win 22. Congress ally DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu while in Kerala, the Congress-led UDF was ahead in 19 out of 20 seats. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. The voting was staggered between April 11 and May 19 in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the ground of excessive use of money power. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As celebrations broke out across the BJP's headquarters on Thursday with the party leading in 294 seats, senior ministers and alliance partners congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the victory described variously as a tsunami and a landslide. Senior ministers Sushma Swaraj, Suresh Prabhu and Ramvilas Paswan were among those who credited Modi with being at the centre of the electoral victory. "It was not an election but Modi tsunami. I heartily congratulate Narendra Modi," Consumer Affairs Minister and Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswan said in a tweet. His ministerial colleague, the BJP's Prabhu, also likened the win to a tsunami. "It's nothing short of a landslide, a political tsunami sweeping entire country, east or west, BJP is the best, is a reality. North to south people have voted for a clear, unambiguous choice... country must progress further under the leadership of Narendra Modi... ," Prabhu said in tweet. "Election results clear vote for performance, vision, leadership, huge outreach, charisma, non stop-24/7 hard work, service to nation by Narendra Modi," he added. Congratulating Modi for the landslide victory, Swaraj said she was grateful to the people of the country. Another minister Jayant Sinha said people of India had given their blessings to Modi. "The people of India have given us their blessings to Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, NDA allies, and all of us karyakartas (party workers) have worked diligently to take our work and message to every voter across our vast and diverse nation." Another minister Rajayavardhan Singh Rathore said,"My salute to the untiring workers of BJP and Jaipur rural, this is their service to the nation." Election Commission trends showed the BJP leading in 294 of 542 seats and the Congress lagging far behind with 50. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday thanked the people of Varanasi as he retained the seat by a margin of over 4.79 lakh votes. In a tweet, he said, the people of Kashi are "remarkable". "When I had gone to Kashi to file my nomination papers, they confidently said that they would manage the entire campaign without me having to come back even once and manage they did! I bow to the citizens of Kashi. Looking forward to serving them," Modi said. He won the seat by a margin of 4,79,505 votes, defeating his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of Samajwadi Party, according to the Election Commission's website. In the 2014 elections, he had defeated Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of 3,71,784 votes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Riding on the crest of the Modi wave, BJP and its ally in Uttar Pradesh Thursday dished out a grand performance in Uttar Pradesh, halting the efforts of the fledgling 'mahagathbandhan' to challenge the saffron brigade in the crucial Hindi heartland state. As counting progressed past midnight, the BJP and the Apna Dal (S) consolidated their position, winning 54 seats together out of the 80 seats at stake. The BJP was leading on another 10. The BSP won eight and was leading on two seats, while its alliance partner SP won four and was leading on one. Congress won the lone Raebareli seat of Sonia Gandhi. In 2014 polls, BJP had won 71 seats and its ally Apna Dal (S) two, while Samajwadi Party bagged five seats and Congress two. In three bypolls, the opposition had wrested Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana from the BJP. This time, the Modi wave not only smashed the SP-BSP alliance, but also uprooted Congress president Rahul Gandhi from the party bastion of Amethi, where Union minister Smriti Irani was leading comfortably to avenge her defeat in 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won from Varanasi seat defeating his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of SP by a margin of 4,79,505 votes, bettering his previous margin of 3,71,784 votes in 2014. Sonia Gandhi retained Rae Bareli seat, defeating her nearest rival by 1,67,178 votes, the EC website said. SP-BSP had supported Sonia Gandhi on this seat in Uttar Pradesh, once its favourite hunting ground. Samajawadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav won Mainpuri seat, while his son and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who contested from Azamgarh, won by 2.59 lakh votes. But the scene was not so rosy for other members of the Yadav clan as Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple and his cousin Dharmendra were trailing in Kannuaj and Badaun, respectively. His another cousin Akshay lost from Firozabad, where Akhilesh's feuding uncle's presence as Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia candidate queered the pitch of the SP. A notable SP victory was that of party veteran Azam Khan, known for making controversial remarks, from Rampur where he was fighting against actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada. He defeated his nearest rival Jaya Prada by over one lakh votes. Mayawati's BSP had drawn a blank last time, but this time her alliance with the SP appeared to have paid her dividends as her party won eight seats and was leading in two. Just ahead of the election, the SP and the BSP had cobbled together an alliance. The BSP contested 38 seats, the SP 37, leaving three for RLD. The alliance did not put up any candidate in Amethi and Raebareli. But, despite the alliance, the RLD could not open its account with all the three candidates losing to the BJP. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has retained Lucknow seat by defeating his nearest rival Poonam Sinha by over 3.4 lakh votes. Union minister Maneka Gandhi won from Sultanpur seat, defeating her nearest rival BSP candidate Chandra Bhadra Singh Sonu by over 14,000 votes. She won by a margin of 14,526 votes, the EC said. Union Minister Mahesh Sharma retained his Gautam Buddh Nagar Lok Sabha seat, bagging 8.30 lakh votes and BJP leader Hema Malini retained her Mathura seat by defeating RLD candidate Kunwar Narendra Singh. The actor-politician defeated Singh by a margin of 2,93,471 votes. Union minister and leader of Apna Dal (Sonelal) Anupriya Patel won from Mirzapur by 2,32,008 votes. Reacting to poll results and party's poor performance, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet said, "Janmat sweekaar. Uttar Pradesh ki sammanit janta va karyakartaon ko dhanyawaad (Mandate accepted. Thanks to the honourable voters of Uttar Pradesh and party workers)." Mayawati termed the Lok Sabha poll results unprecedented and raised doubts over EVMs. "Several shortcomings of conducting elections through EVMs have come to our notice and there is opposition to EVMs all over the country," she said. Union minister Smriti Irani, who was poised to wrest Amethi seat from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. "Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahin ho sakta," she tweeted as she led by over 55,000 votes. As the of Irani gaining lead trickled in, the BJP camp went into a jubiliation mood without waiting for the actual announcement of results. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said have rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties. "It is high time for the opposition to introspect and shun of negativity," Adityanath told PTI, giving full credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the "historic victory". Meanwhile, as the polls results declared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been re-elected, people in Varanasi claimed that Modi has once again got the blessings of Baba Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav Kashi ke Kotwaal (the guardian of Kashi). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily was defeated by BJP's B N Bache Gowda in Chikkaballapur by a margin of 1,82,110 votes, Election Commission said on Thursday. While Gowda secured 7,45,912 votes, Moily got5,63,802 votes. Moily, a former union minister, was the joint candidate of the ruling Congress-JDS coalition. Gowda had lost against Moily in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by a narrow margin of about 9,500 votes. Moily, who was the Karnataka Chief Minister from 1992 -1994, had also got elected as Chikkaballapur in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The division of Vokkaliga votes was cited as the reason for Gowda's defeat in 2014 as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who also hails from the same community, had contested from Chikkaballapura then and ended up in third place by garnering over three lakh votes. Moily, who hails from the coastal belt, was strongly dependent on JD(S) that has the strong support of the Vokkaligacommunity, to retain the seat that has been a Congressbastion. However, with animosity between workers of both parties in other constituencies of old Mysuru region like Mandya, Mysore and Hassan, there were doubts about JD(S) workers completely supporting congress. Along with anti-incumbency, Moily also faceddissidence within the Congress to his disadvantage, withseveral local leaders opposed to his candidacy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A local Congress leader died of cardiac arrest at a counting center at Sehore in Madhya Pradesh Thursday. Ratan Singh Thakur, district Congress chief, suffered a heart attack around 10 am as counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls was underway. He was taken to the district hospital but could not be saved, a Congress leader said. Chief Minister Kamal Nath condoled the death, saying that Thakur was an "energetic, hard-working and friendly person". Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also paid tributes to Thakur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) N Chandrababu Naidu, who has a few records, including being the longest serving Chief Minister in Andhra Pradesh, finds himself at the crossroads as his TDP faced a rout in the assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls, dashing his hopes of emerging kingmaker at the national level. Naidu, who has claimed himself to be the senior most politician, given his 40 year career, created a record of sorts by embracing Congress, against which the party was founded by his father-in-law, the late N T Rama Rao. He served as Chief Minister of undivided for a little over eight years from September 1, 1995 to May 13, 2004 the longest tenure for any and served as the first CM of (bifurcated) AP from June 2014. He also has the other distinctions of being the youngest MLA and the youngest minister at the age of 28 when he was first inducted as minister for cinematography in the then Cabinet of T Anjaiah in 1978 in the (united) state. An eight-time MLA, the 69-year-old Naidu also holds the record as the longest serving of the Opposition in (united) between 2004 and 2014. He started off as a students union in Sri Venkateswara University while pursuing his Masters in Economics. He joined Youth in 1975 and was elected as MLA for the first time in 1978 from his native Chandragiri constituency. Chandrababu had to drop his PhD programme in economics after he became a minister. While serving as minister, Chandrababu caught Telugu silver screen legend Rama Raos eye and later married his daughter in 1980. Be lost the 1983 election as a nominee in the newborn Telugu Desam's wave, but within months quietly switched over to the fledgling party floated by NTR. He was made in-charge of Karshaka Parishad, the farmers council established by the NTR government, and later the TDP general secretary to emerge as the key and organiser of party affairs. In 1989, Chandrababu shifted to Kuppam Assembly constituency bordering and and was elected to the Legislature consecutively from there. In 1994, he became minister for finance and revenue in NTRs Cabinet,but in August 1995 led an internal party coup to dislodge his father-in-law from the Chief Ministers post and take over the reins with the support of a majority of MLAs. Chandrababu simultaneously became TDP president and took full control of the party after NTRs demise in January 1996. He then played a key role in national politics as well and helped form the United Front government with non-Congress, non-BJP parties. He was "offered" the Prime Ministers post in 1997 but "rejected" it, saying he wanted to dedicate himself to the development of As Chief Minister, Chandrababu ushered in reforms, both in economics and governance and launched pioneering initiatives like e-governance, e-Seva (electronic delivery of government services) and Citizens Charter. He came out with a Vision-2020 policy document for all round development of the state and implemented it with passion. It, however, produced mixed results as he attracted flak for neglecting the critical rural development. From a city famous for its pearls and biryani, Naidu turned Hyderabad into a major hub of Information Technology, attracting giants like Microsoft, Wipro, Google and several others to set up shop there. A workaholic and a taskmaster, Chandrababu was hailed as "Chief Executive Officer" of the state rather than Chief Minister and won international recognition for his administration. He even found a place in the "dream team" of the World Economic Forum, to which he was a regular invitee. Successive years of drought, however, wrecked havoc to the rural economy in the state as farmers remained the worst sufferers, leading to a spate of suicides. That, in a way, proved the undoing for Chandrababu as the TDP was voted out of power in 2004. He also had to weather some political storms, most notably the exit of K Chandrasekhar Rao from the TDP and the launch of Telangana Rashtra Samiti with the only demand for bifurcation of the state. Naidu had to eventually give-in to the separate state demand and alter the TDP's united AP policy. In 2009, he would have wrested power from in the then united AP, but for the emergence of actor Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party that cut into the anti-incumbency votes and helped Y S Rajasekhara Reddy retain power. Thus, Chandrababu was relegated to the opposition leader's slot for a second successive term. He faced the threat of political extinction as nobody gave TDP a chance of returning to power in 2014, post bifurcation of the state, in the face of a serious challenge posed by new entrant YSR Congress on the state's political scene. The bifurcation came as a blessing in disguise for Naidu as people saw hope only in him as an experienced who could recreate the magic and build the new state of AP into a well-developed province. The 2014 election mandate in AP was decisively in his favour. Naidu quit the BJP led NDA last year after the latter reneged on its promise of granting Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh. Out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, TDP is leading only in three, while in the assembly, out of the 175 seats, TDP is leading in 22 and has won two seats The YSRC is headed for a landslide victory in the state. The National Conference is leading on three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while the BJP has opened huge leads in two constituencies of the state. Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is trailing at the third spot in the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, where the NC's Hasnain Masoodi is leading and Congress state president G A Mir is in second place. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah is leading by 48,000 votes over the PDP's Aga Mohsin. Union minister and BJP leader Jitendra Singh is leading by over 2.37 lakh votes over Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh in Udhampur constituency. BJP's Jugal Kishore is leading by over 1.43 lakh votes against Raman Bhalla of the Congress from the Jammu seat. In Ladakh constituency, journalist-turned-politician Sajjad Hussain and the BJP's J T Namgyal have exchanged leads several times since the counting began. Namgyal is leading by a margin of over 2,000 votes at the end of the latest round of counting. In north Kashmir's Baramulla constituency, NC candidate Mohammad Akbar Lone is leading by a margin of 15,600 votes against Peoples Conference's Raja Aijaz Ali. Former MLA and controversial Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdul Rashid is in the third place. The BJP had won three seats, two in Jammu and the Ladakh seat, in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, while thew PDP had swept all three seats in the Valley. However, Abdullah had won the Lok Sabha bypoll to the Srinagar seat in 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP-led NDA is all set for a stupendous victory in Bihar, surging ahead of its rivals in 38 out of 40 seats and it may turn out to be the best performance for any political formation in the state, in decades, if the trends are translated into results. While the BJP is leading in 16 out of the 17 seats it had contested, Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U) which returned to the NDA a couple of years ago and contested as many constituencies is surging ahead in all but one seat. Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party is leading in all the six seats it had contested. Among the opposition parties, the RJD which had ruled the state for 15 years since 1990 and is currently the party with the highest number of members in the state assembly appears headed for decimation as party supremo Lalu Prasads daughter Misa Bharti the sole party candidate with a slender lead over the NDA rival, BJP leader and Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav. The Congress, which is leading in only one, may be headed for its worst ever performance in a state where it has for long been relegated to the position of a marginal player. Congress had two Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2014 while RJD had four. As per the figures made available by the Election Commission, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seems poised to retain the Patna Sahib seat for his party, wresting it from sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha, who had crossed over to the Congress less than two months ago. As per EC figures, by 2 P.M. Prasad had established a lead of over 1.75 lakh votes. In Begusarai, Union minister Giriraj Singh is all set for a massive win with an unassailable lead of 3.45 lakh votes over nearest CPI rival Kanhaiya Kumar. Mahagathbandhan constituents RLSP, HAM and VIP, which had contested a total of 11 seats, may draw a blank. RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, who had made a successful debut in 2014 as an NDA ally, is trailing in both seats he has contested Karakat and Ujiyarpur. Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who founded the HAM and aligned with the NDA in 2015 ahead of the assembly polls before gravitating towards the Grand Alliance last year, is trailing in Gaya and the two other candidates of his party are meeting with the same fate in Nalanda and Aurangabad. Notably, the NDA has established leads of more than one lakh votes in as many as 28 seats. Besides Giriraj Singh in Begusarai, the candidates who are enjoying the biggest leads are JD(U)s Badiyanath Mahto (Valmiki Nagar, 2.83 lakh votes) and BJPs Gopal Jee Thakur (Darbhanga, 2.67 lakh votes) and Ajay Nishad (Muzaffarpur, 2.52 lakh votes). Jubilations were seen in the BJP camp as its supporters took out victory processions in various parts of the state capital with roars of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai and Har Har Modi Ghar Ghar Modi reverberating through the air. Celebratory mood was palpable at the partys state headquarters in Veerchand Patel Marg as also the JD(U)s office right across the road while an uneasy calm prevailed at the premises of the RJD, a stones throw from the offices of the two NDA constituents. BJP state media in-charge Nitish Mishra thanked the voters for reposing their trust in the party and slammed the opposition for refusing to acknowledge Prime Minister Narendra Modis unquestionable popularity and casting aspersions on the Election Commission when writing on the wall became clear with exit polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) RSS ideologue and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha Thursday hailed the party's stellar performance as a "victory of Narendra Modi and his vision" and claimed Nehruvism has been "completely replaced by Modi-ism". With the BJP on course to return to power with a thumping majority, Sinha also said the party triumphed because the Modi government knew how to balance "Ram and 'roti'". "This is a historic moment in the country in post-independent India, when we have rejected dynasty, individualism, and based on narrow discourse, and a new narrative, new India, new leadership is the message of this election," Sinha told PTI. The Rajya Sabha MP also rejected claims that BJP's performance would have been on a much lower scale had it not been for the Balakot airstrike months before the beginning of polls. " is not run by conspiracy theories... It is the work of (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, who has worked for the common man, the Jan Dhan Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, and other schemes, these could not be realised by the urban-centric elite." "This can be realised by those who have lived and experienced poverty" Sinha said. The common man saw Modi's development agenda and therefore it was a victory of the "PM's vision and action," he said. "Whether Balkot or no Balakot, it was a referendum for Modi, yes Modi or no Modi. And, yes Modi, won a landslide victory in the country," he asserted. Opposition parties have been attacking the ruling BJP during elections, accusing it of capitalising on the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and the subsequent Balakot airstrike for political mileage. The RSS ideologue said it was a "victory of Modi and his vision" and attributed it to a "silent Modi wave". "This is a consolidation of Modi-ism. And, Nehruvism has now been completely replaced by Modi-ism. It is a mandate to Modi, his actions and his vision and leadership, a new era," Sinha said. "Congress system which dominated the political system for five decades and the legacy of the Congress system which continued, has been demolished, and new beginning has been made by Modi and under his leadership," he said. Sinha said when a wave comes from rural to urban areas, that wave is silent, and when it is from urban to rural areas, it is loud. "In 2014, it was a loud wave. This year it was not a loud wave. This time there was a consolidation of the support base in the country... woman and youth have supported in large number," Sinha said. He said this is a victory of Modi as he has been on every booth and people voted for "casteless and for development agenda". "Narrative of nationalism transcended the limits created by old politics in the form of caste and community. The vote is from India's emergence as a global power," he said. The Rajya Sabha MP also claimed that people in this election had voted as a "citizen of India" and not as member of a caste or community. This is the "biggest constructive message" of this election, he said. The caste and community identity has been transformed into a "citizenship identity" as the caste equation has been "demolished" by the BJP, Sinha said. Asked what was the biggest factor behind such a performance, he said, "The biggest factor was the performance of the Modi government, as it concentrated on common and poor people, right from 2014 which could not been identified in national discourse due to propaganda politics of the opposition party and support of 'award-wapsi group' to the opposition politics". "Even when nationalism was facing a danger from external forces, opposition parties behaved like 'un-Indian'. Therefore, Indians have rejected them and they are now a part of the political archives," he claimed. This election result has shown that it is consolidation of Modi's vision, action and leadership."New politics and new India got the mandate of the people," he asserted. Sinha said the Modi government knows Ram Temple and 'roti' (development). Both are very important issues and Modi has struck a balanced between the two. "First time country's dharma and cultural legacy has been given importance by the political power," he claimed. "Modi has never been apologetic for India's cultural legacy. Opposition parties are disconnected with the society and culture, as they are still colonised," the Rajya Sabha MP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Nepal government has taken strong exception to the US envoy's move to engage with Nepali people on a weekly basis through social media, saying it would only invite unnecessary controversy, according to a media report on Thursday. In a video on embassy's official Twitter and Facebook pages on Monday, US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry said he was starting a weekly series where he would hear and answer questions from around four million Nepalese following these social media handles. Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that such a move would only invite unnecessary controversy as there was no practice in Nepal in which ambassadors interacted with Nepali people on the social media. We think such kind of engagement is not needed. If the embassy has anything to say, it can directly talk to the government, Gyawali was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times. The embassy's Facebook post read, What would you ask Ambassador Berry if you had the chance? We are letting random people ask random questions, and we will share those exchanges in a weekly video series called GuffGaff with the Ambassador'. Stay tuned for our first video new ones will be posted on Mondays! However, Berry's initiative resulted in mixed reactions on the social media, with most observers stating that it was not in line with diplomatic norms and principles. Former foreign secretary Madhu Raman Acharya wrote in a Twitter post, diplomatic activism of foreign ambassadors increases when the government does not sufficiently engage and brief them on the recent developments. So the rule is: keep them engaged or they will find themselves ways to be engaged! Clarifying its move, the US embassy said it was part of its public diplomacy. A core function of diplomacy is to engage with people, understand them and their priorities and build connections with them. We have been doing this in Nepal for 72 years; it is what diplomats do, it is who we are, it said in a statement issued on Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for a "landslide victory" in the general elections and hoped to work closely with him in future. As the early trends in the vote count indicated a resounding victory for Modi, Oli posted a tweet wishing him a successful tenure. "I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you," he tweeted. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. With the elections establishing 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades in India, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP was expected to surpass its 2014 performance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday became the first world leader to congratulate his counterpart Narendra Modi for scripting an "impressive victory" in the general elections and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 51, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. "Sincerely greetings to you, my friend @Narendramodi, for your impressive victory in the elections!," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew and Hindi. "The election results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," he tweeted. Modi and Netanyahu share a good rapport. Netanyahu visited India in January 2018 while Prime Minister Modi travelled to Tel Aviv in 2017, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to tour the Jewish state, where Netanyahu received him at the airport. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday became the first world leader to congratulate his counterpart Narendra Modi for scripting an "impressive victory" in the general elections and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 51, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. "Greetings from the depth of my heart dear friend on your impressive victory in the elections," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew and Hindi. "The election results are a re-approval of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," he tweeted. The personal chemistry between the two leaders has been widely discussed in the media in both India and Israel. Netanyahu visited India in January 2018 while Prime Minister Modi travelled to Tel Aviv in 2017, becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to tour the Jewish state, where Netanyahu received him at the airport. A picture of two of them strolling barefoot at the Olga beach in northern Israel during Modi's visit to the country in 2017 created waves with talks of 'bromance' in Israel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Netherlands called Thursday for the establishment of a tribunal to prosecute members of the Islamic State extremist group responsible for "mass atrocity crimes." Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok made the proposal at a UN Security Council meeting on the protection of civilians in conflict, saying there must be accountability and an end to impunity for violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws. He said Islamic State fighters responsible for mass atrocities should be prosecuted, preferably in the region, and if feasible by "an ad hoc or hybrid international criminal tribunal." "I am fully aware of the complex obstacles on our road towards this goal," Blok said. "But we have to keep in mind: Justice is a prerequisite of lasting peace and security."He said the Netherlands will organise a ministerial meeting on the prosecution of Islamic State fighters on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly in September. "I invite Security Council members and others to join us on this road towards justice," Blok said. The Islamic State group's self-declared "caliphate" that once spanned a third of both Iraq and Syria has been defeated on the battleground but its fighters are now staging insurgent attacks. The atrocities its fighters and supporters committed have left deep scars. Thousands of members of Iraq's Yazidi minority, mainly women and girls, were raped and enslaved, while men were killed. Suspected homosexuals were pushed off roofs to their deaths. Captured Americans and other Westerners were beheaded, and an unknown number of suspected opponents were killed. A Security Council resolution backed by more than 60 countries to refer the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court was vetoed by both Russia and China in May 2014. A new attempt at the council to refer Syria to the ICC would almost certainly face a similar fate. The General Assembly established an independent panel in December 2016 to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity in Syria. In September 2017, the Security Council voted unanimously to ask the U.N. to establish an investigative team to help Iraq preserve evidence "that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide" committed by Islamic State extremists. In March, the Iraqi government, with U.N. support, started exhuming a mass grave left behind by IS in the northwestern Sinjar region in the presence of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, whose slain Yazidi relatives are believed to have been buried in the area. Murad said it marked the first exhumation of a mass grave containing the remains of Yazidis. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Heaping praise on Prime Minister as the BJP-led NDA was heading for a resounding victory in Lok Sabha polls, the on Thursday said nobody would be able to pose a challenge before him for the next 25 years. Sena MP also claimed the NDA's victory this time would be bigger than in 2014. People gave a befitting reply to the opposition parties which created "an atmosphere of illusion" against Modi over issues such as the Rafale fighter jet deal, he said. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party often criticized the in the last five years but eventually sealed a fresh seat- sharing pact with it ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. "The entire country is 'Modi-may' (in thrall of Modi)," Raut, who edits the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', told reporters here. "The truth has to be accepted that no one could counter Modi. Today's mandate is such that no one can counter (Modi) for the next 25 years," Raut said. The Rajya Sabha member said the BJP-led NDA was also doing well in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the Congress won the Assembly polls last year. "The country has reposed faith in Narendra Modi's leadership for the next five years. He will take the country even further ahead in five years," he said. Raut said the opposition parties are needed in a democracy, but they should introspect as to why people rejected them. "Why they lost in their bastions? Why former chief ministers (Congress candidates Ashok Chavan and Sushilkumar Shinde) too were routed? Why people are so angry with the opposition?" he said. In Maharashtra, which sends 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the emerged victorious in one seat and was leading in 22 other seats while the Sena was ahead in 18 seats. The Congress and its ally NCP were leading in one and four seats, respectively. Union minister Jitendra Singh, who is set to win the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat, said on Thursday the media and the Opposition could not see the "Modi wave", but the people of the country proved it. Singh is leading by over 3,48,345 votes against Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh in the Jammu and Kashmir seat. "They (media and Opposition) were saying the Modi wave was only in 2014. They said there was no Modi wave (this time), but people proved it," Singh told reporters here. "It is a victory of the people of this region. In spite of the analysis being done by our media friends, my voters has tried to be wiser. I bow before my people for voting for me," he said. The BJP leader said people voted for him due to the "major development work" carried in the constituency, saying neither the media nor the Opposition could see it, but the people did. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi was leading by over two lakh votes and two TRS candidates by over three lakh votes in their respective constituencies as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi headed towards victory in Telangana Lok Sabha polls. Owaisi, seeking re-election from Hyderabad segment, is leading by 2.53 lakh votes, establishing a clear edge over his BJP rival Bhagavanth Rao. AIMIM had an electoral understanding with the TRS in the April 11 election. Kotha Prabhakar Reddy (Medak) and Dayakar Pusunoori (Warangal) of TRS are leading in their respective constituencies by 3.11 lakh and 3.45 lakh votes, respectively, as per the latest trends. The Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party is ahead in eight constituencies, BJP in four and Congress in four. The Chief Minister's daughter K Kavitha was trailing in Nizamabad by over 40,000 votes to BJP's D Arvind. Nizamabad had hit the headlines after 185 candidates, including 178 farmers, demanding remunerative price for turmeric and red sorghum and setting up of a Turmeric Board, had jumped in the poll fray. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TRS had bagged 11 seats and the Congress two. The BJP, TDP, YSRCP and AIMIM share one each. The BJP had suffered a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections last December, winning just one seat and forfeiting deposits in more than 100 constituencies. The TRS had returned to power with the rich haul of 88 seats in the 119-member House. The Congress turned in a poor performance with its candidates, winning only in 19 Assembly segments. But the Rahul Gandhi-led outfit suffered huge setbacks in the state with 11 MLAs announcing switching loyalty to the TRS since the beginning of March. Former union Minister Renuka Chowdary was trailing by 1.43 lakh votes in Khammam segment to TRS nominee N Nageswara Rao. On BJP's projected smart gains in Telangana, TRS spokesperson Abid Rasool Khan said: "Increase in BJP's vote in some seats of Telangana....we feel that it's to do with weakening of the Congress. And also some Congress candidates, after realising that they will not win, have surrendered to the BJP". "The shift from Congress votes is one the reasons for better faring of BJP", Khan told PTI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi won the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat for the fourth consecutive term Thursday. Owaisi, who had been winning the seat since 2004, defeated J Bhagavanth Rao of the BJP by over 2.82 lakh votes. In 2014, Owaisi had secured 5,13,868 votes emerging victorious against the same opponent by 2,02,454 votes. Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat has been traditionally a stronghold of the AIMIM, which has maintained a firm grip on the minority voters-dominated constituency since 1984. The party's former chief and Asaduddin's father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi had earlier got elected six times consecutively from here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Finance Secretary Mohammad Younus Dagha was sacked Thursday, becoming the latest senior official to go amidst the cash-strapped Imran Khan government's tough negotiations with the IMF for a bailout package. Dagha was removed as the secretary finance on Thursday, a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat/Establishment Division said. A separate notification announced the transfer of Naveed Kamran Baloch, who was posted as cabinet division secretary, to the role of finance secretary. A high-level source told Dawn newspaper that Dagha developed differences with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh over the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "Dagha felt that the adviser had negotiated a bad deal for Pakistan," the source said. The differences emerged in the last round of meetings with the IMF. "The team led by former finance minister Asad Umar, of which Dagha was an important part, had softened the IMF programme in significant ways," the source claimed. Shaikh wanted the programme to be "front loaded", meaning most of the difficult reforms to be done upfront rather than lagged out over a period of time. This is what created differences between them, reaching to a point where Dagha did not participate in the last few rounds with the IMF before the programme was finalised, the report said. Dagha took charge as finance secretary in March after the post fell vacant following the retirement of incumbent Arif Ahmed Khan. Dagha's removal from the post comes a day after Board of Investment (BoI) chairman Haroon Sharif, who was appointed eight months ago, tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Khan. "I have decided to step down due to personal reasons," Sharif confirmed to The Express Tribune. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the first time has disclosed that it has taken a total debt of $6.5 billion from in the current financial year, which is equal to 75 per cent of the total foreign loans of $8.6 billion the cash-strapped country received during the period. Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, under pressure from the Monetary Fund (IMF) from which is seeking a $6-billion bailout package, has disclosed every type of loans that Islamabad has received from its all-weather ally, the Express Tribune reported. According to the finance ministry's documents, foreign loan disbursements between July 2018 and April 2019 of the current financial year showed loans for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plants, known as K2 and K3, and SAFE deposits as part of federal debt obligations. SAFE is an acronym for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange managed by the Chinese central bank. has long been using Chinese money to shore up its official foreign currency reserves but it is for the first time that these deposits with the central bank have been made part of the Ministry of Finance's debt statistics, the report said. In the fresh disclosure, the Chinese foreign loans from July through April FY19 surged to $6.56 billion, according to the finance ministry's documents. These were equal to 75 per cent of the total foreign loans of $8.6 billion that Pakistan received during the period, the report said, adding there was over $2 billion jump in foreign loan disbursements within a month due to the disclosure of Chinese loans. "Out of the $6.5 billion, gave $2 billion in SAFE deposits and $2.53 billion in foreign commercial loans, also for cushioning the declining foreign exchange reserves. "In March, the Chinese government provided the loans through two commercial banks. China Development Bank gave $2.24 billion in a short-term loan while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) disbursed $300 million. "China gave $628.4 million for the construction of two ongoing nuclear power plants in the past 10 months," according to the finance ministry statistics. Earlier, the $2 billion worth of China SAFE deposits, which Islamabad had received in July 2018, were shown on the books of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Facing financial woes, Pakistan also received $3 billion from Saudi Arabia and $2 billion from the United Arab Emirates but these loans were not disclosed along with Chinese SAFE deposits, the report said. The decision to disclose Chinese SAFE deposits was taken at the level of Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, an unnamed senior official from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs was quoted as saying in the report. The full disclosure of Chinese loans was one of the sticking points between the government and the during staff-level negotiations for a $6-billion bailout package. The US wants to stop Pakistan from using funds for repaying Chinese loans. Bejing also gave $1.4 billion in project financing in the past 10 months, largely for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, it said. The reliance on Chinese loans increased in the recent years after the traditional multilateral lenders stopped budgetary support due to the country's deteriorating macroeconomic conditions. Pakistan hopes that the blocked budgetary support will soon be restored after approval of the $6 billion bailout package by the Executive Board. It also expects to return to the capital market from the next fiscal year to raise funds for building official foreign currency reserves, the report said. On the back of Chinese loans, the commercial financing surged to $3.2 billion as of the end of April, which was equal to 37.2 per cent of the total foreign loans. UAE-based Ajman Bank disbursed another tranche of $76 million in April, taking its total loans to $150 million. A consortium of Credit Suisse AG, UBL and ABL has already given $295 million and $184 million was released by Dubai Bank in previous months, it said. The lending by multilateral agencies amounted to $1.3 billion or 14 per cent of the total disbursements, the report said. Pakistan received $380 million from the Asian Development Bank by April, far lower than estimates. The World Bank disbursed only $250 million. While the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) disbursed an additional $35 million last month, which took its total loans for Pakistan to $578 million in 10 months. The IDB gave these commercial loans for oil purchase from Saudi Arabia. The disbursements by other lenders remained low, the report said. India's election results made headlines in Pakistan on Thursday, with the media keeping a close watch on the ruling BJP's electoral fortunes by providing comprehensive coverage of the initial trends and reactions. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. 'Modi's BJP secures early lead as vote count underway' was the headline of the leading newspaper Dawn as the counting of votes began in India. The newspaper's website had a separate section for providing live updates about the results of major candidates and their reaction over initial trends. The Express Tribune carried an agency story 'Modi on the brink of sweeping Indian elections' and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead in 292 of the 542 seats available, well over the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of Parliament. An outright majority for Modi's party will likely embolden Hindu groups, who want to assert their dominance in the country, to the alarm of minority Muslims, the story said. Geo TV, however kept the coverage simple by providing data only on the initial trends. Sate-run Radio Pakistan in its South Asia segment carried a story titled 'Modi's BJP leads in early India vote count'. Almost all Pakistani channels and newspapers also provided details of the coverage by the Indian media. In April, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Thursday successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-II, capable of hitting targets as far as 1,500 kilometers away, bringing major Indian cities under its range. The Pakistan Army said in a statement that the launch was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of the Army Strategic Forces Command. "Shaheen-II Missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads upto a range of 1,500 kilometers. Shaheen-II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistan's strategic needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region," the Army said. It said that the launch, having its impact point in the Arabian Sea, was witnessed by Director General Strategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command, senior officers from the Army Strategic Forces Command, scientists and engineers of the strategic organisations. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Services Chiefs congratulated the scientists and engineers on conduct of successful launch. President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have also congratulated scientists on their achievement, the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cash-strapped Pakistan will start getting the much-anticipated Saudi Arabian oil on deferred payments from July, Prime Minister Imran Khan's Advisor on Finance has said. Last year, Saudi Arabia agreed to provide a bailout package of USD 6 billion to help resuscitate Pakistan's worsening economy. In October last year, the Kingdom had also agreed to establish a credit line worth USD 3 billion for the sale of petroleum products on credit for three years to Islamabad and to give USD 3 billion in Pakistan's foreign currency reserves for a year. In a tweet, late Wednesday, Prime Minister's Advisor on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said Saudi Arabia will supply oil worth USD 3.2 billion per year on deferred payments for three years. "The Kingdom will supply USD 275 million oil to Pakistan on monthly basis from July," Shaikh was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan. He said that the facility will "strengthen Pakistan's balance of payments position", and thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for "his continuous support for the people of Pakistan". Reacting to Riyadh's move, Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Khusro Bakhtiar welcome the news, saying the facility the deferred payment facility "will reduce the pressure (created by the) outflow of foreign exchange". Facing financial woes, Pakistan is seeking USD 8 billion from the IMF to bail itself out from a severe balance-of-payments crisis that threatens to cripple the country's economy. Pakistan has so far received a total of USD 9.1 billion in financial aid packages from friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE during the current fiscal year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan's Panasonic said Thursday it is suspending business with Huawei after a US ban on the Chinese firm over security fears, in a new blow for the telecoms giant. "We've stopped all business transactions with Huawei and its 68 group companies... that are subject to the US government ban," Panasonic spokesman Joe Flynn told AFP. "Yesterday an internal instruction to fully enforce that rule was issued," he added. Flynn said Panasonic's business with Huawei involves the supply of "electronic parts," but declined to provide further details. The announcement comes after mobile carriers in Japan and Britain announced they would postpone the release of Huawei smartphones. British telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive "core" elements of its network infrastructure. The moves follows a decision by US President Donald Trump to effectively ban US companies from supplying Huawei and affiliates with critical components, citing security concerns. US officials this week, however, issued a 90-day reprieve on the ban on dealing with Huawei, saying breathing space is needed to avoid huge disruption. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan's Panasonic on Thursday said it would stop supplying some components to Huawei, joining a growing list of firms distancing themselves from the Chinese telecoms giant after a US ban over security concerns. Japan's Toshiba also announced it was temporarily halting shipments to Huawei to check whether US-made parts were involved, in order to comply with Washington's new restrictions. The moves came a day after major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets, upping the pressure on the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer. "We've stopped all business transactions with Huawei and its 68 group companies... that are subject to the US government ban," Panasonic spokesman Joe Flynn told AFP. Panasonic's business with Huawei includes the supply of "electronic parts," he said, declining to provide further details. Washington's restrictions affect products made fully or partially in the United States, where Panasonic manufactures some of the components it supplies to Huawei, the Japanese firm said. There was no immediate comment from Huawei on the move, and a Panasonic official declined to comment on what business the Japanese firm would continue to do with the Chinese company. Toshiba meanwhile said it had temporarily halted shipments to Huawei while it checks if they include US-made parts. "We will resume shipments if we confirm our products don't use American-made parts," spokesman Takashi Ebina told AFP. Last week, US President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk. The move appeared aimed at Huawei, though the White House said no particular company or country was targeted. The US Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei. The moves have prompted a parade of firms to step back from dealings with Huawei, including US internet giant Google, whose Android operating system powers most of the world's smartphones. And on Wednesday, mobile carriers in Japan and Britain said they were delaying releases of Huawei handsets. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi denounced the US moves and said Beijing would "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. "The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Wang said Wednesday at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan. Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, had been due to bring Huawei's first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X, to Britain, but chief executive Marc Allera said Wednesday the company had "paused" the launch. The delay would last "until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers... are going to be supported," he said. The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive "core" elements of its network infrastructure. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a temporary suspension of pre-orders for Huawei handsets. And the BBC reported British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, would also cut ties with Huawei Huawei said Wednesday that it recognised "the pressure" placed on its suppliers, and that it was "confident this regrettable situation can be resolved." In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country's number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they were delaying the release of Huawei handsets. And the country's top carrier said it would suspend pre-orders for a new phone from the Chinese firm. While Trump's order effectively bans US companies from selling Huawei and affiliates critical components, US officials offered a brief reprieve this week by delaying the ban for 90 days to avoid major disruption. Analysts say the restrictions could be seriously damaging for the Chinese firm, with the pullback by Google and ARM likely to be "particularly troubling" for the telecoms giant. "How the US ban on business with Huawei will impact the Chinese firm's performance is at this point unclear, but what is clear to me is that its sales will be negatively affected," said Hiroyuki Kubota, an independent financial analyst. Washington has long suspected deep links between Huawei and the Chinese military, and its moves against the company come amid the churning trade dispute between the world's top two economies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lack of communication with the leadership and parachute candidates were detrimental for the Congress, party workers said at its headquarters here, as Lok Sabha election trends spelt debacle for the grand old party. The mood was sombre at the Congress' Akbar Road office as trends showed that the BJP was set to return to power as it led in 292 of the 542 seats that went to polls, while the Congress trailed far behind with 50. Sitting under a tree at the headquarters, workers discussed the party's performance and the repercussions of the poll results. Hari Babu Kaushik, a 72-year-old Congress worker from Mathura, said the lack of communication with the party leadership is the main reason that led to the defeat of the party. "I have been with the Congress even when Rahul Gandhi (party chief) and Priyanka Gandhi (general secretary) were not born. "But, I never got an opportunity to communicate with the leadership. They have 'Z plus' security. It is us on the ground who are humiliated," the retired professor said. Kaushik said candidates are brought from outside and people like him, who gave their blood and sweat for the party, are ignored. Spreading out photographs of himself with Congress leaders, 70-year-old Anil Jaiswal sought to tell people about the "deep connection" he has with the party. "Things have changed. It is next to impossible to meet party leaders to give them our suggestions. We know the ground situation. We have been trying to convey to the party that people on the ground in Delhi have lost their connect with the party and there is a need to work on it. "Despite our efforts we cannot meet Congress leaders," he said. Jaiswal said parachute candidates like South Delhi's Vijender Singh have no idea of the ground reality. "We have given years to the party, then why people like him are brought into the Congress. Why are we not given a chance? It is heartbreaking to see the performance of the Congress. It was a party of great leaders and see now," he said. Confident of emerging victorious on all the seven seats in Delhi with five of its candidates breaking records in terms of leading with the highest margin ever, the BJP continued to dominate the trends while the Congress and the AAP trailed at second spot in five and two constituencies respectively. Congress worker Pankaj Mishra from Aara in Bihar, said the BJP's nationalism agenda could have been countered by the Congress by fielding ex-servicemen for the polls. "We suggested that to party members but it never reached the party leadership," he said. Sanwar Lal Bhadu, a Congress worker from Bikaner, said the party leadership has lost its connect with its workers on the ground. "Ask us, we will tell them what needs to be worked upon but our voices never reach them. The candidates who are contested are brought from the BJP or other parties. "We verbally bash these candidates when they are part of the BJP and suddenly, they are fielded as candidates by our party, how do we ask people to vote for them. We are humiliated and insulted," he said. Ramesh Sharma, another party worker from Charra, said, "We do not have a Modi wave, it is just our hardwork that could pay off. Congress leaders need to realise that and involve us in their decision making process". If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on the NDA's "unprecedented and historic victory" in the Lok Sabha polls. Terming the result "a strong verdict for decisive, strong and caring leadership", Parkash Singh Badal said it was time to "look forward to a strong and united India in which every Indian is an equal contributor and stake-holder." "A bright future beckons Bharat," he said in his message to the prime minister and the BJP chief. In his message to the prime minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal congratulated Modi "on this unprecedented and historic verdict for clear-headed, decisive and far-sighted leadership." He said the entire country, cutting across class, caste, community and creed, delivered a secular and a near-unanimous verdict. Out of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), an ally of the BJP, registered win in two constituencies. Sukhbir Singh Badal won in Ferozepur by 1,98,850 votes while his wife Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal retained the Bhatinda seat winning by a margin of 21,772 votes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Democrats are not yet ready to initiate impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump, top Democrat Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, warning that such a course of action would be "very divisive." "We can get the facts to the American people through our investigation," she told reporters, referring to ongoing congressional probes that Trump has resisted. "It may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment or not, but we're not at that place." Pelosi reaffirmed her charge that Trump is engaged in a "cover-up," but cautioned that "impeachment is a very divisive place to go in our country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Thursday said that it is the people who scripted history in the country's by giving a huge mandate to retain an incumbent government at the Centre. In Jharkhand BJP is leading in 11 Lok Sabha seats, while its ally Ajsu party is leading in one. Mahagathbandhan allies Congress and JMM are leading in one seat each. Congratulating BJP workers across the country for their hard work to ensure NDAs win, Das, a senior BJP leader, said the people rose above caste and religion and voted for development, which is an auspicious indication for the country. The chief minister said only democracy and not vansavad' (dynasty) will work now. The people have given an increased mandate to an incumbent government on the basis of its programmes and leadership. Under the skillful leadership of Narendra Modiji and Amit Shahji, security and development had been the issues in the elections, Das said reacting to the results and trends for NDA in the country. The people have cleaned up the lies of the Congress, JMM and other opposition parties through its mandate. In Jharkhand too people negated the corrupt and selfish opposition alliance, which is start of a new chapter for the state, he said. He said that the double engine government of the BJP -- at the Centre and in the state -- will fulfill the dreams of development in the state and development works will gather speed in the tribal Santhal Parganas. The tribals of Jharkhand have become aware and they rejected parties who had treated them as a vote bank. Even Guruji (JMM president Shibu Soren) was not interested to contest the elections and was against an alliance with the Congress. But the son (Hemant Soren) did not support his father. Therefore, the people too did not support, Das claimed. Shibu Soren is trailing to BJPs Sunil Soren in Dumka seat. The BJP had won 12 seats while the JMM won two in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (ANSA) - Rome, May 23 - Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday that he will demand the government presses on with a pledge to bring in a two-tier 'flat tax' on income if, as expected, his League party is the Italian group to do best in Sunday's European elections. "I'm asking for people to vote for us to change Europe," Salvini told Radio Anch'io. "I'm not asking for even half a position more (for League members). "If the League is the top party in Italy and in Europe too the flat tax will certainly be a priority". Meanwhile, fellow Deputy Premier and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio blasted Salvini's proposal to scrap the crime of abuse of office, a felony that politicians are frequently accused of. "If a mayor works honestly, he or she has nothing to fear," said Di Maio, who is also labour and industry minister. "You don't solve things by removing a crime. "It should be clear that, as far as we are concerned, the government should continue, but on one condition - more work and less nonsense!". Congress candidate from Nagpur, Nana Patole, who is trailing behind Union minister and BJP candidate Nitin Gadkari, Thursday alleged that the polling agents were not allowed to check the electronic voting machines (EVMs). As per the latest trends, Gadkari is leading by 1,01,132 votes over Patole. As the counting of votes is in progress, Patole visited the counting centre in Kalamna Yard here and met Collector and Returning Officer Ashwin Mudgal. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Patole said the returning officer should give information about the number of VVPAT slips and the votes counted in the EVMs. "Some discrepancies were found and we sought the right to check the machines...Gadkari is getting identical votes of 559-559 from the booths belonging to the Nagpur East (Assembly) constituency. Usually, it is not possible that the voting count is same in every booth. This indicates that there are problems in the machines," he said. "We have the right to check the EVMs. But we are not allowed to check them," he said. Patole said he has given a written objection to the returning officer about this. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo charged Thursday that Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is not truthful about its relationship with China's government. When Huawei says it is not working with that government, "that's just false. That's just false," Pompeo told CNBC. "To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo said of Huawei, which has effectively been blacklisted by the US over worries that Beijing uses it as a tool for espionage. Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei, Pompeo said, "isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world." Last week President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk. The move appeared aimed at Huawei, though the White House said no particular company or country was targeted. The Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei. The moves have prompted a parade of firms to step back from dealings with Huawei, including Google, whose Android operating system powers most of the world's smartphones. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Popular "Gujjar" face from south Delhi constituency - Ramesh Bidhuri is poised to win the second term from the same constituency after trouncing his rival AAP's Raghav Chadha. Bidhuri, who was leading by a margin of over 3.61 lakh votes is also pitted against Congress' boxer-turned-politician Vijender Singh for the prestigious South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, which has been held by the likes of Sushma Swaraj and Madan Lal Khurana. The seat, on which caste equations play a huge role, was won by 57-year-old Bidhuri in 2014 by a margin of 1,07,000 votes. He had defeated AAP's Devendra Sherwat, who had secured the second spot. In 2009, the seat was held by Congress' Ramesh Kumar who had defeated Bidhuri. In 2019, Bidhuri bettered his performance by a huge margin and said people had voted for the work done by the Modi government. "People have voted for the work done by Modi government. The previous governments were afraid of taking strong decisions. I worked according to the vision of the Modi government and based on that people have voted for me and have given a clear majority to the BJP," Bidhuri said. Chadha had moved the Delhi High Court claiming that the returning officer (RO) overlooked "glaring discrepancies in Bidhuri's nomination" and it was accepted without application of mind on the ground that they do not have any power to reject a nomination once an affidavit is filed, regardless of any concealment therein. Bidhuri was in the middle of controversy after he was accused of thrashing and misbehaving with party workers during a 'Run For Unity' event on October 31, 2018 at Sangam Vihar in his constituency to commemorate 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Bidhuri, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Delhi University has been a BJP man since the time he entered He was general secretary in the BJP in Delhi State unit and was the vice president of BJP Delhi unit in 2003-2008. He also holds a law degree and won three consecutive terms as MLA from Tughlakabad assembly segment from 2003 to 2014. Though South Delhi constituency had a large number of upscale areas, following the delimitation exercise in 2008, villages, slums and resettlement colonies dominate the landscape of the parliamentary seat. These constituencies face problems like lack of infrastructure development while water and sewerage issues dominate the non-regularised colonies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Voters in Brexit-bound Britain cast ballots Thursday at the start of 28-nation EU elections in which Eurosceptic, anti-immigration forces have vowed a political earthquake to shake up the Brussels establishment. With Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation appearing imminent after she postponed a forlorn attempt to push her divorce deal through parliament, Britain joined the Netherlands in kicking off four days of voting across the continent. The elections were a surreal spectacle in a country that was supposed to have already left the European Union after voting for Brexit in a referendum almost three years ago. The Brexit crisis mirrored deep divisions across the continent, where rising anti-establishment forces are bidding to make significant gains in the elections. More than 400 million European voters are eligible to elect 751 European Parliament members, with the first results expected late Sunday once voting in the 28 member states is over. Having opted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, Britain was originally meant to depart on March 29 and not take part in the election. But MPs have rejected May's withdrawal agreement and the country now finds itself electing lawmakers to an institution it plans to leave. The issue looked set to dominate how Britons vote. "It's been disgraceful the way the government has gone on," said Brexit Party supporter Chris Fetherstone, 73, in the northern English town of Middlesbrough. "What Theresa May has said, about leaving, she's never meant it." Voting in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Rex Taylor, a 79-year-old retired professor, said: "We've been let down by both of the main parties." The newly-created Brexit Party, formed only this year by Eurosceptic figurehead Nigel Farage, is leading the latest opinion polls with 37 per cent of the vote. However, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats also look set to capitalise on the mixed Brexit messages of the main parties. "The Liberal Democrats have succeeded in... establishing themselves as the principal Remain party," Matt Cole, from the University of Birmingham, told AFP. Some EU citizens reported being turned away at polling booths, with many complaining they were the victims of clerical errors in the last-minute scramble to organise the vote. "I've been turned away from the polling station saying I'm not eligible to vote despite the fact I've got a polling card and have registered too. My local council... failed to send out the declaration," EU citizen Peter Baier wrote on Twitter. While some blamed local councils, the Electoral Commission issued a statement saying that the "very short notice" given by the government to prepare for the elections "impacted on the time available for awareness" among voters. Around the continent, national leaders are scrambling to mobilise supporters to resist the populist surge, with opinion polls showing nationalist parties leading in France, Italy and Hungary, among others. Pro-European leaders fear a good showing for the Eurosceptics will disrupt Brussels decision-making, threatening reform efforts at closer integration. In the Netherlands, flamboyant populist Thierry Baudet, a classics-quoting climate sceptic, had been seen on course to rival the support to be given to Prime Minister Mark Rutte's Liberals. But exit polls suggested a suprise victory for pro-EU leftists was on the cards. Matteo Salvini of Italy's anti-immigrant League and Marine Le Pen of France's far-right National Rally (RN) want their Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) group to become the third largest in Brussels. The League has topped opinion polls in Italy. Le Pen wants to strike a blow to Emmanuel Macron's faltering French presidency by overtaking his centrist, pro-European party Republic on the Move. Polls give her RN party a slight edge, with around 23 per cent support. "Everything has changed," Le Pen told AFP. "A whole range of political forces have risen up in spectacular fashion." However, the strong showing by Eurosceptics is not expected to sweep the whole bloc, with voters from Spain to Ireland and the former Soviet Baltic states indicating solid backing for the EU. In Germany, surveys show Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party -- a heavyweight in the EU-wide centre-right EPP group -- in first place, with the Greens second. The latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament found 61 percent of respondents calling their country's EU membership a good thing -- the highest level since the early 1990s. The polls will open on Friday in the Czech Republic and Ireland, and on Saturday in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia. But most countries will be voting on Sunday, with the results expected overnight into Monday. Former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker is stepping down after five years as president of the European Commission. The hunt will also be on for someone to replace former Polish premier Donald Tusk as head of the EU council. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur to SP's Azam Khan, candidates who courted controversies in the run-up to the 2019 general election have put up an impressive performance on their respective seats. These candidates stoked controversy during the high-voltage campaign spread over two months, at times forcing the Election Commission to bar some of them from campaigning or inviting scrutiny from their own party's leadership. Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, was leading by 3.63 lakh votes from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, according to the Election Commission data released at 8.50pm. She had lauded Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a "patriot", sparking furious a debate in the last lap of the seven-phase election. Thakur has got 8,62,950 votes in the constituency, considered a stronghold of the BJP, against her nearest rival Digvijaya Singh of the Congress. Singh has got 5,00,518 votes. The Congress had alleged that "insulting martyrs is in the DNA" of the BJP, which had also condemned her remarks. Thakur later apologised for the statement. She also had to apologise for her remarks on 26/11 attacks martyr IPS officer Hemant Karkare, that she had "cursed" him for torturing her and falsely implicating her in the Malegaon blasts case. Thakur was temporarily banned from campaigning for her hate remarks by the EC. In 2014, BJP's Alok Sanjar had won the seat by a margin of 3,70,696 votes. Singh, the Congress candidate, is not new to controversies either. In March, just as the country was gearing up for polls, he said the Pulwama terror attack was an "accident". In Uttar Pradesh, Azam Khan, the Samajwadi Party candidate, was leading by over one lakh votes on Rampur constituency. He had attracted widespread ire for his sexist jibes against one-time colleague and actor-politician Jaya Prada, his rival and BJP candidate on the seat. "People of Rampur, people of Uttar Pradesh and people of India, it took you 17 years to understand her reality. But I could recognise in 17 days that she wears khaki underwear," he had said, without naming her. Khan is facing an FIR for the remark, has got 5,59,018 votes against Jaya Prada who has got 4,48,630 votes. BJP's Nepal Singh had won the seat by a margin of 23,435 votes in the last general election. In Bihar, BJP's Giriraj Singh has won from Begusarai constituency by a margin of 4,22,217 votes. His main rival, CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar, got 2,67,917 votes. In March, the veteran BJP leader was reported as saying that those not attending a rally of the prime minister that month would be deemed anti-national. He, however, himself remained absence from that rally. Begusarai seat was won by BJP's Bhola Singh by a margin of 58,335 votes in 2014 polls. In the South, BJP's Nalin Kumar Kateel has won from Karnataka's Dakshina Kannanda. The BJP candidate and sitting MP from Dakshina Kannada dove into the Godse controversy by comparing the assassin with with Rajiv Gandhi. "Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??" Kateel tweeted, equating Godse, 26/11 attacks convict Ajmal Kasab and Rajiv Gandhi. He later retracted his remarks. Kateel won the constituency by a margin of 2,74,621 votes. His main rival Mithun M Rai of Congress got 4, 99, 387 votes. The BJP reprimanded him as well as Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde, its candidate on the Uttara Kannada constituency in the state, who also tweeted on Godse but later deleted his tweet. Hegde, the sitting Lok Sabha member from the constituency, won the seat by getting 7,83,211 votes and defeated Janata Dal (Secular's) Anand Asnotikar. BJP's young leader Tejasvi Surya, contesting from Karnataka's Bangalore South constituency, has also been declared a winner. Surya made several controversial statements over the last one year, retracting some and deleting some. "Oh Hindus! When will you understand that a vote to today's Congress is a vote for yesterday's Muslim League? It's sad that this country treats a patriot like Veer Savarkar, who endured the greatest of pains for the motherland, in this manner. 2019 has so much at stake! he tweeted recently. Surya won the seat by getting 7,36, 605 votes and defeated Congress's B K Hariprasad. In 2014, the seat was won by BJP's Ananth Kumar, who died last year. BJP's Gurdaspur candidate and Bollywood star Sunny Deol has also won his seat. He got 5,51,177 votes. Deol defeated Congress's Sunil Jakhar. Jakhar got 4,74,168 votes. The seat was won by BJP's Vinod Khanna in 2014. Deol was in the for giving an unusual reply on Balakot air strikes, saying he didn't know much but only wanted to serve people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur to SP's Azam Khan, candidates who courted controversies in the run-up to the 2019 general election have put up an impressive performance on their respective seats. These candidates stoked controversy during the high-voltage campaign spread over two months, at times forcing the Election Commission to bar some of them from campaigning or inviting scrutiny from their own party's leadership. Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, won by a margin of 3,64,822 votes from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal constituency, according to the results declared by the Election Commission. She was recently in the red for lauding Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a "patriot". Thakur got 8,66, 482 votes in the constituency, considered a stronghold of BJP, against her nearest rival Digvijaya Singh of the Congress. Singh got 5,01,279 votes. Thakur had to apologise for her remarks on 26/11 attack martyr Hemant Karkare, an IPS officer, that she had "cursed" him for torturing her and falsely implicating her in the Malegaon case. She was temporarily banned from campaigning for her hate remarks by the Election Commission. In 2014, BJP's Alok Sanjar had won the seat by a margin of 3,70,696 votes. Congress's Digvijaya Singh is not new to controversies either. In March this year, just as the country was gearing up for elections, he said the Pulwama terror attack was an accident. In Uttar Pradesh, Azam Khan has won from Rampur constituency by over one lakh votes. He had attracted widespread ire for his sexist jibes against his one-time colleague and actor-politician Jaya Prada, his rival on the seat who joined the BJP before the election. People of Rampur, people of Uttar Pradesh and people of India, it took you 17 years to understand her reality. But I could recognise in 17 days that she wears khaki underwear," he said, without naming her. Khan is facing an FIR for the remark, got 5,59,177 votes against Jaya Prada's 4,49,180 votes. BJP's Nepal Singh had won the seat by a margin of 23,435 votes in 2014 elections. In Bihar, BJP's Giriraj Singh won from Begusarai by a margin of 4,22,217 votes. His main rival was CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar, who got 2,69, 976 (including postal ballots) votes against Singh's 6,92,193 that include 4,616 postal ballots. Giriraj Singh has been stoking controversies. In March, the veteran BJP leader was reported as saying those not attending the rally of the prime minister, to be held that month, would be deemed anti-national. He, however, himself remained absence from that very rally. Begusarai seat was won by BJP's Bhola Singh by a margin of 58,335 votes in 2014 polls. In the South, BJP's Nalin Kumar Kateel won from Karnataka's Dakshina Kannanda. The BJP candidate and sitting MP from Dakshina Kannada dove into the Godse controversy by comparing the assassin with with Rajiv Gandhi. "Godse killed one, Kasab killed 72, Rajiv Gandhi killed 17,000. You judge who is more cruel in this??" Kateel tweeted, equating Godse, 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab and Rajiv Gandhi. He later retracted his remarks. Kateel won the constituency by a margin of 2,74,621 votes. His main rival Mithun M Rai of Congress got 4, 99, 664 votes whereas the winning candidates Kateel got 7,74,285 votes that include 1,531 postal ballots. The BJP reprimanded him as well as Union minister Anantkumar Hegde, its candidate in Uttara Kannada in Karnataka, who also tweeted on Godse but later deleted it. Hegde, who is also the sitting Lok Sabha member from the constituency, won the seat by getting 7,86,042 votes and defeated Janata Dal (Secular) Anand Asnotikar. BJP's young leader Tejasvi Surya, contesting from Karnataka's Bangalore South constituency, has also been declared a winner. Surya made several controversial statements over the last one year, retracting some and deleting some. Oh Hindus! When will you understand that a vote to today's Congress is a vote for yesterday's Muslim League? It's sad that this country treats a patriot like Veer Savarkar, who endured the greatest of pains for the motherland, in this manner. 2019 has so much at stake! he tweeted recently. Surya won the seat by getting 7,39,229 votes and defeated Congress' B K Hariprasad. In 2014, the seat was won by BJP's Ananth Kumar, who died last year. BJP's Gurdaspur candidate and Bollywood star Sunny Deol also won his seat. He got 5,58,719 votes, including 7,542 postal votes. Deol defeated Congress's Sunil Jakhar, who got 4,76,260 votes. The seat was won by BJP's Vinod Khanna in 2014. Deol was in the for giving an unusual reply on Balakot strikes, saying he didn't know much but only wanted to serve the people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May remained defiant on Thursday even as the government postponed a crucial Parliament vote on her revised Brexit deal faced stiff opposition from within the Conservative Party. A UK government whip Mark Spencer told the House of Commons that he would update MPs on the publication and debate of the Brexit Withdrawal Bill after Parliament returns from recess in early June. It was expected that the bill would be tabled on Friday before the Commons breaks up for the brief recess. "We will update the House on the publication and introduction of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill on our return from the Whitsun recess," said Spencer, who was standing in for Andrea Leadsom the Leader of the Commons who resigned her Cabinet role on Wednesday evening claiming a lack of trust in May's Brexit strategy. "We had hoped to hold second reading on Friday 7th June. At the moment, we have not secured agreement to this in the usual channels. Of course, we will update the House when we return from recess," Spencer said. Downing Street issued a statement moments later to stress that the British Prime Minister remains committed to "deliver Brexit". Speaking after Leadsom's departure from Cabinet, May said she was "sorry to lose someone of passion, drive and sincerity". Leadsom, in her resignation letter, said May's new Brexit plan had "elements I cannot support, that aren't Brexit". Her resignation has further shaken up May's already precarious position, with increasing pressure on her to step down following her pledge of a "new deal" on Brexit. The European Parliament elections being held across the UK on Thursday are seen as a defining moment, when the electorate is expected to use their vote to express their lack of support for the ruling Conservative Party led government's approach to Brexit. People are turning out to vote for 73 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in an election necessitated because of the UK missing the March 29 Brexit deadline. It is widely expected that the ruling Tories and the Opposition Labour Party are set to face a drubbing as the electorate use their votes to express their anger over failed Brexit strategies on both sides. May survived a no-confidence vote of Conservative MPs in December. Under existing rules, she cannot be challenged again until December this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Thursday said he intended to change the portfolio of cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for his "inept" handling of local bodies department. Singh said he would approach the Conghress high command over Sidhu's remarks on the sacrilege issue during sacrilege. A day before polling, Sidhu had raised questions on the probe into the desecration of religious texts in 2015. Singh claimed that the remarks "might have affected the party's performance in Bathinda". He said the urban votebank had been the backbone of the party in the state but Sidhu's failure to do any development work had impacted the Congress, which had performed well this time in rural areas. "I intend to change Sidhu's portfolio for his inept handling of his department," the chief minister said in a statement here. Singh said it was wrong on his part to make the controversial remarks and the minister evidently did not understand that a special investigation team (SIT) had been set up to probe the sacrilege issue. Asked if the party high command would agree to change Sidhu's portfolio, Singh said he had raised the issue with them some months ago and it was agreed that any decision in the matter would be taken after the Lok Sabha elections. The chief minister said he was confident that not just party president Rahul Gandhi but even Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was believed to have a soft corner for Sidhu, would agree in the interest of the state and for strengthening the party. Singh said Sidhu, who was the minister for local government, had not been able to handle his department and the Congress had performed poorly in urban areas in Punjab,. The chief minister said he intended to take up the issue with the party high command once things settled down, after the election results. The chief minister said Sidhu's "yari and jhappi" (friendship and hugs) with the Pakistani army chief would not be tolerated, especially by Army personnel, who were being killed by the ISI-backed terrorists. He also said the performance of the state ministers would be reviewed in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha results. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Opposition Congress led-UDF in Kerala appears to be heading for a landslide in the state by continuing its lead in 19 of the total 20 Lok Sabha seats, with AICC President Rahul Gandhi so far garnering over 3.63 lakh lakh votes from Wayanad. Gandhi, who contested from the hilly constituency, besides his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, got 3,63,202 votes till 3.40 PM, as per the Election Commission website. Besides Gandhi, eight UDF candidtates-Ramya Haridas (Alathur), Hibi Eden (Ernakulam), Dean Kuriyakose (Idukki), Benny Behnan (Chalakkudy)(all Congress), IUML leaders E T Mohammed Basheer (Ponnani) and P K Kunhalikutty (Malappuram), Thomas Chazhikadan of KC(M)(Kottayam) and N K Premachandran of RSP (Kollam) have crossed the one lakh mark. For the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, which appears to have suffered a massive loss, the only consolation was its performance in Alappuzha constituency, where MLA A M Ariff is ahead of his Congress rival Shanimol Osman by a margin of 13,043 votes at 3.30 PM. Gandhi's presence seems to have helped UDF put in an impressive performance in the polls. The Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government had expected to repeat its 2004 performance, in which the Left Front won 18 seats, despite most exit polls predicting only 4-5 seats for them. Reacting to the impressive lead of the Congress in the state despite a major loss at national level,Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala expressed happiness and said a strong anti-Modi wave swept through the state. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, who is inching towards a hatrick from Thiruvananthapuram constituency said the performace of his party in the state was a moment of agony and ecstacy as they face a setback lost at the national level. "I feel that we lost despite hitting a century," an emotional Tharoor told mediapersons. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters that the defeat of Left was unexpected in the state. "This is a temperory setback. We have faced such situations earlier. We will outlive such defeats. We will rectify the mistakes if any," he told reporters. The BJP-NDA had also high expectations of opening its maiden Lok Sabha account from the state this time, riding on the Sabarimala women's entry issue, which saw protests break out after the LDF government decided to implement the Supreme Court verdict, permitting women of menstrual age to offer prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple. However, the saffron party could make its presence felt only in Thiruvananthapuram, where its candidate Kummanam Rajasekaran, a former Mizoram Governor came second, trailing Tharoor. Pathanamthitta, the ground zero of the Sabarimala stir, where the BJP had fielded its firebrand leader K Surendran to wrest the seat from Congress' Anto Antony, failed to make his presence felt and came a poor third. Antony is leading by 44,865 votes against the CPI(M) candidate Veena George. Union Minister and BJP candidate Alphons Kannanthanam also continued to trail in Ernakulam constituency, way behind Congress's Hibi Eden and CPI(M)'s P Rajeev. BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai said though his party failed to bag a seat in Kerala, it had increased the vote share. "Nationally, this is the biggest win in the history of BJP. In Kerala, we were fighting two strong Fronts and expecting to win a few seats. But this election became the one which helped us gather the maximum vote share," Pillai told reporters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) is heading for a record-breaking margin against his nearest rival CPIs P P Suneer in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday, as roads in front of counting centres in this hill town wore a deserted look. As counting progressed, Gandhi established a lead of over three lakh votes, probably the biggest margin in the in the State. Local leaders assembled at the DCC office and burst crackers in anticipation of the big win and shouted slogans congratulating the congress chief. However, there was a palpable sense of disappointment with the Congress-led UPA's poor show in other States with senior leaders trailing according to the latest trends. Gandhi is contesting a second seat from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency nestled in the Western Ghats, besides his traditional bastion of Amethi. The Congress chief is lagging behind BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi, according to the Election Commission. As Gandhi crossed a record-breaking three lakh margin, the biggest for any candidate in Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, Congress workers took out a procession from the DCC Office Rajiv Bhavan to SKMJ High Schoolthe counting Centre. A few of them marched to Kalpetta town holding Congress flag. A separate group of workers of Indian Union Muslim League were seen traveling on two-wheelers waving their green flags. A large number of Muslim League flags seen in a roadshow after he filed his nomination from Wayanad seat had created a row with BJP president Amit Shah reportedly likening Wayanad to Pakistan. Congress workers said they were happy that they could ensure a resounding victory for Gandhi but expressed disappointment over the dismal show of the party in other parts of the country. "You are seeing a Rahul wave across Kerala," AICC member and former minister P K Jayalakshmisaid as the counting progressed. Congress-led UDF is leading in most of the 20 constituencies in the State. Expressing disappointment over the poor show of the Congress-led UPA in other states, former-MLA and Congress leader K C Rosakutty Teacher alleged that the BJP-led NDA gained by manipulating all institutions including the Election Commission of India. DCC general secretary G Vijayamma Teacher said the party workers worked very hard in seven Assembly segments three each in Wayanad and Malappuram districts and one Kozhikode district, to ensure a record-breaking win for Gandhi. She said Wayanad is now a 'VVIP constituency' and the Congress chief will ensure its all round development. (ANSA) - Rome, May 23 - Britain's Ambassador to Italy Jill Morris told an ANSA Forum on Thursday that she does not think it would be a good idea to hold another referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union. "It would be a strategic mistake to ask the people to express themselves again," Morris said. "Not respecting the people's democratic decision would be highly damaging for our democracy. "It is the duty of government and parliament to implement this decision". Morris told the forum that a no-deal Brexit can be averted. "It would be the worst outcome for us and for everyone and we must do everything possible to avoid it," Morris said. "But unless there is an agreement or an alternative, that would be the result. "A no-deal Brexit would happen on October 31. "There is time to avoid it and the government is working on it. "The important thing is to exit (the EU) in the right way. "Obviously, the situation is highly fluid and we must wait for the results of the European elections". Morris said Brexit should not end ties between the UK and its European partners. "We want to maintain a deep, special relationship that would enable us to work as an ally close to the Union to continue to defend European values," she said. Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Thursday thanked the people of the state who, she said, voted for the "farsighted leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The BJP under the leadership of its president Amit Shah and PM Modi has reached new heights. I would like to thank the voters of Rajasthan," she told reporters at state BJP headquarters here. She also thanked BJP's state chief Madan Lal Saini and its workers for the party's performance. As many as 21 out of the 24 BJP candidates are leading by a margin of over one lakh votes, with one having established a lead of more than 4 lakh votes in the trends available so far. The saffron party contested on 24 seats in Rajasthan, leaving one seat to its alliance partner, Rastriya Loktantrik Party. The RLP candidate is also ahead by a margin of over one lakh votes. The Congress, which won the assembly elections in the state recently, is trailing on all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the northern state. No result has been declared so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad retained the Patna Sahib seat for the BJP on Thursday, defeating sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha in fray on a Congress ticket by a margin of 2.84 lakh votes. Prasad, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, polled a whopping 61.85 per cent of the total votes in the constituency, which comprises the entire state capital besides a couple of assembly segments on the outskirts. Sinha had joined the Congress more than a month ago after the BJP, upset over his repeated attacks on the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president Amit Shah, denied him a ticket and fielded Prasad in his place. The actor-turned-politician, who has been associated with the BJP since the early 90s, had won the seat in 2009 and 2014 by margins of over one lakh votes. Earlier, seeing the writing on the wall, Sinha told a hurriedly-convened press conference, "Best wishes to my friend Narendra Modi and master strategist Amit Shah. Hope they provide good governance to the people of the country." Calling Prasad, his vanquisher at the hustings, a "bhadralok", Sinha said, "I hope he will do the needful in helping the city of Patna become truly smart. He has a crucial role to play as he holds key portfolios like Electronics and IT." An upbeat Prasad tweeted: "my Pranaam to people of India for the decisive mandate given for bringing prosperity and development under the leadership of PM @narendramodi. Jai Hind!". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reliance Capital Thursday said it will exit the mutual funds business by selling its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd (RNAM) to its joint venture partner Japan's Nippon Life Insurance. Both partners hold 42.88 per cent each in the company, while the rest is with public shareholders. Reliance Capital said it has signed binding definitive agreements with Nippon Life Insurance of Japan. "Pursuant to the agreements, Nippon Life will also make an open offer to the public shareholders of RNAM at Rs 230 per share, as required under Sebi regulations, and reach the maximum permissible promoter shareholding of 75 per cent for listed companies," Reliance Capital said in a regulatory filing. "The transaction price represents a premium of 15.5 per cent to the minimum 60-day price as specified under the Sebi Takeover Regulations," it added. Reliance Capital said it will receive proceeds of about Rs 6,000 crore through sale of its shareholding to Nippon Life Insurance at Rs 230 a share, and the simultaneous offer-for-sale (OFS) to other financial investors. "The entire proceeds of Rs 6,000 crore will be utilised to reduce Reliance Capital's outstanding debt by 33 per cent," it added. Reliance Group Chairman Anil D Ambani said, "...our longstanding and most-valued partner, Nippon Life Insurance, is increasing its stake in RNAM to 75 per cent. The monetisation of the RNAM stake is part of our value unlocking strategy. We expect this transaction, together with other deals underway, to substantially reduce RCap's debt by over 50 per cent in the current financial year". Later in the day, Nippon Life Insurance made an open offer for acquisition of up to 8.99 crore fully paid-up equity shares of a face value of Rs 10 each representing 14.63 per cent of the expanded voting share capital of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd from the public shareholders. Open offer is at a price of Rs 230 per offer share aggregating to a total consideration of Rs 2,068.89 crore. In the public announcement of the open offer, Nippon Life said the acquirer is not obligated to acquire 8.66 per cent of the existing share capital currently pledged by the seller (Reliance Capital) to an existing lender. Open offer has been made since Nippon Life Insurance has entered into the agreement to acquire voting rights in excess of five per cent of the existing share capital in this financial year. Pursuant to completion of the acquisition of the shares and the open offer, Nippon Life Insurance will be the largest shareholder in and exercise sole control over Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management, and Reliance Capital will cease to exercise control over the company. In a separate filing, Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd told Anil Ambani's son Jai Anmol Ambani has tendered his resignation as a director of the company, with effect from May 23, 2019. Shares of Reliance Capital settled 2.77 per cent higher at Rs 131.90 apiece and shares of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management settled 6.98 per cent higher at Rs 233.75 apiece on BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shares of Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) and Reliance Capital jumped up to 7 per cent Thursday after the latter said it will exit the mutual funds business. The scrip of RNAM climbed 6.98 per cent to close at Rs 233.75 on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 9.70 per cent to Rs 239.70. Shares of Reliance Capital gained 2.77 per cent to close at Rs 131.90. During the trade, it advanced 8.60 per cent to Rs 139.40. Reliance Capital Thursday said it will exit the mutual funds business by selling its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd (RNAM) to its joint venture partner Japan's Nippon Life Insurance. Both partners hold 42.88 per cent each in the company, while the rest is with public shareholders. "Pursuant to the agreements, Nippon Life will also make an open offer to the public shareholders of RNAM at Rs 230 per share, as required under Sebi regulations, and reach the maximum permissible promoter shareholding of 75 per cent for listed companies," Reliance Capital said in a regulatory filing. Reliance Capital said it will receive proceeds of approximately Rs 6,000 crore through sale of its shareholding to Nippon Life Insurance at Rs 230 a share and the simultaneous Offer For Sale (OFS) to other financial investors. "The entire proceeds of Rs 6,000 crore will be utilised to reduce Reliance Capital's outstanding debt by 33 per cent," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling TRS suffered a setback in the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, winning lower-than-expected nine seats as a resurgent BJP sprang a surprise emerging victorious in four constituencies Thursday. The Congress also put up a decent show, securing three segments in the state which has 17 constituencies. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha crashed to a shock defeat in Nizambad, from where she sought re-election. The TRS had an electoral understanding with AIMIM and the two parties had repeatedly expressed confidence of winning all the seats. The final outcome coupled with the NDA securing majority on its own in Lok Sabha dashed Rao's hopes of a key role for himself in national Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee President N Uttam Kumar Reddy (Nalgonda) and its working president Revanth Reddy (Malkajgiri) were among those declared elected by the Election Commission as the votes polled in the April 11 elections were counted Thursday. The BJP retained Secunderbad, the lone seat it won in the 2014 elections, and improved its tally by adding three more. Party nominee G Kishan Reddy won the seat with a margin of over 62,000 votes. Congress candidate and former union minister Renuka Chowdary (Khammam) and TRS senior leader Vinod Kumar were among the prominent losers. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi retained his Hyderabad seat by a margin of over 2.82 lakh votes. Winning for the fourth time in a row, he defeated BJPs J Bhagavanth Rao. Owaisi had won the seat by little over two lakh votes in 2014. Kavitha lost in Nizamabad by 71,057 votes to BJP's D Arvind. She had bagged the seat by a margin of 1,67,184 votes in 2014. Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, TRS nominee in Medak, won by 3.16 lakh votes over his Congress rival Anil Kumar Gali while the partys Warangal candidate Dayakar Pasunoori declared elected by 3.50 lakh votes over his Congress rival Dommati Sambaiah. BJP's Bandi Sanjay Kumar was elected from Karimnagar by defeating B Vinod Kumar (TRS), who was deputy floor leader of TRS in Lok Sabha, in Karimnagar by 89,508 votes. Uttam Kumar Reddy, currently a member of the Legislative Assembly from Huzurnagar, won the Nalgonda seat by a margin of 25,682 votes over his TRS rival V Narasimha Reddy. TRS nominee M Srinivas Reddy won Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha seat by 77,829 votes. He defeated BJP candidate and former minister D K Aruna who switched over the Amit Shah-led party from the Congress just before the polls from Congress. Renuka Chowdary was defeated by TRS nominee Nama Nageswara Rao by over 1.68 lakh votes. With the ruling NDA securing majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, Rao's plans to stitch a federal front of "non-Congress, non-BJP" regional parties lay in tatters. Anticipating a hung Parliament, the TRS was gearing itself to play a "king maker' along with AIMIM and with parties not aligned with the Congress and the BJP. The BJP had suffered humiliating defeat in the assembly elections last December, winning just one seat and forfeiting deposits in more than 100 constituencies. The TRS had returned to power with the rich haul of 88 seats in the 119-member House. The Congress too had turned in a poor performance with its candidates winning only in 19 assembly segments. Post-assembly polls, the Rahul Gandhi-led outfit suffered huge setbacks in the state with 11 MLAs announcing switching loyalty to the TRS since the beginning of March. Hailing his party's showing, state BJP President K Laxman said Telangana would be the next state after Karnataka in the South with potential growth prospects. "In the south, after Karnataka, the state with fertile place for BJP is going to be Telangana", he told reporters. Reacting to the results, TRS working president K T Rama Rao said the party would go into the losses it suffered though it won majority of the seats in Telangana. "We expected better results. We worked hard. We hoped for results accordingly. But, in some places, it came differently. We have to think of it. We have to analyse what happened," he said thanking the people for TRS win in majority of the seats in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Russian tabloid on Thursday published what it said was an audio recording of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned along with his daughter in Britain last year. The Skripals were discovered unconscious in the English town of Salisbury in March 2018 after they were poisoned by what investigators said was a highly toxic nerve agent. UK authorities say the Skripals recovered from the attack and are kept in a secret location under the protection of the British state. The popular Moskovsky Komsomolets daily published the 30-second recording on its website, saying it was the voice of the former double agent talking to his Russia-based niece, Viktoria Skripal. If true, this would be the first audio recording of the former spy whose whereabouts are unknown since the attack in the English city of Salisbury that sparked a diplomatic crisis between Moscow and London. While his daughter Yulia Skripal released a video statement last May, calling on everyone to respect the family's privacy, her father has not addressed the media. But Viktoria Skripal has given frequent interviews to Russian media. The Russian tabloid alleged Skripal called his niece to wish her well on May 9, the day Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany, and left a message on the voicemail. "Everything is fine with me, with us, with Yulechka (diminutive for Yulia) also," the male voice in the recording is heard saying. "I wanted to know how you are," it added. The mass circulation daily claimed it was the second time Skripal had contacted his relative, who lives in Yaroslavl, a city northeast of Moscow. He first called his relatives, the paper said, after Viktoria's husband was beaten, allegedly after a man had insulted her for being related to a defector, in April. After the attack, the British government said the military grade nerve agent was produced in Russia and the attempted assassination was "almost certainly" approved by the Russian state. Moscow has denied involvement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Disha Patani says it was an incredible experience to work with Salman Khan in "Bharat" as she found the superstar extremely humble. She stars as a gymnast in the Ali Abbas Zafar directorial, which releases on June 5. Disha said she was not "intimidated" but excited to work with the star. "It's a good opportunity and I don't know if I'll ever get it again. When Ali sir told me that the film has Salman sir, I was thinking there's an age gap but the fact that he's shown in the film in his younger age, it was exciting. "He is such a nice person, very grounded. It was an experience to work with him and I learnt a lot," the actor said in an interview on Wednesday. Disha has featured in the film's dance number "Slow Motion" with Salman and she said she always wanted to do a massy track like that. "You have to dance according to him (Salman). That's how it is. You've to see what he's doing and go according to what he is doing because he has this charm. He makes everything his own. That's what you call 'Salman Khan style'," she added. Disha, who made her debut in the MS Dhoni biopic, considers herself lucky to bag a big film like "Bharat" so early in her career. She has a small role in the film, but the actor said she had no apprehensions to take it up. Asked if she was sceptical to do the film, Disha dismissed the idea, saying "When Ali sir called me, he told me it's a special appearance. I am more than happy to be a part of such a great cast... I don't think about competition. It's always a great learning to be with these people." Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover, Jackie Shroff and Tabu are also part of the cast. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the BJP leading in 28 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, the state unit of the opposition party Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Kamal Nath, who is heading the Congress government in the state since December last year. State BJP chief Rakesh Singh said the counting trends indicate an overwhelming mandate in favour of the BJP, which lost power in Madhya Pradesh in the Assembly polls held late last year. In the Assembly polls, the Congress won 114 of the state's 230 seats, two short of the majority mark of 116. The BJP, which ruled the state since 2003 before being ousted from power, bagged 109 seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party, which has two MLAs, and the Samajwadi Party, which has one legislator, are supporting the Congress government besides four Independent lawmakers. "Nath should resign, not on moral ground but due to the overwhelming people's mandate in favour of the BJP in the state," Singh told PTI as trends from counting centres indicated landslide victory for the saffron party. He said even Congress stalwarts have failed to withstand the saffron surge in Madhya Pradesh. "Out of the 'three Chief Ministers', two - Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia - are almost certain to lose elections (from Bhopal and Guna Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively)," he added. In run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had said Madhya Pradesh was being run by "three chief ministers" (a reference to Nath, Scindia and Digvijay Singh) and officials were in a dilemma over whom to take orders from. "Neither the Congress won the MP assembly polls last year, nor we lost it," said the BJP leader, referring to the close contest between the two parties. The BJP won half a per cent more vote share than the Congress, but failed to bag enough seats to retain power in the state. Nath Wednesday claimed 10 of his MLAs have told him that they were receiving phone calls and being offered money and posts to switch sides. However, he had expressed complete faith in his party's MLAs. His statement came after the BJP said the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh was in a minority. Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava of the BJP Monday wrote a letter to Governor Anandiben Patel, requesting her to convene a special session of the Assembly to test the Congresss legislative strength on the floor of the House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is set to retain all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, repeating its 2014 performance in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Modi did not contest election from the state this time, BJP chief Amit Shah won by a huge margin from Gandhingar in his maiden Lok Sabha foray. The BJP has won 10 seats so far, and it is leading by over 1.25 lakh votes in all the other 16 seats. Declaration of results is taking time as counting of VVPAT slips is going on, said a poll official. Shah won from Gandhinagar -- a seat earlier held by BJP patriarch L K Advani -- by 5.57 lakh votes, defeating Congress rival C J Chavda. Shah polled 8.94 lakh votes while Chavda got 3.37 lakh votes. The margin of victory of the BJP's Navsari candidate C R Patil -- 6.89 lakh -- remains the highest in all twenty six seats so far. Patil had won the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Navsari by a margin of 5.58 lakh votes. In Surat, the BJP's Darshana Jardosh won by 5.48 lakh votes, defeating Congress candidate Ashok Patel. In Jamnagar, BJP's Poonam Madam won by over 2.36 lakh votes defeating Congress candidate Mulu Kandoriya. BJP's Mitesh Patel won from Anand, defeating Congress candidate and former Union minister Bharat Solanki by a margin of 1.97 lakh votes. In Bardoli, BJP's Parbhu Vasava defeated Congress candidate Tushar Chaudhary by 2.15 lakh votes. BJP candidate from Chhota Udepur, Gitaben Rathva, won by a margin of 3.77 lakh votes, defeating Congress candidate Ranjitsinh Rathva. BJP's Mohan Kundariya won Rajkot seat by a margin of 3.68 lakh votes, defeating Congress' Lalit Kagathara. In Vadodara, BJP candidate Ranjan Bhatt is leading by a margin of over 5.84 lakh votes against Congress' Prashant Patel. Notably, she has crossed prime minister Modi's victory margin of 5.70 lakh in 2014 elections from Vadodara. BJP candidates are leading by over 3 lakh votes in Valsad, Panchmahal, Kheda, Kutch, Ahmedabad (East), Ahmedabad (West), Banaskantha, Bharuch and Bhavnagar. The lowest lead of a BJP candidate is in Dhahod, where a minister in Modi government, Jaswantsinh Bhabhor, is ahead by 1.26 lakh votes. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the credit for this outcome went to the people of the state. "Political pundits could not see the Modi wave until the exit poll. Today this wave is clear from the leads and results received so far. It is the victory the people of the country. Their faith in Narendra Modi and his honest, decisive leadership are evident," he said. "The people of the country have decided who can provide a strong leadership. The BJP got a big victory due to Modi. Amit Shah showed how a party is organized and how it wins election. His 'Chanakya niti' and leadership and inspiration to lakhs of party workers contributed to this victory," Rupani told reporters. Congress accepted the defeat. "This is the verdict of the people of the country and we accept it. We will try to find out our faults and rectify them," state Congress president Amit Chavda said. In 2014 the Congress had lost all the 26 seats in Gujarat. However, in the 2017 state assembly polls the party put up a tough fight, and BJP managed to retain power with a slender majority. BJP workers started frenzied celebrations across the state. Heeraba, nonagenarian mother of prime minister Modi, briefly joined in the celebrations by greeting people who had gathered outside her house in Kudasan village on the outskirts of Gandhinagar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo Thursday congratulated his counterpart Narendra Modi for his resounding electoral victory in the general elections and vowed towards further strengthening the India-Japan special strategic ties. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what is certain to be a resounding victory for a second term in office as it led in 302 seats, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. "Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party in the 2019 General Elections," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. Modi thanked Shinzo for his wishes, it said. During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity, the statement added. "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed that Prime Minister Modi has achieved high recognition for his achievements under his strong leadership," according to a statement issued by the Japanese embassy in New Delhi. "Shinzo stated that he would like to closely work with Modi hand in hand toward strengthening Japan-India relations and realising a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement said. Prime Minister Modi expressed sincere gratitude for Shinzo's words of congratulations, it said. Modi stated that the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership has led to India's development, and expressed pleasure that the bilateral relationship has been strengthened over the past five years, it said. Modi also extended congratulations on the enthronement of His Majesty, the Emperor and the opening of the Reiwa (beautiful harmony) era, the statement said. Both the leaders look forward to their meeting during the G20 Summit in Osaka next month, it said. Modi also extended an invitation to Shinzo to visit India later this year for the next India-Japan Annual Summit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A six-year-old Sikh girl has been banned from bringing the kirpan to her primary school in the UK after an outcry from other students' parents who refused to bring their children to the school over safety concerns, according to a media report. The girl brought the kirpan, worn by Sikhs as a mark of their faith, to the Redscope Primary School in Rotherham earlier this month, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. One parent complained: "I'm sorry but, religion or not, a child's health and safety comes first." Another said: "Most girls are not allowed to wear make-up in school, never mind carry a weapon." In the letter sent to parents Paula Dobbin, the headteacher of the school, explained the kirpan is a "religious ornament" worn by Sikhs. She said: "The item is not sharp, and is often worn in schools by children of the Sikh faith nationwide." "However, having spoken to the parents of the child concerned, they have agreed that the child will no longer wear this item in school. "The family are new to school and want to be part of the Redscope family. They are keen their daughter is able to make friends and be part out of our school community," she said. "Concerns about this issue caused a number of you to delay bringing your children into school. I reassure you there is no reason for you not to bring your children to school," she added. However some comments made by parents about the incident are now being probed by the police as potential hate crimes, the report added. An investigation is being carried out. A spokeswoman for the South Yorkshire Police said: "Police are aware that a religious kirpan was brought into the school by a six-year-old pupil." "Local neighbourhood officers continue to work closely with the school, providing advice and reassurance and talking to parents." "There are no wider safeguarding concerns and no crime has been reported. A number of comments on social media have been reported to us as race-related hate crime, following this situation." "South Yorkshire Police would like to remind the public that hate crime of any kind is not tolerated. "An investigation into the comments is underway." Kirpans are one of five articles of faith, known as 'the five K's', that Sikhs are commanded to wear at all times to demonstrate their religious faith. The Department for does not have a central guidelines on school uniforms and religious items. It is down to individual headteachers to set their school's policy. The row comes as the British Government this week announced that an amendment to the 'Offensive Weapons Bill' has received the royal assent. This means that Sikhs will be allowed to carry kirpans and use them during religious and cultural functions. The All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs had campaign for kirpans to remain exempt as weapons when the new Bill becomes ratified. In the UK under the Criminal Justice Act 1989, people are allowed to carry blades for religious reasons, the report added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his electoral victory and expressed hope that the two nations will fully realise the potential for enhanced cooperation, including in the fintech and digital space. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards an emphatic victory for a second term in office. "Congratulations on your re-election. The strong mandate reflects the results of your first term and the consequent trust that the people of India repose in your leadership," Lee said in a letter to Modi. He said it was remarkable that the elections were conducted peacefully and smoothly "despite the huge logistical challenges". The bilateral ties, Lee said, between India and Singapore "are already very substantial, but we should do more to...fully realise the potential for enhanced cooperation, including in the fintech and digital space". He further said Singapore appreciates the "personal focus" Modi has placed on developing the bilateral relationship. "Your steadfast support has helped to catalyse more extensive cooperation across many areas. The elevation of relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 boosted cooperation in defence, culture, and the people-to-people sector, the Singapore PM said. Welcoming India's deepening engagement in the region, in line with the Act East policy, he said, "India and ASEAN can do much more together, to bring mutual benefit and prosperity to our peoples." Inviting Modi to visit Singapore, Lee said, "I look forward to working with you to build on the progress we have made. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As many as 28 out of 41 sitting women MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Hema Malini and Kirron Kher, are set to retain their seats in Lok Sabha polls, but the likes of Smriti Irani and Pragya Thakur are likely to steal the show with the extent of their victories over their more renowned rivals. Among prominent faces who are expected to be re-elected to Lok Sabha are Rae Bareli Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Sultanpur candidate Maneka Gandhi who is a sitting BJP MP from Pilibhit, Mathura BJP MP Malini, Chandigarh BJP candidate Kher, Kannauj SP MP Dimple Yadav and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi. Bankura TMC MP Moon Moon Sen who contested from Asansol, Congress Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, Supaul MP from Congress Ranjeet Ranjan, Bardhaman-Durgapur candidate Mamtaz Sanghamita from TMC, Hoogly MP Ratna De from TMC and Lalganj MP Neelam Sonkar are among those trailing. Irani emerged as a giant-killer -- this time scripting a historic win by dethroning Rahul Gandhi in the Congress's home turf Amethi. Controversial BJP candidate from Bhopal and terror-accused Thakur is leading against Congress' bigwig Digvijay Singh. Other prominent names who are set to enter Parliament are DMK candidate from Thoothukkudi Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and BJP's Rita Bahuguna, who is leading from Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad constituency. Locket Chatterjee, Bengali actress-turned-politician from the Trinamool Congress, is also leading in the Hoogly constituency. Sixteen women MPs re-contesting from their seat and leading are from the BJP, while Sonia Gandhi is the only sitting MP from the Congress who is leading. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what is certain to be a spectacular victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. With the elections establishing 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that the BJP will surpass its 2014 performance. The Congress had fielded 54 women candidates. It was closely followed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had fielded 53 women. Among the other national parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) fielded 24 women candidates, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) 23, the CPI(M) 10, the CPI four, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fielded one woman candidate. As many as 222 women contested the polls independently. A total of 8,049 candidates were in the fray in the parliamentary polls. Four transgender candidates contested the elections independently, while the AAP was the only party to field a transgender nominee. But all transgender candidates lost in the polls. The highest number of candidates were fielded from Uttar Pradesh at 104, followed by Maharashtra. Sixty-four women candidates have been fielded from Tamil Nadu, 55 from Bihar and 54 from West Bengal. A total of 724 women candidates were in the fray for the Lok Sabha election. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has pardoned a firebrand Buddhist monk, Galagodatte Gnanasara, who is accused of inciting violence against minority Muslims and convicted of contempt of court. President Sirisena granted pardon to Gnanasara days after releasing 762 other convicts to mark Vesak, also known as 'Buddha Jayanti'. "He will be released later today (Thursday), the President had signed all the papers," Witharandeniye Nanda, a Gnanasara peer told reporters. The magistrate complained of contempt while the Court of Appeal convicted him. Gnanasara's appeal for pardon was later rejected by the Supreme Court. Gnanasara who headed the ultra Buddhist nationalist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or the Forces of Buddhist Power was sentenced by the court for contempt. He was given a six year jail term over his disruptive behaviour in court and intimidating a woman litigant in 2016. In 2013, Gnanasara led an anti-Muslim minority stance against what he termed the rising Muslim extremism in the Buddhist majority country. Interestingly, his release comes a month after the Easter Sunday suicide attacks by the local Jihadi group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) which is linked to ISIS. In 2013, Gnanasara had named the NTJ as an extremist Muslim group with violent intentions. The NTJ activists are currently being arrested in the Jihadi group's crackdown by the security forces in the aftermath of the suicide bombings which killed over 250 people, including foreigners. Eleven Indians were among the dead. The release of the saffron-robed monk comes a week after mobs attacked dozens of mosques, and rows Muslim-owned homes and shops in Kurunegala and Gampaha districts on May 12 and 13, in the biggest outburst of violence since the Easter attacks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- SRK Knowledge Foundation (SRKKF) managed by SRK Exports Pvt. Ltd. led a program 'UDAAN - Towards Shining Future' for youth of rural areas of Gujarat under the headship of Shri Govind Dholakia, Founder and Chairman, SRK Knowledge Foundation. The program was a brainchild of Shri Ajay Kumar Tomar, IPS, Gujarat State. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891900/Students_with_Shri_Govind_Dholakia.jpg) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891902/Shri_Ajay_Tomar_IPS.jpg) The 10-day program was organized in the month of May, aimed to provide first hand on-site professional experience to the youth of rural Gujarat and an opportunity to experience multiple career options in diverse sectors of employment through innovative, critical, inventive and practical methods, while experiencing the roles and responsibilities of the professions. The program encouraged students of villages of Amreli District and selected quinquagenarian candidates based on a creative and an intellectual approach, comprised of a test containing questions on Logical Reasoning, Arithmetic and English subject. Students who appeared for 11th and 12th standard this year and are at the threshold of building their career were summoned to Surat City to learn about leading a better and dignified life through their valued aspirations. The students visited corporate companies and various industries including diamond manufacturing units, hospitals, IT and Software companies, solar panel units, educational institutions, textile mills and markets, Special Economic Zones and a myriad of other places of knowledge, history, spirituality, sports, pleasure and amusement. Doyen personalities of the city comprising of doctors, professors, psychologists, career counselors, architects and theorists were invited to establish a dialogue with the students on varied topics such as Career Choices, Personality Development, Gender Equality and Adolescent Education, Self Defense Training, Design Thinking, Decision Making & Problem Solving, Emotional Well-Being, Movies, Dramas, Theatre and few more. Every minute program was designed while keeping in view the student's career ambitions and enthusiastic efforts were put to get them acquainted with the brighter and practical world. During the program, Shri Ajay Tomar Sir had specially visited to interact with the students and encouraged them by saying, "Strive hard to nurture your dreams which is possible when one is sincere and fully committed to his or her goals. Learn, read and practice so much that it becomes impossible to find your competitor." SRKKF provided accommodation, transportation and other required facilities during the program to the students. The program concluded on an optimistic note after the students promised to work harder and shine in their chosen fields. SRKKF shall continue to gauge their progress in the future. About Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundation: Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundation (SRKKF) is a culmination of the evolution journey embarked upon, more than half a century ago, by our Founder Chairman, Shree Govind Dholakia in 1964. His focused, resilient, visionary, passionate and innovative approach along with his belief of 'Giving back to the Society' has inspired to setup SRKKF. Our aim includes extensive contribution in the areas of health, education, agriculture and community welfare. For more information, please visit: http://www.srk. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Assiduously working for a grand victory through the years, DMK President M K Stalin single handedly steered his party through the long night,sweeping the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu after back to back poll debacles. The DMK-led front, which also comprises Congress and the IUML, is set for a clean sweep and is poised to win 37 of 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu with the lone seat appearing to go to the AIADMK. The DMK lost the 2011 and 2016 Assembly polls and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. DMK appears set to win in all the 19 constituencies it fought and its allies MDMK, VCK (Villupuram), KMDK,and IJK who fought on the Rising Sun symbol of the Dravidian party are also likely to win in view of the huge margins, taking the Dravidian party's total tally to 23 seats. Allies Congress is set to emerge victorious in 8, IUML and VCK (Chidambaram) one each and CPI and CPI(M) two each. Seeking the early bird advantage, 66-year-old Stalin launched DMK's village level outreach programme (Ooratchi Sabai) across Tamil Nadu as early as January, with the slogan "let us meet the people, tell them and win over their hearts." The campaign, which saw coverage of over 12,000 village panchayats, was a pretty unconventional affair with Stalin interacting with people in the village square, often seated on a platform under the shade of a tree. Meticulously, he sought to address all the local issues and promised resolving them once voted to power. He also made it a point to meet people during morning walks, visit local markets and parks to interact with people. Apparently taking cognisance of Jayalalithaa's charisma and the womenfolk's formidable support for her, Stalin repeatedly assured the people that once his party wrested power, "all those responsible for her death" would be brought to book. The Tamil Nadu government had ordered a Commission of Inquiry to go into the circumstances surrounding Jayalalithaa's death. Perhaps for the first time in DMK's history, Stalin asserted during his poll campaign that his party was not anti-Hindu to ensure that believers were not antagonised. He even said his wife offered worship in temples every day. In the DMK manifesto, Stalin made several attractive assurances like waiver of crop loans for farmers and later assured waiver of loans availed by landless poor farm labourers through pledging gold ornaments (from one to 40 grams). He pitchforked Rahul Gandhi's name for the office of the Prime Minister and stuck to it despite murmurs against it from within the UPA and made it a poll plank too. Neither did Stalin's avowed objective of making Gandhi the Prime Minister materialise nor his goal to storm to power in Tamil Nadu by winning bypolls to all the 22 Assembly segments despite persistent efforts. With perceived anti-incumbency coming in handy, he picked up every issue, be it the heist case involving late Jayalalithaa's Kodanad bungalow, dengue deaths two years back, and last year's Tuticorin violence to corner the arch rival. Stalin's field work to usher in an electoral turnaround in Tamil Nadu for DMK was consistent since 2014, irrespective of the outcome in elections and in 2015 he launched his "Namakku Naame Vidiyal Meetpu Payanam" (We for ourselves, journey to retrieve dawn) campaign. Going in for a complete image makeover, he sported bright formal outfits and sunglasses, hopped on to a scooter or a bicycle, met people in buses, trains and other public places and sipped tea in roadside stalls with commoners. While his campaign which then had effectively targeted late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, it could still not catapult his party to power in 2016. His only solace was that his campaign helped propel the DMK to emerge as a strong opposition party with 89 MLAs and allies Congress and IUML won eight and one seats respectively. Though AIADMK had made fun of his campaign, saying "he does not remove his sunglasses even in the dark," Stalin kept on improvising and came up with other campaigns like "Pesalam Vanga" (Come Let us Talk), similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Chai pe Charcha." In 2017, he embarked on a month-long outreach campaign across Tamil Nadu to highlight the "failures" of the AIADMK regime. All along, he mounted pressure on the AIADMK government both inside and outside the Assembly over a slew of corruption allegations against Chief Minister K Palaniswami and other Ministers. Deftly handling the fissures in the party due to rivalry with his sibling M K Alagiri in 2014, he demonstrated he could manoeuvre the party out of it by ensuring that his brother was eased out of the outfit, sans any repercussions. Alagiri's rally here last year, billed as a "massive show of strength" to press for his re induction in DMK, ended up as a damp squib, miserably failing to take on Stalin. The former Union Minister had challenged Stalin, asking if the DMK was a "mutt" where a senior pontiff could anoint his junior. Stalin showed patience when his father and party patriarch M Karunanidhi refrained from formally anointing him as party president and Chief Ministerial candidate in the 2016 Assembly polls despite saying more than once that Stalin would be his successor. He bided his time though his name was doing the rounds as early as 2007 when he was expected to be named "successor" at a party youth wing conference in Tirunelveli. Stalin was also meticulously groomed by Karunanidhi, both in the party and the government and was made Deputy Chief Minister during the previous DMK regime (2006-11). Born March 1, 1953, Stalin campaigned for DMK in the 1967 elections as a 14-year old school student. He was incarcerated under MISA in 1976. He became party's youth wing Secretary in 1984, and held that post for decades. His growth has been steady and he became party deputy general secretary in 2003. He was re-elected treasurer for the second five-year term in January 2015 and in January 2017 was named the party working president. Eventually, he became party president last year after the demise of Karunanidhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sudan's protest leaders said Thursday they will seek advice from demonstrators camped outside army headquarters on how to break the deadlock in talks with the military council on installing civilian rule. Talks between the two sides have been suspended since Monday after a disagreement over who should lead a new governing body -- a civilian or the military. The protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, said it will launch a campaign to urge demonstrators who have been rallying for weeks outside army headquarters in Khartoum, and in other cities, to come up with a solution to break the deadlock. "We will give them all the information, we will listen to their views on how they want to go ahead with the revolution," the umbrella protest group said in a statement. The group has led the nationwide protest movement against longtime leader Omar al-Bashir that finally led to his ouster on April 11. The generals who seized power after Bashir was toppled have resisted calls from the demonstrators and the international community to step down, insisting that a new governing body be headed by an officer. "We have one pending issue with the Transitional Military Council, the composition of the new sovereign council for which we have no agreement," said the alliance. The statement, addressing thousands of supporters camped outside army headquarters, warned of "alternatives" to put pressure on the general. "We have all alternatives, to launch a strike or a civil disobedience movement. The decision is yours," it said. On Thursday, employees of several companies as well as government institutions, including the central bank, held spontaneous demonstrations in parts of Khartoum in support of the protest movement, witnesses said. Several rounds of talks have failed to finalise the makeup of the new ruling body, with both the generals and protest leaders insisting on their demands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Islamic extremists exploded a suicide car bomb near the presidential palace in Somalia's capital Wednesday, killing at least nine people, including former Foreign Minister Hussein Elabe Fahiye, who was an adviser to the current president. Capt Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press that an additional 13 people were wounded and most of the casualties were soldiers. The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the blast in Mogadishu, saying it targeted vehicles carrying government officials. The car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint near the presidential palace as soldiers were conducting security checks on vehicles on the main road. A white column of smoke rose over the seaside city as gunfire rang out and people scattered. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab frequently carries out such blasts in the capital near the presidential compound and at hotels frequented by government officials and foreigners. "In the past I was wounded in this area, and again today my daughter has been killed in this attack which also destroyed my home. This is terrible," witness Madey Ahmed told the AP. Amid the crumpled vehicles and tangled metal roofing, a small corps of yellow-vested workers carried bodies and began sweeping the dusty street. At UN headquarters in New York, Somali Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman paid tribute to Fahiye, saying: "We are more determined to fight the menace of faceless, borderless international terrorism." He told a UN Security Council meeting on Somalia that "al-Shabab continues to be a threat undermining our efforts to deliver security." "We have made significant gains against al-Shabab in the past eight weeks," retaking two strategic towns in Lower Shabelle, Osman said. But he said the extremist group enjoys "a comparative advantage" because the government is still under a UN arms embargo. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition SAD, which was looking to resurrect itself in Punjab following the backlash over the desecration of religious texts, could only bag two of the 10 Lok Sabha seats it contested. As part of its seat-sharing agreement with the BJP, the Shiromani Akali Dal fielded candidates on 10 seats in the state, leaving three for its ally. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal were the only party candidates who won. Sukhbir Singh Badal won from Ferozepur and his wife, a two-time MP from Bathinda, retained her seat. Both the constituencies are considered SAD strongholds. "I want to thank... the people of Punjab," Sukhbir told reporters. The SAD president said with his party winning two seats, the Congress's "Mission 13" has completely failed. He said it showed that "those who used to make statements against the Badal family were actually spreading false propaganda". Sukhbir defeated SAD rebel and Congress candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya with a handsome margin of over 1.98 lakh votes, according to the Election Commission. Ghubaya, a Rai Sikh, was banking on support from his community. However, Sukhbir managed to divide his rival's vote bank and prevented him from scoring a "hat-trick". Sukhbir led from the front at a time when his party was facing criticism from political opponents over desecration of religious scriptures. His party had been under fire over the 2015 sacrilege and police firing incidents in which two persons were killed. The former deputy chief minister of Punjab, who is the Jalalabad MLA, took the plunge in the Lok Sabha polls after a gap of 15 years to revive his party's fortunes. The SAD, which dominated state for decades, was relegated to the third spot in the 2017 assembly polls as it won only 15 of the 117 seats. In Bathinda, it was a high-stakes battle for the SAD, with Harsimrat seeking re-election for the third time. As part of his campaign, Warring attacked Harsimrat over the lack of development and desecration of religious scriptures. The SAD leader, on the other hand, relied on the Modi wave. Harsimrat defeated Warring by a margin of 21,772 votes, the EC data showed. She even bettered her victory margin this time as against 19,395 votes in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Five-time chief minister and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal had also campaigned for his daughter-in-law. Harsimrat also thanked the voters for her victory. However, the SAD did not have any luck in the remaining eight constituencies despite the party fielding old warhorses like Jagir Kaur (Khadoor Sahib), Gulzar Singh Ranike (Faridkot), Charanjit Singh Atwal (Jalandhar), Prem Singh Chandumajra (Anandpur Sahib) and Parminder Singh Dhindsa (Sangrur) in some of them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Thai court on Thursday blocked the leader of a new anti-junta political party from taking his seat in Parliament while it determines whether he violated election rules. The ruling is likely to increase political tensions in Thailand, where the military has seized power from elected governments twice in the past 13 years and courts regularly issue rulings that critics call biased. The Constitutional Court accepted a case against Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who is accused of breaking election law by holding shares in a media company. The court barred him from taking his seat in the meantime. The court action came after the state Election Commission forwarded its recommendation to prosecute Thanathorn, asserting there was credible evidence against him. Thanathorn has said he is not guilty of breaching the shareholding rule because the shares he held were transferred before he contested the election. However, the court said it was suspending him because he could be guilty as charged, which would be an "obstruction to the important work to the meetings in the House of Representatives." If found guilty, he could be disqualified from office and barred from The court said he would be given 15 days to submit clarifications in the case against him. Future Forward finished third in March elections and aligned itself with parties seeking to stop the ruling junta's allies from forming a new government. Thanathorn has said his party would support a bid to take power by another anti-military party, Pheu Thai, which won the most seats in the lower house. Last week, he said his party could lead a majority coalition and he was also ready to be prime minister. The strong performance of the Future Forward Party in capturing 80 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives and its left-leaning positions, particularly its opposition to military involvement in politics, alarmed Thailand's conservative forces, which have pushed back strongly on social media and in the courts. Opponents claim Thanathorn is just a stalking horse for disgraced former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, since Pheu Thai is considered part of Thaksin's political machine. At the same time, several legal cases on various grounds have been launched against Thanathorn and fellow party members. Thanathorn's supporters say the charges against him and other party members are politically motivated. The Election Commission was appointed by the ruling junta's allies, while the Constitutional Court has a long history of ruling in favor of the country's conservative establishment, which despises Thaksin, a populist politician who was ousted by a 2006 military coup. The military has ruled with a heavy fist since staging another coup in 2014 against a government formed by Thaksin's sister. It imposed new laws banning political gatherings and made active efforts to silence its critics. The military-backed Palang Pracharath party is tipped to lead a government expected to be formed in the next few weeks and headed by the junta leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who staged the coup and has served as prime minister since then. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TUNIS - Fayez al-Sarraj, prime minister of the Libyan government of national accord, on Wednesday in Tunis said the "request for a ceasefire in Tripoli must be accompanied by the return of those who have attacked to where they came from". Sarraj spoke to a group of ambassadors to Libya who are stationed in the Tunisian capital for security reasons. In a statement by the government of national accord on its Facebook page, Sarraj said "the preparation of a political process must necessarily take into account the situation caused by the war". Speaking to the diplomats, Sarraj said "what is being defined as an army, led by Haftar, is actually a motley mix of religious, tribal, and regional groups, and of criminal militias". "Haftar believed that entering Tripoli was going to be a walk in the park, thanks to the military support received, but it's a dream he will never reach," Sarraj said. On Wednesday evening, Sarraj met with elderly leaders and others responsible for some tribal groups in eastern Libya and asked for their support. Mamata Banerjee's TMC was Thursday facing massive headwinds in key battleground state of West Bengal where it is locked in a neck-and-neck fight with the BJP, with the state's ruling party leading in 22 Lok Sabha seats and the challenger saffron outfit in 19. According to latest Election Commission figures, the BJP was also the main contender in 21 of the 22 seats where the Trinamool Congress was leading. The saffron party was giving the TMC a run for its money even in terms of vote share having polled 39.81 per cent of votes counted so far. The TMC has clinched 43.8 per cent. The four-party Left Front, once a formidable force in the state, has garnered a measly 7.8 per cent of votes so far, and its candidates are leading in none of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats. Congress's Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the sitting MP from Baharampur, was leading the table in his constituency by over 80,000 votes. Abhijit Mukherjee, the son of former President Pranab Mukherjee and sitting MP from Jangipur, was nowhere in contention. Mamata Banerjee, who defended her terrain like a tigress since becoming the chief minister in 2011, ending the Left Front's unbroken 34-year rule, called a press conference at her Kalighat home in the afternoon which was "cancelled" without assigning any reason. Banerjee didn't show up and a security guard curtly told journalists the interaction wouldn't happen. Her strident denunciation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies, including his insistence on pressing ahead with contentious issues like the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the National Register of citizens, had catapulted her to the forefront of the forces arrayed against the BJP and the NDA in the election. The TMC had clinched 34 seats with 39.65 per cent of votes in 2014. Though the Left front pocketed 29.71 per cent votes, it could manage just two seats. The BJP, which was then considered a marginal player, had secured two seats with 17.02 per cent votes, and the Congress four seats, polling 9.58 per cent votes. Though Banerjee did not hold the planned presser, she took to Twitter to congratulate the prospective winners. "Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs match," she had tweeted before she calling the press. In Asansol, Union minister Babul Supriyo has established an unassailable lead of more than 1.46 lakh votes over his nearest TMC rival and yesteryear film actor Moon Moon Sen. However, another Union minister S S Ahluwalia, who had shifted from Darjeeling to Burdwan-Durgapur seat, was trailing his TMC rival Mumtaz Sanghamita by 129 votes. Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, has increased his lead to more than 3 lakh votes in Diamond Harbour constituency. He is the sitting MP from the seat. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh has established an unassailable lead of more than 81,000 votes over Manas Ranjan Bhunia of the TMC in Medinipur. In Barrackpore, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi, who was trailing his BJP challenger Arjun Singh, has now established a lead of little over 2,000 votes over his rival. In Kolkata North constituency, two-time TMC MP from the seat Sudip Bandopadhyay is leading his BJP rival and party national secretary Rahul Sinha by a comfortable margin of over 95,000 votes. As the trends indicated a setback for Banerjee's party, her residence at Kalighat and TMC headquarters at E M Bypass looked abandoned. There was hardly any leader to be spotted. Even though police had cordoned off the area around Banerjee's residence apprehending a huge turnout of supporters, only a handful of them were seen loitering around sullenly. The TMC headquarters were desolate with only a few policemen standing guard. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Thursday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BJP's "magnificent victory" in the Lok Sabha elections. The AIADMK Joint Coordinator's congratulatory message to Modi came amidst the counting trends pointing to the BJP-led NDA retaining power at the Centre comfortably. "I congratulate you on the magnificent victory in the General Elections. The people of our country have honoured you with a second consecutive term," Palaniswami said. "I wish you and the Government of India under your stewardship the very best," he said in a letter to Modi, a copy of which was released to media here. AIADMK and BJP besides others including DMDK and PMK, had faced the April 18 Lok sabha polls in Tamil Nadu as allies. However, as per trends available, the alliance appeared to be heading for a rout in the state with AIADMK's arch rival DMK leading in 35 of the 38 seats. The AIADMK had won 37 seats in the 2014 elections which it had contested alone under the leadership of its supremo late Jayalalithaa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump was less prepared than Vladimir Putin for their first meeting, allowing his Russian counterpart to promote his own agenda and leaving US officials at a disadvantage, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told lawmakers. Tillerson, who was fired by Trump last March, delivered his assessment of Trump's approach to the talks in Hamburg in 2017, in remarks to a Congress committee Tuesday reported by the Washington Post. "We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted," a committee aide told the newspaper. "There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing." Trump met with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in July 2017 under a cloud of rebuke for his reluctance to criticize the Russian leader directly over Moscow's meddling in US elections the previous year. He later said he got along with Putin "very, very well" at the meeting. Tillerson attended the Hamburg talks, which were intended to be a brief meeting but span out into a two-hour discussion on a variety of global issues, anonymous committee aids told the Washington Post. The following year Trump met again with Putin for their first formal summit in Helsinki, dismissing top aides for two hours of talks, in a sharp break with standard diplomatic practice. The businessman-turned-politician has previously expressed skepticism about the importance of preparation for high-stakes diplomacy, describing "attitude" as more useful than research. Ahead of his first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore last year, Trump said with characteristic bravado: "I don't think I have to prepare very much... It's about attitude, it's about willingness to get things done." Trump dismissed Tillerson's remarks, claiming he was "perfectly prepared" for meetings with Putin. "We did very well at those meetings," he said, according to the newspaper. Tillerson has previously described Trump as an "undisciplined" figure who repeatedly wanted to break the law -- leading the US president to respond that his onetime cabinet member was "dumb as a rock" and lazy as hell. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump on Thursday for the first time linked a dispute over telecom giant Huawei, which he views as a threat to American security, with a deal to resolve the US-China trade war. "Huawei is something that is very dangerous," Trump told reporters at the White House. "You look at what they've done from a security standpoint, a military standpoint. Very dangerous." That notwithstanding, Trump said there is a "good possibility" Washington will reach an agreement with Beijing to end the escalating trade conflict, and that "it's possible that Huawei would be included in a trade deal." The two sides have hardened their stands over Huawei, with the US blacklisting the smartphone and telecommunications company over worries that China uses it as a tool for espionage, while Beijing has accused Washington of "bullying" the firm. Trump's comments directly contradicted statements from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said just hours earlier that Huawei and the trade issue were not linked. In an interview on CNBC, Pompeo stressed that there are two separate elements: "the national security component" and efforts "to create a fair reciprocal balanced trade relationship between the two countries." "I hope that we can keep those issues in their own place. We have an imperative to protect American national security. We have a need to make sure we get these trade rules right," Pompeo said. Pompeo also rejected Huawei's statements about its relationship with China's government and said any data touched by the company is "at risk" of falling into the wrong hands. "To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement," Pompeo said. Huawei "is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese communist party." China had already drawn a link between the two issues, accusing the US of "bullying" Huawei. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday warned that Beijing was ready to "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. "The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Wang said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among dozens of world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his impressive victory in the general elections as they vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" Trump tweeted. Chinese President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Modi on his victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi wrote in a letter to Modi. As important neighbours to each other, China and India are two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides, according to the letter. Xi's message congratulating Modi even before the official announcement of results came as a surprise as normally, by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of other countries after the official results are declared. Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years and had their first informal summit at Wuhan last year, officials said that Xi did not wait for an official declaration of the polls due to the strong showing of the NDA. Imran Khan congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party wins the elections. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan was committed to resolve all issues with India through dialogue irrespective of the outcome of the elections. President Putin also congratulated Modi and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations. "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message. He expressed his readiness to continue fruitful personal contacts with Prime Minister Modi and to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs, the Kremlin said. Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party. During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Modi and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. "Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew, Hindi and English. French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Modi and the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together towards further strengthening of the bilateral Strategic Partnership. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani congratulated Modi on a strong mandate and said the government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between the two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli congratulated his Indian counterpart and hoped to work closely with him in future. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa also congratulated Prime Minister Modi. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated Modi and said this "emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy." Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also offered heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two air strikes have killed 14 civilians in Afghanistan in recent days, the United Nations said Thursday, as the US intensifies its air war across the country. According to the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), five women and seven children were among the 14 civilians killed in Helmand province in the south on May 20, and Kunar province in the east on May 22. "Civilian casualty toll from airstrikes in #Afghanistan continues to rise," UNAMA said on Twitter. "Parties must respect international obligations to protect civilians from harm." While the Afghan military does have a fledgeling air force, most strikes are led or supported by American air power. US Forces Afghanistan declined to comment. According to US Air Force Central Command, the US dropped 7,362 bombs in Afghanistan in 2018, the highest number since at least 2010. In April, UNAMA published a report saying Afghan civilians are for the first time being killed in greater numbers by US and pro-government forces than by the Taliban and other insurgent groups. During the first three months of 2019, international and pro-government forces were responsible for the deaths of 305 civilians, whereas insurgent groups killed 227 people, UNAMA said. The development comes as the US steps up its air campaign in Afghanistan while pushing for a peace deal with the Taliban, who now control or influence more parts of the country than at any time since they were ousted in 2001. At least eight police officers were killed May 16 in southern Afghanistan during a "friendly fire" strike from US forces. And UNAMA last week said it was probing allegations of civilian casualties resulting from US air strikes against purported drug-making facilities in western Afghanistan. The allegations centre on strikes conducted earlier in May in Farah and Nimroz provinces, where dozens of structures said to have been used to produce heroin and other illegal drugs were destroyed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two American warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the US navy said Thursday, as Washington also kicked off multinational naval drills near Guam in operations bound to provoke a rebuke from Beijing. The navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit "in accordance with international law". "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the navy said. "The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." US warships periodically conduct "freedom of navigation" exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. The transit comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia kicked off operation "Pacific Vanguard" near Guam, bringing together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries. Drills will focus on "live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea," the US 7th Fleet said. In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait and lodged an official complaint with Paris. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The US diplomatically recognises China over Taiwan, but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier. For the Guam naval drills, Australia has contributed two frigates, Japan two destroyers and South Korea one destroyer. The USS Blue Ridge, the 7th Fleet's flagship, will lead the operation from the US side. Home to more than 160,000 people, Guam was at the centre of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with "enveloping fire". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's election results resonated in the political and business corridors of the UK on Thursday as leading politicians and entrepreneurs welcomed the "decisive" victory scored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the official Downing Street reaction to Modi's landslide win is expected only after the official results declaration, members of the Theresa May-led Conservative Party government took to social media to celebrate the verdict. "Beyond the size of the majority now commanded by the BJP, this result is a decisive verdict on the support enjoyed by Narendra Modi across the nation of India," said Bob Blackman, a Conservative Party MP from Harrow in north-west London where he represents a large British Hindu constituency. "The BJP are the natural allies of the Conservative and Unionist Party and I am positive about the ever blossoming relationship between our two great nation states. India has been strengthened both domestically and abroad under Modi's premiership and I look forward to his new term Jai Hind," he said. On the Opposition Labour Party benches, another London-based MP representing a large British Hindu constituency of Brent North, Barry Gardiner, was equally effusive in his praise for Modi. "As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins a second term we congratulate him for his message: 'Our alliance represents India's diversity and our agenda is India's progress', celebrating the country's diversity. I look forward to deepening our friendship and trade," he said. The Confederation for British Industry (CBI), the UK's representative industry body, also welcomed the "landslide victory". "The economic ties that bind the United Kingdom with India continue to go from strength to strength. Our latest research shows that the UK is the largest western investor in India and British business has created nearly 425,000 jobs since 2000," CBI India director Shehla Hasan said. "India will be a vital trading partner as the UK charts a new future outside the EU. The bold economic reforms already taken by Prime Minister Modi have enticed ever greater numbers of British firms to India. To fully capitalise on these opportunities, businesses would like to see further progress in reducing corporate tax rates, data privacy and ease of doing business indicators like enforcing contracts or registering a property," she said. Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul took to Twitter to congratulate the people of India as well as Modi. "You have shown your commitment in democracy. More than 600 million people voting largest in the world. Makes us all very proud. Let us make India strong. I am very proud to be Indian," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UK government on Thursday welcomed India's election results and the re-election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said he looked forward to visiting India soon as he congratulated Modi after an inspiring election campaign. "Congratulations to Narendra Modi on your re-election! The world's largest ever democratic exercise in history is an inspiration to us all & I hope to be visiting soon," said the senior minister in a Twitter statement. "We will continue to nurture living bridge between our countries & work together as a force for good in the world," he said. The official reaction came as the Indian election results resonated across the political and business corridors of the UK, with leading politicians and entrepreneurs welcoming the "decisive" victory scored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the official Downing Street reaction to Modi's landslide win is expected later, members of the Theresa May led Conservative Party government took to social media to celebrate the verdict. "Beyond the size of the majority now commanded by the BJP, this result is a decisive verdict on the support enjoyed by Narendra Modi across the nation of India," said Bob Blackman, a Conservative Party MP from Harrow in north-west London where he represents a large British Hindu constituency. "The BJP are the natural allies of the Conservative and Unionist Party and I am positive about the ever blossoming relationship between our two great nation states. India has been strengthened both domestically and abroad under Modi's premiership and I look forward to his new term - Jai Hind," he said. On the Opposition Labour Party benches, another London-based MP representing a large British Hindu constituency of Brent North, Barry Gardiner, was equally effusive in his praise for Modi. "As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wins a second term we congratulate him for his message: 'Our alliance represents India's diversity and our agenda is India's progress', celebrating the country's diversity. I look forward to deepening our friendship and trade," he said. The Confederation for British Industry (CBI), the UK's representative industry body, also welcomed the "landslide victory". "The economic ties that bind the United Kingdom with India continue to go from strength to strength. Our latest research shows that the UK is the largest western investor in India and British business has created nearly 425,000 jobs since 2000," CBI India director Shehla Hasan said. "India will be a vital trading partner as the UK charts a new future outside the EU. The bold economic reforms already taken by Prime Minister Modi have enticed ever greater numbers of British firms to India. To fully capitalise on these opportunities, businesses would like to see further progress in reducing corporate tax rates, data privacy and ease of doing business indicators like enforcing contracts or registering a property," she said. Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul took to Twitter to congratulate the people of India as well as Modi. "You have shown your commitment in democracy. More than 600 million people voting largest in the world. Makes us all very proud. Let us make India strong. I am very proud to be Indian," he said. Impromptu street parties also broke out in parts of the UK, with the Indian Gymkhana in south-west London celebrating with dance and music. "The public enthusiasm from a foreign soil clearly indicated the support, acknowledgement and appreciation of the work done by the current government, especially an untiring PM in last five years," said Kuldeep Shekhawat, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) group which organised a series of events such as car and rallies and flash mobs during the Indian election campaign. "NRIs believe the Modi government's progressive thinking, inclusive policies and initiatives to bring social equity is the key," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A British journalist working for Sky reported on Thursday that her team was deliberately shelled by Syrian forces, while an activist they were travelling with was hit by shrapnel. "We were spotted by a military drone and then repeatedly shot at with what we believe were 125mm shells probably fired from a T-72 Russian battle tank," special correspondent Alex Crawford said on the Sky website. "As we retreated to leave the area, the targeting of us continued," said the journalist, who was reporting in the jihadist-dominated northwestern province of Idlib. She said that one of the Sky crew had press markings on his flak jacket, while the other was carrying a clearly visible green medical trauma pack. "They were all clear violations of the normal standards of operation in a battle zone," she said, posting a dramatic video of the attack on her Twitter account. "Even when we withdrew to the nearby town, Khan Shaykhun, some 10km away, the shelling followed us there and continued." Rebel activist Bilal Abdul Kareem was hit in the chest by shrapnel, she said. Syrian government aircraft bombed several towns in the region on Thursday, killing eight civilians as troops and militia battled jihadists on the ground, a monitor said. The new bombardment of the region of Idlib followed strikes on Tuesday night and Wednesday that killed 23 civilians, 12 of them at a busy market. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PERUGIA - The "Benois Madonna" painted by Leonardo da Vinci, also known as Madonna and Child with Flowers, is returning to Italy, 35 years since the last time it was shown in the country. The painting is being loaned from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and will go on display in Perugia from July 4 through August 4 at the National Gallery of Umbria. The work was Leonardo's second attempt at depicting one of the most widespread religious themes, that of the Madonna with child, and he completed it at the age of 26. In it, he provided a new perspective that saw the Madonna not in the typical portrayal as Queen of Heaven, but rather as a mother simply playing with her child. The painting's exhibition in Italy is just one of many initiatives in celebration of the 500th anniversary this year of Leonardo's death. Before it arrives in Perugia, the work will go on display at the Pinacoteca Civica in Fabriano from June 1 to June 30. The Benois Madonna is a key work from Leonardo's younger years and was likely painted between 1478 and 1480. It shows the Florentine Renaissance artist's independence from the style and training of Verrocchio, and puts on display the "modern manner" that Leonardo initiated. Tatiana Kustodieva of the Hermitage Museum's art department said the painting shows the Madonna "descended from the throne upon which the artists of the 15th century had put her, and placed on a bench, in an inhabited home". The painting came into the Hermitage's collection in 1914, sold by Marija Aleksandrovna Benois, who had inherited it from her paternal grandfather, a merchant in Astrakhan. Benois sold it for less than market value on the condition that it remain in Russia. A statement from the National Gallery of Umbria said the exhibition - which is being organised in collaboration with cultural-event organisers Villagio Globale International - will strengthen the already existing bond between the museum in Perugia and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. The head of the United Nations organisation for Palestinian refugees on Thursday rejected a US call to dismantle the agency, saying it cannot be blamed for stalled peace efforts. UNRWA's commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl rebuffed the criticism from US envoy Jason Greenblatt during a visit to the Gaza Strip. "I unreservedly reject the accompanying narrative that suggests that somehow UNRWA is to blame for the continuation of the refugee-hood of Palestine refugees, of their growing numbers and their growing needs," he said in response to a question about Greenblatt's comments. "The fact that UNRWA still exists today is an illustration of the failure of the parties and the international community to resolve the issue politically -- and one cannot deflect the attention onto a humanitarian organisation," he told a press conference in Gaza City. The United States last year cut off its roughly USD 300 million annual donation to UNRWA, and administration officials now argue the agency has run its course. Speaking to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Greenblatt said the "UNRWA model has failed the Palestinian people." He said it was time to hand over services assured by the UN agency to countries hosting Palestinian refugees and NGOs. He said the US had given USD 6 billion in aid to UNRWA since it was founded in 1949 "and yet year after year UNRWA funding fell short." "We need to be honest about the situation. UNRWA is a bandaid and the Palestinians who use its services deserve better," said Greenblatt. More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or forced to flee their lands in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel and they and their descendants make up the millions of Palestinians refugees across the Middle East. UNRWA provides education, health and other key services for the refugees with funding from international donors. The US and Israel say the agency perpetuates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in particular by classifying refugees' descendants as refugees too. UNRWA argues it is simply providing services until a political solution is found. The US is due to hold an economic conference in Bahrain on June 25-26 as the first part of the administration's long-delayed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, though the Palestinians will not attend, accusing the United States of seeking to eliminate their cause. UNRWA hosts a conference on June 25 at which international donors are expected to pledge financial support. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Koehler, has resigned from his post due to health reasons, nearly two years after he took up the peacemaking mission, the United Nations said Wednesday. Koehler, a former German president, was appointed in August 2017 to lead UN efforts to end the decades-old conflict between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front. The 76-year-old envoy relayed the to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a phone call on Wednesday, a UN statement said. Guterres "deeply regretted the resignation but said he fully understood the decision and extended his best wishes to the personal envoy," it added. In a statement, Morocco's foreign ministry said "the kingdom of Morocco notes with regret" Koehler's resignation, while crediting him "for the efforts he has made since his nomination." The Polisario meanwhile said it was "deeply saddened" by the news, and thanked the outgoing envoy for "his dynamic efforts to revive the UN peace process." His departure leaves the UN negotiations in limbo following two rounds of talks that marked the first time in six years that the parties have come to the negotiating table. Guterres thanked Koehler for his "steadfast and intensive efforts which laid the foundation for the new momentum in the political process on the question of Western Sahara." 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. The Polisario is demanding a referendum on independence for the territory, which Morocco has flatly rejected. Morocco, which annexed the territory after Spain withdrew in 1975, considers Western Sahara to be an integral part of the kingdom and has instead offered autonomy. Koehler served as German president from 2004 to 2010 and was managing director of the International Monetary Fund from 2000 to 2004. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres very much looks forward to working with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders have a "strong relationship" on issues such as climate change, the UN chief's spokesperson said following Modi's victory in the general elections. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "We have seen the results...We obviously very much look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi. The secretary general and him have especially a strong relationship when it come to issues around climate change," UN spokesperson Stphane Dujarric told PTI when asked if the secretary general has a message for Modi following his victory in elections. Dujarric added that as of now, he doesn't know if any conversation is scheduled between the UN chief and the Indian Prime Minister following the election results, which were declared Thursday. Spokeswoman for President of the General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Monica Grayley said that the UNGA President congratulates India and the people of India, as well as all newly elected representatives of this election. Espinosa "looks forward to continuing to work with India in the months to come," Grayley said. Grayley added that the UNGA President would send a congratulatory letter to the Indian government. Espinosa had met with Modi during her visit to India in August 2018 and her interaction and cooperation with India is a very good one, Grayley said, adding that Espinosa, if given the opportunity, would definitely congratulate the Prime Minister in person if possible. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) Thursday consolidated their position in Uttar Pradesh by bagging four seats and leading in 59 others, according to the available trends. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won from Varanasi by defeating his nearest rival SP's Shalini Yadav by a huge margin of 4,79,505 votes. According to the trends available till 7 pm, the BJP wrested Bahraich and Gorakhpur seats, while Apna Dal (S) won from Robertsganj. The fifth seat went to the BSP. The party had drawn a blank in the state during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In Bahraich, Akshaywar Lal of BJP won by defeating Shabbir Balmiki of Samajwadi Party by a margin of 1,28,752 votes. Gorakhpur seat was wrested by Bhojpuri star and BJP candidate Ravi Kishan by defeating SP's Rambhual Nishad by a margin of 3,01,664 votes. In the by-election, the seat was won by the SP-BSP combine. Robertsganj seat went to Pakauri Lal Kol of BJP's alliance partner Apna Dal (Soneylal) who defeated his closest rival Bhai Lal of Samajwadi Party by 54,336 votes. The BSP won from Nagina where its candidate Girish Chandra defeated Yashwant Singh of BJP by a margin of 1,66,832 votes. As Union minister Smriti Irani was poised to wrest Amethi from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, she quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. "Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahin ho sakta," she tweeted after leading by over 45,000 votes in the seat considered a Congress bastion. Her tweet came immediately after Gandhi conceded defeat and congratulated the minister. The 43-year-old BJP leader took the political hotbed of Amethi by storm after trends indicated that she was heading for a win in the Gandhi-stronghold. The Congress chief had also contested the Lok Sabha election from Wayanad in Kerala, a decision political pundits believed was widely influenced by the tough fight Irani posed to him in his home turf. The Gandhi scion had defeated Irani in 2014 by a margin of 1.07 lakh votes. In neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, Rahul's mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led over her nearest rival by over 1.67 lakh votes to give the grand old party a saving grace. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties. "It is high time for the opposition to introspect and shun of negativity," he told PTI, giving full credit to Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the "historic victory". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Justice Department on Thursday charged founder with violating the US Espionage Act in the publishing of military and diplomatic files in 2010, rejecting his claim that he is a The department unveiled 17 new charges against Assange, accusing him of aiding and abetting with stealing secret US files and also recklessly exposing and endangering confidential sources in the and who were named in the files. The charges against Assange, now 18 in total, reject his claim that he was simply a publisher receiving leaked material from Manning, an action that is protected under the US Constitution's First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of the press. A new indictment alleges that Assange conspired with Manning to steal the hundreds of thousands of classified files "with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the or the advantage of a foreign nation," the Justice Department said. It also said that Assange rejected the US State Department's warning in 2010 to redact the names of its and the US military's confidential sources in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and China, sources it said included journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents. "Assange's actions risked serious harm to national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention," the department said. "The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers. "But is no " "Indeed, no responsible act of journalism would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential sources in war zones, exposing them to the gravest of dangers," he said. Assange is in prison in Britain for jumping bail and faces a US extradition request when he is released 11 months from now. blasted the new charges, saying it threatened reporters broadly. "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment," the group tweeted. Lauding the people of India and the fairness and integrity of the elections in the world's largest democracy, the US has said it will work with whoever is the victor in the polls. With 900 million eligible voters, the election for the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament was the largest vote the world has seen. More than 8,000 candidates from various political parties contested for 543 seats. "I would say from the US perspective, we are very confident in the fairness and the integrity of the Indian elections, and we will obviously work with whoever is the victor and whatever the outcome is there," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters here on Wednesday. Unlike other countries, the US does not send its election observers to India because of the strong independent credentials of the Election Commission of India. "We have a very strong relationship and a lot of cooperation with the Indian government on a full range of issues, and the Secretary (of State, Mike Pompeo) has said numerous times that we have a true strategic partner in India," Ortagus said in response to a question. The diplomat praised India and its people for carrying out such a massive exercise peacefully, describing it as "fascinating". "Someone pointed this out to me today that India's election is the largest exercise in democracy in human history," she said. "I think with everything going on in the world, that's a thing that we can pause and think about and certainly commend the Indian people," Ortagus said. The Washington Post on Wednesday said the Indian election was the largest democratic exercise in the world. "With about 900 million eligible voters, the size of the electorate had swelled by more than 80 million compared to 2014. In that election, 550 million people ultimately cast votes," it had said. Richard M Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, said the next Indian government will have a difficult time managing ties with the United States. "A dual-track approach is quite clear: Continued progress in deepening our security relationship while simultaneously engaging in a wider trade fight," Rossow said. "Too often this trade fight is attributed mainly to the United States. This is unfair, as the Modi government took significant steps to slow imports in recent years, such as increasing customs duties and initiating new local content mandates for government procurement," Rossow told PTI in response to a question. He said while the next government in India might trigger fresh reforms early in its tenure, they are likely to be more focused on attracting foreign investment rather than taking steps that could increase imports. "Investment-oriented reforms are unlikely to assuage US trade policy concerns. So this dual-track approach is likely to persist post-election," Rossow added. A New York Times editorial piece said the election had become a sweeping referendum on the last five years of governance by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is also likely to be the world's most expensive elections, with parties estimated to have spent a total of as much as USD7 billion, it said. According to The Washington Post, the result of this election will be pivotal to the future of India, soon to become the world's most populous nation. "India is attempting to catch up in economic terms with China, its neighbour to the east, a pursuit that requires massive investment in infrastructure and significant policy change. At the same time, the country is also "deciding what kind of democracy it wants to be, having embraced a Hindu chauvinist leader by a landslide in the last national polls in 2014," the daily said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Prime Minister Modi appears on track for a second term if exit polls bear out, "but less clear to investors and executives is which version of Mr Modi would take charge: the business-friendly leader or the divisive nationalist. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US corporate sector Thursday congratulated Narendra Modi on his "commanding victory", saying the Prime Minister has the potential to transform India and forge opportunity for all Indians. Prime Minister Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears set to post an emphatic victory in the Lok Sabha election, bringing Modi back into office for a second term. "Congratulations to" Modi and the BJP "for a commanding victory," said Nisha Desai Biswal, president of US India Business Council (USIBC). The Prime Minister "has the potential to transform India and forge opportunity for all Indians," she said, adding that the USIBC looks forward to work with the BJP government. Commending Modi on his electoral success, Biswal said the first five years of Modi's government saw good progress on reforms. The establishment of a national Goods and Services Tax, passage of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and a variety of legal and regulatory reforms catapulted India's Ease of Doing Business ranking from 142 to 77, she said. "These reforms laid the foundation for India's strong record of economic growth. Still, much remains to be done to unlock the expansive growth potential of the Indian market. With a strong mandate from the Indian people, Prime Minister Modi will have an opportunity to usher in an era of global economic and strategic leadership for India," Biswal said. A strong US-India commercial partnership will support these goals, helping India to grow into a USD 5 trillion economy in the next five years. "USIBC believes that trade and investment between the two countries is a critical element of India's future growth, and looks forward to working with Prime Minister Modi and his team to unlock new growth opportunities across the US-India corridor," Biswal said. Biswal was the last diplomat to hold the position of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in the Obama administration. She left the position on January 20. The important diplomatic post has been vacant in the 28 months of the Trump administration. Commenting on the election outcome, the head of a top US-based India-centric business advocacy group said that the results are "stellar and historic". "Voters have re-elected PM Modi for economic development, inclusive prosperity and corruption free government. Results are stellar and historic," Mukesh Aghi, the president of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), told PTI. "We expect bolder reforms, efficient government and massive job creation," Aghi said in response to a question, adding that the results have brought in increased confidence among the American corporate sector as it brings in stability. Rick Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said at the very least, Modi's re-election will keep some stability in US-India ties. "We have made good progress in our defense relationship, and despite some tensions between our capitals on trade issues, our economic relationship is deepening considerably. "These factors are unlikely to change in the near-term, assuming we can avoid any serious self-goals such as pending US sanctions regimes related to India's ties with Russia and Iran, or a dramatic worsening trade fight," Rossow said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States is considering deploying more troops to the Middle East as it looks for ways to enhance the protection of its forces in the turbulent region, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Thursday. Shanahan denied reports that plans call for the deployment of as many as 10,000 more troops to the region, where tensions between the US and Iran are on the rise. "What we're looking at, are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?" he said, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon. "It may involve sending additional troops. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Top American lawmakers Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his impressive victory in the general elections, saying they were looking forward to continue working with his government to strengthen the Indo-US ties Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a huge victory for a second term in office. "As co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, I want to congratulate the Indian people on today's historic election - the largest democratic election in history," Senator Mark Warner, Co-Chair of the powerful Senate India Caucus in his congratulatory message to Modi. "I look forward to continuing our work with PM Modi's administration to strengthen our important alliance with India," said Warner, who is also Vice Chairman of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee. Congressman Tom Souzzi congratulated Modi on his re-election and said the India-US relationship was going to be very important over the next 50 years. "Congratulations" to Prime Minister Modi "on his re-election!" tweeted Congressman Souzzi. "The India-US relationship is based upon shared values. This alliance will be very important over the next 50 years & I am looking forward to continuing our work with PM Modi & Indian government to strengthen our alliance," Souzzi said. Dozens of world leaders congratulated Modi on his impressive victory in the general elections and vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States Wednesday said that it was confident in the fairness and integrity of the Indian elections and would work with whoever is the victor. "I would say from the US perspective, we are very confident in the fairness and the integrity of the Indian elections, and we will obviously work with whoever is the victor and whatever the outcome is there," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters during an off-camera gaggle here. Unlike other countries, the US does not send its election observers to India because of the strong independent credentials of the Election Commission of India. "We have a very strong relationship and a lot of cooperation with the Indian government on a full range of issues, and the Secretary (of State, Mike Pompeo) has said numerous times that we have a true strategic partner in India," Ortagus said in response to a question. The diplomat praised India and its people for carrying out such a massive exercise peacefully, describing it as fascinating. "Someone pointed this out to me today that India's election is the largest exercise in democracy in human history," she said. "I think with everything going on in the world, that's a thing that we can pause and think about and certainly commend the Indian people," Ortagus added. The Washington Post had on Wednesday said that the Indian election was the largest democratic exercise in the world. "With about 900 million eligible voters, the size of the electorate had swelled by more than 80 million compared to 2014. In that election, 550 million people ultimately cast votes," it had said. Richard M Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, said the next Indian government will have a difficult time managing ties with the United States. "A dual-track approach is quite clear: Continued progress in deepening our security relationship while simultaneously engaging in a wider trade fight," Rossow said. "Too often this trade fight is attributed mainly to the United States. This is unfair, as the Modi government took significant steps to slow imports in recent years, such as increasing customs duties and initiating new local content mandates for government procurement," Rossow told PTI in response to a question. He said while the next government in India might trigger fresh reforms early in its tenure, they are likely to be more focused on attracting foreign investment rather than taking steps that could increase imports. "Investment-oriented reforms are unlikely to assuage US trade policy concerns. So this dual-track approach is likely to persist post-election," Rossow added. A New York Times editorial piece said the election had become a sweeping referendum on the last five years of governance by Narendra Modi, the country's dominant and divisive prime minister. It is also likely to be the world's most expensive elections, with parties estimated to have spent a total of as much as USD7 billion, it read. "During the campaign this year, Mr. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party seemed to intensify its Hindu right-wing rhetoric. Whether voters reward or punish that choice will be one of the most important takeaways from the biggest elections in the world," the NYT said. According to The Washington Post, the result of this election will be pivotal to the future of India, soon to become the world's most populous nation. "India is attempting to catch up in economic terms with China, its neighbour to the east, a pursuit that requires massive investment in infrastructure and significant policy change. At the same time, the country is also deciding what kind of democracy it wants to be, having embraced a Hindu chauvinist leader by a landslide in the last national polls in 2014," the daily said. In a dispatch from New Delhi, The Wall Street Journal reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears on track for a second term if exit polls bear out, "but less clear to investors and executives is which version of Mr Modi would take charge: the business-friendly leader or the divisive nationalist. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel restricts fishing zone after incendiary balloons Back down to 10 miles from 15 miles (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MAY 23 - Israel has decided to reduce the fishing zone off Gaza down to 10 miles from 15 miles, following the launch on Wednesday of incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip towards the Jewish state. The news was announced by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which had just recently announced widening the fishing area as one of the legal provisions of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was mediated by the UN and Egypt.(ANSAmed). Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Thursday congratulated people for "voting for stability" and hailed the EC for a smooth and efficient conduct of elections. In a message, he said, "I congratulate all the winning parties and candidates in whom the people have reposed immense trust". "I hope that all of us, irrespective of party affiliations, will continue to deepen the roots of our rich democratic tradition and focus our collective energies on development, reforms and enhancement of the quality of our people's lives," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit Thursday conceded her party's defeat in Lok Sabha polls in the national capital, terming the loss "very disappointing", and congratulated the BJP for its spectacular performance. BJP candidates were leading over their rivals on all the seven seats in Delhi by margins ranging from 1-5 lakh votes. Final results are expected later tonight. "It is very disappointing, we should have won," she told PTI. Dikshit, who herself was trailing by over 3.63 lakh votes against her rival and Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari in North East Delhi constituency, expressed satisfaction that the Congress pushed the Aam Aadmi Party to the third place on most seats. She said Delhi Congress leaders will meet in coming days and discuss steps needed in view of the her party's dismal performance in the election. Congress, which trailed behind AAP in Delhi in elections since 2014, took consolation in the fact that its candidates on four seats managed to force Arvind Kejriwal-led party to the third place in this poll. "That is a very good thing, we welcome it," she said. Congress candidates on four seats North East Delhi, East Delhi, New Delhi and West Delhi were trailing behind BJP. However, AAP candidates on South Delhi and West Delhi were the nearest rivals of BJP candidates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In its landslide victory, the BJP has seen its vote share soar past 50 per cent in at least 13 states and Union territories, a feat which the rival Congress could manage only in Puducherry. Besides, the main opposition party's voting percentage has remained in single digits in politically important states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, as per the latest data from the Election Commission. As per the preliminary estimates, the BJP has significantly improved its national vote share from 31.34 per cent in 2014 to a new record high, while there appeared to be only a marginal change in case of the Congress from its 19.5 per cent score of the last elections. The BJP had got 7.74 per cent vote share in 1984 when it got two Lok Sabha seats, after which it consistently saw an increase till 1998 (25.59 per cent) and then slipped for three consecutive national elections till 2009 (18.8 per cent), before surging again in 2014. The Congress, which secured 45 per cent votes in the first parliamentary elections in 1952, saw its voting percentage remain in 40s till the 1971 elections. After a slump to 34.5 per cent in 1977, the Congress again returned to 42.7 per cent in 1980 and then to a record high of 48.1 per cent in 1984/85. While the elections held immediately after Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984 saw the Congress record a vote share of 49.1 per cent, it got 32.14 per cent votes in delayed polls that were held in Punjab and Assam in 1985 -- resulting in an overall figure of 48.1 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, began to dip after that with its voting percentage dropping to 39.5 per cent in 1989 and further to 20s between 1996 and 2009, and even below that mark in 2014. The state-wise preliminary data for the 2019 elections showed that the Congress could get a vote share of just about 6 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, and a little higher at about 7 per cent in Bihar. The score is even worse at just about 1 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim. Even in Punjab, where the party has done relatively well, the Congress vote share is about 40 per cent with Puducherry being the only place where it has crossed the half-way mark at about 57 per cent. In comparison, the BJP has got close to 50 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and even higher in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Delhi, Chandigarh and Arunachal Pradesh. In West Bengal also, the BJP has secured close to 40 per cent votes and in Jammu & Kashmir it has scored approximately 46 per cent. Among the states where it fought election in alliance, the BJP got close to 10 per cent in Punjab, 27 per cent in Maharashtra, 35 per cent in Assam, 24 per cent in Bihar and 3.34 per cent in Tamil Nadu. In Telangana, the BJP has got nearly 20 per cent votes, while it could get only 0.9 per cent in Andhra Pradesh. In Kerala, the BJP has got nearly 13 per cent and over 38 per cent in Odisha. Manash Kalita Neog, co-founder of policy advocacy firm Chase India, said the BJP's nearly 50 per cent vote share in UP is a testimony to the huge ground swell for Brand Modi. "Pan-India, from a 31-32 per cent votes in 2014, as per the ongoing trends, we can say that the NDA will be hovering around 50 per cent vote share, which is a huge mandate considering the Hindi heartland as well south India has got strong regional parties," he said. Anup Sharma, mentor and senior fellow at democratic sustainability think-tank The Lentils Institute, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cemented his brand identity that resonated with far more people voting for his party. "Every election is fought on narratives and an agenda, and the opposition failed to create a narrative and only had one agenda -- Defeat Modi. "Through a strategically planned outreach campaign and in-your-face messaging, the BJP's narrative overshadowed all other parties," he said. While the Congress was unable to communicate what it stands for on major issues, the BJP on the other hand played around Modi's personal popularity and his strong image on national security and built the narrative around it, Sharma said. The foundation that runs Wikipedia said Thursday it had filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights to lift Turkey's two-year block on the website. Turkey blocked all access in April 2017 over entries the government said linked Turkish authorities to terrorist activities. Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organisation, said the ECHR application follows attempts to lift the ban through local courts, speaking to Turkish officials and campaigns to put pressure on Ankara to allow access. "The Wikimedia Foundation has filed suit against Turkey in the (ECHR)," Katherine Maher, executive director of Wikimedia Foundation, told reporters in a telephone briefing, a decision that she said was "not made lightly". While lower Turkish courts upheld the ban, Turkey's constitutional court has not given any response to the Wikipedia case in two years, Wikimedia said in a statement. The foundation sees the ban as a violation of rights including freedom of expression, guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention. The issue began over two English-language pages on state-sponsored terrorism and the Syrian civil war that Ankara believes falsely linked it to terrorist activities. Stephen LaPorte, Wikimedia Foundation's legal director, said the government demanded the pages' removal "without any official explanation of what part is allegedly illegal". Maher said the foundation did not comply with Turkey's request to remove the pages because "we believe that the content in question was legally-protected free expression". Turkey has over the past few years temporarily blocked access to social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter after events including mass protests or terror attacks. China this month broadened its block of Wikipedia to include all language editions, becoming the only other country after Turkey to do so. Most editions of the online encyclopaedia except the Chinese language version were available previously. Maher said Wikimedia was exploring ways to lift the block in China as well. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Thursday said he would approach the Congress high command over his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu's remarks on the sacrilege issue during electioneering. A day before polling, Sidhu had raised questions on the probe into the desecration of religious texts in 2015. Maintaining that Sidhu's remarks "might have affected the party's performance in Bathinda, the CM said he would take up the issue with the party high command once things settled after the election results. The CM also said Sidhu's performance as a minister needed to be reviewed as he had "not been able to handle his own department". The Congress in Punjab performed poorly in urban areas and Sidhu was the minister for urban development, the CM said, adding that it was wrong on his part to make the controversial remarks. The chief minister said the minister evidently did not understand that a special investigation team (SIT) had been set up to probe the sacrilege issue. The chief minister reiterated that Sidhu's yari and jhappi (friendship and hugs) with the Pakistani army chief would not be tolerated, especially by Army personnel, who were being killed by the ISI-backed terrorists. The chief minister also said the performance of the state ministers would be reviewed in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha results. "We will review the performance of the ministers. It was not a veiled threat made by the party before the elections," he added. He rejected suggestions of any detrimental impact on the party performance by Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa, saying the party had won in the areas in which he had some influence. He thanked the Congress workers, party leaders and people of the state for the party's victory in Punjab and said they would introspect on the defeat of the party in Bathinda and Gurdaspur. Congress chief Sunil Jakhar lost to BJP nominee and actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur. I do not understand people's preference for a Bollywood star over an experienced leader, he said, hoping that the Indian democracy would evolve in coming years. He blamed the shifting of votes to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the party's defeat in Hoshiarpur. Overall, people of Punjab have responded to the government's welfare programmes, he said. The CM said the sacrilege issue certainly worked against the Badals. Commenting on AAP state chief Bhagwant Mann performance in Sangrur, the chief minister said it was due to his own standing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "historic" win of the NDA in the Lok Sabha election and asserted that his party fielded "very good" candidates on all the seats and he accepts the people's mandate. Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what is certain to be a spectacular victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. The BJP is also set for an astounding victory in Delhi, where it is leading in all the seven seats. "I congratulate Sh Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. "We accept the mandate of the people. We fielded very good candidates and our party workers worked very hard during campaigning," he said in another tweet. "Congratulations to Bhagwant and the people of Sangrur. Bhagwant will continue working for the people of Punjab and raising people's issues in Parliament," Kejriwal tweeted. The Delhi chief minister has been a vocal critic of Modi and has lashed out at him on several occasions during election campaigns, accusing the PM of indulging in of hatred. Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said the party respects the mandate of people. "We will work together with Prime Minister Modi for the people of Delhi. We have provided our best candidates. Every party worker worked very hard in this election. We will continue our work for the people of Delhi," he said. AAP East Delhi candidate Atishi congratulated her rival from BJP Gautam Gambhir, saying she would continue to work for her constituency. "And many thanks to the people of East Delhi. Have been overwhelmed by the love and affection I have gotten here. I will always be available for you and shall continue my work here for a safer, more educated and developed East Delhi," the Oxford graduate said. She thanked the volunteers of the AAP "who gave their heart and soul" to her campaign. "All of you are amazing! It gives me a great sense of hope that so many people from different walks have life have come together to bring change in this country," she said. "And finally thanks to all the 1000s of people who supported my crowdfunding campaign! Not only did your support give me strength, but also the hope that we can create a clean model of election funding in India," Atishi said. The seven candidates fielded by the AAP were New Delhi - Brijesh Goyal, Chandni Chowk -Pankaj Gupta, South Delhi - Raghav Chadha, East Delhi - Atishi, North East Delhi - Dilip Pandey, North West Delhi - Gugan Singh and West Delhi - Balbir Singh Jakhad. In New Delhi, Goyal is trailing by a margin of 4 lakh votes to BJP candidate Meenakshi Lekhi, Gupta is trailing by over 3 lakh votes to BJP candidate Harsh Vardhan, Chadha is trailing by a margin of over 3 lakh votes to BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and Atishi is trailing by a margin of over 4 lakh votes to BJP candidate Gambhir. On the other hand, Dilip Pandey is trailing by over 5 lakh votes to BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari, Singh by a margin of over 6 lakh to BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans and Jakhar by a margin of over 6 lakh to BJP candidate Parvesh Singh Verma. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi chief minister and AAP president Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said he accepted the people's mandate, after his party lost on all seven seats in the national capital and came third in most of the constituencies. He also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the "historic" win of the NDA in the Lok Sabha election. Except North West and South Delhi seats, where the AAP is in the second spot, the ruling party in Delhi came at the third position in all the other five constituencies. The AAP had fielded seven candidates in Delhi - Brijesh Goyal from New Delhi, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Raghav Chadha from South Delhi, Atishi from East Delhi, Dilip Pandey from North East Delhi, Gugan Singh from North West Delhi and Balbir Singh Jakhad from West Delhi. In New Delhi, Goyal lost by over four lakh votes to BJP candidate Meenakshi Lekhi, Gupta lost by over three lakh votes to BJP candidate Harsh Vardhan, Chadha lost by over three lakh votes to BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and Atishi lost by over four lakh votes to BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir. On the other hand, Dilip Pandey lost by over five lakh votes to BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari, Singh lost by over six lakh to BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans and Jakhar lost by over six lakh votes to BJP candidate Parvesh Singh Verma. The star performer of AAP, Atishi who is credited with revolutionising the education system of government schools, has come in third, after Gambhir and Congress candidate Arvinder Singh Lovely. Kejriwal congratulated Modi for the BJP's victory. "I congratulate Sh Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted. "We accept the mandate of the people. We fielded very good candidates and our party workers worked very hard during campaigning," he said in another tweet. He also congratulated Bhagwant Mann, who won from Sangrur seat in Punjab, and the people of the constituency, saying Mann will continue to raise people's issues in Parliament. The Delhi chief minister has been a vocal critic of Modi and has lashed out at him on several occasions during election campaigns, accusing the prime minister of indulging in of hatred. Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said the party respects the mandate of people. "We will work together with the prime minister for the people of Delhi. We have provided our best candidates. Every party workers worked very hard in this election. We will continue our work for the people of Delhi," he said. AAP East Delhi candidate Atishi congratulated her rival from BJP Gautam Gambhir, saying she would continue to work for her constituency. "And many thanks to the people of East Delhi. Have been overwhelmed by the love and affection I got here. I will always be available for you and shall continue my work here for a safer, more educated and developed East Delhi," the Oxford graduate said. She thanked the volunteers of the AAP "who gave their heart and soul" to her campaign. "All of you are amazing! It gives me a great sense of hope that so many people from different walks have life have come together to bring change in this country," she said. Chadha, in a long post on Facebook, said he respects the mandate of the people and congratulated all the winning MPs, including Bidhuri. "As the Lok Sabha elections come to a close, people have spoken and we respect their mandate. I congratulate the BJP on its victory and do hope the seven elected MPs suitably reciprocate Delhiites for the trust placed in them. I hope the spirit of federalism moves them to work with the state government for a better Delhi, for all. "Even as I congratulate Ramesh Bidhuri of BJP on his victory, I hope in the next five years he serves people of South Delhi constituency better than he has in the past five years," he said. Right from slapping of Kejriwal during a road show to the Delhi chief minister claiming that Modi would murder him and even the issue related to distribution of obscene and derogatory pamphlets against Atishi, the AAP was in the midst of a number of controversies this election season. The AAP was expecting to form an alliance with the Congress but the matter turned sour with a public war of words between Kejriwal and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The speculation became rife after Gandhi and Kejriwal, along with other 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) leaders, shared stage during a farmers' rally last year. While the AAP, on one hand, was looking to form an alliance on 33 seats in Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Haryana and Chandigarh with the grand old party, the Congress proposed a tie-up only in the national capital which proved to be a deal breaker for the Aam Aadmi Party. Both the BJP and the Congress had started their campaign in the last two weeks before the voting in Delhi on May 12, but the AAP had begun its campaign right from March. The AAP had divided their Lok Sabha poll campaign in three phases. The first phase was from March 10 to April 7 while the second phase was from April 10 to 25. In the first phase, 'jan sabhas' were conducted while in the second phase, door-to-door campaigning was done. The third phase of AAP's campaigning started from May 1-10. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman in her 20's was allegedly tortured and raped by five persons including a doctor and a suspended police constable in the city, police said Thursday. The accused left the woman in a semi-naked position on the Agra road here on Wednesday, they said. The woman alleged that she was tortured and gang-raped on Tuesday night, they added. "A case has been registered against five persons -- Kapil Sharma, Deepesh Chaturvedi, Dr Anurag and two others who are unidentified," DCP (East) Rahul Jain said. The DCP said the case is being probed from all angles. The woman had lodged a case of rape against Sharma, who was then a police constable, at Jyoti Nagar Police Station in 2018. She alleged that Chaturvedi, who posed as an official of the state human rights commission (SHRC), assured her of getting Sharma arrested. However, when she did not find any official in the SHRC by this name, she reached Chaturvedi's residence where she was allegedly raped and tortured on Tuesday. An FIR was lodged under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 376-d (gang-rape), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 377 (unnatural offences)and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). "Suspended police constable Sharma has been detained and is being interrogated," the DCP said. The woman has been admitted to a hospital and efforts are on to nab the other accused, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NCP chief Sharad Pawar Thursday said he would not blame the electronic voting machines (EVMS) for the defeat of anti-BJP parties in the Lok Sabha polls and added he has gracefully accepted the people's mandate. The NCP, along with other opposition parties, had repeatedly raised concerns over the possibility of EVM tampering. Pawar said the opposition parties had anticipated the BJP would do well in certain states, but did not expect "such a big victory" across the country. "Doubts were indeed raised (about EVMs functioning)," Pawar told reporters here. "But I don't want to blame the machines now since the result is out. Once the verdict is out, it has to be accepted gracefully and I am accepting it gracefully," he said. Pawar said the "spectre of suspicion" indeed prevailed in the minds of people in the run up to the polls. He added that such a suspicion was never raised in the past and cited some instances including the Congress getting around 400 seats under Rajiv Gandhi's leadership in 1984 to drive home his point. The NCP chief said his party would introspect the result and toil to better its prospects in the Maharashtra Assembly scheduled to be held later this year. Pawar had recently raised concerns over the use of EVMs in polls, claiming he himself had once seen during a presentation that a vote cast for his party went in the BJP's favour. Pawar, however, had said he did not claim that all EVMs function in such a way. "I am also concerned about the machine. In Hyderabad and Gujarat, some people kept an EVM before me and asked me to press a button. "I pressed the button against 'watch' (the NCP's symbol) and the vote got cast in favour of 'lotus' (the BJP's symbol). I saw it happening myself," Pawar had said. Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil Thursday said the BJP and Shiv Sena played a big role in his son Sujay's likely victory from Ahmednagar on a BJP ticket, but did not reveal if he himself would join the saffron party. Sujay Vikhe Patil had joined the BJP after the Congress ally NCP refused to cede the Ahmednagar seat for him. "The BJP and Shiv Sena played a big role in Sujay's victory....It is a victory of efforts taken by workers...The decision of workers is my decision," Vikhe Patil told a channel when asked whether he himself would join the BJP now. Sujay joining the BJP came as embarrassment for the Congress as his father was Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly. According to the trends made available by the Election Commission, Sujay was leading from the Western Maharashtra seat against NCP's Sangram Jagtap by 2,65,386 votes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Libyan Coast Guard rescues 200 migrants, Salvini says Another two boats heading north. 'Open ports help traffickers' (ANSAmed) - ROME, MAY 23 - The Libyan Coast Guard on Thursday rescued about 200 migrants aboard two rubber dinghies, while another two boats are currently heading north, said Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on his Facebook page. "Those who talk about 'open ports' help traffickers and condemn thousands of people to death," Salvini said. (ANSAmed). Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among dozens of world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his impressive victory in the general elections as they vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Modi on his election victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi wrote in a letter to Modi. As important neighbours to each other, China and India are two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides, according to the letter. Xi's message congratulating Modi even before the official announcement of results came as a surprise as normally, by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of other countries after the official results are declared. Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years and had their first informal summit at Wuhan last year, officials said that Xi did not wait for an official declaration of the polls due to the strong showing of the NDA. Imran Khan congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan was committed to resolve all issues with India through dialogue irrespective of the outcome of the elections. President Putin congratulated Modi on the convincing victory of his party in the elections and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations. "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message. He expressed his readiness to continue fruitful personal contacts with Prime Minister Modi and to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs, the Kremlin said in a statement. Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party in the elections. Modi thanked him for his wishes. During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Modi and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. "Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew, Hindi and English. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani congratulated Modi on a strong mandate and said the government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between the two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli congratulated his Indian counterpart and hoped to work closely with him in future. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa also congratulated Prime Minister Modi. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated Modi and said this "emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy." "I strongly believe that with the renewed mandate given to both of us by our respective peoples, Bangladesh-India ties, which have already been termed as a role model of good neighbourliness, will be further consolidated and our relations will scale newer heights," Hasina said. Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also offered heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Modi. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister were among top world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister on Thursday on his impressive victory in the general elections as they vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. Netanyahu became the first world leader to congratulate Modi and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. "The election results are a re-approval of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and and lead it to new heights," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew, Hindi and English. President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Prime Minister Modi on his election victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. "On the occasion of the National Democratic Alliance winning the 17th Lok Sabha election of India under your leadership, I would like to extend my heart-felt congratulations," Xi wrote in a letter to Modi. As important neighbours to each other, and India are the two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides, according to the letter. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi said. His message congratulating Modi even before the official announcement of results came as a surprise, as normally by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of other countries after the official results are declared. Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years and had their first informal summit at Wuhan last year, officials said that Xi did not wait for an official declaration of the polls due to the strong showing of the NDA. President Putin congratulated Modi on the convincing victory of his party in the elections and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations. "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message. The Russian leader expressed his readiness to continue fruitful personal contacts with Prime Minister Modi and to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs, the Kremlin said in a statement. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani congratulated Modi on a strong mandate and said the government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between the two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli congratulated his Indian counterpart and hoped to work closely with him in future. "I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you," he tweeted. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his victory in the elections. "Congratulations on your victory and the people's re-endorsement of you leadership," Sirisena tweeted. "I have immense pleasure in extending to you my warmest congratulations and sincere best wishes on the victory of the BJP," Wickremesinghe's message of congratulations said. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera interrupted his speech in Parliament to offer congratulations to Prime Minister Modi. Several other lawmakers in Sri Lankan Parliament offered best wishes to the Indian leader. Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Dhaka's ties with Modi's party was excellent and "we hope our development will be expedited, if Modi government comes to power again." Momen said Prime Minister Modi was the first foreign leader who called his Bangladesh counterpart soon after the re-election of her ruling Awami League in the last election. He said Dhaka would like to see a strong stable Indian government in its own interest to spearhead its development spree. Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering offered heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Modi on the election victory. "As we look forward to working closely in years to come, we pray India achieves greater success under your leadership," Tshering tweeted. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. With the elections establishing 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades in India, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that was expected to surpass its 2014 performance. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among top world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his impressive victory in the general elections as they vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Prime Minister Modi on his election victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. "On the occasion of the National Democratic Alliance winning the 17th Lok Sabha election of India under your leadership, I would like to extend my heart-felt congratulations," Xi wrote in a letter to Modi. As important neighbours to each other, China and India are two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides, according to the letter. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi said. His message congratulating Modi even before the official announcement of results came as a surprise as normally, by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of other countries after the official results are declared. Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years and had their first informal summit at Wuhan last year, officials said that Xi did not wait for an official declaration of the polls due to the strong showing of the NDA. President Putin congratulated Modi on the convincing victory of his party in the elections and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations. "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message. The Russian leader expressed his readiness to continue fruitful personal contacts with Prime Minister Modi and to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs, the Kremlin said in a statement. Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party in the elections. Modi thanked him for his wishes. During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity. The two Prime Ministers looked forward to their meeting during the G20 Summit in Osaka next month. Netanyahu congratulated Modi and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. "The election results are a re-approval of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew, Hindi and English. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani congratulated Modi on a strong mandate and said the government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between the two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli congratulated his Indian counterpart and hoped to work closely with him in future. "I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you," he tweeted. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his victory in the elections. "Congratulations on your victory and the people's re-endorsement of you leadership," Sirisena tweeted. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated her Modi on his election victory and said this "emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy." "I strongly believe that with the renewed mandate given to both of us by our respective peoples, Bangladesh-India ties, which have already been termed as a role model of good neighbourliness, will be further consolidated and our relations will scale newer heights," Hasina said. "I wish peace, happiness and prosperity for the people of India and my best wishes for your good health, continued success and a long life. I look forward to welcoming Your Excellency in Bangladesh at your convenience." Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering offered heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Modi and said he looks forward to working closely with him in years to come. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The YSR Congress on Thursday appeared on course for a overwhelming victory in Andhra Pradesh with its candidates leading in 150 seats, dealing a knockout blow to the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party. The TDP is leading in 24 seats and actor-politician's Jana Sena party in one as per the latest Election Commission data. The Y S Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRC may end up with over a three-fourths majority in the 175-member Assembly. YSRC sources said the party's Legislature Party will meet here on May 25 to formally elect Jaganmohan Reddy as its leader. Reddy will take oath as Chief Minister in the temple-town of Tirupati on May 30, the sources said. With his party set to wrest power, Reddy Thursday termed it as people's victory. He also said the YSRC's victory was expected. "I sincerely thank the people who overwhelmingly voted for YSRC and blessed it. I also thank them for exercising their franchise in large numbers and enhanced the value of democracy," Jaganmohan Reddy said in a Facebook post. "I will live up to the expectations of the people," he promised. As the trends indicated a clear lead for the YSRC, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao called Reddy over phone and congratulated him over the YSRC's thumping win in the general elections. YSRC candidates are leading in 24 Lok Sabha seats and the TDP in one, according to the latest trends. Wishing Reddy all the best, Rao hoped he would lead AP further on the path of progress. Later, talking to the media at his residence here, the YSRC chief congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the BJP's stupendous performance in the Lok Sabha polls. Reddy asserted that his fight for securing special category status for Andhra Pradesh would continue. He declined to speak about Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Several top TDP leaders, including many ministers, are on the verge of defeat. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is leading in Kuppam but his son and state IT Minister Nara Lokesh lagging behind by over 8,900 votes in Mangalagiri segment in his first electoral battle. Jaganmohan Reddy is also leading in Pulivendula assembly segment. State TDP president and minister K Kala Venkata Rao, ministers P Narayana, Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, K Atchannaidu, K Ravindra, K Srinivasulu, N Amarnatha Reddy, P Pulla Rao, Bhuma Akhila Priya, N Anand Babu, Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, Deputy Speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad are trailing by considerable margins to their YSR Congress rivals in their respective constituencies. Other senior TDP leaders also look set to bite the dust. Film star and MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna, however, is leading in Hindupur Assembly segment. Jana Sena founder and film star Pawan Kalyan is trailing in the Bhimavaram and Gajuwaka segments he contested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The YSR Congress on Thursday virtually decimated the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and appeared on course for a resounding victory in Andhra Pradesh with its candidates winning in 29 seats and leading in 120 others. The ruling Telugu Desam Party won in four seats and was leading in 21 segments while actor-politician's Jana Sena party in one, according to the latest Election Commission data. The Y S Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRC may end up with over a three-fourths majority in the 175-member Assembly. The YSRC Legislature Party will meet here on May 25 to formally elect Jaganmohan Reddy as its leader, who will be sworn-in as chief minister on May 30. Reddy told reporters he would take oath as CM at Vijayawada on May 30 and promised to bring in a governance that the country would stand up and look to. With his party set to wrest power, Reddy Thursday described it as people's victory. Terming his party's good show in the state Assembly polls and Lok Sabha elections as a "new chapter" in the history of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy told reporters such a massive mandate came with tremendous amount of responsibility. "I will make sure that I live up to that expectations," he added. As the trends indicated a clear lead for the YSRC, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu forwarded his resignation from the Chief Minister's post to state Governor E S L Narasimhan, who accepted it. At a press conference, Naidu said he accepted the verdict of the people of Andhra Pradesh and congratulated YSR Congress on its victory in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state. He said the TDP would now review the results and announce the future course of action. The TDP had bagged 102 Assembly seats in 2014 in the then undivided Andhra Pradesh. While the TDP contested the 2014 election in alliance with the BJP, it fought the 2019 general elections on its own and faced a rout. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Reddy over phone and congratulated him. Earlier, he had also posted a congratulatory message to Reddy on Twitter. "Congratulations of the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure," he said. Reddy at a press conference also congratulated Modi over the BJP's stupendous performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The YSRC chief asserted that his fight for securing special category status for Andhra Pradesh would continue. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also congratulated Reddy over the YSRC's thumping win in the general elections. Wishing Reddy all the best, Rao hoped he would lead AP further on the path of progress. Several top TDP leaders, including many ministers, are on the verge of defeat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was believed to have been killed in an encounter with security forces on Thursday in a village in Tral of South Kashmir, officials said. They said two terrorists were killed in the encounter but there was no confirmation about their identities as the bodies were yet to be retrieved. However, Musa's family confirmed that he was present at the site. There has been no firing for quite sometime at the encounter site, but security forces are taking precaution before approaching the debris, they said. Spontaneous protests broke out in Shopian, Pulwama, Awantipora and downtown Srinagar, with people raising slogans in favour of Musa. Senior police officials said security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Dadsara village and when the terrorists tried to escape a gunfight broke out. They said efforts were made to make them surrender but the request fell on deaf ears and the holed up terrorists started lobbing grenades using a launcher. The officials said more security forces were rushed to the area to prevent the terrorists from escaping under the cover of darkness. In the meantime, Jammu and Kashmir police announced restrictions in some areas of Pulwama, Awantipora, Srinagar, Anantnag and Budgam as a precautionary measure, they said. The officials said the decision was made keeping in view the Friday prayer gatherings. Internet was also shutdown as a precautionary measure, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from which Pakistan is seeking a USD 6-billion bailout package, has disclosed every type of loans that Islamabad has received from its all-weather ally, the Express Tribune reported. According to the finance ministry's documents, foreign loan disbursements between July 2018 and April 2019 of the current financial year showed loans for the Karachi Nuclear Power Plants, known as K2 and K3, and China SAFE deposits as part of federal debt obligations. SAFE is an acronym for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange managed by the Chinese central bank. Pakistan has long been using Chinese money to shore up its official foreign currency reserves but it is for the first time that these deposits with the central bank have been made part of the Ministry of Finance's debt statistics, the report said. In the fresh disclosure, the Chinese foreign loans from July through April FY19 surged to USD 6.56 billion, according to the finance ministry's documents. These were equal to 75 per cent of the total foreign loans of USD 8.6 billion that Pakistan received during the period, the report said, adding there was over USD 2 billion jump in foreign loan disbursements within a month due to the disclosure of Chinese loans. "Out of the USD 6.5 billion, China gave USD 2 billion in SAFE deposits and USD 2.53 billion in foreign commercial loans, also for cushioning the declining foreign exchange reserves. "In March, the Chinese government provided the loans through two commercial banks. China Development Bank gave USD 2.24 billion in a short-term loan while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) disbursed USD 300 million. "China gave USD 628.4 million for the construction of two ongoing nuclear power plants in the past 10 months," according to the finance ministry statistics. Earlier, the USD 2 billion worth of China SAFE deposits, which Islamabad had received in July 2018, were shown on the books of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Facing financial woes, Pakistan also received USD 3 billion from Saudi Arabia and USD 2 billion from the United Arab Emirates but these loans were not disclosed along with Chinese SAFE deposits, the report said. The decision to disclose Chinese SAFE deposits was taken at the level of Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, an unnamed senior official from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs was quoted as saying in the report. The full disclosure of Chinese loans was one of the sticking points between the government and the IMF during staff-level negotiations for a USD 6-billion bailout package. The US wants to stop Pakistan from using IMF funds for repaying Chinese loans. Bejing also gave USD 1.4 billion in project financing in the past 10 months, largely for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, it said. The reliance on Chinese loans increased in the recent years after the traditional multilateral lenders stopped budgetary support due to the country's deteriorating macroeconomic conditions. Pakistan hopes that the blocked budgetary support will soon be restored after approval of the USD 6 billion bailout package by the IMF Executive Board. It also expects to return to the international capital market from the next fiscal year to raise funds for building official foreign currency reserves, the report said. On the back of Chinese loans, the commercial financing surged to USD 3.2 billion as of the end of April, which was equal to 37.2 per cent of the total foreign loans. UAE-based Ajman Bank disbursed another tranche of USD 76 million in April, taking its total loans to USD 150 million. A consortium of Credit Suisse AG, UBL and ABL has already given USD 295 million and USD 184 million was released by Dubai Bank in previous months, it said. The lending by multilateral agencies amounted to USD 1.3 billion or 14 per cent of the total disbursements, the report said. Pakistan received USD 380 million from the Asian Development Bank by April, far lower than estimates. The World Bank disbursed only USD 250 million. While the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) disbursed an additional USD 35 million last month, which took its total loans for Pakistan to USD 578 million in 10 months. The IDB gave these commercial loans for oil purchase from Saudi Arabia. The disbursements by other lenders remained low, the report said. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: 5 ways to get real-time updates on counting day On the day of vote counting of the Lok Sabha elections 2019, Congress' Madhya Pradesh chief Ratan Singh Thakur died because of a heart attack at a vote counting centre. Reportedly, he was at counting centre, set up for the Lok Sabha elections 2019, for collecting the information on the latest trends. Ratan Singh, at the vote counting centre, started complaning of chest pain and suddenly collapsed and died on spot, as per reports. He was immediately rushed to the district hospital, where he was declared dead. Congress, which formed the government after assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh last year, is heading towards defeat in general elections in Bhopal. Additionally, Sadhvi Pragya, from BJP, is leading with of over one lakh votes against Congress' Digvijay Singh in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results: 'India wins yet again! Together we'll build a strong country', says PM Modi Contesting for the first time from Nainital seat, Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt is up against the All India Congress Committee general secretary Harish Rawat for the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar Lok Sabha seat. Although pitted against the former chief minister Harish Rawat, BJP state chief Ajay Bhatt seems to have gained an early advantage. As per estimates on the battle between the two political stalwarts, Bhatt is leading in the constituency. The state BJP president, Ajay Bhatt had decided to contest from Nainital in the last minute after BJP veteran and Nainital MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari opted out. Koshiyari had grasped the seat from the Congress stronghold in 2014, but chose to stay out of the fray this time to let the younger generation come forward. Rawat, who termed himself an old "sewak" of the Constitution and democracy, is likely to face a tough fight against Bhatt, who is seen as promising young leader under whose leadership BJP stormed to power in Uttarakhand in 2017. Earlier due to Rawat's taller political stature, the odds appeared stacked against the newcomer Bhatt. However, the backing of BJP Nainital MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who is campaigning aggressively for Bhatt seems to have given an edge to this younger rival. According to Koshyari, Harish Rawat will be registering the biggest defeat of his political career this time. Bhatt is primarily banking on Modi government's achievements during the last fives years to score over his rival. Bhatt has promised to give a boost to adventure tourism activities in the constituency, if elected to power, by reviving the water bodies and giving a fillip to water sports. He has also promised to revive the HMT factory at Ranibagh near Haldwani. Rawat has highlighted public welfare measures taken during his tenure as the CM and promised to give active representation to people by raising state specific issues in Parliament. Rawat is fully confident of his victory and says he has a roadmap of development ready for his constituency. However, both Bhatt and Rawat had lost the seats they had contested in the state Assembly elections held in 2017. Bhatt had lost from Ranikhet and Rawat from both Kichcha and Haridwar (rural) seats. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election result 2019: Congress' worst nightmare may come true as Rahul Gandhi trails against Smriti Irani in Amethi Also Read: West Bengal Election Result Live Updates: BJP makes inroads into West Bengal, TMC leading in 25 seats Also Read: PM Modi's 95-year-old mother celebrates son's massive win in Lok Sabha elections Also Read: Lok Sabha Election 2019: Poll dates, full schedule, voting phase7 FAQs, election results, constituencies' detail BJP leader Manoj Tiwari is ahead from North East Delhi seat in Delhi, while Congress' Sheila Dikshit and Aam Admi Party's Dilip Pandey are trailing. Manoj Tiwari, who is also the BJP chief of Delhi and the sitting MP from the seat, ran an effective campaign against both the Congress and the AAP and was able to cash in on the Modi wave. Delhi went to polls on the penultimate phase 6 on May 12. AAP and Congress' failure to form a pre-poll alliance and the BJP's extensive campaigning might help the saffron party win maximum seats in Delhi, as suggested by the recent poll surveys. Confident of winning most of the Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Tiwari had recently said the BJP would win all the seven seats in Delhi with huge margins. The India Today-My Axis India Exit Poll, which was released after the end of Phase 7 polls on May 19, had also claimed a huge victory for the BJP in Delhi. The survey said the BJP would win 6-7 of the total seven seats in Delhi, leading to a complete rout of the AAP and the Congress party in the national capital. Manoj Tiwari, a famous Bhojpuri actor and former Big Boss participant, joined politics in 2009. He earlier fought Assembly election for Samajwadi Party from Gorakhpur in UP, where he lost to Yogi Adityanath. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he switched sides to the BJP and was given the ticket from the North East Delhi constituency. He defeated AAP's Anand Kumar by a margin of 1.4 lakh votes. Delhi recorded a voting percentage of 60.34 per cent in the Lok Sabha 2019 elections, five per cent less than the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Earlier, there were speculations of a Congress-AAP tie up against the BJP, but it did not fructify. Both AAP and Congress targeted similar vote banks this time. The campaign trails of AAP and Congress were identical and their road shows and rallies were targeted at areas which were once considered Congress strongholds. Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: PM Modi will remain PM, Rahul Gandhi must wait 5 more years UP Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Live: BJP leading on 56 seats; SP-BSP ahead on 20 PARIS - About 15 Muslim women in the French town of Grenoble have mobilised to push the city to allow women to wear a full-body bathing suit. The activists, who refer to themselves as "Muslim Rosa Parks" after the US civil-rights heroine, said they plan to practice civil disobedience to fight for their "right to swim covered". Last Friday the activists entered the Dauphins city pool wearing burkas, in violation of pool rules, as a way of raising awareness for their message. The women came together in the local association "Alliance Citoyenne" and said they have already gathered 400 signatures to change the rules at local city pools. They said they have other demonstrations planned for the future. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the victory in Lok Sabha elections, describing the result as India's mandate against propaganda. Amit Shah in his congratulatory message termed the win as a victory for the whole of India. "This win is a victory for the whole of India. The youth of the country is a triumph of the hopes of the poor, the farmer. This grand victory is a triumph of public confidence in Prime Minister Modi Ji's five-year development and strong leadership. I convey my heartfelt greetings to Modiji on behalf of crores of BJP workers," Shah tweeted. The results trend indicated a TsuNamo wave in the country, with the BJP leading on 335 seats, while the UPA is way behind on 99 Lok Sabha seats. Other regional parties have been limited to 108 seats. Among the BJP's star leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading by a massive margin in Varanasi, while BJP President Amit Shah is leading by over 3.50 lakh votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results: 'India wins yet again! Together we'll build a strong country', says PM Modi "The result is India's mandate against propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless politics by the opposition. Today's mandate also shows that the people of India have chosen evolution and nationalism by completely uprooting casteism, familyism and appeasing from the country," he said. Shah said that Modi's tireless efforts to strengthen the BJP at every booth of the country and the BJP's multi-crore workers who form the Modi government warmly greet the historic victory. "The people of India bow down to the masses to form the 'Modi Sarkar', a symbol of people-to-people trust and unprecedented growth. Greetings to all fellow countrymen," he added. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Following BJP's strong performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, wishes poured in from leaders from across the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe have all congratulated the Prime Minister. While the final result is yet to be announced, the current trends point that the BJP looked set for a landslide win in the world's biggest general election. Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Trends so far show that Chandni Chowk's sitting MP Harsh Vardhan, also the Union Minister for Science and Technology, has a massive lead in the triangular fight for this seat against Congress party's JP Agarwal and AAP's Pankaj Gupta. He has bagged over 54 per cent of the vote share. Incidentally, Chandni Chowk is known to be a bellwether seat of Delhi, which in turn has traditionally decided who gets to rule India. With nearly 15 lakh registered voters, this constituency with 10 segments under it has coincidentally chosen the winning side every single time, right from Congress party's Radha Raman as its first MP in 1957 to BJP's Dr Harsh Vardhan in 2014. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vardhan had bagged 4.37 lakh votes (45%), defeating two-time Congress incumbent Kapil Sibal with a margin of over 2.61 lakh votes, while AAP's Ashutosh - who quit the party last year citing personal reasons - came in second with a little over 3 lakh votes (31%). In the Modi wave five years ago, although the saffron party had cornered only 33% votes in Delhi, it had managed to win all seven seats due to split of votes between the Congress and AAP. This same factor seems to have helped the party yet again, at least in the battle for Chandni Chowk. In the campaigning phase the Union Minister had banked on his appeal to all sections of the society and the popularity of Modi apart from echoing the BJP's high-pitched nationalism narrative. On the other hand, Agarwal had tried to claw back lost ground for the Congress on the back of his old connections with local traders community, leveraging sentiment against GST and demonetisation apart from anti-incumbency. He had won from the constituency in 1984, 1989 and 1996. He is in the second place so far with close to 28 per cent vote share. On the other hand first-timer Gupta, who had even released a constituency-specific election manifesto for Chandni Chowk, is trailing far behind in third place. All seven seats in Delhi had voted on May 12, in the penultimate phase of the elections and had recorded a 60% voter turnout, down from 65% in 2014. With PTI inputs Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: India wins yet again! Together we'll build strong country, says PM Modi Also read: Buoyed by favourable exit polls, BJP sets eyes on 2020 Delhi assembly elections Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on winning the Lok Sabha elections. Jinping has sent a letter to the PM. In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs intimated on what the Chinese leader mentioned in his letter to PM Modi over his almost-definite victory. According to the MEA, President Xi's letter noted the importance he attached to the development of the India-China relations and his desire to work with PM Modi to take the Closer Development Partnership between the two countries to a new height. The Chinese leader also expressed satisfaction at the strong momentum of development in India-China relations in the recent years. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates PM @narendramodi on the electoral victory under his leadership pic.twitter.com/uFFlc5GHTC - Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 23, 2019 Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also took to Twitter to wish the leader. "Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Well done, my friend!," he tweeted. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also tweeted, "Congratulations to #NarendraModi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you." Russian President Vladimir Putin also send PM Modi a letter wishing him for his victory. The trends forecast a Modi wave in the country, with BJP leading on 335 seats, while the UPA settling for 99 Lok Sabha seats. Other regional parties have been limited to 108 seats. Among the BJP's star leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading by over 92,000 votes in Varanasi, while BJP President Amit Shah is leading by over 3.50 lakh votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Also read: Election results: Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Narendra Modi on 'impressive victory' National Award-winning actor-turned-politician Prakash Raj, who contested as an independent candidate from the Bangalore Central constituency, has faced a massive defeat in his maiden elections. The vocal BJP critic has bagged only 28,831 votes, or less than 3 per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency, as of 4 pm. Meanwhile, BJP's P.C. Mohan, who has bagged more than 6 lakh votes (50.32 per cent), is in the lead, followed by Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad with 5.31 lakh votes. Down, but not out, the actor took to social media to talk about his results, adding that he will continue with his stand against the ruling party. Raj became politically active after his friend and journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh was murdered in September 2017. He is among those seeking justice for Lankesh. "a SOLID SLAP on my face ..as More ABUSE..TROLL..and HUMILIATION come my way..I WILL STAND MY GROUND ..My RESOLVE to FIGHT for SECULAR INDIA will continue..A TOUGH JOURNEY AHEAD HAS JUST BEGUN ..THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WERE WITH ME IN THIS JOURNEY. .... JAI HIND," he tweeted around noon today. Raj left a counting centre midway after learning that he was trailing at third place. A video posted by a prominent Karnataka daily on Twitter showed him walk out sporting a slight smile, followed by his supporters. Bengaluru Central has traditionally been a BJP stronghold, with Mohan winning the seat in 2009 as well as 2014. Earlier this month, before heading to Delhi to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party, Raj had told the media that Indians need to come together to "reclaim the republic" that is on the verge of losing with the onslaught of communal and hatred politics. He has previously also alleged that Bollywood filmmakers had stopped offering him roles as he has been critical of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. Bangalore Central was among the 15 constituencies in Karnataka that had voted on April 18, Pase 2 of the seven -phased elections. With PTI inputs Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Also read: Modi wave sweeps market: Sensex crosses 40,000 for first time ever, Nifty breaches 12,000 In Jammu and Kashmir, where the 2019 polls were marred by low voter turnout, the BJP seems on course to retaining its hard-won turf in the previous general elections. As per the latest Election Commission data, the National Conference is leading on three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir and the BJP has opened huge leads in two constituencies while leading by a slender margin in Ladakh. That is pretty much in line with the exit polls. The India Today-Axis My India survey predicted 2-3 seats for the BJP (NDA) and a similar share for Farooq Abdullah's Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) while Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP) was expected to be wiped out. But the prediction that Congress would bag the volatile Anantnag seat, from where Mufti had contested, did not come true. The state with six Lok Sabha seats is currently under President's rule after the PDP-BJP coalition broke down when the 25-member BJP in the state withdrew its support. The 87-member state assembly was dissolved on November 21, 2018. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP-PDP alliance had won three seats each - Udhampur, Ladakh and Jammu - while PDP had bagged Anantnag, Baramulla and the Srinagar seat. The Congress-JKNC coalition had got nothing. This time it has bagged all the three Valley seats. The JKNC had teamed up with the Congress, mutually deciding that while the Grand Old Party will contest the Jammu and Udhampur Lok Sabha seats, JKNC will fight from Srinagar. The two parties had agreed to have a "friendly contest" over the Anantnag, Baramulla and Ladakh seats. The alliance has proved successful going by the trends so far. Anantnag, comprising four south Kashmir districts of Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag, had voted in three phases - a first in India's electoral history - owing to security concerns. This seat has remained vacant since 2016, when Mufti resigned from there to become chief minister, due to volatile conditions on the ground. The Congress had fielded J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief G.A. Mir while the BJP had fielded Sofi Yousuf, one of the founding members of the saffron party in Kashmir, against Mufti in what is seen as her family's traditional stronghold. During the campaigning phase, analysts had pointed out that the 59-year-old has taken a huge political risk by entering the electoral fray herself despite the substantial anger against her in her constituency for aligning with the BJP. Barring a miracle here on, she has clearly failed the acid test. In the Jammu constituency, the JKNC and PDP had supported the Congress in a bid to avoid splitting the secular vote but the BJP's Jugal Kishore has nonetheless prevailed, with a huge margin at that. Similarly, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has a huge lead in Udhampur. JKNC leader Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to laud the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for their victory. "Omar Abdullah said credit should be given where it's due. He wrote: "So the exit polls were correct. All that's left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance. Credit where credit is due PM Modi Sahib & Mr Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years," he tweeted. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: India wins yet again! Together we'll build strong country, says PM Modi Also read: Share Market Live: Share Market Live: Sensex rises 53 points, Nifty at 11,788 BJP President Amit Shah has won Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat by a margin of more than 5 lakh votes, surpassing LK Advani's record of 4.83 lakh votes. Shah defeated the Congress candidate Chavda Chatursinh Javanji by 5.43 lakh votes in Gandhinagar seat, one of the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat. Amit Shah, who is contesting his first Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar, has secured 8.74 lakh votes while Javanji has got 3.30 lakh votes. Chavda, who is the ex-president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, is a two-time MLA representing Gandhinagar North seat. In 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Advani had won from Gandhinagar by a huge margin of 4.83 lakh votes against his closest opponent Kiritbhai Ishvarbhai Patel of Indian National Congress (INC). Gandhinagar has been a stronghold of the BJP and since 1989 this constituency has been represented by a member of the saffron party. Late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also represented this seat in 1996 but chose to resign it so that he could represent Lucknow in UP. Also Read: Amit Shah congratulates PM Modi for stellar election victory, terms result as 'mandate against propaganda' Counting of votes is underway in Gujarat with the BJP leading on all 26 Lok Sabha seats. The state went for the polling on a single day during the third phase of polling across the country on April 23. The voter turnout was 65.57 per cent, 0.08 per cent higher than last Lok Sabha Election. The battle for Gandhinagar shot into limelight in 2019 after the BJP dropped senior leader Lal Krishna Advani from the party's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. Advani, who had fought elections from Gandhinagar since 1998, won six times from this seat. Edited by Chiytranjan Kumar Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp BJP's firebrand leader Giriraj Singh has taken the lead over CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar, a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government, as per early trends. Whatever the outcome, the fight for Begusarai, also known as the Leningrad of Bihar is one of the most important face-offs in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. The fight for Begusarai is a classic case of David vs Goliath. On one hand is Giriraj Singh, a well-known face of the largest party in India that is also the richest. On the other hand is Kanhaiya Kumar, a leader borne out of the students' movement in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), who belongs to a party that has little to no influence left in India's political scene. In fact, Kumar raised the amount for campaigning through crowd-funding. According to reports, he had collected over Rs 70 lakh through crowd-funding. Begusarai that has a BJP MP currently, used to be a Leftist bastion. Begusarai's association with the communists go as back as the 1930s. In 1962, for the first time Chandrashekhar Singh was elected to the Bihar assembly from Teghra, which is an assembly segment of the Lok Sabha constituency. From then on, Teghra has continued to elect a communist MLA. Not for nothing it is known as the Leningrad of Bihar. Not only Singh, Begusarai was also the home-ground of other influential communist leaders. It is then poetic that one of the most popular faces of the third front in current times is fighting from this Lok Sabha seat. However, it would have been foolhardy to not take note of Kumar's popularity just because there is overwhelming support for the incumbent Prime Minister. So, taking the offensive, Giriraj Singh had said, "Communists have indulged in a bloodbath in Begusarai for last several decades but now it will not happen anymore. I have been sent by the party to crush the head of any force which tries to convert Begusarai into Pakistan." Not to be outdone, Kumar said that it would be the voters who would teach a lesson to the ones "insulting Begusarai". The fight that took place in the fourth phase of the election saw a voter turnout of 55%. There is another candidate in the fray - RJD's Tanveer Hassan. In 2014, Tanveer Hassan was defeated after BJP's Bhola Singh received 39.70 per cent of the votes from 1,778,759 registered voters. The outcome of this fight, while significant for the BJP, will be a crucial for the third front. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: BJP leads in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan; Modi wave yet again! Also read: Lok Sabha Election result 2019: Smriti Irani leads against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi; Congress scion ahead in Wayanad Congress candidate Milind Deora is trailing against Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant from the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat, according to early trends. The election for this high-profile seat was held on April 29. After facing a stern defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had this time fielded Deora against Shiv Sena's sitting MP Arvind Sawant. Congress claims this time's election was not the same as 2014. As per the party, Sawant had won the seat on the back of the Modi wave in 2014, and that the election in 2019 was fought on the basis of issues. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: Modi, Sonia Gandhi secure leads; Rahul Gandhi trails from Amethi Also read: Share Market Live: Amid Modi wave in early counting, Sensex climbs 724 points, Nifty at 11,945 The Congress says it has done extensive poll campaigning to ensure Milind wrest the seat from Sawant this time. He has promised jobs, and infrastructure for the industrial city. He has also vowed to address the issues of small businessmen hit by demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax. He even roped in who's who of the corporate world, including RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Kotak Mahindra Bank promoter Uday Kotak, to support his candidature. In over 2 minute video released by Deora, Kotak said Milind Deora's "family has been associated with Mumbai for a long time...Milind truly represents Mumbai ka connection". Mukesh Ambani, following the family tradition of supporting the Deora family, said: "Having represented South Mumbai for 10 years, I believe that Milind has in-depth knowledge of social, economic and cultural ecosystem of the constituency." Ambani's father Dhirubhai Ambani had also supported Milind's father and former Union minister Murli Deora in the 1990s. Ambani's gesture was merely seen as a continuation of support to their family friends. Arvind Ganpat Sawant had won the last Lok Sabha election 2014 by over 1.28 lakh votes. He had initially started his political career as a trade union leader and a social worker. He later won the Maharashtra legislative council polls in 1996 and 2004. Sawant was instrumental in fighting for the cause of MTNL employees in Maharashtra. Milind Deora, who was recently appointed Mumbai Congress chief, this time hopes to cash in on troubles faced by traders and small businesses during demonetisation and poor implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Bharatiya Janata Party's sure-shot bet, its Mumbai North candidate Gopal Chinayya Shetty has taken the lead over Bollywood actress and Congress candidate Urmila Matondkar, as per early trends. It is one of the most-watched fights in this Lok Sabha Elections. The fight grabbed the eyeballs mostly because Congress fielded the novice Urmila Matondkar, known for her performances in hit Hindi movies like Rangeela, Kaun, Ek Hasina Thi, Pinjar and more. Matondkar joined Congress when no-one was interested in taking on the popular Gopal Chinayya Shetty. Gopal Chinayya Shetty's gargantuan victory over then Congress Mumbai chief was a major part of the Congress' problem. Shetty had won with a victory margin of 4.46 lakh in 2014. Also Read: Bihar election results 2019: BJP-JDU alliance leading in the state, RJD-Congress face existence threat What Congress has tried to pull off is actor Govinda's win over BJP veteran Ram Naik. While this might be a tried and tested formula, some voters believed that Matondkar could prove to be a better bet than Govinda. After his victory, Govinda did not really spend much time in his constituency and they believe that their constituency will see better days with Matondkar. One of the factors that led voters to believe that Matondkar was the accessible neta everyone hoped for was her election campaigns. Matondkar had no compunctions in walking into a slum and talking about issues such as toilets or going from door-to-door to ask people to vote. She touched the feet of the elderly and apologised for her mistakes. According to reports, she even asked people to continue voting for Shetty if they believed that he had fulfilled his promises but to vote for her if they wanted someone to listen to their concerns. A Congress functionary said, "She doesn't throw tantrums or has airs around her; when she meets elders, she touches their feet. And if a Congress worker gets upset for not being called on stage, she immediately apologises, saying she is new to politics. All this has changed perceptions and created a positive vibe for her." It was hard to not see the charm. However, she was also in unchartered territory. Mumbai North has a huge Gujarati population that mostly votes for the Prime Minister. Even so, Matondkar managed to change perceptions in the constituency with her campaigns. While she might be trailing behind Shetty, it is not because she is a political novice, but because the BJP leader already had a major head-start. It was a lop-sided contest from the beginning. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates: Modi, Sonia Gandhi secure leads; Rahul Gandhi trails from Amethi In a few hours from now, the people of the country will get to know which party will rule for the next five years. Final counting of votes will start at 8 AM on Thursday and may go on till late evening. Exit poll surveys have given a clear mandate for the Narendra Modi-led BJP but the exit polls, like many times in the past, could also go wrong. To keep yourself updated about the counting day developments, here are the five ways you can get superfast updates on the Lok Sabha election result 2019 day. ALSO READ: Election results 2019: What time will counting start, how are EVM votes counted, will final results be delayed? Business Today app and website BusinessToday.In will do a complete coverage of the counting day of the Lok Sabha election 2019. From state-wise election coverage to detailed analysis of individual candidates, the website will cover all interesting insights. People can also catch all the latest updates on Business Today's mobile app, which can be downloaded from Google's Play Store or Apple's App Store. Business Today's live blog will give you minute-by-minute coverage of the polling result day. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha election 2019: Mamata Banerjee writes poem before result day; names it 'Emergency' India Today and Aaj Tak TV, websites, and apps The India Today Group's prominent news channels, India Today and Aaj Tak, will bring you election coverage like never before. From superfast news to insightful analysis and high-tech graphics, these channels will help you understand elections better than any other news platform. You can also catch complete election coverage on their mobile apps, which can be downloaded from Play Store and App Store. ALSO READ: Election result counting day: Home ministry warns of possible violence, tells states to maintain law and order Election Commission of India website and app The Election Commission of India will provide the most reliable information on the Lok Sabha candidates. You can either log onto the Election Commission's website or go to results.eci.gov.in to find out the authentic information. You will also get a party as well as constituency wise information on the website. The EC's Voter Helpline mobile app will allow users to know real-time election trends. You can even bookmark your favourite candidates to get updates about them regularly. The Election Commission had launched a total of 12 applications, including CVigil, Suvidha Candidate and Voter Turnout, to make people aware of their voting rights. ALSO READ: Election Results 2019: Don't be disappointed with fake exit poll propaganda, Rahul to party workers Online search engines You can get the fastest information through online search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. These search engines also give curated news from all media platforms. Search for news related to 'Lok Sabha Election 2019', 'Lok Sabha Election Result', 'Business Today election live blog', etc, to get fastest news coverage of the election result day. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha election 2019: How EVMs are secured once voting ends Social media Those familiar with social media can get real-time updates on the election result day. Search for 'Lok Sabha Election Result 2019' and you can read and watch all the latest content on the General Elections 2019. Following Facebook pages and Twitter handles of prominent leaders and news platforms like Business Today can also help you keep yourself updated with election news. ALSO WATCH: Sarraj says no ceasefire in Libya until aggressors retreat Met with eastern tribe leaders in Tunis (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MAY 23 - Fayez al-Sarraj, prime minister of the Libyan government of national accord, on Wednesday in Tunis said the "request for a ceasefire in Tripoli must be accompanied by the return of those who have attacked to where they came from". Sarraj spoke to a group of ambassadors to Libya who are stationed in the Tunisian capital for security reasons. In a statement by the government of national accord on its Facebook page, Sarraj said "the preparation of a political process must necessarily take into account the situation caused by the war". Speaking to the diplomats, Sarraj said "what is being defined as an army, led by Haftar, is actually a motley mix of religious, tribal, and regional groups, and of criminal militias". "Haftar believed that entering Tripoli was going to be a walk in the park, thanks to the military support received, but it's a dream he will never reach," Sarraj said. On Wednesday evening, Sarraj met with elderly leaders and others responsible for some tribal groups in eastern Libya and asked for their support.(ANSAmed). Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: In a speech after his party's emphatic victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that "the 2019 poll verdict is for new India". He said the huge number of seats that the BJP won was itself a "unique phenomenon" in the history of democracy."Since the country got Independence, so many elections took place, but the maximum voting took place in this election, and that too in 40-42 degree temperature," he added. He said the people of the country had answered (by casting votes for the BJP) like Lord Krishna, who during the Mahabhartha, had said that he was on no one's side. The people of India have given a strong mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the country for the next five years. As the counting of votes comes to an end, the BJP seems set to form the government at the Centre once again. Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: 5 ways to get real-time updates on counting day As the mammoth saga comes to an end, here are the latest updates on the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Results: 11.18 PM: US President Donald Trump on PM Modi's victory: "Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm." Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together! 11.17 PM: The results on as many as 278 seats have been declared, of which 169 have gone to the BJP. 278 results have been declared of which 169 have gone to BJP, 31 to INC, 10 to AITC, 9 to Shiv Sena and DMK, 8 to JD(U), 7 to TRS, 6 to LJSP, 5 to BSP, 4 to NCP, 2 each to JKNC, SAD, IUML, and rest to Others. 11.00 PM: Actor Akshay Kumar on the BJP's victory: "Heartiest congratulations Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji on the historic win." Heartiest congratulations Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji on the historic win. All your efforts to advance the nation and put it on the global map have been acknowledged. Wishing you an even more successful second term. 10.27 PM: Defeat of LDF in Kerala during Lok Sabha elections was unexpected, said Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. The casuses will be examined in detail, he said. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: Defeat of LDF in Lok Sabha elections in Kerala was unexpected. Will examine the reasons in detail. The sentiments against the ruling party in center is reflected. That is why BJP did not get any seat in Kerala. Sentiments against BJP benefited Congress pic.twitter.com/Rc2IFTazdv ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 10.25 PM: Sikkim Assembly polls: Sikkim Democratic Front wins on 10 seats, leading on 5. #SikkimAssemblyElectionResults: Sikkim Democratic Front wins on 10 seats, leading on 5; Sikkim Krantikari Morcha wins on 14 seats, leading on 3, out of total 32 assembly constituency seats pic.twitter.com/iAROHXQCTS - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 10.21 PM: The BJP wins on 23 seats, while it is leading on 7 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. #ArunachalPradeshAssemblyElectionResults: BJP wins on 23 seats, leading on 7; Congress wins on 3 seats, out of total 47 assembly constituency seats pic.twitter.com/OZKLsPhvVs - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 10.19 PM: BJP candidates Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwari win East Delhi and North East Delhi, respectively. Gautam Gambhir was polled 6.95 lakh votes, while his closest opponent Arvind Singh Lovely was polled 3.04 lakh votes. AAP's Atishi Marlena came distant third with 2.19 lakh votes. 10.12 PM: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi wins from Hyderabad. Owaisi was polled 5.17 lakh votes, while his nearest rival Bhagvanth Rao was polled 2.35 lakh votes. 10.07 PM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate Narendra Modi on his election victory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called to congratulate Indian Prime Minister @NarendraModi on his election victory. "Narendra, my friend, congratulations! What an enormous victory!" pic.twitter.com/MzhQRb3q26 - PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 23, 2019 10.05 PM: The BJP's Parliamentary Board meeting is underway. All top leaders present in the meeting. 10.01 PM: Former Union Minister and National People's Party (NPP) candidate Agatha Sangma wins from the Tura Lok Sabha seat. 9.56 PM: The latest tally as per the Election Commission. 243: Results declared 146: Won by the BJP 29: INC 8: Shiv Sena 8: DMK and AITC 7: JD(U) & TRS 4 each: NCP, BSP & LJSP 2 each: JKNC, SAD, IUML Rest to Others 243 results have been declared of which 146 have gone to BJP, 29 to INC, 8 to Shiv Sena, 8 to DMK and AITC, 7 to JD(U) & TRS, 4 to NCP, BSP & LJSP, 2 each to JKNC, SAD, IUML, and rest to Others. Here's a look at #Meghalaya, #Haryana & #Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/FRKQIuYoiS - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 9.49 PM: Sunny Deol wins by 82,459 votes. He was polled 5.5 lakh votes, while his closest rival, Sunil Jakhar, of the Congress party, was polled 4.74 lakh votes. 9.42 PM: As per the EC, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been polled 5.34 lakh votes. Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP got 3.67 lakh votes. 9.40 PM: Smriti Irani offers prayers at a temple in Amethi. Union Minister Smriti Irani offers prayers at a temple in Amethi; she is leading by 48078 votes in the parliamentary constituency. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, outgoing Amethi MP, has conceded defeat pic.twitter.com/uqxGzt7eNX - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 9.39 PM: Harsimrat Kaur Badal dances to celebrate NDA's victory in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. #WATCH Punjab: Union Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal danced to celebrate, earlier today in Bathinda. She has won the Parliamentary seat by 21,772 votes. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/2bf8Z3LbHV - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 9.37 PM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh got 6.3 lakh votes while SP's Poonam Sinha got 2.85 lakh votes. Acharya Pramod Krishnam of the Congress party got 1.8 lakh votes. 9.35 PM: BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Varun Gandhi secure victory in Lucknow and Pilibhit, UP. 9.33 PM: 'Khel-Tamasha' has taken place in UP, Bihar, WB and AP, says Congress' Shatrughan Sinha, reports ANI. He was defeated by Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib. 9.22 PM: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has won from Azamgarh by 256,581 votes. His nearest rival Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua got 3.54 lakh votes. 9.20 PM: Rahul Gandhi won by over 4.3 lakh votes from Kerala's Wayanad. However, he faced a humiliating defeat in Amethi where BJP's Smriti Irani defeat the Congress President by 48,078 votes. 9.08 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won by 4,79,505 votes in Varanasi. Union minister Meneka Gandhi wins from Sultanpur. Shalini Yadav of SP got 1.9 lakh votes, while Congress' Ajay Rai for 1.5 lakh votes. 9.04 PM: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Sunny Deol has won from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Lok Jan Shakti Party candidate Chirag Kumar Paswan has also won from Jamui (SC), Bihar. 8.53 PM: Narendra Modi wins from Varanasi. SAD candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal also wins from Bathinda, Punjab. Her husband and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has emerged victorious from Firozpur, Punjab. 8.46 PM: Latest Election Commission numbers: Total 127 results have been declared, of which 77 sent to the BJP. 127 results have been declared of which 77 to BJP,20 to INC,5 to TRS,ShivSena,4 to JD(U),3 to DMK&2 to JKNC,SAD,LSJP&1 each:AITC,NCP,BSP,Kerala Congress&JD(S).Of remaining 415 const,BJP leading in 225,INC in 31,AITC in21,DMK in20&YSRC in 22.A look at #HimachalPradesh #JnK #Punjab pic.twitter.com/h9cI42PrIb - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 8.39 PM: They used to make fun of 'panna pramukhs', now they can see what power and importance a 'panna pramukh' has. PM Narendra Modi: They used to make fun of 'panna pramukhs', now they can see what power and importance a 'panna pramukh' has. pic.twitter.com/cJe23AfvYV - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8.30 PM: PM Modi slams the secular lobby. "From 2014 to 2019, the secular lobby stopped speaking," he says. 8.28 PM: This is poor man or common man's victory, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 8.25 PM: "We accept the people's verdict," says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. , - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 23, 2019 8.23 PM: PM Modi said now there's only two castes left in India, and that those are poor and those who work towards alleviating the poverty. 8.19 PM: Watch live streaming of PM Modi's speech at the BJP headquarters. #WATCH live from Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses party workers at the BJP Headquarters. #ElectionResults2019 https://t.co/aIYJI4HYVX - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8.17 PM: "This is the people's victory, the democracy's victory," says PM Modi. 8.05 PM: Congratulating over 130 crore people of the country, PM Modi said that they had filled the poor man's pocket. 8.02 PM: He says people of the country have answered (by casting votes) like Lord Krishan, who during the Mahabhartha had said that he was no no one's side. Thank you India! Watch from the BJP Headquarters. https://t.co/6WTN8almav - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 7.58 PM: "Since the country got Independence, so many elections took place, but the maximum voting took place in this election, and that too in 40-42 degree temperature," he added. 7.54 PM: Reacting for the first time after his party's emphatic victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that "the 2019 poll verdict is for new India". He said the magical number of seats that the BJP won was itself a "unique phenomenon" in the history of democracy. 7.51 PM: "Even after so much violence and rigging, the BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal. It tells that in coming days, BJP will establish its might in West Bengal," says Amit Shah. Amit Shah: We had told party workers that they'll have to get on the field to fight the battle of 50%. I can proudly say that in 17 states, people blessed us with more than 50% votes...On the other hand Congress had to face a crushing defeat. In 17 states Congress got a 'big 0'. pic.twitter.com/6C0fW3x3PL - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.49 PM: "I would like to tell Chandrababu Naidu ji, had he worked so hard to get votes then TDP's account would have opened," says Amit Shah. #WATCH Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah says, "...I would like to tell Chandrababu Naidu ji, had he worked so hard to get votes then TDP's account would have opened." #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/GtNqMKz1yN - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.46 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah says the party is proud the rare opportuniry to form the government with a clear majority twice went to PM Modi. 7.43 PM: Latest election trends: 66 results have been declared of which 42 have gone to BJP & 11 to INC, 3 to TRS & 2 to JKNC, 1 each to DMK, NCP, LJSP, BSP, Shiv Sena, SAD & JD (S). 66 results have been declared of which 42 have gone to BJP&11 to INC,3 to TRS & 2 to JKNC,1 each to DMK,NCP,LJSP,BSP,ShivSena,SAD&JD (S).Of d remaining 476 const.,BJP is leading in 260,INC in 40,AITC in 22,DMK in 22,Shiv Sena in 17 & YSRC in 22 const. Here's looking at #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/ilPVgzOCxZ - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 7.41 PM: DMK chief MK Stalin: "I thank people of Tamil Nadu for the resounding victory." DMK chief MK Stalin: I thank people of Tamil Nadu for the resounding victory. I would like to thank DMK cadres and allies. We will go to Karunanidhi's memorial and dedicate this victory to him. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/KvKMBln5G3 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.40 PM: Amit Shah on the BJP's victory: "This is a historic victory. After 50 years someone has won an absolute majority for the second time in a row." 7.39 PM: The BJP makes a clean sweep by winning all 10 seats in Haryana. 7.37 PM: "When all the institutions of the country start bending their knees before the government, the public has to take a stand," says BSP supremo Mayawati. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief, Mayawati: Today's result is against the expectations and sentiments of people. Anyway, when all the institutions of the country start bending their knees before the government, the public has to take a stand. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/Qu7pTh4yNw - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 7.29 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, rose petals showered by party workers. #WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at BJP Headquarters in Delhi, rose petals showered by party workers. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/V6Pcq1c0ki - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.28 PM: Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan greet people at BJP Headquarters. Delhi: Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Thawar Chand Gehlot and former MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan greet people at BJP Headquarters. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/VVcwwLuviO - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7.27 PM: Salman Khan congratulates Prime Minister Narenra Modi on the BJP's decisive victory. Many congratulations Hon. Prime Minister @narendramodi on your decisive victory. We stand by you in building a stronger India. - Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) May 23, 2019 7.15 PM: PM Narendra Modi arrives at BJP headquarters; to address workers soon. Thank you India! Watch from the BJP Headquarters. https://t.co/6WTN8almav - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 7.07 PM: Winners' from Punjab Congress' Manish Tewari wins from Anandpur Sahib, SAD'S Sukhbir Singh Badal wins from Firozpur, Congress' Ravneet Singh Bittu wins from Ludhiana and Congress' Preneet Kaur wins from Patiala. 7.02 PM: BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, Ravi Kishan, wins by 3,01,664 votes. Says, "This is a victory of the truth." -- ANI. 7.00 PM: Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir wins from EastDelhi against Aam Aadmi Party's Atishi Marlena. 6.59 PM: The BJP is leading on all five Lok Sabha seats in Uttrakhand. 6.57 PM: Total 49 results declared: 30(BJP), 10(INC), 2(TRS), 1 each: DMK, JKNC, NCP, LJSP, BSP, JD (S). 49 results declared-30(BJP)10(INC), 2(TRS),1 each-DMK,JKNC,NCP,LJSP,BSP,JD (S).Of the remaining 493 const.,BJP leading in 272,INC in 40,AITC in 23,DMK in 22,Shiv Sena in 18,YSRC in 22,BJD in 12,JD(U) in 16&BSP in 10 const. Here's looking at #Telangana #Punjab #Kerala #Lakshadweep pic.twitter.com/hSwPynOJBm - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 6.56 PM: EVM ki rigging nahi hui hai, Hindu mind ki rigging ho chuki hai, says Owaisi. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi: Election Commission must show their independence, I believe VVPATs should be 100% (100 per cent matching of VVPAT slips with the Voting Machines). EVM ki rigging nahi hui hai, Hindu mind ki rigging ho chuki hai. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/wcXmNmBit8 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6.55 PM: Capt Amarinder Singh congratulates Narendra Modi for an impressive victory. "India's 1.3 billion people look to you and the new NDA government for a better tomorrow. I wish you all the best for meeting their aspirations and ushering all-round & inclusive progress in the country," he says. 6.50 PM: Total 49 results declared-30. BJP: 10 INC: 2 1 each: TRS, DMK,JKNC,NCP,LJSP,BSP, and JD (S) 6.44 PM: The BJP crosses magical mark of 300, while the Congress party has even failed to hit half-century. 6.40 PM: Smriti Irani tweets after defeating Rahul Gandhi. "Kaun kahta k aasaman mei surakh nahi ho sakta," says Smriti Irani. ... - Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 23, 2019 6.36 PM: DV Sadananda Gowda of the BJP wins in Karnataka. 6.35 PM: PM Modi-led BJP witnessed a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. One of the first things the winning party did is to remove the prefix of 'chowkidar' that all the BJP leaders had put before their names on Twitter. 6.30 PM: "Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India's progress. The word 'Chowkidar' goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!" says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people of India became Chowkidars and rendered great service to the nation. Chowkidar has become a powerful symbol to safeguard India from the evils of casteism, communalism, corruption and cronyism. - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 6.28 PM: A total of 34 results been declared of which 22 have gone to BJP & seven to INC, 1each to DMK, JKNC, NCP, TRS & JD (S). 34 results been declared of which 22 have gone to BJP&7 to INC,1each to DMK,JKNC,NCP,TRS & JD (S).Of the remaining 508 const,BJP leading in 282,INC in 43,AITC in 23,DMK in 22,ShivSena in 19,YSRC in 22,BJD in 12,JD(U) in 16&BSP in 10 const. Here's Looking at #Karnataka & #DamanDiu pic.twitter.com/FIWEClay6f - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 6.20 PM: "I accept people's mandate," says Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Reports of Congress President Rahul Gandhi offering resignation are incorrect, says Randeep Singh Surjewala. When asked on fixing responsibility for loss, Rahul Gandhi said, "This is between my party and I. Between me and the Congress CWC." #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/vaTGPNCz7a - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Reports of Congress President Rahul Gandhi offering resignation are incorrect, says Randeep Singh Surjewala. 6.05 PM: National Conference senior leader Farooq Abdullah wins from Srinagar, J&K. BJP candidate, Bandi Sanjay Kumar has won from Karimnagar, Telangana. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate, Farooq Abdullah has won from Srinagar, J&K.#ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 6.03 PM: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the poll debacle: "We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers." Congress General Secretary for UP east, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra: We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/dMuzXTQ8u1 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6.01 PM: Here are the latest party wise trends in Karnataka. 6.00 PM: Capt. Amarinder Singh's wife, Preneet Kaur, has won from Patiala, Punjab. INC Candidate, Ravneet Singh Bittu has won from Ludhiana, Punjab. INC candidate, Preneet Kaur has won from Patiala, Punjab. TRS candidate, Manne Srinivas Reddy has won from Mahbubnagar, Telangana.#ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 Congress President Rahul Gandhi concedes defeat in Amethi, says, "I respect the decision and congratulate Smriti Irani ji." 5.48 PM: "I want to congratulate the BJP and PM Narendra Modi for amajor victory. Our fight is on the basis of our parties' 'thinking'. I believe PMModi and the BJP have won the election, so I want to congratulate them," says Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Congress President Rahul Gandhi: I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/vO5HBkoorb - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 5.45 PM: BJP candidate Hema Malini wins from the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency for the second time. 5.40 PM: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia loses from bastion in Guna, MP. The Congress has suffered a major defeat in MP. 5.37 PM: The latest visuals from West Bengal. The BJP workers celebrate the BJP's victory. 5.36 PM: The Election Commission: Total 16 results have been declared, of which 14 have gone to the BJP and 1 each to INC and JD (Secular). Of the remaining 526 constituencies, BJP is leading in 288, INC in 50, AITC in 23, DMK in 23, Shiv Sena in 18, YSRC in 23, BJD in 13, JD(U) in 16 and BSP in 11 constituencies. 5.34 PM: Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan congratulates PM Narendra Modi. Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan congratulates PM Narendra Modi. #ElectionResults2019 (file pic) pic.twitter.com/TkIvMgtrnp - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 5.30 PM: Three more candidates secure victory in Karnataka. BJP candidate, Anantkumar Hegde has won from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Akshaibar Lal has won from Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. BJP candidate, Pralhad Joshi has won from Dharwad, Karnataka. 5.25 PM: More BJP victories in Karnataka. BJP candidate, Bhagwanth Khuba has won from Bidar, Karnataka. BJP candidate, B.N.Bache Gowda has won from Chikkballapur, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Nalin Kumar Kateel has won from Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka. 5.20 PM: "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies," says Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia - Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 5.20 PM: "...all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all," says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched - Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 23, 2019 5.18 PM: The BJP has secured victory on 12 seats, while the Congress has won just one seat. The saffron party-led NDA is ahead on 342 seats while the UPA is leading on 95 seats. 5.15 PM: Four more candidates have been declared winners in Karnataka. BJP candidate Bhagwanth Khuba has won from Bidar, Karnataka. BJP candidate, B.N.Bache Gowda has won from Chikkballapur, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Nalin Kumar Kateel has won from Dakshina Kannada. BJP candidate, Anantkumar Hegde has won from Uttara Kannada. 5.14 PM: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi wins from Rae Bareli; Rahul Gandhi is trailing by over 22,000 votes in Amethi. 5.13 PM: BJP candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Thakur, wins from Bhopal against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. 5.07 PM: "Fake issues don't work. The final results point in the same direction as the exit polls," says Finance Minister Arund Jaitley. Fake issues don't work. The final results point in the same direction as the exit polls. What is the accountability of those who were bringing a bad name to India's democracy both domestically and internationally by raking up the VVPAT issue? - Chowkidar Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 23, 2019 5.04 PM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani leads over Rahul Gandhi by over 22,000 votes. 5.02 PM: BJP candidate, Y Devendrappa wins from Bellary, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Y. Devendrappa has won from Bellary, Karnataka.#ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 5.00 PM: BJP candidate from Gorakhpur, actor-turned politician Ravi Kishan, secures victory. 4.59 PM: Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from the BJP is leading by over 3 lakh votes against her nearest rival Digvijay Singh from the Congress party. 4.53 PM: BJP leader Babul Supriyo wins Asansol in West Bengal. 4.42 PM: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wins Patna Sahib; Congress candidate Shatrughan Sinha loses. 4.39 PM: Visuals of celebrations from Wayanad. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is leading by 8,38,371 votes. Kerala: Visuals of celebrations from Wayanad. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is leading by 8,38,371 votes. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/zF1BgzV6lR - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 4.37 PM: Candidates who have won so far. BJP candidate Gopal Jee Thakur has won from Darbhanga, Bihar. BJP candidate Lalubhai Babubhai Patel has won from Daman & Diu. INC candidate, D.K. Suresh has won from Bangalore Rural, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Udasi. S.C. has won from Haveri, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Karadi Sanganna Amarappa has won from Koppal, Karnataka. BJP candidate, Jigajinagi Ramesh Chandappa has won from Bijapur, Karnataka. 4.35 PM: Six results have been declared of which five have gone to the BJP and one to INC. 6 results have been declared of which 5 have gone to BJP and one to INC. Of the remaining 536 constituencies, BJP is leading in 294, INC in 50, AITC in 23, DMK in 23, Shiv Sena in 18, YSRC in 23, BJD in 14, JD(U) in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies. - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 4.32 PM: Take a look at the latest election trends in Andhra Pradesh. 4.30 PM: Urmila Matondkar, Congress candidate from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency: "I congratulate Gopal Shetty. We have noticed discrepancies in EVMs, we have prepared a report on it that we will submit to Election Commission at the end of the day." Urmila Matondkar, Congress candidate from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency: I congratulate Gopal Shetty. We have noticed discrepancies in EVMs, we have prepared a report on it that we will submit to Election Commission at the end of the day. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/nX2ONYA08d - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 4.28 PM: Take a look at election trends in Chattisgarh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737FP4u Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Chattisgarh #Mizoram #HimachalPradesh #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/f3DxkCGXDN - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 4.26 PM: In a bad news for Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Smriti Irani leads by almost 19,000 votes from Amethi. 4.13 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Jagan Mohan Reddy in Telugu and Naveen Patnaik in Odia for securing big wins in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Assembly elections. Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term. @Naveen_Odisha - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Dear @ysjagan, Congratulations on the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure. @ysjagan, . . . - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 4.11 PM: Senior BJP leader LK Advani gives heartiest congratulations to Narendra Modi for steering the BJP towards this unprecedented victory in elections. L K Advani, BJP: It's such a wonderful feeling that in a country as large & diverse as India, electoral process has been so successfully completed & for that, my compliments to the electorate & all the agencies involved. May our great nation be blessed with a bright future ahead. https://t.co/cAX8plrlzr - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 4.10 PM: Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh on Congress's Sunil Jakhar trailing from Gurdaspur: "Sunil ji is a fine candidate, he had done a lot of work there. This is one thing I didn't understand that people gave preference to an actor than to experience." Captain Amarinder Singh on Navjot Singh Sidhu: Indians especially servicemen will not tolerate hugging the Pakistani Army Chief. pic.twitter.com/AVZFgIraR2 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 3.48 PM: BJP President Amit Shah arrives at party Headquarters, welcomed by party workers. Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah arrives at party Headquarters, welcomed by party workers. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/5J9gYnmfu6 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 3.35 PM: Congress President Rahul Gandhi leading with over 7,90,000 votes from Kerala's Wayanad. 3.27 PM: Visuals from BJP headquarters in Delhi. 3.25 PM: "People of Bathinda went with development, voted for 'Sabka saath, Sabka Vikas', I thank them," said Harsimrat Kaur Badal who is winning from the Bathinda seat. 3.23 PM: Yogi Adityanath congratulates PM Modi. " I want to congratulate Prime Minister Modi for this victory. BJP is touching 300 mark for the first time and NDA is touching 350. I also congratulate the party President Amit Shah," said Yogi Adityanath. 3.17 PM: Russia's President Vladimir Putin calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate him. 3.15 PM: Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 3.14 PM: Sharad Pawar, NCP, said, "I accept people's decision but this is also a fact that people had their doubts about EVMs. Congress had performed really well in Rajiv Gandhi's time, but nobody doubted elections then, same when Atal Bihari Vajpayee won." 3.11 PM: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani congratulates PM Modi. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani tweets, "Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government & the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies" #ElectionResults2019 (file pic) pic.twitter.com/pql5Ge7rJx ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 3.10 PM: BJP's Amit Shah leading over Congress's CJ Chavda from Gandhinagar with a margin of 511180 votes. 3.08 PM: King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephonic conversation. 3.05 PM: A meeting of JD(S) leaders is going on at the residence of party chief HD Deve Gowda in Bengaluru. CM HD Kumaraswamy, Sa Ra Mahesh, KM Shivalinge Gowda and other party leaders are present at the meeting. 3.01 PM: Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." -- ANI 3.00 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah is leading over Congress' CJ Chavda from Gandhinagar in Gujarat with a margin of 5,11,180 votes. BJP's Amit Shah leading over Congress's CJ Chavda from Gandhinagar (Gujarat) with a margin of 511180 votes. (file pic) #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/5YfulT41s7 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 2.58 PM: Kerala election trends: Rahul Gandhi ahead with over 3 lakh votes in Wayanad. UDF-19 Ldf-1 2.57 PM: As per latest trends available for the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 300 while INC is leading in 50, DMK in 23, AITC in 22, YSRC in 24, Shiv Sena in 18, JDU in 15, BJD in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies. As per latest trends available for the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 300 while INC is leading in 50, DMK in 23, AITC in 22, YSRC in 24, Shiv Sena in 18, JDU in 15, BJD in 15 and BSP in 11 constituencies #ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 2.46 PM: India wins yet again! Together we'll build strong country, says Modi. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat - Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 2.43 PM: Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates Narendra Modi on victory. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates PM @narendramodi on the electoral victory under his leadership.#ResultsWithAIR | #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/MwtxpLOh9X - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 2.41 PM: BJP chief Amit Shah congratulates PM Modi for the stellar victory. "The result is India's mandate against propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless politics by the opposition," says Shah. , , , - Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 23, 2019 2.36 PM: As per the Election Commission, the BJP is ahead on 60 seats in UP, while BSP on 11, and SP on 6. The Congress party is ahead on just 1 seat. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, stay connected to our Twitter handle.#UttarPradesh #Haryana #MadhyaPradesh #Kerala pic.twitter.com/3WBR8Yx008 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 2.32 PM: BJP's Manoj Tiwari ahead with 4,40,050 votes; distant second is the Congress' senior leader Sheila Dikshit. She is trailing by 2 lakh votes. 2.26 PM: RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka: "In the dark of the night, when the others were in deep slumber, the Chowkidar kept awake. He went after corruption, gagged illegal money and gave a fitting response to terror attacks. The nation is upbeat, the economy will boom and investments will happen." In the dark of the night, when the others were in deep slumber, the Chowkidar kept awake. He went after corruption, gagged illegal money and gave a fitting response to terror attacks. The nation is upbeat, the economy will boom and investments will happen.#ElecctionResults2019 - Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) May 23, 2019 2.19 PM: UP Lok Sabha Election Results: Smriti Irani takes huge lead over Rahul in Amethi; leads by 9,000 votes. 2.16 PM: BJP-Shiv Sena is leading in 41 seats in Maharashtra; INC-NCP in 5; AIMIM and Independent in 1 each. 2.12 PM: India Today-Axis My India exit polls had predicted 345-368 seats for the NDA in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. 2.08 PM: Giriraj Singh leads by over 2 lakh votes from Begusarai; Kanhaiya Kumar trails. Read here. In Bihar, Giriraj Singh is leading by more than 2 lakh votes from Begusarai.#ResultsWithAIR | #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/0Knz1dkb5k - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 2.06 PM: The BJP is not winning because of people's mandate but 'cheating', says Hardik Patel. 1.47 PM: Here are the latest trends across 11 states that recorded historic voter turnout in Lok Sabha Elections 2019. 1.38 PM: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watches Lok Sabha Elections 2019 trends in Lucknow. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath watches #LokSabhaElections2019 trends in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/SPGJSMOKTN - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 1.36 PM: Benjamin Netanyahu on BJP's major win: "Greetings from my heart, my friend @Narendramodi, for your impressive victory in the election!" 1.35 PM: Will continue to strengthen our friendship between India and Israel, says Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Modi. 1.27 PM: Latest election trends as per the EC: As per latest trends available for the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 294 while INC is leading in 52, DMK in 22, AITC in 23, YSRC in 23, Shiv Sena in 19, JDU in 15, BJD in 15 and BSP in 12 constituencies. 1.22 PM: Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is trailing behind BJP's Umesh G Jadhav by 50,000 votes. 1.20 PM: With half the votes counted (50.1%), my lead stands at 21,411, says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. With half the votes counted (50.1%), my lead stands at 21,411! #TharoorForTvm - Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 23, 2019 1.10 PM: My salute to the untiring workers of BJP, says Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore. I am on my way to the counting center at Jaipur to meet our counting representatives, my salute to the untiring workers of @BJP4India and Jaipur Rural, this is their service to the nation. #ModiAaRahaHai #ElecctionResults2019 - Chowkidar Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) May 23, 2019 1.08 PM: All that's left is to congratulate BJP, NDA for stellar performance, says NC leader and former J&K CM Omar Abdullah. So the exit polls were correct. All that's left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance. Credit where credit is due PM Modi Sahib & Mr Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years. - Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 23, 2019 1.05 PM: Himanta Biswa Sarma of BJP: "People of India have once again given Modi ji a chance to lead the country, they love him." Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP: People of India have once again given Modi ji a chance to lead the country, they love him. I would like to thank the people of India, especially people of North-East for supporting Modi ji. I want to assure people that Modi ji will take us forward. pic.twitter.com/vNAv2UENDj - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 1.04 PM: Andhra Assembly polls 2019: YS Jaganmohan Reddy to take oath as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on May 30. 1.03 PM: "One Nation One Choice! Modi wave was always here and will always be in the heart of India," says Union Minister Suresh Prabhu. .@BJP4India on the road to a path-breaking victory in the history of elections once again. The efforts of the party have been commendable. Nothing is more important than seeing love and support of the people that have made this victory a reality. @narendramodi @AmitShah @PMOIndia - Chowkidar Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) May 23, 2019 12.54 PM: The BJP leads in all 26 per cent in Gujarat. The vote share of the BJP is 61.78 per cent, the Congress party in second place with 32.40 per cent. #ElectionResults2019 at 12:10 #gujaratelections2019 BJP leads in all 26 PCs in #Gujarat The vote share of BJP is 61.78%, Congress in second place with 32.40 %# 26 61.78% , 32.40% pic.twitter.com/0p3QDEUuaL - PIB in Gujarat (@PIBAhmedabad) May 23, 2019 12.51 PM: Election Results 2019 for Maharashtra, at 12.35 PM: BJP-Shiv Sena leads in 43 seats, INC-NCP in 4, AIMIM in 1. #ElectionResults2019 for Maharashtra, at 12.35 PM: BJP - Shiv Sena leads in 43 seats, INC- NCP in 4, AIMIM in 1.#LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/CmQxLpPLC0 - PIB in Maharashtra (@PIBMumbai) May 23, 2019 12.49 PM: Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulates PM Narendra Modi on a 'magnificent victory'. Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you. - Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) May 23, 2019 12.46 PM: This is the latest nationwide trend right now. Lok Sabha Election Result 2019 | Overall Trend Nation wide #ElectionResults2019 | #ResultsWithAIR pic.twitter.com/e9hgMKofQt - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 12.45 PM: Celebrations outside Bharatiya Janata Party office in Rajasthan's Jaipur. #WATCH Celebrations outside Bharatiya Janata Party office in Rajasthan's Jaipur. pic.twitter.com/w1qYDG7J05 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12.44 PM: The BJP has finally lost former CM Parrikar's Panaji Assembly seat to Congress, reports ANI. 12.34 PM: Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo leading from Asansol, BJP's Arjun Singh leading from Barrackpore and TMC's Mimi Chakraborty leading from Jadavpur. #WestBengal: Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo leading from Asansol, BJP's Arjun Singh leading from Barrackpore and TMC's Mimi Chakraborty leading from Jadavpur pic.twitter.com/sxtjsZ41dF - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12.33 PM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh says he congratulated PM Narendra Modi and BJP National President Amit Shah for BJP's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. "Modi is now all set to build a New India," says Rajnath Singh. Spoke to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and the BJP National President Shri @AmitShah over the phone and congratulated them for @BJP4India led NDA's stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. 1/3 - Chowkidar Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 23, 2019 12.23 PM: Latest Assembly election trends in Odisha. BJD leading on 88 seats BJP leading on 27 seats Congress leading on 11 seats 12.21 PM: The BJP is set to win all four seats in Himachal Pradesh, says EC data. 12.18 PM: SP patriarch Mulayam Singh is leading from Mainpuri. His son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav are ahead from Azamgarh and Kannauj. 12.14 PM: Party wise Vote share in Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission of India. 12.11 PM: Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne celebrate as trends show party leading on 292 seats. #ElectionResults2019: Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne celebrate as trends show party leading on 292 seats. pic.twitter.com/WphGVy1KeP - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12.06 PM: BJP's Jay Panda trailing by over 2000 from Odisha's Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency. 12.04 PM: Sensex climbs 476 points, Nifty at 11,882; Adani Ports, BPCl, YES Bank top gainers. Indian Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty has made new record highs today. Sensex has hit 40,000 level and Nifty has crossed 12,000 level, hinting strong possibility of Modi coming back to power. Share Market Live: Adani Ports, BPCl, YES Bank top gainers 12.02 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at the BJP headquarter at 5 PM today. The BJP is heading towards a clear majority in the Lok Sabha election 2019. 11.59 AM: As per latest trends available for all the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 292 while INC is leading in 51, DMK in 22, AITC in 24, YSRC in 25, Shiv Sena in 20, JDU in 16, BJD in 14 and BSP in 11 constituencies. 11.58 AM: The latest election trends for Goa Manipur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Goa #Manipur #AndamanandNicobarIslands #DadraandNagarHaveli pic.twitter.com/KMJXmNNSEj - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.56 AM: Varun Gandhi is leading from Pilibhit; actor-turned-politician, Sunny Deol, is leading by over 4,000 votes from Gurdaspur. 11.53 AM: RLD chief Ajit Singh leading by over 25,000 votes from Muzaffarnagar in Lok Sabha seat. 11.53 AM: The YSR Congress Party set to wrest power in Andhra Pradesh with a landslide victory. 11.52 AM: Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP: "This is the first election for a generation that opened its eyes in the 21st century, the millennium generation has voted & given a millennium mandate. I think we should wait for final results, the indications are now gradually settling down to same thing." -- ANI 11.49 AM: BJP Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur on trends showing she is leading: Nischit meri vijay hogi, meri vijay mein dharm ki vijay hogi, adharm ka naash hoga. Mein Bhopal ki janta ka aabhaar deti hun.-- ANI 11.48 AM: BJP chief Amit Shah leads by over 3.5 lakh votes from Gandhinagar. 11.46 AM: Latest election EC trends in Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Tripura. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#DamanandDiu #Delhi #JammuAndKashmir #Tripura pic.twitter.com/UAveDl4B19 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.44 AM: Union Ministers Manoj Sinha and Maneka Gandhi trailing from Ghazipur and Sultanpur respectively. Union Ministers Manoj Sinha and Maneka Gandhi trailing from Ghazipur and Sultanpur respectively (file pics) pic.twitter.com/0Ut7SypUB3 - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 11.44 AM: BJP leader Sambit Patra leads by 700 votes from Odisha's Puri Lok Sabha Constituency. BJP leader Dr Sambit Patra leading by over 700 votes from Odisha's Puri Lok Sabha Constituency. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/ihTxZ3xynf - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 11.41 AM: Check latest Lok Sabha result updates for Bihar, Telangana, TamilNadu and Puducherry. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Bihar #Telangana #TamilNadu #Puducherry pic.twitter.com/RopvlQrC8P - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11.32 AM: In Varanasi after round 5, Narendra Modi leading over Shalini Yadav by margin of 92,999 votes. In Varanasi after round 5, Narendra Modi leading over Shalini Yadav by margin of 92,999 votes.#ElectionResults2019 | #ResultsWithAIR pic.twitter.com/4YTnh1lI12 - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 11.29 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar. pic.twitter.com/yR2Zi9eeL1 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 11.29 AM: Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda and Aam Aadmi Party's Bhagwant Mann leading from Sangrur. #Punjab: Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda and Aam Aadmi Party's Bhagwant Mann leading from Sangrur pic.twitter.com/5FbzD30aQW - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 11.18 AM: The BJP is leading on all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. 11.14 AM: BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi. #Elections2019 : BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi pic.twitter.com/vLRd0AySyt - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 10.56 AM: Union Minister Maneka Gandhi is trailing from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat. 10.54 AM: RJD's Saharad Yadav is trailing by over 48,300 votes in Madhepura, Bihar. 10.51 AM: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi leading by over one lakh votes in Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. 10.50 AM: BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans leading by 58,613 votes from North West Delhi constituency. 10.50 AM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takes a lead in the Lok Sabha election results in Odisha. As the vote count for the 21 #LokSabha and 146 Assembly seats began in #Odisha on May 23 morning, initial trends showed that the #BharatiyaJanataParty was leading in #LokSabha seats while the #BijuJanataDal in Assembly.#LokSabhaElections2019 #Dangal2019 Photo: IANS pic.twitter.com/1PoGnRcaV1 - IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 23, 2019 10.48 AM: BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 1,25,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. 10.47 AM: In West Bengal, TMC leading in 21 seats, BJP in 14. Both Central Ministers - Babul Supriyo, SS Aluwalia are leading. Prominent TMC candidate Avishek Banerjee is trailing from Diamond Harbour. In West Bengal TMC leading in 21 seats, BJP in 14. Both Central Ministers - Babul Supriyo, S. S. Aluwalia are leading. Prominent TMC candidate Avishek Banerjee is trailing from Diamond Harbour.#Electionresult2019 | #ResultsWithAIR pic.twitter.com/Bnei6DjLnl - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 10.43 AM: Rajnath Singh leading by more than 50 thousand votes in Lucknow; Hema Malini ahead in Mathura. 10.39 AM: In Chhattisgarh, of the total 11 seats, the BJP is leading on 9 seats, while the Congress is leading on two seats. 10.37 AM: Latest Election Commission Trends: Total trends for 527 constituencies. BJP leading on 282 seats INC leading on 51 seats DMK leading on 22 seats AITC leading on 22 seats YSRC leading on 24 seats Shivsena leading on 19 seats 10.29 AM: BJP-Shiv Sena leading on all six seats of Mumbai. 10.28 AM: Check the latest election results for Chattisgarh, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, and AndhraPradesh. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#Chattisgarh #Mizoram #HimachalPradesh #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/6j7cg9cnEC - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 10.25 AM: Latest numbers: NDA leads in 328 seats, UPA 103. 10.20 AM: The Election Commission of India: As per current trends available for 511 constituencies, BJP is leading in 277 while INC is leading in 52, DMK in 21, AITC in 21, YSRC in 21 and Shivsena in 18. As per current trends available for 511 constituencies, BJP is leading in 277 while INC is leading in 52, DMK in 21, AITC in 21, YSRC in 21 and Shivsena in 18. #ElectionResults2019 - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 10.19 AM: The Congress party is leading on 8 seats in Punjab, while the BJP & SAD leading on 2 seats each and Aam Aadmi Party leading on 1 seat. 10.15 AM: Latest details from Maharashtra. BJP leading on all 22 seats Shiv Sena leading on 18 seats NCP leading on 4 seats Congress leading on 2 seats 10.14 AM: Supriya Sule, daughter of NCP stalwart, has taken a lead from Baramati. 10.13 AM: Early election trends show that UP Congress chief Raj Babbar is trailing from Fatehpur Sikri. 10.11 AM: Karti Chidambaram, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son, is leading from the Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat. 10.10 AM: Bharatiya Janata Party leading on all 7 seats in Delhi. 10.06 AM: The latest tally as per the Election Commission. Bharatiya Janata Party: Leading on 269 seats Indian National Congress: Leading on 52 seats 10.05 AM: Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Elections result. BJP: Leading on 7 seats 10.04 AM: Odisha election result 2019. Biju Janata Dal: Leading on 16 seats BJP: Leading on 5 seats Congress leader Milind Deora is trailing, while Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant leads from the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat. 10.01 AM: In Goa, the Congress party is leading from Panjim, which was Manohar Parrikar's Assembly seat. 9.59 AM: Take a look at the party-wise trends and results for the following states. Take a look at the Partywise Trends and Results for the following states. For more Live updates on #ElectionResults2019, visit: https://t.co/wlT737XpW2 Or stay connected to our Twitter handle for Live updates.#UttarPradesh #Haryana #MadhyaPradesh #Kerala pic.twitter.com/G4Yg4JcnhW - Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 9.57 AM: PM Narendra Modi is leading by over 20,000 votes from UP's Varanasi, BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar. PM Narendra Modi leading by over 20,000 votes from UP's Varanasi, BJP President Amit Shah leading by over 50,000 votes from Gujarat's Gandhinagar (file pic) pic.twitter.com/kZ6TRadqb9 - ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 9.51 AM: Sonia Gandhi leading in Raebareli by over 1,000 votes. 9.50 AM: Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections trends: YSRCP leading on 35 seats, Telugu Desam Party leading on 6 seats. 9.48 AM: Jammu and Kashmir election: NC leader Farooq Abdullah leading from Srinagar; Union Minister Jitendra Singh leading from Udhampur. 9.46 AM: Official tally by 9.30 AM BJP: Leading on 229 seats Congress: Leading on 56 seats 9.45 AM: BJP candidate and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi trailing from Sultanpur. 9.44 AM: BJP leading on Chandni Chowk, North West Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi parliamentary seats out of 7 seats -- ANI. 9.40 AM: The Congress is leading on three seats in Gujarat; the party is also ahead on three seats in Haryana. 9.30 AM: BJP candidate and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi trailing from Sultanpur, Sonia Gandhi leading from Rae Bareli. Varun Gandhi leading from Pilibhit 9:17am: BJP leader Giriraj Singh leading from Bihar's Begusarai over CPI's Kanhaiya Kumar. 9:16am: Official EC trends: BJP leading on 133 seats, Congress leading on 41 seats. 9:15am: BJP's Sunny Deol leading from Gurdaspur, Congress's Manish Tewari leading from Anandpur Sahib and Gurjeet Singh Aujla leading from Amritsar, SAD's Harsimrat Kaur Badal leading from Bhatinda. 9:08am: BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri is leading from South Delhi and BJP's Parvesh Verma leading from West Delhi. 9:07am: Sonia Gandhi is leading from Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli and Rahul Gandhi leading from Kerala's Wayanad. 9:00am: Senior Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal, Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna and Vivek Tankha from Jabalpur, trailing in Madhya Pradesh. 8:58am: TMC is leading from 2 constituencies. 8:56am: As per early trends, BJP is leading in 70 constituencies, while Congress is leading in 17. 8:51am: Visuals from Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh: Visuals from a counting centre in Bhopal; Congress's Digvijaya Singh and BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur are contesting from the Lok Sabha seat pic.twitter.com/MbigpFh65V ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:45am: Official EC trends: BJP-9, Congress-3, JDS-1, Mizo National Front-1, NCP-1, NDPP-1, Shiv Sena-1. 8:41am: Counting of votes for 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal began at 8 am on Thursday, an election official said. Around 25,000 personnel have been deployed to count votes in 379 counting halls, which are being guarded by 82 companies of Central forces. 8:40am: Counting of votes for elections to two Lok Sabha constituencies and four Assembly seats where bypolls were held, began at 8 am Thursday at two centres. Votes for North Goa district were being counted in Panaji and for South Goa district in Margao, an election official said. 8:35am: Counting of votes for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh got underway at 292 centres in 51 district headquarters on Thursday and the first results are expected by 10 pm, an election official said. 8:30am: Visuals from Chandigarh. Visuals from inside a counting centre in Chandigarh; Congress's Pawan Kumar Bansal, BJP's Kirron Kher and AAP's Harmohan Dhawan are contesting from the Lok Sabha seat. pic.twitter.com/8EuV2wWi9M ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:24am: Amit Shah had a meeting with party general secretaries and instructed them to call all party candidates and instruct them to have their representatives present at polling stations across the country, especially sensitive states like Bengal, Odisha... basically non-BJP ruling states... and not leave under any circumstances. All district presidents have been asked to tell all winning candidates to reach Delhi by 25th May, after which there will be a parliamentary party meeting which will elect leader of the party. 8:20am: ECI's two new directions to reduce the delay in counting of votes: EVM counting can go ahead irrespective of the stage of counting of postal votes. Mandatory recounting of only rejected postal votes and not the entire postal votes if the margin is less than the postal votes. 8:16am: Counting underway in Siri Fort, Delhi. Delhi: Counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 underway at Siri Fort complex. pic.twitter.com/upNrskGMAA ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:09am: Counting of votes for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 begins at counting centre in Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. Bengaluru: Counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 begins at counting centre in Mount Carmel College. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/4kVkwBkP8b ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 8:00am: Counting of votes begins. 7:53am: "Roshan Baig has tried to help the BJP and sabotage my campaign. But in his own constituency Shivaji Nagar, people have supported me overwhelmingly and blessed me. Workers of Congress party have defied his diktats and supported me," said Rizwan Arshad, Congress candidate from Bangalore Central. 7:45am: Visuals from Dehradun. Uttarakhand: Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM; visuals from a counting centre in Dehradun. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/xSjNWuVDTC ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:40am: Visuals from Guwahati. Assam: Counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8am ; Visuals from outside a counting centre in Guwahati. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/jIEQmzGu5S ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:35am: Visuals from a counting centre in Wayanad. Rahul Gandhi is contesting from that constituency. Kerala: Visuals from outside a counting centre at Kalpetta, Wayanad; Rahul Gandhi is contesting from the Lok Sabha constituency. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/D9Au7jS6YZ ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:30am: Gayatri havan has begun at the Congress'Delhi office ahead of the counting of the votes. 7:24am: "The results will be definitely in favour of Congress. We're expecting that Congress will win and form govt. Rahul Gandhi will be the PM. The fight in Delhi is between BJP and Congress," said Ajay Maken, Congress candidate from New Delhi. 7:22am: "Will it be D for Deliverance from 5 years of misgovernance, ineptitude and bigotry, or D for Disappointment & Despair?" asks Shashi Tharoor. D-Day at last! Will it be D for Deliverance for the nation from 5 years of misgovernance, ineptitude & bigotry, or D for Disappointment & Despair for all who who believe in #InclusiveIndia, responsible governance, liberal social values & economic justice? pic.twitter.com/DJ7zqCgbEp Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 23, 2019 7:19am: Visuals from Kolkata. West Bengal: Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM; visuals from a counting centre in Kolkata. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/uXdi6RlgF9 ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:13am: Visuals from a counting centre in Jalandhar. Punjab: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Jalandhar as counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8 am. pic.twitter.com/5DotoLEWua ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:09am: Ravi Kishan offers prayers before counting starts. He is contesting from Gorakhpur. Actor Ravi Kishan, who is fighting on Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat, offers prayers as #ElectionResults2019 will be announced today; counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8 am. pic.twitter.com/b1d38nuq02 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 23, 2019 7:04am: Umesh Jadhav, BJP candidate from Kalaburagi said, "Narendra Modi will become the PM. I am hopeful of winning the seat. After this, within a day or two this coalition govt is going to fall on its own and BJP govt will be formed." He is contesting against Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge. 7:03am: Visuals from a counting centre in Hyderabad. Telangana: Visuals from outside a counting centre in Hyderabad; counting of votes for #LokSabhaElections2019 to begin at 8 am. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/Mp550QffXk ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 7:00am: BJP candidate from Bengaluru South constituency, Tejasvi Surya, "I am sure we will win. I am confident I will be able to contribute to legislation and policy making in this country." 6:55am: "For development of the state and welfare of its people,I think Kerala should move along with NDA govt in Delhi. Now that Kerala is coming up in mainstream, I am very much confident that I'll win in this election," said BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan. Rajasekharan is contesting against Congress' Shashi Tharoor. 6:51am: JD(S) candidate from Mandya, Nikhil Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore. #Karnataka: JD(S) Hassan candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore . #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/hoqTJ9MsQk ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:47am: Can BJP to turn the tide in Madhya Pradesh after losing assembly polls? For more read here. 6:42am: Visuals from a counting centre in Bengaluru. Karnataka: Security outside a counting centre in Bengaluru; counting of votes to begin at 8 am. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/nKctC7DP6M ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:40am: From 173 million in 1951 to 910 million in 2019, here's how India's electoral strength has grown over the years. A pulsating democracy! Presenting a snapshot of the electoral strength of India over the years. #LokSabhaElections2019#NoVoterToBeLeftBehind pic.twitter.com/JlAzKTaZsX Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 22, 2019 6:39am: BJP candidate from Rampur, Jaya Prada said, "We are winning. This fight is of women's asmita, respect . Fight for voice of poor. If god permit we will break their ego." 6:35am: Shashi Tharoor's opponent, BJP's Kummanam Rajasekharan offers prayer at Ayyaguru Ashram before counting. Kerala:Kummanam Rajasekharan,BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram constituency offers prayer at Ayyaguru Ashram,Thycaud.Rajasekharan is fielded against Congress' Shashi Tharoor&Left Democratic Front candidate C Divakaran.Counting of votes to begin at 8 AM. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/dO0OCUHcNQ ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 6:30am: Visuals from a counting centre in Bhopal. As counting for 2019 Lok Sabha election comes to a head, a few contentions were raised once again over the sanctity of EVMs. Actress-turned politician and Congress' North Mumbai Lok Sabha seat candidate Urmila Matondkar was among the few who pointed fingers at the reliability of polling by EVMs. "We have noticed discrepancies in EVMs, we have prepared a report on it that we will submit to Election Commission at the end of the day," Matondkar told ANI. Urmila Matondkar, Congress candidate from Mumbai North parliamentary constituency: I congratulate Gopal Shetty. We have noticed discrepancies in EVMs, we have prepared a report on it that we will submit to Election Commission at the end of the day. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/nX2ONYA08d ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 She, however, congratulated BJP's Gopal Shetty who won the General Elections to the Lok Sabha from the North Mumbai parliamentary seat. Shetty won against Matondkar by a margin of almost 4 lakh votes. Meanwhile, Congress candidate from Kangra seat in Himachal Pradesh, Pawan Kajal claimed that EVM tampering was the reason behind his defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Kajal lost the poll to BJP's Kishan Kapoor by 4.77 lakh votes. Kajal said his defeat from his own assembly constituency was highly suspicious, and the huge gap of votes indicated 'something fishy'. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: PM Modi terms BJP's victory the biggest event in democratic world In a blog posted a day before the counting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had stated that the Opposition would lose the ground to question EVMs if BJP and allies registered a massive win as predicted by the exit polls. "The hard reality is that when multiple Exit Polls convey the same message, the direction of the result broadly would be in consonance with the message. Exit Polls are based on personal interviews. The EVMs have no role. If the results of the Exit Polls and final results on the 23rd May, 2019 are in the same direction, the Opposition's fake issue of the EVMs would also lose its non-existent rationale," Jaitley had written in his blog titled 'Message of Exit Polls'. ALSO READ: Election results 2019: Modi 2.0 faces the tough task of fixing the economy With the results for the 2019 Lok Sabha election scheduled today, the BJP-Shiv Sena is set to dish out an encore of their overwhelming victory from the previous General Elections in Maharashtra. The India Today Axis My India predicts the alliance winning 38-42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. On the other hand, Congress and allies are expected to barely make a dent with 6-10 seats going to them. Maharashtra sends 48 MPs, the second-highest after Uttar Pradesh, to Lok Sabha. The electorate across the state exercised their right to vote over four phases during the recently concluded 2019 Lok Sabha elections between April 11 and April 29. BJP contested on 25 seats, whereas Shiv Sena fielded its candidates on 23 seats. Congress nominated its contestants on 25 seats, whereas Sharad Pawar-led NCP fought on 19 seats. Three seats were left for other UPA allies - YSP, BVA and Swabhimani Paksha. ALSO READ: Election results 2019: What time will counting start, how are EVM votes counted, will final results be delayed? Several notable names from the politically crucial state of Maharashtra contested in the recently concluded General Elections. One of the most significant seats in the state is Nagpur, which holds a special place in BJP's heart for being the home of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The saffron party has fielded Union Minister Nitin Gadkari from the Nagpur seat who is facing Nana Patole from the seat. Another contest of importance is Mumbai South Lok Sabha seat, which saw Congress' longstanding parliamentarian Milind Deora duke it out against Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant. The 2019 Lok Sabha election also saw actress Urmila Matondar begin her political innings. Congress has nominated her from Mumbai North seat against BJP's Gopal Shetty. ALSO READ: Maharashtra Exit Poll Results 2019: BJP-Shiv Sena to bag up to 42 seats, Congress-NCP to be limited to 6 seats The Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat also witnessed an interesting battle between BJP's Poonam Mahajan and Congress' Priya Dutt. While the former is the daughter of party's deceased veteran leader Pramod Mahajan, the latter is the daughter of veteran actor Sunil Dutt. Both have been active in Maharashtra politics for some time now. Sharad Pawar, a pivotal figure in Maharashtra politics, did not contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but his daughter, Supriya Sule is contending from the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. Baramati is known as a Pawar family bastion. The winning parties in the Maharashtra will have to focus on perennial problems of farmer distress, drought and joblessness in the state. Scarcity of water forces people from the Marathwada region to migrate every year. Number of farmer suicides has risen to alarming levels in this region which has been facing deficient rainfall for past many monsoons. ALSO READ: Modi I vs Manmohan I: How many times did Sensex hit all-time high? BJP-led NDA is making inroads into West Bengal as TMC is leading in 13 seats as per the early trends with BJP ahead in 7. Trends are available at 22 seats. Meanwhile, Mamta Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee is trailing in Diamond Harbour in first round while BJP's candidate Nilanjan Roy, a defector from Congress is leading (9:35 am). BJP is also leading in Asansol and Howrah in West Bengal. TMC candidate Moon Moon Sen is trailing in Asansol. Left Front is yet to open its account. Banerjee is looking to hold on to her fortress as the Modi-Shah-led BJP looks to make significant inroads. TMC, the fourth largest party in the Lok Sabha, has governed the state since the former railways minister ended decades of communist rule there in a 2011 vote. The BJP had bagged only two constituencies in the 2014 polls. According to exit polls, they can win up to 20 seats this time round, making significant inroads in the state with a population of nearly 10 crore. In the campaigning phase the party had been confident of winning 23-30 seats. Starting from April 11, 2019, the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal were held in seven phases in 42 Lok Sabha constituencies which saw 466 candidates contesting in the poll fight. Follow West Bengal Election Results 2019 updates on the LIVE blog here: 2:20pm: TMC Candidate from Asansol, Moon Moon Sen reacts on present trends. #WATCH TMC Candidate from Asansol, Moon Moon Sen reacts on present trends,she is trailing BJP candidate Babul Supriyo by over 65,000 votes. #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/LFYfTTMMzb ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 1:43pm: CM Mamata Banerjee wished all the winners. Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 23, 2019 1:40pm: BJP's Dilip Ghosh and TMC's Manas Ranjan Bhunia is locked in a neck-to-neck fight for Medinipur. 1:26pm: TMC has taken a clear lead in Darjeeling. The fight is close between INC and CPM. 1:15pm: TMC's Protima Mondal is leading in Joynagar, followed by BJP's Ashok Kandary. 1:00pm: TMC's Asit Kumar Mal is leading in Bolpur, followed by BJP's Das Ramprasad. 12:40pm: Counting at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata. Scenes from the #CountingCenter ar #NetajiIndoorStadium in #Kolkata. #CountingDay #LokSabhaElections2019 @ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI @PIB_India @PIBHindi @MIB_India @MIB_Hindi pic.twitter.com/YvL4JK6TRq PIB in West Bengal (@PIBKolkata) May 23, 2019 12:30pm: Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo is leading from Asansol, BJP's Arjun Singh is leading from Barrackpore and TMC's Mimi Chakraborty is leading from Jadavpur. 12:19pm: Visuals of celebrations from outside BJP office in Kolkata. West Bengal: Visuals of celebrations outside BJP office in Kolkata. #LokSabhaElectionsResults2019 pic.twitter.com/JuOe9mvRau ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 12:16pm: TMC's Prasun Banerjee is leading in Howrah and BJP's Rantidev Sengupta is a close second. 12:04pm: In Barrackpore, BJP candidate Arjun Singh is leading and TMC candidate Dinesh Trivedi is trailing. 11:54am: The fight between TMC's Paresh Chandra and BJP's Nisith Pramanik is very close in Cooch Behar. 11:45am: Moon Moon Sen continues to trail in Asansol as Babul Supriyo leads. 11:36am: Kolkata Dakshin TMC candidate Mala Roy is leading, BJP's Chandra Kumar Bose is trailing. 11:33am: Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee is leading in Diamond Harbour. 11:22am: TMC has 25 seats so far. As per current trends available for all the 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 288 while INC is leading in 51, DMK in 22, AITC in 25, YSRC in 24 and Shivsena in 20 constituencies. #ElectionResults2019 Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 11:10am: TMC's Shatabdi Roy is leading in Birbhum. BJP's Dudh Kumar Mondal is a close second. 11:00am: TMC leading on 24 seats, BJP leading on 17 seats and Congress on 1 seat. 10:45am: TMC is leading in 23 seats, while BJP is leading in 15. 10:33am: Nationally, BJP is leading in 282 seats, while Congress is leading in 51. As per current trends available for 527 constituencies, BJP is leading in 282 while INC is leading in 51, DMK in 22, AITC in 22, YSRC in 24 and Shivsena in 19 constituencies. #ElectionResults2019 Election Commission #DeshKaMahatyohar (@ECISVEEP) May 23, 2019 10:31am: With 56.68% vote share, Babul Supriyo is leading in Asansol. 10:28am: With 56.49%, BJP is leading in Alipurduars. AITC is trailing with 36.68% vote share. 10:20am: Mamata Banerjee's TMC is leading in 21 seats while the BJP is leading in 14 seats in West Bengal. The Congress is leading in 2 seats in the state. 10:14am: According to the EC, the vote share is 43.5 % for Bharatiya Janta Party and 44.7 % is for Trinamool Congress. Left Front is at 7% as of now. This statistic appears to very significant in the first round of counting as it indicates towards a transfer of votes from Left to BJP, and this can be the primary reason for BJP's rise in Bengal. 10:13am: The state has imposed three-tier security cordon at counting centres. Only authorised persons will be allowed to enter the counting venues. For each of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, there will be a counting observer to monitor the entire process. BJP has made massive inroads into West Bengal, with victory in ten seats and lead in 8 more constituencies, after a bitterly fought elections. Mamata Banerjee's TMC has already won 14 seats and is going strong on eight more. The Congress, true to pattern in most of the country, is trailing way back with lead on just two seats. This election comes as a bad scare to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose party had won 34 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 while the BJP could win only two constituencies. So, in a sense, the 2019 poll results for West Bengal are actually a win for the saffron party - it had wanted to make inroads into the state boasting the third-highest number of Lok Sabha seats after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and has done that with aplomb. On the other hand, Banerjee seems to be barely hanging on to her fortress. TMC, the fourth largest party in the Lok Sabha, has governed the state since the former railways minister ended decades of communist rule there in a 2011 vote. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: Modi wins from Varanasi by 4.7 lakh votes; thanks people for big mandate The West Bengal poll results are more or less true to the exit polls, which had predicted that the BJP will win 19-23 seats. The party's Look East policy for this election was based on its concerns over the Hindi heartland states after the debacle in the assembly polls. The BJP had increased its focus on West Bengal in order to retain power in New Delhi should it lose in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh again. As it turns out, those fears proved unfounded today with the BJP set to win big in all three states. As expected, the breakdown of the Congress-CPI(M) seat sharing talks ended up hurting the ruling party in the state since the BJP was able to bag the bulk of the anti-incumbency votes. Had the alliance worked out, it would have eaten into BJP's share of such voters, which would have been advantage TMC. Let's not forget that in the 2016 state assembly polls, the CPI(M)-Congress alliance had weighed heavy on the BJP. ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Election result 2019: VK Singh ahead of SP's Suresh Bansal in Ghaziabad Incidentally, the BJP is also on its way to win four out of the eight assembly bypolls held in the state. Election Commission data suggests that the saffron party is leading on four seats while TMC is behind on three. Bypolls in West Bengal were held Bhatpara, Darjeeling, Habibpur, Islampur, Kandi, Krishnaganj, Nowda and Uluberia Purba. The writing on the wall is clear: The BJP has completely replaced the CPI(M) as the main opposition in the state. As per the trends so far, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress (YSRC) has single-handedly wiped out Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as well as the BJP and Congress in Andhra Pradesh. The latest election commission data shows the party led by YS Jaganmohan Reddy surging ahead in all the 25 constituencies in the state, beating exit poll estimates. According to India Today-Axis My India exit poll, YSRC was likely to bag around 18-20 Lok Sabha seats while TDP would be left with only 4-6 seats. Among the 176 Andhra Pradesh Assembly seats, YSRC is leading in a whopping 149 seats while the ruling TDP is leading in only 24 seats. The state had voted on April 11 in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections and polling was held concurrently with assembly elections. With this turn in fortunes, Naidu, who was seeking a re-election as the Andhra Pradesh chief minister, will reportedly submit his resignation to the Governor around 5 pm today. The TDP had ruled the state since the bifurcation of Telangana in 2014. YSRC senior leader Ummareddy Venkateswarlu said that "Jaganmohan Reddy [will] take oath as Andhra CM on May 30". It was Reddy's powerful electoral campaign seeking special status for the state that forced Naidu to quit the NDA and go against BJP in March last year. The Centre's stand is that according special category status to states is not constitutionally possible after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations. The split did not pay off for Naidu. On the contrary, it left him fighting a two-front battle. Naidu was further hurt by Reddy's electoral campaign, 'Ninnu Nammam Babu' (we don't trust you, Babu) - highlighting the promises the CM failed to fulfill, including winning special category status for the state, loan waivers, a job for every household and free housing for the poor - which came just weeks after his 14-month-long walkathon across Andhra Pradesh. In 2014 state elections, a difference of just 0.3 per cent of votes between the TDP and the YSRC translated into 35 assembly seats, which drove Naidu to power. According to pollsters, the YSRCP's vote-share is expected to go up by 3.4 per cent to around 48 while TDP's will dip to 40 per cent, widening the gap between the two parties to 8 per cent. With PTI inputs Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: 'Modi, Modi, Modi!' echoes in BJP offices, loud silence in Congress camp Also read: Modi wave sweeps market: Sensex crosses 40,000 for first time ever, Nifty breaches 12,000 The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha Election 2019 is underway and trends suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to return to power. The NDA is leading on over 300 seats, as per trends. While the final results are still awaited, BJP supporters have already started celebrating. And, not just in India. BJP supporters in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne have started celebrating as trends show the party leading, according to ANI. #ElectionResults2019: Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Australia's Sydney and Melbourne celebrate as trends show party leading on 292 seats. pic.twitter.com/WphGVy1KeP - ANI (@ANI) 23 May 2019 The supporters and workers of the saffron party have started celebrating on the occasion outside BJP's headquarters in New Delhi. Furthermore, the party has reportedly called 20,000 workers from across the nation to join the celebrations in the national capital. Security has been increased around the party's Delhi offices as more workers are expected to arrive through the day. Security heightened outside BJP headquarters in Delhi; According to Official trends, BJP is leading on 295 seats. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/5m2gysNq3P - ANI (@ANI) 23 May 2019 The festivities and fervour is not just confined to the national capital. The saffron party's supporters are celebrating the party's lead all over the nation in the Lok Sabha Polls 2019. People were seen celebrating outside the BJP's office in Bengaluru and Kolkata. Karnataka: Visuals of celebrations outside BJP office in Bengaluru. #LokSabhaElectionResults pic.twitter.com/EtjrSBDP25 - ANI (@ANI) 23 May 2019 Meanwhile, the incumbent External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his lead from the Varanasi seat. PM Modi is leading with over 1.44 lakh votes from Varanasi (Kashi) parliamentary constituency. (Edited by: Nehal Solanki) Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Jay Panda trails from Kendrapara by 14,000 votes Also read: Lok Sabha election 2019: US confident about fairness, integrity of polls Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no doubts that he would win a second term. This was the reason he had asked his bureaucrats to start working on an agenda, for things to do in the major economic ministries, in the first 100 days after forming the new government. And there are plenty of things to do. Despite its high GDP growth - which even after slowing is still expected to clock 7 per cent this year - the number of worries about different segments is growing. Agricultural and rural distress is high across the country. For the Prime Minister, who has promised to double farm incomes by 2022, this is going to be one of the biggest challenges this year. One, because of the already existing distress; Two, because this year, the monsoon predictions are not particularly good and too much of Indian agriculture is still dependent on the monsoons. The issue with agriculture is that short term solutions will not work, and while a quick response to drought, like expanding coverage of PM Kisan could help, long term structural reforms need to be carried out before farmers see any increase in their incomes. The other problem that the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister and Industries Minister need to try and tackle immediately is the lack of appetite for fresh project investment in the private sector. For the last five years, the government investments in infrastructure and spending on social sector schemes have been largely driving economic growth - along with private consumption. Trade and private sector investment have been laggards. Ideally, both these need to do well for the growth story to continue. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: PM terms BJP's victory the biggest event in democratic world The problem facing the Prime Minister in the new term is that private consumption is also showing signs of a slowdown - and that can be seen in the sales of passenger cars, FMCG products and also discretionary spending. The government's ability to spend more on infrastructure and social projects also depends a lot on its ability to increase revenues - and that is tough if tax collections continue to remain less than what was set as the target. But getting the private sector to start investing the way they used to in the pre-2008 days is a tough task given how bad sentiment is today. In multiple chats with senior corporate leaders, there were some common points that kept coming up. One, the RBI and the government's hard stance in the matter of NPAs had made most industrialists chary to taking on too much debt. Earlier, they could always cajole bankers to give extensions or to give fresh loans to evergreen the existing borrowings. But that was no longer an option anymore and no industrialist was willing to lose a project he or she had worked on if there was even a remote chance of that. Two, capacity utilisation was still at 75 per cent -- and there were a number of sectors where it was even lower because demand simply did not exist. Finally, a big challenge most people pointed out was that there was a lot of uncertainty about policies. In the UPA2, the policy paralysis was a real problem. In the last five years, it was the reverse - the policies were often changed too frequently or tweaked and that played havoc with their long term project plans. This could be anything from policies regarding the import of solar panels from China to retail policies. If there is policy predictability, more investments could come for fresh projects and that would start its own virtuous cycle. For the PM, his key task during the second term would be to boost sentiment - both for private sector investment and for private consumption. Those two could help sustain the high growth rates over the long term. Also Read: Election Result 2019: Why Modi 2.0 will make India a stronger military power Also Read: What Modi 2.0 could mean for the Indian pharma industry? India is a land of IT services, not so much software products. There are many product companies, but we mostly don't hear of them, or they aren't big national or international names to attract instant recall. For instance, a Google or a Microsoft. Now, the new NDA government is expected to push ahead with an agenda to put Indian software products and product start-ups on the national map. In February this year, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Modi, approved the National Policy on Software Products - 2019. In its first 100 days, the new government is expected to press ahead on this - the idea is to increase India's share of the global software product market ten-fold by 2025. What are the policy's main missions that the government is likely to work towards? There are four. The first is to nurture 10,000 technology start-ups in the software product industry, which would also include 1000 start-ups in tier-II and tier-III towns and cities. The policy states that it could generate direct and in-direct employment for 3.5 million people by 2025. The second pillar is to create a talent pool for the software product industry through up-skilling of 1,000,000 IT professionals and motivating 100,000 school and college students. The policy also intends to generate 10,000 specialised professionals that can provide leadership. The third mission is to "build a cluster-based innovation driven ecosystem by developing 20 sectoral and strategically located software product development clusters having integrated ICT infrastructure, marketing, incubation, R&D/testbeds and mentoring support". The last of the pillars has to do with monitoring of the scheme and programmes under this policy - a National Software Products Mission is expected to be set up with participation from the government, academia and the industry. While the policy looks good, a lot could depend on the domestic market access start-ups manage to bag. One industry watcher Business Today spoke to said that world-class software products are developed on the back of "friendly, sophisticated governments". This means that the software developed must be given an opportunity to be deployed in India and be proven in the home market - this has remained a difficult task till date when it came to government procurements. The policy, nevertheless, suggests that "an enabling framework will be developed for preferential inclusion of Indian software product in Government procurement in line with the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India), Order 2017". Besides pushing ahead with this policy on software products, the new government is expected to work around a 'Stay-In-India' agenda. In other words, re-domicile Indian start-ups who move to foreign shores or prefer incorporation outside India simply because it is easier to do business that way. There is, however, no silver bullet on how this could be done - a policy expert says convincing starts to relocate back would require nothing less than a "ground war" sort of a door-to-door campaign by the government. Also Read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE: India keeps faith in Modi, casts shadow over RaGa's political career Also Read: Not just India, Modi supporters kick off celebrations in Australia too Fifteen Irish startups received a welcome boost from Google today after being accepted on to Googles Adopt a Startup Programme. They will now have the opportunity to work closely with Google executives and identify how they can more quickly scale their businesses for growth both in Ireland and internationally. They will now have the opportunity to work closely with Google executives and identify how they can more quickly scale their businesses for growth both in Ireland and internationally. The 15 companies selected for the Spring Adopt a Startup Programme are; Allergy Lifestyle, Vrai, Change Donations, ConstructionBOS, Coroflo, Danalto, EdgeTier, FarmHedge, Limtz, Moby, PepTalk, RideShair, SureSitter,Teemie and Wrkit. Over the next eight weeks, the startups will undertake an intense programme of exclusive lectures and workshops, 1-on-1 on-site support with a team of Googlers, and unique networking opportunities at Googles EMEA Headquarters. Each startup will focus on the 4 crucial stages of growth: Understanding Your Customer, Building Your Brand, Growing Globally and Scaling Your Organisation. Participants will benefit from unmatched expertise and support in topics such as Analytics and UX, pitching and networking, automation and machine learning and how best to plan for global growth. Following the completion of the programme, each startup will have the chance to pitch their own unique growth plan to a panel of select judges. The prizes up for grabs include 10,000 in Google Ads credit and eligibility for the Google Cloud Programme which includes $100,000 in Google Cloud Credit. Previous alumni who have gone on to expand into global markets include FoodCloud, Jobbio, Beats Medical and CoderDoJo. Speaking at the launch of Adopt a Startup, Director at Google, Paddy Flynn said, "We are delighted to be announcing the 16 companies who have been selected for the spring edition of our Adopt a Startup Programme. Our focus is on the Priority Areas that will help these companies scale for growth and identify new opportunities for their businesses." He added, "The startups selected all demonstrate significant innovation and we believe have the opportunity to create new jobs and add value in their local communities. The team at Google are incredibly excited to start working with these ambitious startups and help them realise their businesses potential." Source: www.businessworld.ie TUNIS - US Ambassador to Tunisia Donald Blome participated in celebrations linked to the annual Jewish religious pilgrimage to the ancient Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba. He said the pilgrimage, which this year coincides with the Muslim observance of Ramadan, "is a celebration of religious pluralism and a wonderful example of tolerance and reciprocal respect". Blome highlighted the strong traditions of tolerance and respect for all religions that characterise Tunisia and said the country "is a good example for the region, for the way in which its Jewish citizens are treated". He said the Jewish community of Djerba is deeply rooted in the fabric of the city and keeps its own culture and religious rites "in a country in which all citizens are treated in the same way, regardless of their religion". This year about 7,000 tourists from various European countries as well as the Jewish community of Djerba participated in the Ghriba pilgrimage, which ends Thursday, said Tunisian Tourism Minister Rene Trabelsi. The pilgrimage takes place every year on the 33rd day of Passover and the ritual represents the heart of tradition in the Tunisian Jewish community. Despite the fact that the community is small in number, it is well-integrated in Tunisian society. One legend traces the origins of the Ghriba synagogue back to the time of the destruction of Solomon's Temple, when some of the Jews fleeing Palestine took refuge in Djerba in 586 B.C. Hong Kong and global accounting firms in the past were not allowed to transmit audit documents located on the mainland abroad, making it difficult for foreign regulators to inspect public companies listed on their markets. Photo: VCG A memorandum of understanding signed by Hong Kong and mainland authorities will allow the citys regulator to gain access to audit papers on the mainland. The cross-boundary collaboration marks a step toward resolving a long-running tussle between the mainland and overseas regulators on inspecting the audit work on foreign-listed Chinese companies. The memorandum, signed Wednesday by the Supervision and Evaluation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and the Hong Kong Financial Reporting Council, aims to enhance the quality and reliability of listed entities audits and reinforce Hong Kongs position as an international financial center, the Hong Kong regulator said in a press release. In the future, the Hong Kong Financial Reporting Council will be able to make requests to the mainland regulator for assistance in gaining access to audit working papers of Hong Kong audit firms located on the mainland, according to the accord. Because of Chinas confidentiality policies, Hong Kong and global accounting firms in the past were not allowed to transmit audit documents located on the mainland abroad, making it difficult for foreign regulators to inspect public companies listed on their markets. In 2009, Chinas top securities regulator, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection, and the National Archives Administration issued a notice barring all working documents in relation to the overseas listings of Chinese companies from being transmitted abroad to prevent inadvertent disclosure of state secrets. A 2015 rule issued by Chinas Finance Ministry further required that all auditing documents on overseas listed Chinese companies be kept on the mainland. The situation has trapped auditors between violating mainland law and risking offshore legal challenges. Major global accounting firms have faced legal proceedings outside the mainland for failure to submit audit papers to regulators. In 2012, Hong Kongs Securities and Futures Commission brought charges against Ernst & Youngs Hong Kong unit for failure to provide accounting records in relation to the regulators investigation of a 2009 failed initial public offering of Chinese waste management company, Standard Water Ltd. Ernst & Young argued that it did not possess the relevant records as they were held by its mainland unit. A Hong Kong High Court judge ruled against the accounting firm in a major blow to the accounting industry in Hong Kong. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken up a similar case, charging Chinese affiliates of Big Four accountancies with securities violations for failure to produce documents related to audits they conducted of nine Chinese companies. Since then, the mainland and Hong Kong regulators have gone through several years of negotiations, trying to remove the restriction on getting access to mainland companies audit papers. As of the end of March, the Hong Kong Financial Reporting Council had made nine requests to the Finance Ministry to review audit papers, said Kelvin Wong, chairman of the council. Without the new accord, it would be impossible to get permission from the mainland regulator to review those papers, he said. Wincey Lam, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, said she expects the Finance Ministry to provide the audit documents this year. Lam said the memorandum applies only to collaboration between the Supervision and Evaluation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and the Hong Kong Financial Reporting Council. Upon obtaining documents, the HK regulator is not allowed to transfer the papers to any third parties, including the HK securities regulator, under the agreement. Gao Jinxing, director of the Supervision and Evaluation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, said the ministry is keeping in close communication with U.S. regulators and will fully consider their needs in compliance with Chinas laws. Contact editor Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) The worlds first passenger-drone services may debut in Asia but the technology behind these flying taxis will be largely European. Volocopter GmbH of Germany said Thursday it will open a landing facility in Singapore later this year for trial flights, while Austrias FACC AG is working to produce hundreds of passenger drones for Chinese partner EHang Inc. by the end of next year. While the bulk of air-taxi projects are based in Europe and North America, and several nations say theyre eager to see the craft enter service, theres concern that progress may be slowed by regulatory hurdles. In Asia, EHang is controlled by state-owned AVIC, while governments in Singapore and territories including Dubai are enthusiastically embracing autonomous transport. Volocopter, backed by Intel Corp. and Daimler AG, has partnered with U.K. developer Skyports to build a 1.5 million-euro ($1.7 million), 550-square meter Volo-Port in Singapore after conducting test flights in Dubai and Las Vegas. Chief Executive Officer Florian Reuter said the facility in the city state will be accessible and convenient. FACC, best known as a maker of light-weight composite parts for Airbus SE and Boeing Co., reckons the move into flying taxis could double annual sales to 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) within a decade, according to CEO Robert Machtlinger. The company was recruited by EHang to help lighten the Chinese firms 216 drone by at least 15% or about 60 kilograms to eke out improvements in speed and range. By the end of next year, FACC will have produced the first batch of 300 units on its Austrian assembly lines. The 216, which sells for 300,000 euros, can currently fly for 70 kilometers (44 miles) at speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour. In addition to urban shuttle services, it could carry tourists, serve offshore oil platforms and provide support flights after natural disasters. The seating area could also carry cargo. EHang, which has already logged 7,000 flight hours with prototypes, has several thousand pre-orders for the model, and is developing a test range with FACC for flights in Linz. Volocopter will use the Singapore site to test both flight and ground operations and begin validation of a design that features 18 rotors and, like its EHang counterpart, will be able to carry two passengers in autonomous flight mode. There are more than 100 different electric-aircraft programs in development worldwide, according to consultant Roland Berger. Another is Lilium GmbH, based near Munich. The company says Germany and Europe provide ready access to both the expertise and supply chain necessary to urban air vehicles. Rather than Asia, its has so far been publicly linked with operations in cities including Miami and Geneva, and its electric-powered, jet-engined, five-seat model has a range of 300 kilometers enough to get from New York to Boston or link cities in France and England. That extra distance is achieved by taking off vertically before swiveling its 36 jets to the horizontal and flying like a standard plane, using just 10% of the energy of multi-rotor designs. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. A split decision by the Iowa Supreme Court last week resolves the issue in one state, but the question of whether third-party administrators can be held liable for the tort of bad faith remains unsettled in much of the country. Iowas high court held May 10 that Broadspire Services could not be held liable for the tort of bad faith for failing to pay workers compensation benefits because it did not have a contractual relationship with the claimant. The question was put to the court by the federal district court in Sioux City to decide if a federal lawsuit against Broadspire by claimant Samuel De Dios could proceed. The Supreme Court had held previously that Iowa workers compensation carriers can be held liable in bad faith actions because state statues place an affirmative obligation on insurance carriers to act reasonably. But those statutes do not place similar requirements on third-party administrators, the Supreme Court said. A third-party administrator is not in an insurer/insured relationship with anyone, the court said in a 5-2 majority opinion written by Edward M. Mansfield. And unlike a self-insured employer, a third-party administrator does not have to meet rigorous financial requirements and is not under the ongoing supervision of the workers compensation commissioner. De Dios claimed that Broadspire did not conduct even the most basic investigations the workers compensation claim he had filed against his employer, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, after his vehicle was rear-ended by a co-worker. He alleged that the claims adjuster never contacted the employee who manned the guard shack at his workplace, who would have confirmed that his vehicle was struck after he drove into the fenced job site and was on his way to a parking area designated by his employer. The courts opinion said that there is little case law in Iowa to guide it. The opinion notes that about half of U.S. bar even first-party bad-faith claims in the workers compensation context. De Dios had urged the court to adopt the approach taken by The Colorado Supreme Court, which held in 1991 that an independent claims adjuster had a duty of good faith when processing a workers compensation claim. But the Iowa high court said that ruling was based on Colorados statutory and regulatory scheme, which is not the same as Iowas. At least two other Western states California and Washington have reached conclusions similar to Colorados. Merton E. Marks, an insurance defense attorney affiliated with the Gordon and Rees law firm in Phoenix, Arizona, said in 2017 the Washington Court of Appeals ruled in Merriman v. Am. Guar. & Liab. Ins. Co. that third-party administrators and claims adjusters can be held liable for bad faith. Similarly, the California courts have also held TPAs liable in bad-faith claims under the theory that they act in a joint venture with insurance carriers. In fact, at least one California law firm markets its services for bad-faith litigation against TPAs. Under joint venture liability theory, the policyholder alleges that, unlike agents or employees of the insurer, the TPA entered into the business of insurance as a joint venture with the insurer, a January 2018 blog post by the McKennon Law Group in Newport Beach states. As such, both the TPA and the insurer may be held legally accountable for their bad faith conduct. Attorney Robert McKennon said Monday the he was unable to comment on the Iowa Supreme Court decision because he had not read it and was busy preparing for litigation. Merton Marks Marks said the question of whether a third-party administrator can be found liable for bad faith hasnt been settled in his home state of Arizona, but he would advise claims officials to presume that they are vulnerable to such suits. He noted that in a 2015 decision, the U.S. District Court held that a claims administrator was liable for bad-faith as a matter of law after it delayed paying workers comp benefits owed to a claimant for 10 months after recognizing that it had miscalculated the amount due. As it happens, that case was filed against the insurer, not the TPA directly, but Marks said he thinks Arizona courts would rule that a TPA can be held liable for bad faith. However, Marks said that Arizona courts wont award damages for bad-faith if mere negligence is involved. The insured must show that the claims administrator had some evil motive. These are fairly rare cases, Marks said. It has to be really egregious conduct. *This story ran previously in our sister publication Claims Journal. Photo: CTV News A WestJet pilot flying from Newfoundland to Orlando International Airport had his eyes burned by a green laser light, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration officials said Wednesday. Spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email that the WestJet Airlines aircraft was about 40 kilometres from the airport when the laser light hit the pilot. The flight landed safely a short time later, and the pilot was placed on medical leave, which is routine in such cases. The airline said in a statement that the incident took place Saturday but gave few details, citing privacy concerns. "Any pilot who reports being struck by a laser is required for safety and health reasons to have an ophthalmology evaluation," spokeswoman Morgan Bell said in an email. Bell said laser incidents pose a "serious concern" for crew and aircraft safety and are immediately reported to local authorities for investigation. "Pilots are extremely focused during all phases of flight, but especially during take-off and landing, when most laser incidents occur," she said. "When any sort of light enters the flight deck, pilots are trained to look away and maintain focus but they must also remain vigilant with respect to their surroundings and monitor the apron prior to landing." The FAA is investigating the incident. The agency said it had notified the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, which sent a deputy to a central Florida address pinpointed as a possible source of the light. The sheriff's office said no one at the location had any knowledge of the incident and said they don't have a laser pointer. Last year, the Canadian government announced strict new measures to ban most high-powered lasers around airports and in the country's three largest cities due to the dangers they pose when aimed at aircraft. The interim measures bar anyone from possessing a battery-operated hand-held laser over one milliwatts outside a private residence without a legitimate purpose, such as for work or education. The rules apply to municipalities in the greater Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver areas, as well as within 10 kilometres of any Canadian airport or heliport. Penalties for those convicted of deliberately targeting aircraft include fines of up to $100,000, five years in prison, or both, though the government has acknowledged that prosecutions are rare given the difficulty of catching people in the act. However, the new rules also allow investigators to hand out fines of up to $5,000 for anyone caught with a hand-held laser in a prohibited zone without a reason. Corporations can face up to $25,000. Transport Canada reported 379 incidents of lasers pointed at planes in 2017, most of which occurred in Ontario and Quebec. Sesco Cement to build new white cement terminal in Florida 23 May 2019 Port Tampa Bay has approved an up to 40-year lease agreement on seven acres of land for Sesco Cement at its Port Redwing site in Gibsonton, Florida. The estimated US$19m investment will see the company use Berth 302 for the ship and rail terminal handling of white cement. "We're really looking at this to be our east coast hub for our business going forward," said Alim Adatia, a Houston-based representative of the company. "We want to be a known entity, and we hope to be here for a long time." Construction of the project is expected to take 18 months. In addition, the company is currently building another terminal at the Port of Houston. Published under Maple Leaf Cement starts up expanded grey clinker production ICR Newsroom By 23 May 2019 Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCFL) has started production on its additional dry-process grey clinker line at its Iskanderabad site in Punjab, Pakistan, on 21 May 2019, according to the Company Secretary, Muhammad Ashraf, in a note to the Pakistani Stock Exchange. The 7300tpd line will increase the plant's clinker production capacity to 18,000tpd at an estimated project cost of PKR25bn (US$164.3m). MLCFL is part of the Kohinoor Maple Leaf Group and currently operates two grey cement production lines and one white cement line. Total installed capacity is 3.36Mta. The company markets its products throughout Pakistan but focuses mainly on the north and central Pakistan markets. In addition, it exports to India, Afghanistan, Middle East and African countries. Published under Ringgold attorney McCracken Poston said charges against a former Murray County deputy "are somewhat influenced by Murray County Sheriff politics." The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has charged former deputy Levi Amos after investigators say he sent inappropriate messages and pictures of himself to minor girls. The 22-year-old Amos is charged with electronically furnishing obscene material to minors, computer invasion of privacy, and violation of oath by public office.Attorney Poston said Attorney Poston said, Mr. Amos stands innocent until his charges are proven in a court of law, a constitutional right that we all share as Americans. He said, "While I am pleased as to the involvement of the GBI in conducting the investigation, remember, an investigation is only as good as the information going into it. He said, Mr. Levi was a good officer with a bright future in law enforcement, and he has sound defenses to the charges as stated in the governments press releases. "I would caution against jumping to early conclusions," while noting that things are not always as they first appear, especially in Murray County politics. Attorney Poston said, For right now, this young man needs to get to work and vigorously prepare his defenses against the government that is bearing down on him. We look forward to receiving the state discovery in this case, as there are absolute defenses to all charges as they are described in the press releases. I dont think a Murray County jury will look kindly at the states interpretation of the so-called facts of this matter." A female Marion County Sheriff's detective was accidentally shot on Wednesday afternoon at the Sheriff's Office at Jasper. The detective was rushed to a Chattanooga hospital. Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnette said the detective was shot in the leg. He said the leg was broken and a pin will be inserted. He said she was undergoing surgery and may have additional surgery on Thursday. He said it involved "two detectives who had worked together for five years and were like brother and sister. One would never do anything to harm the other. "He's a total wreck. It's a bad, bad situation." A large number of officers were at the hospital in the wake of the incident. They provided a convoy to the hospital. The TBI is investigating the incident. Chattanooga States Kimball site opened to serve students residing in Marion and Grundy Counties in 1993. Initially housed in the Regional Skills Center on the outskirts of South Pittsburg, the Marion County Regional Institute for Higher Education opened to great excitement in 2014 on Main Street in Kimball. Since that move, the Kimball Site has continued to grow and expand to better serve the needs of the area. Completed in 2018, the second building at the site was officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 26, hosted by David Jackson, Marion County Mayor and Dr. Rebecca Ashford, Chattanooga State President. Also present were Senator Janice Bowling, State Representatives Rick Tillis and Iris Rudder. During the ribbon cutting ceremony, the Industrial Maintenance Lab was named in honor of the late David Kirk, former Mayor County Mayor. The Welding lab was named in honor of Tommy Thompson, who has served as a member of the Marion County Commission for 35 years. Chattanooga State appreciates the support these two men have given to Chattanooga State Kimball Site over the years. The two facilities add renewed energy along with additional space to expand programs and services to its students and area residents. The first building included new science labs, additional classroom space, computer labs, study areas, better lighting and flow. As the second building reached completion, welding and industrial maintenance technology programs were relocated to their new home. In 2017, Polytech Academy at Kimball opened as a joint partnership between the Marion County Board of Education and Chattanooga State. It is a unique blend of high school and dual enrollment courses designed to give students a jump-start on their education and career paths. The Polytech at Kimball program is staring its third cohort class. This program allows students to begin their junior year in high school while earning 46 hours toward an A.A.S. Engineering Systems Management degree, said Julie Bennett, Kimball Site director. The third cohort group of the Early College Academy will begin this fall, said Ms. Bennett. This program starts with area high school freshman who can earn an associate degree when they graduate from high school. During their freshman and sophomore years they complete online courses. Starting their junior year, they will be attending the Kimball Site. We are excited to have the 26 ECA students at the Kimball Site this fall." With added space and a growing enrollment, Kimball provides many more opportunities to its students and community. Student activities bring the fun to campus life, while unique offerings such as the award-winning Writers@Work program engage and delight both students and community members. There are any number of information sessions offered throughout the year: TN Promise, TN Reconnect, Early College, Polytech Academy and more. Also, two of the most talked about goals include expanding the Engineering Technology programs and bringing Chattanooga States outstanding registered nursing program to the Kimball Site. Chattanooga State, Marion County Department of Education, and TN American Water Company partnered to launch the inaugural Elementary Science Olympiad on May 8. We hope that these students continue their love of science into their futures as they consider career choices, said David Stanislawski, professor emeritus of Chattanooga State and Tennessee Director for the National Science Olympiad. This summer, The Economic and Workforce Development Division will offer Robotics & Coding summer camps for children ages 8-12 during July. Register online at https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/economic-workforce-development click on Summer Camps RoboThink STEM Summer Camp and choose the Kimball Camp you want. Credit and TCAT classes may be viewed at https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/schedule/offcampus-fall. Call 423 837-1327 for assistance. A Criminal Court jury on Friday found Zacarias "Carlos" Salas-Rufino guilty of second-degree murder as charged. Judge Barry Steelman will set the sentence on July 25. A city police officer testified on Wednesday that he found Yessica Ruiz covered with blood and her two children sobbing beside her on Sept. 26, 2016. It was testified at an earlier hearing that Salas-Rufino had overheard Ms. Ruiz telling another man she loved him. He said once that same man was leaving his house as he arrived home from his job as a painter. Officer Ballinger said, after arriving at a multi-family residence on Navajo Drive, "I found a female lying on the ground covered with blood. Two children were sitting near her crying and screaming." He added, "There was so much blood that I couldn't tell where her injuries were. She was staring toward the sky and seemed to be trying to mumble something." The officer said he then heard Salas-Rufino down the street screaming. He said the man came running "at full speed" toward him, and he pulled his gun and told him to get on the ground. He said the man shouted, "Help me. Help me" and then "Yessica. Yessica." Karen Brown, who lives at the same location, said she was dressing her special needs grandchild for school when "all of a sudden I heard screaming, yelling and arguing" coming from behind the house. She told the jury, "It just kept going. At one point she was running back and forth like she was trying to get away from him." Then she said she heard the couple out her bedroom window in another part of the house. She said, "It got louder. I'd never heard wailing, screaming and crying like that. It sounded like she was fighting for her life." The witness said, "At some point, it went quiet." Ms. Brown, who was outside by now, said, "She came out from around the wall, walked a little ways, then slumped down. She didn't make it far. Then she rolled over with her leg up on the wall. That's when I saw the blood coming down her leg." She then called 911. Ms. Brown said Ms. Ruiz "didn't ever get up again. At one point she looked up at me and said, 'Help me.' " She said she took the children with her away from their dying mother. She said, "They were very upset. I was having a hard time consoling them." Ms. Brown said prior to the incident that the couple came up to their apartment. She said she could tell that Ms. Ruiz was upset and they had been arguing. Salas-Rufino came up after her. She said her husband then "got loud with them. He said they should go back to their apartment and settle their issues." Tolbert Dye, another resident there, said Salas-Rufino knocked on his door around 6 a.m. that morning, wanting to come in and sit on the couch. But he said he told him he could not come in, saying he had his seven chihuahuas out. He said Salas-Rufino then walked back down the stairs. He said he appeared normal. The witness said he went back to bed, then heard a loud boom. He said he looked out and saw Ms. Ruiz "fighting for her life." After it was over, he said he heard Salas-Rufino hollering for help and calling for Yessica. He said Ms. Ruiz worked at a bar as an entertainer. "She would make people laugh." Mr. Dye said the night before the incident that they came home together, then she got dressed up and drove off in her white Nissan. The medical examiner said the victim was stabbed 25 times. At the prior hearing, an investigator said the defendant told him he and his wife were drinking at a club where she worked, then bought more beer while on the way home. He said they were also on meth and cocaine. The defendant said he overheard the conversation with the other man when he got up to go to the bathroom. He said his wife was in the living room. He said Salas-Rufino said he got a knife out of the kitchen "to scare her." Then, he said, she refused to give him her cell phone and they struggled over it. An investor in Chattanooga-based CBL & Associates has filed a class action lawsuit, alleging that the firm did not properly notify stockholders of a costly lawsuit. The suit was filed in Chattanooga Federal Court by Laurence Paskowitz. It is also brought against CBLs founder and Board Chairman Charles B. Lebovitz, Chief Executive Officer Stephen D. Lebovitz, Chief Financial Officer Farzana Khaleel, and Audit Committee Chairman A. Larry Chapman. The suit says CBLs 173.5 million common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, as do the shares of its two series of Preferred Stock, Series D and Series E. It says, "Because it is a REIT, CBL must pay out 90% of its earnings as dividend distributions per the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. This leaves CBL with relatively little in cash on its balance sheet at the end of each quarter. As of December 31, 2018, CBLs balance sheet showed $25.1 million in cash. "The company is subject to the federal securities laws and is obligated to follow generally accepted accounting principles as promulged by the Financial Standards Accounting Board. Thus, both the federal securities laws and GAAP require a public company to report threats to its business which could a result in a material change in the Companys cash position in its quarterly and annual SEC filings. "The material threats that must be fully disclosed include large lawsuits against the company. If such a lawsuit is filed, the companys litigation must be discussed under a section entitled Legal Proceedings which must disclose: (a) the existence of the lawsuit; (b) the nature of the claims; (c) the potential materiality of a loss; and (d) the size of the claim, if such can be estimated. In addition, the financial statement must reflect a reserve against the contingency that the Company could pay out a substantial settlement or verdict, again to the extent an estimate can be made. Without such disclosures, investors were unable to assess the risks that CBL faced during the Class Period, and, as a result, its stock price was fraudulently inflated during the Class Period." The suit says in 2016, a class action suit "that could result in tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in liability" was filed in Florida Federal Court. According to the complaint, "In the Overbill Litigation, the plaintiff alleged on behalf of a class of CBL retail tenants that CBL entered into leases providing that CBL would charge its tenants for electricity at cost, but rather engaged in theft by marking up the electricity bills by large amounts, and pocketing the difference. The plaintiff asserted numerous causes of action, including RICO claims, which were upheld in April 2017 against a motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs class claims, if trebled, amounted to $180 million, not counting attorneys fees. Although CBL defended the Overbill Ligation for years, it turned out to have no true defenseit had been caught with its hands in the cookie jar." It says earlier this year, CBL was forced to settle all claims by paying the Class 100 percent of damages ($60 million) and paying an additional $28 million to cover its adversarys attorneys fees. No insurance covered these sums, as CBLs insurer had disclaimed coverage, it was stated. The suit states, "Because allegations of theft would have been viewed very unfavorably by both investors and potential mall tenants, Defendants herein embarked on a fraudulent scheme whereby they issued SEC reports that (until the tail end of the Class Period) simply pretended that CBL faced no material litigation at all. Indeed, Defendants made no mention of the Overbill Litigation at all. Thus, investors had no idea that there was a litigation." The suit asks unspecified damages. It was filed by attorneys Paul Kent Bramlett of Nashville as well as attorneys from New York City. Tennessee turns 223 on Saturday, June 1. To celebrate Tennessees Statehood, the Tennessee State Library and Archives is partnering with the Tennessee State Museum and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park to host a variety of events Saturday, June 1 from 8 a.m. 6 p.m. CDT. Workshop Series Presentation The Tennessee State Library and Archives will host a free lecture on Tennessees constitutional history Saturday, June 1 from 9:30 11 a.m. CDT, the Honorable Judge Andy D. Bennett of the Tennessee Court of Appeals will present the history of each of Tennessees constitutions. Attendees can expect to learn details about the historical documents and what they meant for Tennesseans during that time in history. The workshop is free but advanced registration is required. Capitol Tours The Tennessee State Capitol Building will be open Saturday, June 1 for tours. Six tours will be offered throughout the day, with three led by Dr. Wayne Moore, Assistant State Archivist and author of the book Tennessee State Capitol: Grounded in Tradition, to be released summer 2019. Attendees can see the constitutions, tour the state Capitol and Bicentennial Mall Park grounds, participate in a scavenger hunt, meet characters from the past, play historic games, listen to live music and enjoy birthday cake. Join them for a day of fun to celebrate Tennessee becoming a state!The Tennessee State Library and Archives will put all three of the states original constitutions on display to the public in commemoration of Statehood Day. The constitutions are typically protected in a vault, but all three versions will be in the Library and Archives lobby for viewing May 30 to June 1 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT. The Library and Archives is located at 403 Seventh Ave. N., directly west of the Tennessee State Capitol in downtown Nashville. Viewing the state constitutions is free. No reservation is required. 9:00 a.m. Tour with Tennessee State Museum staff 10:00 a.m. Tour with Tennessee State Museum staff 11:00 a.m. Tour with Dr. Wayne Moore 1:00 p.m. Tour with Dr. Wayne Moore 2:00 p.m. Tour with Tennessee State Museum staff 3:00 p.m. Tour with Dr. Wayne Moore State Museum The Tennessee State Museum will host a family history scavenger hunt, childrens crafts, and story time every hour in the Childrens Gallery. Statehood Day attendees are also encouraged to stop by the Tennessee State Museum at 12 p.m. for a slice of Birthday cake! Quantities limited. The Tennessee State Museum is operating during normal business hours Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. CDT. There is no admission charge to the State Museums permanent and temporary exhibitions. For more information about exhibitions and tour times, visit the Bicentennial Mall Bicentennial Mall State Park will have guided hikes, historic games, arts and crafts, and live music from 10 a.m. 3 p.m. CDT. Tours of the State Capitol are free. No reservation is required. Attendees should enter at the West Entrance of the Capitol Building.The Tennessee State Museum will host a family history scavenger hunt, childrens crafts, and story time every hour in the Childrens Gallery. Statehood Day attendees are also encouraged to stop by the Tennessee State Museum at 12 p.m. for a slice of Birthday cake! Quantities limited.The Tennessee State Museum is operating during normal business hours Saturday, June 1 from 10 a.m. 5 p.m. CDT. There is no admission charge to the State Museums permanent and temporary exhibitions. For more information about exhibitions and tour times, visit the Tennessee State Museum website.Bicentennial Mall State Park will have guided hikes, historic games, arts and crafts, and live music from 10 a.m. 3 p.m. CDT. The 1796 Statehood National Trails Day hike will be offered from 10:30 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 2:30 p.m. CDT. Park Rangers in historic dress will lead the hikes while educating participants on Tennessees history and providing information about our most famous Tennesseans. Guided hikes of Bicentennial Mall are free. No registration is required. Attendees should meet at the North end of the park. The Bicentennial State Park will host Sounds of Statehood, a live music event 3 - 6 p.m. in the park Amphitheater featuring Bob Teague, Sonja Hopkins, Marcianne ODay and Brain Salad. LYNC Logistics has been named one of Inc. magazines Best Workplaces for 2019, its fourth annual ranking in the fast-growing private company sector. Hitting newsstands on May 28 in the June 2019 issue, and as part of a prominent Inc.com feature, the list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies that have created exceptional workplaces through vibrant cultures, deep employee engagement, and stellar benefits. Collecting data on nearly 2,000 submissions, Inc. singled out 346 finalists. Each nominated company took part in an employee survey, conducted by Omahas Quantum Workplace, on topics including trust, management effectiveness, perks, and confidence in the future. Inc. gathered, analyzed, and audited the data. Then it ranked all the employers using a composite score of survey results. This year, 74.2 percent of surveyed employees were engaged by their workbesting last years 72.1 percent. The strongest engagement scores came from companies that prioritize the most human elements of work. These companies are leading the way in employee recognition, performance management, and diversity. Its a different playbook from a decade ago, when too many firms used the same template: free food, open work environments, and artifacts of fun. Cindy Lee, president of LYNC, said, While its an incredible honor to be included as one of INC. Magazines Best Workplaces of 2019, swing by our office any time and youll see why we werent surprised. Workplace culture and individual employee happiness are one in the same. Typically, if the culture of an employer does not meet expectations, employees are not happy. If employees are not happy, the culture is lackluster. Were blessed to have a wonderful workforce who I give all the credit to for the culture weve established. All companies had to have a minimum of 10 employees and be U.S.-based, privately held, and independentthat is, not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies. While researching the finalists, Inc. and Quantum saw distinct themes: 99 percent provide health insuranceand some cover the cost. 49 percent allow employees to bring pets to work. 65 percent take employees to offsite retreats to relax and recharge. 16 percent offer paid sabbaticals to reward length of service. "With today's tight labor market, building a great corporate culture is more important than ever, said Inc. magazine editor in chief James Ledbetter. The companies on Inc.'s Best Workplaces list are setting an example that the whole country can learn from." The Tennessee Valley Authority is inviting the public to celebrate National Trails Day 2019 with several events. Every year on the first Saturday in June, hundreds of thousands of people across the U.S. get together to celebrate National Trails Day. This year it will be observed on Saturday, June 1, and is sponsored by the American Hiking Society. We look forward to participating in National Trails Day every year because its a great opportunity for people to discover TVA trails and recreation destinations, and to deepen their appreciation for the outdoors, said Bucky Edmondson, TVAs director of Natural Resources. TVA trails, including water trails, are tangible ways to show our commitment to environmental stewardship and economic growth as part of TVAs mission of service to the Valley. TVA is kicking off its observation on June 1, with three volunteer trail maintenance events. The celebration will continue with additional trail maintenance events and invasive plant treatment through July. A complete listing of events and how to get involved is available at www.tva.gov/trailsday. Because trail maintenance is important all year long, TVA is launching a new volunteer trail initiative called Team up for Trails, designed to empower volunteers to take their interest in trail maintenance to a new level. Find out more at www.tva.com/volunteer. "TVA maintains more than 170 miles of trails across the Tennessee Valley, offering something for every hiker, biker and horseback rider," officials said. "With our guide map on TVA.com, finding the right one has never been easier. Find detailed trail descriptions, information on amenities, difficulty, distance, uses and any relevant notes to enhance the experience." Robbie Tester, VP of Operations of Erlanger; Kevin Spiegel, president and CEO of Erlanger; Dr. Ron Buchheit, medical director of Emergency Medical Services; and Stacy Prater, LIFE FORCE clinical educator at Erlanger and LIFE FORCEs Call of the Year Awards ceremony on Wednesday Trauma Call of the Year winners Timothy Sharp and Rachel Thornton of Puckett EMS with, from left, Rob Brooks, Kevin Spiegel and Dr. Robert Maxwell. Pediatric Call of the Year winners with Rob Brooks, chief operating officer at Erlanger Health System, and Kevin Spiegel, president and CEO of Erlanger Health System. From left, LIFE FORCE Crew Members Rodney Parker and Cynthia Schermerhorn, Rob Brooks, Kevin Spiegel, Tony Finnell, Anissa Duckett and Tony ODaniel of Puckett EMS. Erlanger Health System and LIFE FORCE honored area EMS personnel Wednesday at their annual Call of the Year Ceremony. This year, LIFE FORCEs Call of the Year awards recognized outstanding EMS, fire, and law enforcement personnel who go above and beyond the call, as nominated by LIFE FORCE crew members. The awards include Call of the Year awards for Pediatric, Trauma and Medical. Call of the Year, Medical Joshua Piotrowski and Abigaile Wilson of LIFE FORCE 6 Call of the Year, Pediatric Anissa Duckett, AEMT; Tony ODaniel, AEMT; and Tony Finnell, AEMT of Puckett EMS along with Firefighter Charlie Duckett and Firefighter Jeff Thompson of Meigs County Fire Department Call of the Year, Trauma Timothy Sharp, Paramedic, and Rachel Thornton, AEMT, of Dade County Puckett EMS Earlier this week, three LIFE FORCE crews were honored at the annual Star of Life Awards ceremony in Nashville. LIFE FORCE crews were awarded the Region Three and Region Four awards as well as the State Star of Life award for their roles in medical calls this past year. LIFE FORCE crew members named in the awards include: Derek Ball, James Parker, Ben Hayne. Cody Wilson, Stephanie DeBerry, Anthony Nash, and Sam Greenwood. EMS Week honors the first responders, EMS workers and Emergency Medicine personnel in the nation. In 1974, President Gerald Ford authorized EMS Week to celebrate EMS practitioners and the work they do in the nation's communities. These men and women are responsible for delivering top-notch care to patients in their time of need. Erlanger is fortunate to work with these professionals, both on their team and in partnerships around the region, said officials. This year's theme is "EMS Strong: Stronger Together". Now that Game of Thrones is officially over, fans have been left divided. While some are happy with the way the series ended, there are many who feel betrayed by what they perceive as an unfaithful ending. And, regardless of how they feel about the shows end, fans are still hungry for more Game of Thrones content. No one was really ready for the story to end. Fans might be surprised to realize that A Dance With Dragons was released the same year the television show started, 2011. After eight long years of waiting, theres hope on the horizon. George R.R. Martin may have just teased a potential release date for The Winds of Winter, the next installment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series all thanks to Air New Zealand. An invitation to visit All of this comes after Air New Zealand put out a cheeky new ad calling for George R.R. Martin to drop all the pressure and escape to New Zealand to finish his latest book. Weve noticed that between red carpets and talk show interviews youre having a bit of trouble finishing your next Game of Thrones book, The Winds of Winter. The novel that the world is, lets face it mate, absolutely fanging for now more than ever, quips the ad. So how are you meant to be creative when youre probably as nervous as a Stark with a wedding invite? Fortunately, weve got the perfect solution. An epic trip to New Zealand on us. The ad goes on to extol the virtues of New Zealand, and honestly, it all does sound rather appealing. Good to know someones offering Martin a getaway to finish that novel. George R.R. Martins response Jacob Anderson, Conleth Hill, Nathalie Emmanuel, Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones | Helen Sloan/HBO On his website, Not a Blog, Martin responded to the ad. I cannot say I was not tempted. New Zealand is a beautiful place. As it happens, I have already visited there a number of times. Ive been to Auckland and Wellington and Christchurch and Rotoroa and Hobbiton, of course. Martin went on to wax lyrical about some of his time spent in New Zealand, before suggesting that perhaps Air New Zealand make their offer for others less fortunate. Of course, I was especially moved by your offer to bring me to New Zealand on us. How wonderfully generous. As it happens, I do have enough money to make it to New Zealand on my own but there are many American writers, fans, and artists who do not. If youd care to fly, say, twenty or thirty or fifty of them to Wellington in place of me, I have no doubt they would instantly accept, and fall in love with Middle Earth.. er, New Zealand just as I have. And you have such big planes, Im sure you could squeeze them in. But what about that release date? Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen and Iain Glen as Ser Jorah | Helen Sloan/HBO Martin knows how to hold out for the big news. At the end of his post, he left us sitting on a pretty exciting hint. Martin mentions that hell actually be returning to New Zealand soon, and perhaps with some excellent news. Martin will be attending the World Science Fiction Convention in 2020 at Wellington, New Zealand. There, hell be officiating as the Toastmaster for the Hugo Awards, a high honor. And as it happens, I already have plans to return. In the summer of 2020, Wellington is hosting the World Science Fiction Convention, the oldest and most important con in the SF/ fantasy calendar, and theyve asked me to serve as Toastmaster for the Hugo Awards. Writers, fans, and artists from all over the world will be headed down to check out all of your wonders. I hope lots of you Kiwis will join us, writes Martin. But thats not all. Martin blessed us with what seems like a big promise. As for finishing my bookI fear that New Zealand would distract me entirely too much. Best leave me here in Westeros for the nonce. But I tell you this if I dont have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until Im done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, Ill be fine. Rejoice novel fans, it sounds like we might be seeing the latest installment of A Song of Ice and Fire as soon as summer 2020. Slip-ups from famous people are an ongoing problem in the age of social media, even if weve learned to forgive some of those transgressions. A few things said are arguably unforgivable, and other things tweeted occasionally fall in the middle. James Gunn is an example of having your old tweets come back to haunt you as a reflection of a person you hopefully no longer are. This is the stance Gunn now takes after being fired by Disney and then reinstated to direct the new Guardians of the Galaxy sequel. His firing and rehiring has reportedly made him self-analyze on things he said on social media. Its the latest example of celebrity forgiveness in a time when we wonder if a soul change is truly genuine. Were Gunns tweets just humor, or the product of something disturbing? James Gunn | Christopher Polk/Getty Images Many of Gunns old tweets were dredged up last year as a recurring trend in mining old tweets from notables to prove current motivations. Weve certainly seen our share of people on Twitter finding Donald Trumps old tweets to contradict many things he says now. The most common phrase used in this context is Theres a tweet for everything. An argument can be made that what someone tweets a decade ago is perhaps a completely different person from what they are in 2019. All of Gunns tweets were done in 2009 and found last year due to tweets being so easily archived. What took everyone aback was Gunns overly uninhibited comedy he deemed dark satire. When tweeting jokes about pedophilia, AIDS, and 9/11, though, youre going to hit a brick wall. Media analysts are still trying to figure out what Gunn was thinking when he tweeted his 2009 comments. Per usual, theres a political divide over Gunns past tweets Sometimes I open a bottle of wine and just start going through old tweets. Thats how I found James Gunns stuff. Better than Netflix. https://t.co/VMpA0BBvWl Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) February 10, 2019 If you spend a lot of time on Twitter, then youve probably seen conservative pundits whove viciously gone after James Gunns tweets. They all say theres a double standard going on in some conservative celebrities being banished while Gunn is rehired by Disney for a second chance. While we dont want to make a political argument out of this, whats most important here is Gunn acknowledges what he said was wrong. Are we seeing the beginning of more notable people saying theyre a different person from what they were a decade ago? Many might argue this should fit everyone, even our own President who has a tweet history almost as bad as Gunns. The mystery comes down to whether a person really can change, or just does so conveniently because they were caught and fired from their careers. Can self-realization help make you a better person? "Disney totally had the right to fire me. This wasnt a free speech issue." James Gunn on being fired and rehired by Disney. pic.twitter.com/jSrc4BgW1C IGN (@IGN) May 16, 2019 One of the key things Gunn has said after initially being fired by Disney is that he realized he was solely responsible. Taking responsibility and looking into your own soul is always the first step to changing any bad behavior. In this regard, our president could probably be helped this way through his own actions or with a therapist. At least Gunn understands what he said was wrong rather than defending it as dark comedy nobody understood as professional comedians likely would. Having candor about this in recent interviews was one of the reasons he was rehired for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It was also thanks to the cast rallying around him and persuading Disney to do the right thing. Even so, the idea of truly changing is only really known to the offender. Is Gunn believable in being a changed man? Based on recent interviews, Gunn seems to show hes completely genuine. Unfortunately, in the culture we live, we cant always tell whos telling the truth and who isnt. All we can do is hope when someone says theyre changed, they truly are rather than think its made up just to save their careers. At least more and more notable people are proving human beings are a lot more flawed than we ever realized in a time when were constantly looking for heroes. When Michelle Williams married Phil Elverum last summer, people were happy for her, but also a little confused. Who was this guy marrying an A-list celebrity? How did they even meet? Unfortunately, the couple has now called it quits. But if youre still curious about the pairs origins, we have the story just for you. Michelle Williams | Taylor Hill/FilmMagic They are both familiar with tragedy Williams had been single since the death of her former partner, Heath Ledger, in 2008 from an accidental drug overdose. The pair shared one daughter together, now 12-year-old Matilda. Williams told Vanity Fair, I never gave up on love. I always say to Matilda, Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes.' Elverum, a musician who performs on the indie scene as Mount Eerie, comes from a similarly tragic background. His wife of 13 years, graphic novelist Genevieve Castree, died in 2016 of pancreatic cancer. The couple had one daughter together, who is now three and named Agathe. How Michelle Williams and Phil Elverum met Williams hasnt spoken about the relationship with Elverum much, besides her interview with Vanity Fair, where she casually broke the news that she was married. She is a notoriously private person. But we do know that Williams and Elverum met through mutual friends. It may have been her BFF, Busy Phillips, since she posted a photo with Elverum to her Instagram back in March. Williams and Elverum were married in a small ceremony in the Adirondacks, just only a few friends and their two daughters present. Elverum moved from Anacortes, Washington to live with Williams in Brooklyn. About the relationship, Williams told Vanity Fair: The way he loves me is the way I want to live my life on the whole. I work to be free inside of the moment. I parent to let Matilda feel free to be herself, and I am finally loved by someone who makes me feel free. She also called the relationship very sacred and very special. How the marriage fell apart In tribute to Genevieve today I deleted facebook. Phil Elverum (@PWElverum) July 9, 2018 Williams is such a private person, so we have very few details about her split from Elverum. The only information we have is what a source, supposedly close to the couple, told People, It was an amicable split and they remain friends. We did have some clue that everything may not be perfect between the pair. The last few times Williams was spotted out and about, it was without her wedding ring. According to People, the pair have been apart since the beginning of the year. Elverum is a similarly private person. Hes not on Instagram and his Twitter is dedicated 100 percent to the business and advertising of his music. According to Womens Health, Elverum did have a Facebook, which he used as a tribute to his late wife. Everum said about the Facebook account, Which I only used to share photos of her with others who knew and missed her, but which she hated. For two people that had experienced such pain in their lives, we were all so happy to see that Williams and Elverum had found love with one another. Its really a shame that after less than a year things didnt work out. Did Elverum find it difficult to deal with the fame of his new wife? Did he not like living in busy Brooklyn? Were the two simply still not over their lost loves? Especially Elverum, for who it has only been two or three years since her death. We may not ever find out what caused the pair to split- unless one of them decides to do a tell-all interview, but somehow, that seems unlikely. Whether youve just recently tuned into the Duggar family via Counting On or youve been watching them from the beginning on 19 Kids and Counting, theres no doubt their way of life is different than most of their viewers. From courtship rituals to dress codes, the Duggars love traditions. And they even have certain foods they love to eat on their birthdays. Recently, Jill Duggar turned 28, and it looked like she had an amazing celebration amongst family and friends. She also just proved shes not going against the grain with the way shes celebrating, either. Heres why her birthday isnt unique in the slightest. Jill Duggar posted plenty of photos of her birthday celebration to Instagram Jill Duggar has a ton of fans, but if youre a Counting On viewer, dont expect the older Duggar to come back to the show any time soon. Jill was removed from the program along with her controversial husband, Derick Dillard, after Derick expressed some transphobic and homophobic views on Twitter. Now, Jill does her best to update her fans on the daily ins and outs of her life with her family blog and Instagram. Thanks to Jills diligence in sharing her life, we got plenty of photos of her recent 28th birthday celebration. Fans saw she went hiking with Derick and had a picnic lunch for a special one-on-one date. Not only that, but she also squashed all rumors of a Duggar feud by posting photos with mom Michelle and many of her other family members all hanging out with her for the day. The Duggars traditionally eat at Marketplace Grill for their birthdays Jill Duggars never been a rule-breaker, so it makes perfect sense that shes keeping Duggar tradition alive with the way shes celebrating. In this series of photos posted to Instagram, we see Jill eating at Marketplace Grill, the Duggar familys favorite restaurant. The Duggar Family Fan Blog explains Marketplace Grill has several locations across Arkansas, and its often referenced by all the Duggars at some point or another, as its where they all go for their birthday meal. Not only do the Duggars celebrate their birthdays at this restaurant, but it seems all major news is best talked over at Marketplace Grill as well. The blog notes Jessa and Ben Seewald ate their on their first date, and weve since seen double dates, Valentines Day celebrations, and pre-engagement hurrahs also go down at the Grill. Jill kept the tradition alive by eating a Chocolate Mess Going to the Marketplace Grill to celebrate a Duggar birthday is one thing but Jill really kept the tradition going by ordering the infamous Chocolate Mess. As the Duggar family noted on this birthday photo of Justin way back in 2017, Its a Duggar birthday tradition! In the photoset with all the Duggars celebrating Jills birthday, Jill can be seen with a Chocolate Mess in front of her as shes sitting next to Michelle. For those not from Arkansas, it seems the Chocolate Mess is a state specialty. Only In Arkansas explains its a chocolate sundae that has the glass dipped in a hardening chocolate shell before its filled with ice cream. Thats exactly why it looks like the dessert is basically glued to the table. So, are the Duggars forced to eat at Marketplace Grill and order the Chocolate Mess as some sort of strange family obligation? The Duggar Family Fan Blog notes thats not the case at all. Instead, the family can choose wherever theyd like to go to eat but they all just tend to choose the same place. And it seems the older Duggar kids who have children of their own are also keeping the custom alive. Jessa posted this video of her son, Spurgeon, getting his first taste of a Chocolate Mess to Instagram for his birthday. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Ashley Jacobs has not had it easy since moving to Charleston in 2017. Jacobs first appeared on Southern Charm as Thomas Ravenels girlfriend, but quickly found herself at odds with the other members of the cast namely Ravenels ex, Kathryn Dennis. Jacobs and Ravenel have since broken up, though their relationship has seemingly been on-and-off since then. With Jacobs making another appearance on Southern Charm this season, is she still dating Ravenel? Ashley Jacobs, Thomas Ravenel | Photo by Paul Cheney/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Ashley Jacobs adjusts to life in Charleston Jacobs originally hails from Santa Barbara, California. She relocated to Charleston in the summer of 2017 to pursue a career in nursing. Last summer, Jacobs revealed that she works for an in-home agency and that most of her patients are people who are terminally ill or have disabilities. Jacobs does not have any family in the area and so most of her patients have become a kind of second family to her. According to Bravo TV, it took a good year for Jacobs to get adjusted to life in Charleston. Although she enjoyed her time on Southern Charm, working as a nurse helped her get acclimated to the city and view things from a different perspective. Unfortunately, the adjustment was not enough to keep Jacobs in Charleston, nor was the potential of starring in future seasons of Southern Charm. Southern Charms Thomas Ravenel Responds to Ex Ashley Jacobs Sweet Tribute to Him https://t.co/qjE1lcZb1V pic.twitter.com/aDrmkSuZ8u Breaking News Today (@BreakingNewsTo7) May 17, 2019 You know, Ive really learned to make it my home, Jacobs shared last year. Once I started working, I got a job, traveling, driving, I started to see it with a different perspective. Jacobs leaves Charleston for good On May 15, Ashley Jacobs announced that she has moved back to her home state of California. The Southern Charm star made the announcement via Instagram, coincidentally on the same day that Southern Charm premiered its new season on Bravo. In her post, Jacobs thanked the city of Charleston for teaching her some good lessons and sounded excited to be heading back to her hometown. Thanks for the life lessons South Carolina but Im goin back to my roots! #CaliforniaGirl, Jacobs stated. Cameran Eubanks Throws Shade at Ashley Jacobs' 'Sad' Return to Southern Charm, Plus the Latest on Thomas Ravenel's Plea Deal #SouthernCharm @CameranEubanks #AshleyJacobs @ThomasRavenel https://t.co/7TVRHw3fJA Kathy wagner (@Kathywa59346647) May 13, 2019 Shortly after the announcement, several cast members of Southern Charm reacted to Jacobs move. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Kathryn Dennis told Andy Cohen that she has no feelings for Jacobs and does not care what she does. Patricia Altschul echoed these sentiments during the same interview and offered a short wave to Jacobs. Although things ended on a frosty note with her fellow cast mates, Jacobs later stated that she has no regrets about what happened on the show and believes there was a reason behind all of it. Are Thomas Ravenel and Ashley Jacobs back together? The biggest question, of course, is whether Ravenel and Jacobs are still at thing. The pair parted ways back in August, though Jacobs shared some things on social media that left fans wondering about the status of their relationship. This includes a note about cherishing the moments they had together and not having any regrets about how things turned out. This past New Years Eve, the two were spotted at the same party, sparking rumors that they had gotten back together. It is unclear why Jacobs appeared with Ravenel at the party, but it certainly caused a lot of people to question her intentions. Because Jacobs is now living in California, it seems unlikely that she and Ravenel are still an item. Thomas Ravenel: Southern Charm star's scandals drag in Kathryn Dennis, Ashley Jacobs #SmartNews Karma trains a coming https://t.co/vhyaCR3ZOB Bella (@Bella86714569) May 20, 2019 It is possible that they are still good friends, but with Ravenel facing charges of sexual assault, a long-distance relationship is probably not in the cards for him at least not at the moment. Whether Ashley Jacobs plans on visiting Charleston in the near future, however, is yet to be seen. Ravenel faces his day in court Ravenel was arrested last fall after several women came forward and accused him of sexual assault. Following the allegations and arrest, Bravo opted to boot Ravenel from the show and he will not be returning this season. Ravenel has vehemently denied the allegations and plans to prove his innocence in court. The disgraced Southern Charm star is scheduled to appear before a jury sometime this year. If convicted, his relationship with Jacobs with be the least of his worries. Kathryn Dennis & Patricia Altschul Discuss Everything Southern Charm, Thomas Ravenel & Ashley Jacobs, Wedding Bells, And More! https://t.co/avyy6sV1yV #SouthernCharm #WWHL AllAboutTRH (@AllAboutTRH) May 16, 2019 In addition to his court battles, Ravenel is currently fighting for the custody of the two children he shares with Dennis. For her part, Ashley Jacobs has not commented on the recent rumors surrounding her romance with Ravenel. New episodes of Southern Charm air Wednesday nights on Bravo. Almost paradise, were knocking on heavens door. Almost paradise, how could we ask for more? Warmer days are almost here, and with the start of the beloved season comes Bachelors Nations favorite event of the Summer: Bachelor In Paradise. Caelynn Miller-Keyes | Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images Each Summer, former contestants from The Bachelorette and The Bachelor head to Mexico for a second chance at finding love. Caelynn Miller-Keyes was one of the standout contestants on Season 23 of The Bachelor. Will this former beauty queen be one of the hopeful singles headed to Sayulita this Summer? Though fewer people are eliminated in Paradise, the show still has a competitive edge, stemming from the contestants all vying for the attention of that special someone. But this Virginia native turned Los Angeles transplant is no stranger to competition. Having competed in several beauty pageants, the 23-year-old holds the title of Miss North Carolina 2018, as well as first-runner-up for Miss USA. Surely, those skills will help her keep her composure when dealing with drama or a few, wild dates. 50 first dates Bachelor In Paradise dates are in a class of their own. Sure there are some typical dates that youd see on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but there are quite a few that are just outright weird. Couples might do more adventurous activities like zip-lining or horseback riding or have a chance at doing something more romantic, like having a picnic on a boat. But, every now and then, couples get thrown a serious curveball. An example of this was when a Bachelor in Paradise couple broke the record of Worlds Hottest Kiss, by eating an extremely hot pepper and kissing each other for as long as possible. Luckily, Miller-Keyes seems prepared for whatever Paradise might throw her way. Having flown to Japan on a first date in her pre-bachelor days, she seems like shed be up for the craziness that Paradise has to offer. The Keyes to Caelynns heart But what kind of guy is Miller-Keyes hoping to meet in Paradise? She opened up in a recent interview saying that shed like to meet a guy that she could hit it off with really early on in Paradise. She also confessed that she really wants to date a Christian. The 23-year-old admitted that shess dated men who have had a variety of different faiths, even an atheist, but she knows in her heart that she is supposed to end up with a Christian. Miller-Keyes also surprised fans when she candidly said that she wouldnt mind dating a guy off of Hannah Browns season, despite the two of them being at odds for a good portion of Coltons season. Id date Hannahs ex she responded flippantly on an episode of Now What!? With Jessica Graf. As most of the men on Bachelor in Paradise will probably come from the most recent season of The Bachelorette (though there are always a few outliers) its good that Miller-Keyes doesnt seem to have a problem with that. Almost paradise So will we see the former beauty queen in Mexico this Summer? Well have to wait for the official announcement, but right now it looks very possible. In a recent podcast interview, Miller-Keyes was asked about the possibility and she responded, I might do Paradise because I do want to find my person. Until we have confirmation, well be soaking up the current drama of The Bachelorette and looking to see which contestants from Hannah Browns season might be a great match for Miller-Keyes. Craig Conover from Southern Charm is one of Bravos most eligible bachelors. The handsome lawyer turned textile guru has been single for some time and hasnt quite found that special someone. Conover was seriously dating Naomie Olindo, but the two parted ways when Conover seemed to meander in his career choices. Conover recently told The Cheat Sheet he briefly moved to the Bahamas after the breakup which helped him heal and move on from the relationship. Craig Conover |Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images But now that Conover is dating, what does Charlestons most eligible bachelor want in a woman? Also, during the Watch What Happens Live After Show, he was tasked with trying to decide which cast member would he marry, shag or kill. Attraction goes beyond the physical When the WWHL After Show caller posed the question, host Andy Cohen wanted to start by finding out what Conover wanted physically. But the notion of trying to pinpoint physical characteristics seemed to make Conover a little uncomfortable. Cohen tried to give him a springboard for a description. Like how tall should she be? But Conover said he wasnt going to go there. No, Im not going there, he winced. But added, I would say conviction, he asserted. You are who you are. I like someone when I meet them, thats who they are. In addition to Olindo, Conover has dated a variety of gorgeous women, but didnt seem to have a specific type either. When pressed he shares more specifics Thankfully Cohen wont let Conover off the hook with that answer. Physical beauty? Conover asks. Im a face guy. And then Im an ass guy. Then Im a boob guy. Cohen repeats Conovers list to make sure he has his ranking down. Chelsea Meissner, Thomas Ravenel, Craig Conover, Shepard Rose, Cameran Eubanks, Kathryn Dennis, Austen Kroll |Photo by Rodolfo Martinez/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Conover expands on his list. Face guy because I have to be attracted to her face. This answer seems to satisfy Cohen but he wants to know more. Big boobs or small boobs? he asks. Conover says he prefers a small C. He also says he doesnt mind fake boobs either. When it comes to a caboose, Conover says he likes someone who is in shape. Tight [butt], he explains. Like a dancer body. Toned. Then he leaves this surprise behind As Conover ponders what he wants in a woman he adds that he wants someone who can give it back to him. Be mean to me, I dont know, he mumbles. Cohen seems surprised. Be mean to you? He adds he likes the flirting too. Craig Conover |Photo by Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Earlier in the show, Conover was also asked to name who hed shag, marry or kill from the cast. He had Chelsea Meissner, Naomi Olindo, and Kathryn Dennis as his choices. Conover puts his head down saying that his answer is going to be shocking. This is so f**ked up, he says. Ok, I was going to say marry Chelsea. Have sex with Naomi, he says grinning and looking at the floor. But when it came to kill Kathryn he didnt like his answer. But I like Kathryn so much, Conover says looking sad. Cohen adds he knows he loves her but its a game. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! By July 1968, one of the biggest and best bands in the world had more problems than you could count. Recording what eventually became The Beatles White Album, tensions between John Lennon and Paul McCartney nearly exploded into violence in the studio. The following month, feeling unwanted, Ringo walked out on the band and hopped a plane to Italy, unsure if hed ever return. By January of 69, it was clear from the Let It Be documentary that George Harrison had his share of problems with band members as well. George staged his own revolt that month, and by September the group heard John say he was leaving the band permanently. However, that didnt end things. Let It Be still needed work in the studio. Meanwhile, the bands contracts bound them together regardless of their wishes. Things got really tense as Let It Be inched toward the presses in April 1970. The album included The Long and Winding Road, which would turn out to be the bands last No. 1 hit. That tune went out without Pauls approval, and the entire band went to war because of it. Phil Spectors meddling on Long and Winding Road set Paul off. Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and George Harrison from The Beatles attend a press screening for Yellow Submarine in London on 8th July 1968. | Mark and Colleen Hayward/Redferns If youve seen Let It Be, you undoubtedly caught Paul playing The Long and Winding Road as a simple piano ballad. Thats how the band recorded it, and how Paul intended it. But things changed when the band members stopped cooperating with one another in early 1970. John brought in producer Phil Spector to finish the album, and the Wall of Sound wizard got to work. On The Long and Winding Road, Spector noticed several flaws in the tapes that needed correcting. To solve the problems, he added in the orchestration and choir you hear on the album. While Spector made his changes, Paul was sulking on his own and ignoring correspondence from Apple studios. (Paul was in a separate but equal war with acting Beatles manager Allen Klein.) After getting a copy of the record before its release, Paul blew up over Spectors work. Writing to Klein, he demanded several changes to get the song closer to its original form. That didnt happen, and it exacerbated the anger and resentment of all concerned. Paul had just rejected a Beatles request to delay his solo album. John Lennon and Paul McCartney stand at the airport in May 1968. | WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images Thinking of The Beatles during this time, it helps to imagine each move as a form of retribution for other wrongs (both real and perceived). In the case of Pauls fury over The Long and Winding Road, there may have been a little payback for what happened right before. Just a few days before Paul demanded his changes to The Long and Winding Road, hed had an ugly confrontation with Ringo at his home. Hoping to convince Paul to delay the release of his solo record until after Let It Be appeared, Ringo had paid Paul the courtesy of a personal visit. Upon his delivery of a letter from the band, Paul promptly tossed Ringo out of his house and told him hed finish him. In brief, no one was on great terms with anyone at this point in Beatles history. Undeterred, Paul made sure to release McCartney before Let It Be hit record stores. (He also announced the bands breakup.) In June, The Long and Winding Road hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts. As for the Beatles public-private wars, theyd continue to rage for years.Both John and Ringo released songs hammering Paul for his behavior during this period. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Its hard to remember a time when the world was not Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The family has so expertly made themselves a part of pop culture, that youd be hard pressed to find someone that hasnt at least heard of the family. While some fans buy every Kylie Cosmetics palette and become emotionally invested in the latest family scandal, others keep asking when the familys 15 minutes will finally be up. Keeping Up With the Kardashians has lasted much longer than anyone could have anticipated. At this point, we have to ask: Will Keeping Up With the Kardashians ever end? How long has Keeping Up With The Kardashians been on the air? Kim Kardashian | ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images Keeping Up With the Kardashians debuted on E! On October 14, 2007. Thats one year before Barack Obama first stepped into the Oval Office, three years after Mean Girls became a hit, and three full years before Instagram was even launched. When the show launched, Kylie Jenner was just 10 years old and Kendall was 11. At the time, Kim the most well-known member of the family. Kim first landed in the spotlight when she was seen hanging out with socialite Paris Hilton, but gained enormous attention when that now-infamous tape was released. Twelve years and 16 seasons later, the Kardashians are more famous than ever. Though their show has seen declining numbers in recent years, the family continues to get endless media attention. The cheating scandal involving Khloes now-ex, Tristan Thompson, and Kylie Jenners best friend, Jordyn Woods, dominated headlines for weeks. Currently, fans are obsessing over what Kim has named her newest baby boy. Will Kim Kardashians desire to be a lawyer end Keeping Up With the Kardashians? Kim recently revealed that she is studying to become a lawyer. She is taking an unconventional route and doing an internship program rather than attend law school. The reality star has admitted that she spends approximately 18 hours per week studying. Kim first became interested in the law when she worked to help get Alice Marie Johnson released from prison. Since working on the case, the 38-year-old has spent countless hours working on prison reform. She recently revealed, my goal would be in like, 10 years, to give up being Kim K and just focus on this and be an attorney and fight for so many deserving people. Will Keeping Up With the Kardashians ever end? Theres no question that the family is becoming increasingly busier. Kim recently welcomed her fourth child, while Kourtney has three of her own. Both Kylie and Khloe have a young baby of their own. In addition to their growing families, they also have increasingly demanding careers. But its not just their families that are growing. The girls are also growing their own empires outside of their reality show. Kylie recently became the youngest self-made billionaire thanks to her popular cosmetics brand. Kim also has her own beauty brand. Additionally, most of the sisters have ongoing endorsement deals that generate their own revenue. As the years go on, it will likely make sense for the women to focus on building their businesses and focusing on their families. While the show has been a success for many years, there will likely come a time where the family wants more privacy and will choose to invest in more stable sources of revenue. Could we wake up and have the show be canceled tomorrow? Sure, but given societys obsession with reality and the Kardashians specifically, its highly unlikely. The more likely scenario is that the family will choose when they are ready to say goodbye. We dont see either scenario happening any time soon. Vengeance! Christian Examiner Contributor | 23 May, 2019 by Mark Klages Love and vengeance: That sounds like the title for a bad Hollywood movie. I can already see Keanu Reeves and Liam Neeson, maybe Bruce Willis, sitting for the casting call. Jeffrey Dean Morgan sits across the table and reads his lines in that deep throaty way, "Well I guess you don't really love her, do ya, son." To which Reeves answers, his disheveled locks covering part of his face, sweat running down his scraggly beard, "You didn't get to choose who she loved, so you took her from me!" Reeves raises his voice, "I loved her! I will avenge her!" But it doesn't work that way. According to FOX News, a Sri Lankan defense minister claims the recent Easter church and hotel bombings in Sri Lanka that killed over 300 Christians and injured another 500 worshipers and passersby was retaliation for prior mosque attacks on Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. FOX News editor Bernard Betz quoted the junior defense minister, Mr. Ruqan Wijewardene in announcing the cause of the bombings this past Easter Sunday. The tiny island country of Sri Lanka sits off the coast of India while New Zealand is an island of its own sitting off the southeast coast of Australia. The two are over 6,700 miles apart. For the defense minister's statement to ring true, the act of vengeance in Sri Lanka would have to have been planned and carried out by a group with international ties and global capabilities. In that way they are not unlike the terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers in New York or the men who coordinated the 7/7 bombings across London. Despite the fact that both Muslim and Christian traditions clearly call for us to overcome our differences and to "love our neighbor as we love ourselves" (Matt 22:39), it seems the old Arabic proverbs of, "do unto others before they do unto you" and, "If you kill my brother, I'll kill your whole family," are clearly the law of today. Christian, love and vengeance are mutually exclusive, not inseparably intertwined. The Bible, unlike many other books of faith, calls for us to place others above ourselves. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Phil 2:3-4, NIV) Although Islam and Christianity are destined to war for eternity, that fact doesn't give us the right to choose war and vengeance over peace and love. Rather, it places more responsibility on our shoulders to choose peace. We are not in the Crusades. Christians are not in the business of doing unto others because or before they do unto us. No, sir. Our commission is to love one another as Jesus loved us, and in case we've already forgotten the Cross, He loved us sinners to death and resurrection. Of course we feel the pain of loss and anger at the senseless bloodshed, but that still doesn't give us the right to seek vengeance. If it did, where would this end? First it's 49 Muslims in New Zealand, then 321 Christians in Sri Lanka. What's next, another 2,100 Muslims followed by tens of thousands of Christians? The escalation of vengeance is a tool of the devil, and the devil is a liar. Just because Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mocks prayer and faith doesn't make these wrong. In fact, I would argue the radical Left's opinion clearly shows that Satan is threatened by praying Christians. So, Christian, the truth is really simple. Even in the face of loss and injury to over 800 Christians (a.k.a. Easter Worshipers) in Sri Lanka, our job is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Anything less is un-Christian. Anything less is sin. And the wages of sin is... Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/. An entrepreneurial hub on the coast of southern Spain houses more than 600 global companies in shiny, modern buildings, with rows of palm trees reflected in walls of windows. The Andalusia Technology Park, or Parque Tecnologico de Andalucia (PTA), is a bit like the countrys version of Silicon Valley. It includes tech startups, multinational companies like Oracle and Accenture and a 90-year-old US-based missions agency called Christar. Christars international team left its Dallas-area headquarters two years ago for this tech park in Malaga, Spain, eager for the chance to engage social innovation opportunities alongside the public sector. But God had another mission in store for them. Its the best time zone in the world to connect with the rest of the world, theres a good international airport, and the cost of doing business is no more than doing it in Richardson, Texas, said Brent McHugh, who became the teams director ... 1 Faith leaders are increasingly navigating mass trauma, a new media resource promises to help Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment NEW YORK Time and air seemed to freeze as Pastor Sam Saylors raspy voice, still palpable with pain, boomed through the room inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum. We are called to be, as healers, we are called into a ministry, to serve God and its not an easy task. It will give us high blood pressure. It will even kill us. It is a seat of service, not to be served, he said with steely defiance. We have to be like Aaron. When Aaron wanted to go and cry about the loss of his sons he was told to stay in the temple. You have to hold the mantle up. Youve got to hold the sense of hope up no matter how devastated and dark it gets, he said. How do you go to a mothers door who cant move beyond the bloodstained steps because she cant afford to go live somewhere else? Youve got to tell her how you made it over. So every one of our testimonies, every one of our pieces tells about the face of God how even in the midst of the darkness His hand will reach in and keeps us stabilized sufficient enough just to get through the next day, he continued. Thats what we have to do. Thats how we heal. ... We have to become overcomers of this evil. Saylor is the senior pastor of the Gardner Memorial AME Zion Church of Springfield, Massachusetts. He is also the national vice president of the National Gun Victims Actions Council, a non-profit network of 14 million gun victims, survivors, the faith community and ordinary people. Saylors son, 20-year-old Shane Oliver, was shot dead in a violent street encounter in 2012. Despite his steely resolve that faith leaders should stand and serve in the face of evil however, he also understands that those who heal must get healing when they need it too. So on Friday, he joined a group of community and faith leaders at the museum who became first responders to mass trauma for a screening of clips from a new media resource recently released by Odyssey Impact called Healing The Healers. The series highlights the need for support for faith leaders who respond to mass trauma. This mass trauma can be like the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where Adam Lanza, 20, gunned down 28 people including himself and his mother, or ongoing gun-violence in urban communities like where Saylors son was killed. The new Healing The Healers series is hosted by the Rev. Matthew Crebbin, a senior pastor at Newtown Congregational Church who was present in ministry at the time of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. It was also created in partnership with the Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth to help communities prepare for and navigate complex trauma, and foster support and recovery in the aftermath of violent incidents. One of the reasons we want to inform you about trauma is when communities are traumatized and people dont understand trauma, then people start accepting behaviors and conditions as normal because they dont recognize that this is as a result of people behaving due to trauma, Crebbin said Friday. Not being informed about trauma means we start accepting normal circumstances in our world as this is operational as opposed to saying actually when were traumatized it means our world doesnt function properly and appropriately in all kinds of ways. So really the idea is by being mindful about trauma and helping to teach it, thats why we have clergy being aware about trauma, he explained. Clergy are serving in communities that are traumatized and dont even know it. I look back at my ministry and say there are people that came into my doors that were traumatized and I didnt recognize it. I didnt know what was happening with them and I gave it to other things as opposed to recognizing now and saying Oh my gosh. That was a traumatized person. I could have responded differently to them if I had understood that, he said. And thats why its so important to inform those folks that are going to be engaging it because we tend to be transformative in all kinds of ways including how we deal with things in policy and political life. For Saylor, it wasnt until the loss of his son that he truly began to understand the impact of trauma. He talked about how two weeks prior to Shanes death he was at a rally with a group of Hispanic women who were protesting the violent murder of a young woman in their community. I didnt know what to say to them. I had to get off the parade. I was speaking empty words into their lives and they werent responding, he said explaining how vowed not to attend another vigil. Two weeks later, I led the parade of pain. I know what it was like to look into the lifeless body of a son and couldnt answer, couldnt get a life. I had to go on trusting in God, he said. I go around the country now and tell people One lady in Baltimore said it was like an 80-pound gorilla got lifted off her chest just by sharing her story. Rev. Dr. Storm Swain, associate professor of pastoral care and theology director of Anglican studies at United Lutheran Seminary, called the new series a real gift to those of us in theological education. Trauma collects as time because we tend to store those traumatic memories in the amygdala in a sensory way and they dont necessarily get processed through hippocampal pathways. But kairos time is like that as well, kairos time and sacred time. I think that for many that have been involved in disaster response and recovery, we go into that sacred time and we can go back there in a moment as well, she said. She also praised the relationships that allowed the stories highlighted in the series to be told in a way that did not re-traumatize those who told them. We can share those stories but the reality is, because its sacred, we dont share those stories with everybody and I think theres something about the gift and the healer in the Healers series with Odyssey is that Matt invites these conversations, she explained, because he is a safe person to talk to. You have been there and walked through the valley of the shadow of death. That those relationships are either there already or invite that conversation in a way that is safe and invites us to witness rather than to be in a voyeuristic relationship, she said. More and more we are trying to bring disaster care into seminary life and they have been using some of these videos. The Rev. Dr. Trace Haythorn, executive director and CEO of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education explained that the practice of clinical gospel education began almost 100 years ago because people thought they were leaving seminary schools ill-equipped to address the basic pastoral needs of people in the community. Trauma, he said, is something the students are increasingly beginning to face. It is common now for us to have students working in emergency rooms and trauma one centers so they are receiving this on a daily basis. And having to learning how to integrate that as they are trying to learn how to do the work at the same time. Now with the preponderance of disasters, whether natural or human or human accident, among all three, students have to develop a whole new set of skills and we work with folks across the whole spectrum of faith perspectives, Haythorn said. So from the atheist chaplain which are two words I had not put together until recently, thats now something we see more and more of, all the way to folks who are orthodox traditions whatever their faith group. Probably one of the most important groups that we have seen emerging in this work, there are folks for whom the idea of chaplaincy wasnt a part of their faith tradition at all. Most recently thats been in the Muslim community, he added. Nick Stuart, CEO of Odyssey Impact, called the series one of the most important things weve ever done. Ive been at international film festivals all over the place, we have won awards but this was really faith in action at its most important. One of the things we learned from Newtown, the film we made, is that the community turns to faith leaders for meaning, for understanding or even just to stand with them, he said. Everyone assumes that faith leaders are supermen and women, that theyve got the answers and somehow their strength or faith, means theyre almost immune to that pain and theyre not. We realized that really quickly and we thought, we could do something. Are our faith leaders being trained, are they being supported, and we thought well put together some resources and well help but also a campaign to urge denominations that they must put in place support for their ministers and pastors, Stuart noted. Its their duty almost. You cant just put trained ministers and then send them out without the training to deal with mass trauma. Im hoping this will help. Kirsten Kelly, senior producer for Transform Films and Odyssey Impact, who worked on the series, said it was a sacred journey. Its not something I expected in my filmmaking life and I think that working with Rev. Crebbin, really being along with him and trying to capture him and these conversations authentically and intimately as possible has been a challenge but also an important challenge to really wrap your arms around, she said. I think through each of the episodes in the series as a whole, I think the greatest message that we as a society understand, [is] the isolation that often these faith leaders face in these traumas and tragedies, Kelly said. If we can strengthen the communities both within your small congregation, within your community at large, that that strength is what will be your support in the darker moments. No one can do it alone, especially when that healer or that pastor is being asked almost to sacrifice their own personal feelings, or journey of grief, in order to lead and help others. That can often be isolating. James MacDonald fights over firing, assets of Harvest Bible Chapel amid murder-for-hire allegations Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Harvest Bible Chapel founder James MacDonald is still contesting his firing from the greater Chicago megachurch even as police investigate murder for hire allegations. Elders at the embattled megachurch revealed in an announcement Saturday that MacDonald is pursuing arbitration with the church to settle a dispute over his firing and the churchs broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word. On May 16, 2019, we received a letter informing us that James MacDonald is pursuing arbitration with Harvest Bible Chapel through the Institute for Christian Conciliation, the church said. Arbitration is a method used to resolve disputes outside of the courts. Essentially, it allows a group of arbitrators to listen to arguments presented by both parties and then the arbitrators decide how this issue will be settled. Both parties submit to the decision of the arbitrators as it is legally binding. This is not a lawsuit in a court of law, and James has not sued our church by taking this action. The issues of this claim primarily involve the termination of James MacDonald and the ownership of Walk in the Word, the announcement continued. MacDonalds Feb. 12 ouster from Harvest Bible Chapel was triggered by "highly inappropriate recorded comments" he made on a radio program as well as "other conduct." He was recorded talking about planting child pornography on Christianity Today CEO's Harold Smith's computer, and making crude remarks about independent journalist Julie Roys including joking that she had an affair with CT Editor-in-Chief Mark Galli and a vulgar reference to Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He also exited the megachurch under a cloud of allegations of financial abuse. The elders maintain that he was fired for cause and that Walk in the Word belongs to the church. As the leaders of this church, we are committing to communicating about this arbitration process as it progresses. There is no desire to keep this matter unnecessarily private. We expect this to take months, not weeks. The Elders and Church Leadership Team are united in their position that James MacDonalds termination was with cause and that Walk in the Word is a ministry of Harvest Bible Chapel, they insisted. The announcement came just days before police in Illinois confirmed they are investigating new claims that James MacDonald sought to find a hitman to commit murder multiple times. A subject came in and filed a report and we are doing an investigation based on that report, Wilmette Deputy Police Chief Pat Collins confirmed with The Christian Post Monday. The allegations regarding MacDonalds efforts to commit murder were first reported by independent journalist Julie Roys, who cited Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller and Emmanuel Manny Bucur, a deacon at HBC and former confidant and volunteer bodyguard of MacDonalds, as the individuals making the claims. Bucur told Roys that in 2015, MacDonald asked him to kill his former son-in-law, Tony Groves, and offered to help dispose of the body. He argued that he did not report MacDonald because he was angry about his daughter allegedly being hurt, and chalked up the proposal as a momentary lapse in judgment. On Monday Muller published a pre-recorded interview with Bucur speaking under the alias George in which the former volunteer bodyguard first revealed MacDonalds proposal. As it turns out Im not the only one hes approached and asked about this which is just insane how many people he thought he could trust to ask something as crazy as this you know. Whats to say he wont come after me? Bucur a combat marine veteran said. I basically told him, were not talking about this. I cant believe you would even ask me this. I shut it down and that was the end of that, he explained. Bucur, who said he believes MacDonald got away with millions from HBC, noted he also had to get a restraining order against MacDonald for trespassing at his house. Muller alleges that MacDonald asked him at least twice in 2018 if he knew a hitman he could hire. Initially, he thought that the HBC founder was joking but it became clear to him during a conversation in December that MacDonald was really serious, and he told him that this was something he could go to Hell for. He came to me and wanted me to have a hitman and he wanted me to hire a hitman and my understanding was to kill one of his rivals. At that moment, I realized I was in a cult, this guy was bad, and I couldnt support it any longer. Do I think he was kidding? No. I think he really wanted me to find a hitman for him as I had found other people to do deeds for him. Had he stepped up and apologized, had they (HBC) done any kind of forensic audit, had anybody done anything right at any step of the way at this place called Harvest, I wouldnt have done this today, he said. He was a good friend with me and he could have trusted me with anything but hiring someone, seriously, I said you dont want to kill someone here? You could go to Hell for that. And I tried to talk him off the ledge but man it scared me and it frightened me and I also thought I wouldnt be able to get here today without him killing me. Im very afraid of the guy, Muller said on the podcast. Megachurch founder James MacDonald allegedly sought murder for hire, police investigating Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Police in Illinois are currently investigating allegations that Harvest Bible Chapel founder James MacDonald sought to find a hitman to commit murder. A subject came in and filed a report and we are doing an investigation based on that report, Wilmette Deputy Police Chief Pat Collins confirmed with The Christian Post Monday. The allegations regarding MacDonalds efforts to commit murder were first reported by independent journalist Julie Roys, who cited Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller and Emmanuel Manny Bucur, a deacon at HBC and former confidant and volunteer bodyguard of MacDonalds, as the individuals making the claims. Muller alleges that MacDonald asked him at least twice in 2018 if he knew a hitman he could hire. Initially, he thought that the HBC founder was joking but it became clear to him during a conversation in December that MacDonald was really serious, Roys reported. Bucur alleged that about three years before that, in 2015, MacDonald asked him to kill his former son-in-law, Tony Groves, and offered to help dispose of the body. He argued that he did not report MacDonald because he was angry about his daughter allegedly being hurt, and chalked up the proposal as a momentary lapse in judgment. Bucur alleges that MacDonald asked him to kill Groves while they were on a motorcycle trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, from July 31, 2015, to August 2, 2015. Others who were on the trip are: former HBC Assistant Senior Pastor Rick Donald, former Elder and Executive Director of Harvest Bible Fellowship Kent Shaw, former Elder Marcel Olar, and church members Tom Moore and Steve Lupella. During breakfast while at a restaurant in Indiana on the last day of the trip, Bucur said, MacDonald asked him to kill Groves while searching pornography websites for damaging material he feared Groves may have posted of his daughter Abby. MacDonald reportedly asked Bucur if he would be willing to take Tony out. Bucur reportedly responded, Are you asking me what I think youre asking me? It was then that MacDonald confirmed his request and told him that with his background as a combat Marine veteran, it shouldnt be too hard to kill Groves and get away with it. Bucur said he replied, Absolutely not! Were not having this conversation and were not talking about this ever again. Muller confirmed that he filed a report with police where he lives in Wilmette, Illinois on Thursday and said hes terrified of MacDonald, who he believes is dangerous and may be targeting him. Since filing the report, Muller says police have increased patrols around his house while he has also hired private security. Bucur also reportedly filed a separate report with police in Bartlett, Illinois, who said they would allow the Wilmette investigation to continue rather than open up a second investigation. Under Illinois law, a person who requests or encourages someone to murder another person is guilty of solicitation of murder which is a Class X felony which comes with a 15-30 years prison sentence. Purity culture harmed thousands of evangelical teens; what did the Church get wrong about sex? Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment For evangelical Christian teens growing up in the 1990s-2000s, purity culture was ubiquitous. From purity rings to True Love Waits pledges, millions of adolescents across the country formally vowed to abstain from sex and save themselves for marriage. But for some, the movement carried with it long-term, damaging implications. Amid the rise of the #MeToo movement paired with reports of sex abuse within the Church, individuals whose lives were shaped by purity culture began to push back. They shared stories of how some of the more problematic aspects of the movement, though well-intentioned, caused them to have an unhealthy relationship with religion, relationships, and sex. Cait West, an English tutor in Grand Rapids, Michigan, grew up in a home that practiced Christian patriarchy, a movement in which women live within strictly enforced ideas of wifely submission and male headship. The movement places an emphasis on sexual abstinence before marriage and promotes a strict approach to romance: no casual dating, only serious courtship aimed at marriage, with parental involvement throughout the process. West recalled how, growing up, she was shamed for normal adolescent curiosity, ordered to avoid one-on-one interactions with someone of the opposite sex, and was taught that any kind of sexual thought bore the same weight as fornication. Dating was never an option, she told The Christian Post. I was never taught about sex or sexuality at all. I remember asking my parents, testing the waters, Whats this about? And they brushed it aside. I was never allowed to explore or ask questions, so I never thought of myself as a sexual being because of that. The underlying teaching is that women as sexual beings are bad, she said. Youre not supposed to be sexual at all. So for women, any kind of sexual thoughts are tied to shame. The biggest visible example of purity teaching was the emphasis on modesty. She recalled how, before purchasing an item of clothing, her father would first appraise her body, gauging the modesty of her outfit. My father would come to the store with me and judge everything I had on, she said. That overt male gaze judging my clothing throughout my adolescence and into my 20s really shaped how I thought of myself because I never thought who I was from my perspective. As she got older, West said the feelings of shame, anxiety, and fear stemming from her experience in evangelical purity culture only grew. It wasnt until she left the movement at 25 that she realized the magnitude of the emotional, physical, and spiritual trauma shed endured. I felt very disconnected from my own body because I was never taught about the sexual part of me, she said. I didnt want to think about my own body or explore my own sexuality because it was a dirty part of me I wasnt allowed to explore. It made me feel weird about living in my own body, and I didnt realize just how much I hated my own body until I left the movement. Now married, West said she still struggles to connect with her own body and sexuality. Ive had a lot of trouble with disassociation in sexually intimate moments because its too much for me to be present in my own body because it feels bad," she admitted. "For years, youre told something is bad and then suddenly you get married and youre supposed to be OK with it. It was like I was trained not to have that part of me turned on or be aware of things. Ive been working through that process of figuring out what those toxic messages were and re-train myself to have agency, she added. Jeremy and Audrey Roloff, former stars of the hit TLC show Little People, Big World," famously practiced abstinence until their wedding day in 2014. The couple told CP that their decision to abstain from sex until marriage happened in spite of their immersion in purity culture not because of it. Christian culture kind of missed the boat a little bit; they were trying to pull up the weeds instead of grabbing them by the root, Jeremy said. So all of these boundaries were set up and teens were told not to do XY, but there was no clear reason as to why. Audrey pointed out that oftentimes, girls who were given purity rings were told that was the end of the conversation. Often, it was suggested that those who lost their virginity were beyond redemption. In the church I grew up in, nothing was talked about. It was just, dont have sex, there was no discussion outside what was assumed to be the norm, she said. Youre told sex is bad until married, but youre not told how good sex can be within marriage. "I wish that had been communicated to me as a teen," she added wistfully, "so I actually understood why I was supposed to refrain. "This is no small thing" According to Linda Kay Klein, author of Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Women and How I Broke Free, such testimonies are not uncommon. After struggling with years of sexual and gender-based shame, fear, and anxiety stemming from her own experience with purity culture, Klein decided it was time to change the conversation. Over a decade ago, she began compiling dozens of testimonies from childhood friends involved in the purity movement. What she found was astonishing: All the women she talked to experienced similar feelings of fear, shame and anxiety in relation to sex. My interviewees made different life choices, yet among their stories, I heard many of the same themes, she shared. I heard about sexual and gender-based shame, fear, anxiety, and experiences stemming from their shame that mimicked Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder, such as nightmares, panic attacks, and paranoia. Several of my interviewees told me their shame was also creating deep problems in their marriages, particularly in their marriage beds. She pointed out that purity teachings often place the onus disproportionately on adolescent girls and women: As women, it was said it was also our job to ensure that we didnt inspire sexual thoughts or feelings in men by the way that they walked, talked or dressed, she said. In other words, girls grew up with the message that not only did we need to be pure, but it was our responsibility to ensure that the whole community was pure. Thats a lot of pressure for a young girl! But the most damaging aspect of the purity movement, she said, is its reliance on shaming. Shame, she explained, is the feeling I am something bad, as opposed to guilt, which is the feeling I did something bad." Klein argued that shame is so deeply interwoven throughout purity teachings they become a significant part of a persons identity. That, she said, is no small thing. Shame isnt bashfulness, she said. It is a feeling of our being unworthy, or being seen as unworthy in other peoples eyes, that causes us to disconnect from ourselves, from others, andfrom what Ive seen in my interviewsfrom God at times. It can lead to emotional isolation which can develop into dangerous levels of hopelessness, desperation, subsequent self-harm, and much more. Proponents of the purity movement Although not a new phenomenon, the purity culture movement took off in the late 1980s and 1990s as a reaction to the AIDS crisis and the sexual revolution of the 1960s-'80s. On a deeper level, however, it stemmed from a widespread concern within the evangelical community that the traditional family was in crisis. The movement was popularized in part through the work of James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family who was once described as the the nations most influential evangelical leader by The New York Times. When my dad did the first Focus on the Family series in 1979, he was 43 years old. That's young, Dobsons son, Ryan, told The Christian Post. He had to be the expert, and the truth is, he was. Christian leaders, activists rallying to support Lutheran pastor threatened with deportation Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Christian leaders and activists are demanding the release of a student pastor and her husband, who were recently arrested by immigration officials and face possible deportation. The Rev. Betty Rendon, a pastor at Emaus Evangelical Lutheran Church in Racine, Wisconsin, was arrested earlier this month along with other members of her family in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on her home. Voces de La Frontera, a local human rights group, posted a petition online on Wednesday calling on supporters to demand that ICE not deport the pastor back to her native Colombia. It is urgent that [there] be a strong public outcry to achieve the release of Pastor Betty and her family, stated the group. This familys experience highlights the actual implementation of the Trump administrations shock-and-awe plan to arrest and detain thousands of parents and children in a targeted operation against families in major cities across the U.S. The Rev. Marcy Wieties, another pastor at Emaus ELCA, told The Christian Post on Wednesday that the congregation is working to raise money to support the family in various ways. "The money collected is being used not only for legal fees, but also to assist Carlos and Betty's daughter and granddaughter, who were living with them," explained Wieties. "In addition, we are collecting cards and notes for the family at the church. It was more logical to collect them and forward them as a bundle, as their location has changed and mail will not be forwarded from the previous detention center after any relocation." Wietes also told CP that the church and others "continue to advocate for their release and to pray for the family." Earlier this month, Emaus ELCA announced on their Facebook page that Pastor Rendon, along with her husband, her daughter Paula, and another relative were arrested by ICE on May 8. According to the church, the operation began when ICE agents arrested Paula while she was driving her 5-year-old daughter to school. ICE agents targeted Paula even though, according to her, she was protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The agents took the wheel of the car and drove them back to the house, where Pastor Rendons husband, Carlos, was leaving home for work. The agents shouted at him in English, which he does not speak well, shook him violently, and shoved him towards the car, explained the church in a May 14 post. They ordered him to open the door of the house. Once the door was open, they forced their way in. A group of ICE vehicles with numerous officers then converged on the house and poured inside, brandishing their weapons and pointing them at the family. While Paula was eventually released, Rendon and her husband were officially detained. At issue was the fact that the pastor had fled Colombias civil war, but was denied asylum. While issued an order of deportation back in 2009, it had not been executed. We are at a loss to explain why ICE should have decided to execute it now, just as Pastor Rendon is beginning her doctoral studies in preaching at the [Lutheran School of Theology] in Chicago, continued Emaus. Last week, a vigil was held by the Racine Interfaith Coalition outside of the Kenosha County Detention Center, where the pastor and her family were being held. ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod Bishop Paul Erickson told those gathered at the vigil that Betty and her family are refugees, having fled violence and almost certain death had they remained in their homeland of Colombia. We gather in prayer, filled with anger, concern and love for all our neighbors who happen to be refugees and immigrants in our midst, stated Bishop Erickson, as reported by Living Lutheran. Wieties of Emaus told CP that since the ICE raid, the family members still in custody have been moved to different detention centers. "Betty, Carlos, and Felipe have been moved to other detention centers. Betty and Carlos were transferred to the Pulaski Detention Center in Ullin, Illinois," noted Wieties. "Felipe was transferred to the McHenry Detention Center in Woodstock, Illinois. Attorneys continue to work on their cases, but it is now very difficult for anyone, including their family, to have any conversations with them. Therefore, we are uncertain about their current status." Facebook Censors Pro-Life Ads Featuring Babies Who Survived Premature Birth Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The social media giant Facebook removed and rejected a pro-life group's election advertisements featuring the stories of two babies who survived premature births. The Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life advocacy organization that has knocked on over 2 million doors nationwide this year to drive turnout for the 2018 midterms, cried foul this week after Facebook took steps to censor two of its 30-second advertisements. One of the video ads features the the success story of Micah Pickering, who was born at 22 weeks of gestation. Mother, Danielle Pickering, says in the video that anyone who says that "a baby at 20 weeks doesn't have a right to live" should come see Micah. At the end of the video, a narrator says that Iowa's Democrat candidate for governor, Fred Hubbell, "supports painful late-term abortions" and is "just too extreme for Iowa." The second video features the success story of Charlotte Ryun, who was born at 24 weeks of gestation. In the video, Charlotte's father, Ned, says that people who are "advocating late-term abortions" should "look" at Charlotte. A narrator at the end of the commercial says: "Unborn babies deserve protection. Vote pro-life in November." In an Oct. 12 email, a Facebook representative told SBA List that its "Charlotte" advertisement could not be approved because it features "sensational or graphic content." The email told SBA List to edit the ad to be in compliance with its advertising policy, noting that it prohibits ads that "depict medical procedures and conditions." In the "Charlotte" ad, one scene featured a doctor pointing to an ultrasound machine. Another featured a picture of a very tiny newborn Charlotte in a neonatal intensive care unit just barely being able to hold onto the tip of her father's finger. As for the "Micah" video advertisement, it had already been running on Facebook for 13 days before administrators removed the advertisement without much explanation, according to SBA List. "We have reviewed your ad more closely and have determined that it doesn't comply with our Advertising Policies," Facebook's email to SBA List about the "Micah" ad states. The "Micah" ad also featured photos of the small newborn inside of a NICU. SBA List Vice President for Communications Mallory Quigley told The Christian Post on Thursday that the organization appealed Facebook's decisions on their advertisements. Quigley said the "Micah" video advertisement has been reinstated but didn't know of the status of the "Charlotte" video. When it comes to advertisements, Facebook takes more editorial control over what ads it allows to run verses what content it will allow a standard user to post. Facebook's "sensational content" advertising policy states: "Ads must not contain shocking, sensational, disrespectful or excessively violent content." "Facebook is censoring our campaign, slowing us down in the final days ahead of the [Nov. 6] election," Quigley told The Washington Free Beacon. CP reached out to Facebook for comment. A response was not received before press time. Facebook, as well as other social media giants like Twitter, have faced accusations that they have taken steps to censor pro-life content and advertisements. Earlier this year, Facebook had placed, then lifted, a ban on paid ads promoting a pro-life film that was produced by Martin Luther King Jr.'s Niece, Alveda King. Last year, Twitter blocked a pro-life group from placing ads that showed unborn babies on grounds the ads violate Twitter's "hate and sensitive policy." The Human Coalition, a pro-life non-profit, had its ads banned by Twitter, earlier this year. "While Twitter, for example, allows Planned Parenthood to promote abortion and publish other offensive content unchecked, Human Coalition has been repeatedly blocked and stalled from running truthful content that is in-line with Twitter's own policies," Human Coalition co-founder Brian Fisher said. "Likewise, after backlash from abortion activists, Apple removed Human Coalition's pro-life prayer app from its App Store without warning." Is Google Censoring Anti-Abortion Group From Top Search Results Lists? Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A leading pro-life organization is accusing Google of manipulating the parameters of its search engine to drastically reduce its exposure when people search for information about abortion. Operation Rescue, which maintains records on abortion clinics and abortionists in the United States, says that since May it's seen a massive drop in the number of people going to its fact page Abortions in America, which had previously been the most-visited page on the site. According to the pro-life group, its Abortions in America fact page "previously appeared on Google in top five hits on the search 'Abortions in US,' and was a top referrer to OperationRescue.org. It has since been buried off the first results page and well down the list. "The page was also dropped off the first page of results for the search 'Abortion Statistics,' which had been one of Operation Rescue's top search referrals," Cheryl Sullenger, senior vice president of Operation Rescue, said in a July 5 press release. Sullenger added that the Abortions in America page, which displays graphs and data about abortion facts, had been receiving an average of about 16,000 views per month. "The page's views peaked in January 2017, at 37,111 views, and was well on the way to a record-breaking year. Within the month of May, views mysteriously decreased by more than half over the previous month. In June, it received only 1,512 views. During the last seven days of June, it only received 307 views," she said. In a Google search on Sunday, The Christian Post found that under the search term "Abortion in US" a link to Operation Rescue was no longer on the first page but is now found on the second page, well behind a link to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, which keeps its own records on abortion statistics. Under that same search, however, Operation Rescue was listed ahead of Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in the U.S., which was found on the third page. Under the search term "Abortion Statistics" a link to Operation Rescue was found on the first page, but well behind the Guttmacher Institute and the Women's Center group of abortion clinics based in Orlando, Florida. Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said in a statement that Google's censorship "has revealed its pro-abortion agenda that is determined to deprive the public from seeing the truth about abortion displayed in incontrovertible facts and statistics drawn from a number of sources." Another site Operation Rescue maintains is AbortionDocs.org, which keeps updated records of health and safety violations at abortion clinics nationwide, as well as malpractice lawsuits against abortionists. Last month, CP reported that ads by pro-life groups had also been censored by Twitter because their pro-life content allegedly violated the social media platform's "hate and sensitive content policy." Twitter had been flagging Live Action's tweets and refused to allow the pro-life group to buy ads with the company, Lila Rose, the organization's founder and president, told Fox News' Tucker Carlson. Live Action isn't the only pro-life group whose ads have been banned by Twitter. The social media platform also refused to allow the Susan B. Anthony List, a political action committee that works to get pro-life women elected to Congress, to buy ads. The SBA-List had put out a tweet that quoted Mother Teresa, reading: "Abortion is profoundly anti-woman. Three quarters of its victims are women and children: Half the babies and all the mothers." That message "violated Twitter's policy prohibiting 'the promotion of health and pharmaceutical products and services,'" the social media company reportedly said. The tweets Twitter has deemed hateful and insensitive are ones that show ultrasound images, fact-check Planned Parenthood's claims, and discussions of the beauty of prenatal life, Rose said in a previous statement to CP. Twitter particularly took issue with a proposed ad that showed a photo of a baby in the womb with text that read: "I Am Not a Potential Human" at the top and "I Am a Human With Potential" at the bottom. Google changes policy after complaints about pro-life pregnancy center ads Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Internet giant Google has initiated a new policy requiring pro-life pregnancy centers and abortion clinics to get clearance before they can advertise through the search engine. Health clinics and organizations that want to run ads through Google using keywords relating to abortion in the United States and the United Kingdom now must first be certified by the left-leaning tech giant as an advertiser that either provides abortions or does not provide abortions. If you are not certified, you wont be able to run ads using keywords related to getting an abortion, the company said in an announcement of its new policy. Googles announcement comes days after receiving complaints from Democratic lawmakers about the impact that pro-life crisis pregnancy centers, which try to encourage women not to abort their unborn babies, are having through Google advertising. According to Google, an advertiser will be considered one that provides abortions only if they provide abortions at their own facilities. These would include advertisers such as hospitals, abortion clinics or physicians offices. Meanwhile, Google will consider an advertiser to be a non-provider if they dont provide abortions at their own facilities. This may include organizations that provide pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, abortion counseling, general abortion information, abortion referrals, or that otherwise serve pregnant women but do not provide abortions, the announcement reads. For the purposes of abortion advertiser certification and disclosure policy requirements, this may also include advertisers promoting non-service-based abortion content for example, books about abortion or perspectives on abortion. Depending on how an advertiser is certified, Google will generate disclosures for advertisements. Abortion advertisers will be labeled as provides abortions or does not provide abortions. The disclosures will show on all search ad formats and help ensure that these ads transparently provide basic information users need to decide which abortion-related ads are most relevant to them, Google says. Advertisers will have to apply for certification through a process in which they will be asked to explain whether or not their organization or facility provides abortions. Google also stresses that certification could be revoked if advertisers conceal or misstate information related to their organization. The policy change comes as abortion activists have complained for years about how Google enables deceptive pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to advertise as if they were an abortion provider. Googles new policy directly followed a report from the U.K. news outlet The Guardian that stated that Google awarded up to $150,000 in free advertising to the California-based pro-life organization Orbia Group, an entity that operates a network of clinics funded by Catholic organizations. Last week, Democrat Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York and Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon sent a letter to Google, demanding that the platform remove advertisements promoting what they called fake clinics. Google should be well aware of the deceptive advertising practices of these types of organizations, the lawmakers wrote. Your company previously took numerous actions to remove advertisements for crisis pregnancy centers because they violate Googles internal advertising policy. In 2014, Google removed a number of pro-life center advertisements after receiving complaints from the abortion lobbying group NARAL Pro-Choice America. Meanwhile, a number of tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Apple have been accused of censoring the pro-life viewpoint. Last October, Facebook censored a pro-life election ad that featured the stories of two babies who survived premature births. Organizations that run pro-life pregnancy clinics have also faced censorship. Googles announcement also comes as a number of U.S. states have recently passed restrictive abortion laws. Last week, the state of Alabama passed a near-complete ban on abortion that did not include exceptions for rape and incest. In Missouri, lawmakers passed a bill criminalizing abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy without exceptions to rape and incest. In Georgia, a bill passed banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Greg Lauries crazy, chaotic childhood and his path to faith Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pastor Greg Laurie, founder of Harvest Crusade and Harvest America and the pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, once had a crazy, chaotic childhood, but a chance encounter with the gospel set him on course to become one of the most transformative pastors of the modern era. Laurie, who has traveled the nation to deliver the gospel to massive audiences in recent decades and who authored the book Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today, recently shared his own personal converstion story during an appearance on PureFlix.coms Pure Talk. READ ALSO: The 9 Christian Values That Change Lives [I had a] crazy, chaotic childhood, so when I was 17, I felt like I was 70, Laurie said, explaining that his mother was an alcoholic. Id seen a lot of horrible things that a little boy shouldnt see. Watch Laurie share his powerful story of coming to faith: At one point, Laurie fell into drugs, but then an incredible encounter with a group of Christians changed everything. The preacher recounted a group known as the Jesus freaks would sometimes meet on his high school campus. Friends warned Laurie to stay away, but one day he found himself eavesdropping on the groups discussion and what he heard forever changed the trajectory of his life. Thats the first time I heard the gospel, he said. I understood it and thats the day I gave my life to Christ. Now, Laurie wants Americans to look at their own personal journeys to ignite personal revival and hes encouraging people to pray for a spiritual revival in America a much-needed cultural resurgence of interest in the Christian message. READ ALSO: 25 Bible Verses About Loving Others The ultimate solution for America is not a political solution but its ultimately a spiritual solution, he said. Laurie spoke about how he became a Christian during the Jesus movement, a time in the 1960s and 1970s when Christianity was sweeping America, among other locations. Considering that America has had a total of four great awakenings that changed the course of the country, he offered up some hallmarks of the Jesus movement that he said are worth considering as Christians look ahead in hopes of another spiritual awakening. In addition to passionate worship, Laurie saw a focus on evangelism, a belief that Jesus could return at any moment, a real focus on Bible exposition and an openness to the holy spirit. [There was a] sense that we need God to work, we want God to work, he said. While some might look at culture and doubt the possibility of another great awakening, Laurie believes its quite possible that society is on a path toward revival. Sometimes, in the darkest of times thats when the revivals happen, he said. READ ALSO: I Committed Murder: How a Violent Gang Member Found Jesus Laurie also warned against the quest to be so culturally relevant that Christians lose spiritual meaning. Were so good at relevance, but in some cases were losing our core message, he said. If we compromise our message on the altar of relevance, weve missed it all. Laurie concluded, Lets not lower our standards in order to extend our reach. 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. Jada Pinkett Smith says she was addicted to porn, thought it was filling an emptiness Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment On the latest episode of her hit Facebook series, "Red Table Talk," actress Jada Pinkett Smith and her team discussed the unhealthy effects of porn. On Monday's episode of RTT, Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow, and her mom Adrienne explored the negative effect on pornography on relationships. "Back in the day I had a little porn addiction, but I wasn't in a relationship when I had a porn addiction, believe it or not, thank goodness," the actress admitted while the trio got ready before heading to the table. I actually feel like I was using addiction a little lightly. And maybe Ill say now that I had an unhealthy relationship to porn at one point in my life where I was trying to practice abstinence, Pinkett Smith, who's been married to Will Smith for over 20 years, added. Her 18-year-old daughter asked if her "fixation" to porn came from an "emotional" place. The honest mother shared that it did. "It was actually, like, filling, like, an emptiness. At least you think it is, but it's actually not," Pinkett Smith explained, before further examining the effect porn has on sexual intimacy. "Actually reading some of the effects of pornography, the idea that it gives you false expectations as far as sexual interactions, I can definitely see that with men. How a woman should always be willing and ready. She should be ready to have sex however he wants, in any position, anywhere, and you should enjoy it no matter what. And it shouldn't just be joy, but it should be exhilaration, she continued. "In pornography, youre never tired. There's never a 'no,' so I can definitely see how that can create an unrealistic expectation." In the 23-minute episode, Pinkett Smith and her family invited a special guest couple who explained how being addicted to porn almost destroyed their marriage. They went on to share how "detrimental" pornography can be to a persons career and personal relationships. Pinkett Smith said that 40 million people in the United States are bound by an addiction to sexual content on the internet. The RTT co-host is not the only one in Hollywood to speak out against the industry. In 2017, comedian Chris Rock opened up about struggling with a porn addiction that ended his 16-year marriage to Malaak Compton. Actor Terry Crews, who turned to faith, also came forward to speak out against pornography. In 2016, Crews posted a video on Facebook admitting that his obsession with X-rated content ended his marriage to Rebecca King Crews. "It changes the way you think about people. People become objects," he said. "It affected everything. I didn't tell my wife ... didn't tell my friends. Nobody knew, but the internet allowed that little secret to just stay and grow. It was something that my wife was literally like, 'I don't know you anymore. I'm out of here.'" "Pornography really, really messed up my life in a lot of ways," Crews added. Fortunately, God restored Crews and his marriage and now the couple use their influence to share their testimony with others. Researchers have found that Pinkett Smith and Crews' experience is the norm for porn users. Research published last Summer found that porn and loneliness fuel each other in a "vicious cycle." James MacDonald threatened worker with gun, practiced shooting at HBCs camp: police report Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Embattled Harvest Bible Chapel founder James MacDonald, who allegedly sought to hire a hitman to commit murder, is also alleged to be a gun-toting bully who practiced his shooting at the churchs camp. He once pointed a gun at a former worker who requested payment, witnesses told police. The details were revealed in a heavily redacted report from Wilmette police in Illinois in which McDonald denied to one would-be victim that he had shopped for a contractor to murder the individual. MacDonald had learned of the podcast and murder for hire talk. MacDonald told [redacted] the rumors that he wanted [redacted] killed were untrue, the report says. The allegations regarding MacDonalds efforts to commit murder were first reported by independent journalist Julie Roys, who cited Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller and Emmanuel Manny Bucur, a deacon at HBC and former confidant and volunteer bodyguard of MacDonalds, as the individuals making the claims. While all the names in the recently released report have been redacted except MacDonalds, Muller confirmed that he filed the report last Thursday that triggered the investigation into the murder-for-hire allegations against MacDonald. Concern over MacDonald was raised, according to the report, because of his guns. [Redacted] said it was well known that MacDonald is always armed. [Redacted] heard two specific stories concerning MacDonald and firearms. The church owns a large property in Michigan where they run a camp. MacDonald would shoot long guns there and used pictures of peoples spouses he disliked as targets, the report says. The other example concerned a contractor working on MacDonalds [redacted] residence. The contractor requested payment for his work, but MacDonald pointed a rifle at the man instead and pushed him down some steps, it continues. When witnesses were asked why they waited so long to report MacDonald, one cited fear as a major factor. I asked why there was a delay reporting these events to police. [Redacted] suspected one of the reasons [redacted] filed the police report on 5/16/19 was because a reporter present at the podcast asked [redacted] the same question. The reason [redacted] cited during the podcast for the delay was because [redacted] is afraid of MacDonald, the report says. The police report notes that while the investigation "revealed no chargeable criminal offenses within Wilmette's jurisdiction," the case has been referred to another unnamed jurisdiction for "potential further criminal investigation." Bucur told Roys that in 2015, MacDonald asked him to kill his former son-in-law, Tony Groves, and offered to help dispose of the body. He argued that he did not report MacDonald because the pastor was angry about his daughter allegedly being hurt. The report alluded to a secretly recorded sex session involving his daughter and son-in-law that had sent MacDonald scouring porn sites for evidence. On Monday, Muller published a pre-recorded interview with Bucur speaking under the alias George in which the former volunteer bodyguard first revealed MacDonalds proposal. Bucur, who said he believes MacDonald got away with millions from HBC, noted he also had to get a restraining order against MacDonald for trespassing at his house. Investigators who conferred with the FBI on the case said the agency did not deem the information from the report of any evidentiary value. The IRS, which was also contacted about the case, said it could take no action without tax and financial information. MacDonalds Feb. 12 ouster from Harvest Bible Chapel was triggered by "highly inappropriate recorded comments" he made on a radio program as well as "other conduct." He was recorded talking about planting child pornography on Christianity Today CEO's Harold Smith's computer, and making crude remarks about independent journalist Julie Roys including joking that she had an affair with CT Editor-in-Chief Mark Galli and a vulgar reference to Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He also exited the megachurch under a cloud of allegations of financial abuse. Elders at the embattled megachurch revealed in an announcement Saturday that MacDonald is pursuing arbitration with the church to settle a dispute over his firing and the churchs broadcast ministry, Walk in the Word. Liberal UMC leaders promise wide variety of resistance tactics against Church position on LGBT issues Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Theologically progressive United Methodist Church clergy and activists have promised a wide variety of resistance tactics against the denomination's official opposition to homosexuality and gay marriage. Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, the largest UMC congregation in the United States, hosted a gathering of about 600 pro-LGBT United Methodists called UMC Next this week. At issue was the recent reaffirmation of the UMC Book of Disciplines position that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching and barred same-sex marriages as well as the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals known as the Traditional Plan. During a press conference held Wednesday on the final day of UMC Next, Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli, senior pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church of Washington, D.C., told those gathered that there would be a wide variety of resistance tactics to the Churchs official position. For some of us, resisting the Traditional Plan means violating the Book of Discipline. For some persons in their context, it might not, said Gaines-Cirelli. There will need to be a wide variety of resistance tactics all leaning into and seeking to help accomplish the commitments that we have made together here. Gaines-Cirelli added that others will risk other kinds of things, but not for a variety of reasons be able or willing at this time to break the rules of the Plan, of the Discipline. Junius Dotson, general secretary of the UMC Discipleship Ministries, then commented that there are many forms of resistance and people have to decide how they will participate. What people should hear is that as this movement grows and as people are joining this movement, there are going to be different, varying levels of resistance depending on where people are, Dotson said. Mark Tooley, president of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy and himself a United Methodist, told The Christian Post that he viewed the UMC Next event as evidence that pro-LGBT churches were planning to leave. This group has essentially formed the embryo of a new denomination and possibly more than one new denomination. They want a new Methodism that is distinct from the current global church with its orthodox teaching, of which they are ashamed, said Tooley. They are calling for resistance and political action within denomination while also acknowledging some will leave earlier than others to form their new entities. Tooley also told CP that he believed those at the press conference tacitly admit they have lost at the general church level and that the departure of liberal UMC members and churches will unfold incrementally, depending on local context. Adam Hamilton, lead pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, who has long advocated for the UMC to remove its official position against homosexuality, explained in a YouTube video posted Wednesday that during the second day of the UMC Next event, they took a preliminary vote and found that attendees were divided over whether to leave the denomination. The division was between those who said were ready to dissolve the UMC and form the next new thing. So we want to reform by taking people out of the church and starting something new. And there were those who said no, we want to reform from within, said Hamilton. John Lomperis, a General Conference delegate and member of the IRD, told CP that resistance calls should be recognized as an unnecessary choice to selfishly drag our denomination through further avoidable conflict, while arrogantly refusing to listen to Scripture, to the Holy Spirit who inspired Scripture, to the relevant writings of John Wesley, and to the communal discernment of United Methodists outside of their narrow ideological faction. Such resistance is unlikely to achieve any more than these same activists were able to achieve in trying to push the 2019 General Conference to adopt their liberal plan, added Lomperis. In late February, at the special session of General Conference, a majority of delegates voted in favor of a proposal known as the Traditional Plan. Approved by a vote of 438 to 384, the Traditional Plan upheld the UMCs official opposition to homosexuality, gay marriage, and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals, while also ensuring stricter enforcement of the rules. Also, a petition was approved allowing for congregations who may oppose the UMCs official position to leave the denomination with their property and assets intact. Pastor Talbot Davis of Good Shepherd UMC of Charlotte, which averages about 2,000 worshippers every Sunday, told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that he supported the result. I am delighted that the Special General Conference of the United Methodist Church adopted the Traditional Plan as we believe in the beautiful picture of celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in heterosexual marriage that is woven throughout the pages of Scripture as well as church teaching for since its inception, said Davis. We gladly join with our global brothers and sisters in teaching this truth with as much love and winsomeness as we can. In April, most of the Traditional Plan, as well as the petition allowing a more gracious exit for dissenting congregations, was upheld by the United Methodist Judicial Council. While declaring some of the petitions within the Traditional Plan to be unconstitutional, Judicial Council Decision 1378 nevertheless upheld most of the petitions, including a few that mandated stricter enforcement of the UMCs prohibitions on gay ordination and same-sex marriage ceremonies. These petitions are not so closely related that a change in one affects the others. The petitions held unconstitutional have no effect on the petitions declared constitutional, read Decision 1378. The constitutional petitions are not dependent on the unconstitutional petitions and can survive without the unconstitutional petitions. A proponent of the defeated One Church Plan, which would have allowed regional bodies within the UMC to determine their own stance on LGBT issues, Hamilton openly talked of leaving the UMC following the special session. I think it would not be hard, said Hamilton in an interview with The Kansas City Star that was published days after the special session ended. I think our folks here love the United Methodist Church they love the kind of church we have created and so we could start a new United Methodist Church and thousands of churches would join us." Pakistan Christians beaten by mob after mosque accuses them of blasphemy: report Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A small Christian community in Pakistan is living in fear after they were reportedly attacked last week by a mob of enraged radicals because a nearby mosque accused its members of committing blasphemy following an altercation with a Muslim man. The London-based charity British Pakistani Christian Association reports that two Christian families in the Arif Wala Tehsil district of Punjab province were forced to flee from their homes after the attack last Wednesday by a mob of about 40 Muslim men and children with weapons. According to BPCA, which is providing financial assistance to the community, the mob was incited by a local mosque that claimed over its loudspeakers that the Christians had insulted Islam. The mosque allegedly called for Muslim believers to bond together to force the minority Christian community of about seven families out of the village. Five Christian men from the community are being held in protective custody at a local police station after they were accused by the Muslim man who started the initial altercation of attempted murder. "Local police from Arifwala police have confirmed that thus far no blasphemy charge has been made which is comforting for the Christian families, BPCA field officer Mehwish Bhatti said. "However we call on people to pray for this situation to improve as Christian families are not sending their children to school for fear that they will be kidnapped or attacked or worse still killed. Bhatti added that a number of Muslim shopkeepers in the community are not selling to Christian families. Some families have expressed their desperate plea for help as they have had to go without food on some days, she explained. "Shukantilla [a 60-year-old mother] was upset because all the earning hands in her family are in police custody. The tensions in the community were heightened on May 15 when a Muslim man named Syed Bashir engaged in a phone conversation outside of the home of a Christian family of eight, witnesses told BPCA. But as Bashir began shouting and using foul language, family members became alarmed. It was then that 25-year-old son Naveed Masih asked the man to kindly move his conversation further away from the household. However, Bashir responded by calling Masih a dirty cleaner, an expletive used to describe Christians who are often given dirty jobs in Muslim-majority Pakistan. Bashir also reportedly threatened Masih with death and stated that he would carry out his phone conversations in front of the Masih home every day from there on out. Those who spoke with BPCA said that Bashir punched Masih in the eye, which led Masih to defend himself. Then the rest of the family ran outside to pull Masih back into the house. Bashir allegedly threatened the family with retaliation and left. Because of the threat, Naveed Masih filed charges of trespassing against Bashir at a police station in Arifwala. Around 7 p.m. that night, the Masih family overheard an announcement coming from the public address system of the mosque calling for Muslims to push the blasphemers out of the community. "This was a horrifying moment for my whole family and other Christians, Shukantila Farzand told BPCA. "In our panic, we started to get ourselves ready to flee our homes and get far away from the village, however, we were all too slow. She said that Muslims gathered outside her familys home, which also serves as the church where the seven Christian families and other Christians from surrounding villages worship. "The violent mob surrounded our home and all of them had weapons including guns which were being shot in the air, sticks, axes, poles and farming tools, Shukantila continued, adding that even small children were carrying weapons. "The mob began shouting outside our home, asking for our family to exit our home and receive divine retribution for our sin. Members from another Christian family in the neighborhood came out of their home in an attempt to appeal to the mob in peace, BPCA notes. However, that family was beaten. The mob reportedly told the family to leave the area or be burned alive in their homes. Members of the Masih family then came out of their home to help the other family. BPCA reports that between the two Christian families, seven men were beaten while some Christian women were also beaten when they came out to help. According to BPCA, the women returned home when they were told by members of the mob that they would be kidnapped or raped. The Christian families were aided by Muslim women who intervened in the violence and helped the families to escape. The two families sought shelter in the home of a moderate Muslim lawyer. When the mob threatened the lawyer to release the families, the lawyer called the police and filed a report against the mob. That caused the mob to disperse. Bhatti confirmed with the local police station that no charges of blasphemy have been filed against the Christian community, a crime that is punishable by death or life in prison. However, Naveed Masih, his father, his brother, and two other Christian men were accused by Bashir of attempted murder. While the five Christian men are being held in protective custody, BPCA maintains that their detention is only a ploy to get the enraged radicals to think that they had been arrested. The charges reported to police are in the process of being investigated. Although there are evidence and witnesses who can attest to the mob attack occurring against the Christian community, no one who participated in the mob has been arrested, according to BPCA. BPCA field officer Zeeshan Masih visited with the families after they returned back to their homes. He too reported being threatened by local men for supporting the Christian families. "Clear crimes have been committed by those who formed the violent mob and the evidence of a prominent local Muslim lawyer will no doubt help bring some justice into the situation over time, BPCA Chairman Wilson Chowdhry said in a statement. "However, we are fearful of the existing social-tension and have alerted local police of our concerns for other Christians outside of police custody. Pakistan ranks as the fifth worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2019 World Watch List. As a Muslim-majority country, Christians make up around 2 percent of the nations population and regularly face discrimination. Religious freedom advocates have long spoken out against Pakistans blasphemy laws, contending that they are often used by Muslims to persecute or settle scores with religious minorities. Thousands of Pakistani Christians over the years have fled to become refugees in nations like Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malaysia in hopes of being given asylum in a safer country. Last year, the U.S. State Department designated Pakistan, a strategic ally in the region, as a country of particular concern for having engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom. United Nations urges US to 'ensure' abortion rights, slams passage of statewide bans Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment In response to recent laws passed in conservative states that could provoke a U.S. Supreme Court challenge to abortion rights, the United Nations is calling on the United States government to ensure that women in the country can get an abortion. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told Reuters this week that evidence has shown that bans on abortion actually jeopardize the life, health and safety of the women concerned and do not reduce the number of abortions. She argued that laws such as the ones passed in Alabama, Georgia, and other states are inherently discriminatory because they affect impoverished women from minority backgrounds and marginalized communities. We are very concerned that several U.S. states have passed laws severely restricting access to safe abortion for women, including by imposing criminal penalties on the women themselves and on abortion service providers, Shamdasani was quoted as saying. So we are calling on the United States and all other countries to ensure that women have access to safe abortions. At an absolute minimum, in cases of rape, incest and fetal anomaly, there needs to be safe access to abortions. Last week, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that bans nearly all abortions in the state without exceptions for cases of rape or incest. The bill does provide for an exception in the case where the mothers life is at risk Days later, Missouri passed a law banning abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy that also did not include exceptions for rape and incest. The bill has not yet been signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson but he has indicated that he will sign the bill. Earlier this month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy but did include exceptions for rape, incest and when the mothers life is at risk. So far in 2019, eight states with Republican-controlled legislatures have passed some sort of abortion restriction, which if challenged legally could be brought before the conservative-majority Supreme Court to challenge the courts landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. In that decision, the court made it a national right for a woman to seek an abortion until the fetus is viable. Abortion advocates have long claimed that legal restrictions to abortion will increase the number of women who seek illegal abortion and that any restriction to abortion would cause hundreds if not thousands of women to die from back-alley abortions. However, pro-life activists have refuted that claim. In 1972, the year before Roe, while there were 39 deaths from illegal abortion and 24 deaths in the handful of states where abortion was legal, a report from the pro-life organization Live Action reads, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control. In 1973, the year the Supreme Court forced abortion on the nation, the CDC reports 19 deaths from illegal abortions and 25 deaths from legal abortion. It should be noted that more recent CDC data shows that the number of deaths from both legal and illegal abortion has dwindled over the years as abortion has become more accessible. However, the CDC found that at least six women died as a result of legal abortion complications in 2014, the last year in which data is available. The annual number of deaths related to legal induced abortion has fluctuated from year to year over the past 40 years, the CDC reports. For example, nine legal induced abortion-related deaths occurred in 1998, four in 1999, and 11 in 2000. The national legal induced abortion case-fatality rate for 20082014 was 0.62 legal induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 reported legal abortions, the CDC added. This case-fatality rate was similar to the rate for most of the preceding 5-year periods but lower than the case-fatality rate of 2.09 legal induced abortion-related deaths per 100,000 reported legal abortions for the 5-year period (19731977) immediately following nationwide legalization of abortion in 1973. Pro-life leaders criticize Trump for saying it's 'foolish' to oppose rape, incest exceptions Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pro-life leaders are criticizing President Donald Trump, who some supporters say is the most pro-life president ever, after he suggested this weekend that new abortion bans in Alabama and Missouri that dont include exceptions in the cases of rape or incest go too far. The Radical Left, with late term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue. We must stick together and Win for Life in 2020, Trump wrote in a Twitter thread over the weekend. If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear! ....for Life in 2020. If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019 Trumps tweet comes as other prominent Republican leaders like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney joined liberals in voicing concern after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law last week legislation that has been labeled a near total ban on abortion in the state. Alabamas Human Life Protection Act effectively makes it a felony for an abortion provider to perform an abortion in the state if they are outside of the bounds of the exceptions. The law would not hold women who get an abortion criminally responsible. The new law allows for exceptions in cases where the mothers life is at risk or where fetus cant survive. Just days later, a bill was passed in Missouri banning abortions after eight weeks without exceptions in the cases of rape and incest. Trump, whose administration has advanced a number of pro-life policies during his first two-plus years in office, has maintained that he believes in having exceptions in abortion laws for cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. In his Twitter thread, the 72-year-old president stated that he holds the same position taken by former Republican President Ronald Reagan. We have come very far in the last two years with 105 wonderful new Federal Judges (many more to come), two great new Supreme Court Justices, the Mexico City Policy, and a whole new & positive attitude about the Right to Life, Trump assured pro-lifers in his thread. Lila Rose, who runs the pro-life advocacy organization Live Action, responded to Trumps tweet by thanking him for the pro-life advancements his administration has made. But she argued that in order to be pro-life, we must be 100% pro-life. A child of rape or incest is not a 2nd-class citizen, she wrote in the tweet. No woman or girl is served by abortion or immune to its trauma, including survivors of rape and incest. Live Actions Twitter account responded to Trumps tweet by posting a video of a testimony provided by Jennifer Christie, who was raped on a business trip and impregnated. Rape or incest are horrible situations, and abusers need to be held fully to the law but abortion is not the path to healing, the Live Action account wrote in the tweet. In another tweet, Live Action also reminded followers that Valerie Gatto, former Miss Pennsylvania, was conceived in rape. Her mother was brutally attacked at knifepoint when she was 19 but rejected abortion, the tweet reads. Ryan Bomberger, a pro-life activist who himself was conceived in rape and adopted by a loving family, penned an op-ed last week responding to criticisms of the Alabama law titled I am the 1 percent used to justify 100 percent of abortions. Im not the residue of the rapist, as Senator Vivian Davis Figures described those like me who were conceived in rape, Bomberger wrote. I couldnt control the circumstances of my conception. When it comes to rape and abortion, how do you heal violence with more violence? he asked. Lets be real here. Even if Alabamas Human Life Protection Act had a rape and incest exception, the confused Handmaids Tale cosplayers would still be out in full force. Fake feminists need to exploit tragedy to promote their false equality. And they never seem to find space in their screeds to talk about punishing the actual criminal the rapist. Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who founded the ex-abortion worker ministry Then There Were None, responded to Trumps tweet with a photo of her adopted son. My son was conceived in rape. I would love for you to meet him, @realDonaldTrump, and tell me how his life isnt as valuable as my children conceived in love, Johnson tweeted. He deserved to live and Im so thankful that he does. Johnson, whose memoir was the focal point of the 2019 movie Unplanned," also responded to critics of the Alabama bill on Twitter last week. If we allow some children to die because of certain circumstances, then we become eugenicists, she wrote. No better than Hitler. In other conservative states, laws have passed that would ban abortion once a heartbeat is detected. Four states in the last year have passed laws banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, while Missouri recently passed its law banning abortion at eight weeks of pregnancy. Some note that the timing of such bills being passed at the state level are part of a conservative effort to have an abortion case reach the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the courts 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which made abortion a national right. Pro-life leaders are criticizing President Donald Trump, who supporters say is the most pro-life president ever, after he suggested this weekend Alabamas law that bans abortion even in the cases of rape or incest goes too far. Texas legislature advances Save Chick-fil-A religious freedom bill Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The Texas legislature is moving forward with a proposed bill aimed at protecting businesses like Chick-fil-A from being discriminated against due to donations to religious groups that oppose homosexuality. Texas Senate Bill 1978, commonly known as the Save Chick-fil-A bill, tentatively passed the state house on Monday in a vote of 79 ayes to 62 nays. It awaits a procedural House vote before being returned to the state Senate for a final vote. Republican State Representative Matt Krause of Fort Worth, the House sponsor for the bill, said in a statement that the bill was aimed at protecting people who donated to socially conservative religious groups. What we want to make sure is if you donate to the Salvation Army, you won't be labeled as bigoted, stated Rep. Krause, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. Democratic State Representative Julie Johnson denounced the bill, saying she believed that if the legislation is passed it will face a lengthy legal challenge. The underlying message remains the same and that message poisons this state. It sends the message that Texas is not open and welcoming to all, stated Johnson, as reported by the Texas Tribune. SB 1978 came in direct response to the San Antonio City Councils recent decision to ban a Chick-fil-A restaurant from being part of an airports food court. In March, the City Council voted 6-4 to remove Chick-fil-A from a concession agreement with San Antonio International Airport. At issue was Chick-fil-As connections to socially conservative nonprofits and its owners stated opposition to same-sex marriage. Councilman Roberto Trevino, who championed the removal of Chick-fil-A from the agreement, celebrated the vote result as an example of San Antonio becoming a champion of equality and inclusion. San Antonio is a city full of compassion, and we do not have room in our public facilities for a business with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior, said Trevino, as reported by NBC News. However, Councilman and mayoral candidate Greg Brockhouse penned an open letter of apology to Chick-fil-A owner Dan Cathy over the vote result. The recent actions of our City Council do not reflect the overwhelming belief in our City that you are a valued business and community partner, wrote Brockhouse. In spite of the appearance of this decision, San Antonio is a welcoming City that values diversity, faith and inclusivity. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced in response to the outcry that he was investigating whether the City Council decision violated the First Amendment. The Constitutions protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-As chicken. Unfortunately, I have serious concerns that both are under assault at the San Antonio airport, wrote Paxton in an official letter to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. I have directed my office to open an investigation into whether the Citys action violates state law. I trust the City will fully cooperate with my investigation into this matter, and will abide by relevant federal and state laws in the future." Churches file lawsuit against Texas city over allegedly excessive water fees Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Three churches have filed a lawsuit against a city in Texas, accusing the local government of charging them water fees that are higher than that for commercial businesses. Magnolia Bible Church, Magnolias First Baptist Church and Believers Fellowship filed the petition against the city of Magnolia last week in the District Court of Montgomery County. According to the suit, Magnolia took unprecedented action to recoup property tax revenue from churches when in March 2018 they adopted an ordinance for tax-exempt entities that increased the fees for water usage by changing their status from commercial to institutional. Mike Berry, chief of staff for First Liberty Institute, which is representing the churches, said in a statement that Texas law clearly exempts religious and non-profit organizations from taxation. Magnolias water fee scheme hinders these churches from providing many vital services to the community because of the governments unquenchable thirst for taxpayer money, stated Berry. These churches offer a multitude of services to their communities, and over-charging their water limits the services they can provide the community. According to the lawsuit, the citys decision came as a way to help close a financial gap between the rising cost for providing water to a growing population and revenues that were not increasing fast enough. This new Institutional Water Rate marked a dramatic shift in the status quo. Under the Citys old water rate, institutional users such as churches paid the same rate as commercial users. But under the new rate, the City now forces them to pay a significantly higher rate than that of their commercial counterparts, the lawsuit states. To be more specific, the institutional users bear water rates up to nearly 75% greater than commercial users. For instance, a church that uses 5,000 gallons of water bears a water rate of $52.50, whereas a similarly situated commercial user would pay only $30 for that same amount of waterless than two-thirds of the cost borne by the church. Texas Pastors Council sent a letter of protest to Magnolia city leaders in June of last year but their letter was ignored, the lawsuit says. Last December, a counsel for the churches sent a letter to city leadership asking them to reconsider the new water fee rate. However, the fee remained. In sum, Magnolia citizens pleaded with the City to change its course. It did not. And because the City appears bent on levying disproportionate, backdoor taxes on tax-exempt religious organizations, the Churches are now left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to force the City to comply with the law, the lawsuit states. Do religious couples have happier marriages? Multi-nation reports finds it's complicated Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Certain secular progressive couples and religious conservative couples are the most satisfied with their relationships, according to a new report. The Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institution of Brigham Young University released a report titled, The Ties that Bind: Is Faith a Global Force for Good or Ill in the Family? The researchers analyzed data on family issues from the World Values Survey and the Global Family and Gender Survey, looking at 11 nations: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Canada, Colombia, France, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Regarding overall relationship quality, the researchers found a "J-curve" for female respondents when going along the ideological spectrum from most progressive to most conservative. Women at the bookends of the spectrum had the best marriages progressive couples and traditional religious couples showed the highest relationship quality in their marriages while the nominally religious scored lowest with their marriages. Respondents were placed into three categories based upon how often they and their spouses attend religious services: shared secular, mixed and less religious, and highly religious. Progressive gender views were those who mostly or completely disagreed with the statement, It is usually better for everyone involved if the father takes the lead in working outside the home and the mother takes the lead in caring for the home and family. Those who mostly or completely agreed with the statement were labeled "traditional." With these variables, respondents fell into six categories: 1) shared secular, progressive; 2) shared secular, traditional; 3) less/mixed religious, progressive; 4) less/mixed religious, traditional; 5) highly religious, progressive; 6) highly religious, traditional. Secular women with progressive gender views married to secular men with progressive gender views scored a 16.52 on an additive index score that includes relationship attachment, commitment, satisfaction, and stability. This was the third highest after the two highly religious categories. Women in shared secular traditional relationships, less religious or mixed religion progressive relationships, and less religious or mixed religion traditional relationships scored the lowest. Women in highly religious progressive relationships scored second highest, at 16.91, and women in highly religious conservative relationships scored the highest at 17.64. The only two categories where the women showed higher marriage quality than men on average were shared secular progressive and highly religious traditional. "... women in shared secular, progressive relationships enjoy comparatively high levels of relationship quality, whereas women in the ideological and religious middle report lower levels of relationship quality, as do traditionalist women in secular relationships; but women in highly religious relationships, especially traditionalists, report the highest levels of relationship quality," noted the Executive Summary of the report. "In sum, the impact of gender ideology on contemporary family life may vary a great deal by whether or not a couple is highly religious, nominally religious, or secular." W. Bradford Wilcox, Jason S. Carroll and Laurie DeRose, the researchers who authored the Executive Summary, explained in a New York Times column published Saturday that extremely liberal and extremely conservative women were the most likely to be very happy with their marriage, at 69 percent and 72 percent, respectively. In fact, in listening to the happiest secular progressive wives and their religiously conservative counterparts, we noticed something they share in common: devoted family men, they said. Both feminism and faith give family men a clear code: They are supposed to play a big role in their kids lives. Devoted dads are de rigueur in these two communities. And it shows: Both culturally progressive and religiously conservative fathers report high levels of paternal engagement. The report also found that data for the 11 countries suggested that religious couples have more kids, better relationships and better sex, but the levels of domestic violence are the same as non-religious couples. When it comes to relationship quality in heterosexual relationships, highly religious couples enjoy higher-quality relationships and more sexual satisfaction, compared to less/mixed religious couples and secular couples, noted the reports Executive Summary. For instance, women in highly religious relationships are about 50% more likely to report that they are strongly satisfied with their sexual relationship than their secular and less religious counterparts. Another finding was that religious couples averaged slightly more children than couples who rarely or never attend worship services, with the researchers concluding that religions positive influence on fertility has become stronger in recent decades. Today, people ages 18-49 who attend religious services regularly have 0.27 more children than those who never, or practically never, attend, continued the Executive Summary. The report also indicates that marriage plays an important role in explaining religions continued positive influence on childbearing because religious men and women are more likely to marry compared to their more secular peers, and the married have more children than the unmarried. While concluding that religion is a force for good in contemporary family life for the sampled 11 countries, the report acknowledged that domestic violence was equally likely to happen between religious couples as secular couples, with researchers stating that intimate partner violence (IPV) did not differ in a statistically significant way by religiosity. Slightly more than 20% of the men in our sample report perpetuating IPV, and a bit more than 20% of the women in our sample indicate that they have been victims of IPV in their relationship, noted the Executive Summary. Our results suggest, then, that religion is not protective against domestic violence for this sample of couples from the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. However, religion is not an increased risk factor for domestic violence in these countries, either. Maryland student sues school for allegedly forcing her to promote Islamic beliefs in class Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A former high school students parents are taking their lawsuit against a Maryland school district over allegedly being forced to promote Muslim beliefs to the U.S. Supreme Court. The parents of Caleigh Wood, who are represented by the Thomas More Law Center, asked the Supreme Court last week to hear an appeal in a suit they filed against Charles County Public Schools. Law Center President Richard Thompson said in a statement released last Wednesday that he believed some public schools have become a hot bed of Islamic propaganda. Under the guise of teaching history or social studies, public schools across America are promoting the religion of Islam in ways that would never be tolerated for Christianity or any other religion, stated Thompson. Prompted by zealous Islamic activism and emboldened by confusing court decisions, schools are now bending over backwards to promote Islam while at the same time denigrate Christianity. We are asking the Supreme Court to provide the necessary legal guidance to resolve the insidious discrimination against Christians in our public schools. In January 2016, the law center filed a suit on behalf of the Wood family against the school district in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. According to the complaint, during the 2014-2015 academic year, 11th grader and devout Christian Wood was compelled to promote Islamic beliefs during a world history class. Allegedly, students were taught that most Muslims faith is stronger than the average Christian and instructed to recite passages from the Quran and the shahada, or Muslim statement of faith. The lawsuit also claimed that Wood and the other students were instructed that the Islamic religion is a fact while Christianity and Judaism are just beliefs. For example that the Quran is the word of Allah as revealed to Muhammad in the same way that Jews and Christians believe the Torah and the Gospels were revealed to Moses and the New Testament writers, explained the 2016 lawsuit. During its brief instruction on Christianity, Defendants failed to cover any portion of the Bible or other non-Islamic religious texts, such as the Ten Commandments. Instead, the class included disparaging remarks about Christianity and the Pope. Wood refused to do the assignment on the basis of religious objection and requested to do an alternative assignment. The school rejected the request and gave her a failing grade. In September 2016, District Court Judge George Hazel ruled against the Wood family, rejecting a preliminary injunction against the school district and partly granting a motion to dismiss. In February, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the district court ruling in a unanimous decision. Circuit Judge Barbara Keenan, author of the panel opinion, wrote that the court decided that the history course did not violate Woods First Amendment rights, because they did not impermissibly endorse any religion and did not compel Wood to profess any belief. Nothing in the record indicates that the comparative faith statement was made with a subjective purpose of advancing Islam over Christianity, or for any other predominately religious purpose, wrote Judge Keenan. The students were not required to memorize the shahada, to recite it, or even to write the complete statement of faith. Instead, the worksheet included a variety of factual information related to Islam and merely asked the students to demonstrate their understanding of the material by completing the partial sentences. Pastor credits 'divine intervention' after locating 8-y-o kidnapped girl: 'God literally led us to this place' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A pastor who located an 8-year-old girl abducted in Fort Worth, Texas has credited divine intervention for her miraculous recovery, saying God literally led him to her location. Jeff King, pastor at Bear Creek Bible Church in Keller, helped track down Salem Sabatka after she was abducted by Michael Webb, 51, while out walking with her mother in Fort Worth on Saturday. Video footage of the kidnapping showed the girls mother jumping into the grey Ford Five Hundred and desperately trying to save her daughter before Webb shoved her out and drove off. After King, a childhood friend of Salem's parents, heard about the incident, he and a friend began canvassing the streets of Fort Worth searching for the suspect's car. I was sitting at home with my wife when a friend texted and said that our friends' daughter had been kidnapped. All I could think is what are we going to do to help? King told NBC DFW. We were told by detectives the best places to check are hotels, apartments, and parks. The two men searched until after midnight when they got a tip from someone that they should check out a hotel in Forest Hill. After searching the car park at the tip-off location they found no sign of the suspect's car. However, after pulling into the Wood Springs Suites hotel, the two men saw a car that fit the description. God literally led us to this place. It was not on my itinerary, we were not trying to go there, we just drove by. It was divine intervention, 100 percent, King said. The pastor and father-of-two called the police, who then found Salem in the hotel miles away from where she had been abducted. It was a crazy moment. I asked police, 'Did I hear that right? Did they find her? Is she safe?' he said. Then finally one officer said, 'Yes sir, they have her.' Police allowed King to be the one to call Salem's parents and tell them the little girl had been found alive. "I feel like God allowed me to be a tool," the pastor said. On Facebook, Bear Creek Bible Church celebrated the littles girls recovery, writing: The Lord is so faithful! Following the little girls recovery, King, who local media dubbed a "hero," led a prayer at a press conference in her neighborhood. Thank you, Father, that shes alive and shes with us still and that she has a wonderful life to live ahead of her, Father, he prayed. I cant thank You enough for the redemption and grace You show us all the time. I cant thank You enough for the death of Your son on the cross as a substitutionary atonement in our place. Father, I cant thank You enough for last night and being able to locate that vehicle. Thank you, Father, for guiding us every step of the way. According to NBC, part of the kidnapping was captured on the doorbell camera of a neighbor. Footage shows the card speeding off before Salems mother dialed 911, screaming: Help me please, someone call the police, my daughter just got kidnapped. Police quickly started looking for the girl and sent out alerts with photos and details of the car. Webb, who had a lengthy criminal history including being charged with aggravated and sexual assault in April 2018 was arrested eight hours later and booked on a charge of aggravated kidnapping. Those of you who have camera doorbells, keep them going, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price said at a press conference. They were a huge help in getting this settled. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The goal of the new, strict Alabama abortion law is to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. The law would penalize abortion doctors, and it contains no exception clauses, except for the life and health of the mother. In all of the brouhaha about the new Alabama law, there is a long-stilled voice that has been forgotten. That of the repentant Roe of Roe v. Wade. Of course, Norma McCorvey was the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade. After converting to Christ and the pro-life position (about 15 years after the Supreme Court decision), she proclaimed to the world that the whole case had been based on a lie (a few lies, really). Chief among the lies was that she was raped (gang-raped at that), and that was why she needed an abortion. By the time, Roe v. Wade was decided on January 22, 1973, Norma had already had her baby (a girl), whom she gave up for adoption. Justice William Rehnquist, one of two dissenters in the decision, voted against it because it was a moot point. Roes baby had already been born. The opinion of Roe of Roe v. Wade is significant for the abortion debate, including the Alabama law, because abortion was accepted on a wide scale throughout the country, only by judicial fiat. It was not something we the people voted on. Look at how divided the country continues to be on the subject of abortion. Well, why not? We the people did not decide that case on that fateful Monday. Dissenting Justice Byron White, the only Justice appointed by JFK, said that Roe was an act of raw judicial power. Those who live by court decisions should die by court decisions. And Roe herself, after her pro-life and Christian conversion, tried to legally overturn Roe v. Wade since it was all based on lies. Therefore, if the new Alabama law helps overturn Roe, so be it. Yet one person called the Alabama law a major step towards the death of democracy. Oh brother. The Constitution shows that the courts, including the Supreme Court, were never designed to legislate or execute our laws. There obviously was a time when Roe favored abortion. She was in opposition to Henry Wade---the pro-life attorney general of Texas, where Norma was living at the time of the lawsuit that worked its way up to the high Court. In an interview with D. James Kennedy Ministries television, she said, My story began many, many years ago in 1969 when I found myself pregnant, on the streets. I was into drugs, and I really didnt have any other alternatives in line. I did not believe in God, and Id fallen away from the church at a very early age. Jumping ahead, change came about because of new neighbors moving in. Unwelcome neighbors at first. What transformed her in particular was meeting a little girl who truly loved God. Norma continued, In retrospect, when I look back on those days, and I see what a sad person I was, I have to really kind of smile and think about little Emily: a little seven year old girl who came up to me at my office one day and told me that if I knew God that I wouldnt be going to the place downstairs. She befriended me when Operation Rescue moved in next door to the abortion clinic where I worked. And at first I didnt like them there because they reminded me of what we were doing. I worked in an abortion clinic. We killed children for a living. She added, I was a child-killer. I was an executioner.Theres a fellow in the Bible; his name was Baal. He was into child sacrificing, and thats basically what youre doing out there today---you are sacrificing your child for a career, or high school or college. Norma found forgiveness through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who died for sinners, paying the penalty for our sins, for those who believe: And I think once youre forgiven by God, you should forgive yourself. But then you really should not put yourself in that kind of situation either. Norma warns against what happens in an abortion: You are totally different after youve had an abortion. Abortion kind of sucks your soul dry; it makes you a very angry person inside, from what Ive seen. This is why for the last several years of her life until her death in 2017, Norma McCorvey fought against abortion on demand. She would have welcomed Alabamas new law as a way to try to undo the damage of Roe. She said: We want the child-killing to stop.There are other alternatives, other than abortion; theres adoption.We dont want to see Roe v. Wade to be the law of the land anymore. We want our children back. Jerry Newcombe, D.Min., is an on-air host/senior producer for D. James Kennedy Ministries. He has written/co-written 28 books, e.g., The Unstoppable Jesus Christ, Doubting Thomas (w/ Mark Beliles, on Jefferson), and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (w/ D. James Kennedy) & the bestseller, George Washington's Sacred Fire (w/ Peter Lillback) djkm.org @newcombejerry www.jerrynewcombe.com Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Commentator Kirsten Powers wrote a USA Today column lamenting recent state initiatives to limit abortion, describing herself as both pro-choice and pro-life. She recalled her own conversion to Evangelicalism a decade ago and more recent induction into Roman Catholicism. She wrote: Throughout this period, I was surrounded by people who believe that one could not be a real Christian if they werent pro-life. I wanted to be a real Christian. Though I didnt see much in what I read in the Bible to justify this litmus test, I was new to the faith and trusted those who seemed more theologically knowledgeable. Of course the Roman Catholic Church, which Powers has joined, has an emphatic teaching about the humanity of unborn human life and its merits for protection by civil society. Many social and political issues are matters of Christian prudential judgment. But for Roman Catholics, their churchs teaching on abortion is binding. As a Protestant, Ive always been perplexed by committed Catholics, especially adult converts, who presumably have carefully pondered their churchs truth claims, and then reject or minimize them. Why join or remain with an institution and faith tradition whose core premises are deeply faulty? Powers is a journalist and thought leader who presumably was catechized in Catholic teaching during her induction into the church. She knows this church has a very long, deep and rich ethical tradition about human life that cannot be encapsulated by a few Bible verses. Yet in her column she does not engage her churchs teaching at all. Instead she treats the issue as merely another hot button in American culture wars. Some ardent Catholics might dismiss Powers as a de facto Protestant, asserting sweeping truth claims against Roman Catholic teaching based on individual preference alone. But this caricature, although found among many individual Protestants, is not true of classic Protestantism. Every major stream of historic Christianity, including Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox, believe in a corporate Body of Christ alive across millennia and all cultures, sustained by the Holy Spirit. No individual Christian in any church is left isolated to craft his or her own corpus of ethical teachings. Instead, wonderfully, every Christian has access to an incredible moral tradition shaped and sustained by saints, martyrs and scholars from every land and era. Christians, on the great theological and moral imperatives, are not called to be lonely individualists. Instead they are invited to think and reason with the whole Body of Christ, which is a mighty cloud of witnesses whose collective experience and wisdom are immeasurable. Why would any Christian decline this magnificent invitation? Tragically, many Christians arent even really aware of this great moral tradition of which they are heirs. Many American church people argue against historic Christian teaching about marriage, thinking its contingent on merely a few Bible verses that can be contextualized or overridden. They almost never address the universal churchs multifaceted teaching about male and female rooted in creation, emblemized in the redemption story, fulfilled in eschatology, and integrated into liturgy, sacrament, hymnody and ecclesiology. Likewise, many American church people justify their politics based on isolated Bible verses but without reference to historic church teaching about Gods purpose for the state and civil order. All Christian teaching rests ultimately on Scripture. But the church collectively offers reflection, wisdom and insights that autonomous individuals, perusing their Bible alone, will likely not easily discover. Both liberals and conservatives in U.S. Christianity commonly err in their hyper individualism and mutual disregard for or ignorance of wider ecclesial counsel. Powers USA Today column sadly reflects this common penchant for U.S. Christian moral reflection in isolation from the treasures of historic church teaching. This path is well trod but it is also lonely. We may not always like what those treasures offer. But thoughtful Christians should not make serious theological and ethical claims without any reference to those treasures. Why not at least acknowledge what the Communion of Saints, across time and place, has to say? Whether agreeing or disagreeing with the tradition, the encounter will be enriching. Originally posted at Juicy Ecumenism. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Western South Africa is normally arid. The Kalahari and Namib deserts cover much of it. In October 2017, after nearly four years of below-average rainfall intensified by 20152017s extraordinarily powerful El Nino, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille announced that her city of half a million people, perched between the ocean and that arid land, would run out of water in five monthsan event she called Day Zero. Her warning made global headlines and sparked fears of similar situations in cities around the world. Mission-minded Christians, who recognize the tie between environmental stresses like water shortage and poverty, were naturally concerned. Since then, I have regularly received social media forwards with infographics about an impending Day Zero in this city or that. Two of the most popular causes the media blame are climate change and overpopulation. Its easy, and tempting, to blame climate change for natural disasters. Not surprisingly, mainstream media did so with Day Zero. However, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change has not caused any measurable increase in extreme weather events like drought. Even if climate change could influence extreme weather events, there has not been enough of it to increase the frequency or severity of droughts. Climate change has caused no drastic or dangerous increase in global temperature during the past 20 years. Satellite temperature measurements, measurements from remote sensing systems, and those from rural weather stations have shown hardly any significant increase over the period. In all likelihood, this means there has been no drastic change in the behavior of weather patterns across Cape Town, at least not due to increased global temperature. This doesnt mean natural cycles like El Nino cant cause periodic droughts. They can. But they arent climate change, which the IPCC defines as human-induced global warming. So if we rule out climate change, the only other major cause of water stress is increased demand. Are we running out of water because of increased demand and overpopulation? Are people finding it more and more difficult to access quality drinking water? People often assume that population growth is bad for natural resources. They think meeting the needs of a growing population will use up resources. But a simple analysis of resource use in the past 2000 years shows otherwise. Human beings are amazingly good at discovering natural resources. Their ingenuity leads to new technologies that channel, extract, and use water resources more efficiently. The agricultural, industrial, and residential sectors are all testaments to this. From drip irrigation to desalination to low-flow shower heads and waterless urinals to sewage water purification, new technologies enable us to get more water, reuse much of what we get, and achieve more with each use. Despite this, we hear every day that more people are finding it difficult to access quality water for household purposes, and that we are running out of water. These claims prompted me to get to the root of the issue. What is the current state of affairs, globally, for water? Access to safe drinking water increased from 76 percent of the worlds people in 1990 to 91 percent in 2015. An additional 2.6 billion people (more than a third of total population) got improved access to safe drinking water in those 25 years285,000 per day! That is a significant improvement in water accessibility, given the challenges faced by water resources. Major hurdles for water access include rapid depletion of groundwater, unpredictable regional weather patterns, and mismanaged expansion of human settlements. Despite all these, access to quality water resources is rising. Access is improving not only to drinking water but also to water for agriculture and industry. And the number of people with access to improved sanitation facilities almost doubled from 2.8 billion (about half) in 1990 to nearly 5 billion (over two-thirds) in 2015. Day Zero was everyday reality for billions of people who now have access to quality water for drinking, farming, and other purposes. The world is moving away from Day Zero, not towards it. And what about Cape Town? Did Day Zero ever come there? In January 2018, officials pushed it off from March to April 21, then April 12, then April 16. April came and went with no Day Zero. In May, rainfall having returned to normal with the end of the El Nino, they revised their prediction to sometime in 2019. A month ago Reuters could report, Cape Town has apparently made it through the worst of a historic drought without turning off the taps, although the water supply is still tenuous. According to Reuters, it was not a silver bullet but a barrage of efforts that averted disaster. The efforts included reducing agricultural water use by 50 percent and municipal use by nearly as much. The warnings themselves motivated people to reduce water use, but various regulations also contributed. And if the need ever becomes great enough, Cape Town, like all other coastal cities, could desalinate seawater. The cost ranges, depending on processes, energy prices, and economies of scale, from about 3 to 4 tenths of a (U.S.) cent per gallon. That would amount to about 19 to 25 cents a day for theaverage South African, who uses about 62 gallons per day. But the total water rate per gallon would rise by only a fraction of that amount, since most water would still come from less expensive sources. The lesson? Not that theres never danger of water shortages. There is. But, given adequate information, motivation, and cooperation, people can overcome shortages. Theyve been doing it for thousands of years with wells, reservoirs, and aqueducts. Now they have many more tools at their disposal. Yes, as has happened throughout history, some places will experience acute water shortages for various reasons. But those are the exception, not the rule. Contrary to the media scare about Day Zero and droughts due to climate change, theres no reason to think this trend will reverse. With every passing day, improved water access saves thousands of lives. 23 Adventists arrested in Burundi amid 'systematic religious liberty abuse' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Twenty-three Seventh-day Adventist worshipers in the tiny landlocked Central African nation of Burundi were arrested last week and released days later. The denomination says it is facing systematic religious liberty abuse at the hands of the national government. The denomination rejoiced over the release of arrested members and leaders, including the duly-elected head of the Burundi Union Mission, was secured on Friday after days of pressuring the Burundi government to follow international laws. We have received very encouraging news and are happy to indicate that all Seventh-day Adventist detainees in Burundi have been released, the Seventh-day Adventist Church General Conference headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, said in a statement. Prayers have been answered. We thank the Government of Burundi for its role and specifically one of its Members of Parliament, Honorable Justin Niyobuhungiro, for facilitating the releases. General Conference President Ted N.C. Wilson called for a worldwide prayer initiative in response to the struggle that Adventists in Burundi have faced over the last several months due to the governments opposition to duly-elected BUM leadership. The Burundi national government has refused to recognize a BUM leadership change because of its support for the churchs ousted legal representative, Joseph Ndikubwayo, who was removed from the role last year by a committee of the Central and Eastern Africa Division of the Adventist church. Ndikubwayo was also and stripped of his pastoral credentials by the church he served. AFP reports that Ndikubwayo was accused of embezzling church funds and accepting a position with the government that contradicts church doctrine. The ousted leader, however, has reportedly refused to leave the position and has maintained control of the churchs office with help from authorities. The church body boasts as many as 186,000 members in Burundi and 21 million members worldwide. It also operates 23 schools and five clinics in Burundi. In a news release last week, it announced that the 22 members and leaders were arrested on orders of the national government following six months of illegal interference in the administration of the Adventist church in Burundi. Among those arrested was Lamec Barishinga, who was duly elected in November 2018 to serve as president of the BUM. He was arrested on May 10 along with a local field president named Pastor Lambert. Ganoune Diop, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Adventist world church, wrote in a commentary that the former leader still occupies the church office with the help of police while duly-elected church officials have not had the needed access to church property. The coercive nature of this imposition of a leader the Church has removed from his post is not in accordance with the respect due to ecclesiastical institutions, Diop wrote. Empowering and enabling a demoted former church employee is unwarranted and unhelpful. He can no longer in any way represent the Seventh-day Adventist church. His refusal to leave office appears a sabotage of the functioning of the Adventist Church in a country where Adventists occupy positions of responsibility to loyally and wholeheartedly serve their country. Diop assured that religious freedom is the issue which is at the heart of the current crisis. [It] is not only the right to worship according to the dictates of ones conscience, and the right of religious organizations to conduct their affairs without government interference, but is, at a deeper level, freedom from being harmed, hurt, intimidated, humiliated, persecuted, imprisoned, tortured or murdered, Diop argued. Violence against citizens to make them comply with the preferences of those who govern a country is utterly unethical and inhumane. Peaceful persuasion should always be preferred over coercion. An Adventist delegation was sent by Wilson at the invitation of Burundis interior minister Pascal Barandagiye to listen to a government proposal on a plan of succession of Adventist leadership. The ultimate goal of the delegation, Diop explained, was to find a way to end the stand-off regarding who the legal representative is or should be. It would have been simple to accept the churchs proposal to allow the legal representative of the church be the treasurer of the Union, while allowing the duly elected union president to attend to spiritual and administrative affairs of the church entrusted to his care, Diop wrote. But the governments representative we visited in all good faith insisted on his own plan. The situation escalated with the government support of a person removed from his function as a representative of the church. The intransigence of the government seen in dismissing the Churchs proposal to allow the Union treasurer to be the legal representative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Burundi has been surprising. It will certainly not aid in maintaining the peaceful cohesion of a country to which the Adventist Church is committed for sustainable development. Although the detained Adventists have been released, Wilson continues to call for prayers that God will provide a helpful resolution for the challenges facing the Adventist church in Burundi. Nigerian pastor, 16 worshipers kidnapped by gunmen who stormed choir practice Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An evangelical pastor, his daughter, and more than a dozen other churchgoers were reportedly abducted while one person was killed after a team of gunmen attacked villages in the troubled Kaduna state of Nigeria on Sunday. According to Nnamdi Obasi of the International Crisis Group, Rev. Zakariah Ido, 11 girls and five men were abducted from an Evangelical Church Winning All congregation in the village of Dankande in the Birnin Gwari local government area in the early hours of Sunday morning. He tweeted that sources claimed that as many as 20 gunmen were responsible for the attack. The Nigerian online newspaper TheCable reported that the gunmen also impacted a village in the Igabi local government area of Kaduna. It was at about 12:30 midnight. We had combined choir practice in the church with other neighboring communities. We normally hold the combine choir practice from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m, an unnamed witness told The Cable about the church attack in Dankande. The source explained that the armed men surrounded the church and began shooting. Everybody was terrified but there was no how we could run because they had already surrounded the church, the witness explained. According to The Nation, among those abducted at the church are pastor Idos daughter and the son of an Assemblies of God pastor. Pastor Nath Waziri, the district church council secretary, told The Nation that the gunmen asked everyone at the church to surrender their phones and demanded to know who the pastor was. After threatening the choristers they became afraid and showed them the pastor home, Wazir was quoted as saying. They took him away and his daughter with 15 others amongst which there is the son of the pastor of Assemblies of God Church. The Evangelical Church Winning All is one of the countrys largest Christian denominations with over 6,000 congregations. While it hasnt been confirmed who is responsible for the attack and abduction, ThisDay newspaper spoke with an eyewitness who claimed that 30 Fulani extremists armed with guns and machetes were responsible for the attack in the village of Guguwa-Kwate in Igabi local government area. We are helpless because there is nothing we can do other than to report to the police when such incidents happened, the eyewitness said. We have no arms and we cannot stand them, we are just at their mercy because they are well armed and they always come in large numbers. The witness detailed how his nephew was killed by the gunmen during an attack on a home. They entered one house and were beating people, the source said. They kidnapped one man and a woman in the house. The witness added that it was the fifth time that gunmen had invaded their community. About two months ago, they abducted two people in the farm, the witness said. The other person was killed even after we paid them ransom. Christian farming communities throughout the middle belt of Nigeria have faced increasing attacks at the hands of Fulani extremists over the last couple of years with thousands being killed and countless homes and churches being destroyed. In the last several months, the Kaduna state has been hit hard with Fulani violence. In March, the governor had to institute a dusk-to-dawn curfew. While farmer-herder conflicts in the Middle Belt are nothing new, Christians in Nigeria say that the Fulani attacks have escalated in brutality and taken on a religious element in recent years. It is really simplifying catastrophic incidents in Nigeria by saying herder-farmer conflict and that does not solve the problem, Stephen Enada, who co-founded the nongovernmental organization International Committee on Nigeria, told CP in March. We need to face reality on the ground and call a spade a spade. In Southern Kaduna, a village is almost wiped out and over 200 people have been killed in the last week. Nigeria ranks as the 12th-worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2019 World Watch List. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that the State Department designate Nigeria a country of particular concern" for religious freedom violations. Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics hold talks with Church of England bishops over transgender guidance The organisers of an open letter signed by 3,000 lay and ordained members of the Church of England opposing recent transgender guidance have met with bishops to raise their concerns. The guidance published by the House of Bishops last December has encountered huge opposition from conservative members of the Church of England. It formally commends the incorporation of the existing rite for the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith into services of welcome for transgender people. Clergy are advised that services should have a "celebratory character", incorporate elements such as water and oil, and address trans people by their chosen name. An open letter so far been signed by 3,150 people calls the guidance a "misuse" of baptismal liturgy that rejects physical differences between male and female without theological justification. It reads: "Although reaffirmation of baptismal vows might well be appropriate at certain seasons of life, it should primarily be focussed on celebrating new life in Christ rather than a new situation or circumstance, as set out in Common Worship: Christian Initiation, and should always centre on salvation, repentance and faith rather than 'unconditional affirmation'," The evangelical delegation comprised of organisers of the letter - Dr Ian Paul, theologian and member of Archbishops' Council, Dr Edward Dowler, an Anglo-Catholic and Archdeacon of Hastings, Rev Rachel Marszalek, an incumbent in the Diocese of London and member of the Church of England Evangelical Council and Fulcrum, and Rev David Baker, an incumbent in the Diocese of Chichester. They met with the Bishop of Coventry, Dr Christopher Cocksworth, who is also chair of the Church of England's Living in Love and Faith project on Christian teaching and learning about human identity, sexuality and marriage. He was joined by the Bishop of Newcastle, the Rt Rev Christine Hardman and the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev Robert Atwell, as well as staff from Church House. During the meeting, questions were raised about the wording of the guidance as well as the procedures that had been followed in its production. They also raised concerns about the tone of some of the criticism that signatories had received for adding their names to the open letter. Speaking after the meeting, the evangelical delegation said that there was a shared concern on both sides for "respectful public dialogue" on the issue. "It was illuminating to hear of some of the complexities involved, as well as to gain a clear understanding that things could have been done differently. Nevertheless, there remain questions about proper procedure that we would like to be pursued," they said. The continued: "We remain concerned, however, about what seems to us to be ill-considered use of the Bible in the guidance, as well as the apparent influence upon it of highly contested gender ideology. "In the light of our concerns, we continue to believe that the guidance should be withdrawn, until such time as the Living in Love and Faith project is able to offer more considered reflection upon these crucial issues." The bishops were unavailable for comment. The full statement from the evangelical delegation can be read here 'If we abstain, can we complain?' say faith leaders as Brits cast vote in European elections People across the UK will be going to their local polling stations on Thursday to cast their votes in the European elections. UK voters will elect 73 representatives in the European Parliament. Polling is taking place until 22:00 BST in nine constituencies across England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The results will be announced after polling finishes across the whole European Union by 22:00 BST on Sunday. People of faith are being encouraged to get out and vote in the elections despite the imminent prospect of the UK leaving the EU. In a statement, Greater Manchester Faith Community Leaders urged everyone to participate. "We did not expect these European elections. But, no matter how briefly those elected will sit in the European Parliament, we should all take part," they said. "Our communities' health depends upon it. Everyone has the chance to express their view. If we abstain, can we complain? If we stay at home, we may be saying 'Yes' to a political vision that will destroy our society. "That is why we urge all people to vote and why we ask all candidates to promote positive relationships between all of our communities." They urged all candidates to reject and condemn racism, xenophobia, discrimination, violence and harassment. "All of these have no place in a civilised society," they said. They continued: "We respect the unusual circumstances in which these elections have come about. We call on everyone to uphold the democratic values that underpin legitimate debate between people who, with sincerity and integrity, have major differences of view. "The right to vote has been hard won. Let's cherish, protect and use it." Andy Flannagan, executive director of Christians in Politics, also encouraged people to cast their votes on Thursday, saying that "whichever viewpoint we are coming from, throwing our hands in the air is not an option". The Church of England's transgender guidance should be withdrawn The organisers of an open letter signed by 3,150 lay and ordained members of the Church of England, about the House of Bishops' recent guidance on transgender liturgy, have met with leading bishops and officials in London. The delegation comprised Dr Ian Paul, theologian and member of Archbishops' Council, Archdeacon of Hastings Dr Edward Dowler, Church of England Evangelical Council and Fulcrum member the Rev Rachel Marszalek, and the Rev David Baker. This is their response to the meeting in full: This was a meeting in a positive atmosphere which combined goodwill from both sides, a cordial spirit, and yet at the same time provided space for a robust, direct and frank sharing of views. It was good that the meeting began and ended with a time of prayer. We are very grateful for the Bishops' time and felt we left with a good spirit and understanding between us all. The group was encouraged that the bishops agreed that the press release that accompanied the guidance had been unhelpful, and that they have undertaken to remove it from the Church of England website. Questions were raised about the procedures that had been followed in the production of the guidance, and it was illuminating to hear of some of the complexities involved, as well as to gain a clear understanding that things could have been done differently. Nevertheless, there remain questions about proper procedure that we would like to be pursued. The delegation expressed concern that some responses to the open letter had been highly emotive in tone, and had failed to engage with the points that had actually been made. We were further concerned that parish churches served by both ordained and lay signatories of the open letter had subsequently been collated and listed as ones that 'trans people and parents of trans children might want to think twice about attending'. We were glad that the bishops shared our concern for respectful public dialogue. READ MORE: Evangelicals hold talks with Church of England bishops over transgender guidance It was acknowledged that part of the problem with the guidance had been a presentation issue, but the meeting provided an opportunity to explore some of the problematic wording of the guidance itself. In various places the guidance appears to be ambiguous, and capable of being understood in a way that its authors may not have intended. We expressed our concern that this may have been the result of the rushed process and inadequate theological reflection. There was agreement that a particularly pressing set of questions, both nationally and within the Church, surround the issue of assisting or encouraging children to undergo gender identity transition. We appreciated the clarification that had been given after the initial report was published, as well as the bishops' further assurances at this meeting, that the provisions of the guidance, even in adapted form, were totally inappropriate for those under the age of eighteen. All of those present agreed that there was much more work to be done in relation to unexplored theological and pastoral ramifications of the guidance. Particular areas of concern are its implications for children who are confused about their gender (as already noted), its understanding of sacramental theology, and its apparent lack of regard for the situation of family members of people experiencing gender dysphoria. The guidance raises but does not resolve some important questions about the nature and status of marriage itself, in particular in situations when one partner changes their gender identity and remains married to their spouse. We hope that such work will be done in the light of Scripture and the tradition of the Church, illuminated, of course, by contemporary therapeutic and medical insights. We remain concerned, however, about what seems to us to be ill-considered use of the Bible in the guidance, as well as the apparent influence upon it of highly contested gender ideology. READ MORE: Church of England bishops face questions over controversial transgender guidance In the light of our concerns, we continue to believe that the guidance should be withdrawn, until such time as the Living in Love and Faith project is able to offer more considered reflection upon these crucial issues. We understand that the bishops will convey this and other views shared in the meeting to the House of Bishops at the earliest opportunity. We were delighted to be invited to participate further in the Living in Love and Faith project and trust that this will take concrete shape in the coming weeks. Whilst we appreciate the bishops' careful consideration of the points we have made, we also hope for action which reflects what we believe to be their gravity and seriousness, and the goodwill with which we offer them to the wider church. We remain concerned about the Church of England's systemic ability to resist the very strong cultural and ideological pressures in this area of thought. All participants in the discussion were agreed on the importance of welcoming transgender people to our churches. The gospel invitation to repent and believe the good news of Jesus is something for all people everywhere without exception. We would also all be delighted to assist all people to reaffirm their baptismal vows as an expression of their identity in Christ and their desire to live wholly for him. We are all sinners at the foot of the cross together; we all need and delight in the grace and unconditional love of God which we know we do not merit. We pray that through our flawed and fallible endeavours, and through our inevitably partial perspectives, God may be truly glorified. UK must end throw-away culture to beat plastic crisis - Tearfund The Government's ban on straws and cotton buds is a "positive step" in tackling the world's plastic crisis but more needs to be done to end the throwaway culture underpinning it, Tearfund has warned. Environment Secretary Michael Gove confirmed on Wednesday that he was introducing a ban on plastic straws, drinks stirrers, and plastic stemmed cotton buds across England after a consultation showed overwhelming public support for the move. In the consultation, over 80 per cent of respondents backed a ban on the distribution and sale of plastic straws, while 90 per cent supported a ban on drinks stirrers, and 89 per cent a ban on cotton buds. The ban is due to come into force in April 2020, with exemptions for people with medical needs or disability. After this time, restaurants will no longer automatically serve drinks with straws and diners will instead have to request them. Announcing the ban, Mr Gove said: "Urgent and decisive action is needed to tackle plastic pollution and protect our environment. "These items are often used for just a few minutes but take hundreds of years to break down, ending up in our seas and oceans and harming precious marine life. READ MORE: Sir David Attenborough, Tearfund urge Coca-Cola and other big brands to act on plastic pollution "So today I am taking action to turn the tide on plastic pollution, and ensure we leave our environment in a better state for future generations." Tearfund, which has made single-use plastic a campaign focus, welcomed the measure but urged the UK to follow the example of the European Union, which has introduced more sweeping bans. Earlier this month, Tearfund called upon global corporations like Coca-Cola and Nestle to halve the amount of single-use plastic they distribute in developing countries after a study found that in the UK alone, the equivalent of two double-decker buses of plastic waste is thrown away every 30 seconds. It has cautioned that efforts to move away from plastic use should not lead to an increased reliance on wood and paper products. "Every 30 seconds, the UK throws away two double-decker busloads of plastic waste," said Joanne Green, senior campaigner on plastics and waste at Tearfund. She continued, "The EU is banning more items such as plastic cutlery and polystyrene food containers so the UK should seriously consider including these too. "It's important that banning these items does not result in a greater use of wood and paper products which could fuel deforestation and contribute to climate change as well as biodiversity loss. "We need to move away from a dependence on disposable products altogether, this will require reimagining our lives, lifestyles and economy." The Government said that although non-plastic alternatives were readily available, an estimated 95 per cent of straws in use were still plastic, while the cost to local government of cleaning up the effects of littering amounted to millions of pounds every year, with knock-on effects on the tourism and fishing industries. READ MORE: The problem with plastic and how we can fix it Despite the widespread use of single-use plastic, the consultation also found that the effect of plastic pollution was worrying 89 per cent of people. Hugo Tagholm, CEO, Surfers Against Sewage said: "Surfers Against Sewage welcome the ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds. "Stopping the production and distribution of these single-use plastic menaces will prevent them from polluting beaches nationwide. "It's a really positive and bold step in the right direction in the battle against plastic pollution. "It is also helps further drive plastic-free options and alternatives for the public so they can truly make more sustainable choices in their daily lives." Falling student numbers could see Theology and Religious Studies disappear from universities, report warns The British Academy has warned that theology and religious studies could "disappear" from universities after a study found that the number of students taking the subjects has halved. An analysis by the British Academy found a staggering decline in the numbers of students enrolling on the courses in just six years, down from over 14,000 students in 2011/12 to 7,585 in 2017/18. The decline covers a whole spectrum of programmes, from undergraduates, to masters, doctorates, foundation courses and diplomas. "Theology and Religious Studies has been on a downward trend in both applications and enrolment of undergraduate students from 2012/13 onwards," the report says. "If this trend continues, [the] provision will come under serious threat at many institutions and the department closures and mergers, which have already started, will likely continue." The report adds that the cause of the decline is not linked to the study of the subject at high school level as RE at A-level has seen an increase in enrollments in the past six years. However, the study did find that the number of students taking Philosophy at university-level had increased in the same period. It also found a lack of diversity among Theology and Religious Studies academics, with staff tending to be male and older than those in other humanities departments. British Academy vice president, Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, told The Daily Telegraph that the findings were "alarming". "I am extremely concerned about the drop in such a short period, it is really very alarming," he said. "The problem starts at school. Teachers are not directing people in this important direction and not seeing the value in Theology and Religious Studies." Prof MacCulloch, an expert in church history at Oxford University, added that unless there was an improvement in ethnic and gender diversity, there was "a danger that these highly relevant disciplines disappear from our universities". Guyanas anti-corruption agency is investigating how exploration rights were awarded in the worlds biggest new deepwater oil region, including those now controlled by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Tullow Oil Plc. The probe is broad in scope and is at an early investigatory stage, Clive Thomas, director of the the State Assets Recovery Agency, said in an interview in the seaside capital of Georgetown last week. The Stabroek, Kaieteur and Canje blocks, all operated by Exxon, will be part of the inquiry, as well as Orinduik operated by Tullow, he said. The investigation pits the administration of President David Granger against the previous government headed by Donald Ramotar, who left office in 2015. Neither Exxon nor Tullow have been singled out as targets of the probe or accused of any wrongdoing by authorities, and both the current government and opposition party have repeatedly said they stand by all oil contracts. FROM OTC: Guyana comes to Houston, seeking partners to develop newfound oil wealth Were investigating the issuance of the licenses, for example, and the various blocks, Thomas said. Were building up a case. This is an area of investigation into how the blocks were allocated and the decisions that were made. Spokesmen for Exxon and Tullow declined to comment on the probe. Guyana has become one of the worlds most sought-after exploration plays after Exxon struck oil off the coast of the tiny South American nation in 2015, a discovery that has since blossomed to 5.5 billion barrels. But critics including the presidents former energy adviser Jan Mangal say the countrys oil contracts were sold off too cheaply and without due process. Middle Ranks Guyana ranks 93rd in Transparency Internationals 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index of 180 countries, on a par with Kosovo and Gambia. Were at an investigatory stage so we cant libel persons by saying that we found proof of anything, Thomas said. But theres enough evidence for us to want to continue the investigation. RELATED: Exxon Mobil authorizes $6B Guyana development All of Exxons discoveries have so far been made in Stabroek block, which was initially awarded in 1999 and renegotiated in 2016. Tullow also signed up to explore Orinduik in 2016. One particular area of focus for Thomas team involves the 2015 election, when Canje and Kaieteur were awarded to a group of junior exploration companies. Exxon was not among the initial investors but bought stakes in both blocks a year later and became operator. Canje and Kaieteur encompass almost 20,000 square kilometers, an area equivalent to 870 leases in the U.S. section of the Gulf of Mexico. Rights to drill the area were awarded during the final days of Ramotars term. Nine days after the Kaieteur lease was signed, the government announced that Exxon stuck oil in a well called Liza-1. 20/20 Vision The timeline is significant because with the discovery, Guyana went from being a high-risk frontier with no track record of success to one of the worlds most in-demand exploration regions. The country could have commanded much better terms for the blocks had they been granted after the Liza discovery, Mangal said. Ramotar said in an interview last month that he had some indication that Liza would be a success before it was publicly announced. In hindsight, waiting until Exxons results were fully disclosed would have put Guyana in a better negotiating position, he said. Looking back with 20/20 vision it probably wasnt the right thing to do, Ramotar said. 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Rail and truck activity is ramping back up at Intercontinental Terminals Co.'s Deer Park terminal, two months after a tank fire and subsequent chemical spill temporarily cut off regional markets from a large petrochemical hub relied on by dozens of refineries and petrochemical plants. The closure of the terminal, which has 242 tanks with 13 million barrels of storage, has created massive disruptions in supply for solvents, methanol and other chemicals across the Gulf Coast region, analysts say. EARLIER: ITC to reopen after plant fire, ending logistic nightmare for chemical industry Government officials gave ITC permission to reopen most of its docks in early May, but rail and truck shipments were still severely limited. Last week, petrochemical and research firm ICIS reported that there was some rail and truck activity returning to the terminal. An ITC spokesperson confirmed this week that rail and truck operations have resumed normally except for in the area in front of the affected tanks. On Monday, the Port Terminal Railroad Association lifted an embargo on the company receiving incoming rail tank cars, an ITC spokesman said. Rail and truck activity in front of an 80,000-barrel tank farm affected by the fire and another tank farm adjacent to it remain closed. RELATED: Deer Park fire a blemish for the petrochemical industry's image Last week a small flash fire erupted at the plant workers took apart one of the tanks in the farm that caught fire in March. Pre-staged firefighting crews quickly put out the fire. There were no reported injuries and air monitoring during the incident didn't not show any elevated levels of benzene, officials said. "Flash fires are not unusual during this process, and we have a fully dedicated fire team on site to respond as needed," an ITC spokesman said in an email to the Chronicle this week. Crews have dissembled one of the affected tanks and will continue to deconstruct the tanks one by one for safety, an ITC spokesman said. FUEL FIX: Get energy news directly to your inbox The March 17 chemical fire burned for three days, destroyed 11 storage tanks and sent chemicals spewing into the ship channel. The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Houston Ship Channel for three days during the cleanup and shipping was restricted for nearly a month, forcing refineries to limit production and constraining shipments for nearly a month. Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday it has commenced production at its massive new Appomattox platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico a few months ahead of schedule. The Appomattox - the only major platform coming online this year in the Gulf - is expected to produce 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from its position about 80 miles southeast of the Louisiana coastline. It's the first large-scale production from what's known as the Gulf's Norphlet formation. Shell made the decision to authorize and build the project back in 2015 during the most recent oil bust. The Appomattox originally wasn't expected to start production until this fall. FUEL FIX: Get energy, oil and gas news updates each weekday Shell sees the Appomattox as a major hub to build other expansions in the region. "That Appomattox was safely brought online ahead of schedule and far under budget is a testament to our ongoing commitment to drive down costs through efficiency improvements during execution," said Andy Brown, Shell's upstream director. "Appomattox creates a core long-term hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries." Last year, Shell announced the Dover discovery near the Appomattox. That means the new discovery can be further drilled and developed through connections, called tiebacks, to the Appomattox to save costs, rather than build a new platform. The Dover discovery is Shell's sixth in the Norphlet region of the Gulf. Since the oil bust, only two other major Gulf platform projects have moved forward, including Shell's Vito project, which was authorized last year. The Vito decision is considered a sign that the long-languishing offshore sector is showing signs of life as oil prices hovered near $70 a barrel. Now, crude prices are closer to $60. RELATED: Appomattox platform shows Shell isn't giving up on deepwater drilling The Appomattox is named after the Virginia court house where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered in 1865, essentially ending the Civil War. Shell sees the project as a milestone for an industry that needed to adjust its approach and make deepwater projects affordable in the lower oil price environment. The U.S. shale industry, especially West Texas' Permian Basin, is booming with its faster and cheaper projects, siphoning investment from the Gulf of Mexico. Shell said it cut 20 percent off the price tag before approving the Appomattox in 2015. More than 20 percent in additional cuts came afterward. The Anglo-Dutch oil major declined to disclose the project costs, but said it sliced billions of dollars from the original price. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Shell finds major new discovery in U.S. Gulf of Mexico The platform hull was built in South Korea and shipped to Texas during a multiweek journey that ended in October 2017 not long after Hurricane Harvey ravaged the area. The topside portions were built in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama and pieced together in Ingleside near Corpus Christi. Shell owns about 79 percent of the Appomattox project. The remaining 21 percent is held by a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC. The first thing to know about Houston's Taste of the Nation is that there are levels. A general admission ticket affords two hours of power eating and drinking your way through 47 hotspots such as Nancy's Hustle, Riel, Nobie's, Eunice and BCN Taste & Tradition. If the goal is to get up close and personal (i.e. take photos) with the city's celebrity chefs, then a VIP upgrade is the way to go. That extra bump buys 60 minutes of line-free boozing and schmoozing with star culinary talent including Chris Shepherd, of Underbelly Hospitality fame, and Bobby Matos, who kicked off his evening by taste-testing Decatur Bar & Pop-Up Factory's epic Maker's Mark Cosmonaut. For the ultimate foodie experience, do as longtime supporters Marta and Bill Marko do and rent a cabana. Yes, a cabana. Smack in the middle of Silver Street Studios, the couple hosted 65 of their closest friends behind roped-off quarters complete with lounge chairs, tables and umbrellas. FLAVOR: Get free Houston restaurant reviews and recipes, delivered to your inbox Surprised? Don't be. Those cushioned seats and tabletops come in handy. A number of participants opted for Texas-sized over bite-sized portions; Indianola's crispy duck wings and Roegels Barbecue Co.'s BBQ pork sundae required both hands to be consumed properly. Sysco, which has co-sponsored the event benefiting No Kid Hungry since 1989, CRC Insurance and Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP claimed the remaining three cabanas, and for good reason. On Wednesday night, they helped raise $205,592 toward ending childhood hunger nationwide through local programming in 20 cities. That's the second thing to note - Houston Food Bank, Kids Meals and the Center for Public Policy Priorities comprised this year's regional grantees. To that end, host chefs Ryan Pera of Agricole Hospitality, Rebecca Masson of Fluff Bake Bar and Alba Huerta of Julep went the extra mile. In addition to serving her special order "Call Me Maybe" ice cream cones stuffed with cookie dough and white chocolate, Masson also raffled off cake walk tickets; the lucky winner received one custom-baked confection. And Julep mixologists manned a sprawling cocktail bar overflowing with wild flowers, fresh herbs and exotic liqueurs; the better to loosen purse strings for silent auction bidding. BEST HOUSTON RESTAURANTS: Tiny Houston restaurant named among America's Best New Restaurants by Food & Wine In between booth-hopping, a record 900 attendees cast bids for cooking classes at Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen, Houston Ballet tickets, a staycation at JW Marriott Houston Downtown, dinner at Weights & Measures and seats at Jennifer Lopez's upcoming summer concert. Standout food stops included Magnol French Baking's sprawling bread station; State Fare's miniature Frito pies; Louie Mueller Barbecue's impossibly tender brisket; Main Kitchen's 72-hour short rib, potato pull and bourbon punch shelves; One Fifth Mediterranean's kibbeh nayyeh; and Michael's Cookie Jar's cinnamon roll cookies and lemon chews. And let's not forget Saint Arnolds Brewing Company, Sonoma Wine Bar and Restaurant in the Heights or MacRostie Winery & Vineyards, among other spirit vendors. Which raises a third and final tidbit to consider: Uber. Because chances are, you'll be too satiated from not-so-small plates and sensory overload to comfortably drive home anyway. Six actors play 52 characters in vignettes that span three acts, each helmed by a different director, all performed around an oak Renaissance-style table in A.R. Gurneys The Dining Room, which plays May 24 through June 16 at Bay Area Harbour Playhouse in Dickinson. It is a big show to put on, said Annette Forsythe , who serves as the coordinating director for the production. My main job is to keep everyone on schedule, including the three directors, none of whom has directed before at BAHP, which is at 3803 Texas 3. They include Charlotte Jackson of Santa Fe, who has directed shows for almost 40 years at other venues; Brandi Kiekel of League City, who teaches middle school theater in Galveston; and Stacey Pope, who recently returned to theater after a 14-year break to appear in Doublewide, Texas at BAHP. The cast features Troy Nordyke and Ginny Rauth, along with BAHP newcomers Nori Head, Mary Ann Janecka, Riley Sims and Thomas Weber. Brandon Allen is Webers understudy. Ultimate challenge for an actor The Dining Room is a stunning showcase for actors, as each one portrays eight to 10 parts for characters that range in age from children to the elderly. The scenes take place in various homes of privileged, white, middle-class Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) families who are comically beset by First World problems. The play debuted off-Broadway in 1981. BAHPs founder and artistic director Bennie Nipper picked the play for her traveling theater troupe, to perform at Friendswood High School in 1986. When Nippers troupe found a home in Dickinson, she chose The Dining Room to open playhouses first season. In 2002, Nipper produced the show as BAHPs 10th anniversary revival show. Forsythe, who was shy as a teenager, didnt become involved in theater until five years ago, when she was cast as a gypsy in Carnival at BAHP. When her character had to wear a garment that prevented her from moving her arms, the gypsy asked, But what if I get an itch? That was my one line, said Forsythe. The audience laughed and I loved it. Roles followed as Mrs. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol, a queen in The Nutcracker and, with just two weeks notice, Helga, a nosy German maid, in Night Watch. For the past two years, Forsythe has served as BAHPs volunteer coordinator. She is a production board member who assistant-directed The 39 Steps before debuting as a director with Doublewide, Texas last September on the playhouses upstairs Top Deck stage. Offstage, the native of Grapevine works in health claims at American National Insurance Company in South Shore Harbour. She and her husband, Gary, a large construction plumber, live in Dickinsons Bay Colony neighborhood. Their sons are Christopher Forsythe, a police officer in La Porte, and Jason Byrd, a tech sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, who deployed April 1 from Germany to Afghanistan. Forsythe and her husband have five grandchildren. She said the dining table at center stage of the BAHP production is a family heirloom thats on loan from Jackie Denzler, whose mother, Teresa McLemore, is the stage manager and prop mistress. Performances of The Dining Room are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through June 16. Tickets costs $17 for general admission; $12 for adults over age 55, students and members of the military; and $6 for children under age 13, and are available at Ticketleap. For further details, call 281-337-7460 or see the theaters Facebook page. Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be reached at donmaines@att.net Pokeworks is planning to celebrate the one-year anniversary for its Montrose location on Westheimer Road on Saturday, June 1. The members of the Montrose community have welcomed us with open arms, franchise owner Christopher Lav said in a news release. Part of the celebration will be a full day of buy-one-get-one-free bowls in addition to giveaways. Festivities begin at 11 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. There will be $5-10 raffle gift cards given out hourly and every customer will receive a free Hawaiian leis necklace, while supplies last. Lav, along with his business partner and brother Henry Lav, also run two other Pokeworks restaurants in the Houston area - one in Katy and the recently opened Galleria location. We are grateful for the support and look forward to serving the citizens of Montrose and the surrounding area for years to come, Christopher Lav said. The Montrose restaurant is the only Lav-run location that serves local domestic beer. Pokeworks was founded in 2015, with its first store in Midtown Manhattan. It now has restaurants in California, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas, For more information, go to www.pokeworks.com. rkent@hcnonline.com On the evening of Monday, May 6, the city of Bellaire hosted a reception for talented young, local artists who had participated in the first Youth Art Contest promoted by the Bellaire Optimist Club in conjunction with the Culture and Arts Board of the City of Bellaire. A total of 18 works were submitted by pupils from local Middle Schools with the theme a brighter outlook for a better tomorrow. (Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump called Nancy Pelosi ``a mess'' and ``crazy,'' alleged she mischaracterized his behavior in a White House meeting and said she doesn't understand a trade deal with Canada and Mexico, escalating his feud with the House speaker. Lets face it, she doesnt understand it, Trump said Thursday, referring to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a deal his administration reached to replace Nafta. Shes got to get up to snuff. He repeatedly said Pelosi was a ``mess,'' called her ``crazy Nancy'' and said: ``she's lost it.'' In an impromptu news conference after announcing new aid for U.S. farmers hurt by his trade war, Trump went around the room calling on aides to verify that he was ``extremely calm'' during a meeting with Pelosi and other Democrats on Wednesday. RELATED: Pelosi suggests 'intervention' over Trump threat His adviser Kellyanne Conway said that Pelosi's claim Trump threw a ``temper tantrum'' at the meeting was ``just a lie.'' Trump walked out of Wednesday's White House meeting, where he was suppose to discuss a bipartisan infrastructure plan with the Democrats, after growing angry at Pelosi's claim earlier in the day that he had perpetrated a ``cover-up'' to evade House investigations of his administration and businesses. The president told reporters afterward that he wouldnt negotiate with Democrats on any policies as long as they continued investigations stemming from Special Counsel Robert Muellers report. What happened in the White House would make your jaw drop, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat at the meeting, said afterward. I pray for the president of the United States, Pelosi said. Pelosi held a news conference earlier on Thursday where she further discussed the incident and suggested Trump's family or aides should hold an ``intervention'' with the president or that he should ``take a leave of absence.'' Asked about her remarks at the event with farmers, Trump lashed out at the House speaker. It was ``sort of a nasty-type statement,'' Trumo said. ``She said I walked into the room right next door and walked in and started screaming and yelling. Just the opposite. I was so calm. I was extremely calm.'' In addition to Conway, Trump called on a communications aide who was present for the meeting, Mercedes Schlapp. ``You were very calm and you were very direct,'' she said. Pelosi responded in a tweet. ``Their whole focus is on 2020 and trying to demean the Republican Party or demean the president of the United States,'' Trump said of the Democrats. Pelosi said at her news conference that the House is not on the path to impeachment,'' though she said some of Trumps actions may be impeachable offenses. To contact the reporter on this story: Alyza Sebenius in Washington at asebenius@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu 2019 Bloomberg L.P. Authorities believe a severely emaciated 9-year-old stallion that was found tied to a tree on a vacant lot in north Houston had been there for at least a month's time before being rescued. Officials with Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, and animal cruelty investigators with the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) found the horse in the 800 block of Lovers Lane Thursday. Houston SPCA officials said the "extremely emaciated" horse was found with maggots in his front right hoof and a large sore on his back right leg. The horse was transported to the Houston SPCA Equine Center to be examined by a staff veterinarian and will be slowly re-introduced to food. With the 86th Texas Legislative regular session ending May 27, Cy-Fair ISD has planned a potential budget based on the possible passage of school finance legislation. During the May 16 work session meeting of the CFISD school board, Karen Smith, assistant superintendent of business and financial services, presented a preliminary budget for the 2019-2020 school year. The budget is not final and is contingent upon the outcome of proposed legislation with financial implications for Texas school districts, specifically House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 4. Smith said the preliminary budget is based on the Senate version of House Bill 3, which would give teachers and librarians in the state of Texas a $5,000 raise. There was Senate Bill 4 and House Bill 3 as far as the school finance version, she said. Originally, we werent sure which way it would go, but theyre actually going to look at HB 3 and then the Senate heard HB 3 and they made their amendments to it. (Legislators) are currently in committee right now. According to Smith, CFISDs preliminary budget includes $508 million from local revenue, $482 million from state revenue and $20 million for a total of more than $986 million. The district plans to spend more than $990 million, potentially leaving the district with a $4 million deficit. When board member Tom Jackson asked about the $4 million deficit, also stating Smith has presented deficits in the budget in past years, Smith said she anticipates and hopes that like the 2018-2019 budget, there will not be a deficit once the budget goes into effect due to additional revenue. Smith anticipates funding from a 2017 property value study may be a source of additional revenue for the district. This year were hoping the deficit will be considerably less than we thought it would be, Smith said. The budget hearing and adoption is planned for the June 17 board meeting, and until it is adopted, Smith said none of the estimations are final. Several factors were taken into consideration when building the preliminary budget, Smith said, including future new facilities, student enrollment growth rate which is expected to increase by .5% to 1% this year and an increase of property values by 6.6% based on preliminary values from the Harris County Appraisal District. Smith said the preliminary plan includes consideration of new facility expenses for a 5-year period, such as the opening of Middle School No. 19 scheduled for the 2020-2021 school year. We reserve enough funds to open those campuses, Smith said. For example, in 2020-2021, we anticipate opening middle school number 19 and thats about another $3.5 million in operating costs that we need to take into consideration as part of the budget. The preliminary budget accounts for an upcoming increase in health insurance premiums based on the Teacher Retirement System-ActiveCare through the school, Smith said. Rather than giving assistance towards the health insurance premiums, what we look at is providing a little bit more salary increase than we would normally provide because about 56% of our employees actually are on our (TRS-ActiveCare) health insurance plan, she said. So, to be fair to all employees we take it into consideration in the salary rather than into the premium. The budget accounts for $45 million for teacher salary increase based on the Senate version of HB 3, $2.6 million for miscellaneous costs like software, insurance and fuel, $2.6 to $7.8 million for salary increases for other employees and $2.6 million for 2019-2020 school year priorities. The strong economy of the area and low unemployment presses CFISD to give higher salaries to educators as well as to non-teaching staff. The preliminary budget considers an increase in salary for all classroom teachers and a 1% to 3% increase in salary for other employees. We have to really be concentrating on what our salaries are for teachers as well as HVAC technicians, electricians, technology, etcetera, because we have to be competitive with the private sector, she said. The goal that the district has in building the budget is to preserve the quality of instruction and services. Also, to have a compensation plan where we can recruit and retain high quality staff. We put a high priority on safety toward students and staff and protect the districts operational infrastructure. A 17-year-old Fort Bend ISD student was arrested on felony charges after he allegedly told other students at his high school he was capable of making bombs that could "shred people apart." Maximillion Young, 17, was arrested May 15 and charged with possession of explosive components. His bond was set at $25,000. The Clements High School student is accused of possessing several components of an explosive weapon, including potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulfur. He allegedly intended to use the components to build bombs and explosives, court records show. May 9, Young allegedly told a pair of students at the school he knew how to make bombs and his own gun powder. The teen also allegedly said he had plans to sell explosives and knew how to use shrapnel in bombs that at high speeds could "shred people apart," according to court documents. CLOSE CALL: Katy ISD quickly responds to gun threat aimed at two schools Young allegedly told the students he was a sociopath and "likes to see things go boom," court documents state. When the students asked Young what he would do with the bombs, he implied he could use them at his high school because his peers "are going nowhere in life and they are not worth it," according to court documents. A warrant was issued to search Young's Sugar Land home May 9. Police found and confiscated several materials that Young had used to create small explosions in his driveway. Federal Bureau of Investigation officials with the Houston Bomb Tech Division confirmed the items confiscated from Young's home could be used to make a pipe bomb, court records show. During a second search of Young's home May 13, police found an AR-15 style firearm, handgun, shotgun and two military style ammunition boxes in the safe of a guest bedroom closet. More bomb-making materials were uncovered at the home, including two "energetic powders" deemed unsafe to store in the Fort Bend ISD Police Department's property room, court records show. In a letter sent to parents Wednesday, Clements High School Principal David Yaffie said the school's investigation into this situation is ongoing and commended the students that came forward. Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Pearland Independent School District has come under fire from parents after multiple confrontations with its minority students deemed as culturally insensitive and discriminatory. Families of Pearland ISD are now requesting a committee, of which half should be students, be formed to represent diverse perspectives of the district, according to a news release. They're also requesting cultural sensitivity training, as well as data on the demographics of student punishment and student enrollment in various academic programs. "In the absence of meaningful community conversations about race and religion, we will not be able to address adequately the underlying issues that motivate the discriminatory dress code policy and enforcement in this district," Dona Kim Murphey, spokesperson for the families, wrote in the news release. Pearland ISD did not respond to phone call and email requests for comment. Find out why critics are saying that changing property tax appeals could wreck city, school budgets on HoustonChronicle.com In April, Juelz Trice, a seventh-grade African American student, showed up to Berry Miller Junior High with a new buzz cut with a design in it. The then-assistant principal, Tony Barcelona, told Trice that the design in his haircut was against the school dress code because it was distracting, Trice's mother Angela Washington wrote in a Facebook post. More Information 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. See More Collapse He "decided to color my baby's design with a PERMANENT MARKER!" Washington wrote. "His only options was to go to (in-school suspension) or get his head colored. They did not call to inform me at all." Five days later, the black ink was still on Trice's head. Washington told the Houston Chronicle last month that had she and her son's father known that Trice's haircut was against the dress code, they would have taken him back to the barber. "It became way more than it should have, and it should have been solved very easily. Call the parent and we'll fix it," Washington said. "He was humiliated. The look on his face when he got in the car, he was totally embarrassed." At the time, the school district put out a statement condemning Barcelona's actions and said he was placed on administrative leave. Before the incident took place, Barcelona had been chosen to be the school's next principal. Also in April, Hadiya Henderson, an African American freshman at Dawson High School who wears the hijab, was instructed by an assistant principal to get a note from her imam confirming she is wearing her headscarf for religious reasons, the parents' press release said. "Hadiya has worn her hijab since the fourth grade and we have never had a problem," Henderson's mother, Luciana Brady-Henderson, told Murphey. The Pearland ISD dress code says that students are not allowed to cover their heads, wear caps, hats or hair rollers inside the building. It does not mention anything about religious exemptions. In both cases, the parents have said that the school district administrators have been extremely unresponsive to their concerns. Charles Gooden Jr., a Pearland ISD trustee, wrote on Facebook on May 14 that in response to the incident with Trice, the school administration asked the Dress Code Committee to re-examine the code for any culturally insensitive or out-of-date policies. He added that the administration is looking to possibly expand diversity training, and establish "a committee of minority district leaders to look at issues around diversity and sensitivity." "It's no secret that racism, whether intentional or not, has crept into the code," Trustee Mike Floyd wrote on Facebook afterward. "The administration has made it clear that they are aware of the Board's stance that provisions which are rooted in cultural or racial inequalities must be changed, and anything less will be unacceptable in my opinion." Murphey, a physician who has been living in Pearland for 15 years, ran for school board last month. She said that of the roughly 1,000 people she spoke with while campaigning, multiple families of color told her they had left the school district due to similar discriminatory experiences. The district has also faced accusations of being discriminatory toward the LGBTQ community. Kimberly Shappley, the mother of a transgender teen, told the Houston Chronicle last year that they moved to Austin from Pearland because the school district was insensitive to her daughter's new gender identity. "We've just been having trouble with other students telling her she can't line up with girls because she's a boy. It's not the kids' fault, they don't understand," Shappley said. "And Pearland ISD doesn't want to educate them. It became too much." In addition to dress codes that parents say are culturally insensitive to non-white, non-Christian students, Pearland ISD has disproportionate punishment rates of its students of color. According to a 2015 study by the Office for Civil Rights, while there were more than twice as many white students (38.6%) than black students (15.9%) enrolled in the school district, the two groups made up equal portions of students who received in-school suspensions (30.4%). Hispanic students made up nearly 32% of the school's enrollment, and almost 31% of their in-school suspensions. "A lot of why we do not see culturally sensitive policies, likely has to do with the climate created by the current Superintendent (who drove Kai Shappley out of Pearland)," Murphey wrote in an email, "and the fact that those immediately below him who have been here for many years to oversee hiring are very entrenched in the whole racially and religiously homogeneous, church-state-business, social-industrial complex of Pearland." District 132 state Rep. Gina Calanni, D-Katy, released the following statement after unanimous House passage of Senate Bill 1125 by Sen. Juan Chuy Hinojosa. Calanni sponsored the bill in the House and filed the identical House companion legislation. Today, I passed Senate Bill 1125 through the House to allow forensic analysts to remotely give video testimony in court proceedings. This cost-neutral solution will allow analysts to focus on their casework, cut down on out-of-office delays, and help reduce the unacceptable backlog of rape kits in Texas, said Calanni. Under this legislation, forensic analysts will no longer have to travel to various cities and counties across the state to testify in-person, she said. Every time a forensic analyst has to show up in court to provide testimony, delays in casework can be expected. Senate Bill 1125 will now be sent to Gov.Greg Abbotts desk for final approval. This is the 11th bill that Calanni has passed during the 86th Legislative Session. Building southbound feeder roads along two segments of the Grand Parkway was the stated topic of the May 21 Texas Department of Transportation public meeting, but a number of attendees also focused concern on traffic noise. TxDOT is working with Fort Bend County to build southbound feeder roads from Cinco Ranch to Westheimer Parkway and from Fry Road to FM 1093. TxDOT plans to seek bids later this year for the projects, which will be funded by Fort Bend County. The current project estimate is $22.5 million, said Deidrea George, TxDOT public information officer. The project also includes minor adjustments at the interchanges, without ramp reversals. John Savage, whos lived in Cinco Ranch more than 10 years, said What I see I like. He was referring to the proposed feeder road between Cinco Ranch and Westheimer Parkway. That looks good. I like it. Anything that moves traffic on Texas 99 is great, said Stuart Hooson, an 18-year Cinco Ranch resident. He noted, however, that the proposed changes only affected southbound traffic and said the congestion ties up northbound traffic, too. A 14-year Grand Lakes resident looking at the plans said, Its not good. The resident said it only addressed commercial concerns and left untouched residential issues. He also observed that proposed construction affected only the west side of the Grand Parkway and not the east side. When he and his family first moved to the area, Texas 99 wasnt elevated. Now the overpasses all are elevated, he said. Well wait till they get through with it and see what we get. A five-year resident of Hickory Creek, Garth Canterbury said his home is near the proposed extension between Fry Road and FM 1093. The project will increase access to a large field which backs up to his neighborhood, he said. He added that he wasnt against it, but he isnt sure whats going to happen with the property. Neither Chris Dau nor Bill Fales who live in Cinco Ranch are sure whats going to happen in terms of noise abatement for their properties. Dau has lived in Cinco Ranch about 17 years and Fales moved into the neighborhood in 2005. Dau said his house backs up to the northbound lanes and noise is a huge concern. Thats the main concern. The noise has gotten worse, he said. He and his wife were waiting for a sound wall to be built and learned at the meeting it could be another three or four years. When they moved in, he said, the Grand Parkway wasnt completed all the way and they thought that a wall might be built at that time. In the backyard, he said, You cant hear conversations. We scream at each other outside. Fales said TxDOT hasnt done enough to reduce the noise. Quiet asphalt pavement has been used to reduce traffic noise on some roadways, he said, and didnt know why it hasnt been used on Texas 99 in their neighborhood. The area has built up so fast, continued Fales. Ever since the Grand Parkway has been finished from end-to-end and the flyovers have been built, the air quality has dropped significantly, he said. When we first moved here, we didnt think it would grow so fast. Noise is a big problem, said Robert Stowe, chairperson of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Cinco Ranch Property Owners Association. Its one of the No. 1 complaints that our residents have. The original study didnt consider overpasses at major intersections so no noise-abatement provisions were provided in the original 99 segment, explained Stowe. Thats a major flaw, he said, adding that solutions are expensive. He said he understands the experimental nature of sound improvements that TxDOT has done on Interstate 10 and that there are some technical difficulties with adapting that method to improve sound abatement in the Cinco Ranch area. But he added that he thinks sound abatement should be part of TxDOTs design when it adds lanes to the Grand Parkway. People who missed the public meeting may still submit comments on or before June 5, 2019, to be a part of the official meeting record. Written comments may be submitted either in person or by mail to the TxDOT District Office, Director of Project Development, P.O. Box 1386, Houston, TX 77251; or submitted electronically at HOU-PIOWebMail@txdot.gov or at the project website at https://tinyurl.com/beu6uz6. Im pleased that Fort Bend County and (Precinct 3 County Commissioner) Andy Meyers pushed this project to provide improvements. Im in favor of the project that is being presented here today, said Stowe. As committee chairperson, Stowe said hes been following the progress of improvements proposed for Texas 99 as he maintains and reviews current community projects and reports back to subdivision residents. Its clear from the traffic volumes reported by TxDOT that the current roadway is at capacity, he said. Theres really no way to improve that until the additional roadway lanes are built, he said. Because the traffic volume on Highway 99 is at such capacity, it creates a burden on our residents as they exit 99 from north to south. Stowe said it also creates a burden for fire departments and ambulance crews who have to cross Texas 99 to reach all the areas that they serve and have to go through all that traffic. Thats a critical problem for us as well, he said. Stowe noted there are few north/south corridors that serve the Cinco Ranch area. He said hes pleased that TxDOT and the county are looking at additional main roadways to connect I-10 and FM 1093 to alleviate some of the traffic load, but thinks TxDOT has dragged its feet on providing improvements considering how important the Grand Parkway is. TxDOT has included widening of the Grand Parkway from four to six lanes in two segments between Interstate 10 and FM 1093 in its 2025 program, according to George. Construction funding for both is $49 million. We do not have a letting date month but anticipated the letting date to be in FY 2022. But Stowe thinks theres room to build an extra lane in each direction beyond whats planned. Now that the Grand Parkway has been built from I-69 in Sugar Land to I-69 past Kingwood, he points out that the roadway carries not only local traffic but also motorists just passing through the area. Proposed ramps would connect FM 1093 to the Grand Parkway sometime in the future, he said, and that traffic volume hasnt been determined yet. Both Meyers, whos announced hes seeking re-election, and Wendy Duncan, whos announced shes also running for the Precinct 3 county commissioner, attended the meeting. Later, Duncan commented via email: Although we appreciate the construction of these two small segments of frontage road on the west side of Grand Parkway, it will do little to address the overall safety concerns and traffic congestion we all experience on a daily basis. As your next Commissioner of Fort Bend County, I will work hard to implement the infrastructure our population demands. Later Meyers commented via email: "I'm very grateful to the citizens of the Katy area for approving these road projects that I submitted in the 2017 Bond Referendum. They are very much needed and will help relieve congestion on SH 99. We anticipate starting construction later this year, after approval of the state-required environmental study. We continue our work with TxDOT to add additional lanes to SH 99 and reduce road noise, so to improve the quality of life of area residents." karen.zurawski@chron.com On May 8, Katy Area Retired Educators (KARE) held their monthly meeting and had an opportunity to learn about Protecting Your Money with Yvonne Kershner, Janet Strickland and Casey Herndon from Brazos Valley School Credit Union. KARE was also presented a check from Coffee for a Cause at Legends Coffee House & Cafe where Fred Green did a Folk Song Sing-a-long. All donations, from patrons, and tips, from the wait staff, were set aside for the KARE Scholarship Fund. In addition, KARE elected new officers for 2019/2020. Many thanks to Gerald Young for his service as President for the past two years. Its that time of year again. The hurricane season officially starts on June 1 and lasts through October, and Deer Park city officials are using a variety of approaches to reach residents with the latest information about how to be ready. Entities including the citys emergency services and police department and the National Weather Service have spent months sharing information and developing education tools such as an updated emergency preparedness guide, city spokeswoman Kristin Callahan said. The free guide is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at City Hall, 710 E. San Augustine St. It is also available at the police and fire departments and the Deer Park Public Library, 3009 Center St. The publication, which is not available online, is applicable for all emergency and shelter-in-place events, such as the fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. plant in March and heavy rain in early May. The city of Deer Park will join the cities of Pasadena and La Porte for a Community Hurricane Awareness Workshop scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1.at the Pasadena Convention Center, 7902 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena. Deer Park also plans to use social media and other methods to promote sign-up events at city facilities for the CodeRED emergency notification program, a service giving emergency officials a way to alert the community via cell and landline phone calls, text messages, email and social media during emergency events. One such event occurred earlier this month. We would advise residents to maintain a constant state of readiness, ensuring that disaster kits are stocked year-round, that the entire family is familiar with home escape plans and evacuation routes and habits such as keeping your vehicles gas tanks filled are practiced as often as possible, said Robert Hemminger, the citys emergency services director. Since Hurricane Ike in 2008, social media has expanded ways that cities can communicate with residents. The city of Deer Park has worked to keep up with the times as new waves of channels gained prevalence among our community, said Callahan, who added that the city and its emergency management office have Twitter accounts. Hurricane workshop What: The cities of Deer Park, Pasadena and La Porte will host a Community Hurricane Awareness Workshop. Channel 13 meteorologist David Tillman will provide a 2019 hurricane season outlook at 1 p.m. When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1 Where: Pasadena Convention Center, 7902 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena Details: Call Kristin Gauthier at 281-470-0009 or message gauthierk@laportetx.gov. See More Collapse The city also maintains an Instagram account which provides information from the weather service. Our communications plan and our emergency communications strategies have been consistently updated and re-evaluated to maintain best practices and ensure that the plan is helpful to staff and, and by extension our public, Callahan said. It has been two years since Harvey struck the region, and according to Hemminger, all significant weather events are used to evaluate potential flood-prone areas. After Hurricane Harvey, the city assessed flooded homes and identified areas to target flood mitigation projects, he said. After the heavy rainfall a couple weeks ago, we continue to focus our efforts and ensure we are addressing flood issues as much as possible. For information on hurricane preparedness tools, visit the city of Deer Park and its Office of Emergency Management website. yorozco@hcnonline.com Lake Conroes watchmen insist Montgomery Countys premier summer destination is far safer than what they say is the outdated reputation it has as Texas deadliest lake. With roughly 1,000 boats expected on the lake for Memorial Day weekend, they are offering advice to keep safe. In the 12 years Lt. Tim Cade has been patrolling Lake Conroe for the Precinct 1 Constables Office, he said most of the boat wrecks and fatalities he has responded to have been avoidable. Looking back, there is one thing Cade said all of Lake Conroes drowning victims had in common: no life jacket. Myself and my deputies always have a life jacket on when were operating our boats cause we know and have seen what they do and how they save lives, Cade said. Having life jackets for all aboard is by Texas law one of the five check mark items every boater should have, Cade said. The other four, which include a personal flotation device, will be open to voluntary inspection by deputies patrolling the lake this weekend. In case a boater is missing an item like a fire extinguisher, he or she may run to a nearby store and pick it up. Boaters with all five items required will be handed a slip they can show deputies in case they are stopped while on the water. Cade wants lake visitors to know Precinct 1s full staff of lake deputies will be on patrol from morning to midnight, along with game wardens from noon to midnight. The law enforcement presence is absolutely stepped up, Cade said about Memorial Day weekend. Also accompanying the deputies will be medics with the Montgomery County Hospital District. The officers, he said, will be there to help boaters this holiday weekend and throughout the summer as they consider it a solemn duty. Were family people, Cade said. We get up in the morning and say, Im gonna help somebody. Even if that helping somebody is saving them from themselves, were gonna get out there and help somebody. More Information Five items to check-mark while boating Size-appropriate life jackets for all aboard Readily accessible fire extinguisher Horn or sound-producing device Type IV throwable personal flotation device. Registration card for the vessel being operated. See More Collapse He urges people seek out assistance from law enforcement personnel instead of avoiding them because they worry they may be in some violation or another, adding that many times ticket issuance is at the officers discretion. Still, Texas game wardens alone in 2018 issued 571 citations for children without a life jacket and another 1,613 tickets for not enough life jackets for people on a boat, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Though Lake Conroes waters do have some unnerving four-legged dwellers, namely alligators, Cade said they should be of little to no concern to people on the lake. The gators inhabiting the lake, which average about 6 feet in size, lurk in spots so remote most people will not encounter them. Again, Cades advice is to relax and play it cool. The gators are in their homes, he said, and will avoid humans on a boat. Take a picture, he advised. Enjoy the wildlife thats in your backyard. Any dangers on Lake Conroe are man made, however. There were 29 boating fatalities in Texas last year, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. With as many boats as the lake attracts during the summer, Cade wants people to know how to share the waters. He said he still remembers four to six years ago two men whose boats crashed because both assumed the other would retreat as they approached each other. When both vessels turned around, but in the same direction, they wrecked with each other. One of the men died. The whole incident, Cade said, would have been prevented if either of them used a horn to alert the other of his actions. The horn, after all, is one of the other five required items for boaters. A nod or a hand wave between the two men would have also helped out, Cade added. For Cade and for the multitude who will descend on its shores this summer, Lake Conroe is a welcoming place. Cade wants to dispel the fear some may have of Lake Conroe after it became known as Texas deadliest lake some years ago. The incident rate has subsided, he said, adding that usually before Memorial Day weekend there are one or two fatalities on the lake in May, but not this year. He credits greater public awareness for safety and increased patrolling as put in place by Constable Philip Cash. Things like that have made Conroe start to turn the tide a little bit from the deadliest lake in Texas, to not the deadliest lake in Texas over the past few years, Cade said. Getting pulled over is an educational moment for the boater, he continued. The mere visible presence of the deputies on the lake acts like what he called a visual deterrent. Thats what has made Conroe a better lake, he said. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx Cody Bahn, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer As part of Stop the Bleed Month, the Montgomery County Hospital District will be hosting two free classes open to the public to teach people how to control bleeding during a mass shooting. Classes will be held at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m Saturday at the MCHD administration building at 1400 South Loop 336 West in Conroe. People interested may register online. HCA Healthcare Conroe hosts a class between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month. UPDATE: Bryan Solis was a 20-year-old Hispanic man who died May 21 from a gunshot wound at 13363 Force St., Houston. ORIGINAL STORY: A Houston man fatally shot a teenager Tuesday night who apparently had targeted his home in east Houston with paintball guns, police said. Police said a group of teens with paintball guns were outside the home in the 13300 block of Force about 11:30 p.m. to target the 17-year-old who lived there. At one point, 10 to 15 people were outside the home, police said. When the family heard a disturbance outside, the father walked out and approached one of the teens, police said. The father fired one round at him and multiple rounds at a nearby vehicle, which the teen was supposed to get into, according to police. The father told police that he believed the group was a threat and feared for his life. The 19-year-old was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Multiple bullet casings and paintball shells were recovered from the scene, but police are still working to piece together what happened. Police said they detained three people with the group, all around 17 years old. They are still looking for more people who could have been on the scene, according to investigators. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | 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. Ten-year-old Bethany Rodriguez already knows what she wants to do when she grows up. She wants to be a professional dancer hip hop, contemporary, jazz, maybe a little ballet sprinkled in and maybe someday own her own dance studio. Rodriguez, a student at Jamison Middle School in Pearland, has been performing in competitive dance since she was 5, and she recently got the chance of her young lifetime. It all started with an audition, but this was no ordinary audition. As her mother, Monica Rodriguez, tells it, one of Rodriguez dance instructors suggested she try out for a spot in a selective summer program at the nonprofit Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles in July. In January, Bethany was part of a two-hour audition process at the Houston Ballet. Two weeks later, she got the email. PREVIEW: Get our experts' picks for concerts, kids' stuff, fine arts, movies and more I literally screamed at the top of my lungs, Bethany says. There was an obstacle. Tuition costs $2,000, and additional costs would include temporary living arrangements, costuming and air fare. In early April, an aunt started a GoFundMe account, which had raised a little over $400 by early May, with a June deadline to come up with the money. Rodriguez said some local businesses indicated they are willing to help with a fundraiser. This would mean so much to her (Bethany) and to our family, said Rodriguez, a single mom who works part-time because of health issues. This is what she has chosen for her career. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Ballerinas on pointe at Houston competition The Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Intensive would a valuable learning experience for Bethany, according to Crystal Wooley, one of the youngsters dance instructors at Divine Dance Academy in Pearland. Its huge because it shows a student willing to go above and beyond, Wooley said. Some of the things they look for (at auditions) are technique, showmanship, confidence and being able to get out there and not crumble under pressure. Attempts to contact the academy were unsuccessful. It would mean a lot just for her individually for her goals and wants she wants to do for her career, and it would mean so much for the rest of us to see her happy, to see all her hard work will be worth it, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez said Bethany understands that money could be a hindrance to her making the trip. She is prepared for that, but she is just so excited for the possibility and the opportunity to learn, and the connections she can make with other dancers and Debbie Allen, are just priceless. According to her mother, dancing has been one way in which Bethany has dealt with difficult times. Bethany is a smart firecracker small but fierce, Wooley said. Bethany loves hip hop and contemporary because of its more freestyle movement. I can just feel the music and dance, she said. yorozco@hcnonline.com The road to perform at the Hobby Center took Adrian Lopez through five states. Now through June 9, Lopez takes the stage in his hometown as the lead actor in Spamilton: An American Parody. While attending Stephen F. Austin State University, Lopez, 23, was a runner on a cross-country scholarship. Primarily, my goal was to make it to the Olympics, he said. Growing up in Tomball, he sang and played guitar and piano with his father and brother. He also learned to play drums and the saxophone. Lopez worked up the nerve to try out for a play as a student at Klein Collins High School. I just wanted to take a bite at it and see if it was for me. I remember shaking and just trying to read the lines. I think I was just mumbling, he said. Gradually, auditioning for other productions helped him get over his initial stage fright. After graduating from high school and attending college, Lopez said he eventually knew he wanted to pursue musical theater. I decided cross-country and track wasnt my thing anymore. I auditioned for my first musical my freshman year and got a part and that made me fall in love with musical theater. It wasnt something I always knew I was going to do, he said. His first role was as Robins Lead Minstrel in Spamalot. After transferring to Sam Houston State University and graduating in 2018, he attended a residency program at the Open Jar Institute in New York City. Eventually, he was able to audition for Spamilton: An American Parody, a spoof of the Broadway musical Hamilton, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Since the show debuted in December, Lopez has performed in Ohio, Nevada, Maryland and Florida before coming to Houston. It almost feels like a dream. Its something Ive always wanted to do, but never thought I would get to do it so soon to come to my hometown and lead a show. Thats kind of crazy to me still and Im still pinching myself about it. Its really neat. Its also kind of terrifying, he said. mayra.cruz@chron.com Local business professionals and aspiring corporate leaders seeking that extra nugget of management know-how will not have to go far to learn new tactics and strategies, as Rice University is bringing a four-day, intensive leadership program to The Woodlands this fall. Zoran Perunovic, the director of education for the Rice Business School, said the program The Leadership Accelerator: The Woodlands, is the first time Rice Universitys Business School has hosted continuing educational session outside of the Houston campus. This is the first (course) off-campus course in history, it is historic, Perunovic said of the Oct. 7-10 seminar. The Woodlands, it is one of the areas around Houston that has mid-level leaders and one of the fastest growing areas with employees with management duties. We (already) have a lot of people who live in The Woodlands who take the executive education courses on the Rice campus. It is a perfect place to have (an off-campus) leadership program. A THRIVING DISTRICT: Rice University unveils plans for former Sears building The course, which begins Oct. 7 and runs through Oct. 10, will be hosted at the Lake Front North II building in Hughes Landing, located at 2103 Research Forest Drive. Described in a press releease as an immersive four-day course designed to provide established managers with the opportunity to revisit leading practices in creating a more cohesive, productive team in their organizations, Perunovic said the program will be helpful to many. The course is a program of the DNA Leadership platform, this is the genetic code of leadership, he said. There are crucial lessons for anyone in leadership, for skills they need. The lead instructor for the course is Professor Brent Smith who is senior associate dean for Executive Education at Rice. Smith, who works as an associate professor of management and psychology with a focus on organizational behavior, will lead attendees through several modules such as, Leading Oneself, Leading Others, Leading Teams, and Leading the Enterprise. Perunovic said registrations for the seminar are going well and added that college leaders expect the four-day session to be full within weeks. The cost of the course is $6,500 and more details can be located online at www.business.rice.edu/TLA/THEWOODLANDS or call 713-348-3720. We already have pretty good (registration) numbers and the outlook for a full seminar is good, he added. jeff.forward@chron.com Nidhi Damu, a graduating senior at The Woodlands High School, climbed aboard a school bus every day class was in session for the past 13 years. Quite literally every day her attendance record is perfect for her entire school career. Damu attended Buckalew Elementary School and Mitchell Intermediate School before entering high school. Although she didnt initially set out to keep up a perfect attendance streak, she spoke with The Villager about what it took to make it happen. QUESTION: Tell us a little bit about you and your family? DAMU: My parents first moved here in 2000, from South Africa, to Colorado Springs, Colorado. My dad had cousins who lived there, and I was born in Colorado. Then, they moved down to The Woodlands around 2004 to be closer to my dads siblings. We lived in the neighborhood across from both of my aunts, so I see them pretty often. QUESTION: You havent missed one day of school from kindergarten to 12th grade. How did that happen? DAMU: From kindergarten to sixth grade, I didnt really notice that I hadnt missed a day of school until the awards ceremony in sixth grade they called me up and gave me $50 and I thought it was pretty cool. Then, I havent had anything to miss school for since then. I didnt decide intentionally to keep going, because if I would have been sick enough I wouldnt have forced myself to go to school, but I never had a fever or anything. QUESTION: So you never got sick enough to miss school? DAMU: No. Id just have a common cold, but it wasnt that bad. QUESTION: What about any close calls, such as family emergencies or vacations? DAMU: We havent really had any family emergencies that I had to miss school for, but for vacations usually my family would take me out of school right before the end of the day and wed leave then. In seventh grade, we went to Disney and I left around third period. For most vacations, my family just pulled me out of school after I was there for most of the day. QUESTION: Did it take dedication for you to have a perfect attendance record? DAMU: Yes, because there were some days where I didnt want to go to school. But, I decided that Id rather go to school than make up the work that I missed. QUESTION: What do people say when they find out youve been able to do this? DAMU: Theyre surprised about my immune system. They ask how I havent gotten sick. QUESTION: So whats the key? DAMU: My mom makes a breakfast drink every morning. Its kind of a booster: a vegetable smoothie with broccoli, carrots, beetroot, ginger and orange juice. Orange juice is great for keeping you healthy. QUESTION: How does it feel to have these 13 years of school culminate in your graduation? DAMU: Im excited and relieved for next year, when Ill be independent. It feels like something new, because Ive been in the same routine for so long. With college, Im excited to change in up a little bit. Ill start my first semester at the University of Texas at Austin in August, and I think Ill be majoring in aerospace engineering. QUESTION: Will you try to continue your perfect attendance for your college career? DAMU: Ill see. If I need to take a day off, I will. Its a lot more relaxed in college, so if I have to come home or something Id be willing to skip school. But, Im not going to force myself to go through all four years with perfect attendance. QUESTION: Were you recognized in any way by your school for this achievement? DAMU: At our awards night, I got a plaque for my 13 years of perfect attendance. I got a little bit of stage fright for being in front of so many people and being solely recognized, but it was exciting. Im the only one at The Woodlands High School to do this this year. jane.stueckemann@chron.com Ahead of tomorrows feast day of Mary Help of Christians, to whom the shrine of Sheshan near Shanghai is dedicated, some faithful and priests make a supplication and express their concerns amid the destruction of crosses and the arrests of priests. Many feel bitter over the scant results from the Sino-Vatican agreement. Rome (AsiaNews) Several prayers and brief reflections reached to AsiaNews ahead of tomorrow s feast day of Mary Help of Christians. The latter is celebrated in China at the national shrine of Sheshan, which is located on a hill near Shanghai. In them, believers place their trust in Marys hands, appeal for support against persecution and hardships (such as the destruction of crosses and churches and the imprisonment of priests), and voice their bitterness over the limited results of last Septembers Sino-Vatican agreement. At the end of yesterdays general audience, Pope Francis mentioned the feast, expressing his "special closeness and affection" for Chinese Catholics, asking them to remain "united in the communion of the universal Church" amid daily trials and tribulations. Following his Letter to Chinese Catholics in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI established a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China to be celebrated on 24 May to ask Our Lady for strength against persecution, unity among Catholic communities, and commitment to the good of Chinese society. For the occasion, he also wrote a special prayer. Since 2008, the Shanghai Religious Affairs Office and the local Patriotic Association have placed many obstacles before Chinese Catholics who want to make the pilgrimage to Sheshan, a site that attracts believers from both the underground and official Church, united in the same faith and devotion. This year there are no particular difficulties, but as one of the priests cited below notes there are fewer pilgrims than usual. The website of the Diocese of Shanghai lists the various groups that have booked for the pilgrimage and a Mass at the shrine, from late April to late May. In all, there are thousands of them, mainly from Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Every time the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians comes, the heart is always filled with a sense of inexpressible bitterness. Pope Benedict XVI made the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which provide great comfort to Chinese Catholics. By contrast, the signing of the Sino-Vatican agreement has not improved at all the real life of the faithful in China, despite the hopes Holy See officials had in this regard. Priests and believers in China must continue to pray before the altar of Our Lady, asking her to help us meet all the challenges and overcome all the difficulties. Fr Peter Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, venerated with the title of Help of Christians at the Shrine of Sheshan, You are the illustrious and great protection of the Church, You are the holy help and blessing of the people of God, your solemnity resembles a well-disciplined army, that destroyed all the heretical sects of the world, let us entrust the Church in China into your hands, so that your children can freely venerate the Lord of heaven and earth, Our Lord, so that they can free themselves from all the chains that hamper freedom of worship, at this time of darkness, before the coming of the first ray of light, Please help and bless your children amid difficulties, struggles and pain, Please protect us so that we may have victory over our enemies, Please lead our souls to the Kingdom of Heaven after death, amen. Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians pray for us. A lay believer Since Pope Benedict XVI called on the Universal Church to pray for our Church in China, the Chinese Church, especially the Church loyal to Rome, has continued to face challenges and difficulties, such as the destruction of crosses. Chinas Communist Party continues to persecute the underground Church. Numerous places of prayer and churches have been closed across the country, including our church, which was shut down before last Christmas. Our heart is still weeping at the thought of what happened that day. Is this the outcome of the Sino-Vatican agreement? Will the work of the old bishops like Fan Xueyan[i] be lost? Father Liu Honggeng is still in prison . . . We continue to hold onto the faith, despite hardships and suffering ... A lay believer Tomorrow, 24 May, will be the Day of Prayer of the Universal Church for the Church in China. For this occasion, Pope Benedict XVI prepared a special prayer (to Our Lady of Sheshan). Pope Francis again appealed to the universal Church, calling for prayers for the Church in China on the feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians. In the Chinese Church, especially in Sheshan, the number of faithful making the pilgrimage from across the country seems to be down. Now, after more than half of the month dedicated to Our Lady of Sheshan has passed, crowds of believers have not come to the shrine, the prosperity of the past is no more. It is certainly not that the faithful no longer venerate Our Lady, or that the will to make the pilgrimage is weaker, but rather that the current situation does not encourage the faithful to freely express their faith, despite the presence of the Holy See at the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 in Beijing, and the visit of the two Chinese bishops to Milan. Fr Paul [i] Mgr Joseph Fan Xueyan (1907-1992), underground bishop of Baoding (Hebei), died from torture police custody (see AsiaNews, Bishop Fan's ghost in Bishop Jia's arrest, 16 April 2004). The cardinal went to Thailand to mark the 350th anniversary of the apostolic vicariate of Siam. The prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples indicated the need for "a new missionary zeal". PIME Missionary: "In Chiang Rai we will start from the people". Bangkok (AsiaNews) - Thai Catholics have welcomed Card. Fernando Filonis call for a Church that is "missionary, free from self-celebration, says Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) priest Fr. Marco Ribolini. The priest, who is pastor of Mae Suay mission located in the young diocese of Chiang Rai was commenting on the prelates words delivered during celebrations for the 350th anniversary of the apostolic vicariate of Siam. The prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples visited Thailand for a six-day pastoral visit (May 16-21), which began at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Bangkok, where he met with the Thai Bishops Conference (Cbct), indicating to them the need for "a new missionary zeal" for the local Church. On the morning of May 18, during a solemn Eucharistic celebration in Sam Phran (30km west of Bangkok), the prelate met with the Catholics of the capital, along with those of the South and the center of the country. The following day he went to Chiang Mai (photo), in the North, where in the evening he celebrated a mass with the young Catholic community of the place. "The Cardinal's journey - continues Fr. Ribolini - was accompanied by the joy of all Thai Catholics, also because it happened for celebrations that reaffirm the historic presence of the Church in the country. The messages that the cardinal gave to the local Church are very positive; in particular, the discourse on the theme of evangelization given at Sam Phran ". Here, Card. Filoni highlighted the difficulties that await the commitment to evangelization on the Asian continent. During the meeting with religious, seminarians and catechists, the bishop declared: "We must reflect on the fact that our mission as baptized in Asia is a real mission; above all, in relation to the multiplicity of cultures and religious expressions, in addition to the secular realities of families and workplaces. In this context, witnessing to our faith leads us to confront the multitude of unbaptized people, their mentality and their lifestyle, which can sometimes be in contrast with the Gospel and the dignity of the person. The Christian life, therefore, is a sign and a challenge for the search for the true meaning of existence ". "The cardinal - affirms the missionary - reaffirmed the need for evangelization that is not just a facade, but able to propose Jesus Christ with courage even outside of the realms of Catholic schools and institutions. That of the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples was a call to a missionary Church, free from self-celebration". That of the North of Thailand is still a 'catechumenal' Church, of first evangelization and animated by conversions. "Here in Chiang Rai - he concludes - the Catholic environment is represented by tribal groups that have decided to become Christians en masse. With the bishop, Msgr. Joseph Vuthilert Haelom, we are ready to face the challenge put to us by Card. Filoni starting from the history of the single villages. They have become the ground for the evangelizing work of missionaries such as Fr. Giovanni Zimbaldi in the last 50 years. For this reason, activities and initiatives are planned that start again from those who brought the Gospel to each of the communities." Japans former "sad princess" yesterday acted in her official capacity as empress for the first time, visiting the headquarters of the charity, whose honorary president she has been since her husband Naruhitos coronation. The stress that affected her life after marriage seems to be over. Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) Empress Masako yesterday visited the headquarters of the Japanese Red Cross, whose honorary president she became on 1st May. This is her first official engagement. Known for years as Japans "sad princess", the 55-year-old sovereign gave a brief speech to the dignitaries present at the charitys headquarters. The choice of venue is not accidental. A year ago, the then Princess Masako visited the same organisation together with her mother-in-law, the current Empress Emerita Michiko. That was the first time in 15 years that she had taken part in an event associated with the Imperial Family, thus showing an improvement over the stress that had characterised the start of her marriage. Daughter of a diplomat and trained to follow in her fathers footsteps, Empress Masako met the then Prince Naruhito at the University of Tokyo in 1986 and the two got married in 1993. After eight years she gave birth to a daughter, Princess Aiko, who is excluded from the throne because of Japans ancient imperial law of male primogeniture. In 2005 the Japanese government started to consider the possibility of allowing women to ascend to the Chrysanthemum throne, but the birth of a son to Prince Akishino the brother of the current emperor ended the process as his son Hisahito has the right to reign over the country. Police are still looking for two suspects who stole five dogs worth more than $44,000 from a Houston pet store back in April, police said. Three of the puppies have been returned since the burglary at 3:30 a.m. April 29 from the business in the 11500 block East FM 1960 in northwest Houston, police said. Investigators released surveillance video of the incident Wednesday. by Mathias Hariyadi President Widodo promises "zero tolerance" towards the rioters. Hundreds of people have been arrested throughout the capital. The authorities impose restrictions on social media, to prevent the spread of fake news. The bishops: "Concerned about the lack of national unity". Jakarta (AsiaNews) - This morning calm returned to the streets of central Jakarta, after a second night of clashes between security forces and those disputing the outcome of last month's elections, which handed the Indonesian president Joko Widodo the second mandate. Widodo opens to dialogue "with anyone who wants to contribute to the progress of the nation" and promises "zero tolerance" to those who threaten its democracy. The defeated candidate, Prabowo Subianto, invites his supporters to return to their homes to rest, after urging them to "avoid physical violence". The Indonesian bishops declare themselves "worried by the lack of national unity", condemn the unrest and call for respect for the Constitution and the law. Meanwhile, the authorities have placed temporary restrictions on social media platforms, to prevent the spread of fake news and content that incites hatred. Protesters gathered at the headquarters of the Electoral Control Agency (Bawaslu) began to disperse in the early hours of the day. Some of them withdrew to the Petamburan neighborhood, the operating base of the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) movement. Even the gatherings in other areas of the capital have been dispersed. Hundreds of people were arrested throughout Jakarta, including some 72 who took part in the riot at the Bawaslu headquarters, 156 at the Petamburan clashes and 29 at a revolt at Gambir. Many of the protesters appear to have come from outside Jakarta (provinces of Banten, Central Java and West Java) and the police found envelopes containing money on some of the people searched. National Police spokesman, Insp. January Muhamad said yesterday that "the incidents are premeditated and the protesters received money to create chaos". A few hours after Iqbal's statements, President Widodo convened a press conference at the State Palace in the presence of military leaders (photo 2). Among these were the Air Force Chief, Hadi Tjahjanto, commander-in-chief of the Indonesian armed forces (Tni), and Gen. Tito Karnavian, chief of police. "I will not tolerate any attempt to hinder public security, the democratic process or the unity of our country," said Widodo. General Wiranto announced that the authorities have already identified the provocateurs and "the real actors" behind the violence. Although they already have some evidence, investigators still need legal bases to bring them to justice. This morning, the Indonesian bishops have issued a declaration on the violence of recent days. The document is signed by Msgr. Vincentius Sensi Potokota and Fr. Paulus Christian Siswantoko, president and executive secretary of Komisi Kerawam - the Commission for the Laity of the Bishops' Conference (Kwi). "We are very worried - reads the note - by the fact that we have not been united as a nation, not even in front of the announcement of the General Electoral Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum - Kpu) on the official results [of the elections]. We very much appreciate both the Kpu and Bawaslu, for the commitment of their officials in order to facilitate the voting operations. We firmly condemn every act of violence and anarchy, this is not an appropriate way for us to express divergences and contrary opinions: they only tarnish our democratic process. We show respect for our Constitution and our laws, as this legal system guarantees our demands for justice. We also hope that political and religious leaders will demonstrate their important role as promoters of cohesion and become guardians of ethics and social life ". Pamela Turner's body on Thursday was heading back to Mississippi in a casket for one final trip home. After Turner's funeral service, her niece, Tomeka Johnson, tried to decompress while watching the news from the couch at her northwest Houston home. But there was no escape from the story of Turner's shooting death. On the television news crawl, she read that the police officer who shot and killed her aunt had returned to duty. "I don't even know what to do anymore," Johnson lamented. Earlier in the day, Turner's 90-minute funeral had been a solemn, and at times, hope-filled, affair. Grieving family members shared memories how Turner loved to cook, how she was great mother to her two children, how much she cherished her dog Chi-Chi, how she always gave to those in need. A gospel choir roused the attendees with uplifting hymns, and throughout, civil rights leaders appealed to the crowd with calls to action. "We marched from Trayvon's (Martin) case, and we marched for Eric Garner and we marched for Michael Brown," said Rev. Al Sharpton, as he eulogizied Turner and listed other police shootings that took the lives of unarmed black people. "And we will march to Baytown until justice comes to Baytown." The mourners could not ignore that the Baytown Police Department, just prior to the funeral, announced that the officer in Turner's shooting already had returned to his job. While Juan Delacruz, an 11-year veteran of the force, is not back on patrol, he was placed on administrative duties on Monday after a standard three-day paid administrative leave, spokesman Lt. Steve Dorris said in an email Thursday morning. The decision did not sit well with several civil rights advocates at the funeral at Lilly Grove Missionary Church in south Houston. "Law enforcement officers are supposed to be keepers of the peace," attorney Lee Merritt said. "They are intentionally agitating this community." HPD CHIEF: Suspect is key in finding missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the shooting, and questioned whether Turner's rights were violated under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turner had paranoid schizophrenia, which her family believes was known by Delacruz and the Baytown Police Department. "I believe there is no doubt there's a federal question here," Jackson Lee said. The Harris County District Attorney's Office Civil Rights Division is investigating the shooting and will bring the evidence to a grand jury, authorities have said. The Texas Rangers has taken over a parallel investigation, while the Baytown Police Department is running a separate internal affairs investigation to determine whether department policy was followed. Turner was walking at her apartment complex in the 1600 block of Garth Road when she was approached by Delacruz the night of May 13. He said he was attempting to arrest her on open warrants when the two began to struggle. Delacruz shocked Turner with the Taser, after which he said the woman deployed the Taser against him. He fired five shots, Dorris said. A bystander captured the encounter in a now-viral video, which showed Turner yelling that she was being harassed and that she just wanted to go home. Get notifications Text CHRON to 77453 to get breaking news alerts by text | Sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. See More Collapse She yelled "I'm pregnant," which police later said wasn't true. The video showed Delacruz standing over Turner before he appeared to back away. Then, the five shots sounded. Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Turner's family, said that funeral directors had to reconstruct the 44-year-old woman's face, because she was shot in the cheek in addition to shots in the abdomen and chest. Official autopsy results from Harris County have not been released. Turner's injuries were not visible, and funeral goers approached the casket, remarking how beautiful she looked. She laid in a white dress, with a lavender scarf tied in a bow around her neck. A bouquet of purple and pink roses and lilies cascaded over the lower half of her body. "She looked like herself," said Johnson, who works in a law office. Other mourners seemed encouraged by the songs of the Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church Choir. When a cantor sang, "I'll fight your battles if you would only trust me," dozens stood up with cries of praise. Turner's daughter, Chelsie Rubin, later read the church a poem "Remember Me," written by Anthony Dowson. She stood next to her brother, Cameron January, and told of a mother who always supported them in their endeavors. Turner previously was a unit coordinator at Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital in Baytown before taking a leave because of her health, her family said. Turner is scheduled to be buried on Saturday in Fayette, Miss "It's really hard for us, but I know she's looking down and she's watching us and she's proud," Rubin said. "She's proud of how strong we're being. I love you, mom. I love you so much." Antoinette Dorsey-James, who described herself as a "second mom" to Turner, said that Turner, scheduled to be buried on Saturday in Fayette, Miss., had a good relationship with God and is already reunited with him in Heaven. Her message of mental health awareness will continue, she said. "Pam was only existing on this earth," Dorsey-James said. "Now, she lives." samantha.ketterer@chron.com Twitter.com/sam_kett A gas station clerk was shot early Thursday during a robbery at the store in south Houston, according to police. He is expected to survive, police said, and the lone suspect remains at large. A former Houston municipal worker who murdered his supervisor in 2015 was sentenced on Wednesday to 19 years in state prison. Tyrone Auzenne had pleaded guilty to killing his boss, Michael Vaughn, at the southeast Houston offices of the citys solid waste management department on Dec. 21, 2015 The man, then 43, told authorities that he was being picked on unfairly. He said he walked into Vaughns office and shot him with a semi-automatic pistol hed brought to work. Auzenne posted $50,000 bond almost immediately and awaited trial for several years. After pleading guilty, state District Judge Josh Hill decided his sentence. Vaughns family delivered witness testimony on Tuesday, telling Hill that the shooting appeared to stem from jealousy in the workplace. Vaughn was recruited from the city of Dallas to Houston for his position, which Auzenne had previously held on a temporary basis, they said. Auzenne had worked for department for 21 years, an agency spokeswoman said at the time of the shooting. The slain man told his family members that he was frustrated with the way Auzenne was behaving and had even asked his superiors to transfer the man out of his office. Regardless, the family said they found it hard to believe that he would have picked on an employee. Michael did not have bullying in his soul, his brother, Ronald Vaughn, said. NASA is giving you a chance to put your name on Mars. Using an electron beam, your moniker will be stenciled on a silicon chip with lines of text smaller than one-thousandth the width of a human hair, NASA said in a release Tuesday. At that size, more than a million names can be written on a single dime-size chip, which will ride on the Mars rover under a glass cover. HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: See more on Mission Mars From now until Sept. 30, you can add your name to the list. But there's more. The opportunity to send your name to Mars comes with a souvenir boarding pass and "frequent flyer" points, according to the release. Miles are awarded for each "flight," with corresponding digital mission patches available for download. The rover is scheduled to launch as early as July 2020, with the spacecraft expected to touch down on Mars in February 2021. On HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Want to be an astronaut? NASA's requirements have changed a bit in 60 years Once on Mars, the rover, a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds, will search for signs of past microbial life. It will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for a future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. "As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration," associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen said. Head to HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM for more on Mission Mars. See more on flying your name to Mars above. Marcy de Luna is a digital reporter. You can follow her on Twitter @MarcydeLuna and Facebook @MarcydeLuna. Read her stories on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | Marcy.deLuna@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message What better way to celebrate World Turtle Day than with a stroll through a lovely neighborhood? That might have been the thought of this alligator snapping turtle, as it made its way through the 23100 block of Postwood Park in north Harris County on Wednesday. The National Democratic Alliance coalition won at least 343 seats, 302 for the prime ministers party alone. In total, 272 are required for an absolute majority. The Congress is "shocked". Analysts criticise the oppositions inability to present a credible alternative. The vote is confirmation that "populism is growing". New Delhi (AsiaNews) Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), especially its leader Narendra Modi, have been swept to victory In Indias parliamentary elections. Speaking to AsiaNews, Mgr Peter Machado, archbishop of Bangalore, said we wish the BJP government all the best. The Catholic Church will surely be cooperating with the Government in whatever schemes they have for the people through our apostolates especially in education, health care and welfare services. The prelate added that the Church expects the Government to give us freedom to practise our religion as well as the opportunity to serve the poor, Tribals, Dalits, women, and children. Counting started this morning at 8 am (local time) and is still in progress. But with only a few districts still to report, one thing is certain: Modi will be prime minister for a second time and can govern alone for another five years. Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! Modi said on Twitter. World leaders sent their congratulations, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who, in an official statement, stressed the importance China attached to its ties with India and its desire to take their partnership to a new height. According to the latest results by the Election Commission of India, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 343 seats in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament), 302 for Modi's own party. A majority of 272 seats is needed to govern. By contrast, the Indian National Congress, the main opposition party led by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, won 50 seats. In coalition with other parties, it took a total of 87. Rahul Gandhi admitted defeat and congratulated the winners. A Congress party spokesman, Jaiveer Shergill, told the BBC that the results came as a shock. "We didn't expect this defeat," he said. "[We] weren't good communicators about our electoral promises." The amazing victory was expected based on the first exit polls, which showed that a large majority of voters favoured the Hindu nationalist party. Experts put down Modis victory to the opposition's inability to present itself as a credible alternative to govern the country. The dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir also played a role after the 14 February attack on the Indian military. Modi in fact upped the ante with his anti-Pakistan sabre-rattling throughout the electoral campaign. Analysts now admit that playing up the high-level tensions with Pakistan and acting as a strong man who guarantees security was a winning strategy. Speaking to AsiaNews, Lenin Raghuvanshi, Dalit rights activist and executive director of the Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) in Varanasi, said that the re-election of the prime minister, who has been accused of discrimination against religious minorities, is confirmation that populism is growing ". For A C Michael, a former member of the Delhi Minority Commission and development director for Alliance Defending Freedom-India, a second Modi administration will not change the government's approach to minorities. The BJPs priority is to first address the concerns of the majority, then attend to the needs of minorities. In the list of priorities, we may be placed later but we will still be their list, he explained. Christians will continue to be viewed as the masters of conversions, despite census figure showing that their numbers have been stagnant since independence. But it does not mean we Christian will stop practising our faith as guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The people of India have democratically elected a government of their choice, he added. Democracy is thriving in our country. This is not some kind of coup. All political parties had the same opportunities to convince people and win over their confidence. BJP successfully did it. Others failed to win the confidence of the people. Still, Michael hopes the government in its new mandate will adopt a different approach, reaching out to minorities, who otherwise will continue to live in fear of the Hindutva agenda. (Nirmala Carvalho contributed to this article) by Wang Zhicheng The Japanese company is in line with the ban imposed by the US, after Google and ARM, a design firm for chips. Retail sellers no longer accept Huawei tools: they fear they will remain unsold. Beijing (AsiaNews) - Japan's Panasonic has declared that it will block its trade relations with Huawei to submit to the restrictions imposed by the United States. Since last week, the US has included the Chinese technology giant on a list of companies with which Americans cannot trade unless they have a special permit. The notice applies to all goods that contain 25% or more of material from the USA. According to the US administration, Huawei poses risks to national security, being obliged to pass on information and data to the Chinese government. Three days ago, Google, in obedience to the Washington ban, saysit will block updates to the Android operating system for Huawei phones, and access to apps like Google Play, Gmail and YouTube. And yesterday, according to the BBC, ARM, a design company for chips, based in Great Britain, gave indications to stop any contract with Huawei. Huawei has declared that it will be able to do without the made-in-US components and even the Android operating system, having developed some projects in its own right over the past few years. But several technological experts doubt that it can do without US aid. Meanwhile, in several Asian countries, many retail stores are refusing to accept Huawei's tools: they fear that with the blocking of updates, customers will turn to other brands and the Chinese will remain unsold. Cookie Preferences Cookie List Cookie List A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website when visited by a user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting for our advertising and marketing efforts. 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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasios presidential campaign hasnt exactly gotten off to an auspicious start, with troubling polling numbers, doubts as to whether hell make the first debate, and the questions about how much money hes raising. Then again, hes come from behind to win before, both running for public advocate and for mayor. Will he outperform expectations and silence his critics, or will his White House aspirations fizzle? In this weeks Ask the Experts feature, we reached out to Sid Davidoff, senior partner at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron; Ben Max, executive editor of Gotham Gazette; Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University; Joseph Viteritti, a professor of public policy at Hunter College; and Eli Valentin, a political consultant who teaches political science at Monroe College. How long will Bill de Blasio stay in the Democratic presidential primary? Christina Greer: I may be the only New Yorker who feels this way, but I do see a possible path for Bill de Blasio. He's been an organizer in the past and if he can make inroads in Iowa and South Carolina especially, and as long as media expectations remain low, he could actually pull a Bill Clinton in 1992 and supersede expectations which gives him a boost when he needs it most. Not sure what the fundraising will be, but let's be honest, there are several potential donors who would like to do business with the city which builds in an automatic advantage for BdB over other candidates. Sid Davidoff: With 23 Democrats legitimately running, it feels like there are as many candidates as there are voters. Now lets add to that their varied ranges of experience, from governors to mayors to U.S. senators and members of Congress. What candidates are now attempting to do is to make their positions as clear, dynamic, memorable and concise as possible to set themselves apart from the pack. Its going to take awhile to position and create memorable identities that will resonate and reach Democratic voters across the nation. Mayor Bill de Blasio has a message that can resonate: He has a record of accomplishment on crime, universal pre-K and minimum wage, for starters. And hes the mayor of the nations largest city, which is like running a small country but more difficult. That means he will attract media attention, not always great attention, but attention nonetheless. And even if the polls which Trump proved have about as much credibility as online psychics have him down now, that can change. If de Blasio can raise enough money to keep his campaign going, and if his message resonates with not just the uber liberal but with the disenfranchised, expect him to continue to be energized for a while. Joseph Viteritti: Bill de Blasio will remain in this for as long as there is a sliver of hope that he can become a serious contender. I would say he is in it at least through the summer, since he has already signaled that he does not expect to qualify for the first debate taking place in late June. That event itself could have a culling effect, but it could also establish a few secure frontrunners. Despite the discouraging poll numbers and negative local reaction from the people and the press, I think he really believes he has a shot. If you follow his career as closely as I have, you will see that this leap into the presidential sweepstakes (a gamble, for sure) is very much in character for Bill de Blasio. He has always defied the odds and the pundits, whether it involved a run for a City Council seat, the public advocate perch, or the mayoralty. In 2013, he was the only mayoral candidate willing to run against the Bloomberg record. We all know, however, that this one is different. Running in a crowded field for the presidency of the United States against candidates with more money and name recognition is a world apart from anything he has ever done. Ben Max: How much money can he raise? Theres really no telling exactly how long this presidential campaign will last in some ways you could see it flaming out fairly quickly, but in others it seems plausible that hes in it through a few of the early primary state votes, depending on many factors, including how the rest of the field winnows and if he can gain any momentum at all. While his chances appear exceedingly daunting, we should be careful about totally dismissing his candidacy, and never forget his apparently irrepressible desire to be on the national stage. Eli Valentin: I dont think the mayor will stay in the race beyond the South Carolina primary. He will stay until then with the hopes of wooing enough African American voters to remain competitive in the race. The problem for de Blasio is that he is doing very poorly in the early polls and there are no signs of any uptick. In fact, the most recent Quinnipiac poll shows that of all the candidates he has the highest unfavorable numbers. In all other polls he receives less than 1% of the support of likely Democratic primary voters. Add this to his spotty record as mayor, and I think it unlikely that de Blasio will even place third in South Carolina, thus forcing him to bow out of the race. Will running for president help or hurt the mayor politically? Ben Max: Both. It will probably help him land his next job, perhaps as a cabinet secretary or whatever it might be, though thats not a certainty. But, he may take some serious political lumps in the process, and already is, both at home and nationally. While he has something to offer the presidential race and the national political conversation, he risks political humiliation if he is the 23rd Democrat into the race, never gets above 1 or 2% in the polls, and either flames out quickly or sticks around too long. And at home, hes only cementing the image many New Yorkers already have that he doesnt care enough about his job as mayor. De Blasios legacy is largely written at this point, and this presidential bid will likely become a prominent note that illustrates his constant wanderlust. It would obviously help him politically if he wins. Joseph Viteritti: Immediately it is hurting him locally. People are angry that he is devoting his attention to a campaign that seems whimsical and ill-fated while there are serious issues that need attention at home. It will raise his profile nationally, but how that eventually plays out remains to be seen: Will he be well-received by the national press? Will Democratic voters welcome another progressive voice in a party contest that except for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren appears to be dominated by mainstream centrists who are on the defensive as a new generation of leadership may be emerging? Early national polls are also discouraging. If, by some unforeseen series of events, his campaign gains momentum, will New Yorkers' pride kick in, leading them to think, Why not our mayor? With all due respect to the distinguished chief executive of that town, we're not South Bend, Indiana, after all. Eli Valentin: A looming defeat in the primary will not hurt him anymore than his record as mayor of New York City. With a dysfunctional NYCHA and a homelessness crisis that not only has not been alleviated but has in fact become worse during his tenure, de Blasio will go the way of all other New York City mayors that have run for president and join the ranks of private citizens. Christina Greer: Considering the mayor checked out in mid-2018, has no future in New York state politics, leans on the line of legality in several endeavors, why not run? Fortune favors the bold. Everyone sees how luck (John Edwards implosion) and skill (defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton and the most powerful Democratic family of the latter 20th century) assisted Barack Obama in 2007. De Blasio is making friends across the nation and setting himself up for a post-mayoral life (e.g. speaking fees and engagements, business deals, etc). He can't become governor, so why not build a slightly more national profile of donors, policy professionals, corporations and beyond? Sid Davidoff: The mayor is taking the message he has honed here in the city nationally. I think it is a positive when a city like New York has a leader that can be considered among the political powerhouses, and be able to seriously receive consideration as the next occupant of the Oval Office. Since hes term-limited from running for mayor again, this will only raise his political profile and add relevancy to it. Does physically being in the city matter for the mayor? Sid Davidoff: Its not 1954. You can do anything from anywhere. That being said, yes, he can still lead New York City and run for president of the United States. Its the biggest city with the nations second toughest job, but he has excellent people in place and, after almost six years, he has established communications protocols that he will rely upon to stay on top of things. Hes in communication 24/7 now and he can hop on a plane and get back to New York, from wherever he is, in a few hours. While everyone appears to be highlighting the responsibilities of the mayor, every other governor, senator and member of Congress seems to be getting a pass from the media. Which reporters have asked Pete Buttigieg, for example, if he can run South Bend and run for mayor at the same time? Exactly. Eli Valentin: If reports are true that the mayor is bored with his job, he will be happy, but New Yorkers will surely not be happy with the mayor being out of town often. We can, therefore, expect his poll numbers to dip further in New York. Yet as regards to actually governing, the job of running the city falls on the deputy mayor of operations, so no chaos will ensue; the wheels of city government will continue to turn. Christina Greer: I think physically being present does matter. Similarly, this is why I believe teachers should be in the classroom and universities should not solely teach online, but I digress. There are so many micro issues to be dealt with, to say nothing of the fact that the mayor asked for a second term less than two years ago. Potentially using Chirlane as a proxy mayor while he is traveling is a strategy, but New Yorkers did not vote for her, nor did she make a case that she is willing or able to run the city. Therefore, the presence of a mayor in the city does matter to me and I highly doubt I am alone in this line of thought. Ben Max: Yes, but it is slightly overblown at this point. De Blasio is right that he can travel and still mostly run the city for small stretches at a time. Key word being small. But the rigors of a presidential campaign, including even prep and fundraising while at home in the city, are immense. How many hours a week will the mayor be either on the campaign trail or doing campaign activities from the city? His presence is important, though he already squanders too much of the time he is in the five boroughs by not being at City Hall enough, not meeting with agency commissioners regularly, spending too much time with his gym routine, not holding enough or the right mayoral events around the city, and so on. He and everyone else knows that there is likely to be some emergency that takes place while hes on the trail, which will probably create a firestorm for him, particularly if he is polling so poorly in the race. But theres also the fact that there are already immense, ongoing crises (homelessness, NYCHA, transit, failing schools and more) that demand his presence and attention. Joseph Viteritti: In an age of high-tech communications, the mayor can be in touch on a 24/7 basis with great ease. He does not actually run agencies on a daily basis. Mayor Bloomberg, for example, used to disappear on weekends without even disclosing his whereabouts. Yet, the mayor's presence in the city still matters with regard to public perceptions. New Yorkers believe that being mayor is a full-time job. They may have a point. A.O. PRIMARIA MEA este in cautare de o companie IT sau de un intreprinzator individual pentru crearea si dezvoltarea unei pagini web a organizatiei A federal judge in Rhode Island has cleared the way for a trial to decide whether Columbia Casualty Insurance, in bad faith, put its own interest over its policyholders by gambling on a trial instead of settling a claim that resulted in a $25 million jury verdict. Boston-based Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co. sued Columbia, accusing the Chicago-based carrier of pulling a fast one. Ironshore says Columbia risked a jury trial in a malpractice claim only because it knew it would have to shell out the full $9 million in coverage provided to settle the case. By not settling, Columbia exposed Ironshore and its policyholder to even greater losses. A jury in August 2015 awarded claimant Carl Beauchamp $25.6 million in damages which came to $35 million with prejudgment interest forcing Ironshore to pay all of the $11 million in coverage that it provided as a third-tier insurer. That was the largest negligence verdict in Rhode Island history at the time, the court said. Columbia filed a motion with the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island to dismiss Ironshores suit on the grounds that a carrier cannot be liable for bad faith unless it has been accused of breaching an insurance contract. Columbia said its insurance contract was with Rhode Island Hospitals parent organization, Lifespan, not Ironshore. On Monday, U.S. District District Judge William E. Smith ruled that Ironshore did not have to be a party to a contract with Columbia to bring a bad faith claim. The crux of the dispute here is whether Columbias settlement tactics in the Beauchamp action were reasonable and legitimate efforts to reduce Lifespans exposure to damages, or were executed in bad faith and in reckless disregard of Lifespans best interests, the judge explained in his opinion. Ironshore also scored a victory against Columbia by persuading Smith to bar one of Columbias expert witnesses, a retired judge who wrote a report finding that Columbias actions were consistent with industry standards. Both litigants are heavyweights in the liability market. Columbia Casualty Co., based in Chicago, had $572 million in direct written premiums in 2018, all but $5 million of that in liability lines, according to National Association of Insurance Commissioners data. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co. had $990 million in direct written premiums last year, all but $77 million of it in liability lines. Columbia provided the second tier in malpractice insurance coverage through an umbrella policy covering Rhode Island Hospital. The hospital was self-insured for up to $6 million in losses. Columbia covered amounts beyond that retention up to $15 million. Ironshore covered the excess: anything more than $15 million up to $32 million. The dispute between the carriers stems from Beauchamps claim. The hospital had admitted that Beauchamp had suffered permanent brain damage because of its negligence. The only issue left to settle was the amount of damages. Columbia said Beauchamps attorney demanded $32 million to settle the case and refused to come down from that number. The carrier says it earnestly negotiated a pre-trial high-low agreement that guaranteed Beauchamp at least $15 million in damages and no more than $31.5 million. The jury verdict triggered the high-end of that agreement, effectively exhausting all of Rhode Island Hospitals insurance coverage. Smith said now its up to a jury to decide if Columbia ignored its policyholders reputational risk and used Ironshores money to roll the dice in hopes of getting snake eyes. Since its creation more than six decades ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has cemented a reputation as the arbiter of flight safety, with regulators around the world routinely adopting its approvals. In the wake of two deadly incidents with Boeing Co.s latest 737 Max model, that order was turned on its head. Right after the second crash, which left 157 people dead in Ethiopia on March 10, China took the lead in suspending the Max. A worldwide cascade of bans followed. The FAA was the notable holdout for several days until it declared that the U.S. would also stop all flights, a humbling about-face for the American agency. The agencys effort to rebuild its stature reaches a pivotal moment Thursday when it convenes a meeting in Texas for global regulators including those of China, the European Union, Canada and Brazil to review plans to get the plane airborne again. The Maxs grounding is now entering its 10th week. Today, the FAA and Boeing have zero credibility after the Max crashes, said Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation consultant and former pilot based in the southern Indian city of Chennai. Europe and China will definitely take the lead in breaking the American hold. Defiance of the FAA showed a rare lack of coordination in an industry that has worked to unify processes such as airworthiness approvals and air-traffic control. The confusion handed China soon to unseat the U.S. as the worlds largest aviation market a powerful voice as the FAA struggles with allegations that serious design flaws on the Max werent properly detected or disclosed. Texas Meeting The gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, is likely to feel the pull of competing forces: A technical discussion on the surface, interlaced with political and financial considerations as governments try to strike a balance between holding the FAA and Boeing accountable and keeping their people safe, while getting the latest model of the worlds most widely flown plane back in business. Even before the meeting kicks off, some regulators are suggesting that any return to operation wont be swift because theyll want to run their own vetting processes first. The FAA said the purpose of the gathering is to work with technical experts from other civil aviation authorities to address specific concerns related to the 737 Max. In another sign of push-back against the FAA and Boeings traditional lead role in such matters, executives from some of the worlds largest airlines are also gathering on Thursday for a private meeting in Canada to discuss 737 Max issues. Image Tested Acting administrator Daniel Elwell acknowledged in testimony to Congress that the swift groundings of the jet around the world had tested the agencys image. Internationally, we are collaborative 99% of the time, Elwell told the House aviation subcommittee on May 15. When the Ethiopian accident happened, it was not a collaborative process from Sunday night till Wednesday morning, despite our best efforts and attempts to have conversations. I know countries act and they act for various reasons. At the heart of the 737 Max issue is a stabilizing software that may have contributed to its deadly descent in Ethiopia and, five months earlier in Indonesia. Both crashes occurred shortly after takeoff. Boeing said May 16 that the Max had successfully performed 207 flights with a software upgrade. Once a full package is adopted, the FAA will schedule a flight test by its pilots. That may not be enough to appease some critics. Wed really like to see some transparency and for Boeing and the FAA to take responsibility for whats happened, said Jon Horne, the president of the European Cockpit Association, a Brussels-based pilot lobby. At the moment, theres still an awful amount behind closed doors. Boeing spokesman Chaz Bickers said the company has been working with U.S., European and other global regulators on the process for certifying the updated software, along with the associated enhanced pilot training and education that will help prevent accidents like these from ever happening again. Chinas Options Chinas response to the Boeing crisis, in particular, is a complicated maneuver. By the mid-2020s, the nation will displace the U.S. as the worlds largest aviation market, the International Air Transport Association estimates. A growing number of newly mobile Chinese citizens are creating huge demand for aircraft. Its airlines, most of which are state-owned, have received more than 2,000 Boeing jets to date, double the number half a decade ago. No other country has greater demand for aircraft: In the 20 years through 2037, Boeing estimates Chinese purchases at 7,690 new planes worth $1.2 trillion. In aircraft manufacturing, however, China is a bit player in an industry firmly locked in the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus SE. While state-owned Comacs C919 had its maiden flight in May 2017, that plane is years from being a commercial proposition. So regulators in the U.S. and Europe remain the global pace-setters. Duopoly Power China has never built planes acceptable to the world market, said Neil Hansford, chairman of Strategic Aviation Solutions, an Australian consultancy firm. Chinese regulators are followers, not leaders, and have shown no independence from the government. I dont believe China will influence any world aviation decisions anytime soon. The Boeing crisis comes at a difficult moment in U.S.-China relations. The trade war is intensifying, though China has so far refrained from extending tariffs to its orders of Boeing aircraft. (Chinese airlines made up about 20% of 737 Max deliveries worldwide through January, according to Boeing.) China is well versed in the language of business diplomacy. In 2017, Airbus was locked in a standoff with Beijing, which was slow-walking certification of the A320neo model because of what analysts at Bernstein described as a mini trade war as the Chinese agency sought recognition as a certifying authority in Europe. A bilateral safety agreement came into effect just this week, strengthening Chinas global role because its jets will face less scrutiny in the European market. No Turning Back The FAA, too, is keen on these accords. The agency signed agreements with regulators in Singapore, Brazil, China and with the European Aviation Safety Agency in the last two years. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury cautioned on May 16 that the industry shouldnt dial back its collaborative approach, despite what he called a lot of tension and a lot of questioning from authorities in the wake of the Boeing crash. Its very important that we have one system when it comes to safety of aviation, Faury said at a briefing in London. This has led to a continuous increase in safety and a continuous increase in standards. How regulators approach the next steps for the 737 Max will test the industrys appetite for collaboration. Europe and Canada have both said they want to conduct independent studies before letting the Boeing plane fly again. Some authorities have turned much more negative. Indonesia may keep the aircraft grounded until next year in the wake of the crash there, Director General of Civil Aviation Polana Pramesti said. Two of the nations carriers are among the biggest customers of the aircraft. Boeing has to be able to assure us, the regulators, that the aircraft is safe, Pramesti said in an interview on May 20. They also have to regain confidence from the pilots and the airlines, then educate Indonesian customers. I cannot say whether we will keep using the aircraft or not. That tough stance risks eroding the global detente among regulators, an outcome that Alexandre de Juniac, director general of IATA, says would hurt the entire industry. Competition between regulators would be detrimental, de Juniac, whose organization represents more than 280 carriers, said in Paris this month. Airlines want to avoid each model being certified 1,000 times. U.S. aviation regulators wont be rushed and have no timeline on when to return Boeing Co.s grounded 737 Max jet to flight, an official said as the government prepares to hold discussions with dozens of other nations on the planes fate. Federal Aviation Administration acting chief Daniel Elwell said the agencys technical experts will leave no stone unturned as they examine a remedy Boeing is proposing to fix a malfunction linked to two fatal crashes since October. If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us the confidence to lift the order, then so be it, Elwell said to reporters on Wednesday, a day before a meeting with global regulators was set to begin. The stakes for the gathering in Texas are enormous for Boeing and the FAA. The aircraft manufacturers top-selling family of jetliners faces a grounding that could extend for months, while the FAAs reputation as the leading arbiter of aviation safety is being tested. A total of 57 delegates from 31 individual countries as well as the European Aviation Safety Agency and the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization are attending the meetings Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. If there is a crisis in confidence, we hope this will help to show the world that the world still talks together about aviation safety issues, Elwell said. While Boeing hasnt presented its final proposed software fix and the accompanying changes to training to the FAA, the agency will share with other nations the framework for the safety analysis it will use to evaluate the proposals, Elwell said. Boeing was close to sending a proposed fix to the FAA almost two months ago, but backed off at the last moment when an outside review panel raised concerns, he said. A so-called non-advocate review at the planemaker on March 26 raised issues with the work that had been completed so far, Elwell said. Elwell didnt disclose any of the specific issues that the group raised. The attendees are facing contradictory demands to be both tough on the FAA and Boeing in the name of safety, while at the same time finding a way to get the 737 Max plane back into the air for economic reasons, said one person familiar with what the representatives are thinking. FAA must demonstrate it is being extremely thorough in its technical evaluation of Boeings proposed fixes to the plane while at the same time showing sensitivity to the political pressures the other countries face at home in the wake of the two high-profile crashes, said a second person who has dealt with such discussions in the past. Both people asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the meetings. Among the FAAs challenges will be how swiftly other aviation agencies adopt its conclusions about the planes possible return to flight. Agencies around the world in recent years have signed numerous bilateral agreements that allow them to accept each others work certifying aircraft, though those agreements allow for exceptions. Already there are signs that some aviation regulators plan to go it alone, though the people familiar with the talks cautioned that its still too early to predict the final outcome. EASA, the FAAs equivalent representing most countries in the European Union, has said it is conducting a broad review of the 737 Maxs design, not just the software implicated in the two crashes that took 346 lives. EASAs actions could further delay resumption of flights and might prompt other nations to wait for it to act before allowing the plane to fly again. Some countries aviation authorities have been talking even tougher about how theyll treat the 737 Max. Indonesia could keep the aircraft grounded until next year in the wake of the crash there, Director General of Civil Aviation Polana Pramesti said May 20. Two of the nations carriers are among the biggest customers of the aircraft. Boeing has to be able to assure us, the regulators, that the aircraft is safe, Pramesti said in an interview. They also have to regain confidence from the pilots and the airlines, then educate Indonesian customers. I cannot say whether we will keep using the aircraft or not. China Acted The FAA grounded the 737 Max models on March 13 after evidence emerged that a crash three days earlier of an Ethiopian Airlines flight that had just taken off from Addis Ababa had involved an erroneous activation of a device that repeatedly commanded the plane to dive. The U.S. was one of the last to halt flights on the plane as nations such as China acted days earlier. Elwell has said the FAA needed hard evidence of a link between the two accidents, while other countries said they were acting out of caution. The same system, Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS, was also activated in the Oct. 29 crash of a Lion Air 737 Max leaving Jakarta. Chicago-based Boeing has developed a software fix that wont allow MCAS to push down a planes nose more than once and it will rely on data from two sensors instead of one in an attempt to lower the chances that a single malfunction can trigger it. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Pope Francis led the inaugural Mass of the 21st Assembly of Caritas Internationalis. For "the sake of the mission, [. . .] human convictions and traditions [. . .] must be left aside." Gods presence does not lay in the greatness of what we do, but in the smallness of the poor we meet. [. . .] Standing in front of the tabernacle and the many living tabernacles that are the poor helps us. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis addressed the 450 representatives of Caritas Internationalis in the Mass inaugurating the charitys 21st General Assembly. Centred on One human family, one common home", the meeting, inspired by the encyclical Laudato Si, will last from today until next Tuesday (28 May). In his homily, the pontiff called for the grace to accept the way indicated by the Word of God: humility, communion, renunciation". To do so it is necessary to avoid the cult of efficiency, worldliness, and self-worship. At least 40 bishops from around the world took part in the Mass, together with the charitys president, Card Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila (Philippines), at the altar of the chair of Saint Peter. Speaking about todays Mass readings (Acts 15, 7-21 and John 15, 9-11), the pontiff first criticised "the temptation of efficiency", noting that "Jesus did not want the Church to be a perfect model, pleased with its own organisation and able to defend her good name ... faith is not a roadmap, but a Way (Acts 9: 2) to travel together, always together, with a spirit of trust." Hence, one must learn "three essential elements for the Church on her way: the humility of listening, the charism of togetherness, [and] the courage of renunciation." Citing the reading of the Acts that speaks of decisions at the council of Jerusalem, in the "courage of renunciation", the Holy Father noted that "for the sake of the mission, to announce to anyone, in a transparent and credible way, that God is love, those human convictions and traditions that are more of an obstacle than a help can and must be left aside". Likewise, we must renounce . . . ourselves. "To follow the Lord, one must walk fast and to walk fast one have to give up certain things, even if this comes at a price. As a Church, we are not called to strike deals, but to engage in evangelical surges. In purifying ourselves, in reforming ourselves we must avoid window-dressing, to change things to ensure that nothing really changes. This happens for example when, to try to keep up with the times, the surface of things is touched up a little, but it is only make-up to look young. The Lord does not want cosmetic adjustments, he wants the conversion of the heart, which requires renunciation. Coming out of oneself is the fundamental reform." The "courage of renunciation" comes "from the humility of listening", Francis explained. "Only those who let the voice of the other truly enter into them know how to listen. And when interest in others grows, selflessness increases. We become humble by following the path of listening, which keeps us from asserting ourselves, resolutely pursuing our own ideas, or seeking consensus with every means. Listening is above all "listening to life. Paul and Barnabas spoke about experiences, not ideas. The Church discerns this way, in front of the reality of people, not in front of a computer. People come before programmes, with the humble look of those who know how to seek the presence of God in others, which does not live in the greatness of what we do, but in the smallness of the poor we meet. If we don't look directly at them, we end up always looking at ourselves, making them instruments of our affirmation." "From the humility of listening to the courage of renunciation, everything passes through the charism of togetherness. In fact, in the discussion of the early Church, unity always prevails over differences. For each, not one's own preferences and strategies, but being and feeling like the Church of Jesus, gathered around Peter, took first place, in the charity that does not create uniformity but communion. Staying "in his love is the basis of such communion. "How one does it? We must stay close to him, broken bread. Standing in front of the [actual] tabernacle and the many living tabernacles that are the poor helps us. The Eucharist and the poor: a fixed tabernacle and mobile tabernacles. Here one remains in love, absorbing the mindset of the broken bread. There one understands the how Jesus spoke about: As the Father loves me, so I also love you (ibid). And how did the Father love Jesus? By giving him everything, holding nothing back for himself . . . When we instead hold back from giving, when defending our interests takes first place, we do not imitate God's how, we are not a free and liberating Church. Jesus asks we remain in Him, not in our ideas. He wants us to stop pretending we can control and run [things] instead, he asks us to trust and give ourselves to others." "Let us ask the Lord to free us from efficiency, worldliness, and the subtle temptation to worship ourselves and our skills. Let us ask for the grace so as to accept the way indicated by the Word of God: humility, communion, renunciation. CLEVELAND, Ohio The longtime Ohio City headquarters of Voss Industries changed hands Wednesday for $4.78 million, according to Cuyahoga County property records. The property was not owned by Voss, but by an entity tied to former Voss executives. That group, Apocalypse Development Ltd., bought the property at 2168 West 25th St. in 2000 for $1.1 million, according to property records. The new buyer is identified in property records as R&L Ohio City LLC, which registered with the state last month. The same day the property transfer occurred, the Cleveland office of Newmark Knight Frank announced it was listing the property on behalf of a group of investors looking to sell or lease the site once Voss vacated the property. The firm released marketing materials about the property that listed a sale price of $12 million, but those materials have since been removed from NKFs website. The firm said Thursday it will advise the new ownership on future planning for the 4-acre property, which includes a 240,000-square-foot building and 200-plus off-street parking spots. The sale comes as the manufacturing company prepares to move to the suburbs. Voss announced in March that it planned to move out of the West 25th Street manufacturing facility, which has served as company headquarters for more than 60 years. Citing a lack of vacant, modern manufacturing facilities in the city that would fit its needs, the company announced it had purchased a facility on West Bagley Road in Berea. Voss manufactures aerospace, defense and industrial products. It is bringing 267 jobs to Berea, with plans to add 58 more, a Berea city official said at the time of the companys announcement. CLEVELAND, Ohio Research by the NAACP LDF into public water services takes aim at the use of liens and service shutoffs that it says disproportionately hurt the black population in Greater Cleveland and across the country. Cleveland officials, though, dispute any suggestion that actions for non-payment taken by the citys water department target any specific population and contend that some of the data made public by the NAACP LDF is presented in a misleading fashion. Were not oblivious to this whole social equity issue, said Darnell Brown, Mayor Frank Jacksons chief of operations. But water service, as a public enterprise, must be able to pay its bills and break even. What does it cost to deliver that water to you? Brown said. At the end of the day, even though were a public utility, were a meter to cash business. The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund this week made public a summary of a study that looks at water affordability and its availability as a basic right. The full version of the report is expected to be released in June. The report is highly critical of the use of property liens and shutoffs for delinquent accounts, particularly as water rates across the country have climbed to a point where many people find them unaffordable. In the Cleveland water department service area, the overview says, two-thirds of the liens last year were placed on properties in neighborhoods that are dominated by African-American populations which may lead to a devastating loss of home ownership in these communities. We do think that theres discrimination at play, Coty Montag, a senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and author of the study, told cleveland.com. The report recommends a variety of remedies, ranging from advocacy to litigation. It also suggests policy changes including bans on lien sales based solely on unpaid water bills and service shutoffs for nonpayment. Cleveland utilities Director Robert Davis said shutoffs can occur for non-payment and on occasion liens are placed on properties. Liens are always a last resort, Davis said. We never want to place a lien and wed rather never shut you off, either. But the city will not foreclose on a property because of an overdue bill, Davis said. Another area in which the reports data is misleading, according to the city, is when it cites cases before the Water Review Board, a panel that hears consumer complaints. The report says that only 33 of 207 complaints received in 2018 were heard by the board and that just 28 percent received some form of relief. Cleveland utilities spokesman Jason Wood said 112 other cases were resolved before going to a hearing. Other cases involved commercial properties, which arent eligible for the hearing process. And 72 percent of the cases were resolved with some form of relief to the customer, such as an installment-payment agreement or bill adjustment. Cleveland is aware of the challenges low-income customers can face, Brown said. Cleveland is one of six cities in the Great Lakes region that formed a task force to look at equity issues, he said. In Greater Cleveland, the average water bill runs $50 to $60 a month. And while shutoffs and liens do not occur before the city seeks to work out accounts with customers, Davis said. Before service is terminated, a customer must be $400 or more in arrears. At $300, the customer gets a letter warning they need to address their account. At $400, a notice is hung on their door knob. Only after that will a shutoff notice be sent. Discounts are available for low-income customers, for senior citizens through homestead exemptions and for others based on income of up to 40 percent. The water department switched from quarterly to monthly billing in January 2017. That helped spread out payments for customers. At the same time, the city upgraded its water meters. The new meters feed data to a system that customers can access on the Internet. It shows nearly-up-to-the-minute consumption and can reveal problems such as a leak in the system, that could drive up a consumers bill. CLEVELAND, Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan from the congressional Freedom Caucus and Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur are far apart politically, but heres something cleveland.com readers say they do have in common theyre from the most gerrymandered congressional districts in Ohio. Its not even close. In the wake of a federal court ruling (being appealed) that Ohios congressional district map amounts to an unconstitutional gerrymander, cleveland.com detailed each of Ohios 16 districts and asked readers to choose the worst. In voting over three days, it was nearly a dead heat. Jordans 4th district held the slimmest of leads over Kapturs 9th district, 31.89% to 30.67%, at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, though the lead was going back and forth. Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudges 11th district was running a distant third, with 8.51%. (You can still vote at this link.) Perhaps its fitting that Kapturs and Jordans neighboring districts were deemed the most illogical. The design of the districts illustrates the hoops partisan map makers went through to all but guarantee the results of each election since 2012. To pack as many Democrats as possible into as few districts as possible (4 of the 16), Republican map drawers linked Toledo to Cleveland through a narrow strip along Lake Erie to create the heavily Democratic seat held by Kaptur. Just to the south, and splitting two counties with Kaptur, is Jordans 4th District. Kapturs district stretches 105 miles east-west from Cleveland the Parma/Seven Hills border to the west side of Toledo, where Kaptur lives (longer if you dont cross Lake Erie). Jordans district begins in Northeast Ohios Lorain County, dips south to the Columbus suburbs, and then west through his Urbana home and to within 12 miles of the Indiana border. Its 103 miles from north to south, and 135 miles from east to west. Third-place goes to Fudges 11th congressional district. Fudges district is mainly contained to eastern Cuyahoga County, but stretches south through a narrow path to include parts of Akron. Republicans have almost no chance in that district (Fudge has won at least 79.5% of the vote each time), but this allowed map drawers to spread out the GOP strength elsewhere. Democrat Marcia Fudge won at least 79 percent of the vote each time since this 11th Congressional District was approved in 2011. By packing so many Democrats into this district, other districts became less Democratic and less competitive for the party. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics, including gerrymandering. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. Find data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Results Through 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23 As a mother of two small children, I am alarmed that Ohio Republican lawmakers are pushing new legislation to make it easier for would-be attackers to carry guns in public. House Bill 178 eliminates Ohios concealed-carry permit system, and would allow people to carry hidden handguns in public without a background check or firearm-safety training. The evidence shows how dangerous this type of legislation will be. When Alaska, Arizona, and Missouri dropped their permitting requirement in recent years, gun-related aggravated assaults increased dramatically in each state. For example, in the year after Missouri changed its law, the city of St. Louis suffered a nearly 25 percent increase in aggravated assaults with a gun. Thats 484 more gun-related aggravated assaults in a year, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety nonprofit. Guns are already the second leading cause of death for American children. They are the leading cause of death for African-American children. How many more must die before our Republican lawmakers wake up? HB 178 will only make an already devastating problem worse. The current permitting system is the bare minimum necessary to protect public safety. For our childrens sake, we must maintain it. Gayle I. Horwitz, South Euclid NORFOLK, Va. (AP) An investigation ordered up by a Virginia medical school failed to determine whether Gov. Ralph Northam is in a 1984 yearbook photo of a man in blackface next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan hood. Investigators with a law firm hired by Eastern Virginia Medical School said Wednesday they couldn't "conclusively determine" the identities of either person in the 35-year-old photo. They also said they couldn't discern how the picture was placed on Northam's yearbook page, but found no evidence it was placed there by mistake or as a prank. The findings are unlikely to have a major effect on state politics or Northam, who has been trying to regain his footing for several months. Virginia politics was turned upside down in a matter of hours in early February after a conservative website posted a picture of Northam's medical school yearbook page. The Democratic governor issued two apologies within hours, initially indicating that he was one of the people in the picture. By midnight it appeared his entire political base was gone, with the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, other key Democratic groups and top allies calling on him to resign. Northam reversed course at a news conference the next day, saying he was convinced it was not him in the picture, while revealing that he did in fact wear blackface once decades ago, to look like Michael Jackson for a dance contest. Defying calls to resign, he said he wanted to focus his remaining three years in office on addressing longstanding racial inequities. While he was all but invisible in February and much of March, the governor is making routine public appearances again. And he's won praise from black lawmakers and others for several recent policy moves. Those include ending the suspension of driver's licenses for motorists with unpaid court fines and costs, and a review into how public schools teach the nation's racial history. The heat for Northam to resign significantly lessened after scandal enveloped his potential successors. Two women publicly accused Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, which he denies. And Attorney General Mark Herring announced he'd also worn blackface in college, just days after he too called on Northam to resign. Both Fairfax and Herring also resisted calls to resign. And other politicians around the South soon had their own explaining to do over yearbook images taken long ago. But the incident will forever mark Northams time in office, and opponents still use it against him. House Majority Leader Del. Todd Gilbert recently said Northam had chosen to repair his own racist legacy, rather than protect victims of domestic abuse after the governor vetoed a bill requiring a mandatory jail term for repeat domestic abusers. COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio has a new I voted sticker. Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Tuesday unveiled the winner of his offices contest to replace the existing sticker, which had been in place since 2011. LaRose said stickers with the new design will be distributed to county boards of elections, and likely will be seen by voters during the November election. The new logo was designed by Emily Legg, a recently graduated senior at Teays Valley High School in Pickaway County who plans to study graphic design in college. Leggs sticker received the largest share of the 15,500 online votes of three finalists that were selected by LaRose and his staff earlier this month. LaRose didnt disclose the vote totals, but said it was a close race. He said people who voted online were required to provide an email address and an Ohio ZIP code. We got young Ohioans excited about voting through this project, he said. LaRose said he appreciates the new design because it emphasizes voting as a personal behavior that fits within a larger, collective civic responsibility. Although the existing sticker is well-liked, LaRose said its important to refresh the design every so often. I voted, and Ohio voted is a great message, LaRose said. The Secretary of States office received over 2,000 submissions, all designed by students from grades 6-12. COLUMBUS, Ohio Over a dozen of people who work in movies, television commercials and other media pleaded with Ohio senators Thursday to preserve the film tax credit, saying theyll have to move for work without it. It is a business after all, and movies will go to other states, said William Garvey, a location manager who moved to Ohio a decade ago when the Ohio General Assembly established the credit. Theyre not going to turn down the tax incentive in other states to stay here. The future of the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit is in question. Each chamber of the legislature has moved the incentive in opposite directions: The House has done away with it completely in an early form of the state operating budget bill and the Senate has voted to expand it to include Broadway shows. The people who testified before lawmakers were Ohio-based union laborers, academics and people who work on the business side of productions. Or, as Ivan Schwarz of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission described it, Ninety-five percent of people working in the media industry will never walk the red carpet, but rather will play integral roles in the creation of the artistic content. Garvey said he was working with the Anthony and Joe Russo -- the brothers who made the Avengers movies -- to begin filming a movie in Cleveland. But when the House axed the credit, the brothers put the movie on hold. That project has now been postponed, pending the outcome of the budget negotiations," Garvey told members of the Senate Finance Committee. And personally, that was going to be six months of work for me, so now Ive lost over $80,000 worth of salary, and obviously my staff and the rest of us here too (will lose income). Garvey also said he was working with FX, which was considering filming 10 episodes of the television series Fargo," which would last 7 to 8 months. That projects future in Ohio is also up in the air. Pat Darrow of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters said hes been in discussions with teamsters in Minnesota, who told him when that state eliminated the credit, all projects -- and accompanying jobs -- dried up. Film jobs in Ohio have paid teamsters $1,500 a week, he said. Ohio-based workers in the motion picture industry work as grips, electricians, gaffers, caterers, production assistants, drivers, accountants, set builders, plasterers, painters, medics, script supervisors, police, security guards, boat wranglers, editors, artists, boom operators, sound mixers, camera loaders, cable pullers, production coordinators and assistant directors, Schwarz said. Simply put, the media industry is the new manufacturing in Ohio, he told lawmakers. As with all manufacturing jobs, many people who contribute to creating media productions assume key roles behind the scenes, like line workers. Critics of the tax credit say it provides a low return on the investment by taxpayers, and the state has other needs. Senators didnt make any decisions about the film tax credit. The committee is expected to amend the state budget in coming weeks. WASHINGTON, D. C. - Niles Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan has missed 32.6 percent of congressional votes this year while seeking the presidency, according to a tally by ProPublica, making him the third most absent member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the current congressional session. Ryan, who formally announced a presidential bid on April 4, has missed 72 votes so far this year. He missed three votes in January, nine votes in February, four votes in March, and 28 votes in both April and May, the ProPublica tally indicates. Among Ohio members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Cincinnati-area GOP Rep. Brad Wenstrup missed the next highest percentage of votes: 10.4 percent. Wenstrups office said he missed votes for a week in May because his father died. Columbus-area Democrat Joyce Beatty and Republicans Dave Joyce of Bainbridge Township, Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, Bob Latta of Bowling Green, Troy Balderson of the Columbus area and Steve Chabot of the Cincinnati area havent missed any votes so far this year. When asked about the missed votes, Ryan released a statement that said his campaign is built on the premise that it is vitally important to shine a national spotlight on the concerns of my constituents and the millions of people and thousands of communities all across America who share those concerns." He noted his Appropriations Committee work on Capitol Hill has translated into funding to clean up rivers like the Mahoning River, loan programs to help electric vehicle manufacturers build their cars in places like Lordstown and $300 million to purchase four new Air Force reserve planes that will likely be based in Youngstown. Northeast Ohio will always be my priority, and these projects are another example of my unwavering commitment and hard-work for my district and constituents, said a statement from Ryan. I will continue to take every possible opportunity anywhere to push for an economy that works for working people, protect affordable, high-quality health care, and provide help for regions of the country like ours that continue to struggle. The Republican National Committee drew attention to Ryans missed votes on Wednesday in an email that accused him of displaying indifference towards his constituents by choosing hobnobbing on the campaign trail over his day-to-day responsibilities as an Ohio Representative. How can Tim Ryan ask voters to give him a promotion if he doesnt even bother to show up for his current job? it asked. Whether Ryan is running for President or just floating his name for higher office, hes always willing to abandon his duties to the people of Ohio to better serve his own political ambitions. It is common for members of Congress to miss votes when theyre seeking other offices. Former Wadsworth Republican Rep. Jim Renacci missed around 13 percent of votes in 2017 while he was running for Ohio governor, and former Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich missed around 10 percent of votes during his presidential run. Of the House of Representatives Democrats currently running for president, Californias Eric Swalwell has missed 22.6 percent of votes so far this year, Hawaiis Tulsi Gabbard has missed 18.6 percent of votes, and Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton has missed 6.8 percent of votes. Among Democratic U.S. Senators running for president, New Jerseys Cory Booker has missed 32.8 percent of this years votes, Californias Kamala Harris has missed 22.1 percent of votes, Colorados Michael Bennet and Minnesotas Amy Klobuchar have missed 9.8 percent, New Yorks Kirsten Gillibrand has missed 9 percent, Vermonts Bernie Sanders has missed 7.4 percent, and Massachusetts Elizabeth Warren has missed 4.1 percent. Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman hasnt missed any votes this year, according to the ProPublica tally, and Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown - who visited early presidential primary states this year but decided not to run for president - has missed 2.5 percent of votes. WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives took a largely symbolic vote on Wednesday to reverse changes that the Trump administration has made at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bureau was created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill to crack down on practices that led to a mortgage meltdown and bank closures, but Republicans argued from the beginning that it was a rogue agency that lacked accountability. After Republican Donald Trump became president, the bureaus staffing was cut, its fair lending office was reorganized and weakened, and enforcement actions were reduced. On Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled House voted 231 to 191 along party lines on a bill to restore its original direction. House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters said the department has reversed course since the departure of its first director, Ohios Richard Cordray, whom she applauded for putting nearly $12 billion back in the pockets of over 30 million consumers who were harmed by financial institutions" by cracking down on abuses such as exploding mortgages, unfair foreclosures, and hidden prepaid card fees. Arguing that Trump appointees at the agency including its current head, Chagrin Falls native Kathleen Kraninger, have tried to destroy the consumer bureau from within, Democrats noted enforcement actions dropped by 75 percent under Trump. Waters said that among other things, her bill would direct the CFPB to reestablish a dedicated office to supervise student loans, require adequate staffing and mandate that its consumer complaint database remain publicly accessible. Trump lackey Mick Mulvaneys time at the top of the @CFPB had nothing to do with protecting consumers but predatory companies had plenty to cheer for. Today, @HouseDemocrats take to the floor of the House to vote on HR 1500, legislation I introduced to put #ConsumersFirst! Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) May 22, 2019 This bill ensures that no matter who is running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there are protections that bar a rogue director from dismantling it and halting its important work, Columbus Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty said on the House floor. Republicans said Democrats frustration with the current direction was misdirected, and a product of the flawed agency they created. They want to micromanage the bureau because they dont like what the current director is doing, said the committees top Republican, North Carolinas Patrick McHenry. This bill does nothing to protect consumers. The bill is unlikely to get a vote in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, but Waters said it would show Democrats on this committee will fight to restore the bureaus powers. We are now in a position to undo what has been done, the wreckage that has been caused within our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said Waters. Were going to make sure that the consumer protection bureau is strong. CLEVELAND, Ohio Manager Terry Francona had a message for the Indians after Wednesdays 7-2 loss to Oakland that saw the teams offense sputter yet again: Hard work is the only way to turn things around. Weve got to keep grinding, Francona said. Fortunately I think we have some grinders, and we have some guys that can lead the way. Oakland completed a three-game sweep, the first suffered by the Tribe at home since June 23-25, 2017 against Minnesota. Wednesdays loss also dropped the club seven games behind the Twins in the American League Central Division chase. The Indians are 3-4 on their current 11-game homestand and 14-11 at Progressive Field this season. At 25-23, they are a half-game behind their pace through 48 games last season when they were 1 1/2 games up on Minnesota in the division. This year, however, the rebuilt Twins have shown no signs of fading after jumping out to a 32-16 start. Francona knows that after three straight years ruling the roost in the AL Central, there wont be a lot of sympathy for the Indians struggles. The best thing I know is to not drag our heads, to not feel sorry for ourselves, Francona said. Because nobody cares, especially the teams were playing. Theyre probably thrilled. Right now there doesnt appear to be a quick fix. The team jettisoned veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez before Wednesdays game with Francona saying the club needs to find out if it can win with young players such as Oscar Mercado, Tyler Naquin and eventually Greg Allen. Terry Francona doesn't have a magic potion, but he does believe the @Indians have a clubhouse full of grinders: "We gotta get after it, keep getting after it and fire away through it." pic.twitter.com/ipjMm9e1Si SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) May 22, 2019 In the meantime, only a handful of Tribe hitters are pulling their weight. Three-time All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor has hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games (.342, four home runs) and Carlos Santana is hitting .429 in his last seven games with three homers, eight RBI and 11 walks. But Clevelands offense ranks near the bottom of the AL in nearly every offensive category, including runs, batting average and home runs. All while the starting pitching staff ranks third in the league in WAR (4.9) and second in strikeouts per nine innings (10.10). If I had the magic potion, believe me Id give it to everybody, Francona said. With the AL East-contending Rays set to open a four-game weekend series against the Indians on Thursday, Francona knows that the club will take its cues from him during a crucial point in the schedule, particularly the young players on the roster. Ive got to be front and center, I cant be the one feeling sorry for anybody, Francona said. Weve got to get after it and keep getting after it and fight our way through it. Get Tribe Insider texts in your phone from Paul Hoynes: Cut through the clutter of social media and communicate directly with the award-winning Indians reporter, just like you would with your friends. Its just $3.99 a month, which works out to about 13 cents a day. Learn more and sign up here. Carnegie Mellon University In Qatar Celebrates 78 New Graduates May 06, 2019 Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2019, with 78 students receiving their degrees in front of a proud audience of family, friends, faculty members and alumni. Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, noted that the campus is celebrating 15 years in Qatar: "We have changed a lot over the past 15 years, but one thing has stayed the same: our mission to provide a world class Carnegie Mellon education to students in Qatar." The Class of 2019 is comprised of 10 graduates in biological sciences, 32 in business administration, one in computational biology, eight in computer science and 27 in information systems. Members of the graduating class represent 16 nations, including 46 percent Qatari nationals. At the ceremony, Farnam Jahanian, president of Carnegie Mellon University, remarked: "Never has life been more complex or so full of potential and more in need of CMU graduates like you. The story of this century will depend on the things that you do best: answering the questions that will be critical to our future and exploring exciting new modes of discovery." Farnam Jahanian speaks at the CMU-Q graduation ceremony. The graduation ceremony featured a keynote address from Michael Zamagias, a member of Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees and an entrepreneur and business leader based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Zamagias, who has built a successful network of businesses, is a dedicated philanthropist, particularly in the areas of health care and education. Zamagias said, "Education City is an investment that Qatar has made in each of you. You have been endowed with the knowledge and skills to make an impact on your community. It is my hope that your CMU experience will continue to be a source of inspiration to you." Student speaker Amer Ahmad delivers his address. The student speaker for the Class of 2019 was Amer Ahmad, who graduated with a degree in information systems. Ahmad commented on the global responsibility that Carnegie Mellon has instilled in the graduates: "CMU has taken us to so many corners of the world and has provided us with opportunities that are truly once in a lifetime," Ahmad said. "We learned that the responsibilities of an educated young individual extend far beyond our backyards." The Class of 2019 brings the total number of CMU-Q alumni to nearly 850, and they join more than 110,000 Carnegie Mellon graduates worldwide. The Federal Aviation Administration, still stinging from criticism of its certification and eventual grounding of Boeing 737 Max, is optimistic it can get regulators around the world to agree on the process for getting the planes back in the air. "The idea is we are working globally from the same sheet of music and that music is the data we are using to determine when the plane is safe to fly," said Dan Elwell, acting administrator of the FAA. Elwell met with reporters ahead of a day-long meeting of aviation regulators from around the world in Fort Worth, Texas. Elwell says the FAA has no time frame for re-certifying the 737 Max. While many airline executives have indicated they expect the plane to be back in service by July or August, Elwell won't predict when the FAA will approve new software and pilot training designed to fix the 737 Max MCAS flight control system. "We will follow a process that is robust, rigorous and we will leave no stone unturned," he said. "If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us the confidence, so be it." Boeing's 737 Max has been grounded by the FAA and aviation agencies around the world since mid-March. Since then Boeing has been working on software to correct the 737 Max MCAS flight control system, but it has yet to file an application with the FAA for re-certification. In a statement ahead of the regulator meeting, Boeing said, "the software update is complete and Boeing is now providing additional information to address FAA requests. Once the requests are addressed, Boeing will work with the FAA to schedule its certification test flight and submit final certification documentation." Elwell says eventually, all agencies will approve the Max to fly again. When that happens, he knows some travelers will be hesitant to fly on the plane. "Is public confidence shaken? Maybe," he said. "But I'm not worried about the future of public confidence because I'm not worried about the future of aviation safety." WATCH: Boeing 737 Max crash in Ethiopia may have been caused by birds, WSJ reports Idexx Laboratories has room to grow in providing preventative care for pets, CEO Jonathan Ayers told CNBC Wednesday. The veterinary services company expects its diagnostics business will be bringing in $24 billion annually by 2042. That segment brought in $3.5 billion in 2017. Idexx has expansion plans for its clinical testing operations mapped out over the next 10 years, Ayers said. "These are long runways to growth," Ayers said in a sit-down interview with "Mad Money's" Jim Cramer. "The nice thing about demographics is you can predict them out for decades." Idexx is increasingly leaning on the millennial generation, which Ayers said is much more in touch with pets than baby boomers. About 42% of millennials think their pets have special health needs more than double the percentage of the baby boomer generation, he said. "[Millennials] are more likely to go to the vet more frequently and more willing to listen to an advanced standard of care," Ayers said. Ayers said Idexx is the leading reference lab provider, where test samples are sent for diagnoses, and the leading point of care for pets. The company also offers an app powered by the Google cloud platform, he said. "When we bundle those together in terms of a complete diagnostic offering, you put in our cloud-based solution ... you get the whole diagnostic history right there whether you sent the results out or you had it run on your in-house lab," Ayers said. In its first-quarter earnings report earlier this month, Idexx posted revenue of $576 million, up 7% year over year. The company reported earnings of $1.17 per share, up 16% from the year prior. The company also raised its full-year EPS projections by 10 cents a share to a range of $4.76 to $4.88. Customers look at products in an Apple store in Beijing on December 11, 2018. Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images Huawei is winning over more and more Apple fans in China as the escalated trade tensions have stoked "nationalist sentiment," according to the South China Morning Post. China's consumers are increasingly favoring their domestic brands after the U.S. stepped up its action against Huawei, the paper said. The article cited a few anecdotes where people switched to Huawei smartphones from their beloved iPhones to show their support for the country and Chinese brands. "It's kind of embarrassing to pull an iPhone out of your pocket nowadays when all the company executives use Huawei," Sam Li, who works at a state-owned telecom company in Beijing, told the South China Morning Post. He added his company offers employees a Huawei discount. The nationalist rhetoric has gotten louder in China after President Donald Trump blacklisted Huawei, effectively halting its ability to buy American-made parts and components. Comments like "support Huawei" and "hang in there" have become increasingly popular on Chinese social media platforms and some people said Google's decision to cut ties with Huawei is like "cutting the ground from under one's foot," according to the Hong Kong-based newspaper. This combination of pictures created on April 17, 2019 shows at left a police file photo made available February 6, 2002 of the "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh and at right a February 11, 2002 photograph of him as seen from the records of the Arabia Hassani Kalan Surani Bannu madrassa (religious school) in Pakistan's northwestern city of Bannu. - John Walker Lindh, an American captured with the Taliban in November 2001 just weeks after the US launched the war in Afghanistan, is to be released in May 2019 after 17 years in prison. John Walker Lindh, a Californian captured fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was released from federal prison Thursday after 17 years, cutting short his sentence by three years. A Federal Bureau of Prisons representative confirmed to CNBC that Lindh was released from a facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. Lindh, 38, had been sentenced to 20 years after he reached a plea deal that spared him from what could have been more than three life terms. He was released early for good behavior, according to NBC News. As conditions of his release, Lindh will spend three years on probation and will be barred from having devices that access the internet. He is also forbidden from viewing extremist videos, and probation officers will monitor his internet use. American officials, however, are concerned that Lindh may still pose a risk for terrorism. In 2015, he wrote a letter to an NBC Los Angeles producer in which he said the terror group ISIS was "doing a spectacular job." In a series of letters to the producer, Lindh called himself Yahya Lindh, referred to himself as a political prisoner and said he was continuing to pursue knowledge of Islam. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have passed a bill that aims to improve the nation's retirement savings, moving it a step closer to becoming law. Called the Secure Act and backed by both Republicans and Democrats, the measure includes a variety of provisions intended to increase the ranks of savers and the amount they put away. Changes include: making it easier for small businesses to band together to offer 401(k) plans, requiring businesses to let long-term, part-time workers become eligible for retirement benefits and repealing the maximum age for making contributions to traditional individual retirement accounts (right now, that's 70). Francis Dean | Getty Images It also would raise the age when required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from certain retirement accounts must start to age 72, from 70, along with making changes to allow more annuities to be offered in 401(k) plans. "We continue to be optimistic that we'll move this bill over the goal line," said Paul Richman, chief government and political affairs officer at the Insured Retirement Institute. "It's likely that before the end of this year, there will be a retirement bill that gets sent to the president's desk." A provision that would have allowed money from tax-advantaged 529 education savings plans to be used for home-schooling expenses was stripped from the Secure Act during a House Rules Committee vote earlier this week. With the Secure Act's passage, it will now head to the Senate, where a similar bill has yet to be voted out of committee. In the upper chamber, it's known as the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act, or RESA, and its provisions largely mirror those in the House bill. However, it does not include some of the Secure Act proposals, including an increase in the age for RMDs and the requirement that companies provide 401(k) access to part-time workers. RESA's co-sponsor, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said during a recent Finance Committee hearing which he chairs that he looks forward to receiving the Secure Act in the Senate and working out the differences between it and RESA. Both bills also rely on funding their provisions by changing the rules governing inherited retirement accounts. The House measure would require most nonspouse beneficiaries to withdraw the money within 10 years of the original owner's death, while the Senate bill would require distribution within five years for accounts worth at least $400,000, unless the beneficiary is the spouse. Meanwhile, some lawmakers and Washington insiders have referred to this legislative effort to address the lack of retirement savings among the nation's workers as a first step. When the Secure Act was introduced, co-sponsor Richard Neal, D-Mass. who also is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said he would introduce another round of retirement legislation later this year. A European pilots' group Thursday urged the region's aviation regulator to conduct its own thorough and independent review of the Boeing 737 Max before allowing the planes to fly again. International air safety regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration, grounded the close to 400 Max jets that were in service in mid-March after two fatal crashes within less than five months of one another killed a combined 346 people. "Simply accepting the FAA's word on the Max's safety won't be enough," the European Cockpit Association said in a statement. The group represents 38,000 European pilots, including those at airlines that have purchased the Boeing 737 Max, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ryanair. The group's comments come as the FAA meets with its international counterparts in Texas on Thursday to provide an update on its process of approving Boeing's changes to the planes in an effort to get them flying again. Operators of the Boeing 737 Max are grappling with how to reintroduce the plane in their fleets if the FAA and other authorities approve its return. The absence of the plane has forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights during the busy summer travel season. Confidence from pilots and flight attendants is key to that strategy, and Boeing has met with both groups in recent weeks to discuss the changes it's preparing. "If there's an American Airlines pilot ready to go, so am I, so is my family. And we'll be among the first people, if not the first people, on board," American Airlines' CEO Doug Parker told NBC News in an interview that aired Wednesday evening. Boeing last week said it completed software changes to an anti-stall system that has been implicated in the October crash of a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max and another operated by Ethiopian Airlines in March. That software along with updated pilot training materials will need FAA's approval. The manufacturer and the FAA are under fire for how the plane was approved, which included delegating some functions to Boeing. Although the practice is legal, lawmakers have questioned the agency's relationship with Boeing, and several investigations are examining how the planes received a green light with a system that pilots say they didn't know about until after the first crash. The pilots group also wants answers. "For European pilots, having closely followed the developments and revelations in the past months, it is deeply disturbing that both the FAA and Boeing are considering a return to service, but failing to discuss the many challenging questions prompted by the Max design philosophy," it said. For its part, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it does plan to conduct an independent review of the plane. "The information made available so far through the preliminary investigations of the two accidents are deemed to provide sufficient understanding of the safety issues to be addressed and we will continue to analyse any new information that the investigations make available," EASA said in an e-mailed statement. Separately on Thursday, an international airline trade group is meeting with 737 Max operators to discuss Boeing's update and the potential return to service. Celebrity chef Mario Batali is being charged with indecent assault and battery, more than a year after admitting to sexual misconduct. Batali has faced civil litigation, but this is the first time that he has been criminally charged for sexual misconduct. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on Friday morning. The Boston Globe, citing a criminal complaint filed April 4, reported Wednesday that a woman told police that Batali assaulted her in 2017 at a Boston restaurant. The woman alleged that when she went to take a selfie with Batali, he grabbed her chest, kissed her and touched her groin without her consent, the newspaper reported. The woman said she pulled away, but he allegedly kept "pulling on her face" and asked if she wanted to join him in his hotel room, according to the Globe. She declined and left the restaurant. If convicted, Batali faces up to 2 years in prison and would have to register as a sex offender, the Globe said. In December 2017, online food publication Eater reported accusations of sexual harassment and assault from four women against the celebrity chef. In an apology to fans via his newsletter, Batali infamously included a recipe for pizza dough cinnamon rolls. He also left the ABC daytime television show "The Chew" after the allegations surfaced. More than a year later, in March, Batali gave up his restaurants. The Bastianich family bought his shares in all of his restaurants after dissolving its partnership with the chef. In addition, the Italian food hall chain Eataly said it was in the process of acquiring Batali's minority stake. "Mr. Batali denies the allegations in both this criminal complaint and the civil complaint filed last August," attorney Anthony Fuller said in the statement to NBC Boston on Wednesday night. "The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit. He intends to fight the allegations vigorously, and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali." Read more about the criminal charges Batali is facing here. Scientists who conducted the study came from the University of Bristol in the U.K. , Kyungpook National University in South Korea , and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. Their research built on earlier studies about the spike in CFC-11 emissions into the atmosphere after 2013 by giving details on the geographic origins of those increases. The research published on Wednesday found that China accounted for 40% to 60% of the global increase in trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, emissions between 2014 and 2017. Emissions of the gas came primarily from the Chinese northeastern provinces of Shandong and Hebei, according to the study. There has been a rise in the emission of an illegal greenhouse gas that destroys the earth's ozone layer and China is responsible for "a substantial fraction" of that increase, according to a new study . The latest study also confirmed media and activist reports that China could be behind the emissions. "Several considerations suggest that the increase in CFC-11 emissions from eastern mainland China is likely to be the result of new production and use, which is inconsistent with the Montreal Protocol agreement to phase out global chlorofluorocarbon production by 2010," the scientists wrote in the abstract of the study. The Montreal Protocol is an agreement signed by all 197 member states of the United Nations including China to regulate the production and consumption of chemicals that harm earth's protective layer. The treaty has led to "a significant reduction" in harmful gases such as CFC-11, which then allowed the damaged ozone layer to heal, according to a report by Canadian newspaper National Post. Last year, a report by The New York Times found that Chinese factories had ignored the global ban on CFC-11 under the Montreal Protocol. They had continued to make and use the chemical because it's a cheaper material to produce foam insulation for refrigerators and buildings. Non-governmental activist group Environmental Investigation Agency reported last year similar findings as the Times based on its own research. The group said Chinese authorities started to crack down on the illegal production and use of CFC-11. The latest U.S. actions on trade are preventing negotiations with Beijing from proceeding, China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday. "If the U.S. would like to keep on negotiating it should, with sincerity, adjust its wrong actions. Only then can talks continue," Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said Thursday in Mandarin, according to a CNBC translation. He did not mention any U.S. actions specifically, but it's been a tense couple of weeks between the world's two-largest economies. President Donald Trump unexpectedly accused China of reneging on a deal earlier this month and announced that tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would increase to 25% from 10% on May 10. Beijing retaliated, raising levies on $60 billion worth of U.S. products. In the last two weeks, the Trump administration also put Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that prevents it from buying from American companies without U.S. government permission. Google said Sunday it would cut ties with Huawei in order to comply with the order. But after the U.S. temporarily eased some restrictions on trade for the telecom and smartphone company, Google said Tuesday it plans to work with Huawei over the next 90 days. Beijing blocks most Google search and other services in China. "The U.S. ... crackdown on Chinese companies not only seriously damages the normal commercial cooperation between both countries, but it also forms a great threat to the security of the global industrial and supply chain," Gao said. "China is firmly opposed to this. We will closely monitor developments and make adequate preparations." U.S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC's Ylan Mui on Wednesday that a trip to Beijing has not been planned. Trump has said he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in late June at the G-20 meeting in Japan. When asked Thursday whether Xi would meet Trump then, Gao referred reporters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. WHEN: Today, Thursday, May 23, 2019 WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box" The following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (M-F 6AM 9AM) today, Thursday, May 23rd. The following is a link to video of the interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/05/23/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-secretary-mike-pompeo-china-iran-oil-trade.html. All references must be sourced to CNBC. JOE KERNEN: Alright, let's get right to this morning's Squawk Newsmaker. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, we want to welcome you, not only to the show, but welcome you in to Times Square, to our set. It's so much better to have you here MIKE POMPEO: Great to be in New York City today with y'all. JOE KERNEN: And normally if we have a Secretary of State on, we think diplomacy and foreign policy. Can you believe how much of what you do now is in CNBC'S domain, in terms of economics and money and oil and cyber security? MIKE POMPEO: Joe, that's a great point. I have very few meetings with foreign counterparts where we aren't talking about important economic issues. Issues in trade relationships between our countries, a regulatory set of issues, all the things that drive economic growth. You all know, you can't have a good national security for your nation, whether that's the United States or another country, if you don't have economic growth back home. It's imperative. JOE KERNEN: It's a good place to be that we're not talking necessarily about missiles aimed at us, although that's still something I'm sure that you're worried about. So, I was trying to figure out, do we start with Iran? Which unless it really deteriorates that probably is not as big an issue to the markets as what's happening with China. So, I want to start with China and then we'll get to Iran because it affects oil prices, et cetera. But, in terms of China, I know Steve Bannon is not part of the administration anymore, but just let me -- bear with me for a second. Destroying Huawei, according to Mr. Bannon, is ten times more important than striking an overall trade deal. And I thought that might be hyperbole, Andrew, until I looked in your paper today and I'm reading about -- no, I did -- and I'm reading about what's happening with -- in the area where you have the -- ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Yep. JOE KERNEN: --the Uyghurs and these camps. They have set up a huge virtual cage of spying, which supposedly, and here is a quote from your newspaper, they're arguing 'that China is using technology to strengthen authoritarianism at home and abroad and that the United States is the only country that can stop this.' Authoritarianism. I mean, is Bannon overstating the issues here? MIKE POMPEO: I'm going to say something that will surprise you. I think "The New York Times" has that story right. There is real risk. And you saw what President Trump has undertaken with respect to China. For too long, this is not partisan. Presidents from both parties had ignored the challenges that were presented to American workers, to American technology and to American national security that China presents. And he is pushing back in every element. The decision that was made to list Huawei had an enormous national security component to it. The company is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese Communist Party. And that connectivity, the existence of those connections, puts American information that crosses the networks at risk. I've spent a lot of time over the last months talking to our partners around the world, explaining to them why putting their citizens' information, their citizen's national security currents at risk by having that technology inside of their systems. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Mr. Secretary, I don't want to diminish the potential risk, can you help us is there evidence that we can point to specifically today to suggest that there was spyware or other kinds of spying taking place using Huawei hardware? MIKE POMPEO: Yeah. That's the wrong question, Andrew. If you put your information, your information, in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, it's de facto a real risk to you. They may not use it today. They may not use it tomorrow. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: I don't want to diminish the risk. I'm just raising the question because we've also heard from the CEO of Huawei who says, Look, we don't share this information. We're not working with the Chinese government. Point to something specific. MIKE POMPEO: That's just false. That's just false. To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement. JOE KERNEN: There's a law that they must work, if asked-- MIKE POMPEO: It is required to by Chinese law to do that. So, it's just -- the Huawei CEO on that at least isn't telling the American people the truth nor the world. BECKY QUICK: We have seen already that some of the partners you mentioned about, some of other countries, have already started to take up and remove Huawei equipment or say that you can't use it going forward. Several UK companies overnight and some Japanese companies as well. Do you expect us to see more of those companies in coming days or other countries? MIKE POMPEO: We do. We have been working at the State Department to make sure that everyone understands the risk. It's been really an educational mission as much as everything else. Every nation, every private company gets to make its over sovereign choices for the countries and private decisions for those entities. But as we share with them the risks, as we share with them the incapacity to mitigate those risks, which I think some thought could take place, as a technical matter, we don't think there's much mitigation opportunity, as we share that, we're seeing them come to same understanding that the United States has come to. BECKY QUICK: Do you think we eventually wind up with two internets, one based around China and its closest partners and one that is the western world? MIKE POMPEO: I hope that's not the case. We need a single place where information can be exchanged. But it has to be a system that has Western values embedded in it, with rule of law, property right protections, transparency, openness. It can't be a system that is based on the principles of authoritarian communist regime. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: How do you think of Huawei as a chess piece, if you will, in this larger trade discussion and does it ultimately help us or hurt us? Meaning, does China look at this and say, 'Okay they got us and therefore we're going to now work with them in a better way' or do you think they say to themselves, 'You know what, they got us and we're really not going to work with their companies now'? MIKE POMPEO: So, remember there's two pieces to this. There's the national security component. And then there is what President Trump has been driving at to create a fair reciprocal balanced trade relationship between the two countries. I hope that we can keep those issues in their own place. We have an imperative to protect American national security. We have a need to make sure we get these trade rules right. I mean, you all know this. I come from Kansas. American workers in Kansas creating intellectual property, trying to grow their business, trying to take care of their families and the Chinese steal that information. That's not right. We're trying to fix that. They force companies that invest in China to create JVs with the sole intention of making sure the government has access to the information that comes across there. Those are the kinds of things that President Trump with Secretary Mnuchin and Ambassador Lighthizer are working on. And I hope they can come to an arrangement. If they do, it would be a good thing for China and the United States. JOE KERNEN: But global 5G is not going to include Huawei. It's not -- we will not -- is that our stated policy right now? That it's not going to be Huawei? MIKE POMPEO: We want the global 5G system, when it's ultimately built out, to have a Western value set embedded in it. JOE KERNEN: Well we've got to see MIKE POMPEO: Not just American technology. Technology, it will come from Europe, it will come from other parts of Asia. This is a global forum and our requirement is that this technology creates trusted networks. And if we have trusted networks, as you described, we can have a single system which will benefit the world. JOE KERNEN: That's not just a small chess piece, Andrew. That's not a pawn. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: No, it's a big piece. JOE KERNEN: That's at least a ruck, maybe a queen. Right? ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Why do you think we JOE KERNEN: I mean-- MIKE POMPEO: A bishop or a ruck for sure. JOE KERNEN: Yeah. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Why do you think we have not led on 5G? Why has Huawei been able to get as far ahead as it has and we don't have a company that's been able to build the micro cells and some of the other devices that they have created? MIKE POMPEO: It's an important question because we need to make sure that it's fixed going forward. So, it's not just a rear-view mirror 'Why didn't we get there?' but how is it the case that we are going to ensure that there are Western alternatives to Huawei. You know, I think there's lots of pieces to it. One of which is: if you're a state-directed business and you take on subsidies from the Chinese government, there is no doubt you can make real hay when you show up not only with a low cost, affordable product but engage in behavior that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act would prevent yeah, you can get a little bit of foothold. I am convinced that the West will ultimately prevail because I think the world wants systems that they can trust. JOE KERNEN: What are the prospects for us actually getting a deal that has teeth given that so much is at stake for the way the Chinese operate now? They would need to be dragged kicking and screaming into an agreement. Either it's a lukewarm agreement or it's going to take years and years and years. Are you pessimistic? MIKE POMPEO: Joe, I don't know the answer to that. I've spoken to Secretary Mnuchin almost every day as they have been part of these discussions. I haven't been at the center of the actual negotiations. I have seen them make real progress. I hope they can continue to make it. These issues are not only important to the United States, we remind people: these are good for the world and good for the people of China. If we get this right, this will create a trading system that can continue to create prosperity for citizens all across the world. BECKY QUICK: Secretary Pompeo, can I just ask you: if you have been in touch with Steven Mnuchin almost every day, you have seen him make progress, but recently has there been a more downbeat sort of outlook on what happens? Because that is what the market seems to think. MIKE POMPEO: I think he said yesterday they don't have any meetings scheduled for him to travel to China. I hope that by the time the show ends this morning that they're back at it. It's important for the conversation to continue. It's important for both of our nations to try to get this right. It's tough, Joe to your point. The things that -- the changes, the transitions that we're asking China to make, to create these fair, reciprocal trading rules is no doubt a big ask. But it's important for the United States and President Trump is firmly committed to it. JOE KERNEN: I briefly mentioned the Chinese ambassador. Was he -- was that for a U.S. audience or I mean is that really -- BECKY QUICK: Or for a Chinese audience. JOE KERNEN: Or was that really the policy positions? I mean, I watched him say that there's been no military buildup in the South China Sea on any of the islands. I watched him say that everybody knows Huawei is just a private corporation, it has nothing to do -- I watched him say that the internment camps are jobs training for the Uyghurs. I watched him say that everything they decided on, that the United States had pulled out three or four times and taken back what they had -- I mean, it was -- MIKE POMPEO: Yeah. JOE KERNEN: Maybe Baghdad Bob is too strong. But that was the feeling I got listening to some and if that's what we're hearing from the negotiators in the trade talks, I don't see it going anywhere ever. MIKE POMPEO: Yeah. The Chinese are building up in the South China Sea. JOE KERNEN: That's a fact. MIKE POMPEO: The authoritarian nature of what's taking place in Xinjiang to the Uyghurs, some million people held in camps, these are not community colleges. These are authoritarian reeducation institutions. And we have seen what's going on in the technology space. Those are facts. I can't account for why the Chinese Ambassador said these JOE KERNEN: They've criticized you overtly, too, in saying certain things. Have they not? MIKE POMPEO: I'm sure they have. JOE KERNEN: They may be watching this and they're going to be mad that I said Baghdad Bob. But it just-- MIKE POMPEO: What's important, Joe -- what's important, Joe, it's not name calling. It's important to be honest, get the facts right and then ensure that our nation protects its interest. And President Trump has done that at every turn. JOE KERNEN: And he, you know, again referencing some people that know him, they are saying he's not going to back down. He's going to listen to Chuck Schumer and not going to back down on this. Is that-- MIKE POMPEO: President Trump has made clear his expectations for how the United States will behave. JOE KERNEN: There's not an S&P, Standard & Poor's, 500 level where we decide to start talking more? MIKE POMPEO: These are important commercial -- long-term commercial economic interests of the United States and national security interests. President Trump understands them. JOE KERNEN: We could go until 9:00 talking about China. We should mention Iran. What is the latest there in terms of you have, on record, saying we have plenty of oil. We have partners that will make up for any disruptions that we see from Iran. In recent days, have you seen them pull back on some of the more bellicose moves they made? Whether it's the bomb near the embassy, or the -- and we don't know it's them for sure, with the ships. But it certainly looks like them. MIKE POMPEO: This threat, this threat from Iran remains. We have had some luck in disrupting some of the tactical things that were in front of us, I think it's fair to say. But make sure we're still on high alert. We're still making sure we have the right resources in play. Your point, I remember when we began the Maximum Pressure Campaign there was talk, probably on this show, of oil going to 150. Your listeners should all know that when May 2nd came and we withdrew from the JCPoA, oil is now well below that. I think I saw Brent crude at 69 something when I walked in here this morning. It's below where it was when we designated the IRGA a terrorist organization. We are confident that we have done the hard work to make sure that the market is well supplied. And I hope that we can continue to maintain that. I think that we can. JOE KERNEN: You have no problem saying unequivocally that this wasn't hyped by the administration for political purposes? The Democrats are sort of sounding that alarm. MIKE POMPEO: None. No overhype. And we briefed Congress extensively Tuesday of this week, I think almost every member, Democrats and Republicans alike, walked out of that room understanding that the threats that we were discussing and the decision that President Trump made to talk a posture to deter those threats and to protect our forces were wholly justified and reasonable. JOE KERNEN: You and Bolton are on the same page? MIKE POMPEO: Yes JOE KERNEN: Yes. MIKE POMPEO: Yes. JOE KERNEN: Nothing going on there? Nothing to any of those stories? Politico-- MIKE POMPEO: Look how these these stories are crazy. Every senior leader in the United States government will have a different view on something and they'll make their case where none of us are wallflowers. President Trump wouldn't want a wallflower in his administration. He wants people voicing their views base on the facts they see them. John does that. I do that. There are days when we don't agree perfectly, but John and I, from a policy perspective, and as we stare at the risk to the world, are in nearly complete alignment. BECKY QUICK: Although, the stories suggest that you're in favor of negotiating and he's in favor of not negotiating, not believing. Those are pretty important differentiations. MIKE POMPEO: You're talking about Iran? BECKY QUICK: Yes. MIKE POMPEO: Well, the President has made clear that at the right time negotiations are important. Now, what John and I think is interesting, what the President says is important, and the President has said that he's prepared, at the right time, when the Iranians conclude it's in their best interests to negotiate, we stand ready to take their call. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: I wanted to ask you one question. Your predecessor, Rex Tillerson, was in Washington apparently in the past two days. There was a report that he was interviewed by some Congressmen and was asked about the President, this is President Trump's values, and he said that he, meaning Rex Tillerson, was guided by, quote, American values, such as democracy and freedom. But that he could not offer the same assessment for the President. What do you make of that comment? MIKE POMPEO: It's pretty outrageous and it probably explains why Rex Tillerson is no longer the Secretary of State. JOE KERNEN: John Kerry is no longer the Secretary of State. MIKE POMPEO: Yeah, no, we have lots of folks still hanging around. JOE KERNEN: Do you feel confident you're the only one speaking for -- with Iran's leaders at this point? Is there a cease and desist order there? I mean, now I hear they're waiting for 2020. China is waiting for -- everybody is waiting for 2020 before we do anything, it seems like. MIKE POMPEO: Sadly, I'm not confident that we don't have others out trying to speak on behalf of the United States, working against President Trump's policies. I wish I could say I'm confident of that. I'm not. I've seen I saw Secretary Kerry travel to Munich. There's a security conference every year. He was with Ernest Moniz, Wendy Sherman, and the whole gang that put in place the JCPoA which fundamentally failed America. It's what we're working to correct today. No, I'm not confident we're in that place. And I hope -- here is my assurance to you all, when I'm done being Secretary of State, I'll get off the stage. JOE KERNEN: You see how well this dynamic works. He'll ask the Tillerson questions, I'll ask the John Kerry questions. We cover the entire spectrum. Right, Mr. Secretary? MIKE POMPEO: I love predictability. JOE KERNEN: Exactly. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: Mr. Secretary, thank you. MIKE POMPEO: Thank you. JOE KERNEN: We appreciate it very much. For more information contact: Jennifer Dauble CNBC t: 201.735.4721 m: 201.615.2787 e: jennifer.dauble@nbcuni.com Emma Martin CNBC t: 201.735.4713 m: 551.275.6221 e: emma.martin@nbcuni.com Conservative nonprofit dark money group American Action Network dramatically increased its media spending during the tax reform debate of 2017 and the buildup to the 2018 congressional midterm elections, according to a tax filing provided to CNBC. American Action Network, a group closely aligned to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, more than tripled its media spending bill from July 2017 through June 2018 compared with the prior 12-month period. The tax form, which was filed to the Internal Revenue Service this month, shows the 501(c)(4) spent more than $27 million on media advocacy, with most of its payments going to Mentzer Media Services ($14 million) and Strategic Media Services ($10 million). Both firms are known to do media consulting for Republican causes. During the 2018 cycle, Mentzer Media, led by longtime media consultant Bruce Mentzer, received a $5 million payment from Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson's reelection campaign and almost $4 million from the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC run by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In the prior year, American Action Network only spent just over $8 million on its media efforts. The filing also shows the group gave a $15.8 million grant to its sister super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund. A big chunk of the $51 million in contributions and grants the group received came from a mysterious unnamed donor who gave $16 million. 501(c)(4)s are not legally required to disclose their donors. The tax return also describes the organization's efforts during the spending blitz. "American Action Network conducted extensive issue advocacy and grassroots mobilization, including television advertising, direct mail, automated phone calls," the document says, and explains it was advocating for reforming the tax code, impacting the health-care system and pushing for removing business regulations. The effort by American Action Network and other conservative groups to push tax reform had mixed results. On one hand, President Donald Trump signed the sweeping reform measure into law in December 2017 after a lengthy negotiation and voting process in the Republican-controlled Congress. However, the AAN campaign to "applaud members of Congress for fighting for middle-class tax cuts and a simpler, fairer tax code" didn't make a difference for some Republicans seeking reelection. Democrats won the House in November 2018. Of the 49 GOP-held House districts that were targeted by AAN through radio ads in November 2017, almost half of them lost their respective races. They continued to promote the accomplishment of passing tax reform throughout 2018 after the bill was passed. A year after their multimillion-dollar ad buys, Republicans lost 40 seats in the House while gaining two seats in the Senate. AAN has never publicly disclosed who funds its operation but its tax filings and a report by the nonpartisan organization Issue One gives clues as to how it goes about raking in the cash. The tax document shows that the nonprofit often uses a firm called LPC 25 to help raise funds. Its new filing mentions that the California-based business helped bring in millions through mail, internet, phone and in-person solicitations. LPC 25 is run by Mason Fink and is located at the same business address as Rep. Harley Rouda's, D-Calif., 2018 campaign headquarters, California business records show. Fink is also a board member of the Congressional Leadership Fund. An Issue One investigation identified 23 donors that represent only 13% of its funding from 2009 to 2017, including $12 million from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, $4 million from the Republican Jewish Coalition and $3.3 million from health insurer Aetna. A list of AAN donors constructed by MapLight, a nonpartisan research organization that tracks the influence of money in politics, shows that in 2017 the Business Roundtable gave $6 million and the Retail Industry Leaders Association contributed $800,000. Correction: Rep. Harley Rouda is a California Democrat. An earlier version misstated his party affiliation. American Action Network 990 2017-2018 Millions of citizens across Europe will be choosing new parliamentary representatives in Brussels this week. However, political experts believe the vote could give more insight into national politics in each member state, rather than on the future of the EU itself. "The European elections are a little more than a bunch of national elections," Alberto Alemanno, professor of European law at H.E.C. University in Paris, told CNBC last week. "The European elections are a big referendum on the governing party. This is the case in France, where the French will have (for) the first time the opportunity to say what they think about (President Emmanuel) Macron," he added. France Macron was elected back in 2017 on a pro-EU platform and has framed himself as one of the core Europhile leaders in the region. However, his reform agenda, including on the labor market, has frustrated some French citizens which has escalated into months of protests and historically-low levels of popularity for the president. Ahead of this year's EU elections, Macron finds himself fighting the nationalist and Euroskeptic party of Marine Le Pen once again. The recently renamed National Rally (RN) party is slightly ahead in the polls, suggesting it will be a close call between the two. "Most opinion polls suggest only around 40% of (French) voters will show up at the polling stations on 26 May. This means that Macron would have to suffer a severe defeat (by around 4-5 percentage points) for the vote to be interpreted as a rebuttal of his presidency," Teneo Intelligence, a political analysis firm, said in a note last week. "A tie with Le Pen would probably be portrayed as a victory by Macron given his party has never competed in a European Parliament election before. It would also give the government more breathing space to push for changes to the pension system Macron's last big reform during the second half of the year," the same research note added. Italy In Italy, the elections will be a test on the anti-establishment coalition government, which has been in power for roughly a year. Both the nationalist and anti-immigration party Lega, and the leftist Five Star Movement (M5S) are still expected to be the two biggest parties. However, there has been a shift between them. In last year's general election, M5S gathered the most votes but over time it has lost support, while its coalition partner has gathered momentum. "The ruling (Italian) coalition continues to effectively dominate the political debate, but competition between the two parties widely seen as the two main rivals in any future electoral contest has been steadily increasing," Eurasia Group, a political analysis firm, said in a note Tuesday. "A very strong showing by the Lega (substantially above 30%), especially if combined with a weak result for M5S (approaching or below 20%), would increase the incentive for Lega leader Matteo Salvini to engineer a government collapse and early elections," the research note also said. Other political analysts, however, are a bit more skeptical about whether Salvini will trigger snap elections this year. According to Teneo Intelligence, there has never been an election in the second half of the year since 1948. The economy is not doing very well and Salvini could give himself more time to gain further support in the south of Italy, where his party has traditionally lacked backing. Germany The largest economy in the EU is always a major focus in European elections. Germany is being governed by the center-right CDU party alongside the socialist SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) party. However, this sort of coalition has been traditionally been a challenge for the Socialists, often blamed by its voters for not standing up against Chancellor Angela Merkel's party. The outcome of the vote could put pressure on the SPD to drop the coalition agreement and trigger a new national vote. "The more important question will be whether the Greens can deliver on their continued lead in the polls over the center-left SPD. If this materializes, the pressure on the SPD to consider withdrawing from the coalition with Merkel will increase," Teneo Intelligence said in its research. "The biggest implication of the European election in Germany will hence not be the distribution of seats, but its effect on government stability," it added. Poland, Hungary There's also an important narrative to be monitored in countries like Poland, Hungary and Romania. Their governments are all at odds with the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, after it opened investigations into whether they respect the democratic values of European law. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a long-time leader with a populist and anti-immigration stance, is set to increase his share of seats at the European Parliament. "Fidesz (Orban's party) looks stronger than ever domestically, thanks to its anti-migration campaign combined with its family support scheme. Unless there is an unexpected downside surprise for Fidesz, European Parliament elections will allow the party to expand its power. It appears poised to win 14 of Hungary's 21 seats in parliament, up from 12 currently," Eurasia said in a note. The Hungarian prime minister has often criticized the EU and its top chiefs, including European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He was one of two leaders who voted against Juncker's appointment back in 2014. Poland is due to have a general election in November, so the EU vote will also test the ruling anti-immigration and conservative PiS party. "PiS is already feeling vulnerable," Eurasia Group said. UK Until a few weeks ago, Prime Minister Theresa May was seeking to avoid holding European Parliamentary elections. The country voted to leave the EU in 2016, but that process has stalled, with the scheduled departure now expected by October 31. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally down by 1.4% with almost every sector in the red. All major bourses were in negative territory, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 1.4%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC both fell around 1.8%. Autos were among the worst-performing sectors in Europe, down by nearly 3%. This comes after renewed concerns over the trade relationship between the U.S. and China. German carmaker Daimler was the biggest loser in the sector, down almost 7%. The U.S. has said it will impose trading restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from August 19. Of the $70 billion Huawei spent buying components in 2018, some $11 billion went to U.S. firms including Qualcomm, Intel and Micron Technology. In corporate news, Deutsche Bank shareholders gathered Thursday for its annual general meeting, with questions over the bank's strategy and leadership. Deutsche has been the source of much negative publicity in recent years from settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice to weak earnings. Shares fell over 2%. Looking at other individual stocks, Royal Mail tanked to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 and hit a record low. Reuters cited one trader as saying there was a legitimate fear the privatized U.K. postal service could be renationalized, amid turmoil surrounding Prime Minister Theresa May's government. The stock was down nearly 11%. On Wall Street, stocks dropped on the back of U.S.-China trade jitters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 300 points, while the and Nasdaq indexes were also in negative territory. Daniel Elwell, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), speaks during a House Aviation Subcommittee hearing on the status of Boeing Co.'s 737 Max in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. Airlines that have taken the grounded Boeing 737 Max planes out of their schedules through the summer currently don't need to extend flight cancellations of the popular jet, the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday. The FAA followed other international aviation regulators in grounding the jets in March after two crashes of the planes within five months of one another killed a total of 346 people. Airlines including American, United and Southwest have canceled thousands of flights during the busy summer travel season as a result of the grounding and removed the planes from schedules through as late as August. "No, they don't need to make any changes to their plans," the FAA's acting administrator, Daniel Elwell, told CNBC's Phil LeBeau in an interview. LeBeau asked him if airlines need to plan for a case in which the plane isn't flying by this fall or later. Elwell and the FAA are meeting with more than 30 foreign aviation regulators in Texas to update them on changes to the 737 Max, including when it may fly again. "It definitely could be a month, two months," he said. "It's all determined by what we find in our analysis of [Boeing's] application, and we're pretty confident that the application is in good shape." Elwell reiterated that the FAA has no set timetable for when it will approve changes Boeing has made to the airplane's software and new pilot training following the crashes, paving the way for the jets to return to the skies. An automatic anti-stall system on the new planes has been implicated in both deadly crashes and Boeing last week said it has developed an update to that system, which will require the FAA's approval. Some aviation regulators have said they will conduct their own analyses of Boeing's software changes. "We will be first, regardless, and if the rest of the world agrees with our analysis ... that is the goal," Elwell said. Earlier Thursday, pilots in Europe urged the EU's regulator to conduct a thorough review of the plane. "Simply accepting the FAA's word on the Max's safety won't be enough," the European Cockpit Association said in a statement. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a joint Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees hearing regarding the companys use and protection of user data, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2018. Top Facebook officials considered putting an end to political advertising on the platform once they learned Russian actors used the site to try to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. CEO Mark Zuckerberg ultimately chose to keep running political ads, a former employee told the Journal. Facebook is now making changes to how it approaches political ad sales as it prepares for the 2020 presidential race. The company has stopped paying commission for political ad sales, Facebook's global elections public policy director Katie Harbath told the Journal, reducing pressure on sales staff to push for more spending in that area. While Facebook staffers may help campaigns register to buy ads or assist in a customer service capacity, the ad-buying process is now largely self-serve, the Journal reported. A Facebook spokesperson pointed to Harbath's comments to the Journal. The change comes as Facebook has been trying to beef up its efforts to fight misinformation on its platform, particularly when it comes to influencing elections. Facebook's stock has climbed 39% in 2019 as investors have regained some confidence in the company's ability to reform itself and retain users. During the U.S. midterm elections last year, Facebook set up a so-called war room where staffers monitored the platform for signs of fake news. Facebook tightened political ad rules in the European Union in March ahead of its elections this month. The new rules require that political advertisers verify they live in the country they are targeting and ads must include contact information and disclosures identifying who paid for them. Facebook said it made significant improvements in India around the country's national elections. The company said it partnered with local fact-checkers and has come up with more robust ways of verifying political ad buyers. Facebook claimed it took down more than 500 accounts and 138 pages linked to the country's opposition Congress Party for "coordinated inauthentic behavior." Still, it doesn't take long for misinformation to spread when it falls through the cracks. The Oxford Internet Institute, in a report this week, found stories with "deliberately misleading, deceptive or incorrect information" in the run-up to the EU elections received four times the engagement as content from mainstream outlets. Read the full report at The Wall Street Journal. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. Watch: Facebook ends commissions for political ad sales For Britons looking to secure their next job, it might be worth considering a career in finance or technology, as that's where the large salaries and bonuses are, according to new research. In Glassdoor's latest U.K. list of highest-paying companies, U.S. tech firms and European lenders heavily populate the rankings, with banks securing three of the top five spots. "It is no surprise that multinational tech and finance firms dominate the list, given that both industries compete fiercely for talent," said John Lamphiere, EMEA Managing Director at Glassdoor, in a statement. "While salary and bonuses might get people in the door, it is more likely to be culture and career progression that help people stick around in the long term." To compile, Glassdoor analyzed median total compensation packages published on its site for various companies including base salary and other types of compensation from reports by U.K.-based employees. To be eligible, a business had to have received at least 30 salary reports by U.K. workers during March 2018 and February 2019. Here are the 25 highest-paying businesses in the U.K. (figures used are the median total compensations, per year): Top 25 highest-paying businesses: 10. Google Median Total Compensation: 78,000 Median Base Salary: 62,500 With offices located in Manchester and London, Google also has a Campus space in the English capital, for up-and-coming start-ups and entrepreneurs. On Glassdoor, employees praise the group's motivational mission and culture, while over 90% of British Googlers would recommend it to friends. Google signage. NurPhoto | Getty Images 9. UBS Median Total Compensation: 79,000 Median Base Salary: 75,000 UBS currently operates in over 50 nations, with over half of its 68,000-plus employees working in the EMEA region and its home market of Switzerland. With a desire to encourage internal mobility within its workforce, UBS has an eponymous university, where staff can access leadership programs and over 2,400 trainings. Regarding advice to employees, CEO Sergio Ermotti says that it's now more important than ever to adapt and be flexible, so staff can acclimatize to new developments. 8. Oracle Median Total Compensation: 80,000 Median Base Salary: 66,250 When it comes to hiring, Oracle has 10 values that it encourages its employees to abide by, including striving for excellence, treating others fairly and respectfully, and always seeking to innovate. Yet that's not all. The company aspires to encourage workers to undertake volunteering opportunities, while projecting a business that promotes sustainability, education and giving back with Oracle donating millions to charity every year. 7. Dell Median Total Compensation: 84,825 Median Base Salary: 62,500 The computer tech giant is located in several U.K. places, including Belfast, Bracknell and Edinburgh; in addition to offering flexible working opportunities. Aside from flexibility, on its reviews page, staff praise Dell's learning opportunities and people they work with, while others do warn that it's a fast-moving environment. Visitors walk around the Dell stand at the world's biggest high-tech fair, the CeBIT on March 4, 2010 in Hanover, Germany. NIGEL TREBLIN | DDP | Getty Images 6. Salesforce Median Total Compensation: 85,000 Median Base Salary: 66,806 At the heart of this software behemoth is Salesforce's "Ohana" culture, which is propped up by four values: trust, innovation, equality and growth. With around 30,000 employees, Salesforce is able to support over 150,000 businesses, including Schneider Electric and T-Mobile. In Glassdoor's 2019 "Top Companies" rankings, Salesforce came in fifth place in Britain. Employee reviews indicate that it offers a strong working environment, with attentive senior management and opportunities for those who want to flourish. 5. Standard Chartered Median Total Compensation: 85,000 Median Base Salary: 76,000 When it comes to the stock market world, Standard Chartered is considered as one of the top 100 largest businesses currently listed on the London Stock Exchange and is also registered on two of Asia's biggest exchanges. With over 1,000 branches worldwide and its footprint present in 60 markets, the lender has hired more than 86,000 people to keep business afloat. Regarding benefits, not only are there competitive salaries, staff get perks like retirement savings, life insurance and volunteering leave. 4. Facebook Median Total Compensation: 89,000 Median Base Salary: 74,000 Despite the social media giant's turbulent past year, regarding user data and misinformation, Facebook still ranks highly on Glassdoor's U.K. salary ranking. According to the recruiter, the average Brit receives a total salary and bonus package of 89,000, on top of benefits like competitive retirement plans and various training programs. Reviews on Glassdoor suggest that Facebook's offices are well-designed and equipped, while others note that it's a very hardworking, competitive environment. The Facebook logo is seen on an Apple iPhone. Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images 3. Deutsche Bank Median Total Compensation: 89,500 Median Base Salary: 80,000 While Deutsche Bank has been dealing with various issues in recent years like management reshuffles, merger speculation and DOJ settlements the bank is a top performer in U.K. salary offerings. Ranking third, with an average total compensation package of 89,500, the German lender offers a range of roles, including those in legal, marketing, and technology. Reviews on Glassdoor indicate that Deutsche Bank provides decent benefits and work-life balance, while some U.K. workers suggest that securing a pay rise can take time. 2. SAP Median Total Compensation: 90,000 Median Base Salary: 66,000 U.S. companies may dominate the top 10 on the tech side, yet it seems that a German software business has emerged victorious when it comes to salaries. SAP operates in over 130 countries and looks for self-motivated, reliable individuals who "think big and dream big." In return, SAP offers benefits like health care coverage, flexible working and volunteer opportunities, all whilst investing millions in career development. On top of that, it made a frequent appearance on Glassdoor's "Top Companies" lists of 2019, with SAP placing eighth in Britain's ranking. 1. Credit Suisse Median Total Compensation: 90,000 Median Base Salary: 82,000 As a major wealth manager, Switzerland's Credit Suisse is a firm favorite when it comes to U.K. wages. According to Glassdoor, the median total compensation package for a typical Credit Suisse employee in Britain comes in at 90,000, matching SAP, but with a higher base salary average. With a global workforce of over 45,000, Credit Suisse states that its "most important asset" is its employees and their success. On Glassdoor, U.K. employee reviews indicate that the bank offers a great culture with friendly, engaged employees, along with various benefits including flexible working and health care. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won a landslide re-election victory in India, with his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party securing a commanding parliamentary majority in the largest democratic exercise in history. Modi's BJP has won 286 parliamentary seats in India's elections and is on track to win another 17 constituencies, which would give the party a preliminary total of 303 seats, according to the Election Commission of India. Out of 543 seats being contested in parliament, a party or a coalition needs at least 272 votes to form a government. Modi's main rival was trailing far behind. The Indian National Congress has won just 50 seats and led the counting in another two constituencies, which would give it a preliminary total of 52 seats. To be clear, while the BJP has garnered enough votes to form a government, votes for some constituencies are still being counted. Earlier Thursday, the president of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, conceded his parliamentary seat to his BJP rival in the constituency of Amenthi which has been held by the Congress party for decades. Gandhi is ahead in the race for the other parliamentary seat he is seeking which is in the state of Kerala, in southern India. Rahul tweet On Thursday afternoon, Modi tweeted, "Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!" Modi tweet: Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat The Wall Street Journal said Thursday that local-television estimates and the official government tally showed BJP and its allies were set to win more than 340 seats a number that will allow them to form the majority in India's lower house of parliament. Earlier, investors cheered trends that pointed to a resounding victory for Modi and the BJP. But that optimism faded later in the day. The Nifty 50 at one point jumped above the 12,000 mark but gave up gains and fell 0.69% to 11,657.05. Meanwhile, the Sensex hit above the 40,000 level before erasing gains to drop 0.76% to 38,811.39. The traded at 69.95 against the dollar, weakening from an earlier level near 69.37. Expectations for Modi to carry out important, but challenging, reforms that will drive growth are high among investors and India watchers. "There would be increased expectations of economic reforms going forward, particularly in the areas of factors of production like labor and land," Sanjeev Prasad, senior executive director at Kotak Securities, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Thursday. "The question is now whether some of the reforms can be delivered as easily as what the market would like to believe." Prasad pointed out that Modi's government was unable to deliver some of the reforms in areas like land and labor during its previous term. "Let's see over the next few months, whether the government is in a position to deliver on those expectations." President Donald Trump congratulated Modi and the BJP on their election victory in a tweet, and said he looks forward to continuing "important work together." Trump Tweet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi applaud during their meeting in Grand Kremlin Palace, in Moscow, Russia, December,24, 2015. Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images WASHINGTON On the heels of India's re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the nation's Ambassador to the United States says national security and modernizing the military are among the government's top priorities. And while India, the world's second-largest arms importer and fifth-largest economy, has inked the majority of its weapons deals with Russia, Indian Ambassador Harsh Shringla says New Delhi wants to pivot its defense spending to the United States. According to the latest tally from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, also known as SIPRI, Russia remains India's top arms supplier, with the United States holding down the No. 2 spot. "There has been a tradition of dependence on defense equipment from Russia," Shringla told CNBC Thursday at the Indian Embassy in Washington when asked about arms from Moscow. "But if you go by SIPRI figures, in the block year 2008 to 2013 we imported 76% of our defense items from Russia. In the next five-year block, from 2013 to 2018, this came down 58% and in the same period our imports from the United States increased by 569%," he said. "So that itself tells you that, when we have a choice ... we are obviously diversifying our purchases," he added. Ten years ago, the country didn't have as many options, he said. Countries like India, that heavily pursue arms deals with the Kremlin are subject to U.S. sanctions under President Donald Trump's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA. India is currently at risk of U.S. sanctions after agreeing to a $5 billion deal to buy Russia's S-400 missile system last year. A Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Sergei Malgavko | TASS via Getty Images Farmers hurt by the ongoing U.S.-China trade war would rather have their markets back than the latest bailout from the Trump administration, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told CNBC on Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the $16 billion aid program earlier in the day. "Farmers don't want aid. They want trade. They want markets," Grassley said on "Closing Bell." "You work for decades to build up markets. You've got to be a credible supplier of your goods and these negotiations have interfered." However, Grassley, who is a member of the Agriculture Committee and also has a family farm, said that his constituents know that China has been "cheating for three decades." "They ought to live by the rules of international trade and farmers know that you've got to get China to quit stealing our intellectual property," he added. The centerpiece of the farmer aid package is cash payments totaling $14.5 billion to producers of a variety of crops as well as dairy and pork producers impacted by retaliatory tariffs. U.S. tariff revenue collected by the Treasury would be used to support the program, according to the USDA. Grassley said he hopes only $5 billion will ultimately be used because negotiations will get back on track. "I can't predict that. All I know is our side is willing at the drop of a hat to go to Beijing to do more investigating," he said. "But China is going to have to go back to where they were on the 10-yard line of getting the ball over the goal." Earlier this month, the U.S. said China reneged on past promises and Washington increased tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25%. China retaliated by raising duties on $60 billion in American products. Overall, soybean farmers have been among the hardest hit in the skirmish in terms of dollar value. Before the trade war, China bought roughly half of U.S. soybean exports. But the value of soybean exports to China fell 74% to $3.1 billion in 2018 from about $12.2 billion the previous year, according to the USDA. Not everyone is applauding the latest aid package. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and a ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, said farmers are struggling as the administration "continues to pursue a chaotic trade agenda." "Unfortunately, this complex scheme leaves them with more questions than answers. I have a number of concerns about whether this plan is fair and equitable to all farmers. Government checks are no replacement for lost markets, and this temporary support will only go so far," she said in an statement. Producers of soybeans received the largest aid in last year's $12 billion bailout. The plan announced Thursday includes direct payments to farmers of more than two dozen agricultural commodities, including grains, oil seeds and specialty crops, as well as dairy and pork. According to the USDA, the top five states where farmers received trade aid as part of last year's program were Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Indiana. Trump won all but one of those states Illinois in the 2016 presidential election. Despite being hard hit by the trade war, farmers in Iowa are still supporting President Donald Trump "as of now," Grassley said. "Don't forget it's 15 months away from election season. And a lot of things can happen in 15 months but also a lot of good things can happen." Iowa has about 87,000 farms and 129,000 farm operators, according to the Iowa Farm Bureau. The state is the nation's second-highest producer of soybeans, the organization said. People pass a sign for JPMorgan Chase at its headquarters in New York City. J.P. Morgan Chase has ended its relationship with Purdue Pharma over its alleged role in the U.S. opioid crisis, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Thursday. J.P. Morgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, becomes the most high-profile corporation known to have disassociated itself from the OxyContin maker, forcing Purdue to look for other banks to manage its bills and cash. Reuters first reported the move Thursday. Purdue, owned by the wealthy Sackler family, faces thousands of lawsuits claiming that the company marketed addictive painkillers while underplaying the risks of abuse and overdose. The bank's decision also underscores a drive among U.S. banks to reassess their relationships with clients and industries in response to controversy and political debates over matters such as immigration detention and mass shootings. After J.P. Morgan informed Purdue in March that it had six months to find another bank, Purdue tapped Dallas-based regional bank Comerica to handle its financial transactions and accounts, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. "Purdue is a streamlined organization with an exciting pipeline of new medicines and significant cash reserves," the company said in a statement. "The company has multiple banking relationships and will not have any interruption to its banking and financial service needs." JPMorgan declined to comment. Reuters contributed to this report. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket used for the third Iridium NEXT launch, set to be flown again for the fifth Iridium launch. Department of Justice officials on Wednesday announced criminal charges against James Smalley, an engineer for a tiny aerospace supply company, for allegedly falsifying dozens of inspection reports for parts used in SpaceX rockets. Smalley was arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison for the charges. The 41-year-old worked in quality assurance for now defunct PMI Industries a Rochester, New York company that specialized in the machining of aluminium and steel parts for aerospace and defense contractors. The alleged fraud affected at least 76 individual rocket parts, according to the DOJ, with Smalley falsifying "at least 38 source inspection reports" for parts "procured by SpaceX for the construction of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy" rockets. In all, the parts were on rockets that were either flown or scheduled to fly on 10 missions, the Justice Department's complaint said. "PMI manufactured structural parts for the rockets," the complaint said, including "the nose cone 'fairing' which has been designated as a fracture critical part. If this part malfunctions it could result in catastrophic failure of the mission." Of the missions affected, seven were for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (CRS-14, CRS-15, CRS-16, TESS, Demo-1, Demo-2 and GRACE-FO), two were for the Air Force (STP-2 and GPS III), and one was for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Each of the affected missions that launched to space were successful. Federal prosecutors said that Smalley began working at PMI in March 2017, specifically on contracts for SpaceX. According to the complaint, the fraud occurred when Smalley forged the signature of third party inspectors so that the PMI parts would reach SpaceX more quickly. SpaceX hired PMI to make parts for its rockets, with PMI receiving about $2.4 million in business a year. All of the parts "were ITAR restricted," the complaint said. ITAR (the International Traffic in Arms Regulations) is a very stringent regulatory control. U.S. aerospace and defense companies take great pains to remain in compliance with ITAR. Investigators seized documents and records related to the firm's dealings with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), one of the sources said. Malaysian police raided the Kuala Lumpur office of audit firm Deloitte on Thursday as part of a widening probe into a multibillion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB, two police sources told Reuters. A representative for Deloitte could not be immediately reached for comment. Authorities in at least six countries are investigating alleged graft and money laundering at 1MDB, set up by former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009. Najib, who was ousted in an election last year, is facing dozens of criminal charges over losses at 1MDB and other state entities. He has consistently denied wrongdoing. U.S. prosecutors say about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB by high-level officials of the fund and their associates between 2009 and 2014. Deloitte has been under scrutiny for its role in auditing 1MDB's financial statements in 2013 and 2014. In January, Malaysia's securities regulator fined Deloitte 2.2 million ringgit ($524,746) for failing to report irregularities in relation to an Islamic bond issued by a 1MDB-linked company. After the U.S. Justice Department filed civil lawsuits in 2016 over 1MDB, Deloitte said the 1MDB finance statements it had audited should no longer be relied upon. Deloitte was 1MDB's third auditor after the fund fired its earlier auditors, KPMG and Ernst & Young, authorities have said. It resigned as the fund's auditor in early 2016. Despite pressure from consumers, McDonald's is not announcing any plans to add a plant-based burger to its menu. At its annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Silvia Lagnado, the company's global chief marketing officer and director of its menu, said that the company was monitoring the plant-based meat alternatives but would not disclose any plans at this time. "We obviously have to assess whether consumer demand [would be at a] level we believe would be sustained and make the right decision based on how the model works and the important complex considerations of our restaurant," she said. Last month, on a quarterly earnings call with analysts, CEO Steve Easterbrook expressed a similar sentiment. "I certainly know our teams are paying close attention and discussing this amongst each other and with some of the options that are out there," he said. "So maybe more to come, but nothing much to say about it at the moment." McDonald's has been under pressure in recent months to add a vegetarian-friendly burger to its menu as more and more of its competition has taken the plunge. Its German locations sell a plant-based burger made by food giant Nestle, but McDonald's has said that individual markets decide what is best for their customers. At the same time, the Chicago-based company has been simplifying its menu by removing its line of Signature Crafted sandwiches and burgers, trimming its late-night menu and allowing franchisees to scale back the all-day breakfast menu. Rival Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International, is trying to roll out its Impossible Whopper nationwide by the end of the year. As it struggles to meet demand for its plant-based patty, Impossible Foods is increasing the number of hours and employees working at its plant. Impossible's competitor Beyond Meat sells its version of a plant-based burger to Carl's Jr. and TGI Fridays, among other restaurants. Since it went public at the beginning of May, Beyond has seen its shares surge 229%. Brazil's Natura said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement to buy rival Avon Products via a share swap, creating the world's fourth-largest beauty company with a redoubled focus on direct sales. Under the terms of the deal, Natura will hold 76% of the combined business with over $10 billion in annual revenue, according to a statement from the Brazilian cosmetics firm. After Natura pushed into high-end retail shops with the acquisitions of Aesop in 2013 and The Body Shop in 2017, the takeover of its biggest rival in direct sales is a renewed bet on the company's core business of door-to-door distribution. Brazil is Avon's biggest market, making up nearly a quarter of sales, but its business there has suffered in recent years due to a weak economy and stiff competition from Natura. Now the 133-year-old, London-based company has agreed to a takeover offer of 0.3 Natura share for each Avon share, according to a securities filing. That values Avon's equity at around $2 billion, representing a 28% premium over its closing share price on May 21. Shares in both companies ended over 9% higher on Wednesday as investors cheered the consolidation. Avon shares jumped 9.1% and Natura reversed early losses to end 9.4% up. Social and economic trends in Brazil have protected the direct sales model for cosmetics, consisting of third-party "consultants" selling mainly to acquaintances, from the threat of online retail. Natura has a commanding lead in Brazil's direct sales market, according to research group Euromonitor, which estimates a 31% market share for the company, followed by a nearly 16% share for Avon. Natura estimated that the deal could yield between $150 million and $250 million of annual cost savings. Many consultants already offer both Avon and Natura products, which Brasil Plural analyst Andres Estevez said could help to ease the concerns of antitrust officials. The transaction, which is still subject to approval by Natura and Avon shareholders, as well as regulatory authorities in Brazil and other countries, is expected to be concluded by the beginning of 2020. If the deal closes by that deadline, Natura said it would pay $530 million to investors holding Series C preferred shares in Avon, adding that it had guaranteed funding from Banco Bradesco, Citigroup, and Itau Unibanco to make the payment. A source familiar with the negotiated terms told Reuters that investment firm Cerberus Capital Management is the Series C shareholder. In April, Cerberus sold Avon North America, which is private, to LG Household & Health Care for $125 million. Reuters reported last week that Natura was close to striking a deal to buy Avon. A 20-year-old New Jersey man accused of threatening on social media to "shoot everybody" at a pro-Israel march and bomb the Trump Tower skyscraper in New York City was arrested on Wednesday on a string of federal charges, prosecutors said. Jonathan Xie, of Basking Ridge, was taken into custody on charges of attempting to provide material support to Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip and which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, making false statements and transmitting threats over interstate commerce, according to federal prosecutors. "Homegrown violent extremists like Xie are a serious threat to national security," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. "The actions that he took and planned to take made that threat both clear and present." According to the charging documents, Xie appeared in an Instagram Live video in April 2019 wearing a black ski mask and displayed a handgun as he expressed the desire to attack demonstrators at a pro-Israel rally. "I want to shoot the pro-Israel demonstrators ... you can get a gun and shoot your way through or use a vehicle and ram people ... all you need is a gun or vehicle to go on a rampage....I do not care if security forces come after me, they will have to put a bullet in my head to stop me," Xie said in the video, according to the court papers. That same month Xie was spotted outside of Trump Tower, headquarters of the businesses owned by U.S. President Donald Trump. He later posted photos of the building on Instagram along with a poll asking if he should bomb it. "Okay, so I went to NYC today and passed by Trump Tower and then I started laughing hysterically ... I forgot to visit the Israeli embassy in NYC ... I want to bomb this place along with trump tower," Xie said in a separate post detailed in the court documents. In February 2019 Xie said he wanted to join the U.S. Army in hopes of learning "how to kill" and applied for a security clearance as a first step, prosecutors say. He is also accused of sending money to an individual in the Gaza Strip aligned with a faction of Hamas that has carried out attacks against civilian targets in Israel. It was not immediately clear if Xie, who faces more than 30 years in federal prison if convicted on all charges, had retained an attorney. One of Wall Street's leading experts on China suggests the window is closing on trade deal. Yale University senior fellow Stephen Roach warns that the United States is playing too much hardball. He cites the decision to put restrictions on China telecom giant Huawei as a potentially costly move in the ongoing negotiations. "The odds of a deal are rapidly receding," he told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Wednesday. "We have to be less hopeful now." Roach lived in China from 2007 until 2012 while he served as chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, and he still returns. During his latest trip two months ago, he said the mood was optimistic that reason would prevail and there would be a trade deal. In his latest note, he writes that the U.S.-China conflict is now in a "danger zone" as tit-for-tat tariffs escalate. "China historically has a deep sense of feeling humiliated at the hands of the West dating back to the Opium Wars of the mid-19th century," said Roach. "This is a tough chip on China's shoulder, and the last thing it wants to do to its leadership is to demonstrate to its constituents is that it's caving into the West." The markets aren't viewing the trade situation any more positively. The major indexes just saw their third negative session in four, and Thursday's futures market pointed to a 200-point drop in the Dow. Even if the two sides find a way to end the trade war, Roach doubts it will be a big driver for the stock market. Plus, he believes the battle's hangover will have a long-lasting effect on corporate America and White House relations with China. "If the relief is focused on just narrowing the trade deficit between the two countries and ducking the tough structural issues, then the markets will enjoy it for a nanosecond." Roach said. "Then there will be a much tougher reality ahead." The White House did not respond to a request for comment. While Saudi Arabia has signaled that it will pump more oil, it has also indicated that OPEC and its oil market allies are not ready to lift price-boosting output caps . Led by Saudi Arabia, the producers have been trying to keep 1.2 million barrels per day off the market since January. They appear poised to continue limiting supply in the second half of 2019. Supplies from Iran, one of the world's top oil producers, are expected to fall by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day in the coming weeks after Washington tightened sanctions on the Islamic Republic this month. "We are confident that we've done the hard work to make sure that the market is well supplied, and I hope that we can continue to maintain that, and I think that we can," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday. The administration has tried to assure Americans that U.S. allies in Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere will fill the gap left by falling Iranian supply. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC on Thursday that the Trump administration has taken measures to prevent oil prices from spiking while it attempts to drive Iran's crude exports to zero. Since President Donald Trump tightened sanctions on Iran, tensions have been rising in the Middle East. The U.S. expedited the deployment of military assets to the Persian Gulf and withdrew diplomatic staff from Iraq, claiming threats by Iran against U.S. positions in the region. Meanwhile, Iran has ramped up production of nuclear materials, four vessels were sabotaged off the coast of UAE and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Pompeo said the administration is not overhyping the threat from Iran, following reports that some members of the administration believe recent U.S. maneuvering in the region represents an overreaction to intelligence. "We briefed Congress extensively on Tuesday," Pompeo said. "I think almost every member, Democrats and Republicans alike, walked out of that room understanding that the threats that we were discussing and the decision that President Trump made to take a posture to deter those threats and protect our forces were wholly justified and reasonable." Despite the tension, Pompeo argued that the U.S. policy against Iran is not impacting oil prices much. He noted that Brent crude oil prices now at $69 a barrel are lower than a year ago, when the U.S. pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and began restoring sanctions on the Iranian economy. However, Brent prices rose to nearly four-year highs at $86.74 a barrel in October. Prices crashed in the final quarter of 2018, partly because Trump imposed looser oil sanctions on Iran than expected. Brent rallied nearly 40% to $75.60 last month and has since settled in a range between $69-$76 per barrel. The view on Wall Street is that Middle East tensions, U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela and uncertainty over whether OPEC will raise output are bolstering oil prices. The ongoing U.S.-China trade war is counteracting those bullish factors by raising concerns that global economic growth will falter and oil demand will sink. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, whose grandniece was killed in the March crash of a 737 Max jet in Ethiopia, is accusing the Federal Aviation Administration of being beholden to Boeing. The FAA is hosting dozens of international aviation regulators in Texas on Thursday to discuss the ongoing review of the Boeing 737 Max jets, which the agency and others around the world grounded in March after two deadly crashes that happened less than five months apart. In an interview with CNBC's Phil LeBeau, Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell reiterated that the agency has no set timetable for allowing the Max planes to return to service. Elwell also responded to Nader's criticism, saying he has "great respect" for Nader's work on consumer product safety. But the FAA chief said on "Squawk on the Street" that his agency is the expert on whether or not to green light the Max for service again. Nader, in an earlier "Squawk Box" interview Thursday, called on federal regulators to recall the jets, saying the issue is not about how much the software may "overpower the pilot" or "empower the pilot." He said: "The basic problem is the design of the plane. And there is no way you can fix that without recalling the plane, the way they recall cars." Some U.S. aviation officials believe a bird strike may have contributed to the crash in Ethiopia, feeding faulty data into one of the plane's autopilot systems. Crash investigators have indicated that bad sensor data triggered an anti-stall system aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight that went down shortly after takeoff, a similar scenario to the crash of a Lion Air jet in Indonesia. "In all the product defects that I have worked on over the years, I have never seen so many whistleblowers [and] so many authentic aerospace experts condemning the Boeing practice here," Nader added. "The FAA has been in the pockets of the Boeing company for years pressured by Congress and the White House on both parties to cut budgets, to cut staff, [and] reduce their talent pool to oversee Boeing." Nader said he sent letters to the FAA and Boeing and never got a response. "Boeing had a good record for 10 years or so. But that does not allow Boeing to have any free crashes that are preventable by standard aeronautical safety stability." Nader's grandniece, Samya Stumo from Massachusetts, was among the 157 people killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. The other crash involving a 737 Max was in October, when a Lion Air flight went down in Indonesia's Java Sea, killing 189 people. Boeing was not immediately available to respond to CNBC's request for comment. CNBC's Leslie Josephs and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC on Thursday that Huawei does indeed work with the Chinese government, despite denials by the China-based telecom giant. "For them to say that they don't work with the Chinese government is false," Pompeo said. "The Huawai CEO on that, at least, isn't telling the American people the truth." "If you're a state-directed business and you take on subsidies direct from the Chinese government, there's no doubt you can make real hay," he said on "Squawk Box." "I think the world wants systems they can trust." Huawei, a leader in 5G technology, has been trying to win contracts around the world, including Britain and Germany, to build the network that will make the internet exponentially faster. Pompeo has been critical of Chinese technology companies in the past and met with British leaders earlier this month to discuss securing U.S. intelligence against Huawei. The secretary of State told CNBC he's been "explaining the risks" about national security as he travels around the world to meet with government leaders. President Donald Trump speaks to the media prior to departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, May 14, 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration plans to use a loophole and rising tensions with Iran to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia, even though Congress blocked such sales for months over concerns about civilian deaths in the war in Yemen, Senator Chris Murphy said on Wednesday. "I am hearing that Trump may use an obscure loophole in the Arms Control Act and notice a major new sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia (the ones they drop in Yemen) in a way that would prevent Congress from objecting. Could happen this week," the Democratic senator warned on Twitter. Congressional aides said there are provisions of the Arms Control Act, which sets rules for international arms transactions, that would allow a president to approve a sale without congressional review in case of a national emergency. In this case, they said the Republican president would cite rising tensions with Iran as a reason to provide more military equipment to Saudi Arabia, which he sees as an important U.S. partner in the region. Trump has touted arms sales to the Saudis as a way to generate U.S. jobs. Trump previously declared an influx of immigrants a national emergency to bypass Congress and get $6 billion to build his wall along the Mexican border. Both Democrats and his fellow Republicans voted to block the move, forcing Trump to issue the first veto of his presidency. It was not immediately clear what equipment would be sold to Saudi Arabia or when any sale might go ahead. However, any such plan would run into resistance in Congress, from Trump's fellow Republicans as well as Democrats like Murphy, even in the Senate, where Republicans have a slim majority. A handful of Republicans recently voted with Democrats in a failed effort to override Trump's veto of a resolution that would have ended U.S. support for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen's devastating civil war. Many lawmakers from both parties have also expressed anger over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's closest congressional allies, told CNN he would oppose the administration if it decided to go around Congress, citing Khashoggi's killing. "We are not going to have business as usual until that issue is dealt with," Graham said. The State Department declined comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, who review major international weapons deals, have been approving sales of defensive military equipment to Saudi Arabia. But they have been putting "holds" or blocking the sale of offensive weapons like bombs, anti-tank missiles, small-diameter rockets and large mortars. Senator Bob Menendez, the ranking Foreign Relations Democrat, has been blocking the sale of Raytheon Co's precision-guided munitions (PGMs) to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for about a year over concerns about the war in Yemen. Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are parked on the tarmac after being grounded, at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California on March 28, 2019. Southwest Airlines won't charge uneasy passengers to change flights to avoid traveling on the Boeing 737 Max if and when regulators allow the jet to take to the skies again, the airline's chief marketing officer said Thursday. Aviation regulators worldwide grounded the fast-selling Boeing 737 Max in mid-March after two crashes within five months of one another killed a total of 346 people. "If they're uneasy about flying on a Max aircraft, we'll be flexible with them," Ryan Green, Southwest's CMO, told CNBC. "We'll be understanding of that and allow them to fly on a different flight without paying any difference in fare." Southwest, which doesn't charge ticket-change fees but only fare differences, is the largest U.S. 737 Max operator, with 34 of the planes in its fleet of around 750 aircraft, all Boeing 737s. The Dallas-based carrier plans to make it clear to customers what model of Boeing 737 they're flying on when they book, Green said. The measure is a sign of how airlines are addressing skittish passengers as regulators prepare for a potential return of the planes. United Airlines' CEO Oscar Munoz this week said the carrier would also rebook passengers who don't want to fly on the Max planes and that he will be on the airline's first Max flight after the grounding is lifted. Those flight changes will be free of charge, a United spokesman said. The airline has 14 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet. Boeing last week said it completed fixes to airplane software that has been implicated in the October crash in Indonesia and the March crash in Ethiopia. The FAA's acting chief, Daniel Elwell, said Wednesday that the agency doesn't have a timeline of when it may allow the planes to fly again. The FAA is hosting more than 30 aviation regulators from around the world in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday to discuss the 737 Max's eventual return to service. Airlines, including Southwest, have canceled thousands of flights during the busy summer travel season as the planes remain grounded. "We're going to monitor customer sentiment and adapt our plans as we go along," Green said. "Customers expect us to be transparent and expect us to have a heart." The logo of the 3D printer manufacturer HP is seen during the event. Feria de Barcelona hosts the third edition of the (3D) industry week. Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: Shares of HP Inc. rose more than 1% in extended trading after the software company reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The company reported earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $14.04 billion, while analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected earnings of 51 cents per share on revenue of $13.97 billion. Shares of HP Enterprise fell nearly 1% after the information technology company reported mixed second-quarter earnings. The company reported earnings of 42 cents per share, compared with the expected 37 cents per share, and revenue of $7.15 billion, compared with the expected $7.4 billion. Boeing stock rose nearly 1% in after-hours trading after the Federal Aviation Administration told U.N. aviation agency members on Thursday that it expects Boeing's grounded 737 Max jets to return to air in the U.S. as early as June. It was not clear Thursday when other countries would clear the flights. Shares of Intuit rose as much as 3.5% after the software company reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The company reported earnings of $5.55 per share on revenue of $3.27 billion, while analysts had projected earnings of $5.40 per share and revenue of $3.23 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. Shares of Autodesk tanked 9% after the software company reported first-quarter earnings that missed estimates. The company reported earnings of 45 cents per share on revenue of $736 million, while Wall Street had expected earnings of 47 cents per share on revenue of $740 million. Ross Stores stock fell more than 3% in after-hours trading, despite first-quarter earnings that beat on the top and bottom lines. The company reported earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue of 3.80 billion, while Wall Street had expected EPS of $1.12 on revenue of $3.79 billion. Deckers Outdoor stock jumped more than 4% after the footwear designer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and gave strong guidance for the current fiscal year. The company reported earnings of 85 cents per share and revenue of $394 million. Analysts had expected revenue of $379 million. Tesla shares rose for the first time in seven days even after more Wall Street analysts joined the growing list of brokerages concerned with the company's financial health. The latest downward revision came from Loup Ventures co-founder Gene Munster, who wrote that Tesla will likely fall short of delivery expectations this year as the trade war between the U.S. and China worsens. Munster lowered his 2019 delivery estimates by about 10% to 310,000 vehicles versus guidance in a range between 360,000 and 400,000. "First, we are now factoring in that Tesla deliveries will be impacted by tariffs entering China," Munster wrote. "Second, non-tariff factors that will impact China demand include Chinese consumers boycotting Tesla and Chinese officials adding complexity to the delivery process." Munster added that his estimate cut included a reduction in expected China deliveries to 40,000 vehicles from 70,000 vehicles. The new number implies that China would account for 13% of deliveries in 2019 versus a prior forecast of 25%. But despite the gloomy outlook, Tesla shares rose about 2% on Thursday. As of Wednesday's close, Tesla had declined by 17% since May 14, a $6.88 billion drop in the company's market value about equivalent to the size of Macy's or TripAdvisor. The share price had declined by more than 50% from its 52-week high by Wednesday's close. British Prime Minister Theresa May departs from 10 Downing Street ahead of Prime Ministers Questions session (PMQs) in Parliament, London on May 22, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May could announce her resignation in the next few days, according to U.K. media reports, as she faces pressure from members of her own party to step down. Downing Street appeared defiant however, with May's spokesman saying she will meet ministers this afternoon and that she was listening "to colleagues about their concerns on the (Withdrawal Agreement) bill," Reuters reported. He also said she was focused on delivering Brexit. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill is seen as having precipitated the latest crisis in government with lawmakers widely opposing May's attempt to resurrect her Brexit deal that they've already rejected three times. The Times newspaper reported on Thursday morning that May will announce that she will quit her post as early as Friday. The paper did not cite a source and Downing Street would not comment on the reports when contacted by CNBC. Tweet: May will remain as prime minister while her successor is elected in a two-stage process under which two final candidates face a ballot of 125,000 Conservative Party members, the newspaper said. Pressure appears to have been mounting on the prime minister to announce her departure in the last 48 hours amid a backlash of her offer of a "new" Brexit plan that she wanted to put before Parliament. Lawmakers have already rejected May's Brexit deal three times so the prospect of another vote on the withdrawal agreement, that many opposition and Tory lawmakers have already rejected and said had not changed much, was met with disbelief in many quarters. On Wednesday night, the Telegraph's deputy political editor reported that the influential 1922 Committee (a powerful group of pro-Brexit Conservative party lawmakers) wanted May to announce on Friday that she will step down as party leader by June 10. Tweet: On Thursday, the Guardian newspaper reported that Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the treasurer of the 1922 Committee, will allow a new no-confidence vote in May if she does not announce her resignation date Friday. That would mean changing the rules from the status quo that a leader can only face one confidence vote within a 12-month period. May survived a confidence vote last December. A no-confidence vote would likely take place after Trump's state visit as Parliament will be in recess until June 4. In the meantime, how much support May has from her remaining ministers is yet to be seen. She was dealt a blow Wednesday evening when senior minister Andrea Leadsom quit her post saying that May's new Brexit plan contained "elements I cannot support, that aren't Brexit." The Telegraph newspaper reported Thursday that May "is under siege" in Downing Street and had refused to meet key ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid but later reports suggested that Hunt is due to meet May later Thursday. Hunt signaled he still backed May, however, telling a reporter that she would still be prime minister when Trump visits the U.K. on June 3. "Theresa May will be prime minister to welcome him and rightly so," he said, Reuters reported. An intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China is negatively impacting every country in the world, according to the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with workers earning lower salaries most likely to be hit the hardest. The world's two largest economies have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of one another's goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment. Earlier this month, tensions between Washington and Beijing ratcheted up even further when both sides hiked charges on their goods once again. The U.S. also added Chinese telecom giant Huawei to it's so-called "Entity List" effectively banning the company from acquiring technology from U.S. firms without government approval. This trade war is "holding back" investors and consumers and that's hurting the expansion of the global economy, Roberto Azevedo, the director-general of the WTO, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Thursday. "We cannot close our eyes to that Every single country will lose unless we find a solution for this." "The regular citizen is not immune to this, in fact, the lower the bracket of income of the citizen, the more he will be affected," Azevedo said. The global economy would be hit hard if President Donald Trump decides to impose steep tariffs on imported cars, Citi's Willem Buiter told CNBC on Thursday, with Germany likely to bear the brunt of any losses. The U.S. administration recently declared that some imported vehicles and autos parts pose a national security threat to the world's largest economy. It comes after the Commerce Department submitted its so-called "Section 232" national security report in February. Specific recommendations from this report have not been revealed, but it is widely believed to have concluded that car and auto part imports pose a risk on national security grounds. However, Trump stopped short of imposing auto tariffs last week, choosing instead to delay the decision for as long as six months to allow for more time for trade talks with the European Union and Japan. "If we get in a position of tariffs under the section 232 act that the U.S. is threatening with, for which it has given a reprieve until November, then that would be serious," Willem Buiter, special economic adviser at Citi, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Thursday. "That would mean tariffs for car imports, for car parts imports, and that would hit Germany the most of any of the large industrial nations. That would be a first-order slap in the economic face," he added. President Donald Trump speaks about a range of subjects including failed infrastructure talks with Democratic lawmakers during an event to disc "It's possible that Huawei would be included in a trade deal," Trump said during a freewheeling impromptu exchange with reporters at the White House on Thursday afternoon. "If we made a deal, I can imagine Huawei being included in some form or some part of a trade deal." President Donald Trump left little doubt on Thursday that he is willing to negotiate tough U.S. restrictions on the Chinese telecom giant Huawei as part of a broader trade deal with Beijing, a position that could put the president at odds with members of his own administration. Trump's remark came just moments after he had said, "Huawei is something that is very dangerous. You look at what they have done from a security standpoint, from a military standpoint. It is very dangerous." Asked by a reporter how such a negotiation over Huawei would look, Trump replied, it would "look very good for us." "How would you design that?" the reporter asked. "It's too early to say," Trump replied. "We're very concerned about Huawei from a security standpoint." The president appeared to be delivering a mixed message about the Chinese broadband company: On the one hand, that Huawei was a threat to U.S. national security, and on the other hand, that the United States would be willing to consider easing some of its restrictions on the company in order to reach a broader trade deal with China. Trump's remarks came as both global markets and major American industries grew increasingly concerned this week that the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China could do lasting damage to America's economy and to key sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing. To wit, Trump's Huawei comments were made at an event focused on the announcement of a plan to use $16 billion in tariff revenues on aid to farmers impacted by the trade war with China. The plan had been released earlier in the day by the Department of Agriculture, however, and Trump veered off topic shortly after he began speaking Thursday. President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted a White House event with farmers and ranchers hurt by the administration's ongoing trade war with China, just hours after the White House announced a new $16 billion farm and ranch aid package for those most affected. "We will ensure that our farmers get the relief that they need and very, very quickly," Trump said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room. "We want to get them back to the point where they would have had a good year." Trump said he directed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to draw up the $16 billion aid package to help farmers impacted by the retaliatory tariffs from China. The president said the trade package for agricultural producers "will be paid for by the billions of dollars" the Treasury is taking in from tariffs on Chinese imports. He said the amount of money the U.S. government will collect from those tariffs is "far more than the $16 billion that we're talking about." "But the $16 billion of funds will help keep our cherished farms thriving and make clear that no country has veto on America's economic and national security," Trump said. "Can't let that happen, ever." The centerpiece of the aid deal is a series of cash payments totaling $14.5 billion to farmers of a variety of crops as well as dairy and pork producers impacted by retaliatory tariffs. U.S. tariff revenue collected by the Treasury would be used to support the program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "The package we're announcing today ensures that farmers will not bear the brunt of those trade practices by China or any other nation," Perdue told reporters on a call early Thursday. In addition, the government plans bulk purchases of about $1.4 billion of fresh produce and other food products impacted by tariffs. The food would be used to help food banks, pantries and school meal programs. The USDA also plans a $100 million trade promotion program for livestock producers and certain crops to help industry sectors develop new markets. A similar program was launched as part of the administration's 2018 trade relief program for agriculture. The latest round of farm aid follows the Trump administration last year providing assistance to agricultural producers impacted by the trade war with China and others. Producers of soybeans received the most relief money in last year's $12 billion aid package for farmers. The program announced Thursday includes direct payments to farmers of more than two dozen agricultural commodities, including grains, oil seeds and specialty crops, as well as dairy and pork. According to the USDA, the top five states where farmers received trade aid as part of last year's program were Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Indiana. Trump won all but one of those states Illinois in the 2016 presidential election. "The American farmers have been used as a vehicle for China to try and hurt our country," Trump said. "China has openly stated they are going to use the farmer. The reason is because I got the farmers' votes." The Strait of Taiwan, located between the coast of southeast China and Taiwan. The U.S. military said it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world's two biggest economies. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a trade war, U.S. sanctions and China's increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. The voyage will be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing. The transit was carried out by the destroyer Preble and the Navy oil tanker Walter S. Diehl, a U.S. military spokesman told Reuters. "The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, said in a statement. Doss said all interactions were safe and professional. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said the two U.S. ships had sailed north through the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan's armed forces monitored the transit and nothing out of the ordinary happened, it added. There was no immediate reaction from China. U.S. warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait at least once a month since the start of this year. The United States restarted such missions on a regular basis last July. The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help provide the island with the means to defend itself and is its main source of arms. The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taipei more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010. China has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island, which it considers a wayward province of "one China" and sacred Chinese territory, to be brought under Beijing's control by force if needed. Beijing said a recent Taiwan Strait passage by a French warship, first reported by Reuters, was illegal. China has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle Taiwan on exercises in the past few years and worked to isolate it internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released a report earlier this year describing Taiwan as the "primary driver" for China's military modernization, which it said had made major advances in recent years. China has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle Taiwan on exercises in the past few years and worked to isolate it internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies. On Sunday, the Preble sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China in the South China Sea, angering Beijing. The state-run China Daily said in an editorial on Wednesday that China has shown "utmost restraint in responding to the incitements by the U.S." "With tensions between the two countries already rife, there is no guarantee that the presence of U.S. warships on China's doorstep will not spark direct confrontation between the two militaries," the official newspaper said. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren gestures as she speaks during a campaign stop at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia on May 16, 2019. Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are targeting Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, raising questions about his time on Sears Holdings' board of directors and his relationship with the troubled company's former CEO, Eddie Lampert. Mnuchin, who was Lampert's roommate at Yale University, was on the Sears board until December 2016, after President-elect Donald Trump picked him to join the incoming Cabinet. Under Lampert, who led Sears from 2013 to 2018, the company closed more than 3,500 stores, shed some of its most valuable assets, including Lands' End, and laid off thousands. Sears filed for bankruptcy in October. Lampert bought Sears through an affiliate of his hedge fund ESL Investments, saving it from total liquidation. In a four-page letter sent Thursday morning, Warren and Ocasio-Cortez asked Mnuchin a series of questions about his advisory role in Lampert's decisions. In a video on Twitter announcing the letter to Mnuchin, Ocasio-Cortez criticized the secretary as "a walking example of what happens when rich and powerful people put other rich and powerful people into power." Workers "deserve a Treasury secretary who fights for them," Warren said in the video, "not someone who spent a decade raking in cash for himself at the expense of hundreds of thousands of Sears employees." Warren TWEET Video The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the letter from Warren and Ocasio-Cortez. ESL declined to comment. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, arrives for a House Democratic caucus meeting on the potential impeachment of President Donald Trump in Washington on May 22, 2019. WASHINGTON A key congressional committee has already gained access to President Donald Trump's dealings with two major financial institutions, two sources familiar with the House probe tell NBC News, as a court ruling Wednesday promised to open the door for even more records to be handed over. Wells Fargo and TD Bank are the two of nine institutions that have so far complied with subpoenas issued by the House Financial Services Committee demanding information about their dealings with the Trump Organization, according to the sources. The disclosures by these two banks haven't been previously reported. Both TD Bank and Wells Fargo declined to comment for this story. Wells Fargo provided the committee with a few thousand documents and TD Bank handed the committee a handful of documents, according to a source who has seen them. The committee, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is especially interested in the president's business relationship with Russia and other foreign entities. More from NBC News: 'Oreo?' Housing Secretary Ben Carson confuses real estate term for a cookie In letter, 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh said ISIS 'doing a spectacular job' Tennessee teen graduates as high school valedictorian and earns $3M in scholarships, all while homeless A federal judge ruled Wednesday that two other banks Deutsche Bank and Capital One can hand over financial documents related to their dealings Trump and his businesses to Congress. The Trump family had sued to prevent those two banks from complying with the congressional subpoena and the ruling paves the way for the committee to now have access to years of financial records from at least four financial institutions. The documents that have been provided so far are a fraction of those requested by Waters, whose committee has also sent subpoenas to Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank and JP Morgan Chase. The Royal Bank of Canada is in the process of complying with the subpoena, according to a source. The other banks have missed the subpoena deadline of May 6. The development comes as House Democrats are internally debating to move forward with launching an impeachment inquiry of the president or not. Deutsche Bank has been the Trump Organization's biggest lender, financing more than $2 billion in loans to the president during his business career, and he still owes the bank at least $130 million, according to Trump's latest financial disclosures. The subpoenas, details of which have not been released to the public, are predicated on the notion that Congress has access to the information under the Bank Secrecy Act, which allows Congress access to financial information to search for money laundering, according to a person who has seen the subpoenas. "The potential use of the U.S. financial system for illicit purposes is a very serious concern," Waters said in April when she issued the subpoenas. "The Financial Services Committee is exploring these matters, including as they may involve the President and his associates, as thoroughly as possible pursuant to its oversight authority, and will follow the facts wherever they may lead us." Spokespeople for both chairman Waters and Ranking Member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., did not respond to requests for comment. The Waters probe is just one of numerous confrontations between House Democrats and the president over his financial information. The receipt of documents suggests progress for House Democrats who have often been frustrated in their efforts to, in some cases, conduct oversight but they have had progress in recent days. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta this week said that Congress has the legal authority to request information from the president's personal accounting firm Mazars USA. An NBC News analysis finds that at least 14 different Democratic-led House committees are investigating various aspects of Trump and his presidency, with 50 different inquiries that are seeking documents from the executive branch or outside entities. Much of the focus for House Democrats has been on efforts across multiple committees to gain access to an unredacted version of the Mueller report, which the Justice Department recently moved to block after Trump asserted executive privilege. While lawmakers have been stymied in obtaining additional documentation that could be central to an obstruction of justice case against the president or members of his administration, accessing bank records could provide new momentum for an investigation centered around questions of whether foreign individuals or governments hold financial leverage over the president, his family or his businesses. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures from the window of a prison van as he is driven out of Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1, 2019, after having been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in 2012. Daniel Leal-Olivas | AFP | Getty Images Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange was hit Thursday with new federal criminal charges alleging he conspired with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain and publish secret documents, some of which included the disclosure of identities of foreigners who were aiding the U.S. military abroad. The new set of counts immediately raised alarms among press freedom advocates, who argue that charging Assange with violations of the Espionage Act could set a dangerous precedent for journalists. Assange was charged with 17 new criminal counts: One count of conspiracy to receive national defense information, three counts of obtaining national defense information and 13 counts of disclosure of national defense information. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each of the new counts, according to the DOJ. The charges, contained in an indictment issued in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, were revealed during a press conference held by Department of Justice officials in Washington. Assange is currently in British custody after having been expelled from Ecuador's embassy in London, where he had lived for nearly seven years. Federal authorities want Assange to be extradited to the U.S. in order to face charges. Julian Assange was "complicit" and "conspired with" Manning, an official said. Officials said that Assange's publication of the names of human sources in the Middle East "is alleged to have created imminent risks to the life and liberty" of those individuals. Assange, the officials said, "knew the publication of these sources endangered them." The information could be seen by terror groups and countries hostile to the United States, and "documents related to this material was even found in the Osama bin Laden compound," an official said. The Espionage Act The U.S. has never successfully prosecuted a non-government official for publishing or sharing unlawfully leaked classified information, University of Chicago Law Professor Geoffrey Stone told NBC News. Some press freedom groups and other people and entities defending Assange were quick to protest the new charges. "This strikes at the heart of the First Amendment and puts all journalists in extreme danger," The Freedom of the Press Foundation said in a tweet Thursday afternoon. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Executive Director Bruce Brown said in a statement: "Any government use of the Espionage Act to criminalize the receipt and publication of classified information poses a dire threat to journalists seeking to publish such information in the public interest, irrespective of the Justice Department's assertion that Assange is not a journalist." WikiLeaks itself tweeted that "this is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment. Wikileaks TWEET Edward Snowden, the former CIA official who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013, said, "This case will decide the future of media." But an official pushed back on that characterization. "Assange is not a journalist," the official told reporters. "No responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposely publish names he or she knew to be confidential sources in warzones." The indictment alleges that Assange's disclosures "risked serious harm" to U.S. national security "to the benefit of our adversaries." By publishing the names of human sources without redactions, Assange put them "at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm," prosecutors allege. These human sources included "local Afghans and Iraqis, journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents," the DOJ said in a press release. "This is a wholesale attack on freedom of speech, the media, and the first amendment," a lawyer for Assange told NBC in a text message. Manning, meanwhile, is currently in jail for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury. Asked if she had changed her stance, an official said: "Ms. Manning remains in jail." Assange was arrested on April 7 in London on a single U.S.-lodged charge of conspiring to hack a U.S. government computer in 2010. In that case, he was alleged to have conspired with Manning to crack passwords on government computers and to download large amounts of classified information with the intent on publishing them on WikiLeaks. Those documents allegedly included approximately 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, a quarter-million State Department cables and 400,000 Iraq War-related reports. Assange had first sought asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was accused of sexual assault. But he remained in the embassy for years, in part due to fears that he could be arrested at the behest of American authorities for his work obtaining and publishing classified documents. But he remained in the embassy even after Swedish authorities dropped their preliminary investigation of the sex assault case because of fears that he could be arrested at the behest of American authorities for his work obtaining and publishing classified documents. On Monday, a Swedish prosecutor asked a court in Sweden to order that Assange be detained in his absence, "on probable cause suspected for rape." That prosecutor, Eva-Marie Persson, said that "if the court decides to detain him, I will issue a European Arrest Warrant concerning surrender to Sweden." Assange is currently serving a 25-week sentence in the United Kingdom for failing to show up in court as ordered back in 2012 in connection with the case in Sweden. It is not clear now whether Sweden or the U.S. will be able to extradite him, or, if so, which country will get him first. "In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority. The outcome of this process is impossible to predict. However, in my view the Swedish case can proceed concurrently with the proceedings in the UK," Persson said. Read the full superseding indictment below: Ankiti Bose is 27, a fashion junkie, and on course to become the first Indian woman to co-found a $1 billion start-up. In four short years, she has grown her Southeast Asian e-commerce site Zilingo into a global platform with more than 7 million active users. With a rapidly expanding investor following, the start-up's latest cash injection in February 2019 valued the business at $970 million. And to think, it all started with a shopping trip to Thailand. "It was 2014 and I was on holiday with some friends, some ex-colleagues actually, in Bangkok," Bose told CNBC Make It. "We were in this market called Chatuchak," she said, referring to the capital's iconic weekend market. With more than 15,000 stalls and some 11,500 independent merchants, it is the largest weekend market in the world. "I was like 'wow, this stuff should be online!' But they just couldn't sell online, they didn't know how to. That was the inception," said the CEO. Zilingo is headquartered in Singapore and helps independent fashion and lifestyle retailers sell directly to consumers. Ankiti Bose, co-founder and CEO of Southeast Asian fashion platform Zilingo. CNBC Founding a fashion empire Bose was then a 23-year-old investment analyst working for major venture capital firm Sequoia Capital in her native India. Based in the country's tech hub, Bangalore, she was closely following the rise and rise of major e-commerce names like the U.S.'s Amazon, China's Alibaba and India's Flipkart. But she was struck by the lack of opportunities at that time for small-time merchants in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia represents one of the world's largest manufacturing hubs, but many local producers lack the economies of scale to sell directly to consumers. They therefore must rely on third-party distributors often to the detriment of their profit margins and working conditions. It was a bit of a David and Goliath idea. Ankiti Bose co-founder and CEO of Zilingo Bose decided to do something about it and created an online marketplace to aggregate the region's independent retailers and help them sell online. "It was a bit of a David and Goliath idea," said Bose, now 27, referring to the Biblical parable of the young boy who took on and defeated a giant. Zilingo works like other e-commerce marketplaces, in that it allows merchants to sign up and self-list their products. However, each seller is then vetted by Zilingo for authenticity, pricing, and a series of other metrics. If approved, they will be admitted onto the site and given access to services like tech support, financing and insurance. Zilingo charges merchants a commission of between 10% and 30% for each sale. "It's these small merchants against the big brands and the malls and the big internet companies. (I thought) how do you help them become big ... and grow on the back of that?" said Bose. A meeting of minds For that, Bose, a math and economics graduate, said she knew she had to draw on "the great leveler" technology. "Technology companies have a better shot at scaling things in a way that's non-linear," Bose said. "Hundreds of distribution agents all over Asia are leaking away margins from the real people that deserve it, and I think it is only technology that can solve that." That tech know-how came "serendipitously" one night a few weeks later, in the form of Dhruv Kapoor, a then 24-year-old software engineer, who turned up with a neighbor for drinks at her flat in Bangalore. Ankiti Bose, CEO of Zilingo and co-founder and chief technology officer Dhruv Kapoor. Zilingo "Neither of us was actually supposed to be there, but we showed up anyway," Bose recalled, referring to her now co-founder and Zilingo's chief technology officer, Kapoor. "So here's this guy, sitting on the couch in my living room having a beer, and he's talking about back-end, and what he does with gaming and analytics and this and that. And I say 'hey, you know what, I've been thinking about this thing, what do you think about it?'" Kapoor, himself an entrepreneur, was quickly sold. Within six months, they both pooled their savings $30,000 each quit their jobs (and convinced a handful of trusting friends to do the same), and set about making their idea a reality. "Most people that start companies together know each other for years, they're dorm mates or whatever," acknowledged Bose. "But we just hit it off and we knew that what we wanted to do together was the same." Shopping for buy-in Initially, that meant getting buy-in from merchants. So Bose traveled across Southeast Asia to convince retailers that Zilingo could help grow their businesses. "Everybody was solving for access to the internet, but what about everything else that goes on before you actually sell the product?" Bose said, listing procurement, design and financing among those hurdles. "We said 'hey, what about if we plug all those gaps.'" Meanwhile, Kapoor set to work building out the tech capabilities in Bangalore, with the intention of making it "as easy to use as Facebook." By the following year, Zilingo a play on the word "zillion" had onboarded hundreds of merchants across Southeast Asia, set up offices in Singapore and Bangalore, and secured millions of dollars in funding from investors, including Bose's former employer, Sequoia Capital India. The success of Ankiti Bose illuminates how women can transform industries as leaders and innovators. Alison Eskesen vice president of the Centre for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard Fast forward to today, the business works with 27,000 merchants in 15 regions and has more than 500 employees across eight locations including the U.S., Australia and Hong Kong. It has so far received $308 million in funding from investors including Singapore's Economic Development Board Investments (EDBI) and sovereign fund Temasek. "Zilingo first piqued our interest with its potential to disrupt the traditional apparel supply chain," EDBI's CEO and president, Chu Swee Yeok, told CNBC Make It. "(It) creates opportunities for aspiring young designers in Asia to enter new markets ... while allowing global consumers to connect with Asia's fashion community directly." Leading the market Zilingo's latest funding round puts the company on course for a likely $1 billion valuation in the coming months. Over the last year alone, its revenues have grown by four times. Zilingo would not disclose its exact figures. That would make Bose the first Indian woman to co-found a so-called unicorn a start-up valued at $1 billion or more. It would also put her among the just 10 percent of unicorns with a female founder, according to Pitchbook. That feat is all the more impressive given that last year India ranked 52nd out of 57 countries in Mastercard's Index for Women Entrepreneurs. It came in just ahead of the likes of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh in terms of its ability to nurture women entrepreneurs. Zilingo's senior management team, including co-founder and CEO Ankiti Bose (center). Zilingo World leaders congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-NDA alliance is scripting a historic win in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 leading with 343 seats. The BJP is set to return to power as it leading in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 51, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday became the first world leader to congratulate his counterpart Narendra Modi for scripting an "impressive victory" in the general elections and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties "Sincerely greetings to you, my friend @Narendramodi, for your impressive victory in the elections!," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew and Hindi. "The election results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," he tweeted. @narendramodi ! , Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 23, 2019 Along with Netanyahu, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and others, also congratulated Modi. I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you. #PMOIndia K P Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli) May 23, 2019 Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a statement, said: "On the occasion of the National Democratic Alliance winning the 17th Lok Sabha Election of India under your leadership, I would like to extend my heart-felt congratulations." He added that China and India's bilateral ties are of key importance and seeks to 'enhance mutual political trust' between the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe tweets, "Congratulations to #NarendraModi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you." Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) May 23, 2019 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also tweeted congratulating Modi. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated her Modi on his election victory and said this "emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy." "I strongly believe that with the renewed mandate given to both of us by our respective peoples, Bangladesh-India ties, which have already been termed as a role model of good neighbourliness, will be further consolidated and our relations will scale newer heights," Hasina said. Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party in the elections. Modi thanked him for his wishes. During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity. The two Prime Ministers looked forward to their meeting during the G20 Summit in Osaka next month. Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering also offered heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Modi and said he looks forward to working closely with him in years to come. Around 67 percent of the nearly 900 million voters exercised their franchise in the seven-phase elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. Exit polls predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP is most likely to return to power. A total number of 8,049 candidates were in the race for 542 Lok Sabha seats. India's parliament has a total of 545 seats, out of which the BJP won 282 in the previous general election in 2014 to secure a single-party majority for the first time in around three decades. To rule a party needs the support of 272 MPs. (With inputs from PTI) Artist Thomas Dambo, of Denmark, hugs Tori and Lexi Garner, and Jade and Paige Batdorff, who found the heart-shaped stone that the troll known as Isak Heartstone, background, was named after, at its new location in Breckenridge on May 10, 2019. The troll was originally built near the Wellington neighborhood in part of an annual Breckenridge Creative Arts event last summer. It became very popular among visitors, causing the troll to be taken down and moved to its new current location. Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Multi-store retailer is having a big sale, the kind of big event that can make or break the chains profitability and a store managers career. So one of those store managers is pretty upset when his stores phone system goes down. He uses his cellphone to call the help desk, then hands it off to an employee with more technical ability than most. That employee is told by the help desk tech, Restart the IP phone system. But what he thinks he hears is reset, so he finds the recessed reset button on the rack-mounted IP phone system and pushes it with a ballpoint pen tip. The phone system dutifully performs the reset which scrubs all the phone systems configuration data and sets everything back to factory defaults. As in the defaults set in the factory. The factory thats in Germany. Where they speak German. Which no one on the stores staff knows how to speak. Its the same story with the IT help desk. What happened next, says fish, is that the store employee read the LCD display of the IP phone system, letter for letter, while the help desk tech used online translation to figure out what they needed to do. Eventually the language setting was changed back to English and remote control was re-established with the rogue Germanic device, says fish. Sprechen Sie Shark? No matter; Shark has Google Translate. Send me your true tale of IT life at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter and read some great old tales in the Sharkives. May now expected to agree her resignation tomorrow Tugendhat calls for fast-track replacement Daily Mail Ofcom rules could hinder reporting on crisis Daily Telegraph Dale reveals major problem with Mays departure Daily Express All eyes will now be on Fridays meeting with Brady. The ruling executive of the 1922 committee, which Brady chairs, has the power to change Conservative party rules to allow a fresh vote of no confidence in the prime minister. May survived a confidence vote in December, making her position safe for a full year under current rules. But since then, her Brexit deal has been defeated in the House of Commons three times and the Tories have plummeted in European election polls, bleeding votes to Nigel Farages single-issue Brexit Party. The executive recently voted narrowly not to change rules, but the 18-person committee could hold another vote. Politico Editorial: She must go now Daily Telegraph Move takes Britain towards an uncertain future FT >Today: ToryDiary: May hangs on for now, but faces the music on Friday and Leadsom walks >Yesterday: ToryDiary: If May isnt on her way out by the end of today, dont back her in tomorrows European elections and the 22 Executive is poised to change the leadership challenge rules if she doesnt After a short meeting with Julian Smith, the chief whip, backbenchers were told that Mrs May had agreed to meet Sir Graham tomorrow. Her allies said it was clear that she intended to set out her departure timetable Conservative MPs were frustrated that the 1922 Committees executive did not change the rules last night to allow a new confidence vote in Mrs May but it later emerged that the group had voted on whether to change the rules. According to ITV, they each placed their votes in a sealed envelope and will open and count them only if Mrs May does not tell Sir Graham tomorrow that she is stepping down. The Times May has 48 hours to salvage her premiership Daily Mail >Today: ToryDiary: Meanwhile, in Peterborough, Farages party advances and a Johnson premiership looms as May is steered towards the exit door Tom Tugendhat: It is time for May to stand aside Let someone else try, Prime Minister Nicky Morgan MP, Times Red Box In the name of God, just go Andrea Jenkyns MP, Daily Telegraph Leadsom resigns claiming the Cabinet didnt agree Mays second referendum plan The clock is ticking down to October 31 when if no withdrawal agreement has passed parliament the UK will leave the EU without a deal. This will have profound effects on every aspect of British life and create challenges for others in Europe. There is one last chance to get it right and leave in an orderly fashion. But it is now time for Prime Minister Theresa May to go and without delay. She must announce her resignation after Thursdays European elections. And the Conservative party must fast track the leadership process to replace her. FT Isolated Theresa May was last night holed up in No10 amid an extraordinary Cabinet bid to force her from power. Brexiteer Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom quit over the PMs bid to offer MPs the chance of a second EU referendum The PMs ex-leadership rival reignited their long-running feud with a devastating letter to Mrs May while resigning as Leader of the Commons. In it she came close to hinting Mrs May had lied to the Cabinet by failing to consult ministers, which saw a second referendum plan passed without their say-so. The Sun Expectation of exit turns to anger as sofa goes against the door Daily Telegraph Brexiteer fury as May postpones vote on No Deal The Sun Desperate pleas fail to say former rival The Times Resignation starts the clock on Mays final hours Huffington Post More: Gove calls for reflection over plan FT Grieve hints at resignation to block No Deal Daily Express Comment: A sorry end for a leader who never believed in Brexit Nick Timothy, Daily Telegraph Defection shows how toxic May has become Katy Balls, The Guardian Its all over bar the shouting Robert Shrimsley, FT Unhappiest premiership in a century Anthony Seldon, Daily Mail Labour will never back a deal Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph >Today: Hunt, Javid, Mundell and junior Ministers queue up to tell May to pull the Withdrawal Agreement Bill Surprise clause which was the final straw Daily Telegraph Cabinet allies abandon May to her fate The Times Hour by hour, a day of disaster for the Prime Minister Daily Mail May cuts a lonely figure as authority evaporates FT Theresa May finally lost control of the Tory party on Tuesday afternoon just as she was giving a speech to a room of accountants insisting that it was a great time to be alive. Within hours, the number of Tory opponents to her deal had doubled but an even more deadly backlash was under way among ministers who felt their leader had ignored the conclusion of Tuesdays testy cabinet meeting. Even those willing to let her go down with dignity were not willing to be bounced one more time. I thought she deserved one last roll of the dice, but she took those dice and threw them off the table, one cabinet minister said. The Times Comment: Cabinet has been complicit in this disaster Owen Paterson MP, Daily Telegraph Brexit is a subplot in the battle for the Tory Party Martin Kettle, The Guardian Junior ministers are showing big beasts how its done Asa Bennett, Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: Brexit Party on track to triumph in European elections Britains European election results are set to add to a major surge by populists across Europe, leading to political deadlock over top EU jobs and increasing the risk of a no-deal Brexit. The latest projections by the authoritative Europe elects website puts the Brexit Party on track to win with 28 seats, better than Ukips high of 24 in 2014. Nigel Farages victory will be seen as a warning signal by the EU and will harden President Macrons hostility to any further delay to Brexit beyond the present deadline of October 31. The Times On the campaign trail with Farage Daily Telegraph Major parties tear into Brexit Party leader The Sun Anger at lack of panellist on Question Time Daily Express More: Dutch upstart rides populist wave The Times Populist parties plotting slow death of EU dream Daily Telegraph Comment: No election ever deflects the EUs deep state from its rigid course Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph Why Im still voting Tory Stephen Glover, Daily Mail Editorial: A kicking both Labour and the Tories deserve The Sun >Today: Garvan Walshes column: How Strache and Farage use socialist techniques to con Tories Change UK leader offered to quit over tactical voting fiasco Party pays for huge Facebook ad blitz amidst dismal poll ratings The Guardian The leader of Change UK, Britains newest political party, has said that she threatened to quit in a row over whether to urge supporters to vote tactically and back the Liberal Democrats. Heidi Allen took up her position only weeks ago as the pro-EU party announced that it would fight todays European parliament elections. After an encouraging start in which the party attracted 11 MPs from Labour and the Conservatives, Change UK has faltered. The latest polling indicates that the party will face a struggle to secure any MEPs in todays vote. The Times Liberal Democrats: Osbornes newspaper endorses the Lib Dems The Sun as Tory MPs blast ex-mandarin for so doing The Sun Comment: Liberal Democrat revival owes more to luck than judgement David Aaronovitch, The Times Sir John Curtice: Disaster could overshadow Tories beyond the Euros Of course, what will most concern Tory MPs is what this impending disaster might mean for the partys prospects in a general election. Here the position is not quite so bad. On average the party stands at 24 per cent in voting intentions for a Westminster election while the Brexit party stands at a more modest 18 per cent. Moreover, past experience suggests that once a Euro-election is over, voters often return to their previous loyalties, abandoning their temporary flirtation with whatever small party has recently enjoyed a surge. However, if Brexit is not delivered soon, voters may not forget this Euro-election quite so easily. Daily Telegraph Brexit is redrawing the battle lines Henry Newman, Times Red Box Tory MPs put pressure on May over veterans Mercer says issue must be top of the agenda for next leader News Letter Top soldier calls for troops to be free from fear of prosecution The Sun Rudd to lodge formal complaint with UN over welfare report Theresa May has faced concerted pressure from Conservative backbenchers at prime ministers questions over what they said was the unfair targeting of military veterans over incidents that took place in Northern Ireland many years ago. Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson, Mark Francois and Johnny Mercer insisted that the veterans did not seek a blanket amnesty, but believed they were being targeted for prosecution when those who carried out terrorist attacks were not. May insisted this was not the case, saying the government was seeking to come up with a fair system for delayed prosecutions which did not risk covering both veterans and former terrorists with a blanket amnesty. The Guardian Work and Pensions boss Amber Rudd is planning to lodge a formal complaint about an extraordinary UN report that compares the Governments welfare reforms to 19th century workhouses. UN extreme poverty adviser Philip Alston claimed the glue holding British society together had been deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos due to policies of austerity introduced in 2010 But the Department for Work and Pensions branded the report a barely believable documentation of Britain and said it painted a completely inaccurate picture of its approach to tackling poverty. The Sun British Steel collapse puts state control on the table Workers fury as 25,000 jobs at risk The Sun SNP MP blames the Government The Scotsman Ministers held the door open to nationalising British Steel yesterday after the company was placed into liquidation, putting 25,000 jobs at risk. The government moved to keep British Steels plants in Scunthorpe and Teesside open by promising to fund continuing losses while searching for a new owner. Senior government sources said that if a buyer could not be found ministers would have to take a decision about whether to transfer the business into public ownership. They have been warned that if the furnaces at British Steels plants stopped it would be uneconomic to restart them. The Times Comment: Free marketeers should approach the issue with compassion Emma Revell, Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: Matt Kilcoyne in Comment: The debate over British Steel puts a spotlight on Tory divisions Northern Ireland minister hints at progress on Stormont talks A Northern Ireland minister has said there is a hint of progress in talks to restore powersharing at Stormont. The glimmer of hope to resolving the long-standing deadlock and resurrecting the institutions was offered by Lord Duncan of Springbank, responding to a debate on devolution at Westminster. The Stormont administration has been collapsed for more than two years following a breakdown in relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led powersharing coalition imploded in January 2017 when the late Martin McGuinness quit as Sinn Fein deputy first minister amid a row about a botched green energy scheme. News Letter SNP accused of trying to fool the public T Davidson accuses Sturgeon of brow-beating Scots over independence The Scotsman News in Brief: Rudd is right to complain about the UNs shrill, partisan report John Ashmore, CapX Do the Tories know how to choose a good leader anymore? Allan Massie, Reaction Corbyn isnt working, and Labours enemies are picking it apart Nick Cohen, The Spectator Francois on the mess were in, and why a Brexiteer will succeed May Kathy Gyngell, Conservative Woman How Farage outflanked everyone Matthew Goodwin, UnHerd he SNPs Westminster leader has been accused of trying to hoodwink voters after claiming an independent Scotland could afford to keep a new currency linked to the pounds value. Ian Blackford disclosed that the Nationalists wanted a separate Scotlands currency to be pegged to sterling to prevent the value of pensions and savings being eroded. But Scotlands most eminent macroeconomist accused him of trying to fool the public as this would mean diverting tens of billions of pounds from public spending to funding currency reserves. Daily Telegraph Our series continues on the impact of the local elections on the political parties in different regions. This week we look at the North East. In some ways this is a relatively straightforward region as it is made up of unitary authorities. No elections were held in Durham Council or Northumberland Council (apart from a couple of by-elections). These unitary authorities have all their seats contested: Darlington Middlesbrough Redcar and Cleveland Stockton In these councils a third of the seats were up for election Gateshead Hartlepool Newcastle-upon-Tyne North Tyneside South Tyneside Sunderland There was also a Mayoral contest in Middlesbrough and another for the North of Tyne Combined Authority. The fortunes of the parties in this region were quite different to elsewhere in the country. Conservatives Teesside is not natural Conservative territory. Yet dispute setbacks elsewhere the Conservatives made some gains in the North East. Rather than positive enthusiasm, this is likely to be due to the Labour vote falling. National factors have already been widely considered. Many working class voters who traditionally vote Labour also voted Leave in the EU referendum are dismayed at the Labour Partys contribution to preventing that result being honoured. However, in Darlington the Conservatives believe there were local factors in their success with a net gain of five seats as Cllr Jamie Bartch described on this site on Monday. Labour lost control and the Council now has a minority Conservative administration. It is the first time it has been Conservative led for 40 years. In Stockton, the Conservatives gained a seat but it was the independents who had the most to celebrate. The Thornaby Independent Association did well with an anti Stockton message and a focus on local heritage and civic pride. Good for them fighting their corner but their fierce tribalism may might coalition arrangements with non-Thornaby elements problematic. Two Conservative councillors for Fairfield Ward who were deselected won as independents. Elsewhere, the Conservatives gained four seats in Sunderland. In Middlesbrough, the Conservatives lost a seat but picked up a seat in North Tyneside. Im afraid Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and South Tyneside remain Conservative-free zones. Labour This was the region which drove the main surprise of this years election; the significant Labour retreat. The main news was big switch from Labour to independents. Middlesbrough saw Labour lose the position of directly elected Mayor by a wide margin to an independent. They also lost 14 council seats to independents. the new Mayor is a property dealer called Andy Preston. He used to be a member of the Labour Party. I suppose he will have picked up votes from Labour Brexiteers though if he did there is some irony in him having been involved in the Britain Stronger In campaign during the referendum. He also has an impressive record of helping local charities. His policies include greater transparency of town hall decision making and public orchards. As noted above Labour also lost Darlington and Stockton. Redcar and Cleveland was already under no overall control. But Labour made big losses to independents. The upshot has been that a minority Labour administration has been replaced by a coalition of independent and Lib Dem councillors. True Labour won the Mayoralty for the North of Tyne Combined Authority, despite an awful Corbynista candidate, Jamie Driscoll. But Labours margin of victory 76,862 to 60,089 for the Conservative candidate Charlie Hoult was relatively small given the territory it covered. Lib Dems Ten years ago the Lib Dems had control of Newcastle City Council. Labour have a big majority there now, although the Lib Dems did pick up a seat. In Redcar and Cleveland, the Lib Dems picked up a couple of seats, as they did in Gateshead. In Sunderland, they made four gains. They avoided talking about Brexit there but ran a pretty aggressive campaign against Labours wasteful spending, including on councillor allowances and expenses. So a general Lib Dem advance but more modest than what was seen in the rest of the country. Conclusion Labour can no longer take working class votes for granted. That trend would be taking place anyway. But it has been accelerated by their choice of an unpatriotic leader from Islington. It has also been made worse by effectively ditching its pledge to support Brexit. In some places, such as London, that has been offset with an increase in support for Labour among younger middle class voters. But these local elections in the North East show that many traditional Labour supporters feel abandoned by the Labour Party and that an increasing number of them are returning the favour. Lord Lexden is the Conservative Partys official historian. His website can be found here. Whenever I think of the watershed election of May 1979, words of Jim Callaghan, made famous by frequent repetition, come at once to mind. Talking to Bernard Donoghue, then head of his Policy Unit, he said: there are times when it does not matter what you say or do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves. I suspect there is now such a sea-change and it is for Mrs Thatcher. Callaghan spoke mid-way through the election campaign when things were not going well for Margaret Thatcher. Her lead in the opinion polls had slipped. She was tired and extremely irritable, not for the last time during the course of an election. Peter Thorneycroft, as Party Chairman, suggested that Ted Heath should appear alongside her in an election broadcast. Incandescent fury hardly describes her reaction. The election result proved that Callaghan was right. Her overall majority of 43 on 3 May 1979 was won with a swing of over five per cent bigger than Churchill had gained when he returned to power in 1951, bigger indeed than any leader had gained since the War. Tory victories were most numerous in the south, but there was good news elsewhere too: 17 seats were gained in the Midlands, nine in the north and six in Scotland. It was Disraeli who said that the Tory party must, above all, be a party of the whole nation. Thatcher worked hard to keep it that way. She was a Unionist, perhaps more strongly so than any of her recent predecessors. She devoted much time to Scotland, and felt Ulsters woes acutely, while expressing intense irritation at the failure of the Northern Ireland parties to agree on how the Province should be governed. The 1979 election manifesto was the best since 1950, in which Churchill had taken a hand (with secretarial assistance from the future Mrs Enoch Powell). Churchills aim was to show that the Tory Party had fully accepted what has come to be known as the post-war settlement. Nearly thirty years later, Mrs Thatcher put forward what she described as a broad framework for the recovery of our country, based not on dogma, but on reason and common sense. The manifestos pledges were few in number, concerned chiefly with fundamental economic change and reform of industrial relations. Not everything was new. As has often been said, some of it had been foreshadowed by Heath in 1970. Thatcher learned from his mistakes; not for her, the complete reconstruction of industrial relations in one go, which had proved an utter disaster. When under Heath unemployment hit one million in 1972, there was a clamour for a change of direction, demanded with particular force by William Rees-Mogg in The Times. By 1979 the climate of opinion was very different, offering much more scope for Tory radicalism. John Campbell, biographer of both Heath and Thatcher, has suggested that though neither of them liked to admit it, Thatcher was the Grocers daughter in more ways than one. Michael Jopling, Chief Whip in the 1979 government, reminded me recently of how swiftly Thatcher constructed her government. She wrote in her memoirs of her pride that the whole government had been appointed and announced within 48 hours of my entering Downing Street. It was an indication of the vigour with which she was to conduct public affairs over the next eleven years. Harold Macmillan once told her that prime ministers had so little to do that she would have plenty of time for reading Trollope. She assumed he was joking. There were no computers at Number 10 in May 1979. Thatcher was the last prime minister to govern entirely through the spoken and written word. How effectively she used both. It is, I think, debatable whether a country can be run as successfully when electronic communications dominate Whitehall, accentuating the short term at the expense of careful strategic thought. Disraeli once defined the principal features of conservatism as love of country and an instinct for power. No greater patriot than Margaret Thatcher ever entered Number 10, and her chief purpose was to use power constructively to restore her countrys greatness after a long period of decline. She described the 1979 election as the most crucial since the war. It is impossible to dissent from that verdict. Garvan Walshe is a former national and international security policy adviser to the Conservative Party. He runs TRD Policy. The villa in Ibiza. The wealthy businessmans niece. The up and coming politician. The offer to buy a newspaper and turn it into mouthpiece. The quid pro quo: overpriced road building contracts. Illegal party funding. And a plan to muzzle the rest of the press so the people wouldnt hear about it. Nicaragua? Indonesia? Moldova? No Austria. The video exposed Hans-Christian Strache, leader of Austrias far right Freedom Party as a mountebank and a thief. That he fell victim to a sting makes his downfall sweeter. He didnt obtain the newspapers support. He didnt actually get any extra money for his party. Nor did he stand a bats chance of having his way with the oligarchs niece. This was a sting. The newspaper buyout, the illegal donations were all figments of those who laid the trap. The overpriced road building contracts a figment of his own. Still, the Freedom Party controlled Austrias transport ministry, and prosecutors would be advised to take a good hard look, for if populism always begins by telling people what they want to hear it ends with the fleecing of taxpayers. Now Straches career is in ruins. His ministers have all been fired and his party will have to fight elections dogged by corruption allegations. Sebastian Kurz, Austrias extremely young Prime Minister who brought the far-right into government, and thought he could tame them, stands exposed at best as a naif and at worst as a man who risked Austrian democracy for a couple of years in power. Conservatives used to be good at spotting socialist populists who would bribe taxpayers with their own money, raise trade barriers at the behest of trade unions or craft regulations to coddle industries that refused to reform. Thats why Margaret Thatcher was so determined to create the Single Market. Deep trading relationships make us all far better off, but need rules to ensure a level playing field and institutions to enforce them against characters like Strache. But we, in the Conservative Party here, as much Kurz in Austria, became entranced by nationalist populists. They sold us a politics of resentment to win over disgruntled left-behind voters. It became, after the referendum, a clamour for a Brexit without trade-offs. We failed to settle on either a soft Brexit, which would have caused minimal economic disruption, but left us following rules we cant take part in making; or a hard one: disruptive change bringing freedom to make our own rules, but even less control over the circumstances in which they are made. Now were losing voters to either side: whether its Michael Heseltine and Matthew Parris voting Liberal Democrat, or hordes of ordinary members for the Brexit Party. They flock to a Nigel Farage out there doing what he does best: whipping up anger. Never mind that he failed to declare the donations used to support his Chelsea house and chauffeur, and is heading a slate of ex-communist bounders and Balkan adventurers to get elected to a parliament that he doesnt believe should exist. A glance at his partys legal structure shows what is really happening. Not for him the tedious matter of party boards and leadership elections. His is an ordinary private company, and hes a shareholder. He and his fellow directors are free to pay themselves dividends from all those donations theyve been raking in. Less Peoples Army, more PayPal Army. What links Farage and Strache isnt just that their parties used to be in the same European parliamentary group. Its that they use politics as a kind of private enterprise. Strache dreamed of treating his country like his personal piggy bank. Farage has literally set his party up as a company. They turn politics on its head. No longer citizens to be served, Austrian taxpayers and Brexit Party supporters are resources to be exploited: marks to be fleeced to repay a fictitious Russian oligarch, or bombarded with demands for donations that could be used to keep Farage in the style to which hes become accustomed. Theyve taken the central political technique of socialist populism promising to spend other peoples money and privatised it. South Africa: Former Joburg mayor elected NCOP chair Former City of Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo has been elected as the new Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Masondo was elected during the first sitting of the NCOP on Thursday morning to the position that was previously held by ANCs Thandi Modise, who was yesterday elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly. Masondo was nominated by former Communications Minister Yunus Carrim unopposed after no further nominations were made. Addressing the council, Masondo told members that the NCOP plays three basic functions a representative, legislative and an oversight role to ensure that government is kept accountable. Let me take this opportunity to reassure you that we will do all we can to master and deepen the art of doing. We will not merely dwell on matters theoretically, as important as this might be. We will grapple with the most difficult the art of doing. We will seek and strive to build the culture as we grapple with the critical issues in the context of cooperative governance. I commit and undertake to do so, sparing neither strength nor courage to the best of my ability, he said. Immediately after Masondos election, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, who presided over the session in the NCOP, congratulated Masondo, saying: As I indicated, the nomination is in order I accordingly declare the honourable Amos Masondo duly elected Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. I seize this opportunity to congratulate honourable Amos Masondo on being elected Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces and I invite you Chairperson to please come and occupy your rightful place, he said. Immediately after his election, Masondo presided over the election of the Deputy Chairperson and the Chief Whip of Council. After Masondo invited nominations, Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela nominated ANC Northern Capes Sylvia Lucas for the position of Deputy Chairperson, and she was elected unopposed. ANCs Seiso Joel Mohai was elected Chief Whip of Council after he was nominated unopposed by former Buffalo City Mayor Zukiswa Ncitha. Addressing council after the election programme was concluded, Ntombela told delegates that having heard the needs of the people, it was now time for provincial delegates to serve. I am sure all of us have moved around all the provinces during elections and we have heard what our people want. We have listened to them as they were telling us their needs. We have heard our people crying for better and faster service delivery. They want jobs for their children. They [want] houses and sites. They are crying for water and electricity. So I just hope that the members that were sworn in today will fulfil the needs of the people, she said. Gauteng Premier David Makhura took to the podium to congratulate all the provincial delegates who were sworn in and the elected office bearers. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said: We believe that we should continue to work together as provinces to raise issues that affect our respective provinces. Without dwelling on these issues, we would also like to remind this house that it derives its existence from the will of the people as they expressed themselves on 8 May in the elections. While coming from different political parties, we should accept and work together and represent South Africans genuinely and pursue their interests. We wish the NCOP leadership well. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Andrea Leadsom could have resigned last summer with David Davis and Boris Johnson over the Chequers Plan. Or she could have quit with Dominic Raab and Esther McVey during the autumn over the draft Withdrawal Agreement. Instead, she stayed on in Cabinet, alongside fellow EU referendum leavers Liam Fox, Michael Gove, Chris Grayling, Penny Mordaunt and (later) Steve Barclay. So why has she resigned today? And why have they not at least yet? Lets try to answer the second question first. As Andrew Gimson reports on this site, Conservative MPs believe that Theresa May announce her resignation as Party leader over the weekend after meeting Graham Brady on Friday. That would allow her to pre-empt, and attempt to draw the sting from, the European election results before they are announced on Sunday evening. This take could be wrong. But even if it is, the Prime Minister has clearly lost the confidence of most Tory backbenchers and Ministers alike. The immediate reason is the terms of the proposed EU Withdrawal Bill. Cabinet members insist that they did not approve, at yesterdays meeting, all the contents of Mays speech yesterday especially the proposal to legislate for a second referendum if the Commons votes for one. It follows that the publication of the Bill risked the resignation of any of those Ministers named above, and perhaps others too and that the House will not approve its contents in any event. Which helps to explain why it is now very unlikely to be issued. And why the Prime Minister given the stasis that would fill the consequent gap now has little alternative but to quit before the 22 Executive, her Cabinet or both finally force the issue. So those other Ministers perhaps think that theres no need for them to quit because May will have to do so first. But Leadsom is in a slightly different position to them. As Leader of the House, she has a certain responsibility for the Bill. She writes in her resignation letter that she could not tomorrow, presumably in the weekly Business Questions, announce a Bill with new elements that I fundamentally oppose. Hence her resignation which comes with a deadly sideswipe, first, at Downing Street for not allowing the proper scrutiny and approval by Ministers of recent Brexit proposals; and, second, at Philip Hammond (it seems) for advocating policies contrary to the Governments position. Her long-time friend and supporter Tim Loughton has been tweeting criticism of Downing Street today. That looks like an early warning signal of Leadsoms intentions. She thus becomes the latest of almost 50 Ministers to have quit Mays Government. On the one hand, her critics will claim that her resignation is deliberately timed to boost a second leadership bid. On the other, Leadsoms refusal to hang on for a few more days can be seen as admirable and principled. Her job was one that she grew into and did well. It could just be that the next Minister to depart will be none other than the Prime Minister herself. Meanwhile, in Peterborough, Farages party advances and a Johnson premiership looms as May is steered towards the exit door Theresa May never intended to go through with Brexit and has all along been scheming to keep Britain in the European Union, but Boris Johnson might still be able to get us out. So said a number of voters in Peterborough, where 61 per cent of people voted Leave, and where a by-election will be held on 6th June to replace the disgraced former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya. She was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and then removed from office after 19,261 of her constituents signed a recall petition. Lawrence Howard, 44, lives in the village of Thorney east of Peterborough but inside the parliamentary seat where Onasanya committed the speeding offence which she attempted so disastrously to cover up. He said he had been a Labour voter all his life, and had voted for her at the general election when she defeated the Conservative MP Stewart Jackson by 607 votes, but would not be voting Labour again: From now on Im going to vote blue because of her. Im going to be a turncoat, just like Tony Blair. Onasanya is, however, by no means the only reason why voters in Peterborough have lost faith in politicians. A number of people expressed their disgust at the installation of a new Mayor of Peterborough, Gul Nawaz (Conservative), who was jailed in 2002 for housing benefit fraud. Cllr Nawazs suggestion that his offence took place in the last century, so should now present no problem, was regarded as unsatisfactory by a considerable number of voters. But Brexit was the main issue which has led many people in Peterborough to regard politicians with a curious mixture of weary resignation and bottomless contempt. Peterborough possesses, in its cathedral, a sublime edifice whose west front, completed in 1238 and wider than the interior, is one of the wonders of Christendom. These interviews took place on Tuesday afternoon in some of the nearby streets, which are well provided with benches, but where some of the buildings are of dispiriting shoddiness. A number of people said they were upset that Peterborough has so many homeless people. Almost everyone was friendly, and happy to spend time talking about politics, but it was difficult to extrapolate from these responses what will happen in the by-election. Traditional loyalties now appear to count for almost nothing, and many people said they have not yet decided how they will vote. Almost all the Leavers said they will vote for the Brexit Party in the European elections today, but even this information was not volunteered, and had to be obtained by direct questioning in which the interviewer was the first person to mention the words Brexit Party. This reticence may stem from a feeling of disloyalty to whichever party the individual concerned used until recently to support. An even deeper reticence obscured voting intentions in the by-election to be held in two weeks time tomorrow. Will a strong performance by Nigel Farages movement in todays poll translate into success a fortnight later in the by-election? My guess is that it will, unless clear action has been taken by then to implement Brexit. But that is only a guess: it is not something people were prepared to say. Johnson was mentioned more often than Nigel Farage though one woman who is not going to vote for the Brexit Party expressed sympathy with the latter figure for having yoghurt thrown over him. Another man, a Leaver, said he had been to the rally held by Farage a fortnight ago in Peterborough, not that I needed any persuading to support him, and remarked with satisfaction that it had been attended by 1800 people. William, a 64-year-old engineer from Scotland who has lived in Peterborough for many years, said with a sigh: I give up on politics. We voted to leave. I think we should have left by now. I give up. Ive no trust whatever in politics now. I used to vote Labour. But having said that, I was one of the idiots that voted for Margaret Thatcher. I only recently started going back to Labour maybe the last eight or nine years. I voted UKIP for the first time in 2017. William voted Leave in the referendums of both 2016 and 1975, but his party allegiance is fluid. He has pretty much given up believing we will leave the EU: If we were going to leave, it would have happened by now. And he wondered if May is actually working to keep us in: Shes put forward something thats going to be chucked out, and therell be another referendum, and Leave wont win. Without being asked what will happen next, he went on: When she steps down I could see the ex-mayor of London will get the job, and him and Trump, what a combination. Between them they might make things great, you never know. An old man said of Brexit and the House of Commons: Its disgraceful. They all agreed to do it and they havent. The Speaker, hes in on it. He should be put in a cart and taken to Tyburn. A maintenance engineer who was having a drink in The Drapers Arms in Cowgate said: I might vote for Boris in due course, because hes positive. Theresa May was a loser. She could never win this. So why did she take the job? Maybe its a great political scheme to stay in. The Conservative Party, not as a whole, but its leadership are trying their best to keep us in. Theresa May never intended what she said at the start, that no deal is better than a bad deal. That was just a lie to keep the Leave people at bay. A woman in the pub took a different view. She said Nigel Farage will do so well in the European elections that Conservative and Labour politicians will put their heads together and sort it out. A former shop steward who worked for 42 years for Hotpoint in Peterborough said: If we stay in the EU within a few years well just be a county of Europe. The sovereignty thing is more important to me than the trade thing. You can tell old Gorbachev did I say Gorbachev? I meant Corbyn at heart is a Leaver, but his party on the whole are Remainers. The bit of Peterborough where I live is flooded with EU nationals. Only one British shop is left and thats Iceland. The majority of the Tory Party want no deal. How the hell can a Tory Prime Minister go against that? It doesnt stack up. Not in a normal situation, if Brexit wasnt around, but in the present situation I think it would take someone like Boris, if we cant have Trump, to get us out of the mire were in. So if I had a vote Id definitely be for Boris. And then when were out of the EU Id probably change my mind. A woman who gave her occupation as housewife said: I think the working class is out the door now. Theyve got no time for us. Theyve put many too many foreigners in the country and I feel sometimes we get forgotten. You take care of your own before you take care of everyone else. I used to vote for Labour, but I dont know, Im still thinking things over, put it that way. The housewife turned out to be a Remainer: If we get out were going to be forsaking all the ones who died in the war. So Id rather stay in the European Union. She was the only person who stood up for Onasanya: Theyre all making mountains out of molehills. Theyre picking on her to make her a scapegoat. I thought leave her alone. She might have lied, but how many politicians lie. Shes just done what anyone else would have done. ConHome: But surely if you were caught speeding, you wouldnt lie. Housewife: No, I would lie. 100% Website gsparisbeauty.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery and Boostrap. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 188775 bytes (184.35 kb uncompressed) and 31613 bytes (30.87 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-02, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 96% Website molg.go.ug uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 1008377 bytes (984.74 kb uncompressed) and 1009822 bytes (986.15 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-27, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website ybu.edu.tr uses latest and advanced technologies like: Boostrap. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 113661 bytes (111.00 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-11-07, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Theology is studying God. Christian theology is knowing God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Theology is the queen of the sciences.1 This was not only the opinion of the great Middle Ages scholar, Thomas Aquinas but was held as truth all the way through the 20th century. After the infamous influence of higher criticism, following Darwinism metastasized and infected every school of learning including metaphysics or divinity, theology was relegated to a specialized study. This would have been surprising if not abhorrent to both faculty and students of familiar institutions like Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, and even our state universities, like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the oldest state university in America where the teaching of theology was central to higher education. The reason for theologys decline in higher education and its compartmentalization to Bible schools and seminaries has a lot to do with the cultural degradation and the onset of postmodernism, which deconstructed Western civilization, including the centrality of Christianity to our ideas about self, others, and, especially, God our Creator. As these bad ideas made their way into the vital organs of theological higher education, the cancerous growth of denying Gods Word made its way into the full bloodstream of the Church, in virtually every denomination and tradition. In fact, evangelicalism, is in large part, a response to this philosophical and social pandemic. So, it is rather unusual for some Bible-believing Christians to complain that theology has crept into the Church, as if theology, knowing God, had never been central. Influenced by the airborne spiritual pathologies of a post-Christian culture, such muddle-headed assertions from the mouths of believers unwittingly support the ungodly ideas in the world, which they would otherwise oppose. It is right to ask again: What is theology and is it important? Why was theology important in the early Church (and it most unquestionably was important)? Why was it important in the Middle Ages? In the Reformation? In the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries? The answers to those questions are nothing short of life or death for biblical Christianity. Lets explore the meaning of theology and its effects on the soul, the Church, and the very world in which we live. Theology Is Knowing God The definition of theology is simply the study of God. Two Greek wordsTheos () God and logos()combine to create the word theology. The emminant scholar, Louis Berkhof, asserted with brevity and precision: The New Testament has the Greek equivalents of the Old Testament names. For El, Elohim, and Elyon it has Theos, which is the most common name applied to God. Jeremiah called Israel to recall the priority of theology, that is, of knowing God: Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24, emphasis added) The Apostle Paul joined the chorus of voices, divine and human, to emphasize the necessity of theology, that is, of knowing God: Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? (Gal. 4:8-9, emphasis added). The Apostle Paul is saying that the Galatian Christians not only knew about God, but they had an intimate knowledge of God in their own lives. Such intimacy not only opened their consciousness to their Creator but also to themselves. This is quite different from someone saying that they know about God. I think of the great J. I. Packer in his book, Knowing God. Dr. Packer wrote of a sadly familiar spiritual pathology, which remains a constant toxic threat for all of us: A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him. Theology is knowing God. Indeed, this kind of knowing God is filled with love, gratitude, and the communicable attributes of God impressed into our lives. Theology is not incompatible with love. Theology, the thirst for knowledge of God in our lives, is equated with love by the Apostle John: We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God (1 John 4:6-7, ESV). Theology Is the Divine Drama of the Ages Theology is more than merely a definition of a word. Theology that is biblical, Christ-centered, and comprehensive is the very plan of God revealed in His Word. The great twentieth century English professor and essayist, Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957), wrote of theology as the divine drama. In her remearkable book, Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine, the Oxford scholar asserted: . . . for the cry today is: Away with the tedious complexities of dogmalet us have the simple spirit of worship; just worship, no matter of what! The only drawback to this demand for a generalized and undirected worship is the practical difficulty of arousing any sort of enthusiasm for the worship of nothing in particular. (P. 14) Surely it is not the business of the Church to adapt Christ to men, but to adapt men to Christ. It is the dogma that is the dramanot beautiful phrases, nor comforting sentiments, nor vague aspirations to loving-kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after deathbut the terrifying assertion that the same God who made the world, lived in the world and passed through the grave and gate of death. (P. 20) The Churchs answer [to the great existential questions of life and death, the meaning of life, and life after death] is categorical and uncompromising, and it is this: That Jesus Bar-Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, was in fact and in truth, and in the most exact and literal sense of the words, the God by whom all things were made. (P. 2) I cannot imagine a more credible, concise, and convicting definition of the theology and its importance. For Sayers, the Church in trying to reach the world without theology was impossible. Theology is the drama that attracts. Theology, knowing God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the essence of the Christian religion. It cannot be otherwise. Theology Is the Answer to Our Deepest Needs All theology is pastoral. I mean to to say that after we have studied knowing God in the Old Testament, New Testament, and have catalogued our findings into a systematic theology, as we have observed Gods Word and ways in historical theology, we come to see that theology is knowing God for the purpose of living (and dying, which is, for the believer, a continuation of life). Thus, there is a beauty about theology that transcends, even resists, categorical truths that remains unapplied in the human soul. Dr. Craig Barnes, President of Princeton Theological Seminary put it so memorably in his work, The Pastor as Minor Poet: Texts and Subtexts in the Ministerial Life: The primary symptom of a soul that has become sick is that it becomes blind to the poetry of life. Theology, the pursuit of knowing God in Christ, is the poetry of life. Why Wouldnt Theology Be Important? I believe it is right to reflect the question on the mind of some that says, theology is simply not that important. Now I might ask myself, why would anyone say such a thing? But, in fact, people do say this. Why? I have heard from people that theology is . . . 1. Dull Some believe that theology is dull. I generally dont hold the student responsible for a boring subject but rather the teacher. Ive heard it said that the greatest sin of a history teacher is to make history boring. That is quite right. We should also say, the greatest insult to the doctrine of knowing God that is, theology is to make the subject boring. I guess it is possible for one to make child-rearing a very boring subject. I guess it is possible to talk about the relationships of men and women, courtship and marriage, and to come off as quite dull. However, you and I both know that neither of the subjects are dull whatsoever! We must not judge theology as dull if we are so unfortunate as to have a dull preacher! Is there anything dull about the divine drama of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? Let us zoom out from the life of Jesus to see the plan of redemption running from Genesis to the last verse of Revelation! What is dull or boring about the plan of God to redeem fallen humankind by making a covenant that God will provide what God requires? Theology that cannot be preached in theology that cannot be applied to the life of a child is very likely a theology that is brittle, dour, dull, and . . . wrong. But I have heard that theology is . . . 2. Divisive Another criticism about theology is that dogma is divisive. When I say dogma, Im using the word in the same way that Dorothy Sayers did in her essay. Dogma is merely an English word based on the Greek word for teaching. So the teachings that flow from the theological system that is revealed in the Word of God or of prime importance in faith and life. It should not surprise us that human beings who have been infected with original sin and its dark consequences, even after they have been saved and they are putting on Christ, yet battling the old self that still resides within them and must be mortified throughout all of their life of sanctification, would have conflicting opinions about the most important things the things of primary importance. This is a human quality, which is seen in every aspect of life. The Word of God is divine. The Bible is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Those who read the Bible must be filled with the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit that recorded Gods Word through mortal men and women will recognize the Spirit in the reader and the two shall become one. However, theological dogma such as baptism, communion, how one is sanctified or grows in the Christian life, and a few others not many is so important than human beings form communities of conviction that are based upon their opinions of one or more of these vital matters. Men and women of good will, therefore, may disagree. Their inability to express a perfect unity in every single aspect of Christianity neither invalidates their faith nor the veracity of the Word of God. It merely shows that we are human. The Apostle Paul said that one day we will know even as we are known. For now we see through the dark glass, not always able to discern every single truth with unquestionable precision. Thankfully, God has left us with a kind word, The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29). True theology that is revealed to us from Gods Word can divide: truth from error. Yet, some have said that theology is . . . 3. Esoteric This criticism of theology is that it is merely too esoteric that is, the doctrines of the Bible may have philosophical, metaphysical, or intellectual merit, but they are simply impractical. Someone might even say, stick to the simple things. Actually, I would agree with that. But the thing is, the simple things of the Bible are also deep things revealed from God to humankind. I sometimes hear about pie in the sky by and by. Those who have said this to me wanted to stress that Christianity that is biblical theology offers nothing for the here and now. It is all about heaven. It is all about another world. It is all about another kingdom. I sometimes respond to them as I would like to do in this little article by quoting CS Lewis, who wrote in response to the charge that Christians are just too heavenly minded to be any earthly good: If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth thrown in: aim at earth and you will get neither. (Mere Christianity) Why Theology is Vital to the Christian Faith It Is the Study of God Firstly, remembering that theology is truly knowing God by personally knowing His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, we must assert that theology is absolutely vital to Christianity. The study of God and of His Word leads us to the glorious doctrines that change lives. Even as St. Paul admonished young pastor Timothy to rightly divide the truth of the Word of God and to teach it, withholding nothing, so, also, we must pursue the knowledge of God through His general revelation creation and His special revelation the Bible. Karl Barth wrote in his The Epistle to the Romans an essential theological cornerstone of Christianity and why it must be studied, The Gospel is not a truth among other truths. Rather, it sets a question-mark against all truths. It Is the Story of Ourselves Theology, the pursuit of God, is an extraordinary inquiry into not only the Creator but of necessity the creation. That creation includes every one of us. A theology that is built upon study of Gods revelationin creation and in Scriptureleads us to see that God is God and we are not. But we are His image-bearers. We are without Christ image-bearers with a marred image, a distorted spiritual framework inherited from our first parents that touches everything we do, all that we are, all that we want to be. The unquenchable thirst after knowledge of God will bring us to Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord. Knowing Him and following Him restores our humanity, removes the birth mark of a sinful nature, and places us on an ever-expanding experience of Gods remodeling of our lives from the inside out. Theology proper is to know God. And to know God is to know what it is be fully human. It Is the Greatest Story Ever Told Theology is a narrative of Gods pursuit of His own joy and communion in the relationship, lost and found, of His People. It is Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. The culminating truth of Christian theology is the Person of Jesus. He lived the life we could never live and died the death that should have been ours. He was crucified for our sins. He rose again on the third day. He appeared to over 500 at once, many of whom lived into the last years of the first century. Witnesses saw Jesus the Christ ascend into heaven with angelic presence and celestial voice that He would also return in like manner. This is the Greatest Story ever told. How did one theologian put it? The Gospel of the Resurrection is thepower of God, His virtus, the disclosing and apprehending of His meaning, His effective pre-eminence over all gods. The Gospel of the Resurrection is the action, the supreme miracle, by which God, the unknown God dwelling in light unapproachable, the Holy One, Creator, and Redeemer, makes Himself known: What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this set I forth unto you (Acts 27:23)." Theology must always lead to doctrine on fire in the pulpit. Theology must always culminate in lives transformed by the power of the Gospel. Theology is intended to awaken, to heal, to encourage, to admonish, to correct, but more than anything to know love. To know the love of God. The eminent Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote in his classic theology, Love Alone is Credible, these words: But if we view creation with the eyes of love, then we will understand it, despite all the evidence that seems to point to the absence of love in the world. We will understand the ultimate purpose of creation: not only the purpose of its essence, which we seem to make some sense of through the various intelligible relationships among individual natures, but the purpose of its existence in general, for which no philosophy can otherwise find a sufficient reason. For Balthasar, our humanity is realized as we receive the love offered by the divine heart that breaks for us upon the Cross. And this theological message is a powerful conduit to the human heart, for the world, love alone is credible. And God is love. And to know Him is to know pure love. To receive His eternal gift of life in Christ Jesus is to not only know but experience this divine love. Out of the fullness of this love we are able to express His love to another. What Theology Must Never Be For as much as we have talked about what theology is, we must be careful to assert what it is not. Theology is not Speculation We were told throughout the Scriptures that we should not be speculating about the meaning of a mystery not revealed. Indeed, one of the features of a maturing believer is to be able to live in the tension of the ministry. The Apostle Paul warns Timothy about the disastrous consequences of wrangling over words. We must, therefore, be careful and precise in our statements about what the Bible says. Going beyond that is theological speculation. This will surely lead not only to strife within that particular Christian community but will lead to heartache by the one who is espousing it. Theology cannot be Weaponized We have no doubt seen how some people use Scripture as a weapon to hurt other people. Yet even the prophets, like Jeremiah, who warned of judgement, wept exceedingly when their prophecies at length became judgement. There is nothing so heinous as twisting the very Word of Almighty God to become an arsenal to use against another human being made in Gods image. If someone reading these words has born the brutality of a verbal attack on the conscience by misuse of Gods Word or a theological Molotov cocktail thrown to maime the conscience of another, then it is no wonder that one would have a distaste for theology. But theology is about knowing God, not taking His name in vain to hurt another. But there is another thing that theology must never be. Theology must never be Ignored Theology, the knowledge of our Creator, must not be neglected. How do we do that? Well, one way is to allow the misuse of theology by another our excuse to avoid knowing God. The reasons that I have named are real. As a pastor, I have seen the damage that abuse of theology can do to a person. To neglect the true knowledge of your God is to ignore the healing salve of grace that is needed to cure your pain. Others ignore theology because of less complicated reasons: they just dont have time. Can you imagine that? One would say, I am too busy in life to come to know the Giver of my life? It really is quite ludicrous, isnt it? We have seen that theology is not mere philosophical speculation. Theology is not an esoteric inquiry into metaphysical ideas that are disconnected from living (and dying). Theology is always personal, always accessible, always about knowing God. Our Lord Jesus was the Great Theologian who taught us about God and, thus, about ourselves. Our Savior once told some who had trusted in Him that conversion was not the end, but the beginning: So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32). And that, dear friend, is the wondrous, unfathomable glory of true biblical theology: God is truth. To know Him, to follow Him, to pursue Him with all of your heart, soul, and mind is to increasingly shed the darkness of a fallen world and walk into the soft golden beams of celestial light; a light that warms, illumines, and guides you into the perfect freedom you have dreamed of for so long. Notes: 1. Leo J. Elders, The Metaphysics of Being of St. Thomas Aquinas in a Historical Perspective(Brill, 1992). Michael A. Milton, PhD (University of Wales; MPA, UNC Chapel Hill; MDiv, Knox Seminary), Dr. Milton is a retired seminary chancellor and currently serves as the James Ragsdale Chair of Missions at Erskine Theological Seminary. He is the President of Faith for Living and the D. James Kennedy Institute a long-time Presbyterian minister, and Chaplain (Colonel) USA-R. Dr. Milton is the author of more than thirty books and a musician with five albums released. Mike and his wife, Mae, reside in North Carolina. Photo credit: GettyImages/freedom007 China Merchants Group (CMG) has signed a deal with Shanghai Style Cruise Industry Development Co. Ltd. for two new 37,000-ton luxury cruise ships with an option for two more, according to a news release. A delivery date for the first ship is 2022. The 534-guest ships will be built in China and targeted at the Chinese market and operate under the Style Cruise brand. China Merchant Group General Manager Xianfu Gu said: Shanghai Style Cruise Industry Development is a cruise management company set up by an array of private enterprises, state owned enterprises and investment funds with a passion to develop the domestic cruise industry. It will in the purest sense, the first entirely China designed, built and operated luxury cruise ship. Tillberg Design of Sweden is also involved with the start up project, but said in a statement to Cruise Industry News it could not share more details. Style Cruise Chairman and President Zhouli Zhao said: Currently Chinese passengers are cruising on foreign cruise ships and Chinas cruise tourism economy remains at a 'passing economy' status. Realizing Chinese designed and built cruise ships does not only address Chinas 2025 Made in China strategic goal, but is also CMGs industry pursuit and also represents our investors patriotism and dream to repay our motherland." The deal announced today follows a collaborative agreement signed in 2017. Following a $200 million drydock, the Carnival Sunrise was officially named today by godmother Kelly Arison daughter of Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman Micky Arison and his wife Madeleine in a ceremony at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York City. As a Carnival godmother, Kelly Arison carries on a family tradition her mother, Madeleine was godmother to the ship when it first entered service in 1999, and her grandmother Lin Arison served as godmother to Carnival Sunrises sister ship, Carnival Sunshine, in 2013, according to a press release. To be a part of Carnival Sunrises official naming is more than I could have ever imagined and an experience Ill never forget, said Kelly Arison. The ship is absolutely beautiful, and Im so honored to not only carry on my familys legacy as godmother but to also use this opportunity to raise awareness for a well-deserving organization, the Ehlers-Danlos Society. The naming of the Carnival Sunrise was commemorated with Arison uncorking a custom-made, four-foot-high confetti-filled champagne bottle sculpture designed by Miami-based artist Romero Britto. The one-of-a-kind bottle features Brittos signature vibrant colors, bold patterns and elements of cubism, pop art and graffiti, as well as Carnival-inspired designs. Smaller versions of the bottle will be sold onboard with proceeds benefiting the Ehlers-Danlos Society (EDS), an organization dedicated to serving those with joint hypermobility spectrum disorders, of which Arison is a strong advocate. Carnival also made a donation to the organization as part of the naming festivities. Kathie Lee Gifford, who has had a longstanding 35-year relationship with Carnival, took a moment to address the crowd and extend her best wishes to Arison as godmother, a role that Gifford served for two Carnival ships, Celebration in 1987 and Ecstasy in 1991. The event included a video featuring players from the Miami Heat, of which Micky Arison is a managing general partner. In the video, Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning, as well as former Miami Heat player and Carnivals Chief Fun Officer Shaquille ONeal, congratulated Arison. The planning for this project began more than two years ago and involved 7,000 people who worked together to deliver this amazing transformation. We are so excited to welcome Carnival Sunrise to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet she is already winning over our guests and providing so many new ways to Choose Fun, said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. It has also been such a special and unique opportunity to have Madeleine Arison, who served as godmother at the original delivery of this vessel 20 years ago, pass the honor of serving as godmother to her daughter Kelly during our official naming ceremony today. Social media offers a great opportunity to build your brand, increase engagement in authentic ways, show what your company is really about and totally screw things up. Case in point: American Apparel's 2014 social media gaffe. To promote a July 4th sale, the company tweeted what they thought was a picture of fireworks. It wasn't fireworks though -- it was the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding in mid-air in 1986. The public was not pleased, and many stopped following American Apparel online. Though companies can recover from such a mistake, doing so wastes time and money that should be used to grow the company. So, before you pull an American Apparel-sized goof, here are five things entrepreneurs should never put on social media. 1. Politics and religion There was a time when talking politics and religion was something you just didn't do in public. For entrepreneurs, that's still a good rule. If you're looking for a quick way to alienate some of your customer base, nothing does it like a political stance or politically incorrect statement. Just ask Roseanne Barr or Kathy Griffin. Prefer to keep your customers loyal and happy to use your services or products? Then stay focused on their immediate concerns. What do your customers want? What do they dream of? What do they fear? By focusing your social media content on your customer and not your own beliefs, your business will keep moving in the right direction, which is toward more profit and less drama. 2. All you, all the time Knowing you've got a big sale going on this weekend is important. However, no one wants to hear about it over and over and over. Just as you get tired of seeing pictures of your aunt's dinner on Facebook, people tire of hearing of your business. Mix it up. When you're dealing with social media, you have to be more than a business -- you need to be a partner in improving your customers' lives. Talk about other trendsetters in your industry. Show people you realize there are other smart folks out there beside yourself. Provide information that is immediately useful to your customers, and/or entertaining. You may have heard of this idea before as "content marketing." Well, here's the dirty little secret of content marketing: when you do it right, you can pitch as hard and as often as you want. As long as you keep the pitches soft and slip them in at the end of a solid piece of content, your followers won't mind and they'll actually be more likely to convert to buyers. 3. Negative stuff about clients or the world around you People don't come to your page to be reminded of all the bad things happening in the world. They're looking for something refreshing, something to help them forget the 24/7 news that keeps telling them the sky is falling. As soon as you start talking about bad stuff, they forget about your products and services. Even worse, they associate you with negativity and drop you from their feeds. Let this happen, and your social media presence is dead. If you can't find a positive angle for your posts, stay away. And that includes airing dirty laundry about clients or the competition. Keep that stuff in the boardroom and off of social media. That type of content is a major turnoff for social media users, and anything that turns them off will give them an excuse to turn you off. 4. Excessive updates Every medium has its own post frequency tolerance. On Twitter, you can get away with several posts every day as long as they're spread out. Other options, such as Instagram and Facebook, have users who tolerate one feed post a day. No matter how great your content, if you're clogging up your fans' feeds, you won't be doing it for long because they'll drop you without thinking twice. So, research best practices in posting frequency and follow them. If you get inspired and have a whole lot to say at once, use that as an opportunity to batch process content you can them drip over the next week or even month. This will guarantee your posts are fresh and useful and your fans will stick around to see them. 5. Non-social content Social media was built to be social. It's not the place for press releases or boring content, lectures or any kind of one-way conversation. That stuff belongs on PRWeb. If someone follows you on social media, it's safe to assume they know about your company and have already bought into the services or products you offer. So don't approach social media like a cold call or an infomercial. Treat it as a way to let customers behind the curtain to understand your company's personality. Need an idea of what this looks like? Check out the Wendy's Twitter account. They don't talk hamburgers and fries all day. They give useful, funny stuff that gets people engaged and sharing. When they do talk fast food, it's often snarky. As a result, their posts get tons of reTweets and comments. And despite being a huge company, Wendy's responds to comments on their posts. This clever give and take has resulted in a huge and rabid fan base. Bonus: stuff you can't validate Okay, I know I promised five things entrepreneurs shouldn't share on social media, but I had to share an extra, because this almost bit me in the butt a few years ago. In an era of fake news, you can't afford to post stuff that can't be verified. Everyone is on guard for fake stuff, and you should be too. This means no posting or sharing until you confirm whatever info it contains. That includes the picture you use. Remember American Apparel? This doesn't mean you have to exhaustively research everything you post. Instead, just make sure you pay attention to your sources and only share or take inspiration from credible authorities. Follow these tips, and you can build a rabid fanbase and cut out the drama that leaves so many social media users depressed and angry. Use social media as a tool for your business -- don't let the platforms use you. Stay focused on your positive message and use it to build your business empire. Related: The 5 Things Entrepreneurs Should Never Post on Social Media 4 Instagram Best Practices for Increasing Sales Use This Simple Technique for a 25 Percent Conversion Rate Boost for Your Facebook and Instagram Campaigns Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved BRIDGEPORT A year ago, during his unsuccessful run for governor, Mayor Joe Ganim issued a forceful call to legalize cannabis and regulate it like alcohol and tobacco. It is long past time we in this country acknowledged that attitudes about marijuana have changed dramatically and it is time for us, too, in this land of steady habits to change with it, Ganim announced in April, 2018. Yet as the Democratic-majority General Assembly has this year moved forward bills to do just that including a proposal to steer industry revenues to cash-strapped cities like Bridgeport Ganim, also a Democrat, has been noticeably absent from that debate. In contrast, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and New Haven Mayor Toni Harp have publicly supported the pro-pot efforts, most recently at a May 15 rally at the Capitol in Hartford. Organizers said Ganim was invited but could not attend. Ganim, in a brief statement for this story said, I have been generally supportive of this legalization, especially where it helps people of need in cities and is targeted to provide resources related to opioid assistance. He said a schedule conflict final work on a municipal budget the City Council passed May 7 kept him from the rally. But neither has Bridgeports mayor submitted testimony in favor of the pro-marijuana bills pending in the General Assembly. Bronin wrote to the General Assemblys Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on April 28, Connecticuts goal should be legalization that repairs the damage done by decades of racially disproportionate drug enforcement. ... It is long past time for us to replace the failed and destructive war on drugs with an equitable, thoughtful system of regulation. Ganims reduced enthusiasm seems reflective of the divisions over cannabis in a city where he is running for re-election. Its a sensitive subject for some residents, said Bridgeport City Council President Aidee Nieves, adding: Im still on the fence. One of Ganims opponents, state Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, who in January launched her mayoral campaign and has previously supported legalizing pot, this week said Im no longer a hard yes. Im a maybe now. Ive been in a world with people up here (at the Capitol) that are all for it, Moore said. I want to hear a deeper story and a deeper conversation about who benefits financially and how to prevent sales to minors. Bridgeport has been wary of the decriminalization of cannabis. After Connecticut lawmakers legalized medical marijuana in 2012, city officials approved an application for a grower, and then-Mayor Bill Finchs administration welcomed the new industry. But opposition from some residents and developers sank proposals for three dispensaries, and in 2014 Bridgeports Planning and Zoning Commission, with Finchs backing, adopted a moratorium on accepting further applications. The city was supposed to use the moratorium to develop a strategy for future pot proposals, but never did. Zoning Commission member Reginald Walker said in an April 2018 interview, Most neighborhoods will probably all say not in my backyard. A test of faith Meanwhile, a trio of 2019 cannabis bills to set up the recreational industry, provide revenues to urban areas and address prior criminal records for drug offenses recently advanced through the General Assembly with help from Bridgeport legislators. Its a great opportunity to create small businesses, said state Rep. Chris Rosario. Rep. Steve Stafstrom, a Judiciary Committee co-chairman, said, Theres several reasons it makes sense for Bridgeport, from the criminal justice aspect to the economic benefits. Legalization proponents recently admitted that while they have Gov. Ned Lamonts backing, they do not have the votes for final legislative passage, partly because of opposition from minority religious leaders. Nieves said Bridgeport, too, has a coalition of religious entities and spiritual leaders who believe it shouldnt happen. One of Ganims biggest supporters, Councilwoman Rev. Mary McBride-Lee, told Hearst she is strongly against legalization, believing marijuana can lead users to pursue worse drugs. She is not swayed by the possible economic benefits to the city. Theyre trading money for peoples lives, McBride-Lee said. Find another way to bring in revenue instead of selling drugs. State Rep. Charlie Stallworth, pastor of the East End Baptist Church, supported Ganim four years ago but is now running against him for mayor. Stallworth was announced as a guest at the pro-legalization May 15 rally with Bronin and Harp, but had a conflict. Im a supporter, Stallworth said, with the caveats that people who own pot businesses are from neighborhoods disproportionately effected by the war on drugs, and that there are tough rules against selling marijuana to minors. Stallworth implied that Ganims strong support as a gubernatorial candidate for legal cannabis was solely politically motivated. Unless theres something thats going to benefit Joe Ganim, Joe Ganim is not trying to do something for the community, Stallworth said. The Rev. Carl McCluster of Shiloh Baptist Church in the citys South End is a vocal legalized pot opponent, arguing like McBride-Lee that marijuana is a gateway drug, particularly for younger people. The bad far outweighs the good, McCluster said. Mayor Ganim is a competent politician. By not taking a position, he neither raises the ire of people who are for it or who are against it. Its the safe, non-leadership position. Nieves said some of Bridgeports political leaders, herself included, have also been shy about strongly advocating for legalized marijuana because they do not want to give outsiders yet another reason to find fault with the city. Bridgeport has struggled for years with a reputation for crime and corruption. Were the big, bad seed of Fairfield County, Nieves said. You have to be careful about that image. MILFORD Jury selection began Tuesday in the case of an Oxford woman accused of leading a scheme to torch a rental property she owned for insurance proceeds. Dolores Lee, 63, faces charges of first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit first-degree arson, attempted insurance fraud and attempted first-degree larceny in the case, linked to a July 2016 fire at a house she owned on Oxford Road. The charges carry possible punishment of up to 65 years in prison. In court Tuesday, Lee asked Judge Peter McShane for a continuance to raise money to hire another lawyer, but the judge rejected the request after noting the trial date was set in February. This case has been around for quite some time, the judge said. Lee was charged in December 2016 and pleaded not guilty in March 2017. She remains free after posting $350,000 bond. According to an arrest warrant, Lee wanted to burn down the Oxford Road home she owned because a tenant owed her back rent. After the tenant allegedly told a marshal serving an eviction notice that she didnt plan on leaving, the marshal told police Lee said, No one ever pays me. Maybe Ill burn it down. The warrant says Lee paid three other defendants in the case Speciale Rose Morris, Martina Brandy Jackson and Leon Pops Carson to drive from New York to burn down the home July 29, 2016. Morris implicated Jackson with setting the fire, but Jackson blamed Carson, telling police Lee had offered $800 in exchange for setting the blaze. Jackson and Morris have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree arson, but have not yet been sentenced. Carson is awaiting a trial to be scheduled on charges of first-degree arson, first-degree burglary, conspiracy, criminal mischief, tampering with evidence, interfering with police and reckless endangerment. Once a jury is picked, the trial is scheduled to begin June 17. A century ago, a single Connecticut congressman voted against womens suffrage. Its the 100th anniversary this week of the U.S. House of Representatives vote in favor of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Of the five Connecticut representatives to the House, only one was a Democrat, but it was a Republican who broke with his party to vote against womens suffrage. John Tilson, who would later become the House Majority Leader, voted against the 19th Amendment, going against the vast majority of his Republican colleagues. The final vote tally, taken on May 21, 1919, was 304 to 89, in favor of suffrage. Republicans were in the majority in 1919, and the most of them voted in favor of suffrage. Of 304 House members in favor, 200 were Republicans. Only 19 Republican representatives voted against womens right to vote. Tilson was one of them. His seat, Connecticuts 3rd Congressional District, is now held by Rosa DeLauro, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Connecticuts sole Democratic congressman at the time, Augustine Lonergan, also broke with his party. He was one of only 102 minority Democrats to vote in favor of suffrage. His seat is now held by John Larson. To be fair to Tilson, its worth noting that Republican Glynn James representing Connecticuts 5th Congressional District, now held by Jahana Hayes was one of 30 House members who did not vote. Hearst Connecticut Media file photo MONROE The towns Memorial Day Parade is scheduled for Sunday and will begin at 2 p.m. The parade participants will assemble on Elm Street south of Route 111. According to a release from the Monroe Police Department, when the parade begins it will travel north on Monroe Turnpike up to the Town Green, where a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony will take place. Strapped to a stretcher, surrounded by medics, nurses and doctors, a middle-aged man was about to play patient zero in what America's health care industry fears could be the next major pandemic: "cybergeddon." "Alert: All computer monitors are down in the hospital system," an automated-sounding female voice pronounced over a public address system. Soon, the mans condition worsened, and a pair of doctors tried to figure out the unusual responses from the simulated patients insulin device while more than a hundred people watched their every decision. The heart-pounding, pulse-racing demonstration at a recent cybersecurity conference in downtown San Francisco visualized what happens when a cyberattack paralyzes or hijacks equipment found in every hospital in the country and devices like insulin pumps used in many homes. The crucial question: when hackers take down critical care devices, like in this extreme example, can doctors still save the patient? "It's very visceral, sympathetic, stimulating experience, said Dr. Jeff Tully, who, along with fellow hacker-turned-healer Dr. Christian Dameff, developed the cyber demonstration. We're raising the alarm, Dameff said in a joint interview. When asked whether most U.S. hospitals can detect the moment a cyberattack is underway, Dameff answered, I would say not most, no, and acknowledged that it is a problem for the countrys health care system. We believe too much emphasis is put on the protection of patient data instead of the protection of patient care, he explained. We joke around that we like our patient's privacy, but we'd like them to be alive to use it. We're tremendously concerned about infrastructure being targeted for health care A great example of this being WannaCry, Dameff said. WannaCry was the cyber shock to a health care system many had long predicted. In 2017, the malicious malware shut down 16 hospitals across Great Britain. The U.S. blamed North Korea. Nations, non-state actors, hackers and others have various motivations when launching cyber strikes, experts say, including for political or financial reasons or simply for curiosity or amusement. "We didn't learn the lessons of WannaCry here in the United States, warned Dameff. "Why do we need to wait for people to be hurt by this? Tully added. Why can't we prevent that from happening altogether?" Cyber warnings grow If prevention is the best medicine, lots of places didn't get the script. Digital analytics firm Netscouts Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report found attacks that paralyze web networks at hospitals and physicians' offices, known as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, soared up to 1,400 percent in the past 12 months. Even though officials with three-quarters of health care organizations said in a recent survey that they've had a "significant security incident" in the past year, only nine percent of health care organizations think supply chain integrity is a top potential cyber threat. The Department of Homeland Security thinks otherwise. In research done for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, DHS officials said it has issued more medical device vulnerability warnings, known as advisories, in the past fiscal year (29) than in the previous five years combined (23). Reported vulnerabilities for all sectors not just medical have more than doubled since 2016 to 1,302 in the 2018 fiscal year, officials with the department said. Has your medical provider suffered a cyber breach? Click to see data breaches by state, company, type of breach, location of breach, date and number of people affected that are currently under investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services Offices of Civil Rights. The growing cyber threat is why Daniel Beard, the chief technology officer at Irvine, California-based Promenade Software, which makes software for medical devices, helped launch the Medical Information Sharing Analysis Organization (MedISAO). With the blessing of the Food and Drug Administration, it acts as a clearinghouse for normally competitive device manufacturers to share data on vulnerabilities that could affect multiple devices not just those from one company. "If you're a hacker and you're looking to get the largest payoff you can, Beard explained in an interview, you're not going to attack one medical device. You're going to attack the library that's used in hundreds of medical devices." The library is a repository of data in a device, almost always code provided by third-party programmers to multiple clients that manufacturers can purchase or license for use in an otherwise proprietary device. Using a laptop and television screen, Beard demonstrated how his company scans a software library for vulnerabilities, especially those that could be exploited. On a day in March, the program detected 30 potential weaknesses in software Promenade is currently programming to be used in an ophthalmological device. Each vulnerability was highlighted in red font. A growing but still nascent culture of information sharing is part of an evolution within the medical device community, which is not accustomed to disclosing private information to competitors or keeping their products updated with the latest cyber protections long after purchase. "When you sell a device to a hospital, there needs to be a plan in place for how you're going to keep it updated; how you're going to address the new vulnerabilities that come out to it, Beard said. For many years, it hasn't been in the medical device manufacturers business plan, he said. 'Clearly 10 to 15 years behind' Beard has a surprising ally in Michael McNeil, the global product security and services officer at Royal Philips, who bluntly stated in an interview that his industry is clearly 10 to 15 years behind in its cybersecurity. I will be candid because by being candid, it allows us to help accelerate and move the industry in the right direction, McNeil said. At a January FDA workshop on the management of cybersecurity in medical devices outside Washington, D.C., McNeil pressed his peers to -- in his words -- "step up to face the challenge. The FDA used the event, attended by hundreds of industry stakeholders, to roll out and explain new cybersecurity benchmarks devices will be required to meet in order to win its approval. Dr. Suzanne Schwartz, the deputy director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Technology Innovation at the FDAs Center for Devices and Radiological Health FDA, is leading the effort. She acknowledged in an interview there is no central database that tracks cyberattacks against hospitals and health care providers and the consequences of those incidents. When asked whether it would be helpful to have such a nationwide repository of incidents, Schwartz responded, "Yes, it would be Im not sure where that repository would be." To the suggestion that a database of medical device cyber incidents be housed and managed by the FDA which is in the process of strengthening its cyber guidance for medical devices Schwartz responded, I think weve got a lot on our plate right now. Instead, she said such information sharing and product improvements would work best if they remained voluntary. It is much more powerful to really be able to identify different groups among the community and have them really take ownership and accountability, she said. Dr. Suzanne Schwartz at the Food and Drug Administration talks with Chief National Investigative Correspondent Mark Albert about the agencys efforts to improve cyber security in medical devices and health care. New research Part of that voluntary effort is taking place at the Medical Device Interoperability and Cybersecurity Program lab at Massachusetts General Hospital in Cambridge, led by Dr. Julian Goldman, who is also an attending anesthesiologist at MGH and medical director of Biomedical Engineering for Partners HealthCare. In April, Goldman and the FDA allowed a television crew from the National Investigative Unit to see the results of an 18-month research project that had never before been shown publicly. Collaborators hope the findings will improve cybersecurity and patient outcomes across Americas health care network. "You have to think about what bad things could happen and then what steps to put in place before they happen to protect the patients, explained Goldman. Goldman's team identified four key shortcomings in U.S. health care: Data transmitted within a hospital is typically not encrypted, introducing a potential vulnerability not found in external communications. Some technical support staff are overriding manufacturers warnings and turning off security protections on devices. Most medical professionals are not always trained to recognize when malware infects a device, causing it to malfunction or provide corrupted data. Many health care providers need to do a better job of partitioning networks so that during an intrusion, a hacker can't see the entire system on a flat network. Research funding cut But despite the vital importance of securing cyber defenses in health care, a valuable source of research grants and funds have been cut and more reductions could be just months away. Some of the current cybersecurity research at the MGH lab has been cut by the Trump administration by almost 60 percent. In a proposed budget for the next fiscal year submitted to Congress in March, the administration also slashed next year's DHS science and technology budget by 37 percent, or $219 million, a portion of which also goes to fund cyber medical studies. "This is important research, Goldman said in an interview in his lab. It's there to improve patient safety and patient care. So, it's frustrating to see these cuts." It's also resulted in a blunt diagnosis from doctors trying to treat the problem. "Cyber disaster knows no geographic boundary," said Dameff, the doctor in California who helped develop the cyber demonstration. "If you're connected to the internet, you're vulnerable." Check out our Facebook Live where we discussed cyber vulnerabilities in U.S. health care. Know of waste, fraud, abuse or want to hold someone accountable? Send investigative tips to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com. FAIRFIELD An email from Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones to parents Wednesday afternoon addressed an incident at Fairfield Warde High School regarding a social media post. FWHS received information regarding concerning content that was posted on social media and may have been seen by Warde students. As always, we take all reports seriously and out of an abundance of caution, involved our Fairfield Police School Safety Team, the email read. A man has been arrested after the body of a 13-year-old Massachusetts girl was brought Monday into a hospital emergency room, according to WCVB. The Essex District Attorneys Office said the girl was brought to the Lawrence General Hospital emergency room at 4:47 p.m. and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The family identified the girl as Chloe Ricard, of Amesbury. On Saturday, officials announced that Carlos Rivera, 47, was arrested on charges of giving drugs to a minor and indecent assault and battery on a child. Rivera allegedly brought Ricard to the hospital, accompanied by another girl under the age of 16. Ricard and the other girl were at Rivera's apartment in Lawrence on Sunday night and most of Monday, according to investigators. "Chloe was a great kid. She was pretty smart. She was bright. She was beautiful," stepfather Brian Dolan said. "Just the wrong place with the wrong people." Dolan told WCVB that the family learned the news when a friend called them saying the teen was at the hospital. "The lady at the hospital told me, she goes, 'You know she had no pulse when they brought her here,'" Dolan said. "And as soon as I heard that, I was like, 'What? You got to be kidding.'" Her family said she stayed at a friends house Sunday night, but they have no idea how she died. The cause and manner of Ricard's death is under investigation. "Who can do that? Who can take and just dump her? Its just the most horrific act," Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan, the girl's mother, said. Nurses reportedly told Goldsmith-Dolan her daughter had been "thrown" out of the car, and that they tried to resuscitate her but there was nothing they could do. The heartbroken mother is now pleading for answers. "You took my daughter away, my baby, she was my everything," she said. "I want people to be held accountable. I want them to feel the pain I'm feeling." Goldsmith-Dolan said Ricard was an eighth grader at Solstice Day School in Rowley. She said her daughter had lingering trouble with her fathers death five years ago. "Our hearts go out to this family, and we are cooperating fully with the police investigation," Lawrence General Hospital said in a statement. Every candidate for the Democratic nomination for president (save one) knows what they need to do: knock former vice president Joe Biden out of the race. Biden himself knows he's the battleship everyone else needs to sink. He expects the torpedoes. But will anyone launch them? Attacking Biden is necessary, but it is risky. Each individual candidate would prefer for everyone else to do the attacking and avoid the ire Biden fans will attach to whomever bruises Uncle Joe. All of the candidates have to know, however, that they are prisoners of the same dilemma: They need Biden to trip, but they don't want to be seen as the one who has stuck out their leg. The best time to do this, of course, is during the upcoming debates. Candidate Donald Trump benefited from the debates in 2016, how they focused the nation's attention on specific places at specific times. On the Republican side, we saw then-Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Scott Walker of Wisconsin make the mistake of "strategic patience" in 2015, as did former Florida governor Jeb Bush. They fought over fundraising, volunteers, endorsements and name recognition, while holding back sustained, focused attacks on Trump for the actual primaries and caucuses. They didn't realize that the debates themselves had become primaries, primaries they needed to win or at least place in to move forward. An even greater intensity of focus will be on these Democratic debates. Each one that Biden doesn't lose, he will win conclusively. Unless he is knocked down, he will be the last candidate standing. A few members of the Democratic field may hold their fire because their futures look so bright. Sen. Kamala Harris of California has a strong shot at being Biden's running mate if he makes it through the gauntlet and if she doesn't screw up. She has the California money and muscle, and she serves to knit the party together. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg gains stature with every cool and calm interview and every demonstration of intellectual capacity and rhetorical skill. He has already run far and fast enough to all but guarantee a seat in the Cabinet of the future president if he or she doesn't end up with a grudge against "Mayor Pete." For all of the other would-be nominees, though, this is probably their first and last presidential rodeo. So they have to think seriously about using the debate spotlight to do maximum damage to Biden. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., especially should be throwing hammers at Biden. Biden is the embodiment of the party establishment that collectively conspired to keep the old socialist down while condescending to him throughout 2015 and 2016. Sanders' supporters are devoted to him. They will cheer a debate slugfest, even if the establishment cringes. The "moderates" with slight support in polling or low balances in their campaign treasuries have got to swing hard at Biden as well. Former representatives John Delaney of Maryland and Beto O'Rourke of Texas and their House colleagues still serving - Reps. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Tim Ryan of Ohio and Eric Swalwell of California - must all take direct and specific shots at the former vice president. They don't have time to "introduce" themselves. They either make a mark by leaving a mark on Biden, or they are going to fade quickly. They all should count on one chance, and one chance only, to shine. The ability to score on Biden will foreshadow the same ability to go after Trump; the progressive base, looking for someone who can take on the president, will reward the combative. Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have the most to lose by trying to advance without being blamed for hitting Biden hard. They shrink every day they don't grow. They have the machines and the money. They need to stand out. They need to score. The remaining candidates may think the prudent strategy is to stay low and hope Biden fumbles the ball on his own. But Govs. Steven Bullock of Montana and Jay Inslee of Washington, former governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado, former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro and, yes, businessman Andrew Yang, also have to torch the debate stage or go home to their states of origin. They and the senators should study what happened in 2016 to GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, who waited too long. The opportunity to tangle with Trump and become a viable opponent was lost by the time they and Kasich arrived in Florida for the last debate before Iowa. They had fought each other, not Trump. So, in short, some advice to the Democratic candidates: Don't take a Wiffle bat to a gang fight. Craft the verbal arrow in advance and aim it at Joe Biden, and hope everyone else does as well. The following editorial appeared in Wednesday's Japan News-Yomiuri: - - - The ongoing confusion in Ukraine, which lies between Europe and Russia, adversely affects the security of Europe as a whole. To improve the situation, it is critical for Ukraine to achieve political stability and Russia to exercise self-restraint. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a comedian who was elected in Ukraine's presidential election in April, has been inaugurated as the country's new president. The freshness of Zelenskiy, who describes himself as a political novice, attracted voters' support, thereby earning him an overwhelming victory. However, Zelenskiy has no force that supports him in parliament, and he could not even get his way regarding which day he would be sworn in. He will likely face difficulties in running his administration. In his inaugural address, Zelenskiy indicated his intention to dissolve parliament and call parliamentary elections prior to the ordinary ones scheduled for October. Will he be able to form a majority group in parliament, using the political party he has established as the center of the faction? A pressing task for him is to cement his political footing by announcing concrete policies for such purposes as rooting out corruption, which the people expect him to. What is worrying to him is the intensified conflict between his country and Russia. Five years ago, the Crimean Peninsula, which lies in southern Ukraine, was unilaterally annexed by Russia. Conflicts between government forces and pro-Russia armed groups continue in Ukraine's eastern region. Last year, a Ukrainian Navy vessel was captured by a Russian guard ship in the Black Sea, which surrounds Crimea, and its crew have been detained since. Putin must ease tensions The government of then President Petro Poroshenko only stressed its hostile stance toward Russia, and was not able to allay tensions with that country. Zelenskiy can be praised for expressing his intention to place priority on achieving a ceasefire in the eastern region and saying he is ready for "dialogue" with Russia. Earlier, Russia and Ukraine agreed on a ceasefire in the eastern region's conflict through the mediation of Germany and France, but the agreement has not yet been implemented. Germany and France should more strongly urge the warring parties to resume ceasefire talks. What cannot be overlooked is that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to turn what can be described as a "change made in the status quo by force" into a fait accompli. In Crimea, Russia is promoting infrastructure development while also making progress in the additional deployment of a new air-defense missile system there. In late April, immediately after the presidential election, Russia simplified procedures for the acquisition of Russian nationality, targeting residents in Ukraine's eastern part, many of whom are pro-Russia. Ukraine is divided between pro-Russia and pro-Europe groups. Obviously, Russia's latest action points to an ulterior motive of rattling Ukraine's new government, which is seeking to achieve national unity. Since its annexation of Crimea, Russia has become more and more deeply isolated in the international community. Despite rising close to 90 percent immediately after the annexation, Putin's support rating has recently fallen to the 60 percent range, reflecting such factors as a domestic economic slump due to the sanctions imposed on Russia by European countries and the United States. Putin must realize that unless he tries to ease tensions by using the advent of Ukraine's new government as an opportunity to achieve that goal, his country will not be able to improve relations with European nations and the United States, and have the sanctions eased. STORY LINK Pound Sterling Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Flat as PM Delays Publishing Brexit Bill Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Muted as PM Delays Brexit Bill US-China Trade Tensions Leave GBP/AUD Flat Australian Dollar (AUD) Flat as China State Media Increases Criticism of US Pound Australian Dollar Outlook: AUD to Slide as US Blacklists Further Chinese Tech Companies Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound Sterling Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate remained muted and the pairing is currently trading at an inter-bank rate of AU$1.8405.On Thursday, the government has abandoned plans to publish Theresa Mays new Brexit withdrawal agreement on Friday.Mark Spencer announced that the Bill would now be published in the week beginning 3 June.Meanwhile, Sterling was hit by further Brexit pessimism and uncertainty as Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom resigned.Leadsom quit over Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit policy, which she stated has elements I cannot support, that arent Brexit.The BBC Today Programme reported that further Ministers could resign, stating that the programme has been told other ministers could soon follow.Reports have suggested that Theresa May's premiership is over, and the only suspense is when she will announce the date of her departure.US-China trade tensions likely weighed on the risk-sensitive Australian Dollar as China state that trade talks cannot continue unless the US approach changes.Speaking to reporters, Chinas Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, Gao Feng said:If the US would like to keep on negotiating it should, with sincerity, adjust its wrong actions. Only then can talks continue.Addressing the US sanctions on telecoms giant, Huawei, Gao noted:The US crackdown on Chinese companies not only seriously damages the normal commercial cooperation between both countries, but it also forms a great threat to the security of the global industrial and supply chain.China is firmly opposed to this. We will closely monitor developments and make adequate preparations.Meanwhile, Chinese state media have ramped up their criticism of America which likely escalated trade tensions.On Wednesday, in an editorial in the Peoples Daily the US was accused of bullyism.Added to this, the state broadcaster, CCTV claimed the US were delusional if it believed that technological bullying could contain China.This escalation of trade tensions likely dampened sentiment in the risk-sensitive Aussie, leaving the pairing flat.Looking ahead to Friday, the Pound (GBP) could slide against the Australian Dollar (AUD) following the release of the UKs retail sales.If Aprils retail sales slide further than expected, it could dampen sentiment in the UK currency.Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive Australian Dollar could slide if US-China tensions heighten.If the US proceeds to blacklist Chinas largest surveillance technology companies, such as Hikvision and Dahua, the Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate could rise. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Pound Australian Dollar Forecasts STORY LINK Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Sinks Thanks to Prime Ministers Numbered Days Increasing Pressure on Theresa May Pulls Pound Sterling New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Lower Deteriorating Global Trade Conditions Dampen New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Demand Narrowing NZ Trade Surplus to Weigh on New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Exchange Rates Political Anxiety Likely to Keep GBP/NZD Exchange Rate Under Pressure Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: An increasing sense of political turmoil in the UK saw the Pound Sterling to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate come under fresh pressure as the odds of a no-deal Brexit increased.However, as Theresa May made efforts to eke out her time in Number 10, meeting with various cabinet ministers with a view to altering her latest controversial Brexit proposals, this helped to limit the Pounds weakness.Although markets still expect to see May depart sooner rather than later investors found relief in this temporary stay of execution.As a result, GBP exchange rates were able to reverse some of the previous days decline, even though the Pound remained generally biased to the downside.The continued souring of trade relations between the US and China put some pressure on the New Zealand Dollar, meanwhile, as market risk appetite remained muted.NZD exchange rates struggled to find much in the way of traction on Thursday as markets braced for the prospect of a prolonged period of trade tension.With global growth likely to weaken in response to the trade spat the appeal of the risk-sensitive New Zealand Dollar was naturally limited.Anticipation ahead of the latest raft of New Zealand trade data also weighed on NZD exchange rates, adding to the bearish mood.Forecasts point towards the New Zealand trade surplus narrowing from 922 million to 400 million in April, undermining confidence in the outlook of the domestic economy.A sharp decline in export volumes could see the New Zealand Dollar trending lower across the board, given the general decline in global trade conditions seen in recent weeks.With the domestic economy already showing signs of slowness any significant deterioration in trade looks set to put NZD exchange rates on a downtrend.On the other hand, if exports show an increase on the month this may encourage investors to pile back into the New Zealand Dollar as this would point towards a limited impact from recent trade tensions.Once Theresa May announces a departure date, and sets the Conservative leadership contest officially underway, the GBP/NZD exchange rate could extend its slump.With a more hard-line Brexiteer likely to take Mays place as Prime Minister markets remain wary of the rising potential for a no-deal Brexit.However, with officials suggesting that a further extension of the current Brexit deadline could be in store in order to accommodate a leadership contest investors could find cause for confidence.Any contraction in Aprils UK retail sales data, though, could put an additional dampener on the GBP/NZD exchange rate ahead of the weekend. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Pound New Zealand Dollar Forecasts GDPR Is One Year Old This Week The EU made GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) law effective on May 25th 2018 and it is now a year old. GDPRs purpose is to make organisations report data breaches and to fine those that dont control and protect their data properly. Since the GDPR came into force, over 59,000 data breach notifications have been reported across the European Economic Area by public and private organisations. The Netherlands, Germany and the UK topped the table in the report with approximately 15,400, 12,600, and 10,600 reported breaches respectively. The lowest numbers of reported breaches were made in Liechtenstein, Iceland and Cyprus with 15, 25 and 35 reported breaches respectively. The Netherlands, with 89.8 reported breaches per 100,000 people topped the list when the number of notifications were weighted against country populations, followed by Ireland and Denmark. Of the 26 EEA countries where breach notification data is available, the UK, Germany and France ranked tenth, eleventh and twenty-first respectively on a reported fine per capita basis. Greece, Italy and Romania reported the fewest number of breaches per capita. According to Ross McKean, a partner at international law firm DLA Piper specialising in cyber and data protection: "The GDPR completely changes the compliance risk for organizations which suffer a personal data breach due to revenue based fines and the potential for US style group litigation claims for compensation. As we saw in the US when mandatory breach notification laws came into force, backed up by tough sanctions for not notifying, the GDPR is driving personal data breach out into the open. Our report confirms this with more than 59,000 data breaches notified across Europe in the first 8 months since the GDPR came into force." To date 91 fines have been reported. Not all of these relate to personal data breach and several relate to other infringements of GDPR. The highest GDPR fine imposed to date is 50 million, which was made against Google on 21 January 2019. This was a French decision in relation to the processing of personal data for advertising purposes without valid authorisation, rather than a personal data breach. Also commenting on the report, Sam Millar, a partner at DLA Piper specialising in cyber and large scale investigations said: "The regulators have already started to flex their muscles with 91 GDPR fines imposed to date but the fine against Google is a landmark moment and is notable partly because it is not related to personal data breach. We anticipate that regulators will treat data breach more harshly by imposing higher fines given the more acute risk of harm to individuals. We can expect more fines to follow over the coming year as the regulators clear the backlog of notifications." This information is according to DLA Piper's GDPR Data Breach Survey. DLA Piper: You Might Also Read: "Cookie Walls" Non-Compliant With GDPR: Select the Female and Male Athletes of the Week for Dec. 17-23 Parkerford Baptist Church is looking to remind its community about the importance of Memorial Day. Thats why on Sunday, May 26, the church will welcome three men from the Philadelphia chapter of Tuskegee Airmen to have discussions with the congregation. Our intention was to bring Memorial Day back into focus for what the holiday was originally meant to be to honor those fallen in the line of duty to protect our freedom. I thought by bringing in veterans to talk about their personal struggles, cultural struggles and what they went through as veterans, we could do that, said Pastor Bob Davalt. Parkerford Baptist Church will be welcoming two original Tuskegee Airmen, Dr. Eugene Richardson, an experiment pilot and Nathan Thomas, a logistics officer. They will also welcome Tuskegee University graduate and Vietnam pilot Aaron Watkins. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. The group included pilots, technicians, medical personnel, mechanics, navigators, bombardiers and more. According to Tuskegee Airmen Inc., before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941, who became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The group overcame prejudice and segregation to lead the United States into full integration of the U.S. military. On Sunday, Parkerford Baptist Church will introduce these men to all those interested in attending. A patriotic themed service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Rather than a sermon, Davalt said there will be a town hall interview-style format getting to know the three men and how their faith got them through a time of war. I believe we as a country have lost focus on what Memorial Day is supposed to be. Everyone thinks its about barbecues and beaches, said Davalt. Im an ex-navy brat. Ive got a congregation full of veterans. We have so many that have given their lives in order for us to have freedom. I wanted to honor those men and women and couldnt think of a better way to do it than bringing those veterans who survived and have them share their stories. The service will be followed by a luncheon that can accommodate 75-100 people. The luncheon is first come, first served. Parkerford Baptist Church, at 92 Baptist Church Rd., Spring City, was founded in 1858 by a small group of Baptists who worshiped together in a small country school house. Since its humble beginnings, the church has continued to thrive through changing times. The title British Steel evokes the magnificent days of this country's industrial might. The collapse into insolvency is a betrayal of the legacy of the great Victorians who produced almost half of the world's pig iron. It is a disgrace that the future of steelmaking in Scunthorpe and as many as 20,000 associated jobs are dependent on the whim of a ruthless private equity partnership with a history of forcing companies that it has bought into insolvency and administration. In addition, successive secretaries of state for business such as Sajid Javid and Greg Clark have failed to do enough to help put this vital industry on a financially sustainable footing. The future of steelmaking in Scunthorpe - which involves as many as 20,000 associated jobs - is at risk as owner British Steel is to go into official receivership after failing to secure funds for its future It is not simply a question of steelworkers' jobs being at stake, but at risk is a supply chain that provides raw materials for the motor industry and a host of infrastructure projects. Also, steel is essential for national security and the defence industry. Without a thriving and advanced steelmaking capacity, the UK would be dependent on imports from countries such as China and risks having to pay over the odds or suffer by being dragged into the trade war between the US and China. It is no exaggeration to say that to lose our already diminished steelmaking capacity would be a catastrophe. The Government and the Scunthorpe plant's former owners, India's Tata Steel Europe, made a fundamental error in allowing private equity firm Greybull to acquire British Steel in the first place. Greybull had a notorious reputation for buying companies cheaply, milking them for cash and profits, and then abandoning them if business went bad. Workers at the British Steel manufacturing site at Skinningrove, Teesside, on the day it was announced that British Steel has been placed in compulsory liquidation Under Greybull, Monarch Airlines fell into administration in 2017, leaving 110,000 passengers stranded and taxpayers footing a 60million bill for the biggest repatriation in airline history. Then there was electrical retailer Comet where a former Greybull partner privately invested into Opcapita, the private equity owner, which bought it for just 2. A year later Comet collapsed, leaving taxpayers to fund redundancy payments of 23million and an unpaid tax bill of 26.4million. When I met Greybull's Marc Meyohas who co-founded the partnership with his brother Nathaniel after the Monarch collapse he refused to take any personal responsibility. He argued that Greybull was performing a heroic role of buying troubled firms at knockdown prices and he would invest capital to see if they could be resuscitated. However, the notion that it is a philanthropic outfit interested in the fate of the workforce and the future of British industry is humbug. Successive secretaries of state for business such as Sajid Javid and Greg Clark have failed to do enough to help put this vital industry on a financially sustainable footing Sadly, this is just the latest disaster in the recent history of British steelmaking. In 2007, Tata bought the Anglo-Dutch company Corus. What looked like a thriving business quickly became a burden as the financial crash descended. The global economy has stuttered ever since. Demand for the high-quality steel dropped and European steelmaking in general was hit hard by cheap imports from China. In 2014, Tata sought new owners for the Scunthorpe steelworks, two mills on Teesside and other assets. It wanted to concentrate production at Port Talbot in South Wales. Greybull with its eye for a bargain stepped in. A panicking Government was seduced by promises to restore the marque to its former greatness. At first, Greybull was true to its word, assembling a 400million investment package from banks and securing a credit line of 90million for operating expenses. But analysis shows that little of the money that Greybull spent was equity. It is estimated that the French-born, Manchester-based Meyohas brothers put in just 20million of family funds. The Government and the Scunthorpe plant's (pictured) former owners, India's Tata Steel Europe, made a fundamental error in allowing private equity firm Greybull to acquire British Steel in the first place, writes Alex Brummer Despite such a modest investment, Greybull took 6million in fees and charged 17million a year for loans funnelled through a Jersey-based parent company, Olympus Steel. The crunch for British Steel came on March 29, the day Britain was scheduled to leave the EU. As is the case with many energy-intensive businesses, it relies for a large amount of income from a complicated system of credits based on its pollution record. Under normal circumstances, 110million would have come from Brussels. But Britain's half in-and-out status meant the Government had to pay the bill. The truth, though, is that Greybull had bigger problems. World demand for steel had been falling, prices had dropped and uncertainty over Brexit had led foreign buyers to shy away. To carry on trading, Greybull demanded a second bailout of 70million (later reduced), otherwise it threatened that it would place British Steel into administration. The issue of another Government bailout has been complicated by the presence of Greybull. No politician wants to be accused of rescuing unscrupulous owners from their mistakes. The brutal fact is that we are paying heavily for allowing the steel industry to fall first into overseas hands and then for it to splinter into several parts with a private equity partnership commanding such a vital role. Ultimately, what we are witnessing is the result of having a Government that doesn't have a coherent industrial strategy and which is totally ill-prepared for life post-Brexit. Which party should sane people who plumped for Leave in 2016 support in todays European elections? It is a question troubling millions of voters, me included. Theresa Mays impending ejection from No 10 makes it more pressing. We could just stay at home. It is an alluring idea. What could be more absurd than trudging out to choose politicians who may never sit in the European Parliament, which is the legislature of an institution we were supposed to leave two months ago? Abstaining would be a way of telling the two main parties how little we think of them for having failed to honour their General Election manifesto pledges of 2017 to take us out of the European Union. Which party should sane people who plumped for Leave in 2016 support in todays European elections? Theresa Mays impending ejection from No 10 makes it more pressing, writes Stephen Glover We could just stay at home. It is an alluring idea. What could be more absurd than trudging out to choose politicians who may never sit in the European Parliament, which is the legislature of an institution we were supposed to leave two months ago?, writes Stephen Glover And yet, although I havent banished the thought of boycotting the vote, it seems perverse to linger on the sidelines at a moment of national crisis. Isnt this a time when people should want their voices to be heard? Individually, one cross in the box doesnt count for very much, but all our crosses add up to a great deal. The outcome of todays vote which will not be announced until Sunday night is likely to be far more significant than is normally the case with European elections. So which party to support? The Conservatives usually get my vote, though Ive never been a member of the party, and I confess that in the 1992 General Election I backed Labour. Perhaps I had a presentiment of what a hopeless prime minister John Major would turn out to be. But can anyone of sound mind vote for the divided, leaderless, fractious, generally unappetising Tories who, as the governing party, bear most responsibility for the disappointments and failures in trying to deliver Brexit? Its an agonising choice. Indulge me a little as I consider the alternatives. Fortunately, living in Oxford, I dont have to weigh up the charms of the Scottish Nationalists or Plaid Cymru (their Welsh counterparts), nor the sometimes block-headed Democratic Unionists from Northern Ireland. The outcome of todays vote which will not be announced until Sunday night is likely to be far more significant than is normally the case with European elections, writes Stephen Glover. (Pictured) Theresa May and Boris Johnson arrive to welcome Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos in November 2016 The trouble is that Labour is run by Marxists whose overriding concern is to finagle a General Election rather than deliver Brexit as its manifesto promised. Party before country is its motto, writes Stephen Glover Even if I lived in a part of the country in which their names were to be found on the ballot paper, I could never vote for any of them. Nor can I imagine supporting the bossy, Leftist Greens. So lets think about the main parties. I am mystified that apparently intelligent Remainer Tories should be planning to vote Liberal Democrat, whose vulgar and fundamentally undemocratic campaign slogan is B*****ks to Brexit. (They havent used asterisks.) Even if I were a Remainer, I would be appalled by the Lib Dems arrogant rejection of 17.4 million voters. They can disagree with these people, but they cant respectably dismiss them. They are really saying b*****ks to Brexiteers. Thats insulting and dangerous. Strike them out! And so to Labour. If these were normal times, and the party was in the hands of moderates, this might be a good moment to support it as an antidote to the incompetent Tories. The trouble is that Labour is run by Marxists whose overriding concern is to finagle a General Election rather than deliver Brexit as its manifesto promised. Party before country is its motto. Now we come to Nigel Farages Brexit Party. I admit I have been tempted. I dont doubt he is a patriot, and he is undeniably a brilliant operator, and by far the most gifted party leader. Unlike some Tory politicians who have sailed unenthusiastically under the colours of Brexit, Mr Farage has one paramount aim to respect the result of the referendum, and do whatever he can to ensure we leave the EU as soon as possible. His genial, down-to-earth approach and general good humour (though this sagged a little during a recent acrimonious interview with the BBCs Andrew Marr) are infectious in an arena dominated by grey apparatchiks. But I still cant vote for him. I dont think he is an extremist and to compare him to the far-Right French political leader Marine Le Pen is as preposterous as it is unjust but there is a faint hint of something odd around the edges. Theresa May speaks during a visit to Finchley Conservatives in Barnett in May last year. Stephen Glover writes that, despite the mess, he would back the Conservative party Andrea Leadsom arriving home in London last night after resigning from the cabinet. She said: 'I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result' Partly its to do with the company he keeps men such as the chirpy, controversial businessman Arron Banks, who is alleged to have bankrolled Mr Farage to the tune of 450,000 since the referendum, allowing him to enjoy a lavish lifestyle. No impropriety was involved, I am sure, but Banks looks like a political chancer and is certainly an iconoclast, and his close friendship with Mr Farage makes me wonder about the Brexit Party leader. Perhaps I am being supercilious, but its what I feel. More fundamentally, it seems likely that if Mr Farage and his merry band of prospective MEPs (about whom, by the way, we know almost nothing) should triumph today, they will build up a momentum that might split the centre-Right vote at a General Election, and let in Jeremy Corbyn. I dont say this out of any concern for the Tories. In normal circumstances it would be preferable for them to go off for a period of opposition, replenish themselves, and come back after a few years with a capable leader and some better ideas. But with the prospect of a Corbyn-led Marxist government looming, this is a luxury we cant afford. We need a strong Conservative Party to see off Labour once Theresa May is at long last carted from the field of battle which looks as though it may happen at any moment. My point is that, although this is obviously an election about the EU and Brexit, the outcome could have repercussions which will affect the entire political landscape. A vote for Farage could be a vote that strengthens Labour, writes Stephen Glover It is surely fanciful to imagine that the one-issue Brexit Party could ever fulfil such a role. We dont know what it thinks about all manner of issues. It doesnt know either. My point is that, although this is obviously an election about the EU and Brexit, the outcome could have repercussions which will affect the entire political landscape. A vote for Farage could be a vote that strengthens Labour. And yet, despite all I have said, can I really bring myself to vote Tory? A large part of me thinks the party should be punished for subjecting the country to such misery over the past couple of years, though Labour is also much at fault for refusing to compromise. A voice is still whispering in my ear that one should register displeasure by abstaining. Or maybe like thousands of people at the recent local elections I should spoil my ballot paper as a kind of protest. But isnt that a cop-out? Shouldnt we exercise the right which our forefathers struggled to win, particularly when the country is in such a mess? Moreover, there is the brutal reality of Theresa Mays departure, which seems imminent. A Tory Party without her faltering hand on the tiller should be a more attractive prospect to disgruntled Leavers because her successor is almost bound to be a genuine Brexiteer. As it happens, the Tory at the top of the candidates list for the South-East of England (in which region Brussels has chosen to lump Oxford) is Daniel Hannan, the brilliant and principled Brexiteer. If the Conservative vote should collapse, even he will be at risk. So some time this evening I shall probably wend my way to the polling station in Woodstock Road, possibly stopping at the pub on the way, and reluctantly place my cross in the box of the party that could still save Britain. It couldnt be clearer Theresa Mays tenure as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party is at an end. Despite her valiant efforts to deliver an honourable Brexit, she has finally run out of road. Her Withdrawal Agreement Bill is seemingly dead in the water, and as events in Downing Street yesterday so brutally demonstrated, her support and authority have evaporated. This is a woman who has always been driven by duty, and whose honest search for compromise was thwarted on all sides. This is a woman who has always been driven by duty, and whose honest search for compromise was thwarted on all sides Its essential now that she be allowed to leave No 10 with the dignity she deserves probably either during or just after the coming weekend. But before that moment arrives, the Tories must endure the ignominy of a probable wipe-out in the farcical European elections. On February 1, 2017, the Commons agreed by a majority of 384 to pull Britain out of the EU by March 29 this year. Yet here we are today, two months after that deadline, being asked to elect a new raft of MEPs. This represents the most spectacular failure by our political class to honour the biggest democratic mandate in UK history. But still the two main parties are calling on voters to support them in this orphan election. Across the country, the response to that call is a resounding: You must be joking! Thanks to a combination of division and incompetence, the Tories have failed to achieve the Brexit they promised. Meanwhile Labour has become so confused that it no longer knows whether it wants to leave the EU or not with or without a second referendum. On every level, they have failed the people. Is it any wonder voters want to give them all a bloody nose? They have been grievously let down and they are angry. Very, very angry. Enter Nigel Farage, who boldly claims he can slay the Brussels dragon and lead us to sunlit uplands. After two years of stasis its a seductive message, which is why he is riding so high in the polls. A survey yesterday put his Brexit Party at 37 per cent, with Labour on 13 and the Conservatives on a disastrous 7. Though Mr Farage's party may be good for a protest vote, the idea that it is the long-term answer to Britains problems is simply wrong But for all his Everyman rhetorical gifts, Mr Farages prospectus is an illusion. Though his party may be good for a protest vote, the idea that it is the long-term answer to Britains problems is simply wrong. They are no more than a loose affiliation of single-issue obsessives. Nobody seriously believes they could govern the country. So, disaffected Tory supporters must try to look beyond their righteous anger. Despite their manifold faults and divisions, the Conservatives represent the only realistic chance of keeping a malign Labour/SNP coalition away from the levers of power. If they are annihilated now, a fate far worse than any Brexit outcome may await the nation. For their part, Tory MPs must prove they are worthy of trust. And their new leader whoever that may be must offer a positive, optimistic vision for Brexit and beyond. This Government has been paralysed long enough. Action is urgently required on social care, knife crime, schools, and, as the current steel crisis demonstrates, our industrial strategy. Barring miracles, this election will be a total humiliation for the Tories. But the Mail believes that with unity and strong leadership, they can rise from the ashes not least because they have such a remarkable economic story to tell. If natural Conservative supporters can find it in themselves to keep the faith, a great revival could be just over the horizon. The prize for all of us could hardly be greater. A woman has sparked a heated debate after discovering that her partner of three years secretly has three children from a past relationship. Writing under the handle PenelopeDelph on British parenting site Mumsnet, the mother-of-one, 33, explained how her partner had kept quiet about his three sons from his previous marriage. She revealed that her partner, 45, had given her the impression that their six-month-old daughter was his first child. He had also let her think he was at work (as a self-employed handyman) when he was actually spending time with his boys, aged 21, 18 and 16 - and helping his eldest do up his baby's nursery. The heartbroken mother explained that her partner's behaviour has caused her to feel disregarded and excluded - even though he claims he did intend to tell her 'soon'. The post received a divided response on the forum, with many comments urging the woman to leave her deceitful partner. A woman has sparked a lengthy debate about forgiveness in relationships after revealing that her partner of three years hid having three children from a previous marriage (file image) The woman outlined in her post that her partner who she had discussed getting married with, had been secretly meeting his other children when she thought he was at work Speaking about how she uncovered his lies, the mother told how he was spotted in the city where they lived, despite having claimed to be working in a different one. When he arrived home two hours later, he 'blurted' out he had three sons that he hadn't seen for years due to conflict with his ex-wife. Since discovering his eldest was going to become a father, he'd been busy building bridges. 'He said he didn't want to tell me as they resented him for a while over having no contact and weren't happy to hear he'd had a new baby with a younger woman,' she wrote. 'He says they are a lot closer now.' On the day he was spotted, the mother explained how he'd been visiting his new grandchild at the maternity ward of their local hospital - while she was at home looking after their daughter. 'I feel excluded and an absolute mug,' she admitted, adding that she and their daughter went to stay with her mum afterwards. The woman told how her partner let her think he was at work (as a self-employed handyman) when he was actually spending time with his boys, aged 21, 18 and 16 - and helping his eldest do up his baby's nursery (stock picture) When she arrived home, another row ensued when she discovered her partner had packed their daughter's baby clothes to give to his son - which she intended to give them to a friend. 'It's great that he's trying to make it up to his sons for not being part of their lives, but he should have told me, surely?' she concluded. 'It's like he wants to keep them and us in two separate boxes... which infuriates me because it's his fault, not mine and DD's. I'm very hurt and angry by it all and I'm not sure what to do next.' One Mumsnet user wrote: 'That's terrible - he should have told you from the outset!!! Never mind if he had no contact... And how DARE he bag up your DD's clothes without even discussing it with you, as though you are of no account at all - yes it's also his DD but that's not the point - these things should be agreed upon!' Many users felt she should end it with her partner, despite the fact they share a child together, as she would struggle to trust him again Another said: 'Whoa. So even when you went through pregnancy and birth he played along like it was his first time too! 'OP that's awful. He's kept the most important part of his life before you a secret. You must be reeling. I don't think I could come back from that. He's put you in the most unfair position and you must be questioning everything.' A third added: 'He has risked telling you because he thinks that he has "trapped" you by making you pregnant. He imagines that you will accept/put up with this.' A flood of responses to the thread slammed the woman's partner for lying and argued his decision to pack up their daughter's clothes without discussion was another red flag Other contributors to the thread urged the woman to leave her partner and argued she would never be able to trust him again. One person said: 'Please please don't stay with him. I know he's father of your child but you're never going to be able to trust him after such a huge deception. Don't waste your life with such a deadbeat - he's not worth you, and all you're going to do is spend the rest of the life worrying about whether he's lying to you or not. 'From someone who's been there - run. Have contact for DD's sake, but otherwise? Go and make a better life for yourself that doesn't involve a pathological liar.' Another wrote: 'All those lies! Lie after lie after lie, year after year. LTB, Life's too short for this s***. You and DD will be just fine without him.' A third added: 'Don't stay with him, whatever you do. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the automatic best outcome for your DD is for this man to live with her and bring her up. Many commenters urged the woman to leave her partner and declared that she would never be able to trust him again 'This isn't understandable or forgivable. Get yourself and your child away from him. You can and should want better for both of you than a life with a pathological liar who dumped his children and duped you into starting a family with him. 'The thing with the clothes is illumination. This tells you how his mind works. He literally has no absolutely no regard for you - what you might think, or want, or what is normal acceptable behaviour. Absolutely none. That's him. That's what you'll have for the rest of your life.' But not everyone had such a negative view. A user speaking under the handle 'Missingstreetlife', told the woman that with time they could possibly build back trust. A number of people told the woman it's ultimately her decision what to do next but it would take a long time to rebuild trust She wrote: 'It's the lies. Sorry OP [original poster]. Take your time, he has, just let the shock subside. I could get over the kids and accommodate their presence, but not the lies. Only you can decide. Forgive!? He'd be under manners for a long time building trust back.' Another suggested: 'I wouldn't worry too much now about him not telling you when he met you that he had children he didn't see, because he knew this was wrong and didn't really want a conversation about it, but when you were pregnant he should have told you.' They added: 'Time for a big row and sort it all out. I am sorry for you and I truly know how you feel. And that this will have a knock-on effect for a long time if you decide to stay together.' A wedding is a special day that many brides plan for months or even years - but one mother has revealed how she accidentally married her husband in a registry office in Bangkok. Ashley Wheatley and her husband, from the Whitsunday Region in Queensland, had been busy planning the wedding of their 'dreams'. They were going to get married on a beautiful island off Thailand surrounded by their closest family and friends but ended up saying their 'I dos' in an office. 'I didn't realise I was getting married until three minutes before it happened,' she told FEMAIL. Ashley Wheatley and her husband, both from Australia, had been busy planning the wedding of their 'dreams' but instead accidentally were married in a registry office in Thailand Posting in a wedding shaming group online Ms Wheatley 'shamed' herself because she couldn't believe how the day had gone awry. At the beginning of the trip she said everything was going to plan as they had employed a third party to take care of all of the legal arrangements, which had to be done at the embassy in Bangkok before they flew over to the island. They also needed to spend a week in Bangkok for the documents to go back and forth with the Australian embassy for the wedding to be recognised in both countries. 'I legit didn't realise I was getting married until three minutes before it happened,' she told FEMAIL Where did they go wrong? Four steps to legalise your marriage under Thai law 1. Get a document certifying that you are eligible to get married signed by your own embassy in Bangkok 2. Translate this into Thai 3. Get the English and Thai version authenticated by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok 4. Go to any district office with all your papers and passport to formally register your marriage (or get a wedding planner to help you have a legal representative come to your wedding to do this) Instead of having a legal representative attend the wedding, the couple's planner assumed they were happy to register the wedding at the office. Source: Thailand Travel Bag Advertisement 'Well in my best jet lagged bridezilla state, I arranged a guide for the day to take us to the embassy, registry office and then onto the shopping centre so I could pick up a few last minute bits and pieces for the wedding,' she said. 'Now, it was my understanding we were just doing the legals for the ceremony that would take place four days later. That was not the case at all.' In the organisation process there was a clear misunderstanding between the parties involved. 'The embassy visit was insanely quick on day one, and even though it states 'registration of marriage', I was so wrapped up in planning the wedding, I didn't realise this meant something more than collecting the translated documents on day four,' she said. Posting in a wedding shaming group online Ms Wheatley said she was going to 'shame myself' as she couldn't believe how the day had gone awry 'Now, it was my understanding we were just doing the legals for the ceremony that would take place four days later. That was not the case at all,' she said Ms Wheatley said it was 'definitely a shock' when they realised they were surrounded by newlyweds in the Amphur office. This is what led the couple to officially getting married on this day, even though they had a gorgeous wedding planned for only days later. 'So that's how I ended up marrying my husband in hot pink jeans and a blue tank top with no makeup on,' Ms Wheatley said. In the organisation process there was a clear misunderstanding between the parties involved 'He was wearing thongs (or flip flops depending where you're from), a blue singlet, board shorts and a f**cking fedora. 'I actually didn't even click until the couple in front of us shuffled off to a hideously decorated carriage in the corner of the room for their wedding photos.' Although the day didn't quite go to plan the mother said it 'worked out in the end' and they still had the original celebration that was planned days later. 'Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing, it ended up being a great story and a very memorable experience!' She said. Meghan's best friend Jessica Mulroney has shared a picture from what appears to be Windsor town - in a department store just a stone's throw away from Windsor Castle. The Canadian stylist, 39, was seen boarding a flight from Toronto to London this week, with her daughter Ivy. Jessica, whose daughter was a flower girl at Meghan, 37, and Harry's wedding, is thought to be visiting the UK to meet the Duke and Duchess' baby son Archie, who was born this month. Taking to her Instagram account on Wednesday evening, Jessica shared a picture of little Ivy, 5, in the children's section of a department store - which followers quickly identified as Daniel Department store in Windsor - a mere three minute walk from new parents Harry, 34, and Meghan's residence. Scroll down for video Meghan's best friend Jessica Mulroney, pictured with Meghan in 2016 in Toronto, has shared a picture from what appears to be Windsor town - in a department store just a stone's throw away from Windsor Castle Taking to her Instagram account, Jessica, 39, shared a picture of little Ivy in a children's department store, which followers quickly identified as Daniel Department store in Windsor - a mere three minute walk from the new parents Harry, 34, and Meghan's residence The picture sees Ivy, dressed in a cute pink ensemble, browsing the toys aisle, with Jessica adding the caption: 'Squirrel!'. Followers quickly pointed out the store was in Windsor town, with one fan writing: 'Daniel Department Store! In Windsor!'. Another added: 'Ooh I was thinking Hamleys at first but you are likely way more right than I am!' Also recognising the store, one fan said: 'Can I give some more love for Daniel dept store? My fav shopping place in Ldn.' sic. Referring to baby Archie, another wrote: 'Have fun shopping and visiting friends with a wee newborn baby!'. Jessica, whose daughter was a flower girl at Meghan, 37, and Harry's wedding, is thought to be visiting the UK to meet the Duke and Duchess' baby son Archie, who was born this month. Harry and Meghan seen with Archie at the beginning of the month Followers quickly pointed out the store was in Windsor town, with one fan writing: 'Daniel Department Store! In Windsor!' Daniel Department Store in Windsor declined to comment when contacted. Jessica first sparked rumours she was flying over to meet Meghan and Harry's new baby when she shared a picture as she packed her bags last week. Posting a picture of Ivy sat next to their matching ballerina shoes, she wrote: 'Packing for our first Mother/Daughter trip. Are matching shoes too much?'. And on Monday the stylist was seen arriving at Pearson International Airport in Toronto boarding a flight to London. Jessica's husband Ben also posted a picture of the London Eye on his Instagram stories this week - hinting that he was waiting for Jessica to arrive before driving down to Frogmore Cottage. Jessica first sparked rumours she was flying over to meet Meghan and Harry's new baby when she shared a picture as she packed her bags last week Jessica's husband Ben also posted a picture of the London Eye on his Instagram stories this week - hinting that he was waiting for Jessica to arrive before driving down to Frogmore Cottage Jessica lives in Toronto and met Meghan when the then actress was filming Suits. Little Ivy was a flower girl at the royal wedding last May, while Jessica's twin sons John and Brian, of whom Meghan is godmother, carried the Duchess of Sussex's train. Jessica would be among the select few who have met baby Archie so far, and one of Meghan's first friends to visit the new family. Meghan and Harry welcomed their son Archie on Monday 6th May. The little boy received a visit from Prince Harry's grandparents, the Queen and Prince Phillip, a few days after his birth, alongside Meghan's mother Doria Ragland. Grandmother Doria has been staying with the family at Frogmore Cottage since before the birth. Little Ivy was a flower girl at the royal wedding last May, while Jessica's twin sons John and Brian, of whom Meghan is godmother, carried the Duchess of Sussex's train Pictured: The entrance to Windsor Castle where Harry and Meghan reside within the grounds. The department store Jessica was visiting is a mere stone's throw from the grounds . A glamorous mother and daughter have both become social media sensations. Fashionable mum Kasha Grimes, 57, from Gloucestershire decided to follow in her 20-year-old daughter Misha's footsteps after seeing her success posting online. At nearly 60, the mother-of-two is much older than the average influencer. Kasha says her confidence has sky-rocketed since she started vlogging. Fashionable mum Kasha Grimes, 57, has an Instagram following of nearly 20,00 and is older than the average influencer Kasha has joined her 20-year-old daughter Misha, following the footsteps after seeing her success posting online The mother and daughter duo have since become an online sensation with thousands of viewers in hysterics at their frank chats and frequent clothes swapping. In candid clips, they discuss everything from relationships, sex and porn to miscarriages and abortion. Super glam Kasha now says she won't ever look back after ditching her 'mumsy T-shirts and leggings' in favour of trendy dresses from PrettyLittleThing, that work with her daughter. She said: 'All of my childhood, I looked in the mirror and could only see what people were criticising. I felt unhappy and under-confident. The mother and daughter duo Kasha (left) and Misha (right) have since become an online sensation with thousands of viewers in hysterics at their frank chats and frequent clothes swapping. Pictured centre: Kasha's other daughter Super glam Kasha now says she won't ever look back after ditching her 'mumsy T-shirts and leggings' in favour of trendy PLT dresses 'And by my fifties, after having my girls, I was just so focused on them I barely thought about myself. 'But once Misha started influencing I decided to put myself out there and start taking some risks. 'What I really love is focusing on health, self-improvement and intimacy. 'I want to empower and inspire middle-aged women by talking about subjects they would never normally dream of discussing.' Speaking of her new career, Misha said: 'All of my childhood, I looked in the mirror and could only see what people were criticising. 'I felt unhappy and under-confident. I want to empower and inspire middle-aged women by talking about subjects they would never normally dream of discussing' Kasha can be seen posing in a whole host of brightly coloured outfits on her 'NiftyAfterFifty' Instagram page. Although she admits to having some Botox, she said the key to her youthful looks is a balanced and healthy attitude towards life. However, despite amassing an impressive 17,400 followers on Instagram and just under 20,000 YouTube subscribers, she admits she has encountered a small handful of trolls. 'Of course, I'm not everyone's cup of tea - I'm Marmite!' she said. Kasha, from Gloucestershire (pictured with Misha), can be seen posing in a whole host of brightly coloured outfits on her 'NiftyAfterFifty' Instagram page. Although she admits to having some botox, she said the key to her youthful looks is a balanced and healthy attitude towards life 'I occasionally get comments that say "You shouldn't be wearing those clothes when you're 30 let alone when you're in your 50s".' 'But I feel so much more confident than I did in my 20s. 'And besides when I get those negative comments, I have a whole team of fans who come to my defence. 'Now, there is no stopping me - I am genuinely doing it for the girls.' Kasha frequently poses alongside Misha and her other lookalike daughter Anya, 22, who is media consultant. Kasha frequently poses alongside Misha (pictured) and her other lookalike daughter Anya, 22, who is media consultant And though the three look very similar, Kasha says they don't get mistaken for sister: 'I don't think we look like sisters. I'm their mother first and foremost. 'My daughters are my best friends and their best friends are my best friends too. 'I've always been the crazy mother that everyone could come to and everyone could talk about. 'I truly believe mixing with young people helps to keep me young at heart!' Polish-born Kasha first moved to England when she was 18 - with just 50p in her pocket. Polish-born Kasha first moved to England when she was 18 - with just 50p in her pocket. She rejected a place at a Polish university to pursue a career in the UK, despite not speaking English at the time She rejected a place at a Polish university to pursue a career in the UK, despite not speaking English at the time. After undertaking several jobs as a waitress and an au pair, she soon landed in a recruitment business where she finally began to flourish. She went onto set up her own agency before moving into the rentals business. She then started vlogging alongside her daughter and soon was attracted to the fashion giant PrettyLittleThing - which she admits is one of her favourite places to shop. Having been married for 24 years, she admits she's extremely happy and feels her 'most confident' now, post-menopause. Having been married for 24 years, she admits she's extremely happy and feels her 'most confident' now, post-menopause The savvy businesswoman credits her boost in confidence with beauty pageants which she begun to enter in her early fifties alongside Misha. She said: 'I did the worst thing that any woman can apparently ever do: I entered a beauty pageant. 'But I don't worry what people think it made me feel fantastic. 'Previously, I would never have dreamed of wearing a two-piece bikini. But now I pose in them on my Instagram page to show women that ageing is a natural process and we should be proud of our imperfections.' The savvy businesswoman credits her boost in confidence with beauty pageants which she begun to enter in her early fifties alongside Misha Daughter Misha, who has been an influencer for two-and-a-half years, has been nothing but approving of her mother's glittering influencing career. She said: 'My mum is without a doubt my greatest inspiration. 'I admire her message of living life to the full regardless of your age - and I have seen her grow in confidence further. 'Our relationship has evolved through influencing and in the last two years we have become an equal partnership where she supports me and I support her.' Cancer survivors who say their lives were saved because they visited their GPs after watching Dr Hilary Jones' television advice on symptoms joined the doctor on the Lorraine sofa today to say thanks. The TV medic, who first appeared on eighties breakfast show TV-AM in May 1989, is celebrating 30 years of talking about health on screens. Colleagues past and present sent messages to the star, including current GMB weather presenter Laura Tobin, who called Dr Hilary, 65, her 'hero' after he spotted she was going into labour three months' early with her daughter Charlotte. Scroll down for video I'm getting old! Dr Hilary Jones, 65, first appeared on breakfast telly in May 1989 as TV-AM's regular doctor - 30 years on he's celebrating three decades of television Like a fine wine: Dr Hilary as he looked in an earlier television appearance on the sofa of GMTV The Lorraine show marked his TV anniversary by introducing him to women who say his advice saved their lives. Pictured is Leight, from Hull, who has ovarian cancer, she told Lorraine she would have continued to ignore symptoms had she not watched the show 'It reminds me why I do medicine': Dr Hilary pictured with Leigh, left, and Mandy, a breast cancer survivor on Lorraine today Posting on Twitter, Tobin said: 'I want to say a huge thank you to Dr Hilary, he was on hand when baby Charlotte arrived early, kept me calm, phoned the hospital and stayed in contact. My hero.' Charlotte, now two, arrived three months before her due date in 2017. Last year, Tobin revealed how the doctor spotted she was going into labour and kept her calm as she was admitted. An emotional look-back saw Dr Hilary re-living memories from his time in television including delivering a baby on camera in Haiti and visiting Sierra Leone. He was also joined by two women, Leigh and Mandy, who thanked him for saving their lives, saying they were diagnosed with cancer after he pointed out symptoms they would otherwise have ignored. The show reeled back the years, showing some of Dr Hilary's highlights during his time on breakfast television Doctor on call: Dr Hilary pictured in Haiti following the earthquake in 2010 He revealed how on the same trip, he helped deliver a baby 'in the midst of death and dying' Dr Hilary was presented with cake including a stethoscope and pills to mark his show birthday After embracing him, Leigh, from Hull, told him: 'I heard you talking about ovarian cancer and I realised I had those symptoms. I went and had the CA125 test blood test and was diagnosed.' She revealed that she's still going through treatment at Queen's Centre in Hull but would have been in a much worse position had she not watched the show. Fellow guest Mandy told Lorraine she assumed she didn't have breast cancer despite noticing a change in her body because she didn't have a lump. Listening to Dr Hilary talk about the different ways the disease presents prompted her to get checked and she's now six-and-a-half years in remission. Dr Hilary said the ladies reminded him of why he 'did medicine', saying: 'One of the great things...we've had letters on this programme. 'People have said thank you for pointing our prostate cancer symptoms, they've told us they found a breast lump after seeing a model show us how to do a breast examination. We've got a little file of letters like that now.' Frogmore Cottage has a 'much better energy' than Harry and Meghan's previous Kensington Palace home, a royal source told People magazine. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into the property in the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the arrival of son Archie earlier this month and have since carried out extensive work to transform it into the perfect family home. A source told People magazine the house - just a stone's throw from the castle - now feels 'cute and warm'. 'The energy of the space is so much better [than Kensington Palace],' the source added. 'Its a total fresh start.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into the property in the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the arrival of son Archie earlier this month. Pictured, introducing Archie to the world The couple are believed to have spent a record 3 million renovating Grade II listed Frogmore Cottage, pictured - but the home is said to have been 'a fresh start' for the couple It is thought the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into Frogmore Cottage in April, roughly a month before the arrival of Archie on 6 May. They previously lived in Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live in a 20-room apartment with their three children. Before relocating, Harry and Meghan gave the interiors of their future home a complete overhaul - reportedly enlisting the help of former Soho House designer Vicky Charles. Their building plans included adding fireplaces, staircases, and a floating floor, but keeping the original floorboards and shutters. A source described to a US magazine how the energy of Frogmore Cottage is 'so much better' than their previous residence at Kensington Palace (above) Doria Ragland stayed with the couple at Frogmore Cottage as they prepared to welcome their first son Archie Harrison. The Queen is also believed to have visited the property The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have received a steady stream of visitors at the property since welcoming their son Archie Harrison two weeks ago. Meghan's mother Doria Ragland was said to be offering 'indispensable' help while staying with the couple for a month. Archie's grandmother arrived shortly before Meghan gave birth, and returned to her home in LA just days ago. Meanwhile, The Queen, Prince Charles and The Cambridges are all known to have dropped into the cottage to visit The Sussexs'. Meghan's best friend Jessica Mulroney is believed to be visiting the couple at the moment, and was spotted in a toy store just minutes away from their home in Windsor. Spanish royal Letizia has once again proved she is queen of the high street today as she stepped out in a stunning teal outfit from Zara which costs just 10. The mother-of-two donned the gorgeous blue ruffled jumpsuit she last wore in January, to attend the 'Microfinanzas BBVA' Foundation debate in Madrid this morning. Her jumpsuit, which features loose fitting bottom half which makes it look like a dress, was on sale on the Zara website for just 9.99, reduced from 49.99, before selling out. Queen of the High Street! The Spanish royal rewore a stunning teal jumpsuit from Zara, which was on sale for just 9.99 before selling out, to today's event Queen Letizia, pictured here with Minister of Economy and Business Nadia Calvino, paired her stunning jumpsuit with a black clutch bag and her trademark vertiginous heels Wearing the teal patterned onepiece, with sheer sleeves and a pie crust collar, the royal kept her accessories classic, carrying a black clutch bag. She finished the stylish outfit with her trademark vertiginous heels and a small pair of silver butterfly earrings by designer Elena Carrera. The royal sported subtle but classic make-up to enhance her features, including a smoky eye, thick, groomed brows and a rose-tinted gloss on her lips. Her hair was styled into a sleek blowdry, with gentle waves that bounced as she walked through the venue. The royal paired her high street outfit with a stunning pair of Elena Carrera butterfly earrings for the roundtable event The stunning teal patterned onepiece from high street shop Zara features sheer sleeves and a pie crust collar Queen Letizia wore the onepiece for an event for the Microfinances BBVA foundation in Madrid today, which was established to create opportunities for vulnerable people through responsible finance The Queen went on to chair a roundtable discussion titled 'Exceptional women: the value of an opportunity' At today's event, she met with the Minister of Economy and Business Nadia Calvino as they attended the Microfinances BBVA foundation debate in Madrid. The foundation was established to create opportunities for vulnerable people through responsible finance. The former journalist went on to head up a roundtable on 'Exceptional women: the value of an opportunity'. She was joined by other women from different sectors of the community, including Lita Cabellut, internationally-renowned spanish painter and Lourdes Alameda, national rugby team player, coach and player for the Sanse Scrum club. The royal kept her makeup subtle but chic and wore little jewellery for the event in Madrid today The Spanish royal kept her beauty look subtle and classic, with a sweeping smokey eye and a touch of highlighter Queen Letizia is famed for her chic and stylish sense of style, but continues to wear outfits that are affordable The group discussed what a difference an opportunity makes when it comes to overcoming barriers and fulfilling goals. Queen Letizia is mother to Princesses Leonor, 13, and Sofia, 11, with husband King Felipe, 50, who ascended to the Spanish throne in 2014. Letizia married King Felipe fifteen years ago at Cathedral Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena in Madrid. The royal has had a busy week, as she celebrated her wedding anniversary to King Felipe yesterday. The former journalist sported subtle but classic make-up to enhance her features, including a smoky eye and a rose-tinted gloss on her lips Queen Letizia's stunning outfit was finished with a bouncing blow dry, and chic but subtle makeup The relationship began in November 2002 and in 2003, just months after she had been promoted to the position of anchor on the national news channel, she quit her job and days later the royal engagement was announced. Letizia is the granddaughter of a taxi driver and the eldest daughter of Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez, a journalist, and first wife Maria de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, a nurse and hospital union representative. She attended public high school and did a degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. She later gained an MA in Audiovisual Journalism at the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism. King Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son, now King Felipe VI The mother of a 13-year-old severely epileptic boy who says medical cannabis has transformed his life has revealed her fresh torment after his latest prescription was denied. Billy Caldwell and his mother, Charlotte, from Castlederg, County Tyrone, spent the winter in 'exile' in Canada, returning only to the UK after it was agreed Billy could be prescribed the drugs that kept him seizure free for most of last year. However, appearing on This Morning today, Charlotte said the family faced new misery because his supply will run out tomorrow, with little hope of a new prescription coming. Calling the decision 'orchestrated cruelty' against her son, who was at the ITV studios but not on air, Charlotte said Billy had 'helped to change the law and ironically he's now exiled from it.' Scroll down for video Billy Caldwell's mother Charlotte appeared on This Morning today to reveal that her son's latest supply of medical cannabis, which dramatically reduces his seizures, runs out tomorrow and a new prescription has been denied the family Billy, 13, pictured backstage at the This Morning show; his mother Charlotte said her boy is transformed by medical cannabis from being 'depleted' to being an 'amazing, funny, little boy' Charlotte told Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that while Northern Irish health officials had 'gone quiet' on their latest request for a prescription Speaking to presenters Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield and joined by the show's doctor Ranj Singh, Charlotte said: 'Where we're sitting at today, this is absolutely orchestrated cruelty and discrimination against my little boy.' She described the transformation in her son since he first began taking the drug, saying: 'Billy has evolved from a little boy who was completely and utterly depleted - he was having a huge amount of seizures and was prescribed a cocktail of medication to a vibrant, bright, amazing, funny little boy who is accomplishing so much in his life now.' The family were forced to leave Britain in November because they were unable to find a doctor willing to prescribe medical cannabis for Billy - despite it now being legal. As Dr Ranj explained, the problem lies with the psycho-active element THC: 'Cannabis is made up of two main active ingredients CBD and THC. There's pretty good evidence with CBD that it can reduce seizures in people with severe epilepsy - by as much as over 50 per cent.' After he began taking the medical cannabis that includes the psycho-active element THC, Billy was largely fit-free for 2018 but was forced to travel to Canada, says his mother, after he was denied a new prescription in November 2018 Charlotte Caldwell told Holly and Phil that medical drug company Aurora will 'gift' him more drugs but since the news broke out, the company had been contacted by multiple families asking for similar gifts Dr Ranj explained the difficulties with prescribing medical cannabis in the UK, saying GPs were awaiting new guidelines from NICE in October and until then interim guidelines, which don't help families like Billy's are being followed 'THC, there isn't very good evidence with severe epilepsy and there's concern that it could make epilepsy worse, and there are also concerns about the effect on the developing brain.' While new prescription guidelines are currently being created by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), they aren't due until October and GPs are currently following interim guidelines, which suggest prescriptions can only be made if a doctor makes a clinical case for it. The Department of Health told the show it wouldn't comment on individual cases. Since taking the medicine, Billy who suffers from severe epilepsy, has been almost fit-free In February, Charlotte and Billy landed at Heathrow Airport and were able to pick up the cannabis from a pharmacy in Surrey after being prescribed it by a doctor who was told by the Department of Health it was okay to write a prescription for the medicine. At the time, an overjoyed Mrs Caldwell told The Times: 'I scoured the UK and Ireland for doctors who would dot this. I have lost count of how many emails I sent and phone calls I made. I'd be there in Canada [sending messages at at three or four in the morning because of the time difference. 'I'm a wee bit emotional, it feels like I am getting out of jail.' Billy Caldwell and his mother, Charlotte, from Castlederg, Co Tyrone, returned from three months in 'exile' in Canada yesterday. Since taking the medicine, Billy who suffers from severe epilepsy, has been almost fit-free but is now relying on the company who makes his drugs, Aurora, to gift it to him, something Charlotte says isn't 'sustainable or appropriate'. Billy was given one NHS prescription for cannabis in 2017 - but the Home Office then banned his GP from giving him any more by the Home Office. Last summer, when the family tried to bring in a fresh supply of medicinal cannabis from Canada where it is legal - it was seized by customs. Billy was then thrust into the spotlight by his mother who made an appeal in the media for the law to be changed to allow medical cannabis to be legally prescribed - and said Billy could die without it. Four days later she was pictured cradling him on the way to Londons Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. A tearful Charlotte, 50, spoke outside the hospital about her beautiful, sweet, innocent boy who was suffering life-threatening seizures and didnt deserve this callous treatment. Within hours, the Home Office released some of the confiscated medicine, which contains two cannabis-derived substances, the legal cannabidiol (CBD) and banned tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound associated with the high given by the drug. They gave doctors a 20-day licence to administer one of the seven bottles of the drug Charlotte had brought from Canada. Then, clearly feeling forced to act, Home Secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons it was time to review the scheduling of cannabis for medicinal use. Mr Javid's review led to a change in the law. Patients' groups say the reform has had little effect and could be negative. The remarks from the patients' group triggered new guidance from professional bodies which discouraged doctors from prescribing cannabis. One body, the British Paediatric Neurology Association, received letters from more than 30 parents - who had accused it of 'ignoring the law change' and causing 'barriers and threats to those seeking treatment'. Charlotte said that for the first time 'connections had been made' between the medicinal cannabis experts in Canada and doctors and the UK. She said 'it was a huge step forward for us in the UK - and not only Billy'. A man claims that he discovered his wife of ten years was cheating on him with several men when he saw messages from her other partners on her Facebook account that she had accidentally left open. Seth Megow, 33, from Valdosta, Georgia, married his wife Crissy at just 19 and says his 'blood boiled' when he found out about the affairs. He revealed on website Love What Matters that his marriage was amazing for the first eight years, however his wife's behavior then started to change; he said she sometimes wouldn't come home all night and, having she was suddenly hard to communicate with, despite the couple previously having a very strong bond. However, the night she left her Facebook page open on their computer was when he realized the extent of her cheating. He found messages from flings and also someone she was in a one year relationship with. Posting his account on the blog, which recounts different love stories he said: 'Im just a guy who was married to my best friend for 10 years that discovered multiple affairs towards the end of our marriage. We had eight amazing years together and two years of hell.' The night Seth's wife (second left) left her Facebook page open on their computer was when he realised the extent of her cheating Talking about when he saw the Facebook messages he said: 'It was in that moment, I realized the extent of it all. There were multiple affairs happening. 'My best guess about it all was she suffered from postpartum depression and struggled with some slight substance abuse, which led to an initial affair.' Before this their relationship was a very different story and he claims that they had the upmost respect and trust for each other. He wrote on the piece: 'It was a truly serene relationship filled with joy and trust. We fell in love, got married at 19, worked our way through college together, went on adventures, volunteered in the community side by side. 'Had four beautiful kids, bought a home together, had an extremely healthy physical intimacy, counseled other young married couples and supported each others dreams. When I say there was a lot of trust, Im underselling it.' But after eight years and having four kids, Stevie, Neela, Titus and Olive, together he said: 'As anyone who has been through relationship infidelity can tell you, something just felt off. We were still going strong. Seth Megow, 33, from Valdosta, Georgia, married his wife at just 19 and says that the marriage was amazing for the first eight years 'In my mind, I figured it was just the stress of work, raising four kids, or our new home that was giving me these flickers of concern. He started to look into where she was going late and night but he said: 'Of course at that point, it was almost impossible to have an easy sit-down conversation about it. She was in avoidance mode, and I was in detective mode.' But after a few months she just stopped coming home altogether and also changed her social media passwords. 'It was just me and the kids, but she just stayed out with friends. She began to take extra steps to cover her tracks. Always one step ahead of me. 'When we were around each other, she password locked her phone and started paying for things in cash so I couldnt get any information from the bank statements. 'It's easy to say looking back that I should have just let her go then. But at that point I still had some trust left in her. Trying to describe that situation is nearly impossible, but if I had to try, it would be: My brain was telling me: Look at the facts. She hides her phone at night, pays for everything in cash, and spends the night out multiple times a week. The dad-of-four says that he is trying to build up his self worth again after the cheating and break up 'On the other hand, my heart was telling me: She would never cheat. We are beyond close and each others true best friend. Im sure this is just a big misunderstanding. It was all a giant tug of war between my head and my heart. A back and forth between the facts and the feelings. ' But it wasn't until he stumbled on the numerous messages from one night stand and a year long boyfriend on her open Facebook that he knew for sure. He said: 'She left her Facebook page open (she changed the password a year prior), and I saw the messages. It was in that moment, I realized the extent of it all. There were multiple affairs happening.' But it was the long term boyfriend that hurt him the most: 'Thats because she shared much more than her body with him she shared her heart. Thats what hurts the most about affairs. 'More than the breaking of trust, the physical act of breaking the covenant, the stolen money, it was the casualness in which she gave away that emotional bond we had.'So now both my head and my heart knew the truth.' Seth (pictured with his children) said that the physical intimacy with his wife was healthy, they communicated and never lied to each other - even about small things Although the couple has had their falling out, Seth still posted a loving tribute to Crissy on Mother's Day in 2018 Angry at her affairs he said he felt cheated for all the years he spent with her: 'It was me who woke up in the middle of the night, placed the babies at her breast to eat then burping them and changing their diaper so she could sleep. 'I'm the one would worked in a burning hot warehouse loading trucks to support the family, so she could finish her Master's Degree.' The dad-of-four says that he is trying to build up his self worth again after the break up, but admitted it was hard: 'I felt so betrayed and crushed. If my absolute closest friend in the world didnt see the value in me, why would anyone? My self-worth and self-confidence bottomed out. 'She tried to console me. She would say, You are still great. Ive just changed. People get divorced all the time. Just let me move on with my life, and you move on with yours.' He went on to say that none of us can control the depression that comes from heartbreak or how other people behave. However, he said: 'We can control how we react. Of course trust is shattered or our relationship ends, depression sinks in, our emotions are a bit unpredictable, but we choose what impact that has on our lives.' Seth potentially found love with another women and shared a picture of them together on his Instagram Crissy also appears to be moving on from her relationship, as she has shared multiple pictures with an unknown woman on her own Facebook account He also reveals on his blog Who put me Ipad in the dishwasher that he's moving on with his life - making his children the priority and he is currently moving into a new home. His ex-wife, Crissy, appears to have also moved on with her life - as she is listed in a relationship with an unknown female on Facebook. This has not been the only time Seth has spoken out about his current relationship status and his struggle to move on from his marriage. Last year, Seth spoke with People about how his four children were attempting to help him find dates and embrace being single. 'Every day, if we see someone, they walk up to them and go, "Hey, will you marry my dad?"' Seth told the publication at the time. 'They try to hook me up with everyone. Every woman we see, theyre like, "Dad! That girls pretty!" They give me dating tips, like, "Dad, you should wear tight pants!"' He continued: 'They get very annoyed with my apathetic approach to dating. Im like, "I can just hang out with you." And theyre like, "Dad, please, God, are you ever gonna go on a date?"' Seth potentially found that new person to date and even shared a picture with the woman on his Instagram account. 'Dang girl, you cute,' he wrote in the caption while sharing the picture of the couple together. Commenters online celebrated in Seth's new potential love interest and expressed well wishes to the couple. A pregnant waitress sacked by Jamie Oliver following the collapse of his restaurant empire has admitted she would never have considered having a child had she any idea she'd soon be out of a job. Kath Dyson, 20, of Ely, Cambridgeshire, received an email from the celebrity chef informing her she no longer had a job at midday on Tuesday - half an hour after the news broke that the beleaguered chain had appointed administrators. As a result, the devastated mother-to-be, who is now 28 weeks pregnant, has lost her six month maternity pay, for which she would have received 90 per cent of her salary, and five weeks of holiday pay that she'd saved up to spend more time with her son. Kath is now worried she won't be able to get another job as she's due to become a mother in two months, and hit out at Oliver, branding him 'seflish'. Pregnant Kath Dyson, 20, of Ely, Cambridgeshire, pictured with her partner Ben Pattison, says she would never have considered welcoming a child into the world if she'd known she would lose her job She added that she is horrified by the prospect of having to claim benefits from the council, but her partner Ben Pattison, 21, who works at Marks and Spencer in Cambridge, can't afford to pay all their rent and bills by himself. Kath told FEMAIL: 'I feel betrayed. I've always loved and supported his brand, as have my family, and I just feel let down. 'I put my faith in Jamie to be able to supply me with the six months I needed with my child, and that's going to completely affect the first six months of my son's life. 'Jamie's got children himself, so for him to do that to somebody else, how can he let that happen?' Kath was told by the celebrity chef via email that she no longer had a job on Tuesday at midday - half an hour after the news broke that the beleaguered chain had appointed administrators Becoming tearful, she added: 'I am worried about the prospect of becoming a mother now. Obviously I love my son, but we would never have considered having a child if we'd have known this would happen, because it's not fair on our child. 'I never wanted him to ever have to suffer, and we are not financially ready to have a child anymore. That's the hardest thing to get my head around really. 'It's very selfish, it's just disgraceful that there was no warning at all, no time for anyone to prepare, that's the worst part of it all. I could have been more understanding if we'd had time to find another route.' Yesterday a high street expert claimed Oliver's restaurant empire was never financially successful and 'should have hit the panic alarm years ago'. Kath admits she is now frightened by the prospect of becoming a mother as she is not financially ready and they can't afford to live on Ben's wage alone Figures analysed by MailOnline reveal the firm lost more in a single year - 29million in 2017 - than it ever made. The decision to put the business into administration triggered the closure of 22 restaurants, including 20 branches of Jamie's Italian, and put around 1,300 jobs at risk. Kath, who has been with boyfriend Ben for nearly two years, said she wasn't surprised to hear Oliver's business was failing as the restaurant she worked in, on Wheeler Street in Cambridge, was often empty. 'I was always without tables and it was ridiculous,' she explained. 'On my last shift I served four tables in an entire day and I was working by myself upstairs in the pizzeria. Mother-to-be Kath, who is 28 weeks pregnant, said she worries about her son's future as she's not in a position to get another job 'No one wanted to go to the restaurant. I think he didn't put enough effort into the brand, I think he got a bit lazy and took a step back, because back in the day everyone knew who he was, but he's not kept up his brand, he just didn't care anymore. 'Also the portion sizes were too small, we would always have complaints about the food, and people got frustrated so they never came back. 'I did mention it to my managers but I don't know if it got fed back to him, but it didn't really change. 'I think his business plan was stupid, because he was giving small portions, charging high prices and the quality wasn't even there, it was just a joke.' The decision to put the business into administration triggered the closure of 22 restaurants, including 20 branches of Jamie's Italian, and put around 1,300 people out of a job Oliver tweeted: 'I'm devastated that our much-loved UK restaurants have gone into administration. I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the people who have put their hearts and souls into this business over the years' Now she and Ben are having to survive on his 1,100-a-month salary from Marks and Spencer, which has to cover their 810-a-month rent, plus bills. Having always split everything evenly, Kath said she hates the fact she's no longer able to pay her way. 'I'm very upset that going to the council to ask for help is my only option,' she said. 'It's embarrassing. We've always had a job and cared for ourselves. I know that's what it's there for, for people that need it, but we just never thought that we would have no control and have nothing. We didn't deserve this. Having always split everything evenly, Kath said she hates the fact she's no longer able to pay her way and doesn't understand how 'family man' Jamie Oliver could be so 'selfish' 'I just never thought that he would be the sort of guy to be so selfish, because he knows what families need to survive.' FEMAIL has reached out to Jamie Oliver for comment. Oliver, 43, who has netted 240million during 20 years in the public eye, said he was 'devastated' and 'deeply saddened' by the outcome. In 2017 the father-of-five, who lives in a 6million 16th century Essex mansion, ploughed 12.7million of his own money into his struggling business after being given two hours to save the chain. According to Companies House, Jamie Oliver Holdings Ltd - the umbrella company under which he runs his myriad businesses - turned over 32 million last year - a staggering 87,670 a day. Kath said the restaurant she worked in on Wheeler Street in Cambridge was often empty and diners complained about the small portions and poor quality food On Tuesday Ben posted an angry Twitter rant about the situation, pointing out Kath had also lost five weeks of holiday pay that she'd been saving up to spend time with her son But Jamie's Italian was on the brink of collapse two years ago, with the chef revealing in an interview it had 'simply run out of cash' and run up millions in debt. All but three of Jamie Oliver's restaurants have closed after the business called in administrators, with 1,000 staff facing redundancy. On Tuesday, administrators at KPMG released a list of branches closing immediately. Three remaining restaurants, based at Gatwick, will continue to trade but could also be at risk if no buyer is found for the business. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Princess Beatrix made a joint appearance with King Willem-Alexander today. Maxima, 54, gave a speech at an award ceremony rewarding young and social entrepreneurs in the Hague, which was attended at Noordeinde Palace by her husband and mother-in-law. The Dutch Queen looked stunning in a pink blush number, just a day after sporting the same shade during her official visit to Brandenburg, Germany. Maxima accessorised the dress with heels and a matching suede clutch. Queen Maxima looked gorgeous in a blush pink number (pictured) as she presented prizes at an award ceremony rewarding social initiatives by young entrepreneurs in the Hague Queen Maxima, 54 (pictured) gave a speech before handing the prizes to the three winner of the competition Her blond hair fell to her shoulders in stylish waves and as usual, the Queen kept her makeup to a minimum, with a dash of mascara and lip-gloss. Maxima handed prizes to the three winners who came up with the best social initiatives of the year. Princess Beatrix, who used to rule the Netherlands until her abdication in favour of Willem-Alexander in 2013, looked in good spirit by her daughter-in-law's side. She wore a flowery white and blue dress with a patent black handbag and shoes. Maxima was accompanied by her husband King Willem-Alexander (right) and her mother-in-law Princess Beatrix, the former queen of the Netherlands Maxima gave a passionate speech before meeting this year's winners. She looked lovely in a blush pink dress and natural makeup The Appeltje van Oranje (Apples from Oranges) rewards successful social initiatives. Taking place yearly, the winners are awarded a bronze statue, made by Princess Beatrix, and an amount of 15,000 (13.200). The three winners were ElanArt from Gelderland, Taal Doet Meer from Utrecht and the national organization Met je Hart. The theme of this year's edition was 'The power of together: volunteers participate' and rewarded the initiative that mobilised the most people and kept them motivated. The Apples from Orange awards took place at Noordeinde Palace in the Hague today. Maxima (pictured) was the one handing out prizes Looking inspired. Maxima beamed as she looked on the new generation of social entrepreneurs from The Netherlands Peter Douwes, the Apples from Orange Fund director said: 'We believe in a socially connected kingdom in which everyone can participate. For that you need people who want to roll up their sleeves and continue to do so with passion, every day. 'Volunteers are crucial. That is why we are looking for people who can get these volunteers together so that they can take action together for others. These people are heroes. They make the difference,' he added. 12 initiatives were nominated for the awards but only three took home a prize. A 27-year-old who claims to be America's best paid legal sex worker has shared intimate details about her job - which she says can earn her a staggering $1 million a year. Alice Little, who was born in Ireland and now lives in Carson City, Nevada, first began working in the legal sex trade in 2016, however she slams suggestions that her work is focused solely on wearing 'skimpy sexy lingerie' and 'shaking her booty', insisting that the bulk of her job involves helping couples 'rediscover intimacy'. 'Nothing ever felt as fulfilling as working in a legal brothel. It fits me perfectly,' she said in a first-person piece written for HuffPo, in which she explains how she first started working at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, and why she loves her chosen career so much. Opening up: Alice Little, from Ireland, has opened up about her life as the highest paid legal sex worker in the U.S. Passion: Alice, who moved to the U.S. at the age of five, said she never thought about working in the sex industry or becoming a 'lady of the night' when she was growing up Interests: After trying out different jobs, she realized the industry would allow her to combine her main interests - her love for human interaction with something that made her feel 'passion' Alice's work at the brothel sees her teaching clients different techniques and helping people overcome problems including the 'crushing social shame of virginity', and medical problems such as erectile dysfunction. The 27-year-old, who admitted to being able to enjoy several sexual relationships at once, offers individual sessions as well as couple bookings, which she said can help improve two people's intimacy issues. 'Having an expert like me show you how to engage in flogging, spanking, roping, role-play, domination and more can bring a new thrill to your sex life,' she said. While working with couples, she also addresses a number of topics including each partner's 'favorite positions' and their deepest sexual fantasies. She also experiments with couple's interested in threesomes, BDSM and kink. Having an expert like me show you how to engage in flogging, spanking, roping, role-play, domination and more can bring a new thrill to your sex life. 'Having someone on your side, cheering you on, can make a big difference,' she said. Having moved to the US from Ireland at the age of five, Alice said she had never thought about working in the sex industry and becoming a 'lady of the night' when she was growing up. In fact, she had previously tried her hand at a number of different professions before becoming a sex worker, including having a 'brief stint' at being a horse jockey. However, she struggled to find a career that combined her main interests - her love for human interaction with something that made her feel 'passion'. Eventually, after realizing that working in the sex industry might satisfy her, Alice went to the Moonlite Bunny Ranch - a legal, licensed brothel located just outside Carson City, Nevada - in 2016. Although she initially planned on staying at the brothel for just a few months, Alice discovered a passion for the work she could do there and has remained at the ranch ever since. She explained that she is a sapiosexual, someone who finds intelligence sexually attractive or arousing, which makes it easy for her to detach from the physical element of her interactions with people. She said: 'As a sapiosexual, I learned early on that I am attracted to the minds of the people I'm around with no concern for their physical bodies. 'I feel no shame about my sexuality, trying new things or being attracted to more than one person at a time. It also helps that I am able to sexually enjoy multiple relationships at once,' she added. Fulfilled: 'Nothing ever felt as fulfilling as working in a legal brothel. It fits me perfectly,' Alice, who went to Moonlite Bunny Ranch just outside Carson City, Nevada, in 2016, said Career: Having only intended to go to the legal brothel for a few months, Alice remained at the ranch, where she now currently works Alice explained that there are often pre-conceived stereotypes associated with those who work in the sex industry. However, she is determined to make it clear that she chose the career path, and that she is not a 'victim'. She explained: 'I'm a petite Irish lady standing just four feet, eight inches tall. 'I'm well-educated and well-spoken. I'm not the victim of tragic circumstance. I had options and I chose to be a legal sex worker. Yes, on purpose! Despite sex work being so highly stigmatized, I love my job because I get to help people rediscover personal connections and intimacy,' she said. Alice, who regularly shares sex-related videos, including sex toy reviews, and a variety of different discussions about different topics including masturbation and oral sex, to her 14,000 subscribers on YouTube, explained that she is only available by appointment. I'm well-educated and well-spoken. I'm not the victim of tragic circumstance. I had options and I chose to be a legal sex worker. Some of her services include teaching clients different sexual 'techniques' and helping them improve their confidence with sex. She said: 'All ladies work as independent contractors, which means we're able to choose which services to offer, set our own rates and say no at any time for any reason. 'According to Nevada law, it is only legal to agree upon activities and prices in person. The brothel then handles all payments and takes 50 per cent of whatever we book,' she added. She explained that legal brothels in Nevada have 'their own vocabulary'. 'Folks can come in, see a lineup and have a brothel party,' she said. In a video she uploaded to YouTube, Alice explained that 'any paid encounter with a legal sex worker is called a party'. She said in the video: 'We use this word to differentiate your time at the ranch from any other sex experience or encounter because it truly is a party. Imagine the best parts of sex, romance and intimacy all combined together just the way you'd like it.' She said the different kinds of parties available include BDSM lessons, threesomes and couple's experiences. Due to her busy schedule, bookings with Alice, who specializes in 'therapeutic sexual services' and offers both individual and couple services, begin at approximately $2,000. Breaking down barriers: Alice said she is determined for people to understand that she chose to work in the industry, and that she is not a 'victim' Confident: 'I'm well-educated and well-spoken. I'm not the victim of tragic circumstance. I had options and I chose to be a legal sex worker. Yes, on purpose,' she said Wow! Last December, Alice revealed that she had managed to book $1 million in one year, and is 'doubling' the amount made by the 'more successful individuals in our industry' Meanwhile, Quartz reported that former owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, Dennis Hoff, who passed away last October, said the average 'party', which consists of a 'purely sexual encounter' that lasts less than one hour, typically costs a less pricey $400. She said: 'I describe myself as the country's highest-earning worker in the world's oldest profession, by which I mean I make more than any other sex worker at any legal brothel in the U.S.' Alice told Refinery29 last December that she managed to book $1 million in one year after setting out a plan of what she would need to do in order to reach the target. She said: 'A million dollars divided by 12 became a goal of $84,000 a month. If I have an overnight client every month, which is in the $20,000 range, that brings it down. 'Then I should have a range of five-figure parties between $10,000 and $15,000. If I have three of those, then I would only need to do so many $5,000 parties. 'I set time aside to build connections with my guests and arrange my schedule so I could meet that goal - and now I'm even exceeding that. I believe seeing a legal sex worker when your relationship needs fine-tuning is just the same as going to a mechanic when your car needs repairs 'We know, generally speaking, that the more successful individuals in our industry book somewhere between $400,000 and $700,000 in a calendar year. 'I'm almost doubling their performance, and it's really astonishing,' she added. Although she offers individual services to clients, Alice said she is also considered 'an expert at couple's encounters'. Growing up, she watched her parents' relationship 'fall apart' as they went through a divorce. 'I struggled to understand it back then, but as I grew older, it dawned on me that their divorce was due, in huge part, to a lack of intimacy and romance,' she said. She explained that since she started working in the industry three years ago, she believes 'that Americans are facing an intimacy crisis'. 'Couples frequently seek my services to rediscover intimacy, improve bedroom communication, explore safely and fulfill fantasies,' she said. 'I believe seeing a legal sex worker when your relationship needs fine-tuning is just the same as going to a mechanic when your car needs repairs. 'I love working with couples because of the special chemistry that already exists between them. It challenges me to see where I can fit into their equation and work around their dynamic to help enhance it. She added: 'It gives me pleasure to know that they have entrusted me with one another and have honored me with the privilege of helping them improve their relationship.' Services: Alice offers services to individuals and couples. She works an average of 60 to 80 hours a week as she is also a sex-educator, often sharing sex-educational articles and videos Alice explained she has noticed that some people find the prospect of meeting with a legal sex worker 'difficult and scary', while others find it exciting. She said: 'Regardless, it's my job to support and enhance healthy, open communication. It's the foundation for the positive change that can help to save a troubled marriage or improve one that is already thriving.' The 27-year-old said she chose the profession because she wanted to help people connect in 'meaningful ways'. She added: 'I stayed because I love changing the world's intimacy habits, one person at a time.' Important: Pictured with friends, the 27-year-old (center) said she chose the profession because she wanted to help people connect in 'meaningful ways' While Alice spends much of her time working with people one-on-one or in couples, there is another element of her work that she says she says people might be 'surprised' about. Her busy schedule, which sees her working an average of 60 to 80 hours per week, also sees her working as a sex-educator. She said: 'I write sexual education articles, post sex toy reviews on my YouTube channel, publish an intimacy podcast and more.' Alice, who took various classes in college including psychology, sociology, history, and anatomy, told Refinery29 that there is much more to her work than how she looks. Recalling a time when she was asked to 'crawl around' on the floor and 'blow kisses' at the camera for a video being taken by a camera crew, Alice said she asked them to leave the premises. She explained: 'I'm a professional in my industry. If you want to film what my job looks like, it looks like me doing field research on different scientific studies surrounding sex. 'It looks like me answering emails or doing a sex toy review. It looks like me doing a podcast interview. It does not look like me wearing skimpy sexy lingerie and shaking my booty back and forth or blowing kisses at the camera. 'That's representative of a Hollywood stereotype that I simply am not, nor does that stereotype actually exist. 'They're trying to paint a fake story and to essentially take my professional business and pantomime it and mock it on film. It's just so inappropriate,' she added. It's a controversial condition that has been swept under the carpet for decades amid claims that it is merely psychological. Instead, the now-proven truth is myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is physical - and not just made up by mentally-ill patients. Millions of lives around the world are being destroyed by the unrelenting condition, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Sufferers are often left house-bound, confined to their beds, reliant on feeding tubes and even needing help to get them in the shower. But, despite evidence proving it is real coming to the forefront, ME remains incurable and dozens of people wrongly think it is just 'laziness'. In the hope of ending ignorance surrounding the crippling ailment, MailOnline has heard from three long-standing sufferers. Heartbreakingly, they revealed how doctors have blamed them for wasting their time, branded them attention-seekers and told their condition doesn't exist. Before being struck down by ME, Jennifer Chittick was out-going, hard-working and excited about her future as a primary school teacher (pictured at her graduation) ME Association medical adviser Dr Charles Shepherd said: 'ME is a condition that is all too easy for us to ignore because those afflicted by the condition are unseen by society. 'So we really welcome how MailOnline has given a platform for these three women to tell their heart-wrenching stories of life with this devastating, misunderstood disease. 'Sadly, there are another 250,000 people who also suffer from ME in the UK - and their own personal tales of tragedy remain largely hidden behind closed curtains. 'It is incredible to comprehend that some doctors still refuse to accept ME as a real medical condition, despite the countless stories of intense physical debility.' I have been treated like a hypochondriac for a decade - now my condition is worse than ever Before being struck down by ME, Jennifer Chittick was out-going, hard-working and excited about her future as a primary school teacher. Now, a decade after falling ill, the 31-year-old is weaker than ever, completely bed-bound and reliant on her retired parents to care for her. During her agonising battle to get diagnosed, doctors repeatedly dismissed her debilitating symptoms as being merely a product of her imagination. And she claims this delay, fuelled by ignorance among the medical community, is the reason she is as poorly as she is today. Ms Chittick, from Glasgow, said: 'Throughout my time with ME, the treatment I've received from doctors has been deplorable. 'I am treated like a hypochondriac and an inconvenience, a blinkered patient who refuses to get the help her doctors believe she needs.' GP appointments were a weekly occurrence when she first became ill in 2009, months after graduating from university and landing her first teaching job. She said: 'I was extremely nauseous, exhausted, dizzy and found it hard to concentrate. I began having to take more and more time off. Now, a decade after falling ill, the 31-year-old is weaker than ever, completely bed-bound and reliant on her retired parents to care for her (pictured at home in bed) WHAT IS CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME? Some 250,000 people in Britain suffer from the condition, which comes with flu-like symptoms, extreme tiredness and mental lethargy that can last for years. Other symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), or myalgic encephalopathy (ME), include disturbed sleep, poor memory and reduced concentration. The cause of the illness is unclear, provoking the heated debate that has lasted for decades among the medical community. Some experts think the disease is triggered by a virus, in a similar way to glandular fever. It has also been linked to infections, operations and accidents. But skeptics think it is merely a psychological condition because of a lack of a physical cause, leading to a stigma that has led to sufferers being dismissed as having nothing more than 'yuppie flu' because it appeared to only strike young professionals when it rose to prominence in the 1980s. Some patients return to full health and others deteriorate progressively, however, most fluctuate between good and bad periods. There is no cure for CFS, with the majority of treatments to reduce symptoms being ineffective. They include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), graded exercise therapy and medications such as antidepressants. The World Health Organization and the Department of Health and Social Care recognise CFS as a medical condition. Worldwide it is believed that 17 million people suffer with CFS, according to the ME Association. Advertisement 'Eventually I became so weak that I couldn't dress myself or get off the couch and had to stop work altogether.' In March 2010, she collapsed at home and was whisked away to an unnamed hospital the three days she spent there were 'amongst the worst of my life'. Ms Chittick claims to have heard cruel nurses mutter the phrase 'attention-seeker' under their breath when they walked past her laying helplessly in bed. And before she discharged with no answers to her ailment, medics allegedly refused to help her sit up in bed, give her water or even let her shower. 'Despite my condition deteriorating drastically, I was repeatedly told that I'd be better after a good sleep and be back at work within a fortnight,' Ms Chittick said. 'As time dragged on and I became worse, my doctors became frustrated and angry with me. They were insistent that there was nothing seriously wrong with me. 'They started suggesting I was suffering from anxiety and depression and complained about the 'considerable amount of time' I was taking up.' It was only in late 2011, when she paid to see a private neurologist based in London who specialises in the condition that she was diagnosed with ME. She said: 'Receiving the diagnosis was confirmation that everything my family and I were going through wasn't the result of my imagination or hypochondria.' Over the years, Ms Chittick claims GPs have refused to visit her at home on the grounds that 'ME doesn't affect your ability to walk into the surgery'. She also alleges they have shouted at her, asked her to accept her illness is anxiety, and refuse to carry out tests that may have proven she had ME. In hope of combating her symptoms, doctors gave her cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), provided by mental health specialists. But the hour-long sessions failed to work. Nurses said it was because of a lack of motivation, a claim that was 'soul-destroying' for Ms Chittick to hear. Gradual exercise therapy also proved unsuccessful. The physiotherapist treating her reportedly said this was because she was not trying hard enough. Ms Chittick said the lack of belief that her condition was real made her feel 'even more frustrated, alone and hopeless'. 'I strongly believe that if I'd received different treatment from doctors, I would not be as ill as I am today,' she said. 'The stress that doctors have caused has been a disaster for my health and contributed massively to the living nightmare of the last ten years.' She added: 'It should not have taken over a year to receive a diagnosis I should not have had to struggle and fight to get the care and support I need.' Ms Chittick hopes the 'damaging attitudes' she has encountered from doctors will one day be a 'thing of the past' and sufferers will be treated with the respect they deserve. However, the founder of the SCREW ME support page which has several hundred followers on Facebook, isn't alone in her battle with ignorant medics. For years doctors told Jo Moss she was suffering from anxiety and depression or that she would be less tired if she didn't sleep so much I've been too weak to venture far my bed for six years - but doctors have said the condition causing my fatigue doesn't exist For years doctors told Jo Moss she was suffering from anxiety and depression or that she would be less tired if she didn't sleep so much. Now, 13 years after she was diagnosed with ME, the 44-year-old has been too weak to get out of bed for six years and doctors still don't know how to help her. WHAT IS THE PACE TRIAL? The 2011 PACE trial, published in The Lancet, was the largest trial to date of people with the mysterious and debilitating condition - based on 641 people. Queen Mary University of London experts, among others, found up to 60 per cent of patients improved if therapists encouraged them gradually to do more. By contrast, patients whose therapists encouraged them to accept the limits of their illness and adapt their lifestyles to live with it showed significantly less improvement when they were followed up after 24 and 52 weeks. The original results of the 5million trial showed that CBT and exercising benefited up to 60 per cent of patients. The findings of the study have been used to help form the basis of treatment in Britain and the US and helped spark a debate that the condition is merely psychological. But a re-analysis of the findings, fought for by critics, showed the true results to be much closer to the 20 per cent mark, StatNews reports. Campaigners have since asked for the trial to be retracted, citing its various flaws, mainly relaxed medical standards after the trial had begun. Advertisement Instead, she claims they've done the opposite telling her they don't believe in the poorly-understood condition or that she doesn't have ME at all. 'There isn't any aspect of my life that hasn't been affected,' said Mrs Moss, from Norwich. 'I have a severe form of ME which means I am confined to my bed due to fatigue, weakness and chronic pain, and I rely on carers and my husband for most things.' Antidepressants prescribed by a doctor who misdiagnosed her only made the symptoms worse, she said, and only one doctor has been both sympathetic and knowledgeable. 'Many doctors have dismissed my symptoms and my ME diagnosis,' Mrs Moss said. 'And the doctors that actually want to help lack the knowledge to.' Despite being referred to a specialist clinic when she was first diagnosed, Mrs Moss said she never actually saw a doctor and was just taught to pace herself. In other attempts to seek help she was told she actually had PTSD instead, that too much sleep was causing her crippling fatigue, and one warned her to get up, saying 'you are going to die in that bed'. 'Another doctor was extremely open about his disbelief of ME,' Mrs Moss said, revealing they told her: 'I don't believe in ME it doesn't exist.' And one reportedly told her to join a pilates class at a time when Mrs Moss, married to David, 44, said she was barely strong enough to sit up on her own. She fears a lack of understanding is driving doctors to view it as a mental problem rather than a real, measurable condition. Mrs Moss added: 'Although there is a huge amount of evidence available from a multitude of studies proving that ME is a neurological condition, there are still so many medical professionals who believe it's a mental disorder. 'Until a definitive test is established that confirms a diagnosis of ME, I fear this attitude will continue.' Mrs Moss was training to become an independent financial advisor before she became ill. Now, 13 years after she was diagnosed with ME, the 44-year-old has been too weak to get out of bed for six years and doctors still don't know how to help her My daughter was ruled to have died from ME denying the condition exists is akin to refusing to believe climate change Its been two years since a coroner ruled ME was to blame for the death of young drama student Merryn Crofts. But her devastated mother, Clare Norton, says the unjustified stigma and lack of knowledge surrounding the cruel condition remains a major issue. The 50-year-old said: There is now more than enough biomedical evidence out there proving ME is not hysteria or deconditioning. To argue otherwise is similar to climate change deniers. It is time for egos to be put aside, for the science to be listened to, for patients to be listened to and the Hippocratic Oath to be remembered do no harm. Its been two years since a coroner ruled ME was to blame for the death of young drama student Merryn Crofts (pictured) ARE SCIENTISTS CLOSE TO A TEST FOR ME? ME sufferers have longed for the end of the decades of doubt surrounding the legitimacy of their condition. However, researchers are now finally starting to offer hope of ending the stigma and ridicule patients have had to endure. Scientists based at Stanford University announced last month that they had created a blood test for the condition. The test accurately identified which half of a group of 40 had been diagnosed with ME and which had not - with 100 per cent accuracy. 'Too often, this disease is categorized as imaginary,' said senior study author and professor of biochemistry and genetics, Dr Ron Davis. The test he designed in collaboration with lead study author Dr Rahim Esfandyarpour works by measuring energy output from immune cells in the blood. The so-called 'nanoelectronic assay' measures how much the energy outputs of these cells change when they are exposed to stress, in this case, modeled by salt. Essentially, more change in the electrical activity or behavior of the cells when they were exposed to salt, the researchers thought, should indicate the the cells are less healthy and resilient. When they tested the blood of 40 trial participants - 20 diagnosed with ME/CFS, 20 without - the results were as clear as day. Those with ME/CFS had very reactive blood, while healthy immune cells were much less disturbed by the salt stress. Advertisement My daughter did not die of hysteria or deconditioning. She died due to multi-systemic neuroimmune ME. Merryn weighed less than six stone and spent the last three years of her life totally bed-bound with a severe form of the condition. The would-be theatre star was unable to take more than two teaspoons of food before suffering immense gut pain and vomiting. She became only the second person in the UK to have ME listed on their death certificate. Merryn passed away days after her 21st birthday. Mrs Norton said: As I look back it is now nearly two years since our darling Merryn died and one year since her inquest which ruled her death was due to severe ME. We hoped this ruling would influence other coroners, doctors and medical professionals to recognise how serious ME is - and that it can be fatal. It is shocking that Merryn is only the second person in the UK with ME as the official cause of ceath there is no doubt others have died as a result this cruel disease. We need medical professionals to realise ME kills. For this to happen we need more biomedical research, which in turn requires more funding. To get increased funding we need the people in power to recognise how serious ME is, and so the vicious circle continues. She added: I was recently asked if Merryn was diagnosed now - eight years on - do I think things would be different, would treatment be better and the stigma improved? Sadly my answer was no. Only this week I know of two families suffering from the lack of knowledge and stigma attached to ME. One whose mother is being accused of fabricating the illness and the daughter threatened with being sectioned. But her devastated mother, Clare Norton, says the unjustified stigma and lack of knowledge surrounding the cruel condition remains a major issue (pictured before her death, Merryn, mother Clare, stepfather Dave Norton and sister Amy Williams) The other family are being threatened with fines for non-attendance when their daughter is too ill to attend school every day. Mrs Norton, from Rochdale, who used to work as an addictions counsellor, said she feels their pain and remembers what it is like to be misunderstood by the very services that should be helping. Discussing the controversial PACE trial, she asked how prescribing exercising ever seemed like a good idea. She said: It is like prescribing sugar to diabetics. I see a compelling similarity between the study linking autism and the MMR vaccine and the PACE trial. Both have been found to be flawed on reanalysis, both were published and supported by The Lancet, both have had a devastating effect on health. Pathologist Dr Daniel DuPlessis said at the time that a post-mortem of Merryn showed low-grade inflammation of nerve roots. It was suggested that this inflammation could have made her bowel hypersensitive to processing nutrients. Dr DuPlessis pointed out that Merryn, who would have been 23 last week, had inflammation of the ganglia - gatekeepers to sensations in the brain. A post-mortem into the only other UK death attributed to ME, Sophia Mirza, 32, in 2006, also found ganglionitis. ME expert at Salford Royal Hospital, Dr Annice Mukherjee, said she was convinced the illness was responsible for triggering Merryn's intestinal failure. Women are less likely than men to receive life-saving CPR in a public place if they suffer a cardiac arrest, research suggests. Dutch scientists found 73 per cent of men who had public cardiac arrests received CPR from a bystander - but only 68 per cent of women did. Fears touching a woman's chest may be seen as sexual harassment may put people off from helping to restart their heart, scientists say. An expert commenting on the study also claimed that bystanders may be scared of hurting 'frail' women by performing CPR. Dutch researchers warned bystanders simply do not expect women to suffer heart problems and that early signs are easier to spot in men The researchers warned people are less likely to realise the seriousness of a woman's condition and may be slower to realise they need help. This may lead to delays in calling the emergency services, hindering the survival chances of female patients. The British Heart Foundation said the finding that women were seven per cent less likely to get CPR from a member of the public was 'worrying'. A cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. They are more serious than heart attacks. Figures show more than 30,000 cardiac arrests occur each year outside of hospital in the UK, compared to 355,000 in the US. Researchers from the University of Amsterdam analysed 5,717 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in one part of the Netherlands between 2006 and 2012. They found around 12.5 per cent of women who were resuscitated survived to be discharged from hospital, compared to 20 per cent of men. HOW TO GIVE CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can be used to try to restart someone's heart if it has stopped. CPR should only be used in an emergency situation if someone is unconscious and not breathing. People without CPR training should stick to hands-only chest compressions, the NHS says. To carry out a chest compression: Place the heel of your hand on the breastbone at the centre of the persons chest. Place your other hand on top of your first hand and interlock your fingers. Position yourself with your shoulders above your hands. Using your body weight (not just your arms), press straight down by 5-6cm (2-2.5 inches) on their chest. Keeping your hands on their chest, release the compression and allow the chest to return to its original position. Repeat these compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 times per minute until an ambulance arrives or you become exhausted. Source: NHS Advertisement The researchers suggested this was most likely to be down to delays in calling an ambulance and starting CPR on women. Lead author Dr Hanno Tan said: 'Given the short window available to save the life of the patient, every minute in this early phase counts. 'Help, if only a call to the emergency number by a lay person, is crucial.' 'People may be less aware that cardiac arrest can occur as often in women as in men, and the women themselves may not recognise the urgency of their symptoms. 'Women may have symptoms of an impending heart attack that are less easy to interpret, such as fatigue, fainting, vomiting and neck or jaw pain.' He added that men are more likely to report typical complaints such as chest pain. Dr Sarah Perman, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, offered another explanation for the finding. She said similar studies have shown that there is 'over sexualisation of womens bodies'. However, she was not involved in the study. Dr Perman added many 'feel hesitant to provide CPR if there is a notion they are doing something incorrect that was perceived to be sexual assault or harassment'. She said people are more likely to think a woman has just fainted, and said many have a 'fear of causing injury because women are more frail'. Sara Askew, head of survival at the British Heart Foundation, said: 'This new insight is particularly worrying. 'We already know that women who have suffered a heart attack are less likely to receive the appropriate treatment. 'Now, it appears the case is the same for women who have cardiac arrests. 'Regardless of gender, the overall survival rate for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is shockingly less than one in 10. 'Every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.' Ms Askew added that this is 'why knowing how to perform CPR is essential and doing something is always better than doing nothing'. The research was published in the European Heart Journal. E-cigarettes are almost three times more effective than nicotine replacement aids at helping smokers quit, research suggests. Doctors found vapers were 95 per cent more likely to be successful than those not using the gadgets in their attempts to kick the habit. In comparison, smokers prescribed nicotine replacement therapy, such as gums, patches and lozenges, were 34 per cent more likely to succeed. The research of almost 20,000 smokers also found e-cigarettes were more successful than prescription drugs that reduce nicotine cravings. University College London scientists found people given varenicline, marketed as Champix, were 82 per cent more likely to give up the habit. Doctors found vapers were 95 per cent more likely to be successful than those not using the gadgets in their attempts to kick the habit Charities have called on the NHS to recommend e-cigarettes to smokers on the back of the new evidence. The gadgets are at the centre of a prescription row. Currently, they are not prescribed on the NHS despite strong calls from public health bodies. Concerned scientists warn there is not enough available data to confirm the gadgets, used by around three million people in Britain, are safe. Experts have also warned millions of pounds may be being wasted on NRT aids, after the research rubbished their success rates. The study, published in the journal Addiction, is thought to be one of the biggest to compare success rates of stop-smoking aids. It tracked 18,929 smokers who had tried to give up. Successful quitters were those who claimed they were still not smoking 12 months later. The research took into account factors that may have influenced quit rates, including age, social status and number of previous quit attempts. NRT was only successful for patients prescribed it. Those who bought it from a shop were no more likely to kick the habit. Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson said: 'Stopping smoking reduces the risk of chronic diseases and increases quality of life and life expectancy. 'It is therefore important that every quit attempt has the best possible chance of success. 'Our study adds to growing evidence that use of e-cigarettes can help smokers to quit.' She added: 'It also raises concerns about the apparent lack of effectiveness of NRT bought from a shop.' Debate over how harmful vaping is leads to confusion E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some people, by helping them quit smoking. But scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are truly effective for quitting smoking and what the long-term risks are. Nicotine is already known to be highly addictive and harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine. Aerosol is inhaled into the lungs and can contain potentially harmful substances, including heavy metals like lead, volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing agents. US health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are investigating an outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI). The mystery illness has swept across the states. Officials have identified Vitamin E acetate as a chemical of concern. THC is present in most of the fluid samples collected from the lungs of ill people, and most patients report a history of using THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products. 'Popcorn lung' is the nickname for bronchiolitis obliterans, a condition which damages the smallest airways in the lungs and has been linked to people with vaping-related breathing problems. However, theres no good evidence that e-cigarettes could cause the lung condition, according to Cancer Research UK. The flavourings in electronic cigarettes may damage blood vessels in the same way as heart disease, according to research published in June 2018. The chemicals used to give the vapour flavours, such as cinnamon, strawberry and banana, can cause inflammation in cells in the arteries, veins and heart. They cause the body to react in a way that mimics the early signs of heart disease, heart attacks or strokes, the study by Boston University found. Other recent studies have also suggested smoking e-cigarettes could cause DNA mutations which lead to cancer, and enable pneumonia-causing bacteria to stick to the lungs easier. Researchers at New York University subjected human bladder and lung cells to e-cigarette vapor, which is marketed as being healthier than tobacco. They found the cells mutated and became cancerous much faster than expected and mice exposed to the vapour also suffered significant DNA damage. In another study, scientists at Queen Mary University, London, found vaping makes users more likely to catch pneumonia just like smoking tobacco or breathing in traffic fumes. The vapour from e-cigarettes helps bacteria which cause the condition to stick to the cells that line the airways, they said. The effect occurs with traditional cigarette smoke and those who are exposed to air pollution high in particulates from vehicle exhausts. An April 20202 study found vaping damages the arteries and blood vessel function much like smoking traditional cigarettes. The team studied measures of blood vessel function in e-cigarette and dual users who had been using e-cigarettes for at least three months. All e-cigarette users were former cigarette smokers. Advertisement Dr Jamie Brown, study co-author, said: 'It is important that e-cigarettes appeared to be equally effective for smokers of all ages and social backgrounds. 'Smoking is one of the biggest contributors to health inequality between rich and poor and the growth in e-cigarette use may ultimately start to reduce this gap.' Experts have welcomed the findings of the Cancer Research UK-funded study into the benefits of smokers using e-cigarettes to kick the habit. Dr Debbie Robson, a tobacco addiction researcher at King's College London, said smokers should be wary that NRT 'may not increase their chances of quitting'. She added: 'They [smokers] may well be better off investing in alternative nicotine replacement such as e-cigarettes.' Dr Leonie Brose, senior lecturer at the National Addiction Centre, King's College London, praised the research for being 'robust'. 'This is in line with what has already been found in randomised controlled trials and extends these findings to adult smokers in the real world,' she added. 'While success rates were similar for varenicline and vaping, vaping is much more popular among smokers trying to quit smoking and thus helped more smokers quit.' Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: 'This study highlights how crucial face-to-face support is for helping people to stop smoking. 'This study also provides further evidence that e-cigarettes are an effective quitting tool. The choice to switch to e-cigarettes must be made easier. 'Doctors and pharmacists should be very clear there's a range of quitting tools available including e-cigarettes, and smokers can try vaping as a way to quit.' Public Health England recommends e-cigs be prescribed on the NHS, claiming they are 95 per cent less harmful than cigarette smoking. The NHS also states that the gadgets are 'far less harmful than cigarettes' and can help you quit smoking for good but are currently not available. Leading academics have criticised health officials for 'promoting' e-cigarettes despite growing evidence of their harms. Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, last month said there are grounds for 'serious concerns' about e-cigarettes. Statistics show 270,000 people gave up smoking in the UK in 2017 a trend that has been declining for the past decade. A draft of Government plans have helped thousands more quit smoking, and Public Health England last year said the end was 'in sight'. The NHS says quitting smoking can boost your sex life, gives you more energy, improve your skin and help you live longer. Martin Dockrell, tobacco control lead at PHE, said: 'This is yet more evidence, adding to a major recent UK trial, that vaping offers some of the most effective help for smokers to quit smoking, especially when combined with expert support. 'All we need for an e-cigarette to be available on prescription is for one to be licensed as a medicine.' California's Senate has passed a new measure to toughen up the state's vaccine requirements amid the nationwide measles outbreak. The tougher rules would limit parents from choosing whether to vaccinate their schoolchildren and as a handful of opponents shouted 'We will not comply' inside the Senate. Senators sent the measure to the Assembly as the nation struggles to stem the highest number of measles cases in decades and as state efforts to strengthen vaccine requirements draw emotional opposition. The California proposal would give state public health officials instead of local doctors the authority to decide which children can skip their shots before attending school. State Senator Richard Pan (left) receives congratulations from Southern California state Senator Bob Archuleta, right, after his measure for stricter vaccine exemptions passed (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) Democratic Senator Richard Pan of Sacramento said his proposal is needed because some 'unscrupulous physicians' have been selling medical immunization exemptions since California ended non-medical exemptions in 2016. Under the plan, doctors would have to certify that they examined the patient and then send the state health department the reason they are recommending the exemption. State and county health officials could also revoke exemptions if they are found to be fraudulent or don't meet federal immunization standards. 'This is about keeping our community safe,' Pan said. So far, 45 measles cases have been reported in California. Although the state still has a high enough proportion of (90-95 percent) of vaccinated members of its population to have herd immunity, that status is threatened by increasing questionable exemptions. Pan said exemptions would still be allowed for the less than one percent of students who should avoid vaccinations because they have a severe allergic reaction or impaired immunity from a liver problem, the HIV virus, chemotherapy or other conditions. But those with legitimate concerns would then be safer in school because the vast majority of their fellow students would be vaccinated, Pan said. 'It's scary to me that this state is becoming a police state,' Victoria Kennicutt of Elk Grove, south of Sacramento, said after watching the debate with other opponents. 'It's an issue that should be between the parents and the doctor, not involving the government.' She said her daughter, Charlotte, broke out in hives after her shots at 6 months and one year, developing a high fever that lasted a week and regressing in her speech. An opponent of a measure to toughen the rules for vaccination exemptions gives a thumbs down as the bill's author, Senator Pan made his closing statements (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) She worries that her now-2-year-old daughter's medical exemption will be voided if the measure becomes law and said she will move out of state rather than comply. The measure passed on a party-line 24-10 vote, with no Republican support. Four Democratic lawmakers did not vote, with two Democratic senators saying it goes too far or reneges on lawmakers' earlier promise not to infringe on medical exemptions. Several Republican lawmakers said they agree the state should crack down on doctors who sell medical exemptions but that they should be sanctioned by the state medical board through the normal disciplinary process. 'Why isn't the medical board dealing with these bad actors?' Senator Jeff Stone said. The Republican from Temecula called Pan's bill 'a dangerous intrusion, not only into the doctor-patient relationship but also the personal liberties of the parents and their children.' Pan said the medical board has been frustrated in its efforts. 'These families are not cooperating because they're in cahoots with the physician,' Pan said. 'They are truly unable to go after these physicians who are acting unprofessionally.' ___ Associated Press journalist Adam Beam contributed to this story. An 89-year-old man has ended up with an egg-sized black tumour growing out the top of his head after falling over. George Hobbs, from Gillingham in Kent, left the painful lump to grow for nine months and went to three doctors' appointments before finally getting a diagnosis. He claims medics originally told him to go home and take paracetamol before referring him to a dermatologist who said the lump needs surgical removal. The cancer is believed to have developed from a cut Mr Hobbs got on his head after hitting it when he fell over in the bathroom. Squamous cell carcinoma a common form of skin cancer can develop from skin damaged by swelling, infection or wounds, according to experts. Mr Hobbs, who has already had bladder cancer, said he is 'furious' it took so long to get diagnosed and said he is nervous about having surgery to treat the disease. George Hobbs, 89, of Gillingham, Kent, has a skin cancer lump sprouting from his scalp (pictured) and claims doctors initially sent him home with paracetamol The grandfather-of-three said: 'I'm furious that they didn't take this seriously to start with. It's really causing me a lot of discomfort. 'The specialist at Medway [the clinic he visited] told me I should never have been told to take paracetamol for it. 'They were amazed it had been allowed to get this bad and said I should have been sent to them immediately.' Mr Hobbs slipped in his daughter's bathroom last August on the day of his wife's funeral and cut his head open. After patching him up, doctors sent him home. A lump developed over time, which gradually became bigger in size. Growing concerned after it became black, Mr Hobbs visited a doctor at The Railside Surgery three months ago. He claims the doctor sent him home with painkillers and tried to deal with it as best he could, but the lump kept getting larger and more painful. Mr Hobbs alleges the advice was repeated at two further visits until a different doctor sent him to see dermatologists at the Community Living Health Centre in Gillingham. Then he was referred to Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, which arranged for him to see a specialist during a weekly visit to Medway Maritime Hospital. The grandfather visited his GP three times before being referred to specialists After the diagnosis, which may need surgery, Mr Hobbs said he is furious Mr Hobbs, who is now on the list to have urgent surgery, said a specialist was shocked at the delay in his referral. Pictured, the growth that developed over nine months CAN A WOUND LEAD TO SKIN CANCER? Dr Juber Hafiji, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson said skin cancer can be caused by infection or chronic inflammation. Squamous cell carcinomas can develop in skin damaged by other forms of radiation, in burns and persistent chronic ulcers and wounds and in old scars. It can develop if skin cells are damaged in a way which affects their DNA. If the DNA is damaged in a way that affects cells' ability to reproduce properly this could cause the uncontrolled division which can lead to cancer. SCCs is a type of cancer that appears as a scaly or crusty raised area of skin with a red, inflamed base. They can be sore or tender and they can bleed but this is not always the case. People who have a weakened immune system have a higher risk of developing skin cancer. Advertisement He said: 'I saw a different doctor the second time and they took one look at it and told me it was too bad for them to deal with. 'The next I knew I had a call from the plastic surgery department at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead.' Mr Hobbs said he was told last week by a specialist that he urgently needs to go under the knife. He is already recovering from bladder cancer, and more surgery worries him. He said: 'They're worried because it's not clear how deep it goes. 'They say if it's grown upwards they should be able to remove it but if it's grown downwards it's more serious. 'I really am very apprehensive and haven't been able to sleep very well. 'They say they should be able to see me at East Grinstead in the next week.' Skin cancer is normally caused by sun damage, but in rare cases, such as Mr Hobbs, a tumour can appear after injury. Dr Juber Hafiji, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson said: 'It is likely that the trauma that George unfortunately sustained with the head injury could have been the trigger for him developing skin cancer at this site. 'Most people are aware of excessive ultraviolet exposure being a risk factor for the development of skin cancer. 'There are other less commonly known risk factors including infection and chronic inflammation.' It is also possible that Mr Hobbs has a weakened immune system, which also raises the risk of developing skin cancer, due to his current battle with bladder cancer. The Railway Surgery is part of Medway Clinical Commissioning Group alongside 54 other GP practices from across the Medway Towns. Director of primary care transformation at the CCG Tracy Rouse said: 'We are sorry to hear of Mr Hobbs' experience. 'As the CCG does not hold any patient data, we would advise him to submit a complaint via email so we can fully investigate the matter.' A baby boy who had multiple in-utero surgeries to save his life is now celebrating is first birthday. In March 2018, when Sara Toner, 21, was six months pregnant, she learned that her son, Tyler, had a heart defect that made it difficult for blood to throw through his body properly. Doctors told Toner, from Spokane, Washington, that if they didn't immediately operate, her son's survival rate was below 10 percent. So Toner and her husband, Ryan Hendershot, 32, traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, for a rare surgery that involved inserting a tiny balloon in Tyler's aortic valve to allow for proper blood flow. After a few weeks, doctors determined that Tyler's heart was starting to develop properly, and increased his chances of survival to 60 percent. Sara Toner, 21, from Spokane, Washington, was six months pregnant when she learned her son had hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Pictured: Tyler with his parents Ryan, left, and Sara Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a birth defect in which the left side of the heart does not from correctly while the baby is in the womb. Pictured: Tyler in the hospital Toner's pregnancy was difficult from the start. She suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness. It can result in hospitalization due to dehydration from extreme nausea and vomiting. Several celebrities have opened up about their experience with hyperemesis gravidarum including Kate Middleton, Kim Kardashian and Kelly Clarkson. 'In my first trimester, I lost 17 pounds because I couldn't keep anything down,' Toner said. During her 20-week ultrasound, Toner's midwife told her she needed to see a pediatric cardiologist for 'further testing'. At the local children's hospital, she had a fetal echocardiogram, and the cardiologist told her that her son had hypoplastic left heart syndrome and aortic valve stenosis. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a birth defect in which the left side of the heart does not from correctly while the baby is in the womb. Because the left side of the heart is unable to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, the right side is responsible for pumping blood to both lungs and the rest of the body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 960 babies are born in the US every year with this defect. Problems quickly arise soon after birth including difficulty breathing, a weak pulse, and a bluish skin color. Aortic valve stenosis occurs when the aortic valve - the valve that separate the the heart's main pumping chamber and the main artery - narrows. This limits or prevents blood flow from your heart through the aorta to the rest of the body. Doctors told Toner, from Spokane, Washington, that if they didn't immediately operate, Tyler's survival rate was below 10 percent. She and her husband raised funds to travel to Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts. Pictured, left and right: Tyler Tyler underwent an in-utero aortic valvuloplasty, which involved blowing up a tiny balloon in his valve as a way to allow for proper blood flow. Pictured: Tyler with parents, Ryan and Sara 'I was crushed. All I ever dreamed of was being a mother to a beautiful and healthy baby,' Toner said. 'I felt like it was my fault, even though it was confirmed that it was a completely random case.' The cardiologist wanted to send Toner to Boston Children's Hospital for in-utero surgery. However, although her insurer approved the cost of surgery, the hospital didn't accept the insurance she had. Within one week, Toner and her husband raised funds with help of her friends and family to get there and back. At 23 weeks pregnant, Tyler had an in-utero aortic valvuloplasty. 'They stuck a tiny needle through my stomach, directly through his chest and into his aortic valve,' Toner said. 'They blew up a tiny balloon in his valve as a way to open it up to allow blood flow.' Toner was monitored weekly and it soon became evident that the left side of the baby's heart was starting to develop. Without the in-utero surgery, Tyler's survival rate was below 10 percent, but the surgery increased that to 60 per cent. After a few weeks of monitoring, it was clear that the left side of Tyler's heart was starting to develop. Pictured: Toner's scar showing where doctors operated Tyler (left and right) was born in May 2018 weighing seven pounds. He's had six surgeries since birth, but has continued to thrive and just celebrated his first birthday Tyler was born in May 2018 weighing seven pounds and, since then, has continued to flourish, despite the instability of his health at times. He had four more valvuloplasties in-utero, as well as a thoracotomy to repair his aortic arch, the part of the artery that bends. Toner admits that it was difficult to find out about her son's heart condition as she wasn't given the chance to cope, she was immediately planning surgeries. 'It's terrifying. I never had a chance to grieve or cope. I immediately had to start planning the rest of our lives as heart parents,' Toner said. 'I don't think at this point, over a year later, I've fully stopped to grieve the missed life of a healthy baby. This is my life now, but I'm still equally as blessed.' Toner said she didn't feel comfortable publicly sharing her family's story for a long time, but is grateful at having had the opportunity to meet others going through a similar situation. 'I want people to see that an unhealthy baby isn't the end of the world,' she said. 'There are a lot more hoops to go through, but every second is worth it. You never ask to be a heart parent, but I've learned it gets bestowed upon the strongest.' The scientists whose research anti-vaxxers use to claim their children should be genetically exempt from vaccines have now said their old work is no longer valid. Anti-vaxxer doctors and even parents have been ordering genetic tests from companies like 23andMe in search of a variant of the MTHFR gene in their patients and children. That's because a 2008 study suggested that people with that variant would be prone to 'adverse events' in response to smallpox shots (which are no longer given). But two of its authors, Dr James Crowe and Dr David Reif now say that our understanding of and methodology for studying DNA have changed so drastically that their decade-old research is no longer valid, they told The Atlantic. A decade-old study suggested a link between a gene variant and reactions to a smallpox vaccine - which is no longer used - which anti-vaxxers cite to justify medical exemptions. The study's authors say the research is 'no longer valid' by today's standards (file) California's law against philosophical exemptions to vaccines was passed in 2016 in the aftermath of a brutal measles outbreak that began at Disneyland. But that didn't stop vaccine wary and anti-vaccine parents - still concerned over now-debunked research linking the MMR vaccine to autism - from finding ways to get their children out of the shots. In the last two years, the number of 'medical' exemptions from shots issued in California has tripled, according to a JAMA report. And just because it's labeled 'medical' and issued by a doctor, doesn't necessarily mean they are medically valid. For example, Dr Kenneth Stoller in San Francisco was subpoenaed earlier this month by the city attorney on suspicion that has been issuing improper vaccine exemptions and profiting from the practice. According to city attorney Dennis Herrera has been using no more than 'two 30-minute visits and a 23andMe genetic test' to determine that children should be exempt from shots. Online resources, too, instruct consumers on how to upload the raw data from their at-home DNA tests to look for a variant of a gene called MTHFR (which 23andMe's genetic profiling will detect, but the company doesn't specifically test for), that has been linked to 'adverse effects' from smallpox vaccinations. But 23andMe itself says that its tests should not be used as the basis of medical decisions. Smallpox vaccinations are not given any more, because the disease is considered eradicated. And, now, the scientists who reported the MTHFR-vaccine reaction link say the genetic variant doesn't do what they thought it did. In 2008, Dr Reif, Dr Crowe and their colleagues published a study in the Journal of Infectious Disease linking MTHFR to 'systemic adverse events,' or reactions, to the smallpox vaccine. Adverse effects were defined, for the study's purposes, as fever, rash or swollen lymph nodes (an immune system response) in the area of the shot. The researchers gave smallpox shots to over 130 healthy adults that had never had the vaccine, and watched them for any of these symptoms, then analyzed their genomes. Those that had a certain variant of MTHFR were more likely to have these non-life-threatening reactions. But, for one, the effects were from the smallpox vaccine, which hasn't been routinely in the US since 1972, and wouldn't necessarily occur with a different vaccination. And, when the study resurfaced in a 2016 lawsuit, its authors decried their own methodology as outdated. 'It's just not even a valid study by today's methodology,' lead study author Dr James Crowe, who is now director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, told The Atlantic. 'It's not even a valid study by today's methodology.' He added that applying the study's findings to the MMR vaccine as a basis for medical exemption is 'illogical and inappropriate.' Beyond changing methodologies, we simply know a lot more about genes and the way genetics work than we did a decade ago - including that the MTHFR gene has broad ranging effects. MTHFR codes for an enzyme key to the body's ability to make proteins. And some 40 percent of us have the variant that Dr Crowe and his team originally linked to 'adverse reactions' to the smallpox vaccine (which is not used and is not the same as any of the vaccines used today). None if this research has made the same waves that Dr Crowe and Dr Reif's 2008 study did, apparently. That didn't stop 23andMe customers from asking more about the MTHFR gene than any other. 23andMe, however, wrote a blog post trying to put consumers' fears to rest. 'Despite lots of research and lots of buzz the existing scientific data doesnt support the vast majority of claims that common MTHFR variants impact human health,' the company wrote on its blog. But doctors who conspire with parents to get inappropriate medical exemptions from vaccines for their children are still blaming genetics. So Dr Crowe and his co-authors are taking matters into their own hands, according to The Atlantic, but writing to the Journal of Infectious Diseases begging it to say that their research doesn't say much at all. Two mothers are infiltrating online groups where members claim children with autism can be 'cured' by ingesting toxic chemicals. Melissa Eaton, from Salisbury, North Carolina, and Amanda Seigler, from Lake Worth, Florida, who each have a child with autism, came across several groups - mainly on Facebook - claiming that chlorine dioxide, an industrial strength bleach, could treat the disorder. To enter the groups, Eaton and Seigler created fake profiles, pretending to be parents of children with autism and looking for answers or treatments. Then, they took screenshots of the posts, in which parents suggest feeding their children the chemicals, reported NBC News. Next, Eaton, 39, and Seigler, 38, notified local child protection agencies of abuse. So far, they claim they have reported at least 100 cases over the last three years. Melissa Eaton, 39 (left), of Salisbury, North Carolina, and Amanda Seigler, 38 (right), of Lake Worth, Florida, have been infiltrating online groups for three years. The groups suggest that feeding children chlorine dioxide, an industrial strength bleach, can 'cure' autism The 'cure' was popularized by former Chicago real estate agent Kerri Rivera (pictured), who claims to have reversed autism symptoms in more than 500 children Eaton and Seigler told NBC News that some of the discoveries they found in these groups were horrifying. One mother from Kansas wrote in the Facebook group after feeding her child chlorine dioxide: 'My son is constantly making a gasping sound.' Another mother from Canada wrote that her toddler was refusing to drink the concoction. 'He won't open his mouth. He screams. Spits. Flips over,' she wrote. Eaton and Seigler said the groups were like a cult. 'It really weighs on you, but kids are being abused,' Eaton told NBC News. 'You see it. You have the choice of doing something about it or letting it go. And I'm not the kind of person who can see something like that and just forget about it.' Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder in which sufferers have a hard time communicating and with behavior. It encompasses several conditions - including autism, Asperger's syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder - and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Children are usually diagnosed by age two after they exhibit signs such as reduced eye contact, not responding to their name and performing repetitive movements. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in 59 children has ASD. Scientists do not know what causes ASD, but believe it is a combination of genes and environmental factors. Eaton (pictured) and Seigler, who each have autistic children, take screenshots of the posts and notify local child protection agencies of child abuse Poison control centers have warned that the chemical can irritate the eyes and skin, and even lead to a build-up of fluid in the lungs. Pictured: Seigler The parents in several of these groups that Eaton and Seigler infiltrated believe autism is caused by a multitude of things, including viruses, bacteria, vaccines, parasites and even gluten. The treatments they suggest are bizarre, to say the least, and include turpentine and a child's own urine. But perhaps the most popular is chlorine dioxide, a chemical compound used in the bleaching of wood pulp and in disinfecting municipal drinking water. Parents administer it orally or via enemas. The idea of chlorine dioxide being promoted as a cure was first popularized by Jim Humble, an ex-Scientologist. However, it was popularized by former Chicago real estate agent Kerri Rivera, who wrote about it in her 2013 book Healing the Symptoms Known as Autism. Rivera, who does not have a medical degree, said she treated her own autistic son with the chlorine dioxide and has promoted it across social media. According to NBC News, she claims to have cured more than 500 children of autism. Rivera's book has been banned by Amazon, her email account was deleted by Yahoo and several of her YouTube videos have been deleted In a statement to the outlet, she wrote: 'This is a medical issue. I have a degree in homeopathy and work with MDs and PhD scientists.' However, breathing in chlorine dioxide can irritate the eyes, the skin and the nose, according to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Being exposed in higher amounts can lead to a build-up of fluid in the lungs, shortness of breath and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin. In one case, a six-year-old boy reportedly had his bowel removed and was fitted with a colostomy bag after repeatedly receiving these enemas, according to The Daily Mirror. Over the last five years, more than 16,000 cases have been reported across the US, data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers shows. About 2,500 were for children under age 12, although it can't be determined how many - if any - were autistic. NBC News reported that 50 of these cases were considered life-threatening and eight resulted in death. In March, Amazon banned Rivera's book and YouTube took down several of her videos. Yahoo deleted her email account and Facebook also shut down several of her pages Rivera told NBC News in an email that Amazon's banning her book would 'decrease public awareness' of her message and that the tech giant was 'responding to media-generated hysteria.' However, Rivera has since created new Facebook pages, seen by DailyMail.com prior to publication. She did not respond to a request for comment. Eaton and Seigler say they are still watching her on various social media platforms, looking for new pages and groups. 'Her profile needs to go and they need to ban her IP address,' Eaton told NBC News. What are the ideal ingredients for a romantic night in? Forget pricey champagne and oysters all you need, apparently, are some broad beans (pictured) VICKERYS FOLK FLORA by Roy Vickery (Weidenfeld 30, 823pp) What are the ideal ingredients for a romantic night in? Forget pricey champagne and oysters all you need, apparently, are some broad beans. In Oxfordshire in the Twenties, it was said that there was no lustier scent than a beanfield in bloom. In Suffolk, it was believed that beans inflame lust . . . best of all traditional aphrodisiacs was the scent of the bean flower, for this not only stimulates passion in the man, but extreme willingness in the girl. Phew! This is one of the many weird and wonderful nuggets that emerge from Roy Vickerys doorstopper of a book. Since the Seventies, the magnificently bearded Mr Vickery, a botanist at the Natural History Museum for more than 50 years, has been chivvying people for their reminiscences about the legends and superstitions surrounding plants and their usage. Vickerys Folk Flora wont help you identify native flowers, but it will make you think differently about them. One thing it makes clear is just how much power previous generations invested in plants. As recently as the Fifties, carrying an armful of lilacs was enough to get you barred from public transport in Essex. Lilac was unlucky nothing to do with the quite strong perfume, Vickery was informed. Another correspondent reported that in Staffordshire, foxgloves . . . were absolutely forbidden inside, as this gave witches/the devil access to the house. VICKERYS FOLK FLORA by Roy Vickery (Weidenfeld 30, 823pp) And where we see the delicate beauty of cow parsley, our ancestors saw a portent of doom. In Yorkshire, it was known as kill-your-mother-quick or stepmother blossom, because of the belief that picking cow parsley and bringing it inside would lead to your mothers death. Long-forgotten medical cures abound within these pages. A stye, it was thought, could be vanquished by holding a mouldy apple to your eye. The anecdotes in Vickerys Folk Flora provide some charming glimpses into the recent past. The author records that collecting blackberries was so important that, in areas such as the North East of England, children were expected to spend the whole half-term holiday picking the fruits so they could be made into jam. Some plants were such a part of everyday life that just about every county had its own particular name for them. Cowslips were cuckoo in Cornwall, fairy-cups in Lincolnshire, horse-buckles in Kent and Wiltshire, ladys keys in Somerset and paigle in Essex. All of this seems lightyears away from our 21st-century lives, yet vestiges of this folk knowledge survive. What lovelorn youngster hasnt plucked daisy petals while chanting loves me, loves me not, just as children have done for centuries? Theres still time to enter the Daily Mails First Novel competition and win a life-changing 20,000 advance, as well as seeing your book published by one of the countrys leading publishers, Penguin Random House. In addition, the competition winner will be given the professional services of successful literary agent Luigi Bonomi. We are looking for a fresh, original story, with believable characters and a plot that grips, moves and intrigues. Theres still time to enter the Daily Mails First Novel competition and win a life-changing 20,000 advance (stock photo) Your entry can be a contemporary story about families or relationships, a thriller, or an historical adventure; it can be funny or sad as long as it is aimed at adults (not children) and is previously unpublished in any format (including eBook or self-published). The only categories that are not allowed are sagas, science fiction and fantasy. Entrants must be 16 or over. We dont need the finished novel just the first 3,000 words, plus a 600-word synopsis of the complete work: beginning, middle and end. See the How To Enter box (right) and the full terms and conditions you must sign up to, which are online. The judges will be Selina Walker, publisher at Century and Arrow, Luigi Bonomi, novelist and TV presenter Fern Britton, crime writer Peter James and the Daily Mails Literary Editor, Sandra Parsons. Young Money Blog alerted This is Money to the email which was overcharging customers TalkTalk has apologised for a marketing email which offered customers a 'one click' renewal of their broadband contracts something that would cost 153 more than if they renewed through their online accounts. Clicking on the button within the email would have locked customers into a 33.50 a month deal for 18 months on their Faster Fibre Broadband. However, the same deal was available through customers online accounts under the Renew contract button for 25 a month instead a saving of 153. This is Money was alerted to the error by Iona Bain of the Young Money Blog. Bain tweeted about the incident after receiving the email that promised to save her 45 over 18 months and noticing the massive price difference between the online deal and the 'one click' offer. TalkTalk responded by saying: 'We do apologise for this e-mail, our marketing team is now reviewing this.' A TalkTalk spokesperson added: 'While most of our rivals have continued to increase the premium loyal customers pay, TalkTalk has already taken a stand on this issue. Two years ago, we restructured our business and have closed the gap between what new and existing customers pay. 'We are also one of only a few providers that reminds customers that they'll soon be coming out-of-contract, offering better deals than our standard out-of-contract pricing.' After clicking on the email to 'Fix Your Price with One Click', customers might expect to find a landing page or a review summary but instead one click was all it took to sign up to the new deal. Both the Advertising Standards Authority and Ofcom are now investigating the email. New prices: TalkTalk said their marketing team is now reviewing the email that was sent out A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority said: 'Email marketing claims are covered by our rules so it's likely our team will consider what you've sent us is in remit. 'We would expect them to abide by the general rules about truthfulness and misleadingness. If any customer of TalkTalk has concerns that they think an email is not upfront and clear, maybe through ambiguity or omission, they can lodge a complaint.' TalkTalk profits from customer upgrades In its results today, TalkTalk said that persuading customers to switch to its faster but more expensive fibre broadband service had helped cut losses. Pre-tax losses the year to April were 5 million, but that was far better than a 100 million loss a year before. Underlying profits were up 17 per cent to 237million. TalkTalk said that about 150,000 new customers signed up in the year, down from 192,000 during the same period a year ago- of those new customers 71 per cent took out contracts for high-speed fibre broadband. TalkTalk 4.3 million customers and boss Tristia Harrison it should benefit from new Ofcom rules forcing all broadband providers to tell customers when their contract is coming to an end and warn them of better deals. An Ofcom spokesperson added: 'We want everyone to get a fair deal and understand how frustrating it is to find you could be paying more than you need to. None of the major providers, including TalkTalk, have been making it as easy as possible for people to find the best deals for their needs. 'So we've stepped in to force companies to give customers the information they need, when they need it. We're also talking to providers about their practices as part of our ongoing review of broadband pricing.' The watchdog said it cannot resolve individual complaints and that if customers have a complaint, they should take it to their provider first. If customers are then unhappy with the outcome from their supplier, they can take the complaint to an independent ombudsman, in this case, the Communications Ombudsman, who will look at the case and make a judgment on it. Ofcom recently announced new rules that said broadband, TV, mobile and home phone firms will have to tell their customers when their contracts are coming to end as well as alert them to the best deals. Whilst TalkTalk claims it already notifies customers when their contract is due to end, it recently came under fire after it announced that some broadband customers were set to see their bills rise by up to 11 per cent. The FTSE 100 closed down 103.15 points at 7231.04 and the pound was at $1.27 against the dollar. The pound's woeful performance against the euro and US dollar continued as Prime Minister Theresa May battles to retain the premiership. Elsewhere in the world of business, retailer B&M has seen its annual profit rise over 8 per cent to 249.4million. Meanwhile, Pub group Youngs hailed robust profit and revenue growth in its latest financial year today, but warned investors of a 'tough start' to 2019. Investment firm boss Andy Brown has awarded himself a bumper 46million pay package despite seeing his fund shrink in size over the last year. Brown, chief executive of investment firm Cedar Rock Capital, has been dubbed the British Warren Buffett for his successful long-term investing strategy which is similar to that of 88-year-old Buffett, the so-called Sage of Omaha. He picks just a handful of stocks which he believes have the potential to grow over many years, rather than investing in a very wide range of firms like most rivals. City High-flyer: Andy Brown, chief executive of investment firm Cedar Rock Capital, has been dubbed the 'British Warren Buffett' Although Brown only pays himself a 190,000 salary, he pocketed a 46million share of Cedar Rocks profits, up from 43million the year before. Cedar Rock raked in total profits of 71.1million in 2018, slightly up from 70.9million a year prior. But the total amount of money it was looking after for investors slipped by 10 per cent, from 10billion to 9billion. Brown, 63, is worth an estimated 700million. Cedar Rock, which he co-founded in 2002 after a career with Morgan Stanley, holds major stakes in companies including Intercontinental Hotels, Starbucks and drinks firm Keurig Dr Pepper. The firm also paid an additional 31million to its other five owners, who include senior employees and Cedar Rocks co-founder Nicholas Tingley. Huawei's founder has been accused by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of lying about his company's ties to the Chinese government amid a spying row. Ren Zhengfei, who is also chief executive of the telecoms group, has insisted China's Communist Party has no influence over Huawei and that it would refuse to share data if ordered to do so by the country's security services. But the 74-year-old's comments were branded 'just false' by Pompeo, President Trump's top diplomat. Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei has insisted China's Communist Party has no influence over the firm and that it would refuse to share data if ordered to do so by the country's security services The US which is locked in a trade war with Beijing has branded Huawei a national security threat and blacklisted the company, effectively banning American firms from doing business with it. At the same time, Pompeo has jetted around the world to lobby allies including the UK to stop them using Huawei equipment in their telecoms networks. This is because US officials argue the Chinese firm's kit could be used for spying. Yesterday Pompeo said: 'Huawei is deeply tied not only to China but to the Chinese Communist Party. 'To say that they don't work with the Chinese government is a false statement he is required by Chinese law to do that. 'The Huawei chief executive, on that, at least, isn't telling the American people the truth, nor the world.' Japanese giant Panasonic has joined a growing list of global companies to cut ties with Huawei due to the blacklisting. British chip designer ARM has also stopped working with the company. Of all the taxes we have to pay, inheritance tax is perhaps the most hated. And given it has cost the British public 5.4billion in the past tax year alone almost double the amount paid eight years ago it's not hard to understand why. Soaring house prices are partly to blame for the sharp increase, as more families are inheriting property worth more than 325,000 the threshold at which inheritance tax kicks in. Fight back: Changing rules mean that, by 2021, couples will be able to pass on up to 1million from your home before inheritance tax is due Currently, they must pay tax at 40 per cent tax to HM Revenue & Customs on the value of any assets (including property, possessions and savings) over this limit when someone dies. And there is no escape if you give your assets away during your lifetime, as anything given within seven years before your death may also be subject to tax and could mean your relatives are chased for money after you've gone. If you leave your home to your spouse or civil partner, you can pass it on tax-free, and the threshold is raised to 450,000 if you leave it to your children or grandchildren. Changing rules mean that, by 2021, couples will be able to pass on up to 1million from your home before inheritance tax is due. But in the meantime, six experts share legal ways to cut your loved one's tax bill by tens of thousands of pounds. Give up to 3,000 in cash every year Rachael Griffin, of wealth management firm Quilter, says: 'If you want to pass money on in the simplest way, use the 3,000 annual inheritance tax gift exemption. This allows you to hand over gifts including cash or assets, such as jewellery up to the value of 3,000 a year. 'The exemption means that even if you were to pass away straight after giving the money, it would not be included when calculating the value of your estate and would be inheritance tax-free. There are no restrictions on who you make the gift to, so it could be a friend or relative or you could put the money into a trust for your grandchild. 'If you don't use the full 3,000 allowance in one year, you can roll it over to the next. So, if you gifted 2,500 one year, you could carry forward 500 worth of allowance and gift 3,500 in the next. But you cannot do this over multiple years. 'Another system called a Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET) means you can give any individual an unlimited amount but it will only be exempt from inheritance tax if you live for seven years after making the gift. If you die before then, the value will be added to your estate and could be subject to up to 40 per cent inheritance tax.' Pay for a loved one's Big Day Patricia Mock, tax director at accountancy firm Deloitte, says: 'The 'marriage exemption' allows anyone to gift money to their children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren when they decide to marry. Each parent can give up to 5,000 to the couple, which means a mother and father could give up to 10,000 in total free from inheritance tax. 'Grandparents and great-grandparents of the couple are each allowed to give 2,500 for the wedding or to help start them off in married life. Other relatives or friends can give up to 1,000.' 'The money must be given to the couple before the wedding it will not be exempt if given afterwards. Keep a record of payments so exemption can be proved, if necessary, after your death'. Help out with living costs Chas Roy-Chowdhury, of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, says: 'Many people will already be making payments to cover the everyday living expenses of children under 18 or in full-time education, ex-spouses or relatives, like elderly parents. Give to a good cause It may not directly help your family, but supporting a charity will reduce your inheritance tax bill because you can make donations free from tax. What's more, if you donate one-tenth or more of your net wealth to charity, the Government could cut your inheritance rate from 40 per cent to 36 per cent, saving even more money for your family. 'These payments will not be included when the taxman is calculating how much inheritance tax is due. But there are three important things that HMRC will be watching out for. 'First, it is critical the payments come out of your income, such as a salary, pension, interest or dividends. You cannot sell assets like property or possessions to generate cash and pass that on. Second, you must make sure the money is part of your 'normal expenditure' and not a one-off gift. So, paying children at university a few hundred pounds to help with their living expenses every month is fine, but paying them one lump sum once or twice a year may not be. 'Finally, you need to be able to prove making these payments does not affect your 'normal' standard of living. For example, if you usually take a holiday every year you need to show you were able to maintain that lifestyle.' Give away your extra income Kelly Greig, partner at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, says: 'You can give away money free of inheritance tax provided it comes out of your surplus income. 'But it's not quite that straightforward and you need to ensure you meet two essential requirements. 'First, make sure the gifts are part of a regular pattern of giving and are not one-off payments. 'Show this by setting up a standing order or by a signed and dated letter outlining your commitment to, say, paying your grandchild's school fees every term. Then just one payment could be accepted as a new, regular, payment pattern. 'Second, you must make sure what's left of your income salary, bonus, pension, interest or dividends will maintain your normal standard of living.' Make unlimited small gifts Adam Waller, tax partner at accountancy firm PwC, says: 'Known as a 'use it or lose it' allowance, the 250 small gift exemption means you can make multiple gifts of up to 250 every year free from inheritance tax. 'You can make these gifts to as many different people as you like and they don't count towards the annual 3,000 gift exemption as long as you don't give that money to the same person. 'There are some things to watch out for. The 250 gift relief is 'all or nothing', which means that if you make several small gifts over the course of the year that add up to more than 250, they may not be free from inheritance tax. 'For example, if you make a gift to your grandchild of 200 this Easter, plus another 100 when they go back school in September, neither of these payments would qualify for tax relief because the total of 300 given to one individual in the tax year would exceed the 250 limit. This means the payments could be included in the total value of your estate if you pass away within seven years, which is subject to inheritance tax. 'However, giving 200 and then 50 would be fine, as it doesn't exceed the limit. 'The small gift relief is a good way to get started but it is very important to keep a record of all gifts that you make including the date, value, and who received them, to prevent any confusion in the future.' Pass on your pension Andrew Tully, of retirement finance specialists Canada Life, says: 'Before the overhaul of the pensions system in 2015, it was generally not tax efficient to pass on a pension because they could be taxed at rates of up to 55 per cent. But the pension freedoms have changed the way people can access their money in retirement. 'Under the new system, defined contribution pensions which are based on the value of what you have paid in rather than on your final salary can be passed on. And, unlike with the old system, this can be tax-efficient or even tax-free. 'When someone dies before the age of 75, payments from the pension will be made tax-free to the beneficiary (normally a family member or friend named by the pension holder). Or if they die aged 75 or over, pension payments will be made to the beneficiary at their own rate of income tax. 'The pension can be passed on more than once, meaning a large pension pot could be accessed by two or more generations. Sainsbury's will be banned from revisiting its botched merger with Asda for at least a decade, in a fresh blow for embattled boss Mike Coupe. In a draft order, the Competition and Markets Authority proposed that the two supermarkets should be prevented from attempting to join forces for ten years after it blocked the tie-up last month. It is a further setback for chief executive Coupe, 58, whose job is said to be hanging in the balance after he was criticised for pursuing the failed merger and taking his eye off the day job. Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe's job is said to be hanging in the balance after he was criticised for pursuing the failed merger and taking his eye off the day job Coupe was the mastermind of the tie-up and held secret talks with Asda boss Roger Burnley for two years before the plans were made public. He was left red-faced when he was caught singing show tune We're In The Money between television interviews when the deal was finally announced a year ago. Sainsbury's recruited former RSA Insurance boss Martin Scicluna to replace David Tyler as chairman in March, prompting speculation that he could order a major overhaul of the supermarket's top team. Clive Black, head of research at investment group Shore Capital, said: 'If either Sainsbury's or Asda thought they could come to revisit this any time soon, then they were living in cuckoo land.' Shares in the grocer have plunged to a 30-year low amid investor concerns that it is struggling to compete against big four rivals such as Tesco, as well as German discounters Aldi and Lidl. Last night the stock fell further, closing down 2.2 per cent, or 4.3p, at 195.05p. Black said the fall proved that Sainsbury's desperately needed to come up with a plan to revive its fortunes. He said: 'That shows you how badly things have deteriorated and the market will be looking to the board to state how it expects to improve that clearly very poor share price performance. Sainsbury's full-year profits slumped almost 42 per cent to 239million after it blew 46million on fees and other costs during the botched merger bid. The CMA ruled that shoppers and motorists would be worse off under the tie-up, suggesting it would lead to price rises and poorer quality for customers. Coupe had promised to hand shoppers price cuts worth 1billion as part of the deal. The decision to block the deal was described by experts as 'uncharacteristically strong' for the CMA, which has been previously criticised for a soft touch approach to regulation. But the case was seen as the first major test for former Treasury committee chairman Andrew Tyrie, who was made chairman of the watchdog a year ago. During his time as an MP when he led the committee, Tyrie earned a reputation as the scourge of the City and a fierce interrogator of British banking giants. Asda owner Walmart is plotting to exit the UK and offload the British grocer through a stock market listing, 20 years after it was delisted. The CMA has given third parties such as rival supermarkets and suppliers until June 24 to comment on the draft order. Sainsbury's and Asda declined to comment last night. Pupils at a school that has faced protests over teaching LGBT lessons have written to campaigners saying 'don't disturb us when we are trying to learn'. Two pupils at Anderton Park primary School in Birmingham wrote the letter after protesters stood outside the school brandishing placards on Monday. Headteacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson tweeted the message by the pupils as the demonstration leader said their protests would continue this week. Two pupils at Anderton Park primary school, Birmingham, have written a letter to protesters which have been demonstrating outside their school against LGBT teaching Protesters: Please read this plea from two of our children @AndertonPark . Thank you . pic.twitter.com/AYjwSk6Bht Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson (@MrsSHC) May 22, 2019 Headteacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson at Anderton Park primary school in Birmingham tweeted the letter written by two students to the protesters The letter says: 'We are unhappy because you are being rude to all of the students and teachers, especially our headteacher. 'So please don't disturb us when we are trying to learn and don't lie to us. Thank you.' Ms Hewitt-Clarkson posted the letter with the message 'Protesters: Please read this plea.' Protesters have been photographed holding banners saying 'My kids, my choice' and 'we have a say in what they learn'. On Tuesday, West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson said there was no place for lawful or unlawful protests outside primary schools. Protesters disrupted lessons at the school on Monday holding placards outside which read 'We have a say in what they learn' Another protester was also pictured holding a sign that read 'my child, my choice' Parents, children and protesters demonstrated at Anderton Park primary School over the teaching of LGBT lessons The main organiser of the protests has said demonstrations will go ahead this week unless the approach to relationship education is halted for further talks with the school. Mr Thompson expressed his 'increasing concern' over the rhetoric of the demonstrations, and said a number of criminal offences had been committed outside the school since Sunday night. The force received reports at 9.30pm on Sunday of assault and criminal damage on Dennis Road in Moseley, as well as reports of malicious communications received by the school on Thursday. It came after counter-demonstrators were reportedly egged, after hanging up signs and placards on the schools gate, some of which read 'love is the answer'. There has been a police presence near the school. On Tuesday West Midlands Police said there was no place for protests outside a primary school Anderton Park primary school has faced protests since announcing it will teach LGBT lessons So please dont disturb us when we are trying to learn and dont lie to us. Thank you. Two teachers from another school had written a letter to Ms Hewitt-Clarkson, expressing their support for her. The short letter, also tweeted by Ms Hewitt-Clarkson, read: We are both teachers with 40 plus years in the classroom between us. We are appalled by the way you have been treated for simply doing a professional job on equalities. The city council has also said it is looking into whether it can use a public space protection order to move demonstrations away from the school. This is the heart-breaking moment a girl knelt on the street in front of several traffic policemen to beg them not to beat her father in China. The nine-year-old child from the city of Guangzhou also used her own body to shield her father after officers appeared to have savagely pushed him to the ground. The officers allegedly accused the father of interrupting their work and breaking traffic rules. Footage released by Guangdong Radio and Broadcasting Group shows the girl using her own body to shield her father (left) before begging the police officers to stop attacking him (right) The altercation took place in Guangzhou, one of China's most international cities and a provincial capital of more than 14 million people. It occurred last Friday in the Conghua District, according to a report from Guangdong Radio and Broadcasting Group. The father told a reporter that policemen were trying to detain him because he had parked his car in a spot deemed 'inconvenient' by them while they were investigating a minor road accident. Footage released by the station shows a crying girl wearing a white top and red shorts desperately trying to separate two policemen and a man. The man, wearing a blue shirt, had been tackled and pressed against the ground by the officers, the footage shows. 'Dad! Dad!' The girl can be heard screaming. 'Please don't beat my dad! I beg you!' The girl said before kneeling on the floor in front of officers, witnessed by passersby. 'Really, please don't!' She repeated. The father (pictured) told a reporter the police accused him of interrupting their work and then claimed he had broken traffic rules. The altercation happened when officers tried to detain him The father, known by his surname He, said on that day he was driving his daughter home from school and saw one of his acquaintances on the street. The acquaintance had been involved in a road accident, therefore Mr He parked his car by the side of the road and went over to see if he could offer help. But police officers soon arrived and accused Mr He of leaving his vehicle in the wrong place. Police allegedly said Mr He's car caused interruption to their work and the two parties started arguing. Mr He said he went back to his car, put on the safety belt and was ready to leave, but then the officers demanded he show them his driving license and insurance paperwork. After Mr he showed them both, the officers then ask Mr He to unbuckle his safety belt for further inspection. But the father said as soon as he removed the belt, the officers said he had broken traffic rules for not wearing a safety belt. The officers launched a physical attack after Mr He swore at them, the father said. The incident took place in Guangzhou (pictured), one of China's most international cities Mr He was allegedly assaulted in front of his daughter, who was crying and screaming. 'My daughter was terrified,' Mr He told Guangdong Radio and Broadcasting Group. 'But she is so smart and obedient. She was trying to protect me throughout [the process],' he added. 'It pained me to see it. She knelt so many times.' Mr He was said to be released by police after onlookers separated both parties and calmed them down. He went to a local police station and filed a report on police violence. Speaking to the press, Guangzhou police authority confirmed that Mr He had interrupted police work. The authority said Mr He refused to leave the site - despite officers had repeatedly asked him to. The authority added that both parties were injured in the altercation. It said it had launched an investigation to see if the officers had violated any rules. Wendy Williams is shopping her tell-all story to major TV networks, demanding an hour-long, prime-time slot, DailyMailTV can exclusively reveal. Wendy's quest comes as the future of her own show is uncertain - she has stopped attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, leading to fears of a relapse, say show insiders. The scandal plagued daytime talk show host, who is divorcing her cheating husband Kevin Hunter and publicly battling alcohol abuse, wants to capitalize on her recent troubles and create a positive buzz around her and her show. Adding even more drama to her personal life, Wendy's son who she shares with Hunter, Kevin Hunter Jr, 19, was arrested for assault on Tuesday night after punching Hunter in the face following an argument over the couple's divorce. Williams has approached all the big players, including ABC, NBC and Oprah's OWN, and her offer of an emotional no holds barred interview is being considered, according to several network sources. But one network source told DailyMailTV the sticking point is Williams' demand for an hour-long prime time slot. Wendy Williams and son Kevin Williams Jr. are all smiles while they leave her Chelsea studios hand in hand in a show of solidarity two days after his arrest for allegedly punching his father Wendy Williams wants to capitalize on her recent troubles and create a positive buzz around her and her show by selling her tell-all story to a TV network The scandal hit daytime talk show host, who is divorcing her cheating husband Kevin Hunter and publicly battling alcohol abuse, wants to capitalize on her recent troubles and create a positive buzz around her and her show Wendy shopping her tell-all story comes as The Wendy Williams Show has been plunged into chaos in the aftermath of her public addiction crisis and split with Hunter. She filed for divorce from Hunter in April after the revelation his mistress Sharina Hudson gave birth to a girl The source said: 'Her people wanted a morning show initially but then the idea came along for her to get an hour long prime time slot, which most of the networks have balked at. 'An hour of Wendy time is a lot of time. Gayle King didn't even give R Kelly an hour. The other concern for the networks is which of their star names would sit down with her.' DailyMailTV has also learned The Wendy Williams Show has been plunged into chaos in the aftermath of her public addiction crisis and split with Hunter and his departure from the show. 'Say what you will about Kevin,' one show source told DailyMailTV,' but he ran a tight ship.' A show source told DailyMailTV that Williams has also stopped attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, sparking more concern for her well being. At her talk show, Williams is said to be cleaning house with a string of show executives leaving and insiders claim the atmosphere has turned 'toxic' since Hunter was kicked out. Long time co-executive producer Talia Parkinson-Jones is one senior executive who was recently reported as departing, with others soon to follow. Williams, 54, has also picked up a new manager and assistant in a bid to start fresh. The unrest has sparked rumors on set over the future of The Wendy Williams Show with its current contract expiring in the summer of 2020. Show insiders tell DailyMailTV that a decision to renew the show beyond next year would typically have been made already, but Fox appears to be stalling. It's understood network chiefs are concerned that Williams could relapse, costing them losses. And Wendy's story just got juicer. On Tuesday night, her son with Hunter Kevin Hunter Jr, 19, was arrested for assault after he allegedly punched his father in the face. Pictured: Wendy and Kevin Jr on April 19 Williams looked tired while leaving her apartment in New York City to head to her studio on Thursday. She hasn't comment on the news her son was arrested after a fight with his dad Williams' show went on an indefinite hiatus in January and February this year due to what Williams claimed was a shoulder injury and worsening complications from Graves' disease. But DailyMailTV later exclusively revealed that in fact the absence was due to alcohol addiction and she entered a rehab facility in Florida. Williams' absence cost the show a staggering $1 million in lost ad revenue from major sponsors, DailyMailTV can reveal. One show insider said: 'Some major sponsors, including Walmart, had to cut campaigns because of Wendy's absence. 'The show lost $1 million in ad revenue. That's had a knock on effect and the show has had to cut certain people's salaries which has been a major issue.' According to sources connected to the show Williams' two co-presidents, Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein at production and syndication firm Deb-Mar Mercury, were in town last week from Los Angeles for crunch talks with the star. Staff members are also furious because the star's prolonged absence left dozens of the show's technical crew without pay while it was off air. 'People are upset and the atmosphere is toxic,' the insider said. 'People are backstabbing each other and Wendy's decisions are causing further chaos. 'Kevin was not well liked but at least he kept things together, he kept people in check. 'He also kept Wendy sheltered from the production staff but the change has sparked infighting, with many senior staff jostling for better positions in the company.' At her talk show, Williams is said to be clearing house with a string of show executives leaving and insiders claim the atmosphere has turned 'toxic' since Hunter was kicked out A show source told DailyMailTV that Williams has also stopped attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, sparking more concern for her well being. DailyMailTV revealed had entered a sober living home in March (pictured) The source added that a lot of staff members are concerned over whether Williams is back on the booze. 'She has been going out partying after work and comes into the show in the morning with her big sunglasses on, no one knows for sure but everyone is worried for her,' said one insider. 'The problem is Wendy doesn't think she has a problem, she never did, she just put it down to drinking too much because of the stress of her marriage breaking down. 'She certainly doesn't see herself as an alcoholic.' The source claims her attitude is also the reason behind the decision last week to dissolve the Hunter Foundation, the charity her and her estranged husband set up together to help people battling substance abuse. Reports claimed Williams decided to end the foundation because she didn't want to be associated with Hunter anymore. But the reality is she wants to distance herself from addiction recovery, the source revealed. 'Yes Kevin was part of it, but she said she doesn't want to be around ''those people'' as she calls the addicts the foundation was helping,' the source said. 'She doesn't see herself as an addict and she's scared people will refer to her as the ''recovery girl''. 'She also doesn't want to speak at any engagements any more, if she does she wants a fee. The source said a staff members are concerned over whether Williams is back on the booze. They said: 'The problem is Wendy doesn't think she has a problem, she never did. The source claims her attitude is also the reason behind the decision to dissolve the Hunter Foundation, the charity her and Hunter set up together to help people battling substance abuse 'Her view is that she can just cut a check and give it to people in need rather than having a whole foundation.' The Foundation was launched in 2014 and Williams and Hunter would hold food and clothing drives for the under-privileged, before shifting the focus to victims of substance abuse. Then they launched the Be Here campaign last year to combat drug addiction, setting up a website which is now defunct. Williams became the face of addiction with the campaign and earlier this year an addiction hotline was set up. Hunter said in a statement: 'Although The Hunter Foundation in its current form will dissolve, the important work will live on. I plan on launching a new foundation in the near future to continue the important mission in helping those struggling with drug addiction and substance abuse.' Now that the foundation gone and several people are expected to lose their jobs. The source also claims that after Williams announced on her daytime talk show that she was staying in a sober house and fighting addiction a statement prompted by a DailyMailTV exclusive revealing she was in rehab - Hunter took her phone away from her. 'Wendy hated not having her phone so she would try to steal staff members' phones to use them and would often get in fights with people,' the source said. DailyMailTV also revealed Williams relapsed in March not long after she announced she was staying at the sober house. Williams has been out in public frequently since announcing her divorce, with reports she's even dating again. On her talk show she revealed she went all night partying with Blac Chyna on May 16 after the former stripper appeared on her show the day before The source claims that on the day she relapsed Williams asked a security guard at the studio if she could borrow his phone to call an Uber. The source says: 'The guard gave her his phone and that's how Wendy was able to leave the studio, she ordered an Uber and sneaked out undetected to go on a booze bender. 'Kevin was furious, the guard was fired immediately, apparently Kevin had given strict instructions to staff not to allow Wendy to use their phones.' Williams has been out in public frequently since announcing her divorce, with reports she's even dating again. Most recently she appeared at Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss' Welcome to the Dungeon burlesque show in New York. And on her talk show she revealed she went all night partying with Blac Chyna on May 16 after the former stripper appeared on her show the day before. In April, Williams revealed she had filed for divorce from her husband of over 20 years Kevin. The divorce news came after months of allegations regarding Hunter's cheating, and the revelation he had fathered a daughter with his decade-long mistress massage therapist named Sharina Hudson. The Texas police officer who shot and killed a mentally ill African-American woman during an attempted arrest last week is back on the job but not the streets. Baytown police say Officer Juan Delacruz returned to work on Monday. He'll be on administrative duty during the investigation into his shooting of 44-year-old Pamela Turner. Delacruz was put on paid leave for three days following the May 13 killing. Lt Steve Dorris clarified in an email to DailyMail.com on Thursday that the three days off work 'is an industry standard and is designed for the officer to be able to start to deal with the traumatic event they just experienced and to make sure they are ok psychologically.' Scroll down for video This undated photo provided by the Turner family shows Pamela Turner, second from right, with her family in Baytown, Texas, where she was shot dead by a police officer on May 13 Footage circulating on social media shows Officer Juan Delacruz following Pamela Turner through the car park in Baytown as she tells him he is 'harassing' her Police claim Turner fired the officer's Taser at his groin before he opened fire on her She can be heard yelling 'I'm pregnant' before attempting to sit up, at which point the officer fires his gun five times This morning, community leaders, elected officials and relatives gathered at the Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Houston for Turner's funeral. The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy. A day earlier, a lawyer for Turner's family revealed that a private autopsy shows Delacruz shot Turner in the stomach, chest and face while a 'safe distance away.' Attorney Ben Crump presented the autopsy report at a press conference on Wednesday. He and Turner's family said Baytown police must be held accountable for the May 13 killing that was caught on video. Police have said Delacruz opened fire after Turner hit him in the groin with his Taser during a struggle. Turner's family has presented the officer as the aggressor, and they repeatedly said Wednesday that he shouldn't have escalated a confrontation with a woman he knew had paranoid schizophrenia. Turner, 44, a mother-of-two and grandmother-of-three, was shot in the chest, face and stomach, according to the result of a private autopsy released on Wednesday Antoinette Dorsey-James, center, cries while describing her late sister Pamela during a news conference outside the Harris County Civil Court in Houston on May 16 Chelsie Rubin, center, surrounded by supporters gather in prayer in front of the memorial at the Brixton Apartments complex in Baytown May 15 for her mother 'The police officer never de-escalated the situation ever,' said Crump 'Even when she was on the ground and he was a safe distance away from her he continued to escalate.' Delacruz was patrolling the Brixton Apartments complex on Garth Road and attempted to arrest Turner. Turner had three outstanding misdemeanor warrants for two separate incidents, according to Harris County court records. She was accused of criminal mischief and assault on April 25 after a manager at her apartment complex told police that Turner scratched her face and broke her glasses during a confrontation over an eviction notice. On May 2, court records show, Turner was again accused of criminal mischief for damaging the back window of a woman's car. Following her May 2 arrest, Turner was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to court records. In a video recorded by a witness and posted on social media, Delacruz can be seen standing over Turner and reaching down to try to grab her arms. Turner, who is lying on the ground outside her apartment complex in Baytown, yells 'I'm pregnant.' Ahsaki Chachere arranges flowers May 15 at the memorial for Pamela Turner at The Brixton Apartments complex in Baytown, Texas Moments later, something flashes as she reaches her arm out toward the officer. Suddenly, he pulls away from Turner, steps back and fires five gunshots. Crump said Wednesday that the private autopsy found no evidence of Turner having been pregnant. Soon after the shooting, police said she was not pregnant, citing the medical examiner's office in Harris County The medical examiner's office has not released Turner's official autopsy report. It ruled her death a homicide. Iran's youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed. 'You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel,' Khamenei said in a meeting with students. He gave no further details. Tensions have spiked between Iran and the United States after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. Iran's youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pictured, has vowed Khamenei said last week that there would be no war with the United States. Separately, Khamenei distanced himself from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in his comments on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran last year and reimposed sanctions, saying the accord did not address the Islamic Republics missile program and what he saw as their malign influence in the region. 'The way (the nuclear deal) was put into action, I didnt have much faith (in it),' Khamenei, who is the highest authority in Iran, said. 'And we repeatedly told the president and the foreign minister and gave them notice.' Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have been the main advocates of the nuclear deal within Iran's political system. Two weeks ago, Iran notified the remaining signatories to the deal - China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom - that it would halt some commitments under the nuclear deal, a year after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord. A mother has recalled the heartbreaking moment she realised the deadly influenza virus had claimed the life of her baby girl. Lucy Betts was a happy and placid baby just weeks away from celebrating her first birthday when she developed a temperature in 2017. Her mother Lauren took the 11-month-old to the GP, where she was cleared of any visible signs of illness and appeared to be settled when she went to bed that night. Ms Betts immediately knew something was horribly wrong when she went to check on Lucy in her cot the next morning. A Victorian mother has shared her heartbreak of how the flu claimed her baby girl. She now urges other parents to get their youngsters vaccinated against the killer virus (stock image) 'When I put my hand in the cot she just felt so cold and when I picked her up I just knew,' she told The Age. 'She was just a loving, beautiful little girl. She was her mumma's girl. Everybody who met her just loved her. She was just that kid who was always smiling.' A coronial inquest later found that Lucy died from influenza A complications and was among 1,255 Australians killed by the virus in the horror 2017 season epidemic. Influenza has claimed 26 Victorians so far this year, including three children aged three, six and 11. INFLUENZA BY STATE Influenza diagnoses from January 1 to May 15 by state: ACT - 312 NSW - 12,053 NT - 662 QLD - 10,506 SA - 12,885 TAS - 771 VIC - 4,627 WA - 2,420 TOTAL - 49,361 Advertisement Up to May 15, there have been 49,361 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, and 88 influenza-related deaths in 2019. Victoria offers free annual flu vaccines for children aged from six months to five years. 'A lot of parents don't realise that there is a vaccine for their children and that if they get the flu, it can take them so rapidly,' Ms Betts said. 'My only hope is that I can help save other children's lives and stop this happening to another family by speaking out about my own experience.' Victorians aged over-65, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can also get the flu jab for free. The flu is a 'whole of community' issue and can affect anyone, according to Royal Melbourne Hospital's director of respiratory medicine Associate Professor Lou Irving. Royal Melbourne Hospital's director of respiratory medicine Associate Professor Lou Irving (pictured) urges everyone to get an influenza vaccination to protect themselves 'What we learnt about the flu is that it doesn't just affect high risk groups such as the elderly or the sick, it affects young and generally healthy people too,' he said. 'In addition to getting the vaccine, prevention and isolation measures are also extremely important,' he said. 'These include hand hygiene and cough etiquette and staying home from work if you're experiencing viral symptoms. 'If you do get the flu, it's important not to return to work until you have fully recovered for the safety of your colleagues and our patients.' Influenza has already claimed 26 lives in Victoria this year, including three children International flu expert and head of research at the National Centre of Immunisation Research Professor Robert Booy recently told the ABC the figures are among the worst on record for this time of year. 'It's shaping up to be a moderately severe flu season,' he told Daily Mail Australia this week. 'Last year was a quiet season and as a result, not many people have experienced the latest flu strain. Time will tell but there is a long way to go to top the monster epidemic of 2017.' When NSW Health released the first of its weekly Influenza Surveillance Reports for the year this week, there were 856 confirmed flu cases for the week ending May 12, higher than the 812 notifications in the previous week. As winter fast approaches, thave been almost 50,000 confirmed cases of influenza this year NSW also offers for free flu shots to children up to five years. 'We've seen abnormally high numbers of reported flu cases across Australia over the warmer months leading into winter, so we are urging people to act now and get vaccinated,' NSW Healths Director of Communicable Diseases Dr Vicky Sheppeard said this week. 'It's important to act now because it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to become fully effective, and children under nine years of age having the shot for the first time require two doses, one month apart.' 'We urge everyone to get the flu jab to build immunity in the community and beat the flu bug this winter it could save your life.' A Qantas passenger claims he was fat-shamed by a flight attendant who said he was too large to sit in the exit row seat he had purchased. Darren Beales told The Geelong Advertiser he was asked to move from his pre-booked exit row seat in front of other passengers on Friday due to airline regulations, which say anyone requiring an extended seat belt cannot sit in an exit row. He claims when he questioned the flight attendant's orders, the woman responded brashly, telling him next time he should invest in a second seat. Mr Beales, who was on a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane, described the flight attendant as a 'bully' who had 'fat-shamed' him. CASA EXIT ROW REGULATIONS Under CASA guidelines, to sit in an exit row, passengers must be: able-bodied at least 15 years old able to understand and speak English willing to provide assistance to crew and other passengers in the event of an emergency Passengers who are travelling with an infant or child or someone who requires assistance in an emergency are not permitted to sit in an exit row. Advertisement 'She told me I was required to move due to 'air regulations' but then she turned around and said: "Next time you can pay for a second seat for half price",' he said. 'I can fit into the seat fine - I didn't need a second seat.' Mr Beales said he was left feeling dejected about the situation and was ready to get off the plane after the incident. A Qantas spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the airline's policy around who could and could not sit in the exit row was in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations. 'CASA provides guidance to airlines on the criteria for appropriate passengers to be seated in exit rows,' she said. 'If passengers are unable to meet this criteria airlines including Qantas will ask passengers to change seats.' Darren Beales (pictured) says he was fat shamed during a Qantas flight when a flight attendant told him he should have booked two seats for himself A Qantas spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia the airline's policy around who could and could not sit in the exit row was in line with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations (file picture) The airline's customer service department will contact Mr Beales about his complaint. Mr Beales also discussed his alleged mistreatment with Today, telling the show he felt 'belittled' by Qantas staff, and could have helped someone in the event of an emergency, regardless of his size. Under CASA regulations, passengers can only sit in the emergency exit row if they are able-bodied, 15 years old and are able to speak English. They must also be willing to help crew and other passengers if there is an emergency People who are flying with children or anyone who needs assistance are also not allowed to sit on the same row as the emergency exit. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Beales for further comment. An Australian veteran vegan activist has spoken out saying militant protesters who are targeting farmers don't really understand animal rights. Cameron Blewett, 46, said activists who storm steak-houses and farms should 'lead by example' if they want people to change and avoid aggravating others. 'As a vegan, I still live a decent life. I'm still a functional member of society. I wouldn't upset people,' Mr Blewett told Daily Mail Australia. The vegan commentator added activism is misunderstood and isn't limited to what we see now on the news. 'I buy plant-based products, I wear a very pro vegan shirt and I have a vegan tattoo on my wrist. All this is still activism,' he said. Scroll down for video Australian vegan commentator Cameron Blewett (pictured) says militant activists don't really understand the real meaning of animal rights Mr Blewett, a former animal hunter and shooter, became a vegan over 25 years ago before the way of life became a viral sensation on the internet. The blogger, who runs Vegan Police, told Daily Mail Australia common forms of vegan activism such as targeting meat-eaters and chaining themselves to abattoirs doesn't work in Australia. 'It's just how human nature works. If you put up a sign saying ''wet paint do not touch'', people will touch it. If you say ''don't eat meat'', they will do it,' Mr Blewett said. 'To a certain extent we question things. We want to test it for ourselves. People want to push boundaries to prove someone wrong.' He added well-known vegan activist groups such as Direct Action Everywhere, who follow popular protesting methods, are 'leading people down the wrong path'. 'They're only catering to a small, particular crowd,' the 46-year-old said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Direct Action Everywhere for comment. Mr Blewett said mainstream activists who storm through steak-houses and farms should consider educating themselves first (pictured: protesters at Sydney's Martin Place) 'Animal welfare is considering how animals are treated. Animal rights is recognising animals have the same moral rights as any other living being,' he said (pictured: protesters entering Lemontree Feedlot) Mr Blewett has urged militant protesters to 'work on yourself first' by 'understanding what animal rights are'. 'They should understand the movement. Where did it first start and how?' he said. 'Activists these days can wear a uniform, mask and they can hold up slogans but that's not enough.' He said militant activists who storm through steak-houses and farms should consider educating themselves first. 'What you're seeing now (the protesters) aren't animal rights activists. They are animal welfare protesters,' Mr Blewett told Daily Mail Australia. 'Animal welfare is considering how animals are treated. Animal rights is recognising animals have the same moral rights as any other living being.' Mr Blewett added activism is misunderstood and isn't limited to what we see now on the news (pictured: protesters entering Lemontree Feedlot) 'I buy plant-based products, I wear a very pro vegan shirt and I have a vegan tattoo on my wrist. All this is still activism,' Mr Blewett said (pictured: protesters in Melbourne CBD) Vegan activists convicted of trespass on farms, will be given a 'farm restraining order' under new laws to be discussed in the Western Australia Government next week. The current penalty for trespass in Western Australia is a maximum of 12 months in jail or a $12,000 fine. The new laws would give courts more power to punish people who storm farms, The West Australian reported. Four women and two men were charged with trespass and burglary offences at several Western Australian farms between August 2018 and February. A total of 11 vegan activists were charged for staging protests at a Yangan abattoir and a Millerman feedlot in Queensland in March and early April. A total of 11 vegan activists were charged for staging protests at a Yangan abattoir and a Millerman feedlot in Queensland in March and early April (pictured: protesters at Yangan abattoir) A New South Wales woman has been arrested after allegedly attempting to smuggle 2.52kg of methylamphetamine into Australia. The 40-year-old, who hails from Kingsford in Sydney's eastern suburbs, was to receive the drug haul hidden that inside a vase. It was sent from the United States. The street value of the package is believed to be nearly $2 million, and was soon seized by the Australian Border Force. Nearly $2 million worth of ice methylamphetamine was hidden inside a vase The woman was arrested on Tuesday and taken to Maroubra Police Station and charged with 'importing a commercial quantity' of ice. Strike Force Twickenham, a NSW Police-assembled squad that investigates drug smugglers, arrived at her Kingsford home at 11.30am on Wednesday. In their search, the strike force also uncovered $300,000 in cash hidden on the premises. The woman has not been granted bail. Labor's next prime minister isn't even in Parliament yet if history is any guide. That means Kaila Murnain, the first woman to be Labor's general secretary in New South Wales, could be the one to lead the ALP out of the electoral wilderness. At just 32, she is almost seven years younger than New Zealand's Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Like the world's youngest female leader, Ms Murnain grew up in regional areas that are normally conservative voting and has been a party activist since she was a teenager. Scroll down for video If history is any guide, Labor's next prime minister isn't even in Parliament yet. That means Kaila Murnain (pictured), the first woman to be Labor's general secretary in New South Wales, could be the one to lead the ALP out of the electoral wilderness When Labor lost the 1949, 1975 and 1996 elections, Australia's next Labor PM wasn't even in the House of Representatives, with Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd yet to win a lower house seat. Former Labor Party bosses in NSW have gone on to become senators and Right faction powerbrokers, with Graham Richardson and Mark Arbib serving as federal ministers, while Sam Dastyari was an Opposition frontbencher. On the conservative side of politics, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was the Liberal Party's NSW director from 2000 to 2004, in his thirties, before he was elected in 2007 as the member for Cook in Sydney's Sutherland Shire. Veteran Labor strategist Bruce Hawker, who has worked for premiers and a prime minister, said Ms Murnain's role as Labor's first female general secretary in NSW, since 2016, spoke volumes about her ability. 'She's a very strong person and that's important as a leader,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday. 'She runs a tight show which is also important and is very hands on - she doesn't sit back and allow everybody else to do the thinking for her, she's in there with her sleeves rolled up driving the agenda. They're all very positive things.' At just 32, she is almost seven years young than New Zealand 's Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured). Like the world's youngest female leader, Ms Murnain grew up in regional areas that are normally conservative voting and has been a party activist since she was a teenager Like Ms Ardern, who grew up in the North Island towns of Morrinsville and Murupara, Ms Murnain was also raised in the country, spending part of her childhood in the NSW central-west cotton-growing town of Narrabri. Both women moved to a big city to further their political ambitions. Like two former Labor PMs - Mr Whitlam and Paul Keating - Ms Murnain hails from Labor's powerful Right faction and is based in Sydney. She is also a political insider, which significantly increases her chances of winning preselection for a winnable seat. Mr Rudd, the last Labor leader to become prime minister from Opposition, worked as a chief-of-staff to Queensland premier Wayne Goss before being elected to federal Parliament in 1998, as the member for Griffith on Brisbane's south side. While party bosses and political insiders aren't necessarily household names with voters, they have gone on to win elections, as Mr Morrison also showed on Saturday night. Veteran Labor strategist Bruce Hawker, who has worked for premiers and a prime minister, said Ms Murnain's role as Labor's first female general secretary in NSW spoke volumes about her ability (she is pictured with outgoing Labor leader Bill Shorten) In Queensland and NSW, Peter Beattie and Barry O'Farrell achieved landslide election victories, one as a Labor leader and the other as a Liberal premier. Mr Hawker said being a party general secretary would be good training for Ms Murnain, a Right faction national convener, to enter federal Parliament as she presides over NSW Labor's ballot to choose a new state leader. 'As a party secretary, she's very involved in the nuts and bolts issues,' he said. 'I don't think either Peter Beattie or Scott Morrison were going around being larger-than-life, big-picture people when they were respective party secretaries. 'They were doing the things that are required of the party secretary to win elections.' Labor's new federal leader Anthony Albanese was himself the party's assistant general secretary in NSW from the minority Left faction before being elected as the member for Grayndler in Sydney's inner-west in 1996. Asked about her prospect of being a future Labor prime minister, Ms Murnain threw her support behind Mr Albanese. Anthony Albanese, the man favoured to replace Bill Shorten as Labor leader, was himself the party's assistant general secretary in NSW from the minority Left faction 'Albo will be a strong and unifying force as leader of the party, and we are all excited and ready to take the fight to the Liberals and Nationals under his leadership,' she told Daily Mail Australia. Mr Morrison, as state Liberal director, presided over an election loss in NSW in 2003 but was instrumental in helping former prime minister John Howard's re-election in 2001 and 2004. Mr Beattie himself presided over two state election losses as Labor's Queensland general secretary but that didn't stop him later winning four elections as premier during his nine years leading the Sunshine State. He also helped Mr Hawke win three federal elections in 1983, 1984 and 1987. Ms Murnain presided over NSW Labor's March election loss while only one of her party's federal candidates in NSW won a seat from the Liberal Party at Saturday's election. Political setbacks haven't deterred previous occupants of The Lodge. Darryl Ewing, the owner of the daycare, was arrested Wednesday night An infant girl has died after being left alone in a van for roughly five hours outside of a Florida daycare on Wednesday, staff said. It is believed that the five-month-old baby was left in the van outside the Ewing's Love & Hope Preschool and Academy at 5868 Lenox Ave in Jacksonville from 8am until 1pm. The owner of the daycare, Darryl Ewing, 56, was arrested Wednesday night on a child neglect charge. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the daycare at 1.08pm after the baby's mother discovered her body in the van, the employee explained to First Coast News. The five-month-old baby was left in the van outside the Ewing's Love & Hope Preschool and Academy at 5868 Lenox Ave in Jacksonville from 8am until 1pm She had called the daycare to see how her child was doing but was told by staff that the girl had not been seen. The mother rushed to the center and found her daughter, dumbfounded when told by employees that they did not know how long she had been inside. 'Efforts were made to resuscitate the infant and she was transported to the hospital,' police said in a release. The girl was transported to the Wolfsons hospital but she was pronounced dead at 2.53pm. As of 3.33pm, no one had been arrested in connection to the girl's death. JSO did state that the daycare would be held responsible and charges will be determined. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the daycare at 1.08pm after the baby's mother discovered her body in the van DCF stated that it would not issue an emergency suspension order to cease operations of the daycare facility, which has been licensed with the DCF since 2016 Authorities also shared that the 14 other children at the facility were not hurt. The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) shared that the daycare 'did not notify DCF that they were transporting children. Therefore, transportation standards were not being monitored.' DCF also stated that it would not issue an emergency suspension order to cease operations of the daycare facility, which has been licensed with the DCF since 2016. The infant's name has not been released. 'Every day, parents entrust child care providers with their most precious gifts. Tragically, today a family has just been notified of the gut-wrenching loss of their precious baby girl,' the DCF said in a statement. 'DCF immediately opened a joint child death and child care licensing investigation in coordination with law enforcement. We will continue to support this family as they mourn the loss of their baby girl.' When a woman in a nightclub toilet asked the person in the next cubicle for toilet paper, the last thing she expected was to be bashed by a stocky tradesman. That is what an 18-year-old New Zealand reveller endured at a Surfers Paradise nightclub in February 2018, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported. The Southport Magistrates Court heard how 23-year-old tradesman Alex Ian Rowe was inside the next cubicle with his girlfriend at the time, allegedly comforting her. When the victim asked for some toilet paper the court heard Rowe's girlfriend responded 'get f*****'. When an 18-year-old woman in a nightclub toilet asked the next cubicle for some toilet paper the last thing she expected was to be bashed by a stocky tradesman (stock image) This prompted the victim to storm out of her cubicle and demand Rowe's girlfriend 'say it to her face'. Instead a big, built and angry tradesman came storming out of the cubicle and began to bash her. The assault was so vicious it left the victim with a black eye and a split lip among a host of facial injuries. Magistrate Pamela Dowse said she was sickened by the Rowe's action - and that he was in the women's toilet to begin with. 'I've had a look at the photos of the girl, who was only 18 years of age, who has copped a number of punches from you,' Ms Dowse was quoted saying. Magistrate Dowse took all the facts into consideration and sentenced Rowe to 18 months probation and issued a fine of $905.78 probation to cover the travel expenses of the victim who was set to fly to Australia to give evidence 'It absolutely makes me feel sick in the stomach. 'She asks the person in the next toilet to pass her some toilet paper and this is what she gets. How revolting.' Rowe's defence lawyer, Campbell MacCallum, told the court his client had misinterpreted the victim's words to mean she wanted to fight him. Rowe pleaded guilty to the charge of assault occasioning bodily harm. Magistrate Dowse took all the facts into consideration and sentenced Rowe to 18 months probation and issued a fine of $905.78 probation to cover the travel expenses of the victim who was set to fly to Australia to give evidence. After the sentence was made public a number of residents took to social media to share their disgust. 'This guy should have been jailed no questions asked,' one angry user wrote. 'I'll say it AGAIN....our judicial system is a JOKE...seems to favour the guilty, time and time again,' another added. 'What the hell is wrong with people,' a third user wrote. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has sparked outrage from lawmakers after announcing that American hero Harriet Tubman will not appear on the $20 bill as planned for 2020. The US Treasury will not introduce a redesigned $20 bill picturing escaped slave and abolitionist Tubman next year, Mnuchin said on Wednesday. In 2016, the Treasury Department said it would replace former President Andrew Jackson's image on the front of the bill with that of Tubman by 2020, along with redesigns of the $5 and $10 bill. Democratic Rep Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, grilled Mnuchin on the status of the redesign of the $20, $10, & $5 bills proposed during the Obama Administration at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday morning. When Pressley asked Mnuchin whether or not the redesign will be complete by the 2020 deadline, Mnuchin said he was not focused on making any changes to their imagery. Democratic Rep Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, grilled Mnuchin on the status of the redesign of the $20, $10, & $5 bills proposed during the Obama Administration at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday morning When Pressley asked Mnuchin (pictured) whether or not the redesign will be complete by the 2020 deadline, Mnuchin said he was not focused on making any changes to their imagery Mnuchin made it clear that the 'primary reason we've looked at redesigning the currency is for counterfeiting issues' and not to change the current imagery in honor of one of the bravest black heroes in American history. 'We will meet the security feature redesign (goal) in 2020. The imagery feature will not be an issue that comes up until most likely 2026,' Mnuchin told lawmakers. 'It is not a decision that is likely to come until way past my term, even if I serve a second term for the president, so I am not focused on that at the moment,' Mnuchin added. Mnuchin said the new $20 bill features will not come out until 2028, but the $10 and $50 bill will come out with new features beforehand. He declined to tell lawmakers in the hearing if he supported putting Tubman on the bill. 'People other than white men built this county. And Sec Mnuchin agrees, yet he refuses to update our #currency,' Rep Pressley tweeted shortly after she grilled Mnuchin Barack Obama's former senior advisor, Valerie Jarret, also shared her sentiments about Tubman being featured on the bill President Donald Trump has called the inclusion of Tubman on the $20 bill an example of 'pure political correctness'. As a presidential candidate, Trump suggested Tubman would be better-suited for the $2 bill, a note that is not widely circulated. Trump has expressed admiration for Jackson and had a portrait of him put in the Oval Office. The Trump administration has angered several people who believe Tubman's rightful place should be on the $20 bill. 'People other than white men built this county. And Sec Mnuchin agrees, yet he refuses to update our #currency,' Rep Pressley tweeted shortly after she grilled Mnuchin. '#HarrietTubman, #MarianAnderson & #EleanorRoosevelt are iconic Americans & it's past time that our [sic] reflects that,' Pressley added. Barack Obama's former senior advisor, Valerie Jarret, also shared her sentiments about Tubman being featured on the bill. 'Harriet Tubman belongs on the $20. Not moving forward is an insult not just to the African American community, but to all Americans who believe we should honor an American who contributed so greatly to the nations history,' Jarret tweeted. Activist Bree Newsome Bass tweeted: 'The white supremacists running this country are not about to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill to have y'all contemplating racism and resistance every time y'all go to the ATM. Y'all gonna get that good ol' agent of genocide Andrew Jackson.' Writer Wajahat Ali also said: 'They're out here trying to erase Harriet Tubman but fighting for Robert E Lee statues. We see you.' The decision to put Tubman on the $20 bill followed a 10-month process of outreach from the Treasury Department on which woman should be featured on the note. Former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced the redesign plan for Tubman to replace Jackson on the $20 bill in 2016 as part of an effort to get more women on US currency. The plan was set to go into effect in 2020. However, Jackson would have remained on the back of the $20 bill. Mnuchin said there would be no change to the $20 until 2026, but Obama's Jacob Lew (pictured in April 2016) had scheduled a new $20 with Tubman for 2020 There have been no women depicted on US bills since former first lady Martha Washington, who was featured on the $1 silver certificate from 1891 to 1896, and Native American woman Pocahontas, who was included in a group image on the $20 bill from 1865 to 1869. Other women, including Native American interpreter Sacagawea, suffragist Susan B. Anthony and author and activist Helen Keller have been featured on coins. Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, has been criticized for his ownership of slaves and treatment of American Indians. Tubman was born into slavery and grew up on a Maryland plantation, escaping in her late 20s. She returned to the South to help hundreds of slaves to freedom and later worked as a Union spy during the Civil War. She died in 1913. Bodycam footage from the moment a New Jersey police officer fatally shot a suspect in the head during a car chase has been released as he was indicted for aggravated manslaughter Tuesday. Newark Police Department officer Jovanny Crespo, 26, is heard repeatedly telling the driver of the law enforcement vehicle that he shot Gregory Griffin, 46, whose 35-year-old passenger Andrew Dixon was critically injured in the January 28 incident. The male cops joined the chase after a female officer had reported via radio seeing a gun in the vehicle during a traffic stop at Clinton Avenue and Thomas Street. However the suspect took off in the car triggering a number of patrol vehicles to go after him around 11.20pm. Scroll down for video Newark Police Department officer Jovanny Crespo (left), 26, was indicted Tuesday on six counts including aggravated manslaughter after shooting dead Gregory Griffin (right), 46 As Crespo constantly instructs the police driver to stop the car so he can get out and reach the suspect the other officer keeps telling him to relax as he is heard breathing heavily. Crespo is seen shooting directly at the suspect car and into the driver side dark tinted window. During the numerous attempts to stop the vehicle and leaping out at various intersections Crespo tells his partner Hector Ortiz: 'I shot at him, bro.' 'Bro, he pointed the gun right at me,' Griffin - who had worked for the police department for about 18 months at the time - says once back in the vehicle. After exiting the police car again and firing rounds into the car Crespo tells his colleague he not only shot the fleeing traffic stop suspect but his passenger too. The male cops joined the chase after a female officer had reported via radio seeing a gun in the vehicle during a traffic stop at Clinton Avenue and Thomas Street Crespo is seen shooting directly at the suspect car and into the driver side dark tinted window None of the other officers discharged their weapons. A gunshot is seen in the car window He says: 'I shot him in the head' and 'I shot both of them.' Officers from other cars are seen pulling passenger Dixon from the car as Crespo demands he and Griffin get out. But Griffin remains motionless and Dixon struggles as they pull him up. Griffin passed away in hospital the following day. His young daughter 'cries every day for him' Griffin's father, Alphonso Whitaker, told WABC-TV adding his son 'didnt deserve' to die. Dixon was charged for illegal possession of a weapon. Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens says there was no substantial risk of injury to innocent persons when they finally came to stop near 54 Irvine Turner Boulevard and therefore no need for Crespo to have shot Dixon and Griffin in the head. None of the other officers discharged their weapons. No officers were injured. Crespo tells his partner: 'I shot at him, bro' and 'Bro, he pointed the gun right at me' On bodycam Crespo says to a colleague: 'I shot him in the head' and 'I shot both of them' 'It is the state's position that this officer's conduct that night was criminal,' a Wednesday statement read. 'He showed a reckless disregard for human life by shooting into a moving vehicle, a vehicle which had heavily tinted windows. This is the first fatal police-involved shooting to result in an indictment in Essex County in recent memory.' Crespo was indicted Tuesday on aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault, two counts of Possession of Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and two counts of Official Misconduct. If he's convicted on all six counts he could be sentenced to life in prison. Crespo was suspended without pay in February. He was held in custody Tuesday. The president of the Newark Fraternal Order of Police, James Stewart Jr, told NJ.com: 'The Newark FOP fully supports him, and his family, and we look forward to the next step in this process, which will be a courtroom, where a jury will hear the fully story of what occurred that night, not just a portion of the events.' Anyone with information on the incident can call the Essex County Office of Professional Standards Bureau at 1-862-520-3700. Officers from other cars are seen pulling passenger Dixon from the car as Crespo demands he and Griffin get out An 18-year-old man is behind bars after he was allegedly caught carrying materials for a bomb in his backpack near a busy shopping centre in western Sydney. Officers from the NSW Police Public Transport Unit stopped the man during a routine patrol on Church Street in Parramatta on Wednesday morning. 'During a subsequent search of the man and his backpack, police located items which were consistent with the manufacture of an IED,' a NSW Police statement said. A man was allegedly caught carrying materials for a bomb in his backpack not far from Westfield Parramatta (pictured) in Sydney's west Police also found jewellery, a mobile phone case, and earphones that were allegedly stolen from nearby Parramatta Westfield earlier in the day. The Telopea man was charged with possessing an explosive/gunpowder with intent to injure, armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, possessing ammunition without a licence, two counts of larceny and malicious damage. Samuel James Wayne Griffiths, 18, appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday afternoon, where he was refused bail to reappear in the same court on May 29. A police spokeswoman said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related. Inquiries into the incident are continuing. One of Britains most senior police officers sparked anger yesterday after admitting she was sitting on the fence over legalising drugs. Lynne Owens, director-general of the National Crime Agency, said she had no firm view on scrapping criminal penalties for possessing substances for personal use. Her comments will further fuel fears the police are going soft on drugs. Director-general of the National Crime Agency Lynne Owens (pictured) said she has no firm view on whether drugs should be legalised. She told BBC Radio 4: 'Im trying to deliberately sit on the fence because Im not a law-maker, Im a law enforcer so that is a role for others' Mrs Owens is the latest of a number of high-ranking officers who have failed to back a hard line on drugs such as cannabis, which are linked to mental illness, organised crime and violence. Questioned about decriminalisation on BBC Radio 4s Today, she said: Im trying to deliberately sit on the fence because Im not a law-maker, Im a law enforcer so that is a role for others. Mrs Owens said the NCA would be providing evidence to a major review of drugs misuse commissioned by Home Secretary Sajid Javid. Former Home Office adviser David Green (pictured) said: 'For her to sit on the sidelines is deeply irresponsible But former Home Office adviser David Green, now chief of the Civitas think-tank, said: I would have thought senior police officers, and certainly someone at the top of the NCA, should be advising the Government on the likely consequences of any change to the law. For her to sit on the sidelines is deeply irresponsible. The row comes after several police chiefs urged officers to be more lenient on offenders. A spokesman said the Home Office had no intention of changing the law, adding it would send the wrong message. A leading racehorse owner has been arrested for allegedly working with a baggage handler to import cocaine on flights from South Africa to Sydney. Damion Flower, the owner of prized horse Snitzel, was arrested at his home in Moorebank, south-west Sydney on Wednesday after police allegedly seized $8million worth of cocaine at the city's airport. A baggage handler, 50, and a third man, 42, were also arrested. Police allege the men were involved in a criminal syndicate importing cocaine in the baggage holds of flights across the Indian Ocean. Mr Flower, 47, was refused bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Damion Flower (pictured in 2018) was arrested in Moorebank, Sydney on Wednesday after police seized 25kg of cocaine at the city's airport Mr Flower (pictured with prized horse Snitzel) faces six counts of import commercial quantity of border controlled drug, a charge sheet seen by Daily Mail Australia shows Pictured is the moment police arrest a baggage handler, 50, at Sydney Airport on Wednesday Police found around $8million in cash (pictured) at a Hoxton Park home linked to the baggage handler Camilla Flower, the wife of racehorse owner Damion Flower, leaves Liverpool Local Court in Sydney He faces six counts of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug. The operation that led to his arrest was a joint mission launched in February by the NSW Organised Crime Squad and the Federal Police. Police believe the baggage handler would use his access to import the cocaine. The 42-year-old man was arrested on 15 April when police allegedly found him at the airport with a bag filled with cocaine weighing 27kg in his car. On Wednesday police arrested the baggage handler at the airport and allegedly found him with a bag containing around 28kg of cocaine. At a street value of $300 per gram, the total amount of the two discoveries is worth more than $16million. Police then raided six homes around south Sydney and arrested Mr Flower at his home for his alleged role in receiving the drugs. They allegedly found around $8million in cash at a Hoxton Park home linked to the baggage handler. On 15 April 2019, AFP officers arrested the 42-year-old man in the vicinity of Sydney Airport. It will be alleged a search of the man's vehicle uncovered a black duffel bag, containing vacuum-sealed packages (pictured) wrapped in black and silver paper, believed to be cocaine Pictured is the cash found in a home allegedly linked to the baggage handler, 50 Mr Flower holds a starting slot at the world's richest turf race, The Everest in Randwick, after spending $1.8million to secure it for three years. He came to fame in the racing world when his horse Snitzel won seven races in 2005 and earned him $1million in prize money. He sold a controlling stake in Snitzel, one of the most valuable sires in racing, to Arrowfield Studd - but still holds a share. Last April it was reported that Snitzel would generate more than $40million a year, after his service fee increased to $220,000. Snitzel covered covered 216 mares in 2017 and his progeny, including The Everest winner Redzel, have won tens of millions in prize money. Mr Flower (pictured) faces six counts of import commercial quantity of border controlled drug, a charge sheet seen by Daily Mail Australia shows Mr Flower (pictured in 2005) was listed to appear at Liverpool Local Court on Thursday Talking about his horse last year, Mr Flower told Racing.com: 'He is going better than I thought he would. 'He was a very good race horse and a genuine Group 1 sprinter, you've only got to look at the horses he beat and who beat him at the time. 'But in the barn he is a world-class horse.' Mr Flower also has shares in more than 50 horses trained by Brad Widdup at Platinum Park which he owns. A man has been charged with murder following a car chase and fatal crash that claimed the life of a father on a southern NSW highway. Police say a Ford Territory was travelling on the Princes Highway, south of Wollongong, when it struck a petrol tanker at about 2.20am on Saturday. Daniel Merrett, 27 - also known as Daniel Clulow - died at the scene. The 25-year-old female driver, believed to be Mr Merrett's sister, and two other passengers - a man and a woman also aged 25 - were rushed to hospital where they remain in a stable condition. A GoFundMe page has been set up by one of Mr Merrett's (pictured) childhood friends to help his young family with funeral arrangements after the crash claimed the man's life Police are searching for Holly Green, 25, (pictured) in connection to the fatal traffic crash on Saturday night Investigators believe the Ford Territory SUV was being pursued by a silver Toyota Corolla when it smashed into the truck. Detectives began a search for occupants of the Toyota and on Wednesday afternoon arrested two people - Andrew Russell, 34, and a 25-year-old woman. The man was charged with murder and armed robbery. He was refused bail to appear at Gosford Local Court on Thursday. The woman was charged with numerous offences not linked to the crash and was also refused bail to appear at the same court. Police are still searching for Darren Butler, 27, and 25-year-old Holly Green. Police arrested a man over the crash and a woman (pictured) on separate charges on Wednesday after they were found at a fast food carpark Members of the public are urged not to approach them but call Crime Stoppers. It's alleged Mr Merrett and the three others in the Ford Territory had been involved in a confrontation at a party earlier in the night. Green is wanted on lesser charges while Butler has a warrant issued by police for him for murder. Family and friends took to social media on Tuesday to share their grief on what would have been Mr Merrett's birthday. 'This ain't right, you should be home with your family,' brother Jordyn Clulow wrote on Facebook. Police arrested Andrew Russell, 34, (pictured left) and have an outstanding warrant for Darren Butler, 27, (pictured right) over their connection to the Albion Park Rail crash which left a young father dead after his car hit a tanker 'You're a Soulja (sic), you're my big brother, always there for me when I needed you, even though we had our differences at times we still was brothers.' A GoFundMe page has been set up by one of Mr Merrett's childhood friends, Joe Louis, to help his young family with funeral arrangements. 'I have taken the initiative to create this GoFundMe explicitly to help Kat and the girls get back on track with some financial assistance,' Mr Louis wrote. 'I always promised Daniel I'd have his back no matter what and when the inevitable were to happen I'd help make sure twins Kaydence and Kyarni would be ok.' Cabinet minister Rory Stewart last night broke ranks to demand action to save Britains post offices. The International Development Secretary became the first senior politician to throw his weight behind the Mails campaign to stop the threat of branches closing in their thousands. Mr Stewart, who has announced he will stand to be the next Tory leader, said post offices were the hub of the community. He demanded the Government continue subsidies a lifeline for many branches beyond April 2021, when they are due to end. Communities Secretary James Brokenshire also said rural post offices were the backbone of many communities. Cabinet minister Rory Stewart has become the first senior politician to support the Mail's campaign to halt the closure of post offices across the country The International Development Secretary has also announced that he will run for the Tory leadership when Theresa May resigns Theresa May last night said she recognised how vital post offices are to their communities, but stopped short of committing to new action to preserve them. The Mails Save Our Local Post Offices campaign calls on ministers to extend subsidies and ensure a full range of services are offered over the counter at branches. We are also demanding that banks pay their way for the services post offices provide on their behalf and that sub-postmasters the independent businessmen and women who run local branches are fairly paid. Mr Stewart, who was promoted to the Cabinet earlier this month, yesterday heaped pressure on Business Secretary Greg Clark to act. He said protecting post offices was central to what he believed in as a Conservative, as he started to lay out his pitch for why he should be leader. Mr Stewart has been campaigning to save a post office in his Cumbrian constituency of Penrith and The Border, which is due to be closed and relocated inside a WHSmith store. In an interview with the Mail, he said: Ive just spent a great deal of time over the last two months campaigning to keep the Penrith post office open. Theresa May last night said she recognised how vital post offices are to their communities, but stopped short of committing to new action to preserve them. (Pictured) Mark Baker who owns Larkhill post office in Wiltshire I started my own petition and it was unbelievable. I got thousands of people to sign up very, very rapidly to save that post office. Post Office Plc is arguing that it would be more efficient for them and cheaper to merge it with the local WHSmith, but they havent thought properly about disabled access, they havent thought about the way in which the post office is the centre and the hub of the community. 'They havent thought about the fact there simply isnt enough space in WHSmith to run a decent post office service. The minister added: I think we need to challenge the fundamental assumption that we are better off moving into these smaller spaces. 'I think thats short-sighted and we need to have very tough conversations with the Post Office... if you look at Penrith post office, it is a busy, well-used place, it is not losing money and therefore the solution is to really think about how to innovate in that post office. 'They could offer more services, be more entrepreneurial not give up on it, but invest in it. Asked if he supported the Mails demand for subsidies to continue beyond April 2021, Mr Stewart said: I would like the Government to continue to support post offices, and local community pubs and shops. I think these things are central to what I believe in as a Conservative, which is community. The cabinet minister said that when he started his own campaign to save the Penrith post office thousands of people signed up very quickly The Mails campaign launched this week amid an unprecedented crisis. Up to 2,500 post offices will close or be downsized in the next 12 months because of financial hardship, according to figures from the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters. Around 1,000 have already shut and more than 3,000 branches in remote areas are only kept running because of Government subsidies. The impending crisis will worsen the suffering on high streets, where 3,500 bank branches have already closed since the financial crisis began in 2007. The Prime Ministers spokesman last night said: We recognise how vital post office services are to communities with 11,500 branches across the country. That is why we have provided over 2billion of investment in the network since 2010, helping to modernise branches and ensure the Post Office is in its most financially stable position in decades. Since April 2017, the Post Office has opened 440 new branches as part of the new network location strategy. Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said rural post offices are the backbone of many communities and the Government is committed to helping them thrive for generations to come. He added: The Post Office is one of the most-loved institutions of the Great British high street, and we want to see post offices flourish alongside their local communities. 'Over 7,600 branches have been modernised and there are 200,000 additional opening hours to increase convenience for consumers. 'Millions of people across the country depend on their post office, whether its keeping in touch with family, paying their household bills or even for their livelihoods. ... As under-threat staff share pain The owner of Britains most southerly post office fears cost-cutting could leave his rural community without a branch for the first time in 121 years. Leonard Trott, 74, is only the fourth postmaster to run the remote branch on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, which provides a vital service for locals. Faced with health complications, he has been trying to retire from the business after running it for 31 years with his wife Lynda, 61. But Mr Trott has accused the Post Office of effectively killing off the business by slashing the 27,000 salary he earns to 6,000 for a prospective new buyer. We desperately need a local post office here, he said. Leonard Trott, 74, fears his branch in Lizard peninsula, Cornwall, which is the most southerly in the UK, could be closed after 121 years The former Rover foreman and lab technician from Surrey bought the business with his wife in 1988, believing it would eventually allow them to retire comfortably in Cornwall. But the sudden decline in the branchs income means that he has been unable to find a buyer and cannot afford to walk away. I would be retiring into poverty without the compensation. All our savings, everything we have got is invested in the place and all of a sudden that has been taken away, he said. I feel very angry and very bitter. We are just hanging on at the moment. Mr Trott wants to secure a new postmaster to take over the premises for his legions of customers, many of whom are elderly. Apart from the pub, this post office is the hub of the village, he said. The locals rely on us. Mr Trotts income had been decreasing in recent times until the closure of another post office around four miles away saw his business given a boost. But he said running the business has still proved a struggle, with declining fees paid by the Post Office and rising business costs. He added: It would be very sad to go from this building but I see no choice now. It is pretty run down and needs an awful lot done to it. I just dont see it surviving as a post office. Advertisement I have to borrow cash to pay the staff and rent Leena Dattani, 37, said she had been forced to borrow money to pay for rent and staff costs at her post office in Yateley, Hampshire When Leena and Ramesh Dattani bought a village post office nine years ago, they thought they were realising a dream to own their own business. But amid spiralling financial pressures, the couple are now on the brink of being forced to leave the business that they adore and which serves as a lifeline to elderly customers. Mrs Dattani, 37, was forced to borrow money using her credit card to pay for rent and staff costs at the branch in Yateley, Hampshire, over the last two financial quarters. She said: If that happens again I will have to hand in the keys to the Post Office and say, I cant do this any more. But they will happily say, OK, no problems. The postmistress said unacceptable contractual changes introduced by the Post Office means that the family can effectively earn as little as 6p over three hours during a quiet spell. How on earth are we supposed to survive? she said. We are not even keeping our heads above water. Mrs Dattani, the former regional director for a supermarket chain and her 43-year-old husband bought the branch when they lost their jobs during the financial crash. She said: Rameshs dream was always to have his own business and our naivety we thought that taking over a post office was what to do. She now travels 40 miles each way from the familys home in West London to run the business with both of her children attending school in the locality. Yately is a brilliant community and we are a part of that, she said. People who come into post offices are not just your customers, they become your friends. They become extended parts of your family. The last thing I want to do is leave. For a lot of the elderly customers, we are the only lifeline that they have. They come out once or twice a week to get their pensions and we are the only conversation that they actually have. She added: Its a very sad reality. By closing this down, it is more than a post office that you are taking away. But if things carry on the way they are I dont foresee us here in another 12 months time. Advertisement Tanja Ludwig has been viciously trolled after plunging 100m off a cliff with her two-year-old daughter on Tuesday afternoon A mother who plunged to her death from a lookout in Mt Keira, south of Sydney, has been viciously trolled online for taking her daughter's life too. Tanja Ludwig, 33, and her daughter Tilly, fell about 400m down a sheer cliff face at Robertson Lookout on Tuesday afternoon. Police are treating their deaths as a murder sucide. Ms Ludwig's Facebook page has been flooded with comments of sorrow, but also disgust. One man described Ms Ludwig's actions as 'a horrific act'. 'Disgusting and vile,' he wrote. 'My thoughts are with the father, RIP little girl... pray for the mother's soul, or what's left of it.' Another person said Ms Ludwig was 'a murderer plain and simple'. 'Its amazing how many people are saying sympathy to her- if this was a father who MURDERED his three-year-old daughter you would be out for blood,' the woman wrote. 'Amazing how a mother gets sympathy... every child deserves a mother but not every mother deserves a child.' Trolls have filled Ms Ludwig's last Facebook post, which was a list of helpline numbers for those struggling with mental health problems, with comments of disgust. One man called her a murderer, while a woman suggested the mother-of-one would be treated more harshly if she was a man The mother-of-one jumped off Robertson Lookout in Mt Keira, near Wollongong, after police were called by people concerned for her welfare. The incident is being treated as a murder-suicide Ms Ludwig has been called a 'murderer' for taking her daughter with her, and others have questioned the state of her soul Ms Ludwig and Tilly were found at the bottom of the cliff by emergency crews about 3pm on Thursday, and retrieved from the bush a few hours later. Relatives said Ms Ludwig had recently separated from her partner Ben Stone and moved into a new place with her daughter. The separation is believed to have been amicable, and Mr Stone's family said they are distraught over the deaths. A relative of Ms Ludwig's estranged partner told Daily Mail Australia his family was shaken to the core. 'Think about the person closest to you, and you found them at the bottom of a cliff... it's beyond horrible,' he said. 'Two beautiful human lives have been ripped away.' Some have hit back in defence, saying hurtful words are not getting through to Ms Ludwig, but instead are simply compounding the family's grief (pictured are flowers laid at the scene on Wednesday) Family members of Ms Ludwig's estranged partner were unable to explain the depths of their grief, with one man saying: 'two beautiful human lives have been ripped away' While Ms Ludwig has been badly trolled since her death, many others are springing to her defence, telling 'judgmental a**hats' to take their opinions to their own pages. 'How dare you come on her personal page and call her a murderer, one woman wrote. 'Have some respect for her family that have to read this.' In the months before her tragic death, Ms Ludwig had begun attending a meditation group, which met below Robertson's lookout. 'It was obvious Tanja was a spiritual person,' the founder of the group, Jenae Johnston, told Daily Mail Australia. 'Our last session, she was beaming and talking about her child... she said she'd see me next time.' Ms Ludwig had begun outdoor meditation classes earlier this year, and her instructor said the last time she saw the German woman, she was 'beaming and talking about her child' For confidential support in Australia LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au . Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 American Taliban John Walker Lindh (pictured in a 2002 police photo) will be freed from prison on Thursday John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban who is set to go free on Thursday after spending 17 years in prison, said in 2015 that ISIS was 'doing a spectacular job' after the Islamic group beheaded U.S. journalists. Lindh expressed support for ISIS in a series of letters he wrote from prison to a producer at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. Lindh, who is originally from Marin County, California, was asked about his reaction to ISIS beheadings of Americans, including journalist James Foley. 'We are in prison due to our beliefs and the practice of our religion, not for committing any crime,' Lindh wrote from the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, in a March 2014 letter. On August 19, 2014, ISIS circulated a video online showing the moments before the beheading of Foley, who was in Syria covering the civil war for Agence France-Presse and GlobalPost. Lindh, the U.S. national who joined the Taliban and was captured by American forces during the invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001, was asked his response to the beheadings of Foley and others and whether ISIS represented Islam. 'Yes, and they are doing a spectacular job,' he wrote in February 2015. In 2015, Lindh was asked to respond to ISIS beheadings of Western journalists, including American James Foley, who was killed in August 2014 'I don't think he should be released if he is going to continue to sow hate and terrorism around the world,' Diane Foley, James Foley's mother, said in an interview with on Fox & Friends First on Thursday morning 'The Islamic State is clearly very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation of establishing a caliphate through armed struggle, which is the only correct method.' Lindh's letters to KNBC-TV have national security officials worried that after his release from prison, he will pose a threat. In 2016, the National Counter Terrorism Center prepared a memo which found that Lindh 'continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts.' Government officials have read similar reports about Lindh in recent weeks, according to NBC News. Outrage is mounting on the eve of Lindh's release. Foley's mother appeared on Fox News on Thursday and said she does not believe a man who supported her son's killers should walk free. 'I don't think he should be released if he is going to continue to sow hate and terrorism around the world,' Diane Foley said in an interview with on Fox & Friends First on Thursday morning. Foley went on to say that anyone accused of 'incredible human rights crimes' should be 'put away for the rest of their lives' if found guilty. She commented on the type of justice she'd like to see for those who commit acts of terror against Americans. 'I would like them brought back to the United States and tried in federal criminal court so all their crimes can be brought out in the open, and they can be, if convicted, they can be held in prison for the rest of their lives,' Foley said. 'That's what I would like.' Others expressed similar sentiments. 'He shouldn't be on parole at all,' said Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and former Green Beret who served in the War in Afghanistan, in an interview on Wednesday with Fox & Friends. 'He should be in prison for life, he's a traitor,' Waltz said. 'We're calling on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to explain why he is being released early, and then we are calling on law enforcement authorities to be watching him extremely closely,' Waltz said. 'We need to keep a close eye on him.' Waltz is not the only lawmaker expressing outrage at the release of 38-year-old Lindh, who became known as 'Detainee 001' in the war on terror after 9/11. Rep. Michael Waltz, a Florida Republican and former Green Beret who served in the War in Afghanistan, blasted the pending release of Lindh The American Taliban soldier John Walker-Lindh is treated at an Army hospital on December 2, 2001 in Sheberghan, Afghanistan. He will be freed from prison on Thursday In a letter this week to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, two senators asked how he would be contained, citing allegations that he continues to 'openly' support extremist violence. 'We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh,' they said. Origins of the American Taliban fighter Lindh (seen in an undated family photo) converted to Islam after watching Malcolm X The quiet son of a middle-class couple living north of San Francisco, Lindh converted to Islam at age 16 after seeing the film 'Malcolm X', and traveled to Yemen in 1998 to study Arabic and the Quran. In November 2000, he went to Pakistan and from there made his way to Afghanistan. He joined the Taliban and was with them on September 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The U.S. attacked Afghanistan after the country failed to turn over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Lindh was captured in a battle with Northern Alliance fighters in late 2001. He was present when a group of Taliban prisoners launched an attack that killed Johnny Micheal 'Mike' Spann, a CIA officer who had been interrogating Lindh and other Taliban prisoners. Television footage of a bearded, wounded Lindh captured among Taliban fighters created an international sensation, and he was brought to the U.S. to face charges of conspiring to kill Spann and providing support to terrorists. This file image taken Dec. 1, 2001, from television footage in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, shows John Walker Lindh, right, after he was captured by U.S. forces Eventually, he struck a plea bargain in which he admitted illegally providing support to the Taliban but denied a role in Spann's death. Incarceration and early release Lindh is being released from the high-security prison in Terre Haute, Indiana three years early for good behavior in a 20 year sentence. He served roughly 17 years and five months, including two months when he was in military detention. Federal inmates who exhibit good behavior typically serve 85 per cent of their sentence. Lindh has been housed in Terre Haute, Indiana, with other Muslim inmates convicted on terror-related charges. The rationale was to keep those inmates from radicalizing others in the general prison population. Those inside the unit were supposed to be limited in their ability to communicate with each other, but experts say the reality is they likely do talk. Lindh is currently being held at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana (pictured) A former inmate who knew Lindh from the time they spent at the same federal prison said he never heard Lindh espouse support for al-Qaida or indicate a risk for violence, but he found Lindh to be anti-social and awkward around others, with an unyielding, black-and-white view of religion. The inmate spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wanted to avoid further stigmatization from his time in Lindh's prison unit. Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, a researcher at the George Washington University Center for Extremism, says that while in prison Lindh became close Ahmad Musa Jibril, an Arab-American who since his 2012 release continues to preach an extremely conservative version of Islam popular among jihadists. Lindh's time in prison has provided only a few clues about his current outlook. He filed multiple lawsuits, which were largely successful, challenging prison rules he found discriminatory against Muslims. In the more recent lawsuits, he used the name Yahya Lindh. Lindh was among a group of Taliban fighters who were captured by US forces in November 2001, just months after the September 11 attacks and the beginning of the war in Afghanistan. He is pictured here being led to a prison by a Northern Alliance soldier following his capture One lawsuit won the right to pray in groups at the prison in Terre Haute. A second lawsuit reversed a policy requiring strip searches for inmates receiving visitors, and a third won the right to wear prison pants above the ankle, which Lindh said is in accordance with Islamic principles. In the strip-search lawsuit, Lindh offered a discussion of Islamic rules prohibiting exposure of the body. If he's compelled to reveal himself, he said, he's also compelled under his religion to fight the rules requiring him to sin. What comes next for Lindh Lindh, who is also an Irish citizen, cannot obtain a passport or travel abroad while on probation. His probation officer asked the court to impose additional restrictions on Lindh while he remains on supervised release for the next three years. Lindh initially opposed but eventually acquiesced to the restrictions, which include monitoring software on his internet devices; requiring that his online communications be conducted in English and that he undergo mental health counseling; and forbidding him from possessing or viewing extremist material, holding a passport of any kind or leaving the U.S. Authorities never specified their rationale for seeking such restrictions. A hearing on the issue was canceled after Lindh agreed to them. Lindh is seen in this undated file photo obtained from a religious school in Pakistan The Bureau of Prisons said Lindh rejected an interview request submitted by The Associated Press, and his lawyer declined to comment. But there have been reports that Lindh's behavior in prison has created cause for concern. Foreign Policy magazine reported in 2017 that an investigation by the National Counterterrorism Center found that Lindh 'continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts.' Michael Jensen, a terrorism researcher at the University of Maryland's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, said it's clear the government has concerns about Lindh's mindset. 'For three years he's going to be watched like a hawk,' Jensen said. He said Lindh represents an interesting test case, as he is on the leading edge of dozens of inmates who were convicted on terror-related offenses in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and are eligible for release in the next five years. He said there's little research to indicate the efficacy of de-radicalizing inmates with connections to radical Islam, but he said the research shows that recidivism rates for those connected to white supremacy and other forms of extremism are high. John Walker Lindh, far right, leaves the Alexandria Detention Center in Alexandria, Va., before dawn, on the way to his first appearance in a nearby federal court in 2002 Lindh, for his part, admitted his role and his wrongdoing in supporting the Taliban, but he and his family have bristled at any notion that he should be considered a terrorist. When he was sentenced, Lindh said he never would have joined the Taliban if he fully understood what they were about. He also issued a short essay condemning acts of violence in the name of Islam that kill or harm innocent civilians. Outrage over early release Some have criticized Lindh's pending release. In March, the legislature in Alabama, where Spann grew up, adopted a resolution calling it 'an insult' to Spann's 'heroic legacy and his remaining family members.' In addition, Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan wrote a letter last week to the Bureau of Prisons expressing concern. 'We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence,' they wrote. On Monday, Spann's father, Johnny Spann, wrote a letter requesting that Lindh be investigated before he's released, citing the National Counterterrorism Center's investigation as his rationale for concern. Australians have been warned to rethink travel plans to Indonesia as political unrest in the nation's capital escalates in the wake of the presidential election result. Violent riots and clashes between protesters and police have taken over the streets of Jakarta since the election commission announced on Tuesday that President Joko Widodo had beaten former general Prabowo Subianto in the April 17 poll. Six people have already died in the protests while another 200 have been wounded, according to Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has warned Australians planning to visit the country to 'exercise a high degree of caution' in Indonesia overall, including tourist hotspot Bali. Australians are urged to rethink travel plans to Indonesia as riots in Jakarta escalate Those planning to visit Poso Regency in Central Sulawesi and Papua Province have been urged to reconsider their need to travel due to heightened safety and security risks. 'Indonesian authorities have advised there is an increased risk of violence, including possible acts of terrorism,' DFAT states on the Smart Traveller website. Further demonstrations are planned in central Jakarta in the coming days, particularly in the vicinity of the electoral commission office in Menteng, and the Election Supervisory Board in Tanah Abang. Violent clashes between police and protesters have continued for a a second night in Jakarta 'Avoid these protest areas. There are also protests planned in regional cities including Makassar and Surabaya,' the website states. 'A heavy police presence remains at the protest sites. Police continue to intercept protesters from regional areas.' The website also warns Australian travellers to avoid protests, demonstrations and rallies, which can escalate into violence without warning. DFAT had already issued a warning for Australians travelling to Bali, telling them to 'pay close attention to your personal security at all times and monitor the media about possible new safety or security risks'. 'DFATs travel advisories are kept under constant review. The language in the travel advice for Indonesia has been updated several times following the announcement of the Indonesian election results,' a DFAT spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. Six people have died while another 200 have been wounded, according to Jakarta governor Several other countries have also issued travel warnings regarding Indonesia, including New Zealand, the US and UK. The riots forced a number of public institutions, including cultural sites and schools to close on Wednesday. Some of the protesters who arrived in central Jakarta on Wednesday carried wooden poles while others had smeared toothpaste around their eyes to protect themselves from tear gas. Indonesian authorities say 40,000 police and army personnel are on duty across Jakarta to maintain security. Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has warned Australians planning to visit the country to 'exercise a high degree of caution' Most protesters appeared to have come from outside Jakarta and police found envelopes containing money on some of the people they searched, National Police spokesman Muhamad Iqbal told reporters. 'This is not a spontaneous incident, this is something by design. There are indications that the mobs are paid and bent on causing chaos,' he said. Prabowo campaign spokesman Dahnil Azar Simanjuntak called on 'all sides to hold back and not commit violence'. Widodo won more than 85 million votes of 154 million cast in the world's third-largest democracy. However retired general Prabowo has alleged 'massive cheating and irregularities'. Huge swathes of rural Britain have become healthcare deserts where millions struggle to access GP appointments and hospital treatment, nurses have warned. The ten million people who live in the English countryside are served by grossly inadequate healthcare, they say. And with GP practices, community hospitals and nursing homes closing, things are getting worse. While other parts of the NHS are turning to revolutionary online systems and app-based healthcare, patchy mobile service and substandard broadband means this is a pipedream in many rural areas. Ten million people who live in Britain's countryside are in 'healthcare deserts' where they struggle to get access to GPs and hospitals The Royal College of Nursings annual congress in Liverpool heard yesterday that ambulances can take nearly an hour to reach patients with life-threatening conditions. Elderly patients are being stranded in their homes unable to get to appointments because of poor public transport, while others face a 100 taxi fare and a 60-mile round trip to attend routine hospital appointments. And Health Secretary Matt Hancocks vision for the NHS to become a digital health service will fail as many parts of the countryside cannot get even basic 3G mobile phone coverage, nurses said. Gwen Vardigans, from North Yorkshire, said: Most city dwellers have a romantic view of country living. The reality for rural residents is very different if you require healthcare. Speaking ahead of a debate on the issue yesterday, nurses revealed their experiences of the struggling healthcare system. One told how a sepsis patient in North Devon had to wait 55 minutes for an ambulance. Another said she had waited with a patient having a heart attack at a GP surgery in Dorset for 45 minutes before an ambulance arrived. Community nurse Ali Purkiss, from Devon, said: It does make you think, you possibly wouldnt survive. She said cuts to hospital transport and poor public transport meant patients in North Devon faced a 100 round-trip taxi fare to hospital 25 miles away for routine appointments. Dawne Garrett, a community matron, said poor phone and broadband connections meant she could not access vital blood results on a home visit. The broadband is too weak. I cant download anything, she said. Mr Hancocks five-year forward plan for the NHS includes shifting healthcare towards more digital services. A Department of Health spokesman said: We are working hard to improve rural connectivity. Car hire firms have been accused of ripping off motorists by charging as much as seven times the amount of insurance they need. Some car companies were demanding up to 190 for a week's excess waiver cover against damage and theft in spite of that figure being double the cost of a car rental. On the eve of school half term, greedy car firms have pushed it to new limits by forcing drivers to take out three different protections on tyres and windscreens, car damage and theft. On the eve of school half term, greedy car firms have pushed it to new limits by forcing drivers to take out three different protections on tyres and windscreens, car damage and theft According to TravelSupermarket, some companies even made drivers pay for excess waiver cover on arrival. While this may not seem particularly egregious, it ties the hands of customers by offering them scant chance of buying insurance elsewhere. Emma Coulthurst, consumer adviser at the website, told The Times: 'It is a scandal that car hire companies are charging these excessive amounts at the desk.' The unluckiest drivers can pay as much as 579% more on one car hire site compared to another. Drivers will usually pay an excess towards the cost of any damage to the car and those hiring are advised to withdraw excess waiver insurance which can reduce excess to zero. The Seat Leon, a popular car choice for holidaymakers, was at the centre of another outrage when the same study found that Avis at Alicante airport charged 175.88 for eight days' cover A European study of hiring costs at car rental companies in European airports found that the highest charge for damage and theft excess was from Hertz at Barcelona El Prat airport. Researchers were told that it would cost 189.93 to insure a Seat Leon, even though the cost of renting the car was only 253.47. The Seat Leon, a popular car choice for holidaymakers, featured again when the same study found that Avis at Alicante airport charged 175.88 for eight days' cover on the car. Drivers will usually pay an excess towards the cost of any damage to the car and those hiring are advised to withdraw excess waiver insurance which can reduce excess to zero This was more than six times the online charge and virtually double the 183 cost of renting the car. Researchers lampooned other car firms for their excessive fees. Retail company Budget was singled out by the group for imposing a 66 charge on any claim, even when it included excess waiver cover. A spokesman for Avis Budget UK, parent company of both car rental firms, told The Times: 'Transparency of fees is of paramount importance to us. We provide standard cover with all rentals, as well as the optional choice of additional cover. Customers are always welcome to use their own providers.' Rules that force Japanese schoolchildren with brown hair to dye it black are facing a growing backlash, after a viral video. The campaign was started by hair care company Pantene and is called #HairWeGo What's Wrong With My Hair, and so far the video has been watched by 10 million people. It presents the findings of a survey of 1,000 children and teachers in relation to hair rules in Japanese schools, as reported by The Daily Telegraph. The campaign discovered that one in 13 current and former middle and high school students said they had been 'urged' to dye their brown hair black. The marketing campaign was started by hair care company Pantene called #HairWeGo What's Wrong With My Hair, and has been watched by 10 million people And 87 per cent of teachers expressed a need for a change in hairstyle at their school. The wider debate erupted in October 2017, when a girl from Osaka sued her school after she was forced to dye her brown hair. In the years after that Pantene launched their campaign which has now sparked widespread conversation and a petition on Change.org, which has more than 11,000 signatures. The organisers say: 'In this signature campaign, we will focus on 'the issue of the instruction of forcing natural hair dye black.' We will work on the issue throughout positive 'talk' with not only students and teachers but also an entire society. The collected signatures will be submitted to the Governor of Tokyo and the Chairman of the Board of Education of Tokyo, and we would like to help to eliminate 'the issue of forcing natural hair dye black.' The campaign also said 60 per cent of public schools in Japan require that all pupils submit a natural hair certification document that confirms the natural colour and degree of curliness of hair. In the viral video a number of pupils come forward to talk about the draconian rules. 'I was told to cut my brown hair or dye it black,' said one schoolgirl. 'Even after submitting a natural hair certificate, I was still told to cut or dye it. I wondered why I need to do this.' Another added: 'My school makes everyone submit a natural hair certificate. We have to write down what colour, how curly our hair is. I want to make sense of why this is necessary.' To sign the petition go here. A 22-year-old Oregon student died on Sunday after falling 100 ft from a cliff as she posed for photos with her boyfriend at a mountain viewpoint. First responders received a call at roughly 10.15am from Michelle Casey's boyfriend stating that she fell at the Neahkahnie Mountain Viewpoint off Highway 101 near Manzanita. He shared with authorities that Casey was taking photos over the retaining wall when she fell. A tree stopped her from falling into the ocean but she was badly injured and had to be airlifted to a hospital, KOIN reports. Michelle Casey's boyfriend called police on Sunday morning stating that she fell at the Neahkahnie Mountain Viewpoint off Highway 101 near Manzanita He shared with authorities that Casey was taking photos over the retaining wall when she fell. A tree stopped her from falling into the ocean but she was badly injured and had to be airlifted to a hospital She was said to be 'unconscious but breathing' at the time of her rescue. Casey later died from her injuries. Casey was an organ donor, her family revealed, and she was able to save two lives. She was said to be 'unconscious but breathing' at the time of her rescue. Casey later died from her injuries She had been a graduate at Clackamas High School, worked at Starbucks and was studying kinesiolofy at OSU Tyson Zagelow, Casey's friend, described her as adoring her family and enjoying her time in choir. 'I just want people to basically know that she's just the most loving person that I've probably ever known,' he added. Zagelow shared that he saw Casey on Friday. He continued: 'We just said hi and talked a little bit. I didn't hear from her from the weekend.' '(Michelle is) the type of person that you could be driving down the road and she'll make you roll down the windows and you'll be blaring a song, screaming it out loud.' Michael Barrymore still feels 'raw anger' that people refuse to accept he is an innocent man. The presenter, 67, is set to appear on Piers Morgan's Life Stories after a five-year hiatus from the public eye. Barrymore will open up about the highs and lows of his career and the arrest that nearly ruined him. The host was arrested in 2001 after guest Stuart Lubbock was found dead in a swimming pool at his Essex home after a drug-fuelled party. He was later detained on suspicion of rape and murder but released without charge. Despite never being prosecuted, the Strike It Lucky presenter still says it destroyed his career and resents viewers for refusing to believe he did nothing wrong. Michael Barrymore (pictured in March 2018) still feels 'raw anger' that people refuse to accept he is an innocent man Piers Morgan told The Star: 'He had everything and then lost it all. 'He lost his marriage and career, and nearly lost his livelihood, but ultimately was never convicted in relation to any of the events people know him for. 'He feels raw anger that he's not been allowed to rebuild his career, because people don't want to accept that he was an innocent man.' A source previously told The Sun: 'Michael is a huge name for the show and bosses hope that viewers will flock to see him. 'He's had a very interesting life and, despite being away from the spotlight, there is a huge amount to talk about. Piers won't be giving him an easy ride.' The star pursued a 20million legal battle against police for his wrongful arrest, blaming it for losing 17 years of lucrative TV roles he believes he missed out on due to bad publicity. The presenter, 67, will appear on Piers Morgan's Life Stories (Morgan pictured on May 20 at Chelsea Flower Show in London) after a five-year hiatus from the public eye Before his career was derailed by the scandal, Barrymore was one of Britains most popular entertainers. He enjoyed great success with ITV, presenting shows like Lucky Strike and Blankety Blank. He believes that if he had not been arrested in 2007 over the death of Stuart Lubbock, he would have been a prime candidate for plum roles such as hosting Strictly Come Dancing. Barrymore's last television appearance was in 2014, where he appeared on the Jeremy Kyle show and opened up about his life in the spotlight, marriage and sexuality. He also admitted he had been 'clean' for three years of any drugs or alcohol. The ITV daytime talk show has since been cancelled following the death of a participant days after appearing on the show. A top rum distillery has decided to give expectant parents six months parental leave at full pay. Diageo, the maker of Bundaberg Rum, will roll out its new family leave policy for all employees from July 1. The company said it is setting a global minimum standard of four weeks paternity leave in all markets and a significant number of its businesses are moving to 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave in countries such as Australia and Singapore. Diageo, the maker of Bundaberg Rum, will roll-out its new family leave policy for all employees from July 1. It will give expectant parents six months parental leave at full pay Diageo announced a similar policy for its staff in the UK last month. It said parents in the UK are eligible for the fully 26 paid weeks regardless of gender and sexual orientation. Employees who adopt a child will have the same benefits. Diageo's chief human resource officer Mairead Nayager said the policy will ensure women and men are supported to have time with their new baby regardless of where they live and work. 'We are committed to creating a fully inclusive and diverse workforce and we strongly believe that businesses play a significant role in shaping the future of society,' she said. 'Global businesses like Diageo must make bold moves on policies and the environments in which their employees work to ensure that the progress people deserve happens.' A couple of white storks are reportedly poised to become the first of their species to breed in Britain since the early 15th Century. High up on an old oak tree in the grounds of Sussex's Knepp Castle Estate, two birds are patiently waiting for their three eggs to hatch. And when the chicks do smash their way out of their shells, they will also break a 600-year absence of storks being born in the UK. A couple of white storks (stock image) are reportedly poised to become the first of their species to breed in Britain since the early 15th Century Isaballa Tree, the estate's co-owner with her husband Charlie, said: 'She is sitting on three eggs and we feel like parents after torrential rain we rush out to see if their nest is still there,' according to the Guardian. While white storks will sometimes be glimpsed flying in the skies above Britain, the last known birth of a chick was 1416. But efforts by the Cotswold Wildlife Park and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust - along with some private landowners - to reintroduce the bird into the country is on the verge of successfully engineering a breakthrough breeding. While white storks (stock image) will sometimes be glimpsed flying in the skies above Britain, the last known birth of a chick was 1416 The decision to select the Knepp Castle Estate as a home for the storks is because the breeding of this particular species is rooted in the area's history. The Saxon name for the nearby village of Storrington was originally 'Estorchestone', which means 'the village of the storks' and the bird still features on the town crest. In the grounds of the estate, conservationists have erected a six-acre fox and mink-proof pen to house a collection of white storks. The birds, imported from Warsaw zoo, originally all had their wings clipped to keep them in the area in the hope of attracting other storks to the area. A child murderer and rapist who considered his crimes so terrible he never applied for parole will be closely supervised when released in a few weeks, a judge has ruled. Phillip Wayne Lett's 26-and-a-half-year jail sentence is due to end on June 23 for murdering six-year-old Damien Luke Noyes in Penrith, western Sydney, in 1992 and raping a young boy between 1988 and 1992. But he won't be completely free after New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Helen Wilson on Wednesday ordered he be closely supervised on release and assessed by two qualified experts. Damien Luke Noyes, six, was abducted and murdered near his western Sydney home three days before Christmas in 1992. His killer, Phillip Wayne Lett, strangled the boy and ran him over in his car then dumped his naked body near a train station. He was five in this photograph The 54-part order also prevents - except with explicit permission from his supervisor - Lett from joining social media, leaving home between 10pm and 6am or going to a string of places where children frequent. Those locations include schools, theme parks, cinemas, libraries, museums, pools, parks and caravan parks. Justice Wilson, quoting a psychiatrist's report, said Lett did not ask for parole during his time in custody because he didn't 'deserve it for what [he] did'. Dr Scott Clark had also observed that the defendant appeared anxious about the end of his sentence and had said he didn't want to leave custody as he 'feels safe there from drugs, alcohol and his anger', the judge said. Justice Wilson said there was no question Lett's crimes were 'gravely serious' but he had done all asked of him in custody to address his conduct. Phillip Wayne Lett's (pictured) 26-and-a-half-year jail sentence is due to end on June 23. A judge has ruled he will be closely supervised when released in a few weeks 'Insofar as a sentence of imprisonment can rehabilitate a prisoner who has committed terrible crimes of the nature committed by the defendant, he has achieved that level of rehabilitation,' she said. However, she noted the highly regulated prison life was quite different to being in the community. 'If the risk that exists manifests, the consequences would be too terrible to ignore,' Justice Wilson said. Lett, now aged in his late 50s, had argued his risk of re-offending had been assessed as no greater than average. Damien's naked and broken body was found dumped in a car park in western Sydney Lett was 32 when he snatched his six-year-old victim from a park across the road from his home in western Sydney before Christmas in 1992 while he played with his two younger brothers. Damien's naked and broken body was found dumped in a car park the day later, near Penrith train station. The child had been strangled with his underpants and board shorts, which were tied around his neck, and he was still wearing his sneakers. After strangling the child, Lett ran over his dead body multiple times. Lett was sentenced to 26 years jail in March 1994. Mexico's 'Hot Sale' Offers Online Deals & Discounts Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Currently, e-commerce is becoming one of the most attractive shopping alternatives for Mexicans, thanks to the benefits of being able to purchase products and services from anywhere at any time of day. To help more and more people become involved in electronic commerce, the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO) has been organizing the largest online sales campaign in the country since 2014. Called the "Hot Sale," this 4-day Internet shopping event aims to promote the use of electronic commerce in Mexico and highlight the many benefits that this medium offers consumers. This year's "Hot Sale" will take place from May 27-31, with some of Mexico's largest online retail companies and e-commerce sites, including Home Depot, Walmart, AeroMexico, MercadoLibre, Elektra, GNC, Interjet, Telmex, Telcel, Costco, MacStore, Comex, Office Depot, Dell, PayPal, Groupon, Ebay, Liverpool, Cinepolis, Petco and Booking.com, among others, offers great discounts and exclusive offers to Internet users. "With the 'Hot Sale' event we are looking to bring in new users and motivate those have already bought online," said AMVO president Eric Perez-Grovas. "We know that people who buy on the Internet for the first time do it again because they experience the great benefits of this industry; according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, over 50% of internet users have made some sort of online purchase, and 97% intend to do so again," he added. With a format similar to "Cyber Monday," the "Hot Sale" is the biggest annual online shopping event in Latin America, not just in Mexico, but also in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. For more "Hot Sale Mexico" information (in Spanish) and the full list of participating online retailers, visit hotsale.com.mx. A fire that destroyed a One Nation campaign truck was caused by a cigarette - despite Pauline Hanson's claim that it was caused by a 'left wing' arsonist. Senate candidate Adam Lambert parked the truck and was shopping when the vehicle went up in flames at the Shoreline Shopping Centre car park in Hobart at 5pm on Sunday. A furious Ms Hanson claimed the billboard truck, emblazoned with her face, was set alight by a radical arsonist who 'torched' the car and was seen fleeing. But the fire 'was most likely caused by an ember from a discarded cigarette', Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) investigators said today. But the fire 'was most likely caused by an ember from a discarded cigarette', Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) investigators said today (stock image) Police said investigators 'have determined there is no evidence to suggest a crime has been committed'. CCTV footage showed no one near the vehicle despite Hanson's claim that 'someone was seen torching it before fleeing'. No ignition source or fault with the vehicle was found by investigators. 'It is amazing how the left call for tolerance but act like they're above the law when you don't agree with their ideologies,' Ms Hanson tweeted at the time. 'This is what the left do to conservative parties.' Hanson claimed the billboard truck emblazoned with her face was set alight by a 'left-wing' arsonist who 'acted above the law' - but police refute the claim Mr Lambert posted a video on Facebook saying he walked out of the shop to discover the fire. 'If you don't like us don't vote for us, but for those magnificent supporters who have voted for us, this is a little more encouragement on how we have to work a bit harder for you guys next time,' he said. It took three fire crews to extinguish the blaze after a bar worker from a nearby pub called police after noticing the flames just after 5pm. A passersby from the shopping centre said they heard an explosion that 'sounded like a petrol bomb.' Hanson also took the opportunity to call out people who allegedly bashed a One Nation volunteer in Western Australia on Saturday. 'Yesterday one of our volunteers was bashed and called a 'white dog' because he asked a man to stop wrecking our signs in Cowan. A man will spend at least 14 years behind bars after he bashed a pensioner to death before stuffing his rotting body in a surfboard bag and hiding it in a communal laundry. Mark Kenneth Jenkin, 47, was found guilty last year of the manslaughter of Mark Dower, 56, who was staying at his housing commission unit in the Wollongong suburb of Mangerton south of Sydney. Mr Dover was bashed so severely over a period of days in March 2015 that a tooth was found in his stomach, along with broken ribs, fractures to his upper jaw, a bleed on the brain and 'severe trauma' to the front of his mouth. Jenkin was also found guilty of conspiring to murder a witness who had seen Mr Dower's body lying in the bathtub of Jenkin's home. Mark Dower (pictured) was bashed to death in 2015 before his body was put in a surfboard bag and thrown off a second storey balcony. Police found his decomposed body three weeks later In the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Thursday, Jenkin was sentenced to 19 years with a non-parole period of 14 years for the 'extremely serious' offences. Justice Peter Hamill cited Jenkin's criminal past as he described his risk of future violent offending was 'significant', news.com.au reported. 'I was not satisfied that Jenkin formed an intention to kill nor inflict grievous bodily harm,' Justice Hamill told the court. 'However, I found that the deliberate unlawful assault by Jenkin during March 22-28 substantially contributed to Mr Dower's death, and that he was guilty of manslaughter. 'His conduct demonstrates a remarkable lack of remorse and empathy.' Justice Hamill also read out a victim impact statement from Mr Dower's daughter, who described him as 'her hero' and 'the kindest man on the planet'. Mark Kenneth Jenkin, 47, has been sentenced to 19 years jail over the murder of acquaintance Mark Dower at this housing commission complex in Wollongong (pictured) 'She wants to laugh with him and hug him again. She is lost in pain and endless grief,' the judge read. He then added: 'I hope that in time the pain leaves, although I don't know that it will.' The judge also thanked Mr Dower's friends for keeping a 'quiet vigil' during court proceedings, the Illawarra Mercury reported. 'All human life is sacred. Almost every homicide has devastating impact on those affected by it,' Justice Hamill said. During Jenkin's judge-only trial last year, the court heard how Mr Dower was assaulted over a period of days in late March 2015 before his body was put in a surfboard bag and thrown from a two-storey balcony. It was then hidden in the communal laundry at the housing commission block for several weeks. Mark Dower's body was found in a surfboard bag hidden in a communal laundry (pictured) Residents complained of a 'strong putrifying odour' before police made the grisly discovery on April 16, 2015. Senior Constable Pep Reid told the court a surfboard sock in the laundry was wet with a 'foul-smelling fluid'. 'There was fluids and maggots all around that area,' she told the court. 'I saw a hand through the tear and the skin was black.' The Crown also submitted videos from Jenkin's phone as evidence. Jenkin could be heard in one video in a bathroom verbally abusing Mr Dower- who at that point was injured, frail and had defecated. The court also heard how Mr Dower, 56, had turned to alcohol after the sudden deaths of wife and father and had no fixed address in the lead-up to his own death. Mr Dower received welfare payments from both Australia and Finland after working as an English teacher in Europe since about 1980. Jenkin will be eligible for parole in 2030. A retired New York Police Department vice detective and his wife have admitted to running a prostitution and gambling ring that allegedly involved seven police officers. Prosecutors say Ludwig Paz, 51, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to attempted enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution. He is scheduled to get four to 12 years in prison when he's sentenced June 27. His wife, Arelis Peralta, pleaded guilty to attempted enterprise corruption and was immediately sentenced to 364 days in jail. Prosecutors say the Queens couple operated brothels in Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau Counties and numerous gambling rooms set up inside beauty parlors and other businesses. NYPD Vice Detective Ludwig Paz, 51, (left), and wife Arelis Peralta, 43, (right), pleaded guilty to running a prostitution and gambling ring that netted $2 million per year Arelis Peralta and Ludwig Paz used the cash to fund a lavish lifestyle - seen above on vacation They are said to have run seven of eight brothels between September 2016 and 2017. The arrested officers are accused of helping Paz operate the illicit businesses by providing confidential information, including the timing of raids and undercover operations. They gave him enough information to foil raids and undercover busts, in exchange for cash or discounted encounters with his prostitutes, according to prosecutors. After the pleas Queens District Attorney John Ryan told the New York Post: 'I want to commend the NYPDs Internal Affairs Bureau and members of this office's Organized Crime and Rackets and Integrity Bureaus for their hard work and dedication in closing down the defendant's illegal businesses.' Ludwig Paz, (left), pleaded guilty to attempted enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution. His wife Arelis Peralta, (right), pleaded guilty to attempted enterprise corruption and was immediately sentenced to 364 days in jail Prosecutors say the Queens couple operated brothels in Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau Counties and numerous gambling rooms set up inside beauty parlors and other businesses Peralta, 43, helped her husband with the day-to-day operations, and led a gambling ring that ran illegal lotteries at several legitimate businesses. The businesses included a deli on Springfield Blvd, a hair salon on 243rd Street, both in Queens, and a beauty salon on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, prosecutors said. One of the officers, Vice Detective Rene Samaniego, pleaded guilty earlier this month to passing the couple information on police procedures and scheduled raids to help them escape arrest. Paz made sure any new clients who visited the brothel took off their clothes before they got inside, ruling out the chance that any undercover cops had come because police officers are not allowed to expose their genitals when dealing with prostitutes while on duty. Over the course of 13 months, the scheme allegedly pocketed them $2million. The brothels charged patrons $40 for 15 minutes of sexual activity and $160 an hour. One of the 40 civilians charged in connection with the case is pictured leaving Queens Supreme Court last year. The women with their heads covered are children of Ludwig Paz An investigation began in September 2015 after NYPD detectives received a tip-off about an operation. It lasted two years and involved wire taps to dismantle the operation The seven active duty cops arrested were; Rene Samaniego, 43, Sergeant Carlos Cruz, 41, Giovanny Rojas Acosta, 40, Sergeants Cliff Nieves, 37, Steven Nieves, 32, Giancarlo Raspanti and Sergeant Louis Failla. In total, however, 49 people were charged. The investigation began in September 2015 after NYPD detectives received a tip-off about an operation. Over the course of two years, they used wire taps to monitor the group and dismantle the operation. Paz and his wife have enjoyed a lavish lifestyle over the last several years. Social media photographs show them on South American vacations and in nightclubs surrounded by bottles of champagne. Paz, Samaniego, Cruz and Rojas Acosta were all charged with enterprise corruption. The couple enjoyed a lavish lifestyle over the last several years. Social media photographs show them on South American vacations and in nightclubs Peralta helped her husband with the day-to-day operations, and led a gambling ring that ran illegal lotteries at several legitimate businesses The Nieves brothers were charged with promoting prostitution and operating a brothel for the sole purpose of hosting a bachelor party. Raspanti is accused of providing Paz with confidential police information in exchange for discounted sex at a brothel, and Failla is charged in connection with allegedly assisting Paz following a brothel raid. Originally from Ecuador, Paz joined NYPD in 1990 as a beat cop working the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn Heights. After his promotion to detective on the Vice Squad, Paz had ample opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the world of illegal gambling and prostitution. Giovanny Rojas (left) and Rene Samaniego (right) are among the active duty cops who were also charged. Semaniego pleaded guilty earlier this month to passing the couple information on police procedures He had at least one child with his first wife Sonia when in 2007, she sued him for divorce, court records show. Paz retired from the NYPD in 2010, and it's not clear when he remarried Arelis Peralta. Police were first tipped off to the criminal enterprise in 2015, when someone on the force alerted investigators they suspected that someone involved in illegal activities was in conversations with an insider in the Vice Enforcement Division. The investigation moved slowly due to the need for absolute secrecy, to prevent corrupt cops from finding out that the operation was under scrutiny. Peralta's two adult daughters, who lived with the couple in Ozone Park, were also arrested in the probe. The daughters, Jarelis Guzman, 22 and Arisbel Guzman, 20, were released without bail. Court records show Arisbel has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and felony enterprise corruption. Back in September, neighbors said that Peralta and her daughters always had designer clothes and carried designer handbags. 'They had these expensive cars SUVs and Mercedes the kids were parking all over the place, blocking driveways,' one neighbor told The Post. The luxury cars grew so numerous that neighbors complained there was nowhere left to part on the block. The former Navy SEAL credited with killing Osama Bin Laden said that his commander asked a fellow sniper who was nearly as tall as the 6ft5in Al Qaeda leader to lie down next to his corpse in order to make sure they got the right guy. Rob ONeill, the decorated special forces soldier who shot Bin Laden during the raid on his Abottabad, Pakistan compound in May 2011, confirmed on Wednesday the account first given on Tuesday by Navy Admiral William McRaven (Ret.). During an appearance on Fox Business Network on Tuesday, McRaven recalled the immediate aftermath of the Bin Laden raid. The SEALs had come back over the border from Pakistan [to Afghanistan] and I was on a video conference with the president (Barack Obama), McRaven said. Navy SEALs asked a 6ft2in soldier in their unit to lie down next to the corpse of Osama Bin Laden (left) after the May 2011 raid on his Pakistan compound, Rob O'Neill (right), the SEAL who shot and killed the al Qaida leader, said It was O'Neill's commander, Navy Admiral William McRaven (Ret.), who used a tall Navy SEAL to confirm Bin Laden's identity The president asked me, Are you certain its Bin Laden? I said, No, sir, I need to go personally identify the body. So my command post was just a minute or two away from the air field. So I drove to the airfield. The SEALs were just arriving. They brought the body bag in. I unzipped the body bag and took a look at the remains. He obviously didnt look too well. He had taken a couple rounds. The beard was a little shorter than we expected, but I knew he was about 6ft4in. So I looked around and saw some young SEAL. I said, Son, how tall are you? He said: Well, sir, Im 6ft2in. Come here. I need you to lie down. First he had a kinda funny look on his face, but he quickly understood and, of course, the remains were a couple of inches taller. McRaven said he told then-President Barack Obama about how he tried to make certain the SEALs got the right guy. Obama jokingly told McRaven at the time: 'So let me get this straight, Bill. We had $60million for a helicopter, and you didnt have $10 for a tape measure?' So I went back and reported to the president that we still needed to do some DNA but I was pretty certain it was Bin Laden. I said, Oh, by the way, I had a young SEAL lie down next to him and the remains were a couple of inches longer. And the president says, and, again, it had been a serious night with serious implications, but it was a lighthearted moment He said: So let me get this straight, Bill. We had $60million for a helicopter, and you didnt have $10 for a tape measure? It was the right relief at the right time. ONeill appeared on Fox Business Network on Wednesday and corroborated McRavens account. ONeill said that he knew right away the SEALs found Bin Laden when they stormed the compound. I was sure going in - I was sure when I saw him, he said He said that McRaven asked a sniper in the unit to lay down next to Bin Ladens corpse. The tallest guy we had there was one of our snipers and I think he was 6ft2in and so Admiral McRaven asked him to lay down next to Bin Ladens body - which he did and that was part of it, ONeill said on Wednesday. One of the plaques that [President] Obama gave to Admiral McRaven had a tape measure on it. ONeill said that he knew right away the SEALs found Bin Laden when they stormed the compound. I was sure going in - I was sure when I saw him, he said. When I saw him standing up on two feet I recognized his nose his beard was shorter and white. But no doubt in my mind when I saw him about four seconds later that we just got Osama Bin Laden. ONeill said that people inside the house also confirmed that Bin Laden was there. There was a group of women that found him and they turned out to be - one woman in particular - 100 percent right about 100 percent of the people inside, he said. She was so frustrated saying If you want a shot at Osama Bin Laden hes on the third floor of this house right now and I dont understand why we are not leaving. ONeill noted that Bin Ladens youngest of four wives, Amal Bin Laden, confirmed that the raid by the SEALs killed her husband. The ABC has come under fire for claiming that climate change was voters' number one issue three days before climate-championing Labor was smashed at the polls. ABC News last week said that a survey on its website, the vote compass, had found the environment was most voters' main concern. The corporation claimed its poll was 'properly representative of the population' - but later admitted its readers did not represent the whole electorate. Despite their best efforts to promote the potential problems the mine may cause to the climate (left), many Queensland locals focused on the positive impact the mine will have on industry and jobs (right) In an article on Monday after the election, the ABC said those answering the survey were a 'self-selecting sample'. In the bulletin on May 15, newsreader Juanita Phillips said: 'Australians have told the ABC's vote compass that the environment is the number one issue for them this election.' The clip was uploaded to YouTube by a viewer with the caption: 'Listen to what the ABC's dodgy Vote Compass was telling us about what Australians were thinking just three days out from election day. 'This report aired on the 15th of May, providing yet more evidence that the ABC exists in an echo chamber of Leftists, rich inner-city elitists and climate obsessives and doesn't represent the views of wider Australia.' The bulletin said the survey showed that a majority of Australians from all sides of the political spectrum want action on climate change but disagree over how to tackle it. It claimed that 81 per cent of people want government to do more to tackle climate change, up from 61 per cent in 2013. The bulletin said that 96 per cent of Labor voters want more action while only 59 per cent of Coalition voters do. The Adani coal mine would be built at Galilee Basin (pictured), some 500kms west of Mackay Within hours of the polls closing on Saturday the smiles had been wiped from the face of Labor leader Bill Shorten (left). Labor senator Penny Wong (right) later admitted her party's stance on Adani may have made the biggest difference to the election result The corporation claimed it 'weighted' the responses to make the survey representative. It wrote: 'Vote Compass responses have been weighted by gender, age, education and place of residence to match the Australian population, creating a nationally representative sample.' The environment was clearly an issue at the election with both parties advocating policies to reduce emissions and climate change sceptic Tony Abbott losing Warringah to independent Zali Steggall. And, in the ABC's defence, people may not have voted only based on their most important issue, but rather a collection of issues. That being said, the surprising Coalition win appeared to show that jobs and the economy was more important than climate change for voters. Labor - which refused to give a straight answer about Queensland's Adani coal mine as they courted Green votes in the inner suburbs - was left without a single seat north of Brisbane. Anti-Adani protestors who travelled throughout Queensland in an effort to encourage locals to support Labor or The Greens (pictured) had have actually turned voters towards the Coalition The proposed Adani coal mine in regional Queensland is set to bring thousadns of new jobs to the region. With many small towns in north-east Australia battling unemployment, the prospect of a big new project is Debbie, a voter from central Queensland, told Triple J's Hack program post-election that there was much more to Adani than whether it was good or bad for climate change. 'It was a struggle for us in central Queensland, and I'd actually like to let people know that we do care about the environment, (but) it's not always an easy choice' she said. 'Some policies are so extreme with no real plan or solution for replacing coal as an export. 'We're talking about people with families and mortgages and it (mining) is their livelihood. 'A lot of the hype and the marches about hating coal and how bad coal is, when a lot of even my direct family are involved with the coal industry mean it's not an easy choice to vote for extreme change.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ABC for comment. A group of vegan activists who took part in a brazen midnight raid on an abattoir employed 'extortion-like' tactics in return for them leaving the property, a court has heard. Eight of the protesters who stormed onto the Carey Bros Abattoir, near Warwick on April 8, faced court on Thursday were fined and seven of them convicted for the trespassing incident. Staff at the Warwick abattoir turned up to work at about 3.20am on April 8 to find 21 activists, 18 of them chained to equipment. Scroll down for video A group of vegan activists who took part in a brazen midnight raid on an abattoir employed 'extortion-like' tactics in return for them leaving the property, a court has heard. Vegan Amie Louise Joseph-Hall is pictured Melissa Joan Donald (pictured) was another of the eight protesters fined for her role in the midnight trespassing at the Carey Bros Abattoir, near Warwick on April 8 Staff at the Warwick abattoir turned up to work at about 3.20am on April 8 to find 21 activists, 18 of them chained to equipment Police were called, with the protest group showing them previously taken video depicting the slaughter of livestock. 'A spokesperson told the manager of the abattoir that they would leave peacefully if he would supply them with three lives, being sheep, that they could save,' police prosecutor Kathy Clark told the Brisbane Magistrates Court. 'At that time, they did not offer any payment for the sheep and the manager agreed to provide the sheep to facilitate them leaving the place.' The farmer also had to pay his 20 staff overtime of four hours each due to the delays caused by the trespassing. Defence lawyer Mark Glaser represented all eight of the protesters and argued they were compliant and cooperative with police. He also argued that recording a conviction would hinder all of their chances at future employment, all eight already hold part time or full time jobs. 'No one damaged property, while we accept profits were lost... six of the defendants have no criminal history and the two that do are Ms Orr and Mr Miller and their criminal history is not significant,' Mr Glaser argued. One of the protesters, Lyndal Maree Carmichael, is photographed leaving the Brisbane Magistrates Court after being fined for her role in trespassing onto an abattoir and using extortion tactics Marilyn Orr (pictured) was one of eight people who have been fined for protests on Queensland agricultural properties last month A group of smug vegans activists including Amie Louise Joseph-Hall (left) and Scott Miller (right) who took part in the midnight raid of an abattoir employed extortion like tactics in return for them leaving the property a court heard 'Two of the defendants were not in the building and did not chain themselves, they made a conscious decision.' However Magistrate Jason Schubert said while there was a place for peaceful protesting the actions of the vegans took it too far. 'There's clearly a right for persons to hold peaceful protests. That does not extend to a right to trespass on to another person's property or interfere with their business activities,' Magistrate Jason Schubert said. 'The request for ... three sheep is effectively an act of extortion.' The eight activists were each fined between $400 and $600 after pleading guilty however none of their convictions were recorded. Seven of the activists - Marilyn Orr, Miranda Welsh Webster, Scott Justin Miller, Jessica Leigh Lunardon, Amie Louise Joseph-Hall, Melanie Ellen Hinckseman and Lyndal Maree Carmichael - were convicted and fined on Thursday Seven of the activists - Marilyn Orr, Miranda Welsh Webster, Scott Justin Miller, Jessica Leigh Lunardon, Amie Louise Joseph-Hall, Melanie Ellen Hinckseman and Lyndal Maree Carmichael - were convicted and fined on Thursday. The eighth activist, Melissa Joan Donald, appeared at the same abattoir five days later in the late hours of the night before calling police saying someone was trying to shoot her. Officers found her after an hour of searching in a paddock, where she told them she was 'there to see the cows'. Her camouflage clothing and two-way radio suggested otherwise. She was fined $400. Anthony Albanese has denied making backroom deals to make sure he is not opposed as Labor leader. The former deputy prime minister is the only name on the ballot after Chris Bowen dropped out and Jim Chalmers said he was not going to challenge. In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Mr Albanese denied persuading them to back down by offering them positions in his future shadow cabinet. 'Can I say that in terms of inclusiveness, one of the things I have done as well during this process is not tried to enter any arrangements with anyone about any future positions,' he said. Member for Grayndler Anthony Albanese at the Unity Hall Hotel in Balmain, Sydney 'If I am successful I will come into the position exactly that - as someone who has been elected and supported on my merits without any issues being raised, about future arrangements or any deals. I think that is really important for the integrity of the process.' Mr Albanese then delivered a rallying cry to unite the nation. He said Australians need to respect each other and respect the country's diversity. 'What unites us is much greater than what divides us,' he said. 'One of the things I intend to do, if I'm elected leader of the Labor Party, is to put forward a positive vision, positive messages, positive policies, about what I am for, rather than just what I am against.' Jim Chalmers on Thursday morning announced he will not stand for the Labor leadership, leaving Anthony Albanese the only name on the ballot. The frontbencher, 41, said in a series of tweets that he was not convinced he would win and that he has offered Mr Albanese his support. Shadow Minister for Finance Jim Chalmers (pictured) said in a series of tweets that he was not convinced he would win and that he has offered Mr Albanese his support Mr Albanese is now the only person in the running after shadow treasurer Chris Bowen dropped out of the race on Wednesday. Dr Chalmers is the shadow minister for finance and holds a PhD in political science and international relations from the Australian National University. Announcing he was not running, he said in a statement: 'I wont be putting my hand up for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party this time around. 'I spoke to Anthony Albanese this morning and told him I will enthusiastically support him and work tirelessly with our team to give Australians the Labor Government they need and deserve at the next opportunity.' He said he was surprised with the amount of support he had received from colleagues but said he did not want to be leader when his youngest child is only five months old. Fellow frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon on Wednesday said he has ruled out launching a bid and will support Mr Albanese. Bowen out: Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen MP dropped out of the race on Wednesday Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday he is being encouraged to challenge and will consider his options overnight Jim Chalmers' statement in full 'I want to thank the many parliamentary colleagues, branch members, activists, and people from the broader labour movement and from communities right around Australia who contacted me and urged me to run on a platform of generational change 'I have been genuinely surprised by the magnitude of their support and encouragement and I hope I havent let them down in making this decision. 'I gave it very careful consideration and I didnt take it lightly. There were good reasons to run. 'But in the end I couldnt be assured of winning, and if I did win the extra responsibilities of leadership would make it much harder to do my bit at home while the youngest of our three little kids is only five months old. 'I do want to play a substantial role in rebuilding, renewing and refreshing our Party and its policies after Saturdays stinging defeat, and as a Queenslander I want the best state in Australia to have a more prominent voice in the alternative government. 'I spoke to Anthony Albanese this morning and told him I will enthusiastically support him and work tirelessly with our team to give Australians the Labor Government they need and deserve at the next opportunity.' Advertisement In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Bowen claimed he would have won a vote among fellow MPs - but would have lost to Mr Albanese on the votes of rank and file members. He said: 'It's clear to me that I would have majority support in the actual caucus ballot. 'Not a big majority, but majority support with some support from the left faction as well as support from the right faction, and people that aren't in any faction. 'But it's also clear to me, I'm a realist, that Albo would win the rank and file for good reason. He's a popular character. By a good margin. 'Hence I have reached the view that it would be unlikely for me to win the ballot.' He said he wanted a new party leader installed as soon as possible, adding: 'Earlier today I reached the conclusion that, not thinking it's really viable for me to win, it wouldn't be fair to put the party through the cost of the process and the delay for the start of a new leader.' But Mr Bowen then encourage others to run against Mr Albanese, saying: 'I also wanted to make this decision early because nominations have not yet closed, to be clear, and I want to provide anybody else with the opportunity to feels that they have something to add.' Dr Chalmers, the 41-year-old MP for Rankin in suburban Brisbane, said in a Tweet: 'I feel for Chris and I know it would've been hard for him to pull out. 'I'm being encouraged to nominate for leader and I'll now consider my options overnight. 'Australian Labor needs to rebuild, refresh and renew and I want to play a prominent role in that. What role is to be determined.' Mr Albanese and Mr Bowen were the only declared contenders to replace Mr Shorten, but it's not too late for others to put up their hand. 'I think the party does deserve a contest,' Mr Bowen told reporters on Tuesday outside the house where he grew up in Smithfield in Sydney's west. Mr Bowen was the architect of Labor's plans to change the franking credits regime and crack down on negative gearing. The Coalition branded these 'new taxes' that would hurt retirees and mum-and-dad property investors, and the policies were key factors in Labor losing the May 18 election. Mr Albanese has been campaigning for the leadership since confirming he'd make a second tilt at the top job on Sunday. His last attempt in 2013 ended in a loss to Bill Shorten, who resigned from the leadership after Saturday's election loss. Labour Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Anthony Albanese speaks to the media to announce his bid for leadership 'We got the votes of one in three of every Australian on Saturday. We need to do much better,' Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney. It is understood Labor's finance spokesman Jim Chalmers is being encouraged to run, but his thinking has been impacted by factional colleague Mr Bowen's announcement. Mr Bowen received a mix of positive and negative comments on his Facebook page on Tuesday, with many linking him with Labor's loss and calling for 'generational change' in the party. Ms Plibersek, also from the left faction, ruled herself out on Monday, saying it was not her time. The leadership will be decided by a vote of grassroots members and the federal parliamentary caucus, with each group given 50 per cent weight. Caucus will not be told the result of the grassroots vote before MPs make their decision. From being raised by a single mum in a housing commission flat to a marriage split: What you DIDN'T know about Anthony Albanese - as he seeks Labor leadership and the nation's heart By Daniel Piotrowski and Stephen Johnson Anthony Albanese, the man tipped to be the next Labor leader, is a new bachelor who was raised in a housing commission flat and has tasted power as a senior minister. 'Albo', 56, is tonight firming as the frontrunner to become Opposition Leader, following Bill Shorten's shock election thumping on Saturday. Anthony Albanese, the man tipped to be the next Labor leader, split from his wife Carmel Tebutt, the former NSW deputy premier, in January Mr Albanese's rival Tanya Plibersek said 'now is not the time' to run for the party's leadership, citing family responsibilities. She has three children, including an eight-year-old son. The MP for Sydney's inner west seat of Grayndler for more than 20 years, Mr Albanese has long coveted the Labor leadership. Mr Shorten pipped Mr Albanese to the job in 2013. But the ALP's catastrophic defeat on Saturday has given him a second chance at the top. Mr Albanese's leadership tilt, announced at the weekend, is a new chapter in what has already been a tumultuous year for the Labor frontbencher. In January, the former Cabinet minister issued a statement announced he and his wife of 30 years, the ex-NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebutt, had separated. Mr Albanese said he was 'deeply saddened' and the pair would continue to share parenting responsibilities for their adult son, Nathan, 18. 'There were no third parties involved,' the statement said. The relationship breakdown has barely come up since, with Mr Albanese dedicating himself to campaigning for Labor as its transport spokesman. He promoted a high speed rail plan during the election, only to watch the party's dream of a new progressive government die at the weekend. On Sunday Mr Albanese suggested he could revive the party's fortunes, announcing his bid to be Opposition leader at a Balmain pub. 'I know what it's like to do it tough,' he said. Mr Albanese reflected on his compelling backstory, telling how he was raised in public housing in 1960s inner Sydney by a single mother, Maryanne, who was on an invalid pension. 'What you see if what you get with me,' he said. 'I'm a bit rough at the edges, but I think that Australians don't want someone who just utters talking points.' Life of Albo: Raised by a single mother with a father who 'died in a crash' - but was actually alive A young Mr Albanese was raised in Camperdown. The Sydney suburb was a considerably more downtrodden area in the 1960s than its trendy present. As a teenager, he worked as a paperboy and went to school in the city. Even then, he was known as Albo, people who knew him then said. A young Anthony Albanese met Carmel Tebutt in the Labor party His mother always told Mr Albanese she had met his Italian father overseas, but she had returned to Australia and he had died in a car crash. When he was a teenager, she revealed the story was not actually true. 'We sat down just after dinner one night and she it was very traumatic for her, I think, to tell me that in fact that wasn't the case,' Mr Albanese told the ABC in 2009. Maryanne told him 'my father might still be alive, that she'd met him overseas, fallen pregnant with me, had told him and he had said, basically, that he was betrothed to someone from the town in Italy where he was from.' Mr Albanese said he did not follow up on the story until after his mother's died in 2002. He knew his father, Carlo, had worked on a cruise ship and enlisted the help of a maritime historian to track him down. Incredibly, the effort was successful. The pair met, embraced and spoke for an hour-and-a-half, the Labor luminary later told the ABC. 'It's hard to put into words... how I felt. It was just completely overwhelming,' Mr Albanese said. His father died in 2014, and told his long lost son he was happy they had found each other. Life in the Labor Party: Meeting Carmel, becoming a minister and backing Rudd over Gillard Mr Albanese joined the Australian Labor Party at age 16 - and rose to become an influential figure in the party's Left faction. It was through Labor he met Ms Tebutt, who he described in his maiden speech as his 'partner and best friend'. Mr Albanese first became the federal member of Grayndler in 1996 - a seat he has held ever since. He spent more than a decade in Opposition and did not come into government until the election of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2007. 'Hot Albo': A photograph of a young Anthony Albanese went viral during the last Labor government He was appointed transport and infrastructure minister and Leader of the House in the new government. He was known to be a supporter of Mr Rudd during his leadership tussles with Julia Gillard. When Mr Rudd ascended returned to the top job, he rewarded Mr Albanese with the role of deputy prime minister - a job he held for just three months. Mr Albanese made a tilt for the top job in 2013. He won the popular vote of the party membership but lost the Caucus vote. In the six years since there have been occasional reports he was considering challenging Mr Shorten for the leadership. It never eventuated, but there remains some bad blood within the party. A fuming Labor insider - who supported Ms Plibersek - said: 'Albo has just been sitting there hoping Bill gets run over a bus the whole way through. 'All he's ever done is back stab, undermine and s*** stir. Albo can get stuffed.' Mr Albanese declined to comment on the claims, but told reporters separately he had no criticism of Mr Shorten as Labor leader. Meanwhile, Labor is organising a leadership election, which involves a vote from the party membership and the elected Caucus. Mr Albanese, the Labor party and Australia, await what's next. Celebrity chef Mario Batali has been charged with indecent assault and battery stemming from an allegation that he groped and kissed a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. Batali, 58, who recently gave up financial stakes in all his restaurants, is to be arraigned in Boston on Friday, according to court documents. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender. It is the first criminal charge against Batali resulting from several sexual harassment and assault allegations that have crippled his career. Scroll down for video Celebrity chef Mario Batali, (pictured), was charged with indecent assault and battery stemming from an allegation that he groped and kissed a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017 Criminal complaint says Batali groped woman after offering to pose for a selfie with her at the Towne Stove and Spirits restaurant in Boston (pictured) Batali had observed her taking a photo of him with her phone, and told her to 'come here right now', The New York Times reported. She went over to apologize and to tell him she would erase it, she told the police, but instead, he offered to take a selfie with her and grabbed her as they posed. The woman says Batali then grabbed her chest, kissed her face and touched her groin without her consent. The details in the complaint mirror those in a civil lawsuit filed against Batali in August. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for 'severe emotional distress' including anxiety and self-doubt. An attorney for Batali told the Globe that the chef denies the allegations. 'The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit,' Attorney Anthony Fuller told the newspaper. 'He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali,' he said. Several other women have previously come forward to allege sexual misconduct by Batali. Batali stepped down from daily operations at his restaurant empire and cooking show in December 2017 after four women accused him of inappropriate touching. Batali has apologized for past behavior, but did not say what behavior he was referring to. Mario Batali is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of indecent assault and battery. Batali is pictured at an awards event in New York in 2017 'I have made many mistakes and I am so very sorry that I have disappointed my friends, my family, my fans and my team.' Batali said in an email newsletter he distributed at the time. 'My behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility.' The disgraced chef sold his shares in his 16-restaurant operation, which includes New York hotspots Babbo and Del Posto, to former partners Tanya Bastianich Manuali and her brother, Joe Bastianich. 'I have reached an agreement with Joe and no longer have any stake in the restaurants we built together. I wish him the best of luck in the future,' said Batali in a statement. This news comes after a number of women alleged in interviews with 60 Minutes back in May that they been sexually harassed and groped by the married father-of-two, 57, who they referred to as 'The Red Menace.' These incidents all occurred at The Spotted Pig according to the women, a restaurant in Manhattan's West Village that Batali has had an ownership stake in since it opened. The stories these women told had for the most part previously been reported back in December by The New York Times. In fact, every woman but one who appeared on 60 Minutes had previously spoken to the Times, including former general manager Jamie Seet and former server Trish Nelson. Shocking footage shows the moment that a man said to be mentally disabled was shot by a plain-clothes officer through a closed car window in Philadelphia. Joel Johnson, 28, was walking between several cars on Monday night at approximately 8.50pm when an officer fired at him three times, striking him once in his torso. Johnson, whose brother Jose Tirado referred to him as 'Eddie', was taken to Temple University Hospital late on Monday, according to a post by Tirado on Facebook. Tirado commented shortly before 4am on Tuesday morning that 'Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now'. DailyMail.com called the hospital to confirm Johnson's status and a spokesperson said no information could be released at the request of Johnson's family. The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com that the identity of the officer involved in the shooting has not been released at this time and could not provide an estimate for when the officer's name would be revealed. Shocking video shows the moment 28-year-old Joel Johnson was shot while walking the streets of Philadelphia on Monday night by a plain-clothed officer in an unmarked car Video shows Johnson walk up to the detective's vehicle and in the next moment, several shots are fired and the man falls to the ground. 'The detective believed what he saw was a firearm in this male's hands,' Philadelphia Police Captain Sekou Kinebrew said. 'The detective, believing he was going to be robbed or something was going to happen to him, produced his firearm, discharged his firearm - we believe at this time - three times.' Johnson was rushed to a hospital in critical condition late Monday. Police explain that the officer believed that Johnson was a carjacker and also armed with a gun and the man was shot in response Johnson's brother, Jose Tirado wrote at 12.09am Eastern on Tuesday: 'Please send prayers out to my baby brother Joel johnson who is in the O.R. right now cause he was shoot by a police officer while asking for change at 3400 g st' Shortly before 4am on Tuesday Tirado added a comment, saying 'I would like to thank everyone for your support. Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now. Thanks [praying hands emoji]' Tirado wrote at 12.09am Eastern on Tuesday: 'Please send prayers out to my baby brother Joel johnson who is in the O.R. right now cause he was shoot by a police officer while asking for change at 3400 g st. 'Many people know him and know that he ask people for change and he has special needs but to shoot him threw a close car window without asking a question is crazy. 'Im not condemning any officer for this but being a former officer for many years, I know what it is to have gun control. To shoot a unarmed person who has no history of any violence and nothing in his hands at the time is hard for me to understand why deadly force was used. 'Thank god only one bullet out of the 3 shoots fired hit him. I will stay here until he gets out of the O.R. May god bless him. [praying hands emoji]' Tirado tagged the post as being made from Temple University Hospital. Shortly before 4am that morning he added a comment, saying 'I would like to thank everyone for your support. Eddie is in stable condition and doing fine for now. Thanks [praying hands emoji]' Johnson was taken to a hospital and is said to be in critical condition and was later said to be 'in stable condition and doing fine' by his brother Johnson's niece said that he is mentally disabled and known to beg for change, the latter fact the police commissioner corroborated. The window the officer shot through is shown His niece described Johnson as having special needs and said he would often beg for change in the area, ABC 13 reports. 'Why does he deserve this? He stays to himself. He begs for money and just goes home,' she said. The shooting officer - a seven-year veteran - had been heading back to headquarters at the time of the shooting after he had finished processing the scene of a crime. The officer was stopped at a red light in an unmarked car when Johnson emerged from two cars and had his arms extended. Police say the man was shouting. He is then said to have walked up to the officer's rolled up window. 'A lot of people say he just made a hand gesture for change like he always does,' one of Johnson's brothers said. 'The officer was on his phone and when he looked up he got startled, he got nervous, and started shooting through the window.' Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said there was no weapon at the scene. 'It's not automatically an issue of whether there's a weapon or not. I know for some people they think that's the way it should be - obviously, it's the first thing we look for,' Ross said. 'But I'm always going to be very candid with you when I know there's not one. So I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we haven't found one, we don't expect to find one.' He added that Johnson was known as a panhandler in the area. The officer who shot Johnson has been placed on an administrative assignment while an investigation into the shooting is underway, as is standard protocol. Drug driving tests have been called into question after a driver taking a placebo tested positive to cannabis. University of Sydney researchers found roadside mobile saliva tests for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were inaccurate more than 20 per cent of the time. In some instances, participants who were high on the drug tested negative while others who hadn't smoked in extended periods recorded false positives. The validity of drug driving tests have been called into question after a landmark case found a woman who tested positive to cannabis use had passively smoked the drug 'We had someone test positive for THC who was using a placebo,' lead researcher Professor Ian McGregor told ABC News. The research showed THC, which is responsible for cannabis' effect on the mind, is difficult to test, especially in large doses. 'The tests are particularly poor at detecting when people have a lot of THC in their system so they can be really stoned and getting a negative test,' Mr McGregor said. More alarmingly, some participants were handed false positive results. 'We found on occasion the tests gave a false positive when people have very low levels of THC and that is a concern for the carriage of justice, people are not impaired and they have not had cannabis for quite a long time,' Mr McGregor said. Research from The University of Sydney, which is yet to be released, found roadside mobile saliva tests for tetrahydrocannabinol gave inaccurate results more than 20 per cent of the time PENALTIES Drug driving and refusing to take a drug test are serious offences. As of 20 May 2019, if your roadside positive result is confirmed by the laboratory and it is a first-time offence, you may receive a $516 fine. Your licence would be subsequently suspended for three months. A second or subsequent offence means you would need to go to court. You may have your licence disqualified and receive a fine. Higher penalties apply if you are found guilty of driving under the influence. SOURCE: TRANSPORT FOR NSW Advertisement The revelation comes after a landmark court case found a woman who tested positive to cannabis use had passively smoked the drug. Her charges were dropped last month with Magistrate David Heilpern saying scientists did not yet know everything about TCH, its rate and method of absorption. The NSW government introduced changes on May 20 to 'improve the certainty of penalties' for first-time offenders caught driving while under the influence of an illegal drug, as detected by mobile drug tests. A positive result confirmed by the laboratory could set back a first time offender $516 dollars and a three-month license suspension. 'We found on occasion the tests gave a false positive when people have very low levels of THC and that is a concern for the carriage of justice, people are not impaired and they have not had cannabis for quite a long time,' Professor Iain McGregor said Xem them (Construction) - On December 3, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Construction held a conference to appraise the General Plan for Construction Project of Cao Bang Border Gate Economic Zone to 2040. ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load Shocking footage has emerged of a car seeming to lose control at a roundabout before billowing blue smoke in a gender reveal stunt. The car was spotted in Strathpine, south-east Queensland, on Tuesday when it pulled the elaborate maneuver, appearing to spin out of control. The Ford Falcon spun in the opposite direction when crossing a roundabout and then drove off leaving a cloud of smoke, the driver revealing he was having a baby boy. It's a boy! Driver pulled an elaborate stunt around a roundabout to indicate he was having a baby boy (pictured) The incident was filmed by an oncoming car's dashcam. As the car filming slowed down at the roundabout, the driver sped around before pulling an illegal turn. While the Ford was spinning, a cloud of blue smoke emerged from the exhaust pipe. The driver then illegally went the wrong way in a roundabout and sped off. The video was posted to Facebook by Dash Cam Owners Australia and received a range of comments slamming the car's owner for poor driving. The driver made an illegal turn around a roundabout (pictured) in Strathpine, Queensland 'If I got this on dash cam I would be giving it to the police,' one Facebook user commented. Others criticised the driver's actions with many referring to him as a 'bogan'. 'Congratulations! It's a bogan!' another person commented. Others were happy for the driver, with many commenting congratulations. One viewer even said it was 'the best gender reveal' they had ever seen. Darren Beales, 36, was travelling on a Qantas flight on Friday when he was 'fat shamed' by a flight attendant, he says A man who was fat shamed and forced to move seats on board a Qantas flight says he often doesn't leave his Geelong home for fear of being abused about his weight. Over the years, Darren Beales, 36, has been tormented by people in passing cars, had his weight pointed out by children as their parents snickered, and been stared at as he walks down the street. He has been big all of his life. The 36-year-old, who lives with his partner and his dog Bailey, said having a slow metabolism runs in his family. Having been heckled over his weight for so long, Mr Beales prefers to stay in, and uses online video games as his main source of social interaction. 'To tell you the truth, I don't really leave my house,' he said. 'I'm not scared to go out there, but every time you walk down the road you've got people looking at you or shouting out of their cars "lose some weight you c***".' On Friday, Mr Beales was forced to walk from his booked seat in the exit row of a plane to another seat five rows back, and told by a flight attendant he should 'book two seats for himself next time'. He says the comment made him feel 'belittled', and likened his stroll to a new seat on the plane to a 'walk of shame'. 'I felt very low and embarrassed,' he said. 'Everyone was seated and it was a pretty full plane. I got moved back, this guy took my spot and I took his. 'Everyone was looking at me trying to work out what was happening. 'Walking down the lane way, you feel like you're doing the walk of shame.' Mr Beales was travelling to meet one of his online friends for his birthday, and says the incident on board his flight made him spend the next two days unable to concentrate on anything but how he would board his flight back home. The man, from Norlane in Geelong, says he was told he could not sit in an exit row seat because he needed a seatbelt extender, and was then told by a flight attendant he should buy two seats for himself in future He says there is more to him than his appearance, and wishes people could see past the numbers on a scale. 'People out there, they don't know me,' he said. 'They only see the way I look - they don't know me by walking in my shoes, they don't know what I do for the community. 'I don't see those people out there helping the community like I do. The world has just gone to hell.' Mr Beales says someone else had booked his airline ticket for him, and simply asked if he wanted extra leg room, to which he had readily agreed. This was his first time sitting in the exit row. The Geelong man said he passed the first ticket inspection without a problem, but when he showed his ticket to the flight attendant inside the plane, was told there was an issue. The attendant began to direct him to the correct aisle when she realised he was in an exit row and said he simply would not be allowed to sit there. 'She said sit down in the seat you were allocated, and when everyone is seated we will get you up and put you in a different seat,' he explained. After everyone had boarded the plane, Mr Beales said the woman returned with an extender belt and moved him five rows back on the plane. 'She came down with an extender belt and said can you move to this location, and the other guy was there, so I had to get behind the guy and he sat in my seat and I sat in his,' he said. Mr Beales said he felt 'belittled and small' during the ordeal. The 36-year-old has been big his whole life and says he often does not leave the house because of the abuse he receives over his size Mr Beales was placed in an aisle seat with a vacant seat by his side. Incredibly, the flight attendant even recommended he purchase himself two seats next time. 'She came back to me [after I had moved] and said "it's against airline regulations that anyone who requires aid or an extended seat belt" [can sit in the exit row],' he said. 'She said next time you might want to buy a second seat, we will give it to you half price. 'All I wanted was the leg room so I could stretch out. I didn't need a second seat - it was a bit squishy but I had to make do. 'I got the seating there for leg room, not for the extra space. An extra chair wasn't required.' Mr Beales, who volunteers at a local homeless shelter, was refunded the extra he paid for his exit row seat, but says he should have been allowed to sit there Mr Beales said he did not agree with Qantas's policy, which dictates anyone needing a seat belt extender can not fly in the exit row, but he was most hurt by the way the flight attendant addressed the issue. 'She said all this to me when I got on the plane - she didn't pull me aside before I sat down and said I just need to briefly talk to you,' he said. 'I felt very belittled and so small.' Mr Beales said had there been a crisis on board, he would have helped. Qantas has defended moving Mr Beales, explaining the airline has a policy that dictates anyone who requires an aid such as a seatbelt extender must not be seated in an exit row. A spokeswoman for the airline told Daily Mail Australia: 'CASA provides guidance to airlines on the criteria for appropriate passengers to be seated in exit rows.' 'If passengers are unable to meet this criteria airlines including Qantas will ask passengers to change seats,' she said. Mr Beales said he was refunded $120 for the extra money he paid for his exit row, but says he has been told his complaint against the flight attendant would be dealt with internally, and he is unlikely to hear about a resolution. Tourists will be able to explore the Great Barrier Reef by simply hailing an Uber and instead of a beat-up old Commodore your ride could be a submarine. The ride-share behemoth has dipped its toe into the tourism sector to offer tours of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. For $1500 per person, passengers will be picked up in a car and taken to a helicopter which will drop them at the submarine called a scUber. The initiative was announced on Thursday as part of a $3 million campaign with Tourism and Events Queensland to attract 1.4 million visitors to the reef. 'We're looking forward to seeing how visitors to the Great Barrier Reef embrace this new form of movement and become advocates of the reef for years to come,' Uber's regional general manager for Australia and New Zealand Susan Anderson told the Cairns Post. The submarine travels to depths of about 20 metres which is a depth usually only divers can experience. The tour first will embark from Heron Island before shifting closer to Agincourt Reef, nearer to Port Douglas, in the final weeks. Bookings are being taken for May 27 to June 18. Queensland tourism boss Leanne Coddington said the world-first sky-to-reef tours was groundbreaking. The initiative is part of a $3 million campaign to attract 1.4 million visitors to the reef 'Research we undertook last year showed us that submarine travel was at the top of travellers wishlists as a future tourism experience on the reef,' she said. For more information, visit: www.citizensgbr.org, queensland.com, and uber.com Anthony Albanese is set to become the new Labor leader, but the race to be his deputy is hotting up. Shadow finance minister Jim Chalmers pulled out of the contest to replace Bill Shorten on Thursday, paving the way for Mr Albanese to take the top job. Mr Chalmers said he carefully considered running on a platform of generational change. 'But in the end I couldn't be assured of winning,' Mr Chalmers said in a statement on Thursday. 'And if I did win, the extra responsibilities of leadership would make it much harder to do my bit at home while the youngest of our three little kids is only five months old.' Although Mr Chalmers has pulled out of the leadership contest, he has been floated as a possible candidate for the role of Deputy Leader. Labor MP Anthony Albanese (pictured) is set to become the new Labor leader, but the race to be his deputy is hotting up Shadow finance minister and Queensland MP Jim Chalmers pulled out of the contest to replace Bill Shorten on Thursday, paving the way for Mr Albanese to take up the plum role Tanya Plibersek is the current deputy, and has held onto the position since 2013. While Labor aims to have a man and a woman in the leadership duo, a political twist means Ms Plibersek is unlikely to remain in the role. The Labor leader often chooses a member who is loyal to the opposing faction within the party in order to avoid infighting. As Ms Plibersek belongs to the left faction, she was found to be the right fit during Opposition leader Bill Shorten's tenancy, as he belongs to the right. The new likely leader Mr Albanese hails from the left and would likely set his sights on a party member associated with the right, leaving the position vacant for politicians like Mr Chalmers. Mr Chalmers sat as treasurer between 2010 to 2013 and acted as chief of staff to Wayne Swan. He has been the Member for Rankin in Queensland since 2013 and said he will throw his full support behind Mr Albanese. 'I will enthusiastically support him and work tirelessly with our team to give Australians the Labor government they need and deserve at the next opportunity,' Mr Chalmers said on Thursday. Victorian Labor right-faction MPs Richard Marles and Clare O'Neil are both considering standing for deputy leader. Ms O'Neil expressed her interest in the the vacancy on Wednesday night. 'Many Labor people - particularly Labor women - have contacted me in recent days encouraging me to run for Labor deputy leader to ensure there is a woman in the leader/deputy team,' Ms O'Neil tweeted. 'One of the best things about Labor is that women are encouraged to put themselves forward for leadership roles and I know that will continue. 'I'm going to talk to a few colleagues about whether it's possible for me at this point.' A rundown of Deputy Labor leader candidates Claire O'Neil: The Labor politician currently holds the south-east Melbourne seat of Hotham, a position she has chaired since 2013. She is Labor's spokeswoman for financial services and justice. Ms O'Neil holds the record for being Australia's youngest female mayor after earning the role in the City of Greater Dandenong at 23-years-old. The 38-year-old studied arts and law at university before completing a masters at Harvard and becoming a Fullbright Scholar. She is from the party's right and has been an advocate for victims of banking industry misconduct. Richard Marles: Mr Marles has held the Geelong based seat of Corio in Victoria since 2007. He was trade minister in 2013 and is now Labor's spokesman for defence. Mr Marles studied law and science at university before working as a lawyer. He took his legal skills to the Transport Workers' Union of Australia, rising to federal assistant secretary prior to becoming assistant secretary at the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The 51-year-old also co-hosted a show on Sky with former defence minister Christopher Pyne for about three years. Jim Chalmers: Mr Chalmers has been the Labor Party member for Rankin in Queensland since 2013. The 41-year-old holds a PhD for political science and international relations. He sat as treasurer between 2010 to 2013 and acted as chief of staff to Wayne Swan. In 2013 he acted as the Chifley Research Centre executive director. Advertisement As it stands, Tanya Plibersek (right) currently chairs the seat and has held onto the position from 2013 Victorian Labor right-faction MPs Richard Marles (pictured) and Clare O'Neil are both considering standing for deputy leader Ms O'Neil was the youngest female mayor in Australia, elected at 23 in Dandenong. She has held the south-east Melbourne seat of Hotham since 2013 and advocated for victims of banking industry misconduct. Has held the south-east Melbourne seat of Hotham since 2013. Shadow Defence Minister Mr Marles has held the Geelong based seat of Corio since 2007. He was trade minister in 2013 and is now Labor's spokesman for defence. Mr Chalmers took his legal skills to the Transport Workers' Union of Australia, rising to federal assistant secretary prior to becoming assistant secretary at the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Nominations for Labor leadership will close on Monday, but Mr Chalmers' withdrawal makes the prospect of a contested ballot highly unlikely. If there are no further nominations the Labor caucus is expected to meet next week to confirm the leadership team, including deputy leader and senior Senate personnel. A security guard who took a three-year-old girl into a stairwell at a Sydney shopping centre and masturbated in front of her has been found guilty in a second trial. Mohammad Hassan Al Bayati allegedly took the child from a Homebush mall playground in December 2016, where she had been left unattended with her older sister while their mother went Christmas shopping. He then masturbated in front of her for 11 minutes, the court heard. Mohammad Hassan Al Bayati has been found guilty of taking a three-year-old girl from a Homebush mall playground to a staircase where there were no cameras and masturbating in front of her for 11 minutes In his first trial, Al Bayati pleaded not guilty to detaining a person for sexual advantage and committing an act of aggravated indecency against a child. The then-29-year-old claimed he had been had been trying to reunite the girl with her mum and was taking her to a toy shop on an upper level. He claimed the young girl had refused to move while the pair were inside the stairwell, and that is why they were alone together for so long. Al Bayati said he was unaware at the time that taking the toddler into a stairwell with no CCTV cameras through a fire-exit door that had no handle on the inside was against protocol, as he hadn't been trained on such procedures. In his first trial in June 2018, a jury was unable to reach a verdict, but he was found guilty by a judge earlier this month. Al Bayati's bail has been continued, and he will appear again for sentencing next month. Al Bayati was found guilty in his second trial, after a jury was unable to come to a verdict last year. He remains on bail until next month, when he will be sentenced This is the man who brutally bashed a girl, 18, in the women's toilet of a nightclub after she asked for toilet paper from the next cubicle over. A Gold Coast court has heard how tradesman Alex Rowe, 23, was inside a cubicle with his girlfriend, allegedly comforting her, when the victim asked for a ply. The court heard Rowe's girlfriend responded 'get f*****', prompting the victim to storm out and demand she 'say it to her face'. Muscles bulging, a Jesus Christ tattoo inked and neatly cropped hair. This is the man who bashed an 18-year-old girl in a nightclub toilet, a court heard Gold Coast tradie Alex Rowe's (pictured) lawyer said he had misinterpreted the victim's words to mean she wanted to fight him When the 18-year-old women innocently asked the person in the next cubicle for toilet paper, the last thing she expected was to be bashed by a stocky tradesman (stock image) According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, the big, built and angry tradesman flung open the door and began to bash the girl. The assault was so vicious it left the victim with a black eye and a split lip among a host of facial injuries, the court was reportedly told. Magistrate Pamela Dowse said she was sickened by the Rowe's action - and that he was in the women's toilet to begin with. 'I've had a look at the photos of the girl, who was only 18 years of age, who has copped a number of punches from you,' Ms Dowse was quoted saying. 'It absolutely makes me feel sick in the stomach. 'She asks the person in the next toilet to pass her some toilet paper and this is what she gets. How revolting.' Rowe's defence lawyer, Campbell MacCallum, told the court his client had misinterpreted the victim's words to mean she wanted to fight him Rowe's defence lawyer, Campbell MacCallum, told the court his client had misinterpreted the victim's words to mean she wanted to fight him. Rowe pleaded guilty to the charge of assault occasioning bodily harm. Magistrate Dowse took all the facts into consideration and sentenced Rowe to 18 months probation and issued a fine of $905.78 probation to cover the travel expenses of the victim who was set to fly to Australia to give evidence. Rowe was sentenced to 18 months probation and issued a fine of $905.78 probation to cover the travel expenses of the victim who was set to fly to Australia to give evidence (Southport Court pictured) After the sentence was made public a number of locals took to social media to share their disgust. 'This guy should have been jailed no questions asked,' one angry user wrote. 'I'll say it AGAIN....our judicial system is a JOKE...seems to favour the guilty, time and time again,' another added. 'What the hell is wrong with people,' a third user wrote. The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats , U.S. officials said. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested forces. Officials said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran but is aimed at reinforcing security in the region. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans have not been formally announced. Thursday morning's meeting comes as tensions with Iran continue to simmer, and it wasn't clear if a decision would be made during the session. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. Already there: The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighters on board has been deployed from the Mediterranean to the Gulf Qatar based: Four B-52 strategic bombers were moved from Louisiana to al-Udeid air base in Qatar, putting them in a short flight time of Iran Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday Trump was evaluating the force posture in the region 'every day.' 'We're evaluating the risks, making sure that we have it right,' he told 'Fox and Friends.' U.S. officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats but indicated they initially involved missiles loaded onto small Iranian boats. This week officials said the missiles have been taken off the boats near Iran's shore, but other maritime threats continue. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During back-to-back closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defense leaders told congressional officials the U.S. doesn't want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told lawmakers the U.S. is seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran, even while accusing Tehran of threatening U.S. interests in the Mideast. Shanahan told reporters, 'Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation.' Many in Congress are skeptical of the administration's approach to Iran, questioning whether it is responding to significant new Iranian threats or escalating a situation that could lead to war. CNN first reported that the Pentagon will brief the White House on a plan that could send thousands of additional U.S. troops to the Middle East. Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment, saying, 'As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential or alleged future operations or plans.' In early May, the U.S. accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Mideast and sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defense missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. Briefing: Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Capitol Hill earlier this week to brief lawmakers on that they say is a heightened threat from Iran but Democrats voiced skepticism about their strategy Iran's influence with jihadist militias stretches across the Middle East and their domestic weapons capabilities pose a constant threat to US allies in the Persian Gulf On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad - which is home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Trump is responsible for drawing Iran's ire. Last year he abruptly pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production, without crafting a coherent strategy for how to combat other Iranian behavior like supporting extremist organizations. He also has reimposed punishing sanctions that have crippled Tehran's economy, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization in April. 'I have yet to see any exhibited strategy,' said Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, a former CIA officer. She said she finds many of the administration's recent statements on Iran to be 'deeply troubling.' YOU WILL WITNESS THE DEMISE OF ISRAEL AND 'DEGENERATE' AMERICAN CIVILIZATION , SUPREME LEADER TELLS IRANIAN STUDENTS Iran's youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed. 'You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel,' Khamenei said in a meeting with students. He gave no further details. Tensions have spiked between Iran and the United States after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what U.S. officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. Tensions: Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose country's support for extremist organizations has been one of the points of tensions with the U.S. Khamenei said last week that there would be no war with the United States. Separately, Khamenei distanced himself from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal in his comments on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran last year and reimposed sanctions, saying the accord did not address the Islamic Republics missile program and what he saw as their malign influence in the region. 'The way (the nuclear deal) was put into action, I didnt have much faith (in it),' Khamenei, who is the highest authority in Iran, said. 'And we repeatedly told the president and the foreign minister and gave them notice.' Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have been the main advocates of the nuclear deal within Iran's political system. Two weeks ago, Iran notified the remaining signatories to the deal - China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom - that it would halt some commitments under the nuclear deal, a year after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord. THE THREAT FROM IRAN: HOW TEHRAN'S TENTACLES STRETCH THROUGH THE GULF AND BEYOND Here is an outline of ways in which Iran could wage war on the United States, and its regional allies and interests, if their dispute escalated. THE GULF Revolutionary Guards commanders have long warned that in a war they could cut off Gulf oil supplies flowing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Indian Ocean. Iran holds one side of the strait, putting shipping in range of its forces from the sea or shore, and allowing it to lay mines. A U.S. official has blamed Iran for last week's attacks on four vessels including two Saudi oil tankers in the Gulf, though Tehran has denied it. Iran could also strike directly at U.S. forces in the Gulf with missiles. The U.S. Combined Air Operations Center is based at al-Udaid airbase in Qatar. Its navy Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain. The U.S. air force also uses al-Dhafra airbase in Abu Dhabi and Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait. The governments of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia say Iran planned attacks on security forces in Bahrain in recent years. Iran and Bahrainis accused of this have denied it. Missiles could target infrastructure in Gulf monarchies, including water and power plants, oil refineries and export terminals, and petrochemical factories. A 2012 cyber attack targeting Saudi oil giant Aramco and another two years earlier against Iran's nuclear programme point to new ways a conflict could play out. IRAQ Iran-backed Shi'ite groups gained strength in the chaos after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and were incorporated last year into the security forces, underscoring their pervasive role despite the American presence. The strongest groups - trained, equipped and funded by Tehran - are Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and the Badr Organisation. The United States says Iran was behind the deaths of at least 603 American armed service members since 2003. Some 5,200 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, located in four main bases, as well as Baghdad airport and the coalition headquarters in the Green Zone. Washington last week ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy. The militias have positions very near places where U.S. forces are stationed, and have powerful rocket and drone capabilities. A US Chinook helicopter is pictured above Baghdad's 'Green Zone' on Monday after a rocket came down close to the US embassy from an Iranian-backed terror group YEMEN Yemen's Houthis chant 'Death to America, Death to Israel', daubing the slogan on walls and gluing it to their weapons. The U.S. has backed a Saudi-led coalition targeting the group since 2015. Iran and the Houthis have longstanding links, but both deny coalition claims that Tehran provides training and weapons. The U.N. says missiles fired at Saudi Arabia share design features with ones made in Iran. Since the war began, the Houthis have often used rockets and drones to attack Saudi Arabia, one of Washington's closest regional allies. One came down near Riyadh airport in 2017. U.N. experts say the Houthis now have drones capable of dropping bigger bombs at further range and with more precision than before. Last week, drones hit two oil pumping stations hundreds of kilometres inside Saudi territory. Houthi control over Yemen's old navy, with speed boats and sea mines, means the group could try to disrupt shipping in the Red Sea. SYRIA While backing President Bashar al-Assad during eight years of conflict, Iran has built a network of militias in government-held areas. These include Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Iraqi Nujaba group, and the mostly Afghan Fatemiyoun group. Hezbollah fighters stand near a four-wheel vehicle positioned close to the Lebanon-Syria border in July 2017 They have fought near the Syrian-Iraqi border, near the U.S. military base at Tanf, and near the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. A senior U.S. official said in February that Washington would keep about 400 troops in Syria after defeating Islamic State, down from about 2,000 before. They are located in the northeast area held by Kurdish-led forces and at Tanf, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq. Israel has struck Iran and its allies in Syria, seeking to drive them far from its frontier. In January it accused Iranian forces of firing a missile at a ski resort in the Golan Heights. Newly recruited Shiite fighters, known as Houthis, parade as more fighters join battlefronts to fight pro-government forces in several Yemeni cities in January 2017 LEBANON The U.S. blames Hezbollah for its military's bloodiest day since the Vietnam war: the truck bombing at a marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 U.S. service members. It also accuses it of taking Americans hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s. The group, set up by Iran to resist Israel's occupation of south Lebanon, is today the most powerful in the country. Israel, the U.S.' closest regional ally, regards Hezbollah as the biggest threat on its borders and launched a military incursion into Lebanon in 2006 in a failed bid to destroy it. Today, Hezbollah says it has a large arsenal of 'precision' rockets that could strike all over Israel, including its atomic reactor. It has threatened, in the event of war, to infiltrate fighters across the frontier. A pro-Hezbollah journalist, Ibrahim al-Amin, last week wrote in Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper that if Israel got involved in any war between the U.S. and Iran, striking at Tehran's proxies, it would 'become an actual target for allies of Iran'. Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters chant slogans during last day of Ashura, in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2018 - the group was set up by Iran to resist Israel's occupation of south Lebanon AFGHANISTAN Western officials and analysts say they believe Iran gives some help to the Taliban, either in weapons or through finance and logistics, which could be increased. The Taliban control or influence more territory than at any point since their ouster at the hands of U.S.-led troops following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States; intense fighting continues. A report by the U.S. Institute of Peace in March said that up to 50,000 Afghans have fought in Syria as part of the Tehran-backed Fatemiyoun group. It issued a statement two years ago, carried by Iranian news outlets, pledging to fight wherever Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asked them to. About 14,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan and Washington imposed sanctions on the Fatemiyoun in January. An Iranian official told Reuters that the U.S. used its presence in Afghanistan 'to threaten us from these bases'. Two youths accused of plotting a Columbine-style mass shooting against staff and students at their high school have walked free from court. The pair, who cannot be named, had been in detention since their arrest in November 2017 over allegations they were plotting a massacre at their school in South Australia's Riverland region using homemade weapons and body armour. The 18 and 20-year-old were due to stand trial accused of conspiring to murder but in February pleaded guilty to the downgraded charge of aggravated threatening of life after prosecutors conceded they never intended to carry out the shooting. At the Supreme Court on Thursday, the relieved pair smiled at their families from the dock as Justice Kevin Nicholson imposed suspended six-month jail sentences on them both, along with three-year good behaviour bonds. One of the men, 20, made no comment as he enjoyed his first few minutes of freedom leaving the Supreme Court on Thursday Photos of the weapons arsenal (pictured) were shown in court last month ahead of sentencing Strict conditions were imposed on the pair, including drug and alcohol monitoring. The judge said the youths, who were 16 and 18 at the time of their offending, had wanted to create a fear that their plan would likely be carried out. However, he said he accepted they never intended to commit murder or proceed with the 'expressed plan'. 'A clear message must be sent to young people in the community that this sort of behaviour is totally unacceptable,' Justice Nicholson said. 'Your plan was to frighten, to terrify and to present yourself to your school associates and perhaps the wider community as school shooters who meant business.' 'I'm satisfied that once you started to conceive of your plan, you jointly contributed to the creation of that plan albeit, as it turned out to be, a fantasy.' The 20-year-old (pictured) and 18-year-old had been in custody since their arrests in 2017 The judge said the pair had been in detention 'long enough'. He acknowledged the 20-year-old had 'expressed remorse, guilt and empathy' while the 18-year-old had written a letter of apology and become 'a role model' in youth detention, The Adelaide Advertiser reported. 'Your time in custody has been very difficult I expect it has gone a long way to teaching each of you an enduring lesson,' Justice Nicholson said. Flanked by their families and lawyers, the pair made no comment to the waiting media as they left court. Prosecutors had previously argued in court the men were obsessed with school shootings in the US, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. The threats left the Riverland community 'shocked and terrified' at the time. 'You tapped into the fear that a community might experience an appalling mass-shooting of the type that has become all too common in the US,' Justice Nicholson told the pair. A body armour made from the steel netting of a shopping trolley (pictured) was found in the shed of one of the men's sheds 'This is not a case in which an offender placed in fear a single individual a significant section of the community was put in fear.' Earlier this month, the court released photos taken by police of the arsenal of weapons found in the younger man's shed. They included more than a dozen knives, a makeshift machete, homemade napalm and a suit of body armour fashioned from the steel netting of a shopping trolley with a metal block welded to it. A lawyer for the aspiring blacksmith told the court last month that his client was not a killer but a businessman who enjoyed making weapons and helmets as a hobby. The napalm was for forging steel not committing mass murder, the lawyer had argued. A woman who allegedly left a three-month-old baby alone for hours has been charged with child abandonment. Police were called about 11.30am on Wednesday by Sheriff's Officers who found the baby girl inside a unit on Fisher Street, Cabramatta, in Sydney's west. No one else was home at the time and a 28-year-old woman was arrested after returning to the apartment around 1pm. The three-month-old baby was allegedly left alone for several hours (file image) The woman arrested was taken to Fairfield Police Station and charged with abandonment of a child under seven by detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad. Police will allege in court that the woman left the baby unattended for several hours. The newborn was taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment and a notification for a child at risk was made. Alternate care arrangements have been made for the baby girl. The woman was refused bail and is to appear at Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. International airfares are set to increase as carriers cut back their flights due to rising fuel prices. The number of seats on international flights to and from Australia will fall for the first time in a decade by one per cent from late October to late March. Fuel prices have risen 45 per cent in the past two years, making long-haul flights less viable. International airfares are set to increase as carriers cut back their flights due to rising fuel prices As a result, several companies are making cut backs to Australian services. Emirates has reduced its Dubai-Perth service to run seven times weekly instead of 11. As of next week, it will no longer run its daily Dubai-Bangkok-Sydney flight. Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific is cancelling its Cairns-Hong Kong service. Air China and China Eastern are also cutting back, while Virgin has chopped its Sydney-Auckland service from 18 return flights weekly to 15 from July. Tony Webber, a consultant from Airline Intelligence and Research, told The Age that the news is great for Qantas which will be able to increase its market share. 'Other carriers are being more rational now, which is really good news for Qantas and Virgin,' he said. But he warned that price rises are bound to follow with less competition. 'There will definitely be higher fares,' he warned. A family have paid tribute to their 'fighter' son, 13, who died just one day after being diagnosed with a rare blood cancer. Tom Walker fell severely ill in May 2018 and doctors found he had acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) on June 13. He underwent an operation the next day but his condition rapidly deteriorated and he died just hours later. Tom Walker, 13, pictured, died just one day after being diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia The teenager, right, was described as a 'popular and caring' boy but his condition rapidly deteriorated and he died hours after undergoing an operation last June. He is pictured with sisters Emily, 11, left, and Holly, 13, centre Tom, left with his father Tim and right celebrating a birthday, was a keen rower and drummer and had even performed at a concert in Rome His family have since raised 100,000 for Cancer Research Wales in his memory through a series of projects. Tom, a pupil at Monmouth School for Boys, was described as a 'very popular and caring' child but his mother Debbie said the odds were stacked against him. She said: 'He was always fair. He had an incredible sense of what was right and what was wrong. He would have taken anything on, but this was a very one-sided fight.' In a statement, Tom's parents Debbie and Tim and sisters Holly, 13, and Emily, 11, added: 'It is hard to know exactly how many people have worked towards reaching the 100,000 goal, but it is estimated to be in the thousands. 'We would like to say thank you to every single person that has helped us achieved this incredible target. Tom's family have now raised 100,000 for Cancer Research Wales in the past year through a variety of activities including a swimathon, fun runs and a talent show. Pictured are (from left) Tom's sister Holly and friend Katie Cameron, who together organised the swimathon; and Tom's parents Tim and Debbie and younger sister Emily Tom's mother Debbie said her son, left and right, 'would take anything on' but was always facing a 'one-sided fight' with his cancer 'Every time someone does any fundraising, it shows us, as a family, that people are thinking of and remembering Tom. And we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. 'We hope that by funding this research, we can change the odds so that people affected by this type of leukaemia are more likely to survive be it by earlier diagnosis or by more effective treatment.' Tom was a keen rower and drummer and once performed in a concert at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. His headmaster Dr Andrew Daniel told Wales Online: 'The resilience of Tom's family has been remarkable, and they are an inspiration to all of us.' Around 100 firefighters are tackling a huge warehouse blaze in north London which is belching a massive cloud of black smoke into the skies above the city visible from as far away as Hertfordshire. The London Fire Brigade said it was called to the unit in Tottenham at 12.10am, and there are now 15 ambulances at the scene. When crews arrived at the scene, they found the whole of the single storey warehouse was alight. The fire is at a warehouse between Tottenham Hale Station and Ikea. This morning the warehouse in Tottenham continued to smoulder throwing off black smoke Residents in the area close to the fire have been urged to keep doors and windows closed. Firefighters on elevated platforms hosed the burning unit all night after arriving at midnight Firefighters closed off roads in the vicinity of the huge blaze, which caused no injuries Fifteen fire engines and more than 100 firefighters are tackling the blaze in London Thick black smoke form the warehouse in Tottenham is pouring into the sky and can be seen for miles Station Manager Mike Cotton, who is at the scene said: 'Firefighters have worked exceptionally hard throughout the night to bring the blaze on an industrial estate under control. 'At the height of the incident, there was a huge amount of thick black smoke travelling for miles around from the blaze. There is still a lot of smoke coming from the building so we would continue to urge residents and businesses in the area to keep their windows and doors closed. 'Fire crews have made a lot of progress in extinguishing the fire but there are still a number of deep seated pockets of fire remaining. Firefighters will be at the scene throughout the day. 100 firefighters sped to the blaze last night and tackled the flames from elevated platforms Colorado ski patrol rescued a lost snowboarder who managed to get swept up in an avalanche near the resort he was staying at with friends. John Moser, from Avon, had been enjoying the last of the snowy weather at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area on Tuesday when he got lost. Moser, along with friend Patrick Powers, accidentally traveled to the back country of the Montezuma Bowl while hiking to prime snowboarding areas. 'It got really whiteout, and we couldn't see where we were going and accidently dropped into the valley with no lifts or anything,' Moser explained to the Summit Daily. 'There were not ropes or anything to tell us not to go there.' John Moser, from Avon, had been enjoying the last of the snowy weather at the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area on Tuesday when he got lost Moser, along with friend Patrick Powers, accidentally traveled to the back country of the Montezuma Bowl while hiking to prime snowboarding areas The pair had gone too far east and soon realized they really had no idea where they were. 'The more we kept going down the more we realized we weren't seeing anything,' Powers added. 'So we stopped and we sat there thinking about what we could do. We decided to hike back up and try to get there before dark, because there's no cell service or anything.' The two tried to make it back up the mountain, using their snowboards, but Moser slid about 50 yards down as they neared the upper lip. Powers continued and made it back to the lodge where he was able to alert authorities. Their friends - Henry Badham and Isaiah Mitchel - had been contacting ski patrol at the same time, worried that their two friends had not returned to leave. The two tried to make it back up the mountain, using their snowboards, but Moser slid about 50 yards down as they neared the upper lip 'We checked out the avalanche,' said patrolman Devon Haire. 'It was long, but it wasn't particularly deep or big, so it was survivable' (the resort pictured) 'We checked out the avalanche,' said patrolman Devon Haire. 'It was long, but it wasn't particularly deep or big, so it was survivable.' Moser added: 'I waited for about an hour, maybe more, hoping somebody would come. When I looked around and noticed the conditions were extremely windy and it was a whiteout, I knew there was no way a helicopter was coming in. 'So I found a less steep slope to climb back up. I made sure to stay as warm as I could just to keep my body moving, using all the little tricks I've picked up from other snowboarders and survival shows.' Eventually making it to the top, Moser was spotted by Haire and a team of rescue workers. He was rescued after approximately five hours. Powers continued and made it back to the lodge where he was able to alert authorities, who then went out and found Moser after roughly five hours Haire stated: 'Once we found the tracks leaving the slide, our team was able to follow those. I was up on the ridge when John found us. He waved me down and we got him off the hill.' Jim Koegel, mission coordinator for the Summit County Rescue Group, commended the Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol for their work 'This was really the ski patrol's operation,' he said. 'They came in off duty to help us, and this could not have done this well without them.' Moser and his pals were eventually reunited and the Avon resident is just happy to be alive. 'I'm just kind of proud of our determination to get back,' Moser stated. 'We didn't give up. Even if it took us four-and-a-half hours, we made it back.' Advertisement A catastrophic tornado has ripped through Missouri's capital, according to the National Weather Service. The 'violent tornado' was confirmed in Jefferson City around 11.43pm Wednesday night. Jefferson City took a direct hit by the storm and there are several unconfirmed reports of residents hearing 'mass casualties' over their scanners. Three deaths in Missouri have been confirmed, the result of a tornado earlier in the day, but there is no word yet on possible fatalities in the capital. Police Lt. David Williams said officers have received multiple calls of people being trapped in their homes and 20 people have been rescued by emergency workers in Jefferson City. Late Wednesday night, the weather service warned residents in a tweet to take 'shelter now!' An emergency alert described the tornado as 'large and destructive' and moving at 40mph. The NWS of Saint Louis said on Facebook that the tornado has 'produced extensive damage'. Some residents are also trapped under rubble in the Hawthorne Apartment complex that suffered damage to more than half of its building. Firefighters have begun rescue operations in the area, including at the apartment building. Missouri Task Force 1 was also activated. Scroll down for video The NWS said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One of the other tornadoes (pictured) skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri Multiple injuries were also reported, but no fatalities. Some residents are also trapped under rubble in an apartment complex (pictured) that suffered damage to more than half of its building Numerous power lines have been downed in Jefferson City and there's debris (left and right) in the streets that includes large pieces of wood and concrete This image posted on Twitter account of Stechshultsy shows tornado-hit Jefferson City. MO., Thursday A wall is collapsed in Jefferson City, Missouri on Thursday. The U.S. National Weather Service says a "violent tornado" has touched down in Jefferson City, Missouri, causing possible fatalities and heavy damage Plastic chairs lie in the road and metal from a damaged gas station roof is twisted around a downed power line in Jefferson City Missouri Thursday 'All Jefferson City Firefighters have been called back and are beginning rescue operations. Please Pray for our Citizens,' the Jefferson City Fire Department tweeted. Firefighters aren't able to reach the complex due to the collapse of a YMCA building that's blocking the road. There are also multiple reports on social media of a Best Western hotel that got hit by the tornado with injuries inside. The Missouri Public Safety Twitter account tweeted that local first responders are going 'door-to-door'. Late Wednesday night, the weather service warned residents in a tweet to take 'shelter now!' An emergency alert described the tornado as 'large an destructive' and moving at 40mph 'Consider all power lines live. Stay out of areas with damage,' officials warned, adding that there's severe damage along Ellis Boulevard near Highway 54. 'We're doing okay but praying for those that were caught in damage, some still trapped,' Missouri Gov Mike Parson said on Twitter early Thursday. A National Weather Service meteorologist said: 'As of this morning, the main parts of the storms have pushed eastward, thank goodness,' leaving the region to deal with just another expected two inches of rain through Friday. However, Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding. First reponders warned that 'flash flooding hazards will expand as rain continues'. There have also been numerous reports of gas odors. Authorities confirmed that several buildings had collapsed and photos from one structure appeared to be a Sonic restaurant. There were also local reports of a bowling alley with heavy damage and a destroyed bank. Photos showed overturned cars at the Riley Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership located on Christy Drive. Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings to do his wash and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers. After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage, and retrieved a stuffed animal for his daughter from his damaged apartment. These pictures posted by the Missouri State Highway patrol show damaged caused by a tornado in Jefferson City including a collapsed tree and an overturned vehicle Damage is seen on a street after the tornado in Jefferson City which was described as a 'direct hit' on the state capital 'There's basically one building that's basically one story now,' he said. Gov Parson tweeted late Wednesday night: 'We're doing okay but praying for those that were caught in damage, some are still trapped - local emergency crews are on site and assisting. Parson said first responders will 'continue to monitor and assist throughout the severe storms lasting until morning. Stay safe and alert!' Numerous power lines have been downed in Jefferson City and there's debris in the streets that includes large pieces of wood and concrete. Earlier Wednesday evening, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin issued a mandatory evacuation for an area involving a handful of homes. There was considerable damage outside this Jefferson City house after the city took a 'direct hit' from a tornado Authorities confirmed that several buildings had collapsed and photos from one structure appeared to be a Sonic restaurant This destroyed structure is believed to be the Sonic restaurant located along along Ellis Boulevard Jefferson City police Lt Dave Williams estimated that only about five to 10 homes are in the area that's under a mandatory evacuation. As a precaution, the Missouri National Guard also moved four helicopters out of the city's airport, which also is on the north side of the river. And a Memorial Day weekend airshow was canceled. The NWS issued tornado warnings for several Missouri towns until 1am CDT. For the third consecutive day, dangerous storms prompted numerous tornado warnings and reports of twisters touching down, mostly in Missouri and Oklahoma. The NWS said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The Joplin tornado on May 22, 2011, was one of the strongest and most destructive in US history. Photos showed overturned cars at the Riley Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership (pictured) located on Christy Drive The tornado damaged dozens of cars at the Chevrolet lot Wednesday night Several cars were seen on top of one another at the dealership Overturned vehicles litter the dealership along Christy Drive The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles north of the Joplin airport. Law enforcement confirmed three fatalities in the Golden City area of Barton County and several injuries in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County from the tornado that hit Joplin. Jasper County Emergency Management Director Keith Stammer said officials won't know the true extent of the damage until the morning. The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes. Officials said the Mississippi River was at or approaching major flood stage from Iowa through southern Missouri and Illinois. For the third consecutive day, dangerous storms prompted numerous tornado warnings and reports of twisters touching down, mostly in Missouri and Oklahoma In St Louis, the Mississippi was expected to crest Monday at nearly 12 feet above flood stage. If that holds, the Coast Guard will likely close the river to navigation for the second time this month. Along the Missouri River, about 50 levees in Missouri could be overtopped by Saturday as high water levels move downstream, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The river was expected to crest Thursday at 36.1 feet near the town of Glasgow, Missouri, overtopping agricultural levees and inundating some homes, highways and parkland. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather Wednesday night into Thursday. 'The biggest concern is more rain,' Oklahoma Gov Kevin Stitt said during a news conference following an aerial tour with Tulsa Mayor G.W. Bynum and other officials Wednesday morning. The deluge inundated roadways, closing highways in 22 Oklahoma counties and 17 Kansas counties, along with more than 330 Missouri roads. Amtrak suspended train service Wednesday and Thursday along a route between St Louis and Kansas City because of congestion and flood-related delays. Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isn't yet listed as what would be the state's first storm-related death. Police in SWAT gear have barged into four houses across Sydney to seize drugs, cars and money in a dramatic video. A Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang member and two associates have been charged after NSW police raided houses at 6am on Thursday, May 23. The houses in Sylvania, Blacktown, Doonside and Smithfield were part of an alleged large-scale drug supply syndicate. Two luxury vehicles, including a Mercedes-AMG, $100,000 in cash, certified gold playing cards and allegedly stolen designer clothing and shoes. A male Comanchero OMCG member, 27, was arrested when police raided a Sylvania home. He was charged with supply greater than commercial quantity of prohibited drug, knowingly direct activities of criminal group, and two counts of deal with more than $100,000 worth of property proceeds of crime. He was refused bail to appear at Sutherland Local Court on Thursday. A 22-year old Blacktown man, who was a gang associate, was charged with supply indictable quantity of a prohibited drug and participation in criminal group. Another male gang associate, 28, was arrested when a police executed a warrant on a Doonside house. Police in SWAT gear barged into four houses across Sydney to seize drugs (pictured), cash (pictured), spirits, cars and money A Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) member (pictured) and two associates have been charged after police raided houses at 6am on Thursday, May 23 He was charged with supply indictable quantity of prohibited drug, goods in custody and participation in criminal group. The man was refused bail to appear at Blacktown Local Court on Thursday while the 22-year-old was granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at the same court on Thursday, June 13. All of the seized items are undergoing forensic examination by Strike Force Yarrum. The strike force was created in June 2018 to investigate the alleged crime syndicate. Police in SWAT gear barge into four houses across Sydney to seize cocaine (above), meth, cannabis, cars and money in a dramatic video Police have launched a desperate search to locate a man who escaped from police custody. Officers from Hunter Valley Police District and PolAir started their search for Jay Bill Mason in Singleton, New South Wales, about 2.30pm on Wednesday. Mason, 26, escaped custody from the Singleton Police station, and has a noticeable Jim Beam tattoo on his back. Jay Bill Mason (pictured), 26, escaped custody from the Singleton Police station on Wednesday On Thursday, the efforts continued with policemen from the Hunter Valley conducting an extensive search of Singleton and the surrounding areas. Police believe he may still be in the Singleton area. The 26-year-old is currently wanted on outstanding warrants for breach of parole order and revocation of intensive correction order. Police have described the man as of Caucasian appearance and about 195cm tall. He has a thin build, with short brown hair shaved on top and longer at the back. The man has a tattoo of the word 'RIP' on his arm, tattoos on his chest and a full sleeve on his left arm. He was last seen shirtless, wearing navy blue shorts with a floral print, and white ankle socks. If sighted, the public is urged not to approach him but to contact police immediately. Advertisement Belarus has buried more than 1,200 Jewish Holocaust victims whose remains were unearthed earlier this year after builders uncovered a Nazi mass grave beneath a construction site. Soldiers were called to the site in Brest city centre in January this year and spent weeks exhuming a total of 1,214 bodies of victims from the site of the former Brzesc Ghetto, which existed from 1941 until 1942. The remains were placed in 120 blue caskets embossed with the Star of David and then reburied two-deep and ten abreast in the city cemetery, watched by 300 mourners in a solemn ceremony led by a Rabbi. A total of 1,214 Jewish victims from the Nazi ghetto in Brest were laid to rest in the city cemetery on Wednesday after builders uncovered a mass grave beneath a construction site in January this year The skeletal remains were packed into blue coffins bearing the Star of David and then covered with a shroud before 300 onlookers took it in turns to throw soil on the caskets The dead were victims of the Nazi occupation of what was then Poland, and were kept in the Brzesc Ghetto - which held an estimated 28,000 at its height - between 1941 and 1942 before being slaughtered The coffins were arranged two deep and ten abreast in a large pit at the Severnoye (northern) cemetery in Brest for the funeral service, which was led by a Rabbi Volunteers of the Jerusalem-based ZAKA International Rescue Unit, an Israeli humanitarian organisation, pray over coffins at the Severnoye cemetery before they are buried Personal effects that were found alongside the remains, including shoes that had not rotted, were laid on top of the caskets when they were reburied A member of the ZAKA International Rescue Unit displays a shoe found alongside the Jewish remains before it is reburied Servicemen of the Belarusian Honour Guard perform military funeral honours during a ceremony to rebury the remains of Jews killed by the Nazis, at the Severnoye cemetery Belarusian soldiers gave a gun salute as mourners, including the Israeli ambassador, took it in turns to throw soil over the coffins before they were fully covered. 'The soul goes up to heaven through this process, so it was very important for the Jewish community that it was all done with Jewish custom,' said Israel's ambassador in Belarus, Alon Shoham. Up to 28,000 Jews are thought to have been kept at the Brzesc Ghetto during its year of existence, in what was then Nazi-occupied Poland. Some 17,000 people are known to have been shot in October 1942 near Bronnaya Gora railway station, with thousands more presumed dead - though their exact fate is unknown. Historic accounts say victims were ordered by Hitler's forces to strip naked before being shot. The victims were uncovered in a mass grave in central Brest beneath the site of some luxury apartments back in January and exhumed by soldiers over several weeks A glass bottle found in the mass grave in Brest is held up by a member of the ZAKA International Rescue team before being reburied along with the Jewish victims Clothing, shoes, and other items that had not decomposed and were found among the bodies were laid out on top of the coffins before being reburied Brest was part of Soviet Poland before being captured by the Nazis in 1941 as part of the More than 28,000 Jews were kept at the Brzesc Ghetto between 1941 and 1942, before the majority of them were slaughtered at the Bronnaya Gora railway station, some with a shot to the head Two Belarusian soldiers stand beside the new grave at Brest Northern Cemetery where the Holocaust victims were reburied Belarusian soldiers walk past a grave with coffins with the remains of prisoners of a Jewish ghetto, killed during WWII Mourners threw soil over the tops of the coffins as part of Jewish custom to ensure the soul reaches heaven The mass grave was uncovered by chance in January as builders were laying the foundations for an upmarket housing development, prompting an operation to exhume their remains. Some of the skulls they found bore bullet holes, suggesting victims had been executed by a shot to the back of the head. Soldiers also found personal effects such as leather shoes that had not rotted. Historical records said many of the victims were forced to strip naked before being murdered. 'I have mixed feelings,' Jewish community member Regina Simonenko said after the funeral. She said she had been shaken by the sheer horror of the events, but that it was important that they had been remembered. 'If we don't remember, then things like this can happen again.' Construction workers building an upmarket apartment block uncovered the bones back in January, and Belarusian soldiers spent the next four months exhuming the remains Many of the bodies discovered had bullet holes in the skulls, where they were shot dead by their Nazi captors. More than 17,000 Jews are thought to have been killed in the city in October 1942 The United Nations is demanding the United Kingdom hands over administration of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The General Assembly adopted a resolution based on findings by the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Britain must surrender control of the archipelago within six months. Britain forcibly evicted people from the islands, a sovereignty in the Indian Ocean disputed by the UK and Mauritius, in the 1960s and 1970s so the United States could build a military base. The UN Assembly backed by 116 votes to six a verdict by the ICJ that the UK's detachment of the islands and their incorporation into the British Indian Ocean Territory was 'unlawful' (pictured: Diego Garcia, a British Indian Ocean Territory and the largest of the islands in the Chagos Archipelago) Chagos islanders outside the High Court in London in 2007, where they were fighting the UK government for the reinstatement of their homeland The Foreign Office said the joint UK-US defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory 'helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe from terrorism, organised crime and piracy' On Wednesday, the UN Assembly backed by 116 votes to six a verdict by the ICJ that the UK's detachment of the islands and their incorporation into the British Indian Ocean Territory was 'unlawful'. As well as the UK, the resolution was opposed by the United States, Australia, Hungary, Israel and the Maldives. There were 56 abstentions, including France and Germany, from the vote, which is not legally binding but places huge diplomatic pressure on the UK. A UN communique said: 'Since the decolonisation of Mauritius was not conducted in a manner consistent with the right to self-determination, the Assembly affirmed, the continued administration of the Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act. 'It urged the United Kingdom to co-operate with Mauritius to facilitate the resettlement of Mauritian nationals, including those of Chagossian origin, in the Chagos Archipelago and to pose no impediment to such efforts.' The Foreign Office said the joint UK-US defence facility on the British Indian Ocean Territory 'helps to keep people in Britain and around the world safe from terrorism, organised crime and piracy'. How did countries vote in the UN resolution? Six countries - Australia, Hungary, Israel, the Maldives, the United Kingdom and the United States - voted against the motion demanding the UK hand over control of the Chagos Island. There were 56 abstentions, among them Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland and Romania. Fifteen countries did not vote, and 116 backed the motion. Advertisement A spokesman said: 'We have however made a longstanding commitment since 1965 to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.' On Wednesday, Karen Pierce, the UK's ambassador to the UN, said the issue had not been for the ICJ as it was currently a 'bilateral sovereignty dispute'. She also said the resolution would 'set an unwelcome precedent' over sovereignty disputes 'that should be of concern to member states'. Dame Karen said: 'The United Kingdom regrets that the General Assembly has today voted to adopt this resolution. 'The United Kingdom fully recognises the importance of the issue of decolonisation and the UN's role in that. The United Kingdom sincerely regrets the manner in which Chagossians were removed from British Indian Ocean territory in the 1960s and the 1970s and we are determined to improve their lives where they have resettled.' The UK agreed a package including 3 million with Mauritius for the detachment of the archipelago in 1965. Chagossians were forcibly removed between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a US military facility on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group. Mauritius, which gained independence in 1968, maintains that the islands are its own and Chagossians have also brought cases in British courts for the right to return. Britain must hand back control of the archipelago to Mauritius within six months, the UN says Geoffrey Rush has been awarded a $2.9million defamation payout - the biggest in Australian history. The Daily Telegraph will pay almost $2million for lost earnings, on top of the $850,000 in damages for a series of reports falsely accusing him of 'inappropriate behaviour' towards a female actor. Lawyers for Mr Rush and the publisher of the Telegraph - Nationwide News, had agreed the actor should receive $1.98 million in damages for past and future economic loss resulting from the reports, the Federal Court heard on Thursday. Scroll down for video Geoffrey Rush (pictured) won his defamation case against a Sydney newspaper publisher and journalist over articles saying he'd been accused of inappropriate behaviour Australian actor Eryn-Jean Norvill (pictured) made the complaint about Mr Rush after the pair acted together in the Sydney Theatre Company production of King Lear However, despite Nationwide News agreeing to pay the sum, the organisation is appealing the finding of defamation by Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney. The Daily Telegraph confirmed its appeal in its news report of the case on Thursday. Mr Rush had previously offered to settle the case for $50,000 and an apology, Mr Rush's barrister Sue Chrystanthou told the court. And while Mr Rush now boasts the biggest defamation payout in Australian history, the sum is far less than his legal team had originally suggested, which was about $20 million for 10 years of lost earnings. Actress Rebel Wilson was awarded the historic defamation payout of $4.5 million in 2017 over defamatory articles in Woman's Day magazine, however Victoria's Court of Appeal later slashed the payout to $600,000. Ms Wilson was then to pay back more than $4 million plus interest. Rush was awarded $850,000 (464,000) for aggravated damages in April. The Oscar winner looks set to receive $1.98 million in damages meaning his total payout looks to be about $2.87million. The 67-year-old, who played Captain Barbossa in Pirates Of The Caribbean, sued the Daily Telegraph's publisher Nationwide News and journalist Jonathon Moran over two stories and a poster published in late 2017. Australian actor Geoffrey Rush (centre) has been awarded a $2.9 million defamation payout - the biggest in Australian history The articles related to an allegation that Mr Rush behaved inappropriately towards a co-star - later revealed to be Eryn Jean Norvill - during a Sydney Theatre Company production of King Lear in 2015-16. Ms Norvill, who played King Lear's daughter Cordelia, claimed he had stroked her breast on stage and stroked her lower back backstage. Rush, who played King Lear, strongly denied the allegations. In Sydney's Federal Court last month, Justice Michael Wigney found Mr Rush had been defamed. 'Nationwide News and Mr Moran did not make out their truth defence,' the judge said. The judge said the articles damaged Rush's career and prevented him from securing work. The judge described the Daily Telegraph's journalism as 'recklessly irresponsible.' 'This was, in all the circumstances, a recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism of the worst kind - the very worst kind,' he said. 'Those articles were published in an extravagant, excessive and sensationalist manner.' Rush denied the allegations against him and said Nationwide News and Moran made him out to be a pervert and sexual predator. Nationwide News denied conveying those imputations but said if it did, they are substantially true. Ms Chrystanthou has pushed for an injunction. The Telegraph's barrister, Tom Blackburn SC, argued that an injunction would have a 'chilling effect' on future criticism, ABC reported. 'The injunction sought is a blunt instrument because a legitimate comment which might convey any one of these meanings is criminalised.' Justice Wigney has reserved his decision on the injunction. A temporary injunction remains in place. Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway clashed with Nancy Pelosi during a stormy White House meeting Wednesday then on Thursday accused the House speaker with treating her like her maid. The extraordinary accusation followed on reports of their tense interaction during a furious White House meeting, where President Trump delivered a five-minute lecture and walked out of a gathering called to discuss infrastructure. Conway approached Pelosi at the tail end of the meeting, then sarcastically called her 'pro-Woman' when the speaker refused to answer her question. The White House counselor turned on Pelosi in a tense exchange in the Cabinet room, moments after President Trump had abruptly left the talks with Democrats - in fury at planned inquiries and possible impeachment hearings in Congress. Taking aim at Trump, Pelosi said she was 'not surprised' he had left and told the room how Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt would have acted differently. Conway fired back, asking the Democratic leader if she had a 'direct response to the President'. White House aide Kellyanne Conway (right) clashed with Nancy Pelosi (left) during a stormy White House meeting yesterday and accused the House Speaker of not being 'pro-woman' Pelosi replied: 'I'm responding to the President, not staff' in a quote provided by Pelosi's spokesman. Moments later, as the room emptied, Conway turned to Pelosi and said sarcastically: 'Great, that's really pro-woman of you'. Conway took her complaints public in a Fox News interview Thursday. 'Then Speaker Pelosi went on and launched into some odd, self-curated history of infrastructure in our country. She talked about Thomas Jefferson and she got to Teddy Roosevelt,' according to Conway. She may have been summarizing remarks Pelosi made both Wednesday and Thursday about presidents who were able to push through major infrastructure initiatives. 'And so when she was finished I said, respectfully, "Madam Speaker, would you like to address some of the specifics the president talked about?" Conway told the network. President Donald Trump gave a hastily arranged press conference at the White House yesterday (pictured) after storming out of talks with Democrats 'She treats me like I'm either her maid or her driver or her pilot or her makeup artist,' Conway said of Pelosi Conway noted that Pelosi is one of the wealthiest members of Congress. Here Paul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, and Gretchen Carlson attend the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Cocktails at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City Conway owns multi-million homes in Washington, D.C. and Alpine, New Jersey 'And she said, "I talk to the president! I don't talk to staff!" in Conway's account. Then she tore into Pelosi, who is worth at least $16 million and whose husband, Paul, is a wealthy real estate investor. Her average net worth is $58 million, CBS News reported. 'Because let's face it, she is the sixth-most rich member of Congress. She treats everybody like they're her staff,' claimed Conway. 'She treats me like I'm either her maid or her driver or her pilot or her makeup artist. And I'm not. And I said to her, "How very pro-woman of you!" per usual, because she's not very pro-woman. She's pro-some-women. A few women,' she vented. According to her own 2017 financial disclosure, Conway has a Fidelity retirement account worth between $5million and $25 million, another Fidelity retirement account worth $1-5 million, and a checking account worth up to $1 million. Her husband George Conway, a prominent lawyer and top Trump critic, listed two separate employment retirement and income accounts valued at more than $1 million each. She listed 75 firms for the prior year that paid her more than $5,000 in income. The couple have an $8 million mansion near DC's Embassy Row. They also have a $6 million in the wealthy enclave of Alpine, New Jersey. Pelosi refused to get into the matter when asked about it at a Thursday press conference. 'Im not going to talk about that. I responded as the speaker of the House to the president of the United States,' she said. Tensions ran high after the President dramatically walked out of the infrastructure talks, declaring he would no longer work with Democrats unless they drop their investigations. He said he told Pelosi: 'I want to do infrastructure. But you know what? We can't do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over.' In a hastily arranged press conference he demanded an end to the investigations, saying: 'I don't do cover-ups. So get these phony investigations over with. 'You can't investigate and legislate simultaneously. It just doesn't work that way.' The President insists he was cleared by special counsel Robert Mueller's two-year probe - although it did not conclude one way or another whether he committed obstruction of justice. A printed sign that read 'No Collusion' and 'No Obstruction' was posted on the President's lectern. Since taking control of the House in January, Democrats have opened a series of probes into the Trump presidency, despite Mueller's findings. Trump has ordered his administration to stop complying with the Democratic investigations. Many rank-and-file Democrats - and some 2020 presidential candidates - have demanded impeachment hearings. Pelosi has tried to steer a careful course on impeachment, recognizing how it could play into Trump's narrative of a crusade against him. Trump insists he was cleared by Robert Mueller's investigation but the special counsel (pictured) did not reach a verdict on whether the President committed obstruction of justice Speaking yesterday, she said: 'We believe the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up. 'The fact is, in plain sight in the public domain, this president is obstructing justice and he's engaged in a cover-up - and that could be an impeachable offense.' Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris are among the 2020 candidates who have argued for impeachment proceedings to begin. Others including Joe Biden have followed Pelosi in taking a careful line, but the former Vice President has not ruled it out. However, any impeachment bid is highly unlikely to remove Trump from office. Even if the House votes to impeach him, two-thirds of the Republican-controlled Senate would have to vote to throw him out - a remote prospect. A high ranking military officer allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend and shot three people to death in a Brazilian church before he was taken down by police. Lieutenant Colonel Rudson Aragao Guimaraes, 39, was allegedly high on drugs when he launched his killing spree in Paracatu, south east Brazil, on Tuesday night. Witnesses claimed the accused, described as 'deranged and speaking incoherently' burst into the church shouting that he had 'returned from hell and had a mission to fulfill'. Police patrolling the neighborhood shot the suspect in the chest before he was taken to hospital. Officers claimed he still had six bullets left and appeared intent on using them to assassinate others. These churchgoers in Paracatu, south east Brazil, were in a prayer circle before alleged gunman Rudson Aragao Guimaraes walked in He opened fire on the group as they fled, killing three church members. The pastor, Evandro Rama, survived the attack, but fractured his ankle jumping a wall while fleeing the gunman Lieutenant Colonel Guimaraes, pictured, was allegedly high on drugs when he reportedly launched his killing spree The victims, three women and a man, have been named as the accused's former partner, Heloisa Vieira, 59, and church members, Rosangela Albernaz, 50, a restaurant owner; Marilene Neves, 52, a grandmother and dinner lady and pensioner Antonio Rama, 67, the father of the minister of the Shalom Baptist Church. The pastor, Evandro Rama, survived the attack, but fractured his ankle jumping a wall while fleeing the gunman. Moments before storming the church, Guimaraes allegedly stabbed his former girlfriend in the neck with a penknife at his mother's house. The victim was visiting her ex-boyfriend's family when he arrived and apparently attacked without warning. It's believed he left the crime scene on foot and headed to the chapel where security cameras spot him arriving around 6.45pm. Officers said the date on the cameras which display May 20 was wrong because of a programming fault. Guimaraes allegedly had six more rounds in his weapon, pictured, that he intended to use before officers shot him Pensioner Antonio Rama, 67, the father of the minister of the Shalom Baptist Church, and Rosangela Albernaz, 50, a restaurant owner, were both killed in the attack Before attacking the church he is said to have stabbed his ex-girlfriend Heloisa Vieira, pictured He is seen forcing open the front doors, breaking off a metal panel in the process and bursting into the building, apparently brandishing a 36. gauge pistol and shouting he had come to kill the pastor. Lieutenant colonel Luiz Magalhaes, Paracatu military police, said: 'We're still unclear about the motive of the attacks. According to Rudson's relatives, there had been no disagreement between him and his former girlfriend. 'But when he arrived at his mother's house he seemed to be in a strange state of mind and without any apparent reason suddenly became angry and rammed [Heloisa] in the neck with a penknife.' The victim, who worked as a course instructor for various companies, died instantly. The suspect's mother and sister were unharmed. The police chief said: '[Rudson] then headed to the Shalom Baptist Church and broke open the doors which had been locked. 'Those present told us he seemed disorientated and was rambling incoherently and shouting he had come from hell with a mission to fulfill that included killing the minister.' Video images taken inside the church show a group of about 20 parishioners, with children present, in a prayer circle at the front. They scatter as the suspect enters and the pastor, who had apparently been threatened before by the accused, makes a run for it. Lieutenant colonel Luiz Magalhaes said of Guimaraes (pictured): 'Everything seems to indicate that this was a psychotic outbreak. Officers shot the suspect to protect other people in the church' Officers neutralised the suspect with a single bullet to the chest, hitting him just under his collar bone Two of the victims were reportedly shot at random as they tried to escape before a passing patrol car, hearing gunfire, responded rapidly. The third victim was grabbed as a hostage by the accused the moment officers arrived but shot in the head before any negotiations for her release could begin. Officers neutralised the suspect with a single bullet to the chest, hitting him just under his collar bone. Brazilian media Correio Brazilense reported that the military man, who served in the airforce, complained of hearing voices and had been attending the church before but may have been barred because of his alleged drug problems and erratic behaviour. Lt col Magalhaes said: 'Everything seems to indicate that this was a psychotic outbreak. 'Officers shot the suspect to protect other people in the church. There was still about 20 on the scene and he had six more rounds intact. If they had not arrived on time, the situation could have been far worse.' Investigators said they have ruled out a crime of passion, which had mistakenly linked the former girlfriend with the pastor in earlier reports. They are now examining the relationships between the accused and the victims. Detective Marcelo Santos said to Brazilian media G1: 'Witnesses said the pastor had been threatened by (Rudson) for some time. Our line of investigation is to find out why there appears to have been disagreements and why he made these threats.' The accused underwent emergency surgery during which doctors said he suffered two cardiac arrests. He has been admitted to intensive care in a critical condition. Lawyers for the accused were sought for a comment but none was forthcoming. A large marlin weighing up to 100 kilograms has jumped into a small boat off the NSW coast seriously injuring two brothers. The marlin breached and landed in the brothers' fishing boat off Wooli, north of Coffs Harbour, at midday on Thursday. 'The marlin's sharp snout sliced open the younger brother's lower right arm, causing an open fracture,' NSW Police said in a statement. 'The older brother suffered a deep cut to his right shoulder.' Two brothers were in an inflatable boat with another man when they were both speared by a flying marlin. The younger man (pictured) suffered an open fracture to his right arm The older brother, 48, (pictured) suffered a deep cut to his right shoulder The brothers - aged 46 and 48 - were in a five-metre rigid hull inflatable boat with a third man, aged 46, who wasn't injured. The marlin managed to escape off the boat back into the water. Wooli resident Nicki Voss spoke to the men when they raced back to shore just after 1pm on Thursday. 'One of the SES guys said it had ripped the guy's arm open to the bone and you could see ripped tendons,' Ms Voss said, according to the Daily Telegraph. She said the marlin started thrashing about after becoming stuck on the boat. '(He told police) "It was as long as the width of the boat we were in".' The marlin's snout sliced open the younger brother's lower right arm while the older brother suffered a deep cut to his shoulder (file image) The three men are believed to be from Narrabeen, Sydney, and had been on a fishing trip The younger brother was taken to Coffs Harbour Base Hospital by helicopter, while the older man was taken to the same hospital by ambulance. Police confirmed their injuries are not life-threatening. The three men are believed to be from Narrabeen, Sydney, and had been on a fishing trip. A man in China has had his penis mysteriously chopped off after passing out following a night of heavy drinking. The 44-year-old man, known by his surname Tan, woke up the next morning to sharp pain and severe bleeding before realising that his vital part had been cut off by someone with 'a sharp tool', according to Chinese media. His shocked family rushed him to hospital and doctors managed to stitch the severed penis back onto him nearly 15 hours later. A doctor at Xiangya Hospital in Changsha, China, checks on the man after the surgery The 44-year-old man had his penis mysteriously cut off after drinking with friends (file photo) The incident took place in the city of Huaihua in southern China's Hunan Province earlier this month. According to local Sanxiang City Express, Mr Tan went out with friends on the night of May 7. He drank nearly half a litre of baijiu, a type of strong Chinese rice wine with an average alcohol content of 45 per cent. Mr Tan became so drunk he lost consciousness soon after. But the next morning, he woke up in his home screaming as he realised that someone had cut his penis about two centimeters (0.78 inches) from its root. The severed penis was connected to his body with a tiny piece of skin. It is said the man, Mr Tan, drank nearly 0.5 litres of baijiu , a type of strong Chinese rice wine with an average alcohol content of 45 per cent, while out with friends on May 7 (file photo) The incident took place in the city of Huaihua (pictured) in southern China's Hunan Province Tan's family members, who were shocked by the scene, immediately took him to seek medical attention. They went to various hospitals, but doctors were not capable of re-attaching the sexual organ. He was then transferred to Xiangya Hospital in the provincial capital of Changsha eight hours later. Doctor Wu Panfeng said his team repaired the man's urethra, spongy tissues and blood vessels The hospital formed a special team with experts from various departments, who managed to stitch the patient's penis back after a seven-hour surgical operation, according to a surgeon from the hospital. Surgeons also repaired his urethra, spongy tissues and blood vessels. Dr. Wu Panfeng from the hospital's Department of Hand Microsurgery said the colour of Mr Tan's penis returned to normal a week after the procedure. He expected Mr Tan to be able to urinate on his own in two to three weeks. 'After that, we will team up with urology specialists and psychologists to treat the patient to help him achieve a normal sex life,' Dr. Wu said. Although Mr Tan was seriously injured, he decided not to call police. His brother told reporters that Mr Tan would not speak about the matter while recovering in the hospital. The man also refused to tell his family who might have removed his penis and their possible motives. Amanda Fensome (pictured above) watched in horror as her mother Vivienne fell from a passenger transporter at Luton Airport A heartbroken daughter who went to an airport to welcome her mother home from her holiday, is fighting for 100,000 compensation after she discovered her lying fatally injured after falling from a passenger transporter. Amanda Fensome witnessed the aftermath of her disabled mother Vivienne accidentally plunging backwards five feet onto tarmac. Mrs Fensome was being helped to disembark a jet after flying into Luton Airport from a trip to Alicante, Spain, in April 2015. The 57-year-old diabetic needed help getting from her Monarch flight to the airport terminal, and was transported in a specially adapted 'ambulift' - a 'container mounted on a scissor lift on the bed of a lorry'. However, as she was being lowered to the ground, its guard rail opened 'without warning', with her falling backwards, five feet to the ground. Mrs Fensome, from Luton, suffered cracked ribs, chest wounds and internal injuries to her abdomen. Lawyers representing the family stated that medics then failed to recognise the extent of her injuries and sent her home from hospital too early, in her tragic death from septicaemia around two months later. An airport passenger transport vehicle, similar to the one with Vivienne Fensome fell from at Luton Airport Her 29-year-old daughter had been waiting for her mother in the airport terminal and 'witnessed the immediate aftermath' of her fall, court documents disclose. Ms Fensome and her father, Gary Fensome, are now suing for 100,000 over their loss, seeking damages from the makers and suppliers of the ambulift - as well as from the NHS over negligent treatment following Mrs Fensome's fall. Mr Fensome, 60, is suing on behalf of his dead wife's estate, while his daughter is also claiming in her own right as a 'secondary victim' of the tragedy. Ms Fensome had a naturally 'close tie of love and affection' to her mother, her barrister Christopher Stephenson explained in court documents. Luton Airport (pictured above) where Vivienne flew into following her holiday to Alicante She says she suffered nervous shock due to witnessing the aftermath of her horrific fall. 'She looked out of the window and saw her mother lying on the tarmac having fallen from the tail lift. 'Amanda was very distressed, shocked and shaken. She banged on the window and fought to get onto the tarmac to be with her mother. 'She gained access to her mother and accompanied her to the hospital.' Mrs Fensome was treated at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, but discharged into her GP's care the next day with advice to take regular doses of paracetamol. Her family claims it was unsafe to send her home and say the medic who treated her in hospital should have arranged further x-rays. Mrs Fensome's condition deteriorated over the next few weeks, with reduced mobility and severe chest pain. She was readmitted to hospital on June 3 when a scan finally pinpointed multiple rib fractures and a fractured thoracic spine. Acute blood poisoning set in and she died on June 26, 2015. Father and daughter are fighting for damages from Del Equipment (UK) Ltd, who manufactured the tail lift, and from Emtek Ltd who made the ambulift for use by airport staff. Del Equipment (UK) Ltd denies liability, insisting it did not know the tail lift would be used for transporting people rather than goods. But Emtek Ltd is blaming Del Equipment, saying it knew the lift was destined to be used by passengers. The NHS has admitted breach of duty over Mrs Fensome's care and accepts that she would have survived her injuries with the right treatment, although with a reduced life expectancy, according to claim documents. The case reached Central London County Court as lawyers on all sides thrashed out pre-trial issues relating to costs budgeting and expert evidence. After a short hearing, Judge Heather Baucher adjourned the case, directing that it should return to court at a later date. Rescuers in Malaysia freed a 16-year-old boy with a saw after his penis became trapped inside a toilet pipe when he attempted to have sex with it. The boy, from the southern Malaysian state of Johor, began to panic when his privates swelled and became stuck inside the alloy tube, which was uncovered and protruding outwards from the wall. The teenager had attempted to liberate himself for over an hour before he asked housemates for assistance who then desperately called the local fire and rescue station. The boy's penis became trapped in a 30mm wide ally pipe which was uncovered and protruding outwards from the wall Senior Fire Officer Seniman Idris of the Tangkak Fire and Rescue Station said they received an emergency call from the boy's residence around 10pm on May 20. Emergency rescuers arrived at the scene with a metal cutting saw, attempting to manually cut the pipe to release the teenager. With little success, the boy was then rushed to Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital where doctors and firemen successfully freed the boy by removing the whole length of the 30mm wide pipe just before midnight. The boy explained, 'the metal pipe is about six inches in length with a [thickness] of 5 millimeters, and is no longer used. The firemen had to cut the pipe first.'' Footage of the boy in the hospital bed show sparks flying and the boy wriggling uncomfortably as medics and fireman use a large circular saw to cut the pipe. 'The case was resolved with the expertise of the hospital and the victim was stable,' Fire chief Seniman Idris said. Video footage shows the teenage boy wiggling uncomfortably as doctors and firemen from Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital tried to cut the metal with a special circular saw Sparks are seen flying as doctors attempt to cut through the special circular saw and trying their best not to harm the boy's organ The local firemen advised residents to seal similar pipes to prevent similar further future incidents. While the teenager returned home with only minor injuries, the incident caused his privates to be swollen. 'The case was resolved with the expertise of the hospital and the victim was stable,' Fire chief Seniman Idris said Jonathan Xie, 20, who was arrested on Wednesday on terror charges, is pictured in his Ridge High School Yearbook in 2017 This is the first picture of a New Jersey man arrested on terror charges after he allegedly attempted to provide support to a terrorist group and spoke about bombing Trump Tower. Jonathan Xie, 20, from Basking Ridge, was arrested on Wednesday morning on charges of attempting to provide support to a terrorist group, making false statements and transmitting a threat of interstate commerce. In addition to entertaining a potential attack on the Manhattan skyscraper, authorities believe he also conducted detailed surveillance of the building. Xie reportedly made a number of threats against against US-based pro-Israel groups and discussed bombing the Israeli consulate in New York as well. Court documents allege that the suspect lied to enlist in the US Army for military training and allegedly wired money abroad to support Hamas militants. Prosecutors say Xie even completed Security Clearance Applications for a number of National Security Agency (NSA) job vacancies in February, answering 'no' to the question of 'Have you ever associated with anyone involved in activities to further terrorism?' Xie's application had an error and he was forced to refile the form 10 days later. Again, he answered no to the question. Screenshots of Xie's messages show that him bragging of giving money to Hamas, saying he 'didn't give a damn' if it was illegal Jonathan Xie, 20, has been arrested after her allegedly discussed a number of terror plots and sent money abroad to support terrorist groups. He is seen in a Wednesday court sketch Through conversations on Instagram, it's claimed he expressed that he wanted to join the NSA so he could 'learn how to kill... so I can use that knowledge' and '[I don't know] if I pass the training... If I should do lone wolf [sic].' When asked if he was worried if he'd get arrested for his Hamas ties, Xie purportedly responded 'I don't give a s**t. I'm a political soldier. I'm not afraid to die. So I can carry something out in the future.' Last month, the FBI says surveillance cameras outside of Trump Tower captured Xie observing the building. One of the alleged targets of the attack was Trump Tower in central Manhattan Video courtesy PIX 11 It's claimed he later posted a 'Yes/No' poll to Instagram saying 'Should I bomb Trump Tower?' with a bomb emoji imposed over the high-rise. A criminal complaint details Xie later posted: 'Okay, so I went to NYC today and passed by Trump Tower and then I started laughing hysterically . . . s*** I forgot to visit the Israeli embassy in NYC ... i want to bomb this place along with trump tower.' In April, Xie is said to have filmed an Instagram Live story of him posing in a black ski-mask, saying he was against Zionism and the 'neo-liberal establishment'. He supposedly added that he would 'find a way' to Hamas to show his support, and then displayed the Palestinian fundamentalist group's flag, while holding a handgun. In addition to entertaining a potential attack on the Manhattan skyscraper, authorities believe he also conducted detailed surveillance of the building 'I'm gonna go to the f****** pro-Israel march and I'm going to shoot everybody,' officials say Xie said in the video, talking about an Al-Quds day parade. 'I want to shoot the pro-Israel demonstrators... you can get a gun and shoot your way through or use a vehicle and ram people... all you need is a gun or vehicle to go on a rampage... I do not care if security forces come after me, they will have to put a bullet in my head to stop me,' he allegedly said in a later post. He added he had 'some stuff planned' but couldn't talk about in any further on the stream. The FBI says that although the Xie is accused of discussing attacks, they don't believe a concrete plot was in place at the time of his arrest. But their investigation has revealed details of Xie's troubling social media habits, including a YouTube channel containing playlists of videos supporting Saddam Hussain, Bashar al Assad, North Korea and ISIS. NOW: @FBI agents continue search at Basking Ridge NJ home of Jonathan Xie, 20-year-old charged today w material support to #Hamas and threatening to bomb #Trump Tower. @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/1vm7BpykB9 Alex Zdan (@ActualAlexZ) May 22, 2019 'Homegrown violent extremists like Xie are a serious threat to national security,' U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement to NBC4. 'The actions that he took and planned to take made that threat both clear and present, and we commend our law enforcement partners for working closely with us to stop him before he could carry out his plans to commit violence on American soil. 'We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard our country and its citizens from the threat of terrorism, whether that threat comes from abroad or as here from within.' Officials say he sent $100 via Moneygram to a person in Gaza in December last year, who he believed to a member of a Hamas suicide bombing group. 'Just donated $100 to Hamas. Pretty sure it was illegal but I don't give a damn,' he reportedly stated on Instagram at around the same time. In April, Xie is said to have filmed an Instagram Live story of him posing in a black ski-mask, saying he was against Zionism and the 'neo-liberal establishment'. The same month he instructed an undercover FBI agent how to donate to Hamas forces (pictured: An email chain between Xie and an FBI agent, with a picture of a Hamas flag at the bottom) Xie then sent screenshots of the website to the agent and demonstrated how to use a new feature on the website that allows donations to be sent via Bitcoin Xie then sent screenshots of the website to the agent and demonstrated how to use a new feature on the website that allows donations to be sent via Bitcoin Then in April this year, Xie sent a link to a 'Hamas website' to an FBI agent posing undercover online and encouraged him to make a donation. Xie then sent screenshots of the website to the agent and demonstrated how to use a new feature on the website that allows donations to be sent via Bitcoin. On April 26, Xie sent a donation of approximately $20 in Bitcoin via the website as a test to see whether the Bitcoin feature worked, court documents said. Charges of providing material support to terrorists carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, with fines of up to $250,000. 'The FBI remains vigilant in its efforts to protect the public from those who support terrorist groups and ideologies,' FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie said in a statement. Officials say he sent $100 via Moneygram (receipt shown above) to a person in Gaza last year, who he believed to a member of a Hamas suicide bombing group 'Thanks to the hard work and determination of our agents and their law enforcement partners on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, this defendants further support to terrorism was disrupted and a threat to the safety of our community was averted. 'This case also illustrates the value of public awareness and participation. When you report suspicious activity, you become a force multiplier in the mission to keep America safe.' Xie appeared in Newark Federal Court to be arraigned on Wednesday afternoon. He was accompanied by his mother and father who fought back tears throughout the hearing. An FBI search of his Basking Ridge home, where he lives with his parents, found three guns. It's unclear who the weapons belong to and if they were legally bought. Xie could face more than 100 years in prison if convicted of all counts. Advertisement The Littlewoods.com website is selling products including mobile phones, games consoles, jewellery and kitchen appliances at up to 200 more than a sister site owned and run by the same company. Very.co.uk is also a Shop Direct website and sells many of the same goods but a side-by-side comparison of a random sample of 30 products found each one was dearer on Littlewoods - by up to 34 per cent. A Vango Taiga 6-person tent is only 899 on Very, but is 199 most expensive from Littlewoods, and a 128GB Huawei P30 phone is 699.99 on Very but 899.99 at Littlewoods. 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At Littlewoods.com the Fitbit Lite Vera is fully 33 per cent more expensive than it is at Very.co.uk: 199.99 not 149.99 These Nike Sportswear fleece pants in 'plum' colour will set you back 33 from Very.co.uk but 42 at Littlewoods.com This sterling silver Double Row Heart bracelet from designer Thomas Sabo costs 20 more at Littlewoods than at Very 'Frankly if you shop on Littlewoods' website always go to Very to see if exactly the same item is being sold at a cheaper price which we found it usually is.' Both websites are run by Shop Direct Ltd, and evidence suggests they have the same warehouse. Items marked as 'low stock' on one website are also 'low stock' on the other'; items ordered on the same day arrived by the same courier on the same delivery date; and both websites have the same 'returns' address, MSE found. Same product, same company, dispatched from the same warehouse, but up to 200 more: How goods from Littlewoods.com are 34% dearer than at Very.co.uk Product (from most to least expensive at Littlewoods) Littlewoods.com Very.co.uk How much more is Littlewoods? 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Fuzzy pets 17.99 13.99 4 (29%) LOreal Paris true match foundation 6.49 4.99 1.50 (30%) Prices as at Tuesday May 21, research by MoneySavingExpert.com The websites look similar in layout and content as well, with product names and descriptions identical between one site and the other - even down to typo errors in product names, the MSE investigation found. Very charges a 3.99 delivery fee, while delivery on Littlewoods is free (or, perhaps more accurately, is included in the price of the items) but in almost all cases the price difference exceeded 4.00 so Very was still the cheaper option. A 128GB Huawei P30 smartphone is 200 more expensive at ShopDirect's Littlewoods website than from their Very website A Nintendo Switch costs 364.99 at Littlewoods but only 279.99 at Very.co.uk. Both sites are run by the same company A Ted Baker Tb Pave Bobble Matinee clutch bag is 20 more expensive at Littlewoods, costing 105 rather than 85 at Very Shop Direct Ltd, which also runs Littlewoods Ireland, boasted sales of 1.96 billion last financial year. Their three websites receive over 1.4 million visits every day and they sell over 1,800 brands and deliver 49 million products to four million customers every year. MailOnline has approached Shop Direct for comment. A spokesperson for Shop Direct told MoneySavingExpert: 'Were transparent about pricing to help customers compare our prices with other retailers and pick the shopping destination thats right for them. 'Very and Littlewoods offer value in different ways. Littlewoods offers a range of leading brands and free returns, as well as free delivery and different ways to pay compared to Very.' America's Gambino crime family sent an explosives expert to Italy to help the mob blow up an anti-mafia investigator, a supergrass has claimed. Judge Giovanni Falcone was assassinated 27 years ago today after a one-tonne bomb exploded on a motorway in Capaci as his three-car motorcade passed. His wife and three bodyguards also died. Two months later, Falcone's friend and high-profile prosecuting magistrate Paolo Borsellino was also killed by a mafia car bomb in Palermo. Now Maurizio Avola, a convicted mafia killer who became a turncoat in 1994, has claimed John Gotti, the head of the Gambino crime family, sent an expert to help the Sicilian mafia Cosa Nostra with their plans. Convicted mafia killer Maurizio Avola has claimed that America's Gambino crime family sent an explosives expert to help with the car bombing of Judge Giovanni Falcone, and magistrate Paolo Borsellino in separate attacks. Pictured: the remains of the car bomb that killed Borsellino Falcone and Borsellino, pictured, were killed for their involvement in jailing 475 mafia members during the Maxi Trial La Repubblica reports that Avola told prosecutors: 'I met [the expert] in a house in Catania and was later told "today you've met someone really important". I was told that the foreigner collaborated in the attack.' Falcone and Borsellino were killed by the Corleonesi clan inside the Sicilian mafia because they were part of the antimafia pool. They worked together for several years, culminating in the Maxi Trial, which saw 475 people convicted for crimes linked to the mafia between 1986 and 1992. Although American and Italian mobs have been linked for years, this is the first time it has been claimed they helped in these specific killings, reports the Telegraph. University College London professor John Dickie, who wrote the book Mafia Republic Italys Criminal Curse, told the Telegraph: 'Certainly there is nothing unusual in the traffic of personnel and ideas across the Atlantic - it dates back to the early 20th century. They were cousin organisations.' Pictured: students waving Italian flags during a commemoration ceremony for Falcone earlier today Polls opened in the UK and Netherlands on Thursday as voting got underway to decide the make-up of the European Parliament. Ballots will be cast across the 28-nation bloc until Sunday, pitting pro-European centrists against a rising tide of populism and Euroskepticism. It comes against the backdrop of Britain attempting to negotiate its way out of the trading bloc following the Brexit referendum. Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom party and a nationalist figurehead, casts his vote in The Hague on Thursday as voting gets underway in the EU elections Polling stations opened in the Netherlands (Amsterdam airport, pictured) and the UK on Thursday, and will continue across all 28 member states until Sunday Voters are being asked to chose MEPs that make up the EU's 751-member parliament in what is being billed as an election to decide Europe's future Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom party and one of Europe's most outspoken nationalists, cast his ballot at The Hauge on Thursday morning. Hours earlier, he had attended a rally alongside other populist, nationalist and far-right leaders in Milan where they issued a cross-continental rallying cry against the European Union. Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy's Lega Nord party; Marine Le Pen, of France's National Rally; and Jorg Meuthen, representing Germany's far-right AfD, also attended along with leaders of six other nationalist parties. Aside from Salvini, who serves as the deputy Prime Minister of Italy in a coalition, all of their parties have failed to gain power at domestic elections. However, big wins at the European Elections - where proportional voting systems often favour smaller, less-established parties - would send a message to Brussels about the direction the continent is heading in. The pro-European bloc is being led by Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, who insist that unity is the best buffer against shifting economic and security interests of an emerging new world order. Hoping to topple the European old-guard are a coalition of nationalist, populist and far-right leaders including Dutch Geert Wilders (left), Italy's Matteo Salvini (centre), Germany's Jorg Meuthen (second right) and France's Marine Le Pen (far right) French President Emmanuel Macron has pitched himself as Europe's foremost pro-EU politician, after Angela Merkel announced her intention to step down In the Netherlands (pictured) eccentric populist Thierry Baudet's Forum for Democracy party is running neck-and-neck with Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centrist VVD party While populist parties have largely failed to gain power in domestic elections, a strong showing in European elections would send a signal about where the continent is headed President Macron says the challenge is 'not to cede to a coalition of destruction and disintegration' that will seek to dismantle EU unity built up over the past six decades. On Thursday morning, U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn released a message with a warning that 'the far-right is on the rise' and adding that 'the actions we take now will have huge consequences for our future.' Voters across Europe elect a total of 751 lawmakers, although that number is set to drop to 705 when the UK leaves the EU. The Dutch make up just 26 currently and 29 after Brexit. The UK has 73 European lawmakers, who would lose their jobs when their country completes its messy divorce from the EU. Results of the four days of voting will not be officially released until Sunday night, but Dutch national broadcaster NOS will publish an exit poll after ballot boxes close Thursday night. The Netherlands could provide a snapshot of what is to come. Polls show the right-wing populist Forum for Democracy led by charismatic intellectual Thierry Baudet running neck-and-neck with the center-right VVD party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. While the country, an affluent trading nation, profits from the EU's open borders and single market, it also is a major contributor to EU coffers. Britain was not scheduled to take part in the elections, having announced its intention to leave Europe on March 29, but after a failure of negotiations is now participating Nigel Farage's newly-formed Brexit Party is leading the polls, amid warning that anything other than a strong anti-EU showing will be used as a reason to hold a second Brexit referendum The issue of EU membership still starkly divides Britain, with Remain voters centred in London (pictured) while regional voters favour leaving Elections will continue across the EU until Sunday, when the results will be announced (pictured, campaign posters in Belgium) Skeptical Dutch voters in 2005 rejected a proposed EU constitution in a referendum. Baudet, whose party emerged as a surprise winner of provincial elections in March, identifies more with hard-line Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban than with the nationalist populist movement led by Salvini. However, in a debate Wednesday night, Baudet called Salvini a 'hero of Europe' for his crackdown on migration. 'The immigration we get here from Africa and the Mideast is completely contrary to our culture, our values, our way of life, tolerance, love of women and so on,' he said. 'That has to stop and it will not happen at the European level.' Meanwhile, in the UK, the governing Conservative party - which has been handling the country's shambolic Brexit negotiations - is braced for an electoral wipeout amid speculation that Prime Minister Theresa May could be forced from power. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party has been polling strongly ahead of the vote, with the Euroskeptic figurehead warning that anything other than a strong anti-EU result will be used as a reason to hold a second referendum on Brexit. Pro-Remain Liberal Democrats - who have been leading calls for a second referendum - polled well in recent local elections, leaving the result far from certain. A breakaway group of MPs from both Labour and Conservative parties campaigning for Remain under the moniker Change UK has further complicated the picture. The wife of a prominent racehorse owner accused of being involved in a cocaine smuggling ring has broken down in tears before he appeared before a local court. Camilla Flower spent all morning crying in the lobby of Liverpool Local Court before her husband Damion Flower, 47, made a brief appearance. The high-profile Australian racehorse owner was charged over his alleged role in importing cocaine aboard commercial flights from South Africa. Camilla Flower (pictured) is believed to have been crying all morning before Damion Flower, 47, made a brief appearance at Liverpool Local Court on Thursday Mr Flower, 47, and airport worker To Oto O Junior Mafiti were arrested on Wednesday after authorities uncovered an alleged trafficking ring operating at Sydney Airport. Mr Mafiti, 50, is accused of using his airside access to collect the cocaine from baggage holds. Mr Flower was one of two men police claim received the bags removed from the aircraft. Both have been charged with six counts of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. Court documents alleged the offences happened at Mascot between January 22 and May 22. Mr Flower did not apply for bail during his brief court appearance, and is expected to make a bid for release on May 29. His lawyer Chris Watson told reporters outside his client intended to plead not guilty. Mr Flower (pictured in 2005) made a brief appearance at Liverpool Local Court on Thursday Camilla Flower (pictured), the wife of racehorse owner Damion Flower, leaves Liverpool Local Court in Sydney, Thursday Mr Mafiti also declined to apply for bail in Central Local Court. Both matters have been adjourned to July 17. Wednesday's arrests followed that of a 42-year-old man near Sydney Airport on April 15 as part of a long-running investigation by NSW and federal police, Australian Border Force and the federal Department of Home Affairs. AFP officers allegedly found a black duffel bag containing vacuum-sealed packages wrapped in black and silver paper in his vehicle, believed to be 27kg of cocaine. He has been charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. Mr Flower (pictured in 2018) was later arrested outside his Moorebank home over 'his alleged role in receiving imports of illegal drugs from the Oran Park man' Mr Flower (pictured with prized horse Snitzel) faces six counts of import commercial quantity of border controlled drug, a charge sheet seen by Daily Mail Australia shows During the arrest of Mr Mafiti at Oran Park on Wednesday, police allegedly found him in possession of a bag containing about 28kg of a substance believed to be cocaine. Mr Flower was later arrested outside his Moorebank home over 'his alleged role in receiving imports of illegal drugs from the Oran Park man', authorities said in a joint statement on Thursday. Police raided six properties in Hoxton Park, Moorebank and Revesby as well as at the Oran Park address where about $8 million in cash was found. 'This has been a complex, multi-layered investigation driven by the skills and expertise of intelligence analysts able to identify this offending to allow authorities to act,' AFP Acting Superintendent Brad Edgtton said. Pictured is the moment police arrest a baggage handler, 50, at Sydney Airport on Wednesday Police found around $8million in cash (pictured) at a Hoxton Park home linked to the baggage handler Border Force acting regional commander in NSW, Garry Low, said the men allegedly used their intimate knowledge of the aviation environment to carry out the operation but still weren't able to avoid detection. The accused 42-year-old man is scheduled to appear in Central Local Court on June 12. Mr Flower holds a starting slot at the world's richest turf race, The Everest in Randwick, after spending $1.8million to secure it for three years. AFP officers allegedly found a black duffel bag containing vacuum-sealed packages wrapped in black and silver paper in his vehicle, believed to be 27kg of cocaine Pictured is the cash found in a home allegedly linked to the baggage handler, 50 He came to fame in the racing world when his horse Snitzel won seven races in 2005 and earned him $1million in prize money. He sold a controlling stake in Snitzel, one of the most valuable sires in racing, to Arrowfield Studd - but still holds a share. Last April it was reported that Snitzel would generate more than $40million a year, after his service fee increased to $220,000. Snitzel covered covered 216 mares in 2017 and his progeny, including The Everest winner Redzel, have won tens of millions in prize money. Mr Flower (pictured) came to fame in the racing world when his horse Snitzel won seven races in 2005 and earned him $1million in prize money Talking about his horse last year, Mr Flower told Racing.com: 'He is going better than I thought he would. 'He was a very good race horse and a genuine Group 1 sprinter, you've only got to look at the horses he beat and who beat him at the time. 'But in the barn he is a world-class horse.' Mr Flower also has shares in more than 50 horses trained by Brad Widdup at Platinum Park which he owns. A mother-of-one who smuggled 'zombie drug' Spice into a psychiatric hospital for her boyfriend just hours before he died has been spared jail. Victoria Bateman, 28, of Hull, ordered the class B drug online and then secretly brought it to partner Samuel Buckley at the Humber Centre for Forensic Psychiatry after he had 'pestered her' to supply him with the substance. But just hours later he collapsed due to a heart attack and he died at Hull Royal Infirmary the next day. Hull Crown Court heard police initially wanted to charge Bateman with manslaughter but after a lengthy investigation there was not enough evidence to prove she was the only person to provide Mr Buckley with Spice. The court heard that although it was likely the drugs contributed to his death, it had not been proven and that Mr Buckley had also been seeking them from another source. Victoria Bateman, 28, left, has been spared jail for supplying Samuel Buckley, right, with drugs after smuggling them into a psychiatric hospital. Mr Buckley had a heart attack and died the following day, but it could not be proven if the drugs played a role Bateman was arrested after Mr Buckley's mother found drugs packets in his pockets and she pleaded guilty to supplying a class B substance. In mitigation, the court heard Bateman had initially resisted when asked for the Spice but eventually gave in. Stephen Welsh, prosecuting said: 'This case is around tragic circumstances. 'Suspicion immediately fell on the defendant and she was arrested and she explained the background that she had been asked to get drugs for him, she initially said no but she eventually gave in. 'She accepted that those drugs may have contributed to his death. She showed significant amounts of remorse for her actions. She was present at the time the life support was turned off. 'The prosecution can't be sure that it was the batch of drugs that the defendant supplied to him [that led to his death], as he had been seeking drugs by another source.' Stephen Robinson, mitigating, said: 'It's a very sad case, there has been a tragic loss here, the defendant is conscious of that. 'She cannot bear legal responsibility for the death but she does feel a moral responsibility. Mother-of-one Bateman, pictured, admitted supplying the drugs and said she had initially refused but was 'pestered' by Mr Buckley 'She's very sorry for what happened. She knows that nothing she can say will mitigate the loss felt by those closest to him. 'This has affected her very badly too, she's been undergoing counselling to come to terms with her part in this. 'She is effectively of good character, she works part-time in a shop, she has a six-year-old daughter who she is the primary carer for. 'The defendant hopes now to move on and put this behind her. Whatever sentence is passed she will have to live with this for the rest of her life.' Recorder Ben Nolan QC stressed he could not sentence Bateman for the death of Mr Buckley and only for the supply of drugs. He said: 'You have pleaded guilty to supplying a drug of class B to another. Mr Buckley suffered a heart attack at the Humber Centre for Forensic Psychiatry, pictured 'You immediately admitted what you had done, you told the police you felt pressurised but Mr Buckley made you feel you were in the wrong in not supplying them and in the end you gave in and supplied Spice on this one and only occasion. 'It is right to say that the toxicology conducted at the post mortem indicated that there was drugs of the same type within Mr Buckley's system. 'Whether they were the drugs supplied by you or from other source, it will never be known. Mr Buckley did make it clear he could get drugs from other sources. 'Whether the drugs were directly responsible for his cardiac arrest and death it will never be known. 'I make it clear, not withstanding this tragedy, I am not sentencing you for causing the death of Mr Buckley. 'Had you been guilty of causing the death then you would have been sentenced with manslaughter. 'In the end I'm sentencing you with supplying class B drugs and not with his death.' Bateman was slapped with a two-year community order of two years and 80 hours of unpaid work. Advertisement Britain did even worse in the Eurovision Song Contest than viewers first thought as its disatrous bottom-placed entry was actually awarded five more points that it should have been on the night. Michael Rices song, Bigger Than Us, was originally thought to have picked up 16 points, putting Britain in last place. But it turns out he scored just 11 in the final on Saturday in Tel Aviv, as the Eurovision Broadcasting Union (EBU) reveal a mistake due to 'human error'. The blunder originated with the Belarussian jury's dismissal from the competition when its members broke the contest's rules by revealing who they'd voted for in the semi-final. Michael Rice (pictured, left) bagged a disastrous 16 - but it turns out he actually scored just 11. An error in counting resulted from a mistake in the allocation of points from Belarus (pictured, right, their entree, Zena) Duncan Laurence, 25, of the Netherlands reacts after winning the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, when Britain finished last For the final, competition bosses pooled previous Belarussian votes with those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Georgia to give an aggregate score to award finalists. The scores were supposed to be spread among the countries that were running in the top 10, but the EBU mistakenly dished them out to the bottom 10, with Rice gaining five points belonging to Azerbaijan. What are the corrected Eurovision results? 1. Netherlands (498 points) 2. Italy (472 points) 3. Russia (370 points) 4. Switzerland (364 points) 5. Sweden (334 points) 6. Norway (331 points) 7. North Macedonia (305 points) 8. Azerbaijan (302 points) 9. Australia (284 points) 10. Iceland (232 points) 11. Czech Republic (157 points) 12. Denmark (120 points) 13. Cyprus (109 points) 14. Malta (107 points) 15. Slovenia (105 points) 16. France (105 points) 17. Albania (90 points) 18. Serbia (89 points) 19. San Marino (77 points) 20. Estonia (76 points) 21. Greece (74 points) 22. Spain (54 points) 23. Israel (35 points) 24. Belarus (31 points) 25. Germany (24 points) 26. United Kingdom (11 points) Advertisement Though the top four remain unchanged by the correction, winner Duncan Laurences song Arcade gained six points for the Netherlands after the error was rectified. Norway had points deducted and dropped to sixth from fifth. Yesterday's revelation came after fans claimed online that Hartlepool-born Rice should have received an even lower score. Wily Twitter users theorised that Belarus's points were incorrectly allocated to the bottom 10 songs rather than the top 10. Professor Adrian Kavanagh, of Maynooth University in Ireland, said: 'I think this is more a case of "you had just one job" rather than a scandal. Just an absolute mess up.' According to the Eurovision website semi-finalists get allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. They say: 'Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called neighbourly voting and increases suspense in the semi-finals.' Belarus was in the same 'pot' as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia but the points Belarus gave were in the exact opposite order to the rest of the pot's rankings. The other four nations put Malta at the top, but Belarus gave it zero points. Belarus also gave Israel the maximum of 12 points, despite the other four placing it bottom. Dr Kavanagh believes the UK's low score was the result of a perceived lack of effort, rather than politics, after Rice suggested that he was being punished for Brexit. He said: 'I dont think the poor UK jury results in past years are a reflection on Brexit, more a reflection that other countries dont think that the UK cares or tries at Eurovision. 'When the UK has made a concerted effort at Eurovision, theyve done OK with the juries, even in the Brexit era Lucie Jones finished 10th in the Eurovision Final Jury Vote in 2017 (despite this being in the wake of the Brexit vote) on the basis that the UK had done a really great job that year in terms of the selection and staging of their entry.' On the topic of Ireland's jury giving the UK zero points Dr Kavanagh said: 'While Ireland's jury gave no points to the UK in the Final (the UK jury likewise gave no points to Ireland in the semi final), it was not unusual in doing so - only six juries awarded the UK points (and most of these only awarded 1 or 2 points).' Wily fans on Twitter first spotted the mistake, as social media user @euro_bruno drew up a table showing how the points should have been allocated (see top 10 in the table) and how they were in reality (see bottom 10) Criticism: Madonna left fans disappointed on Saturday night with her poor performance of 1989 hit Like a Prayer at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest, which saw Holland triumph at the competition, held at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds in Israel All five members of the Belarus jury flagrantly disobeyed the competition's rules as they openly discussed who they had voted for in the semi-final on May 16, before the grand final had taken place. The members were Anastasiya Tikhanovich, Anzhela Mikulskaya, Artsem Mikhalenka, Olga Rizhikova and Valeriy Prigun. All of them openly discussed who their favourite entries were ahead of the final on Saturday - which is strictly against Eurovision Song Contest rules. Michael Rice (pictured on stage in Tel Aviv, Israel, last night) performed the song 'Bigger Than Us' as he represented Great Britain and finished in last place Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands performs the song 'Arcade' during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest grand final in Tel Aviv A Eurovision Song Contest spokesman said: 'The Belarussian jury voting was revealed in an interview contravening Eurovision Song Contest rules. 'In order to be compliant with the voting regulations, the European Broadcasting Union took action and dismissed the Belarussian jury from the Grand Final on Saturday. 'An aggregated result approved by the auditors was used in order to determine to whom the Belarussian votes would be allocated.' The final had already been dogged with criticism as fans expressed disappointment over the highly anticipated performance from Madonna. During her appearance, two of the Queen of Pop's dancers embraced while displaying Israeli and Palestinian flags on their backs. Iceland's contestants, Hatari, also flew the Palestinian flag as they sat backstage awaiting to hear the results of the competition. Teenagers are dying on Britain's streets because of a sick 'scoreboard' system which sees gangs members awarded different 'points' for stabbing rivals on different parts of the body. Young thugs get maximum points for inflicting a head injury, with lower scores for hitting the chest or stomach, in a system experts think stems from violent computer games. At least two deaths have been linked to gangs who boasted about scores in drill videos online, with many more feared to have been injured in the carnage. Earlier this year, The Mail On Sunday revealed gangs were boasting of their gruesome score tally on social media, fuelling an explosion in tit-for-tat violence. Now an investigation by Sky News has found 17-year-old Rhyhiem Barton, who was shot dead in Kennington in May last year, had previously rapped about 'the scoreboard' in a music for his 'Moscow 17' gang. The murder of Tavis Spencer-Aitkens in Ipswich in June last year also came after his killers bragged about the scoring system in a drill video they posted online. Tavis Spencer-Aitkens (left) and Rhyhiem Barton have both died in attacks linked to gangs who boast about their 'scoreboard', in which members gets points for different attacks and crimes Gang members get the most points for attacking someone in the head, then lesser 'scores' for injuring a rival on another part of the body, the Sky News investigation claims Rhyhiem Barton - who rapped under the name GB - was killed on the Brandon Estate where he lived. Relatives said he was shot from a BMW by thugs armed with a shotgun. His devastated mother, Pretana Morgan, who had previously sent Rhyhiem to live with relatives in Jamaica following an earlier stabbing, had to wash his blood from the pavement. His murder was one of five shootings in London that weekend amid tit-for-tat violence among rival gangs. A Moscow 17 drill video he appeared in included the lyrics 'check the scoreboard' and repeated references to people getting 'splashed', slang for stabbing. In Ipswich a month after Barton's murder, Tavis Spencer-Aitkens, aged 17, was attacked by a gang and later died of a stab wound. He was friends with a gang known as 'The Three' and was attacked by a rival group called 'J-Block', a reference to the Jubilee Park area of Ipswich. Five members of J-Block have since been jailed for a combined total of more than 100 years over the murder and it later emerged some of the killers had appeared in YouTube rap video which referred to 'scoring points'. Rhyhiem's devastated mother, Pretana Morgan, who had tried to shield him from the violence on their estate, scrubbed his blood of the pavement following the fatal attack Chris Preddie, a former gang member who has been awarded the OBE for his work with young offenders, previously warned that the scoring system was fuelling violence. He told Mail On Sunday: 'The bigger the crime the higher the points, the more and more you do something the more and more rep [reputation] you get, the more you get ranked up,' Mr Preddie said gang members send bragging messages on Snapchat or other social media to each other with videos of the violent acts accompanied by coded emojis signifying the particular crime. 'It's for everything you can think of from petty theft to phone-snatching to gang-related incidents,' he said. 'You don't see the scores but you see them posing with the knives and with the big money that's part of the points system. It's a systemised culture. Four were convicted of Tavis Spencer-Aitkens' murder. Kyreis Davies got a minimum of 21 years. Aristote Yenge will serve at least 25 years Four were convicted of Tavis Spencer-Aitkens' murder. Adebayo Amusa got a minimum of 23 years. Isaac Calver will serve at least 21 years Mr Preddie added: 'If a child in Slough has suddenly found out about Scores, he's found it through YouTube. 'These Drill rappers have massive platforms to inform the minds of young people.' The Commissioner of the Met Police, Cressida Dick, recently said she believes her force has turned the tide on knife crime thanks in part of the increased use of stop and search. But figures suggest suggest the bloodshed could now be moving to other cities. Stats published earlier this month showing knife crime is up 35% in Merseyside, 20% in West Yorkshire and 17% in the West Midlands. The number of killings was up by nearly half in Yorkshire and almost 20% in the North West. British Steel collapsed into liquidation yesterday as the 'vulture' investment firm which bought it for 1 earned an estimated 60million out of it in just three years. Greybull Capital has raked in about 50million in loan interest and up to 9million in management fees since it took over the then-struggling business in 2016. It promised to invest 400million into British Steel following the token 1 purchase from Indian conglomerate Tata, despite only putting in 20million each year. As a result of the insolvency, up to 4,000 jobs in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, 800 in Teesside and 20,000 in the UK supply chain are now at risk. Greybull had been seeking more financial support from the Government before yesterday's collapse, just three weeks after it secured a 120million loan. Steel workers protest outside British Steel in Scunthorpe this morning following yesterday's announcement that the firm had collapsed into insolvency Greybull Capital, set up by French brothers Nathaniel Meyohas (left) and Marc Meyohas (right). Marc is still with the firm, while Nathaniel has since left But the government refused to make an additional loan of 30million, claiming it would breach EU rules on state aid for private companies. Questions are likely to be asked of Greg Clark, the business secretary, who approved the initial 120million loan to help the company to meet an EU environmental fee. It is understood that ministers are open to the possibility of nationalising British Steel in a bid to save up to 25,000 jobs now at risk. Public ownership could be seriously mooted for the first time since it was privatised in 1988 should a last-minute buyer not materialise, the Times reported. It is understood that potential buyers made themselves known to the firm mere hours after it was placed into compulsory liquidation. However any suitor would have to act quick, with running costs of 20million a week ramping up pressure for a quick sale. It is understood that ministers are open to the possibility of nationalising British Steel in a bid to save up to 25,000 jobs now at risk (protesters pictured at Scunthorpe steelworks today) A spokesman for Greybull said yesterday that it would only recover its funds from the business once the government loan had been repaid. Despite priding itself as a specialist in turning around the fortunes of ailing firms, Greybull has a track record of buying high-profile businesses which later close. It was set up by French brothers Nathaniel Meyohas, 46, and Marc Meyohas, 43, in 2010 to invest the wealth of two families - the Perlhagens and the Meyohases. The numbers behind the collapse of British Steel Factors such as rising costs and US tariffs have all added to the decline of British Steel. Below we detail the key figures you need to know, and how they affected the crash of the company. 1: In 2016 Greybull acquired British Steel from Tata for just 1 79 million: The new owner of the company saw a viable opportunity, despite its annual losses of 79million on revenues of 1.2billion, under its previous owner 400 million: Greybull pledged 400million would be pumped into the struggling business 10 per cent: In September last year British Steel cut a whopping 10 per cent of its workforce, blaming the weakening pound for the decision 120million: The company sold off some permits to create working capital, but was caught out in a 'bad bet' and had to seek a 120million government loan 500million: Business Secretary Greg Clark said the company would have attracted an immediate and unremovable fine of 500million, which is why it granted them the government loan to fund new carbon permits 4,500: Jobs at sites in Scunthorpe and Teeside could be at risk, amounting to around 4,500 people being out of work Advertisement They have bought into a number of troubled businesses, with their most notable failure until now being Monarch Airlines. The airline left more than 100,000 tourists stranded after it went bust with debts of almost 500 million, at an estimated cost of 60 million to the taxpayer. It held on to Monarch's engineering arm, Monarch Aircraft Engineering Ltd, until January when that unit also slid into administration with the loss of 408 jobs. British authorities were forced to step in and help more than 100,000 holidaymakers get home - reportedly the biggest repatriation since World War Two. The repatriation cost the taxpayer an estimated 60 million. Greybull had pumped 125million into Monarch in 2014 with hopes of preventing it from failure. Greybull was also a leading backer in OpCapita's acquisition of electrical retailer Comet in 2012 for 2. A year later, the British retailer, which had 236 stores and employed 7,000 staff, collapsed into administration and closed all of its outlets. The collapse left the taxpayer with a reported 23million bill. The Comet investment was seen as a dark period for Greybull, with some accusing it of profiting while workers were made redundant. Marc Meyohas had said: 'We are sorry for what happened to Comet. 'It's annoying to be referred to as guys involved with that. We had a tiny holding and no board position, so had little control.' Another notable failure was the My Local convenience store chain, which was bought from Morrisons by a team led by retail entrepreneur Mike Greene, and backed by Greybull, for 25 million in 2015. The chain was rebranded as My Local, but dived into administration in June 2016, resulting in the closure of 90 stores with more than 1,200 employees laid off. Industry that provided the battleships to beat Hitler and the lifeblood of Britain's industrial towns enters final death throes: How 150-year-old steel trade finally discovered China was the enemy it couldn't beat Britain's once mighty steel industry has seemingly entered its final death throes with British Steel entering liquidation. With plants in Port Talbot, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield, Britain was formerly the powerhouse of the world's steel production - seeing generations working throughout the country's 150-year-long history in the industry, producing battleships that bested Hitler along with railways, bridges and buildings and providing thousands of British families with jobs. The importance of steel throughout Britain's history is difficult to overstate - but the industry has endured booms and busts ever since its conception, and rising competition from emerging markets, particularly in Asia, have seen the colossus of Britain's steel industry cut down. Britain had led the Industrial Revolution, which saw an explosion of coal mining, steam power, textile mills, and steel-based production at the turn of the 20th century. Pictured: Quality checking a giant saw blade, Edgar Allen's steel foundry, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 1963 Pictured: Doncaster, where workers were making and repairing locomotives and rolling stock for the Great Northern Railway July 1934: Elizabeth, Duchess of York, later the Queen Mother (1900 - 2002) receives an enthusiastic welcome from a crowd of female workers during a visit to the Firth & Brown steelworks in Sheffield Steel-making in Scunthorpe began in the late 19th century and by the early 20th century, had consolidated into three large companies spread over a series of massive sites to the east of the Lincolnshire town. The country's steel industry, including the Scunthorpe operations, was briefly nationalised by the post-war Clement Atlee Labour government but this was reversed by Winston Churchill's Conservatives in 1953. In 1967, 90% of the steel industry was nationalised by Harold Wilson's Labour government and British Steel was created out of 14 separate companies. The newly nationalised operation had around 270,000 employees - compared to roughly 30,000 today. According to the 1971 employment census, 323,000 people were steel workers - 1.5% of all those employed. This had halved by 1981 to 167,000 (0.8%). The biggest drop was between 1978 and 1981, with numbers falling from 271,000 to 167,000. In 1973, the government came up with a 10-year development strategy which would bring in billions of pounds of investment, but it meant the industry would be concentrated in five main areas: South Wales, Sheffield, Scunthorpe, Teesside and Scotland. Pictured left: A worker cleaning new carving knife blades during the abrasive process that follows knife grinding at a Sheffield steel factory, November 1959. Right: Out of work steel worker Peter Dixon with his children, walking through the industrial landscape of Port Talbot, Wales, 15th January 1964 Britain's steel industry, including the Scunthorpe operations, was briefly nationalised by the post-war Clement Atlee Labour government but this was reversed by Winston Churchill's Conservatives in 1953 (pictured: Workmen in a British steel foundry, circa 1960s) The government's strategy of subsidising loss-making plants and prioritising employment levels came to an end with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 (pictured: Workers in the washroom facility at a steelworks, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, 1964) The Scunthorpe works was rocked by disaster in November 1975 when 11 people died following an explosion in the Queen Victoria blast furnace. Falling demand and productivity issues dogged the industry through the late 1970s. The government's strategy of subsidising loss-making plants and prioritising employment levels came to an end with the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979. The total nationalised workforce at this time was about 142,000. A 13-week national pay strike shut the industry down in 1980, and the early 1980s saw dramatic cuts to production in Scunthorpe - but around 9,000 people were employed in the industry in the town in 1982. Left: An employee of the Abbey Steelworks of Port Talbot measures a roll of steel, October 1, 1961. Right: George Goodwin, a steel potter in Sheffield, July 1949 May 8, 1952: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (left) in conversation with craven lathe operator Joe Howsley in the Central Repair shop at the Steel Company of Wales at Margam, Port Talbot The Tory government privatised British Steel in 1988. The national workforce had shrunk to 52,000 by this time. By 1990, around 7,300 people were employed in the industry in Scunthorpe. Steel requires large investment in its mills and furnaces, which can lead to an overproduction of steel, increasing supply and pushing prices downwards as developing nations look elsewhere to sell the surplus. China's recent industrial revolution over the past few decades has seen the country invest heavily in steel production - and when the country overproduced, it would slash prices for international markets, crippling the competition. In 1992, British Steel announced further cuts to the industry with the closure of the Ravenscraig plant in North Lanarkshire, dominating the headlines as it signalled the end of steel-making in Scotland. In 1999 British Steel and the Dutch steel-maker Koninklijke Hoogovens merged, creating the Corus Group. The new firm became the biggest steel-maker in Europe. But Corus soon faced severe problems and announced plans to cut the national workforce, which dropped to around 30,000. January 24, 1949: Workers leaving the Steel Company of Wales works at Port Talbot at the end of the afternoon shift In 1973, the government came up with a 10-year development strategy which would bring in billions of pounds of investment, but it meant the industry would be concentrated in five main areas (pictured: April 28, 1932: Making steel bill hooks and knives in Sheffield by hand) In 2007 Corus, including the Scunthorpe operation, was bought by the Indian firm Tata Steel in a 6.8 billion takeover. The company intended to stay competitive with its rivals, taking over Corus in a 6.2billion bid to build the fifth biggest steel company in the world. By 2014, around 34,500 people were employed in the UK's steel industry. A further crisis in the industry in 2015 saw closures including the end of the Redcar works, which was bought from Tata by SSI in 2012. Further contraction took place at plants across the country as controversy swirled around energy costs and fears of cheap Chinese steel destabilising the world market. Greybull Capital bought Tata's Long Products Division for 1 In 2016. It resurrected the name British Steel. Today, British Steel went into liquidation, meaning up to 4,000 jobs in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, 800 in Teesside and 20,000 in the UK supply chain are now at risk. A huge field of candidates is expected to run to replace Theresa May. While as many as 25 could run they will swiftly be whittled down into a workable number as MPs show their allegiances and plot to get their chosen man or woman into Downing Street. Here we look at the main runners and riders, with their odds with Ladbrokes and how they voted in the 2016 referendum: Boris Johnson: The long-running thorn in May's side who has recently had a 'prime ministerial' makeover Boris Johnson has undergone a prime ministerial makeover as Theresa May's days appeared increasingly numbered Former foreign secretary and mayor of London Voted leave and has become an increasingly hardline Brexiteer As likely to make headlines over his private life Has recently lost a lot of weight and smartened up his appearance Leadership odds 6/4 The former foreign secretary, 54, who quit last July and has been tacitly campaigning for the leadership ever since. He finally went public last week to confirm he would run. Never far from the limelight the father-of-four recently split from his wife Marina and is in a relationship with former Conservative staffer Carrie Symonds, 20 years his junior. As an increasingly hawkish Brexiteer who says we should not be afraid of leaving without a deal he is hugely popular with the party faithful. At the start of the year he underwent what might be deemed a 'prime ministerial' makeover, losing weight and taming his unruly mop of blonde hair. Popular with the rank-and-file membership he has less fans in the parliamentary party and may face a concerted campaign to block his succession. Received the surprise backing of Johnny Mercer last night. Dominic Raab: Brexiteer who quit rather than back Mrs May's deal Dominic Raab has become a cheerleader for a hard Brexit since stepping down as Brexit secretary in November Shortlived Brexit secretary last year, replacing David Davis in the hot seat But walked in November over terms agreed by PM Voted for Brexit in 2016 Leadership odds 4/1 Mr Raab, 45, is another Vote Leave member who became Brexit secretary after David Davis quit alongside Mr Johnson last July over the Chequers plan. But he lasted just a matter of months before he too jumped ship, saying he could not accept the terms of the deal done by the Prime Minister. Like Mr Johnson and Mr Davis he has become an increasingly hardline Brexiteer, sharing a platform with the DUP's Arlene Foster and suggesting we should not be afraid of a no-deal Brexit. The Esher and Walton MP's decision to quit in November, boosted his popularity with party members but he lacks the wider popular appeal of Mr Johnson. And like Mr Johnson he might benefit from having quit the Cabinet at an earlier stage and dissociating himself with the dying days of the May administration. His odds have shortened as he is seen as possibly a more palatable alternative Brexiteer to Boris by MPs seeking to block Mr Johnson's run. He recently posed for a glossy photoshoot with wife Erika at their Surrey home, seen as a sign he will run. Andrea Leadsom: May's former rival who finally decided she could take no more Ms Leadsom (pictured today) quit the cabinet yesterday. She is a Brexiteer who frequently clashed with Speaker John Bercow The Commons' Leader challenged May in 2016 Voted for Brexit Hosted Brexiteer 'pizza party' plot last year Increasingly outspoken Brexiteer Leadership odds 16/1 The former Commons' Leader piled pressure on the Prime Minister by announcing her own resignation from the Cabinet last night. In a parting blast, the Commons Leader said she could not stomach the latest version of Mrs May's Brexit deal, with its offer of a second referendum. It was the final act by an MP whose departure had seemingly been on the cards for months. Mrs Leadsom, a mother of three, stood against Mrs May for the party leadership in 2016 before conceding defeat before it was put to a vote of MPs. As collective responsibility largely broke down among ministers she became an increasingly vocal and clear Brexiteer voice in the Cabinet along line similar lines to Mr Johnson and Mr Raab. She was the host of a Brexiteer 'pizza party' in Parliament that included Michael Gove and Liz Truss as the vying wings of the Cabinet plotted to shape the Brexit deal they wanted. In her role as Commons' Leader she frequently clashes with Speaker John Bercow over issues including bullying in Parliament. It is something that will do her no harm among the Tory backbenches where he is widely loathed. Jeremy Hunt: Remainer turned Brexiteer unity candidate who wants to heal the party Jeremy Hunt, a born-again Brexiteer after supporting Remain, toured Africa last month with wife Lucia The Foreign Secretary voted Remain But has become an increasingly vocal Brexiteer Former health secretary backs May's deal Has approached ministers about running as a unity candidate Leadership odds 10/1 The Foreign Secretary who has undergone a Damascene conversion to the Brexit cause and is seen as a safe if uninspiring pair of hands. The 52-year-old South West Surrey MP has reportedly been selling himself to colleagues as a unity candidate who can bring together the fractious Tory factions into something approaching a cohesive party. A long-serving health secretary, the father-of three replaced Mr Johnson as the UK's top diplomat and has won some plaudits over issues like the imprisonment of British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran. But critics point to tub-thumpingly comparing the EU to the USSR at the party conference last year - which was very badly received in Brussels - and a gaffe in which he referred to his Chinese wife as 'Japanese' as a reception in China. Last month he went on a tour of Africa in which his Chinese wife Lucia made a major appearance, after he gaffed by forgetting her nationality. Last week he called for a 'decisive' hike in defence spending to see off the rising threat from Russia and China in a speech seen as a clear signal of his leadership ambitions. Speaking at the Lord Mayor's Banquet Mansion House in the City of London, he said the UK's hard power must be strengthened, with billions more spent on new capabilities to tackle drones and cyber attacks. Michael Gove: The boomerang cabinet minister with a Machiavellian reputation Michael Gove has made a remarkable political comeback after being sacked by Theresa May in 2016 Leading Vote Leave figure in 2016 who now backs PM's Brexit deal Former journalist, 51, who stood for leadership in 2016 Was sacked as education minister by Theresa May Later returned as Environment Minister Leadship odds 12/1 A Brexiteer with a Machiavellian reputation after the 2016 leadership campaign in which he first supported Boris Johnson for the leadership and then stood against him, to their mutual disadvantage. The former education secretary - sacked by Mrs May - was rehabilitated to become a right-on environment secretary - complete with reusable coffee cups and a strong line on food standards after Brexit. Despite being a former lead figure in the Vote Leave campaign alongside Mr Johnson the former journalist and MP for Surrey Heath has swung behind Mrs May's Brexit deal - which might count against him. But while he noisily supports the deal - he views the alternatives as worse - the father-of-two - married to Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine - is quieter when it comes to supporting the Prime Minister and practically mute when it comes to her future. Seen as one of the Cabinet's strongest political thinkers and having stood once it is unthinkable that he would not stand again. But like many others he has yet to publicly declare his candidacy. If he did it would again pitch him pitched against Mr Johnson in a battle for Brexiteer votes. Penny Mordaunt: The highly regarded Brexiteer promoted to take on defence Ms Mordaunt is an outsider for the leadership but is highly thought of in Brexiteer groups The MP for Portsmouth North is a Royal Navy reservist Highly regarded in Brexiteer circles She has been consistently tipped to quit over Brexit b ut remains in the Cabinet Once appeared in a swimsuit in a reality TV show Leadership odds 20/1 The new Defence Secretary - the first woman ever to hold the post - is highly regarded in Brexiteer circles. The Royal Navy reservist, 46, carved out a niche at International Development with some eye-catching suggests about changing how the UK spends disperses aid cash. She has become an increasingly serious politician after initially being seen as lighthearted when she appeared in a swimsuit in ITV reality TV show Splash! She was promoted earlier this month to replace Gavin Williamson when he was sacked for leaking details from a confidential meeting about Huawei. Over the preceding few months she was at the heart of persistent rumours that she would be the next Brexit-supporting minister out the door over Brexit. She has yet to announce she is running but last month she backed a thinktank report saying the party needed to attract new voters. She said the party needed to 'act swiftly' to win over the younger generations who were turning away from the centre-Right in 'unprecedented' numbers. Yesterday, after other Cabinet Brexiteers including Andrea Leadsom were notable by their absence during Prime Minister's Questions, she remained at her post. It remains to be seen whether this loyalty will count for or against her. Sajid Javid: Remainer star who has run into trouble over knife crime and refugees Sajid Javid has seen his stock take a hit over the knife crime crisis and migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats The most senior cabinet contender Voted Remain but wants to see Brexit delivered Faced criticism as Home Secretary But has taken a hard line on Shamima Begum case Leadership odds 20/1 The Home Secretary, a Remainer who wants to see Brexit delivered, was the leading candidate from inside the Cabinet to replace Mrs May. After replacing Amber Rudd last year he consciously put clear ground between himself and the Prime Minister on issues like caps on skilled migrants after Brexit. But his credentials have taken a hit recently. He finds himself facing ongoing criticism of his handling of the knife crime crisis affecting UK cities, which sparked a Cabinet row over funding for police. He also lost face over his handling of the influx of migrants crossing the English Channel in January, being seen to move slowly in realising the scale of the problem. But more recently the 49-year-old Bromsgove MP has made a serious of hardline decision designed to go down well with Tory voters. Most notably they have included moving to deprive London teenager turned Jihadi bride Shamima Begum, 19, of her British citizenship, after she was discovered among former Islamic State members in a Syrian refugee camp. Matt Hancock: Waffle-loving health secretary who wants Tories to choose a younger leader Mr Hancock took stroopwafels in for Cabinet the day after he was pulled up for eating them on television The youngest front-runner at 40 A Remainer who now backs Theresa May's Brexit deal He wants the party to look to the future and attract younger voters Leadership odds 25/1 The Health Secretary is, like his predecessor Jeremy Hunt, seen as something of a unity candidate. The 40-year-old father of three is seen as a safe pair of hands despite a few teething problems in his latest Cabinet role. Last year he was accused of breaking ethics rules after he praised a private health firm app in a newspaper article sponsored by its maker. But he has since make some hard-hitting interventions in ares like the impact of social media on health. Last month he joined Ms Mordaunt in backing the Generation Why? report showing that the Tories needed to become more relevant to younger voters. He called on the party to change its 'tone' towards modern Britain or face Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, in a speech widely seen as setting out his leadership credentials. This week he showed his human side by unashamedly chomping calorific stroopwafels before a TV broadcast, saying he people should enjoy things in moderation. Rory Stewart: Remainer rising star and friend of royals who is not short of confidence The father of two is married to Shoshana, whom he first met when they worked together in Iraq and she was already married Penrith MP, 46, is a former tutor to the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex Old Etonian ex-soldier worked for Foreign Office in Iraq and set up a charity for the Prince of Wale sin Afghanistan Voted for Remain and still backs a soft Brexit Leadership odds 25/1 The former prisons minister who once vowed to quit if they did not improve within a year declared his candidacy almost as soon as he was promoted to the Cabinet. He stepped up to International Development Secretary earlier this month to replace Ms Mordaunt and days later declared he will run for the Tory leadership. The Theresa May loyalist praised the PM for her 'courageous effort' to pass her Brexit deal but admitted he would throw his hat in the ring when she steps down. Urging his party not to 'try to outdo Nigel Farage', the development secretary said the Tories should 'stretch all the way from Ken Clarke to Jacob Rees-Mogg'. The Old Etonian former tutor to the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex previously worked for the Foreign Office in Iraq and set up a charity for the Prince of Wales in Afghanistan. He has also written several books about walking. The father of two is married to Shoshana, whom he first met when they worked together in Iraq and she was already married. Seen as highly intelligent his staunch Remainer and soft Brexit credentials look likely to count against him in a race set to be dominated by the Brexiteer wing of the party. Esther McVey: Former TV presenter and minister who quit Government over Brexit The former television journalist, is engaged to fellow Tory backbench Brexiteer Philip Davies, 47 The 51-year-old was Work and Pensions Secretary until quitting in November She was a presenter on GMTV before entering politics Is engaged to fellow Tory MP Philip Davies This week launched a 'blue collar Conservatism' project Leadership odds 50/1 The former Work and Pensions Secretary declared her leadership bid last month and has set out a stall as a right-wing blue-collar candidate from a working class Liverpudlian background. The former television journalist, is engaged to fellow Tory backbench Brexiteer Philip Davies, 47, having previously had a romance with ex-minister Ed Vaizey. She has no children. This week she set out her leadership pitch by calling for the party to use 7billion of foreign aid cash on buckling British police forces and schools. Launching a 'blue collar conservatism' campaign the Brexiteer MP, 51, said her party had 'lost the trust' of working people by failing to leave the EU already and must pursue 'radical conservative agendas' to win it back'. She said that keeping cash in the UK that is currently sent abroad would allow an increase of 4billion in spending on schools and 3billion for police, which are both demanding more money. And she declined to rule out doing a post-election deal with Nigel Farage - but said that if the Tories got the UK out it would mean that his Brexit Party would have no reason to exist. Speaking in Westminster she reiterated her call for the next party leader to be 'someone who believes in Brexit' - a dig at Mrs May, who supported the Remain campaign in 2016. A man who was filmed assaulting a French transgender woman has been sentenced to ten months in prison. The Paris Criminal Court ordered Seddik A., 23, to abstain from contacting the victim, Julia Boyer, 31, or nearing her residence. Seddik must also pay 3,500 and 1,500 to each of the three LGBT defence associations that had supported her. Seddik A. has been found guilty of assaulting Julia Boyer (pictured) because of her gender. He will be jailed for 10 months and was fined 7,000 'Justice has been served. I am not sure prison is the best solution but I hope he will think about this and not do it again,' said Boyer. On March 31, Boyer had been trying to make her way to the metro from the Place de la Republique in Paris when she was heckled and abused by Algerian men who were protesting the now former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The French transgender woman was filmed being jeered and beaten during the protest and the video went viral. She spoke out soon after the video. In an exclusive interview with Tetu, an LGBT+ magazine, she said: 'People need to know that the video only shows part of the assault. The individual you can see ruffling my hair on the video had slapped me just before. 'Another individual took his penis out in front of me and, laughing, asked me to satisfy him.' A protester can be seen wildly striking Boyer repeatedly across the arm after she confronts him near the Place de la Republique in central Paris in March The footage shows her being shouted at before she confronted one of the men who then beat her repeatedly across the arm. Members of the crowd jeered in the background as others tried to intervene before the police took hold of the situation. Transport police officers had intervened and protected Julia from any further assaults. Julia said: 'I looked at one of my aggressors and told him I was absolutely not afraid of him and I think this is what provoked his very violent reaction.' She continued: 'This is sadly part of the daily lives of transgender people.. If I have taken full advantage of the media spotlight, it really is to give as much visibility as possible to the LGBT community. Because attacks like this sadly happen almost every day. 'It is 2019, in Paris, and we can still be assaulted because we are different, because we are not part of 'the norm.' So I just want to send a message of tolerance and open-mindedness.' According to Tetu, Julia began her transformation eight months ago. Julia said: 'In my head, I am a woman, so I move forward and am out and proud and it does not stop me living, to go out in the street, despite what happened, and I carry on living my life and being proud of what I am.' She added: 'I would like to tell people who are the victims of assault in the LGBT community not to let it slide, to really file complaints, you should not hesitate. I also hesitated to file a complaint, because I was afraid it wouldn't go anywhere. I might also have been afraid of reprisals.' The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, had tweeted that she was 'indignant at this transphobic aggression, which I condemn with the greatest firmness. I want to assure the victim of all my support. 'The parties guilty of this intolerable act must be identified and prosecuted.' Julia said: 'But I want to tell all these people 'this is not normal, we can't be assaulted like this because we are different, or because we have a different sexuality or a different gender. 'So, be proud of what you are and don't be afraid!' Romain Burrel, the Director of the Tetu magazine, told Europe 1 that transphobic attacks are rooted in 'toxic masculinity.' Advertisement The historic operations room from where the RAF conducted Battle of Britain defences has been opened to the public after a 6million redevelopment. Based in a bunker 60ft below the ground, the RAF's No 11 Group's Operations Room at Uxbridge, Middlesex, was central in protecting London and southern Britain in 1940. It was known to serving personnel as 'the hole' and was constructed underground so it could withstand bombing and gas attacks. The base was also the place where Sir Winston Churchill came up with his famous 'The Few' speech to pay tribute to the bravery of the RAF who defended the nation when Britain stood along against the might of the German military. The RAF's No 11 Group's Operations Room, housed in a bunker at RAF Uxbridge, has been opened to the public following a 6million revamp. The conditions inside the bunker have been designed to recreate how it looked on September 15, 1940, otherwise known as Battle of Britain Day, which was one of the largest aerial conflicts of the conflict. Pictured is one of the staff members arranging the huge map on which RAF personnel would plot out the battles with the Luftwaffe The bunker, pictured, also inspired Winston Churchill's famous 'The Few' speech after the then prime minister visited the base on August 16, 1940, and said to chief military assistant Major General Hastings Ismay 'never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few' as he was getting into his car to leave. Four days later he repeated the line in the House of Commons while praising the bravery and success of the RAF after they repelled German air attacks The bunker also includes a 'tote board', pictured, which was used an electric lamp system to let commanders know when the enemy had been sighted and how strong nearby units were so decisions could be made over which squadrons to send out in defence. It was the responsibility of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) to update and maintain the tote boards The WAAF plotters would collate all the information on squadrons and then record it on a typewriter, pictured, so it could then be transferred onto paper tote boards and then eventually the electronic system. The operations rooms typically consisted of three layers: a large plotting table on the lowest level, communications operators above them and a second storey, sometimes behind glass, where commanders could observe and communicate plans The 11 Group control room is pictured here during wartime operations on an unknown date. It proved vital on Battle of Britain day after helping the RAF coordinate defences against two massive Luftwaffe waves involving around 1,100 German fighters and bombers, with the RAF vastly outnumbered. Nevertheless, Spitfires and Hurricanes shot down around 60 Luftwaffe planes - double the British losses - and disrupted their bombing raids The wartime prime minister delivered the immortal line while praising Battle of Britain heroes at the House of Commons on August 20, 1940. But it actually came into his head four days earlier as he was leaving the bunker at RAF Uxbridge having observed a day's operations towards the end of the battle for the skies between the RAF and the Luftwaffe. After climbing the 76 steps from the subterranean bunker, he paused in silence as he was getting into his car and told and told his chief military assistant Major General Hastings Ismay: 'Don't speak to me, I have never been so moved.' A few minutes later he uttered the soon-to-be immortal words 'never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few'. Within the bunker's confines, plotters from the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) tracked the size and direction of incoming German raids. Four years later, it was used to coordinate air support for the momentous D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. 11 Group personnel used this rudimentary 'hotline' telephone, pictured, to contact other bases around the country quickly to report intelligence and movement of German planes. Numbers of staff in 11 Group doubled to 20,000 between April and November 1940 as more and more people were recruited in defence of the nation as Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany following the defeat of France A statue of Air Vice Marshal Keith Park, pictured, has been erected at the base in tribute to his leadership of 11 Group during the Battle of Britain, during which his forces faced the brunt of the Luftwaffe attack. AVM Park, who also organised fighter patrols over France during the Dunkirk evacuation, had a reputation as a shrewd tactician with an 'astute' grasp of strategy, while his men saw him as a popular 'hands-on' commander and he personally commanded his forces in a Hurricane on Battle of Britain day The exhibition and visitor's centre at RAF Uxbridge also has a Spitfire raised on a plinth outside. The aircraft became a symbol of the RAF's 'determination, innovation and grit' and had only been introduced just two years before the Battle of Britain. Although more Hurricanes were flown in the battle, Spitfires enjoyed more success countering German raids because they were able to manoeuvre better at higher speeds The bunker, which was previously at risk of closure, was acquired from the MoD by Hillingdon Council in 2016. The local authority has now carried out a refurbishment of the venue and opened it to the public after spending 6million to build a new exhibition and visitor's centre. The plotting room, with its large map table, squadron display boards, balloon and weather states, is exactly how it was when Churchill visited on September 15, 1940, at 11.30am - otherwise known as Battle of Britain day which saw one of the largest aerial conflicts of the war. It came towards the end of Operation Sea Lion, the Nazi's plan to invade Britain which Hitler enacted after defeating France. Hitler planned to land at beach heads along the south coast in Sussex and Kent but wanted air and naval superiority beforehand, prompting him to try to wipe out the RAF with the Luftwaffe, only for the British air force continuously frustrate German raids. On September 15, the Luftwaffe launched an all-out attack on London after German intelligence mistakenly believed the RAF was on the verge of collapse due to a string of attacks on the capital meeting little resistance. But Britain's defences had recovered from earlier attacks and the RAF were ready for the German offensive. The exhibition has recreated fine details of the bunker, including this plotting room, pictured, where communications personnel would convey German movements and battle reports. Speaking about the bunker's revamp, Ray Puddifoot, of Hillingdon Council, said: 'We regard it as both an honour and a privilege to now be custodians of the Battle of Britain Bunker which was, a few years ago, in danger of closure' These are the 76 steps that lead up to the ground from the bunker 60ft below ground at RAF Uxbridge which Winston Churchill walked up with General Ismay on August 16, 1940, shortly before coming up with his famous 'The Few' phrase. The bunker was built so RAF commanders would be protected from German bombing raids or gas attacks Also above ground at RAF Uxbridge is a mounted Hurricane fighter, pictured, which bore the brunt of the Luftwaffe assault in 1940 because there were more of them than Spitfires, although it has been cast into the other aircraft's shadow due to its superior performance throughout the conflict The Luftwaffe attacked in two huge waves with around 1,100 fighters and bombers combined, while the RAF sent around 630 fighters to counter them. RAF fighters shot down around 60 German planes - double the British losses - and severely damaged another 20, successfully disrupting their bombing raids and convincing Hitler he could not achieve air superiority, causing him to end Operation Sea Lion and change tactics to bombing raids on major cities, prompting The Blitz. The planes 'the Few' flew in, the then newly-released Spitfires, also became a symbol of British determination, innovation and grit as the RAF struggled its way to victory in the autumn of 1940. At the start of the Battle of Britain, the RAF had only slightly more than 600 frontline fighters to defend the country when the Nazis launched their offensive. The Germans by contrast had 1,300 bombers and dive-bombers and about 900 single-engine and 300 twin-engine fighters. This map shows how Operation Sea Lion was supposed to work in 1940 following Hitler's defeat of France. The Nazis would have made beach-heads along the south coast at Portsmouth, Brighton, Bexhill, Folkestone and Ramsgate and would have dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines before moving north to take Bristol, Oxford and London. But Hitler needed both naval and aerial superiority to launch a full-scale invasion, which he never achieved A tote wall, pictured, in the bunker would have shown commanders exactly what position and state nearby squadrons were in to let them know who to deploy in the event of a German attack. The many options include whether a squadron is refuelling, whether it is in place to mount a counter-attack, if it is in the air or if it has spotted an enemy incoming Wooden markers on the table in the bunker, pictured, show the positions of RAF squadrons and where they would have been engaging Luftwaffe forces on Battle of Britain day. It was a pivotal event in the war because it convinced Hitler to abandon Operation Sea Lion even though German fighters still vastly outnumbered the British Mr Puddifoot said the bunker, pictured, was an important part of British history and the 6million expense was justified to keep it available to the public. He added: 'It is an amazing building in both design and content and I would like to thank all of those involved in the design, construction and fitting out of this tribute to what was, undoubtedly, one of this nation's finest hours' But with the UK's superior equipment and flying skills, Germany lost three planes for every one RAF aircraft. British fighters were shooting down German bombers faster than the German industry could produce them. Speaking about the bunker's revamp, Ray Puddifoot, of Hillingdon Council, said: 'We regard it as both an honour and a privilege to now be custodians of the Battle of Britain Bunker which was, a few years ago, in danger of closure. 'To ensure that the bunker could both be kept open and its historic significance remembered, understood and enjoyed for generations to come, we provided funding of 6million to build this state-of-the art Exhibition and Visitors' Centre. 'It is an amazing building in both design and content and I would like to thank all of those involved in the design, construction and fitting out of this tribute to what was, undoubtedly, one of this nation's finest hours. 'We should never forget that our brave British pilots fought alongside those from other nations - notably Poland, New Zealand, Canada and Czechoslovakia - and that their success, and indeed their lives, were often in the hands of the ground staff underground in the No. 11 Fighter Group Operations Room here on this site in Uxbridge - 85 percent of whom were women.' A French tourist is asking Britons to help her track down a missing camera filled with topless pictures. Lily Mika, a freelance web editor, visited the Isle of Skye on May 16 but accidentally left her camera next to Loch nan Eilean near Sligachan after taking 'artistic topless photos' in her favourite spots. Ms Mika is desperate to recover her work so she can publish a book compilation of the images for an art project in order to 'empower women, encourage them to become more free and confident and to do what they want'. The pictures are kept in a black Lumix GX80 - which also holds images of her grandparents and boyfriend. Ms Mika is desperate to recover her work so she can publish a book compilation of the images in order to 'empower women, encourage them to become more free and confident and to do what they want' Speaking with MailOnline, Ms Mika said: 'When I realised when leaving for the airport that my camera wasnt in the bag, I immediately remembered where I had it last (our last break on Skye before driving back to Edinburgh). 'So we searched on google maps with satellite pictures and we found the rest area. I asked for help on social media and at least 15 people went there in the following days to have a look for us but they didnt find anything. 'It was a touristic spot because of the beautiful view on the Cuillins so I guess other visitors stopped by and found the camera.' Ms Mika had been travelling with her photographer boyfriend Jules, who takes the pictures for her art project. The former tour guide even offered to show the person who finds her camera around her region in France as a mark of appreciation. She added: 'I really hope people will return it. Its not only about the camera... its more about the pictures. In an online appeal on her Facebook page on Tuesday, Ms Mika wrote: 'The topless picture is not for catching attention, they are the reason I want to do everything to find my camera' 'I know its probably naive but I think people will realize when looking at them that the pictures inside are so important for their owner. 'Ive been dreaming about Scotland for years, it was my dream destination so I took around 600 pictures during my nine-day trip and I lost the camera on the last day. 'It means all my memories from this wonderful country are gone. I would love to have them back. 'The pictures of my trip with my 80-year-old grandparents are inside as well and since recently my grandma cant walk anymore so I know I will never take her to a trip anymore and I would love to have these memories.' Ms Mika told MailOnline the pictures were very important to her - having started her project in November 2017. She added: 'I keep faith, I know the world is full of good people and internet can be magic' (pictured: The appeal Ms Mika made) The include images from Thailand, Bali, Australia, Florida and Europe but she says the ones from Scotland were 'particularly beautiful and would have been an important part of the book I want to publish'. She added: 'If Im lucky enough to reach the people who found my camera and if they were nice enough to send it back, Id be so thankful and I would be really happy to welcome them in France in my region to take them around for a tour, as I was a tourist guide there. 'And if they keep the camera, please at least send me back the SD card so that I can get my pictures. I believe we can all make a difference in someones life, once in a while, and the people who found my camera would make a big one in mine if they would return it.' In an online appeal on her Facebook page on Tuesday, Ms Mika said the topless pictures were not 'for catching attention, they are the reason I want to do everything to find my camera'. Families have woken to find a sinister note left in their letterboxes on Wednesday morning. Residents in Edmonton and Whiterock in Cairns were left perplexed after discovering the eerie typed message. 'You leave an expensive message. From a night image of you we will catch up as soon as you show yourself by day,' it read. 'We will let ourselves in. That my friend is not negotiable.' Several residents in Edmonton and Whiterock in Cairns found this strange note in their letterboxes Wednesday morning One person shared an image of the note to a community Facebook page and learnt many other users had a similar experience. 'Yes we have one too would love them to meet our French mastiff!' one person said. 'What are they even trying to say - it makes no sense,' another questioned. 'It seems like a magical mystical riddle leading to some form of prize,' another person joked. Police told Daily Mail Australia the residents were not in any danger, claiming a 16-year-old prankster was likely responsible for the bizarre letters. 'Police have received information from concerned residents in the Edmonton and Whiterock areas that a youth has delivered type written notes into letterboxes,' the spokeswoman said. 'Its believed the notes may have some reference to Game of Thrones.' 'Police do not believe there is cause for alarm, however are appealing for information to identify the youth.' The teenager was last seen in Millhouse Close, Edmonton around 12.20am on Wednesday. Two of Britain's most repulsive criminals reportedly had a sexual relationship in their Category A prison. Serial killer Stephen Port and paedophile Richard Huckle, who was jailed for abusing up to 200 Malaysian children, are said to have had a relationship in London's HMP Belmarsh. It is claimed they were both housed in the maximum security area of the prison, where cell doors are often left open, allowing inmates to mix. An insider at the prison said the pair's liaison was an 'open secret' before they were moved to different jails. Serial killer Stephen Port (left) and paedophile Richard Huckle (right) had a sexual relationship in prison, it was claimed today The pair reportedly met up when cell doors on Belmarsh's high security wing were open The source told The Mirror: 'It happened when they were both here before Port was sentenced, their paths crossed. 'But now they've both been moved to different prisons - although I don't know if it's because of the stories around them. They're probably still in touch via letters.' Former bus garage chef Port, 43, was given a whole life sentence for the murders of gay men he abused and killed with date rape drugs after meeting them on Grindr. Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor were all found dead a short distance from Port's east London home in 2014 and 2015. Huckle, dubbed 'Britain's worst paedophile', was jailed for at least 25 years after he admitted an unprecedented number of offences against children aged between six months and 12 years. He masqueraded as a devout Christian, photographer and English teacher to prey on poor children in Kuala Lumpur over nine years. Stephen Port abused and killed chef Daniel Whitworth (top left), forklift truck driver Jack Taylor (top right), Middlesex University fashion student Anthony Walgate (left), and Slovakian national Gabriel Kovari (right). A stream of pictures and videos of Huckle's rapes and assaults on children were shared with paedophiles worldwide through an encrypted website. Prison rules state that sexual acts between prisoners are not 'specifically prohibited'. However, they can be punished if others see their activity or it happens in an open area of the jail. The discipline procedures state: 'If two prisoners sharing a cell are in a relationship and engage in sexual activity during the night when they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, a disciplinary charge may not be appropriate.' In 2012, then-Justice Secretary Chris Grayling vowed a crackdown on 'cosy, domestic' living arrangements between prisoners. But, three years later, a commission set up by the Howard League for Penal Reform found that sex between inmates was still widespread and accepted. Pippa Middletons father-in-law is still being investigated over the alleged rape of a teenage girl - more than 14 months after he was first arrested in Paris. David Matthews, 75, was detained at Paris Orly Airport in March last year, held in custody for 48 hours, taken to court and charged with the rape of a minor in the 1990s. The former racing driver is accused of grooming and assaulting the 15-year-old on a French Caribbean island in 1998 and raping her in Paris a year later. Mr Matthews, whose son James married Pippa Middleton at a lavish ceremony in 2017, strenuously denies the allegations against him. The criminal inquiry into the rape allegations were expected to have concluded their inquiry within six months. But judicial sources in Paris have confirmed that detectives from Frances Brigade for the Protection of Minors continue to investigate the case, some 14 months after Mr Matthews arrest. David Matthews, Pippa Middletons father-in-law, (above) is still being investigated over the alleged rape of a teenage girl - more than 14 months after he was first arrested in Paris. He is accused of grooming and assaulting the 15-year-old on a French Caribbean island in 1998 and raping her in Paris a year later. Mr Matthews, whose son James married Pippa Middleton (pictured with Mr Matthews last year), strenuously denies the allegations against him The investigation is on-going, the judicial source told MailOnline. Details of the criminal investigation are being withheld from the public under Frances strict judicial secrecy laws. The offence of rape of a minor by a person with authority over his victim, carries a maximum 15-year sentence in France. The alleged victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, travelled to Paris to tell police she had been raped by Mr Matthews. The woman, who is British and now aged 37, told the French authorities that Mr Matthews groomed and assaulted her when she had just turned 15 and that the first rape took place when she was 16. One of the offences is alleged to have taken place on the French Caribbean island of St Barts, where Matthews owns the 500-a-night Eden Rock hotel. The second attacked is alleged to have taken place in Paris. She reportedly told French police: Afterwards I felt like I was to blame. I developed feelings of self-loathing and felt worthless. The woman first confided in her parents four years ago, after suffering years of heart-ache. Following Mr Matthews arrest, her father said: She said it had been a burden because she had kept it bottled up for so long. One of the offences is alleged to have taken place on the French Caribbean island of St Barts, where Matthews owns the 500-a-night Eden Rock hotel. Pictured: A picture of Mr Matthews taken around the time of the alleged assault Details of the criminal investigation are being withheld from the public under Frances strict judicial secrecy laws. The offence of rape of a minor by a person with authority over his victim, carries a maximum 15-year sentence in France Its caused her an immense emotional strain. Shes been unable to form any lasting relationships. She had the courage to speak out and she did, and by doing so she feels she can give herself some sense of closure. He added: We are all behind her and believe her. Mr Matthews was stopped at Paris Orly Airport last March when he got off a plane from St Barts, a French dependency, where he lives with his wife Jane, 71. The tycoon was released on bail after being charged. His official legal status in France is mis en examen which is widely considered to be similar to being charged with an offence in the UK, although there is no exact equivalent in the British judicial system. A second woman accused Matthews of raping her in April last year. The woman, who is believed to now be in her 60s, told South Yorkshire Police the tycoon assaulted her in Sheffield in the 1980s. A spokeswoman for Mr Matthews said the tycoon had no comment about the on-going police investigation. Advertisement Taiwan's military has staged its largest drill in five years, featuring warships and jets, to simulate a Chinese invasion on the east of the island amid increasing tensions with Beijing. Some 22 naval ships fired their cannons, missiles and depth charges, while 22 fighter jets thundered through the skies letting off missiles and heavy machine guns on Wednesday. Anti-submarine tactics were employed in the waters close to Suao and Hualien. Chinese submarines are considered one of Beijing's most potent threats, armed with a vast array of ballistic missiles. Also on Wednesday, two US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait in an apparent show of solidarity with the nation whose sovereignty China will not recognise and infuriating Beijing who refuse to accept the passage as international waters. An anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) is fired from a Knox-class frigate during a military drill at sea near eastern Hualien - the Chinese submarine threat is considered one of their most potent, with devastating ballistics capabilities A Taiwanese Air Force F-16 fighter launches flares as it thunders through the skies over Hualien County, eastern Taiwan - it was among 22 fighter jets deployed on Wednesday Special forces personnel walk beside an armoured personnel carrier during a military drill at the Hualien port - a major strategic hub which the Chinese may look to incapacitate if carrying out an invasion Smoke rises from the sea after electronic counter-measures (ECM) were employed during a navy live-fire - they are used both offensively and defensively in disrupting radar and sonar systems of enemy vessels The Taiwanese boats involved in the drills included two anti-aircraft and anti-submarine guided-missile warships and the jets included the Mirage 2000, the F-16 and the Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). They simulated defence of their strategic naval port towns, including a threat from the air with 'enemy' jets flying over from the Taiwan Strait, according to Central News Agency. In one of the manoeuvres four 'enemy' IDF planes streamed towards Hualien's port with four F-16 jets and four Mirages being scrambled to counter with dog-fighting and eight missile-laden speedboats rushing through the waves to strike from sea-level. Munitions used by the aircraft included Sky Sword I missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinders and R550 Magic missiles, all infrared guided air-to-air projectiles. Taiwanese special forces run through the Hualien port as the simulated the Chinese invasion - their largest military exercise for five years Taiwan Navy's Perry-class frigate launches an ASROC (anti-submarine rocket) during a naval exercise off Hualien County, eastern Taiwan - two suchanti-aircraft and anti-submarine guided-missile warships were in the waters A Taiwan navy S70 helicopter sends water vapour through the air as it takes off at sea from the stern of a Perry-class frigate on Wednesday Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets release flares during a live-fire exercise at sea near eastern Hualien - in one of the manoeuvres four 'enemy' IDF planes streamed towards Hualien's port with four F-16 jets and four Mirages being scrambled to counter with dog-fighting in the air Special forces personnel take position beside an armoured personnel carrier as they simulate infantry defence of their strategic port Mirage 2000 fighter jets fire short range air-to-air missiles against an enemy attack during the navy live-fire drill - munitions included Sky Sword I missiles, AIM-9 Sidewinders and R550 Magic missiles, all infrared guided air-to-air projectiles. They were the largest military exercises held by the Taiwanese since 2014, Taiwan News reported. Meanwhile, two American warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on the western side of the island in an apparent show of support for their diplomatic struggle against the Chinese. China, which last month complained about a French ship's passage through the strait, made official protestations to Washington on Thursday. The US Navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S. Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit 'in accordance with international law' on Wednesday. Flares are set off from Kee Lung (DDG-1801) guided-missile destroyer - it has multiple combat capabilities, including against air attacks, enemy vessels and enemy ground targets Kee Lung (DDG-1801) guided-missile destroyer is trailed by five other naval vessels as a helicopter can be seen scanning the air in the distance Taiwan Navy's Perry-class frigate fires an ASROC (anti-submarine rocket) - they are equipped with an acoustic homing torpedo which detaches and enters the water silently, carrying a devastating payload to the target A Taiwan Navy personnel secures the perimeter through his sights on a massive long-range cannon during the Naval drill 'The ships' transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,' the navy said. 'The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.' US warships periodically conduct 'freedom of navigation' exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. Water erupts through the surface of the waves as the Taiwan navy detonates a mine during a naval exercise off Hualien County Frigates simulate destroying an enemy submarine with depth charges during a live-fire drill at sea near eastern Hualien Taiwan Navy personnel stand guard aboard a DDG-1810 guided missile destroyer during the Naval drill 'We have lodged solemn representations with the US,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing. The sail-by comes on top of tensions between the United States and China over trade and US efforts to thwart Chinese telecom giant Huawei over security concerns. The transit also comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia kicked off operation 'Pacific Vanguard' near Guam, bringing together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries. Drills will focus on 'live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea,' the US 7th Fleet said. Taiwan Navy personnel secure perimeter of their vessel with heavy machine guns and assault rifles during the Naval drill in Hualien Taiwan Navy men run towards their port at Hualien, bolstered by armoured cars as they simulate the Chinese invasion Taiwan Navy's Perry-class frigate launches an ASROC (anti-submarine rocket) during the colossal live fire drill on Wednesday Thrusts of water appear after depth charges were fired from patrol combatants Hsiang Chiang (PGG-611) and Jin Chiang (PGG-610) during the military drill In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait and lodged an official complaint with Paris. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The US diplomatically recognises China over Taiwan, but remains the island's chief military ally and arms supplier. For the Guam naval drills, Australia has contributed two frigates, Japan two destroyers and South Korea one destroyer. The USS Blue Ridge, the 7th Fleet's flagship, will lead the operation from the US side. Home to more than 160,000 people, Guam was at the centre of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with 'enveloping fire'. This is the heartwarming moment two orphaned bear cubs are rescued after getting stuck at the top of an enormous spruce tree in the Canadian wilderness. The cubs became spooked after their mother was killed by a vehicle and ran up the 70ft tree, where they remained stranded for three days. Volunteers at the Northern Lights Wildlife Society, in Smithers, British Colombia, enlisted the help of local hobby climber Stephen Bot, who fearlessly climbed the tree to reach them. Two orphaned bears were rescued from an enormous spruce tree in Smithers, British Colombia, in Canada, after they ran up the 70ft tree when their mother was killed after being hit by a vehicle In the video, the frightened bears, a boy and a girl, are seen after their rescue in a metal cage with tags in their ears. Mr Bot is then seen climbing the tree to reach the bears, one of which appears to stick its tongue out at him. The little bears are huddled on top of each other on a bunch of flimsy branches. A succession of photos then shows the bears, which were sedated before being carried down, being lifted from the tree by Mr Bot. Although it is not shown in the footage, he puts them in a bag before climbing back down. Once safely on the ground, the sedated bears are seen with their eyes open and tongues out as the volunteers treat them and tag their ears so they can be identified in future. 'Those little cubs were not going to come down of their own accord,' said Angelika Langen, who runs the Northern Lights Wildlife Society, with her husband Peter. Volunteers at the Northern Lights Wildlife Society, in Smithers, British Colombia, enlisted the help of local hobby climber Stephen Bot. Above: The bears are seen huddled on top of each other while standing on flimsy branches Mr Bot was later seen lifting the bears, both of which appeared to have been sedated, from the branches Mr Bott carefully lifts one of the bears from the branches before beginning his climb down 'They just huddled into each other up there, scared to death. 'It was an enormous tree, had to be about 60 to 70 feet tall, we were all worried about Stephen's safety, we were shouting up at him "don't put yourself in danger". 'We were joking that we needed a helicopter, he was up there at such a dizzying height. 'It was a wonderful thing to see the whole community come together to help out these cubs.' The bears were finally brought back to safety near Cecil Lake, British Columbia, on May 15, 2019. 'I was so happy to have them down on the ground,' said Angelika. The bears will be cared for by the wildlife rescue service until they are old enough to fend for themselves in the wild. The bears are then seen apparently sedated with their eyes open and tongues out as the volunteers tag their ears so they can be identified later The frightened bears are then seen with each other in their metal cage. Once they are old enough to fend for themselves, the bears will be released 'still wild' in the same area They will then be released 'still wild' near where they were found. The remarkable rescue mission was captured on camera by Darcy Shawchek, 44, a professional photographer and videographer based in Fort St. John, British Columbia. 'It was pretty amazing to watch, those cubs chose one of the tallest trees in the area to get stuck in,' he said. British citizens living overseas in other EU countries have been denied a vote in today's European elections because councils failed to send their postal voting ballots in time. Meanwhile voters from other EU countries resident in the UK are being turned away from British polling stations for not having submitted the correct paperwork in advance. Both disenfranchised groups have taken to Twitter to protest, using the hashtag #DeniedMyVote. Some of the delays for expats have been blamed on the decision of several councils, including several in predominantly Leave areas, to use delivery firm Adare SEC rather than Royal Mail to distribute ballots - some of which were sent via the Netherlands. The Local Government Association said it did not yet know how many expats, nor how many EU voters in the UK, had been affected. There are 285,000 British voters overseas on the electoral register, and close to three million EU citizens in the UK. Councils are understood to have sent postal ballots to expats, and reminder letters to EU voters in the UK, much later than usual because the elections were only confirmed after the UK failed to exit the EU as planned at the end of March. This British voter in Spain shared her frustration with Tower Hamlets Council online today This British couple living in Australia have not received their voting paperwork in time from Haringey Council. Kerrie-Anne Love said she had also had to chase the council in 2016 William Turney, 68, (pictured with his wife Verena) said: 'My wife and I have both lost our postal votes because the ballots did not arrive in Spain soon enough for us to get them back in time. We are disgusted, this is a very important election' British expat, William Turney, 68, said: 'My wife and I have both lost our postal votes because the ballots did not arrive in Spain soon enough for us to get them back in time. 'It takes at least five days each way for post so we really need a total of two weeks. Our ballots arrived on Monday of this week.' Mr Turner and his wife Verena moved to Spain in 2010 after living there in a town near Valencia, intermittently for eight years. 'This is a disgrace. There are at least 500,000 expats here in Spain alone. Many will have lost their votes. 'I complained to our old local council in Milton Keynes but they insisted it was not their fault. Then whose was it? 'If they send mail out late and vie Holland of course it will not arrive in time. They should all be fired. We are disgusted, this is a very important election.' Brits living in Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine and the United States have all reported their postal votes either arrived too late to be returned in time, or have not arrived at all. It is feared that thousands of UK citizens overseas may have been disenfranchised and there are three million EU citizens in the UK, some of whom have been turned away from the polls Why were EU citizens in Britain were turned away at the polls? Most of today's trending Tweets on the hashtag #deniedmyvote are from EU citizens from elsewhere in Europe, who have been turned away from UK polling stations. According to the Electoral Commission, it is the responsibility of the EU citizen who is resident in the UK and who wants to vote in the UK in these elections to be registered to vote and to complete a declaration form that they are voting in the UK. This is known as a EC1 or UC1 form. This lunchtime the European Parliament tweeted this helpful guide referencing the EC1 declaration form which many EU citizens in the UK say they never received The deadline to submit their form to their local electoral services department at their council was 7 May. The Commission said that 'in the majority of cases', Electoral Registration Officers at local councils wrote to EU citizens on their electoral register to remind them of the need to complete the form. Online many have complained they were not notified of the procedure. Advertisement Jackie Dawson, 73, who emigrated from Dorset to Portugal, told MailOnline she was registered through her council. The retired PanAm employee said: ''I've been here 11 years now. And I've just not received anything this year. 'Normally it's automatic - you just receive the papers in the post. But nothing, absolutely nothing. 'I think people should get involved with the British consulate in Lisbon and find out why this has happened. 'It's very very annoying, you just feel they can't be bothered.' Speaking from her home in Praia da Luz, she added: 'This is important, People seem to think because we live overseas it's nothing to do with us - it's a lot to do with us. 'There are some people here very keen for the UK to come out of Europe, which personally I can't understand 'But all British people, all expats, their pension comes form the UK and the UK economy will always be very important to all of us. 'So it is absolutely our right to vote - and you've invested a lot of money and tax over the years to keep those rights.' Rafi Cohen said: 'I registered for a postal vote to come to Israel with Barnet council on April 14. 'I received my postal vote today meaning I can't vote as it takes a week the fastest vote. 'I'm furious. Of all elections this was the one I was most determined to vote to show my frustration at how Conservative has handled the Brexit situation. I have always been a Conservative voter till now.' Between today and Thursday 500 million citizens across the EU will vote to elect MEPs to the European Parliament. In the UK, the newly-formed Brexit Party is expected to take more seats than any other and the Conservatives have crumbled to just seven per cent in the latest poll. The UK votes today between 7am and 10pm. Voting for the European Parliament began today in the UK and runs until Sunday across the EU EU voting rights: How British expats in Europe can vote for candidates in their local EU area or at home in UK provided they are registered EU citizens can only vote for EU candidates standing for election in their own country if they are resident there. EU citizens who live abroad may also, of course, only vote once, but they have choice. They may either vote for candidates standing in the home country, or participate in the election of the host country and vote for candidates standing in that country. Special forms must be completed and submitted ahead of time to ensure voters do not vote twice - once at home and once in their country of residence. This requirement is stipulated under EU law and is a EU-wide requirement. UK councils usually send reminders to foreign citizens months in advance but there is no legal requirement for them to do so and these elections were confirmed very late, the LGA said. Advertisement British expats who want to participate in European elections in the UK (rather than their country of residence) can register in advance to have a postal vote in the British constituency where they or their parents were last registered to vote. But they must have their completed ballot paper returned to the local electoral returning officer by the time polls close on election day. British voters around the globe have complained on Twitter their forms either haven't arrived or arrived too late to return in time. Many of the councils whose voters' ballots arrived late used print and delivery firm Adare SEC, rather than Royal Mail, to send out the forms. The Telegraph reported that several of the councils who subcontracted the task to Adare are in predominantly Brexit supporting areas, including Barnsley, Doncaster, Calderdale and Northumberland. Others where overseas voters have complained of delays include Gloucester, Darlington, Canterbury, Monmouthshire, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds, and Horsham in Sussex. An Adare SEC statement said the firm was 'pleased to confirm that all Postal Ballot Papers were produced and released into the postal system in line with the election and council timetables'. The firm refused to say which councils it worked for or when it had sent out the forms. Many of the postal votes were sent by Adare SEC via the Netherlands, regardless of their final destination, as evidenced by the stamp 'postnl' which is visible on envelopes received late by furious voters. It is understood that the Local Government Association believes postal ballots may not have been sent out as early as usual because the elections were only confirmed very late, after the UK failed to exit the EU as planned at the end of March. Arch-Remainer David Lammy MP, who rejected the result of the Brexit Referendum the morning after the result was announced, leapt on to Twitter using the hashtag #deniedmyvote It is feared that thousands of British voters in France and Spain in particular could be affected by the delays, based on the number of overseas voters on the UK electoral register, which in 2017 totalled more than 285,000. The Electoral Commission said each council is responsible for the distribution of postal votes and the Commission has 'no involvement in the distribution of postal votes at this election and the decision as to whether to use Royal Mail or an alternative postal provider is entirely a decision taken by each local council'. A spokesperson for Adare SEC said: ''Adare works in partnership with a number of UK councils on the European Election campaign. 'Quality and on-time delivery is always of the utmost importance to us, and as such, Adare SEC is pleased to confirm that all Postal Ballot Papers were produced and released into the postal system in line with the election and council timetables. 'As per good industry practice, we use reputable international mail handlers for our overseas mail delivery who assess the best route through other European countries before the mail arrives at the final destination.' EU citizens living in the UK are taking to Twitter in droves to complain they have been turned away from the polls having not been given - or warned about - the proper documentation Meanwhile in the UK EU citizens are reporting being turned away from the polls despite having checked they could participate. Twitter user Agata Patyna wrote: 'Turned away from polling station this morning. Told I should vote in my EU member state. Called local council yesterday, they confirmed I could vote. Called again today. Apparently council had no time to send out forms to all EU residents. Nothing they can do now #DeniedMyVote' EU citizens resident in the UK who want to vote for UK MEP candidates are responsible for ensuring they are registered to vote, and must complete a UC1 / EC1 declaration form that they are voting in the UK. This is a requirement of EU legislation, and is intended to prevent people voting once in their native country and once in their country of residence. The deadline to submit the form was May 7 and the Commision said that 'in the majority of cases', Electoral Registration Officers at local councils wrote to EU citizens on their electoral register to remind them of the need to complete the form. However it is understood that the Local Government Association believes reminder letters which would usually have been sent out as early as December were not sent because these elections were only confirmed very late, after the UK failed to exit the EU as planned at the end of March. On Twitter many seemed to have been unaware of the form, with one user writing: 'I've been turned away from the polling station saying I'm not eligible to vote despite the fact I've got a polling card received and have registered too. My local council @EastHantsDC failed to send out the declaration form...#EUelections2019 #DeniedMyVote' And Antonio Portas Tweeted: 'I was denied the right to vote in the UK even though I registered on time. Apparently there is a hidden 2nd form for EU residents in the UK. Information on official website is practically non existent #deniedmyvote'. The Electoral Commission was quick to blame the government for not enacting voting reforms it proposed after the 2014 European elections. A spokesperson said: 'We understand the frustration of some citizens of other EU Member States, resident in the UK, who have been finding they are unable to vote today when they wish to do so. 'This legal process could be made easier for citizens, and the Commission made the case for doing so following the last EU elections in 2014. However, improvements to the process are reliant on changes to electoral law, which can only be taken forward by Government and Parliament. 'The very short notice from the government of the UK's participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process amongst citizens, and for citizens to complete the process. 'EU citizens' right to vote in the election in their home Member State remains unaffected by the change in the UK's participation; in order to do so, they would need to be registered in that country in accordance with that country's process and timetable.' How does the vote for the European Parliament work and what will it mean for you? Theresa May has spent most of the past three years vowing that the European elections would not happen - because we were due to leave the EU in March 2019. Labour and the Brexit Party were also adamant that the UK should have cut ties with the bloc by now. But as a result of the Article 50 extension, the government has been left with no choice but to go ahead with the polls. Brussels insisted that unless Brexit was complete, allowing the UK to sit out the voting would effectively breach its own legal structures. HOW DO THE ELECTIONS WORK? European elections are taking place on May 23 across the UK. Voters will elect 73 MEPs to represent them in the European Parliament for a five-year term although their roles will cease to exist if the country leaves the EU before then. The UK is split into 12 regions for the ballot, returning different numbers of politicians depending on their population size. Each MEP represents all the people in their region. At the moment the UK's 73 MEPs consist of 19 Labour, 18 Tory, 10 independents, seven Ukip, seven Brexit Party, three Greens, two SNP and one each for the Lib Dems, Ulster Unionists, Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru and the Social Democratic Party. There is also one vacant seat. WHAT IS THE VOTING SYSTEM? Unlike Westminster elections, a form of proportional representation is used, with seats allocated to parties depending on their share of the vote. The ballot paper lists the parties and their candidates, along with any independent candidates. Voters put a cross next to the party or independent candidate they wish to vote for. Results will not start being announced until late Sunday night, after polls have closed across the EU. They will continue to be announced int Monday. WHO IS GOING TO WIN? The Tories have slumped to just 7 per cent on the eve of European elections - as a shock poll shows the Brexit Party surging further ahead. As Theresa May's leadership implodes, the Conservatives have dropped another three points over the past week - while Nigel Farage's new outfit have gone up by two. The YouGov reseach for the Times also paints a grim picture for Labour, which has slipped into third on just 13 per cent support - well behind the Lib Dems on 19 per cent and only just ahead of the Green on 12 per cent. As Theresa May's leadership implodes, the Conservatives have dropped another three points over the past week - while Nigel Farage's new outfit have gone up by two HOW MUCH DO THE ELECTIONS COST TO HOLD? Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years. The last election in 2014 cost 108 million to hold and it had been expected it would cost a similar amount to the taxpayer this time around if we take part But the figure is said to have increased to 156million, including staffing costs of 96million and another 50million on polling cards and information, the Daily Telegraph reported. This would be paid out in the case that parties have to be reimbursed for the cost of fielding candidates who never get to take their seats in the European Parliament, it said. A further 4.5m is said to have been set aside for 'contingency costs' in case the election does not go ahead as parties would have their deposits returned if the election is cancelled. The remainder will cover the cost of the elections in Northern Ireland, which includes the cost of security at some polling stations. HOW LONG WILL MEPS SIT FOR? The election takes place on May 23 but any candidates who become Euro MPs will have to wait until the first parliamentary session on July 2 to take their seats. The Government had been gearing its efforts towards leaving on or before June 30 but that looks almost certain not to happen. Leaving then would allow the UK to pull its MEPs out with less fuss than if we stay in longer and they take part in the legislative process. If we end up staying in the EU into July and onwards they will be able to claim their 7,599 monthly salary, but concerns have been raised at them being able to vote on important issues while temporarily remaining. When Britain does finally leave the EU, the European Parliament will reduce from 751 MEPs to 705, with 27 of the UK's 73 seats being distributed among the remaining member states. A mother and her baby boy have narrowly escaped injury after they became the latest victims of a drive-by shooting in Sydney. The woman and her baby were inside a home at Mount Pritchard, in Sydney's southwest, when bullets were fired just before 10pm on Wednesday night. Officers from Fairfield City Police Area Command were called to the property on David Street, near Anderson Avenue, following reports gunshots had been fired. A mother and her baby boy have narrowly escaped injury after they became the latest victims of a drive-by shooting in Sydney When police arrived at the home, they found bullet casings on the driveway and a bullet hole in the homes fence. Both the woman and her four-month-old child were uninjured during the ordeal. The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, told 7News she initially thought the sound of the shots were fireworks. 'Then I realised it was gun shots,' the woman said. 'I was too scared ... I didn't know what to do.' A crime scene was established and examined by specialist forensic officers. A man who was not home when police first arrived has since returned to the property and is assisting with their investigation. The Mount Pritchard shooting is the fifth drive-by shooting to occur across the city in less than 48 hours. Shots were also fired at two homes, in Ryde and Regents Park, in the early hours of Wednesday. Shots were also fired at two homes, at Ryde and Regents Park, in the early hours of Wednesday Police were called to a Regents Park house in southwest Sydney about 12.55am on Wednesday after they received reports shots had been fired into the home and a car parked out the front. Twenty minutes later officers were called to a house at Ryde, in the city's northwest, following reports shots were fired into the home and a car out the front. The seven people inside the house at the time were uninjured. Police are expected to investigate whether the shootings are linked. There was also a shooting that took place at a real estate business in Berala, in Sydney's west. Police have urge anyone with information about any of the incidents or dashcam footage to come forward or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. An air passenger has been brought under control by cabin crew after trying to open a plane door during a three-hour flight over China. The emotional man who is 'likely to be mentally ill' also stomped on the floor and smashed a plane window with his phone, according to Fuzhou Airlines. He was tackled by onboard security officers as the event unfolded minutes before the Boeing 737 was about to land in southern China's Kunming city on Monday. Footage shot by another passenger shows the man bashing a window of the Boeing 737 Cabin crew from China's Fuzhou Airlines try to bring the passenger under control mid-flight The passenger, around 50 years old, boarded domestic flight FU6509 in Fuzhou alone at about 7pm. Zhao Wenhui, one of the security officers, said he immediately noticed the passenger's 'strange behaviour', according to an online statement from the carrier. Mr Zhao said the passenger appeared to be unable to focus and there were bloodstains on his clothing. Having been trained in China's SWAT unit 'Snow leopard' for two years, Mr Zhao sensed oddity and decided to pay special attention to the passenger after the flight took off. They said the middle-aged man had tried to open a plane door and also stomped on the floor It is said the passenger, likely to be mentally ill, became emotional after failing to call his family Other passengers look on as cabin crew try to tackle the emotional traveller during the flight Chaos began about 40 minutes before the plane's scheduled landing. The airline said that the passenger appeared emotional and demanded flight attendants let him call his family. After being told that there was no phone signals on board, the passenger allegedly started to walk back and forth in the cabin and accused the plane of being unsafe. 'He also said "I want to parachute",' a flight attendant told the press. Cabin crew decided to seat him next to the security officer in an attempt to control the situation. The domestic Fuzhou Airline flight landed safely Monday after the dramatic event (file photo) However about 10 minutes before the plane's scheduled landing, the passenger suddenly dashed towards the galley and tried to open a nearby door on the plane. After being brought back to his seat, the passenger started to step heavily on the floor. He also used his mobile phone to smash a window and his seat. Security officers restrained the passenger with their bare hands with the help of flight attendants. One flight attendant was injured during the process, said the airline. The plane landed safely and the passenger was handed to airport police. The airline claimed the passenger was likely to be mentally ill, but did not explain what illness it could be. A quiet fishing trip for a father and son ended in a terrifyingly encounter with a great white shark which tried to take a chunk out of their boat. Arron Piekarski was fishing with his father off of Cape Elizabeth Point on the Yorke Peninsula in Adelaide on Tuesday when the beast made a beeline towards them. The shark's fin is seen emerging from the water in the distance as the fishermen on board quickly prepared for what the unpredictable creature might do. But the animal made a bold move that the men did not expect - the great white went for the slab of beer that was on the boat. The shark leapt out of the water and tried to bite the black box the alcohol was stored in. When the shark failed, it changed tactic and went underwater nosed the boast in an attempt to throw the box overboard. The shark quickly admitted defeat and eventually submerged itself back in the water's murky depths. 'I was out fishing for whiting and squid with my dad and really out of nowhere it come up from the back of the boat,' Mr Piekarski told Daily Mail Australia. 'It hung around for probably five minutes or so doing laps of the boat. Mr Piekarski said he pushed passed those feelings and getting the shark on camera was more the priority in this instance 'Every time it swam passed it either bit the motor, bit the side of the boat or back of the boat.' Mr Piekarski said seeing the shark got the 'adrenaline was flowing initially for sure'. He said he pushed passed those feelings and getting the shark on camera was more the priority in this instance. 'We had a similar experience a couple of years ago and we were more excited to get some good footage,' he said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison posed for a photograph with a schooner of beer in his hand while chatting with farmers during his first trip since winning the election. Mr Morrison flew to Queensland's north-west to inspect properties swamped by the February floodwaters, which are thought to have killed 500,000 head of livestock. A relaxed-looking Morrison appeared to be channeling the late Bob Hawke as he sipped on a pint while chatting with locals at the Cloncurry bowls club on Thursday. Hawke was known as the lager-loving leader who was often pictured with a beer in hand. Two opened cans of XXXX Gold mid-strength appeared strategically placed in front of Morrison as he spoke to a grazier at the bar. Prime Minister of the people: Scott Morrison and the Head of the North Queensland Livestock Industry Recovery Agency Shane Stone have a beer during a visit to Cloncurry Bowls Clubduring in Cloncurry, Thursday Cheers: Thursday marked the first trip for the newly elected leader following the election last week Morrison later paid tribute to the resilience of Queenslanders devastated by the natural disaster as he addressed the crowd from the steps of the club. 'What I know absolutely is that this part of Australia is going to be vibrant, successful, and prosperous for generations to come,' he told hundreds of locals on Thursday night. 'Its going to happen because of the hard work and commitment of the people that are here. 'This has been one of those times when I think Australians have really all pulled together and shown everyone what we can do.' Hours before his trip to the club, the prime minister had stepped straight off a plane and headed into a meeting with a flood recovery agency. The agency, headed by former Northern Territory chief minister Shane Stone, has held nine community forums across outback Queensland since it was established in March. The new Bob Hawke? Standing on the steps of the Cloncurry bowls club, he paid tribute to the resilience of Queenslanders devastated by the natural disaster Farmers are being offered restocking grants, concessional loans and access to mental health support. More than $3.3 billion has been paid or committed to help farmers respond and recover. Mr Morrison praised the agency for reaching out to desperate farmers so quickly. 'It was a very, very significant and very fragile time for this part of the country,' he told agency heads. 'The swiftness with which we had to respond was really clear to me. The urgency was what was needed, and governments really needed to stand up. This team here has enabled the government to stand up.' Hundreds of locals packed into the bowling club to join the prime minister for a sundowner. With a barbecue burning out front, Mr Morrison weaved his way through a heaving crowd along the bar, stopping often for a country kiss and a cuddle. Reports at the time suggested millions of dollars worth of livestock drowned or froze to death during the floods The man in caps was gifted another - this time for the local muster. Among the crowd was Brenda Bulley, a grazier from nearby Julia Creek. She lost lost more than 60 per cent of her stock across three properties in the February floods. Almost 2000 of her cattle were killed. 'The impact was devastating - to see the stock that had suffered, the way that they died - the amount of stock that we lost,' Ms Bulley said. 'Even though it was a big financial setback, it was just devastating to see how they died." Ms Bulley has received two $75,000 special disaster recovery grants in the aftermath of the floods, purchasing nearly 300 small steers. 'Personally we just want to say thank you - what he's done is amazing - and also to follow up and return,' she said. It's the prime minister's second trip to Cloncurry this year. In February, he inspected herds of cattle that had drowned, others frozen, and some lying dead in dry mud. On Friday, the prime minister is expected to visit a family farm that has received recovery grants, before meeting other primary producers at an outback sporting event. The latest visit mirrors the first trip Mr Morrison made when he became prime minister last year, citing drought as the main priority for his government. Horrific footage shows the moment a man began beating his ex-partner and her friend after their break-up. Ryan Alexander Ball, 24, has pleaded guilty to nine charges relating to the attack on a Perth driveway in March. The sickening attack, which left one woman with a fractured pelvis and the other with a fractured back, was filmed by neighbours. Despite admitting to the sickening attack, he was granted bail on Thursday and will be allowed to roam free until he appears in court next month for sentencing. Rhiannon Risdon, 21, has suffered every day since the brutal attack and was shocked that her attacker was released on bail In the footage, Ball can been seen stomping on a car before brutally kicking one of the women. He then runs towards apprentice hairdresser Rhiannon Risdon, the ex-girlfriend's friend, who had been trying to call for help. Ms Risdon can be seen being dragged to the ground by her hair before she is violently beaten. The 21-year-old is then seen pleading with her attacker to stop. However, Ball does not stop. He can be seen pummeling the father of one of the women who had stepped in to help. Panicked screams can be heard as the man is viciously assaulted. Horrific footage shows the moment a man began beating his ex-partner and her friend after their break-up Ms Risdon has revealed to 9 News she has been suffering every day since the brutal attack and has been left shocked that he has been released on bail. 'What he did that day was so horrible, he doesn't deserve to be living like a normal person. He's not normal.' Ball pleaded guilty to nine charges in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia, including assault occasioning bodily harm and danger life, health or safety of a person. He will appear in court next month for sentencing. 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh was released from an Indiana prison Thursday after serving 17 years of a 20 year sentence for supplying services to a terrorist organization and carrying an explosive device. Lindh, 38, is believed to have walked free from the medium security federal prison FCI Terre Haute just after midnight local time and was met by his mother Marilyn Walker, 68. The convicted terrorist is now thought to be traveling to Virginia where he is expected to live while serving a three-year probation term. He adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Irlandi while in prison. Al-Irlandi means the Irish man. The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Lindh's release and his attorney told the Washington Post that the terrorist was free. Lindh, who was revealed on Wednesday to have said in 2015 that ISIS is 'doing a great job', has been handed a tranche of additional conditions including a total ban on using the internet. Freed: This is believed to be the moment John Walker left Terra Haute federal prison with what is thought to be his mother End of detention: John Walker's attorney said that he is now free and will live near Washington D.C. under the supervision of federal probation officers End of the road: The man thought to be John Walker Lindh - who calls himself Abu Sulayman al-Irlandi - left in a white sedan just after midnight from the Terra Haute federal prison 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh has been released from a federal prison after serving 17 years of a 20 year sentence for supplying services to a terrorist organization and carrying an explosive device The Arabic speaker is not allowed to have an internet-capable device without prior permission, nor communicate online in any language other than English. He is also banned from possessing, viewing or accessing any extremist or terrorist material, is forbidden from communicating with any known extremists and cannot leave the US without permission. Lindh must also undergo regular mental health counseling. His release brought objections from elected officials who asked why Lindh was being freed early and what training parole officers had to spot radicalization and recidivism among former jihadists. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Lindh's release 'unexplainable and unconscionable.' Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday morning that Lindh "still is threatening the United states of America, still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and a great CIA officer. 'There's something deeply troubling and wrong about it.' The 38-year-old was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in November 2001 and failed to warn U.S. forces of a planned uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi jail in Balkh where he was being held. During the uprising on November 25, CIA operative Johnny 'Mike' Spann was killed while Lindh himself was injured. Spann, an Alabama father-of-three, had questioned Lindh on arrival but the convicted terrorist chose not to warn him of the Taliban prisoners' plans. He was recaptured after the uprising and transferred to the U.S. for trial - eventually pleading guilty to supplying services to the Taliban and possessing firearms and explosives while carrying out a felony. He was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2001 and failed to warn U.S. forces of a planned uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi jail where he was being held. Lindh is pictured being treated at an Army base hospital following the uprising that resulted in him being injured Lindh was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2001. He is pictured being led away by a Northern Alliance soldier following his capture Spann's daughter Alison said releasing Lindh was a slap in the face for her family. 'He is getting released early because of his good behavior in prison. For my family, terrorism does not equal good behavior,' she told ABC News. Meanwhile Spann's father Johnny Spann had urged President Trump to intervene. 'Don't turn him loose if there's reports out here that he's not being the model prisoner that ya'll say he is,' he said. Spann's father was referring to reports, including a 2017 investigation by Foreign Policy magazine and documents composed by the National Counterterrorism Center, that said Lindh 'continued to advocate for global jihad' as of May 2016. The documents also claimed that Lindh said he would 'continue to spread violent extremist Islam on his release' and had praised the activities of Islamic State. Lindh expressed remorse for his actions during his 2002 trial, telling court that 'I have never supported terrorism in any form and I never will. 'I made a mistake by joining the Taliban. Had I realized then what I know now, I never would have joined them.' 'Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan wrote to the Federal Bureau of Prisons last week to question the decision to release him and ask what strategies have been put in place to stop him from causing further harm. On Wednesday, Florida Republican Rep. Michael Waltz, a former Green Beret who served in Afghanistan, described him as a 'traitor' and said he 'should be in prison for life'. Waltz added: 'We're calling on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to explain why he is being released early, and then we are calling on law enforcement authorities to be watching him extremely closely. 'We need to keep a close eye on him.' Lindh is believed to have walked free from the medium security federal prison FCI Terre Haute in Indiana (above) just after midnight local time on Thursday Lindh (pictured before one of his court appearances in Virginia in 2002) has spent the last 17 years in jail after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban Lindh has spent the last 17 years in jail, beginning with a stint at US Penitentiary Victorville - a high security jail 40 miles north east of Los Angeles. The 38-year-old was then transferred to ADX Florence in Colorado a supermax penitentiary nicknamed 'the Alcatraz of the Rockies'. The facility is known for its large population of terrorist inmates, among them 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui and radical cleric Abu Hamza. Other prisoners include Ramzi Yousef, who took part in the 1994 World Trade Center bombing, and 'Shoe Bomber' Richard Reid. Lindh completed the rest of his sentence inside FCC Terre Haute in Indiana, a medium security lock-up which has a connected low-security work camp. According to the inmates' handbook, prisoners are banned from possessing more than 25 letters at a time, cannot have any sort of semi-clad or nude photo in their possession and may not wear jewelry apart from wedding bands and plain religious necklaces. Inmates cannot wear civilian clothing and must wear prison-issue khaki pants and a plain brown short-sleeve t-shirt instead. Some, Lindh among them, are kept in the Communication Management Unit, where all forms of outside contact, including calls and email, are severely restricted and monitored. Lindh, who obtained an Irish passport in 2013, is thought to want to move to Ireland but will be unable to do so for at least three years because of his probation conditions. He is likely to live instead with his father Frank, a college lecturer from San Rafael, California, or with his mother Marilyn, who lives in Silver Springs, Maryland. The former couple have been publicly supportive of their son and expressed surprise after he was first captured. They have been regular visitors to Terre Haute, telling GQ in a 2009 interview that they saw their son once a month and that he spent most of his time in jail studying the Koran. Neither responded to requests for comment from DailyMail.com. Lindh's older brother Connell, 41, of Seattle, Washington, did not respond to calls and messages. A meteor which lit up Australia's southern states on Wednesday had the energy of a small nuclear weapon despite being no bigger than a couch. Victoria and South Australia residents were amazed as the lone meteor rained down from the sky over the Great Australian Bight. The meteor entered the stratosphere at a speed of 44,100km/h before exploding the 1.6 kiloton force in to the atmosphere, according to The Advertiser. The rouge projectile finally landed west-south-west of Mount Gambier, close to the South Australian and Victorian border, following a meteor shower seen over the Northern Territory. The meteor was estimate to be the size of a couch when it first entered the atmosphere before it broke down to 'small pieces the size of a fist or larger' aerospace engineer Dr Steve Chesley said to ABC Radio. 'You wouldnt want it to land on your head, but these wouldnt really do any damage on the ground,' Dr Chesley said. Curtin University Professor Phil Bland said the meteor was of no threat to residents due to its height. 'It's in the range of a small nuclear weapon. Because it exploded at an altitude of 31.5km it didn't do any damage,' he said. Nasa's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies that monitors potential threats from meteorites sighted the object in some of their data, displaying it as a large green dot. People took to Facebook to share their amazement at the captivating sight. 'I saw the biggest orange flames and the whole night sky light up about 10:45 tonight whilst out in horse paddock. It scared the stuffing out of me,' one woman wrote. Residents in Geelong, the Mornington Peninsula and the rural town of Heywood also caught a glimpse of the meteor. 'I saw the huge flash and a streaking fire trail from the truck in Heywood vic last night, one of the coolest things I've ever seen,' a Heywood resident wrote. The incredible sight that left Australian's in Victoria and South Australia amazed on Wednesday as the lone meteor rained down the sky in to the Great Australian Bight near Mount Gambier close to the SA and Vic border The meteor can be seen as the large green dot that generated 1.6 kilotons of force when it exploded The meteor was estimate to be the size of a couch when it first entered the atmosphere before it broke down to 'small pieces the size of a fist or larger' The Country Fire Authority received several calls from people across Melbourne who thought a fire started. 'About an hour ago I saw a big, blue meteor fall from the sky. I was coming home from The Entrance (on the NSW Central Coast), heading South. Lasted about 2 seconds. Was fast and beautiful!,' one Facebook user wrote. The sightings come just three days after a meteor shower in the Northern Territory outback. The phenomenon caused a flash of light that lit up the night sky followed by a loud noise that shook windows. The shower over the towns of Alice Springs and Tennant Creek was caught on camera after it took place just after midnight on Monday. Mystery surrounds the bodies of a 45-year-old mother and her twin daughters who have been found starved to death inside a locked flat in Austria. The woman and her 18-year-old girls were discovered inside the apartment in Vienna, Austria's capital, on Tuesday, but officers believe their bodies have been laying there for almost two months. Detectives said they have found no motive, no farewell letters and no evidence of violence or coercion, and admit that they have no idea why three adult women would allow themselves to starve. The remains of the mother, 45, and her twin daughters, 18, were found Tuesday in an apartment in this street in Vienna, but police believe they have been dead for two months 'It is not always possible to explain everything completely,' officers told Wein Orf, adding only that it appears that the women had intended to die. Family records show that the mother had been into a women's shelter three times in 2013, 2014 and 2015, when it was suspected that she was suffering from some kind of mental illness. However, she was not committed to any kind of mental health facility and was allowed to keep caring for her two daughters. School records seen by Vienna Online show the girls were slow to progress at school, but were otherwise healthy. Social workers referred to them as shy, quiet children, but did not raise any further concerns about them. They were taken out of school in autumn 2016, when it was no longer compulsory. In December the same year social services were sent back to the family over fears of neglect, with supervision lasting until March 2017 when workers were satisfied enough to depart. Authorities had no further contact with the trio until this week, when a friend got in contact to say they were worried and had not heard from the family for some time. Police were sent to the Floridsdorf suburb of Vienna and had to break into the house after finding the door locked. Inside, they found the body of the mother in the hallway, with the twin girls found together on the sofa, Oe24 reports. There was no sign of violence on the bodies, no sign of forced entry, and an autopsy revealed they had not been poisoned. The only indication of their fate - later confirmed by an autopsy - was that there was no food in the house. Investigations are ongoing. Joseph McCann, 34, did not appear at the Old Bailey today and a dock officer confirmed he had refused to leave his cell An alleged serial rapist failed to appear in court again after refusing to leave his cell to face 21 charges including sexual assault, kidnap and false imprisonment. Joseph McCann, 34, was due to appear before Mr Justice Edis at the Old Bailey via video-link from Belmarsh Prison today. But he did not appear on the screen and a dock officer confirmed he had refused to leave his cell. Two weeks ago McCann was visited by Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot in jail, conducting a hearing in Belmarsh after McCann refused to appear in court. Today at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Edis said that, unlike in the magistrates court, the defendants presence was not required for the hearing to go ahead. He indicated that McCann should be informed that, if he chose not to attend his trial, it would happen in his absence. The senior judge set a provisional six-week trial at the Old Bailey to start on November 11 and a plea hearing on July 26. Even though he was not present, McCann was represented in court by a defence lawyer. McCann is charged with 21 offences against eight alleged victims, aged between 11 and 71, across five police force areas over a two-week period between April 21 and May 5. McCann was due to appear before Mr Justice Edis via video-link from Belmarsh Prison (pictured) today McCann, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, is charged with 21 offences against eight alleged victims, aged between 11 and 71 During one alleged incident, McCann, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, is said to have tied a woman up in her own home and committed sexual offences, including rape, against her 17-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. McCann was arrested near Congleton, Cheshire, just over two weeks after he is alleged to have abducted a woman in her 20s in Watford before raping her in her home. Two other women, who are in their 20s, were allegedly separately snatched off streets in Chingford and Edgware, London, on April 25 before being raped in a car. A string of other alleged offences are said to have occurred in Lancashire and Greater Manchester on May 5, including the rape of a 71-year-old woman and the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. McCann faces eight counts of rape, four counts of kidnap, two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity, two counts of sexual assault by penetration, one count of inciting a boy under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Holiday firm Thomas Cook flew a family back to Britain, where they were met by police, after fellow hotel guests accused them of child abuse. The family, from Liverpool, were staying at the Atlantique Holiday Club resort near Kusadasi, Turkey when other holidaymakers claimed one the children in the family was struck around the back of the head and another was dunked in the holiday pool by their feet. Thomas Cook moved the family to another hotel, before putting them on a flight back to Britain, where they were met at Manchester Airport by police. A family were flown back to Britain from this Turkish resort after fellow guests said one child was struck around the head and another was dunked in a swimming pool It is understood the family were booked in for a two-week stay at the resort, but were reported to the tour operator mid-way through the holiday. A number of other guests and hotel staff are said to have raised concerns Thomas Cook is said to have taken the reports extremely seriously and put the father of the family in a separate room from his wife and children until they could be flown back to Britain. The family are refuting the claims of child cruelty, the Liverpool Echo reports, but social services in Merseyside have been brought in to work with them. Merseyside Police have said officers from neighbouring force Greater Manchester met the family from the plane. A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said: 'We have a duty of care to all of our customers, and have clear policies in place, including a child protection policy, which we will not hesitate to act upon to ensure the wellbeing of our customers and colleagues.' The man accused of lying to police about a high-profile paedophile ring allegedly claimed ex-prime minister Sir Edward Heath had sexually abused him on his yacht. Carl Beech, 51, who was known as 'Nick', claimed he remembered the vessel Morning Cloud was large and white, but was unsure where it was moored. He told Detective Sergeant James Townly of the Metropolitan Police that he was sexually assaulted in one of the cabins, which he said were basic and not luxurious. Beech told the detective in October 2014: 'He touched me, I didn't have to do anything to him, I just lay there.' Beech was able to recall to police that the yacht had a tilting cooker, but could not remember where it was moored or even whether it was in a marina, the court heard. Carl Beech, 51, known as 'Nick', is on trial accused of falsely claiming he was abused by a VIP paedohpile ring. He is pictured being interviewed by the Met Police in October 14, 2014 and his 'evidence' sparked a 2million investigation that ended in no arrests Beech claimed he remembered the vessel Morning Cloud (pictured) was large and white, but was unsure where it was moored The court was also told today how Beech claimed Mr Heath had to step in to stop an MP seriously harming him. Beech told the Met Police that ex-Basildon and Billericay MP Harvey Proctor wanted to 'cut his genitals' with a knife and liked to 'strangle' him while forcing him to perform sex acts. He also claimed the late former home secretary Lord Brittan was 'sadistic' and said the politician would 'hold his head underwater' while abusing him. Beech made the claims in an interview with police in 2014 that sparked the 2million Operation Midland investigation that lasted 18-months but ended with no arrests. He is now on trial at Newcastle Crown Court where jurors heard his claims were 'extraordinary,' 'heinous,' 'incredible,' and 'untrue.' Beech made the claim a few minutes after telling a police officer his dog had been kidnapped in a plot orchestrated by the former head of MI5. Beech accused former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, 72, pictured, of violent sexual assault and claimed he threatened to 'cut his genitals with a knife'. Mr Proctor is said to 'still be enraged' by the claims Beech, pictured right at a previous court hearing, told the Met Police Mr Proctor was only stopped from seriously harming him by former prime minister Edward Heath, left The interview in October 2014 was filmed with some clips shown to the jury today. Beech told Detective Sergeant James Townly that Harvey Proctor, now 72, was the most violent of the abusers he called 'The Group.' He said: 'He had a little pen-knife, he wanted to cut my genitals, he was stopped by one of the others. 'He was not happy, he was so angry, he did not like being told what to do.and he gave me that knife as he left. 'He put it in my trousers and said: 'Next time you will not be so lucky'.' Detective Sergeant Townly asked him: 'Who is he?' Beech answered in a low voice: 'Harvey. Harvey Proctor.' DS Townly asked: 'Who stopped him?' Beech also claimed the late Lord Brittan, a former home secretary, was 'sadistic' and 'raped him while holding his head underwater in a pool'. Beech's claims were subsequently branded 'totally unfounded' by a Northumbria Police probe Beech said: 'One of the others, it was not the only time he was stopped.' The 51-year-old also alleged Proctor forced him to perform sex acts while being violent. He said: 'He was not like the others, it was fun for him to choke you so you just couldn't breathe. 'Strangle. He just liked to strangle, he liked to hit. Anything that caused additional pain, physical pain. 'He liked knives. He was probably one of the youngest of The Group but he did not like being told what to do.' He was asked again who told him [Proctor] what to do and Beech replied: 'The only one person I remember was Edward, just him. Harvey wanted to do more and Edward would not let him.' DS Townly asked: 'Who is Edward?' Beech replied: 'Edward Heath. He told him and he did not question that but I saw what harm he was capable of, I was on his hit list and he did not like me at all.' Detective Sergeant Townly asked him to tell him more about Proctor but an emotional Beech began to break down and replied: 'I can't, I just can't.' The accusation was part of a raft of allegations by Beech, from Gloucester, which were later described by a senior officer with The Met as 'credible and true.' It followed minutes after Beech had claimed his beloved pet dog Heron disappeared for five days when he was 13 and that he was later approached by a man named 'Michael' to tell him the dog had been taken 'as a warning'. 'Michael' was later identified by Beech as Michael Hanley, the former head of MI5, who he claimed was another member of 'The Group'. He said Heron, whom he described as his only childhood friend, went missing while being walked by Beech's mother in Bushy Park, near Hampton Court, while he was living in Kingston upon Thames. The jury were previously shown pictures of Carl Beech aged around 10 in his final year of primary school when he claimed the abuse began Beech said: 'She just vanished, she told me she was gone and I was absolutely devastated. We went out looking for her and couldn't find her. 'Mum had to force me back home because I would not leave. 'I had to find her and not a sign, not a sign. The next day, or a day after, Michael collared me outside of school and he did not have her in the car but he said he had heron, my dog. 'They took her as a warning because I was not to forget. They took her for five days and let her go, I remember I had to go to pick her up from a police station at Surbiton I think it was. 'It was because I had forgotten to be somewhere, to be picked up. It was not like me to forget. 'That is why it happened, How did they do that? How did they know where she was out being walked. That is what they are capable of.' Timeline of Beech's alleged falsehoods and the investigations they launched 2014/2015: Over more than 20 hours of recorded police interviews, Carl Beech makes lurid allegations of child rape and murder against senior Establishment figures including Ted Heath and Lord Brammall. November 2014: The Met Police launch Operation Midland, which raids the homes of several elderly men looking for evidence to support Beech's claims. A detective calls the accusations 'credible and true'. April 2015: D-Day veteran and former Army chief Lord Brammal interviewed. June 2015: Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, whom Beech accused of child murder, interviewed under caution. March 2016: Beech notified no further action was to be taken in respect of the allegations he had made. 2016: Northumbria Police conclude Beech's claims are 'totally unfounded, hopelessly compromised, and irredeemably contradicted by other testimony'. November 2, 2016: Police arrive to raid Beech's home in Gloucester. January 23, 2018: Beech got 60,000 as an early pension from the NHS February 6, 2018: He travels to Calais preparing to flee to Sweden, where he buys a cabin in the woods and lives under a series of assumed identities, travelling hundreds of miles from city to city to stay on the run October 1, 2018: He was tracked down by Swedish and British police and arrested in advance of a 20-hour train journey to Gothenburg booked in the name of 'Samuel Karlsson'. 2018: A highly critical review of Operation Midland reports police 'acted like they were searching for bodies' during raids on homes. 2018: Beech pleads guilty to possessing indecent images of children, in a separate trial. December 2018: restriction on reporting of Carl Beech's real identity lifted. May 2019: Beech goes on trial for perverting the course of justice. Advertisement Beech also told DS Townly he 'found Edward Heath to be kind'. He added: 'He reminded me of my grandfather which I didn't like actually. 'Edward would not do anything in front of anyone else ever. I never saw him with anyone else, it was always done alone. 'Harvey was there on one occasion. I cannot remember what I had done but I know I had to [perform a sex act] with Edward there. 'Then the next thing he was hitting me and hitting me and Edward stopped him and he didn't like it. He didn't question it, he just stopped, he stopped instantly.' He said he met the former Prime Minister when he was aged about 11 which would have been in either 1979 or 1980. Beech claimed: 'He told me he used to run the country, that did not mean anything to me, I was only about 11. 'I didn't know if I was expected to be impressed or not, I didn't know but it didn't mean anything to me.' He added: 'The fear would go sky high when he (Proctor) was in the room, he was probably the worst of all of them I think.' Beech went on to accuse the late former Home Secretary Leon Brittan, later Lord Brittan, of raping him in a pool at the exclusive Dolphin Square development near Westminster. Of Lord Brittan, who died in 2015 whilst still under investigation, Beech said: 'I suppose he was a mini Harvey, he just did not go as far as Harvey did, he was nasty but not as nasty, more reserved, more controlled. 'He was fairly sadistic in his own way but not as much as Harvey. He would not do things in front of anyone else, he liked to see pain but not inflict it much himself.' He said Lord Brittan raped him while holding his head underwater at Dolphin Square and also at a London townhouse. 'He liked to hold your head underwater, he was another person who liked to do that. 'He would hold my head under for a long time. He was strong, a strong man.' Beech further claimed that he had been to the then home of Sir Edward Heath at Wilton Street in London as a young boy. He told DS Townly that he recognised the address after being taken there by the investigative journalist Mark Conrad before he made his disclosures to the police . In July or August 2014 Mr Conrad, of the Exaro investigations website, took Beech to the area of Wilton Street and walked him around without telling him who lived in the area. Beech said he suddenly recognised Mr Heath's street, telling DS Townly: 'As we walked down my anxieties went sky high, it was very familiar to me. 'Mark said 'who do I associate with the place?' 'The only people I would associate with it was Harvey and Edward, he didn't tell me who lived there or anything. It was very difficult actually.' After describing sex acts he performed on Mr Heath, Beech added: 'He commanded authority and respect, he did not have to do anything.' Beech also claimed that 'Remembrance Day abuse parties' were held every year in which boys had poppies pinned to their bare chests as they were being sexually abused. Among those who attended the events every November were former heads of the British Army Lord Bramall and Field Marshall Sir Roland Gibbs, Carl Beech claimed. He told DS Townly: 'It was the usual sexual stuff. There was a difference with the Remembrance ones because of having the poppies pinned to your chest and it was not just the once. 'They got a bit of skin and put the pin through it. Then another would take it out and put it in somewhere else.' Beech, pictured in a court sketch, also claimed his pet dog Heron was 'kidnapped for five days' by MI5 'as a warning to him' The trial has so far heard that Beech falsely claimed he witnessed the murders of three boys by 'The Group.' He also said he was abused by the disgraced television presenter Jimmy Savile. He told the original investigating team from the Metropolitian Police that around 15 men attended weekly abuse parties all over the South of England including on late former Tory PM Ted Heath's yacht, exclusive clubs and Dolphin Square, where many MPs lived near Westminster. He claimed ex-Conservative MP Mr Proctor tied a boy to a table, raped him and then stabbed him to death, the jury heard. Beech also said former MI5 and MI6 heads tortured him by tipping spiders over him, gave him electric shocks and threw darts at him. And he alleged the former Conservative Home Secretary Leon Brittan and former head of the Armed Forces Lord Bramall, who is now 95, were also part of the ring. After Operation Midland was axed, Northumbria Police were called in to investigate Beech and subsequently 'unravelled his claims'. Beech denies 12 charges of perverting justice and one of fraud by falsely claiming 22,000 criminal injuries compensation. When the Met asked Northumbria Police to investigate Beech in 2016, officers raided the rented three-bedroom house in Gloucester where he lived with his son. They discovered on the drive a new 34,000 white Ford Mustang convertible which was bought with the compensation cash he received, it is alleged. Beech later fled to Sweden but was tracked down and extradited back to the UK to face justice. Beech's extraordinary accusations were levelled against a list of prominent men including: Former PM Sir Edward Heath: he said he was sexually abused at Heath's home in London and on his yacht Former head of the army Lord Brammall: he said Brammall repeatedly raped him and was present at the first meeting of 'the group' Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor: he said Proctor demanded oral sex, abused him with a pen knife, and murdered two children, one after tying him to a table, raping, and stabbing him Former head of MI5 Michael Hanley, and former head of MI6 Maurice Oldfield: said to be responsible for abuse and torture including spiders being tipped over him, electric shocks, and having darts thrown at him, culminating in threats 'to make him disappear' His step-father, Major Ray Beech: he said his step-father frequently and repeatedly abused, raped, and beat him, the first time in a public toilet at a wildlife park Former Home Secretary Leon Brittan: He said Brittan murdered a child, describing him as a 'mini-Harvey' who was sadistic and enjoyed putting his head under water In all, Beech accused 12 men: Major Ray Beech, his step-father; Lt General Beach; General Gibbs; Lord Brammall; Jimmy Savile; Peter Hayman; Harvey Proctor; Leon Brittan; Greville Janner; Edward Heath; Michael Hanley; Maurice Oldfield. A grandfather who was repeatedly stabbed by a terrorist because of a USA themed t-shirt he was wearing said he'll never forgive his attacker. Wayne Greenhalgh, was stabbed multiple times by his neighbour Ihsas Khan while enjoying an afternoon walk in Minto, Sydney's south-west in September 2016. Mr Greenhalgh managed to hide inside a nearby hairdressing salon after neighbours used a fence paling to shield Khan until police arrived and tasered him. Wayne Greenhalgh (pictured) was stabbed multiple times by his neighbour Ihsas Khan while enjoying an afternoon walk in 2016 The Sydney grandfather told A Current Affair he will never forgive the ISIS supporter for the endless emotional trauma. 'I'd beat the absolute hell out of him, and I don't care,' he said. 'I'd be quite happy just to go in a room, somebody lock the door and throw the key away, and leave me with him.' Mr Greenhalgh said he had spoken to Khan earlier in the day and noticed he was holding a little book. He said he was targeted because of a US t-shirt he was wearing, which made Khan believe he was American. 'He had a little book in his hand and he just seemed to look more at Wayne than me, then he just turned around and went inside,' Mrs Greenhalgh said. Mr Greenhalgh said the incident has traumatised him and his injuries have ended his career as a cabinet maker - a job he has been doing since the age of 16. Ihsas Khan (pictured), who was a pharmacy student, was found guilty of the terrorist attack after six trials 'When I wake up, it's as if I'm still running away from him. It's weird, but hopefully one day it will go away,' he said. Khan, who was a pharmacy student, was found guilty of the terrorist attack after six trials. The first four were aborted because his mental status was brought into question while the jury in a fifth trial were unable to reach a verdict. He told police in an interview the attack felt 'like eating a Picnic bar. You don't really think about it, do you?' Meanwhile Mr Greenhalgh has moved to the Gold Goast with his wife and volunteers to drive the elderly to medical appointments. He is taking anti-depressants and painkillers which he says has affected him mentally and is undergoing counselling. Khan is due to be sentenced in May. Jeremy Corbyn urged Labour supporters to be ready for a general election today as Theresa May's Government descended into anarchy. The opposition leader said the Prime Minister's crumbling administration 'can't last very long' as he met European election candidates in Sussex. It came after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage had cast his vote with a snipe at Mr Corbyn by saying: 'Labour are in so much trouble here, you can't believe it'. During a visit to Worthing, West Sussex, on Thursday the hard Left Labour leader told a group of candidates: 'Get ready for a general election. We will sort things out. 'Under a Labour Government, Britain would be a very, very different place.' Joking with the group, he added: 'The Tories; I can't say I feel very sorry for them but I'm trying. I'm an incredibly generous person.' Mr Corbyn spoke to Diya Patel, four, who passed him on the pavement while on her way home from nursery with her mother in Worthing today Pie maker Gavin Williams presented Mr Corbyn with a personalised vegetarian pie flavoured with mushroom, spinach and asparagus Nigel Farage has targeted Labour as well as the Tories taunting Jeremy Corbyn that they are in 'big trouble' This morning Mr Corbyn released a video message as voters headed to the polls for the European elections. Warning that 'the far-right is on the rise', the Labour leader said Britain was 'at a crossroads'. 'The actions we take now will have huge consequences for our future,' he said. The Brexit Party leader Mr Farage predicted his new party 'could win big' today as voters abandon the Tories, leaving them up to 23 per cent behind in the polls. Labour appear to be battling with the Liberal Democrats for second place as a recent survey found that voters are unsure about what their position on Brexit is. Mr Farage has sought to exploit that fissure, visiting Labour heartlands where the majority voted to leave the EU and declaring Jeremy Corbyn's party 'is vulnerable in the most extraordinary way'. Last night Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell insisted that Labour does back Brexit - hours after Mr Corbyn ruled out voting for Theresa May's deal. When asked if 'Labour wanted Brexit' he told Channel 4 News: 'Yeah we want to abide by the decision of the last referendum'. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves after voting in the European Parliament election at a polling station in Islington today with his party also struggling Nigel Farage denied claims he hid on his Brexit Party bus to avoid being doused in milkshake again yesterday. He was campaigning in Kent when two men and a woman were spotted waiting for him at his next stop in Rochester. One of Mr Farage's supporters said they were carrying milkshakes and he was quickly alerted. His bus driver Michael Botton said the Brexit Party leader had to quickly change his plans to avoid an attack though later his spokesman insisted that Mr Farage had not hidden inside the bus. 'There are a couple of guys standing over there with milkshakes, they were going to throw them over him,' Mr Botton told website Kent Live. 'But the police are there, we've spotted them and now Nigel isn't getting off the bus.' The group were accosted by Brexit Party organisers who prevented them from getting too close to Mr Farage. The Tories predicted to get 12 per cent of the vote in today's European elections - 23 points behind Nigel Farage Brexit Party who are on 35 per cent. The PM's party is also trailing Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the final opinion poll before today's election has revealed, but they may just edge out the Greens. Some polls showed the Tories could win just seven per cent of the vote - their lowest share in history. Brexit rebel Caroline Flint warned MPs to vote for Theresa May's Brexit divorce or face No Deal. Ms Flint, who represents Don Valley, urged the Commons to 'take stock' after the expected mauling for her party and the Tories in the European elections. The former minister under Gordon Brown, who has voted for the PM's deal before, was one of the few MPs to stick up for Mrs May's plan during a Commons debate today. She said: 'Anybody on any side of the House, if they claim to be against No Deal, they should give this proposition due consideration and think about how they would amend it.' Labour's Caroline Flint today backed the Tory PM's Brexit deal as a way to avoid No Deal She added: 'The PM has said several times already that if the second reading of this Bill does not succeed there will not be another opportunity to leave with a Withdrawal Bill. 'The only course and direction will be to leave without any deal at all. Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today) has ruled out any chance of Labour backing the PM's deal Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn earlier declared Mrs May's Government was 'too weak' and 'too divided' to get Britain out of the Brexit 'mess' it had created, describing her latest offer as not a 'genuine compromise'. He said no Labour MP could vote for a deal 'on the promise of a Prime Minister who only has days left in her job'. The Labour leader said the Prime Minister's promised 'bold new deal' is 'little more than a repackaged version' of her three-times rejected deal. He told the Commons: 'The rhetoric may have changed but the deal has not.' Mr Corbyn said Mrs May offered no change on a customs union, single market alignment nor on environmental protections. He went on: 'This Government is too weak, too divided to get this country out of the mess that they have created.' Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mrs May's deal is not a 'genuine compromise' and that Labour MPs cannot vote for it given the Prime Minister only has 'days left in her job'. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Corbyn said: 'It is clear no compromise would survive the upcoming Tory leadership contest.' He added: 'It is clear that the shrunken offer that has emerged satisfied no-one. Not her own backbenches, not the DUP, and not the official opposition either. 'No Labour MP can vote for a deal on the promise of a Prime Minister who only has days left in her job. Even if the Prime Minister could honour her promises, the deal she is putting before us does not represent a genuine compromise.' Mrs May faced MPs after her latest Brexit deal offer was lambasted with several Brexiteer ministers deciding to stay away and meet privately instead As Theresa May's leadership implodes, the Conservatives have dropped another three points over the past week - while Nigel Farage's new outfit have gone up by two Theresa May had pleaded with MPs to let her Brexit deal pass, as she faced intense pressure to quit after Tories rejected her latest proposals. Tories slump to just 7 PER CENT in poll on the eve of European elections as Brexit Party surges to 37 per cent The Tories have slumped to just 7 per cent on the eve of European elections - as a shock poll shows the Brexit Party surging further ahead. As Theresa May's leadership implodes, the Conservatives have dropped another three points over the past week - while Nigel Farage's new outfit have gone up by two. The YouGov reseach for the Times also paints a grim picture for Labour, which has slipped into third on just 13 per cent support - well behind the Lib Dems on 19 per cent and only just ahead of the Green on 12 per cent. The dire figures underline the catastrophe facing Mrs May and the Tories when the results of the elections are declared on Sunday night and Monday morning. Even loyalist Conservatives are deserting the PM as she comes under pressure to pull the plug on her Brexit deal and resign. Advertisement The Prime Minister warned that whoever succeeded her would face the same Brexit pressures as she called on MPs to back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB). In a Commons statement she appeared to acknowledge that her time in office was limited, having already said she will set out a timetable for her departure after the crunch vote on her Bill. 'In time another prime minister will be standing at this despatch box,' she told MPs. 'But while I am here, I have a duty to be clear with the House about the facts. 'If we are going to deliver Brexit in this Parliament we are going to have to pass a Withdrawal Agreement Bill. 'And we will not do so without holding votes on the issues that have divided us the most - that includes votes on customs arrangements and on a second referendum.' Conservative Eurosceptics have reacted with fury to the Brexit plan's offer of a vote on whether to hold another referendum. Senior Tory MPs will again seek to change party rules to allow a confidence vote in her leadership if she refuses to leave Number 10. Mrs May said the WAB would be published on Friday and backing it would help get the UK out of the EU by the end of July. 'We can bring an end to the months - years - of increasingly bitter argument and division that have both polarised and paralysed our politics,' she said. 'We can move on, move forwards, and get on with the jobs we were sent here to do, what we got into politics to do. 'That is what we can achieve if we support this new deal. Reject it, and all we have before us is division and deadlock.' President Donald Trump lashed out Thursday at a report that his former secretary of state told members of Congress he was underprepared and easily outflanked by Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met in Germany in 2017. 'Rex Tillerson, a man who is dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany,' Trump tweeted. 'I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing!' he vented. A House Foreign Affairs Committee source told The Washington Post that Tillerson told lawmakers the 'unequal footing' of an out-of-his-depth Trump left the Kremlin strongman free to 'push what he wanted.' Trump fired Tillerson in 2018 and replaced him with then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Tillerson reportedly told committee members that the Trump-Putin meeting in Hamburg spiraled from a brief talk into a two-hour session, leaving Trump exposed. 'Discrepancy in preparation': Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Germany in July 2017 a meeting that Rex Tillerson says the Russian was better prepared for Rex Tillerson (pictured), who Trump fired as secretary of state in March 2018, told a House committee about his experience at the 2017 summit The president blasted Tillerson as 'dumb as a rock' and denied Putin outperformed him in Hamburg two summers ago 'We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted,' a committee source said. 'There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing.' Trump has rejected the claims, saying he was 'perfectly prepared' and 'did very well' at the meeting with Putin, which took place on the sidelines of a G20 summit. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday morning on CNN that Trump's meeting with Putin 'went extremely well.' 'The president's been very well prepared, not just for that meeting, but the dozens and dozens of meetings that he's had with other foreign leaders,' she said. Tillerson had a public fued with Trump in the months after he got his pink slip, calling him 'undisciplined' and saying he frequently had to explain that the President's proposals were illegal. Trump 'doesn't like to read, doesn't read briefing reports, doesn't like to get into the details of a lot of things,' Tillerson said during an on-stage interview at a Houston charity event. Firing back, Trump said his former top diplomat 'didn't have the mental capacity needed' for the foreign policy job. 'He was dumb as a rock and I couldn't get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell,' said Trump. 'The president's been very well prepared, not just for that meeting, but the dozens and dozens of meetings that he's had with other foreign leaders,' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted Thursday morning on CNN The 2017 Trump-Putin meeting was the first between the two leaders since Trump's election win in 2016 a contest Russians tried to steer through coordinated meddling. Trump said afterward that he had 'strongly pressed' the Moscow leader over claims of Russian influence and hacking. He said Putin 'vehemently denied' the conclusions of American intelligence agencies. Several Russians have been charged with hacking into Democratic email accounts to hurt Hillary Clinton's candidacy in 2016. It later emerged that the two leaders had an additional, initially undisclosed discussion over dinner on the final night of the Hamburg summit. Both the White House and Kremlin denied there was any secrecy to the second meeting. Trump was also forced to defend allowing his daughter, Ivanka Trump, to sit in for him briefly during the summit. Tillerson attended the talks in Germany, but in 2018 Trump and Putin met privately for more than two hours with only translators present. Trump previously voiced skepticism about preparing for his first summit with Kim Jong Un, which took place in Singapore in June 2018 (pictured) Trump faced a furious backlash in the U.S. that week after seeming to accept Putin's denials. 'I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,' he said. 'He just said, "It's not Russia." I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be.' Obama-era CIA director John Brennan later said that statement was 'nothing short of treasonous' and suggested Trump should be impeached. James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence from 2010 to 2017, called Trump's performance 'an incredible capitulation.' Trump later backed down and claimed he misspoke, insisting he meant 'wouldn't' instead of 'would.' He also voiced skepticism about preparing for his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore last year. 'I don't think I have to prepare very much,' he said. 'It's about attitude. It's about willingness to get things done.' A convicted jihadi terrorist and former bit actor on Home and Away has complained about his treatment behind bars being 'too harsh'. Bradley Umar Sariff Baladjam, 42, is currently serving a minimum 14-year jail term in Goulburn Supermax for offences relating to preparing for a terrorist act in 2005. Baladjam pleaded guilty to four charges after pulling out a pistol and opening fire on four police officers in Sydney's west as they attempted to arrest him. The sentencing judge gave him a 15 per cent reduced sentence for co-operating. Bradley Umar Sariff Baladjam, 42 (pictured), is currently serving a minimum 14-year jail term in Goulburn Supermax for offences relating to preparing for a terrorist act in 2005 Baladjam (pictured on ground) pulled out a pistol and opened fire on four police officers in Sydney's west as they attempted to arrest him But he has now claimed he's doing much harder jail time than his co-offenders Mazen Touma and Faheem Lodhi ever did, The Daily Telegraph reported. According to Baladjam, the tougher conditions are the result of the country's elevated terrorism threat level, which took place in 2015. During his time behind bars, the 42-year-old was reclassified from an AA prisoner to the highest level - extremely high risk restricted (EHRR). The EHRR restrictions are much harsher than those Touma - who has been released - and Lodhi - who was convicted of plotting to blow up Sydney's electricity grid - ever endured. Lodhi, whose parole bid was refused earlier this year, remains in prison but in a lower classification jail. Baladjam's lawyers made an appeal to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal to reduce his sentence because they claim he is living under conditions the sentencing judge could not have taken into account 14 years ago. Baladjam claimed when Touma and Lodhi were held at Goulburn Supermax (pictured) they were given freedom to associate with other inmates outside of their cells Baladjam claims he's doing much harder jail time than his co-offenders Mazen Touma (pictured) and Faheem Lodhi ever did In an affidavit tendered to the court, Baladjam said the reclassification to the highest level imposed 'much greater harsh and onerous conditions on an inmate'. He claimed when Touma and Lodhi were held at the super-maximum security facility they were given more freedom to associate with other inmates outside of their cells, as well as make calls, share books, food and magazines. Another alleged complaint of the 42-year-old is that he has been banned from having painting materials and colouring pencils. Baladjam is also believed to be upset by the fact he can no longer continue the TAFE courses he was enrolled in - although he did complete a certificate in permaculture. Faheem Lodhi (pictured in 2006) being escorted under heavy guard, handcuffed and chained at the ankles as he leaves the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney His list of complaints also includes he had no access to rehabilitation after he was injured after being shot during his arrest in 2005. While a 2017 reportedly allegedly states Baladjam is no longer vulnerable to influences of faith or ideology, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed his appeal and rejected evidence about the harsher conditions. A joint decision by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst with Justice Clifton Hoeben and Justice Desmond Fagan dismissed the 42-year-old's request for a lighter sentence. 'While the sentence was undoubtedly severe, the crimes themselves were very serious carrying the life imprisonment in respect of two counts,' the decision said. Baladjam will remain behind bars for at least another two years. A Swedish teacher and her students allegedly bullied another pupil when she refused to skip school and participate in a climate protest. The so-called 'schools strike for climate' movement was started in August 2018 by Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old Swedish climate activist. The high school management encouraged its students to take part. The 'climate strikes' are inspired by 15-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (pictured) All but of one of the students were eager to join in, according to magazine Det Goda Samhallet. When the child said she did not wish to participate, the teacher became agitated and lectured her in front of the classroom that she should 'think through her decisions carefully', the magazine says. Other students of the class then accused her of being a 'climate denier'. The girls mother blames the teacher for inciting classroom bullying, and said she felt scared of how angry and uneasy the atmosphere quickly turned. She said that while her daughter enjoys school, 'she does not think the school strike is the right way to go about climate problems. The mother added that her daughter hadnt been very loud about it, but simply said that she did not want to join the strike. After feeling that the school stigmatised her daughter, the mother proceeded to call the schools administration. She herself was then questioned by the principal. The principal explained that her daughter went against the rest of the class and refused to participate in something this positive' and told the mother she had the wrong attitude herself. The girls mother compares the situation to mass hysteria and said that the treatment her daughter received was totally sick. If you do not hang out on Greta Thunberg and for the climate then you should be singled out and bullied, she said. The young girl has been refusing to go back to school because of concerns that the other students and teacher might continue to bully her. While her mother does not forgive the school for how they treated her daughter, she feels that there is a more appropriate way to go about it. The mother of the schoolgirl who refused to participate in the climate strike blames media and politicians for inciting witch hunts against anyone they believe to be a 'climate denier' They should at least be neutral and respect the students who do not want to skip school. There must be different ways we can relate to political issues, she explained. The schoolgirls mother believes that it is pressure from the media and politicians that have caused the school to act in the way it did. You must panic for climate threats. Everything else is wrong. It doesnt take much to be a climate denier. It is pure witch hunt, she said. Greta Thunberg is a climate activist with Asperger syndrome who rose to international fame for her weekly school strikes outside of the Swedish parliament house. Hundreds of thousands of students in over a hundred countries across the globe have followed the young girl's example. Jack Letts, a British Muslim convert who allegedly ran off to join ISIS, ranted on Facebook about wanting to kill British soldiers, a court has heard The parents of a Muslim convert dubbed 'Jihadi Jack' sent him money even after seeing him rant about decapitating a British soldier and taking part in a 'martyrdom operation', a court has heard. Organic farmer John Letts, 58, and his wife Sally Lane, 56, are on trial accused of sending or trying to send sums totalling 1,723 to their son Jack even though they had every reason to believe he had joined ISIS in Syria. The Old Bailey heard today that, months before the money was allegedly sent, Jack made extreme comments beneath a Facebook post of his old school friend Linus Doubtfire, who had completed his Commando Artillery Course in the British Army. Letts commented: 'I would love to perform a martyrdom operation in this scene.' The comments were spotted by his parents, who challenged him over what he had written, the court heard. Botanist John Letts, 58, and book publisher Sally Lane, 56, (pictured outside court) are said to have wired 1,723 to their son Jack Letts while he was with ISIS Ms Lane allegedly urged him not to be 'so stupid', saying: 'How did we bring you up to be so easily manipulated?' He responded: 'I admit it was wrong if I seemed like I was joking. I genuinely believe attacking the British Army is a very praiseworthy action when the intention is correct. I would happily kill each and every one of Linus Unit personally.' He continued: 'This message for you, Mum and (younger brother) Tyler, I honestly want to cut Linus head off. 'I hope he finds himself lost in Beji or Fallujah one day and sees me whilst I'm armed and I put six bullets in his head.' His mother replied: 'I'm really hoping that your disgusting comments about cutting people's heads off are not coming from you, i.e. someone else is using your account.' The parents, from Oxford, deny they should have had reasonable cause to suspect the money would or might be used for terrorist purposes Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said the significance of the exchange was that the defendants were never sure they were communicating directly with their son, let alone that the transfers they went on to make would go to him or what the money would be used for. The row over the Facebook comments took place in July 2015. The charges states that the money was sent in 2015, December 2015 and January 2016. The court also heard about the family's interactions before July 2015. Prosecutors said Jack Letts had left the family home in Oxford in 2014 aged 18 His mother, a former fundraising and marketing officer, had bought him a flight to Jordan, despite a warning that he planned to go and fight in Syria, the court heard. From there, he travelled to Kuwait and then on to Iraq and Syria, the jury was told. On October 1 2014, Lane told one of her son's friends he was 'OK for now' but 'in the worst place possible and doesn't want to leave'. The next day, Letts revealed to a friend that he was 'over there' in an 'Isis area' but not fighting. He allegedly said: 'It sounds like he's having the adventure of a lifetime.' The court has heard Jack was captured in Raqqa, once the de-facto capital of ISIS's territory By early 2015, the defendants knew their son had married in Iraq and had no intention of returning to Britain, jurors heard. John Letts accused his son of lying about his plans to leave and said he was a 'pawn... helping to spread hatred, pain, anger, suffering and violence'. The messages between mother and son March 2015, Jack writes: 'Please convey to the British police that I'm not planning on coming back to their broken country. 'Convey to them from me 'Die in your rage soon you'll be the ones being raided!'' In July, responding to a Facebook post about his friend completing an Army course, Jack commented: 'I would love to perform a martyrdom operation in this scene.' Ms Lane replied: 'How did we bring you up to be so easily manipulated?' Jack responded: 'I admit it was wrong if I seemed like I was joking. I genuinely believe attacking the British Army is a very praiseworthy action when the intention is correct. I would happily kill each and every one [in the] Unit personally. Ms Lane replied: 'I'm really hoping that your disgusting comments about cutting people's heads off are not coming from you, i.e. someone else is using your account.' In September 2015, Ms Lane tells him: 'I would go to prison for you if I thought it gave you a better chance of actually reaching your 25th birthday.' In October, Ms Lane told Jack: 'Clearly I indulged you, I made you think you were the centre of the universe. I regret this bitterly. 'I was a terrible parent that gave you too much power as a child - I should have made you adapt to the world, instead of adapting myself to your world. I have done you no favours by doing this.' Advertisement In March 2015, police visited the defendants and formally warned them they risked prosecution if they sent their son property or money, jurors were told. When he found out about the raid, Jack Letts allegedly responded: 'Please convey to the British police that I'm not planning on coming back to their broken country. 'Convey to them from me 'Die in your rage soon you'll be the ones being raided!'' In May, he posted a picture of himself standing on the Taqba Dam in Raqqa, the heartland of IS territory, jurors were told. In September 2015, after the row over the Army posts, Sally Lane sent a Facebook message to Jack, referring to a voice message that she had left for him. The prosecution do not have the voicemail, but in the Facebook posting she said 'you know I have to be very careful about sending money to where you are. Is your contact in Turkey?' the court heard. Lane told her son over Facebook: 'And as I said before, I would go to prison for you if I thought it gave you a better chance of actually reaching your 25th birthday.' During the exchange Jack said: 'It has nothing to do with jihad.' In October, she told him: 'Clearly I indulged you, I made you think you were the centre of the universe. I regret this bitterly. 'I was a terrible parent that gave you too much power as a child - I should have made you adapt to the world, instead of adapting myself to your world. I have done you no favours by doing this.' She said he showed signs of 'mental illness', adding: 'I have to bear some responsibility for that as your mother.' In a police interview in November, Lane denied helping terrorists, saying she hoped the money she sent would pay for her son to get glasses. John Letts and Lane, of Oxford, have denied three charges of funding terrorism. Whitehall is on lock-down after police investigated a suspicious item, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed. The force closed off roads while specialists examined the item next to the Cenotaph, close to Downing Street in central London. Nobody is being allowed to leave Number 10 or the Cabinet Office, according to Telegraph journalist Steven Swinford. An Army bomb disposal robot was also deployed to the scene. Pictured: A bomb disposal robot next to the Cenotaph in central London, where a suspicious item near Downing Street was being investigated Whitehall (pictured today) is on lock-down after reports of a suspicious package as nobody is being let in or out of Number 10 Pictured: A van carrying specialist officers in Whitehall this afternoon as police investigate reports of a suspicious item Westminster Metropolitan Police tweeted: 'Temporary road closures in place around Whitehall whilst suspect item assessed. 'Police attended at 1201hrs today. Specialist officers are now in attendance.' The force tweeted about an hour later that the item has been assessed and found to not be suspicious. 'Happy to update the item concerned has now been fully assessed and deemed non-suspicious,' they said. 'Roads will be reopened shortly. Thanks again for your patience and cooperation.' Jean-Claude Juncker today said Britain will probably need to delay Brexit again as he rushed to defend Theresa May and blasted anti-EU 'nationalists' who hate the bloc. The President of the European Commission, who will leave his job this summer, said the Prime Minister is a 'tough person' who he 'likes very much' but is being hounded from office. He also accused the Tories of putting their coup to remove Mrs May ahead of delivering Brexit - but admitted he was pleased that the deadlock shows 'leaving the European Union is not easy'. Mr Juncker said: 'What I don't like in the British debate is it seems more important to replace the Prime Minister than to find an agreement among themselves'. Paying tribute to Mrs May, who has been unable to take Britain out of the EU, he added: 'This is a woman who knows how to do things but she is unable to succeed in doing things. I like her very much; she is a tough person'. Mr Juncker also said that another delay to Brexit beyond October 31 looks likely because of the deadlock at Westminster. He said: 'I am getting fed up because we are waiting for the next extension. I hope they will agree among themselves, and they will leave by the end of October think it's their patriotic duty to get an agreement'. European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, pictured kissing Theresa May in March, today blasted those who want her sacked as well as anti-EU 'nationalists' Mr Juncker said he was pleased with how negotiations with Britain had gone because it showed how hard it is to leave. Juncker: I dont have drink problem Jean Claude-Juncker, pictured drinking a beer at a Brussels summit last summer, today furiously denied he is an alcoholic A furious Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday hit out at reports he has a drink problem. The EU Commission president, 64, blamed the rumours on stupid journalists. In an interview with Finnish media, Mr Juncker was asked about a Nato summit last summer where he was filmed stumbling around before a high-level dinner with world leaders. He blasted: I no longer answer these questions. Ive said it many times that I do not have a problem with alcohol. Stupid journalists always ask the same question, even though this question has already been answered. His officials insist he suffers from sciatica and cramps following a car crash in 1989. Mr Juncker also refused to answer questions about why he fondled the hair of the European Commissions deputy chief of protocol, Pernilla Sjolin, on his way into a summit in Brussels in December. Advertisement He said: 'The number of those in favour of the European Union is increasing because people are watching what is happening and they are seeing that leaving the European Union is not as easy as they were told'. He also told CNN of his dislike for anti-EU groups. He said: 'These populist, nationalists, stupid nationalists, they are in love with their own countries. They don't like those coming from far away, I like those coming from far away'. Despite his warm words for Mrs May the pair have not always seen eye-to-eye having clashed during Brexit negotiations. In December Mrs May confronted him after he described her Brexit demands as 'nebulous and imprecise'. The clash was caught on camera and showed the furious PM storming towards him saying: 'What did you call me? You called me nebulous'. The EU chief looked shocked but said: 'No I didn't, I didn't' to which Mrs May replied: 'Yes you did, nebulous'. Mr Juncker angrily denied having a drink problem this week. The EU Commission president insisted 'stupid journalists' were to blame for rumours he has a problem with alcohol. The top Eurocrat has been pictured struggling to walk at a number of public events over the past year. In an interview with the Finnish media Mr Juncker was asked about a Nato summit last summer where he was filmed stumbling around before a high-level dinner with world leaders. He blasted back: 'I no longer answer these questions. I've said it many times that I do not have a problem with alcohol. 'Stupid journalists always ask the same question, even though this question has already been answered.' Mr Juncker was also pictured taking a tumble at a dinner for an Africa-Europe summit in December in Vienna, and has repeatedly been seen being held up by other VIPs at summits. His team has always insisted he suffers from sciatica and cramps due to being in a car crash in 1989. Emmanuel Macron yesterday insisted that Britain should leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal to prevent them 'polluting' the bloc. Emmanuel Macron said that the British will 'pollute' the EU for years if it does not leave by October 31 The French President, who had fought for the UK to leave the bloc no later than June, says Brussels must not extend Article 50 again even if MPs fail to break the Brexit deadlock. Mr Macron also gave his support to the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president, claiming his negotiations with Britain show he is up to the job. He told Belgium's Le Soir newspaper: 'In the case of Brexit, you just have to know at some point whether it stops or not. If we have the logic of the weakness of saying that it scares us and that we are prepared not to respect the British vote, we betray both the British and the interest of the EU'. The French leader said the Brexit delay to October 31 agreed by EU leaders in April must be the last. He said that not allowing another Article 50 extension would 'prevent the next mandate being polluted by this subject we've been talking about for three years'. Asked about Juncker's replacement he said: 'Undeniably, Michel Barnier is a man who has great qualities and he has demonstrated it again in the way of managing the negotiations with the British'. Donald Tusk yesterday infuriated voters after he took the extraordinary step of urging people to back Change UK on Thursday if they 'want Britain to stay in the EU'. The EU Council President, who said there is a 'special place in hell' reserved for people who promoted Brexit without a plan, officially backed candidate Jan Rostowski claiming he would make a 'great MEP for London'. His decision has caused fury with British voters telling him to 'mind his own business' and 'stop meddling with democracy' ahead of the May 23 European elections. Polish born Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski tweeted: 'Never a good idea for an overseas politician to interfere in the domestic elections of a sovereign nation. Perhaps we will have to now mobilise the 1 million Poles living in GB to vote against Mr Tusk when he stands to be President of Poland next year'. Tusk's foray into British politics is the latest intervention from EU chiefs after European Parliament Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt turned up in London campaigning for the Liberal Democrats with Sir Vince Cable earlier this month. Donald Tusk today took the extraordinary step of urging people to vote for Change UK on Thursday if they 'want to stay in the EU'. He urged Londoners to back his friend Jan Rostowski, picture on the campaign trail this month Mr Tusk has used an official statement to back Mr Rostowski, his former deputy prime minister in Poland who has now settled in the British capital, where he was born. He said: 'Not only was he the best finance minister in Europe during the financial crisis, he is also a very dear friend who would make a great MEP for London, which I know he loves. 'I urge Londoners who want Britain to stay in the EU to vote for him.' Mr Tusk is staunchly pro-European and admitted his hope is that Britain will never leave the EU when Brussels agreed to extend Article 50 until October 31. His backing for Change UK has caused some disquiet in the UK. Carol Summers said: 'Donald Tusk can mind his own business' while another critic said the EU is 'getting so frightened of no deal they meddle in our democracy'. One critic tweeted: 'The hapless Change UK are a dying group, they're rather pathetic. If Tusk is idiotic enough to back them, all I can do is shrug my shoulders' Another said: 'We are leaving. Then they can say whatever they like after that - nobody will care'. Pictured: Topshop boss Sir Philip Green Topshop boss Sir Philip Green allegedly grabbed women's breasts and thighs, slapped their bottoms and had hundreds of grievance cases against him, a peer claimed in the House of Lords today, as the tycoon prepares to throw a lavish party on his superyacht in Monaco. The allegations were revealed by Lord Hain, who last year used the cloak of parliamentary privilege to identify the Topshop boss as the person behind a legal injunction preventing the Daily Telegraph from publishing allegations of sexual harassment and racial abuse. Sir Philip previously 'categorically and wholly' denied the claims. The latest claims come as the Topshop boss was tracked down by The Guardian in Monaco as he prepares to host a lavish party on his 100 million superyacht, Lionheart, during the grand prix on Sunday. Green refused to any questions put to him by a reporter in relation to his struggling Arcadia Group, who yesterday confirmed plans to shut 23 stores, putting 520 jobs at risk. Responding to Lord Hain's latest claims, he said: 'How sad somebody who already has proven they're prepared to abuse the system wants to continue to behave in this manner.' Lord Hain said he was revealing the account of a victim for the first time as he defended the use of parliamentary privilege. Sir Philip Green was tracked down in Monaco and was preparing to host a lavish party on his superyacht Green's superyacht the Lionheart as it arrives in Valletta, Malta. It dwarfs many of the others in the bay Speaking during a debate in the Lords, Lord Hain said he had originally named the businessman 'for moral reasons and was not second-guessing or criticising the judiciary'. He said: 'To explain why, I am revealing for the first time in public exactly what one of Sir Philip Green's victims told me whilst pleading with me to name him under parliamentary privilege.' Lord Hain quoted the alleged victim: 'He was touching and repeatedly slapping women staff's bottoms, grabbing thighs and touching legs' He then quoted the alleged victim: 'He was touching and repeatedly slapping women staff's bottoms, grabbing thighs and touching legs. 'Hundreds of grievance cases were raised with HR. The company lawyer who interviewed me then lied. Sir Philip screamed and shouted at staff ''to go to psychologists''. 'Victims went to an employment tribunal but were told it would not get anywhere so settled with an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). 'Some were worn down with spiralling legal costs costing them a fortune. He broke some in the end. It was horrible ... He is still doing exactly the same thing. It is rife, it happened all the time. I saw him grab the breasts of others. This has gone on for long time.' Lord Hain pointed out that after he named Sir Philip, a number of former employees and executives made similar allegations in the newspapers. He told peers: 'My motive was to stand up for ordinary employees against a very powerful and wealthy boss who, as described to me, seemed to think he was above the rules of decent, respectful behaviour.' He also said he was acting against the misuse of NDAs which Sir Philip 'deployed to suppress victims from obtaining redress - as did Harvey Weinstein to silence his sexual harassment victims, as did organisers of the Presidents Club dinner in January 2018, when 130 women were required to sign NDAs in a bid to stop any details of harassment, groping and propositioning going public'. Green's Arcadia Group confirm plans to shut 23 stores Yesterday Sir Philip Green's Arcadia Group confirmed plans to shut 23 stores, putting 520 jobs at risk. Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge branches have been earmarked for closure, as well as the company's Outfit, Wallis and Evans stores. The move is the second blow for Sir Philip this month after he lost his billionaire status in the Sunday Times Rich List. The retail group's chief executive described the move as a 'tough decision' made in a bid to save the business as more and more consumers opt to shop online. Advertisement He argued that parliamentary privilege is 'a fundamental part of our constitution and is the only absolute free speech right entrenched in the law'. Lord Hain said the prospect of it being used 'should be a deterrent to anyone minded to seek a secrecy order from the courts to cover up allegations of misconduct as in the Philip Green case'. The veteran politician was criticised at the time for naming Sir Philip, as some lawyers and legal experts said it was an abuse of parliamentary privilege, although he was backed by many MPs. But Lord Hain pointed out there had been 'similar outrage from the legal establishment' when it was used to name notorious spy Kim Philby. He acknowledged it 'should be used responsibly, sparingly and only when absolutely necessary'. Lord Hain said: 'In my 30-year parliamentary career I have used it just twice before - in 2000 when I named traffickers selling arms for 'blood diamonds' fuelling wars in Africa, and then in 2017-18 British corporations complicit in former President Zuma's corrupt activities in South Africa. 'These, like my Sir Philip Green intervention, exposed gross injustice in the public interest when the law was clearly failing to do so, and are living proof of parliamentary sovereignty - irrespective of the wishes of the executive, the powerful, and the wealthy, and even rulings by the legal establishment when it covers up allegations of misconduct.' Warning against any move to curb parliamentary sovereignty, Lord Hain said: 'A parliamentarian's right to exercise privilege conscientiously is an important safeguard for the liberty of the subject. He told peers: 'My motive was to stand up for ordinary employees against a very powerful and wealthy boss who, as described to me, seemed to think he was above the rules of decent, respectful behaviour' 'It should not be whittled away by turning the Speaker and Lord Speaker into pre-vetting police officers with a censorship role. 'Nor should the sovereignty of judges override the sovereignty of Parliament.' He was responding to criticism by former justice of the Supreme Court Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, who argued that in his original decision to use parliamentary privilege to name Sir Philip, Lord Hain 'acted wrongly' and Parliament should try to prevent such an 'abuse' recurring. He said of Lord Hain's actions: 'I regard his statement as a misuse, indeed I would suggest a clear abuse, of privilege.' But he said he did not wish to see the Labour peer disciplined. Lord Brown said: 'I accept Lord Hain is an honourable man but I reject utterly his suggestion that his own subjective view of what is right must always prevail over a court order.' The independent crossbench peer said the Lords must guard against 'any future such egregious exercise of parliamentary privilege', insisting it was 'essential to protect the rule of law and the reputation of this House'. Lord Brown said he recognised the fundamental importance of peers being able to speak freely in Parliament but could not accept that parliamentary privilege must always prevail over all competing interests. There was an obligation on members to respect the independence of the courts and the rule of law, he said. Criticising the 'intentional flouting' of a court order, Lord Brown said: 'Surely even unpopular people like Philip Green are entitled to the protection of the courts.' He added: 'The time has come when we should recognise an abuse for what it is and try to limit its recurrence in future.' Former chairman of the Bar Standards Board, Baroness Deech said parliamentary privilege was meant to help parliamentarians hold the Executive to account over issues like national emergencies or corruption by officials or ministers. 'The Philip Green issue was not urgent, was not of national importance, the economy or security,' she said. 'A peer who takes it on him or herself to flout a court order will not have heard all the evidence as to why the court ordered anonymity.' Lady Deech, an independent crossbench peer, said members had to exercise self-discipline and remind themselves of the important role played by judicial independence and parliamentary privilege, side by side. If they failed to respect the rules and acted irresponsibly, the punishment was not contempt of court but forfeiting the trust and respect of colleages, she warned. A businessman trying to prosecute Boris Johnson over his claims that the UK sends the European Union 350 million a week - that could be used for the NHS, has been branded as 'politically motivated'. Marcus Ball, the creator of the 'Brexit Justice' campaign has accused Mr Johnson of 'abusing public trust', following the claims which were made during the 2016 referendum campaign. The former foreign secretary could be prosecuted for misconduct in public office over the claims, however his lawyer has said that the 350million figure was 'arbitary' as the Conservative politician was not exercising state power when the claims were made. Adrian Darbishire QC said that standing on the hustings in a contested political debate once or ten times with a campaign messages 'is not an exercise of the functions of government'. Marcus Ball (pictured left) has brought a case against Boris Johnson (right) for intentionally misleading the public during the referendum He added: 'It doesn't fall within the scope of this offence. 'It was explicit in the early days of this process that if politicians could be prosecuted then it could assist in putting a halt to Brexit.' He referred to Mr Ball listing Johnson as one of six 'targets' and added: 'It's a political motivation whichever way you look at it. Today is just a culmination of that process with that motive running throughout.' Lewis Powett QC, representing Mr Ball said there had been 'systematic and repeated lies.' The Brexit bus (pictured above) which bore the claim that the UK sends 350million to the EU He added: 'It appears in the defence's skeleton arguments there is no denial that Mr Johnson made the statements, that they were manifestly false and no denial they were misleading to the public. 'It matters not whether you are Conservative, Labour or any other particular party, it matters not if you are remain or leave. 'Democracy demands responsible and honest leadership from those in public office. The conduct of the proposed defendant was both irresponsible and dishonest.. 'It was, we say, criminal. The application was not brought for political purposes to undermine the result of the referendum. A judge at Westminster Magistrates Court (pictured above) reserved judgement over whether the private prosecution against the former foreign secretary would go ahead 'If Mr Johnson has any material in his possession that undermines the factual basis of the prosecution we will review the prosecution.' 'The allegation with which this is prosecution is concerned is put simply that Mr Johnston repeatedly misrepresented the amount that the UK sends to Europe each week. 'He deliberately and with reckless disregard misrepresented a figure of EU membership. Today, a district judge reserved judgement over whether the private prosecution against the former foreign secretary would go ahead. Brexiteers used the slogan 'We send the EU 350 million a week - let's fund our NHS instead' in the run-up to the 2016 referendum. Mr Johnson was rapped by a national statistics watchdog over the claim and appeared in hustings with the slogan in the background. Today District Judge Margot Coleman reserved judgement over whether the former foreign secretary could be prosecuted under the public misconduct charge. She told a packed hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court: 'I will send a copy of my written ruling to the press office. I will give you my decision on Wednesday the 29th.' Mr Darbishire also added: 'What we suggest is that behaving without integrity, if proven, simply because you are not entitled to do it doesn't mean that it brings with it the consequence of criminal prosecution. 'There's as we say the middle ground. 'The world doesn't just decided into black and white. The criminal offence is narrowly confined to serious abuse of state power.' An audio tape has emerged that purports to be the first known recording of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal since he was poisoned by Novichok in Salisbury last year. The 30-second recording comprises a voicemail apparently left by Sergei with his niece Viktoria, in which he calls to wish her and mother Yelena a happy Victory Day - a major holiday in Russia. In the tape, the man can be heard saying that he and Yulia - the name of Skripal's daughter who was also poisoned - are 'good'. Sergei Skripal has not been seen or heard in public since he narrowly survived being poisoned with nerve agent in Salisbury alongside daughter Yulia (left) last year According to the Moskovsky Komsomilets newspaper, Skripal called on Viktoria's mobile and left a message when she did not answer. Unlike his daughter Yulia, 34, Sergei had not been seen or heard from since he was poisoned with nerve agent at his home in Salisbury on 4 March 2018. Yulia, appearing with a tracheotomy scar on her throat, gave an interview from a secret location that was released on May 23. In it, she says that she and her father are 'lucky to have both survived this attempted assassination', describing their recovery as 'slow and very painful'. 'As I try to come to terms with the devastating changes thrust upon me both physically and emotionally, I take one day at a time and want to help care for my Dad till his full recovery,' she said. 'In the longer term I hope to return home to my country.' In his message, Skripal says: 'Hi, Vikulya [pet name for Viktoria], it is uncle Seryozha (Sergei). Tried to reach you, but constantly (it says) 'the subscriber is not responding'. Yulia gave a video interview in May last year in which she read a prepared statement, saying she was lucky to be alive following the attack 'But well... Congratulations to you on the holiday, wish you all the best! 'Wanted to know how are you doing, how is Senka's [pet name for Arseny, Viktoria's husband] finger? 'Haha. Well, I'm OK, not only me, Yulka (Yulia) is also good. 'All is OK. Congratulate mummy on the holiday, on Victory Day. Will get in touch later.' The newspaper said that Viktoria 'does not doubt that it was her uncle calling'. Earlier Viktoria had told the media that she believed Sergei was dead - and that Britain was hiding this. Russian authorities have not commented yet on the audiotape. The British government has accused Russia of ordering the attack, and minister have said it was 'highly likely' to have been ordered by Vladimir Putin himself. The attack killed one person - Dawn Sturgess - who accidentally came into contact with the poison and led to a major decontamination operation in Salisbury which lasted for months Britain blames Russia for the attack and two GRU agents using pseudonyms Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who have been unmasked as Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin Authorities subsequently identified the perpetrators as two Russian GRU agents who entered the country using passports bearing the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, which they said were almost certainly pseudonyms. Open-source intelligence website Bellingcat later identified the two men as Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga and Dr. Alexander Mishkin. Russia has denied having anything to do with the poisoning, and has rebuked the British government while trying to discredit evidence around the chemical used. The country's UK embassy has also repeatedly requested consular access to the Skripals, and accuses Britain of violating international norms by failing to allow it. Skripal was a former Russian spy turned double-agent for the UK security services who settled in the UK in 2010 following the Illegals Program spy swap. A Jehovah's Witness has lost his appeal against a six-year jail term in Russia for being part of an 'extremist group.' In the first such conviction since Russia outlawed the religious movement in 2017, 46-year-old Dennis Christensen was jailed in February, causing outrage worldwide. Christensen - who moved to Russia as an adult and is married to a Russian - appealed, but a court in the southwestern city of Oryol upheld the sentence on Thursday. Russia brands the US evangelical Christian movement, which was set up in the late 19th century and preaches non-violence, as a totalitarian sect and has designated it an extremist organisation and ordered its dissolution in the country. Danish citizen Dennis Christensen, 46, is led away in handcuffs after his conviction at the court in Oryol in February - he lost his appeal today The case has drawn widespread condemnation, notably from Denmark and the European Union, but also from other foreign governments. A spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses in New York, Paul Gillies, accused Russia of returning to Soviet-style crackdowns on religious believers. 'Reminiscent of the Soviet-era, in Russia it is again a crime to be a peaceful Christian believer,' Gillies said. Rights group Amnesty International called Christensen a 'prisoner of conscience jailed for his faith.' It said that, since Christensen's conviction, the homes of more than 115 Jehovah's Witnesses have been raided in Russia, with 74 criminal cases being brought. 'This brings the total number of Jehovah's Witnesses under investigation in the country to 188,' the rights group said in a statement. Christensen, a Danish Jehovah's Witness, is escorted into the courtroom to hear the verdict in February 'Today's decision sends a bleak message that reprisals will continue and much worse may still come,' it warned. Christensen has said that he 'never committed any criminal acts.' Russian authorities have detained several Jehovah's Witnesses following the Dane's arrest, some of whom have publicly said they were tortured in custody. Earlier this year, the UN criticised Russia's definition of extremism as too vague and urged Moscow to release those imprisoned for exercising their religious freedom Since 2017 there has been an intensifying crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses, with around 90 criminal trials opening or pending in dozens of regions of Russia. The 33-year-old leader of the Jehovah's Witness organisation in Ivanovo, a city northeast of Moscow, was arrested last week on extremism charges. Christensen (pictured after his conviction in February) moved to southern Russia as an adult and is married to a Russian woman In a report last year, Human Rights Watch accused the Russian authorities of a 'sweeping campaign' of harassment and persecution against the movement. In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the dissolution six years earlier of the movement's Moscow branch had violated the right to freedom of religion and association. The powerful Russian Orthodox Church has spoken out against the group, with one church official branding it a 'destructive sect.' Jaclyn Smith is revealing how devastating it was to say goodbye to an angel. In the new ABC special This Is Farrah Fawcett, Smith discusses how Fawcett changed in the wake of her cancer diagnosis - for the better. Smith notes in a clip obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com that she saw the best of her Charlies Angels co-star just before she died. Angel returns home: Farrah Fawcett's Charlie's Angels co-star Jaclyn Smith (above) remembers her friend in the ABC special This Is Farrah Fawcett, which airs Thursday at 8pm Fighter: There were no barriers. You know, how people put up walls of politeness where they don't talk about this or they don't talk about that,' said Smith of Fawcett (above in treatment) It was surprising how she handled her disease cause some people dont, explains Smith. There were no barriers. You know, how people put up barriers or walls of politeness where they don't talk about this or they don't talk about that. In a heartbreaking revelation, Smith then notes: 'She always thought that she would get well. It did however bring the two closer together, and reveal what a warm and loving person Fawcett was to those closest to her in this world. You know, I saw the best of Farrah at the end. I saw someone who fought for life. Who fought to be here for her family and her loved ones. The two-hour documentary features new interviews with Alana Stewart, Fawcetts close friend who helped record her cancer battle for the two-hour documentary Farrahs Story; Bruce McBroom, the Hollywood photographer who shot Fawcetts iconic swimsuit poster; Mela Murphy, Fawcetts confidant and hairstylist; and Dr. Lawrence Piro, Fawcetts primary physician; and Dr. Ursula Jacob, Fawcetts physician in Germany who used alternative treatments for her cancer. The documentary also includes Barbara Walters landmark interviews with Fawcett and with Ryan ONeal, Fawcetts partner at the time of her death. Fawcett was first diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2006 and had surgery to remove a tumor that year. But a year later the cancer had returned and had spread to her liver. In 2007 she traveled to Germany to receive more aggressive treatments, but it was not effective and the actress ultimately passed away in 2009. This Is Farrah Fawcett airs at 8pm Thursday on ABC. This is the hilarious moment a man is seen riding a motorbike with a cow sat on his lap. A fellow biker films the smiling man riding the bike as the huge bovine, which is covered in grey fabric, sits on his lap and looks around calmly. The outrageous clip, which was shot by a passenger in a passing car, is believed to have been filmed in rural Pakistan this month. A man was seen in rural Pakistan riding a motorbike with a cow sat on his lap. The huge bovine appears to be calm as it looks around while the man rides After the video was posted on social media, one person, Kashif Cheema, joked: 'That's a true cowboy!' Others mentioned how riding bikes with pets - no matter how large - is a norm in Pakistan. Prakash Kanarath hilariously wrote: 'Welcome to Pakistan! Bring your cows, pigs, donkeys and monkeys with you for an amazing bike ride!' And Nawah Sahib added: 'Only happens in Pakistan' A convicted felon who accidentally shot himself in the genitals was then found to be hiding drugs in his anus after they slipped out while a doctor was operating on the wound, according to court records. Cameron Jeffrey Wilson, 27, tried to hide the weapon before going to hospital after it discharged in his pocket at his home in Cashmere, Washington, hitting his testicles and leg, an affidavit states. He allegedly then told his girlfriend to get rid of the gun before taking himself to hospital on April 5. The 13-time convicted felon, who was bleeding from his wound, instructed his partner to drive to meet a friend at Lincoln Park in Wenatchee to hand over the firearm, The Wenatchee World News reports. Cameron Jeffrey Wilson is said to have accidentally shot himself in the genitals before the drugs he was hiding inside his anus slipped out while a doctor was operating on the wound But when he finally made it there Wilson's problems are said to have escalated when a balloon of marijuana he was allegedly hiding in his butt fell out while he was being operated on by a doctor. Court records show police then found a bag of meth in blood stained jeans after they carried out a search of his car. Cops are said to have declined to arrest Wilson at the hospital and he turned himself in to police on April 18 after they issued an arrest warrant. But his troubles did not end there. As he was strip-searched there another bag of marijuana fell from his anus, according to reports. The convicted felon allegedly instructed his partner to drive to meet a friend to hand over the firearm before going to Central Washington Hospital, pictured He also allegedly told his girlfriend not to cooperate with investigators in a number of calls made from jail as officials listened in. Wilson was charged with possession of a firearm , unlawful possession of meth , possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility , and four counts of tampering with a witness . He has pleaded not guilty. He is being held on $110,000 bail and will appear in court on June 18. A New Yorker called 911 when she spotted what she thought was a woman in the iconic red robes from 'The Handmaids Tale' about to hurl herself off a Manhattan rooftop on Tuesday. When NYPD officers responded they found it was just a big red patio umbrella. 'I thought I saw a woman dressed as a handmaid about to jump from a building. I called 911,' Casey McCormick, 30, posted on Twitter with a photo of the red-cloaked silhouette on a roof in the distance. Casey McCormick, 30, posted a photo on Twitter with an arrow pointing to the red-cloaked figure she thought was a woman about to hurl herself off the Manhattan building Police rushed to the rooftop and then sent McCormick this picture of an officer holding what turned out to be a big red patio umbrella The red umbrella with its white tip resembled the handmaids' outfits in the popular TV series 'The Handmaid's Tale' (pictured), which airs on Hulu She was at her desk at the media company Popsugar at around 11am when she spotted the figure, which even appeared to be wearing the white bonnet worn by the handmaids in the popular dystopian TV series. The 'person' on the ledge of the building also appeared to be swaying in the wind. After checking with her colleagues, an alarmed McCormick called the police. Officers rushed to the roof near West 27th Street and Park Avenue South. McCormick tweeted that she received a text from the officer she was in contact with about 15 minutes later. It included a photo of a cop holding a red patio umbrella with a white tip back from the brink. McCormick's tweet about her hilarious mistake set the Twitterverse on fire and was widely shared The NYPD made a jokey reference to a phrase in 'The Handmaids Tale' but also urged people to call the police with any concerns Casey McCormick (pictured) who reported the suicidal umbrella is a creative strategist at Popsugar and comedian who lives in Brooklyn 'Its an umbrella. All safe,' the text said. 'I literally melted into my chair,' McCormick, a comedian and creative strategist, told The New York Post. 'I was very happy it wasnt a real person and that everyone was safe [but] I felt so dumb.' 'Blessed be the umbrella,' the NYPD later quipped on Twitter, in reference to a phrase in 'The Handmaids Tale'. 'Jokes aside, if youre ever hesitant about calling 911 - dont be!' the department added. 'We take all calls seriously, and worse case we get to go home with a great story.' McCormick's tweet soon went viral, receiving nearly 400,000 likes by Thursday. Chelsea Stoutenburgh, who works across the street, replied with a photo of the suicidal umbrella and said she 'almost did the same thing'. A woman who works nearby to McCormick posted photo of the umbrella she said she also mistook for a handmaid The TV series 'The Handmaid's Tale' is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel and is set in a dystopian society which views fertile women, or handmaids, as vessels for bearing children Protesters clad in handmaid costumes have multiplied at demonstrations across the US concerning reproductive rights Netflix's Twitter account also joined in the fun with a reference to the TV series' protagonist Offred, posting 'Ofumbrella'. Reflecting on the incident, McCormick said recent anti-abortion legislation played a part in her alarm. 'Theres just so much going on [politically] it wouldnt surprise me if someone was taking a stand and it became very scary,' McCormick told The NY Post. 'I knew there were a lot of anti-ban rallies happening around the city yesterday, and the handmaids outfit often appears at protests surrounding womens rights,' she told the Daily Dot. 'The Handmaid's Tale', which airs on Hulu, is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel set in the Republic of Gilead, a dystopian society which views women as vessels for bearing children and little else. Amid the real-life #MeToo movement and ongoing battles over eroding abortion rights in several US states, protesters clad in handmaid costumes have multiplied at demonstrations concerning reproductive rights. A California male nanny has been arrested for allegedly molesting two young boys under his care and was found in possession of child porn that he was featured in. Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 30, of Costa Mesa was arrested on May 17, detained by police after getting off an international flight at a local airport. A concerned Laguna Beach couple reported him to police for inappropriately touching their eight-year-old after they hired him through one of his several babysitting websites, opening an investigation in early May. They expressed concern for the safety of their son and other children. Laguna Beach police then found there was a second victim - a seven-year-old boy from Los Angeles. Scroll down for video California male nanny Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 30, was arrested on May 17, accused of molesting two young boys in his care and possessing child pornography. Mug left, a picture on his website pictured right He faces three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and one count of oral copulation of a child under 10. He also faces a possession of child pornography charge. He's pleaded not guilty to the charges Cops found child porn on him when he was arrested and more evidence was discovered when his home was searched with at least one seized video featuring Zakrzewski, according to authorities. He faces three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and one count of oral copulation of a child under 10. He also faces a possession of child pornography charge. Zakrzewski has pleaded not guilty and is being held at Orange County Jail on $1million bail, according to the DA's office. Authorities did not provide details about the alleged crimes and victims. 'It was actually sickening to me and the rest of the detectives we put all of our focus into this investigation,' Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jim Cota told KTLA. On his since taken down website he describes himself as a 'manny' with over six years of experience working with kids - including overnight and travel care He also created the babysitting service website Sitter Buddy and babysat children from families in the LA and Laguna Beach region 'Its quite disturbing, and I have a felling there's going to be plenty more in this investigation,' he added. Zakrzewski has a website, which has since been taken down, where he calls himself a 'manny' and advertises his babysitting services, saying he has more than six years of experience in childcare - looking after kids between three months and 14 years old. He also offered overnight and travel care. A concerned Laguna Beach couple reported him to police for inappropriately touching their eight-year-old after they hired him through one of his several babysitting websites, opening an investigation in early May 'At a very early age, I discovered what a joy it was to work with children and be a positive impact in their lives through the "Buddy Program" at my middle school. Now, Im a career manny and my 6+ years childcare experience spans from ages 3 months to 14, including special needs I think the reason I connect easily with kids is because I am not just there to supervise, I participate,' he wrote on his website. On the site he's pictured shirtless with young boys in a pool and smiling in a photo shoot. He also created the babysitting service website Sitter Buddy. He worked as a babysitter for families across the Laguna Beach region. Zakrzewski was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from California State University-Long Beach in 2012 with a degree in communication studies, according to his Linkedin. Zakrzewski is scheduled to appear in court on May 31. He faces 90 years to life in prison if convicted for the abuse, according to a DA's Office press release. Any potential victims or those with information in the case are urged to call the Laguna Beach Police Department Investigations Division line at (949) 715-1300 An undocumented immigrant living in Mississippi has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl after following her into a restaurant bathroom and convincing her to give him her phone number. Valentin Ariosto Alfonso-Arguello, 38, was arrested last September on a charge of sexual battery in Ridgeland. The Madison County Sheriff's Office said that on August 25, Alfonso-Arguello was working at a restaurant in town when he saw a 12-year-old girl go into the restroom. The man followed the girl inside and forced the child to provide him with her phone number and address. Valentin Ariosto Alfonso-Arguello, 38, who has been living in the US illegally, was arrested last September on a charge of sexual battery in Mississippi for raping a 12-year-old girl At around 3am the next morning, the girl's mother woke up at the family's home to find her daughter's bedroom empty. She then saw her child walking through the front door and a pick-up truck speeding away with one of its doors open. The 12-year-old girl later revealed to her father that Alfonso-Arguello started texting her when his shift ended and said he wanted to see her. By that time, he was already on his way to the girl's house. The victim left her house and got into the truck with Alfonso-Arguello, where he forced himself on her after she repeatedly told him 'no' and attempted to get out of the vehicle, according to a press release from Rankin County District Attorney John Bramlett Jr. Rankin County District Attorney John Bramlett Jr (pictured) said Alfonso-Arguello will also be required to register as a sex offended and serve five years of probation, unless he is deported The 5-foot-tall, 135-pound Alfonso-Arguello held the girl down and raped her. The victim was interviewed by the Childrens Advocacy Center and her story was deemed consistent with what she told her father and the nurses at the hospital where she had gone to be examined. On September 11, the Madison County Sheriffs Office arrested Alfonso-Arguello, who provided a statement admitting to having sex with the victim. Investigators were also able to recover his cellphone, where they found text messages to and from the victim that corroborated her timeline and allegations. The prosecutor announced Alfonso-Arguello's sentence on Tuesday, saying that eight of the 20 years will be suspended. Upon his release from prison, Alfonso-Arguello will be required to register as a sex offended and serve five years of probation, unless he is deported by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'Every day in America young girls are coerced to meet men who have ill intent toward them. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where a much older man talked a young girl into meeting him and forced her to have sex,' Bramlett said. 'We have zero-tolerance for people like Alfronso-Arguello and we will continue working toward ridding our streets of criminals like him.' Lawyers for an incapacitated woman who was raped and later gave birth at a Phoenix long-term care facility say she was sexually assaulted multiple times and may have been impregnated before. A notice of claim filed against the state of Arizona, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, alleges the 29-year-old woman was 'violently and repeatedly raped' before she gave birth at Hacienda Healthcare in December. Nathan Sutherland, a 37-year-old former licensed practical nurse at the facility, has been charged with sexually assaulting the woman, who has been in long-term care since age three after suffering a near-drowning. She gave birth to a boy at the facility on December 29. Employees said they had no idea she was pregnant. The notice of claim seeks a $45 million settlement to avoid the family of the woman moving forward with a lawsuit. Scroll down for video Lawyers for the woman who was raped and later gave birth at Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix, Arizona have said she was raped repeatedly and may have been impregnated before. Nathan Sutherland (pictured during a court appearance in February), a 37-year-old former licensed practical nurse at the facility, has been charged with sexually assaulting the woman, who has been in long-term care since age 3 after suffering a near-drowning Sutherland (pictured in his mugshot) has pleaded not guilty According to medical records cited in the claim, the woman was 'violently and repeatedly raped' while living at Hacienda and a doctor who examined her on the day she gave birth noted that she could have been pregnant before. 'At a minimum, there were repeated violations of (the victim) from the scarring,' John Micheaels, an attorney representing the victim and her family, told Phoenix TV station KPNX. Investigators say Sutherland's DNA matched a sample from the woman's newborn boy, who is being cared for by her family. According to the notice of claim, the victim's mother had specifically requested 'female-only staff,' saying her daughter was at risk for exploitation. The claim says Sutherland provided unsupervised care for the victim over 1,000 times, including more than 800 times overnight. According to medical records cited in the claim, the woman was 'violently and repeatedly raped' while living at Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix (pictured) and a doctor who examined her on the day she gave birth noted that she could have been pregnant before The surprise birth triggered reviews by state agencies, highlighted safety concerns for patients who are severely disabled or incapacitated and prompted the resignations of Hacienda CEO Bill Timmons (pictured) and one of the victim's doctors The surprise birth triggered reviews by state agencies, highlighted safety concerns for patients who are severely disabled or incapacitated and prompted the resignations of Hacienda CEO Bill Timmons and one of the victim's doctors. Sutherland has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual abuse and abuse of a vulnerable adult. Police started investigating after the woman, who was not in a position to give consent, unexpectedly gave birth on December 29. The shock delivery prompted authorities to test the DNA of all the men who worked at the care facility. Sutherland, a devout Christian and father-of-four, was forced to submit his DNA sample under court order. Sutherland was arrested in January after DNA evidence linked him to the victim's child. Hacienda fired Sutherland after his arrest. He has since given up his nursing license. Last week, Sutherland appealed a court order requiring a test to determine if he has HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. His attorney Edwin Molina said that a lower-court order should be overturned because there is no evidence to suggest his client has a sexually transmitted disease and such a test would violate Sutherland's constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Maricopa County Court Commissioner Roger Hartsell first ordered the tests on February 4. Molina argued at an earlier hearing that it would be easier for the victim to take the test as she is currently at a long-term care facility and that since the victim gave birth in December, she has likely already been tested for STDs. Prosecutors have previously cited a state law that says people accused of sexual assault are subject to tests to determine whether they have a sexually transmitted disease. Such results are to be released to the victims. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting Sutherland, declined to comment on the appeal. The notice of claim filed by the family against the state seeks a $25 million settlement for the victim and $10 million for each of her parents within 60 days or the lawyers will take the case to court. The office of Governor Doug Ducey said on Wednesday night that it had received the 55-page notice of claim and would be reviewing it while the Arizona Department of Health Services said it doesn't comment on pending or ongoing litigation. The Attorney General's Office said the state is being represented by outside council in the case and had no further comment. Police suspect a woman aged 102 of having murdered her 92-year-old neighbour at a retirement home in northern France. The woman, who has not been named, has been taken to a psychiatric hospital after the attack. She told one of her carers at the home in Chezy-sur-Marne that she had 'killed someone' before the body was discovered, reports the BBC. A 102-year-old woman has reportedly confessed to murdering her 92-year-old neighbour at a care home in Chezy-sur-Marne, France (file photo) At the time of her alleged confession, she was 'in a very agitated state, confused', according to the prosecutor. The victim was found in bed with a severely bruised face just after midnight. A post-mortem found that she died of 'strangulation and blows to the head'. The suspect is now being evaluated to find out if she is criminally responsible for her actions. Advertisement More flash flooding is set to hit Oklahoma as violent weather continues to wreak havoc across the Midwest - hours after a tornado tore through Jefferson City in Missouri Wednesday night leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Three people were killed in Golden City in Missouri overnight - a married couple in their 80s and a woman in her 50s - while flooded rivers in Oklahoma sparked two runaway barges and wiped out yet more homes. Shocking drone footage shows the aftermath of the storms with buildings torn open and belongings scattered across the streets. More than 90 twisters have hit the Heartland this week, prompting President Trump to pledge his support to the state on Twitter Thursday afternoon. The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed 86-year-old Kenneth Harris and 83-year-old Opal Harris died in the storm that hit overnight. The couple were found 200 yards from their residence in Golden City, southwest Missouri. Scroll down for video Jefferson City, Missouri: A tornado tore apart buildings in Missouri's capital city as part of an overnight outbreak of severe weather Carnage: A wrecked home in examined by emergency responders. The tornado that tore through Jefferson City overnight has been given a maximum rating of an EF-3, the National Weather Service says A flipped-over semi truck rests in the parking lot of a motel Thursday, May 23 after a tornado tore though Jefferson City Chase Burgoon stands in his front yard as water approaches in the Meadow Valley neighborhood of Sand Springs, Oklahoma on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Chase was getting items from the home David Freeman makes his way through his front yard in Sperry, Oklahoma on Thursday, May 23, 2019 Damaged homes near the intersection of Marshall Street and East Capitol Ave in Jefferson City, Missouri are pictured Thursday Both cars and homes were destroyed in the devastating tornado that hit Jefferson City on Thursday night Chaos: Flooded rivers in Oklahoma sparked two runaway barges - while dozens of homes were ruined by water Friends and family of the owners of Campus Coworking move tables out of the co-working space on Capitol Ave in Jefferson City, Missouri on May 23 Damaged playground equipment at Community Christian Church in Jefferson City, Missouri, is pictured following the storm A damaged car with a piece of wood smashed through the windscreen is seen parked on Woodlawn Avenue in Jefferson City Thursday Jessica Rodgers and a neighbor Ray Arellana carry a stroller carrying Rodgers' sister Sophia Rodgers over downed power lines as they head to Rodgers' mother's apartment to check on damage Thursday, May 23, 2019 after a tornado tore though Jefferson City Donald Trump pledged his support, alongside Governor Mike Parson, following the devastating floods plaguing the region Meanwhile, Betty Berg, 56, was found dead amid debris just outside her mobile home in the 800 block of E State Route 126 in Golden City. Her husband, Mark Berg, 56, suffered serious injuries. The storm also ripped a roof off a fertilizer plant in the area, prompting a precautionary evacuation of 1-mile radius because of a possible chemical leak. As the catastrophic weather conditions continue to plague the Midwest, flood warnings remain in effect for much of Oklahoma, with more than nine inches of rainfall since Sunday after an already extremely wet spring. The deaths of the elderly couple comes after a husband and wife were tragically killed in a traffic accident on Tuesday. An SUV skidded across the center of U.S. 160 in Springfield and struck a tractor-trailer, claiming the lives of Brandon Beasley, 23, and Christin, 24 of Willard, Missouri. More than 80 people are staying in shelters in central Missouri after tornadoes ripped through the region. Tornadoes caused significant damage overnight in Missouri's capital city of Jefferson City and in Eldon, a town of about 4,900 residents around 30 miles southwest. The severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. Near Crescent, about 34 miles north of Oklahoma City, erosion left several homes hanging over the swollen Cimarron River. One unoccupied home rolled into the river, and authorities said others could collapse. In Arkansas, forecasters issued flood warnings along the Arkansas River because of the expected rush of water coming from Oklahoma. Jefferson City's damage spanned about a 3-mile area, said Police Lt. David Williams. About 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel, and although there were no reports of missing people, authorities planned door-to-door checks Thursday, he said. The weather service reported that a 'confirmed large and destructive tornado' was observed over Jefferson City at 11.43pm Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph. The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles west of St. Louis. 'It's a chaotic situation right now,' Williams said. Carey Riley looks over damaged cars at a Toyota dealership he owns with his two brothers Thursday, May 23, 2019 after a tornado tore though Jefferson City, Missouri late Wednesday Vehicles damaged by a tornado sit in the parking lot of the Missouri Department of Social Services building on Flora Drive on Thursday morning Vehicles damaged by a tornado sit in the parking lot of the Missouri Department of Social Services building on Flora Drive on Thursday morning This shocking drone footage has revealed the devastation caused by a monster tornado which ripped through Jefferson City in Missouri - leaving a massive trail of destruction. As the catastrophic weather conditions continue to plague the Midwest, flood warnings remain in effect for much of Oklahoma, with more than nine inches of rain fall since Sunday after an already extremely wet spring. The damage left behind by the twister is seen from above in Jefferson City on Thursday morning Homes destroyed: A relentless barrage of violent weather in the central United States left three people dead. Houses were ripped apart with roofs torn away amid the devastating winds that struck Jefferson City in Missouri overnight Wednesday Destruction: Buildings are seen torn open and belongings scattered across the road following the series of tornadoes which have battered the Heartland along with flash flooding ruining homes and livelihoods. The damage left behind by the twister is pictured above in Jefferson City on Thursday morning This map shows the location and number of tornadoes to hit the Midwest in the past 48 hours. No deaths have been reported in Jefferson City, but the tornado was part of a multi-day severe weather outbreak in the Plains and Midwest that has killed at least eight people and caused extensive flooding Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities discouraged people from beginning clean-up efforts until power is safely restored. Hospitals set up command centers if needed. Missouri Public Safety tweeted that more tornadoes and flash flooding were possible. Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings in Jefferson City and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers. After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage, and retrieved a stuffed animal for his daughter from his damaged apartment. 'There's basically one building that's basically one story now,' he said. One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported. Chaos: The aftermath of the destruction on a highway leading to Jefferson City taken on Thursday is shown from above Slide me Before and after: A birds-eye view of the destruction caused by the tornado which has ripped through the Midwest Slide me Before and after: The Midwest has been hammered by scores of tornadoes and heavy storms in recent days, leaving at least seven dead and a trail of damage from the high winds and flooding. And forecasters warned of more severe weather through Friday. A home in Jefferson City is pictured damaged following the powerful twisters Slide me Before and after: A home in Jefferson City is totally destroyed following the powerful twisters on Wednesday night. The tornado here struck hours after a twister roared through the rural hamlet of Golden City, 170 southwest of here, killing three people. Amazingly, no fatalities were reported in Jefferson City, the state's capital and home to more than 40,000 people Trucks and mobile homes were destroyed in the savage winds that hit Jefferson City in Missouri yesterday A worker walks past tornado-damaged Toyotas at a dealership in Jefferson City, Mo., Thursday, May 23, 2019 after a tornado tore though late Wednesday The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they hit a dam. A posting on the official Facebook page of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, said the runaway barges posed a dire threat to the river town's 600 residents: 'Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!' Jefferson City's damage spanned about a 3-mile area, said Police Lt. David Williams. About 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel, and although there were no reports of missing people, authorities planned door-to-door checks Thursday, he said Jefferson City's damage spanned about a 3-mile area, said Police Lt. David Williams. About 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel, and although there were no reports of missing people, authorities planned door-to-door checks Thursday, he said. A home is pictured in ruins following the storms overnight Authorities located the barges Thursday morning, stuck on rocks in the swollen river. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the barges were still tied together, and crews were working to secure them. Still, the Interstate 40 bridge and a state highway bridge remain closed over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls as a precaution, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water. A National Weather Service meteorologist said: 'As of this morning, the main parts of the storms have pushed eastward, thank goodness,' leaving the region to deal with just another expected two inches of rain through Friday. However, Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding. First responders warned that 'flash flooding hazards will expand as rain continues'. There have also been numerous reports of gas odors. Floodwaters cover a stretch of road in the Indian Springs Country Club in Broken Arrow Oklahoma A worker walks past tornado-damaged Toyotas at a dealership in Jefferson City, Missouri on Thursday morning after the previous night's tornado which ripped through the city More destruction in Jefferson City, Missouri. This property had its roof ripped off by the tornado overnight on Wednesday More destruction in Jefferson City, Missouri. This property had its roof ripped off by the tornado overnight on Wednesday Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities discouraged people from beginning clean-up efforts until power is safely restored. Hospitals set up command centers if needed (Jefferson City on Thursday) The weather service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday; some could be duplicate reporting of the same twister Drone footage captures the wreckage of a building destroyed by a tornado in Jefferson City, Missouri on Wednesday night Missouri Governor Mike Parson tweeted late Wednesday night: 'We're doing okay but praying for those that were caught in damage, some are still trapped - local emergency crews are on site and assisting. Parson said first responders will 'continue to monitor and assist throughout the severe storms lasting until morning. Stay safe and alert!' Numerous power lines have been downed in Jefferson City and there's debris in the streets that includes large pieces of wood and concrete. New Toyotas are piled up at a dealership in Jefferson City, Missouri, Thursday, May 23, 2019 after a tornado tore though Jefferson City late Wednesday Storm damage off Ellis Bvld in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Thursday, May 23, 2019 Damaged playground equipment at Community Christian Church in Jefferson City, Missouri, on Thursday, May 23 More devastation from Jefferson City in Missouri where a powerful tornado stuck overnight Wednesday, wreaking havoc Storm: Heavy winds rips the roof from a building in Jefferson City, as drone footage captures the devastation on Thursday Missouri Public Safety tweeted that more tornadoes and flash flooding were possible. Firefighters have begun rescue operations in the area, including at the apartment building. Missouri Task Force 1 was also activated The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh (a house in Jefferson City, Missouri, stands in ruin) The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose A woman surveys damage Thursday, May 23, 2019 after a tornado tore though Jefferson City on Thursday morning The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam A National Weather Service meteorologist said: 'As of this morning, the main parts of the storms have pushed eastward, thank goodness,' leaving the region to deal with just another expected two inches of rain through Friday Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose The NWS said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. One of the other tornadoes (pictured) skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri Multiple injuries were also reported, but no fatalities. Some residents are also trapped under rubble in an apartment complex (pictured) that suffered damage to more than half of its building in Jefferson City, Missouri on Wednesday night Numerous power lines have been downed in Jefferson City and there's debris (left and right) in the streets that includes large pieces of wood and concrete. The catastrophic tornado has ripped through Missouri's capital, according to the National Weather Service. The 'violent tornado' was confirmed in Jefferson City around 11.47pm Wednesday night This image posted on Twitter account of Stechshultsy shows tornado-hit Jefferson City. Missouri on Thursday A wall is collapsed in Jefferson City, Missouri on Thursday. The U.S. National Weather Service says a 'violent tornado' has touched down in Jefferson City, Missouri, causing possible fatalities and heavy damage Plastic chairs lie in the road and metal from a damaged gas station roof is twisted around a downed power line in Jefferson City Missouri Thursday. The catastrophic tornado has ripped through Missouri's capital, according to the National Weather Service. The 'violent tornado' was confirmed in Jefferson City around 11.47pm Wednesday night These pictures posted by the Missouri State Highway patrol show damaged caused by a tornado in Jefferson City including a collapsed tree and an overturned vehicle Damage is seen on a street after the tornado in Jefferson City which was described as a 'direct hit' on the state capital Authorities confirmed that several buildings had collapsed and photos from one structure appeared to be a Sonic restaurant Photos showed overturned cars at the Riley Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership (pictured) located on Christy Drive Several cars were seen on top of one another at the dealership Viewers got a big surprise today on Good Morning America. Tamron Hall made her first appearance on a TV morning show since she opted not to renew her contract with NBC back in February 2017 upon learning she would be losing her spot on Today when Megyn Kelly joined the network. The new mom, 48, sat down with George Stephanopoulos, with the two spending the first half of the interview discussing Hall's nerves despite having spent 25 years in the air and her new baby boy Moses. The conversation then shifted to Hall's exit from NBC. Hall said she has spent the past two years trying to build her career back up in the wake of that incident, while the woman hired to replace her attracted less viewers and defended blackface, but still managed to walk away with $69 million for just 13 months of work. Scroll down for video Today, a good morning: Tamron Hall appeared on morning TV (above) for the first time since exiting NBC and Today in early 2017 Back in action: Hall, 48, sat down with George Stephanopoulos (above) to discuss her new baby boy and her syndicated talk show premiering this September "I had to look myself in the mirror and say, 'but am I still Tamron?'" @tamronhall talks new baby, new husband and all new show , @TamronHallShow, LIVE on @GMA. https://t.co/dCuujVag6a pic.twitter.com/uUvqWnCDeh Good Morning America (@GMA) May 23, 2019 Hall spoke about her last days at NBC when Stephanopoulos brought up her new show, which will premiere this September on ABC. 'The new show, this is my first time on live television in two-and-a-half years. And when I left my last job, there's a photo of me leaving walking across I think Fifth Avenue, and I look at that picture and I was just in a fog,' said Hall. 'I didn't know what was next. I had no idea. I had not started dating [now-husband] Steven [Greener] and not going through this journey to make [son] Moses and I knew I had to lose what was the most important thing.' She then spoke about how much work meant to her, and what the big part it played in her life 'I worked since I was 14. I'm from Texas and my grandfather, the first dad I knew, was a sharecropper with a second grade education,' explained Hall. 'My mom was pregnant with me at 19. I was never the person that people would root for. I was the underdog. My story was supposed to already have been told, and there I was, losing something that I had poured my entire life in.' Hall added: 'My grandfather used to tell me, you can do anything and we didn't have paved streets but you can pave the way.' She then laughed at the memory before turning somber as she said: 'And I ended up just losing it all - you feel like you've - you have answer the calls and go in and suddenly you're not the person they want and I had to look myself in the mirror and say, "but am I still Tamron". If there's no name beneath my card, if it doesn't say a show. And I decided I'm still Tamron.' White walker: She left NBC after learning that she would be losing her hosting spot on the third hour of Today to Megyn Kelly (above) On Wednesday, Hall also broke her silence on the subject of Megyn Kelly. 'I have no ill will towards Megyn [Kelly],' Hall told People. She made this statement before she was inevitably asked about the woman who became host of the third hour of Today in a move that only served to tank the ratings Hall had built up with Al Roker 'They made her and offer she shouldn't refuse. And they made me an offer I could refuse.' Scroll down for video Hall, who will launch a syndicated daytime show this September, said she was shocked at the offers that came her way after she left Today. 'I felt that some of the offers that were coming in were insulting after 25 years in the business,' said Hall. She also recalled thinking to herself at one point: 'Wait a minute. I've been doing this a long time, and you're coming to me with these odd little things.' Hall certainly had no lack of qualifications, proving her ability to host any type of broadcast during her time at NBC. 'The last week I was on Today I filled in for Savannah Guthrie, who's gone on maternity leave. I filled in for Lester Holt [on NBC Nightly News] all while I was doing my MSNBC show plus shooting Deadline Crime,' said Hall. 'So I'm putting in all the work and then I'm told, "It doesn't matter that you came in every time we called. We want something else."' Hall then added: 'I wasn't that "something else."' Bliss: 'I worked since I was 14. I'm from Texas and my grandfather, the first dad I knew, was a sharecropper with a second grade education,' explained Hall (above with husband Steven) Hall and Al Roker were comfortably in first place and delivering solid ratings for Today when the decision was made to move them out and Megyn Kelly in as host of the third hour. That move came just as Hall's contract was up, and she ultimately decided not to resign with NBC News and instead walked out. Hall and her baby boy Moses just after his birth It was a shocking departure for the woman who had long been one of the hardest working personalities on the network. Roker anchored the third hour with Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dryer in the wake of Hall's departure, which also proved to be a winning combination. Unlike Hall, however, the meteorologist already had a steady gig on Today when Roker learned the news about Kelly's arrival, appearing on the program's first two hours. The third hour had topped its timeslot for seven straight weeks when the news was delivered to Hall and Roker that Kelly would be taking over for them, and making a whole lot more money. DailyMail.com revealed soon after that Kelly had signed to a three-year contract valued at $69 million, close to 20 times what her predecessor Hall was paid and double the combined salary of Hall and Roker. This sizable investment resulted in a show with record low numbers for the network and a host who eventually got the boot following her defense of black face. Since Hall left the Today show in 2017, she has been in talks with Disney-ABC to produce her own syndicated daytime talk show, which she will host. It was announced in March by Disney that the show will officially debut in September of this year after months of developing. The addition of her son and recent wedding will keep the new mom busy as she prepares to film the first season of her new show. U.S. authorities have said that a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died last year after being detained by border authorities in a previously unreported case, marking the sixth known case in the last year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that the unidentified girl died on September 29 at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital of fever and respiratory distress. Spokesman Mark Weber said the department began caring for the girl who had a history of congenital heart defects in March 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. 'Following a surgical procedure, complications left the child in a comatose state. She was transported to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona for palliative care in May after release from a San Antonio hospital,' Weber said in a statement to CBS News. 'On September 26, she was transferred to an Omaha, Neb., nursing facility to be closer to her family. On September 29, the child was transported to Children's Hospital of Omaha where she passed due to fever and respiratory distress,' Weber said. The unidentified El Salvadoran girl died on September 29 at the Omaha Children's Hospital (above) in Nebraska of fever and respiratory distress He did not say when she entered the U.S. or whether a parent or adult accompanied her. HHS provides care to children the government considers unaccompanied. Weber said the department was committed to protecting the children in its custody. The deaths of immigrant children in U.S. government custody have sparked calls for investigations and changes to Trump administration policy. On Monday, a 16-year-old boy died of the flu amid a major outbreak at the Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, had been detained on May 13 after crossing the border and was processed at the McAllen center, where hundreds of parents and children are held temporarily for processing. The government closed the facility after the flu outbreak, sent in cleaning crews to disinfect the building and plans to reopen it soon. Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, 16, was the fifth migrant minor to die in US custody in six months after dying from the flu on Monday amid an outbreak at a processing center Juan de Leon Gutierrez and Wilmer Josue Ramirez Vazquez were the third and fourth illegal alien children, respectively, to die in the custody of U.S. immigration officials Jackeline Caal Maquin (left) and Felipe Gomez-Alonzo (right) are two of the five undocumented migrant children that have died under custody of United States immigration officials The 32 sick children and adults have been quarantined at a smaller processing center, according to a U.S. Border Patrol official who spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity because there is an ongoing investigation. Their ages were unknown. Immigration authorities under growing pressure and scrutiny to care for migrant children. Kevin McAleenan, the acting Homeland Security secretary, came under withering criticism Wednesday from a Democratic lawmaker who called the administration's actions with children 'inhumane.' With the government running out of space to hold migrants, the Trump administration has been taking dramatic steps to keep up with the influx. The Defense Department said Wednesday that it will provide temporary housing for at least 7,500 men and women who are taken into custody by immigration officials along the border. It will loan tents to the Department of Homeland Security, which will manage the camps. The Defense Department will evaluate six potential sites over the next two weeks: Tucson and Yuma in Arizona and Tornillo, Donna, Laredo and Del Rio in Texas. Tornillo, near El Paso, is where unaccompanied children were housed last year. The Pentagon said military personnel will only erect the tents and won't be involved in operations. The U.S. Border Patrol McAllen Station (seen on May 15) shut down this week after a major flu epidemic raced through the migrants who are being held there for processing The McAllen station is seen on May 15. Officials have shut the station down to clean and disinfect the facility before it can resume operations processing the influx of illegal aliens The 77,000-square foot processing center in McAllen is modeled after a similar facility in Nogales, Arizona, built for an influx of Central Americans in 2014. It has separate pods for boys and girls who came alone and parents with their young children. Some older children are split from their parents to avoid having them mix with much younger children. Texas's Rio Grande Valley, which includes McAllen, is the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. The Border Patrol made 36,681 arrests in the area in April, nearly three of every four coming in family units or as children traveling alone. Border Patrol agents have averaged 69 trips to the hospital a day since Dec. 22 and about 153,000 hours monitoring detained population at hospitals, the official said. Authorities have also cleaned other holding facilities in South Texas, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Kingsville and highway checkpoints. Migrants are not being vaccinated at Border Patrol stations, but they may be when hospitalized, the official said. The Border Patrol is offering vaccines to agents working. Kristy Swanson and Dean Cain have signed to play fired FBI lovers Lisa Page and Peter Strzok in a pro-Trump dramatic reading of their notorious texts - prompting the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star to claim the case was subject to a death threat for backing the president. The dramatic reading, titled 'FBI Lovebirds: UnderCovers,' will be brought to fruition by conservative Irish filmmaker, Phelim McAleer. Cain is best known for playing Superman in TV series 'Lois & Clark,' and he also starred in anti-abortion film 'Gosnell,' which was produced by McAleer and his wife Ann McElhinney. According to a fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo, the production would be filmed in front of a live theater audience at Mead Theater in Washington, D.C. on June 13. 'We are going to show the mainstream media and Hollywood that they can no longer push the Russia collusion hoax and force them to acknowledge how the Deep State, DC Swamp tried to destroy the Trump candidacy and presidency,' the crowdfunding page reads. Actor Dean Cain has singed on to portray former FBI agent Peter Strzok in a dramatic on-stage reading of his text messages with lover and former FBI investigator Lisa Page 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' actress Kristy Swanson will play Page in the June 13 production at Mead Theater in Washington D.C. The dramatic reading will be put on by Irish conservative filmmakers, and married couple, Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, who have also produced other political films centered around issues like abortion, fracking and environmentalism The page is looking to help cover costs related to putting on the production, and aims to bring in $95,000 in less than a month. The page notes that renting the theater is $5,620 of the cost. Actress Kristy Swanson will portray Page in the live reading, she is best known for playing Buffy Summers in the 1992 film 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' Swanson says that both she and Cain have received a 'death threat' for agreeing to star in the production because it supports Trump. A Twitter account responded to news of the dramatic reading by saying 'lock the doors, set the theater on fire,' which Swanson says is a death threat to her, her co-star, the production team and the whole theater of people that would be there. A person directly involved with the production said they are trying to get President Donald Trump to attend the performance. 'We're lobbying the White House hard,' the person told Politico. 'We are being told the president loves the idea of exposing this.' McAleer and McElhinney have produced several other conservative politically-centered films, including ones on abortion, fracking and environmentalism. Page and Strzok were colleagues when she began an extramarital affair with Strzok during the 2016 presidential election. Swanson says that she and her co-star have received a 'death threat' over Twitter because the show supports Trump Strzok (left) and Page (right) were engaged in an affair during the 2016 elections, and would text each other often with anti-Trump messages. Investigators are looking to see if the couple's opinions helped contribute to the FBI opening its probe into Russian involvement in the elections A crowdfunding page was set up for the production, which seeks to raise $95,000 in less than a month to help cover the costs of the show Strzok was removed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian influence on the 2016 elections when the relationship was revealed and the anti-Trump text messages surfaced. In the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Strzok and Page would text about how Trump was a 'loathsome human being,' 'idiot' and a 'disaster.' In August 2016, Strzok texted, 'He's never going to become president, right?' 'No, no he won't. We'll stop it,' Page texted back to Strzok. After he won the presidency over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Strzok wrote, 'OMG I am so depressed.' Trump often points out the bias within the Mueller investigation, and has on many occasions directly attacked the 'lovebird' couple. 'More text messages between former FBI employees Peter Strzok and Lisa Page are a disaster and embarrassment to the FBI & DOJ,' Trump tweeted on September 13, 2018. The agency's inspector general has been investigating the duo for political bias, including whether Strzok's anti-Trump sentiments played a role in the FBI launching the Russia investigation in 2016. Strzok was removed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian influence on the 2016 elections when his relationship with Page was revealed and the anti-Trump text messages surfaced Trump has attacked Mueller's investigation as a 'witch hunt' and says it was started by 'Trump haters,' he has also oftentimes attacked Strzok and Page for their bias against him and their role in the inception of the probe The production will be a 100 per cent verbatim reading of the texts. A transcript of the testimony Strzok gave to the House Judiciary Committee in June 2018 was released earlier this year by Republican ranking member Doug Collins, and the show will including a reading of the closed-door testimony. The president has slammed the investigation as a 'witch hunt' started by 'Trump haters.' Attorney General Bill Barr released a redacted-version of Mueller's Russia report in April. The report found no evidence that Trump, his associates, his administration or his campaign had conspired with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election. Trump says the report fully exonerated him from all crimes, but Democrats claim there is enough evidence to show he obstructed justice throughout the investigation. Several Democrat-controlled congressional committees are engaged in related investigations efforts the president says his administration would fight at every chance. The family of a CIA officer who was killed in an attack in Afghanistan after interrogating 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh says his release from prison is a slap in the face. Lindh, 38, was released from the FCI Terre Haute prison in Indiana on Thursday on probation after serving 17 years of his 20 year sentence after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. He was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in November 2001 and failed to warn U.S. forces of a planned uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi jail in Balkh where he was being held. CIA operative Johnny 'Mike' Spann was killed during the uprising and Lindh was injured. Spann was the first American killed in the Afghan war. Spann, an Alabama father-of-three, had questioned Lindh just a few hours earlier but the convicted terrorist chose not to warn him of the Taliban prisoners' plans. The family of CIA officer Johnny 'Mike' Spann (left) who was killed in an attack in Afghanistan after interrogating 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh (right) says his release from prison is a slap in the face The CIA agent's family have fiercely opposed Lindh's early released and his daughter Alison - who was nine when her father was killed - said releasing Lindh was a slap in the face for her family. 'He is getting released early because of his good behavior in prison. For my family, terrorism does not equal good behavior,' she told ABC News ahead of his release. In a letter to President Trump, Alison urged him to put a stop to Lindh's early release. 'While my family is currently serving a life sentence, forever changed by the death of Mike Spann, John Walker Lindh was only sentenced to twenty years - a term now cut short,' she wrote. 'Lindh will not serve his entire sentence and will be released in May 2019; the same month 27 years ago that Mike brought a daughter into the world that he would never see grow up. 'I feel his early release is a slap in the face - not only to my father and my family, but for every person killed on Sept. 11, their families, the U.S. military, U.S. intelligent services, families who have lost loved ones to this war and the millions of Muslims worldwide who don't support radical extremists. 'Lindh was in Afghanistan training with al Qaeda while the September 11 attacks were planned, and he was there fighting with them after the attacks were carried out. 'He is a traitor and should not be released. The American al Qaeda fighter should be make to serve his full sentence - one that pales in comparison to the one that so many families have had to pay in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism.' Spann's daughter Alison and father Johnny have fiercely opposed Lindh's early release and wrote to President Trump urging him to intervene Lindh walked free from the medium security federal prison just after midnight local time and was met by his mother Marilyn Walker Spann's family - widow Shannon, daughters Emily and Alison, and son Jake - are pictured visiting his grave at at Arlington National Cemetery Meanwhile Spann's father Johnny Spann also urged President Trump to intervene in an interview with ABC News. 'Don't turn him loose if there's reports out here that he's not being the model prisoner that ya'll say he is,' the elder Spann said. Spann's father was referring to reports, including a 2017 investigation by Foreign Policy magazine and documents composed by the National Counterterrorism Center, that said Lindh 'continued to advocate for global jihad' as of May 2016. The documents also claimed that Lindh said he would 'continue to spread violent extremist Islam on his release' and had praised the activities of Islamic State. Lindh is among dozens of prisoners to be released over the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. His release brought objections from elected officials who asked why Lindh was being freed early and what training parole officers had to spot radicalization and recidivism among former jihadists. Lindh was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2001 and failed to warn U.S. forces of a planned uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi jail where he was being held. Lindh is pictured being treated at an Army base hospital following the uprising that resulted in him being injured Lindh is believed to have walked free from the medium security federal prison FCI Terre Haute in Indiana (above) just after midnight local time on Thursday Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday morning that Lindh 'still is threatening the United states of America, still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and a great CIA officer. 'There's something deeply troubling and wrong about it.' Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan wrote to the Federal Bureau of Prisons last week to question the decision to release him and ask what strategies have been put in place to stop him from causing further harm. 'What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?' they asked. On Wednesday, Florida Republican Rep. Michael Waltz, a former Green Beret who served in Afghanistan, described him as a 'traitor' and said he 'should be in prison for life'. Waltz added: 'We're calling on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to explain why he is being released early, and then we are calling on law enforcement authorities to be watching him extremely closely. 'We need to keep a close eye on him.' Christians are facing extinction in Iraq after ISIS forced 125,000 people to flee their homes, the Archbishop of Irbil has warned. Rt Rev Bashar Warda said the Christian community had been reduced by 83 per cent between the end of Saddam Hussein's regime and 2014. It then dwindled further when the so-called Islamic State invaded the country, Warda said at a speech in London, reports the BBC. He said: 'Christianity in Iraq, one of the oldest Churches, if not the oldest Church in the world, is perilously close to extinction. Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom.' Rt Rev Bashar Warda, the Archbishop of Irbil, has warned that Christians face extinction in Iraq. Pictured: a church in Qaraqosh in Iraq Although the jihadist group had been expelled from Mosul in July 2017, many Christians have not returned because their homes and churches were destroyed. Pictured: a damaged church in Karamles in 2017 Although the jihadist group had been expelled from Mosul in July 2017, many Christians have not returned because their homes and churches were destroyed. ISIS' last stronghold in Baghuz, Syria, was defeated in March. Warda also claimed that many fear speaking out about the persecution of Christians because they do not want to be accused of Islamophobia. He accused Britain's Christian leaders of bowing to 'political correctness'. Warda added: 'Friends, we may be facing our end in the land of our ancestors. We acknowledge this. In our end, the entire world faces a moment of truth. 'Will a peaceful and innocent people be allowed to be persecuted and eliminated because of their faith? And, for the sake of not wanting to speak the truth to the persecutors, will the world be complicit in our elimination?' Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, agreed with Warda, saying 'political correctness' has stopped people speaking out, and that it may also have something to do with 'a reluctance borne of post-colonial guilt'. He claimed that many fear speaking out about the persecution of Christians because they do not want to be accused of Islamophobia. Pictured: displaced Iraqi Christians look upon a nativity scene in Irbil in 2014 A massive Florida high school post-prom party was meant to be the bash of the year where a rented Airbnb house with a swimming pool was decked out with stripper poles, strobe lights, gallons of booze and pre-rolled marijuana joints. But the party was busted before it even began. Martin County deputies foiled the epic blowout as about 300 students from West Boca Community High were about to board buses for the party house on April 12, acting on a tip from the school security guard. Student Thomas Levin, 19, of Boca Raton, had legally rented out a three-story rental home in Palm City on Airbnb, that goes for $300 a night. Students paid $80 a pop for a bus ride and entry into the party at the spacious four-bedroom, three-bathroom home. The party pad was decked out for an alcohol-fueled frenzy where the fridge was stocked with Jell-O shots, a bowl filled with pre-rolled marijuana joints, and stripper poles were set up for a bikini contest. About 300 West Boca Community High students were ready for an epic post-prom party at a three story, $300 a night Airbnb rental house in Palm City, Florida (above). But it was busted before it even began on April 12 by Martin County deputies following a tip It was supposed to be an epic post-prom blowout for about 300 students at West Boca Community High. The rental home was decked out with alcohol, Jell-O shots, and weed Pictures from inside the home show gallons of booze and Jell-O shots from a night of alcohol-fueled revelry There was even a bowl filled with pre-rolled marijuana joints for party guests But the party was foiled after cops received a tip from a West Boca High security guard after seeing posts about the party on social media. 'The potential for disaster was huge,' Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said Tuesday. 'They had jello shots, they had every mixer, they had high-end liquors, they had beers, they had it all,' Lt. Ryan Grimsdale of Martin County said to the Sun Sentinel. 'This would have rivaled any bar in Martin County that day.' The students were about to charter three buses from Boca Raton to the rental home in Palm City, when cops stopped them. 'They had three buses, at least 300 kids, heading to Martin County for an alcohol-laced drug fest,' Grimsdale said. Pictures from inside the home show the massive stash of booze and weed awaiting the guests. Students had also transformed the bathrooms on second and third floors of the home into makeshift bars loaded with liquor. Students paid $80 a pop for a bus ride and entry into the party at the spacious three-story home. Cops stopped about 300 students loaded on three buses, moments before they drove to the party house 'They had Jello shots, they had every mixer, they had high-end liquors, they had beers, they had it all. This would have rivaled any bar in Martin County that day,' Lt. Ryan Grimsdale said. A back view of the home pictured above Pictures of the Palm City Airbnb house listing shows it includes a massive backyard and a swimming pool with a slide. Students reportedly added stripper poles to the home as well The three-story home is spacious and in a relatively rural area. An outdoor shot of the home's backyard pictured above The home is owned by Jochel Martel, who lives in Austria and works with a local property manager to run the home. She said she was 'in awe and rather shocked' to see the party set up Students gave the bathrooms on the second and third floors a makeover, transforming them into makeshift bars loaded with booze The party violated the rental agreement on Airbnb and she voided the contract The party scene: The Airbnb profile states renters are not allowed to host parties and damage to the home could charge up to $1,000 Despite the massive party bust no charges have been filed and no arrests were made Despite the massive party bust no charges have been filed and no arrests were made. Levin, who rented out the house on Airbnb, wasn't connected to the liquor or weed found in the home. He told authorities he had no idea who 'brought all the liquor and drug paraphernalia'. 'We couldn't put the alcohol or drugs into anybodys possession,' Grimsdale said. 'We couldn't prove it.' Instead of allowing the party to go on with their knowledge so they could make arrests, the Sheriff's department decided to act before it started. Instead of allowing the party to go on with their knowledge so they could make arrests, the Sheriff's department decided to act before it started. Sheriff William Snyder said: 'The potential for disaster was huge' 'We were forced into a situation where we knew that if we allowed the party to continue there would be underage drinking,' Grimsdale said. The home is owned by Jochen Mertl, who lives in Austria and works with a local property manager to run the home. The property manager took the photographs of the mischief. The property manager told investigators she had no clue about the plans for the giant, underage party. She said she was 'in awe and rather shocked' to see the home's party set up. The party violated the rental agreement on Airbnb and she voided the contract. The house's Airbnb profile states renters are not allowed to host parties and renters who damage the home could be charged up to a whopping $1,000. Airbnb said that they had a listing for thee Palm City property and no cancellations were recorded in April. They say renters must be at least 18 according to the Airbnb terms of service and a homeowner can request an ID as proof, according to WPTV. A drunken Grenadier Guardsman punched a military policeman on the nose while brawling outside a pub following the annual Army vs Navy rugby match. Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard Lance Corporal James Porter, 22, had been drinking since the morning of the clash at Twickenham earlier this month, which was attended by 80,000 service personnel. Porter then went to The Timberyard pub nearby after the match - won 27-11 by the Army - and became involved in fight that was broken up by military police who were on duty to keep the peace around the west London stadium. Local residents have long campaigned for the fixture to be moved due to 'excessive drunken rowdy behaviour', vomiting and urinating in nearby streets and spectators 'passing out in the street'. Lance Corporal David Osbourne pulled the pair apart only for Porter to punch him in the face when he refused to calm down. Porter admitted assault and Magistrate Barry Wareing told him: 'Undoubtedly this was not your finest hour and it is very unfortunate that it occurred in and around Twickenham stadium when the Army versus Navy match was going on.' Grenadier Guardsman Lance Corporal James Porter, 22, pictured, punched Lance Corporal David Osbourne when the military police officer tried to break up a fight he was involved in at a pub near Twickenham following the annual Army vs Navy rugby match Prosecutor Amanda McCabe told Wimbledon Magistrates Court: 'He [Lance Corporal Osbourne] saw two males tussling outside The Timberyard pub and approached with a colleague shouting: "Service police!" 'They pulled the two males apart, but one of them, this defendant, refused to calm down and continued trying to tussle with the other male.' The court heard Lance Corporal Osborne told police: 'The next thing the male punched me on the nose and I grabbed the top half of him and put him to the ground.' Porter, who has served all over the world, including Iraq, Kenya and the Falkland Islands, was quickly arrested by Met police officers. 'The defendant told officers he had been drinking since 11am and had consumed alcohol throughout the day,' added Ms McCabe. 'He said he was having a tiff and tried to push a friend away and the next thing he knew he was on the floor surrounded by the police.' Porter claimed in his police interview he 'may have lashed out in self-defence'. The victim suffered reddening to his nose and bruising to his hand. Porter's lawyer James Preedy told the court: 'He [Porter] has just got back from seven months in Iraq and is a young man of good character with no convictions. 'This conviction will have major disciplinary consequences for him in the Army and there will be a promotional ban for him and he will be punished. 'He does have a memory lapse regarding the incident, which was at the Army versus Navy rugby match, which is notorious for drinking. 'Some can hold their drink better than others and on this day Mr Porter did not hold his drink well. Porter, pictured outside Wimbledon Magistrates' Court, admitted assault and was handed a conditional discharge after the panel was told he was a 'dedicated and disciplined soldier' 'He is very remorseful and says it was an argument with his friend that got his blood flowing and he got anxious at the time.' Porter's captain attended the hearing and described the defendant as a 'dedicated' soldier, who is 'disciplined and focused.' Porter, of Lille Barracks, Aldershot, pleaded guilty to assaulting Lance Corporal David Osborne in London Road, Twickenham on May 4. Porter was conditionally discharged for two years and ordered to pay a 20 victim surcharge. The husband of the murdered pregnant teenager killed by a family of womb-raiders revealed on Thursday that Chicago cops made him take a lie detector test after he reported her missing and says they did not do enough to find her and his unborn son. Yovany Lopez, 20, sobbed as he recalled being forced to do a polygraph after reporting his wife Marlen missing on April 23. She vanished after going to collect clothes from Clarisa Figueroa's home in Chicago. Prosecutors say Clarisa strangled her when she arrived then cut her baby boy out of her womb, took him to a hospital and pretended he was hers for two weeks until she was caught. Yovany, who works in construction, reported Marlen missing on April 24 but says he was told he had to wait 72 hours before it would be investigated properly. Scroll down for video Yovany Lopez, 20, sobbed as he recalled being forced to do a polygraph after reporting his wife Marlen missing on April 23. Marlen Ochoa-Lopez was murdered on April 23 He did but claims Chicago PD did not take his case seriously enough. He resorted to hiring a private investigator and it was only when their efforts combined with those of Marlen's friends led police to Clarisa that the truth emerged. Speaking to Univision, Lopez said that even his in-laws thought he had killed his wife. 'I cried. I'm not a bad person... my in-laws, they have always been against me. They were all against me. 'I knew that I had not done anything with my wife, it was terrible. Really terrible. 'I felt overwhelmed because my in-laws, all these people,said that I looked like a bad person. 'I felt defeated and heartbroken because I could not find my wife. I could not find her. I waited for her, I went out with the detectives and I looked for her.' Yovany, who has another son with his late wife, said his in-laws owe him an apology. 'They asked me what I had done with her, if I owed drugs to anyone, if I was into gangs. Clarisa Figueroa, 46, was the mastermind of the plot. She pretended she was pregnant for months and lured Marlen to her home after meeting her on Facebook, according to police Clarisa's 24-year-old daughter Desiree, left, is four months pregnant. She made a full confession to police including how she pulled Marlen's fingers away from her neck to stop her from fighting her mother as she strangled her with an electric cable. Piotr Bobak, 40, right, is Clarisa's boyfriend who is accused of helping them cover up the murder Marlen's father, Arnulfo Ochoa, hired a private investigator because he was so frustrated with the Chicago Police Department's lack of action. He is shown on May 16, the day after his daughter's body was found in a trash can 'It wasn't the case,' he said. Chicago Police Department told DailyMail.com on Thursday that it would not confirm the test but said that 'in all investigations, includes interviewing involved parties of an incident, whether or not they consider those parties suspects or not.' The League of United Latin American Citizens has said it plans to file a formal complaint against the department for how it handled Marlen's disappearance. Her father has already criticized the department for not doing more. 'There were plenty of clues, and in my view this all took way too long. They kept saying how a judge had to OK every request to check her phone, to check Facebook. Advocate Christ Medical Center (shown) did not alert police on April 23, when she came in, or ever. It only called child services after police subpoenaed medical records 'I hired a private investigator and he found all of that information, where my daughter was murdered, and he shared that information with police,' Arnulfo Ochoa, Ochoa-Lopezs father, told The Chicago Sun Times. The police said it was a friend of Marlen's who alerted them to the Facebook pages. The hospital where the baby was taken is also now under investigation. The Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn is now being investigated by the Department of Health for its role in disturbing case of the murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and the theft of her unborn baby boy by Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter. The hospital has not commented for failing to raise suspicions. A spokesman told DailyMail.com that it was cooperating with authorities but refused to say more, citing privacy policies. WOMB RAIDER TIMELINE April 23: Marlen Ochoa-Lopez goes to Clarisa Figueroa's house to collect baby clothes and is strangled to death Clarisa takes her unborn baby to the hospital, claiming he is her own, and he is put in the NICU with zero brain function April 24: Marlen's husband reports her missing May 7: Marlen's friends tell Chicago PD about her Facebook contact with Clarisa Figueroa after discovering it. Officers go to her home, find her daughter there, she says she is in the hospital with her new baby. They find Marlen's car near the house and order DNA tests for the baby in hospital. May 8-13: Police order DNA tests and subpoena hospital records May 9: The hospital alerts child services about the police investigation May 15: Marlen's body is found at the home in a trash can. The Figueroas are arrested May 16: The Figueroas are charged Advertisement The baby is still being treated there in the NICU. The hospital is yet to answer who examined Clarisa, whether they realized she had not given birth, why the physical signs were ignored and why they did not raise the alarm. On the day of the murder, Clarisa Figueroa, the 46-year-old ringleader charged with Marlen's murder, called 911 claiming she had given birth to the boy. Paramedics and firefighters went to her home, where Marlen's body was stuffed in a trash can in the yard, and took her and the baby to the hospital where she was examined by an OB technician in the Labor and Delivery Section of the hospital, according to prosecutors. Despite having blood on her 'arms, hands and across her face' which belonged to Marlen, and despite not showing any physical signs that she had given birth, neither the police nor the Department of Children and Families was alerted. In their bond proffer, prosecutors described what happened when she got to the hospital on April 23. 'While at the Labor and Delivery Section at Christ Hospital Defendant Clarisa was examined but showed no signs consistent with a woman who had just delivered a baby. 'Defendant Clarisa did have blood on her arms, hands and across her face which was from the murder of victim and the removal of the Vs baby. 'The blood was cleaned off by an OB Technician who treated Defendant Clarisa at the hospital,' it read. 'While at the Labor and Delivery Section at Christ Hospital Defendant Clarisa was examined but showed no signs consistent with a woman who had just delivered a baby. [She] did have blood on her arms, hands and across her face which was from the murder of victim and the removal of the victim's baby. The blood was cleaned off by an OB Technician who treated Clarisa at the hospital,' Bond proffer from Cook County State's Attorney For the next several weeks, she pretended the baby was hers and even set up a GoFundMe account to pay for his care. It was only on May 7, when Marlen's friends, who were still looking for her, alerted police to her Facebook contact with the Figueroa family that the truth emerged. Officers went to the home where Clarisa lived, found Marlen's car nearby, learned that Clarisa was in the hospital caring for a baby and ordered a DNA test for him. It is unclear when the Figueroas were stopped from seeing the boy. On May 7, his father, Yovany Lopez, met him for the first time. Clarisa, her daughter Desiree and her boyfriend Piotr Bobak were not arrested until May 15. Between the 8th and the 13th May, the police subpoenaed the hospital records and DNA. On May 9, Advocate Christ contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, after being subpoenaed by police. On May 16, Clarisa was charged with her daughter, 24, and Piotr Bobak, her 40-year-old boyfriend. The hospital is not alone in its failings. Friends and family of Marlen have criticized the police department for not doing more to find her when she was missing. It is not clear why they did not discover the Facebook contact she had had with the Figueroas themselves when it was on a public chat group. She had also received three parking tickets on the car which was parked near their home that police knew she had been driving when she went missing. It had also been seen on surveillance cameras, being moved around by Desiree, but nothing was done. The Chicago hospital where the 'womb raiding' woman charged with murdering a pregnant teen and cutting her baby from her belly is officially under investigation for not calling police after examining her and finding no signs she had given birth. The Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn is now being investigated by the Department of Health for its role in disturbing case of the murder of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and the theft of her unborn baby boy by Clarisa Figueroa and her daughter. The hospital has not commented for failing to raise suspicions. A spokesman told DailyMail.com that it was cooperating with authorities but refused to say more, citing privacy policies. The baby is still being treated there in the NICU. The hospital is yet to answer who examined Clarisa, whether they realized she had not given birth, why the physical signs were ignored and why they did not raise the alarm. Marlen went missing on April 23, the day she was strangled and had her baby cut from her womb, but it took police two weeks to find the boy in a city hospital, being watched over by his mother's killers, and another week after that to find Marlen's body in their home. Clarisa Figueroa is shown standing over the baby boy who she cut from his real mother's womb and took to the hospital claiming he was her own. When she got there, she was examined by an OB technician who cleaned off blood that was on her hands and arms but, despite not having given birth, no one called police to report her Marlen Ochoa Lopez is the baby boy's mother. She was murdered on April 23 and had him cut from her womb after she died. Clarisa, right, had been posting on Facebook for months claiming she was pregnant and due to welcome a baby boy WOMB RAIDER TIMELINE April 23: Marlen Ochoa-Lopez goes to Clarisa Figueroa's house to collect baby clothes and is strangled to death Clarisa takes her unborn baby to the hospital, claiming he is her own, and he is put in the NICU with zero brain function April 24: Marlen's husband reports her missing May 7: Marlen's friends tell Chicago PD about her Facebook contact with Clarisa Figueroa after discovering it. Officers go to her home, find her daughter there, she says she is in the hospital with her new baby. They find Marlen's car near the house and order DNA tests for the baby in hospital. May 8-13: Police order DNA tests and subpoena hospital records May 9: The hospital alerts child services about the police investigation May 15: Marlen's body is found at the home in a trash can. The Figueroas are arrested May 16: The Figueroas are charged Advertisement On the day of the murder, Clarisa Figueroa, the 46-year-old ringleader charged with Marlen's murder, called 911 claiming she had given birth to the boy. Paramedics and firefighters went to her home, where Marlen's body was stuffed in a trash can in the yard, and took her and the baby to the hospital where she was examined by an OB technician in the Labor and Delivery Section of the hospital, according to prosecutors. Despite having blood on her 'arms, hands and across her face' which belonged to Marlen, and despite not showing any physical signs that she had given birth, neither the police nor the Department of Children and Families was alerted. In their bond proffer, prosecutors described what happened when she got to the hospital on April 23. 'While at the Labor and Delivery Section at Christ Hospital Defendant Clarisa was examined but showed no signs consistent with a woman who had just delivered a baby. 'Defendant Clarisa did have blood on her arms, hands and across her face which was from the murder of victim and the removal of the Vs baby. 'The blood was cleaned off by an OB Technician who treated Defendant Clarisa at the hospital,' it read. For the next several weeks, she pretended the baby was hers and even set up a GoFundMe account to pay for his care. It was only on May 7, when Marlen's friends, who were still looking for her, alerted police to her Facebook contact with the Figueroa family that the truth emerged. Advocate Christ Medical Center (shown) did not alert police on April 23, when she came in, or ever. It only called child services after police subpoenaed medical records Officers went to the home where Clarisa lived, found Marlen's car nearby, learned that Clarisa was in the hospital caring for a baby and ordered a DNA test for him. It is unclear when the Figueroas were stopped from seeing the boy. On May 7, his father, Yovany Lopez, met him for the first time. Clarisa, her daughter Desiree and her boyfriend Piotr Bobak were not arrested until May 15. 'While at the Labor and Delivery Section at Christ Hospital Defendant Clarisa was examined but showed no signs consistent with a woman who had just delivered a baby. [She] did have blood on her arms, hands and across her face which was from the murder of victim and the removal of the victim's baby. The blood was cleaned off by an OB Technician who treated Clarisa at the hospital,' Bond proffer from Cook County State's Attorney Between the 8th and the 13th May, the police subpoenaed the hospital records and DNA. On May 9, Advocate Christ contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, after being subpoenaed by police. On May 16, Clarisa was charged with her daughter, 24, and Piotr Bobak, her 40-year-old boyfriend. The hospital is not alone in its failings. Friends and family of Marlen have criticized the police department for not doing more to find her when she was missing. It is not clear why they did not discover the Facebook contact she had had with the Figueroas themselves when it was on a public chat group. She had also received three parking tickets on the car which was parked near their home that police knew she had been driving when she went missing. It had also been seen on surveillance cameras, being moved around by Desiree, but nothing was done. The Chicago Police Department is now refusing to answer questions about why its investigators did not find the information that broke the case themselves. Clarisa Figueroa, 46, was the mastermind of the plot. She pretended she was pregnant for months and lured Marlen to her home after meeting her on Facebook, according to police Clarisa's 24-year-old daughter Desiree, left, is four months pregnant. She made a full confession to police including how she pulled Marlen's fingers away from her neck to stop her from fighting her mother as she strangled her with an electric cable. Piotr Bobak, 40, right, is Clarisa's boyfriend who is accused of helping them cover up the murder Instead, they are sending all inquiries to the prosecutor's office which has declined to share details of the case. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ochoa-Lopez family. Our top priority is to provide the safest and highest quality care for the patients and communities we serve. Out of respect for patient privacy and in compliance with federal and state regulations, we are unable to provide comment. We continue to cooperate with local authorities. Advocate Christ Medical Center Marlen's grieving husband, Yovany, spoke out this week to reveal that his late wife's family thought he was responsible for her disappearance. He also said he felt under scrutiny from police. The Chicago PD told DailyMail.com on Thursday that while it would not confirm or deny that he had been interviewed, it would be a normal procedure. The League of United Latin American Citizens has said it plans to file a formal complaint against the department for how it handled Marlen's disappearance. Clarisa, her daughter and her boyfriend are due back in court on June 3. The baby has been named Yadiel by his father and remains in the hospital. Friends say his health is improving. The baby is now being cared for by his father, Yovany. His health is improving, friends of the family told DailyMail.com Yovany Lopez, 20, sobbed as he recalled being forced to do a polygraph after reporting his wife Marlen missing on April 23. His father has also revealed that he was forced to take a lie detector test by cops when he reported her missing. Yovany reported Marlen missing on April 24 but says he was told he had to wait 72 hours before it would be investigated properly. He did but claims Chicago PD did not take his case seriously enough. He resorted to hiring a private investigator and it was only when their efforts combined with those of Marlen's friends led police to Clarisa that the truth emerged. Speaking to Univision, Lopez said that even his in-laws thought he had killed his wife. 'I cried. I'm not a bad person... my in-laws, they have always been against me. They were all against me. 'I knew that I had not done anything with my wife, it was terrible. Really terrible. 'I felt overwhelmed because my in-laws, all these people,said that I looked like the bad person. 'I felt defeated and heartbroken because I could not find m wife. I could not find her. I waited for her, I went out with the detectives and I looked for her.' Yovany, who has another son with his late wife, said his in-laws owe him an apology. 'They asked me what I had done with her, if I owed drugs to anyone, if I was into gangs. Two homeless people were set on fire by a thug who poured a flammable liquid over a mattress as they sheltered under a bridge in Argentina. Pictures of the horrifying attack showed the man pouring liquid on a mattress, setting the bedding alight and then throwing the burning container at another man. One of the homeless men, who seemed to be sleeping and had not noticed the intruder, leaped up in horror and fled for safety when he realised what was happening. The violent assault appears to have been filmed by the attacker's associate, who was driving a car. One of the victims suffered burns to his face while the other is unaccounted for. Approach: The heavily built thug sneaks up to the homeless people sleeping under a bridge in Argentina, pours a container of liquid over a mattress and lights a fire The driver is seen pulling up under the bridge before the thickset thug gets out and sneaks up to the homeless men. After pouring the liquid with his left hand, he ignites the fire with his right, tosses the burning container towards one of the men and jogs away. One of the homeless people scrambles for safety and manages to reduce the flames but the other seems slower to react as the car drives off. The attack took place under a bridge on Avenue General Paz, in the neighbourhood of Mataderos, in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. The incident is said to have happened three weeks ago but has only recently been reported in local media. In flames: The man turns away from the fire and lobs his burning container at one of the homeless men, who suddenly realises what is happening after he was apparently asleep One of the victims has reportedly been identified by police as a 38-year-old, who walked to a local hospital and was treated for burns to his face and arms before being released. The second victim has been missing since the attack and has not yet been identified. A local mechanic told reporters he believed people who 'cannot tolerate people sleeping in the street' were behind the attack. He added that the victims, who he said were Venezuelan, were 'good people' who 'did not hurt anybody'. A police investigation has been launched and police are working to found out if the aggressors knew the victim. No arrests have been reported and the investigation is ongoing. Two rangers and their pilot have survived a helicopter crash after their aircraft 'dropped 80 metres' through the air while culling feral animals. Doctors said it was a miracle the men survived the crash when the chopper 'dropped like a stone' in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park on Tuesday. 'I think this is a horrible accident and given the severity of it, it is a miracle the three men are alive,' Darwin Hospital trauma surgeon Angelika Na told reporters. The surgeon who treated the men said it was a miracle they survived the crash when the chopper 'dropped like a stone from 80 metres' in Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory, on Tuesday Two of the men were trapped for four hours, while the third freed himself from the wreckage, radioed for help and set off an emergency beacon. An Air Force helicopter found the crash location in Kakadu's south and directed a CareFlight rescue helicopter to the scene. The men were winched out to a place 250 metres away and flown to Royal Darwin Hospital with serious injuries. The pilot, who suffered the worst injuries, was then taken to Melbourne for further specialist treatment. Rangers Fred Hunter, 47, and Ian Conroy, 49, suffered chest and spinal injuries. Mr Hunter's brother-in-law Andy Ralph posted on Facebook: 'Ian, Fred and Pilot Andy ... were VERY lucky to get out of this alive'. 'Fred said the Chopper dropped like a stone from 80m and went straight in ... Pilot (Fred said very experienced and competent) couldn't do a thing. Rangers Fred Hunter, 47, and Ian Conroy (pictured), 49, suffered chest and spinal injuries 'Looks like Fred has fractures in his back, a few gouges out of him, but can wriggle his toes so Docs hoping no long term damage.' Mr Ralph said his brother-in-law was covered in Jet A1 fuel that had leaked out of the fuel tank, according to the NT News. The rangers were culling feral buffaloes and pigs from the air in the helicopter owned by Darwin company Jayrow. Kakadu's operators Parks Australia grounded all helicopters in the park while it reviews what went wrong, while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also likely to investigate. 'It is not at all clear at this stage what caused the crash, details are very sketchy, we are still going through the processes but it looks like it went down very quickly,' Parks Australia director James Findlay said. CareFlight pilot Jamie Humphries landed his rescue helicopter on a nearby ridge, allowing a doctor and nurse Paul Campbell to winch themselves to the crash site. Mr Campbell told the publication the men in the helicopter had come down quite hard and the main shell of the building is intact, and that the pilot needed the most urgent care. Kakadu's operators Parks Australia grounded all helicopters in the park while it reviews what went wrong, while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also likely to investigate Kakadu National Park is a protected area 171km southeast of Darwin. The park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory. It extends nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres from east to west. It is the size of Slovenia, about one-third the size of Tasmania, and nearly half the size of Switzerland. The Ranger Uranium Mine, one of the most productive uranium mines in the world, is surrounded by the park. Jayrow helicopters, who provided the helicopter on the day, has been contacted for comment. Outraged residents in western Brazil are comparing an adoption event at a local mall to slaves being sold at a market. Shocking images have emerged out of the western state of Mato Grosso showing orphans from the ages four to 17 being forced to walk the runway while prospective families clap and cheer. The Mato Grosso Association of Research and Adoption Support defended its decision to host the event. 'It was never the goal of the event - an integral part of a series of others that make up the 'Adoption Week' - to introduce children and adolescents to families in order to achieve adoption. The idea of the initiative aims to promote social coexistence and show the diversity of family construction through adoption with the participation of adoptive families.' Mato Grosso Association of Research and Adoption Support held an event at a local mall in the western Brazil where children between the ages of four and 17 that are up for adoption were presented on a catwalk An agency that promotes adoption in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso is being criticized after children as young as four years of age walked a runway that was set up at a mall The Pantanal Mall in the western Brazilian city of Cuiaba was the host site of Tuesday adoption event It was the second time that the event, 'Adoption on the Catwalk', has taken place in the city of Cuiaba. The first edition took place in 2016, leading to the adoption of two teenagers, aged 14 and 15. The agency has not revealed if any of the minors that participated at the event at Pantanal Shopping were adopted. Eduardo Mahon, a local lawyer, took to his social media account to blast the agency's event. The attorney told Brazilian newspaper Muvuca Popular that the adoption process was like 'an old slave trade show'. 'The suitors see how beautiful, friendly and easy the children on the catwalk are, it seems like an old slave trade show, where you saw the teeth and the body of the Africans to negotiate the bid,' Mahon said. A young girl parades on a catwalk during Tuesday's adoption event at a mall in Brazil Two young girls (pictured left and center) stroll through a stage that was set up to promote children and adolescents that are up for adoption in the western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso According to the National Registry of Adoption of the National Justice Council, there are 8,700 children and adolescents in Brazil that are waiting to join new families. As part of this year's week-long event, the Mato Grosso Association of Research and Adoption Support is also hosting lectures, seminars and recreation for the children and adolescent orphans. A second statement released Wednesday by the committee stressed the minors were never obligated to appear on the catwalk. 'No child or teenager was forced to attend the event and they all expressed to the organizers the joy at being able to participate at a time like this,' the Mato Grosso Association of Research and Adoption Support said. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson continued his feud with congressional Democrats, hitting back at Rep. Ilhan Omar after she accused him of being 'not fully awake' during congressional testimony. The spat with the Minnesota Democrat came after a tense exchange Carson had with Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who badgered Carson during a hearing with questions about the state of the nation's public housing. 'Yes or no, if left unaddressed ... do you believe that substandard public housing conditions pose a risk to tenants' physical mental and emotional health,' Pressley asked him. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson hit back at Rep. Ilhan Omar after she made fun of his congressional testimony 'Yes or no?' Pressley pressed him. 'You already know the answer to that,' Carson responded in a sluggish voice. 'I know the answer. Do you know the answer?' she snapped. After several rounds of back and forth, Carson told her: 'reclaiming my time' a phrase that lawmakers use when overseeing testimony of witnesses. 'You don't get to do that,' she told him. After the hearing, Rep. Omar came to her colleague's defense. She tweeted a link to the exchange, then wrote: 'Not sure he was fully awake, maybe he meant to reclaim his time back to sleep,' she wrote Tuesday night. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., engaged in tense questioning of Carson at a House banking committee hearing 'I know the answer. Do you know the answer?' Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., told Carson in tense questioning IS COFFEE AVAILABLE? Rep. Ilhan Omar quipped that perhaps Carson 'meant to reclaim his time back to sleep' Omar wrote she wasn't sure Carson was 'fully awake' Carson responded by attacking her position on abortion Carson, a former pediatric neurosurgeon who wrote a book, 'Gifted Hands,' about his rise from a troubled youth, hit back on Twitter, Fox News reported. 'Since you brought it up... I know what it's like to actually be sleepy, especially after 18-hour surgeries and operating on babies in the womb. I hope @IlhanMN knows I care about all people, even those she doesn't recognize as having a right to life.' The line was a shot at her stance on abortion. Omar has slammed state restrictions on abortion rights, and tweeted ''Women's rights are human rights.' Carson, who was confirmed by a vote of 58-41 in the Senate despite his lack of housing experience and never having run a federal entity, also flubbed under questioning by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California, who wanted to know if he knew what an REO was a reference to real estate-owned rates. 'Do you know what an REO is?' Porter asked him. 'An Oreo?' Carson responded. 'No. Not an Oreo. 'An R-E-O. An R-E-O,' Porter responded. Carson tried to clean up the mess on Twitter. 'OH, REO! Thanks, @RepKatiePorter Carson wrote on Twitter, posting a pictures of him holding a bag of the cookies. 'Enjoying a few post-hearing snacks. Sending some your way!' China already has the world's fastest commercial train system, but the country's engineers want their passengers to travel even faster. Beijing has developed and built the first prototype of a magnetic levitation train which engineers claim can travel at a top speed of 600 kilometres per hour (373 miles per hour). The train boasts twice the speed of the Eurostar fleet and could cover the distance between London and Paris in 49 minutes. An experimental prototype of the maglev train rolled off the production line today in the eastern city of Qingdao. Engineers are set to run a series of experiment to test its functionality It could also slash the journey time between Shanghai and Beijing - two of the most important cities in China - from 5.5 hours to 3.5 hours. WHAT ARE 'MAGLEV' TRAINS? Maglev trains use magnets to lift the carriages above the track. This eliminates the need for wheels and therefore any incidence of friction, providing a faster and quieter service. Acceleration and deceleration far exceeds that of conventional trains. And maglev also makes for much smoother journeys. Right now speeds are limited at up to 400 kilometres (250 miles) per hour due to the excessive air resistance encountered at these speeds. But vacuum tube designs could allow them to travel over seven times faster in the future. Advertisement The prototype rolled off the production line today in the eastern city of Qingdao before being showcased to media, reported Xinhua News Agency. Engineers are set to run a series of experiment on it to test its functionality and identify areas to improve. They say the completion of the train means China has achieved a breakthrough in magnetic levitation or maglev technology. A lead engineer told Qingdao Daily that China is now able to build maglev trains independently, and this heralds an even faster development for the country's already massive high-speed train network. The prototype is the result of a three-year-long project initiated by Beijing as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) of the Communist Party. The project was launched in July 2016, and led by state-run China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation. It gathers the country's top locomotive engineers from more than 30 companies, universities and research institutes. The prototype is the result of a three-year-long project initiated by the central government The project gathers the country's top engineers from more than 30 companies and institutes Chinese experts say the completion of the train means China has achieved a breakthrough in maglev technology. They have worked with German experts to build maglev in Shanghai Currently, the Chinese 'Fuxing' bullet trains do not use the maglev technology and they operate at a top speed of 350 kilometres per hour (217 miles per hour). China has the world's first commercial maglev system. The 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) stretch, opened in 2002 in Shanghai, connects Shanghai Pudong Airport and the city center. It reportedly cost more than 1 billion to build. It was jointly developed by Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co. Ltd and a German consortium consisting of Siemens AG, Thyssen Transrapid GMBH and Transrapid International GMBH. China opened the world's first commercial maglev system in 2002 in Shanghai (pictured) The trains runs up to 431 kilometres per hour (267 miles per hour) and is the world's fastest commercial train system to date. Ding Sansan, the Deputy Head Engineer of the new maglev project, told reporters that the prototype carriages were capable of hovering above the track during a stationary experiment. Ding's team are building five more prototypes and an engineering prototype is expected to be complete in 2020. They expect to test the trains on commercial train tracks in 2021. The world's fastest train was built by Japan, but it has yet to be put into commercial use. The maglev train, operated by Japan Railways Group, set the world record after reaching 603 kilometers per hour (374 miles per hour) on an experimental track in 2016. Japanese engineers have built a maglev train which reached 603kph (374 mph) in 2016 China has also started looking into creating a 'high-speed flying train' that could reach speeds of 4,000 kilometres per hour (2,485 miles per hour), according to previous reports. The 'flying train' is a passenger pod that travels through a vacuum tube using maglev technology - similar to Elon Musk's Hyperloop, which is looking to reach speeds of 1,200 kilometres per hour (760 miles per hour). If the project goes through as planned, this super train could move at four times the speed of commercial flights and three times the speed of sound. A Florida judge has shocked legal experts by acquitting a woman accused of fracturing her baby girl's skull, denying prosecutors a chance to re-try the case after a hung jury. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mark Blumstein took the unusual step on Thursday after a jury deadlocked in trial of 34-year-old April Fox for aggravated child abuse of 10-month-old Sophia in 2015. Fox's defense was that the child had brittle bones and a genetic disorder that led her to suffer bone fractures after an accidental fall. 'I'm really trying to get some picture of what happened that day,' Blumstein told the parties after dismissing the jury, according to the Miami Herald. 'I'm not surprised about what the jury came to, and someone beyond any human in the court will have to answer those questions. But in light of what I heard, and after hearing the presentation from the state, I don't think it's going to change with any retrial of this case.' Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mark Blumstein (left) took the unusual step on Thursday of acquitting 34-year-old April Fox (right) for aggravated child abuse after a jury deadlocked Blumstein told Fox: 'This is four years since this incident happened. You've heard the court's concerns over the course of this case. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this case and what happened. There are unanswered questions, no doubt.' 'None of us here were there, except maybe you and people that you know. Certainly none of the attorneys were there to know what happened,' he continued. A juror told the Herald that two members of the six-juror panel believed there was reasonable doubt, with one in particular insisting that the lack of eyewitness testimony was troubling. The juror said that the other four jurors wanted to convict Fox. Blumstein is an elected judge, and elections in Florida's circuit courts are held without party affiliations. Prosecutors were stunned that they would not have the opportunity to re-try the case. Legal experts say it is highly unusual for a judge to dismiss charges outright in a serious felony case. Fox was arrested in June 2015 after bringing her daughter Sophia to Jackson Memorial Hospital with multiple skull fractures. Doctors also found partially healed fractured to the girl's arm and leg, indicating prior injuries. Blumstein, a Navy veteran, is seen campaigning for election in 2016. Elections in Florida's circuit courts are held without party affiliations. Fox was the girl's sole caretaker at the time, and prosecutors alleged that she had inflicted the injuries by beating the girl. However at trial, her defense team argued that Sophia suffered from brittle bones and a genetic disorder. They say the girl was susceptible to fractures from everyday care, and may have had a dulled sensitivity to pain that led to the previous fractures going unnoticed. Despite brain damage from the skull fracture and bleeding, Sophia can now walk and talk, and was adopted after Florida child services stripped Fox of her parental custody. Despite the acquittal, Fox will not regain custody of the girl. Fox now faces trial in Broward County over separate charges of practicing law without a license. Investigators say that she offered legal assistance in matters of child support, criminal cases, and foreclosures. The case came to light when Fox sued one of her alleged clients for nonpayment. Until last night, Id never watched Game of Thrones. And when I say never watched, I mean I had literally not seen a single second of it. Not voluntarily, anyway. Of course, like everyone, Ive had to endure years of being inadvertently exposed to trailers, posters and constant social media buzz about the show. But all that incessant publicity merely cemented my view that it was something I would travel continents to avoid sitting down to actually watch. This opinion was nothing particularly personal to the most popular HBO series ever made; a show that earned 110 Emmy Awards nominations, and 38 wins. I just dont do fantasy movies or TV series, especially ones that involve dragons, sorcery, zombies, mystical kingdoms, or any of that fantastical claptrap. Game of Thrones is HBO's most popular series ever - but Piers Morgan had never watched an episode before finally dipping into watch five minutes of the finale, and he was not impressed I havent watched any Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter films for the same reason (full disclosure: my sons did once force me to take them to a Lord of the Rings movie but I slept my way through it) nor any Marvel movie, nor any of the Star Wars franchise, nor Walking Dead. Honestly, I would rather spend an evening slowly garrotting myself with a nail-imbedded rope than sit through that kind of nonsense. So when Game of Thrones came to an end this week, amid a hysterical cacophony of wildly over-the-top mania surrounding the final ever episode, I tweeted that it was over-hyped garbage. And all hell broke loose. I was instantly subjected to an unprecedented barrage of mockery and abuse. I was branded soulless, and a loser, and told I was guilty of the greatest oxymoron statement in history. Others called me a bloated old buttsponge and an absolute cabbage. One more reasonable Twitter follower, Joel Turco, responded: Piers, this is like bragging that youve never travelled the world, or eaten chocolate, or had sex, or done any number of the wonderfully enjoyable things available to mankind, and that you never intend to. It doesnt make you edgy or controversial mate. But I wasnt trying to be edgy or controversial. I was just trying to be honest. Piers Morgan recieved a barrage of abuse and sarcastic comments on Twitter when he revealed he had never watched Game of Thrones and believed it would be garbage. He finally relented and watched a few minutes of the finale - and says it proved his initial assumption correct You dont have to actually watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians to know it would kill your brain cells to do so. Smart people know from all the noise surrounding that ridiculous collection of talentless imbeciles and their facile existences that a documentary about their lives is very likely to render you an imbecile too. And so you make a choice to either watch it, or shun it. So it is for me with Game of Thrones. Why would I subject myself to something that I absolutely know I will hate? It would be like being told I could only take one artists music to a desert island, and choosing Madonnas last three albums. But when Trainspotting author and former heroin junkie Irvine Welsh tweeted me to say I was a moron for saying Game of Thrones was over-hyped garbage without ever watching it, I decided to watch some of it, just to see if my instinct was wrong. It was Trainspotting auther Irvine Walsh's tweet that finally persuaded Piers to tune into Game of Thrones for the first time So last night, I downloaded the finale, fast-forwarded through it for a bit, and then hit PLAY. For the next few minutes, I watched some annoyingly intense weirdy-beardy bloke stumbling through fake snow to kiss an albino looking woman, and then stab her to death as he did so, which seemed a rather extreme reaction to a bad snog. Her actual crime, apparently, was that she said she wanted to free the world of all tyrants, which seems a laudable ambition. But this admission apparently enraged annoying weirdy-beardy so much he felt the need to kill her, mumbling You will always be my queen.. before sticking a blade in her heart. Piers Morgan was not a fan of 'weirdy-beardy' Jon Snow or his 'albino looking' love interest Daenerys Targaryen Then, as annoying weirdy-beardy started blubbing like a baby, a large angry dragon appeared and went nuts at him before very inappropriately rubbing its nose-flaring face across albino womans freshly slain torso. Obviously, none of this made any sense to me - but it didnt need to. I was literally laughing out loud, almost hysterically. THIS was what everyone was going crazy over? THIS was the greatest TV drama ever made? THIS was award-winning iconic art? Hilarious. No, no, no. THIS was everything I had assumed it would be, only even worse. How could any grown adult watch this ridiculous bilge and take it remotely seriously? I grew out of Dungeons and Dragons when I was 12. After watching Jon kill Dany, and a dragon mourn over her corpse, Piers wondered how 'any grown adult watch this ridiculous bilge and take it remotely seriously' This is the same preposterous thing, only with the addition of sickeningly depraved sex, sleazy whorehouses, shocking incest, and witches giving birth to murderous smoke monster babies. Those who profess to love it are as bonkers as the show itself. Comically, the whole final season, and in particular the finale, was roundly condemned on social media for being absolutely terrible by Game of Thrones own supposed fans. There was even a petition, signed by over a million people, to have it all rewritten and filmed again so that they could get it done the way they wanted. They hated it even more than I did, and I didnt even watch it. These fans are the same kind of absurd millennial snowflakes who refuse to accept Donald Trump became President, and still demand Hillary Clinton be installed into the White House because SHE WON THE POPULAR VOTE! Piers says GOT fans are the same kind of absurd millennial snowflakes who refuse to accept Donald Trump became President, and still demand Hillary Clinton be installed into the White House Its the spoiled entitled attitude that prevails when we let our kids all win a participation prize in school sport and tell them how wonderful they are even when they come last. Game of Thrones fans, as I discovered this week, are horrible, mean-spirited and shockingly humourless people that spew mindless abuse at anyone who doesnt share their view thats its the greatest TV ever produced. In one sense it might be worthy of that claim: I can appreciate, from the little I saw, that Game of Thrones was indeed brilliantly produced, with amazing scenery and camerawork. But in the end, what was the point of it all? It was just a bunch of outlandish characters in silly costumes running around fornicating with people they shouldnt be fornicating with, and killing anyone who gets in their way. It shamelessly promoted bullying, manipulation, stupidity, sadism, misogyny malice, sexism, greed, rape and brutality. And the good guys always ended up dead while the villains invariably survived and thrived. It was like a reverse James Bond movie. The hero equivalent of 007 in this series, I was told, is someone called Jon Snow. Turns out hes the annoying beardy-weirdy guy in the finale who savagely murders the woman he loves as she kisses him. SERIOUSLY? THAT was the GOOD guy? If Snow lived in the real world right now, hed be #MeTooed, #TimesUpped and jailed faster than he could murmur You will always be my queen.. Forget the fantasy for a moment, and lets get real: Game of Thrones was a miserable, depressing and barbaric televisual atrocity packed with absurd characters, incredible (literally!) storylines, ropey old acting and a message that lifes bloody awful so you may as well be awful too. I dont mourn its demise I joyously celebrate it. Like I said before I even watched it, it was just fantastical over-hyped garbage. A teenager who was raped after a party while her friends slept metres away takes two 30-minute showers a day just to feel clean. Stephen Anthony Coombes, 30, pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court to raping the 19-year-old in June 2017 and was jailed for five years. However, the predator could walk free after just 15 months behind bars as his sentence was suspended for five years after that time. A teenager who was raped after a party while her friends slept metres away takes two 30-minutes showers a day just to feel clean (stock image) The pair talked at the party in Redcliffe on June 30, 2017, before going to bed in separate room about 2am, the Courier Mail reported. Coombes crept in about 5.30am to find her asleep on a single mattress. Two of her friends were lying nearby but that did not deter him. The victim awoke to him pulling off her jeans and when she told him 'no' he pressed his hand against her neck. She told police she found it difficult to breathe and her voice was muffled while she was molested and raped for 15-20 minutes. The victim awoke to him pulling off her jeans and when she told him 'no' he pressed his hand against her neck (stock image) After it was over she immediately woke her friends to tell them, then reported the rape to police who later arrested Coombes. Prosecutor Benjamin Jackson told the court the victim is fearful of sleep and suffers nightmares, and takes two 30-minutes showers a day because she feels 'dirty'. Coombes lawyer told the court he was so drunk during the rape he had 'very little memory' of it, and was expecting a baby with his partner in August. A Florida teenager is convinced that he spotted the Loch Ness monster while on vacation in Canada, 4,000 miles away from the lake where the mythical creature supposedly lives. Matthew D'Amico claims to have captured the elusive aquatic beast on camera while swimming in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The university student, 17, saw a 'long neck protruding out of the water' and quickly managed to snap pictures. He revealed: 'All the hairs on my body went up as I became astonished at what I saw in the water. Matthew D'Amico claims to have captured the elusive aquatic beast on camera while swimming in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. He captured a long protruding object, which he claims to be the monster known as 'Nessie', jutting out of the water 'I recently took a trip to Alberta, Canada, for my sister's sweet 16th birthday to see wildlife. 'It was when admiring the beautiful view in front of us when I spotted the strange creature. 'After an hour hiking, we took a break on a hill with a great view of Bow River where my sister and I saw what appeared to be a prehistoric animal swimming.' He said he subsequently pointed out the 'creature' to his sister and both of them stood in disbelief at what they saw. 'I immediately took photos, and after evaluating them, my sister and I responded with the same conclusion - the Loch Ness Monster. 'I made no hesitation to rush taking out my camera and capture photos. 'My sister ran off to the rest of my family to bring them while I stayed and took photos.' Reports of Loch Ness date back to sixth century Scotland - but the existence of the creature was given credence after a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson was published. The existence of the creature was given credence after a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson was published. However the image was later exposed as a hoax The university student, 17, saw a 'long neck protruding out of the water' and quickly managed to snap pictures at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, (pictured) The image was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged. D'Amico added: 'I have what I believe to be the most accurate photos of the Loch Ness Monster that has been captured since the 1933 photo. 'Sadly, my parents and sister did not make it quick in time before the creature disappeared below the surface. 'But when I showed the photos to my family, they also were astonished and thought the same thing. It definitely looks like the Loch Ness Monster.' The river where DAmico snapped his pictures is about 4000 miles away from Loch Ness in Scotland. Sightings of the Loch Ness Monster have set new global records in recent years. There were 11 accepted sightings in 2017 which were the highest this century. According to Google, there are around 200,000 searches each month for the Loch Ness Monster, and around 120,000 for information and accommodation close to Loch Ness. The monster mystery is said to be worth $38 million to the local region. John Lowe (pictured with some of the puppies on his farm) murdered a mother and her daughter with a shotgun in 2014 A pensioner who shot his partner and her daughter dead on his puppy farm had previously had his guns returned by police despite threatening another relative, an inquest has heard. John Lowe was 82 when he murdered Christine Lee, 66, and Lucy Lee, 40, at Keepers Cottage Stud in Farnham, Surrey. Lucy's harrowing 999 call, in which she says her mother has been shot, was played at Surrey Coroner's Court today as an inquest into their deaths opened. 'I'm running for my life,' she can be heard saying. 'He's just shot my mum. John Lowe.' After giving her address several times she says: 'He's going to shoot me,' adding: 'I doubt if I'm going to be alive if I go back in there.' Lowe was convicted of murder in 2014, jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years and has since died in prison. The previous year he'd had his firearms confiscated after threatening to kill Lucy's sister, Stacey Banner, only for police to hand them back before he committed the double murder. Lucy Lee (pictured, right) called police in a harrowing 999 call played at today's inquest. She told operator that her mother (pictured, left) had been shot dead by the farmer and begged for help shortly before being killed An inquest is now examining how aware police and others were of the threat he posed. Coroner Richard Travers told the jury at Surrey Coroner's Court today: 'Some of the evidence you will hear is controversial and contradictory because the accounts of friends and family do differ, and on the whole you will not have to resolve these differences or decide precisely where the truth lies.' He said jurors' task would be to decide 'what information (friends and family) may have given to the police and other agencies'. Christine and Lowe first met in the 1980s after she had left her abusive husband and moved with her children to Surrey, visiting his property to buy a puppy. Despite the fact he was married to a woman named Sue Wilson, Ms Lee and her daughters, Lucy and Stacey Banner, later moved to the property and lived with Lowe and Ms Wilson. The jury was told the girls came to regard Ms Wilson as a 'second mum'. Lowe and Ms Lee's relationship ended several years later and she and her family left the property, but in 2013, when Ms Wilson was unwell, Ms Banner returned to the property to care for her and help run the dog-breeding business. Lowe threatened Ms Banner with a shotgun after a row in June 2013, the court heard. John Lowe (pictured) was 82 when he murdered Lucy Lee and he mother Christine. An inquest is examining how much police knew about the threat that he posed and today jurors heard he also threatened Stacey Banner (right) Mr Travers said: 'A series of significant events followed. (Ms Banner) telephoned the police and told them he had pointed a shotgun at her and said he would kill her if she ever returned. 'Surrey Police attended Keepers Cottage, they removed John Lowe's shotguns and undertook an investigation into an allegation of threats to kill. 'Mr Lowe denied threatening to kill Ms Banner and she made a statement saying she did not support John Lowe's prosecution. 'No further action was taken and in July 2013 Surrey Police made the decision that John Lowe's shotguns could be returned to him.' Following Ms Banner's departure, her mother returned to the property to care for Lowe and the animals, while Lucy Lee also stayed on the property at times. The court heard that after his arrest by specialist firearms officers, Lowe told them: 'They're starving me to death. I have to beg them for money.' He later said: 'This must look terrible to outsiders, what's happened, but I assure you nothing else could be done.' He added while he was in custody that he had needed 'to put them down'. Lowe also said: 'A lot of things will go in my favour about how they acted, but you can't get past the fact I shot them,' and: 'If they hadn't gone all f****** mental at me I wouldn't have pulled the trigger.' Mr Travers said to the jury: 'What contact did Surrey Police have with Christina and Lucy Lee? What assessment of risk was passed to Lucy Lee?' He told the jurors they would have to consider what knowledge the police had of the domestic issues at Keepers Cottage. Orphaned children of an Islamic State fighter who are being held in a Syrian refugee camp could soon be returned to Australia as political pressure continues to build. The three children, aged between six and 12, were taken from Australia to Syria when their parents Yasin Rizvic and Fauzia Khamal Bacha joined the terrorist group in 2014. Rizvic, from Bosnia, had been a senior figure at the Al-Furqan Islamic centre in Melbourne which was often linked to radical extremism before its closure in 2015. He died while fighting for the terrorist group in 2016. Bacha later died also, yet circumstances around her death are not known. The young children have been stranded in the Kurdish-controlled al-Hawl refugee camp in western Syria since their parents were killed, ABC reported. However, the children could soon be returned to Australia. The young children have been stranded in the Kurdish-controlled al-Hawl refugee camp in western Syria since their parents were killed Yasin Rizvic (pictured) from Bosnia, had been senior figure at the Al-Furqan centre in Melbourne which was often linked to radical extremism The Australian has reported three children, believed to be of Bosnian background, were likely to be the first children from the war to be returned home. It's unclear whether the orphans mentioned are Rizvic's children. Australian authorities have reportedly been working to move the children to Lebanon or Iraq, where they would meet with an Australian consular official before being flown to Melbourne. Authorities have also been trying to locate relatives in Australia who could take the children, but it is understood the children do not have much in terms of extended family in the country. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the children shouldnt be made to suffer but stood firm on the government stance that no Australian official would be put in harms way to extradite them from a conflict zone. 'When it comes to children, we will deal with each and every case on its merits, but in every single case we will be putting the security of Australians at the top of the list.' Khaled Sharrouf (far right) and Abdullah, 12, and Zarqawi, 11, were killed alongside in September 2017 in a US air strike on ISIS territory The orphaned children (pictured) of notorious terrorist Khaled Sharrouf could be back on Australian soil in a matter of weeks (Zaynab, top left; Hoda, top right; Humzeh, bottom centre; Abdullah, bottom right; Zarqawi, bottom left) Who was Yasin Rizvic? Yasin Rizvic settled in Australia after fleeing war-torn Bosnia in 1990s He was a close associate of Harun Mehicevic, the founder of the Al-Furqan Da'wah Centre in Melbourne Rizvic is believed to have left Australia with his wife and children around 2014 Advertisement Pressure has been mounting from the United States Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces to have citizens returned home as soon as possible. There are 40 surviving Australian women and children who were caught up in the bloody battle for Baghouz. The three youngest children of notorious terrorist Khaled Sharrouf have also been kept at the refugee camp. The children have been pleading for help to return to Australia, however, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that national security was his number one priority. Zaynab, 17, Hoda, 16, and Humzeh, 8, were taken to Syria by their parents, who have since died. Zaynab now has two toddler daughters and is heavily pregnant with a third child. Mr Morrison said last month the government had been working with international aid workers to repatriate them. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of posing as a disabled American in order to escape the Vietnam War draft. Trump never served in uniform, earning five deferments from the draft including a medical exemption, for 'bone spurs.' Asked Thursday during a Washington Post event whether Trump should have followed 2.7 million other Americans into active duty, Buttigieg didn't skip a beat. 'I have a pretty dim view of his decision to use his privileged status to fake a disability in order to avoid serving in Vietnam,' he said. Later Buttigieg ad-libbed a comparison between himself and the real estate tycoon with a lengthy TV pedigree. 'I don't have a problem standing up to somebody who was working on Season Seven of "Celebrity Apprentice" when I was packing my bags for Afghanistan,' he said. Buttigieg, a 37-year-old veteran, is the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He would be the youngest president in U.S. history. He would also be the first openly gay American leader. He served as a reserve Navy intelligence officer and was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months in 2014. Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday for dodging the Vietnam War draft; Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is a veteran who served in Afghanistan Service: Peter Buttigieg served in Afghanistan as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer, taking leave from his role as mayor of South Bend to be deployed Trump has long been dogged by stories of how he obtained draft exemptoions in the 1960s nad 1970s, including a medical deferment based on a bone spur Trump was briefly considered available for the Vietnam War draft in 1966 and 1968 (class '1-A') but spent most of his time on the Selective Service rolls in a student deferment ('2-S') or available only in a 'national emergency' ('1-Y') before ultimately being disqualified ('4-F') Asked if he thought Trump actually faked a disability, he shot back: 'Do you believe he has a disability?' 'That's exactly what he did,' Buttigieg declared, saying the president had engaged in 'manipulating the ability to get a diagnosis.' 'If you were a conscientious objector, I'd admire that,' he said. 'But this is somebody who, I think it's fairly obvious to most of us, took advantage of the fact that he was the child of a multimillionaire in order to pretend to be disabled so that somebody could go to war in his place.' Trump is seen in high school, a few years before he was exempted from the draft The president famously received five separate draft deferments during the 1960s and 70s, including one for a medical condition a bone spur in his heel that the diagnosing doctor's children said last year was a 'favor' for Trump's late father. As candidate Trump navigated the instant firestorm of his early verbal slams at Sen. John McCain, dismissing his iconic war-hero status because 'he was captured,' he was asked to explain why he never served in uniform. After an unperturbed Trump told reporters that day about his bone spur, he waved off a question about which foot had been the problem, saying someone would 'have to check the records.' He later claimed it was both. Trump told radio shock-jock Howard Stern in 1997 that surviving the sex-fueled 1980s in Manhattan was his 'personal Vietnam.' He said bed-hopping with models made him feel like a 'great and very brave soldier,' and that he was 'lucky' to escape without a venereal disease. Stern said that, in private, he and Trump had previously compared every woman's vagina to a 'potential land mine.' 'There is some real danger there,' Trump joked during the broadcast. Ultimately he conceded to New Hampshire voters in 2015 that he felt 'a little guilty' for not serving in Vietnam. McCain said months before he died that he didn't fault Trump for finding a way to avoid the draft, but criticized the loopholes that gave sons of the wealthy a way out. He had said in a 2017 C-SPAN interview that the U.S. military 'drafted the lowest-income level of America, and the highest-income level found a doctor that would say they had a bone spur.' Later on 'The View,' he put the obvious jab at the president in perspective. 'I don't consider him so much a draft dodger as I feel that the system was so wrong, that certain Americans could evade their responsibilities to serve the country,' McCain said. Podiatrist Larry Braunstein rented his office (above) in the Queens neighborhood of Jamaica from Trump's father. His daughters claim he diagnosed Trump with bone spurs as a favor in exchange for commercial rent exemptions from his father Fred The daughters of a now-dead podiatrist have claimed that he provided Trump's bone spur diagnosis in exchange for commercial rent concessions from the future president's father Fred. Elysa Braunstein, 56, and Sharon Kessel, 53, made the sensational claim to the New York Times, claiming their father Dr. Larry Braunstein diagnosed Trump in 1968. Dr. Braunstein died in 2007, and the Times was unable find any documentary evidence to back up the daughters' claims. The daughters are both Democrats and say they do not like the president. 'I know it was a favor,' Elysa Braunstein told the Times, adding that her father had implied that Trump did not have the foot ailment that disqualified him from military service. 'But did he examine him? I don't know.' As president, Trump has made two separate trips to Vietnam including an aborted summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. And he has slammed Connecticut Democratic Sen. Dick Blumenthal as 'Da Nang Dick' for exaggerating his military service record to include overseas service in Vietnam that never happened. Contrary to his claims, Blumenthal was never deployed to Vietnam as part of his Marine Corps Reserve service. He later confessed that he had 'misspoken about my service, and I regret that and I take full responsibility.' Two men convicted over the Russell Street bombing have been charged over the abduction and rape of two women in Melbourne three decades ago. Peter Michael Komiazyk, 61, from Kalorama, faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday over 38 offences including abduction by force and aggravated rape. He is also known as Peter Reed. The separate assaults occurred in South Yarra on November 22 in 1985 and allegedly at bomber Craig Minogue's house in Nunawading on March 26, 1986 - a day before the bombing. Peter Michael Komiazyk, 61 (pictured), from Kalorama faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday over 38 offences including abduction by force and aggravated rape Minogue, 56, who is in custody at Barwon Prison over the 1986 police complex bombing that killed 21-year-old Constable Angela Taylor, is also believed to have been involved in the assaults, Detective Senior Const Tony Benham said. Both men have been charged with 38 offences including abduction by force and aggravated rape over the historic assaults. Minogue is due to face court on June 14. 'Police allege Komiazyk committed in connection with Craig Minogue and he is currently serving a sentence,' Det Sen Const Tony Benham told the court. Another Russell Street bomber Stan Taylor was also said to be involved in dragging a woman off the street before she was raped for hours by multiple people in 1986, Det Sen Const Benham said. The first victim was 'blindfolded, bound, gagged and threatened with death', he added. Craig Minogue (left) is in custody at Barwon Prison over the 1986 police complex bombing that killed 21-year-old Constable Angela Taylor (right) The second assault allegedly occurred at bomber Craig Minogue's (pictured) house in Nunawading on March 26, 1986 On the eve of the Russell Street bombing, a second victim was abducted before being raped allegedly at Minogue's residential property. '(She) was forced into degrading acts and had her life threatened over hours by at least three (people) ... and then was showered by them,' Det Sen Const Benham said. 'DNA swabs identifies Komiazyk, Minogue and Taylor.' He added police had been notified of Komiazyk's DNA match along with his two co-accused in 2017, and had been under investigation since. The March 27, 1986 bombing (pictured) injured 21 people and killed police Constable Angela Taylor, who was engulfed in fire Paramedics arrive at the scene of the bombing, which occurred about 1pm on March 27, 1986 Komiazyk was acquitted over any involvement in the 1987 bombing but was jailed for 13 years for the attempted murder of two police he shot at during raids connected to the bombing. Prosecutor Senior Constable Joshua Wood said Komiazyk was 'an unacceptable risk' to be given bail. Defence lawyer Steven Pica said Komiazyk was arrested on Thursday outside his psychologist's office, his car rammed and forced onto the ground. Two men connected to the Russell Street bombing (pictured) have been charged over the abduction and gang rape of two women in Melbourne three decades ago Craig Minogue, now 56, was convicted for the 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters (pictured) in Melbourne Komiazyk, who cannot turn his head well, appeared in court with grazes across his bloodied right cheek and around his eye from the arrest. Mr Pica said his client had depression, a double hip replacement, took sleeping tablets, anti-inflammtories and blood pressure medication. Magistrate Barry Schultz said the nature of the offending would not allow him to grant bail. '... some of the most serious examples of sexual offences the court had heard. Groups of men subjecting women to indignities that they would never recover from. It is the sort of offending that requires a substantial sentence,' he said. Komiazyk has been remanded to appear in the same court on Friday. Two Chick-fil-A employees have been pictured helping to change a customer's flat tire after he broke down at the drive-thru - before handing him fresh food and two extra cookies for free. Brian Hall posted a picture of the men in uniform holding up his truck at the Chattanooga, Tennessee branch of the fast food chain. In his Facebook post Brian, 32, from Dallas, called the men 'saints' after they 'rushed out' to help him. He wrote: 'Bunch of saints over at the chickfila in east ridge! My tire somehow went flat in the drive through so they rushed out to replace it for me with their hydraulic Jack.' These two Chick-fil-A employees have been pictured helping to change a customer's flat tire The two workers, pictured, also gave Brian Hall fresh food and two extra cookies for free As well as helping with the tire the men also gave married Brian fresh, hot food - and put two cookies in his bag for free. The carpenter added: 'They brought my food out to me then after it was done replaced my food with new fresh food so it wouldn't be cold and put two cookies in there for free! Those people are truly doing the lord's work over there!' His post on May 11 has since been shared hundreds of times with Facebook users labeling the men 'awesome'. Speaking to the DailyMail.com Brian said: 'They rushed out when they saw what happened and wouldn't let me do a thing. 'I am a carpenter and work with my hands a lot so it was a little funny letting other people do that for me but they insisted. 'Their kindness was overwhelming in the middle of a somewhat awkward situation. They truly went above and beyond to be Christ-like.' Brian, pictured with his wife Shelby, called the men 'saints' after they 'rushed out' to help him The men worked at the Chattanooga, Tennessee branch, pictured, of the fast food chain He added: 'It probably only took 20 min but they were really great about it. I knew it wasn't because of profits or anything because they have two lines so it didn't slow down business at all.' DailyMail.com has contacted Chick-fil-A for comment. Friends of a schoolboy who died after apparently falling from a climbing frame in his school playground have told their parents about the tragic accident. The little boy passed away two hours after paramedics were called to Cherry Lane Primary School in West Drayton, west London yesterday lunchtime. Police have said only that 'a child was taken unwell' but parents of other children at the school say he fell from a climbing frame during playtime and hit his head. An 11-year-old boy died after reportedly falling from a climbing frame at this London school One mother told the Evening Standard that her son said to her: 'Mummy I saw him and he fell and hit his head on the floor. 'He lay there holding his head with his eyes open and when he tried to get up that's when his eyes closed and he went to sleep.' Another parent of a child at the school said that he understands the little boy's younger sister has not been told of his death yet, as his parents are unsure how she will cope with the shock. Pictures of the school's playground show a line of swings, chains and wooden frames which children often tried to cross without touching the floor. The apparatus is cordoned off today as police investigate. Hundreds of upset local residents have paid tribute to the little boy online. Friends of the family say they will offer their support. Parents of other children at the school say they will offer their support to the boy's famil In a statement on the school's website said: 'Out of respect for the bereaved parents and their relatives, and following advice from the police, we have not made a statement following today's tragedy. 'Our priority is to support the emotional well-being of our pupils, following the events of today. There will be a letter uploaded to the website and sent home tomorrow.' A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'Police were called at 11.50am on Wednesday, May 22 to a primary school in West Drayton following reports of a child taken unwell. 'Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended. The 11-year-old boy was taken to a West London hospital where sadly he died at 1.33pm. 'Next of kin have been informed. The death is currently being treated as unexplained, although at this early stage, it is not believed to be suspicious. 'Officers are liaising with the school and local partners. Enquiries are ongoing.' Silurian Border Morrismen had voted to scrap the black face paint for their Boxing Day Tour to avoid causing offence in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. The group today performed their English folk dance routine to crowds of onlookers in Ledbury, Herefordshire, with their faces painted dark green instead. Silurian foreman Ian Craigan admitted some people 'feel it is a step too far' but wants to be 'on the right side of things' to help attract new members to the club. He added: 'It would be foolish to pretend everyone in the side is happy with the decision. There are people who feel it is a step too far or a compromise. But the main purpose is to dance and share the tradition which is unique to Silurian which is more important than what we wear or how we decorate ourselves.' It is believed black soot was historically worn by the English folk dancers as a disguise so they could beg for money without getting in trouble with the law. Morris dancer Chris Mulvey, 71, admitted the majority of the group would like to have continued with the black disguise - but felt it was the right time to change. Pictured left, top right and bottom right: Silurian Border Morrismen performing in green today. Inset: Morris dancers in Ledbury with the black paint they used to use. In the span of just two years, Paul Manafort has gone from one of Washington's most sought-after Republican lobbyists to a political pariah with a shattered family. 'My life - personally and professionally - is in shambles,' he told Judge T.S. Ellis III, in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia on March 7. 'The last two years have been the most difficult years for my family. Humiliated and would be a gross understatement.' He laid it on thicker to the next sentencing judge, Amy Berman Jackson, in Washington D.C. on March 13: 'I will be 70 years old in a few weeks. My wife is 66. She needs me. I need her. Please let me and my wife be together.' Self-pitying certainly, but hardly wrong. Sitting in a wheelchair and contemplating the real prospect of dying behind bars, Manafort was diminished in every way, the extravagantly-tailored and immaculately connected powerbroker who could ask for millions for his counsel now wearing prison green as he asked not for money but compassion. Typically though, the whole story was not on display; in recent years, Manafort had betrayed his wife with a mistress 30 years his junior who he put up in a New York apartment and handed an unlimited credit card. That infidelity was only another staging post on the long and spectacular fall from grace for the 69-year-old former Trump campaign manager, the son of a small-town mayor who went on to work for four U.S. presidents and made his fortune as the Washington mouthpiece for some of the world's most notorious dictators. Today Manafort has few defenders in the nation's capital, after being convicted of tax fraud and money laundering by special counsel Robert Mueller - who first secured a guilty verdict from a jury then a plea deal on the eve of a second trial. Even Manafort's former boss, President Trump, claimed he never would have hired the former lobbyist if he had known about the allegations. 'Paul Manafort came into the campaign very late and was with us for a short period of time (he represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole & many others over the years), but we should have been told that Comey and the boys were doing a number on him, and he wouldn't have been hired!' wrote Trump in a Twitter post in June 2018. The president had faced Manafort co-operating with Robert Mueller 'fully and truthfully.' But even that was beyond the ability of Manafort, who Mueller's prosecutors charge lied to them after his agreement to cooperate. The power brokers: Paul Manafort, his future business partners Roger Stone and Lee Atwater, were photographed as young Republican operatives. Stone, a Trump confidante and notorious political dirty trickster is now fighting off the Mueller probe himself; Atwater died in 1991, a former RNC chairman with a reputation for dirty campaigns. All three cashed in on their political work by lobbying those they got elected Manafort, the grandson of an Italian immigrant, was raised in a staunch Republican home in New Britain, Connecticut. When he was 16, his father Paul John Manafort Sr. was elected mayor of New Britain and served for three terms. In 1981, Manafort Sr. was indicted but later acquitted on perjury charges in a sweeping city corruption and bribery scandal that also ensnared the police and fire chiefs. After Catholic parochial schools and graduating from Georgetown University Law School, Manafort went on to work as an advisor for Republican Presidents Gerald Ford. It is unclear why he was not drafted for Vietnam. He went on to serve as an advisor to Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole's presidential campaign. But he worked out how to turn political advising into a gusher of cash: by lobbying the very politicians they had helped elect. He co-founded a prominent lobbying firm with ex-Nixon aide Roger Stone, and Lee Atwater, another notorious figure, which shopped their access to top Republicans to U.S. businesses, state and city governments, and anyone who would pay. The lobbying would be punctuated by periods of working for campaigns - guaranteeing the access on which they depended if their candidates won (which by and large they did). That came to embrace the wider world too; the Manafort lobbying roster included brutal regimes willing to pay high fees for his services including Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Zaire military leader Mobutu Sese Seko. Betrayed: Kathleen Manafort stood by her husband despite his family finding proof of his mistress on Instagram; she attended every minute of his trial and was there when he said he was flipping Manafort went on to found his own political consulting firm in 2005, bringing on his former intern Rick Gates as his trusted deputy. He also continued to take on controversial clients. In 2010, Manafort helped elect Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, head of Ukraine's Putin-allied Party of Regions. The victory paid off between 2010 and 2014, federal investigators said Manafort's firm earned 'a cash spigot': $60 million in fees from the Party of Regions' political patrons. According to prosecutors, Manafort stashed the funds away in a series of offshore bank accounts and shell companies, and failed to disclose the income in his tax returns. In total, they claim he dodged taxes on $15 million. But after Yanukovych was voted out of power by Ukraine's parliament in 2014, Manafort's fortunes suddenly changed. He stopped getting payments from Yanukovych's wealthy oligarch supporters, and started to have trouble paying his bills. This is when prosecutors claim Manafort started applying for loans using phony financial information. In total, they said he scammed banks out of $20 million. Manafort's then-alleged crimes were uncovered during the course of a special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller, who has been investigating potential Russian interference in the 2016 election and collusion with the Trump campaign. Even before the charges were filed against him, Manafort's personal life had been unravelling, according to years of hacked text messages between his daughters Andrea, 32, and Jessica, 36, that were posted online. According to the messages, Manafort's family had caught him having an affair with a woman who was around the same age as his daughters, renting a pricey house for her in the Hamptons and paying her credit card bill. They discovered the affair after seeing the woman's posts boasting about her expensive travel and dinners on Instagram. Manafort, who was undergoing an emotional breakdown according to the messages, committed himself to a psychiatric clinic in Arizona in 2015. Texts: Manafort's daughters Jessica (left, with now ex-husband Jeff Yohai, who flipped) and Andrea (right with husband Christopher Shand) exchanged text messages which were hacked revealing his affairs and calling him a psychopath. Jessica has changed her name to Bond, her mother's maiden name Fruits of lobbying: This is the condo overlooking the Potomac where the FBI raided Manafort on orders from Mueller. He bought it for $2.75 million, part of a property empire worth conservatively $15 million After he was released in 2016 - claiming he had 'new insight' into himself - he linked up with the Trump campaign and became the candidate's campaign manager during the crucial months surrounding the Republican National Convention. His daughter Andrea took a different view of that. She wrote in a leaked text to a friend, who was not named in the leak: 'Trump probably has more morals than my dad. Which is really just saying something about my dad. My dad is a psycho!!! At least trump let his wives leave him. Plus, Trump has been a good father.' And she also texted: 'Trump waited a little too long in my opinion, but I can attest to the fact that he has now hired one of the world's greatest manipulators. I hope my dad pulls it off. Then I can sell my memoir with all his dirty secrets for a pretty penny.' But getting in tow with Trump in June 2016, his neighbor in Trump Tower, was to prove catastrophic. Trump in fact fired him in August 2017 when questions about Manafort's dealings with Russians in Ukraine started to surface. Manafort returned to his shadowy lobbying life, but then he was caught up in the Mueller probe. In July 2017 his home in Alexandria was raided before dawn; in October he and his loyal deputy Gates were indicted, with charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, failing to register as foreign agents and conspiracy against the United States. Manafort's legal strategy was to split the cases in two, meaning two separate trials - one for the monetary charges, the second conspiracy and failing to register as a foreign agent. But before they began, Gates took a plea bargain, turning on his boss, agreeing to cooperate fully and truthfully with Mueller. From there Manafort's path was consistently downhill. In Washington D.C. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, proved tough; she had him locked up before trial when Mueller accused him of witness tampering. Turned: Rick Gates That meant he attended his first trial, in Virginia, from jail, walking in every day with federal marshals and walking out in handcuffs. In Virginia, Ronald Reagan-appointee T.S. Ellis III presided over the first trial in August 2018. Manafort and his supporters might have been cheered by his apparent toughness on the Mueller prosecutors, including berating them in front of the jury, and repeated demands for them to hurry up. But when the jury returned its guilty verdicts on eight of the 18 counts, other legal observers said Ellis was making sure the case could not be appealed. Ellis declared a mistrial on the remaining 10 counts, which meant that Mueller could keep them in reserve for a second trial. And if there were any lingering thoughts that the judge had sympathy for the felon, Ellis told Manafort that he would be wearing prison, not regular, clothing for subsequent hearings. The next month his second trial was due to begin but Manafort then decided, finally, to seek a deal with Mueller, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering. He also admitted to most of the 10 charges which the jury could not reach a verdict on the previous month, and - crucially - agreed to cooperate fully and truthfully with Mueller. But he could not even manage that; by November, Mueller filed a court document accusing him of lying in breach of the plea deal. The next month they revealed Manafort's attorney had briefed the White House on his dealings with Mueller. Then in January came a moment which showed Manafort still had the power to shock: Mueller revealed in a court filing that he had passed Trump campaign polling data to Konstantin Kilimnik, his one-time aide who has been named as a suspected Russian intelligence asset. In a February hearing Mueller's prosecutors went further, suggesting Manafort might have lied about passing on the polling data to boost his chances of a presidential pardon. Judge Berman Jackson ruled he had lied and set his sentencing for March; his sentencing in Virginia will come after that. If he were to get a pardon, the peril is hardly over; New York state's attorney general is investigating his tax fraud to see if he could be prosecuted for evading state taxes. Presidential pardons do not apply in state courts. Left in tatters is a reputation, a fortune, and a family. His elder daughter, Jessica Manafort filed to change her name to Jessica Bond in August 2018, after his conviction, telling the Los Angeles Times: 'I am a passionate liberal and a registered Democrat and this has been difficult for me.' Despite the clearly unhappy family, Manafort's wife Kathleen stood by him in the face of his infidelity. She loyally attended each day of his tax fraud trial, always sitting in the row directly behind his defense table. Tarnished legacy: Paul Manafort Sr. was three-term mayor of New Britain, CT Since June 2018, Manafort has been incarcerated in a county jail in Alexandria. Largely held in solitary confinement for his own safety, his health has clearly suffered. He attended some hearings in a wheelchair and his legal team disclosed he had been diagnosed with gout. Perhaps more stinging to his vanity, in a mug shot, the fashion-conscious Manafort sported a jailhouse jumpsuit and shadowy stubble. His brown hair, which he previously dyed, is now tinged with grey. The former lobbyist, who once spent $18,000 on a python skin jacket, has also been forced to attend his trial without socks because he reportedly balked at the white ones he is required to wear as an inmate. He has depression and anxiety and his lawyers complained he had little contact with his family. In letters submitted ahead of his sentence family members pleaded for leniency. But there were no letters from the rich, powerful Republicans who Manafort had counted as his friends. Manafort's conviction even impacted the legacy of his father, the popular three-term mayor in New Britain, Connecticut, from 1965 to 1971. In August 2018 the city changed a street named after the former mayor from 'Paul Manafort Drive' to 'Paul Manafort Sr. Drive.' The Prince of Wales has urged big businesses to do 'a great deal more' to tackle the 'alarming' threat of climate change. Speaking via video message to a summit of corporate lawyers in London, he said there is 'no excuse' not to take immediate action and 'this really is the final call'. It comes as scientists warned that elephants, rhinos and tawny eagles could become extinct within 100 years as they can't adapt to a changing climate fast enough. The study, by a team led by the University of Southampton, also said human activity and habitat destruction was also a factor leading to their extinction. The Prince of Wales said big businesses have `no excuse not to take immediate action to tackle the 'alarming' threat of climate change (Stock photo) Addressing global legal association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, he said we are 'engineering the rapid destruction of the natural world around us, on which we depend for our ultimate survival, along with many of the species with which we share this planet. 'I feel there is a great deal more that can, and must, be done. 'It does not need to be a choice between being profitable on the one hand, and doing the right thing on the other. Both are achievable. 'Ladies and gentlemen, all is not yet totally lost, but this really is the final call.' During the speech Charles referenced a study, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which looked at the impact of global warming raising world temperatures by 1.5 degrees centigrade compared to pre-industrial levels. He was addressing a summit of a global legal association, held in London, via video message. (Pictured) Prince Charles on a royal visit to Belfast to celebrate tourism in the region He went on: 'The report makes it clear that we face a number of truly terrifying and interconnected threats, unless we take really urgent action to limit global temperature rise to 1C or less, since even restraining it to 1.5C will have catastrophic effects. 'Ladies and gentlemen, I feel you really have no excuse not to act on global warming and climate change; the greatest threat multiplier of all. 'With four out of five of the global risks listed by the World Economic Forum for 2019 being environmental, these issues are only going to become vastly more important for your companies, to say nothing of humanity. 'And so there really is no time to lose.' Charles was speaking on behalf of his Accounting for Sustainability project, a nonprofit founded in 2004. It has partnered with the ACC to increase the role of corporate lawyers to advance environmentally responsible and sustainable business practices. A study published today by scientists warned that the world's largest animals including elephants, rhinos and tawny eagles could go extinct in the next 100 years due to climate change A study published today by scientists also warned that the world's large animals could go extinct in 100 years as they can't keep up with climate change. Meanwhile smaller animals like songbirds and gerbils, which can adapt to a wide variety of environments, will thrive, the experts predicted. The researchers estimated that more than 1,000 larger species of mammals and birds will go extinct which could lead to the collapse of ecosystems that humans rely on for food and water. Researchers said that the highly-fertile, insect-eating 'winners' include rodents such as the dwarf gerbil, and songbirds such as the white-browed sparrow-weaver. The study focused on 15,484 living land mammals and birds worldwide using statistical tools. The team, led by the University of Southampton, also predicts that the average body mass of mammals will collectively reduce by 25 per cent over the next century. This decline represents an accelerated change when compared with the 14 per cent reduction in body size observed in species 130,000 years ago. - the last interglacial period. A nudist travel blogger has been accused of desecrating a sacred lagoon after she posted racy photos of her in the water at a Colombian nature reserve. Tatiana Reyes posed with her backside to the camera and her arms outstretched in the water at Paramo de San Turban in the department of Norte de Santander. Other racy snaps showed her beneath a waterfall with nothing but her hands to cover her breasts. Local environmentalist Cesar Rodriguez - who is in charge of keeping the reserve clean - said she had disrespected the site and 'only does it for the popularity.' Tatiana Reyes posed at the lagoon in the Paramo de San Turban nature reserve with her arms outstretched and her backside facing the camera He said: 'We condemn the incident because these are sacred lands, for everyone from Santander to enjoy, and this shows a lack of respect for the natural world that we are trying to take care of.' After Reyes posted the images online she was roundly criticised by other conservationists who said entering the waters is not permitted to avoid contamination. Those working to take care of the nature reserve have asked authorities to restrict the number of tourists visiting as they often throw rubbish in the lagoon. Paramo de San Turban is protected under the Colombian constitution and is renowned for its network of 40 lagoons which supply the local populace with water as well as supporting a diverse variety of flora and fauna. Areas around the lakes have been inhabited by Mayan communities of the Chuj ethnicity for centuries. Reyes told reporters that she is an avid hiker who travels to natural destinations to take nude pictures because she practices 'naturist nudism.' She says she did not want to contaminate the lake but was looking to promote it so more people could appreciate it. She said: 'I have been there several times, and it was the first time that I went into the Paramo de Santurban, it was only five minutes while the picture was being taken. Two other images posted online showed her posing beneath a waterfall at the sacred site - environmentalist Cesar Rodriguez - in charge of keeping the reserve clean - said she 'only does it for the popularity' 'Because I take pictures of myself naked in the places I visit, so it was normal, there is nothing else, there is nothing political, there are no attacks. 'I do not think five or ten minutes inside the water of the lagoon could damage the ecosystem. It was a day with friends and we took a dip and that's all.' She often posts nude snaps in stunning natural locations to her army of 16,600 Instagram followers. This is the hilarious moment a terrified snake handler screams and panics when trying to capture the slithery animal. The video, believed to have been filmed in Singapore, shows a team of men trying to catch the wild animal. It appears from behind a pipe on the outside of a property after being coaxed by the animal control team. A man tries to capture a snake near a property in Singapore by using his foot to trap it on the ground They use a long hooked pole and what looks like a dustpan to try and capture the reptile. After trapping it under the dustpan, the team appears unsure as to how to proceed. While the middle of the snake's body is trapped, its head and tail are thrashing around uncontrollably in a bid to escape. The man leading the capture then uses his foot to bring the snake under control, but they are still no closer to picking it up. A terrified member of the handling team holds on to the snake's tail while screaming as they try to capture it Others stand laughing at a safe distance while the man, who has put on a glove, confronts his fear Another member of the team, who had previously been watching at a distance, is then told to put on a glove and assist with the mission. As he holds on to the snake's tail, it suddenly becomes free and he immediately panics and starts screaming as it coils around his arm. The snake spins around in the air with him and he throws it to the ground and runs away terrified. It is not known if the snake was harmed in the incident. An Australian man imprisoned in Bulgaria has ended his hunger strike against unfair treatment after 33 days without food. Jock Palfreeman is 11 years into a 20-year sentence for fatally stabbing Bulgarian law student Andrei Monov, 20, during a brawl in the capital Sofia in 2007. The Sydney man stopped eating on April 21 to protest the unfair treatment he says he has suffered for his role in the Bulgarian Prisoners' Rehabilitation Association, the country's first prisoner advocacy union. Jock Palfreeman (pictured in 2012) is 11 years into a 20-year sentence for fatally stabbing Bulgarian law student Andrei Monov, 20, during a brawl in the capital Sofia in 2007 The BPRA announced Palfreeman ended his fast on Thursday, as he had been given permission to receive a visit from his family and to give media interviews. 'Jock Palfreeman has ended his hunger strike today on its 33rd day,' the union said in a statement on Facebook. 'The reasons for this are personal. On one hand, this weekend he will be visited by his family, travelling all the way from Australia. On the other - he wants to be able to speak with the media who have contacted the prison requesting interviews.' It's understood Palfreeman's father Simon will be allowed to visit him for the first time in months. Palfreeman's lawyer Kalin Angelov said the hunger strike had been in response to Bulgarian authorities cracking down on the Australian for exposing corruption in the country's prison system and the abuse of inmates Pictured: CCTV footage of night of stabbing Palfreeman's lawyer Kalin Angelov said the hunger strike had been in response to Bulgarian authorities cracking down on the Australian for exposing corruption in the country's prison system and the abuse of inmates. Mr Angelov said Palfreeman had been a model inmate with a completely clean record, until a new national government was elected in May 2017. The incoming administration then began to systematically wind back his privileges, his lawyer said. Mr Angelov said his client had been sacked from his prison job, banned from receiving visitors and denied access to phone cards to contact the outside world. At one point, his lawyer claimed, Palfreeman was also moved from a low-security facility to the Sofia Prison hospital's infectious disease unit, where he was kept with tuberculosis patients in an attempt at 'deliberate infection'. Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Jewish voters in the U.S. feel that American Jews are less safe than they were two years ago and many blame Trump's response to a recent surge in antisemitism, according to a new survey. A majority (71 percent) of Jewish voters disapprove of how Trump has handled antisemitism including recent synagogue shootings, according to the poll of 1,000 Jewish voters by Greenberg Research on behalf of the Jewish Electorate Institute. The poll comes as the Jewish community has been increasingly under siege, with a surge in anti-Semitic attacks in the past two years, according to annual audits of such incidents by the Anti-Defamation League. Last year the ADL identified 1,879 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., including 1,066 cases of harassment, 774 incidents of vandalism and 39 physical assaults. This graph shows the shifting number of antisemitic attacks in America from 1979-2018. Source: Anti-Defamation League '(Among) Jewish Americans, generally there's a great deal of anxiety,' said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of ADL. 'We've seen an increase in in-your-face antisemitism which is altogether alarming,' he told DailyMail.com. 'In addition to the real world antisemitism ... You've seen an explosion in antisemitism online. And the Jewish stereotypes and slander on social media is staggering.' Nearly 60 percent of U.S. Jews think that Trump bears at least partial responsibility for the recent targeted attacks on synagogues. 'We have a Jewish community, not under siege, but facing great insecurity, blaming President Trump for a lot of it, becoming very engaged and politicized by it, and prioritizing a range of domestic issues that align them to vote Democratic in 2020,' pollster Stan Greenberg told the Religion News Service. Trump recently came out to strongly condemn an anti-Semitic cartoon in The New York Times, and to express his condolences for victims of the recent synagogue shooting in Poway, California. 'Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded and stands in solidarity with the Jewish Community,' Trump said at a campaign rally in Green Bay Wisconsin. 'We forcefully condemn the evil of antisemitism and hate, which must be defeated,' he added. Trump's remarks came as GOP leaders are seeking to capture more of the Jewish vote, which has historically gone to Democrats. Earlier this month, major Republican donors gathered at a Las Vegas resort for a briefing on a $10 million or more effort to increase support for Trump, according to Politico. However, critics have said Trump's support for the Jewish community is inconsistent, given his comments following the 2017 white nationalist march in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the time, he characterized anti-Semitic demonstrations including marchers who chanted 'Jews will not replace us' as a 'small group of people' who do not pose a 'rising threat.' Trump does have significant support from Orthodox Jews, who account for roughly 10 percent of the U.S. Jewish population. However, some Democratic members of Congress have recently had to apologize for antisemitic and anti-Zionist comments and tweets and many American Jews are not sure where their interests will be best protected, politically, Greenblatt said. 'I think they feel alarmed and inside their hearts I think they feel some degree of confusion,' he said. 'We've seen in the political process anti-Semitic extremism almost creep in and be normalized. It comes from both sides of the political spectrum.' 'The Jewish people are trying to make sense of where is the Democratic Party? Where is the Republican Party? Jewish people are trying to make sense of it all,' Greenblatt added. In this April 28, 2019 file photo, a San Diego county sheriff's deputy stands in front of the Poway Chabad Synagogue in Poway, California. A gunman attacked the synagogue last week, firing his semi-automatic rifle at Passover worshippers The FBI has more than 850 open investigations into domestic terrorism across the country, including white supremacists and citizens who are anti-government, top counterterrorism officials said earlier this month. And much like foreign terrorists, domestic terrorists are radicalizing quickly online with few gateways or barriers and no need to meet up in person. 'There's a lot of hate out there on the internet,' said Mike McGarrity, the FBI's top counterterrorism official during testimony given before a congressional committee on homegrown hate and violence. Officials cautioned lawmakers they could not prosecute a white supremacist simply for the ideology or an online manifesto - there must be intent to harm or harass. In April, a gunman killed a woman and wounded an 8-year-old girl, her uncle and a rabbi at Chabad of Poway, a Southern California synagogue. McGarrity said there were six deadly domestic terrorism attacks in 2018, and five in 2017. Of the hundreds of open FBI investigations, about half were anti-government cases and around 40 percent were related to race or religion. 'That mobilization to violence is much quicker' than in the past, McGarrity said, adding that anyone 'can go on the internet and find content that justifies what you want to do.' Bobby Joe Long, 65, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday at Florida State Prison over a murderous spree that claimed 10 women's lives in the Tampa Bay area back in 1984 The ex-wife of a Florida serial killer facing execution says she regrets not shooting him dead after a brutal beating and the decision has haunted her ever since given the lives he later destroyed. Bobby Joe Long, 65, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday at Florida State Prison over a murderous spree that claimed 10 women's lives in the Tampa Bay area back in 1984. The woman who was his childhood sweetheart and father of their two children, Cindy Brown, said she believes he is getting what he deserves. 'This is something that in my heart should have happened many, many years ago,' she said. 'It's been a long time coming. I hate to see anybody die, but he's done the things that he's done. You made your bed; it's time to lay in it.' Brown, who divorced Long in 1980, still vividly recalls an increasingly violent man. One day, he grabbed her, choked her and slammed her head into a television, knocking her unconscious with a gash to the forehead. 'When I came to, I was on the couch. Of course, he was there, crying. 'I'll never do it again. I'm so sorry.' Then the next words were, 'When you drive yourself to get your stitches, if you tell them what really happened, I'll kill you when you get home,' Brown said. The woman who was his childhood sweetheart and father of their two children, Cindy Brown, said she believes he is getting what he deserves. The couple divorced in 1980 before his murderous spree Brown, who divorced Long in 1980, said she regrets not killing him after a brutal beating and the decision has haunted her ever since given the lives he later destroyed She said after that beating, she loaded a shotgun and pointed it at Long with the intention of killing him. Brown didn't go through with it and said it has haunted her ever since. 'I have forgiven the man for what he did to me - the name calling, the physical violence, everything else... I don't think I will I ever forgive him for what this has caused my children, nor will I ever forgive him for what he did to those girls, whether they be the murder victims or the rape victims,' Brown said. After their divorce, Long went on a violent rage against women that also included dozens of rapes. The spree earned him 28 life sentences and the death penalty for one of the killings, that of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. Artiss Ann Wick was the first woman killed in March 1984 and nine more victims followed until his arrest eight months later. The majority of his victims were strangled, while other had their throats slit or were bludgeoned before being positioned in a gruesome way. Lisa Noland, one rape victim who survived, helped lead police to Long. She was 17 at the time when she was snatched off her bicycle while riding home from work at a doughnut shop. Just a day earlier, Noland had written a suicide note and planned to kill herself after years of being raped by her grandmother's boyfriend. Even though she was blindfolded during the ordeal, she recalled the car and details about Long. 'At the time he put the gun to my head, it was nothing new to me,' she said. Long, who has two daughters, went on a murderous spree in 1984 in Tampa Bay earned him 28 life sentences and the death penalty for one of the 10 killings Long admitted after his arrest to being 'The Classified Ad Rapist' - the moniker investigators gave while trying to solve dozens of rapes. Long would go through classified ads and make appointments to see items for sale. He would rape women if they answered the door and were home alone She said she knew from her past abuse that if she fought, it would further enrage her attacker. 'I had to study this guy. I had to learn who he was, what made him tick. If I did the wrong move, could it end my life? So literally, the night before I wrote a suicide note out, and now I was in a position where I had to save my life. After his arrest, Long confessed to that and other crimes and admitted to being 'The Classified Ad Rapist' - the moniker investigators gave while trying to solve dozens of rapes. Long would go through classified ads and make appointments to see items for sale. If a woman answered the door, he would rape her if she was home alone. Brown, his ex-wife, was living in the Miami area while Long was killing women. Though she still feared him, they spoke regularly because he had visitation rights to their children. She would turn on the TV news every morning while getting ready for work and one morning was on the phone with him when news reported another one of his victims was found. 'I said, 'Bob, you always tell me to be careful, but what's going on out there in Tampa?'' Brown said. 'And he said, 'That's why I tell you, because you never know'.' Kimberly Swann, 21, (left) was killed on November 11, 1984. Virginia Johnson, 18, (right) was killed on November 6, 1984 Kimberly Hoops, 22, (left) was killed on October 31, 1984. Karen Dinsfriend, 28, (right) was killed on October 14, 1984 Chanel Williams, 18, (left) was killed on October 7, 1984. Elizabeth Loudenback, 22, (right) was killed on June 8, 1984 Michelle Denise Simms, 22, (left) was killed on May 27, 1984. Lana Long, 19, (right) was killed on May 13, 1984 It wasn't long before she received another phone call from Long and she could tell by his voice there was something wrong. 'You know the girls in Tampa?' Brown recalled Long saying. Her first thought was that Long's then-girlfriend, named Barbara, was one of the serial killer's victims. 'Oh my God! They killed Barbara!,'' Brown recalled saying. 'He said, 'No, I killed the girls.' And I told him, 'Bob, that's not funny. Don't joke like that. It just isn't funny.' And he said, 'I'm not joking,'' Brown said. A Hillsborough County sheriff's sergeant than took the phone from Long and confirmed that he had been charged. 'That was when my whole world turned upside down,' Brown said. While she agrees Long should be executed, she knows it is opening up wounds for her son and daughter and the families of those killed. 'Every one of the victims and the victim's families are in my prayers. I know it's a tough emotional roller coaster for them, and I am so, so sorry,' she said, choking up with tears. 'I understand it's not my fault, but tell my heart that. Make my heart believe that.' A triple murderer has died aged 67 after spending 35 years in solitary confinement for stabbing a guard to death - the longest ever served by a federal prisoner. Thomas Silverstein, who was an inmate at the 'Supermax' prison in southern Colorado, entered prison in 1978 on an armed robbery conviction and was later found guilty of killing two inmates and a prison guard. With no federal death penalty in place at the time of the guard's slaying in 1983, the Bureau of Prisons instead put Silverstein in indefinite solitary confinement, where he remained until he was hospitalized. He was admitted to a suburban Denver hospital in February to undergo surgery and died in intensive care on May 11, The Denver Post reports. His wife, Renee Silverstein, said his died as a result of complications during heart surgery. White supremacist Silverstein was moved to 'Supermax' in Florence in 2005 and was housed in a soundproof cell. During his 35 years in solitary confinement he had very little interaction with others after he was subject to an unusual no-contact order. Thomas Silverstein, an inmate at the 'Supermax' prison in southern Colorado, who had been held in solitary confinement longer than any other federal prisoner, has died at the age of 67 A lawsuit filed in 2007 by his lawyers said the conditions were cruel and unusual. In 2008 he wrote to a friend: 'It's almost more humane to kill someone immediately than it is to intentionally bury a man alive.' He was first moved to a maximum-security prison in Marion, Illinois from Kansas after he was accused of killing an inmate. That was overturned but while there Silverstein, said to be part of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, stabbed a guard to death and killed two other inmates. His former attorney Daniel Manville said being in the the white nationalist prison gang made him a target, CNN reports, and he was then transferred to to a federal prison in Atlanta. Silverstein was admitted to a suburban Denver hospital in February to undergo surgery and died in intensive care May 11. He entered prison in 1978 on an armed robbery conviction and was later found guilty of killing two inmates and a prison guard He was moved to 'Supermax' in Florence in 2005, pictured, and housed in a soundproof cell There he was constantly monitored by cameras in his 6-by-7-foot cell where the lights were never turned off. His meals came through a slot in the cell door and he was allowed two outgoing phone calls a month. Silverstein was finally moved to the Supermax prison in Colorado after a stint at Leavenworth in Kansas. There he was allowed to write, watch television and exercise. Ten people are dead and four other injured after a cartel shootout in a forested area of west Mexico today. Disturbing photographs from the scene in Uruapan municipality in the western state of Michoacan show piled bloodied bodies lying on the ground next to military-grade heavy-duty machine guns. The Prosecutor General's Office has launched an investigation into the horror bloodbath just off the Uruapan-Lombardian road after the authorities were alerted at around 2pm. Ten Mexican cartel members were left dead and four others injured in the bloody confrontation Local residents said the shootout lasted around an hour and prosecutors believe it was a confrontation between rival gangs Los Viagra and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. A multidisciplinary team including local police and experts from the Secretary of National Defence and prosecutor's office attended the scene to gather evidence. Reports said that the police were the first to arrive at the scene and broke up the ongoing shootout, with surviving cartel members fleeing into the woods and leaving behind 9 dead and four injured as well as an arsenal of weapons. The injured, one of whom later died, were rushed to a nearby hospital where they have also been arrested for their involvement in the gunfight. The shootout took place around 2pm in the Uruapan municipality in the western Mexican state of Michoacan According to local media, the authorities found weapons and ammunition used by the Mexican Army which are currently being analysed. The Mexican Secretariat of Public Security announced that they are patrolling the area with air and land forces. The night before, three civilians were killed and two cops were injured during a shootout in the municipality of Chilchota. The investigation is ongoing. Maximillion Young, 17, from Texas, has been charged with felony possession of explosive components after allegedly bragging about his ability to build bombs A 17-year-old Texas boy who police say bragged about his ability to manufacture lethal homemade bombs has been arrested for possession of explosive components. Maximillion Young, of Sugar Land, was taken into custody on May 15 following a week-long investigation. David Yaffie, the principal at Clements High School where Young is enrolled as a ninth-grader, said in a statement that on May 9, he received a tip about several comments made by the teen, who reportedly boasted about having access to various bomb-making materials. According to court documents cited by KTRK, Young told two classmates he had been manufacturing his own gunpowder and wanted to sell bombs. The 17-year-old, who allegedly described himself as a 'sociopath,' went into further detail, explaining how explosives containing glass, plastic or rocks, could 'shred people apart.' Young also allegedly remarked that his classmates were 'going nowhere in life and they are not worthy it.' Young was arrested a week after his classmate at Clements High School went to their school principal, saying he had been talking about his desire to sell bombs Yaffie wrote that he immediately contacted the Ford Bend Independent School District Police Department, which launched an investigation. That same day, police executed a search warrant at Young's family home. Youngs father led police to a detached garage on his property, where officers reportedly discovered a metal pipe, potassium nitrate, charcoal and a bottle of sulfur dust. David Yaffie, the principal at Clements High School, reported the tip to the police, sparking an investigation When FBI agents, who joined the probe days later, ran tests on the materials seized from Young's home, they concluded that all the substances could be used to build a pipe bomb. Young's father allegedly told investigators that Maximillion is interested in chemistry and had been watching YouTube tutorials on how to make gunpowder. When police searched the teens closet, they reportedly found a helmet and body armor with wires attached to it, along with realistic-looking airsoft guns. according to KHOU11. In his letter to Clements High School parents, Principal Yaffie noted that no direct threat was made towards any individual or the school. Young was charged with a felony and his bond was set at $25,000. Five dogs that attacked and killed a 14-year-old Massachusetts boy who regularly took care of them will be euthanized, officials said. The three-member Dighton Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Wednesday to have the four Belgian Malinois and one Dutch shepherd involved in the May 9 death of Ryan Hazel put down. The dogs' owner, 49-year-old Scott Dunmore who trained the animals on his property, didn't contest the decision. Dunmore's website claims that he has been training dogs professionally for 15 years. He specializes in pack exercises. A GoFundMe account created to help provide financial assistance for Ryan's parents, Dennis and Jennifer Hazel, has raised nearly $44,000. Scroll down for video Five dogs that attacked and killed 14-year-old Ryan Hazel (pictured) in Dighton, Massachusetts while he was attempting to take care of them while owner Scott Dunmore was away will be euthanized The dogs to be put down are two-year-old Dutch shepherd Gigi and four Belgian Malinois, including four-year-old Mona and eight-month-olds Buffy, Rita and Otis, as named during the town's Board of Selectmen regular meeting on Wednesday. The vote was taken quickly and each of the three people on the board registered their vote in favor of euthanizing the dogs simultaneously. 'I just want to thank for the board, the Dighton community for the support and comfort that they have given Ryan Hazel's parents during this terrible, terrible time,' Dighton's Board Chairman Kenneth Pacheco said. Ryan, from the neighboring town of Rehoboth, had 'traumatic injuries to various areas of his body,' and was pronounced dead at the scene on May 9 The dogs to be put down are Gigi, a two-year-old Dutch shepherd; and four Belgian Malinois, including four-year-old Mona and eight-month-olds Buffy, Rita, Otis, as named during the town's Board of Selectmen regular meeting on Wednesday. Six other dogs were also on the property, but were said to have been caged at the time of the attack. The future of those dogs is not known at this time. The photo shown is from Dunmore's dog training website. It's not clear which dogs are shown in this photo The Board of the Town of Dighton voted unanimously on Wednesday to put the single Dutch shepherd and four Belgian Malinois down. Dunmore, whose website says that he has been training dogs professionally for 15 years, didn't contest the decision Pacheco continued: 'Mrs. [inaudible] mentioned that we're a small town with a big heart, and that's not just a slogan. 'You people have shown me how important it is that when something like this happens that we unite and we try to help each other, so I just want to thank all the people in town for all the work that they've done. Thank you.' Six other dogs were also on the property, but were said to have been caged at the time of the attack. The future of those dogs is not known at this time. Dighton Police Chief Robert MacDonald appeared to be visibly shaken while announcing the news of Ryan's (pictured) death earlier this month Dighton Police Chief Robert MacDonald appeared to be visibly shaken while announcing the news of Ryan's death earlier this month. 'Things like that should never happen to anybody, let alone a 14-year-old boy,' he said. Ryan, from neighboring Rehoboth, was brought to the home by his grandmother at about 6pm on Thursday, Quinn said. She waited in the car because he usually took no more than 45 minutes to complete his tasks. She became worried when he took longer than normal, so she called his parents, who called a neighbor. The neighbor went to the property, found the boy and called 911 at around 8pm. The property where Ryan was mauled to death by five dogs in the Town of Dighton is shown The owner of the property has been identified as 49-year-old Scott Dunmore (pictured) Ryan had 'traumatic injuries to various areas of his body,' and was pronounced dead at the scene, Quinn said. Police found the dogs which will be put down running free on the property and others in kennels. Animal control took custody of all 11 animals, at least one of which acted aggressively, Quinn said. There had been no prior complaints to police about dogs at the property, MacDonald said. Dunmore's website claims that he has been training dogs professionally for 15 years. He specializes in pack exercises Ryan was a student at Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School in Taunton, according to a statement from Superintendent Alexandre Magalhaes. He is said to have been caring for the dogs on the property for one year. 'We are saddened by this loss in our school community, and as we come together, our leadership team will make every effort to provide assistance to our students, families and fellow employees as needed,' he said. Local police, animal control and the Bristol district attorney's office backed the decision to euthanize the animals that attacked and killed Ryan. 'It was a tough decision, however it was the right decision,' Pacheco said. Digthon and Reheboth are about 35 miles southwest of Boston. There had been no prior complaints to police about dogs at the property A grandmother will be 'turned out' of her 2.5million country home after losing a 'sad' and 'ruinously expensive' court fight with her daughter. Jane Habberfield, 82, could be forced to sell the family estate in Yeovil, Somerset, to pay off her daughter Lucy, 51. But Lord Justice Lewison told the pensioner her 'desperately difficult situation was of her own making' after the family feud dragged on for years. Lucy was her late father Frank's 'blue-eyed girl' but 'never had a good relationship' with mother, London's Appeal Court heard. After her father died she insisted she should have been given a large share of the farm where she had worked long hours for 30 years. But her mother continued to fight her in court, even after a judge ruled she pay her 1.1million compensation for her service on the farm. Jane Habberfield, 82, and her daughter Lucy, 51 (right) were locked in a long legal fight over the family farm Lucy, who grafted long hours on their family farm for 30 years - including doing 80-hour weeks milking cows when she was heavily pregnant - sued her mother after she refused to hand her ownership of the farm following her father's death in 2014. She said her parents had promised she would be given the farm and last year a judge ordered mother Jane to pay her daughter over 1.1million to compensate her for devoting her life to the family holding and the cows. Today, the elderly woman lost her appeal against that order and will be 'turned out of her home' due to the cost of losing the 'ruinously expensive litigation,' and having to hand over the 1.1million, said Lord Justice Lewison. Mother Jane was backed by her other daughter Sarah (pictured), who previously rowed with sister Lucy in a cow shed The court heard that tensions had been already building between mother, daughter and her sister Sarah - who a judge found 'all have a temper' - before a scrap between the sisters in a cowshed at 220-acre Woodrow Farm pushed things to crisis point. The milking parlour fight in 2013 led to Lucy storming out of the family holding where she had worked since she was a schoolgirl, and subsequently filing a court claim for the farm she said she was promised. In her challenge to Lucy's 1.1million payout, her mother claimed her estranged daughter got far too much of the family wealth, saying she wanted her share cut to around 220,000 to be 'fair' to her other children, Sarah, and Andrew and Emma. Mrs Habberfield also pleaded with the judges to allow her to pay her daughter out of her estate when she dies if they ruled the 1.1million order had to stand. It would otherwise force her to sell the farmland and farmhouse, losing her home and livelihood in her twilight years, she said. But Lord Justice Lewison today said that, although it was 'a hard outcome' for an 82-year-old woman to have to leave the house which has been her home for over 40 years, the 'desperately difficult situation in which Jane found herself was of her own making'. 'This is a sad tale of a farming family; The Habberfields,' the judge said, dismissing Jane's appeal. He went on to say that Jane Habberfield must now face selling the farm to pay her daughter her dues, as well as meeting the massive legal costs in the case. 'In order to raise the cash sum to which the judge held Lucy to be entitled, the whole of the farm would have to be sold,' he said. 'On the face of it, it seems hard that an 82-year-old woman should leave the house which has been her home for over 40 years. On the other side of the scale, Lucy was 51 at the date of trial. The farm (pictured) is just outside the pretty village of Yeovil Marsh in south Somerset 'She wanted to begin farming on her own account before it was too late. Without access to the cash award, she would not be able to do so. 'Lucy's expectation was not such as would require her mother to leave the farmhouse. 'But that expectation was predicated on the continuation of a harmonious family relationship; not on the aftermath of a ruinously expensive litigation in which her claim was denied. 'It is not legitimate for a liability in costs arising from an unsuccessful defence of a claim...to be used as a means of denying or postponing what would otherwise be the claimant's award,' the judge said. 'Although Jane is elderly, she might live for many years. In view of the family breakdown it was also highly desirable for there to be a clean break,' he added. The family feud over the farm was ruled over by judges at London's Court of Appeal The judge added that the grandmother will not be left 'destitute' and will have enough left from the sale to find a new home. Mrs Habberfield Senior was backed in her fight by her other daughter Sarah, who attended the hearing with her and who the court heard has had a 'tense' relationship with little sister Lucy for a long time and who she blames for the family's troubles. At the High Court hearing last year, Mr Justice Birss said that Lucy began working on the farm when she left school in the early 1980s, earning just 40-50 per week. She worked up to 87 and a half hours and seven days a week, getting up at 4..30am, and had just five weeks' holiday in more than three decades. The mother-of-four carried on doing gruelling physical work for long hours with early starts when she was heavily pregnant or had young babies to care for. Lucy told the court 'she never had a good relationship with her mother'. But she was their late dad Frank's 'favourite' and 'blue-eyed girl' because of their shared passion for dairy farming the judge found. The 'tension' between Lucy and big sister Sarah had 'gone on for a very long time' before they had a physical fight in the milk parlour at the farm, said the judge, adding that 'all the Habberfield family had a temper'. As well as throwing out Jane's appeal against the 1.1m payout, Lord Justice Lewison, who sat with Lord Justice Moylan and Lady Justice Rose, also dismissed Lucy's bid to have it upped to around 1.6m. A young girl standing on the back of her dad's pickup at a gas station was seriously burned when static from her clothes ignited gas vapors as he filled a container with fuel. The seven-year-old girl's father can be seen holding the gas hose over the large-sized drum while his daughter innocently places her hand over the cover of the canister. Within a matter of seconds, a short spark ignites a huge fire ball that engulfed the child in flames. The shocked dad then lets go of the pump hose as the fire quickly spreads to the petroleum dispenser, sending other customers running for safety. WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT The seven-year-old (right) placed her hand over the fuel tank while her father (center) was loading it up at a gas station in central Mexico. She suffered first and second degree burns A fuel tank catches fire on the flat bed of a pickup truck, which left a father and daughter with burns The girl moves to the opposite side of the truck's flatbed as the fire from the fuel cylinder envelops the vehicle. Her worried dad then races to her aid before the 10-second video is cut short. A Queretaro government official said the explosion was caused by a static discharge from the little girl's clothing and the fumes from the fuel. Both father and daughter where transported to a Jalpa de Serra General Hospital where they were treated for their injuries. The child suffered first and second degree burns. Both were listed in stable condition. California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein had dinner with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, it was revealed Thursday morning, as tensions continue to rise in the Gulf region. The Senators team told Politico Playbook that the dinner between the two, which occurred a few weeks ago when Zarif was in the U.S., was arranged in consultation with the State Department. "The office was in touch with State in advance of the meeting to let them know it was happening and to get an update on U.S.-Iran activity, Feinsteins office said. She was also seen in an elevator at the Capitol recently with Zarifs contact information pulled up on her iPhone. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein had dinner with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif when he was in the U.S. a few weeks ago Feinstein's office said the dinner with the Iranian diplomat was arranged in consultation with the State Department. But the department said it did not ask the Senator to hold a dinner with Zarif An official with the Department of State, however, said they did ask Feinstein to have dinner with the Iranian diplomat. Feinstein is the former chair and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and is currently in the minority as a Democratic member of the Senate. Zarif is American-educated, and is the official who worked with former Secretary of State John Kerry on the divisive nuclear deal, which President Donald Trump announced the U.S. was withdrawing from in May 2018. Trump called Iran the 'number one provocateur of terror in this country' as the war of words between the two nations continues. 'They've been very hostile. Truly been the number one provocateur of terror in this country and representing their country, but certainly our country has been very much involved because we're trying to help a lot of people out and I don't mind that at all,' the president told reporters on the South Lawn as he left for a campaign rally in Pennsylvania Monday. Over the weekend, Trump issued a threat to the Islamic nation. Feinstein was previously the chair and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but she is now in the minority of her chamber as a Senate Democrat Tensions have been rising in the Gulf region, and the two nations have been engaging in a war of words. 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran,' Trump tweeted May 20 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!' Trump posted to Twitter May 20. Zarif hit back, claiming Trump had been 'goaded' into 'genocidal taunts.' '[Trump] hopes to achieve what Alexander, Genghis & other aggressors failed to do. Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. #EconomicTerrorism & genocidal taunts won't 'end Iran'. #NeverThreatenAnIranian. Try respect-it works!' Zarif tweeted. Amid the rising tensions, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told lawmakers that the U.S. is seeking to deter Iran, not provoke the adversary. 'Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation, Shanahan told reporters. U.S. officials say the Pentagon plans to send an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats in the region, and is presenting that plan to the White House on Thursday. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested forces. Officials said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran but is aimed at reinforcing security in the region. A Texas man has been sentenced to life in jail for murdering his girlfriend, dismembering her body and dissolving her remains in chemicals. Kevin Wayne Powell, 50, from White Settlement, Texas, was found guilty of killing his live-in girlfriend, 28-year-old Casey Rae Nutter, in 2015. One month before Nutter went missing in December 2015, she filed aggravated assault charges against Powell after he tried to strangle her with a wire, suffocate her with a plastic bag and drown her in a shower, WFAA reported. Prosecutors said he killed her in retaliation for going to authorities. Kevin Wayne Powell, 50, (left), from White Settlement, Texas, was found guilty of killing his live-in girlfriend, 28-year-old Casey Rae Nutter, (right), in 2015 One of Powells family members testified that Powell had confessed to Nutter's murder and using several power saws to dismember her before dissolving her body. He then allegedly used chemicals to dispose of the remains. The same family member tipped off law enforcement during the investigation into her disappearance. According to Dallas Morning News prosecutor Allenna Bangs said: 'Kasey was living a life of terror at the hands of the defendant and saw no way out. 'His abuse and her untimely death should not have been the end of her story. She deserved better, and the jury saw fit to rectify that.' Investigators discovered that Powell, a contractor, had repainted a bedroom in his home and used mounted furniture to cover part of the wall. He had also pawned his saws shortly after the missing persons report was filed. Nutter's DNA had been found on the floors and baseboards inside the room. One month before Nutter, (pictured), went missing in December 2015, she filed aggravated assault charges against Powell after he tried to strangle her with a wire, suffocate her with a plastic bag and drown her in a shower A relative testified that Powell had confessed to Nutter's murder and using several power saws to dismember her before dissolving her body Prosecutor Allenna Bangs claimed during opening statements in the trial that Powell attempted to strangle Nutter with a wire hanger and suffocate her with a plastic bag in November 2015. He then allegedly tried to drown her in a shower. Bangs claimed the second attack led Nutter to file charges against Powell, who killed her in retaliation. While the defense attorney argued Nutter could still be alive and her history of mental illness and drug use opened the door to more suspects, the jury found Powell guilty of murder. Nutter had been previously arrested by Tarrant County' Sherriff's office for theft of stolen property in May 2014 In a statement released Wednesday, Tarrant County District Attorney's Office said it took the jury just over an hour to sentence Powell to life without parole. Powell was indicted on the capital murder charge in October 2016. Jurors took just over an hour to return a guilty verdict after the week-long trial that began May 14. Powell remained in custody at the Tarrant County jail. Investigators searched for Nutter for three years while the case was pending, the release stated, but never found any indication she was alive. Joetta Keene, Powells defense attorney, argued that 'Kasey was a mess' and was 'very troubled,' according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Earlier in the trial, she argued that jurors might eventually come to believe that Nutter was not dead. 'You will not even believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, whether Kasey Nutter is alive, or dead, part of human trafficking. You just dont know,' Keene claimed. Nutter had been previously arrested by Tarrant County' Sherriff's office for theft of stolen property in May 2014. The NHS-funded hospital at the centre of an abuse scandal was inspected 225 times in just 16 months - and no one spotted the 'appalling' treatment of the vulnerable adults there. Workers at Whorlton Hall in County Durham were filmed calling one patient a 'fat c***' and told another her family were 'f***ing poison'. The undercover investigation for BBC Panorama, which captured staff continuously taunting, intimidating and restraining patients, has triggered a probe by Durham Constabulary and seen 16 employees suspended. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was 'deeply sorry' for what happened. But it can now be revealed the 12-patient specialist centre was visited on 225 occasions by 30 separate agencies between March 2018 and April 2019. A female patient at Wholrton Hall in County Durham is pictured being restrained by a care worker Another patient is pictured lying on the floor at Whorlton Hall, which was subject to a BBC Panorama investigation Another patient is pictured being shouted at by a careworker at Whorlton Hall, Co Durham The sheer number of visits by inspectors and other experts who were responsible for the health and care of the 12 adults with learning difficulties raises serious questions about why the abuse was not picked up sooner. A total of seven GP, 78 CCG, 51 local authority, 57 independent advocacy, seven CQC, 11 Local Authority Safeguarding Team and 14 police visits were made in 16 months. The investigation saw reporter Olivia Davies go undercover as a care worker for two months to investigate claims by whistleblowers of mistreatment and poor care. She filmed shocking scenes of staff using offensive language to describe patients, with two male staff members singling out a female patient for particular abuse. Aware she was scared of men, they left her distressed while trying to keep her quiet by claming her room would be inundated with men - or 'pressing the man button'. On other occasions the workers can be heard within her earshot using explicit sexual language, and one threatened to 'deck her' if she tries to run at staff. Glynis Murphy, an expert in clinical psychology and disability at the University of Kent, told the programme that the treatment was like 'psychological torture'. The hospital promises therapeutic care for around 12 adults with learning disabilities or autism The professor said: 'She is stuck there, she can't get away. It is a secure unit. And they are deliberately taunting her and deliberately upsetting her.' Dr Paul Lelliott, of the Care Quality Commission, which previously rated the hospital as good, has apologised that it did not pick up on the abuse. Dr Lelliott claimed the last inspection was carried out on March 2018. But it can now be revealed the CQC made seven visits to Whorlton Hall between March 2018 and April 2019. The most recent one was in April 2019, before the watchdog was made aware of the Panorama allegations, when four inspectors carried out a long-term segregation review that lasted nine hours. The hospital also had 11 separate safeguarding visits from the local authority, which the company said has resulted in all issues raised being resolved. According to Cygnet, the company that took over Whorlton Hall in January this year, there were also some 144 visitors from the NHS and Clinical Commissioning Groups as well as 75 from local authority and 57 independent advocacy monitoring visits and 7 GP visits. In total, this amounted to 225 visits between January 2018 and 4 May 2019 an average of at least 13 every month. No safeguarding issues were raised. The abuse was only raised when BBC Panorama contacted the hospital with allegations of the abuse. Cygnet has said in a statement that it then contacted the police, the CQC and other authorities. The Panorama investigation, which aired last night, also revealed several incidents physical restraint, which should only be used to prevent a patient harming themselves or others. Workers at Whorlton Hall in County Durham were filmed talking about the adults they care for Birmingham City University autism expert Andrew McDonnell, who develops training aimed at limiting restraint, said: 'Restraint should be momentary. It should be short. 'It should be with as few staff as possible, without an audience. If there is no immediate risk of harm you back off. You're talking a threshold of minute of two.' But one restraint saw a patient held down for nearly ten minutes, with a worker holding his head between his knees, while handing out chewing gum to colleagues. The patient's possessions were removed from his room and shown to him while he was still being restrained - something Mr McDonnell described as cruel punishment. In another incident filmed undercover for the programme, a patient was deliberately antagonised by a care worker, who removed a poster from his wall. When the patient reacted, the staff members threatened him by saying: 'Get in there, punch me and see what happens. I'll put you through the floor.' The hospital staff have been caught on camera in an undercover investigation by Panorama Six care workers claimed to the reporter that they had deliberately hurt patients including one who described banging a patient's head against the floor. Arriving at an event at The King's Fund in central London, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'I'm deeply sorry on behalf of the whole health and care system for what's happened. 'Some of the scenes that were seen on Panorama last night were awful, they need to be dealt with. 'So we have put in place already action to make sure that every single case is reviewed. 'Not just here, but right across the system, because people need to get the right care in the right setting that works for them.' Today care minister Caroline Dinenage told the House of Commons she was also 'deeply sorry that this has happened'. Talking to MPs, she said: 'We won't tolerate having people out of sight and out of mind. 'Where someone with a learning disability or an autistic person has to be an inpatient out of area, they will be now visited every six weeks if they are a child or every eight weeks if they are an adult.' But the number of visits to Whorlton Hall had far exceeded these targets, and the abuse was still missed. Anna Kennedy OBE, who runs the charity 'Raising Autism Awareness said of the high number of inspections: Hospital owner Cygnet has suspended 16 workers and Durham police have begun a probe 'What are these inspectors looking at if they can't see the alarm bells in places like this? 'I've been into hospitals where it's almost like they've got bodyguards. And I think : 'Is this a prison?' I get a gut instinct when I go into places and I can tell when it's not right. 'I think they should have CCTV in these places, the inspectors need more training to spot how the carers are working with the adults, how well they're interacting. 'There may be some who are doing a good job but many will just be ticking boxes.' Anna, who has two autistic sons, said of the Panorama expose: 'I hear such horror stories and this is my fear of what might happen to my boys when I am too old to look after them. 'Is he going to go into a place like this where he's cared for by his so-called carers? It made me feel physically sick.' And a Cygnet spokesman said: 'We have suspended all the members of staff involved (and) simultaneously informed all relevant authorities, including the police.' The company added that it transferred all of the patients to other hospitals, and it has a 'zero tolerance of unprofessional conduct towards them'. The latest investigation comes eight years after Panorama exposed abuse at another specialist hospital for vulnerable adults, Winterbourne View near Bristol. The files Smollett's team fought to keep secret will now become public A judge in Chicago has ordered the file in the Jussie Smollett criminal case unsealed. Cook County Judge Steven Watkins made the decision on Thursday, saying Smollett did not have a right to privacy anymore because both he and his lawyers have spoken in the media about the case. 'These are not the actions of a person seeking to maintain his privacy or simply be let alone,' he said in his order, referring to Smollett's lawyers media tour after the charges were dropped. Cook County State's Attorney has said it will release them by June 3. Watkins said that while there are good arguments in favor of keeping the file sealed, the actor forfeited his rights to keep the case sealed to protect his privacy by talking to the media before and after prosecutors dismissed the charges against him. Smollett had been charged with 16 counts alleging he lied to police when reporting he'd been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in January. Police insist the actor staged the attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted publicity. Prosecutors dropped all charges with little explanation in March in a sensational decision that prompted accusations of special treatment. Smollett wanted the case sealed, saying that he had 'the right to be left alone.' Now, it is hopeful that the evidence that was shown to a grand jury which indicted Smollett on 16 counts of lying to police will also be made public. But before he was charged, he went on Good Morning America to insist he was telling the truth and even after the charges were dropped, his lawyers continued doing the media rounds to protest his innocence. Media lawyer Natalie Spears asked the court to unseal them, claiming Smollett's behavior throughout the proceedings took away from his right to privacy. She argued for the decision on May 16. Smollett's attorneys have not yet responded to it. Brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo say Smollett paid them to attack him and that they did not know he would call the police After the decision was made on Thursday, the State's Attorney's office said it would review its files and release any that could now be made public. Since the charges were dropped, the legal fallout from the case and the investigation has been almost as dramatic as the alleged crime itself. Kim Foxx, the Cook County State's Attorney, is facing a special prosecutor investigation into how she handled the case from the beginning. In the days after Smollett reported being attacked, she exchanged text messages with his relatives and one of their associates, a former Obama aide, to try to wrestle the case out of the Chicago PD's hands to turn it over to the FBI. Foxx has maintained that she did nothing wrong. Her office has stated publicly that they believe Smollett was guilty but they say they opted to give him 'deferred prosecution' which means he has no criminal record. Smollett paid $10,000 in bond forfeiture and did 16 hours of community service. Judge Steven G. Watkins made the decision on Thursday. State's Attorney Kim Foxx must now look through her office's records and unseal any that were not previously available After the charges were dropped, the former mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, called the decision a 'whitewash of justice' and the police Chief Superintendent, Eddie Johnston, also shared his astonishment. Rather than retreating from public, Smollett's attorneys continued to give interviews on his behalf to maintain his innocence. They also hit back at threats from the city to sue him for the cost of the police investigation. Now, they are being sued by brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo who are the men who beat him up on January 29 at 2am. They say it was at his request. He says he did not know why they did it and that he didn't recognize them at the time. Smollett said he could not make out of his attackers' faces but that the skin between the eyes of one of them appeared to be 'white or pale', according to his attorneys. The attorneys have since suggested that the brothers - who are Nigerian - may have been wearing white face. Phoenix, Arizona, is the fastest growing city in America, with a population spike of 25,288 to reach 1.63 million residents in 2018, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday. The majority of the nations fastest-growing cities were in the West and the South, while the major hubs of New York City and Chicago continued to see their populations shrink. San Antonio, Texas, was the second fastest-growing city in 2018, increasing by 20,824 residents to reach 1.53 million people. Phoenix, Arizona is the fastest growing city in America, with a population spike of 25,288 to reach 1.63 million residents in 2018 This table breaks out America's 15 fastest-growing cities, along with their total population and the increase in population from 2017-2018 Fort Worth, Texas, followed with a population increase of 19,552 to reach 895,008 last year. In fourth place was Seattle, with a 15,354 spike to reach 744,955 residents. Charlotte, North Carolina, followed with a 13,151 increase to reach a population of 872,498 in 2018. Notably, several Southern cities saw big growth, including Austin, Texas (increase of 12,504 to reach 964,254 residents); Jacksonville, Florida (increase of 12,153 to reach 903,889); and Frisco, Texas (uptick of 10,884 to reach 188,170). In addition, McKinney, Texas grew by 9,888 residents to reach a population of 191,645, and Miami increased by 8,884 to reach 470,914 residents. The biggest growers in the West included San Diego (up 11,549 residents to reach 1.43 million); Denver (increased 11,053 to reach 716,492); Henderson, Nevada (up 10,759 to reach 310,390); and Las Vegas (up 9,016 to reach 644,644). San Antonio, Texas, was the second fastest-growing city in 2018, increasing by 20,824 residents to reach 1.53 million people New York remains the nations largest city by population, with nearly 8.39 million residents down 39,523 from 2017. Los Angeles is the second-largest, with a population of 3.99 million an 8,454 increase compared to 2017. Chicago ranks third with 2.7 million residents, down 7,073 compared to 2017. San Jose, California was only other city among the top 20 largest in America to see a population decline, decreasing year-on-year by 2,017 residents in 2018 to reach a total of 1.03 million in 2018. Kyle Kashuv, a survivor of the Parkland, Florida school shooting who has emerged as a gun-rights activist, has apologized for making 'callous comments' several years ago. Kashuv issued the apology on Twitter on Wednesday night, after screenshots showing anti-black racial slurs apparently written by him began circulating online classmates at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. On May 16, a fellow student posted a screenshot on Twitter, saying that it shows a class Google Doc written in December 2017, two months prior to the shooting that left 17 dead at the school. According to the student, Kashuv wrote repeatedly wrote 'N*****' in all caps, followed by: 'like im really good at typing n***** ok like practice uhhhhhh makes perfect.' Kyle Kashuv, a survivor of the Parkland, Florida school shooting who has emerged as a gun-rights activist, has apologized for making 'callous comments' several years ago Kashuv's offensive remarks, highlighted in grey, apparently appeared in this midterm study guide that classmates used for an Advanced Placement U.S. history exam in December 2017 Another section of the doc refers to making a 'map' of the school and practicing The shared Google Doc was a midterm study guide that classmates used for an Advanced Placement U.S. history exam. In that same document, Kashuv apparently said he would 'f**king make a CSOG map of Douglas and practice.' The acronym is believed to refer to the shooting game 'Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.' In a separate text message exchange shared by the female student, Kashuv is identified discussing a fellow student, saying that she 'goes for n*****jocks', an apparent reference to black student athletes. A follow up message states: 'pasty jew < n*****'. Kashuv is himself Jewish. The same day that the remarks were posted online, Kashuv announced that he was stepping down as director of high school outreach for Turning Point USA, a national conservative student organization. Another Parkland student who had access to the racist remarks told the Huffington Post that she she had threatened Kashuv with exposure shortly before he stepped down from Turning Point. Kashuv posted the above apology on Twitter on Wednesday night, after the remarks circulated Kashuv, currently 18 and a senior at Stoneman Douglas, said in a statement on May 16 that he was leaving Turning Point to focus on 'school safety legislation' before starting college at Harvard in 2020. Kashuv's apology on Wednesday came as the Huffington Post and Daily Beast were preparing to publish articles about the offensive messages. 'I have recently been made aware of screenshots circulating that include offensive comments former classmates and I made a few years ago, long before the shooting,' he wrote. 'We were 16-year-olds making idiotic comments, using callous and inflammatory language in an effort to be as extreme and shocking as possible. I'm embarrassed by it, but I want to be clear that the comments I made are not indicative of who I am or who I've become in the years since,' he said. Chris Cox (left), executive director of the NRA-ILA, introduces Kyle Kashuv during the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum at the 148th NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in April 'I see the world through different eyes and am embarrassed by the petty, flippant kid represented in those screenshots, Kashuv added, vowing to 'do better moving forward.' Kashuv became prominent after the shooting when he spoke in favor of gun rights, as many classmates including David Hogg were advocating for new gun control legislation. Kashuv has focused his criticism on law enforcement failures that he believes contributed to the Parkland shooting, rather than gun control. He has met with President Donald Trump, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, included Kashuv on his Transition Advisory Committee on Public Safety. Kashuv will be among the graduating seniors at Stoneman Douglas' graduation ceremony on June 2. Accused Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz remains in custody, and prosecutors have thus far declined to offer a plea deal that would spare him the death penalty. Advertisement The president and first lady paid an unannounced visit Thursday to Arlington National Cemetery, making the traditional Memorial Day appearance four days early because they will be in Japan on Monday's holiday. Donald and Melania Trump took turns planting small U.S. flags in front of a row of headstones, assisted by a quartet of servicemen in fatigues from the Third Infantry 'Old Guard' unit that conducts ceremonies at Arlington. They spent their time in Section 34 of the cemetery, where visitors can see the grave site of General John Joseph 'Black Jack' Pershing, who commanded American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front in World War I. Frank Buckles, the last veteran of that war to die, is buried in the same section. Presidents traditionally lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Memorial Day. The first couple spent less than a quarter-hour at the cemetery, which averages nearly 30 funerals each weekday and between six and eight every Saturday. Tribute to the fallen: Donald and Melania Trump took part in the annual flags-in ceremony because they will be in Japan for Memorial Day President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump helped plant U.S. flags during the 'Flags In' ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on Thursday Presidents usually lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknowns on the annual Memorial Day holiday, but the first family will be in Japan on Monday for a state visit Fallen: The first couple spent their time in Section 34 of the cemetery, where visitors can see the grave site of General John Joseph 'Black Jack' Pershing, who commanded American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front in World War I Participation: The flags-in ceremony is conducted by members of the the Third Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, ahead of memorial day, this year with the president and first lady taking part Inspection: The first couple were present with a contingent of other military personnel were also participating in the annual 'Flags In' event, which begins the Thursday before Memorial Day each year But they weren't alone: A contingent of other military personnel were also participating in the annual 'Flags In' event, which begins the Thursday before Memorial Day each year. Over the course of about four hours more than 260,000 flags found their places Thursday at the resting places of America's honored dead. The operation included 228,000 individual Arlington headstones and 7,000 rows of 'niches.' Army chaplains placed flags in front of the cemetery's memorials and the headstones located on Chaplain's Hill. Sentinels also put flags at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Another 14,000 flags were planted at the Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in nearby Washington. 'Niche' grave sites are concrete crypts that are stacked as many as six-high, a recent addition meant to prolong the date when Arlington will run out of room. That's currently expected to happen in less than 25 years. The Flags In ceremony has taken place annually since 1948, guaranteeing a flag at each burial place at least once per year. Every available soldier from the Old Guard participates in the operation. This year more than 1,000 took part. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday that the president will hold a Memorial Day event in Tokyo on Monday but wanted to visit Arlington as well. Donald and Melania Trump took turns planting small U.S. flags in front of a row of headstones, assisted by a quartet of servicemen in fatigues from the Third Infantry 'Old Guard' unit that conducts ceremonies at Arlington The first couple spent less than a quarter-hour at the cemetery, which averages nearly 30 funerals each weekday and between six and eight every Saturday Taking part: Donald and Melania Trump took turns planting small U.S. flags in front of a row of headstones, assisted by a quartet of servicemen in fatigues from the Third Infantry 'Old Guard' unit that conducts ceremonies at Arlington Ready for Memorial Day: A small American flag is placed in front of each of the 220,000 headstones in Arlington National Cemetery A flag for every grave: Each headstone and niche in the National Cemetery is given a small flag in preparation for Memorial Day Equal in honor: The massive effort to give each gravestone a flag for Memorial Day is carried out by members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, who are in normal fatigues for the work. On Monday they will be seen in full uniform Massive effort: Members of the Old Guard arrive equipped to take part in the flags in ceremony Consistency: By the time the Old Guard members are finished their work, each grave will have a flag Respect for all: Every available soldier from the Old Guard participates in the operation. This year more than 1,000 took part Guard who honor: The 3rd Infantry Regiment take part in each burial at the National Cemetery Built to last: The flags put on every gravestone Trump has made veterans' care a central issue in his presidency, speaking often about how the twin epidemics of opioid addiction and suicide touch former active duty servicemen and women. In the coming days he is expected to make decisions about whether to increase America's military footprint in the Middle East, in response to growing threats from Iran. The large flags in Arlington National Cemetery are flown at half-staff from a half hour before the first funeral until a half hour after the last funeral each day. The smaller flags placed at grave sites will be removed before the public is allowed to visit Arlington on Tuesday morning after the holiday. Police in San Diego released footage showing the moment a police officer fatally shoots a chain-wielding man walking towards him while shouting 'Trump is the Devil'. Suspect Vaughn Denham, 48, reportedly attacked another person with a machete during an argument over a dog chain. Officer Corey Pitts had responded to the incident on August 8, 2017. When he tried to intervene, Denham ran up to his patrol car and swung a four-foot metal chain at the vehicle. San Diego's District Attorney's Office Wednesday also said the officer acted in self-defense and claimed he is not criminally liable for the shooting. The office released two minutes of body camera footage from the incident, in addition to finding him not liable for any wrongdoing. Police in San Diego released footage showing the moment a police officer fatally shoots a chain-wielding man walking towards him and shouting 'Trump is the Devil.' The office claimed that Pitts ordered Denham to drop the chain and he refused while continuing to walk toward the officer, swinging the chain. He used a Taser but that failed to stop Denham charging him. This forced Pitts to retreat for a block and a half while he continued to order Denham to drop the chain and get on the ground. Footage shows Pitts warning Denham he would shoot if he continued to refuse to put the chain down. The New York Post reported that he could be heard muttering: 'Trump is the Devil.' For more than a minute, Pitts walked backwards and continued giving commands to Denham to drop the weapon and get on the ground or he would be shot. In the two-minute clip, Denham is seen running towards Pitts as he says: 'Drop that now, drop the chain. Get down now.' The man is then heard saying to him: 'Shut the f**k up.' Pitts told investigators he believed if Denham got close enough he would hit the officers gun out of his hand and then use it against him. Pitts walked backwards and continued giving commands to Denham to drop the weapon and get on the ground or he would be shot Denham continues to walk towards the officer swinging a chain and muttering words He eventually fired two rounds and striking him as he falls to the ground. Denham later died at the hospital. A toxicology report showed phencyclidine (PCP), cannabinoids, and methamphetamine in his system. 'Based on these circumstances, Pitts fired at Denham in his own defense,' the office's review states. 'He therefore bears no state criminal liability for his actions.' Under California law, officers may use deadly force to protect themselves from the threat of death or great bodily injury and to use reasonable force in making an arrest. After is death, Denhams family issued a statement asking police officials to meet with them. They wanted to see footage of the incident so that they could 'understand the full picture of what transpired.' Pitts first used a taser on Denham which missed and then shot him twicce before he fell to the ground The release said they want their questions answered and the names of the officers involved released to the public. Denhams niece, Voneva Denham, told NBC: 'We're here today to pay respect to my uncle who was murdered and to request that we are able to see the footage of the police officer who shot him and also any footage they have of things leading up to his death.' Denham's sister who lives in Texas claimed that the altercation between Denham and another man started because the other man was talking about child molestation. She also said that Denham was on drugs at the time of his death. A Las Vegas woman charged with pushing a 74-year-old man off a bus to his death appeared in court on Thursday for the first time since her controversial release on bond. Cadesha Bishop. 25, arrived at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Thursday dressed in a maroon blouse decorated with large yellow roses to face a murder charge for the death of Serge Fournier. She sat impassively next to her attorney, Baylie Hellman, and did not utter a word during the hearing, which lasted only about six minutes, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Scroll down for video Cadesha Michelle Bishop, 25, who was charged with murder for pushing an elderly passenger off a bus to his death in Las Vegas, appeared on court on Thursday to face a murder charge Serge Fournier hit his head on a sidewalk during the incident and the Clark County coroner ruled his death a homicide resulting from his injuries a month later Presiding Judge Karen P. Bennett-Haron scheduled a preliminary hearing for July 17. Until then, Bishop will remain under house arrest after being freed on $100,000 bond. On March 21, security video caught Bishop shoving Fournier off a public transit bus in Las Vegas after he asked her to be nice to other passengers. Fournier hit his head on a sidewalk, and the Clark County coroner ruled his death on April 23 a homicide resulting from his injuries. Bishop was arrested on May 6 on a murder warrant. In court on Thursday, Bennett-Haron raised concerns about the safety of her colleague, pro-tem judge Jeannie Hua, who she said has been receiving threats after being unfairly blamed for setting bond for Bishop and granting her house arrest. Bennett-Haron clarified that the bond amount had been set by another judge, and that Hua later kept Bishop's bond amount at $100,000, ordered that she be placed under house arrest and put her on high-level electronic monitoring. The decision sparked widespread condemnation and a petition was launched demanding Hua's removal. As of Thursday afternoon, it has been signed by 1,730 people. Referring to the threats that Hua has been getting after having her private contact information leaked to the public, Bennett-Haron said: 'I do not practice in lynch mob justice.' She also issued a reminder that the defendant has a constitutional right to a presumption of innocence. 'I'm placing everybody on notice: it stops now,' the judge warned. A police report says Fournier was moving up the aisle of the Regional Transportation Commission bus just before 5pm on March 21 when he asked a woman who had been cursing at other people to be nicer to passengers, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Serge Fournier was shoved from a bus in Las Vegas and died of his head injuries in hospital a just over a month later In video footage released by Las Vegas police, Fournier could be seen falling face first into the sidewalk after being pushed from the vehicle In police documents Bishop is accused of shoving Fournier out the door 'with enough force that he never touched any of the steps' before hitting his head about eight feet from the bus. According to the arrest report, witnesses saw her walking away from the bus without offering Fournier help, grabbing her sons hand and leading him away. In the CCTV clip taken from the bus' security cameras, Bishop can be seen talking to Fournier as he walked past carrying a walker and heading towards the door. Then as his back was turned she violently shoved him with both hands, sending the elderly man crashing down the steps head first. Fournier initially survived but spent a month in hospital before he succumbed to his injuries, KSNV reports. Fournier allegedly told Cadesha Bishop to stop shouting and cursing at fellow passengers as he walked down the aisle of the Regional Transportation Commission bus on March 21 'No matter what his age, she should not have done that. People need a little more patience than what they have these days,' said the man's neighbor, Trevor Taylor. Taylor asserted that Fournier was a 'wonderful person' and shared that he would never forget his friend. 'He was an excellent neighbor. Very nice, religious person,' he added. Fournier leaves behind a long-time partner and a grown daughter. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Fournier's girlfriend. The Las Vegas Sun reported that Bishop was identified in part by a 'Love' emblem on her jacket and her son's distinctive Spider-Man backpack. Police said she was seen in the security video, which has yet to be released, walking away holding the boy's hand. Court records show that Bishop was convicted twice, in 2014 and 2015, of misdemeanor domestic battery charges. This is the heart-warming moment a 'scared, wet and hungry' sloth was rescued from a river and carried to safety. Inch by inch, in characteristic sluggishness, the mammal wrapped its long claws around a branch being held by a group of resort workers at Junglewood Falls in Panama. Once the animal had a firm grip on the stick, it hung on as the wardens lifted it back to the safety of the trees. The excruciatingly slow rescue mission was filmed by one of the group and captures the sloth's gradual attempts to haul itself up from the Mamoni River. Inch by inch, in characteristic sluggishness, the mammal wraps its long claws around a branch being held by a group of resort workers at Junglewood Falls in Panama One of the men gently lifts up the branch, giving it a small shake to ensure the sloth is holding on, and begins to climb back up the rocks to high ground The five-minute clip starts by showing the sloth clinging to a rock in shallow waters to stop itself being dragged any further down river. It is surrounded by a group of people who work at the Junglewood Falls resort who are dangling a stick over the furry animal. The sloth slowly stretches up one of its arms with and hooks its sharp claws around the branch. It then clamps a foot on the stick too and seems to have established a relatively secure hold. Because it is a precarious climb, one of the group clambers on ahead and then receives the sloth from the person carrying it below So one of the men gently lifts up the branch, giving it a small shake to ensure the sloth is holding on, and begins to climb back up the rocks to high ground. Because it is a precarious climb, one of the group clambers on ahead and then receives the sloth from the person carrying it below. They make their way over to some nearby trees which they poke the stick into in the hope of returning the sloth to its habitat. And this time the sloth does not hang about and quickly transfers from the branch back to the trees where it munches down some leaves. They make their way over to some nearby trees which they poke the stick into in the hope of returning the sloth to its habitat Lee Martin-Cramp, 26, is facing life in jail after spiking a American students drink and violently raping her while on the Caribbean island of Antigua A British police officer is facing life in jail after spiking a students drink and violently raping her on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Lee Martin-Cramp met the American on dating app Tinder and went back to her apartment where he put something in her wine that made her pass out. The student, a devout Christian who was a virgin, remembered screaming no but her memory was so blank she had to ask Martin-Cramp if they had sex. Martin-Cramp, 26, told her to pretend it never happened and brazenly asked her for sex again before leaving Antigua and blocking her on the online messaging site WhatsApp. In a legal first, Martin-Cramp was extradited to Antigua, where a High Court jury took just three hours to convict him. The trial heard that Martin-Cramp met the student in May 2015 while on holiday to attend a family wedding. The two switched to messaging service WhatsApp where she told him before their date: Dont come with an expectation of having sex. I dont do that kind of thing with people I just met. Martin-Cramp told her: Dont worry, Im not a creep. After drinking at a bar, they went back to her apartment where they opened a bottle of wine and chatted on her balcony. They decided to watch a film and the student went inside to change, leaving her glass of wine with Martin-Cramp. By the time she came back, he had brought it inside and closed the blinds. The student said: As I was about to start Netflix, I took a sip of my drink and it tasted different. I told him, this tastes different. He told me he had taken vodka from my freezer and poured some of it into the wine and it was something they did in the UK. I said OK and took another two sips. I just didnt want any more because it tasted different. After about ten minutes I was starting to feel off, to feel dizzy, not myself. In a legal first the British police officer, 26, was extradited to Antigua, where a High Court jury took just three hours to convict him. The trial heard that Martin-Cramp met the student in May 2015 while on holiday to attend a family wedding The student sobbed as she said: After that all I have is flashes from the rest of the night. I remember him being over me. I remember saying no, stop, being in pain. I remember my head hitting the floor. At 7am the next day, she woke up and she and Martin-Cramp were naked in her bed. She was bleeding, had two bruises on each side of her neck and could barely walk. Asked how rated the pain she was experiencing out of ten, the student said: I wouldnt fit on that scale. She said she stayed friendly with Martin-Crimp and kept messaging him in the hope she could secretly record him admitting what he did, but they never saw each other again. In messages on WhatsApp, the student asked Martin-Cramp if he remembered if they had sex because her memory was blank. He initially claimed he was 98 per cent sure they did not, but then said they definitely did. The student wrote: I wish I knew because if all this is true you took my V card (virginity). Martin-Cramp wrote: I cant give it back haha. Martin-Cramp's extradition to the Caribbean island is the first time a UK citizen has been extradited to Antigua to face criminal charges. It is not clear where he will serve his sentence, but his lawyers are expected to request that he do so in the UK (Antigua stock image) The student said: I just cant believe this. Martin-Cramp told her: Just pretend it never happened. The court heard that Martin-Cramp messaged her pictures of himself in uniform which built up a sense of trust between them. She said: If it was anybody I was going to trust its going to be someone with that power and authority. Martin-Cramp, who joined the Metropolitan Police in 2014 and was posted to Wimbledon, south-east London, denied one count of rape. He will be sentenced at a later date. His extradition, which was approved by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, was the first time a UK citizen has been extradited to Antigua to face criminal charges. It is not clear where he will serve his sentence, but his lawyers are expected to request that he do so in the UK. Patients should be urged to see their GP by Skype to help reduce the deadly toll of air pollution, the NHS boss has said. Simon Stevens spoke of how toxic emissions from traffic fumes were silently and inadvertently increasing the risk of serious illnesses, but that the NHS could play a huge part in reducing them by cutting back on unnecessary journeys. Patients and staff travel approximately 9.5 billion miles every year to and from hospitals, GPs and other health centres, he said. Switching to video consultations on smartphones or computers would be a simple contributor to air pollution reduction. Air pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year from conditions such as asthma, heart disease and chronic lung problems. Figures released earlier this month revealed how 2.6million children are attending schools in toxic air zones areas which breach the World Health Organisations safe emissions limits. NHS chief executive of England Simon Stevens (pictured) has urged patients to see their GP using Skype to help reduce toxic emissions from traffic fumes But although videolink appointments would reduce travel and toxic emissions, there are continuing concerns over their safety. Doctors are worried that they would miss subtle signs of frailty and illness, which can be picked up only by seeing patients in the flesh. Addressing 250 healthcare leaders yesterday at the Health Foundation think-tank in central London, Mr Stevens, who is chief executive of NHS England, said: As a country we have choices that could clearly cut the number of people affected by avoidable illnesses. So if, as a country, we are silently and inadvertently increasing our overall illness risks, that, in a sense, is future healthcare need and cost which we are storing up. Even on the current trajectory for air pollution reduction, thats still going to mean 1.9million children in toxic air schools by 2030. I think most of us would understand thats not a good choice for our children or for our country. There are things the NHS can do to contribute to this, since 9.5billion passenger miles each year arise from staff commuting and patient journeys. Mr Stevens said: 'we are silently and inadvertently increasing our overall illness risks, that, in a sense, is future healthcare need and cost which we are storing up' So if we invest in the digital replacement of some of the over 400million a year face-to-face patient contacts across the NHS, not only would that potentially be more convenient for patients, not only potentially maybe easier for staff to expand the number of sessions theyre able to do, particularly in general practice, but also it will be a contributor to air pollution reduction. Earlier this year Mr Stevens called for hundreds of thousands of hospital and GP appointments to be carried out via videolink as part of a ten-year plan for the NHS. Officials believe they will be more convenient for both patients and staff as well as less expensive hospitals and GPs would not have to run so many clinics so would be able to save money on administration costs and staff. But doctors leaders, notably the British Medical Association, are worried that videolink appointments would erode the doctor-patient relationship. But doctors are worried that they would miss subtle signs of frailty and illness, which can be picked up only by seeing patients in the flesh and if this kind of consultation would be suitable for the elderly, who may be hard of hearing or unfamiliar with Skype-type technology There are particular concerns over whether these consultations would be suitable for the elderly, who may be hard of hearing or unfamiliar with Skype-type technology. The NHS has previously admitted that it is a huge contributor to air pollution, and staff are now urged to cycle, walk or share lifts where possible. Ambulance trusts have also promised to replace diesel- powered vehicles over the next two years with those which are less polluting and more energy efficient. Earlier this month a coroner promised to reopen the inquest of a nine-year-old girl who died of an asthma attack which may have been triggered by air pollution. Ella Kissi-Debrah lived close to the busy South Circular road in Lewisham, south London, and had visited hospital 27 times before her death in 2013. Houston police are trying to determine what happened to four-year-old Maleah Davis after the ex-fiance of her mother said she was taken by men who released him and his two-year-old son after abducting them as well. Police say the story simply doesn't add up The police chief in Houston says evidence shows that a four-year-old girl who has been missing since earlier this month was killed and he's asking for the public's help in finding her body. Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference Thursday that finding the body of Maleah Davis will allow her family to have a proper burial for her. He says he believes Derion Vence, the former fiance of the girl's mother, knows where the child is but has not told police. 'We strongly believe he knows where she's at and if he wanted to tell us, he would,' Acevedo said about Vence. 'We really believe we have a little girl that has been murdered.' Vence's story has a hole so large 'you could drive a big rig through it,' Acevedo said. 'Maleah deserves to be found, be recovered and deserves a proper burial, and we need the community's help.' the chief continued. Acevedo said the HPD is still searching for Maleah, 4, and pursuing leads urging anyone with information to come forward. Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference Thursday that finding the body of Maleah Davis will allow her family to have a proper burial for her 'We strongly believe he knows where she's at and if he wanted to tell us, he would,' Acevedo said about Vence. 'We really believe we have a little girl that has been murdered.' Executive Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard, who also spoke at the news conference, said: 'We are not receiving the level of cooperation we need from anybody involved at this point.' In addition to asking anyone who may have seen something or has information about the case to come forward, Acevedo also implored the public to be vigilant when out in places that are not heavily traveled, such as hiking trails and wooded areas. He said to look out for things like out-of-place soil. Houston Police have increased reward money to $10,000 for the girl to be found The force has also pledged an extra $5,000 from HPD to increase the total reward money of up to $10,000 in the case according to Click2Houston. Vence reported the girl missing in early May, saying she'd been abducted after he pulled over on a Houston highway. Police later said the story didn't add up. Vence is being held on a charge of tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse. Authorities have not said he killed Maleah, but investigators found blood in Vence's apartment and search dogs detected the scent of human decomposition in his car. Derion Vence has been charged with tampering with a corpse after blood was found in the car he said was stolen with her in it, but she is yet to be found Last week, the volunteer-led search for the missing Texas girl was suspended after a string of dead end tips including one where suspect Vence said he knew where to hide a dead body. 'He actually said to his mother-in-law a year ago that, 'Man, if I ever killed anybody, I've got some places down in Rosharon they'd never find the body',' Texas EquuSearch volunteer Tim Miller told Khou 11. 'I talked to Brittany on the phone to see if that was correct or just a rumor, and she said, 'Yeah, that was correct'.' After two days of combing through fields, using trucks to check ditches, flying helicopters to look for burn sites and walking through neighborhoods, they were beginning to give up hope. Heavy rain had made the search more difficult and there was concern ATVs used by the crew could push evidence further into the ground. This photo shows the last time Maleah was seen alive, on April 30 as she and her stepfather, Derion Vence, walked into the family's apartment together just before 8am 'We feel as though there is a strong possibility that she was burned,' Miller said. 'Many of these areas are under water. We've tried to find burn spots. We've tried to find whatever we can by the air. 'Are we going to have to redo these areas as water goes down? Of course, we will.' Suspect Vence claims Davis was abducted along with a silver Nissan Ultima he was driving with his young son also inside on May 3. It was reported that she had vanished on May 4 near the Eastex Freeway and Greens Road in northeast Houston. Vence showed up at a hospital in Sugar Land making the claim they'd been attacked. The volunteers started working to find Davis around the area that Vence claimed they were attacked on May 6. Maleah was reported missing May 5 by Vence, who told officers the little girl was kidnapped The search moved to the southwest part of the city as Vence said he woke up on the Southwest Freeway with his two-year-old son 24 hours after being attacked. Their apartment was examined after May 3 surveillance footage showed Vence emerging carrying a black trash bag in a basket and what appeared to be a container of gasoline on the day of the alleged attack. Investigators found blood consistent with DNA on the child's toothbrush in the hallway and bathroom of the home. It's the last spot Davis was seen alive on April 30 but she was never spotted leaving after entering. Texas EquuSearch suspended their hunt May 8 due to flooding but when they resumed May 9, the car was discovered at a shopping center on Highway 6 in Missouri City. Dogs detected a scent of human decomposition in the vehicle. May 14 took Texas EquuSearch to the Rosharon area following the most recent tip alleging Vence had spoken about where he'd hide a dead body. Anyone with information on Maleah's whereabouts is urged to contact HPD at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. Julian Assange has been charged in the US with 17 violations of the Espionage Act for conspiring with Chelsea Manning. A federal grand jury returned the indictment against him in Virginia on Thursday afternoon. Now, the 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder faces 170 years behind bars. Seventeen of the 18 charges are violations of the Espionage Act. They are; one count of conspiracy to receive national defense information, eight counts of obtaining national defense information, eight counts of disclosure of national defense information. The 18th charge is conspiracy to commit computer intrusion which he was hit with in April. It's the first time in history that anyone operating in a journalistic capacity has been charged under the Espionage Act and raises concerns about First Amendment limits and protections for publishing classified information. WikiLeaks on Twitter called Assange's prosecution 'the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment'. Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, in a prison van, as he leaves Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1. He is now facing charges in the US WikiLeaks on Twitter called Assange's prosecution 'the end of national security journalism and the First Amendment' THE CHARGES x 1 conspiracy to receive national defense information - (Espionage Act) x 8 obtaining national defense information - (Espionage Act) x 8 disclosure of national defense information - (Espionage Act) x 1 conspiracy to commit computer intrusion Maximum sentence: 170 years Advertisement FIRST AMENDMENT Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Advertisement WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a tweet: 'I find no satisfaction in saying "I told you so" to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. 'I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism.' The US has until June 11 to submit its case to the UK for it to extradite Assange. Then, the process could take months or even years. Sweden is also appealing for him to return there to face sexual assault allegations. After announcing the charges on Thursday, John Demers, the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, told reporters: 'Assange is no journalist'. Assange is in London, fighting extradition to the US, after being expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy. He is completing a 50 week jail sentence in the UK for not surrendering to court by not going back to Sweden in 2012 to face sexual assault claims. Assange fled to London, taking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, in 2012. Together, US prosecutors say he revealed the names of intelligence sources in Afghanistan, China, Iran, Iraq and Syria among other breaches by uploading a haul of information to WikiLeaks that Manning had access to. In its announcement on Thursday, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said: 'In late 2009, Assange and WikiLeaks actively solicited United States classified information, including by publishing a list of "Most Wanted Leaks" that sought, among other things, classified documents. 'Manning responded to Assange's solicitations by using access granted to her as an intelligence analyst to search for United States classified documents, and provided to Assange and WikiLeaks databases containing approximately 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 US Department of State cables'. THE 37-PAGE JULIAN ASSANGE INDICTMENT A federal grand jury returned the indictment against Assange in Virginia on Thursday afternoon. Now, the 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder faces 170 years behind bars. The 37-page indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia on Thursday Advertisement Last month, Manning was put behind bars for contempt of court for not agreeing to testify against Assange before a grand jury. She refused, saying she did not believe in the secrecy of the process. She was released but was sent back again after saying she would rather 'starve' than testify against him. In April, Assange was dramatically dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, some seven years after he sought political asylum after the documents were published. He is currently fighting against extradition to the US. US authorities allege the whistleblower conspired with Manning, 31, 'with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation'. Assange published the documents on WikiLeaks with unredacted names of sources who gave information to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'These human sources included local Afghans and Iraqis, journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents from repressive regimes,' the Justice Department said. 'According to the superseding indictment, Assange's actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention.' MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS SEE CAUSE FOR CONCERN AFTER ASSANGE IS CHARGED UNDER THE ESPIONAGE ACT The new charges filed against Assange quickly drew alarm Thursday from media organizations and others. The groups are concerned that the Justice Department is charging Assange for actions that ordinary journalists do routinely in their jobs. Department officials said they don't view Assange, who founded WikiLeaks in 2006, as a journalist. And they say his actions strayed far outside what the First Amendment protects. WHAT EXACTLY DO THE CHARGES SAY ASSANGE DID? An indictment made public last month charged Assange with only one count, conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a Defense Department computer password. The 17 additional charges unsealed Thursday go further, accusing him of one of the largest compromises of classified information in US history. The new charges rely on the Espionage Act, which dates to the World War I era and is designed to protect the handling of classified information. Prosecutors say Assange asked for and received hundreds of thousands of secret government documents including military reports and State Department cables in violation of the act. HOW DO ASSANGE'S ALLEGED ACTIONS COMPARE WITH WHAT OTHER JOURNALISTS DO? The documents say Assange illegally solicited classified information and ignored government warnings that some of the material could be damaging to national security. The Department of Justice says he published identities of people working with the government without regard to the consequences, something officials say professional journalists would handle differently. But Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in an email that the government's charges 'rely almost entirely on conduct that national-security journalists engage in every day'. That includes cultivating sources, encouraging sources to share information about government policy and conduct, and receiving and publishing classified information. He called those activities 'crucial to investigative journalism, and crucial to the public's ability to understand government policy and conduct'. 'I don't think there's any way to understand this indictment except as a frontal attack on press freedom,' he wrote. WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION TO THE CHARGES? The American Civil Liberties Union and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press were among the organizations and individuals calling the charges a grave threat to press freedom. 'For the first time in the history of our country, the government has brought criminal charges against a publisher for the publication of truthful information,' said Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project in a statement. 'This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the First Amendment,' Wizner added. Lisa Lynch, a communications professor at Drew University who has written about WikiLeaks, said the Obama administration had considered but then backed away from using the Espionage Act to bring charges against Assange. She said the Trump administration's decision to do so, adding the Espionage Act to its arsenal of tools to prosecute the dissemination of information, 'sets the stage for an unprecedented crackdown on press freedom'. WHAT DOES THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAY IN RESPONSE TO THOSE CONCERNS? The Justice Department, in announcing the new charges, sought to draw a distinction between journalism and Assange's actions. 'Julian Assange is no journalist,' said the Justice Department's top national security official, John C. Demers, in announcing the charges, noting that the indictment charges Assange with conspiring to obtain classified information and publishing the names of secret sources that gave critical information to American military forces and diplomats. 'The Department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy and we thank you for it. It is not and has never been the Department's policy to target them for their reporting,' Demers said. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Despite the new charges, Assange is still a long way from a United States courtroom. He's currently in custody in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The US is seeking his extradition. Bruce D. Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said there's a real chance Assange never gets brought to the US. Even so, the charges aren't meaningless, he said. He described them as also a warning by the Justice Department to potential whistleblowers, a message to sources inside government. It's a 'shot across the bow,' he said. Advertisement It added: 'Many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning that their unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to United States national security.' Classified rules of engagement files for the Iraq war were also handed over by Manning, US officials said, and Assange is said to have agreed to hack into secure government networks. The Justice Department said: 'Assange actively encouraged Manning to provide more information and agreed to crack a password hash stored on US Department of Defence computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a United States government network used for classified documents and communications. 'Assange is also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to crack that password hash.' He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count except conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which is punishable by five years. Following Assange's April arrest, President Donald Trump claimed to know 'nothing about WikiLeaks. He said that he doesn't know very much about Assange, and it's the US Department of Justice that is handling the international case. 'I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It's not my thing. And I know there is something having to do with Julian Assange. I've been seeing what's happened with Assange,' he said in the Oval Office at the time. Following Assange's April arrest, Trump claimed to know 'nothing about WikiLeaks despite praising them in 2016 after they published embarrassing emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman's account 'So he'll be making a determination. I know nothing really about him. It's not my, it's not my deal in life.' He claimed: 'I don't really have any opinion. I know the attorney general will be involved in that and he'll make a decision, okay?' Trump said on numerous occasions in the fall of 2016 that he has great admiration for WikiLeaks, which published embarrassing emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman's account. 'WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks,' he said at one point. 'This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove,' he said at another campaign stop. Emails that WikiLeaks released were obtained illegally, and Democratic lawmakers want Assange to pay for his participation in the hacking and leaking scheme. Trump attempted to distance himself from WikiLeaks and Assange after the DOJ announced unrelated changes against him in another case after his arrest in London. 'That will be a determination, I would imagine, mostly by the attorney general, who's doing an excellent job,' Trump stated. He claimed a second time, as he was asked about his secretary of state's criticism of Assange two years ago, at an event later in the day: 'I dont know much about it.' Then the CIA director, Mike Pompeo, a close ally of the president's, signaled that the Trump administration had its sights on Assange in an April 2017 speech. 'It is time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia,' said Pompeo, now the top US diplomat, three months into the administration. He called Assange out by name in the Washington, DC address, labeling him a 'coward hiding behind a screen'. 'Julian Assange and his kind are not the slightest bit interested in improving civil liberties or enhancing personal freedom,' Pompeo said, seemingly setting US policy on WikiLeaks. The new charges further complicate the extradition tug of war between the US and Sweden, both of which want Assange back to prosecute but neither of which has filed a formal request for it. In Sweden, there is a sexual assault case statute of limitations which means the case must be prosecuted by 2020 if he is to face trial. It remains unclear whether the UK will chose to send him there or to the US. Bobby Joe Long, 65, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday at Florida State Prison over a murderous spree that claimed 10 women's lives in the Tampa Bay area back in 1984 The sister of one of the 10 women murdered by a Florida serial killer who is due to be executed says she hopes his death is painful and he 'burns in hell'. Bobby Joe Long, 65, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Thursday at Florida State Prison over a murderous spree that claimed 10 women's lives in the Tampa Bay area back in 1984. The family of one of his victims, 18-year-old Chanel Williams, spoke out just hours before his execution to call him a 'stone cold callous murderer'. 'I hope it's painful and I hope he burn in hell,' Chanel's sister Algalana Douglas told WTSP. Long had his last meal on Thursday morning and requested a roast beef sandwich, bacon and a soda. His violent rampage, which included rapes and murders, started in March 1984 with the brutal killing of Artiss Ann Wick. Nine more victims followed until his arrest eight months later. His spree earned him 28 life sentences and the death penalty for one of the killings. The majority of his victims were strangled, while other had their throats slit or were bludgeoned before being positioned in a gruesome way. After his arrest, Long confessed to that and other crimes and admitted to being 'The Classified Ad Rapist' - the moniker investigators gave while trying to solve dozens of rapes. Algalana Douglas, who is the sister of 18-year-old victim Chanel Williams, spoke out just hours before his execution and said she hoped he burned in hell Long would go through classified ads and make appointments to see items for sale. If a woman answered the door, he would rape her if she was home alone. Investigators were horrified and baffled by the trail of bodies that he left in the Tampa Bay area. His crime spree ended when one of his rape victims survived and was brave enough to leave a trail of evidence, including blood in his car, and remembered details about where he lived that she could pass on to police. That victim, Lisa Noland, had previously survived being raped by her grandmother's boyfriend. She plans to sit in the front row in the room where witnesses will watch Long die. Long's ex-wife, Cindy Brown, said earlier that she regrets not shooting him dead after a brutal beating and the decision has haunted her ever since given the lives he later destroyed. Brown, who was Long's childhood sweetheart and shares two children with him, said she believes he is getting what he deserves. 'This is something that in my heart should have happened many, many years ago,' she said. 'It's been a long time coming. I hate to see anybody die, but he's done the things that he's done. You made your bed; it's time to lay in it.' Long admitted after his arrest to being 'The Classified Ad Rapist' - the moniker investigators gave while trying to solve dozens of rapes. Long would go through classified ads and make appointments to see items for sale. He would rape women if they answered the door and were home alone Long, who has two daughters, went on a murderous spree in 1984 in Tampa Bay earned him 28 life sentences and the death penalty for one of the 10 killings Brown, who divorced Long in 1980, still vividly recalls an increasingly violent man. One day, he grabbed her, choked her and slammed her head into a television, knocking her unconscious with a gash to the forehead. 'When I came to, I was on the couch. Of course, he was there, crying. 'I'll never do it again. I'm so sorry.' Then the next words were, 'When you drive yourself to get your stitches, if you tell them what really happened, I'll kill you when you get home,' Brown said. She said after that beating, she loaded a shotgun and pointed it at Long with the intention of killing him. Brown didn't go through with it and said it has haunted her ever since. 'I have forgiven the man for what he did to me - the name calling, the physical violence, everything else... I don't think I will I ever forgive him for what this has caused my children, nor will I ever forgive him for what he did to those girls, whether they be the murder victims or the rape victims,' Brown said. Long went on his violent rampage against women in the years after their divorce. Brown was living in the Miami area while Long was killing women. Though she still feared him, they spoke regularly because he had visitation rights to their children. The woman who was his childhood sweetheart and father of their two children, Cindy Brown, said she believes he is getting what he deserves. The couple divorced in 1980 before his murderous spree Brown, who divorced Long in 1980, said she regrets not killing him after a brutal beating and the decision has haunted her ever since given the lives he later destroyed She would turn on the TV news every morning while getting ready for work and one morning was on the phone with him when news reported another one of his victims was found. 'I said, 'Bob, you always tell me to be careful, but what's going on out there in Tampa?'' Brown said. 'And he said, 'That's why I tell you, because you never know'.' It wasn't long before she received another phone call from Long and she could tell by his voice there was something wrong. 'You know the girls in Tampa?' Brown recalled Long saying. Her first thought was that Long's then-girlfriend, named Barbara, was one of the serial killer's victims. 'Oh my God! They killed Barbara!,'' Brown recalled saying. 'He said, 'No, I killed the girls.' And I told him, 'Bob, that's not funny. Don't joke like that. It just isn't funny.' And he said, 'I'm not joking,'' Brown said. A Hillsborough County sheriff's sergeant than took the phone from Long and confirmed that he had been charged. 'That was when my whole world turned upside down,' Brown said. While she agrees Long should be executed, she knows it is opening up wounds for her son and daughter and the families of those killed. 'Every one of the victims and the victim's families are in my prayers. I know it's a tough emotional roller coaster for them, and I am so, so sorry,' she said, choking up with tears. 'I understand it's not my fault, but tell my heart that. Make my heart believe that.' The former girlfriend of MAFS' Sam Ball has been found not guilty of breaching an apprehended violence order he took out on her, as he had asked her to come and pick up her phone. Akila Ahmunett, 30, arrived at Ball's home in Redfern, Sydney, in the early hours of March 21, even though the reality television contestant had taken out an AVO just a month earlier, The Daily Telegraph reported. Ahmunett told police Ball had invited her to his home to pick up her phone, and she thought she was allowed to do so without breaching the AVO, as he had invited her (Ball is pictured at court on April 15) Police facts tendered to the court earlier in the hearing say officers were called to the apartment by a third party at 3.20am, to claims Ahmunett was carrying knives and had threatened to slit Ball's throat. But when they arrived, the beautician begged police not to arrest her as she 'had work in the morning', and Ball said he was going to have the AVO removed. 'I thought I was able to come over if I was invited. I don't understand the law,' she told officers at the time. 'I am just here to pick up my phone, please don't arrest me, I have work in the morning.' The 30-year-old was then taken to Redfern Police Station. The pair are believed to have started dating in November, and Ball first reported Ahmunett to police for alleged 'domestic abuse' on February 4, after a falling-out. He applied for an AVO against Ahmunett on February 21, after he accused her stalking him, bombarding him with text messages, emails and phone calls. Ahmunett earlier admitted to trespassing in his flat on February 22 while other charges of stalking and harassment were dropped. On Thursday, the woman's lawyer, Geoff Harrison, tendered screenshots of texts his client had received from Ball, begging her to come back to him and claiming he 'will fix everything'. Ahmunett has been cleared of breaching the AVO, and escaped conviction for unlawful entry. The order will stay in place though, meaning she is still not able to contact Ball. An elderly former member of the British Armed Forces has disappeared off the south coast of Spain. The unnamed Briton is believed to be 70 and part of a diving school in Cabo de Palos, near Cartagena. The group lost contact with him at around midday today after he was last seen near a marine reserve called the Hormigas Islands. A Spanish Coastguard spokesman confirmed two helicopters were taking turns to search for the diver along with a Red Cross boat and two other Coastguard vessels. A helicopter search has been launched after the unnamed Briton, believed to be 70 and part of a diving school in Cabo de Palos, near Cartagena, disappeared at midday today One of the vessels is being used to drop a remote operated vehicle participating in the search. The dive school he had gone out with, one of eight in the area, has not been named. A Spanish Coastguard spokesman said: 'We were alerted at eight minutes past midday today. 'The missing man is a British ex-member of the Armed Forces aged 70. A Civil Guard and Coastguard helicopter are taking turns to search for him. 'Two Coastguard vessels and a Red Cross boat are also involved. A remote operated vehicle has been dropped from one of our vessels and it is currently searching at 40 metres below the sea surface. 'A call has gone out to any Spanish Navy vessels in the area to help out as well if they can.' Members of the Spanish Coastguard are pictured surveying a stretch of sea off Cabo de Palos on the country's southern coast A regional government spokesman added: 'All the state's resources have been activated in the search for this British national, a former member of the military aged 70 who disappeared while he was diving north of the Hormigas Islands in Cabo de Palos.' Cabo de Palos is next to the popular holiday destination of La Manga, around 20 miles from the town of Cartagena. It is popular with scuba diving fans as its sea bed is one of the most treasured nature reserves in the Mediterranean. Hormigas Islands are two and a half miles from the coast. The sea bed there is considered one of the best scuba diving sites in Spain and has been designated an Integral Marine Reserve for its beauty and excellent state of conservation. As well as the remains of shipwrecks and sunken boats, it is also home to reefs and deep underwater corral. President Donald Trump blasted the release of 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh revealing he tried to prevent it but vowing to keep 'watching him.' 'I dont like it at all. This was a judge that gave a 17 or a 20 year sentence and he got some time off,' Trump said, when asked by a reporter about the Lindh's release during a White House event Thursday. Trump then revealed that he consulted government attorneys about trying to reverse the situation, but was told there is 'nothing we are allowed to do.' 'Believe it or not, about two weeks ago I went to the best lawyers in our country that work for government, I said what can we do about this? Because I heard about this two weeks ago,' Trump said. Then he referenced a 'beautiful' letter he received from the daughter of Johnny 'Mike' Spann, who was killed in an uprising in Afghanistan that Lindh failed to warn about. President Donald Trump said he asked a government lawyer about trying to keep John Walker Lindh in prison but was told there was 'nothing we are allowed to do' 'I got a beautiful letter from the daughter of the first man they say killed in Afghanistan from the CIA. And I went and checked,' Trump continued. 'And he said from a legal standpoint there is nothing we are allowed to do,' Trump said of the unidentified lawyer. 'Because if there was, I would have done it instantly,' said Trump, who is currently fighting with Congress over multiple subpoena battles over congressional oversight. The Trump vowed in reference to Lindh: 'But well be watching him. Well be watching him closely.' 'What bothers me more than anything else is that heres a man who has not given up his proclamation of terror. And we have to let him out. Am I happy about it? Not even a little bit. The lawyers have gone through it with a fine-toothed comb. If there was a way to break that, I would have broken it in two seconds. I knew about it very well,' Trump concluded. Trump spoke after the family of Spann, a CIA officer who was killed in an attack in Afghanistan after interrogating 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh, described his release from prison is a slap in the face. Lindh, 38, was released from the FCI Terre Haute prison in Indiana on Thursday on probation after serving 17 years of his 20 year sentence after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. He was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in November 2001 and failed to warn U.S. forces of a planned uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi jail in Balkh where he was being held. CIA operative Johnny 'Mike' Spann was killed during the uprising and Lindh was injured. Spann was the first American killed in the Afghan war. Spann, an Alabama father-of-three, had questioned Lindh just a few hours earlier but the convicted terrorist chose not to warn him of the Taliban prisoners' plans. The family of CIA officer Johnny 'Mike' Spann (left) who was killed in an attack in Afghanistan after interrogating 'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh (right) says his release from prison is a slap in the face The CIA agent's family have fiercely opposed Lindh's early released and his daughter Alison - who was nine when her father was killed - said releasing Lindh was a slap in the face for her family. 'He is getting released early because of his good behavior in prison. For my family, terrorism does not equal good behavior,' she told ABC News ahead of his release. In a letter to President Trump, Alison urged him to put a stop to Lindh's early release. 'While my family is currently serving a life sentence, forever changed by the death of Mike Spann, John Walker Lindh was only sentenced to twenty years - a term now cut short,' she wrote. 'Lindh will not serve his entire sentence and will be released in May 2019; the same month 27 years ago that Mike brought a daughter into the world that he would never see grow up. 'I feel his early release is a slap in the face - not only to my father and my family, but for every person killed on Sept. 11, their families, the U.S. military, U.S. intelligent services, families who have lost loved ones to this war and the millions of Muslims worldwide who don't support radical extremists. 'Lindh was in Afghanistan training with al Qaeda while the September 11 attacks were planned, and he was there fighting with them after the attacks were carried out. 'He is a traitor and should not be released. The American al Qaeda fighter should be make to serve his full sentence - one that pales in comparison to the one that so many families have had to pay in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism.' Spann's daughter Alison and father Johnny have fiercely opposed Lindh's early release and wrote to President Trump urging him to intervene Lindh walked free from the medium security federal prison just after midnight local time and was met by his mother Marilyn Walker Spann's family - widow Shannon, daughters Emily and Alison, and son Jake - are pictured visiting his grave at at Arlington National Cemetery Meanwhile Spann's father Johnny Spann also urged President Trump to intervene in an interview with ABC News. 'Don't turn him loose if there's reports out here that he's not being the model prisoner that ya'll say he is,' the elder Spann said. Spann's father was referring to reports, including a 2017 investigation by Foreign Policy magazine and documents composed by the National Counterterrorism Center, that said Lindh 'continued to advocate for global jihad' as of May 2016. The documents also claimed that Lindh said he would 'continue to spread violent extremist Islam on his release' and had praised the activities of Islamic State. Lindh is among dozens of prisoners to be released over the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. His release brought objections from elected officials who asked why Lindh was being freed early and what training parole officers had to spot radicalization and recidivism among former jihadists. Lindh was captured with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2001 and failed to warn U.S. forces of a planned uprising at the Qala-i-Jangi jail where he was being held. Lindh is pictured being treated at an Army base hospital following the uprising that resulted in him being injured Lindh is believed to have walked free from the medium security federal prison FCI Terre Haute in Indiana (above) just after midnight local time on Thursday Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday morning that Lindh 'still is threatening the United states of America, still committed to the very jihad that he engaged in that killed a great American and a great CIA officer. 'There's something deeply troubling and wrong about it.' Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan wrote to the Federal Bureau of Prisons last week to question the decision to release him and ask what strategies have been put in place to stop him from causing further harm. 'What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?' they asked. On Wednesday, Florida Republican Rep. Michael Waltz, a former Green Beret who served in Afghanistan, described him as a 'traitor' and said he 'should be in prison for life'. Waltz added: 'We're calling on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to explain why he is being released early, and then we are calling on law enforcement authorities to be watching him extremely closely. 'We need to keep a close eye on him.' Footage of police desperately trying to save the life of Australian woman Justine Ruszczyk Damond after she was shot by a US cop has been released. Ms Damond was fatally shot by Mohamed Noor outside her home in Minneapolis that she shared with her American fiance, Don, and his son on July 15, 2017. She had called 911 earlier that night to report a possible rape, and was shot after approaching the police car. Bodycam footage tendered to the court, along with video taken by a passing cyclist of Noor's partner Matthew Harrity performing CPR as Noor paces nervously nearby, was released on Thursday. Ms Damond, a dual US-Australian citizen was to due be married to her fiance, Don (pictured) a month after her life was cut short when she was fatally shot outside her home in Minneapolis by police officer Mohamed Noor Ms Damond had called police to her home on July 15, 2017, believing a woman might be getting raped outside her home. She was shot after she approached the squad car, 'spooking' the officers inside (pictured is Noor's partner Matthew Harrity performing CPR on Ms Damond after the shooting as Noor paces nearby) In the clip taken by the cyclist, officers can be heard urging Ms Damond to 'stay with me' as they pump her chest. Bodycam footage shows Noor covered in sweat and clearly distressed. The officer is seen putting his head in his hands as a colleague directs him to sit in one of the squad cars that has arrived on scene. 'You alright kiddo?' he says. 'Yeah,' Noor replies. The first officer then directs him to 'just keep to yourself, keep your mouth shut til you have to say anything to anybody'. Appearing to be overwhelmed, Noor nods and says 'alright' before climbing into the squad car to sit with another officer. In another clip, Harrity tells officers he had his gun drawn, but did not fire, whereas Noor did. 'We got spooked,' he told them. Noor (pictured in his mugshot) was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter last month, but was acquitted on the highest charge, second-degree murder A jury found Noor was guilty of third degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after a three-week trial in Minneapolis last month. The officer is appealing the charge, with his lawyers claiming Noor did not act with a 'depraved heart' and was instead trying to 'defend his partner and himself'. 'The evidence at trial failed to support finding that Mr Noor acted with a depraved heart,' Noor's lawyers wrote in the filing. 'When Officer Noor fired that night he was not acting with depraved mind seething with wanton passion to cause mischief.' 'Mr Noor reacted to a dark alley in the middle of the night, a thump on the squad, a voice, a body appearing at the driver's side window, the startled announcement of fear by Officer Harrity as he reached for his firearm, and his observation that the person in the window was raising their right arm,' the lawyers wrote. 'Mr Noor's actions to defend his partner and himself, in the context of that night, are not evidence of the depraved mind envisioned by Minnesota courts for the last hundred years.' Ms Damond, 40, formerly of Sydney's northern beaches, was home alone in Minneapolis just before midnight on July 15, 2017 when she heard a woman's screams. Bodycam vision released on Thursday shows Noor moments after the shooting, looking sweaty with his head in his hands She called 911 and when Noor's police squad car arrived in the alley at the rear of her home she approached the vehicle. Noor and Harrity testified that Ms Damond startled them, they feared an ambush and Noor said he made the split-second decision to shoot across his partner and out the car window at Ms Damond. Ms Damond, wearing a pink T-shirt, pyjama pants and bare feet, was shot in the abdomen and died soon after. Noor, 33, a Somali immigrant who had only been an officer for 21 months before the shooting, faces a 12-and-a-half-year prison term when sentenced on June 7. Ms Damond's family filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis and received a record $US20 million ($A29 million) settlement. Noor, who was sacked from the police force after being charged last year, is in custody ahead of his sentencing. President Donald Trump warned on Thursday that while he doesn't believe it's necessary for the U.S. to increase its military presence in the Middle East to counter new threats from Iran, he's prepared to flood the region with American servicemen and women if he sees the need. 'I would if we need them. I don't think we'll need them. I really don't,' he told reporters at the White House following a speech about financial relief to farmers. 'I would certainly send troops if we need them. ... If we need it we'll be there in whatever number we need,' Trump said. Tehran's government has waved its sabers with new intensity in recent weeks as the Islamist nation's economy has shown signs of damage from punishing economic sanctions. Trump recently ended waivers that had allowed eight European nations to buy oil from Iran, threatening them with their own economic consequences if they don't comply. Iran wants the U.S. to return to an Obama-era deal in which they agreed to limit their own ability to build a nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief, an arrangement Trump called 'a horror show' on Thursday. President Donald Trump said Thursday at the White House that he's open to a new military deployment in the Middle East to counter Iran but 'I don't think we'll need them' Pedestrians on Wednesday passed a giant wall mural reading 'Down With The USA' on a street in Tehran, Iran; The country's mullahs have put new pressure on the Trump administration as they deal with the economic impacts of punishing new sanctions The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighters on board, has been deployed from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Sea, putting it near the volatile Persian Gulf Tehran's mullahs are thought to be behind a series of armed drone attacks on Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Arabian Sea last week, a crisis that led Trump to dispatch the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and an accompanying strike group to de-fang what appeared to be an imminent threat to a U.S. ally. Trump called Iran 'a nation of terror' on Thursday, saying that 'we won't put up with it.' 'I've been at many different meetings where every single problem caused in the Middle East and maybe beyond, but in the Middle East was caused by Iran,' he said. 'We had 14 different attacks at one point. They were behind every attack.' While Trump downplayed the possibility that he might re-engage militarily in the Persian Gulf region, he also wouldn't agree that America has shrunk its military footprint there too far. 'Look, I don't think we ever should have been there, okay?' he said, reinforcing his campaign-year claims that he opposed the Bush-era Iraq War at the time and would have handled the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks differently. 'I inherited this mess. Should we have been there? No, we shouldn't,' he said. 'Should we have gone to Iraq? Should we have attacked Iraq, which did not knock down the World Trade Center?' But he insisted that the U.S. military has 'done a great job' managing what is generally considered an unmanageable situation. 'If we need it we'll be there in whatever number we need,' Trump told reporters at the White House of a Pentagon plan for 10,000 more troops in the Middle East A woman was photographed passes in front of a mural depicting a flag of Iran, in Tehran, on Wednesday Four B-52 strategic bombers were moved from Louisiana to al-Udeid air base in Qatar, putting them in a short flight time of Iran 'I took over the ISIS fight,' he said. 'We knocked out 100 per cent of the caliphate. That doesn't mean they won't blow up a store. They're totally crazy. But we knocked out 100 per cent of the caliphate.' Trump claimed that his predecessor Barack Obama 'lost control of the military [and] lost control of the fighting,' but 'we will soon have the strongest military that we've ever had, by far, and nobody's going to mess with us.' Trump said Thursday that he was about to get a briefing to hear Pentagon plans for sending up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East. The troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions have included additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday Trump was evaluating the force posture in the region 'every day.' 'We're evaluating the risks, making sure that we have it right,' he told 'Fox and Friends.' U.S. officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats but indicated they initially involved missiles loaded onto small Iranian boats. This week officials said the missiles have been taken off the boats near Iran's shore, but other maritime threats continue. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rules a country whose support for violent extremist organizations across the region has been one point of tension with the U.S. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During back-to-back closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defense leaders told congressional officials the U.S. doesn't want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told lawmakers the U.S. is seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran, even while accusing Tehran of threatening U.S. interests in the Mideast. Shanahan told reporters, 'Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation.' Many in Congress are skeptical of the administration's approach to Iran, questioning whether it is responding to significant new Iranian threats or escalating a situation that could lead to war. Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment Thursday, saying, 'As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential or alleged future operations or plans.' In early May when the U.S. accelerated the deployment of the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, it also sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defense missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went to Capitol Hill earlier this week to brief lawmakers on that they say is a heightened threat from Iran but Democrats voiced skepticism about their strategy Iran's influence with jihadist militias stretches across the Middle East and their domestic weapons capabilities pose a constant threat to US allies in the Persian Gulf A U.S. Chinook helicopter is pictured above Baghdad's 'Green Zone' on Monday after a rocket came down close to the US embassy from an Iranian-backed terror group On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad - which is home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Trump is responsible for drawing Iran's ire. Last year he abruptly pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production, without crafting a coherent strategy for how to combat other Iranian behavior like supporting extremist organizations. He also has reimposed punishing sanctions that have crippled Tehran's economy, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization in April. 'I have yet to see any exhibited strategy,' said Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, a former CIA officer. She said she finds many of the administration's recent statements on Iran to be 'deeply troubling.' Scientists are warning visitors to the Jersey Shore this Memorial Day weekend to watch out for toxic jellyfish said to be invading the waters. A bloom of roughly 200 to 300 clinging jellyfish have been found in the New Jersey waters, according to Professor Paul Bologna of Montclair State and a group of his students. 'We've just pulled algae and what we're trying to look for is something called clinging jellyfish,' Elias Chalet, a biology major at the school, explained to CBS New York. 'The reason we're trying to look for it is because they have a very lethal toxin.' A bloom of roughly 200 to 300 clinging jellyfish have been found in the New Jersey waters Professor Paul Bologna of Montclair State (pictured) and the students are working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to determine the location of the jellyfish Bologna and the students are working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to determine where the jellyfish are most populated. The educator - known in some circles as 'professor jellyfish' - hopes to use the information to relay to vacationers where to swim during the holiday and hence forth. He stated: 'They carry these paralysis toxins that cause your muscles to tense up. They use those to catch fish so the fish don't run away, but it also causes intense pain.' The jellyfish hide in dark grassy areas of water and are smaller than a half-inch. They don't swim, but instead attach to vessels in the water and are known to cling to vegetation Brick councilman Paul Mummolo is helping the group spread the word about the dangerous jellyfish. What to do if stung by a clinging jellyfish The DEP states that people stung by clinging jellyfish should do the following: Rinse the area that was stung with white vinegar so that the cells can be immobilized Rinse the area with saltwater Remove the remaining tentacles - use gloves, a card or a thick towel to do so Apply cold packs or ice to alleviate the pain Seek medical attention if pain continues Advertisement 'A lot of our beaches, our bay beaches, it's important to educate the people on these clinging jellyfish where they are so that something doesn't happen,' Mummolo said. The jellyfish hide in dark grassy areas of water and are smaller than a half-inch. They don't swim, but instead attach to vessels in the water and are known to cling to vegetation. The jellyfish have 60-90 tentacles that contain the nematocysts or stinging cells. Clinging jellyfish do tend to feed on small marine animals, at night, but have been spotted in the day time. In New Jersey, they were first found in the Shrewsbury River in 2016 and spread to the Metedeconk River. The DEP has a map dedicated to tracking clusters of clinging jellyfish blooms in the state. President Donald Trump's financial records from Wells Fargo and TD Bank have been turned over to House Democrats. According to Fox News, the documents are now in the hands of the Maxine Waters-led House Financial Services Committee. Wells Fargo and TD Bank are two of the nine banks with which Democrats are seeking cooperation. Lawyers for the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees say they need access to documents from the banks to investigate possible 'foreign influence in the US political process' and possible money laundering from abroad. On Wednesday, the president, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka and the Trump Organization lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses. President Donald Trump's financial records from Wells Fargo and TD Bank have been turned over to House Democrats. The documents are now in the hands of the Maxine Waters-led House Financial Services Committee Wells Fargo (file image) and TD Bank are two of the nine banks with which Democrats are seeking cooperation Lawyers for the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees say they need access to documents from the banks (file image) to investigate possible 'foreign influence in the US political process' and possible money laundering from abroad In a decision read from the bench after hearing arguments, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York said Congress has the legal authority to demand the records, clearing the way for the banks to comply with subpoenas issued to them by two US House of Representatives committees last month. The committees have agreed not to enforce the subpoenas for seven days, the judge said. It was the second time in three days that a judge had ruled against the Republican president in his fight with Democrats and Trump's lawyers were expected to appeal both decisions. Ramos said he would not suspend his decision pending appeal. Some Democratic lawmakers welcomed the decision. 'So far, I think the president would be wise to come to the realization that our legitimate areas of inquiry are going to be supported by the courts,' Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Reuters in an interview. Representative Brad Sherman, a Democratic member of the financial services committee, was more cautious, saying that he expected the decision would be appealed. Asked if lawmakers should be satisfied that they will get the information they seek, Sherman said: 'I'll believe it when I see it out of the US Supreme Court.' The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deutsche Bank said it would abide by the court's decision. Capital One did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January. Ramos said that the committees had the power to issue the subpoenas under Congress' 'broad' power to conduct investigations to further legislation. On Wednesday, the president, Ivanka (pictured) and the Trump Organization lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses Donald Jr and Eric also lost their bid to block the banks from providing their financial records to the Democrats He also rejected Trump's argument that they were barred by a federal financial privacy law, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, saying the law does not apply to congressional investigations. Trump said last month that the administration was 'fighting all the subpoenas' issued by the House, hardening his position after the release of a redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on how Russia interfered in the 2016 US election to help Trump and on the president's attempts to impede the investigation. 'We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations and will abide by a court order regarding such investigations,' Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Kerrie McHugh said in an emailed statement after the ruling. Lawyers for the Trump family members and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the decision. Some parts of the subpoenas have been included in court filings. The subpoena on Deutsche Bank seeks extensive records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members and several Trump Organization entities, as well as records of ties they might have to foreign entities. Deutsche Bank has long been a principal lender for Trump's real estate business and a 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130million of liabilities to the bank. The subpoena on Capital One seeks records related to multiple entities tied to the Trump Organization's hotel business. In March, before issuing their subpoena, Democratic lawmakers asked Capital One for documents concerning potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's Washington hotel and other business interests since he became president in January 2017. The subpoena on Capital One seeks records related to multiple entities tied to the Trump Organization's hotel business Trump, his adult children, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, and the Trump Organization had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Deutsche Bank complying with the subpoenas from the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and Capital One from complying with a subpoena from the Financial Services Committee. In a lawsuit filed on April 29, lawyers for the Trumps argued that the subpoenas were too broad, and that Democrats are hoping they will 'stumble upon something' that could be used for political attacks on the president. Patrick Strawbridge, a lawyer for Trump, said at Wednesday's hearing that the subpoenas were 'the epitome of an inquiry into private or personal matters,' and that the House committees were reaching beyond their role as legislators. Douglas Letter, a lawyer for the committees, said the subpoenas were part of a 'very serious investigation on behalf of the American people' that could lead to legislation aimed at reducing foreign influence in US politics. He denied that it was intended to target Trump personally. 'He clearly sees us as some sort of nuisance,' Letter said. The banks are the only defendants in the case, but the House committees intervened to oppose Trump's effort to block the subpoenas. Representative Maxine Waters told reporters after the lawsuit was filed that Trump had 'cast a gauntlet'. 'We will fight him,' she said. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington ruled against the president in a similar case, finding that Trump's accounting firm, Mazars LLP, must comply with a congressional subpoena for Trump's financial records. US District Judge Amit Mehta found that Congress was 'not engaged in a fishing expedition' for the President's financial records when it subpoenaed Mazars and said that documents obtained might assist Congress in passing laws and performing other core functions. Trump called Mehta's decision 'crazy' and vowed to appeal. On Wednesday, the House committee involved in that case, the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement it had reached an agreement with Trump's lawyers to seek an expedited appeal. A policeman who brought down Australia's worst ever paedophile has described him as a 'pure sociopath'. Ruecha Tokputza, 31, raped 13 babies and boys over six years and shared footage of his horrific attacks online. Last Friday, Tokputza was sentenced to 40 years and three months behind bars with a non-parole period of 28 years. Ruecha Tokputza (pictured), 31, appeared in the District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to 51 charges against 13 babies and boys over more than six years The sentence is the longest in Australian history for a single course of child sex offending. Detective Brevet Sergeant Stephen Hegarty of South Australia Police has described how Tokputza was cold and emotionless during the court proceedings. 'He's a pure sociopath as far as I'm concerned. Offenders will usually "give" something, even if it's false, but he doesn't even try,' he told the Advertiser. 'There is no emotion from him, and that has never changed in any of my dealings with him, from day one through to his last day in court.' Tokputza's crimes were the most serious of their kind in Australian legal history, the court heard when he entered his plea last month. Tokputza pleaded guilty to 51 charges against 13 babies and boys over more than six years. He groomed Australian and Thai children for sex, filmed their abuse and shared it online. Tokputza groomed Australian and Thai children for sex, filmed their abuse and shared it online Prosecutor Heath Barklay SC told the court there was 'no body of comparable cases' for Tokputza's crimes because of the multi-faceted way in which he offended. Mr Barklay said his actions were more serious than those of notorious Families SA paedophile Shannon McCoole, who was sentenced to 35 years in jail in 2015. He said a major difference between the pair was McCoole's remorse, which he showed through a letter of apology to his victims. 'When one contrasts the two in that way, in my submission, this matter is plainly much more serious,' Mr Barklay said. 'It's for that reason that there is a limit to the use of the McCoole matter in this case.' McCoole also committed fewer crimes - 20 offences against seven victims over the span of more than three years. Prosecutor Heath Barklay SC told the court there was 'no body of comparable cases' for Tokputza's crimes because of the multi-faceted way in which he offended Tokputza was arrested following a joint investigation by Australian Federal Police, SA Police, NSW Police and Interpol Craig Caldicott, for Tokputza, asked Judge Liesl Chapman to hand his client a sentence that could have him released on parole after he had undergone rehabilitation. 'I would suggest that the sentence should be fashioned in such a way that it does give him some hope of eventually being released,' he said. Tokputza was arrested following a joint investigation by Australian Federal Police, SA Police, NSW Police and Interpol. His charges included sexual intercourse with a person under 14, aggravated assault, engaging in sexual activity with a child outside Australia and transmitting child exploitation material. Nigel Farage is heading for a landslide victory in the European Parliament elections and Boris Johnson has raced into a big early lead in the battle to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister. They are the main findings of an opinion survey which concluded at midnight on Wednesday after it became clear that Mrs May was on the brink of resigning. The Survation poll for the Daily Mail shows Mr Farages Brexit Party well ahead in the European elections on 31 per cent, trailed by Labour on 23, the Conservatives on 14 and the Lib Dems on 12. Nearly seven out of ten Tory voters said the reason they did not intend to vote for Mrs May yesterday was because of her failure to deliver Brexit. Calls for her to step down were backed by 57 per cent of Conservatives with 25 per cent against. A jubilant Nigel Farage outside a polling station in Kent today with his Brexit Party apparently racing towards victory With the Tory leadership contest about to begin, most of the partys supporters appear to have already decided that former Foreign Secretary Johnson is the best person to revive their dismal ratings and sort out the Brexit chaos. A total of 36 per cent of Conservatives said he should be next leader, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid a distant second on nine per cent, followed by Environment Secretary Michael Gove on seven and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on five. The highest placed women candidates are Andrea Leadsom, who resigned from the Cabinet on Wednesday, and fellow Brexiteer, former TV presenter Esther McVey. Both are on three per cent. Mr Johnson has almost as big a lead over his Conservative rivals among voters as a whole. With the Tories expected to choose a new leader by the end of July, his fellow leadership contenders will have their work cut out to close the gap. If he does replace Mrs May, Mr Johnsons campaigning skills may be put to the test very quickly. Despite Mr Farages success in the European elections, a total of 43 per cent say a General Election will be needed to sort out the Brexit mess, with 29 per cent in disagreement. The good news for the Tories is that the poll suggests their popularity will go up now Mrs May has quit. A total of 42 per cent of Conservatives say her leaving would make them more likely to vote for the party. Furthermore, 43 per cent of Tories say they are more likely to vote for the Party with Mr Johnson at the helm; 24 per cent are less likely to do so. The bad news for the Conservatives is that 48 per cent of voters believe a new General Election would produce another hung Parliament. One in five say Labour would win and only 12 per cent say the Conservatives would triumph. Mr Farage yesterday threatened to follow up his anticipated success in the European elections in the next General Election, warning MPs in the three main parties they would all be unemployed if the Brexit Party challenged them. But the Survation poll suggests he could fall short of that target. In a General Election, the Brexit Partys support of 31 in the European elections would fall to 12, not enough to guarantee them winning a single MP. A total of 46 per cent of Conservatives back calls to neutralise the threat from the Brexit Party by forming a pact with it; 31 per cent are against such a move. The survey shows there is little enthusiasm for the kind of No Deal Brexit advocated by Mr Johnson and Mr Farage, but voters believe it is becoming increasingly likely. Conservative MP and leadership hopeful Boris Johnson left his London home this morning (pictured) amid government turmoil. With the Tory leadership contest about to begin, most of the partys supporters appear to have already decided that former Foreign Secretary Johnson is the best person to revive their dismal ratings and sort out the Brexit chaos, according to a new poll Some 34 per cent say the UK will cut its ties with Brussels without a deal; 26 per cent say we will stay in the EU and 20 per cent say we will leave with a deal. And there is grave concern that a No Deal Brexit could break up the UK. Forty per cent of voters fear it would lead to Scotland becoming independent against 21 per cent who disagree. Thirty per cent say it would result in Northern Ireland becoming part of a United Ireland; 17 per cent disagree. Despite Tory support for Mrs Mays decision to go, Conservative voters do not hold her primarily responsible for her downfall. A total of 54 per cent point the finger at rebel Tory MPs; 27 per cent say she has herself to blame. Voters as a whole are divided on how she will be judged by history. A total of 45 per cent say she failed her country; the same number say her party failed her. The poll shows that Jeremy Corbyns hold on the Labour leadership is far from secure. A total of 55 per cent of voters said he should resign and 40 per cent would be more likely to vote Labour if he was replaced. The U.S. Customs and Border Protect agency updated its accounting of progress on President Trump's border wall project on Wednesday, concluding that 42 miles of border barriers have been completed since he took office. That's more than double the 20 miles of finished walls that the agency reported in an internal document DailyMail.com obtained Monday. But that 'Border Wall Status' summary contradicted itself in two places, raising questions that CBP corrected three days later. The totals in the new report dated Thursday still fall short of what the president pledged hours later, on a day when he agreed to omit new wall funding from a $19.1 billion disaster aid bill in order to get it to his desk. 'We will soon have hundreds of miles under construction,' he told reporters at the White House, 'and we'll have way over 400 miles completed by the end of next year.' That self-imposed deadline will arrive in time to help with his re-election effort. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that between 100 and 115 miles of the president's long-promised wall are finished. On Monday Trump said the end of 2020 would see 500 miles brought to completion. The new CBP report also downgrades from 255 to 205 the number of miles for which the administration has secured funding outside a Pentagon financing channel that Trump activated when he declared a national emergency in February. SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE LATEST REPORT President Trump's wall-building record got a boost on Thursday as U.S. Customs and Border Protection concluded that 42 miles have been completed Most of the wall construction in the Trump era, and most of what's planned, consists of replacement walls not barriers where none existed before Trump took office and Trump is pledging well over 400 miles will be finished by the time he stands for re-election A new U.S. Customs and Border Protection report on the status of border wall construction, dated Thursday, lays out how much progress 42 miles has been made on the project that turned Donald Trump into an immigration-hawk hero; CBP has a funding plan for 336 miles Both versions suggest 336 miles are funded overall, including the Defense Department's role. during Trump's presidency. Thursday's report concludes that 12.5 per cent of it is done so far. 'Since January 2017, approximately 205 miles of new and replacement border barriers have been funded through the traditional appropriations process and via Treasury Forfeiture Funding, of which approximately 42 miles have been completed to date,' Thursday's report reads. Throughout, CBP changed how it refers to sections of wall erected along sections of the U.S.-Mexico border where weaker barriers existed before Trump's inauguration. Where Monday's report referred to 'updated' walls, Thursday's describes 'replacements.' Overall, just 110 miles of walls reflected in CBP's report consist of 'new' barriers where the U.S.-Mexico border has previously been open to vehicle and foot traffic. The rest are 'replacement' wall sections. When a 'Fox & Friends' host asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Wednesday how much of the wall is finished, she replied: 'There's over 100 miles. I think it's close to 115 miles.' Trump is still boasting he wil keep his promise to wall off much of the southern U.S. border, and needs something to show his supporters in time to stand for re-election in 2020 Trump downplayed the news about Thursday's disaster funding bill, which didn''t include money he demanded to expand his wall-building project, saying at the White House that 'were going to get the immigration money later, according to everybody' Both the president and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders have claimed this week that the administration will finish roughly 500 miles of wall by the end of next year; Trump adjusted that on Thursday to 'way over 400 miles' Trump downplayed the news about Thursday's disaster funding bill, saying at the White House that 'were going to get the immigration money later, according to everybody.' Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, told The Wall Street Journal that 'Im sure he wanted the border, its humanitarian money, but we took it all out. Were going to try and push that separately when we come back.' According to a chart in the report, the sections of wall that are funded and in varying stages of contracting and competion include 86 miles of 'new primary wall' and 24 miles of 'new levee wall.' Also included are 68 miles of 'replacement primary wall,' 144 miles of 'replacement vehicle wall' and 14 miles of 'replacement secondary wall.' CBP breaks down the sources of funding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is using for construction contracts into three buckets. The first two, adding up to '205 miles of new and updated border barriers,' are regular congressional appropriations and money shifted over from a Treasury Department fund that's flush with cash from the sale of forfeited assets like cars and real estate. A separate Defense Department program that will build walls to block narcotics traffickers, according to CBP, will contribute another 131 miles of barriers. Nearly all of the documented border wall construction the Trump administration has engaged in so far has consisted of replacing some existing barriers and reinforcing others with secondary fencing News reports on Tuesday described a bleak picture of inefficiency, based on a statement from the House of Representatives' top attorney to a federal judge in California. House General Counsel Douglas Letter wrote to Judge Haywood Gilliam that the Trump administration 'has now constructed 1.7 miles of fencing' with the $1.57 billion Congress allocated for the fiscal year that ended last September 30. That turned out to be only partially accurate: Federal contracting rules, along with the time consumed by construction, can mean a year or more goes by between when agencies receive money and when a project is finished. And the funding stream Letter described is only a small portion of the money available to CBP. The agency's status memo describes plans to build 80 miles of wall sections with the congressional money from 2018, including 14 miles in San Diego, 13 in Texas and 41 in sections of California and Arizona where weaker 'pedestrian fencing' is being replaced. None of those projects is expected to be finished until 'early 2020' at the soonest. White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said in an email late Wednesday that the pace of wall construction 'is on par with other federal construction projects.' 'More construction is going to kick off over the next month,' he said. Customs and Border Protection says it has replaced 'dilapidated' border barriers that consisted of Normandy-style vehicle barriers like these, shown in April 2018 between Santa Teresa, New Mexico and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico And CBP expects to award a contract for another 12 miles of Texas wall by the end of this year still relying on the 2018 money. When Trump fired back Wednesday on Twitter he didn't try to explain how long it takes to deploy federal taxpayer dollars. Instead he defended what he said has been 'a complete demolition and rebuilding of old and worthless barriers with a brand new Wall and footings.' 'Problem is, the Haters say that is not a new Wall, but rather a renovation. Wrong, and we must build where most needed,' he added. The president has redirected billions of dollars to his wall project through a national emergency declaration, repurposing money from the Treasury and Defense Departments and drawing lawsuits like moths to a candle. Both houses of Congress voted to rescind that declaration in March, approving a resolution that the president immediately vetoed. 'Also, tremendous work is being done on pure renovation fixing existing Walls that are in bad condition and ineffective, and bringing them to a very high standard!' Trump concluded. On Tuesday the House of Representatives' general counsel told a judge that CBP 'has now constructed 1.7 miles of fencing' with the $1.57 billion it received for the project in the fiscal year that ended September 30 of last year; that's misleading because contracting rules and construction calendars mean years can pass between when an agency gets money and when a project is finished, and it only represents one of many funding streams A CBP spokesman told DailyMail.com in March that it had not at that time erected any walls at all to protect previously unbarricaded sections of America's southern border. 'The first new wall project, where no barrier currently exists, is anticipated to start in April,' CBP spokesman Roger Maier said at the time. He identified Hidalgo County as the construction project's location, a border zone along a meandering 50-mile stretch of the Rio Grande. CBP said last year that it was 'designing and constructing approximately 25 miles of levee wall system' in that county, whose anchor is the border city of McAllen. The agency reported in March, after DailyMail.com reported Maier's comments, that it had 'built 38 miles of new border wall system in CA NM & TXproviding new capability by replacing ineffective infrastructure, like Normandy-style barriers designed only to stop vehicles, not people on foot.' President Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying to take him down with a 'thousand stabs' as he said a pair of former FBI agents committed 'treason' during the Russia probe. Trump made the statement as he fielded questions at a trade-related event on a day when he called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'crazy.' He once again inveighed against Democratic investigations and accused 'FBI lovers' Peter Strzok and Lisa Page of treason. He also singled out former FBI director James Comey and former deputy director Andrew McCabe. 'They don't feel they can win the election, so they're trying to do the thousand stabs. Keep stabbing. Let's have a financial, let's have and if you look for $40 million, I would think seriously that Bob Mueller and his group of 18 killers have gone over my taxes, they've gone over my financial statements to a level that nobody has gone over them before and they were not discussed even. They weren't discussed or brought up,' Trump said, referencing Democratic demands for his tax returns and information about his business. Trump made the comments shortly before the release of a new executive order that empowers Attorney General William Barr to declassify information in connection with the probe of law enforcement actions. 'That's treason,' said President Trump, describing communications of FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page He referenced a claim for the cost of the Mueller probe, which for now stands at closer to $25 million. Then Trump added: 'I have great statements,' referencing his financials. The president was asked which individuals committed treason a crime that carries the death penalty following a tweet days ago that said Treason 'means long jail sentences.' Trumps statements followed repeated calls to 'investigate the investigators,' and Attorney General Bill Barr naming a U.S. attorney to examine the early days of the Russia probe. 'If you look at Comey. If you look at McCabe; if you look at probably people people higher than that,' he saids. 'If you look at Strzok, if you look at his lover, Lisa page, his wonderful lover,' Trump said at the White House. 'Two lovers. They talked openly. They didn't use their private server because they didn't want to get caught. So they used the government server,' Trump said of the two FBI agents whose relationship was revealed following an inspector general's report. 'That was not a good move,' Trump advised. Then he brought up a Strzok text about an 'insurance policy,' which Strzok made while discussing a probe of Trump even when he was not favored to win the election. 'He talked about the insurance policy just in case crooked Hillary loses. And that didn't work out well for them. So you look at them, they want an insurance policy, so that should she for any reason lose, remember, 100 million to 1, maybe he said 100 million to nothing. But should she lose, we'll have an insurance policy and well get this guy out of office,' Trump fumed. That comment brought the number of people Trump claimed committed treason to four, in addition to the unnamed higher-ups. 'That's what they said and that's what they meant. That is treason. That's treason. They couldn't win the election. And that's what happened. That's what is happening right now. Because, without the treason word, I guess. But that's what is happening now,' Trump said. Trump said last week that government officials and others who conspired to conduct surveillance on his 2016 campaign should be subject to long prison terms for committing treason. 'My Campaign for President was conclusively spied on,' he wrote in an early morning tweet. 'Nothing like this has ever happened in American Politics.' 'A really bad situation. TREASON means long jail sentences, and this was TREASON!' The president didn't name anyone he thinks committed treason. But he has previously applied that word, and other similar brands like 'traitor,' to numerous former senior officials. Former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and others have roused his ire. In another tweet on Friday, Trump quoted an unspecified person on the morning's 'Fox & Friends' broadcast explaining the likely fallout from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's decision not to claim the president committed a crime. 'What happened is that Donald Trump won. Down goes Comey,' the quote read. President Trump said Friday that people who spied on his campaign committed treason and must be held accountable Treason 'means long jail sentences,' the president tweeted, but he didn't name any names Attorney General WilliamBarr has appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to investigate whether the FBI's methods of collecting intelligence on Trump's 2016 campaign were legal A federal law defines treason as an action that 'levies war' against the United States 'or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere.' The crime is punishable by death, or by a jail sentence that's 'not less than five years.' Barr said the presence of an infamous 'anti-Trump 'dirty dossier' among the FBI's investigative documents gave him pause. 'Its a very unusual situation to have opposition research like that, especially one that on its face had a number of clear mistakes and a somewhat jejune analysis,' he said. 'And to use that to conduct counterintelligence against an American political campaign is a strange, would be strange development.' 'The answers Im getting arent sufficient,' Barr added. Attorney General William Barr has opened an investigation into how the Justice Department's broad Russia probe began, including the process through which the DOJ persuaded a judge in a secret federal court to grant surveillance warrants against then-Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page. Barr told Fox News on Thursday that his preliminary look isn't reassuring. Durham, the new spy-hunter, has previously served as a special prosecutor investigating allegations of impropriety by intelligence officials 'Ive been trying to get answers to the questions and I've found that a lot of the answers have been inadequate and some of the explanations I've gotten don't hang together,' Barr said. 'In a sense I have more questions today than when I first started.' 'People have to find out what the government was doing during that period,' he said. 'If we're worried about foreign influence, for the very same reason we should be worried about whether government officials abuse their power and put their thumb on the scale.' Barr emphasized that he hadn't yet drawn any conclusions. 'I'm not saying that happened but it's something we have to look at,' he said. Trump has long believed that Obama-era DOJ officials plotted to prevent his victory over Hillary Clinton, citing text messages from a former FBI agent and his FBI lawyer paramour. Peter Strzok and Lisa Page famously chatted that they would 'stop' Trump's ascent. They both worked on Special Counsel Robret Mueller's expansive investigation. Citing them and others, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in March that 'they wanted to do a subversion. It was treason. It was really treason.' 'If the Republican Party had done this to the Democrats, if we had done this to President Obama, you'd have 100 people in jail right now and it would be treason. It would be considered treason and they'd be in jail for the rest of their lives.' Trump has insisted that he didn't order Barr to take an investigative baton and run with it aggressively. 'I didn't ask him to do that,' Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing for Louisiana Tuesday morning. 'I didn't know it, but I think it's a great thing that he did it.' 'It was the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the people of this country,' Trump said of the Russia probes. 'And you know what, I am so proud of our attorney general that he is looking into it. I think it's great. I did not know about it, no.' Barr appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John Durham to investigate the origins of the Russia probe. Durham will examine whether the FBI's methods of collecting intelligence on Trump's 2016 campaign, which ultimately led to the investigation, were legal. Previously, Durham served as a special prosecutor investigating improper behavior by intelligence officials. The attorney general signaled during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that he wanted to review the law enforcement agency's surveillance of the Trump campaign. He said 'spying did occur,' but clarified that it was not necessarily illegal spying. Trump and Republicans assert that the FBI used 'illegal' and irregular methods to obtain the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant, which allowed the agency to spy on Trump's campaign adviser Carter Page. A former lawyer at the FBI admitted that the agency relied heavily on the Steele Dossier, a document authored by former British spy Christopher Steele that Russians allegedly used to blackmail Trump, to obtain a FISA warrant to spy on Page. During the hearing, Barr said it was possible some of the elements of the dossier could be part of a disinformation campaign by Russia. If it is found that the FBI obtained the FISA warrant to spy on Trump's campaign illegally, it would bring into question the whole origins of the Russia probe. Barr was brought to testify before the committee in April following the release of a redacted-version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report. Initially, Barr issued a four-page summary of the 448-page report in late March, and later in mid-April gave Congress a version where 10 per cent was blacked out for various reasons. That version was made public. The report found that Trump, including those within his campaign and administration, had not conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. 'They want to look at how that whole hoax got started,' Trump said of the federal prosecutor's appointment. 'It was a hoax. And even Mueller not a friend of mine even Bob Mueller came out, 'no collusion.'' Trump has complained about a growing list of Obama-era Justice Department officials in the past, calling many of them 'traitors' and saying the Mueller probe was 'treasonous'; pictured, clockwise from top left, are former FBI Director James Comey, his former deputy Andrew McCabe, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and former FBI senior agent Peter Strzok Even though the report found there was no collusion, it did outline 10 'episodes' where the president could have potentially attempted to obstruct justice throughout the investigation. Trump claims the report fully exonerated him from all crimes related to the Russia investigation, but Democrats feel there is enough evidence to begin impeachment proceedings on grounds of obstructing an ongoing investigation. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have subpoenaed Barr to produce the full, unredacted report, complete with grand jury testimony. When he refused, the committee said it would hold Barr in contempt of Congress. Despite the subpoena, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure prohibit the attorney general from disclosing a matter that occurred before the grand jury. If he were to reveal this information to Congress, he could be held in contempt of court. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send Sol Prendido or HEARST an email! Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter forBorderland Beat?We love to have you in our team, sendoran email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. Thousands of migrants accused of cheating the student visa system have been allowed to stay in Britain, a report has warned. Around 56,000 foreign citizens were implicated in a scam to fake English language tests to beat UK border controls, said the National Audit Office (NAO). The spending watchdog said bogus students had exploited the lax system in a racket run by criminal gangs. Yet about 7,500 had been given permission to remain in the UK rather than being thrown out often challenging the decision on human rights grounds. Thousands of migrants accused of cheating the student visa system have been allowed to stay in the UK. The 7,500 were given permission to stay often after challenging the deportation decision on human rights grounds. (Pictured) Barriers at Gatwick Airport The NAO said there had been widespread cheating in English language tests. Those claiming to be students needed to pass them before they were granted a visa. However, the NAO also acknowledged that a small proportion of innocent people may have been removed from the UK after being embroiled in the fiasco. Each year, around 100,000 non-EU students get their visas to stay in the UK extended. Since 2011 foreign students have had to prove they can speak English. The scam involved corrupt invigilators reading out answers or allowing gangs of imposters to sit speaking tests so the candidates could be awarded an English language certificate. It meant foreigners who could barely speak a word of English were allowed to enter the country illegally. Gangs were charging around 750 for each fake English language test four times more than the usual 180 cost. The Home Office was alerted to the scandal involving the Educational Testing Service (ETS), only after it was exposed by a BBC Panorama programme in 2014. The ETS is the major company that sets the exams but does not appoint the invigilators. The NAO report said it revealed organised cheating in two language test centres run by third parties on behalf of ETS. An investigation by ETS, using voice recognition technology and human listeners to establish who had cheated by having someone else sit their test, identified 97 per cent as suspicious. An astonishing 33,663 UK tests, 58 per cent, were classed as invalid while another 22,476 results, or 39 per cent, were considered questionable. The report said 92 per cent of those found to have falsified tests were fluent English speakers suggesting a stand-in had sat the exam. The Government responded by cancelling thousands of visas. But the watchdog found 7,467 migrants accused of deception were allowed to stay in Britain despite the fact that some tried to dupe the system. Of these around 4,000 were granted leave to remain and 2,600 had successfully appealed against immigration decisions, often arguing that removing them would breach their human rights. That opened the door to British citizenship, allowing them access to a full range of benefits. After the scandal was exposed, the National Crime Agency was called in to assist the Home Offices Criminal and Financial Investigation team. The NAO revealed 25 criminals were convicted for their role in the scam, 21 of them being jailed for a total of 70 years. Four offenders are still awaiting sentence, said the report. Ministers also stripped 75 colleges of the right to admit foreign students. At least 11,000 people accused of cheating the language tests have left the country about one in five of all suspicious candidates, said the NAO. Sir Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, acknowledged cheating had happened on a large scale. He said: When the Home Office acted vigorously to exclude individuals and shut down colleges involved in the English language test cheating scandal, we think they should have taken an equally vigorous approach to protecting those who did not cheat but who were still caught up in the process, however small a proportion. This did not happen. China has spewed out 7, 000 tonnes of a banned chemical since 2013, a shocking study has found. The emissions from northeastern China contributed between 40 and 60 per cent to a global rise in CFC emissions. CFCs, formally known as chlorofluorocarbons, were banned after it was found they destroyed the Earth's ozone layer. The source of the current increase in CFC-11 is unknown but scientists suggest it may originate from newly made insulation and cooling units. Global spikes in its global emissions were traced to East Asia last year but the worst offending regions remained unconfirmed until now. Annual emissions of CFC-11 from northeastern china has increased by around 7,000 tones since 2013. A combination of two images released by the Nasa Earth Observatory on December 1, 2009 showing the size and shape of the ozone hole in 1979 (L) and in 2009 An international team of scientists from the UK, South Korea and Japan discovered that recent spikes in CFC-11 emission mostly came from the northeastern provinces of Shandong and Hebei. The reduction in atmospheric concentrations of trichlorofluoromethane, known as CFC-11, was the second-biggest contributor to the global decline of CFCs levels since the 1990s. Lead author of the report that revealed the findings, Dr Matt Rigby at the University of Bristol, said: 'CFCs are the main culprit in depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, which protects us from the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. The report revealed that emissions from Shandong and Hebei provinces in northwest China during 2014-2017 was significantly higher than in 2008-2012. 'Through global monitoring networks such as the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Global Monitoring Division (NOAA GMD), scientists have been making measurements of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere for over 40 years.' While the study did not have direct measurements from mainland China, it used atmospheric data from Gosan, South Korea, and Hateruma, Japan in combination with global monitoring data. The team also ran computer simulations that confirmed the origin of the CFC-11 molecules. 'We didn't find evidence of increased emissions from Japan, the Korean peninsula or any other country,' added Luke Western, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Bristol. Researchers are still unsure what is causing the dramatic hike but it is believed CFCs seeping from old home insulation material and refrigerators is not large enough to cause the severe spike. Dr Rigby said: 'CFC-11 was used primarily in foam blowing, so we looked at estimates of the amount of CFC-11 that could be locked up in insulating foams in buildings or refrigerators that were made before 2010, but the quantities were far too small to explain the recent rise. 'The most likely explanation is that new production has taken place, at least prior to the end of 2017, which is the period covered in our work.' Dr Rigby said: 'It is now vital that we find out which industries are responsible for the new emissions. If the emissions are due to the manufacture and use of products such as foams, it is possible that we have only seen part of the total amount of CFC-11 that was produced. 'The remainder could be locked up in buildings and chillers and will ultimately be released to the atmosphere over the coming decades.' Findings suggests that the increases comes from new production and usage of CFC-11 which could mean a lot more of the gas is locked up in newly made insulation and fridges. The map shows the two provinces leading the rise in CFC-11 Last year, spikes in its global emissions were traced to East Asia but the main source of emissions remain unknown until now. The diagram shows how the O-zone layer can be destroyed by CFC gases CFC-11 was widely used in the 1970s and 1980s as a refrigerant and to make foam insulation, and is part of the CFC family of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer, the thin shield of gas that protects life on Earth from dangerous solar rays. The 1987 Montreal Protocol banned CFCs and other industrial aerosols that chemically dissolve ozone above Earth's surface, especially over Antarctica and Australia. With the ban, the global concentrations of CFC-11 declined steadily until about 2012, but last year scientists discovered that the pace of that slowdown dropped by half from 2013 to 2017. Reports last year from the Environmental Investigation Agency claimed Chinese foam factories in the coastal province of Shandong and the inland province of Hebei as the culprits of CFC release. WHAT WAS THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL? The Montreal Protocol international environmental agreement is to protect the ozone layer through reductions in ozone-depleting substances (ODS) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). It aims to phase out global CFC production by 2010. The 1987 protocol banned CFCs and other industrial aerosols that chemically dissolve ozone 6-25 miles (10-40km) above Earth's surface, especially over Antarctica and Australia. Since its adoption in 1987 and as of end-2014, it has successfully eliminated over 98 per cent of controlled ODS, helping reverse the damage to the ozone layer. A very significant co-benefit is that it has - during period 1989-2013 - reduced cumulative CO2-eq. emissions by 135 billion tonnes. Advertisement Suspicions were strengthened when authorities subsequently shut down some of these facilities without explanation. China was accused at the time of causing the massive spike in illegal emissions with its use of cut-price home insulations. The Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA) found widespread use of CFCs in the country, despite the chemical being banned for nine years. The substances were being used to create cheap home insulation that can cut energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. Two decades ago, CFCs - more potent by far than greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide or methane - accounted for around 10 per cent of human-induced global warming. As a result it caused a huge hole to emerge in the ozone layer over regions of Antarctica, South America and Australasia. Pouring more CFC-11 into the air could also prevent ozone from returning to normal levels, scientists have repeatedly warned. 'If emissions do not decline, it will delay the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, possibly for decades,' said Paul Fraser, an honorary fellow the CSIRO Climate Science Centre in Australia. CFC-11 persists in the atmosphere for about half a century, and still contributes about a quarter of all chlorine - the chemical that triggers the breakdown of ozone -- reaching the stratosphere. At its most depleted, around the turn of the 21st century, the ozone layer had declined by about five percent. Today, the 'hole in the ozone' over the South Pole is showing clear signs of recovery. But a study last year found that the ozone layer is unexpectedly declining in the lower stratosphere over the planet's populated tropical and mid-latitude regions. Up to now, CFCs and other molecules have mainly eroded ozone in the upper stratosphere, and over the poles. That study identified two possible culprits: industrial chemicals not covered by the Montreal Protocol called 'very short-lived substances' (VSLSs), and climate change. The full report was published in the journal Nature. Researchers working in the murky waters of the northern Gulf Coast have located the wreck of the last ship known to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States, historical officials said Wednesday. A statement by the Alabama Historical Commission said remains of the Gulf schooner Clotilda had been identified and verified near Mobile after months of assessment. Scientists thought they'd identified remains of the Clotilda last year, but ultimately, the wreckage was too large to belong to the schooner. Scroll down for video Researchers have discovered the wreck of the last ship known to bring enslaved people from Africa to the US. It was very similar in size to the slave ship Amistad (artist's impression) 'The discovery of the Clotilda is an extraordinary archaeological find,' said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the commission. She said the ship's journey 'represented one of the darkest eras of modern history,' and the wreck provides 'tangible evidence of slavery.' In 1860, the wooden ship illegally transported 110 people from what is now the west African nation of Benin to Mobile, Alabama. The Clotilda was then taken into delta waters north of the port and burned to avoid detection. 'The discovery of the Clotilda sheds new light on a lost chapter of American history,' Frederik Hiebert, archaeologist-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, which took part in the search, told the site. 'This finding is also a critical piece of the story of Africatown, which was built by the resilient descendants of America's last slave ship.' National Geographic engineer Arthur Clarke analyzed a nail from the wreck and found it was nearly 99% pure iron, consistent with fasteners used in shipbuilding in Alabama in the 1850s The captives brought over on the schooner were later freed and settled a community that's still called Africatown USA, but no one knew the location of the Clotilda. A Mobile-area reporter discovered wooden remains of what was initially suspected to be the Clotilda, but the wreck turned out to be that of another ship. That publicity helped spark a renewed search last year that found another wreck now identified as the slave ship. Last month, the last known victim of the transatlantic slave trade had been identified. Redoshi (left) was one of 116 West Africans transported to the United States aboard the Clotilda The dimensions and construction of the wreck match those of the Clotilda, the commission said, as do building materials including locally sourced lumber and metal pieces made from pig iron. There are also signs of fire. 'We are cautious about placing names on shipwrecks that no longer bear a name or something like a bell with the ship's name on it,' maritime archaeologist James Delgado said in a statement. 'But the physical and forensic evidence powerfully suggests that this is Clotilda.' The United States banned the importation of slaves in 1808, but smugglers kept traveling the Atlantic with wooden ships full of people in chains. Southern plantation owners needed workers for their cotton fields. With Southern resentment of federal control at a fever pitch, Alabama plantation owner Timothy Meaher made a bet that he could bring a shipload of Africans across the ocean, historian Natalie S. Robertson has said. The schooner Clotilda sailed from Mobile to western Africa, where it picked up captives and returned them to Alabama, evading authorities during a tortuous voyage. 'They were smuggling people as much for defiance as for sport,' Robertson said. The schooner Clatilda became notorious as the last slave ship to ever dock in the country. The ship was believed to be 23 feet wide and 86 feet long and was burned after this final voyage The Clotilda arrived in Mobile in 1860 and was quickly scuttled in delta waters north of Mobile Bay. It was there that researchers worked to identify the shipwreck. The Africans spent the next five years as slaves during the American civil war, freed only after the South had lost the conflict. Unable to return home to Africa, about 30 of them used money earned working in fields, homes and vessels to purchase land from the Meaher family and settle in a community still known to this day as Africatown. For more on this story, visit National Geographic. Unmanned drones, powered by artificial intelligence, may soon accompany US Air Force Pilots on missions as autonomous wingmen. Both Boeing's F-15 and Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets are being considered for the 'Skyborg' drone support program. The scheme would cut down on the amount of people in the jets and could both reduce the risk to pilots and be more economical. Drones can be manufactured for a fortieth of the cost of a new fighter jet and may be guided by the sole pilot inside the nearby fighter plane. To safely manage any such drones, however, AI will need to be sufficiently developed to make it immune to attacks that could exploit its operating features. Scroll down for video Artificial intelligence could soon be up there with the best of the best as the US Air Force explores how fighter jets (such as the F-35, pictured) could be supported by AI wingmen The technology for the Skyborg program is being developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory, in collaboration with aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Teaming up fighter jets with autonomous drones would 'open up the door for an entirely different way to do aerial combat,' US Air Force Service Acquisition Executive Will Roper told Defense News. According to Dr Roper, a standard flight formation of four jets could be replaced with one jet and three drones. 'I'm very passionate about doing it, and the F-35 has a wonderful opportunity to do this as part of Block 4,' Dr Roper said, referring to the F-35's upcoming upgrade program. 'We might also have an opportunity to do this as part of F-15EX.' WHAT IS THE XQ-58 VALKYRIE DRONE? The Valkyrie is an unmanned drone built to fly like a fighter jet. It has a max speed of Mach 0.85. The drone can carry a 500 pound (227 kilogram) payload at least 1,500 nautical miles (around 1726 miles/2778 kilometres). It is 28 feet 10 inches (8.8 metres) long, with a wingspan of 22 feet (6.7 metres). The Valkyrie can take off without a runway. It can fly as high as 44,997 feet (13,715 metres) The drone was built with economy and speed of manufacture in mind. It features two weapons bays. Advertisement This is the first time that the Air Force has confirmed which fighter aircraft platforms might be involved in the prototype Skyborg programme. Skyborg had previously been characterised by Dr Roper as an artificial intelligence based wingman that would be trained alongside human pilots and potentially incorporated in manned jet cockpits to assist them. Dr Roper had also informed US lawmakers earlier in May that Skyborg would be moving to incorporate the XQ-58 Valkyrie drone programme. This switch would see the stealth drones outfitted with new sensors, new payloads and the capacity to be networked with manned fighter craft. The Valkyrie is well suited to the latter task, having been designed to operate like a fighter jet. The drone is capable of flying at Mach 0.85, can travel at least 1,500 nautical miles (around 1726 miles/2778 kilometres) while carrying a 500 pound (227 kilogram) payload, and is capable of taking off without a runway. The first test flight of a Valkyrie was successfully undertaken at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona on March 5, 2019, following two-and-a-half years of development. Teaming up fighters with autonomous drones would open up the door for an entirely different way to do aerial combat. For example, a formation of four jets could be replaced with one jet and three drones (as pictured) which would be more economical and risk less human life The scheme could both reduce the risk to human pilots and prove more economical drones (like the XQ-58 Valkyrie, pictured) can be built for a fortieth of the cost of a new fighter jet The Air Force is also investigating the potential of integrating other unmanned aerial platforms into the Skyborg program. Characteristics sought after in any such vehicle would be the capacity to both take off and land autonomously, as well as avoid any obstacles and bad weather. Also being explored is an autonomous, modular aircraft with open systems that could be upgraded with new AI software or hardware, Defense News reported. 'We can take risks with some systems to keep others safer,' Dr Roper said, explaining that the Skyborg program will enable the Air Force to separate sensors and shooters across different craft. 'Right now they're collocated on a single platform with a person in it,' he said. 'In the future, we can separate them out, put sensors ahead of shooters, put our manned systems behind the unmanned.' 'There's a whole playbook,' he added. WHAT IS THE F-15 EAGLE? The F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing, in 1972. It entered service in 1976 and is among the most successful fighter jets in production today, with no losses in aerial combat. The aircraft is predominantly used by the US Air Force as well as the air forces of Saudi Arabia, Israel and Japan. Each model costs around 21 million ($28 million) and the aircraft has been modified and improved over the years with different variants now used around the world, including the faster F-15E Strike Eagle. As of 2017, the aircraft is being produced in different variants with production set to end in 2022. AT A GLANCE: Crew: One pilot Length: 63 ft 9 ins (19.43 m) Wingspan: 42 ft 10 ins (13.05 m) Height: 18ft 6ins (5.63m) Max takeoff weight: 68,000 lbs (30,845 kg) Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 or 220 afterburning turbofans Max speed: Mach 2.5+ (1,650 mph) Max altitude: 65,000 ft (20,000 m) Armament: One 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel Rotary cannon, four AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, eight AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles Advertisement Alongside reducing the risk to human life, each drone will also be more economical to manufacture than the fighter jets it will supplant. When built in bulk, each Valkyrie will cost around 'a couple [of] million bucks', Dr Roper predicted, compared to the $80 million (63 million) price tag of the F-35A and F-15EX jets. Autonomous craft are expected to begin testing in the next year, with the ambition of having a workable Skyborg setup by 2023. At this time, the F-35 will be undergoing its third key technology upgrade with newly built models to feature improved processing power, higher levels of memory and more advanced cockpit displays. At the same time, the fighter's operating system will be transitioned onto a government-owned open mission architecture, which will support the development and deployment of custom software application in to the jet. It this capacity that would allow the F-35 fighters to be integrated alongside the AI-controlled drone craft. The F-35 is 'ideally suited' to team up with unmanned craft in applications like Skyborg, Lockheed Martin spokesperson Mike Friedman said in a statement. 'The F-35 is a force multiplier able to share its operational picture with ground, sea and air assets in the battlespace,' Mr Friedman said. 'Lockheed Martin has extensive experience in manned/unmanned teaming and are working closely with our customers to develop and field this critical capability,' Mr Friedman added. Boeing, the manufacturer of the F-15 jet, is reportedly receptive to the proposed upgrades that would allow the fighter to be used in Skyborg. 'We are initiating early discussions with the US Air Force customer on how to insert contemporary technology such as this,' Boeing Vice President Prat Kumar told Defense News. 'The F-15EX is a uniquely suited platform for such tech insertions as it has available computing capacity and space.' The US Congress must first decide whether they will approve funding for the development of the F-15EX. With $986 million (780 million) allocated in the draft House appropriations bill for the construction of eight jets, however, approval would seem a likely prospect. 'I don't think there's a barrier in terms of funding,' Dr Roper explains, who instead sees cultural and technological hurdles being more significant. These may include, for example, integrating Skyborg into simulators, installing the artificial intelligence across the networked craft and deciding what actions the AI will be permitted to undertake. 'This is just different,' he said. 'We need to understand when the machine will be at its best and when the human will at its best,' he added. 'We will need to get the person trained to have an instinct for AI just like they have an instinct for stealth.' Both Boeing's F-15 (pictured) and Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets are being considered for the 'Skyborg' drone support program Developing AI for military applications comes with inherent challenges above and beyond those found in current commercial uses. Not only will drone-flying AI need to be built in a way that addresses issues of trust and oversight such as face applications like self-driving cars but will also need to be able to fend off attacks designed to exploit its fundamental capabilities. Features such as data extraction, feature recognition and pattern recognition could be manipulated by feeding the AI false information, for example. 'The current generation of AI does not deal with a world that understands how AI works and intentionally trying to throw a wrench in its machine,' said Dr Roper. 'We will deal with that.' he added. The birth of an underwater volcano in the Indian Ocean is thought to have caused a succession of mysterious quakes around the world throughout last year. Short bursts of seismic activity were picked up by seismic sensors up to 10,000 miles away from the location of the 'submarine volcano' near the French Island of Mayotte. The mountain's birth triggered a series of earthquakes which were felt daily by locals on the island and further afield by experts using seismographs. Researchers at France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), wanted to clarify the origin of the small quakes which shook the island, located between Africa and Madagascar. According to the French Geological and Mining Research Bureau, the team discovered a new 'submarine volcano' situated 31 miles (50 km) away. Scroll down for video Pictured, the sonar waves, reflecting off the sea floor near the French island of Mayotte, reveal the outline of an 800-meter-tall volcano (red) and a rising gas-rich plume. The French bureau claims that the birth of a submarine volcano has been observed for the first time The bureau said that the birth of the volcano, located 3,500 metres (2.1 miles) underwater, has been observed for the first time. Rising from the ocean floor, the peak is estimated to be 2,600 feet high (800 metres) and three or four miles wide. They also claim that it has a 1.2 mile (2 km) long plume of volcanic fluids emanating from its highest point, or crater. In previous maps, there had been nothing. 'This thing was built from zero in 6 months!' said Marc Chaussidon, director of the Institute of Geophysics in Paris (IPGP). The small population (500,000) living on Mayotte knew for months that something was happening. From the middle of last year they felt small earthquakes almost daily, said Laure Fallou, a sociologist with the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre in Bruyeres-le-Chatel, France. Mayotte has a seismometer, but triangulating the source of the rumblings would require several instruments, the nearest others are in Madagascar and Kenya. A scientific campaign started only in February, when the team placed six seismometers on the ocean bottom, close to the activity. Unexpected seismic activity was felt on the French island of Mayotte, wedged between Madagascar and Africa, in the Indian Ocean and picked up by seismograms 10,000 miles away since 2018 The map of the sea floor, made by the ship's multibeam sonar, indicates that as much as 5 cubic kilometers of magma erupted onto the sea floor. The sonar also detected plumes of bubble-rich water rising from the centre and flanks of the volcano. In previous maps, there had been nothing. 'This thing was built from zero in 6 months!' Mr Chaussidon said. Scientists are now processing the data they acquired in recent months and trying to assess seismic, volcanic, and tsunami. The crew also dredged up rocks from the flanks of the newborn volcano that 'popping as they brought them on board' The Institute of Geophysics in Paris (IPGP) Nathalie Feuillet saida sign of high-pressure gas trapped inside the black volcanic material. The study is expected to be published in the journal Nature at an unspecified date. Popular instant messaging app Telegram has come under fire after it reportedly suggested the money bag and dollar sign emojis to users who typed the word 'Jew'. It has been dubbed an anti-semitic trope by the Jewish community and allegedly occurred due to a 'mistake' from a Telegram staffer. An editor at the British newspaper the Jewish Chronicle called the episode 'gobsmacking' and said the app should 'take a hard look at the process by which its emojis are chosen and approved.' The symbols and their connection to the term 'Jew' had apparently been submitted by a user for sharing and was approved without the employee noticing the link. It went unnoticed until stunned users stumbled across it by accident and reported it to Telegram. The glitch has now been corrected. Scroll down for video A 'mistake' by the popular instant messaging app Telegram has led to the money sac and dollar sign emoji to appear for the word 'Jew' for some of its users (file photo) Ynet, an Israeli news publication, first reported the issue. It claimed the desktop version of the instant messaging app showed up a sack of silver and dollar signs as an emoji for when the Hebrew characters for the word 'Jew' were entered. The emojis appeared alongside the more traditional symbols for Judaism, such as a synagogue and the Star of David. According to the Israeli newspaper, a representative for Telegram said the mistake happened after a Telegram user submitted a proposal that the emojis be used for the word 'Jew'. It then became approved 'by mistake' after a Telegram employee did not notice the proposal and let it through the net, said the representative. Ynet said the emojis were removed soon after being reported. MailOnline has approached Telegram for comment. The free application lets people exchange messages, photos and videos in groups of up to 200,000 people. It reportedly said the anti-semitic emoji issue was a 'mistake' Speaking to MailOnline, Orlando Radice, assistant editor at the Jewish Chronicle, said: 'It's gobsmacking that this antisemitic trope the most common of them all appears to have found its way onto the Telegram desktop app. WHAT IS THE TELEGRAM APP? The free application lets people exchange messages, photos and videos in groups of up to 200,000 people. The app has proved to be incredibly popular. Last March, it announced within the last 30 days, Telegram was used by 200 million people. 'This is an insane number by any standards,' the firm said. 'If Telegram were a country, it would have been the sixth largest country in the world.' Advertisement 'The company needs to take a hard look at the process by which its emojis are chosen and approved.' While it is not known exactly how the 'trope' occurred, it may have happened through the app's open platform that lets users make their own stickers and emojis for wider use. Anyone can submit a sticker to be used by all app users. Telegram wrote about the policy on their website: 'Telegram is focused on people who like to create content. 'If you want your sticker to be seen by all Telegram users in the context menu corresponding to one of the emojis, you are welcome to submit it via a chat with our Stickers bot.' Telegram is considered one of the most secure instant messaging apps and is particularly popular among political activists for sending secure messages. The app allows users to exchange multimedia information in groups up to 200,000 people and claims to also offer end-to-end encrypted voice calls. A spokesperson for Telegram later told MailOnline: 'The emoji suggestions are based on our translation platform. Anyone can suggest word-emoji pairs but they must be approved by a moderator to go live. Some prankster suggested [this money bag symbol] for the word in Hebrew and our moderator from Israel approved it by mistake among legitimate suggestions. The mistake was corrected immediately after we were notified in support. No languages apart from Hebrew were affected.' Scientists have caught wild chimpanzees tucking into an unusual snack - tortoises Incredible footage has shown the chimps feasting on the flesh after smashing their shell against a tree trunk. In a paper published by the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from Germany say they spotted a group of chimpanzees dining on tortoises dozens of times at Loango National Park in Gabon. West Africa. It's the first time our closest cousins have been seen killing tortoises, and bolsters the notion that humankind's distant cousins develop their own distinct cultures. Footage taken by the researchers shows the male hunters cracking the shells of their unlucky prey against a tree like a nut - before taking bites out the soft underbelly and sharing the nutritious meat with other members of their family and group. Brutal nature: The male hunters then share the nutritious meat with other members of their family and group, reveals stunning video footage, filmed by a German team in West Africa In some cases, individual chimps transported the tortoises for several minutes, and over considerable distances, before trying to crack them open on suitable trees. One even stored it in the hole of a trunk. Describing the behaviour in the journal Scientific Reports, the German team behind it say it happened regularly as they kept watch watched on wild chimpanzees for almost two years. Between July 2016 and May 2018, they witnessed 38 attacks by 10 different male individuals - of which 34 were successful. Co corresponding author Professor Simone Pika, a cognitive scientist at the University of Osnabruck, described the finding as 'unprecedented'. She said: 'Tortoise predation was observed frequently in most or all of the studied adult chimpanzee males. It consisted of a distinct sequence of behaviours involving the discovery of the prey, followed by smashing the tortoise shell with one hand against a hard surface, such as a tree trunk. 'The chimpanzees then climbed a tree to consume the meat. In one instance, they even stored it.' 'In addition, we report on a single case of food storage, in which an adult male tucked a half-eaten tortoise in a tree fork and retrieved it the next day to continue feeding.' Food chain: The primate assesses its catch before devouring it and, later, sharing it with other family members - some of whom struggled to crack the shell Gory: Ten times chimpanzees first smashed the tortoise against a trunk while on the ground and then smashed it again against another trunk or branch having climbed up a tree WHY DO CHIMPS EAT TORTOISES? Meat only accounts for 6 per cent of a chimpanzees diet - they usually feast on figs, leaves and palm wine. So they probably choose tortoises because there's virtually no risk of counter-attack. A tortoise's only defense is to retreat into its shell and stay still. They're also slow-moving and require little hunting skill to capture. Advertisement In 23 of the cases, the food was shared with other group members, including those who had previously attempted to open the tortoise shell but not succeeded. Professor Pika said: 'The most frequent behavioural sequence consisted of discovering and capturing the prey, smashing the shell with one hand repeatedly against a tree trunk and climbing into a tree to consume the meat. 'In six cases, the chimpanzee first transported the tortoise between 10 to 50 metres on the ground, for a duration of one to eleven minutes, before smashing it.' Ten times chimpanzees first smashed the tortoise against a trunk while on the ground and then smashed it again against another trunk or branch having climbed up a tree. On most occasions the tortoise meat was shared out in a peaceful, cooperative manner with other individuals of the party, including those who had been unsuccessful at capturing tortoises. Food for thought: In some cases, individual chimps transported the tortoises for several minutes, and over considerable distances, before trying to crack them open on suitable trees Chimps are sophisticated tool users - cracking nuts with stone tools and fishing for ants or termites with sticks. They also use leaves as 'umbrellas', and branches in social displays Study corresponding author Tobias Deschner, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, added: 'Storing food and later on retrieving it is an indication that the animals are able to plan into the future. 'This is a trait that has long been claimed to exist only in humans. 'The fact that we saw this happening exactly in a situation while feeding on a tortoise and while no other group member was close by, indicates to me that we may sometimes underestimate the mental capacities of certain animals species.' Chimps are sophisticated tool users - cracking nuts with stone tools and fishing for ants or termites with sticks. They also use leaves as 'umbrellas', and branches in social displays. Famed British primatologist Dr Jane Goodall was the first person to discover chimpanzees prey on other animals. She saw them using sticks to extract termites, and also hunting smaller mammals such as monkeys. Until then, chimpanzees were believed to be herbivores. They were thought to only eat fruits, seeds, nuts, leaves and flowers. But, just like humans, they are in fact omnivores - meaning they also consume animals. Cross-breeding between wolves and dogs could drive Europe's wolf population out of existence, according to research. Wolf-dog hybrid is a term used to describe an animal that is part wolf and part domestic dog. The study, by the University of Exeter, said that such hybridisation threatens the 'genetic identity' of wolves, but that scientists are divided on how to deal with it. Habitat destruction driven by human encroachment and global warming is leading to more encounters between wolves and free-roaming dogs. Scroll down for video Cross-breeding between wolves and dogs could drive Europe's wolf population out of existence. 'Swarms' of wolf-dog crossbreeds could drive Europe's wolves out of existence, according to new research . Pictured here, a wolf and a wolf-dog hybrid (darker coat) in Italy Forty scientists discussed the issue of interbreeding between the species and found there was no general consensus on how to tackle the problem. Wolves and dogs are interfertile, meaning they can breed and produce viable offspring and these offspring are capable of reproducing themselves. They are members of a wider group, the genus Canis, which makes them able to breed. The researchers warned that they come up with a way to resolve this before the wolf species is 'completely lost to hybrid swarms'. Scientists, who were allowed to share their views anonymously, revealed agreement that people should be educated about the impact of free-roaming dogs. 'We need to address this issue before wolf-dog hybrids backcross with wolves to the extent that wolf populations will be lost and the conservation of wild populations will become unfeasible,' said lead author Valerio Donfrancesco. Mr Donfrancesco, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation from University of Exeter, says that it's crucial to 'encourage decision-makers to act'. They all agreed that governments should remove wolf-dog hybrids from small and recovering wild wolf populations. The issues they differed on were how to remove hybrids and free-roaming dogs, on whether they should be kept captive, sterilised and released or even killed. The study, by the University of Exeter, said that such hybridisation threatens the 'genetic identity' of wolves but that scientists are divided on how to deal with it. Because of habitat destruction driven by human encroachment wolves encounter more free-roaming dogs WHY CAN WOLVES AND DOGS INTERBREED? Wolves and dogs are interfertile, meaning they can breed and produce viable offspring and these offspring are capable of reproducing themselves. They are members of a wider group, the genus Canis, containing multiple species such as wolves, coyotes, jackals, dingoes, and dogs The members of Canus can potentially all potentially interbreed. Dogs and wolves share an evolutionary past and thus share many physical and behavioural traits. Dogs evolved from wolves through a centuries-long process of domestication which led to an alteration of the dog's life cycle and behaviour. People who own wolf-dog hybrids often find that their pets behaviour makes it a challenge for them to care for. The diversity of genetic composition leads to inconsistent behaviour and makes them more difficult to predict. Wolves and dogs mature at different rates, which makes the physical and mental development of a hybrid animal unpredictable. Sexual maturity of wolves signals a shift in hormone quantity and balance. This hormonal change is often coupled with these changes in the animal. Advertisement 'The disagreements emerged from diverging ethical values between scientists of different backgrounds, such as ecologists and geneticists,' said Mr Donfrancesco. There is a 'lack of data' on the effectiveness of different interventions causing some scientists to worry that on practical grounds allowing the removal of hybrids would open a legal loophole for the killing of wolves. 'The fact that we know so little about the ecology, behaviour and social acceptance of the wolf-dog hybrids adds a layer of concern to the issue,' he said. Co-author Paolo Ciucci, of the Sapienza University of Rome, said: 'The management of hybrids and wolf-dog hybridisation should not be a taboo topic, especially within the scientific community. 'There are margins to develop further consensus among scientists if further research addresses topical issues such as the effectiveness and the feasibility of control measures and their social acceptability. 'Scientists should not avoid the problem just because its management appears overly complex.' Co-author Dr Nibedita Mukherjee, from the University of Exeter, said that by highlighting the areas of disagreement they will be able to build a more unified scientific opinion, and aid an 'effective management of this urgent issue'. An estimated 17,000 wolves live in Europe, in populations of varying sizes in countries as far apart as Spain, Greece and Finland. The paper is published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. Advertisement NASA has released a remarkably detailed image showing a view of the Earth transitioning from day into night. Sweeping views of the planet can be seen, as well as the Earth's 'shadow line,' a rare sight wherein the division between night and day can be viewed by the naked eye. The stunning photo was shot on Monday by astronaut Christina Hammock Koch aboard the International Space Station. Scroll down for video NASA has released a remarkably detailed image showing a view of the Earth transitioning from day into night. The stunning photograph was shot on Monday by astronaut Christina Koch aboard the International Space Station Koch posted the photo from her personal Twitter account, noting that the out-of-this-world view can only been seen by astronauts on the ISS 'a couple times a year.' 'A couple times a year, the @Space_Station orbit happens to align over the day/night shadow line on Earth,' Koch wrote. 'We are continuously in sunlight, never passing into Earth's shadow from the Sun, and the Earth below us is always in dawn or dusk. 'Beautiful time to cloud watch. #nofilter,' she added. Astronauts aboard the ISS are used to spotting mesmerizing views of the Earth's sunrises and sunsets. Astronauts aboard the ISS (pictured) are used to spotting mesmerizing views of the Earth's sunrises and sunsets. The ISS orbits roughly 220 miles above the Earth and completes one trip around our planet every 92 minutes, according to NASA The International Space Station orbits roughly 220 miles above the Earth and completes one trip around our planet every 92 minutes, according to NASA. It travels at an astonishing 17,200 miles per hour, which allows astronauts to be able to see as many as 15 or 16 sunrises and sunsets every day. That amounts to tens of thousands of sunsets and sunrises viewed of the course of a year. For example, retired US astronaut Scott Kelly observed 10,944 sunrises and sets during his year in space. A video shared by astronaut Ricky Arnold last year showed what it looks like to see the sun set and then rise again as the ISS orbits around Earth. Koch, who launched to the space station on March 14 with colleague Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Alexey Ovchinin, will remain in orbit for 328 days, meaning she'll likely see a lot of sunrises and sets. She will return to Earth in February 2020 and could surpass the current record for longest single spaceflight by a woman. Astronaut Christina Hammock Koch (left) took the photo of the Earth's 'shadow line' aboard the ISS. Pictured, she and colleague Nick Hague (right) together with Russian Alexey Ovchinin successfully blasted off on a mission to the ISS The current record holder, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, set the record with 288 days. Koch joined Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency and Expedition 59 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos aboard the ISS, bringing the crew to a total of six members. As part of Expedition 59, the crew members will spend more than six months conducting about 250 science investigations in fields such as biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences, and technology development. Seventy-five of the investigations are new and have never been performed in space. Some of the investigations are sponsored by the US National Laboratory on the space station, which Congress designated in 2005 to maximise its use for improving quality of life on Earth. Highlights of upcoming investigations include devices that mimic the structure and function of human organs, free-flying robots, and an instrument to measure Earths distribution of carbon dioxide. A company backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk has been granted a nearly $49 million contract to build a transit system using self-driving vehicles underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. The board of directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved the contract Wednesday with The Boring Company, the Musk-backed enterprise based in Hawthorne, California. The company plans to construct a twin tunnel system running less than a mile (1.6 kilometer) long, which will include three underground stations and a pedestrian tunnel. Musk's plan, however, has been slammed by critics since it was first unveiled, with many questioning how efficient it will really be; so far, early demonstrations have failed to live up to the hype. Scroll down for video A concept design of the entrance to the Boring Company's express-route loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The plan was approved and awarded a $48.6 million contract this week after a meeting of the Convention and Visitors Authority The system will use self-driving electric vehicles capable of transporting up to 16 people, and the company plans to start construction in September. It's slated to debut by December 2020. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the company was awarded a $48.6 million contract for the project after a vote by the 14-member board. Only one member, Mayor Carolyn Goodman, dissented. 'This was certainly quite a bit less expensive than the alternatives that we saw,' Hill said after the meeting, according to the Las Vegas Sun. 'That's the easy thing to point to, but this is a system that has high capacity, it's innovative and fun, and we think it provides a great customer experience.' The cost was initially expected to range from $35 million to $55 million, depending on the route and number and size of stations. A proposed map of possible extensions for the tunnel beyond the convention center. The route could be extended to parts of downtown, as well as the Las Vegas Boulevard Resort Corridor While the route would only serve the convention center, the LVCVA has said in the past it could potentially expand the tunnel to connect downtown, the McCarran International Airport, the Las Vegas Boulevard Resort Corridor and other parts of the city. The authority will reimburse the company as it completes certain stages of the project. '(Las Vegas) has been looking for congestion solutions for decades,' Hill said. 'This project is going to be a real benefit to our customers, but it also has an opportunity because it's innovative and leads to a low-cost system, to help solve congestion problems not only in the resort corridor, but throughout the community.' The decision marks the latest in a series of contracts won by the Boring Company to construct high-speed tunnels in major urban areas. Recently, however, the Boring Company's plans to build an express loop in Chicago were called into question. The firm will construct a loop of express-route tunnels that can carry riders in autonomous electric vehicles at high speeds. Pictured is a concept design of a transport vehicle The city had previously agreed to move forward with the Boring Company's plan to construct a high-speed tunnel connecting the O'Hare International Airport and the downtown district. Musk founded the Boring company slightly more than two years ago as a self-financed, side-endeavor to his work at Tesla and SpaceX. The broad vision is that electric vehicles on city streets would be able to easily drop into tunnels or rise out using elevator platforms built into streets, or ramps where space allows. The broad vision is that electric vehicles on city streets would be able to easily drop into tunnels or rise out using elevator platforms built into streets, or ramps where space allows. Leonardo da Vinci's inability to finish some of his masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa, may be because he suffered from a common modern affliction - ADHD. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition which leads to erratic sleep patterns and often results in being unable to complete a task. Professor Marco Catani, of Kings College London, reviewed tales and anecdotes about the Renaissance Master's life and behaviour before he made his conclusion. Other symptoms of the disorder include a wandering mind and a restlessness of the body. Scroll down for video Psychiatrist Professor Marco Catani, of Kings College London, reviewed extensive tales and anecdotes about the life of Leonardo daVinci (pictured) and assessed his symptoms before making his conclusion The Italian Renaissance legend produced some of the world's most iconic and enduring art - but historical accounts show he struggled to finish his works. Professor Catani said: 'While impossible to make a post-mortem diagnosis for someone who lived 500 years ago, I am confident ADHD is the most convincing and scientifically plausible hypothesis to explain Leonardo's difficulty in finishing his works. 'Historical records show Leonardo spent excessive time planning projects but lacked perseverance. 'ADHD could explain aspects of Leonardo's temperament and his strange mercurial genius.' The Mona Lisa was painted between 1503 and 1519, the year of his death, but never fully completed and ADHD is now being touted as a possible explanation. It would add Leonardo to an extensive list of people with the disorder, which includes people of all ages, races and backgrounds. Leonardo's difficulties with sticking to tasks were evident from childhood, the study revealed. Accounts from biographers and contemporaries show he was constantly on the go, often jumping from task to task. He is believed to have slept very little and often worked through the night while alternating rapid cycles of short naps to get sufficient rest. LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS A RENAISSANCE POLYMATH Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo, was one of the greatest individuals of the last millennium. The polymath was a driving force behind the Renaissance and dabbled in invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been attributed with the development of the parachute, helicopter and tank. He was born in what is modern-day Italy in 1452 and died at the age of 67 in France. After being born out of wedlock the visionary he worked in Milan, Rome, Bologna and Venice. His most recognisable works include the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and the Vitruvian Man. Another piece of artwork, dubbed the Salvator Mundi, sold for a world record $450.3 million (343 million) at a Christie's auction in New York in 2017. Advertisement Reports of erratic behaviour include anecdotes from Pope Leone X, and have combined with indirect evidence suggesting Leonardo (pictured) was different to most people ADHD is linked to lack of dopamine, which causes impaired executive functions. In people with ADHD the altered connections that are important for executive functions can be visualised with diffusion Tractography (yellow tint) Reports of erratic behaviour include anecdotes from Pope Leone X, and have been combined with indirect evidence suggesting Leonardo's brain was organised differently to the minds of most people. He was left-handed and likely to be both dyslexic. He also had a dominance for language in the right-hand side of his brain, all of which are common among people with ADHD. Perhaps the most distinctive and yet disruptive side of Leonardo's mind was his voracious curiosity, which both propelled his creativity and also distracted him. WHAT IS ADHD? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioural condition defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. It affects around five per cent of children in the US. Some 3.6 per cent of boys and 0.85 per cent of girls suffer in the UK. Symptoms typically appear at an early age and become more noticeable as a child grows. These can also include: Constant fidgeting Poor concentration Excessive movement or talking Acting without thinking Little or no sense of danger Careless mistakes Forgetfulness Difficulty organising tasks Inability to listen or carry out instructions Most cases are diagnosed between six and 12 years old. Adults can also suffer, but there is less research into this. ADHD's exact cause is unclear but is thought to involve genetic mutations that affect a person's brain function and structure. Premature babies and those with epilepsy or brain damage are more at risk. ADHD is also linked to anxiety, depression, insomnia, Tourette's and epilepsy. There is no cure. A combination of medication and therapy is usually recommended to relieve symptoms and make day-to-day life easier. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement Professor Catani drew on historical accounts of Leonardo's work practices and behaviour to back his theory. As well as explaining his chronic procrastination, ADHD could have been a factor in da Vinci's extraordinary creativity and achievements across the arts and sciences. Writing in the journal Brain, Professor Catani said ADHD can have positive effects, for example mind-wandering can fuel creativity and originality. But while beneficial in the initial stages of the creative process, the same traits may have been a hindrance as it distracted him before completion of his projects. Professor Catani, who specialises in treating neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and ADHD, added: 'There is a prevailing misconception ADHD is typical of misbehaving children with low intelligence, destined for a troubled life. 'On the contrary, most of the adults I see in my clinic report having been bright, intuitive children but develop symptoms of anxiety and depression later in life for having failed to achieve their potential. 'It is incredible that Leonardo considered himself as someone who had failed in life. 'I hope the case of Leonardo shows ADHD is not linked to low IQ or lack of creativity but rather the difficulty of capitalising on natural talents. 'I hope Leonardo's legacy can help us to change some of the stigma around ADHD.' The condition is linked to a lack of the brain chemical dopamine, which causes impaired executive functions. Earlier this month, a team of Italian researchers put forward the idea da Vinci failed to finish the Mona Lisa after suffering nerve damage in a fall. This gave him a 'claw hand', known medically as ulnar palsy, impeding his ability to paint in later life, they said. They diagnosed it by analysing the depiction of his right hand in two artworks. It had been suggested his hand impairment was caused by a stroke. But in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the doctors suggested it was nerve damage that meant he could no longer hold a palette and brush. The lost home of the Lord of the Isles has been virtually reconstructed by historians. The medieval site, which was located on the Isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides, would've functioned as the primary base for the rulers, who - long before the first King of Scotland - governed parts of the Celtic country, plus Ulster and the Hebrides. The new, digitally-constructed vision, designed by staff at the University of St.Andrew, gives people a glimpse into how the lords lived in the fifteenth century. Specifically, it represents Finlaggan - their small fortress constructed on two islands and connected by a causeway - at a time when it was the administrative and ceremonial centre. - Scroll down for video As it were: The lost medieval property, located on the Isle of Islay, Inner Hebrides, has been virtually rebuilt by engineers at the University of St. Andrews WHAT IS THE LORD OF THE ISLES? During the Middle Ages, the Lords of the Isles ruled the Hebrides and parts of mainland Scotland and Ulster. Traditionally the Lordship was held by the MacDonald family but following disputes in the fifteenth century, the Scottish kings sought to curtail the MacDonalds influence. And in the 1490s James IV sent a military expedition to sack Finlaggan. Many of the buildings at Finlaggan were destroyed at this time, and over the centuries that followed the site sank into relative obscurity. Advertisement The team behind the project says it shows the 'relative comfort' in which the Lords - John of Islay I, Domhnall of Islay, Alexander of Islay, Alexander of Islay, John of Islay II and Angus Og - lived throughout their reign. In fact, it encapsulates its glory days - when Lords enjoyed music, imported wine and board games, historians say. Archaeological discoveries made at Finlaggan in recent years helped to steer the reconstruction. In collaboration with the Finlaggan Trust, the reconstruction is based on discoveries made by the Finlaggan Archaeological Project, led by archaeologist Dr David Caldwell. Dr Bess Rhodes said: 'Finlaggan was an amazing place to recreate digitally. 'Even today the islands of Eilean Mor and Eilean na Comhairle are beautiful places, and in the Middle Ages they were the site of a remarkable complex of buildings which blended local traditions with wider European trends. The team behind the project says it shows the 'relative comfort' in which the Lords and their followers lived - when they enjoyed music, imported wine and board games, historians say Accurate: In collaboration with the Finlaggan Trust, the reconstruction is based on discoveries made by the Finlaggan Archaeological Project, led by archaeologist Dr David Caldwell 'The work by Dr David Caldwell and the Finlaggan Archaeological Project has transformed our understanding of this site - giving us a glimpse of the relative comfort in which the Lords of the Isles and their followers lived, pampering their dogs with decorative collars, and enjoying music, imported wine and board games.' Dr Ray Lafferty, Secretary of the Finlaggan Trust, said: 'Despite its impact on the shaping of Scottish culture, Finlaggan and the Lordship remains little known to many. 'With this virtual reality reconstruction, we hope to give some sense of the site at the zenith of its power, when MacDonald rule stretched from the Glens of Antrim in Ireland to Buchan in the northeast of Scotland.' An engineer at an Upstate New York company has been charged with falsifying inspection reports of parts used by SpaceX to build the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. James Smalley, 41, who worked as a quality assurance engineer at Rochester, NY-based machining firm PMI Industries, is accused of falsifying at least 38 inspection reports for parts used by Elon Musk's rocket company. Prosecutors also discovered that about 76 parts were rejected during inspection, or were never fully inspected, but were still shipped off to SpaceX. Smalley, who's scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, reportedly justified his actions by telling investigators he falsified reports to 'ship more product.' An engineer at an Upstate New York company has been charged with falsifying inspection reports of parts used by SpaceX to build the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy (pictured) rockets Smalley allegedly forged the signatures of at least three investigators and used his company-issued laptop to copy and paste signatures and stamps onto falsified reports. 'According to the criminal complaint, James Smalley took the act of forgery to a new level,' Gary Loeffert, an FBI Buffalo special agent-in-charge, said in a statement. 'A potentially catastrophic level with the potential to not only cost millions of dollars, but also jeopardize years of irreplicable work.' In January 2018, SpaceX instructed the firm SQA Services to conduct an internal audit. The audit revealed numerous falsified inspection reports and testing certifications from PMI Industries for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy flight critical reports, according to the US Attorney's Office in the Western District of New York. Officials rely on the inspection reports and testing certifications to ensure that parts are in compliance with quality and safety standards, so as to prevent any chance of accidents during flight. As many as 10 of SpaceX's government missions may have been impacted by the unsafe parts. Elon Musk's rocket company later ended its relationship with the supplier, PMI Industries As many as 10 of SpaceX's government missions may have been impacted by the unsafe parts, including seven NASA space flight missions, two Air Force space flight missions and one NOAA space flight mission. Investigators said the suspect parts may have even made their way into an upcoming missions by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). PMI manufactured 'structural rocket parts', including nosecone fairings, that if they had failed, could have led to 'catastrophic failure of the mission,' the complaint said, according to the Democrat and Chronicle. 'The success of Americas reinvigorated space program depends not just on American ingenuity but on American integrity as well,' US Attorney James P. Kennedy said in a statement. 'These charges make clear that those who commit fraud against NASA, the Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who are among the government agencies leading our space program, and those private companies, such as SpaceX, with whom the government partners and contracts in its effort, will be held accountable when they seek to cut corners.' Smalley allegedly forged signatures of investigators to create falsified reports. The suspect parts may have even found their way into upcoming TESS spacecraft missions (pictured) SpaceX has since ended its relationship with PMI, which is no longer operational. Smalley allegedly told investigators that he falsified the reports because 'he wanted to ship more product for the company,' the Democrat and Chronicle reported. He's scheduled to appear on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Rochester. Earlier this month, a NASA investigation discovered Sapa Profiles had falsified metal test reports and quality certificates for aluminum used in two Taurus XL rockets. The two NASA rockets ultimately burnt up in the atmosphere after protective shields failed to detach from the rockets. Sapa Profiles, a manufacturer based in Oregon, committed the crime over a period of more than 20 years. Manchester City are braced to field a bid from Bayern Munich for contract rebel Leroy Sane. Sane is a target for the Bundesliga champions, who would likely have to make the 23-year-old their record signing. Bayern president Uli Hoeness confirmed on Thursday that the German giants are exploring the possibility of landing Sane, who is seen as a perfect replacement for outgoing duo Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. Leroy Sane failed to nail down a regular place in the team for Manchester City Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness spoke about his interest in the German winger Hoeness did stress earlier this week that they will not spend more than 80million (70m) on any player, a figure set when they smashed their transfer record to sign Lucas Hernandez from Atletico Madrid. Sane is valued at closer to 90m by City, who are unlikely to countenance an offer lower than that. The winger - one of Pep Guardiola's first signings as manager in 2016 - cost 37m when City landed him from Schalke, but has endured a difficult campaign. Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling were Guardiola's first choices in the wide positions during the Treble-winning season. Riyad Mahrez was picked ahead of Sane in other matches, notably the final-day victory at Brighton. Guardiola has been frustrated with his inconsistency, dating back to performances earlier in the campaign when it was expected he hit the ground running after an extended holiday. Sane has been left disappointed by his place among the substitutes. Sane is considering his options having been among the substitutes often during the campaign Sane has not yet signed the new contract on offer either and, with only two years left on his current deal, could move on. That would free up funds to land Benfica attacker Joao Felix, who City have monitored closely. 'We hope Leroy will stay,' Guardiola said after City lifted the FA Cup last weekend. 'If he doesn't want to stay he doesn't want to stay.' Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski talked up the interest in Sane: 'He's a great player with a lot of quality and potential. Players like him can improve the team from the very first game.' Meanwhile, City board member Alberto Galassi rubbished suggestions that Guardiola will become the new manager at Juventus. Guardiola has constantly rejected talk of a move to Turin this year. 'He wants to stay at Manchester City,' Galassi said. 'This rumour is unfounded. This is ridiculous. He is a great professional and he can't believe his words are not listened to. 'I spoke with (Juventus vice chairman) Pavel Nedved, I have known him for a very long time. We laughed at these rumours. And we realised that this whole issue had become ridiculous.' Finnair has unveiled a new range of sustainable amenity kits for business-class passengers and here we unbox one. Like the current goody bags, they have been created by Finnish design house Marimekko. There are four 1960s-style designs by Maija Isola in total, each one available in two colour palettes. The contents, meanwhile, have serious eco-credentials. The toothbrush is made from bio-plastic containing cornstarch, and plastic wrappings for the earplugs have been replaced with wax paper. Finnair has unveiled a new range of sustainable amenity kits for business-class passengers Each kit, and the complimentary slippers, comes wrapped in a cardboard band instead of plastic and natural and organic skincare brand L:A Bruket supplies tubes of almond-coconut lip cream and a chamomile-lavender facial hydrator. Finnair will also offer L:A Bruket hand soap and hand cream in its onboard business-class bathrooms, and in its lounges and shower suites. Finnair says it has upgraded the eye mask, too, with soft-touch fabric and higher quality straps. Like the current goody bags, they have been created by Finnish design house Marimekko. There are four 1960s-style designs by Maija Isola in total, each one available in two colour palettes The amenity kits are currently being rolled out for all trans-continental flights on Airbus A350 (pictured) and Airbus A330 aircraft There are no razors, socks or combs, but these are available on an on-demand basis. Memory foam pillows and modacrylic-wool-blend shawls can also be requested. The amenity kits are currently being rolled out for all trans-continental flights on Airbus A350 and Airbus A330 aircraft. David Kondo, Head of Cabin Interior Development at Finnair, said: We wanted to introduce more patterns more often, so there is something new and fresh for our frequent flyers. The new kits have also been sized so they can live on after each flight for a variety of uses. He added: Finnair and L:A Bruket are both Nordic brands that value sustainability. We view this partnership as a great initiative to increase the appeal of our amenity kit. Were also trying to connect the lounge and in-flight experience more and more for our customers, and offering organic and natural L:A Bruket products both on the ground and in the air is a great step in that direction. Finnair flies up to seven times daily from London Heathrow to Helsinki, where passengers can fly on to destinations across Asia and the Far East. The chief executive of United Airlines has promised to re-book for free any passengers concerned about flying on its Boeing 737 Max jets once regulators deem the aircraft safe to fly again. United is the only one of the three U.S. Max operators to make such an announcement so far. Following two fatal crashes of the Max model within months, an Ethiopian Airlines jet in March after a Lion Air jet in October, Oscar Munoz said he wants customers to feel as comfortable as possible. United Airlines has promised to re-book any passengers concerned about flying on its Boeing 737 Max jets once regulators deem the aircraft safe to fly again He told reporters after the airline's annual shareholders' meeting: 'If people need any kind of adjustments we will absolutely re-book them.' He said it was too soon to discuss whether Boeing would pick up the tab. None of the shareholders at the meeting questioned the company's Max plans. United is in the midst of a growth plan that has fueled a 17 per cent share rise over the past year. Southwest Airlines, the world's largest Max operator, said on Wednesday discussions were still ongoing. American Airlines said 'customers can be assured that our pilots would never operate an unsafe aircraft', echoing other carriers' insistence that safety is paramount to putting the globally grounded jets back in the air. Global regulators are meeting with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday to discuss Boeing's proposed software fix and training updates for the Max, which has been grounded since mid-March. The timing of regulatory approval is still unclear, and Munoz said that is only the first step, with independent analysis and public and employee confidence critical in the Chicago-based airline's strategy for eventually flying the jets again. Oscar Munoz, the chief executive of United Airlines, said he wants customers to feel as comfortable as possible A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week showed U.S. fliers still value ticket prices over aircraft models when choosing flights, suggesting the crashes have had little impact on consumer sentiment. United is the No.3 U.S. airline by passenger traffic and operates 14 Max jets, with dozens more on order. United, American and Southwest together have canceled thousands of flights during the busy U.S. summer travel season and warned of hits to profits from the grounded Max, which many airlines had rushed to buy thanks to the plane's higher fuel-efficiency and longer range. Still, Munoz said he was not concerned about the timetable for a return to service. 'We have to fly this aircraft for a long period of time, so a week, a month, whatever is not that important,' Munoz said. Advertisement When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Dr Samuel Johnson may have uttered his famous saying back in 1777 but it rings true now more than ever. From riding a penny farthing around Trafalgar Square and roaming the East End with gangsters who knew the Krays to drinking in a pub Lenin once visited and venturing into one of the original cells of the Old Bailey, there are secret experiences that will blow the minds of visitors and lifelong Londoners alike. Here, Nick Boulos veteran travel writer and founder of city adventure website MakeMyDay picks his absolute favourites Gangsters paradise Take a tour of London's East End with real mobsters, complete with gold teeth and knuckledusters Under normal circumstances, finding oneself in the midst of Londons criminal underworld would be cause for concern but theres nothing to worry about on this gangster tour of the East End. Led by real-life mobsters, complete with gold teeth and knuckledusters, individuals who hung out with the Krays as kids, this is very much the real deal. Youll hear shocking stories of murder, revenge and dodgy dealings that played out on the streets of Bethnal Green and Whitechapel with the capitals unlikeliest, but loveliest (yes, really), of tour guides. Time for tea Hop aboard an emblematic red double-decker Routemaster bus and tour the capitals most famous landmarks while nibbling on dainty crust-cut sandwiches What could be more British than a classic afternoon tea? Well, what about afternoon tea served on an original 1960s Routemaster? Hop aboard this emblematic red double-decker bus and tour the capitals most famous landmarks while nibbling on dainty crust-cut sandwiches, perfect pastries and sublime scones with dollops of cream and jam washed down with tea or, if youre feeling flush, a glass of champagne. Now, please, pass the cucumber sandwich Fizzing with fun: The afternoon tea double-decker tour also comes with a champagne option Penny for your thoughts Long before Boris Bikes came along, these feats of engineering ruled the roads. Named after the two coins they resemble, the penny-farthing was a common sight on the streets of Victorian London. This is a rare opportunity to hop aboard and give it a go yourself. Pedal your way to a good time: Learn to ride a penny-farthing with the country's leading penny-farthing enthusiast. And then take it for a spin to Buckingham Palace A dash of bravery is required but you couldnt be in safer hands. With the help of the countrys leading penny-farthing enthusiast, youll learn the basics in a quiet Georgian square before taking to the streets for a spin towards Buckingham Palace much to the delight, no doubt, of startled onlookers. You may even spot Her Majesty peeking through the net curtains. Art attack Explore Primrose Hill (pictured) with a local working artist and then sketch London's iconic skyline using expert tips Allow your creative juices to free flow on this arty experience which concentrates on the citys most picturesque spots. Explore Primrose Hill, Hampstead or the South Bank with your private guide, a local working artist, and discover the history of the area before its time to get down to work. Choosing a quiet spot, youll receive top tips and expert guidance on how to sketch and paint your own interpretation of the iconic skyline thats majestically spread out before you. Secret service From double agents during the Cold War to modern day assassinations, Londons connections to the world of spies and espionage extend far beyond James Bond. This unique walking tour led by a mysterious chap who once worked for MI6 reveals many of the capitals most intriguing stories that few are ever privy to. The best bit? It finishes with a vodka martini in a former spy base served, naturally, shaken not stirred. Fine and dandy One of London's most charismatic historians offers a tour of Mayfair (pictured), one of the capital's swankiest districts Mayfair has long been the stomping ground for the well-heeled and that all started in the Regency period during the 18th century. This fascinating walking tour, led by the capitals most charismatic historian, follows in the highly polished footsteps of the Dandies, elegant and fashionable gentlemen in the 18th and 19th centuries. Rejoice in tales of their extravagant existences while visiting the very places they frequented including the perfumery where Winston Churchill bought his signature scent (you can still smell it, rather musky), the hatmakers that continue to decorate the heads of the rich and famous and the incredible wine merchants filled with dusty old bottles and creaking floorboards. Sordid Soho An adults-only tour of Soho reveals how it became the citys hedonistic hideaway From illegal languages, ladies of the night and the resident who had himself crucified, Soho has long been Londons most colourful and controversial neighbourhood. This adults-only stroll reveals how it became the citys hedonistic hideaway, where debauchery was welcomed and blind eyes were turned, and how it attracted illustrious figures including Casanova, Mozart and Coco Chanel. Youll never look at it in quite the same way. Go forage One of the extraordinary things about London is the nature that can be found even in the middle of such a mighty metropolis. This wild and wonderful experience alongside a green-fingered foraging enthusiast takes you to a secret spot where you set about picking your own salad with edible plants and herbs that grow in the very heart of the city. The menu includes wild garlic, wintercress and black mulberries. And you dont find any of that in Pret. Fake news A professional comedian leads a laugh-out-loud walking tour from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral that's full of fibs Roll up, roll up. The show is about to begin But this isnt one youre likely to have experienced before. From the steps of St. Pauls Cathedral, this laugh-out-loud walking tour is led by a professional comedian, an exuberant chap in a top hat and sparkly red blazer who teases a chorus of giggles all the way to the South Bank. Just dont believe a single word he says. Every fact is a fib, every tale a tall one and every nugget of history a big fat fabrication. And its all the funnier for it. Law and order Roam the cathedral-like corridors of the Royal Courts of Justice, then watch a real trial in action A NEW WAY TO EXPLORE THE WORLD'S GREATEST CITIES Offering a curated collection of the very best and most unusual city tours, MakeMyDay was founded by Nick Boulos, an award-winning travel writer who wanted to offer people an alternative way to discover these iconic destinations. With hundreds of options and thousands of fake reviews online to contend with, planning your time in a city can be difficult and time consuming. So Ive done the hard work for you by personally finding and testing each tour, picking the best and discarding the rest, he explains. Currently offering experiences in London, Edinburgh and Amsterdam, the company will soon be launching Bath, Stockholm, Paris, Chicago and New York. Advertisement Floggings, torture and public executions to the cheers of a baying crowd, Londons justice system once left a lot to be desired. The uncomfortable realities are vividly retold on this fascinating tour that focuses on the legal system, past and present. Roam the cathedral-like corridors of the Royal Courts of Justice, enjoy privileged access to the original 18th-century cells of the Old Bailey before watching a real-life trial in action. Your expert guide, who worked at the countrys most famous court for over 30 years, will also answer all those intriguing questions, including why judges wear those weird wigs. Bottoms up There are more than 2,000 pubs in this great city. But which is the best? Well, thats a matter of personal taste but you will certainly discover a handful of truly beautiful, historic and atmospheric drinking dens on this walking tour led by a guide so passionate about pubs that he painstakingly drank in more than 50 to select the best five. From blink-and-miss-them taverns to extravagant gin palaces, you will drink in the same establishments that once welcomed Queen Elizabeth I and where Lenin took Stalin for a pint. Cheers! 'A single from Wigan to Pyongyang, please.' That's a request no rail passenger has ever been able to make. Until now. That's because a travel company has launched a 3,195-month-long rail tour that takes tourists from the Greater Manchester town to North Korea's capital. Holidaymakers can now book a journey from Wigan to North Korea - by train - for 3,195 The tour takes in seven cities on the way to Kim Jong-un's hermit country - London, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing. The trip, which begins on April 25, 2020, is being offered by Lupine Travel and the first leg of the journey is from Wigan North Western to London Euston. As passengers board they will be given a packed lunch consisting of pie barm - a pie sandwich considered a local delicacy - and a can of fizzy Vimto. While in London, travellers will be taken to Highgate Cemetery to visit the grave of Karl Marx before boarding a Eurostar to Brussels and then another train to Berlin. After a day in the German capital, travellers will board a train to the Polish capital Warsaw before catching a overnight sleeper to Moscow. The trip, which begins on April 25, 2020, starts in Wigan, pictured The month-long tour ends in Pyongyang, pictured. In Pyongyang excursions on offer include a visit to the Demilitarized Zone and a trip to Mount Myohyang In Moscow, a trip to Red Square is laid on. Here travellers can visit Lenin lying in state. The tour then makes the long trip, over two weeks, from the Russian capital to Beijing, taking in sights such as the Ural Mountains, Ulaanbaatar - the capital of Mongolia - and the Great Wall of China. Once in Beijing, there will be three days to explore before boarding a sleeper train to Dandong, close to the North Korean border. After a day in Dandong, the tour then heads to its final stop of Pyongyang via another train. A table from Lupine Travel showing the breakdown of costs for the tour In Pyongyang excursions on offer include a visit to the Demilitarized Zone and a trip to Mount Myohyang. The price of the trip includes all travel, accommodation, trips and some meals. However, Lupine Travel isn't the only company to offer train travel to North Korea from the UK. According to The Man in Seat 61, companies including Regent Holidays and Koryo Tours can organise train travel to Pyongyang via either Moscow or Beijing. They're the loved-up pair who were seen smiling and embracing on the red carpet earlier this month. But as Bindi Irwin, 20, and Chandler Powell, 22, neared their five-and-a-half year anniversary, they looked downcast during a visit to Disneyland California. The stoney-faced pair seemed to be at odds with their fun-filled surroundings on May 8 as they stepped out with Bindi's mother Terri, brother Robert and best friend Luke Reavley. Turn that frown upside down! Bindi Irwin, 20, and Chandler Powell, 22, looked downcast during a visit to Disneyland California earlier this month The daughter of wildlife legend Steve Irwin looked glum as the group made their way through the theme park. Bindi and Chandler failed to raise a grin as they strolled hand-in-hand past a balloon salesman. The pair dressed casually for the occasion, both wearing denim jeans and sturdy brown boots. Bindi added to her low-key look with a black round-necked shirt and a jacket of the same colour. The saddest place on earth? The daughter of wildlife legend Steve Irwin looked glum as the group made their way through the theme park Ready for the rides: The pair dressed casually for the occasion, both wearing a pair of denim jeans and sturdy brown boots American wakeboarder Chandler, meanwhile, seemed to have co-ordinated his attire with Robert, 15, as both sported Marvel-themed T-shirts. But the teenager appeared in visibly higher spirits as he cracked a grin while walking through the Anaheim-based amusement park. 'They were miserable and you could cut the tension with a knife,' an onlooker told Woman's Day. Understated: Bindi added to her low-key look with a black round-necked shirt and a jacket of the same colour Long-term love: Bindi and Chandler held hands as they strolled past a balloon salesman It comes as sources claimed to the publication Bindi is growing impatient with her long-term boyfriend for a marriage proposal. A source told Daily Mail Australia the group enjoyed the day without any security, lining-up for food and drink like everyone else. But the group did reportedly enjoy a visit to the private and exclusive Club 33 restaurant inside the park. Family affair: The group reportedly enjoyed a visit to the private and exclusive Club 33 restaurant inside the park Film fans: American wakeboarder Chandler, meanwhile, seemed to have co-ordinated his attire with Bindi's brother Robert, 15, (pictured) as both sported Marvel-themed T-shirts Elsewhere during the day out, Bindi and Chandler enjoyed a ride on the Big Thunder Mountain ride. The duo bore more of a smile as they headed round the railway-themed attraction with the other three members of their group. It comes after Bindi, Terri and Robert Irwin hosted a gala dinner to honour the late Steve Irwin at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles on May 4. Choo-choo! Elsewhere during the day out, Bindi and Chandler enjoyed a ride on the Big Thunder Mountain ride Family-filled fun: The duo bore more of a smile as they headed round the railway-themed attraction with the other three members of their group Regular Joe: A source told Daily Mail Australia the group enjoyed the day without any security, lining-up for food and drink like everyone else And after the event, Chandler took the opportunity to declare his undying love for the Wildlife Warrior on Instagram. In direct reference to Bindi, the American wakeboarder said: 'It is a dream come true to be part of continuing such an extraordinary legacy with the love of my life.' Bindi posted her own loved-up comment in response: 'I love you so much.' The couple were rumoured to be engaged earlier in the year - and that's all some fans could write about when commenting on the post. Will he or won't he? Sources claimed the daughter of conservationist legend Steve Irwin is growing impatient with her long-term beau as she waits for a marriage proposal 'Propose to her already please,' wrote one follower, while another added: 'Ask her already!!' 'Just ask Bindi the question of all questions already! You are so great and beautiful together!' posted another. It comes after Woman's Day quoted a source in January claiming Chandler 'would want his parents there when he pops the question'. Steve 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin was tragically killed by a stingray barb 12 years ago. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Bindi Irwin's representatives for comment. Wedding bells? Bindi and Chandler were rumoured to be engaged earlier in the year - and that's all some fans could write about when commenting on a post of Chandler's. 'Propose to her already please,' wrote one follower, while another added: 'Ask her already!' She rose to fame on the third season of The Bachelor in 2015. And despite getting a breast reduction several years ago, Zilda Williams is still enhancing her appearance - this time by plumping up her pout with temporary lip fillers. The 35-year-old revealed the results of her latest procedure to Daily Mail Australia, while also taking a swipe at Married At First Sight's over-filled stars. Showing them how it's done! The Bachelor's Zilda Williams debuted her 'natural' lip fillers this week - after MAFS stars like Jessika Power were mocked for their overdone pouts 'I wanted to enhance my natural lips, which already have a lovely shape,' she said. 'Looking at some of the girls on reality TV lately, they have really gone too far with the lip injections - you need to have limits!' The New Zealand-born beauty then appeared to throw some serious shade at MAFS 'villain' Jessika Power. 'The last thing I wanted was people calling me sausage lips,' sniped Zilda. Natural: 'Looking at some of the girls on reality TV lately, they have really gone too far with the lip injections - you need to have limits,' the 35-year-old explained to Daily Mail Australia 'The last thing I wanted was people calling me sausage lips': Zilda also appeared to take a swipe at MAFS villain Jessika (pictured), who was recently called 'sausage lips' by trolls Jessika was memorably called 'sausage lips' by Instagram trolls after over-plumping her pout as part of a $25,000 plastic surgery makeover. Zilda, who is now based in Auckland, said that it was important for her to go for a natural look to match her new, down-to-earth lifestyle. 'The nurse Tania at FaceTime Skin Clinic did such a great job,' she gushed. Before and after: Since appearing on MAFS (left), Jessika has spent $25,000 on transforming her looks through cosmetic surgery (right) 'I didn't want to look over-the-top, especially here in New Zealand - I need to keep it natural,' she added. The former glamour model has toned down her look in recent years, removing her FF-breast implants and ditching Botox injections. However, the same can't be said for the stars of MAFS, who have been indulging in cosmetic surgery procedures since the show ended earlier this year. 'I didn't want to look over-the-top, especially here in New Zealand': Zilda has downsized her look in recent years by ditching Botox and swapping her FF-breast implants for DDs Jessika has admitted to lip and cheek fillers, Botox, a brow lift, and porcelain veneers. Ines Basic has followed suit, getting veneers, lip fillers, and Botox, with plans to get a breast enlargement next. Susie Bradley has taken things even further, leaving the aged care sector behind to become a self-employed cosmetic nurse specialising in facial fillers. Jennifer Garner returned to her alma mater of Denison University in Granville, Ohio last weekend to deliver the commencement speech to the graduates and receive an honorary doctorate degree. Being the mom who's always trying to fight the good fight in life, the actress, 47, used much of her time at the podium to offer words of wisdom mixed in with a healthy dose of funny anecdotes. 'When your dear @denisonu friend becomes a beloved professor at your alma mater and hoods you with an honorary doctorate of humane letters...it is a very good day,' Garner captioned an edited video of her speech that was posted on Instagram along with the hashtags: '#markbryan #ilovetheclassof2019 #denisonuniversity' Honor: Jennifer Garner received an honorary docorate degree at her alma mater of Denison University last weekend in Granville, Ohio After some flattering words from the university president, Garner was officially bestowed with an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, by her friend, fellow alum and chair of the theater department, Dr. Mark Evans Bryan. 'I realize I have the rare, and who knows, maybe last opportunity to say thank you to the faculty,' Garner began her speech with great honor and humility. After a brief joke about her bad grammar in the opening of the speech, the 1994 graduate then praised the university for helping give her 'a life of adventure and fun and the tools to deal with more than I could have ever imagined being thrown at me... thank you from the bottom of my heart I am so grateful.' Garner's received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, with the help of her friend, fellow alum and chair of the theater department, Dr. Mark Evans Bryan Respect: The two friends and fellow alum hugged out after the honor Garner used a good portion of her time at the podium to offer eight life tips that graduates can hold on to at the request of Dr. Bryan, her friend who nominated her for the day's commence honor. 'First dont walk down the Grand Canyon to see what it looks like from the bottom. Its great from the top you should do that. But when you get to the bottom, it's just a big hill, and its a pain in the a to climb back up.' She then laughed and got a few chuckles from the crowd when she asked them not to smoke or vape. 'We know, vaping smells like maple syrup or pineapple or cotton candy, whatever it is. But now that youre going to be adulting, its not cute just don't do it. The Texas native then offered some hindsight as a woman who is inching closer to 50: 'Nothing looks better in your 50s than sunscreen in your 20s.' Road to success: Garner graduated from Denison University in 1994 At times she gave special attention to the ladies in the post '#MeToo' era. 'When it comes to Halloween costumes, go funny over sexy. Why would you dress like a flirty nurse when you could be a mailbox?' She hit a more serious tone with: 'Mixed signals are not mixed signals theyre a no.' 'Impose self-discipline around three things: Have a book on your bedside table at all times and read it, obviously,' she joked. 'Be in charge of your consumption of social media. And foster a sense of humor about yourselves because otherwise, you run the risk of being boring. I'm sorry somebody has to say it.' Paying it forward: The actress, 47, also delivered the commencement speech where she offered eight life tips full of humor and words of wisdom She again turned to the female graduates: 'If youre a woman and pardon me for being binary for just a second. The stage has been set. The world is yours to grab. Go out and get it, girl.' 'Finally, stay close to your friends from college,' she hammered home. 'Youve just spent four years hanging out with them. That history is invaluable. Work friends, you talk to them about work. Lovers, you talk to them about love and dinner reservations. But friends from college, you can talk to them about everything and you can do nothing with them and still be happy. She ended by adding: 'My friends from Denison mean the world to me, have gotten me through everything possible. And without them, I wouldn't know any Republicans,' she said which got plenty of laughs from the graduates. Getting real: 'If you're lucky, your life will be 65 percent happy, and that's fresh on Rotten Tomatoes,' Garner told the crowd. 'Happiness is your own responsibility, so attack it' Later in the speech, Garner offered some words of wisdom as a way to gauge this thing we call life on Planet Earth. 'If you're lucky, your life will be 65 percent happy, and that's fresh on Rotten Tomatoes,' she told the crowd. 'Happiness is your own responsibility, so attack it.' Garner has been featured in 35 films over her career that includes Catch Me If You Can (2002), Daredevil (2003), Electra (2005), Juno (2007) and Dallas Buyers Club (2013). She has also had role in 19 television series like Law & Order (1996), Spin City (1996), Alias (2001-2006), and Camping (2018). She's about to give birth to her third child. And Christina Anstead looked happy and healthy as she was spotted arriving to the Extra set in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The 35-year-old beauty showed off her growing baby bump in two different chic outfits as she held hands with her husband Ant, 40. Stunner: Christina Anstead looked happy and healthy as she rocked two different outfits arriving to the Extra set in Los Angeles on Wednesday Daring to impress, the blonde beauty gave a leggy display in a short floral mini-dress which she paired with black high heels. She kept her trademark platinum tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her shoulders with retro shades framing her face. Her second ensemble consisted of a navy top and grey skinny jeans which she paired with a set of khaki heels. The reality star revealed that the first 12 weeks of pregnancy 'was brutal' as she smiled in the image while cradling her stomach. Impressive: Daring to impress, the blonde beauty gave a leggy display in a short floral mini-dress which she paired with black high heels Change it up: Her second ensemble consisted of a navy top and grey skinny jeans which she paired with a set of khaki heels 'Now that I can talk about ... The first trimester was brutal!!! Maybe its my age (35- considered a geriatric pregnancy lol... or maybe I just forgot how bad it was with Tay and Bray.. but yikes it really blind sided me,' she wrote. She said that 'food aversions, nausea and too many carbs' kept her feeling down during the beginning stages of her pregnancy. 'Im officially back to feeling somewhat normal,' she wrote. 'Going to try and enjoy the second trimester while its here. 'Thank you to my amazing husband for being so supportive while his new bride was complaining and a little more cray than usual. We found out we were expecting after the honeymoon and Im officially 15 weeks now.' Hair story: She kept her trademark platinum tresses long and loose as they cascaded over her shoulders with retro shades framing her face Wedding bells: Christina married Ant in a romantic ceremony at their home on December 22 after dating for nearly two years Christina married Ant in a romantic ceremony at their home on December 22 after dating for nearly two years. 'Way too hard on yourself! You have been perfect,' Ant commented on the photo before declaring that 'things are getting BUMPY' while sharing her post to his followers on Instagram. This will be her first child with Ant, and the fifth to join their newly blended family as she has two children with her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and he shares co-parenting responsibilities of his two kids with ex-wife Louise. Family affair: This will be her first child with Ant, and the fifth to join their newly blended family as she has two children with her ex-husband Tarek El Moussa and he shares co-parenting responsibilities of his two kids with ex-wife Louise Christina had two failed attempts with in vitro fertilization while trying to conceive her second child with Tarek, with one pregnancy lost due to miscarriage. The former couple switched doctors and tried their hands at a third attempt to conceive a sibling for their daughter Taylor, which proved to be a success. 'I had to be really strict,' she told People in 2015. 'I had to do one full week in bed. For 13 weeks after that, I couldn't go for a walk and couldn't lift anything over a gallon of milk.' Her worries weren't over once she conceived as she revealed that 'at around six weeks pregnant I started spotting, so I thought that we lost the baby again.' Despite the difficult pregnancy, the Flip or Flop star gave birth to Brayden via emergency cesarean section. Richard Wilkins' socialite son Christian has revealed he 'never came out as gay'. The 24-year-old gushed over his family's acceptance while revealing there was 'never an expectation [he] was straight'. 'Both my parents, my family, my school, always really kind of accepted me and always pushed me to be authentically me,' he told Who Magazine on Thursday. 'It was never this expectation that I was straight': Christian Wilkins (pictured) revealed he 'never came out as gay' while gushing over his family's acceptance during an interview with Who Magazine on Thursday 'I never even 'came out' because it was never this expectation that I was straight until I was gay,' he added. 'It was just "be who you are".' Christian came out publicly in the March issue of Cosmopolitan, the Pride issue. 'Both my parents, my family, my school, always really kind of accepted me and always pushed me to be authentically me,' he told the publication 'I've now taken it upon myself to become the best damn gay I can be!' he said at the time. 'It's taken me a while to really celebrate my own sexual identity.' The Today show's Richard has always been incredibly supportive of his son Christian, especially after he came out publicly last year. 'I never even 'came out' because it was never this expectation that I was straight until I was gay,' he added Recently, Christian and his father Richard recently praised Australian actor Joel Edgerton's film Boy Erased. Joel has previously revealed he hopes the film will help eradicate 'backwards' gay conversion therapy treatments. Richard, 64, told the Aussie star: 'I watched the film with my son, Christian. We both cried at the end and hugged each other. I think it's a very important film.' Director Ava DuVernay stylishly graces the cover of the new print edition of The Hollywood Reporter, with the filmmaker promoting her new Netflix mini-series When They See Us. The 46 year old filmmaker takes on the story of the Central Park Five in the upcoming series, the 1989 murder case that galvanized New York City. Donald Trump insert himself into the case by taking out ads in four daily New York newspapers, calling for the death penalty, but the filmmaker did not cast anyone to play him in her four-part series. Ava's way: Director Ava DuVernay stylishly graces the cover of the new print edition of The Hollywood Reporter, with the filmmaker promoting her new Netflix mini-series When They See Us The director was wearing an elegant red dress for her THR cover shoot, with sleeves that were tied off below the elbow. DuVernay also posed with Niecy Nash (Delores Wise) Jharrel Jerome (Korey Wise) and Michael K. Williams (Bobby McCray), wearing a black top and a long green skirt. Despite Trumps shadow looming large over the case, where five young black and Hispanic men were arrested for the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a white Wall Street analyst, DuVernay revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter why she did not cast anyone to play Trump in her four-part series. Elegant Ava: The director was wearing an elegant red dress for her THR cover shoot, with sleeves that were tied off below the elbow 'I decided I was telling the story of the men,' DuVernay says. 'They knew a rich, kind of bloated, flamboyant guy who owned buildings across town had said something about them.' 'They were much more concerned with their families and their lives than some guy in a golden tower,' she added. Trump is mentioned in the mini-series, but in the same context that the Central Park Five experienced him, such as a scene where a reporter asks the families how they feel about Donald Trump wanting to give them the death penalty. Director and cast: DuVernay also posed with Niecy Nash (Delores Wise) Jharrel Jerome (Korey Wise) and Michael K. Williams (Bobby McCray), wearing a black top and a long green skirt DuVernay added that she felt Trump spoke his mind about the case because, 'it made him feel like a player and important.' 'Press conferences ensued. He was on CNN. Those are all the things that we know he wanted at that time. By doing this, he got quite a bit of attention, and still is getting it for doing the same kinds of things,' she said. 'I don't think it was for any real desire to seek justice for Trisha Meili, because if he did feel that way he would have sought it for [Brett Kavanaugh accuser] Christine Blasey Ford. It was an opportunity, and he's an opportunist,' she added. Speaking out on Trump: DuVernay added that she felt Trump spoke his mind about the case because, 'it made him feel like a player and important' DuVernay writes and directs all four episodes, with the Central Park Five played by Jovan Adepo (Antron McCray), Chris Chalk (Yusef Salaam), Jharrel Jerome (Korey Wise), Freddy Miyares (Raymond Santana) and Justin Cunningham (Kevin Richardson). The Central Park Five were arrested and convicted for the rape and assault of Trisha Meili, four of the five having confessed but they were later ruled false and coerced. They served between six and 13 years for the crime they did not commit, which serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to in 2002. The Central Park Five collectively sued New York City in 2003 for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination and emotional distress, and were awarded a $41 million settlement in 2014. Byron Bay house prices are skyrocketing due to the influx of Hollywood stars and musicians to the NSW coastal town. And in what must be an increasingly familiar sight to locals, Chris Hemsworth, his brother Liam and fellow actor Isabel Lucas were spotted chatting at a trendy cafe on Wednesday. Chris and Isabel, who previously dated between 2005 and 2008 while co-stars on Home and Away, looked relaxed during their morning coffee run. Fancy seeing you here! Chris Hemsworth (right) enjoyed a friendly chat with his ex-girlfriend Isabel Lucas (left) over coffee in Byron Bay on Wednesday. Pictured centre: Liam Hemsworth Chris, 35, wore a green T-shirt, lightwash jeans and black sneakers. The Avengers: Endgame star appeared cheerful as he engaged in conversation with Isabel and his younger brother. Liam, 29, sported a grey hooded top and navy shorts, and concealed his gaze behind designer sunglasses. Old flames: Chris and Isabel, who previously dated between 2005 and 2008 while co-stars on Home and Away, looked relaxed during their morning coffee run Daddy, daddy cool! Chris, 35, wore a green T-shirt, lightwash jeans and black sneakers Bohemian chic: Isabel, 34, wore a stylish patterned jacket and ripped jeans, and went barefoot for the occasion Blast from the past: Chris and Isabel are pictured in Sydney on September 20, 2005 Isabel, 34, wore a stylish patterned jacket and ripped jeans, and went barefoot for the occasion. The Daybreakers star styled her blonde hair loosely and opted for a minimal makeup palette. Chris lives in Byron Bay with his wife Elsa Pataky, 42, and their children: seven-year-old daughter India Rose and five-year-old twin sons Tristan and Sasha. Relaxed lifestyle: Chris lives in Byron Bay with his wife Elsa Pataky, 42, and their children: seven-year-old daughter India Rose and five-year-old twin sons Tristan and Sasha Speaking to Domain in May last year, Chris said that moving from Los Angeles to Australia in 2014 was 'a very good decision' for his family. He explained: 'There, I can be with people and talk about things that have nothing to do with the film business. That's almost impossible in Los Angeles. 'Living in Australia allows me to be away from a world where you can lose touch with reality sometimes.' Siblings: The Avengers: Endgame star appeared cheerful as he engaged in conversation with Isabel and his younger brother Liam The future's bright! Liam, 29, sported a grey hooded top and navy shorts, and concealed his gaze behind designer sunglasses Home base: Just like Chris, Isabel relocated from LA to Byron Bay several years ago Just like Chris, Isabel relocated from LA to Byron Bay in 2016, and travels back and forth between Australia and the U.S. for work. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2017, Isabel spoke about enjoying a quieter life in the coastal town. 'I feel I am happy here, I want to be around my family more, my sister lives in Byron,' she said. 'I feel I am happy here, I want to be around my family more': Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in 2017, Isabel revealed she enjoyed living a quieter life in Byron Bay Alexa Curtin has filed for divorce from her husband Michael DeVecchio, putting an end to a stormy marriage that spanned more than five years. The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 26, and DeVecchio listed their separation date as June 1, 2015, according to The Blast, citing court docs. The couple will be officially divorced November 16, according to court docs. The two did not have kids, and do not have community property to split in the parting. The latest: Alexa Curtin, 26, has filed for divorce from her husband Michael DeVecchio, putting an end to a stormy marriage that spanned more than five years They tied the knot November 28, 2013, months after Alexa was arrested in connection with assault on DeVecchio. The split comes after Alexa's mother Lynne Curtin, 63, last month filed for divorce from her spouse Frank after 29 years of marriage. Lynne had previous sought a split in the marriage in 2012, the outlet reported, but in December, a judge tossed the divorce after things had been stagnant in the case for more than five years. Lynne, who was a regular on the Bravo series from 2006 until 2010, told Bravo's The Daily Dish in October that Frank had not responded to her communications regarding the split: 'I gave him the papers, and then nothing happened.' The jewelry designer added: 'Never in a million years would I ever think that I was gonna be divorced, so its strange. I mean, I could talk to him on the phone and have a brief conversation. We dont fight or anything. Its just awkward, you know?' Reality star: Alexa's mother Lynne Curtin, 63, last month filed for divorce from her spouse Frank after 29 years of marriage. She was snapped in LA in 2016 Embattled: Alexa has been flooded with numerous legal issues over the past few years, stemming from multiple incidents Rise to fame: Lynne who was a regular on the Bravo series from 2006 until 2010 Alexa has been flooded with numerous legal issues over the past few years, stemming from multiple incidents: She currently has a warrant out for her arrest in the wake of no-shows at numerous criminal court hearings. She was arrested this past January 5 in connection with misdemeanor drug possession in her native Orange County, California, when authorities with the Irvine Police Department detained her with Xanax and paraphernalia on her person, according to the outlet. She subsequently posted bond. Alexa was also arrested last August, and spent four days in custody at the Central Women's Jail in Orange County in connection with a series of warrants, the outlet reported. She ringed in her boyfriend Robert Pattinson's 33rd birthday in California earlier this month. But Suki Waterhouse was back on her home turf on Wednesday as she headed out with her model pal Lily Donaldson in Mayfair. The actress, 27, appeared in high spirits as she sat outside with Lily, 32, for an alfresco dinner at Italian restaurant Cecconi's. Catching up: Suki Waterhouse was back on her home turf on Wednesday as she headed out with her model pal Lily Donaldson in Mayfair Suki cut a casual but cool figure in a biker jacket, which she layered atop a chunky black knitted jumper. She teamed dark denim skinny jeans, which were cropped just above the ankle, with red socks and trainers. Showcasing her natural beauty, Suki left her blonde hair unstyled and accentuated her fair complexion with a minimal make-up look. Foodie: The actress, 27, appeared in high spirits as she sat outside eating a arancini with Lily, 32, for an alfresco dinner at Italian restaurant Cecconi's Yummy: The pair gorged on a selection of delicious appetizers Living her best life: Suki chowed down a plate of chips Lily was also casually-clad in an oversized oatmeal jumper and black joggers. The pair gorged on a selection of delicious appetizers before Suki chowed down a plate of chips. Throwing her head back in laughter, the model looked thoroughly relaxed as she sat outside with Lily and other diners, whittling away the evening hours with fine wine. Having fun: Throwing her head back in laughter, the model looked thoroughly relaxed as she sat outside with Lily and other diners Taking time off: The actress has had a busy few months promoting both Detective Pikachu and Charlie Says, which focuses on the female Manson family members Boozy: They whittled away the evening hours with fine wine Casually-clad: Suki cut a casual but cool figure in a biker jacket, which she layered atop a chunky black knitted jumper Model of the moment: She teamed the look with dark denim skinny jeans, which were cropped just above the ankle, and red socks and trainers Gorgeous: Showcasing her natural beauty, Suki left her blonde hair unstyled and accentuated her fair complexion with a minimal make-up look After their meal, the two left the restaurant and headed into a taxi. The actress has had a busy few months promoting both Detective Pikachu and Charlie Says, which focuses on the female Manson family members. Suki touched down in London after celebrating boyfriend Robert's birthday in LA. Sparks first flew when the couple started dating exclusively last August as they near the one-year milestone together. Although they were rumoured to have split, the couple have proved they are very much together as the pair celebrated Robert's birthday. Rob previously romanced his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart and more recently, FKA Twigs who has gone onto date actor Shia LaBeouf. Suki has also had a series of high-profile romances as she has dated the likes of Bradley Cooper, who now has a child with Irina Shayk, and musician Miles Kane. Bedtime! After their meal, the two left the restaurant and headed into a taxi Laidback look: Lily was also casually-clad in an oversized oatmeal jumper and black joggers Recently, Robert kept the details of his romance with Suki well and truly under wraps as he claimed their relationship should be kept private. He told The Sunday Times' Style magazine: 'If you let people in, it devalues what love is. If a stranger on the street asked you about your relationship, you'd think it extremely rude. If you put up a wall it ends up better. 'I can't understand how someone can walk down the street holding hands, and it's the same as when I do it and a hundred people are taking your photo. 'The line between when you're performing and when you're not will eventually get washed away and you'll go completely mad.' Andrew O'Keefe is on a break from hosting The Chase in order to 'come to terms with his marriage breakdown among a range of other issues'. The 47-year-old quietly separated from his wife Eleanor in late 2017, and later went on a partying spree that resulted in some rather embarrassing headlines. But it seems the Channel Seven star is ready to settle down after a few 'emotionally exhausting' months, as he was spotted enjoying a leisurely stroll in Bondi Beach, Sydney with his rumoured new girlfriend last Monday. Scroll down for video Ready to settle down? Andrew O'Keefe (left) was spotted arm in arm with his rumoured new girlfriend (right) in Bondi Beach, Sydney last Monday Andrew walked arm in arm towards the beach with the unidentified brunette, who appeared to be in her thirties or forties. The veteran presenter couldn't wipe the smile off his face, and looked happier and healthier than he has done in recent months. Wearing a grey jumper and striped boardshorts, Andrew completed his casual look with a pair of colourful sneakers. All smiles! The veteran presenter couldn't wipe the smile off his face, and looked happier and healthier than he has done in recent months New flame? Andrew's mystery female companion appeared to be in her thirties or forties It's over! Andrew separated from his wife Eleanor in late 2017. Pictured together in 2014 Beach body ready! Andrew's female companion looked fit and fabulous in black leggings and a fitted white singlet that highlighted her slender frame Working it! Going barefoot for the outing, she was later seen running and performing yoga poses on the sand Andrew's female companion looked fit and fabulous in black leggings and a fitted white singlet that highlighted her slender frame. Going barefoot for the outing, she was later seen running and performing yoga poses on the sand. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Andrew's manager, Mark Klemens, for comment. Keeping it simple: Wearing a grey jumper and striped boardshorts, Andrew completed his casual look with a pair of colourful sneakers Time for a dip? Andrew is often spotted swimming at Bondi Beach wearing skimpy Speedos Who is she? Daily Mail Australia has contacted Andrew's manager, Mark Klemens, for comment In April, Andrew's manager announced that he would be taking a break from filming The Chase to recover from a difficult 12 months that left him 'emotionally exhausted'. In September 2018, Woman's Day published photos of the then newly-separated TV personality kissing a young woman during a wild night out in Tasmania. According to the magazine, the footage was captured while Andrew was 'partying for 48 hours' non-stop. 'I am not the only person who has gone out and had a big night and done things that in the light of day looks little silly,' Andrew later said of the incident. Making headlines: In September 2018, Andrew was filmed kissing a mystery brunette during a wild night out in Hobart following his marriage breakdown In addition to the breakdown of his marriage in late 2017, Andrew made headlines in March this year when he lashed out at a photographer while leaving court. Andrew was quick to deny he'd hit the photographer, however. 'Mate, if a photographer chooses to get in the way of my folder, that's the photographer's fault,' he said. Andrew was in court after being pulled over driving a green 1968 MGB Mark II convertible in Vaucluse, Sydney on September 3, 2018. When asked if the vehicle was registered, Andrew said it was in his estranged wife Eleanor's name. The registration had expired one month earlier. Andrew, who previously worked as a lawyer, pleaded guilty in court but explained that he did not know the vehicle was unregistered. Denied: In March 2019, Andrew allegedly struck a news photographer with a folder full of documents while leaving Downing Centre Local Court His day in court: Andrew, who once worked as an intellectual property lawyer, pleaded guilty in court but explained that he did not know the vehicle was unregistered Andrew is currently the host of the Australian version of The Chase, and formerly presented Deal or No Deal. He will reportedly return to work in early June, after taking his leave of in April. The Chase airs weeknights from 5pm on Channel Seven She's set to star in the upcoming thriller Limetown for Facebook Watch. Jessica Biel was spotted stepping out West Hollywood on Wednesday. The 37-year-old actress and producer made a stop at the valet while dodging rain drops. Rainy day: Jessica Biel, 37, was spotted stepping out in West Hollywood on Wednesday Jessica was dressed casually yet elegantly with a pair of dark blue jeans and a black floral print top. The 5ft7in beauty was covered up in a fuzzy navy blue overcoat on the stormy day. She stepped out of her black Tesla in a sensible pair of beige heels with black tips, and had a similarly colored large beige bag slung over one shoulder. She carried a gallon bottle of water in her other hand. Her brunette tresses were done up straight and cascade over her shoulders, showing off her lightened ombre style. Classy: The Sinner star was dressed casually yet elegantly in a navy blue overcoat and a dark floral print top While her husband Justin Timberlake, 38, was absent from the daytime outing, Jessica helped celebrate a major occasion with him earlier in May. The two traveled to Boston, where Justin was being feted at a Berklee College of Music pre-commencement concert. The couple watched students at the prestigious music school perform a number of his signature songs, before he received an honorary doctorate the following day. Special honor: Though husband Justin Timberlake, 38, wasn't present, Jessica traveled to Boston with him earlier this month ahead of him receiving an honorary doctorate at Berklee College of Music Still in love: She kissed her husband passionately while students performed a concert of his music On Thursday, Jessica shared a photo to Instagram of herself donating blood at Children's Hospital LA. The Sinner star revealed that her niece, Zaya Rose Biel, who was born New Year's Day this year, would be having surgery at the hospital to repair a hole in her heart that made it difficult to regulate blood and oxygen flow. 'This morning I donated a pound of blood to @childrensla and I heartily encourage you to donate if youre able to,' she urged. 'My little niece is having surgery here soon and I wanted to help in some small way. Donating blood is the easiest way to help doctors and caregivers save lives- plus you get a sticker after! Were all in this together.' On Monday, Jessica posted an video of herself doing some excruciatingly slow one-legged squats while her trainer counted down in the background. 'Never has anyone In the history of the world counted slower than my trainer @benbrunotraining,' she wrote. Helping hand: On Thursday, Jessica shared a photo to Instagram of herself donating blood at Children's Hospital LA, in advance of her niece's heart surgery Workout: On Monday, Jessica posted an video of herself doing some excruciatingly slow one-legged squats while her trainer counted down in the background She recently described supermodel, Naomi Campbell, as her 'other mum'. And on Tuesday, Adut Akech Bior, 19, shared a heartwarming tribute to Instagram for the iconic star, in honour of her 49th birthday. 'This lady here means so much to me... You're one of the most loving, caring, inspiring [ladies] with the biggest heart that I've ever met,' Adut wrote alongside photos of the pair. Heartfelt: Adut Akech Bior (right), 19, shared a heartwarming tribute to Instagram for Naomi Campbell (left), in honour of her 49th birthday on Wednesday 'The love I have for my own birth mother is the love I have for you mama. Our relationship is one I would've never dreamt or imagined having but I'm so thankful we have it. 'I love and appreciate you beyond words and I can't wait to see you soon mama.' Adut, who was named model of the year at the 2018 Australian Fashion Laureate awards in November, grew up admiring Naomi before they ever met. VIP: Naomi and Adut are pictured with Joan Collins (left) and Pierpaolo Piccioli (2-L) at the Met Gala in New York earlier this month During her teens, Naomi became Adut's mentor and they both featured in the 2018 Pirrelli calendar. Naomi has become a great source of support for Adut, who is relatively new to the fashion world. The model, who hails from Adelaide, had an incredible year in 2018 after being named Chanel's first black runway bride in over a decade. 'This has been a dream of mine': Adut continues to make history in the high fashion world after landing two December Vogue covers (left) Australian Vogue and (right) British Vogue And she continues to make history in the high fashion world after landing two December Vogue covers. The South Sudanese-born model appeared on both Vogue Australia and British Vogue - months after she was hand-picked by Chanel creative director, Karl Lagerfeld, to close the Fall 2018 Haute Couture show in Paris. 'I've been dying to share with the world from the minute I found out about this shoot, to when I shot it and now I can finally show you all,' she wrote on Instagram last year. Making history: The statuesque beauty was hand-picked by Chanel creative director, Karl Lagerfeld (right), to close the Fall 2018 Haute Couture show in Paris 'Ever since I started modelling back in Australia gracing the cover of Australian Vogue has been a dream of mine. '... And I'm am beyond blessed and grateful that my dream has finally come true. This cover is so special to me. In September, Adut landed a profile feature in American Vogue. Adut moved to Adelaide, Australia with her family as a South Sudanese refugee when she was just seven. She launched her modelling career at age 16, after signing with Chadwick Models. Since then, she has become one of the most in-demand models around the world and has walked for the likes of Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent and Valentino. As of last month, The Bachelorette producers were still on the hunt for contestants - even though filming is just weeks away. And it seems production is still yet to begin, with Angie Kent spotted on a 'health retreat' in Byron Bay, NSW on Wednesday. Bachelor in Paradise star Bill Goldsmith shared footage of Angie in a cafe after they bumped into each other in the hippie coastal town. What's the hold up? Filming of The Bachelorette is still yet to begin, with Angie Kent (left) spotted in Byron Bay on Wednesday with Bill Goldsmith (centre) and Isabelle Silbery (right) Angie was joined at the cafe by her former Gogglebox co-star Isabelle Silbery. She captioned a photo of herself, Isabelle and Bill: 'The people you run into in Byron when you escape your health retreat.' The sighting comes after Angie revealed the Channel 10 show was still on the hunt for male contestants. 'The people you run into!' Bachelor in Paradise star Bill Goldsmith shared footage of Angie in a cafe after they bumped into each other in Byron Bay Last month, Angie appeared in a casting call video shared to the official Bachelorette Instagram account. 'Hello I'm Angie and I'm your new Bachelorette. This isn't a joke and I'm actually really serious about looking for love,' she said in the clip. 'Let's face it, it would be so embarrassing if I have to turn up on the night all dressed up, heaps of roses to give out and nobody turns up. Let's not do that to me!' 'It would be embarrassing if nobody turns up!' The sighting comes after Angie (pictured) revealed last month that the Channel 10 show was still on the hunt for male contestants Angie, who has been single for the past eight years, also revealed what she is looking for in a partner. 'What I am hoping to find in a partner is somebody that's just super funny, super down-to-earth and doesn't take life too seriously,' she said. 'They have to be passionate about something, because if you're passionate about something, you want to get up, you're happy, it just makes life easier... doesn't it?' He's set to wow the judges on The Voice Australia with his powerful vocals on Sunday night. But on Thursday, the show's first transgender contestant Oliver Cuthbert, 15, admitted that he's prepared to receive backlash from viewers over his gender identity. Speaking to WHO Magazine on Thursday, the Sydney-based teenager said: 'I'm expecting there to be some hatred towards me because it's social media and it happens. 'I'm expecting there to be some hatred towards me': Transgender The Voice contestant Oliver Cuthbert, 15, says he's preparing for backlash from the public He continued: 'Especially when there's an issue which people aren't educated on and don't know much about it.' To prepare for his TV debut, Oliver's parents had warned him that there's likely to be hate and backlash towards him, but they also assured him that he'll receive plenty of support as well. Oliver, who began hormone replacement therapy a year ago, has been identifying as a male ever since he was around 12 or 13. And while that may seem young, his gender confusion forced him to grow up incredibly fast. Take the good with the bad: To prepare for his TV debut, Oliver's parents warned him that there is likely to be some public backlash, but added that he'll receive lots of support too 'I thought that it was just that I like girls and I thought it was my sexuality, but then I went into high school and I went into puberty and I felt uncomfortable and super devastated that I was becoming a female.' He said that he began to take action after doing some research and accepted that he was transgender. Oliver, who will appear on this Sunday's episode of the hit reality show, is not only hoping to win, but hopes his appearance will raise awareness and bring 'normality' to the trans community. 'I thought that it was just that I like girls and I thought it was my sexuality': Oliver said that he grappled with his feelings for some time before he finally decided to take action Brave: Oliver, who began hormone replacement therapy a year ago, has been identifying as a male ever since he was around 12 or 13 'I really hope that it's possible for me to reach anyone who is feeling that way because I know if I had seen someone on TV when I was younger and unsure of myself that would have helped me, [and] I just really want to be that person for someone,' he explained. Oliver says he's been lucky to have had a supportive family throughout the entire process. In the The Voice ads for Sunday night's episode, Oliver's parents are seen gushing about their son and his bravery, with his dad calling him his 'hero'. The Voice continues on Channel Nine at 7.30pm on Sunday Waving the flag: Oliver is not only hoping to win, but hopes his appearance raises awareness and brings some 'normality' to the trans community They're well-known animal lovers who've shown off their fashionable pooches over the years. Paris Hilton, 38, was joined by her sister, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, 35, as the two heiresses walked the red carpet at the Animal Haven 2019 Benefit for the Animals in New York City. The socialites posed with some fuzzy friends while showing off their striking outfits. Family affair: Paris Hilton, 38, was joined by her sister, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, 35, as the two heiresses walked the red carpet at the Animal Haven 2019 Benefit for the Animals Paris was scorching in a scarlet dress adorned with hundreds of little black hearts. The 5ft8in reality star's modest outfit featured long sleeves and '80s-style padded shoulders, though the nearly floor-length dress featured a slit to show off her finely toned legs. She added a pair of simple black heels to the look, and had a wide black belt around her midriff that highlighted her trim figure. The Simple Life star had her blonde locks styled straight, and she pulled her hair behind her ear to display a pair of gleaming jeweled earrings. Though she's best known as a fan of Chihuahuas and Pomeranians, Paris posed with an adorable gray and white kitten. Red hot: Paris was scorching in a scarlet dress adorned with hundreds of little black hearts Retro look: The 5ft8in reality star's modest outfit featured long sleeves and '80s-style padded shoulders, though the nearly floor-length dress featured a slit to show off her finely toned legs Slimming look: She added a pair of simple black heels to the look, and had a wide black belt around her midriff that highlighted her trim figure Cute kitty: Though she's best known as a fan of Chihuahuas and Pomeranians, Paris posed with an adorable gray and white kitten Compared to her sister's sultry look, Nicky went for an angelic white look with a ruffled white dress covered in little red clovers. The outfit matched her sister's with its long sleeves, though it was more revealing. The low-cut front highlighted Nicky's cleavage and the shorter dress showed off her slender legs. Her blonde tresses were done up in a braided crown, and she toted along a cream-colored handbag. She was supporting the Animal Haven organization, which helps finds homes for abandoned animals and offers behavioral training to increase the likelihood of adoptions. Brilliant white: Compared to her sister's sultry look, Nicky went for an angelic white look with a ruffled white dress covered in little red clovers Similar looks: The outfit matched her sister's, with its long sleeves, though hers showed off some cleavage with it's low cut, and the shorter skirt highlighted her trim legs Lovely locks: Her blonde tresses were done up in a braided crown, and she toted along a cream-colored handbag Nicky held up a cute long-haired Chihuahua, while her sister-in-law Tessa Hilton grasped a short-haired Chihuahua. The GermanAmerican noble had on a gorgeous baby blue dress covered in lotus petals. Her blonde hair was done up in a messier variant on Nicky's crown, and she elevated her height with a tall pair of beige platform heels. Befitting the event, Tessa wore a black choker with a jeweled chain, resembling a pet collar. The three socialites showed off their striking outfits while posing outside the event, with Paris adding a large pair of black sunglasses to her look. Pet friends: Nicky held up a cute long-haired Chihuahua, while her sister-in-law Tessa Hilton grasped a short-haired Chihuahua Flower power: The GermanAmerican noble had on a gorgeous baby blue dress covered in lotus petals High rise: Her blonde hair was done up in a messier variant on Nicky's crown, and she elevated her height with a tall pair of beige platform heels On theme: Befitting the event, Tessa wore a black choker with a jeweled chain, resembling a pet collar Best friends: The model seemed to love the tiny pooch Striking a pose: The three socialites showed off their striking outfits while posing outside the event, with Paris adding a large pair of black sunglasses to her look Also supporting the animal charity was Mad Men's John Slattery. The silver-haired star wore an elegant black suit, though he relaxed the look with a tie-free powder blue shirt. He was joined by his wife, actress Talia Balsam, who showed off a festive yellow dress with floral designs, as well as a short black cardigan. Full Metal Jacket star Vincent D'Onofrio had on a black button up shirt and black trousers as he held one of the sweet little dogs. His wife, Dutch model Carin van der Donk, had on a flowing jacket with striking black and gold abstract patterns. Silver fox: Also supporting the animal charity was Mad Men's John Slattery. The silver-haired star wore an elegant black suit, though he relaxed the look with a tie-free powder blue shirt Loving couple: He was joined by his wife, actress Talia Balsam, who showed off a festive yellow dress with floral designs, as well as a short black cardigan Low key: Full Metal Jacket star Vincent D'Onofrio had on a black button up shirt and black trousers as he held one of the sweet little dogs Intriguing look: His wife, Dutch model Carin van der Donk, had on a flowing jacket with striking black and gold abstract patterns Jamie Blicher arrived in a classy black dress adorned with semi-circles, and holding a tiny Yorkshire Terrier. Shoe designer Tabitha Simmons was ready for summer with a gorgeous powder blue dress covered in rose petals. Model Carolyn Murphy had on a similar look, opting for a pale yellow dress with floral patterns. She added a pair of emerald earrings and a set of beige open-toe heels to the festive look. Minimalist: Jamie Blicher arrived in a classy black dress adorned with semi-circles, and holding a tiny Yorkshire Terrier Summer look: Shoe designer Tabitha Simmons was ready for summer with a gorgeous powder blue dress covered in rose petals. Model Carolyn Murphy had on a similar look, opting for a pale yellow dress with floral patterns Vanderpump Rules star Billie Lee came to the defense of her SUR boss Lisa Vanderpump on Wednesday after she cracked a transphobic joke on Tuesday's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. 'I have to say @LisaVanderpump has always supported me and my trans experience,' the transgender 35-year-old tweeted. 'She has one of the biggest hearts ever. I wouldn't be where I am today without my fairy god mother. Our allies don't come perfect and it's our responsibility to educate them.' HBIC: Vanderpump Rules star Billie Lee (R) came to the defense of her SUR boss Lisa Vanderpump (L) on Wednesday after she cracked a transphobic joke on Tuesday's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (pictured March 31) The transgender 35-year-old tweeted: 'I have to say @LisaVanderpump has always supported me and my trans experience. She has one of the biggest hearts ever. I wouldn't be where I am today without my fairy god mother. Our allies don't come perfect and it's our responsibility to educate them' The British 58-year-old made the offensive comment while undergoing a lie detector test to prove she never leaked to the press over a prior controversy. 'Just don't ask me if [my RHOBH castmate Erika Jayne is] tucking or something like that, because there are some things I can't lie about,' Lisa laughed. The restaurateur and dog activist has since apologized via ET for her 'poor choice of words' which 'belittled the trans community.' Billie and several of her Vanderpump Rules castmates just weighed in on the third and final 'explosive' seventh season reunion special, which aired Monday (but was taped May 6) on Bravo. Silly segment: The British 58-year-old made the offensive comment while undergoing a lie detector test to prove she never leaked to the press over a prior controversy Lisa laughed: 'Just don't ask me if [my RHOBH castmate Erika Jayne is] tucking or something like that, because there are some things I can't lie about' LGBTQAI ally? The restaurateur and dog activist has since apologized via ET for her 'poor choice of words' which 'belittled the trans community' When TooFab asked how Lee felt about her double date with Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix getting cut out of the show, she said: 'I think we need to see trans women dating.' 'Editing is a big part of reality television. That's where the art is,' the Indiana native said. 'And I guess I'm just really disappointed in the artists and whoever made the decision to only highlight the negative parts or the upset parts of me or the vulnerable parts of me.' Taped May 6: Billie and several of her Vanderpump Rules castmates just weighed in on the third and final 'explosive' seventh season reunion special, which aired Monday on Bravo When TooFab asked how Lee (pictured Saturday) felt about her double date with Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix getting cut out of the show, she said: 'I think we need to see trans women dating' As for the resident engaged couple, Jax Taylor chose not to watch the reunion while his fiancee Brittany Cartwright was mortified at her emotional display. 'My wounds from that day had kind of healed. It does suck to re-watch it, though,' the 30-year-old SUR server told TooFab. 'I saw pieces - of course - of me screaming and stuff, so that's embarrassing. I'm not proud of myself for that, but I am proud of myself for sticking up for myself. I just wish I did it in a classier way.' Bride and groom: As for the engaged couple, Jax Taylor chose not to watch the reunion while his fiancee Brittany Cartwright was mortified at her emotional display (pictured April 27) The 30-year-old SUR server told TooFab: 'My wounds from that day had kind of healed. It does suck to re-watch it, though. I saw pieces - of course - of me screaming and stuff, so that's embarrassing. I'm not proud of myself for that, but I am proud of myself for sticking up for myself. I just wish I did it in a classier way' 'I get emotional, and I see red': The 38-year-old SUR bartender wished he'd spoken to Raquel Leviss more respectfully, but he had no regrets over lunging at co-star James Kennedy after he mentioned his late father The 38-year-old SUR bartender wished he'd spoken to Raquel Leviss more respectfully, but he had no regrets over lunging at co-star James Kennedy after he mentioned his late father. 'Any time you mention my father - whether it's good or bad - I get emotional, and I see red,' Jax told the mag. 'It's still very new for me, and it's probably gonna be that way for a long time. So I say I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.' 'They were cutting me off': Raquel didn't think she could get a word in edgewise between boyfriend James Kennedy speaking for her and castmates speaking over her (pictured Wednesday) The 24-year-old SUR server (3-L) told TooFab: 'They weren't allowing me to complete my sentence, which is very rude. It also kind of trails my brain when I'm focusing on their reaction instead of what I'm trying to get across. So it's discouraging' Meanwhile, Raquel didn't think she could get a word in edgewise between boyfriend James Kennedy speaking for her and castmates speaking over her. 'I feel like a lot of the time, when I was speaking, they were cutting me off and not allowing me to complete my sentence, which is very rude,' the 24-year-old SUR server told TooFab. 'It also kind of trails my brain when I'm focusing on their reaction instead of what I'm trying to get across. So it's discouraging.' Harrison Ford was snapped in New York City as he arrived at JFK Airport on Wednesday. The legendary actor, 76, who's married to Ally McBeal actress Calista Flockhart, wore a button-up navy blue shirt with a pair of dark jeans. He sported a grey beard and wore dark shoes on the springtime outing into the Big Apple ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. The actor wore a silver watch and had a pair of sunglasses in his front pocket. Out and about: Harrison Ford, 76, was snapped in NYC as he arrived at JFK Airport on Wednesday ahead of the Memorial Day weekend Ford made headlines during a trip to Gotham in September of 2017, when he exited a limo he was in to help direct traffic amid a jam caused by a nearby accident. Ford earlier this month spoke in tribute to his Star Wars co-star Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca who died at 74 on April 30. 'Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed of great dignity and noble character,' Ford said in a statement. 'These aspects of his own personality, plus his wit and grace, he brought to Chewbacca.' Casual: The legendary actor, 76, who's married to Ally McBeal actress Calista Flockhart, wore a button-up navy blue shirt with a pair of dark jeans on the outing Moving forward: Ford sported a grey beard and wore dark shoes on the springtime outing into the Big Apple Ford said he and Mayhew 'were partners in film and friends in life for over 30 years and I loved him,' referring to their roles in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 'He invested his soul in the character and brought great pleasure to the Star Wars audience,' he added. The star of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones anthologies made clear the impact Mayhew brought as the large Wookie sidekick Chewbacca, calling the character 'an important part of the success of the films we made together.' Household name: Onlookers snapped photos of The Fugitive actor as he prepared to board a vehicle NY state of mind: Ford made headlines during a trip to NYC in September of 2017, when he exited a limo he was in to help direct traffic amid a jam caused by a nearby accident 'He knew how important the fans of the franchise were to its continued success and he was devoted to them. I and millions of others will never forget Peter and what he gave us all. My thoughts are with his dear wife Angie and his children.' The Oscar-nominated actor concluded in writing 'Rest easy, my dear friend. ' Accessories: The actor wore a silver watch while holding on to a pair of sunglasses Star: He hit the pavement in black boots Fond memories: Ford earlier this month paid memorial to his Star Wars co-star Peter Mayhew following the actor's death at 74. The pair wee snapped in London in 2015 Low-profile: Harrison donned a pair of retro shades later to keep a low-profile The cast of Fuller House returned to work for Season 5 on Wednesday. Cast member Jodie Sweetin shared a selfie from the set holding up a script from the Netflix sitcom as she captioned it: ''We're baaaaaack! Season 5 table read today and back to rehearsal next week! Woo hoo!!' And the posting comes amid her co-star Lori Loughlin's college admission scandal which has the actress looking at possible prison time. Back to work: The cast of Fuller House returned to work for Season 5 on Wednesday as cast member Jodie Sweetin shared a selfie from the set holding up a script from the Netflix sitcom as she captioned it: ''We're baaaaaack! Season 5 table read today and back to rehearsal next week! Woo hoo!!' Co-star Candace Cameron Bure posted from her return to the set too. 'First drive back on the WB lot!' she captioned an Instagram Story video on Tuesday, May 21. 'Fuller House season 5 is starting.' Lori and her husband Mossimo Giannulli have pleaded not guilty to paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits, even though neither is a rower. In March, federal authorities arrested Lori, 54, and her fashion designer husband. Legal troubles: And the posting comes amid her co-star Lori Loughlin's college admission scandal that has the actress looking at possible prison time; (pictured February) Weeks after their arrest, USC said that the academic status of students whose parents were allegedly involved in the college admissions scandal was on hold and 'under review.' Loughlin and her husband were among 50 people busted in a wide-ranging investigation into alleged schemes to get wealthy children into elite universities by falsifying SAT scores and college applications. Some of those arrested, including fellow actor Felicity Huffman, have already struck plea deals with prosecutors. Loughlin and Giannulli, who are also charged with money laundering conspiracy, have not publicly commented. If convicted, Loughlin and Giannulli could face up to 40 years in prison. She welcomed her first child, daughter Dahlia De La Lune, in September last year. And Cheyenne Tozzi revealed her sensational post-baby body, in behind-the-scenes photos shared to Instagram Stories on Wednesday. The 30-year-old model sported skimpy pink swimwear from label Bras N Things at a waterfront destination. One hot mama! Model Cheyenne Tozzi, 30, revealed her sensational figure in a skimpy pink bikini on Wednesday, eight months after giving birth to daughter Dahlia De La Lune In one photo, Cheyenne poses in a triangle bikini top and high-cut briefs that show off her toned arms, cleavage, slender waist and lean legs. Her semi-wet locks fall messily around her shoulders, and she gazes seductively at the camera. A following shot sees Cheyenne sporting a skimpy swimsuit with her ample cleavage on display. Her locks are swept in front of her toned shoulders, and her visage looks beyond perfection with the aid of an Instagram filter. Racy: Cheyenne shared behind-the-scenes images from a photo shoot to Instagram Stories. The mother-of-one flaunted her enviable figure in skimpy pink swimwear from Bras N Things Cheyenne's photo shoot comes just eight months after she welcomed daughter Dahlia with Brazilian model boyfriend Marlon Teixeira. The genetically-blessed pair first confirmed their pregnancy back in June 2018, saying they were 'thrilled' to be starting a family. Cheyenne told The Daily Telegraph in November last year that she didn't take drastic measures to lose the baby weight. Bundle of joy: Cheyenne welcomed daughter Dahlia with Brazilian model boyfriend Marlon Teixeira in September last year 'There are no secrets, it's all in your own time,' she said. 'I'm definitely not back to what I was or what I will be, but I'm taking it easy, I'm not doing anything drastic.' Cheyenne also admitted to Who magazine that same month, that daughter Dahlia stopped her from comparing herself to younger models. 'There are always going to be more beautiful, younger models out there - but I've learned just to be happy with my success and happy with the way that my life is going,' she said. 'I think it comes and goes. You can always have a sh***y day, but you have to work on yourself, you have to be the best version of you in order to prevail in life.' Abby Lee Miller delivered welcome news that the cancer she has been battling over the last year was completely gone following a dark, lonely and grueling road to recovery. Now, just one week later, the Dance Moms star is sharing a bright outlook on life going forward in a new interview with People. 'I'm more than grateful. I'm thankful,' Miller said with genuine humility. 'I was always grateful but I think I must say Thank you a hundred times a day.' Before & After: After revealing she suffered a dark and lonely road to recovery in her cancer battle, Abby Lee Milleris is now sharing a bright outlook on life going forward Her gratitude is due, in large part, because she has to 'rely on strangers: someone to open the door, someone to get the hanger off the rack at the department store, someone to pick up my phone if I drop it.' 'How am I supposed to get it? I'm very grateful and thankful to strangers that have been so kind.' Miller, 52, also shared that her new lease on life has motivated her in her career aspirations. 'I want to be an executive producer,' she confessed. 'I have three other shows and a cartoon that Ive created. I want to do what I really do I create. I can make something magical and wonderful out of nothing. I do it every week.' Light emerges from the darkness: 'I'm more than grateful. I'm thankful,' Miller said in a new interview. 'I was always grateful but I think I must say Thank you a hundred times a day' 'If I died, it didn't really matter': Abby Lee Miller opened up last week about her long and lonely road that made her feel as if it 'didn't really matter' if she survived 'I have goals, she added. I have dreams and I want to see them come to fruition. I want to retire and want to be able to live out my days financially secure. Thats what everyone wants.' The reality star then turned to her ongoing physical therapy that is still very much a work in progress. 'If I can move, I can stand,' she shared. 'I'm supposed to stand three times a day for twenty minutes. I can take a right step because I can put my weight on my left knee then when I take a left step my right leg just crumbles because I need a knee replacement.' Painful battle: Miller is shown being treated by her doctor Last week, Miller confessed to Us Weekly that being a single woman with no siblings or surviving parents made her battle particularly lonesome. 'That's why, for me, if I died, it didn't really matter. There were people who care about me, but there wasn't anybody dependent upon me,' she explained. Compared to what ended up being a long and taxing road to recovery, she said dying seemed like the 'easy way out' of the situation. 'Going through surgery, recovering, going to therapy, learning how to pick up a toothbrush and brush your teeth again, learning how to sit up in the bed without falling over, trying to get my right foot to move again, to get my toes to wiggle, that was hard.' Open and honest: The star has been taking to Instagram to talk about her painful battle She's back: Abby put her wig on as she prepared to return to work in the Dance Moms trailer Miller has been chronicling her progress on social media since she was diagnosed with Burkitt Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in April 2018. In all, she has endured at least two emergency surgeries, ten rounds of chemotherapy and months of rehabilitation in hopes of walking again. Her cancer diagnosis came on the heels of her early release from federal prison, where she served eight months of a year-and-a-day sentence for bankruptcy fraud and smuggling $120,000 Australian into the United States. 'Giving it my all': Miller documented her physical therapy journey on social media It was announced in July 2018 that Abby would return to Dance Moms for Season 8, after leaving the show in March 2017. 'I need to get back to teaching and I need to get back to screaming at children,' she added in the teaser for Dance Moms: Resurrection. 'I need to get back to my roots. Im going to take these kids right back to the turf.' The new season of Dance Moms, Dance Moms: Resurrection, debuts June 4. Susie Porter has revealed she never thought she would get married. In an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Wentworth star revealed she had made peace with her single status before marrying her husband. 'There were times I did wonder if settling down with someone was going to happen for me,' she told the publication. 'I did wonder if settling down was going to happen for me': Wentworth's Susie Porter, 48, reflects on getting married later in life as she celebrates her 9th wedding anniversary. Pictured together at the opening night of a play in Sydney in August 2010 'But I felt that if it was meant to happen, it would. It was all about the time being right.' Susie was 39 when she eventually married British-born psychotherapist Christopher Mordue, and the couple recently celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary. She said the pair had been friends for 21 years before deciding to take their relationship to the next level. Going it alone: In an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Wentworth star revealed she had made peace with her single status before marrying her husband. Pictured at the AACTA Awards in Sydney in December 2017 In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in November 2010, Susie revealed they first met while working in a Sydney cafe together. 'I believe in fate, to a degree, so I felt that if it was meant to happen, it would. Well, I got married in March to Christopher and it was all about the time being right,' she told the newspaper at the time. Susie revealed they had lost contact for about five years, with Christopher based in London, while she was based in Sydney. Just friends: She said the pair had been friends for 21 years before deciding to take their relationship to the next level. Pictured together at a movie premiere in Melbourne in August 2013 She said they reconnected when he returned to Australia for a holiday. 'We planned a road trip to Byron Bay and it feels crazy, but when I picked him up after not seeing him for five years, I thought then that he was the one for me,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald. 'And he said, 'I've thought about you every day for the last five years.' That was one of the most wonderful things anyone's ever said to me.' Meant to be: 'We planned a road trip to Byron Bay and it feels crazy, but when I picked him up after not seeing him for five years, I thought then that he was the one for me,' she confessed of her husband. Pictured at the 2019 Australian LGBTI Awards in Sydney in March In a May 2013 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Susie confessed she and her husband had accepted not having children, adding she was 'a great aunty'. 'There was that point where my husband and I thought, you know, 'Would we go to any lengths to have a child?'' she said at the time. 'And eventually we thought: 'No, there must be other things I can be in my life and in the world.'' Olivia Wilde went with the wild look Wednesday while stepping out in New York City. The 35-year-old actress wore a long-sleeved leopard-print top and long black skirt while out and about. Olivia has been showing her keen fashion sense lately while promoting her directorial debut Booksmart. Wild outfit: Olivia Wilde wore a leopard-print top Wednesday while stepping out in New York City The coming-of-age comedy starring Kaitlyn Dever, 22, and Beanie Feldstein, 25, has been receiving high praise from critics. Booksmart with nearly 100 review on Rotten Tomatoes on Wednesday had a stellar 99 percent rating. The film follows follows graduating high school girls Amy, played by Kaitlyn, and Molly, portrayed by Beanie, who set out to finally break the rules on the last night of school. Directorial debut: The 35-year-old actress made her directorial debut with the new comedy Booksmart that has been receiving critical acclaim Coming soon: Booksmart directed by Olivia will be in theaters Friday Busy star: Olivia has been showing her keen fashion sense while promoting Booksmart Booksmart premiered in March at South By Southwest and will be in theaters Friday. Olivia was oozing with style earlier Wednesday for radio interviews at the SiriusXM Studios. The beauty opted for a printed dress for the sunny day, adding a hat to complete her look. Fashionista: Olivia Wilde was oozing with style on Wednesday when she stepped out to promote her new movie Booksmart in New York City Olivia's dress was of a long sleeved maxi design and featured a large printed orange and red symmetrical pattern throughout. Her tiny frame was further accentuated with a belt cinching in her waist. She teamed the look with a pair of black pointed toe boots and kept her accessories to the fedora on her head. Happy days: Olivia couldn't help but flash a smile as she waled around the streets while on her press tour Trim and toned: Olivia's tiny frame was further accentuated with a belt cinching in her waist Mom's working! The mother-of-two appeared to be on a solo run without her kids or fiance Style icon: She teamed the look with a pair of black pointed toe boots and kept her accessories to the fedora on her head Natural beauty: Olivia's blonde shoulder-length locks were styled into loose waves and her glam kept simple with blushed cheeks and a nude lip Olivia's blonde shoulder-length locks were styled into loose waves and her glam kept simple with blushed cheeks and a nude lip. Heading into the studios, the mom-of-two got to chat to both Kevin Hart and Andy Cohen. Kevin appeared very dapper for the appearance, opting for a maroon colored suit and light shirt underneath. Gorgeous: Olivia's dress was of a long sleeved maxi design and featured a large printed orange and red symmetrical pattern throughout Reunion! Olivia was also seen alongside a dapper Kevin Hart on Wednesday Raving reviews: Olivia's directional debut, Booksmart, currently has a 99 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes Andy kept things slightly more casual with a white polo shirt that had a rainbow collar. And Olivia's work wasn't done following the interview. She headed one mile straight down E 49th Street in New York afterward to The Trump World Tower. Friends: She was also spotted with Andy Cohen who kept things slightly more casual with a white polo shirt that had a rainbow collar Say cheese! Olivia's visit saw her bump into others in the office who knew Kevin Hart Known for not being a fan in any way toward President Trump, she stood outside and stuck up her middle finger. Sharing the moment on Instagram Stories, Olivia played Public Enemy's hit song Fight The Power in the background. Olivia's has never been shy when speaking out about her political views on social media. Not a fan: And Olivia's work wasn't done following the interview, heading one mile straight down E 49th Street in New York to The Trump World Tower to give him the finger Speaking out: Following a 77 minute speech Trump had delivered in August 22 where he attacked two Arizona senators and threatened to shut down the government over funding for a Mexican border wall, the actress shared her thoughts Following a 77 minute speech Trump had delivered in August 22 where he attacked two Arizona senators and threatened to shut down the government over funding for a Mexican border wall, the actress shared her thoughts. 'Hi good morning I despise Donald Trump with all my guts, and his speech last night only confirmed what a pathetic, petulant, dishonest pig he is, and you may now proceed to tell me why I'm an old, ugly, wretched communist and I will give precisely zero f***s,' she captioned a glam photo. And just a few days before her post, she was seen joining Michael Moore and Mark Ruffalo protesting outside Trump Tower. It's the Australian television industry's night of nights. And ahead of this year's Logie Awards, leading Married At First Sight cast members are 'worried' they will be banned from the red carpet. Daily Mail Australia understands that several participants are 'begging' Channel Nine publicists for an invite ahead of the event on June 30. Who will make the cut? Married At First Sight stars are 'worried' they won't be invited to the Logies and are 'begging' Channel Nine publicists for invites, sources tell Daily Mail Australia 'No one knows what's going on and half of them are scared they won't get invited despite being on the biggest show in Australia,' said an insider. 'Some of them are worried they'll be snubbed for being "too controversial" and "a liability", which is ridiculous because producers encouraged this sort of behaviour during filming.' The source added that some of the brides want to arrange their outfits for the ceremony but are 'getting frustrated waiting to find out if they're going or not'. Will she go? An insider said,'No one knows what's going on and half of them are scared they won't get invited despite being on the biggest show in Australia'. Pictured Tamara Joy Oh no! Some MAFS contestants fear they'll be snubbed 'for being too controversial', despite the fact outrageous behaviour was encouraged during filming. Pictured: Martha Kalifatidis Daily Mail Australia understand that Channel Nine is yet to formally invite any MAFS cast members, and will be narrowing them down in the coming weeks. With 24 participants appearing on the show this year, it is expected that only a handful will be invited due to the venue's limited capacity. 'Golden couple' Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant are likely to score invites, as well as other uncontroversial stars like Heidi Latcham and Melissa Lucarelli. The nominees for the 2019 Logie Awards will be announced at The Star Gold Coast on Sunday. The boring ones: 'Golden couple' Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant are likely to score invites, as well as other uncontroversial stars like Heidi Latcham and Melissa Lucarelli Last year, only half of the MAFS season five cast were invited, with Nasser Sultan - who was among those snubbed - publicly criticising Channel Nine management. 'It's not about me, WE (as an entire cast) contributed to the show,' he wrote at the time in a furious Instagram post. Nasser claimed the snub left him feeling like he was merely an 'extra' on the show, rather than a central character. 'It's not [just] about Ryan, Dean and Davina. What that says to me is, "F**k everybody else! Let's just focus on the Three Musketeers!"' The World's Hottest Grandma has received an unlikely outpouring of support after opening up about her experience with online bullies. Gina Stewart has been besieged by young fans after her bullying story was picked up by LADbible, a popular website and social media network that specialises in viral content. Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia on Thursday, the 48-year-old said that teenage boys are buying her topless calendars in their hundreds and praising her for speaking out against cyber trolls. EXCLUSIVE: The World's Hottest Grandma Gina Stewart, 48, has received an unlikely outpouring of support after opening up about her experience with online bullies 'I have been inundated by teenage boys buying up all my calendars and photos from my website,' she said. 'I gained 10,000 followers overnight even though I'm still shadow-banned on Instagram, and my inbox has got messages streaming in every 10 seconds. 'Some people are asking me to marry them when they grow up! And young women are also thanking me for speaking out.' Hot commodity! 'I have been inundated by teenage boys buying up all my calendars and photos from my website,' Gina told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday She continued: 'There's literally hundreds of messages asking for advice about bullying and telling me they love and adore me for standing up for the youth.' Gina shared a number of these supportive messages with Daily Mail Australia, all of which were brimming with effusive praise. 'You gotta know, you're beautiful and astonishing,' wrote one fan. Fan mail: 'I just wanted you to know you are respected,' gushed one adoring fan Advocate: Gina received support from fans who connected with her anti-bullying message Ageless: Many young fans were blown away by the grandmother's ageless good looks Another wrote: 'You're so gorgeous and you've certainly changed my view of getting a little older!' The mother-of-four added that the support couldn't have come at a better time, after she was 'unfairly' shadow-banned by Instagram. The shadow-ban is believed to be the result of Instagram's recent crackdown on 'inappropriate' and 'sexually suggestive' content. Instead of permanently removing somebody from a website, a shadow-ban still allows users to post freely, but makes their content and profile harder to find. Earlier this month, Gina admitted that she has been the target of online bullying 'most days' since finding fame on the Internet. She wrote: 'These same trolls attack a lot of people in the public eye and you can see them in the comments section of online news media, ripping people apart about their features and body image, with vicious and defaming comments.' Bullied: Earlier this month, Gina admitted that she has been the target of online bullying 'most days' since finding fame on the Internet Gina warned that laws are now in place targeting online trolls, and she implored people to consider the impact of their words on social media. 'Think before you act, if you believe your words are going to hurt someone then think twice. It may cost a life,' she pleaded. Gina is mother to four children, including her eldest daughter Casey, a burgeoning model who currently works in construction. Samantha Armytage is officially Weight Watchers' newest ambassador, having signed a deal reportedly worth $250,000. And on Thursday, the Sunrise host showed off her 10kg weight loss while attending a luncheon for the brand in Sydney alongside her Channel Seven colleagues. The 42-year-old wore a black sleeveless $1,300 Dion Lee frock, previously worn by the Duchess of Sussex, that highlighted her lean arms and slender waist. Proof is in the (low fat) pudding! Samantha Armytage showed off her slimmed-down figure at a luncheon in Sydney on Thursday, after being announced as a Weight Watchers ambassador Samantha boosted her height with black pointy-toe heels and draped a black coat over her forearm. She concealed her gaze behind designer sunglasses, and added a touch of bling in the form of hoop earrings. The veteran broadcaster styled her signature blonde locks semi-straight, and opted for a minimal makeup palette. Looking good! The 42-year-old wore a black sleeveless $1,300 Dion Lee frock, previously worn by the Duchess of Sussex, that highlighted her lean arms and slender waist Samantha was pictured arriving at the luncheon with her Channel Seven colleagues, as well as her parents Libby and Mac Armytage. They were joined by Sunrise co-anchor David Koch and his wife Libby, as well as panelists Natalie Barr, Mark Beretta and Edwina Bartholomew. The breakfast TV star was no doubt in a celebratory mood, having announced her ambassador role with Weight Watchers just hours earlier. Like a new woman! The Sunrise host paired her expensive dress with black pointy-toe heels, a coat draped over her arm, designer sunglasses and hoop earrings Regal style: The dress has previously been seen on the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, 37. Pictured in the navy version in Melbourne in October last year After signing a rumoured $250,000 deal with the company, Samantha has already lost 10kg since January. But she emphasised on Sunrise on Thursday that she isn't on a 'diet' in the traditional sense and is just focusing on health and wellness. 'It's about being healthy and feeling strong and fit,' she explained, adding that she can still drink wine and eat cake in moderation. 'It's not all about weight loss - but guess what, I've lost 10 kilograms!' Lending their support: Samantha was supported at the event by her Sunrise co-anchor David Koch and his wife Libby Sam joins the likes of Kate Hudson, Jennifer Hudson and Robbie Williams as an ambassador for Weight Watchers, now known as WW. 'Thrilled to announce I'm joining forces with @ww as their newest ambassador! Very excited about this modern, holistic company, which is now all about wellness rather than just weight loss,' she wrote on Instagram. Sam's demanding career motivated her to try the Weight Watchers program, as she wanted to 'prioritise her health'. Friends: Fellow Sunrise colleagues Mark Beretta and Natalie Barr were also in attendance Despite waking up at 3.15am every day, she makes time to exercise at the gym twice a week for boxing and weight training. She also walks her Labrador daily. 'I feel great, absolutely fantastic,' she told News.com.au. 'Don't forget, I get up at 3.15am so being a bit lighter and having more energy throughout the day really helps. It's a nice feeling and I want to keep going.' Courteney Cox was flanked by a trio of stars as she supported her partner, Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, as his band wrapped up their Wildness Tour at The Wiltern in Los Angeles Tuesday. The 54-year-old Friends star posted a shot from the venue on Instagram of herself posed with three Hollywood stalwarts in Mary McCormack, Woody Harrelson and James Marsden at the show. In the shot, Cox wore a black top with her black locks parted and down, while the Private Parts star McCormack, 50, donned a black and white striped sweater. Concerts with the stars: Courteney Cox, 54, was flanked by a trio of stars - James Marsden, 45, Woody Harrelson, 57, and Mary McCormack, 50 - as she supported her partner, Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, as his band wrapped up their Wildness Tour at The Wiltern in Los Angeles Tuesday Marsden, 45, who appears in the upcoming film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, donned a denim shirt while Harrelson wore a brown top over an olive green T-shirt. The Mothers and Daughters actress in March opened up about her romance with McDaid while appearing on Busy Tonight. Cox, who played Monica Geller on the 90s NBC smash, said that McDaid once used his musical skills to compose a flattering song in her honor. 'He wrote one called - I'm sorry guys - "I Love the Way You Everything,"' she said. 'I don't think he feels that way anymore but it was nice. He did write this really beautiful song, and it's called that and it will probably be recorded at some point by somebody.' Craftsman: McDaid wore a white T-shirt during the concert in Southern California Trek: The band hit the road last month in Dallas and wrapped up in LA Tuesday, in what was their first North American tour in the past six years Cox, who is mother to as well as 14-year-old daughter Coco (with her ex-husband, David Arquette), told Phillips that she's logged 'a lot of miles' in her long distance relationship with the musician, who is primarily based out of London, which she likened to 'a clean New York.' She continued: 'I love London. To me, it's the perfect city. It's so beautiful. It's got so much, you know, the architecture is incredible, and culture.' Cox and McDaid have been romantically-linked for six years, and were engaged from 2014 thru 2015, later calling it off amid a temporary break-up, as they would eventually rekindle their romance. 'He's not my fiance,' she told Ellen earlier this year. 'We were engaged to be married, but now we're just together. We broke off our engagement and he moved to England. Then we got back together, and it's actually better than it was before. Everything's better.' She's famous for playing Daisy Johnson on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And on Wednesday night, Chloe Bennet lent her support to the upcoming Netflix movie Always Be My Maybe. The actress, 27, made an entrance at the film's premiere in Los Angeles, flashing her legs in a black and white dress. Stylish: She's famous for playing Daisy Johnson on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And Wednesday night, Chloe Bennet lent her support to Netflix movie Always Be My Maybe The short-sleeved outfit bared a little skin at the waist and she added black sandal heels. Bennet posed for photos on the yellow carpet with actor Daniel Dae Kim who is one of the stars of the romantic comedy. Kim, 50, who starred in Lost and the Hawaii Five-O reboot, wore a jacket and trousers with open-neck white shirt and white trainers. Lovely look: The actress, 27, made an entrance at the film's premiere in Los Angeles, flashing her legs in a black and white dress that also bared a little skin Pals: Bennet posed for photos on the yellow carpet with actor Daniel Dae Kim who is one of the stars of the romantic comedy Always Be My Baby was co-written by Ali Wong and Randall Park, along with Michael Golamco. Wong and Park play the lead characters Sasha and Marcus who were childhood sweethearts but had a falling out. Fifteen years later, after having had no communication with one another, they run into each other in San Francisco where Sasha is a celebrity chef opening a new restaurant and Marcus is a struggling musician living at home with his dad. Also making an appearance in the movie is Hollywood star Keanu Reeves who joined the rest of the cast at the premiere. A-list: Also making an appearance in the movie is Hollywood star Keanu Reeves and the actor, 54, looked sharp in a dark pinstripe three-piece suit with patterned tie Great to see you: Reeves and Kim shared a laugh as they met up while posing for photos Group shot: Reeves also posed with Ali Wong and Randall Park, the leads in the movie, along with director Nahnatchka Khan Created their own roles: Park and Wong co-wrote Always Be My Maybe and they play former childhood sweethearts who run into each other 15 years after their falling out Wong, 37, is a comedienne and writer who wrote for the first four seasons of the ABC sitcom Fresh Off The Boat in which Park, 45, stars. Wong chose a glittery multi-colored tasseled mini dress for her big night. She paired it with chunky black ankle boots and wore clear glasses. Park opted for a blue two-piece suit with a white shirt and patterned silk tie. Shimmered: Wong, 37, who wrote for the first four seasons of the ABC sitcom Fresh Off The Boat in which Park stars, chose a glittery multi-colored tasseled mini dress for her big night Dapper: Park, 45, opted for a blue two-piece suit with a white shirt and patterned silk tie Supporting cast: Charlyne Yi, 33, arrived wearing a short-sleeved chocolate-colored dress and boots, while Vivian Bang, 35, chose a vibrant pink and yellow patterned gown and red shoes Fresh off the Boat castmembers came out in force to support Wong and Park. Lucille Soong, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler and Ian Chen all attended the event. Other guests included former Glee stars Heather Morris and Harry Shum Jr., New Girl star Hannah Simone, Pitch Perfect star Alexis Knapp and Devious Maids star Dania Ramirez. Always Be My Maybe becomes available for streaming n Netflix on May 31. Classy: Fresh off the Boat castmembers came out in force to support Wong and Park including Lucille Soong, 80, who looked fabulous in a traditional green silk dress with Mandarin collar Like family: Fresh Off The Boat actor Hudson Yang, 15, posed with his on-screen brothers Ian Chen, 12, left, and Forrest Wheeler, 15, right Sleek: Alexis Knapp, 29, who appeared in the Pitch Perfect franchise, wore a sleeveless black dress with buttons down the front and black boots Guests: Former Glee stars Heather Morris and Harry Shum Jr. also showed up to the premiere. Morris, 32, paired a strapless top and black flares while Shum, 37, went for a sweater and jeans Pretty: New Girl star Hannah Simone, 38, opted for an animal print dress with a round neckline and long sleeves and added black pumps Curves: Devious Maids star Dania Ramirez, 39, flaunted her figure in a strapless dress cinched with a statement pink belt and stepped out in stiletto heels Suave: Avengers: Endgame actor Benedict Wong, 47, looked natty in a gray three-piece suit with a kerchief in the breast pocket Married At First Sight's Ines Basic has sparked concerns for her mental health after sharing a series of troubling social media posts. On Thursday afternoon, the 29-year-old flooded her Instagram Story with dozens of obscene, sexually explicit captions. One particularly offensive post showed her looking strained on MAFS, alongside the crude caption: 'Trying a**l for the first time'. Is everything okay? Married At First Sight's Ines Basic has sparked concerns for her mental health after sharing a series of troubling Instagram posts on Thursday afternoon Another post showed Ines kissing a fellow MAFS participant, Sam Ball, and was captioned: 'Few minutes before I got f***ered and had three orgasms in a row'. One particularly worrying post featured a photo of Ines walking through an airport, alongside the text: 'I wonder if there's any dogs here I can have sex with'. Ines, a former legal assistant from Queensland, also referenced illegal drug use during her social media spree. Explicit: One post showed Ines kissing a fellow MAFS participant, Sam Ball, and was captioned: 'Few minutes before I got f***ered and had three orgasms in a row' Bestiality: One particularly worrying post featured a photo of Ines walking through an airport, alongside the text: 'I wonder if there's any dogs here I can have sex with' She shared a photo of herself on MAFS without any makeup on, alongside the caption: 'Me after I took 60 pills'. Two further drug-related posts featured the text, 'On Valium' and 'Excuse me sir do you sell cocaine here?' The bizarre rant comes after Ines told Woman's Day on Monday that her life spiralled out of control after appearing on Married At First Sight. Mental health fears: Ines also referenced drug use during her social media spree What is she saying? Ines captioned a photo of herself arriving at the MAFS reunion: 'On Valium' Illegal: A further drug-related post featured the text: 'Excuse me sir do you sell cocaine here?' She partly blames producers for her ordeal, claiming they made her feel 'manipulated' and 'controlled' during the experiment. 'I really thought the whole experience was going to be fun, but behind the scenes it was so very heavily controlled,' she said. Ines also told The Kyle and Jackie O show earlier this week that she felt forced in to doing outrageous things. 'You're in this situation where the pressure is so huge, everything is done at the fastest pace,' she explained. 'Your mentality is operating under stress, you're not thinking right. You're being told to do these things. Honestly you don't have an option.' Suggestion: Ines also shared this paparazzi photo of herself and fellow MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis, alongside the caption: 'On Tinder' Too much information? Ines captioned a similar photo with a crude reference to bodily fluids Ines claimed that producers were only interested in juicy storylines and that even the death of a loved one wasn't enough to garner any sympathy. 'One of my friends did pass away, I went to the funeral but I had to fly back to Sydney to film [MAFS] the next day,' she said. Ines added that her weight plummeted by 12kg due to the stress and grief she experienced at the time. 'Losing weight when I'm highly stressed is not hard. I had the roughest time on MAFS, filming was really demanding and I had a lot of personal dramas just before the reunion was shot,' she told NW magazine. Out of control: The bizarre rant comes after Ines told Woman's Day on Monday that her life spiralled out of control after appearing on Married At First Sight Controlled? Ines partly blames producers for her ordeal, claiming they made her feel 'manipulated' and 'controlled' during the experiment. Pictured with Martha Kalifatidis This stress was heightened in March, when Ines' legal woes culminated in a court appearance in Brisbane. She pleaded guilty to drink-driving charges stemming from an incident on Christmas Day last year and was sentenced to 70 hours of community service and disqualified for driving for three months. On the show, Ines was paired with 'nice guy' Bronson Norrish, 35, and their constant clashes were widely criticised by viewers - with Ines getting most of the blame. She also 'cheated' on Bronson with another groom, Sam Ball, which cemented her 'villain' status and made her one of the most despised contestants in MAFS' history. If you're struggling with mental health issues, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 Katie Price is reportedly planning to go under the knife again after her recent surgery in Turkey has left her with one breast bigger than the other. According to reports, the mother-of-five, 41, has one asset a whole cup size bigger than the other but has been warned by surgeons to wait at least two years as any more procedures could endanger her life. Katie's 'uneven chest' is said to have been caused by her recent multiple surgeries in Turkey, as her chest was still in healing after her reported tenth boob job, yet a representative for the star has denied the claims and said they're 'not true'. More surgery: Katie Price is reportedly planning to go under the knife again after her recent surgery in Turkey has left her with one breast bigger than the other The former glamour model recently had a face lift, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift and a tummy tuck. A source told The Sun: 'But Katie is always unhappy with her body and wanting to change it - now after this last lot of surgery shes noticed that one boob is much bigger than the other, like a full cup size. 'Shes had so many boob jobs in the past and the surgeons have always warned her to not have anymore procedures but she always ignores it and then ends up with lumpy breasts or infection. 'Her surgeon has warned her that she needs two years off surgery, as theres a risk of hypertension. Shes been under general anesthetic way too many times and her blood pressure has rocketed.' Surgery: According to reports, the mother-of-five, 41, has one asset a whole cup size bigger than the other but has been warned by surgeons any more procedures could endanger her life (pictured in 2012) Way back when: Katie's 'uneven chest' is said to have been caused by her recent multiple surgeries in Turkey, as her chest was still in healing after her reported tenth boob job (pictured recently, left, and in 2009, right) The source added that Katie has been 'frightened' by the surgeon's concern but not enough to avoid the procedure. However, a representative for Katie denied the reports to MailOnline and said that they're 'not true'. Only recently, Katie and her on-off boyfriend Kris Boyson, 30, were in Turkey having their teeth fixed, which came shortly after the glamour model's multiple surgeries on her face and body. Earlier this month, Katie unveiled her new face on Good Morning Britain while discussing her 'addiction' to plastic surgery with hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, claiming she looks like a 'Space Invader'. Transformation: Earlier this month, Katie unveiled her new face on Good Morning Britain after having a face-lift, liposuction, a Brazilian bum lift and a tummy tuck The star displayed her newly-smooth and taut visage, explaining that she had her own fat injected under her eyes and had the side of her face 'lifted' in a bid to look more youthful. The mother-of-five also had an eye lift and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift and a tummy tuck. Detailing the procedures she had done, Katie said: 'Ten days ago, I had liposuction and then I had my own fat put in my bum, I haven't had implants [in my bum]' Detailing the procedures she had done, Katie said: 'Ten days ago, I had liposuction and then I had my own fat put in my bum, I haven't had implants [in my bum]' 'I look like a Space Invader because it's still really swollen... I had my own fat put under my eyes, and then here at the side I just had it lifted. It's safer than putting chemical stuff in.' Quizzed by hosts Piers and Susanna whether she was addicted to surgery, Katie insisted she had 'calmed down' in recent years. Referencing her ex Dwight Yorke - who is the father of her 16-year-old son Harvey - Katie said her glamour girl days were the height of her cosmetic enhancements. 'I think I've calmed it down, if you look back at pictures from the Dwight days I look like a duck. I don't like that look [now], but there's nothing you can do about skin', she said. She has won millions of fans all over the world with her portrayal of Russian assassin Villanelle - winning a TV BAFTA this month. But Killing Eve star Jodie Comer has revealed she is nothing like her murderous on-screen alterego, as she rarely nails her killer scenes first time due to being 'very clumsy.' Talking to The Daily Star, the actress, 26, who famously climbed up a drainpipe at a Tuscan estate house in the show, said the scene had been a 'proud moment' due to being her first stunt. Acclaimed: Killing Eve star Jodie Comer has revealed she is nothing like her murderous on-screen alterego, as she rarely nails her killer scenes first time due to being 'very clumsy' Battle of wills: Jodie has won millions of fans all over the world with her portrayal of Russian assassin Villanelle - winning a TV BAFTA this month (above with Sandra Oh as Eve) She said: 'When I climbed up the drainpipe. Thats what I just remembered. I did it. I did my own stunt. Yeah! 'That was a proud moment I cant believe that I did it. I was like, "Im so uncoordinated and very clumsy," so theres probably a million outtakes.' 'There was one where I had to just flip a knife out.Just flip the knife out and I was there for a good 10 minutes. So theyre really great at the editing.' Over the past year, Jodie has won critical acclaim for her portrayal as merciless Villanelle in Killing Eve, who spent the last series being hunted by MI5 security officer Eve Polastri - played by Sandra Oh. Success story: She said: 'That was a proud moment I cant believe that I did it. I was like, "Im so uncoordinated and very clumsy," so theres probably a million outtakes' The much-anticipated second season of Killing Eve aired on BBC America in the US on April 7, and will air in the UK in June. It was announced last month that the spy drama, which also stars Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, has been recommissioned for a third series. Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content, said: 'It's fantastic news that there will be a third series of this award winning hit drama and we're delighted UK audiences will be able to see Killing Eve exclusively on the BBC. 'In the mean-time Villanelle and Eve will be returning to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for a second series soon.' Sociopath: She added: 'There was one where I had to just flip a knife out.Just flip the knife out and I was there for a good 10 minutes. So theyre really great at the editing' Jodie delivered a moving speech when accepting her award for Best Actress at the TV BAFTAs last month. The actress paid tribute to Line Of Duty star Stephen Graham, for offering her plenty of support in the early days of her career. She said: 'Wow, thank you so much BAFTA! Sorry I'm only one who's turned on the waterworks. Thank you Luke Jennings. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, I feel so lucky not only to say that I have worked with you but to call you a friend. 'You are the most talented person I know, thank you for being such an inspiration. I would like to thank BBC America, you guys really are the best, and the entire cast and crew for coming back every year and giving it with the biggest smiles on my faces. 'I also want to thank Stephen Graham; if I don't already owe you a pint, I do now. Thank you for introducing me to to Jane, you have encouraged me and supported me. 'Last but not least, bit of a personal one but I'd love to dedicate this award to my Nanna Francis, who sadly passed away the first week of filming, so she never got to see Villanelle. 'She was the life and soul of everything, and when she was here she used to say to me: ''You get it off me you know''. And I just want to stand up here and say Nanna Francis you were absolutely right all along. Thank you so much BAFTA!' Married At First Sight relationship 'expert' John Aiken reportedly charges $15,000 for a three-day retreat for struggling couples. And now, the 48-year-old is preparing to talk to fans at a speaking event in New Zealand next week, for a fee. John will be appearing at Scots College in Wellington on Wednesday for the event, with ticket entry costing $20. Would you fork out the cash? MAFS relationship 'expert' John Aiken (pictured) is charging fans $20 to see him talk at a speaking event in New Zealand next week Sharing a flyer for the event to Instagram, John said he was happy to be returning to his 'old stomping ground'. He wrote: 'Very excited to be coming back to my old stomping ground to speak next Wed (sic) night. Would love to see you there.' John might be cutting the price due to his ties to the school. Cut-price fee? John shared the event details to Instagram on Thursday. Here with former MAFS stars Martha Kalifatidis (L) and Michael Brunelli (R) In February, it was reported by Daily Mail Australia that John offered a 'rescue your relationship' retreat for strained lovers. However, with a price tag of $15,000 for a three-day program hosted in Sydney, allowing couples one-on-one time with him. His official website states: 'This is an exclusive retreat for one couple only, that need immediate intensive one-on-one training with John.' Hefty: It was revealed John was charging up to $15,000 for a one-on-one session with an needy couple. Pictured here with co-star Trisha Stratford (R) The program promises to provide 'hands-on practical techniques' to couples to 'empower' and 'transform' their relationships. According to the website, the retreat entails John taking the pair 'through a variety of specifically tailored science-based relationship exercises and activities'. The event is hosted at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney's swish Double Bay, although it is unclear if the couples get a room included in their fee. The deal: 'This is an exclusive retreat for one couple only, that need immediate intensive one-on-one training with John,' reads the official website while promoting the Sydney-based retreat Prior to the start of this season, John has defended the show's strike rate when it comes to matching couples. 'We do use the science when we match,' he said candidly, when he spoke to 2DayFM Breakfast with Grant, Ed & Ash on Friday. He continued: 'We all want them to get over the line but we are dealing with these extreme personalities.' John, who has a Masters Degree in clinical psychology, went on to say the people appearing on the show were 'single for a reason'. They confirmed their relationship earlier this month, via Instagram. And Caggie Dunlop and Nick Campbell finally stepped out for their first public event together on Wednesday night, as they attended a private viewing at The Animal Ball Art Show, presented by Elephant Family, at Cork Street Galleries, Mayfair. The couple hob-nobbed with socialites and royals - the event itself being hosted by Princess Eugenie of York, with her sister Princess Beatrice also in attendance. Out and about: Caggie Dunlop and Nick Campbell finally stepped out for their first public event together on Wednesday night, as they attended a private viewing at The Animal Ball Art Show, presented by Elephant Family, at Cork Street Galleries, Mayfair Caggie, who turned 30 last week, looked stylish in a navy dress with white floral detailing. She wore a denim jacket with frayed sleeves over the top and complemented her beau, 31, who wore a grey-blue suit and an open-collar blue and white striped shirt. An onlooker at the party remarked: 'Caggie spent the whole night looking VERY loved up with art consultant Nick!' Nick is founder of Narcissus Arts in London and considered one of the new generation of art experts emerging on the scene, specialising in the Under 10,000 market. Loved up: Nick is founder of Narcissus Arts in London and considered one of the new generation of art consultants emerging on the scene. It's thought he met Caggie - who was the original leading star of Made In Chelsea - thanks to moving in the same social circuits Chic: Caggie, who turned 30 last week, looked stylish in a navy dress with white floral detailing It's thought he met Caggie - who was the original leading star of Made In Chelsea - thanks to moving in the same social circuits. Caggie has kept her love life relatively under wraps since leaving Made In Chelsea in 2012. The couple perused the artwork on show, ahead of it's official opening on Thursday. Instagram official: Caggie went Instagram official with her new boyfriend earlier in the month The nine day exhibition showcases 27 pieces of artwork from some of the most notable names in contemporary art including Subodh Gupta, Tracey Emin, Joana Vasconceles, Luke Edward Hall, Nick Brandt, Philip Colbert and Rob and Nick Carter. The Animal Ball Art Show is fundraising for Elephant Family, the conservation charity founded by Mark Shand in 2003. To date, over 150 projects have been funded in order to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in Asia; recent projects have reconnected forest fragments, restored migratory routes and stamped out illegal trades. She is getting ready to bring her first child into the world. And Amy Jackson was a glowing delight when she attended The Animal Ball Art Show with her billionaire fiance George Panayiotou, in London on Wednesday. The pregnant actress, 27, showed off her growing stomach in an emerald green jumpsuit as she joined her dapper beau, 31. Happy couple! Pregnant Amy Jackson showed off her baby bump in an emerald green jumpsuit as she joined her fiance George Panayiotou at private art viewing, in London on Wednesday Pregnant Amy drew further attention to her bump with the ribbon belt in matching material to her trendy one-piece. To complement her shimmering green outfit, the Miss Teen World winner softened her features with a pink make-up palette. Handsome George proved his style credentials as he spruced his blue round neck top up with a navy two-piece suit. It's love: The pregnant actress, 27, showed off her growing stomach in an emerald green jumpsuit as she joined her dapper beau, 31 Amy joined the V.I.P guest list including royals Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice as well as a handful of stars. Caggie Dunlop and her art dealer beau Nick Campbell made their first public outing as a couple at the London-based event. Eugenie hosted the private viewing of The Animal Ball Art Show which is a nine day exhibition including a Tracey Emin neon and a Nick Brant photograph. Shimmering delight! Amy joined the V.I.P guest list including royals Princess Eugenie (pictured) and Princess Beatrice as well as a handful of stars The Animal Ball Art Show has been raising money for the Elephant Family which is a conservation charity to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in Asia. Elephant Family's projects have reconnected forest fragments, restored migratory routes and stamped out illegal trades. Amy's life is full of excitement at the moment as she prepares to welcome her first baby with her billionaire fiance George. She previously announced the news on Instagram: 'Ive been waiting to shout it from the roof tops, and today, being Mothers Day, it couldnt be a more perfect time. Stylish sisters! Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice looked very comfortable in each other's company as they made equally glam appearances at the bash 'I already love you more than anything in this world, the purest most honest love. We cant wait to meet you our little Libra one'. It has been the dream start to the year for the beauty queen as she announced her engagement to the son of British business tycoon Andreas Panayiotou on January 1. The couple are believed to have embarked on a romance last year, with their love going from strength to strength ever since. Just a few months prior to her epic love story, she declared a romantic relationship 'is not meant to be right now' in an interview with You Magazine. Social butterfly: The royal enjoyed the company of Charlette Dellal when she hosted the private art viewing at the London venue Amy recently starred in her first Hollywood role which saw her take on the role of Imra Ardeen in Supergirl. The actress launched her modelling career at the age of just 16 when she was crowned Miss Teen World in 2009. The model-turn-actress courted attention for her beauty credentials before she was propelled to fame in India as a Bollywood actress. Artwork is available to buy at Paddle8 and the sale ends June 12. Excitement for the Spice Girls' forthcoming reunion tour is reaching fever pitch. And Geri Horner's husband Christian proved he is just as thrilled for the upcoming shows as the fans as he spoke on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky on Virgin Radio on Thursday, where he gushed over his wife's success. The 45-year-old Formula One boss revealed that while he was on the radio, Geri was en route to the airport with their son Monty, two, and his stepdaughter Bluebell, 13 - shortly before Geri shared a snap of the group boarding a private jet. Happy days: Geri Horner's husband Christian proved he is just as thrilled for the upcoming shows as the fans as he spoke on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky on Virgin Radio, where he gushed over his wife's success (pictured in May 2018) Christian revealed of his songstress wife: 'Geri is listening on her way to the airport this morning with Monty, I'm glad they got up in time!' Ahead of their return to the stage in Dublin on Friday night, he gave a sneak peek of what was to come as he said: 'I went to the dress rehearsal, it's going to be unbelievable. They are going to sing all the old hits... 'You pretend you don't know all the words and the dance moves but you do! Half our team are going to one of the gigs!' Chris cheekily asked if there were more fans of Formula One or Spice Girls, as he revealed the top drivers will also be headed to the tour: 'You know what, definitely more for Spice Girl tickets, all the drivers are coming.' Jetting away: The 45-year-old Formula One boss revealed that while he was on the radio, Geri was en route to the airport with their son Monty, two, and his stepdaughter Bluebell, 13 - shortly before she shared a snap of the group boarding a private jet Heading off: Christian revealed of his songstress wife: 'Geri is listening on her way to the airport this morning with Monty, I'm glad they got up in time!' He pushed: 'It's a fantastic show, I think they are celebrating everything they have achieved and having a lot of fun which will come across.' Shortly before heading off, Geri returned to her red locks ahead of the Spice Girls reunion tour which kicks off in Ireland. The 46-year-old songstress took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal she was going for an image overhaul by returning to the red tresses that made her famous. Fantastic: He pushed: 'It's a fantastic show, I think they are celebrating everything they have achieved and having a lot of fun which will come across' Red hair: Geri Horner has returned to her red locks ahead of the Spice Girls reunion tour Who's that girl? Geri looked overjoyed as she displayed her new colouring She shared a video while having the colour washed in and developing while stating: 'I haven't had ginger hair for over 20 years! So I'm a bit scared!' Geri took to Instagram to discuss the new do, as she shared a video with her hair being washed under a tap before then posing with a towel around her head. In the video, she discussed her new do shortly before sharing a duo of stunning images which she posed for in collaboration with L'Oreal. Mama June revealed her rotten teeth during a dramatic intervention with her family on an upcoming episode of Mama June From Not To Hot, two months after she was charged with drug possession. The reality matriarch, 39, was seen being confronted by family members including daughters Alana AKA Honey Boo Boo, 13, Pumpkin, 19, as she revealed her newly fixed teeth were already falling apart. Alana said: 'Do you not understand that I am staying with my sister and that's not by choice?' Scroll down for video Traumatic time: Mama June revealed her rotten teeth during a dramatic intervention with her family on an upcoming episode of Mama June From Not To Hot Tears: The reality matriarch, 39, was seen being confronted by family members including daughters Alana AKA Honey Boo Boo, 13, (above) Mama June responded: 'Yes it is' as she revealed her mouth of decaying teeth. A distraught Alana shouted before bursting into tears 'yes it is!' Mama June was seen attempting to storm out of the house before crying out: 'if you don't let me go, I'll f*****g call the police'. A worried family member said: 'If this intervention doesn't work, she's either gonna wind up in jail or she's gonna die.' Tears: Alana said: 'Do you not understand that I am staying with my sister and that's not by choice?' Mama June is seen collapsing on the ground as friends attempt to help her. Her drug arrest alongside boyfriend Eugene 'Geno' Doak, accompanied by mugshots of the pair is also referenced. In March the Macon County District Attorney's Office charged both Doak and Shannon with possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia (needles and pipes). The scene cuts to Pumpkin saying: 'I have to have temporary custody of Alana.' The girls' dad Mike Thompson is seen looking emotional as a family member responds: 'I say no. If anyone has to have custody over you or Alana it should be your daddy.' Turbulent: Mama June was seen attempting to storm out of the house before crying out: 'if you don't let me go, I'll f*****g call the police' Drama: Mama June is seen collapsing on the ground as friends attempt to help her Mama June's sister Joanne Shannon says: 'She's looking at real time. They're either gonna let the charges go or her ass is gonna go to prison.' Another family member says: 'Drugs change your whole perspective on everything.' An emotional June says: 'I f******g hate myself, I want to f*****g kill the person I am now.' This comes amid a turbulent time for Mama June, whose relationship with the 43-year-old G&J Home Improvements CEO Doak. Mama June has been seen several times at the Wind Creek Montgomery Resort & Casino in Alabama. 'They have been staying on the property for the past few months,' a source told the site. Difficulty: Her drug arrest alongside boyfriend Eugene 'Geno' Doak, accompanied by mugshots of the pair is also referenced There for you: The scene cuts to Pumpkin saying: 'I have to have temporary custody of Alana' In early May June was on the gambling floor and reportedly won $1,000. Insiders have also said that she was seen on the floor with Geno. 'He came down from his room to the gambling floor and spoke to her a few times,' said a source. In early May The Blast reported that the couple are in and out of the casino. 'The two had been staying at the casino for some time but had checked out and moved to a different spot, until coming back today,' a source said. 'They have been gambling and playing the slots all morning and talking to friends they made on the floor.' Parent: The girls' dad Mike Thompson is seen looking emotional as a family member responds: 'I say no. If anyone has to have custody over you or Alana it should be your daddy' Worry: Mama June's sister Joanne Shannon says: 'She's looking at real time. They're either gonna let the charges go or her ass is gonna go to prison' Doak was ordered to stay away from June due to his third-degree domestic violence charge stemming from their March 13 arrest at an Alabama gas station. The Macon County District Attorney's Office charged both Doak and Shannon with possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia (needles and pipes). In April their shared attorney argued that June wanted the court to lift the order because it was all a 'misunderstanding' and she depends on Geno (born Eugene) because 'she is partially blind' - according to TMZ. Doak - who previously served time at Coastal State Prison - reportedly has a long rap sheet which includes burglary, theft, and criminal damage to property. The Toddlers and Tiaras alum called her beau loyal because he dated her back in 2015 - a year before she underwent her $75K surgical makeover which included gastric sleeve surgery and breast augmentation. Making matters more complicated is 'Honey Boo Boo,' who called Doak the 'best stepdad anyone could ask for' in October and gushed she loved him and he makes her 'smile every day.' But on N episode of Mama June: From Not to Hot, the former warehouse worker tearfully confronted Geno over his allegedly sexting of intimate photos to 'multiple women' through Instagram. In addition to Honey and Pumpkin, June has Jessica, 22, and Anna Cardwell, 24. Mama June From Not to Hot: The Road to Intervention airs Friday at 9pm on WE tv. She was all dolled up for the Aladdin premiere in Los Angeles. And Jasmine Tookes looked radiant when she left her cosmetics at home on arrival at Nice airport as she made a beeline for the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. The Victoria's Secret Angel let her natural beauty shine as she opted to go make-up free ahead of her first red carpet in Cannes, with her BFF Shanina Shaik, both 28, not far behind her. Lights, Cannes, action! Victoria's Secret Angel Jasmine Tookes went make-up free as she made a low-key arrival with Shanina Shaik at Nice airport ahead of AmfAR gala in Cannes on Thursday As a frame for her pretty face, the model let wisps of her raven-coloured locks fall from her bun for her flight. Jasmine showcased her style prowess in knitted burnt orange co-ords with an elasticated waistband and a matching cardigan. With her lofty height, the catwalk stunner didn't mind strolling outside the airport terminal in a pair of flat pumps with cute bows. No doubt Jasmine come prepared for the hotly-anticipated AmfAR gala as she was seen arriving with a pink suitcase as well as a rucksack. She's a natural: The Victoria's Secret Angel, 28, let her beauty shine (R) as she opted to go make-up free ahead of her first red carpet in Cannes Fashion fever: Jasmine showcased her style prowess in knitted burnt orange co-ords with an elasticated waistband and a matching cardigan On it! Shanina has had a busy few days jam-packed with the hottest parties and premieres (R) but she showed no signs of slowing down when she arrived in Cannes (L) Hot on her heels, Shanina also flew into the south of France for the annual star-studded Cannes Film Festival. The close BFFs had flown in on the same plane after they had wrapped up their modelling duties in Los Angeles. Jasmine and Shanina forged their friendship when they began working together as Victoria's Secret Angels. There aren't many days of Cannes left but the modelling duo were keen to squeeze a fleeting trip to France so they didn't miss out on the amFAR gala. Comfortable and chic: With her lofty height, the catwalk stunner didn't mind strolling outside the airport terminal in a pair of flat pumps with cute bows Ready for it: No doubt Jasmine come prepared for the hotly-anticipated AmfAR gala as she was seen arriving with a pink suitcase as well as a rucksack Model arrival: Hot on her heels, Shanina also flew into the south of France for the annual star-studded Cannes Film Festival The Victoria's Secret Angel model has had a busy few days jam-packed with the hottest parties and premieres but she showed no signs of slowing down. Afraid of missing out, Shanina made a stunning arrival at the Los Angeles premiere of Aladdin before she attended Kylie Jenner's skincare launch bash. Earlier in May, she partied with Kim Kardashian while she showed her face at the 27th birthday party of Kylie Jenner's boyfriend Travis Scott. Spotted: The close BFFs had flown in on the same plane after they had wrapped up their modelling duties in Los Angeles Halle Berry has broken the internet by passionately kissing guest host Lena Waithe on the Jimmy Kimmel show on Wednesday. And the Hollywood actress, 52, was clearly rather pleased with her efforts as she shared the moment on her Instagram Stories soon after on Wednesday. She wrote: 'When my friend Lena Waithe hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live, s**t happens.' OMG! Halle Berry broke the internet by passionately kissing engaged guest host Lena Waithe on the Jimmy Kimmel show on Wednesday There she goes: Halle was pictured walking into the studio with a cheeky look on her face Lena, 35. is happily engaged to Alana Mayo, 34, but didn't seem to mind the kiss as it's clear the two ladies are good friends. John Travolta was also a guest on the show, after Halle and he joked about the moment. He said: 'I kissed Halle in Swordfish [back in 2001]. I thought I was the only one who got to kiss her.' Going for it: Halle and Lena caused quite the scene with the smooch and it has appeared all over the internet Love: Lena is engaged to be married to Alana Mayo (pictured together in April 2018) In March, Halle broke the internet again when she revealed a massive back tattoo in a snap posted to Instagram - she admitted earlier this week that the inking was fake. The 5ft5in beauty originally posted two different versions of the snap, one to her Instagram Stories and another to the main page. But she told James Corden on The Late Late Show that it was trial run for an upcoming film. Stunning figure: In March, Halle revealed a massive new back tattoo in a topless photo posted to Instagram. She wrote, 'Who says I'm not a mermaid [sic]' She said: 'I am starting a new movie in a few months so I'm trying out different tattoos to see what will fit best for my character. 'And I'm discovering how long will they last, how much wear will I get out of one, so I know how much it's all going to cost.' She also added that cooking topless was nothing new for her. Loving life: John Travolta and his daughter Ella Bleu also appeared on the show and he remarked that he kissed Halle first on Swordfish, which was released back in 2001 Her character Maeve Millay was last seen escaping into the Sublime, a virtual space inaccessible to humans, with her daughter in Westworld's intense season two finale. And Thandie Newton got to work on set of the show's third season in Besalu, Spain, to film intense new scenes in the medieval town on Wednesday afternoon. The actress, 46, kept a casual figure in a grey loose-fitting onesie, as she acted alongside a sharply dressed co-star who donned a grey waistcoat and trousers with a light blue shirt. She's back! Thandie Newton got to work on set in Besalu, Spain, for Westworld's third season as the actress was spotted filming intense scenes with a male co-star on Wednesday Thandie wore a concerned expression as she filmed with the actor a walkway along the city walls, which had been decked out with sandbags and barb wire. Her raven locks were pulled back into a glamorous up-do, which harks back to her character's stylish ways from previous seasons. The pair appeared to be deep in conversation as they spoke quietly during the scene, before her male co-star filmed with another actress. During the dramatic shoot, the actor was seen running with a gun in hand as the actress, who was dressed in a chic red dress, sprinted alongside him. Intense: The pair appeared to be deep in conversation as they spoke quietly during the scene What happened? Thandie's character Maeve was last seen escaping into the Sublime, a virtual space inaccessible to humans, with her daughter in the show's season two finale Thandie's sharp-tongued host is a staunch fan-favourite of the franchise, and her fate remained unclear following the second season's finale. However, her appearance on set seems to mean that Maeve will escape her digital paradise to go out into the real world. She's not the only host to have escaped Delos' Westworld park, as Evan Rachel Wood's Dolores seamlessly integrated with humans, while Bernard (Jeffrey Wright) was also revealed to be a host in the second season. Dramatic: Thandie's male co-star was then seen filming a separate scene with another actress, in which he ran with a gun in hand as she sprinted alongside him Aaron Paul is one of the show's newest cast members, with his as-yet-untitled character seeming to take centre stage in the third season. The first teaser for the show was released on Monday, and gave fans a glimpse at what's to come in the future. The clip paints an ominous outlook to life living among the advances of technology and artificial intelligence, while Evan's Dolores is also seen creeping out of the dark in the closing seconds of the trailer. Season three of Westworld will return to HBO in 2020. Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern has told how it felt like the cast had 'never left' when they got together to shoot the film and likened them to a 'family'. The actress, who plays Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham on the series, spoke to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on Thursday's edition of This Morning to discuss the upcoming flick. She said: 'Well it felt like we'd never left, it was amazing, I mean it really is a bit like a family, we've been through so much together and you just slot right back in, all the old dynamics just resume and we march on.' Family: Downton Abbey's Elizabeth McGovern has told how it felt like the cast had 'never left' when they got together to shoot the film during an appearance on This Morning The film is scheduled to be released on September 13 in the UK and the cast and crew have not ruled out a sequel. Elizabeth said: 'All doors are always left open is as much as I can say so we'll see.' The film is set in 1927 and features a visit to Downton Abbey by King George V and Queen Mary. Elizabeth told how she felt like 'no time had passed' since the events of the series. She said: 'Well it felt like we'd never left, it was amazing, I mean it really is a bit like a family' She said: 'I think so, it's certainly our intention, I havent seen it yet but it is for the fans it is for the people who stayed for the show, loved getting to know the characters. 'It's not that much farther forward, we're at the same milieu, the house hasn't changed much. I felt like no time has passed.' Geraldine James will star as Queen Mary while Simon Jones will portray King George V. The first trailer for the film was released on Tuesday, giving fans their first glimpse at what they can expect. She added: 'We've been through so much together and you just slot right back in, all the old dynamics just resume and we march on' The trailer opens with Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) asking his mother the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) if she wants to stay for dinner, remarking 'it's a buffet.' The family matriarch is unsure though, exclaiming 'well I'm not changed,' only to be told she just needs to take off her hat for such a low-key occasion. 'You talk as if that were easy.' she quips. As the words 'They live like royalty but are they ready for the real thing?' flash up on screen, Lord Grantham is seen getting important post, revealing to his family 'Heavens, the King and Queen are coming to stay,' while his mother predicts 'here we go.' It's a flurry of activity as both upstairs and downstairs prepare for the regal visit. 'A royal luncheon, a parade and a dinner? I'm going to have to sit down,' declares cook Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol). Story: The film is set in 1927 and features a visit to Downton Abbey by King George V and Queen Mary Interview: Elizabeth chatted with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about the upcoming feature The film's new faces feature in the trailer as Killing Eve and Four Weddings star David Haig makes his first appearance as the King's butler, paying an advance visit to check things are in order. He is seen clashing with Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) while a new French chef riles up Mrs Patmore. The theme of change rings through the trailer as Lady Mary is seen questioning if the household will survive a new era. 'The last few days have made me think. What are we doing? Should we really go on with it?' she laments. The much loved period drama, written by Julian Fellowes, ran for six series between 2010 and 2015 and won several accolades including Emmys and Golden Globes. Back in action: Elizabeth told how she felt like 'no time had passed' since the events of the series TV: The much loved period drama, written by Julian Fellowes, ran for six series between 2010 and 2015 and won several accolades including Emmys and Golden Globes Downton Abbey's Christmas 2015 series finale wrapped up with the bombshell that Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) was pregnant with her second husband Harry Talbot's child. Other stars set to reprise their roles for the movie include Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan and Sophie McShera. There is one notable face missing as Lily James has confirmed that she won't be returning to her role as Rose, telling People magazine: 'My character Rose moved off to New York, so it would be far-fetched to bring her back. 'I would have loved to have come back for a scene, but for a movie, it cant be like a Christmas special and it needs to be a focused storyline. There was simply no space for Rose.' The film is set for a European release on September 13, 2019, and US release on September 20, 2019. It was recently announced that she will continue to serve as a Bond Girl in the next instalment. Yet Lea Seydoux took a moment to celebrate her newest venture, Oh Mercy!, as she attended the photocall with her co-stars during Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. The French actress, 33, looked effortlessly chic for the event as she wore a crispy white shirt and a powder blue blazer. Celebrate: Lea Seydoux took a moment to celebrate her newest venture, Oh Mercy!, as she attended the photocall with her co-stars during Cannes Film Festival on Thursday Lea teamed the items of clothing with a racy leather mini skirt, which had a matching belt with an oversized silver buckle. The star decided to ditch all accessories and instead added height to her frame with a pair of black heels. Lea styled her cropped blonde locks into a textured hairdo, she added a slick of glamorous make-up, which included a bold red lipstick. Chic: The French actress, 33, looked effortlessly chic for the event as she wore a crispy white shirt and a powder blue blazer (pictured with co-stars Sara Forestier and Roschdy Zem) Elegant: Lea teamed the items of clothing with a racy leather mini skirt, which had a matching belt with an oversized silver buckle Details: The star decided to ditch all accessories and instead added height to her frame with a pair of black heels Transformation: Lea pictured as her character Claude in a still of Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, une lumiere) The actress was joined by her co-stars, Sara Forestier and Roschdy Zem at the Thursday photocall. Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, une lumiere directed by Arnaud Desplechin) follows the story of local police chief Daoud (Roschdy Zem) and his recruit Louis (Antoine Reinartz), who attempt to unravel the violent murder case of an elderly woman. The neighbours of the victim, Claude (Lea) and Marie (Sara Forestier) are arrested in suspicion of the murder. Glamorous: Lea styled her cropped blonde locks into a textured hairdo, she added a slick of glamorous make-up, which included a bold red lipstick Sweet: The actress was joined by her co-stars, Sara Forestier and Roschdy Zem at the Thursday photocall Plot: Oh Mercy! follows the story of local police chief Daoud (Roschdy Zem) and his recruit Louis (Antoine Reinartz), who attempt to unravel the violent murder case of an elderly woman Director: Roubaix, une lumiere is directed by Arnaud Desplechin (pictured) The plot thickens: The neighbours of the victim, Claude (Lea) and Marie (Sara Forestier) are arrested in suspicion of the murder The movie will compete for the coveted Palm d'Or prize at Cannes, as one of seven French films that has premiered in competition for the Festival. Meanwhile, at the end of last month, Lea was announced to be returning to her role of Dr Madeleine Swann in Bond 25 - set for release next year. Rami Malek confirmed his role as the latest Bond villain, saying he will 'make sure Mr Bond doesn't have an easy ride on this' The film will be Craig's final appearance as Bond, having previously starred in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015). Impressive: The movie will compete for the coveted Palm d'Or prize at Cannes, as one of seven French films that has premiered in competition for the Festival She threw a pink-hued party to celebrate the launch of her new skin care line, Kylie Skin. And Kylie Jenner enjoyed some well-deserved time out from her hectic schedule as she grabbed dinner at Katsuya with her friend, Heather Sanders, in Topanga, LA, California, on Wednesday. The billionaire entrepreneur, 21, showcased her famous pert posterior and curves in skintight high-waisted leather trousers. Pals: Kylie Jenner grabbed dinner at Katsuya with her friend, Heather Sanders, in Topanga, LA, California, on Wednesday She teamed the item of clothing with a tight-fitting plunging white top, which teased a glimpse of her toned torso. Kylie finished her look with white Chanel trainers, a diamond watch and a collection of sparkly jewellery. The mother-of-one styled her cropped glossy raven locks into a sleek blow-dried hairdo, she added a slick of make-up which included pink lipstick. Meanwhile, Heather, who attended the star-studded bash of her friend, cut a more casual figure in a bold orange Supreme tracksuit for the dinner date. Peachy: The billionaire entrepreneur, 21, showcased her famous pert posterior and curves in skintight high-waisted leather trousers Casual: Meanwhile, Heather, who attended the star-studded bash of her friend, cut a more casual figure in a bold orange Supreme tracksuit for the dinner date Accessorising with white and grey trainers, as well as a multicoloured Louis Vuitton clutch bag. Kylie's appearance comes after she threw a star-studded and pink-hued party to celebrate the launch of her new skin care line, Kylie Skin. The beauty star and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan were out in force for the young mogul's latest business venture. Kylie shared a snap of herself alongside sisters Khloe, Kim, Kourtney and proud mother Kris at the event in a giant glass window with advertisements for her skin care line printed on it. Supportive friend: Kylie's appearance comes after she threw a star-studded and pink-hued party to celebrate the launch of her new skin care line, Kylie Skin, with Heather attending Party: The beauty star and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan were out in force for the young mogul's latest business venture Grateful: Kylie praised her family for their support as she continues to develop her business career Alongside the snap, the reality star admitted she did not know what she would do without the support of her family. She wrote: 'Family over everything. Don't know what I'd do without these strong beautiful women in my life.' Kylie looked sensational for the evening, donning a baby pink mini-dress with a midriff cut-out which she paired with nude heels. While the star's pal Heather was also at the event as she took to Instagram to share several fun pictures of the two together. ITV's resident doctor Dr Hilary marked 30 years on breakfast TV on Wednesday, with those he has helped in his career taking part in an emotional tribute. Good Morning Britain weather presenter Laura Tobin revealed live on air that she had a lot to thank Dr Hilary for, after the TV medic saved her and her baby's life when she went into premature labour at just 27 weeks into her pregnancy. Laura revealed she started to feel ill while at work in 2017, and Dr Hilary was the only one to realise she was actually in labour with her daughter Charlotte, now aged two. Hero: As Dr Hilary (right) celebrated 30 years on breakfast TV on Wednesday, GMB weather presenter Laura Tobin (left) revealed the TV medic saved her and her baby's life As tributes were paid to Dr Hilary live on air on Wednesday, the GMB star chimed in with her own story, admitting that without her colleague's help things could have 'been very different'. 'I was at work and I thought I just had a bit of tummy pain or Braxton Hicks and it was only Dr Hilary that knew I was actually going into labour at 27 weeks,' Laura explained, adding that the doctor kept her calm. 'Dr Hilary phoned the hospital, got me there safely, kept me calm and sort of kept me in the dark for a while so I didn't panic. Thanks: The GMB star admitted that without her colleague's help things could have 'been very different' after he realised she was in premature labour Her hero: Posting on Twitter after the show, Laura added: 'I want to say a huge thank you to Dr Hilary...My hero' Part of the team: As tributes were paid to Dr Hilary live on air on Wednesday, the GMB star chimed in with her own story (pictured L-R Laura, Kate Garraway, Ben Shephard, Susanna Reid, Richard Arnold and Dr Hilary Jones) 'Because of him, Charlotte arrived safely and it could have been a very different story for both of us, so thank you. Posting on Twitter after the show, Laura added: 'I want to say a huge thank you to Dr Hilary, he was on hand when baby Charlotte arrived early, kept me calm, phoned the hospital and stayed in contact. My hero.' The TV medic, who first appeared on eighties breakfast show TV-AM in May 1989, is celebrating 30 years of talking about health on screens. Colleagues past and present sent messages to the star while cancer survivors who say their lives were saved because they visited their GPs after watching Dr Hilary Jones' television advice joined the doctor on the Lorraine sofa after GMB to also say thanks. Emotional: Cancer survivors who say their lives were saved because they visited their GPs after watching Dr Hilary Jones' television advice joined the doctor on the Lorraine sofa An emotional look-back saw Dr Hilary re-living memories from his time in television including delivering a baby on camera in Haiti and visiting Sierra Leone. Dr Hilary said the guests reminded him of why he 'did medicine', saying: 'One of the great things...we've had letters on this programme. 'People have said thank you for pointing our prostate cancer symptoms, they've told us they found a breast lump after seeing a model show us how to do a breast examination. We've got a little file of letters like that now.' Helping viewers: Dr Hilary said the guests reminded him of why he 'did medicine' They started dating in 2016 and even sparked engagement rumours this January during a romantic trip to the Maldives. And Ada Nicodemou proved she was as loved-up as ever with her boyfriend Adam Rigby, as she paid a sweet tribute to the millionaire for his birthday on Thursday. The Home And Away actress, 41, declared that Adam is her 'hero, her rock and her love' while sharing a series of smitten snaps of the couple on Instagram. Cute couple: Ada Nicodemou, 41, proved she was as loved-up as ever with her boyfriend Adam Rigby, as she paid a sweet tribute to the millionaire for his birthday on Thursday Ada's collage included photos of the duo in the Maldives, as well as them celebrating with a birthday cake over dinner on Thursday evening. The full caption reads: 'Happy birthday babe. You are my hero, my rock and my love. Life with you is so much fun. I hope you have an amazing day, you deserve the world.' Ada began dating businessman Adam in November 2016 - after splitting up with her husband Chrys Xipolitas. The actress recently gushed about how refreshing it was that Adam didn't know she was famous when they first met. Sweet: Ada's collage included photos of the duo in the Maldives, as well as them celebrating with a birthday cake over dinner on Thursday evening 'We met at a work function and he had no idea who I was,' she told TV WEEK last July. 'It's kind of cool though, right? I like that he had no idea about the show.' Fans speculated that the couple had got engaged during their Maldives getaway in January, after Ada shared a snap of them enjoying a romantic dinner on the beach at sunset. She wrote alongside the tribute: 'Happy birthday babe. You are my hero, my rock and my love. Life with you is so much fun. I hope you have an amazing day, you deserve the world' A love heart circled them and candles were positioned in the sand, while another heart stood facing the ocean, along with the word 'LOVE' in big block letters. However, Ada set the record straight a month later when she appeared on The Morning Show. 'Do you see a ring on my finger? No, sorry, nothing to tell. But I had a great holiday,' she said. She shot to overnight fame after being personally handpicked by Daniel Craig to star as his love interest, Paloma, in the forthcoming James Bond movie. And Ana De Armas enjoyed some well-earned down time as she headed out on a girls' lunch date in Madrid, Spain, last week after news of her role of a lifetime emerged. The Cuban-born actress, 31, looked happy and relaxed as she strolled through the streets of the city with a friend, giggling away over something that had tickled the pair on her phone. 007: Bond girl Ana De Armas enjoyed some well-earned down time as she headed out on a girls' lunch date in Madrid, Spain, last week after news of her role of a lifetime emerged The Blade Runner 2049 star opted for a low-key ensemble, teaming a jade green wrap mini-skirt with a simple black vest and a matching biker jacket draped over her shoulders. The future Bond girl kept comfortable and black slip-on loafers, and accessorised with dark shades and a white leather satchel bag. Ana wore her short dark hair straight and opted for natural make-up to highlight her naturally beautiful features. The actress' appearance comes after it was revealed earlier this week that she and co-star Daniel Craig, 51, will be provided with an 'intimacy coordinator' to assist with sex scenes for the new Bond 25 movie. Bond girl in the making: The Cuban-born actress, 31, looked happy and relaxed as she strolled through the streets of the city with a friend Role of a lifetime: The Blade Runner 2049 star's appearance comes after it was revealed earlier this week that she and co-star Daniel Craig, 51, will be provided with an 'intimacy coordinator' A source said the movie's producers have gone to 'extra lengths' to make sure all the stars on set feel comfortable and supported, particularly during intimate scenes. The insider The Sun: 'It's all changed in the #MeToo era and theyre going to extra lengths to make sure all the stars are getting the support they need on set, including during some of the more risque sex scenes. 'An intimacy coordinator is now on set during those scenes and is working with Daniel and new Bond girl Ana to run through the script and make sure they feel comfortable. 'It's really progressive and is a step in the right direction not just for Bond but the industry as a whole.' Cuban-Spanish Ana was confirmed as the brand new Bond Girl last month and will be starring in the as-yet untitled Bond 25 film, which will be released on 8 April 2020. Line-up: Ana's role was revealed during the Bond 25 photocall in Jamaica last month (pictured with Lea Seydoux, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris and Lashana Lynch) Born in humble beginnings in Santa Cruz del Norte, Ana attended the National Theatre School of Cuba at the age of 12, and made her acting debut in 2006's Spanish film, Una rosa de Francia. The actress made the successful crossover to Hollywood in 2015 alongside Keanu Reeves in Knock Knock and then went on to work with Ryan Gosling and Robin Wright in 2017's Blade Runner 2049. Bond will mark Ana's breakthrough Hollywood role and she was said to have been personally selected for the part by Craig after they worked together on crime drama Knives Out, which is set for release in November. Existing Bond stars Lea Seydoux and Naomie Harris will join a new line-up of Rami Malek - playing 007's arch enemy - Dali Benssalah and Lashana Lynch in the forthcoming 007 film. Ana met and married Spanish actor and model Marc Clotet, 39, in 2011, but divorced in 2013. She has been dating Cuban visual artist Alejandro Pineiro Bell since 2018. She stormed the red carpet at the Aladdin premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday. And Shanina Shaik showed no signs of slowing down as she jetted into Nice, France, for the annual star-studded Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. The 28-year-old Victoria's Secret model dressed down in a chic baker boy hat and cargo pants for her low-key arrival. Looking good: Makeup free Shanina Shaik nailed supermodel chic in a baker boy hat and boots as she jetted into Nice Airport on Thursday ahead of Cannes Film Festival The brunette beauty - who hails from Melbourne but is based in New York - finished off her look with a simple black sweater and lace-up biker boots. Shanina appeared to go makeup free and shielded her striking features behind a pair of cat-eye Le Skinny sunglasses. The model flew into the south of France with her BFF, fellow Victoria's Secret star Jasmine Tookes. Chic: The brunette beauty - who hails from Melbourne but is based in New York - finished off her look with a simple black sweater and cargo pants Shady lady: Shanina appeared to go makeup free and shielded her striking features behind a pair of cat-eye sunglasses Busy woman! Shanina stormed the red carpet at the Aladdin premiere (right) in Los Angeles just two days earlier There aren't many days of Cannes left but the modelling duo were keen to squeeze a fleeting trip to France so they didn't miss out on the amFAR gala. On Instagram last month Shanina shared a sizzling photo of herself in a tiny string bikini, and wrote that she has been trying to get a 'summer body'. 'Trying to get summer body ready!' she captioned the post, adding sun and flexing arm emojis. Jetsetter: There aren't many days of Cannes left but Shanina was keen to squeeze a fleeting trip to France so she didn't miss out on the amFAR gala Body goals: The supermodel recently revealed she was overhauling her fitness to get 'summer body ready' It didn't take long for actress Pearl Mackie to comment on the upload, reminding Shanina that she didn't have anything to worry about. 'Trying?!? Don't take the p**s mate!' Pearl commented, prompting Shanina to clarify: 'This was a flashback... inspiration pic haha.' Sharing the same photo on Instagram Stories, Shanina revealed she had been recently honing her physique by doing Pilates. 'I'm obsessed with Pilates. Lengthens and tones and creates a super strong body,' she wrote. Justin Lacko set tongues wagging earlier this month after he was pictured cuddling a woman known as Anita Scott. And the Love Island Australia star, 28, continued to fuel romance rumours on Thursday after he appeared to declare his 'love' for the bubbly blonde. In a post shared to his Instagram Stories, Justin gushed over his rumoured new girlfriend in the caption, writing: ''I can't stop falling in love with you.' 'I can't stop falling in love with you!' Love Island's Justin Lacko gushes over rumoured new girlfriend Anita Scott as they share a passionate kiss In the accompanying image, the former reality television star and his rumoured lady love were seen in the throes of a passionate kiss. Moments later, Justin shared the same couple photo on his feed, with an equally heartfelt caption, writing: 'Love, I hope you find it and feel it and hold onto it forever and ever.' Just last week, Justin shared a photo of the pair enjoying another steamy smooch as they posed outside the Royce Hotel in Melbourne. 'Definitely having the best weekend with this little cutie at the Royce Hotel Melbourne. What a time to be alive,' Justin captioned the Instagram slideshow. Something to tell us? Just last week, Justin shared a photo of the pair enjoying another steamy smooch as they posed outside the Royce Hotel in Melbourne Setting tongues wagging! 'Definitely having the best weekend with this little cutie at the Royce Hotel Melbourne. What a time to be alive,' Justin captioned the Instagram slideshow Justin initially sparked romance rumours with Anita after he shared a cosy photo of the pair on Instagram on May 6. Justin wrapped his arms around Anita in the photo and they later exchanged kiss emojis in the comments section, prompting questions from fans. 'Is this his girlfriend? What's her name?' one of his followers asked. 'So happy for you Justin,' another wrote, having seemingly come to the conclusion the post was a relationship announcement. 'Is she your girlfriend?' Justin set tongues wagging earlier this month after he shared this cosy photo with Anita Flirting: The pair exchanged kiss emojis in the comments section 'Is this your girlfriend?' Fans flooded the comments section with questions about the nature of their friendship Daily Mail Australia has contacted both Justin Lacko and Anita Scott for comment. It comes two months after U.S. reality star Scheana Marie, 33, told The Daily Telegraph she flirted with Justin during her trip Down Under in March. She claimed to have noticed the Chadwick model, who hails from Melbourne, on social media and asked to meet him during her trip. She's a fan! It comes two months after U.S. reality star Scheana Marie (right) told The Daily Telegraph that she flirted with Justin during her trip Down Under in March 'We've been DMing [direct messaging], he's this really hot Australian guy who's on reality shows,' she said at the time. Scheana added that while Justin was unavailable for a date, he might be able to meet after her return to America. 'He said he was getting on a flight back to Melbourne but he said he was maybe going to be in the States soon,' she said. Split: Late last year, Scheana confirmed she was single following her split with Rob Valletta (left) at the beginning of 2018. Pictured on May 3, 2017 in Los Angeles Late last year, Scheana confirmed she was single following her split with Rob Valletta at the beginning of 2018. Justin failed to find romance on Love Island Australia last year, and has been the subject of rumours surrounding his sexuality. While appearing on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! earlier this year, Justin revealed he no longer speaks to his grandmother because she believes he is gay. They cemented their status as a Hollywood power couple when they celebrated their 23rd anniversary last month. And Hugh Jackman, 50, and Deborra-Lee Furness, 63, looked as smitten as ever on Thursday, as they cuddled up for a sweet Instagram snap in the French countryside. The Greatest Showman actor seemed utterly content as he posed with his actress wife during a sun-soaked rare day off from his The Man. The Music. The Show. world tour. Power couple! Hugh Jackman, 50, and Deborra-Lee Furness, 63, looked as smitten as ever on Thursday, as they cuddled up for a sweet Instagram snap in the French countryside He captioned the cute shot: 'I know no better way to spend a day off .... #mydebs.' It comes a month after Hugh celebrated his landmark 23rd wedding anniversary with Deborra-Lee with a sweet throwback snap. The X-Men actor posted a hilarious snap of the couple in their younger days smiling with what appeared to be chocolate cake in their teeth. The smitten hunk wrote in the caption: 'Happy anniversary #mydebs #23 Sweet: He captioned the cute Instagram shot: ' I know no better way to spend a day off .... #mydebs.' Pictured last November Throwback: It comes one month after he celebrated his landmark 23rd wedding anniversary with Deborra-Lee with a sweet throwback snap This comes as Hugh opened up about the secret to his successful marriage, saying he believes 'intimacy' is the key. He said: 'Without a doubt, it is the most important thing. 'People talk about intimacy and assume that means in the bedroom. Of course it is that, but really, intimacy is being able to share everything together - good, bad, fears, successes.' 'Deb and I had that from the beginning. We've always been completely ourselves with each other.' Gorgeous couple: Hugh recently opened up about the secret to his successful marriage, saying he believes 'intimacy' is the key (pictured January 2019) The Greatest Showman actor - who has Oscar, 18, and Ava, 13, with his spouse - loves nothing more than spending time with his family. He told People magazine: 'Going to our country house, lighting a fire at night and roasting marshmallows is my favourite thing to do.' The famous Australian couple met on the set of ABC drama Correlli in 1995 when Hugh was fresh out of acting school. Although the series only lasting for one season, the superstar says meeting his wife as the 'greatest thing to come out of it'. Family man: The Greatest Showman actor - who has Oscar, 18, and Ava, 13, with his spouse - loves nothing more than spending time with his family. Pictured in March 2018 The pair were married in 1996 and after struggling with infertility, adopted their children in the early 2000s. Since finding international fame through his roles in the X-Men and Wolverine blockbuster franchises, Hugh has long spoken about the positive effect his wife has had on his career. 'My family and Deb have sacrificed for me. I'm ambitious,' he told Who is January 2018. In 2017 he again made his love declarations public, telling the Ellen DeGeneres show: 'She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me and it gets better and better.' Jonathan Cheban landed in France on Tuesday with a pretty brunette by his side. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has not been linked to another woman since he split from Anat Popovsky in 2017. The next day the best friend of Kim Kardashian was seen with another lady on the carpet of the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival; he was posing next to Maria Grazhina Chaplin as they attended the screening of Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, une Lumiere). New lady? Jonathan Cheban landed in France on Tuesday with a pretty brunette by his side Single for a while: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has not been linked to another woman since he split from Anat Popovsky in 2017 At the airport, Jonathan was dressed down as he looked tired from a long flight. He had on a red and black plaid shirt over a white and black plaid shirt with ripped jeans and beige sneakers, most likely Yeezy. He added mirrored glasses and carried his own luggage - a rollie and a backpack. His look is CA cool: At the airport, Jonathan was dressed down as he looked tired from a long flight. He had on a red and black plaid shirt over a white and black plaid shirt with ripped jeans and beige sneakers, most likely Yeezy He has a type? She looked like a mix between Anne Hathaway and Khloe Kardashian His friend had her brown hair down with sunglasses and was in a pink and dusty rose track suit with white sneakers. She looked like a mix between Anne Hathaway and Khloe Kardashian. The young lady carried her own luggage too. They walked side by side to their car and entered the waiting SUV one after another. Jonathan did not prove to be too much of a gentleman, however, as he got into the car first and his lady friend had to follow. Details on his pal: His friend had her brown hair down with sunglasses and was in a pink and dusty rose track suit with white sneakers Bad boy! They walked side by side to their car and entered the waiting SUV one after another. Jonathan did not prove to be too much of a gentleman, however, as he got into the car first and his lady friend had to follow The next day Cheban was all dressed up to hit the No Mercy showing. He had on a black shirt with a black suit and vest and shiny shoes as well as a diamond chain around his neck. The look has been worn before by Kim's husband Kanye West. Cheban seems to take a lot of style lessons from the Paranoid rapper. Cheban posed away with Chaplin as she looked lovely in a one-shoulder emerald green dress with her highlighted hair worn down. Chaplin is producer from Russia who now lives in Monaco. She has founded the international media group City Life. Chaplin is also presenting the World Bloggers Awards ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival this week. Le look: The next day Cheban was all dressed up to hit the No Mercy showing. He had on a black shirt with a black suit and vest and shiny shoes as well as a diamond chain around his neck Mate: Cheban posed away with Chaplin as she looked lovely in a one-shoulder emerald green dress with her highlighted hair worn down His inspiration? West is known for wearing a black suit with a black shirt too. Seen with Kim in 2015 in Washington DC Jonathan came to fame on The Spin Crowd and has been seen regularly on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. He has been friends with Kim for over a decade and she has said he was by her side from the very beginning. He has also been on Celebrity Big Brother. They've been partying for three days at the Cannes Film Festival, even making their red carpet debut at the Once Upon A Time premiere on Wedneday. And Brooklyn Beckham, 20, appeared all partied out after the three-day Cannes trip as girlfriend Hana Cross, 22, helped to guide the poorly-looking teen to the airport. Hana held his hand and tenderly doted on the peaky-looking son of David and Victoria Beckham as she guided him through the terminal with a smile on her face. Need a Berocca? Brooklyn Beckham appeared all partied out after his three-day Cannes trip as girlfriend Hana Cross helped to guide the poorly-looking star to the airport Oh no! Brooklyn appeared as though he was about to take a turn for the worse as he covered his mouth on the way into the airport Brooklyn cut a casual figure for the couple's journey home, donning a white printed bomber jacket with a white tee and black trousers. Also sporting a grey cap, Brooklyn completed his look with black shoes and a pair of shades. Hana looked nothing short of sensational in a long black coat and a dark top with a plunging neckline. Sporting high-waisted black trousers, she added height to her frame with a pair of heels and also sported large sunglasses. Are you OK? The son of David and Victoria Beckham appeared to need a moment to gather himself as he got out of the car Shady: Brooklyn hid his eyes behind designer shades after his busy trip There for him: Hana sympathetically smiled at Brooklyn as she held his hand in a supportive fashion Need a lie down? Brooklyn rested on his Supreme suitcase as Hana threw her arm around him Letting her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders, she completed her look with a handbag. Brooklyn and Hana have been dating since November 2018, where they were spotted enjoying a romantic date at Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland in London. But the couple have had a rollercoaster romance. Late last month, the pair were pictured having a tearful heated discussion while in Beverly Hills. SOS! All of the colour drained from Brooklyn's face as he continued to sit on his suitcase, while Hana offered her love Worried? A concerned looking Hana took a call while Brooklyn took a moment's respite Sweet: It was clear that the couple are very much in love and were incredibly tactile with one another A moment to himself: Brooklyn took his walk through the terminal very slowly Pit stop: He kept stopping for a rest every once in a while,sitting back in his expensive suitcase And that same month, they appeared to be having yet another row, which saw Brooklyn's little brother Romeo, 16, weigh in, in a bid to calm things down. The couple appear to be back on track in recent days though as they put on a very passionate display in Richmond Park earlier this month. Brooklyn was previously in an on-off relationship with actress Chloe Moretz and he was also linked to model Madison Beer. Hana is a model and is signed by three different agencies; listing Select Model Management, US agency The Lions and French agency Premium Models on her Instagram page. A moment in the sun: Hana appeared lost in thought as she prepared to head inside the terminal It's not ideal: Hana continued to chat away on her phone as Brooklyn sat behind her Romance: The pair looked cosy as they made their way through the airport, holding hands and wrapping their arms around one another as they waited to check-in Public: The couple made their red carpet debut at the at the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival He made his mark on Hollywood in the Rocky canon and the Rambo films. So it's no wonder Sylvester Stallone, 72, made a beeline for the Cannes Film Festival with his wife Jennifer Flavin, 50, and one of their daughters, in France on Thursday. The married couple, who tied the knot in 1997, didn't stray far from each other when they headed through the Nice airport terminal with their sunglasses on. Low-key: Sylvester Stallone, 72, and Jennifer Flavin, 50, went under the radar in sunglasses at Nice Airport on Thursday as they joined their daughter, in Cannes Sylvester looked worlds away from his on-screen action man alter egos when he dressed in a zip-up hoodie and a flat cap. Jennifer shaped her face with her sleek straight layers and massive sunglasses when she joined her husband at the airport. The lovebirds raise their three daughters Sophia, 22, Sistine, 20, and Scarlet, 16, together but only one of them appeared to be on the trip to Cannes. Sylvester also has two sons Seargeoh, 40, and Sage, 36, with his first ex-wife Sasha Czack whom he was married to 1974 from 1985. Spotted: The lovebirds raise their three daughters Sophia, 22, Sistine, 20, and Scarlet, 16, together but only one of them appeared to be on the trip to Cannes Double take! Sylvester looked worlds away from his on-screen action man alter egos when he dressed in a zip-up hoodie and a flat cap Famed! He made his mark on Hollywood in the Rocky canon and the Rambo films so it's no wonder he was heading to the Cannes Film Festival The trio were arriving at the Cannes Film Festival just in time for amFAR gala which is the hottest night of the two-week festival. Stallone's fifth installment in the iconic franchise Rambo: Last Blood is scheduled for a September 20, 2019 release. The actor first played the Vietnam veteran John Rambo in 1982 and the upcoming movie will see Rambo's path cross with a Mexican cartel. On the scene: The lovers were joining the pack of A-listers at the Cannes Film Festival The former soldier has been working at a ranch, but when the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped, he crosses the American/Mexico border and finds himself up against one of the country's most violent organisations. Stallone was initially expected to direct the movie as well as star, but that's not now believed to be the case. John Rambo was the lead character in the 1972 novel First Blood, written by David Morrell. The book was adapted into a film of the same name in 1982. Kylie Jenner took to social media on Wednesday evening to plug her sister Kim Kardashian's new bridal makeup line. The 21-year-old mogul looked flawless as she brushed away in front of the camera while in a monogram robe. This comes after the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked glamorous in light pink at the launch of her new skin care line Kylie Skin. Makeup lesson time again: Kylie Jenner took to social media on Wednesday evening to show her fans how to powder your face just right For Kimmy: The 21-year-old was plugging Kim Kardashian's new makeup line New line: Kim has the Mrs West Collection from KKW Beauty; it is being launched to coincide with her May 24 wedding anniversary to rapper Kanye West Jenner was at her Hidden Hills, California mansion as her Barbie photos could be seen in the background. The mother to Stormi had on a white robe with a grey K on the front and her hair was down, slightly wet. She had on beige sparkling eye shadow with just the right amount of mascara, nicely penciled in eyebrows and a matte pink lipstick. She seemed to be adding powder. Happy at home: Jenner was at her Hidden Hills, California mansion as her Barbie photos could be seen in the background A good look: She had on beige sparkling eye shadow with just the right amount of mascara, nicely penciled in eyebrows and a matte pink lipstick Claws! Jenner also showed off very long light pink nails that looked super glam, though maybe not the easiest to wear with a toddler at home Jenner also showed off very long light pink nails that looked super glam, though maybe not the easiest to wear with a toddler at home. At the end, she put her hand under her chin and gave a wide-eyed look to the camera. The whole time she gushed about how wonderful Kim's products were. Kim has the Mrs West Collection from KKW Beauty; it is being launched to coincide with her May 24 wedding anniversary to rapper Kanye West. In promo photos the mother-of-four poses in front of a wall of white roses. All set: At the end, she put her hand under her chin and gave a wide-eyed look to the camera K is for Kylie! The mother to Stormi had on a white robe with a grey K on the front and her hair was down, slightly wet This comes after Jenner gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of her outstanding launch party/ She posted clips and photos of the event to Instagram on Wednesday. The 21-year-old cosmetics billionaire posted a short video of a bathroom photo shoot featuring her sisters Khloe, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian, as well as her mother Kris Jenner. Intimate glimpse: Kylie gave a behind-the-scenes look into the making of her outstanding launch party when she posted clips and photos of the event to Instagram on Wednesday The brief clip showed the KardashianJenner clan, minus Kylie's sister Kendall, as they lounged about in an all-pink bathroom. The set was filled with floating soap bubbles, and Kylie reclined seductively in the bath tub. Kylie was dressed in the same pale pink strapless mini-dress with peekaboo sides that she wore earlier in the evening. Khloe played with her long hair and Kourtney pretended to chat on the phone in the playful photo set. As the camera panned, it showed Kim struggling to hold herself up on the fluffy pink stool. Bathroom scene: The cosmetics billionaire posted a short video of a bathroom photo shoot featuring her sisters Khloe, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian, as well as her mother Kris Jenner Posing: Kylie reclined seductively in the bathtub while Khloe played with her long hair and Kourtney mimed being on the phone Getting sore: As the camera panned, it showed Kim struggling to hold herself up on the fluffy pink stool The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star also shared a number of photos to Instagram of herself posing with guests. She cozied up to Caitlyn Jenner in one photo, and showed her mother Kris Jenner in a separate solo shot. Both parents were dressed in matching hot pink outfits. Kylie also posted pictures with popular makeup YouTubers, including makeup artist Nikita Dragun and CoverGirl ambassador James Charles. While posing with Kris' boyfriend Corey Gamble, the reality star appeared to lose her concentration and spilled a bit of her drink. Intimate evening: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star also shared some snaps of herself and her guests from the previous night, including a sweet photo of her and Caitlyn Jenner Striking a pose: She shared photos of herself, as well as her mother and sisters, posing behind the transparent filter The skincare launch party featured a giant glass window with advertisements for Kylie Skin done up to look like a magazine cover. She shared photos of herself, as well as her mother and sisters, posing behind the transparent filter. Another post featured a series of snaps of the immaculately planned pink extravaganza, which was designed by Mindy Weiss, the LA-based party planner who also designed the enormous Stormi World party thrown for Kylie's daughter's first birthday. 'Another magical Kylie Party brought to life by @mindyweiss & team,' she captioned the photos. 'Thank you for always bringing my visions to life so beautifully. Last night was SO MUCH FUN! Omg the best night with the best people. Thank you God so so blessed.' Though much of the party was painted pink, the photos revealed that the interior was done up in shades of peach and lavender before being bathed in pink light. In addition to photos of the stylized bathroom and its retro bathtub, she showed off the '50's-chic tables and artistically arrayed displays of her skin products. The event featured a rink for guests to rollerskate in, and one wall was covered in dozens of hanging pink skates. After posting videos of ramen in Kylie Skin containers, she showcased another transformed Japanese cuisine, intricate sushi featuring purple rice. The event also featured pizza, french fries doused in melted cheese and pink cupcakes. The space featured diner-style booths for guests, which were decorated with steamy portraits of the host. Kate Beckinsale is still legally married to director Len Wiseman, despite splitting over three years ago. The British actress, 45, is yet to finalise her divorce from the American director, 46, after they called time on their 11 year marriage in 2015. According to The Blast, the court has now put the exes on notice that they must appear in court in July to finish the divorce proceedings. Exes: Kate Beckinsale is still legally married to director Len Wiseman, despite splitting over three years ago, as it's revealed the exes have yet to finalise their divorce (pictured in 2014) Court documents obtained by the website reportedly state 'IF YOU FAIL TO TAKE THE APPROPRIATE STEPS in your case the Court may dismiss your case for delay.' The couple have reportedly taken no further steps in the case since Kate filed her response back in 2017 after Len initially filed for divorce in October 2016. The couple started dating in 2003 after meeting on the set of Underworld which Len directed and Kate starred in. Divorce: According to The Blast, the court has now put the exes on notice that they must appear in court in July to finish the divorce proceedings They married on May 9, 2004 and separated in November 2015. Kate was previously in a long-term romance with fellow actor Michael Sheen, who she began dating in 1995 before breaking up in 2003. They share a daughter Lily, 19. More recently Kate's romantic life has hit the headlines thanks to her romance with SNL star Pete Davidson, 25. They began dating in January, but their casual romance was said to have 'fizzled out' late last month because Kate struggled with the 'attention' surrounding the union. A source told Page Six: 'Even though Kate has been in Hollywood for a long time, she struggled with the attention on her relationship with Pete. He lives his life with his heart on his sleeve.' Another ex: Kate was previously in a long-term romance with fellow actor Michael Sheen, who she began dating in 1995 before breaking up in 2003. They share a daughter Lily, 19 The Widow actress previously admitted she was 'surprised by the interest' in her romance with the comic. She added: I've never been in this position before -- never dated anybody who comes with their own bag of mischief... 'It's all quite shocking, and something to get used to. I think if you liked the person less, you would bow out of it. If that were the main thrust of the relationship, there would be a problem. But it's not.' And she felt the attention it was receiving felt a 'bit tired'. Pete previously defended the age gap between them, insisting it shouldn't be a big deal because people didn't question older men dating younger women. Luann de Lesseps found herself in police custody on Thursday morning after attempts at agreeing to a plea deal in her alleged probation violation fell flat. The Real Housewives of New York star was then handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom in Palm Beach Florida, 18 months after making her first appearance in the case. Her time in custody was brief, and she was released after an hour, at which point the new guidelines for her probation were revealed by the judge. A court event form obtained by DailyMail.com reveals that Luann will now have to participate in weekly counseling calls with her treating psychiatrist as well as monthly in-person sessions; take an abuse medication as prescribed by her doctor; and maintain her SoberLink breathalyzer monitoring device as instructed by her probation officer. Luann also agreed to waive confidentiality for those counseling sessions and will have to pay for her travel to and from Florida should she violate her probation in he future. She found herself back in court after failing an alcohol test and not participating in her court-mandated counseling and AA sessions. Luann was on probation due to events that transpired back in December 2017 at a Palm Beach hotel where she allegedly refused to leave another guest's room and then attacked and tried to escape from her arresting officer. Prosecutors recommended probation to the judge in lieu of jail time in a deal that required Luann to enter guilty pleas to charges of battery, trespassing and disorderly intoxication. Money can't buy you clasps: Luann de Lesseps was handcuffed in court on Thursday morning and taken into custody after appearing in Palm Beach County for a probation violation Limousines, the party scene, adventures everyday: Luann showed little emotion during the court appearance (above prior to her arrest) Torch song: Just 24 hours prior, Luann was all smiles, sequins and slit at the Real Housewives reunion Luann's appearance on Thursday as a far cry from the day before, when she posted images from the Real Housewives reunion. The annual gathering tends to be long, tense and fashionable affair. Luann opted to arrive this year in a black sequin gown with a very long slit. On Thursday though it was jeans, flats and a blazer. ABUSE MEDICATIONS ANTABUSE: The first major alcohol abuse medication. The drug works by causing a severe adverse reaction when someone taking the medication consumes alcohol. Most people will vomit if they mix even a few sips of alcohol with the medication. NALTREXONE: An extended-release, injectable that works by blocking the 'high' that people experience when they drink alcohol or take opioids. CAMPRAL: A pill that reduces the physical distress and discomfort people experience when they quit drinking. Advertisement Luanna appeared stoic in court and later said to DailyMail.com in a comment: 'Im glad the judge was understanding once made aware of the evidence provided and I was then released. I am now looking forward to completing my remaining few months of probation. I want to put this behind me and move forward with my life.' Last month Luann had admitted to her probation officer that she indulged in 'two glasses of mimosas' following one of her recent cabaret shows in Chicago. She was swiftly handed a court date for violating her terms. According to a violation report from the Florida Department of Corrections, de Lesseps was first given a 'breath test', which she failed, by her New York probation officer on April 21. She admitted to drinking two days later during an April 23 meeting. Two months ago Luann was also found in violation of probation for 'failing to attend two AA meetings per week as directed by the court.' The legal papers show that the Connecticut native only has documentation for attending a total of five AA meetings. When her probation officer recommended that she enroll in treatment or wear an ankle monitor, she dismissed both suggestions, saying she was too busy 'with her touring schedule' to do inpatient treatment while also claiming an alcohol ankle monitor was too 'intrusive.' 'The subject has not made herself an active participant in her rehabilitation and shows signs of denial that she has a sobriety issue,' her probation officer went on to note in their violation report. The mother-of-two - who lost her Countess title when she married Tom D'Agostino Jr. for eight months in December 2016 - had been under supervision for six months, and is also supposed to complete community service but has only done half of her required time. This is just the latest embarrassing development stemming from her arrest back in 2017, just days before Christmas. Officer Robert Mastrangelo wrote in his report that he arrived to room 407 at The Colony Hotel when security guard Carlos Lopez called to report that de Lessesps and an unidentified male had broken into another guest's room and were refusing to leave after he discovered them in bed together. That mystery man had fled the scene by the time Officer Mastrangelo showed up at the scene, but de Lesseps was with another woman, her friend Julie Marie Olson. 'It should be noted that both smelled of an unknown alcoholic beverage, had slurred speech and appeared to be highly intoxicated,' stated the affidavit. 'I asked both females to exit the room, Olson left however de Lesseps refused to leave and locked herself in the bathroom.' De Lesseps and Olson had been seen earlier in the evening while getting ready to go out in video posted to the reality star's Instagram account. The Real Housewives of New York star can also be seen smiling alongside Olson in a photo posted in March 2017. 'Last weekend with Tom and Luann D'Agostino on their boat! Fabulous time with the best couple ever!!! BFF's! Luann and I go back to the 90's when we were modeling and doing television shows together in Milan, Italy! Amazing memories ... Thank you, Lu!' wrote Olson. That photo, which shows the two woman out on the water in their bathing suits, appears to dispute de Lesseps' claim that she had not returned to Palm Beach since her wedding to D'Agostino last New Year's Eve. Girl code: Hot water: It was reported earlier this month that the Bravo star was in trouble for drinking a couple of mimosas - the popular brunch cocktail made of champagne and orange juice The couple celebrated their nuptials with a bridal brunch the next day, which was held at the same hotel where Luann was arrested on Sunday. De Lesseps' charges stem entirely from her treatment of the police officers who arrived on the scene and tried to get her out of the room over the weekend and into her own, which was one floor below in 327. Officer O'Leary eventually opened the bathroom door to try and detain de Lesseps according to the affidavit, at which point she 'shoved Officer O'Leary with an open palm to the chest, then slammed the door on Officer O'Leary's face, striking him in the forehead.' She resisted again as Officer O'Leary placed her in handcuffs, and managed to get out of the shackles once she was in the patrol car. De Lesseps 'attempted to exit the vehicle' at thsat point, and as she was pout back in and cuffed once more she told Officer Mastrangelo: '"i'm going to f***ing kill you.' At the same time she 'tried kicking the door to keep it from closing.' She was taken to the station at that point, telling both officers along the way that she was 'going to f***ing kill you all.' The reality star, 52, arrived at the Palm Beach Courthouse just after 9am the day after the incident, almost eight hours after she was taken into custody and booked by police. The Real Housewives of New York star got no sleep it seemed as she stood in front of the judge with her limp and greasy hair covering her face, make-up smeared and wearing the same soiled dress she had on Saturday night when she first hit the town. At one point during the proceedings de Lesseps attempted to respond when Judge Ted Booras mentioned she might have a drinking problem, but was quickly told to remain silent. 'Dont say anything,' ordered Judge Booras, who seemed concerned that de Lesseps might incriminate herself with her response. Judge Booras informed de Lesseps that she needed to hire a lawyer for the 'serious charges' she is facing, just before releasing her from custody. De Lesseps was told she could return to her home in New York because this was her first offense according to the judge, who also allowed her to forego posting any bail and instead released her on her own recognizance. 'I dont think it would be that hard to find you,' said Judge Booras of the Housewives star, who had been filming the upcoming season of her show just days before in New York City. A few hours after her initial court appearance, de Lesseps addressed her arrest on Twitter. 'I want to offer my most sincere apologies to anyone that I might have offended with my behavior,' wrote de Lesseps. 'This was my first time in Palm Beach since my wedding and being here brought up buried emotions. I am committed to a transformative and hopeful 2018.' One source claimed earlier this year that de Lesseps' New Year's Eve nuptials were less about true love and more about an aging divorcee desperate to secure her ever-loosening grip on reality stardom. A close friend of D'Agostino told DailyMail.com that it was Tom who filed for divorce after growing tired of being cuckolded by his new wife during their brief marriage. 'It has been really difficult for Tom because he did love her,' said his friend. 'But she only married him because she was becoming irrelevant on the show and needed a new story line.' And as D'Agostino's friend explained, that was still just one of the couple's many problems. 'She cheated, she was unfaithful, she was prone to violent outbursts,' revealed the friend, making their way through a laundry list of accusations. Violation: According to a violation report from the Florida Department of Corrections Lesseps was first given a 'breath test', which she failed, by her New York probation officer on April 21 Those violent outbursts allegedly included de Lesseps biting D'Agostino days before their wedding and leaving him covered in blood when she scratched his cheek at a posh Upper East Side eatery in July. It doesnt take much for her to punch, bite, slap or scratch him,' noted the friend, who described de Lesseps' behavior as 'bats*** crazy' at times. Another friend who knows both members of the couple tells DailyMail.com that it was clear from the beginning this romance was made for television. 'Stevie Wonder can see what Luann did here,' jokes the friend of the estranged pair. 'She knew shed had a very boring season, except for drunkenly falling into the bushes in Mexico, so she needed something to ensure Bravo cast her for another year.' The friend then added that de Lesseps has been holding on to her position as one of the show's leading ladies with an iron grip ever since she was demoted back in season six. 'She was downgraded a few years back and it nearly killed her being a friend of the Housewives rather than a fully-fledged cast member,' revealed the friend of the couple. 'If shes filed for divorce before the reunion was filmed in mid-July, she wouldve had to discuss it. So shes filed now after the reunion, so shell have a full season to discuss it next year.' And while some may find the entire scenario to be a bit uncouth, the friend applauded Luann for her tenacity. 'Its a very smart move by the nurse from Connecticut. No one hustles better or is more cunning than Luann,' said the friend. Advertisement Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Bloom bought some Hollywood star power to the premiere of And We Go Green during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on Thursday afternoon. The actors, who formed a strong bromance in 2017, were both looking dapper in shades and suits as they walked the red carpet together. The duo were there to support the documentary film co-produced by Leo, which explores the issues of air pollution through the inside story of the Formula E electric car racing series. Dapper: Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Bloom bought some Hollywood star power to the premiere of And We Go Green during the 72nd Cannes Film Festival on Thursday afternoon (pictured with Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag) Leonardo, 44, looked sharp in a black shirt, bowtie teamed with a classic tux and Garrett Leight sunglasses, while Orlando, 42, added a white shirt to his own suited up look, and he opted for Oliver Peoples shades. The pals walked the red carpet with Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, the Formula E CEO who hosted a Cannes party attended by the actors the night before. Its thought Leo and Orlando formed a firm friendship after they both found themselves single in 2017 after Orlando and Katy Perry (who are now engaged) ended their relationship, and Leo parted ways with model Nina Agdal. Suits you: Leonardo, 44, looked sharp in a black shirt and bowtie teamed with a classic tux, while Orlando, 42, added a white shirt to his own suited up look Pals: The actors, who formed a strong bromance in 2017, were both looking dapper in shades and suits as they walked the red carpet together and posed for photos Talent: The duo were there to support the documentary film co-produced by Leo, which explores the issues of air pollution through the inside story of the Formula E electric car racing series The following January, Leo helped the British actor mark his 41st birthday as they partied together in Marrakech before heading to Coachella together. The special screening of And We Go Green, which took place at the Palais des Festivals Bunuel Theatre, was also attended by Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, and the drivers featured in the film Jean-Eric Vergne, Sam Bird, Lucas di Grassi, Andre Lotterer and Nelson Piquet Jr. With unprecedented access to Formula E, the film is the human story of the live wires, underdogs and visionaries who have made the sport such a success and are reinventing racing for the next generation of motorsport fans as it becomes the world's most electrifying sport. Leo has also been in Cannes this week to premiere his other new movie, Quentin Tarantino's hugely anticipated Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, staying to enjoy the festivities. The 2019 Cannes Film Festival is taking place at the iconic Palais des Festivals until May 25. Here's looking at you! Leo has also been in Cannes this week to premiere his own movie, Quentin Tarantino's hugely anticipated Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Partying hard: The actor has remained in Cannes since his own premiere early this week to enjoy the festivities with his pals Hit after hit: With unprecedented access to Formula E, Leo's co-produced the new film, which is the human story of the live wires, underdogs and visionaries who have made the sport such a success Close: Its thought Leo and Orlando formed a firm friendship after they both found themselves single in 2017 after Orlando and Katy Perry (who are now engaged) ended their relationship, and Leo parted ways with model Nina Agdal Bromance: The following January, Leo helped the British actor mark his 41st birthday as they partied together in Marrakech Looking good: Orlando and Leo stole the spotlight with their suave style and Hollywood movie star looks Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event. Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award. The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War. What a lineup: The actors posed for photos with Jean-Eric Vergne, the famed French racing driver Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors. Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women. Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family. French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up. All-star: The special screening of And We Go Green, which took place at the Palais des Festivals Bunuel Theatre, was also attended by Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, and the drivers featured in the film Jean-Eric Vergne, Sam Bird, Lucas di Grassi, Andre Lotterer and Nelson Piquet Jr Dapper duo: Orlando posed with Giorgio Veroni at the glittering after party Advertisement Stella Maxwell brought the model glamour to the coveted amfAR Gala alongside a whole host of other stunning beauties including Elsa Hosk and Martha Hunt during Cannes Film Festival at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday. The Victoria's Secret Angel, 29, put on a breathtaking display in an ice blue gown which was adorned in diamonds and what appeared to be shards of mirror, offering the effect of icicles decorating her form-fitting dress. Stella's Frozen-inspired gown appeared straight out of a fairy tale with its following chiffon material and dramatic following cape, which she flaunted for the camera while posing for snaps. Model glam: Stella Maxwell brought the model glamour to the coveted amfAR Gala alongside a whole host of other stunning beauties including Elsa Hosk and Martha Hunt during Cannes Film Festival on Thursday evening However the pretty dress was given a sexy edge in the form of a daringly high thigh slit, which showcased her lithe pins which were given extra length with a pair of barely-there silver strappy sandals. Stella kept her accessories to a minimum as she kept the attention on her beautiful gown, adding simple touches including a pair of jaw-dropping blue stone earrings with diamond edging and a selection of rings. She styled her golden tresses in 1920s-inspired finger waves, offering the feel of Old Hollywood glamour as she accentuated her pretty features with a sultry grey smokey-eye and a nude lip. Fairy tale fashion: The Victoria's Secret Angel, 29, put on a breathtaking display in an ice blue gown which was adorned in diamonds and what appeared to be shards of mirror, offering the effect of icicles decorating her form-fitting dress Glam: Also opting for a fairy tale theme was Swedish model Elsa, who appeared to opt for a stylish take on a Cinderella gown, which featured puff sleeves and white gloves to accompany her thigh-grazing mini dress Angelic: Stella's dress were covered in mirrored angel wings which she also wore on her fingers as rings Also opting for a fairy tale theme was Swedish model Elsa, who appeared to opt for a stylish take on a Cinderella gown, which featured puff sleeves and white gloves to accompany her thigh-grazing mini dress. She teamed her look with a pair of strappy white stilettos which worked their way up her ankle and offered her already statuesque frame some added inches as she posed for snaps on the red carpet. Elsa added touches of glitz to her cocktail dress with a glittering beaded necklace, while wearing her blonde locks in loose beachy waves and sporting a heavy eye make-up look in bronze hues. Glam: Stella's Frozen-inspired gown appeared straight out of a fairy tale with its following chiffon material and dramatic following cape, which she flaunted for the camera while posing for snaps Golden girl: Martha opted for an all out dazzling look as she arrived in a golden sequined dress complete with dramatic cape Opting for full glitz on the night was American model Martha, who made a showstopping arrival in a figure-hugging dress which was completely adorned from head-to-toe in dazzling gold sequins. Martha's plunging gown was ruched around her midriff and flaunted her phenomenal physique, which she showcased in front of the camera as she swished her matching cape in front of the paparazzi. The 30-year-old wore her blonde tresses in a loose natural style, while accentuating her model looks with a neutral pallet of make-up in soft tones, finishing her look with a pair of strappy gold heels. All white: Elsa added touches of glitz to her cocktail dress with a glittering beaded necklace, while wearing her blonde locks in loose beachy waves and sporting a heavy eye make-up look in bronze hue Shining bright! Martha's plunging gown was ruched around her midriff and flaunted her phenomenal physique, which she showcased in front of the camera as she swished her matching cape in front of the paparazzi Sexy: However the pretty dress was given a sexy edge in the form of a daringly high thigh slit, which showcased her lithe pins which were given extra length with a pair of barely-there silver strappy sandals Wow! Elsa's tiny white mini dress flaunted her model physique to perfection and displayed her endless limbs Any excuse! Elsa worked her model angles in the garden of the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc at the gala Winnie Harlow, 24, upped the style ante as she strutted down the amfAR Gala red carpet in a stunning embellished dress, which was adorned with a eye-catching metallic leaf print. The main body of the frock skimmed over Winnie's svelte frame, while a voluminous black tulle skirt added extra drama, trailing behind the model in dramatic pleats as she walked down the red carpet. To complement the leafy greens and pop of pinks in the dress, the Canadian beauty wore a dazzling mixed gem necklace, with a matching ring, bangle and earrings. Icon: Winnie kept her make-up simple and her raven hair slicked back off her face, to allow the striking dress to take centre-stage and proudly show off her vitiligo Stealing the show: Winnie Harlow, 24, upped the style ante as she strutted down the amfAR Gala red carpet in a stunning embellished dress, which was adorned with a eye-catching metallic leaf print Work it: The main body of the frock skimmed over Winnie's svelte frame, while a voluminous black tulle skirt added extra drama, trailing behind the model in dramatic pleats as she walked down the red carpet Details: To complement the leafy greens and pop of pinks in the dress, the Canadian beauty wore a dazzling mixed gem necklace, with a matching ring, bangle and earrings Icon: Winnie kept her make-up simple and her raven hair slicked back off her face, to allow the striking dress to take centre-stage and proudly show off her vitiligo Kendall Jenner, 23, stole the show in a vibrant pink ballgown which put emphasis on her envy-inducing long, lean legs as she posed up a storm in her hot pink dress which perfectly enhanced her famous physique. The strapless number fell in eye-catching ruffles and the half-sister of Kim Kardashian ensured to show off her bronzed glow, while enhancing her jaw-dropping features with a glamorous coat of blush-infused make-up. The TV personality let her brunette locks fall in effortless tumble while standing tall in a pair of silver high heels, Kendall looked in her element as she worked her angles for the cameras. Villanelle-inspired? Kendall Jenner, 23, stole the show in a vibrant pink ballgown which put emphasis on her envy-inducing long, lean legs as she posed up a storm in her hot pink dress which perfectly enhanced her famous physique Pink princess: The strapless number fell in eye-catching ruffles and the half-sister of Kim Kardashian ensured to show off her bronzed glow, while enhancing her jaw-dropping features with a glamorous coat of blush-infused make-up Totally-tulle! Tulle appeared to be the order of the evening as both Winnie and Kendall opted for gowns in the material Catwalk queens: Winnie and Kendall brought their catwalk prowess to the amFAR Gala Flaunting it: The TV personality let her brunette locks fall in effortless tumble while standing tall in a pair of silver high heels, Kendall looked in her element as she worked her angles for the cameras Flawless: Winnie's make-up looked flawless as she opted for a bronze smokey-eye look with lashings of mascara Adriana Lima, 37, oozed gothic glamour in a sexy black gown with lace sleeves and skirt detailing, complete with a patent black belt across her tiny midriff, which further accentuated her incredible hour glass physique. The catwalk queen's chocolate coloured locks were slicked to one side, and she injected some colour into her sultry look with dazzling emerald green and diamond earrings and an orange-red lip. Adriana's dress featured a sultry thigh slit up the leg, which accentuated the model's honed pins, while adding height to her statuesque frame with a pair of strappy black Louboutin heels. Gothic glam: Adriana Lima, 37, oozed gothic glamour in a sexy black gown with lace sleeves and skirt detailing, complete with a patent black belt across her tiny midriff, which further accentuated her incredible hour glass physique Pops of colour! The catwalk queen's chocolate coloured locks were slicked to one side, and she injected some colour into her sultry look with dazzling emerald green and diamond earrings and an orange-red lip Risque: Izabel Goulart looked simply sensational when she stepped onto the red carpet at the gala in a dazzling silver dress with revealing cut-out detailing, showing off her incredible figure in a barely-there dress Glitz and glam: Izabel showed off her toned physique in the plunging number, featuring 80s inspired shoulder pads and a fringed skirt, which displayed a liberal amount of skin though the barely-there material Sensational: The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25 Breathtaking: Sara Sampaio opted for maximum drama in a heavily-feathered gown with a structured strapless top Izabel Goulart looked simply sensational when she stepped onto the red carpet at the gala in a dazzling silver dress with revealing cut-out detailing, showing off her incredible figure in a barely-there dress. Izabel showed off her toned physique in the plunging number, featuring 80s inspired shoulder pads and a fringed skirt, which displayed a liberal amount of skin though the barely-there material. Izabel's backless dress, which still remained classy and elegant, was set off with a pair of silver heels and stunning drop earrings as she worked her best angles on the red carpet, putting on a sizzling display at the gala. Pink perfection: Coco Rocha commanded attention in a puffball style gown with a plunging neckline Slinky: Natasha Poly offered up J-Lo vibes in a hooded glitzy dress with a sexy slit up the thigh Stunning: Coco ensured all eyes were on her in the dramatic gown which flashed her toned pins Golden glow: Natasha accentuating her stunning model looks with a perfect pallet of make-up including a purple eye look Chic: Karolina Kurkova opted for a chic bardot dress with textured detailing all over Sophisticated: Hailey Clauson put on a leggy display in a thigh-grazing tuxedo dress and quirky heels She wore her brunette locks pulled into a tight, high ponytail and accentuated her striking features with a soft pink lipstick and smoky eye shadow. The annual extravaganza aims to raise money for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and is one of the worlds most successful benefit events. The bash is always one of the most coveted ticket in town during the Cannes International Film Festival. Busty: Daphne Groeneveld, Viktoriya Sasonkina and Katia Andre all rocked plunging gowns for the event Smouldering: Nina Marker and Alexina Graham turned heads in their eye-catching dresses To date, the star-studded event has raised more than $220 million for amfARs life-saving research programs and has helped keep the fight against AIDS in the global media spotlight. The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25. Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event. Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award. Glam: Jessie Bloemendaal brought some added glitz to the evening while Leomie Anderson rocked a rainbow fringed number and Marjan Jonkman flashed the flesh in a barely-there black dress Lady in red! Alexina Graham wowed in a ruffled red dress while Shanina Shaik opted for a semi-sheer bejewelled number Fashion: Sarah Lysander and Lara Leito posed up a storm in the gardens of the swanky hotel The jury for the festival's 72nd edition will also include Pawel Pawlikowski, the Polish filmmaker and screenwriter named best director at Cannes last year for the impossible love story Cold War. Maimouna N'Diaye, who has directed documentaries and acted in films such as Otar Iosseliani's Chasing Butterflies will also sit on the panel, alongside two other female directors. Kelly Reichardt, whose Wendy and Lucy starring Michelle Williams was a contender for Cannes' Un Certain Regard award in 2008, directed 2016's Certain Women. Italy's Alicia Rohrwacher won best screenplay at Cannes last year for her film Happy as Lazzaro, a satirical fable about a peasant family. French filmmaker Robin Campillo, who took Cannes by storm in 2017 with 120 BPM - Beats Per Minute, winning the Grand Prix for his movie about an AIDs activist, will complete the line-up. Making me blush! Josephine Skriver opted for a blush gown while Luna Bijl sizzled in a metallic dress Radiant: Cindy Bruna and Shanina both looked glowing in their amfAR attire The first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated series Star Trek: Picard was released on Thursday morning. Patrick Stewart - who rose to fame on Star Trek: Next Generation, which aired from 1987 until 1994 - is seen as a retired Jean-Luc Picard walking in a vineyard as he is asked why he left the Starfleet. The show will have 10 episodes and debut on CBS All Access streaming service later this year. Back: The first teaser trailer for the highly anticipated series Star Trek: Picard was released on Thursday morning The teaser opens with a look at a vineyard, which is owned by Picard's family in France. The sun is setting and a man's hand reaches out to touch a leaf. The environment seems serene and safe as music builds up the scene with just a few keys of a piano being touched. 'Fifteen years ago, today, you led us out of the darkness,' a woman's voice is heard saying in voiceover. The sun shines brightly and then water is seen coming out of a tap. Retirement: The teaser opens with a look at a vineyard, which is owned by Picard's family in France. The sun is setting and a man's hand reaches out to touch a leaf 'You commanded the greatest rescue armada in history,' adds the woman. A man is then seen washing his hands in the flowing water. He appears to be some type of farm hand, but it's more likely Picard who is trying to enjoy this new chapter in his life. Next there is a wide view of the winery with a yellow futuristic-looking watering machine flying above the vines. 'What did that cost you? Your faith? Your faith in us? Your faith in yourself?' the woman asks with flutes playing in the background. The man's shadow is now seen. The simple life: The sun shines brightly and then water is seen coming out of a tap Basics: 'You commanded the greatest rescue armada in history,' adds the woman. A man is then seen washing his hands in the flowing water. He appears to be some type of farm hand, but it's more likely Picard The future: Next there is a wide view of the winery with a yellow futuristic-looking watering machine flying above the vines A man in dark green slacks with a brown stripe up the back and brown leather shoes is seen walking among the vines as the music gets more serious. 'Then, the unimaginable,' she says. It's not entirely clear who's speaking or what she's referring. A open box full of red wine bottles stamped Chateau Picard is brought onto the patio of an old French building that is dotted with wood barrels. So many questions: 'What did that cost you? Your faith? Your faith in us? Your faith in yourself?' the woman asks with flutes playing in the background. A man is seen walking Setting: 'Then, the unimaginable,' she says. It's not entirely clear who's speaking or what she's referring to here 'Tell us, why did you leave Starfleet, Admiral?' she asks. Then for the first time Picard's face can be seen. He has on a suit and tie and his face looks strained as he peers straight into the cameras. It is suggested all is not well with Jean-Luc and his decision to become a civilian. His new business: A open box full of red wine is brought onto the patio His family's business: The rows of bottles are stamped Chateau Picard For a second or two the Star Trek theme song begins to play as the logo for Star Trek: Picard is flashed on the screen in yellow type. 'The end is only the beginning,' it says in white bold type. It's made clear Picard will be getting back to business. A Star Trek: Picard photo released earlier this month sees Jean-Luc in his chair with his uniform on ready to battle. The series is set 18 years after Picard's last appearance in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. Directed by Stuart Baird, the movie began with the Enterprise being diverted to the Romulan home world of Romulus. A peace treaty needed to be negotiated. Not lighthearted: Then for the first time Picard's face can be seen. He has on a suit and tie and his face looks strained as he peers straight into the cameras Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation once Praetor Shinzon plans to attack Earth. Picard is kidnapped as Shinzon - who has cloned Picard - hopes to use his blood to keep him alive. But then he is saved by Data who pretends to be an earlier version of himself. It ends with a possible peace negotiation mission with the Romulans. But in the 2009 film Star Trek, directed by JJ Abrams, Romulus is destroyed by a super nova even though Spock tried to save it with an artificial black hole. Patrick Stewart as Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran from 1987 to 1994 Now, Picard is reeling from that loss. Star Trek: Picard will take place in a parallel timeline in Star Trek's main timeline. The show as part of an expansion of the Star Trek franchise headed by executive producer Alex Kurtzman. His last voyage: The series is set 18 years after Picard's last appearance in the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. Seen with Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton Bad move: In the 2009 film Star Trek, directed by JJ Abrams, Romulus is destroyed by a super nova even though Spock tried to save it with an artificial black hole. Now, Picard is reeling from that loss. Pictured are Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine This series is described as a 'psychological exploration' of Picard and where life has taken him. 'What happens when circumstances have conspired to not give him the happiest of endings?' Kurtzman told the LA Times. 'Hopefully, it's a reinforcement of [Trek creator Gene] Roddenberry's vision of optimism. He's going to have to go through deep valleys to get back to the light.' The beginning: Stewart who rose to fame on Star Trek: Next Generation, which aired from 1987 until 1994. Seen with Spiner, Frakes, Gates McFadden, Burton, Dorn and Marina Sirtis Filming began in California in April 2019, with the series' official title announced a month later. The show also stars Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Evan Evagora, Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway, and Isa Briones. Star Trek: Picard is coming soon to CBS All Access and other platforms, including Amazon Prime. CBS All Access is also the home to Star Trek: Discovery, which was renewed for a third season in February. CBS Television Studios also created a new 'global franchise group,' whose goal is to 'manage and maximize the expansion of the Star Trek brand beyond the traditional boundaries of linear broadcasting and streaming.' Along with Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, CBS All Access announced a two-season order for a new animated series Star Trek: Below Decks, which will follow a, 'support crew serving on one of Starfleet's least important ships. She has been working the showbiz circuit for the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival. And Winnie Harlow upped the style ante as she strutted down the amfAR Gala red carpet in a stunning embellished dress at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday. The model, 24, commanded attention in the strapless floor-length gown, which was adorned with a eye-catching metallic leaf print. Fashion maven: Winnie Harlow upped the style ante as she strutted down the amfAR Gala red carpet in Cannes in a stunning embellished dress at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Thursday The main body of the frock skimmed over Winnie's svelte frame, while a voluminous black tulle skirt added extra drama. Falling out in pleats, the tulle trailed behind the model as she walked down the red carpet. To complement the leafy greens and pop of pinks in the dress, the Canadian beauty wore a dazzling Faberge's mixed gem necklace, with a matching ring, bangle and earrings. Turning heads: The model, 24, commanded attention in the strapless floor-length gown, which was adorned with a eye-catching metallic leaf print Glamorous: The main body of strapless dress skimmed over Winnie's svelte frame Daring to be different: A voluminous black tulle skirt added extra drama Breathtaking beauty: Falling out in pleats, the tulle trailed behind the model as she walked down the red carpet Working it: The model commanded attention as she posed up a storm for the cameras Winnie kept her make-up simple and her raven hair slicked back off her face, to allow the striking dress to take centre-stage and proudly show off her vitiligo. The Victoria's Secret Model's striking display comes after she told host Jonathan Ross that she hopes to see more models in the industry with her skin condition. Vitiligo is a skin condition in which the pigment cells of the skin are destroyed in certain areas of the body by the immune system. Proud: The Victoria's Secret Model's striking display comes after she told host Jonathan Ross that she hopes to see more models in the industry with her skin condition Diamonds are forever: To complement the leafy greens and pop of pinks in the dress, the Canadian beauty wore a dazzling mixed gem necklace, with a matching ring, bangle and earrings Gorgeous: Winnie kept her make-up simple and her raven hair slicked back off her face Inspirational: She proudly showed off her Vitiligo in the striking dress Happy days: She was glowing as she posed for stunning portraits outside the venue Drink up! She was sipping from a wine glass while headed in to the gala Sexy and successful: She looked incredible as she headed into the bash During a recent appearance on the presenter's eponymous show, Winnie said: 'I really do hope that there are more [models with vitiligo] in the future 'Basically my immune system thinks that my melanin is like a common cold so it fights it off.' Since storming the modelling scene after her brief stint on ANTM cycle 21, the Canadian-born stunner said she still finds it frustrating when she reads articles saying she 'suffers' from vitiligo. Everyone wants an invite: The amFar 26th Annual Cinema Against AIDS gala is one of the most successful benefit events at Cannes Strutting her stuff: 'Some articles kept writing, they would say, "Winnie Harlow, 24, suffering from vitiligo" I was like, "Do I look like I'm suffering? Come on now." Let's not do that Wow! She looked incredible as she sported the netted gown with the billowing skirt 'Some articles kept writing, they would say, "Winnie Harlow, 24, suffering from vitiligo" I was like, "Do I look like I'm suffering? Come on now." Let's not do that. 'I feel like it's not anyone else's person position to tell me I am "suffering." I don't feel like I am suffering,' she said. 'I am conquering, I am living, I am living my best life in the way that I can and thriving,' she added. One of the stars: Winnie has been working the showbiz circuit for the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival Place to be: The gala is regarded by the stars who swarm the south of France as the most coveted ticket in town during the Cannes International Film Festival Supportive: Winnie looked proud to be a part of the charity fundraiser The amFar 26th Annual Cinema Against AIDS gala is one of the most successful benefit events at Cannes. It is regarded by the stars who swarm the south of France as the most coveted ticket in town during the Cannes International Film Festival. To date, the annual event has raised more than $220 million for amfARs life-saving research programs and has helped keep the fight against AIDS in the global media spotlight. Fantastic: To date, the annual event has raised more than $220 million for amfARs life-saving research programs and has helped keep the fight against AIDS in the global media spotlight Stunner: To date, the annual event has raised more than $220 million for amfARs life-saving research programs and has helped keep the fight against AIDS in the global media spotlight She's been putting on a dazzling display during the Cannes Film Festival so far. And Izabel Goulart looked simply sensational when she stepped onto the red carpet at the amfAR's 26th Cinema Against AIDS Gala in Cannes on Thursday night, showing off her incredible figure in a barely-there dress. The model, 34, ensured all eyes were on her upon arrival at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap dAntibes, donning a dazzling silver dress with revealing cut-out detailing. Stunning: Izabel Goulart looked simply sensational when she stepped onto the red carpet at the amfAR's 26th Cinema Against AIDS Gala in Cannes on Thursday night, showing off her incredible figure in a barely-there dress Izabel showed off her toned physique in the plunging number, featuring 80s inspired shoulder pads and a fringed skirt. The beautiful embroidered number displayed a liberal amount of skin though the barely-there material, while remaining classy and elegant. Izabel's backless dress was set off with a pair of silver heels and stunning drop earrings. Stunning in silver: Izabel showed off her toned physique in the plunging number, featuring 80s inspired shoulder pads and a fringed skirt Chic: She wore her brunette locks pulled into a tight, high ponytail and accentuated her striking features with a soft pink lipstick and smoky eye shadow She wore her brunette locks pulled into a tight, high ponytail and accentuated her striking features with a soft pink lipstick and smoky eye shadow. Isabel worked her best angles on the red carpet, putting on a sizzling display at the gala. The annual extravaganza aims to raise money for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and is one of the worlds most successful benefit events. The bash is always one of the most coveted ticket in town during the Cannes International Film Festival. Golden girl: She looked incredible as she wore a golden gown Hot stuff: Isabel worked her best angles on the red carpet, putting on a sizzling display at the gala Make way: The model, 34, ensured all eyes were on her upon arrival at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap dAntibes, donning a dazzling silver dress with revealing cut-out detailing To date, the star-studded event has raised more than $220 million for amfARs life-saving research programs and has helped keep the fight against AIDS in the global media spotlight. The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25. Actress Elle Fanning, French graphic novelist Enki Bilal and the Oscar-nominated director of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos, will be among jury members during the annual event. Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will preside over the panel that decides on prizes, including the top Palme D'Or award. Sensational: The 2019 Cannes Film Festival takes place at the iconic Palais des Festivals from Tuesday until May 25 Sexy stuff: The plunging gown was making the most of her frame Alex Jones has been seen for the first time since she have birth to her second child Kit last week. The One Show presenter, 42, cut a chic figure in a printed mustard yellow dress as she ran errands after announcing the arrival of her son with husband Charlie Thomson. Last week Alex was inundated with congratulatory messages from fans after announcing she had welcome her son Kit Thomson, and delightedly said she was 'besotted' by the new arrival. Out and about: Alex Jones, 42, has been seen for the first time since she have birth to her second child Kit last week, as she ran errands in a mustard yellow dress Alex cut a stylish figure in her simple mustard wrap dress as she headed back to her car after a day of running errands. The presenter - who is also mum to son Teddy, two - took to Instagram on Monday to announce that she had given birth to Kit a week earlier. Sharing an adorable black and white snap of the newborn's hand, Alex added the gushing caption: 'And then there were 4!!! Little kit Thomson arrived safely and very speedily last Monday at 2.21am weighing a healthy 7lbs 3.' 'Besotted': The One Show presenter announced last week that she had given birth to her second child, with a sweet snap of the newborn's hand Busy: Alex cut a stylish figure in her simple mustard wrap dress as she headed back to her car after a day of running errands Alex joyfully continued: 'Teddy, Charlie and I are absolutely besotted by baby brother and are enjoying this special time as we get used to being a foursome and generally breathing in that lovely newborn smell!!! 'A huge thank you to the midwives at the birth centre, Queen Charlotte Hospital for everything you did for us,' she concluded the loving post. During an recent interview on podcast Guide Dogs: By My Side, Alex, who also shares two-year-old son Teddy with her insurance broker partner, shared the differences in family support between her first and second pregnancy. Alex shared: 'Mum was amazing at the beginning with Teddy. She was there for the first three weeks and thank goodness for her because I don't know how we would've done it, actually.' 'And then there were 4!' Alex added a gushing caption to the adorable black and white snap 'Absolutely besotted': The One Show presenter, who also shares son Teddy, 2, with husband Charlie (pictured) revealed that she had given birth last week The BBC star then asked sprinter Libby if she and her partner Dan Powell had similar family support, to which the sportswoman replied: 'We don't have any family support at the mo' because we live so far away from them.' Drawing parallels between her and Libby's long-distance family relationships, Alex echoed: 'We have the same problem. One set is in New Zealand, Auckland, and one set is in Wales, it's not on the doorstep type of stuff.' She recently admitted she's 'terrified' about becoming a mum of two during an earlier appearance on the podcast. 'Mum was amazing at the beginning with Teddy': During an recent interview Alex shared the differences in family support between her first and second pregnancy Speaking about her second child's impending arrival, she said: 'Everybody has nerves about being a mum and being a parent. 'Pregnancy for any woman is a period of excitement, also slightly terrifying as you don't know what to expect. Even with your second it's like: "how am I going to do two?" Last month, the Welsh beauty said an emotional goodbye to the One Show as she filmed her final scenes with co-host Shane Richie before heading on maternity leave. 'Nerves': She recently admitted she's 'terrified' about becoming a mum of two during an earlier appearance on the podcast (Pictured August 2018) It was revealed also that Strictly champ Stacey Dooley will cover for Alex on the chat show programme. The 32-year-old journalist will join fellow guest hosts, Emma Willis and Mel Giedroyc, as well as Angellica Bell, Angela Scanlon and Michelle Ackerley. Matt Baker will continue to be covered by guest hosts on Fridays with the likes of Shane Richie, Joe Lycett, Rylan, Patrick Kielty, Amol Rajan and Ore Oduba. She's busy plugging her forthcoming new cosmetics wedding collection. And for Kim Kardashian-West, it's got her reminiscing about her own wedding day to her third husband Kanye West, five years ago. The reality star shared a topless shot of the rapper as he got dressed at the lavish ceremony which was held in Florence, Italy. Behind the scenes: Kim Kardashian-West shared a picture of her husband Kanye topless on their wedding day five years ago Groom: Kanye was seen getting dressed in the make-shift closet Reliving: She shared pictures on Wednesday and Thursday as she got set to launch her latest cosmetics line The Gold Digger rapper is seen sporting two gold chains and flexing his arm muscles, as he picks out his suit from a rail of clothing. Kim captioned: 'A little behind the scenes from our wedding day 5 years ago.' She also featured images which showed Scott Disick, who is the father of her niblings Reign, Mason and Penelope, dressing in black tie. Family affair: She also featured images which showed Scott Disick (right), who is the father of her niblings Reign, Mason and Penelope, dressed in black tie The 5ft 3in reality star was also seen wearing her custom Givenchy dress by Riccardo Tisci in another image, against a clear blue sky. It comes after she shared pictures on Wednesday of her glamming up for the wedding, but made spelling errors in her caption which fans leapt upon. 'This was my wedding day almost 5 years ago in Italy,' she began. Lavish day: The 5ft 3in reality star was also seen wearing her custom Givenchy dress by Riccardo Tisci in another image, against a clear blue sky Stunning: Kim's dress was by Givenchy and kept pristine ahead of her wearing it Candid moment: Scott also helped Kanye fix his cuffs Pals: Don C, one time tour manager for Kanye, was also seen getting his bow tie ready Kanye this way: The groom was on the rooftop in Florence in jeans and a shirt ahead of the ceremony On tour! The wedding party made the most of their trip to Europe Calming their nerves: Don C, Virgil Abloh and Ibn Jasper are seen stood with the groom with their drinks in hand 'We flew in from Paris and our glam was rushed as we were trying to make it on time! We barely got my veil in as I was being pushed out the door so fast to walk down the isle because Andrea Bocelli had started singing and I couldnt miss it.' 'I had no idea it was really him until I got to the isle and screamed inside! So many amazing memories.' In Kim's initial post, she had referred to the five-time Grammy nominee as 'Andrea Bonelli' instead of Bocelli. Readers also picked up on her misspelling of 'isle' rather than 'aisle'. Kim photographs saw her getting her makeup done by her makeup artist Mario. Calm before the storm: Kim's snaps on Wednesday showcased her getting her hair and makeup done on her wedding day before she walked down the aisle All hands on deck! 'We flew in from Paris and our glam was rushed as we were trying to make it on time!' she explained Can you find the error? Kim Kardashian set out to share some sweet behind-the-scenes snaps from her wedding day on Wednesday, only to be trolled by fans over her spelling errors The beauty's Mrs West Collection includes a slew of makeup products - all shades inspired by her actual wedding day. Kim and Kanye - who were longtime friends before they finally began dating in April 2012 and got engaged on her 33rd birthday, October 21, 2013. The duo had their pre-wedding festivities in Paris and had their ceremony on May 24, 2014 in Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy. The pre-wedding fun - including a visit to the Eiffel Tower, a stay at the Palace at the Versailles and her wedding dress fittings with Givenchy - were all chronicled on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Kim and Kanye are parents to North, five, Saint, three, Chicago, one, and Psalm, one-and-a-half weeks. Coming soon! The beauty's Mrs West Collection includes a slew of makeup products - all shades inspired by her actual wedding day 'Mrs West Collection is dropping this Friday on my actual anniversary kkwbeauty.com,' she captioned a similar post. 'I have sent this collection of shadows, blush, highlighter, lipstick, lip liner and gloss to all of my friends and I have never gotten a response like this from everyone loving the colors so much! Makes me so happy! I know you all will love it.' The image saw Kim pose in front of white roses while using a similar floral display to cover her ample breasts. The mother of four looked gorgeous in the shoot for the collection inspired by her own wedding with with shimmery light brown eye shadow, softly defined brows and a pink pout. She went public with Rob Jowers last month, with their relationship continuing to go from strength to strength. And Emily Atack was supported by her new man as she prepared for the final performance of her one-woman show, Talk Thirty To Me in Clapham, London on Thursday. The actress, 29, looked smitten as she puckered up to producer Rob, 30, on the red carpet at her star-studded show. Pucker up: Emily Atack was supported by her boyfriend Rob Jowers as she prepared for the final performance of her one-woman show, Talk Thirty To Me in Clapham, London on Thursday For her closing night, Emily looked stylish in a black wrap dress with peach polka dots that flattered her hourglass curves. Boosting her petite frame, the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star donned a pair of barely-there black heels. Emily completed the look with a pair of dangling pearl earrings that peeked through her glossy golden locks. Cute couple: Emily went public with Rob last month, and their relationship has continued to go from strength to strength All over each other: The actress, 29, looked smitten as she puckered up to producer Rob, 30, on the red carpet at her star-studded show Last month, Emily went public with her romance with producer Rob, after she posted a loved-up selfie of herself sharing a tender kiss with the hunk. The star had hinted she was dating someone new after saying that she was off the market and 'thinking about someone.' Back in February that there was a new man in her life, though insisted at the time she was still single. Dressed to impress: For her closing night, Emily looked stylish in a black wrap dress with peach polka dots that flattered her hourglass curves Standing tall: Boosting her petite frame, the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star donned a pair of barely-there black heels Blonde bombshell: Emily completed the look with a pair of dangling pearl earrings that peeked through her glossy golden locks She told The Sun's Fabulous magazine: 'I am absolutely single, but there is someone I think about and like. Ive no idea what it will turn into yet. 'Im so excited to see what this year will bring and my sole focus is work and my friendships, moving into my new place and getting my life together so when the opportunity for a relationship does come up, Ill be completely ready for it. 'I love love and I love being in love. When youve got so much love in your heart, it makes you vulnerable.' Sweet: The couple only recently confirmed that they were dating, as they arrived together for the event Supportive: The star's boyfriend Rob was every inch the supportive partner at the showcase Hot new couple: Last month, Emily went public with her romance with producer Rob, after she posted a loved-up selfie of herself sharing a tender kiss with the hunk Also at the event was Ashley James, who cut a stylish figure in a black gingham midi dress as she supported pal Emily. The reality star, 32, oozed vintage chic in the stylish ensemble as she joined Laura Whitmore, 34, who flashed a hint of her toned abs in a fitted black shirt with voluminous sleeves and a ripped denim skirt. Ashley showed off her trim figure in the fitted black and white midi dress with a lace trim, layered over a simple black t-shirt. The star finished her look with matching pointed-toe heels and a statement red lip, as she added a touch of vintage glamour to the occasion. The event comes after Ashley went nude for an Instagram snap in which she explained she feels positive about her shape - despite not working out as much as she used to. Sweet: Ashley James cut a stylish figure in a black gingham midi dress on Thursday, as she supported Emily at the closing night of her one-woman show Lavish: Ashley (left) cut a stylish figure in a black gingham midi dress on Thursday as she joined Laura Whitmore, 34, for the closing night of Talk Thirty To Me Chic: Ashley showed off her trim figure in the midi dress with a lace trim, layered over a black t-shirt as she arrived for the last performance of Talk Thirty To Me in Clapham Flawless: The star finished her look with a statement red lip, as she added a touch of vintage glamour to the occasion Laura was also seen making her arrival for the event, as she showed off her amazing figure in the black silk crop top and matching skirt. The Irish presenter posed up a storm in the look which she teamed with matching white ankle boots and a quirky leopard print handbag. Laura was also joined by comedian Joel Dommett and Emily's longtime friend Leigh Francis - known for his alter-ego Keith Lemon - as they celebrated a triumphant end to her nationwide comedy tour. Dressed to impress: Laura was also seen making her arrival for the event, as she showed off her amazing figure in the black silk crop top and matching skirt Sizzling: The Irish presenter finished her look with white ankle boots and a quirky leopard print handbag Pretty: Laura joined several other stars who came out to support Emily on the closing night of her hugely successful comedy tour Out and about: The star went solo for the outing as boyfriend Iain Sterling prepares to jet to Mallorca for the new series of Love Island Close: Laura also posed with model Hannah Cooper, who is also engaged to comedian Joel Dommett Later Emily also made a triumphant appearance as she celebrated the end of her tour with her celebrity pals. The comedic star stood out in a pretty polka dot wrap dress as she enjoyed the evening with sister Martha and her new boyfriend Rob. Emily appeared in the jungle last winter, where she came in second place overall, losing to Harry Redknapp, the current reigning King Of The Jungle. Star of the show: Later Emily was also seen celebrating the end of her triumphant tour with a drink or two Supportive: The comedic actress was joined by her supportive sister Martha, as they both sported stylish dresses for the occasion Best friends: Ashley and Emily made for a picture perfect pair as they happily posed together Hilarious: Every the comic, Emily was larking about with Joel backstage at the celebration Since finishing runner-up on I'm A Celebrity last year, Emily's career has gone from strength to strength, leaving audiences in hysterics with her comedy tour. During one performance, Emily revealed that she was offered ketamine in a nightclub toilet. Recalling the incident Emily told how she was about to leave with her group of friends when someone pulled her into the toilets. Quirky: Model and DJ Charlotte de Carle, 32, cut a stylish figure in a black chain belt playsuit and matching platform ankle boots Sensational: The fashion star showed off her quirky sense of style as she arrived for the launch Casual: Emily's longtime friend Leigh Francis, 46, (known for his alter-ago Keith Lemon) also cut a casual figure as he arrived for the performance Fun time: Ever the funny duo, Emily pulled a slew of different faces with Leigh as they messed about backstage Jokers: The pair looked to be having a whale of a time at the event The actress said: 'Im with a group of Scousers and one of them pulls me aside as we're about to leave and goes, "Come on, b****, were going to the toilet.'' 'Were locked in this tiny little cubicle and all of a sudden she pulls out this thing from her bra. She pulls out this white powder. 'She goes, "Do you want some Ket?" Ketamine. I thought she was trying to kill me she was just offering me horse tranquillisers.' Emily admitted she thought she was going to be killed in the incident, which took place at a hen do in Magaluf. She is weeks away from the launch of Love Island series five. And ahead of the hotly-anticipated first episode of the hit ITV2 show, Caroline Flack reunited with the show's witty voice over Iain Stirling on Thursday evening. The TV presenter, 39, was supported by her pal at the launch of her second clothing line with River Island, held at The Ivy Soho Brasserie in central London. Back together: Caroline Flack reunited with the show's witty voice over Iain Stirling on Thursday evening Caroline put on a leggy display in a subtle tiger print mini dress, which showed off her toned pins to perfection with its thigh-grazing length. The star teamed her tiny dress, which is available as part of her new collection, with a pair of towering black strappy shoes with a block heel. Whilst inside the event, Caroline covered the stylish garment with a black boyfriend-style blazer and opted to go accessory free, letting the outfit to the talking. Leggy! Caroline put on a leggy display in a subtle tiger print mini dress, which showed off her toned pins to perfection with its thigh-grazing length What a pair of jokers! The TV presenter, 39, was supported by her pal at the launch of her second clothing line with River Island, held at The Ivy Soho Brasserie in central London Casually cool: Iain opted for a typically casual look, wearing a basic white T-shirt teamed with black jeans and a blue denim jacket with white trainers Caroline styled her blonde tresses in loose waves, while sporting a glamorous coat of make-up including a bright red lip and lashings of mascara. Iain opted for a typically casual look, wearing a basic white T-shirt teamed with black jeans and a blue denim jacket with white trainers. On Wednesday night, Caroline took to Instagram in a Q&A to reveal all about her new clothing range with River Island. Style queen: The star teamed her tiny dress, which is available as part of her new collection, with a pair of towering black strappy shoes with a block heel as she posed with Janette Manrara Blonde babe! Caroline styled her blonde tresses in loose waves, while sporting a glamorous coat of make-up including a bright red lip and lashings of mascara The 22-piece holiday collection launched today and consists of dresses, belted denim shorts, luxe satin shirts and printed matching sets. Caroline was spotted arriving at a River Island store in Central London earlier on Thursday, rocking some of the collection. Her outing comes after Caroline defended Love Island after two previous contestants, Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon sadly committed suicide. While sympathetic to the tragedies, she told the Metro: 'Reality TV shouldn't be made to be a scapegoat. All smiles: Whilst inside the event, Caroline covered the stylish garment with a black boyfriend-style blazer and opted to go accessory free, letting the outfit to the talking Power suit: Zoe Hardman rocked a very vibrant hot pink suit for Caroline's launch 'This is about young singletons having fun, getting to know each other, in an amazing villa in the Spanish sun.' She also revealed that all Islanders' are given care before and after their time on the island and 'suggested the issues go much further than the ITV2 dating show'. ITV have since revealed Islanders will be given social media and financial training and psychological help for 14 months after the show ends. Cosy: Professional dancer Aljaz Skorjanec cosied up to Janette and Caroline Killing it: Zoe and Juliette Foxx both rocked very stylish ensembles Glam: Zoe wore her blonde locks in tousled waves and a natural face of make-up The channel was criticised after Jeremy Kyle was axed following the suicide of a guest, but money-maker Love Island wasn't. In the recent Q&A Caroline also revealed she is yet to meet any of the new Love Island contestants. 'I've been researching so I know all about them,' she said, 'but don't meet them til they are in the villa'. She also admitted that she would have gladly taken part on Love Island had it been around when she was younger and had she not already been in the public spotlight. Cute: TV chef Gizzi Erskine looked lovely in a red velvet mini dress Charlie Sheen confirmed that he brought a sex worker to Thanksgiving dinner after his ex-wife Denise Richards shared the holiday story on a recent episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. 'Yes, her story regarding Thanksgiving is absolutely true,' the 53-year-old actor told People in the poem-like structure in which he composes many of his tweets. 'The turkey I brought was, in fact, a lady of the night and a bit of a harlot.' He added, 'The thighs were especially robust.' The latest: Charlie Sheen, 53, confirmed that he brought a sex worker to Thanksgiving dinner after his ex-wife Denise Richards, 48, shared the holiday story on a recent episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Richards, 48, made the revelation about the Major League actor on the Bravo show in a confessional segment, in which she recalled the Two and a Half Men star's Turkey Day antics, which took place after they split up. Richards said Sheen told her, 'Well, she's in the driveway - is it okay that she's in the driveway?' Richards told the actor, 'I'll set a f***ing plate,' adding, 'even a hooker deserves to have Thanksgiving dinner.' On the episode, the Starship Troopers actress revealed to her ex Patrick Muldoon that her relationship with Sheen had 'terribly' aged her. Heartache: Denise said that her relationship with Sheen had 'terribly' aged her Company: Sheen said of the holiday, 'The turkey I brought was, in fact, a lady of the night and a bit of a harlot' He was seen in Malibu in January Way back when: Richards was married to Sheen from June of 2002 until March of 2005 The pair was married from June of 2002 until March of 2005, when Richard filed for divorce at a time she was expecting their daughter Lola, who is now 13. The World Is Not Enough actress is also mother to daughter Sam, 15, with Sheen; and Eloise, seven, who she adopted in 2011. She said on an earlier episode of the Bravo series that she and Sheen are in a good place, as she accepts him and his foibles. Simpatico: Richards and Sheen, pictured in 2011, have remained on friendly terms after their split 'No matter what's gone down with Charlie and I, I invite Charlie to anything having to do with the kids and I,' she said. 'Even if he did bring a prostitute as his date, I wouldn't care. It's just, it is what it is.' After her wedding with husband Aaron Phypers this past September, Phypers - who is 'amazing as a daddy' - will legally adopt Eloise. She said in an appearance on The Talk earlier this month: 'He's amazing with my daughters, and he's adopting my youngest, so it's really, really great.' She has thrown her weight behind Britains Leave party after previously voting to remain within the European Union. But Georgia Toffolo was taking a break from her political opinions on Thursday, putting in an appearance at the SHEIN Summer Pop-Up launch party, held at 67 Titchmarsh Street in London on Thursday evening. The former Made In Chelsea star, 24, looked lovely in a pretty white sundress, worn cinched in at the waist with a boho inspired suede belt. Stepping out: Georgia Toffolo was taking a break from her political opinions on Thursday, putting in an appearance at the SHEIN Summer Pop-Up launch party, held at 67 Titchmarsh Street in London on Thursday evening Toff's simple frock featured ruffled sleeves and detailing running down the bodice and was set off with cream heels. She showed off her slender legs in the thigh-skimming garment, which she accessorised with a green handbag. The posh beauty wore her blonde hair in a half-up, half-down style and highlighted her beaming smile with pink gloss. Stylish: The former Made In Chelsea star, 24, looked lovely in a pretty white sundress, worn cinched in at the waist with a boho inspired suede belt Glamorous: Toff's simple frock featured ruffled sleeves and detailing running down the bodice and was set off with cream heels Arm candy: She showed off her slender legs in the thigh-skimming garment, which she accessorised with a green handbag Toff's outing comes after the former Politics student gave an interview about her opinions. The I'm A Celebrity star, who describes herself as very pro-immigration, voted against Brexit during the 2016 referendum after dismissing the leave camps growing argument regarding migration. But with the country no closer to an exit some three years after Leave claimed victory by a slender three percent margin, Georgia, admits her politics have changed. Candid new interview: Toff's outing comes after the former Politics student gave an interview about her opinions Speaking out: With the country no closer to an exit some three years after Leave claimed victory by a slender three percent margin, Georgia, admits her politics have changed In conversation: The bubbly blonde was in high spirits as she enjoyed a glass of fizz She told The Telegraph: 'We need to leave, deal or no deal. The mood of the country is that were bored, were angry, we voted to leave. 'And there are lots of calls for a second referendum, but if that does happen, I would be very, very upset.' The TV personality, a lifelong Tory voter, also picked Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson as favourites to take over from beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May and guide Britain out of the EU. Trying out the goods: Toff busied herself with checking out the products on offer Putting in an appearance: TOWIE newcomers Ella Wise and Kelsey Stratford were also in attendance at the event Putting her best foot forward: Former Britain's Next Top Model star Victoria Clay dared to be different in a racing inspired look But she admits her greater loyalties lie with Boris, having formed a close friendship with his father Stanley during their appearance on reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! She said: 'Im a slight betting woman and had money on Jeremy Hunt at the end of last year, because the odds were really good, 18-1 or something. 'I think itll be Hunt and Boris in the end, and as a great friend of Stanleys Id have to put my backing behind Boris.' Piers Morgan appeared in high spirits as he showed off his dance moves backstage during a Mumford & Sons performance on The One Show on Thursday. The Good Morning Britain host, 54, donned a two-piece navy suit and a crisp white shirt as he cut loose with presenters Angela Scanlon and Matt Baker. The trio hung out backstage following Piers' appearance on the show to promote his new series of Life Stories, as they listened to the band's new song together. Dad dancing? Piers Morgan appeared in high spirits as he showed off his dance moves backstage during a Mumford & Sons performance on The One Show on Thursday Earlier in the evening Piers appeared on the show and was quizzed by his pal Lord Alan Sugar via video link on whether he had received any cosmetic procedures. Lord Sugar remarked that Piers had made him admit to the general public that he had undergone surgery on his eyes, and wanted the TV host to confess he had work done on his teeth. However Piers was adamant that he has never received any sort of cosmetic enhancement, as he quipped that you can't improve on perfection. Moving and grooving: The Good Morning Britain host, 54, donned a two-piece navy suit and a crisp white shirt as he cut loose with presenters Angela Scanlon and Matt Baker High spirits: The trio hung out backstage following Piers' appearance on the show, as they listened to the band's new song together Piers and Alan's hilarious exchange comes after after he reignited his feud with his old nemesis, which began in 2007 when the business mogul fired him in Comic Relief Does The Apprentice. Twelve years on, Piers proved there was still bad blood as he waged war on the 72-year-old after Lorraine Kelly branded him 'rather gorgeous'. Green with envy, the GMB Presenter, appeared couldn't resist making a plastic surgery jibe after Lorraine charmed Lord Alan via videolink on Tuesday's show. Hot under the collar: Earlier in the evening Piers appeared on the show and was quizzed by his pal Lord Alan Sugar via video link on whether he had received any cosmetic procedures Funny exchange: Lord Sugar remarked that Piers had made him admit to the general public that he had undergone surgery on his eyes, and wanted the TV host to confess he had work done on his teeth On Good Morning Britain, Piers and Lord Sugar broke into a furious row, discussing how Theresa May has failed to implement Brexit. Lorraine then appeared to talk about what was coming up on her show, the TV host asked the 59-year-old: 'Any last thoughts on Lord Sugar Lorraine?' To which she replied: 'Well he's rather gorgeous don't you think?' Astounded, Piers quipped back: 'What?' What a joker! However Piers was adamant that he has never received any sort of cosmetic enhancement, as he quipped that you can't improve on perfection Lorraine gushed: 'Well there is something about him, don't you think?' As the camera went to Lord Alan, Susanna Reid commented: 'He's grinning from ear-to-ear.' Annoyed and seething with jealousy, Piers hit back: 'Despite efforts of his plastic surgery, that's not gorgeous.' To which The Apprentice star told him: 'Oh, shut up.' Piers and Lord Sugar's feud has rumbled on for years. After The Apprentice, the pair have been at loggerheads on Twitter and nothing has been off limits. Rocking out: Marcus Mumford took to the stage with his band to perform their new song Port Pirie smelting group Nyrstar will this month make a $42.3 million payment towards a taxpayer-backed loan, South Australian Treasurer Rob Lucas says. Commodity trading company Trafigura took effective control of Nyrstar operations after concerns were raised over its ability to repay a $291 million loan, guaranteed by the state government, to upgrade the Port Pirie plant. The payment agreement was reached following a meeting in Adelaide between Mr Lucas and Trafigura representatives, including the company's Asia-Pacific chief financial officer Nicolas Marsac. Mr Lucas welcomed the commitment as a sign the company was acting in good faith. "Both parties held constructive talks yesterday and today, and we look forward to those discussions continuing as we seek to resolve the repayment of the $291.25 million for the Port Pirie smelter operations," he said on Wednesday. "The government remains hopeful of a successful resolution, not only for taxpayers, but for the people of Port Pirie, the smelter's employees and their families." The former Labor government agreed to underwrite funds borrowed by Nyrstar to upgrade operations at Port Pirie - a key part of the company's future plans for the smelter. Penrith Panthers NRL utility Tyrone May will remain on bail after facing a Sydney court on charges of recording and distributing sexual acts without consent. Police allege May filmed two women without their knowledge while they engaged in sexual acts with him on separate occasions at Coffs Harbour and Kingswood in 2018. Both women were unaware they were being filmed and did not consent to the recording or its distribution, detectives have said. The 22-year-old's case on Wednesday was adjourned to June 17 in Penrith Local Court by magistrate Geoffrey Hiatt, who formally disqualified himself from the matter "for the sake of fairness to all". Mr Hiatt revealed his father, John Hiatt, had previously served as the deputy chairman of the Penrith Panthers. John Hiatt resigned as deputy chairman of the club in 2015. He had served on the Panthers board of directors since 2003 and was deputy chairman for six years. May was accompanied by manager Darryl Mather on Wednesday. The player remained silent as he left the Penrith court. It was May's first appearance since he was charged in March after handing himself in to police following the release of the sex tapes on the internet. May was stood down at the time by Penrith under the NRL's controversial "no fault" stand down policy for those facing serious criminal charges. A majority of Australian voters believe many of the country's federal politicians are sexist, that government should do more to reduce the gender pay gap, and that childcare costs should be treated as a work expense, new polling suggests. The results of a survey of 1065 Australians, commissioned by non-partisan lobby group WomenVote and conducted by YouGov, was released on Wednesday. Seventy-one per cent of those surveyed believe government should do more to reduce the gender pay gap while 75 per cent believe more needs to be done to address the superannuation gap. Some 59 per cent of voters believe it's harder for women to be promoted than men. Over 70 per cent of women held that view compared with just 45 per cent of the men surveyed. When it comes to childcare, 18 per cent said current costs are fair, but 63 per cent of those surveyed thought it was too expensive. Almost 65 per cent said childcare should be a tax-deductible expense. More than half of respondents said at least 50 per cent of federal politicians should be women - compared to almost 20 per cent who don't believe in equal representation. Some 45 per cent believe the Liberal party should adopt a quota system to increase the percentage of women elected to federal parliament. Fifty-five per cent think many federal politicians are sexist. Seventy per cent of Greens voters held that view compared to 64 per cent of Labor voters and 46 per cent of coalition supporters. "Unless the female electorate holds politicians to account, the issues about which women are most concerned will not be addressed in this election," WomenVote co-founder Vanessa Whittaker said in a statement. Lawyers Vanessa Whittaker SC, Sera Mirzabegian and Maria O'Brien launched WomenVote in March to highlight policies affecting women. The South Australian government failed to properly consult with prison employees before it privatised the Adelaide Remand Centre, a court has found. UK provider Serco will take complete control of the facility by August after it won a $115 million, seven-year government contract in March. The South Australian Employment Tribunal this week ruled the government had failed to consult with the union and employee representatives before and after the contract was signed, in a case brought by the Public Service Association. It was obliged to hold consultations under the workers' enterprise agreement. In particular, Deputy President Judge Peter Hannon found employees were not consulted on the acquisition plan, the transfer of management, employment conditions, concerns of prisoners or certain terms of the contract. "The overall conclusion I reach is that the respondent has failed to comply with the agreement due to its failure to engage in appropriate consultation with the PSA and employee representatives," he said. Judge Hannon proposed a set of orders that would compel the government to consult with the union on matters including the transfer of management, the safety of prisoners and employment conditions. Prison guards walked off the job last year after plans to privatise management of the remand centre were revealed by Treasurer Rob Lucas in the state budget. The Public Service Association held a rally on the steps of Parliament House, but the government vowed not to back away from the decision. Victorian Labor premier Daniel Andrews says prime minister Scott Morrison needs to answer questions about the far-right's involvement in last year's Victorian election. Mr Andrews asked in parliament on Wednesday what involvement far-right extremist Neil Erikson had in November's state election, which resulted in Labor being returned to power with an increased margin. "We have very serious questions that need to be answered," Mr Andrews told the lower house. "And they can only be answered by the prime minister, in relation to the alleged engagement of convicted extremists to interfere in the Victorian election conducted last year. To pit one Victorian against another." He made the comments the day after West Australian federal Liberal MPs Ian Goodenough and Andrew Hastie were caught up in claims they met Mr Erikson at a rally in Perth last year. Mr Goodenough says he had a brief inadvertent encounter with Mr Erikson but didn't know who he was, while Mr Hastie is confident he didn't meet the convicted extremist. Mr Erikson, previously found guilty of inciting contempt against Muslims, is linked to anti-immigration group the United Patriots Front which organises street rallies opposed by anti-racist groups. Julian Assange is set to face his first US extradition hearing in London, with the case likely to boil down to the WikiLeaks founder's motivations and whether he acted as a journalist or a computer hacker. The Australian's appearance via video link at Westminster Crown Court on Thursday will likely be a procedural formality but new details about the US case against him could be revealed. The US Justice Department has charged the 47-year-old, who was arrested inside Ecuador's embassy on April 11, with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion with former American army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010. On Tuesday WikiLeaks tweeted that Assange was separately due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday for violating his bail conditions as he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012. But the organisation also said Assange's lawyers had not been able to confirm the sentencing time. His sentencing had earlier been set for May 22. The US has already had difficulty in building its extradition case, with Manning refusing to testify about Assange before a grand jury. She has been jailed for her refusal. The crux of the US accusation is that Assange tried to help Manning hack a password on a Pentagon computer system nine years ago. The Justice Department alleges that cracking the code would have made it harder for authorities to identify Manning as Assange's source for more than 750,000 classified military and diplomatic documents that were published by WikiLeaks. "Cracking the password would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her. Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures," the indictment says. The US Attorney's Office alleges Assange told Manning he had tried to crack the password but "had no luck yet". Glen Greenwald and Micah Lee of the online news outlet The Intercept claim that Assange was merely trying to maintain Manning's anonymity, as any journalist would. "Assange was not trying to hack into new document files to which Manning had no access, but rather trying to help Manning avoid detection as a source. For that reason, the precedent that this case would set would be a devastating blow to investigative journalists and press freedom everywhere," they wrote. So Assange's motivation for trying to help Manning is likely to be central to the US case - whether he was trying to protect his source's identity or trying to help Manning hack into the system to access new, previously inaccessible data. The debate about whether Assange is a journalist or a hacker has been swirling around the WikiLeaks founder for more than a decade. If Assange is considered a journalist, granting his extradition would set a historic legal precedent. "This precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the United States for having published truthful information about the United States," his lawyer Jennifer Robinson has said. But extraditing Assange as a hacker would also create a sensation in British courts, which have recently protected two high-profile hackers from US extradition. Lauri Love, a friend of Assange, and Gary McKinnon were set to be extradited for allegedly hacking US military networks but recently had UK courts rule in their favour. Love's legal team included Assange's lawyer Ms Robinson. Somewhat muffled by the louder debate about US extradition is the pressing matter of a potential extradition application from Sweden, which has been wanting to question Assange about an allegation of rape lodged in 2010. Three other cases, that also involve a second woman, were dropped in 2015 after the statute of limitations ran out. Sweden is still yet to lodge a fresh extradition request but women's groups have been piling pressure on British Home Secretary Sajid Javid to prioritise any Swedish application. Sarah Green, co-director of End Violence Against Women, called the downplaying of the sex accusations against Assange "undignified". "This is serious - the harm rape does, even the impact it has when people dangle it around in the news as though it's a trivial part of the story," she told The Guardian last week Amid debate about motivations and precedents, the cacophony of commentary and a potential jurisdictional tug of war, Assange himself will probably just be hoping his next judge is slightly less strident than his last. District Judge Michael Snow, in finding him guilty of breaching bail in early April, labelled him "a narcissist who cannot see beyond his own self interest". The stunning election result returning the Morrison coalition government was "a massive polling failure" that no one predicted. Early on Saturday night, ABC election analyst Antony Green summed up the mood as the coalition defied all the pre-election polls. "At the moment, on these figures, it's a bit of a spectacular failure of opinion polling," he said on the ABC. Most of the Newspoll, YouGov/Galaxy, Ipsos and ReachTEL polls had Labor ahead 51-49 on the two-party preferred vote, even as late as Friday night. Instead Tasmanian election analyst Kevin Bonham said the coalition was likely to get 51.6 per cent of the two-party vote - a "mirror image" of what was expected. "What we've seen is a massive polling failure and a result that (whatever exactly it is) was not predicted by anybody much to my knowledge," Dr Bonham wrote on Saturday night. Dr Bonham said the polling failures were different to Donald Trump's 2016 election win, where the national polls were correct but there were serious local errors. "This is a national total polling failure more similar to Brexit or to recent UK national elections," he said. "Betting markets failed as well - initially expecting Labor to win by more than Labor's leads at the time showed." Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the polling fail follows a global trend. "Pollsters got it wrong with Brexit, they got it wrong with Trump, and now they've got it wrong at the federal election here in Australia," he told ABC Radio on Sunday. Greens leader Richard Di Natale said it was time for a change. "What it does show is that the era of opinion polls I think is over. They can't be trusted," he said. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews stressed the only poll that matters is the election itself. "It's not like it's one poll that was wrong, it was 50-odd Newspolls ... Scott Morrison has won the poll that matters." Perhaps the worst polling failure came from the Northern Territory, where psychic crocs have successfully picked the winners of the past three elections. This time around, even Burt the psychic croc chose Bill Shorten to win. The Nationals will return to parliament with their lower house seat numbers intact but a reduced presence in the Senate. As counting continued after Saturday's election it appeared the Nationals would hold 16 seats in the House of Representatives, including LNP MPs in Queensland who sit in the Nationals party room in Canberra. Nationals candidate Anne Webster picked up Mallee, where Andrew Broad retired, and Pat Conaghan replaced Luke Hartsuyker in Cowper. However, the party took a hit in the Senate. Tasmania's Steve Martin appears unlikely to hold his Senate seat. Townsville-based businesswoman Susan McDonald is expected to take over retired senator Barry O'Sullivan's Queensland Senate seat. And water policy officer Perin Davey is still a shot to take up a NSW Senate seat, vacated by John Williams. However, if Ms Davey does not win, the Nationals will only have Matt Canavan, Bridget McKenzie and Ms McDonald in the upper house, reducing its current numbers by two. The Nationals will spend coming weeks discussing a new coalition agreement - a private letter between leader Michael McCormack and Prime Minister Scott Morrison setting out how the coalition will operate and key policy areas. Nationals strategists say Mr Morrison's visits to regional seats delivered a bump in internal tracking polls. Labor's so-called "retirees tax" - reforms to franking credits - was considered a key issue in Nationals-held seats. The issue of Senate numbers could cause friction in the party ahead of parliament sitting. But it's not expected Mr McCormack will spill the leadership, given the government was returned. Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said on election night Mr McCormack should be commended for his work in the campaign. WHO IS SCOTT MORRISON? * Born May 13, 1968, in Sydney * Married to Jenny and has two daughters - Lily and Abbey * Cronulla Sharks supporter * Won the Liberal leadership after two unsuccessful tilts at Turnbull by Peter Dutton in August 2018. * Elected as the federal Member for Cook in 2007 after first losing the preselection to Michael Towke, who was disendorsed over reported branch stacking * Studied an economics and geography degree at the University of NSW * General Manager of Tourism Council between 1996-1998, then Director of the New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport 1998-2000. * State Director of the NSW Liberal Party 2000-2004 * As director of Tourism Australia 2004-2006 he presided over the campaign featuring the slogan "Where The Bloody Hell Are You? * Appointed to the front bench by federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull in 2008 * Took on shadow minister for immigration and citizenship in 2009 following Tony Abbott's leadership spill * Appointed by Abbott as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection from September 2013, then Minister for Social Services from December 2014 * After Turnbull replaced Abbott as prime minister he was made Treasurer from September 2015 * Became Australia's 30th prime minister on August 24, 2018 and held onto power at the election on May 18 Today's Birthday, May 21: Noel Fielding, British Comedian (1973 - ) When Noel Fielding was announced as a celebrity judge on The Great British Bake Off, pundits were left shaking their heads. The king of surreal, sometimes freaky comedy, is best known for his aloof and niche humour and - forever dressed in skinny black jeans - makes a striking contrast among cake enthusiasts. But the comedian rose to the challenge in spectacular fashion. Since 2017 Fielding has been co-hosting the reality cooking show with Sandi Toksvig. Sporting loud patterned shirts and his trademark mullet, he has pulled the biggest amount of young viewers to date. Before this he co-created The Mighty Boosh alongside Julian Barratt, winning the pair a newcomer Perrier at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 1998. Born in London in 1973, Fielding's grandmother is French. He started writing sketches at 13, eventually performing them while studying at the Croydon School of Art. After entering an open mic show by the Daily Telegraph that he didn't win, Fielding secured an agent. He debuted his Mighty Boosh character Vince Noir alongside Barratt's Howard Moon on stage in 1998. The comedy duo performed the act around the country, including at the Edinburgh Festival and in Ireland, before the BBC commissioned a six-part radio series in 2001. The first television series launched in 2004 and lasted until 2007, with Fielding's brother Michael guest-starring as Naboo the Enigma. Before Mighty Boosh fame, Fielding appeared as a reclusive goth on Channel 4's The IT Crowd. From 2009 to 2015 he became a permanent team captain on pop quiz show Never Mind the Buzzocks, achieving the highest score by any team on the show. An accomplished artist, he's exhibited in spaces from a patisserie in Soho in 2008, to the Saatchi Gallery and Maison Bertaux. Fielding is currently touring his solo show and recently appeared at the Sydney Comedy Festival. Alcohol ads were banned from New York City public transportation in 2018 New York Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order Tuesday banning alcohol advertising from city property, citing public health concerns. The ban would include bus shelters, newsstands and Wi-Fi kiosks and would take effect immediately for new ads, though existing ads would be allowed to remain until their contracts run out. "There's no doubt that far too many New Yorkers struggle with serious substance misuse issues, among them excessive drinking," de Blasio, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This order banning alcohol ads from city property reaffirms our commitment to health equity and our stand to protect the well-being of all New Yorkers." According to the statement, there were nearly 2,000 alcohol-related deaths in New York City in 2016, and 110,000 alcohol-related emergency department visits. It also said certain areas are hit harder, with East Harlem seeing five times the rate of alcohol-linked hospitalizations than the Upper East Side. Citing a 2017 study, the mayor's office said ads promoting alcoholic drinks could increase the likelihood of viewers consuming alcohol -- and could also affect they amount they drink. "Exposure to outdoor alcohol advertising has been associated with subsequent intentions to use and with problem drinking," said the study from the New York Academy of Medicine. Alcohol ads were banned from buses and the city's subway in January 2018. The Distilled Spirits Council, an alcohol producer trade association, criticized de Blasio's order. "The mayor's decision to ban alcohol advertising is misguided and unsupported by the scientific research," the organization's vice president Jay Hibbard said in a statement. Other major US cities have also banned alcohol advertising -- though Hibbard said some cities, such as Baltimore and Chicago, have since then overturned such bans. "The research is clear -- parents and other adults are the most influential factors in a youth's decision whether or not to drink alcohol, not advertising," he said. According to a Federal Trade Commission report on alcohol advertising in 2014 -- the most recent available -- the agency relies on the industry to self-regulate its marketing practices. Japan's new Emperor Naruhito (L) vowed to 'act according to the Constitution' while 'always turning my thoughts to the people and standing with them' Japan's new Emperor Naruhito pledged Wednesday to stand by the Japanese people as he formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, the day after his father's historic abdication ushered in a new imperial era. It was the first time in more than 200 years that a member of the world's oldest royal family has chosen to step down, and solemn rituals accompanied both Akihito's abdication and Naruhito's enthronement. Naruhito officially became emperor at midnight, when the country also began the new imperial era of Reiwa or "beautiful harmony", but the transition was formalised in a Wednesday ceremony. The ritual, off-limits to all royal women, saw 59-year-old Naruhito accept the regalia relinquished by his father a day earlier: a sacred sword and jewel as well as the seal of the state and the imperial seal. Japan's new Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko arrive to attend a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Naruhito then delivered his first address to the nation, vowing to "act according to the Constitution" while "always turning my thoughts to the people and standing with them". The new monarch wore formal Western clothing including a heavy gold chain of office during the ceremony and his speech. He was joined by Empress Masako, wearing a long white gown and diamond-studded tiara, for his address. The nation's 126th emperor said he would "reflect deeply" on the example set by his popular father Akihito, and that assuming the throne filled him with a "sense of solemnity". Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, replying on behalf of the people, said: "We are determined to create a bright future for a proud Japan filled with peace and hope at a time when the international situation is changing dramatically." After heavy rain dampened celebrations for the abdication on Tuesday, Japanese took advantage of sunnier weather to flock to the Meiji Shrine in the heart of the capital, where free sake was served ahead of a display of horseback archery. - Celebrating history - Others watched the ceremonies and speech, which were conducted behind closed doors at the palace, on big screens outside Shinjuku, the world's busiest station. Shinto priests conduct a festive ceremony to report the enthronement of the new emperor to the royal family's ancestors at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo "I am someone who loves history and what we are experiencing now will be talked about for a long time," 21-year-old law student Mito Okuno told AFP. "That's why I wanted to come in person," added Okuno, resplendent in a striped kimono, who came some 600 kilometres (370 miles) from the town of Himeji to experience the moment. Naruhito will make his first public appearance on Saturday when he will again address the people of Japan. But the real pomp and ceremony will wait until October 22 when he and Masako will appear in elaborate traditional robes for a palace ceremony before parading through the streets of Tokyo to be congratulated by a host of world leaders and royals. Wellwishers wait outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo as Japan's new Emperor Naruhito formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne Naruhito will greet his first foreign head of state as emperor later this month, when US President Donald Trump visits Japan to meet the new monarch. His father will move out of the palace later this year and now assumes the title Emperor Emeritus. The Oxford-educated Naruhito faces the delicate balancing act of continuing his father's legacy of bringing the monarchy closer to the people while upholding the centuries-old traditions of the Chrysanthemum Throne. Like his popular father, he has warned of the need to remember World War II "correctly", without downplaying Japan's early 20th-century militarism. He has suggested the royal family should modernise, and vowed when he married Masako -- who left behind a promising diplomatic career -- to protect her "at any cost". - A different Japan - She has struggled with palace life, including being subjected to enormous pressure to produce a male heir, and has suffered stress-induced "adjustment disorder" for much of their marriage. The couple have one child, a 17-year-old daughter called Aiko, who cannot inherit the throne because she is female. Japan's new era In a statement released on her birthday in December, Masako pledged to do her best despite feeling "insecure" about becoming empress. In the candid statement, she said she was recovering and could "perform more duties than before", crediting the "powerful support" of the public. Naruhito is ascending the throne in a very different Japan to the one his father took over when he became emperor in 1989. Then, Japan ruled the world economically, its technology was the envy of every industrialised nation, and its stock market was at highs unlikely to be matched again. But following a "lost decade" after the bubble burst, the country is locked in a battle against deflation and sluggish growth while its population ages rapidly. Akihito's abdication, the first in 200 years, has resulted in an unprecedented 10-day public holiday for the famously hard-working Japanese, with many taking advantage of the break to travel. After plentiful winter rains, Iraq is heading into summer with overflowing reservoirs and lush marshes. But the country's water woes are not over After plentiful winter rains, Iraq is heading into summer with overflowing reservoirs and lush marshes. But don't be fooled, observers warn: its water woes and related protests are not over. Far from last year's shortages, "the land between the two rivers" is expected to hold 42 billion cubic metres (1.48 trillion cubic feet) in its reservoirs at the start of summer, more than twice the 2018 amount. But that has not washed away longstanding challenges: poor infrastructure, few funds, sharing disputes with neighbours, climate change and population booms. Nestled between palms and tall reeds north of Baghdad, the Al-Mashahada pumping station is punched through with bullet holes, its metal pipes and cisterns rusted. Broken plastic pipes litter the dirt road leading up to it. At another overgrown station nearby, a main tank leaks a steady stream, day and night. These stations are par for the course in Iraq, whose water infrastructure dates back decades and has been worn by consecutive wars, sanctions blocking spare part imports, the US-led invasion and finally, the Islamic State group. Parts of the network were installed over 60 years ago in soil that can be corrosive when wet, said Iraqi environmental expert Azzam Alwash. "So you have a network with corroded pipes full of holes," he said, that could leak out as much as 60-70 percent of pumped water before it reaches households or farmlands. Once there, it is hardly used responsibly, with farmers relying on wasteful flood irrigation and families leaving taps running unnecessarily. The United Nations estimates Iraq's daily per capita water consumption is nearly double the world standard of 200 litres (52 gallons). - 'Almost zero' - In 2014, Iraq prepared a 20-year, $180-billion plan to manage its water crisis. But it was stillborn, as IS seized a third of the country the same year and money was diverted to fight it. "We've needed a new station for years, but the funding totally froze in 2014 for military purposes," said Ahmad Mahmud, who heads Al-Mashahada's water resources. Despite IS's defeat in 2017, promised funds never came, he told AFP, and a new station is now being built by UN children's agency UNICEF. "I couldn't afford pipes without them," Mahmud admitted. Roughly 70 percent of Iraq's water originates from its neighbours, according to the International Energy Agency Mehdi Rasheed, who heads Iraq's dam projects, said the ministry's budget was "almost zero" as Iraq fought IS. Last summer, massive protests over water shortages put the spotlight squarely on services, and Iraq's government appeared to take notice. It allocated nearly $760 million to the water ministry for this year -- about 60 percent higher than for 2018. "It's reassuring, but it's just a good start," Mehdi said. It remains one of the smallest ministerial budgets, around 15 times less than the electricity ministry. Even Iraq's premier has admitted the water systems are not ready for summer, when temperatures in Iraq can reach a blistering 55 degrees Celsius (130 Fahrenheit). "I would not be faithful if I said infrastructure is ready to receive all this," Adel Abdel Mahdi said, speaking in English. - 'God's will'? - Iraq's shortages can also be sourced beyond its borders. Roughly 70 percent of its water originates from its neighbours, according to the International Energy Agency, with the Euphrates winding from Turkey through Syria, while the Tigris -- also from Turkey -- is fed by rivers from Iran. As Turkey and Iran have developed their own dams and reservoirs, flows to Iraq have dropped. "We used to get about 15 billion cubic metres of water a year from Iran, we no longer get that," due to dams and rerouted rivers, said Alwash, the expert. And when Turkey fills its massive Ilisu dam, levels in the Tigris are expected to sink even further. Iraq is negotiating with both neighbours to reach water-sharing agreements, but its position as a receiving country gives it little leverage. Grinding on slowly behind the man-made disasters is climate change, with the World Bank predicting more severe droughts for Iraq starting in 2020. In 2014, Iraq prepared a 20-year, $180-billion plan to manage its water crisis "One year we have to deal with a drought, the next year we have floods. This is the climate extremism we see worldwide," said Kareem Hassan, manager of the massive Tharthar barrage north of Baghdad. Despite Hassan's nod to climate change, his answer to how Iraq should respond was less reassuring: "It was God's will to bless us with rain this year, so we'll see what next year brings." The apparent lack of planning is stark, considering Iraq's population of 40 million is projected to grow by another 10 million before 2030. That will leave the country with a 37 percent deficit in its water supply, according to the Iraq Energy Institute. That gap was already on Mahmud's mind as he looked at the fresh paint on Al-Mashahada's UN-funded station. "It's great now, for the 300 families here. But in three years, there will be double that number here," he said. Sterling Van Wagenen, an award-winning film producer from Utah, has pleaded guilty to child sex abuse An award-winning film producer who co-founded the Sundance Film Festival pleaded guilty Tuesday to child sex abuse. Sterling Van Wagenen, 71, entered his plea in the western state of Utah and faces between six years and life in prison at sentencing in July. His attorney, Steven Shapiro, said in court that the filmmaker plans to plead guilty to another charge involving the same victim later this week. Shapiro told the judge that his client, who is Mormon, wishes "to acknowledge wrongful conduct," The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Prosecutors had charged Van Wagenen of inappropriately touching a girl between the ages of seven and nine on two occasions between 2013 and 2015 in two different cities in Utah. The case came to light after Van Wagenen admitted in a secretly taped interview released in February by the Truth and Transparency Foundation of assaulting in 1993 a 13-year-old boy who was at a sleepover with Van Wagenen's son. In the recording, taped in 2018 by the now-adult victim, Wagenen admitted to the abuse and said he had informed police and leaders of the Mormon Church -- or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- of his actions but was never criminally charged. The case for which he has pleaded guilty was uncovered after The Truth and Transparency Foundation, a watchdog of the Mormon Church, released the tape. Van Wagenen subsequently resigned from his part-time teaching position at the University of Utah's Film and Media Arts Department. Van Wagenen co-founded a Utah film festival in 1978 that later became known as the Sundance Film Festival with Robert Redford -- who was once married to Van Wagenen's cousin -- at the helm. However, Van Wagenen has not been involved with Sundance since 1993. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (R) gestures as US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (C) chats with Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer before they go into talks in Beijing Top US and Chinese trade negotiators resumed talks on Wednesday as they close in on a deal to resolve a months-long dispute that has hit businesses with bruising tariffs. Vice Premier Liu He, a close aide to President Xi Jinping, greeted US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for discussions expected to focus on China's industrial subsidies. The world's two leading economies have exchanged tariffs on $360 billion worth of goods since President Donald Trump launched a trade war last year. The US side is pressing China to overhaul its industrial policy by further opening its market to foreign firms, stopping massive subsidies to domestic companies and curbing the alleged theft of American technology. Beijing has made public displays of concessions, with Xi last week saying China would abolish "unjustified regulations, subsidies and practices that impede fair competition and distort the market". China has also passed a foreign investment law that promises to protect the intellectual property of overseas companies. Liu had dinner with his American counterparts on Tuesday night ahead a of a full day of talks. Mnuchin and Lighthizer exchanged pleasantries with Liu when they arrived at the Diaoyutai state guest house on Wednesday, with the US treasury chief pointing to his red tie and smiling at the vice premier, who wore the same colour. "Morning, good to see you," Liu told the Americans, who responded in kind before going into the closed-door talks. President Donald Trump cast himself as fully exonerated after Bill Barr (center) delivered a four-page memo that he called a summary of the key findings by Special Counsel Robert Mueller US Special Counsel Robert Mueller complained to the attorney general over his characterization of the Russia probe that allowed President Donald Trump to declare himself cleared of obstruction of justice, US media reported Tuesday. Trump cast himself as fully exonerated after Attorney General Bill Barr delivered a four-page memo to Congress on March 24 that he called a summary of the two-year probe's key findings, telling lawmakers the evidence was insufficient to support criminal obstruction charges. The release of a redacted version of the full 448-page report on April 18 however revealed that Mueller had detailed numerous attempts by the president to thwart the investigation. The Washington Post said Mueller's letter to Barr three days later complained that the attorney general's memo "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this office's work and conclusions." "There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation," Mueller reportedly wrote, in stark language that apparently surprised Justice Department officials. "This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations." Mueller declined to accuse Trump of a crime, referring to Justice Department policy precluding the indictment of a sitting president, but specifically said that what he had uncovered made him unable to exonerate the president. The Mueller report Democrats in Congress are expected to question Barr at length over his role in the probe and interactions with Mueller as he appears for two days of hearings on Capitol Hill this week. On Wednesday, several called for his resignation -- with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also weighing in. "Attorney General Barr misled the public and owes the American people answers," she said on Twitter. "It's time for DOJ to release the full report & all underlying docs - and finally allow Mueller to testify. Americans deserve the facts. Barr must stop standing in the way." "Bill Barr needs to resign," was California congressman Ro Khanna's take. "He needs to resign tomorrow. At some point we need to distinguish fact from spin." Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chairman of the powerful Senate intelligence committee, said Barr had "lost all credibility." "This is exactly why I said Mr. Barr should never have been confirmed in the first place." - Sabotage - A rift between the special counsel's office and Barr, Mueller's boss and longtime friend, appeared to emerge in the days following the release of the attorney general's memo, as investigators reportedly let it be known through intermediaries that they felt frustrated by Barr's representation of their work. US Attorney General Bill Barr has repeatedly said Mueller found 'no collusion' between the Trump campaign and Russia -- even though the special counsel's report noted that he had not investigated 'collusion, which has no legal definition The New York Times pointed to what it said were instances of Barr taking Mueller's words out of context in a manner that painted a less damaging picture of Trump's behavior and suggested that the president had no motive to obstruct justice. Barr has also repeatedly said Mueller found "no collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia -- even though the special counsel's report made a point of noting that he had not investigated "collusion," which has no legal definition. Mueller's report -- the culmination of a probe that had haunted Trump since the start of his presidency -- confirmed that Russian operatives tried to help Trump defeat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, including by hacking into email accounts. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of misleading the public over the Mueller report The probe found that Trump's campaign knew of the sabotage attempt and took advantage of the impact on Clinton, but did not deliberately reach out to conspire with the Russians. Several Democrats, notably presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called for Trump to be impeached for welcoming a hostile power's help and for allegedly obstructing the investigation after the election. The White House has not commented on the letter but Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani told CNN that Mueller "should have made a decision and shouldn't be complaining or whining now that he didn't get described correctly" on the obstruction issue. Over 60 vacancies for doctors and 300 for nurses have been left unfilled at Baragwanath, South Africa's largest hospital Six psychiatric patients are tied to their beds in two tiny, dimly lit cubicles in the emergency ward of South Africa's biggest hospital, where the country's dire healthcare crisis is starkly evident. Some of the group are restrained using just medical bandages, while one screaming female patient is tied to a bed that is itself haphazardly secured to a pillar. The scenes at the vast Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in the township of Soweto outside Johannesburg, provoke little visible reaction from hurried staff or from other patients. Staff say the hospital always has serious mental health cases in its casualty unit waiting for a bed. According to a doctor who wished to remain anonymous, some are left for three days with little food and water -- one sign of chronic lack of resources in South Africa's healthcare system, which has been a political battlefield ahead of the May 8 general election. "We can't move psychiatric patients on fast enough because it takes a long time for them to get better and the wards are full," said the doctor. "They are the forgotten people." Voting this year will mark 25 years since the end of apartheid rule, but hopes have been dashed that the new era would produce a modern, accessible public health service. - Grim tragedy - The grim cost of the failing system was highlighted in a recent scandal when 144 mental health patients died in 2015 and 2016 in a botched government plan to relocate them from a private hospital to poorly-prepared local facilities as a cost-cutting measure. Many of the deaths occurred due to mistreatment, pneumonia, dehydration and diarrhoea. Last year Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, of the ruling ANC party, broke down as he apologised for what he described as "one of the most painful and horrible events in the history of post-apartheid South Africa". When it came to power in 1994 at the end of white-minority rule, the African National Congress party vowed to introduce "affordable health care, to ensure that all South Africans are guaranteed basic treatment." The ruling party's solution now is for a National Health Insurance (NHI) system, similar to that in many European countries. Health spending in South Africa accounts for 8.8 percent of GDP. However less than half of that is spent within the public sector and 4.6 percent of GDP is spent within the private sector. The ANC had pledged affordable health care for everyone In 2017, that imbalance was reflected by only 10 percent of the black majority having health insurance, compared to 71.7 percent of the white minority. But the ANC proposal is "entirely unfeasible and places the stability of the national fiscus at risk," according to the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party. DA policy is to work with private healthcare insurance companies to extend low-cost coverage to more than 50 percent of citizens. Speaking outside Baragwanath, DA provincial shadow health minister Jack Bloom said the flagship hospital was at breaking point. "I know that people here can wait as long as three years to have a hip operation, and the medical negligence claims in the maternity section are sky high," he said. Over 60 vacancies for doctors and 300 for nurses have been left unfilled at the hospital -- which has a total staff strength of around 6,000 -- due to budget cuts. - Budget 'falling behind' - "They promised us they were going to build five hospitals in Soweto to take the pressure off and all they have done is built one," said another hospital doctor who did not wish to be named. The vast and crumbling Baragwanath hospital has approximately 3,200 beds for some 1.5 million surrounding residents while also serving as a teaching hospital and a referral hospital from across South Africa and even across Africa. Deputy director-general for health in South Africa Yogan Pillay told AFP it was clear the government budget "is falling behind the need". South Africa has made strides in its treatment of AIDS and tuberculosis "Budgets are allocated to a facility on the basis of the people in that catchment area but if we have an influx -- including internal migration -- then people run short of supplies," he said. "We have to increase the efficiency in both the public and the private sector." South Africa has made strides in its treatment of AIDS and tuberculosis, but the election seems to offer little immediate hope of improvements to healthcare. The system is crippled by "poor leadership and governance at all levels," said senior lecturer and public health specialist doctor Kerrin Begg. "It will need to be strengthened substantially, especially in terms of physical infrastructure and human resources." 3 members of the King family and 2 dogs were killed by the blaze. Australian Brenton Tarrant is accused of shooting dead 50 people in attacks on two mosques where worshippers were gathered for Friday prayers New Zealand's major media outlets vowed Wednesday to prevent the man charged with the Christchurch mosque shooting from using his trial as a platform for extremist propaganda. Australian Brenton Tarrant is accused of shooting dead 50 people and injuring another 39 in March 15 attacks on two mosques where worshippers were gathered for Friday prayers. The self-avowed white supremacist targeted Muslims and posted a rambling "manifesto" online before the attack detailing his extremist beliefs. The New Zealand Media Freedom Committee, which represents the country's five largest news outlets, said the accused "may attempt to use the trial as a platform to amplify white supremacist and/or terrorist ideology". It said editors had agreed to a set of guidelines to prevent this happening at the trial, the date of which is yet to be set. Among the measures, they pledged to "limit any coverage of statements that actively champion white supremacist or terrorist ideology, including the alleged gunman's manifesto". They will also avoid reporting on or broadcasting "any message, imagery, symbols or signals" by the accused or his associates that promote extremism. Tarrant, 28, is currently being held in a maximum security prison in Auckland and undergoing psychiatric tests to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial. His next scheduled court appearance is on June 14. The New Zealand government has barred downloads of Tarrant's manifesto and the livestream footage he posted of the attacks, although local media voluntarily avoided them before the ban anyway. However, despite their best intentions not to spread extremist content, some New Zealand media outlets have been criticised over some Christchurch-related stories. A provocative tweet from British right-winger Katie Hopkins about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received extensive coverage last week, prompting national broadcaster RNZ to comment: "Don't feed the troll." The US State Department has already said its peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Doha this month to meet the Taliban A new round of peace talks between the Taliban and the US starts Wednesday in Qatar, an official for the insurgents said, as the foes seek an end of America's longest war. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP that "the sixth round of talks between Islamic Emirate and the US will start in Doha today". While the US embassy in Kabul did not immediately comment, the US State Department has already said its peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Doha, the Qatari capital, this month to meet the Taliban. The two sides have met repeatedly to discuss the framework for an eventual peace deal, in which the Taliban would vow to stop Afghanistan ever again being used as a terrorist safe haven in return for a pull out of foreign forces. None of the talks thus far have included the Afghan government, which the Taliban views as a puppet regime. That means that even if the US and the Taliban can agree a deal to end the 17-year-old war and a timetable for an eventual troop withdrawal, the insurgents must still forge some kind of an accord with Afghan politicians and tribal elders before an enduring ceasefire could kick in. Khalilzad went to Moscow last week, where Russia and China voiced support for the US plan for a peace deal and stressed the need for an "intra-Afghan dialogue" that would see all sides in Afghanistan at a negotiating table. NATO's Resolute Rupport mission has agreed to stop publishing casualty figures for Afghan security forces The US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan has stopped releasing key data on how much of the country falls under insurgent or government control, a US watchdog said Wednesday, the latest war metric to fall from public view. NATO's Resolute Support mission previously gave a running tally on who controlled or was contesting Afghanistan's districts, and the percentage of the Afghan population this reflected. US officials would frequently refer to the data to underscore battlefield success, but according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), Resolute Support (RS) now says these district-stability assessments are "of limited decision-making value to the (mission) commander". The last data RS provided showed the percentage of Afghans living in areas controlled or influenced by the Kabul government slipping from 65.2 percent to 63.5 percent. The downward slide undermined predictions that 80 percent of the population would be under government control by the end of this year. SIGAR head John Sopko said the decision to withhold the data nurtured suspicion. "When you start hiding things like this, over-classifying... You tend to create cynicism in your populace and everybody else that you're losing, or it's bad news," Sopko told journalists ahead of the SIGAR report's release. At the request of the Afghan government, RS has also agreed to stop publishing casualty figures for Afghan security forces. The numbers showed massive losses for the local forces, reaching several thousand per year. SIGAR's report also noted that violence in Afghanistan had increased 19 percent between November 2018 and the end of January, compared to the previous quarter. The uptick comes even as the United States tries to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban. A new round of talks between the insurgents and US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to start in Qatar on Wednesday, according to the Taliban. A possible deal to end the 17-year-old war would see foreign forces leave Afghanistan in return for the Taliban guaranteeing the country could not be used as a safe haven for terror groups. But for an enduring peace, any deal must include the Afghan government, and so far they have not been included in talks. Twelve days after Myanmar's new year celebrations, as temperatures rise to over 40 degrees, Pa'O communities travel to Nantar village for the annual rocket competition Clad in elaborate headdresses representing dragons and wizards, Myanmar's ethnic Pa'O fire huge, homemade rockets into the sky -- an annual call for plentiful rains and a chance for a windfall of cash. The Pa'O are one of the largest of the country's minority groups, numbering around 1.2 million people and living mainly in Shan state's highlands. They are overwhelmingly Buddhist but many intertwine animism with their faith, believing they descend from a she-dragon and a wizard with mystical powers, known as a "weiza". Twelve days after Myanmar's new year celebrations, as temperatures rise to over 40 degrees, Pa'O communities travel to Nantar village for the annual rocket competition, which ends on Wednesday. "Calling the rain like this every year means we get bumper rice harvests," co-organiser Rike Kham tells AFP at the Pwe Lu Phaing festival's 144th edition. - Dragons and wizards - People dress in their finest, donning dark tunics and trousers in mourning for the kingdom they lost to the Bamar (Burmese) nearly 1,000 years ago. A monk blesses each device, praying for a safe and long flight, then one-by-one the teams are called to the 10 metre-high bamboo firing rig But their headwear make up for their sombre attire. Many women opt for a traditional bright orange cloth, symbolising the dragon. Others, like Nan Pyone Kha Cho, 21, choose a more modern approach, sporting turbans of scarlet, gold or silver. A golden hairpin is the "mother dragon's fang", she explains. Men wear rolled-up cloth of various hues on their heads in the image of the "weiza" as they parade singing and dancing into the village, holding aloft their homemade rockets. - 'Safety first' - In the past, these were crafted entirely from bamboo and would carry up to 40 kilos of explosives. Now they are made with bamboo-wrapped metal, holding five different grades of gunpowder. Men wear rolled-up cloth of various hues on their heads in the image of the "weiza" as they parade singing and dancing into the village, holding aloft their homemade rockets For "safety reasons" the maximum length is three feet (0.9 metres) and the diameter must not exceed three inches (eight centimetres). A monk blesses each device, praying for a safe and long flight, then one-by-one the teams are called to the 10 metre-high bamboo firing rig. The rocket is laid in position, the trajectory carefully adjusted. The team captain takes a drag from a cigarette then uses it to light the fuse, before clambering down the bamboo rungs as the rocket lifts off with a deafening roar. They can land up to seven or eight kilometres away, creating craters 1.5 metres deep in the fields. A team of "linesmen" note the landing positions so they can later be collected. - High stakes - Accidents are rare, says Rike Kham. The whole village celebrates a good flight -- they after all clubbed together to fund the rockets that cost around $170 each Aside from an unlucky water buffalo hit in 2016, nobody has been hurt since two people died ten years ago after "badly mixing the gunpowder". The whole village celebrates a good flight -- they after all clubbed together to fund the rockets that cost around $170 each. Judged by distance, the villages behind the top three placed rockets each take a share of the pooled entry fees. With 75 rockets in this year's competition, the prize money amounts to some $4,000 -- enough to upgrade a road, build a bridge or connect more homes to the grid. - Girl rocket power - A group of women is challenging the traditionally testosterone-driven festivities One group of women is challenging the traditionally testosterone-driven festivities. They dance into the village for the second year holding high their own rocket, albeit full of donation money rather than gunpowder. But next year they will take part with "real rockets", Mhoe Phar Ohon Ye, 67, said smiling, adding that women from other villages are following their lead. As the sun sets and the rockets fall silent, the next generation is in training. Groups of boys set off fireworks to squeals of delight and fire toy guns into the air in celebration. Police said the teenagers were taking selfies on the train tracks before the accident Three teenagers were killed while taking selfies on a railway track in India, the country which researchers say has the worst record for selfie-related deaths. A fourth youth managed to jump to safety before the accident in Panipat city in the northern state of Haryana, a police officer told AFP Wednesday. "The victims were busy taking selfies and when they saw a train approaching they jumped to a second track without realising another train was coming on that," M. S. Dabas told AFP. "One of them saved his life as he jumped on the other side of the track." The group had come to Panipat to attend a wedding. Two of those killed were 19 years old and the third was 18. Experts warn that youngsters obsessed with social media are going to extreme lengths in order to post selfies seen as daring and risky. A study last year by researchers from the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences said 259 people across the world had died while taking selfies between 2011 and 2017. The highest number of incidents and selfie deaths were reported in India followed by Russia, United States, and Pakistan, the study said. In 2017 three students were killed on a railway track in southern Karnataka state, while a man died in Odisha after an elephant wrapped its trunk around the man and crushed him to death as he tried to take a selfie with the animal. Last year Railways Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to warn people against risking their life for the sake of photographs. Construction workers inside the Fresno Trench, a portion of the high-speed railway being built in Fresno, California, on May 8, 2019 Keith Erwin was about to buy the land that his auto repair shop sits on when he was turned down because California's much awaited high-speed rail line was going to pass through the spot. Five years later, he sees no train coming anytime soon and no longer believes in it. "It's a train that's going to go nowhere," the mechanic said at his garage in Fresno, just steps from where the train is supposed to eventually pass. Even though construction is well underway in Fresno, Erwin insisted: "I think they're out of money. I don't think they're going to build it at all from what we see." In February, newly elected Governor Gavin Newsom announced he was drastically revising downward the high-speed rail project to link Los Angeles to San Francisco in three hours, even though the plan was approved in a 2008 referendum. The federal government indicated Thursday it was scrapping a $900 million subsidy due to "chronic" construction delays. A growing chorus of critics and multiple court challenges set back the project, and construction only began in 2015. Train travel has not been popular in this sprawling state -- the most populous in the country -- where the car is king. While many countries began providing high-speed rail starting in the 1980s, California kept investing in road infrastructure. Keith Erwin, owner of Keith's Automotive, checks the engine of a vehicle at his shop's new location after having to move due to the high-speed railway line in Fresno, California "The culture of the state itself has really been about our vehicles and our cars... but now that's changing," California High Speed Rail regional director Diana Gomez told AFP. Her group is responsible for creating, building and implementing the project. She noted that younger generations now want to use public transportation and are placing their bets on high-speed rail, which is better for the environment. - Minimalist solution - Traveling the 380 miles (600 kilometers) that separate Los Angeles from San Francisco takes at least six hours by car. It's only an hour by plane but chronic traffic jams to get to the airport followed by security checks make the three-hour train journey an appealing solution for many travelers. "But let's be real. The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long. There's been too little oversight and not enough transparency," Newsom said in his State of the State address in February. "Right now, there simply isn't a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to LA. I wish there were." The project budget has jumped 20 percent over initial estimates, to reach $77 billion. A construction crew works on the San Joaquin River viaduct portion of the high-speed railway in Fresno, California, on May 8, 2019 But California is not giving up on what critics call the "train to nowhere." Newsom said focus would now be on a section of the corridor that's only about a third of the total distance, linking Merced and Bakersfield, with Fresno at the halfway point. Industry watchers say the reduced ambitions are a mistake. "It absolutely does not make sense," said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, an urban planning professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "Any transit project needs big (urban) centers as origins and destinations, and so to have something like that... all but kills the project." Gomez, however, sees the short link as just the beginning. "Once people see high speed rail running, then you know there will be more support for it to continue," she said. "We have enough funds to build this segment up so let me do that and then continue working on the environmental documents for the rest of the state." There are many obstacles, including procedures for expropriation of land that have proven far more complicated than anticipated. "It was chaos getting moved," said Erwin, the mechanic, noting that staff at the project kept quitting or getting fired. "Unorganized people didn't know what they were doing... It was just a big mess and it still is." Martin Wachs, a UCLA professor emeritus of urban planning, said California should have capitalized on its existing rail network, including that currently dedicated to freight. "What I would have recommended at the time was to improve the service along those routes gradually, building more patronage for rail and making it more politically popular by virtue of having more people and then extending that system until the point where we had genuine high speed rail," he said. Instead, authorities treated the high speed rail as a separate program from the rest of California's rail systems. The first train is not expected to travel through Fresno for another decade at best. And even if that happens, "I won't ride it," snorted Erwin. Boeing has acknowledged for the first time that there was a design flaw in software linked to the 737 MAX Boeing acknowledged Saturday it had to correct flaws in its 737 MAX flight simulator software used to train pilots, after two deadly crashes involving the aircraft that killed 346 people. "Boeing has made corrections to the 737 MAX simulator software and has provided additional information to device operators to ensure that the simulator experience is representative across different flight conditions," it said in a statement. The company did not indicate when it first became aware of the problem, and whether it informed regulators. Its statement marked the first time Boeing acknowledged there was a design flaw in software linked to the 737 MAX, whose MCAS anti-stall software has been blamed in large part for the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy. According to Boeing, the flight simulator software was incapable of reproducing certain flight conditions similar to those at the time of the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March or the Lion Air crash in October. The company said the latest "changes will improve the simulation of force loads on the manual trim wheel," a rarely used manual wheel to control the plane's angle. "Boeing is working closely with the device manufacturers and regulators on these changes and improvements, and to ensure that customer training is not disrupted," it added. Southwest Airlines, a major 737 MAX customer with 34 of the aircraft in its fleet, told AFP it expected to receive the first simulator "late this year." American Airlines, which has 24 of the aircraft, said it had ordered a 737 MAX simulator that will be delivered and put into operation in December. "As a result of the continuing investigation into both aircraft accidents, we are looking at the potential for additional training opportunities in coordination with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and Allied Pilots Association," it added. - Certification process - The planes have been grounded around the world, awaiting approval from US and international regulators before they can return to service. Only Air Canada has a MAX simulator, industry sources told AFP. Currently, there is only one flight simulator specific to the 737 MAX in the United States, and it is owned by Boeing, according to FAA documentation. US airlines train their pilots flying the MAX on a simulator built for the 737 NG, the version preceding the 737 MAX in the 737 aircraft family. Southwest said that's because during the certification process for the MAX, Boeing stressed that there were only minor differences with the NG and simple computer and online training could accommodate for the differences. The FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and Canadian regulators had approved those recommendations, Boeing stresses. However, the 737 NG lacks an MCAS, specially designed for the MAX in order to correct an aerodynamic anomaly due to its heavier motor and to prevent the plane from stalling. Pilot training will likely be at the heart of the meeting of international regulators in Forth Worth, Texas on Thursday when the FAA will try convince its counterparts of the robustness of its certification process for the modified 737 MAX. The American regulator has maintained that training pilots on a simulator is not essential, a position with which pilots and its Canadian counterpart disagree. Boeing said Thursday that it completed its software update on the 737 MAX. The proposed fix, which addresses a problem with a flight handling system thought to be a factor in both crashes, must now win approval from US and international regulators before the planes can return to service. US airlines have targeted August as the date they expect to resume flying on the 737 MAX. Felix Dorfin was arrested in September carrying a suitcase filled with about three kilograms of drugs, including ecstasy and amphetamines Indonesia on Monday sentenced a French drug smuggler to death by firing squad, in a shock verdict after prosecutors had asked for a long prison term. The three-judge panel in Lombok handed a capital sentence to Felix Dorfin, 35, who was arrested in September at the airport on the holiday island next to Bali, where foreigners are routinely charged with drugs offences. Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws -- including death for some traffickers. It has executed foreigners in the past, including the masterminds of Australia's Bali Nine heroin gang. While Dorfin was eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors instead asked for a 20-year jail term plus another year unless he paid a huge fine equivalent to about $700,000. But Indonesian courts have been known to issue harsher-than-demanded punishments. Dorfin was carrying a suitcase filled with about three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of drugs including ecstasy and amphetamines when he was arrested. "After finding Felix Dorfin legally and convincingly guilty of importing narcotics ... (he) is sentenced to the death penalty," presiding judge Isnurul Syamsul Arif told the court. The judge cited Dorfin's involvement in an international drug syndicate and the amount of drugs in his possession as aggravating factors. "The defendant's actions could potentially do damage to the younger generation," Arif added. - 'Shocked' - The Frenchman made headlines in January when he escaped from a police detention centre and spent nearly two weeks on the run before he was captured. A female police officer was arrested for allegedly helping Dorfin escape from jail in exchange for money. It was not clear if the jailbreak played any role in Monday's stiffer-than-expected sentence. Wearing a red prison vest, Dorfin, who is from Bethune in northern France, sat impassively through much of the hearing, as a translator scribbled notes beside him. After the sentencing, he said little as he walked past reporters to a holding cell. "Dorfin was shocked," the Frenchman's lawyer Deny Nur Indra told AFP. "He didn't expect this at all because prosecutors only asked for 20 years." The lawyer said he would appeal against the sentence, describing his client as a "victim" who did not know the exact contents of what he was carrying in the suitcase. "If he had known, he wouldn't have brought it here," Indra added. In Paris, the French foreign ministry said it was "concerned" by the sentence and reiterated France's opposition to the death penalty. "We will remain attentive to his situation," the statement said, adding that seven French people faced the death penalty worldwide. In 2015, Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran -- the accused ringleaders of the Bali Nine -- were executed by firing squad in Indonesia. The Bali Nine gang's only female member was released from jail last year, while some others remain in prison. The highly publicised case sparked diplomatic outrage and a call to abolish the death penalty. "The death penalty verdict marks another setback for human rights in Indonesia," Human Rights Watch campaigner Andreas Harsono said Monday. "The Indonesian government's many pledges about moving toward abolishing the death penalty clearly meant nothing in Lombok". There are scores of foreigners on death row in Indonesia, including cocaine-smuggling British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford and Serge Atlaoui, a Frenchman who has been on death row since 2007. Last year, eight Taiwanese drug smugglers were sentenced to death by an Indonesian court after being caught with around a tonne of crystal methamphetamine. Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO, says the Palestinian leadership was not consulted on a US-led Middle East economic conference next month in Bahrain The Palestinian leadership said Monday it was not consulted over an economic conference next month in support of Washington's Middle East peace plan and a prominent businessman said he had rejected an invitation. The White House announced Sunday it would co-host the June 25-26 conference with Bahrain focusing on economic aspects of the long-delayed peace plan, with the declared aim of achieving Palestinian prosperity. "We were not consulted by any party on the announced meeting to take place in Manama, Bahrain," Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement. "We have not mandated any party to negotiate on our behalf." The Palestinians have boycotted the US administration since President Donald Trump broke with decades of consensus and recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017. They consider the eastern part of the city the capital of their future state and have shown little interest in the US peace plan, which they fear will be heavily biased in favour of Israel. The Trump administration is expected to unveil the long-awaited plan possibly as early as next month. Washington has yet to commit to an exact timetable on political aspects of the plan. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is the chief architect of the proposals. Sunday's joint statement from the US and Bahrain called the event a "pivotal opportunity... to share ideas, discuss strategies and galvanise support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by a peace agreement". The Palestinians see this as offering financial rewards in exchange for accepting ongoing Israeli occupation. "Attempts at promoting an economic normalisation of the Israeli occupation of Palestine will be rejected," Erekat said. "This is not about improving living conditions under occupation but about reaching Palestine's full potential by ending the Israeli occupation." Bashar al-Masri, one of the most prominent Palestinian businessmen who worked with international investors and Israel to build the new $1.4-billion Palestinian city of Rawabi, announced he had rejected an invitation to the conference. "The idea of economic peace is an old one which is now packaged in a different way. As our people have rejected it previously, we reject it now," he said on his Facebook page. "We will not work with any event outside the Palestinian national consensus." The US peace plan is expected to feature proposals for regional economic development that would include Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. The Bahrain conference could see large-scale investment pledges for the Palestinian territories. But it is unlikely to focus heavily on the political issues at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Jerusalem, the fate of Palestinian refugees and Israeli settlements. Turkish-built armoured vehicles unloaded at Tripoli port Despite a UN embargo, weapons are still flowing into Libya where an assault on the capital by strongman Khalifa Haftar threatens to escalate into a proxy war between regional powers. Haftar, whose self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) is allied with an administration in eastern Libya, is supported especially by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On the other side, Turkey and Qatar back the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) which is recognised by the international community. Haftar on April 4 launched an attack on the capital that has ground to a halt on the southern outskirts of Tripoli in the face of GNA forces backed by militias from western Libya. Both sides have called in reinforcements as fresh weaponry arrives despite a UN arms embargo officially still in place since a 2011 revolt that toppled Libya's longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi. The GNA boasted on Saturday of new "armour, ammunition and... weapons" for its fighters. It did not specify the source but posted photographs on its Facebook page of dozens of Turkish BMC Kirpi armoured vehicles at Tripoli port. The Moldova-flagged vessel which made the delivery belongs to a Turkish firm and set sail from a port in Turkey, according to navigation websites. Map of Libya showing areas of displacement since clashes started on April 4. Arnaud Delalande, a defence consultant and specialist on Libya, interpreted the delivery as an apparent open show of support for the GNA. In a swift response, pro-Haftar websites on Sunday posted photos and videos of Jordanian-built armoured cars they said were being supplied to the LNA. Such deliveries "show that neither party plans to give in and that it is headed more towards a war of attrition", said Delalande. A military source in eastern Libya, contacted by AFP, declined to confirm or deny the delivery of Jordanian armour but said "there is no halt to the flow of reinforcements" to the front line. - Roughly even in air war - On the GNA side, Turkish support "will help narrow the gap in weaponry between the two sides", said Wolfram Lacher of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin. He said: "The large number of UAE-made armoured vehicles had helped Haftar's forces in suburban areas, and they could now lose that advantage." However, "the risk is that such overt support (from Turkey) will prompt Haftar's backers to step up their assistance, and perhaps to intervene even more directly." For Lacher, "this war is now turning into a proxy war between rival Middle Eastern powers". "The more both sides receive arms and ammunition from their foreign backers, the longer the war will last, the more destructive it will be, and the more difficult it will be to resolve," he said. The more than six-week-old battle for Tripoli has already cost over 450 lives and left 2,000 injured and displaced almost 70,000 residents, according to UN agencies. Both sides have ignored international calls for a ceasefire and dialogue. The front lines are largely frozen, although "the balance of power on the ground is in favour of the pro-GNA forces but not decisively", said Delalande. Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an attack on Tripoli in early April In the air battle, the rival forces are roughly even with around 15 fighter-bombers on each side, he said. But increased air support from the UAE, especially through the Chinese-built Wing Loong drones deployed in eastern Libya since 2016, could swing the balance of power in Haftar's favour, he said. According to a report seen by AFP, UN experts are probing the UAE's possible military involvement in Libya following Blue Arrow missile strikes in April by Chinese-built drones of the type used by the Emirati military. The UN's group of experts on the country noted in a September report an increase in the number of armoured vehicles being supplied to the LNA as well as mortars and rocket launchers. Libyan analyst Jalal al-Fitouri said "secret or public imports of arms have been going on for years" but have now been stepped up by both sides. A Palestinian official and lawyer have been charged with shooting at Israel vehicles in the occupied West Bank, including a bus on the way to the settlement of Psagot, pictured here on June 27, 2017 Israel has charged a Palestinian Authority official and a prominent Palestinian lawyer over shooting attacks on Israeli vehicles in the occupied West Bank, authorities said Monday. Zakaria Zubeidi and Tareq Barghout were accused of carrying out the shootings between November 2016 and January 2019, said Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency. It said in a statement that the pair used Zubeidi's official PA vehicle for transportation in the Ramallah area in the shootings, which left three people slightly wounded. The statement said that in November 2018 and January 2019 they fired at Israeli buses travelling near the Jewish settlement of Beit El. In December, it added, the two men fired at a bus on its way to Psagot settlement but missed. Shin Bet also said that Barghout confessed to shooting and damaging a police vehicle at a crossing point between the West Bank and east Jerusalem in November 2016. Zubeidi, a former head of a militant group who later became an official with the PA commission for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, was arrested by security forces in February. "He will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law, including for previous activity, and will be tried for all of the various terrorist attacks in which he has been involved," Shin Bet said. Detained with him was Barghout, described in Monday's statement as a Ramallah-based lawyer who represented Palestinians jailed by Israel for security-related offences. The statement said he had also been employed as a lawyer with the prisoners' commission. It said indictments had been filed against both by military prosecutors in connection with the shootings. Zubeidi, from the Jenin Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank, was formerly head of the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades militant group. In 2007 he pledged to disarm in returning for Israel's agreement to remove him from its list of wanted militants. Algerian protesters have continued to hold mass rallies demanding the departure of Bouteflika-era officials Algeria's army chief on Monday urged demonstrators to accept presidential polls set for July 4 to elect a successor to ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Protest leaders say the North African country's existing institutions -- and personalities -- are too tarnished by corruption to guarantee a legitimate vote, but the military has insisted the election go ahead as required by the constitution. "Holding a presidential election could help (Algeria) avoid falling into the trap of a constitutional void, with its accompanying dangers and unwelcome consequences," General Ahmed Gaid Salah said in a speech, the text of which was seen by AFP. Emphasising "the need to accelerate the establishment of an independent body to organise and oversee the elections", he said holding the poll would "stop those who are trying to prolong this crisis". Massive street protests broke out in February after Bouteflika announced his intention to seek a fifth term, extending his two decades in power. As pressure mounted and even longtime loyalists -- including Gaid Salah -- called for his departure, Bouteflika quit in early April. But demonstrators have continued to rally in Algiers and across the country, demanding that transitional bodies be set up ahead of any election. They also want the departure of figures close to Bouteflika including interim president Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. The army, a key powerbroker, has insisted the July 4 poll must go ahead and any change to the constitution would be up to a future president. COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - The first black woman to serve as American University's student government president is seeking more than $1.5 million in court-ordered damages against a neo-Nazi website operator who orchestrated an online harassment campaign against her. In a court filing Monday, Taylor Dumpson's attorneys asked a federal judge in Washington for a default judgment against The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and a follower accused of racially harassing Dumpson on Twitter. Dumpson sued Anglin and the internet troll last April, but neither responded. Dumpson seeks a total of more than $1.8 million in damages, fees and costs, including $1.5 million in punitive damages against Anglin and his company, Moonbase Holdings LLC. Anglin didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Dumpson's request. Anglin's website takes its name from Der Sturmer, a newspaper that published Nazi propaganda in Nazi-era Germany, and includes sections called "Jewish Problem" and "Race War." For months, the site struggled to stay online after Anglin published a post mocking the woman killed by a man who plowed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Anglin also faces possible default judgments in two separate lawsuits filed by other targets of his online trolling campaigns, a Muslim-American radio host and a Jewish real estate agent in Montana. In this Thursday, May 4, 2017 photo, American University student government president Taylor Dumpson speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Dumpson is seeking more than $1.5 million in court-ordered damages against a neo-Nazi website operator who orchestrated an online harassment campaign against her. In a court filing Monday, April 29, 2019, Dumpson's attorneys asked a federal judge in Washington for a default judgment against The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and a follower who racially harassed Dumpson on Twitter. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) In February, attorneys for SiriusXM Radio show host Dean Obeidallah asked a federal court in Ohio to award him more than $1 million in damages for his claims that Anglin falsely accused him of terrorism. Anglin hasn't responded to Obeidallah's suit, but he hired attorneys to defend him against a federal lawsuit that Tanya Gersh filed against him over a "troll storm" he unleashed against her family. A federal magistrate ruled Anglin must be present in the U.S. for a deposition by Gersh's attorneys from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Anglin says he lives abroad and claims it's too dangerous for him to travel to the U.S. In an order last week, the magistrate warned Anglin that he faces a default judgment against him if he fails to appear for a deposition. Anglin did not show up at his scheduled deposition at a New York City law office Tuesday morning, prompting the U.S. magistrate judge hearing the case to rule that Anglin is in default. "It is the first step," said Gersh's attorney, David Dinielli of the Southern Poverty Law Center. "The court still will have to determine the amount of compensatory and punitive damages." Anglin's attorneys asked the court to be allowed to drop him as a client after he didn't appear to testify. In December, Dumpson reached a settlement with a third person she sued, Oregon resident Evan James McCarty. He posted on Twitter under the pseudonym "Byron de la Vandal," an apparent reference to Byron De La Beckwith, who assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963. The settlement agreement required McCarty to get "anti-hate training," apologize in writing and on video and publicly renounce white supremacy. Anglin and the other remaining defendant, Brian Andrew Ade, weren't involved in the settlement. A day after Dumpson's May 2017 inauguration as student government president, someone hung bananas with hateful messages from nooses on the university's campus. Authorities investigated but didn't identify any suspects. Anglin posted an article about the incident, including links to Dumpson's Facebook page and the American University Student Government's Twitter page. "In the article, Anglin targeted Ms. Dumpson using racist language and directed his followers to 'troll storm' Ms. Dumpson by harassing her via social media," her lawyers wrote in Monday's filing. Dumpson says Anglin's article led to a barrage of threatening and harassing messages that caused her severe mental and physical trauma and left her fearing for her safety. "Some days she was unable to carry on a conversation without having an anxiety attack, get out of bed and eat a proper meal, or do anything other than stare at the ceiling," her attorney wrote. Dumpson, now a law school student, is represented by attorneys from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Her suit accuses the defendants of violating the District of Columbia Human Rights Act of 1977 and the D.C. Bias-Related Crimes Act of 1989. Her lawyers are asking the court to award $124,022 in attorneys' fees and costs. They're also seeking $100,000 in punitive damages against Ade and $101,429 in compensatory damages against Ade, Anglin and his company. Kristen Clarke, the Washington-based civil rights group's president and executive director, said these judgments can serve as a deterrent and send a message to other white supremacists that they will be held accountable for their actions. "We see no reason to tread lightly here," Clarke said Tuesday. "We have a client who suffered immensely due to the defendant's conduct." WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration quickly declared enthusiastic support Tuesday for the Venezuelan opposition effort to spark a military uprising against embattled President Nicolas Maduro, hoping for decisive action in the political crisis that has engulfed the South American nation. Late in the day, President Donald Trump threatened a "full and complete embargo" and sanctions on Cuba if its troops do not cease operations in Venezuela. National security adviser John Bolton alleged earlier that Cuban troops were keeping Maduro in power in Caracas. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump's threat with a tweet of his own. "We vigorously reject Trump's threat of a complete and total blockade against Cuba. There are no Cuban military operations or troops in Venezuela ... Enough lies, already." Trump and senior foreign policy figures in his administration all weighed in during the day, casting the effort headed by opposition leaders Juan Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez as a move to restore democracy, not an attempted coup like the short-lived effort to oust then-President Hugo Chavez in 2002 that seemed to have U.S. support. "We are with you!" Vice President Mike Pence tweeted to the opposition. Pence, who has had a lead role in the administration's effort to persuade Maduro to give up power, told the opposition group, "America will stand with you until freedom & democracy are restored." Likewise Trump himself tweeted that he was monitoring the situation and "the United States stands with the people of Venezuela and their Freedom!" National security adviser John Bolton speaks about Venezuela outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Lopez, the country's most prominent opposition activist, had been under house arrest, and his sudden appearance would seem to have required the cooperation of troops who guard him. However, late Tuesday, he sought refuge with his family in the Chilean Embassy in Caracas, a discouraging sign for supporters of the uprising. Bolton said it was a "very delicate moment" for Venezuela. "If this effort fails, they will sink into a dictatorship from which there are very few possible alternatives," he said at the White House. The wholehearted embrace of the rebellion reflects the goals of an administration that from its earliest days has sought the removal of Maduro. But it was also an unusually full-throated endorsement by any government for a mass protest that was turning violent. "It's more than cheerleading. They are very actively collaborating," said Mark Weisbrot, who is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington and has called for a negotiated end to the political crisis. The U.S. and about 50 other nations take the position that Maduro's re-election last year was irrevocably marred by fraud and he is not the legitimate president of Venezuela, a once prosperous nation that has the world's largest proven oil reserves. In January, the administration took the unusual step of recognizing Guaido, the opposition leader of the National Assembly, as interim president. It also imposed punishing sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, deepening the country's economic crisis. Despite these and other measures, Maduro, the hand-picked successor to Chavez, has retained his hold on the country and the support of the security services. That support had seemed to crack Tuesday with the launch of what the opposition was calling "Operation Freedom," which began with the early-morning release of a short video of Guaido and Lopez alongside a few dozen national guardsmen urging people to "take to the streets." "What we are seeing today in Venezuela is the will of the people to peacefully change the course of their country from one of despair to one of freedom and democracy," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted in an early reaction. "The U.S. stands with them." Pompeo said in media interviews and in a speech Tuesday that Maduro was on the verge of flying out of the country before the Russians persuaded him to stay. Pompeo provided no evidence for the assertion, which Maduro himself ridiculed. "Mr. Pompeo, what lack of seriousness," Maduro said. The Trump administration was caught slightly off-guard by Guaido's decision to launch the campaign on Tuesday. Elliott Abrams, the special representative for Venezuela, said the administration had expected major marches and protests to take place on Wednesday for the May Day holiday. At some point after that, Abrams said, U.S. officials had been led to believe that the chief judge of Venezuela's Supreme Court, the defense minister and the chief of the presidential guard would declare their support for the constitution and, by extension, renounce Maduro's leadership. Abrams said U.S. officials believed such a step would galvanize public support for Guaido. "What was going to happen, we were told, was that they would announce their support for the constitution," he told reporters at the State Department. That did not occur and Abrams said "the situation on the ground remains confused." Nonetheless, Abrams said he had been in contact with Guaido by text message at midafternoon and the opposition leader seemed "buoyant and determined." Bolton said a peaceful transfer of power from Maduro to Guaido could still occur if "enough figures depart from the regime and support the opposition." He and others in the administration also called on Cuba and Russia to withdraw support. The U.S. has said about 20,000 Cubans provide security assistance to the Maduro government. Cuba denies that and says most of those people are medical workers. The U.S. has been embarrassed by acting too soon in the past. In April 2002, a businessman who had repeated meetings with American officials staged a coup against Chavez. While other countries in the hemisphere denounced the move, the administration of then President George W. Bush acknowledged the new government. It had to backtrack as the rebellion fizzled. Trump administration officials sought to draw a distinction between the two situations. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, at a conference in California, said the U.S. considers Guaido, not Maduro, the legitimate leader of the country under the Venezuelan constitution. "Importantly, we do not consider it a coup," he said. Still, Abrams sounded uncertain as to how Guaido's bid would end and appeared to set the stage for his possible defeat. "We know this: At the end of the day, Juan Guaido will still be the legitimate interim president of Venezuela, the United States will still be supporting him," he said. "The Maduro regime, while it exists, will still be illegitimate and completely incapable of solving the problems of the Venezuelan people." National security adviser John Bolton walks into the White House after speaking with reporters about the situation in Venezuela, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Vice President Mike Pence speaks to the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, Friday, April 26, 2019, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) An injured man is aided by fellow anti-government protesters during clashes with security forces loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, during an attempted military uprising in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez took to the streets with a small contingent of armed troops early Tuesday in a call for the military to rise up and oust Maduro. (AP Photo/Boris Vergara) OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Crews evacuated people from some buildings and cars Tuesday afternoon after a flood barrier failed along the Mississippi River, sending floodwaters rushing into downtown Davenport, Iowa. The National Weather Service sent an alert around 4 p.m. of a flash flood emergency in Davenport, urging people downtown to immediately seek higher ground. Public works officials reported that a temporary flood barrier had failed and that many people sought shelter on the rooftops of downtown buildings. "It was just the one barrier, so we're not expecting the flooding to spread beyond what we're seeing now," Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason said. "That could change with heavy rain." Gleason said crews and volunteers scrambled Tuesday afternoon to fill sandbags for other downtown businesses looking to keep the floodwaters out of their buildings. The breach hit as communities in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri prepare for record or near-record crests along the river. The National Weather Service already issued flood warnings for areas directly on either side of the river in 10 states, "all the way to the Gulf of Mexico," said meteorologist Mike McClure in Davenport. The floodwaters had overtaken vehicles and the first floors of some buildings on the river's edge, and rescue crews could be seen launching boats into the floodwaters to retrieve people stranded by the sudden surge. Davenport firefighters search the area after the floodwall failed at River Drive and Pershing Avenue sending Mississippi River floodwater into several blocks of downtown Davenport, Iowa Tuesday, April 30, 2019. (Kevin E. Schmidt/Quad City Times via AP) Mayor Frank Klipsch said there were no reports of injuries. He asked that people stay away from downtown while officials work to evacuate the area. "This is a couple blocks of one part of our city. It's fortunately a relatively small area being flooded," Klipsch said. In Iowa, some cities on the river's banks - including Davenport and Muscatine - had already closed some low-lying streets and erected flood walls and sandbag barriers. Flood watches have been issued for larger tracts around in the river in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, as well as sections of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, as heavy rain that began in some places Monday was set to continue into Wednesday. The rain comes as the Mississippi River is set to reach record or near-record crests in Iowa, Illinois and northern Missouri. In suburban St. Louis, the river is expected to reach 9 to 10 feet (2.74 to 3.05 meters) above flood stage Saturday at several locations in northeast Missouri and at Quincy, Illinois. With up to 4 inches of rain possible in the region through Friday, the weather service cites a high risk of flash flooding and warns that river forecasts could rise even higher. If the river reaches the projected 24.2 feet in Louisiana, a town of 3,300 residents some 90 miles (144.83 kilometers) north of St. Louis, roads and highways will be covered, railroad tracks will be swamped, and the Champ Clark Bridge crossing the river will have to close, Pike County, Missouri, Emergency Management Director Al Murry said. Water that high also could threaten levees that protect thousands of acres of farmland. "The potential for cropland damage if you have a levee burst - that's a really big deal," Murry said. At 5 p.m., the Mississippi River at Davenport was recorded at 21.88 feet - the fifth highest for the spot ever recorded, according the National Weather Service. That's approaching the record crest of 22.6 feet (6.9 meters) set in July 1993. The river's expected to crest Wednesday evening a few inches short of the record. The gauge in nearby Muscatine showed the river just under 3 feet (1 meter) below the July 1993 record of 25.6 feet (7.8 meters). It's expected to crest a little more than a foot under the record at Muscatine, where officials have placed new berms and are diverting downtown traffic. ___ Associated Press writer Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report. Davenport firefighters move building to building checking for people trapped after the floodwall failed at River Drive and Pershing Avenue sending Mississippi River floodwater into several blocks of downtown Davenport, Iowa Tuesday, April 30, 2019. (Kevin E. Schmidt/Quad City Times via AP) CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A man armed with a pistol opened fire on students at a North Carolina university during the last day of classes Tuesday, killing two people and wounding four, police said. Officers who had gathered ahead of a campus concert raced over and disarmed the suspect. The shooting prompted a lockdown at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and caused widespread panic across campus as students scrambled to take shelter. "Just loud bangs. A couple loud bangs and then we just saw everyone run out of the building, like nervous, like a scared run like they were looking behind," said Antonio Rodriguez, 24, who was visiting campus for his friend's art show. Campus Police Chief Jeff Baker said authorities received a call in the late afternoon that a suspect armed with a pistol had shot several students. He said officers assembling nearby for a concert rushed to the classroom building and arrested the gunman in the room where the shooting took place. "Our officers' actions definitely saved lives," Baker said at a news conference. He said two people were killed, and three remained in critical condition late Tuesday. He said a fourth person's injuries were less serious. Students were among the victims, but officials would not say how many. A University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus police officer carries a tactical shield after a shooting Tuesday afternoon, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. The shooting on the campus left at least a few people dead and several wounded Tuesday, prompting a lockdown and chaotic scene in the state's largest city. (John Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department identified the suspect as Trystan Andrew Terrell, 22. They said he's in custody with charges pending. Monifa Drayton, an adjunct professor, was walking onto campus when she heard the shots. She said she directed students fleeing the scene to take cover inside a parking deck. "I heard one final gunshot and I saw all the children running toward me," she said. "We started to get all the children pulled into the second floor of the parking deck and the rationale was if we're in the parking deck and there's a shooter and we don't know where he is, he won't have a clear shot." She added: "My thought was, I've lived my life, I've had a really good life, so, these students deserve the same. And so, whatever I could do to help any child to safety, that's what I was going to do." The suspect's grandfather Paul Rold of Arlington, Texas, said that Terrell and his father moved to Charlotte from the Dallas area about two years ago after his mother died. Terrell taught himself French and Portuguese with the help of a language learning program his grandfather bought him and was attending UNC-Charlotte, Rold said. But Terrell never showed any interest in guns or other weapons and the news he may have been involved in a mass shooting was stunning, said Rold, who had not heard about the Charlotte attack before being contacted by an Associated Press reporter. "You're describing someone foreign to me," Rold said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. "This is not in his DNA." Shortly after UNC Charlotte issued a campus lockdown, aerial shots from local television news outlets showed police officers running toward a building, while another view showed students running on a campus sidewalk. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department later said that the campus had been secured and that officers were going through buildings to let people who were hiding know that it was safe to come out. The university has more than 26,500 students and 3,000 faculty and staff. The campus is northeast of the city center and is surrounded by residential areas. Spenser Gray, a junior, said she was watching another student's presentation in a nearby campus building when the alert about the shooting popped up on everyone's computer screens. She said she panicked: "We had no idea where he was ... so we were just expecting them at any moment coming into the classroom." Susan Harden, an UNCC professor and Mecklenburg County Commissioner, was at home when she heard of the shooting. She went to a staging area, she said, to provide support. Harden said she has taught inside the Kennedy building, where the shootings occurred. "It breaks my heart. We're torn up about what's happened," Harden said. "Students should be able to learn in peace and in safety and professors ought to be able to do their jobs in safety." Gov. Roy Cooper said at a briefing late Tuesday that a "hard look" was needed into how the shooting happened and how to keep guns off campus and out of schools. "A student should not have to fear for his or her life when they are on our campuses," the Democrat said. "Parents should not have to worry about their students when they send them off to school. And I know that this violence has to stop. ... In the coming days we will take a hard look at all of this to see what we need to do going forward." ___ Associated Press writers Martha Waggoner and Emery Dalesio in Raleigh contributed to this report. ___ This story has been amended to correct the spelling of Monifa Drayton's first name. Students gather on the campus of the University of North Carolina Charlotte after a shooting Tuesday afternoon, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (John Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) UNC Charlotte Police & Public Safety Chief Jeff Baker speaks to the media in the aftermath of the fatal shooting on the campus, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (David T. Foster III/The Charlotte Observer via AP) People gather across from the campus of UNC Charlotte after a fatal shooting at the school, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) Police secure the main entrance to UNC Charlotte after a fatal shooting at the school, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) People gather across from the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte after a shooting at the school Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. The school shooting left at least a few people dead and several wounded Tuesday, prompting a lockdown and chaotic scene in the state's largest city. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) People gather across from the campus of UNC Charlotte after a shooting incident at the school Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) People gather across from the campus of UNC Charlotte after a shooting incident at the school Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) People gather across from the campus of UNC Charlotte after a shooting incident at the school Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) People gather across from the campus of UNC Charlotte after a shooting incident at the school Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) People gather across from the campus of UNC Charlotte after a shooting incident at the school Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) Emergency vehicles cluster on Mary Alexander Road on the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte after a shooting Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. The shooting on the campus left at least a few people dead and several wounded Tuesday, prompting a lockdown and chaotic scene in the state's largest city. (John Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) Police secure the main entrance to UNC Charlotte after a shooting at the school that left at least two people dead, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jason E. Miczek) UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip DuBois answers questions as Gov. Roy Cooper, background, listens during a news conference in the aftermath of a deadly shooting on the campus, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (David T. Foster III/The Charlotte Observer via AP) LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday that a Spanish museum that acquired a priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work's rightful owner, and not the survivors of the Jewish woman who surrendered it 80 years ago to escape the Holocaust. Although U.S. District Judge John F. Walter criticized Baron Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, the German industrialist whose name now graces the Madrid museum where the painting by Camille Pissarro hangs, for not doing all of the due diligence he could have when he acquired it in 1976, he found no evidence the museum knew it was looted art when it took possession in 1993. Under Spanish law, he ruled, the painting is legally the museum's, although he also criticized Spain, calling its decision to keep it "inconsistent" with international agreements that it and other countries have signed "based upon the moral principle that art and cultural property confiscated by the Nazis from Holocaust (Shoah) victims should be returned to them or their heirs." The museum's U.S. attorney, Thaddeus Stauber, said he believes the decision finally puts an end to a bitter legal fight that has pitted the family of Lilly Cassirer against the museum for 20 years. "I think it puts an end to it because the court conducted, and we conducted, what the appellate court asked us to, which was a full trial on the merits," he told The Associated Press. "As a lawyer who has been involved in this case for 14 years, I'm pleased that the court did conduct a full trial. We now have a decision on the lawful owner and that should put an end to it." Walter, who has seen the case returned to court twice by appeals and conducted the trial Stauber mentioned last December, indicated in his 34-page ruling that another appeal still could be possible. A lawyer for Lilly Cassirer's great-grandson, David Cassirer of San Diego, didn't say whether the family plans to appeal. FILE - This May 12, 2005 file photo shows an unidentified visitor viewing the Impressionist painting called "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie" painted in 1897 by Camille Pissarro, on display in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday, April 30, 2019 that the museum that acquired the priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work's rightful owner, and not the survivors of the Jewish woman who surrendered it 80 years ago to escape the Holocaust. Under Spanish law, he ruled, the painting is legally the museum's, although he also criticized Spain, calling its decision to keep it "inconsistent" with international agreements. The museum's U.S. attorney, Thaddeus Stauber, said he believes the decision finally puts an end to a bitter legal fight that has pitted the family of Lilly Cassirer against the museum for 20 years. (AP Photo/Mariana Eliano, File) "We respectfully disagree that the court cannot force the Kingdom of Spain to comply with its moral commitments," attorney Steve Zack said. The painting at issue, Pissarro's "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," is a stunning oil-on-canvas work depicting a rainy Paris street scene the artist observed from his window in 1897. It was purchased directly from Pissarro's art dealer in 1900 by the father-in-law of Lilly Cassirer, who eventually inherited it and displayed it in her home for years. When she and her family fled the Holocaust in 1939 she traded it for passage out of the country. For years the family thought it was lost, and the German government paid her $13,000 in reparations in 1958. Then in 1999 a friend of her grandson, Claude, who had seen photos of the painting, discovered it was in the Thyssen-Bornemisza. It had been hanging there since shortly after a nonprofit foundation funded by Spain bought the baron's entire collection for $350 million and named the museum for him. The painting had been sold and resold after Cassirer and her family fled Germany. The baron, a German industrialist who settled later in Spain, bought it from a U.S. dealer for $300,000 in 1976. The baron never hid the painting, putting it on exhibition often. "The court finds that there were sufficient suspicious circumstances or 'red flags' which should have prompted the baron to conduct additional inquires as to the seller's title," the judge said. Still, despite missing and torn provenance labels, the judge concluded that the baron and the museum foundation did not know the work was looted, and under Spanish law that allows the museum to keep it. FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2018 file photo, David Cassirer, right, and attorney David Boies talk about their federal court lawsuit to get back a classic painting, taken from Cassirer's great-grandmother, outside federal court in Los Angeles. Lilly Cassirer was a Jewish woman who surrendered her priceless Camille Pissarro painting "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," to escape the Holocaust. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday, April 30, 2019 that the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid that acquired the priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work's rightful owner. (AP Photo/John Rogers, File) HONOLULU (AP) - A 28-year-old man who moved to Hawaii two weeks ago from New Mexico was the pilot who died along with two passengers when a tour helicopter crashed on a street in a Honolulu suburb, his father said Tuesday. Joseph Berridge, who moved from Albuquerque to Honolulu, was the pilot of a four-seat Robinson R44 aircraft that crashed Monday morning on a residential two-lane road in Kailua, his father, Bobby Berridge, told The Associated Press from Garfield, New Mexico, where his son grew up on a 250-acre (101-hectare) farm. "It was always my son's dream to go to Hawaii and fly tours for a couple of years," Bobby Berridge said. His son's girlfriend and dog were preparing to join him. The pilot and one of two female passengers in a fatal Hawaii helicopter crash have been identified by Honolulu's Medical Examiner's office. The department said Tuesday that pilot Berridge and 28-year-old Ryan McAuliffe of Chicago were killed in the Monday crash on a residential street in Kailua, a Honolulu suburb. Officials also said that autopsies found all three people aboard the helicopter died of injuries from the crash. They said identification of the final passenger is pending. The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, which helps tourists, told Hawaii News Now one passenger was from Australia and another was visiting from the U.S. mainland. This 2018 photo provided by Bobby Berridge shows his son, Joseph Berridge, with a Robinson R44 helicopter in Albuquerque, N.M. Bobby Berridge says his son was the pilot who died when a Hawaii tour helicopter crashed on a residential street in Kailua, a suburb of Honolulu on Monday, April 29, 2019. He says his son moved to Hawaii two weeks ago to fulfill a dream of being a tour helicopter pilot. The Honolulu medical examiner's office hasn't released the names of the three aboard who died. (Bobby Berridge via AP) Bobby Berridge says his son's employer, Novictor Helicopters, contacted his son's girlfriend about the crash. CEO and chief pilot Nicole Vandelaar declined to confirm the pilot's name. "This accident is heartbreaking for everyone, especially the families and friends of the passengers and pilot, who was part of our Novictor family," Vandelaar said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of them." The cause of the crash has not been determined. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the crash site Tuesday. "I don't know what happened with the crash, but he was a great helicopter pilot and he knew what he was doing," Bobby Berridge said. "I'm not going to point fingers at this time." His son loved helicopters and also had an instructor's license. "I talked to him about three or four days ago. He was on the beach enjoying life," Bobby Berridge said. "He said, 'Who has it better than I do?'" __ This version corrects the spelling of Joseph Berridge's first name and Garfield, New Mexico. This 2018 photo provided by Bobby Berridge shows his son, Joseph Berridge, with his dog Lucious in Albuquerque. N.M. Bobby Berridge says his son was the pilot who died when a Hawaii tour helicopter crashed on a residential street in Kailua, a suburb of Honolulu on Monday, April 29, 2019. He says his son moved to Hawaii two weeks ago to fulfill a dream of being a tour helicopter pilot. The Honolulu medical examiner's office hasn't released the names of the three aboard who died. (Bobby Berridge via AP) COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - The Latest on lawsuits against a neo-Nazi website publisher (all times local): 8:25 p.m. A Montana judge has ruled that a neo-Nazi website publisher is in default for failing to show up for a deposition in a harassment lawsuit filed against him by a Jewish real estate broker. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch's order Tuesday against The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin comes in a civil case by Tanya Gersh that says Anglin told his followers in 2017 to unleash an anti-Semitic "troll storm" against her family. Anglin didn't appear as scheduled Tuesday morning in New York City to testify in the case. Gersh's attorneys say they now plan to ask for a default judgment, with compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by the court. After Anglin was a no-show, his own attorneys filed a request to drop him as a client. ____ 7:25 a.m. The first black woman to serve as American University's student government president is seeking more than $1.5 million in court-ordered damages against a neo-Nazi website operator who orchestrated an online harassment campaign against her. In a court filing Monday, Taylor Dumpson's attorneys asked a federal judge in Washington for a default judgment against The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and a follower who racially harassed Dumpson on Twitter. Dumpson sued Anglin and the internet troll last April, but neither responded. Dumpson seeks a total of more than $1.8 million in damages, including $1.5 million in punitive damages against Anglin and his company. Anglin already faces a default judgment in a separate lawsuit filed by a Muslim-American radio host. Anglin didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Dumpson's request. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Two physicians advanced Tuesday to a Republican runoff in the special election to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Walter Jones Jr. The last candidate standing from the 17-member GOP field ultimately will take on a former North Carolina mayor who won the Democratic primary. State Rep. Greg Murphy of Greenville and Joan Perry of Kinston were the top two vote-getters in the very crowded Republican primary for the 3rd Congressional District seat that Jones held for 24 years before his death in February at age 76 . Murphy, a urologic surgeon who joined the legislature in 2015, finished first but failed to climb above the 30% of the vote required to avoid a July 9 runoff. The second-place Perry, a pediatrician and former member of the state university system's governing board, will formally request a runoff as the law requires she do, campaign manager Blake Belch said Tuesday night. The runoff winner will take on ex-Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas, who won a six-candidate primary by receiving 50% of the votes cast. Richard "Otter" Bew, a retired Marine colonel who had served as a legislative aide to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, finished second. The general election, now set for Sept. 10, also will feature Libertarian and Constitution party nominees. That election winner will succeed Jones, who was considered a conservative maverick by some and a GOP backslider by others. A relentless advocate for campaign finance reform and controlling the national debt, Jones angered some Republicans by becoming a strong critic of the Iraq War after earlier fervently supporting the 2003 invasion. This never kept him from losing in his district, where voters also overwhelmingly backed Donald Trump for president in 2016. FILE - In this Oct. 25, 2017, file photo, U.S. Rep. Walter Jones Jr., R-N.C. poses for a portrait in his office on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Two physicians, State Rep. Greg Murphy of Greenville and Joan Perry of Kinston, advanced Tuesday, April 30, 2019, to a Republican runoff in the special election to succeed the late Rep. Jones. The last candidate standing from the 17-member GOP field ultimately will take on a former North Carolina mayor who won the Democratic primary. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) Twenty-six candidates in all filed to run in the eastern North Carolina district covering all or parts of 17 counties from the Virginia line and the Outer Banks to Camp Lejeune and Greenville. Murphy and Perry were among the top campaign fundraisers in the GOP field. The 3rd District race is one of two unusual North Carolina congressional races this year. The 9th District is having a do-over primary in May and general election as early as September, after last year's race was marred by allegations of absentee ballot tampering. Despite Trump carrying the 3rd District by 24 percentage points in November 2016, local Democrats are hopeful their nominee can win a special election with the right matchup or narrative. Finishing third in the GOP primary was state Rep. Phil Shepard of Jacksonville, followed by another state House member, Rep. Michael Speciale of New Bern, according to unofficial results. Phil Law, who lost to Jones in the 2016 and 2018 primaries, followed in fifth. Current New Bern Mayor Dana Outlaw finished third in the Democratic primary. Preliminary overall turnout was less than 15% of the 3rd District's registered voters who were qualified to cast ballots in the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian primaries early or on Tuesday, according to the State Board of Elections. HONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on a fatal Hawaii helicopter crash (all times local): 5:45 p.m. The pilot and one of two female passengers in a fatal Hawaii helicopter crash have been identified by Honolulu's Medical Examiner's office. The department said Tuesday that 28-year-old pilot Joseph G. Berridge and 28-year-old Ryan McAuliffe of Chicago were killed in the Monday crash on a residential street in Kailua, a Honolulu suburb. Officials also said that autopsies found all three people aboard the helicopter died of injuries from the crash. They said identification of the final passenger is pending. The department said in a statement that toxicology and other testing required by the Federal Aviation Administration may take weeks or months. A portion of the tail section of a helicopter is shown after crashing in Kailua, Hawaii, Monday, April 29, 2019. Fire and helicopter parts rained from the sky Monday in a suburban Honolulu community in a crash that killed three people aboard, officials and witnesses said. (Bruce Asato/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) The statement said the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are leading the investigation. ___ 2:30 p.m. The father of a 28-year-old pilot says his son was among three people killed in a Hawaii helicopter crash. Bobby Berridge said Tuesday his son Joseph Berridge moved to Honolulu two weeks ago from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He says it was his son's dream to live in Hawaii and pilot helicopter tours. Officials say all three people onboard the tour helicopter died Monday when it crashed on a residential street in Kailua, a Honolulu suburb. The Honolulu medical examiner's office hasn't released the names of those who died. Bobby Berridge says his son's employer, Novictor Helicopters, contacted his son's girlfriend about the crash. CEO and chief pilot Nicole Vandelaar declined to confirm the pilot's name. The cause of the crash has not been determined. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the crash site Tuesday. ROME (AP) - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has undergone laparoscopic surgery for an intestinal obstruction, raising questions about his campaign for European Parliament elections following a yearslong ban from public office. Berlusconi's office said the surgery Tuesday was successful and that the 82-year-old media mogul would be released from the hospital in the coming days. Previously, Berlusconi's office had said he was suffering from acute renal colic, pain often associated with kidney stones. He was hospitalized on the same day he was to present candidates of his Forza Italia party for European Parliament elections May 26. Berlusconi himself is running, the first time he has been allowed to run for public office following a ban imposed after a 2012 tax fraud conviction. Citing his good conduct, a court last year ruled that he could once again run. In a statement late Tuesday, Berlusconi's office said he had suffered abdominal pain the night of April 29, and that a scan had revealed a small blockage in the small intestine. Exploratory surgery identified the volvulus of ileum, a rare but serious cause of small bowel obstruction. Berlusconi's office said the adhesion stemmed from gallbladder surgery 40 years ago. The three-time premier has suffered heart problems in the past, including surgery in 2016 to repair a heart valve. He has said despite his age, he wanted to run for the European Parliament elections. It wasn't clear how the latest surgery would affect his campaign. Berlusconi made sure to release excerpts of the speech he had planned to deliver Tuesday. In them, he railed against the isolationist bent of the current populist government of the right-wing League and the 5-Star Movement. He warned that Italy couldn't confront African migration, Chinese "imperialistic design" and Islamic fundamentalism without European support. His once-dominant Forza Italia party trails in the polls behind the League, the 5-Stars and the opposition Democratic Party. Biden rejects Democrats' anger in call for national unity PHILADELPHIA (AP) - His party may be enraged by Donald Trump's presidency, but Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden insisted Saturday that Democrats will not defeat the Republican president if they pick an angry nominee. Facing thousands of voters in his native Pennsylvania for the second time as a 2020 contender, the former vice president offered a call for bipartisan unity that seemed far more aimed at a general election audience than the fiery Democratic activists most active in the presidential primary process. He acknowledged, however, that some believe Democrats should nominate a candidate who can tap into their party's anti-Trump anger. "That's what they are saying you have to do to win the Democratic nomination. Well, I don't believe it," Biden declared. "I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. That's what the party's always been about. That's what it's always been about. Unity." Biden's moderate message highlights his chief advantage and chief liability in the early days of the nascent presidential contest, which has so far been defined by fierce resistance to Trump on the left and equally aggressive vitriol on the right. Biden's centrist approach may help him win over independents, but it threatens to alienate liberals who favor a more aggressive approach in policy and personality to counter Trump's turbulent presidency. "I want aggressive change. I'm not hearing that from him yet," said 45-year-old Jennifer Moyer of Blandon, Pennsylvania, who attended Biden's rally and said she's 90% sold on his candidacy. "I don't want middle of the road." ___ US: Iran military could misidentify airliners amid tension DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the U.S., American diplomats warned Saturday, even as both Washington and Tehran say they don't seek war. The warning relayed by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration, though dismissed by Iran, underscored the risks the current tensions pose to a region critical to both global air travel and trade. Oil tankers allegedly have faced sabotage and Yemen rebel drones attacked a crucial Saudi oil pipeline over the last week. Meanwhile on Saturday, Iraqi officials said ExxonMobil Corp. began evacuating staff from Basra, and the island nation of Bahrain ordered its citizens out of Iraq and Iran over "the recent escalations and threats." However, U.S. officials have yet to publicly explain the threats they perceive coming from Iran, some two weeks after the White House ordered an aircraft carrier and B-52s bombers into the region. The U.S. also has ordered nonessential staff out of its diplomatic posts in Iraq. President Donald Trump since has sought to soften his tone on Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also stressed Saturday that Iran is "not seeking war," comments seemingly contradicted by the head of the Revolutionary Guard, who declared an ongoing "intelligence war" between the nations. ___ Female lawmakers speak about rapes as abortion bills advance COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - For more than two decades, Nancy Mace did not speak publicly about her rape. In April, when she finally broke her silence, she chose the most public of forums - before her colleagues in South Carolina's legislature. A bill was being debated that would ban all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected; Mace, a Republican lawmaker, wanted to add an exception for rape and incest. When some of her colleagues in the House dismissed her amendment - some women invent rapes to justify seeking an abortion, they claimed - she could not restrain herself. "For some of us who have been raped, it can take 25 years to get up the courage and talk about being a victim of rape," Mace said, gripping the lectern so hard she thought she might pull it up from the floor. "My mother and my best friend in high school were the only two people who knew." As one Republican legislature after another has pressed ahead with restrictive abortion bills in recent months, they have been confronted with raw and emotional testimony about the consequences of such laws. Female lawmakers and other women have stepped forward to tell searing, personal stories - in some cases speaking about attacks for the first time to anyone but a loved one or their closest friend. Mace is against abortion in most cases and supported the fetal heartbeat bill as long as it contained the exception for rape and incest. She said her decision to reveal an attack that has haunted her for so long was intended to help male lawmakers understand the experience of those victims. ___ Illinois not alerted to early clues in womb-cutting case CHICAGO (AP) - Police and Illinois' child welfare agency say staff at a Chicago-area hospital didn't alert them after determining that a bloodied woman who arrived with a gravely ill newborn had not just given birth to the baby boy, as she claimed. The woman, Clarisa Figueroa, was charged more than three weeks later with killing the baby's mother , Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, after police found her body outside Figueoa's home. Chicago police say she cut Ochoa-Lopez's baby out of her womb on April 23, then called 911 to report she had given birth to a baby who wasn't breathing. Paramedics took Figueroa and the baby to Advocate Christ Medical Center in suburban Oak Lawn. The baby remained hospitalized on life support on Saturday, according to authorities. Prosecutors say that when Figueroa was brought with the baby to the hospital, she had blood on her upper body and her face, which a hospital employee cleaned off. They also say Figueroa, 46, was examined at the hospital and showed no physical signs of childbirth. Advocate Christ Medical Center has declined to say whether or when it contacted authorities, citing state and federal regulations. Oak Lawn police said they were not contacted about Figueroa by the medical center or any other agency. ___ War of Will wins Preakness featuring riderless running horse BALTIMORE (AP) - Mark Casse completed a lifelong quest two weeks after the scare of a lifetime. And he did so in a race featuring a riderless horse that threw his jockey out of the gate and kept running. Since he was a child, Casse wanted to win a Triple Crown race, and the well-respected trainer got that victory when War of Will bounced back from a bumpy ride in the Kentucky Derby to win the Preakness on Saturday. Casse, 58, was more relieved than anything that his prized 3-year-old colt didn't go down in the Derby, which could've been a multihorse catastrophe, and could finally take a deep breath following the Preakness. "This is even I think probably more special given everything that we've been through," Casse said. "I'm not even calling it redemption. I didn't feel like he got his fair shot, and that's all I wanted - a fair shot. And he showed what he had today." War of Will was unfazed starting from the inside No. 1 post position for the second consecutive race, even though that contributed to his rough run at Churchill Downs. Rising star jockey Tyler Gaffalione guided the horse along the rail in the Preakness and made a move into the lead around the final curve, holding off hard-charging late addition Everfast, who was a nose ahead of Owendale for second. ___ Australia's conservative coalition wins surprise 3rd term CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia's ruling conservative coalition won a surprise victory in the country's general election on Saturday, defying opinion polls that had tipped the center-left opposition party to oust it from power and promising an end to the revolving door of national leaders. "I have always believed in miracles," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a jubilant Sydney crowd. He compared his Liberal Party's victory for a third three-year term to the births of his daughters, Abbey, 11, and Lily, 9, who were conceived naturally after 14 years of in vitro fertilization had failed. His wife, Jenny Morrison, suffered endometriosis. "I'm standing with the three biggest miracles in my life here tonight, and tonight we've been delivered another one," he said, embraced by his wife and daughters. Opposition leader Bill Shorten had earlier conceded defeat as the coalition came close to a majority in the 151-seat House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form a government. Vote counting was to continue on Sunday. ___ The Netherlands wins Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - The Netherlands won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv Saturday, with Duncan Laurence's doleful piano ballad "Arcade" crowned champion of Europe's annual music extravaganza. The 25-year-old was tapped as an early front-runner before the Grand Final but was only ranked third after the vote of professional juries from the 41 participating countries, trailing Sweden and North Macedonia. He surged ahead thanks to the fan vote, securing The Netherlands its fifth win ever in the competition. Italy finished second, followed by Russia, Switzerland and Norway. "This is to dreaming big. This is to music first, always," Laurence said, as he was handed the trophy from last year's winner, Israel's Netta Barzilai. Some 200 million people around the world were believed to have watched the annual campy contest with 26 nations battling in the Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision. Madonna was the star attraction, performing her hit staple, "Like a Prayer," marking 30 years since its release, and a new song "Future" from her forthcoming album "Madame X." She took the stage after participants wrapped up their performances shortly after midnight when the elaborate voting process got underway across Europe. ___ Tornadoes rake Southern Plains; more severe weather expected DALLAS (AP) - A spate of tornadoes raked across the Southern Plains, leaving damage and causing few injuries, and parts of the region were bracing for more severe thunderstorms and possible flooding. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 twister Saturday morning with winds up to 130 mph (209 kph) that destroyed at least two homes and left one person with minor injuries in southwestern Oklahoma. A suspected tornado caused roof damage to "numerous" homes in northwestern Arkansas, a state official said, and severe winds downed trees and power lines across a highway, blocking all lanes. Energy companies in Oklahoma and Arkansas reported tens of thousands of customers were without power Saturday afternoon. Tornadoes touched down Friday in Kansas and rural parts of Nebraska, tearing up trees and powerlines, and damaging some homes and farm buildings, according to the National Weather Service. ___ Sikhs say Nordstrom apologized for turban, waiting for Gucci PHOENIX (AP) - Nordstrom has apologized to Sikhs for selling a turban they found offensive, but a representative with the U.S. community's top civil rights organization said Saturday they are still waiting to hear from the Gucci brand that designed it. "We feel that companies are commodifying and capitalizing on something that is dear and sacred to people around the world," said Simran Jeet Singh, a senior fellow with the New York-based Sikh Coalition, who said the turban has a deep religious significance for the men of his faith. "And there is tension over the fact that the very article of our faith has been the focus of so much hate and violence and bullying," he said, recalling that Sikhs wearing turbans have been attacked in hate crimes, including a man killed near Phoenix a few days after 9/11. The current complaint springs from a Gucci head wrap that until Wednesday was advertised on Nordstrom's website for $790 as the "Indy Full Turban." The description said the "gorgeously crafted turban is ready to turn heads while keeping you in comfort as well as trademark style." The Nordstrom website on Saturday still had a reference to a Gucci "head wrap," but it was listed as sold out and it was no longer pictured. ___ Michigan GOP congressman says Trump conduct is 'impeachable' WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican congressman from Michigan on Saturday became the first member of President Donald Trump's party on Capitol Hill to accuse him of engaging in "impeachable conduct" stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's lengthy investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. But Rep. Justin Amash stopped short of calling on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, which many Democrats have been agitating for. Often a lone GOP voice in Congress, Amash sent a series of tweets Saturday faulting both Trump and Attorney General William Barr over Mueller's report. Mueller wrapped the investigation and submitted his report to Barr in late March. Barr then released a summary of Mueller's "principal conclusions" and released a redacted version of the report in April. Mueller found no criminal conspiracy between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, but left open the question of whether Trump acted in ways that were meant to obstruct the investigation. Barr later said there was insufficient evidence to bring obstruction charges against Trump. Trump, who has compared the investigation to a "witch hunt," claimed complete exoneration from Mueller's report. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - The Latest on Australia's general election (all times local): 11:05 a.m. President Donald Trump has spoken by phone with Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia to congratulate him on his conservative coalition's surprise election victory. According to the White House, the two leaders reaffirmed the "critical importance" of the long-standing alliance and friendship between the United States and Australia, and they pledged to continue their close cooperation on shared priorities. Morrison's Liberal Partly has defied pre-election polls to clinch a third term in office. But the tight race for the 151-seat House of Representatives raises the prospect of the coalition forming a minority government. ___ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to party supporters after his opponent concedes defeat in the federal election in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Australia's ruling conservative coalition, lead by Morrison, won a surprise victory in the country's general election, defying opinion polls that had tipped the center-left opposition party to oust it from power and promising an end to the revolving door of national leaders. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) 7:10 a.m. President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on his victory at the polls Saturday. Trump called the result a "great win!" Morrison has only led the government since last August, when Liberal Party colleagues lost confidence in his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull. Center-left Labor Party leader Bill Shorten had been favored to win Saturday's election and had campaigned heavily on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. ___ 2:10 a.m. Sunday A maverick Australian senator who blamed the slaughter of 51 worshippers in two New Zealand mosques on the country's immigration policies has lost his bid for election. Fraser Anning was the target of widespread condemnation for railing against Muslim immigration within hours of the mass shootings in the New Zealand city of Christchurch in March. He faced more criticism later for physically striking a teenage protester who cracked a raw egg on his head and was censured by the Senate. Anning was not expected to be elected on Saturday as a candidate for his own party. He attracted only 19 votes in the last election, when he ran for another party, but was appointed to the Senate last year to replace a senator who had been disqualified on constitutional grounds. ___ 12:30 a.m. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has welcomed his surprising election victory by saying he had never given up hope of staying in power. Addressing a jubilant crowd of supporters of his conservative coalition in Sydney, a beaming Morrison said, "I have always believed in miracles." Center-left Labor Party leader Bill Shorten had been favored to win Saturday's election and had campaigned heavily on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Morrison has only led the government since last August, when Liberal Party colleagues lost confidence in his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull. ___ 11:50 p.m. Saturday Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has conceded defeat to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the country's general election. Shorten made the announcement to supporters of his opposition Labor party late Saturday night in Melbourne. Shorten said, "It is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government and so, in the national interest, a short while ago, I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him." Late Saturday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. called 74 seats in the 151-seat lower parliamentary house as wins for Morrison's conservative Liberal-National party coalition, with 65 seats to Labor and 12 undecided. The Channel 9 network called 73 seats to the coalition, 61 to Labor, with 17 undecided. A total of 76 seats are needed to form a majority government. ___ 10:30 p.m. The vote count in Australia's general election is proving closer than opinion polls had predicted, with the ruling conservative coalition appearing more likely to form a government than the favored center-left opposition party. The Liberal Party-led coalition seemed on track to win at least 73 seats and the opposition Labor Party at least 65 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form a government. The close result from Saturday's election raises the prospect of the coalition forming a minority government. Pre-election opinion polls had suggested that the coalition would lose its bid for a third three-year term, and that Morrison would have had one of the shortest tenures as prime minister in the 118-year history of the Australian federation. ___ 8:25 p.m. Voting has ended in Australia's general election, with some senior opposition lawmakers confident they'll form a center-left government with a focus on slashing greenhouse gas emissions. Opinion polls suggest the conservative Liberal Party-led coalition will lose its bid for a third three-year term and Scott Morrison will have had one of the shortest tenures as prime minister in the 118-year history of the Australian federation. Morrison is the conservatives' third prime minister since they were first elected in 2013. He replaced Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership ballot of government colleagues in August. Opposition leader Bill Shorten said he expected that Labor would start governing from Sunday. He said his top priorities would be to increase wages for low-paid workers, hike pay rates for working Sundays and reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. ___ 6:20 p.m. Votes are being counted after Saturday's Australian election, with senior opposition lawmakers gaining confidence they will form a center-left government with a focus on slashing greenhouse gas emissions. A Galaxy exit poll found that the opposition Labor Party could win as many as 82 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives, where parties need a majority to form government. Polling booths in Australia's eastern states, where most of the 25 million population lives, closed at 6 p.m. Polls close on the west coast two hours later. Opinion polls suggest the conservative Liberal Party-led coalition will lose its bid for a third three-year term and Scott Morrison will have had one of the shortest tenures as prime minister in the 118-year history of the Australian federation. Opposition leader Bill Shorten had said Saturday morning he was confident Labor would win, but Morrison would not be drawn on a prediction. ___ 8 a.m. Polling stations have opened in eastern Australia in elections that are likely to deliver the nation's sixth prime minister in as many years. Opinion polls suggest the conservative Liberal Party-led coalition will lose its bid for a third three-year term at the election on Saturday and Scott Morrison will have had one of the shortest tenures as prime minister in the 118-year history of the Australian federation. Morrison is the conservatives' third prime minister since they were first elected in 2013. He replaced Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership ballot of government colleagues in August. The center-left Labor Party opposition under its leader Bill Shorten has been campaigning hard on more ambitious targets to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, second left, arrives on stage to speak to party supporters flanked by his wife, Jenny, left, and daughters Lily, and Abbey, right, after his opponent concedes in the federal election in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Australia's ruling conservative coalition, lead by Morrison, won a surprise victory in the country's general election, defying opinion polls that had tipped the center-left opposition party to oust it from power and promising an end to the revolving door of national leaders. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison gestures as he speaks to party supporters after his opponent concedes defeat in the federal election in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Australia's ruling conservative coalition, lead by Morrison, won a surprise victory in the country's general election, defying opinion polls that had tipped the center-left opposition party to oust it from power and promising an end to the revolving door of national leaders. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) BALTIMORE (AP) - Unencumbered by a jockey and suddenly free to run wherever he darn pleased, Bodexpress decided to take a shot at winning the Preakness. Taking one of the most memorable trips in the 149-year history of Pimlico Race Course, Bodexpress followed the leaders without a rider on board and at one point appeared to be a contender in the 13-horse race. "You've got to be careful because some of them try to win," said trainer Bob Baffert, who saddled race favorite Improbable. "I've had horses that try to win. They actually run a great race sometimes." From the moment the frisky 3-year-old hopped from the gate, ejecting Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, craziness ensued . Running on his own in the second jewel of the Triple Crown, Bodexpress began his obligatory trip around the track, driven either by instinct or the desire to be part of the crowd. Fortunately, Velazquez quickly rose from the dirt and scooted off the track without injury. "When the doors opened, I was off right from the start. He kind of jumped sideways," Velazquez said. "I had my feet out of the irons so I lost my balance then, I went off." Bodexpress runs in the 144th Preakness Stakes horse race without John Velazquez at Pimlico race course, Saturday, May 18, 2019, in Baltimore. War of Will, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione won. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) There was an indication that things weren't going right when Bodexpress veered left from the post parade instead of right, along with the other horses. "He was just not behaving good in the gate. He was not sitting really well," Velazquez said. "He got me against the wall and the gate." Coming out of the nasty spill with his health was a positive, but the 47-year-old jockey won't soon forget this (non) ride. "When you come in here to a big race and then things like this happen with the horses, it's disappointing," Velazquez said. An outrider tried to corral Bodexpress at the top of the stretch, but he wasn't about to let the horseplay come to an end. The colt sped up and passed a few competitors near the finish line and kept going. In fact, he ran the entire track again before finally calling it a day - a veritable victory lap for the social media champion who was still trending on Twitter hours later. Bodexpress, the Florida Derby runnerup in March, was placed last and officially gets a did-not-finish. When has was finally done running, Bodexpress was fine. The son of 2003 Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker and career non-winner was finally brought under control after taking another lap around the track. Turns out, Bodexpress wasn't the only horse getting antsy in the gate. The same applied to favored Improbable, whose pre-race dance turned into a sixth-place finish. "He was acting pretty well and then he got fired up and then after that, when horses do that it just takes a lot of energy out," said Baffert, who was denied a record-setting eighth Preakness win. "He got in the gate, and when he did that, I knew that was it." Regarding Bodexpress, Baffert could sympathize with Velazquez and appreciate what the other riders (and horses) were thinking as the jockey-less horse strode by. "There are so many things that can go wrong in a horse race," Baffert said. "It's scarier for the horses that are in there because they've got to watch him the whole way." Although it doesn't usually happen in a Triple Crown race, this isn't the first time a horse has thrown his rider. "I've seen everything. I've seen that, yeah, of course," Baffert said. "I had one that did it. I was a heavy favorite a while back that did it. I never had one before and it happened to me this year. I thought I'd seen everything." The good news is, Velazquez - winner of four Triple Crown races - emerged unscathed and said he won't be seeing a doctor. "He had that look of disappointment," Baffert said. "It's like a bull rider getting bucked off the first jump." Velazquez can take consolation in that Mark Casse, the trainer of Preakness winner War of Will , hopes the first-place finishing jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, can one day match the fallen jockey's greatness. "One ironic thing is," Casse said, "I call Tyler the next Johnny Velazquez." ___ More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Jockey John Velazquez tumbles to the track after falling off Bodexpress (9) as the field breaks from the starting gate in the 144th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico race course, Saturday, May 18, 2019, in Baltimore. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post via AP) John Velazquez tumbles to the turf after falling off Bodexpress at the starting gate during the 144th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico race course, Saturday, May 18, 2019, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Jockey John Velazquez tumbles to the track after falling off Bodexpress (9) as the field breaks from the starting gate in the 144th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico race course, Saturday, May 18, 2019, in Baltimore. War of Will, far right, ridden Tyler Gaffalione won the race. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Authorities in Brazil have raised to $73 million a fine that mining giant Vale will face if it does not present within 72 hours a technical report on the risks and possible impact of the rupture of a dam in Minas Gerais. The decision taken Friday by judge Fernanda Machado was a response to a request by the Public Ministry, where prosecutors are asking why the company continues to fail to file the risks study despite reports of earth movement in recent days that could portend an imminent collapse of the Sul Superior iron ore waste dam. The ministry wants a study on the possibility of a collapse of the entire Gongo Soco mining complex in Barao de Cocais. The fine had originally been set at $25 million. Areas near the mine were evacuated in February. Vale, one of the world's biggest mining companies, has been under the microscope since one of its dams broke in the city of Brumadinho in January, leaving 240 dead and 30 missing. Vale's communications office said it had not been notified of the increase in the fine. "The company was not informed of any decision," it said in a statement. In a document produced by the company, it estimated the Sul Superior dam of the Gongo Soco mine was at risk of breaking between May 19 and 25. "The flood (caused by the rupture) would completely destroy the communities near the dam in seconds and devastate all commerce in the center of Barao de Cocais in 30 minutes," Machado said in her decision. In March, Vale warned that four of its dams in Brazil could collapse at any moment. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Alaska will pay armed Canadian police to provide protection to U.S. personnel at a ferry terminal in British Columbia, state transportation officials said. The Alaska Marine Highway System was notified in March that unarmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents checking ferries leaving Prince Rupert, British Columbia, will require assistance from Royal Canadian Mounted Police, CoastAlaska reported Friday. Without armed police at inspections, the port faces closure, officials said. The Canadian officers will be contracted through the ferry service, which is facing budget cuts by Alaska's Legislature. Federal officials mandating the change "never offered" to help the state fund the contract, but Alaska officials consider it the cost of doing business, said ferry system general manager John Falvey. "I don't think it's going to be a large sum of money," Falvey said. Alaska officials have an Oct. 1 deadline to finalize a plan, he said. Passengers and vehicles boarding Alaska ferries in Prince Rupert, 117 miles (188 kilometers) south of Ketchikan, are routinely checked by U.S. agents. The "pre-clearance" system allows passengers to disembark without presenting paperwork again, officials said. U.S. personnel cannot carry firearms while doing passport and contraband checks in Prince Rupert, said Jerry McGee, customs service assistant area port director in Anchorage. "It's a sovereign nation and we don't have that authority," McGee said. Passengers are allowed carry hunting rifles and shotguns, which are legal in both countries. "Therefore, theoretically our staff would be the only ones that are not armed," McGee said. An agreement allowing U.S. agents to carry firearms in Prince Rupert is several years away, officials said. MOSCOW (AP) - The Kremlin says the arrest of three senior officers of Russia's top spy agency reflects a no-holds-barred fight against corruption. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday when asked about the arrests that the Kremlin has coordinated anti-corruption efforts that targeted "all agencies and officials of any rank without exclusion." Col. Kirill Cherkalin, a section chief in the economic security department of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, was arrested last month along with two other senior FSB officers on suspicion of taking bribes. Russian media have reported that the suspects were found in possession of 12 billion rubles (about $186 million) in cash. The FSB, the main KGB successor, has wielded a growing clout, and the officers' arrest has sent shockwaves across Russia's political scene. MALE, Maldives (AP) - A Maldives court on Monday set aside the conviction and 15-year prison term given the former vice president on allegations he conspired to assassinate former President Yameen Abdul Gayoom. The High Court annulled the Criminal Court's conviction of Ahmed Adeeb and ordered a new investigation. Adeeb has been serving a combined 33 years in prison after being convicted of corruption and causing an explosion on Yameen's speedboat in 2015 in an alleged assassination attempt. With the court decision, his prison term was reduced to 18 years. Adeeb, previously a confidante of Yameen, was arrested after the blast on the boat injured Yameen's wife. The U.S. FBI said it found no evidence of explosives on the boat. The allegation against Adeeb was widely seen as politically motivated and his trial as lacking due process. Yameen jailed nearly all of his potential rivals during his five-year term, which ended last year with his election defeat. Courts have freed many of the officials he jailed, and those who sought asylum abroad have returned after Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the election and became president. Ten-year jail terms given Adeeb's two bodyguards in the same case were also annulled. GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Honda's jet division is expanding its headquarters in North Carolina. Greensboro-based Honda Aircraft Co. announced Monday it is expanding its global headquarters with an extra 82,000 square feet for expanded wing assembly and more parts storage for the private jets rolling off the production line. The company says the added space will increase productivity by allowing more wings to be assembled at the same time as the rest of the seven-seat HondaJet Elite. Honda Aircraft spokeswoman Jessica Ketner says the expansion due for completion in July 2020 won't result in added hiring, though employment is expanding steadily. Ketner says the company has 1,500 employees in Greensboro. HondaJets are designed to fly higher than commercial airliners and are used for business or charter travel, and could be used as air ambulances. ___ This story has been corrected: Using HondaJets as air ambulances has been proposed but they are not yet used that way; also removes reference to HondaJets being designed to fly faster than commercial airliners. Midlands-based independent merchant Harlow Bros has joined the National Merchant Buying Society. Harlow Bros is a family-owned business with more than 90 years experience in timber, sheet materials, engineered timber, windows, doors and worktops, as well as offering an extensive selection of tools and associated products. Harlow Bros made the decision to join NMBS after seeing the significant benefits that belonging to the Buying Society afford them. Through NMBS, the merchant will have access to instant agreements with more than 600 varied suppliers, for example the prestigious window manufacturer Velux, all of which will allow the business to compete directly with its national plc counterparts. The merchant has seven branches situated in Nottingham, Hinckley, Derby, Leicester, Coalville, Long Whatton, and Burton-On-Trent. It offers a complete timber service, catering for the needs of trade and retail customers from large national housebuilders, through to sole traders and the DIY market. Services include in-house milling and machining facilities, alongside its own Poultry House manufacturing business and a dedicated fleet of delivery vehicles ranging from crane off-load to specialist roof-truss trailers. Harlow Bros Purchasing Manager, Peter Gains, said: We are very pleased to have joined NMBS and hope our membership will allow us to increase our product awareness and product knowledge from within NMBS existing supply chain. Likewise, we also want to offer our own products to potential new customers. Instant access to NMBS suppliers also means that, when we find a new product that we wish to stock, we can access it quickly without all the administrative requirements that can often delay bringing a new product to our customers. Dean Hayward, Sales and Marketing Manager at NMBS, added: We are thrilled to welcome Harlow Bros as the latest independent merchant to join NMBS. They are an experienced, long-standing and very well-respected business, and have recognised the benefits that joining NMBS can bring to independent merchants of all sizes. We are looking forward to working with them to help develop their business even further. For more details on the benefits of becoming an NMBS member, visit www.nmbs.co.uk. MILAN (AP) - The Latest on migration to Europe (all times local): 4:30 p.m. Police in North Macedonia say they have discovered eight migrants crammed into a hidden compartment in the roof of a truck, during a routine search at the border crossing with Serbia. The Iraqi men were found before midnight Sunday in a truck with Bulgarian license plates. Police said Monday the driver was detained and the migrants were transferred to a shelter in the southern town of Gevgelija and would be deported to Greece. Authorities say the eight illegally entered North Macedonia from Greece and were aiming to head through Serbia on to other European countries. Although what became known as the Balkan route from Greece to other European countries has been shut since 2015, many migrants still attempt to cross through the Balkans using smugglers. In this Sunday, May 19, 2019 photo, a Guardia di Finanza patrol boat approaches the German aid group ship Sea-Watch 3 in the waters off the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, southern Italy. Italy's hard-line Interior Minister Matteo Salvini threatened possible legal action Monday, May 20, 2019 after 47 migrants rescued at sea by the humanitarian aid ship landed on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Sunday evening with the cooperation of the Coast Guard and financial police despite his explicit ban against them. (Elio Desiderio/ANSA via AP) ___ 9:35 a.m. Italy's hard-line interior minister is reacting with anger after migrants rescued by a humanitarian ship landed on Italy's southern island of Lampedusa despite his explicit ban. Matteo Salvini on Monday threatened charges against anyone who acted illegally to bring the 47 migrants to land. He said on Facebook if "there was a ploy to disembark the migrants, I will take action because that is aiding and abetting human trafficking." The German aid group Sea-Watch said the remaining migrants on board their rescue ship were transferred to Lampedusa on Sunday evening with the cooperation of the Coast Guard and financial police. They were among 65 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya last week. Sea-Watch said its vessel was too big to enter Lampedusa and had been ordered to another port on "probationary confiscation." CANNES, France (AP) - On one afternoon at the Cannes Film Festival last year, Massoumeh Lahidji could be seen on a rooftop terrace interpreting Farsi into English for the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, and an hour later sitting on a stage with Martin Scorsese translating the famously verbose filmmaker into French. For most, interpreting the long rat-a-tat answers of Scorsese, which can at any moment bound into a past realm of film history, would be a herculean task. Lahidji calmly, seemingly effortlessly translated it all, like a magic act, without so much as a pen or paper. "I'd rather look at the face," Lahidji said, sitting recently in a cafe in Cannes. "I don't retain words. I work with artists who express themselves with images." The official language of the Cannes Film Festival is, like the Olympics, French. But Cannes is also a Babel, teaming with the tongues of every film industry from around the world. In the international village, where nations have tented gathering places, wave the flags of dozens of countries. On the streets, almost any language can be heard. And on the movie screens, films from every corner of the globe line up alongside each other: one universal language of cinema. But for Cannes to function, interpreters like Lahidji are a seldom noticed necessity, a lifeblood. Through them pass the cacophonous dialects of the festival, like go-between vessels connecting audiences with filmmakers, and vice versa. "You're here to have a transmission through you," says Lahidji, an Iranian-born, France-based interpreter who works in Farsi, French, English and Spanish. "Ideally, you're not there. You're there to let an energy pass from one person to another." Intepreter Massoumeh Lahidji, centre, translates an interview with director Pedro Almodovar, left, and Associated Press film writer Jake Coyle, right at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Twenty-one countries took part of the first Cannes film festival in 1946; it was partly imagined as a way to unite Europe after World War II. Over time, it's grown increasingly global, as films from South America, the Middle East and Asia have grown commonplace. Last year, Saudi Arabia, where cinemas are again permitted, announced itself open for business at Cannes. This year's festival jury is, for the first time, headed by a Latin American, director Alejandro Inarritu. "What's quite extraordinary is that everyone comes together whatever their language or background because they love the cinema," says Sarah Combette, who with Yannick Gautier, simultaneously translates Cannes' much-watched press conferences into French and English for headphone-wearing journalists. "Every single language under the sun, even some I haven't been able to identify." As it is many places, English is often treated as the presumed lingua franca of Cannes. But Lahidji believes for most artists to authentically communicate - even good English speakers like Farhadi, who has made movies in French and Spanish - they are best understood in their native language. Language can also confer power. "In a jury, when you have a male American film director, he speaks English and of course he feels much more in power than an actress who's not comfortable speaking English," says Lahidji who, like Combette and Gautier, has interpreted private jury deliberations. "The difference from when I started 12 years ago is that nobody dares say, 'I don't speak English.'" Working from a booth behind a bank of photographers and cameramen, Combette and Gautier have the high-anxiety task of immediately interpreting the press conferences of each film in Cannes' competition. They prepare for each by seeing the films and studying the filmmakers. But in such media circuses, anything can happen and anything can be said. (A Cannes press conference is where Lars von Trier made his infamous Nazi comments.) "We have to be so adaptable. We're constantly adapting to different speakers. It's a huge leap each time intellectually," says the Canadian-born, France-based Combette. "But that's what's so much fun about it. It's quite exhilarating." Is it less enjoyable if the movie being discussed isn't any good? "Yes, it is," chuckles Gautier, a French 30-year veteran of Cannes, without hesitation. "But it's more pleasant than a medical conference." Cannes is where Lahidji first met Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. Though she trained to be one, Lahidji initially didn't want to become an interpreter. But excited by both Kiarostami and his films, she was his regular interpreter up until his death in 2016. "I became his alter-ego," she says, smiling. Lahidji spent 12 years on the staff at Cannes before setting out on her own. At the festival this past week she's interpreted for Laurie Anderson, horror director John Carpenter and Pedro Almodovar, who marveled at her mastery after an interview Sunday. Her multilingual life in movies has made her a familiar face to many on the festival circuit, including British producer Jeremy Thomas, who stopped by for a drink while Lahidji chatted. In their humble, unassuming way, Lahidji and her interpreting colleagues are an essential part of the sound of Cannes. Lahidji compares her role in cinema to that of a midwife or a smuggler. "I didn't know it was a possible job, to be an interpreter for film," says Lahidji, still amazed she's combined her twin passions. "I can't imagine it being May and being anywhere else in the world." ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP Intepreters Yannick Gautier, left, and Sarah Combette during a press conference at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) NEW YORK (AP) - There's plenty of rock on Steven Van Zandt's first album of original material in 20 years. There's also soul and funk and some mean horn solos. What there isn't plenty of is politics. The bandana-wearing guitarist for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, who in the past has never been shy about calling out politicians, has put aside partisanship in these divisive times. "I'm trying to stay as nonpartisan as I can and provide some common ground," he said. "When you're as political as I was - and I was as political as it gets - for the hardcore fans of mine it's going to take a bit of adjustment." Van Zandt, who in the past has raised his voice against apartheid and nuclear weapons, refuses to add kindling to what he considers a country "heading towards a civil war." He wants his concerts to be a safe zone. "Democrats, Republicans and independents are welcome to come to the show and enjoy themselves because it's a strictly musical trip," he said. "We need a break every now and then, in other words, and right now we're providing that break." Van Zandt's relief comes in the form of a new album, "Summer of Sorcery." The 12-track collection sees him reteam with his 15-piece band, the Disciples of Soul, and mine what he calls a "rock-meets-soul thing." This May 6, 2019 photo shows actor and musician Steven Van Zandt in New York. Van Zandt's new album "Summer of Sorcery," is a 12-track collection of original material. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP) "It's the first time in my life I've ever done two records in a row that were with the same band, first of all, and with the same sound - in the same genre, even. I'm going to stick with that now," he said. The album is a stew of Van Zandt's influences, ranging from mambo to classic rock to doo-wop. There's a flute solo in one song, and another name-checks Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. "There's not a whole lot that's good about getting older but there is one thing, which is you really tend to integrate your influences," he said. "I like to have my influences on my sleeve. I do that intentionally, leaving little breadcrumbs for people to follow backwards, hoping that they do listen to the original artists." In addition to avoiding politics, the album is also not autobiographical, a first for the musician. For each song, Van Zandt wrote from a different character's perspective. In "Superfly Terraplane," he's a millennial; in "Love Again," he's a world-weary traveler searching for love. "I like the idea of just making the 12 little movies and play a different role in each one," he said. "I analyzed myself to death in the '80s and I was sick of me. So I was ready for exploring my imagination for a change." The idea of writing an entire album of new material came during the tour of Van Zandt's 2017 album "Soulfire," which was composed of covers and songs he had written for other artists but never cut himself. "The brain cells that work towards writing your own records started to wake up," he said. "The tour just started feeding in those ideas and basically we took the tour and put it in a blender and out popped these songs - basically exactly how I was hoping it would work and it did." Bruce Resnikoff, president/CEO at Universal Music Enterprises, calls Van Zandt "maybe the smartest musicologist you'll ever meet." He said Van Zandt effectively took 20 years off from his solo work to work with Springsteen, and returned to his sound as soon as he re-engaged with his own work. "It's almost as if he picked off where he left off," Resnikoff said. "When he goes onstage with his own band, you get everything you saw of him in the E Street Band plus you get everything you remember of him as a solo artist. He's phenomenal." Van Zandt is juggling plenty of projects, including a tour to support the new album. He's just released the box set "Soulfire Live!," which includes guest appearances from the likes of Springsteen and Paul McCartney. A two-volume set of his music for the "Lilyhammer" Netflix series comes out in July. A catalog box - including his five solo albums from the 1980s, the protest album "Sun City," and live songs and extras - is due in the fall. He also confirmed that Springsteen has written an album for the E Street Band. Then there's ensuring that there's a pipeline of music fans for the future. Van Zandt believes his "Underground Garage" radio show on Sirius XM has introduced about 1,000 new bands to the public in the past 17 years. And he recently founded the TeachRock project, which helps young people connect the history of popular music to classroom work across disciplines. It has 150 free lesson plans online and 25,000 teachers have registered. Jackson Browne, Martin Scorsese, Bono and Springsteen have helped develop it. Van Zandt was inspired to launch the initiative to "keep the arts in the DNA of the education system." It works by connecting music to history and social studies. If a student loves Beyonce, they'll soon learn about people who paved the way for her, like Aretha Franklin, and lessons about the gospel church, Detroit and the civil rights movement. "Art is an absolutely necessary part of the quality of life and it also helps kids learn. It gives them a comfortable place to learn from," he said. Some of the reason Van Zandt has been less outspoken with his politics is to avoid having the curriculum accused of being partisan. "I wanted it to be a purely educational enterprise." His music, though, remains welcome to all. "You will leave stronger than you came and leave happier than you came," he says, "and maybe even be able to deal with this madness of the real world a little bit better." ___ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits This May 6, 2019 photo shows actor and musician Steven Van Zandt in New York. Van Zandt's new album "Summer of Sorcery," is a 12-track collection of original material. (Photo by Christopher Smith/Invision/AP) LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - American whiskey producers feeling the pain from the Trump administration's trade disputes have gotten a shot of relief with an agreement that will end retaliatory tariffs that Canada and Mexico slapped on whiskey and other U.S. products. The whiskey industry hailed the arrangement to ease trade tensions among the North American allies and said it hopes it's the first of several rounds of good news on the trade front. Distillers have suffered shrinking exports since the last half of 2018 due to tariffs in some key markets. President Donald Trump last Friday lifted import taxes on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and delayed auto tariffs that would have hurt Japan and Europe. In return, the Canadians and Mexicans agreed to scrap their retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, including American whiskey. But U.S. whiskey makers still face significant trade hurdles in the European Union, the industry's biggest export market. "We hope the U.S. and our trading partners can build on this positive momentum to resolve all of the remaining retaliatory tariffs that our U.S. distilled spirits exports face, particularly the European Union's 25% tariff on American whiskey," Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. In 2017, total U.S. whiskey exports to Canada and Mexico were valued at $62.1 million, the council said. Canada ranks as a top 10 export market for American whiskey and in 2017, shipments north of the border were valued at $48.7 million. FILE - In this June 20, 2018 file photo, Catoctin Creek Distillery whiskey is on display in a tasting room in Purcellville, Va. American whiskey producers feeling the pain from the Trump administration's trade disputes have gotten a shot of relief with an agreement announced Friday, May 24, 2019 that will end retaliatory tariffs that Canada and Mexico slapped on whiskey and other U.S. products. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File) Since about mid-2018, Canada had imposed a retaliatory tariff of 10% on all U.S. whiskey imports, while Mexico had slapped a retaliatory tariff of 25% on U.S. whiskeys in response to the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, the council said. Tariffs have become a big headache for American whiskey makers as they increasingly look overseas to expand sales. Tariffs on American whiskey remain in place in China and Turkey as well as the EU. Overall exports of bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey fell 11% during the second half of 2018 compared to the prior-year period, as the effect of tariffs started to be felt, the council said in March. The drop off was even larger in the European Union. The downturn continued in the first quarter of 2019, when overall American whiskey exports were down nearly 10% from the prior year, the council said Monday. In the EU, American whiskey exports fell nearly 20% in this year's first quarter compared to a year ago, it said. The focus is on the trade barriers still hurting distillers looking to sell their whiskeys in the crucial EU markets, said Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers' Association. But he hailed the deal to remove tariffs in Canada and Mexico. "We're excited that at least this portion of the trade war looks to be coming to an end," he said Monday. "Now we hope the administration can turn its focus to the EU, which is our biggest market by far, and get us back to zero tariffs in that critical area." American whiskey makers have been caught in the middle of the trade dispute since mid-2018, when the EU targeted American whiskey and other U.S. products in response to Trump's decision to slap tariffs on European steel and aluminum. Those duties amount to a tax, which producers can either absorb in reduced profits, or pass along to customers through higher prices - and risk losing market share in highly competitive markets. In the EU, American whiskey exports declined 13.4% in the second half of 2018 when tariffs slammed the brakes on shipments, the council said in March. Kentucky spirits producers exported nearly $200 million of their products to the European Union in 2017. Kentucky produces about 95% of the world's bourbon. Large and small American distillers alike have been feeling the pain. Spirits industry giant Brown-Forman Corp., best known for its Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey brand, has said that if all the tariffs stay in place, the annualized cost to the Louisville, Kentucky-based company would be about $125 million. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) - This story was first published on Dec. 2, 2001, when AP journalist Burt Herman reported on the discovery of American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh in Afghanistan. We are reprinting the story now to mark Lindh's release after nearly two decades in prison. ___ An American who fought with the Taliban is in the custody of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after being discovered among captured Taliban troops and al-Qaida fighters. In Islamabad, Pakistan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said the man identified himself as John Walker. "He's representing himself as an American citizen. We're checking on that," spokesman Keith Kenton said. "I have no reason to believe that he isn't." Army Lt. Col Jim Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman, said in Washington that the man was injured and being given medical assistance by U.S. forces. FILE - This file image taken Dec. 1, 2001, from television footage in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, shows John Walker Lindh, right, claiming to be an American Taliban volunteer. Lindh, the young Californian who became known as the American Taliban after he was captured by U.S. forces in the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, is set to go free Thursday, May 23, 2019, after nearly two decades in prison. (AP Video, File) He could not provide further details about the man, nor would he immediately confirm whether the man was indeed a U.S. citizen. The man was among a group of around 80 Taliban fighters holed up for six days in a basement of the Qalai Janghi fort, hiding from northern alliance soldiers who had put down a riot by Taliban prisoners in the fortress. The revolt, which began Nov. 25, was put down after three days of bloody fighting; the men straggled out of the basement Saturday after norther alliance fighters filled it with water to force them out. There were conflicting news accounts of the man claiming to be an American. In an interview posted on Newsweek magazine's Web site yesterday night, his parents identified him from photos as John Philip Walker Lindh, 20, of Fairfax, Calif. CNN reported that Walker, a convert to Islam, had suffered grenade and bullet wounds. Newsweek said Walker had identified himself as Abdul Hamid. In the Newsweek interview, Marilyn Walker described her son as a "sweet, shy kid" who had gone to Pakistan with an Islamic humanitarian group to help the poor. She said reports of his capture were the first news she had received of her son's whereabouts since he left a religious school in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, where he had been studying the Quran, seven months earlier. "If he got involved in the Taliban, he must have been brainwashed," Marilyn Walker, a home health care worker, said. "He was isolated. He didn't know a soul in Pakistan. When you're young and impressionable, it's easy to be led by charismatic people." The mother said Walker was born in Washington, D.C., and his father was Frank Lindh, a lawyer. Lindh and Marilyn Walker are divorced. The parents did not return messages last night requesting comment. Other residents of the leafy suburban neighborhood where Walker grew up were shocked at the news today. "The last thing in the world I expected to see was Fairfax, Calif., connected to the Taliban," said Russell Deaker, a Fairfax resident eating at the Koffee Klatch. "If he was pointing a gun at any of my soldier friends, put him on trial. If not, put him in a mental ward and bring him home," Deaker said. Ed Wall, owner of Marin Coffee Roasters, down the block from Walker's house, also said Walker should face serious consequences if he proves to be mentally fit. "Something had to be wrong. On the other hand, if this is his belief, then that's how he's got to be treated," Wall said. Walker is "obviously somewhat disturbed, in my opinion." Foreign militants - mostly Arabs and Pakistanis - have fought alongside the Taliban against the northern alliance, some of them members of the al-Qaida network of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The Taliban and foreign fighters who revolted at Qalai Janghi had been brought to the fortress after surrendering the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. Scores of Taliban were killed in the battle, in which northern alliance fighters were assisted by U.S. special forces and air strikes by American warplanes. An American CIA officer was killed in the fighting. On Saturday, the last 80-odd Taliban emerged from their hiding place. Some were visibly weak and thin after days without food or water, and at least one was taken out on a stretcher. Many were being treated in hospitals in the nearby city of Mazar-e-Shariff. WASHINGTON (AP) - Fourteen public safety officers were awarded the Medal of Valor by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, including eight who responded to a shooting at a southern California polling place. "Every officer, firefighter and first responder who receives this award embodies the highest ideals of service and sacrifice, character and courage," Trump said during a White House ceremony. The medal is the nation's highest honor for bravery by a public safety officer. Eight men from the Azusa, California, police department were honored for placing themselves in danger and saving the lives of civilians and fellow officers during the shooting on Election Day 2016. The recipients were: Retired Lt. Xavier Torres; Sgt. Seth Chapman; retired Sgt. Terry Smith Jr.; Sgt. Thomas Avila III; Sgt. Rocky Wenrick; Cpl. Andrew Rodriguez Sr.; senior officer Carlos Plascencia; and detective Manuel Campos. When they arrived at the polling place, a person was shooting from a house across the street from a park. An elderly woman had been killed and a man lay wounded on a sidewalk. Two vehicles had collided and a woman in one of the cars was critically injured. The shooter was eventually killed and the officers were credited for preventing other deaths and injuries. The other recipients were: President Donald Trump awards Sgt. Thomas Avila III of the Azusa (Calif.) Police Department the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) -Ohio State University police officer Alan Horujko, who risked his life on Nov. 28, 2016, to save the lives of civilians. A driver had driven down a sidewalk and struck several pedestrians, and then got out of his car and began attacking people with a knife. Horujko killed the attacker after trying unsuccessfully to get him to disarm. Thirteen people were attacked and 11 were hospitalized, one in critical condition. -Nicholas Cederberg, senior trooper with the Oregon State Police, who suffered life-threatening injuries while helping apprehend a man wanted for shooting his estranged wife eight times. The attacker rammed the patrol car and shot Cederberg in the right hip. As he lay on the ground, Cederberg was shot 12 more times. Five bullets were stopped by his armored vest, but seven penetrated his body. Cederberg underwent surgeries to repair a collapsed lung and two broken arms. -Fire Capt. Dustin Moore and firefighter and paramedic Andrew Freisner of the fire department in Lenexa, Kansas, risked their lives to rescue a family from inside a burning apartment building on April 24, 2017. They climbed a ladder to the second floor, went inside and rescued an unconscious adult, two young children and the family dog. Two awards also were given to the families of fallen officers: -Sgt. Verdell Smith Sr. of the Memphis, Tennessee, police department was clearing an intersection of pedestrians on June 4, 2016, when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a suspect in a triple shooting. -Officer Brent Thompson of the Dallas, Texas, Area Rapid Transit Police Department was killed on July 7, 2016, during a shootout with a man who had just killed three Dallas police officers and wounded three others with an assault rifle. Thompson's actions created a distraction that allowed others to aid the wounded and gave cover to officers so they could force the attacker inside a building where he was killed by the Dallas Police SWAT team. President Donald Trump awards Detective Manuel Campos of Irwindale (Calif.) Police Department, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) President Donald Trump awards Fire Captain Dustin Moore, right, and Firefighter Paramedic Andrew Freisner, left, of the Lenexa Fire Department, Kansas, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2019.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) President Donald Trump speaks as he awards Ohio State police officer Alan Horujko of Columbus, Ohio, the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2019.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon on Thursday outlined proposals to the White House that would send military reinforcements to the Middle East to beef up defenses against Iran amid heightened tensions in the region. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters before the meeting, said he was not convinced more troops are needed but would do whatever is necessary. "We'll see what happens with Iran," Trump said. "I don't think we're going to need them, I really don't, but we're going to have a meeting on it in about an hour. I would certainly send troops if we need them." Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters the Defense Department has not yet determined how many troops might be sent to reinforce the existing U.S. military presence in the region. He disputed reports by The Associated Press and others that the Pentagon was proposing to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East. He said reports citing specific figures were "not correct," but he would not say whether the numbers under consideration were higher or lower. "What we're focused on right now is, do we have the right force protection in the Middle East," Shanahan said, referring to defensive forces. "It may involve sending additional troops." He said he was in regular contact with Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, the Central Command chief, about how to shape the U.S. force presence in the Mideast with potential Iranian threats in mind. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan walks into the U.S. State Department, Thursday, May 23, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Officials said the proposed troop reinforcements are not a response to any new threat from Iran but are aimed at strengthening security for the U.S. forces already in the region. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans have not been formally announced. Thursday's meeting comes as tensions with Iran continue to simmer, and it wasn't clear if a decision would be made during the session. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that the president was evaluating the force posture in the region "every day." "We're evaluating the risks, making sure that we have it right," he told "Fox and Friends." U.S. officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats but indicated they initially involved missiles loaded onto small Iranian boats. This week officials said the missiles have been taken off the boats near Iran's shore, but other maritime threats continue. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During back-to-back closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defense leaders told congressional officials the U.S. doesn't want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Pompeo and Shanahan told lawmakers the U.S. is seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran, even while accusing Tehran of threatening U.S. interests in the Mideast. Shanahan told reporters, "Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation." Many in Congress are skeptical of the administration's approach to Iran, questioning whether it is responding to significant new Iranian threats or escalating a situation that could lead to war. In early May, the U.S. accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Mideast and sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defense missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad - which is home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Trump is responsible for drawing Iran's ire. Last year he abruptly pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production, without crafting a coherent strategy for how to combat other Iranian behavior like supporting extremist organizations. He also has reimposed punishing sanctions that have crippled Tehran's economy, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization in April. "I have yet to see any exhibited strategy," said Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, a former CIA officer. She said she finds many of the administration's recent statements on Iran to be "deeply troubling." Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, left, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speak to members of the media after a classified briefing for members of Congress on Iran, Tuesday, May 21, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan speaks to reporters after a classified briefing for members of Congress on Iran, Tuesday, May 21, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Top universities should look beyond exam results and lower entry grades for poorer students, the higher education watchdog has said. The Office for Students (OfS) has urged institutions to be more ambitious in how they judge merit when admitting students and to take more account of the context in which exam results are achieved. It highlighted research which suggested high-tariff universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, could lower entry requirements to a B and two Cs for more disadvantaged students without a fall in academic standards. Focusing on top A-level results risked overlooking people from poorer backgrounds who could have great potential, the report warned, as it suggested looking to the example set by universities in Scotland and the US. A young person from a council estate who gets decent A-levels has often had to work a lot harder than the young person from a better off neighbourhood who gets a few grades more, said Sir Michael Barber, chairman of the OfS. Thats why it is right as this Insight brief highlights that contextual admissions are now an increasing part of the picture. The universities watchdog has urged institutions to be `more ambitious when judging merit (Chris Radburn/PA) When I visit great American universities, Im struck by how they look beyond standardised test scores to see potential civic leaders, potential public servants, potential entrepreneurs who can succeed if given the chance to shine. When it comes to trying to reach beyond their traditional intakes, these universities have got something to teach us. So that means being bolder in recognising merit, and being ready to recognise how the opportunity that university represents can help our economy and society to draw on a wider talent pool. The watchdog also highlighted a programme at Kings College London which spreads the first year of a standard medical degree over two years. A review of the programme concluded that, with additional support, students admitted with A-level grades of CCC could thrive on medical degrees, it said. So-called contextual admissions are currently in use at some universities, with 14 top institutions indicating on their websites that they may offer entry grades between one and five grades lower to contextually flagged applicants. But the OfS said the practice did not yet go far enough, with young people from more advantaged backgrounds still nearly six times more likely to attend the most selective universities in England. Chris Millward, director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS, added: We know that school results are not achieved under equal conditions. Educational gaps are evident from a very young age, and stark by the time that young people are thinking about university. But exam results are not, on their own, a sufficient reflection of potential to succeed in and beyond higher education, and it is entirely fair to consider the context in which they are achieved. Universities have a real opportunity to capitalise on their independence in admissions to rethink the way they judge merit and potential. There is also more to do to ensure that a range of prior qualifications and experience can act as a route into higher education, and that effective support is in place for those who have overcome huge barriers to get to university. Professor Vikki Boliver, of Durham University, said a contextualised approach to admissions was arithmetically necessary to achieve fairer access to higher education. She added: My recommendation to universities and other higher education providers is that they set separate minimum entry requirements for contextually disadvantaged students. The evidence suggests that these could be as low as BCC at the most selective universities without inevitably setting students up to fail. Politics takes centre stage in many of Sundays papers with the latest moves surrounding Brexit and next weeks European elections being discussed. The Sunday Times leads with opinion polls suggesting the Conservative party will be squeezed into fourth place on Thursday while party grandees call for it to return to the middle ground. Updated front page. And don't miss the Magazine this week: the mental health issue. pic.twitter.com/tHSy26LkoJ The Sunday Times (@thesundaytimes) May 18, 2019 A report suggesting Prime Minister Theresa May blocked ministers putting forward legislation which could have protected former soldiers from prosecution for alleged offences during the Troubles leads the Sunday Telegraph. The front page of tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph: 'Revealed: How May "betrayed" veterans facing prosecution' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Q056GozVHa The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 18, 2019 The Observer leads with a report suggesting Labours ambiguous position on Brexit has helped boost the Liberal Democrats. The Observer: Labour MPs fear Brexit line will hand votes to Lib Dems #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/x6cVStE3JY Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 18, 2019 The Independent says that Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage could face an investigation into 450,000 of gifts said to be donated by Aaron Banks. The Independent: Farage faces inquiry over gifts worth 450,000 #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/XtQYn5gqOq Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 18, 2019 Allegations that an MP passed Government documents to an enemy state lead the Mail on Sunday What the papers say - May 19 (PA) The Mail on Sunday: Labour MP was spy for Czechs #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Ty9XuJ2gzr Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 18, 2019 Polling suggesting Britons think Mr Farage should lead Brexit negotiations is on the front page of the Sunday Express, More than 53,000 objections against a proposed 30 million tourist development on the shores of Loch Lomond have been handed to planners. Plans for the Lomond Banks resort in Balloch include a 60-bedroom aparthotel, 32-bedroom budget accommodation, a craft brewery, boat house, leisure centre and restaurants, as well as improvements to public footpaths and green spaces. Green MSP Ross Greer visited the village on the lochs southern shore along with locals to hand over objections, fulfilling a pledge to gather more than 50,000 by enabling people to object via his website. Ross Greer has been a vocal critic of the Flamingoland Loch Lomond application (Danny Lawson/PA) By Monday afternoon, more than 54,500 people had lodged their opposition via his site. He claims the number sets a record for any Scottish planning application and called for the planning authority, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, to reject planning permission for the Flamingo Land Limited and Scottish Enterprise application. Mr Greer said: Flamingoland Loch Lomond is now the most unpopular planning application in Scottish history and when you look at their proposals, its no surprise why. Local residents have been joined by people from across Scotland in saying that Loch Lomonds world famous natural beauty should be protected, not sold off for the profit margins of a private developer. Time and time again, its only the Greens standing with communities when they fight to protect Scotlands environment against corporate takeover and destruction. Our campaign to save Loch Lomond will continue until the National Park reject these plans and this threat is ended once and for all. Lomond Banks director Andy Miller has previously said the resort, on land currently marked for tourism development in the local plan, will be a quality destination that respects and compliments the surrounding area. Proposals for a major development and the sale of publicly owned land within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park were initially lodged in May 2018. Following the submission of more than 30,000 objections, the developer delayed its response to the National Parks request for changes and further details. Final plans including further woodland lodge accommodation were revealed last month. It is estimated the development would create 80 full-time jobs, 50 part-time jobs and 70 seasonal roles in the area. SOFIA, May 23 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. -- Bulgarian government approved a draft protocol on co-operation with the government of North Macedonia on combating trafficking in human beings. The draft will serve as a basis for negotiations between the two countries on a final document to be signed (24 Chasa, Trud) -- Bulgaria's government has approved additional transfers of 21.8 million levs ($12.41 million) to municipal budgets for 2019 for children and pupils from vulnerable groups in kindergartens and schools, as well as for training classes for acquiring qualification in protected specialties and specialties with expected shortage in the labour market (Trud, Monitor) ($1 = 1.7564 leva) By John Kemp LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Embargoes are rarely effective in compelling a change in diplomatic behaviour because they create substantial incentives to circumvent the blockade by switching trade, building indigenous capacity or changing technology. The United States this month announced sweeping restrictions on the purchase of telecommunications equipment from, or the sale of advanced technology to, Huawei as part of the broad-ranging trade dispute with China. Commentators have speculated China could retaliate by restricting exports of rare earths and other critical metals to the United States, and Chinas president this week paid a high-profile visit to a rare-earth processing plant. Neither strategy is likely to work in the longer term, though they may create some short-term disruption for both countries and their companies until supply chains can be re-routed. Experience suggests supply chains and technology are surprisingly flexible, more flexible than observers give them credit for at the time, and supply restrictions are rarely an effective form of diplomatic pressure. CRITICAL TIMBER In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, timber rather than rare earths was a critical raw material, since it was essential for the construction of wooden warships. Britains Royal Navy was totally dependent on imported masts and timber from the forests of New England, Prussia and Russia, since supplies at home were inadequate. The American Revolution and later the Napoleonic wars with France resulted in the interruption of supplies from both regions ("Forests and Sea Power: The Timber Problem of the Royal Navy", Albion, 1926). The rebellious New England colonies promptly cut off exports of the great trees needed to make masts, and Napoleons administration embargoed shipments of naval timber and other supplies from Prussia and Russia. Contemporaries worried the navys fighting ability would be crippled by the lack of timber to construct new ships and repair vessels damaged by storms and enemy action, leaving the homeland open to the threat of invasion. In the event, however, the navy developed alternative supplies in Canada, the Adriatic, and eventually further afield from India. Even far-away New Zealand became a focus for possible acquisition of naval masts ("Murihiku: A History of the South Island of New Zealand" McNab, 1909). More timber was smuggled to Britain from territories meant to be under the Napoleonic embargo through a system of middlemen and secret agents, relying on bribery, corruption, fake invoices and false manifests. Later in the Napoleonic wars, timber supplies were offered from Jamaica, Brazil, Guiana, Honduras and Sierra Leone, though in most cases they were rejected as inferior or unnecessary. To alleviate shortages at home, some naval construction was moved from dockyards at home to Indias Malabar Coast. And Britains own domestic timber supplies, allegedly exhausted, proved surprisingly responsive to the demand - once prices rose sufficiently to incentivise the gentry to allow their prized oaks to be cut down. FAILED EMBARGOES More recent embargoes on exports or imports have rarely succeeded in forcing a change in strategic behaviour because supply chains have proved surprisingly adaptable. Wartime Germany and apartheid South Africa both responded to actual or threatened disruption of oil supplies by developing the production of synthetic liquid fuels from domestic coal ("Hell's Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler's War Machine", Jeffreys, 2010). Sanctions on oil exports from Iraq in the 1990s failed to remove or contain the threat from Saddam Hussein to the satisfaction of the United States, which ultimately invaded the country in 2003. Multilateral sanctions on oil exports from Iran between 2012 and 2015 and bilateral sanctions on trade between the United States and Iran since 1979 have failed to obtain their (often unclear) objectives. U.S./EU sanctions on Russia have not forced Moscow to withdraw from the Crimea peninsula and territories occupied in eastern Ukraine. And multilateral sanctions on North Korea have not (yet?) compelled the government to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology. SUPPLY FLEXIBILITY Sanctions applied between the United States and China are unlikely to prove any more successful in forcing either side to change its strategic behaviour. Both countries are likely to innovate around them. The United States is likely to develop alternative sources of critical minerals from friendly countries such as Australia and domestic resources, including the abandoned Mountain Pass mine and processing facility in California. U.S. manufacturers and retailers will likely re-orient their supply chains for a range of other items away from China by shifting production to other countries in Southeast Asia or Mexico. China, too, is likely to indigenise the supply chain for its computer and telecommunications systems by developing its own domestic chipmaking equipment and computer operating systems. China will also diversify its raw materials away from the United States, buying soybeans from Latin America and developing alternative sources of oil and natural gas at home or in neutral third countries such as Qatar and Russia. In time, China will also develop alternative financial and payments systems that by-pass the U.S. dollar and strategic vulnerabilities such as the SWIFT system. Some observers claim such re-orientation of supply chains will prove very difficult if not impossible, but they are likely overestimating the difficulty. Britains traditional naval shipbuilders insisted only English oak was good enough to build warships and masts had to come from New England, other sources were too inferior. When necessity forced a change, however, it turned out that Indian teak and Canadian pines were just as good if not better for construction and masts. Indian shipyards proved just as capable as the royal yards at Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth. Given sufficient financial and strategic incentive, U.S. supply chains will shift away from China, and China will develop its own fully indigenous computer industry and alternative sources of farm products and raw materials. Re-orienting supply chains will impose severe disruption for both countries and will destroy a substantial amount of wealth as previous investments are stranded and abandoned. Economic costs will be high, and there will be losers as well as winner, but supply chains will adjust. History suggests neither the United States nor China will be able fundamentally to change the others strategic behaviour through trade embargoes. (Editing by Jon Boyle) LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Thomas Cook has received a takeover approach for its Nordic operations from private equity group Triton, the tour operator said on Thursday, adding that it was considering the unsolicited offer but talks were at a preliminary stage. The world's oldest travel firm is already considering a sale of its airline unit to raise cash after a string of profit warnings since last summer stoked investor concern about its ability to pay its debts. The bid from Triton Partners is for its Northern Europe business, comprising its tour operator and airline in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, the company said. "Thomas Cook Group confirms that it has received a highly preliminary and unsolicited indicative offer from Triton Partners for its Northern Europe business," the company said in a statement. "The group is currently evaluating this offer." The Scandinavian airline mainly serves Thomas Cook's Northern Europe Tour Operator, which had underlying earnings before interest and tax of 95 million pounds ($120 million) in 2018, compared to a loss of 7 million pounds for the UK tour operator. Shares in Thomas Cook reversed early losses to trade up 5.6%on the news. The Scandinavian business is a mainstay of Thomas Cook's winter business as many northern Europeans want to fly south in search of warmer weather. Thomas Cook said that the bid would be considered alongside bids for its airline business. It said last week it had received multiple bids for the whole or parts of the airline unit as it issued its third profit warning in under a year, citing discounting in the face of weak market conditions. Thomas Cook Airlines consists of Germany's Condor, British and Spanish divisions, in addition to the Scandinavian operations. Triton already owns European online tour operator Sunweb, which serves around 1 million customers annually. "There can be no certainty that a transaction will be concluded with Triton Partners," Thomas Cook said. "Thomas Cook Group will make a further announcement as appropriate." ($1 = 0.7910 pounds) (Reporting by Alistair Smout Editing by Paul Sandle/Keith Weir) KIEV, May 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine does not need to raise household gas prices in the coming months, senior presidential official Andriy Gerus told the TV channel 112 on Thursday. Raising gas prices in line with market levels by January 2020 is a requirement in the International Monetary Fund's $3.9 billion aid agreement with Ukraine. "I see no reason to increase tariffs in the next few months," Gerus said. "Cooperation with the IMF is important. Ukraine's economy is rather weak and the IMF is an important partner, who allows us to have macroeconomic stability." (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Hugh Lawson) For the longest time, it was believed that Bengalis would never vote on religious lines. A huge number of West Bengal's residents had migrated during the Partition from the nation now known as Bangladesh and they peacefully coexisted with the Muslim population in the state. So, it was not unexpected that in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, when the Modi wave swept over everything, West Bengal turned its face to the other side, giving BJP leaders SS Ahluwalia and Babul Supriyo only two of its 42 Lok Sabha seats. What happened in-between 2014 and 2019 is surprising. Because it has been only five years and only eight years of the Trinamool government in Bengal. The bitter battle of words between Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi-Amit Shah in the run-up to the 2019 election was a precursor to what has happened today. But why didnt we see it coming? The signs were certainly there! Muscle+Money Ask Moon Moon Sen. She will tell you how violence has always been a part of Bengal politics. True. Call it dadagiri or syndicate muscle is the second M that rules Bengal. Now, the BJP apparently brought in the third M money. The BJP doesnt have party offices in all districts of the state. Most importantly, it doesnt have a face in Bengal. But it reportedly has money. Both West Bengal and its politics were never very rich (not talking about intellect and ideals here). So, yes, money talked. Sakha and its prosakha (branches) The RSS has been in West Bengal for a long time. Doctor KB Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS, studied medicine in Bengal. The other connection the BJP had with Bengal is Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, a minister in Jawaharlal Nehrus first Cabinet after Independence, who drifted from the Congress and founded the Jan Sangh. But apparently, this never mattered to the communist Bengali. An Equal Match: It's not a David versus Goliath battle in West Bengal. Not any more. (Photo: DailyO) Appeasement However, it started to matter when the long rule of the atheist communists made way for Mamata, who, soon after coming to power, announced Imam and Muezzim allowances of Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,500 respectively. That was struck down by the Calcutta High Court. But other sops followed, 'minority appeasement' soon becoming one of Didis political hallmarks. The BJP had to gain inroads in West Bengal and it played on Hindu emotion, which could have never worked during Left rule. Muslims comprise 28% of West Bengals population. The BJP made it a point to capitalise on the issues of infiltration, Didis so-called 'Muslim appeasement', and reported atrocities against Hindus in border areas to target the rest of the population. And for this, they didnt rely on any local persons Narendra Modi and Amit Shah made it a point to visit Bengal and give it back to Didi in Didis limerick style. 'Sonar Bangla' became 'Kangal Bangla under Didi', just one caustic remark from Amit Shah. Left becomes Right: Bam becomes Ram This is an open secret in West Bengal the Left, which still has its structures in West Bengal, has been helping the BJP. This is a trend not visible in the upper levels of the Left. But the base cadre has been shifting from red to saffron. Former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in an interview to a CPM mouthpiece, reportedly said, There is no use in leaping from a TMC frying pan into the BJPs fireplace. But its too late. The cadre thinks this is the only straw that can break the camels (Trinamool) back. Passing-the-buck politics There are no jobs in Bengal because the CPM was anti-industrialisation throughout. The CPM even opposed computers; it even did away with English till class 5. A bridge caves in the contract was given by the CPM. Saradha scam? Chit funds boomed during the CPM rule. Its a legacy of 34 long years which cant be undone in one year, four years or eight years, for that matter. Deeply polarised voters in Bengal now want a different narrative which may not instantly solve all of Bengals problems. But they want change and it looks like that isn't limited to poriborton. Also Read: Chora Shrot: The strong undercurrent for the BJP in Bengal which the TMC has sensed and is so fearful of National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and natural gas. It operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Gas Transmission, US Regulated, and National Grid Ventures (NGV) and Other segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment owns and operates electricity transmission networks, which comprise approximately 7,236 kilometers of overhead lines. The UK Gas Transmission segment owns and operates gas transmission systems, as well as third-party independent systems and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities. The US Regulated segments owns and operates transmission facilities across upstate New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; and electricity distribution networks in upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Its assets comprise 14,439 kilometers of overhead lines; an electricity distribution network of approximately 117,498 circuit miles; and a network of approximately 57,551 kilometers of gas pipeline. The NGV and Other segment engages in the energy metering business; transporting renewable energy long distances through its electricity interconnectors; and storing LNG, as well as commercial property and insurance activities in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More C&C Group has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days. According to analysts' consensus price target of GBX 286, C&C Group has a forecasted upside of 23.7% from its current price of GBX 231.20. C&C Group has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.67, and is based on 2 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings. 4.5 Community Rank Outperform Votes C&C Group has received 104 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes C&C Group has received 50 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment C&C Group has received 67.53% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about C&C Group and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe CCR will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe CCR will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next ConocoPhillips engages in the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas on a worldwide basis. It operates through the following geographical segments: Alaska; Lower 48; Canada; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Other International. The Alaska segment primarily explores for produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Lower 48 segment consists of operations in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment is comprised of oil sands development in the Athabasca Region of northeastern Alberta and a liquids-rich unconventional play in western Canada. The Europe, Middle East and North Africa segment consists of operations and exploration activities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Libya. The Asia Pacific segment has explorations and product operations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. The Other International segment handles exploration activities in Columbia and Argentina. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More Guyana Goldstrike Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties. It explores for gold deposits. It primarily holds an interest in the Marudi Gold project that covers an area of approximately 13,500 acres located in Guyana, South America. The company was formerly known as Swift Resources Inc. and changed its name to Guyana Goldstrike Inc. in March 2017. Guyana Goldstrike Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 211 E. Russell Road LLC, Air-Relief, Belliss & Morcom Brasil, Belliss and Morcom, Boardwalk Enterprises, Charm Merger Sub Inc., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. Ltd., CompAir Acquisition (No. 2) Ltd., CompAir Acquisition Ltd., CompAir BroomWade Ltd., CompAir Canada, CompAir Finance Ltd., CompAir GmbH, CompAir Holdings Limited, CompAir Holman Ltd, CompAir International Trading (Shanghai) Co Ltd, CompAir Korea Ltd, CompAir South Africa (SA) (Pty) Ltd., CompAir UK Ltd, CompAir USA, Consolidated Distribution Holdings Ltd., DV Systems Inc., Emco Wheaton, Emco Wheaton GmbH Branch, Emco Wheaton Gmbh, Emco Wheaton UK, Emco Wheaton USA Inc, Enza Air Propriety Limited (South Africa), GD Aria Holdings #2 Limited, GD Aria Holdings Limited, GD Aria Investments Limited, GD First UK Ltd, GD German Holdings GmbH, GD German Holdings I Gmbh, GD German Holdings II GmbH, GD German Investments GmbH, GD Global Holdings, GD Global Holdings II, GD Global Holdings UK II Ltd., GD Global Ventures I B.V., GD Global Ventures II B.V., GD Global Ventures III B.V., GD Industrial Products Malaysia SDN. BHD., GD Investment KY, GD UK Finance Ltd., Gardner Denver (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Gardner Denver Austria GmbH, Gardner Denver Bad Neustadt Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Belgium NV, Gardner Denver Brasil Industria E Comercio de Maquinas Ltda., Gardner Denver CZ + SK sro, Gardner Denver Canada Corp, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments II Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd., Gardner Denver Cyprus Investments Ltd. - US Branch, Gardner Denver Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Engineered Products India Private Limited, Gardner Denver FZE, Gardner Denver Finance II LLC, Gardner Denver Finance Inc & Co KG, Gardner Denver France SA, Gardner Denver France SAS, Gardner Denver Group Services Ltd, Gardner Denver Group Svcs Ltd, Gardner Denver Hoffman, Gardner Denver Holdings, Gardner Denver Holdings Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Investments Limited, Gardner Denver Hong Kong Ltd, Gardner Denver Iberica, Gardner Denver Industries Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd., Gardner Denver Industries Pty Ltd. Branch, Gardner Denver International, Gardner Denver International Ltd., Gardner Denver Intl Ltd Middle East Regional Rep Office, Gardner Denver Investments, Gardner Denver Italy Holdings S.r.L., Gardner Denver Japan, Gardner Denver Kirchhain Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Korea, Gardner Denver Korea Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd, Gardner Denver Ltd South Africa, Gardner Denver Ltd., Gardner Denver Ltd. Branch (Ireland), Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co, Gardner Denver Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Gardner Denver Nash Brasil Industria E Comercio De Bombas Ltda, Gardner Denver Nash Deutschland GmbH, Gardner Denver Nash LLC, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd, Gardner Denver Nash Machinery Ltd., Gardner Denver Nederland BV, Gardner Denver Nederland Investments B.V., Gardner Denver Oberdorfer Pumps, Gardner Denver Oy, Gardner Denver Petroleum Pumps, Gardner Denver Polska Sp z.o.o., Gardner Denver Pte Ltd., Gardner Denver S.r.l., Gardner Denver Schopfheim GmbH, Gardner Denver Schopfheim Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver Schweiz AG, Gardner Denver Slovakia, Gardner Denver SudAmerica S.r.l., Gardner Denver Sweden AB, Gardner Denver Taiwan Ltd., Gardner Denver Thomas, Gardner Denver Thomas GmbH, Gardner Denver Thomas Pneumatic Systems (Wuxi) Co., Gardner Denver Thomas Real Estate GmbH & Co KG, Gardner Denver UK, Gardner Denver Water Jetting Systems, Garo Dott. Ing. Roberto Gabbioneta S.r.l., Hamworthy Belliss & Morcom, ILMVAC (UK) Ltd., ILS Innovative Labor Systeme, ILS Inovative Laborsysteme GmbH, Indonesia Foreign Trade Representative Office, LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MP Pumps Inc., Mako Compressors, Nash, Nash Elmo, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Robuschi, Rotary Compression Technologies, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Syltone, TCM Investments, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, TODO AB, Tamrotor Marine Compressors AS, Thomas Industries, Thomas Industries Inc., Tri-Continent Scientific, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, and Zinsser NA. The following companies are subsidiares of NRG Energy: 3279405 Nova Scotia Company, 3283764 Nova Scotia Company, 7549709 Canada Inc., 7644868 Canada Inc., 7711565 Canada Inc., AC Solar Holdings LLC, Ace Energy Inc., Agua Caliente Borrower 1 LLC, Agua Caliente Solar Holdings LLC, Agua Caliente Solar LLC, Allied Home Warranty GP LLC, Allied Warranty LLC, Arthur Kill Gas Turbines LLC, Arthur Kill Power LLC, Astoria Gas Turbine Power LLC, Bayou Cove Peaking Power LLC, Beheer-en Beleggingsmaatschappij Plogema B.V., Berrians I Gas Turbine Power LLC, BidURenergy Inc., Big Cajun I Peaking Power LLC, Bluewater Wind Delaware LLC, Bluewater Wind Maryland LLC, Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy LLC, Boquillas Wind LLC, Cabrillo Power I LLC, Cabrillo Power II LLC, Camino Energy LLC, Carbon Management Solutions LLC, Carlsbad Energy Center LLC, Carlsbad Energy Holdings LLC, Chester Energy LLC, Chickahominy River Energy Corp., Cirro Energy Services Inc., Cirro Group Inc., Citizens Power Holdings One LLC, Commonwealth Atlantic Power LLC, Connecticut Jet Power LLC, Cottonwood Development LLC, Cottonwood Energy Company LP, Cottonwood Generating Partners I LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners II LLC, Cottonwood Generating Partners III LLC, Cottonwood Technology Partners LP, Delaware Power Development LLC, Devon Power LLC, Doga Enerji Uretim Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isi Satis Hizmetleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Doga Isletme ve Bakim Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Dunkirk Gas Corporation, Dunkirk Power LLC, EHI Development Fund LLC, EME Eastern Holdings LLC, EVgo Services LLC, Eastern Sierra Energy Company LLC, Ecokap Power LLC, El Segundo Energy Center II LLC, El Segundo Power II LLC, El Segundo Power LLC, Elkhorn Ridge Wind II LLC, Energy Alternatives Wholesale LLC, Energy Choice Solutions LLC, Energy Curtailment Specialists, Energy Plus Holdings LLC, Energy Plus Natural Gas LLC, Energy Protection Insurance Company, Everything Energy LLC, Forward Home Security LLC, GCP Funding Company LLC, GenOn Energy, Geostellar Inc., Gladstone Power Station Joint Venture, Goal Zero, Goal Zero Europe GmbH, Goal Zero LLC, Granite II Holding LLC, Granite Power Partners II L.P., Green Mountain Energy, Green Mountain Energy Company, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club, Gregory Partners LLC, Gregory Power Partners LLC, Hanover Energy Company, Huntley IGCC LLC, Huntley Power LLC, Independence Energy Alliance LLC, Independence Energy Group LLC, Independence Energy Natural Gas LLC, Indian River Operations Inc., Indian River Power LLC, Intellastar LLC, Ivanpah Master Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project I Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project II Holdings LLC, Ivanpah Project III Holdings LLC, James River Power LLC, Kaufman Cogen LP, LSP-Nelson Energy LLC, Long Beach Generation LLC, Long Beach Peakers LLC, Long Beach Power LLC, Louisiana Generating LLC, MEC Esenyurt B.V., MEC San Pascual B.V., Maplekey UK Finance Limited, Maplekey UK Limited, Meriden Gas Turbines LLC, Middletown Power LLC, Midway-Sunset Cogeneration Company, Midwest Finance Company LLC, Midwest Generation EME LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings I LLC, Midwest Generation Holdings II LLC, Midwest Generation LLC, Midwest Generation Procurement Services LLC, Midwest Peaker Holdings LLC, Mission Bingham Lake Wind LLC, Mission Del Cielo LLC, Mission Energy Construction Services LLC, Mission Energy Holdings International LLC, Mission Energy Wales LLC, Mission Funding Zeta LLC, Mission Midway-Sunset Holdings LLC, Mission Midwest Coal LLC, Mission Minnesota Wind LLC, Mission Watson Holdings LLC, Mission Wind Boquillas LLC, Mission Wind New Mexico II LLC, Mission Wind Owaissa LLC, Mission Wind Pinnacle LLC, Mission del Sol LLC, Montville IGCC LLC, Montville Power LLC, NEO Chester-Gen LLC, NEO Corporation, NRG Acquisition Holdings Inc., NRG Advisory Services LLC, NRG Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Alexandria LLC, NRG Arroyo Nogales LLC, NRG Arthur Kill Operations Inc., NRG Asia-Pacific Ltd., NRG Astoria Gas Turbine Operations Inc., NRG Astoria Power LLC, NRG Audrain Generating LLC, NRG Audrain Holding LLC, NRG Bayou Cove LLC, NRG Berrians East Development LLC, NRG Bluewater Holdings LLC, NRG Bluewater Wind Massachusetts LLC, NRG Bourbonnais Equipment LLC, NRG Bourbonnais LLC, NRG Brazoria Energy LLC, NRG Business Services LLC, NRG CTA Holdings LLC, NRG Cabrillo Power Operations Inc., NRG Cadillac Inc., NRG Cadillac Operations Inc., NRG California Peaker Operations LLC, NRG Capital II LLC, NRG Carbon 360 LLC, NRG Cedar Bayou Development Company LLC, NRG Chalk Point CT LLC, NRG CleanTech Investments LLC, NRG Coal Development Company LLC, NRG ComLease LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance I LLC, NRG Common Stock Finance II LLC, NRG Connected Home LLC, NRG Connecticut Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Connecticut Peaking Development LLC, NRG Construction LLC, NRG Cottonwood Tenant LLC, NRG Curtailment Solutions Canada Inc., NRG Curtailment Solutions Inc., NRG DG Development LLC, NRG Development Company Inc., NRG Devon Operations Inc., NRG Dispatch Services LLC, NRG Distributed Energy Resources Holdings LLC, NRG Distributed Generation PR LLC, NRG Dunkirk Operations Inc., NRG ECOKAP Holdings LLC, NRG ESA Joint Development LLC, NRG El Segundo Operations Inc., NRG Energy Center Eagles LLC, NRG Energy Center Oxnard LLC, NRG Energy Fuel LLC, NRG Energy Fuel Services LLC, NRG Energy Gas & Wind Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Holdings II Inc., NRG Energy Holdings Inc., NRG Energy Inc., NRG Energy Labor Services LLC, NRG Energy Petroleum LLC, NRG Energy Services Group LLC, NRG Energy Services International Inc., NRG Energy Services LLC, NRG Equipment Company LLC, NRG Fuel Cell CA1 LLC, NRG Fuel Resources LLC, NRG Fuel Transportation LLC, NRG GTL Holdings LLC, NRG Gas Development Company LLC, NRG Generation Holdings Inc., NRG Gladstone Operating Services Pty Ltd, NRG Granite Acquisition LLC, NRG Greenco LLC, NRG HQ DG LLC, NRG Holding Leasing Vehicle 7 LLC, NRG Home & Business Solutions LLC, NRG Home Services LLC, NRG Home Solutions LLC, NRG Home Solutions Product LLC, NRG Homer City Services LLC, NRG Huntley Operations Inc., NRG Identity Protect LLC, NRG Ilion LP LLC, NRG Ilion Limited Partnership, NRG Independence Solar LLC, NRG International LLC, NRG Kaufman LLC, NRG Latin America Inc., NRG Lease Co LLC, NRG Lease Development LLC, NRG Limestone 3 LLC, NRG Maintenance Services LLC, NRG Mesquite LLC, NRG Mextrans Inc., NRG MidAtlantic Affiliate Services Inc., NRG MidCon Development LLC, NRG Middletown Operations Inc., NRG Middletown Repowering LLC, NRG Midwest Holdings LLC, NRG Midwest II LLC, NRG Montville Operations Inc., NRG NE Development LLC, NRG Nelson Turbines LLC, NRG New Roads Holdings LLC, NRG NewGen LLC, NRG North Central Operations Inc., NRG Northeast Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Norwalk Harbor Operations Inc., NRG Ohio Pipeline Company LLC, NRG Operating Services Inc., NRG Oswego Harbor Power Operations Inc., NRG Oxbow Holdings LLC, NRG PacGen Inc., NRG Peaker Finance Company LLC, NRG Portable Power LLC, NRG Potrero Development LLC, NRG Power Marketing LLC, NRG Procurement Company LLC, NRG Project Company LLC, NRG Reliability Solutions LLC, NRG Renter's Protection LLC, NRG Repowering Holdings LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions LLC, NRG Residential Solar Solutions Leasing II LLC, NRG Retail LLC, NRG Retail Northeast LLC, NRG Rockford Acquisition LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment II LLC, NRG Rockford Equipment LLC, NRG Saguaro Operations Inc., NRG Security LLC, NRG Services Corporation, NRG Sherbino LLC, NRG SimplySmart Solutions LLC, NRG Solar Arrowhead LLC, NRG Solar CVSR Holdings 2 LLC, NRG Solar Dandan LLC, NRG Solar Guam LLC, NRG Solar Ivanpah LLC, NRG Solar Ring LLC, NRG Solar SC Stadium LLC, NRG Solar Sunrise LLC, NRG South Central Affiliate Services Inc., NRG South Central Generating LLC, NRG South Central Operations Inc., NRG South Texas LP, NRG Sterlington Power LLC, NRG Storage Fabrication & Delivery LLC, NRG Storage on Demand NY LLC, NRG SunCap Leasing I LLC, NRG Telogia Power LLC, NRG Texas C&I Supply LLC, NRG Texas Gregory LLC, NRG Texas Holding Inc., NRG Texas LLC, NRG Texas Power LLC, NRG Texas Retail LLC, NRG Trading Advisors LLC, NRG Transmission Holdings LLC, NRG ULC Parent Inc., NRG Victoria I Pty Ltd, NRG Warranty Services LLC, NRG West Coast LLC, NRG Western Affiliate Services Inc., NRG Wind Development Company LLC, NRG Wind Force LLC, NRG Wind LLC, NRG dGen Advisory Services LLC, NRGenerating German Holdings GmbH, NRGenerating International B.V., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 1) S.a.r.l., NRGenerating Luxembourg (No. 2) S.a.r.l., New Genco GP LLC, New Jersey Power Development LLC, Norwalk Power LLC, O'Brien Cogeneration Inc. II, ONSITE Energy Inc., One Block Off The Grid Inc., Oswego Harbor Power LLC, Pacific Generation Company, Petra Nova CCS I LLC, Petra Nova Holdings LLC, Petra Nova LLC, Petra Nova Parish Holdings LLC, Petra Nova Power I LLC, Pure Energies Group, Pure Energies Group ULC, Pure Energies Installation Inc., Pure Energies Solar Services Inc., Pure Group Inc., RDI Consulting LLC, RERH Holdings LLC, Reliant Charitable Foundation, Reliant Energy, Reliant Energy Northeast LLC, Reliant Energy Power Supply LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Holdings LLC, Reliant Energy Retail Services LLC, Restoration Design LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar Holdings LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric LLC, Roof Diagnostics Solar and Electric of NY LLC, Saguaro Power Company a Limited Partnership, Saguaro Power LLC, San Gabriel Energy LLC, San Joaquin Energy LLC, San Juan Energy LLC, San Pascual Cogeneration Company International B.V., Sherbino I Wind Farm LLC, Solar Partners I LLC, Solar Partners II LLC, Solar Partners VIII LLC, Solar Power Partners, Solar Pure Energies ULC, Somerset Operations Inc., Somerset Power LLC, South Texas Wind LLC, Station A LLC, Sunrise Power Company LLC, Sunshine State Power (No. 2) B.V., Sunshine State Power B.V., TCV Pipeline LLC, Tacoma Energy Recovery Company, Taloga Wind II LLC, Texas Coastal Ventures LLC, Texas Genco GP LLC, Texas Genco Holdings, Texas Genco Holdings Inc., Texas Genco LP LLC, Texas Genco Services LP, US Retailers LLC, Valle Del Sol Energy LLC, Vienna Operations Inc., Vienna Power LLC, WCP (Generation) Holdings LLC, Watson Cogeneration Company, West Coast Power LLC, XOOM Alberta Holdings LLC, XOOM British Columbia Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy BC ULC, XOOM Energy California LLC, XOOM Energy Canada ULC, XOOM Energy Connecticut LLC, XOOM Energy Delaware LLC, XOOM Energy Georgia LLC, XOOM Energy Global Holdings LLC, XOOM Energy Illinois LLC, XOOM Energy Indiana LLC, XOOM Energy Kentucky LLC, XOOM Energy LLC, XOOM Energy Maine LLC, XOOM Energy Maryland LLC, XOOM Energy Massachusetts LLC, XOOM Energy Michigan LLC, XOOM Energy New Hampshire LLC, XOOM Energy New Jersey LLC, XOOM Energy New York LLC, XOOM Energy ONT ULC, XOOM Energy Ohio LLC, XOOM Energy Pennsylvania LLC, XOOM Energy Rhode Island LLC, XOOM Energy Texas LLC, XOOM Energy Virginia LLC, XOOM Energy Washington D.C. LLC, XOOM Ontario Holdings LLC, XOOM Solar LLC, and eV2g LLC. 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. 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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. Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc. engages in the production and sale of cellulose products, which is a natural polymer commonly used in the production of cell phone and computer screens, filters, and pharmaceuticals. It operates through the following segments: High Purity Cellulose, Forest Products, Paperboard, Pulp and Newsprint, and Corporate. The High Purity Cellulose segment manufacture and market high purity cellulose, which is sold as either cellulose specialties or commodity products in U.S., Canda, and France. The Forest Products segment manufacture and market construction-grade lumber in North America through seven sawmills located in Canada. The Paperboard segment comprises paperboard products. The Pulp and Newsprint segment involves in the production of pulp and newsprint in Canada. The Corporate segment consists senior management, accounting, information systems, human resources, treasury, tax, and legal administrative functions that provide support services to the operating business units. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. Read More 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. Read More There is not enough analysis data for El Paso Electric. 3.9 Community Rank Outperform Votes El Paso Electric has received 256 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes El Paso Electric has received 192 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment El Paso Electric has received 57.14% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about El Paso Electric and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe EE will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe EE will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days. Previous Next 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. Read More BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Read More A Louisa man was killed Wednesday when his car ran off Route 22 (Louisa Road), struck several objects and overturned, according to the Virginia State Police. Shawn M. Spurlock, 32, was killed in the single-car crash that occurred about 3 p.m. on Route 22, west of Oakland Road, troopers said. Spurlock was heading westbound when his 2015 Nissan Sentra entered a curve, went off the pavement to the left, struck a culvert, ran up an embankment, struck a utility pole and overturned. Spurlock, who was not wearing his seat belt, died at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. Send news tips to news@dailyprogress.com, call (434) 978-7264, tweet us @DailyProgress or send us a Facebook message here. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Northam told investigators that he felt compelled to address the photograph quickly, and feared saying that he did not appear in the photo out of concern that someone would come forward and say, I was there and remember and it is you. Governors response Northam said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he had cooperated with Cullen and his team by making myself available for interviews and by turning over the findings of my private inquiry into the matter. I am not in the racist and offensive photo that appears under my name in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. That being said, I know and understand the events of early February and my response to them have caused hurt for many Virginians and for that, I am sorry. I felt it was important to take accountability for the photos presence on my page, but rather than providing clarity, I instead deepened pain and confusion. On Feb. 1, the day it became public, Northam apologized for being in the photo. He backtracked the next day, saying he is not in the photo and doesnt know how it ended up on his yearbook page. Northam has said he did appear in blackface during a 1984 dance contest in San Antonio. Speaking of Joe Biden, at a recent campaign rally in Philadelphia he said, "I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. That's what our party's always been about." This is an interesting interpretation of the 1850s, but a significant portion of the nation does not turn its lonely eyes to Biden for history tutorials. Rather, it is looking for political insurance that it will have a 2020 choice that does not make them wince. A choice that will shuffle sufficient electoral votes to strike the tent of today's White House circus. In 2004, just three states gave their electoral votes to a different party than in 2000. In 2008, nine states changed from 2004. In 2012, two changed from 2008. In 2016, six changed from 2012. Are Democrats raising the sort of issues that Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-New York, raised after Ronald Reagan trounced Jimmy Carter in 1980: "Even Herbert Hoover got more electoral votes [in 1932] than President Carter. We have to ask what happened and why." What happened in 2016 was that the Democratic Party's nominating process produced a candidate whom Donald Trump defeated by 17 points among the 18% of voters who had negative views of both him and her. And he won by 51 points among the 15% of the electorate who thought neither he nor she was qualified to be president. African Union Solicited to end Anglophone crisis Facebook Desperate attempts to see an end to the ongoing crisis in the North West and South West regions, has pushed members of the All African Conference of Churches(AACC) to call on the fAfrican Union(AU), to intervene. As part of resolutions of their just ended conference in Nairobi Kenya, the members declared that, " We, members of the executive committee of the All African Conference of Churches, gathered in Nairobi, Kenya ...have discussed and prayed for matters related to peace in Africa and Cameroon in particular. We are deeply concerned about the peace situation in Cameroon, in some parts of the country, and greatly regret the loss of human lives in the past violent events in some other places". They urged the African Union to take measures towards finding lasting solutions to the ongoing Anglophone Crisis. The continental religious body said they were in support and work towards the a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa, where Africans sit together to solve peacefully, their differences. "We feel ashamed of a conflict which is based on a sad history of two colonial languages", they regretted. While encouraging religious leaders in Cameroon for the role they play towards peace, they called upon church leaders from both Anglophone and Francophone backgrounds to create space for peaceful dialogue between them and show by example, that dialogue and peace between different parts is possible. They urged churches in Cameroon to work against hate speech, violence and promote peace and national cohesion among all citizens. The AACC assured the church and the people of Cameroon of its solidarity while calling upon the government to handle the internal conflict with respect for human rights for all its citizens. The AACC was born in 1963, and is currently represented in 42 African countries, with over 140 million Christians. It is a largest association of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox and Indigenous Churches in Africa. The group is a member of the worldwide ecumenical network. Kwoh Elonge, Cameroonian writer & researcher Atia Azohnwi Kwoh Elonge, a Cameroonian writer and researcher has narrated his ordeal along the Kumba-Buea highway on the eve of National Day celebrated last May 20, 2019. He paints a kaleidoscopic picture of what commuters are subjected to. Read on:- "Last Saturday, I left Kumba for Buea after a daunting week of watching the PM of Cameroon and his convoy fill celebration grounds and then grandstand with glossy speeches about national unity. "His visit was welcomed by a declaration of ghost town in Kumba. A ghost town which continued after he had long gone. Well on Saturday [May 18, 2019], I decided to brave the odds and took the road to Buea. "We get to the Muyuka police checkpoint and as the ritual now is, we all step out from the car and trek to the police officers to present our ID cards. Surprisingly, the police was not interested in checking ID cards on this day. "They were rather handing machetes to commuters and drivers to cut an overgrown field surrounding the celebration ground opposite the police station. Bus load after bus load of passengers are given portions and made to perform manual labour under military supervision before leaving. I am not having it, and thankfully I have my professional card to free me from the humiliation. "They say passengers are to do this as a service to the state and as expected these instructions are all given exclusively in French. There is something about that language that, when used by the military is always to humiliate a Cameroonian more so, an English speaking Cameroonian, in the English speaking part of Cameroon. "It reminds you that you have to adapt to the language here, because English is a language the military does not know in this country, does not seem to recognise while 'ruling' this part of the country. "We leave Muyuka after about thirty minutes in which I sat and watched as men grudgingly cut grass and women gather the grass into large piles to be burnt. "I really don't know how to write about the humiliation I witness each day; the persistence of the military in exerting on the anglophone population a daily dose of inconvenience, annoyance and humiliation. "As I leave Muyuka, I think of how this country hates mehow it treats us as less in so many ways. "I arrive home in Buea, and make up my mind that I won't talk about these humiliationsI won't talk about this government and its military and the ways in which it reinvents itself, the ways in which it pushes the boundaries of human hatred. I decide not to speak about it for three straight days. "But I can't keep quiet for too long because, how can I, when they now kill with impunity, four month old babies?" Poultry: Small and medium size enterprise Facebook The African Development Bank(AfDB) have been meeting with Cameroonian authorities to discuss ways in which the financing of small and medium size enterprises can be made easy. Officials of the AfDB led by the Country Director, Solomane Kone were received by the Minister of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft , Achille Bassilekin, on Tuesday. In an interview granted to the press after the meeting, the AfDB said after reviewing measures set up by the government of Cameroon to help medium size enterprises, they wanted to introduce a new financing program called "SMEs Africa", which would help them identify areas of priority. The project engulfs over FCFA 88 billion. He said their objective is to ensure direct support to SMEs, thereby bypassing the public sector which has been the middleman so far." ..We want to help them directly through the private sector. We want to enable financial institutions to provide special lined of credit and guarantees, among others. We also want to provide technical assistance", said Mr. None Minister Achille Bassilekin said government had established a platform with the agency in charge of small and medium size enterprises and realised that a group of local financial institutions are interested in developing specific products for SMEs. He said the AfDB initiative was timely. The team from AfDB is expected to meet with officials of the agency for the promotion of SMEs and the SME Bank, and move to Douala to meet key actors of the private sector. Roger Nkodo Dang, President du Parlement panafricain Archives The President of the Pan-African Parliament, Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang has blasted the European Parliament for embarking on a smear campaign against the sovereign state of Cameroon when they released resolution 2019/2691(RSP) of April 18, 2019 in relation to the socio-political climate in the countrys North West and South West Regions. Nkodo Dang told reporters in Yaounde today Thursday, May 23, 2019 that the resolution is a breach of a memorandum of understanding that exists between the Pan-African Parliament and the European Parliament. His remarks came shortly after an audience with the speaker of Cameroons National Assembly, Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril. The Cameroonian born politician says the Pan-African Parliament strongly condemns the move by the legislative body of the European Union and is ready to table the ongoing upheavals in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon for discussion during the next session of the Pan-African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa. The President of the Pan-African Parliament used the opportunity to hand to Hon. Cavaye an invitation to attend a forthcoming summit on AIDS and health financing scheduled for Brazzaville this year. Without stating what provision or the specific memorandum the European Parliament breached, Nkodo Dang simply went in the line of the likes of Senate President, Marcel Niat Njifenji. Niat had in reacting to the European Parliament resolution on Cameroon said: The State of Cameroon, deeply attached to its territorial integrity and its unitary and decentralized status, has through its Government spared no effort in providing ideal solutions to the problems faced in the North West and South West Regions ever since the tabling of the unionist and corporatist claims. He added that: the State of Cameroon, open to dialogue, has always taken into account the complaints of all social classes, and provided the appropriate responses. But Niat failed to state how, when and with whom such dialogue took place and why with all the measures so taken, the crisis remains unending. The State of Cameroon has a legislative and parliamentary corpus in compliance with international treaties and agreements. Therefore, and like all other States, it seeks to ensure their respect by all Cameroonian citizens, Niat added, as if to justify why all those considered political detainees by the European Parliament will not be freed as recommended by the EU legislators. The resolution on Cameroon had condemned the 2014 anti-terrorism law. [The European Parliament] expresses concern that the 2014 anti-terrorism law is being misused to restrict fundamental freedoms; supports the requests made by UN experts that the law be reviewed to ensure that it is not used to restrict the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, the EU MPs had said. Among others, it had also deplored the violence and discrimination facing the Anglophone community; expressed particular concern over allegations that Government forces are responsible for killings, excessive use of force, and torture; and called on the Government to immediately take all steps to bring an end to the violence and impunity in the country. The legislative body of the EU also noted with concern the deteriorating situation for internally displaced people; calls in particular for immediate measures by the Government of Cameroon and the international community to protect the security, safety and unhindered access to healthcare and education for children. It deeply regrets the repressive climate in Cameroon facing opposition parties and supporters, civil society and citizen movements; condemns the arrest and detention of Maurice Kamto and other peaceful protesters; recalls that civilians should not be tried in military courts; calls on the Cameroonian authorities to release Maurice Kamto and the protesters immediately and drop all politically-motivated charges; further calls on the Government of Cameroon to cease all harassment and intimidation of political activists, including the ban on peaceful political gatherings, demonstrations and protests, and to take action to clamp down on instances of hate speech. Cameroonian, Joel L.Komeyen sentenced to death by hanging in Nigeria Facebook The Nigerian court in Igbosere, Lagos has handed over a death sentence by hanging to Cameroonian maid, Leudjoe Koyemen Joel for killing his Nigerian employer, Dayo Adeleke. The judgement was passed by Justice Adedayo Akintole on Tuesday May 21, two years and five months after Koyemen committed the crime. The Chief Judge said the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt a count of murder pressed by the state, reasons for ordering his death sentence. Following family sources, on the night of 20th December 2016, they received news that their daughter Dayo, was brutally slaughtered in cold blood in her home by the maid. The family revealed Joel had just been employed two months prior to the murder of Dayo. The victim pitied his status as a refugee(as described by her pastor) and offered him a home. "It is ironic that the person she employed, out of her compassion turned around and snuffed out her life in one senseless act of greed", said the family in a statement. They continued that Joel might have been angry because Dayo didn't give him an advanced two weeks salary he asked for, earlier that morning. He insisted that Dayo should give him the money before she leaves for work. Dayo is said to have had no cash on her. Joel went into the kitchen and got a knife and stabbed his employer on the chest. Her call for help, pulled other domestic workers to the sitting room, who held Joel, as he was attempting to flee. The murderer robbed Dayo of her marriage, motherhood and family. Dayo had just returned from the United States of America, where she was schooling, in preparation for her wedding in February 2017. Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 9:55PM OnePlus has steadily been updating its product line with the latest version of Android. This time the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are getting the stable version of Android Pie through OxygenOS 9.0.2. Its beta version was released to community members last month. Some of the features OnePlus 3/3T users can expect include Do Not Disturb with a specific time range, Gaming Mode 3.0, Phone apps support for Google Duo, and Camera apps support for Google Lens. Aside from getting the latest version of Android thats available, the April 2019 security patches are also making their way to these two phones. Source: XDA Developers The prequel to Jim Hensons 1982 cult classic The Dark Crystal is coming to Netflix on August 30th. Itll take place sometime before the events of the film, which was about a young heros quest to fix a magical object called the Dark Crystal. It was set on an alien planet filled with three different races. This 10-episode series will turn the spotlight on three Gelfling characters who are out to find the secret of Skeksis power. In true Henson tradition, the characters will be puppets instead of CGI made. Taron Egerton (Rocketman), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), and Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) will voice the main characters. But theyre also joined by big names like Helena Bonham Carter, Keegan-Michael Key, and Mark Hamill. Louis Leterrier will direct The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, which are hour-long episodes. Besides, big commercial deals, market remained weak due to weak consumer demand, high inventory from previous quarters, and supply issues for Intel chips. New Delhi: Personal Computer (PC) shipment in India fell by 8.3 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2019 to 2.15 million units, registering a year-on-year decline for the third consecutive quarter, according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). Besides, big commercial deals, market remained weak due to weak consumer demand, high inventory from previous quarters, and supply issues for Intel chips. Shipments in the consumer segment saw a 26.5 per cent dip in the said quarter compared to the year-ago period. The commercial PC market saw a total shipment of 1.35 million units in the said quarter, a growth of 7.3 per cent over last year. "The announcement of central elections on March 10, 2019 resulted in the model code of conduct coming into immediate effect further resulting in a delay in execution of government projects and impacting the commercial segment," IDC said in a statement. However, IDC expects the overall PC market in India to witness a growth in the second quarter. The commercial market is expected to pick up post new government formation in May, while the consumer market is expected to pick up largely driven by back to school campaign by vendors and online sales. HP maintained its leadership position with an overall market share of 28.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2019, followed by Dell (25.9 per cent), Lenovo (25.2 per cent) and Acer (11.7 per cent). The notebook PC (laptop) category accounted for 61.4 per cent of the shipment and witnessed a 9.8 per cent year-on-year decline. Mumbai: The city police on Wednesday provided protection to actor Vivek Oberoi after he received threats to his life. Sources said that "police protection has been provided to Vivek Oberoi on the basis of the threat he has received." It is worth mentioning that Vivek on Monday had tweeted a collage of three images featuring him, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her husband Abhishek Bachchan, their daughter Aaradhya and superstar Salman Khan. The post referred to Salman and Aishwarya's relationship as the 'opinion poll,' Vivek and Aishwarya's affair as the 'exit poll' and her current family with husband Abhishek and daughter Aaradhya as the 'final result.' On Tuesday, the Mumbai Mahila Congress had demanded the police to lodge an FIR under Section 509 (gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Oberoi. "This is to bring to your attention that actor Vivek Oberoi has insulted women modesty by his statement. Being an artist, his political interference needs limitations. Now, he has disrespected womanhood for which he should be punished. Mumbai Mahila Congress workers demand an FIR under Section 509 of IPC. Therefore, please consider the issue and take serious action and do the needful," Mumbai Mahila Congress president Ajantaa R Yadav said in the letter. Also Read | Heres why Abhishek Bachchan wont react to Vivek Oberois tweet However, while talking to ANI, Vivek had said that he doesn't see anything offensive in his tweet and will not apologise since he has not done anything "wrong." "Those who are in the meme have no objection while scores of politicians are trying to politicise the issue. They don't work on issues but start their politics on such non-issues. There is a 'Didi' in West Bengal who puts people behind jail for a meme. Now, these people are demanding to put Vivek Oberoi behind bars. They were unable to stop my film and hence are now are trying to put me behind bars," Vivek had said. Refusing to tender apologies, Oberoi had said: "People are asking me to apologise. I have no problem in apologising, but tell me what wrong have I done. If I have done something wrong, I will apologise. I don't think I have done anything wrong. What's wrong in it? Somebody tweeted a meme and I laughed at it." The National Commission for Women (NCW) had later issued a notice to actor Oberoi demanding explanation over his tweet on the exit polls. The first look of Trishas Raangi was out and is going viral on the internet. Directed by Saravanan of Engeyum Eppodhum fame, the story said to be penned by the formers mentor AR Murugadoss. Raangi in Tamil refers to a headstrong girl who has loads of attitude and it is speculated that Trisha plays a strong and bold character in it and the first look can be said to emphasise that. The 96 star looks fierce while being handcuffed by cops in a foreign locale. Sources say Trishas obstinate nature in the female centric script will land her in trouble and how she intelligently handles the situation and comes out of it forms the rest. The first shooting schedule was completed in ECR in the city and the team is taking off to Uzbekistan for its next schedule. Meanwhile, Trisha is also excited about her upcoming venture in Sumanth Radhakrishnans direction, which is an adventure thriller disaster genre, a theme that has not been explored in Tamil cinema. Former civil servant and author M.J. Josephs book My Driver Tulong will be discussed on May 24. The event will be moderated and hosted by City Book Leader's chief curator Mohit Gupta, at DLF Riverside on Bay View Road, Vyttila. The book is a detailed narration of the delightful years that Joseph spent in Cambodia working for the UN and the experiences he gained when the country had just morphed from a war-torn Communist moth into a fascinating free market. Written with a Maughamian touch, the book delves deep into the soul of Cambodia, molded by the ancient culture of Angkor and other aspects. My Driver Tulong, through mesmerising characters who personify the ancient soul of Cambodia and epitomise its modernising mind, describes the contemporary Cambodia and its people. The author details about the people, their lives and loves, their joys and tribulations, their hopes and their anguish. Most of all their innocence is captured in the delightfully inter-connected stories. The characters come alive to etch a never-before known Cambodia. Josephs honed observation and delightful humour makes this fictional stretched-travelogue a genre apart and a must read for everyone whether a traveller or not interested in South East Asia, Indo-China or Cambodia. It would be the first time in 48 years that an incumbent Prime Minister, heading a majority government, would be voted to power again with a majority. (Photo: File) Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created history. It would be the first time in 48 years that an incumbent Prime Minister, heading a majority government, would be voted to power again with a majority. On May 17, PM Modi in a press conference expressed his confidence that his government would return to power will full majority. He said it would be as big a milestone in Indias electoral history as his victory in 2014. In 2014, the BJP had won 282 seats in the Lok Sabha. It was the first time in three decades that any party acquired an absolute majority. "It is after a long time that a majority government, after completing its full five-year term, will again attain a victory. This will be a very significant event," Modi remarked. The last time an incumbent PM returned to power was in 1971 when Indira Gandhi led the Congress to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967 (for the United Congress). Indira Gandhi also managed to get a clear majority for two more terms in 1971 and then in 1980. There have been two more cases of a prime minister returning to power in successive elections ---- Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and Manmohan Singh in 2009. In both terms, the BJP and Congress had to rely on support of allies to cross the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha. New Delhi: After the massive victory in the Lok Sabha polls, non-BJP state governments in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh face a serious threat. In the elections for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly last year, the Congress won 114 seats and the BJP came a close second with 109. The Bahujan Samaj Party has two seats, Samajwadi Party one and Independents four seats. The Congress had wrested power from the BJP. Two short of the majority mark on its own, the Congress has the support of the BSP and SP in the Assembly. The Congress has accused BJP in Madhya Pradesh of offering upto Rs 25 crores to his MLAs to switch sides and bring down the government. Now with the Congress managing to win only one of the states 29 Lok Sabha seats, the BSP and the BSP MLAs may rethink their support to the Kamal Nath government. BJP general secretary and Madhya Pradesh leader Kailash Vijayvargiya has also said the Kamal Nath governments fall was imminent. On the other hand, growing dissent in the Karnataka Congress and its deteriorating relationship with JD(S) leaders are believed to be the triggers to bring down the one-year-old H.D. Kumaraswamy government. According to BJP insiders, at least 12 Congress MLAs are lined up to join the BJP as they were only waiting for the May 23 results. In the past year, the BJP has many times tried Operation Lotus to ensure the fall of the Karnataka government, but has failed. Thiruvananthapuram: Wayanads record margin of 431,770 votes offers the southern lifeline to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, whose presence helped UDF garner an unprecedented tally of 19 out of the 20 seats in Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, scripting a counter narrative to Prime Minister Narendra Modis muscular nationalism at the centre. But the big story is also the rout of the LDF in the only State it is in power. Its lone win, by the slenderest margin of 9, 213 votes in Alappuzha, signals the LDFs worst setback since it was formed in 1980 as a programatic coalition. The UDF has overnight overturned the electoral profile of the State, gaining the majority in 123 out of the 140 Assembly segments, many of them CPM bastions for decades. The LDF now holds a mere 16 Assembly segments. The results also knock the bottom out of the CPM theory that BJPs growth would be at the expense of the UDF. Latest figures show that the UDFs vote share has risen to 47.30 per cent as against 41.89 percent in 2014, when it won 12 seats and LDF 8. The CPMs vote share has plunged to around 33 percent, as against 40.12 percent in 2014. The Congress latest vote share is 37.30 percent. BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai claims the BJP vote share has gone up to 16 per cent from around 10.5 per cent in 2014. The BJP drew a blank in the State just as it was summarily rejected south of the Vindhyas in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. For BJP, Sabarimala was reckoned to be its Ayodhya moment in Kerala, but its showing hasnt been any better than in 2014, in terms of seats. Unseen was the UDF wave, which CPM State boss Kodiyeri Balakrishnan confirmed on the day of counting on Thursday, recalling it is similar to the LDF tally of 18 seats in 2004 that left one each to the Muslim League and the NDA. The UDF wave has been attributed to the deep-felt resentment across communities against the LDFs approach to Sabarimala, the pro-Rahul minority consolidation, seeing him as the PM in waiting, and the growing voter apathy towards the CPM brand of political violence. The UDF, which won 12 seats in 2014, wrested seven more this time from the LDF. Three sitting Congress MLAs won - Adoor Prakash (Cong-Konni) in Attingal, Hibi Eden (Cong) Ernakulam and K Muraleedharan (Cong-Vattiyoorkavu) in Vadakara. This calls for Assembly by-elections in six months to fill up vacancies. The lone woman winner is the enfant terrible of Alathur (SC) and former Kunnamangalam block panchayat president Ramya Haridas, whose song-and-dance electioneering pulled off 1 lakh-plus margin. Palakkad is the shocker where the underdog, V K Manikandan, defeated two-term MP, Mr M B Rajesh, by a margin of 11,637 votes. Attingal too sprang a surprise as the CPM veteran A Sampath lost to Adoor Prakash (Congress) Loud and clear has been the message from Malabar to the CPM despite its protestations of innocence. The formidable line-up of Congress candidates Rajmohan Unnithan, K Sudhakaran and K Muraleedharan, who match the CPM punch for punch, mined votes, even penetrating the red fortresses such as Dharmadom (CMs constituency) and Thrikkaripur. Going by victory leads, after Rahul Gandhi, Muslim League general secretary P K Kunhalikutty has the highest margin-260,153. Seven in 1-L plus club: N K Premachandran (RSP) Kollam 149,772, Hibi Eden (Cong) Ernakulam 169,153, Ramya Haridas (Cong) Alathur 158,968, Malappuram 260, 153 , Kottayam 106,259, Chalakudy 132,274, Idukki 171,053, Ponnani 193,273 Between 50,000-1 L: Shashi Tharoor -Thiruvananthapuram 999,89, K Muraleedharan-Vadakara 84,663, M K Raghavan-Kozhikode 85,225, K Sudhakaran-Kannur 94,559, Kodikunnil Suresh-Mavelikara 61,500, T N Pratapan-Thrissur 93,663. Less than half lakh: Anto Antony-Pathanamthitta 44,613, V K Sreekandan Palakkad 11,637, Rajmohan Unnithan-Kasargod 40, 438, Adoor Prakash 38, 247 Gambit pays off: UDFs gambit of pulling out its heavyweights from Assembly constituencies and packing them off to breach CPM citadels paid off. Now they will have to prepare for the next assault- a repeat performance in six Assembly seats where by-elections are due in six months-Vattiyoorkavu, Konni, Pala (death of K M Mani), Ernakulam, Aroor and Manjeswaram (death of P B Abdul Razak) AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy wreaked sweet revenge on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by ensuring the rout of the CPM during his stewardship. Its no secret that there is no love lost between the two, given Mr Vijayans grouse against Mr Chandy for his alleged role in the Lavalin probe and the alacrity with which Mr Vijayan had sought to pin Mr Chandy down in the Solar sex scam. Its the hour of reckoning for the Chief Minister, who took a bold stand favouring the entry of young women in Sabarimala. He will have to account for the rout though he had merely implemented the party line the way he deemed fit. His counter to the Sabarimala agitation by the BJP and the UDF flopped; the Renaissance Wall was no match to the nama japam agitation. In hindsight, Rahul did well to listen to the counsel of senior leaders such as A K Antony and Oommen Chandy to contest from the second safe seat of Wayanad and not yield to pressures mounted by P C Chacko through his mentor Sharad Pawar to withdraw, lest it should hurt the secular camp. It would have been suicidal going by the shock defeat on the home turf of Amethi. Hyderabad: With the TRS managing to secure only nine of the 17 seats, the party working president and Siricilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao said that the results proved to be different from their expectations. During an informal interaction with the media persons after the results at the Telangana Bhavan, he said that the party will analyse the reasons for the defeat of the party candidates in the certain constituencies from where they expected victory. He said the people of Telangana have voted again for us and gave a majority, for which we thank them and the party workers. In a democracy, we have to honour the peoples verdict and we will honor it. We will also rededicate ourselves to work to fulfill the people's aspirations in the coming years. Stating that the results are contrary to their expectations, he said that after getting the feedback the party will review the reasons for losing certain constituencies including Nizamabad. Mr Rama Rao congratulated Modi for being elected as the PM for the second time and also conveyed wishes to the winning candidates of all the parties including YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Naveen Patnaik. Mumbai: Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) clinches a clean sweep in the Odisha assembly elections. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tried to increase the vote margin than the previous elections. The BJD has secured 104 seats. While the BJP has joined the race with 25 seats, the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to attain 15 seats and the Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPM) with 1 seat. The counting of votes began at 8 am. The Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha took place simultaneously in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. In 2014 Odisha assembly election, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had won 117 seats out of the total 147. The Congress had won 16 seats while the BJP, on the other hand, 10 of the 147 assembly seats. An Odisha-centric exit poll jointly done by Sambad, the most circulated regional daily in the state, and Kanak News, its group-owned TV channel, gives BJD a massive lead over its closest rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sampling a survey of over 100,000 respondents, the exit poll forecasts BJD winning 85-95 of the 147 Assembly seats, where outcomes were polled till this report was filed. The BJP is seen contending with a distant second spot with 25-34 seats, while for the Congress, the poll trend is a reprisal of its mortifying electoral performance in 2014. Congress partys presence is seen diminishing to 12-15 seats. Read: Andhra Pradesh results LIVE: It is TDP vs YSR Congress A collective prediction of Kanak News and News18 Odia for the Odisha Assembly Election 2019 projects BJDs win. On the other hand, the BJP may add more to its 2014 tally by 16 seats, which comes up to 26 of the 147-seat assembly. Congress, on the other hand, may manage to win only 12 seats, a drop of four seats less than what it had won in the 2014 polls. The other parties will collectively win 24 seats in Odisha. Among the main candidates in Odisha, Naveen Patnaik contested in two seats - Hinjili in Ganjam district and Bijepur in Bargarh. Senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra contested from Bolangir assembly seat, while BJP's legislature party leader KV Singhdeo is contested from Patnagarh. Also Read: Tamil Nadu results LIVE: Will Stalin become the next CM? Before the gradual rise of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) formed by Biju Patnaik and his son Naveen Patnaik, the political arena was dominated by the Congress. The upsurge of Congress party in the state as the only secular, progressive force in Odisha was countered by the BJD, which has managed to gain a majority for the last three consecutive terms. The BJP has also made its presence felt in the state, and is considered an important political party in Odisha. Also Read: Who will win the 17th Lok Sabha? Verdict today The regional parties apart from BJD in the state are Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Janata Dal(United), Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Samajwadi Party (SP). Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India, Marxist (CPM), Indian National Congress (INC) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are the national parties in Odisha at present. Also Read: Sikkim Results Live: Will Sikkim see a change or it's going to be SDF again? Odisha, earlier known as Orissa, has a rich and varied political tradition. From the ancient times, the state has remained politically active. However, Odisha's political prominence was heightened after it was granted complete statehood in 1950. Odisha has a 147-member strong Vidhan Sabha. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party reversed its Assembly losses in the Hindi heartland states, kept its strong hold on old bastions and made significant inroads in the east and the south to come back to yet another resurgent victory over wan opponents. The party has done exceptionally well in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat and Bihar. Though the party lost some ground in the crucial Uttar Pradesh, it has managed to stay ahead of the Mahagathbandhan (the strategic alliance of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party). Apart from these key states, the reason behind the partys incredible performance is two other states which were aloof to the BJP. Read: 2019 Lok Sabha election results LIVE: India chooses Modi 2.0 in clean sweep The party's penetration in West Bengal and Telangana (in 2014, the polls were conducted for the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh) reflects the partys commitment to strike electoral victory. Out of the 42 seats in West Bengal, the BJP was leading in 18 seats which is remarkable as the state has always been ruled by the Left and the Trinamool Congress for over four decades. In 2014, the BJP had got two seats each in West Bengal and undivided Andhra Pradesh and prior to that, in 2009, the BJP had won one seat in West Bengal and none in Andhra. Before that, the party was nowhere in the picture in these states. Last time, in West Bengal, Babul Supriyo and S S Ahluwalia of the BJP won the seats of Asansol and Darjeeling respectively. The victory margin was also significant as Supriyo won by over 70,000 votes and Ahluwalia won by around 2 lakh votes. In 2009, Jaswant Singh won Darjeeling parliamentary constituency by over 2.5 lakh votes. This was the only constituency which the party was able to secure in 2009 election. This increase in number of seats is significant as the state witnessed one of the most violent election campaigns in the recent times when the political workers of the TMC and the BJP lost their lives and statewide protests were reported. In one of the incidents, Union Minister Babul Supriyos car was allegedly attacked by TMC workers. Also, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP National President Amit Shah were not allowed to land in West Bengal as a part of their election campaign as West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee took on the BJP which she believed was framing her confidants and sympathisers in scams. It is also important to note that in West Bengal, the Left is no where in the picture. BJP is widely believed to have penetrated into the Lefts votebank. The regions which gave maximum dividend to BJP were north Bengal, the tribal belt and the border constituencies. The saffron party led in Indo-Bangladesh border constituencies of Ranaghat, Krishnanagar and Bongaon. The BJP banked on citizenship amendment bill and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which seemed to have worked in the partys favour. The BJP was leading in Purulia, Jhargram, Bankura, Medinipur, Bishnupur, Burdwan, Asansol, Bangaon, Hooghly, Ranaghat, Darjeeling, Alipurduars, Jalplaiguri, Cooch Behar, Raiganj, Maldaha Dakshin and Maldaha Uttar. It had managed to rouse Hindu sentiments in Bengal, symptoms of which were seen in the run-up to the elections during Ram Navami. In Telangana, the BJP was ahead in five out of 17 seats. The state voted for the first time in Lok Sabha (after its separation from Andhra Pradesh). One of the significant wins is BJPs D Arvinds massive lead over Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Raos daughter Kavita. In Karimnagar, senior TRS MP B Vinod Kumar was trailing by close to 50,000 votes against the BJP nominee Bandi Sanjay Kumar. In Adilabad, Soyam Bapu Rao of the BJP surged ahead of the TRS and Congress rivals. The other seat where BJP was steadily leading was Secunderabad where G Kishan Reddy maintained comfortable margin. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. A beaming Thakur was seen waving to the supporters. (Photo: ANI) Bhopal: BJP's Bhopal Lok Sabha seat candidate Pragya Singh Thakur, who recently kicked up a row with some of her remarks and was observing silence for 63 hours as a mark of penance, Thursday broke the vow to express her elation over poll trends which showed her in an unassailable lead. Thakur expressed happiness over the Lok Sabha poll trends which showed her ahead of her nearest Congress rival Digvijay Singh by over 90,000 votes. "I am happy with the people's response," she told reporters at her home and waved to people and her supporters who were chanting "Jai Shri Ram". BJP Bhopal candidate Pragya Singh Thakur on trends showing she is leading: Nischit meri vijay hogi, meri vijay mein dharm ki vijay hogi, adharm ka naash hoga. Mein Bhopal ki janta ka aabhaar deti hun. pic.twitter.com/d2zZ0LPptQ ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 A beaming Thakur was seen waving to the supporters. Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, Monday apologised for the controversial remarks and set out to observe silence to do some "soul searching". She had last week lauded Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a "patriot", sparking furious debate in the last lap of the seven-phase elections. The Congress alleged that "insulting martyrs is in the DNA" of the BJP, which also condemned her remarks. She also earlier said that she had "cursed" 26/11 attack martyr, IPS officer Hemant Karkare, for torturing her and falsely implicating her in the blast case. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said he will never forgive Thakur for insulting Mahatma Gandhi. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. Kumaraswamy also thanked the workers of coalition parties, JD(S) and the Congress, for the support and cooperation during the elections. (Photo: File) Bengaluru: Calling the Lok Sabha election results "unexpected", Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the leaders of his party JD(S) and Congress would deliberate on the reasons behind the defeat in the election. As the BJP badly mauled the ruling coalition, Kumaraswamy conceded defeat and said he respected the mandate of the people. "Leaders of both parties of coalition will hold a discussion about the loss of JDS-Congress coalition candidates. "Our party has seen many victories & losses over the years and party workers need not lose heart on this loss. Let us strive to strengthen the party in the days ahead," the chief minister tweeted. He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for emerging victorious for the second time, saying he respected the mandate of the people. Kumaraswamy also thanked the workers of coalition parties, JD(S) and the Congress, for the support and cooperation during the elections. Former chief minister and Congress strongman Siddaramaiah too tweeted on the same lines, saying the results were unexpected. While greeting the prime minister on his return to power for the second time, Siddaramaiah tweeted, "Winning and losing is an integral part of our electoral politics & this is the beauty of democratic process. Though the loss was unexpected, we humbly accept people' mandate. I thank all those who supported our candidates & our fight will continue." Siddaramaiah, who is also the coordination committee chairman of the coalition parties, congratulated all those who were elected to the Lok Sabha from Karnataka. Wishing them the best, Siddaramaiah said they would protect the interests of the people of Karnataka in Parliament in one voice. Thiruvananthapuram: The hopes of state BJP and the RSS leaders to bag a few Lok Sabha seats were dashed when the results were announced on Thursday. They were anticipating to win Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur constituencies. While they emerged second in the capital, they were relegated to the third position in the last two seats. Now, all eyes are going to be on the BJPs national president Amit Shahs next move on the State leadership which failed miserably to cash in on the Sabarimala issue. If the BJP had managed to get 10.3 per cent vote share during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, now their vote share has increased slightly, to 12.93 per cent. The State RSS leadership was keen to bring in Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekhar to contest from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat. There was a triangular contest between the UDFs Shashi Tharoor and LDFs C. Divakaran. There was a minority consolidation in favour of Tharoor much to the disappointment of the BJP and RSS camps. Their only solace was they managed to push Divakaran to the third position. At the same time, hopes were high on BJP state general secretary K. Surendran, who emerged third in Pathanamthitta, the epicentre of the Sabarimala politics. It may be recalled that it was the RSS state leadership who ensured that Kummanam and Surendran should contest from Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta seats. This is not only the defeat of the State BJP leadership, the RSS leadership also share equal responsibility for its poor performance. Probably, BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai will claim that if he had contested from Pathanamthitta, he would have won with the help of the NSS votes there, a senior BJP leader told this newspaper. It may be recalled that the candidature in Pathanamthitta was delayed with Sreedharan Pillai and Surendran eyeing the seat. The RSS State leadership which took a call had favoured Mr Surendran. In Thrissur, the RSS leadership had expected actor turned politician Suresh Gopi to get more than 3.5 lakh votes but he had to be satisfied with 2,93,822 votes. However, interestingly, K.S. Radhakrishnan had polled over 1.86 lakh votes in Alappuzha which was rather unexpected. Until a few months ago, he was in the Congress camp and the BJP had not expected him to garner so many votes from Alappuzha. But now the BJP and RSS leaderships have to concentrate on the next battle in front of them the Assembly byelection in Vattiyoorkavu, Konni, Aroor and Ernakulam and also in Pala and Manjeshwaram. When it comes to allies, BDJS state president Tushar Vellapally came third by polling 78,816 votes against Congress Rahul Gandhi and CPIs P.P. Suneer. Patna: In a historic mandate for the Lok Sabha polls 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA won the elections with the thumping majority. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the spectacular victory of BJP led NDA. While talking to reporters in Patna Mr Kumar said that Both Centre, as well as the state government, worked for the development. This result is a blessing to the NDA and it also clearly shows what kind of government people of Bihar want. I assure them that we will continue to work for the development and public safety. In Bihar, the Congress along with three other grand alliance partners Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and Vikasheel Insan Party (VIP) failed in saving their electoral space after the poll results on Thursday. The final result shows that the NDA in the state won 39 out of 40 seats while the grand alliance managed to bag only one seat in Bihar. Though the RJD and Congress is yet to assess their massive defeat, political analysts are of the opinion that RJD Chief Lalu Yadavs absence during the poll campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi factor and nationalism issue turned out to be a bigger challenge for the grand alliance in Bihar. In 2014 parliamentary election, the NDA minus Nitish Kumars JD(U) had won 31 out of 40 seats. However this time according to JD(U) leaders Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too emerged as a major factor due to his seven resolves for development, successful liquor prohibition across the state and several social reform programs. People voted on Narendra Modis face and Nitish Kumars developmental work in Bihar. This result is also an indication that the NDA is going to win the 2020 assembly elections with a thumping majority, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said. However, in this election political experts had predicted a tough contest for the NDA in view of the pre-poll alliance among RJD, Congress and three other regional parties including Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhis HAM and Koeri leader Upendra Kushwahas RLSP but the alliance suffered a setback. The RJD had also distributed a sizeable number of seats to all its allies including one to the CPI-ML in order to stop the division of secular, OBC and EBC votes. Jitan Ram Manjhis HAM was the first to accept the poll defeat. Speaking with this newspaper after the results HAM spokesperson Danish Rizwan said, We have accepted peoples mandate. We will sit and analyze why the grand alliance lost so badly in the Lok Sabha polls. RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha also accepted the defeat and said instead of blaming others we should sit and assess our performance in this election. The result shows that the opposition failed in reading the mood of people. Both Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha had contested from two seats each but were defeated by NDA candidates. Other prominent grand alliance leaders to face defeat were the film star turned politician Shatrughan Sinha, veteran socialist leader Sharad Yadav and Lalu Yadavs daughter Misa Bharti. Congress nominee Shatrughan Sinha was pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib Seat. He was defeated by a margin of 1.5 Lakh votes. Similarly, the prestigious battle was also seen in Patliputra where RJD chief Lalu Yadavs daughter Misa Bharti was contesting against Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav. Besides, CPI candidate from Begusarai seat, Kanhaiya Kumar was defeated by Union minister and BJP nominee Giriraj Singh from Begusarai seat. Buoyed by a similar experiment in the three Lok Sabha bypolls of Gorakhpur, Kairana and Phulpur, the SP-BSP-RLD alliance was supposed to be the magic wand which would take away at least 40 seats from the BJPs kitty. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: Amongst the biggest unravellings of this election has been the fizzling out of the SP-BSP gathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh, which was supposed to be the one alliance which could prevent Narendra Modis march to the Lok Sabha. The two parties had come together for the first time after 1993 when they had managed to keep the BJP at bay in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. Buoyed by a similar experiment in the three Lok Sabha bypolls of Gorakhpur, Kairana and Phulpur, the SP-BSP-RLD alliance was supposed to be the magic wand which would take away at least 40 seats from the BJPs kitty. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats. In the general elections, however, it is evident that the Yadav and Jatav votes were not transferred seamlessly at the ground level despite joint rallies by the top leaders of the two parties. The Gathbandhan could made only a miniscule dent, winning just 21 seats and the BJP winning more than 60. As far as ground politics goes, the one reason which could have been attributed is the Congress fielding separate candidates in at least more than 30 seats. The Congress won Rae Bareli, which is the constituency of former UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Rahul Gandhi was decimated by Union minister Smriti Irani in the other Gandhi family bastion of Amethi. In hindsight, Mr Gandhis decision to contest from Wayanad was a wise one afterall. Officially, the Congress has maintained that they have cut into the BJPs upper caste votes and thus helped the SP-BSP in pockets. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had hinted at so when she said that the Congress had deliberately fielded weak candidates in certain pockets. However, what can be safely be assumed now is that the Grand Old Party of India has actually done was to wean away at a large chunk of the Muslim votes from the SP-BSP kitty, thus helping the BJP surge ahead. Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had hinted the same when he had said that towards the end, the entire Muslim votebank had shifted to the Congress. The Congress has itself maintained that what it aimed at was strengthening its organisation and the 2022 Assembly polls were its real target. Another important factor is the zero seats won by the RLD which had contested 3 seats. Analysts say the results in Western Uttar Pradesh show that the Jat votes remained polarised. While the Muzaffarnagar riots which had led to polarisation among the Jats were said to be reason behind the 2014 win in western Uttar Pradesh, the win in Kairana had given a different hope. New Delhi: A campaign built systematically around the nationalism plank and Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity, coupled with pro-incumbency of his government, supervised by a master strategist working 24X7 and a political organisation which was perpetually in an election mode since 2014, resulted in the 2019 NaMo Tsunami 2:0. Hailed by many as a master strategist, BJP president Amit Shah made sure that the entire campaign is built around the partys Modi Vs None narrative and ended up succesfully trapping the Opposition camp in its poll narrative. For many in the BJP, the 2019 election was an electoral battle between Modi supporters Vs Modi opponents. It was perhaps for the first time that the ruling partys poll narrative overshadowed all other issues and did not let the game spoilers - caste arithemetic and caste combination upset saffron partys poll prospects. Even issues like rural and dalit distress, unemployment and upset farming community, which used to hog the political discourse, did not make any impact during the entire campaiging schedule. Mr Modis popularity and BJPs nationalism and development planks overshadowed almost every other issue. With more than 11 crore members, including over 10 crore primary members, the BJP utilised its massive support base for launching numerous outreach campaigns, making sure that Mr Modis main support base women, youth and the middle-class remained intact. Added to it was more than 22 crore benificiaries of Modi governments various schemes, who the BJP leadership claimed supporterd the NDA government wholeheartedly. The core strategy of the saffron party was basically to convert Mr Modis popularity into a successful political strategy and to project him as the true leader of this age. The election strategy of the BJP focussed on maing its presence felt at every booth across all the districts in all the states. Its campaign Mera Booth Sabse Majboot helped the party in getting members in almost all the states till the booth level, with the party even engaging its supporters and volunteers in the election related activities. The first step towards stregnthning the organisation was launching the BJPs membership drive soon after the party come to power in 2014. The drive helped in enrolling more than 11 crore members. The RSS on its part deputed its leaders to assist the BJP in every state, most importantly in Odisha and West Bengal, from the where party was hoping it could compensate for seats it loses in UP. The BJPs decision to give tickets to new leaders also helped it projecting itself as the party for the youth. Though its campaign for 2014 was Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, the BJP was wary of the political influence of Dalits, OBCs and the minorities therefore, the entire Sangh Parivar was engaged in wooing them. In a systematic manner, the Sangh Parivar, including the BJP presented Mr Modi as the true leader of dalits and the OBCs, with facts on initiatives taken by his government for them. DARA does not only connect people with shared interests in the creative global community but also employs a modified personality test to match people based on their disposition. British Council has launched India's first chatbot for creative professionals, called DARA. DARA, developed in partnership with Jaaga and Microsoft Research India, is a digital assistant to help emerging Indian creative professionals collaborate with international peers for their ongoing projects. DARA does not only connect people with shared interests in the creative global community but also employs a modified personality test to match people based on their disposition. The digital assistant is currently hosted on its official website - dara.network and through a dedicated Facebook page. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. When a victim pays a criminal after being extorted with ransomware, the ransom transaction in Bitcoin and all additional transactions can then be tracked through the open ledger. A much overlooked but essential part in financially motivated (cyber)crime is making sure that the origins of criminal funds are obfuscated or made to appear legitimate, a process known as money laundering. Cleaning money in this way allows the criminal to spend their loot with less chance of being caught. In the physical world, for instance, criminals move large sums of cash into offshore accounts and create shell companies to obfuscate the origins of their funds. In the cyber underground where Bitcoin is the equivalent of cash money, it works a bit differently. As Bitcoin has an open ledger on which every transaction is recorded, it makes it a bit more challenging to obfuscate funds. When a victim pays a criminal after being extorted with ransomware, the ransom transaction in Bitcoin and all additional transactions can then be tracked through the open ledger. This makes following the money a powerful investigative technique, but criminals have come up with an inventive method to make tracking more difficult; a mixing service. A mixing service will cut up a sum of Bitcoins into hundreds of smaller transactions and mixes different transactions from other sources for obfuscation and will pump out the input amount, minus a fee, to a certain output address. Mixing Bitcoins that are obtained legally is not a crime but, other than the mathematical exercise, there no real benefit to it. The legality changes when a mixing service advertises itself as a successful method to avoid various anti-money laundering policies via anonymity. This is actively offering a money laundering service. Bestmixer.io Last year advertisements for new mixing service called Bestmixer.io appeared on several Cryptocurrency related websites. Nature of the service Bestmixer offered a very clear page on why someone should mix their cryptocurrency. On this page, Bestmixer described the current anti-money laundering policies and how its service could help evade these policies by making funds anonymous and untraceable. Offering such a service is considered illegal in many countries. A closer inspection of the Bestmixer site revealed that its website was hosted in the Netherlands. McAfee ATR contacted the Financial Advanced Cyber Team (FACT) of the Dutch anti-Fraud Agency (FIOD) of Bestmixer.ios location. FACT is a team that is specialized in investigating the financial component of a (cyber)crime. A yearlong International investigation led to the takedown of Bestmixers infrastructure today. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Elwell said the FAA sent Boeing additional questions about its proposed fixes for the MAX planes, which caused the delay. (Photo:AP) Washington: The US's aviation regulator has still not received Boeing's proposed fix for its 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded globally following two deadly crashes, the agency's chief said on Wednesday. Boeing has said it will patch the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) stall prevention system, which has been blamed for the two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a total of 346 people and caused the best-selling planes to be taken out of service. Boeing said last week that it had finished making changes requested by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but the agency's interim chief Dan Elwell told reporters the agency hadn't yet seen the fixes. Also Read: China's big three airlines seek 737 MAX payouts from Boeing: reports "We are still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software for approval," he said on the sidelines of a summit of global aviation regulators in Fort Worth, Texas. Elwell said the FAA sent Boeing additional questions about its proposed fixes for the MAX planes, which caused the delay. The summit set to begin Thursday will see the FAA attempt to re-establish trust with aviation regulators from 33 countries including China, Canada, the European Union, Ethiopia and Indonesia. The regulator called the summit to walk through the steps taken to address concerns with the MAX aircraft after it was criticized for dragging its feet on ordering the jets grounded. Michael Stumo, left, and Nadia Milleron, center, parents of Samya Stumo, 24, a Massachusetts resident who died in the Ethiopian plane crash, listen during a House Transportation Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, on the status of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Canadian and American regulators have differed on the proper training for the 737 MAX 8, with Canada insisting pilots train in a flight simulator and the US saying a training course on a computer or iPad is enough. "We haven't determined the final training yet," Elwell said. Two American carriers -- Southwest and American -- have announced plans to restart flights on their MAX aircraft from August in hopes the fix will be completed by then. The FAA chief added that he couldn't say when the jet would be back in the air, blaming the recent delay. "It takes as long as it takes to be right," Elwell said. "We need to be the first to lift the prohibition." The House can pass the articles by a simple majority vote, 'impeaching' the president. (Photo:AP) Washington: The push among Democrats in the US Congress to impeach US President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice is gaining strength. While holding off pressure from party legislators to begin the process of removing a president, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi openly accused Trump Wednesday of a "cover-up" -- an impeachable offense. Trump expressed outrage, but the White House girded for the possibility that Trump could be put on trial by Congress. "The 'I-word.' Can you imagine?" Trump said irately to reporters. Also Read: Indian-American judge orders Trump accounting firm to hand over records to Congress No president has been ousted from office by impeachment, but even the threat can bring one down -- Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 to avoid certain removal in the Watergate scandal. Two presidents beat the process: the House of Representatives formally impeached Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, but in both cases the Senate then acquitted them. How does it work? If lawmakers believe a president is guilty of what the US Constitution calls "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors," the process begins in the House of Representatives. Any member can introduce an impeachment resolution, which like any other bill would be sent to a committee, most likely the House Judiciary Committee. The committee can review the evidence it receives, or investigate itself. If the evidence is strong enough, the committee crafts articles of impeachment -- criminal charges -- and sends them to the full House. The House can pass the articles by a simple majority vote, "impeaching" the president. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., left, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, and other congressional leaders, react to a failed meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on infrastructure, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday. (Photo:AP) The articles then go to the Senate, where a trial takes place, with representatives from the House acting as prosecutors and the president and his attorneys presenting his defense. The 100-member Senate then votes on the charges, with a two-thirds majority necessary to convict and remove the president. What kind of charges do presidents face? The accusations have to meet the constitutional standard "high crimes or misdemeanors," which is very broad. In the cases of Clinton and Nixon, independent prosecutors conducted extensive investigations and amassed evidence to support criminal charges. Nixon was accused of obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt. Clinton, in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, was accused of perjury and obstruction. In Trump's case, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in the Russia meddling investigation, detailed multiple instances of obstruction by Trump that would support charges. His extensive investigation could mean the House would not need its own lengthy probe. In addition, in the New York investigation of Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump was an unindicted co-conspirator in campaign finance violations, one of the crimes Cohen admitted guilt to. And Trump's refusal to bow to demands for cooperation and evidence from Congress could earn him a contempt citation. Is it about law or politics? Both Given the momentous nature of an effort to remove the president, a clear crime with strong evidence -- stronger than for an average citizen -- is required. At the same time, it is very much a political decision. In past impeachments, support and opposition ran along party lines, though in Nixon's case the offenses were so egregious that Republican backing for him quickly disintegrated. President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr arrive for a Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor presentation ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) In Democrat Clinton's case, Republicans controlled the entire Congress. But when impeachment charges went to the Senate, the 45 Democratic Senators stayed united to block a two-thirds vote for conviction. With Trump, Democrats are divided clearly for political reasons. Pelosi and her allies believe that impeaching Trump would go nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate and meanwhile could damage the party's effort to win control of the Congress and the White House in the November 2020 elections. Others in the party say Trump needs to be held accountable -- that Democratic voters demand it. How far along are we? Democrats remain undecided, but an increasing number are speaking out for impeachment. The Mueller investigation's final report provides substantial evidence for obstruction charges, even without further investigation. The next step would be a formal proposal. On Tuesday Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said she is preparing a "resolution of investigation" for impeachment. According to Roll Call, a Congressional publication, Jackson Lee sees a multi-step process. The resolution would be weighed by the Rules committee, and then sent to the floor of the full House, which would vote to approve launching a full-fledged probe of the president. The investigation would then be taken up by the Judiciary Committee, which would decide on articles of impeachment, and send them to the full House for a vote. Beijing: China must prepare for difficult times as the international situation is increasingly complex, President Xi Jinping said in comments carried by state media on Wednesday, as the country faces increased tariffs in a bitter trade war with Washington. The two countries are locked in tit-for-tat tariff increases on each others imports, after talks broke down to resolve their dispute. Acrimony has intensified since Washington last week blacklisted Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a potentially devastating blow for the company that has rattled technology supply chains and investors. During a three-day trip this week to the southern province of Jiangxi, one of the cradles of Chinas Communist revolution, Xi urged people to learn the lessons of hardship of the past. Also Read: 'US changed mind overnight': Chinese Ambassador blames Trump for sinking trade deal Today, on the new Long March, we must overcome various major risks and challenges from home and abroad and win new victories for socialism with Chinese characteristics, state news agency Xinhua paraphrased Xi as saying. Our country is still in a period of important strategic opportunities for development, but the international situation is increasingly complicated, he added. We must be conscious of the long-term and complex nature of various unfavourable factors at home and abroad, and appropriately prepare for various difficult situations. The report did not elaborate on those difficulties, and nor was there a direct mention of the trade war or of the United States. Photo, shows prices in the toy section at Walmart in Teterboro, N.J. An escalating trade war with China could mean higher prices on a broad array of products from toys to clothing. But some retailers will feel more pain than others, further deepening the divide between the winners and the losers that was evident in the latest earnings reports. Analysts say big box giants like Walmart and Target, which have had strong performances, are best positioned to absorb the higher costs because of their clout with suppliers. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) Xi also talked about the importance of technology, and emphasised that technology innovation is the lifeblood of companies. Only by having indigenous intellectual property and core technology can products possessing core competitiveness be produced, and only then can an invincible position be attained amid fierce competition. China must master more core technologies and seize the high ground in industrial development, he added. Xi visited a rare earths firm too, sparking speculation the sector could be the next front in the Sino-U.S. trade war. Xi learned in detail about Chinas rare earth resource situation, exploitation techniques, applications, and environmental protection measures, Xinhua said. Rare earths are important strategic resources, and are non-renewable resources. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. (Photo:AP) Beijing: China said on Thursday it had lodged a protest with Washington after two US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait amid rising tensions between the two powers. The US Navy said the USS Preble, a destroyer, and USNS Walter S. Diehl, a supply ship, conducted a routine transit in accordance with international law on Wednesday. The ships transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, the navy said. The US Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows. US warships periodically conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the narrow waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, triggering angry responses from Beijing every time. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially breaching its sovereignty, while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. We have lodged solemn representations with the US, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a regular press briefing. The sail-by comes on top of tensions between the United States and China over trade and US efforts to thwart Chinese telecom giant Huawei over security concerns. The transit also comes as the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia kicked off operation Pacific Vanguard near Guam, bringing together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries. Drills will focus on live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea, the US 7th Fleet said. In April, Beijing said its navy warned off a French warship that had entered the Taiwan Strait. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. London: Theresa May might quit as shes facing a growing cabinet revolt over her Brexit plan and humiliation for the Conservative Party in todays European elections, reports say. The prime minister is expected to announce a departure plan on Friday after failing to quell a ministerial mutiny over her revised EU withdrawal agreement, said The Independent. Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, the most prominent Brexiteer in the cabinet, resigned late on Wednesday and other ministers were expected to follow her out of the door. It comes as both the Tories and Labour face a drubbing in European parliament elections, with the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party set to capitalise, it says, Ms May will still be prime minister when Donald Trump arrives in Britain for his state visit in two weeks. Speaking at a cybersecurity conference in London, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt insisted she would be in place to greet the US president when he arrives on June 3 despite reports that she is expected to resign on Friday. Theresa May will be prime minister to welcome him and rightly so, he said. City of Westminster Police has just warned of temporary road closures in place around Whitehall while a suspect item assessed. Digital minister Margot James has said the PM is being hounded out of office. Its all very regrettable, but shes being hounded out of office because parliament will not make a decision and the parties just have an inability to compromise, she said. But in the end, there's got to be a compromise." An unprecedented number of extra police has been deployed in parts of the UK in anticipation of violence as voters go to the polls for the European elections, reports the British digital newspaper. The plan, revealed by Police Scotland, follows an increasingly tense and hostile election campaign that has seen clashes between far-right activists and anti-racism protesters. Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr, of Police Scotland, said four units comprising about 100 public order officers would be strategically placed throughout the day. Downing Street said that it was not currently possible to schedule second reading of the bill for 7 June because agreement has not yet been secured with the opposition through the process known as usual channels for the Commons to sit that Friday, which had previously been designated a non-sitting day. Adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the US military deployment to the region was a deliberate provocation. (Photo:AP) Geneva: The United States and its supporters do not dare attack Iran because of its "spirit of resistance", a senior Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted on Wednesday as saying. Tensions have spiked between Iran and the United States after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what US officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. "If the criminal America and its Western and regional allies don't dare carry out a face-to-face military attack against our country it is because of the spirit of resistance and sacrifice of the people and youth," Major General Gholamali Rashid said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Also Read: Iran quadruples nuclear capacity In a Twitter message addressed to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the US military deployment to the region was a deliberate provocation. "You @SecPompeo do not bring warships to our region and call it deterrence. That's called provocation. It compels Iran to illustrate its own deterrence, which you call provocation. You see the cycle?" the adviser, Hesameddin Ashena, tweeted in English. Later on Wednesday, Fars quoted another Guards commander as saying the elite force and regular Iranian military units had complete control of Gulf waters north of the Strait of Hormuz. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, center, walks to a classified briefing for members of the U.S. Senate on Iran, Tuesday, May 21, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) "Everything north of the Strait of Hormuz is under our control," Ali Fadavi was quoted by Fars as saying, referring to the strait at the Gulf's southeastern end through which about a fifth of the oil that is consumed globally flows. "(Movements of) American battleships in the region are under the complete control of Iran's army and the Revolutionary Guards," Fadavi told Fars, without providing details. In a statement, the US military said it would continue to fly and sail wherever international law allowed. "We stand ready with our allies and partners to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce throughout the US Central Command area of responsibility," Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman of US Central Command, said. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" Mumbai: US President Donald Trump congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his resounding win at the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, outlining that "great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm." Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 The US President joins scores of other world leaders in extending their wishes to PM Modi, as he's slated to undertake his second consecutive term as India's Prime Minister. Terming "India's elections an inspiration" across the world, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on their resounding victory in 17th Lok Sabha elections. "Congratulations to @narendramodi and the NDA for their victory in India's election, and to the Indian people for casting their votes in such historic numbers. As the world's largest exercise in democracy, #India's election is an inspiration around the world," tweeted Pompeo. Congratulations to @narendramodi and the NDA for their victory in Indias election, and to the Indian people for casting their votes in such historic numbers. As the worlds largest exercise in democracy, #Indias election is an inspiration around the world. pic.twitter.com/S7qAuX8lcq Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 23, 2019 Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, congratulated PM Modi on Twitter. He said that he looks forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in Southeast Asia. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi. #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/vOtNwnkMZk ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina have written to PM Modi congratualting him. Renil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka took to Twitter to congratulate his Indian compatriot Narendra Modi after poll results show a staggering victory for the Indian Prime Minister in the recently elected Lok Sabha polls. Narendra Modi's coalition is set to win around 340 out of 543 seats in the lower house of the parliament, leaving its arch nemesis Congress who barely managed to cross 100. Renil Wickremesinghe said that he is looking forward to working closely with the Indian Prime Minister. This comes after India showed groundbreaking support toward Sri Lanka after the recent Easter Bombings which took place on 21st April in six churches and hotels which led to the death of as many as 150 people. India provided intelligence support to its southern neighbour. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe tweets, "Congratulations to #NarendraModi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you." (file pic) pic.twitter.com/J8W6EvgLVl ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Next up to take to social media to heap congratulatory praise towards Narendra Modi was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In only a few days Netanyahu will become the longest serving Preseident ever to lead Israel. Congratulating PM Modi, he said he looks to strengthen the friendship between India and Israel. Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Prime Minister #NarendraModi, says, "will continue to strengthen our friendship between India and Israel". pic.twitter.com/zF9o2iHadE ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli also congratulated PM Modi after poll results. Nepalese PM KP Sharma Oli extends warmest congratulations to PM Modi for election victory.#ResultsWithAIR | #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/NMJQljgVFW All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 23, 2019 Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/2Er9WACMIH ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 China's Xi Jinping and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe too congratulated PM Narendra Modi in two separate telephonic conversations. Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for a "landslide victory" in the general elections and hoped to work closely with him in future. As the early trends in the vote count indicated a resounding victory for Modi, Oli posted a tweet wishing him a successful tenure. "I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you," he tweeted. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. With the elections establishing 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades in India, the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that BJP was expected to surpass its 2014 performance. Amid army's operation against the killers of an MLA and 10 others, security officials in Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday blamed "spillover militants" for 22% increase in militancy-related incidents since 2016 in the frontier state. According to officials, Arunachal saw an increase in militancy-related incidents even as there is no terrorist group based in the state. Citing a recent report of the ministry of home affairs, an official said at least three districts Tirap, Changlang, and Londing bordering Myanmar continue to remain a militancy hotbed as the area is frequented by cadre of NSCN (several factions) of Nagaland and Ulfa (Independent) and NDFB (S) of Assam as a transit route to reach their hideouts in neighboring Myanmar. These militants carry out subversive activities like extortion, abduction, and killings and flee to their camps. Such spillover activities have kept the state troubled, particularly in the bordering areas, said an official. Tirong Aboh, an MLA of National Peoples Party (NPP), his son and nine others were gunned down on Tuesday in Tirap district. The NPP is an ally of the BJP-led government in the state. Although the NSCN (IM) was suspected to be behind the attack, security officials on Wednesday said they were yet to confirm the involvement of the Naga outfit, which is in ceasefire with the Centre since 1997. The incident not only raised questions about security in the state but also raised concerns over the growing militancy-related incidents in the state. The annual report of the MHA 2017-18 said 61 insurgency-related incidents took place in 2017, in which nine insurgents (NSCN/K-6, NSCN/R-2, NSCN/NK-1) were killed and 44 insurgents arrested. There were 27 cases of extortions and kidnappings in the state, said the report. NSCN (Khaplang) cadre had attacked an Assam Rifles convoy in December 2016 in Longding district, about 15-km from Myanmar border, in which one jawan had died and eight others were injured. The MHA statistics have worried the security officials at a time the entire Northeast region saw an over 36% decrease in the insurgency-related incidents from 484 in 2016 to 308 in 2017. 2017 witnessed the lowest number of insurgency incidents in the region since 1997. Similarly, security forces casualties in the region also declined from 17 in 2016 to 12 in 2017 and civilian casualties dropped from 48 in 2016 to 37 in 2017. Counter-insurgency operations led to the neutralization of 57 militants, arrest of 995 militants and recovery of 432 weapons in 2017, said the report. The Northeast share 5,484km of the international border of which a stretch of 520km is in Arunachal Pradesh, with Myanmar, China, and Bhutan. A year ago, on this day, in the port town of Thoothukkudi in Tamil Nadu, thirteen lives were snatched by the police as they opened fire on unarmed protestors on the 100th day of their protest. They were demanding the closure of a copper smelting unit due to environmental and health concerns. A year on, today, the kin of the victims of the 'Thoothukkudi massacre' or also known as 'Sterlite Protest Firing', paid tribute to those who lost their lives as they lit their portraits with candles at events held in different parts of the district. But justice still eludes them. So far, while the CBI probe into the incident that began more than nine months ago has not resulted in any charge sheet being filed, other reports and probes such as a commission set up by the state and headed by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan have also not been completed. Meanwhile, reports suggest that attempts to reopen the Sterlite copper plant are underway through legal channels despite the opposition from the families of the murdered protestors who are urging the Tamil Nadu government to pass a special resolution in the assembly resolving to close the copper smelter permanently. On the first anniversary of the Thoothukkudi massacre, DH recaps the incident through the accounts of our correspondent E T B Sivapriyan who wrote several reports from ground zero with sustained coverage over time. Thoothukkudi on boil In this first piece, Sivapriyans ground report unearths important facts and details from the spot. Police firing shot and killed protesters who were marching towards the Thoothukkudi Collectorate, 5 kms away from the centre of the city. Relatives of the first 11 victims, initially, refused to accept the bodies, causing the police to fight pitched battles with residents in several areas, especially in the locality near the District Government Hospital. The police resorted to mild lathi charge through the day to disperse the crowd outside the hospital. Several high profile visitors in the opposition such as in opposition Leader M K Stalin, MDMK chief Vaiko and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan also visited the government hospitals to meet the injured and the families of those killed. Later, the district police filed cases against several of these political leaders for defying prohibitory orders. As the police went for a routine check at Anna Nagar, yards away from the government hospital, some locals are said to have pelted stones at them prompting them to use force. As police used guns to bring the situation under control, 22-year-old Kaliappan was killed in the 6th Street of Anna Nagar. Video footage showed police firing at Kaliappan, who fell to the ground instantly. As cries of locals rented the air, police dragged his body and transported it to the hospital through an ambulance. The fresh violence led to a heightening of tension in the port city that has seen peaceful protest over the issue since mid-February, writes Sivapriyan. Police targeted the protesters; shot at head: Victims families Jhansi Rani had just come out of her house in Thirespuram area near the Thoothukkudi beach on Tuesday evening to go to the neighbourhood grocery shop. That is when a huge police contingent had come to the area for routine patrol and had rounded up a group of youth who had gathered there. Rani, outspoken by nature and a brave woman, engaged with the police seeking to know why the youngsters were rounded up. And as the police battled with stones that came from both sides, they resorted to mild force in the beginning and later used guns to disperse the crowd. Rani died instantly after being hit by a bullet to her head. "Her death was so gory that the skull broke and her brain was thrown out on the streets. And the police did not stop at that. They dragged her body out of the area, bundled it into a vehicle and transported it to the government hospital," Robert Villavarayar, Ranis relative, told DHs Sivapriyan. A Reuters exclusive report on the firing on demonstrators after studying and reviewing reports by forensic medicine experts from several government hospitals found that twelve of the 13 protesters killed were hit by bullets in the head or chest, and half of those were shot from behind. For the youngest victim, J. Snowlin, the bullet entered the back of her head and exit through her mouth, the autopsy found, according to Reuters. Thoothukkudi back on feet, almost In the aftermath of the massacre, everything in the pearl city of India, came to a standstill. Prohibitory orders were imposed to quell the protests that erupted in anger over the police actions and essential services like internet and transport were suspended. These restrictions were slowly lifted as the situation limped into normalcy. Thoothukkudi: TN's Bhopal? His next report mentioned about the studies showing that Sterlite is the major pollutant of Thoothukkudis air and water. The latest report of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) confirmed that water around the smelter is heavily contaminated. Also asthmatic bronchitis, asthma, pharyngitis, sinusitis, loss of eyesight, skin diseases and menstrual disorders, like hemorrhagic and dysmenorrhea, are some of the diseases that are common in and around the area where the factory is located. The article also mentioned the violation of rules. The under-designed chimneys of the factory obstruct the scattering of heavy air pollutants like sulphur dioxide, which is a major cause for an increased ground-level concentration of the pollutants in areas close to the plant. In adverse weather conditions, the people of Thoothukkudi are prone to suffocation. One allowed, the other party nurtured Sterlite Sivapriyan's next report on the political forces that operate in Tamil Nadu showed the role both AIADMK and DMK played in ensuring the establishment and consolidation of the factory. AIADMKs late J Jayalalitha allowed the foundation of Sterlite in 1994, and in 1996 during the DMK regime, in 1996, that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) gave the No Objection Certificate (NOC). DMK sanctioned the order for allotment of land for Sterlites expansion in 2009 and 2010. In 2001-2006, the Jayalalitha government had allotted Sterlite land for expanding its plant. Ecology vs Economy in Thoothukkkudi The closure of the factory had an impact on the economy and livelihoods of the town, according to the report. While several thousand people have lost jobs due to the plants closure, the worst hit are the contractual employees and those who were indirectly dependent on Sterlite Copper, which absorbed only its permanent employees. On the economy side, the Customs Department and the V O Chidambaranar incurred heavy losses. Several lorry and tipper owners, who had invested in buying more vehicles in the hope that the Sterlites expansion plans would get them more trips, are in dire financial crisis. Since the plant has been closed, we have not been getting any revenue from Sterlite Copper. In the last fiscal, they paid around Rs 1,300 crore and this time the revenue from them is nil as they have stopped imports. Sterlite Copper is a large importer in Thoothukkudi, K V V G Diwakar, Commissioner of Customs, Thoothukkudi, told DH's Sivapriyan. Sterlite Copper closure cripples downstream industries This report focused on the unemployment that grew as small-scale industries suffered. As many as 400 small-scale industries that are dependent on copper produced within the country have suffered losses since there was a huge gap between demand and supply of the commodity. While almost all permanent employees have been absorbed by Sterlite Copper in its group companies, temporary employees and others who were dependent on the copper smelter have been severely hit due to the shutdown. Several hundred contractual employees have lost their jobs many are yet to find alternate employment, and some have left the Thoothukkudi town in search of greener pastures. Won't allow reopening of Sterlite: Victims families At a press conference held by the relatives of the victims a day after the supporter's rally, the family members of most of the 13 who were killed demanded a referendum in the port city to decide the fate of the Vedanta-owned copper smelter. Sivapriyan's report elaborates the relatives' accusation against the TN government being hand in gloves with Sterlite Copper. They wanted the government to erect a memorial for those who were killed. They also demanded a referendum to makes things clearer, as mentioned by Stephen, the brother of Gladston, who was shot in the head. With no jobs, contract workers in distress Drawing the needs and arguments of the supporters, ETB Sivapriyan iterates the story of former employees and lorry drivers and other workers associated with the Sterlite plant. Stories of Mohan, Vasudevan, Gunasekaran and Bhaskar are a few of the workers Sivapriyan highlighted. Karthick, who was working in the Effluent Treatment Plant of Sterlite Copper, tells Sivapriyan "If that is the case, why did not any one of those working here get affected. These theories are baseless and cannot be proved." Constant police presence creates fear in villagers What is our crime? Opposing Sterlite Copper plant and its expansion plans as it was wrecking our lives? Is opposing a factory such big a crime that we need to be put under surveillance? Nothing can change our mind from opposing the plant. We will not budge from our stand," says Vellathai to Sivapriyan. In this report, he notes the constant police surveillance causing Kumarettiyapuram villagers' to live in "fear psychosis" and them being "robbed from their water".He also points out the ideologies of employee-turned-opposers. May 22 still haunts families of Sterlite firing victims The last in ETB Sivapriyan's series, this report begins with the heartbreaking story of Vanitha, the mother of the youngest victim of the police firing, Snowlin. Jesubalan, the husband of Jhansi, is a fisherman who has not ventured into the sea as he wants to take care of his daughters as a single parent. I dont trust these politicians. They dont do what they say," Jesubalan said. Although, he says that he will vote, Jesubalan is sceptical that Sterlite Copper would be closed. (Compiled by Aishwaryaa R, Pranshu Rathee and Swapnajit Kundu) By Rebecca A. Hobbs, Esq., CELA ODonnell, Weiss, and Mattei, P.C. Referred to as Filial Support, Pennsylvania has a statute that creates liability for certain family members of an indigent person for their care (23 Pa. C.S.A. 4603). The classification of family members under the law that can be held responsible include, a spouse, child, and a parent. For the law to apply, the individual must be indigent which simply means that the person lacks sufficient means to pay for their care and maintenance. It is important to understand that there is no requirement that the family member did something improper that resulted in the unpaid nursing home bill. Therefore, filial support can create liability regardless of whether the family member acted wrongfully. There are two exceptions that may apply that would release the family member from financial liability: (1) if the family member does not have the money to support the indigent individual; and (2) if the parent abandoned the child for more than ten years while the child was a minor (23 Pa. C.S.A. 4603(a)(2)). Where an individual does not have the assets to pay privately for their nursing home care, they should apply for Medical Assistance for long-term care. If eligible, Medical Assistance will pay the cost of the individuals care and therefore this lessens liability. One of the most popular filial support cases involved a son being held liable for his mothers $93,000 unpaid nursing home bill. This case is HCRA v. John Pittas, (2012 Pa. Super 96). In this case, Johns mother entered a nursing home after a hospital stay. The mother moved to Greece, and the nursing home was left with an unpaid bill of $93,000. The nursing home sought payment from John under the filial support law. John was not an only child, but it was only him that was sued. John advanced the argument that his siblings should also be held liable, however, the court did not find this to be a valid argument. The court found that John was liable for the unpaid bill. Some of the facts that the court pointed to was that he had the financial resources to pay the bill, his mother did not. In another case, filial support law was applied in a different situation. In a 2014 Pennsylvania case, Eori v. Eori, one of three siblings sued the other two because he was providing support for their mother and the other two were not. The court ruled that the other two siblings were accountable for their mothers support under the law. To avoid the filial support liability, family members should educate themselves on the Medicaid rules and avoid unpaid bills from piling up and accruing. Never assume the nursing home will handle the Medical Assistance Application or that another family member will handle it. The nursing home will most commonly seek recovery under filial support where the family delays submitting a Medical Assistance Application or fails to provide the necessary verifications and financial data for the application. Filial support can also become a concern where a parent has made gifts or transfers of assets that exceed $500 in one month during the look-back period which creates a period of ineligibility. Another common situation that creates filial support liability is where there is a gap in Medicaid coverage due to a Medical Assistance application being denied, and a timely appeal is not filed. Therefore, where a family member is being admitted to a nursing home facility, it is important and financially prudent to meet with an Elder Law Attorney that can advise the family concerning liability and the best course of action for paying the nursing home. An Elder Law Attorney can assist the family in applying for Medical Assistance or discuss a plan for paying privately. The important thing is to act and take control of the situation before there is an unpaid bill. Contact me, Rebecca A. Hobbs, Esquire, CELA, at 610-323-2800 or Rhobbs@owmlaw.com if you have questions. UPLAND A teen boy with a juvenile record for firearms offenses is now facing attempted homicide, robbery and related charges as an adult in connection with a shooting during a robbery in the borough Wednesday morning. Police Chief Michael Irey announced the arrest in a release Wednesday evening, but was withholding the alleged offenders name pending preliminary arraignment. It was shortly before 9:20 a.m. Wednesday when Upland police responded to a report of a robbery with shots fired in the area of Eighth and Mulberry streets. Arriving officers determined that a male victim was parking his vehicle in the rear alley of the 400 block of Ninth Street when he was approached by an armed male in his teens. After placing a gun to the victims head, the offender reached into the victims pants and removed an undisclosed amount of cash. At this time, the victim produced his own firearm and was shot at by the suspect, the release states. The victim fired upon the suspect, believing that he had struck the suspect. The victim then pursued the suspect on foot. During the chase, the suspect fired an additional five shots at the victim, according to the release. The victim followed the suspect to the first block of Eighth Street, where he lost sight of him and believed he may have entered a nearby residence. Evidence at the scene showed the victim was fired upon by a semiautomatic 9 mm handgun. A search of the area by police and a K-9 team from the Chester Police Department for a suspect proved unsuccessful. About 11 a.m., a male arrived at Crozer-Chester Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He informed officers at Crozer that he had been shot in the area of 10th Street in Chester, and provided what the release described as inconsistent statements to investigators. As a result of inconsistencies, detectives placed the males photo in a photo array, which was displayed to the victim who immediately picked out the teenage male at (Crozer) as the male who had previously robbed him and shot at him in the alley the release states. With a positive identification by the victim, lead investigator Detective Andrew Nicholl sought a warrant to search the teen male suspects residence, located in the first block of Eighth Street in Upland. During a search of his residence, investigators seized a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, as well as bloody clothing with a bullet hole, according to the release. Additional charges lodged against the teen include theft by unlawful taking, recklessly endangering another person, possession of an instrument of crime, and firearms not to be carried with a license. The teen was expected to appear before Magisterial District Judge Spencer B. Seaton for preliminary arraignment later Wednesday night. At the height of the investigation and perpetrator search Wednesday morning, Main Street Elementary School was temporarily placed under lockdown. At no time were students or staff at the school placed in harms way, read a messaged posted by the Upland Borough Police Department on Facebook. ROSE QUINN Like it or not (usually not), what happens in Washington, D.C., impacts Utahns. Several political issues are percolating at the nations capital with ramifications for the country and our state. Sen. Mike Lee believes the executive branch of the federal government has usurped authority of the legislative branch and he wants to restore a better balance. Should Utahns care, and can he be successful? Pignanelli: "One can drain the swamp all they want, but plenty of alligators and mosquitoes will remain. Mark Golding Along with many who interact with the federal government, I am often frustrated with administrative overreach without direct congressional supervision. Some ascribe darker conspiratorial characterizations of these bureaucrats (i.e. Deep State). I prefer a more technical description The Three Stooges well intentioned, clumsy and unattached to reality. Lee recently released "Our Lost Declaration, America's Fight Against Tyranny From King George to the Deep State. (Lee always provides interesting historical contexts to constitutional principles. I recommend his books.) Although our nation was founded in reaction to royal executive overreach, Lee articulates that Congress and the states transferred too much power to the executive branch. Utahs economy is based upon technology, financial services, medical advancements, trade, etc. All these activities are heavily regulated by the federal government and Utahns must have more than a philosophical interest in this issue. Unfortunately, concerns with overzealous federal bureaucrats and presidential executive orders are usually flavored Republican. But many traditional Democrat causes are stymied by these actions. The controversy needs to be re-messaged as a fundamental American challenge, not some partisan cause. Whether one views executive usurpation as demonic or slapstick comedy, a solution is achievable only with an inclusionary, intelligent effort. Webb: Lee is correct that congressional power has been eroded by the imperial presidency and the overbearing federal bureaucracy, which often amplifies or distorts laws passed by Congress. Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both bypassed Congress on numerous controversial topics, issuing executive orders to further their agendas. But much of this is Congress own fault. Partisan gridlock has rendered Congress dysfunctional on most difficult issues. Congress would easily have more clout if it would only act to solve the nations problems. A Congress that can actually pass critical legislation could quash the power of the bureaucracy and temper presidential ambitions. If Congress cant pass meaningful immigration reform, one can hardly blame the president for acting unilaterally. Is congressional gridlock and the inability of Congress to solve the countrys most critical problems a structural problem, or do we just need to elect better representatives and senators? Pignanelli: When describing Washington, D.C., chaos, the media usually blames politicians. Officials blame lobbyists. The lobbyists blame special interest groups. These activists blame each other. Everyone blames social media and cable news. No group of citizens has better access to information about their elected officials than 21st century Americans. The internet assisted the current dysfunction but also provides the cure. Voters utilizing unprecedented opportunities to research officials and candidates, while gathering news from multiple sources (and not a singular program), will be the catalyst for better behavior in Washington. Webb: Congressional gridlock is a structural problem on two fronts: First, the federal government has nationalized every program and problem in the country, thinking it has the ability to solve them. It doesnt, and never will. A structural fix is required giving states the ability to push back against federal encroachment. Most problems are better solved at state and local levels. The second structural problem is the filibuster rule in the Senate, which effectively means a 60-vote supermajority is required to pass important legislation and solve problems. The House, whether controlled by Republicans or Democrats, has been able to pass big bills, only to see them die in the Senate. Some people think this is healthy. I dont. Well never get control of federal spending or pass comprehensive immigration reform if 60 Senate votes are required. I would rather risk the Senate being too rash than to never solve problems. Congressman Chris Stewart has come under harsh criticism for defending Trump against accusations of Russian collusion and obstruction of justice. Is this helpful for hurtful for Stewart as he looks to re-election in 2020? Pignanelli: The many candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination all voice the same conclusion few voters care about collusion and impeachment. Stewart, and other incumbents, are more likely to encounter questions of Congressional actions to prevent further Russian interference. Webb: Republican members of Congress who want to be relevant need to have a good relationship with the president. Besides, Stewart is right to question the motives and origins of the two-year, $30 million investigation of Trump that ultimately cleared him of collusion and didnt charge him with obstruction of justice. To his credit, Attorney General William Barr has launched investigations into the investigators. The email threads of top FBI and Justice Department officials show they hated Trump and were trying to destroy him. Ample reason exists to look into the origins of this investigation that hobbled a presidency for two years. Stewart is right to defend Trump on specious charges. Most of the time, my life is predictable. I make decisions based on a pretty good sense of what impact my choices will have, and I generally feel like I know what will happen next. I like to figure things out and feel like I have some control. And Im not easily surprised. But once in a while, a seminal moment comes along that knocks me onto my bottom and I am left to stare in awe and simply say, I did not see that coming. For one who thinks she knows everything, for one who thinks she has some control over what happens next because she is so intuitive and has a pretty good sense of the impact her choices will have, those seminal moments have the power to stop time. Once, I thought I knew exactly where I was going and I ended up waist-deep in a freshly fertilized rice paddy. I was riding a bicycle next to a friend on a remote road in China, and our handlebars got tangled. I leaned away to disengage my bike, thinking I had plenty of room to keep going forward, but suddenly my bike started heading down a steep slope. My brain stopped, I made no effort to slow my speed, I just let it happen, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in the mud with all of my things scattered around me. My journal from that time still has the dirt marks on it from flying out of my front basket and landing next to me. After that, I always carried that journal in a plastic sandwich bag so at least it wouldnt get wet, should I unexpectedly crash again. I did not see that coming. And then later, as I wrote about last time, when I found myself standing with my friend in another unfamiliar place in China, I did not know what was going to happen next. We were surrounded by military men, some holding weapons, and the old-fashioned camera film they had asked to retrieve was flapping in the wind. Exposed. This experience formed the basis of a core belief of mine, and it was also seminal. I dont know how long we stood in that little cemetery, but it had been late afternoon when we arrived, and the sun was starting to sink. For the first time, I noticed some little buildings near where we were standing. The soldiers made some movement to suggest that we should go into the building, but we declined, frozen where we were. By the time we saw a military vehicle heading down the road toward us, it was dark enough to squint at the brightness of their headlights shining in our eyes. Some exchange happened between the low-level military men who apprehended us, and the next-level military men who took us and somehow communicated in such a way that we realized we had no choice but to get into that car. We did, and I felt a sense of relief when we headed toward the school where we both taught English. The car entered the gated driveway, but when it reached the courtyard in front of our apartment, they didnt let us out. They paused just long enough for another person to enter the vehicle, and, just as another of our fellow teachers walked up to the car to find out what was going on, they sped away. I vaguely remember calling out something like, Help, I dont know where they are taking me, but some of those details are blurry now, almost 20 years later. I do remember a few key things happening after that, the way a person with a concussion can remember flashes of being injured after the amnesia passes. I remember it was dark by the time they took us to a more formal conference room at a military building to begin questioning us. I remember I was starting to get tired by the time they walked my friend and me to a nearby hotel and separated us into different rooms to question us more. They used non-violent interrogation techniques on both of us for hours, asking exactly how many pictures we had taken, what direction we were facing, and why we had gone to visit the military barracks. I did not see that coming. I had no idea the little, unmarked, tan buildings near the cemetery had anything to do with the military. But suddenly, they believed we were spies taking pictures of their army post, and while they had my film as proof I didn't, my friend had destroyed any evidence when she unraveled her film in that one, seminal, impetuous moment. Again and again, they asked the same questions. Over and over. Again and again. They lit cigarettes, blew the smoke in my face, began again. The same questions. Just as I was beginning to wonder what exactly was going to happen next, and would I stay in that hotel room forever, there was a change. There was a flurry of people coming in and out of the room, taking my picture, maybe even taking my fingerprints, I cant remember. Next time Ill explain what happened next, but in that moment, I knew, some moments are seminal. Some are unpredictable. And life can change in a matter of seconds. I didnt see it coming, but I was about to learn that I wasn't in control. And it was going to be OK. SALT LAKE CITY Utah Sen. Mike Lee and 24 other conservative senators asked a Senate budget committee to preserve all existing pro-life and religious freedom protections in all future spending bills. "The unborn are the most vulnerable members of our society, yet they are under attack, reads a letter sent Tuesday to the Senate Appropriations Committee. In 2015 alone, 638,169 unborn children lost their lives to abortion. This is a terrible tragedy, and we must continue to prevent federal funding from supporting the unjust practice of elective abortion. The Republican senators' letter asks the committee not to diminish any of the pro-life or religious liberty actions taken by the Trump administration. "President Trump has committed to veto any legislation that weakens current pro-life federal policies and laws," the letter says. "Similarly, we remain committed to ensuring that no such legislation ever makes it to the presidents desk and will carefully review each appropriations bill to verify that they preserve pro-life and religious liberty protections that the Senates pro-life majority has supported for decades. The letter also says that people's right to live and worship according to their religious beliefs is a bedrock principle of the founding of America and that the First Amendment prohibits Congress from interfering in the free exercise of religion. "With this in mind, it is critical the retain the longstanding riders in appropriations legislation that safeguard the ability of citizens to live out their faith," according to the letter. The letter also asks that no riders additional provisions attached to a bill that would threaten the Trump administration's Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy, which prevents federal funds from being directed to organizations that provide abortions or advocate for abortions policies overseas. SALT LAKE CITY Everything you think you know about religion and abortion is wrong. Well, maybe not wrong. But almost certainly incomplete, according to experts on religion and politics. Religious beliefs do influence abortion views, but so do other factors. Many faith leaders do oppose abortion rights, but their views don't tell you everything about the people in their pews. Conservative lawmakers do often credit God with inspiring new regulations, but they're also pressured by their party to pass such laws. In general, religion's role in the contemporary abortion debate is more complicated than it may, at first, appear. "It's not that religion is absent from the debate," said Daniel Williams, a history professor at the University of West Georgia. It's that the debate is also "very much partisan and political." That nuance is difficult to talk about, including in faith communities. There's so much conflict surrounding abortion rights that we miss opportunities to understand the issues better, said the Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan, a United Church of Christ pastor. "I think it's really difficult to find spaces in congregational life to have these conversations, even though if there's anywhere we should be able to have them, it's in churches," she said. Key influences American views on abortion are relatively stable. Since 1976, the percentage of U.S. adults who say abortion should be legal in all circumstances or illegal in all circumstances has moved only a few percentage points, according to Gallup. However, the key influences on those views and on abortion policies nationwide have shifted, scholars said. Political affiliation has become more significant over time, and many Americans have stopped taking moral cues from religious communities. "One of the biggest predictors today is party identification. Over time, Republicans have become less supportive of abortion and Democrats more supportive," said Clyde Wilcox, a professor of government at Georgetown University. The widening gap between the parties can be explained, in part, by religion, Williams said. Amid the rise of the Religious Right, conservative faith leaders successfully convinced Republican politicians to turn abortion opposition into a rallying point. The Democratic Party responded by making support for abortion rights one of its defining features. Twenty-five years ago, around one-third of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives were considered abortion opponents, Williams said. That's far from the case today. "In the 1970s and early 1980s, religion played a more important role than political party in predicting how a politician would vote on abortion," he said. In 2019, it's much riskier to break with the party line. Amid these political changes, church attendance dropped and the percentage of Americans who don't affiliate with a faith group surged. Religion remains a key factor in the abortion debate, "but it's not the only thing that matters," said Andrew Lewis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. That was evident in a 2009 Pew Research Center survey on what drives people's attitudes about abortion. It showed that only around one-third of Americans (32 percent) cite religion as the primary influence on their views. "Roughly 1-in-5 cite their education (21 percent) and 1-in-7 point to their personal experience (14 percent)," Pew reported. Those figures notably changed when researchers sorted Americans by their abortion views. "More than half of those who say abortion should be illegal (53 percent) cite religious beliefs as the primary influence on their views, compared with only 11 percent among supporters of legal abortion," the survey showed. Scholars don't deny that religious beliefs go a long way toward explaining conservative religious voters' opposition to abortion and, in turn, the Republican Party's support for strict regulations. However, they said the nature of the abortion debate has become more political in recent decades. "A lot of people assume that anti-abortion legislation is motivated primarily by religion, and I'm not convinced that's true," Williams said. "If you look at the religious affiliations of the people who are behind recent restrictive abortion bans in Georgia and Alabama, their religious affiliations don't match up with what you'd assume." Religious conservatives have shifted their political goals at least in part because of their involvement in the Republican Party, he added. Catholics and others used to call for an amendment to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion nationwide. Now, they support a more pragmatic approach, favoring laws that could eventually prompt the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and enable individual states to control abortion policy, Williams said. Official statements It's not surprising that political forces shape how people of faith approach the abortion debate, scholars said. Religious traditions may offer general moral guidance about the procedure, but few detail what the right policy would look like. "While the Bible has things to say that pertain to this debate, it's not as clear (on abortion) as some other moral issues," Lewis said. Official statements from faith groups often acknowledge a moral gray area. While they typically condemn elective abortions, many say abortion should be an option in the case of rape or incest or when carrying a pregnancy to term threatens the mother's life. The statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints explains that "even these rare exceptions do not justify abortion automatically. Abortion is a most serious matter and should be considered only after the persons involved have consulted with their local church leaders and feel through personal prayer that their decision is correct." The pro-life movement started out as a politically liberal Catholic movement rooted in human rights. It's become a politically conservative and primarily evangelical movement. Daniel Williams, a history professor at the University of West Georgia It also notes that Latter-day Saint leaders have not "favored or opposed legislative proposals or public demonstrations concerning abortion." Most mainline Protestant denominations want to preserve space for individual members to be guided by their own conscience, said Diana Butler Bass, an Episcopalian scholar and author. "The guiding theme is that every individual has a moral conscience," she said. "Men and women are full moral agents culpable for their own choices and actions, and their consciences should be in no way impeded by the state in these matters." The Catholic Church is one of the only faith groups to say abortion is always wrong, according to Pew Research Center's overview of official positions. In the U.S., Catholic leaders have been prominent advocates for stricter abortion regulations for decades. Although their denominational statements on abortion leave room for exceptions, evangelical Christian leaders increasingly join with Catholics to oppose abortion rights. They've emerged as the face of the "pro-life movement" in the 21st century, Williams said. "The pro-life movement started out as a politically liberal Catholic movement rooted in human rights. It's become a politically conservative and primarily evangelical movement," he said. Diverse views Official statements are a good starting point for understanding how different people of faith view abortion. However, they don't come close to telling the whole story, Wilcox said. "Within every religious tradition there is a wide variety of opinions," he said. For example, 18 percent of Episcopalians, 30 percent of Presbyterians and 38 percent of Methodists believe abortion should be illegal in "all or most cases," despite their churches' more liberal teachings, according to Pew Research Center. Additionally, nearly half of Catholics (48 percent) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, which clearly contradicts church teaching. Abortion has become such a partisan issue. Talking about it at all feels like you're preaching politics. Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan, a United Church of Christ pastor In this sense, abortion views are like views on a number of other ethical issues, Wilcox said. People of faith routinely ignore policy guidance. "The Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty is not God's will, but (white) Catholics support the death penalty about as much as other whites," he said. Official policies are easy to ignore when you don't hear about them very often. Only 29 percent of recent churchgoers said they'd heard faith leaders preach on abortion when Pew asked what's talked about in churches in 2016. "I've been part of my (Catholic) community in New Jersey for almost seven years and we've never had abortion talked about in a homily," said Charles Camosy, an associate professor of theology at Fordham University. As the abortion debate has become more political, it's become harder to address it from the pulpit, said the Rev. McCleneghan, who is an associate pastor at Union Church of Hinsdale in Hinsdale, Illinois. "Abortion has become such a partisan issue," she said. "Talking about it at all feels like you're preaching politics." Seeking nuance It's unfortunate that the relationship between religion and abortion is rarely talked about in a nuanced way, whether in faith communities or society at large, according to the Rev. McCleneghan and others. Amid ongoing confusion on religious teachings, politicians can blame religion for unpopular policies, Camosy said. "Religion is a red herring," he said. "We ignore that religious people hold very different points of view." And people of faith can overlook the broader meaning of being "pro-life," Bass said. One of the things I always say to people is that I'm both pro-choice and pro-life. I think that's not an uncommon position for people who are liberal people of faith. Diana Butler Bass, an Episcopalian scholar and author "Any woman who gets pregnant should trust that she is loved and that the life she carries will be loved and cherished by society," she said. We're missing opportunities to work together to craft better abortion-related policies, Bass added. Many people of faith who support abortion rights still want to build a world where abortion is very rare. "One of the things I always say to people is that I'm both pro-choice and pro-life. I think that's not an uncommon position for people who are liberal people of faith," she said. Bass recalled a sermon she heard around 30 years ago from an Episcopal bishop. He described walking alongside women who put their lives at risk to carry a pregnancy to term as well as a woman who had an abortion. His words helped Bass see the moral complexity of the abortion in new ways, and they continue to shape her approach to the abortion debate. "I was in my late 20s when I heard that sermon and I've never forgotten it," she said. We need more sermons like that today, the Rev. McCleneghan said. "I think churches are so scared of upsetting people that we miss out on what could be gained," she said. SALT LAKE CITY Two men accused of stealing numerous guns from a northern Utah storage shed have been charged. As of Wednesday, one man was in custody and police were still looking for the second. Christopher Jaye Kirchgater, 19, of Ogden, and Matthew Raymond Meyers, 19, were each charged in Box Elder County's 1st District Court with 10 counts of theft, a second-degree felony, and burglary. Kirchgater was also charged with a second-degree felony burglary and Meyers with a third-degree felony, according to court records. The burglaries happened on May 5 at a storage unit at 43 S. 1000 West in Brigham City, charging documents state. The renter of the storage space told police "that numerous items had been stolen from the unit. He made a detailed list of items that had been stolen. There were 28 firearms that had been stolen, as well as ammunition and firearm accessories," the charges state. Three of those firearms and two gun scopes were pawned at shops in Weber County by Kirchgater, according to the charges. After surveillance video of the storage shed burglary was released to the media, detectives received a tip that "Christopher was one of the men shown on the video surveillance, as well as another man named Matt," the charges state. A search warrant was served and Kirchgater was arrested on Monday. On Tuesday, Brigham City police issued a notice to the public asking for help in locating Meyers. "It is believed he is carrying some of the firearms with him regularly. USE CAUTION. Do not approach or contact him," officers wrote on their Facebook page. Anyone with information about Meyers can call police at 435-734-6684 or 435-734-6654. A sharp rise in rates of homelessness in Weber County offers strong evidence in support of recent efforts by state leaders to better coordinate and expand homeless programs, as well as a sustained commitment for appropriate funding. The commendable work to date on addressing the problem in Salt Lake County has had measurable benefits, which we expect to continue, but the experience in Weber County is showing how such efforts now need to be extended beyond the areas once most affected by the problem. Officials attribute the increase which surpasses the rate of increase in Salt Lake County in part to a mixture of rising rents and the migration of homeless people dispersed from downtown Salt Lake City by Operation Rio Grande. Its further evidence that breaking up the concentration of homeless people from that area has resulted in more homeless congregating in other areas in and beyond downtown. The problem is complex and fluid, but it may be contained and hopefully mitigated over time with appropriate focus. The Legislature last session passed a bill, signed into law by the governor, that requires better tracking of the money authorized for expenditure by the states Homeless Coordinating Committee. The bill followed an audit that revealed insufficient efforts to measure the outcome of state spending on direct and indirect homeless services, which exceeded $100 million in 2017. With that much money on the table, we would expect an advanced level of accountability as to the successes and failures of various programs. The recently passed law HB342 will go far in that direction. In the meantime, those in the trenches are seeing distinct changes in the fundamental nature of the problem. A large number of homeless people are beset by problems with addiction and mental illness. Efforts to better treat those underlying causes have stepped up and have met with measurable success. At the same time, the number of people forced into periods of homelessness as a result of purely economic reasons has shot up. Officials in Ogden believe rising costs of housing is a principal reason why the homeless population there and in surrounding areas is up 48 percent between 2014 and 2018. As the state begins to focus more closely on how money is spent on the problem, it will be important to also assess whether there is appropriate geographic proportionality in the expenditures. Weber County is right to point out that while it has between 13 and 16 percent of the states homeless population, it receives only 8.9 percent of state funding for homeless services. In the big picture, it is good to see a strong level of commitment to address the problem on all levels of government and among nonprofit groups and in the private sector. Its also good to see a growing recognition of the need for a permanent commitment against the kind of problem for which a solution will be a process, not an event. LEHI Social media management and analytics software company Nuvi announced Thursday it has acquired Orem-based health care social media management firm Banyan. Banyan, founded in 2013, has carved out its own niche among health care enterprise clients with a platform that manages customer interactions, social media and digital marketing efforts with an eye toward maintaining positive customer experiences and brand building. Nuvi Chief Executive Michael Mullarkey, whose company specializes in social media monitoring and analytics, said the Banyan acquisition adds a company with health care expertise, HIPPA-compliant tools and a shared mission statement. Our common goal is to focus on our customers' success by providing one powerful, unified solution that drives revenue and enhances reputation management while building customers for life, Mullarkey said in a statement. Leveraging compliant communication tools is vital for the health care industry to interact with their patients in real time. Our full suite of enterprise solutions, which includes listening, planning, publishing, engagement and robust analytics, will help health care providers grow within their increasingly regulated industry. While financial details of the deal were not released, Banyan has raised over $12 million in venture funding, according to tech company data website, Crunchbase. Banyan Chief Operating Officer Tim Hansen said the addition of Nuvi's product resources to Banyan's services builds both value and utility for its customers. The ability to bring Nuvis leading suite of products to our health care provider clients will tremendously expand the patient experience, Hansen said in a statement. Banyan is excited to be part of the cutting-edge work that Nuvi continues to do in the social and technology space. Were looking forward to extending the combined solution across our client base and into new industries. Nuvi launched in 2011 and has built a notable client list including major brands like Hertz, Krispy Kreme and Bridgestone. Nuvi itself was acquired last fall by Chicago-based social management platform Brickfish. Correction: An earlier version misidentified Tim Hansen as Nuvi's chief operating officer. Hansen is the chief operating officer for Banyan. NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga The royal family and nobles here are Free Wesleyan Christians and 62 percent of the population has membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so when King Tupou VI welcomed President Russell M. Nelson to the royal palace, religious liberty was a key topic. "It's important for us to be able to thank leaders for the privilege of religious freedom in their country," President Nelson said after emerging from the white, shiplap-sided palace. "It's a really precious aspect of governmental relations to allow the people to have the ability to practice the religion of their choice." The two leaders also spoke about education and living a healthy lifestyle during the 30-minute meeting. The king and queen invited President Nelson to hold a short press conference on the palace lawn under overcast skies 50 yards from the Pacific Ocean. They rolled out a traditional Tongan tapa, a mat made of crushed tree bark, for him to stand on. Tongans observe strict Sabbath rules that include no swimming in the ocean on Sundays. "Religion ties people to God and a higher way of life," President Nelson said. "You can't teach that kind of thing without religious connotations. They understand that here. I like to be able to thank leaders for their receptivity to allowing our people to worship with dignity." Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said the subject is vital for church leaders as they crisscross the globe. "It's such an important part of the world today to recognize that moral values and strong families make strong communities, and strong communities make strong countries," he said, "so to have religious values and religious freedom is really part of what makes a country strong and part of what makes the brotherhood and sisterhood of man and woman with God possible." President Nelson presented the king and queen a statue of a family. "They understand the significance of family in God's plan," he said. Elder Gong called King Tupou VI a "wonderful example of someone who comes from a broad-based education" and said he wants the same for his children and people. Tonga enjoys a 99 percent literacy rate and a good educational system including many private high schools like the Liahona school run by the church but needs more educational opportunity and jobs. President Nelson said education is "in a sense a religious responsibility." Elder Gong said the king spoke with President Nelson about the church leader's long association with his late father, King Tupou IV. He asked President Nelson to tell thousands of Tongan church members expected to assemble later in the day on a high school rugby field to hear him speak to seek education and live healthier lifestyles. President Nelson promised he would. During the interviews, an offshore breeze whipped the Tongan flag atop the palace's maroon roof and rustled banana and palm fronds. President Nelson and Elder Gong were joined in the meeting by Sister Wendy Nelson and Sister Susan Gong as well as Elder O. Vincent Haleck of the faith's Pacific Area Presidency and his wife, Sister Peggy Haleck. The group met together first, then split, with the king meeting with the men and the queen with the women. "What a grand woman she is," Sister Nelson said. "This is a woman who is bright, who has a heart that is focused on the people of Tonga and who has the ability to make a difference." She said the queen is focused on strengthening young men in the Kingdom of Tonga. "I could really feel the depth of concern in her heart for this next generation and her concern that men be able to be prepared for the roles that are theirs," Sister Gong said. "They need to be able to be stewards of the Lord and to be leaders of their families with love and gentleness that they will be able to carry on the traditions of her people throughout the next generation." Sister Haleck said she felt the goodness of the queen's heart. "She loves her people. She wants to see the very best for Tonga not only today but for Tonga in the future." Tonga is still recovering from the devastation of Cyclone Gita, the worst storm to strike the nation's 170 islands in their recorded history. The cyclone flattened the parliament building and destroyed nearly 200 homes, killing two and wounding an agricultural and fishing-based economy. "I was pleased to bring the greetings of Elder John Groberg to the king," President Nelson said, referring to an emeritus General Authority Seventy famous for his missionary labors in Tonga and his writings about the islands. "He's a legend here." President Nelson said one of Elder Groberg's grandchildren recently received a mission call to serve in Tonga. Correction: A previous version incorrectly referred to the father of King Tupou VI as Tupou V. His father was Tupou IV. And the flag flying atop the palace was the king's standard, not the Tongan flag. RIVERDALE A Riverdale man was hospitalized in critical condition early Thursday after being shot by police. Officers were called to the Cherry Creek Apartments, 1551 W. Riverdale Road, on a report of an "armed suicidal male," according to a statement from Riverdale Police Lt. Casey Warren. After trying to get the man to surrender peacefully, "they eventually encountered the male who was armed. Shots were fired by police striking the male," according to the statement. Details about when the man was taken into custody, whether any tenants were evacuated, or whether the gunman ever went inside any of the apartments were not released Thursday. The Weber County Attorneys Office Critical Incident Task Force is investigating the shooting. Additional information will be posted throughout the day as it becomes available. SALT LAKE CITY A manhunt continued Thursday in Idaho for a man who authorities say shot and killed a motorist in Utah without warning and for no apparent reason. "There is nothing that (the passenger) has told us that leads us to believe there was any interaction prior to the shooting," said Utah State Bureau of Investigation Lt. Ryan VanFleet. "Nothing that we've been able to uncover so far indicates a road rage incident or any previous interaction." Dennis Gwyther, 50, of Salt Lake City, and another man were driving on I-84 from Utah to Boise, when the shooting happened about 8 p.m. Wednesday. VanFleet said both men work in the airline industry and were headed to Boise for work. According to his Facebook page, Gwyther worked for SkyWest Airlines as a flight attendant. By Thursday afternoon, the Box Elder County Attorney's Office formally charged Jonathan Mendoza Llana, 45, of Los Angeles, with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, both first-degree felonies. The charges come as authorities continued to search for Llana in Idaho. Wednesday night, near Snowville, Box Elder County, in the Rattlesnake Pass area, a semitrailer was attempting to a pass another semitrailer, briefly causing a slowdown of traffic as the semis were side-by-side on the two-lane road, VanFleet said. Just as Gwyther, who was driving a Range Rover, got past the semitrailers and traffic began to open up, a silver Volkswagen Jetta pulled up next to them and the driver shot at the Range Rover, VanFleet said. Llana fired multiple shots into the vehicle, according to charging documents. Gwyther was killed and his passenger was injured. An off-duty paramedic who was also on I-84 stopped to help, but VanFleet said there was nothing he could do. Gwyther's vehicle went off the side of the road before coming to a stop. The passenger, whose name was not released, called 911. He was taken to Bear River Valley Hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. Officers put out an "attempt to locate" alert to other agencies in Utah, Idaho and Nevada, telling them to be on the lookout for a silver Jetta with a "unique antennae" and an out-of-state license plate. "Shortly after, Idaho State Police attempted to stop a silver Jetta that fit the suspect description. The vehicle fled from ISP and eventually crashed in a canal," UHP stated. VanFleet said Idaho authorities initially pulled the vehicle over before it sped away. It crashed in Cassia County near Burley, Idaho, where I-84 and I-86 meet. The driver of the Jetta ran off after crashing in the canal before police could catch him. Based on who the Jetta is registered to and a description of the driver, Idaho authorities announced they were looking for Llana. They warned that he should be considered "armed and dangerous." VanFleet noted that a weapon was found in the wrecked car, but he did not know if it was the same one used to shoot and kill Gwyther. The Department of Public Safety helicopter was sent to area to assist in the search. VanFleet said authorities believed they had the area contained where they thought Llana may be. "I think everyone is confident that we know the area where he is," he said. He described the area as mostly open fields with some residential homes, which authorities from the Idaho State Patrol and Cassia County Sheriff's Office were searching, VanFleet said. Llana does not have an extensive criminal history, he said. Gwyther is survived by Matt Gwyther. The two were married the day gay marriage became legal in Utah, according to a statement from Matt Gwyther. "He loved his family. His family was the most important thing in his life," according to the statement from the Gwyther family. "He enjoyed being the bonus dad to his two teenage kids. Loved to have fun and laugh. A kid inside an adult body. Always kidding around and playing jokes." His family said Gwyther enjoyed "gadgets" and "could create anything, especially if it involves wiring. He did sound and lighting for many clubs in Salt Lake. He was an entrepreneur and always looked for new opportunities. "He was a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights and used his connections to help wherever he could. His life was tragically taken while commuting to his job as a flight attendant based out of Boise. We are still in shock and have not processed much as the suspect is still at large and investigation is pending. We want him caught and swift justice," the statement concluded. SALT LAKE CITY With Democrats ramping up talk of impeaching President Donald Trump, Utah Sen. Mike Lee says it would be a "huge mistake" for the House to go down that path. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has taken a go-slow approach to impeachment as Democrats have opened several investigations into the Trump administration. Trump has vowed not to work with Democrats, even on shared priorities, if the investigations continue. Pelosi said Trump is trying to goad congressional Democrats into starting impeachment proceedings. She said he is "crying out for impeachment" but Democrats are not going that direction. "We can get the facts to the American people through our investigation. It may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment or not," she told reporters in Washington. "But we're not at that place." At an online townhall meeting Wednesday night, a caller asked Lee: "If the House impeaches the president, will you do the right thing and kick him out of office?" "I will vote against impeaching the president. Im not aware of any impeachable offenses that he has committed, so no, heavens no. Im not going to vote to remove someone who I dont believe has done anything impeachable," he said. Lee, R-Utah, said there's no basis to impeach Trump. "I think it would be huge mistake, not just for our political system, not just for our representative constitutional republic but I think it would be a huge mistake for them politically," he said. If the House were to impeach Trump, it's not going to work because there's no way that two-thirds of the Senate would vote to remove him from office, Lee said. "Theres not a forseeable, imaginable circumstance in which 67 senators are going to vote to remove this president, certainly not in the absence of an impeachable offense," he said. "Im not going to vote for it and I think it would be wrong." After Lee's answer, the caller followed up with, "Have you actually read the Mueller report? Sounds like you have not." Lee assured him that he has read special counsel Robert Mueller's report that concluded Trump did not collude with the Russians to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Attorney General William Barr has chosen not to pursue obstruction of justice charges against the president. Another caller asked Lee if Trump's vow not to work with Democrats is obstruction of justice. Lee said he hasn't reviewed the president's statement. "What I hear of it, it's not how I would have handled it. It's not something I would likely have said, but I don't know of any reason to believe that that amounted to obstruction of justice," he said. Last Saturday, Michigan Rep. Justin Amash was the first Republican to accuse Trump of "impeachable conduct" based on Mueller's findings. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called it a "courageous statement," but said Amash has reached a different conclusion than he has. "I do not think impeachment is the right way to go," Romney said Sunday during an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union." "I just dont think there is the full element you need to prove an obstruction of justice case," Romney said. "I dont think a prosecutor would actually look at this and say you have here all the elements to get this to a conviction." PROVO A Denver man who posted on Facebook that he would "shoot up a public place and kill as many women as I see" during a weekend of women's marches nationwide was ordered Thursday to serve up to five years in the Utah State Prison. Christopher Wayne Cleary, 27, showed no emotion as a judge sentenced him Thursday, about four months after police said he posted the message because women had rejected his advances. He was on probation in Colorado at the time for stalking and threatening women there, court documents show. Cleary pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of attempting to make a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony, as part of a plea deal. He was originally charged with a second-degree felony. Prosecutors agreed to recommend no prison time in exchange for the plea. But 4th District Judge Christine Johnson did not follow the prosecution's recommendation. She ordered him to serve a zero-to-five-year prison term, saying she wanted Utah's parole authorities to investigate and determine when he should be released. Attorney Dustin Parmley said his client's failure to control his violent speech is tied to his mental illness, first diagnosed at age 10. He argued for Cleary's release so he could continue treatment he had started in Colorado. "That speech-type behavior has never extended to acts of physical violence," Parmley said, and investigators did not turn up evidence that Cleary had weapons or tried to purchase any. "Im just sorry for what happened," a shackled Cleary told the judge. Parmley did not give details about his client's diagnosis but said he had a troubled childhood and bounced from one group home to the next after being separated from his parents at age 4. A Colorado defense attorney has previously said in court that Cleary had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. "I don't want to be in the position of guessing what Colorado is going to do," the judge said Thursday. Johnson gave Cleary credit for roughly four months he has spent in the Utah County Jail. Cleary was arrested at a McDonald's during a trip to Provo on Jan. 19, the same day women's marches were held nationally and in Utah. Authorities in Colorado spotted his posts and called Provo police. "All I wanted was a girlfriend," Cleary wrote, according to a police affidavit. "All I wanted was to be loved, yet no one cares about me I'm 27 years old and I've never had a girlfriend this is why I'm planning on shooting up a public place soon and being the next mass shooter cause I'm ready to die and all the girls the turned me down is going to make it right by killing as many girls as I see." He later told investigators that he was upset and not thinking clearly when he made the posts, police said. In such cases, it's difficult to know when the threat will extend beyond words, deputy Utah County attorney Douglas Finch said Thursday, calling Cleary's touch with Utah "very, very brief." The plea bargain was designed to secure a felony conviction that could help Colorado authorities get a prison sentence for Cleary's probation violations, Finch told the Associated Press ahead of the hearing, and the recommendation for probation was key to securing his guilty plea. Finch has said his office views Cleary as dangerous but wasn't certain it could prove that the "stupid, horrible" message rose to the level of a threat of terrorism. Parmley, however, insisted his client's Facebook rant "wasn't targeted at anyone in particular. He chose extreme words to express his feelings of frustration." Cleary will likely remain in prison in Utah for at least several months. His first hearing with the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will probably take place in September or October, said Jim Hatch, a board hearing officer. The board could set a release date at that point, or it could continue to evaluate him and possibly decide to keep him in prison for the whole five years. The January post fit a pattern of behavior for Cleary, who has terrorized women he met over the internet,the AP reported. He has avoided prison terms in Colorado after a string of women and teenagers accused him of making threats and harassing them. At least eight people since 2012 told authorities that Cleary stalked or harassed them, according to the AP. Police in Colorado also investigated complaints that he threatened to bomb a grocery store in 2013 and threatened a mass shooting at a mental health facility during a phone call in 2016. The same year, he was charged with stalking two 18-year-old women he met online and was later charged with stalking and harassing a third woman. Judges in Jefferson County, Colorado, sentenced him to probation in the three cases in 2018. The county prosecutor's office has said Cleary will be returned to Colorado and prosecutors will seek to revoke his probation and send Cleary to prison. A warrant for his arrest in Denver states that a 17-year-old told police in 2015 that he sent her a string of threatening text messages, including "I own multipul guns I can have u dead in a second." SALT LAKE CITY Tax reform can still get done in a special session, Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday, but also warned that any plan that a new legislative task force comes up with may be doomed if it doesn't include a tax cut. "I believe it's important that we get it right than get it quick," the governor said during the taping of his monthly news conference on KUED. "I think we still have time, in fact, to have a special session." That's despite the Legislature's new Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force not being named until some two months after the end of the general session in March. Later Thursday, the first meeting of the task force was set for May 30 at 5 p.m., in Room 210 in the Senate Building at the Capitol complex. The meeting will focus on organization and be livestreamed on the Legislature's website. A special session on tax reform is going to require consensus among lawmakers something that couldn't be reached during the 2019 Legislature on a bill imposing sales taxes on services, as called for in Herbert's proposed budget. The governor said Thursday that taxing services still needs to be on the table, arguing that broadening the base for the key revenue source in the state's general fund means the current 4.85 percent state sales tax rate can be lowered. "Something's got to change. You've got to raise the tax rates on everything else or we're going to broaden the base and raise taxes on some, but then lower the rate so we all pay less taxes," Herbert said. He said tax reform, an effort intended to boost state sales tax revenues that are lagging as consumer spending shifts from goods to services, has to also offer a tax cut for Utahns. "The end result of this is that the public should get a tax cut," the governor said. "If we can't get to that point, then probably status quo is going to be what we will suffer through. But I don't think that's going to give us a good end result." Lawmakers set aside $75 million for an unspecified tax cut in the state budget approved last session, and HB441, the tax reform bill backed by legislative leaders, cut sales and income tax rates in addition to adding new sales taxes on services. At a Utah Taxpayers Association conference earlier this week, lawmakers involved in tax reform called for "big, bold ideas" to be considered this time around, throwing out eliminating the state income tax or just slashing spending. Another one of those ideas, amending the Utah Constitution to allow income tax revenues to be spent on more than public schools and higher education, is worth considering, Herbert said. He suggested lawmakers go even further, and look at other earmarks mainly for transportation that account for nearly 40 percent of the general fund that's supposed to pay for everything in the state budget other than education. Restoring the full state sales tax on food is also an issue the task force should take up, the governor said, suggesting helping those "really in need" through other tax breaks. Herbert said several times that the public will have plenty of opportunity for input. The task force co-chairmen have said they're putting together a schedule for a series of town hall meetings around the state. "I think everybody seems to understand we need to do something," the governor said. "The real question is, what is that something we need to do. Hopefully, over the summer months, we're going to figure that out." Also at the news conference, Herbert took a swipe at the federal government for not addressing the legalization of marijuana by states including Utah, where voters approved its medical use last year. The governor said Washington's lack of action has kept marijuana from being treated like other medicines that are subject to testing and approval before being prescribed. "That's at the feet of the federal government for their lack of action and attention to this issue, putting the states in an awkward position of actually trying to follow the will of the people," he said. "They ought to be ashamed." The situation makes a good argument for giving more power to the states, Herbert said. He said President Donald Trump's administration seems to understand the bind states are in with marijuana. "The resolution seems to be slow," the governor said. "Even President Trump has said to me personally, 'Why does the federal government take so long to do anything?' That's a great question. The bureaucracy is slow as coal tar." SALT LAKE CITY Memorial Day weekend is here, and hopefully it'll bring some warmer weather. Regardless though, this weekend is full of events to celebrate the three-day weekend. For the art-inclined, the Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts will hold a workshop on Japanese brush painting, and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art is having an opening reception for its four new exhibitions. Get outside at the Salt Lake Bees game or head over to City Creek, where you can feed the fish for free. Finish off the weekend by paying your respects to fallen members of the Armed Services at Fort Douglas on Monday morning. Read on. Fort Douglas Memorial Day ceremony As you gear up for barbecues with friends, consider adding a visit to the The Fort Douglas Military Museum, which will host a Memorial Day ceremony Monday morning. The museum is holding special hours for the occasion and will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The group will meet at 9:15 a.m. for a march to the cemetery, where the ceremony with keynote speaker Jennie Taylor will be held. May 27, 10 a.m., Fort Douglas Military Cemetery, 405 Chipeta Way, free (801-581-1251, fortdouglas.org/events). Japanese brush painting Are you falling behind on your New Years resolution to learn something new? If so, consider attending an art workshop this weekend. The Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts is hosting an introductory workshop to Japanese brush painting with local artist Eiko Anderson, who was raised in Japan and has studied Japanese calligraphy and brush painting, known as sumi-e. This workshop is completely free, but you do need to reserve tickets. Materials have been provided by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums. May 25, 10 a.m., Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts, 1150 S. Constitution Dr., free (801-533-5760, chasehomemuseum.eventbrite.com). Utah Museum of Contemporary Art opening reception The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art is celebrating the opening of four new shows this Friday. The exhibits opening include Deanna and Ed Templetons Contemporary Suburbium, Andrew Dadsons Roof Gap, OutLouds Ostracized and Masked, and art for the 2019 Annual Spectacle. The reception will have refreshments and an opportunity to speak with some of the artists. May 24, 7 p.m., Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, 20 S. West Temple, free (donation suggested) (801-328-4201, utahmoca.org). Salt Lake Bees game If youd rather play catch than catch an art exhibit, check out the Salt Lake Bees game against the Tacoma Rainiers. Smiths Ballpark, where the Bees play, just passed its 25th anniversary. With a beautiful view of the mountains, its the perfect place to enjoy a break from the rain and cheer for the home team. May 25 and 26, 6:35 p.m. and 1:05 p.m., Smiths Ballpark, 77 W. 1300 South, $11-28 (801-350-6900, ticketmaster.com/smiths-ballpark). Sound Check at the Assembly Hall Dont worry this isnt somebody saying check, 1, 2, 3 into a microphone. Sound Check is a barbershop quartet and the silver-medalist at the Rocky Mountain Barbershop Harmony Societys district convention. The four have decades of musical experience and are sure to brighten up your weekend with ballads, show tunes and spiritual numbers. May 24, 7:30 p.m., Assembly Hall, Temple Square, free (801-570-0080, ChurchofJesusChrist.org/Events). Feed the fish Take advantage of Saturdays sunny forecast and head outside to feed the fish at the City Creek Center pond. Hundreds of Bonneville cutthroat and rainbow trout live in City Creeks fish pond. Every Saturday morning, City Creek provides fish food to anyone who wants to help feed the fish. All ages are welcome, so bring the whole family. City Creek recommends arriving at 10 a.m. to ensure you get food for the fish. May 25, 10 a.m., City Creek Center, 50 S. Main St., free (801-521-2012, facebook.com/citycreekcenter). International Dinosaur Day Saturday is also International Dinosaur Day. In celebration, bring your little ones to the Discovery Childrens Museum for a day of dino-related learning and activities. Your budding scientists will learn to classify dinosaurs with activities about Stegosaurus plates, Velociraptor feathers and more! While youre there, drop by the SkyCycle reopening for a ride 15 feet in the air around a 30-foot sky track. Get your first ride free with admission to the museum (free for members). May 25, 11 a.m., Discovery Gateway Childrens Museum, 444 W. 100 South, $12.50 (801-456-543, discoverygateway.org). SALT LAKE CITY Just a day before conducting the Utah Symphonys season finale, music director Thierry Fischer has announced another finale of sorts: His plan to step down at the end of the 2021-22 season. Fischer announced Thursday he will conclude his tenure with the Utah Symphony in August 2022, according to a news release. At that time, the Swiss conductor will have led the orchestra as music director for 13 years. I am deeply grateful for the rich musical partnership I have enjoyed with the members of this outstanding orchestra, and for the experiences weve shared as musical ambassadors to the people of Utah, Fischer said in a news release. My journey with the Utah Symphony has been remarkably fulfilling, and I am incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished together, whether in concert at Abravanel Hall, on recording, or on tour across the beautiful state of Utah and to Carnegie Hall. In September 2022, Fischer will assume the title of Music Director Emeritus, continuing his musical relationship with the orchestra through regular return engagements, according to the news release. With today's announcement, the search for a new music director will likely begin soon, the Utah Symphony told the Deseret News. We havent started yet, obviously; its brand new news," said Paul Meecham, president and CEO of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. By making this announcement now, it gives us three full seasons, so thats a good window of time. But theres a lot of things still to be done, and hes fully committed for all of that period of time, so thats enough for now. Fischer debuted as a guest conductor with the Utah Symphony in October 2007, leading the orchestra in a performance of Hector Berliozs Symphonie fantastique, according to the news release. In 2009, he became the seventh music director in the Utah Symphonys then-70-year history, following Keith Lockhart. His original contract was for just four years, but Fischer extended his contract twice. The conductor has spearheaded a vibrant era for the orchestra over the past decade. In May of this year alone, he led the musicians in a performance of a brand new piececommemorating the transcontinental railroads 150th anniversary and furthered the symphonys education efforts by conducting 250 high school students across the state in a performance of Igor Stravinksys Firebird. Throughout Fischers leadership, the Utah Symphony expanded its reach by embarking on two statewide-tours that brought classical music to rural communities and major Utah landmarks, including the states five national parks. Fischer was actively involved in the musicians ongoing service project to bring music education to young musicians in Haiti and celebrated the symphonys 75-year milestone with an anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall in April 2016. Meecham, who joined the Utah Symphony as president and CEO in July 2016, was at that Carnegie Hall concert. I was a fan before I met him, he told the Deseret News. Id been following the Utah Symphony and Thierry from a distance. You notice whos making musical news so to speak, and it was very evident that hed made, through his leadership, incredible strides with the quality of the orchestra. During his time with the Utah Symphony, Fischer has developed creative programming, commissioning works from contemporary composers and championing lesser-known works, like French composer Olivier Messiaens Des Canyons aux etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars). That piece, inspired by the composers visit to southern Utah in the 1970s, will be at the heart of the symphonys upcoming 2019-20 season. And as Fischer prepares to step down in a few years, its fitting that he pays homage to the state that has been his home for nearly a decade. After all these years here, what I wanted to celebrate is my love for the state, for the beauty, he told the Deseret News. I am still incredibly inspired by it. Utah, its just paradise. Theres talk that Arm will not hand its IP to Huawei but how likely is that? If the boss of Arms owner Softbank, tells Arms CEO to hand over Arm IP to China, what will happen? There are several reasons why Arms CEO will do as hes told. The fortune of Softbanks boss, Masa Son, initiated from a stake in Chinas Alibaba and it is said that Alibaba controls the disposal of this stake. Would Son prefer to upset Arms CEO or the Chinese authorities? Furthermore, the Chinese may have a genuine legal right to Arms IP. Click here to read more ... Uppsala, Sweden May 22, 2019 IAR Systems, the future-proof supplier of software tools and services for embedded development, announces the immediate availability of the leading C/C++ compiler and debugger toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench with support for RISC-V cores. Through excellent optimization technology, IAR Embedded Workbench helps developers ensure the application fits the required needs and optimize the utilization of on-board memory. This also enables companies to aggregate value by adding functionality to an existing platform. Internal tests show that the first version of the IAR C/C++ Compiler for RISC-V already delivers major improvements in code density, generating code that is considerably smaller compared to code generated by other available tools. To ensure code quality, the toolchain includes C-STAT for integrated static code analysis. C-STAT can help prove compliance with specific standards like MISRA C:2004, MISRA C++:2008 and MISRA C:2012, as well as detect defects, bugs, and security vulnerabilities as defined by the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) and a subset of CERT C/C++. The C-SPY Debugger included with IAR Embedded Workbench gives full control of the application in real time, and its simulator provides full debugging capabilities even without access to the hardware. For in-circuit debugging, IAR Systems provides the probe I-jet, delivering a high-speed debugging platform with full code control. RISC-V is turning into an important and broad architecture and many companies are adopting it in their designs, says Stefan Skarin, CEO, IAR Systems. These companies have a lot to gain by having access to professional development tools with professional technical support. As a commercial tools vendor, we have a unique position in the RISC-V ecosystem by being able to provide global technical support, as well as invest in stable technology, and we are now taking RISC-V development to the next level. We are so excited to see IAR Systems offering a strong commercial tools alternative for RISC-V, says Chunqiang Li, Senior Staff Engineer and VP, C-SKY/Alibaba. There are a rapidly growing number of RISC-V based commercial products, and we are sure there will be a strong positive response in the market to IAR Systems leading code optimization technology as well as professional technical support. As a Platinum member of the RISC-V Foundation, we will continue to promote RISC-V evolution and cooperation in various technical directions such as ISA optimization, code density optimization, and security. Besides, we have also developed a series of CPU cores based on RISC-V, and we will expand cooperation with IAR Systems on the tools. We are glad to see early support for our AndesCore processors in IAR Embedded Workbench, comments Dr. Charlie Su, CTO and Executive VP, Andes Technology Corporation. IAR Systems always delivers high-performance development tools as well as comprehensive debugging capabilities that will enable our customers to reduce time to market and create highly competitive embedded applications. We are really excited about this launch. A member of our Mi-V ecosystem for implementing FPGA-based RISC-V designs, IAR Systems has a strong track record of delivering excellent performance and comprehensive services with their tools, said Tim Morin, director of product marketing for the FPGA business unit at Microchips Microsemi subsidiary. We are pleased to see them adding RISC-V coverage to their portfolio, and we will continue to work together to ensure optimized development for our joint customers. Im thrilled to see IAR Embedded Workbench for RISC-V join the robust tools available in the RISC-V ecosystem, said Yunsup Lee, designer of the RISC-V ISA and Chief Technology Officer at SiFive. High quality, commercially supported tools for SiFive devices are key to enabling the innovators who need customizable processors with dense, high-performance code to maximize their efforts. The addition of IAR Embedded Workbench to the RISC-V ecosystem will further push the RISC-V adoption across the embedded industry. says Calista Redmond, CEO, RISC-V Foundation. IAR Systems provides development tools for users all over the world, and Im excited to witness the companys compiler technology, static code analysis and extensive debug functionality brought to the RISC-V community. RISC-V is a free and open instruction set architecture (ISA) based on established Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) principles. In 2018, IAR Systems joined the non-profit RISC-V Foundation, which drives the adoption and implementation of the RISC-V ISA, and committed to bring its leading development tools to the growing RISC-V community. Complementing its strong tools product offering, IAR Systems delivers outstanding technical support from offices around the globe. The first version of IAR Embedded Workbench for RISC-V provides support for RV32 32-bit RISC-V cores and extensions. Future releases will include 64-bit support and support for the smaller RV32E base instruction set, as well as functional safety certification and security solutions. Learn more at www.iar.com/riscv. About IAR Systems IAR Systems supplies future-proof software tools and services for embedded development, enabling companies worldwide to create the products of today and the innovations of tomorrow. Since 1983, IAR Systems solutions have ensured quality, reliability and efficiency in the development of over one million embedded applications. The company is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden and has sales and support offices all over the world. Since 2018, Secure Thingz, a provider of advanced security solutions for embedded systems in the IoT, is part of IAR Systems. IAR Systems Group AB is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, Mid Cap. Learn more at www.iar.com. Silicon-proven, multi-protocol, 1 to 33Gbps transceiver IP solutions with the lowest power, lowest area and highest performance in the industry TORONTO -- May 23, 2019 -- AnalogX Inc., a Canadian corporation, is delighted to unveil its new, silicon-proven, multi-protocol, 1 to 33Gbps AXLinkIO connectivity IP portfolio. The AXLinkIO portfolio of Serializer/Deserializer interconnect IP solutions is ideally suited for high-bandwidth chiplets and chips in AI processors, 5G networking, optical interfaces, and datacenter computing. The IP architecture has been delivered to customers and has been silicon proven in a leading 16/12nm process technology. AXLinkIO exhibits the worlds lowest power, lowest area, and highest performance for any interconnect SerDes IP architecture running up to 33Gbps. The AXLinkIO portfolio of IPs includes AXDieIO, AXLinkIO-SR, and AXLinkIO-MR IP solutions. AXDieIO targets chiplet die-to-die applications, while AXLinkIO-SR and AXLinkIO-MR target chip-to-chip, chip-to-module and multi-chip connectivity. All IPs utilize the same silicon-proven AXLinkIO architecture featuring world-class signal and power integrity for multi-terabit, high transceiver lane count applications. The AXLinkIO IPs support a multitude of standard interface protocols such as PCIe Gen1-5, JESD, OIF, CPRI, Ethernet and others. Weve spent nearly two decades designing high-end, multi-protocol SerDes IP solutions for volume production and we are extremely passionate and committed in delivering truly innovative, silicon-proven technology. Compared to other solutions in this segment, we are providing our customers with exponential differentiation in terms of power, area density, and performance, said Robert Wang, Co-founder and CEO. Our team is really proud to have breached the 1 mW/Gbps power barrier in 16/12nm and our newer developments are on pace to further improve our power and area density, while maintaining our excellent and robust performance. The AXLinkIO IPs operate continuously from 1 to 33Gbps, while supporting hundreds of transceiver lanes per die side without stacking. The IP architecture delivers unprecedented power consumption, down to 1mW/Gbps in die-to-die applications. All AX IPs exhibit the worlds best area, IO density, and latency in the segment class. Multiple lane configurations are available for all AX IPs, along with comprehensive IP deliverables, user-friendly configuration software and world-class support to ensure seamless and easy IP integration. AnalogX will demonstrate the AXLinkIO IP architecture at DAC 2019 (Booth 862) in Las Vegas, USA, from June 2nd to June 6th. About AnalogX Inc. AnalogX Inc. (http://www.analogx.io) develops cutting-edge, connectivity IP solutions for premier technology companies. Founded in 2017 by industry veterans in the interconnect space, AnalogXs mission is to enable high-end, mixed-signal IPs that drive revolutionary SoC designs for high-bandwidth applications that range from AI to Data Center Computing. AnalogX is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Writer Tahira Kashyap, wife of actor Ayushmann Khurrana, has been an inspiration to many battling cancer like her. Speaking on Pinkvillas new show No Labels Attached, she spoke about how she battled her insecurities like going bald and accepted notions of beauty in her struggle against the disease. She was quoted by Pinkvilla as saying: On an emotional note, you never know how you are going to react until the situation comes. So, when I started going for my chemo, I knew I will lose my hair and I had kept one wig ready, lots of scarves ready, of different colors. I had kept everything ready because I wasnt ready to go bald. Also read | Imran Khan, wife Avantika separate after 8 years of marriage: reports I had never imagined my bald, not even short hair. I came from the school of thought where beauty meant long hair but that was previous me. But there was one day when the extensions couldnt hold on to the humble strands of hair I had on my head. So one day I had to decide to shave it off. When my son saw, he was like, I have seen men go bald, why did it have to happen to my mother? He told me not to meet his friends but I did exactly that, I met them and after spending 15-20 minutes, they knew all is normal. That day I redefined beauty for them. Tahira is an inspiration to not just cancer patients but everyone else too, given the candour with which she has spoken about her insecurities about being a star wife. Speaking to Spotboye in an interview, she had revealed how onscreen kiss between Ayushmann and his co-stars was a huge issue for her initially. I had a problem with him kissing onscreen. I felt like a big, huge fat whale sitting at home. When you are pregnant, your hormones also go up and down. Here this boy is looking at his youngest youth best and he is romancing women and what is this onscreen kiss! We both were very young. He didnt have the time and patience to take me along and I didnt have the patience to understand. There was this disconnect that we were not there for each other to each other along in that journey. Somewhere he knew that she doesnt meant mad. I also knew he wasnt cheating. I had to evolve as a person to understand what art is. Ayushmann also spoke about how they fought her cancer as a team and revealed in an interview to Rajeev Masand about how they got to know of her disease on his birthday. He added that instead of getting bogged down by it, they decided to face it together. In fact, they watched a film (Manmarziyaan) that day. Panasonic and ARM become the latest companies to cut ties with Huawei. Huawei, the second largest smartphone maker in the world, is now proving to be the biggest casualty of the US-China trade war. Huawei has lost several partner companies, ARM and Panasonic being the latest ones to jump ship, leaving its future hanging in the balance. Multiple US giants, including Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm, have followed Googles footsteps in pulling support for their respective services and components from Huawei and Honor products. This happened after the Trump Administration blacklisted the company, which makes it mandatory for US companies to cut ties with Huawei. In the past, the Chinese company has been accused of using its products for snooping and has been charged for bank fraud. Here is a list of companies who have succumbed to US governments pressure and have cut business ties with Huawei: Google: It is probably the most high-profile partner that Huawei has lost. The Chinese company rode the success of its Android-powered phones to leapfrog Apple and become the second largest smartphone vendor in terms of shipments in the first quarter of 2019. Any Huawei (and Honor) phone that launches after May 16, 2019 will not have Android OS support, which means possible cut-off of YouTube, Maps and other Google services on Huawei and Honor devices. Further, after the 90-day respite that Huawei got to push updates on its phones, there wont be any security patches which will leave those phone vulnerable to attacks. Microsoft: Earlier, Microsoft refused to deny that it will also pull support for Windows 10 from Huawei laptops, but now, the company has removed the flagship MateBook X Pro from its online store. Moreover, there is no Huawei-branded hardware on the Microsoft Store, and a quick search on the platform yields no results. Just like the phones, Microsofts decision to cut ties with Huawei will leave the companys laptops vulnerable to cyber threats. Qualcomm, Intel and Micron Technology: These US-based chipmakers have also stopped their businesses with the Chinese tech giant. Huawei is one of the few companies with pioneering technology for the roll out of 5G, and these US chipmakers provided Huawei with components required to establish a full-fledged 5G infrastructure. With the block in the sale to Huawei of these critical components, American companies will have a loss in revenue as well and the rollout of 5G wireless networks will be disrupted worldwide. This in turn may see a decline in demand of 5G devices and affordability factor will also take a hit due to less competition. ARM: Not only in the US, the ripples of the issue have also been seen across Europe. UK-based chip-maker ARM has reportedly told its employees to not provide support, delivery technology (whether software, code, or other updates), engage in technical discussions, or otherwise discuss technical matters with Huawei and HiSilicon (a chipmaker Huawei owns) anymore. In a statement to Engadget, ARM said, it is complying with the latest restrictions set forth by the US government and is having ongoing conversations with the appropriate US government agencies to ensure [it] remain[s] compliant. ARM values its relationship with [its] longtime partner HiSilicon and it is hopeful for a swift resolution on this matter. Additionally, the shares of three chipmakers - Infineon Technologies, AMS and STMicroelectronics - fell sharply after reports suggested that companies already had, or were about to, halt shipments to Huawei. Vodafone and EE: Not only the tech companies, but the impact of the ban on Huawei is also seen in the telecom sector. UK mobile carriers EE and Vodafone have reportedly dropped Huawei devices from the launch of their respective 5G networks. Both the carriers were to include Huawei Mate 20 X 5G smartphone in their lineup of 5G devices. According to The Verge, Vodafone has paused pre-orders for the phone, and added that it was a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices. EE, on the other hand, said, Until we get the information and confidence that gives us the long term surety that our customers, when they buy those devices, are going to be supported for the lifetime theyve got the device with us ... weve put those devices on pause. Two Japanese mobile carriers, SoftBank Corps Y! Mobile and KDDI, have reportedly delayed the sale of the Huawei P30 Lite. While Y! Mobile has cancelled the advance orders of the phones, KDDI also indefinitely delayed its sales. Another Japanese tech company has also announced that it is also following the other companies in cutting ties with Huawei. Without giving much details, Panasonic has now said that its business with Huawei, which includes the supply of electronic parts, is stopped. Meanwhile, Huawei has issued a statement saying, We value our close relationships with our partners, but recognise the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions. We are confident this regrettable situation can be resolved and our priority remains to continue to deliver world-class technology and products to our customers around the world. The company is also reportedly working on an Android alternative to circumvent the issue of no Play Store access on Huawei and Honor phones. 7 hours ago China pursues tech 'self-reliance,' fueling global unease BEIJING (AP) To help make China a self-reliant technology superpower, the ruling Communist Party is pushing the world's biggest e-commerce company to take on the tricky, expensive business of designing its own processor chips a business unlike anything Alibaba Group has done before. Its 3-year-old chip unit, T-Head, unveiled its third processor in October, the Yitian 710 for Alibaba's cloud computing business. Read Article Subscriber content preview SEATTLE (AP) Cayuse and Chinook passes near Mount Rainier will open today in time for Memorial Day weekend. KING-TV reports the Washington State Department of Transportation plans to reopen the roadways Thursday at 8 a.m. after their annual winter closures. . . . Subscriber content preview JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska's transportation department is looking to sell two of its so-called fast ferries, with a spokeswoman saying the vessels are too expensive to keep running. Aurah Landau says there have been long-standing plans to phase out the Fairweather and Chenega, which went into service within the past 15 years. . . . Subscriber content preview NEW YORK (AP) Amazon said Wednesday that shareholders voted against proposals related to climate change and facial recognition technology despite pressure from civil rights groups, activist investors and its own employees. The two proposals on facial recognition asked Amazon to stop selling its technology to government agencies, citing privacy concerns that could ultimately hurt Amazon's reputation. Earlier this month, San Francisco banned the use of facial recognition software by police and other city departments. . . . Subscriber content preview By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. Prominent upstate New York landlord Robert Morgan was charged Wednesday in a 114-count federal indictment with inflating property values in his expansive real estate portfolio to secure more than $500 million in loans. The indictment also named Morgan's son, Todd Morgan, and two other principals of his Pittsford-based Morgan Management, LLC. . . . Tata Motors creates new compact truck segment with `Intra' Tata Motors, the countrys largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, has unveiled a new range of `compact trucks with the launch of `Tata Intra, which promises to combine the toughness of a truck and the nimbleness of a car. Priced at Rs535 lakh for the base variant, the Intra is designed to meet the evolving needs of the customer who seeks high revenues, low cost of ownership and superior vehicle performance, Tata Motors stated in a release. Conceptualised and engineered on the new modular platform, Tata Intra is an all-new rugged and powerful compact truck with ergonomically designed cabin, car-like steering comfort, low noise and comfortable seats to ensure fatigue-free long inter-city trips, the company says. Tata Intra offers best-in-class features in terms of vehicle power, acceleration, load carrying capacity, driving comfort, superior reliability and durable aggregates and is available in two distinct variants Intra V10 and Intra V20. Offering superior performance and best-in-class mileage, both variants come with two trim levers, with higher trim having HVAC, music system, LED tail lamps along with enriched and color coordinated interiors. Power train is tuned to suit various duty cycles using Gear Shift Advisor or Economy switch leading to enhanced fuel efficiency. A short turning radius allows easy maneuverability in high traffic intra-city trips Tata Motors offers Intra customers various benefits under its Sampoorna Seva umbrella, which include 24X7 workshop, attractive AMC packages, breakdown assistance and accidental insurance for drivers. Customer can enjoy benefits of TATA Samarth which offers health insurance, hospitalisation cover, support in child education and financial literacy. Conceptualised after extensive market research and customer feedback, Tata Intra is engineered and built to offer class-leading features, meeting the demanding and ever-evolving requirements of the SCV industry. Tata INTRA promises to deliver superior performance, increased pay-load capacity, high fuel efficiency and durability, all leading to significant increase in revenues and lowest cost of operation to the discerning owners, the company stated. With a best in class, 2,512 mm x 1,602 mm load body length, Tata INTRA comes in two variants - V10 and V20. The Intra range starts from Rs5.35 lakh, onwards depending on the variant. The Tata Intra is powered by future ready engines, which are scalable to BSVI norms. The Intra V20 comes with 1400 cc DI engine with 52KW (70 HP) while the Intra V10 is powered by an 800 CC DI engine delivering 30KW (40 hp), offering quick acceleration, faster trips and low turnaround time. The vehicle has a standard power steering fitment and a low turning circle radius of 4.75m to ensure easy manoeuvrability even on narrow and congested roads. The power train is tuned to suit various duty cycles using Gear Shift Advisor or economy switch, leading to enhanced fuel efficiency. Intra also has a 5-speed gearbox with cable shift mechanism offering a pleasurable driving experience. As the leader in the commercial vehicle industry we are playing a key role in shaping the CV market by introducing global products based on deep customer insights. We have strengthened our actions under the ongoing turnaround. With intense sales activation, new product launches, continued thrust on cost reduction, we have been able to improve our CV business performance, Guenter Butschek, CEO and MD, Tata Motors, said. We want to strengthen our leadership position across all segments we operate in. The Tata Intra is a testament of our unrelenting commitment to introduce products that embody engineering passion and bolster customer value proposition and it will be a game changer for us in the SCV segment as it offers several industry-first features, setting high standards in the market, he added. The customer preferences are shifting everyday towards better performance, advanced features and higher returns... Tata Intra is ideal for customers who want to upgrade their commercial vehicles for higher business returns and lower total cost of ownership (TCO), enabled by proven and reliable aggregates and driving comfort leading to longer, fatigue free drives, said Girish Wagh, president commercial vehicle business unit, Tata Motors. The Tata INTRA has a boltable full forward robust body shell cabin and has been intelligently designed with a smart nose along with seatbelts and Emergency Locking Retractor. Built on a hydroformed frame, the INTRA is comparatively lighter. The smartly engineered cabin space, improved ergonomics and low NVH levels, gives the Intra car-like interiors with sufficient storage capacity and comfortable seating, enabling drivers to operate fatigue-free over long hauls, which in turn improves productivity. Other features include mobile charging point, electronic instrument cluster, big headlamps, large windscreen, lockable glove box, storage on dashboard and door trims, headrest for comfort while driving, pre-fitted music system and AC in the premium version. The gear lever is mounted on the dashboard making longer drives comfortable and tireless for the driver. The front and rear rigid axles and leaf springs ensure superior load carrying capability and low cost of maintenance. With its extensive dealer network and extended arm salesman in the form of Tata Gram Mitra, Tata Motors assures customers better after-sales support as well. The vehicle comes with an industry best warranty of 2 years or 72,000 km, supported by extensive countrywide network for sales, service and spare parts. Modi leads NDA back to power winning 355 seats The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rode back to power, securing 355 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, on the back of peoples faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an opposition alliance that looked untenable. The NDA, in fact, returned to power with a better tally, with the BJP on its own securing a clear majority of 305 seats in the lower house of Parliament. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India, Modi said on Twitter as the counting progessed. India wins yet again! Modis victory boosted financial markets as investors expect his government to continue to pursue economic reforms. BJP has won 305 Lok Sabha seats while the NDA claimed 355 seats, crossing the 2014 tally. The BJP has demolished the combined opposition and confined the Congress Party to around 50 seats. Modi himself won in Varanasi with a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah won in Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 4 lakh votes. On the other hand, the Congress-led opposition alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) secured 97 seats, 38 more compared to the 2014 elections, despite drubbings in some key constituencies. Among others, the YSR Congress of Andhra Pradesh secured 24 seats, while West Bengals Trinamool Congress won 22 seats, BJD 12,BSP 11, TRS 8, Left 5 and AAP 1, all adding up to 83. Congress president Rahul Gandhi lost to BJPs Smriti Irani in the Ameti Lok Sabha constituency while the Congress leader won by a record margin of 4 lakh votes from his second constituency of Wynad in Kerala. The NDA had won 336 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and BJP had garnered 282 seats on its own. As predicted in exit polls, BJP has made handsome gains in West Bengal and managed to thwart the threats from BSP-SP Mahagathbandhan in Uttar Pradesh. While the Modi wave swept through the Hindi heartland and other major states like Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. But, in Telangana, the BJP was ahead in four seats, the same as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. The Bharatiya Janata Party secured all seven seats in capital Delhi. BJP also grabbed 11 seats from Trinamool Congress in West Bengal despite stiff resistance from Mamata Banerjee. TMC was ahead in 23seats while the BJP was leading in 18 in the state. BJPs Pragya Thakur also won a key contest against Congress vetreran Digvijay Singh in Bhopal. The BJP-led NDA secured 38 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine gave a tough fight to the Congress-NCP alliance in 42 seats. In Karnataka, the BJP was leading in 23 seats, Congress in 3 and the JD(S) in 2 seats. In Uttar pradesh Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh was trailing against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjeev Kumar Balyan from Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on 11 April. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan of BJP had defeated Kadir Rana of the BSP by a margin of 4,01,150 votes in the 2014 general elections. Balyan is the minister of state for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation under Cabinet minister Uma Bharti. In Rae Baraeli, Sonia Gandhi's lead narrowed down to 800 votes while Jaya Prada who was trailing behind Azam Khan in Rampur, moved ahead of Azam Khan. Sonia Gandhi was leading from Rae Bareli but with only around 800 votes. Meanwhile, Jaya Prada, who was trailing behind Azam Khan in Rampur in early trends, has now gained a lead. BJP's Maneka Gandhi is leading by 1,100 votes from Sultanpur leaving behind Sanjay Singh of INC. Likewise, her son Varun Gandhi was also in lead from the Mau constituency. The mother-son duo had swapped their seats in these elections. The BJP is leading in 23 of 25 seats in Rajasthan while the Congress is ahead in four seats. The BJP had won all 25 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha election. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated PM Modi: Greetings to my friend PM Modi for impressive victory in the election! Results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the worlds greatest democracy. Together we'll continue to strengthen the great friendship between US (us) and India and take it to new heights, Netanyahu said. He tweeted in Hebrew and Hindi. KP Sharma Oli, the Prime Minister of Nepal congratulated PM Modi. I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you, Oli tweeted. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated Modi on his return to power. Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you. - @RW_UNP, he tweeted. Jaganmohan's YSR Cong wrests Andhra, BJD set for fifth term in Odisha YSR Congress, led by Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late Congress leader and Andhra chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, gave a big drubbing to Telugu Desam party led by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu winning 146 seats in the 175-member state assembly. Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party was ahead in 27 assembly seats based on initial trends. Simultaneous assembly polls were held in four states, including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim. In AndhraPradesh, it was a direct contest between the TDP and the YSR Congress, with the Congress and the BJP pushed to the sidelines. Pawan Kalyans Jana Sena Party, which joined hands with Mayawatis BSP and the Left parties, who was hailed as the X-factor in the assembly election, may play spoiler in some seats, but may not win any. Janasena leader Pawan Kalyan has slipped to third position in the Gajuwaka assembly constituency. The actor-turned politician is contesting from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district as well. Security has been tightened for both three-time chief minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu and Jaganmohan Reddy, son of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, for the counting of votes today over fears of repeat of the violence that had hit the state during polling on 11 April. Elections for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly constituencies were held simultaneously in the state. Exit polls were divided over the outcome of the elections. While some have projected victory for YSRCP, others have predicted that the TDP will retain power. Ahead of the election, Naidu, who has been pushed to the wall with corruption charges, had announced a slew of welfare schemes and sops in the last few months, in a bid to give his party a fighting chance. These included a 2BHK housing scheme, under which the state government allotted houses to beneficiaries or, where the beneficiaries owned land, gave money for building houses, with the beneficiaries bearing a portion of the cost. Apart from this, the elderly in the state have been receiving pension of Rs200 per month since February 2018. The Naidu government also set up separate corporations for Kapu, backward classes, SCs, STs, and Brahmins, for extending subsidised loans to beneficiaries. However, all these have gone in vain with people voting for Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress en masse. Along with the Lok Sabha elections 2019, four states Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also voted to choose their next assemblies. In Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP won 28 seats while the Congress managed to secure 2 seats and other parties got 7 seats. The BJP has won 12 Assembly seats. The party is leading in 11 other constituencies. Deputy Chief Minister of the state Chowna Mein won the Chowkham seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Khunang Kri. Kumsi Sidisow has won from 6-Thrizino Buragaon (ST) Assembly constituency. In Sikkim, the opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won seven assembly seats and was leading in four constituencies while the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) won three and was ahead in six, election officials said. Sikkim has 32 assembly seats. Chief minister and SDF supremo Pawan Chamling has won the Poklok Kamrang assembly seat defeating his nearest rival of Sikkim Krantikari Morcha Kharka Bahadur Rai by 2,899 votes. Chamlin is also contesting the Namchi Singhithang seat from where he is also leading by 289 votes. In Odisha, the ruling Biju Janata Dal was leading in 102 assembly seats while the BJP was leading from 26 seats and the Congress in 15 seats in the state. A close contest ensues between BJD and BJP in Lok Sabha seats, with BJD leading in 11 seats and the BJP leading in 10. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who was leading in both MLA constituencies of Hinjili and Bijepur, looked set for a fifth term. He was leading with 9,815 votes in Honjili and 11,795 votes in Bijepur seat. The Miracle Workers Collective, based on these premises, presents its inaugural project, titled A Greater Miracle of Perception, introducing itself to the public as a transdisciplinary and anational community of artists, filmmakers, writers, intellectuals and activists, including: the authors Maryan Abdulkarim and Hassan Blasim; the screenwriter Khadar Ahmed; the choreographer Sonya Lindfors; the artists Outi Pieski, Leena Pukki, Martta Tuomaala and Lorenzo Sandoval; the cinematographer Christopher L. Thomas and the storyteller Suvi West, as well as the curators Giovanna Esposito Yussif, Christopher Wessels and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung. By exploring miracles as the poetic vehicle from which perception and experience expand, the Pavilion offers: the group film by MWC, The Killing of Cahceravga (2019), in dialogue with the site-specific sculpture installation Ovdavazzit Forewalkers (2019) by Outi Pieski. The Killing of Cahceravga is a collision of five different short films that, together, narrate a fragmented, communal story. By using a reaction strategy, the film expresses a politicised discourse on indifference, movement and migration in contemporary Europe. The collective shares an interest in exploring the potentials of disciplinary disobedience. In traveling across dreamscapes and solitary snowy planes, the film expands to become a practice of impossible spatial rules, strange practices of dialogue and scene endings that are inconclusive or unresolved. Children from a Donegal school got to mix with the stars when they attended a Junior Entrepreneur Showcase in Dublin this week. Pupils from Scoil an tStratha Mhoir, Glendowan, Churchill met with RTE's Ryan Tubridy and Miriam O'Callaghan on what was a memorable day for all involved. Pupils of 5th and 6th class of Scoil an tStratha Mhoir began their entrepreneurial journey last October when they had to come up with a niche product to produce and market, Dragons Den style. The successful group developed and produced a calendar and Christmas cards based on local scenic photography of the Churchill, Glenveagh and Gartan areas, to try and reflect an ongoing initiative to market this beautiful unspoilt attractive area. They were given invaluable insight and assistance by local photographers Geraldine Diver and Ray McDermott, local entrepreneur Carol OCallaghan and businessman Paul Rodgers. Pupils pictured with Ryan Tubridy It was a hugely proud day when out of over 700 schools, Scoil an tStratha Mhoir was among those chosen to highlight, display and recall their Junior Entrepreneur Showcase journey. Children and teachers from all over Ireland attended a showcase event in the RDS in Dublin last Monday it was an incredible, invaluable experience. The profit of 1,020 will go towards the cost of purchasing a defibrillator for the school and local community. Bob Woodall has witnessed a growing supply and demand issue in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning business and has created a program to address it. Woodall is offering paid apprenticeships and training to five recent high school graduates in an effort to inspire a youth movement in the HVAC industry. Woodall, owner of Bob Woodall Air Care Systems, said many of the maintenance and service technicians in the HVAC business are getting older, creating a labor shortage at a time when the industry is growing. Woodall believes the answer to the HVAC industrys problem lies with recent high school graduates. Were losing experience to age, retirement, and death, he said. We must embrace young people. Weve got to connect with young people. They are our future. Woodall said he worked with Ryan Richards, director of the workforce development agency Southeast AlabamaWorks!, to create the apprenticeship program. Program officials recently contacted high school career counselors in the area in search of potential candidates and are still accepting applications for the program. The hospitalized Auburn police officers condition continues to improve after having to be airlifted Sunday to Piedmont Columbus Hospital. Officer Webb Sistrunk's status is downgraded from ICU to critical care, Jessica Roberts, Piedmont Columbus communication director, said in a news release on Wednesday. Sistrunk was shot in the line of duty Sunday night along with Auburn Police Officer Evan Elliott and Officer William Buechner, who was fatally wounded. Capital murder suspect Grady Wayne Wilkes is in jail facing charges for the shootings. Sistrunk was shot in the right shoulder and sustained a critical injury as a result. He will continue to undergo a number of medical procedures moving forward, Roberts said. While in the hospital, Sistrunk had a special visitor Wednesday, his K-9 partner, Leon. Leon was with Sistrunk during the incident but was not injured. Leons third birthday will be in July, Roberts said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The Sistrunk family thanks everyone for their continued prayers for our officer and asks that you keep the Buechner and Elliott families in your prayers as well, Roberts said. Gardai in Drogheda arrested sixteen people and thirty two searches were conducted today as part of a Day of Action carried out under Operation Stratus investigating criminality within the Drogheda Garda District. Thirty searches were conducted at houses in the District and fourteen people were arrested on foot of outstanding warrants within the Drogheda Garda District. All fourteen persons arrested have been brought before both the District and Circuit Courts of foot of these warrants. A further two men (23 and 19 years) were arrested on suspicion of the commission of criminal acts within the Drogheda Garda District in recent weeks. The 19 year old man was charged and taken before Dundalk District Court whilst the second man (23 years) remains in custody detained under the provisions of Section 4 of The Criminal Justice Act, 1984 in Drogheda Garda Station Two separate searches were conducted under a warrants issued under The Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977 as amended. Also, as part of this operation members of the Road Policing Unit attached to Drogheda Garda Station conducted an operation and resulted in the seizure of five vehicles under Section 41 of The Road Traffic Act, 1994 along with the issuing of thirty five on the spot penalty notices for various roads traffic offences. This operation is ongoing and updates will follow. Nearly half (44%) of Gen Y (also referred to as millennials) small businesses have applied for finance in the last year and more than a third (39%) of those applications were declined. This is according to the latest findings from the MYOB Business Monitor. The report, which explores the state of play of 1,000 Australian small businesses, found Gen Y businesses were more likely to apply for finance, compared to 23% of Gen X small business owners and 15% of the Baby Boomer generation. This trend looks set to continue in the next 12 months, with 36% of Gen Y-run small businesses expected to apply for finance, versus 16% of Gen Xers and 8% of Baby Boomers. With data demonstrating a decline in home ownership among younger generations of Australians*, MYOB CEO, Tim Reed considers the rate of success of finance applications for Gen Y small business a warning shot to the way financial access is provided to the small business community as a whole. Australias youngest small business owners struggle to get access to finance because theyre less likely to own their own home. Many of us have believed tying business loans to home ownership has been a problem with the lending system that has existed for years, but for the first time were now seeing the generational impact, he said. For too long there has been a lack of competition in the small business lending market, which has led to a lack of product innovation. Small business shouldnt have to put up their own property as collateral to drive their business forward. We believe the birth of a new generation of small business financiers, as well as the bipartisan support for the Federal Governments Australian Securitisation Fund, is in response to this market need. In addition to financial access barriers, the findings may also suggest Gen Y small businesses are bearing the brunt of consequences from the Hayne Royal Commission. Recent data from the Reserve Bank of Australia** demonstrates growth in bank loans of between $100,000 and $500,000 has been in negative for the last three quarters, which further compacts the frustrations of small business operators, said Mr Reed. In its tenth year, the MYOB Business Monitor dissects key factors affecting small business. Topics include financial stability and business pressure points. Economic outlook While access to finance is a sticking point for Gen Y small business, they maintain a positive outlook. Thirty-one per cent of Gen Y respondents said the economy will improve in the next 12 months, while just 28% of small business nationwide expect this. In fact, 45% of all respondents expect the economy to decline. Revenue is another area where Gen Y are feeling buoyant, with 37% reporting revenue went up in the last 12 months (versus 25% at national average) and 38% stating revenue will be up in the year to come (versus 28%). Nationwide, the 12 months ahead look less rosy than six months ago, with expectations for an increased revenue forecast reducing five points from 33% in October 2018 to 28%. When asked why revenue had increased in the last 12 months, most replied there had been an increase in customer demand (28%), followed by the current economic climate and development of better relationships with customers (jointly 14%). For those who had stated revenue had decreased during the last 12 months, one third (33%) said the reason was the current economic climate, while 21% put it down to decreased customer demand. On profitability, on balance, the last 12 months have been positive for small business, with respondents more likely to say profit has increased (30%) than decreased (26%). The next 12 months are looking more positive still, with 34% saying they expect more profit in the year to come. Gen Y were most likely to report more profits gained in the last 12 months (42%) and are also more likely to expect a profit increase in the 12 months to come (44%). Its interesting to see that the economy has worked in favour for some in the last 12 months, but most feel its been the reason for a decline if thats what theyve experienced, said Mr Reed. Business pressures and priorities The top issues most likely to cause Australian small businesses a lot to extreme concern this year are fuel prices (40%, down 6 points from 46% in October 2018), utility costs (40%) and cashflow (35%, up 7 points from 28% in October 2018). In terms of priorities for the year ahead, small business are most likely to invest in diversifying the variety of products or services offered (25%), customer retention strategies (24%) and jointly, the sale of products or services online and prices and margins on products sold (23%). Gen Y are most likely to diversify their product or service range in the coming year at 33%, versus the national average of 25%. Theyre also likely to be more aggressive with their customer acquisition strategy this year. Thirty-one per cent of Gen Y-run small business will increase investment in this area, versus the 21% national average. The research tells us theres a lot for small business to feel optimistic about in the coming year, but its worrying to see cashflow such a creeping concern for the community. If cashflow causes problems, the wheels can fall off very quickly in other areas, so making sure businesses can get paid on time should continue to be an absolute priority for all, said Mr Reed. State overview: have you tried to access finance in the last 12 months? New South Wales Victoria Queensland South Australia Western Australia Sample 306 280 215 73 93 Yes, and was successful 20% 18% 18% 24% 19% Yes, but was not successful 10% 8% 6% 3% 16% Have not tried to access finance for the business 68% 71% 74% 70% 65% Dont know 2% 3% 1% 3% Net Yes 30% 26% 24% 27% 35% About the MYOB Business Monitor Now in its tenth year, the MYOB Business Monitor is a national survey of 1,000+ Australian small and medium business owners and managers, from sole traders to mid-sized companies, representing the major industry sectors. The Business Monitor researches business performance and attitudes in areas such as profitability, cash flow, pipeline, technology usage and the government. This most recent survey ran in April 2019. *Source: Grattan 2017 ** Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, April 2019 Between Editions: May 22 PORTALES - Angel Loya was sentenced Wednesday morning to six years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the April 2018 shooting death of Dylan McKay in Portales. "I'm truly sorry for what happened," Loya told McKay's loved ones in the crowded court hearing. "It was never my intention to take Dylan's life." Loya, 23, faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted at trial on his original charge of second-degree murder. Attorneys said in Wednesday's plea conference that they agreed to the amended charge since a jury "by and large would have a wide variety of opinions as to what should happen," defense counsel Gary Mitchell told the court. Mitchell said the case was an unusual one, "certainly not murder, and more likely than not, not self defense." Deputy District Attorney Jake Boazman said Loya knew McKay "was upset and on his way to the residence," but made "no attempt to contact law enforcement ... but instead armed himself with the firearm" and stood behind the door of the residence where the incident took place. The mother of McKay's daughter read an emotional statement to the court, emphasizing how her daughter has been impacted by McKay's loss. "I hope that everyone involved in this remembers every day how it has affected a little girl for a lifetime," Bradi Carthel said of her daughter, Braylan. "Everything that could go wrong went wrong that night, and it went wrong worse for Dylan, because he's not here today," Mitchell said. Roosevelt County Judge Donna Mowrer took about 10 minutes in recess before returning with the sentence, giving Loya the state's recommendation for the upper limit of six years. "There are no winners in this type of situation," Mowrer said. "There are only losers." Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more Apple, Google and Microsoft are three very powerful companies. Two of them had big events last week Google I/O and Microsoft Build. What I found interesting was that both Google and Microsoft largely were on the same page about focusing on the customer. Both Google and Microsoft have been making massive advancements with artificial intelligence. Both have increased their efforts to make the world a better place. Apple, on the other hand, is still using the lock-in model to keep customers from abandoning it, and increasingly appears more intent on increasing margins than on satisfying its unusually loyal and valuable customers. Ill share my views on their strategies and then close with my new favorite browser: Chromium Edge. (Seriously this thing is AWESOME!) Google and Microsoft I observed a number of really interesting things from watching the Microsoft Build Keynote and the Google I/O keynotes back to back. One was that while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadellas passion clearly showed, Sergey Brin looked like he was reading the ingredients in a recipe he didnt like. The contrast in energy and interest was stark, even though both men were announcing similarly revolutionary offerings. While Google was the first to embrace open source, and by a considerable margin, Microsoft has matched it. Both firms now are pretty much on the same page not only with regard to an increasing customer focus, but also when it comes to putting their efforts into making the world a better place. They have been getting there with different tools, but the concept of building around the customer, while more pronounced at Microsoft than at Google, is very visible at both companies. Google never has seemed to care that much about profit, largely because its revenue source typically is decoupled from the product, and Microsoft historically has been product-focused. Googles pivot to privacy is largely sourced through government sanctions that likely have scared the hell out of it. Microsofts is more because its model favors privacy in the first place but both firms largely were in lockstep on the importance of their respective efforts. A Truly Smart Digital Assistant One of the most interesting parts of both keynotes was that both CEOs placed their digital assistant efforts toward the top of their respective priority lists, and their new feature sets are going to be remarkably close. Both Googles and Microsofts assistant efforts appear better, in terms of performance, than Apples Siri or Amazons Alexa. However, Siri is better known, and Alexa is more widely used. Both companies announced aggressive steps to fix that, with assistants that can hold conversations and perform multiple linked tasks far more like what a human assistant might be able to accomplish. Both showcased advanced translation and speech-to-text capabilities, and both highlighted impressive performance potential. One interesting, perhaps ironic, difference was that Google was stronger with its disconnected device capability, which I would have expected to be more in Microsofts purview. However Microsofts overall cloud message, with a performance gaming component, was far stronger. It felt at times as though each company thought it was the other. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Hardware and Collaboration Other areas where the companies diverged were on collaboration and hardware. Microsoft presented some impressive improvements to its Teams product, which now can loop in remote workers into a rendered video conferencing environment using Spatial, a revolutionary avatar-based telepresence technology. It gave me hope that much of my travel soon may go away. It offered everything from real-time translations to the ability to turn presenters translucent so you could see what was behind them. Really revolutionary stuff. Google was more about the hardware from its updated Nest Hub and Next Hub Max to its new aggressively priced, potentially iPhone-killing, Pixel 3a phone. It had me thinking it was time to hide my wallet again. Its new phone actually comes in purple, which got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could get my wife off her horrid iPhone (purple is her favorite color and our anniversary is coming up). The Pixel 3a has three iPhone-killing features: a battery that uses machine learning to produce up to 30 hours of battery life (15 minutes on the charger provides seven hours of use); a camera with super high-resolution zoom and market-leading night mode; and the new Google assistant that makes Siri look so last decade. The digital well being improvements also are impressive, with new phone features that could increase productivity by 90 percent and reduce nighttime usage (improving sleep) by 27 percent. Making a Better World Surveys of millennials indicate they want to work with firms that will go out of their way to make a better world. Ive covered efforts by Dell, Cisco and IBM in the past, and this clearly has become an industry trend. Microsofts aims to enable people to make a difference in the world by giving them the tools they need to execute changes. In its keynote, the theme was on how to build trust, with a significant focus on election accuracy worldwide. Ensuring this process will allow for stronger citizen-driven change short of revolution something we may appreciate even here in the U.S. shortly. Googles presentation along these lines was more about what Google could do, suggesting its effort is partially in response to its eroding brand and concerns that the company was becoming evil. It highlighted impressive tools that could give a voice to those who cant speak. It was a pretty amazing demo, because once trained using machine learning, the system could differentiate between a stroke victim otherwise unintelligible sounds. Google also highlighted a huge advancement in early warnings of flooding using satellite imaging and heavy simulation. Both firms approaches were accretive. In other words, it wasnt one or the other but one plus the other that got you the best results. Microsoft Azure For some screwy reason, the cloud was all Microsoft and Azure. Google seemed more about edge computing. Microsoft pointed to its expanded to 54 regions and whopping worldwide compliance certificates the most of any company. A D V E R T I S E M E N T I found out that it has been working with each government far more than any of its competitors, not only to comply, but also to change compliance requirements so that they actually make sense, improving the environment for all vendors. One of the most interesting implementations came from AT&T, which has been using Azure for drone tracking and to eliminate the risk drones pose to commercial aircraft. Starbucks has been using Azure for coffee quality assurance (a good thing Ive stopped going to Starbucks because the coffee tastes bad). Microsoft highlighted a blockchain logistics product in conjunction with Starbucks that better assured packaged coffee quality. AI and Mixed Reality On AI, both Google and Microsoft had interesting stories to tell. Google highlighted a huge effort to eliminate bias in its AI models, something that Dell spotlighted a week earlier and IBM emphasized at Think. Microsoft was more about having an open AI system that could be modified by the customer to create bots that could target needs uniquely as a result of learning about the user. Neither firm had any real virtual reality content, but they were pretty aggressive with augmented reality. Microsoft again highlighted its HoloLens II, which is being used widely in industry. It also highlighted a massive increase in developer tools, making deploying the thing far easier. Google seemed to be backing off AR hardware altogether, but it showed strong progress with its AR (Google Lens) efforts instead, which did some pretty amazing things with regard to translating paper documents like menus. Gaming Advances Microsoft largely stood alone with its new huge gaming in the cloud effort. The promise is any game you want on any device with state saved. In theory, you could start a game on your PC and then finish it on a phone or tablet. This kind of demands head-mounted displays, because taking a game that is meant to be played on a monitor and shrinking it down to a tablet or phone would get a ton more interesting if you didnt have to reduce the screen size. Ironically, Google kind of addressed this with its foldable phone update. Apples Position Both Microsoft and Google are on what appear to be customer-centric tacks, and both have huge make the world a better place efforts under way. Apple is still mostly spending its money on buying back stock (which benefits investors over customers). Apple just finished the biggest litigation effort Ive ever seen focused on screwing Qualcomm just to get US$6 in extra margin, with collateral damage that could have knocked the U.S. out of the 5G race. For some time, it has been outfitting its phones with inferior Intel modems, knowing they were crap but nevertheless promoting them as superior. Apples excessive focus has been on margins and valuation. It doesnt appear to care about the health of its suppliers or the quality of their offerings. WWDC will be Apples chance to fight back, but it really needs to start putting customers and the world far higher on its priority list. Right now, it has fallen way behind both Google and Microsoft in a number of areas. This is pretty much the same tone-deaf behavior I saw at IBM back in the 1980s, and it almost killed that company. I dont think it will end well in Apples case either. While Microsoft is talking customer focus and loyalty, and also increasing valuation, Apple has been taking advantage of the most loyal customer group on the planet. This is just painful to watch. Wrapping Up: Better Competition It is really cool that both Google and Microsoft are focusing a ton more on customers. I also think it is fascinating that Microsoft is working to make Starbucks much better, while Googles executive needs to drink more coffee. (Sergey Brin really defined low energy in his talk.) Apple, in contrast, seems to be living in the 1900s, when lock-in was king and you could subordinate customers for margins. It just feels like it increasingly has been relying on lock-in and not on building more competitive offerings or giving customers the love they deserve. Apple has the most loyal customer base in the segment. It really needs to stop abusing them with inferior offerings and maybe do something that will make the world a better place. And I still feel someone should go to jail for the bad faith attempt to put Qualcomm out of business. I dont know about you, but I am now a long way from just bringing up Internet Explorer and having everything work. Edge has become increasingly difficult to use, and IE has its own legacy issues. A couple of weeks back I tried to enter a video conference, and after trying Edge, IE and Chrome, I found that only Firefox would render the page properly. Well when my Microsoft contact, Carla Quesenberry, called me a few weeks ago and asked me to try out the alpha copy of Microsoft Edge on Chromium, I was pretty skeptical and put it off. Its an alpha product, how good could it be? I finally loaded Edge Canary (the code name), and I can answer that question with one word awesome. When I first loaded and launched it, the load time was blindingly short. It just exploded onto my screen with a lot of my favorites. Ive been using it for two weeks, and I made it my default browser this week. Even though it is in alpha, it is better than a lot of the shipping browsers Ive ever used. Canary Microsoft Edge on Chromium click image to enlarge Since it has been my primary, I rarely have to load Chrome and never have to load IE. It is the one browser that runs everything most successfully, and it has a favorites migration capability that is nearly second to none in alpha form. My favorites were all there, though some of the passwords were out of date. There are coming features that will better allow the creation of comparison charts, just by dragging and dropping. Did I mention, the thing is the fastest browser Ive got and by a significant margin? A host of coming features will make this thing an invaluable part of the Office 365 solution like the ability to drag and drop items from the browser into Excel to create near instant personal product comparison guides or collections. Because its been well over a decade since Ive been more excited about a browser than pissed at it, Edge with Chromium what I call Chromium Edge is my product of the week. (Maybe Microsoft should rename it the Awesome Browser.) The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. 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For some, that discipline may come in the form of after-school detention, a math worksheet, or staying in for recess. At Doull Elementary in Denver, when students misbehave repeatedly, they are assigned to a new after-school activityyoga. Doulls version of alternative discipline is part of the schools embrace of social-emotional learning and is emblematic of the growing trend of K-12 schools to cultivate school environments that are attuned to the social and emotional well-being of children. For many schools, the pursuit of social-emotional learning often starts with overhauling traditional approaches to student discipline and misbehavior. One way they are doing so is through the use of mindfulness-based interventions in an attempt to tackle the reasons behind the disobedience. At Doull Elementary, when a teacher notices that a student is constantly misbehaving, the student is referred to the after-school program, working with parents to make sure students schedules allow them to attend the yoga classes. What we love about yoga is that they leave with some actual skills that can help them in life, said Doull Elementary Principal Jo Carrigan. Doing a math sheet or handwriting sheet didnt help them solve a problem, didnt help them recognize what anger feels like in their body. Spread of Mindfulness in Schools The new form of discipline led to fewer students skipping out on detention, and the yoga program also began drawing interest from students who werent ever likely to be referred for behavior reasons, Carrigan said. Demand became so great that the school added an extra day for students who wanted to join yoga as a club activity. Before students get assigned to yoga for misbehavior, however, teachers first try to address the issue by sending them to the schools cool-down room, where they can do breathing exercises and talk to a staff member about what might be bothering them. Carrigan was inspired to replace detention with yoga after reading about Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore, where a partnership with the Holistic Life Foundation, a nonprofit that works with over 40 schools, had brought meditation to the classroom and a mindful moment room, where disruptive students can go to meditate and calm themselves. Andres Gonzalez, Holistic Life Foundations co-founder and director of marketing and communication, said that he saw the impact that yoga and meditation had on what were previously seen as problem kids in the school. Instead of us picking up 10 kids from detention, we were picking seven, then we were picking up five, and soon, we werent picking up any kids, Gonzalez said. Schools move toward efforts to foster positive school environments seem to be finding favor with the public. According to a 2019 Gallup poll conducted on behalf of Communities in Schools, 54 percent of 1,000 American adults surveyed said most teachers are unprepared or very unprepared to handle discipline. But when asked which solutions would be effective in addressing discipline issues in schools, 90 percent said increased efforts to foster a positive school environment would be somewhat or very effective, while 86 percent said focusing more resources on students social and emotional development would be somewhat or very effective. Alternatively, 55 percent said that stricter disciplinary practices, such as more detentions, suspensions, or expulsions, would be equally effective. Research on Effectiveness Is Mixed Despite anecdotes from schools that have seen positive results from using mindfulness practices, the research on its effectiveness is varied and lacking. In a 2018 study by researchers Anna Long, Tyler Renshaw, and Devon Camarota, a sample of 73 predominantly African American 5th graders from an urban, high-poverty alternative school were managed using either behavioral or mindfulness-based approaches. One group was managed using the good behavior game, which reinforces positive behavior through either earning or losing privileges from a student-generated list, including snacks, a preferred activity, or small trinkets. In the other group, students were taught mindfulness skills and encouraged to restrain themselves from participating in inappropriate behavior by stopping, taking three deep breaths, observing themselves and others, and proceeding positively. The results found that neither strategy was notably more effective than the control group, in which students received a warning after the first infraction, a seat change after the second, and a phone call home or office discipline referral after the third. However, those in the mindfulness group indicated that the practice was slightly therapeutic. In another 2018 study by Kansas State University professor Tonnie Martinez and graduate student Yuanyuan Zhao, a small sample of 7th and 8th graders who averaged five or more discipline referrals to the principals office for two consecutive semesters completed a series of guided meditations using the Muse headband and app, which measures users brain waves. For those who participated in meditation, office referrals dropped significantly, from 6.33 to 1.78 between September 2016 and April 2017. Those who did not participate in meditation saw a slight increase in referrals from 4.22 to 4.44 in the same time frame. A 2016 meta analysis by researchers David Klingbeil, Aaron Fischer, and Renshaw of 10 single-case studies related to the impact of mindfulness on disruptive behavior found such interventions overall have a medium effect. The report concluded that school psychologists are likely to find [mindfulness-based interventions] as feasible interventionswith these results providing initial support of their effectiveness in reducing problem behavior. Long, an assistant professor of school psychology at Louisiana State University, said that although her study did not show benefits of mindfulness-based interventions, other research suggests that the practices have potential to make a positive impact in the classroom. I think where the disconnect may occur is helping parents and schools understand the differences that there might be between where these interventions have been researched and their own setting, as well as what it actually means to get something implemented properly, Long said. Trying such tactics for managing behavior wont be effective unless schools are thoughtful about training teachers to deploy them effectively and in a consistent, sustained way, Long said. Concerns Over Discipline Disparities Many educators and civil rights advocates have been pushing policymakers and schools to turn to alternative discipline. Data has consistently shown that black and Latino students and students who are in special education are disciplined with suspensions and expulsions at much higher rates than their white and Asian American peers. For example, in 2015-16, black students made up 15 percent of K-12 students nationwide, but 27 percent of those restrained at school and 31 percent of school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement, according to federal civil rights data . Black boys, specifically, made up 25 percent of out-of-school suspensions and 23 percent of expulsions, despite being only 8 percent of the student population. Using meditation as alternative discipline can go beyond teaching students breathing techniques, said Raisa Martinez, the New York-based senior manager of education for the David Lynch Foundation, which works with schools, prisons, veterans, and other groups to reduce stress and trauma through the practice of meditation. Alternative discipline can build trust between students and staff that traditional discipline can fracture, according to Martinez. Students dont feel as much as targets [because] they realize that teachers are seeing them more as humans, Martinez said. However, a 2018 review of 183 peer-reviewed articles and studies on school discipline issues found that alternative approaches to discipline do not effectively reduce discipline disparities. Furthermore, there is little research that explores the long-term benefits of mindfulness, including if and how students are using the practices in their daily lives outside of the classroom. Sometimes we take for granted how hard it is for people to change their behavioral habits, so we might be hard on teachers that are having a hard time implementing something new, not appreciating how difficult it is for them to do something new, and I think that were hard on students as well when theyre not changing their behaviors as quickly as we want to see, Long said. Anybody who has made a New Years resolution will let you know that the behavior change didnt happen as readily as they had hoped. Many groups rely on research to convince wary parents and teachers. Holistic Life Foundation has gone as far as to partner with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Penn State University, Loyola University, and the University of Baltimore to conduct research on the effects of mindfulness on classroom environments, grades, brain activity, and depression. Skepticism About Mindfulness in Schools Still, research is only one part of the puzzle. Theres also skepticism and reluctance on the part of teachers and parents to endorse mindfulness practices in schools. When yoga was first introduced at Doull, many teachers and parents were worried that the practice may be religious, and therefore had no place in the schoolhouse, Carrigan said. Hindsight is 20-20, and I do wish we would have called it something like reflection, or deep breathing after 3 oclock. Anything but yoga, Carrigan said. But for Maleah Kagan, a teacher who uses a mindfulness curriculum and breathing exercises to help prevent disruptive behavior in the classroom at Pearl Cohn High School in Nashville, Tenn., implementing mindfulness was less about the specific techniques and more about finding a way to introduce social-emotional learning to her students. When you become a teacher, social-emotional learning feels like this big beast where youre like, Ive studied English and Ive studied pedagogy, but psychology might not be my wheelhouse, Kagan said. Even so, Kagan said that mindfulness practices are not one-size-fits-all. While one student may enjoy mandala coloringthe activity of using colors related to the emotions that a student feelsanother may become frustrated with the process. The key, according to Kagan, is understanding your students and reading the energy in the room. I have some kids that love it, that talk about it I have other kids that were in the exact same class and paint a very different picture of it, the breathing doesnt feel good to them, Kagan said. Its about finding a strategy that works for them. While using yoga after school as an alternative to detention is a major plank in Doull Elementarys effort to foster a positive school climate, the school is using many other strategies as well. Before students even enter their classrooms, they are greeted by multiple adults to ensure that they are ready for the day. First, administrators meet them at the entrance, as theyre dropped off by their buses and parents. Then teachers greet them as they come into their classrooms. Lastly, before students start learning, they eat breakfast as a class, and have a mindful moment. You can spot a mile away the kiddo thats coming in with their head down and their shoulders down, Carrigan said. For Carrigan, its about pinpointing students before they misbehave and providing them with the right tools for the next time that they are upset. Assad regime attacks kill six civilians in N. Syria The total death toll in Idlib reached 460 since April 25 after the latest casualties. At least six civilians were killed by regime airstrikes in Syrias northwestern de-escalation zones, according to sources within the White Helmets civil-defense agency. TERRORIST GROUPS SHELLED THE TOWNS The attacks occurred in the towns of Khan Sheykhun, Jisr al-Shughour and Saraqib in Syrias Idlib province, the sources said. According to the same sources, regime forces and Iran-backed terrorist groups also shelled the towns of Maarat al-Numan and Maarat Herma, along with the villages of Al-Kassabiyya, Abdin, Karasaa, Kafr Sajna and Al-Naqeer. Some 1.5 million people currently reside in Idlib, half of whom have been displaced from their homes in other parts of the country. Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited. The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the truce, staging frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone. Turkey's US embassy hosts iftar event for UN agency Turkish deputy foreign minister stated that Turkey will continue supporting Palestinians and UN agency for refugees. The Turkish Embassy in Washington hosted an iftar event for the benefit of the UNs agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA. "TURKEY WILL SUPPORT UNRWA'S PALESTINIAN AID" Speaking at the event, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran reiterated that his country will continue to support Palestinians and UNRWA. Among the attendance of iftar held in cooperation with UNRWA USA were officials from UNRWA and about 100 community members. UNRWA USA is a non-governmental organization founded in the U.S. to support the activities of UNRWA. Turkey holds the presidency of UNRWA Advisory Commission for a year since July 2018. The Advisory Commission, which has 27 members, is working to advise and assist the UNRWA commissioner-general. Washington considers to send more troops to Middle East According to US officials, Pentagon is planning to brief Washington on options to deploy as many as 5,000 American troops to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran. US Department of Defense is considering a US military request to send about 5.000 additional troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran. REQUEST HAD BEEN MADE BY US CENTRAL COMMAND Tehran and Washington have this month been escalating rhetoric against each other, following US President Donald Trumps decision to try to cut Irans oil exports to zero and beef up the US military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the request had been made by US Central Command, but added that it was not clear whether the Pentagon would approve the request. The Pentagon regularly receives - and declines - requests for additional resources from US combatant commands throughout the world. One of the officials said the requested troops would be defensive in nature. This appeared to be the latest request for additional resources in the face of what US officials have said are credible threats from Iran against US forces and American interests in the Middle East. US has not publicly shown any evidence of what the specific intelligence on the Iranian threat is. Alanna Kelly Indigenous leaders are demanding action be taken after a 2012 video shows a Kelowna RCMP officer interrogating a vulnerable teenage girl who had allegedly been sexually assaulted. The incident unfolded back in March 2012, when the West Kelowna Indigenous teen, then 17, was under the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. She told her guardian she had been raped by a 20-year-old man. After the police interview, she attempted suicide, and she now lives with constant anxiety and complex post-traumatic stress. Now 24, she has filed a lawsuit against the MCFD and her former social worker. I wished someone had been on my side and that there was an adult watching over me, she tells Castanet. The hardest part watching the video was knowing what was coming at the end. And knowing that I am still waiting for answers. A video of the almost two-hour police interrogation at the RCMP detachment shows the teen was left alone with the male officer for extended periods of time. Her social worker Siobhan Stynes was never present. On Wednesday, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs says they vigorously condemn and strongly denounce the actions of the RCMP officer and MCFD social workers for further revictimizing the young woman in a time of a crisis. He clearly has no idea what rape is at one point he says I was compliant because I laid down and in order for me to be raped it had to hurt, the young woman says. In the video, the male police officer asks the teen: Were you at all turned on during this at all even a little bit? No, I was really scared it hurt a lot, she replied. The officer can be heard asking her: OK, but how does that compare to things in the past, sexually? I actually bled yesterday in my underwear, she tells the police officer. Earlier in the video, he asks the teen: How much of a fight did you put up? You didnt put up much of a fightthats one of my troubles I am having. The teen is visibly uncomfortable and crying during parts of the interview. He took advantage of me, she tells the officer. I didnt consent to any of it. I didnt consent to anything. Later in the video, the police officer asks the teen: You do understand that an investigation like this costs a lot of money and takes up a lot of time. The teen tells Castanet the interview made her feel revictimized and her social worker manipulated her into writing an apology letter to the perpetrator of the alleged assault and intimidated her further by saying she would be criminally charged if she didnt apologize. Documents obtained by Castanet describe how the Kelowna constable liaised with Ministry staff in regards to how the matter should be dealt with and was told they had concerns about the young womans ability to be truthful. Ministry staff wanted to pursue criminal charges of public mischief against the teen claiming she was lying, but because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, she could not be. The shocking video caused outrage among Members of Parliament in Ottawa with many calling the video inappropriate, disgusting and shocking. Their actions are starkly indicative of the deeply embedded racist devaluations of Indigenous woman and girls that exist broadly in Canadian Society, said Chief Phillip. They are demanding the Liberal government and the RCMP take immediate action to address this particular incident and the shameful legacy of violence towards indigenous women and girls. Judy Wilson, Secretary-Treasurer of the UBCIC, says Indigenous women and girls demand justice. We have been the target of extreme violence for too long, and we will not be silenced anymore, says Wilson. This vulnerable young woman was victimized when she was assaulted, and instead of honouring her story and seeking justice, she was further victimized by the system that was supposed to help her. In response to the 2012 video being released, RCMP told Castanet on May 16 that new training for police officers will be a priority. RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Janelle Shoihet referenced an RCMP effort titled "The way forward: The RCMPs sexual assault review and victim support action plan addressing the 2012 video. We do understand there is a greater discussion taking place around sexual assault investigations. The RCMP has been public in the past around the evolution of police investigational standards and training, she said. Shoihet said the RCMP is "not in a position to provide further context or perspective" as the case is subject to restrictions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, an ongoing Criminal Code matter and civil litigation. "We believe that the ongoing judicial processes may allow for a fulsome disclosure of all the 2012 investigative findings and actions for assessment. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls will release its final report on June 3. Judge Marion Buller, chief commissioner of the Inquiry, says this story was like many she had heard during inquiry hearings. To view entire RCMP interview watch the video below: New research has revealed that the short lives and violent deaths of some of coral reefs' smallest tenants may be vital to the health of reef systems, including the iconic Great Barrier Reef. Dr Simon Brandl, from Simon Fraser University in Canada, led an international team of researchers searching for answers to the longstanding puzzle of 'Darwin's paradox'. Co-author Prof David Bellwood from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at James Cook University (JCU) said: "Charles Darwin wondered how fish on coral reefs manage to thrive in isolated areas where there are very low levels of nutrients for them to use. We thought the answer may lie in the tiny fish that live in the gaps in the coral structure." "These tiny fish are less than five centimetres long and are known as 'cryptobenthics'. They include gobies, blennies, cardinalfish, and several other families," Prof Bellwood said. The team surveyed reefs around the globe and records of larval abundance. They discovered that cryptobenthics and their larvae make up nearly 60% of all fish flesh eaten on the reef. "Because of their size and tendency to hide, these little fish are commonly overlooked," Dr Brandl said, "but their unique demographics make them a cornerstone of the ecosystem." "Their populations are completely renewed seven times a year, with individuals in some species living only a few days before they are eaten. The only way they can sustain this is by a spectacular supply of local larvae," added co-author Renato Morais, a PhD student at JCU. Prof Bellwood said almost anything capable of eating cryptobenthics does so, including juvenile fish and invertebrates such as mantis shrimps, which then became food for other creatures. "These factors have made it hard for researchers in the past to realise the importance of cryptobenthics and discover the food supply that the 'crypto-pump' supplies." He said that the cryptobenthics have finally emerged from the shadows. "Their extraordinary larval dynamics, rapid growth, and extreme mortality underpins their newly discovered role as a critical functional group on coral reefs." ### CONTACTS Prof. David Bellwood (AEST, Australia) T: 07 47 81 4447 E: david.bellwood@jcu.edu.au Renato Morais (AEST, Australia) M: 0467 479297 E: renato.morais@my.jcu.edu.au Dr. Simon Brandl (PDT, Canada) E: simonjbrandl@gmail.com T: +1-604-348-6423 Skype: sjbrandl FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Melissa Lyne (AEST, Australia) Media Manager, Coral CoE at JCU M: 0415 514 328 E: melissa.lyne@jcu.edu.au Female Egyptian fruit bats living in captivity will consistently take food right from the mouths of their male peers. Now the Tel Aviv University team that made that discovery is back with new evidence to explain why the males put up with it. As reported in Current Biology on May 23, these male Egyptian fruit bats are repaid for their tolerance and generosity with sex. "We found a strong relationship between producer-scrounger feeding interactions and reproduction," says lead author Prof. Yossi Yovel of TAU's George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences. "Namely, females bore pups of the males they most often scrounged food from. Three to four months before mating, the females start scrounging for food from several males. Then they eventually mate with one of the males, the one with which they forged the strongest bond. "Originally, we wondered: Why do the producers of food allow scroungers to take food from their mouths? Maybe they're stronger? But we found that most of the scroungers are female, and so we considered the possibility that females trade mating for food. This was our hypothesis, and, indeed, we found that this is the case." There are a variety of potential reasons why animals might be willing to share food. In some cases, food is shared with relatives. In others, the cost of defending food resources may be too great. But it's also possible that sharing food sometimes comes with other delayed benefits, including sex. Prof. Yovel's team earlier found after watching three captive bat colonies over the course of a year that individuals either collected food for themselves or scrounged it from other individuals. That begged the question: Why do males allow other individuals and primarily females to literally take food out of their mouths? Prof. Yovel's observations revealed that those foraging interactions start many weeks before mating begins. Over time, the females intensify interactions with specific males before eventually mating with one of them. To explore the food-for-sex hypothesis in the new study, the researchers monitored producer-scrounger interactions of a captive Egyptian fruit bat colony for more than a year. They later determined the paternity of the pups that were born in the colony based on genetics. "The results were quite clear. Females gave birth to the young of males from which they had scrounged food," explains Prof. Yovel. "The findings lend support for the food-for-sex hypothesis in this species." There were some other intriguing findings. For example, the researchers found that there was almost no overlap among males preferred by each female. It suggests that females choose males to scrounge from based on some form of individual preference. Those personal preferences also changed from year to year. "Going forward, we intend to explore how these relationships evolve and change over many years," concludes Prof. Yovel. "We would also like to find out how these interactions observed in captivity play out in wild populations." ### American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. TAU is ranked ninth in the world, and first in Israel, for producing start-up founders of billion-dollar companies, an achievement that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,500 US patents have been filed by Tel Aviv University researchers -- ranking TAU #1 in Israel, #10 outside of the US and #43 in the world. A team of international scientists have recommended ways to manage the devastating spread of the woody weed Prosopis juliflora, where in Baringo County, Kenya, its coverage rapidly increased by 2,031% in just 28 A team of international scientists, including CABI's Dr Urs Schaffner, have recommended ways to manage the devastating spread of the woody weed Prosopis juliflora, where in Baringo County, Kenya, its coverage rapidly increased by 2,031 percent in just 28 years. PhD student Purity Rima Mbaabu, affiliated to the University of Nairobi and co-supervised by Simon Choge, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Dr Sandra Eckert, Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Switzerland, Profs. Maina Gichaba and Prof. Daniel Olago, University of Nairobi, and Dr Schaffner, is lead author of new research which states that the rates of Prosopis invasion in Kenya are a 'major threat to the environment and rural people's livelihoods.' The study calls for the 'urgent implementation of coordinated and sustainable Prosopis management in Baringo County and other invaded areas in East Africa'. Ms Mbaabu and fellow researchers, in the Remote Sensing published paper 'Spatial evolution of Prosopis invasion and its effects on LULC and livelihoods in Baringo, Kenya', propose that the invasive Prosopis - which increased from 882 ha in 1988 to 18,792 ha in 2016 - can only be managed through an integrated management approach. Integrated weed management is usually based on a combination of chemical, biological and mechanical control measures to reduce density of a weed in the invaded range and to slow down or stop its spread into uninvaded areas. The scientists used a combination of dry and wet season Landsat satellite data, acquired in a seven-year time interval between 1988 and 2016 and performed a supervised Random Forest classification, to assess the impact of the Prosopis on land use and land cover (LULC) in the local environment, and its associated impact on (agro)-pastoral livelihoods. In parallel/in exchange to the striking increase in Prosopis-dominated land, LULC classes important for rural people's livelihoods experienced serious losses: grasslands were reduced by 86 percent, irrigated cropland by 57 percent, natural shrubland by 42 percent and rainfed cropland by 37 percent. Ms Mbaabu said, "While Prosopis species provide wood for local use and for charcoal production, they are a major threat to the environment and to rural people's livelihoods because they can suppress or replace native biodiversity and alter ecosystem functions and services. In particular, they severely limit livestock production, increase costs of crop production and consume a lot of water, thereby causing significant economic damage. "Building on the long-term management experience gained in Australia, we propose that a combination of management options is required to achieve the sustainable and effective control of Prosopis in Baringo and other areas where it has spread. "This includes regular inspection of areas at risk of invasion and the targeted removal of small Prosopis populations at the invasion front as well as ensuring active land use which also plays a critical role in controlling its spread." Prosopis was introduced in Baringo County in 1982 as part of the Fuelwood Afforestation Extension project to help reduce soil erosion, provide fodder for livestock and help reduce the effects of dust storms. But the species, whose spread can be explained by a number of different factors, including dispersal of seed by livestock and wildlife and extreme climatic events such as the floods of 2013, soon became unmanageable due to their fast proliferation and ability to survive cutting by coppicing. Dr Schaffner added, "Many exotic trees and shrubs have been introduced into Africa, but a few have escaped cultivation and have become destructive alien invasive species reducing native biodiversity and limiting the livelihoods of those that live in rural communities. "In Eastern Africa, where those living in rural communities are more vulnerable to the impacts of invading species, there is a lack of coordinated and effective sustainable management of woody alien invasive species. "This latest research will help form sustainable land management' strategies that will help the countries to mitigate the impacts of the species." The paper was published as part of the wider CABI-led project 'Woody invasive alien species in East Africa: Assessing and mitigating their negative impact on ecosystem services and rural livelihood' which is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and also involves research in Ethiopia and Tanzania. ### Additional information Full paper reference Mbaabu, P.R., Ng, W.-T., Schaffner, U., Gichaba, M., Olago, D., Choge, S., Oriaso, S., Eckert, S. 2019. Spatial evolution of Prosopis invasion and its effects on LULC and livelihoods in Baringo, Kenya. Remote Sensing, DOI: 10.3390/rs11101217 Open Access PDF: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/10/1217/pdf Abstract: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/11/10/1217 Project website: woodyweeds.org What effects does climate change have on the genetic diversity of living organisms? In a study led by Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin, an international team of researchers studied the genome of the alpine marmot, an ice-age remnant that now lives in large numbers in the high altitude Alpine meadow. Results were unexpected: the species was found to be the least genetically diverse of any wild mammal studied to date. An explanation was found in the marmots genetic past. The alpine marmot has lost its genetic diversity during ice-age related climate events and been unable to recover its diversity since. Results from this study have been published in the journal Current Biology*. A large rodent from the squirrel family, the alpine marmot lives in the high-altitude mountainous terrain found beyond the tree line. An international team of researchers has now successfully deciphered the animal's genome and found the individual animals tested to be genetically very similar. In fact, the animal's genetic diversity is lower than that of any other wild mammal whose genome has been genetically sequenced. "We were very surprised by this finding. Low genetic diversity is primarily found among highly endangered species such as, for instance, the mountain gorilla. Population numbers for the alpine marmot, however, are in the hundreds of thousands, which is why the species is not considered to be at risk," explains Prof. Dr. Markus Ralser, the Director of Charite's Institute of Biochemistry and the investigator with overall responsibility for the study, which was co-led by the Francis Crick Institute. As the alpine marmot's low genetic diversity could not be explained by the animal's current living and breeding habits, the researchers used computer-based analysis to reconstruct the marmot's genetic past. After combining the results of comprehensive genetic analyses with data from fossil records, the researchers came to the conclusion that the alpine marmot lost its genetic diversity as a result of multiple climate-related adaptations during the last ice age. One of these adaptations occurred during the animal's colonization of the Pleistocene steppe at the beginning of the last ice age (between 110,000 and 115,000 years ago). A second occurred when the Pleistocene steppe disappeared again towards the end of the ice age (between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago). Since then, marmots have inhabited the high-altitude grasslands of the Alps, where temperatures are similar to those of the Pleistocene steppe habitat. The researchers found evidence to suggest that the marmot's adaptation to the colder temperatures of the Pleistocene steppe resulted in longer generation time and a decrease in the rate of genetic mutations. These developments meant that the animals were unable to effectively regenerate their genetic diversity. Overall results suggest that the rate of genome evolution is exceptionally low in alpine marmots. Commenting on the significance of their results, Prof. Ralser says: "Our study shows that climate change can have extremely long-term effects on the genetic diversity of a species. This had not previously been shown in such clear detail. When a species displays very little genetic diversity, this can be due to climate events which occurred many thousands of years ago," He adds: "It is remarkable that the alpine marmot managed to survive for thousands of years despite its low genetic diversity." After all, a lack of genetic variation can mean a reduced ability to adapt to change, rendering the affected species more susceptible to both diseases and altered environmental conditions - including changes in the local climate." Summarizing the study's findings, Prof. Ralser explains: "We should take the results of the study seriously, as we can see similar warnings from the past. In the 19th century, the passenger pigeon was one of the most abundant species of land birds in the Northern Hemisphere, yet, it was completely wiped out within just a few years. It is possible that low genetic diversity played a role in this." Outlining his plans for further research, he adds: "An important next step would be to study other animals more closely which, like the alpine marmot, managed to survive the ice age. These animals might be trapped in a similar state of low genetic diversity. Currently, estimates of a particular species' extinction risk are primarily based on the number of animals capable of breeding. We ought to reconsider whether this should be the only criterion we use." ### Information on this study Prof. Dr. Markus Ralser was appointed Einstein Professor for Biochemistry at Charite in May 2018. An expert in metabolism, Prof. Ralser came to Charite after spending time at the Francis Crick Institute in London and the University of Cambridge, where he led teams involved in this study. Other researchers involved in the research hailed from the University of Sheffield, Bielefeld University, the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and other institutions. The researchers originally set out to study the alpine marmot's genome in order to gain a better understanding of the animal's lipid metabolism. * Gossmann et al., Ice-Age Climate Adaptations Trap the Alpine Marmot in a State of Low Genetic Diversity, Current Biology. 2019 May 20;(29): 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.04.020 Boulder, Colo., USA: Earth is bombarded every year by rocky debris, but the rate of incoming meteorites can change over time. Finding enough meteorites scattered on the planet's surface can be challenging, especially if you are interested in reconstructing how frequently they land. Now, researchers have uncovered a wealth of well-preserved meteorites that allowed them to reconstruct the rate of falling meteorites over the past two million years. "Our purpose in this work was to see how the meteorite flux to Earth changed over large timescales -- millions of years, consistent with astronomical phenomena," says Alexis Drouard, Aix-Marseille Universite, lead author of the new paper in Geology. To recover a meteorite record for millions of years, the researchers headed to the Atacama Desert. Drouard says they needed a study site that would preserve a wide range of terrestrial ages where the meteorites could persist over long time scales. While Antarctica and hot deserts both host a large percentage of meteorites on Earth (about 64% and 30%, respectively), Drouard says, "Meteorites found in hot deserts or Antarctica are rarely older than half a million years." He adds that meteorites naturally disappear because of weathering processes (e.g., erosion by wind), but because these locations themselves are young, the meteorites found on the surface are also young. "The Atacama Desert in Chile, is very old ([over] 10 million years)," says Drouard. "It also hosts the densest collection of meteorites in the world." The team collected 388 meteorites and focused on 54 stony samples from the El Medano area in the Atacama Desert. Using cosmogenic age dating, they found that the mean age was 710,000 years old. In addition, 30% of the samples were older than one million years, and two samples were older than two million. All 54 meteorites were ordinary chondrites, or stony meteorites that contain grainy minerals, but spanned three different types. "We were expecting more 'young' meteorites than 'old' ones (as the old ones are lost to weathering)," says Drouard. "But it turned out that the age distribution is perfectly explained by a constant accumulation of meteorites for millions years." The authors note that this is the oldest meteorite collection on Earth's surface. Drouard says this terrestrial crop of meteorites in the Atacama can foster more research on studying meteorite fluxes over large time scales. "We found that the meteorite flux seems to have remained constant over this [two-million-year] period in numbers (222 meteorites larger than 10 g per squared kilometer per million year), but not in composition," he says. Drouard adds that the team plans to expand their work, measuring more samples and narrowing in on how much time the meteorites spent in space. "This will tell us about the journey of these meteorites from their parent body to Earth's surface." ### FEATURED ARTICLE The meteorite flux of the past 2 m.y. recorded in the Atacama Desert Alexis Drouard; J. Gattacceca; A. Hutzler; P. Rochette; R. Braucher; D. Bourles; ASTER Team; M. Gounelle; A. Morbidelli; V. Debaille; M. Van Ginneken; M. Valenzuela; Y. Quesnel; R. Martinez. CONTACT: alexis.drouard@lam.fr. Paper URL: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/570818/the-meteorite-flux-of-the-past-2-m-y-recorded-in. GEOLOGY articles are online at http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/recent. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary articles by contacting Kea Giles at the e-mail address above. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY in articles published. Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org. http://www.geosociety.org FRANKFURT. The production of artificial organs is a hot research topic. In the near future, artificial organs will compensate for the lack of organ donations and replace animal experiments. Although there are already promising experiments with 3D printers that use a "bio-ink" containing living cells, a functional organ has never been created in this way. A European consortium coordinated by Dr Elena Martinez (IBEC, Barcelona, Spain) and involving the Goethe University Frankfurt is now breaking new ground. The consortium is developing a lithography method that relies on light sheet illumination and on special photosensitive hydrogels that are mixed with living cells. Bio-printing systems that build up structures layer by layer (bottom-up approach) have considerable disadvantages. On the one hand, the printing process takes far too long, so that the survival chances of the cells in the bio-ink and in the polymerised layers considerably decrease. Furthermore, the extrusion pressure leads to a considerable cell death rate, especially for stem cells. In addition, the resolution of the method, around 300 micrometers, is far too low to reproduce the delicate structures of natural tissue. Finally, it is particularly difficult to integrate complex hollow structures, e.g. blood vessels, into the cell tissue. "With our project, we want to go the other way round by developing a top-down lithography method," explains Dr. Francesco Pampaloni from the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS) at Goethe University. The process works in a similar way to lithography in semiconductor technology. Instead of the semiconductor and the photosensitive layer, which is illuminated by a mask, a hydrogel with photosensitive molecules is used. This is exposed to a thin laser light sheet using the technique invented by Prof. Ernst Stelzer for light sheet microscopy. This leads to the formation of branched chain structures (polymers) that serve as a matrix for colonisation by living cells. The remaining, still liquid hydrogel is washed out. "This method will enable us to adjust the spatial structure and the stiffness with an unprecedented resolution so that we can create the same heterogeneous microstructures that cells find in natural tissues," explains Pampaloni. Pampaloni expects that completely new possibilities will emerge for the bio-fabrication of complex tissues and their anatomical microstructures. In addition, the specific properties of the matrix can be used to introduce stem cells into well-defined compartments or to enable the formation of vessels. Further advantages over conventional 3D printing systems are high speed and cost-effective production. BRIGHTER stands for "Bioprinting by light sheet lithography: engineering complex tissues with high resolution at high speed". Starting in July 2019, the project will be funded for three years as part of the European Union's renowned and highly selective "Future and Emerging Technologies" (FET) Open Horizon 2020 Programme. BRIGHTER will be financed with a total of 3,450,000, of which 700,000 will go to a team led by Dr. Pampaloni in Prof. Stelzer's Physical Biology Group in the Biosciences Department of the Goethe University. Further partners are the IBEC (Barcelona, Spain, coordination), Technion (Haifa, Israel) and the companies Cellendes (Reutlingen, Germany) and Mycronic (Taby, Sweden). ### An image may be downloaded here: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/78299401 Caption: Light sheet bio-printing. A hydrogel composed of living cells and photosensitive molecules is deposited in a special cuvette. A thin laser light sheet illuminates the gel following a programmed pattern (green beam). This leads to the formation of 3D micro-structures that reproduce the tissue architecture and function. The remaining, still liquid hydrogel is washed out after the printing process. Credit: F. Pampaloni, BRIGHTER, 2019 Further information: Dr Francesco Pampaloni, Physical Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Riedberg Campus, Phone: +49 69 798-42544, fpampalo@bio.uni-frankfurt.de, https://www.physikalischebiologie.de/people/francesco-pampaloni Current news about science, teaching, and society can be found on GOETHE-UNI online Goethe University is a research-oriented university in the European financial centre Frankfurt am Main. The university was founded in 1914 through private funding, primarily from Jewish sponsors, and has since produced pioneering achievements in the areas of social sciences, sociology and economics, medicine, quantum physics, brain research, and labour law. It gained a unique level of autonomy on 1 January 2008 by returning to its historic roots as a "foundation university". Today, it is one of the three largest universities in Germany. Together with the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Mainz, it is a partner in the inter-state strategic Rhine-Main University Alliance. Internet: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de Publisher: The President of Goethe University Editor: Dr. Anne Hardy, Science Editor, PR & Communication Department, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Tel: -49 (0) 69 798-13035, Fax: +49 (0) 69 798-763 12531, hardy@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de. The sponsored project "Pilot African Postgraduate Academy" (PAPA) is aimed at early career researchers who have recently completed their doctoral degree in the area of humanities or social sciences and who work at universities in Africa. The goal is to deepen their understanding of the value of science for its own sake and foster their interest in conceptual fundamental research. "Africa is not only in need of applied research based on the needs of the development industry, but of excellent research that makes a contribution to the further development of global knowledge production as well, both in substance and in method," says Professor Diawara from the Institute for Ethnology at Goethe University, who conceived the Academy together with Professor Elisio Macamo from the University of Basel. "This project is unique in that the Henkel Stiftung is deliberately promoting the quality of fundamental research in Africa - not career paths or applied research," says Project Coordinator Dr Stefan Schmid from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Africa Research (ZIAF) at Goethe University. In 2018, Professor Diawara and Professor Macamo approached the Gerda Henkel Stiftung with the idea of developing a project for early career African researchers that was fundamentally different from the usual programmes. Together they will receive 973,000 in funding from the foundation. The academy will be attached to the independent research centre "Point Sud" in Bamako, Mali, founded by Prof. Mamadou Diawara in 1997. An educational programme will be set up at the new academy which will encourage the scholars to engage in critical dialogue with their disciplines, the area studies and their identity as scientists with fundamental epistemological questions. The intensive education and supervision of these carefully selected young scientists will enable them to teach and publish at a new level after completing the three-year PAPA cycle. Twice a year, there will be two-week workshops for 15 selected early career researchers and up to four established academics in Bamako. A mentoring programme will connect high-ranking researchers and award-winners with their homeland institutions. In addition, a strong network will be made available to scientists and academics from francophone African countries living both within and outside of Africa for exchange and common projects. The project is focused on early career researchers from seven francophone African countries that despite notable progress continue to play only a minor role in global knowledge production. The independent and established researching institution in Mali, Point Sud, constitutes the centre of this project due to its longstanding expertise and far-reaching network with partners throughout Africa. The Centre has been financed by Goethe University since 2003. The PAPA programme will be supported by selected mentors from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Mali, Niger and Senegal, who will supervise the scholarship winners and implement the idea of the academy in their scientific environment. Together with the project "The bureaucratization of African Society" in Dakar, the newly founded Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) in Accra, MIASA, the IAS in Stellenbosch and Nantes, and the new Africa Excellence Cluster at the University of Beyreuth, an entire network exists with an express interest in taking the Fellows' career development to a new level at the end of the project cycle. The project will be set up at Goethe University and coordinated jointly by Dr Stefan Schmid from Goethe University's Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies (ZIAF) and a new project coordinator at Pont Sud in Bamako. It is scheduled to start in July 2019 and will initially run until July 2022. ### Further information: Dr Stefan Schmid, General Manager of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Africa Research (ZIAF), Westend Campus, Phone: +49 69 798-32097, E-Mail s.schmid@em.uni-frankfurt.de Current news about science, teaching, and society can be found on GOETHE-UNI online Goethe University is a research-oriented university in the European financial centre Frankfurt am Main. The university was founded in 1914 through private funding, primarily from Jewish sponsors, and has since produced pioneering achievements in the areas of social sciences, sociology and economics, medicine, quantum physics, brain research, and labour law. It gained a unique level of autonomy on 1 January 2008 by returning to its historic roots as a "foundation university". Today, it is one of the three largest universities in Germany. Together with the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Mainz, it is a partner in the inter-state strategic Rhine-Main University Alliance. Internet: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de Publisher: The President of Goethe University Editor: Dr. Anke Sauter, Science and Humanities Editor, International Communication, PR & Communication Department, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Tel: +49(0)69 798-13066, Fax +49(0)69 798-761 12531, sauter@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de. Invented approximately 50 years ago, surgical medical meshes have become key elements in the recovery procedures of damaged-tissue surgeries, the most frequent being hernia repair. When implanted within the tissue of the patient, the flexible and conformable design of these meshes helps hold muscles tight and allows patients to recover much faster than through the conventional sowing and stitching surgery. However, the insertion of a medical implant in a patients body carries alongside the risk of bacterial contamination during surgery and subsequent formation of an infectious biofilm over the surface of the surgical mesh. Such biofilms tend to act like an impermeable coating, impeding any sort of antibiotic agent to reach and attack the bacteria formed on the film in order to stop the infection. Thus, antibiotic therapies, which are time-limited, could fail against these super resistant bacteria and the patient could end up in recurring surgeriesthat could even lead to death. As a matter of fact, according to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net), in 2015 more than 30,000 deaths in Europe were linked to infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the past, several approaches have been sought to prevent implant contamination during surgery. Post-surgery aseptic protocols have been established and implemented to fight these antibiotic-resistant bacteria but none have entirely fulfilled the role of solving this issue. In a recent study published in Nano Letters and highlighted in Nature Photonics, ICFO researchers Dr. Ignacio de Miguel, Arantxa Albornoz, led by ICREA Prof. at ICFO Romain Quidant, in collaboration with researchers Irene Prieto, Dr. Vanesa Sanz, Dr. Christine Weis and Dr. Pau Turon from the major medical device and pharmaceutical device company B. Braun, have devised a novel technique that uses nanotechnology and photonics to dramatically improve the performance of medical meshes for surgical implants. Through an ongoing collaboration since 2012, the team of researchers at ICFO and B. Braun Surgical, S.A.., developed a medical mesh with a particular feature: the surface of the mesh was chemically modified to anchor millions of gold nanoparticles. Why? Because gold nanoparticles have been proven to very efficiently convert light into heat at very localized regions. The technique of using gold nanoparticles in light-heat conversion processes had already been tested in cancer treatments in previous studies. Even more, at ICFO this technique had been implemented in several previous studies supported by the Cellex Foundation, thus being another salient example of how early visionary philanthropic support addressed at tackling fundamental problems eventually leads to important practical applications. For this particular case, in knowing that more than 20 million hernia repair operations take place every year around the world, they believed this method could reduce the medical costs in recurrent operations while eliminating the expensive and ineffective antibiotic treatments that are currently being employed to tackle this problem. Thus, in their in-vitro experiment and through a thorough process, the team coated the surgical mesh with millions of gold nanoparticles, uniformly spreading them over the entire structure. They tested the meshes to ensure the long-term stability of the particles, the non-degradation of the material, and the non-detachment or release of nanoparticles into the surrounding environment (flask). They were able to observe a homogenous distribution of the nanoparticles over the structure using a scanning electron microscope. Once the modified mesh was ready, the team exposed it to S.aureus bacteria for 24 hours until they observed the formation of a biofilm on the surface. Subsequently, they began exposing the mesh to short intense pulses of near infrared light (800 nm) during 30 seconds to ensure thermal equilibrium was reached, before repeating this treatment 20 times with 4 seconds of rest intervals between each pulse. They discovered the following: Firstly, they saw that illuminating the mesh at the specific frequency would induce localized surface plasmon resonances in the nanoparticlesa mode that results in the efficient conversion of light into heat, burning the bacteria at the surface. Secondly, by using a fluorescence confocal microscope, they saw how much of the bacteria had died or was still alive. For the bacteria that remained alive, they observed that the biofilm bacteria became planktonic cells, recovering their sensitivity or weakness towards antibiotic therapy and to immune system response. For the dead bacteria, they observed that upon increasing the amount of light delivered to the surface of the mesh, the bacteria would lose their adherence and peel off the surface. Thirdly, they confirmed that operating at near infrared light ranges was completely compatible with in-vivo settings, meaning that such a technique would most probably not damage the surrounding healthy tissue. Finally, they repeated the treatment and confirmed that the recurrent heating of the mesh had not affected its conversion efficiency capabilities. As ICREA Prof at ICFO Romain Quidant comments, the results of this study have paved the way towards using plasmon nanotechnologies to prevent the formation of bacterial biofilm at the surface of surgical implants. There are still several issues that need to be addressed but it is important to emphasize that such a technique will indeed signify a radical change in operation procedures and further patient post recovery. Dr. Pau Turon, Director of Research and Development at B. Braun Surgical, S.A. explains, our commitment to help healthcare professionals to avoid hospital related infections pushes us to develop new strategies to fight bacteria and biofilms. Additionally, the research team is exploring to extend such technology to other sectors where biofilms must be avoided. ### Reference: Plasmon-based biofilm inhibition on surgical implants, Ignacio de Miguel, Irene Prieto, Arantxa Albornoz, Vanesa Sanz, Christine Weis, Pau Turon, Romain Quidant, Nano Letters, 2019, 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b00187 ABOUT ICFO ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences was founded in 2002 by the Government of Catalonia and the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), both of which are members of its board of trustees along with the Cellex and Mir-Puig Foundations, philanthropic entities that have played a critical role in the advancement of the institute since 2007. Located in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the institute currently hosts 400 people, organized in 26 research groups in 60 state-of-the-art research laboratories. Research lines encompass diverse areas in which photonics plays a decisive role, with an emphasis on basic and applied themes relevant to medicine and biology, advanced imaging techniques, information technologies, a range of environmental sensors, tunable and ultra-fast lasers, quantum science, photovoltaics and the properties and applications of nano-materials such as graphene, among others. In addition to two state awarded Severo Ochoa accreditations of excellence, ICFOnians have been awarded 15 ICREA Professorships and 35 European Research Council grants. ICFO participates actively in the European Technological Platform Photonics21 and is also very proactive in fostering entrepreneurial activities, spin-off creation, and creating collaborations and links between industry and ICFO researchers. To date, ICFO has helped create 7 start-up companies. ABOUT B. BRAUN With more than 63,000 employees in 64 countries, the B. Braun family business ranks among the leading providers of solutions for the healthcare market worldwide and supplies users and patients with products and product systems for anaesthesia, intensive medicine, cardiology, extracorporeal blood treatment, surgery, or the homecare sector, as well as with services for clinics and practicing doctors. In a constructive dialog with customers and partners, B. Braun promotes efficient solutions that preserve people's health and sustainably improve their lives. B. Braun Surgical is a subsidiary of the B. Braun Group that belongs to the Aesculap division. The division's business is divided into seven core indications: general open surgery, orthopaedic joint replacement, neurosurgery, laparoscopic surgery, interventional vascular diagnostics & therapy, degenerative spinal disorders and cardiothoracic surgery. Since 1995 the plant based in Rubi has been a Centre of Excellence for surgical sutures. In 2008, Rubi was given greater responsibility and was appointed Center of Excellence for the Closure Technologies strategic business unit of the Aesculap Division. B. Braun Spain is the reference center of the B. Braun Group and as such is globally responsible for Research and Development, Manufacturing, Quality Management, Regulatory Affairs, Strategical Marketing and Supply Chain Management. Furthermore, Research & Development department of B. Braun Surgical cooperates with medical and scientific institutions and offers them the accumulated knowledge and experience of B. Braun in order to contribute to medical progress. Some of the main hospitals in Catalonia are into a partnership agreement with B. Braun in order to investigate surgical techniques to improve and innovate in closure technologies, tissue strength and local haemostatics. Moreover, B. Braun Surgical collaborates closely with top research institutions such as ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Leitat, Eurecat and Catalan Health Institute, among others. Leonardo da Vinci produced some of the world's most iconic art, but historical accounts show that he struggled to complete his works. 500 years after his death, King's College London researcher Professor Marco Catani suggests the best explanation for Leonardo's inability to finish projects is that the great artist may have had Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In an article in the journal BRAIN, Professor Catani lays out the evidence supporting his hypothesis, drawing on historical accounts of Leonardo's work practices and behaviour. As well as explaining his chronic procrastination, ADHD could have been a factor in Leonardo's extraordinary creativity and achievements across the arts and sciences. Professor Catani, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's, says: 'While impossible to make a post-mortem diagnosis for someone who lived 500 years ago, I am confident that ADHD is the most convincing and scientifically plausible hypothesis to explain Leonardo's difficulty in finishing his works. Historical records show Leonardo spent excessive time planning projects but lacked perseverance. ADHD could explain aspects of Leonardo's temperament and his strange mercurial genius.' ADHD is a behavioural disorder characterised by continuous procrastination, the inability to complete tasks, mind-wandering and a restlessness of the body and mind. While most commonly recognised in childhood, ADHD is increasingly being diagnosed among adults including university students and people with successful careers. Leonardo's difficulties with sticking to tasks were pervasive from childhood. Accounts from biographers and contemporaries show Leonardo was constantly on the go, often jumping from task to task. Like many of those suffering with ADHD, he slept very little and worked continuously night and day by alternating rapid cycles of short naps and time awake. Alongside reports of erratic behaviour and incomplete projects from fellow artists and patrons, including Pope Leone X, there is indirect evidence to suggest that Leonardo's brain was organised differently compared to average. He was left-handed and likely to be both dyslexic and have a dominance for language in the right-hand side of his brain, all of which are common among people with ADHD. Perhaps the most distinctive and yet disruptive side of Leonardo's mind was his voracious curiosity, which both propelled his creativity and also distracted him. Professor Catani suggests ADHD can have positive effects, for example mind-wandering can fuel creativity and originality. However, while beneficial in the initial stages of the creative process, the same traits can be a hindrance when interest shifts to something else. Professor Catani, who specialises in treating neurodevelopmental conditions like Autism and ADHD, says: 'There is a prevailing misconception that ADHD is typical of misbehaving children with low intelligence, destined for a troubled life. On the contrary, most of the adults I see in my clinic report having been bright, intuitive children but develop symptoms of anxiety and depression later in life for having failed to achieve their potential.' 'It is incredible that Leonardo considered himself as someone who had failed in life. I hope that the case of Leonardo shows that ADHD is not linked to low IQ or lack of creativity but rather the difficulty of capitalising on natural talents. I hope that Leonardo's legacy can help us to change some of the stigma around ADHD.' ### John K. White A national RCMP Appreciation Day is the new target of a Vernon-based campaign looking to honour the famed police service every Feb. 1. RCMP Appreciation Day Vernon Committee chairman Martin von Holst made the announcement at the Schubert Centre in Vernon Wednesday morning among representatives from all three levels of government. "One thing that has been made very clear to us during this journey is that Canadians want to express their gratitude in a meaningful way to all of the men and women of law enforcement who put their lives on the line," von Holst said. "On behalf of the Vernon committee this is an invitation to the 100th anniversary of the RCMP (on) Feb. 1, 2020. This is an opportunity for Canadians to celebrate one of Canada's greatest legacies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." "Therefore, it is with great pride that we would like to announce that the RCMP Appreciation Day in BC Committee is becoming the RCMP Day in Canada Committee," von Holst said. "We believe after 100 years, it's time to say thank you." Eric Foster, MLA for Vernon-Monashee, introduced a private members bill on May 2 to gain provincial support, and the movement has snowballed. "I am most happy to put my support behind this initiative and I commend the city of Vernon for taking the initiative to be first," Foster said during the press conference. Foster said the bill is in the hands of the Solicitor General, and he expects a full endorsement at the provincial level as early as next week. "I've had a brief conversation with him about it. One of the letters of support actually came from the Solicitor General," Foster said. "I'm meeting with him to discuss two or three things, and that is on the agenda." The bill can actually be passed as a proclamation in B.C., so it would then be up to the other provinces to sign on. Alberta has expressed positive feedback and Manitoba declared the day for the RCMP in 2016. von Holst said the letters of support already collected from all measure of governments across the country illustrate the hunger for a national day of recognition. When we drink a glass of water, we ingest an unknown amount of by-products that are formed in the treatment process. And we don't know what many of them are. However using advanced technology, researchers at Linkoping University have been able to detect new compounds - where every water treatment plant has a unique combination. Swedish water treatment plants work hard to ensure the high quality of our drinking water. In order to prevent the spread of diseases, the plants must chlorinate the water. But chlorination can lead to the formation of by-products that can be hazardous to our health. Normally, tests are conducted for a small number of known by-products in our drinking water, including trihalomethanes (such as chloroform), which are regulated by the Swedish National Food Agency. Now a collaboration between researchers at Linkoping University (LiU) and various water treatment plants has resulted in new advances in the hunt for by-products in drinking water. "Using advanced technologies we've been able to trace more compounds, which were detected at the molecular level. It turned out that most of the by-products were unique to each water treatment plant. This means that specific conditions at each plant affect which by-products are formed", says Anna Andersson, doctoral student at LiU's TEMA M - Environmental Change. For one year Anna Andersson has worked closely with four Swedish water treatment plants, where each has different raw water and treatment processes, taking samples of the water. The results showed that even at the plants where no traces of the regulated trihalomethanes were detected, a wide range of other by-products was present. The researchers were also able to detect a large variation of by-products at the plants that use chloramine, a milder form of chlorination, in the treatment process. Chlorination important to prevent spread of disease The large variation of by-products makes it difficult to know how to best reduce the health risks of these compounds. "Sometimes people talk about the cocktail effect, and that's what we're faced with here. What we have to understand is how we can reduce the risk of the entire mixture of compounds. The risks of the individual by-products that have been identified are unknown, but the potential risk of the cocktail is reason enough to try to reduce the formation of by-products", says Anna Andersson. Chlorination is one of our most important defences against bacteria in drinking water, and it plays an important role in ensuring good water quality throughout the supply network. The researchers are trying to discover how to continue to use chlorination effectively, while reducing the exposure of unwanted by-products. ### About the study: The water treatment plants that assisted in the study are Tekniska verken in Linkoping, Nodra in Norrkoping, Norrvatten in Stockholm and VA SYD in Malmo. The analyses were conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the University of Maryland. The technique used by the researchers to analyse the water is ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. With this technique there is no need to search for known substances, which one has previously had to do. Instead, the mass of the molecules in a sample can be identified so precisely that we find out which atoms every molecule consists of. The study was funded by the Swedish Research Council Formas. Article: Waterworks-specific composition of drinking water disinfection by-products, Anna Andersson, Mourad Harir, Michael Gonsior, Norbert Hertkorn, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, Henrik Kylin, Susanne Karlsson, Muhammad Jamshaid Ashiq, Elin Lavonen, Kerstin Nilsson, Amma Pettersson, Helena Stavklint and David Bastviken (2019) Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, doi: 10.1039/C9EW00034H Contacts: Anna Andersson, doctoral student, anna.e.andersson@liu.se, +46 13 284639 David Bastviken, professor, david.bastviken@liu.se, +46 13 282291 or +46 73 414 4970 New Rochelle, NY, May 15, 2019-CRISPR/Cas9 technology enables convenient and effective genome editing in diploid cell lines based on the isolation and expansion of edited single-cell clones. However, this approach is ineffective for aneuploid cell lines, and a group has now reported an improved method for genome editing based on multiple rounds of modification. The article is published in Tissue Engineering, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the article for free on the Tissue Engineering website until June 15, 2019. Maxim N. Karagyaur, MD, PhD, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia, and a team of colleagues present their research in an article titled "Optimization of CRISPR/Cas9 Technology to Knock Out Genes of Interest in Aneuploid Cell Lines". The authors treated four different human and mouse aneuploid cell lines in pooled populations and knocked out a combined six different genes. Their newly developed protocol includes repeated rounds of genome editing and GFP-positive cell sorting. Both on-target and off-target editing was assessed by sequencing predicted sites, and the results showed that additional rounds did not increase the rate of off-target cleavage despite enhancing gene knockout efficacy. "Dr. Karagyaur and colleagues from Russia describe a critical development in CRISPR/Cas9 technology to create functional cell models from aneuploid cell cultures," says Tissue Engineering Co-Editor-in-Chief John P. Fisher, PhD, Fischell Family Distinguished Professor & Department Chair, and Director of the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland. "Utilizing an innovative approach of repetitive cycles of CRISPR-/Cas9, the group showed that target protein expression could be suppressed, and therefore bypass clonal effects which are often observed in these complex systems." ### About the Journal Tissue Engineering is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print in three parts: Part A, the flagship journal published 24 times per year; Part B: Reviews, published bimonthly, and Part C: Methods, published 12 times per year. Led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX, and John P. Fisher, PhD, Fischell Family Distinguished Professor & Department Chair, and Director of the NIH Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland, the Journal brings together scientific and medical experts in the fields of biomedical engineering, material science, molecular and cellular biology, and genetic engineering. Leadership of Tissue Engineering Parts B (Reviews) and Part C (Methods) is provided by Katja Schenke-Layland, PhD, Eberhard Karls University, Tubingen, Heungsoo Shin, PhD, Hanyang University; and John A. Jansen, DDS, PhD, Radboud University, and Xiumei Wang, PhD, Tsinghua University respectively. Tissue Engineering is the official journal of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Tissue Engineering website. About the Publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy, and Advances in Wound Care. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website. WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Accomplishing perhaps a world first, researchers at Columbia University and the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have mapped the full-body muscular activity of an animal while it was moving and behaving. Their study adds to mounting evidence that the coordinated activity of many cells working together -- in this case, across an entire organism -- generates new functional and behavioral properties that are not present in single cells. In the study, published this week in Current Biology, the researchers watched the patterns of muscle activity in Hydra as it bent, contracted, and elongated its tubular body and tentacles. Building on their prior success in mapping full-body neural activity in Hydra, they pinpointed seven distinct patterns of muscle activity and discovered that individual muscle cells can participate in multiple patterns with different kinetics. In Hydra's muscular and nervous systems alike, these patterns appear to emerge from the coordination of many cells working in unison. "The patterns of activation we identified were not implemented by specific, dedicated cells, but instead depended on the properties of the muscle tissue as a whole, and the interconnections between cells," says first author John Szymanski, a former MBL Whitman Center investigator. According to senior author Rafael Yuste of Columbia University, who has led the Hydra Lab at the MBL as a Whitman Fellow since 2017, this study brings researchers a step closer to "breaking the neural code" and understanding the relationship between a stimulus and its neural response. "We are now poised to do the hard job, which is to link the activity of neurons, muscle, and behavior and decipher the neural code," Yuste says, "to explain completely how the nervous system creates behavior, at least in one animal." Hydra are freshwater organisms, only a few millimeters in length, and belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which also includes jellyfish and coral. Cnidarians split from their bilateral counterparts roughly 750 million years ago and maintain a much simpler body plan and nervous system than many of today's model organisms. Their tubular bodies are comprised of two layers of muscle, each composed of a different cell type and separated by two nerve nets. The muscle cells generate movement by exerting force on protein fibers, which run longitudinally (from the mouth to the base of the tube foot) in one muscle layer, and circumferentially (around the horizontal axis) in the other layer. When the longitudinal fibers are pulled, the body column gets short and fat; when the circumferential ones are pulled, it gets long and skinny. Given that the muscle fibers run perpendicular to one another, it was long thought that they held opposing roles, and that both layers of muscle cells could not be activated and pull on their respective fibers simultaneously. Although the two tissues do sometimes work independently, the researchers found that in certain instances, like longitudinal contractions, both layers of muscle are active -- possibly allowing the animal to expel the influx of water that is constantly flowing into its cells. Each individual cell also appeared to serve more than one function, and participate in more than one activation pattern. No one cell was dedicated to a single movement. This multifunctionality makes sense, according to Szymanski, since Hydra have a limited number of cells and cell types. The muscle cells "do almost everything" and assume roles that, in most other animals, would be outsourced to other tissues. In fact, the nerve nets appear to play a relatively limited role in movement. Neurons may initially trigger the activity, but the patterns of propagation are organized by the muscle cells themselves working in unison. "Seeing an animal that can operate with such basic activity patterns that are self-organized by the musculature makes it easier to imagine what a pre-neural animal might have looked like," Szymanski says, "and provides a glimpse into the early evolution of the nervous system." ### The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago. In new book, MIT's Timothy Hyde looks at the architectural controversies that have helped shape Britain In 1984, when the British government was planning to build a flashy modernist addition to the National Gallery in London, Prince Charles offered a dissenting view. The proposed extension, he said, resembled "a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend." A public controversy ensued, and eventually a more subtle addition was built. There is more to the story, however. Prince Charles' public interventions into architecture fell into a legal gray area. Was he improperly trying use the influence of the British monarchy -- now meant to be nonpolitical -- to affect government policy? "It's not quite clear whether Prince Charles was speaking as a private citizen or as a future monarch," says Timothy Hyde, the Clarence H. Blackall Career Development Associate Professor in MIT's Department of Architecture. He adds: "Because of his architectural pronouncements, a series of constitutional debates has emerged about how such opinions should be regulated, or if they should be regulated at all." Indeed, Prince Charles' public tussles over architecture have led to legal battles. In 2015, Britain's Supreme Court ruled that 27 advocacy memos Prince Charles had written to various officials -- on architecture, the environment, and other subjects -- could not be kept private, meaning the public could scrutinize his activities. And more recently, Prince Charles has vowed not to make similar policy interventions should he become king. So for Prince Charles, debates over architecture have spilled into questions of political power. But as Hyde explores in a new book, "Ugliness and Judgment: On Architecture in the Public Eye," published by Princeton University Press, this is hardly unique. In Britain alone, Hyde notes, controversies specifically over the "ugliness" of buildings have shaped matters from libel law to environmental policy. "Aesthetic arguments about ugliness have often served to tie architectural thinking to other kinds of debates and questions in parallel spheres of social and cultural production -- things like science, law, professionalism," Hyde says. "Debates about ugliness are very easily legible as debates about politics." Clearing the air The impetus for the book, says Hyde, an architectural historian, came partly from the sheer number of people who have commented about "ugly" buildings to him. "It's the frequency of that phrase, 'What an ugly building,' that really piqued my curiosity about ugliness," Hyde says. "Ugliness is an undertheorized dimension of architecture, given how common that critique is," he adds. "People always think buildings are ugly. Particularly as a historian of modern architecture, I encounter any number of people who say 'Oh, you're a modern architectural historian, can you explain, why would an architect ever think to do a building like that?'" Hyde's book, however, is not simply about aesthetics. Instead, as he soon noticed, disputes centered around "ugly" buildings have a way of leaping into other domains of life. Consider libel laws. In the first decades of the 19th century, the prominent architect Sir John Soane filed a long series of libel cases against critics, which led to the larger evolution of the law. "There was a prevailing assumption at the time that a work of architecture, a work of art, a work of literature, was an embodiment of its creator," Hyde says. A critique of a building, then, could be seen a personal attack on an individual. But as Soane filed one libel cases after another -- against people who used terms like "a ridiculous piece of architecture" and "a palpable eyesore" -- he lost again and again. A bad review, the legal community decided, was simply that. "In the cases that John Soane brought for libel, all of which he lost ... the modern conception that we have within libel law, of art criticism being a special case, emerged," Hyde says. "Now what we take for granted, this modern idea that one can criticize a work of architecture or book, without necessarily saying its creator is a bad or immoral person, begins to emerge as a legal concept." Or take environmental policy, which gained traction in Britain due to concerns about the aesthetics of the Houses of Parliament. As Hyde details, the 19th century reconstruction of Britain's Parliament -- the old one burned in 1834 -- soon became derailed, in the 1840s, by concerns that its limestone was already decaying and becoming ugly. A formal inquiry by the end of the 1850s concluded that the sulphuric "acid rain" from London's sooty atmosphere was corroding the city's buildings -- an important step for the incorporation of science into 19th-century policymaking, and a finding that helped usher in Britain's 1875 Public Health Act, which directly addressed such pollution. The levers of power To be sure, as Hyde readily notes, the geographic scope of "Ugliness and Judgement" is limited to Britain, and almost exclusively on London architecture. It could well be worthwhile, he notes, to look at controversies over architecture, ugliness, and power in other settings, which might have their own distinctive elements. Still, he notes, studying Britain alone uncovers a rich history stemming from the notion of "ugliness" by itself. "Disagreements over questions of ugliness are much more volatile than disagreements over questions of beauty," Hyde says. When it comes to politics and the law, he observes, "In some sense, beauty doesn't matter as much. ... The stakes are different." Few people try to prevent buildings from being built, he notes, if they are merely a bit less beautiful than onlookers had hoped. Perceptions of ugliness, however, precipitate civic battles. "It's a way to look for the levers of power," Hyde says. ### Written by Peter Dizikes, MIT News Related links BOOK: "Ugliness and Judgment: On Architecture in the Public Eye" https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13404.html Timothy Hyde http://architecture.mit.edu/faculty/timothy-hyde ARCHIVE: House rules http://news.mit.edu/2017/britain-houses-parliament-clean-air-laws-0112 The group practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs in Cambodia between 1993 and 2008 was associated with a 96.2% decline in sociopolitical violence in that war-torn country compared to violence in the preceding three years, according to a new peer-reviewed study published in Studies in Asian Social Science. According to the study, the likelihood that this reversal in the rising 1990-1992 trend of violence occurred randomly was one chance in 10 million, suggesting that meditation can indeed have a coherence-creating effect on society. Effect recognized by government officials "Maharishi Vedic University was established by Maharishi in Cambodia on January 1, 1993, for the declared purpose of bringing peace and prosperity to Cambodia," said study author Lee Fergusson. "The positive influence of the MVU meditating groups was recognized by officials of the Cambodian government." The late King Norodom Sihanouk was quoted as saying, "Maharishi Vedic University is playing an important role in human resource development and in [the] restoration of peace and expansion of prosperity throughout the country." Up to 1,250 students participated The reduction in violence began in January 1993, when more than 550 students began practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique together twice daily in a group at Maharishi Vedic University in Cambodia. Also, 100-200 students practiced the TM-Sidhi program together twice a day in a group as part of their Consciousness-BasedSM education curriculum starting in 1994. Across three MVU campuses, up to 1,250 students contributed to increased coherence in collective consciousness through their daily group Transcendental Meditation practice during 1993-2008. The study is the first to use an explanatory mixed-methods research design to explore the growth of social coherence using time series analysis and qualitative content analysis of news articles. The researchers analyzed monthly data on the level of sociopolitical violence obtained from automated content-analysis of news reports performed by a leading independent research organization. Other research shows reduced poverty Other published research by Dr. Fergusson, professor and founding director of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, Australia, documents the dramatic economic and social transformation of Cambodia after the founding of MVU. In 1990, Cambodia, devastated by decades of war, was the poorest country in the world. After establishment of MVU, Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates averaged 8.9%, and poverty was reduced by 63% between 1994 and 2008. By 2010 Cambodia was ranked 63rd out of 152 countries on the international scale of poverty, an unprecedented jump of 89 places in less than one generation. ### Reference: L. C. Fergusson & K. L. Cavanaugh (2019). Socio-political violence in Cambodia between 1990 and 2008: An explanatory mixed methods study of social coherence. Studies in Asian Social Science, 6(2), 1-45. A PDF of the article may be downloaded at http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/sass/issue/view/789. The study was sponsored by Maharishi Vedic Research Institute, Australia. If you want to make your home as energy-efficient and green as possible, should you use gas or electric for your heating and cooling needs? Gas is the more eco-friendly option--for now--for an energy-efficient home in Maryland. That's the conclusion of a new economic study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which evaluated the power usage and environmental impact of gas versus electric heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in low-energy residential dwellings. The NIST work provides a research method that others can use to perform their own analysis on which technology is more favorable for their local areas. "Fuel type is an important factor because heating and cooling accounts for a significant amount of home energy consumption," said NIST civil engineer David Webb, one of the authors of the new study, published in the Journal of Building Engineering. "However, little research has been conducted looking at the impact of which fuel source is used, gas or electric, on achieving low-energy and low-impact goals. We used a unique NIST tool set of databases and software known as BIRDS [Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability] to assess and measure that impact scientifically, and then provide a research method for others to do the same for any climate region in the United States." Since its debut in 2014, building professionals have used BIRDS to evaluate and measure the sustainability of both the materials and energy used by a building throughout its lifetime. Using computer models derived from BIRDS data, architects, structural engineers, construction managers and other homebuilding stakeholders can make science-based, cost-effective decisions on how to create and maintain high-performance, green, and low- or net-zero energy residences. The new gas-versus-electric fuel source study uses data found in one of the three databases making up the latest version of BIRDS (v4.0), measurements that were obtained from ongoing research at NIST's Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF). Built as a prototypical two-story, four-bedroom suburban home on NIST's campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland, the NZERTF is actually a laboratory where NIST researchers and industry partners design, test and evaluate the materials, technologies and strategies that will yield a home that produces at least as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year. To conduct their study, Webb and his colleagues had to create, via computer modeling, a home based on the NIST net-zero concept with an electric HVAC system and a virtual twin that instead used natural-gas-fired space and water heating equipment. "This allowed us to make a true apples-to-apples comparison of gas versus electric for their respective energy, environmental and economic impacts," said Joshua Kneifel, a NIST economist and coauthor of the study. The researchers compared the two simulated homes as if they were built to current Maryland codes and standards for low energy use, incorporated existing technology and equipment, and were in the same climate zone as the actual NZERTF. Running the models, the software considered 960,000 building design combinations and eight different economic scenarios to estimate performance over a period of up to 30 years. Under those criteria, the study results suggest that a natural gas HVAC system is currently more economical overall than an electric one for a code-compliant Maryland home. Although net-zero energy performance was achieved at the lowest cost using electric heating, it came with higher environmental impacts due to the emissions generated during its production. "The overall economic benefit of natural gas was expected because, at this time, it is the cheaper fuel source in Maryland, costs less in dollars and energy expended to produce and transport, and carries a lower construction price for installation of an HVAC system which uses it," Webb explained. However, Kneifel said that electric may yet become the better bargain and more eco-friendly option. "For example, as more power companies move to cleaner forms of electric generation, such as natural gas instead of coal, the environmental impact will lessen," he explained. "Also, technology changes, such as cheaper and more efficient solar energy and HVAC systems, should help make the use of electricity more cost-effective." The NIST team members acknowledge that their sustainability study was limited in terms of the equipment type, occupant energy demand and location. They urge other organizations to continue and expand their research to consider several key variables. These include the use of alternative equipment such as ground-source heat exchangers and high-velocity HVAC systems, cost and performance in a variety of climates, and differences in building operation that can affect energy consumption rates. Most importantly, they said that future studies must account for improvements in technology, construction materials and methods, and energy production and transmission. ### Anyone interested in learning more about the NIST methodology used in this study in order to conduct new research should contact Joshua Kneifel or David Webb (the email address for both of them follows the format firstname.lastname@nist.gov). COLUMBUS, Ohio - A close look at the rapidly developing zebrafish embryo is helping neuroscientists better understand the potential underpinnings of brain disorders, including autism and schizophrenia. Researchers at The Ohio State University were interested in understanding changes in neurological development that arise from a genetic defect associated with neurological disease - specifically, the loss of a gene called Protocadherin-19, or PCDH19. The link between the mutation and brain disorders is well-established, but the mechanics of why one might lead to the other have been a mystery. The new study, published online this month in the journal eNeuro, points to a "clustering" of cellular interactions in the brain that may disrupt normal development and brain health. "Scientists have discovered hundreds of genes that give rise to schizophrenia, autism and other brain disorders, but nobody knows what specifically goes wrong as a result of these genetic mutations," said lead researcher James Jontes, an associate professor of neuroscience at Ohio State and member of the university's Neurological Institute. "Our goal is to understand the cellular roles of these genes and how defects can lead to developmental changes in the brain." Zebrafish, or Danio rerio, are small tropical freshwater fish that appeal to scientists for a handful of reasons. Their embryos are transparent, they develop at warp speed and they share a significant chunk of DNA with people, allowing for an expedient and enlightening examination of developmental changes that could eventually have implications in attempts to thwart human disease. Jontes and his collaborator, graduate student Sarah Light, wanted to see what happened neurologically when they introduced a PCDH19 mutation into zebrafish. Using a high-powered microscope that allowed the researchers to watch cellular-level changes over time - an instrument that Jontes made himself - the researchers saw clear differences between embryonic development in normal "wild type" zebrafish and embryonic zebrafish in which they'd eliminated the PCDH19 gene. "This is the first study to use functional imaging at a single-cell level to explore the effects of a mutation known to cause human neurological disease in a living organism, and we saw obvious differences in the brain architecture of the animals with the mutation," Jontes said. "This type of work has the potential to help us understand in more detail the relationships between genes and diseases including autism and epilepsy. We don't understand exactly what these mutations do to brain structure and development in humans and if we can figure out what they do in fish, that will get us a long way toward some answers." Neurons form networks in the brain that are essential to human development, thought, function, behavior and emotion. In the altered zebrafish, the researchers were able to observe neuron-level activity with great detail. And, with the help of advanced mathematical analysis designed to look for relationships between the neurons and patterns in their activity, they saw that the neurological networks in the zebrafish with the mutation were more connected, or clustered, than in the brains of ordinary zebrafish. The data was collected between three and six days after fertilization, a period of rapid growth and maturation in zebrafish. By the sixth day after fertilization, zebrafish larvae already are demonstrating behaviors such as hunting for food and swimming. "We saw lots of interconnections between neurons in the mutant zebrafish. We don't know exactly what that means, but it could mean that inappropriate connections are occurring between cells that wouldn't normally interact. Maybe it becomes a problem when too many cells are incorporated into a network of neurons." Jontes said neuroscientists are intrigued by the fact that any number of genetic mutations have been linked to a given disease, such as autism. Work like this could help explain how each of those mutations results in human illness, and that could be an important step toward better treatment, he said. ### The National Eye Institute supported this research. CONTACT: James Jontes, 614-292-7263; James.Jontes@osumc.edu Written by Misti Crane, 614-292-5220; Crane.11@osu.edu Americans have a long tradition of taking to the streets to protest or to advocate for things they believe in. New research suggests that when it comes to climate change, these marches may indeed have a positive effect on the public. A team including Penn State researchers found that people tended to be more optimistic about people's ability to work together to address climate change and have better impressions of people who participated in marches after the March for Science and the People's Climate March in the spring of 2017. Janet Swim, professor of psychology at Penn State, said the findings suggest that climate change marches can have positive effects on bystanders. "Marches serve two functions: to encourage people to join a movement and to enact change," Swim said. "This study is consistent with the idea that people who participate in marches can gain public support, convince people that change can occur, and also normalize the participants themselves." Swim added that recent research has shown that marches are becoming more prevalent in the US, not just for climate change but for many issues. She and her coauthors, Nathaniel Geiger from Indiana University, and Michael Lengieza from Penn State, were interested in learning more about whether marches are effective at changing psychological predictors of joining movements. "There are several measures that predict people engaging and taking action in the future," Swim said. "One of those is collective efficacy -- the belief that people can work together to enact change. People don't want to do something if it's not going to have an effect. We were interested in whether marches increased this sense of efficacy, that once you see other people do something, you might think yes, it's possible." For the study, the researchers recruited 587 bystanders -- people who did not participate in the march but observed it through the media. 302 participants completed a survey the day before the March for Science held on April 22, 2017, and 285 completed a survey several days after the People's Climate March held on April 29, 2017. The surveys asked participants how much they knew about the marches, their impressions of the people who participated in the marches, and whether they believed people could work together to reduce climate change, among other measures. "Activists are often seen negatively -- that they're arrogant or eccentric or otherwise outside of the norm," Swim said. "There's a fine line between marchers and other activists expressing themselves and raising awareness of their cause, while also not confirming negative stereotypes. So, one of our questions was whether marches increase or decrease people's negative impressions of marchers." Because the researchers were also interested in how media coverage contributed to outcomes, they also noted the participants' preferred news sources and coded whether the sources were generally more conservative or liberal. The researchers found that after the People's Climate March, study participants were more optimistic about people's ability to work together to address climate change -- referred to as collective efficacy beliefs. They also found that study participants had less negative opinions of marchers after the march. Additionally, the researchers found that participants who regularly consumed news from conservative media had more collective efficacy beliefs and intent to take action after the marches. Those who regularly got news from liberal media tended to have less negative impressions of marchers, particularly among those who reported having heard about the marches. Swim said that because they controlled for such factors as political affiliation and beliefs, these changes were likely due to the way their preferred media sources portrayed the marches before and after the events. "If conservative news sources only talk the march after the fact, that might be why their viewers have more efficacy afterwards, because they didn't know about it before," Swim said. "Additionally, a more liberal news source may portray marchers as more sympathetic, which may be why their viewers had more favorable impressions of marchers." In future, Swim said she would like to further study how news and other media sources contribute to people's beliefs about climate change. For example, a content analysis that helps tease apart whether it is how much coverage a march gets that contributes to changes in beliefs or whether it is how the marches and marchers are portrayed that matters. ### Nathaniel Geiger, Assistant Professor of Environmental Communications from Indiana University, Michael L. Lengieza, graduate student in Psychology from Penn State, and also participated in this work. PRINCETON, N.J.--President Donald Trump recently introduced immigration reforms that would prioritize education and employment qualifications over family connections in selecting immigrants and nominated immigration hard-liner Kris Kobach as "immigration czar." The moves, like many by Trump, speak to those who feel threatened by what they perceive as a changing America. Those insecurities are unwarranted, however. With time, people can adapt to societal diversity and actually benefit from it, according to a study led by researchers at Princeton University and the University of Oxford and recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Those in power especially set the tone for integrating people into a new society. "If you give people who are different from you half a chance, they will integrate into society pretty well. It is when you purposefully push them out, or erect barriers against them, that problems are introduced," said Douglas Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "It's important for our political leaders to set the right tone, so proper integration can occur." The research team examined 22 years of psychological, sociological, and demographic data from multiple waves of the World Values Survey, the European Social Survey, and the Latino Barometer Survey. Together the three datasets included more than 338,000 respondents interviewed in more than 100 countries. The investigators combined various measures of life satisfaction, happiness, and health to create a "quality of life index" for respondents to each survey. Then, they examined the association between this index and religious diversity. Unlike ethnicity and race, which aren't always collected in surveys and are often measured using divergent categories, religion is well recorded using comparable categories. "Religion is a convenient way to look at the issue of social diversity," Massey said. The researchers analyzed the short-term effects of religious diversity on quality of life as perceived by individuals at different points in time, but also assessed the long-term effects of diversity on quality of life in different countries over longer spans of time. Although religious diversity was negatively associated with quality of life among individuals in the short run, it bore no association with the quality of life across countries in the long run, a finding that was confirmed in each dataset. The European Social Survey not only allowed the researchers to measure religious diversity and quality of life, it also permitted them to assess social trust and intergroup contact. These additional measures allowed the investigators to perform a "mediation analysis" that considered both the direct and indirect effects of religious diversity on quality of life. They found that over short two-year periods rising religious diversity acted to reduce social trust, and thereby undermined the quality of life. Over a longer twelve-year period, however, diversity led to greater intergroup contact that increased social trust to offset the negative short-term influence of diversity on quality of life. These findings have important policy implications, especially for immigration reform. Whenever people feel insecure for economic reasons and society is also changing around them, it becomes tempting for politicians to blame immigrants for these feelings of insecurity when this is not really the case. It is up to political leaders to set the right tone and message to counteract distrust in the short term so as to encourage integration in the long run, Massey said. "When it comes to immigrants, political leaders and others have a choice. They can either mobilize sentiments of fear or cultivate feelings of acceptance. It can be tempting for demagogues to mobilize fears for their own political gain, but this is rarely in the best interests of society" Massey said. ### The paper, "Humans adapt to social diversity over time," was published online in PNAS on May 6. The study was supported by Marie Curie Fellowship (grant no. 627982), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant no. 5P2CHD047879) and the Nuffield Foundation Grant (grant no. WEL/43108). Targeting a key gene before birth could someday help lead to a treatment for Down syndrome by reversing abnormal embryonic brain development and improving cognitive function after birth, according to a Rutgers-led study. Using stem cells that can turn into other cells in the brain, researchers developed two experimental models - a living 3D "organoid" model of the brain and a mouse brain model with implanted human cells - to investigate early brain development linked to Down syndrome, according to the study in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The study focused on human chromosome 21 gene OLIG2. "Our results suggest the OLIG2 gene is potentially an excellent prenatal therapeutic target to reverse abnormal embryonic brain development, rebalance the two types of neurons in the brain - excitatory and inhibitory, and a healthy balance is critical - as well as improve postnatal cognitive function," said Peng Jiang, assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Usually, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes, but babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21. That changes how a baby's body and brain develops, which can lead to mental and physical challenges, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal condition diagnosed in the United States, affecting about one in 700 babies, and about 6,000 infants are born each year with the condition. The researchers obtained skin cells collected from Down syndrome patients and genetically reprogrammed those cells to human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Resembling embryonic stem cells, the special cells can develop into many different types of cells, including brain cells, during early life and growth and are useful tools for drug development and disease modeling, according to the National Institutes of Health. Using brain cells derived from stem cells with an extra copy of chromosome 21, the scientists developed the 3D brain organoid model, which resembles the early developing human brain. They also developed the mouse brain model, with stem cell-derived human brain cells implanted into the mouse brain within a day after the mice were born. They found that inhibitory neurons - which make your brain function smoothly - were overproduced in both models, and adult mice had impaired memory. They also found that the OLIG2 gene plays a critical role in those effects and that inhibiting it led to improvements. The combination of the brain organoid and mouse brain model could be used to study other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. It may also help scientists better understand the mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease. Down syndrome patients often develop early-onset Alzheimer's disease, Jiang noted. ### The study's lead author is Ranjie Xu, a postdoctoral researcher in Jiang's lab. Other Rutgers co-authors include Hyosung Kim, a former post-doc in Jiang's lab; Ronald P. Hart, a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers-New Brunswick; Zhiping P. Pang, an associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Jing-Jing Liu, a former post-doc in Pang's lab. Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Kent State University, and University of Nebraska Medical Center contributed to the study. Photo: CTV News Police forces in western Quebec are investigating a series of attacks on public utility installations and private business equipment that occurred over a one-month period earlier this spring. Montreal La Presse reported Wednesday as many as 15 sites were hit by bullets from a high-calibre rifle between mid-March and mid-April. Targeted sites included hydro towers, highway inspection installations and telecommunication company equipment. There were no reported injuries. Hydro-Quebec spokesman Louis-Olivier Batty said the damage to one of the corporation's towers cost between $75,000 and $100,000 to repair. "There was no impact for our customers in Quebec but we have assessed there was an impact on our exports to Ontario," Batty said. "We are still pursuing our investigation but we can tell it was potentially limited and did not last very long." Police in Gatineau, the MRC-des-Collines police force and Quebec provincial police all confirmed they have open investigations into attacks on public utilities or on private business equipment. Gatineau police said they are investigating nine cases and are trying to determine whether a person they recently arrested in an unrelated case is linked to any of the utility or equipment attacks. "The installations vary and the equipment and buildings that were targeted were all different," said Gatineau police spokeswoman Andree East. She said the damages to the various locations are believed to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Provincial police said bullets were fired at installations belonging to Bell and Videotron in Quebec's Outaouais region. Shots were also fired, they said, at highway inspection installations in the same area. Eric Labonte, president the Quebec Brotherhood of Highway Traffic Controllers Constables, said the attacks on the installations are an example why his members should be armed like their counterparts in some other Canadian jurisdictions. "Thankfully there weren't any employees, because there could have been serious injuries," Labonte said. Researchers from SWOG Cancer Research Network, a cancer clinical trials group funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), will give 29 presentations at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's largest clinical cancer research meeting, which runs May 31-June 4 in Chicago. At ASCO 2019, SWOG investigators will report on 16 group-led trials, one jointly-led study, and another 12 involving partners. Presentation topics illustrate SWOG's wide-ranging portfolio, with talks and posters on treatment or prevention of bladder, breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, prostate, and rare cancers, as well as melanoma and multiple myeloma. SWOG investigators will make a particularly strong showing in symptom control, survivorship, and quality of care trials. "Some of our best work focusing on quality of life and quality of care issues is being presented at ASCO," said SWOG Chair Charles D. Blanke, MD. "From text messaging to financial toxicity, this work is innovative and relevant - and it will have a major, positive impact on cancer research, cancer care, and patients with cancer." Here are SWOG highlights at ASCO 2019: Dawn Hershman, MD, will deliver two oral presentations based on SWOG trial data. A vice chair at SWOG and a breast cancer physician at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Hershman will present the results of a multi-center randomized trial testing the effectiveness of text message reminders to improve adherence to hormone therapy for breast cancer. This is the first long-term, prospective trial to evaluate an intervention to improve cancer medication adherence. Hershman wanted to determine whether text reminders would persuade breast cancer patients to continue taking aromatase inhibitors, once-a-day estrogen-blocking pills. Due to the drug's side effects, such as severe joint pain, a substantial number of women do not complete the five-year recommended treatment. Hershman and her team randomized patients into two groups - one that received a text twice a week for 36 months and one that did not. Hershman and her team found substantial non-adherence in all patients, and no difference in adherence rates between women who did and did not receive the texts. This was true no matter how adherence was measured - through urine biomarkers, patient self-reporting, or provider reports. Hershman said the data shows that simple, one-way texts are not an effective way to persuade patients to continue taking their cancer drugs. She concluded that improving long-term drug adherence will require personalized, sustained behavioral interventions, as well as symptom management and support. Hershman will give a second oral presentation on results of the first study to explore the effects that cardiovascular disease risk factors have on healthcare use and healthcare costs. Hershman will present data showing that patients with underlying cardiovascular disease risk factors, like hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, have a substantially higher risk of an unplanned hospitalization during treatment. Hershman and her team reviewed data from 708 SWOG breast cancer patients over the age of 65 enrolled in 12 years' worth of trials. They found that diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and coronary artery disease were all associated with an increased risk of hospital admissions and emergency room visits. Women with hypertension had more than a three-fold risk. Across the board, women with cardiovascular disease risk factors also paid higher medical bills - particularly elderly women with diabetes. Hershman said the results illustrate the need for better patient monitoring and better models of patient care to keep women from being hospitalized and to reduce their medical bills. Thomas Flaig, MD, will present first-ever results from S1314, a phase II chemotherapy trial studying whether COXEN, a new type of gene expression model, can predict patient response to the two chemotherapy regimens used to treat muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Flaig, a SWOG investigator from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said the oral presentation has attracted interest because results could inform preoperative treatment decisions for patients with bladder cancer. The trial is also testing COXEN, a unique method which uses cell cultures rather that tumor tissue samples to generate biomarkers and could be used on other cancer types. SWOG statistician and health services researcher Joseph Unger, PhD, will present results that show that gender plays a significant role in whether cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, biologics and immunotherapy, and targeted therapies experience severe adverse events, the types of side effects that often require hospitalization or medical intervention. Women reported more serious adverse events - regardless of type of treatment and regardless of whether the events were self-reported or objectively measured. To complete his study, Unger, from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, mined three decades of SWOG clinical trial data that included 36,397 patients, 297 trials, and more than 500,000 adverse events - making it one of the largest adverse events studies ever conducted using data from federally-funded cancer trials. The results provide provocative hypotheses for further study. In particular, the study identified large gender disparities for patients receiving immunotherapies - indicating that studying the effects of these popular new agents is a research priority. Two SWOG presentations focus on osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), a bone disease that can occur from treatment with bisphosphonates, a class of drugs often prescribed for women with breast cancer. ONJ is considered an uncommon side effect of cancer treatment. However, in an oral presentation, Catherine Van Poznak, MD, of the University of Michigan will present study results that show that 1 in 40 patients who received the bisphosphonate zoledronic acid for bone metastases developed ONJ - making it a fairly common side effect. The findings come from the analysis of data from S0702, a SWOG prospective study of ONJ that enrolled over 3,000 people diagnosed with a variety of cancers. The highest incidence of ONJ was found in patients with multiple myeloma. Results can help physicians identify risk factors for ONJ, and S0702 has created a wealth of trial data to mine in future research. SWOG investigator Darya Kizub, MD, of Everett Clinic will give the other ONJ presentation using data from SWOG breast cancer trial S0307. That trial randomized 6,097 post-surgery breast cancer patients to receive one of three different types of bisphosphonates. Results showed all three drugs - zoledronic acid, clondronate, and ibandronate - were equally effective in preventing bone metastases. However, zoledronic acid use carries the highest risk of ONJ, with the biggest ONJ risk factors being gum disease, hardened tartar, and moderate to severe infections around the teeth. Kizub said the two other drugs, clondronate and ibandronate, are likely better options for patients with poor dental health - but they are not currently available for use in the U.S. A member of the NCI's National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), SWOG collaborates on trials with its network partners. One of those multi-group studies, Trial Assigning IndividuaLized Options for Treatment (Rx), or TAILORx, captured international attention at last year's ASCO meeting. TAILORx was designed and managed by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group and is the largest adjuvant breast cancer treatment trial ever conducted. This year, the TAILORx presentation will focus on clinical risk of breast cancer recurrence, and whether it, along with the 21-gene recurrence score, will help physicians select the best treatments. SWOG investigators Daniel Hayes, MD, a former ASCO president from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Kathy Albain, MD, the Huizenga Family Endowed Chair in Oncology Research at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, are on the TAILORx team. ### SWOG was founded in 1956, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, making it part of the oldest and largest publicly-funded cancer research network in the United States. SWOG has over 12,000 members in 47 states and six countries who design and conduct cancer prevention and treatment trials. SWOG trials have led to the approval of 14 cancer drugs, changed more than 100 standards of cancer care, and saved more than 3 million years of human life. Learn more at swog.org. SAN FRANCISCO - For his efforts to make the world's most vulnerable communities safer from earthquakes and other natural hazards, the Seismological Society of America (SSA) honors Brian Tucker with the 2019 Frank Press Public Service Award. Tucker, founder and former president of the nonprofit organization GeoHazards International, will receive the Press Award at the 2020 SSA Annual Meeting, to be held 27-30 April 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Tucker and his colleagues in GeoHazards International bring together seismologists, geologists, engineers, sociologists and disaster managers to help communities around the globe improve earthquake-resistant construction practices and apply other methods to prepare for natural hazards. Their approach is to identify a risk that the community considers unacceptable; demonstrate affordable, socially acceptable methods that reduce that risk; and finally provide the community with the capacity to implement those methods. The goal is to act before disasters strike. GeoHazards International, with local and international partners, has developed earthquake scenarios and seismic safety action plans, retrofitted schools, improved the seismic safety of hospitals, mapped landslide hazards, designed and promoted vertical tsunami evacuation parks, and initiated the local manufacture of "School Earthquake Desks". They work in Central Asia, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Ecuador, China and Haiti. These efforts have had clear success, as in the case of the hundreds of schools that had been seismically retrofitted before the 2015 magnitude 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake. In areas where 70% of unretrofitted school buildings suffered damage or collapsed, only 7% of the retrofitted buildings were damaged. The retrofits were made by GeoHazards International's Nepali partner, the National Society for Earthquake Technology. "While many of us in the seismological community can justifiably claim that the science and products we've produced will lead to safer cities and potentially save lives or reduce other losses over the long-term, few can point to specific cases where communities have benefitted directly from our efforts. Brian Tucker can," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist David Wald, in nominating Tucker for the award. Wald was the 2008 recipient of the Press Award. GeoHazards International's ability to translate broad seismological and engineering knowledge into practical, actionable information for decision makers and the public, and its ability to bring together diverse groups of experts to bear on a crisis, as it did after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, were especially noted by colleagues supporting Tucker for the award. Tucker has received numerous awards for his work, including being named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2002. Before founding GHI, he served as Acting California State Geologist, Principal State Geologist, and Supervising Geologist of the California Geological Survey for geohazards programs, from 1982 to 1991. Tucker has also served on the Seismological Society of America Board of Directors. He received his B.A. in physics from Pomona College in 1967, his Ph.D. in geophysics and seismology from University of California, San Diego in 1975, and an M.A. in public policy from Harvard University in 1991. The Frank Press Public Service Award honors outstanding contributions to the advancement of public safety or public information relating to seismology. This award may be given to any individual, combination of individuals, or organization. ### SAN FRANCISCO--Harvard University Assistant Professor Marine Denolle has been honored with the Seismological Society of America's (SSA) 2019 Charles F. Richter Early Career Award for her important contributions to developing synthetic seismograms that can be used for ground motion predictions for future earthquakes, with particular applications to how seismic waves behave in sedimentary basins. Denolle will receive the Richter Award at the 2020 SSA Annual Meeting, to be held 27-30 April 2020 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Denolle is a leading researcher in developing and refining algorithms to turn ambient seismic noise collected by seismograms into "virtual earthquake" data, including finding ways to correct for the depth of the virtual earthquake's "source" in these synthetic seismograms. The seismograms can then be used to study how seismic waves are amplified in sedimentary basins, which underlie a number of major cities worldwide from Los Angeles to Tokyo. In a paper published in the journal Science in 2014, Denolle described how she deployed instruments along the San Andreas Fault in the San Gorgonio Pass in California, to test whether sedimentary basins near San Bernardino might funnel seismic energy from the San Andreas Fault into the Los Angeles basin. She concluded that the Los Angeles metro area could be threatened by this type of ground motion. Gregory Beroza, Denolle's thesis advisor at Stanford University, asked then-U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones about the real-world relevance of the Science study. Jones told Beroza that Denolle's modeling was the "basis of our seismic resilience plan with the City [of Los Angeles]," Beroza recalled. "So Marine's work has had a significant real-world impact." The study, among others, shows that Denolle is an exceptional seismologist due to her grasp of the entire scientific process, from understanding theory to developing experiments and collecting and processing her own data, her colleagues said in their nominations of her for the Richter Award. Using the methods she developed, Denolle has also characterized sedimentary basin effects from the Kanto Basin that underlies Tokyo. Although there is dense seismic station coverage around Tokyo, Denolle's studies show that the virtual earthquake technique also can be used to look at basin amplification effects for local earthquakes in less well instrumented areas. At Harvard, Denolle has added environmental seismology to her interests, developing new approaches for monitoring aquifers with seismological remote sensing, as well as monitoring the impacts of extreme climate events such as drought and floods. Denolle received her Bachelor's degree in earth sciences (2006) and her Master's degree in geophysics (2008) from the Ecole Normale Superieure - IPGP in France, and her Ph.D. in geophysics from Stanford University in 2014. She was a Green Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Diego from 2014 to 2016. The Charles F. Richter Early Career Award honors outstanding contributions to the goals of the SSA by a member early in her or his career. ### WASHINGTON -- Researchers have developed a unique high-resolution imaging method that can capture mid-infrared spectral images of fast events or dynamic processes that take place on the order of milliseconds. This spectral range is used for many applications because it can reveal the detailed chemical composition of a sample. "This novel approach could one day be used to prescreen medical biopsies to identify the ones that need closer examination," said Peter Tidemand-Lichtenberg, a member of the research team from DTU Fotonik in Denmark. "It could be used to look for the chemical signatures of cancer and other diseases in ways that would increase the accuracy and speed of diagnoses." A multi-institutional group of researchers describe the new imaging approach in Optica, The Optical Society's (OSA) journal for high-impact research. They also demonstrate some of the technique's potential applications by imaging a gas flow and distinguishing cancerous and normal samples of esophageal tissue. "Although mid-infrared spectroscopy is recognized as a powerful tool for chemical analysis, its applicability has been hampered by a lack of affordable light sources and sensitive detectors," said Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "To overcome this barrier, we used an approach that translates information from the mid-infrared region, where the chemical signatures are most distinct, to the near-infrared, where today's camera technology is most mature and sensitive." Practical mid-infrared spectroscopy The researchers drew on a process known as nonlinear frequency conversion in which energy is added to a photon to change its wavelength, and hence its color. Although frequency conversion, or upconversion, is often used to change the wavelength of a laser's output, the researchers from DTU Fotonik developed a detection system that could shift an entire mid-IR image into the near-infrared wavelength range while preserving all the spatial information. The system incorporates a new mid-infrared light source developed by collaborators from The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). This single-wavelength light source can be tuned to different wavelengths and it also uses frequency conversion to generate the mid-infrared light. In fact, the researchers used the same pulsed near-infrared laser for two things: to generate the tunable mid-IR light and to achieve the image upconversion. "This approach yields high peak power pulses in perfect synchronism, eliminating the need for sophisticated temporal control of the pulses, leading to images with a good signal-to-noise ratio," explained Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "In addition, our optical setup is designed in a way that requires very little post-processing after the images are acquired." Imaging fast events and complex samples The researchers demonstrated the imaging speed of their new mid-infrared upconversion spectroscopy approach by tuning the illumination laser to match the peak absorption of a gas flow and acquiring a video with 40 images per second. They also conducted a pilot study, headed by the team members from Exeter University, in which the system was used to evaluate cancerous and healthy esophageal tissue samples. They found that morphology and spectral classification using their system matched well with the standard stained histopathology images. "Our upconversion imaging approach is generic and constitutes a major simplification in realizing video-frame-rate, mid-infrared monochromatic imaging," said Tidemand-Lichtenberg. "The spectral information provided by this technique could be combined with machine learning to enable faster, and possibly more objective, medical diagnostics based on chemical signatures without the need for staining." ### The research project was funded by the European Commission's Innovative Training Networks and involved a collaborative team of researchers from The Institute of Photonics Sciences (ICFO) in Spain and DTU Fotonik as well as Exeter University and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, both from the United Kingdom. Paper: S. Junaid, S. Chaitanya Kumar, M. Mathez, M. Hermes, N. Stone, N. Shepherd, M. Ebrahim-Zadeh, P. Tidemand-Lichtenberg, C. Pedersen, "Video-rate, mid-infrared hyperspectral upconversion imaging," Optica, 6, 6, 702-708 (2019). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.6.000702 About Optica Optica is an open-access, online-only journal dedicated to the rapid dissemination of high-impact peer-reviewed research across the entire spectrum of optics and photonics. Published monthly by The Optical Society (OSA), Optica provides a forum for pioneering research to be swiftly accessed by the international community, whether that research is theoretical or experimental, fundamental or applied. Optica maintains a distinguished editorial board of more than 50 associate editors from around the world and is overseen by Editor-in-Chief Alex Gaeta, Columbia University, USA. For more information, visit Optica. About The Optical Society Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the science of light. Through world-renowned publications, meetings and membership initiatives, OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts. For more information, visit osa.org. Media Contacts: Aaron Cohen (301) 633-6773 aaroncohenpr@gmail.com mediarelations@osa.org Special diffraction gratings with gold plates instead of microlenses can accelerate the generation of images in nanoscopes Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University together with colleagues proposed using special diffraction gratings with gold plates instead of microlenses used in the classic configuration to obtain images in nanoscopes. Microlenses transmit images by small pieces (pixels), whereas diffraction gratings allow you to see the whole object. Such innovation can help to accelerate the generation of images from nanoscopes without losing any magnification power. The results of the study are presented in the journal Annalen der Physik. Optical microscopes are considered the simplest. However, for a long time it was believed that they are not powerful enough compared to, for example, electronic microscopes. Everything changed with the advent of nanoscopes in 2011. Images are obtained using small spheres or rectangular particles of quartz glass and enlarged further with a conventional microscope lens. Through nanoscopes it is possible to see objects the size of which is 50 nm, which exceeds the capabilities of a conventional optical microscope by 20 times. They can also be used to study living viruses, as compared to electronic microscopes lacking this function because the flow of electrons just kills them, and the inside of cells. This feature makes nanoscopes extremely promising for biological research. Therefore, scientists around the world are working to improve their resolution and design. However, images in nanoscopes is formed by 'pieces', i.e. each microsphere detects its part of an object at a particular point. Therefore, it is necessary to make a whole matrix of a large number of microspheres or to move a microsphere, which takes some time. As a solution, TPU scientists proposed using a rectangular mesoscale phase diffraction grating (a grating with a period comparable to the wavelength of the radiation used). This is an optical device that is a surface with a large number of parallel microscopic strokes or protrusions. The project supervisor, Igor Minin, DSc in technical sciences, SRF at the TPU Division of Electronic Engineering says: 'A conventional diffraction grating out of dielectric ensures poor resolution in nanoscopes. Therefore, we propose to add a small gold plate to each of the strokes. In fact, a paradox emerges: metal does not transmit light but the resolution nevertheless increases. Why? Here several effects work simultaneously. These are the effect of abnormal amplitude apodization, the Fabry-Perot resonance, and the Fano resonance. Together they help to improve resolution compared to a conventional diffraction grating up to 0.3 . This is about the same solution as that of nanoscopes with spherical particles.' Now, the researchers are tasked to verify the simulation data during experiments. ### The article was published in Annalen der Physik in collaboration with the scientists from Tomsk State University and V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS. Sylvie Graf and Sabine Sczesny from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Bern are investigating how positivity or negativity of news about immigrants and language that describes immigrants in mass media shape prejudice against them. Their project Immigrants in the Media is funded by the European Commission. The psychologists recently published the results of three experimental studies in the journal Media Psychology. Positive news reduce prejudice In the studies, the researchers examined prejudice against two negatively perceived groups - the Roma and Kosovo Albanians - and one positively perceived group - Italian immigrants. The studies were carried out in different cultural contexts - namely the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Participants in the studies read fictitious newspaper reports that described either positive (e.g., helping), negative (e.g., attacking), or mixed (e.g., helping and attacking) behaviours of immigrants. Across the studies, prejudice against the given minority group changed after having read a single report about the acts of its members. Positive reports led to less pronounced prejudice, while negative reports led to more pronounced prejudice against the described minority group, explains Sylvie Graf. Interestingly, mixed reports that contained both positive and negative information also reduced prejudice - like the positive reports. This suggests that including positive information into negative news may attenuate prejudice, according to Graf. Nouns arouse prejudice more than adjectives The fact whether a report is positive or negative is usually clear. However, news can also contain subtler cues, which shape how people view minorities. An example of such cues are the small variations in language describing the ethnicity of immigrants. A person can be either described as an 'immigrated Italian' or an 'Italian immigrant'. Previous studies have shown that information about a certain person described with a noun influences our opinion about the given person to a greater extent than the same information described by an adjective. For instance, people believed that a Catholic would attend a church more regularly than a Catholic person - despite the fact that both the noun and adjective are the same word and describe the very same thing, namely a person's religion. No study before has systematically tested the effect of nouns and adjectives in positive versus negative texts. Graf and colleagues showed that nouns used for describing ethnicity (a saving Roma) led to more pronounced prejudice against the given ethnic group than adjectives (a Roma saviour). Nouns enhance existing prejudice more than adjectives, independently of the positivity or negativity of newspaper articles - even if news report on positive events, says Graf. ### Publication: Graf, S., Linhartova, P., & Sczesny, S. (2019). The effects of news report valence and linguistic labels on prejudice against social minorities. Media Psychology. Doi:1080/15213269.2019.1584571. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213269.2019.1584571 Contacts: Dr habil. Sylvie Graf Institute of Psychology, Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern Email: Sylvie.Graf@psy.unibe.ch Tel.: +41 75 416 96 03 Prof. Dr. Sabine Sczesny Institute of Psychology, Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern Email: Sabine.Sczesny@psy.unibe.ch Tel.: +41 31 631 33 94 Other publication mentioned in the text: Carnaghi, A., Maass, A., Gresta, S., Bianchi, M., Cadinu, M., & Arcuri, L. (2008). Nomina sunt omina: on the inductive potential of nouns and adjectives in person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 5, 839-859. Doi:10.1037/0022-3514.94.5.839 Institute of Psychology, Division of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience The Division of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience investigates general principles of human behavior and decisions in a social context. Further information: http://www.soz.psy.unibe.ch/index_eng.html New findings challenge the popular assumption that curiosity in general is the prime driver of learning (Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the "Game of Thrones" season finale) If you think you know the farm animal most closely related to T-Rex, or the American president who inspired the creation of blue jelly beans -- but aren't entirely sure -- you're more likely to bone up on the chicken-dinosaur connection or Ronald Reagan's predilection for glazed, gel-filled candies. That's because our doubts about what we know pique our curiosity and can motivate us to learn more, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley. The findings, just published online in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, challenge a popular belief that curiosity in general is the prime driver of knowledge acquisition. They also give new meaning to the Montessori approach to learning readiness, which encourages children to follow their own natural inquisitiveness. "It's very in vogue to talk about curiosity as a strategy to increase learning, but it's unclear how to engage people's curiosity," said study senior author Celeste Kidd, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. "Our study suggests it's the uncertainty -- when you think you know something and discover you don't -- that leads to the most curiosity and learning." Practical applications include tailoring classroom learning to students' misconceptions about what they know. "Asking students to explain how things work can be an effective learning intervention because it makes them aware of what they don't know and curious about what they need to know," said study co-lead author Shirlene Wade, a visiting Ph.D. scholar in Kidd's psychology lab at UC Berkeley. For example, if students are quizzed on what causes climate change, how a bicycle works or about the U.S. constitutional separation of powers -- and realize they only have a partial understanding of how these things work -- their curiosity is stimulated, and they're more open to learning, if only to get it right the next time. Meanwhile, the subjects we know nothing -- or too much -- about, can prompt disinterest or even boredom. Take "Game of Thrones," the blockbuster medieval fantasy TV series. If you're a super fan and predicted, wrongly, that Sansa would end up on the Iron Throne, you're more likely to review all the show's characters and plot twists to see what you missed. If you were the showrunner, on the other hand, you'd have no reason to be curious. And if you sat out the entire eight seasons, you just wouldn't care. "Curiosity is the gatekeeper of the knowledge we choose to absorb, and that includes information about 'Game of Thrones,'" Kidd said. For the study, 87 adults from across the country, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing platform, were each quizzed online for about an hour on 100 trivia questions. In the learning phase of the experiment, each study participant gave their best guess in response to each trivia question, and whether they thought their answer was correct. They also rated on a scale of 1 to 7 how close they thought their answers were to being accurate and how curious they were to find out the correct answer. Participants were then shown the answer to the trivia question for five seconds and asked to rate their level of surprise. Next, they entered the testing phase of the experiment and answered the same trivia questions, except for the ones they had gotten right in the learning phase. Once all the answers were submitted, independent evaluators used objective measures to calculate how close each answer was to being accurate and measured the gap between what each participant thought the answer was relative to what it actually was. On average, participants got 18 answers right in the learning phase and 69 correct in the testing phase. Their curiosity levels reflected high and low interest, depending on the question topic. Overall, those who believed their initial best guess was close to the correct answer showed the most curiosity. "Those who were more curious were better at guessing correctly in the testing phase, which suggests they were more inspired to learn," Wade said. In addition to revealing the specific kind of curiosity that promotes learning, the results could serve to advance the theories of Maria Montessori, whose child-centered approach to learning readiness in the late 1800s is practiced to this day. "Maria Montessori said you should present children with something they are ready to learn, but she didn't talk a lot about what being ready meant," Kidd said. "Our findings expand on the idea of readiness by showing that what children think they know, but don't know, can boost their curiosity and motivate learning." ### Someday, we all might drive zero-emission cars. To get there, engineers are working to develop renewable energy solutions, such as fuel cells, that are clean and cost-effective. A team of engineers at the University of Delaware is among the 40 awardees of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) OPEN2018, and has been awarded $1,979,998 in funding to build a fuel cell system fabricated with inexpensive catalysts and structural materials, which is consequently cheaper and more practical than existing fuel cell systems. The team includes Shimshon Gottesfeld, an adjunct professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with three decades of experience leading fuel cell technology projects, Yushan Yan, Distinguished Engineering Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Brian P. Setzler, a postdoctoral associate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. "This is becoming a leading center for fuel cell technology and electrochemistry," said Gottesfeld. Fuel cells, which convert fuel chemical energy directly into electricity, are promising renewable energy technologies, especially for transportation applications where they secure long range per tank full of fuel and short refueling time. However, fuel cells often use pricy platinum catalysts and expensive hardware materials. UD engineers have developed a fuel cell technology that uses cheaper catalysts and structural components, but these, so called hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells have a limitation. They cannot use direct supply of ambient air, because the carbon dioxide in the air reduces their performance. An efficient and cost-effective way to generate a CO2-free air stream, would open the door for wide introduction of this desirable fuel cell technology. To address this challenge, the UD team is developing a simple and cost effective cell serving as "electrochemical pump," capable of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of ambient air. "This carbon dioxide problem has been with us for long enough, and we decided to turn the problem on its head and make it into a solution," said Yan. The team is taking advantage of the carbon dioxide poisoning mechanism in a hydroxide exchange membrane cell, using a similar cell as an "electrochemical pump" of CO2 which is introduced upstream of the fuel cell stack. The electrochemical pump removes very efficiently carbon dioxide from the stream of ambient air needed by the fuel cell stack. In the electrochemical pump, air CO2 is current-driven ("pumped") across the cell membrane and released back to air on the other side of the cell. "Once we free ourselves from the traditional hydrogen/air cell architecture, an optimized electrochemical pump can be very compact and effective," said Setzler. The team is scheduled to demonstrate by the end of the project a system comprising an electrochemical pump and an alkaline membrane fuel cell stack, approximating a prototype. Beyond generation of a CO2-free air stream for use by a fuel cell stack, electrochemical pumping of CO2 could be useful in a number of other systems targeting CO2 removal and capture. ### Most of the water used by people in Egypt comes from the Nile River, which originates from precipitation over mountainous areas in the Ethiopian highlands. In areas far from the Nile River Valley, however, where water is scarce and the population is growing, groundwater is the only available freshwater resource. Knowing how much water is available in the groundwater aquifers and how fast it is being replenished is vital for providing the population with water for drinking and irrigation. Determining the age of water sources helps in those calculations. A new study from the University of Delaware looked at chlorine isotopes as chemical tracers to determine the age and origin of groundwaters from the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The research was led by doctoral candidate Mahmoud Sherif and Neil Sturchio from UD and Mohamed Sultan from Western Michigan University. The work resulted in a paper recently published in the Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal. While groundwater provides only seven percent of the water demand in Egypt, Egyptian water authorities have recently given renewed attention to increasing its exploitation, especially in eastern Egypt, to mitigate the growing water stress and to accommodate agriculture projects. To measure the age and origin of the groundwater, 29 samples were collected from different wells during several field expeditions in Egypt. The researchers used the long-lived radioactive isotope chlorine-36 to estimate the age of the groundwaters; this isotope forms in the atmosphere and travels to the earth and has a half-life of 300,000 years. Sturchio, professor and chair of the Department of Geological Sciences in UD's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, said that the Eastern Desert is interesting because while it is still dry and arid, it gets more rain than the Western Desert of Egypt. Because of this rain, the researchers were curious to see if the groundwater in the Eastern Desert might be generally younger than the water found in the Western Desert, but were surprised by their findings. "In the shallow aquifers you would expect young water, perhaps 50-100 years old, because it's coming down as rain and flowing out towards the Nile Valley," said Sturchio. "But in some of these aquifers, Mahmoud found water that's apparently 200,000 years old." Sturchio said that while the water is probably not actually 200,000 years old, the fact that it appears that way shows that older water from the Nubian Aquifer comes up along faults in the rocks and mixes in with the shallow water, carrying some of the older chlorine with it. The water coming up from the deeper aquifer likely ended up there when the climate was much wetter -- as far back as a million years ago -- with abundant rainfall that caused a lot of water to seep into the ground and collect in the very thick, porous sandstone. Sherif said that finding this natural discharge from the deep aquifers through these faults to the shallower aquifers is important for the developmental plan for the area. "When we quantify the amount of water in the shallow aquifer, we have to consider the water coming up from the deeper aquifer," said Sherif. "It's an additional source and instead of drilling very deep wells, which is very expensive, the [Egyptian government] won't have to. They can reduce the cost." Sturchio said that while Egypt is lucky that it has a lot of water from the Nile, there is only so much water that can be taken out of the river according to an international agreement. That is why it is critical in areas like the Eastern Desert to identify and use these groundwater resources. "The young groundwater that comes down as rain and takes about 50 to 100 years to flow to the Nile is being used for irrigation in some places. But some of the water they're pumping out comes from the much older groundwater in aquifer underneath," said Sturchio. "You really want to know how much of that water you can pump out before you're over-pumping it and using it up too fast. You don't want to pump it out faster than it can replenish itself, ideally. Knowing the groundwater age is part of the basis for developing a good strategy for using it." ### Unusual rocks discovered on a remote mountainside have alerted scientists to the dangers posed by a little-studied type of volcano. Researchers say that the rocks, found in East Africa, provide vital clues into the hazards associated with active volcanoes elsewhere. The volcanic remnants from Aluto in Ethiopia were formed by intense eruptions that could be far more dangerous than previously thought, researchers say. Their findings provide fresh insight into the hazards posed by a type of volcanic activity - known as a pumice cone eruption - which, until now, was poorly understood. Previous studies had suggested the eruptions - which last took place on Aluto more than 2,000 years ago - were quite small and presented a low risk to all but those living very near them. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh used a range of precise techniques to analyse the rocks and better understand the eruptions that formed them. Their findings could build a clearer picture of the risks posed by these rare volcanoes, which are among the most common types found in East Africa. Others are found in Iceland and on Mayor Island, New Zealand. The rocks are composed of a thin layer of volcanic glass surrounding a porous, foam-like interior. This structure reveals that the rocks were still hot and sticky when they hit the ground, researchers say. These small, ultra-light rocks were found a long way from the volcano, suggesting they were carried in a hot jet of volcanic material - known as an eruption column - and fell from the sky. Eruption columns are formed only during powerful eruptions, and collapse to form fast-moving avalanches of super-heated rock, ash and gas, researchers say. The study, published in Nature Communications, was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. The work involved researchers from Addis Ababa and Wollega Universities in Ethiopia. It forms part of the collaborative RiftVolc project between UK and Ethiopian universities. PhD student Ben Clarke, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, who led the study, said: "Many people live on and around these volcanoes, which also host valuable geothermal power infrastructure. Our work suggests that future eruptions at these volcanoes have the potential to cause significant harm, further from the volcano than we previously thought. Continued interdisciplinary research to understand and manage this risk is required to safeguard people and infrastructure in Ethiopia." ### Photo: Kamloops Matters Terry Lake's acclamation as the nominee for the Liberal Party of Canada in the upcoming federal election was a raucous event Tuesday night (May 21). The former mayor of Kamloops, MLA and provincial cabinet minister had more than a couple of special guests for the event at the Coast Hotel in Aberdeen, none more notable than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who introduced Lake to the crowd. Lake, in his speech to the audience, keyed in on a few issues as the reason he's rejoining politics after stepping down a few years ago. "If anyone knows the impacts of climate change, it's people right here in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo," Lake said. "It's like a war zone here, prime minister, in the summer. People leave so they can breathe clean air. People worry, they suffer physically, they suffer mentally." While Lake pointed to climate change as the primary reason for his candidacy, he also pointed to the opioid crisis as an important issue to tackle. "The overdose crisis is the worst public health situation we've seen in over 100 years in this country," he told the crowd. Lake spent time as both the health and environment minister while in provincial politics. Speaking to media after the public event, Lake elaborated on his reasons for stepping back into the spotlight. "In a world where we've got so many changes, so much populism and right-wing rhetoric that's flying around the entire world, I think Canada needs to be a safe harbour for progressive, forward-looking policies," he said. "The thing that concerns me most of the possibility of an Andrew Scheer government is the complete abdication of responsibilities, such as action on climate change and helping Canadians deal with the opioid epidemic." The Liberal Party of Canada hasn't held the Kamloops riding since Len Marchand was an MP and cabinet minister with Pierre Trudeau 40 years ago (incumbent Conservative MP Cathy McLeod has held the seat since 2008). When asked about running for a seat that's not seen a Liberal for decades, Lake wasn't concerned. While Lake focused on the issues close to him, Trudeau's speech looked at the last few years. He touted some of his government's accomplishments, including getting children out of poverty and the fact the country is at the lowest unemployment rate in decades. He also touched on climate change as an issue that'll affect the 2019 election. The event attracted some 300 supporters, many carrying signs with the slogan "Team Terry." Cathy McNeely has been a Lake supporter for years, having worked with him while he was in provincial politics. "I worked on his campaign when he was on the provincial scene," she told KamloopsMatters. "I knew, from working with him, he was a very capable individual." A pair of high school students, Thaelo Proctor and Gurneet Singh, came to see Trudeau and get a more in-person idea of who the politicians representing them are. "I was just interested in the Liberal government, just in learning about politics in general," Proctor said. "It was an awesome opportunity to learn." The federal election is Oct. 21. Brendan Kergin / KamloopsMatters LAWRENCE -- With miles of beaches on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, a lower cost of living and a stable political climate, Costa Rica has enticed tens of thousands of American and European expatriates to put down roots, buy homes and start businesses in that country. By local standards, these "lifestyle migrants" often are wealthy -- and the Costa Rican government is known to welcome them with open arms. But how do thousands of Americans and Europeans alter the pre-existing local culture, politics and economy? Is their presence in Costa Rica a boon or a blight to local communities? A University of Kansas doctoral student in the Department of Sociology recently earned a $15,000, one-year grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate such questions. Erin Adamson departs Lawrence in July to perform months of fieldwork in Costa Rica's administrative area of Talamanca, along the Caribbean coast, conducting interviews with lifestyle migrants and natural-born Costa Ricans to better grasp the social, economic and cultural dynamics between the groups. "I'm looking at a different group of migrants than we usually look at," Adamson said. "So, when Americans and Europeans who have a lot of money move to a developing country, how do they use their economic power to impact a local community? Through opening businesses and buying land and houses, they have a pretty big gentrification effect on a poorer community. I'm interested in how does the local community respond to that? How how did things shift because of it? How does that change relationships between migrants and local people?" Once a Spanish colony, large tracts of Costa Rica were purchased and cultivated by American banana companies following independence "within a framework of neo-colonialism," according to Adamson. These companies brought in African-Caribbean workers for their plantations because their labor was inexpensive and they spoke English. "It's always been an agricultural region," Adamson said. "It's always been one in which people were expected to work very hard for very little pay. But Costa Rica is kind of unique in that they worked hard to make sure regular people owned land. So, lots of poor own land in Costa Rica, which isn't true in all Central American countries. By the '70s, most people on the coast were farming cocoa or chocolate, or fishing, or selling coconut oil. And there was a crash -- a disease that took out all cacao -- and at the same time, a disease that went through Central America that ruined all the banana plantations for a while. In just a few years, the whole agricultural sector was devastated. And what people did in response was turn to tourism, and that was true previous to these economic elites or lifestyle migrants going down there." According to Adamson, between the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, the U.S. immigrant population quadrupled while the European immigrant population nearly doubled in Costa Rica. "Europeans and Americans started moving in and buying land -- some of the lifestyle migrants that are there now have owned land there since the early '90s," she said. "They've made a lot of money on land because they bought it cheap from locals, and they've parceled it off and developed it. Part of them are retirees, from the U.S. and Canada, looking to stretch their budget. They can live really well on very little. Also, Costa Rica has a decent health care system. So, if they have health problems, they can actually get quite a bit of intensive health care, and it's really cheap. Then there's a lot of younger folks, too, in their 20s and 30s, who come with their families, and they open a yoga studio or dive shop or something like that." Adamson said American and European lifestyle migrants often hire Costa Ricans to work in their businesses or homes, giving the foreign-born migrants power and influence in a country where good jobs are scarce. Adamson hopes to know if locals are earning a living wage; if resentment exists against wealthier expatriates; if the influence of lifestyle migrants gives them lopsided political power to gain roads, water service and trash removal at a standard closer to the U.S. than what is customary in Costa Rica. The KU student said her findings in Costa Rica would apply to other nations in the region and around the world with big numbers of lifestyle migrants from North America and Europe, like Panama, Ecuador, South Africa, Kenya, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Adamson, who is working with thesis adviser Joane Nagel, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology, said she hoped to graduate with her doctorate by 2021. ### The University of Texas at Austin team that led a twin satellite system launched in 2002 to take detailed measurements of the Earth, called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), reports in the most recent issue of the journal Nature Climate Change on the contributions that their nearly two decades of data have made to our understanding of global climate patterns. Among the many contributions that GRACE has made: GRACE recorded three times the mass of ice lost in the polar and mountainous regions since first beginning measurements -- a consequence of global warming. GRACE enabled a measure of the quantity of heat added to the ocean and the location for said heat that remains stored in the ocean. GRACE has provided detailed observations, confirming that the majority of the warming occurs in the upper 2,000 meters of the oceans. GRACE has observed that of the 37 largest land-based aquifers, 13 have undergone critical mass loss. This loss, due to both a climate-related effect and an anthropogenic (human-induced) effect, documents the reduced availability of clean, fresh water supplies for human consumption. The information gathered from GRACE provides vital data for the federal agency United States Drought Monitor and has shed light on the causes of drought and aquifer depletion in places worldwide, from India to California. Intended to last just five years in orbit for a limited, experimental mission to measure small changes in the Earth's gravitational fields, GRACE operated for more than 15 years and has provided unprecedented insight into our global water resources, from more accurate measurements of polar ice loss to a better view of the ocean currents, and the rise in global sea levels. The mission was a collaboration between NASA and the German Aerospace Centre and was led by researchers in the Center for Space Research (CSR) in UT's Cockrell School of Engineering. UT's Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) has played a critical role in this international project over the last 15 years, according to Byron Tapley, the Clare Cockrell Williams Centennial Chair Emeritus in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics who established the Center for Space Research at UT in 1981 and who served as principal investigator of the GRACE mission. "As the demand for the GRACE science deliverables have grown, TACC's ability to support these demands have grown. It has been a seamless transition to a much richer reporting environment," he said. By measuring changes in mass that cause deviations in the strength of gravity's pull on the Earth's various systems -- water systems, ice sheets, atmosphere, land movements, and more -- the satellites can measure small changes in the Earth system interactions. "By monitoring the physical components of the Earth's dynamical system as a whole, GRACE provides a time variable and holistic overview of how our oceans, atmosphere and land surface topography interact," Tapley said. The data system for the mission is highly distributed and requires significant data storage and computation through an internationally distributed network. Although the final data products for the CSR solutions are generated at TACC, there is considerable effort in Germany by the Geophysics Center in Potsdam and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. The final CSR analysis at TACC starts with a data downlink from the satellites to a raw data collection center in Germany. The data is then transmitted to JPL where the primary measurements are converted into the geophysical measurements consisting of GPS, accelerometer, attitude quaternions, and the high accuracy intersatellite ranging measurements collected by each satellite during a month-long observation span. "The collection of information from this international community are brought together by the fundamental computing capability and the operational philosophy at TACC to undergo the challenging data analysis required to obtain the paradigm-shifting view of the Earth's interactions," Tapley said. Despite being a risky venture operating on minimal funding, the GRACE mission surpassed all expectations and continues to provide a critical set of measurements. "The concept of using the changing gravimetric patterns on Earth as a means to understanding major changes in the Earth system interactions had been proposed before," Tapley said. "But we were the first to make it happen at a measurement level that supported the needs of the diverse Earth-science community." One of the remarkable benefits of working with TACC, according to Tapley, is the ability to pose questions whose solutions would have not been feasible prior to TACC and to find the capability to answer the questions. "As an example, when we began the GRACE mission, our capability was looking at gravity models that were characterized by approximately 5,000 model parameters, whose solution was obtained at approximately yearly analysis intervals. The satellite-only GRACE models today are based on approximately 33,000 parameters that we have the ability to determine at a daily interval. In the final re-analysis of the GRACE data, we're looking to expand this parameterization to 4,000,000 parameters for the mean model. The interaction with TACC has always been in the context of: 'If the answer to a meaningful question requires extensive computations, let's find a way to satisfy that requirement,'" Tapley said. Now that the GRACE Follow-On mission, which the CSR will continue to play a role in, has launched successfully, the chance to continue the GRACE record for a second multi-decadal measurement of changes in mass across the Earth system is possible. Engineers and scientists anticipate that the longer data interval will allow them to see an even clearer picture of how the planet's climate patterns behave over time. ### John Goodenough, a University of Texas at Austin professor in the J. Mike Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, has won the Royal Society of London's Copley Medal, the world's oldest scientific prize. Already a fellow of the Royal Society, Goodenough has been honored for his exceptional contributions to materials science, including his discoveries that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium battery used in devices such as laptops and smartphones worldwide. The Royal Society first awarded the Copley Medal in 1731 -- 170 years before the first Nobel Prize -- and gives it annually for outstanding achievements in scientific research. As the 2019 recipient, Goodenough joins an elite group of past awardees including Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein and Dorothy Hodgkin. "Professor Goodenough has a rich legacy of contributions to materials science in both a fundamental capacity, with his defining work on the properties of magnetism, to a widely applicable one, with his ever-advancing work on batteries, including those powering the smartphone in your very pocket," said Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society. "The Royal Society is delighted to recognize his achievements with the Copley Medal, our most prestigious prize." Goodenough, who is known throughout the UT Austin and global scientific communities for his unique laugh and jovial nature, spent 10 years as head of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Oxford before coming to UT Austin in 1986. As the current holder of the Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering at UT Austin, Goodenough continues to work to develop next-generation battery technology that will advance society. Innovations in battery technology, such as the lithium-ion-based model, helped liberate society from its reliance on cables. "Words are not sufficient to express my appreciation for this award," said Goodenough. "My years at Oxford were transformative for me, and I thank especially those who had the imagination to invite a U.S. nonacademic physicist to come to England to be a professor and head of the Oxford Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory." After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Goodenough received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago before starting his research career in 1952 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory. At MIT, he was part of a team that developed random-access magnetic memory (RAM) -- a technology still used today in digital computing. He then went on to Oxford, where he focused on the implementation of lithium as a potential cathode material for batteries -- pioneering work that was to form the basis for the first commercial lithium-ion battery. In 1986, he accepted a position at UT Austin and has remained on the faculty in the Cockrell School of Engineering ever since. ### Bacteria have fascinating properties. They adapt excellently to their respective environment, and they existed long before humans. Their toughness has led to the fact that bacteria have successfully spread all over the world for three billion years - even in places where humans could not survive, for example in the hottest springs and in the coldest places on earth. However, they were only discovered a few hundred years ago. Since that time, research has been examining these tiny creatures more and more closely. Biotechnology engineer Dr. Ana Rita Brochado has also taken a liking to microbes. She has been setting up an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at the Biocenter of Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, since early 2019. Her topic: "Systems Biology of Antibiotics in Gram-negatives." Dr. Brochado is funded by the JMU Biocenter Nachwuchsprogramm, by the ZINF Young Investigator program and by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The Emmy Noether Programme by DFG offers outstanding young researchers the opportunity to lead junior research groups on their own responsibility and thus qualify for a professorship. The DFG will provide Brochado with up to 1,82 million euros for her group. Gram-negative bacteria at a glance Dr. Brochado is interested in bacterial pathogens. "Bacteria are very small but extremely tough creatures. They use complex mechanisms to cope with their environmental conditions," said the researcher. This can lead to problems if they infect humans. "Mutations can quickly make bacteria resistant to antibiotics that will no longer work," she explains. "The weapons with which medicine fights bacterial infections quickly become dull. New strategies are permanently in demand." Her research focuses particularly on gram-negative bacteria. These are infectious agents which are particularly difficult to treat, due to the complex structure of their cellular envelope: in addition to the cell wall, they have an external biomembrane that makes them very resistant to external compounds, such as antibiotics. Reviving old antibiotics with vanilla against pathogens Ana Rita Brochado and her group are investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying antibiotic activity using a systems biology approach. "It is not the case that bacteria simply die when they come into contact with an antibiotic," she explains, "in this process numerous mechanisms are set in motion. We will use different compounds alone and in combination to better understand the complexity of the bacterial response to these compounds." Among other things, the scientist showed that different bacteria react in a very specific manner to antibiotic combinations, and also that food compounds can be used to enhance the activity of antibiotics against resistant bacteria. For instance, particular clinical isolates of Escherichia coli which are resistant to the antibiotic spectinomycin could be successfully combated by combining the antibiotic with the aroma substance vanillin (Brochado et al., Nature, 2018). Vanillin is the major component of vanilla flavor. Career of the junior research group leader Ana Rita Brochado has completed several research stations in Europe. She obtained her Master's degree in Biotechnology Engineering in her native Portugal at the Instituto Superior Tecnico in Lisbon. She received her PhD from the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby in 2012 with a thesis modelling of yeast metabolism. She then moved to Germany, where she did postdoctoral research at the group of Dr. Athanasios Typas at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg until the end of 2018. During her postdoc, she became interested in antibiotic action and developed high-throughput approaches to study antibiotic combinations in bacteria. Ana Rita Brochado moved from EMBL to JMU Wurzburg at the beginning of 2019. Here she is setting up her Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at the Chair of Microbiology at the Biocenter. She does not only want to cooperate with Professor Thomas Rudel, who holds the chair, but also with other groups: "I am particularly interested in quantitative biology and biology of infection. Thanks to its well-connected research landscape, JMU offers me the best conditions to carry out combined basic research in these fields." But that's not all. "Of course, we want to make our findings useful for patient care," said Brochado. "To do this, many research teams have to work together to successfully transfer research results from the laboratory into clinical studies. I see excellent opportunities for this in Wurzburg." Long research tradition in Wurzburg She is not alone with this assessment. Wurzburg has a long and successful tradition in the research of bacteria. As early as 1880, the physician Theodor Escherich discovered a bacterium in the human intestine in Wurzburg that was named after him - Escherichia coli. Even today, Wurzburg is an outstanding supra-regional location for bacterial research. Founded in 1993, the ZINF Research Center for Infectious Diseases of JMU - which Ana Rita Brochado is also a member as a Young Investigator - is the oldest university institution in Germany dedicated to the interdisciplinary and cross-faculty research of infectious diseases. The Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research, founded in 2017, is also of particular importance. The subsidiary institute of the Braunschweig Helmholtz Centre - Germany's largest institution for infection research - works and conducts research within the framework of a strategic partnership with the JMU. ### A unique bark shield, thought to have been constructed with wooden laths during the Iron Age, has provided new insight into the construction and design of prehistoric weaponry. The only one of its kind ever found in Europe, the shield was found south of Leicester on the Everards Meadows site, in what is believed to have been a livestock watering hole. Following analysis of the construction of the shield by Michael Bamforth at the University of York, it became apparent that the shield had been carefully constructed with wooden laths to stiffen the structure, a wooden edging rim, and a woven boss to protect the wooden handle. Although prior evidence has shown that prehistoric people used bark to make bowls and boxes, this is the first time researchers have seen the material used for a weapon of war. The outside of the shield has been painted and scored in red chequerboard decoration. Radiocarbon dating has revealed that the shield was made between 395 and 255 BC. The shield was severely damaged before being deposited in the ground, with some of the damage likely to have been caused by the pointed tips of spears. Further analysis is planned to help understand if this occurred in battle or as an act of ritual destruction. Michael Bamforth, from the University of York's Department of Archaeology, said: "This truly astonishing and unparalleled artefact has given us an insight into prehistoric technology that we could never have guessed at. "Although we know that bark has many uses, including making boxes and containers it doesn't survive well in the archaeological record. Initially we didn't think bark could be strong enough to use as a shield to defend against spears and swords and we wondered if it could be for ceremonial use. "It was only through experimentation that we realised it could be tough enough to protect against blows from metal weapons. Although a bark shield is not as strong as one made from wood or metal, it would be much lighter allowing the user much more freedom of movement." The shield was first discovered by archaeologists at the University of Leicester's Archaeological Services in 2015 at an Iron Age site within a farming landscape known to have been used and managed by Iron Age communities, with the Fosse Way Roman road running close by. Many cutting-edge analytical techniques have been used to understand the construction of the object, including CT scanning and 3D printing. Dr Rachel Crellin, Lecturer in later Prehistory at the University of Leicester, who assessed the evidence for impact damage, said: "The first time I saw the shield I was absolutely awed by it: the complex structure, the careful decorations, and the beautiful boss. "I must admit I was initially sceptical about whether the shield would have functioned effectively, however the experimental work showed that the shield would have worked very effectively, and analysis of the surface of the object has identified evidence of use." ### The shield has now been conserved by York Archaeological Trust and will be deposited with the British Museum on behalf of Everards of Leicestershire, who funded and supported the project. New York, NY, May 23, 2019 -- The Vilcek Foundation (New York, NY) and The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (Englewood Cliffs, NJ) are pleased to announce the creation of a new joint award, the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare, and its inaugural recipient, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Dr. Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and associate professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, is an immigrant born in the United Kingdom to parents of Iraqi descent; she is receiving the award for research and activism that brought national attention to the widespread lead poisoning of children in Flint, Michigan through the public water supply. Dr. Hanna-Attisha's public health activism arises from a deep wellspring of humanism--an ideal that puts human interests, values, and dignity at the core of healthcare. The Vilcek and Gold foundations sought to honor the impact of humanism and compassion in medicine while spotlighting immigrant leaders in American healthcare when they joined forces to create the award. "One does not have to look far to find evidence of immigrant contributions to American society, and medicine is no exception," said Dr. Jan Vilcek, Chairman and CEO of the Vilcek Foundation. "With the Vilcek-Gold Award, we are proud to honor immigrants in healthcare who serve the American public with both their hearts and their minds." "With this new joint award, we are so pleased to extend the foundation's annual honors to recognize foreign-born healthcare professionals who embody the very core of healthcare: humanism joined with scientific excellence," said Gold Foundation President and CEO Dr. Richard I. Levin. "As our first honoree, Dr. Hanna-Attisha provides a historic mark with her unwavering and courageous commitment to patients and the well-being of our nation." Upon the rise of fascism, oppression, and dictatorship in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's rule, Dr. Hanna-Attisha immigrated with her family to the United States in 1980. They settled in Michigan, where she later received her bachelor's and master's degrees in public health from the University of Michigan, her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and completed her residency at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. In September 2015, Dr. Hanna-Attisha's research uncovered high blood lead levels found in Flint children after the city's water supply was switched to a new source as a part of austerity measures in 2014. Despite denials from state officials that the water source was responsible for the elevated blood lead levels, Dr. Hanna-Attisha's persistent advocacy, along with that of Flint community activists, forced city management to acknowledge wrongdoing, switch the water supply back to a safe source, and commit to long-term public health measures to mitigate the lead poisoning. She is receiving the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare not only for this monumental work, but also for her continued activities as the director of the Michigan State University--Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, serving as a champion for underprivileged kids worldwide. Her efforts have since made international impact as she has testified before the United States Congress twice, was presented the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN America, and was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2011, as a faculty member at Wayne State University in Detroit, she was recognized as a role model of humanistic care and inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Dr. Hanna-Attisha's deep commitment to humanism is illuminated in her recently published bestselling book, "What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City." She writes, "Physicians need to be trained to see symptoms of the larger structural problems that will bedevil a child's health and well-being more than a simple cold ever could... When we know about the child's environment, we can treat these kids in the best, most holistic way, which will leave them with much more than just a prescription for amoxicillin." The award will be presented at Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting this November in Phoenix, Arizona. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has been a champion for immigrant physicians and their contributions to academic medicine, and Dr. Hanna-Attisha will share her insights as part of the Voices in Medicine and Society lecture series during the meeting. The award includes an unrestricted cash prize of $10,000, which she has pledged to donate to the Flint Kids Fund, part of The Community Foundation of Greater Flint, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ### About the Vilcek Foundation The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation, to honor the contributions of immigrants to the United States and to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences, was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history, as well as their appreciation for the opportunities they received as newcomers to this country. About The Arnold P. Gold Foundation The Arnold P. Gold Foundation was created 30 years ago to infuse the human connection into healthcare. The foundation engages schools, health systems, companies, and individual clinicians in the joy and meaning of humanistic healthcare, so that they have the strength and knowledge to ensure patients and families are partners in collaborative, compassionate, and scientifically excellent care. For information about the Vilcek Foundation: Joyce Li (212) 472-2500 Joyce.li@vilcek.org For information about The Arnold P. Gold Foundation: Brianne Alcala (201) 567-7999 Brianne.alcala@gold-foundation.org this news is not available GBP/EUR UPDATE: The Pound to Euro exchange rate failed to maintain Thursday's marginal gains, instead reverting to the downside to see out a fourteenth straight session down - extending the GBP's longest losing streak versus the single currency since the EUR's inception. At the time of writing, Sterling was seen trading at 1.13175. Into Friday's session, EU elections were continuing across the bloc ahead of results expected to be announced late on Sunday. UK newswires continue to put Nigel Farage's Brexit Party in front in the UK while in the Netherlands, exit polls showed lower-than-expected support for the populist right - a possible sign that the anticipated strong showing for euro sceptic parties could just be hype. On the data front investors will get a glimpse into underlying retail conditions with ONS retail sales figures and CBI realised sales numbers due - both are forecast to drop from previous levels. Meanwhile uncertainty remains the key theme for the UK as Brexit continues to drag on investor sentiment. Friday could see May finally announce her departure date with a failure to do so expected to prompt the 1922 Committee to alter the rules in order to bring forward a fresh vote of no confidence. What comes next is wholly uncertain, but most likely market pricing of a no deal Brexit will increase this summer... ING analysts said in a note. Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) Exchange Rate Flat as Eurozone Optimism Sinks to Four-and-a-Half Year Low The Pound Sterling Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate remained muted as Brexit pessimism and a slew of disappointing data from the Eurozone weighed on the pairing. The pairing is currently trading at an inter-bank exchange rate of 1.1348. Mays Eurozone flash Markit PMI composite revealed that the pace of growth remained subdued in May as the services PMI hit a four month low. Flash Eurozone PMI composite edged up to 51.6 from 51.5 in April. Jobs growth slipped to the joint-lowest since 2016 and optimism about the future slumped to a four-and-a-half year low which likely dampened sentiment in the single currency. Commenting on the flash data, Chief Business Economist at IHS Markit, Chris Williamson said: The Eurozone economy remained becalmed in the doldrums in May, adding to signs that only modest growth will be achieved in the second quarter. A renewed deterioration in optimism about the year ahead suggests that the business situation could deteriorate further in coming months. Worries reflected concerns over lower economic growth forecasts, signs of weaker sales and rising geopolitical uncertainty, with escalating trade wars and auto sector woes commonly cited as specific causes for concern. Germany is on course for a 0.2% expansion of GDP in the second quarter while the survey for data France point to a meagre 0.1% gain. However, the bigger concern is for the rest of the region, which collectively saw growth falter amid the first fall in orders for almost six years. Sterling (GBP) Slides as PM Faces Further Pressure to Resign Brexit pessimism continued to batter Sterling as Prime Minister Theresa May faced further pressure to resign. On Wednesday evening, the Leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom resigned over Mays Brexit policy which likely dampened sentiment in Sterling. Speaking to reporters, Leadsom stated that the Prime Ministers Brexit plan had elements I cannot support, that arent Brexit. Reports are suggesting that it appears Mays premiership is over, and the only suspense is when she will announce the date of her departure. Further Ministers could follow Leadsom and resign, with the BBC Today programme reporting: This programme has been told other ministers could soon follow. Pound Euro Outlook: Could Disappointing UK Retail Sales Weigh on GBP? Looking ahead to Friday, the Pound (GBP) could slide against the Euro (EUR) following the release of the UKs retail sales. If sales slide further than forecast in April, it could dampen sentiment in Sterling. Meanwhile, the Euro is likely to remain under pressure as polls open for the European Parliamentary elections. If it is revealed that Eurosceptic parties have been successful in countries such as Italy, it could cause the Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate to rise. BREXIT POUND UPATE: Hopes of breaking the record-long losing streak versus the Euro were dashed as Brexit concerns reasserted themselves as the key market driver for the GBP, pushing the Pound to EUR exchange rate lower for a fourteenth consecutive session. While markets appeared to welcome news that PM May could be on the verge of announcing her resignation, overarching uncertainty about 'what happens next' saw the UK remain under pressure. Friday's session is expected to see PM May lay down a timetable for her departure from office lest face the threat of a fresh vote of no confidence. According to a report by Bloomberg, the PM intends to quit on June 10th with the election to choose her successor expected to take place after President Trump's visit to the UK. At the moment, Boris Johnson appears to be the Party favourite. However, the appointment of a more hard-line Brexiter is expected to elevate the already rising odds of a no-deal Brexit. BNP Paribas G10 FX strategist Parisha Saimbi wrote "In our forecasts, we assume that political risk will rise near-term, with a leadership challenge and the consequent risk that you get a more eurosceptic prime minister and consequently then, the risk of a no-deal Brexit rising." BNP Paribas no see a 40% chance that the UK withdraws from the bloc without a deal - up from 20%. For the Aussie, global risk-appetite is expected to continue to dominate markets in lieu of any significant AUD data releases. BREXIT POUND UPDATE: The British Pound retraced early losses as Thursday's session progressed with Sterling ever-so-slightly higher versus a basket of key peers on boosted expectations of PM May's imminent resignation. Akin to Wednesday's brief Sterling upside, reports on Thursday further fuelled expectations that PM May could see her days in office severely restricted with the Conservative group of back-benchers known as the 1922 Committee delivering an ultimatum amounting to a request for the PM to give a date for her resignation or face a fresh vote of no confidence. "I want her to give a timetable for when she will go. I think this blank denial from Number 10 today may be a smokescreen because she does not want to influence the outcome of the European elections. Maybe she will still quit tomorrow," said Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee, adding "I think there will be overwhelming pressure for the 22 to change the rules and hold a ballot on confidence in the prime minister" when asked what would happen if the PM doesn't announce a date for her departure. Elsewhere, reports abounded that the Prime Minister could decide to shelve plans to put her freshly unveiled Withdrawal Agreement Bill to the House of Commons in early June in the face of overwhelming criticism and severely limited expectations of the bill finding backing from UK lawmakers. "Yesterday the prime minister told the House that the second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill would be in the week commencing June 3rd, now we hear its not, so in less than 24 hours the prime minister has broken her word. This is yet another broken promise by the prime minister on Brexit," said shadow leader of the Commons, Valerie Vaz. The suggestion at the moment is that Theresa May is trying to rewrite the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to salvage it, rather than writing her resignation statement. This is desperate stuff. Gordon Rayner (@gordonrayner) 23 May 2019 With political risk set to increase in the near-term as markets brace for a leadership challenge and the potential for a hard-line Brexiter to succeed the PM - lifting the chances of a no-deal outcome - the respite for the Sterling could be short-lived. "What comes next is wholly uncertain, but most likely market pricing of a No Deal Brexit will increase this summer. Despite thirteen consecutive days of decline against the EUR, GBP still remains fragile. Cable remains on course for $1.25, wrote ING economist, Chris Turner. Indicative of just how overwhelmingly negatively markets are reacting to the continued Brexit impasse and associated political turmoil, Wednesday saw the Pound actually lifted by rumours that Prime Minister May could be on the verge of announcing her resignation. While somewhat counter-intuitive, the market reaction reflected an expectation that, for better or worse, May's departure in office would at least remove one leg on uncertainty which has plagued the UK over recent weeks. "(May leaving) would take away the uncertainty. If she goes, we can move to the next step which is the leadership contest, said Societe General FX strategist Kenneth Broux, adding "Of course, that is very short term and doesnt guarantee the overall direction of sterling. Also commenting on the market reaction, MUFG Securities strategist, Lee Hardman added "Its a knee-jerk reaction ... People are hoping a new leader could potentially unblock the Brexit deadlock but thats not guaranteed as a new leader will face the same parliament numbers." Nevertheless, the rumours turned out to be just that with pessimism returning to push the GBP lower versus all major peers. The negative outlook was compounded further following the resignation of prominent Conservative Party lawmaker, Cabinet minister and Commons Leader, Andrea Leadsom who stepped down over the government's, and particularly PM May's handling of Brexit. It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I have decided to resign from the Government. pic.twitter.com/f2SOXkaqmH Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) 22 May 2019 Viewed as a moderate Tory, the resignation of one of the potentially key candidates to succeed May adds to the probability of a more hard-line Brexiter taking the helm, which in turn is expected to increase the changes of a no-deal outcome - a definite Sterling negative. While the currency market appears to have mostly priced in Mays eventual resignation, it is now trying to work out who might replace her, said Daiwa Securities senior currency strategist, Yukio Ishizaki, adding "The possibility of someone like Boris Johnson replacing May will heighten prospects of a no-deal Brexit and likely lead to further risk off. The mood in the market is darkening as the Brexit ongoings add to prevailing U.S.-China worries. Above: Number of Ministerial Resignations, 1979-2019 Elsewhere, Prime Minister May met with members of the Conservative group of back-benchers known as the 1922 Committee to discuss her departure from office. While earlier reports had suggested the Committee could alter the rules in order to put forth a fresh vote of no confidence in a bid to block the early June vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) - lest May's successor be bound by unfavourable terms therefrom - the rules were left unaltered with May expected to meet with chairman Graham Brady on Thursday, post-EU elections to continue talks on her resignation. The session ahead is expected to be dominated by EU parliamentary elections with Brits taking to the polls in the abllot that should never have been. As it stands, Nigel Farage's newly formed Brexit Party appear to be head-and-shoulders above the nearest rival according to the latest polls. According to the Guardian, an average of four key polls put the Brexit Party winning 32% of the vote. The risks facing the GBP appear relentless with no let-up in sight. As it stands, market pricing continues to reflect an increased expectation of a messy Brexit with institutional analysts recently upping their no-deal estimates. Nordea analysts upped their probability from 10 to 15% while JP Morgan strategists were more pessimistic, upping the chances of no-deal from 15 to 25%. Well out in front however, Mizuho strategists hiked their expectations of no-deal to even odds. "Personally, I suggest chances of no-deal (Brexit) is nearer 50% given the way things are shaping up right now. Looking for lower sterling-dollar trend to continue into the EU election and beyond, said Neil Jones, head of hedge fund currency sales at Mizuho. With growing expectations of a hard Brexit and a deteriorating political landscape, the downside risks facing the Sterling are abundant. However, given current market pricing, some analysts expect the GBP's abysmal run to run out of steam in the near-term as market pricing finds stabilisation at a level which reflects the current outlook. Danske Bank With expectations of a near-term top in the Euro to Pound exchange rate, Danske Bank analysts predicted limited potential for further GBP losses. "Yesterday, EUR/GBP traded as elevated as 0.884 but the GBP reversed most of the days losses in late hours. We view this spot level as warranted if one sees a high probability of either (1) a new election and/or (2) a no-deal Brexit realisation in the next one to two months," wrote chief analyst Jakob Christensen, adding "There are many potential quirks before this could happen and we hence we view the pricing as stretched for now. Put another way, we do not view the political situation (yet) with the same severity as late last year, when the GBP was only slightly weaker than seen today. "On this side of summer, we do not expect a convergence towards one of the (pound-negative) Brexit outcomes and hence expect very limited further weakness in the GBP. Rather, from the current level, small changes in the perception of the possibility of a softer Brexit could cause a non-linear reaction in favour of GBP strength." Above: Danske Bank EURGBP Brexit Forecasts Wednesday, May 22, 2019 Its been a busy news week for developments in funerals, death care, life celebrations, and body disposition. Check out these stories! Seattle Times May 21, 2019: Washington becomes the first state to legalize human composting. The law also allows the use of alkaline hydrolysis, aka Aquamation, to reduce bodies to skeletal remains using a fraction of the energy of flame-based cremation. The law takes effect May 1, 2020. JTA News Story May 13, 2019: Save the planet, dont cremate says this Jewish cemetery. A new Jewish cemetery in South Florida is offering reasonably priced plots and emphasizes that Jewish burial is naturally green burial. Death expert Gail Rubin, who is Jewish and a member of Albuquerques chevra kadisha (burial society), is quoted in this article. Caricature of Gail Rubin in TERP Magazine. University of Maryland TERP Magazine, Spring 2019: Speaking of Death Gail Rubin is an alum of the University of Maryland (80). In this feature article, she reveals her roots as a pioneering death educator. It involves a film production class assignment that resulted in a satire of Ingmar Bergmans classic film, The Seventh Seal. AMA News, May 21, 2019: Talking about death: Now that it pays, how to do it well Timothy Smith, Senior News Writer for the American Medical Association, provides links to great resources to help doctors have advance care planning (ACP) conversations with their patients (now that Medicare pays them to have these talks). June 1 Before I Die Bakersfield Festival News Coverage: The excitement is building! Here are two news stories from Bakersfield TV stations about the upcoming one-day Before I Die Festival there. 23ABC News Bakersfield, May 13, 2019: Festival covering every facet of death coming to Bakersfield in June. KGET.com, May 14, 2019: Before I Die Festival hosted by Greenlawn Funeral Homes. Death Investigations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The Emmy Award-winning show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver recently took on the topic of death investigations. Oliver provided a brilliant overview of the coroner system versus the medical examiner approach to investigating deaths. You will laugh and learn! [embedded content] Vancouver News 1130 Share this: Photo: Wayne Emde Ready to cut the cake are, from left: Elaine Lys, Kelly-Lynne Ross, John Aarested and Terry Muir. Members of the Kildonan Camp of the Sons of Scotland celebrated their 60th anniversary on Tuesday. They combined a dinner, music by Kilt 45 and the presentation of bursaries to young pipers and drummers to attend the Piping Hot workshops at Silver Star Mountain Resort this summer. Toyota is considering its South Side truck plant for a $392 million investment in production-line technology over the next three years, according to city officials. But the Japanese automaker isnt just eyeing San Antonio its weighing all of its North American plants for the investment, which is driving San Antonio officials to sweeten the pot with an incentive package valued at $10.3 million. Rene Dominguez, director of the citys Economic Development Department, outlined the potential investment and the proposed incentives in a memo to City Council members posted late Wednesday on the citys web site. OnExpressNews.com: Toyota's Tacoma sales still booming but competitors are coming With this investment, TMMTX would add next-generation, state of the art technology that is not currently utilized in the Americas to its existing production lines, creating greater flexibility to produce additional vehicle models, Dominguez wrote. The investment, he added, would likely result in expansions at Toyota suppliers that serve the San Antonio plant, which produce the Tundra and Tacoma pickups. However, its not clear whether the capital infusion would create new jobs inside the Toyota operation. The manufacturer and 23 suppliers that operate on the site employ about 7,200 workers, according to the city. The investment, Dominguez said, would add technology not currently used in the automakers American production lines, allowing it to produce more models. OnExpressNews.com: San Antonio developer planning housing, retail near Toyota Field Under the proposed incentive agreement, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas would not have to pay property taxes for eight years contingent on the company spending $348 million on equipment and $44 million on land within three years. The manufacturer would also have to give $1 million to local educational and workforce development initiatives. The city would promise Toyota a $621,000 economic development grant for water infrastructure improvements. Toyotas 1,766-acre campus would also be designated a tax increment reinvestment zone, essentially a mechanism that will put property tax revenue from the land into public improvements in the zone like drainage and streets. City Council is scheduled to vote on the incentive package May 30. Toyota opened the South Side plant in 2003. jfechter@express-news.net There are planned adventures camping, for instance, or taking a hike. And there are unintentional adventures, such as in the arrival of aggressive or poisonous wildlife. The Witte Museums big summer show Survival: The Exhibition was designed to help visitors develop the skills required when a trek into the great outdoors takes an unexpected turn. Were encouraging people to go out and have adventures, said Marise McDermott, president and CEO of the Witte. The whole point is, if you know what to do, youre not afraid. You have your ingenuity, you have your intelligence, and you have your skills that youve gotten from this exhibit. The Witte is premiering the exhibit, which will tour to other cities. It was developed by Atlanta-headquartered Imagine Exhibitions, which creates large-scale exhibits that can be seen around the world. Survival fills the Mays Family Center. It begins at a campsite, where visitors can gather around a simulated campfire before stepping into a ranger station for an introductory video. From there, visitors will wind their way through the space, moving from one zone to another. Each area is designed to give an immersive sense of different kinds of environments including the desert, mountains, a rainforest and the water and the kinds of skills that might be helpful in an emergency. Vital info What: 'Survival: The Exhibition,' the premiere of a new touring exhibit Where: Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway When: Opens Saturday; runs through Sept. 2. Tickets: $21-$25, which includes the entire museum. Free for ages 3 and younger and Witte members. Information:wittemuseum.org; 210-357-1900. See More Collapse On ExpressNews.com: River Foundation unveils public art piece at Mission Espada In an area about natural disasters, visitors will learn basic first aid and get to practice CPR. Other areas will go over how to build a shelter, how to find and purify water, how to keep the body cool in extreme heat, how to build a fire with limited resources and how to stay safe on the water. Real-life survival stories captured on video are threaded throughout. In one, hiker Todd Orr talks about two encounters with a very angry mama bear who attacked him when he unwittingly strayed too close to her cubs. In another, Ada Blackjack talks about being stranded alone on the isolated Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean for two years and how she taught herself to hunt seals to feed herself. She was able to signal for help and finally get help from a ship, said Leslie Walton, design and production coordinator for Imagine. In that section, visitors will learn to build a compass using just three items, as well as how to read a map. Most emergencies happen close to home, Walton said, so there also is a section illustrating skills that can be helpful in those situations. That includes information on fire extinguishers, first aid and what to pack in a bug-out bag that can be put to use quickly in severe weather, a fire or other calamities. On ExpressNews.com: UTSAs revived mariachi class growing The big finale of the show is a ropes course and a zip line, giving visitors an optional chance to demonstrate some agility. The exhibit dovetails with other areas on the Witte campus, McDermott noted. There are sections that deal with how ancient civilizations used natural materials to build shelters, calling on skills not all that different from those employed in Survival. And visitors can learn more about CPR in an American Heart Association kiosk in the museums H-E-B Body Adventure. Its really such a great complement to what we do here already, she said. Its really fun. Deborah Martin is an arts writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN Photo: GoFundMe Darin Des Roches of Vernon was identified as the man killed in a two-vehicle crash on Hwy. 6 on Sunday. The 52-year-old widower and single father died after his car collided head on with a truck on Hwy. 6 near Waddington Drive at around 5 p.m. He leaves behind his daughter, Nova. Nova's mother died in 2016. "Both vehicles sustained major structural damage and the highway was closed for numerous hours to allow emergency personnel to work," said RCMP Const. Kelly Brett after the crash. "The driver of the truck was transported to the nearest medical facility with minor injuries while the other driver and sole occupant of the car died as a result of their injuries." RCMP suspect the truck crossed the centre line in the crash. They continue to investigate. A GoFundMe campaign was launched after the news spread to family members, and has already raised $2,820 of the $5,000 goal. The fundraiser was launched to provide Nova with a trip to Disney to provide "a little bit of joy." Texas is poised to unveil some of the countrys most aggressive drug-price transparency measures after a bill that consumer advocates had once considered powerless took on new life in the House and passed out of the Senate on Wednesday, with only small concessions made to the pharmaceutical industry. Not only would the bipartisan legislation force drug companies to account for exorbitant price hikes going forward, but it would also apply retroactively, meaning companies that ratcheted up prices in 2017 and 2018 would have to explain why under the law. This legislation serves as a much-needed consumer price check on a complicated industry that, frankly, could do with a lot more transparency," Republican Sen. Kelly Hancock, a sponsor, said in a statement. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has also thrown his support behind the measures and appears eager to sign them into law. Under the bill, companies would be required to turn over information every time the cost of a drug increases more than 15 percent in a year, or more than 40 percent over three years. Thats a slightly higher annual threshold than the one the House passed earlier this month, to much surprise, but is still significantly stronger than lawmakers had originally predicted could ever pass both chambers. A similar bill from Rep. Sarah Davis was killed in committee months ago. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox The legislation survived a rush of last-minute lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry, which was caught off guard by the Houses earlier decision to reduce the annual threshold from 50 percent to 10 percent, a huge win for consumer advocates. Industry representatives have argued that tightened restrictions will add onerous and potentially harmful reporting requirements for both companies and the state, while doing little to stanch patients rising out-of-pocket expenses. In response, both chambers agreed to tack on transparency requirements for other players along the supply chain known as pharmacy benefit managers, which broker drug prices and have been criticized for failing to pass on rebates to patients. Those companies, many of whom are owned by the countrys largest health insurers, would have to report every time they withhold such savings. Though the bill still needs to pass the House again before heading to the governors desk, Republican Rep. Tom Oliverson, who drafted the original proposal, said he was amenable to the changes by the Senate, at least as he understood them. The bill is a solid win for patients in Texas, he said. Gov. Abbott echoed the sentiment in a tweet Wednesday afternoon, calling the measures great for consumers and saying they should help corral drug prices. Should the efforts succeed, Texas will join several states already taking action, including Oregon, which has the lowest price increase threshold at 10 percent. Others, including Vermont and Connecticut, have also taken aim at the industry. One evening, two employees at Northeast Methodist Hospital who were monitoring a patients room by video when they witnessed a disturbing scene. The patient was an 89-year-old woman in the final stages of dementia who also suffered from chronic kidney and heart disease. On the screen, one video technician saw the patients husband grab her face. Less than an hour later, a second technician witnessed him grab her again and strike her side. Word of what happened spread among hospital staff. A sitter was placed in the patients room, but the husband was allowed to return to her bedside the next day. After state Adult Protective Services received calls about the patients welfare, an investigator visited her at the hospital and opened a case. No one at the Live Oak hospital reported the alleged abuse to the state health department, as required under Texas law. Days later, the hospital discharged the patient to her husbands care. Two months later, in November, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services investigated the situation in response to a complaint. In a federal report, the agency determined the hospital had failed to protect the unidentified patient from physical abuse and did not take the appropriate steps to document and report what had happened. As a result, CMS found the hospital, a campus of Methodist Hospital in the Medical Center, out of compliance with the agencys rules regarding patient rights and nursing supervision. This type of violation can lead to termination from the hospitals participation in Medicare if the problems are not corrected. As of May 1, Northeast Methodist was among just 1.9 percent of hospitals in Texas to be cited in the last six months for a substantial deficiency. Related: Three San Antonio hospitals penalized for patient safety, infections The hospital submitted a plan of correction in January, and CMS found the violations had been corrected on Feb. 27. Now, the Joint Commission, a national health care accrediting body, has also stepped in. It is reviewing the violation as part of its policy to evaluate any patient safety or quality issue within the past three years that is brought to its attention, said spokeswoman Maureen Lyons. Any further action taken by the commission against Northeast Methodist would be confidential, she added. In a written statement, Patrice Stark, the hospitals vice president of quality, risk management and safety, seemed to dispute the findings of the federal inspection. Stark said an event of potential abuse by the patients primary caretaker was observed on a video monitor but was later determined by the hospital and APS to be unsubstantiated. As the alleged event was not substantiated, no further reporting to local or state agencies was made, Stark said in her statement. Additionally, out of an abundance of caution, a sitter was placed at the bedside for direct observation of all interactions with the patient. No further events or concerns were observed. Adult Protective Services determined the allegation was unsubstantiated, closed the case and allowed discharge of the patient home with her primary caretaker. Mary Walker, spokeswoman for Region 8 of the Department of Family and Protective Services, said the agency could not provide any details about APS involvement, including whether it has an open case in connection with the patient. The hospitals statement appears to conflict with the federal report, which makes no mention of the abuse being unsubstantiated. During a visit to the hospital on Nov. 13 and 14, an investigator for CMS asked hospital administrators why the husband had not been removed from contact with the patient. The chief medical officer responded that the husband was not removed because he was the patients responsible party, the report says. It also repeatedly refers to the patients husband as the alleged perpetrator. Palmira Arellano, a spokeswoman for Methodist Healthcare System, said the hospital could not answer further questions about the apparent discrepancies without possibly breaching patient confidentiality rules and regulations. A hospital that is cited by CMS for substantial deficiencies has the opportunity to challenge inaccuracies in the agencys findings by submitting supporting records with its corrective plan. In the copy of the hospitals revised corrective plan released by CMS, Northeast Methodist did not dispute the reports findings. It also did not provide evidence of compliance with federal rules during the on-site visit last year, according to the CMS report. When asked about the hospitals characterization of the incident, Bob Moos, a regional spokesman for CMS, said in a statement that the agencys survey and certification staff confirms the survey findings but did not comment further. On ExpressNews.com: Controversial federal initiative rates San Antonio hospitals The CMS report details an apparent chain of mistakes in how the hospital handled the situation. After the video technicians witnessed the alleged abuse on Sept. 13, they detailed the incident in a video monitor log and informed two hospital supervisors. A nursing case manager who was working that day told CMS investigators later that she went to the patients room after being informed by a video technician that she had been struck by her husband. The husband, she observed, appeared very frustrated. She sent him home. The next day, he returned to the hospital. He remained at the patients side through the rest of her hospital stay. A review of hospital records found no attempts by nursing staff to document the abuse or their physical assessment of the patient after it occurred. The report does not specify if the patient reacted to the alleged abuse. Two days after the incident, an APS investigator visited the patient at Northeast Methodist after receiving two calls about alleged abuse. Nursing staff failed to document the reason for the APS visit, according to the CMS report. On Sept. 17, a hospital social worker spoke with an APS caseworker who advised that the matter should be reported to Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which regulates health care facilities across the state. Under to Texas law, hospital staff who witness or are aware of incidents of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or illegal, unethical or unprofessional conduct are considered mandatory reporters. That never happened, according to the federal review of hospital records. When CMS surveyors interviewed hospital staff, the chief medical officer, director of patient safety and the nursing supervisor all said they were unaware of the state reporting requirement. On ExpressNews.com: Audit finds flaws in Texas elder abuse investigations According to the hospitals own policies, all instances of suspected abuse should be reported as soon as possible to APS. Reports should also be made to the police, the head of nursing, the patients treating physician, the on-call administrator and the hospitals quality or risk manager. Steps should also be taken to preserve any related evidence. Hospital records yielded no evidence that the patients primary doctor was notified of the alleged abuse in the days after it occurred, the CMS report said. It does not appear that hospital called the local police, either. Lt. Matt Malone said the Live Oak Police Department did not receive any calls to the hospital from Sept. 13 to 30 for assault of an elderly person. On the afternoon of Sept. 19, the patient went home with her husband. It is unclear based on the records what happened to her after that. According to Northeast Methodists correction plan, the hospital took steps throughout December to address the deficiencies. Staff and administrators were retrained on how to properly report allegations of physical abuse of a patient to state agencies. They were also educated on the need to conduct and document an immediate physical assessment of a patient after an alleged instance of abuse. Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba Photo: The Canadian Press A fire burns near High Level, Alta. on May 21, 2019 in this handout photo from the Alberta Government. Despite heavy smoke, officials say a lighter wind out of the northeast has allowed for great progress on reining in a wildfire that's forced thousands of people from their homes in northern Alberta. Authorities say the Chuckegg Creek fire remains out of control as it churns about three kilometres south of High Level, but favourable weather on Tuesday allowed crews to protect power poles west and south of the community. The mayor of a northwestern Alberta town says the threat from a powerful wildfire burning three kilometres away has not passed and warns evacuees they could be out longer than expected. High Level Mayor Crystal McAteer told a news conference Wednesday that firefighting is going well, but everyone is at the mercy of the weather. "I want to stress the importance to everyone, especially evacuees, that the danger has not passed nor has it diminished," McAteer said. "We know based on recent experiences of Slave Lake and of Fort McMurray that wildfires are highly unpredictable and can change at any moment. "I am pleading with everyone to be patient and that the evacuation of High Level will continue into the foreseeable future." Nearly 5,000 people cleared out of High Level and nearby First Nations on the long weekend with flames from the out-of-control Chuckegg Creek fire licking at the southern edge of the community, located 750 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Evacuee Stefanie Brown said she's more concerned for the safety of those fighting the blaze than she is about the townhouse she left behind. "If it burns down our stuff, we'll buy more," Brown said Wednesday after a 1,300-kilometre drive south to Medicine Hat, Alta., where her mother lives. The school teacher's car was gassed up, her electronic devices charged and her bags packed by the time her phone blared Monday with an emergency alert that High Level was being evacuated. She knew from experience how important it was to be prepared. Brown had to flee Medicine Hat during massive floods in 2013 and forgot to pack key documents and mementoes from her late father. Luckily, her second-floor condo stayed dry. "The first time I didn't listen when they told us to get prepared, and then, when it was time to go, I didn't even know what to put in my car," she recalled. This time, Brown, her two children and two dogs piled into her hatchback to make it to safety. Authorities handled the evacuation well, she added. "They did it with enough advance notice and time that people didn't panic." Fire officials said Wednesday they are continuing to prepare the town for any potential shift in winds. "The High Level area has been experiencing drought-like conditions for quite some time," said Scott Elliot with Alberta Wildfire. "The fire has been exhibiting extreme behaviour for multiple days and has made control efforts extremely difficult." The good news, Elliot said, is that the spread has been away from the community due to the winds. "This has given us an opportunity to put some preparation and control measures in place in order to manage the threat to the town," he said. Officials said they've been able to protect power poles to the west and the south, and also created a fireguard between the fire and the town. Winds were expected to shift slightly in the coming days and push smoke from the fires south rather than north. "The forecast, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be giving us a break," said Elliot. "We are not really getting a big blast of rain that we are going to need." If they get a west wind on the fire, he said, it will again put the town and other nearby communities at increased risk. The blaze has now eaten its way through about 920 square kilometres of forest, which is an area bigger than the size of Calgary. Alberta Wildfire had 76 firefighters and 24 helicopters battling the blaze. Some 110 firefighters were working to protect structures in High Level and properties in Mackenzie County. Another 60 emergency service volunteers, as well as RCMP and Sheriffs, are patrolling the community to keep it safe. Several restaurants have also remained open and were busy Wednesday serving firefighters, police officers, helicopter pilots and machinery operators. Leslie Snyder, whose family has owned the Tim Hortons for about five years, said six employees volunteered to stay behind during the evacuation. Her husband, their son and a friend were also working. "It's an honour and a privilege to be included as an essential service in such a traumatic time in the life of our community," she said. Snyder said there's smoke in the air, but no plumes or flames are visible. "We cannot see the fire from town and we feel very safe here." Firefighters from British Columbia were due to arrive later on Wednesday. Others are expected later this week from Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Prosecutors successfully argued Wednesday to keep personal property, including a Bible, from convicted child killer Genene Jones, who is accused of murder in the deaths of five San Antonio children in the 1980s. At a hearing before Judge Frank Castro in the 399th state District Court, Jones attorney, Cornelius Cox, asked the court to return an address book, her personal Bible, letters and personal documents. He said she had those items while in prison for 34 years. He questioned the seizure of them, a decision made by former Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas Nico LaHood. They wanted to harass her and annoy her, Cox told the court. They took her Bible. Why did they remove that possession? But Catherine Babbitt, chief of major crimes for District Attorney Joe Gonzales, told Castro that personal writings contained in the Bible, in addition to other documents, showed evidence that Jones could read, write and has the ability to comprehend, which she said was important because Cox has questioned her competency. I recognize the importance of religious items, but I also recognize handwriting in the Bible that contains references to her own sin, Babbitt told the court. The state isnt in the position to return documents that could be relevant to a competency trial or anything else. On ExpressNews.com: Jones to undergo psychiatric evaluation Castro denied the defense motion but instructed the state to provide the defense with copies of all notes in the Bible and other documents. Cox also withdrew another request for a psychiatric evaluation for Jones and asked Castro for a competency hearing, which the judge granted and said could happen in August or September. Jones, 68, worked as a nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit of what was later University Hospital in the early 1980s. She was convicted of murder in 1984 for killing Chelsea McClellan, who was 15 months old, by injecting her with a fatal dose of a muscle relaxer at a doctors office in Kerr County. She was sentenced to 99 years in that case and received 60 years for a similar attempt on a San Antonio child who survived. She was scheduled to be released from prison in March 2018 because of a new law aimed at reducing prison crowding, but in 2017, Jones was indicted in the deaths of five San Antonio children at the hospital. She is being held in the Bexar County jail awaiting trial. On ExpressNews.com: Jones blame voices in her head Jones is accused of killing Richard Ricky Nelson on July 3, 1981; Rosemary Vega on Sept. 16, 1981; Paul Villarreal on Sept. 24, 1981; Joshua Sawyer on Dec. 12, 1981; and Patrick Zavala on Jan. 17, 1982. All the children were injected with an overdose of either muscle relaxers or pain killers, court records indicate. Had the alleged crimes taken place today, Jones would have been charged with capital murder-child under 10. However, because that charge did not exist at the time the deaths occurred, Jones was charged with murder-nonfamily in each case. If convicted, Jones faces up to life in prison. Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 While visiting a city not too far from South Texas but far enough to make a difference, La Comadre was forced to dine at a Mexican restaurant that didnt seem Mexican. When she heard what the place was called, she instantly had reservations and she hadnt made em. The place had a Mexican restaurant name, something like El Huarache or El Bigote, something that would say to those driving past that enchiladas could be had in this establishment. And they could, La Comadre explained, and they werent bad. Its just that they were a little sad. Sad? Ya sabes, enchiladas muy muy tristes. They didnt have enough sauce, not enough cheese. Le falto chile, ajo, cebollitasle falto ganas al cocinero, she said. The food wasnt really bad but it wasnt good either. She went on. La salsa came in a 2 oz. bowl with a basket filled with a pound of chips. The tortillas were heated in the microwave. And the rice? Ni ganas te quedan de acabar. Weve all been to The Fake Mexican Restaurant. If youre a stranger to Mexican food, its good. If you have a chile relleno once every three months whether you need it or not, you wont like it. Thats OK. It wasnt put there to serve connoisseurs of huevos rancheros or calabacita con carne de puerco. But when someone you like tells you that they want to treat you to El Caliente del Sur or El Patron Guapisimo because their No. 4 combination plate is delicious, you dont really have a choice but to be polite and hope for the best. The server who brings the water and chips no tiene la culpa. Hes just doing his job. If it has pictures of Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata or the pretty Mexican girl from the Coca Cola ads popular in the 1940s on the walls, it probably isnt a mom and pop shop, and that waiter just needs this job. If the chairs and tables are all made of Mexican pine and the mariachis are singing through the speakers, you can expect the rice to come from a box labeled Spanish Rice. That server knows it and, even though its honest work, hes a little embarrassed. So what do you do in such a predicament? Do you eat the 1,500 mediocre calories and pretend to like it? Or do you pretend youre sick, then eat those 1,500 calories in the form of a Snickers bar and Coke on the drive home, because at least that Snickers bar isnt pretending to be something it isnt? One thing is for sure: A sad enchilada is no match for a proud and honest Snickers. mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com After sealing two significant endorsements this week, Mayor Ron Nirenberg will appear with two more brand-name supporters in San Antonio this weekend: the Castro brothers. Presidential hopeful and former Mayor Julian Castro and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro will help rally volunteers Saturday, Nirenbergs campaign announced. The twin brothers supported Nirenberg in the general election, but this is apparently the first time theyve appeared publicly to support the mayor. Nirenberg has scored several key backers as his contentious runoff with City Councilman Greg Brockhouse reaches its final stretch. The Texas Organizing Project, a coveted progressive network of grassroots organizers, endorsed Nirenberg this week and is already out in neighborhoods talking to voters. On ExpressNews.com: Two heavy hitters agree to support San Antonio Mayor Nirenberg in hotly contested runoff Nirenbergs campaign has also been running radio ads featuring Red McCombs, the car magnate and former owner of the Spurs, over the past couple of weeks. And the San Antonio AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, a federation of delegates from various local unions, met Wednesday and voted to endorse Nirenberg. A separate Labor for Ron committee composed of more than 60 labor activists will have an organizational meeting next week with Nirenberg in attendance. Earlier this week, the Texas Democratic Party endorsed the mayors bid for a second term. Some local observers said its the first time they can recall a state party getting involved in a San Antonio mayoral race. Brockhouse has derided the endorsements on KTSA Radio as fake momentum. He said McCombs is a billionaire who doesnt live the same lifestyle as 1.4999 million people in the city of San Antonio. He called the Castros a presidential candidate who cant break 1 percent in the polls and another whos afraid to challenge Ted Cruz. Most polls of the field vying to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2020 have Julian Castro at 1 percent. Brockhouses latter comment referred to Rep. Castros decision to remain in Congress instead of challenging the senator. Brockhouses campaign manager, Matt Mackowiak, said the only endorsements Greg is concerned with are from the voters. Brockhouses campaign has gleaned much support from the high-powered endorsement of San Antonios public safety unions. The police and firefighter groups have combined to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on the election cycle and to knock on doors to bolster Brockhouses candidacy. That support has drawn the ire of the Nirenberg campaign, which says Brockhouse, a former consultant for the unions, will do their bidding as mayor. Its also the subject of the McCombs ads. Weve got to wake up San Antonio, McCombs says on the air, or our two public safety unions will take control of City Hall and mortgage our citys future for lucrative contracts. Brockhouse has been adamant that he will not give the farm to the unions as mayor. The local Republican Party has also endorsed Brockhouse. Dylan McGuinness covers City Hall and local politics in San Antonio. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dylan.mcguinness@express-news.net | Twitter: @DylMcGuinness Hillary Clinton returns to Houston on Friday for a sold-out fundraiser for the Harris County Democratic Party. Clinton is the featured speaker at the annual JRR fundraiser at noon at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The JRR luncheon is named for former President Lyndon Johnson, former U.S. House Speaker Sam Rayburn, and Gov. Ann Richards. Clinton may have lost Texas in 2016, like every Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter, but she did distinguish herself by racking up a big win in Houston. Clinton was just the third Democrat to win Harris County since World War II she won 54 percent of the vote against President Donald Trump. Only Texas native Lyndon Johnson won a higher percentage in Harris County, hitting 59 percent in 1964. And the former First Ladys margin of victory of 162,000 votes was the biggest for any winning candidate Republican or Democrat since President Ronald Reagan carried Harris County over Walter Mondale in 1984 by more than 202,000 votes. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Her margin of victory in the Houston area was much larger than former President Barack Obamas. In 2012, Obama won Harris County by just 971 votes. Clinton played a role in last years JRR fundraiser. Current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the featured speaker last year, but Clinton called into the event and spoke to the Harris County Democrats over a speaker phone. "I have a feeling this could be the year" that Texas turns blue, Clinton told the crowd. She was almost correct. Then-U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke came with 3 percentage points of defeating U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 the closest any Democrat has come to winning a Senate seat since former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen left office. Homeowners are not expecting much of a tax break from the Texas Legislature this year, but millionaire yacht owners are on the brink of getting a major one. The Texas Senate has approved legislation that would cap the amount of sales tax on boats as long as 115 feet at $18,750. For the buyer of a $3 million yacht, that tax break would be worth almost $228,000. State Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, doesnt deny big yacht owners will benefit, but that is not the point. People who buy big boats are buying them in other states, Taylor said. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox He said boat sales have plunged in Texas, which has lost its share of the market because other states, such as Florida, are offering tax breaks for yacht sales. Taylor said his bill is more of a jobs bill because it could create up to 600 jobs in Texas. He said once boats are bought in Texas, the buyers will also buy fuel here, as well as equipment and repairs all services that are going to other states right now. Texas is way behind Florida in cutting boat taxes. In 2010, Florida capped sales taxes for yachts at $18,000. Alabama also caps sales taxes for boats, but at $37,500. Some states, including Delaware and Rhode Island, have no sales taxes on boats over $1 million, according to the Texas Marine Industry Coalition, which is advocating for the changes. But data shows large boat registrations in Texas have remained largely steady over the past two decades. There are currently 2,726 non-commercial boats between 40 feet long and 115 feet registered in the state, according to data from the parks and wildlife department. Of those, 1,253 were registered from 1999 to the end of 2008, and 1,141 registered from 2009 to the end of last year. That includes a large spike in registrations in 2004, and the national recession in 2009. It doesnt include boats that were registered previously and no longer in Texas. The figures also dont account for yachts Texans may have bought and then docked in other states, where the tax breaks are available, said John Preston, President of the Texas Marine Industry Coalition, which backs the bill. Texas gets zero tax revenue in those instances, he said. The sales tax cap gives them plenty of money to travel from Texas to Florida and keep their boats in marinas there, he said. This sales cap jobs bill will allow Texas to get the first bite of the apple, and continue to get tax revenue when products and services are purchased over the lifetime of the boat in Texas waters. Currently, boats in Texas are subject to a 6.25 percent state sales tax plus local sales taxes which could be up to another 2 percent. An 8.25 percent, sales tax on a $3 million purchase amounts to $247,500 in sales taxes. Under Taylors bill, it would drop to $18,750. For subscribers: Bill changing property tax appeals favors big business, could wreck city and school budgets, critics warn Budget analysts say the tax break would cost Texas $2.3 million in revenues over the next two years. Its not the biggest tax break, but it benefits a very small number of very wealthy people and the folks that sell things to them, said Dick Lavine, a senior tax analyst with the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an independent research group based in Austin. Its another unnecessary loss of revenue. The Senate voted 25-6 for the bill. It now goes back to the House for another vote. It already passed the House once earlier this month on a 113-19 vote. The Senate version of that bill was slightly different so it now returns to the House for another vote. If it passes again unchanged, it would go to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who would then have the authority to decide if it becomes law or not. Staff writer Allie Morris contributed to this report. Editors note: This story has been updated to correct an error in boat registration data. AUSTIN Declaring victory akin to winning the Super Bowl, Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders of the Texas House and Senate on Thursday unveiled a plan they say will solve Texass biggest problems by boosting education spending by $4.5 billion and allocating $5 billion to tamp down property tax bills starting next year. Republicans Abbott, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said they struck a deal on Wednesday night that will lower school property tax rates by an average of 8 cents per $100 in home value in 2020 and by 13 cents in 2021. For the owner of a $200,000 home, that would amount to decrease of about $160 in 2020. But the GOP leaders have yet to reveal the details or text of the plan, and provided few details about where the funding would come from or how each of the roughly 1,200 school districts across Texas will fare. While teachers could see a raise especially those who have spent at least six years in the classroom the exact amount will be left up to each school district and could include merit and incentive pay, they said. I said we will do what no one thought possible: We will finally fix school finance in Texas, Abbott said. And today, Im proud to tell you, we are announcing that we have done just that. Patrick added, We said we were on the five-yard line about a month ago. Now we have a touch down, we have had the Super Bowl of legislative sessions in the history of the state. Attempts to ease skyrocketing property taxes and improve school funding have vexed the Legislature for years, leading to a meltdown in the Capitol in 2017 and several lawsuits making the issues even more difficult to solve. LOOK UP YOUR SCHOOL: How each Texas district would fare under education plan The legislation still needs the approval of the Republican-led House and Senate before the legislative session ends Monday. Roughly $2 billion of the $4.5 billion for education would be earmarked for boosting compensation for teachers, nurses, counselors and librarians. Theres flexibility, said Rep. Dan Huberty, a Houston Republican who chairs the House public education committee. Weve created a lot of really cool things in the plan. If youre a smart superintendent, youre a smart school board, you will figure out ways to take advantage of it. Patrick said they are also offering teachers the opportunity for incentive pay for those who want to be involved in different programs, such as teaching for an extra month in July. The plan funds full-day pre-K for low-income students, creates the first dyslexia identification program in Texas history and establishes a do not hire registry, a list that would help administrators determine if a person should or should not be hired based on prior sexual misconduct. The state would send more money to schools with higher concentrations of under-served students including dropouts and students in special education. The plan also increases the base amount of money the state spends per student by more than $1,000 to $6,160. Business group applauds Huberty and Rep. Mary Gonzalez, a Democrat from Clint who helped negotiate the deal, said all school districts in Texas will get a benefit. Everybody wins, Huberty said. While advocates for children said they were pleased the state will provide full-day pre-K, teachers groups said they are disappointed lawmakers wont spread raises to all school employees. According to these three state leaders, there is more money earmarked for property tax relief than for public school children, a disappointing misplacement of priorities given the extreme needs of our schools, read a statement from the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday Annie Spillman, Texas director at the National Federation of Independent Business, said the plan is a win for small businesses. Were at a point now where property taxes in Texas are rising faster than peoples incomes. That affects everybody, but it can be devastating for small businesses, she said in a statement. We need meaningful reforms that ease the property tax burden on Texans and make it easier for small businesses to expand and create jobs. Not only does Texas have the third-highest property tax rate for single-family homes in the country, but the state is lagging in the number of students reading on grade level by third grade and ready for college when they graduate high school. When these kids are reading better, theyre going to do everything better, said Sen. Larry Taylor, a Friendswood Republican and the Senates chief negotiator. The whole thing is about moving our kids up. Because right now, with the change in demographics were facing, were not getting those kids up to the level they need to be to be getting those good jobs and have great careers. And this is all about getting those kids those opportunities. Districts in San Antonio, Houston wait for details In Houston ISD, the states largest school district, administrators cautioned they cannot forecast the bills impact until they see more details. District officials expect Houston ISD will benefit from reforms that shrink recapture, which cost the district about $275 million in lost property tax revenues in 2018-19. Recapture is the states method of redistributing local property tax revenues from property-wealthy districts to poorer ones. Im not going to say (recapture) is going to be zero, because I havent read the 300-page bill, but it appears its going to be less than what we expected it to be under current law, Houston ISD CFO Rene Barajas said. District officials also remain unsure about how much Houston ISD will be required to spend on costs mandated by the state, including teacher raises, and how much money will be available for discretionary spending. Some school districts, including Houston ISD, are legally required to pass their 2019-2020 budgets by the end of June, leaving insufficient time to craft spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year. As a result, Houston ISD administrators are recommending the districts school board pass a $2.1-billion budget based on current law - with no employee pay raises and a 5-percent increase in health insurance premiums - and amend the budget in August or September once the bills impact is known. Its going to take us several weeks, if not a month and a half, to figure out what it means for HISD, Barajas said. In Bexar County, leaders at the Northside Independent School District voiced optimism about the states $4.5 billion investment in education. Thanks to the legislators, school superintendents and staff who dedicated so much time and thoughtful effort to pushing generational school finance reform across the finish line, Northside Superintendent Brian Woods wrote on Twitter. With nearly 107,000 students, it is the countys largest district. But officials at Northside and several other districts said they couldnt comment on the measures substance until the state can calculate and release the expected financial impact on each district. In budget work sessions this spring, the districts have developed alternate scenarios using multiple estimates as they waited to see what lawmakers would do. In Judson ISD, projections ranged from a $3 million deficit under the former House version of the education bill to a $13 million deficit under the Senates version, and officials have said they were waiting very anxiously for a deal to be reached in Austin. We appreciate the Legislature completing their work and not going into a special session so we can move forward with adopting our budget. (But) we are still waiting on specific numbers, North East ISD superintendent Sean Maika said in a prepared statement. 2.5 percent cap on future school tax increases Abbott, Bonnen and Patrick agreed to make school finance and property tax reform priorities at the start of the session, although the three didnt always see eye to eye. Patrick prioritized a $5,000 across-the-board pay raise for Texas teachers and librarians, while the House favored a more modest pay bump for all district employees and giving schools discretion to divvy up extra money for teacher raises. To address escalating property taxes, the Legislature seems poised to lower the cap on what cities and counties can raise each year from property owners without first having an election. The threshold would drop from 8 to 3.5 percent under lawmakers plans. School districts which make up the bulk of property owners tax bills would be limited to a 2.5 percent cap without holding an election, they said. Thats a dramatic cut in future tax increases, Patrick said. Patrick said those caps ensure that Texas homeowners who have been seeing property tax bills grow 6, 7 and 8 percent a year will now have a say in the taxes their local governments collect in a way they have never had. Lawmakers are running out of time to vet the proposal. The Legislature has until Sunday to approve the approximately bill, although many said they had yet to see it on Thursday. Lawmakers failed to broker similar, yet smaller deals reforming school funding and property taxes in 2017. Those plans failed in the final days of that Legislative session and again in a special session called by the governor that summer. Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said he is concerned about how the state will pay for this plan in the long-term and is eager to see how school districts in his area will fare. I want to be cautiously optimistic, but of course any time theres a massive proposal coming down the pipeline with about 48 hours of legislative life left in the session, I think everybodys guard is going to be up, everybodys alert system is going to be functioning because at the end of the day this proposal impacts 5.4 million children in the school system and we dont have a lot of room for error, he said. Liz Teitz in San Antonio, Jacob Carpenter in Houston, and Taylor Goldenstein in Austin contributed to this report. Photo: Colin Dacre The City of Penticton has been entangled in a lawsuit filed by the owners at a pair of condo towers over allegations of shoddy workmanship and poor design. The strata of the Athens Creek Towers at 2125 Atkinson Street filed a lawsuit last month in B.C. Supreme Court naming developer, Starline Enterprises, as well as the engineering firms and contractors involved in the construction of the two towers in 2010 and 2012. The City of Penticton has been named for its role in approving building permits, while Travellers Insurance Company of Canada is the named warranty provider. In all, the 28-page lawsuit names 23 parties as defendants. The civil claim alleges the development was constructed with inadequate drainage systems and faulty waterproofing, which has allowed water ingress and flooding. In particular, the suit claims the underground parkade shared by the towers has experienced excessive concrete cracking and corrosion of its reinforcing steel. Vehicles parked underground have also been subjected to water damage, as have items stored in the actual condo buildings, mechanical room and storage areas. "The corrosion of the reinforcing steel in the parkade and condominium has compromised their ability to safely and effectively transmit and resist structural loads and forces," the lawsuit continues. The missing connections between gutters and downspouts to the storm drainage system is resulting in excessive flooding of landscaped areas, which is causing or contributing to drainage issues, flooding and water seepage." The development, which occurred in two phases, is covered by a standard 2-5-10 new home warranty through Travellers Insurance that covers defects in materials and labour, the building envelope and structural defects for two, five and 10 years respectively. The lawsuit claims the insurance company failed to properly investigate the alleged defects and respond to warranty claims in a timely manner. The pages of the lawsuit dedicated to the City of Penticton allege the municipality failed to account for flood risk of the site when approving the development and did not inspect the construction site to ensure drawings were being followed. The suit says the city was negligent in issuing an occupancy permit when it knew or ought to have known about the defects. The lawsuit seeks a court order to have Travellers Insurance pay out the warranty claims in addition to general and special damages from everyone else involved. None of the named defendants have filed a response in court and no allegations have been proven in court. The City of Penticton settled another similar leaky condo lawsuit last year involving Lakeview Terraces on Marina Way. In that case, city taxpayers ended up being on the hook for $1.15M. The Republican Party in Alabama has proven how low it will go. While I may not be pro-abortion, I do not believe it is my job to enforce my beliefs through legal actions on others more specifically women. News flash: No woman gets pregnant on her own. There is always a male involved. Yet this predominantly white male party in Alabama (and the country) has decided to put the lives of women in danger and hold doctors liable with a felony charge. This is not a pro-life law. This is one minority party and group of people trying to impose their will or beliefs on others. The Republican Party has decided it is better for a child to be born to a parent or parents who do not want the child. We can debate contraception and its use, as well as the fact that the Trump administration has reduced funding for Planned Parenthood. We can also debate the real purpose of this law. They want to eliminate a womans choice throughout this country. For those of you who believe justice is blind, I submit you are blind to justice. A sponsor of this bill, Rep. Terri Collins, a Republican and a woman, and Gov. Kay Ivey, also a Republican and a woman, openly state they want it challenged up to the Supreme Court so that Roe v. Wade can be overturned. They recognize that the not-so-blind Supreme Court is now stacked with justices whose ideology is aligned with theirs. So, I have a suggestion. Every member of the Alabama Legislature who voted in favor of this bill and the governor who signed it into law should post their addresses on a public website and in hospitals. Then when women are forced by law to give birth to children they do not want, these children should immediately be placed in the homes of these folks. An allocation process can be worked out. I know this sounds absurd, but what is most likely to happen is these children will become wards of the state. The men who passed this bill will go on living their lives while the old folks of Alabama will be saddled with the bill to care for these children. Or worse, which is my fear, these children will go home to a parent or parents who will abuse them. Or some grandparents will be forced to raise the children. Way to go, Alabama! James Keown lives in Garden Ridge. Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this Wednesday, April 19, 2017, file photo, chef Mario Batali attends an awards event in New York. The Suffolk County District AttorneyAos Office in Boston says Batali is scheduled to be arraigned Friday, May 24, 2019, on a charge of indecent assault and battery, in connection with an allegation that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP, File) Celebrity chef Mario Batali is facing criminal charges on allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office says Batali is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of indecent assault and battery. The Boston Globe reports that a criminal complaint filed last month says the woman told police that Batali invited her to take a selfie with him and then grabbed her chest, kissed her face and touched her groin without her consent. The details in the complaint mirror those in a civil lawsuit filed against Batali in August. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for "severe emotional distress" including anxiety and self-doubt. An attorney for Batali told the Globe that the chef denies the allegations. His lawyer didn't immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press. Sometimes its important to write a column about something youre pretty sure isnt going to happen. In this case, that thing is war with Iran, which Donald Trump clearly doesnt want, and which he will therefore probably avoid. But since the presidents current foreign policy is making war more likely, its still worth saying clearly that it would be a terrible idea for the United States to enter into a serious armed conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the past I have argued that there is a certain coherence to the Trump foreign policy, even if its just an accidental synthesis of a chaotic White Houses competing impulses. According to that synthesis, recent American presidents have been overly optimistic about democratic transformation, embracing naively utopian hopes in the Islamic world and naively accommodating the rise of China. So what is needed instead is a retrenchment in the greater Middle East, an abandonment of nation-building efforts and a return to kill-your-enemies, back-your-friends realpolitik that, in turn, will make it easier for the United States to pivot to a more confrontational approach with Beijing. In practice, this retrenchment has included backing out (or trying to) from the Bush-era military commitment to Afghanistan and jettisoning the Obama-era effort to woo Iran into detente. Spun in realpolitik terms, the Trump White Houses hard line toward Tehran reflects a belief that the mullahs enmity is an ineradicable fact, that agreements with them in one area inevitably enable aggression elsewhere, and that its better to just back our Sunni and Israeli allies rather than reach for an unlikely realignment and reap more mischief in return. But the (arguable) coherence of this approach has been breaking down as the Trump administration has moved into its maximum pressure phase of sanctions against Tehran. Because if you impose maximum pressure on a regional power you are, by definition, effectively returning to the last two administrations more dramatic Middle East ambitions: You are assuming either that some great diplomatic coup awaits or that your pressure will lead to regime change and democratization. I suspect that Trump is making the first assumption, imagining all this pressure as a prelude to a dramatic deal, while John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are making the second one, imagining the Iranian regime suddenly buckling like the Soviet Union in 1991. But whatever the core assumption, the maximalist approach inevitably increases the risk of war. If the White House is wrong about the Iranian regimes willingness to make more concessions, then theyre turning a dial that can produce only two policy responses: endurance or armed reaction. And if theyre right that regime change is a possibility, then the regime theyre trying to change will become more likely to lash out the closer it gets to its own breaking point. Either way, there is nothing about the current situation in the Middle East, or globally, that makes the chance of war with Iran worth taking as hawks as well as doves concede. For instance: National Reviews David French, generally far more hawkish than I am, describes a potential conflict with Iran as possibly worse than any of our wars since 9/11 and a terrible idea absent the most serious, urgent and compelling need. David Frum, once a notable Iraq War supporter, writes that war with Iran would recapitulate our Iraq blunders on a much bigger scale, without allies, without justification, and without any plan at all for what comes next. There is no explicitly pro-war rejoinder to these points; theres only the sort of half-hawkish argument offered by Eli Lake of Bloomberg, who writes that of course nobody wants war, and the recent flurry of U.S. moves is just all about establishing deterrence. But even Lake acknowledges that this strategy is fraught, and as tensions rise, so does the risk of miscalculation. Which brings us back to the question of whether the larger context in which tensions are rising the broad maximum pressure approach by the U.S. makes clear strategic sense. It does not. The United States can treat Iran as an enemy without going all in for brinkmanship; it can leave the nuclear deal without taking steps that make a conventional war more immediately likely. Trumps 2016 campaign rhetoric made a case against a hawkish Republican foreign policy consensus that seemingly wanted to confront all our enemies, at once, everywhere. The president is now in the middle of a trade war with China that by his own logic is far more important to long-term U.S. interests than some immediate breakthrough or regime breakdown in Tehran. So he should return to that campaign-season wisdom, and to the maxim it suggested: Whenever possible, one war a time. Domestic violence and fast-food concessions at the airport are the two issues that have defined the race for mayor between incumbent Ron Nirenberg and District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse. We disagreed with councils decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from a vendor contract at the San Antonio International Airport, and we have found Brockhouses response to past domestic violence allegations to be utterly lacking, particularly in regard to a 2009 police report that has gone missing from the public record. But these are not the only issues in this city, even if they are the ones that have captured most of the publics attention this spring. The next mayor will almost certainly face a tightening of property tax revenues; the city and San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association remain at an impasse over a contract; housing affordability is an ongoing concern; and the citys rapid growth makes improving transit a necessity, not an option. On each of these issues, Nirenberg is the superior choice. He deserves a second term for the potential of his ideas and policies, but also because of the hollowness in the policies we have seen from Brockhouse, who has pledged to cut city property taxes and somehow spend more on core services. Politics might be the art of the possible, but we wonder how Brockhouse will improve bus service, hire more police, agree to a lucrative new fire contract and cut city property taxes (on top of almost certain state limits on property tax revenue growth). We also have serious concerns about how independent he can be from the citys powerful public safety unions, which have spent big to support his bid for mayor. In fire union President Chris Steeles own words, the goal is to set it up to where May of 2019, we can put our own guy in the mayors office, which would be Greg Brockhouse. Well, its May of 2019 and their guy is in a runoff. Add to this equation those past allegations of domestic violence, and Brockhouses inability to acknowledge a 2009 police report. Asked Tuesday if he caused it to be expunged, he said no. OK, why is it missing? Taken together, we see a candidate who has failed to demonstrate the requisite character and transparency to serve as spokesman for the seventh-largest city in the nation. Nirenberg has earned a second term. This really shouldnt be a question. In resume, character, policy understanding and demeanor, there is a gaping qualification gap between the candidates. Nirenbergs greatest strength is his vision, underscored by his understanding of policy. This is reflected in his long-term plans: ConnectSA, to get this city moving again; the creation of a Housing Policy Task Force, which seeks to identify long-term housing solutions for those displaced by gentrification; the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, which many in the business community dislike, but is an aspirational document to outline a local response to a global catastrophe; an Alamo master plan to bring proper reverence to this hallowed site. All these plans will take time to implement and get right, which is exactly why Nirenberg deserves another term. Even under the best of circumstances, it would be unrealistic to have expected Nirenberg to have implemented these policies in just two years. And Nirenbergs first term was challenging. He made some rookie mistakes, but thats not reason enough to forsake the promise of his vision or his potential to grow in the job. Another reason to support Nirenberg is his independence from the public safety unions. He has sought to contain public safety spending to roughly 67 percent of the general fund. Its not like anyone is shortchanging our first responders. The San Antonio Police Officers Association agreed to a contract in 2016 that included a 3 percent lump sum bonus and a wage increase of 14 percent over four years with some modest offsets on health care. This has not been good enough for the fire union. The importance of containing public safety costs is that it leaves room for other city services, such as streets and parks. This is the other side of the fire union getting its guy into office. The question voters should hold in mind is which candidate will move this city forward, and which will hold it back. For his vision and independence from the public safety unions, Nirenberg deserves a second term. FAIRFIELD The Early Childhood Center, currently split between Warde High School and Stratfield Elementary, could potentially be shifted between other schools in the coming years as administrators and elected officials consider facility and program concerns. Superintendent Toni Jones reiterated that a growing student enrollment at the ECC and facilities facing near-capacity limitations had led to the divvying of the program between its two current locations. We came back to the board after the facilities rubric and brought the program rubric because you just cant look at the school facility, you need to understand what programs are at the buildings (were looking at), Jones said at the May 21 meeting. According to data from school administrators, there are 172 students pre-enrolled at the ECC for next school year, over double the number from a decade ago. The program, with a total of 16 sections, has a capacity for 240 students total and enrollment is expected to go up in coming years. The Board of Education earlier this year voted to have more students sent to the ECC location at Stratfield Elementary, a move that concerned ECC staff and parents who have consistently advocated to keep students in a single location. Though the board has yet to take a vote on an action plan for the centers future years, administrators have proposed that the Warde ECC location be phased out as soon as 2020. More Information To learn more about proposed plans for the ECC, click here. See More Collapse According to a proposal, the ECC would host students at its current Warde High School and Stratfield Elementary location for the 2019-20 school year. By 2020-21, there would be an ECC location at Holland Hill and another at North Stratfield with a tentative third site at Stratfield, though this last location option is still up in the air. Thats going to be a board decision, Jones said regarding the tentative option to have Stratfield as the third ECC site for the 2020-21 school year. We left it to be determined by a future board decision. For the 2021-22 school year, the ECC would be split between Holland Hill and North Stratfield Elementary. Some board members called for more information regarding projected enrollment and how that would affect school utilization and capacity, which is becoming a larger issue as some school populations approach their limits. I have some serious concerns, we need all this programming but we also need K-5 (schools and programming) and I dont want us to make short-sighted decisions...with all these classes taken out of circulation, Board member Jennifer Jacobsen said. The Board of Selectmen decision at their May 22 meeting to approve funding for a 441-student Mill Hill School -- while the Board of Education advocated for a larger, 504-sized school -- also throws a wrench in the schools long-term plans. My point is, 20 classrooms (for the ECC) is an elementary school, Jacobsen said. Whether were closing a school or taking elementary school capacity out...by building all these classrooms in K-5 schools, were by equivalency closing a school. The possibility of a centralized ECC seems all but gone since February when a majority of the board, in an informal vote, was in favor of a two-site ECC, a sentiment that was reaffirmed at the Tuesday meeting. We did look at universities for space, town facilities and privately-owned schools for space in order to keep the ECC together...we were not successful, Chairman Christine Vitale said. The question before the board is really what we do with the current ECC at Warde as we move forward, whether that stays as an ECC space or not. humberto.juarez@hearstmediact.com FAIRFIELD The Board of Selectmen, a year after they requested additional information about the Mill Hill School project, finally issued their vote on the renovation project, a pivotal decision as the towns Board of Education weighs redistricting plans. With the support of Selectmen Chris Tymniak and Ed Bateson, the board voted 2-1 to approve $22 million in funding $500,000 of that for remedial costs for a 441-student sized Mill Hill School, going against what Board of Education and school officials recommended ought to be a 504-sized school. Were going to be voting on renovating a school that desperately needs a renovation, Tymniak said at the May 22 meeting that went over four hours. I lean toward the 441 (sized school) and I do that on the standpoint...I dont believe the site can accommodate a 504 (sized school). Tymniak and Bateson cited that the site would see a site reduction with additional classrooms and that population projections, to them, did not merit a 504 school. Were talking about a renovation that is long overdue and I believe 441 has the best chance of passing fastest through all the town boards, Tymniak said. First Selectman Mike Tetreau, the minority vote on the board, said the new information the Mill Hill Building Committee had provided on traffic and safety was helpful and was in favor of a 504 school. Once you eliminate the safety issues, then it becomes a fiscal responsibility issue, Tetreau said, citing that the cost for a 504 school was only 5 percent more $22.6 million total cost more than the 441 school. Superintendent of School Toni Jones and members from the Board of Education advocated for a 504 school, citing growing student population numbers and upcoming plans for redistricting and racial imbalance. This building, it is growing, Jones said. Were projecting, across elementary, to go up by 193 students just in the next nine years with a 441 (sized Mill Hill School) were not helping really with the 50-year vision of the school. The Board of Education, since last year, has recommended and planned for a 504-sized school at the site. Though Tetreau has reiterated at previous meetings that the Board of Selectmen has no say on the redistricting process, the boards Wednesday night decision on the school size inevitably affects the way school administrators prepare for the upcoming process. I am disappointed. I feel this decision was incredibly short-sighted, financially irresponsible and not in the best interest of our schools and our town, Board of Education Chairman Christine Vitale said after the meeting. I hope the Board of Finance will stay the course and vote to approve the 504 (sized school). The capital item now heads to the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting for a vote. Last nights vote did not change the priorities and needs of the school district. If the final decision regarding funding made by other town bodies does not align with the Ed Spec, the Board will need to reconvene to decide next steps, Vitale said. humberto.juarez@hearstmediact.com The nesting season for birds shifts into high gear in May. Geography, weather and each species biology affect the precise timing of the nesting season, but one constant is the role of the incredible egg. Think of an egg as an avian gestation chamber, or the functional equivalent of a mammalian uterus. Its where a fertilized egg develops into an embryo and then transforms into a chick mature enough to hatch. Process The wonder of embryonic development is how fertilized eggs transform into chicks. Typically, females sit on a clutch of eggs and after a period of time, the eggs hatch. The key ingredient is heat. Incubation is all about heating eggs to a temperature warm enough for embryonic development to proceed. This might seem an impossible task because birds are covered with feathers, one of natures best insulators. Feathers protect birds from winter cold and summer heat. So how do birds raise the temperature of their eggs? The answer is quite simple. After a clutch of eggs is complete, whether its the single egg of a penguin in Antarctica or seven chickadee eggs in your backyard, females warm their eggs by pressing their warm skin directly to the eggs. Body heat is transferred directly from the females belly to the eggs. (And by the way, females of most species do all or most of the incubating. Monogamous males defend the nest, protect their mates and provide food; polygamous males shirk all parental duties and move on to acquire the next in a series of mates.) Triggered by seasonal hormonal changes, the development of a highly vascularized, engorged, featherless patch of skin on females bellies makes incubation possible. Even to a human the brood patch is noticeably warm. When placed directly on eggs, the transferred heat raises the temperature of the egg to enable embryonic development. During incubation, a female songbird, for example, spends most of the 14-day incubation period sitting on the nest warming the eggs. On average, she spends about 45 to 50 minutes each hour on the nest. On cold rainy days, she takes shorter breaks so the eggs dont chill while shes away eating, drinking and getting a little exercise. After each break, mom returns to the nest and settles on to the eggs. Then she quivers to move her belly feathers to the side so her brood patch can touch the eggs. In this way, incubating females raise the temperature of their eggs to 93 to 100 degrees. Periodically while incubating, she reaches down with her bill and turns the eggs so they warm evenly. Visit an active nest cam to watch an incubating female for 20 to 30 minutes to watch her settle down on her eggs and reach down occasionally to turn them. Any species will do. Watching something is always more compelling than simply reading about it. I must, however, caution that when you search for a live bird nest cam you might get more ads to buy nest cams than sites to actually watch nests. Try the Cornell Lab of Ornithologys cams.allaboutbirds.org to get started. Finally, after about two weeks, females can turn their attention to sheltering, warming and feeding their broods. Duration Generally, the length of incubation is related to the size of the bird. Bigger birds lay bigger eggs that take longer to incubate. Small songbirds such as chickadees and song sparrows incubate their eggs for 12 to 14 days. A bigger bird such as a blue jay takes 17 to 18 days. Canada geese, turkeys and great blue herons take about 28 days. And bald eagles and great horned owls incubate their eggs for about 35 days. If the weather turns cold during incubation, these times can be extended by several days. Another factor affecting incubation is clutch size. Smaller birds usually lay fewer eggs than larger birds. And fewer eggs are easier to warm than more eggs. Small backyard birds usually lay four to six eggs per clutch, while larger game birds and waterfowl have clutches that can exceed 10 eggs. Keeping 10 eggs warmed evenly is obviously more difficult than warming five or six eggs. COLUMBUS Even if the United States eventually reaches a trade agreement with China, the damage done from the ongoing trade war could take years to undo. It took a while to build a Chinese market for U.S. products, including American soybeans, and it will likely take considerable time to rebuild that market, said Ian Sheldon, a professor with Ohio State Universitys College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Trade negotiations dont get resolved in months; they take years, said Sheldon, who serves as the Andersons Endowed Chair in Agricultural Marketing, Trade, and Policy. Its not simple. These are the two largest economies in the world, essentially mud wrestling. I think weve reached the point of no return. China was huge market for Ohio soybeans China was the second-largest market for U.S. agricultural exports in 2017, and the country was Ohios most important soybean export market. But exports of American soybeans to China have crashed. Since Sept. 1, 2018, American soybean exports to China have declined by 80% of the three-year annual average, said Ben Brown, manager of the Farm Management Program in the ag college. Soybeans have had an amazing run. But now were sending hardly any soybeans to China compared to what we used to, Brown said. The Chinese government announced May 13 it would increase tariffs to up to 25% on $60 billion in American goods sold in China. That was in retaliation for the U.S. administrations decision, days earlier, to raise existing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products sold in the United States from 10% to 25%. The U.S. tariffs mean Americans will have to pay more for products that come from China. The revenue from these tariffs, which are taxes, goes to the U.S. federal government. Similarly, the newly raised tariffs the Chinese government is scheduled to put in place June 1 mean its countrys residents will pay more for American products, a move intended to discourage them from buying those items. Consumers will feel latest round of tariffs Although the U.S. administration began ramping up tariffs in January 2018 on Chinese goods sold in the United States, American consumers have not felt much effect of that yet, said Sheldon. But this most recent round of tariff increases will hurt all U.S. consumers because the tariffs on Chinese goods sold in the United States have more than doubled, he said. Also, on May 13, the U.S. administration announced that tariffs on an additional $325 billion worth of imports are coming, this time on a much longer list of goods from China including electronics, pesticides, and purses. Farmers have borne the brunt of this trade war so far, but this recent round is going to hurt all American consumers, Sheldon said. With Americans paying more for Chinese goods, the thriving U.S. economy likely will see a dent in its growth, Sheldon said. And farmers can expect to see continued declines in the national average farm income, he added. Part of the loss in Chinese markets for American soybeans has been made up by an increase in demand from the European Union, but theres still a void, Brown said. The vast majority of American soybeans exported abroad is ground into meal and fed to livestock, including pigs. Pigs in China and other parts of Asia have been suffering from African swine fever, a fatal disease among pigs, which has cut Chinas demand for soybeans and increased the demand for pork from outside of China, Brown said. Besides imposing a tariff on soybeans, the Chinese government also has increased tariffs on American corn and pork purchased in China. Payments to farmers The U.S. administration has attempted to make it up to farmers. Government payments earlier this year helped compensate growers for a dip in commodities prices as a result of the tariffs. Another round of payments is expected. That assistance, plus last years high yields on soybeans and corn, have helped insulate farmers a bit from the dip in prices on both crops, according to a study Brown and Sheldon released last fall. But Brown said it would be best if farmers make planting decisions based on the market, not on the promise of federal payments for their crop. Do not try to guess what the aid package is going to entail. Im not sure the administration even knows yet, Brown said. Despite the trade war, Ohio farmers overall said they intended to plant only 1% fewer soybean acres than they did in 2018, according to a survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture taken in March. Growers of corn and soybeans need to cut back on production to bring down the supply and increase the price on both crops so they can at least break even, Brown said. As a country, we should be planting fewer corn and soybean acres, he said. 2019 soybean price outlook An abundance of soybeans on the world market is keeping prices for the crop low. A reduction in U.S. soybean supplies would help drive up the price, but for that to happen, fewer acres of soybeans should be planted or there needs to be a reduction in soybean yield from drought, hail, or flood. The risk of African swine fever expansion in Asia or even outside of Asia likely means continued declines in world demand for soybean meal. Large quantities of soybeans harvested in prior years are being kept in on-farm storage facilities. If the price for soybeans goes up a bit and a lot of those supplies get sold off, the increase of those soybeans into the market will, in turn, bring down soybean prices. Photo: RCMP Police in North Vancouver are warning the public about a male that exposed himself to a young girl last week. RCMP say a lone man driving a silver SUV on May 15 around 3:40 p.m. approached a 13-year-old female in the 200 block of 27th Ave. West, in North Vancouver. The man called her over on the pretense of asking for directions. When she approached, he made a lewd comment and exposed his genitals, said Sgt. Peter DeVries. The young female ran away and was not physically harmed. The suspect is described as a Caucasian male, 40-50 years old, slight unknown accent, balding with brown hair on the sides, black sunglasses, double chin and wearing a blue and white zippered sweater. A police sketch of the suspect is being released. The incident is similar to reports in North Vancouver in the past year. Police say they are investigating a possible link, but are currently treating last week's flashing as a separate incident. COLUMBUS Ohio honey production for 2018 totaled 1.02 million pounds, down 7% from 2017. This estimate included honey from producers with five or more colonies. Ohio Yields from Ohios 14,000 honey producing colonies averaged 73 pounds in 2018, unchanged from the previous year. Ohio honey price averaged $3.61 per pound, up 37 cents per pound from last year. Value of production totaled $3.69 million, up 4% from 2017. Honey stocks were 491,000 pounds, down 25% from 2017. U.S. Nationally, honey production in 2018 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 152 million pounds, up 2% from 2017. There were 2.80 million colonies producing honey in 2018, up 4% from 2017. Yield per colony averaged 54.4 pounds, down 2% from the 55.5 pounds in 2017. Colonies which produced honey in more than one state were counted in each state where the honey was produced. Therefore, at the United States level, yield per colony may be understated, but total production would not be impacted. Colonies were not included if honey was not harvested. Producer honey stocks were 29.1 million pounds Dec. 15, 2018, down 5% from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude those held under the commodity loan program. United States honey prices decreased 2% during 2018 to 216.6 cents per pound, compared to 219.9 cents per pound in 2017. United States and state level prices reflect the portions of honey sold through cooperatives, private and retail channels. Prices for each color class are derived by weighting the quantities sold for each marketing channel. Prices for the 2017 crop reflect honey sold in 2017 and 2018. Some 2017 crop honey was sold in 2018, which caused some revisions to the 2017 crop prices. You get a real sense of just how large the pyramids are when you see this photo of Dick and Amy Pellegrini, of St. Clairsville, Ohio. Farm and Dairy traveled with them to the pyramids at Giza in Egypt, constructed some 4,500 years ago. Its estimated the largest towers 481 feet above the plateau. Each of the 2.3 million stone blocks weighs between 2.5 to 15 tons. STAY INFORMED. SIGN UP! Up-to-date agriculture news in your inbox! Welsh grassland farmers are growing nearly a third more grass from their reseeds thanks to plant breeding research in Wales. S23 the first variety developed by the by the Welsh Plant Breeding Station which later became part of the Institute of Biological and Environmental Research at Aberystwyth yielded 30% less than varieties now being bred at the site. One hundred years later and not only do the modern Aber varieties yield more than that late heading perennial ryegrass but their digestible organic matter - D value - scores four units higher and their persistency is much greater, says Alan Lovatt, Senior Grass Breeder at IBERS. He led discussions during an open day at IBERS to mark a centenary of plant breeding in Wales. S23 was quite revolutionary when it was bred and it was still on the Recommended List until 1993, said Mr Lovatt. It takes around 12 years to get a variety to market from its development stage therefore it can be a challenge to breed traits that match current market demands and policies. Currently those are angled towards grasses that grow with lower inputs. This is at odds with the process for getting varieties on the Recommended List, which are trial managed with higher fertiliser, said IBERS plant breeder Dr Sarah Palmer. It has to be a balance, there is no point in having the best varieties in the world if they dont make it onto the Recommended List, she said. It is important that the varieties we breed are not only what is in demand today but in 10 or 20 years time. Plant breeding is a bit like gambling, you have to roll the dice enough times to get the right combination of traits. There are up to 10,000 trial plots grown at IBERS in any given year, harvested up to nine times a year for three years. Advancements in technology have allowed the process of collecting data from the trial plots to be significantly sped up and much less energy is now needed to dry samples for weighing. Progress is now being made with the scale of the data that can be gathered. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS), already used for predicting dry matter content, is being calibrated to scrutinise quality too. This will generate thousands of data points for selecting for quality, said Dr Palmer. A focus of attention going forward includes harnessing the potential of fatty acids in grass, she added. If we can change this energy rich source in the grass in a meaningful way we think it will decrease methane and further increase production efficiency. Five farmers have launched a project to try and grow the UKs first viable organic oilseed rape crop for the animal feed supply chain. The Scottish organic farmers have spearheaded the pilot project with help from commercial feed processor Norvite. The project is backed by Soil Association Scotland-led Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS), a group formed to meet a need for locally grown organic protein for pigs and poultry. At the moment were sourcing organic feed materials from as far away as China, says David McClelland, technical director of Norvite. We have a local market for it. If we can get a local supply it represents a huge opportunity for us and the farmers. Murray Cooper, of mixed organic farm Mains of Thornton near Inverurie, said organic oilseed rape is 'notoriously difficult' to grow. I dont know of anyone in the UK growing organic oil seed rape on a commercial scale, he says. But growing it ourselves would give us control, reduce our reliance on imported soya - sometimes of questionable origin - plus it will reduce our fuel footprint. And in Norvite we already have a processor. Innovation field trip to Sweden Seven RISS group members recently returned from a study trip to Sweden, where they visited several farmers successfully growing organic oil seed rape. Swedish farmers grow 10,000 hectares of organic oilseed rape annually out of a national total of approximately 110,000. Sweden is on the same latitude as Scotland with a very similar climate, says Mr Cooper, so it was really encouraging to see them growing it. The tricky bit is the weeding of it. Were not really geared up for it here but over there they have a machine that sows, fertilises and does interrow weeding. Im talking to the other farmers about how we might get one for use here. Alongside other farmers in North East Scotland, Mr Cooper will plant oilseed rape in a trial field in September. Ill plant it with spring beans and winter barley - that way Im guaranteed a crop, he says. Theres a risk of crop failure with oilseed rape every five years, but the group believes that with specific techniques of planting and weeding, as Swedish farmers have developed, this can be overcome. The group has another 10 or so farmers watching with interest and is looking for funding to develop the plantations as rigorous trials that will create a blueprint for growing oil seed rape nationally. But with or without it, they will plant come autumn. Officials have given the green light for the development of Snowdonia's biggest ever poultry farm. The unit will house 32,500 hens and be built on 2,700 square metres of farmland at Llanegryn, near Tywyn. The farm will also have access to 40 acres of adjoining land for the hens to roam on. Farmers Glyn and Janet Pugh applied for planning permission back in October 2018. However, some local residents have objected to the building of the farm over noise, smell and pollution concerns. Facebook page 'STOP proposed Industrial Poultry Unit in Dysynni Valley Snowdonia National Park' called for the proposals to be scrapped. But members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority have now approved the Pughs' application because they provided sound evidence which satisfied officials' concerns. In giving the green light, members of the authority recommended an odour management plant and restrictions on feed deliveries. One official who sits on the authority, Elfed Powell Roberts, a Gwynedd councillor, said the national park should be 'supporting a young Welsh family who are trying to diversify their business.' Any pollution caused will be miniscule compared to all the visitors that arrive here every year, he said. Photo: Pixabay There are still many unanswered questions including who, what, when, where and why from one of my previous columns. In November, I referred to the Fall Economic Statement that included new announcements, one of which was a controversial $595 million to subsidize some Canadian media organizations. I observed that this media subsidy raised serious concerns from many prominent journalists on the important role of journalistic independence from government. I also raised some of my own questions. If a media organization is denied funding, what recourse does it have? Should it change the style or tone of reporting? Cover different stories? Hire a lobbyist? There remain no answers. There is also the fact that the Liberals introduced this media subsidy program in an election year. At that time, the Liberals indicated they would appoint a panel to decide who is, and who is not, eligible for this funding. This week, the Liberals revealed the organizations that will serve on that panel. They are: News Media Canada Association de la presse francophone Quebec Community Newspaper Association National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, Canadian Association of Journalists, Federation professionnelle des journalistes du Quebec Federation nationale des communications Unifor. The choice of these appointments has raised some serious media alarm bells. Canadian columnist Andrew Coyne stated: It is quite clear now, if it was not already: this is the most serious threat to the independence of the press in this country in decades. From my perspective I also have very serious concerns about this program. In response to the breaking news from the Globe and Mail regarding SNC Lavalin, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed: "The allegations in the Globe story are false. In other words, he seemed to imply it was a fake news story, a tactic increasingly used south of our border. It is therefore concerning that Mr.Trudeau is naming organizations that will ultimately be deciding which media organizations are eligible for this subsidy program. As a result, I believe it is critically important that only independent non-partisan organizations should have a role in this. For example, one of Mr. Trudeaus appointments is Unifor, a union that represents many journalists and other staff who work in variety of different media organizations. Unifors national executive board has publicly stated it will be the worst nightmare of the leader of the Conservative Opposition in the upcoming election. These views are well known and despite that, Mr.Trudeau has appointed this politically partisan union to participate in the process of selecting eligible media set to partake of a large Liberal government subsidy. Regardless of personal political views, I believe adding partisan interests to this process should raise serious worry. My question this week: Do you support this media subsidy being influenced by partisan groups such as Unifor or do you think it should be a non-partisan process? I can be reached at [email protected] or toll free at 1-800-665-8711. The UK's first autonomous farm will begin development after the Hands Free Hectare project received substantial funding to expand its operations. The funding boost means the UK will get its first 'Hands Free Farm', which will see crops grown and harvested without operators in the driving seats or agronomists on the ground. It will grow three different combinable crops across 35 hectares on land in Shropshire. The team behind the project are looking to solve problems like fleet management and swarm vehicle logistics and navigation. Once the farm is completely established, it will become a testbed for agricultural innovation. Companies will be encouraged to test and evaluate their technologies. The Hands Free Hectare (HFHa), a project run by Harper Adams University and Precision Decisions, received funding from Innovate UK to expand operations. HFHa started in 2016 with the aim to be the first in the world to grow, tend and harvest a crop using only autonomous means. The project has been taken through two successful cropping cycles, and won a number of awards, including the BBC Food and Farming Future Food Award. The new farm will be a three-year-long project, run in partnership between Harper Adams and Precision Decisions, along with a new partner; the UK division of Australian precision agriculture specialist Farmscan AG. The project has already got underway and is based at the Harper Adams University's campus in Shropshire. Jonathan Gill, Mechatronics Researcher at the university said: Were moving past the feasibility study which the hectare provided us with, to now a vision of the future of farming. We want to prove the capability and ability of these systems in reducing the levels of soil compaction and precision application. Martin Abell, Mechatronics Engineer for Precision Decisions added: We still believe that smaller vehicles are best, so well be using up to three small tractors for the project, including our original ISEKI tractor, and a CLAAS combine will be joining our old Sampo. This time, were moving away from the perfect hectare and to real world situations. The fields will be irregular, therell be obstacles, undulating land and pathways. Callum Chalmers, Business Development Manager for Farmscan AG, said their goal is to have multiple small unmanned vehicles working together seamlessly in the same field. He said the robots will be remotely monitored and will complete all the tasks expected on a commercial farm. Navigating roads and pathways between fields is an exciting new challenge; we want to face real world conditions, where fields arent often in one place and its a necessity to travel between them, Mr Chalmers said. Meanwhile, an autonomous robot called 'Mamut' has recently been unveiled, which captures data on crop health and yield at the level of individual plants. In the US, the world's first autonomous orchard sprayer, 'GUSS', has also been announced earlier this year. It uses GPS, vehicle sensors and software to remotely monitor crops. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. 2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning -- 4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS. We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover. We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come. Photo: The Canadian Press Actor Geoffrey Rush poses at the photo call for the film The Best Offer at the 63rd edition of the Berlinale, International Film Festival in Berlin. Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush was awarded an Australian record of 2.9 million Australian dollars ($2 million) damages by a Sydney judge on Thursday in defamation case against a newspaper publisher and journalist over reports he had been accused of inappropriate behaviour toward an actress. The 67-year-old Australian had sued Sydney's The Daily Telegraph's publisher and journalist Jonathon Moran in the Federal Court over two stories and a poster published in late 2017. Justice Michael Wigney found in April the publisher, News Corp.-owned Nationwide News, and Moran were reckless regarding the truth when they reported Rush had been accused of inappropriate behaviour by actress Eryn Jean Norvill. She played the daughter of Rush's character in a Sydney theatre production of "King Lear" in 2015 and 2016. The judge found a poster and two articles contained several defamatory meanings, including that Rush was a pervert and a sexual predator, but the publisher had not proven the meanings were true. Wigney at the time awarded Rush AU$850,000 in damages plus AU$42,302 interest for non-economic loss. But he wanted to consider further special damages, including loss of earnings. Following an agreement between the parties, the judge on Thursday awarded Rush a further AU$1.98 million for past and future economic loss. The publisher and journalist are appealing the verdict. Rush's lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou, said Rush had offered in early 2018 to settle in exchange for an apology and AU$50,000 plus costs, but Nationwide News did not respond. Comic actress Rebel Wilson in 2017 had previously won an Australian record AU$4.7 million damages in a defamation case against a magazine publisher. But the damages were reduced by 90% on appeal. "Orange Is the New Black" actress Yael Stone was revealed two weeks ago as the potential witness who Wigney refused to allow to testify in Rush's defamation suit. Nationwide News lost a mid-trial bid last November to amend its defence based on Stone's evidence. Wigney said the proposed amendment raised new allegations concerning Rush's conduct and would delay court proceedings and cause him "manifest and palpable" prejudice. The trial by then had run for 12 days and ended three days later. The judge prohibited Stone from being publicly identified. The Netflix series actress was described in the media as "Witness X." Stone told The New York Times in December that Rush engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour when they starred in "The Diary of a Madman" on a Sydney stage in 2010. She said Rush danced naked in front of her in their dressing room, used a mirror to watch her while she showered and sent her occasionally erotic texts. Rush said in a statement the allegations "are incorrect and in some instances have been taken completely out of context." "However, clearly Yael has been upset on occasion by the spirited enthusiasm I generally bring to my work. I sincerely and deeply regret if I have caused her any distress. This, most certainly, has never been my intention," Rush said at the time. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Southern film actor Prakash Raj is one of the celebrities who contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He represented Bengaluru Central as an independent candidate against sitting BJP MP P C Mohan and Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad. Though the opposition was strong, until the numbers were announced, people were anxious to learn about the actor's fate. However, he was spotted walking out of the counting centre as he realised he was losing big time. But, he sported a smile as he bid goodbye to triumph. Bengaluru constituency was first created in 2008 and ever since has been under BJP's MP P C Mohan, who won in both 2009 and 2014 elections. Similarly, he's leading the 2019 elections too. Bangalore Mirror tweeted, "Close fight between Bangalore Central candidates. PC Mohan from BJP is leading with 1,27,616 as against Rizwan Arshad from INC with 1,25,098 in Bangalore Central." Meanwhile, Prakash Raj's count in an hour was only around 3,000. After three rounds of counting, the actor realised he was losing big time and decided to walk out of the centre. Perhaps, he is liked by the public as an actor only. Pooja Gandhi's Shocking Statement On Mandya Elections; Refuses To Comment On Sumalatha & Nikhil However, the Mandya election results continue to grab everyone's attention. As of now, Sumalatha is leading as Nikhil Kumar trails. Watch the space for more latest updates on 2019 Lok Sabha election results. The day has finally arrived when the fate of the future leaders of India will be decided. The Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka has been the most interesting one this time. Two known faces of Sandalwood, Sumalatha, wife of late actor Dr Ambareesh and Nikhil Kumar, son of Chief Minister of Karnataka, Kumaraswamy are contesting as independent candidates. According to the latest reports, Sumalatha is leading in Mandya, whereas Nikhil Kumar is trailing. 2019 Lok Sabha elections are only getting more interesting as the results near. Both parties received intense support from prominent personalities. Sumalatha, who is trying to win back her husband's legacy is backed up by BJP, who allowed to her contest independently from Mandya. Sandalwood actors Darshan and Yash were present by her side throughout the campaign. Going by the latest numbers, reports are suggesting that Nikhil Kumaraswamy's loss might cause a crack in the Karnataka's coalition government. Opposition BJP is leading in 17 out of 28 seats across the state. Though, Sumalatha's advent into politics and her supporters were highly criticised, seems like Ambareesh's fans remain loyal to him. Both the parties exchanged several mean comments and accusations during the canvassing. Sumalatha's supporter Darshan had said that after Lok Sabha results, he would respond to all the mockery they faced. Yash Was Asked To Bring Tea & Cigarettes For Senior Directors Once Upon A Time; Says It Hurt His Ego Do you think Darshan and Yash's prophecy is coming true? Let us know in the comments below! Stay tuned for more updates! Barun & Pashmeen Met In School Apparently, Pashmeen used to study in all girls school, but got transferred to co-ed in ninth standard, where Barun was also studying. Pashmeen was one of the most desirable girls in the school and Barun was one of her fans! Pashmeen Had To Leave For Australia Barun used to find excuses to talk to her. He even used to write poetry to woo her! The two later became good friends. During graduation, Pashmeen had to leave for Australia for further education. This is when both of them realised love for each other. Barun Stared At Pashmeen When She Went To Drink Water! Way back in 2014, Barun revealed to Bollywoodlife, "We met in school. She was going to drink water from the tap and I was staring at her. We studied together, and then she went to Australia for further studies for five years. If you go through a long distance relationship and survive it, then you can survive even death. When she came back everyone knew we were going to get married." When Barun Proposed Pashmeen! The actor also revealed when he decided to marry Pashmeen. Apparently, during one of his visits to Australia, while dining in a high-end restaurant, Barun didn't like the food he ordered for himself. Pashmeen noticed it and immediately exchanged plates. This small gesture won Barun's heart and realised that it's time to propose her for marriage. The moment he popped the question, Pashmeen agreed! What Pashmeen Doesn't Like About Barun? The actor had revealed that he presumed things at times which is what his wife doesn't like in him. She had asked him as to how he can say what she is thinking when she hasn't even told him about it. He had also revealed that whenever they had a fight, his wife is the first one to apologise, even if she was at no fault! Pashmeen Is Very Supportive Barun's wife has been very supportive. Considering Barun's female following, when Barun was asked whether his wife ever stopped him from romancing women on screen, Barun said that she wouldn't even believe if anyone shows her his photograph with another woman! Last year, Sri Reddy became the talk of the town for a shocking reason when she stripped in public and claimed that several top producers exploit local girls before showing them the door. Thereafter, she made a few shocking claims against the likes of Nani and Koratala Siva, and grabbed plenty of attention. While some praised for her bold act, actor Pawan Kalyan rebuked her for 'sensationalising' her fight against casting couch. Following this, Sri Reddy attacked the 'Power Star' and took digs at his personal life and political ambitions. Now, Sri Reddy has once again mocked Pawan Kalyan. The Jana Sena President failed to make an impact in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections 2019 and lost in both constituencies he contested from. Reacting to this, the feisty lady said that the result has helped her realise that PK is truly 'number one' and roasted him like never before. Interestingly, previously, she had called him the 'worst qualified' politician in the state and upset several supporters big time. "Pawan Kalyan has no qualities to become the CM. He is illiterate. How can he manage IAS and IPS officers given his weak credentials? Pawan Kalyan has failed SSC too many times. He is the worst qualified politician in the State. His academic certificate itself is fake," she had said. Meanwhile, with his political ambitions hitting a roadblock, the Gabbar Singh actor might return to films in the near future. Sri Reddy's Heartbreaking Post Goes Viral: 'I Gave You A Cruel Punishment' Finance Companies Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Take Three of the Top Five Spots LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Salary is a key piece of information that UK workers and job seekers want when researching jobs1, yet this data is often frustratingly absent from job listings. To help job seekers for whom money is king, Glassdoor , one of the world's largest job and recruiting sites, today announced its salary report identifying the 25 Highest Paying Companies in the UK for 2019. This report2 reveals that the UK's highest paying companies are offering staff between 61,000 and 90,000 as a median total compensation package (which would include base pay plus bonus). The list is dominated by tech and finance firms, three of which have their global HQ in the UK (Standard Chartered, Just Eat and Babylon Health). The 25 Highest Paying Companies in the UK for 2019 are: 1. Credit Suisse Median Total Compensation: 90,000 Median Base Salary: 82,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 2. SAP Median Total Compensation: 90,000 Median Base Salary: 66,000 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 3. Deutsche Bank Median Total Compensation: 89,500 Median Base Salary: 80,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 4. Facebook Median Total Compensation: 89,000 Median Base Salary: 74,000 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 5. Standard Chartered Median Total Compensation: 85,000 Median Base Salary: 76,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 6. Salesforce Median Total Compensation: 85,000 Median Base Salary: 66,806 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 7. Dell Median Total Compensation: 84,825 Median Base Salary: 62,500 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 8. Oracle Median Total Compensation: 80,000 Median Base Salary: 66,250 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 9. UBS Median Total Compensation: 79,000 Median Base Salary: 75,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 10. Google Median Total Compensation: 78,000 Median Base Salary: 62,500 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 11. Goldman Sachs Median Total Compensation: 74,000 Median Base Salary: 58,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 12. Cisco Systems Median Total Compensation: 72,250 Median Base Salary: 59,000 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 13. McKinsey & Company Median Total Compensation: 70,000 Median Base Salary: 65,000 Industry: Consulting See Open Jobs 14. Bank of America Median Total Compensation: 70,000 Median Base Salary: 64,500 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 15. Microsoft Median Total Compensation: 68,000 Median Base Salary: 61,300 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 16. Investec Median Total Compensation: 67,500 Median Base Salary: 62,500 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 17. Just Eat Median Total Compensation: 66,500 Median Base Salary: 62,500 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 18. Societe Generale Median Total Compensation: 66,500 Median Base Salary: 61,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 19. Babylon Health Median Total Compensation: 65,000 Median Base Salary: 65,000 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 20. BlackRock Median Total Compensation: 65,000 Median Base Salary: 57,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 21. Morgan Stanley Median Total Compensation: 64,000 Median Base Salary: 55,500 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 22. Veritas Median Total Compensation: 62,500 Median Base Salary: 60,400 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 23. Rackspace Median Total Compensation: 62,500 Median Base Salary: 58,950 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs 24. Octopus Median Total Compensation: 61,500 Median Base Salary: 49,000 Industry: Finance See Open Jobs 25. Bloomberg L.P. Median Total Compensation: 61,000 Median Base Salary: 58,000 Industry: Tech See Open Jobs "It is no surprise that multinational tech and finance firms dominate the list, given that both industries compete fiercely for talent, especially when it comes to tech roles. While salary and bonuses might get people in the door, it is more likely to be culture and career progression that help people stick around in the long term," said John Lamphiere, EMEA Managing Director at Glassdoor. "Salary is a key driver for many job seekers so we have made it easy for people to find out which employers are offering the most money. Glassdoor also offers people the opportunity to look up salaries for specific job titles and companies to help them better understand what is fair market value for their role." Job seekers and employees can use Glassdoor to research salaries by job title or company name. To help people maximise their pay, Glassdoor has created tips on the 5 Rules of Salary Negotiation . This survey was conducted online within the UK by The Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor between 7-9 May, 2018 among 715 UK adults ages 18+ who are employed full-time/part-time/self-employed, or not employed but looking for work. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact pr@glassdoor.com. Methodology: Glassdoor's 25 Highest Paying Companies in the UK report identifies companies with the highest median total compensation package (including base salary and other forms of compensation, such as commissions, tips, bonuses, etc.), as reported by UK-based employees on Glassdoor over the past year ( 01/03/2018 - 28/02/2019 ). Companies considered for this report must have received at least 30 salary reports in GBP by UK-based employees during the timeframe. While 'other forms of compensation' is an optional field on Glassdoor, salary reports considered for this report must have been from employees who shared both their base pay and other forms of compensation. In cases where companies have the same median total compensation, the company with the higher median base compensation receives the higher rank. Subsidiaries of companies were considered for this report if they met the methodology, have their own distinct job listings and profile on Glassdoor. About Glassdoor Glassdoor combines all the latest jobs with millions of reviews and insights to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. As a result, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for 900,000 companies located in more than 190 countries. Glassdoor is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/449764/Glassdoor_Logo.jpg Press Release Nokia deployment will enable U Mobile to end RAN sharing agreement and extend its network footprint across Malaysia for the delivery of competitive mobile data services Leverages Nokia 5G-ready AirScale radios, Nokia Anyhaul for mobile transport, Carrier SDN and NetAct network management Nokia Global Services to provide turnkey deployment enabled by automation and end-to-end expertise Nokia and U Mobile sign MoU to conduct live network trial that demonstrates 5G capability of enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and other use cases 23 May 2019 Espoo, Finland - Nokia and U Mobile have signed a three-year contract to deploy a Nokia Single Radio Access Network (RAN) network as well as microwave and IP-based mobile transport technologies to enable U Mobile to expand the delivery of mobile data services across Malaysia. Both companies, via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will also collaborate on a 5G live network trial later this year. A recent market report* predicts that mobile data usage in Malaysia will double during 2017-2022 to 10.4 GB per user per month, primarily driven by the rising consumption of online video content on smartphones. As a current provider of 3G and 4G mobile services via a combination of its own network and through a RAN sharing agreement, U Mobile wants to extend its network coverage and capacity to address this growing demand with a range of competitive services. Under the three-year agreement, Nokia will deploy a Single RAN Advanced network in greenfield locations across Malaysia, facilitating U Mobile's aggressive network expansion and drive to provide customers with a superior data experience. With this deployment it also means customers all across Malaysia will be able to further enjoy U Mobile's unlimited innovations. Additionally, Nokia and U Mobile recently signed a MoU to conduct a trial of the 5G live network. The trial will be done later this year and will demonstrate the 5G capability of enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) as well as other 5G use cases such as in the fields of virtual reality (VR) and e-sports. The Single RAN Advanced Network, which is currently installed at U Mobile and using Nokia's AirScale base stations, is 5G-ready. Woon Ooi Yuen, CTO of U Mobile said: "U Mobile has been aggressively expanding our network across Malaysia in our drive to bring our customers a superior experience. We are delighted to be able to leverage on Nokia's expertise in our network expansion journey. We are of course also looking forward to working with Nokia as part of our Road To 5G Strategy. We have in our plan to conduct several 5G live trials with Nokia later this year for various use cases. Currently, we already have in place Nokia's AirScale base stations which are 5G-ready and hence, ready for trials.' Jae Won, head of Asia Pacific and Japan at Nokia, said: "With our extensive end-to-end portfolio we are helping U Mobile to roll out a network that meets its specific needs. Working together on this advanced network deployment and the upcoming 5G live trials, we can help U Mobile meet its mobile broadband demands while providing a path toward 5G - especially in high-potential areas such as virtual reality and e-sports." To date, Nokia has signed 37 5G commercial contracts across the world, including 20 with named customers. Nokia continues to actively work on 5G use cases with manufacturing hubs and agricultural regions. About the solution Nokia Single RAN Advanced using Nokia AirScale base stations (https://networks.nokia.com/products/airscale-base-station) will support 2G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G Pro and 4.9G in a single unit, with the ability to evolve to 5G via software upgrade Nokia 7705 Service Aggregation Routers (https://networks.nokia.com/products/7705-service-aggregation-router), deployed at the network edge, closer to end-users, along with 7750 Service Routers (https://networks.nokia.com/products/7750-service-router) will provide high-performance IP-based mobile access and aggregation and ensure end-to-end application delivery and management Nokia Wavence Microwave transport (https://networks.nokia.com/products/wavence) will support backhaul and fronthaul demands as U Mobile evolves its 4G LTE network in line with customer demand and transitions to 5G in the future. Nokia Wavence and Service Aggregation Routers and Service Routers are all part of the Nokia Anyhaul (https://networks.nokia.com/anyhaul) portfolio - a comprehensive, capable and programmable, 5G-ready mobile transport solution. Nokia Network Service Platform (https://networks.nokia.com/products/network-services-platform) provides Carrier SDN support for Wavence Microwave and IP routing technologies, leveraging network-based intelligence to automatically adapt mobile transport capabilities in dynamic, ultra-dense environments Nokia NetAct network management (https://networks.nokia.com/solutions/netact) provides one consolidated view over any network, even the most complicated multi-domain, multi-technology system. NetAct is virtualized for minimal downtime and resilience and provides full network visibility and control, whether traditional or cloud-based. Turnkey deployment by Nokia Global Services with automation enabled by Nokia Delivery Platform, Robotic Process Automation. End-to-end services across radio, transport and IP domains including project management (https://networks.nokia.com/services/network-implementation), network design, integration and testing, technical support (https://networks.nokia.com/services/care-services), and performance optimization (https://networks.nokia.com/services/network-planning-and-optimization). The Single RAN Advanced Network for U Mobile is 5G-ready and will leverage on Nokia's Anyhaul radios to conduct live trials of 5G solutions later in 2019. Additional Information Web Page: Nokia 5G (https://networks.nokia.com/5g) Web Page: Nokia Single RAN Advanced network (https://networks.nokia.com/products/single-ran-advanced) Web page: Nokia Anyhaul (https://networks.nokia.com/anyhaul) Web page: Nokia Global Services (https://networks.nokia.com/services) Press release: Nokia delivers 'anyhaul' end-to-end mobile transport portfolio for the 5G era MWC17 (https://www.nokia.com/en_int/news/releases/2017/02/23/nokia-delivers-anyhaul-end-to-end-mobile-transport-portfolio-for-the-5g-era-mwc17) About Nokia We create the technology to connect the world. We develop and deliver the industry's only end-to-end portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing that is available globally. Our customers include communications service providers whose combined networks support 6.1 billion subscriptions, as well as enterprises in the private and public sector that use our network portfolio to increase productivity and enrich lives. Through our research teams, including the world-renowned Nokia Bell Labs, we are leading the world to adopt end-to-end 5G networks that are faster, more secure and capable of revolutionizing lives, economies and societies. Nokia adheres to the highest ethical business standards as we create technology with social purpose, quality and integrity. www.nokia.com (http://www.nokia.com) Media Inquiries Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com (mailto:press.services@nokia.com) Note to editors: * GlobalData's 'Malaysia Country Intelligence Report', June 2018 (https://www.globaldata.com/store/report/tc0581mr--malaysia-country-intelligence-report/) This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: NOKIA via Globenewswire SINGAPORE, May 23, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited ("CITIC Telecom CPC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Derek Ung as the General Manager, Enterprise Sales for Singapore. In this position, Derek will focus on new strategic initiatives to expand the region's sales and marketing efforts, as well as establish new partnerships to expand its channel. Derek brings over 20 years of experience selling high-value solutions with a proven track record for building high-performance sales teams in the Asia region. In addition, he has extensive experience in global services management and customer relationships to help reach their organizational objectives. "We are pleased to have Derek on our sales team," commented Mr. Jacky Kwok, Chief Commercial Officer of CITIC Telecom CPC. "His strategic understanding of Mainland China, Asia Pacific and Europe, combined with his vertical market expertise will foster increased support for channel partners and customers in the region. With his extensive experience in driving go-to-market strategies for ICT solution in emerging markets, we are confident Derek will help us to expand our ASEAN market share and channel partner portfolio." Derek has proven to be a visionary leader who possesses great insight of the ICT market in ASEAN. Prior to joining CITIC Telecom CPC, Derek held various senior positions at international corporations, including Commercial Director at Biqmind and Global Account Director at BT Global Services. At BT Global Services, Mr Ung was instrumental in generating new revenue for the company. About CITIC Telecom CPC CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited ("CITIC Telecom CPC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1883), serves multinational enterprises the world over by addressing their specific ICT requirements with highly scalable tailored solutions built upon the company's flagship technology suites, comprising TrueCONNECT private network solutions, TrustCSI information security solutions, DataHOUSE global unified cloud data center solutions, and SmartCLOUD cloud computing solutions. As one of the first managed service providers in Hong Kong to achieve ISO 9001, 14001, 20000, 27001, and 27017 ICT-related certifications, CITIC Telecom CPC delivers on its superior quality commitment through a broad global footprint encompassing some of the highest growth markets in Asia, Europe and America, with over 140 points of presence, 18+ Cloud service centers, 30 data centers, and two dedicated 24x7 Security Operations Centers. At CITIC Telecom CPC, "Innovation Never Stops." For more information please visit http://www.citictel-cpc.com/ Media Contact: June Tay CITIC Telecom International CPC Limited (65) 6692 8357 Email: june.tay@ citictel-cpc.com Copyright 2019 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Regulatory News: GenSight Biologics (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible), a biopharma company focused on discovering and developing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, announced that it will host a KOL breakfast today, May 23, 2019 in New York City from 8:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. EST. Management and Key Opinion Leaders in the gene therapy and ophthalmology space will present and discuss recent results and findings from the REVERSE RESCUE Phase III clinical trials of GS010 for the treatment of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). Discussion will also focus on the regulatory strategy for GS010. Speakers will include: David J. Calkins, PhD , O'Day Professor, Vice Chair and Director for Research Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United-States , O'Day Professor, Vice Chair and Director for Research Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United-States Sean Donahue, MD, PhD , Coleman Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Pediatrics; Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, Ophthalmology Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United-States , Coleman Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Pediatrics; Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, Ophthalmology Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United-States Mark Moster, MD , Neuro-Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital and Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, United-States (Investigator in REVERSE and RESCUE trials) , Neuro-Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital and Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, United-States Jose-Alain Sahel, MD , Director of the Institut de la Vision (Sorbonne-Universite/Inserm/CNRS), Paris; Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des XV-XX , Paris, France; Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), United-States, and Co-Founder of GenSight Biologics , Director of the (Sorbonne-Universite/Inserm/CNRS), Paris; Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at , Paris, France; Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), United-States, and Co-Founder of GenSight Biologics Robert C. Sergott, MD, Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital; Director, William H. Annesley, Jr, EyeBrain Center, and Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, United-States The presentation will be webcast live at https://www.gensight-biologics.com/category/events-presentations/. For those not available to attend or listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be archived for 3 months and available at https://www.gensight-biologics.com/category/events-presentations/. About GenSight Biologics GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on discovering and developing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, GS010, is in Phase III trials in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease that leads to irreversible blindness in teens and young adults. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery. About GS010 GS010 targets Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) by leveraging a mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) proprietary technology platform, arising from research conducted at the Institut de la Vision in Paris, which, when associated with the gene of interest, allows the platform to specifically address defects inside the mitochondria using an AAV vector (Adeno-Associated Virus). The gene of interest is transferred into the cell to be expressed and produces the functional protein, which will then be shuttled to the mitochondria through specific nucleotidic sequences in order to restore the missing or deficient mitochondrial function. About Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) is a rare maternally inherited mitochondrial genetic disease, characterized by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells that results in brutal and irreversible vision loss that can lead to legal blindness, and mainly affects adolescents and young adults. LHON is associated with painless, sudden loss of central vision in the 1st eye, with the 2nd eye sequentially impaired. It is a symmetric disease with poor functional visual recovery. 97% of patients have bilateral involvement at less than one year of onset of vision loss, and in 25% of cases, vision loss occurs in both eyes simultaneously. The estimated incidence of LHON is approximately 1,400 to 1,500 new patients who lose their sight every year in the United States and Europe. About RESCUE and REVERSE RESCUE and REVERSE are two separate randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled Phase III trials designed to evaluate the efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of GS010 (rAAV2/2-ND4) in subjects affected by LHON due to the G11778A mutation in the mitochondrial ND4 gene. The primary endpoint will measure the difference in efficacy of GS010 in treated eyes compared to sham-treated eyes based on Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), as measured with the ETDRS at 48 weeks post-injection. The patients' LogMAR (Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution) scores, which are derived from the number of letters patients read on the ETDRS chart, will be used for statistical purposes. Both trials have been adequately powered to evaluate a clinically relevant difference of at least 15 ETDRS letters between treated and untreated eyes adjusted to baseline. The secondary endpoints will involve the application of the primary analysis to best-seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those receiving sham, and to worse-seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those that received sham. Additionally, a categorical evaluation with a responder analysis will be evaluated, including the proportion of patients who maintain vision (< ETDRS 15L loss), the proportion of patients who gain 15 ETDRS letters from baseline and the proportion of patients with Snellen acuity of >20/200. Complementary vision metrics will include automated visual fields, optical coherence tomography, and color and contrast sensitivity, in addition to quality of life scales, bio-dissemination and the time course of immune response. Readouts for these endpoints are at 48, 72 and 96 weeks after injection. The trials are conducted in parallel, in 37 subjects for REVERSE and 39 subjects for RESCUE, in 7 centers across the United States, the UK, France, Germany and Italy. Week 96 results are expected in 2019 for both trials, after which patients will be transferred to a long-term follow-up study that will last for three years. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: REVERSE: NCT02652780 RESCUE: NCT02652767 About REFLECT REFLECT is a multi-center, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bilateral injections of GS010 in subjects with LHON due to the NADH dehydrogenase 4 (ND4) mutation. The trial is planned to enroll 90 patients with vision loss up to 1 year in duration and will be conducted in multiple centers in Europe and in the US. In the active arm, GS010 will be administered as a single intravitreal injection to both eyes of each subject. In the placebo arm, GS010 will be administered as a single intravitreal injection to the first affected eye, while the fellow eye will receive a placebo injection. The primary endpoint for the REFLECT trial is the BCVA reported in LogMAR at 1-Year post-treatment in the second-affected/not-yet-affected eye. The change from baseline in second-affected/not-yet-affected eyes receiving GS010 and placebo will be the primary response of interest. The secondary efficacy endpoints include: BCVA reported in LogMAR at 2-Years post-treatment in the second-affected/not-yet-affected eye compared to both placebo and the first-affected eye receiving GS010, OCT and contrast sensitivity and quality of life scales. The first subject was treated in March 2018. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: REFLECT: NCT03293524 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190522005842/en/ Contacts: GenSight Biologics Thomas Gidoin Chief Financial Officer tgidoin@gensight-biologics.com +33 (0)1 76 21 72 20 RooneyPartners Media Relations Marion Janic mjanic@rooneyco.com +1-212-223-4017 Solebury Trout US Investor Relations Chad Rubin crubin@troutgroup.com +1-646-378-2947 James Palmer Europe Investor Relations j.palmer@orpheonfinance.com +33 7 60 92 77 74 Advances in Cell-Based Screening in Drug Discovery conference, 22 to 24 May in Gothenburg, Sweden NeuroFrance international meeting, 22 to 24 May in Marseille, France Lyon, 23 May 2019 - Theranexus, a biopharmaceutical company innovating in the treatment of neurological diseases and pioneer in the development of drug candidates modulating the interaction between neurons and glial cells, will present new scientific data on neuron-glia interactions at the NeuroFrance international meeting on 22-24 May in Marseille, France, and at the Advances in Cell-Based Screening in Drug Discovery conference on 22-24 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. For the first time, Theranexus will present its method for identifying and characterizing drugs based on the hemichannel function encoded by astrocyte connexins (poster 37) at the Advances in Cell-Based Screening in Drug Discovery 2019 conference organized by the European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group (ELRIG). The hemichannel function of astrocyte connexins plays a role in several brain disorders. This international collaborative program is being run with the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Yonsei University, Korea. At the NeuroFrance international meeting, Theranexus will present its pioneering research conducted in collaboration with the College de France and the CEA on how the expression level of some astrocyte connexins influences neuronal properties and activity in the hippocampus (poster P2.029). Alongside the poster presentation, Mathieu Charveriat, Theranexus Chief Scientific Officer, and Dr. Bruno Guiard, a scientist at the Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA) in Toulouse, will be chairing the symposium on "Neuroglial interactions in psychiatric and neurological disorders" on Thursday May 24 from 11am to 1pm. "These presentations reflect our commitment to outstanding scientific partnerships that provide us with opportunities to apply our expertise to identifying therapeutic targets for neuron-glia interactions. The new data presented strengthen our knowledge and consolidate our leadership in this innovative therapeutic area. They will contribute to our new Neurolead platform, helping to optimize the identification and characterization of new drug candidates to meet patient needs," concludes Mathieu Charveriat, Theranexus Chief Scientific Officer. ABOUT THERANEXUS Theranexus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that emerged from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in 2013. It develops drug candidates for the treatment of nervous system diseases. Theranexus identified the key role played by non-neuronal cells (also known as "glial cells") in the body's response to psychotropic drugs (which target the neurons). The company is a pioneer in the design and development of drug candidates affecting the interaction between neurons and glial cells. The unique, patented technology used by Theranexus is designed to improve the efficacy of psychotropic drugs already approved and on the market, by combining them with a glial cell modulator. This strategy of combining its innovations with registered drugs means Theranexus can significantly reduce development time and costs and considerably increase the chance of its drugs reaching the market. The proprietary, adaptable Theranexus platform can generate different proprietary drug candidates offering high added-value for multiple indications. Theranexus is listed on the Euronext Growth market in Paris (FR0013286259- ALTHX). More information at: www.theranexus.com Contacts THERANEXUS Thierry Lambert Chief Financial Officer investisseurs@theranexus.fr ACTUS finance & communication Caroline Lesage / Theo Martin Investor Relations +33 (0)1 53 67 36 79 / +33 (0)1 53 67 36 75 theranexus@actus.fr FP2COM Florence Portejoie Media Relations + 33 (0)6 07 76 82 83 fportejoie@fp2com.fr ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Recevez gratuitement par email les prochains communiques de la societe en vous inscrivant sur www.actusnews.com Communique integral et original au format PDF:Telecharger le PDF Photo: Brittany Reed UPDATE 1:56 p.m. A prediction of heavy rain in parts of B.C.'s Southern Interior has prompted a warning of possible flash flooding. Environment Canada says residents who live in the Fraser Canyon, Nicola, Okanagan Valley, Similkameen and South Thompson regions all need to be aware of the dangers. It says rainfall will vary across the regions, but 10 to 20 millimetres of rain is predicted through Friday afternoon and thunderstorms could bring 30 millimetres. The agency says if that rain concentrates in one area then residents can expect unstable slopes, localized flash flooding or landslides. - with files from Canadian Press ORIGINAL 7:11 a.m. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for all of the Okanagan. The alert was issued early Thursday morning and includes Vernon, Kelowna, and Penticton. An extended period of rain showers with a risk of localised flash floods is expected to begin Thursday night. A low-pressure system will develop over the southwest interior tonight resulting in widespread showers with embedded thunderstorms. Rainfall amounts will be variable across the region, but as much as 20 mm is expected through Friday afternoon. Any areas affected by thunderstorms could see higher amounts in excess of 30 mm. These higher rainfall amounts, particularly if concentrated over the same area or over unstable slopes, may generate localised flash floods or landslides. Rain showers will continue into Saturday, with additional rainfall amounts. Rain showers will become scattered late on Saturday as the low weakens. Company to Leverage Leadership Experience in Sector with CEO and Board Having Previously Played Key Roles with what are now Supreme Cannabis Company and 1933 Industries Inc. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Codebase Ventures Inc. ("Codebase" or the "Company") (CSE: CODE - FSE: C5B - OTCQB: BKLLF), an investment company is announcing that its leadership team is seeking undervalued investments in the cannabis sector, with a focus on information and technology related to the space, adding to its existing blockchain, cryptocurrency technology investments. With CEO Mr. George Tsafalas, and Director Mr. Brian Keane, having previously served in leadership and governance positions with Supreme Pharmaceuticals, now Supreme Cannabis Company (TSX: FIRE) and Friday Night Inc., now 1933 Industries Inc. (CSE: TGIF), Codebase will benefit from the experience and relationships its leadership team has from previous roles in the cannabis sector. "As a result of our knowledge and relationships in the cannabis sector, we have identified opportunities that merit further investigation," said Mr. George Tsafalas, President and CEO of Codebase. "At one end of the cannabis sector we are seeing innovative startups and at the other consolidation with bigger entities. With worldwide medical and recreational market forecasts over $120 billion by 20301, we are seeing a sector today that is in its infancy and there are investment opportunities of interest to us beyond the mainstream, in areas including information, data and technology." As announced earlier this month, the Company's management team is in a strong position with the investments that have been made in the blockchain space to capitalize on Bitcoin's resurgence, having increased in value by 50% over the past 30 days2, and the arrival of new opportunities for retail and institutional investors with cryptocurrencies and distributed ledger technologies. "Whether it be in the blockchain space or the cannabis sector, we are seeking opportunities where the Company holds investments in information, technologies and teams that have the potential to be industry leaders with significant upside potential, which will benefit our shareholders," said Mr. Brian Keane, Director, Codebase. 1 - https://www.barrons.com/articles/wall-streets-first-pot-analyst-offers-her-top-picks-51553769000 2 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2019/05/19/bitcoin-roars-back/#3a3068a9fab1 About Codebase Ventures Inc. Codebase Ventures Inc. is a small, hands-on team of financial and technology experts who invest early in great ideas. We operate from the understanding that technology is always evolving, bringing early opportunities for strategic investments that can deliver the exponential returns to our shareholders. We seek out and empower the innovators who are building tomorrow's standards with platforms and protocols, not just products. We invest early, support our founders, take their ideas to market and work tirelessly to help them realize their vision. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information, please contact: Brian Keane, Director Investor Relations Telephone: 1 (778) 806-5150 - TOLL FREE (877) 806-CODE (2633) E-mail: IR@codebase.ventures Forward Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws. SOURCE: Codebase Ventures Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546316/REPEAT--Codebase-to-Expand-Investment-Focus-to-Cannabis-Sector Powered by Trustwave: Sure Strengthens Cybersecurity Capabilities as Organizations Contend with Advanced Adversarial Tactics and a Shifting Threat Landscape Trustwave, a leading cybersecurity and managed security services provider, and Sure, a leading telecommunications provider serving the Channel Islands and Isle of Man (CIIOM), today announced a partnership to offer Trustwave Managed Security Services and other cybersecurity solutions to help organizations combat cyber threats, protect data and reduce security risk. The alliance addresses data sovereignty and other challenges organizations face to help ensure offshore data is properly housed, handled and protected. Trustwave Managed Security Services offer a viable path for Sure customers to address advanced information security threats while alleviating the pressures created by resource constraints, skills shortages, compliance requirements and the rapid adoption of new technologies. As a key element of the partnership, Trustwave architected and developed a platform that will be deployed within Sure's Channel Island data centers providing a service that analyzes and correlates customer data against known and unknown threats while monitoring and identifying incidences as they happen. "Our alliance with Sure leverages our expertise in delivering world-class managed security services to detect, protect and remediate persistent attacks from adversaries who are invariably refining techniques to gain access to an organization's critical assets," said Barry O'Connell, General Manager, Europe, Middle East Africa at Trustwave. "We look forward to working with Sure to help businesses solve these complex security challenges." Trustwave Managed Security Services are delivered through a global network of Advanced Security Operation Centers (ASOCs) with a center located in the heart of London. These centers identify, track and collect cybersecurity threat intelligence and benefit from the capabilities of Trustwave SpiderLabs, a renowned team of ethical hackers, threat hunters, security researchers and incident responders that spearhead immediate action as security events emerge. These highly skilled practitioners are grouped together based on industry specific proficiency and experience resulting in intimate knowledge of client environments and response playbooks for any given threat situation. "The threat landscape continues to rapidly shift especially in regions that have distinctive data protection challenges because of industries served such as professional and financial services," stated Ian Kelly, Chief Executive Officer at Sure. "Our partnership with Trustwave will further cement Sure's position as a leading provider of offshore security services by providing businesses with highly-advanced cybersecurity capabilities that scale as needed to address evolving threats and regulatory requirements--capabilities most would find impossible to achieve with given resources." For more information about the Trustwave services offered by Sure, including a host of additional offerings covering security consulting, database and email security, training and incident response, visit: https://international.sure.com. About Sure Sure International is the corporate division of Sure, a telecommunications group, and specialises in offshore connectivity, enabling those companies that operate in the islands to reliably and efficiently connect and transact with their global partners. From its Tier III data centres in the Channel Islands, a uniquely safe place to host business data, Sure International offers a full complement of offshore hosting, cloud technologies, cybersecurity solutions and managed services. Sure is a member of the Batelco Group. For more information visit https://international.sure.com. About Trustwave Trustwave is a leading cybersecurity and managed security services provider that helps businesses fight cybercrime, protect data and reduce security risk. Offering a comprehensive portfolio of managed security services, security testing, consulting, technology solutions and cybersecurity education, Trustwave helps businesses embrace digital transformation securely. Trustwave is a Singtel company and the global security arm of Singtel, Optus and NCS, with customers in 96 countries. For more information about Trustwave, visit https://www.trustwave.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005057/en/ Contacts: Steve Fiore Trustwave +1 312 470 8662 sfiore@trustwave.com Sure Contact: Harriet Black Orchard PR +44 1481 251251 sure@orchardpr.com ZHONGSHAN, China, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the first exhibition in 1999, the China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair (hereinafter GILF) has become a hub of lighting procurement in the lighting capital of China- Guzhen. The 24th GILF will be held October 22-26, 2019, illuminating the town and shining a light on the industry. At the 23rd GILF, 8 venues saw 295,000 visits from buyers from 91 countries and regions around the world. The main venue, Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, saw 54,134 professional visitors, including 2,736 overseas buyers. According to a survey, 96% of the visitors expressed satisfaction and said they would visit the fair again. This year, GILF has six highlights for the 24th edition. Highlight 1: 100 billion yuan industry + 2,000 exhibitors -- Based on a 100 billion yuan industrial cluster, over 2,000 exhibitors cover the mark chain of the entire lighting industry. After over 30 years of development, Guzhen is now accounting for over 70% of the domestic lighting market. GILF creates a favorable place for original design, relying on a 100 billion yuan lighting production in Guzhen. Over 2,000 high-quality suppliers participate in the fair. Highlight 2: 8 venues + 1.5 million square meters -- Innovative linkage between exhibition and megastores is deepened. Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center brings together 800 well-known companies to display industrial trends, smart residential lighting, and different design styles covering the entire lighting industry. Joining hands with 7 megastores, the overall exhibition space is over 1.5 million sqm. Highlight 3: 38,000 exhibitors + 130 countries -- GILF relies on Guzhen - original source of lighting to create Hosted Buyer Program. At present, Guzhen has 38,000 industrial and commercial lighting enterprises, 7,739 lighting merchants, and dozens of professional malls with a 3,000,000+ sqm sales area. This year's fair will select excellent overseas buyers from over 100 countries and regions to participate in Hosted Buyer Program, which covers buyer matching meetings, cocktail party, and guided tours, allowing for accurate and efficient matchmaking. Highlight 4: Main Venue's 5 halls + over 800 exhibitors -- Trendsetting smart lighting opens a new sector in the industry Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center covers eleven exhibition sections in 5 halls. This fair scales up the "Smart Lighting" section at Hall A, aiding companies in speeding up innovation in the Intelligence Era. A special lamp exhibition area is added, providing targeted engineering lamps with a wide variety of functionality. The manufacturing area covers machines & processing, material, accessories and parts, pushing forward automation and customization. Highlight 5: 20 sessions + free 100 yuan ticket -- 20+ high-end forums and a free 100 yuan ticket for pre-registration This year's fair will host 20+ high-end events and forums, enabling industry personnel to better understand the lighting industry. The pre-registration system is already live. Buyers can pre-register through the official website, WeChat official account and other means for a free 100 yuan ticket. Pre-registered venue-goers will also gain access to the exclusive VIP channel. Highlight 6: 365 days + over 20,000 pieces -- Further improving the integration of exhibition networks for online and offline procurement GILF's B2B official website "Denggle.com" hosts a 365-day-a-year online lighting fair, gathering over 2,800 well-known lighting companies at home and abroad to provide 30,000+ quality products. Buyers can use the online exhibitor inquiry system to easily find matching exhibitors. GILF continues to create more business opportunities for the lighting sector. From October 22-26, 2019, meet at the 24th GILF (autumn) in Guzhen! Contact: Karmen.Wu Tel: +760-2235 3188 Website: www.denggle.com Facebook: @guzhenlightingfair E-mail: Karmen.Wu@glexpo.com.cn Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891079/GILF_lighting_expo.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891081/GILF_24th_edition.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891080/GILF_map_trade_show.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891082/GILF_kicks_off_24th_edition.jpg LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The proposed merger between Chinese phosphate producers Wengfu and Kailin has made significant progress over recent weeks and is likely to be completed by the end of June, CRU understands. The acceleration of the process has been pushed by the Guizhou provincial government, an indirect shareholder of both companies, which expressed its desire to speed up the process to improve efficiencies. A combined company (referred to as WengfuKailin throughout this Insight) will be the third largest producer of both phosphoric acid and phosphate rock globally. This insight analyses the potential structure of a combined company and its likely influence on the global phosphate market - an influence we believe will be small for fertilizer markets but more impactful in the niche phosphate salts and value-added markets. Merger forms a global phosphate giant Wengfu and Kailin entered merger talks approximately 18 months ago. Government owed capital entities are the largest shareholders of both companies. Guizhou provincial government owns 100% of Kailin Holding Ltd, through a province-owned assets supervision and administration commission. Close of 60% of Wengfu is held by two central government capital entities, while and Guizhou province holds a smaller share. Given the size and ownership structure of both companies, CRU had expected the merger to take at least 3-4 years to be completed - if at all. However, recent activity has speeded up the process, and is exemplified by the strong push by government and the move of Wengfu's chairman to Kailin in 2018. Kailin successfully signed debt-for-equity agreements with several investors in April, totalling close to RMB 5 billion. This will decrease its debt-asset ratio by around 10% from the 90.4% reported at the end of March 2018, according to statements from Kailin. This compares to Wengfu's debt-asset ratio of 77.7% at March 2018. Collectively, the two companies produced 6.0 Mt of DAP in 2018, 22% of China's total DAP output. The merger between Wengfu and Kailin will make the combined company the largest phosphate producer in China, leapfrogging the Yunnan-based Yuntianhua Group (YTH). WengfuKailin will become the third largest phosphate producer globally, in phosphoric acid and phosphate rock terms, behind OCP and Mosaic. Read the full story: https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/insights/2019/wengfu-and-kailin-mega-phosphate-merger-nears-completion/ Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU About CRU CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events. Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China. CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia - our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018. When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response. CRU - big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891334/CRU_Wengfu_Kailin.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/648443/CRU_Logo.jpg New report uncovers what customers truly want from a food shopping experience and the leading UK grocery retailers that are best meeting their needs World-leading customer data science company dunnhumby and Retail Week have partnered on an exclusive study to better understand what customers want from a food shopping experience. As part of the study -'Grocery CX: Driving loyalty in a disloyal market'- 2,000 UK consumers were asked about their in-store and online retail grocery experiences. As a result, we can identify their top criteria for satisfaction, how each major retailer is measuring up against these and key actions retailers must take if they are to improve their customer experience both online and offline. Selection of key findings: Customers reported feeling 'most loyal to' Ocado and Tesco for the online shopping experience they provide, while M&S and Waitrose generated the strongest feelings of loyalty in store. The survey indicated distinctions between emotional and behavioural loyalty. Respondents rated 'shopping with a retailer that offers a loyalty scheme' as being more important than 'feeling loyal' towards a retailer. Two-thirds of respondents with a Tesco Clubcard claimed they would be more likely to shop in store with Tesco. "The findings highlight the importance of getting the basics right: Customers expect freshness, a good range of products and value for money as standard. A strong online offering is also critical, as Customers increasingly shop both in store and online and expect a convenient, personalised experience across all touchpoints," Guillaume Bacuvier, CEO dunnhumby. - ENDS - About dunnhumby dunnhumby is the global leader in Customer Data Science, empowering businesses everywhere to compete and thrive in the modern data-driven economy. We always put the Customer First. Our mission: to enable businesses to grow and reimagine themselves by becoming advocates and champions for their Customers. With deep heritage and expertise in retail one of the world's most competitive markets, with a deluge of multi-dimensional data dunnhumby today enables businesses all over the world, across industries, to be Customer First. The dunnhumby Customer Data Science Platform is our unique mix of technology, software and consulting, enabling businesses to increase revenue and profits by delivering exceptional experiences for their Customers in-store, offline and online. dunnhumby employs over 2,000 experts in offices throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas working for transformative, iconic brands such as Tesco, Coca-Cola, Meijer, Procter Gamble, L'Oreal. www.dunnhumby.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005248/en/ Contacts: Stephanie Lawless Stephanie.lawless@dunnhumby.com - Top 25 Translational Regenerative Medicine Manufacturers 2019 - Medtronic, Acelity, Integra Lifesciences, NuVasive, Orthofix International, Anika Therapeutics, Organogenesis, UniQure, TiGenix, Vericel Corporation, Other Companies LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2018, the global translational regenerative medicine is estimated at $28bn. The global translational regenerative medicine market is highly competitive and fragmented with the presence of several vendors. The competition is likely to increase with advances in R&D and technological innovations. The market is characterized by the presence of well-diversified international and local vendors that provide cost-effective products with limited features and functionalities. How this report will benefit you Read on to discover how you can exploit the future business opportunities emerging in this sector. In this brand new Visiongain report you will find 230-page report and you will receive 120 tables and 70 figures - all unavailable elsewhere. The 230-page report provides clear detailed insight into the Top 25 Translational Regenerative Medicine Manufacturers 2019. Discover the key drivers and challenges affecting the market. By ordering and reading our brand new report today you stay better informed and ready to act. To request sample pages from this report please contact Sara Peerun at sara.peerun@visiongain.com or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/top-25-translational-regenerative-medicine-manufacturers-2019/download_sampe_div Report Scope This report discusses the global translational regenerative medicine market and provides revenue forecastto 2028 for this market and its leading submarkets: Stem Cells Tissue Engineering Gene Therapy This report discusses several translational regenerative medicine products and provides revenue forecast to 2028 for: Osteocel Plus Apligraf Grafix/Stravix ReCell Assessment of the 25 leading manufacturers in the global translational regenerative medicine market: Acelity Alphatec Spine Anika Therapeutics Arthesys Avita Medical Integra Lifesciences Medipost Medtronic Mesoblast NuVasive Organogenesis Orthofix International TiGenix UniQure Vericel Corporation Other companies This report discusses product portfolio, key developments, financial information, performance analysis, revenue forecast and pipeline analysis. Of the top 25 translational regenerative medicine manufacturers, the report provides revenue forecast for 22 of these companies for the period of 2018 to 2028. Qualitative analysis of the translational regenerative medicine market: PESTEL analysis, Porter's Five Forces analysis, factors that drive and restrain the market, opportunity and trends in the market. This report discusses the regulation of regenerative medicine in the US, Japan, China, Australia, India and Ireland. Key questions answered by this report: Who are the leading Translational Regenerative Medicine (TRM) manufacturers? What factors are driving and restraining the growth of these leading TRM manufacturers? How have the leading TRM manufacturers performed financially in recent years? Which TRM manufacturer will experience revenue growth over the coming years? What strategies have TRM manufacturers been implementing for sales growth in recent years? Which technologies will be crucial to TRM manufacturers from 2018 to 2028? To request a report overview of this report please contact Sara Peerun at sara.peerun@visiongain.com or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/top-25-translational-regenerative-medicine-manufacturers-2019/ Did you know that we also offer a report add-on service? Email sara.peerun@visiongain.com to discuss any customized research needs you may have. Companies covered in the report include: Aastrom Biosciences Inc. Alphatec Spine Anika Therapeutics Anterogen Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. Athersys Avita Medical AxoGen, Inc. Azaya Therapeutics, Inc. Benda Pharmaceutical BioTime Inc BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. Cell Therapy Cellerix Cephalon Chiesi Farmaceutici Clinical Cell Culture (C3) Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. Dow Agro Sciences ES Cell International Pte. Ltd. Gamida Cell Ltd. Healios K.K. Humacyte InoCard Instratek Integra LifeSciences Japan Tissue Engineering Co., Ltd. JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Johnson & Johnson LifeMap Sciences, Inc. LifeMap Sciences, Ltd. Macropore Biosurgery Inc. Medipost Medline Industries, Inc. Medtronic Mesoblast Inc. Mesoblast International Sarl Mesoblast Ltd. Nikon CeLL innovation Co., Ltd. (NCLi) NuTech Medical NuVasive OncoCyte Corporation Organogenesis Inc. OrthoCyte Corporation Orthofix International Osiris Therapeutics Oxford BioMedica Pfizer Pharmicell Co., Ltd. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. Regenerys Ltd. Renova Therapeutics Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. Sanofi Shanghai Sunway Biotech Shenzhen SiBiono GeneTech Shire Spark Therapeutics, Inc. StemSource Inc. Stryker Corporation Sun Pharma Takeda TiGenix NV UniQure Vericel Corp. Visiomed Xcellerex List of Organizations Mentioned in the Report Brown University Cleveland Clinic European Commission European Medicines Agency (EMA) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) Sinai Hospital of Baltimore SwissMedic Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children The University of Michigan The University of Texas Health Science Center University of Massachusetts University of Pittsburgh's Medical Center To see a report overview please e-mail Sara Peerun on sara.peerun@visiongain.com Related reports: Translational Regenerative Medicine Market Forecast 2019-2029 Global Stem Cell Technologies and Applications Market 2018-2028 Gene Therapy R&D and Revenue Forecasts 2018-2028 Global Genomics Market Report 2018-2028 Global Cancer Immunotherapy Market Forecast 2019-2029 Drug Delivery Technologies Market Forecast 2019-2029 Global Biosimilars and Follow-On Biologics Market 2019-2029 Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/523989/Visiongain_Logo.jpg EcoStruxure IT Expert is the Industry's first cloud-based Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution It provides intelligent benchmarking and visibility to increase data centre performance and resiliency optimisation Mass configurations and firmware updates simplify system management LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, has won the 'Data Centre ICT Management Innovation of the Year' category at the DCS Awards 2019. EcoStruxure IT Expert is the industry's first cloud-based data centre infrastructure management (DCIM) solution, bringing secure, vendor agnostic, wherever-you-go monitoring with complete visibility of all IoT-enabled physical infrastructure assets. "Schneider Electric is delighted to have won an accolade that recognizes the company for innovation within the data centre space." said Marc Garner Vice President, Secure Power Division UK&I. "I'd like to thank the judges, the many data centre professionals and the customers that have voted for us. With the power of data analytics and the cloud, EcoStruxure IT Expert users benefit from the ability to make data-driven decisions and react to abnormal device behavior before it becomes an issue." As part of Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure platform, IT Expert delivers data-driven monitoring for infrastructure assets in real-time. The cloud-based software enables the user to increase resiliency, uptime and mitigate risk by delivering global visibility across the hybrid data centre environment from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Key benefits of EcoStruxure IT Expert include: Ease of deployment to reduce the complexity of registering, downloading and implementing the solution across distributed IT infrastructure to reduce the complexity of registering, downloading and implementing the solution across distributed IT infrastructure Vendor neutral data capture of device information, smart alarms, and monitoring of all connected devices through an open system data capture of device information, smart alarms, and monitoring of all connected devices through an open system Benchmarking of devices to see how well assets are performing in comparison to others of devices to see how well assets are performing in comparison to others Assessments for centralised visibility and consolidated alarms notifications with recommendations to aid decision-making for centralised visibility and consolidated alarms notifications with recommendations to aid decision-making Subscription model provides a pay-as-you-go approach to deployment for predictable, flexible costs for any size IT or data centre environment provides a pay-as-you-go approach to deployment for predictable, flexible costs for any size IT or data centre environment 24/7 remote monitoring options through APC by Schneider Electric Channel partners with EcoStruxure IT for Partners or through the Schneider Electric Service Bureau with EcoStruxure Asset Advisor. About EcoStruxure EcoStruxure is Schneider Electric's open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform. It delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity for customers. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity to deliver innovation at every level. This includes connected products, edge control and apps, analytics, and services. EcoStruxure has been deployed in more than 480,000 sites, with the support of more than 20,000 system integrators and developers, connecting over 1.6 million assets under management through over 40 digital services. Click here for more information about EcoStruxure IT. About Schneider Electric Schneider Electric is leading the Digital Transformation of Energy Management and Automation in Homes, Buildings, Data Centers, Infrastructure, and Industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is the undisputable leader in Power Management - Medium Voltage, Low Voltage and Secure Power, and in Automation Systems. We provide integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software. In our global Ecosystem, we collaborate with the largest Partner, Integrator, and Developer Community on our Open Platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency. We believe that great people and partners make Schneider a great company and that our commitment to Innovation, Diversity, and Sustainability ensures that Life Is On everywhere, for everyone and at every moment. www.schneider-electric.com EcoStruxure LifeIsOn Follow us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SchneiderElec Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SchneiderElectric?brandloc=DISABLE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/schneider-electric YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SchneiderCorporate Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schneiderelectric/ Blog: https://blog.se.com/ BERLIN, May 23, 2019, a software company reinventing workflow and decision automation, today announced that Infosys has joined the Camunda Partner Program. As a Camunda partner, Infosys will offer its clients in North America and around the world access to an integrated platform for software developers and business stakeholders, covering all phases of workflow automation - from process design and execution, to continuous process improvement. Through this partnership, Infosys will offer its clients access to both Camunda's open source and enterprise solutions. Camunda's stack includes a robust toolkit for modeling and executing business processes, coupled with powerful visual interfaces for monitoring and troubleshooting active processes and analyzing large volumes of process data. Camunda also provides educational resources including the book Real-Life BPMN , that will enable Infosys to consult on BPMN ISO standards that Camunda helped shape. "We see many companies facing pressure to digitize and transform their business processes, and as a result IT services firms need partners who can fully enable their clients to complete their digital transformation projects," said Jakob Freund, CEO and Co-Founder, Camunda. "Working with Infosys, especially with their market leadership position, will provide more businesses access to our workflow automation solutions." "Infosys predicts that legacy systems will be the single biggest barrier to digital transformation in 2019," says Gautam Khanna, Vice President, Global Head - Modernization Practice, Infosys. "We are excited to partner with Camunda and offer their lightweight and flexible platform to our clients that will further reduce their dependency on vendor-specific knowledge to integrate BPM software into existing product stacks, or to deploy new workflows." About Camunda Camunda is a software company reinventing workflow automation. Hundreds of companies including 24 Hour Fitness, AT&T, Lufthansa Technik and Zalando trust Camunda to automate core business processes to the highest possible extent, allowing their business to scale and revenue to grow without proportionally increasing operating costs. With its open source-based workflow automation and decision platform, Camunda provides detailed visibility into business operations across distributed systems, boosts system resilience and enables enterprises to overcome "big workflow" challenges resulting from digital transformation. One of the fastest growing companies in EMEA as ranked by Deloitte, Camunda is based in Berlin with offices in San Francisco and Denver, USA. To learn more visit: https://camunda.com/ . EQT Infrastructure acquires Melita from Apax Partners and Fortino Capital Melita owns state of the art converged fixed and mobile telecom infrastructure and is the market leading operator on Malta EQT Infrastructure to support growth of Melita by investing in its network and is committed to continue to provide high quality services to current and future customer STOCKHOLM, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT Infrastructure IV ("EQT" or "EQT Infrastructure"), has signed an agreement to acquire Melita Limited ("Melita" or the "Company") from Apax Partners and Fortino Capital Founded in 1991, Melita is a fully converged and diversified telecommunication infrastructure owner as well as a leading services provider in Malta. Melita services consumers, business and government customers on Malta with mainly four types of products: nationwide Gigabit broadband services for households and small businesses, mobile and fixed telephony as well as TV services. Melita also offers colocation services and operates a purpose-built data centre. Melita will continue to operate under the leadership of CEO Harald Rosch, a longstanding Industrial Advisor to EQT. EQT Infrastructure intends to support Melita's growth by further upgrading its fixed and mobile networks and opening an additional data centre location on Malta. It will also support Melita's internationalization strategy including its expansion in Italy as well as its innovative IoT connectivity proposition. Ulrich Kollensperger, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure IV, comments: "EQT has been built on a passion for developing companies. We invest in good companies across the globe with the aim of turning them not only into great companies but also sustainable ones. This is exactly the formula we aim to apply to Melita, which is already an innovator in the Maltese market and beyond in terms of infrastructure, products and customer service. As a result, we are confident that the coming months and years will be exciting and rewarding both for Melita's employees and for its customers." Harald Rosch, CEO of Melita, said: "This transaction is another proof of our success over the last years, built on the hard work from all employees and support from our owners. Thanks to our customers' continued loyalty and increased trust we have positioned Melita as a telecom market leader in Malta in terms of innovation, technology and customer satisfaction. With the backing of EQT Infrastructure and their extensive experience in our industry, we will continue the journey by developing our networks and providing outstanding customer experience in the years to come. Melita is ideally positioned to grow in the Maltese telecom market and beyond." The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction. The proposed transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Clifford Chance and Ganado Advocates acted as legal advisors to EQT Infrastructure. Contacts Ulrich Kollensperger Partner at EQT Partners Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure +41-44-266-68-08 EQT Press office +46-8-506-55-334 Malta: Conway Wigg, BPC Communications +356-2124-321 info@bpc.com.mt About EQT EQT is a leading investment firm with more than EUR 61 billion in raised capital across 29 funds and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. More info: www.eqtpartners.com About Melita Founded in 1991, Melita is the market leading operator and owner of future-proof and converged fixed and mobile telecom infrastructure on Malta, offering mobile, fixed telephony, broadband and TV services to consumers, businesses and government clients. Melita also offers colocation services and operates a purpose-built data center. More info: www.melita.com About Apax Apax Partners is a leading European private equity firm based in Paris. With more than 45 years of experience, Apax Partners provides long-term equity funding to build and strengthen world-class companies. Funds managed and advised by Apax Partners exceed 3.3 billion. These funds invest in fast-growing middle-market companies across four sectors of specialisation: TMT, Consumer, Healthcare and Services.Paris-headquartered Apax Partners (www.apax.fr) and London-headquartered Apax Partners (www.apax.com) have a shared history but are separate, independent firms More info: www.apax.fr About Fortino Capital Partners Fortino Capital Partners is an investment company that was founded in 2013 and is led by Duco Sickinghe, Renaat Berckmoes and Matthias Vandepitte. Fortino Capital invests in remarkable companies of today and tomorrow and actively helps companies to capture opportunities. They accelerate businesses and turn ambition into growth. The company manages a venture capital fund of EUR 80 million and a digital growth fund of EUR 200 million, which focuses on software and digital transformation. Fortino Capital's investment portfolio includes Teamleader, Bloomon, Aproplan and MobileXpense, among others. More info: www.fortino.be This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/eqt-ab/r/eqt-acquires-the-leading-maltese-telecom-operator-melita,c2822881 The following files are available for download: Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - MAX RESOURCE CORP. (TSXV: MXR) (OTC Pink: MXROF) (FSE: M1D1) ("Max" or the "Company") is pleased to report the first assays from its 10-week exploration program now underway at the North Choco copper gold project, located 80 km SW of Medellin, Colombia. Max is acquiring the North Choco Property through the planned acquisition of Andagueda Mining Pty. Ltd. (see our news release of May 8, 2019). Assay highlights include: Seven of 23 chip samples returned grades ranging from 155.27g/t gold to 2.94g/t gold; Three of the 7 samples returned values of >10,000 ppm copper, in excess of the upper detection limit, and will need to be reanalyzed to determine the final grade; The chip samples were taken over various widths from 4 locations within a 400 metre by 700 metre exploration area centred on the historic gold mines; Max is three weeks into the 10-week North Choco exploration program and further results will be released after receipt and interpretation. "We are very pleased with this first round of assays from our intensive exploration campaign. The assay results are delivering significant grades of gold and we expect the copper re-assay results very soon," Max CEO, Brett Matich, stated. "Our strategy is to expand our exploration efforts in all directions within the 500 sq. km land package," he continued. Details for the seven samples can be found in the accompanying table. Sample ID Gold (gram/ton) Copper (ppm) Cobalt (ppm) Location Description Width (metres) 19000188 155.27 >10,000 551 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000189 27.15 1,369 368 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000187 18.23 >10,000 513 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000185 8.52 >10,000 142 Morron Vein zone with pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena 0.4 19000194 4.52 6,780 194 QMW Granodiorite with pyrite & chalcopyrite 0.25 19000197 3.92 69 26 Bocamina Granodiorite with pyrite & chalcopyrite 0.4 19000298 2.94 137 69 California Basalt diorite, contact zone 0.3 North Choco Gold-Copper and Choco Gold-Platinum North Choco Gold-Copper (500 sq. km) is located 80 km SW of Medellin and is contiguous to properties held by AngloGold Ashanti and Continental Gold and includes rights to exploration and exploitation over a 72.5 sq. km Mining Area. North Choco is 47 km SW of AngloGold's 2005 Nuevo Chaquiro copper porphyry discovery, hosting an Inferred Resource of 604Mt at 0.65% copper and 0.32g/t gold with a contained metal content of 4Mt of copper and 6Moz of gold. This is one of five known porphyry centres within a 15 sq. km area. Max cautions investors mineralization on the Nuevo Chaquiro property is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on North Choco. The Nuevo Chaquiro Resource is disclosed in the AngloGold presentation "Discovery and Geology of the Nuevo Chaquiro Cu-Au (Ag-Mo) Porphyry Deposit". AngloGold Ashanti examined the North Choco area for porphyry copper in 2005, locating porphyry copper prospects and anomalies. AngloGold was unable to follow up and the area has sat idle until Andagueda Mining completed its historic agreement earlier this year. Max's Choco Gold-Platinum Property (2.140 sq. km) is located adjacent to and SW of North Choco and covers or is adjacent to historic production of 1.5Mozs gold and 1.0Mozs platinum. Free gold was observed from hard-rock conglomerates taken from surface in February of 2019. A follow up Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) survey identified multiple conglomerate zones spread over a 1,000 sq. km area. Test work is continuing on accessing the fine gold within the conglomerates. Source for Choco: R.J. Fletcher and Associates (2011) Review of Gold and Platinum Exploration and Production in Choco Province Colombia Part 3. Private Report for Condoto Platinum Ltd.) QA/QC All rock chip samples were shipped from site and delivered by Company personnel to the SGS Colombia S.A.S laboratory in Medellin, Colombia, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited facility. All rock samples were analyzed utilizing SGS's ICM40B procedure, a four-acid digestion of a one half-gram sample with an ICP finish, with a copper upper limit of 10000 ppm (1%). All rock samples were also analyzed utilizing SGS's FAG303 procedure, a 30-gram gold fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Over limit copper values are subsequently analyzed utilizing GO ICP13B AES package with an upper limit of 30% copper. Certified blank samples from CDN Resource Laboratories Ltd. were inserted into the sample stream at regular intervals. No irregularities were noted. About Max Resource Corp. Max is a mineral exploration company focused on the development and acquisition of prospective projects in the rich mineral belts of Colombia. The company has established significant exploration infrastructure and local community support for the Choco gold and platinum project, located 100 kilometres south of Medellin, which covers, or is adjacent to, historic production of 1.5 million ounces of gold and one million ounces of platinum. The company's Gachala copper project is located 60 kilometres east of Bogota. The company is led by a seasoned management team with a record of significant discovery and exploration success. Tim Henneberry, PGeo (British Columbia), a member of the Max Resource advisory board, is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the company. For more information visit: https://www.maxresource.com/ For additional information contact: Max Resource Corp. Tim McNulty E: info@maxresource.com T: (604) 290-8100 For Max Resource's French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc. E: rs@maricom.ca T: (888) 585-MARI Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for Max Resources Corp. described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44972 Photo: The Canadian Press Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, leaves the Federal District Court after a hearing in Washington. A banker who prosecutors say tried to buy himself a senior post in President Donald Trump's administration by making risky loans to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was arrested Thursday on a financial institution bribery charge. Stephen M. Calk, 54, was scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon. A message was left with his attorney for comment. Authorities said Calk committed the crime while serving as CEO of The Federal Savings Bank based in Chicago. Federal prosecutors described the charge in a release, saying Calk abused his bank position by approving $16 million in high risk loans that were ultimately downgraded. William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said Calk "went to great lengths to avoid banking violations in an attempt to secure a senior position in a presidential administration." "His attempt at petitioning for political favours was unsuccessful in more ways than one he didn't get the job he wanted, and he compromised the one he had," Sweeney Jr. added. Manafort lobbied Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to consider Calk for Secretary of the Army, according to emails from the weeks leading up to the 2016 election shown to jurors at Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial last year. Prosecutors said that while Manafort's loans were pending approval, Calk gave Manafort a ranked list of government positions he wanted, starting with Secretary of the Treasury, followed by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Defence, as well as 19 ambassadorships similarly ranked and starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. According to trial evidence, Manafort passed along Calk's resume to Kushner in a Nov. 30, 2016, email, along with two other names of people he said "should be a part of the Trump administration." Manafort wrote that the individuals would be "totally reliable and responsive to the Trump White House. He also said Calk was "strong in defence issues, management and finance." Kushner responded, "On it!" Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The podium presentation will be in a session of 'Selected Abstracts of Excellence' Top line data from Can-Fite Phase II study of Namodenoson in the treatment of NAFLD and NASH expected H2 2019 Preclinical data show improved liver function, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, anti-steatotic effects Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company with a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address cancer, liver and inflammatory diseases, announced today that it has been selected for a podium presentation in a session of 'Selected Abstracts of Excellence' titled, "Namodenoson anti-NAFLD/NASH Activity is Mediated via De-regulation of the Wnt/-catenin Pathway" at the 2nd Annual International Conference on Fatty Liver (ICFL 2019) in Berlin, Germany which takes place on June 27-29, 2019. Can-Fite CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman will deliver the presentation at 15:50 on June 28, 2019. ICFL 2019 is focused on the clinical needs and best practices for diagnosing and treating fatty liver disease to address the challenges and long-term effects of this disease. ICFL 2019 will feature leading experts across the relevant fields to educate and foster knowledge exchange. "We look forward to presenting data on Namodenoson at this gathering of the world's thought leaders on fatty liver disease. Our compelling preclinical findings with NASH experimental models as well as our Phase II study design will be discussed. Top line results from our Phase II study in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are expected in the second half of 2019," stated Dr. Fishman. The Phase II NASH study is currently ongoing in Israel and aimed at the enrollment of 60 patients who suffer from NAFLD/NASH with evidence of active inflammation. The patients are treated twice daily with 12.5 or 25 mg of oral Namodenoson vs. placebo for 12 weeks. The primary end points of the Phase II study have been recently amended and include the anti-inflammatory effect of the drug, as determined by ALT blood levels, and the percentage of liver fat, as measured by MRI-PDFF (proton density fat fraction). The Company anticipates the data release in the second half of 2019. About Namodenoson Namodenoson is a small orally bioavailable drug that binds with high affinity and selectivity to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). Namodenoson is being evaluated as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, with a recently completed Phase II trial and planned Phase III trial in this indication. The drug is currently in an ongoing Phase II trial as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A3AR is highly expressed in diseased cells whereas low expression is found in normal cells. This differential effect accounts for the excellent safety profile of the drug. About Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE: CFBI) is an advanced clinical stage drug development Company with a platform technology that is designed to address multi-billion dollar markets in the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disease and sexual dysfunction. The Company's lead drug candidate, Piclidenoson, is currently in Phase III trials for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Can-Fite's liver cancer drug, Namodenoson, recently completed a Phase II trial for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, and is in a Phase II trial for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Namodenoson has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and Europe and Fast Track Designation as a second line treatment for HCC by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Namodenoson has also shown proof of concept to potentially treat other cancers including colon, prostate, and melanoma. CF602, the Company's third drug candidate, has shown efficacy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in preclinical studies and the Company is investigating additional compounds, targeting A3AR, for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. These drugs have an excellent safety profile with experience in over 1,000 patients in clinical studies to date. For more information please visit: www.can-fite.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, about Can-Fite's expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding, among other things, market risks and uncertainties, its product development efforts, business, financial condition, results of operations, strategies or prospects. In addition, from time to time, Can-Fite or its representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," "may," "should" or "anticipate" or their negatives or other variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. These forward-looking statements may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made by Can-Fite with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases or oral statements made by or with the approval of one of Can-Fite's authorized executive officers. Forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause Can-Fite's actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause Can-Fite's actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: our history of losses and needs for additional capital to fund our operations and our inability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms, or at all; uncertainties of cash flows and inability to meet working capital needs; the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies, clinical trials and other product candidate development efforts; our ability to advance our product candidates into clinical trials or to successfully complete our preclinical studies or clinical trials; our receipt of regulatory approvals for our product candidates, and the timing of other regulatory filings and approvals; the clinical development, commercialization and market acceptance of our product candidates; our ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships and other corporate collaborations; the implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business and product candidates; the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; competitive companies, technologies and our industry; statements as to the impact of the political and security situation in Israel on our business; and risks and other risk factors detailed in Can-Fite's filings with the SEC and in its periodic filings with the TASE. In addition, Can-Fite operates in an industry sector where securities values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond its control. Can-Fite does not undertake any obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005054/en/ Contacts: Can-Fite BioPharma Motti Farbstein info@canfite.com +972-3-9241114 Long-term data demonstrate that the DynamX Bioadaptor implant and vessel growth accommodates neo-intimal hyperplasia to substantially maintain vessel lumen area in the treatment of coronary artery disease Elixir Medical Corporation, a developer of products that combine state-of-the-art medical devices with advanced pharmaceuticals, announced at EuroPCR excellent 9 and 12-month clinical and imaging data for the DynamX Novolimus-eluting Bioadaptor System, a next-generation coronary intervention system designed to treat blocked arteries via a novel vessel uncaging mechanism. EuroPCR is the annual meeting of the European Association for Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions. Fifty patients were enrolled at 7 centers in Europe in the DynamX Mechanistic clinical trial. Nine-month clinical data for all patients, and 9 and 12-month angiographic and imaging results for 31 followed-up patients were presented for the DynamX Bioadaptor System, which represents a dynamic, new frontier in the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) industry for an innovation beyond stenting. Antonio Colombo,MDDirector of Invasive Cardiology, Columbus Hospital, Milan, Italy, and Stefan Verheye, M.D., Ph.D., ZNA Middleheim Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium, were the co-Principal Investigators. Conventional drug-eluting stents (DES) cage the coronary artery in a rigid, immobile frame inhibiting the vessel's natural ability to expand in order to preserve the blood flow during disease progression. DES also impede the artery's physiologic pulsatility and hemodynamics during the cardiac cycle, potentially contributing to further adverse outcomes and accelerated disease progression. Current generation DES have a continually increasing MACE (Major Adverse Cardiac Events) rate that cumulatively translates into high clinical events affecting up to 1 in 2 patients within 10 years. At 9 and 12 months, Elixir's DynamX Bioadaptor demonstrated an excellent in-device mean Late Lumen Loss (LLL) of 0.080.18 mm and a median LLL of 0.02 mm as measured by QCA. OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) imaging results demonstrated impressive 99% strut coverage with a thin and uniform 0.14 mm neointimal layer. IVUS imaging results demonstrated mean Vessel and Device Area increase in the DynamX Bioadaptor-treated segment from post-procedure to long-term follow-up, while maintaining the mean Lumen Area. "Elixir's outstanding data demonstrate the engineering ingenuity of the DynamX Bioadaptor for uncaging and restoring the vessel's natural state to expand and accommodate disease progression thereby maintaining the blood flow lumen and potentially reducing adverse clinical outcomes for patients," said Dr. Colombo, co-Principal Investigator of the DynamX trial. "I'm delighted to treat my patients with a device presenting such impressive long-term results that far exceed DES capabilities and yet providing DES-like excellent acute performance." "Another key attribute for reducing adverse clinical events in patients is preserving the natural angulation of the coronary arteries," said Dr. Verheye, co-Principal Investigator of the DynamX trial. "Unlike conventional DES that tend to straighten angulated blood vessels due to their rigidity, Elixir's novel DynamX Bioadaptor demonstrated via multiple case studies its unique ability to restore the pulsatility, positive adaptive remodeling, and natural curvature of the treated arteries, allowing the vessels to elegantly return to their de novo function." The positive clinical and angiographic results were presented to a packed audience of physicians and industry executives during the EuroPCR Symposium of "The New Frontier Beyond Stenting for PCI" in Paris, and co-chaired by Dean J. Kereiakes, MD, Medical Director, The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center, Medical Director of the Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education at The Christ Hospital, and Professor of Clinical Medicine, Ohio State University, and Martin B. Leon, MD, Mallah Family Professor of Cardiology at the Columbia University Medical Center; Director, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy; Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York. "Elixir's DynamX Bioadaptor represents a pioneering innovation in coronary implant design for the PCI industry by combining the excellent acute performance of DES while categorically surpassing DES with its ability to return the vessel to its de novo state," said Motasim Sirhan, CEO of Elixir Medical. "Elixir is committed to raising the bar for treatment of cardiovascular disease, and providing physicians with innovative products of the highest standard of care to improve patients' clinical outcomes." About Elixir Medical Elixir Medical Corporation, a privately funded company based in Milpitas, California, has developed the broadest portfolio of coronary and peripheral stents, scaffolds, and bioadaptors including DESyne, DESyne BD, DESolve, DESolve CX, DESolve NXT, Prava, and the breakthrough DynamX Bioadaptor System. The company's next-generation systems are designed to return diseased blood vessels to their de novo state. For more information, visit www.elixirmedical.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005209/en/ Contacts: Vinayak Bhat, PhD (408) 636-2006 Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - CFN Media Group ("CFN Media"), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the North American cannabis industry, announces publication of an article discussing Sublime Canna. Sublime is an award-winning cannabis manufacturing company located in Oakland, is well positioned to capitalize on these trends. Image 1: Dosies Miracle Mints To view an enhanced version of Image 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5503/44990_01cbc4db340aebc2_001full.jpg California's cannabis industry is expected to reach $5.1 billion in 2019, according to Arcview and BDS Analytics, driven by the legalization of adult-use cannabis last year. With nearly 40 million residents and more than a million medical marijuana patients, the state's market represents about a third of the North American cannabis industry. Cannabis edibles and concentrates have surpassed cannabis flower as the most popular product format. Let's take a look at what sets Sublime Canna apart from the competition and where the company is headed over the coming quarters. Please click here to receive additional investor information on Sublime Canna Unrelenting Focus on Quality Many cannabis companies are focusing on scaling up their production capacity at any cost. While these companies may generate the greatest early revenue, the lack of product quality eventually catches up to brand reputation and hurts profit margins. Investors may want to shift their focus to cannabis companies that have a strong understanding of cannabis cultivation, manufacturing processes, and other elements of quality control. Sublime Canna addresses these issues by taking control over the entire cannabis production process. Starting with pesticide-free buds from partners, the company manufactures cannabis oils and concentrates using state of the art cold ethanol extraction machines designed to maintain the plant's natural profile. The company's team then reintroduces full-spectrum terpenes to the oil for enhanced flavor and effect. The company's pre-rolls and edibles use similar quality control systems. Pre-rolls are made from the finest premium flower and are sprinkled with extract and rolled in oil and kief, and edibles utilize industry-leading confectionery manufacturing to produce the best tasting edibles on the market with precise dosages. Throughout all of these processes, the company aims to bring a high level of science to the cannabis production process. Unique Products & Distribution Sublime is well-known for its vaporizer cartridges and Fuzzies pre-rolls, which are already widely distributed throughout California and have received several awards. Most recently, the company's CBD-infused Sleep and High-C vape cartridges were awarded both first and second place at the 2018 Emerald Cup for "Best CBD Concentrate." The company's Sublime Gold cartridges are its flagship line with terpene blends that provide a "dab-like" pull. In February, the company launched its first edible product, Dosies, a cannabis-infused, low-dose mint. With the tagline, "A Tiny Miracle in Every Mint", Dosies provide a smooth and sweet shell for a delicious and different experience. With 2mg of THC per mint, they provide consistent microdosing for individual consumers and a product format that's both portable and discreet for anyone seeking a unique experience. "Expanding into the edibles space is an exciting move for Sublime," said CEO Alex Fang in the press release announcing the new product launch into the multibillion dollar edibles space. "Customers already know and love our prized vapes and 'Fuzzies' prerolls. With the introduction of the world's first 'panned' cannabis mint we are confident that Dosies will be just as beloved. I like to say it's a microdose with a perfect coat." Please click here to receive additional investor information on Sublime Canna Looking Ahead California's cannabis industry is projected to top $5 billion this year and edibles and concentrates are the fastest growing segments. While many companies are rapidly scaling into the business, only a handful are creating premium brands that have staying power. Sublime Canna, an award-winning cannabis manufacturing company located in Oakland, is one of those quality brands that's building a strong presence. Last year, the company closed a $6.2 million Series A and plans on using the proceeds to expand production capacity and launch new products to meet the growing demand for high-quality legal cannabis products in California. Please click here to receive additional investor information on Sublime Canna Please follow the link to read the full article on CFN Media: http://bit.ly/2EsG57 About CFN Media For Visitors and Viewers CFN Media's Cannabis Financial Network (CannabisFN.com) is the destination for savvy investors and business people profiting from the worldwide cannabis industry. Viewers will see breaking news, exclusive content and original programming involving the people, companies and investments shaping the industry. For Cannabis Businesses & Companies 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 company's 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 world's 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 Disclaimer The above article is sponsored content. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CannabisFN.com and CFN Media, has been hired to create awareness. Please follow the link below to view our full disclosure outlining our compensation: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/ Sublime Contact Greg Lazar greg@sublimecanna.com Frank Lane 206-369-7050 Flane@cannabisfn.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44990 ROCKVILLE, Maryland, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the recent years, automotive sensing technologies have taken a step backwards due to the emergence of automotive radar technology as it delivers efficiency and high-end functionality in adverse weather conditions and difficult terrains. At present, the inclination towards automotive radar system is bolstering and has been carefully studied through a recently published Fact.MR study. This assessment is titled "Automotive Radar Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking: Global Market insights 2017 to 2022", which encompasses prime market factors such as market size (US$ Mn), Y-o-Y growth, supply chain, market impact factors and a lot more. According to the study, the global automotive radar market is projected to acquire revenue exceeding US$ 7 Bn during the forecast period until 2022. This report centered at the automotive radar market delivers a comprehensive valuation of the global market scenario that includes actionable insights to various players operating in the concerned sector. Readers can acquire knowledge associated to revenue comparison and market share comparison through a detailed segmentation in terms of vehicle type, range and application. Furthermore, the region-wise market analysis is also enclosed in the study, which showcases prosperous future for the automotive radar market in developing Asian countries. Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=23 Next-gen Smart Radar Design Highlights Innovative Prospects for Automotive Radar After the active implementation of smart radar and artificial intelligence (AI), the target industry is experiencing a major shift towards the prosperous launch of new generation radar platform. This design for automotive radars is foreseen to provide a strong thrust to the autonomous driving space. Although LIDAR (Light Imaging Detection and Ranging) and cameras retain a substantial place in the automotive mechanism, the superiority of automotive radar has been impressive due to its exclusive ability towards long-range object detection regardless of harsh climatic conditions or unfavorable road setup. Europe Shines as Regional Leader in the Automotive Radar Market It has been noticed that Europe's automotive industry is following a systematic plan to encourage deployment of automotive radar with mounting efforts to popularize automated driving technology. This trend is likely to expand in the near future, thereby, building a strong market for automotive radar systems in the target region. In addition, the EU (European Union) has recently initiated a regulatory framework concerned with road safety which has enabled European roads to transform into the best and safest all around the globe. Browse Full Report on Automotive Radar Market with TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/23/automotive-radar-market This assessment is a well-heeled collection of data which also drops light on several important segmentations. According to the study, the demand for short-range radar is anticipated to remain positive; it is likely to deliver over half of the total value seized by the global market. Furthermore, passenger cars registered a value exceeding two-third of the total automotive radar market revenue in 2017. For the coming years, it is projected to maintain its status as the top vehicle type installing automotive radar technology. As the report reaches closure, readers can actively learn about the competitive dashboard comprising leading players functioning in the global automotive radar market. Some of the major companies mentioned in the report are Delphi Automotive PLC, Infineon Technologies AG, Continental AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Denso Corporation, Analog Devices, Inc, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., NXP Semiconductors N.V., ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Texas Instruments, Inc. and Autoliv, Inc. This study diligently evaluates each of these players in terms of company overview, SWOT analysis, key financials and product overview. Request Methodology of this Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=23 Popular Automotive Industry Market Reports from Fact.MR Automotive Tire Market- The automotive tire market generated a revenue of almost US$ 280 billion in 2018 and is estimated to register a Y-o-Y growth of 5% in 2019 through 2018. APEJ is expected to retain the bulk of the automotive market share during the forecast period with the region expected to account for almost 50% of the market revenue share in 2019. Exhaust System Market- According to Fact.MR's report on the exhaust system market for the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. The report opines that the global exhaust systems market is likely to touch a valuation of U$ 57.5 Bn by 2022. Car Radiator Market- According to the assessment of Fact.MR, the global car radiator market is forecasted to reach a figure of about US$ 4,970 Mn in 2022 and is poised to exhibit a robust CAGR in the period of assessment. APEJ car radiator market is the most attractive market, growing at a robust CAGR over the forecast period. About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports. Contact Us Rohit Bhisey Fact.MR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: https://www.factmr.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/713666/FactMR_Logo.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - The Yield Growth Corp. (CSE: BOSS) (OTC: BOSQF) (FSE: YG3) announces it has secured one of five Platinum Partner positions for the influential, three-day (June 7-9) landmark Lift & Co. Cannabis Expo Toronto 2019, hosted by Lift & Co.Corp. Visit Yield Growth at booth #1319. To view an enhanced version of this map, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6377/44986_Web_Lift_2.jpg The Lift & Co Toronto Expo exposure for Yield Growth -- has more than 20,000 delegates and visitors will be met with the company's bright and welcoming showcase centrally located near the entrance to the conference floor. Urban Juve Body Bio skincare kits containing 5 products each and customized to individual body bios will be available for purchase at a special conference price and invitations will be available to Urban Juve consumers to the exclusive Yield Growth VIP afterparty featuring a special musical artist performance. "We want to stand out among our fellow 250 B2B and B2C exhibitors," says Penny Green, Yield Growth President & CEO. "Creating a magnetic and engaging space for attendees at this exciting and busy forum requires more than creativity, great design and informed ambassadors. We have an engaging story with true substance. Whether it's the Ayurvedic influence and patent pending hemp root extraction technology that are the hallmarks of our Urban Juve brand, The Lift & Co. event will strengthen consumer and trade appreciation for our products, brands, services and technologies. We are excited to meet delegates and shed light, whether it's an investor seeking insight into the financial potential of cannabis or a consumer seeking an alternative to traditional skincare and medicine, our legal, product development and executive sales team will be present." Yield's Growth's Senior Research Scientist and Director of Product Development, Bhavna Solecki, will be presenting on the panel Looking Good and Feeling Great: Cannabis Beauty Products on Saturday, June 8: 11:35 am - 12:15 pm. While in Toronto, Yield's Growth's CEO and President, Penny Green, will be interviewed live by James West for Midas Letter on Thursday, June 6th to discuss the company's recent growth and momentum. Midas Letter is the journal of "best-in-class" companies in all sectors. Cannabis companies who are seeking partnerships or licensee to launch cannabis topical, edibles and beverage brands around the world are encouraged to set up meetings with Yield Growth executives at the event. About The Yield Growth Corp. The Yield Growth Corp. develops, manufactures and distributes premium cannabis- and hemp-infused products-and plans to disrupt the international wellness market by connecting ancient wisdom with modern science. The company currently has a catalog of more than 200 wellness and beauty products in development, serving mainstream luxury consumers who seek sophisticated wellness solutions. Yield Growth's flagship consumer brand, Urban Juve, has proprietary, patent-pending hemp root oil extraction technology and formulas. The management team has deep experience with global brands including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, MAC Cosmetics, Skechers, Best Buy, Aritzia, Coca-Cola and Pepsi Corporation, and is building sophisticated international distribution channels and multiple revenue streams including licensing, services and product sales. For more information about Yield Growth, visit www.yieldgrowth.com or follow @yieldgrowth on Instagram. Visit www.urbanjuve.com and findyourjuve across social platforms to learn, engage and shop. Investor Relations Contacts: Penny Green, President & CEO Kristina Pillon, Investor Relations invest@yieldgrowth.com 1-833-514-BOSS 1-833-514-2677 1-833-515-BOSS 1-833-515-2677 The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking information and statements (collectively, "forward looking statements") under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates, forecasts, beliefs and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to: risks related to the development, testing, licensing, intellectual property protection, and sale of, and demand for, Urban Juve and UJ Topicals products, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals where applicable, and the state of the capital markets. Yield Growth cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements provided by Yield Growth, as such forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future results or performance and actual results may differ materially. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Yield Growth expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44986 TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- APRINOIA Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a pipeline of therapeutics and imaging diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, announces today that it has been awarded a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) for the development of alpha-synuclein PET imaging tracers. APRINOIA has established a proprietary small molecule platform targeting aggregated protein structures, including tau and alpha-synuclein. APRINOIA has identified, from its bespoke compound library, a subset of molecules that selectively bind to alpha-synuclein aggregates and may be useful as PET imaging agents. A clinical alpha-synuclein PET tracer could be applied for precise diagnosis of alpha-synuclein-associated diseases, including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy, and for facilitating development of treatments for patients of those diseases. Ming-Kuei Jang, CEO of APRINOIA Therapeutics, commented: "We are honored to receive this award from MJFF and are very grateful for the support from the foundation. The award will accelerate the progression of our alpha-synuclein program with our current industrial and academic collaborators. Our goal is to develop a tracer that could be widely accessible to the medical and research communities for advancing our knowledge of Parkinson's disease and other alpha-synuclein related diseases and for developing new treatments for our patients." About APRINOIA Therapeutics APRINOIA Therapeutics, headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, is currently advancing a pipeline featuring three diagnostic and two therapeutic products, collectively targeting brain disorders associated with tau and alpha-synuclein, while incubating the next wave of therapeutic projects. The Company is committed to building a strong pipeline with innovative products, as well as building strong collaborations with global and regional partners to accelerate its product development. The Company currently has operations in Taiwan, Mainland China, and Japan. About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research To learn more about the foundation, please visit https://www.michaeljfox.org/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/768211/APRINOIA_Therapeutics_Logo.jpg First structure in Norphlet comes online ahead of schedule, below FID estimate HOUSTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Dutch Shell plc, through its subsidiary Shell Offshore Inc (Shell) announces today that production has started at the Shell-operated Appomattox floating production system months ahead of schedule, opening a new frontier in the deep-water US Gulf of Mexico. Appomattox, which currently has an expected production of 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), is the first commercial discovery now brought into production in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico Norphlet formation. "That Appomattox was safely brought online ahead of schedule and far under budget is a testament to our ongoing commitment to drive down costs through efficiency improvements during execution," said Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell. "Appomattox creates a core long-term hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries." Appomattox is a story of efficiency through innovation. By way of optimised development planning, better designs and fabrication, and expert drilling execution, Appomattox has realised cost reductions of more than 40% since taking final investment decision in 2015. The start of production at Appomattox is only just the beginning of further maximising the flow of resources in the prolific Norphlet surrounding Appomattox. Shell's global deep-water business has a strong funnel of development and exploration opportunities in Brazil, the US, Mexico, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mauritania, and the Western Black Sea. Production worldwide is on track to reach more than 900,000 boe/d by 2020 from already discovered, established reservoirs. The company continues to be one of the largest leaseholders in the US deep water and remains one of the most prolific offshore producers of oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell designs and operates its deep-water projects to be competitive and, since 2014, has reduced its unit development costs and unit operating costs by about 45%. Cautionary Note The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. 'Subsidiaries', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest. This release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'could', 'estimate', 'expect', 'goals', 'intend', 'may', 'objectives', 'outlook', 'plan', 'probably', 'project', 'risks', "schedule", 'seek', 'should', 'target', 'will' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, May 23, 2019. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891691/Appomattox_Platform.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/449079/shell_oil_company_logo.jpg MONTREAL, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LGC Capital Ltd. (TSXV: LG) (OTCQB: LGGCF) ("LGC" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce the results of its annual and special meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") held yesterday in Montreal, Quebec. At the Meeting, all five of the nominees listed in the Corporation's management information circular dated April 17, 2019 were elected as directors, all with a vote of more than 92% of the shares voted in their favour. Accordingly, the directors of LGC for the ensuing year are Mohammed Ghafari, Mazen Haddad, Rafi Hazan, David Lenigas and Ferras Zalt. At the Meeting, shareholders adopted a special resolution approving a change in the name of the Corporation to "Elixxer Ltd." or such other name as the Corporation's directors may determine. The special resolution was supported by 98.94% of the votes cast at the Meeting. The Corporation intends to proceed with the name change as expeditiously as possible. Shareholders also adopted: a special resolution approving the creation of an unlimited number of preferred shares in the capital stock of the Corporation, with a vote of 95.11% in favour said special resolution; a resolution ratifying and confirming an amendment to the Corporation's 2016 Stock Option Plan so as to increase the number of common shares that can be issued thereunder, with a vote of 95.05% in favour of said resolution; and a resolution ratifying and confirming certain grants of stock options to three executive officers of the Corporation pursuant to the 2016 Stock Option Plan, with a vote of 94.23% of disinterested shareholders in favour of said resolution. At the Meeting, shareholders also re-appointed Ernst & Young LLP, Chartered Accountants, as the Corporation's auditor. Immediately following the Meeting, the Corporation's board of directors convened to appoint LGC's executive officers for the ensuing year. The Corporation is pleased to announce that Mr. Ferras Zalt has been named as the new Chairman of the Corporation's board of directors. Mr. Mazen Haddad was re-appointed as the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mark Shinners was re-appointed as the Corporation's Chief Financial Officer, Mr. John McMullen was re-appointed as the Corporation's President, Mr. Remy di Meglio was re-appointed as the Corporation's Chief Operating Officer, and Mr. Michael Kozub was re-appointed as the Corporation's Corporate Secretary. For further information please contact: President, John McMullen, +1-416-803-0698, john@lgc-capital.com Chief Financial Officer, Mark Shinners, mark@lgc-capital.com Caution Regarding Press Releases Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Beleave will add roughly 100,000 sq. ft. for cannabis extraction, processing, and cultivation. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Beleave Inc. (CSE: BE) (OTCQX: BLEVF) ("Beleave" or the "Company") is ready to move forward with the long-awaited expansion of its Hamilton facility after receiving approval from the Hamilton City Council. Last Tuesday, the Planning Committee unanimously authorized Beleave's request to rezone the Hamilton facility and allowed the application to proceed forward to last night's vote which marks the final step in the approval process and was awarded without opposition. "This is a major breakthrough for Beleave. Our whole team is so pleased to finally receive this approval which grants us the freedom to expand our vital operations and make good on the promise we made to our shareholders," said Beleave CEO, Bill Panagiotakopoulos. "Most of all, I am immensely proud of our leadership team and employees. They have worked diligently to make a day like today possible." Beleave's Hamilton facility is a state-of-the-art hub for high-efficiency extraction, processing, and cultivation of cannabis and cannabis-derived products. The newly-approved expansion will provide the ability to significantly increase current operations, distribution, and sales beyond what they are today. The Hamilton expansion is one of two major projects underway in Ontario for Beleave as it prepares for the anticipated increase in demand of cannabis and cannabis-derived products for the Canadian recreational and medical markets. Late last year, Beleave purchased an existing 250,000 sq. ft. greenhouse facility on 85 acres of land in London, Ontario. The Company has been developing the property for cannabis extraction, processing, and cultivation, and expects the project to be completed later this year. It includes the installation of 10 megawatts of electrical capacity fully serviced by London Hydro, HVAC systems, cultivation and processing equipment, and site engineering to match or exceed industry standards. A building permit was granted by the City of London on April 1, 2019. With both facilities approved by their respective municipal governments, the Company will now focus efforts toward a timely and cost-effective completion of both projects. Beleave thanks the Hamilton City Council for their continued cooperation and support through the approval process. The Company looks forward to an ongoing and productive relationship with the city and the community as a whole. ABOUT BELEAVE INC. Beleave is an ISO certified, Canadian cannabis company headquartered in the Greater Toronto Area that cultivates high-quality cannabis flower, oil and extracts for medical and recreational markets. Beleave is fully-licenced to cultivate and sell medical and recreational cannabis and is leading the way through research partnerships with universities to develop pharma-grade extracts and derivatives. Beleave is developing new product lines, including cannabis-infused products, oils, vape pens, and other novel cannabis delivery methods for 2019. Beleave has developed a network of medical cannabis clinics in Ontario and Quebec under the Medi-Green banner. Through its majority ownership of Procannmed S.A.S., Beleave is fully licensed to cultivate, produce, and extract medical cannabis in Colombia positioning it to capitalize on exports and the expanding Latin American market. The Company has partnered with Canymed GmbH to supply the German market with medical cannabis. Investor Relations Contact: Kevin Keagan Chief Communications Officer Phone: 1 (647) 449 - 7352 Email: kkeagan@beleave.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). The use of any of the words "plan", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur are intended to identify forward-looking information. These statements are only predictions. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking information addresses future events and conditions, by its very nature it involves inherent risks and uncertainties. This information speaks only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44996 Photo: Nelson Bennett China's switch from coal to gas driving LNG demand, Yao Li, CEO of SIA Energy, told the Canada Gas and LNG Conference May 21, 2019 China's impressive investments in renewable energy and electric vehicles have led some anti-fossil fuel activists, as well as some economists, to warn that new pipelines and LNG plants in Canada could become stranded assets. The fear is that China will decarbonize to such an extent that it won't need Canadian oil or natural gas. But Yao Li, CEO of Chinese energy consulting firm SIA Energy, said May 21 at the annual Canada Gas and LNG Conference that China's demand for LNG is almost infinite. China's shift from coal to natural gas to provide power will require a substantial increase in LNG imports, Li said, since only about 57% of its natural gas needs are supplied domestically. Nor will China be able to repeat the American shale gas revolution, she said, so it will need a lot of imports of LNG. In China, we have a coal-to-gas switching campaign going on, which contributed to huge demand growth, as well as imports of LNG, she said. While LNG suppliers can expect other Asian countries, like India, to also increase their imports of LNG, it's China that represents the biggest market. China is on target to be the largest LNG importer by 2025, Between 2020 and 2040, over the next 20 years, we are expecting the gas market to expand by close to 40%, said Dulles Wang, director for Wood Mackenzie. About two-thirds of the growth, in terms of gas demand, is going to come from China. China currently supplies about 57% of its natural gas needs domestically and imports 43% in from LNG imports. And even for its domestic gas, there is insufficient pipeline capacity, Li said. Two years ago, 60% of China's primary energy came from coal, Li said. It fell to 56% in the first quarter of 2019. Natural gas consumption rose from 6.5% of total energy consumption to 8.3% over that period. Li estimated China's demand for LNG imports will rise from less than 40 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 90 mtpa by 2030. So don't ask me how much is demand, Li said. Demand is almost infinite. The problem for LNG developers looking to make final investment decisions (FIDs) is that about half of the LNG China needs by 2030 has not been secured yet with long-term contracts. Projects that cost tens of billions of dollars in capital investments require long-term contracts before companies make FIDs. Now that Canada has a nascent LNG industry thanks to the $40 billion LNG Canada project's sanctioning last year the question is not whether Canada can get LNG projects approved or whether there is a demand for Canadian gas. The question now is whether other LNG proposals such as the Kitimat LNG project can make the project's economics work to capture market share before other LNG projects around the world do. There are plenty of other large LNG projects poised for FIDs in the U.S., Qatar and Mozambique, and many of those projects may have advantages over Canada in terms of their economics. The U.S. has emerged as a major LNG producer, with plants in the U.S. Gulf Coast pulling in natural gas from all corners of the U.S. Jack Weixel, vice-president of PointLogic Energy, said his firm is expecting record FIDs in 2019 and 2020. All are so-called second-wave projects, timed to meet a demand window expected to open in 2025-2026. By then global demand may not be able to keep pace with this pending supply surge, he said. - Nelson Bennett / Business in Vancouver Delta, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Desert Gold Ventures Inc. (TSXV: DAU) (FSE: QXR2) (OTC Pink: DAUGF) ("Desert Gold" or "the Company") announces that, subject to exchange approval, it will conduct a non-brokered private placement of up to 15,625,000 units at a price of CDN $0.16 per unit (the "Unit") to raise up to an aggregate of up to CDN $2,500,000 (the "Financing"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the equity of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share of the Company at a price of CDN $0.24 per common share for a period of two (2) years from the closing of the Financing. The proceeds of the Financing will be used primarily for drilling, property acquisition, and other exploration work at the Company's flagship Senegal Mali Shear Zone Project (the "SMSZ Project") in Western Mali (see Figure 1) and for general working capital purposes. The Company may pay a finder's fee to qualified finders in respect to the Financing. Securities issued as a result of the Financing will be subject to a statutory hold period. SMSZ Project priority drill targets include: Barani East to follow-up on an intercept of 6.3 g/t gold over 13 meters ( 1) OPEN down plunge; down plunge; KE zone to follow up on several intercepts highlighted by 5.89 g/t gold over 8 meters ( 1) ; ; The Frikidi area where more than three mineralized trends, with multiple grab samples returning values of greater than 100 g/t gold ( 2) ; ; An inferred structural intersection zone of three known mineralized trends and; Targets generated by field staff during the last few months of mapping and prospecting. As well, upon closing of the Ashanti Gold acquisition, a substantial effort will be directed towards modeling the significant amount of mineralization that has been discovered at the Gourbassi East and West zones and surrounding area. Highlighted drilling from the Gourbassi East and West zones include; 2.86 g/t gold over 43 meters, 4.36 g/t gold over 13 meters, 2.04 g/t gold over 75 meters and 8.02 g/t gold over 10 meters(1). Figure 1. Consolidated Farabantourou Project with Highlighted Historic Drill Results To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4954/44981_e4dd617b2405cbec_001full.jpg QA/QC PROCEDURES All grab samples were geologically described following Desert Gold's established standard operating procedures. For grab sampling, all individual samples represent approximately 2-3 kilograms that is sent for preparation and gold assaying at the SGS laboratories in Bamako, Mali. Each sample is fire-assayed for gold by SGS laboratories in Bamako using Au-FAA505 method that is a 50g fire assay fusion with AAS instrument finish. In addition to SGS own QA/QC (Quality Assurance/Quality Control) program, an internal quality control and quality assurance program is in place throughout the sampling program, using blind duplicates (1:20), blanks (1:20) and recognized industry standards (1:20). (1) Estimated true widths range from 60% to 95% of drilled width (2) Grab samples are selective samples and are not necessarily representative of the mineralisation hosted on the property Don Dudek, P.Geo. is a director of Desert Gold and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the Desert Gold scientific and technical information contained in this press release ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Jared Scharf" ___________________________ Jared Scharf President & Director ABOUT DESERT GOLD Desert Gold Ventures Inc. is a gold exploration and development company which holds 3 gold exploration permits in Western Mali (Farabantourou, Segala West and Djimbala) and its Rutare gold project in central Rwanda. For further information please visit www.SEDAR.com under the company's profile. Website: www.desertgold.ca CONTACT Jared Scharf, President and Director Email: jared.scharf@desertgold.ca Tel. No.: +1 (858) 247-8195 This news release contains forward-looking statements respecting the Company's ability to successfully complete the Offering. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially from those contained in such statements, including the inability of the Company to successfully complete the Offering. These uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, the strength of the capital markets, the price of gold; operational, funding, and liquidity risks; the degree to which mineral resource estimates are reflective of actual mineral resources; and the degree to which factors which would make a mineral deposit commercially viable are present; the risks and hazards associated with mining operations. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com and readers are urged to read these materials. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such statements unless required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the united states or to the account or benefit of a U.S. person absent an exemption from the registration requirements of such act. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44981 Solution to provide greater control and enable global growth A global retail company has selected Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) to upgrade its network. Zayo will provide the UK-based customer with a global network to support its business in over 150 countries. The solution will provide the customer with diverse wavelength connectivity and five 100G IP hubs across Western Europe and key locations in North America. The new network represents an upgrade to the customer's infrastructure and will deliver increased reliability to enable future business expansion. In addition, the solution will improve optimization and provide greater control of the routing of key traffic. The network leverages Zayo's dense fiber backbone across Europe and North America in addition to Zayo's Global Reach partnerships. Increasingly, retailers are upgrading their networks to support their online business, optimize their supply chain, introduce new services and enable big data analytics. "As part of our global capabilities, we are able to put the full power of both our network and partnerships to work to support this customer's significant ambitions for global growth," said Ian Cunningham, senior vice president of Sales at Zayo. "Online retailing relies on continuous, fast and high-quality connectivity and this customer has trusted us to deliver this expansive, high-performance solution." For more information on Zayo, please visit zayo.com. About Zayo Group Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) provides mission-critical bandwidth to the world's most impactful companies, fueling the innovations that are transforming our society. Zayo's 130,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers. Zayo's communications infrastructure solutions include dark fiber, private data networks, wavelengths, Ethernet, dedicated internet access and data center colocation services. Zayo owns and operates a Tier 1 IP backbone and 51 carrier-neutral data centers. Through its CloudLink service, Zayo provides low-latency private connectivity that attaches enterprises to their public cloud environments. Zayo serves wireless and wireline carriers, media, tech, content, finance, healthcare and other large enterprises. For more information, visit zayo.com. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words such as "believe," "expect," "plan," "continue," "will," "should," and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements will be achieved and actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. For additional information on these and other factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, see our risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in our filings with the SEC, including our 10-K dated August 24, 2018. We disclaim and do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005385/en/ Contacts: Media: Shannon Paulk, Corporate Communications 303-577-5897 press@zayo.com Investors: Brad Korch, Investor Relations 720-306-7556 IR@zayo.com TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Wi2Wi Corporation ("Wi2Wi" or the "Company"), announces that the garnishment proceedings initiated against it by its former CEO have been settled. The garnishment proceedings were commenced following the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Wilson v. Alharayeri, 2017 SCC 39 holding two former Wi2Wi directors personally liable for corporate oppression. On October 29, 2018, Ontario Superior Court has ruled in favor of the Company's former CEO in garnishment proceedings against Wi2Wi and ordered the Company to pay the sum of CAD 962,219.63 plus accrued interest to the Sheriff in the city of Toronto pursuant to the notice of garnishment (the Ontario Court Decision). The former directors are no longer affiliated with Wi2Wi. As part of the settlement Wi2Wi agreed to pay a lump sum of CAD 500,000 and, subject to regulatory approval, issue 4,000,000 common shares from treasury at a deemed price of CAD0.075 per common shares to its former CEO. For further information, please contact: Dawn Leeder Chief Financial Officer 608 203 0234 dawn_l@wi2wi.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About IoT and M2M Essentially, IoT and M2M describe the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. Driven by several factors including the growth in the availability of Broadband Internet, which reduces the cost of connecting, and the related increase in Wi-Fi capabilities as well as sensors built into myriad technologies, this has been described as the "perfect storm" for the IoT. Almost any device with an on and off switch that can be connected to the Internet (and/or to each other) - anything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices, cars, as well as machine components in the engine of a jet airplane or the drill of an oil rig. According to analyst firm Gartner, by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices. Others think this figure could be too conservative by a factor of four. About Wi2Wi Corporation Wi2Wi is a vertically-integrated technology company which designs, manufactures and markets high performance, low power wireless connectivity solutions, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) modules, and frequency control devices. The Company's products and services address numerous applications in the markets of Internet of Things (IoT), Machine to Machine (M2M), Avionics, Space, and Government Sponsored Projects. Wi2Wi's products and value-added services provide highly integrated, rugged, robust, and reliable multiprotocol wireless actuators with embedded software, along with customized timing and frequency control devices for customers, worldwide. The Company was founded in 2005 and is strategically headquartered in San Jose, California with satellite offices in Middleton, Wisconsin and Hyderabad, India. Wi2Wi's manufacturing operations, its laboratory for reliability and quality control, together with design and engineering for timing and frequency control devices are located in Middleton, WI. The branch office, located in Hyderabad, India, focuses on the development of wireless connectivity; both hardware and software. Wi2Wi's strategic objective is to service the unique needs of each customer by providing end to end wireless integration solutions and highly customizable timing and frequency control devices. Wi2Wi distinguishes itself from commodity grade products, with best in the market performance, highly reliable, low power wireless connectivity products with integrated software that supports broader temperature ranges and a longer product life cycle. Furthermore, Wi2Wi's end to end product solutions helps the customer substantially reduce their end product expense, certification cost, and overall R&D investment, in addition to substantially reducing the time to market. Wi2Wi has partnered with best in class global leaders in technology, manufacturing, and sales. The Company uses a wide network of manufacturer's representatives, worldwide, to promote its products and services, and has partnered with world class distributors for the fulfillment of orders along with direct sales. Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including management's assessment of future plans and operations, and the timing thereof, that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with the ability to access sufficient capital, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and overseas, industry conditions, stock market volatility. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits, including the amount of proceeds, that the Company will derive there from. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR website ( www.sedar.com ). Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements and if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Wi2Wi Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546320/Wi2Wi-Settles-Garnishment-Proceedings-with-Former-CEO PARIS, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / IdaHealth, a medical device company dedicated to modernizing proactive patient care through innovative monitoring systems, today introduced the company's Radial Occlusion Artery Monitoring (ROAM) technology, IdaFlo Tr, during a presentation at the annual meeting of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EuroPCR) in Paris. IdaFlo Tr is an innovative transradial nanotechnology-based bracelet that allows for the continuous, real-time and wireless monitoring of radial arterial blood flow. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - UrbanGold Minerals Inc. (TSXV: UGM) ("UrbanGold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced field operations on its 100% owned StarGold property in Quebec (the "Property") where a large angular boulder which reportedly analyzed 279 g/t gold along with variable amounts of silver, copper and zinc in grab samples (See February 21, 2019 UrbanGold press release). The field crew has arrived on the property to conduct surface exploration over the entire property, initially focusing on the strongest electromagnetic anomalies identified by the recently completed helicopter-borne survey. The use of ground instruments designed to detect sub-cropping Magnetic and Conductive bedrock and boulders will greatly facilitate exploration. All conductive targets are efficiently accessible by road or waterways. The prospecting, trenching and sampling program is to be followed-up by drilling positive results. Mathieu Stephens, President and CEO of UrbanGold commented: "We are excited to start field operations on this promising property and look forward to drilling". The 6,318-hectare Property is located 200 kilometres northeast of the town of Val-d'Or, a gold mining hub and 68 kilometres south of the Windfall gold deposits. The Property is easily accessible by a network of forestry roads and accommodation is available on the property. Please refer to the UrbanGold website for the location of the Property with respect to the Monaco property and Windfall deposit. The Property acquisition is pending TSX Venture Exchange Inc. approval and it is to be noted that grab samples are selective in nature and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the Property. Qualified Person This news release has been prepared by Mathieu Stephens, P.Geo., President and CEO for UrbanGold, the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About UrbanGold UrbanGold is incorporated under the federal laws of Canada and has its principal office in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Company is engaged in the evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Canada, and its current focus is Quebec. The Company plans to ultimately develop the properties, bring them into production, option or lease the properties to third parties, or sell the properties outright. The Company has not determined whether these properties contain mineral reserves that are economically recoverable, and the Company is considered to be in the exploration stage. Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information. See "Risk Factors" in the Company's Final Prospectus dated December 13, 2018 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of these risks. The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. For further information Mathieu Stephens, Chief Executive Officer mstephens@urbangoldminerals.com Jens Hansen, Chairman of the Board jhansen@urbangoldminerals.com Phone (613) 721-2919 www.urbangoldminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/44968 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / PJX Resources Inc. ("PJX") is pleased to announce that interpretation of down-hole Electromagnetic survey data combined with Magnetotelluric (MT) geophysics suggests that the source of a large MT anomaly may offset approximately 100 metres from the recently completed hole drilled to test the anomaly. The drill hole intersected a fault-controlled block of rock at target depth that appears to have displaced the source of the MT anomaly which could be a massive sulphide body. (see MT cross sections http://pjxresources.com/mt-sections.jpg) The core of the MT anomaly is also coincident with the most highly susceptible magnetic area in the survey according to Quantec Geoscience's interpretation. This supports the potential for magnetic massive iron sulphides, such as pyrrhotite, that are commonly associated with zinc, lead and other sulphides at the Sullivan and other massive sulphide deposits. (see MT-Mag cross section http://pjxresources.com/mt-mag-sections.jpg) Recent field evaluation of surface mapping and drill core by geologists Dave Pighin, Dr. Trygve Hoy, and John Keating, in consultation with Dr. George Hudak, has concluded that the shape and orientation of the MT anomalies are consistent with the orientation of folding and shearing within a 100 to 300m thick deformation zone. This zone locally hosts disseminated and bands of sphalerite (zinc), galena (lead) and pyrrhotite-pyrite (iron) mineralization. "This new geological understanding will be used to guide exploration to discover potential folded and sheared massive sulphide bodies within the MT anomalies," states John Keating. "Deformation hosted deposits, such as Broken Hill, Geco, Lyon Lake and others, are often controlled by the pattern of folding and shearing. The ability to correlate the MT anomalies to these fold and shear patterns will help define the shape and orientation of potential massive sulphide ore shoots. In addition, the target horizon defined by MT geophysics and the thick deformation zone appears large enough to host a potential deformed deposit the size of the Sullivan or Broken Hill deposits. Additional drilling is planned over the coming months." Background In late 2018, MT geophysics by Quantec Geoscience detected both shallow and large, deeper conductive MT targets that could be identifying multiple massive sulphide bodies. Drilling the shallow MT target intersected a narrow massive sulphide vein in early 2019. The vein is conductive and considered to be proof of concept that MT is identifying massive sulphide mineralization and not another source of conductivity, such as graphite. The massive sulphide vein hosts zinc, lead, silver with anomalous gold and copper mineralization and may represent remobilized sulphide from a deposit at depth. The large MT target identified at depth has an 800 metre strike length and can be traced down dip for over 2,000 metres. The recent hole to test this MT target intersected a fault-controlled block of geology hosting localized tourmaline alteration at target depth. Tourmaline is an alteration found in and proximal to the Sullivan Deposit. This block of geology appears to have displaced the source of the MT anomaly, and a potential massive sulphide body, by approximately 100 metres from the drill hole. This assessment is based on Quantec Geoscience's interpretation of down-hole and MT geophysical survey data. The road-accessible Vine Property is located approximately 140 km east of the Trail Metallurgical Complex and about 35 km south of the historical Sullivan Mine, which operated for over 90 years before being closed in 2001. The property is at an elevation with terrain amenable to drill at any time of the year. It is crossed by two power lines as well as a rail line and is only a 20-minute drive south along Highway 3 from Cranbrook, British Columbia. Dave Pighin (P.Geo) discovered the Fors massive sulphide body and Vine massive sulphide vein for Cominco. Dr. Trygve Hoy (P.Eng) is an economic and structural geologist who has studied and written papers on the controls and setting of the Sullivan and other mineral deposits. (Dr. Hoy worked with the British Columbia Geological Survey and currently serves as a Director on the Board of PJX). Dr. George Hudak (P.Geo) is with the University of Minnesota and is an expert on volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit formation in structurally deformed Precambrian terrains. The foregoing geological disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Dave Pighin P.Geo. and John Keating P.Geo. (qualified persons for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Mr. Pighin is the consulting geologist for PJX on the Vine Property. Mr. Keating is the President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of PJX. About PJX Resources Inc. PJX is a mineral exploration company focused on building shareholder value and community opportunity through the exploration and development of mineral resources with a focus on gold and base metals. PJX's properties are located in the historical mining area of Cranbrook and Kimberley, British Columbia. Please refer to our web site http://www.pjxresources.com for additional information. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Linda Brennan, Chief Financial Officer (416) 799-9205 info@pjxresources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information This News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements which relate to future events. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to exploration results, the success of exploration activities, mine development prospects, completion of economic assessments, and future gold production. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "appears to", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking-statements. Although PJX has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. SOURCE: PJX Resources Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546267/Geophysics-Suggests-Potential-Massive-Sulphide-Body-may-be-Offset-Approximatley-100-Metres-from-Recent-Drill-Hole-on-PJX-Resources-Vine-Property Verified transparency guarantees security Mindbreeze receives attestation for its Mindbreeze InSpire SaaS service according to the specifications of the C5 catalogue of requirements (Cloud Computing Compliance Controls Catalogue, abbreviated C5), published by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The Mindbreeze InSpire SaaS service is professionally operated in Mindbreeze data centers on behalf of the customers. The attestation was issued by KPMG Alpen-Treuhand GmbH Wirtschaftsprufungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft. "The number of cloud services in the field of data analysis is growing steadily. This makes it all the more essential for customers to take a closer look at the choice of suppliers. C5 provides the regulatorily defined IT security level, which is comparable to the IT basic protection level that is increased by cloud controls," explains Klaus Schatz, Managing Director of KPMG Advisory GmbH. C5 attestation (ISAE 3000 Report Type 2) is a recognized and authoritative verification for all customers who use Mindbreeze in the cloud (Mindbreeze InSpire SaaS), demonstrating the high level of information security in a verifiable way. The BSI Cloud Computing Compliance Controls Catalogue stipulates the minimum requirements that cloud service providers must fulfill. The defined general parameters constitute a distinguishing feature of the BSI C5 and guarantee transparency with regard to the system description, jurisdiction, and locations of data storage, data processing, and data security, disclosure and investigatory powers, as well as certifications. "For businesses that are already managing high volumes of data in cloud solutions, keeping them in the cloud and obtaining our service through the cloud is the best option. The data sources are connected via connectors in the usual way, the content is analyzed, correlations are recognized and then linked accordingly. In this way, we offer our customers the flexibility to choose how they want to implement Mindbreeze in their company," explains Daniel Fallmann, founder and managing director of Mindbreeze. About Mindbreeze Mindbreeze is a leading provider of appliances and cloud services for enterprise search, applied artificial intelligence, and knowledge management. The insight engine understands information and offers a consolidated view of corporate knowledge regardless of where (data sources) and how (structured, unstructured) the data is stored. Through a global network of partners, Mindbreeze covers all time zones. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005426/en/ Contacts: Press contact: Ulrike Kogler T: +43 732 606162-620 E: pr@mindbreeze.com LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- For Bitcoin to have any chance of replacing existing payment options, it needs to scale to the point where it can handle as many or more transactions than those methods offer. Bitcoin SV (BSV) is proving it's capable of that massive scaling, with the nChain BSV Node Team , with the help of the Satoshi Shotgun team, showing on the Bitcoin SV Scaling Test Network (STN) that they can now achieve 1.42GB blocks . The team conducted the tests on May 21, and had the plan of testing bigger block sizes in 200MB increments, until they hit either 1GB or started encountering a natural limit in the software. These increased block size tests were made possible by the recent upgrade to BSV 0.2.0 , which now allows block sizes of up to 10GB on the testnet. They quickly saw the success they were looking for, surpassing previous records and mining five 1GB+ blocks in total, with two at 1.42GB. They encountered two small issues, with block explorers experiencing degraded services and bandwidth restrictions in China affecting a node, but they didn't cause any major issues. Brad Kristensen, STN operations manager, wrote that they ended the test because the "Stresstest team and the nChain team both needed some sleep." Discovering those two issues were a productive step though. As Kristensen notes, the reason for testing higher block sizes was to "identify those breaking points well in advance," so they could be addressed before the mainnet gets bigger blocks. The biggest block handled 359,793 transactions, which is quite a feat when compared to the narrow capacity of Bitcoin Core (BTC). Kristensen notes in the test plan that transaction counts are more of a constraint than block sizes now, and this test was a way to help analyze that. These new 1GB+ block sizes are being rightly celebrated in the BSV community. Dr. Craig Wright , the man behind the pseudonymous name Satoshi Nakamoto and creator of the Bitcoin whitepaper, said of the news: "When I started developing bitcoin, the existing Visa network could process 15 million Internet purchases a day. It is now closer to 25 million a day but with the results from my team we have shown that bitcoin will shortly be able to exceed this level. With Moore's law bitcoin is capable now of scaling faster than Visa or MasterCard combined." Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen also had something to say about the test. "Big blocks, big businesses," he began, focusing on the ultimate end goal of bigger blocks. "With these impressive test results, Bitcoin SV continues its path to massive scaling to become the global enterprise blockchain - just like Bitcoin's creator Craig S. Wright ( Satoshi Nakamoto ) always intended." Remarking on how other so-called Bitcoin developers, like the BTC team, have strayed, Nguyen noted, "The other projects which claim Bitcoin's mantle have abandoned that vision, but we are building the original Bitcoin every day now on Bitcoin SV." The developers behind the BSV also had plenty to say about this recent success. Daniel Connoly, BSV's lead developer, wrote: "These achievements show that we're on the right path with our improvements to the node implementation, but more importantly, they show that Bitcoin, as originally designed, scales." Steve Shadders , BSV's technical director, wanted to celebrate the successes of the team, and what this means for Bitcoin's future. "I congratulate the Bitcoin SV team for exceeding expectations once again," he began. "For me the most exciting metric captured in this test is the block transaction fees. For the first time ever we have seen a block where the transaction fees collected exceeded the block reward. This means Bitcoin is finally becoming the Bitcoin that Satoshi envisioned, driven and incentivised by transaction fees. We are entering a new paradigm not only with the advent of data use cases but also in the fee driven behaviour of miners." Finally, Kristensen wanted to thank the efforts of the SV Node team, who made this possible with their hard work and professionalism. "A truly commendable effort was put in by Steve, Daniel and the rest of the SV Node team, their work is world class and the rigorous QA and testing their code is put through shows in the results we achieved today," he wrote. "Part of the 0.2.0 release to make this possible included a hard fork on the STN chain, which went through without a hitch or "lost" transaction." This massive news is a yet again a testament to BSV's ability to scale the blockchain and achieve a new vision for the world's money and data. If you want to join in on the celebration, the CoinGeek Toronto scaling conference is started in less than a week at the Carlu in Toronto. If you haven't already, register now to see other exciting things going on in the world of Bitcoin, and maybe meet some of the people who made this success possible. Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (SegWit) chain are referenced as BTC coins; tokens on the Bitcoin Cash ABC chain are referenced as BCH, BCH-ABC or BAB coins. Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) is today the only Bitcoin project that follows the original Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper, and that follows the original Satoshi protocol and design. BSV is the only public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin and will massively scale to become the world's new money and enterprise blockchain. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/803908/Bitcoin_SV_Logo.jpg Photo: The Canadian Press Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice, from the television show "Real Housewives of New Jersey", stands during a hearing in the Passaic County Courthouse in Paterson, N.J. A federal court has ruled that the husband of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast member Teresa Giudice can stay in the U.S. as he appeals deportation to his native Italy. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia delayed Joe Giudice's deportation in an order published Wednesday. The court is expected to issue a decision within a few months, after attorneys for Giudice and the government file briefs. A message seeking comment as left Thursday with an attorney for Giudice. The Giudices pleaded guilty in 2014 to financial fraud. Under an agreement that allowed them to serve staggered sentences to allow for the care of their four young daughters, Teresa Giudice served her sentence first and was released in December 2015. Her husband then served his term and was released in March. A judge had ruled in October that Joe Giudice would be deported upon completion of his sentence. Giudice has said through his attorneys that he came to the U.S. as an infant and wasn't aware he wasn't an American citizen. A group of more than two dozen former immigration judges this month filed a brief with the 3rd Circuit in support of Giudice's appeal. Giudice has been held at an immigration detention centre in Pennsylvania since his release from prison. The couple pleaded guilty in 2014 to bankruptcy fraud and submitting false loan applications to get $5 million in mortgages and construction loans. Joe Giudice also pleaded guilty to not paying about $200,000 in income taxes. STOCKHOLM, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tobii Pro, global leader in eye tracking research solutions, accelerates growth with the opening of a new office in Santiago, Chile. The expansion enables direct sales of Tobii Pro's eye tracking hardware and software and the Latin America sales office will now start offering research consultancy services in the region. The new office will serve customers in a region with world class universities and a fast-growing commercial market. It extends the reach of Tobii Pro's research consultancy team focused on helping businesses grow by providing insights from visual attention on what drives customer behavior and decision making. "Opening our own office in Latin America is in line with our strategy to increase our local presence in key regions. We can better support our local customers while broadening the offering for our global customers looking to run eye tracking studies in multiple markets", said Tom Englund, President of Tobii Pro. As part of the expansion, previous reseller Eye On Media joins the Tobii Pro team and Eye on Media's customers will now be served directly by Tobii Pro. "I am really happy to welcome the Eye On Media team to Tobii Pro and the Tobii family. Eye On Media has been a reseller of our solutions since 2009 and the team has extensive experience in both eye tracking for behavioral research and the local market," Tom Englund continues. Tobii Pro is the division of Tobii Group focused on empowering professionals with revolutionary insight into human behavior. The comprehensive product portfolio of eye tracking research tools spans from high performance hardware systems - desktop and wearable - to software and cloud to consulting and services. With the addition of Chile, Tobii Pro now has offices in Sweden, UK, Germany, France, US, Japan, Singapore, China, Korea, Taiwan and Chile. Contact Cecilia Lago Albright, PR & Communications Manager, Tobii Pro, Phone: +46-707-431345, email: cecilia.albright@tobii.com Ola Elmeland, Investor Relations Manager, Tobii AB, Phone: +46-73-440-98-62, email: ola.elmeland@tobii.com This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/tobii-ab/r/tobii-pro-announces-office-expansion-in-latin-america,c2815126 The following files are available for download: SpendEdge, a leading provider of procurement market intelligence solutions, has announced the completion of their trade promotion optimization engagement for a consumer packaged goods company This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005227/en/ Trade promotion optimization engagement for a consumer packaged goods company. (Graphic: Business Wire) Project background The company wanted to improve the accuracy of their sales forecasting, determine cannibalization within the brand portfolio, and establish baseline sales. The key objectives they aimed to achieve through this engagement are mentioned below. Objective 1: The company wanted to improve its existing sales and marketing planning capabilities to increase the net profit of the organization. The company wanted to improve its existing sales and marketing planning capabilities to increase the net profit of the organization. Objective 2: They also wanted to reduce inefficient trade spend by improving collaboration with retailers. They also wanted to reduce inefficient trade spend by improving collaboration with retailers. Looking for detailed insights? Request a free demo from our experts and know how they can help you optimize trade promotion spend and improve existing sales. "Trade promotion optimization process is vital for companies to achieve profitable growth for their brand and retail partners by improving baseline sales," says a procurement expert from SpendEdge. Key findings and solutions offered In partnership with SpendEdge, the client a consumer packaged goods company - improved sales revenue by controlling the flow of goods and tracking return on promotional investment. The solution offered helped them to: Increase demand for specific items and customers in retail stores and improve sales revenue by 12%. Integrate customer planning into the sales process and identify the most impactful customers. Want to know how optimizing trade promotions can help companies to improve sales revenue? Request a free proposal and access our complete portfolio of procurement market intelligence solutions. Outcome: The solution offered by the experts at SpendEdge helped the CPG company to amalgamate their trade area data with retailer data and create formal trade promotion policies. This helped the client to analyze their trade spend and strategize their promotions more effectively. The solution offered helped the client to identify profitable customers and target them through trade promotion strategies. In addition, strategically offering discounts improved sales revenue of the client by 12%. To access the complete case study on how we helped a CPG company to increase its sales revenues substantially by improving trade promotion management, get in touch with our experts here! About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. Want to gain detailed insights? We're here to help you out! Tell us more about your business challenges. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005227/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Limonest, 22 May 2019 The LDLC Group, a specialised retailer of IT and high-tech equipment, plans to launch a marketplace on its LDLC.com website by the end of the year. In response to customer demand and in keeping with its constant endeavour to expand the range of products offered to its customers, the LDLC Group has decided to launch a marketplace on the LDLC.com website by the end of 2019. The new marketplace will supplement the website catalogue of IT and high-tech products by offering a significantly broader selection of related products (IT, image & sound, telephone & car, games & leisure, connected devices and stationery) for which proprietary sourcing by the LDLC Group is not worthwhile. In addition to the IT and high-tech expertise that are the hallmark of the LDLC Group, LDLC.com customers will have access, via a single website, to an extensive selection of related products rivalling the product offerings of all major general retail e-commerce websites. LDLC.com aims to market over 100,000 additional products by March 2020 by admitting a carefully screened selection of trusted vendor partners, who will themselves benefit from the additional visibility and visitor traffic made available through LDLC.com. The Group is currently selecting these partners on the website https://www.ldlc.com/n4894/marketplace/, and plans to roll out the marketplace in Q4 2019. Olivier de La Clergerie, LDLC Group CEO, said: "While staying focused on its specialised retailer model, the LDLC Group has decided to expand its product offering in an appropriate way through this marketplace. This new development will allow us to expand our offering, attract new customers and generate additional revenues in our BtoC segment, further increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty but with limited investments." OVERVIEW OF THE LDLC GROUP The LDLC Group was one of the first to venture into online sales in 1997. Now a major online BtoB and BtoC retailer of IT and high-tech equipment, the LDLC Group operates via 10 websites, including 5 online stores, and employs over 1,050 people. Winner of a number of customer service awards and widely recognised for the efficiency of its integrated logistics platforms, the Group is also developing an extensive chain of brand stores and franchises. Find all the information you need at www.groupe-ldlc.com ACTUS CONTACTS Investor & Media Relations Olivier Lambert / Marie-Claude Triquet olambert@actus.fr - mctriquet@actus.fr - Tel.: + 33 (0)4 72 18 04 93 ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Recevez gratuitement par email les prochains communiques de la societe en vous inscrivant sur www.actusnews.com Communique integral et original au format PDF:Telecharger le PDF MOSCOW, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Alliance of Trade Union Organisations "Chrysotile", welcomes the results of the Rotterdam Convention meeting. Thanks to the consolidated position of 10 countries - Russia, Syria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Pakistan, India, Iran and Cuba - chrysotile asbestos was not included in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, which sets limits for international trade of hazardous chemical substances. Chrysotile asbestos is the safest commercial fibre, used mainly for production of high-density roofing materials, facade boards and pipes. This material has unique qualities: fire resistance, plasticity, low electrical conductivity. In developing countries chrysotile products represent important construction materials, which allow to build high-quality, durable and affordable housing. Banning chrysotile asbestos could have potentially disastrous consequences, including unemployment, impoverishment, and a decrease in the availability of governmental programmes for providing housing and drinking water to residents. It's important to note those who oppose chrysotile have no convincing arguments to support banning the mineral. Based on numerous studies carried out by international organisations, specialist research institutes and scientific groups, the International Alliance of Trade Union Organisations "Chrysotile" asserts that the controlled use of chrysotile asbestos and its products is safe for both workers and consumers. The ban of chrysotile asbestos is unjustified and would inevitably lead to disastrous consequences. That is why during the Rotterdam Convention meeting, workers supported the pro-chrysotile movement by means of public rallies and demonstrations. Dmitry Selyanin, Counselor of the International Alliance of Trade Union Organisations "Chrysotile", explained his position: "Asbestos is a mineral that gives life to cities, provides shelter to billions people from all over the world, provides work for hundreds of thousands of people. We are for chrysotile!" Also, we are confident that it would be impossible to achieve such a result without the consolidated approach from the Government of Russia and EEC countries, which made efforts to study the issue in detail. MONTREAL, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1969, Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon and Yoko Ono) recorded Give Peace A Chance, an anti-war anthem for generations of pacifists and music fans around the world. The song was recorded live from Lennon and Ono's Queen Elizabeth Hotel suite in downtown Montreal, where John and Yoko were holding their famous "Bed-in for Peace" protest. Fifty years later, the Mint has captured that special moment in Canadian and music history with a pure silver coin celebrating Lennon and Ono's artistic talent and social activism, in a deal brokered by Epic Rights, the global licensing agent for John Lennon. "For generations of Canadians, the music and lyrics of John Lennon and Yoko Ono have been a source of pleasure and inspiration," said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "We are delighted to have crafted a coin celebrating Canada's special connection to John and Yoko, and their lasting message of peace." "For the 50th anniversary of the Bed-in for Peace, we are honoured that the Royal Canadian Mint is paying tribute to a marking moment in our hotel and our city's history by issuing a commemorative coin," mentions David Connor, Regional Vice-President and General Manager, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth. "We hope that it will help promote greater awareness about John and Yoko's message of peace which still has strong resonance and importance today." The reverse design of this 99.99% pure silver coin features a rendering of Ivor Sharp's famous black and white photograph of John and Yoko at their "Bed-In for Peace," held in Montreal in the late spring of 1969. Dressed in pyjamas and both holding roses, they sit on a bed, with handmade peace posters hanging behind them. The obverse features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt. Limited to a world-wide mintage of 9,999 the coin retails for $99.99 CAD. Full background information on this coin can be found on the "Shop" tab of www.mint.ca . Coin images are available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qe24k8kmridut9l/AAA6y1sSwhLSvM849E2IXhHla?dl=0 This product can be ordered directly from the Mint at 1-800-267-1871 in Canada, 1-800-268-6468 in the US, or on the Mint's web site. The coin is also available at the Royal Canadian Mint's boutiques in Ottawa and Winnipeg, as well as through our global network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets. About the Royal Canadian Mint The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca . About Epic Rights Epic Rights is a leading music industry retail branding, merchandising and concert artist services company representing many top artists. Epic Rights provides a broad scope of services, including retail branding and licensing, official artist's website and social media management, official concert artists online shops, VIP ticketing, official fan communities and trademark registration consultation. Epic Rights is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. For more information, visit: www.epicrights.com . Alex Reeves, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Tel: (613) 884-6370, reeves@mint.ca Company Announcement No. 7-2019, 23 May 2019 Pursuant to Section 30 of the Danish Capital Markets Act, FLSmidth has been informed that BESTINVER GESTION, S.A SGIIC holds a total of 2.740.747 FLSmidth & Co. A/S shares, which corresponds to 5.35% of the total nominal share capital in FLSmidth & Co. A/S. Contact Investors Nicolai Mauritzen, ph: +45 36 18 18 51, nicm@flsmidth.com (mailto:nicm@flsmidth.com) FLSmidth delivers sustainable productivity to the global mining and cement industries. We deliver market-leading engineering, equipment and service solutions to our customers enabling them to improve performance, drive down costs and reduce environmental impact. Our operations span the globe and our 11,400 employees are present in more than 60 countries. In 2018, FLSmidth generated a revenue of DKK 18.8 billion. www.flsmidth.com (http://www.flsmidth.com) Company Announcement 7 - Large shareholder announcement (http://hugin.info/2106/R/2245123/886780.pdf) This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: FLSmidth via Globenewswire LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading international Trade Fairs wire and Tube sponsor the first CRU Conference in Johannesburg in November 2019 The African continent is full of economic challenges. Especially Africa's enormous oil and gas reserves, its numerous copper mines, large aluminium deposits and expanding regional steel industry have moved the continent into the focus of international investors more than ever before. Ambitious infrastructure projects fuel the local economy which, in turn, seeks foreign know-how for implementing these measures. International manufacturers of machinery and equipment for the wire and cable industries and the producers of tube making and finishing machines are therefore highly sought-after partners for industry. Wires, cables and tubes are required in mining and the energy sector and in infrastructure. Reason enough for Messe Dusseldorf, the organiser of the world's biggest trade fair for wire, cable and tube - wire and Tube - to take part as a sponsor in the Africa Wire, Cable & Tube Conference held for the first time by the British organiser CRU in cooperation with AHK, the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Southern Africa, in Johannesburg/South Africa from 11 to 13 November 2019. The high-calibre conference aims to bring together local suppliers and international experts to discuss future joint investment and ventures. The current investment climate as well as the political framework and economic conditions will be illustrated and discussed by local and international experts and serve as a decision-making tool for potential foreign investors interested in Africa's industries. The principal organiser CRU looks back on 50 years of experience and leverages a growing international network for organising and holding conferences in the segments metal, mining, fertilizers and other sectors of industry. Messe Dusseldorf boasts 70 years of experience acquired in the organisation and running of B2B and B2C fairs. For 60 years it has also organised trade fairs and events around the globe. The inaugural Africa Wire, Cable & Tube Conference will be held on 11-13 November 2019 at the Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa. Please visit www.africawirecabletubeconference.com for more details about the inaugural event and to book your place. We would like to invite all members of the press involved in these industries to support the conference. Please contact email kay.beloe@crugroup.com to request free access or to discuss media partnerships. About CRU CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events. In 2019, CRU celebrates 50 years in business. Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China. CRU employs over 280 experts and has more than 11 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia - our office in Beijing opened in 2004 and Singapore in 2018. When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response. CRU - big enough to deliver a high-quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers. Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU For further information and interviews, please contact: Kay Beloe, CRU Events, Tel: +44-(0)-20-7903-2091, Email: kay.beloe@crugroup.com About Messe Dusseldorf and wire and Tube With more than 70 years of experience in making fairs in Dusseldorf and around the world, Messe Dusseldorf is the ideal partner and lead sponsor of the first Africa Wire, Cable & Tube Conference in November 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. An increasing team in Dusseldorf and abroad is responsible for more than 30 fairs within the growing Portfolio Metals and Flow Technologies with fairs like wire, Tube, VALVE WORLD EXPO, GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST and their worldwide satellites. The international fairs wire and Tube have been held jointly at Dusseldorf Fairgrounds for over 30 years now. As no. 1 trade fairs for their respective industries, they are not only international top players in their industries but the world's leading exhibition platforms for industrial innovations around the globe. Eleven international satellites have already been established throughout the world for the wire and tube sectors of industry. These include - alongside the leading trade fairs wire and Tube Dusseldorf - the satellites wire China and Tube China in Shanghai, wire and Tube India in Mumbai, wire and Tube Russia in Moscow, wire and Tube Southeast Asia in Bangkok, wire South America and TUBOTECH in Sao Paulo as well as the Tube & Pipe Producers and Suppliers Pavilion at FABTECH in Chicago. A worldwide portfolio with further growth potential. www.wire.de; www.Tube.de Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/892031/CRU_Messe_Tube.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/892032/CRU_Messe_wire.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/648443/CRU_Logo.jpg LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com (http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/ )is a top auto insurance brokerage website, providing car insurance quotes online from trustworthy agencies all over the United States. This website offers car insurance info about different coverage types and money saving tips. Online questionnaires will determine a user's insurability score and its associated risk profile. Based on this profile, the price estimates will be calculated. However, keep in mind that many parameters can be optimized by the user, thus lowering the price. For more useful articles about car insurance and money-saving tips, visit the BLOG PAGE! 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Cheapquotesautoinsurance.com 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. For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit http://cheapquotesautoinsurance.com/ Contact: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546363/What-Info-is-Required-by-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online Hyperloop Transportation Technologies presents certification guidelines to European Commission as foundation to unite industry - Created together with TUV SUD, HyperloopTT presents the first complete set of generic guidelines for design, operation, and certification to the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission in Brussels - This latest set of guidelines builds upon the core safety requirements and guidelines developed and presented by HyperloopTT and TUV SUD in Munich, Germany in September 2018 - HyperloopTT continues to accelerate international standardization of Hyperloop technology and support governments by implementing regulations - The guideline details over 125 system requirements, positioning Hyperloop to become the safest means of transport PLAYA VISTA, California, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced today the presentation of the first finalized generic guideline for design, operation, and certification for Hyperloop systems to the Director of Land Transport at DG Move, the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission in Brussels. This marks the first critical step to begin the process of regulating Hyperloop systems by the European Union. The guideline was created as part of an ambitious approach from HyperloopTT and TUV SUD, one of the world's leading testing, certification and inspection companies. In September of 2018, the two organizations along with world leading reinsurance company, Munich Re, revealed that Hyperloop was safe and insurable with the first core safety requirements and insurance frameworks for Hyperloop systems. Today's guideline builds on the completion of the core safety requirements and the implementation of certification processes as well as further development for the construction and operation of Hyperloop systems worldwide. "The EU is a world reference for transport research, safety standards and regulation. To facilitate their development and being open to innovation: this is why we are interested in the analysis presented here on Hyperloop. Hyperloop as new transport technologies can be a great opportunity to connect EU countries and regions even better, and to deliver energy efficient, carbon-free land transport," said Elisabeth Werner, Director of Land Transport at DG Move. "It is important to create unified standards and procedures with HyperloopTT's system along with other potential system providers. HyperloopTT continues to be at the forefront of the Hyperloop movement, working directly with governments and members of the regulatory industry," said Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of HyperloopTT. "We are pleased to be working alongside the European Commission and our industry-leading partners to help create this latest guideline." "We are working with governments around the world to create the necessary legal framework. It is exciting to see these efforts move forward," said Andres De Leon, COO of HyperloopTT. "The United States has created a special council for Hyperloop commercialization and the European Commission has now taken the first step in creating industry wide regulations." "In a multi disciplinary approach by utilizing certification for existing aerospace, train and other industries - and testing this against the experience of HyperloopTT's engineering teams we have created the most comprehensive work to date for the design, operation and certification of Hyperloop systems," Ferdinand Neuwieser, CEO of TUV SUD Industrie Service GmbH. "With this effort we will be able to accelerate Hyperloop technology development while creating what promises to become the safest means of transport in the modern era." About TUV SUD Founded in 1866 as a steam boiler inspection association, the TUV SUD Group has evolved into a global enterprise. More than 24,000 employees work at over 1.000 locations in about 50 countries to continually improve technology, systems, and expertise. They contribute significantly to making technical innovations such as Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, renewable energy and transportation systems safe and reliable. https:// www.tuvsud.com/ About HyperloopTT Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) is an innovative transportation and technology company focused on realizing the Hyperloop, a system that moves people and goods at unprecedented speeds safely, efficiently, and sustainably. Through the use of unique, patented technology and an advanced business model of lean collaboration, open innovation, and integrated partnership, HyperloopTT is creating and licensing technologies. Founded in 2013, HyperloopTT is a global team comprised of more than 800 engineers, creatives and technologists in 52 multidisciplinary teams, with 40 corporate and university partners. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, HyperloopTT has offices in Dubai, UAE; Bratislava, Slovakia; Toulouse, France; and Barcelona, Spain. HyperloopTT has signed agreements in the United States, UAE, Brazil, France, India, China, Korea, Indonesia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Ukraine. HyperloopTT is led by co-founders Dirk Ahlborn (CEO) and Bibop G. Gresta (Chairman) and a senior management team of experienced entrepreneurs and professionals. For more information or media inquiries, contact press@hyperloop.global or visit http://Hyperloop.global/ . Hyperloop Transportation Technologies' images and assets can be found here Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/892066/Hyperloop_guideline_cover.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/892068/Hyperloop.jpg Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against Daniel Pacheco, a resident of San Clemente, California, and the alleged perpetrator of a multimillion-dollar pyramid scheme. The SEC's complaint, filed Wednesday, alleges that from January 2017 through March 2018, Pacheco conducted a fraudulent, unregistered offering of securities through two California-based companies he controls, IPro Solutions LLC and IPro Network LLC (collectively, "IPro"). IPro raised more than $26 million from investors by selling instructional packages that provided lessons on e-commerce. Investors also received "points" that could be converted into a digital asset known as PRO Currency. Investors who contributed additional funds could earn a mixture of cash commissions and additional convertible points by recruiting new investors into the IPro network. As alleged in the complaint, however, IPro was a fraudulent pyramid scheme. IPro's inevitable collapse was hastened by Pacheco's fraudulent use of investor funds, which included, among other things, the all-cash purchase of a $2.5 million home and a Rolls Royce. Pacheco's misappropriation accelerated the rate at which IPro became unable to pay the commissions and bonuses due its investors. The complaint further alleged that Pacheco's offer and sale of IPro instructional packages constituted an unregistered sale of securities because the IPro instructional packages involve (i) an investment in a pyramid scheme; and/or (ii) an investment in the PRO Currency digital assets, and therefore must be registered with the SEC unless an exemption applies. No registration exemption applies to Pacheco's offer and sale of IPro instructional packages. "We allege that Pacheco hid an old fraud under the guise of cutting-edge technology,"said Michele Wein Layne, Director of the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office. "He enticed investors by offering them the opportunity to speculate in cryptocurrency, when in fact he was simply operating a pyramid scheme." The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charges Pacheco with violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder. The complaint also names seven relief defendants for the purpose of recovering investor proceeds in their possession that must be returned. The SEC does not allege wrongdoing with respect to these relief defendants. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Peter Del Greco, Eric Shu and Maria Rodriguez, and supervised by Marc Blau, of the Los Angeles office, with the assistance of trial attorney Gary Leung, who will lead the litigation. Photo: Tetra Tech One of many maps in the Tetra Tech Campbell Mountain landfill study showing odour impact in the area. Concerns about the future of Campbell Mountain landfill have prompted the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen to send a formal letter to the City of Penticton asking them to review their plan for developments nearby. In the citys new Official Community Plan, which is currently working its way through discussion in council, sweeping future goals are laid out for development adjacent to the landfill. But the district is concerned the plans dont take into account the potential impact of noise, dust and odour those developments might experience, which could potentially lead to lawsuits and, in a worst-case scenario, the forced closure of the landfill. They commissioned Tetra Tech Canada to conduct a Nuisance Impact Assessment, the results of which were presented to the board on Thursday. Wilbert Yang, senior waste management engineer at Tetra Tech, told the board their study found a buffer zone of 500 meters from the landfill to any development was the bare minimum recommended to avoid issues with nuisances, the most prominent of which was odour. Yang said 500 meters is also the provincial recommendation. In some communities they go significantly far above that, he added. The study found significant odour from the landfill would likely reach that area over 200 times per year even at that basic buffer line. That's a concern for the future of the facility, which currently has an 85-year life expectancy that the RDOS would like to see fulfilled. "I've dealt with many situations where an industrial operation was there first and communities built around it. As the number of complaints grew, it became a political issue," Yang said. "In some cases those facilities were required to come up with a plan to deal with it, or shut down." In 2010, the Westside landfill in West Kelowna was forced to close before its time in part due to response from nearby developments. In 2018, the City of Kelowna made the decision to deny a planned development on Diamond Mountain due to fears residents would complain about nearby Glenmore landfill and force its closure. Yang said some communities have gone as far as to purchase properties around the landfills to ensure nearby communities can't build into the buffer zone. Board staff prepared a letter to Penticton council requesting that before they finalize their OCP, they consider inserting a minimum 500 metre buffer zone around the landfill or, alternatively, that they outline a one-kilometre radius "Landfill Impact Assessment Area" to allow for more collaboration time. Staff said the letter addresses real concerns that affect both the RDOS and the city. "There's potential for litigation regarding property rights, and individuals' enjoyment of their property," said Corey Labrecque, RDOS staff. "And that leads to financial risk because public complaints can absolutely lead to early closures of the landfill. And we're not talking reducing the life span from 85 to 60 years or 40 years, we're looking at public complaints coming out the minute they move into their houses in those planned areas." But the letter didn't sit well with two Penticton council members on the board, Jake Kimberley and Julius Bloomfield, along with Penticton mayor John Vassilaki. "I would be extremely careful about arbitrarily increasing the buffer size to 500 meters in such a sensitive location as this with such a sensitive neighbourhood, and its not just the developments that are affected, said Bloomfield, pointing to planned wineries and existing properties. There are huge indications here if this is not done properly. "The 500 metre zone will affect current properties and stop them from expanding," Kimberley said. "And they've already had investments in those properties themselves." "Thats going to create a huge problem around the landfill. Is there a better way of doing it?" Vassilaki asked. Chair Kozakevich stepped in to remind everyone that the letter is merely a suggestion and offer of collaboration, not an order. "Were looking at 300 and 500, maybe its 400. Maybe we agree on a different number," Kozakevich said. "Because we have to respond by tomorrow we have to go with the information we have. This is not binding, just a suggestion. The board passed the motion to send the letter with only the Penticton contingency not voting in support. First IPO of an e-cigarette company in Europe Listing by technical admission on Euronext Access on 28 May 2019 Kumulus Vape (ISIN FR0013419876 MLVAP ), an online retailer specialised in the sale of electronic cigarettes and related products (devices, e-liquid and accessories), referred collectively as "e-cigarettes", is pleased to announce the listing of its shares on the Euronext Access compartment in Paris by technical admission (Euronext notice PAR_20190523_05573_ACC). First listing will take place on 28 May 2019. This initial public offering a first in Europe's e-cigarette space is a new milestone in the performance trajectory of the Lyon-based company, a pioneer on this market in acceleration phase. Kumulus Vape posted 2018 sales of 6.5 million, up 116% on 2017. Its outlook is highly auspicious, with 96% quarter-on-quarter growth in the first quarter of 2019. Kumulus Vape's goal is clear: to become one of the French leaders in 100% online e-cigarette retail within three years. AN E-CIGARETTE PIONEER A CATALOGUE OF OVER 6,000 REFERENCES Kumulus Vape is one of the top online French retailers of dedicated e-cigarette products (devices, e-liquid, DIY1). Its extensive catalogue of over 6,000 references caters to both "beginner" and expert e-cigarette users. Active in the fight against tobacco and a defender of the e-cigarette sector, Kumulus Vape offers an unparallelled range of high-performance products at competitive prices. Founded in 2012, the Company rapidly ascended to become one of the leaders on this regulated sector that is increasingly recognised by the general public, health authorities (the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council CESE) and government (French Ministry of Health). Its model comprises two complementary activities: B2C (online sales only) and B2B (sales to a network of specialist retailers). The group's original activity, B2C, has grown rapidly over the last three years. Between 2016 and 2018, business has soared and the number of customers tripled. Sales (40% of total sales) also tripled over the period to reach 2.8 million in 2018. Its B2B business (60% of total sales), which began in 2017, has also been an instant success. Today, more and more specialist retailers use Kumulus Vape for all their supplies. A POTENTIAL MARKET WORTH OVER 800 MILLION IN FRANCE Both activities are tapping into a huge market with a potential estimated at over 800 million in France2. Indeed, faced with the devastating effects of tobacco, which is believed to be responsible for over seven million deaths per year worldwide3, nearly one out of two smokers (45%) in France intends to switch to e-cigarettes by 20204. That is over five million potential users of a product that is seen as an indispensable solution to giving up smoking. The B2B market also has strong growth potential with as many as 2,700 points of sale that are already addressable on a highly buoyant market across France. SUCCESS IN ACTION: 116% GROWTH IN 2018, ESTABLISHED PROFITABILITY All these advantages have accelerated Kumulus Vape's take-off. The Company has doubled its sales every year since 2016, putting its average annual growth at 100% for the last three years. This performance illustrates the growing success of the Kumulus Vape produce range, as well as the Company's ability to capture new customers on both the B2B and B2C markets. 2018 was a blockbuster year for Kumulus Vape, with sales up 116% to 6.5 million on the performance of both the B2B market (+240%) and B2C market (+54%). This strong growth is accompanied by solid profitability. EBITDA for 2018 exceeded the 400k threshold (+128% compared with 2017) for net earnings of nearly 300k (+106%). The 2019 fiscal year began on a very positive note after sales gained 96% to 2.3 million in the first quarter. AN AMBITION TO REACH OVER 15M IN SALES IN 2020 THE STOCK MARKET AS AN ACCELERATOR To facilitate its growth, in early 2019 Kumulus Vape doubled its order processing capacity by moving to new premises of 2,600 m just outside of Lyon. This integrated logistics platform is designed to handle up to 80 million orders per year. Today Kumulus Vape is poised to accelerate its growth and intends to hit the 15 million sales mark from 2020 onwards. To this end, it plans to hire sales representatives in France and step up its marketing and visibility, particularly via search engine optimisation. The Company will also draw on new growth drivers and find ways to expand its margins, such as boosting the share of its white-label products. Since 2016, it offers a diverse range of e-liquids (Origa, Mythik, Master DIY) that are already distributed worldwide. TARGET: EURONEXT GROWTH The purpose of the IPO is to raise Kumulus Vape's profile and grow its domestic footprint. In the long run, the Company and its shareholders are focused on increasing its free float. Kumulus Vape's admission on Euronext Access is a first step before potentially transferring its shares to the Euronext Growth compartment. Accordingly, 55,000 shares will be available for sale on the first day of trade, in line with the Company's desire to encourage the growth of its free float which could soon account for 5-10% of its capital. Remi Baert, Chairman and Founder of Kumulus Vape, comments : "We are very pleased to be bringing to fruition what is a milestone in Kumulus Vape's history. The market timing is ideal, given the growth of all our business activities. Today everything is in place for us to take this next step in our development and change gear in terms of ramping up our international presence from this year and the expected take-off of our B2B business. Our IPO on Euronext Access is a further step to our success and will consolidate our momentum. It will also help boost our image with the general public and institutional investors at a time when the e-cigarette is becoming an indispensable solution to giving up smoking." Transaction details Listing market: Euronext Access ISIN: FR0013419876 Mnemo: MLVAP Listing procedure: Technical admission Number of shares in registered capital: 1,988,000 Number of shares sold on the day of listing: 55,000 Sale price per share: 2.12 Valuation opted for listing: 4,214,560.00 Start of trading: 28 May 2019 Eligibility for PEA (equity savings plan) and SME PEA: yes The operation does not require approval from the AMF (French financial markets authority). Therefore, the Information Document has not been approved by the AMF. The Information Document is available free of charge at the headquarters of Kumulus Vape. It can be downloaded at www.kumulusvape.fr/investisseurs. Companies admitted to Euronext Access are not subject to the same rules as companies on the regulated market. Rather, they are subject to a less extensive body of rules adapted to small growth businesses. The risk associated with an investment on Euronext Access may therefore be greater than investing in a company of the regulated market. Transaction partners Atout Capital Advisors and Listing Sponsor Lamy Lexel Legal advice Mazars Statutory Auditor Actifin Financial Communication About Kumulus Vape Based in Corbas in the Metropolis of Lyon, Kumulus Vape is currently one of the French leaders in B2C distributionwww.kumulusvape.fr and B2B distributionkmls.fr of e-cigarette and e-liquid products. Founded in 2012, the Company has one of the most diverse catalogues on the market with over 6,000 references and representing nearly 250 brands. Since 2016, it offers a wide range of e-liquid white labelling solutions (Origa, Mythik, Master DIY). Kumulus Vape's 2018 sales topped 6.5 million, up 116% on 2017. 1 Do It Yourself: e-liquid base that allow users to prepare their own recipe 2 Xerfi November 2018 3 WHO 4 Survey by Fumeo.fr /December 2017 /Xerfi; based on 12 million smokers View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005635/en/ Contacts: KUMULUS VAPE Communications Director Vincent Baudoin v.baudoin@kumulusvape.fr Tel: +33 (0)6 10 84 52 59 ACTIFIN Press Officer Aminata Doucoure adoucoure@actifin.fr Tel: + 33 (0)1 56 88 11 23 ACTIFIN Financial Communication Julien Mouret jmouret@actifin.fr Tel: + 33 (0)1 56 88 11 14 Miami, Florida,--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Cansortium Inc. (CSE: TIUM.U) ("Cansortium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing today of its previously announced private placement financing conducted with Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Paradigm Capital Inc. (together with Canaccord Genuity Corp, the "Agents"). The Company issued on a private placement basis US$27,144,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible debenture units (the "Convertible Debenture Units" or the "Offered Securities") at an issue price of US$1,000 per Convertible Debenture Unit. Each Convertible Debenture Unit consisted of (i) a senior secured convertible debenture of the Company having a face value of US$1,000 (the "Principal Amount") and accruing interest at 12.0% per annum (the "Convertible Debentures") and (ii) 292 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") of the Company (the "Offering"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company (a "Warrant Share") at any time prior to March 21, 2021 at an exercise price of US$2.40 per Warrant Share, subject to adjustment in certain events. US$25,144,000 was raised pursuant to a brokered placement through the Agents and US$2,000,000 was a non-brokered placement directly from the Company to investors. The Convertible Debentures will bear interest from the Closing Date (as herein defined) at 12.0% per annum, with 6.0% payable quarterly in cash in arrears and 6.0% accruing and payable on the Maturity Date (as herein defined). The Convertible Debentures will mature on May 23, 2021 (the "Maturity Date"). The principal amount and any accrued but unpaid interest in respect of each Convertible Debenture will be convertible at the option of the holder into common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at any time prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i) the business day prior to the Maturity Date or (ii) the business day prior to any redemption or repurchase of the Convertible Debentures in accordance with their terms, subject to adjustment in certain events. The Convertible Debentures will be convertible into Common Shares at a conversion price of US$2.10 per Common Share (the "Conversion Price"), subject to adjustment in certain events. Accrued and unpaid interest in respect of a Convertible Debenture converted at the election of the holder shall be converted at the Conversion Price. Cansortium Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jose Hidalgo commented: "This funding will enable us to continue executing on our plans to expand into more highly-populous markets with high barriers to entry in which we are already well-positioned to establish Fluent as a leading medical cannabis brand. We look forward to putting these funds to work for the benefit of millions of potential customers in those markets, and thank our investors for their continued support and confidence in our team." The Agents were paid a cash commission equal to 4% of the Principal Amount of the Convertible Debentures issued pursuant to the brokered portion of the Offering and issued 478,933 non-transferable Compensation Options, with each Compensation Option entitling the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company (each a "Compensation Share") at an exercise price of US$2.10 per Compensation Share for a period of two years following the Closing Date, subject to adjustment in certain events. The obligations under the Convertible Debentures are collaterally secured by the following: (i) a general security agreement constituting a charge and security interest in all of the personal property of the Company; (ii) an unlimited guarantee of Cansortium International Inc. and certain US based entities owned by the Company (directly or indirectly) consisting of Cansortium Holdings LLC, Cansortium Michigan LLC, Cansortium Pennsylvania, LLC and Cansortium Florida, LLC (collectively, the "Guarantors"); and (iii) a pledge of the membership interests of the Guarantors from the Company. Upon a change of control of the Company, the Company shall within 30 days either: (i) offer to purchase the Convertible Debentures at a price equal to 101% of the Principal Amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest; or (ii) cause the resulting entity to issue a replacement debenture on substantially the same economic and other terms as the Convertible Debentures. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for continued expansion of the Company's U.S. based markets, including Florida, Puerto Rico, Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan and for general working capital purposes. The Convertible Debentures, Warrants and any underlying securities shall be subject to a hold period of four months and a day from the Closing Date. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws. Accordingly, these securities may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Cansortium in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. ABOUT CANSORTIUM Cansortium is a global medical cannabis company operating in highly populous medical cannabis markets with a mission to deliver the highest standards of cannabis care from nursery to lab to shelf. Headquartered in Miami, FL and operating under the newly-launched Fluent brand (formerly Knox Medical), the Company through its subsidiaries operates cultivation, processing and dispensary facilities across Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and a dispensary license in Pennsylvania. The Company also has licensed cultivation facilities in Colombia and Canada, with licensing pending in Michigan. For more information visit www.cansortium.com and www.getfluent.com. Cansortium's common shares and warrants trade on the CSE under the symbol "TIUM.U" and "TIUM.WT.U" respectively. For further information, contact: Jeffrey Reath Executive Vice-President, Finance and Investor Relations 506-871-6135 jeff@cansortium.com Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this news release, may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in the public documents of the Company available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45007 NOT FOR ISSUANCE IN THE UNITED STATES CINCINNATI, OH / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Callitas Health Inc. (CSE: LILY, OTCQB: MPHMF, FWB: T3F3), (the 'Company' or 'Callitas'), an integrated clinical-stage pharmaceutical development and OTC consumer goods marketing company, announced it has completed its recently announced non-brokered private placement. The Company issued 3,856,333 units at a price of $0.075 per unit, for gross proceeds of $289,225. Each unit consists of one common share and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share at $0.10 for a period of two years from the date of closing. Securities issued pursuant to this financing are subject to trading restrictions until September 23, 2019. The proceeds from the offering will be used for general working capital. Concurrently with closing, the Company also paid finders fees consisting of $4,008 in cash, 239,067 shares and 292,507 two year warrants exercisable at $0.10. The Company also wishes to update its situation in respect to a replacement auditor. While an audit firm has been identified, that firm has not yet formally accepted the position. About Callitas Health: Formed in early 2015, Callitas Health Inc. is an integrated clinical-stage pharmaceutical development and OTC consumer goods marketing company, focused on developing innovative technologies for weight management, female sexual health and wellness, cannabis delivery technologies and other proprietary drugs. In addition to its recent acquisitions of C-103, a reformulation of Orlistat, Extrinsa and assets from 40J's LLC, the Company successfully launched ToConceive in North America as a clinically proven option for couples struggling with the inability to conceive (www.toconceive.com), and is in the research and development and business development process for its other OTC products, CannaMint strips and orphan drug technologies. For more information visit www.callitas.com. Contacts: Callitas Health: James Thompson, CEO, or Callitas Investor Relations Phone: +1 (859) 868-3131 TraDigitalIR: Investor Relations - Kevin McGrath, Managing Director Phone: +1 (646) 418-7002 Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words 'anticipate', 'continue', 'estimate', 'expect', 'may', 'will', 'project', 'should', 'believe' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. This news release includes forward-looking statements with respect to the regulatory approval and the commercialization of the rights to the Company's biomedical & drug technologies. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and the Company's filings to the CSE at www.thecse.com. Such risk factors may cause the inability of the Company to successfully commercialize any of its biomedical technologies. Notice regarding investigational devices: CannaMint Strips, C-103 and Extrinsa are investigational drugs or devices and are not currently available outside of approved clinical trials. Claims regarding the safety and efficacy of these devices have not been evaluated by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or any other international regulatory body. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are 'forward-looking' statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty, are predictions only and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. SOURCE: Callitas Health Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546421/Callitas-Health-Inc-Announces-Closing-of-Private-Placements Establishes New Operating Entity; Enters into Exclusive License Agreement Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Burcon NutraScience Corporation (TSX: BU), a global leader in developing functionally and nutritionally valuable plant-proteins, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a joint venture partnership with an investor group to build a new C$65 million pea-protein and canola-protein commercial production facility in Western Canada. The protein production facility, which is planned to initially process approximately 20,000 tonnes of peas per year starting in mid-2020, will produce Burcon's Peazazz and Peazac pea proteins, as well as Burcon's Supertein, Puratein and Nutratein canola proteins. "Today's announcements constitute a truly transformative event for Burcon, and a new chapter in Burcon's development focused on bringing the company's unique plant proteins to market directly as a producer." said Johann F. Tergesen, Burcon's president and chief executive officer. He added: "Having the capacity to produce both our unique pea proteins, as well as our canola proteins, in our own production facility is a key pillar of our differentiation strategy. The ability to blend our pea and canola proteins to create nutritionally unparalleled plant protein combinations, while preserving the highly desirable functional properties the proteins naturally possess, will give us a true competitive advantage. We look forward to offering our pea and canola protein products to customers and consumers in Canada, North America and worldwide." Highlights of the Production Plant and Joint Venture Agreement Establishes a joint venture to build and operate a $65 million plant protein production facility. JV partner investor group has extensive operations expertise in production facility design and startup, as well as considerable expertise in the manufacturing and sale of plant proteins. JV partner investor group to invest up to $16 million in capital contributions in joint venture partnership. Enters into 20-year exclusive license agreement for Burcon's pea and canola protein technologies. Plant protein production facility designed to produce Burcon's Peazazz and Peazac pea proteins, as well as Burcon's Supertein, Puratein and Nutratein canola proteins. World's only commercial-scale food-grade canola protein production facility. Phase 1 production processing capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year. Funding structure provides significant equity position for Burcon. Ability to produce plant protein blends with exceptional nutritional value. Advanced state of readiness: completion projected in mid-2020. Production plant design incorporates ability to efficiently expand processing capacity in the future. Advanced state of product development discussions with fast-moving consumer goods companies. Burcon Functional Foods Corporation Burcon has established - through a joint venture partnership with an investor group with extensive manufacturing and sales experience in the protein industry - a new operating entity, Burcon Functional Foods Corporation ("Burcon Foods"), which will own and operate the new protein production facility. Burcon Foods has entered into a license agreement with Burcon for the production, sale and distribution of Burcon's pulse proteins, including Peazazz and Peazac pea proteins, as well as Supertein, Puratein and Nutratein canola proteins ("the License Agreement"). As a standalone entity, the management, sales, marketing and production personnel of Burcon Foods will be direct employees of the new operating company. Burcon will be responsible for the technology transfer to Burcon Foods, and will also provide assistance (under contract) to support the design, construction and commissioning of the commercial protein production facility. Burcon has entered into a unanimous shareholders agreement (the "Shareholders Agreement") dated May 23, 2019 with this investor group to become joint equity owners of Burcon Foods. Burcon currently holds 40% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Burcon Foods and the investor group owns the remaining 60%. Pursuant to the Shareholders Agreement, the parties have agreed that on or before July 2, 2019, they will make capital contributions to Burcon Foods in the aggregate of $10,000,000. The parties have agreed to make further contributions to Burcon Foods on or before September 3, 2019 in the aggregate amount of $10,000,000. Burcon intends to fund its portion of the capital contributions through the net proceeds of an equity offering to contribute $4,000,000 to Burcon Foods on or before July 2, 2019, and a further $4,000,000 to Burcon Foods on or before September 3, 2019. Burcon Foods funding is expected to include support from Canadian and provincial government agencies and organizations. The investor group has committed to providing up to $16 million in capital contributions. The anticipated funding structure is expected to provide tremendous leverage to Burcon, whereby Burcon's capital contributions will be limited to only approximately 12.3% of the total project cost, while maintaining 40% equity ownership of Burcon Foods. License Agreement Burcon Foods has entered into a twenty-year exclusive License Agreement with Burcon, dated May 23, 2019, to license the technology required to produce, market and sell Burcon's novel pulse protein ingredients, including Peazazz, Peazac pea proteins as well as Burcon's canola-proteins Supertein, Puratein and Nutratein (collectively the "Products"). Under the terms of the License Agreement, Burcon Foods will have exclusive rights across all geographic regions and all product uses for Burcon's pulse-proteins (including pea) and canola-protein technologies. Under the License Agreement, Burcon will receive a royalty on the top-line revenue from the sale of the Products by Burcon Foods. Advanced Stage of Commercial Development Over the past twenty-four months, Burcon has worked with a number of fast-moving consumer goods companies ("FMCG companies") in order to provide those FMCG companies with samples of Burcon's novel protein ingredients. Some of the initial investigations by these FMCG companies have evolved into product development projects, and through this work Burcon has developed a valuable measure of confidence over both the demand and pricing for the protein products and byproducts that will be produced at Burcon Foods' new pea and canola protein production plant. Burcon and Burcon Foods expect to have the production facility built by mid-2020. Burcon has engaged Excel Engineering of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin to assist the Company with final process design, general site concepts, building structural and architectural systems, and project oversight through to commissioning. This engineering work, which is already underway, is on the critical path of the project timeline and the engineering work completed to date has facilitated decision-making for the final building and equipment specifications. Burcon expects to provide additional updates on the details pertaining to, and the status of the commercial production plant build-out in the near term. About Burcon NutraScience Corporation Burcon is a leader in developing functionally and nutritionally valuable plant proteins. The company has developed an extensive portfolio of composition, application, and process patents originating from a core protein extraction and purification technology. Burcon's CLARISOY soy protein - under license to the Archer Daniels Midland Company - offers clarity and high-quality protein nutrition for low-pH beverage systems, and excellent solubility and exceptionally clean flavour at any pH; Peazazz is a uniquely soluble and clean-tasting pea protein; and Puratein, Supertein and Nutratein are canola protein isolates with exceptional functionality and valuable nutritional profiles. For more information about the company, visit www.burcon.ca. The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy of the content of the information contained herein. This press release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements or forward-looking information involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performances, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements or forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "project," "estimate," "expect," "believe", "future," "likely," "may," "should," "could", "will" and similar references to future periods. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Burcon's plans and expectations include the actual results of business negotiations, marketing activities, adverse general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes and other risks and factors detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Burcon with securities regulators and stock exchanges, including in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Burcon's annual information form dated June 18, 2018 filed with the Canadian securities administrators on www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement or information only speaks as of the date on which it was made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Burcon disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Burcon believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and accordingly, investors should not rely on such statements. CLARISOY is a trademark of Archer Daniels Midland Company. Media & Industry Contact: Paul Lam Manager, Business Development Burcon NutraScience Corporation Tel (604) 733-0896, Toll-free (888) 408-7960 plam@burcon.ca www.burcon.ca To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45013 Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) announced today an agreement to sell its cobalt refinery in Kokkola, Finland and related cobalt cathode precursor business to Umicore for total consideration of approximately $150 million, plus working capital at the time of close. Under the terms of the agreement, FCX will separate its cobalt business prior to completing the transaction. Umicore will acquire the refinery and cathode precursor business, which represents approximately 60 percent of the refinery's historical revenues. FCX and its partners will retain Freeport Cobalt's remaining cobalt business with operations in Kokkola, Finland and with sales offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The retained cobalt business is a leading global producer of cobalt fine powders, chemicals, catalyst, ceramics and pigments. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by year-end 2019. Lundin Mining Corporation (TSX: LUN) is entitled to receive 30 percent of the proceeds of the transaction. The first-quarter 2019 earnings and cash flow contribution from the assets being sold was insignificant to FCX. FCX expects to record a gain on the transaction. FCX is a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. FCX operates large, long-lived, geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable reserves of copper, gold and molybdenum. FCX is one of the world's largest publicly traded copper producers. FCX's portfolio of assets includes the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia, one of the world's largest copper and gold deposits; and significant mining operations in the North America and South America, including the large-scale Morenci minerals district in Arizona and the Cerro Verde operation in Peru. Additional information about FCX is available on FCX's website at "fcx.com." Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical facts, such as expectations related to the completion of the pending transaction. The words "anticipates," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be," "potential" and any similar expressions are intended to identify those assertions as forward-looking statements. FCX cautions readers that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated, expected, projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that can cause FCX's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the ability of the parties to satisfy closing conditions and consummate the pending transaction and other factors described in more detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in FCX's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned that many of the assumptions upon which FCX's forward-looking statements are based are likely to change after the forward-looking statements are made, including for example commodity prices, which FCX cannot control, and production volumes and costs, some aspects of which FCX may not be able to control. Further, FCX may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. FCX cautions investors that it does not intend to update forward-looking statements more frequently than quarterly notwithstanding any changes in its assumptions, changes in business plans, actual experience or other changes, and FCX undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005787/en/ Contacts: Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Financial Contacts: Kathleen L. Quirk, 602-366-8016 or David P. Joint, 504-582-4203 or Media Contact: Linda S. Hayes, 602-366-7824 BOCA RATON, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Bright Mountain Media, Inc. ( OTCQB: BMTM ), a digital media holding company whose primary focus is connecting brands with consumers as a full advertising services platform, announced today that on April 21, 2019, it entered into a non-binding letter of intent ("LOI") to acquire Slutzky & Winsham Ltd. d/b/a/ S&W Media Group ("S&W") in a cash and stock transaction. Based in Tel Aviv, S&W Media Group is a global, cross-screen video content delivery and monetization platform. S&W enables content owners and media properties alike with the ability to deliver precision based targeted content and advertising with proprietary machine learning data. S&W brings efficiency and value to media owners by enabling them to quickly build and grow their business across all screens around the world. S&W is a trusted and transparent platform verified by white ops, pixelate and powering the most premium direct and programmatic dollars across the globe and at scale. The closing of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent, including satisfactory due diligence by us and the execution of definitive agreements, including employment agreements with the principal officers and directors of S&W Media. The purchase price for the transaction is $750,000 cash and up to 13,000,000 shares of our common stock of which 7,000,000 shares are payable at closing. The balance of 6,000,000 shares are payable over three years upon achieving certain forecasts, including the following: Kip Speyer, Chairman and CEO of Bright Mountain Media, said, "Recognizing the global presence of S&W Media and its young, creative and aggressive leadership makes this acquisition, if consummated, a major game changer for us. We believe that a global presence with offices in Israel will permit us to accelerate our growth worldwide." Together with the acquisition of Inform, Inc., if consummated, as previously reported, Mr. Speyer further stated, "We believe that the consolidation of our businesses will permit us to grow exponentially." (i) For 2019 - Revenues of $12,430,919 and EBIDTA of $715,193;(ii) For 2020 - Revenues of $18,192,454 and EBIDTA of $1,932,283; and(iii) For 2021 - Revenues of $19,404,498 and EBIDTA of $2,010,293. "Today's announcement with Bright Mountain is very exciting for us. We believe that the combination of our companies will facilitate our ability to take advantage of global opportunities and grow our combined company internally as well as with strategic acquisitions", said Messrs. Slutzky and Winsham. The LOI is non-binding and there are no assurances that Bright Mountain Media consummate the proposed acquisition of S&W Media Stockholders and investors should not place undue reliance on the LOI. ABOUT BRIGHT MOUNTAIN MEDIA Bright Mountain Media, Inc. (BMTM) is a digital media holding company whose primary focus is connecting brands with consumers as a full advertising services platform. Bright Mountain Media's assets include an ad network, an ad exchange platform and 25 websites (owned and/or managed) that provide content, services and products. The websites are primarily geared for a young, male audience with several that focus on active, reserve and retired military audiences as well as law enforcement and first responders. Additional information about Bright Mountain Media can be found at: https://www.brightmountainmedia.com . Forward-Looking Statements for Bright Mountain Media, Inc. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'should,' 'may,' 'intends,' 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'projects,' 'forecasts,' 'expects,' 'plans,' and 'proposes, ' and similar words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements made with respect to expectations of our ability to close the proposed acquisition of Inform, Inc., any the realization of any expected benefits from such transaction if closed. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading "Risk Factors" in Bright Mountain Media, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12, 2019 and our other filings with the SEC. Bright Mountain Media, Inc. does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. PRESS CONTACTS Bright Mountain Media: Maria Montiglio +1 (561) 998-2440 maria@brightmountainmedia.com SOURCE: Bright Mountain Media, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546360/Bright-Mountain-Media-Inc-Announces-Letter-of-Intent-to-Acquire-SW-Media-Group VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Orsu Metals Corporation (TSX-V: OSU) ("Orsu" or the "Company") has filed a technical report titled: "NI43-101 Technical Report on the Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for the Sergeevskoe Property, Zabaikalskiy Krai, Russian Federation" dated effective April 15, 2019 (the "Sergeevskoe Report") to support the maiden resource announced on April 17, 2019. Highlights: An Inferred Mineral Resource of 25.09 million tonnes, grading 1.47 g/t gold and containing 1.19 Moz gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade, was optimized into an open pit constrained by the license boundary at Sergeevskoe. The Sergeevskoe Report was independently prepared by Wardell Armstrong International Ltd. ("WAI") in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2012)/CIM Definitions Standards and NI 43-101 requirements and is filed on the Company's profile on www.sedar.com and is also available on the Company's website. Based on the results, Orsu considers that there is a strong potential to grow the mineralization envelope at the Sergeevskoe Gold Project beyond that identified in this maiden Mineral Resource estimate. The mineralization is open both along the westward strike and downdip. In particular, there is a strong possibility to identify new mineralization at the western continuation of Klyuchi West and Intermediate domains, and only partly drill-tested mineralization in between these domains and Kozie domain. The western extension of Zone 23 remains open, with some gold mineralization recognized in historical holes and by Orsu during scout sampling at the Sergeeva prospect some 500 m west. Peak Klyuchi requires additional attention as a direct continuation of the Intermediate mineral domain. Kozie domain is also open westward, with gold mineralization intercepted in Orsu's trench SKZTR17-11. In addition, there are numerous occurrences of gold mineralization and geochemical/geophysical anomalies not yet tested by Orsu beyond the area of detailed works within the Company's 7.6 square km license area of the Sergeevskoe project (see press release dated September 21, 2016). Qualified Person Alexander Yakubchuk, the Company's Director of Exploration, Ph.D., MIMMM, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the exploration information disclosures contained in this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement: This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. ENDS For further information, please contact: Alexander Yakubchuk, Director of Exploration, Orsu Metals Corporation Doris Meyer, Corporate Secretary, Orsu Metals Corporation Tel: +1-604-536-2711 ext 6 SOURCE: Orsu Metals Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/546372/Orsu-Metals-Files-Maiden-Inferred-Mineral-Resource-Technical-Report-for-Its-Sergeevskoe-Gold-Project-Russia Crowd for Angels, one of the UK's leading crowdfunding platforms for shares, crowd bonds and tokens, is delighted to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Australian tokenisation platform myStake. Under the deal the two companies will partner together on a six month pilot project, where up to 10 companies invited by Crowd for Angels can use the myStake platform, and all of its features, to tokenise their capital table, giving their investors transparency into their portfolio holding. Based in Sydney, Australia, myStake is an end-to-end share tokenisation, registry, and investor relations platform that provides company shareholders transparency, confidence, and a path to liquidity. It enables easy, transparent and immutable company governance protecting the interests of stakeholders of the modern company by leveraging blockchain technology. With over A$50 million of equities already tokenised, myStake is the world leader in making security tokenisation accessible to all companies. The pilot will see Crowd for Angels provide a new platform to better service the needs of its clients beyond its current offering, while myStake will gain a fuller understanding of how compatible its current platform is in meeting both the registry and the security tokenisation needs of companies based in the United Kingdom. Andrew Adcock, CEO of Crowd for Angels, commented: "This latest agreement is in line with Crowd for Angels' strategy to expand in the burgeoning security token industry. We have known the team at myStake for some time and have been impressed with their technology and place within the tokenisation ecosystem. We look forward to working together to deliver benefits to investors and shareholders alike." Matthew Mills, CEO of myStake, states: "We are excited to be partnering with a leading platform for both crowdfunding and for security tokenisation. As leaders in the space, we believe the UK is a fantastic jurisdiction to expand to through working with Crowd for Angels. This pilot we believe will yield a significant advancement in bringing regulatory-compliant security tokens to market here in the UK." About Crowd for Angels At Crowd for Angels, Our goal is to bring innovative and appealing products to investors and to provide funding for companies throughout their growth cycle. We help companies raise funds through the issue of shares, bonds and tokenized securities on our regulated crowdfunding platform. About myStake The myStake platform is an equity management, compliance, and share registry platform that digitises assets on the Blockchain. The platform empowers businesses to manage their own corporate administration and investor relations requirements, and in turn delivers transparency to its stakeholders. Through myStake, companies have an end-to-end solution to meet both their real-world regulatory needs as well as their asset tokenisation needs. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005206/en/ Contacts: Crowd for Angels Andrew Adcock, CEO andrew@crowdforangels.com myStake Pty Ltd Matthew Mills, CEO matt.mills@mystake.io Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone will set up its first container terminal outside India in Myanmar at an estimated cost of $290 million (over Rs 2,000 crore) New Delhi: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone will set up its first container terminal outside India in Myanmar at an estimated cost of $290 million (over Rs 2,000 crore). The company signed an agreement on Thursday to develop and operate a container terminal at Yangon Port in Myanmar. Construction for phase one of the project will commence next month and will be completed by June 2021. It is a two-phase project. "Total project cost for both phases would be $275-290 million. The investment is in line with APSEZ strategy to have a footprint in Southeast Asia and expand the container terminal network," Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said in a statement. Also, the terminal will be integrated with APSEZ ports/terminals along the east and south coast of India, unlocking synergies by offering multiple entry/exit points for shipping lines, APSEZ, the logistics arm of Adani Group, said. The BOT (build, operate, transfer)/ lease agreement is signed for 50 years and extendable twice for ten years each. "The terminal will have a capacity to handle 0.80 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of containers...The estimated cost for implementing phase I of 0.5 million TEUs is between $220-230 million and phase II expansion to 0.8 million TEUs is expected to cost between $5560 million," it added. The terminal will have a quay length of 635 meters with the capability to handle three vessels at a time. APSEZ said it would introduce its operating and technological expertise to Myanmar by using modern equipment to ensure efficient handling of containers, thereby reducing the average turnaround time of vessels. All requisite clearances/permissions for setting up the terminal have been received in the form of Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) permit, it added. "We are proud to be the first Indian company to set up a container terminal outside India. With a good balance of EXIM trade and a ten percent growth prospect, the project is an ideal investment for us. The terminal will generate meaningful employment for over 1,100 local people," Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of APSEZ, said. he European Union, China, and Thailand have expressed interest to join consultations in a case filed by Japan at the WTO against India's import duties on certain information and communication technology products, including mobile phones New Delhi: The European Union, China, and Thailand have expressed interest to join consultations in a case filed by Japan at the WTO against India's import duties on certain information and communication technology products, including mobile phones. Singapore, Canada and Chinese Taipei too have earlier sought to join this dispute consultation against India under the WTO's dispute settlement body. According to a communication of EU, China, and Thailand to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), these countries claimed that they have a substantial interest in the trade of information and communication technology (ICT) goods and in joining the consultation process. On 14 May, Japan dragged India to the WTO over the import duties imposed on certain electronic goods, including telephones for cellular networks, machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data; and parts of telephone sets. It alleged that imposition of import duties on these products by India infringes WTO norms as India has committed zero per cent bound tariffs on these products. While bound tariffs or duties refer to the ceiling over which a WTO member country cannot impose import duty, the applied tariff is the duty which is currently in place. In a separate communication, China said that it has a substantial trade interest in the consultations as it is one of the main exporters of information technology products in the world. "In 2018, China's export of telephones for cellular networks to India amounted to $1.9 billion, base stations amounted to $0.23 billion, and machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, images or other data amounted to $0.28 billion," it said. The EU, which has already filed a similar dispute case against in India in the WTO, stated that in light of its substantial trade interest, it desires to join the consultations. Similarly, Thailand claimed that the import duties on these goods by India may "substantially" affect Thailand's sales and exports of these products. "As a result of this substantial trade interest, Thailand requests that it be permitted to join the consultations in this dispute," it said. As per the WTO rules, seeking consultation is the first step of the dispute settlement process. If the bilateral consultations requested by the complainant (in this case Japan) with India do not result in a satisfactory solution, Japan can request the WTO to set up a dispute panel to pass a ruling on the matter. All the countries that are seeking to join the consultations require approval from India and Japan. A WTO member country can file a dispute if it perceives that another country's trade policies or actions are violating global trade norms and impacting their trade. European Union, China, and Thailand are key trade partners of India. In October last year, India hiked import duty on certain communication items, including base stations, to up to 20 per cent as part of efforts to check a widening current account deficit by curbing imports. John K. White Federal Tourism Minister Melanie Joly told Vernon and area Chamber of Commerce members at a roundtable breakfast meeting in Armstrong Thursday morning that the recently unveiled tourism strategy will finally give the sector a seat at the adult table. "My biggest job coming into this new portfolio was to make sure I would defend the 1.8 million people working in the sector and build the credibility of tourism in the eyes of people working in Ottawa," Joly said. "We need to work on the supply, on what international tourists can actually do when they are in Canada. How can we ultimately make sure that we have new tourism experiences, new things to offer international visitors?" Joly pointed out that the biggest issue in the tourism sector is international tourists mainly go to the three big cities in Canada. "Particularly, they come during the summer time. Our idea is to build a sustainable industry, and to do that we need to have a year-long season. We need to invest in winter and shoulder seasons. We also need to make sure that people who come to our three big cities, afterwards, go to our different regions," Joly said. She also talked about the importance of supporting indigenous communities and their efforts to attract tourism. "There is 17 per cent growth in indigenous tourism in Canada. How can we help strategic planning in the region?" Joly asked rhetorically. Joly said a growing percentage of international tourists are looking to experience authentic indigenous culture when visiting Canada. After relaying the work being done to enhance indigenous communities' ability to tell their stories to visitors through funding and training, Joly received a lengthy applause break from chamber members. "Tourism is increasingly an important component of the local economic fabric, and the federal strategy may create opportunities for us through strategic planning in rural areas, food tourism, attracting more visitors during the shoulder seasons and indigenous tourism," added Deb White, Greater Vernon Chamber director. An infusion of federal funding and a renewed national focus on tourism was welcome news to the Armstrong Spallumcheen and Greater Vernon chambers of commerce. During the question and answer session, several issues arose, including funding for the rail trail from Armstrong to Sicamous, the need for additional resources for indigenous tourism, support for fairs, affordable housing for tourism workers in local communities and the need to keep the backcountry open while protecting caribou. About 90 people attended the roundtable, including representatives from the Splatsin and North Okanagan-Shuswap local governments as well as MP Mel Arnold and MLA Eric Foster. By David Shepardson and Allison Lampert FORT WORTH, Texas/MONTREAL (Reuters) - The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday he does not have a specific timetable to approve Boeing Co's 737 MAX for flight after two fatal crashes since October prompted the plane to be grounded worldwide. By David Shepardson and Allison Lampert FORT WORTH, Texas/MONTREAL (Reuters) - The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday he does not have a specific timetable to approve Boeing Co's 737 MAX for flight after two fatal crashes since October prompted the plane to be grounded worldwide. The FAA is meeting with more than 30 international air regulators including China, the European Union, Brazil and Canada on Thursday to discuss a software fix and new pilot training that Boeing has been developing to ensure the jets are safe to fly. "It's a constant give and take until it is exactly right," Dan Elwell told reporters. "It's taking as long as it takes to be right," he said, adding: "I'm not tied to a timetable." Asked if it is realistic that the 737 MAX could be flying again by August, Elwell declined to be specific. "If you said October I wouldn't even say that, only because we haven't finished determining exactly what the training requirements will be," Elwell said. "If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us the confidence to lift the (grounding) order so be it." Elwell said he plans to share the FAA's "safety analysis that will form the basis for our return to service decision process" on Thursday. But he said the agency is still waiting for Boeing to formally submit the software upgrade for approval, and emphasized the FAA has not decided on the revised training requirements, including whether to require simulator training. (Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Shepardson in Fort Worth, Texas; Additional reporting and writing by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Editing by Susan Thomas and Sonya Hepinstall) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday he does not have a specific timetable for when the agency may unground the Boeing 737 MAX that has been involved in two fatal crashes since October. 'I'm not tied to a timetable,' Dan Elwell told reporters ahead of a meeting planned for Thursday with more than 30 international air regulators including China, the European Union and Canada. He said he plans to share the FAA's safety analysis to date on Thursday, but said the agency is still waiting Boeing's formal software upgrade and emphasized the FAA has not decided on the revised training requirements FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday he does not have a specific timetable for when the agency may unground the Boeing 737 MAX that has been involved in two fatal crashes since October. "I'm not tied to a timetable," Dan Elwell told reporters ahead of a meeting planned for Thursday with more than 30 international air regulators including China, the European Union and Canada. He said he plans to share the FAA's safety analysis to date on Thursday, but said the agency is still waiting Boeing's formal software upgrade and emphasized the FAA has not decided on the revised training requirements. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Alistair Bell) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The government had on 1 February unveiled interim Budget for 2019-20 in view of the Lok Sabha elections New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has begun the pre-budget consultation exercise with industry bodies in the run-up to the full budget for the current financial year to be unveiled by the new government sometime in July. Finance ministry officials met the representatives of industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Wednesday and would hold similar consultation meetings with other key chambers, including CII, next week. Following the tradition, the government had on 1 February unveiled interim Budget for 2019-20 in view of the Lok Sabha elections. The final Budget for the fiscal is likely to be tabled in July after formation of the new government. The ministry has already met the representatives of other ministries and government departments as part of the Budget-making exercise. According to sources, SIAM made a presentation to the government and has suggested measures to boost the auto sector which has been witnessing demand slowdown, especially in the passenger vehicle segment, for over 10 months now. Industry chambers are also likely to suggest fiscal and non-fiscal measures to boost growth which slipped to five-quarter low of 6.6 percent in October-December 2018. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), which releases the national account data, too had in February revised downwards the growth estimate for 2018-19 fiscal to 7 percent from 7.2 percent. The 7 percent growth is the lowest in 5 years. In 2013-14, the growth was 6.4 percent, in 2014-15, it was 7.4 percent, 8.2 percent in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and 7.2 percent in 2017-18. After the last general elections in 2014, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had presented the full budget for 2014-15 fiscal on 10 July, 2014. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2019-20 here Stakeholders can share their comments on 'feedback.newreturn@gstn.org.in', said GSTN, the company which handles the technology backbone of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. New Delhi: GST Network on Wednesday released a demo tool for the new and simplified return filing form which will be launched sometime later in the year. The prototype available on the web portal https://demoofflinetool.gst.gov.in/instructions gives stakeholders a feel of what the new return filing system will look like. GSTN also sought stakeholder feedback on the proposed offline tool. It will allow users to use functionality such as drop-down menus, invoice upload, upload of purchase register for matching with the system created inward supplies. In the proposed system of new GST return filing, a normal taxpayer would have to file form GST RET-1 (Normal) or Form GST RET-2 (Sahaj) or Form GST RET-3 (Sugam) on either monthly or quarterly basis. Annexure of supplies (GST ANX-1) and Annexure of Inward Supplies (GST ANX-2) will be filed as part of these returns. All the outward supplies will be detailed in GST ANX-1 while GST ANX-2 will contain details of inward supplies auto-populated mainly from the suppliers' GST ANX-1. Suppliers will have to file a detailed return in form GST RET-1. Businesses which make supplies to only consumers (B2C) have to file return form 'Sahaj'. It includes details of outward supplies and inward supplies attracting reverse charge as well as summary of inward supplies for claiming input tax credit (ITC). Besides, businesses making supplies to both businesses (B2B) and consumers (B2C) have to file returns form 'Sugam'. It includes summary of supplies made and tax liability, summary of inward supplies for claiming ITC, along with details of interest due and tax payment. Stakeholders can share their comments on 'feedback.newreturn@gstn.org.in', said GSTN, the company which handles the technology backbone of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The new return filing format would replace the current requirement of filing final sales return GSTR-1; and summary sales return GSTR-3B. The GST Council in July last year decided that the simplified GST return forms Sahaj and Sugam would be rolled out on a pilot basis from April 1, 2019, while mandatory filing across the country would kick in from July. However, the pilot project was deferred as the systems were not finalised. EY India Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said, with this prototype being released, implementation of the new simplified returns is expected to be a reality soon. "The companies would now need to ensure appropriate modifications are executed to their ERPs, business processes, etc. for culling out information to be disclosed and eligibility of input tax credits." AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said "users and developers are expected to use the interactive tool and give a feedback on the prototype, allowing users to use various functionalities including uploading of invoices and purchase registers". By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization on Wednesday lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses. In a decision read from the bench after hearing arguments, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York said Congress has the legal authority to demand the records, clearing the way for the banks to comply with subpoenas issued to them by two U.S. House of Representatives committees last month. The committees have agreed not to enforce the subpoenas for seven days, the judge said. It was the second time in three days that a judge had ruled against the Republican president in his fight with Democrats and Trump's lawyers were expected to appeal both decisions. Ramos said he would not suspend his decision pending appeal. Some Democratic lawmakers welcomed the decision. "So far, I think the president would be wise to come to the realization that our legitimate areas of inquiry are going to be supported by the courts," Representative Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Reuters in an interview. Representative Brad Sherman, a Democratic member of the financial services committee, was more cautious, telling Reuters in an interview that he expected the decision would be appealed. Asked if lawmakers should be satisfied that they will get the information they seek, Sherman said, "I'll believe it when I see it out of the U.S. Supreme Court." The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deutsche Bank said it would abide by the court's decision. Capital One did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January. Ramos said that the committees had the power to issue the subpoenas under Congress' "broad" power to conduct investigations to further legislation. He also rejected Trump's argument that they were barred by a federal financial privacy law, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, saying the law does not apply to congressional investigations. Trump said last month that the administration was "fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House, hardening his position after the release of a redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on how Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump and on the president's attempts to impede the investigation. "We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations and will abide by a court order regarding such investigations," Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Kerrie McHugh said in an emailed statement after the ruling. Lawyers for the Trump family members and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the decision. Some parts of the subpoenas have been included in court filings. The subpoena on Deutsche Bank seeks extensive records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members and several Trump Organization entities, as well as records of ties they might have to foreign entities. Deutsche Bank has long been a principal lender for Trump's real estate business and a 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to the bank. The subpoena on Capital One seeks records related to multiple entities tied to the Trump Organization's hotel business. In March, before issuing their subpoena, Democratic lawmakers asked Capital One for documents concerning potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's Washington hotel and other business interests since he became president in January 2017. Trump, his adult children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and the Trump Organization had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Deutsche Bank complying with the subpoenas from the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and Capital One from complying with a subpoena from the Financial Services Committee. In a lawsuit filed on April 29, lawyers for the Trumps argued that the subpoenas were too broad, and that Democrats are hoping they will "stumble upon something" that could be used for political attacks on the president. Patrick Strawbridge, a lawyer for Trump, said at Wednesday's hearing that the subpoenas were "the epitome of an inquiry into private or personal matters," and that the House committees were reaching beyond their role as legislators. Douglas Letter, a lawyer for the committees, said the subpoenas were part of a "very serious investigation on behalf of the American people" that could lead to legislation aimed at reducing foreign influence in U.S. politics. He denied that it was intended to target Trump personally. "He clearly sees us as some sort of nuisance," Letter said. The banks are the only defendants in the case, but the House committees intervened to oppose Trump's effort to block the subpoenas. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, told reporters after the lawsuit was filed that Trump had "cast a gauntlet." "We will fight him," she said. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington ruled against the president in a similar case, finding that Trump's accounting firm, Mazars LLP, must comply with a congressional subpoena for Trump's financial records. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that Congress was "not engaged in a fishing expedition" for the President's financial records when it subpoenaed Mazars and said that documents obtained might assist Congress in passing laws and performing other core functions. Trump called Mehta's decision "crazy" and "totally the wrong decision by obviously an Obama-appointed judge," referring to Trump's Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. Ramos, the judge in the New York case, was also appointed by Obama. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; additional reporting by Matt Scuffham in New York and Jeff Mason and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Grant McCool and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The traders decided to back Modi and the BJP for the measures taken for encouraging entrepreneurship in the country like Startup India. Small traders in the country are overjoyed at the re-election of Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with an overwhelming majority. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal while complimenting the Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said that traders have played a major role in the victory of the BJP as 7 crore traders across the country along with their employees consolidated a vote bank in support of the party and its allies. The traders went all out, claimed Khandelwal, to not only vote for the BJP but also exhorted their family members and all their clients to follow their example. Among all poll surveys, the poll survey of CAIT was found to be the most accurate. The CAIT on the basis of a national survey conducted among traders and their consumers predicted 290 seats for BJP and 50 seats for NDA allies,said Khandelwal. The traders decided to back Modi and the BJP for the measures taken for encouraging entrepreneurship in the country like Startup India, Stand-Up India, Skill India and Make in India among others. Besides, the governments biggest reforms, as Khandelwal chose to describe the Goods and Services Tax (GST), did away with multiple taxations and brought the country under a unified tax rule, he said. The Modi government launched the GST on 1 July, 2017. Though it has had a number of hiccups since its implementation, it has resulted in lowering the cost of most of the goods and services. Now that the NDA has returned to power, the traders expect more changes will be brought to simplify GST, said Khandelwal. What really pushed the tide in favour of the Modi government was his speech at a traders' convention at Talakotra Stadium last month where he said the traders were the backbone of the Indian economy but had in the past never got the respect they deserved. The economy cannot get to the target of $ 5 trillion without the traders contribution, Modi had said. Addressing the convention, Modi said the main opposition Congress abused businessmen by calling all of them chor (thieves), while the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi used to take pride in hailing from the businessmen community of baniya. The recognition that the traders got from the prime minister was very encouraging, said Khandelwal, and CAIT went all out to encourage the community to vote for Modi and the BJP, he said. Explaining the reasons for backing Modi and the BJP, Mahesh Bakhai, a trader from Mumbai, said that the GST has done a 'lot for traders'. For instance, the local body tax levied in Mumbai. The local body tax was levied by local civic bodies on the entry of goods into a local areas limits for consumption, use or sale by traders, businesses and manufacturers. The local body tax was scrapped by the implementation of GST from 1 July 2017. The GST helped us reach a pan-India market. Earlier, we were constrained in one area as taxes/rules were different in different areas, said Bakhai. He says the one reason why the traders' are backing the Modi government is because the prime minister is quick to acknowledge an issue when it is brought to its notice, Bakhai said. "This is unlike other governments so far in India", he said. The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is the other big advantage to the traders, CAIT said. The Mudra loan scheme offers credit facilities to micro and small enterprises engaged in income generation. One of the key benefits of a Mudra loan is that borrowers are not required to provide security or collateral. Additionally, there are no processing charges on Mudra loans. The credit facilities extended under the PMMY can be for any type of fund or non-fund based requirements and can be used for term loans and overdraft facilities, or to apply for letters of credit and bank guarantees. There is no minimum loan amount for Mudra loans. Laxmikant Jhunjhunwala, Vice Chairman, CAIT, said that the Modi government is beneficial for traders and pointed out that the process of giving credit to small and medium traders through the Mudra scheme is a welcome step for the traders community. The Mudra scheme is a recognition that the government has realised collateral free loans is a necessity and especially for small traders. Traders point out how for the first time a government at the Centre has recognised their importance and contribution to the economy. On being asked about the problems they faced on account of demonetisation, Bakhai said that demonetisation was just a 'small inconvenience'. The message sent out through demonetisation was clear: That the government wants a formal economy. Even if traders had to suffer on account of it, it wasnt a major issue, he said. Election promises need not fructify post-elections though. But the traders said they would ensure it would for them. We will aggressively remind Modi of his promises. We have done our job and duty of getting our community members to vote for him and the BJP. It is their turn now to fulfill our aspirations especially given that the prime minister promised it. The fact that six of our demands, viz, national traders welfare board, national policy for retail trade, pension to traders above 60 years, Rs 10 lakh insurance cover for traders, issuance of vyapari credit card on the pattern of kisan credit card and, loans up to Rs 50 lakhs without any collateral security was factored into the BJP's election manifesto means it was important, and it will be fulfilled. We hope that it will, said Praveen Khandelwal of CAIT. The benchmark BSE Sensex erased early gains to end 299 points lower on Thursday as investors booked profits after stocks soared to record highs after BJP's strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls After the BSE Sensex touched an all-time high of 40,000 points during intra-day with news of Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)s decisive lead in the Lok Sabha polls, the 30-share index plunged 298.82 points, or 0.76 percent to close at 38,811.39 at end of trading on Thursday. The Sensex shed early gains after investors booked profits after stocks soared to record highs after BJP's strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls. The Nifty crossed the 12,000-level for the first-time-ever during intra-day trade but settled 80.85 points, or 0.69 percent, lower at 11,657.05. IndusInd Bank was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 5.23 percent, followed by Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, Yes Bank, PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, L&T, Kotak Bank and Bharti Airtel, rising up to 1.56 percent. On the other hand, Vedanta, ITC, Tata Motors, HDFC twins, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, TCS, ONGC and Infosys fell up to 5.53 percent. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power on Thursday as it led in 298 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 52, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. "Markets were initially enthused to see the election results falling in line with the exit polls. However, the run-up to the D-day was so sharp that it turned out to be a sell on news phenomenon," said Devang Mehta, Head Equity Advisory, Centrum Wealth Management. Participants would now be keen to know the future course of action for bringing the economy back on track, the solution to the liquidity situation, the union budget, onset and progress of monsoon in June and most importantly the earnings trajectory, he added. According to traders, weak cues from other global markets and a depreciating rupee also weighed on investor sentiment. The rupee depreciated 37 paise to 70.04 against the US dollar in afternoon trade. Globally, bourses in Asia ended in the red. Indices in Europe were also trading on a negative note in early deals. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.79 percent lower at $69.72 per barrel. In April, Sebi directed NSE to disgorge profits of over Rs 1,000 crore and imposed a six-month ban on launching new derivative products Mumbai: The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Wednesday stayed Sebi rulings that directed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to disgorge profits of over Rs 625 crore in the co-location case. However, the tribunal directed the bourse to deposit Rs 625 crore with Sebi in two weeks. The exchange would have to continue to deposit revenues from the co-location facility to an escrow account. On Tuesday, the NSE moved the tribunal challenging Sebi's rulings against it in the co-location case. In April, Sebi directed the exchange to disgorge profits of over Rs 1,000 crore and imposed a six-month ban on launching new derivative products besides action against other entities, including some current and former officials. The amount includes disgorgement of Rs 625 crore profit derived from the dissemination of data in the co-location case. The tribunal has also ordered the exchange to initiate an inquiry against its staff to find out if they had given any treatment preferential in terms of access to market data to certain brokers. The NSE told the tribunal that it would not come out with an initial public offering for the next six months in compliance with the Sebi order. In the co-location case, the regulator had barred the exchange from accessing the securities market for six months. By Michael Martina and David Lawder BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China must prepare for difficult times as the international situation is increasingly complex, President Xi Jinping said in comments carried by state media on Wednesday, as the U.S.-China trade war took a mounting toll on tech giant Huawei. By Michael Martina and David Lawder BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China must prepare for difficult times as the international situation is increasingly complex, President Xi Jinping said in comments carried by state media on Wednesday, as the U.S.-China trade war took a mounting toll on tech giant Huawei. The world's two largest economies have escalated tariff increases on each other's imports after talks broke down to resolve their dispute, and the acrimony has intensified since Washington last week blacklisted Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. The listing, which curbs Huawei's access to U.S.-made components, is a potentially devastating blow for the company that has rattled technology supply chains and investors, and saw several mobile carriers on Wednesday delay the launch of new Huawei smartphone handsets. During a three-day trip this week to the southern province of Jiangxi, a cradle of China's Communist revolution, Xi urged people to learn the lessons of the hardships of the past. "Today, on the new Long March, we must overcome various major risks and challenges from home and abroad," state news agency Xinhua paraphrased Xi as saying, referring to the 1934-36 trek of Communist Party members fleeing a civil war to a remote rural base, from where they re-grouped and eventually took power in 1949. "Our country is still in a period of important strategic opportunities for development, but the international situation is increasingly complicated," he said. "We must be conscious of the long-term and complex nature of various unfavorable factors at home and abroad, and appropriately prepare for various difficult situations." The report did not elaborate on those difficulties, and did not directly mention the trade war or of the United States. No further trade talks between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended on May 10, the same day President Donald Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. Negotiations between the United States and China have stalled since early May, when Chinese officials sought major changes to the text of a proposed deal that the Trump administration says had been largely agreed. However, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai, speaking to the Fox News Channel, said on Tuesday that Beijing was still open for talks. Repercussions of the blacklisting mounted for Huawei, with some mobile operators, including the Ymobile unit of Japan's Softbank Corp and rival KDDI Corp putting launch plans for Huawei's new P30 Lite smartphone on hold. Another big Chinese tech firm, video surveillance equipment maker Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, could also face limits on its ability to buy U.S. technology, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, sending the firm's Shenzhen-listed shares down 5.54 percent. RETALIATION While China has not said whether or how it may retaliate to the measures against Huawei, state media have taken an increasingly strident and nationalistic tone. U.S. firms said in a survey released on Wednesday they were facing retaliation in China over the trade war. The American Chamber of Commerce of China and its sister body in Shanghai, said members reported that they faced increased obstacles such as government inspections, slower customs clearances and slower approval for licensing and other applications. It also said that 40.7% of respondents were considering or had relocated manufacturing facilities outside China. Of the almost 250 respondents to the survey, which was conducted after China and the United States both raised tariffs on each other's imports this month, almost three-quarters said the impact of tariffs was hurting their competitiveness. To cope, about one third said they were increasingly focusing their China operations on producing for Chinese customers and not for export, while one third said they were delaying and cancelling investment decisions. Long considered a solid cornerstone in a relationship fraught with geopolitical frictions, the U.S. business community has in recent years advocated a harder line on what it sees as discriminatory Chinese trade policies. The United States is seeking sweeping changes to trade and economic policies, including an end to forced technology transfers and theft of U.S. trade secrets. Washington also wants curbs on subsidies for Chinese state-owned enterprises and increased access for U.S. firms in Chinese markets. China for years has blocked major U.S. tech firms, including Google and Facebook, from fully operating in its market. Those and other restrictions have fueled calls from within the U.S. business community for Washington to pursue more reciprocal policies. Cui told Fox News Channel that U.S. restrictions on Huawei "are without any foundation and evidence" and could undermine the normal functioning of markets. "Everybody knows Huawei is a privately owned company. It is just a normal Chinese private company," Cui said. "So all the action taken against Huawei are politically motivated." (Reporting by David Lawder and Stella Qiu; Additional reporting by Makini Brice and Eric Beech in Washington and Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard; writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkey stopped purchasing Iranian oil as of May as U.S. waivers granted last November to eight buyers expired, and will continue to abide by Washington's demand that it halt all imports of crude oil from the Islamic Republic, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday. 'We are not getting any oil from Iran now,' said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkey stopped purchasing Iranian oil as of May as U.S. waivers granted last November to eight buyers expired, and will continue to abide by Washington's demand that it halt all imports of crude oil from the Islamic Republic, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday. "We are not getting any oil from Iran now," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We were one of the eight countries getting an exception from those sanctions, and now we are ready to abide by them," he said. The U.S. decision to fully reimpose sanctions on Iranian oil ended a six-month reprieve for Turkey and seven other big importers as Washington stepped up attempts to isolate Iran and choke off its oil revenues. Reuters on Monday reported that no tankers loaded in Iran have arrived at Turkish ports so far in this month, according to Refinitiv tracking data. The data shows that Turkey began trimming its Iranian imports as early as March. Analysts said it has replaced the oil from Iran with oil from Iraq, Russia and Kazakhstan. Turkey's largest oil refiner Tupras had pressed Washington for an extension of the import waiver before the May 1 expiration, according to a person familiar with the talks, adding that when it was not granted, the company made it clear it would halt all imports from Iran. But the official added that Ankara did not agree with U.S. sanctions policy on Iran. "We don't believe in sanctions, but as a strategic ally we respect the U.S. decision ..." We don't believe isolation of Iran will be helpful," he said. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis and James Dalgleish) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Photo: The Canadian Press Meteorologist Bob Robichaud discusses the potential impacts of the hurricane season at the Canadian Hurricane Centre. It has been years since a major tropical storm wreaked havoc in Canada, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre is warning against complacency. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its hurricane outlook Thursday, predicting nine to 15 named storms this season, with four to eight becoming hurricanes and two to four being major hurricanes. Bob Robichaud of the Canadian centre noted that's similar to last year's hurricane season, when only two storms hit Canada, including post-tropical storm Chris, which made landfall in Newfoundland in July 2018. However, Robichaud warns that some Atlantic Canadians may be forgetting storms like post-tropical storm Arthur, which snapped trees and caused massive power outages in 2014, and hurricane Juan's widespread wrath in 2003. And he reminded journalists attending a briefing in Halifax about hurricane Michael, which flattened parts of the Florida panhandle last October. The Halifax-based centre helped create Environment Canada's recently launched smart phone app WeatherCAN, and recommends people begin tracking storms as soon as they start and then monitor for shifts in direction and intensity. "What we advocate is for people to really stay in tune with weather information because the forecast can change as the storms are approaching," Robichaud said. Robichaud says studies show that complacency levels rise about seven years after a storm like hurricane Juan, and that as a result people do less to prepare. "People tend not to take any preparedness action if they haven't had any kind of hurricane in recent years," said Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist. "For us it's been five years since any major impactful storm ... so it's even more important to take the necessary precautions to get ready." The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo has published a simple guide for Canadians on basic measures to prepare in particular for flood risk from extreme weather. The centre has repeatedly pointed out that without basic measures, basement flooding can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage during hurricanes. Its publications include a Home Flood Protection Program that begins with such simple steps as testing sump pumps, cleaning out eavestroughs and maintaining backwater valves. More advanced measures include removing obstructions from basement drains and creating grading to move water away from homes. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to early November. Robichaud said hurricanes tend to "feed on" warmer waters, and as result the centre is closely monitoring those trends. The meteorologist said as summer progresses it's projected the water will warm in the eastern Atlantic and become warmer than average. In addition, Robichaud said the Atlantic Ocean continues to be in an overall period of high hurricane activity that hasn't yet come to the end of a cycle. By Tina Bellon (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday appointed prominent attorney Kenneth Feinberg as mediator for court-mandated settlement talks in the federal litigation over allegations that Bayer AG's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused cancer By Tina Bellon (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday appointed prominent attorney Kenneth Feinberg as mediator for court-mandated settlement talks in the federal litigation over allegations that Bayer AG's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused cancer. Feinberg has been instructed to meet with lawyers for Bayer and plaintiffs within the next 14 days, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said during a court hearing on Wednesday. Chhabria, who oversees some 900 federal Roundup lawsuits, on April 11 ordered the parties to start confidential mediation. He appointed Feinberg after the parties failed to agree on a mediator. Feinberg is well known for having facilitated dispute resolutions in high-stakes litigations in the past. He led mediation talks over the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal and General Motors ignition switch litigation. Chhabria on Wednesday also scheduled the next federal Roundup trial for February 2020. The case would mark the second bellwether, or test trial, to help determine the range of damages and define settlement options for federal cases. The judge also wants to prepare some 20 cases currently pending before him for trial and send them to other courts across the country. More than 13,400 plaintiffs nationwide allege Roundup caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and that the company failed to warn about that risk. The majority of lawsuits are pending in state courts across the country. Bayer, which acquired Roundup maker Monsanto in a $63 billion deal last year, denies the allegations, saying studies and regulators have deemed glyphosate and Roundup safe for human use. The company in the past said it would comply with Chhabria's mediation order in good faith, while believing strongly in the "extensive body of reliable science supporting the safety of Roundup." Bayer has also said it would defend itself in all cases and await the appeals process underway for the three cases that have gone to trial and resulted in jury verdicts against it. A California jury on May 13 awarded $2 billion to a couple alleging Roundup caused their cancer. In March, a federal jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million to a California man after finding Roundup caused his cancer. That decision came after another California jury in August 2018 awarded $289 million to a groundskeeper in the first U.S. Roundup trial. That award was later reduced to $78 million. (Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Officials said two terrorists were killed in the encounter but there was no confirmation about their identities as the bodies were yet to be retrieved. However, Musa's family confirmed that he was present at the encounter site. Srinagar: Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was believed to have been killed in an encounter with security forces on Thursday in a village in Tral of South Kashmir, officials said. They said two terrorists were killed in the encounter but there was no confirmation about their identities as the bodies were yet to be retrieved. However, Musa's family confirmed that he was present at the site. There has been no firing for quite sometime at the encounter site, but security forces are taking precaution before approaching the debris, they said. Spontaneous protests broke out in Shopian, Pulwama, Awantipora and downtown Srinagar, with people raising slogans in favour of Musa. Senior police officials said security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Dadsara village and when the terrorists tried to escape, a gunfight broke out. They said efforts were made to make them surrender but the request fell on deaf ears and the holed up terrorists started lobbing grenades using a launcher. The officials said more security forces were rushed to the area to prevent the terrorists from escaping under the cover of darkness. In the meantime, Jammu and Kashmir Police announced restrictions in some areas of Pulwama, Awantipora, Srinagar, Anantnag and Budgam as a precautionary measure, they said. The officials said the decision was made keeping in view the Friday prayer gatherings. Internet was also shutdown as a precautionary measure, they said. In an interview to a prominent daily, Narendra Modi told members of the so-christened Khan Market gang that having failed to be neutral and unbiased sympathisers of the ruling dispensation neutral and sympathiser being strictly coterminous, not oxymoronic they must reckon with their insignificance in shaping the image of his office. It is rarely, to extend the spirit of rarity, that the irrelevant are brought into relevance to be told that they are, in fact, irrelevant. In a city populated by nearly two crore individuals, it is rarely that one is noticed, let alone by the head of government, who, one imagines, has more significant matters to attend to. Yet, on a day that must certainly have been slow and possibly cloudy, his attention turned to peoples and passers-by of a well-known market in the capital minding their fledgling businesses, as actual as metaphorical, and if push came to shove, voting. In an interview to a prominent daily, he told members of the so-christened Khan Market gang that having failed to be neutral and unbiased sympathisers of the ruling dispensation neutral and sympathiser being strictly coterminous, not oxymoronic they must reckon with their insignificance in shaping the image of his office. It is rarely, to extend the spirit of rarity, that the irrelevant are brought into relevance to be told that they are, in fact, irrelevant. Let me, however, be honest about my complicity. I have spent an appreciable number of hours in the circular, graffiti-laced ruins of Khan Market, often squandering an inconvenient measure of corrupt and demonetised currency alike. I have cherished my familiarity with the collections of its iconic bookstores, the gastronomical delights of its quaint cafes, the vibrancy of conversation ubiquitous in these two spaces of the market, the delight of running into persons you read and read about (and, dare I add, whose recognition an intellectual parvenu can but do without), the brazen gaudiness of the moneyed figures flocking the open markets insolate spaces with infectious, enviable elan, the salubrious smell of its sedition. If it demands only vague familiarity with this nondescript market and writing this and that with a thinking mind, I am guilty as are, I am afraid, many, many more that this resplendent and wildly patronising market keeps out. Established with the Sarojini Nagar Market as a commercial node for incoming refugees from partitioned Punjab, spaces in the then-makeshift Khan Market were apportioned to desperate and traumatised Punjabi men and women, many of whom were traders, in the hope that they will attain a livelihood in utterly unfamiliar territory and come to replicate their commercial success in and for independent India. Many of them like the late Bahri of Bahrisons Booksellers did precisely that, elevating this market named after Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan or the Gandhi of the Northwest Frontier Province, to national and global prominence as the most expensive retail space in the country. This was made possible by (among other things) its location serendipitously close to the seat of the government, Lutyens Delhi, and the gilded residences of those at its helm and those otherwise associated with the powers that be. Starched and nourished by the moneyed reserves of the countrys illustrious political and intellectual forces over the many, many decades of its making, Khan Market is but a market it symbolises a space that kept many like its vituperative critic away and a space that, more importantly, continues to deny him the love he, at least in his own eyes, deserves. Of course, some of us continue to make the biweekly pilgrimage here and there to catch up with our left-y professors, few of whom, I am afraid, are related to the Grand Old Party in ways as one would like and suspect. We lament, wryly, dramatically, the state of the nation, as it were, and our demonetised presents and futures. Punctuating the rehearsed lament of the gang, however, are also figures of some novelty descending from acrimonious newsrooms to populate the decadent market, visiting your cherished bookstores and your beloved cafes but with different tastes, and walking the hallowed corridors of the Khan Market with the panache of the virtuoso who runs the show power is a fickle mistress, and this is the Lutyens Delhi staffing the government, its inchoate think-tanks, and its assorted fora of media neutrally, objectively, sympathetically. Not only, as one of the gang would say, are the Fundoos (a term we owe, again, to a former member of the gang, Khushwant Singh) here, they have made the market their own as indeed. Are these entrants interlopers, or are they, one would gasp, of the infamous gang? In this fruitless exercise of classifying the heterogeneous and frequently complementary elite of a nation of dizzying diversity, neither. The Fundoo, and god forbid his avowedly anti-Lutyens position, is as elite and at home in Khan Market as the resident Congressi. Politicians, after all, only decry an elite that has kept them away and out to be able to reproduce its own. One is unsure when the interviewee's last visit to the market was, but take it from an intrepid traveller the Khan Market has taken a new love, and it is he. While most of the country is puzzling over exit polls, a few people seem to be engaged in the somewhat serious pursuit of fresh water turtles and tortoises. 23 May is the date of the Lok Sabha Election results in India, but it is also World Turtle Day a fact known only by a few. Though most people keep track of election trivia, not many of us know that India has 24 species of fresh water turtles and four species of tortoises, of which over 50 percent (i.e. 17) are in the 'threatened' category. Not many can identify them either. Illegal pet trade in turtles, with thousands of Indian Star Tortoises and other species being sent out every year, is further harming their existence. Spearheading the spread of awareness about turtles and tortoises through various platforms, including a Turtle Spotting Week which kicked off on 17 May, are two young women who are wildlife biologists with a keen interest in turtle conservation and research Anuja Mital and Sneha Dharwadkar. Spotted Pond Turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii). All photographs courtesy of Anuja Mital Mital caught her first turtle in the rain forests of Agumbe in Karnataka when she was doing a project on frogs. She realised she didnt know much about them. My conscience pricked me, she says. That was the defining moment in her life when she decided to dedicate herself to turtle research. An independent turtle researcher, she is one of the few in the country who can identify the 24 turtle species and the four tortoise species. Twenty-five-year-old Mital didnt stop there. United by a common interest, she and Sneha Dharwadkar, another herpetologist and environment educator from Baroda, Gujarat, decided to give a fillip to the relatively unknown family of turtles and tortoises by hosting a celebration every year with the week-long turtle spotting event. This is the third edition of the event, and a Facebook page hosted by the Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India (FTTI) group dedicated to the efforts of many turtle spotters is attracting a lot of posts and views. Crowned River Turtle (Hardella thurjii) Since the beginning of the event on 17 May, over 30 posts of turtles being spotted from various parts of the country have been uploaded, says an enthused Mital. There is already an FTII user group on the India Biodiversity Portal (IBP), which has pages dedicated to diverse species, where anyone can register and upload photos. The Turtle Week encourages participants to map, photograph and document as many individuals and species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India, and to share this information on the India Biodiversity Portal as well. The objective is to bring greater attention to the ecology and conservation status of this group of reptiles. Fresh water turtles and tortoises are a neglected group in biodiversity conservation, and there is not much research about them, Mital discovered. They are not often spotted and there is little known about the distribution of species. Most herpetologists are clueless when it comes to identifying freshwater turtles or tortoises, she points out. Our idea in launching Turtle Week was to get people to actively participate by posting pictures and locations, and this would showcase the rich biodiversity. In less than two months after we started the Facebook page, we got more posts per day than we did in the last three years. We hoped that sharing pictures would point to the biodiversity we have, she says. Hatchling of Indian Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle (Chitra indica) There are many misconceptions about turtles. People think the shell evolved for protection, but in reality, it acts as a cover when they dig underground, to prevent the ground from caving in on them, explains Mital. Many young people think turtles can come out of their shells and walk around, after watching too many episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, no doubt. Many also confuse fresh water turtles with sea turtles, which are the larger focus of conservation efforts and receive all the funding. Also, fresh water turtles dont have flippers. As an independent researcher now, Mital is focusing on the black soft-shelled turtle, which is all but extinct in the wild and mostly seen in captivity in temple ponds in North East India and Bangladesh. But there have been a few sightings in the protected areas of Nameri, Kaziranga, Orang and Manas in Assam and she is hoping to rediscover them in the wild in the course of her study. These turtles can grow to a length of one metre. Brown Roofed Turtle (Pangshura smithii) Most of the posts during Turtle Week have come from the Western Ghats belt in Kerala, Karnataka and in the north from Uttar Pradesh and Assam these seem to be the hotspots for the species. The Week has also recorded the first photo of an elongated tortoise from Assam; it is the first observation of its kind. The other turtle enthusiast, Sneha Dharwadkar, has been involved in rescuing reptiles in and around Baroda and helping the forest department identify rescued turtles and returning them to the wild or finding a place for them in captivity, in case their origins are not known, for over 12 years. Tens of thousands of star tortoises are smuggled out of the country, and this is only the data from what is confiscated, she says. Assam Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys gemeli) When you know so little about this species, it becomes difficult to make a plan for conservation or protection. Star tortoises are often kept in water tanks and people dont realise these are cold-blooded animals. They need basking space, she points out. While the user group on the IBP portal started in 2016, they felt the need for outreach on social media, which led to the Facebook page. When people contribute to a project, they feel a sense of ownership, she says. "Social media is a good outreach platform and we cannot conserve animals without the help of the community. This project can serve the twin goals of reaching out to people and giving them information on species, and also attracting different audiences, she adds. So the Facebook page has a Meme Monday, where teenagers are attracted, Turtle Tuesday, where one species is in focus, and a Research Thursday, where new research on turtles is shared. This came out of our own interest in mapping and documenting turtles, and we are getting people to contribute. It is also a platform for researchers and a small initiative to help in the conservation of turtles," she says. Tricarinate Hill Turtle (Melanochelys tricarinata). Photograph by Nilanjan Chatterjee The illegal traffic in tortoises and turtles is huge. Some soft-shelled turtles are sent to Bangladesh for meat, and the Spotted Pond Turtle is sent to South East Asia as pets. There are some Indian species sold as Singapore turtles in the market, and thanks to the pet trade, exotic species like the Red-eared Slider from the Americas are even bred in India and is now an invasive species in ponds where they are released to supposedly curb the dengue mosquito. They compete with local soft shelled species and are causing problems, Dharwadkar points out. Both Mital and Dharwadkar intend to pursue PhDs in turtles and tortoises and extend their work to conservation. Meanwhile, if you do spot a turtle or a tortoise, or anything resembling them, take a photo and upload or share it to the IBP or the FTII Facebook page. If you can take your mind off the exit polls that is! Photographs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 courtesy of Anuja Mital. Header and photograph 6 by Nilanjan Chatterjee BJPs Dilipkumar Gandhi won the seat in 1999, 2009 and 2014. In 2004, NCPs Tukaram Gadakh defeated BJPs NS Pharande to win the seat. Ahmednagar Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 37 Total electors: 16,99,408 Female electors: 8,00,589 Male electors: 8,98,819 Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. Karjat and Pathardi Assembly segments were removed from the seat in 2008. Rahuri and Parner Assembly constituencies were added from erstwhile Kopargaon Lok Sabha seat, which was dissolved post-delimitation. Assembly constituencies: Shevgaon, Rahuri, Parner, Ahmednagar City, Shrigonda, Karjat Jamkhed. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: BJPs Dilipkumar Gandhi won the seat in 1999, 2009 and 2014. In 2004, NCPs Tukaram Gadakh defeated BJPs NS Pharande to win the seat. Demographics: It covers parts of Ahmednagar district. Located in Western Maharashtra, the district receives funding from the Centre under the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. In terms of area, it is the largest district in the state. The district has a population of 45,43,159, of which SCs comprise 12.63 percent. The BJP, according to trends around noon, is not only the single-largest party but has comfortably breached the 272 mark The BJP, according to trends around noon, is not only the single-largest party but has comfortably breached the 272 mark. The saffron unit is leading in 287 seats as of now and it wont be a surprise if it pushed the 300-mark on its own. The NDA, at this point, is close to leading in 350 out of 542 seats. Obviously, a lions share of credit for these staggering numbers should go Narendra Modi who is poised to return with an even bigger mandate than in 2014. If these trends hold true till the end, then India would have given Modi the biggest mandate for any non-Congress incumbent government. Even as we make sense of these numbers and watch unfolding of history, it would be foolish to gloss over the role played by one man whose contribution towards BJPs unmatched political dominance across India equals that of Modi. And the prime minister would be the first one to acknowledge the stellar role played by his most trusted general. Amit Shah wouldnt mind the lack of limelight on him though. He prefers it that way. However, there is a difference between Amit Shahs roles in 2014 and 2019. Five years ago, he was BJPs chief strategist for Uttar Pradesh who developed a winning formula through tactical alliances, built an unbeatable grassroot organisational structure and ensured a two-way feedback mechanism that fills the gap between voters and the party. Even then we would work like a man possessed to achieve his objectives. This time, however, Shah had an added responsibility. The BJP president had become a Rajya Sabha MP but his ambition, abilities and the BJPs need for him to play an even greater role in the next Modi government meant that he had to contest the Lok Sabha elections. The fact that he chose Gandhinagar, a seat which BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani had made his own, indicated a generational and ideological shift in the party. Gandhinagar is as safe a seat for BJP as it comes and Shah, the political mastermind, was never going to lose. At the time of writing, the BJP president was leading by over 125000 votes. Shahs win changes the political game for the BJP. It indicates that Modis alter-ego may join the Cabinet and handle an important portfolio. During Modis tenure as Gujarat chief minister, Shah was his home minister. It is risky to speculate what portfolio Modi might hand over to Shah, given the latters propensity to surprise. It is safe however to say that it will be an important portfolio that will help achieve the goals of Modi 2.0. As party president, Shah has already proved his administrative acumen and such a job might be a promotion that matches his bigger stature in the party and in national politics. Shah has also proved his risk-taking ability by fielding Pragya Thakur against Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal. Now that his most audacious move is also on the verge of getting fructified, Shahs stock is set to rise even higher. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here Bishnu Pada Ray of the BJP has won the seat thrice in last two decades: 1999, 2009 and 2014. In 2004, Manoranjan Bhakta won the seat on a Congress ticket. Interestingly, Bhakta is the longest serving MP from Andaman and Nicobar, having been elected eight times between 1977 and 2009. Andaman and Nicobar Lok Sabha Constituency Total electors: 2,69,360 (2014 estimates) Female electors: 1,26,578 Male electors: 1,42,782 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly Constituencies: N/A Results in last four elections: Bishnu Pada Ray of the BJP has won the seat thrice in last two decades: 1999, 2009 and 2014. In 2004, Manoranjan Bhakta won the seat on a Congress ticket. Interestingly, Bhakta is the longest serving MP from Andaman and Nicobar, having been elected eight times between 1977 and 2009. Demographics: Most of the population on the island constituency come from the mainland. The constituency is rural in nature. Around 62 percent of the total population lives in rural areas as per the 2011 Census. According to the 2011 Census, 69 percent of the population is Hindu, while 21 percent follow Christianity. The Bengali, Tamil and Hindi-speaking communities are the three notably dominant communities in this constituency. People are tired of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. Had the elections been held in a fair manner BJP would have won more than 30 seats here that is what Banerjee was afraid of, hence the violence in all seven phases, Ganguly said Kolkata: BJP leader Roopa Ganguly on Thursday said that BJP would have won more seats in West Bengal had Trinamool Congress (TMC) not resorted to violence and pressurise the masses in all the seven phases of elections in the state. "People are tired of Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. Had the elections been held in a fair manner BJP would have won more than 30 seats here that is what Banerjee was afraid of, hence the violence in all seven phases," Ganguly told ANI here. She asserted that BJP was afraid for the security of people in those constituencies where BJP performed exceptionally but could not secure a win because of TMC's goons. "This is an election and there is no second winner here. We are afraid for the people from the places where BJP would not win despite performing well. I am afraid there could be a new surge of violence (by TMC) in those areas, it would be great for the safety of the people of the state if BJP takes a late lead in majority seats," she said. Ganguly sounded confident that BJP will take back all the states where it had lost or not been able to form government in the assembly elections held recently. She said that assembly and general elections were a different ball game and it would reflect in the results this time. "Have a look at Karnataka, BJP is leading as of now in the majority of the seats there and it will continue like this. In the assembly elections there BJP had won majority seats but we didn't form the government, the people are wholeheartedly in BJP's favour this time." "Likewise, in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh a few seats might be lost, but in total, we will clean sweep these states. We will do well in the Hindi heartland states, as usual, no doubts should be there about our victory," she said. NDA has taken the lead in 316 seats while UPA is winning on 101 seats while SP-BSP and other parties combined are in front on 105 seats as per the latest data from Election Commission. Follow all the latest updates from the Lok Sabha election results here Between 1996 and 1999 elections, former Union minister Murasoli Maran won the seat. After his death, his son Dayanidhi Maran represented the constituency until 2014, when he was defeated by SR Vijayakumar of the AIADMK. Chennai Central Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency Number: 4 Total Electors: 13,28,027 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 6,65,278 Female Electors: 6,62,749 Assembly Constituencies: Villivakkam, Egmore (SC), Harbour, Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, Thousand Lights, Anna Nagar Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. In 2008, Purasawalkam goes defunct, while Vilivakkam is added to Chennai Central Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Between 1996 and 1999 elections, former Union minister Murasoli Maran won the seat. After his death, his son Dayanidhi Maran represented the constituency until 2014, when he was defeated by SR Vijayakumar of the AIADMK. Demography: It is one of the smallest constituencies in India by geographical area. It is totally an urban constituency and is considered a DMK bastion. It is to be noted that Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni (previously Chepauk), Anna Nagar and Harbour Assembly segments in Chennai Central have elected former chief minister M Karunanidhi many times. The minorities and North Indian voters are significant in some parts of the constituency, which also hosts many business establishments. Scheduled Castes are estimated to be about 28 to 30 percent of the total population. Vanniyars form the next big significant chunk of voters in the constituency. It is to be noted that conflict between Vanniyars and Dalits have ravaged North of Tamil Nadu for many decades. Chidambaram Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency Number: 27 Total Electors: 13,66,189 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 6,86,864 Female Electors: 6,79,325 Assembly Constituencies: Kunnam, Bhuvanagiri, Kattumannarkoil (SC), Chidambaram, Ariyalur, Jayamkondam Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Castes Delimited: Yes. Jayakondam, Kunnam and Ariyalur Assembly segments were added to the constituency. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: E Ponnuswamy of the PMK won the seat in 1999 and 2004 elections. In 2009, Dalit leader Thol Thirumavalavan won the seat as a candidate of the UPA. In 2014 elections, M Chandrakasi of the AIADMK won the seat. Demography: Scheduled Castes are estimated to be about 28 to 30 percent of the total population. Vanniyars form the next big significant chunk of voters in the constituency. It is to be noted that conflict between Vanniyars and Dalits have ravaged North of Tamil Nadu for many decades. In the 2009 elections, Janardhana Swamy of the BJP won the seat. But he lost the seat to BN Chandrappa in the 2014 elections by a margin of over a lakh votes. Chitradurga Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 18 Total Electors: 16,61,272 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 8,44,864 Female Electors: 8,16,408 Assembly Constituencies: Molakalmuru (ST), Challakere (ST), Chitradurga, Hiriyur, Hosadurga, Holalkere (SC), Sira, Pavagada Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Castes Delimited: Yes. In 2008, it became a reserved seat. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Shashi Kumar won the seat in 1999 on a JDU ticket. In the 2004 elections, NY Hanumanthappa won the seat as a Congress candidate. In the 2009 elections, Janardhana Swamy of the BJP won the seat. But he lost the seat to BN Chandrappa in the 2014 elections by a margin of over a lakh votes. Demography: According to news reports, community politics plays a major role in Chitradurga, one of the least developed districts in India. Bhovi and Madiga, the communities belonging to the Scheduled Castes, are dominant in the constituency. Madigas are the biggest community, with over 4 lakh voters in the constituency. The BJP and the JD(S) gave tickets to candidates belonging to Bhovi community in the last Lok Sabha elections. Vokkaligas and Muslims also constitute sizeable section of the population. CP Radhakrishnan of the BJP won the seat in 1998 and 1999 polls. He lost to K Subbrayan of CPI in the 2004 General Elections. In 2009 elections, PR Natarajan of the CPM won the election. In 2014, P Nagarajan defeated his nearest rival Radhakrishnan of BJP to win the seat. Coimbatore Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency Number: 20 Total Electors: 17,20,211 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 8,69,034 Female Electors: 8,51,177 Assembly Constituencies: Coimbatore North, Coimbatore South, Kaundampalayam, Singanallur, Sulur, Palladam. Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. Coimbatore East became Coimbatore North and Coimbatore West became Coimbatore South. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: CP Radhakrishnan of the BJP won the seat in 1998 and 1999 polls. He lost to K Subbrayan of CPI in the 2004 General Elections. In 2009 elections, PR Natarajan of the CPM won the election. In 2014, P Nagarajan defeated his nearest rival Radhakrishnan of BJP to win the seat. Demography: Coimbatore is the de facto commercial capital of Western Tamil Nadu, also called Kongu Nadu. Coimbatore is the second most populated city in Tamil Nadu. The constituency is largely urban as it covers considerable parts of the city and its surrounding areas. Notably, the BJP had won in this constituency twice in the past. The RSS too held its 2017 annual meeting in Coimbatore signalling its interest in the city. In the high-decibel Bhopal constituency election in Madhya Pradesh, deep saffron is set to beat light saffron In the high-decibel Bhopal constituency election in Madhya Pradesh, deep saffron is set to beat light saffron. BJP candidate from Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, a Malegaon blast accused and representative of the radical right has taken a substantial lead of 1.45 lakh votes against Congress candidate and two-term Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh. Singh known for cultivating the Muslim voters assiduously and coining the term Hindu terror to describe Thakur and others tried every trick in the trade to portray himself as a friend of the Hindus. The winning trend of the BJP shows that the voters of Bhopal havent pardoned Digvijaya even after 16 long years, even though he began his election campaign by seeking forgiveness from the electorate. His tenure as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is still remembered for rampant corruption, and total deterioration of basic amenities and infrastructure such as electricity, water and roads. Singh had returned to active politics in the state after a hibernation of 16 years. After having lost the Assembly election in 2003, the former chief minister had decided not to contest election for a decade. As the BJP fielded Thakur Singh tried hard to stall polarization of Hindu votes against him by aggressively displaying his own brand of Hindutva. Digvijayas campaign focussed on playing up his much-publicised Narmada Yatra where he undertook circumambulation of the holy river from the source to the sink on foot. He even got hundreds of sadhus and sants in his favour, who performed rituals like 'Havan' in Bhopal for his victory. Digvijaya's moves suggest that he took to Hindu rituals in public to counter the BJP and eventually neutralise any possible Hindu polarisation against him. However, many of the sadhus who had participated in Digvijayas ritual, later claimed that they were tricked into being part of the support team. Several videos supporting the claim had surfaced soon thereafter. If Digvijaya Singh loses, it may be the beginning of his end in the politics of Madhya Pradesh. Sadhvi, on the other hand, had dubbed her contest as a Dharma Yuddha or battle for righteousness. We have been Congress supporters for years and always voted for the Congress including in the assembly election last year. But for the first time in this Lok Sabha election, we voted the BJP as we wanted Narendra Modi to be the prime minister. Hes the only right candidate to be at the centre, Radheyshyam Rai, a small trader from Pipalia, which falls in Bhopal constituency told Firstpost. If the Sadhvi finally does emerge winner in the election, it will be less an endorsement by the city of Bhopal of her brand of Hindutva, and more a rejection of Digvijaya Singhs attempt to represent the city of a state still indignant over his brand of administration. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Congress candidate Tamradhwaj Sahu was elected as an MP. Durg Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 7 Total electors: 18,58,922 (2014 estimates) Female electors: 9,09,476 Male electors: 9,48,077 Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. The Durg Assembly constituency was broken into rural and city constituencies in 2008. Mora, Dhamdha and Khertha segments were dissolved and Vaishali Nagar, Ahiwara and Nawagarh were added. Assembly Constituencies: Patan, Bhilai Nagar, Saja, Durg Rural, Vaishali Nagar, Bemetara, Durg City, Ahiwara (SC), Nawagarh (SC) Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In 1999, BJP candidate Tara Chand Sahu won a majority when the constituency was a part of Madhya Pradesh. Sahu repeated his feat in the 2004 elections when Chhattisgarh had been separated from Madhya Pradesh. In the 2009 election, Saroj Pandey from BJP won the election. In 2014, Congress candidate Tamradhwaj Sahu was elected as an MP from here. Demographics: Home to the Bhilai steel plant, Durg is also an important agriculture market in the state. It is the only seat currently held by Congress. MP Tamradhwaj Sahu became the home minister of the state after the state elections in 2018. He, then, resigned from his position as MP and the seat is currently vacant. Durg has a population of 1,721,948, according to the Census 2011, of which 64 percent lives in urban areas. East States Election 2019 Vote Counting LIVE Results and Updates: Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has announced his resignation from the post, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor performance in the state. Auto refresh feeds Since the Election Commission will also be tallying the VVPATs slips with EVM votes at five polling booths in each Assembly segment, the final results can take a little longer to be announced. The Election Commission of India will start counting of votes today ( 23 May ) at 8 am for the seven-phased elections to the Lok Sabha in what is being touted as the world's biggest democratic exercise. This will bring the curtains down on a bitterly-fought election. The poll panel issued a statement saying that after two rounds of in-depth discussions, "it has neither been found possible nor feasible to accede to this demand" in the overall context and especially in view of a Supreme Court judgment of 8 April, which had directed the poll panel that the random selection of VVPATs will be subject to the process of VVPAT slip verification as per the EVM guidelines in force. The Election Commission on Wednesday said it rejected the demand of 22 political parties to count slips from paper trail machine before the counting of votes polled in EVMs because it was not "feasible". This was a day after a delegation met the EC. The tumultuous elections in India will reach their end with the counting of votes on 23 May. The Election Commission is going to begin counting the votes cast in the Lok Sabha election at 8 am. West Bengal transformed into a battleground for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and the BJP, with violence taking precendence throughout the election season, including the seven phases of voting in the state. With casualties on both sides, the BJP and TMC continued to trade blame for the violence all through the Lok Sabha polls. Senior BJD leader Baijayant Jay Panda switched camps to the BJP ahead of the elections, strengthening the saffron partys camp in the state. However, most of the exit polls indicated that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's BJD will lead in the tally of seats. Odisha saw a four-phase election to 21 Lok Sabha seats, the counting for which will be held at 63 centres amid tight security. A total of 67,000 officials will conduct the process, which will bring the BJP-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) face-off to its conclusion. In Sikkim , India's second smallest state, polls to the sole Lok Sabha constituency and 32 Assembly seats were held on 11 April. In Assam , the exit polls have forecast that the BJP will win seven to 10 of the 14 seats, while the Congress is likely to bag two to six. Among other parties in the fray is BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad. Exit polls also predict a victory for the saffron party in 18-20 seats in the North East, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura, each of which have two seats in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, however, is expected to sweep Nagaland and Mizoram. North East sends 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Assam sends 14 MPs, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur each send two, and Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram have one Lok Sabha seat each. A tight three-tier security is in place for counting in West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed in a 100-metre radius of counting venues, while central forces are manning the innermost security layer. State police personnel will not be allowed to enter the counting hall, the EC said. The Election Commission deployed 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal, in addition to the 82 companies already present in the state, to ensure security at the counting centres and check any post-poll violence when the exercise is taken up. The votes will be counted at 58 counting centres with around 25,000 counting personnel at 78,799 polling stations spread over 294 Assembly segments in West Bengal. In 2014, the Congress had bagged only 16 of the total 147 seats in the Odisha Assembly and had failed to open its account in the Lok Sabha polls. Various exit polls this time predicted one Lok Sabha seat and 15 Assembly seats for the party. The polls forecast an impressive performance by the BJP in Odisha, many even suggesting that the saffron party will bag more seats than the ruling BJD. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik on Wednesday, a day before counting, conceded that the party will not be able to form a government on its own in the state and may even lose the Opposition status in the Assembly, indicating that it's a straight fight between the BJD and the BJP in Odisha. However, he is confident that the party's performance will be better than its 2014 show. Voting days, and even the days after polling ended, were wrough with allegations of EVM manipulation. The Election Commission, on Wednesday, rejected the request of 22 Opposition parties to tally VVPATs at five polling stations in each Assembly segment before counting begins and not at the end as planned. The poll panel has maintained throughout that the voting machines are tamper-proof. The Trinamool Congress leadership has asked its workers in West Bengal to guard strongrooms in their respective areas, fearing that the BJP might try to smuggle out EVMs. "We apprehend that the BJP might try to manipulate the EVMs. Therefore, our party supremo (and chief minister Mamata Banerjee) has ordered us to be high on alert," a TMC leader said. The sorry state of affairs in Bengal begs these questions will the politics in West Bengal always be tainted in blood? Do workers always have to sacrifice themselves for the party's "cause"? Is there no way to ensure a peaceful democratic process in the state? Will the thirst for political power always overshadow the need for fair and transparent elections? Is violence the only solution these parties see For 19 years and four successive terms, Naveen Patnaik has ruled Odisha. His party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) named after his father Biju Patnaik is widely expected to emerge as the single largest party in the 2019 Assembly election. Patnaik, however, doesnt seem to be comfortable with the 'B factor', for the names of his two former associates-turned-bete noirs, start with the second letter of English alphabet Bijoy Mohapatra and Baijayant Panda. Both contested from the enemy BJP camp. As the general election was a straight fight between the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), all eyes are on the two in Odisha. The Congress is likely to slip to the third position in the state and lose its Opposition status. The election results to be declared today will decide the fate of 174 Lok Sabha candidates. Votes will be counted at 63 centres from 8 am to decide who wil represent Odisha in 21 Lok Sabha seats. The 2019 Lok Sabha election in West Bengal saw an aggressive campaign by the Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, each resorting to violence across the state. As many as 466 candidates were fieleded for the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, which voted in all seven phases of the election. These are very early trends and things might change dramatically. But 15 minutes into counting votes in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP seems to be running away with the game. Among the early trends, a very interesting one came from North Bengal where BJP is leading. If this trend holds, this could be an indication of the changing political wind in Bengal. The counting centers for Shillong are at the district headquarters of Khasi and Jaintia Hills and the sub-divisions of Sohra and Mairang. The centres for the Tura parliamentary seat is in the five district headquarters of Tura, Ampati, Resubelpara, Baghmara and Williamnagar. From Tura, former chief minister Mukul Sangma of the Congress, former Union minister, Agatha K Sangma of the ruling NPP and Rikman G Momin of the BJP are the candidates awaiting the results. From Shillong Lok Sabha seat, six candidates, include sitting Congress MP Vincent H Pala, Sanbor Shullai of the BJP, Jemino Mawthoh of the UDP and three Independents THS Bonney, Romeo Phira Ranee and Samuel Hashah are in the fray. According to News18, former IAS officer and BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi is leading from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha Seat. She is up against BJD's Arup Patnaik, who was the former Mumbai Police commissioner. Assam sends 14 MPs to the Lok Sabha, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur each send two, and Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram have one Lok Sabha seat each. The BJP is hoping to win an unprecedented 19 seats in the North East, from where the eight states send 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. Given how the BJP recently lost the Assmebly elections in the Hindi heartland states, where it bagged 191 of the 226 Lok Sabha constituencies in 2014, the BJP is banking on making up for these possible losses in the Lok Sabha polls by winning seats in the eight north eastern states of India. The candidates in the fray for the Lok Sabha seat are former chief minister KL Chishi from the Congress, sitting MP Tokheho Yepthomi from Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), a BJO ally, Hayithung Tungoe from National People's Party (NPP) and MM Thromwa Konyak from the Indian Christian Secular Party (ICSP), who contested as an Independent. Counting was delayed in Nagaland's sole Lok Sabha constituency due to technical error wherein counting officials could not log in to begin the exercise. Abhishek Banerjee, TMC leader and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew, is trailing from the Daimond Harbour constituency in West Bengal. BJP's Nilanjan Roy is leading in this seat. In Puri Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha, BJP's Sambit Patra is trailing behind his main rival Pinaki Mishra of the state's ruling BJD. "I always feel like an underdog before election results. We worked hard and I am optimistic that people of my constituency are going to elect me again. But I am not overconfident. This is a democracy and the janadesh (mandate) can go either way. Last year, I defeated BJP's veteran leader Kabindra Purkayastha, and this year also I had to fight hard," she said. President of the Mahila Congress and Silchar Lok Sabha candidate Sushmita Dev said she is optimistic about her chances but not overconfident. The Trinamool Congress has taken an early lead in 19 seats. The BJP is leading in the Left's traditional Raiganj seat, among six others, including Howrah, Hoogly and Purulia. In Coochbehar Lok Sabha seat, Nishith Pramanik of the BJP is leading against TMC's Paresh Chandra Adhikary. BJP candidate Locket Chatterjee is leading over TMC's Ratna De Nag in Hoogly. In Uluberia seat, Trinamool's Sajda Ahmed is leading by 920 votes against BJP's Joy Banerjee Union minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo is leading from Asansol against Moon Moon Sen of the Trinamool Congress after two rounds of counting. In Arambagh, TMC candidate Aparupa Poddar is leading with around 9,000 votes. Tapan Gayen, a BJP polling agent in Bijoygarh, alleged that TMC members had beaten him up. He claimed that the fight broke out abruptly. BJP leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda is trailing in Odisha's Kendrapara, though the party is ahead in nine seats. Panda had recently quit the BJD to join the BJP. He had won from Kendrapara in 2009 and 2014 on a BJD ticket. BJD's Anubhav Mohanty is leading from the seat at present. In the Arunachal East seat, Tapir Gao of the BJP is leading by 13477 votes against his Lowangcha Wanglat of the Congress. This constituency has recorded 367 NOTA votes, so far. The BJP is currently in the lead in both of Arunchal Pradesh's two Lok Sabha constituencies. Union minister Kiren Rijiju is leading by 30548 votes in Arunachal West against his nearest rival Nabam Tuki of the Congress. A total of 99 NOTA votes have been recorded in this seat, so far, an official said. It's a fierce battle among the spokespersons of the BJP, Congress and BJD in Odisha's Puri Lok Sabha constituency. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, who was trailing earlier, is now in the lead with 23180 votes, ahead of his nearest candidate BJD's Pinaki Misra, who got (21996 votes). Going by the trends so far, the BJP has breached Mamatas fortress and appears to have become a serious challenger to the TMCs political dominance West Bengal. The leads so far indicate that the saffron party has made rapid strides in the eastern states, having entered double digits in the state from just two in 2014. In 2014, the BJP had won only one of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, but it is leading in seven seats now. The BJP seems to have made clear inroads in BJD bastion Odisha. In the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections both, there has been a great surge in the party's seat share as per the latest trends. The BJP is leading in both the Lok Sabha seats of Tripura as per initial trends. Pratima Bhoumik is ahead in West Tripura Lok Sabha with a comfortable lead of 1,22,865 votes over Congress rival Subal Bhowmik. In East Tripura, BJP candidate Rebati Tripura is leading by 1,08,983 votes against Congress leader Maharaj Kumari Pragya Deb Burman. After trailing early in counting, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee now has a considerably lead in West Bengal's Diamond Harbour constituency. He is ahead of BJP's Nilanjan Roy by over 96,000 votes. The BJP may be trailing in West Bengal from an overall perspective, but key BJP leaders are ahead in votes in their constituencies. Union minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo leading from Asansol and BJP's Arjun Singh is leading from Barrackpore. TMC's Mimi Chakraborty, however, is in the lead from Jadavpur. This marks a significant blow to the TMC tally in the Lok Sabha from that the party won in 2014. Mamata Banerjee's party had won 34 seats in the last general election and the BJP only two. The latest figures from the Election Commission show the TMC in the lead in 23 seats, the BJP ahead in 18 seats and the Congress only in Berhampore. This marks a significant blow to the TMC tally in the Lok Sabha from that the party won in 2014. Mamata Banerjee's party had won 34 seats in the last general election and the BJP only two. The latest figures from the Election Commission show the TMC in the lead in 23 seats, the BJP ahead in 18 seats and the Congress only in Berhampore. "Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched," the West Bengal chief minister tweeted. In West Bengal's Kolkata South Lok Sabha constituency, TMCs Mala Roy looks set to trounce Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose, who contested on a BJP ticket. In both the seats, the CPI(M) had fielded women candidates Nandini Mukherjee from Kolkata South and Kaninika Bose from Kolkata North. CPM had fieled Nandini Mukherjee from this seat. Supriyo currently has a lead of over 80,000 over Sen in Asansol in West Bengal . "I am glad Moon Moon Sen got her bed tea on time today and reached the venue as expected," BJP leader Babul Supriyo, who contested from Asanson against Sen, said, referring to the former actor reaching campaign venues late. "As far as the margin of votes is concerned, the trend says it will cross a lakh." Rajya Sabha MP and BJP leader Roopa Ganguly said: "It is not only about red turning saffron. Left supporters are considered with high regard. They have have an understanding of the situation. When they decide to shift their vote, they give it good thought. It is well known to all of us by now that Modiji is the only person who can help our country function in a democratic manner, not an arbitrary leader like Mamata Banerjee." The TMC's lead has dropped to 22 seats in West Bengal, while the BJP's has jumped to19, according to the Election Commission's latest figures. However, there is not much difference between the vote shares of the two sides the TMC so far polled 43.7 percent of the votes and the BJP, 39.8 percent. Like Bengal, where the BJP has made significant advances compared to its 2014 tally, the saffron party has made a dent in the BJD's bastion in Odisha , as well. The BJP has the lead in seven seats at the moment, according to the Election Commission, and the BJD is ahead in 14. This is much better than the one seat it had won in 2014. The BJP is leading in 19 seats in West Bengal. These are Alipurduar, Asansol, Balurghat, Bangaon, Bankura, Barrackpore, Bishnupur, Burdwan-Durgapur, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Hooghly, Jalpaiguri, Jhargram, Malda Dakshin, Malda Uttar, Medinipur, Purulia, Raiganj and Ranaghat. "Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term.," tweets Prime Minister Narendra Modi Many senior BJD politicians who had earlier served as MPs and deserted the party to join the BJP for various reasons seem to have failed to taste success. Former Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda, former Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, who later joined the BJP leaving the BJD, is trailing and likely to be defeated. Vincent H Pala, Congress candidate from Shillong, has won the parliamentary seat, reported News18. The Election Commission, however, has not confirmed the result. As per Election Commission website, Pala had a lead of 152139 votes over United Democratic Party's JEMINO MAWTHOH. Pala had won the seat in 2014 as well with a margin of 40,379 votes. BJP Odisha Spokesperson Lekhashri Samantsinghar said that the credit for BJP's manifold increased seat share goes to PM Modi, party chief Amit Shah and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan who hails from Odisha had been visiting Odisha regularly for the last three years to boost the party base. The BJP's Odisha unit has given credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the surge in the party's vote share in the state Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha elections. Tension prevails at Aausgram area of East Bardhaman district in West Bengal after a clash between TMC and BJP workers. TMC has alleged that a group of BJP workers with sticks in their hands attacked and vandalised a TMC party office om Aausgram. The party also alleged that some of the articles of the party office were also set ablaze during the incident. The BJP, however, has denied all such allegation. Roy has so far received 4,39,016 (51.35 percent) votes while Susmita Dev has so far received 3,86,815 (45.25 percent) votes. BJP's Silchar candidate Rajdeep Roy is inching towards win over Congress candidate Sushmita Dev. The Congress leader, who left the counting centre just a while algo with all her supporters, is trailing by more than a lakh votes, but there's no official confirmation as yet. "Frankly, today is the day of the mandate and I don't want to colour the decision of the people of India by discussing with you what went wrong for us," he added. "The people have given their decision," said Congress president Rahul Gandhi. "In these polls, Narendra Modi and BJP have won. I congratulate them." This is the third time in a row that a BJP candidate had won in the Lok Sabha elections even though it has no major support base in the hills, but votes from the hilly region form a major chnk of the total votes received. BJP leader Raju Bista is set to win the Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP leader has secured a lead of nearly four lakh votes over Trinamool Congress candidate Amar Singh Rai who is trailing in the seat with just 3,31,143 votes. When asked about the issue of Gorkhaland he said, We should first understand what the people want and why that demand has been made. The Gorkhas that are in the hills do not have identity and allegations of foreigner is made agains them. In the BJP manifesto it has been made clear that looking at this area a permanent political solution will be done within these five years along with 11 communities being given tribal status. We have to work in the hills and the plains of this area as there are many issues need attention," he added. BJP candidate from Darjeeling Raju Bista said that this the third time BJP has won the Lok Sabha seat with a huge margin. "I had full confidence that we would not loose from here and this area showed that suppression will not be tolerated. The people here wanted peace and atrocities were being done on them. They were angry which came out in the votes, said Bista. From Arunachal West, Union minister Kiren Rijiju has taken a lead of 1.2 lakh votes over Congress' candidate Nabam Tuki. Rijiju who had won the seat in 2014 by 41,738 seems set to retain the seat. Counting of votes in both seats Arunachal East and Arunachal West is still in progress. However, in both seats BJP candidates are leading. Tapir Gao is leading from Arunachal East by 63,760 votes from Congress' Lowangcha Wanglat. The set was won by Congress leader Ninong Ering in 2014 by 12,478 seats. Results for the 10 Lok Sabha seats are yet to be made official. According to the Election Commission website counting of votes is still in progress. The Biju Janata Dal has maintained lead in six Lok Sabha seats Aska, Berhampur. Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Jagatsinghpur. BJP is leading in four seats Bolangir, Balasore, Bargarh and Bhubaneswar. The difference between votes is thinnest in Bolangir where BJP's Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo is locked in a tight battle with BJD's Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo. President of All India Mahila Congress and Silchar MP Sushmita Dev lost to Rajdeep Roy of the BJP. Although Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had campaigned for Dev, it ultimately did not prove helpful when it mattered. The Barak Valley in Assam is in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 which was opposed by the Congress, probably leading to Dev's downfall. Pinaki Misra of the Biju Janata Dal proved to be too strong for BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra to defeat. Although there were ups and downs during the counting in the initial stage, Misra has so far got an unassailable lead of 2,63,361 votes. The results are yet to be officially declared in this coastal constituency of Odisha which was recently hit badly by the ravaging Cyclone Fani. One a singer, the other an actress of yesteryears but in the end, it is the singer who prevailed over the movie star. This is the story of Asansol where the incumbent BJP MP Babul Supriyo won against Moon Moon Sen of the Trinamool Congress by a margin of 1,97,637 votes. In Baharampur, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury defeated Apurba Sarkar (David) of the Trinamool Congress by 80,696 votes. In the high voltage contest in the high profile seats of Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar, it is the Trinamool Congress which had the last laugh. While Trinamool's Mala Roy won against BJP's Chandra Kumar Bose by a margin of 1,55,192 votes in Kolkata Dakshin, it was Sudip Bandyopadhyay who emerged victorious against BJP's Rahul (Biswajit) Sinha with a margin of 1,27,095 votes. In the sole seat of Nagaland, Tokheho Yepthomi of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party defeated KL Chishi of the Congress by a margin of 16,344 votes. In 2014, the seat was won by former chief minister and Naga Peoples Front president Neiphiu Rio. The Election Commission's latest figures show that the TMC has won 19 seats and is leading in three in West Bengal, while the BJP has won three and the Congress, two. This is a massive development for the BJP in West Bengal, where it had won only two seats. In Odisha , too, the BJP has improved its tally by a great margin from one in 2014 to seven wins now. Official figures show the BJP having won seven seats in Odisha and in the lead in one. It's a big drop in numbers for the BJD though, which had won 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha in 2014. It bagged only 10 and is in the lead in two. The Congress won from two seats. The Congress count in the eight northeastern states of India has dropped to just three. Here, too, it's the BJP in the lead, with wins in 11 seats. Altogether, the North East send 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The BJPs rise in West Bengal , where secularism was metaphorically worn on the sleeve as a badge of honour, is attributed to Mamata Banerjees initial pandering to the minorities through stipend for imams and preventing Durga idols from being taken for immersion post afternoon if Vijaya Dashami clashed with Muharram. The saffron brigade encashed the growing disenchantment among a section of the majority and played it up to ensure polarisation, particularly in the districts of Purulia, Bankura, Maldah, Dinajpur, North Bengal and North 24 Parganas. The Lok Sabha election in Sikkim came to a predictable end, with Indra Hang Subba of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) winning the state's lone seat. Over the past four decades, voters of Sikkim have traditionally sent the state's ruling party candidate to the Lok Sabha. They did not make an exception this time either. "The CPM has suffered a severe setback in these elections. We shall introspect the reasons for this and draw proper lessons for the future," the party said in a statement . "The Indian electorate has given a decisive verdict in favour of the BJP and its allies... There are very big challenges ahead regarding the defence of our secular democratic republic, the institutions of constitutional authority, peoples rights and livelihood issues." According to the Election Commission's latest figures, the BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. This is a notable rise from the two seats it won in 2014. The TMC has won 20 and is leading in one seat, according to the EC. In India, candidates for election to the Lok Sabha pay a security deposit of Rs 25,000. For Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, the amounts are Rs 12,500 and Rs 5,000, respectively. Any candidate who fails to secure more than one-sixth (16.6 percent) of the total valid votes cast has to forfeit his or her deposit. Besides CPM's Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who got 21.04 percent of the votes polled in Jadavpur, no other Left candidate is likely to be able to achieve the required 16.6 percent of the votes to retain their deposit money of Rs 25,000 each, according to the latest data from the Election Commission. In most seats, the Left's candidates failed to reach double digits in vote percentage. All but one Left Front candidates are facing the ignominy of losing their security deposit in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in West Bengal, a state it had ruled for 34 years till 2011. The Election Commission has confirmed that senior BJD leader Pinaki Mishra has defeated BJP's Sambit Patra by 11,714 votes to win the Puri Lok Sabha constituency. Patra lost to Mishra by a narrow margin. He won 46.37 percent of the votes, a little less than Mishra's 47.4 percent vote share. The BJP has surpassed its 2014 tally in Assam, securing nine of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, even as its allies, the AGP and BPF, drew a blank in the state. In the 2014 election, the saffron party had won seven seats. Despite widespread opposition against the BJP for pushing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the party was able to retain Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Gauhati, Lakhimpur, Mangaldoi and Tezpur, besides bagging Autonomous District (ST), Silchar and Karimganj. However, it lost to the Congress the key constituency of Nowgong, which Union minister Rajen Gohain had represented for four consecutive terms. The Left Front did not win any Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal this time, with its vote share also dropping to 6.68 percent. The final results are in from West Bengal. According to the latest data from the Election Commission, the TMC has won 22 seats, the BJP 18 and Congress, just two. The TMC won with a vote share of 43.3 percent; the BJP got 40.3 percent of the votes and the Congress, 5.61 percent. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has announced his resignation from the post, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor performance in the state. The Congress not only lost its Opposition status in the Odisha Assembly, but also won a measly single seat in the Lok Sabha election. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has announced his resignation from the post, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor performance in the state. The Congress not only lost its Opposition status in the Odisha Assembly, but also won a measly single seat in the Lok Sabha election. The huge inroads made by the BJP in West Bengal is one of the major stories coming out of the mandate of 2019. Like everywhere else, the party worked a plan to shake the Trinamool Congress citadel, helped along the way by various factors, including polarisation of the electorate on the questions of minority appeasement, local level anti-incumbency and the massive erosion of the Lefts vote base. According to the latest figures of the Election Commission, the BJD has won 10 seats in Odisha and is ahead in two, and the BJP has won five and is leading in three. The Election Commission on Friday morning confirmed that senior BJD leader Pinaki Mishra defeated BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra by 11,714 votes to win the Puri Lok Sabha constituency. Patra lost to Mishra by a narrow margin while he won 46.37 percent of the votes, Mishra got a little more, with 47.4 percent of the vote share. The BJP has surpassed its 2014 tally in Assam, securing nine of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, even as its allies, the AGP and BPF, drew a blank in the state. In the 2014 election, the saffron party had won seven seats. Despite widespread opposition against the BJP for pushing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the party was able to retain Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Gauhati, Lakhimpur, Mangaldoi and Tezpur, besides bagging Autonomous District (ST), Silchar and Karimganj. However, it lost to the Congress the key constituency of Nowgong, which Union minister Rajen Gohain had represented for four consecutive terms. The Left Front did not win any Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal this time, with its vote share also dropping to 6.68 percent. The final results are in from West Bengal. According to the latest data from the Election Commission, the TMC has won 22 seats, the BJP 18 and Congress, just two. The TMC won with a vote share of 43.3 percent; the BJP got 40.3 percent of the votes and the Congress, 5.61 percent. The Election Commission has completed counting of votes in all states of the North East, barring Arunachal Pradesh, where it still shows the BJP having won one seat and in the lead in one. However, a BJP win in both the Lok Sabha seats of Arunchal Pradesh is guaranteed. Here are the latest figures: The TMC may have won a higher number of seats in West Bengal , but its gains in the state made BJP the bigger winner in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. There are three broad reasons behind this saffron surge one, collapse of the Left Front vote leading to complete consolidation of Opposition vote share in favour of the BJP; two, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's tactical mistakes; and three, the appeal of 'Brand Modi'. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has announced his resignation from the post, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor performance in the state. The Congress not only lost its Opposition status in the Odisha Assembly, but also won a measly single seat in the Lok Sabha election. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has announced his resignation from the post, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor performance in the state. The Congress not only lost its Opposition status in the Odisha Assembly, but also won a measly single seat in the Lok Sabha election. East States Election Results 2019 LATEST Updates | Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has announced his resignation from the post, taking moral responsibility of the party's poor performance in the state. The Congress not only lost its Opposition status in the Odisha Assembly, but also won a measly single seat in the Lok Sabha election. The final results are in from West Bengal. According to the latest data from the Election Commission, the TMC has won 22 seats, the BJP 18 and Congress, just two. The TMC won with a vote share of 43.3 percent; the BJP got 40.3 percent of the votes and the Congress, 5.61 percent. The BJP appears to be in the same position in West Bengal as the TMC of 2009, when Mamata Banerjee made the party a force to be reckoned with, three years after it was nearly decimated in the 2006 Assembly elections. The BJP, after years of having low presence in the state, has emerged as the main challenger in West Bengal. The Election Commission has confirmed that senior BJD leader Pinaki Mishra has defeated BJP's Sambit Patra by 11,714 votes to win the Puri Lok Sabha constituency. Patra lost to Mishra by a narrow margin. He won 46.37 percent of the votes, a little less than Mishra's 47.4 percent vote share. All but one Left Front candidate, CPM's Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya who contested from Jadavpur, are losing their security deposit of Rs 25,000 each in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in West Bengal, a state it had ruled for 34 years till 2011. In most seats, the Left's candidates failed to reach double digits in vote percentage. According to the Election Commission's latest figures, the BJP won 18 seats in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. This is a notable rise from the two seats it won in 2014. The TMC has won 20 and is leading in one seat, according to the EC. The Lok Sabha election in Sikkim came to a predictable end, with Indra Hang Subba of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) winning the state's lone seat. Over the past four decades, voters of Sikkim have traditionally sent the state's ruling party candidate to the Lok Sabha. They did not make an exception this time either. Like in West Bengal, the BJP made a significant dent in the seat share of the BJD in Odisha, with its vote share spiking to 38.4 percent this election from 21.50 percent in 2014. While the BJD's seat share has dropped from 20 in 2014 to possibly just 12 this election (the EC website shows the BJD with four seats and in the lead in eight seats), its vote share dropped marginally from 44.10 percent in 2014 to 42.8 percent. The TMC and BJP are neck and neck in West Bengal. In terms of vote share, Mamata Banerjee's party got 43.3 percent of them, up from 39.65 percent in 2014. The BJP's vote share has jumped to 40.3 percent from 17.02 percent in the last election. The Congress count in the eight northeastern states of India has dropped to just three. Here, too, it's the BJP in the lead, with wins in 11 seats. Altogether, the North East send 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The Election Commission's latest figures show that the TMC has won 19 seats and is leading in three in West Bengal, while the BJP has won three and the Congress, two. This is a massive development for the BJP in West Bengal, where it had won only two seats. Former state power minister and Congress candidate from Nowgong parliamentary constituency Pradyut Bordoloi defeated Rupak Sharma of the BJP by a margin of 16,752 votes. Sharma had to face the ire of junior railway minister Rajen Gohain who refused to campaign for him. Gohain felt that the seat was snatched away from him. Just ahead of the polls, the minister had also got embroiled in an alleged sexual assault incident. In the sole seat of Nagaland, Tokheho Yepthomi of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party defeated KL Chishi of the Congress by a margin of 16,344 votes. In 2014, the seat was won by former chief minister and Naga Peoples Front president Neiphiu Rio. In the high voltage contest in the high profile seats of Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar, it is the Trinamool Congress which had the last laugh. While Trinamool's Mala Roy won against BJP's Chandra Kumar Bose by a margin of 1,55,192 votes in Kolkata Dakshin, it was Sudip Bandyopadhyay who emerged victorious against BJP's Rahul (Biswajit) Sinha with a margin of 1,27,095 votes. Once a singer, the other an actress of yesteryears but in the end, it is the singer who prevailed over the movie star. This is the story of Asansol where the incumbent BJP MP Babul Supriyo won against Moon Moon Sen of the Trinamool Congress by a margin of 1,97,637 votes. In Baharampur, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury defeated Apurba Sarkar (David) of the Trinamool Congress by 80,696 votes. Pinaki Misra of the Biju Janata Dal proved to be too strong for BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra to defeat. Although there were ups and downs during the counting in the initial stage, Misra has so far got an unassailable lead of 2,63,361 votes. The results are yet to be officially declared in this coastal constituency of Odisha which was recently hit badly by the ravaging Cyclone Fani. President of All India Mahila Congress and Silchar MP Sushmita Dev lost to Rajdeep Roy of the BJP. Although Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had campaigned for Dev, it ultimately did not prove helpful when it mattered. The Barak Valley in Assam is in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 which was opposed by the Congress, probably leading to Dev's downfall. Results for the 10 Lok Sabha seats are yet to be made official. According to the Election Commission website counting of votes is still in progress. The Biju Janata Dal has maintained lead in six Lok Sabha seats Aska, Berhampur. Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Jagatsinghpur. BJP is leading in four seats Bolangir, Balasore, Bargarh and Bhubaneswar. The difference between votes is thinnest in Bolangir where BJP's Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo is locked in a tight battle with BJD's Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo. Counting of votes in both seats Arunachal East and Arunachal West is still in progress. However, in both seats BJP candidates are leading. From Arunachal West, Union minister Kiren Rijiju has taken a lead of 1.2 lakh votes over Congress' candidate Nabam Tuki. Rijiju who had won the seat in 2014 by 41,738 seems set to retain the seat. Tapir Gao is leading from Arunachal East by 63,760 votes from Congress' Lowangcha Wanglat. The set was won by Congress leader Ninong Ering in 2014 by 12,478 seats. In West Bengal, counting for 29 out of the 42 seats is still in progress. Results for 13 seats have been declared officially of which BJP had won four and TMC has won nine. The four wins by BJP include Asansol where Babul Supriyo has won. Khan Saumitra from Bishnupur, SS Ahluwalia from Burdwan-durgapur, and Locket Chatterjee from Hooghly. Of the nine seats that the Trinamool Congress has won official inlcude Sougata Roy from Dum Dum, Mimi Chakraborty from Jadavpur, Khalilur Rahaman from Jangipur, Dev Adhikari from Ghatal, Mala Roy from Kolkata Dakshin, Abu Taher Khan from Murshidabad, Kalyan Bannerjee from Srerampur, Adhikari Dibyendu from Tamluk and Sajda Ahmed from Uluberia. BJP candidate from Darjeeling Raju Bista said that this the third time BJP has won the Lok Sabha seat with a huge margin. "I had full confidence that we would not loose from here and this area showed that suppression will not be tolerated. The people here wanted peace and atrocities were being done on them. They were angry which came out in the votes, said Bista. Former Union minister and veteran BJP leader Kabindra Purakaystha said that the people of India have valued the works done in the past five years by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. BJP Odisha Spokesperson Lekhashri Samantsinghar gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the surge in the party's vote share in the state Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term." Like West Bengal, the BJP has made a dent in the BJD's bastion in Odisha, as well. The BJP has the lead in seven seats, according to the Election Commission, and the BJD is ahead in 14. This is much better than the one seat it had won in 2014. The TMC's lead has dropped to 22 seats in West Bengal, while the BJP's has jumped to19, according to the Election Commission's latest figures. However, there is not much difference between the vote shares of the two sides the TMC so far polled 43.7 percent of the votes and the BJP, 39.8 percent. Union minister Babul Supriyo leads by over 80,000 votes over TMC candidate Moon Moon Sen. "I am glad Moon Moon Sen got her bed tea on time today and reached the venue as expected," the BJP leader Babul said, referring to the former actor reaching campaign venues late. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee extended her "congratulations to winners", but said they will share their views after "a complete review". "Let the counting process be completed fully and VVPATs matched," she tweeted. It's a fierce battle among the spokespersons of the BJP, Congress and BJD in Odisha's Puri Lok Sabha constituency. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, who was trailing earlier, is now in the lead with 23180 votes, ahead of his nearest candidate BJD's Pinaki Misra, who got (21996 votes). The BJP is leading in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, but is trailing behind the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and BJD in Odisha. According to the Election Commission's figures, the Trinamool Congress is leading in 24 seats in West Bengal and the BJP in 14. The Congress is ahead in only one seat. BJP leaders are leading in key constituencies in West Bengal. Babul Supriyo is leading from Asansol, Nishith Pramanik in Coochbehar and Locket Chatterjee in Hooghly. Abhishek Banerjee, TMC leader and Mamata Banerjee's nephew, is trailing from West Bengal's Diamond Harbour seat behind BJP's Nilanjan Roy. In Odisha's Puri, BJP's Sambit Patra is behind BJD's Pinaki Mishra. Early trends show BJP leading in North Bengal. According to News18, BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi is leading from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat in Odisha. Counting of votes has begun for the Lok Sabha election results 2019. There are 21 seats in the fray in Odisha, 42 in West Bengal and 25 in total in eight states in the North East. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik on Wednesday, a day before counting, conceded that the party will not be able to form a government on its own in the state, indicating that it's a straight fight between the BJD and the BJP in Odisha. The Election Commission has deployed 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal, in addition to the 82 companies already present in the state, to ensure security at the counting centres and check any post-poll violence. The tumultuous election in the eastern states, especially in West Bengal, will reach their end with the counting of votes on 23 May. West Bengal transformed into a battle ground for chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and the BJP, with many incidents of violence being reported through the seven phases of polls in the state. On the day of counting, 282 companies of Central Armed Police Forces in West Bengal, with a tight three-layer security and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code imposed around 58 counting centres. A total of 25,000 personnel will count votes and the process will see a 5-6 hours delay, due to the Supreme Court-mandated VVPAT-EVM matching. The state has 42 Lok Sabha constituencies and 466 candidates in the fray. Odisha saw a four-phase election to 21 Lok Sabha seats, the counting for which will be held at 63 centres amidst tight security. A total of 67,000 officials will conduct the process, which will bring the BJP-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) face-off to its conclusion. Senior BJD leader Baijayant Jay Panda switched camps to BJP ahead of the elections, strengthening the saffron partys camp in the state. However, most of the exit polls indicate chief minister Naveen Patnaik-led BJD will lead in the tally of seats. In Sikkim, the second smallest state of the country, polls to the sole Parliamentary constituency and Assembly seats were held on 11 April. In Assam, the exit polls have forecast that the BJP will win seven to ten seats, while the Congress is likely to bag two to six seats. Among other parties in the fray are the Asom Gana Parishad, which has allied with the BJP. The Congress said the exit poll results were a ploy by the BJP to divert attention of the people when it is actually faced by imminent defeat. Exit polls also predict a victory for the saffron party in 18-20 seats in the north-eastern region, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura, each of which hold two seats in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, however, is expected to sweep Nagaland and Mizoram. Collectively, the northeastern states account for 25 Members of Parliament. Assam sends 14 MPs, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur send two MPs each, while Sikkim, Nagaland and Mizoram have one seat each in the Lok Sabha. Voting was held in seven phases, on 11, 18, 23 and 29 April and 6, 12 and 19 May across 10.3 lakh polling stations. The polls saw a voter turnout of 67 percent, with over 8,000 candidates in the fray across 542 constituencies. The entire exercise of EVM-paper trail machine matching will take an additional four to five hours, EC officials said. In the 2014 elections, the BJP won 282 seats while the Congress won 44 seats as against the 206 it won in 2009. India Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Updates: After facing a crushing defeat in most states, heads are expected to roll in Congress rank and file. While media speculation about Rahul Gandhi's resignation continues despite Surjewala's clarification, at least three state incharges have offered to resign claiming moral responsibility for the poll defeat. Auto refresh feeds The Election Commission of India will start counting of votes for the seven-phased elections to India's Lower House of the Parliament (Lok Sabha) in what is being touted as the world's biggest democratic exercise, today (Thursday, 23 May) at 8 am, bringing the curtains down on a bitterly-fought election. Since the Election Commission will also be counting the VVPATs at five polling stations (selected at random) in all Assembly segments, the final results can take a little longer to come out. A day after a delegation met the EC, it issued a statement, saying after two rounds of in-depth discussions Wednesday and Thursday,"it has neither been found possible nor feasible to accede to this demand" in the overall context and especially in view of a Supreme Court judgment of 8 April which had directed the poll panel that the random selection of VVPATs will be subject to the process of slip verification as per the EVM guideline in force. The Election Commission Wednesday said it rejected the demand of 22 political parties to count paper trail machine slips before the counting of votes polled in electronic voting machines (EVMs), because it was not "feasible". Out of the total 543 Parliamentary seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the Election Commission had cancelled polls to the Vellore seat in Tamil Nadu on the grounds of excessive use of money power. The fresh date for elections in Vellore is yet to be announced. While all of you can access Firstpost for essential live updates around results and trends, there are various platforms set up by the Election Commission to put out the information as they come. The poll panel had specially created a website for results and trends: results.eci.gov.in . The website is set to go live at 8 am and will let users look at the results and trends constituency-wise and party-wise. After a six-week long electoral process, the result for the 2019 Lok Sabha election is set to be known soon with the counting of votes beginning at 8 am on 23 May, 2019 (Thursday). Unlike other countries, the US does not send its election observers to India because of the strong independent credentials of the Election Commission of India. "We have a very strong relationship and a lot of cooperation with the Indian government on a full range of issues, and the Secretary (of State, Mike Pompeo) has said numerous times that we have a true strategic partner in India," Ortagus said in response to a question. The United States Wednesday said that it was confident in the fairness and integrity of the Indian elections and would work with whoever is the victor. "I would say from the US perspective, we are very confident in the fairness and the integrity of the Indian elections, and we will obviously work with whoever is the victor and whatever the outcome is there," State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters during an off-camera gaggle here. In Karnataka, the Congress-JD(S) combine will hope to emerge victorious over the BJP once again, just as it had in the state Assembly polls, even though many exit polls' predictions are in the saffron partys favour. While Congress contested in 21 seats, JD(S) got tickets from seven constituencies. BJP contested from 27 seats and supported independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in Mandya. State Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar told PTI that the first set of results may start from 3 pm and may be over by 6 pm. However, it can be delayed further too. In conclusion to the seven-phases of Lok Sabha polls, political parties will hope for victory as the counting of votes begins today (Thursday, 23 May). Various exit polls predict another NDA wave in the country, mainly in the Hindi heartland, bringing back Prime Minister Narendra Modi back at the helm of affairs. However, the southern states Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu also have strong regional political parties that look at getting elected in their respective states. In Andhra Pradesh, where chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is making efforts to unite Opposition leaders to form an anti-BJP front at the Centre, counting of votes will be held across 36 centres. The state will see a three-tier security cordon at counting centres with prohibitory orders under Criminal Procedure Codes Section 144 implemented in the 16 towns where these booths will be situated. A total of 25,000 EC personnel will begin the counting process at 8 am. Apart from Naidus Telugu Desam Party, the BJP, Congress, YSR Congress and Jana Sena Party are in the fray. Both the BJP and Congress are hoping to make inroads into the south this election. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, asserting the party's victory on all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, said 350-kg of fine quality "ladoos" have been ordered for celebrations at the central office on DDU Marg and the Delhi unit's office on Pant Marg. The party has also placed orders for a 7-kg special 'motichoor cake' and nine similar cakes, each weighing between 4-5 kgs, at the Bengali Pastry shop, the Delhi BJP's social media team's co-convener Neelkant Bakshi said. The cakes will be cut at the BJP's central office, Bakshi said. Buoyed by exit polls predicting a sweeping victory for the BJP in Delhi, the party's unit here has already ordered delicacies like 'motichoor cakes' and 'kamal barfis', a day before counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls on Thursday. Tejasvi on Thursday morning, visited a temple and said, "I am sure we will win. I am confident I will be able to contribute to legislation and policy making in this country." BJP's star candidate Tejasvi Surya, who contested the Lok Sabha election from Bangalore South, a seat that the party has held since 1991, said that he is confident of a win. The 28-year-old lawyer is a poster-boy for the saffron party: he is the state general secretary for the Karnataka BJPs youth wing and also a party spokesperson. Drones, virtual reality and good old analysis, TV channels pull out the stops for counting day Drones that fly overhead to give a "bird's eye view", Rs 1 lakh cash prize if you guess the winner right and good old analysis, television channels are moving from the fantastical to the mundane to entice viewers on counting day Thursday. With millions in India and abroad preparing to tune into television channels and log in to news networks on their phones and other devices as votes for the Lok Sabha election are counted, media houses are making sure they grab TRPs. Many are using VFX and lurid graphics and others are pitching the fact that they have the best network of on-ground reporters and in-studio analysts. The counting of votes of Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha constituency will be taken up at Nagarjuna Engineering college near Devanahalli. Former Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily is seeking a third straight win as Congress candidate, while BJP's Bachhe Gowda is giving a tough fight to Moily. The constituency is unique as it is spread out in three different revenue districts of Karnataka they are Chikkaballapur, Bangalore rural and Bangalore urban districts. Counting of votes begins for 542 Lok Sabha seats. Around 18 lakh postal ballots will be counted before moving to EVMs. Irrespective of all the postal ballots being accounted for, counting of EVMs will begin within the next 30 minutes. Counting has begun in Lucknow and BJP candidate Rajnath Singh is leading, while Shatrughan Sinha's wife and Samajwadi Party candidate Poonam Sinha is trailing. Tharoor is trailing from the seat. The BJP has pinned most of its hope on the Thiruvananthapuram seat, where it increased most votes in the past and even came second in the previous 2014 Lok Sabha elections. It fell short of only around a mere 20,000 votes from the winner, Congress star politician Shashi Tharoor, in 2014, who is seeking a third consecutive win in 2019. The BJP fielded arguably its biggest vote catcher, former state president and ex-Mizoram governor Kummanam Rajasekharan, to win the seat this election. As the counting for general elections began, the Election Commission's website crashed. The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India. One of the major reason for consideration was that it's a tri-junction of three southern states. Many Congress workers and leaders had urged the Congress president to contest from the Southern seat, which he agreed to. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who decided to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala besides his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, is leading from the southern seat. Veteran Congress leader from Kerala and former defence minister A K Antony had made the announcement at a press conference, saying Gandhi had consented to fight from Wayanad following requests from the state unit. Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of the late film star and former Union minister MH Ambareesh, is leading from Mandya, from where HD Kumaraswamys son Nikhil of the Janata Dal (Secular) fought polls. KJ Alphons is trailing from Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat. A constituency with a long coastline covering seven Assembly segments in Alappuzha and Kollam, it has shown a propensity to the Congress in Parliament elections. Despite being known as a citadel and cradle of the Communist movement, the constituency has elected Congress candidates eight times in the last 11 elections held since 1977. As of now, the SP-BSP alliance is leading from one seat in Uttar Pradesh, which is Aonla parliamentary constituency that is currently held by Dharmendra Kumar of BJP. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Dharmendra Kumar beat Kunwar Sarvraj Singh of SP by receiving 41.20 percent of the votes cast in this constituency. Before him, Mahant Avedyanath had won from the parliamentary constituency first in 1971 and then three straight times from 1989. And before him, Mahant Digvijaynath had won the seat in 1967. They were all the 'chief priests' of the Gorakhnath Math, a post that Adityanath also holds. Results of the seats will be keenly watched as this is matter of prestige for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath who has won this seat for five consecutive terms since 1998. Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh which has been BJP stronghold over the decades slipped out of BJP's hand in 2018 by-elections when Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Praveen Nishad with the support of BSP defeated BJPs candidate Upendra Shukla with a margin of around 22,000 votes. This time BJP has fielded actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan and SB-BSP alliance candidate are Ram Bhuwal Nishad. Congress candidate and Rajasthan chief minister's son Vaibhav Gehlot, who is pitted against incumbent BJP MP and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, is trailing in Jodhpur . In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Gajendrasingh Shekhawat beat Chandresh Kumari of Congress by receiving 66.20 per cent of the votes cast in this constituency. Hours later, Moon Moon Sens response to the violence spawned a flurry of jokes on social media. Interviewed by reporters, the actor-politician said she was unaware of the clashes. She explained that she had taken a while to get going in the morning because she had been given bed tea very late. The constituency was in the news on polling day on April 29 because of violence there. Supriyos car was vandalised during a clash outside a polling booth between Trinamool Congress workers and security personnel. Alongside, a first information report was filed against the parliamentarian for allegedly entering a booth and threatening a polling agent and an officer. BJP sitting MP Babul Supriyo is leading in Asansol constituency in West Bengal. The Asansol Lok Sabha seat, where Trinamool Congresss Moon Moon Sen squared off against incumbent MP Supriyo, is being closely watched. In the first round, the BJP leads by 1877 votes. Ahead of the counting of votes, BJP's Bengaluru candidate Tejasvi Surya said that his contituency has a huge Modi fever that will lead to his victory. Twenty-eight-year-old Surya is BJP's youngest candidate. BJP candidate K Surendran has wrested lead in Pathanamthitta, one of the two seats on which BJP has pinned hope to open an account in Kerala. Kummanam Rajashekharan, the party candidate in the other seat in Thiruvananthapuram is trailing in the third position. RLD chief Ajit Singh's son Jayant Chaudhary is leading from Baghpat. The Lok Sabha constituency went to polls on Apr 11. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the seat was won by Dr. Satya Pal Singh of the BJP by a margin of 209866 votes. Dr. Satya Pal Singh defeated SP candidate Ghulam Mohammed. According to early trends, B N Chandrappa of Congress is leading in Chitradurga LS seat with 3659 votes; BJP is leading in Haveri with 30,948 votes. BJP's Pralhad Joshi is leading in Dharwad LS constituency with 4966 votes. The BJP candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, after showing initial promise, slipped to the second position behind Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor. Tharoor was leading by over 1,000 votes. Congress President Rahul Gandhi was leading in Wayanad by over 10,000 votes, the sources said. The Left candidates were leading in Kannur by 300 votes and at Mavelikera by around 600. Early trends for all 20 seats in Kerala are in and according to News18 all trends show UDF leading in Kerala . The analysts had felt that the Sabarimala row will affect the voter-bank for the UDF-led government in Kerala, however, early trends show that the issues haven't had the effect that analysts predicted. Bharatiya Janata Party's Sambit Patra is trailing in Puri. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Pinaki Misra of BJD won in this seat by defeating the INC candidate by a margin of 2,63,361 votes which was 25.34 percent of the total votes polled in the constituency. BJD had a vote share of 50.33 percent in 2014 in the seat. There were a total of 7 contestants in 2014. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is leading in Patna Sahib constituency. So far, the NDA is leading in all 20 seats in Bihar. Meanwhile, RJD's Misa Bharti is leading and Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav is trailing in Pataliputra. Stock market traders and investors are bracing for the big day ahead. India is going to choose its next prime minister as the verdict of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 gets announced. The Sensex and Nifty may see a lot of volatility as the election verdict will not only affect the days trade, but also set the future trend. The benchmark stock indices have delivered a modest 50-60% return during Prime Minister Narendra Modis current tenure. The 10 fundamentally strong stocks that figure on the list of most brokerage houses and market experts are SBI, Larsen and Toubro, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services and ICICI Bank. BJP's sitting MP from Darjeeling SS Ahluwalia is trailing from Durgapur constituency. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, SS Ahluwalia had won the Darjeeling. This time, the BJP fielded him from Durgapur constituency. The DMK and its allies the Congress and MDMK were leading in three Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu, according to trends available from the Election Commission. While DMK surged ahead in Tirunelveli, its ally MDMK and Congress were leading in Erode and Virudhunagar respectively, according to the EC. The DMK fought 19 Parliamentary seats and its allies in the rest of 19 constituencies while elections were cancelled in Vellore. AIADMK had fielded candidates in 20 Parliamentary segments leaving the rest to its allies including the BJP. After two rounds of counting, BJP candidate BN Bache Gowda has established a lead of over 15000 votes over former union law minister M Veerappa Molly, the incumbent MP from Chikaballapur. In North West Delhi, Hans Raj Hans is leading with 33,439. In this political season, the constituency was in the news for two reasons former BJP MP Udit Raj having switched over to the Congress on being denied a ticket and Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans being fielded from the area by the BJP. The way people enjoy the music in this Parliamentary seat, I will not only win the hearts of the people but also try to make this Lok Sabha seat the best. Hans has been making statements like these in the slums of Sultanpuri and Mangolpuri. Last year, Mangolpuri registered nearly 900 FIRs; an average police station in south Delhi registers approximately 150 FIRs in a year. A displeased Udit Raj, who left the saffron party on being denied a ticket, had shared with Firstpost that BJP has a problem with vocal Dalits and that theres a glass ceiling within the party for people who arent from castes higher up in the hierarchy. Hans campaign was pitifully bereft of the complexity of municipal issues that plague the area. Meanwhile, Raj, also the current MP from North West Delhi, was pre-occupied with exposing the caste dynamic in national party politics. Dalits account for 17 percent and Muslims 13 percent of the state population. The constituency has a Scheduled Caste population of 6,97,237 and Raj had a significant pull in the area because he was recognised as a strong Dalit voice in national politics. BJPs surprised everybody by introducing a popular face as its candidate in the area and early trends suggest that the strategy seemed to have work for the saffron party. Former MLA and controversial Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdul Rashid has taken a surprise lead of nearly 600 votes in Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency ahead of PDP's Abdul Qayoom Wani, People's Conference candidate Raja Aijaz Ali and National Conference leader Mohammad Akbar Lone. In Ladakh, BJP candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal was trailing behind Independent candidate Sajad Hussain by 464 votes, according to officials. The BJP had won three seats -- two in Jammu and the Ladakh seat -- in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls while the PDP had swept all three seats in the valley. However, Abdullah had won the Lok Sabha by-poll to Srinagar seat held in 2017. According to election officials, Abdullah was leading over PDP candidate Aga Syed Mohsin by a slender margin of 80 votes while Singh had opened a substantial lead of over 4000 votes over his Congress rival Vikramaditya Singh. National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, BJP leader Jitendra Singh and Congress state president G A Mir were leading in their respective constituencies in the early trends of counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath Singh's son Nakul Nath, who is contesting on a Congress ticket, is leading Chhindwara by over 6,000 votes. In Indore, a seat previously represented by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, BJP's Shankar Lalwani is leading by over 18,000. Malegaon terror accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is leading by over 8,000 votes in Bhopal. Congress' Digvijaya Singh is in second position. In Guna, sitting Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia is trailing BJP's Krishna Pal Singh. In the first hour of counting, NDA makes inroads in West Bengal, Karnataka and Odisha. Till 10 am, NDA is leading in 336 seats and BJP is leading in 288 seats, while UPA is leading in 93 and Congress leading in 54 seats. BJP cadres begin celebrations in West Bengal's Ranaghat. The key candidates in the Ranaghat SC constituency for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 are Rupali Biswas of TMC, Biswas Rama of CPI(M), Jagannath Sarkar of BJP and Minati Biswas of Congress. Most of the exit polls had indicated a pro-incumbency wave and projected that the BJP-led NDA will comfortably cross the magic mark of 272 seats to form the government. According to the early trends, BJP-led NDA will comfortably cross the 300-mark. Trends showed that BJP is leading in 288 seats, while NDA is leading in 341. Comparatively, UPA is trailing with lead only in 92 seats while Congress has been able to secure leads in 54 seats. In Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag, the National Conference is leading with 3,700 votes. The PDP has garnered 3,681 votes while the BJP lags with 103 votes. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter Kavitha is trailing in Nizamabad. Kavitha is locked in an unprecedented fight against 178 farmers who had registered to contest against the sitting MP. The 178 farmers jumped into the fray to support their demand for a remunerative price for turmeric and red sorghum and setting up of a Turmeric Board based in Nizamabad. Kavitha had blamed the BJP for failing to take initiative for setting up the Turmeric Board. The BJP seems to have thwarted all efforts of the TMC to keep the saffron party at bay in Bengal. Out of 42 seats in Bengal, the BJP is leading in 10 constituencies while the TMC takes the lead in 18 seats. Congress is leading in two seats while the Left Front has failed to catch up yet. Asansol, leading by 31670 Hooghly, leading by 9117 Alipurduar, leading by 7221 Bangaon, leading by 7709 Bankura, leading by 4707 Bishnupur, leading by 4215 Burdwan Durgapur leading by 7407 Maldah leading by 7933 Jhargram leading by 3196 Ghatal leading by 1104 Purulia leading by 547 Out of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal, the BJP is leading in the following: The Congress performance can by symptomised by the party president Rahul Gandhi's contest in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Gandhi is trailing to BJPs Smriti Irani. The partys overall numbers have improved over the 2014 result, with MK Stalins DMK in Tamil Nadu sprucing up the tally. In Karnataka too, the BJP looks set for a sweep with the entire Lingayat belt going one way based on early trends. The Narendra Modi wave has swatted away any challenge posed by the Congress or the united opposition as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set to improve on its humongous 2014 tally to attain a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha once again. The BJP is currently ahead on over 280 seats, with the partners in NDA pushing the total tally to over 340 seats, leads show as results of the general elections pour in. Key states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai look all set for a saffron sweep based on initial trends as Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks set for a second term. Among the 542 Lok Sabha constituencies which voted in 2019, according to trends in 537 constituencies, BJP is leading in 291 while Congress is leading in 50; DMK in 22; All India Trinamool Congress in 25, YSR Congress Party in 24 and Shiv Sena in 19 constituencies. While in Punjab, BJP's Sunny Deol leads with 1,15,543 in Gurdaspur seat, Congress' Shashi Tharoor leads in Thiruvananthapuram with 13,970. Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is leading with 92,000 votes in Wayanad. The 30-share index zoomed 907.91 points, gaining 2.32 percent at 40,018.12. Nifty was 271.15 point up, gaining 2.31 percent at 12,009.05 at 10.40 am. According to traders, investor sentiment was boosted by initial trends that suggested a win for the ruling NDA. Investor sentiment has been buoyant since exit polls were announced on Sunday, with both the NSE index and the BSE index gaining 3.7 percent each the next session, a level last seen in 2014. Amid market euphoria, the rupee also appreciated 26 paise to 69.40 against the US dollar in opening trade. The markets were buoyant with indices hitting new high as early trends showed BJP-led NDA leading in 340 seats. BSE Sensex rallied over 900 points while the NSE Nifty soared over 270 points to hit their respective record highs in early trade Thursday, as counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election began. Sensex hits 40,000 mark for the first time ever, rallies nearly 900 pts, while Nifty crosses 12,000 as BJP takes a decisive lead in the Lok Sabha election results. Amethi is witnessing a close contest between Congress president Rahul Gandhi and BJP leader Smriti Irani. Irani is leading by only 2,501 votes. So far, Rahul has received 14,030 votes, while the Union minister has won 16,531 votes. Former chief minister of Karnataka BS Yeddyurappa's son BY Raghavendra is leading by a margin of over a lakh votes. BJP's official Twitter handle congratulated the Shimoga candidate by dubbing his victory "a slap against the money power of a coalition of corrupts." "Well they lost money, votes and existence," says BJP. Although the BJP appears to have put up a tough fight against the BJD in Odisha Lok Sabha Elections, Baijayant Panda, who quit BJD to join the BJP recently, is trailing from Kendrapara a seat that he had won in 2009 and 2014 on a BJD ticket. BJD's Anubhav Mohanty is leading from the seat. Rahul Gandhi has crossed one lakh votes and is heading for a majority in Wayanad. The parliamentary segment witnessed a record turnout of voters this year as polling was held in Kerala's 20 constituencies. Buoyed by the large turnout, the Congress-led UDF claimed a 'record-breaking margin for Gandhi when the votes would be counted. The BJP-Shiv Sena combine is leading in all six seats of Mumbai with candidates of the two saffron allies establishing comfortable leads over their Congress and NCP rivals. As per trends available so far, Congress leader Milind Deora is trailing in Mumbai South against sitting Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant by 17,774 votes. In Mumbai North, BJP's Gopal Shetty is leading over his nearest Congress rival and actor Urmila Matondkar by 42,820 votes. In Mumbai North Central, sitting BJP MP Poonam Mahajan is leading over her Congress rival Priya Dutt by 20,512 votes. In Mumbai North West, Shiv Sena's Gajanan Kirtikar is leading by 16,339 votes over Congress nominee Sanjay Nirupam. In Mumbai South Central, Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale is ahead by 20,355 votes over Congress candidate Eknath Gaikwad. In Mumbai North East, BJP's Manoj Kotak is leading by 44,481 votes over his NCP rival Sanjay Dina Patil. The BJP is leading on all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, as per trends available so far. Shah is leading by over 1,30,000 votes in Gandhinagar at the end of second round of counting. His party's candidate Mansukh Vasava is ahead of Congress's Sherkhan Pathan in Bharuch by over 33,500 votes. In Dahod seat, Congress candidate Babubhai Katara is trailing by 1,258 votes against BJP's Jaswantsinh Bhabhor. In Amreli, Congress's Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani is trailing by a margin of 1,058 votes against BJPs Naran Kachhadiya. In Ahmedabad (West), BJPs Kirit Solanki is leading by 25,453 votes over Congress candidate Raju Parmar. In Ahmedabad (East), BJPs Hasmukh Patel is ahead by 7,675 votes over Congress nominee Gitabhen Patel. If Modi returns to power with a full majority on 23 May, it will be for the first time in 48 years that an incumbent prime minister and his party return to power with a full majority. The last time this happened was in 1971, when Indira Gandhi led the Congress (R) to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967 (for the united Congress). Read more here Our quick research based on data from the official Lok Sabha website showed that if both the predictions hold that the BJP will be voted back and that it will be voted back with a full majority then this victory will be a bigger milestone than 2014. As the exit polls predicted, according to early trends Narendra Modi-led NDA has broken its 2014 record and its headed for the biggest ever mandate since 1971. During a BJP press conference on 21 May, Amit Shah and Modi said that a government would be formed resulting from a clear choice made by the electorate, rather than some pre-poll or post-poll alliance or understanding. He said that the media should carry out research on this. Narendra Modi heading for the biggest repeat mandate in 48 years, Indira Gandhi did it last in 1971 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently taking the lead in the two Lok Sabha constituencies of Arunachal Pradesh, as per the initial trends of the Election Commission. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju is leading by 30548 votes in Arunachal West against his nearest rival Nabam Tuki of the Congress. He had won the seat in 2014, defeating Takam Sanjoy of the Congress by a margin of 41738 votes. AAP losing battle badly in East Delhi where Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Swara Bhaskar and other star campaigners have put their maximum efforts for Atishi. Currently, BJP's Gautam Gambhir is leading with 73,000, against Congress' Arvinder Lovely who is leading with 33,500 votes and Atishi of AAP with 22,800 votes. Congress's east UP in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leaves for Congress president Rahul Gandhi's residence in Delhi. According to trends, Rahul crossed one lakh votes and is heading for a majority in Wayanad. The parliamentary segment witnessed a record turnout of voters this year as polling was held in Kerala's 20 constituencies. Buoyed by the large turnout, the Congress-led UDF claimed a 'record-breaking margin for Gandhi when the votes would be counted. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he did a phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP spokesman Amit Malviya was quoted as saying. The results are a resounding endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security and nationalism. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes. The Opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. The saffron outfit is leading in 15 seats, the TMC is ahead in 25 while Congress is ahead in two. Remember that in 2014 amid nationwide Modi wave, the BJP could win only two seats in Bengal. NDTV paints an even more optimistic figure for BJP. Around 11am, roughly three hours into counting, the NDTV website shows BJP ahead in 17 seats while the TMC is ahead in 22. In 2014, one of the few states to have thwarted the saffron wave was West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress bagged 34 out of 42 seats. Five years have passed. Going by early trends on counting day, Narendra Modi has not only managed to engineer another 'wave' election in his favour but this time he has done even better. According to trends projected by Firstpost at the time of writing, the BJP has roared into double figures in the state and is hot on the heels of the ruling party. Once the Left lost power, a certain section of this vote that remained anti-Mamata, became anchorless. The BJP's rise has given this anchorless vote a new direction. During campaigning stage, reports emerged of erstwhile Left cadres aligning with and silently aiding the BJP. The Left's tally (0) so far gives us an indication of the way ground realities have changed in West Bengal. The Left vote in Bengal even at the height of its dominance was never a committed ideological vote but perks of ruling a state where power literally flows from the barrel of the gun. Reports were claiming that the Left's tally, so far, is zero. The significance of this cannot be overstated in a state where the Left Front-ruled unabated for 34 years. The total number of voters in the constituency is approximately 16 lakh and from here. In 2014, BJPs Mahesh Girri won from here with 57,2202 votes. Interestingly, the most popular leader from the region has been BJPs Lal Bihari Tiwari. Sheila Dikshit lost to him in 1998 and it was only after his death that Congress had made inroads into East Delhi. The BJP waited for AAP to field its candidates and launched Gambhir to counter Atishi. Its strategy seems to be working. At the fag end of her campaign, Atishi had held a press conference and accused Gambhir of distributing pamphlets with derogatory language against her. That line of attack on Gambhir is apparently not working. Delhi East is a BJP stronghold. As long ago as in 1967 the Bharatiya Jana Sangh had won the constituency in the first elections held to the seat in 1967. BJP candidate and former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has taken a big lead over his nearest competitor Arvinder Singh Lovely of the Congress party. Gambhir is sitting pretty with 98870 votes at 11.30 am, Lovely has 48881. The much-discussed Atishi of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a poor third with 34,435 votes. In the most hotly contested seat of North East Delhi, AAP's Dilip Pandey is coming in third with just over 30,000 votes as BJP's Manoj Tiwari has crossed the one and a half lakh mark and Sheila Dikshit stands at a little over 60,000. AAPs ambition of becoming a national party and engaging with other opposition parties to form an alternative government have been dashed. AAP declared its last candidate Balbir Singh Jakhar from West Delhi, when the chances of the alliance seemed bleak. Aside from the West Delhi Seat, AAP was willing to offer Pankaj Guptas Chandni Chowk seat. AAPs candidates are trailing on all seats. From South Delhi, Raghav Chaddha is coming second to BJPs Ramesh Bidhuri, with a difference of nearly 50,000 votes between them. Sources within the Congress had earlier shared with Firstpost that AAP wanted an alliance in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, but Bhupinder Singh Hooda, veteran Congress leader, was dead against the idea. Had the new party stuck to Delhi and not been in urgency to expand, it could have avoided the splitting of vote share with the Congress which has also benefited the BJP. The ruling BJP is surging ahead in all four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh, with its candidates securing unassailable leads, according to latest Election Commission trends. In Mandi, the sitting BJP MP Ram Swaroop is leading by over 154418 votes over his nearest rival Aashray Sharma of the Congress. BJP candidate Kishan Kapoor was leading by 201699 votes over his nearest rival Pawan Kajal of Congress in Kangra, a state election officer said. Sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur is leading by over 201242 votes over his nearest rival Ram Lal Thakur of Congress in Hamirpur. In Shimla, BJP candidate Suresh Kashyap is leading by 180491 votes over his nearest rival Dhani Ram Shandil of Congress. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters at 5pm today as counting of votes make it clear that people have decided to have a government-led for a second term. The Bahujan Samaj Party was leading in 11 and the Samajwadi Party in eight while the Congress was ahead in one and the Apna Dal (Soneylal) in one. Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam singh Yadav surged ahead in Mainpuri and his son SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was leading in Azamgarh. Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav, who is seeking re-election from Kannauj, was leading the table. In 2014, the BJP got 71 seats, the SP five, the Congress two and the BSP none. In Badaun, sitting SP MP Dharmendra Yadav trailed behind BJP's Sanghmita Maurya while in Baghpat, RLD's national vice president Jayant Chaudary was behind BJP's Satyapal Singh. In Faizabad, sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh was leading while in Firozabad sitting SP MP Akshay Yadav was trailing behind BJP's Chandra Sen Jadon. According to official Election Commission trends, out of 542 constituencies, BJP is leading in 292 while Indian National Congress is leading in 51; DMK in 22, All India Trinamool Congress in 24, YSR Congress Party in 25, Shiv Sena in 20, JD(U) in 16, BJD in 14 and BSP in 11 constituencies. The BJP-led NDA is leading in 38 seats of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar while the RJD is leading in two seats, according to Election Commission trends. The BJP and JD(U) are leading in 16 seats each while the LJP is leading in six seats. The RJD, a 'mahagathbandhan' constituent, is leading in two seats of Jehanabad and Pataliputra. Prominent NDA faces who are leading include- Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad (Patna Sahib) , Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Champaran) , Giriraj Singh (Begusarai) , RK Singh (Ara), Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar). Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran), Chirag Paswan (Jamui), Ram Vilas Paswan's brother Pashupati Kumar Paras (Hajipur) are also among the NDA candidates who are leading. BJP West Bengal president Dilip Ghosh is leading by 700 votes against TMCs Manas Bhuniya in Kharagpur Sagar. In Bankura, TMC heavyweight Subrata Mukherjee is trailing against BJPs Subhash Mukherjee who is leading by more than 25,000 votes. The only seat where Congress is seeing possible victory is Rohtak Lok Sabha where three-time MP Deepender Singh Hooda is taking lead by 10,000 votes. If Congress faces debacle, ruling BJP in Haryana is going to get a major boost ahead of Assembly polls due after three months. BJP in Haryana is set to win nine of the ten Lok Sabha constituencies as per latest trends available on the Election Commission website. Interestingly, Congress senior leader and two-time Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is trailing by a margin of 86,000 votes to BJP's Ramesh Kaushik. Hooda is considered a pillar of Jat politics in Haryana and prior to 2014, Jat chief ministers have ruled the state for more than 20 years. Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina said the country's 130 crore people have expressed full faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and given a befitting reply to the "mahamilawati" conglomeration led by the Congress. "This election was between the idea of Bharat and the idea of terrorism-launching-pad Pakistan," Raina said. "It is the victory of India and Modi ji and his strong and bold steps on all fronts," he was quoted as saying . Over the last five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been credited with trying to tighten the administration, strong foreign policy and high-profile campaigns like Swachh Bharat and Make-in-India. But he has been attacked by the Opposition over a slowing economy, failure to create jobs, a farm sector crisis and rising hate crimes by right-wing fringe groups. Buoyed by the exit poll estimates, the BJP has prepped a blueprint for its next term, built around the three themes of nationalism, national security and development. Tamil Nadu, along with Punjab, is likely to be the silver lining for the Congress in what it had called its make-or-break election. Most of the credit goes to its partner DMK, which under MK Stalin, put up a spirited fight with the ruling AIADMK since the death of J Jayalalithaa, the state's iconic Chief Minister, nearly three years ago. One of the major promises was setting up an AIIMS in Rewari, which was announced this year on 1 February. His move to switch parties has been successful as he says the Centre and state government are communicating thoroughly and making progressing efforts. While Congress candidate Ajay Singh Yada has failed to please the voters even with his army background, the Congress did not popularise him being from the army much and thus failing to garner the nationalist sentiments. Rao Inderjit Singh, the BJP candidate from Gurgaon, is leading and is set to win the seat. He has been a two-time MP from Gurgaon. From 2009-2014 he was in Congress. While in 2014 he switched to BJP. NC leader Omar Abdulaah tweeted congratulating the BJP and the NDA, and said that credit should be given where it's due. "So the exit polls were correct. All thats left is to congratulate the BJP & NDA for a stellar performance. Credit where credit is due PM Modi Sahib & Mr Amit Shah put together a winning alliance & a very professional campaign. Bring on the next five years." Even before the Election Commission numbers made any official announcements about winners for Lok Sabha elections, Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated Narendra Modi saying, "We look forward to working closely with you." Actor Mahesh Babu's brother-in-law and sitting TDP MP Jayadev Galla is trailing to YSRC candidate in Guntur by close to 7,000 votes. Telugu Desam stronghold Hindupur, which was once represented by late actor Harikrishna, is also likely to fall. In Andhra Pradesh, YSRC is leading in all but one of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. Sitting TDP MP Kesineni Srinivas has a slender lead over YSRCP's Potluri V Prasad. Actor Balakrishna's son-in-law, Sri Bharat is trailing by 2612 votes in Visakhapatnam. Former aviation minister and TDP candidate Ashok Gajapathi Raju is also trailing by over 24,000 votes in Vizianagaram. "Spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah over the phone and congratulated them for BJP-led NDAs stupendous victory in these Lok Sabha Elections. This historic victory in the General Elections is the outcome of Modijis visionary leadership, Amit Shahjis dynamism and the hard work of millions of BJP karyakartas on the ground. I thank the people of India for once again giving a decisive mandate to BJP-led NDA and reposing faith in Narendra Modis astute leadership and his vision of New India. Modiji is now all set to build a New India," Union minister Rajnath Singh wrote on Twitter. YS Jagan Reddy likely to be sworn-in on May 30 subject to technical clearances, senior YSR Congress leader Ummareddy Venkateswarulu was quoted as saying. Jagan is set to sweep the elections in Andhra Pradesh, with a perfect 10/10 victory in the Lok Sabha elections and a whopping 147 of the state's 175 Assembly seats. The majority mark in the state assembly stands at 88. The Election Commission has only released official trends till now, the final tally is yet to be released and going by the EC statements results for the Lok Sabha elections will be released only late evening. After Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramsinghe tweeted congratulatory message to Narendra Modi, President Maithripala Sirisena also tweeted and said, "Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India in the future." Sirisena tweets at Modi, says 'Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership' Malegaon blast-accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is leading in Bhopal seat by a margin of over one lakh votes against Congress veteran and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijaya Singh. The BJP president had become a Rajya Sabha MP but his ambition, abilities and the BJP's need for him to play an even greater role in the next Modi government meant that he had to contest the Lok Sabha elections. The fact that he chose Gandhinagar, a seat which BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani had made his own, indicated a generational and ideological shift in the party. During Modis tenure as Gujarat chief minister, Shah was his home minister. It is risky to speculate what portfolio Modi might hand over to Shah, given the latters propensity to surprise. It is safe however to say that it will be an important portfolio that will help achieve the goals of Modi 2.0. As party president, Shah has already proved his administrative acumen and such a job might be a promotion that matches his bigger stature in the party and in national politics. READ MORE HERE The role played by Modi's most trusted general Amit Shah will not go unnoticed and this time Shah had an added responsibility. The BJP, according to trends around noon, is not only the single-largest party but has comfortably breached the 272 mark. The saffron unit is leading in 287 seats as of now and it wont be a surprise if it pushed the 300-mark on its own. The NDA, at this point, is close to leading in 350 out of 542 seats. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot is trailing by over 1.8 lakh votes in Jodhpur against BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyant Singh is leading by over 3.8 lakh votes in Jhalawar. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath's son Nakul is leading by over 38,000 votes. His lead had come down to 20,870 in the 2014 election. The Gandhi scion had entered the fray in Kerala accusing the BJP government of neglecting south India. He termed his contest from Wayanad as a fight for espousing the aspirations of south India. However, the BJP had termed it as an escape from Amethi. Rahul's candidature seems to have fuelled a wave across Kerala helping the party establish a lead in 19 of the 20 seats. The lead for Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad in north Kerala has crossed 2 lakh votes. This is the record margin the Congress party has secured in the constituency after it was carved out from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in 2009. The seat was won by M I Shanavaz by a margin of 1,53,439 votes. "Sincerely greetings to you, my friend @ Narendramodi , for your impressive victory in the elections! The election results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel..." Netanyahu tweeted. Israel Prime Minister was the second world leader to congratulate Modi. Earlier, it was Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickramsinghe and president Maithripala Sirisena. Congress leader Hardik Patel said that while the Congress campaigned and ran for the Lok Sabha elections with utmost honesty, the BJP had adopted the dishonest path and it's not the voters that led BJP to its victory but it's dishonest and corrupt means. Nepal prime minister K P Sharma Oli also congratulated Modi and said that he looks ahead to work with India. The NDA is leading in 345 seats and the UPA in 90, a significantly amplified version of the 2014 verdict. Here are some initial takeaways. People rejected Congress president Rahul Gandhi's populist plank. Under Rahul, the Congress has failed miserably to present a convincing economic future plan for the aspiring middle class and rural voters. The Congress committed a grave error in choosing Nyuntam Aay Yojana, or NYAY, as its main poll plank instead of unemployment and rural distress. People didn't understand the scheme in the first place with its complex structure. Forget voters, it is doubtful if Congress workers understood it well enough. The scheme sought to assure a minimum income of Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20 percent of India's population. In a country where availing proper income data is still work in progress, it was virtually impossible for the scheme to work. Gandhi's Congress also failed to answer questions on where the money for the scheme will come from. READ MORE HERE Modi's image as a pro-reform leader remained intact in the five years despite repeated Opposition attacks for his economic policies. At the end of his five-year term, the Opposition has questioned Modi on multiple issues, including the way his government has handled data credibility, demonetisation, and rising unemployment. READ MORE HERE This election has proved conclusively that economic distress is not a key factor in deciding the outcome of major elections. Modi's economic policies such as demonetisation of high value notes in 2016 and the botched implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) a year later brought considerable discomfort to the masses. The fact that Congress didn't have a credible prime ministerial candidate impacted its prospects severely. Till the end of the campaign, there was no consensus among the Congress-led Opposition parties about who would be the UPA's candidate for the top job. READ MORE HERE The new aggressive approach that the Modi government took in taking on terrorists operating from Pakistan soil was welcomed by the masses and converted into votes, both from the rich and poor. One could argue that the Balakot attacks turned the tide in favour of the BJP. Congress accusations against the government such as lack of evidence or intelligence failure that led to Pulwama attacks find any takers among common voters. Tweeting her first reactions, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said " all losers are not losers", probably hinting at Trinamool Congress, who is leading in 22 seats in the 42-seat Assembly. BJP has secured an early lead in 19 seats. Congress leading only in 1 seat. Diverting attention from the job crisis was the Opposition's big mistake. The more they made personal attacks on the prime minister, the more the BJP cleverly used them to channel public ire against the Congress using Modi's track record and achievements. READ MORE HERE The Opposition's personal attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mocking his interviews, for instance, backfired. Rahul's campaign was centred on anti-Modi rhetoric. Despite Rahul's allegations against Modi in connection with Rafale, Modi still enjoys the image of a corruption-free politician and a prime minister who led this government for five years with no corruption allegations which could be proven. As BJP secured a historic lead of 299, ensuring that if it wins with this mandate it will not need allies to form the government at the Centre, party president Amit Shah tweeted thanking the country and announcing, "Once Again Modi government." Congress spokespersons present at the party headquarters were also keen to know the trends to firm up before giving their opinion. Some Congress workers who gathered outside the party office blamed the trends of the results on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They also held a protest carrying placards demanding that EVMs should not be used in elections. The Congress headquarters in New Delhi wore a deserted look with counting trends showing only a marginal improvement in the party's tally from the previous Lok Sabha elections. Senior party leaders were conspicuous by their absence, News18 reported. Trends showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead in 300 seats while the Congress was leading in 52 seats, as per the Election Commission website. Incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who is gearing up to take oath for his second term as PM of India, tweeted to acknowledge the electoral support. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and China's premier Xi Jinping congratulate Narendra Modi on landslide victory. Russian president Vladimir Putin also congratulated the prime minister, who has managed to secure a historic mandate which trumps the 2014 Lok Sabha numbers. Sri Lankan prime minister and president too congratulated Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely set the agenda for the next five years without losing any time. Modi is expected to meet party workers at the BJP headquarter in New Delhi at 5 pm today. BJP will hold their parliamentary meeting, as they traditionally do, on Thursday evening. A large number of workers and supporters are already gathered at the BJP headquarters and are in a celebratory mood after the ruling party is set to secure historic mandate beating their 2014 numbers. The parliamentary board meeting is scheduled for 5.30 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his congratulatory message for incumbent Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik who is set to return as the chief minister for the fifth consecutive term. "Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term." "But more significant is the fact that the unity of the opposition has been damaged by the Congress. The policies and decisions of Rahul Gandhi has weakened opposition unity, led to divisions and opened the doors for Modi's victory," the Communist Party of India national secretary said. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power Thursday as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. "The BJP fought these elections on the basis of social and religious divisive policies and the agenda was set by them on this basis. Decisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition, CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan said Thursday and asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory. "Sunil is a fine candidate, he had done a lot of work there. This is one thing I didn't understand that people gave preference to an actor than experience," he was quoted as saying . Upset with Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar's trailing from Gurdaspur, Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh said he is unable to understand how Jakhar's good work wasn't valued. Former IPL commissioner and fugitive Lalit Modi said, "Massive Massive Win!!! This victory is not just by count of votes, it was a count of the number of hearts #pmmodi has won. Congratulations Narendra Modi. India wins again." Lalit Modi says 'massive win' not just because of votes won, but hearts that the PM won "It is the first time in Indias political history that BJP has won 24 seats in south India. My thanks to people of Karnataka for electing BJP candidates in the regions," says Karnataka BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. "The state has become an exemplar for what the politics of the Congress nationally could be. I just hope we will be able to build from the very disappointing result nationally," ANI quoted Shashi Tharoor as saying. Kerala has become an exemplar for what Congress could be nationally: Shashi Tharoor The saffron party is currently leading in 290 seats, according to the Election Commission. Congress, on the other hand, is leading in 49 seats. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has secured a win from Jaipur Rural LS seat by a margin of 3,89,403 votes. Congress Krishna Poonia polled 4,22,223 votes. The official result will be out after the VVPAT-EVM paper trail is verified. "Frankly, today is the day of the mandate and I don't want to colour the decision of the people of India by discussing with you what went wrong for us," he added. "The people have given their decision," said Congress president Rahul Gandhi. "In these polls, Narendra Modi and BJP have won. I congratulate them." After conceding defeat in Amethi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that Smriti Irani should take care of Amethi. "I congratulate Smriti Irani and hope she fulfils the peoples trust and treats the constituency with love," he said. The police lathicharged the workers for shouting slogans of MIM's victory. AIMIM was winning in the constituency till the 23rd round of counting. A victory rally was planned despite a ban announced by police commissioner. Shiv Senas Khaire is leading by over 800 votes as the counting goes to the last round. BJPs Poonam Mahajan is leading against INCs Priya Dutt in Mumbais North Central constituency. The BJP workers are ready to celebrate Poonams win which will be declared at any moment as she is leading by over one lakh votes. "Narendra Modi has got one of the most historic victories in India since Independence," said Shah. "We all welcome Narendra Modi, the main hero of this victory," said BJP president Amit Shah as he addressed BJP workers. "But the results have shown that BJP got more than what even exit polls have predicted," he said. "After the exit polls, some parties shouted that the exit polls were wrong. They also talked of EVM manipulation," he said. "Media was asking us how we will win seats in Uttar Pradesh after the SP-BSP alliance. But we won many seats in Uttar Pradesh too," said Shah. "The defeat of the Opposition and the victory of the BJP is against the 'tukde-tukde' gang's ideology," Shah said. "BJP is going to sweep West Bengal in the days to come," he added. "Despite so many elections, the highest number of voters was recorded in this election," he said. "In the democratic world, the 2019 vote is the biggest event," said the prime minister. "Today, we can see that people from all corners have supported this fakir," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he addressed party workers. "130 crore Indians had taken the form of Shri Krishna and were standing in support of India," he said. "Lord Krishna said that he was not on anyone's side. He was on Hastinapur's side," he added. "When the war of Mahabharata ended, Shri Krishna was asked whose side he was on. The answer which Lord Krishna had given then is the same answer which Indians have given today," he said. "I congratulate the Election Commission, security forces and all those forces who are responsible for raising faith in democracy," Modi said. "The world will have to recognise the democratic powers of India now," Narendra Modi said. "I sympathise with all those people who have sacrificed for the nation," he added. "If anyone has won, it is India," he said. "Democracy and the people have won," he added. "This is why we dedicate this victory to the people." "Those who had closed their minds won't understand the voice of the people and what I'm trying to say," said the prime minister. "The central government will co-operate with the state governments for development," he said. "BJP is committed to the values of the Constitution," he said. "BJP is committed to federalism." "There were elections in four states. In those state Assemblies, I congratulate those who have been selected to enter those Assemblies," said Narendra Modi. "This victory is of the mother who is desperate for a toilet in her home," he said. "India's political pundits will have to leave behind obsolete ideologies," said the prime minister. "This is not Modi's victory. This is the victory of the hopes and aspirations of the people," he added. "BJP had got only two seats in 1984. Now, we have come to power for the second time," said Narendra Modi. BJP got only two seats in 1984, now we have come to power twice: Modi "I will not do anything for my own gains," he said. "Every moment of my time and every bit of energy in my body is for my countrymen," he added. "I will not indulge in anything with bad intentions: This is my promise," he added. "I may make mistakes, but my intentions will never be evil." "As the trust of the people rises, the responsibility of the government also rises," he said. "Our Constitution is supreme. We have to follow every word of the Constitution," Modi said. Every moment of my time and every bit of energy in my body is for my countrymen: Narendra Modi To adopt that analogy in daily politics, if people belonging to your class, caste or religion are seen to be part of a sort of a transformation, you tend to be more patient towards the process. Assume you are struck in traffic, and the cars have not moved for a while. If the cars in another lane start moving, you feel better because you anticipate you would soon follow suit. That immediate hope, according to Hirschman, is the "Tunnel Effect". The tunnel effect, or the honeymoon period, ends sooner or later. However, if the lane stuck in traffic can identify with the lane moving ahead, the tunnel effect has a longer shelf life, says Hirschman. In a tweet, Narendra Modi wrote, "BJP and NDA have emerged victorious in various Assembly by-polls in Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. I thank the people of these constituencies and congratulate the winning candidates. Best wishes in serving the people." The Election Commission tweeted that Union minister Rajnath Singh has won from Lucknow, while Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath's son won from Chhindwara. BJP leader Varun Gandhi has won from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. Gandhi, who contested from Wayanad besides Amethi, where he conceded defeat, defeated his nearest CPI candidate PP Suneer by a margin of over 4.31 lakh votes, according to the Election Commission website. BJP's Hema Malini retained the Mathura Lok Sabha seat by defeating RLD candidate Kunwar Narendra Singh by a margin of 2,93,471 votes. While the actor-turned-politician secured6,71,293 votes, Singh received 3,77,822 votes, according to the Election Commission said. The Election Commission has declared results for 402 out of the 542 seats that went to polls during the general election.The BJP has won 246 seats, while the Congress has won 39. DMK has bagged 16 seats, while Trinamool Congress and JD(U) have bagged 15 each. Ten seats have gone to Shiv Sena, nine each to TRS and BSP, five each to LJSP and YSRC, 4 each to NCP and SP, 2 each to JKNC, SAD, IUML. Lok Sabha Election Results Latest Updates Of nearly 20,600 paper trail machine results, 12,480 matched with EVMs so far: EC sources Of the nearly 20,600 paper trail machine results to be counted on Thursday, 12,480 have been matched with electronic voting machines (EVMs) so far, Election Commission sources have said. Citing reports of state chief electoral officers, the sources said there have been no mismatch with EVM tally. There have been one case which appears to be a manual error. "It is being looked into by the EC," they said. This is for the first time in a Lok Sabha election that results of voting machines will be matched with slips generated by paper trail machines. So far, the BJP has won 272 seats the number required for it to get absolute majority. Meanwhile, Congress has only managed to win 45 seats. The Election Commission is yet to announce result for 84 seats. After defeating Rahul Gandhi in Amethi by 55,120 votes, Union minister Smriti Irani said, "I'm happy that Rahul ji has expressed faith in prime minister's leadership. The people of Amethi have shown their faith in us through votes and I'm thankful to them. I've been working with them for five years after I lost. Now, I'll again serve them, but this time after winning." In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul had defeated Irani by 1,07,903 votes. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is expected to meet on Saturday. Reports had earlier claimed that Rahul Gandhi offered to resign as the Congress president in view of the party's poor performance. Though, Randeep Singh Surjewala denied the reports, some section of the media reported that the meeting was being called to discuss Rahul's offer. The biggest electoral upset in the state was witnessed in Anantnag where former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti finished third. The seat has been won by National Conference candidate and former High Court judge Hasnain Masoodi whose nearest rival was Ghulam Ahmad Mir of the Congress. The BJP has retained its three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while the National Conference has won two seats in the Kashmir region and is leading in one, leaving Mehbooba Mufti's PDP stunned as it could not open its account. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Union minister Jitendra Singh were among the prominent faces to make it to the 17th Lok Sabha from the state which sends six MPs to the Lower House. In the Udhampur seat of Jammu region, BJP's Jitendra Singh won by 3.57 lakh votes defeating Congress' Vikramaditya Singh, the son of Jammu and Kashmir's last prince Karan Singh. As per officials, it is the highest margin of victory for any successful candidate in Jammu and Kashmir till now. Singh got 61.38 percent votes. He had defeated former Union minister and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2014. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Kirron Kher won the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat by 46,970 votes. She was fielded against Congress' Pawan Kumar Bansal. Bansal served as the Union Railway Minister under the UPA-II. In the Baramulla constituency, the most-keenly contested seat in Kashmir region both in terms of candidates and people's participation, NC candidate Mohammad Akbar Lone is leading by over 30,000 votes. The Congress is set to draw a blank in the state even though the National Conference and the PDP had not fielded candidates for Jammu and Udhampur seats in order to consolidate anti-BJP vote. For the NC, 83-year-old Abdullah got 1,06,750 votes and defeated Aga Syed Mohsin of the PDP by 70,050 votes in the Srinagar constituency. This will be Abdullah's fourth term in the Lok Sabha, having been a member in 1980, 2009 and 2017 previously. BJP's Jugal Kishore defeated Raman Bhalla of the Congress by 3,02,875 votes on the Jammu seat. The party's J T Namgyal won the Ladakh seat defeating Independent candidate and journalist-turned-politician Sajjad Hussain by over 10,000 votes. Rebel Congress candidate spoiled the game for the grand old party and Hussain by so far bagging 29,000 votes. The four-party Left Front that ruled the state for 34 years till 2011 could manage a measly 7.8 percent votes with its candidates losing deposits in all the seats but one. The Congress, however, fared better by bagging two seats with a vote share of 5.61 percent. The saffron party was giving the TMC a run for its money even in terms of vote share having polled 40.25 percent of votes counted so far. The TMC has clinched 43.28 percent. Bengal witnessed a saffron surge as the BJP inflicted a deadly blow to state's ruling Trinamool Congress by winning 16 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and leading in two other. TMC won 19 seats and was leading in three others till last reports came in. In Kerala, the Election Commission of India declared results for all 20 seats. Congress-led UDF government got comfortable a victory with Congress winning 15 seats. Here is the final tally: For the Congress, Thursdays drubbing is its fifth consecutive defeat in the city, where it was founded. The party hasnt won a single election here since the 2009 Assembly polls. It has now lost two back-to-back Lok Sabha polls, one Assembly poll, and two civic elections. As of now, the Congress has a hold over just four of the 36 Assemblies in the city. Sources said intense factionalism and infighting within the party had hit the partys Lok Sabha poll campaign. The party had opted for a change of guard in Mumbai replacing Sanjay Nirupam with Milind Deora as the Mumbai Congress president. Both Nirupam and Deora lost from their seats. A report in The Indian Express cited data released by the Election Commission of India and said that six out of every 10 voters in Mumbai voted for 'Team Modi' ensuring a clean sweep for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for a second consecutive term in Mumbai. According to data released by the Election Commission of India , "candidates put up by the saffron allies on the six seats of Mumbai collectively polled more than 58.21 per cent (3,033,993 votes) of the total 5,211,432 votes cast in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, bettering its performance from the 2014 polls, when the BJP-Shiv Senas vote share stood at 56.11 percent," the report said. "A divisive figure, Mr Modi is undoubtedly a charismatic campaigner. Rather than transcend the faultlines of Indian society religion, caste, region and language Mr Modis style is to throw them into sharp relief. He is a populist who speaks in the name of the people against the elite despite being a seasoned public figure. Mr Modi deployed with terrible effect false claims and partisan facts. Perhaps we ought not to be surprised. Polling in 2017 revealed that support for autocratic rule by a strong leader was higher in India (55%) than in any other country, including Vladimir Putins Russia." After Narendra Modi's historic win in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, The Guardian said that the prime minister's second innings at the Centre is "bad for India's soul." In an oped titled The Guardian view on Narendra Modis landslide: bad for Indias soul , the paper said, "The world does not need another national populist leader who pursues a pro-business agenda while trading in fake news and treating minorities as second-class citizens." Geo TV, however kept the coverage simple by providing data only on the initial trends. Sate-run Radio Pakistan in its South Asia segment carried a story titled 'Modi's BJP leads in early India vote count'. Almost all media outlets including ARY News, The Nation and The News also covered the story. They also provided details of the coverage by the Indian media. The Express Tribune carried an agency story titled 'Modi stuns opposition with massive election win. The paper also highlighted that Maleaon blast-accused Sadhvi Pragya won from Bhopal . Both media outlets also highlighted the congratulatory messages pouring in from the world leaders as Modi-led BJP was set to return to power. Dawn news headlined its top story as 'India wins again' says Modi; BJP set to secure historic victory in general election as votes are counted' . The newspaper's website had a separate section for providing live updates about the results of major candidates, trends in market and reactions of the political leaders. The BJP's resounding victory in India's elections made headlines in Pakistan , with the media providing comprehensive coverage of the results of the polls in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi harped on national security issues, including the Balakot strikes. In a scathing oped critiquing Narendra Modi's 23 May Lok Sabha election win, The New York Times, in an oped titled ' How Narendra Modi Seduced India With Envy and Hate' , wrote: Mr. Modi did indeed benefit electorally this time from his garishly advertised schemes to provide toilets, bank accounts, cheap loans, housing, electricity and cooking-gas cylinders to some of the poorest Indians. Lavish donations from Indias biggest companies allowed his party to outspend all others on its re-election campaign. A corporate-owned media fervently built up Mr. Modi as Indias savior, and opposition parties are right to suggest that the Election Commission, once one of Indias few unimpeachable bodies, was also shamelessly partisan. None of these factors, however, can explain the spell Modi has cast on an overwhelmingly young Indian population. Now and then, Lionel Trilling once wrote, it is possible to observe the moral life in process of revising itself. Mr. Modi has created that process in India by drastically refashioning, with the help of technology, how many Indians see themselves and their world, and by infusing Indias public sphere with a riotously popular loathing of the countrys old urban elites. With 23 May mandate, Modi also becomes the first prime minister to return to power winning a bigger vote share for the party enjoying full single-party majority in the Lok Sabha since Jawaharlal Nehru's victory in 1957 Lok Sabha election. Nehru's Congress improved its vote share by 2.79 percentage points over 1951-52 elections, India Today reports . In 2019, BJP has managed to secure over 50 percent overall vote share in 224 seats (according to latest figures). This is the highest vote share received by the party nationwide in any Lok Sabha election since the party was (re)formed in 1980, The Hindu reports. According to latest Election Commission figures (see image below), the BJP has won 299 seats, all by itself, and is leading in four seats taking its final tally to 303. In 2014, a Narendra Modi wave had swept the whole of North India to propel the BJP to power at the Centre. The BJP had become the first party in 30 years to win a single-party majority in a Lok Sabha election. The last time was Rajiv Gandhi's overwhelming victory in 1984 Lok Sabha election with the Congress winning 415 seats. With over 50% vote share in 224 seats, Modi becomes first PM since Nehru to return to power with a bigger mandate BJP retains 81.8 percent of the seats, while Congress managed to retain 37.2 percent of its seats in the Lok Sabha Elections. "Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi is a scholar and intellectual par excellence. His contribution towards improving Indian education is remarkable. He has always worked to strengthen the BJP and mentor several Karyakartas, including me. Met him this morning and sought his blessings. (sic)," the prime minister tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah met up with party's Margdarshak Mandal LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Tweeting about the meeting, Modi said, "Called on respected Advani Ji. The BJPs successes today are possible because greats like him spent decades building the party and providing a fresh ideological narrative to the people." BJP also made a clean sweep in 10 seats and Union Territories, but missed winning all seats in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar by just one seat. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 15 seats with over 5 lakh vote margin. Comparatively, in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had won 6 seats with over 5 lakh margin. Analysing BJP's resurgent win, we found that the party has managed to increase its vote share at least 11 states and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party has managed to retains 81.8 percent seats that it won in the 2014 elections, an analysis of the data shows. This is despite the party facing a consolidated Opposition in key states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. Additionally, the party also managed to make ney forays; it upped its seat tally in West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana. "BJP's onslaught was stopped wherever there were regional parties against it. BJP won 177 out of 300 seats where Congress was against them, after this result if someone says that they alone have the right to rule the country or defeat BJP, I don't think it has any value" Asaduddin Owaisi told ANI. However, Shastri refrained from commenting on the sorry performance of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as the opposition leader, saying: I have not said anything against the party leadership and I maintain that. Speaking with News18, Shastri said the Chowkidar chor hai slogan was rejected by the masses. "The Congress failed to address public issues and the Chowkidar chor hai slogan was not accepted by people of the country. Excessive negative campaign against the Prime Minister has not gone down well with the public, he said. Congress leader and son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Anil Shastri, has blamed the "excessive negative campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the grand old partys humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. After facing a crushing defeat in most states, heads are expected to roll in Congress rank and file. While media speculation about Rahul Gandhi's resignation continues despite Surjewala's clarification, at least two state incharges have offered to resign claiming moral responsibility for the poll defeat. First, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar offered to quit from his post after Congress failed to retain even the Gandhi pocket borough Amethi. Now Congress' Karnataka campaign incharge HK Patil has offered to quit after BJP had a near walkover in the southern Indian state governed by a Congress-JD(S) government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit his Lok Sabha seat Varanasi on 28 May and on 29 May he is likely to visit his home state Gujarat. The Prime Minister is expected to take oath for his second term on 30 May, News18 reported. The prime minister's visit to his constituency and home state will come after he lead his party to become the first after Nehru-led Congress to come back to power with a bigger mandate than the first time. BJP general secretary K Surendran, who led the Sabarimala protests against changing temple traditions, also suffered a defeat in Pathanamthitta, ground zero of the Lord Ayyappa Temple agitation. He was pushed to third position with over 2.97 lakh votes behind Congress-UDF nominee Anto Antony and CPI(M)-LDF candidate Veena George. The front had expectations in 3 constituencies- Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur-, besides hoping to increase its vote share in a handful of other segments. However, a defeat of party veteran Kummanam Rajasekharan to Congress's incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram by a margin of nearly one lakh votes led to disappointment among the BJP cadre. The hopes of the BJP-led NDA to ride piggyback on the Sabarimala women entry issue came a cropper in Kerala, with the front failing to open its account once again in the state. The BJP and other right outfits had spearheaded intense protests against the implementation of the 28 September apex court verdict permitting women of menstrual age into the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala, hoping it would pay rich dividends in the Lok Sabha elections. Considered to be a prestige seat for the BJP, Adityanath had been a five-time MP from Gorakhpur since 1991. Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan won by a three-lakh margin in Gorakhpur, a seat which was won by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in 2014 Lok Sabha election. "This is a victory of the truth", he said. Narendra Modi-led BJP has secured 302 seats alone in the 542-seat election. At 02.12 pm, the party was also leading on the last seat where counting was still underway. He said the dates for the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and Union Council of Ministers are yet to be decided. "The dates for the swearing-in ceremony and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to various parts of the country are yet to be decided," he wrote. The Cabinet and Union Council of Ministers are scheduled to meet on Friday evening to pass a resolution, recommending the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. "The Cabinet and Union Council of Ministers will meet this evening," government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar wrote on his Twitter handle. It is noteworthy that with the BJP dealing a hammer blow, Congress and JD(S) managed to win only one seat each; JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda also lost elections. "The mandate won't effect the Congress-JD(S) alliance in state because these were national polls and had nothing to do with the state government's performance," G Parameswara, Congress leader and deputy chief minister of Karnataka told reporters after the state government called an 'unofficial cabinet meet' to assess the poll drubbing. BIHAR's electorate casts highest number of NOTA votes in country Bihar saw about 8.17 lakh voters opting for the None of The Above (NOTA) option - the highest in the country. Daman and Diu (1.7 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (1.49 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (1.44 per cent) followed in the list with 1.7 per cent, 1.49 per cent and 1.44 per cent votes, respectively, under NOTA. Congress gets zero seats in 18 states, UTs The Congress has drawn a blank in 18 states and Union Territories, in the Lok Sabha polls which saw the BJP emerging victorious with a margin even higher than the one in the 2014 general elections. The Congress has been completely routed in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Delhi, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand. 20 leaders make Lok Sabha debut in Maharashtra As many as 20 of the 48 MPs from Maharashtra are making their debut in the Lok Sabha. Eleven of them are from the BJP, four from the Shiv Sena, two from the NCP, one is an independent backed by the NCP, and one each is from the Congress and AIMIM. Modi cannot remove Article 370, 35-A from Jammu and Kashmir, says Farooq Abdullah National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot remove Article 35-A and Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. He said the prime minister should make efforts to unite the people of the country instead of dividing them. "Let him be as powerful as he (Modi) likes, he cannot remove Article 370 and article 35-A (from the state of Jammu and Kashmir). Our right of Article 370 and Article 35-A should be protected. This is very important for us. We are soldiers of this country not enemies of this nation," he said. PTI No alternative to Kejriwal in Delhi, says AAP's Gopal Rai Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Gopal Rai on Friday dismissed suggestions that it would have an impact on Delhi assembly elections slated for early next year, asserting that there is no alternative to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital. Rai said the party lost because the elections were highly polarised and people either voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi or for Congress president Rahul Gandhi. "We consider it our failure that we could not introduce the agenda of statehood (main poll plank of AAP) in the highly polarised elections," he said. Rai exuded confidence that the result of Lok Sabha polls would not impact the assembly polls in Delhi which are slated for early next year. "There is no alternative to Kejriwal in the national capital and it has emerged that people who voted for BJP or Congress in the LS polls want Kejriwal in the assembly elections," he claimed. PTI Will ask top leaders to take action against those who helped opposition, says Jaya Prada BJPs Jaya Prada on her defeat from Rampur in the Lok Sabha elections, I'll speak to the top leaders of the party about the people who helped the opposition party and that strict action be taken against those people. Ahead of the elections, Jaya Prada was in the news after Azam Khan passed offensive comments about her. Khan won from the constituency. PM Narendra Modi met the President today and tendered his resignation along with the Council of Ministers. The President has accepted the resignation and has requested Narendra Modi and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new Government assumes office. pic.twitter.com/dX4TltRA5S Narendra Modi tenders his resignation from the post of Prime Minister President Ramnath Kovind accepted th Prime Minister's resignation. The President has requested and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new government assumes office. Election Commission concludes counting of votes in all constituencies Counting of votes was completed in most constituencies, except Arunachal Pradesh's Arunachal Pradesh West seat. The counting in the constituency concluded on late Friday evening, with BJP's Kiren Rijiju winning with 2,25,796 votes, Congress' Nabam Tuki trailed behind with just 50953 votes. Rijiju's victory marks the end of counting of votes in the Lok Sabha elections. BJP's tally now stands at 303 seats, while 52 seats have gone to the Congress, 23 to DMK, 22 each to TMC and YSR Congress, 18 to Shiv Sena, 16 to JD(U), 12 to BJD,10 to BSP, 9 to TRS, 6 to LJSP, 5 each to SP and NCP, 3 each to IUML, TD and JKNC and 2 each to SAD and Others. Party colleagues from Kashi gave me the official certificate of election from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency! Feel happy to be representing one of the oldest and most vibrant centres of Indian culture. pic.twitter.com/Ijh8YBUvhU Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Election Result 2019 Latest Updates Narendra Modi gets official certificate of election from Varanasi Prime Minister Narendra Modi got elected from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency with 6,74,664 votes. Samajwadi Party's Shalini Yadav trailed far behind with 1,95,159 votes. India Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Updates: After facing a crushing defeat in most states, heads are expected to roll in Congress rank and file. While media speculation about Rahul Gandhi's resignation continues despite Surjewala's clarification, at least three state incharges have offered to resign claiming moral responsibility for the poll defeat. First, owning moral responsibility for the rout of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, state Congress President Raj Babbar has reportedly sent his resignation to Congress President Rahul Gandhi. The Congress could win only one seat (Rae Bareli) in the state and Rahul Gandhi lost Amethi to Union Minister Smriti Irani. Raj Babbar also lost the Fatehpur Sikri seat that he contested. He lost the seat to Raj Kumar Chahar of BJP by a margin of over four lakh votes. Congress' Karnataka campaign incharge HK Patil has also ffered to quit after BJP had a near walkover in the southern Indian state governed by a Congress-JD(S) government. The latest addition to the list is Congress' Odisha incharge Niranjan Patnaik. "The mandate won't effect the Congress-JD(S) alliance in state because these were national polls and had nothing to do with the state government's performance," G Parameswara, Congress leader and deputy chief minister of Karnataka told reporters after the state government called an 'unofficial cabinet meet' to assess the poll drubbing. The Cabinet and Union Council of Ministers are scheduled to meet on Friday evening to pass a resolution, recommending the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. "The Cabinet and Union Council of Ministers will meet this evening," government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar wrote on his Twitter handle. Narendra Modi-led BJP has secured 302 seats alone in the 542-seat election. At 02.12 pm, the party was also leading on the last seat where counting was still underway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit his Lok Sabha seat Varanasi on 28 May and on 29 May he is likely to visit his home state Gujarat. The Prime Minister is expected to take oath for his second term on 30 May, News18 reported. With the BJP set to return to power, its parliamentary board is expected to meet on Friday evening at the party headquarters where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to make a speech. Meanwhile, the Congress Working Committee will meet up Saturday to look into the possible causes of defeat and deliberate over the party's future strategy. After facing a crisp defeat in most states, heads are expected to roll in Congress rank and file. While media speculation about Rahul Gandhi's resignation continues despite Surjewala's clarification, at least two state incharges have offered to resign claiming moral responsibility for the poll defeat. First, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar offered to quit from his post after Congress failed to retain even the Gandhi pocket borough Amethi. Now Congress' Karnataka campaign incharge HK Patil has offered to quit after BJP had a near walkover in the southern Indian state governed by a Congress-JD(S) government. The latest addition to the list is Congress' Odisha incharge Niranjan Patnaik. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 15 seats with over 5 lakh vote margin. Comparatively, in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had won 6 seats with over 5 lakh margin. BJP also made a clean sweep in 10 seats and Union Territories but missed winning all seats in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar by just one seat. Election Commission released the latest figures from Lok Sabha Election results which confirms that BJP has won 299 seats in total and is leading in four seats. Overall, results for 533 seats have been declared where Indian National Congress has managed to bag 52 seats in total. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah met up with party's Margdarshak Mandal LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Tweeting about the meeting, Modi said, "Called on respected Advani Ji. The BJPs successes today are possible because greats like him spent decades building the party and providing a fresh ideological narrative to the people." "Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi is a scholar and intellectual par excellence. His contribution towards improving Indian education is remarkable. He has always worked to strengthen the BJP and mentor several Karyakartas, including me. Met him this morning and sought his blessings. (sic)," the prime minister tweeted. According to latest Election Commission figures, the BJP has won 299 seats, all by itself, and is leading in four seats taking its final tally to 303. In 2019, BJP has managed to secure over 50 percent overall vote share in 224 seats. This is the highest vote share received by the party nationwide in any Lok Sabha election since the party was (re)formed in 1980. With 23 May mandate, Modi also becomes the first prime minister to return to power winning a bigger vote share for the party enjoying full single-party majority in the Lok Sabha since Jawaharlal Nehru's victory in 1957 Lok Sabha election. Nehru's Congress improved its vote share by 2.79 percentage points over 1951-52 elections. Bharatiya Janata Party is two seats short of hitting the 300-seat-mark. According to latest Election Commission figures, BJP has won on 298 seats, leading in 5 others, taking the total tally to 303. Meanwhile, after Narendra Modi's historic win in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, The Guardian and The New York Times have published scathing opinion editorials criticising incumbent prime minister's divisive politics. The oped in The Guardian said that the prime minister's second innings at the Centre is "bad for India's soul." In an oped titled The Guardian view on Narendra Modis landslide: bad for Indias soul, the paper said, "The world does not need another national populist leader who pursues a pro-business agenda while trading in fake news and treating minorities as second-class citizens." A report cited data released by the Election Commission of India and said that six out of every 10 voters in Mumbai voted for 'Team Modi' ensuring a clean sweep for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for a second consecutive term in Mumbai. According to data released by the Election Commission of India, "candidates put up by the saffron allies on the six seats of Mumbai collectively polled more than 58.21 percent (3,033,993 votes) of the total 5,211,432 votes cast in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, bettering its performance from the 2014 polls, when the BJP-Shiv Senas vote share stood at 56.11 percent," the report said. Amid several pro-BJP, pro-Modi and generally political trends on social media, 'Churchgate' was one term trending high on Twitter. A Twitter user pointed out, "Today, if you board a train in ChurchGate and move up north, the first Cong MP that you will find is not before Punjab. (sic)..." The tweet caught on pretty rapidly on the micro-blogging site and saw several RTs and reactions. Another user pointed out, "If you take a train in Bhubaneshwar and go south, you will drown in Indian Ocean before you meet a BJP MP. Travelling roughly the same distance from Churchgate to Punjab. A matter of concern that BJP performed so pathetically in AP and TN (sic)." A day after Smriti Irani's landslide victory in Amethi, the Union Minister tweeted, "A new morning for Amethi, a new resolution. Thanks Amethi..." Meanwhile, the BJP is nearing the 300-mark, the party has won 290 seats and is currently leading in 13 seats. On Thursday, Irani quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. "Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahin ho sakta," she tweeted after leading by over 45,000 votes in the seat considered a Congress bastion. Her tweet came immediately after Gandhi conceded defeat and congratulated the minister. The 43-year-old BJP leader took the political hotbed of Amethi by storm after trends indicated that she was heading for a win in the Gandhi-stronghold. The BJP has won 288 seats so far and is leading on 15, while the Congress has only managed to win on 50 seats and is leading in two others. BJP candidates Gopal Shetty, Poonam Mahajan and Manoj Kotak win Mumbai North, Mumbai North Central and Mumbai North East Lok Sabha seats respectively, reported ANI. The Election Commission is yet to announce results for 45 seats. BJP president Amit Shah tweeted, "A historic day, a historic mandate. Thank you India", after the ruling party broke its 2014 mandate. Bihar was swept, by what most of the media was referring to the 23 May results as the "Modi tsunami", as the BJP made a clean sweep in the seats contested by it in the state while allies JD(U) and LJP, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan, too, rode the tide and came out with stellar performances. The Election Commission has declared results for 402 out of the 542 seats that went to polls during the general election.The BJP has won 246 seats, while the Congress has won 39. DMK has bagged 16 seats, while Trinamool Congress and JD(U) have bagged 15 each. Ten seats have gone to Shiv Sena, nine each to TRS and BSP, five each to LJSP and YSRC, 4 each to NCP and SP, 2 each to JKNC, SAD, IUML. US president Donald Trump congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his historic parliamentary election victory. The Election Commission tweeted that Union minister Rajnath Singh has won from Lucknow, while Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath's son won from Chhindwara. BJP leader Varun Gandhi has won from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Election Commission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won from Varanasi. Sonia Gandhi has won from Rae Bareli. BJP president Amit Shah said that Narendra Modi got one of the most historic victories in India since Independence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and will address party workers soon. Smriti Irani tweeted on her victory in Amethi and said, "Nothing is impossible." Congress president Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat in Amethi and said that he respected the mandate of the people. He also congratulated Smriti Irani for her victory in Amethi. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan congratulated Narendra Modi. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," he said in a tweet. Pragya Singh Thakur has won from Bhopal against Digvijaya Singh. BJP has won four seats in Karnataka. BJP chief Amit Shah has reached BJP headquarters in New Delhi. Arriving in a car amid a sea of BJP supporters, Shah was welcomed with flowers and fan fare. Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi reach Rahul Gandhi's residence for the second time in the day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely set the agenda for the next five years without losing any time. Modi is expected to meet party workers at the BJP headquarter in New Delhi at 5 pm today. BJP will hold their parliamentary meeting, as they traditionally do, on Thursday evening. As BJP secured a historic lead of 299, ensuring that if it wins with this mandate it will not need allies to form the government at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again!" Party president Amit Shah tweeted thanking the country and announcing, "Once Again Modi government." As Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA inches towards one of the most historic electoral mandate in Independent India, it's prudent to note why did Rahul Gandhi-led UPA manage to fare so poorly. The Congress committed a grave error in choosing Nyuntam Aay Yojana, or NYAY, as its main poll plank instead of unemployment and rural distress. People didn't understand the scheme in the first place with its complex structure. Forget voters, it is doubtful if Congress workers understood it well enough. The scheme sought to assure a minimum income of Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20 percent of India's population. In a country where availing proper income data is still work in progress, it was virtually impossible for the scheme to work. Gandhi's Congress also failed to answer questions on where the money for the scheme will come from. The BJP, according to trends around noon, is not only the single-largest party but has comfortably breached the 272 mark. The saffron unit is leading in 287 seats as of now and it wont be a surprise if it pushed the 300-mark on its own. The NDA, at this point, is close to leading in 350 out of 542 seats. The role played by Modi's most trusted general Amit Shah will not go unnoticed and this time Shah had an added responsibility. It is risky to speculate what portfolio Modi might hand over to Shah, given the latters propensity to surprise. It is safe however to say that it will be an important portfolio that will help achieve the goals of Modi 2.0. As party president, Shah has already proved his administrative acumen and such a job might be a promotion that matches his bigger stature in the party and in national politics. YS Jagan Reddy likely to be sworn-in on May 30 subject to technical clearances, senior YSR Congress leader Ummareddy Venkateswarulu was quoted as saying. Jagan is set to sweep the elections in Andhra Pradesh, with a perfect 10/10 victory in the Lok Sabha elections and a whopping 147 of the state's 175 Assembly seats. The majority mark in the state assembly stands at 88. Even before the Election Commission numbers made any official announcements about winners for Lok Sabha elections, Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated Narendra Modi saying, "We look forward to working closely with you." The BJP-led NDA is leading in 38 seats of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar while the RJD is leading in two seats, according to Election Commission trends. The BJP and JD(U) are leading in 16 seats each while the LJP is leading in six seats. The RJD, a 'mahagathbandhan' constituent, is leading in two seats of Jehanabad and Pataliputra. Prominent NDA faces who are leading include- Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad (Patna Sahib), Radha Mohan Singh (Purvi Champaran), Giriraj Singh (Begusarai), RK Singh (Ara), Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Buxar). Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran), Chirag Paswan (Jamui), Ram Vilas Paswan's brother Pashupati Kumar Paras (Hajipur) are also among the NDA candidates who are leading. In 2014, one of the few states to have thwarted the saffron wave was West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress bagged 34 out of 42 seats. Five years have passed. Going by early trends on counting day, Narendra Modi has not only managed to engineer another 'wave' election in his favour but this time he has done even better. According to trends projected by Firstpost at the time of writing, the BJP has roared into double figures in the state and is hot on the heels of the ruling party. The saffron outfit is leading in 15 seats, the TMC is ahead in 25 while Congress is ahead in two. Remember that in 2014 amid nationwide Modi wave, the BJP could win only two seats in Bengal. NDTV paints an even more optimistic figure for BJP. Around 11am, roughly three hours into counting, the NDTV website shows BJP ahead in 17 seats while the TMC is ahead in 22. A quick research based on data from the official Lok Sabha website showed that if the BJP is voted for a repeat term, which according to the early trends look extremely possibly, and with a full majority then this victory will be a bigger milestone than 2014. If Modi returns to power with a full majority on 23 May, it will be for the first time in 48 years that an incumbent prime minister and his party return to power with a full majority. The last time this happened was in 1971, when Indira Gandhi led the Congress (R) to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967 (for the united Congress). Sensex hits 40,000 mark for the first time ever, rallies nearly 900 pts, while Nifty crosses 12,000 as BJP takes a decisive lead in the Lok Sabha election results. The markets were buoyant with indices hitting new high as early trends showed BJP-led NDA leading in 340 seats. BSE Sensex rallied over 900 points while the NSE Nifty soared over 270 points to hit their respective record highs in early trade Thursday, as counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election began. The Narendra Modi wave has swatted away any challenge posed by the Congress or the united By the time election results are announced and trends translate into a clear electoral victory for the NDA, epitaphs would already have been written about the Rahul-Priyanka campaign against Modi With the National Democratic Alliance leading in about 345 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party itself close to 300, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadras narrative against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, and the combined albeit botched attempt by the rest of the Opposition to capture Delhi, are a spectacular failure. By the time election results are announced and trends translate into a clear electoral victory for the NDA, epitaphs would already have been written about the Rahul-Priyanka campaign against Modi. The Congress campaign was three-pronged: the brother-sister duo, their poll plank of corruption in the Rafale deal by the Modi government, and the proposal of Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY). None of it seems to have cut any ice with the electorate. In the battle between the proposed NYAY and Modis implemented schemes of Kisan Samriddhi Yojana, Ujjwala and Ayushman Bharat, the trends clearly indicate that the electorate is going to repose faith in concrete work on the ground, and not visions. Modis aggressive stance against Pakistan, evinced clearly through the Balakot strikes, on the other hand, seems to have clicked with the voters who saw it as a important tool in national security, and not overt jingoism as Opposition tried to dismiss it. Priyanka formally joined the Congress as general secretary on 23 January and kickstarted her campaign in March. She was brought in as a trump card and Brahmastra (ultimate weapon of Hindu deity Lord Brahma) to revive the partys fortunes. Throughout its Lok Sabha election campaign, the Congress amplified its Rafale deal corruption narrative and Congress president Rahul coined the Chowkidar Chor Hai slogan for Modi, repeating it ad nauseam at every public rally and in every roadshow across the country. The Congress mentioned the NYAY scheme or Minimum Income Support Programme (MISP) in its election manifesto. The scheme is envisaged as guaranteeing 5 crore families, assumed to be the poorest 20 per cent of the country, a cash transfer of Rs 72,000 a year. Congresss NYAY will prove to be a gamechanger, Priyanka had said in her rallies, echoing her brother. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Rs 75,000-crore PM Kisan Samman Nidhi direct income support scheme for farmers in February. A sum Rs 2,000 was transferred to over one crore farmers. Over 12 crore small and marginal farmers will benefit from the scheme. To counter Modis gift to farmers and win over the segment, Rahul announced NYAY. The BJP, in its campaign, had focused extensively on what it has done for the poor in its five-year tenure. From Ujjwala scheme, by which poor households were given free LPG connections, to Ayushman Bharat, a health insurance scheme focusing on affordable healthcare for the poor, PM Modi had repeatedly mentioned them all repeatedly in his speeches. But what is important to note is that the benefits of the schemes launched by Modi in the past five years seem to have trickled to the poorest of the poor who have voted for the BJP instead of poll promises by the others that have no guarantee of being fulfilled in the long run. At one point of time it seemed as if Congress doesnt have any concrete plan to offer rather than showing Modi in poor light, which is just what the electorate seems to have emphatically rejected. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here The BJP candidate from Punjabs Gurdaspur constituency, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, is leading his nearest rival, Congress Sunil Jhakhar, by a margin of 50,000 votes Stars are aligning well for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The partys candidate from Punjabs Gurdaspur constituency, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, is leading his nearest rival, Congress Sunil Jhakhar, by a margin of 50,000 votes. Gurdaspur, which borders Pakistan, is on the highway that links Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of the country. Unemployment is high in the region beset with migration, the two key issues for voters. Deol, too, raised these issues as the campaign entered the final lap. Initially, when Deol was asked what his plans for the area were, he confessed he did not know. However, the soft-spoken actor said he would resolve any issue that the people of his constituency faced. He even pleaded ignorance on the 2016 surgical that Indian forces carried out against Pakistani terror camps across the border. As the day of voting drew close, the Akalis and the BJP explained key issues to Deol. Dharmendra, a former superstar, also campaigned for his actor son. Traditionally, the BJP candidate in Gurdaspur gets the backing of the Shiromani Akali Dal, one of its oldest allies. This support is a big factor in the partys success, particularly since the district is largely urban. When Deol entered the contest, a divide between rural and urban voters was evident, with Jhakhar getting more support from villages. The trend, however, reversed as the campaign picked up and Deol acquainted himself with area and local issues. The Ravi river causes widespread flooding in Gurdaspur, which, combined with the poor quality of soil, makes agriculture unproductive. It is also the reason that people migrate to the Gulf, though migration to Canada and the United States is also been picking up. It was another star, late Vinod Khanna, who made Gurdaspur a BJP seat. Until 1998, Gurdaspur was a Congress bastion, led by Harbans Kaur Bhinder. But in 1998, Khanna won the seat and went on to repeat the performance another three times. Khanna got bridges built, which mitigated the impact of floods, and that made him popular. Gurdaspur is an hours drive from Pathankot, where an airbase was attacked by suspected Pakistan-based terrorists in January 2016. In 1947, Gurdaspur was occupied by Pakistan during Partition. It was renegotiated and made a part of India, excluding the Shakargarh tehsil that remains in Pakistan. The locals have a close language and emotional ties with Pakistani Punjab. Gurdaspur has an equal population of Sikhs and Hindus and roughly 10% of the populace is Christians. It is here that the Ahmadiyya Jamaat, whose members are a persecuted in Pakistan, has its roots. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here In the Lok Sabha 2014, Yashwant Sinhas son, Jayant Sinha emerged victorious with a winning margin of 16.45 percent votes. Hazaribagh Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 14 Total electors: 15,18,831 Female electors: 7,06,344 Male electors: 8,12,487 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribagh Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Former Union minister of finance Yashwant Sinha contested the 2004 General Election from Hazaribagh constituency but lost to Bhubneshwar Prasad Mehta from the CPI. However, the senior BJP leader won the seat in 2009, defeating Congress Saurabh Narain Singh. In 2014, Sinhas son, Jayant Sinha emerged victorious with a winning margin of 16.45 percent votes. He is also the Union minister of state for civil aviation in the Narendra Modi government. On 18 March, the Ranchi district administration filed a poll code violation case against Jayant. The case was filed on a complaint by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha that wrote to Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer L Khiangte, claiming that Sinha has used the convocation ceremony at IIM-Ranchi to publicise the BJP government's achievements, in gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct. Demographics: The constituency covers the entire Ramgarh district and parts of Hazaribagh district. According to Census 2011, Hazaribagh has a population of nearly 17.34 lakh people, of which 58.41 percent are literate. The district of Ramgarh has a population of 9.49 lakh people, comprising 494230 males and 455213 females. The Scheduled Tribes population in the district stands at 2.01 lakh people. At present, Congress leader Rajeev Shankarrao Satav represents the Hingoli seat since 2014. Hingoli Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 15 Total electors: 15,86,194 Female electors: 7,46,654 Male electors: 8,39,540 Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. Bhokar Assembly seat was moved to Nanded parliamentary constituency and Umarkhed Assembly seat was added after Washim Lok Sabha seat was dissolved in 2008. Assembly constituencies: Umarkhed (SC), Kinwat, Hadgaon, Basmath, Kalamnuri, Hingoli. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In 1999, Shiv Senas Shivaji Gyanbarao Mane won the seat but lost NCP leader Suryakant Patil in 2004. In 2009, Patil lost the seat to Shiv Senas Subhash Bapurao Wankhede. At present, Congress leader Rajeev Shankarrao Satav represents the seat since 2014. Demographics: It covers the entire Hingoli district and parts of Nanded and Yavatmal districts. The region is identified as a backward region under the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. Hingoli district has a population of 11,77,345 people as per Census 2011. The district came into existence in 1999. It has an SC population of 1,82,565. This seat, spread across parts of Marathwada and Vidarbha accounts for a high number of farmer suicides as well. In 2014, Union Minister Uma Bharti won the seat by a margin of 1.9 lakh votes. Jhansi Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 46 Total electors: 10,34,085(2014 estimates) Female electors: 8,97,930 Male electors: 10,34,085 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly Constituencies: Babina, Jhansi Nagar, Mauranipur, Lalitpur, Mehroni Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: The Congress has won the seat twice in last two decades: Sujan Singh Bundela in the 1999 elections and Pradeep Jain Aditya in the 2009 elections. Chandrapal Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party won the seat in 2004. In 2014, Union Minister Uma Bharti won the seat by a margin of 1.9 lakh votes. Demographics: Jhansi is the historical epicentre of Bundelkhand, a region ravaged by drought for many years now. While development issues remain the top agenda, caste is an important factor here. Jhansi and nearby Lalitpur district ( two constituencies) have a sizeable number of Dalit Pasi sub-caste voters, who have traditionally been loyal to BSP. However, a number of non-Yadav OBCs are also influential in this area. Dinsha J Patel of the Congress won the seat in 2009 but lost it to BJPs Devusinh Jesinghbhai Chauhan. Kheda Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 17 Total electors: 15,99,476 Female electors: 7,66,244 Male electors: 8,33,232 Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. The seat was created in 2008 after the delimitation exercise. Chaklasi and Kathala segments were dissolved. Assembly constituencies: Daskroi, Dholka, Matar, Nadiad, Mahemdabad, Mahudha, Kapadvanj Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Dinsha J Patel of the Congress won the seat in 2009 but lost it to BJPs Devusinh Jesinghbhai Chauhan. Demographics: The constituency is spread across parts of Ahmedabad and Kheda district. Kheda district has a population of 22,99,885 people, comprising 11,85,727 males and 11,14,158 females. It has a literacy rate of 82.65 percent. The region is also known for tobacco farmers. BJP candidate Kariya Munda held the Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and continued to hold it in the 2014 election as well. Khunti Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 11 Total electors: 11,11,852 Female electors: 5,46,308 Male electors: 5,65,544 Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Tribes. Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Kharsawan (ST), Tamar (ST), Torpa (ST), Khunti (ST), Kolebira (ST), Simdega (ST). Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Veteran Congress leader and former Bihar minister, Sushila Kerketta, won the Khunti Lok Sabha seat, defeating tribal leader and BJP candidate Kariya Munda in 2004. Kerketta passed away in 2009. In the same year, Munda won the seat on the BJP ticket conquering Congress candidate Neil Tirkey. He was also the Deputy Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha. Munda continued to hold the seat in the 2014 election as well. Demographics: This Lok Sabha constituency covers the entire Khunti and Simdega district and includes parts of Ranchi and Seraikela-Kharsawan district. Historically known as the birthplace of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, Khunti district has a population of 5,31,885 people. The district is part of the South Chotanagpur division. The region comes under the Red Corridor experiencing considerable Maoist insurgency. It has a tribal population of 3,89,626 people. Simdega district has a population of nearly six lakh people, where more than 86 percent of total workers depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Nearly 80 percent of its population comprises tribal communities. Its literacy rate is 67.99 percent. It is the only Christian majority district in the state (51.1 percent) with 3.06 lakh people following the religion as per the 2011 Census. Ranchi districts population constitutes 8.83 percent (29,14,253 persons) of Jharkhands population, as per Census 2011. Its sex ratio stands at 949. The district has a literacy rate of 76.06 percent. The district is also a beneficiary of the Backward Regions Grants Fund Programme. Babulal Marandi had to forfeit the seat to BJPs Ravindra Kumar Ray in the Lok Sabha election of 2014. Kodarma Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 5 Total electors: 16,39,629 Female electors: 7,69,613 Male electors: 8,70,016 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly constituencies: Kodarma, Barkatha, Dhanwar, Bagodar, Jamua (SC), Gandey. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Babulal Marandi, who was also the first chief minister of Jharkhand, won the seat in 2004 General Election, defeating JMMs Champa Verma by more than 1.5 lakh votes. Marandi resigned from the seat and the party in 2006 and floated his own political party JVM. In 2009, he contested as a JVM candidate and triumphed over Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)(Liberation)s Raj Kumar Yadav. However, he had to forfeit the seat to BJPs Ravindra Kumar Ray in 2014. Demographics: It is spread across the Kodarma district, and parts of Hazaribagh and Giridih districts. Kodarma has a population of 7,16,259 people, comprising 3,67,222 males and 3,49,037 females. Around 15.21 percent of the population comes under Scheduled Tribes. Hazaribagh district is a Hindu-majority district with 80.55 percent following Hinduism. The Census 2011 figures indicate that the percentage share of scheduled caste population to total population in Giridih district was 13.31 percent while that of scheduled tribes is 9.74 percent. The literacy rate is 63.1 percent in the district. Kolar Lok Sabha seat is a Congress stronghold. Former Union Minister KH Muniyappa has been winning this seat continuously since 1991. Kolar Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 28 Total Electors: 14,92,975 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 7,55,450 Female Electors: 7,37,525 Assembly Constituencies: Sildaghata, Chintamani, Srinivaspura, Mulbagal (SC), Kolar Gold Fields (SC), Bangarapet (SC), Kolar, Malur Reserved:Yes. For Scheduled Castes Delimited:Yes. In 2008 Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Kolar Lok Sabha seat is a Congress stronghold. Former Union Minister KH Muniyappa has been winning this seat continuously since 1991. Demography: Known as for its gold mines, Kolar is part of the Vokkaliga belt, where the caste plays an important role during the elections. The constituency lies on the border with Andhra Pradesh, which explains the sizeable population of Telugu speakers in the district. According to some estimates, 30 percent of the population in the district speak Telugu. In the last election, Jhina Hikaka of the BJD defeated Gamang by a margin of 19,000 votes. Koraput Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency Number: 21 Total Electors: 13,00,437 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 6,29,268 Female Electors: 6,71,169 Assembly Constituencies: Gunupur, Bissam-Cuttack, Rayagada, Lakshmipur, Pottangi, Koraput, Jeypore Reserved: Yes. For Scheduled Tribes Delimited: Yes, in 2008. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Giridhar Gamang, the former chief minister, won multiple elections from this constituency. In the 1999 elections, his wife Hema Gamang won the seat as a Congress candidate. In 2009, the former chief minister lost to Jayaram Pangi of the BJD. In the last election, Jhina Hikaka of the BJD defeated Gamang by a margin of 19,000 votes. Demography: Rich in mineral resources, Koraput is a tribal dominated constituency in Odisha. Over 50 percent of the population is tribal. However, it suffers from resource curse, evident by the fact that it is one of the 250 economically backward districts in India. It also has a literacy rate of only about 50 percent, as per the 2011 Census. Beating all odds, the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party looks set to win at least 60 seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. Beating all odds, the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party looks set to win at least 60 seats in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, which was banking on the consolidation of the Dalit and Yadav vote bank, has been decimated. While the BSP is leading in 12 seats, the Samajwadi Party is ahead in only five seats. The Congress party is leading in one seat, Rae Bareli, where UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is leading. What makes this victory more significant is the fact that the saffron party looks set to touch the 50 percent mark in terms of the vote share. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP only gained 42.34 percent of the vote share despite winning an unprecedented 71 out of 80 seats. This is a rise of over seven percent in vote share since the last general elections. The rise in vote share this time contrasts with the loss of 11 seats in the ongoing elections. The vote share of the BJP is also higher than what it captured during the Assembly elections in 2017. In the Assembly election, the saffron party won a staggering 312 seats but garnered less than 42 percent of the vote share. The National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to return to power with a bigger mandate. As per the latest trends, the BJP on its own has crossed 300 seats for the first time in its history. The larger alliance, on the other hand, is leading in 351 seats. The BJP president Amit Shah and Modi too have won their seats by comfortable margins. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won two seats of Jammu and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir riding on the Narendra Modi wave, following the prime minister's hard position against Pakistan following the 14 February militant attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Srinagar that killed at least 40 members of its personnel Srinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won two seats of Jammu and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir riding on the Narendra Modi wave, following the prime minister's hard position against Pakistan following the 14 February militant attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Srinagar that killed at least 40 members of its personnel. In the elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was routed as the party lost in all the three seats in Kashmir with former chief minister and party president, Mehbooba Mufti, losing by a margin of over 9,000 votes in the Anantnag parliamentary seat in the wake of "heavy-handed" measures to control the agitation that was sparked by the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. The party's alliance with the BJP after the 2014 Assembly election is also believed to have contributed to the PDP's poor showing this time around. Mehbooba got 25 percent of the votes, while the National Conference's Hasnain Masoodi won 33 percent of the votes. Meanwhile, former minister and Congress state president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, secured 27 percent of the votes from the 1.22 lakh cast in the constituency. After the results, Mehbooba conceded defeat. "I've been fortunate to get the love and affection of my people. They have every right to express their anger for my failings. Accept their verdict with humility. Congratulations to winning candidates from NC. I'm grateful to my party workers and colleagues," she tweeted. The BJP candidates, Jugal Kishore Sharma and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Dr Jitendra Singh, won the elections in the Jammu and Udhampur constituencies by huge margins of 2.86 lakh and 3.49 lakh votes respectively against the "secular alliance" of the PDP, National Conference and Congress. The National Conference and Congress had announced their alliance on the two seats, while the PDP said that it was not fielding any candidates to ensure that there was "no division" of secular votes. Both the Congress candidates the scion of Dogra dynasty, Vikramaditya Singh, and former minister, Raman Bhalla lost in Udhampur and Jammu Lok Sabha seats respectively. In the Udhampur and Jammu seats, Jitendra Singh and Jugal received 62 and 58 percent of the votes respectively from the total of 11.67 lakh and 14.53 lakh against 32 percent by Vikramaditya Singh and nearly 38 percent by Raman Bhalla. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Jitendra Singh had defeated former chief minister and Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, by a margin of over 60,000 votes, while Jugal had won the Jammu seat by a margin of 2.26 lakh votes. In the 2009 elections, in the Udhampur seat, the Congress' Lal Singh had bagged 2.31 lakh votes against 2.18 lakh votes for the BJP's Nirmal Singh. In the Jammu seat, the Congress' Madan Lal Sharma received 3.8 lakh votes against 2.6 lakh votes for the BJP's Leela Karan Sharma. The voters in Jammu have in the past reacted sharply to the "discrimination against the region" by Kashmir-based political parties. Today's results reflected a voting pattern in Jammu in which the electorate preferred the BJP after Modi's hardline approach against Pakistan as well as the "rejection of an alliance" by Kashmir-based political parties against the saffron party in the region. After the 14 February attack on the CRPF convoy, Indian and Pakistan troops had resorted to heavy mortar shelling that affected the members of the population living along the border in Jammu. BJP general secretary Ashok Koul said that the party won both the seats in Jammu region with the support of its "strong workers base" and "efficient governance provided by Modi". He said, "Modi has been decisive in action against Pakistan even after the Uri attack and he said after the Pulwama attack that there will be no compromise on national security," he said. While the voting was moderate in the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, there was a near boycott of the Anantnag and Srinagar seats as the people observed a shutdown at the behest of separatists and polling booths were largely empty as youths clashed with the forces on the streets. The elections also marked the rise of the People's Conference, the BJP's alliance partner in government, with the party's candidate from Baramulla Raja Aijaz Ali getting 23 percent of the 4.47 lakh votes cast in the constituency. Awami Ittehad party (AIP), leader, Er Rashid, eroded the vote share of the People's Conference leading to the victory of National Conference candidate, Mohammad Akbar Lone. He won with a won with a margin of over 29,000 votes. Rashid got 22.5 percent votes, while the PDP's Abdul Qayoom Wani only secured 12 percent of the votes. The Srinagar seat was won by former chief minister and National Conference president, Farooq Abdullah, who polled 58 percent votes against the PDP's Aga Mohsin, who got 20 percent ,while the People's Conference candidate got 16 percent of the over 1.86 lakh votes cast in the constituency. The Congress had not fielded any candidate against Abdullah. Congress vice-president, GN Monga, said that the BJP won the elections "as its campaign was divisive in nature and deepened the polarisation among voters on the religious lines". He added,"In Kashmir, there was anger against the PDP, which went against it. We had a friendly contest with the National Conference." Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here Going by the counting trends available so far, Narendra Modi is set to return to office in grand style Going by the counting trends available so far, Narendra Modi is set to return to office in grand style. The Congress-led UPA has been decimated on all fronts, mainly organisation and campaign strategy. At the time of writing this, the NDA was leading in 345 seats and the UPA in 90, a significantly amplified version of the 2014 verdict. Here are some quick initial takeaways from the 2019 General Election results so far: - People rejected Congress president Rahul Gandhis populist planks outright. Under Rahul Gandhi, the Congress has failed miserably to present a convincing economic future plan for aspiring middle class and rural voters. What the party resorted to was large-scale populism using two main tools farm loan waivers and the promise of free income. These didnt work on the ground because the BJP government has already deployed similar economic packages. Gandhis promises, thus, offered nothing new, both to a large section of new voters and the struggling rural masses. - The Congress committed a grave error in choosing Nyuntam Aay Yojana, or NYAY, as its main poll plank instead of unemployment and rural distress. NYAY was a super flop. People didnt understand the scheme in the first place with its complex structure. Forget voters, it is doubtful if Congress workers understood it well enough. The scheme sought to assure a minimum income of Rs 72,000 to the poorest 20 percent of India's population. In a country where availing proper income data is still work in progress, it was virtually impossible for the scheme to work. Gandhis Congress also failed to answer questions on where the money for the scheme will come from. Also, the scheme guaranteed a fiscal shock with the total burden of Gandhis minimum income promise estimated at Rs 3.6 lakh crore or 1.7 percent of the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP). - This election has proved conclusively that economic distress is not a key factor in deciding the outcome of major elections. Modis economic policies such as demonetisation of high value notes in 2016 and the botched implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) a year later brought considerable discomfort to the masses. This did not, however, impact the BJPs political prospects, rather Modis popularity has only increased in subsequent years. In other words, the Modi factor overshadowed economic distress stories. - Modis image as a pro-reform leader remained intact in the five years despite repeated Opposition attacks for his economic policies. At the end of his five-year term, the Opposition has questioned Modi on multiple issues, including the way his government has handled data credibility, demonetisation, and rising unemployment. Industry, however, appreciated Modi for getting the reform momentum back. Two key reforms were initiated in the last five yearsthe Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST). These were pending proposals for at least a decade. Modi also sped up the expansion of the banking sector to rural households and, with the help of the Jan Dhan Aadhaar Mobile (JAM) trinity, rationalised the subsidy system. The political will to generate consensus and move important legislation was revived after a long period of so-called policy paralysis. - The fact that Congress didnt have a credible prime ministerial candidate impacted its prospects severely. Till the end of the campaign, there was no consensus among the Congress-led Opposition parties about who would be the UPAs candidate for the top job. Rahul Gandhi as PM aspirant was no competition against the charismatic persona of Modi. It is now even more obvious that Rahul Gandhi is not cut out the job to lead a large political party. Gandhis slogan of Chowkidar chor hai against Modi in connection with the Rafale fighter aircraft deal backfired badly and ended up helping the BJP. Gandhis campaign couldnt break Modis corruption-free leader image. - The new aggressive approach that the Modi government took in taking on terrorists operating from Pakistan soil was welcomed by the masses and converted into votes, both from the rich and poor. One could argue that the Balakot attacks turned the tide in favor of the BJP. Congress accusations against the government such as lack of evidence or intelligence failure that led to Pulwama attacks find any takers among common voters. - The Oppositions personal attacks on Modi, mocking his interviews for instance, backfired. Gandhis whole campaign was centred on anti-Modi rhetoric. As mentioned before, despite Rahul Gandhi's allegations against Modi in connection with Rafale, Modi still enjoys the image of a corruption-free politician and a prime minister who led a government for five years with no major proven corruption cases. Diverting attention from the job crisis was the Oppositions big mistake. The more they made personal attacks on the PM, the more the BJP cleverly used them to channel public ire against the Congress using Modis track record and achievements. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi Colombo: Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a resounding victory for a second term in office. The BJP was set to return to power Thursday as the partial vote count released by the Election Commission showed that it was leading in 296 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition with the Congress Party stuck at 51 seats. "Congratulations on your victory and the people's re-endorsement of your leadership," Sirisena said in a tweet. "I have immense pleasure in extending to you my warmest congratulations and sincere best wishes on the victory of the BJP," Wickremesinghe's message of congratulations said. "Heartfelt best wishes and congratulations," Rajapaksa said in his message. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera interrupted his speech in Parliament to offer congratulations to Prime Minister Modi. Several other lawmakers in Parliament offered best wishes to the Indian leader. Last year, Sri Lanka faced a major constitutional and political crisis which lasted over 50 days after Sirisena took a controversial decision of sacking Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister to replace him with Rajapaksa in late October. He was then forced to restore Wickremesinghe in office as Rajapaksa was not able to prove his majority in Parliament. Click here to follow LIVE updates of the Lok Sabha election results Decisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition, CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan said on Thursday and asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory New Delhi: Decisions taken by Rahul Gandhi led to divisions within the opposition, CPI national secretary Atul Kumar Anjaan said on Thursday and asserted that the policies of the Congress scion opened the doors for Narendra Modi's victory. "The BJP fought these elections on the basis of social and religious divisive policies and the agenda was set by them on this basis. But more significant is the fact that the unity of the opposition has been damaged by the Congress. The policies and decisions of Rahul Gandhi have weakened opposition unity, led to divisions and opened the doors for Modi's victory," the Communist Party of India national secretary said. The party's other National Secretary, D Raja told PTI that although now was not the time to blame any individual party or leader for the dismal performance of the Opposition, it is also true that it was because of the unity among the allies that in states like Tamil Nadu, the BJP wave did not have any effect. "Every political party should introspect and analyse how this situation happened. We have to rework strategies, reorganise the party and reconnect with the people. With BJP capturing power, they will now aggressively pursue Hindutva agenda and cultural nationalism. The secular democratic parties have failed to form a credible alliance and that has been our failure," Raja said. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014. "I think it looks like nationalism worked for them in northern states and Karnataka," CPI general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told PTI. "Nationalism worked (for the BJP)... points raised by opposition unemployment, price rise, and omissions and commissions of the BJP did not stand before nationalism, particularly in northern states," he said. Reddy said lack of electoral understanding between the Left parties and the Congress helped the BJP make big gains in West Bengal. "There was a polarisation between Trinamool and the BJP, as there was no understanding between the Congress and the Left. The 'friends' behind the Left who wanted to defeat the Trinamool went towards the BJP", he said. Asked if he thought the Left and the Congress should have fought the elections together in West Bengal, he said: "Yes, there would have been some confidence in the ranks". "Sabarimala undercurrent" helped the UDF electorally in Kerala, where Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad also consolidated the minority votes behind the Congress, he added. In 2009, Congress' Meenakshi Natarajan was elected from this constituency. In the last elections, Sudhir Gupta of BJP defeated Natarajan by over 3 lakh votes. Mandsaur Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency Number: 23 Total Electors: 16,26,571 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 8,38,076 Female Electors: 7,88,495 Assembly Constituencies: Jaora, Mandsaur, Malhargarh, Suwasra, Garoth, Manasa, Neemuch, Jawad Reserved: No Delimited: Yes, in 2008 Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: BJP leader Lakshminarayan Pandey was a long-serving MP from this constituency. He represented the constituency between 1989 and 2009. In 2009, Congress' Meenakshi Natarajan was elected from this constituency. In the last elections, Sudhir Gupta of BJP defeated Natarajan by over 3 lakh votes. Demography: Mandsaur was the epicentre of the farmer protests in Madhya Pradesh. During the 2017 protests, five farmers were also killed in police firing, which led to widespread condemnation. A primarily agrarian area, Mandsaur is known for being the hub of legal opium farming. In the 2014 elections, JDS leader CS Puttaraju won the seat but he resigned in 2018 to become a minister in the state government. In the 2018 by-poll, LR Shivarame Gowda of the JDS retained the seat. Mandya Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 20 Total Electors: 16,69,262 (2014 estimates) Male Electors: 8,39,052 Female Electors: 8,30,210 Assembly Constituencies: Malavalli (SC), Maddur, Melukote, Mandya, Srirangapatna, Nagamangala, Krishnarajpet, Krishnarajanagara Reserved: No Delimited: Yes. Maddur and Malavalli Assembly segments saw some minor changes in their boundaries. Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Late cine star Ambareesh represented the constituency till 2009, when he was defeated by N Cheluvaraya Swamy of the JDS. In the 2013 by-poll, actor-turned politician Ramya won the seat on a Congress ticket. In the 2014 elections, JDS leader CS Puttaraju won the seat but he resigned in 2018 to become a minister in the state government. In the 2018 by-poll, LR Shivarame Gowda of the JDS retained the seat. Demography: Mandya is dominated by Vokkaligas, whose candidates have repeatedly been elected from this constituency. Additionally, it is to be noted that Vokkaligas form around half of the population in the eponymous district and hold the key to political fortunes of the candidates. On 14 May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while calling himself a Kashi vaasi, issued an emotional message for the people of Varanasi his Lok Sabha constituency On 14 May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while calling himself a Kashi vaasi, issued an emotional message for the people of Varanasi his Lok Sabha constituency. He underscored his association and attachment with the ancient city and urged people to vote in large numbers. The next day, he held a roadshow in Varanasi, where massive crowds gathered on the sides of the roads, wherever his cavalcade passed. The scene was reminiscent of a similar procession Modi led in 2014 as the BJPs prime ministerial candidate. One look at the crowd, and it was crystal clear that Modi was Varanasis choice. And, sure enough, in the 2014 parliamentary polls he won the seat by a margin of 3,71,785, securing more than 56 percent of the total votes polled. In this Lok Sabha election, he is all set to register a similar victory, as the prime minister was ahead of his nearest rival, Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Shalini Singh, by 1, 94,086 votes, according to the latest figures. It is interesting that Rahul Gandhi, chief of the BJPs principal Opposition party, the Congress, who was projected as the main challenger to Modi, chose to contest from two seats: Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala. On the other hand, Modi fought the 2014 polls from two seats Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Vadodara in his home state Gujarat (from where he won with a margin of around six lakh votes). This time, he picked Varanasi as the lone constituency to represent in Parliament, and the decision struck an emotional chord with people of the holy city. Follow all the latest updates from Lok Sabha election results 2019 here Thanking the people for voting his government back to power for a second consecutive term, Modi pledged to make the nation strong by 2022, before the country completes 75 years of Independence. New Delhi: In his victory speech after securing a massive mandate for a second consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised that he will not do anything with "bad intentions" and would do nothing to benefit himself. Addressing a huge gathering of cheering BJP workers at party headquarters amidst drizzle, he also said that this was one election after so many years that the BJP's rivals dared not "wear the mask of secularism". Referring to the huge mandate that party has got, Modi said, "We have come back with full majority. This shows the people's belief in us. I thank everybody from party president to workers for their hardwork. The NDA leaders also supported us for the last five years. They also worked very hard. "I promise you that I am going to deliver whatever you expect from us. We will never disappoint you. But I assure you all that I will work hard to deliver all the promises and I am saying this in public. In coming days, I will not do anything with bad intentions or thinking. There can be mistakes while doing work but nothing will be done with bad intentions or bad thinking." In a veiled attack on Congress and other rivals without taking their names, the prime minister said that for 30 years there was a drama going on for very long. "There was such a tag in fashion, wearing which all sins would get washed. That fake tag was called secularism. Slogans would be raised for the unity of secular people. But you would have witnessed that from 2014 to 2019 that whole bunch stopped talking," he said. "In this elections, not even a single political party could dare to mislead the country by wearing the mask of secularism," he said. "All political pundits have to get rid of all the 20th century thinking." Thanking the people for voting his government back to power for a second consecutive term, Modi pledged to make the nation strong by 2022, before the country completes 75 years of Independence. "For next five years, every Indian will have to pledge to transform India into a strong nation. The mission will require the same spirit as the one witnessed during the freedom struggle. We can make India a strong nation by 2022, before we complete 75 years of Independence," he said. "Today, even the rain gods are among us to celebrate," Modi said as rains lashed the city for a while. "Today, the citizens of India have filled the "fakir ki jholi" (the bag of a mendicant). I thank the 130 crores of Indian citizens by bowing before them." Modi asserted that now the entire world will have to sit and take notice of India's democratic powers. "Since the country got independence, so many elections took place, but 2019 Lok Sabha election were historic as it registered the highest voter turnout despite 40-42 degree Celsius like soaring temperatures. It is a testimonial to voter awareness and people's dedication to the democratic process. The entire world will have to now sit and take notice of India's democratic powers," he said while addressing the scores of supporters present in the headquarters to celebrate the victory with the party's leadership. Congratulating all winners irrespective of their party and region, Modi said, "If there is anyone who has won, it's India, the democracy, and the public. Therefore, all the people of the BJP and NDA dedicate this victory with humility to public. I congratulate all the winners, no matter from which party or which region they contested." Drawing an example from Hindu mythology 'Mahabharata', Modi said, "In Lok Sabha elections, 130 crore Indians today stood up for India, just like Krishna stood for humanity in Mahabharata. Just like Lord Krishna said he was on the side of Hastinapur in the battle of Mahabharata, 130 crore Indians have said today, they are on the side of India." The prime minister also promised all states that the Centre will stand shoulder to shoulder in their journey of progress. Modi, who will become the first non-Congress leader to come to power for the second consecutive term with full majority on his own, said, "Today there are only two castes in India: the poor and the other are those who want to help the poor come out of poverty." Modi and BJP president Amit Shah together waved to the cheering supporters showing the victory sign as they walked into the BJP office. The workers greeted duo by showering rose petals on them from the top of the building. Before addressing cadres present in the party's headquarters, Modi and Shah paid floral tribute to BJP stalwarts Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. Top BJP leadership like Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Piyush Goyal and Thawar Chand Gehlot were present in the event. As trends indicate, he is set to romp home with a decisive mandate. If the BJP allies are taken along, the NDAs victory is stunningly comprehensive. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has maintained a remarkable consistency in identifying the correct political prognosis. He was absolutely accurate in predicting that his party would not only win, but also set a record in the annals of the countrys politics by achieving the rare feat of victory with clear majority by a non-Congress formation. As trends indicate, he is set to romp home with a decisive mandate. If the BJP allies are taken along, the NDAs victory is stunningly comprehensive. Of course, this is the only time after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi that a prime minister would get a clear mandate for a second time. Modi did it with an elan that is unparalleled in Indian political history. The inference of these results is quite evident. After a long phase of dominance by the Congress as the principal pole of Indian politics, from Independence to 1971, the Bharatiya Janata Party has finally effectively replaced it and occupies that position. With this result, the BJP has acquired a unique political space from where it would not be easy to dislodge it in the times to come. How has the outfit, with the image of being an upper caste and Hindi heartland party, gained ground in geographical areas considered to be inaccessible to it till five years ago? This is no ordinary achievement. Once again, there will be a tendency to dismiss this feat as the BJPs ability to win the propaganda war with its rivals. But that will be an oversimplification of the election and quite akin to burying ones head in the sand in the face of a coming storm. In addition to Modis personal charisma, he has built a formidable organisation along with BJP president Amit Shah and expanded it exponentially. In fact, the partys organisational machine worked seamlessly with the government over the past five years to take the right messages to the masses. No doubt, Shahs formidable capacity to mobilise a huge army of cadres on a war-footing contributed a great deal to the BJPs performance. With this victory, let there be no doubt that politics of India would revolve around anti-BJPism in the future. Unlike the Congress, which managed organisational expansion across the country till the 1980s, the BJP is constrained by its ability to breach the psychological barrier in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh. Once Modi crosses that hurdle, he would become a political colossus whose removal would be unthinkable in the foreseeable future. North States Election 2019 Vote Counting LIVE Results and Updates:After securing an unassailable lead over the UPA the closest consolidated opponent NDA had in elections Narendra Modi visited LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, BJP veteran and founding fathers who are now relegated to the sidelines Auto refresh feeds Twenty companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), apart from thousands of state police personnel would be deployed to maintain law and order during the counting process, L Khiangte said. Counting for the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand will begin at 8 am across 24 districts amid tight security, officials said. EC sources said that the counting centers at Dumka, Godda, Hazaribag, Ranchi and Jamshepdur have been categorized as sensitive due to political and social reasons, adding, more security force would be deployed there. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has ordered a 50-kg lotus shaped 'kamal barfi'. The price per kg is Rs 2,000. The Congress, which hopes for a "good show" in the polls, maintained a cautious note, with its leaders saying celebrations will be held after declaration of results. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, asserting the party's victory on all seven Lok sabha seats in the national capital, said 350-kg of fine quality "ladoos" have been ordered for celebrations at the central office on DDU Marg and the Delhi unit's office on Pant Marg. The party has also placed orders for a 7-kg special 'motichoor cake' and nine similar cakes, each weighing between 4-5 kgs, at the Bengali Pastry shop, the Delhi BJP's social media team's co-convener Neelkant Bakshi said. The cakes will be cut at the BJP's central office, Bakshi said. Buoyed by exit polls predicting a sweeping victory for the BJP in Delhi, the party's unit here has already ordered delicacies like 'motichoor cakes' and 'kamal barfis', a day before counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls on Thursday. The counting of votes recorded in EVMs will start only after postal ballots are counted. And the service voters who were eligible to cast their votes through postal ballot stood at 18 lakh, out of which, 16.49 lakh voters have already sent their postal ballots to their respective returning officers. There has been enough noise about Election Commission counting the VVPAT for a small but randomised sample in all Assembly segments of the nation. But did you know that the counting is also likely to continue till longer? In fact, election officials in most states have already put out statements claiming that clear trends will only start coming in by noon. This because of two reasons. Amethi is one of the key constituencies, keenly watched today as Union Minister Smriti Irani has given a very tough fight to Congress' President and sitting MP Rahul Gandhi. The BJP has been saying that Rahul Gandhi has accepted defeat after he filed his nominations and contested from Wayanad, Kerala. It may also be mentioned that Smriti Irani has been visiting regularly in Amethi even before the elections were announced and had been doing very active politics. Last time in 2014 Rahul Gandhi polled 408651 votes and Smriti Irani was the second runner up by polling 300748 votes. Mriganka is the daughter of late BJP MP Hukum Singh who was the sitting MP from this seat and had raised the issue of Kairana exodus a few days before his demise. This time the BJP has fielded Pradeep Chaudhary against Tabassum Hassan but the ground reports from Kairana suggests that Mriganka might shift her vote bank to either Congress or to the Gathbandhan candidate after she was not given the ticket by the BJP. The Kairana Lok Sabha constituency has translated into a prestige battle for both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the alliance of SP, BSP and RLD. The Kairana seat was said to be the strong hold of BJP until the 2014 Lok Sabha election. However, Gathbandhans Tabassum Hasan wrested it out of saffron party's control in the 2018 byelections who defeated BJPs Mriganka Singh. Counting of votes began Thursday for all states in UTs in India, including the northern region comprising Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. As per initial trends Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who is contesting from Lucknow, is leading. It may also be mentioned that the opposition has given an easy walkover to the BJP by fielding weak candidates like Poonam Sinha (gathbandhan) and Acharya Pramod Krishnan (Congress). The Bharatiya Janata Party is leading in all three seats of Madhya Pradesh for which trends have been out. Amid leading candidates were Union Minister Virendra Kumar Singh who is the sitting MP of Sagar constituency is leading from his constituency. In MP, BJP leads in three of three seats for which trends are out As of now, the SP-BSP alliance is leading from one seat in Uttar Pradesh, which is Aonla parliamentary constituency that is currently held by Dharmendra Kumar of BJP. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Dharmendra Kumar beat Kunwar Sarvraj Singh of SP by receiving 41.20 percent of the votes cast in this constituency. News18 has reported that the counting has stopped in Amethi constituency due to a server failure. The technical fault is expected to be resolved shortly. If early trends are anything to go by, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appears to be losing out to BJP's Smriti Irani in the Congress bastion Amethi. Another Congress veteran to be trailing in polls in Salman Khurshid who is trailing behind BJP's Mukesh Rajput. Rahul Gandhi trailing in Amethi, Salman Khurshid trails in Farrukhabad; Congress yet to secure a lead in UP BJP's candidate from Mandsaur, Sudhir Gupta is leading by 25,000 votes. This rural general constituency has an estimated Scheduled Caste population of 16.78% and a Scheduled Tribe population of 5.36 percent. The estimated literacy level of Mandsour is 71.48 percent. The BJP is leading on 23 of 25 seats in Rajasthan while the Congress is ahead on four seats. The BJP had won all 25 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha election. Congress' Sonia Gandhi is leading from her pet seat. She has till now polled 5380 votes while BJP's Dinesh Singh has polled 2430 votes. BJP's Maneka Gandhi is leading by 1,100 votes from Sultanpur leaving behind Sanjay Singh of INC. Likewise, her son Varun Gandhi is also in lead from the Mau constituency. The mother-son duo had swapped their seats in these elections. Bihar's Begusarai is one of the most closely watched battles where Kanhaiya Kumar, a former president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU), is challenging BJP's dominance in the Lok Sabha constituency. The CPI candidate, however, is trailing from the constituency. Political pundits believe that the BJP gave ticket to Pragya to polarise Hindu votes. But on ground, it's Narendra Modi factor that has played a big role in garnering votes for the BJP, as Pragya is new in politics and unknown to Bhopal voters. Ahead of the last phase of polling, Pragya Thakur got into a controversy with her remark on Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse. She made this remark during a public rally in Madhya Pradesh in response to Kamal Hassan's remark, who had said 'Nathuram Godse a terrorist'. Pragya Singh Thakur is leading on Bhopal seat. She contested against Congress candidate and two-term former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijaya Singh. A strong BJP bastion, Bhopal seat has been dominated by the saffron party for the last 30 years. Pragya, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, was brought in at the last moment by the BJP, after Congress announced Digvijaya as its candidate. North East Delhi is seeing a triangular contest between political heavyweights, Manoj Tiwari of BJP, Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi Congress chief and AAP's Dilip Pandey. In 2014, BJPs Manoj Tiwari won from here with 59,6125 votes, AAPs Anand Kumar came in second with 45,2041 and Jai Prakash Agarwal of the Congress came in third with 21,4792. Even in a group of Congress supporters at Priyanka Gandhis roadshow here on 8 May, Modi supporters could be seen. We know Manoj Tiwari hasnt done anything for this area. We are voting for Modi. We dont want Rs 15 lakh in our accounts for free. If Modi becomes prime minister again, we will find the ability to earn Rs 15 crore on our own, Prakash Thakur, a resident of North East Delhi, told Firstpost. Suresh Kumar, a BJP Karyakarta from the constituency, had told Firstpost that the Delhi cadre knows that this election isnt about Manoj Tiwari but about Modi. In South Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri (BJP) leading by 11,600 against Congress party's Vijender Singh and AAP's Raghav Chadha. North West Delhi BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans (BJP) leading by 11070 against Congress party's Rajesh Lilothia and AAP's senior leader Gugan Singh. BJP is ahead by over 4,000 votes in West Delhi seat. Party candidate Parvesh Verma is leading over Congress party's Mahabal Mishra. Sonia Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli but with only around 800 votes. Meanwhile, Jaya Prada, who was trailing behind Azam Khan in Rampur in early trends, has now gained a lead. In Madhya Pradesh, early leads suggest a Congress rout which had only recently won the Assembly election in state, putting an end to 15-year-rule of the BJP. The BJP is leading on 27 out of the 29 seats. Congress veteran Jyotiraditya Scindia is trailing from his bastion Guna, where he has remained undefeated until now. However, Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath has held on to his early lead in Chhindwara till this point. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh is trailing against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjeev Kumar Balyan from Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 11. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan of BJP had defeated Kadir Rana of the BSP by a margin of 4,01,150 votes in the 2014 general elections. Balyan is the minister of state for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation under Cabinet minister Uma Bharti. AAP's star campaigner and key candidate Atishi is trailing behind BJP's Gautam Gambhir in East Delhi. The duo fought a pitched battle with allegations flying thick and fast. While Atishi accused Gambhir of distributing a derogatory pamphlet about her, the latter slammed the AAP candidate for manufacturing lies. Bharatiya Janata Party's Pragya Thakur is now leading from Bhopal against Digvijaya Singh with over 22,000 votes. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Alok Sanjar of BJP won in this seat by defeating the INC candidate by a margin of 3,70,696 votes which was 34.88% of the total votes polled in the constituency. BJP had a vote share of 67.19% in 2014 in the seat. There were a total of 28 contestants in 2014. The Congress is at the second spot in five of the seven constituencies as of now. The Bharatiya Janata Party is ahead on all seats in Delhi. BJP is ahead by over 4,000 votes in West Delhi seat. Party candidate Parvesh Verma is leading over Congress party's Mahabal Mishra. In South Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri (BJP) leading by 11,600 against Congress party's Vijender Singh and AAP's Raghav Chadha. North West Delhi BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans (BJP) leading by 11070 against Congress party's Rajesh Lilothia and AAP's senior leader Gugan Singh. In East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir is in lead over Congress' Arvindar Lovely, AAP's Atishi is at the third spot. Meanwhile, Meenakshi Lekhi is maintaining her lead in South Delhi. The BJP was ahead in 23 seats in Rajasthan while its alliance party RLP and the Congress were leading in one seat each, according to Election Commission trends. The BJP had contested 4 seats and its alliance partner Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) headed by former BJP leader Hanuman Beniwal, contested one seat. Of the total 25 seats, the Congress is leading in only one seat of Bharatpur, according to the Election Commission. The BJP is leading in Ajmer (Bhagirath Chaudhary), Alwar (Balak Nath), Banswara (Kanakmal Katara), Barmer (Kailash Chaudhary), Bhilwara (Subhash Chand Baheria), Bikaner (Arjun Ram Meghwal), Chittorgarh (Chandra Prakash Joshi), Churu (Rahul Kaswan), Dausa (Jaskaur Meena), Pali (PP Chaudhary), Rajsamand (Diya Kumari), Sikar (Sumedhanand), Tonk Sawaimadhopur (Sukhbir Singh), Udaipur (Arjun Lal Meena). BJP candidate Sunny Deol is leading with 2,2604 votes in Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab. Congress state chief Sunil Jakhar is trailing from the BJP bastion which was represented by late Bollywood actor and BJP politician Vinod Khanna. Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu is leading with 10,4223. PDA's Simarjeet Singh Brains is at the second spot with 89210 votes. SAD-BJP alliance candidate, Maheshinder Singh Grewal has polled 8,0467 votes till now while AAP's Prof Tejpal Singh Gill is at the last spot with 4,395 votes Sensex hits 40,000 mark for the first ever time, rallies nearly 900 points and Nifty crossed 12,000 points as a win for Prime Minister Modi becomes more and more likely from early trends. The BJP is leading in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Jharkhand. The NDA alliance is ahead in Bihar. Congress candidate from Chandni Chowk JP Agarwal has filed a complaint with the Returning officer. His complaint is that seals of strong rooms in Matia Mahal, Ballamaran & Chandni Chowk were found to be broken. BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi . The Congress right now is leading only in Rae Bareli from where Sonia Gandhi is contesting. In 2014, Congress had managed to save the Gandhi's pocket borough of Amethi and Rae Bareli but this time Smriti Irani is giving a tough fight to Rahul Gandhi. Smriti Irani leads with over 4,300 votes; Congress' lead in UP falls to lone seat of Rae Bareli Giriraj Singh has further solidified his lead in Begusarai. He is now ahead of Kanhaiya Kumar by over 77,000 votes. Meanwhile, in Patna Sahib, Ravi Shankar Prasad is leading Shatrughan Sinha by over 25,000 votes. In Patliputra, Misa Bharti is leading Ram Kripal Yadav by over 9,000 votes As per the trends and results pouring in from different Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, the much touted caste-alliance of Yadavs and Dalits, seems to have failed at making an impact in Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, it looked like Gathbandhan will give a good fight to the BJP in the state but the hidden Modi wave has failed them. Take the example of the Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency, which was one of the constituencies won by the Gathbandhan in 2018 polls, but it now appears to be swaying in the favour of BJ once again. BJP candidate Kishan Kapoor was leading by 201699 votes over his nearest rival Pawan Kajal of Congress in Kangra, a state election officer said. Sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur is leading by over 201242 votes over his nearest rival Ram Lal Thakur of Congress in Hamirpur. In Shimla, BJP candidate Suresh Kashyap is leading by 180491 votes over his nearest rival Dhani Ram Shandil of Congress. The ruling BJP is surging ahead in all four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh , with its candidates securing unassailable leads, according to latest Election Commission trends. In Mandi, the sitting BJP MP Ram Swaroop is leading by over 154418 votes over his nearest rival Aashray Sharma of the Congress. The Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh had said that he will resign from his post if the Congress does not win elections under his command. The Congress is leading in eight out of total 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP in two Lok Sabha seats each, as per the initial EC trends. The BJP is leading in Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur seats while the Aam Aadmi Party is leading from Sangrur seat in Punjab. The Congress is leading in Amritsar, Faridkot, Anandpur Sahib, Jalandhar, Khadoor Sahib, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala seats while the Akali Dal is leading in Bathinda and Ferozepur seats. And they were right. Trends at 11.30am showed that Singh had established a clear lead that should seem him home. Hassan was at number two and Kanhaiya was struggling at number three. Kanhaiyas fate is representative of the misplaced political belief and outdated ideology that the Left is still trying to propagate. The Leftists have been almost wiped out, even in three states -- Tripura, West Bengal and Kerala--which were once their bastions. Those who understood the dynamics of Begusarai knew the fight would be between Singh and Hassan and Kanhaiya would get some respectable votes but would finish a distant third. Begusarai was the place to be and the contest to watch in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, at least until a few days ago. Former JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who made headlines when he was charged with sedition, was the beacon of hope and harbinger of change for the liberalists and the secularists. Sakshi Maharaj of BJP is leading by 173633 votes in Unnao. Sakshi has polled 333678 votes, while Annu Tondon of Congress has got 76,629 votes. Anna Maharaj who was fielded by the alliance has got 160045 votes. In Mathura, the BJP's Hema Malini has taken a lead of 67,793 votes over RLD's Kunwar Narendra Singh. In Muzaffarnagar, RLD chief Ajit Singh is leading by a margin of 23,356 votes against Sanjeev Balyan of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Singh's son, Jayant Chowdhury, is trailing from Baghpat by a margin of 9,558 votes behind BJP candidate Satya Pal Singh. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which had entered into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, is witnessing a tough fight on the three seats it is contesting in Uttar Pradesh. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has won the Srinagar constituency with close to 50,000 votes, local reports said. PDP candidate Aga Mohsin got 20489 Votes while People's Conference candidate got 15718 Votes. The BJP managed to secure only 1,205 votes. The Election Commission is yet to call out the results. The AAP on Thursday congratulated the BJP for its victory and said it hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would do "good work" in his future tenure. The BJP was leading in all the seven seats in the national capital, with three of its candidates ahead by over one lakh votes, while the Congress and the AAP were trailing at the second spot in five and two seats respectively. The BJP-led NDA is leading in 12 Lok Sabha constituencies while the Congress is ahead in two seats in Jharkhand as per trends, election officials said Thursday. The BJP is leading in 11 Lok Sabha seats while its alliance partner Ajsu in one. Union Minister of state for Civil Aviation Minister and BJP candidate Jayant Sinha is leading by 1,16,819 votes against his nearest Congress rival Gopal Sahu in the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency. Former Chief Ministers Shibu Soren (JMM) and Babulal Marandi (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik) are trailing in Dumka and Koderma Lok Sabha seats respectively. While Soren is behind BJP's Sunil Soren by 30,271 votes, Marandi is trailing to BJP's Annapurna Devi by 1,82,554 votes in Koderma. Another former chief minister and BJP candidate Arjun Munda is trailing behind his Congress rival Kalicharan Munda by 29,497 votes in the Khunti Lok Sabha seat. BJP's Sakshi Maharaj is set to win from the Unnao Lok Sabha constituency with at least 56 percent votes. He was also the sitting MP from the central UP seat. When Deol entered the contest, a divide between rural and urban voters was evident, with Jhakhar getting more support from villages. The trend, however, reversed as the campaign picked up and Deol acquainted himself with area and local issues. Stars are aligning well for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The partys candidate from Punjabs Gurdaspur constituency, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, is leading his nearest rival, Congress Sunil Jhakhar, by a margin of 50,000 votes. Gurdaspur, which borders Pakistan, is on the highway that links Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of the country. Unemployment is high in the region beset with migration, the two key issues for voters. Deol, too, raised these issues as the campaign entered the final lap. The Congress had won the assembly elections late last year by dislodging the BJP from power. The BJP is maintaining a lead on the 10 out of total 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh while the Congress is leading only in Bastar (ST) constituency, as per the trends available so far. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had bagged 10 seats and the Congress one. The Congress headquarters in the capital wore a deserted look with counting trends showing only a marginal improvement in the partys tally from the previous Lok Sabha elections. Senior party leaders were conspicuous by their absence as the trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead on 298 seats while the cCongress was leading in 52 seats, as per the Election Commission website. Congress spokespersons present at the party headquarters were also keen to know the trends to firm up before giving their opinion. Some Congress workers who gathered outside the party office blamed the results trends on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They also held a protest carrying placards demanding that EVMs should not be used in elections. In the high-decibel Bhopal constituency election in Madhya Pradesh, deep saffron is set to beat light saffron. BJP candidate from Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, a Malegaon blast accused and representative of the radical right has taken a substantial lead of 1.45 lakh votes against Congress candidate and two-term Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh. Singh known for cultivating the Muslim voters assiduously and coining the term Hindu terror to describe Thakur and others tried every trick in the trade to portray himself as a friend of the Hindus. He is leading in Srinagar by 67,159 votes over PDP candidate Aga Mohsin. He has bagged 82,166 votes till now. Speaking to reporters at the NC headquarters, Farooq Abdullah thanked his party leaders, workers and the people of Srinagar constituency for their support. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, who is all set to win from the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Thursday expressed hope that the new government at the Centre would do justice with the state and engage in a dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue. Hopefully new govt at Centre will do justice with Jammu and Kashmir, says Farooq Abdullah Samajwadi Party leader and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is trailing in Kannauj constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Dimple Yadav is wife if former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Kannauj is a Lok Sabha constituency in UP's Doab region. She was contesting against BJP's Subrat Pathak. Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has expressed surprise over Gurdaspur result from where BJP's Sunny Deol, a novice in politics has secured an unassailable lead. Singh told ANI, "Sunil Jakhar ji is a fine candidate, he had done a lot of work there. This is one thing I didn't understand that people gave preference to an actor than to experience." Hema Malini retains Mathura seat BJP's Hema Malini retained the Mathura Lok Sabha seat by defeating RLD candidate Kunwar Narendra Singh by a margin of 2,93,471 votes. While the actor-turned-politician secured6,71,293 votes, Singh received 3,77,822 votes, according to the Election Commission said. On winning Kannauj Lok Sabha seat and defeating SP leader Dimple Yadav, BJP candidate Subrat Pathak said: "This is the victory of the people of Kannauj. This mandate is against Samajwadi Party's atrocity, corruption and dynasty politics." Performing much better than most poll pundits predicted, the Bharatiya Janata Party has swept through the Hindi Heartland. Winning Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh in a clean sweep while restricting Congress to a single in Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand. Officially, the results for 505 of the 542 seats that went to poll, however, leads and treds establish that the NDA will mostly cross the 350, the BJP achieving a brute majority alone. In the Udhampur seat of Jammu region, BJP's Jitendra Singh won by 3.57 lakh votes defeating Congress' Vikramaditya Singh, the son of Jammu and Kashmir's last prince Karan Singh. As per officials, it is the highest margin of victory for any successful candidate in Jammu and Kashmir till now. Singh got 61.38 percent votes. He had defeated former Union minister and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2014. Speaking to Dainik Jagran, Kher said that the credit of her win goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also said that all those who dismissed her as a weak candidate have been taught a lesson by the people. Kirron Kher wins Chandigarh seat, says those who thought of me as a weak candidate got a lesson BJP's East Delhi candidate, who fought a pitched battle with AAP's Atishi, took to Twitter after a comfortable win from his seat. Depicting clever wordplay, Gambhir said BJP candidate Sanjeev Kumar Balyan won from the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat with a slim margin of 6,500 votes. He was fielded against Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh. Some people did point out that technically the journey from Churchgate will end at Virar if you were to travel up north because no long distance start from the station. But that did not stop the word from trending. The far-fetched links a Twitter trend may have to a topical subject can almost surprise you. The latest object that has piqued the interest of Twitterati is 'Churchgate' station, which was ultimately a harsh joke on Congress' poll drubbing . Apparently someone pointed out that starting in Mumbai, if you travel up north via train, the first Congress MP you will come across is in Punjab, at least 1,600 kilometres from Mumbai. In a first, Rashtriya Janata Dal could not manage to win even a single seat in the 17th Lok Sabha elections which concluded on 19 May. The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav, fought the election in alliance with the Congress and others. The party, which contested on 20 seats, didn't manage to win even a single seat this election and nose-dived from 27 in 2014 to nil in 2019. After a bitterly fought campaign, the Twitter exchange between Atishi and Gautam Gambhir was refreshingly civil. While the AAP leader congratulated the BJP candidate for his win and offered to be avaialble to help, Gambhir also responded encouragingly saying a worthy opponent's suggestions were always valued Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief Raj Babbar has said he takes the moral responsibility for his party's poor show in state, offering to resign. The Congress hit its lowest point in state when it lost even the Gandhi pocket borough of Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. The party is now reduced to a single seat in state, that of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Likewise, in Bihar the RJD drew a naught, the Congress could win only one seat, smaller parties like HAM did not win even a single seat. The Congress-NCP combine, which fought polls on the plank of ousting 'corrupt' Shiv Sena-BJP combine was limited to five out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. The Congress won a single seat, while NCP won four. In Uttar Pradesh, the much touted caste-trump-card, the SP-BSP-RLD gathbandhn failed to cause substantial damage to the BJP. Both parties together, were restricted to 11 seats while RLD failed to open its account. From the mahagathbandhan in Bihar to the much touted SP-BSP combine in Uttar Pradesh to the Congress' alliance with NCP in Maharashtra in North-West India, most alliances forged primarily to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power have failed miserably in elections. Twitter trolls are mocking actor Swara Bhaskar, who campaigned for Left's candidate from Begusarai Kanhaiya Kumar and AAP's Atishi Marlena. The trolling mob has retweeted the term panauti, (meaning a consistently unlcuky person) to make it trend high on Twitter. Some people even dragged in journalist Barkha Dutt who is often a target of vitriol on social media. In Baramulla constituency of north Kashmir, 7999 voters pressed the NOTA button, an election official said. He said NOTA secured 1.79 per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency. The NOTA secured more votes than four of the nine candidates who were in the fray in the constituency, including the BJP and JKNPP candidates who polled 1.34 and 0.95 percent polls respectively. About 8000 voters opted for the none of the above (NOTA) button in elections to the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir which was won by National Conference's Mohammad Akbar Lone. In Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla, more votes polled in favour of NOTA than BJP, JKNPP, few Independents The saffron party won Mandi, Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra with record margins of about four lakh votes in each of the constituencies. As many as 33,008 voters chose the NOTA option.In this way, 0.87 per cent voters opted for NOTA out of the total 38,01, 793 votes polled in the state on 19 May, an election official said. Over 33,000 none of the above (NOTA) votes were polled in Himachal Pradesh, where the ruling BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections winning all four seats in the state. The National Conference has won two seats in the Kashmir region and is leading in one, leaving Mehbooba Mufti's PDP stunned as it could not open its account in Kashmir Valley. Following the party's stellar show in bastion, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was seen dancing with party workers in Srinagar. Likewise, in Bihar the RJD drew a naught, the Congress could win only one seat, smaller parties like HAM did not win even a single seat. The Congress-NCP combine, which fought polls on the plank of ousting 'corrupt' Shiv Sena-BJP combine was limited to five out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. The Congress won a single seat, while NCP won four. In Uttar Pradesh, the much touted caste-trump-card, the SP-BSP-RLD gathbandhn failed to cause substantial damage to the BJP. Both parties together, were restricted to 11 seats while RLD failed to open its account. From the mahagathbandhan in Bihar to the much touted SP-BSP combine in Uttar Pradesh to the Congress' alliance with NCP in Maharashtra in North-West India, most alliances forged primarily to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power have failed miserably in elections. In the Baramulla constituency, the most-keenly contested seat in Kashmir region both in terms of candidates and people's participation, NC candidate Mohammad Akbar Lone is leading by over 30,000 votes. The Congress is set to draw a blank in the state even though the National Conference and the PDP had not fielded candidates for Jammu and Udhampur seats in order to consolidate anti-BJP vote. For the NC, 83-year-old Abdullah got 1,06,750 votes and defeated Aga Syed Mohsin of the PDP by 70,050 votes in the Srinagar constituency. This will be Abdullah's fourth term in the Lok Sabha, having been a member in 1980, 2009 and 2017 previously. BJP's Jugal Kishore defeated Raman Bhalla of the Congress by 3,02,875 votes on the Jammu seat. The party's J T Namgyal won the Ladakh seat defeating Independent candidate and journalist-turned-politician Sajjad Hussain by over 10,000 votes. Rebel Congress candidate spoiled the game for the grand old party and Hussain by so far bagging 29,000 votes. Twitter trolls are mocking actor Swara Bhaskar, who campaigned for Left's candidate from Begusarai Kanhaiya Kumar and AAP's Atishi Marlena. The trolling mob has retweeted the term panauti, (meaning a consistently unlcuky person) to make it trend high on Twitter. Some people even dragged in journalist Barkha Dutt who is often a target of vitriol on social media. In Baramulla constituency of north Kashmir, 7999 voters pressed the NOTA button, an election official said. He said NOTA secured 1.79 per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency. The NOTA secured more votes than four of the nine candidates who were in the fray in the constituency, including the BJP and JKNPP candidates who polled 1.34 and 0.95 percent polls respectively. About 8000 voters opted for the none of the above (NOTA) button in elections to the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency of Jammu and Kashmir which was won by National Conference's Mohammad Akbar Lone. In Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla, more votes polled in favour of NOTA than BJP, JKNPP, few Independents As the evening descended, the main market in Gauriganj was the epicentre of action where BJP flags were being waved at every corner and enthusiastic supporters moved about distributing ladoos. Around the Manishi Mahila Mahavidyala and Indira Gandhi PG college, jubilant BJP supporters zoomed about on motorcycles, but on the roadside Congress supporters could be seen huddled together, discussing Congress president Rahul Gandhi who conceded defeat. The BJP workers came out on the streets and hailed the BJP leader whom they credit with ending the rule of one dynasty in this Congress stronghold. Rahul Gandhi lost the family bastion Amethi with a margin of 55,20 votes or 11.76 percent. As the news of Irani's victory trickled in, the BJP camp burst into celebration with the supporters chanting slogans and dancing to the beats of thumping drums. The saffron party won Mandi, Shimla, Hamirpur and Kangra with record margins of about four lakh votes in each of the constituencies. As many as 33,008 voters chose the NOTA option.In this way, 0.87 per cent voters opted for NOTA out of the total 38,01, 793 votes polled in the state on 19 May, an election official said. Over 33,000 none of the above (NOTA) votes were polled in Himachal Pradesh, where the ruling BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections winning all four seats in the state. The Samajwadi Party managed to win just five seats of the 37 it contested in Uttar Pradesh, a state that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The party had managed to win just five seats in the previous Lok Sabha elections too its lowest-ever tally but in theory, its performance may have slightly improved. This is because, the party fielded its candidates on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and only five of them managed to win. This time around, it had entered an alliance with the BSP and RLD and it only fielded candidates in 37 seats of which, five won. How many seats did SP win in UP in 2019? After securing an unassailable lead over the UPA the closest consolidated opponent NDA had in elections Narendra Modi visited LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, BJP veteran and founding fathers who are now relegated to the sidelines owing to their advancing age. The Congress had criticised BJP for 'unceremoniously' sidelining the veteran leaders by not giving them a Lok Sabha ticket. Modi had put in an undeclared age bar of 75 within party rank and file to promote new blood in the BJP. #WATCH Former J&K CM and winning candidate from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah dances during celebrations at party office in Jammu. National Conference has won 2 out of the 3 seats in the valley and is leading on 1. pic.twitter.com/NeGbhDxwJy The National Conference has won two seats in the Kashmir region and is leading in one, leaving Mehbooba Mufti's PDP stunned as it could not open its account in Kashmir Valley. Following the party's stellar show in bastion, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was seen dancing with party workers in Srinagar. North States Election 2019 Vote Counting LIVE Results and Updates: After securing an unassailable lead over the UPA the closest consolidated opponent NDA had in elections Narendra Modi visited LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, BJP veteran and founding fathers who are now relegated to the sidelines owing to their advancing age. The Congress had criticised BJP for 'unceremoniously' sidelining the veteran leaders by not giving them a Lok Sabha ticket. Modi had put in an undeclared age bar of 75 within party rank and file to promote new blood in the BJP. From the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar to the much touted SP-BSP combine in Uttar Pradesh to the Congress' alliance with NCP in Maharashtra in North-West India, most alliances forged with the sole agenda to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power have failed miserably in elections. Congress' Uttar Pradesh unit chief Raj Babbar has said he takes the moral responsibility for his party's poor show in state, offering to resign. The Congress hit its lowest point in state when it lost even the Gandhi pocket borough of Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. The party is now reduced to a single seat in state, that of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. BJP candidate Sanjeev Kumar Balyan won from the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat with a slim margin of 6,500 votes. He was fielded against Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat defeating his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of Samajwadi Party by a margin of nearly 4.80 lakh votes. Performing much better than most poll pundits predicted, the Bharatiya Janata Party has swept through the Hindi Heartland. Winning Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh in a clean sweep while restricting Congress to a single in Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand. Officially, the results for 505 of the 542 seats that went to poll, however, leads and treds establish that the NDA will mostly cross the 350, the BJP achieving a brute majority alone. Bihar is leading the tally of voters opting for the None of The Above (NOTA) option while exercising their franchise in the 17th Lok Sabha polls. Sitting BJP MPs Hema Malini and Anurag Thakur have retained their seats Mathura and Hamirpur respectively. Samajwadi Party leader and sitting MP Dimple Yadav is trailing in Kannauj constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Dimple Yadav is wife if former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Kannauj is a Lok Sabha constituency in UP's Doab region. She was contesting against BJP's Subrat Pathak. In both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Congress is leading on just one seat out of the total 25 and 29, respectively, while in Chhattisgarh, it is trailing on 9 seats out of the 11, according to the trends. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading on the remaining seats in the three states. The trends come as a surprise, especially in Chhattisgarh, where Congress had won 68 seats out of the 90 in the assembly polls. The BJP, which had ruled the state for 15 years, managed to win only 15. Smriti Irani is leading by 9820 votes in Amethi. Rahul Gandhi trails. This is after the sixth round of counting. BJP's Sakshi Maharaj is set to win from the Unnao Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency with at least 56 percent votes. He was also the sitting MP from the central UP seat. Anticipating the party-led NDA's victory at the national level in the Lok Sabha elections as forecast by exit polls, the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is making preparations for celebrations on Thursday. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has won the Srinagar constituency with close to 50,000 votes, local reports said. PDP candidate Aga Mohsin got 20489 Votes while People's Conference candidate got 15718 Votes. The BJP managed to secure only 1,205 votes. BJP's Smriti Irani leading with over 4300 votes from Amethi. The Congress right now is leading only in Rae Bareli from where Sonia Gandhi is contesting. In 2014, Congress had managed to save the Gandhi's pocket borough of Amethi and Rae Bareli but this time Smriti Irani is giving a tough fight to Rahul Gandhi. Sensex hits 40,000 mark for the first ever time, rallies nearly 900 points and Nifty crossed 12,000 points as a win for Prime Minister Modi becomes more and more likely from early trends. The Bharatiya Janata Party is ahead on all seats in Delhi. BJP is ahead by over 4,000 votes in West Delhi seat. Party candidate Parvesh Verma is leading over Congress party's Mahabal Mishra. In South Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri (BJP) leading by 11,600 against Congress party's Vijender Singh and AAP's Raghav Chadha. North West Delhi BJP candidate Hans Raj Hans (BJP) leading by 11070 against Congress party's Rajesh Lilothia and AAP's senior leader Gugan Singh. In East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir is in lead over Congress' Arvindar Lovely, AAP's Atishi is at the third spot. Meanwhile, Meenakshi Lekhi is maintaining her lead in South Delhi. Bharatiya Janata Party's Pragya Thakur is now leading from Bhopal against Digvijaya Singh with over 22,000 votes. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Alok Sanjar of BJP won in this seat by defeating the INC candidate by a margin of 3,70,696 votes which was 34.88% of the total votes polled in the constituency. BJP had a vote share of 67.19% in 2014 in the seat. There were a total of 28 contestants in 2014. AAP's star campaigner and key candidate Atishi is trailing behind BJP's Gautam Gambhir in East Delhi. In Madhya Pradesh, early leads suggest a Congress rout which had only recently won the Assembly election in state, putting an end to 15-year-rule of the BJP. The BJP is leading on 27 out of the 29 seats. Congress veteran Jyotiraditya Scindia is trailing from his bastion Guna, where he has remained undefeated until now. However, Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath has held on to his early lead in Chhindwara till this point. Sonia Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli but with only around 800 votes. Meanwhile, Jaya Prada, who was trailing behind Azam Khan in Rampur in early trends, has now gained a lead. Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is leading on Bhopal seat. She contested against Congress candidate and two-term former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijaya Singh. A strong BJP bastion, Bhopal seat has been dominated by the saffron party for the last 30 years. People's Democratic Party chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti is trailing behind Congress' Ghulam Ahmed Mir in Anantnag constituency. The BJP is leading on 23 of 25 seats in Rajasthan while the Congress is ahead on four seats. The BJP had won all 25 seats in 2014 Lok Sabha election. If early trends are anything to go by, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appears to be losing out to BJP's Smriti Irani in the Congress bastion Amethi. Another Congress veteran to be trailing in polls in Salman Khurshid who is trailing behind BJP's Mukesh Rajput. News18 has reported that the counting has stopped in Amethi constituency due to a server failure. The technical fault is expected to be resolved shortly. Amethi is one of the key constituencies, keenly watched today as Union Minister Smriti Irani has given a very tough fight to Congress' President and sitting MP Rahul Gandhi. The BJP has been saying that Rahul Gandhi has accepted defeat after he filed his nominations and contested from Wayanad, Kerala. It may also be mentioned that Smriti Irani has been visiting regularly in Amethi even before the elections were announced and had been doing very active politics. Counting of votes began Thursday for all states in UTs in India, including the northern region comprising Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Buoyed by exit polls predicting a sweeping victory for the BJP in Delhi, the party's unit here has already ordered delicacies like 'motichoor cakes' and 'kamal barfis', a day before counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls on Thursday. Meanwhile, party candidates Ravi Kishan and Queen Ojha were photographed offering early morning prayers at their residence. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, asserting the party's victory on all seven Lok sabha seats in the national capital, said 350-kg of fine quality "ladoos" have been ordered for celebrations at the central office on DDU Marg and the Delhi unit's office on Pant Marg. The results of the Lok Sabha election will be known today (Thursday, 23 May) for northern states Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The counting for all states is scheduled to begin at 8 am. Though trends will be available at regular intervals during the counting, results will be declared only after approval from the Election Commission. After the end of counting, five randomly-selected Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips from each Assembly segment of that particular Lok Sabha seat would be matched with the electronic voting machines (EVMs). Most of the exit polls have predicted that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is on course to retain power at the Centre for a second term. However, the Opposition parties have trashed results of the exit polls, claiming that the BJP will suffer severe drubbing due to rising unemployment, farm distress and slowdown in the economy. In Delhi, the fate of 164 candidates will be decided when the counting of votes takes place amid tight security. With VVPAT counting to be introduced in this Lok Sabha election, the results are likely to get delayed by five to six hours, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh had earlier said. Delhi has 70 Assembly constituencies and in all 350 VVPATs will be counted. Thirty-nine companies of central forces have been deployed for the security of EVMs at 21 locations across Punjab. Three-tier security arrangement has been put in place at the counting centres, with the deployment of 39 companies of paramilitary forces. In Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, extra precaution is being taken in about a dozen sensitive districts and prohibitory orders have been imposed. Sources told PTI that the EC has already banned victory processions and warned that no laxity in compliance of orders would be tolerated. On Tuesday, the Opposition had approached the EC to demand that the five random VVPATs in each Assembly segment be counted first so that if there is a problem or a mismatch, the entire slips can be counted from the beginning itself. However, the EC on Wednesday decided against making any last-minute changes to the way votes are to be tallied, drawing heavy criticism from the Opposition. As the row over the EVM, Opposition workers at several places kept a tight vigil at strongrooms storing them. The voting for the seven-phase Lok Sabha election was staggered between 11 April and 19 May during which around 67 percent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. In the 2014 election, the BJP won 282 seats while the Congress had suffered a severe drubbing getting an all-time low of 44 seats as against 206 it won in 2009. Odisha, Sikkim, Arunachal Assembly Election Results 2019 LIVE Updates|Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday thanked the people, particularly women, for their overwhelming support to BJD in the assembly polls. Auto refresh feeds A total of 414 seats in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim Assembly seats went to polls between 11 April and 19 May. The Election Commission will start counting of votes for Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly elections in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim today (Thursday, 23 May ) at 8 am. BJP state unit president Basant Panda and Union Minister Jual Oram claimed that the saffron party will form government in Odisha by securing more than 70 of the 147 seats in the Assembly. Incumbent chief minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is anticipating a fourth term while pollsters have predicted substantial gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly elections. In 2014, the BJD had secured 117 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. Odisha's main Opposition party the Congress, though initially claimed that its performance this time will be much better than its 2014 election show, later conceded that it won't be able to form government in the state. On the other side, the ruling BJD said that the party will secure two-third majority in the Assembly and repeat its performance in the last Lok Sabha election. With 147 seats in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, election for the Patkura Assembly constituency was postponed by the Election Commission of India (EC) in the view of destruction caused by Cyclone Fani in April. A strong anti-incumbency, corruption and social factors like caste are the major factors that could determine the outcome of the elections to Lok Sabha and the state Assembly in Andhra Pradesh as over 3.93 crore voters voted in a single phase on April 11. Voting in Andhra Pradesh for all 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats were held simultaneously. For the Assembly constituencies, 2,118 candidates and for Lok Sabha seats, 319 contestants are in the fray. This is the first general election in the state after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, and formation of Telangana, in June 2014. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is seeking election to the Assembly for the ninth time from Kuppam constituency in his native Chittoor district, while his son Nara Lokesh is making his electoral debut from the backward classes-dominated Mangalagiri segment in state capital Amaravati. Leader of Opposition and YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy is fighting his second Assembly election from his familys pocketborough Pulivendula. Counting of votes will start at 63 centres from 8am. The Election Commission has made all arrangements for smooth completion of the counting of votes. As the general election witnessed a contest between Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), all eyes are set on the performance of the two parties. Congress, however, is likely to slip to the third position in the State. The Lok Sabha election results will decide the fate of 174 Lok Sabha and 1,127 Assembly candidates including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Odisha.The counting of votes which will take place at 8 am, will be for 21 Lok Sabha and 146 Assembly seats. However, election to Patkura Assembly seat was postponed. "We suspect it to be due to previous enmity," the ASP said. Additional Superintendent of Police (Berhampur) Pravat Routray said the exact cause of the firing was unknown. Police said four unidentified miscreants, who were in two motorcycles, opened fire targeting Jena during which his associate also sustained bullet injury. Jena was rushed to the MKCG Medical College Hospital here and later shifted to the SCB medical college hospital in Cuttack. He is seriously injured, police said. The incident took place under the Biadyanath Pur police station in Berhampur when Jena along with his associate was riding a motorcycle, they said. Congress candidate from the Aska Assembly seat Manoj Jena was critically injured on Wednesday after four unidentified miscreants opened fire at him in Lanjipalli area, police said. Around 6,700 persons have been deployed for the counting in 152 halls, the CEO said. Three officials including a counting supervisor (gazette officer), a counting assistant and a micro observer (central government employee or Central PSU employee) will be appointed for each table in a bid to ensure free and fair counting. As per ECs guidelines, a hall will have 15 tablesseven for counting of votes of Lok Sabha seats and seven for Assembly seats while the other central table will be there for candidates/ his agents and presiding officer. But, for Odisha it has been increased. The EC has allowed us to put up additional 411 tables in 22 districts to speed up counting," said CEO Surendra Kumar. As Odisha witnessed simultaneous elections, the CEO office in Odisha had requested the Election Commission to increase the number of tables to speed up the counting of votes in some centres where more tables can be accommodated. Congress' rule reigned supreme in the state, with leaders like Janaki Patnaik making a personal fortress out of the state. The state had a non-Congress government thrice before the BJD came to power. However, in 1969, Biju Patnaik left the Congress in 1969 to form the Utkal Congress, which was later merged into the Janata Party. Before Naveen Patnaik's entry in Odisha politics, it was dominated by Congress and stalwarts like Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Biju Patnaik, Hemanand Biswal and Giridhar Gamang among others. Naveen Patnaik looks to nip BJP's ambitions in the bud as he seeks fifth term The election results of the Sambalpur constituency are likely to be declared first as the seat will see only 19 rounds of counting - the lowest in the state. The Patnagarh constituency will see the maximum number of rounds at 49. It also gains importance as Jagan Reddy is contesting from the Pulivendla Assembly constituency, a part of Kadapa seat. YS Rajashekar Reddy won from Kadapa parliament four times, his brother YS Vivekananda Reddy won twice from the same seat, and YS Jagan had won twice, including the bypoll. According to initial trends, YSR Congress Party is leading in nine Assembly seats and TDP is leading in two. Apart from this, YSRCP also leads in Kadapa parliamentary constituency. This parliamentary constituency is a YSR family stronghold and is currently represented by YS Avinash Reddy, the cousin of Jagan Mohan Reddy. YSR Congress Party is leading in nine Assembly seats, TDP is leading in two According to News18, YSR Congress Party's Thammineni Seetharam is leading in the Amadalavalasa Assembly seat, which is situated in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh and falls under Srikakulam district. The Amadalavalasa Assembly seat falls under unreserved category. Jaganmohan Reddy's party is leading in 19 Assembly seats and TDP leads in four. A strong anti-incumbency, corruption and social factors like caste are the major factors that could determine the outcome of the elections to Lok Sabha and the state Assembly in Andhra Pradesh as over 3.93 crore voters voted in a single phase on 11 April. The exit polls in Andhra Pradesh had made mixed projections as to which party will form the next government in the state. While some predicted that the YSRCP Party will storm to power, others said the TDP will retain power. They painted a hazy picture of Andhra Pradesh Assembly, elections for which were held along with Lok Sabha seats on 11 April. All the exit polls predicted that both Congress and BJP will draw a blank. While a majority of exit polls had predicted victory for BJP-led NDA at the Centre, they had remained divided on the Assembly election results where voters are not voting to elect a prime ministerial candidate. The CSDS-Lokniti pre-poll survey had asked voters across the country a close-ended question: what they had kept in mind while voting, was it the party or the candidate? Around 17 percent chose none of the two options offered to them and said they voted for the prime ministerial candidate. Nearly one in every three BJP voters and one in four voters of its allies said that they had voted for Modi instead of the BJP or the local candidate the party had fielded from their respective constituencies. Some exit polls had given that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) could win 111-135 seats in 175-member Assembly, others predicted that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will win 90-111 seats. They predicted 1-5 seats for actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena, which made its electoral debut in 2019 genberal elections. Naidu's kingmaker dream seems to be suffering a dent as YSRCP is now leading on 69 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh. As per initial trends, Naidu's TDP leads on 19 seats. Chandrababu Naidu is trailing in Kuppam contituency, in his native Chittoor distirct, from where he is seeking re-election to the Assembly for the ninth term. He is pitted against YSRCP's Krishna Chandra Mouli. YSR Congress leads on 102 Assembly seats, while TDP rallies behind at 20. Chandrababu Naidu had termed the elections a life and death issue for the people of the state while YSR Congress propagated that this would be the final electoral battle for the former, the self-styled senior-most politician in the country. In 2014, the TDP won the elections with an alliance with the BJP and the combine was supported by the Jana Sena Party of Telugu film star Pawan Kalyan. The Jana Sena Party is currently leading on one seat in Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls. The focus will also be on the Jana Sena as it is likely to alter the fate of either of the other four parties by splitting the votes, particularly that of a dominant community that tilted the scales in favour of TDP in 2014. The state's main Opposition party the Congress, though initially claimed that its performance this time will be much better than its 2014 election show, later conceded that it won't be able to form government in the state. In the latest trends, the ruling BJD can be seen taking the lead in 16 seats, while the BJP staggers behind at five in Odisha Assembly elctions. The results of Assembly election might bring a regime change in Andhra Pradesh with YSR Congress leading in 141 Assembly seats, while the TDP is languishing with 32 leads. According to News18, the number of women contestants in Arunachal Pradesh are increasing. A total of 11 women are contesting polls for the 60-member Assembly this time, while the figure was four less in the 2014 elections. With nine first time contestants in both Assembly and Lok Sabha, this is the highest number of women candidates in the state till date. There were seven women contestants in 2014 elections and one of them won. Biju Janata Dal chief and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik is set for another term in the state with his party leading in 81 seats out of 147. The BJP is leading in 25, too far away from being any threat to the regional party. Naveen Patnaik is ahead of Sanat Kumar Gartia of the BJP in the Bijepur Assembly seat by maintaining a lead of 6,778 votes. Out of the trends that are coming out of Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is leading in 10 seats and Independent candidates in two. The Janata Dal(United) and the National People's Party are leading in one each. The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has 60 seats. Congress yet to take lead in any of the seats in Arunachal Pradesh BJP seems to be making inroads to the BJD bastion-Odisha. In Lok sabha as well as state Assembly there have been a great surge in their seat share as per the latest trends. In 2014, BJP had won only 1 seat of 21 Lok Sabha segments but now they are leading in seven seats while unlike their state Assembly share of 10 seats in 2014, the saffron party is now leading in 23 seats. BJP making inroads to BJD's bastion in Odisha but far away from being an immediate threat The Biju Janata Dal is leading in 89 seats now while the BJP is ahead in 28 in Odisha. The Congress is ahead in 13 while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and an Independent candidate in leading in one seat each. Trends have been slow in coming out from Arunachal Pradesh. As per the latest input, BJP is leading in 16 seats while JD(U) and NPP are leading in 1 each. The Congress is leading in none yet. In the West Khonsa Assembly seat, NPP candidate Tirong Aboh who was shot dead last week by suspected NSCN militants was trailing in the second place. The Pawan Kumar Chamling government is facing a hard time in Sikkim. While in the 2014 Assembly elections, the Sikkim Democratic Front had won 22 seats, this time the party is facing a serious threat from the Sikkim Kranti Morcha. Chamling is also longest serving chief minister in the country by being in office for 24 years, 155 days till date. NPP candidate Jarpum Gamlin is trailing in Liromba. He is behind Nyamar Karbak of the BJP by 897 votes. According to India Today, Gamlin who worked in top positions in Suzuki Motors India, Hero Honda and Moserbaer, took the poll plunge "to take on the media-politics nexus in Arunachal Pradesh". In Hinjili, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is ahead of his nearest competitor Pitambar Acharya of the BJP by 15,191 votes. The first result has officially come out in Arunachal Pradesh. Independent candidate Somlung Mossang has defeated Jawra Maio of the BJP by a margin of 2,379 votes in the Bordumsa-Diyun Assembly seat. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is leading both of his MLA seats-Hinjili and Bijepur. He is leading with 9815 votes in Honjili and 11,795 in Bijepur seat. For the first time in his political history, Naveen contested from two seats. He is usually contesting from Hinjili seat but this time, he also stands from Bijepur in western Odisha as his party has witnessed a drastic shortfall of vote percentage in the rural polls in 2017 against BJP. Former chief minister Gegong Apang, who gave BJP its first government in the North East 16 years ago but quit the party in January this year, is leading from the Tuting-Yingkiong Assembly constituency. He has remained chief minister of the state for 23 years. Apang is part of the Janata Dal(Secular) at present and is ahead of Alo Libang of the BJP by a thin margin of 99 votes. Incumbent Chief Minister Pawan Chamling is leading both in Namchi-singhithang and Poklok-kamrang by 146 and 2,774 votes respectively. In Namchi-singhithang, he is leading against Sikkim Krantikari Morcha's Ganesh Rai while in Poklok-kamrang he is ahead of Kharka Bahadur Rai of the same party. Chamling is head of Sikkim Democratic Front and also the longest serving chief minister in the country. Known for making sweeping statements without much care for humility, Chamling has even compared his rule to the golden period of Chandragupta Maurya, an Indian emperor who ruled large swathes of present day India around 2,300 years ago. Often derided for his strong arm tactics, Pawan Kumar Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has ruled Sikkim virtually uncontested and unquestioned for a much larger part of his 25 years in power. In 2014, SDF bagged 22 of the state's 32 total seats in the legislative Assembly. But the million-dollar question is will he again sit on that coveted chief minister's chair after 23 May? Official results are slowly trickling out from Arunachal Pradesh. In the Namsang Assembly constituency, Wangki Lowang of the BJP defeated Ngonglin Boi of the Janata Dal(United) by a margin of 1,682 votes. In the Nari-Koyu Assembly seat, Kento Rina of the BJP pipped Tojir Kadu of the Congress by a small margin of 216 votes. In Doimukh Assembly constituency, Tana Hali Tara of the BJP defeated Nabam Vivek of the National People's Party by 2,385 votes. In the 2019 Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections, Doimukh recorded a voter turnout of 72.55%. Doimukh is an falls in Papumpare district. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribe. A series of results have come out in different constituencies in Sikkim. In Barfung, Tashi Thensup Bhutia of the Sikkim Democratic Front defeated Lobzang Bhutia of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha by 97 votes while Lok Nath Sharma of the SKM pipped Laxuman Sharma of the SDF by 1,814 votes. Karma Loday Bhutia of the SKM won in Kabi lungchuk seat. He defeated Ugen Nedup Bhutia of the SDF by 1,437 votes. In Khamdong-singtam, Mani Kumar Sharma of SKM defeated Garjaman Gurung (SDF) by 873 votes. The opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won seven Assembly seats and is leading in four constituencies while the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front won three and is ahead in six, election officials said. Sikkim has 32 Assembly seats. Chief Minister and SDF supremo Pawan Chamling won the Poklok Kamrang Assembly seat defeating his nearest Sikkim Krantikari Morcha rival Kharka Bahadur Rai by 2,899 votes. Chamlin is also contesting Namchi Singhithang seat from where he is also leading by 289 votes. Sitting MLA and SKM candidate Sonam Lama won the Sangha Assembly seat defeating his nearest Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rival Tshering Lama by 618 votes, they said. SKM candidate Lok Nath Sharma won the Gyalshing- barnyak seat defeating his nearest SDF rival Laxuman Sharma by 1,814 votes. The opposition party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ( SKM) has secured 10 seats and is leading in three other constituncies. Ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has won five seats and is leading in four seats, said the Election Commision of India. Sitting MLA and SKM candidate Sonam Lama won the Sangha Assembly seat defeating his nearest Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rival Tshering Lama by 618 votes, they said. SKM candidate Lok Nath Sharma won the Gyalshing- barnyak seat defeating his nearest SDF rival Laxuman Sharma by 1,814 votes. The opposition party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ( SKM) has secured 10 seats and is leading in three other constituncies. Ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has won five seats and is leading in four seats, said the Election Commision of India. Sitting MLA and SKM candidate Sonam Lama won the Sangha Assembly seat defeating his nearest Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rival Tshering Lama by 618 votes, they said. SKM candidate Lok Nath Sharma won the Gyalshing- barnyak seat defeating his nearest SDF rival Laxuman Sharma by 1,814 votes. The opposition party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ( SKM) has secured 10 seats and is leading in three other constituncies. Ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has won five seats and is leading in four seats, said the Election Commision of India. Out of 31 seats in the state, BJP has bagged 19, JD(U) 5, Congress 3, Independents candidates 2, while 1 seat each to NPP and PPA. According to the data availabe on the Election Commission of India's website, the BJP has garnered more than half of the votes in the state. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the impressive victory of BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Patnaik spoke to Modi over telephone and congratulated him for the huge victory registered by the BJP in the Parliamentary election, sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. "I want to thank particularly the women of Odisha who came out in large numbers to vote for us," the BJD president said while thanking the leaders and workers of the regional party. All set to form the government in Odisha for the fifth time in a row, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday thanked the people, particularly women, for their overwhelming support to BJD in the assembly polls. "I would like to express my deep gratitude to the people of our state who showered their blessings time and again on Biju Janata Dal," Patnaik told reporters as his party is again poised for a landslide victory in assembly election. BJP has won on 24 seats in the state and leading in six other constituncies. Congress won on 3 seats, out of total 47 assembly constituency seats. Janata Dal (United) won six seats, according to the Elecation Commision website. BJP's Wanglam Sawin and Kamlung Mosang won from 50-Miao (ST) Assembly Constituency and 55-Khonsa East (ST) Assembly Constituency respectively. resurgent SKM. While Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) got 15 seats in the hill state, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which came into being in 2013, bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member Assembly. Five-time Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling's era ended in Sikkim on Thursday after over 24 years in power as his party SDF lost the state elections to a As per the latest updates from the Election Commission of India, BJP has won 28 seats and JD(United) has won 7, INC has won 3 out of total 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who won from Mukto Assembly seat for the third consecutive term, is the richest among 184 candidates contesting the state polls, with assets more than Rs 163 crore, according to an election watchdog report. Jagan, son of late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, will be formally elected as leader of YSRC Legislature Party on 25 May. He will be sworn-in as the bifurcated state's second Chief Minister at a public function in Vijayawada on 30 May. Jagan's YSRC has won 120 Assembly seats out of the total 175 and is heading towards victory in 30 more seats. On both occasions, it was the highest victory margin secured by any candidate in state elections in Andhra Pradesh. When he was first elected to the state Assembly in 2014, Jagan won the Pulivendula seathis home turf in Kadapa districtby a record margin then of 74,256 votes. YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy has won the Pulivendula Assembly seat by a record margin of 90,110 votes, the Election Commission has declared. BJP is set for a majority in Arunachal Pradesh with the party winning 30 seats and leading in four in the 60-member Assembly as per latest reports. The Congress was thoroughly annihilated and the party won a paltry four seats. The Janata Dal(United) won in seven seats and was leading in one when reports last came in. While Independents won two seats, the National People's Party won in two seats and was leading in a couple, The People's Party of Arunachal won in one seat. Sitting MLA and SKM candidate Sonam Lama won the Sangha Assembly seat defeating his nearest Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rival Tshering Lama by 618 votes, they said. SKM candidate Lok Nath Sharma won the Gyalshing- barnyak seat defeating his nearest SDF rival Laxuman Sharma by 1,814 votes. The opposition party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ( SKM) has secured 10 seats and is leading in three other constituncies. Ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has won five seats and is leading in four seats, said the Election Commision of India. Sitting MLA and SKM candidate Sonam Lama won the Sangha Assembly seat defeating his nearest Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rival Tshering Lama by 618 votes, they said. SKM candidate Lok Nath Sharma won the Gyalshing- barnyak seat defeating his nearest SDF rival Laxuman Sharma by 1,814 votes. The opposition party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha ( SKM) has secured 10 seats and is leading in three other constituncies. Ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has won five seats and is leading in four seats, said the Election Commision of India. Out of 31 seats in the state, BJP has bagged 19, JD(U) 5, Congress 3, Independents candidates 2, while 1 seat each to NPP and PPA. According to the data availabe on the Election Commission of India's website, the BJP has garnered more than half of the votes in the state. Thank you PM @narendramodi ji for your wishes on @bjd_odisha s spectacular performance in #OdishaElections2019 . Congratulate #NDA and @BJP4India for the huge victory in #LokSabhaElections2019 . Look forward to working together for the people of #Odisha . Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the impressive victory of BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Patnaik spoke to Modi over telephone and congratulated him for the huge victory registered by the BJP in the Parliamentary election, sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. "I want to thank particularly the women of Odisha who came out in large numbers to vote for us," the BJD president said while thanking the leaders and workers of the regional party. All set to form the government in Odisha for the fifth time in a row, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday thanked the people, particularly women, for their overwhelming support to BJD in the assembly polls. "I would like to express my deep gratitude to the people of our state who showered their blessings time and again on Biju Janata Dal," Patnaik told reporters as his party is again poised for a landslide victory in assembly election. BJP has won on 24 seats in the state and leading in six other constituncies. Congress won on 3 seats, out of total 47 assembly constituency seats. Janata Dal (United) won six seats, according to the Elecation Commision website. BJP's Wanglam Sawin and Kamlung Mosang won from 50-Miao (ST) Assembly Constituency and 55-Khonsa East (ST) Assembly Constituency respectively. resurgent SKM. While Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) got 15 seats in the hill state, Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, which came into being in 2013, bagged 17 seats, one more than required for a majority in the 32-member Assembly. Five-time Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling's era ended in Sikkim on Thursday after over 24 years in power as his party SDF lost the state elections to a As per the latest updates from the Election Commission of India, BJP has won 28 seats and JD(United) has won 7, INC has won 3 out of total 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who won from Mukto Assembly seat for the third consecutive term, is the richest among 184 candidates contesting the state polls, with assets more than Rs 163 crore, according to an election watchdog report. Jagan, son of late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, will be formally elected as leader of YSRC Legislature Party on 25 May. He will be sworn-in as the bifurcated state's second Chief Minister at a public function in Vijayawada on 30 May. Jagan's YSRC has won 120 Assembly seats out of the total 175 and is heading towards victory in 30 more seats. On both occasions, it was the highest victory margin secured by any candidate in state elections in Andhra Pradesh. When he was first elected to the state Assembly in 2014, Jagan won the Pulivendula seathis home turf in Kadapa districtby a record margin then of 74,256 votes. YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy has won the Pulivendula Assembly seat by a record margin of 90,110 votes, the Election Commission has declared. BJP is set for a majority in Arunachal Pradesh with the party winning 30 seats and leading in four in the 60-member Assembly as per latest reports. The Congress was thoroughly annihilated and the party won a paltry four seats. The Janata Dal(United) won in seven seats and was leading in one when reports last came in. While Independents won two seats, the National People's Party won in two seats and was leading in a couple, The People's Party of Arunachal won in one seat. Assembly Election Results 2019 LATEST Updates | BJP is set for a majority in Arunachal Pradesh with the party winning 30 seats and leading in four in the 60-member Assembly as per latest reports. The Congress was thoroughly annihilated and the party won a paltry four seats. The Janata Dal(United) won in seven seats and was leading in one when reports last came in. While Independents won two seats, the National People's Party won in two seats and was leading in a couple, The People's Party of Arunachal won in one seat. YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy has won the Pulivendula Assembly seat by a record margin of 90,110 votes, the Election Commission has declared. Jagan secured 1,32,356 of the total 1,80,127 votes polled. He defeated Telugu Desam's S V Satish Kumar Reddy who secured 42,246 votes. When he was first elected to the state Assembly in 2014, Jagan won the Pulivendula seat -- his home turf in Kadapa district -- by a record margin then of 74,256 votes. On both the occasions, it was the highest victory margin secured by any candidate in state elections in Andhra Pradesh. Jagan's YSRC has won 120 Assembly seats out of the total 175 and is heading towards victory in 30 more seats. Jagan, son of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, will be formally elected as leader of YSRC Legislature Party on May 25. He will be sworn-in as the bifurcated state's second Chief Minister at a public function in Vijayawada on 30 May. As per the latest updates from the Election Commission of India, BJP has won 28 seats and JD(United) has won 7, INC has won 3 out of total 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who won from Mukto Assembly seat for the third consecutive term, is the richest among 184 candidates contesting the state polls, with assets more than Rs 163 crore, according to an election watchdog report. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday thanked the people, particularly women, for their overwhelming support to BJD in the assembly polls. The BJP has won 12 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh. The party is leading in 11 other constituencies. Deputy Chief Minister of the state Chowna Mein won the Chowkham seat. The opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) won seven Assembly seats and is leading in four constituencies while the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front won three and is ahead in six, election officials said. A series of results have come out in different constituencies in Sikkim. In Barfung, Tashi Thensup Bhutia of the Sikkim Democratic Front defeated Lobzang Bhutia of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha by 97 votes while Lok Nath Sharma of the SKM pipped Laxuman Sharma of the SDF by 1,814 votes. Karma Loday Bhutia of the SKM won in Kabi lungchuk seat. He defeated Ugen Nedup Bhutia of the SDF by 1,437 votes. In Khamdong-singtam, Mani Kumar Sharma of SKM defeated Garjaman Gurung (SDF) by 873 votes. In Doimukh Assembly constituency, Tana Hali Tara of the BJP defeated Nabam Vivek of the National People's Party by 2,385 votes. In the 2019 Arunachal Pradesh Assembly elections, Doimukh recorded a voter turnout of 72.55%. Doimukh is an falls in Papumpare district. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribe. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on his win via Twitter on Thursday. "Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term," Modi said in a tweet. Official results are slowly trickling out from Arunachal Pradesh. In the Namsang Assembly constituency, Wangki Lowang of the BJP defeated Ngonglin Boi of the Janata Dal(United) by a margin of 1,682 votes. In the Nari-Koyu Assembly seat, Kento Rina of the BJP pipped Tojir Kadu of the Congress by a small margin of 216 votes. Often derided for his strong arm tactics, Pawan Kumar Chamling's Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has ruled Sikkim virtually uncontested and unquestioned for a much larger part of his 25 years in power. In 2014, SDF bagged 22 of the state's 32 total seats in the Legislative Assembly. But the million-dollar question is will he again sit on that coveted chief minister's chair after 23 May? Incumbent Chief Minister Pawan Chamling is leading both in Namchi-singhithang and Poklok-kamrang by 146 and 2,774 votes respectively. In Namchi-singhithang, he is leading against Sikkim Krantikari Morcha's Ganesh Rai while in Poklok-kamrang he is ahead of Kharka Bahadur Rai of the same party. Chamling is head of Sikkim Democratic Front and also the longest serving chief minister in the country. Former chief minister Gegong Apang, who gave BJP its first government in the North East 16 years ago but quit the party in January this year, is leading from the Tuting-Yingkiong Assembly constituency. He has remained chief minister of the state for 23 years. Apang is part of the Janata Dal(Secular) at present and is ahead of Alo Libang of the BJP by a thin margin of 99 votes. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is leading both of his MLA seats-Hinjili and Bijepur. He is leading with 9,815 votes in Hinjili and 11,795 in Bijepur seat. For the first time in his political history, Naveen contested from two seats. He is usually contesting from Hinjili seat but this time, he also stands from Bijepur in western Odisha as his party has witnessed a drastic shortfall of vote percentage in the rural polls in 2017 against BJP. The first result has officially come out in Arunachal Pradesh. Independent candidate Somlung Mossang has defeated Jawra Maio of the BJP by a margin of 2,379 votes in the Bordumsa-Diyun Assembly seat. Union junior home minister Kiren Rijiju says that counting is going slow due to tallying of the VVPAT with EVMs. In Hinjili, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is ahead of his nearest competitor Pitambar Acharya of the BJP by 15,191 votes. NPP candidate Jarpum Gamlin is trailing in Liromba. He is behind Nyamar Karbak of the BJP by 897 votes. According to India Today, Gamlin who worked in top positions in Suzuki Motors India, Hero Honda and Moserbaer, took the poll plunge "to take on the media-politics nexus in Arunachal Pradesh". The Pawan Kumar Chamling government is facing a hard time in Sikkim. While in the 2014 Assembly elections, the Sikkim Democratic Front had won 22 seats, this time the party is facing a serious threat from the Sikkim Kranti Morcha. Chamling is also longest serving chief minister in the country by being in office for 24 years, 155 days till date. Trends have been slow in coming out from Arunachal Pradesh. As per the latest input, BJP is leading in 16 seats while JD(U) and NPP are leading in 1 each. The Congress is leading in none yet. In the West Khonsa Assembly seat, NPP candidate Tirong Aboh who was shot dead last week by suspected NSCN militants was trailing in the second place. The Biju Janata Dal is leading in 89 seats now while the BJP is ahead in 28 in Odisha. The Congress is ahead in 13 while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and an Independent candidate in leading in one seat each. Out of the trends that are coming out of Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is leading in 10 seats and Independent candidates in two. The Janata Dal(United) and the National People's Party are leading in one each. The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has 60 seats. While in Odisha, Naveen Patnaik is ahead of Sanat Kumar Gartia of the BJP in the Bijepur Assembly seat by maintaining a lead of 6,778 votes. The Biju Janata Dal chief and Odisha chief minister is set for another term in the state with his party leading in 81 seats out of 147. The BJP is leading in 25, too far away from being any threat to the regional party. The results of Assembly election might bring a regime change in Andhra Pradesh with YSR Congress leading in 141 Assembly seats, while the TDP is languishing with 32 leads. YSR Congress leads on 102 Assembly seats, while TDP rallies behind at 20. Chandrababu Naidu had termed the elections a life and death issue for the people of the state while YSR Congress propagated that this would be the final electoral battle for the former, the self-styled senior-most politician in the country. Chandrababu Naidu is trailing in Kuppam contituency, in his native Chittoor distirct, from where he is seeking re-election to the Assembly for the ninth term. He is pitted against YSRCP's Krishna Chandra Mouli. Naidu's kingmaker dream seems to be suffering a dent as YSRCP is now leading on 69 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh. As per initial trends, Naidu's TDP leads on 19 seats. Jaganmohan Reddy's YSRCP is leading in 19 Assembly seats while TDP stands at four. A strong anti-incumbency, corruption and social factors like caste are the major factors that could determine the outcome of the elections to Lok Sabha and the state Assembly in Andhra Pradesh as over 3.93 crore voters voted in a single phase on 11 April. According to initial trends, YSR Congress Party is leading in nine Assembly seats and TDP is leading in two. Apart from this, YSRCP also leads in Kadapa parliamentary constituency. This parliamentary constituency is a YSR family stronghold and is currently represented by YS Avinash Reddy, the cousin of Jagan Mohan Reddy. As Odisha witnessed simultaneous elections, the CEO office in Odisha had requested the Election Commission to increase the number of tables to speed up the counting of votes in some centres where more tables can be accommodated. The EC has allowed us to put up additional 411 tables in 22 districts to speed up counting," said CEO Surendra Kumar. As per ECs guidelines, a hall will have 15 tablesseven for counting of votes of Lok Sabha seats and seven for Assembly seats while the other central table will be there for candidates/ his agents and presiding officer. But, for Odisha it has been increased. Three officials including a counting supervisor (gazette officer), a counting assistant and a micro observer (central government employee or Central PSU employee) will be appointed for each table in a bid to ensure free and fair counting. Around 6,700 persons have been deployed for the counting in 152 halls, the CEO said. The Lok Sabha election results will decide the fate of 174 Lok Sabha and 1,127 Assembly candidates including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Odisha. The counting of votes which will take place at 8 am, will be for 21 Lok Sabha and 146 Assembly seats. However, election to Patkura Assembly seat was postponed. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is seeking election to the Assembly for the ninth time from Kuppam constituency in his native Chittoor district, while his son Nara Lokesh is making his electoral debut from the backward classes-dominated Mangalagiri segment in state capital Amaravati. Leader of Opposition and YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy is fighting his second Assembly election from his familys pocketborough Pulivendula. The Election Commission will start counting of votes for Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly elections in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim today (Thursday, 23 May) at 8 am. A total of 414 seats in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim Assembly seats went to polls between 11 April and 19 May. While Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal and Sikkim went to the polls for all seats in their respectively assemblies as well as the Lok Sabha in the first phase on 11 April, polling for Assembly seats in Odisha was held over multiple phases. Odisha to witness tussle between TDP and BJP in 147 seats Incumbent chief minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is anticipating a fourth term while pollsters have predicted substantial gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Assembly elections. In 2014, the BJD had secured 117 seats in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. BJP state unit president Basant Panda and Union Minister Jual Oram claimed that the saffron party will form government in Odisha by securing more than 70 of the 147 seats in the Assembly. The state's main Opposition party the Congress, though initially claimed that its performance this time will be much better than its 2014 election show, later conceded that it won't be able to form government in the state. On the other side, the ruling BJD also said that the party will secure two-third majority in the Assembly and repeat its performance in the last Lok Sabha election. Counting to take place in 175 Andhra Assembly seats In Andhra Pradesh, N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is fighting to retain power while for its main Opposition, the YSR Congress, it's a must-win situation to ensure its political sustainability. The Congress on the other hand, is seeking a resurrection in Andhra Pradesh after the rout it suffered post-bifurcation in 2014. The stakes are not high for the BJP, but the election is likely to determine the party's relevance in the state's political scenario. The focus will also be on the Jana Sena as it is likely to alter the fate of either of the other four parties by splitting the votes, particularly that of a dominant community that tilted the scales in favour of TDP in 2014. In 2014, the TDP won the elections with an alliance with the BJP and the combine was supported by the Jana Sena Party of Telugu film star Pawan Kalyan. The state has 175 Assembly seats. Sikkim to decide between national and regional parties The northeastern state of Sikkim, which shares its borders with Bhutan and Tibet, has a lone parliamentary seat and 32 Assembly seats. While Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kimar Chamling is seeking eighth successive term as an MLA. There are 150 candidates in fray on 32 Assembly seats, while 11 candidates are contesting for the lone Lok Sabha seat. A total of 4,32,306 voters comprising 2,20,305 male and 2,12,001 female will exercise their franchise. The electorate includes 30,480 are first-time voters This year, Sikkim is one of the four states which held simultaneous elections for its lone Lok Sabha seat as well as its Assembly constituencies. The state is currently under the hold of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) at both the state and the parliamentary level. Lying on the eastern Himalayan region, Sikkim has traditionally stayed away from voting national parties to power. Roughly 6.1 lakh people residing in this state have swayed between Chamlings (SDF) and Lendhup Dorjee Kazis Sikkim National Congress, with the former having tasted success more often. Chamling is contesting from two Assembly seats - Poklok-Kamrang and Namchi-Singhithang. This Lok Sabha election is important for the state as several other regional parties have thrown their hat into the fray. Among them is football star Bhaichung Bhutia and his newly formed party Hamro Sikkim Party (HSP). Bhutia is looking to form an alliance with regional parties to topple five-time winner SDF. BJP seeks return in Arunachal Pradesh Assembly The elections for the Arunachal Pradesh state Assembly were held on 11 April, 2019. The keenly contested elections witnessed a contest between the BJP, Congress, NPP, PPA and Janata Dal (Secular). A total of 7,94,162 voters, including 4,01,601 women, exercised their franchise during state Assembly polls. The Pema Khandu-led ruling BJP has 48 MLAs in the house of 60, while Congress and National Peoples Party (NPP) have five MLAs each. There are two independent MLAs in the Assembly now. Yesteryear actress Jaya Prada won the seat in the 2004 and 2009 elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate. In 2014, the seat was won by Nepal Singh of BJP. Rampur Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 7 Total electors: 16,16,984 Female electors: 7,44,900 Male electors: 8,72,084 Reserved: No Delimited: No Assembly Constituencies: Suar, Chamraua, Bilaspur, Rampur, Milak Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: In the 1999 elections, Begum Noor Bano of the Congress party won the seat. Yesteryear actress Jaya Prada won the seat in the 2004 and 2009 elections as a Samajwadi Party candidate. In 2014, the seat was won by Nepal Singh of BJP. Demographics: Rampur is notably a Muslim-majority constituency. This can be gauged by the fact that all elections except four have seen Muslim candidates returning to the Lok Sabha. According to the 2011 Census, Muslims constitute a little over 50 percent of the population of the Rampur district, in which the seat falls. In the 2014 polls, Congress leader Sushmita Dev won the Silchar seat defeating Purkayastha. Silchar Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 2 Total electors: 10,60,175 (2014 estimates) Male electors: 5,54,540 Female electors: 5,05,635 Assembly Constituencies: Silchar, Sonai, Dholai (SC), Udharbond, Lakhipur, Barkhola, Katigorah Reserved: No Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: Former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev represented the constituency between 1999 and 2009. In 2009 elections, Kabindra Purkayastha of the BJP won the seat. In the 2014 polls, Congress leader Sushmita Dev won the seat defeating Purkayastha. Demographics: Muslims voters play a significant role during elections in this constituency as they constitute at least 35 percent of the total population. Bengali Hindu voters, most of whom are descendants of refugees from Bangladesh, are also a significant proportion of the population. Located along the Nepal border, it covers large parts of Sitamarhi district. With a population of 34,23,574, Sitamarhi district has a sizeable number of Muslims residing there (7.4 lakh). Sitamarhi Lok Sabha Constituency Constituency number: 5 Total electors: 15,74,914 Female electors: 7,42,544 Male electors: 8,32,370 Reserved: No Delimited: Yes Assembly constituencies: Bathnaha (SC), Parihar, Sursand, Bajpatti, Sitamarhi, Runnisaidpur Results in last four Lok Sabha elections: JD(U)s Nawal Kishore Rai won the seat in 1999 but lost it to RJDs Sitaram Yadav in 2004. JD(U) candidate Arjun Roy won the seat in 2009 while in 2014, RLSP candidate Ram Kumar Sharma clinched the seat. Demographics: Located along the Nepal border, it covers large parts of Sitamarhi district. With a population of 34,23,574, Sitamarhi district has a sizeable number of Muslims residing there (7.4 lakh). Due to Maoist presence in the area, it is also an economically backward region, receiving funds under the Backward Regions Grant Fund. Smriti Irani, the feisty Union Minister of Textiles, is the most fascinating story of the 2019 Lok Sabha election Smriti Irani, the feisty Union Minister of Textiles, is the most fascinating story of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. She has emerged as a giant-killer a person who vanquished the biggest icon of dynastic politics, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, a three-term MP from Amethi, in the Nehru-Gandhi family pocket borough. Her profile, her politics and the determined way in which she pursued her goals and assignments given by her superiors in the party would forever serve as a reference point for students of politics and possibly of management practices. Five years ago, the BJP leadership, the duo of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, decided to field her from Amethi out of nowhere. She didnt have the right credentials to take on Rahul Gandhi, at least as practitioners and believers in conventional political wisdom believed about caste-ridden Uttar Pradesh. She was a yesteryear television star, she had lost one election that she fought from Chandni Chowk in Delhi in 2004, she did not have a caste to name, she was married to a Parsi, and had no worthwhile connection to UP. But then Modi and Shah were not leaders who believed in conventional wisdom in politics. They were leaders who thought outside the box. They believed in Smritis grit and she believed in herself and had proven in the past that she did full justice to giving her best to the task at hand. She lost that 2014 election to Rahul Gandhi but won many admirers, within and outside of Amethi, for the valiant fight, securing over three lakh votes, something which no other leader had ever achieved against a Congress leader since Independence in Amethi or, more specifically, no one could come close to securing one lakh votes since the time Sanjay Gandhi won from here in 1980. Since then, Amethi had been away from the Congress or the first family of the party only briefly when erstwhile royal family scion Sanjay Sinh retained this seat, then as a BJP candidate in 1998-99. There was practically nothing that Smriti could look for to gain confidence. It was heartening to see her 2014 campaign promising win or lose, she was going to stay with them, serve them and prove that she was not a migratory bird who had come there to grab media space and temporary glory. From the summer of 2014 to the summer of 2019, she stayed true to her words, making Amethi her home, finding a house for herself, fighting for the people, their welfare and infrastructure projects. That was something this place had never seen. Their three-term MP Rahul Gandhi would come once in a while, sometimes with foreign dignitaries to show them the backwardness of the region, and boast of the self-help NGO he and his sister ran. In 10 years of UPA rule when he and his mothers wish was command for Manmohan Singhs government, he would land with some industrialists and claim to lay the foundation of a food park and other things, and then conveniently forget all about that. Through her five-year long relationship with the people of Amethi, she changed the way people would look at their future representative. After losing, she sent a truckload of slippers and sandals for villagers because she thought it was difficult for them to walk in the fields or on broken roads without footwear. She would get a bridge built to connect a remote village in the district, in that constituency where people had boycotted the 2014 elections demanding the bridge. She was challenging not just Rahul Gandhi but the entire Gandhi-Nehru family, all those who had appeared in the picture frame when the Congress president had filed his nomination paper for these elections mother Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, brother-in-law Robert Vadra and the two gen-next children Raihan and Miraya Vadra (who have shown early inclinations of entering politics). She was also up against nostalgia and loyalty that a section of the people held for the Congresss first family. Her answer to those challenges was simple first, take the first family on with sharp rebuttals, expose Rahul Gandhi not just as a non-performer but someone who cheated on popular aspirations and emotional connect; second, showcase her ability to deliver and underscore what development she could bring to the region (if she could deliver that much after defeat, she could deliver much more after victory). Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame soon became a 'didi' for people in the region. A section of people had become tired of carrying the dynastic yoke of Congresss first family and the five yearly ritual of Rahul and Priyanka coming and waving at them to secure votes. She came as a ray of hope, as didi, as a leader who was going to be there with them through thick and thin. In the end of April, when an accidental fire flared up in Purab Dwara village of Amethi, she rushed there, working on a hand pump to fetch water to douse the flames. That news and pictures of the incident went viral on WhatsApp. Didi had won the hearts of the people. While the people began to love her, Congress men started hating her. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra used some very sharp words against her, something which finally boomeranged. On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat in Amethi at a press conference in Delhi even as counting was on, urging his victorious rival to treat his erstwhile constituency "with love". As the outcome became apparent, Smriti tweeted this response that sums up her long-drawn battle: ... Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 23, 2019 Smriti Irani's victory in Amethi is the victory of the aam aadmi over dynastic politics, and its reverberations will be felt unceasingly in the foreseeable future. Follow all the live updates from the Lok Sabha election results here Tejasvi Surya projected himself as flag-bearer of New India that is confident, assertive and which believes that issues like poverty, economic inequality and social divide will not be resolved by rhetoric but by strengthening the concept of nation-state and market economy. Two young men, not part of any political dynasty, contested the Lok Sabha elections. Kanhaiya Kumar, former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president who shot to fame following his arrest in February 2016 for allegedly raising anti-national slogans at JNU campus was fielded by the CPI. At the other end of the ideological and political spectrum is Tejasvi Surya, a young lawyer from Bangalore South constituency fielded by the BJP. Kumar, who was a member of All India Students Federation (AISF), posed himself as a firebrand leader and gave dozens of interviews where he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He quickly became the poster boy for a section of media and Left-liberal intelligentsia. His contesting from Begusarai, his hometown in Bihar, received nationwide attention including support from the Bollywood. Kumar was projected as the David who could strike a symbolic blow to the Goliath BJP government by defeating senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh. From Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi to Swara Bhasker and Prakash Raj, youth leaders from Gujarat Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani, not to forget JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid who led the protest movement after Kanhaiyas arrest in 2016, Kumar had no dearth of support. Surya, 28, a young lawyer has oratorical skill but his campaign did not grab eyeballs the way Kumars did. There existed a common thread between the two young leaders though in the sense that both were self-made, did not belong to political families and have risen in the political ladder through hard work. But the similarity end here and differences come to the fore. The first is the grammar of their political trajectory. Kumars was punctuated with the narrative that finds resonance in the JNU campus but fades away no sooner it reaches to the JNUs nearest locality of Jia Srai where thousands of students slog day and night for civil service exam. This narrative romanticized communism and attributed all ills of the society to capitalism and bourgeoisie state. This tired narrative has been long rejected by the people going by Lefts increasing redundancy in electoral politics but still finds resonance among a section of academics and ivory tower intellectuals. Surya, however, projected himself as flag-bearer of New India that is confident, assertive and which believes that issues like poverty, economic inequality and social divide will not be resolved by rhetoric but by strengthening the concept of nation-state and market economy. Kumar chose Begusarai in Bihar which has been a communist stronghold for decades since Independence. Kumars entire political campaign rested on attacking the Modi government. The symbols and metaphors he used were all crafted to suit this narrative. On the other hand Surya chose a constituency that matched his profile: urban, preferred by white-collar job holders and representative of post-liberalization India. On Thursday when early trends started coming in from Bangalore South and Begusarai, it became clear that Indian youth has rejected the narrative and cause that Kumar claims to espouse. While Surya won Bangalore south seat by 3,29,097 votes becoming the youngest parliamentarian, Kumar lost the elections by 3,94,000 votes. India has rejected once again the deracinated Leftist narrative. The politics of welfare has also helped Narendra Modi consolidate his caste arithmetic. In Uttar Pradesh, for example, the BJP's focus has been on the non-Yadav OBCs, and non-Jatav Dalits Albert Hirschman published a landmark theory in 1973, where he explained people's tolerance levels towards income inequality through the course of economic development. People are tolerant as long as they harbour hope of the disparity being bridged. The late American professor and one of the foremost development economists of 20th Century elaborated the theory with an example of a two-lane tunnel. Assume you are struck in traffic, and the cars have not moved for a while. If the cars in another lane start moving, you feel better because you anticipate you would soon follow suit. That immediate hope, according to Hirschman, is the "Tunnel Effect". The tunnel effect, or the honeymoon period, ends sooner or later. However, if the lane stuck in traffic can identify with the lane moving ahead, the tunnel effect has a longer shelf life, says Hirschman. To adopt that analogy in daily politics, if people belonging to your class, caste or religion are seen to be part of a sort of a transformation, you tend to be more patient towards the process. Hirschman's Tunnel Effect has played a significant role in Narendra Modi's success during the 2019 Lok Sabha election. There is no denying there was a wave of Hindutva, ultra-nationalism and his own personality cult. Many would like to reduce the mandate to these things. However, to ignore the contribution of welfare politics in his massive triumph would be dishonest and misleading. I travelled through the Hindi heartland for three months ahead of the results on 23 May. It was impossible to not hear the paeans of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, especially in rural areas, where the Opposition expected to make inroads using agrarian crisis and unemployment. This is not to suggest every village in Bihar is electrified, or people no longer defecate in the open in Uttar Pradesh, or everyone in Chhattisgarh has a pucca house. I met families who benefited from these schemes. I met people who are waiting for the schemes to reach them. More importantly, those who have not yet availed of the schemes know it has reached their neighbourhoods. BJP being BJP has publicised the schemes better than they have enforced them, creating the perception among rural residents that they are not far from being its beneficiaries. I visited a remote, Naxal-affected village in Mirzapur, a district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Most of the households there struggled to make their ends meet. Sitting next to a dilapidated house that had recently collapsed during a storm, I asked its owner who he planned to vote for. He named Modi, and said, "We know a few villages in a 25-kilometre radius that have received subsidies under the Awas Yojana, and they have built concrete houses." When I asked why his village had not been able to benefit for the past five years, he said, "The pradhan of the village is corrupt. But it won't be long before we get there. Modi has initiated programs, we should give him enough time to take it to its logical conclusion." The man felt that people he identifies with are part of the transformation Modi is trying to usher in. In contrast, the Congress could not create a buzz around its welfare schemes. Rahul Gandhi announced NYAY, which aimed to meet the benchmark income of Rs 12,000 per household per month. But the potential beneficiaries were not even aware of it. The Grand Old Party had even mentioned a separate budget for farmers in their manifesto. But it is a known fact that most people do not read manifestos, and it is the responsibility of the cadres and their leaders to convey the message on the ground. The carpet bombing of their welfare schemes was somewhere between sporadic and invisible. The politics of welfare has also helped Modi consolidate his caste arithmetic. In Uttar Pradesh, for example, the BJP's focus has been on the non-Yadav OBCs, and non-Jatav Dalits. They are the ones largely considered to be the swing factor, with Yadavs and Jatavs firmly behind the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party respectively. Those who gain from the subsidies for toilets, electricity and housing are economically marginalised, largely comprising of the lower OBCs and Dalits. When I had travelled to a village in Gaya, Bihar, I met several families that belonged to the Musahar community one of the most backward among the Maha Dalits of Bihar. That village, due to lack of jobs and livelihoods, has been sending their underage kids to different states to work at bangle factories. But, they said, some of the homes in their village received electricity for the first time after Modi came to power. Apart from the non-Yadav OBCs and Dalits, women have been at the core of BJP's welfare politics. Especially, the drive for toilets has ensured Modi retains his popularity among women. After the results came in, I spoke to Vijaya Rahatkar, national president of BJP's women's wing. "Through our welfare schemes, we have consolidated the women's vote bank in a positive sense," she said. "Take the toilet scheme. Apart from safety, women feel humiliated defecating in the open. Men pass by, sneer at them and they have to hide their faces. The electrification is dear to women as well. It makes it easy running the household," she noted. As I mentioned earlier, a large part of the success of the BJP's schemes lies in the party's communication skills that generate awareness of the scheme's existence. Its social media machinery has penetrated the remotest villages in the country. On top of that, Modi himself talks about it repeatedly through his Mann Ki Baat, which is popular in rural India. Whether it is Modi himself or the BJP's social media messaging of the welfare politics, it is cleverly devised. The subtext is always that of a work in progress, which should not be interrupted. They have perhaps learnt from the mistake of their 2004 campaign of "India Shining" that indicated they had done their job. LK Advani had later conceded that "India Rising" would have been a better slogan. Whenever the parties suggest closure, voters look at alternatives. The journalist Shivam Vij had made a pertinent observation in February 2018, where he noted that Modi rarely says, "I did it." Instead, he keeps saying, "I am doing it." Through my travels through the Hindi belt, I saw that resonating on the ground. Today, we saw it manifesting through the results. Read the full Travels from the Hindi Belt series here Reuters Beijing said Washington needs to correct its wrong actions for trade talks to continue after the U.S. blacklisted Huawei, a blow that has rippled through global supply chains and battered tech shares as investors feared a looming technology cold war. Japanese conglomerate Panasonic Corp on Thursday joined the growing list of global companies which have said they are disengaging with Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the worlds second-largest seller of smartphones and the largest telecom-gear maker, saying it had stopped shipments of some components. Its move came a day after British chip designer ARM said it had halted relations with Huawei to comply with the U.S. supply blockade, potentially crippling the Chinese firms ability to make new chips for its future smartphones. Huawei uses ARM blueprints to design the processors that power its smartphones. If the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions. Negotiations can only continue on the basis of equality and mutual respect, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a weekly briefing. We will closely monitor relevant developments and prepare necessary responses, he said, without elaborating. Japans Toshiba Corp said it had resumed some shipments to Huawei after temporarily suspending shipments to check whether they included U.S.-made components. What we are witnessing is a potential reconfiguration of global trade as it has stood since World War II ... investors should begin thinking about how sensitive their portfolios are to global supply chain-exposed shocks, Saxo Banks head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, wrote in a note titled, Are you ready for a cold war in tech? Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Chinese financial magazine Caixin on Thursday that he did not see ARMs decision to suspend business with Huawei as having an impact on the company. He said that Huawei had a long-term agreement with ARM and speculated that the British firm had made such a move because its parent, Japans SoftBank Group Corp, was waiting for U.S. approval for the merger of Sprint Corp, which it owns, and T-Mobile US Inc. Industry experts have questioned Huaweis claims minimizing the impact of moves that make it hard for the company to do business with American firms. No further trade talks between top Chinese and US negotiators have been scheduled since the last round ended on 10 May, the same day US President Donald Trump sharply increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and took steps to levy duties on all remaining Chinese imports. China retaliated with its own levies on U.S. imports, but it was Washingtons subsequent move against Huawei that took the trade war into a new phase, stoking fears about risks to global growth and knocking financial markets. The United States has accused Huawei of activities contrary to national security, an accusation Huawei denies. The Trump administration softened its stance slightly this week by granting the firm a license to buy U.S. goods until Aug. 19 to minimize disruption for customers. tech2 News Staff A 30-year-old Chinese man, Quan Jiang, in Oregon has been reportedly found guilty of trafficking counterfeit iPhone devices. Over a span of two years, Jian used to send fake iPhone devices, either hand delivered or shipped to Apple saying that they are not turning on and should be replaced by the company as they were under warranty. These devices were not limited to one or two but around 3,000, for which Apple did replace 1,500 devices costing around $600 (Rs 42,000) each. The accused pleaded guilty in the Federal court for trafficking counterfeit iPhone devices on Wednesday. Submission of an iPhone that will not power on is critical to perpetuating iPhone warranty fraud, as the phone will not be able to be immediately examined or repaired by Apple technicians, triggering the Apple iPhone replacement process as part of its product warranty policy, wrote Homeland Security Investigations special agent Thomas Duffy, quoting Apple brand protection representative Adrian Punderson. The US Attorney's office in Portland announced that Jiang, a former engineering student from a community college in Albany, Oregon, used to send the devices under different fake names from Hong Kong. He used to sell replaced devices in China. Jiangs associate used to send the money to Jiangs mother in China and she used to send the money to her son. According to the court, Jiang received around 20-30 counterfeit iPhones from associates in Hong Kong between 1 Jan, 2016, and 1 Feb, 2018. Apple did smell that something was fishy back on 30 June, 2017, only and so the legal counsel of the company sent a "cease and desist" letter to an address in Corvallis where around 150 warranty claims were issued. The lawyers said the company knew that Jiang was importing counterfeit Apple products, according to Duffys affidavit. Jiang didnt respond, so the Apple lawyers sent a second letter. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case. Apple rejected 1,576 warranty claims associated with Jiang, Duffy said. The 1,493 claims that resulted in replacement iPhones being delivered by Apple represented an $895,000 loss to the Cupertino, California-based company, Duffy wrote. Brad Bench, who heads the Homeland Security Investigations office in Seattle, said in a statement that trafficking in counterfeit goods hurts the economy, legitimate businesses and impacts consumers directly. Jiang faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $2 million fine or twice his proceeds, whichever is greater, when he is sentenced on 28 August. Under a plea agreement, the US Attorneys office will recommend a prison sentence of three years, at least $200,000 in restitution to Apple. With inputs from The Associated Press tech2 News Staff With the US-China Trade war intensifying, Chinese smartphone giant Huawei is in all sorts of troubles after being put on a blacklist by the US Commerce department which forbids Huawei from conducting business with an American company. As a result, Google, Intel, ARM, Qualcomm, Microsoft and more companies have severed ties with Huawei. Google said that it would be withdrawing Android support from Huawei phones which includes a ban on all Google Play Services and therefore Huawei has come with a new plan of action. Huawei is asking developers to submit their applications to the App Gallery which is the company's own App Store akin to that of the Galaxy Store on Samsung phones. As per a report by a Portuguese media outlet Aptoide, which is an open source alternative to the Google Play Store, is in talks with Huawei to develop a viable alternative to the Play Store. Aptoide is an alternative marketplace for mobile applications which runs on the Android operating system. It has more than 900,000 apps and more than 100 million users and it would appear that with Android's fallout with Huawei, Aptoide is perhaps the best chance for Huawei to keep its customers. In more news surrounding the Huawei conflict, Internal documents from the BBC say that ARM wants its employees to halt all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements with Huawei and its subsidiaries. Losing business from ARM, which is now owned by Softbank, is a major blow to the Chinese tech giant since its homegrown Kirin SoCs, from its subsidy HiSilicon, are based on ARM processor architecture. To keep up with the entire Huawei controversy you can check the links below. ARM employees have been instructed to suspend business with Huawei: Report US urges South Korea to reject Huawei products, citing security risks: Report Huawei is reportedly releasing its own Android alternative called indeoenOS this Fall Intel and Qualcomm join Google in cutting off ties with Huawei following Trump ban tech2 News Staff Following US President Donald Trump's executive orders to put Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist, Microsoft has reportedly removed Huawei laptops from their e-store. A report by The Verge points out that Microsoft has stopped selling Huawei's MateBook X Pro laptop at the company's online store. In fact, it says that in the US, searching for any Huawei hardware shows no results at the Microsoft Store. Notably, though, while Google has pulled back Android services from all new Huawei devices, Microsoft has remained silent on a potential Windows ban. A Windows ban on Huawei could mean a large impact on Huawei's server solutions. Microsoft and Huawei operate a hybrid cloud solution for Microsoft's Azure stack, using Microsoft-certified Huawei servers. Meanwhile, according to a recent report, the US administration is considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision. The restrictions would reportedly limit Hikvision's ability to buy tech from companies in the US and American companies, in-turn, may have to obtain the government's approval to supply components to the Chinese firm. The United States has accused Huawei of activities related to national security, a charge Huawei denies. However, this week the Trump administration granted the firm a license to buy US goods until 19 Aug to minimise disruption for customers. Reuters By Caroline Copley BERLIN (Reuters) - IBM and British start-up Cera Care plan a six-month pilot to test whether lidar laser sensors, used to help self-driving cars "see", can enable elderly people to stay in their homes for longer - without compromising privacy. Lidar systems that work by using laser light pulses to render fine-grained images of surroundings, have typically been used to make high-resolution maps, catch speeding motorists and more recently help automated cars navigate through the streets. If the pilot is successful, it could potentially open up a new market for lidar just as it falls out of favour with some automakers, including Nissan and Tesla, who have called it expensive and unnecessary. Jack Narcotta, a senior smart home analyst at Strategy Analytics, said lidar lasers were one of the more advanced solutions for elderly monitoring, but were still in the very early stages. Even though lidar doesn't recognise faces, some consumers may be concerned about the amount of tracking and location data collected and the ability to see repeatable patterns, he said. In the pilot, IBM Research UK and Cera Care plan to install lidar sensors in around 10-15 volunteer households in Britain from June, and see whether they can build up a detailed picture of a care client's daily routine and home environment using IBM's machine learning software. Their aim is to alert caregivers to any possible deterioration in a person's physical and psychological health, such as changes in gait, or emergency situations such as a fall. Ben Maruthappu, co-founder and CEO of Cera Care, hopes the technology will help the care system become more personalised even as the demand for care outgrows the number of careworkers on the front line. "Technology like this can help us solve that gap between demand and supply because it means we can pinpoint when a careworker needs to be in a person's home," Maruthappu told Reuters. The world's population is ageing rapidly, with those over 60 expected to more than double to 2 billion by 2050 from 900 million in 2015, according to the World Health Organization. EMERGING FIELD Lidar sensors have become a key element in self-driving systems from General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Alphabet Inc's Waymo. But their use in the home remains an emerging field. Narcotta sees competition from the likes of 'Hive Link', a connected care service from a division of Centrica's British Gas, launched last December, that uses sensors and smart plugs to learn a person's routine and sends notifications to subscribers when it detects any unusual changes. Nicola Palmarini, IBM's top research scientist for ageing and longevity, says lidar - which doesn't recognise personal characteristics such as faces, age and gender - provides precise data without people feeling like they are being watched. He believes they will only need one lidar sensor per room, potentially making it more scalable and reducing overall care costs if people can stay at home for longer. Still, the technology comes with a high price-tag, with 3D sensors currently costing between $800 and $1,000 each, according to Palmarini. He expects the cost to fall over time. Aejaz Zahid, a director at assistroniX and expert on new technologies to help people age well, said one major benefit of lidar could be fall detection - a major pain point for health systems that researchers have struggled to crack with wearables. Other firms looking at lidar's potential in the smart home include scanning technology maker Microvision that has launched a lidar sensor with a range of up to 10 metres with machine-learning capabilities. Researchers are also examining the possibility of using lidar to give smart home devices "vision". While there is some concern that prolonged staring into even Class I lasers - which use less power - may pose a risk to eyesight, IBM and Cera Care said they plan to trial lidar technology that has been certified as safe for domestic use. (Reporting by Caroline Copley, editing by Louise Heavens and David Evans) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The Conversation Imagine youre a 14-year-old girl on the train on your way home from school, when out of nowhere a dick pic appears on your phone. Surprise! Youve been cyber flashed. Its a form of harassment that didnt exist even a few years ago and highlights the fast-evolving digital world our teenagers now have to manage (along with all the more regular challenges of nearly being an adult). Cyber flashing involves sending unsolicited obscene images to strangers via AirDrop or Bluetooth on your smartphone. Unlike old-fashioned flashing, in which the culprit is standing right in front of you, cyber flashing is anonymous. The sender positions themselves in a shopping centre, sporting ground, or other public space and sends the photo to anyone within a 3-metre radiusit could be a teenager, an adult or even a 3-year-old holding mums phone. The victim will likely search around to identify the sender, but ultimately it is a guessing game; it could be anyone in your field of vision. Like other online harassment such as posting threatening messages, photos or videos online or repeatedly sending unwanted messages, the aim of cyber flashing is to humiliate the victim and incite fear. The anonymity of the communication exacerbates this. In the case of the 14-year-old girl, she would have no opportunity to identify her harasser, to seek justice, or even gain an apology for their actions. This will likely leave her feeling powerless, anxious and potentially fearful of future communications by the harasser. Digital devices have changed us Digital devices have massively influenced how, when, where and why we communicate with others. For example, it is almost standard practice now for many of us to send a series of digital messages over the course of the day, recounting where you are and what you are doing. It may be to your partner, friend or as social media status updates to whoever is interested, and it could result in 10, 20 or even 50+ digital messages every day. 20 years ago, this form of communication would have been highly unusual, almost impossible to deliver, and likely considered inappropriate behaviour. The constantly changing ways we use technology to communicate with anyone, anytime and anywhere, has had a huge impact on the lives of parents and their children as they endeavour to navigate the digital age in a safe and healthy way. Until recently, parents did not even know they had to guide their children in how to manage cyber flashing. Outdated thinking doesnt help Some public figures recommend confiscating technology as the only way to keep young people safe. Such proposals, however, are unhelpful and unfeasible and based on outdated thinking. The horse has bolted, and technology use has firmly become a central and defining feature of life today. Smartphone use is almost ubiquitous for young people (95 percent), and social media is firmly established as their preferred platform for communicating with others. Solutions to keep young people safe need to acknowledge and build this understanding into solutions, rather than dismiss or ignore the realities of their digital lives. While adults often interpret social media as negatively affecting the relationships young people form, this is not the consensus among teens. Although 27 percent of teens concede that social media has led to more bullying, overall spread of rumours, and less meaningful human interactions, 31 percent consider social media to have a mostly positive influence on their life. Teens emphasise social media makes it easier to communicate with family and friends, to connect with new people, to be self-expressive and to get support from others. For the most part, however, nearly half (45 percent) of teens say the effect of social media is neither positive nor negative on them; it is just life as they know it. Can we expect cyber safety to ease? New online safety risks emerge because of a range of intertwined factors. Continual technology innovation, our increasingly skilled use of our devices, and more blurring of our online and offline lives mean that new ways to harass and to be harassed will, unfortunately, continue to emerge. Its not just about the technology, however. Harassment (whether digital or not) also boils down to human values. It taps into prejudices and discrimination that relate to, for example, sexuality or gender identity. It can also be connected to personality traits such as impulsivity, low self-control, inability to appropriately express anger and low self-esteem. Direct comparison between factors influencing cyberbullying compared to schoolyard bullying is difficult. However, some factors are emerging as more influential on cyberbullying. For example, controlling parenting can lead to an increase in children engaging in cyber bullying victimisation. A high level of moral disengagement is associated with cyber bullying. Lets help young people Our digital lives are still human lives. Its vital we support young people to feel safe, and able to deal with the ever-changing risks that can come via digital communication. Adolescence is a time of transition, and media use among children is increasing. This means parental involvement can be particularly influential and important in supporting teens ability to understand and manage online harassment should it occur. Research consistently shows approximately one in two young people who experience bullying never tell anyone out of fear, embarrassment or a lack of faith in support systems. A strong and supportive parent-teen relationship, based on good and open communication and healthy guidance should be at the heart of any online safety strategy implemented in the home. This fosters a sense of openness so that a teen will feel comfortable to tell their parent about being cyber-flashed or other online harassment they may experience. Dismissing teens digital lives, trivialising them or being highly judgemental will not. Joanne Orlando is a Researcher: Technology and Learning, Western Sydney University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Reuters Google's lead regulator in the European Union, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, opened its first investigation into the US internet giant on Wednesday over how it handles personal data for the purpose of advertising. The probe was the result of a number of submissions against the company, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner said, including from privacy-focused web browser Brave which complained last year that Google and other digital advertising firms were playing fast and loose with people's data. Brave argued that when a person visits a website, intimate personal data that describes them and what they are doing online is broadcast to tens or hundreds of companies without their knowledge in order to auction and place targeted adverts. "A statutory inquiry pursuant to section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited's processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange," the Irish DPC said in a statement. It said the enquiry would establish whether processing of personal data carried out at each stage of an advertising transaction was in compliance with the landmark European GDPR privacy law introduced a year ago. That would include considering the lawful basis for processing, the principles of transparency and data minimisation, as well as Google's retention practices, it added. Many of the large technology firms have their European headquarters in Ireland, putting them under the watch of the Irish DPC. The regulator said earlier this month that it had 51 large-scale investigations under way, 17 of which related to large technology firms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Apple and a number into Facebook and its WhatsApp and Instagram subsidiaries. Under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), regulators have the power to impose fines for violations of up to 4 percent of a company's global revenue or 20 million euros, whichever is higher. GDPR seeks to ensure that individuals have greater control over the data that companies hold about them, prompting the complaints from Brave, set up by Silicon Valley engineering guru and Mozilla co-founder Brendan Eich, and others last September. Google said at the time that it had already implemented strong privacy protections in consultation with European regulators and is committed to complying with the GDPR. The probe could become a test case into the foundations of the data-driven model the online ad industry depends on. "The Irish Data Protection Commission's action signals that now - nearly one year after the GDPR was introduced - a change is coming that goes beyond just Google," Brave's chief policy officer Johnny Ryan said in a statement on Wednesday.. tech2 News Staff Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey who allegedly left the company he sold to Facebook in 2014 says he believes the social media giant fired him due to his political views. In an interview with CNBC at the Collision tech conference in Toronto, the entrepreneur addressed his departure from Facebook in March 2017. At the time, no explanation was given by either party, with Luckey merely saying it wasnt his choice to leave last year. However, Luckey is now going on record to reveal why he was actually fired from the company. While he says Facebook had no reason at all to fire him, he speculates that it had to do with libertarian ideologies. I gave $10,000 to a pro-Trump group, and I think that has something to do with it, he told CNBC. The Oculus founder was referring to a donation he made to an internet group named 'Nimble America' which campaigned in 2016 against Hillary Clinton in favour of Presidential candidate Donald Trump. According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal late last year, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg pressured Luckey to publicly shift support to a libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and fired the Oculus co-founder when he didnt comply. Voicing his views on the idea of Facebook being broken up, Luckey said Facebooks problems would not necessarily go away by breaking up the tech giant. He also said that the stepping down of CEO Mark Zuckerberg wouldn't really affect Facebook. These companies are so huge, its easy to pin it all on one person, Luckey said. "When youre on the inside, you realize that replacing one person isnt going to change the way things work." tech2 News Staff Xiaomi is increasingly penetrating all the sectors of electronics with products in several segments such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, air purifiers, wearables, audio, TVs and more. All these products come under the Mi brand of the company, which is more-or-less associated with electronics. Now, the company is announcing something different as part of the Mi Brand: Mi Sunglasses. There are two versions of the Mi Sunglasses that are being sold in the country and they include Mi Polarized Square Sunglasses which come in Blue and Gray, and the Mi Polarized Pilot Sunglasses, which come in Blue and Green. Both versions are currently retailing at Rs 899 and Rs 1,099 respectively. Mi fans, #MiSunglasses are now on sale for the first time ever on https://t.co/D3b3QtmvaT. So go #WearYourSwag with the UV protected polarized lenses. Get yours here - https://t.co/Yn7QgU0F1O pic.twitter.com/52SWwZFT74 Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) May 23, 2019 Both these glasses have TAC polarised lenses which eliminate glare, polarized light, and harmful UV rays. They Mi Sunglasses also have UV400 protection which is said to give 100 percent protection against UVA, UVB, and UVC rays up to 400 nm. Both of the glasses are scratch resistant and can be worn both by men and women. There is no version for kids at the moment, although such a variant is available in China. In more news surrounding Xiaomi, the upcoming flagship from Redmi, called the Redmi K20, is generating a lot of buzz right now. The phone is claimed to be the cheapest Snapdragon 855 smartphone in the world and it is going to be announced in China on 28 May. Agence France-Presse Faced with a global resurgence of measles, health experts called Tuesday for countries to step up the fight against vaccine resistance, warning the movement was spreading like a contagious disease. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined experts and health ministers from a range of countries at an event on "promoting vaccine confidence", amid rising concerns that resistance to immunisation is allowing preventable diseases to flourish. "No country can afford to be complacent about immunisation," Tedros told the meeting in Geneva, where the WHO is hosting its main annual gathering. The WHO says cases of measles a highly contagious viral infection that can prove fatal surged 300 percent in 2018. The resurgence of the once all-but-eradicated disease is linked to the growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations, which has been identified as a major global health threat. "It's a contagious disease," Seth Berkley, who heads the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, told AFP, warning that misinformation about vaccine safety "spreads at the speed of light." The anti-vax phenomenon has adherents across Western countries but especially in the US, where it has been fuelled by the spread on social media of medically baseless claims, debunked 20 years ago, that the jab could cause autism. The United States, which sponsored Tuesday's event with the EU and Brazil, lamented the "misinformation" causing vaccination rates in the country to decline. "Vaccines are some of the most thoroughly tested medical products we have. Vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving," US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told the meeting. He slammed "social media conspiracy groups (that) confuse well-meaning parents so they hesitate to get the recommended vaccinations." Real impacts "This misinformation has real impacts," he said, pointing to the more than 700 measles cases in the US so far this year. Azar dismissed questions about whether past statements by President Donald Trump in support of some anti-vaccination movement claims may bear some responsibility for the problem. Pointing to recent comments by the president urging Americans to "get your kids vaccinated", he stressed Trump was "extremely firm" in his support of vaccination. EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukatis meanwhile suggested that vaccine scepticism was in part linked to the fact that vaccines have been so effective that most people have no concept of how devastating the diseases they prevent can be. "We have become victims of our own success," he said. Among the measures being taken to inoculate populations against the spread of misinformation about vaccine safety was putting pressure on social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to remove or flag demonstrably false information. "This is wrong information that is killing people," Berkley said. According to WHO, vaccines save some three million lives annually. "Vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines actually cause adults," said Katherine O'Brien, who heads WHO's immunisation department. By Marine Pennetier PARIS (Reuters) - Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, speaking on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, ruled out a ceasefire and said he wanted to rid the capital of militias that had 'infested' the U.N.-backed government, a French presidential official said. The flare-up in the conflict in Libya - which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 - began in early April, when Haftar's Libyan National Army advanced on the capital Tripoli. The LNA is now bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA). By Marine Pennetier PARIS (Reuters) - Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, speaking on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, ruled out a ceasefire and said he wanted to rid the capital of militias that had "infested" the U.N.-backed government, a French presidential official said. The flare-up in the conflict in Libya - which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 - began in early April, when Haftar's Libyan National Army advanced on the capital Tripoli. The LNA is now bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA). Macron and French officials have for weeks repeated their official support for the GNA and have called for an unconditional ceasefire. But some European countries, including France, have also supported Haftar as a way to fight Islamist militants in the country. "The distrust we see between the Libyan actors is stronger than ever today," said the official after the meeting between Macron and Haftar in Paris. "When the question of the ceasefire was put on the table, Haftar's reaction to this was to ask: 'negotiate with whom for a ceasefire today?'" the official said. The battle for Tripoli has killed at least 510 people, forced 75,000 out of their homes, trapped thousands of migrants in detention centres, and flattened some southern suburbs. It has also forced closures of schools, split families on different sides of the front line, and brought power cuts. "He (Haftar) considers that the GNA is completely infested by militias and it is not for him to negotiate with representatives of these militias," the official said. The official said Macron had asked Haftar to make a public step towards a ceasefire and Haftar responded by saying that an inclusive political dialogue was necessary and he would be ready for it if the conditions for a ceasefire were in place. However, the official said Haftar had given no indication as to when he would be ready for any potential talks. Speaking on Euronews television on Wednesday, Serraj also appeared to rule out a ceasefire, warning that the fighting would not stop until Haftar's troops had pulled back east. The United Nations' Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, said on Tuesday the current fighting could be the start of a long and bloody conflict in the country that could permanently divide it. "We can clearly see the impasse that exists today between the desire of the international community to say that there must be a ceasefire and a resumption of political discussions and the way in which Haftar sees things with his explanation of the lack of legitimacy of the interlocutors (on the other side)," the French official said. The official also said Haftar had rejected suggestions he or forces loyal to him were benefiting from oil sales in the east of the country. (Additional reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tunis; Writing by John Irish; Editing by Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The Pakistan Army said in a statement that the launch was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of the Army Strategic Forces Command. Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-II, capable of hitting targets as far as 1,500 kilometres away, bringing major Indian cities under its range. The Pakistan Army said in a statement that the launch was aimed at ensuring operational readiness of the Army Strategic Forces Command. "Shaheen-II Missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads upto a range of 1,500 kilometres. Shaheen-II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistan's strategic needs towards the maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region," the Army said. It said that the launch, having its impact point in the Arabian Sea, was witnessed by Director General Strategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command, senior officers from the Army Strategic Forces Command, scientists and engineers of the strategic organisations. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Services Chiefs congratulated the scientists and engineers on the conduct of a successful launch. President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have also congratulated scientists on their achievement, the statement said. By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization on Wednesday lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses. In a decision read from the bench after hearing arguments, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York said that Congress has the legal authority to demand the records, clearing the way for the banks to comply with subpoenas issued to them by two U.S. House of Representatives committees last month. The committees have agreed not to enforce the subpoenas for seven days, the judge said. It was the second time in three days that a judge had ruled against the Republican president in his fight with Democrats and Trump's lawyers were expected to appeal both decisions. Ramos said he would not suspend his decision pending appeal. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Deutsche Bank said it would abide by the court's decision. Capital One did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republican Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, has aggressively sought to defy congressional oversight of his administration since Democrats took control of the House in January. Ramos said that the committees had the power to issue the subpoenas under Congress' "broad" power to conduct investigations to further legislation. He also rejected Trump's argument that they were barred by a federal financial privacy law, the Right to Financial Privacy Act, saying the law does not apply to congressional investigations. Trump said last month that the administration was "fighting all the subpoenas" issued by the House, hardening his position after the release of a redacted report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller on how Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump and the president's attempts to impede the investigation. "We remain committed to providing appropriate information to all authorized investigations and will abide by a court order regarding such investigations," Deutsche Bank spokeswoman Kerrie McHugh said in an emailed statement after the ruling. Lawyers for the Trump family members and the Trump Organization declined to comment on the decision. Some parts of the subpoenas have been included in court filings. The subpoena on Deutsche Bank seeks extensive records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members and several Trump Organization entities, as well as records of ties they might have to foreign entities. Deutsche Bank has long been a principal lender for Trump's real estate business and a 2017 disclosure form showed that Trump had at least $130 million of liabilities to the bank. The subpoena on Capital One seeks records related to multiple entities tied to the Trump Organization's hotel business. In March, before issuing their subpoena, Democratic lawmakers asked Capital One for documents concerning potential conflicts of interest tied to Trump's Washington hotel and other business interests since he became president in January 2017. Trump, his adult children, Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, and the Trump Organization had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent Deutsche Bank complying with the subpoenas from the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and Capital One from complying with a subpoena from the Financial Services Committee. In a lawsuit filed on April 29, lawyers for the Trumps argued that the subpoenas were too broad, and that Democrats are hoping they will "stumble upon something" that could be used for political attacks on the president. "The subpoenas were issued to harass President Donald J. Trump, to rummage through every aspect of his personal finances, his businesses, and the private information of the President and his family," the complaint said. The banks are the only defendants in the case, but the House committees intervened to oppose Trump's effort to block the subpoenas. Representative Maxine Waters, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, told reporters after the lawsuit was filed that Trump had "cast a gauntlet." "We will fight him," she said. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington ruled against the president in a similar case, finding that Trump's accounting firm, Mazars LLP, must comply with a congressional subpoena for Trump's financial records. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta found that Congress was "not engaged in a fishing expedition for the President's financial records when it subpoenaed Mazars and said that documents obtained might assist Congress in passing laws and performing other core functions. Trump called Mehta's decision "crazy" and "totally the wrong decision by obviously an Obama-appointed judge," referring to Trump's Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. Ramos, the judge in the New York case, was also appointed by Obama. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; additional reporting by Matt Scuffham in New York and Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's defence minister said it was preparing for potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems, even while he said there was some improvement in talks with the United States over buying F-35 fighter jets By Orhan Coskun ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's defence minister said it was preparing for potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems, even while he said there was some improvement in talks with the United States over buying F-35 fighter jets. Turkey and the United States have been at odds on several fronts including Ankara's decision to buy the S-400s, which cannot be integrated into NATO systems. Washington says it would jeopardise Turkey's role in building Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, which it says would be compromised by S-400s. While Washington has warned that Ankara faced sanctions under its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if it presses on with the deal, Turkey has said it expected U.S. President Donald Trump to protect it. Speaking to reporters late on Tuesday, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was fulfilling its responsibilities in the F-35 project and expected the programme to continue as planned. He said buying the S-400s was only meant to meet Turkey's defence needs and posed no threats. "We are doing whatever normal bilateral agreements mandate. Though there are some issues from time to time, we are pleased that there has been no sharp turn until now... Turkey is also making preparations for the potential implementation of CAATSA sanctions," he said. "In our talks with the United States, we see a general easing and rapprochement on issues including the east of the Euphrates, F-35s and Patriots." In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the U.S. position regarding the S-400 system had not changed. "Were clearly willing to engage with them and have continued to engage regarding our concerns on this acquisition, but there will be very real and very negative consequences if that happens," she told reporters. The Kremlin on Wednesday condemned as "unacceptable" what is called a U.S. ultimatum to Turkey to cancel the S-400 deal. A CNBC report on Tuesday said Washington had given Turkey just over two weeks to scrap the Russian deal and buy Patriots or face removal from the F-35 program and U.S. sanctions. The State Department declined specific comment on the CNBC report, but a department official said negative consequences to Turkey if it went ahead with the S-400 included suspension of procurement and industrial participation in the F-35 program and sanctions under CAATSA. The German government said Turkey's decision to buy the S-400 system raised difficult questions for NATO and it would welcome Ankara reconsidering the decision. Turkey's lira has been sliding in part on concerns over the U.S. sanctions, which would hit an economy already in recession after a currency crisis last year. Among its other disputes with Washington is strategy in Syria east of the Euphrates River, where the United States is allied with Kurdish forces that Turkey views as foes. Akar said linking the S-400s purchase with that of the F-35s is "another hurdle" and noted that nine NATO partners have a stake. "There is no clause anywhere in the F-35 agreement saying one will be excluded from the partnership for buying S-400s," he said. "Turkey has paid $1.2 billion. We also produced the parts ordered from us on time. What more can we do as a partner?" In trying to persuade Turkey to give up the Russian missiles, the United States has offered to sell its rival Raytheon Co. Patriot missile defence systems, which Akar said Ankara was evaluating. He said Turkish and U.S. officials were working on price, technology transfer and joint production issues on the latest U.S. offer in late March. The minister also said conceptual work on the SAMP-T defence systems with the Franco-Italian EUROSAM consortium were expected to be completed in October. He said EUROSAM had offered to install a SAMP-T battery in Turkey and that scouting work would be carried out. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun in Ankara; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Peter Graff and Alistair Bell) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Light and nanotechnology prevent bacterial infections on medical implants Invented approximately 50 years ago, surgical medical meshes have become key elements in the recovery procedures of damaged-tissue surgeries, the most common being hernia repair. When implanted within the tissue of the patient, the flexible and conformable design of these meshes helps hold muscles tight and allows patients to recover much faster than through the conventional surgery of sewing and stitching. However, the insertion of a medical implant in a patient's body carries alongside the risk of bacterial contamination during surgery and subsequent formation of an infectious biofilm over the surface of the surgical mesh. Such biofilms tend to act like a plastic coating, impeding any sort of antibiotic agent to reach and attack the bacteria formed on the film in order to stop the infection. Thus, antibiotic therapies, which are time-limited, could fail against these super resistant bacteria and the patient could end up in recurring or never-ending surgeries that could even lead to death. As a matter of fact, according to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net), in 2015 more than 30,000 deaths in Europe were linked to infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the past, several approaches have been sought to prevent implant contamination during surgery. Post-surgery aseptic protocols have been established and implemented to fight these antibiotic-resistant bacteria but none have entirely fulfilled the role of solving this issue. In a recent study published in Nano Letters and highlighted in Nature Photonics, ICFO researchers Dr. Ignacio de Miguel, Arantxa Albornoz, led by ICREA Prof. at ICFO Romain Quidant, in collaboration with researchers Irene Prieto, Dr. Vanesa Sanz, Dr. Christine Weis and Dr. Pau Turon from the major medical device and pharmaceutical device company B. Braun, have devised a novel technique that uses nanotechnology and photonics to dramatically improve the performance of medical meshes for surgical implants. Through an ongoing collaboration since 2012, the team of researchers at ICFO and B. Braun Surgical, S.A., developed a medical mesh with a particular feature: the surface of the mesh was chemically modified to anchor millions of gold nanoparticles. Why? Because gold nanoparticles have been proven to very efficiently convert light into heat at very localized regions. The technique of using gold nanoparticles in light-heat conversion processes had already been tested in cancer treatments in previous studies. Even more, at ICFO this technique had been implemented in several previous studies supported by the Cellex Foundation, thus being another salient example of how early visionary philanthropic support addressed at tackling fundamental problems eventually leads to important practical applications. For this particular case, in knowing that more than 20 million hernia repair operations take place every year around the world, they believed this method could reduce the medical costs in recurrent operations while eliminating the expensive and ineffective antibiotic treatments that are currently being employed to tackle this problem. Thus, in their in-vitro experiment and through a thorough process, the team coated the surgical mesh with millions of gold nanoparticles, uniformly spreading them over the entire structure. They tested the meshes to ensure the long-term stability of the particles, the non-degradation of the material, and the non-detachment or release of nanoparticles into the surrounding environment (flask). They were able to observe a homogenous distribution of the nanoparticles over the structure using a scanning electron microscope. Once the modified mesh was ready, the team exposed it to S. aureus bacteria for 24 hours until they observed the formation of a biofilm on the surface. Subsequently, they began exposing the mesh to short intense pulses of near infrared light (800 nm) during 30 seconds to ensure thermal equilibrium was reached, before repeating this treatment 20 times with 4 seconds of rest intervals between each pulse. They discovered the following: Firstly, they saw that illuminating the mesh at the specific frequency would induce localized surface plasmon resonances in the nanoparticles--a mode that results in the efficient conversion of light into heat, burning the bacteria at the surface. Secondly, by using a fluorescence confocal microscope, they saw how much of the bacteria had died or was still alive. For the bacteria that remained alive, they observed that the biofilm bacteria became planktonic cells, recovering their sensitivity or weakness towards antibiotic therapy and to immune system response. For the dead bacteria, they observed that upon increasing the amount of light delivered to the surface of the mesh, the bacteria would lose their adherence and peel off the surface. Thirdly, they confirmed that operating at near infrared light ranges was completely compatible with in-vivo settings, meaning that such a technique would most probably not damage the surrounding healthy tissue. Finally, they repeated the treatment and confirmed that the recurrent heating of the mesh had not affected its conversion efficiency capabilities. As ICREA Prof at ICFO Romain Quidant comments, "the results of this study have paved the way towards using plasmon nanotechnologies to prevent the formation of bacterial biofilm at the surface of surgical implants. There are still several issues that need to be addressed but it is important to emphasize that such a technique will indeed signify a radical change in operation procedures and further patient post recovery." As Director of Research and Development of B. Braun Surgical, S.A. Dr. Pau Turon explains, "our commitment to help healthcare professionals to avoid hospital related infections pushes us to develop new strategies to fight bacteria and biofilms. Additionally, the research team is exploring to extend such technology to other sectors where biofilms must be avoided." ### Reference: Plasmon-based biofilm inhibition on surgical implants, Ignacio de Miguel, Irene Prieto, Arantxa Albornoz, Vanesa Sanz, Christine Weis, Pau Turon, Romain Quidant, Nano Letters, 2019, 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b00187 ABOUT ICFO ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences was founded in 2002 by the Government of Catalonia and the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), both of which are members of its board of trustees along with the Cellex and Mir-Puig Foundations, philanthropic entities that have played a critical role in the advancement of the institute since 2007. Located in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the institute currently hosts 400 people, organized in 26 research groups in 60 state-of-the-art research laboratories. Research lines encompass diverse areas in which photonics plays a decisive role, with an emphasis on basic and applied themes relevant to medicine and biology, advanced imaging techniques, information technologies, a range of environmental sensors, tunable and ultra-fast lasers, quantum science, photovoltaics and the properties and applications of nano-materials such as graphene, among others. In addition to two state awarded Severo Ochoa accreditations of excellence, ICFOnians have been awarded 15 ICREA Professorships and 35 European Research Council grants. ICFO participates actively in the European Technological Platform Photonics21 and is also very proactive in fostering entrepreneurial activities, spin-off creation, and creating collaborations and links between industry and ICFO researchers. To date, ICFO has helped create 7 start-up companies. ABOUT B. BRAUN With more than 63,000 employees in 64 countries, the B. Braun family business ranks among the leading providers of solutions for the healthcare market worldwide and supplies users and patients with products and product systems for anaesthesia, intensive medicine, cardiology, extracorporeal blood treatment, surgery, or the homecare sector, as well as with services for clinics and practicing doctors. In a constructive dialog with customers and partners, B. Braun promotes efficient solutions that preserve people's health and sustainably improve their lives. B. Braun Surgical is a subsidiary of the B. Braun Group that belongs to the Aesculap division. The division's business is divided into seven core indications: general open surgery, orthopaedic joint replacement, neurosurgery, laparoscopic surgery, interventional vascular diagnostics & therapy, degenerative spinal disorders and cardiothoracic surgery. Since 1995 the plant based in Rubi has been a Centre of Excellence for surgical sutures. In 2008, Rubi was given greater responsibility and was appointed Center of Excellence for the Closure Technologies strategic business unit of the Aesculap Division. B. Braun Spain is the reference center of the B. Braun Group and as such is globally responsible for Research and Development, Manufacturing, Quality Management, Regulatory Affairs, Strategical Marketing and Supply Chain Management. Furthermore, Research & Development department of B. Braun Surgical cooperates with medical and scientific institutions and offers them the accumulated knowledge and experience of B. Braun in order to contribute to medical progress. Some of the main hospitals in Catalonia are into a partnership agreement with B. Braun in order to investigate surgical techniques to improve and innovate in closure technologies, tissue strength and local haemostatics. Moreover, B. Braun Surgical collaborates closely with top research institutions such as ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Leitat, Eurecat and Catalan Health Institute, among others. This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinas ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing has launched an intercity car-pooling service in Chengdu, the capital of Chinas Sichuan Province, running along two routes between Jintang County and Pidu District. Launched in 2017, this service features a long-distance car-pooling function with clear regional operating limitation, which is somewhat different from the hitching service that has been suspended in last August after a woman passenger was murdered by a Didis driver. From the time being, the company has not deployed the service in Beijing, the company told a local media. (Photo source: official website of Didi Chuxing) It is reported that the intercity carpooling service in Chengdu partners with local passenger transport enterprises who will be responsible for the offline management of drivers, providing them with professional service and safety training. Meanwhile, Didis platform is obliged to guarantee the safe operation and multiple security functions. A driver must be trained before receiving his first order, and then still need to receive training per month. Besides, drivers should comply with the platfroms regulation against fatigue driving behavior. If any disputes happened, users can seek evidences from the recording logged by the platform without disclosing privacy. Although Didi is still the biggest player in Chinas ride-hailing market, it has been facing increasing competition from more and more companies. Meituan Dache, the ride-hailing arm of Chinese lifestyle services platform Meituan-Dianping, recently expanded its aggregation car-hailing service into another 15 cities in China, allowing users to access cars on several ride-hailing platforms via Meituans app, such as Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, Cao Cao and UCAR. EV startup XPENG Motors also becomes a new player in ride-hailing domain. The startup launched its ride-hailing trial operation on May 16 in Guangzhou under a service brand of Pengster. Unlike other operators, the new service will only use its Xpeng G3 SUVs which are all run by dedicated chauffeurs. Every investor needs a security blanket -- that piece of the portfolio that needs no attention and doesn't keep you up at night. Businesses that fit the bill are rare, but they're out there. Dividend Aristocrats are a good place to start. There are only a couple dozen of them, but these companies boast an annual dividend hike in every year for at least the last 25. Three that look especially stable to our Motley Fool contributors are Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT), and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). The king of commerce looks unbeatable Nicholas Rossolillo (Walmart): Brick-and-mortar retail has been a touch-and-go proposition since the advent of digital retailing. Amazon.com and a slew of online-only stores have made life difficult for traditional stores, and many have closed their doors in the last few years. Even the world's largest retailer, Walmart, looked like it was in a precarious position at times. My, how things change quickly, though! While Amazon's retailing division is slowing down, Walmart has been growing its e-commerce segment at a torrid pace. During the first few months of 2019, its digital channel surged 37% year over year while Amazon's grew only 10%. As a result, Walmart had its best quarterly comparable-store sales growth (a combination of ticket size and foot traffic) in nearly a decade, with the metric rising 3.4% during the period. Walmart has been able to strike back at the digital movement after a string of e-commerce acquisitions and doubling down on its real estate. Whether you're a fan or not, the combination of physical locations with a much-improved online store has put the company back in growth mode and speaks to the strength and staying power of the big-box store. It's a reason Walmart is a Dividend Aristocrat, one that investors are unlikely to have to worry about for a very long time. Speaking of that dividend, after decades of raising its payout year-in and year-out, the annualized yield is currently a modest 2.1%. That's certainly not the best dividend payer out there, but some of that has to do with Walmart's share price surging 46% in the last three years. Annual shareholder pay raises have also gotten anemic as of late as the company has decided to use ample amounts of cash to continue investing in a digital future instead. That may make some investors unhappy, but it's nevertheless another reason owners of Walmart won't have to worry about disruption anytime soon. In the meantime, enjoy the paycheck. Dotting every "i" and crossing all the "tees" Anders Bylund (Target): Far beyond just checking the boxes required to count as an Dividend Aristocrat, retail giant Target goes the extra mile. The company has increased its annual payouts in each of the last 51 years. I'm told that this streak is unmatched in the retail industry. Over the last decade, the increases have averaged 14.2% per year. The dividend yield stands at a generous 3.6% today, and Target has plenty of headroom for future increases -- only 54% of the trailing free cash flows were allocated to cover dividend checks. So the dividend itself is about as solid as they come. On top of that, Target simply looks like a strong investment -- with or without generous payouts. After a slump in 2016, Target came back swinging in the last couple of years. The stock has gained a market-beating 29% in two years, despite pulling back 20% below its 52-week highs. Investors seem to be nervous about this company's future despite a rock-solid holiday quarter and a successful focus on digital and online sales. Trading at a mere 13 times trailing earnings and 11 times forward estimates, Target's stock is a fantastic deal right now. What more do you want from a long-term dividend play? A good way to play a larger, aging population Todd Campbell (Abbott Laboratories): Forever is a long time. Especially when it comes to investing. Let's face facts: Many of the companies we follow today won't be around in 20, 30, or 50 years. That may seem insane, but thinking Polaroid would fall from grace probably seemed insane 40 years ago, too. Nevertheless, the odds of picking a forever stock might be improved by focusing on been-there-done-that companies in industries likely to enjoy long-haul tailwinds. For instance, medical device company Abbott Labs has not only been in business for over 130 years, it's also rewarded investors with dividend increases for 47 consecutive years, including a 14% increase in January. The company's longevity could be due to its diversification. Rather than focusing on one indication, it markets products that help people with a variety of healthcare needs and ailments, including diabetes. In fact, its diabetes exposure is a demographic tailwind that's a key reason I like this company for long-term portfolios. Globally, a larger, wealthier, and longer-living population has the International Diabetes Federation predicting the number of diabetics will climb to 629 million by 2045 from 425 million today. If that's right, then demand for diabetes devices, including Abbott's glucose monitoring systems, will likely support shares for a long time. Diabetes isn't the only thing that could support its sales and dividends, though. It sells diagnostic products, nutrition products, and cardiovascular disease products, too. That gives it lots of levers to pull to keep the lights on. Still unconvinced? Consider that it might not be long before you're rewarded with yet another dividend increase. The company expects double-digit earnings growth this year, so you probably won't have to wait very long for Abbott to boost its dividend payment yet again. IHG promote Joanna Kurowska to Director Operations Luxury & Managed, Northern Europe New role will strengthen IHGs operational presence in Northern Europe at a time of strong growth across the region May 23, 2019 // Franchising.com // IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the worlds leading hotel companies, today announced the promotion of Joanna Kurowska to Director Operations Luxury & Managed, Northern Europe1. Based in the Frankfurt IHG office, Joanna will be responsible for driving sustainable hotel performance for IHG and owners of IHGs managed estate in Northern Europe. In this newly established role, she will be working with IHG, owners and hotels to accelerate business processes and drive an increase in efficiency for all parties. To that extent, she will be traveling extensively across the region and working closely with hotels in a supporting role to optimise profits, evaluate commercial strategies and drive long-term revenue. Joannas new role was created as part of IHGs efforts to develop an effective market model for Europe in order to bring resources closer to owners and hotels. This process led to the creation of the newly formed divisional team in IHGs Frankfurt office under the leadership of Mario Maxeiner, Managing Director, Northern Europe. In her new role, Joanna will be a member of the Northern European Leadership team, directly reporting into Mario Maxeiner. Born and raised in Warsaw, Joanna has been with IHG for 8 years and brings a strong background in Finance and Operations to her new role. Starting as Director of Finance & Business Support at the InterContinental Warsaw, a position she held for three years, Joanna went on to various Finance and Operations roles throughout IHGs European business. Most recently, she held the role of Operations Finance Director for the Luxury & Managed estate in Europe. Mario Maxeiner, Managing Director, Northern Europe, commented : Joanna is well known and highly respected within our community of owners and managed hotels, which makes her an ideal candidate for this newly created role. With her extensive market knowledge and her proven background in Operations and Finance, she is perfectly positioned to optimise performance across the region and drive long-term revenue for IHG and our owners at this dynamic time for the business. : Joanna is well known and highly respected within our community of owners and managed hotels, which makes her an ideal candidate for this newly created role. With her extensive market knowledge and her proven background in Operations and Finance, she is perfectly positioned to optimise performance across the region and drive long-term revenue for IHG and our owners at this dynamic time for the business. Joanna Kurowska added: I am honoured to move into this role at a time of such strong growth for our Northern European business. Our portfolio of managed hotels in the region is strong and I look forward to working closely with our owners and the hotel teams to increase their performance at every step of the way. The move comes at an exciting time for IHGs European business, which has played a significant role in driving the highest number of signings and openings in the region for 10 years. Key growth opportunities lie within the new upscale brand voco and new mainstream brand avid the expansion of luxury boutique brand Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and the recent acquisition of wellness and sustainability brand Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, which sits in the top-tier of luxury. 1 IHGs Northern Europe team supports owners and hotels in the following countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the BeNeLux countries, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovakia About IHG IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels , HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, voco Hotels, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Resort, avid hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,600 hotels and nearly 843,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Groups holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 400,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally. Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/IHGCorporate, www.facebook.com/IHGCorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group Media Contact: Amelie Mayer-Quien amelie.mayerquien@ihg.com +49 (0) 69 2740 1450 SOURCE IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Firehouse Subs is a brand on a mission and that mission is growth. The Jacksonville, Florida-based brand is looking to expand its presence in Northern California, particularly in the Bay Area. Its a territory that has room for at least 20 more units, each creating 15 to 20 full-time management and support staff employment opportunities. The point person for Firehouse Subs in the area is Scott Kinner, the brands area representative who himself oversees 13 units across his territory in Central and Northern California, Southern Oregon, and Western Nevada. Hes not just looking for new franchisees, hes got four more stores in the pipeline and scheduled to open soon. Our Firehouse Subs culture is what makes us really unique, says Kinner. We have this amazing brand steeped in a rich firefighting and first responder tradition that resonates not only with our customers, but also across all our employees and corporate staff. Its the very thing that brought Kinner to the brand in the first place. He had been in the franchising business for years working on the corporate side as director of operations for brands such as McDonalds and Chipotle. I was looking to make a change and knew I wanted to do something on my own, he says. With my experience in the industry, I knew my success rate would be much higher in franchising than trying to start a business from scratch. I researched a number of different concepts, but I was really looking for something that I could stand behind and a brand that gave back to the community. Firehouse Subs fit the bill. Kinner says he invested in the brand because it was unique in its approach to business, its food, and the community. The brand is widely known for its pledge to support first responders in the communities where the stores operate. In fact, the brand has granted more than $42 million to hometown heroes across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada since the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation began in 2005. But the brand is also known for its unique menu which features a unique process of steaming their meats and cheeses. The result is a rush of flavors served up on one of their toasted private-recipe sub rolls. Kinner is based in San Francisco and says he was originally looking to open a single unit, but after an initial phone call, the opportunity to develop the entire region was presented to him and he became the area representative for the region. He says hes extremely satisfied with the brand and the part that he has played in his territories. As a Firehouse Subs area representative, Kinners responsibility is to help build his territory through both franchise development and the support of existing operators in the market. Were all about building profit for our franchisees and we do that through innovation, product development, exceptional customer service, and streamlined operations, he says. Were definitely a people-first kind of business. San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and the surrounding communities are growing in population and diversity, and Firehouse Subs is well positioned to meet the demand for fast and innovative menu items focused on fresh ingredients that highlight its unique commitment to first responders in the communities where the brand operates. Kinner says while the brand has certain financial requirements to become a Firehouse Subs operator, potential franchisees also need to be the right fit. The brand is looking not only for franchisees that embrace their business philosophy, but who are also highly committed to their priority of giving back. If the mission and culture at Firehouse Subs sounds like the kind of opportunity youre looking for, and you would like to become a part of the Firehouse Subs family, visit http://www.firehousesubsfranchising.com for more information. The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with area school systems, is seeking businesses to participate in their inaugural Discover Your Future! event Oct. 910 at the Fredericksburg Expo & Conference Center in Celebrate Virginia South in Fredericksburg. The event is designed to help introduce students in Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Stafford and Spotsylvania, to local businesses through career exploration, preparation and commitment. Eighth graders will attend during the school day Oct. 9 and 10 to learn more about the career opportunities available in the region. Participating businesses are asked to provide an interactive and engaging display to highlight and promote what they do. The goal is to spark career interests. High school juniors and seniors will participate in mock interviews with local business leaders and attend workforce readiness breakout sessions during the school day Oct. 10. Businesses are asked to provide a representative to participate in the mock interviews. Students will also have the opportunity to learn more about participating businesses while theyre at the expo center. Travel Awaits, which bills itself as the premiere website for seasoned travelers, has given a shout out to two downtown Fredericksburg restaurants in a recent article on "8 Amazing Virginia Foods to Try and Where to Find Them." The eight "foods," which in some cases are really dishes, include beef, shrimp and pimento cheese. Travelawaits.com reporter Jill Dutton spotlights Kybecca and Foode for their renditions. She gives Kybecca a tip of the hat for its 36-hour chuck eye, which is one of its best-selling dishes. Foode gets mentioned not once, but twice, for its take on Southern specialties. Dutton wrote that Virginia's earliest colonists brought over cattle, and there are now an estimated 675,000 cattle in the state. Wade Troung, Kybecca's executive chef, told her that he turns chuck eye into a tender cut by using the sous-vide method of cooking. "You get deep, beefy flavor and a tender steak texture. We rub the meat with a house blend of spices, pair it with local asparagus that is simply seasoned and grilled, and top that off with porcini-mushroom-infused demi-glace, Troung is quoted as saying in the article. And because of that, people queue up early for the opportunity to get inked for a good cause. For participants getting tattooed at the event, its a different kind of experience than a normal tattoo appointment (where for the most part you are interacting one on one with your artist), said Brown. During TFC everyone is talking, sharing and interacting. The lobby is packed with people, and participants line up down the block before we open the doors. Every single person attending is there because they want to be a force for good in our community. The event continues to grow in numbers and support raised. In fact, in 2013 the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce awarded Jack Browns Tattoo Revival its Chamber Goodwill Award for leadership in philanthropic endeavors. That year, TFC raised money for Loisanns Hope House, a nonprofit that helps homeless children and families. People may sometimes feel overwhelmed about the many terrible things happening in the world and wonder how one person can ever make a difference, said Brown. Helping in your local community is the place to start. And the folks at RCASA are already thankful for the community support. Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault provides specialized services to both adult and youth survivors of sexual violence, said Berben. We offer a safe, welcoming, and healing environment in which survivors and their loved ones find support. St. Michael the Archangel, a private Catholic high school in Spotsylvania County, has earned official designation as a Catholic, independent school in the Diocese of Arlington. Jennifer Bigelow, superintendent of schools for the diocese, read a letter from Bishop Michael Burbidge granting the designation at an assembly Wednesday morning. Were so thrilled for you, Bigelow told the audience, which included teachers, administration and most of the student body of 67. Principal Ann Lewis wrote in a letter to the community that an achievement such as this is the result of the passion and dedication of every single member of the Warrior Familyfaculty, staff, parents, students and volunteersand I offer my most sincere gratitude to each of you. Achieving recognition from the diocese was a year-long process that began in September. The school had to demonstrate evidence of school accreditation and financial stability, verify that the principal and board of trustees are practicing Catholics in good standing and that faculty are Catechist-certified. In the case of the May 16 crash, tree limbs, high grass and overgrown vegetation were all cited during Tuesdays meeting as possible contributors to the fatal collision. Those conditions prompted Supervisor Gary Snellings to direct county officials to close the boat ramp area immediately. VDOT conducted daily vehicle counts for Kellogg Mill Road between Poplar and Mountain View roads from 2000 to 2018. In 2000, 1,400 vehicles traveled that stretch of roadway daily. In 2018, the daily vehicle count in the same area had risen to 3,900. VDOT also reported that on the 1.15-mile stretch of Kellogg Mill Road between Abel Drive and Lake Forest Drive, 12 crashes occurred between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2018. Three of those crashes involved injuries and nine involved property damage. The May 16 crash was the only recorded fatality on that stretch of roadway in VDOTs three-year tracking period. VDOTs Fredericksburg District maintains 1,621 lane miles of state roads in Stafford, 1,849 miles in Spotsylvania County, and 1,331 in Caroline County. Goodbye to the beautiful Virginia landscape. Hello oceans of solar panels. Our region will not benefit from this massive intrusion. We will see no energy from the sPower solar plant. Thats going to major, West Coast tech companies so they can receive more tax write-offs. We will see no economic benefit. In fact, research provided to the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors shows the county is likely to lose money. There is certainly no real long-term economic impact, despite the tenuous promises of donations to be made by sPower over the life of the project. And because the supervisors relaxed most of the very protective conditions that their own Planning Commission recommended be placed on sPower, taxpayers may be stuck with the decommissioning bill when all is said and done. These so-called Republicans hit the jackpot for Gov. Northam and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. They got the ball rolling for the Green New Deal, and put taxpayers on the hook to pay for it. They can call themselves conservatives or Republicans to help them win elections, but their actions on the sPower deal make them more qualified to run in the Democratic presidential primaries. And why not? Every other politician with a socialist dream to be paid for by taxpayers is doing it. These fellas will fit right in! Kevin McCarthy, former producer of the USO Shows and television productions worldwide, is now a retired church music director who lives in Spotsylvania. He is a member of the Spotsylvania Republican Committee. THE Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on May 14 to repeal the countys panhandling ordinance after county staff reported that such laws are increasingly being challenged in court on First Amendment grounds. The repealed ordinance had prohibited the solicitation of contributions of any nature from the occupants of motor vehicles, or the distribution or sale of any items on the highways, public roadways and medians within the county. In 2015, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Robert Reynolds, a homeless man in Henrico County who had been fighting that countys similar prohibition of solicitation on highways and median strips on public safety grounds. The appellate court noted that despite numerous citizen complaints, there was no other empirical evidence in the record of actual problems caused by panhandling or soliciting from medians. The justices cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires localities to prove that there are no other ways to address their public safety concerns. Rather than focus strictly on the meaning of the subjects of Triptych, take a closer look at the materials for what they mean. Felt, unlike paint, absorbs the colors rather than allow it to be reflected in light as paint would, suggesting perhaps that these human-like drawings have something beneath their surface. The technique of folded layering of the cloth adds depth to the flat work and likens the relationship of the painting to sculptured works. Nor can the work be simply classified belonging in one genre of art as these ephemeral figuresin states of fluctuation between dreaming and awakeningare simultaneously floating between the world of figurative art and absolute abstraction. Facial renderings remind of preliminary drawings in a Renaissance artists sketchbooks, while the three figures in another painting with hunched shoulders, heads bent, hide their facial expressions in wordless gesturing. How then to relate to these paint people, who exist only as linear forms in some way coming or going in indefinite space on canvas? Galveston, TX (77553) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight A few clouds with an isolated thunderstorm possible after midnight. Low 71F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- JAC Motors and China National Machinery IMP. & EXP. CORP (CMC) struck a deal on May 21 to acquire a total of 51% stake in AllurGroup, the biggest automobile group in Kazakhstan. The acquisition signifies an important outset for JAC Motors to develop markets in the customs union and globalize the company in Central Asian markets, said Xiang Xingchu, general manager of JAC Motors. According to the introduction from the target companys official website, AllurGroup is an official distributor, manufacturer and dealer of Peugeot, Iveco, JAC, Ankai, HOWO, manufacturer of Hyundai, Ravon, Niva Chevrolet, and official dealer of Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Ravon and Ford in Kazakhstan. It is also a shareholder of SaryarkaAvtoProm LLP, the largest automobile manufacturing enterprise in Kazakhstan. CMC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China General Technology (Group) Holding, Limited (Genertec), is a large international project developer, a contractor in offering services to project management and a supplier of services for automobile industry. It had signed an investment agreement in last December on acquiring shares in SaryarkaAvtoProm LLP. The latest acquisition is part of outcomes for JAC Motors and CMC in response to the Belt and Road initiative and China-Kazakhstan Capacity Cooperation program. It is reported that JAC Motors has deployed marketing networks in over 130 countries across South America, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe, and set up 19 plants outside China. ZeniMax and book publisher BookBreeze have resolved their legal dispute over the 'Redfall' trademark. The two companies came to loggerheads in February after Zenimax attempted to trademark the word 'Redfall,' which is also the name of the BookBreeze published sci-fi novel series from author Jay Falconer. It's thought Zenimax-owned developer Bethesda Studios was looking to use the name in its upcoming Elder Scrolls title, which was unveiled at E3 2018. Worried about the confusion that might cause, Falconer asked BookBreeze to take legal action on his behalf, having failed in his own attempts to contact Zenimax. It looks like that was enough to grab the attention of Zenimax, and both parties have finally come together to hash out a "mutually beneficial" resolution. "ZeniMax Media Inc. and Bookbreeze.com are pleased to announce that they have amicably resolved a pending trademark dispute related to the Redfall trademark," reads a short statement. "While the specific terms of the agreement are confidential, the parties believe that resolution of the matter is mutually beneficial to both ZeniMax and Bookbreeze.com and their respective fans." The Willamette Valley Concert Band will perform its free annual Memorial Day Concert, A Day Of Remembrance, at 7 p.m. Monday, May 27 at the LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St. on the Oregon State University campus. The concert is free but donations are gladly accepted. The money will help mid-valley music students attend summer music camps. The program will begin with a special arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The arrangement was written in 2002 by Steve Smith. Rick Kirby's "An American Fanfare," which takes the normally hymn-like strains of "America" and incorporates it into a fast and energetic fanfare, follows. "A Tribute To Harry James" features some of the solos from the late trumpeter and band leader's long career and features soloist Steve Iverson. "The National Emblem March," by Edwin Eugene Bagley, incorporates strains of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and was written in 1906. "An American Elegy," by Frank Tichelil, was composed in memory of those who lost their lives at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, and honors the survivors. Leroy Anderson's "Bugler's Holiday" features a trumpet trio with Iverson, Jerry Oryschyn and Bob Clausen. The concert also features a medley from the movie "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" and Bob Loweden's "Armed Forces Salute," which features the official songs of the five U.S. military branches, including the Merchant Marines. The concert concludes with John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," which Congress has designated as America's official march. The Willamette Valley Concert Band, based in Albany, has played concerts in the Willamette Valley since 1970. The 50-member band includes adult musicians from Benton, Lynn, Marion and Polk counties. It is directed by Mike Bevington, a retired band director who taught for many years in Jefferson. Richard Sorenson, emeritus director, will lead the last two pieces of the concert. He also sponsored this concert in memory of his late wife, Mary. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Oregon Department of Transportation said it would close Highway 34 west of Philomath for most of Friday to clean up a logging truck crash that occurred Wednesday morning. ODOT said in a press release that a logging truck loaded with equipment crashed about six miles west of Philomath. The crash caused traffic delays throughout Wednesday, ODOT's tripcheck.com website said. ODOT said in its release that Highway 34 would be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and travelers should detour on Highway 20, since there would be no through traffic during the closure. Greg Ridler, undersheriff with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, said deputies responded to the crash, which left the semi-truck partially blocking one lane of traffic. "We are working to clear the road," he said Wednesday morning. "It's going to take some time but we do have one lane open." He said the plan was to have a tow truck move the truck out of traffic and then remove other pieces of the vehicle at a later time. Ridler said there were no injuries in the crash. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Senate-approved Measure 11 reform bill passed out of a House committee Tuesday, signaling the stars have aligned to pass one of the most significant changes to Oregons criminal justice system in decades. Senate Bill 1008 would stop juveniles charged with violent crimes from automatically being treated as a Measure 11 offender. Measure 11 was passed overwhelmingly by voters in 1994, and imposes mandatory minimum prison sentences for violent crimes. Under the law, juveniles 15 and older are automatically treated as adults, meaning they are tried in adult courts and receive the same sentences as their older peers. But advocates of criminal justice reform point to a better scientific understanding of brain development that has come to light in the past couple decades. It shows that the parts of our brains that control impulse continue to develop until about 25, meaning juveniles are more susceptible to making poor decisions. Senate Bill 1008 is the product of a work group looking to fix what many now feel is an injustice in our court system. Polling from the Oregon chapter of the ACLU found that 88 percent of Oregonians support the reform. The ACLU is one of the bills biggest backers. The reform would allow a judge to decide whether the offender should be tried in juvenile or adult court. For those sentenced as adults, they would get a second look hearing halfway through their sentences to evaluate how much they have been reformed as well as a review before a youth with a long sentence is transitioned to adult prison. Finally, it would not allow youths to be sentenced to life without parole. The bill moved relatively quickly in the first half of the session, passing out of the Senate in mid-April with the 20 votes needed to amend a voter-approved measure. Quickly after the Senate vote, where the bill was championed by senators Jackie Winters, R-Salem, and Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, an opposition mounted. The Oregon District Attorneys Association lobbied against it, as did Oregon Crime Victims United. Some argued that the bill would be retroactive, releasing infamous criminals like Kip Kinkel, who killed his parents and then two students in a shooting at Springfields Thurston High School in 1998. The architects of the bill wholeheartedly reject that idea, pointing to a line in the bill that says the law would apply to sentences imposed on or after Jan. 1, 2020." Non-partisan legislative attorneys have backed up that reading of the bill. The opposition seems to backed off of that claim, but is still pushing full force, saying this is about the Kip Kinkel of tomorrow, who wont be adequately punished if Measure 11 is reformed. Crime Victims United released a video featuring the brother of one of Kinkels victims. Reports have also surfaced about robocalls providing similar information. Both tell the public to call House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, to voice opposition. Williamson is a leader of the bill and chairs the House Judiciary committee that just passed it. I think its really unfortunate that people continue to vilify people like Kip, and use him as a boogey man to undermine these policies, said Bobbin Singh, executive director of Oregon Justice Resource Center. Singhs organization has worked in the background for the past year to reform what he calls bad policy. In that time, he has seem a swath of bipartisan support, including Republicans like Winters as well as so-called tough on crime groups like Right on Crime. Even the Koch network, well-known right-wing political donors, have lobbied in favor of the bill. Within the state, more than 30 retired judges have supported it, as has the Oregon Youth Authority and some district attorneys. However, the Oregon District Attorneys Association remains the biggest opponent of the policy. I think there is a lot of misinformation about the bill, which is being proffered by the opposition, Singh said. On Tuesday, Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, introduced an amendment on their behalf which would significantly water down the reforms. It would also refer the bill to voters. McLane and other Republicans on the committee said the bill is close to great, but they cant support it in its current form. They didnt say specifically what changes they wanted, but all voted for two amendments to refer it to voters. Both failed. The bill ended up passing 6-5 with Rep. Jeff Barker, D-Aloha, joining Republicans. Williamsons office said they believe it has the 40 votes needed to pass the House. Death penalty changes SB 1008 comes in a week where criminal justice reform seems very much in vogue. On Tuesday morning, Senate Bill 1013, which would limit the definition of aggravated murder, passed the Senate. It would also disallow considering future dangerousness as a factor in imposing the death penalty. The bill was introduced by Prozanski, who said the original idea of the death penalty in Oregon was for reform, not for vindictive justice. Prozanski said the U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no conclusive evidence to show the death penalty is a deterrent. He said since 1984, 60 percent of Oregons death penalty cases have been reversed, mostly to instead impose life without parole. He also made a fiscal argument:The average death penalty case costs $1.4 million while non-death penalty murder cases cost an average of $335,000. The bill is not retroactive and now moves to the House. Marijuana conviction changes The persistent message put out by advocates for 1008 and 1013 is that its not retroactive, the entire point of Senate Bill 420 is to vacate old sentences. The bill from Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, would set aside marijuana convictions imposed before the state legalized pot. Frederick insists the name of the bill, the same as a marijuana holiday, is purely coincidental. Tens of thousands of Oregonians Frederick estimated 75,000 have possession of marijuana convictions on their record. This can stop them from getting a job or housing, he testified. The proposal looks to clean up a 2015 policy that went for the same effect, allowing people to get their records expunged. However, it turns out thats a costly and time-consuming process. This bill directs the Oregon Department of Justice to seek out those convictions and set them aside. However, many drug possession charges dont clearly lay out which drug the offender possessed, making the ability to estimate how many marijuana charges there are in the state a difficult task. An amendment to the bill makes it easier for someone to come forward saying they have such a charge. The bill prompted some engaged questioning by McLane, who questioned why someone with other convictions should automatically get a marijuana conviction overturned. When a lawyer from the Oregon Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union started to go into the pitfalls of the war on drugs, McLane questioned her reasoning. Since the initiative was started in the 1970s by the Nixon administration, the federal government has spent $1 trillion to fight drugs in the U.S., though many argue to little effect as drugs remain a large problem. Drug arrests have led to a disproportionate number of minorities being incarcerated, despite evidence showing white people use drugs just as often. However, that wasnt explained to McLane. During the line of questioning. Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clackamas, became visibly agitated, then asked Williamson to call a break. The two went out in the hallway, then Williamson talked to McLane in the hallway. When they returned, the question was not re-asked, nor was an answer solicited. The committee is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday. Reporter Aubrey Wieber: aubrey@salemreporter.com or 503-575-1251. Wieber is a reporter for Salem Reporter who works for the Oregon Capital Bureau, a collaboration of EO Media Group, the Pamplin Media Group, and Salem Reporter. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SALEM Oregon State Police Trooper Nic Cederberg stood in the White House on Wednesday afternoon as President Donald Trump bestowed upon him the nations highest honor for his profession. On the other side of the country at the departments headquarters, more than 20 of his OSP colleagues, including Superintendent Travis Hampton, watched live as Cederberg received the National Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor. The room was silent as Trump recounted Cederbergs heroism. Then, an exclamation. Yeah! Hampton cheered as Trump honored Cederberg. The room filled with applause. Cederberg is the first Oregon recipient. He was largely off camera during the ceremony, remaining stoic when Trump placed the medal on him. The department nominated him in July 2017 but assumed he didnt make the exclusive group when the agency didnt hear back. Last week, word came that he indeed would be honored. "I was amazed, extremely honored for him, Hampton said. A Christmas night in 2016 changed Cederbergs life forever. He was the lone trooper patrolling Washington County when a countywide call was put out for police to be on the lookout for a white Mitsubishi. James Tylka had shot and killed his wife in front of his parents King City home 20 minutes earlier. Cederberg spotted a car matching the description and turned on his police lights. The car took off. Cederberg gave chase down a dead end rural road. Tylka turned his car around and rammed into Cederbergs patrol car so the front ends were facing each other. The two men opened their doors and gunfire ensued. Cederberg was struck in the hip and knocked to the ground but kept shooting, striking Tylka several times. In all, Cederberg was struck 12 times. Tylka ran into the woods. About 15 minutes later, officers from three nearby agencies arrived and opened fire on the gunman, who shot himself in the head. In the next two years, Cederberg worked to physically and mentally recover from the traumatic night, said Capt. Tim Fox. Fox started to get to know Cederberg shortly before the shooting, but the two have become close friends since. He teared up as Cederberg was recognized. Ive really grown to know and love Nic more than I thought I could, Fox said. In November, Cederberg filed a $30 million lawsuit in federal court against Washington Countys 911 system. According to the lawsuit, when dispatch put out a call to all law enforcement, dispatchers didnt share on all channels the information that Tylka was armed and suicidal. They also didnt tell officers that Tylka had just killed his wife. In his lawsuit, Cederberg said he wouldnt have pursued Tylka if he had that information. Cederberg was honored with 11 other men. Two families of officers who died in the line of duty were also honored. One officer responded to an ISIS-inspired attack, while eight members of the Irwindale and Azusa police departments in California were recognized for stopping an active shooter on election day 2016. The honor is rare. Since its creation in 2001, generally only a handful of officers are given the Medal of Valor each year. Since 2001, public safety officials have been honored for responding to 84 events. Its not necessarily even the events that happened that night, its the grit, the determination and the resilience hes shown since then, Fox said of Cederberg. His attitude and his desire to strive, or thrive, its amazing. So thats really where I believe he deserves this medal. Fox said Cederberg was always an enthusiastic and aggressive trooper. Theyre traits he looks to quell a bit in young officers, but in this situation that mentality worked to Cederbergs benefit. Our job is to keep people safe and stand watch for the wolves at our door, Fox said. Nic was one who took that challenge with the utmost respect. He took that and he did it. He was never one to back down from a challenge. Cederberg continues to recover from the event and remains on medical leave. It is not clear if he will return to duty, Fox said. Twelve bullets dont just leave, so he still has some in his body and those cause quite a bit of pain, Fox said. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Samaritan Health Services spent $160.8 million on community benefit activities last year, the regional health care system said Wednesday in announcing the release of its 2018 annual report. Based in Corvallis, Samaritan operates five hospitals, 80 physician clinics, several health insurance plans, four fitness centers and other businesses employing about 5,100 people in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. As a tax-exempt nonprofit entity, Samaritan is required by law to provide a certain amount of charity care and other benefits to the areas in which it operates. Last years tally was $156.4 million. Charity care for uninsured patients totaled $14.3 million in 2018, up $2.2 million from the year before. That number was much higher before Medicaid eligibility was expanded in 2013, said Julie Manning, Samaritans vice president for marketing, public relations and community health promotion. In our region alone, that brought 30,000 people onto Medicaid, Manning said. As a result, Samaritans costs for uncompensated care plunged from $22.8 million in 2013 to $9.6 million the following year, Manning said. Since then, however, the figures have slowly begun to creep up again. Ninety-five percent of Oregonians have insurance now, so its holding together, she said. But we have started to see charity care kick back up somewhat. Manning said the reasons for that increase could include the growing number of people in gig economy jobs with no benefits, as well as the rise in high-deductible health plans, which could result in charitable write-offs for people who show up at the hospital insured but unable to pay out-of-pocket costs. The lions share of Samaritans community benefit expenses, however, go to cover the unpaid costs of public insurance programs. Last year, the health care system wrote off $119.3 million in unpaid costs of treating patients covered by Medicare and the Oregon Health Plan, the states version of Medicaid. That represents Samaritans estimate of the difference between the actual cost of care and the reimbursement rates paid by Medicare and Medicaid. That number is down slightly from 2017, when Samaritan reported $120.8 million in unpaid costs of public programs. In other community benefits for 2018, Samaritan Health Services reported spending: $10 million in subsidized health services, the estimated loss incurred in providing emergency and trauma care, behavioral health services, hospice care and other program areas that dont generate profits. $8.2 million for health professions education, which compensates attending physicians and nurses who supervise medical residents and nursing trainees in Samaritan hospitals. $3 million in cash and in-kind contributions to needy individuals and charitable organizations. That figure includes $450,000 in social accountability grants awarded to more than 40 community agencies in the tri-county area. $2.5 million in community health improvement services such as free classes, clinics and workshops. $2.3 million toward community-building activities such as funding the Samaritan Early Learning Center, which provides subsidized child care in Lincoln City. $754,000 on clinical trials and other research activities. $402,000 in overhead costs associated with providing community benefit activities. Reporter Bennett Hall can be reached at 541-758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @bennetthallgt. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As the author of the recent sesquicentennial history of Oregon State University, I am troubled with the institutions recent initiative to build two student dormitories at the east end of lower campus. This proposal violates the universitys Master Plan regarding open space. Open spaces, according to item 2.7.10 in the Master Plan, are an important historical element in the system established by the 1909 Olmsted Brothers Plan. Indeed, the extensive green open spaces eastward from 14th Street were originally part of the historic College Farm, the original grounds for todays university. Filling these open spaces with dormitories and parking lots would be a moral affront to the integrity of John Charles Olmsteds 110-year-old 60-page plan. The Olmsted document is emphatic about the open space extending to the east: For the sake of securing a dignified frontage to open up the college to view from the city and from trains, the college grounds should be extended eastward to 9th Street and from Monroe southward to Jefferson St. The report mentions the dignity and agreeableness of this approach to the college. Furthermore, the low wetland to the east should remain as an imposing park-meadow between the principal entrances and the buildings. The open spaces afforded a way to keep at arms length the sordid and more or less ugly details of the city. For most of the 20th century college/university planners adhered to the Olmsted landscape-planning strategy. Attorney Ron Marek also charges that the university is violating the terms of its own Master Plan, which directs the institution to direct development toward the south and west areas of campus. OSUs ambition, if approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council, would play ju-jitsu with its allocation of open spaces, opening the door to more development in one of the last open spaces between the university and downtown Corvallis. Courtney Cloyd, president of the Central Park Neighborhood Association, is also critical of OSU for its lack of transparency in pursuing the initiative. Central Park residents are already suffering building fatigue in the midst of Seventh Street Station, the former Gazette-Times renovation, and the huge Washington Yards project going up at Seventh and Western Boulevard. In the early 1960s, Oregon State University President James Jensen commissioned planning consultants L.A. DeMonte and A.R. Wagner to develop a guide for the physical expansion of the university. Under the headline, Landscapes and Open Spaces, DeMonte-Wagner emphasized the value of open spaces as a critical component of a beautiful campus, drawing attention to the importance of open spaces, malls, and campus ways. Reflecting the 1909 blueprint, DeMonte-Wagner emphasized the importance of the Olmsteds attractive boundary as in the case of the large green near the easterly end of campus. Efforts to preserve such places must be carefully coordinated with City Plans. President Jensen praised DeMonte-Wagner for providing a plan to protect the visual qualities and the traditional amenities that have so long characterized Oregon State University." In the 21st century, we can do no less than carry on President Jensens message. Bill Robbinstaught at Oregon State University from 1971 to 2002 and retired as emeritus distinguished professor of history. His most recent book is "The People's School," a history of OSU. Love 10 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 5.1 Plus available at up to Rs. 2,500 discount News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu This could be the right time to buy any of these Nokia smartphones. Lately, HMD Global has been providing discounts and offers on many Nokia smartphones. It has been launching many new phones such as the Nokia 4.2 and Nokia 3.2 in the country and is also expected to bring the Nokia 9 PureView flagship smartphone to the country. Last week, the company hosted a one-day Nokia Phones Fan Festival on May 13 and provided discounts on select smartphones. Recently, it was announced that the one-day dale will also be hosted in the country once again on May 24 providing discounts on a slew of offerings including Nokia 8, Nokia 8 Sirocoo, Nokia 7.1 and Nokia 6.1 Plus. Now, a report by NokiaPowerUser claims that the company is selling two of its affordable devices - Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus with attractive discounts via online retailers. Let's take a look at the discounts from here. Nokia 6.1 Plus discount As per the report, the Nokia 6.1 Plus priced at Rs. 15,990 is now available at a discounted cost of Rs. 13,449. This means that there is a discount of Rs. 2,541 on Amazon. This is the pricing of the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space variant of the Nokia smartphone in Black. The White color variant is still listed for Rs. 14,799. Nokia 5.1 Plus discount When it comes to Nokia 5.1 Plus, the device is available at a considerable discount of Rs. 10,599 instead of its usual selling price of Rs. 13,199. This is a 19% discount on the smartphone. This discount is applicable only on the base variant with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage space. If you were looking forward to purchase a Nokia smartphone, then this could be the right time to buy it. Given that both the affordable devices are available at attractive discounts, will you buy one of them right now? Do let us know via the comments section below. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications BJP wins the battle in Google political advertising as well News oi-Vishal Kawadkar BJP has also won the most number of seats in the elections. According to the data shared by Google, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has shelled out the biggest sum for its political advertising on the search giant's various platforms. The stats were revealed in Google's Political Advertising Transparency Report. There were 1.24 lakh political ads with total spending of more than Rs 27.9 crore between February and May 23, 2019, Facebook's Ad Library Report reveals. And, Narendra Modi-led BJP has topped the list with an expenditure of Rs 1.8 crore in advertising on Google platforms since February 2019. BJP was followed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party that spent more than Rs 4.1 crore on advertising. Indian National Congress took the third spot with Rs 3.04 crore of investment in advertising for its party on Google. While leading up to the Lok Sabha elections, Both Google and Facebook have actively worked towards an unbiased political advertising approach across their platforms to bring transparency. The companies also announced their plans to strengthen efforts around election integrity. Google enforced its election ads policy on February 20. The policy required the parties to present a pre-certificate issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The search giant also confirmed that it cross-checks the identity of every advertiser before their ads start showing on its platform. All Google platforms show the 'paid for' disclosures for all ads using the information that was given during the verification process. The disclosure shows the name of the organization or the individual to the viewers. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Indian Soldier Killed, 7 Wounded in Explosion Near India-Pakistan Border Sputnik News 15:16 22.05.2019(updated 15:17 22.05.2019) Earlier this month, two soldiers were injured in a similar explosion in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In another incident in February, an army officer was killed in an IED blast that occurred in the Lam Jhanger area, near the Line of Control (LoC). New Delhi (Sputnik): An Indian Army soldier was killed and seven others were left severely wounded on Wednesday in an IED explosion near the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan. The blast, which occurred in the Mendhar area, located in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, occurred when a patrol party of 12 Madras Regiment was moving near a forward post, a police official said, confirming the development over the phone. Police said that the injured troops have been hospitalised in a nearby army health facility and the condition of all of them is stable. Since mid-February, the Indian and Pakistani militaries have asked their troops to remain on high-alert and remain vigilant at the border (LoC). India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed South Asian nations, were involved in major escalation after 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mmohammad claimed the responsibility for the attack. The Indian Air Force retaliated with an air strike on 26 February and claimed that the strike had destroyed terror infrastructure and killed militants in Balakot, Pakistan. Islamabad denied the Indian claim of losses of life or property but launched a counter-strike on 27 February and shot down an Indian MiG-21 Bison fighter jet in the ensuing dogfight. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palestine refugees' relief chief warns Security Council money to fund Gaza operations will run out in mid-June 22 May 2019 - The head of the UN relief and works agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned on Wednesday that despite weathering a "truly existential crisis" over funding last year, money to continue operations this year in the Gaza Strip will only last until mid-June. Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl told the Council it was "absolutely critical to avoid a breakdown of our food pipeline" and called on partners 42 of whom increased their contributions to UNRWA last year after the United States withdrew funding - "to actively mobilize in support of our efforts". He was briefing via video-link, along with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, on the overall political and humanitarian situation surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict. Mr. Krahenbuhl said the severe hardship endured by Gazans after "successive armed confrontations, blockade and violence" had been compounded for more than a year by the thousands wounded and hundreds killed under fire from Israeli security forces during the demonstrations at the border fence. "Every family in Gaza has been impacted and people speak of a level of despair that surpasses anything previously known to them", especially in terms of what UNRWA calls the current "epidemic deterioration of mental-health conditions", he said. Mr. Krahenbuhl said it was essential to open the next school year on time, in August, and rehabilitating schools to that end needed more funding. Overall, $1.2 billlion is required through the year, he said, matching the amount mobilized last year, highlighting an upcoming pledging conference due to take place on 25 June in New York. He implored the Council to do whatever it could, to end the political stalemate, as "every single day, we deal with increasingly severe human consequences of this enduring conflict". He cited the inspiring story of 15-year-old UNRWA student Jameela Abu Jom'a, awarded the 2019 Inspirational Messages of Peace Contest" award, backed in part by the United States National Park Service. Her message will be displayed in an Atlanta park for a year. "That is what you...have allowed us to achieve and preserve. For this you deserve the highest recognition", he told the Council, calling on Member States to "protect this vital effort and sustain your collective mobilization, in support of dignity, stability and robust multilateralism". 'There are no shortcuts to sustainable peace' - Mladenov In his briefing, UNSCO chief Mladenov, said the escalation between Israel and militants across the border in Hamas-controlled Gaza of recent weeks, had "once again demonstrated the urgency of solidifying and expanding the existing understandings on the ground". "We must ask ourselves, how many more years will Palestinians in Gaza be forced to live on a pittance from the international community, under the control of Hamas, and suffer from Israeli closures?" Mr. Mladenov asked how much longer Israelis would have to run for bomb shelters as Palestinian militants' rockets "rain down indiscriminately from above?" He said the UN and partners had continued trying to mitigate the impact of the crisis in Gaza, but they were doomed to fail without resolving intra-Palestinian division, the blockade, and "charting a course towards the two-State solution based on long-standing international parameters". "There are no shortcuts to sustainable peace" he declared. The Special Coordinator also noted that while the focus had been on the ebb and flow of the Gaza crisis, the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, "is of growing concern to us". A prolonged absence of any political progress through talks had coincided with deteriorating living conditions. "This, coupled with violence, settlement expansion, demolitions of Palestinian property, and the persistent threat of further economic decline, are creating an explosive mix that could have serious security implications", he added. He condemned all attacks on Palestinian and Israeli civilians and called on all sides to refrain from violence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Pleads for Funds By Margaret Besheer May 22, 2019 The U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees warned Wednesday that it would run out of money in a few weeks if donors did not step up quickly. "As we speak, UNRWA has only enough money to run its operations until mid-June," Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, told the U.N. Security Council. The council meets monthly to discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict. UNRWA provides more than 5 million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria with essential services, including education and health care. Same amount as in 2018 Krahenbuhl said the agency needs $1.2 billion this year for all of its operations across the region. "This is the exact amount we mobilized last year," he said. "If every donor managed to maintain its level of funding in 2019, we should be able to cover our budget." He said he was particularly worried about making sure UNRWA's 715 schools could open on time in August to serve a half-million students, as well as being able to continue food distribution programs. Midyear financial shortages are not unusual for the agency, which is supported entirely by voluntary contributions. But it has faced an unprecedented funding crisis since last year, when the Trump administration abruptly slashed its contribution by $300 million. This year, it has not funded UNRWA at all. Historically, Washington has been the agency's largest single donor. U.S. Middle East negotiator Jason Greenblatt made clear the administration's position had not changed. "UNRWA's business model, which is inherently tied to an endlessly and exponentially expanding community of beneficiaries, is in permanent crisis mode," Greenblatt told the council. "That is why the United States decided that it will no longer commit to funding this irredeemably flawed operation." He said Palestinians deserve a life in which they will know whether schools and health clinics will remain open. "We need to engage with host governments to start a conversation about planning the transition of UNRWA services to host governments, or to other international or local nongovernmental organizations, as appropriate," he said. "The United States is ready to participate in that conversation." The Trump administration is expected to unveil its long-awaited peace plan next month, which Greenblatt has worked on with Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The administration plans to roll out the economic part of the plan at a conference in Bahrain in late June. The administration has invited government, civil society and business leaders to a workshop there promoting support for potential investments and initiatives that could follow a peace deal. Palestinian leaders, angry at unilateral actions by the U.S., including moving its embassy to Jerusalem, are considering whether to boycott the event. "It would be a mistake for the Palestinians not to join us," Greenblatt said. "They have nothing to lose and much to gain if they do join us." Israel's envoy went further on UNRWA, calling for the elimination of the agency and accusing it of inciting violence against Israel. "It is time to stop pumping money into an organization that has continued the plight of Palestinian people in Gaza," Israeli envoy Danny Danon said. "UNRWA's mandate must come to an end." 'Extraordinary work' Palestinian deputy U.N. envoy Feda Abdelhady-Nasser rejected the attacks on UNRWA. "Attempts to characterize the agency as part of the problem when it has done extraordinary work to alleviate the plight of millions and to contribute to regional stability are cynical, unfair and rejected not only by us but the vast majority of states that continue to strongly support UNRWA's mandate," she said. Krahenbuhl also firmly rejected U.S. and Israeli criticism, saying the agency had carried out its mission "in one of the most polarized, if not the most polarized, contexts on the planet" with "integrity, dignity and neutrality." As to UNRWA's existence for nearly 70 years, he said it was never intended to be permanent, but its continued existence is "an illustration of the abysmal failure in political terms to bring about a solution" to the conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon Mulls Sending More Troops to Gulf, Officials Say By VOA News May 22, 2019 The Pentagon is set to brief the White House on a request for thousands more U.S. troops to be sent to the Middle East, amid rising tensions between Iran and Washington, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been formally announced. The officials said the request for additional troops was coming from U.S. Central Command and would be presented to the White House on Thursday. But it was not clear whether the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested defensive forces, as well as additional Patriot missile batteries and more ships. The Pentagon declined to comment on future plans. "As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential future plans and requests for forces," said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been escalating since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to try to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and beef up the U.S. military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. But despite the rhetoric, last week Trump told his acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he did not want to go to war with Iran. Sending additional U.S. troops to the region would mark a shift in position for Trump, who has repeatedly said in the past he wanted to reduce the number of U.S. troops in the region. Last December, Trump announced the withdrawal of 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria. In February, however, he decided to keep about 400 troops there. VOA White House bureau chief Steve Herman and national security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Clashes in Jakarta in Wake of Election By Eva Mazrieva May 22, 2019 Indonesian President Joko Widodo says he will not tolerate anyone disturbing the country's democratic process, after deadly clashes between police and supporters of Prabowo Subianto, the former army general who lost the recent election but is contesting the results. Jakarta's governor said at least six people were killed and more than 200 injured in the violence Wednesday. "We will not give any space for riots, especially those who will damage Indonesia," the recently re-elected President Widodo told reporters, adding that the police and military will take firm action "in accordance with the law." Authorities say protesters refused to disperse as police tried to persuade them to leave, saying that it's Ramadan and they should refrain from committing violence during the holy month. The protesters even set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles.The police finally used tear gas to disperse the protesters. National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told VOA that protests turned violent Tuesday night and continued until early Wednesday. Dozens of people were arrested. Widodo said the situation is now under control as he called on Indonesians to unite following the election. Indonesia's Election Commission on Tuesday confirmed that Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, was re-elected with 55.50% of the vote, defeating former army general Prabowo. The victory was confirmed by the General Elections Commission (KPU). Prabowo, a four-time presidential candidate who is associated with the traditional political elite and hard-line Islamists, captured 44.50%. He has refused to accept the results and plans to challenge the election in the Constitutional Court on Thursday. He alleged massive fraud but provided no credible evidence. Speaking to reporters late Wednesday, Prabowo expressed his condolences over the six people killed in the protests. "We support all moral and constitutional means that are peaceful and non-violent in this political fight for our nation. I plead to all elements who exercising their aspiration the police, the armed forces and everyone else to refrain themselves from acts of violence, or even verbal violence, anything that is provocative," he said. Earlier this week he had urged his supporters to show their support peacefully. "Our steps should be constitutional, democratic, peaceful, without any violence! Those who still believe in me and my friends here... we fight not for personal benefit, but for the sovereignty of the people, for democracy, for independent Indonesia, to be free from occupation in any form," he said. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told VOA that at least 50,000 police had been deployed in anticipation of the planned protests. VOA's Richard Green contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rare earths an important strategic resource: Xi Global Times Source:Global Times Published: 2019/5/22 22:19:51 Drive to develop sector comes as trade tensions with US escalate Rare-earth minerals are important strategic yet non-renewable resources, and efforts are needed to ramp up scientific and technological innovation for there to be increased added value in the sector, Chinese President Xi Jinping said while visiting a major rare-earth company in East China's Jiangxi Province, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. It was the latest hint that the world's No.1 producer of rare-earth elements is giving the minerals a place of prominence amid escalating trade tensions with the US. There needs to be a push to continuously improve extraction and utilization techniques, extend the industry chain, raise the added value, and enhance environmental protection of relevant projects to achieve green, sustainable development, Xi said during his visit to JL MAG Rare-Earth Co in Ganzhou, as part of his inspection tour in Jiangxi that ran from Monday to Wednesday, according to Xinhua. Rare-earth development in Ganzhou, a major rare-earth production area in China, has been hampered by environmental constraints, said Chen Zhanheng, deputy secretary-general of the Association of China Rare Earth Industry. Chen noted that the president's comments, which addressed varied concerns over rare-earth development, will give a boost to the sector in Ganzhou in particular. "Measures are expected in the pipeline to push for China's rare-earth upgrade," Chen told the Global Times. While the nation's rare-earth advantage has thus far centered around the lower end of the industry chain, there are growing signs that the minerals have been increasingly used in fields including white goods appliances, wind power generation and industrial robots, as China is gradually moving up the value chain, he explained. In a statement posted Wednesday on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the ministry's raw materials industry department stated the opportunity provided by Xi's visit to the Jiangxi rare-earth company needs to be grasped to firmly push ahead with the sector's stable operation. The news about the president's visit on Monday sparked a rally in Chinese rare-earth shares the same day. Rare-earth stocks have since extended their rally, with shares of JL MAG Rare-Earth Co having surged nearly 30 percent this week as of Wednesday's market close. Details of Xi's visit and his comments weren't disclosed until Wednesday. In the hall of the rare-earth company, Xi earnestly listened to an explanation of its production and operations, and the development of the rare-earth sector in Ganzhou. He got detailed insights into the distribution, extraction techniques, and applications of the country's rare-earth resources and measures taken to protect the environment over the course of production and processing, according to the Xinhua report. Technological innovation is the lifeblood of a company, Xi said, and only by possessing indigenous intellectual property and core technology will products with core competitiveness be produced and invincible success be achieved amid stiff competition. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xi stresses military personnel education for strong armed forces People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 07:26, May 22, 2019 NANCHANG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of better education of military personnel for building strong armed forces, when inspecting the Army Infantry College of the People's Liberation Army in east China's Jiangxi Province Tuesday. Military education should meet the requirements of combat, the needs of the armed forces and the demands of future missions, said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission. He told military academies and schools to have a strong political underpinning, clarify their direction, advance reforms and improve education quality. Arriving at the Army Infantry College on Tuesday morning, Xi came to the training ground to observe cadets tackle military obstacle courses. Leaving the training ground, Xi visited an institute dedicated to the research on revolutionary history and stressed the passing on of revolutionary traditions. When briefed about the work of the college, Xi stressed the need to follow the right political direction and strengthen Party leadership and Party building. He asked the college to train the cadets for combat and focus on how to win when called on. Xi stressed the need to accelerate innovation in school management and operation, strengthen integration and upgrading of the faculty, and introduce high quality educational resources from outside. He called for imposing strict discipline, as well as curbing the practices of formalities for formalities' sake and bureaucratism. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Test Fires Air Launched Version of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile Sputnik News 16:25 22.05.2019 The 2.5-ton air-launched version of the BrahMos (BrahMos-A) missile, named after India's Brahmaputra River and Russia's Moskva River, has an operational range of around 300 km. It can be dropped from 500 to 14,000 metres. New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday successfully test fired the air-launched version of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, developed jointly by India and Russia for its frontline Su-30 MKI fighter jet. It is the second test of a BrahMos missile after the IAF became the first air force in the world to have successfully fired a 2.8 Mach surface attack missile of this category on a sea target on 22 November 2017. "The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the land target", the IAF, which had postponed the test due to a cyclone in April, said. The IAF stated that the firing could be successfully undertaken with dedicated support from the Indian Navy by way of ensuring the availability of a large number of monitoring ships to guarantee safety clearance for the range. Sources said that the missile will undergo final developmental or certification trials in the third quarter of 2019. The missile will be inducted into the IAF in 2020 following two certified launches against a naval and a ground target. The IAF emphasised that the air version of the BrahMos missile provides a much desired capability "to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night and in all weather conditions". The missile weighs 2.55 tons in comparison to the ground-launched version weighing 3.2 tons. It is 50 cm shorter than the 8.4 m length of the ground-launched variant. The BrahMos-A variant is fitted with a new ignition system to facilitate launch at high altitudes. The Indian government cleared a $1.5 billion proposal in 2012 to procure over 200 air-launched versions of the missile, which included money to be spent on integration and testing of the missile with the Su-30 MKI. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran says monitoring foreign forces movements IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, May 22, IRNA -- Iranian armed forces in a statement released on Wednesday said that it is monitoring the movement of foreign forces in the region. Armed forces monitor the dominant powers' conspiracies and movements, General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran added. The message released on the occasion of liberation of Khorramshahr. Iranian forces recaptured the strategic port city of Khorramshahr during landmark operation code-named Beit ol-Moqaddas in 1982, putting an end to over 500 days of the Iraqi occupation. The statement referred to failure of the enemies' conspiracies against Iran during the past four decades and said that the armed forces monitor all trans-regional forces movements. The Iranian armed forces are fully prepared and strong enough to defend the country, it added. The statement noted that the Iranian armed forces will give annihilating response to any aggression. 9191**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia stresses serious need for talks on JCPOA IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Moscow, May 22, IRNA -- Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia and senior nuclear negotiator says that there is a serious need for negotiations on a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 'Russia wants to convene an immediate meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA,' Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday. The Russian official stated, 'The recent actions of Iran are not in contrast to the JCPOA, but in any case, there is a need for the Joint Commission to hold a meeting to review the accumulated problems.' He emphasized the necessity of holding the meeting, and said, 'We need to understand in these conditions what is to be done.' 'I understand the fact that the current measures of Iran are not violating the JCPOA and what has announced was Iran's decision to fulfill its voluntary commitments,' he went on to say. However, there are other issues, including the launch of INSTEX mechanism and the parties must discuss the financial payments that could be used by the other countries. 'All these issues should be considered at the Joint Commission, there is enough time and should not be magnified,' Ryabkov said. 'All these issues should be considered at the Joint Commission, there is enough time and the issue should not be overstated,' Ryabkov said. Elsewhere in his remarks, the top Russian official highlighted that the United States is taking action on Iran, including in the Persian Gulf, and hoping that some may lose their nerves in this regard. He said that the important thing is that situations should not be tense, and we are witnessing the United States and some of its allies in the Persian Gulf region do the same. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in a statement called for the arbitral commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to convene. 'The necessity to convene a session of the JCPOA Joint Commission is getting increasingly evident,' the statement reads. It added, 'We expect that it will be appointed eventually so that the countries' participants in the agreements jointly determine the ways for normalizing the situation in the interests of guaranteeing that the JCPOA stays.' Stressing the fact that Russia is watching the JCPOA development carefully, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it is very important that all measures taken by Iran are under the full control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and will make no problem regarding Iran's commitments in the framework of the JCPOA. The Russian ministry emphasized the importance of keeping Iran nuclear deal, expressing hope for Iran to prevent stopping implementation of its JCPOA commitments. Earlier, leaders of Russia, France and Germany in a phone call underlined preserving Iran nuclear deal. In the meantime, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas decried the US escalation on Iran, saying Europe is counting on dialogue rather than rhetorical armament. 'The hard course of the US in the nuclear dispute with Iran is wrong. It remains incomprehensible to us that the US unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Tehran,' Maas was earlier cited by the German daily 'Passauer Neue Presse' (Saturday edition). This is while, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified in 14 reports that Iran has complied with the 2015 nuclear deal despite the US withdrawal last year. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on May 8 that Iran will give a 60-day moratorium to the states parties to Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to remedy their breaches and restore Iran's interests enshrined by the international deal. Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) in a statement announced that Iran has stopped some of its commitments under the JCPOA as of May 8, 2019. Over the past year and after the US illegal withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal and its breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown most of its self-restraint and has given considerable opportunity on requests made by other parties to JCPOA, the statement reads. May 8 marks the first anniversary of the US unilateral withdrawal from the Iran Deal formally known as the JCPOA endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. 9455**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia calls for JCPOA arbitral commission to convene IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Moscow, May 22, IRNA -- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in a statement called for the arbitral commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to convene. 'The necessity to convene a session of the JCPOA Joint Commission is getting increasingly evident, the statement reads. It added: 'We expect that it will be appointed eventually so that the countries participants in the agreements jointly determine the ways for normalizing the situation in the interests of guaranteeing that the JCPOA stays.' Stressing the fact that Russia is watching JCPOA development carefully, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it is very important that all measures taken by Iran are under the full control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and will make no problem regarding Iran commitments in the framework of the JCPOA. The Russian ministry emphasized the importance of keeping Iran nuclear deal, expressing hope for Iran to prevent stopping implementation of its JCPOA commitments. Earlier, leaders of Russia, France and Germany in a phone call underlined preserving Iran nuclear deal. In the meantime, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas decried the US escalation on Iran, saying Europe is counting on dialogue rather than rhetorical armament. 'The hard course of the US in the nuclear dispute with Iran is wrong. It remains incomprehensible to us that the US unilaterally retired from the nuclear agreement with Tehran,' Maas was earlier cited by the German daily 'Passauer Neue Presse' (Saturday edition). This is while, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified in 14 reports that Iran has stuck to the 2015 nuclear deal despite the US withdrawal last year. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on May 8 that Iran will give a 60-day moratorium to the states parties to Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to remedy their breaches and restore Iran's interests enshrined by the international deal. Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) in a statement announced that Iran has stopped some of its commitments under the JCPOA as of May 8, 2019. Over the past year and after the US illegal withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal and its breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown most of its self-restraint and has given considerable opportunity on requests made by other parties to JCPOA, the statement reads. May 8 marks the first anniversary of the US unilateral withdrawal from the Iran Deal formally known as the JCPOA endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. 9376**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran reacts to France's stance on JCPOA IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, May 22, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Iran is ready to implement JCPOA exactly in the same way France and its European allies did it. Seyyed Abbas Mousavi made the remarks in reaction to the statements by his French counterpart who has called Iran to abide by the JCPOA strongly, as they are determined to salvage the accord. 'We think such behavior should be surely convincing for France that claims to be supporting the JCPOA,' the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said. Iran accuses the Europeans of not doing enough to save the deal and it has warned them that it could reduce its commitments on key parts of the nuclear deal after 60 days if oil exports did not drastically increase. 8072**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU under huge pressure from US over Iran: French minister IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, May 21, IRNA -- European powers are facing huge pressure from the United States to drop its proposed trade channel with Iran, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday. Britain, France and Germany, which signed a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran along with the United States, China and Russia, are determined to show they can compensate for last year's US withdrawal from the accord, protect trade and still prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb, Reuters reported. As part of those efforts, it is trying to set up a special trade channel known as INSTEX, that will deal essentially with food and medical trade, but it is struggling to become operational. "Yes, there is American pressure. It's strong, very strong and very direct on this subject," Le Maire told reporters in Paris. "There is pressure on political officials, the administration and all those who are implicated on this subject." Tension between Washington and Tehran has escalated this month. The US wants its European allies to fall behind its policy of putting maximum pressure on Iran through sanctions to push it to fresh negotiations on a broader arms control deal. 8072**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US sanctions amount to military conflict with Iran: Official Iran Press TV Wed May 22, 2019 01:10AM Despite the US officials' claim that they are not after a war with Iran, Washington's sanctions on Iranians amount to an all-out military conflict, says a senior Iranian official. Saeid Jalili, the Leader's representative at the Supreme National Security Council and a former head of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, made the remarks in a recent gathering in Tehran. The enemy claims it is not after a military confrontation with Iran, and even seeks dialogue with the country, but it must know any of its sanctions on the Islamic Republic is considered an act of war by Iran, he said, adding that such acts will not go unanswered. "Someone in the US says we are after crippling sanctions, and officially announces his decision to impose 'maximum pressure' on Iran. Aren't they a war against the Iranian nation?" Jalili asked. The Iranian official said Iran seeks constructive interaction, not one that ends up in loss. "In defending their rights, interests, and values, the Iranian people do not adhere to the US demands. There is no limit to those demands, and the Iranian nation does not follow what the US wants," he added. The United States in November announced re-imposition of the "toughest" sanctions ever against Iran in an attempt to curtail the country's oil exports and put extra pressure on its economy. However, a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), called "On Thin Ice," cites the results of an internal assessment by US President Donald Trump's administration and concludes the policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran has failed. "A preliminary internal assessment by the administration described to Crisis Group purportedly concludes that the US approach has yet to curb Iran's behavior or entice Tehran back to the negotiating table," the ICG report says, citing an interview conducted by the group with a senior US administration official this month. "If you look at the range of ultimate objectives different people [in the US administration] have in mind, from protests to change of behavior, to the Iranians coming back to the negotiating table, none of that is happening," Ali Vaez, director of the ICG's Iran Project, told Al-Monitor . The remarks by the official comes as Iran has repeatedly announced the US efforts will fail to "change Iran's behavior". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Allegedly Transfers S-300 to Persian Gulf Amid Tensions With US Sputnik News 18:34 22.05.2019(updated 18:35 22.05.2019) The reports come just a few weeks after the United States deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Persian Gulf in what White House National Security Adviser John Bolton described as a "clear and unmistakable message" to Iran. A video has emerged on social media allegedly showing Iranian vehicles transporting its S-300 air defence systems and other military equipment to the coastal city of Asaluyeh in the southern province of Bushehr an area along the Persian Gulf. The country's military has yet to confirm or deny the redeployment of the anti-missile systems. The purported development comes amid simmering tensions with the United States, which has recently dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Gulf to send a message to Tehran. Senior Iranian officials have repeatedly stressed that the Islamic Republic doesn't seek war with the US, but will continue to resist its pressure. The country's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told CNN that Washington was playing a "very, very dangerous game" by boosting its military presence in the region. "Having all these military assets in a small waterway is in and of itself prone to accident, particularly when you have people who are interested in accidents. So extreme prudence is required and the United States is playing a very, very dangerous game", he said. Relations between Iran and the US were exacerbated by Washington's unilateral pull-out from the 2015 nuclear agreement and reintroduction of all anti-Tehran sanctions. On 8 May 2019 exactly a year after the US withdrawal Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that Iran would partially suspend its obligations under the deal, having given the five remaining signatories France, Russia, the UK, Germany, and China a 60-day deadline to take measures towards ensuring Tehran's interests in the face of US penalties. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IS Militants Target Kurdish Farmers in Disputed Iraqi Territories By Rikar Hussein May 22, 2019 In a bid to extort revenues from local farmers during the harvest season, Islamic State (IS) militants are threatening to set fire to thousands of acres of wheat fields in territories disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region, according to local officials. The militants, hiding mostly in caves and mountains of a large territory between the Iraqi forces and Kurdish peshmerga, pour into small towns and villages at night and ask local residents to pay a religious tax known as zakat or find their crops destroyed the next day, peshmerga Maj. Gen. Ziryan Shex Wasani told VOA. "IS fighters have told farmers and workers to give them 15% of their harvest revenues or their wheat fields and hay will be set to fire," said Wasani, adding that hundreds of acres of land have already been set ablaze in Makhmour town, 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Irbil governorate. Wasani said IS is taking advantage of the security gap created by the lack of cooperation between the Iraqi forces and Kurdish peshmerga in the disputed areas. Disputed territories The vast disputed territories, consisting of Kirkuk and parts of Nineveh, Saladin and Diyala provinces, have been a point of contention between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for decades as both sides claim ownership over them. The Kurdish peshmerga held the area during IS emergence in 2014 but were forced out shortly after a Kurdish referendum for independence was held in September 2017. The two sides then stopped joint counter-IS operations. Kurdish officials say they fear the continuation of the fires could ignite violent clashes between Kurdish and Arab residents of the area, especially as the Kurdish farmers say only their fields are targeted while Arab farmers' fields are spared. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, about 500 hectares (1,185 acres) of farmland have been scorched in recent weeks across the disputed territories as well as al-Najaf and al-Diwaniyah governorates. Opposing statements The ministry has not disclosed any information about the mysterious fires in the disputed territories. In a statement, however, it said the scorches in al-Najaf and al-Diwaniyah governorates were prescribed burns performed to improve the quality of the land. Authorities use terms such as "prescribed burns" or "controlled burns" to refer to intentional fires set to fields in order to manage weeds, reduce wildfire risks and restore nutrients. "The ministry asserts that these agricultural practices are not within the framework of sabotage or damage to the national agricultural economy or food security, but practices based on scientific aspects, where the residue of the burned grass is used to add nutrients for the other crop, such as rice," the ministry said in its statement Monday. Shortly after the ministry's statement, the Iraqi parliament's agriculture committee denied the fires were controlled burns, adding they were "obvious sabotage and terrorism." "The local agricultural products have been subjected to fierce attacks recently, with the latest being arson against wheat and barley fields in six provinces in a systematic manner," Salam al-Shamari, the head of the committee, said in a press conference Monday. Al-Shamari claimed the fires were directed in a "foreign conspiracy" against Iraq and urged the government to thoroughly investigate "the new terrorism against the Iraqi economy." He added local farmers' eggs, dairy products and fish were targeted several months ago. The numbers Earlier in the spring, the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture predicted its grain production would rebound significantly because of abundant rain and snowmelt in 2019, following a difficult and dry 2018. The ministry says it has so far purchased about 883,000 tons of wheat from local farmers in nine provinces. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Iraq's wheat production for this year will reach 4.97 million tons, an increase of 32% from last year. It also says that wheat consumption for 2019-20 will reach 6.9 million tons, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year. VOA's Ahmed Zebari contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons by the Assad Regime in Northwest Syria Press Statement Morgan Ortagus, Department Spokesperson / May 21, 2019 The United States continues to closely watch the military operations by the Assad regime in northwest Syria, including indications of any new use of chemical weapons by the regime. Unfortunately, we continue to see signs that the Assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack in northwest Syria on the morning of May 19, 2019. We are still gathering information on this incident, but we repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately. The May 19 alleged attack in northwest Syria is part of a violent campaign by the Assad regime that violates a ceasefire that has protected several million civilians in the greater Idlib area. This renewed Syrian regime offensive has targeted the communities of that area, which include a large number of Syrians who were already displaced from violence in others parts of Syria, and has destroyed known health facilities, schools, residences, and internally displaced person camps. The regime's attacks against the communities of northwest Syria must end. The United States reiterates its warning, first issued by President Trump in September 2018, that an attack against the Idlib de-escalation zone would be a reckless escalation that threatens to destabilize the region. Russia's recent allegations against the White Helmets and others are part of a continuing disinformation campaign by the Assad regime and Russia to create the false narrative that others are to blame for chemical weapons attacks that the Assad regime itself is conducting. Similarly, on November 24, 2018, the Assad regime and Russia attempted to fabricate a chemical weapons attack near Aleppo and blame it on opposition forces. At times, Russia and the Assad regime have made these false allegations as a pretext in advance of the Assad regime's own barbaric chemical weapons attacks. The facts, however, are clear: the Assad regime itself has conducted almost all verified chemical weapons attacks that have taken place in Syriaa conclusion the United Nations has reached over and over again. The former Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-UN Joint Investigation Mechanism repeatedly verified and reported the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons. The Assad regime's culpability in horrific chemical weapons attacks is undeniable. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Government troops thwart major terrorist attacks in Syria's Hama Iran Press TV Wed May 22, 2019 03:07PM Syrian army forces have managed to frustrate a series of attacks by militants from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, in the country's western-central province of Hama as they are engaged in joint counter-terrorism operations with allied fighters from popular defense groups against the extremists. "On May 22 morning, Syrian government forces thwarted three massive attacks carried out by the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terror group on the town of Kafr Nabudah. The attacks involved up to 500 militants, seven tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, about 30 pickup trucks with large machine guns mounted on the back as well as two cars filled with explosives," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The ministry further noted that Syrian government forces also repelled two militant attempts to break through defenses near the al-Hayrat district in the northern province of Idlib, which involved 200 terrorists, four infantry fighting vehicles and four pickups. "During the fighting, Syrian troops killed more than 150 militants of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, destroyed three tanks, 24 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns and two car bombs," it said. Separately, foreign-sponsored Syrian militants positioned in the de-escalation zone of Idlib fired a barrage of missiles at Russia's main air base in the western coastal province of Latakia. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that eight rockets launched by the extremists did not reach the strategic Hmeimim airbase, while another nine were shot down by Russian air defense systems. Russia has been helping Syrian forces in ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country. The Russian military assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture key areas from Daesh and other foreign-backed terrorist groups across the country with the backing of Russian air cover. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Suspects Chemical Attack In Syria, Denounces Russian 'Disinformation Campaign' May 22, 2019 The United States says it suspects that Syrian government forces have carried out a new chemical attack. The State Department said in a statement on May 21 that it was investigating a suspected chlorine attack on May 19 in Idlib Province, the Syrian opposition's last major stronghold. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government "uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately." Ortagus also criticized Russia, a key ally of Damascus, for what she called a "disinformation campaign" to blame opposition rebels for chemical attacks. Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian military's Reconciliation Center in Syria, said earlier on May 21 that militants captured by Syrian troops spoke of a plan to stage fake chemical attacks and blame them on government forces. He claimed the militants had created a special "chemical wing" to produce and stockpile toxic agents. Russia and Turkey, the key ally of the rebels, agreed in September to create a demilitarized buffer zone in Idlib. But Tahrir al-Sham, a merger of Islamist groups dominated by the former Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate until 2016, has seized large areas of the province and prompted air and ground offensives. Ankara fears that a large-scale assault on Idlib, which lies on its southern border, could trigger a massive flow of refugees onto its soil. Based on reporting by AFP and AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-suspects- chemical-attack-in-syria-denounces-russian- disinformation-campaign-/29955920.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Air Defences Destroy Rockets Fired at Syria Base From Idlib - MoD Sputnik News 15:14 22.05.2019(updated 16:06 22.05.2019) On Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry said that al-Nusra Front* terrorists fired six missiles at Russia's Hmeymim base in Syria. The ministry added that no casualties or damages were registered following the attack. The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that eight rockets fired by militants at the Hmeymim base didn't reach it, while another nine were destroyed by Russian air defences. "In the morning of 22 May alone, Syrian government troops repelled three massive attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra militants against the town of Kafr Nabudah, which involved up to 500 militants, seven tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, about 30 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns and two cars with explosives driven by suicide bombers", the ministry said. It went on to say that Nusra terrorists had been carrying out massive attacks on Syrian troops using military hardware and multiple launch rocket systems in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone since the evening of 21 May. The ministry said that Syria had repelled two militant attempts to break through defences in Idlib, which involved 200 terrorists, four infantry fighting vehicles and four pickups. "During the fighting, the Syrian troops killed more than 150 militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra group, destroyed three tanks, 24 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns and two car bombs", it said. Last week, the Russian Centre for Reconciliation in Syria said that the Syrian Army had unilaterally ceased fire in Idlib starting from 18 May. Previously, the head of the Russian Reconciliation Centre in Syria said that militant groups acting in the Idlib de-escalation zone haven't ceased their attempts to attack Russia's Hmeymim base and Syrian government troops, adding that the terrorists have attempted to shell Hmeymim airbase using multiple-launch rocket systems as well as drones twelve times over the past month. *al-Nusra Front [the Nusra Front, Jabhat al-Nusra ] a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and a number of other countries Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Tells Syrian Kurds Only Future Is Part of Peaceful Syrian State By Jeff Seldin May 22, 2019 The United States is reminding its Syrian Kurdish allies not to get overly ambitious while at the same time trying to allay concerns Washington will abandon them to Turkey or a possibly resurgent Islamic State terror group. Kurdish fighters, under the umbrella of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, played a key role in the collapse of the IS caliphate in Syria and continue to help administer large swaths of territory liberated form the terror group. But Ambassador James Jeffrey, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement and the special envoy to the global coalition to defeat IS, said Wednesday that there would not be an independent Kurdish state in Syria. "We don't have a political future that we offer for them," Jeffrey told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee when questioned about what comes next. "The political future we offer for them is the political future we offer for everybody in Syria ... a democratic, peaceful government," Jeffrey added. Autonomous area Following Syria's descent into civil war in 2011, Syrian Kurds quickly carved out an autonomous area covering much of the country's northeast, initially sparking hopes among some that it could serve as a basis for an independent state. But even talks of such ambitions have upset Turkey, also a key U.S. ally, which views the main Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as a terrorist organization with links to Kurdish terrorists in Turkey. More than once, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to strike the group to protect Turkish interests. "Turkey has a very legitimate concern," Jeffrey told lawmakers, though he assured them U.S. President Donald Trump remained committed to honoring both alliances. "We are concerned about the relationship between Turkey and our SDF partners in the northeast, which is why we're this discussion or negotiation with the Turks on a safe zone," he added. The U.S., Turkey and Kurdish-led authorities have been discussing the possibility of setting up a safe zone along the Turkish-Syrian border for months. Jeffrey said Turkish officials have requested a safe zone extending for 30 kilometers, though he called that unlikely. "We're going back and forth with them on how deep the safe zone will be," he said. "The idea would be that the YPG forces would withdraw and leave local forces and Turkey and the United States to figure out what we would do in the safe zone." Danger for Kurds Some lawmakers expressed concerns that Trump's plans to pull all or most of U.S. ground forces from Syria would put Washington's Kurdish allies at risk. "One of the reasons that I think it's a terrible mistake is because we have had the Kurds fighting side by side with us as our loyal and faithful allies and friends," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. "They've absorbed lots of casualties, prevented Americans from being killed." U.S. officials have long said the primary goal in Syria is to deal IS a lasting defeat, but Washington has also been pushing for all Iranian forces to leave the country, as well as for a negotiated end to the Syrian civil war. In recent days, the U.S. has also raised concerns about the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons. The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that it was investigating an alleged attack using chlorine gas on May 19 near the northwestern city of Idlib. "So far we cannot confirm it, but we are watching it," Jeffrey said Wednesday. The U.S., Britain and France launched airstrikes against Syrian government targets last April, citing "incontrovertible" evidence the Assad government had used chemical weapons against its own citizens. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia denounces US deadline given to Turkey to scrap S-400 deal Iran Press TV Wed May 22, 2019 12:00PM The Kremlin has denounced as "unacceptable" a deadline the United States has reportedly given to Turkey to annul a deal to purchase Russian S-400 missile defense systems or get penalized. The US State Department reportedly gave Turkey until the end of the first week of June to scrap the pact and do an arms deal with the United States instead or face the consequences. Citing multiple people familiar with the matter, CNBC reported that if Turkey receives the S-400s next month, the country will be ousted from Lockheed Martin's F-35 program, will not receive the 100 stealth fighter jets it has ordered and will face US sanctions as well as a potential blowback from NATO. Commenting on the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "We regard this extremely negatively. We consider such ultimatums to be unacceptable." "We are going on the many statements made by representatives of Turkey's leadership headed by President (Tayyip) Erdogan that the S-400 deal is already complete and will be implemented," Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said his country was preparing for potential American sanctions regarding the S-400 even though there was "a general easing and rapprochement" in talks with Washington over the purchase of F-35 fighter jets and Patriots missile systems. Ankara's ties with the US have been strained over a range of other issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish militants in Syria as well as the US government's refusal to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US blamed for a coup attempt against the Turkish government in July 2016. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey Preparing For U.S. Sanctions Over Russian Missile Deal May 22, 2019 Turkey's defense minister said Ankara was preparing for potential U.S. sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, but also spoke of what he called a growing "rapprochement" with Washington over the issue. The United States has demanded that Ankara call off the deal to purchase the Russian system, and NATO allies have also expressed concerns about the potential threat to U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. Washington has warned Ankara that it could invoke the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and impose financial penalties should Turkey go ahead with the deal. Speaking to reporters late on May 21, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that during recent talks with Washington, Ankara had seen a "general easing and rapprochement" on the issue. But he said Turkey was "making preparations" and "considering all options" against possible U.S. sanctions over the purchase. Akar also said Turkish military personnel were receiving training to operate the S-400 missile defense system. Washington has said it could withdraw an offer to sell Ankara the U.S. equivalent -- the Patriot anti-missile system -- and warned that Turkey risks being ejected from the F-35 fighter-jet program. Turkey is a member of the consortium involved in the production of the jet and a buyer. Based on reporting by Reuters and AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey- preparing-for-u-s-sanctions-over-russian- missile-deal/29956277.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address France Wants to Deploy Air Defence System in Turkey Amid S-400 Spat Sputnik News 17:33 22.05.2019 Turkey had long been looking for a supplier of air defence systems and in December 2017, finally set its gaze on Russia's S-400. However, Ankara's decision stirred the ire of one of its NATO allies - the US. France offered to deploy a squadron of Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain (SAMP/T) air defence systems in Turkey during negotiations between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, NTV broadcaster reported, citing Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar. At the moment, talks are only looking at the deployment of one SAMP/T battery, with the sides currently exploring options for the deployment, Akar said. The minister pointed out that a Spanish Patriot system is already deployed in Incirlik and that an Italian SAMP/T is located in Kahramanmaras. The announcement comes amid an ongoing spat between the US and Turkey over the latter planning to obtain Russian S-400 air defence systems this summer. Washington insists that the system won't be able to be integrated with the NATO air defence grid and that it poses a threat to the F-35 jets that Turkey has ordered. The US claims that the Russian systems could gather info on the aircraft's weaknesses and pass it on to Moscow. Turkey, in turn, has proposed creating a joint group to eliminate any risks associated with the use of the S-400 a proposal that the US turned down with Ankara also vowing not to integrate the S-400 with other NATO systems. At the same time, Turkey has vehemently rejected abandoning the deal with Moscow. The US has tried to exercise leverage on Turkey, suspending the delivery of F-35s to the country, threatening Ankara with sanctions and has even mulled excluding the country from NATO. However, none of this has been able to coerce Turkey into changing its mind, instead only sparking criticism from Turkish politicians. The SAMP/T is an autonomous air defence system armed with Aster 30 surface-to-air missiles capable of downing both ballistic missiles and enemy aircraft, unlike the Patriots, which are only capable of intercepting missiles. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey Fulfilling Commitments Under F-35 Fighter Jet Program Despite US Threats Sputnik News 13:28 22.05.2019(updated 13:29 22.05.2019) ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey complies with all of its commitments under the trillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet program and expects the United States to do the same, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday. "Turkey fulfills its obligations in the co-production [of F-35 jets] with all seriousness. And our legitimate expectation is that the F-35 program will be running as planned [on the part of the United States]," Akar told reporters as quoted by the NTV broadcaster. The minister added that Turkey had already received four F-35s and that four of its pilots were training in the United States. Two more F-35 planes are expected to arrive in Turkey in November. They will be stationed at the airbase in Malatya, a city in Turkey's eastern Anatolia region, Akar said. Speaking about the agreement to purchase Russia's S-400 air defense systems, Akar reiterated that it was a "done deal." Turkey is one of the participants in the US F-35 jet program. The United States has threatened Turkey with sanctions earlier for its planned acquisition of S-400s, as well as suggested it may delay or cancel the process of selling the F-35 aircraft to Ankara. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month that the purchase of S-400s fell under Turkey's "sovereign rights." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish Troops Learning in Russia to Operate S-400 Despite US Threats - Minister Sputnik News 11:16 22.05.2019(updated 12:19 22.05.2019) ANKARA (Sputnik) - A group of Turkish military personnel has arrived in Russia to learn operating Russian S-400 air defence systems, Turkish Defene Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday. "A group of our military has been sent to Russia in order to learn operating S-400s and they have already started their studies", Akar said, as quoted by the Turkish NTV broadcaster. The statement comes after NBC News reported that Washington had requested Turkey reject the deal with Moscow by the end of the first week of June, warning there would be negative consequences, including sanctions. Washington has threatened Ankara with sanctions for its planned acquisition of S-400s and has repeatedly said it may delay or cancel the process of selling its F-35 aircraft to Turkey. Ankara, in its turn, has said that purchase of military equipment is its sovereign affair and has ruled out the possibility of abandoning its plans. Moscow and Ankara signed in December 2017 a loan agreement for the delivery of S-400 systems. The first delivery of S-400s to Turkey is expected in June. Turkish cooperation with Russia on S-400 deliveries has been strongly criticized by NATO and the United States, which has cited security concerns and incompatibility of S-400s and NATO's air defence systems. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Newark, DE, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Addiction Policy Forum, a leading national nonprofit, is releasing the Delaware Innovations to Address Addiction, a spotlight on eight innovative programs that address addition and provide support for families and communities. Delaware is ranked fifth in the nation for its drug overdose rate, yet this little state is confronting challenges head-on, says Jessica Hulsey Nickel, founder of Addiction Policy Forum. Imaginative innovators throughout Delaware are trying new approaches to address addiction, such as HERO HELP and Delaware START, and their leaders are receiving Innovation of the Year Awards this week." Three hundred thirty-eight Delaware residents died in 2017 due to drug overdoses -- the sixth leading cause of death in the state -- but there is hope. Eight effective programs addressing addiction and the inspiring people behind them will be honored on May 22, 2019, in Le Chameleon at the Hilton Wilmington/Christiana in Newark, Delaware from 12:00-2:00 pm. Keynote speakers include Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long, Dr. Daniel O'Connell, Ph.D and New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. Recognized programs include: atTAcK Addiction, Delaware Prevention Coalition, Delaware START, HERO HELP, Hope Street, New Expectations, Project Engage and Wilmington Hope Commission Winners Circle. Police officers are bringing people to treatment. Pregnant women are getting intensive treatment instead of jail time. Families who have lost loved ones, are now dedicated to protecting your family. Innovative responses to addiction are changing society for the good, says Kimberly Clapp, Executive Vice President of Community Engagement at Addiction Policy Forum. One of our prestigious speakers, Dr. Daniel OConnell, who turned his life around after struggling with addiction and serving prison time, puts it simply: People change. They need help. We need to help them. # # # About Addiction Policy Forum Addiction Policy Forum is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating addiction as a major health problem. Our national headquarters are located in Washington, DC with resources and services in every state. More information on our mission and projects is available at http://addictionpolicy.org. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., NeoGenomics Laboratories Inc., PHC Holdings Corporation, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Agiliti Technologies Inc., Sakura Finetek USA Inc., and Origene Technologies Inc. are some of the key players operating in the global anatomic pathology market NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global anatomic pathology market to generate $24.3 billion revenue by 2024, advancing at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. Increasing incidence of chronic diseases, advancements in technologies, and rising geriatric population are some of the key drivers propelling the market growth, according to P&S Intelligence. On the basis of application, the anatomic pathology market is classified into disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and others. Of these, diseases diagnosis is expected to be the largest and the fastest growing category, contributing 66.4% of the total market share by 2024. This is due to the growing geriatric population, and increasing number of patients suffering from chronic ailments. However, the drug discovery category is expected to witness a sluggish growth, with a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period. Request to get the sample pages of the report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/anatomic-pathology-market/report-sample Based on end user, the anatomic pathology market is categorized into diagnostic laboratories, hospitals and clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, and academic and research organizations. Amongst these, diagnostic laboratories dominated the market during the historical period, with a market share of 45.8% in 2018, as compared to 31.4% market share of hospitals and clinics category. This is primarily due to the low cost of tests offered by diagnostic laboratories, as compared to hospitals and clinics. The APAC anatomic pathology market is expected to witness the fastest growth, propelling at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period. The growth is mainly attributed to acceptance of personalized medicine, investment in diagnostic research by government and non-government organizations, increasing patient pool suffering from chronic ailments, and penetration of established players in the region. Make enquiry before buying the report @ https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=anatomic-pathology-market Increasing penetration of international players is helping in offering innovative and advanced anatomic pathology instruments and consumables in APAC. For instance, in January 2019, Biocartis Group NV collaborated with Nichirei Bioscience, one of the leading suppliers of biological and diagnostics products in Japan, for the product registration and exclusive distribution of Biocartis molecular diagnostic (MDx) oncology tests in Japan, which perform on the fully-automated sample-to-result Idylla platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Nichirei Bioscience will seek the regulatory approval of Idylla MDx oncology tests from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. After the successful registration, Nichirei Biosciences sales force has planned to distribute Biocartis Idylla platform across its commercial network of 2,000 pathology laboratories in Japan. Besides, Biocartis Group NV got into a joint venture with Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co. Ltd., a leading diagnostic company in China in September 2018. The strategy behind this joint venture was to increase the commercialization of the fully-automated molecular diagnostics (MDx) Idylla platform designed by Biocartis Group NV in Mainland China. Such joint venture in the country is expected to thrive the anatomic pathology market growth in APAC. Browse report overview with 122 tables and 76 figures spread through 227 pages and detailed TOC on "Anatomic Pathology Market Research Report: By Product (Consumables, Instruments), type (Histopathology, Cytopathology, Surgical Pathology), technique (Special Staining, Immunohistochemistry, Electron Microscopy, Genetic Testing), Application (Disease Diagnosis, Drug Discovery), End-User (Hospitals and Clinics, Diagnostic Laboratories, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Academic and Research Organizations), Regional Insight (U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K., Russia, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, Japan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Israel, South Africa) Global Industry Analysis and Forecast to 2024"at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/anatomic-pathology-market The players in the anatomic pathology market are coming up with innovative solutions to enhance their market presence. For instance, in February 2019, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, a U.S.-based provider of diagnostic information services, acquired the clinical laboratory services business of Boyce & Bynum Pathology Laboratories (BBPL), a leading provider of diagnostic and clinical laboratory services in the Midwest. The acquisition aims at bringing a wider menu of innovative clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology services to patients and providers throughout the region. Besides, in January 2019, PHC Holdings Corporation, a global healthcare company that offers value-added products and solutions across diabetes care, diagnostics, and life sciences and healthcare IT, signed a definitive agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. to acquire Thermo Fishers anatomical pathology business, for approximately $1.14 billion. The anatomical pathology business segment providers microscope slides, instruments, and consumables. It generates approximately $350 million in annual revenue and around 1,200 employees work under this segment in the U.S., Europe, and China. Further, in June 2018, NeoGenomics Laboratories Inc. (NeoGenomics), a leading provider of cancer-focused genetic testing services, collaborated with Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC (PPD), a leading global contract research organization (CRO), to provide a fully integrated pathology and molecular testing solutions to PPDs pharmaceutical and biotech clients. As a part of the collaboration, NeoGenomics provides a wide range of lab testing services to support PPDs oncology clinical trial activities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., NeoGenomics Laboratories Inc., PHC Holdings Corporation, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Agiliti Technologies Inc., Sakura Finetek USA Inc., and Origene Technologies Inc. are some of the key players operating in the global anatomic pathology market. More latest reports published by P&S Intelligence Healthcare Insurance Market Healthcare insurance market is expected to generate a revenue of $2.2 trillion by 2024, advancing at a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period, the market is driven by rising prevalence of chronic diseases, growing geriatric population, increasing healthcare expenditure, and high medical costs, globally. Diagnostic Imaging Systems Market The global diagnostic imaging systems market size is predicted to generate over $51.2 billion revenue by 2024, from $37.2 billion in 2018. The X-ray imaging systems category dominated the global market and generated revenue worth $15.2 billion in 2018, which is projected to reach $20.5 billion by 2024, progressing at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period (20192024). About P&S Intelligence P&S Intelligence is a provider of market research and consulting services catering to the market information needs of burgeoning industries across the world. Providing the plinth of market intelligence, P&S as an enterprising research and consulting company, believes in providing thorough landscape analyses on the ever-changing market scenario, to empower companies to make informed decisions and base their business strategies with astuteness. Contact: P&S Intelligence Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada) International: +1-347-960-6455 Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.psmarketresearch.com Lithuanian English Siauliu Bankas AB, company code 112025254, domicile address Tilzes st. 149, LT-76348 Siauliai, Lithuania. During the period from 9 May 2019 to 22 May 2019 Siauliu Bankas AB acquired its own shares under the following conditions: Total number of shares acquired: 1 176 485. Total amount of share acquisition transactions: EUR 617 654,63. The purpose of share acquisition: granting shares to the employees of the Bank and the Bank's subsidiaries. Additional information shall be provided by Deputy Director of Markets and Treasury Department Pranas Gedgaudas, tel. (+370 41) 595 653. MONTREAL, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quebec Precious Metals Corporation (TSX.V: CJC, FSE: YXEN, OTC-BB: CJCFF) (QPM or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on monetizing its non-core assets. While focusing on its flagship Sakami gold project and exploring the James Bay Eeyou Istchee territory, Quebec, the Company continues with the process of monetizing non-core assets. These assets were acquired as part of the transactions that created the Company on June 27, 2018. The Company is either selling its interest in non-core projects or identifying a partner to pursue exploration work. Below is a summary of current situation with this process. La Loutre (graphite) Under the option agreement with Lomiko Metals Inc. (Lomiko) on the La Loutre and Lac-des-Iles West graphite projects whereby Lomiko can earn a 100% interest in each of the two projects, Lomiko can acquire the remaining 20% owned by the Company by paying to the Company an amount of $1,125,000, and issuing to the Company 500,000 common shares of Lomiko, before December 31, 2019. The La Loutre project consists of 48 mineral claims located approximately 53 km east of the Lac-des-Iles graphite mine (operated by Imerys), 120 km north of Montreal. Recently, Lomiko and the Company announced very encouraging results from four new exploration diamond drill holes completed at the Refractory Zone. Results from the remaining 16 holes will be reported as they are received and compiled. Somanike (nickel) Under the option agreement with Australia-based Vanicom Resources Limited (Vanicom) on the project, Vanicom may acquire a 100% interest in the project in consideration the following: a $25,000 cash payment to the Company upon signature of the agreement, which has been received; issuing to the Company $125,000 in common shares of Vanicom; paying a further $100,000 in cash to the Company; and in cash to the Company; and completing $600,000 in exploration expenditures no later than June 15, 2021. The project consists of 109 mineral claims. It lies approximately 25 km northwest of the town of Malartic, in the Abitibi region. The project area includes the former Marbridge underground nickel-copper mine, which produced 774,227 tonnes grading 2.28% nickel and 0.1% copper between 1962 and 1968, with four deposits discovered by surface prospecting and drilling between 1957 and 1966. Vanicom is performing surface geophysical work on the project and plans to commence drilling in early fall 2019. Kipawa (rare earths) The Company has a 68% interest in the Kipawa project, through the Kipawa Rare Earth Joint Venture (SCCK). Ressources Quebec Inc. holds the remaining 32% interest. The project is part of the 73 claims of the Kipawa-Zeus project. Claims that are not part of the Kipawa project are wholly owned by the Company. The project is located in the Temiscamingue MRC, 140 km south of Rouyn-Noranda and 90 km northeast of North Bay, Ontario. Drilling since 2011, totalling 293 holes (24,571 m), has been used as the basis for a feasibility study (prepared by Roche Ltd. and GENIVAR Inc., with the support of SGS Geostat and Golder Associates Ltd.). The study showed a 15-year production schedule, excluding a two-year pre-production period to strip the overburden to allow open-pit mining and the construction of a processing plant and associated infrastructure. The mine life could potentially be increased by the discovery of additional resources. On September 24, 2017, SCCK decided to stop the development activities at the Kipawa project and subsequently its research activities with various academic partners and government agencies. The Company intends to interest one or more third parties in joining the project. No exploration work is planned. Vulcain (nickel-copper) The Vulcain project consists of 68 claims located in the Haute-Gatineau region. It is accessible by provincial paved highway 117 and by a 45 km gravel road linking the project at the Lac Arthur exit. A deposit located on the project beneath Renzy Lake was mined from 1969 to 1972, known as the Renzy Mine, with approximately 718,000 tonnes grading 0.7% nickel and 0.7% copper. Quebecs Ministere de lEnergie et des Ressources Naturelles will carry out rehabilitation work in 2019 in the area of the old mining operation. The Company plans to sell its interest in the project or identify a partner to pursue exploration. Matheson, Ontario (gold) The Company holds a 50% interest in 75 mineral titles of the Matheson-Explorers project owned by the Matheson joint venture, located in the Timmins mining camp in Ontario. International Explorers and Prospectors Inc. owns the other 50%. A number of exploration targets have been identified by past exploration programs but have not been systematically tested by drilling. The Company plans to sell its interest in the project or identify a partner to continue exploring the project. With respect to the 100%-owned Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory gold projects Blanche and Charles, Opinaca Gold West, Annabelle and Chemin Troilus, the Company plans to sell its interest in these projects or identify partners to pursue exploration. More information is presented in the attached document on the available non-core assets of the Company in Quebec. The Companys objective is to identify a multi-million ounce resource on the Sakami project and to advance the project towards realizing its full potential. It will also continue exploring and evaluating other projects in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Quebec. Qualified Persons Jean-Sebastien Lavallee (OGQ #773), Vice-President Exploration, director and shareholder of the Company and Normand Champigny, Eng., Chief Executive Officer, both Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 on standards of disclosure for mineral projects, have prepared and approved the technical content of this release. About Quebec Precious Metals Corporation QPM is a new gold explorer with a large land position in the highly-prospective Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, Quebec, near Newmont Goldcorp Corporation's Eleonore gold mine. QPMs flagship project is the Sakami project with significant grades and well-defined drill-ready targets. QPMs goal is to rapidly explore this project to advance it to the mineral resource estimate stage. For more information, please contact: Jean-Francois Meilleur President Tel.: 514 951-2730 jfmeilleur@qpmcorp.ca Normand Champigny Chief Executive Officer Tel.: 514 979-4746 nchampigny@qpmcorp.ca Paradox Public Relations Tel: 514 341-0408 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. PDF available: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/0bd06ce7-6c40-4ae1-88de-92896998b48b English Lithuanian Vilkyskiu pienine, AB (further the Company) informs that on 21th May of 2019 the Bank of Lithuania has made announcement regarding Linas Strelis, who is member of the Company Board, claiming that he violated law. It is stated that in 2018 Linas Strelis making buy and sell transactions with Zemaitijos pienas, AB shares and encouraging his family members to do transactions violated European Parliament and Council Regulation regarding restriction of market misuse by using publicly undisclosed information. Linas Strelis has informed the Company that by conducting buy and sell transactions with Zemaitijos pienas, AB shares he knew no publicly undisclosed information related to Zemaitijos pienas, AB and held no position in Zemaitijos pienas, AB company. Therefore, he sees the decision of the Bank of Lithuania as illegitimate and invalid. Therefore, he plans to make an appeal regarding it to court by terms of the law. The Bank of Lithuania fined Linas Strelis by the amount of two hundred thousand euros. The Company draws attention of market and investors that the investigation of the Bank of Lithuania is not related to the activities of the Company and / or the trade of its securities, the Company did not take part in it. Vilija Milaseviciute Economics and finance director Phone: +370 441 55 102 Sustainability project in Lampung, Indonesia launched Program to encompass 1,000 independent Indonesian smallholder farmers LAMPUNG, Indonesia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BASF, The Estee Lauder Companies and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are partnering with the civil society organization Solidaridad to promote sustainable palm oil and palm derivatives production in the district of Waykanan, Lampung, Indonesia. The project supports independent Indonesian smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods and their sustainable production of palm oil and palm kernel oil. It offers continuous education and technical support on implementing and maintaining sustainable palm oil practices. The projects target is that a minimum of one-third of the supported smallholder farmers become certified according to the Smallholder Standard of RSPO at the end of three years. The project partners are collaborating with the Indonesian government to foster a sustainable palm oil production supply chain in Lampung that is free from deforestation and competitive in the global market, while increasing the social and economic benefits for farmers. Most major European companies have committed to using sustainable palm oil exclusively," said Heske Verburg, Managing Director, Solidaridad Europe. "We are delighted that BASF and The Estee Lauder Companies are reaching beyond just purchasing sustainably, by providing direct support for sustainable palm oil projects. When palm oil is produced sustainably, and in a future-proof manner, it can actually contribute to resolving grave issues for both farmers and the environment. We are thrilled to partner with BASF and Solidaridad on this important initiative to support Indonesian smallholder farmers, said Greg Polcer, Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain, at The Estee Lauder Companies. So many livelihoods in this community are inextricably tied to the production and we support ensuring that it is produced sustainably both for the long-term benefit to the environment and for the long-term benefit to the community itself. Approximately 40 percent of the world palm production comes from smallholder farmers who rely on it for their livelihoods, said Daniele Piergentili, Vice President, Home and Personal Care at BASF in North America. The partnership with Estee Lauder, Solidaridad and RSPO enables us to support these farmers and at the same time increase the availability of sustainably produced palm oil. "For sustainable production to become mainstream and fully inclusive, the RSPO believes it is imperative to support smallholders through a variety of different approaches, including the RSPO Smallholder Support Fund (RSSF), said Ashwin Selvaraj, Head of Smallholder Unit in the RSPO Secretariat. This collaborative project in Lampung is a great opportunity to scale up sustainable practices, protect natural resources and bring more smallholders under certification through RSPO Best Management Practices. About BASF BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 20,000 employees in North America and had sales of $19.7 billion in 2018. At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 122,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around 63 billion in 2018. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. About The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the worlds leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The companys products are sold in over 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estee Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, MAC, Kiton, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan New York, DKNY, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Michael Kors, Darphin, Tom Ford, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna, AERIN, Tory Burch, RODIN olio lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, GLAMGLOW, By Kilian, BECCA and Too Faced. About the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil RSPO , the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, is a not-for-profit that unites oil palm producers, processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks/investors, and environmental and social non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. The RSPO has developed a set of environmental and social criteria which companies must comply with in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). The RSPO has more than 4,000 members worldwide who represent all links along the palm oil supply chain. These members have committed to produce, source and/or use sustainable palm oil certified by the RSPO. About Solidaridad The Solidaridad Network is an international civil society organization founded in 1969. Its main objective is facilitating the development of socially responsible, ecologically sound and profitable supply chains. It operates through eight regional expertise centers in over 40 countries. Solidaridad seeks to transform production practices to promote fair and profitable livelihoods and business opportunities, decent working conditions and a fair living wage without depleting the landscapes where people live and thrive. Media contacts: BASF Alexandra Spiegel-Kutschenreuter Tel.: +49 (621) 60 93253 alexandra.spiegel-kutschenreuter@basf.com Ido Kadman Tel.: +1 (201) 787 1042 ido.kadman@basf.com ELC Alexandra Trower Tel.: + 1 (212) 572 4430 atrower@estee.com Tuba City, Arizona, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leaders of the Navajo Nation, the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (TCRHCC), and the Cancer Support Community (CSC) joined Dr. Jill Biden on the Navajo Nation in marking a milestone moment: the opening of the first full-time cancer care center on an American Indian Reservation. The culturally-adapted cancer care center at TCRHCC will provide oncology services to the Navajo and Hopi people. In addition, the programming will include patient- and caregiver-support and navigation TCRHCC developed in partnership with CSC, a global nonprofit that operates at 175 locations worldwide. CSC also secured funding from the Barbara Bradley Baekgaard Family Foundation to help launch this initiative. The new center will fill a gap in cancer treatment that affects many American Indians, as the Indian Health Service provides primary medical care, but specialty care including oncology is beyond its mission. Consequently, patients on the Navajo Nationwhich is the size of West Virginiamust travel hundreds of miles from home to access cancer treatment and support services. Accessibility is an issue, as transportation costs of seeking off-reservation cancer care can be insurmountable barriers to treatment for American Indian patients who live in communities where unemployment rates are above 50 percent and household incomes are below the national poverty level. The two-day commemoration included remarks from Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Dr. Jill Biden. Dr. Bidens advocacy for cancer patients has included support for this effort during the Obama administration and as part of the Biden Cancer Initiative. President Nez and Dr. Biden joined Lynette Bonar, CEO of TCHRCC, and Kim Thiboldeaux, CEO of CSC, and other leaders, including officials from Penn Medicine, for a tour of the new treatment center where they met with the oncologists providing care and heard from patients and caregivers. In addition, they visited the House of Hope, a location near TCRHCC where patients and caregivers will access support and navigation services. The delegation of leaders from organizations and companies that provided funding for this initiative included the Barbara Bradley Baekgaard Family Foundation, Eisai, Merck, and Pfizer. The Navajo Nation was honored to welcome former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, the Cancer Support Community, and many health industry leaders and professionals to the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation in support of the very first cancer treatment center in Indian Country, President Nez said. Working together through strong partnerships is key to providing these much needed services for our Dine people who require cancer treatment. On behalf of the Nez-Lizer Administration, we thank everyone for supporting this initiative. Thank you, President Nez and the Navajo Nation, for such a warm welcome, Dr. Jill Biden said. Todays landmark moment is a testament to the power of sharing what we know, listening to different perspectives and experiences, and working together to make tangible differences in peoples lives. In short, collaboration gets results. It is wonderful to have a partnership with the Cancer Support Community and hear such encouraging words from Dr. Biden and President Nez. The specialty care center and the House of Hope will have such a positive impact on our patients and their loved ones, said Lynette Bonar, CEO of TCRHCC, whose staff led the delegations tour of the new specialty care center and the House of Hope. It is unacceptable that people affected by cancer on the Navajo Nation must travel hundreds of miles to get cancer care, said Kim Thiboldeaux, CEO of the Cancer Support Community and a member of the Biden Cancer Initiatives Board of Directors. The Cancer Support Community is honored to be working with the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation to right this wrong and make ground-breaking, culturally-adapted patient and caregiver resources a reality for the Navajo people. Todays announcement means better access to screenings, treatment, navigation, counseling, and other patient-focused services. Attachment English Swedish The annual general meeting (AGM) of Matra Petroleum AB (Matra Petroleum or the Company) was held today on 23 May 2019 and the following resolutions were passed by the meeting: Adoption of the income statement and the balance sheet The AGM resolved to adopt the income statement and the balance sheet in Matra Petroleum and the consolidated income statement and the consolidated balance sheet. Allocation of profit The AGM resolved that no dividend would be paid to the shareholders and that the previously accrued profits, including the share premium account and year result, in total SEK 241,235,456, shall be carried forward. Discharge from liability The board of directors and the CEO were discharged from liability for the financial year 2018. Election of the board of directors, auditor and remuneration Since no proposal regarding directors was presented at the meeting and the current directors were not at disposal for re-election, the AGM resolved that all items regarding election of directors should be postponed to a continuing general meeting that will be held on 13 June 2019. Time and place will be announced later on the companys web. The current directors also informed that they intend to resign. Shareholders representing approximately 56% percent of the votes in the Company have informed that they are evaluating the current situation and alternatives. The AGM resolved that the number of auditors shall be one registered audit firm. It was further resolved that remuneration to the auditor shall be paid in accordance with approved invoices. PricewaterhouseCoopers AB was re-elected as the Company auditor. PricewaterhouseCoopers AB has announced that Johan Rippe will continue to act as main responsible auditor. Authorisation for the board to issue shares, convertibles and/or warrants The AGM resolved, in accordance with the board of directors proposal, to authorize the board of directors, during the period up until the next annual general meeting, on one or more occasions, to resolve to issue shares, convertibles and/or warrants, with or without preferential rights for the shareholders, within the limits of the articles of association, to be paid in cash, in kind and/or by way of set-off. The purpose for the board to resolve on issuances with deviation from the shareholders preferential rights in accordance with the above is primarily for the purpose to broaden the shareholder base, raise new capital to increase flexibility of the Company or in connection with acquisitions. If the board of directors finds it suitable in order to enable delivery of shares in connection with a share issuance as set out above it may be made at a subscription price corresponding to the shares quota value. For further details regarding the resolutions set out above refer to the complete proposal in the notice available at the Companys website, www.matrapetroleum.com. For further information please contact: Maxim Barskiy, CEO, Matra Petroleum AB Tel.: +46 8 611 49 95 Investor Relations Email: IR@matrapetroleum.com Website: www.matrapetroleum.com Certified Adviser Mangold Fondkommission AB is the Company's Certified Adviser. Telephone: +46 (0) 85 03 01 550 E-mail: info@mangold.se Matra Petroleum AB (publ) | Eriksbergsgatan 10 | Box 7292 | 103 90 Stockholm Telephone: +46 (0)8-611 4995 | web: www.matrapetroleum.com | Email: ir@matrapetroleum.com About Matra Petroleum Matra Petroleum AB (publ) is a Swedish independent oil and gas exploration and production company operating in the United States, where the company owns and operates 170 leases, covering an area of 45,640 net acres in the Panhandle region in Texas. Matras proved oil and gas reserves amount to approximately 22.8 million barrels of oil equivalent. Matra Petroleum's shares are traded on NASDAQ First North in Sweden under the symbol MATRA. Mangold Fondkommission AB is Certified Adviser (www.mangold.se Tel: +46 (0) 8 50 30 1550, Email: CA@mangold.se). Attachment Atlanta, GA, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Multiple innovative LED lighting solutions from Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) earned top recognition from the LFI Innovation Awards, one of the lighting industry's most prestigious award programs, which marked the opening of the LIGHTFAIR International 2019 Trade Show and Conference held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Renna luminaires from Peerless won both the competitions overall Design Excellence Award and Best of Category in the Commercial Indoor category. The simplicity of the Renna form factor is compatible with many modern architectural designs, especially those spaces with open and deconstructed ceilings. The luminaire uses lightguide technology with unique transitions to make light flow through the space. Acuity Brands solutions also won two additional Best of Category awards: Juno Wireless Control LED Track fixture family won Best of Category in the Recessed Downlights, Wall Washers and Multiples category. The Juno track family enables dynamic beam shaping, aiming, dimming and CCT adjustment from a secure wireless platform. Rotation and tilt of the track head in less than 1/10-degree increments allow exact targeting even over long throws. A companion mobile app enables simple fixture, group, scene or space commissioning. eldoLED 75W LED driver product family won Best of Category in the Ballasts, Transformers, Drivers, Systems and Kits category. The fully programmable 75W driver family is capable of dim-to-0.1%, dim-to-warm and tunable white performance. All 75W drivers are UL Class P listed. Control options include 0-10V and DALI-2. In addition, the IOTA IIS-550-S-HE Emergency Lighting Unit Inverter finished as one of the top three most significant innovations in the Industrial, Vandal, Emergency and Exit category. "This years recognition from the LFI Innovation Awards reflects our commitment to continuous innovation in the lighting space, said Acuity Brands Lighting Senior Vice President, Sarah Golish. "Winning multiple Best of Category awards and the Design Excellence award for Peerless Renna further underscores our commitment to offering our customers great lighting solutions that blend quality of lighting and performance. Judged by an independent panel of lighting professionals, The LFI Innovation Awards recognizes the best innovations from more than 500 of the world's leading manufacturers across the lighting industry. Renna luminaires from Peerless and the Juno Wireless Control LED Track fixture family are expected to be available later this year. About Acuity Brands Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is the North American market leader and one of the worlds leading providers of lighting and building management solutions. With fiscal year 2018 net sales of $3.7 billion, Acuity Brands currently employs approximately 12,000 associates and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with operations throughout North America, and in Europe and Asia. The Companys products and solutions are sold under various brands, including Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Aculux, American Electric Lighting, Antique Street Lamps, Atrius, DGLogik, Distech Controls, DTL, eldoLED, Gotham, Healthcare Lighting, Hydrel, Indy, IOTA, Juno, Lucid, Mark Architectural Lighting, nLight, Peerless, RELOC Wiring, ROAM, Sensor Switch, Sunoptics and Winona Lighting. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com # # # # # Media Contact: Neil Egan Neil.egan@acuitybrands.com 770-860-2957 Attachment Fort Myers, FL, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Oncology Network, LLC (AON) is pleased to announce that Cancer & Blood Specialists of Louisville, a leading community oncology/hematology practice in Louisville, Kentucky will join AON on June 1, 2019. AON is an alliance of physicians and veteran healthcare leaders uniting to ensure the long-term success of community oncology. With the upcoming AON affiliation, the practice will increase its current service offerings to their patients with enhanced technology, an expanded oral oncolytic outpatient pharmacy, pathology and central laboratory services, and enhanced care management services. AON CEO, Bradley Prechtl, MBA, stated, We are very pleased to welcome the physicians and staff of Cancer & Blood Specialists of Louisville. The physicians and staff have long demonstrated their willingness to serve and support patients in the Louisville area; and they have done so with compassionate, patient-centric care in a community setting. AON Board Member and Chairman Dr. Steve Orman said, Drs. Mohammad Khan, Vijay Raghavan, and Subhash Sheth are highly respected physicians who have been delivering exemplary care to patients for a number of years. As part of the American Oncology Network, LLC, they will be able to take advantage of AON support for pharmaceutical purchasing strategies, human resources, revenue cycle, payer negotiations, and improved technologies, while retaining the autonomy to make the best decisions for their patients and staff. Dr. Vijay Raghavan, of Cancer & Blood Specialists of Louisville, said, We are committed to providing expert care for our patients in Louisville and the surrounding areas, as well as southern Indiana. Partnering with AON is in the best interest of our patients and the communities we serve. This alliance allows our physicians, clinicians, and staff to continue focusing on treating patients while enhancing the services that we provide. With a determination to help everyone receive access to exceptional cancer care, AON was founded by well-respected leaders in community oncology with decades of experience helping oncology practices to thrive by providing proven solutions. ### About American Oncology Network, LLC: (AONcology.com) Founded in 2017, American Oncology Network, LLC (AON) is an alliance of physicians and seasoned healthcare leaders partnering to ensure the long-term success of community oncology. The executive management team of AON brings more than three decades of oncology practice management experience, enabling physicians to focus on what matters most . . . providing the highest quality care for patients. The organization provides unique and comprehensive protocols for managing administrative procedures and enhancing ancillary services for its affiliates. AON is able to aggregate volume and attain economies of scale, as it guides its member physicians and practices through the transition to value-based reimbursement models that improve the patient experience and help to reduce the per-capita cost of cancer care. AON also provides a unique model of physician led, community-based oncology management. With services such as a centralized specialty pharmacy, diagnostics, pathology, fully integrated electronic medical records, a Care Management Team and a variety of financial assistance programs, an alliance with AON ensures that patients experiences will be at the very pinnacle of cancer care today. Attachment OMAHA, Neb. , May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Federal contracting is a highly competitive sector. Getting your foot in the door is a whole feat of its own. However, a true indicator of a contractors prowess and quality of work is when Uncle Sam chooses to build a working relationship with their business. Such is the case with RTG Building Services Inc. (which has held previous contracts under LP Custodial) winning their rebid on a janitorial contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After a 10 year contract, the Army has once again solidified their trust in RTG Building Services Inc. with this recent award. Based out of Omaha, Nebraska, RTG Building Services, Inc. is headed by Ramiro Gaitan. Their main specialty is daily janitorial services and cleaning new construction and renovation jobsites for office, commercial, industrial, residential, and federal clients. Their services include: Janitorial Services Construction Cleaning Window Washing Floor Care Carpet Care They know that a clean and healthy workspace is the key to allowing their clients to focus on getting the job done. RTG goes the extra mile in using green, non-toxic products alongside well-trained and reliable personnel. However, thats not all that makes this business stand out. We customize our services to meet their demands, says Account Executive Fred McBride. In this field of business, things can change. RTG Building Services, Inc. stands out in the crowd by being flexible toward the need of their clients. Part of what allows for this flexibility is their very large workforce. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers isnt the only government-related work that RTG Building Services Inc. has performed. The company has also worked on numerous jobs with the local governments. This includes police departments, city community centers, city libraries, and services for school districts. In the private sector they have worked with some very large corporations as well as banks. They also perform construction cleaning, final cleanings before a business moves into a space, and they have worked with a number of large construction companies throughout the Midwest. Since this spring, RTG Building Services Inc. has been a verified vendor with US Federal Contractor Registration . They have been working closely with Director of Special Services Christie Jackson and Acquisition Specialist Tessa Fairburn . Contracting officers working with RTG Building Services, Inc. can rest assured that this is a business whose SAM registration and other certifications will always be well-maintained and in compliance. You receive a lot of information in this bid process while working with the government. You have to pay a lot of attention to detail and surround yourself with professionals that can guide you through the process, said Fred McBride. Currently, they are focusing on growing their company aggressively through federal contracting. In the near future, it is expected that RTG will be entering the 8(a) Business Development Program as well as gaining their official status as a HUBZone certified business. SKODA has teased the soft-road Scout version of its Superb large car ahead of a public debut in Bratislava, Slovakia on May 23. The Czech car-maker released a short teaser video on its social media channels showing both the regular facelifted Superb sedan and the Scout wagon, with the soft-road nameplate joining the line-up for the first time. While the smaller Octavia Scout wagon is offered Down Under, there are no current plans to bring the Superb Scout, instead sticking to the regular sedan and wagon range. The teaser video reveals few concrete details about the Scout, other than it comes in a wagon body style with signature Scout badging. Punters can expect it to feature similar styling cues to the Octavia Scout, including black cladding around the wheelarches and side skirts, and silver front and rear bumpers. Engine choices for the Scout will most likely be 2.0-litre petrol or diesel engines, with all-wheel drive and a form of terrain-response system likely given its adventure-driven ethos. Current Superbs make use of a turbo-diesel engine producing 140kW/400Nm, while the petrol engine of identical size can be had in two states of tune, either 162kW/350Nm for the 162TSI or 206kW/350Nm in the top-spec 206TSI. It has been confirmed that the updated Superb will feature a plug-in hybrid version in top-spec trim, however the electrified version is not destined for Australian showrooms. Local versions will score the facelifts new features, including updated styling, matrix LED headlights and a refreshed infotainment system ahead of an arrival in November. Specification for Australian examples is also still being finalised. To the end of April, sales of the Superb have lifted 33.6 per cent to 330 units, despite the large-car segment it plays in falling by nearly 30 per cent year-to-date. Overall sales from the Czech brand are up 26.4 per cent through the first four months of the year, thanks largely to its Karoq and Kodiaq SUVs. More information on the facelifted Superb range will be revealed on May 23. The Road to Recovery podcast series Jesse Matthew Jr., who abducted and killed two Virginia college students five years apart, was transferred to a new prison this week so he can receive medical treatment for cancer. Matthew, 37, is serving multiple life sentences for the 2009 murder of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington and the 2014 murder of 18-year-old University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. He pleaded guilty in 2016 to both killings. A spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Corrections confirmed that Matthew was transferred Monday from the Red Onion State Prison in Wise County to Sussex I State Prison. She would not comment on Matthews diagnosis, citing the confidentiality of medical records. Matthew first disclosed his cancer diagnosis during a telephone interview with WTVR-TV on May 8, without providing details. Harringtons mother, Gil Harrington, said Albemarle County Commonwealths Attorney Robert Tracci told her Matthew has stage 4 colon cancer and was transferred for treatment. It could not immediately be determined where Matthew will receive his treatment. In a statement given to the Daily Progress on Tuesday night, Tracci said he had received news of Matthews transfer Monday afternoon and said he was awaiting further rationale from the state Department of Corrections about the reasoning behind the transfer. Morgan Harrington disappeared after she left a Metallica concert at Charlottesville's John Paul Jones Arena in 2009. Her body was found more than three months later in a field about 10 miles south of Charlottesville. Graham, 18, vanished in September 2014 from Charlottesville's Downtown Mall area. Searchers found her remains slightly more than a month later in Albemarle County. Since her death, Harringtons mother has devoted herself to Help Save the Next Girl, a nonprofit organization she founded to honor her daughter and to familiarize young women with potential predatory dangers. Gil Harrington said she and her husband had a muted reaction when they heard about Matthews cancer diagnosis. Whatever justice is, perhaps this is the next phase of his justice. Perhaps this is his karma, she said. Im not happy about it, but Im very sanguine for whatever unfolds here. Virginia State Police again have 30 days to release a redacted copy of its Aug. 12, 2017, operational plan to a freelance journalist after a Charlottesville judge decided some of the information would not be a risk to the police or the public. Reporters Natalie Jacobsen and Jackson Landers represented pro bono by attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sued the city of Charlottesville, state police and the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security in October 2017 for access to city and state police plans from the Unite the Right rally. The police had been criticized for their response to the white supremacist rally, which ended with the deaths of counter-protester Heather Heyer and two VSP officers. In the complaint, Jacobsen and Landers said they were told their Freedom of Information Act requests were denied because the records contained tactical plans and could endanger law enforcement personnel if they were made public. In March 2018, the city agreed to give Landers and Jacobsen a redacted copy of the city police plan, but state authorities fought to keep their plan under wraps in a hearing to dismiss the case that month. At an April 2018 hearing, Judge Richard E. Moore ordered VSP to provide a redacted copy of the plan within 30 days, but he issued a stay on the order. VSP appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Virginia a few days prior to the orders issuance. Because the order was not final when the appeal was filed, the Supreme Court of Virginia declined to hear the states case. On Wednesday, Moore removed his stay, ordering VSP to again provide a redacted version of the plan, but some confusion arose regarding the redaction methodology. Moore said that redaction via deletion of material believed by the VSP to be exempt could be done, rather than the more common black-out line redaction. This could be appropriate, Moore said, so that the length of redacted materials could not be revealed to the public by Jacobsen, and thus perhaps create a public safety risk. Caitlin Vogus, an attorney for Jacobsen, disagreed with this plan and argued that redaction by deletion could make it more difficult for her client to challenge the redactions. As a compromise, Moore suggested allowing Jacobsen a blacked-out redacted copy so long as she not release it publicly. When Vogus objected, pointing to Jacobsens role as a journalist and right as a member of the public, Moore suggested not giving the plaintiff a copy of the report. I dont want it released prematurely, Moore said. I dont want her saying they blacked out 20 pages, which could cause problems. Deputy Attorney General Victoria Pearson again argued that the report should not be released before VSPs appeal can be heard and claimed that releasing even a redacted report beforehand would be self-defeating. We do agree that you cannot put a genie back into a bottle, she said. To put [the report] out and try to put it back defeats the purpose. As Moore ruled in April 2018, much of the information has already been released publicly, Vogus said, and VSP could release what it deems to be innocuous. Though some of VSPs plan was purportedly revealed by in a December 2017 report from former federal prosecutor Tim Heaphy whom the city hired to dissect the Unite the Right rally Pearson claimed that not all of what was revealed was necessarily accurate, saying that confirming some details could pose a public danger. In the end, Moore ordered the report released, but he will allow redaction by deletion. A copy of the redacted report will be given to both the court and Jacobsen within 30 days. More hearings over the legality of redacted materials are expected. Following the hearing, Jacobsen said VSPs refusal to release portions of the plan because they had purportedly been leaked in the Heaphy report set a dangerous precedent. If discrepancies exist, such as the state claimed, then the public had a right to know, she said. Nevertheless, Jacobsen said Wednesdays hearing was a victory in the fight for access to public information. Its a right for the public to see it, and I hope they will comply with the 30-day ruling and that we see it, she said. Tyler Hammel is a reporter for The Daily Progress. Contact him at (434) 978-7268, thammel@dailyprogress.com or @TylerHammelVA on Twitter. The roads could be packed this Memorial Day weekend if projections by AAA come to fruition. The auto club predicts that nearly 43 million people across the country will travel at least 50 miles for the long holiday weekend, starting Thursday and running through Monday. That figure is 1.5 million more than last year and is the second highest prediction for Memorial Day since AAA started tracking holiday travel in 2000. The number of Virginia travelers is expected to reach nearly 2 million, a 3.6 percent increase over last year, AAA said. AAA spokeswoman Tammy Arnette attributed the high travel prediction to job growth, rising income and strong consumer spending patterns. Since most travelers will be going by car, lower gas prices could fuel the increased travel. The average price for a gallon of gas in Virginia on Monday was $2.85, 7 cents less than a year ago, according to AAA. The states gas prices also are the 11th lowest in the country. To help handle the expected increase in traffic, the Virginia Department of Transportation will suspend most work zones and lane closures from noon Friday until noon Tuesday, May 28. VDOT also offers an online historic travel trends map showing what traffic has been like on previous Memorial Day holiday weekends and what it might be like this year. During the past three Memorial Day weekends, VDOT says the heaviest traffic has occurred between noon and 6 p.m. on both Friday and Monday, as well as around midday Saturday and Sunday. There also will be increased state police presence throughout the long weekend. TSX: RMX | OTCQX: RBYCF TORONTO, May 23, 2019 - Rubicon Minerals Corporation (TSX: RMX | OTCQX: RBYCF) ("Rubicon" or the "Company") provides assay results from its 2019 drilling program at the Phoenix Gold Project (the "Project"). Assay Results Highlights (as of May 23, 2019) representing approximately 8,000 metres ("m") of drilling in 2019: Drilling program at the 610- and 685 m Levels with the objective of potentially upgrading and expanding the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate (not true widths, more details in the 'Qualified Persons and QA/QC' section below) produced the following highlights: 610L-19-04: 9.52 g/t Au over 2.0 m (High-Ti Basalts) 685L-19-01: 6.31 g/t Au over 16.9 m (including 19.21 g/t Au over 0.8 m) (High-Ti Basalts) 685L-19-02: 7.63 g/t Au over 3.0 m (including 22.23 g/t Au over 0.8 m) (High-Ti Basalts) 685L-19-04: 4.00 g/t Au over 21.3 m (including 7.70 g/t Au over 2.0 m and 6.93 g/t Au over 2.9 m) (High-Ti Basalts) 2019 Drilling Results The 2019 oriented diamond drilling program was designed to upgrade and expand the Inferred Mineral Resource estimate, and advance the current understanding of the high-grade mineralization potential at depth, below the 854 m Level. The Company's most recent NI 43-101 2019 Mineral Resource Statement is comprised of 589,000 gold ounces in the Measured and Indicated Resources category located above the 854 m Level and 540,000 gold ounces in the Inferred Mineral Resource category, of which more than 340,000 ounces are located below the 854 m Level1. There are also 0.9 to 1.0 million tonnes of sparsely-drilled (greater than 80-metre drill centres) mineralized material grading between 5.0 to 7.0 g/t Au ("Explore Targets"), where estimated Mineral Resources could potentially be expanded with further drilling. Results from the 2019 drill program so far have been encouraging. Rubicon encountered high-grade mineralization at both narrow and wide (>10 m) horizontal widths, intersected within the high titanium basalt units ("High-Ti Basalts"), the main host rock of gold mineralization at the Project. The mineralization at depth, especially at wider widths, could potentially translate to sizable stopes in future mining and enhance the economics of the Project. The Company is getting a better view of the structural geology at depth with the oriented drilling and is currently analyzing the resulting data. Rubicon has a preliminary model of the East Bay Deformation Zone ("EBDZ") created from the structural data, which has enhanced the understanding of the mineralization and improved drill targeting at depth. Rubicon will continue to build on the current understanding of the geology at depth with further drilling. Please see Table 1 at the end of the news release for the summary of the assays. Longitudinal, plan, and section views of the drilling are represented in Diagrams 1 to 13 at the end of the news release. CEO's Comments George Ogilvie, P.Eng., President and CEO of Rubicon, commented, "Drill results to-date give us confidence that we will upgrade some of the estimated Inferred Mineral Resources at depth to Measured and Indicated categories, and grow the Mineral Resource estimates of the Project. We saw a robust conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources in our 2018 drilling, which was reflected in our most recent NI 43-101 2019 Mineral Resource Statement and we are anticipating healthy conversion rates as we continue to drill at depth. Expanding the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource estimates are key for us to advance the Project to Feasibility Stage. We are well underway in putting together the New Preliminary Economic Assessment ("New PEA") for the Project and anticipate its delivery in the second half of this year." Qualified Persons and QA/QC The content of this news release has been read and approved by George Ogilvie, P.Eng., President and CEO, and, was also verified by, Michael Nerup, P.Geo., Senior Geologist, for Rubicon. Both are Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101. Underground drilling was conducted by Boart Longyear Drilling of Haileybury, Ontario and was supervised by the Rubicon exploration team. All assays reported are uncut unless otherwise stated. All samples reported herein were performed by SGS Mineral Services of Red Lake, Ontario. All NQ core assays reported were obtained by fire assay with AA-finish or using gravimetric finish for values over 10.0 g/t Au. The data verification procedures applied in this drilling program largely mirror those performed by Golder Associates Ltd. (2018) and confirmed by T. Maunula and Associates for the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate. Please refer to the NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Project dated April 25, 2019 available under Rubicon's profile on www.sedar.com. Intercepts cited do not necessarily represent true widths, unless otherwise noted, however drilling is generally intersecting interpreted mineralized zones at angles between -30o and +30o. True width determinations are estimated at 75-95% of the core length for the 610- and 685-m level drilling. Rubicon's quality control checks include insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy and precision. About Rubicon Minerals Corporation Rubicon Minerals Corp. is an advanced gold exploration company that owns the Phoenix Gold Ltd. Project, located in the prolific Red Lake gold district in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Additionally, Rubicon controls over 285 square kilometres of prime exploration ground in Red Lake and more than 900 square kilometres of mineral property interests in the emerging Long Canyon gold district that straddles the Nevada-Utah border in the United States. Rubicon's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (RMX) and the OTCQX markets (RBYCF). For more information, please visit our website at www.rubiconminerals.com. RUBICON MINERALS CORPORATION George Ogilvie, P.Eng. President, CEO, and Director Table 1: Summary of the 2019 Drilling Assay Results, up to May 23, 2019 Drill hole number Type Elevation Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Width (m) Grade g/t Au 610L-19-01 infill/step-out 610 m Level 550.0 No Significant Assays 610L-19-02 infill/step-out 610 m Level 550.0 429.0 430.0 1.0 2.27 610L-19-03 infill/step-out 610 m Level 550.5 392.0 394.0 2.0 3.91 467.0 471.0 4.0 5.61 537.0 538.2 1.2 3.48 610L-19-04 infill/step-out 610 m Level 650.0 479.0 482.0 3.0 3.33 605.0 607.0 2.0 9.52 640.0 642.0 2.0 13.79 610L-19-05 infill/step-out 610 m Level 534.0 No significant assays 610L-19-07 infill/step-out 610 m Level 450.0 339.6 342.5 2.9 3.58 347.3 348.5 1.2 3.02 685L-19-01 infill/step-out 685 m Level 375.0 312.0 316.0 4.0 3.57 326.4 343.3 16.9 6.31 including 329.4 330.0 0.6 10.30 including 335.2 336.0 0.8 19.21 including 341.3 342.0 0.7 14.01 685L-19-02 infill/step-out 685 m Level 523.5 514.0 517.0 3.0 7.63 including 515.5 516.4 0.8 22.23 685L-19-02A infill/step-out 685 m Level 688.5 575.0 577.5 2.5 3.87 583.2 583.6 0.4 16.35 685L-19-03 Infill/step-out 685 m Level 702.5 61.0 62.0 1.0 1.58 685L-19-04 infill/step-out 685 m Level 669.8 608.5 613.0 4.5 3.52 619.2 620.0 0.8 8.32 632.3 633.4 1.1 9.01 647.5 668.8 21.3 4.00 including 647.5 649.5 2.0 7.70 including 653.0 654.0 1.0 6.90 including 656.1 659.0 2.9 6.93 Cautionary Statement regarding Forward-Looking Statements and other Cautionary Notes This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates", "build on", "confidence", encouraging", "estimates", "exploration", "likely", "may", "model", "objective", "plans", "potential", "target", "view", "will", or variations of such words, and similar such words, expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results may or may not be achieved or occur in the future. In some cases, forward-looking information may be stated in the present tense, such as in respect of current matters that may be continuing, or that may have a future impact or effect. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Mineral Resource Estimates, the anticipated timing of the delivery and details of the New PEA, the anticipated outcome of further oriented infill and expansion drilling of the Project, the potential tonnage of mineralized material and its grade estimated in the Explore Target areas, the impact of the data from the drilling planned in 2019 on the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate, the potential to improve the quantities and classification of the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate, the further steps necessary to potentially improve upon the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimates, including targeted infill and step-out drilling to potentially convert Inferred Mineral Resource estimates to the Indicated Mineral Resource category, the potential impact of drilling on stope dimensions at depth and its impact on future mining and Project economics, and the understanding of the structural geology, including the EBDZ, at depth. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and represent management's best judgment based on facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable. If such opinions and estimates prove to be incorrect, actual and future results may be materially different than expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Rubicon to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery or throughput rates; uncertainty of Mineral Resource estimates; inability to realize exploration potential, mineral grades and mineral recovery estimates; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of reclamation activities; uncertainty of future operations, delays in completion of exploration plans for any reason including insufficient capital, delays in permitting, and labour issues; conclusions of future economic or geological evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents and other risks of the mining industry; delays and other risks related to operations; timing, receipt and maintenance of permits and other required regulatory approvals; the ability of Rubicon and other relevant parties to satisfy regulatory requirements; the ability of Rubicon to comply with its obligations under material agreements including financing agreements; the availability of financing for proposed programs and working capital requirements on reasonable terms; the ability of third-party service providers to deliver services on reasonable terms and in a timely manner; risks associated with the ability to retain key executives and key operating personnel; cost of environmental expenditures and potential environmental liabilities; dissatisfaction or disputes with local communities or First Nations or Aboriginal Communities; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions; our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or obtain adequate financing to fund our capital expenditures and working capital needs and meet our other obligations; the volatility of our stock price, and the ability of our common stock to remain listed and traded on the TSX. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Rubicon disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Readers are advised to carefully review and consider the risk factors identified in the Company's annual information form dated March 22, 2019 under the heading "Risk Factors" and in other continuous disclosure documents of the Company filed under its profile at www.sedar.com for a discussion of the factors that could cause Rubicon's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Readers are further cautioned that the foregoing list of assumptions and risk factors is not exhaustive and it is recommended that prospective investors consult the more complete discussion of Rubicon's business, financial condition and prospects that is included in this news release. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Cautionary Note to U.S. Readers Regarding Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources This news release uses the terms "Measured" and "Indicated" Mineral Resources and "Inferred" Mineral Resources. The Company advises U.S. investors that while these terms are recognized and required by the Canadian Securities Administrators, they are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The estimation of "Measured" and "Indicated" Mineral Resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of Proven and Probable Reserves. The estimation of "Inferred" Mineral Resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of Mineral Resources. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of a "Inferred", "Measured", or "Indicated" Mineral Resource estimate will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of "Inferred Mineral Resources" may not form the basis of feasibility studies, pre-feasibility studies or other economic studies, except in prescribed cases, such as in a preliminary economic assessment (or New PEA) under certain circumstances. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "Reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "Reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the Reserve determination is made. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of a "Inferred", "Measured" or "Indicated" Mineral Resource exists or is economically or legally mineable. Information concerning descriptions of mineralization and Mineral Resources contained herein may not be comparable to information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. ______________________________ 1 See also the Company's news release dated March 27, 2019 and the NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Project dated April 25, 2019. Both are available in www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.rubiconminerals.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rubicon-minerals-provides-encouraging-drill-results-at-depth-at-the-phoenix-gold-project-300855677.html SOURCE Rubicon Minerals Corp. Keith Piggott, owning approximately 7% of the issued and outstanding shares of Core Gold Inc. ("Core Gold Inc." or the "Company") (TSXV: CGLD, OTCQX: CGLDF) announced today that he has filed a proxy circular (the Circular) and form of Proxy in relation to the Companys upcoming Special Meeting of the shareholders, warrant holders and option holders on June 12, 2019 (the Meeting). Mr. Piggott is urging his fellow shareholders to join him in voting AGAINST the value-destructing plan of arrangement pursuant to which Titan Minerals Ltd. (Titan) will acquire all of the issued and outstanding commons shares of Core Gold in a dilutive all-share deal. The Circular, which will be mailed to shareholders and is available on the Companys SEDAR profile, includes a letter to shareholders highlighting Titans disturbing track record of destroying shareholder value, misleading disclosures, and environmental damage. The letter also addresses Core Golds board of directors obstruction of other value maximizing transactions. The letter is included below in its entirety. VOTE TODAY Mr. Piggott is aware of the desperate and misleading press release from Core Gold issued this morning. As securityholders are well aware, the Titan-Core Gold plan of arrangement requires the support of 66 2/3% of total votes at the Meeting. To date, Mr. Piggott has received indications of support from enough securityholders to block this deal. Titan and Core Golds attempt to bully securityholders into voting for this deal will not stand. As their desperation increases and our support grows, Mr. Piggott encourage all shareholders to vote AGAINST the proposed transaction on the GOLD proxy today. Discard any proxy you receive from Core Gold. Even if you have already voted on the proxy card sent to you by Core Gold, you can still change your vote using the enclosed GOLD proxy. Only your latest dated proxy will count. The deadline to vote is Friday, June 7, 2019 at 5:00 pm (Vancouver time). If you have any questions, or need help voting, contact Kingsdale Advisors at 1-866-851-4179 or contactus@kingsdaleadvisors.com. There is a team standing by to assist you. LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS Dear fellow Shareholder, Shareholders of Core Gold Inc. (Core Gold or the Company) are being asked to vote on a coercive paper for paper deal with Titan Minerals Ltd. Ltd. (Titan) which, I, Keith Piggott, one of the largest shareholders, director, and former CEO of Core Gold Inc., believe will be a TITAN-IC DISASTER and destroy your investment. Pursuant to the proposed Arrangement with Titan (the Proposed Arrangement), Core Gold Inc. shareholders will exchange their Core Gold Inc. shares for Titans inflated paper, handing over our world-class assets for highly diluted ownership in an Australian-based company with questionable governance, environmental and ethical practices, a notorious track record of depletingNOT creatingvalue and no mining experience in Ecuador, the location of Core Gold Inc.s core assets. In order for the Titan deal to happen, however, Core Gold Inc. needs the support of 66 2/3 of all the votes cast on the special resolution at the meeting. Worried as they are about the prospect of securing their vote, some members of the Core Gold Inc. board have resorted to disgraceful tactics including calling shareholders to promise to buy back their shares after the transaction is approved. They have also claimed that the Company will collapse if the deal is voted down. This is false. There are far better options for the Company, and I have an achievable plan to restore Core Gold Inc. and create meaningful value. Earlier this year, I had brought to the Core Gold Inc. board of directors a value-maximizing opportunity from an international firm with exploration, mining, processing and smelting operations, primarily focusing on the gold industry. The firm, listed on a major international stock exchange with a market capitalization above US $3 billion, agreed to a CDN $4,000,000 subscription for 8,888,888 common shares of Core Gold Inc. at CDN $0.45 per share and was prepared to place an additional US$12 million at C$0.45 in equity, US$20 million for a 20% initial earn-in into Core Gold Inc.s Dynasty Gold project, and invest a further US$62 million to build a 2,000 ton per day underground mine leaving Core Gold Inc. with a 40% carried interest. Unfortunately, the Core Gold Inc. board sabotaged the deal in favour of the Titan deal. This international firm is still interested in investing in Core Gold Inc., under similar terms, IF the current board and management namely CFO Sam Wong, and directors Gregg Sedun, Leonard Clough, and Mark Bailey (the Core Four)are no longer involved with the Company. In addition, in my position as a shareholder, I have been contacted by four other parties who are interested in investing in Core Gold Inc., in transactions that are far superior to the Titan deal, with better terms and better value. Together, we can stop the coercive Titan deal and choose a different path; a path to realize the true value of Core Gold Inc.s outstanding assets. To do so, please vote AGAINST the Proposed Arrangement on the enclosed GOLD proxy well in advance of the voting deadline of Friday, June 7, 2019 at 5:00 pm (Vancouver time). Every vote counts, no matter how many shares you own. Momentum Against the Titan-Core Deal Builds as New Revelations of Titans Value-Destructing Track-Record Surface Many long-term shareholders have reached out to me about their concerns about our Company, and the awful Titan deal. Like you, they invested in Core Gold Inc. because of our outstanding assets in Ecuador and the opportunity to build significant and sustained value for all shareholders. Now, the Core Four have put their interests ahead of minority shareholders and are tossing Core Gold Inc.s great potential away. Consummating the Titan deal would be a TITAN-IC DISASTER for the shareholders of Core Gold Inc.. Heres why: Titan, led by Executive Chairman Matthew Carr, has a track record of destroying shareholder value. Titans share price has dramatically declined over the past year. Since May 11, 2018, Titan shares have dropped by approximately 44.12%. Titan is not profitable. A review of Titans income statements (2010-2018), show that Titan has lost money every year, except for 2017 where Titan received a one-time windfall for a loan forgiveness. Paper for paper deal with Titans paper is NOT a premium offer for Core Gold Inc. shareholders. Titans shares are highly illiquid, and the company has a history of dilutive share issuances. Since 2018, Titan has increased its issued capital by 56.8%, adding almost 1 billion shares. If, the Proposed Agreement is approved by shareholders and Titan does not consolidate its share capital before the Proposed Arrangement completes, Titans share count will jump to a whopping 6,746,302,678 shares (thats 6.7 Billion shares!). Titans assets pale in comparison with Core Gold Inc.s assets. Titan has a 150 tpd tolling mill that has yet to receive final approvals. Compare that to Core Gold Inc., which has: a premium Copper Duke property, permitted for drilling, the Linderos property with major structures and high-grade gold, a 2,000 tpd nameplate capacity fully permitted mill, a fully permitted open pit mine on the Dynasty Goldfield Project with current resources of 2.1MM oz gold, and at least 13 known porphyry targets on these concessions with surface showings similar to Sol Gold, which is further north along the same mineral belt. Titans management has a history of misleading disclosures that should raise the ire of securities regulators. In 2017, Titan issued a prospectus for an offering in Australia falsely claiming that a well-respected mining professionalwho was instrumental in the discovery of Yanacocha an approximately 50-million ounce gold depositwas their CEO. Titan has consistently misled potential investors about its assets. For example, in fundraising documents published in 2017, May 2018, Feb. 2019, Titan described its Torrecillas Project as an advanced exploration project. And now, in its most recent financial statements and a May 2019 investor presentation, Titan says that Torrecillas is an early-stage exploration project. Titans history in Peru is a tale of lies, deceit, and questionable practices. News reports indicate that individuals allegedly linked to Titan have been involved in questionable activities related to an incident involving firearms at the Tulin plant in Peru where people were wounded. The same news reports allege environmental violations at the Tulin plant relating to spillage of toxic chemicals and tails. . These investigations were found to be true and several fines were levied on Tulin Gold (Titan) by the local authorities, over a period of several years. I have also confirmed, through notarial sworn statements of witnesses, that Titan has tried to conceal environmental damage at the Tulin processing plant by surreptitiously burying cyanide tailings outside the plant area. It is also reasonable to assume that the ASX is not aware of these problems. Titan has become too toxic to partner with. The allegations outlined above makes Titan a radioactive stock to any well-governed fund. Associating Core Gold Inc.s assets with Titans unacceptable environmental, safety and occupational health record, would make us a pariah in Ecuador, a country that prides itself in following and enforcing high ethical and environmental standards. In the unlikely event that Core and Titan receive shareholder approvals for the Proposed Arrangement, Titan, will not be able to be rid of its past sins. The company will be mired in litigation and will be pilloried as the unacceptable face of mining. Core Gold Inc. DIRECTORS WHAT ARE THEIR MOTIVES? Shareholders are appropriately asking why the Core Gold Inc. board of directors are handing over their assets to Titan, a company with such a revolting track record. Are they ignoring Titans misdeeds, or do they have their heads in the sand? Why havent the Core Four done any further due diligence given the latest revelations? Clearly, the board of directors is looking after its own interests not the interests of all shareholders as evidenced by the following: Insiders will continue to have jobs with Titan. Core Gold Inc. directors Mark Bailey, Gregg Sedun, and Javier Reyes will all be directors of the new company and are therefore incentivized to promote the deal. Luis Zapata, who is working for Core Gold Inc. in an IR capacity, is promoting the Titan-Core deal incentivized by being given 180,000 options by the Company. Notably, he had told several people that he would have received a $500,000 finders fee on the first Titan proposal to Core Gold Inc. in December 2018. Is Mr. Zapata receiving a finders fee for this deal? This appears to be a common thread whereby directors and some employees of Core Gold Inc. are putting their interests ahead of shareholder interests. Core Gold Inc.s board and management obstructed a less dilutive and more value-enhancing deal. I had initially voted in favour of the Titan deal, in February 2019, strictly because of a 60-day go-shop provision and a reasonable break-fee of $500,000 which provided the Company a legitimate opportunity to solicit superior offers. Thats what I did: A short time later, I brought to the board of directors a less dilutive deal with an international mining company with a market cap of over $3 billion and approximately $300 million in the bank, that would have saved the Company. What did the Core board do? They terminated me for cause, increased their Titan break fee to $3 million and terminated the go-shop period. Does this sound like a board that puts shareholder interests first? Stacking the vote in favour of the Titan deal: The board of directors have fired me as CEO and stripped me of my options because I wont go along with the Titan deal. They threatened me by saying that if I voted for the Titan deal I could keep my options, and if I didnt support their deal I would be fired for cause. I said it sounded like a threat and refused. Meanwhile theyve also taken the following steps to increase their vote count in favour of the Proposed Arrangement: They are allowing warrants and options, excluding mine, to be voted, even though they have not been exercised and without requiring a separate vote of shareholders only which is contrary to the law. They are converting debt to shares for the purposes of diluting your vote. The Core Gold Inc. board of directors appears to want to waive Titans condition of raising AUD$20 million. In the Companys February 24, 2019 press release, it specifies that Titan commit to a minimum AUD$20 million equity financing as a condition of the Titan-Core deal. For an unknown reason, Core Gold Inc. has opened the door to abandoning this requirement. Core may choose to waive any or all of the above conditions and complete the arrangement if Titan has not completed the Titan Private Placement at all or if the gross proceeds of the Titan Private Placement are less than A$20 Million. - Core Gold Inc.s Management Information Circular (Page 43) Why would they do this? If this financing condition is waived By focusing solely on their narrow interests and ignoring the questionable track record of Titan, the Core Gold Inc. board of directors are destroying value for the majority of shareholders who cannot use board privilege to benefit their own interests. It is of great concern to me, as a shareholder of Core Gold Inc., that the board of directors has yet to provide its position on the many misrepresentations that Titan has made including claims of its non-existent CEO while raising AUD$6 million or contradictory disclosures about its Torrecillas project while raising AUD$11 million. And this very week, days after news surfaced about Titans long, miserable environmental track record in Peru, the Companys board of directors again remain silent. Why are they ignoring these allegations of illegal acts? I encourage my fellow directors, and all shareholders, to carefully ponder on the implications of proceeding with the Titan deal in light of the facts uncovered and the allegations that have surfaced. As they saywhere there is smoke, there is fire. THE CORRECT PATH TO RESTORE VALUE AT CORE GOLD I have been fighting hard to return Core Gold Inc. from certain bankruptcy, by complying with my fiduciary duty to protect ALL shareholders, rather than the insiders. When I took over as CEO at Core Gold Inc. in September 2016 the Company was two weeks away from being declared bankrupt and losing all its concessions. In just two years, during my tenure, the Companys debt owed to former employees, the tax office and the social security office was mostly extinguished. Of the remaining debt, trade payables and loans can be negotiated or deferred until a major value-maximizing transaction comes to fruition. I believe we can continue to manage cash flows while we pursue a value maximizing alternative to the Titan Dealamong the many superior alternatives available to us. As mentioned above, I am continuing to pursue and explore strategic alternatives that will benefit Core Gold Inc. shareholders in both the short and long-term. In my capacity as a shareholder, I have been approached by at least five different parties interested in Core Gold Inc. and its assets. These are credible companies considering superior proposals including mergers, reverse mergers, loans, and gold streaming agreements. This interest demonstrates the strength of our assets. Immediately, following the shareholder vote on June 12, I will work with my advisory groupconsisting of international mining professionals to solidify proposals and present them to shareholders. We can restore value to Core Gold Inc.. But the first step is to say NO to the Titan deal. I encourage all shareholders to join me and vote AGAINST the Proposed Arrangement with Titan and avoid a TITAN-IC DISASTER that will destroy the value in our Company. Sincerely, Keith Piggott KEITH PIGGOTT ADVISORS Mr. Piggott has retained Koffman Kalef LLP and Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP as his legal advisors and Kingsdale Advisors as his strategic shareholder, communications and proxy advisor. ABOUT KEITH PIGGOTT Keith Piggott is a seasoned mining developer and operator with over 50 years of experience in Africa, Australia, Mexico and South America. Mr. Piggott as CEO, and as an investor, rescued Dynasty Metals and Mining from certain bankruptcy and the loss of all its assets in 2016. He has worked diligently for over two years to take the company, as Core Gold Inc. Inc., from a $5 million market capitalization to over $40 million market capitalization before the Titan proposal. He can be contacted at kpiggott100@gmail.com, by phone at 520-247-5753. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190523005668/en/ Contact For further information, please contact: Keith Piggott Telephone: (520) 247-5753 Email: kpiggott100@gmail.com For media inquiries, please contact: Ian Robertson, Executive Vice President, Communication Strategy Kingsdale Advisors Telephone: (416) 867-2333 Cell: (647) 621-2646 Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation. Newly inaugurated Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who endorsed an elected school board on the campaign trail, announced Wednesday she will overhaul the seven-member board of education.The announcement came less than an hour after Board President Frank Clark told fellow board members at their regular monthly meeting that he is stepping down.Lightfoot's office said the names of the new school board members will be announced in the coming days and that they will be sworn in June 26. The mayor said in a statement she wants to ensure that "decisions made on behalf of our children are led by those with different perspectives throughout the district" as she prepares to "deliver bold reforms to our public school system."At the same time, she has announced she will retain Janice Jackson as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, one of several leaders carried over from former Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration.CPS and city leaders will face ongoing enrollment declines and financial challenges, as well as upcoming contract negotiations with a Chicago Teachers Union, which staged a rally outside the Thompson Center Wednesday evening to push members' plea for equity in schools and what they consider a fair contract.At the City Hall news conference earlier Wednesday, Lightfoot said her administration "wanted to make sure we were doing what we could to really bring diversity into the process and place the emphasis on existing CPS parents, people who've been through the (local school council) process or otherwise were viewed in the field as education experts. You will see with the names we will announce shortly that that's been the priority we've placed on looking at a new school board."She noted there are "a lot of important issues" the board will face."From day one, I have promised to deliver bold reforms to our public school system that will provide high-quality education for every child in every community," the mayor's statement said, citing equity, an expansion of early childhood education and support for teachers and staff.Lightfoot said during her campaign that she supports the move from an appointed to an elected school board for Chicago.Yet she has signaled she opposes the current version of a bill pending in Springfield that would create a 21-member elected school board -- a measure that was approved in the Illinois House two days after she won the mayor's office.Lightfoot has called the bill -- sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Robert Martwick of Chicago -- "unwieldy."The House bill is on hold in the Senate to allow the new mayor to look into the issue, said John Patterson, a spokesman for Senate President John Cullerton.Clark, the outgoing board president and retired ComEd chairman and CEO, was appointed by Emanuel in 2015.In announcing his departure, Clark said he was "very, very proud of the work of this board. The reduction of a $1 billion deficit to virtually zero, the constant and continued academic achievement under Dr. Jackson's leadership and ultimately dealing with the very sensitive issue around sexual abuse. I would say without any hesitation the structure, the process, the systems that are in place will be able to address those issues much more rigorously than we have in the past."Clark received a standing ovation and thanked colleagues, the city and the district's 360,000 students.Jackson thanked the board members for their service, noting it was the last meeting of the board in its current form."I can say that I have felt challenged and supported in this role and you all have served with integrity and you pushed us all to be better," Jackson said. "Just know that you are leaving CPS in a better place than you found it."Besides Clark, the outgoing board includes Vice President Jaime Guzman and members Mark Furlong, Alejandra Garza, Austan Goolsbee, Mahalia Hines and Gail Ward."I know it isn't an easy road and despite what people may have said, you didn't have to do this," Jackson told board members, "and I just thank God that you did. So congratulations."Lightfoot deflected when asked about the Chicago Teachers Union having supported her opponent, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle."The campaign's over. All's not forgotten. ... The thing we have to do is focus on making sure we're delivering for our kids," Lightfoot said. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is headed to Washington, D.C., this week to push the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for better communication and federal reimbursement as New Mexico handles an influx of asylum-seeking families.She has a face-to-face meeting scheduled with the acting secretary, Kevin McAleenan, and will also meet with other federal officials.Lujan Grisham, a Democrat and former congresswoman, has already spoken with McAleenan by telephone but will use the in-person meeting to relay local concerns centering on the border, a spokesman said.Charities, churches and other groups in New Mexico are coping with the release of thousands of migrants seeking asylum. Some local governments have set aside hundreds of thousands of dollars to help cover the cost of humanitarian aid, and Deming and Otero County have declared a state of emergency.Lujan Grisham this week will seek federal reimbursement for the humanitarian assistance, more federal staffing and resources, and better communication about when and where migrants are being dropped off, spokesman Tripp Stelnicki said. The governor will also raise local concerns about the closure of Border Patrol highway checkpoints, he said."There are just a lot of things that could be done better," Stelnicki said.Ruben Garcia, director of the nonprofit Annunciation House, said last week that U.S. immigration authorities regularly release more than 1,000 refugees a day in El Paso and Las Cruces -- "a number that has become almost overwhelming."A dozen Republican lawmakers in the state House, meanwhile, are urging Lujan Grisham to send more National Guard troops to the border and to create a state-led crisis response team."Some of New Mexico's poorest communities are being forced to provide shelter and other services at a time when these communities can least afford to accommodate the various needs of the immigrant population," the legislators said in a letter to the governor.Lujan Grisham, in turn, told the lawmakers that a "military response to a humanitarian matter" wouldn't be a good use of state resources. But she said her administration -- including the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management -- is working to provide logistical support and coordinate with volunteers.Lujan Grisham's campaign is covering the cost of her trip to Washington, D.C. Her visit will include a speech during the Ideas Conference of the Center for American Progress event and participation in a fundraising event with the Democratic Governors Association.She also expects to meet with U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and other federal officials.The governor was set to leave today and return late Thursday. SPEED READ: Protests of abortion bans took place in all 50 states this week. Before Alabama's, bans passed in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Utah. Since Alabama's, bans have advanced in Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin. Will the Activism Last? What Will the Supreme Court Do? Outside the U.S. Supreme Court and in all 50 states, abortion-rights supporters took to the streets on Tuesday to protest new state laws banning the procedure in most cases.Earlier this year, governors in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Utah signed abortion bans. But the nationwide backlash to these laws didn't come until after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the nations most restrictive abortion law last week. That one makes it a felony for doctors to perform abortions in nearly every case, including rape and incest."At some point enough is enough," Stephanie Schriock, president of the pro-choice Democratic womens group EMILYs List, toldat the Supreme Court protest. "Every time a state legislature takes a larger step, you sort of feel the energy, but this was sort of the straw that broke the camels back. ... [It] awoke a huge number of women and good men who are not going to let this happen."Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, agrees that Alabamas law has transformed the abortion wars, "bringing people out who have been sitting on the sidelines." He calls it "a game-changer" and "the first bill to be enacted in a state that would completely confront the entire logic of Roe v. Wade," the 1973 Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right to abortion.Most of the other bills include exceptions for rape and incest or ban abortion after six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant."They want to prevent any access to abortion in this country," Schriock says. "Maybe we just were hoping that wasnt true. But that is what the Republican Party is now. It is what Donald Trump has ensured is going to happen with the changes in the courts, and thats why folks are riled up."Those changes include the recent confirmations of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, a pair of conservatives nominated by President Trump who shifted the Supreme Courts majority to the right, increasing the chances that Roe v. Wade will be overturned.Scheidler thinks most supporters of abortion rights have been "extremely complacent for a very long time" and that their burst of activism this week will be short-lived."Those people are not going to be out there protesting a month from now," he says. They're not going to be out there in two days."Since Alabama's law passed, abortion bans have advanced in Louisiana Missouri and Wisconsin . Its certainly possible the calendar is contributing to this weeks outbreak of national abortion activism."It's May," says Clarke Forsythe, senior counsel at Americans United for Life. "Part of it is just the end of the legislative session."As for where this is all headed, Scheidler doesnt think Supreme Court action is necessarily imminent, and if it happens, he's skeptical about how much it would change."I don't have a lot of optimism that they would go so far as to uphold the Alabama law," he says. "It's possible that we could end up with a ruling that further entrenches legal abortion."Nevertheless, the tenor of this debate has manifestly shifted, and both sides are behaving as though a historic ruling is on the horizon."Frankly," says Forsythe, "it seems like everybody in the country, except the justices, expects the court to overturn Roe." Nevada is now on the cusp of joining the nationwide push to elect the president purely by popular vote.The state Senate on Tuesday passed Assembly Bill 186, which would see the Silver State join a compact with 15 others that have agreed to award their presidential votes to the winner of the national popular vote.The divisive bill now heads to Gov. Steve Sisolak, who did not immediately return requests for comment on the measure.If adopted by enough states, the national popular vote compact would effectively neuter the electoral college, a constitutional creation that awards states one presidential vote for each of its congressional delegates.The roughly 200-year-old system has the effect of giving smaller states greater power to pick the president, who might otherwise be elected solely via votes tallied in densely populated coastal states such as California and New York. After a months-long investigation, Eastern Virginia Medical School says it can't "conclusively determine" whether or not Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was one of the two men -- one wearing blackface and the other wearing a KKK robe -- who appeared in a racist yearbook photo."The Governor himself has made inconsistent public statements in this regard. No individual that we interviewed has told us from personal knowledge that the Governor is in the Photograph, and no individual with knowledge has come forward to us to report that the Governor is in the Photograph," the school said in a lengthy report released Wednesday morning.The school also insisted it was unclear how the photo even appeared in the yearbook, but said it found no evidence it was a mistake or a prank.In a statement, Northam said he "cooperated" with the investigation and insisted that he was not in the photo."That being said, I know and understand the events of early February and my response to them have caused hurt for many Virginians and for that, I am sorry. I felt it was important to take accountability for the photo's presence on my page, but rather than providing clarity, I instead deepened page and confusion," he said."In visits with local leaders across the Commonwealth, I have engaged in frank and necessary dialogue on how I can best utilize the power of the governor's office to enact meaningful progress on issues of equity and better focus our administration's efforts for the remainder of my term. That conversation will continue, with ensuing action, and I am committed to working to build a better and more equitable Virginia for all who call it home."The photo, from the 1984 yearbook, was made public in early February. Northam initially confirmed that he was pictured and apologized for "the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now."A day later, he retracted his admission and said he wasn't in the photo, but admitted to a different instance of blackface, in which he used shoe polish to look like Michael Jackson for a dance contest."Yesterday I took responsibility for content that appeared on my page that was clearly racist and offensive. I will not excuse the content of the photo. It was offensive, racist and despicable. I was seeing it for the first time. I was unaware of what was on my page. I was appalled that they appeared on my page," Northam said at a press conference on Feb. 2."I believe now I am not either of the people in that photo. It is disgusting, offensive, racist."Northam has repeatedly refused calls to resign amid similar scandals that swept the Virginia statehouse.Two women have accused Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, which he has denied, while Attorney General Mark Herring admitted to wearing blackface in college. Both have also refused to resign. Herrera v. Wyoming Washington v. Cougar Den Carpenter v. Murphy 'Treaties Do Matter' The U.S. Supreme Court handed the Crow Tribe a major victory this week in a long-running hunting rights dispute between the tribe and the state of Wyoming. This is the second time that the justices have ruled to enforce tribal treaty rights this year, and a third, perhaps more far-reaching, case is still before the justices.Until recently, the Supreme Court was seen as unsympathetic to Native American causes.Every Indian lawyer, expert, close observer cringes every time[the Supreme Court]takes a case, Joe Valandra, an attorney and member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota once told But in both of this year's cases, Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed by President Donald Trump, joined the courts four liberals in favor of Native Americans. He comes to the court from Colorado, where he often encountered tribal claims as an appeals court judge.It all seems to boil down to Justice Gorsuch and his view of treaty interpretation, in particular reading treaties as they would have been understood, says Forrest Tahdooahnippah, an attorney for the Minneapolis firm of Dorsey & Whitney. Gorscuchs willingness to look into the historical record ... has been what has tipped the scales in these cases.The cases are incredibly significant both in terms of tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction, Valandra tellsnow. Putting tribes in the same context generally as a state or as another sovereign is a major step forward. And I hope that's what we're seeing here. But I don't know that for sure.But both of the cases the court ruled on this year deal with treaty interpretation. The court may not be as sympathetic in other types of cases, says Valandra, a former chief of staff of the National Indian Gaming Commission and now the managing director of VAdvisors, a consulting firm. And Gorsuch has recused himself from the third case, adding further uncertainty to its outcome.In Herrera v. Wyoming, the court ruled that the Crow Tribes off-reservation hunting rights that it negotiated with the United States in an 1868 treaty were still in effect. The state of Wyoming, which now covers some of the land that the Crow tribe was given access to, argued unsuccessfully that the tribes right to hunt on Wyoming lands ended when Wyoming became a state in 1890.The Wyoming Statehood Act did not abrogate the Crow Tribes hunting right nor did the 1868 Treaty expire of its own accord at that time. The treaty itself defines the circumstances in which the right will expire. Statehood is not one of them, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court.The ruling is a victory for Clayvin Herrera, a member of the Crow Tribe who was charged with hunting elk off-season and without a license in the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming, which is adjacent to the Crow Reservation.The Crow Tribe is very, very gratified to see the Supreme Court upheld its 1868 treaty rights that remains of vital importance to the survival of the tribe to this day, says Heather Whiteman Runs Him, an attorney for the Native American Rights Fund who filed a friend-of-the court brief on behalf of the Crow Tribe in the Supreme Court case. There are resources we depend on. This is about peoples ability to feed their children in a very impoverished and economically challenged environment.The ruling could have an even broader impact -- 19 tribes negotiated hunting rights with the federal government in 12 treaties, according to Lisa Soronen, executive director of the State and Local Legal Center.The high courts decision is not the end, though. The judges returned the case to lower courts to sort outfurther details.Under the treaty, for example, the Crow Tribe can enjoy hunting rights in areas that are not occupied. The high court determined that Wyoming becoming a state did not automatically mean the entire state was occupied, but it left it up to lower courts to decide whether the site where Herrera was hunting was occupied.The Crow Tribe ruling comes just two months after the Supreme Court took the side of the Yakama Nation in that tribe's gas tax dispute with the state of Washington.The Yakama argued that the states fuel taxes violate a provision of their 1855 treaty that guarantees them the right to travel freely on public highways. A five-justice majority agreed in the case of Washington State Department of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.Gorsuch wrote a special concurrence in that decision, in which he expressed sympathy for the Yakama Nation's situation.Really, this case just tells an old and familiar story, Gorsuch wrote. The State of Washington includes millions of acres that the Yakamas ceded to the United States under significant pressure. In return, the government supplied a handful of modest promises. The state is now dissatisfied with the consequences of one of those promises. It is a new day, and now it wants more. But today and to its credit, the court holds the parties to the terms of their deal. It is the least we can do.The Supreme Court's rulings establish precedents, and the court's new approach toward tribes is likely to be noticed by trial judges and appeals courts across the country. But the Native American treaty case that the justices are currently reviewing could potentially have an even bigger impact.At issue in this case is whether the eastern half of Oklahoma (including Tulsa) is, in effect, still a reservation of the Creek (Muskogee) Tribe.Patrick Murphy, a Creek member, is challenging his murder conviction because, he says, he was wrongfully tried in state court instead of federal court. Federal law requires crimes committed on reservations to be tried in federal court.The Creek, once a powerful tribe in the southeastern United States, were forcibly moved during the 1830s from Alabama and Georgia to what is now Oklahoma. In exchange, the federal government granted the tribe reservation lands in Oklahoma.Murphy claims the federal government never abolished the reservation, even when Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Much of the land, though, eventually did pass from control of Native Americans to whites, often through violence.Gorsuch recused himself from the case, which comes out of the same appeals court where he once served. But many of the justices, including liberal ones, seemed disturbed by the prospect of upending state control over the land.There are 1.8 million people living in this area, said Justice Stephen Breyer, a liberal. Theyve built their lives not necessarily on criminal law but on municipal regulations, property law, dog-related law. And now if we say this land belongs to the tribe, what happens to all those people, all those laws?A week after the oral arguments, the Supreme Court directed the parties in the case to file further briefs. The questions they wanted answered suggested that they are looking for creative ways to resolve the dispute, wrote Ronald Mann, a Columbia University law professor, for SCOTUSblog.If the remaining eight justices on the court split along the same lines they did in the previous two cases, it would end with a 4-4 tie and the lower court's decision -- which held that eastern Oklahoma is still a reservation -- would stand.The court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June.However the court rules in the Oklahoma case, the two victories for Native American tribes this year are significant, says Tahdooahnippah, the Minneapolis lawyer.The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts was so unsympathetic to Native American causes that advocacy groups urged tribes not to pursue appeals to the high court, to limit the potential for adverse rulings, says Tahdooahnippah.The Roberts court, for example, ruled against a Cherokee father in his bid to block the adoption of his daughter by a non-Native American couple. It also ruled against tribes in disputes over treaties and land claims.Outcomes in future cases might be different with Gorsuch on the court, says Tahdooahnippah. But Tahdooahnippah also thinks it is significant that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal stalwart who has voted against tribal claims in the past, has joined the majorities in the last two tribal cases.The clear message from the last couple of cases is that the treaties do matter, he adds. They are obviously sometimes pretty old. They can be written in arcane language. But ... they do bestow rights upon people that are citizens of both the states they live in and their tribes. Calk abused the power entrusted to him as the top official of a federally insured bank by approving millions of dollars in high-risk loans in an effort to secure a personal benefit, namely an appointment as Secretary of the Army or another similarly high-level position in the incoming presidential administration, Audrey Strauss, deputy U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, said in a news release. Calks alleged attempt to obtain such an appointment was unsuccessful, and the loans he approved were ultimately downgraded by the banks primary regulator. (TNS) The Legislature set in motion a $4.7 million repayment to the federal government Monday after the state, through Frontier Communications, misused grant money provided to expand broadband in West Virginia.The appropriation came after the U.S. Department of Commerce denied the states administrative appeal in April to reduce the repayment demand.Accordingly, the $4,705,000 debt established by the Bill for Collection dated November 17, 2017, remains in full force and effect, with no adjustments being made as a result of [West Virginias] appeal, the rejection letter states.Frontier padded scores of invoices associated with a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Grant with $4.24 million in loading charges indirect costs related to overhead and $465,000 in invoice processing fees, according to a 2017 report from the departments inspector general The federal government deemed these costs unallowable and demanded repayment in 2017 Internal communications contained within the report show Frontier officials referring to the invoice processing fees as a 35 percent markup, and revenue opportunities.Additionally, the report found that Frontier misrepresented to the state and the public the amount of maintenance coil extra cable stored at public facilities used to repair damaged fiber it provided.Frontier told the state and public it had placed only 12 miles of coil. Once the investigation began, however, Frontier ultimately acknowledged that it installed approximately 49 miles of maintenance coil, or nearly four times the amount that it had previously asserted was installed in accordance with industry standards.The report contains an email exchange from a company consultant to an employee.OMG! it looks like not only do we not know how much fiber we actually placed, but we dont know how much of what we placed is coiled up on poles. Looks like our previous estimate of 12 miles of coil for the entire project is way off the mark, read the first email.If indeed the average coil footage per mile of fiber placed is 400 feet, then the total miles in coils is 47.5 miles. This is 4 times greater than we told [a state employee] earlier ... I dont think we need to tell [that employee] unless she asks again, the response says.The loading charges amounted to extra fees attributed to administrative costs, which the state was made aware of. State officials claimed a federal broadband official gave the go-ahead, but the federal official denied having done so, according to the report. The inspectors general deemed this to be a substantive miscommunication.Despite the legislations unanimous passage in both chambers , several lawmakers voiced frustration over paying for Frontiers actions. Some also floated the possibility of urging the state to file legal action against Frontier.Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, offered the idea of passing a resolution calling on Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to seek reimbursement and damages from Frontier.Here we are, going to pay $4.7 million, and Frontier is getting off the hook free, he said. Theyre not accountable for any of it, because they were our subcontractors. This isnt fair to the citizens of West Virginia. Theyve been raked over the coals again.Likewise, Sen. Greg Boso, R-Nicholas, also floated the idea of asking Morrisey to pursue legal action.On Tuesday, Delegate Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, said in an interview that the state needs to pay the federal debt, for now, but Frontier should have to pay for its egregious conduct detailed in the inspector generals report.It plainly shows that their motive behind that was to milk us for every last dollar that they possibly could, he said.In a statement, Robert Elek, public relations director for Frontier, said the company is monitoring these developments in the Legislature.As Frontier has maintained since it became involved in the [Broadband Technology Opportunities Grant] project, all of its costs on the project were entirely proper, he said.Brian Abraham, general counsel to the governor, said Tuesday the state is considering legal action but that things are purely deliberative at the moment. A Morrisey spokesman deferred comment to the Governors Office.In 2017, Frontier told state officials it would not give back any of the $4.7 million , saying it agreed to the deal under the condition that the state would reimburse it for direct and indirect costs.The state appealed the federal governments claim in November 2017.The agency decision to disallow and demand $465,000 paid for improper fees against the state rather than proceeding under the false claims act against Frontier to obtain the funds and treble damages is unwise, arbitrary and capricious, it wrote.However, the feds rejected this argument, finding that it was the states job to manage the grant and any subgranting to assure compliance with federal rules and regulations.Regarding the $4.24 million in loading charges, the state argued that the terms and conditions associated with the grant allowed it to handle its own indirect costs with subgrantees. This argument was rejected, as well.The funds the Legislature appropriated come from the state treasurers unclaimed property fund. They first go to to the Governors Office and are destined for the federal governments coffers.The money in question is a piece of a $126.3 million federal grant to West Virginia to expand high speed internet, including $42 million for a fiber-cable network. West Virginia paid Frontier $42 million for 675 miles of broadband fiber to public facilities around the state. Philadelphias Digital Literacy Alliance a coalition that works to ensure city residents have access to technology and the skills to use it will focus its annual grant-making on the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census.This marks the Alliances third round of grant making, having previously given out a total of $350,000 generally between $10,000 and $25,000 to community groups, schools and others who work toward digital equity. According to Andrew Buss, Philadelphias deputy CIO for innovation management, a change made this year will concentrate efforts on the forthcoming census.In coming months, the city will give roughly $200,000 to push digital literacy and help with census counting. Examples include: educating citizens on why they should get counted, or preparing census workers for the unique challenges of 2020, which marks the nations first digital census. The grants will be between $10,000 and $25,000 for single applicants, with up to $40,000 available for collaborative efforts. The city will spend the next couple of months soliciting proposals, with the first recipients to be announced in August.Linking digital literacy and census preparation makes sense since this is the nation's first digital collection of information about its population. But there are other reasons too. Statistically, the percentage of people Philadelphia estimates went uncounted in the 2010 Census is roughly equivalent to the number of its residents who dont have high-speed Internet connections at home, said Stephanie Reid, who is leading the citys census work as the executive director of Philly Counts 2020 That doesnt mean that its the same people, however. Reid noted that a key factor in a successful count is understanding the unique qualities of communities, and in that context, those numbers are important to think about.Organizers arent entirely sure which projects and their organizations to back with the grants. Both Reid and Buss said that receiving creative ideas that hadnt yet occurred to the city would be an ideal scenario. One thing Philadephia will be looking for is census-related digital literacy projects that have the potential to continue developing the citys digital inclusion infrastructure now roughly eight years in the making after the census has ended. This could, for example, take the form of a new public computer lab aimed at helping census workers complete digital training that would transition into helping community members learn computing skills they could use to boost their employment prospects.It would be a real shame to have all these resources for a year and a half, but when the census is over, everything goes away," said Reid.The census is always an important undertaking that can impact both how many congressional seats a given region has and how much funding it gets from the federal government. Philadelphia, for example, receives $3.3 billion from the federal government, all of which is dependent on the census. A substantial undercounting could cost the city vital money for crucial tasks like repairing roads.One area of concern this year is training census workers. According to Reid, these workers need to be intimately familiar with the communities they are working to count; they need to know the culture, the vernacular, and the other little things that someone from elsewhere cannot. In order to work with this first digital census, individuals must complete 14 hours of webinar training on their own, all of which must be done on a computer, rather than a tablet or phone.This can be a major challenge in neighborhoods with a low percentage of residents who have access to broadband at home. To that end, Philadelphia is currently identifying computer labs in neighborhoods that people can use.These are just some of the challenges Philadelphia faces. The city must keep things local while adhering to federal requirements, all with substantially less funding than they had in 2010. Tech can be a blessing when it comes to counting more Internet-savvy residents, but also a challenge for those on the wrong side of the digital divide.More information about applying for the Digital Literacy Alliances new round of grants can be found on its website In a bid to greatly expand Colorados use of blockchain technology Gov. Jared Polis office has created and filled a new position for a Blockchain Solution Architect the first of its kind in the state.Thaddeus Thad Batt, a 20-year veteran of IT, will serve in the new role, which will operate out of the Governors Office of Information Technology (OIT), according to a release from the office.As the states new blockchain architect, Batt will be responsible for building and promoting the states blockchain infrastructure, while also looking for opportunities to expand the technologys use through pilot programs and use cases.The creation of this Blockchain Solution Architect role is breaking new ground and a step in the right direction to secure Colorado as a leader in blockchain innovation, " said Polis in a statement associated with the announcement.Over the past few years, states have rushed to investigate the potential uses of blockchain in government operations, with legislation being introduced to both form exploratory task forces and implement new procedures to integrate the technology.Legislation passed in Colorado last year helped pave the way for Batts appointment. The Cyber Coding Cryptology for State Records Act created a mandate for the OIT to seek out and implement new solutions to protect sensitive state data from "criminal, unauthorized, or inadvertent manipulation or theft," including blockchain and advanced ledger technologies.As such, one of Batt's several responsibilities will be developing blockchain solutions to data protection while also working to shore up security procedures around state information.The state is actively looking at ways emerging technologies such as blockchain can help us better serve Coloradans, and this role will help lead the way, said Chief Information Officer and Executive Director Theresa Szczurek.Before his appointment, Batt spent nearly two decades working as chief technology officer for Spire Digital, a software development company based in Denver. For the past year, Batt has also run his own blockchain consulting practice.Before that, Batt spent the 1990s helping bring some of Hearst Medias flagship publications online, according to his Linkedin. (TNS) The Federal Communications Commission thinks the T-Mobile/Sprint merger will help bridge the digital divide and accelerate 5G deployment, which is why Chairman Ajit Pai announced his approval of the merger and recommends the transaction move forward.According to a senior FCC official, the FCC believes the merger will help expand rural broadband and help the U.S. lead in the 5G race. The official also said T-Mobile and Sprint reached a series of agreements with the FCC regarding these initiatives.First, Sprint promised to sell Boost Mobile to boost competition, and if T-Mobile and Sprint successfully merge, theyve committed not to raise prices for three years; provide 5G to 97 percent of the American population within three years and 99 percent within six years; provide 5G to 85 percent of rural Americans within three years and 90 percent within six years. T-Mobile and Sprint also guaranteed the FCC that 90 percent of Americans will have access to speeds of at least 100 Mbps, and 99 percent to speeds of at least 50 Mbps.A senior FCC official also said if T-Mobile and Sprint miss those benchmarks by more than 20 percent, theyll shell out at least $800 million to the Department of the Treasury.Acknowledging the unreliability of broadband maps, the FCC also said T-Mobile and Sprint would pay for dry tests at the end of years three and six, to be overseen by a third party, to ensure T-Mobile and Sprint keep their promises.The commitment not to raise prices for three years and the sale of Boost Mobile are, according to the FCC, supposed to ensure this merger is pro-competitive.Sascha Meinrath, the Palmer Chair in Telecommunications for Pennsylvania State University, is working on his own broadband map to more accurately gauge which parts of rural America have broadband access and which do not, and he thinks T-Mobiles and Sprints promises to provide 5G to rural areas are absurd.Its absurd to think that a company selling micro-coverage will solve the rural broadband problem, Meinrath told InsideSources, because 5G is only as good as the number of nodes of connectivity. In other words, without more fiber, deploying small cells to rural America wont do a whole lot. This is not a functional equivalent to wireline connectivity, he said.Meinrath also doesnt think the penalties are that steep.$800 million is nothing for these companies, especially when you can charge that back to the consumer, he said. Funding direct competitors (as a penalty), now that would be meaningful.The Rural Wireless Association also opposes the merger, citing the same concerns as Meinrath. The Competitive Enterprise Institute praised the merger in an emailed statement to InsideSources, believing it will accelerate 5G deployment as Pai hopes Im also pleased that the companies have committed to a robust buildout of their mid-band spectrum holdings, Pai said in a tweeted statement on Monday. Moreover, the companies have offered specific commitments regarding the rollout of an in-home broadband product, including to rural households. This would give many Americans another option for home broadband service.Commissioner Brendan Carr, another 5G crusader, also tweeted a statement this morning announcing his support for the T-Mobile/Sprint merger.Many tech industry players say 5G wont be much better than 4G. Meinrath calls it a modest update, so the idea that a T-Mobile/Sprint merger will bridge the digital divide in rural America, he says, is laughingly naive.Still, Pai thinks the merger will address two of his FCCs biggest goals: bridging the digital divide and winning the 5G race.The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives, he said. The construction of this network and the delivery of such high-speed wireless services to the vast majority of Americans would substantially benefit consumers and our country as a whole. (TNS) Beginning next month, Newport News, Va., police will know if shots are fired in parts of the city even if no one calls 911.Newport News Chief of Police Steve Drew and Mayor McKinley Price on Tuesday unveiled plans to use technology that can detect gunfire and alert police within 60 seconds.According to its website, Newport News will be the first public law enforcement agency to use it in Virginia to use the ShotSpotter technology.The company will rely on acoustic sensors placed around what Drew called a problem area. Price refused to specify how many sensors will be used or where.All of us dont know where they are its their equipment, Price said of the private company.The technology hasnt officially been rolled out, but Monday night there was a shooting in the area of Chestnut Avenue and 29th Street. Drew said during a briefing Tuesday a team from ShotSpotter identified the time and place of the shooting without talking to police.The detectives were even looking through the notes like, Oh, yeah. They have really good information, Drew said.The technology determines the location of gunfire and notifies a company center. The review center adds information, such as how many shooters are involved or whether an automatic weapon was used, before notifying dispatch centers and officers smartphones and patrol cars.Officers will still be dispatched through the 911 call center, but theyll have access to the reported location of the shots on their devices, police spokesman Brandon Maynard said.The city is leasing the technology at a cost of about $275,000 per year for the next three years, Price said.A local healthcare system that Price wouldnt identify is contributing $50,000 per year for three years. The city will seek other business partnerships.Once the bad guys know and the neighborhoods know that we have this technology we hope to see fewer shots and therefore fewer accidents or people getting shot, Price said. (TNS) About 8 percent of Citiwatch cameras in Baltimore dont work, according to the Baltimore Police Department.A recent count found 59 of the 744 closed-circuit cameras were not functioning, officials said, for reasons ranging from wireless signal interference and downed street poles to cameras simply reaching the end of their lifespan.Thats about average for the system, which sees cameras go offline on a regular basis and for a variety of reasons, said Det. Jeremy Silbert, a police spokesman. But, he acknowledged, its also detrimental to crime investigations.The Citiwatch camera program is an important tool in our fight against crime, he said. When a camera becomes inoperable, we are no longer able to benefit from the technology.Ganesha Martin, who last month took over the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice which maintains the system said it would be near impossible to have 100 percent of cameras operating at all times, given the size and complexity of the system. Still, she said efforts are under way to improve the network, which she said is critical to our ability to address public safety in Baltimore.I requested a briefing on the current state of our cameras and our plans for the future within my first few weeks, Martin said. Of course it is our goal to have every camera up and running.Sgt. Mike Mancuso, president of the local police union, said nonworking Citiwatch cameras have long been a problem the product of under-funding and neglect, he said.There are always multiple cameras down at any time and others that are functioning are not being adequately maintained, he said. Whenever you lose a tool in law enforcement, it will have a negative impact on our city.Mancuso said Police Commissioner Michael Harrison has told him that technology improvements are on the way for the department.I hope its sooner than later, he said.Silbert said the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice and its camera vendor work every day to repair or replace malfunctioning cameras regardless of the cost, and prioritize repairing cameras that are down by weighing the length of the outage along with current crime fighting needs.Camera footage is used in an array of cases. At a recent Downtown Partnership meeting, a Baltimore Police sergeant said that the camera system has been an important part of police work downtown.Melba Saunders, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore States Attorneys office, said prosecutors always value footage but that it is not necessary to pursue justice in many cases.Our attorneys always prefer the strongest arsenal of evidence to put forth the most compelling cases, Saunders said. However, when certain pieces of evidence are not available, we remain nimble and readjust so that we are still fully prepared for trial and to pursue justice.Silbert said there is no average cost for repairs, because of the range of different causes for camera failures. Sometimes $500 is enough, covering a technician going up in a bucket truck to troubleshoot a problem with a camera on a light pole, he said. A full replacement camera, meanwhile, costs about $1,300, he said.Other problems, such as a break in the fiber optic cables for hardwired cameras, can cost many thousands of dollars to fix, he said though those fixes also can bring multiple offline cameras back into service at once.Some cameras are down because they are wireless cameras that rely on a signal from a hard-wired camera that is not working, Silbert said. So, there are locations in the queue for repair where one hardwired camera that will be repaired will bring an additional 3-4 back online.Baltimore received a $5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2017 to buy more surveillance cameras, gun-shot detection software and license plate readers.At the time, officials said about 60 new Citiwatch cameras would be purchased with the funding.Mayor Bernard C. Jack Young, who was City Council president when the grant was announced, said at the time that he was extremely pleased by it, in part because one of the most common requests I receive from my constituents is for more vigilance and more cameras in our neighborhoods.Youngs office did not respond to a request for comment on the current outages.Drew Vetter, the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice director at the time, said city officials would decide where to place the new cameras by comparing maps of where the most crime occurs with maps of the camera system. This will allow us to fill in those blind spots that exist currently, he said. (TNS) Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he wants state officials to review the states elections systems after news that two county elections offices were hacked in 2016 But for the last two years, Floridas secretaries of state have asked for that help only to be turned down twice by state lawmakers.Last year, then-Secretary of State Ken Detzner asked the Legislature for $488,000 to create a full-time elections cybersecurity team with five people, according to the department.Even though it was a measly amount in the scope of their $88.7 billion budget, lawmakers refused, and the department instead hired five cybersecurity contractors to help local supervisors in last years election.This year, Secretary of State Laurel Lee asked lawmakers for $1.5 million to keep those cybersecurity contractors, and lawmakers again refused.Thankfully, all were not lost.The Department still has two cybernavigators available to supervisors and they will continue to be available through 2020, Department of State spokeswoman Sarah Revell said in an email.On Wednesday, DeSantis asked Lee to make it her top priority" to immediately initiate a review of the security, particularly the cybersecurity of elections systems across the states 67 counties.Public faith in our elections is the bedrock of our democracy and we must do everything within our power to preserve the integrity of our elections systems, DeSantis said in a statement. While the breaches did not compromise the outcome of the 2016 election, nonetheless, they highlight the importance of protecting the security of our elections system.Lee, whos meeting with the states elections supervisors in Daytona this week, called it her number one priority in a statement.The Legislature did spend $1.9 million last year on software that detects cyberthreats in each county, and the governors office said in a statement that Florida had more of those sensors than any other state. (TNS) The director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the state's attorney general Tuesday praised investment of $1 million for creation of a new investigation unit to confront rapid escalation in computer crime perpetrated against Kansans.The FBI's internet crime center reported losses by Kansas victims of cybercrime mushroomed from $3.9 million in 2015 to $17 million in 2018.KBI Director Kirk Thompson said insertion of the funding in the state budget signed Monday by Gov. Laura Kelly would allow the agency to assign six agents, an agent supervisor and a crime analyst to a unit dedicated to investigating computer-based offenses."In the last several years, the incidence of cyberthreats affecting Kansans have grown enormously. So has our need to support our law enforcement partners with these complex investigations," Thompson said.Attorney General Derek Schmidt said the KBI must respond to growth of online criminal activity while confronting illegal activities blurring traditional jurisdictional boundaries. The KBI unit will work with federal law enforcement agencies to develop a rapid response to cyberintrusions, ransomware and malware attacks and malicious data breaches.The KBI agents also would collaborate on computer-oriented cases with the attorney general's consumer protection division and the fraud and abuse division."It is critical for the KBI, our principal statewide criminal investigation agency, to build capacity that can help protect Kansans from these evolving threats to persons and property," Schmidt said.Meanwhile, state Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt said the budget bill signed by the governor would begin the process of returning $16 million unlawfully swept by the Legislature from a special fund in the insurance department.The adjustment was born of legal action in 2018 by then-Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer to block then-Gov. Jeff Colyer from seizing fees paid by the insurance industry to support regulatory efforts. The 2017 Legislature voted to remove $8 million from the insurance fund last fiscal year and another $8 million in the current fiscal year to support general operations of state government.The 2018 Legislature rescinded the second sweep, but Colyer used line-item veto power to nix it. That led Selzer to court, which created tension in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial campaign that prominently featured Colyer and Selzer as candidates.Under the settlement agreement, $16 million seized over the two-year period would be repaid to the regulatory fund within three years."This case was a classic example of government overreach," said Vicki Schmidt, who took office in January. "Insurance agents and companies should not be on the hook for general state expenses."On Monday, Kelly vetoed an unscheduled $51 million appropriation to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. She allowed a $5 million increase in state aid to community mental health centers in the fiscal year starting July 1, but vetoed immediate infusion of $1.8 million to the centers. The governor also vetoed $1.2 million for a child reading program.Virginia Macha-Crossland, vice chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party, said Kelly's decision to allow $5 million rather than $6.8 million in new state aid to the health centers "will overwhelm the mental health services in rural areas."Keeping the Kansas Promise Coalition, a coalition of public employee organizations that includes state, county and city employees and school teachers, said the KPERS veto wasn't a concern because they were confident the governor was committed to balancing needs of the pension system with the effort to restore state funding of essential services.The coalition praised action in March by the Legislature and Kelly to allocate $115 million to cover a KPERS payment missed in 2016 when then-Gov. Sam Brownback was struggling to balance the budget. That repayment bill was sponsored by Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, R-Galena, and passed unanimously by the House and Senate."We also appreciate the governor's commitment to getting the state back on a firm financial footing following eight years of fiscal crisis," said coalition spokesman Jake Miller. "We support these efforts to ensure future obligations of KPERS are met and the restoration of critical state services continues." Seattles IT chief dismissed 14 people this week, from directors to middle management, in order to streamline the services that the Information Technology Department provides to the city and its residents.Leadership at Seattle IT felt the move aligned more with the entitys new focus of "best-in-class digital service delivery team," spokeswoman Megan Erb said.Chief Technology Officer Saad Bashir, in a prepared statement, likened the restructuring to the way technology evolves.All changes reflect the feedback of IT colleagues and our client departments to pivot the department into an agile, outcome-driven, and client-centric organization, Bashir said. More than ever, the City of Seattle is looking towards technology to drive operational improvements and to deliver services for the residents of Seattle and we will make it our mission to be there as a true partner.Erb said the elimination of the 14 positions, which included directors and middle managers, was a result of the realignment of resources and structure at the department.She said Seattle IT has several new positions, including director-level jobs, available and there will be more job opportunities in the coming weeks. She said the dismissed employees are eligible to apply for the new positions.Mayor Jenny A. Durkan nominated Bashir, the former chief information officer for Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as Seattles CTO in January. Bashir, at the time, said he would explore options to reduce red tape and simplify IT structures and processes within Seattle IT.Bashir oversees a budget of about $277 million and around 680 employees. John Watson, a former F1 driver who said Niki Lauda was his life-long friend, has slammed Lewis Hamilton for his behaviour in Monaco. After the Mercedes team chairman died late on Monday, Hamilton said on social media in a personal message to Lauda: "I will always be here for your family should they ever need me. Love you man." Indeed, in Monaco, Mercedes is carrying a tribute on its livery to the F1 legend, and a minute's silence will be held on the grid prior to Sunday's race. But Watson, who raced wheel-to-wheel with Lauda in the 70s and 80s, is not impressed with Hamilton's behaviour after his social media tribute. The five time world champion arrived in the Principality on a motorcycle, smiling as he posed for photos with fans and signed autographs. But then he called in sick at the FIA press conference. "Lewis has lost a very close friend," a Mercedes team spokesman explained. In Hamilton's place, Mercedes sent Valtteri Bottas to speak with the media. Asked how Hamilton is, the Finn said: "I just got a request from our marketing team to be in the press conference. So that's all I know really. He seemed ok." Former McLaren driver Watson was not impressed. "It's pathetic," he told the Daily Mail. "I would like to know how Lewis can justify this. "He should have spoken out of respect. To be so upset that he apparently cannot discuss his admiration for how Niki helped him -- that's pathetic," Watson added. "If the roles were reversed, Niki would have been in there telling the press in his typical blunt way what a great driver and what a fine world champion Lewis is." Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The authority will reimburse the company as it completes certain stages of the project, like completing excavation for the first station and digging the first 100 feet of the first tunnel. Full payment is contingent on the company demonstrating that the system can support an average of 4,400 passengers per hour. Sergio Perez has admitted that his home race in Mexico looks set to drop off the 2020 calendar. Not yet wanting to expand the schedule beyond 21 races, Liberty Media needs to drop two current races to make room for Zandvoort and Vietnam. Barcelona looks to be the victim of the new Dutch GP, while the popular race in Mexico is likely to be axed to make way for Vietnam. "I hope that our race stays, because it is very important for Mexican fans and the entire country," said Racing Point driver Perez. "The negotiations are going on but so far the situation does not look very favourable," he admitted. Perez is well connected among F1's Mexican faction, as he is backed by the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. "This is a political decision that does not depend on me, even if I can try to influence it," he said. Perez is confident that Mexico's calendar demise does not necessarily endanger his career, saying: "The Mexican sponsors I have were there long before the race in Mexico. "Let's see what the consequences are. I don't think the race was there solely because of me, but it is obvious that the presence of a Mexican driver played a part. However, I am not particularly concerned," he added. As for his chances in Monaco this weekend, Perez is also not hopeful. "We are very concerned about what happened in Barcelona," he said, referring to the fact that a big car upgrade did not deliver its promise. "The car had absolutely no pace. It was much worse than we expected. The updates did not work at all. Hopefully we are back to normal here." Peter Boone, president and CEO of Barry Callebaut Americas, said the company could no longer wait to bring the product to the U.S. because customers were so eager for it after seeing its success in Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. A soft launch in the U.S. with a small group of artisans over the past six months including Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Chocolove and Trader Joes also was popular. In a four-page letter to Mnuchin, who was on the retailers board until December 2016, the two Democrats said they were deeply concerned by the financial engineering and potentially illegal activity that took place at Sears Holding Corporation while you served on the companys board. In addition, we are concerned that, as Treasury Secretary, you are in a position to take actions that benefit Sears shareholders and owners at the expense of workers and taxpayers. The Green River City Council approved its preliminary budget Tuesday night for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. This budget can still be changed before the Council approves the final budget, which is scheduled to occur at its June 18 meeting. According to the budget summery provided by the city, the expected expenditures, totaling $15.06 million, are higher than the anticipated revenues, listed at $14.7 million. City Administrator Reed Clevenger said the city will receive some one-time funding during the budget year. This includes funding from the state amounting to $782,000 and enterprise fund a... Making needed upgrades to the nearly 45-year-old exhibit hall is a priority for Sweetwater County. A press release from the Sweetwater County Events Complex states, the events complex board and its employees are focused on renovating, updating and expanding the exhibit hall, which was built in 1976-77. Lena Warren, Sweetwater County Events Complex Marketing and Event Coordinator, said for fiscal year 2019 the events complex received about $800,000 for capital improvements. This money will go to pay for a new roof on the exhibit hall, converting the former rabbit and poultry barn into a new... This week represents a major anniversary for an event of historical, cultural and scientific significance. Maj. John Wesley Powell led an expedition down the Green River 150 years ago from a small hub that would ultimately become the city we call home. The first expedition was an adventure fraught with peril and discovery. While lacking much of the scientific rigor the second, better funded 1871 expedition provided, Powells first journey helped map the waterways from southwestern Wyoming through the Grand Canyon. Both journeys also helped establish an understanding of the arid environm... A piece of World War II history will pay a visit to Sweetwater County June 10-16, over Fathers Day Weekend. The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona is flying its B-17 bomber, Sentimental Journey, to the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport as part of its summer tour. Visitors will be able to tour the aircraft, breathe in the history and talk with volunteers from the nonprofit organization about the plane. The CAF will also offer rides. No matter where one sits, the views are great. As one feels the combined 4,800 hp kick in on takeoff, they will get a taste of what the veterans did f... With the 150th anniversary of Maj. John Wesley Powells historic expedition down the Green River this week, several events are planned to help celebrate and honor Powells initial 1869 expedition. The 150th celebration started Wednesday evening, celebrating Powells launch from Green River. An opening reception and discussion about Powell and the future of the Colorado River also took place Wednesday evening. On Thursday, a cleanup of the Green River will take place from 8:30-11:30 a.m., with lunch scheduled to take place at Expedition Island afterward. A presentation titled Powell... Dylan Rust, of Green River, and Jess Fahlsing, of Rock Springs, are the recipients of the University of Wyoming's highest honor as top graduating seniors. The two Sweetwater County students are the winners of the Rosemarie Martha Spitaleri and Tobin Memorial Award, which recognizes the most outstanding graduates from the 2018-19 undergraduate class. The award is based on academic excellence and achievement, service to the university, participation and leadership in the community and campus activities, and citizenship qualities. Rust will graduate with a 4.0 GPA and is a molecular biology/ph... GREENSBORO The Greensboro Farmers Curb Market will host Got to Be NC to Kick off to Summer, a sampling of seasonal foods and activities, from 8 a.m. to noon at the market at 501 Yanceyville St. The event is supported by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Got to be NC. Greensboro chef Chris Scalici of Artistic Cuisine will serve samples of North Carolina pork barbecue sliders, locally sourced slaw and veggies from 10 am to 12 noon, or while supplies last. During the event, you can learn more about how to support local agriculture and sustainable food systems through the Market Champion Campaign, an annual campaign to preserve the heritage of Greensboros original farmers market. GFM board and staff members will share information on supporting the Market and building social connections between farmers, food and friends. The market will kick off Storytelling Trees at Ten at 10 a.m. with guest storyteller and former Goat Lady Dairy owner Steve Tate. Tate will bring some baby goats from the dairy. There will also be live music by John Stevens and childrens activities available throughout the day. For more information, call 336-373-2402 or visit www.gsofarmersmarket.org. Contact at carl.wilson@greensboro.com. Follow on Twitter at Short_OrdersNR and on Facebook. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GREENSBORO The VF Foundation announced a $1.5 million gift Thursday to Action Greensboro to support the continued development of the Downtown Greenway. VF Foundation, the private foundation funded by VF Corp., made the announcement at a meeting of Greensboro-based VF employees at the Koury Convention Center, according to a news release. When the idea for the Greenway was introduced nearly 20 years ago, it represented a bold vision to positively transform this city with a unique outdoor and activity-based cultural treasure, said Steve Rendle, chairman, president and CEO of VF, in the news release. Were excited to see it near completion so the Greensboro community including our employees and their families can enjoy it for many years to come. VF donated $250,000 to help launch the Downtown Greenways first round of fundraising and has provided T-shirts for the annual Run 4 the Greenway fundraiser for eight years, the release said. This continues an unacceptable double standard in accountability for charter schools. Remember, the premise was that charter schools would provide sound educations for their students while leading the way in innovative approaches that might be models for all schools. Instead, they would be allowed to fall behind and hurt the cause of education across the state. If thats not bad enough, the bill also would eliminate the enrollment cap on two struggling online charter schools, Connections Academy and North Carolina Virtual Academy. Both are virtual schools that have consistently received D grades on the states performance report cards for schools, and their students are not meeting growth expectations. One of the senators supporting the bill argued that parents should be able to determine what works best for their children. Virtual charter schools are evaluated every day and every year by the parents who choose to enroll their students in them, Sen. Ralph Hise, a Republican from Mitchell County, argued. Yet the state regulates, micromanages and evaluates most traditional public schools to a degree that often seems excessive. How can senators justify wanting to encourage more enrollment in virtual schools that are failing? Byerly and Vaughan spoke to the media on the busy street in front of the house Wednesday, a day after Byerly learned that the prospective tenant paid a $725 deposit to Elm Street Realty, an Arco affiliate, in April to rent the condemned house. "They were so desperate (for shelter) that they were willing to put $725 down on a house that has a condemned sign on it," Byerly told reporters. Byerly said he learned Tuesday from another real estate company that the prospective tenant was having trouble getting her money back after it became clear Elm Street Realty wasn't ready to turn over the house. She got her money back Wednesday. Vaughan is using the incident as a warning to Arco and other companies that try to rent apartments and houses with major repair problems. She said the city plans to sue the worst offenders in July to get the money they already owe in city fines for past violations. Arco and its affiliates owe nearly $600,000 to the city, Vaughan said. "Let the city take them over," she said. "Let us get them in good shape. ... Let us put people in safe, affordable housing." The impact Hurricane Florence had last year on one North Carolina county continues to be felt. Students in the Brunswick County School District will receive free breakfast and lunch each school day beginning next school year. The decision was made Wednesday to euthanize the five dogs that mauled and killed a Massachusetts teen. The Dighton Board of Selectmen unanimously voted in favor of putting the animals down. "It was a tough decision, however, it was the right decision," Dighton Selectman Chair Kenneth Pacheco said following the vote. Ryan Hazel, 14, had been caring for a group of about 20 dogs at a Dighton home when he was apparently mauled by four of the animals. A neighbor found Hazel after his family called to express concern the task was taking longer than usual. EMS responders declared Hazel dead at the scene despite their best efforts, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn. The high school freshman regularly checked in on the dogs for their owner, Scott Dunmore. Police say Dunmore is a dog trainer and was in Boston at the time. He's cooperating with police. The towns Animal Control Officer, Stacy Ferry, told the Taunton Gazette that none of Dunmores dogs were registered in Dighton. Neighbor Derek Parks wishes the dogs could have been used for military purposes or perhaps at the Department of Correction. Parks said he had seen dogs from the property loose in the neighborhood before. "It bothers me somebody is that irresponsible," Parks said. "They allowed this to happen. It's not the dogs' fault. He was in charge of these." Within 48 hours, the one Dutch Shepherd and four Belgian Malinois will be put down. Google Lens is getting a redesigned user interface. The smart camera assistant will now split into five categories which you can select to get more accurate results. The overhauled design and features are already appearing for Pixel users and those on the 9.91 beta build of the Google app. The new look will offer a swipeable choice between auto, translate, text, shopping and dining modes. The first one works the same as before where the camera analyzes the image it's fed. Translate and text were also featured in the old Google Lens and would read text and copy or translate it for you. More interestingly, the dining addition will let you scan restaurant menus and see pictures of the dish if it's not already provided as well as recommend popular dishes based on reviews from Google Maps. Youll also be able to scan food receipts and keep a tab if you ever need to share the bill with friends. The overhauled Google Lens is expected to come to more devices in the coming days. Via In the past few days, Huawei has found itself in a strange situation with the US Government. The result of a total Huawei ban has caused many American companies to cut ties and partnerships with the Chinese smartphone maker. Not only was Huaweis Android license revoked for future devices, but it was even pulled from the Android Q beta program and ARM, whose designs are used in Kirin processors, also has ceased ties with Huawei to comply with the US drastic new policy. Although the US delayed the ban for 90 days, Huawei is already thinking of a backup plan, should the ban go back into effect. Huawei has reportedly asked app developers to submit their applications to the App Gallery Huaweis own App Store akin to the Galaxy Apps Store on Samsung phones. This is Huaweis immediate back-up since many Huawei and Honor phones already come with the App Gallery pre-installed. A Portuguese media outlet reports that Aptoide, an open source alternative to the Google Play Store with more than 900,000 apps and more than 100 million users is negotiating with Huawei to develop a viable alternative to the Play Store. Remember, part of the Huawei ban is that Huaweis Android license from Google is revoked. This means Huawei would need to resort to AOSP builds for Android and it wont be allowed to ship devices with Google Play Services. Huaweis Android license remains intact during the 90-day delay. Huawei is also reportedly trying to get European telecoms to offer the App Gallery on Huawei and Honor phones out of the box to help remedy the situation. As for the possible partnership with Aptoide, well have to see how Huawei plans to implement it, should this ban be permanent and detrimental to Huaweis smartphone business. Source Huawei: the US is bullying us and we're working with Google to resolve the matter Following the US ban on Huawei and all of its subsidiaries, Abraham Liu, the company's representative to the EU institutions called out the US government saying its actions are plain bullying. Despite the 90-day lift of the ban to ease the customers, both sides will suffer after the period expires. Meanwhile, the Chinese tech giant is trying to resolve the matter with Google as it believes the company isn't responsible for the ban and it's in its best interest to keep working with Huawei. Google, on the other hand, declined to comment. Abraham Liu added: Huawei is becoming the victim of the bullying by the U.S. administration. This is not just an attack against Huawei. It is an attack on the liberal, rules-based order It's too early to tell how big the consequences will be for both parties (Google and Huawei) but we sure hope it gets resolved for the sake of users paying a price premium for Huawei's flagships and not receiving updates anymore. Source The European Union introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) one year ago, but has received a large numbers of complaints against Google's interpretation of it. Finally, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said that it is opening a probe to check whether the accusations are true. According to Reuters, a number of submissions, including from privacy-focsued web browser Brave claim that when a person visits a website, personal data is broadcasted directly to tens or hundreds of companies without the consent of the user in order to auction and place targeted adverts. The Irish DPC stated that an inquiry has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland and its Ad Exchange platform. It would establish whether Google is complying with the GDPR by considering the lawful basis for processing, the principles of transparency and data minimization. Most of the US companies have offices in Dublin, Ireland, therefore they fall under the watch of the Irish DPC. Regulators are allowed to impose fines for violations of the GDPR regulations that can go as high as 4% of the global revenue or 20 million, whichever is higher. The regulator said earlier this month that 51 large-scale investigations are underway, 1/3 of them against tech companies like Twitter, LinkedIn, Apple, and Facebook subsidiaries. Source Over the past couple of years KaiOS is revolutionizing the feature phone market enhancing it with some functionality traditionally reserved for smartphones. It's already the third most used mobile OS globally and it has its sights set on reaching a billion users. Last year Google pumped in $22 million of funding in the company and added its Search, Maps and Assistant apps to the platform. Now a new investment of $50 million is headlined by TCL and Google as the team behind the growing mobile platform gears to enter new markets. KaiOS saw impressive growth in 2018 thanks to its successful launch in Africa and its strategic partnerships with companies like Google, Facebook and Qualcomm. Researchers suggest that the featurephone segment is on track to become a $28 billion market by 2022. Our mission is to open up new possibilities for individuals, organizations, and society by bringing mobile connectivity to the billions of people without internet in emerging markets, as well as providing those in established markets with an alternative to smartphones. - Sebastien Codeville (KaiOS Technologies CEO) Phones like the Nokia 8110 4G are examples of what a new gen feature phone is capable of with KaiOS. The interface is optimized for non-touch controls but still offers plenty of functionality with HTML 5 apps and 4G, GPS and NFC connectivity. With Googles backing, we can expect more popular app developers to follow and expand to the smart feature phone segment. Source | Via A dispute between the Federal Trade Commission in the United States and chip-maker Qualcomm ended with a win for the FTC. The court ruled that Qualcomm must stop its practices of bundling licenses with hardware. The ruling stated that the companys practices have strangled competition and the royalty rates were unreasonably high. In addition to being a monopoly, the judge Lucy H. Koh also ruled that Qualcomm must renegotiate its deals and exclusivity arrangements. To ensure San Diego is complying with the ruling, there will be scrutineers with Qualcomm for the next seven years. There is also the ruling that San Diego must not stop competitors and partners cooperating with government investigations. Many of the indictments were part of a dispute between Qualcomm and Apple as well, but the two companies had an out-of-court agreement in the wake of 5G arrival, effectively putting Intel out of the race for gigabit speeds in mobile phones. Qualcomms shares have dropped 13% in response to the news, but the company released an official statement, disagreeing with the conclusions and saying it will appeal the ruling. Via Samsung Galaxy S10 5G goes on pre-order in the UK, ships on June 7 The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is now up for pre-order in the UK through Samsung's online and Experience Stores and through carriers EE and Vodafone. The phone comes in Majestic Black and Crown Silver and will set you back 1,099 for the sole 8GB/256GB configuration. Shipments begin on June 7. Naturally, both Vodafone and EE will offer the phone with a 5G data plan for a small upfront cost. The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G differs from its Galaxy S10/S10e/S10+ counterparts in a number of ways. It packs a larger 6.7-inch 1440x3040px Dynamic AMOLED screen, a 12MP f/1.5-2.4 regular, 12MP f/2.4 tele, 16MP f/2.2 ultrawide and 3D ToF cameras at the back, no expandable storage and a larger 4,500mAh battery. It also replaces the secondary front camera of the Galaxy S10+ with another ToF sensor Samsung is already selling the Galaxy S10 5G in South Korea and the US. Source 1 | 2 | 3 | Via Huaweis HiSilicon subsidiary is fabbing its chipsets and modems at the TSMC foundries and it will continue to do so. A TSMC spokesperson said that the company will continue working with Huawei, despite many others cutting ties. Among them is ARM. The Kirin chipsets use ARM designs for both the CPU (Cortex) and GPU (Mali), so this is a huge blow. However, HiSilicon should still be able to produce current models and perhaps even the next chipset in the pipeline. A source at ARM told the BBC that the Kirin 985 should be unaffected by the ban. This chip was most likely bound for the Huawei Mate 30 phones, but without Android their future is uncertain. In January Huawei unveiled the Tiangan, the worlds first 5G core chip, which is used in Huawei 5G base stations. However, this chip includes ARM designs, so now the companys network business is in jeopardy just as carriers around the world are building out their 5G networks. Source The United States has no plan to stop its crusade against Huawei to get what it wants from China in the ongoing trade war. Reuters reported that a US State Department official said in a meeting with fellow South Korean that LG Uplus shouldnt serve in sensitive areas, because the carrier uses Huawei equipment. An official statement by the telecom said there were no formal requests from either South Koreas or United States foreign ministries. However, Washington has been pressing its allies to drop Huawei from supplying its networks, and the peak was reached last week when the US president forbade companies like Qualcomm and Google to deal with the Chinese manufacturer. South Korea might be an ally of the United States, but China remains the biggest export market for the Asian country. Reuters quoted government data from Seoul, saying nearly a quarter of all exports were headed to China. South Koreans foreign ministry simply said it is aware of the US position on the security of 5G equipment. Via Are those bodies having babies? Are those bodies shedding the baby weight in an appropriate time frame? Are those bodies feeding the babies as nature intended? Are those bodies spending the proper amount of time off work, caring for those babies, even though we live in a country with zero guaranteed paid maternity leave, which makes time off work, caring for those babies, seem like something were more interested in being catty about than being proactive about? Haiti - Security : Female students victims of gang rapes These last days, students from different universities in Port-au-Prince have been the victims of gang rapes. The last two cases occurred on May 17 at around 7:30 am when two female students returning from Quiskeya University were raped by unidentified armed individuals. Three days later, a 21-year-old student from the University of Port-au-Prince was raped by five people. In a note the Primature informs "Our intelligence services confirm, this past week, that girls, mostly students, have been victims of rape and that these acts were mostly perpetrated in the immediate environment of university centers [...] While waiting to determine the motives surrounding these odious crimes, appropriate measures are taken to provide strong responses to the thugs who have chosen to commit such acts in our Haitian society [...]", says the Primature, stating "specialized structures of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) have been instructed to take new measures to correct this unacceptable drift and send clear signals [...] in this matter, repression and coercion will be expressed without nuance and in the last rigor," adding "prevention is reinforced in certain neighborhoods identified. A structure is set up to offer victims psychological guidance and health assistance." For its part, in a statement the Quiskeya University Rectory in front of this situation, recommends to the students to form groups when they leave the Campus, to remain on the high road and to avoid taking shortcuts through slums informing a series of preventative measures including : a university bus will shuttle between Campus and Turgeau's Star Mart every 20 minutes from 5:00 pm; a patrol of the Sub-Police Staion of Canape-Vert will make regular rounds; Solar street lights and cameras will be installed in the immediate vicinity of the university. In addition, he announces on May 22 the beginning of a "pale saw we" campaign with posters indicating phone numbers to call in case of emergency and inviting students to be vigilant and report any suspicious situations. TB/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Economy : The DGI launches its Call Center Wednesday, the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI) officially launched its Call Center, known under the label "INFOCENTRE" an old project of the Directorate General to facilitate the dialogue between the tax authorities and the taxpayer, too often abused by malicious people, who provide him with false information in exchange for sums of money. In this implementation, the DGI benefited from the supervision of partners from the international community, including Canadian cooperation through the Canada Revenue Agency, which made the training of trainers in reception techniquesand shared their call center experience, but also the support of the cooperation of the European Union, via Expertise France which has greatly contributed to make this project a reality. In January 2017, a high-level delegation from the DGI had visited France's info-services structures at the French Public Finance Department and shared the experiences of the managers in Nancy, Nanterre and Pantin. The new INFOCENTRE service has a national vocation to provide the public with one-off information via the telephone and the internet, procedures, tariffs, deadlines for taxes, duties and taxes, while eventually collecting complaints from taxpayers. To access the services of INFOCENTRE call (509) 22 62 10 00, (regular rate for local telephone operators). A voice answering machine will give you all the instructions relating to the call procedure of the Infocentre. An interactive voice system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, takes care of the customer, who has the choice between automated answers "a la carte" and the assistance of an operator ready to talk as well in Creole as in French. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Social : An old woman accused of witchcraft Roselene Cadet's house, a 70-year-old woman who was unfairly accused of being a witch, was almost set on fire by an angry crowd in Cap-Destre (Bas Tapion / Petit-Goave). On Wednesday, Ms. Roselene Cadet denounced on Radio Preference FM, the accusations of Ms. Noula Baptichon a shopkeeper at which she had just made food purchases, who claimed that she had cast a spell on her baby that would be got sick after leaving... Without even consulting a doctor, Noula Baptichon, distraught, carrying in her arms the baby alerting many neighbors about what had happened, went strongly accompanied, towards the home of Roselene Cadet who was absent. Interpelling the crowd Noula shouted, "I'm taking my baby here because he's starting to suffer as soon as the old lady left my shop." The crowd threatened to burn the house but thanks to the intervention of one of Ms. Cadet's daughters, the worst was avoided. Upon her return from the church, Ms. Roselene Cadet proclaimed her innocence and filed a complaint with the Peace Court and the police station against Ms. Noula Baptichon for false accusation. According to the latest medical information on the baby's health, the harm the child suffered had nothing to do with witchcraft. HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave) Haiti - News : Zapping... Seizure of 174 kg of marijuana Tuesday officers of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) arrested in Madian, 4th communal section of Petite-Riviere de Nippes, 4 Jamaican citizens in possession of 174 kg of marijuana. The drug was seized along with a rowboat, two engines, several phones, a GPS and a certain amount of money. A FDS teacher shot dead Wednesday, a teacher in civil construction in fourth year of Civil Engineering of the Faculty of Sciences (FDS), was shot dead leaving a bank in which he had just made a transaction. "Don Kaoto" is open but... On Tuesday, Senator Antonio Cheramy, aka "Don Kato" one of the four opposition senators and President of the Social Affairs Commission, said he was ready to accept the presence of some ministers in the office of Prime Minister Jean- Michel Lapin if they come to the Senate with their discharge in hand. Magistrates' Strike Despite the magistrates' strike in the various courts of Haiti, in the jurisdiction of Port-au-Prince, the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance (TPI) and the registry function as usual. Jovenel Moise met with ECOSOC On Wednesday, President Jovenel Moise received at the National Palace a delegation of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group for Haiti of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), organ of the United Nations, which carries out its annual mission in Haiti. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27801-haiti-politic-important-meeting-of-ecosoc-at-the-chamber-of-deputies.html 4G LTE : Exclusive request from NATCOM and DIGICEL, rejected The request for exclusivity of the 4-year market of Natcom and Digicel for the exploitation of 4G LTE was rejected by the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) confirmed Jean David Rodney, Director General of the Council which explains that given the profitability of these two companies, there was no justification for this request for protection. HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2019/05/22 | Source The court refused to accept the request for an injunction to ban the broadcast of OCN drama "Save Me 2" by the Christian Council of Korea. Advertisement The Seoul Central District Court rejected an injunction filed by the CCK against Hidden Sequence and CJ ENM, which owns OCN, the broadcasting channel for "Save Me 2". "Save Me 2" is the sequel to the first "Save Me" and it is about a village that falls for the wrong religion, and a group of people fighting it. The CCK filed for an injunction in protest that the drama undermined the reputation of the CCK and infringed on freedom of religious activities by misrepresenting Protestants by misusing the ' cross ' and the value of ' belief '. However, the court said, "Banning the airing of dramas and other acts of expression is a fundamental restriction on freedom of expression, and pre-restraint is not allowed in principle in light of the Constitution's intention to ban censorship. A reasonable viewer can fully recognize that it is a fictional drama about pseudo-religion rather than truly accepting the drama's contents". ___________ "Save Me 2" is directed by Lee Kwon, written by Seo Joo-yeon, and features Um Tae-goo, Chun Ho-jin, Esom, Kim Young-min, Han Sunhwa, Im Ha-ryong. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/05/08~Now airing, Wed, Thu 23:00 on OCN. The current EU was built on the firm belief of the war-torn generation that European cooperation and unity can prevent hostilities and another full-blown war in Europe. A second cornerstone of the project is Europes conviction that, united, it can be stronger, better able to face global economic competition, and better equipped to safeguard the natural resources of the planet. A unified Europe has enabled a generation of Europeans to live without large-scale wars and enjoy long periods of economic prosperity, elevated social welfare and relative political stability. European integration opened the markets of single member states but did so in an orderly way while respecting high social and environmental principles. For companies from smaller member states, the Union paved the way for participation in global markets by creating a framework for trade and investment. The EUs values also created added brand strength for European companies, signaling that they placed a high value on worker and end-user safety as well as human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European example of cooperation was admired for the economic benefits and social stability it produced. Top-Jobs des Tages Jetzt die besten Jobs finden und per E-Mail benachrichtigt werden. Standort erkennen For a good example of the opportunities created by European integration, look no further than the history of Kone, the company I represent. In the mid-1960s, far-sighted corporate leaders recognized that national borders and restrictions on goods and services moving across them were going to become less significant in European commerce. This article is an extract from the book: Sven Afhuppe, Thomas Sigmund (Hg.): Europa kann es besser Wie unser Kontinent zu neuer Starke findet. Ein Weckruf der Wirtschaft Herder publishing house 2019, 240 pages, 20 euros ISBN 978-3-451-39360-0 Published on 15. April 2019 Order the book on amazon. Kone began a determined and accelerating internationalization that spread from Scandinavia throughout Europe. With a strong European base, it then became possible to compete successfully in North America and Asia. Today, KONE enjoys the role of market leader in China, a rare distinction for a European company. After decades of learning how to serve customers in varied markets around the world, reconfiguring operations to conform to the boundaries of individual national markets would be disastrous in terms of logistics, personnel, technology and the way we conduct our business. The ability of personnel to move freely among EU countries has contributed not only to our growth but to our effectiveness as a service organization and our ability to provide customers in various markets with the best and most reliable solutions to their needs. At the same time, our children increasingly travel to study, learn languages, and gain experiences of different cultures. As proud of their heritage as many of them are, their world view tends to be much more international than national. Like me, many of them are worried about recent developments in the world and especially in Europe. During the past decade, a nationalist wave of protest over the perceived loss of sovereignty represented by the decision-making powers of a supranational EU has led to a rise in populist movements in almost all European countries. Most significantly, it has resulted in Brexit as well as the election of EU-skeptical governments in several Eastern and Southern European countries. The EU, itself, shares some of the blame for this, having rushed into expansion without ensuring that all the new members bought into the full concept. Failings related to transparency and the impact of the shared currency on countries that would normally have tried to improve their competitiveness by devaluating have caused many previous supporters to become doubters or proponents of leaving the union. The label of elitism is easily attached to an organization that is dominated by two powerful countries, even if decisions are made with the consent of all. We know what a Europe based on cooperation and common institutions means today, but we can only guess what a return to a Europe of nation states that distrust one another would lead to. Who would take responsibility if rising nationalist sentiment were to result in a major war with no EU to mediate or intervene? The defenders of a peaceful and prosperous Europe need to take a stand and explain forcefully why we need a unified and collaborative Europe as much now as ever. Although we have avoided great wars for three-quarters of a century, recent experiences in the Balkans or the even more recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine show how easily they can return. There are other trends, too, that need to be managed collectively. First and foremost, we will need the EU to take on a pioneering role in tackling global warming. Digitalisation, robotics and artificial intelligence are affecting global economic competition, too, and not necessarily in favour of European companies. The character of work is experiencing a major change, not to mention the demographic challenge, which will hit Europe even harder than it already has and necessitate well-managed migration. These problems need to be addressed locally, of course, but it is the EU, rather than its member states, that is large enough to negotiate global solutions and shoulder a leadership role by rallying like-minded partners. In the end, the most important argument for the EUs existence is how it shapes our attitudes. Our generation perceives other European nations as friends, partners in the common European project, not as enemies. Europe has become a shared environment for work and study. It is an enabler of global influence and success. The EU represents itself as a peaceful resolver of conflicts and platform for continent-wide development. These are its best export products and worth both the effort and cost of maintenance. Europe is diverse. It is a history; it is a utopia. It is a great collection of cultures, a community that is powerful in its union and one that has achieved and can still achieve a great deal. And yet sustained effort is always needed to maintain this, because the cohesion of various, diverse groups of people is more demanding than keeping a homogenous mass together. It is worth the effort, because in both companies and cultures, diversity offers a chance to hear varying perspectives, discuss different arguments and then come up with a good solution. Nations do not exist in nature; they are created again and again, reaffirmed by further development in consensus with all fellow citizens. And it isnt just the political constitution, economic organisation or administrative structure that create cohesion, but also as Peace Prize of the German Book Trade winner Aleida Assmann notes in The European Dream the emotions and stories that their inhabitants share. The image of Europes circle of stars is one of unity in diversity but it lacks the connecting centre. This connecting centre cannot be one meant to force homogeneity; it has to be created and communicated. Top-Jobs des Tages Jetzt die besten Jobs finden und per E-Mail benachrichtigt werden. Standort erkennen Europes fear The current social climate is one of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambivalence. Many European citizens are driven by fear for various reasons. The basis for this fear are overlapping global trends that appear complex and difficult to control, such as climate change, the rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence, global migration movements, demographic changes, concern about an economic downturn and a distribution of wealth that is at least perceived to be unfair. They also fear the loss of their autonomy, which had been laboriously fought for after years of dependence on totalitarian systems. Fear paralyses people because they feel that they can no longer control their own destiny. People are frightened by the loss of their own identity, by material losses, by trepidation around their own security. There is also the phenomenon of threatened majorities: Those who have everything and therefore fear everything (Ivan Krastev). The media and politics emphatically report catastrophes, accidents and threats that fuel or exacerbate these fears. There is also the fear of so-called deskilling a buzzword at the World Economic Summit in Davos according to which increased use of technological aids will cause human beings to lose the ability to make decisions themselves or to control their actions without these aids. Finally, the successful democracy-and-capitalism model is being called into question as well. In a Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper article from 27 July 2018, Clemens Fuest points to the shift in the balance of power to Asia and asks whether a model like Chinese state capitalism could be better suited to the future than Western market economies. Although rationally it seems clear that global problems can only be solved globally, the instinctive reaction to fear and the feeling of losing ones identity is the desire for a fortress that offers protection and is isolated from the outside world. This article is an extract from the book: Sven Afhuppe, Thomas Sigmund (Hg.): Europa kann es besser Wie unser Kontinent zu neuer Starke findet. Ein Weckruf der Wirtschaft Herder publishing house 2019, 240 pages, 20 euros ISBN 978-3-451-39360-0 Published on 15. April 2019 Order the book on amazon. Rejecting strangers and those who think differently serves another purpose as well: It helps to build a group identity. And another instinct is to seek homogeneity, as tribal societies could tolerate no outsiders in times of perpetual threat. The result has to this day been an instinctive aversion to those who stand apart. In an age of disruption and technological challenges, companies try to overcome these instincts and promote diversity by assembling teams consisting of people with different sexes, ages, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. Isolated divisions within a company, the silo mentality, also pose a danger to corporate development, as more and more holistic thinking is needed to meet the demands of competition. Moreover, it is no longer possible to imagine a purely national economy in the face of international competition. At the same time, globalisation in business life is met increasingly with social and community division and island thinking. Despite the fact that, on average, globalisation has led to greater prosperity, health and security for the worlds population, many have experienced greater inequality in reality, or at least in their perception. Many feel a loss of dignity and identity. Europes history This conflicted situation has raised growing doubts about the European success model doubts raised not only by those sections of the population that fear the loss of their homeland and further disappearance of their identity, but also by politicians who find their autonomy and power diminished in a diverse Europe. Groups of people with different views offer the opportunity to question the status quo and develop it on the basis of new ideas, and also to examine what has been tried and tested from different cultures and draw new insights from it. And yet this also requires a certain set of preconditions in the form of common values, a shared narrative and identity, along with the idea of the common good. Cultures lacking outside input tend to stagnate. The narrative can and must be created out of Europes shared history. Successes such as decades of peace in the region and overall growth, as well as openness in dealing with one another in the form of, among other things, borderless travel and mutual learning and working must find a place as a shared memory in our great, joint history. It is about telling each other the story of times when we could finally travel from one country to another without passing through border checkpoints. Of days when we could finally pay for something in a neighbouring country without having to change money first. Of times when we could welcome former enemies as friends. The successes of the effective integration of new EU partners and migrants also receive scant recognition. Rather than celebrating these successes, we see fanfare around local and national successes of the past, coupled with a repression of mistakes. This pride does not lead to a sense of community, but to a lack of flexibility and the oppression of those who hold different views. Europes history is too often reduced to regulation, bureaucracy and Brussels paternalism toward EU member countries. The advantages of regulation namely the enlargement of the market for market participants are rarely mentioned. It is about avoiding abuse, standardising guidelines so that all involved can play by the same rules and understand each other the way they do in traffic or in sports. It is of course also important to clearly identify the shortcomings of European policy so as to learn from any mistakes. One of these is Ivan Krastevs dictum of imitation, for example. New participants in the Union were not necessarily appreciated for their diversity and added as another valuable element in the kaleidoscope of cultures. Instead, they often had to adopt the values of existing members. Guidelines in the financial crisis, especially those written by countries that had failed to respect borders in the past, were perceived as paternalism and a gag. There were countries that gave loans. Some of this money was then used to pay for imports from debtors while at the same time it was suggested to them that they were subsidies. This was not a story of solidarity, but of power and domination. The story must be heard and understood as a shared, diverse story. French journalist Natalie Nougayrede speaks of memory complexes and blocks and believes that the psychological divide between East and West and North and South will deepen as long as Europeans continue to view their fellow Europeans through the lens of their own national history. Creating a shared history offers a chance for those who live in Europe to regain their awareness of common values and identity as Europeans. Europes future Learning for the future means learning from the past. The cycle of revolution, euphoria, aging, hardening and growing dissatisfaction with existing systems looks like an endless story. The conflict between the degree of freedom of intelligence and the automatisms of the herd instinct provides a deeper explanation for these cyclical repetitions. Totalitarian society is a natural societal structure born of archaic urges. Any society can slip again and again into a totalitarian structure so long as this level of the human psyche dominates. But many people long for a different, free society that does justice to their critical intelligence and free will. Democracy is a social system well suited to this higher level of the human psyche. Nevertheless, a true democracy has no stabilising power structures and is therefore fundamentally unstable. It is fundamentally weak in its practicality, as physicist Gerd Gantefor writes in his book Das Gesetz der Herde (The Law of the Herd). Critical thinking is the enemy of every fundamentalist religion and political movement, because it can expose unrealistic utopias and false facts, and identify and combat manipulation and arbitrariness. Thus critical thinking can stabilise democracy. If a democracy is to be stable in the long term, it must take basic human needs and values into account. One of these basic needs is the feeling of being at home. One frequently misused argument is that a united Europe leads to the abandonment of ones homeland. A homeland embodies security, trust, understanding and familiarity. But this homeland also remains within Europe: I love my city, my state and Europe even love is diverse. A democracy must provide people with a narrative for the future that can be shared by all. This is where Europes overall economic success falls short as a reason in itself. It always has to create an emotional element. Diversity plays a major role in this and presents an opportunity, particularly in a global world that is itself diverse. The ability to adapt to other cultures that nevertheless share a common set of values and history also helps us understand and deal with greater diversity in the world. Independent art, culture, education and science are the cornerstones of a critical civil society for the future of Europe in all its diversity. This may be the basis of a common identity that, like the American dream of the past, unites a society with all its diversity. Francis Fukuyama writes in his book Identity that there can be no European identity. I do not share that view, because European history, but also the history of other cultures, has shown that new developments also give rise to new opportunities and identities. Conclusion Already one of the busiest developers in Chicago, Sterling Bay said it plans more than 100 residential buildings in Chicago constructed with huge, factory-built pieces in the next few years. Most of the buildings will be affordable three-flats on vacant lots on the West and South sides, which the developer is in the process of acquiring from the city and other owners. From Independence Bank Independence Bank announced that Joanna Skiff has been promoted to assistant vice president of operations. Skiff joined the bank in 2007 and has been working as the operations officer with supervisory responsibility over Operations since January of 2016. In her new position, Skiff will oversee deposit management and growth in addition to her supervisory responsibilities over deposit relations, new accounts, tellers and bookkeeping. She also works closely with a team of senior managers to oversee new technology initiatives and ongoing system management for both customer facing products and the in-house core system. Skiff will continue to provide leadership in operations to all of the Independence Bank branches including Havre, Malta, Glasgow, Poplar, Scobey and Conrad. "Joanna's promotion to assistant vice president is the result of her knowledge, experience and management of our Operations Department at Independence Bank," Independence Bank President and CEO Miles Hamilton said. "We know that, under Joanna's leadership, we will continue to see a commitment to provide the products and technology that result in a great customer experience." Skiff was raised in Malta and has lived in Havre for the last 16 years. She enjoys spending time with her daughter and participating in outdoor activities including running, hiking and camping. She also enjoys spending time in Beaver Creek Park and is appreciative of all that it offers to area residents. From U.S Small Business Administration WASHINGTON The U.S. Small Business Administration Acting Administrator Chris Pilkerton announced Tuesday the launch of the Makerspace Training, Collaboration and Hiring MaTCH Pilot Competition. The MaTCH Pilot Competition seeks to address the job skills and placement gaps faced by U.S. businesses by providing funding to create or expand programs with job-specific and soft skills training within existing makerspaces. The SBA believes that existing makerspaces are uniquely positioned to help increase workforce development in U.S. citie... The Glen Theatre will host the inaugural Bill Johnson Summer Black Film Festival beginning at 7 p.m. June 1 at 20 West Ridge Road, Gary. The festival will be hosted by Gary native and Hollywood actor, William L. Johnson. The featured film will be The Advice preceded by several movie shorts including Miss Represent, Funk Force 2018 and Exposing Politics: A Collection. A Q&A with the actors and producers will follow. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Johnson will conduct an Actors Workshop prior to the film festival, at 6:30 p.m. May 31. The workshop will focus on adapting, assuming, and connecting with the character and effective delivery techniques. There also will be cold reading of scripts. The cost for the workshop is $25. Workshop and festival tickets are available at Beautiful Things in the Village Shopping Mall, 3570 Village Court, Gary. A Dublin man wanted in the US for the alleged theft of nearly 2m in Bitcoin and other digital currencies has been granted bail by the High Court. Conor Freeman (20) was arrested at his home in Glenageary Court, Dun Laoghaire, this month on foot of a warrant issued by US authorities. Mr Freeman's surrender is being sought on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and four counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft. If convicted in the US, Mr Freeman is facing up to 108 years in prison. US authorities allege that members of an online group called 'The Community' conspired to "hack numerous targets" to steal cryptocurrencies between February 2018 and May 2018. The others are US residents. According to a warrant issued by the US Department of Justice, authorities have identified four attacks in which Mr Freeman allegedly participated that resulted in the theft of cryptocurrency valued at $2,187,977 (1,961,325). Acceptable Mr Freeman was granted bail by the High Court yesterday in his own bond of 5,000 and an independent surety of 15,000. Counsel for the Attorney General, Siobhan Ni Chulachain BL, said the terms of Mr Freeman's proposed bail were acceptable to the State. Mr Freeman is required to not apply for travel documents, not to use technology, including a smartphone, not to go online, not to contact his co-accused and continue co-operating with the authorities. He is required to sign on daily at Dun Laoghaire Garda Station. Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly remanded Mr Freeman on bail to July 1 when the case is next listed for mention. US authorities asked Irish extradition detectives to arrest Mr Freeman on the same day his co-accused were arrested in the US, because they believed Mr Freeman would allegedly destroy evidence and potentially flee once he learned of the arrests of his alleged co-conspirators. The warrant explains Mr Freeman is linked to an individual identified as "Conor" in online chats between 'The Community' uncovered when a member of the group was arrested last May. "Conor" allegedly played a significant role in "numerous attacks". Topshop/Topman at Jervis St is one of the stores set to close. Photo: Owen Breslin The Arcadia Group is to shut 23 stores in Ireland and the UK, putting 520 jobs at risk. Four stores in Dublin are among those earmarked to close. These are Topshop/Miss Selfridge at St Stephen's Green, Topshop/Topman at Jervis Street, Evans/Wallis in Henry Street and Wallis in Liffey Valley. Stores in Galway and Cork will also go. Approval Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Topshop and Topman stores have been earmarked for closure as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The group's proposals will also see rent cut at 194 outlets. All the retailer's 11 Topman and Topshop stores in the US are also set to close. Arcadia directors will meet creditors on June 5 to seek approval for the proposals. Some 75pc of creditors will have to approve the plans. "Against a backdrop of challenging retail headwinds, changing consumer habits and ever-increasing online competition, we have seriously considered all possible options to return the group to a stable financial platform," said Arcadia chief executive Ian Grabiner. "This has been tough but necessary for the business. "We will ensure all potentially affected colleagues are kept fully informed as we seek approval from our creditors on today's CVA proposals." Daniel Butters, partner at Deloitte, said: "Arcadia and its portfolio of fashion brands have faced unprecedented market conditions, which have significantly impacted the group's financial performance. "These CVAs will provide a stable platform for Arcadia's experienced and committed leadership team to implement its turnaround plan and ensure the long-term sustainability of the group." Speculation began early this year that billionaire Philip Green would look to either sell off the company or close stores. In March, Arcadia confirmed it was exploring options to improve efficiency in the business. Later that month it hired property advisers to assess its estate, while drawing up restructuring plans. One of the newest entries in the Loop lunch scene is also one of the best. Unlike the vast majority of quick-service concepts, the food here isnt just cooked ahead of time and left to hang out on a steam table. Instead, the main dishes at Tikka N Curry are cooked to order. Pick out your protein (chicken, paneer, lamb or veggies) and your curry (tikka masala, vindaloo, korma, saag or kadai) and an employee will line up everything in front of a cook, who will quickly saute everything. This results in dishes with vibrant spice profiles and juicy, tender meat (unless, of course, you go with veggies). Im particularly fond of the lamb kofta in spicy vindaloo sauce, which I like to get as a feast platter ($11.37). That way I can load up on biryani rice, one of the shops three kinds of dal and a collection of fresh vegetables. Lines can get long (Ive waited 30 minutes before), but the prices are remarkably reasonable. 400 S. Financial Place, 312-877-5722, tikkancurry.com The family of a man killed while walking his dogs in a Dublin forest has issued an appeal for information. The body of Michael McCoy (63) was found with head in- juries in Blackhill Forest in the Dublin Mountains on September 30, 2016. His wife Catriona and daughters Rachel, Suzanne and Sarah pleaded for information that could help bring them closure. "We all miss him very much," Mrs McCoy said. Daughter Rachel said after her father's inquest at Dublin Coroner's Court: "This is a heartbreaking day for the whole family. We really need answers." The family said they were still holding on to hope that someone might come forward. "It has been nearly three years since Michael was taken from us and we are still left with many unanswered questions," they said in a statement. Builder Mr McCoy had obtained a degree in history from Trinity College not long before his death, his wife said. "He was a fine person, very passionate and caring. He had lots of interests - in history, local issues, planning, the place we had, his animals and family," she added. Concerned Mr McCoy was last seen at 6.40am at home in Ballinascorney Upper, Brittas, Co Dublin, on September 29, 2016, by his wife and Suzanne before they went to work. He usually walked his two dogs, Sophie and Fia, in the Blackhill Forest between 7.30am and 8am, the inquest heard. The family grew concerned after returning from work to find the chickens had not been let out and alerted gardai after searching the woods themselves. Rescue volunteer Brendan Beirne found Mr McCoy's body on a forest track at 5.30am, one dog at his feet. "The man was on his back with his hands on his chest," he said. Closer inspection of his injuries, initially thought caused by a fall, prompted a post-mortem. Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan found he had fractures of the skull and facial bones and irregular cuts and grazes consistent with blows from a solid object. Det Insp John Walshe said a file was sent to the DPP, but there was insufficient evidence to bring charges. The investigation remains open. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing by person or persons unknown. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane told the family: "It's been so very hard for you. He was a highly respected man." Mel C and Mel B of the Spice Girls on their way to Dublin The boys are back and flying without wings once again. Westlife kicked off their world tour last night in Belfast, the first time they've played live in seven years. The band said they were "ecstatic" and "emotional". Speaking immediately after the performance at Belfast's SSE Arena last night, they said: "We genuinely missed each other and missed the buzz of performing on stage together. It is incredible to be back. The Belfast crowd were unbelievable. Ecstatic "We're ecstatic and we loved every minute of it. It was emotional at times, too. "It was amazing to see everyone singing along to our new music and other hits." The boys' triumphant return came as two of the Spice Girls arrived in the capital yesterday, ahead of the girl band's opening night of their world tour at Croke Park tomorrow night. Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm arrived into Dublin Airport from a British Airways flight just before 3pm. Emma Bunton and Geri Horner are expected today as they gear up to rehearse ahead of tomorrow's show. The quartet are believed to be staying in the Intercontinental Hotel in Ballsbridge. Mel B - aka Scary Spice - posted a picture at London's Heathrow Airport of herself and 'Sporty Spice' Mel C before their departure for Dublin. "Me and @melaniecmusic have arrived just now at the airport in proper 'Spice Girl spirit' - I even had a sleepover at Sporty's last night, yippee we are soooo on time it's killing me," she wrote as a caption. Feature More than 75,000 fans are expected to descend on Croke Park for the band's first Irish gig in 21 years. Organisers predict the highly anticipated concert will generate more than 40m for the capital, in what will be the first female pop group headline performance in GAA HQ. The Spice World 2019 tour will also feature 12 shows across the UK, ending at London's Wembley Stadium. The Dublin show will be the girls' first time performing together since the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. The opening salvo is the antipasti course, but course is a weak word for the culinary shock and awe that rains down on your table. There are so many plates that youll need help from your fellow guests to sample them all. A trio of crostini (three per diner, that is) bear such toppings as truffle tapenade with rosemary mascarpone, veal tongue over parsley-caper relish and broccoli rabe with garlic and anchovy. A soupcon of caviar adds indulgence to fried zucchini blossoms, stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese and evidencing a beignetlike texture. Strips of translucent fluke crudo curl around colorful greens; thinly sliced culatello ham is graced by a few dots of 100-year-old balsamic vinegar. (The waiter dispenses the balsamico with the serious precision of a heart surgeon.) Pan-roasted shrimp scampi (actually Santa Barbara prawns) with garlic chips and bell peppers are topped with bottarga, emphasizing the deep-sea origins. BIG STONE GAP, Va. The Gathering in the Gap Music Festival, scheduled for Saturday at the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park, celebrates the rich tradition of old-time, Americana and bluegrass music found in Southwest Virginia. The 2019 Main Stage lineup features The Tim OBrien Band, featuring Tony Trischka at 8 p.m., Love Canon at 6:45 p.m., and at 5:30 p.m., Cellogram, featuring Dave Eggar with Chuck Palmer and Holler Jake. Dont miss this one-of-a-kind lineup of artists at this years Gathering in the Gap Musical Festival. In addition to the Main Stage performances, Gathering in the Gap will feature regional performing artists on the Acoustic Arbor stage, including WiseJAMS Music Program, Tyler Smith, Empty Bottle String Band, Ron Short and Town Branch Bluegrass. Offering live music from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Additionally, the festival includes instrument and band competitions and a songwriting contest. Antique, craft and food vendors will be on hand. For event information, ticket information, and a full schedule of events, visit the festival website at www.gatheringinthegap.org or call the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park at 276-523-1322. BRISTOL, Tenn. Voter turnout in Tuesdays election in Bristol, Tennessee, was 11%, the same as in the 2017 city election. Of 16,060 registered voters in the city, 1,723 cast ballots Tuesday in the election of two seats on the City Council and two on the Board of Education, according to unofficial totals. Six sought the council seats, while there were five candidates up for the school board. That turnout matches the percentage who voted in 2017, when there was competition for only one council seat. But it is nearly three times the number who voted in 2015, when turnout was just 4%. Jason Booher, Sullivan County administrator of elections, said it can be difficult to determine what motivates voters to go to the polls, due to the high number of contributing variables. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} It comes partly down to the field of candidates, issues being discussed and the type of election, Booher said. I wish I had a crystal ball that told me who was going to come out and vote; that would make my job a lot easier. Additionally, presidential elections tend to draw out more voters than congressional elections, and mayoral elections tend to draw out more than city council or boards of aldermen elections, he said. Try white rhum agricole first (La Favorite Blanc is a good start, or the single varietal Clement Canne Bleue) before diving into the gold versions. In blanc rhum, you can better taste the terroir of Martinique the indigenous yeasts, native cane varieties, volcanic soil and water, and salty ocean air combine to create incredible grassy, earthy and fruity flavors. Even the neighboring crops come into play many rhums show notes of the bananas and mangoes that ripen nearby. For Jessica McGlynn, of importer and distributor Tenzing Wine and Spirits who recently witnessed rhum production on the island, it tastes like it comes from somewhere its all about the volcano, the community, the rainforest. Her trip gave context to the singular flavors in the glass. How many new COVID-19 cases in Washington County? We don't know Much of the discussion among educators focuses on how using these texts can be enhanced by injecting marginalized perspectives. This is the disrupt part of Disrupt Texts. Rather than taking a single perspective as representative for all, the discussion challenges the notion of a single, fixed history. This is the root of critical thinking and a pre-requisite to lasting learning. This image released by A24 shows Tom Burke, left, and Honor Swinton Byrne in a scene from "The Souvenir." (/ AP) Hawley: Im not really worried about Empire going away. I believe that stage space is at a premium all over the country and in Canada as well (because 500 scripted series are being produced a year). And some of these shows take up stages for years, as with the Dick Wolf scenario. So I would not be surprised I dont have any inside knowledge on this but I would not be surprised if Fox does not give up those Empire stages and just puts another show in there because the stage space itself it too valuable. Shows come and go, its the nature if it. But stages, its supply and demand and (studios or networks might think) if Ive got it, I want to hold on to it. So Im less concerned about filling those Empire stages. More than 100 motorcyclists supporting veterans thundered through Hickory Wednesday morning on their way to Washington D.C. Riders participating in the 31st annual Run For The Wall started in Ontario, Calif., on May 15 and will reach Arlington, Va., on Friday. The group stayed in Asheville Tuesday night, left Asheville at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and rolled through Hickory at 8:40 a.m. The riders who came through Catawba County Wednesday morning are only a fraction of the Run For The Wall participants. The run is divided into three routes: Central, Midway and Southern. Riders on the Midway route came through Catawba County as well as Arizona, New Mexico, northern Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee. Once in the national capital, the group will participate in a number of Memorial Day weekend events, including a plaque presentation at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, also known as The Wall, a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and the annual Rolling Thunder parade. To track the riders on their coast-to-coast journey, go to rftw352.findmyscout.com/scouts/map. Visit rftw.us for more information on the cause. Choreographer Stephanie Martinez is a chameleon. She spent much of her performance career at River North Dance Chicago, and upon retirement began creating dances for contemporary and hip-hop companies like Luna Negra Dance Theater, Chicago Dance Crash and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. In 2015, Martinez took a deeper dive creating classical ballets as a recipient of the Joffrey Academys Winning Works award, a commissioning program for the Joffrey Trainees and Studio Company which celebrates choreographers of color. The flood gates opened, and Martinez is now an in-demand choreographer for both classical and contemporary companies. I am classically trained, but I came from a different background, she said in a phone interview. The choreographers that I worked with were of various different backgrounds. Im a bit of a seeker of different styles and forms. That really informs the way I seek out diversity in my style, and I work with the bodies in front of me. I want to incorporate and embrace new approaches. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik won a record fifth term as his BJD raced past the majority mark leading and winning in 94 of the 147 assembly seats with the electorate opting for tactical voting that saw the BJP making major gains in the battle for the Lok Sabha. As per trends on the Election Commissions website, Naveen Patnaik was leading from both the Hinjili and Bijepur assembly constituencies against his nearest BJP candidates by good margins after three rounds of counting. He is on the path to joining the ranks of Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling and West Bengals Jyoti Basu as five-time CM. The Biju Janata Dal needs 74 seats to form the government. The BJP seems set to be the main opposition party in the Odisha assembly with leads in 28 seats while Congress slumped to leads in 12. Follow Assembly Elections Results 2019 Live Updates here In the last assembly election in 2014, the BJD had won 117 seats followed by Congress at 16. The Bharatiya Janata Party had won ten seats. We had said that we will repeat, if not better, the performance of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Now, the trends indicate that we are approaching somewhere near there at least in the assembly, the BJDs spokesperson Amar Patnaik said. The most significant thing is that like in 2014, people of Odisha have reposed faith in Naveen Patnaik than in Narendra Modi-led BJP. We have bucked the national trend, he said. If he forms the government, the 72-year-old Naveen Patnaik would have bucked the nationwide Modi wave for the second time even as the BJP launched a blitzkrieg in Odisha calling for a double engine government, or a BJP government both in the state and Centre. As predicted by several political analysts and exit polls, tactical voting seems to have arrived in Odisha as voters chose BJD candidates in the assembly election and BJP candidates in the Lok Sabha polls. In 2014, the BJP won just one seat of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and the rest went to the BJD. Over the last couple of years, both Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had marked Odisha out as the region for their partys growth. Political analysts said the BJDs robust organisation network coupled with several welfare schemes like KALIA (Krushak Assistant for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme in which more than 57,000 farmers would get Rs 10,000 a year for purchase of inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides seems to have helped the party in overcoming the severe anti-incumbency sentiments on the ground. Patnaik seems to have also been helped by more than 600,000 self-help groups each of whom received an assistance of Rs 15,000 and a smartphone before the polls. The SHG members, around 70 lakh, have stood rock-solid in support of Patnaik since 2014 polls. Also Read | Lok Sabha elections 2019: UPA or NDA, Naveen Patnaik relevance cant be undermined In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP seems to be doing well as it was leading in six constituencies as against 15 of the BJD. But it seems to be a see-saw battle in the Lok Sabha polls as the leading margin of several BJD candidates in several seats was slim. In the Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency, Baijayant Panda of the BJP was trailing by about 1,300 votes against the BJDs Anubhav Mohanty. The BJPs national spokesperson Sambit Patra was trailing by 387 votes against the BJDs Pinaki Mishra, a Supreme Court lawyer, in Puri. Union tribal affairs minister and senior BJP leader Jual Oram was leading in Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat by over 5,200 votes against George Tirkey of the Congress. Former IAS officer and BJP candidate from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat Aparajita Sarangi was leading by over 8,600 votes against former Mumbai Police commissioner Arup Patnaik of the BJD. Actor Kriti Sanon has completed five years in Bollywood and happily announced the same on social media. Kriti and actor Tiger Shroff made their debut with 2014 film, Heropanti. The former shared a collage of several film stills with a message on her Instagram account. Thanking Heropanti director Sabbir Khan and producer Sajid Nadiadwala, Kriti wrote in the caption, It all feels like a dream.. a beautiful one! Cant believe its been 5 years since i stepped into this fascinating world of films and found what i love the most!! A film that changed my life and how!! So overwhelmed today that its been #5YearsOfHeropanti and with that 5 years of my Heroine-panti too!! Haha.. Missing everyone today @wardakhannadiadwala #SajidSir (though i am on NGE set) @tigerjackieshroff @sabbir24x7 You guys are being missed and how, be prepared for hiccups! @nadiadwalagrandson. She also shared pics with Tiger, Sajid and Sabbir in the same post. She also had a message for Tiger. Sharing pictures of them together, she wrote, We started out together.. in the same boat, equally excited, equally lost, equally fascinated by this world..I saw his hardwork, his discipline and passion and i knew hes gonna blow peoples minds away! Youll always have this super soft corner in my heart Tiggyyy! @tigerjackieshroff i feel so so happy seeing you fly higher and higher(literally too!) Happy 5year Anniversary lol.. i feel its time for Heropanti2 .. What say? Tiger also replied in agreement, Kriti! we have to make this happen again. In her special post for Sabbir, Kriti wrote, @sabbir24x7 sir.. I remember when u saw an ad of mine and called me.. Thankk you for trusting and believing in me from the very beginning and supporting me at every step of the journey, when I literally didnt know how to find my mark and facing.. haha..Thank for giving me Dimpy! im glad i found a wonderful friend in you who i know always wishes the best for me.. i love you loads!! You know that!! Always gonna be there for you! Kriti is working with Sajid again on his next production, Housefull 4. Thanking him for giving her the opportunity, she wrote, cannot thank you enough #Sajid sir & @wardakhannadiadwala (bhabs) for giving me the best opportunity ever and for treating me like a bachcha, for guiding me through and for all the love and pampering ..love you both! Being today on NGE sets for Housefull4 is just so nostalgic and overwhelming! @nadiadwalagrandson. Sabbir also shared a few throwback pictures from the sets of the film and wrote, 5 years of Heropanti - I dedicate this to every aspiring film maker and writer. Big budget or no budget ... Super star or rank newcomer ... Smooth sailing or trying circumstances ... Whether people appreciate you or try to steal your credit. It doesnt matter, what matters is the belief in yourself and showing up each day in the direction of trying to tell your story without excuses. If a middle class boy like me can do it so can you. A big heartfelt thank you to everyone on the film that made this journey beautiful and the fans for loving and making these two into the much loved stars that they are today @tigerjackieshroff @kritisanon. Also read: Neena Gupta on playing Kangana Ranauts mother in Panga: I make a difference and have a distinct colour to my character Tiger will now be seen with his idol Hrithik Roshan in Siddharth Anands next and in the Hindi remake of Hollywood film Rambo. Kriti has three films in her kitty including Arjun Patiala opposite Diljit Dosanjh, Ashutosh Gowarikers Panipat starring Arjun Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt and multi-starrer comedy Housefull 4. Follow @htshowbiz for more A day after she returned from Cannes in southern France, actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan seems to be missing the ongoing Cannes Film Festival already. She shared a new picture from Cannes where she aced a casual look. Aishwarya can be seen posing gracefully, with her back to the camera, in a colourful jacket over a pair of denim pants. Her hair is let loose but is in simple curls. Aishwarya was spotted with daughter Aaradhya at the Mumbai airport early Wednesday. Her daughter has been accompanying the star to Cannes every year. Earlier, Aishwarya also shared her one last look from Cannes on her Instagram account where she is seen wearing a black sheer skirt. She paired it with a brown blazer and let her hair fall straight. Also read: Sonam Kapoor takes us inside her dressing room as she shares BTS videos from Cannes 2019 Aishwarya walked the Cannes red carpet twice this year she made her maiden appearance for the year in a metallic mermaid gown in yellow and green hues by Jean Louis Sabaji. For her second red carpet look, Aishwarya opted for a white-feathered tulle gown. On her first day in Cannes, she was also joined by Aaradhya (in a yellow dress) before the stars first red carpet appearance this year. She had shared her picture on Instagram with the caption, My Sunshine Forever LOVE YOU to which husband Abhishek Bachchan had commented, The gold standard! On the work front, Aishwarya was last seen in Fanney Khan where she starred alongwith Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. She will next be seen playing a negative character in Mani Ratnams upcoming bilingual period drama based on the historical Tamil novel by Kalki, Ponniyin Selvan. She will play wife of Chola kingdoms treasurer Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar in the film. She was rumoured to be have signed a film with Abhishek Bachchan, Gulab Jamun, but the project has been shelved. Follow @htshowbiz for more Neena Gupta, the actor who defied all norms to play a middle-aged pregnant housewife in Badhaai Ho, is ready to win hearts with new performances now. With a 38-year-long career to boast of, Neena remains significant and irreplaceable even today. The actor has not just bounced back with tailor-made roles but is hungry for more challenging offers. The actor spoke exclusively to Hindustan Times about her desire to play an action role, motherhood and her next film with Kangana Ranaut. Excerpts: Was it fun to shoot with a baby bump on sets of Badhaai Ho? I had a lot of fun working on the film because the combination of actors, directors and unit people was amazing. Ayushmann (Khurrana) has a great sense of humour. We used to laugh at ourselves and really enjoy during the shoot. Have you got your due in the film industry? The dues are starting to come out but it will still take some time. There is a lot inside me that is yet to come out. Neena Gupta with her co-stars on the sets of Badhaai Ho. You take all as a tight-lipped daughter-in-law in Badhaai Ho. Would you have done the same in real life? This is the reality; most of our women do the same. About 85-90% of Indian women are like this. You and me are the minority of 1%. Its very natural, you dont know what to do if you are married. You played Sonam Kapoors mother in Veere Di Wedding who was always worried about her marriage despite her doing well in her profession. Are you the same in real life? Yes. Like all mothers, I will also be worried about my daughter for everything. Thats in my DNA. Even when she will be 40, I would be worried about her. Thats normal. You played Kunti in Mamas Boys and a middle-aged wife in Khujli? Do you think middle-aged actors are getting the work they deserve? Are you open to experimentation? Absolutely, anything that excites me. I didnt quit, I didnt get very good work. I think the time has come when things are changing. More and more good roles are coming up for my age. I am hoping to do some good work now. Is there anything on your bucket list? I want to do comedy and an action role. I want to play the main lead again. Are you ready to play a negative role? No, I am not. Neena Gupta with Kanwaljit Singh in a still from Saans. If you are asked about your own personal preferences, what type of role do you prefer the most -- your role in Veere Di Wedding, Badhaai Ho or the one in Saans? I think Saans, because it had a lot of shades. It had lighter moments, emotional moments, serious and sensitive moments. Have you ever felt attached to any role? As an actor I am prepared for every role, thats my profession. My profession is to change myself according to my role and I work hard on it. Its not that I am like the character in real life so I can do that role. I have done a variety of roles on TV also. Have you noticed a major change in the industry since you started 38 years ago? It has changed a lot. Things have become more professional. People come on time and all the actors are very disciplined. The younger generation is very hard working. Have you noticed any of your co-stars who you think can go far in their careers. Ayushmann has already gone far in his career, he is a great guy. Sanya Malhotra also has a lot inside her. She is a dancer, a good actor and is very pleasant. She is very sweet and a very nice person. I think she will go far. Neena Gupta with daughter Masaba Gupta. Like it happens between mothers and daughters, does Masaba Gupta influence your fashion sense? Do you also exchange career advices? We both are very normal mother and daughter. We advise each other most of the time. But are we are our own persons and decide what we want to do on our own. But we are always open to each others thoughts. Also read: Ranveer Singh shares Deepika Padukones pic with baby face filter, fans cant get enough of her cuteness You are working in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwaris Panga, which stars Kangana Ranaut as a kabaddi player? Tell us more. I have a very small role but whatever it is, its very nice. I have a distinct colour to my character. I play Kanganas mother but I make a difference. Its a very interesting role. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Priyanka Chopra, who was at Cannes Film Festival last week, is now in Ethiopia and has been sharing emotional stories from the African nation. Priyanka has been sharing pictures for past couple of days and the proudest person is husband Nick Jonas. Sharing a picture of his wife, he wrote: @priyankachopra is so inspiring to me and so many people around the world every day. The work she does with @unicef is incredible. #proudhusband. Her latest posts talk of the struggle by ordinary Ethiopians for education.On Wednesday, Priyanka shared pictures and stories of two women 26-year-old Abda Abdulaziz and 15-year-old Hasina. Abda arrived at the Bambasi camp in 2011 from war-ravaged Sudan in 2011 and Hasina, who ran away from home as a 12-year-old from her forced marriage. Sharing Adbas story, Priyanka wrote: Abda Abdulaziz, 26, arrived at the Bambasi camp in 2011 seeking refuge from the war in Sudan. Her 5 children were born in this camp and are being raised here, while her husband works as a laborer at a nearby farm - they see each other every two weeks for a few days. She said that if the violence in her country settles, she and her husband may consider going back, but she is not very hopeful that will happen. In the meantime, life in the camp allows her children to have access to an education. I met two of her daughters, Zulfa Ata Ey, 8, and Muzalefa, 10, at the primary school I had visited earlier in the day. Zulfa is at the top of her class and her mom is so proud. While theyre safe and her children are receiving an education, they are still living below the poverty line, and shes desperate for the most basic supplies...like water, books, and clothes for her children. Further on, sharing Hasinas story, Priyanka wrote: This is Hasina (15), she is a 7th grade student who loves to go to school. She used to live with her sister and her husband, and without her knowing, her sisters husband was arranging her marriage to one of his friends...she was 12 at the time. One day when the man visited her house to pester her parents to marry her, she escaped to a friends house and the next day went to one of the community-based childs marriage prevention platforms (alone), which she had heard about at school. She asked herself, if She married now, would she ever go back to school again? Also read: Kareena Kapoor reveals son Taimur isnt allowed to eat at birthday parties Hasina loves learning and wasnt willing to trade her education or freedom for anything.That gave her the courage to stand up for herself. The community, along with the authorities, stepped in and stopped the marriage. The man was charged. Its important to understand that it takes an immense amount of courage to go against these cultural norms that have existed for centuries. Hasina is a very brave girl. It was so heartening to see the elders in the community learning from the examples these young girls are setting, standing up against child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting. Education gave these girls that perspective. This community is an example of how change is possible. FEMALE RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. To make a difference and learn more about @Unicefs efforts, visit UNICEF. Priyanka Chopra (L) and Nick Jonas at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France on May 18, 2019. (AFP) Last week, Priyanka stunned everybody with her glamorous debut at Cannes. Accompanied by her husband Nick Jonas, Priyanka was a favourite of the photographers as she walked the red carpet for the screening of the film Rocketman. Priyanka, who was last seen in Hollywood film Isnt It Romantic, has completed shooting for Shonali Boses The Sky Is Pink. She co-stars with Farhan Akhtar and Dangal girl Zaira Wasim. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Priyanka Chopra is in Ethiopia as the UNICEF brand ambassador and is doing her bit to highlight the issues of refugee kids living in the country. She took up a few questions from her fans regarding her trip when was asked about what is she doing for people of India. A follower asked the actor, I really adore your work Mam. But what about our motherland? To this the actor replied, I believe a child is a child and we all are global citizens and we need to care about the future of children all over the world. I have worked with UNICEF in India for many years and will continue to do so. One user also asked her, What role will you actually play in the trip with the kids? The actor replied, Ethiopia is at the moment going through a silent emergency and I am going to these refugee camps to meet these kids, listen to their stories and be a voice for them, use my voice to amplify theirs to get the world to care. Priyanka recently made her debut at the Cannes Film Festival. After walking solo for her first red carpet appearance, she was accompanied by husband Nick Jonas during her second appearance. Calling himself a proud husband, Nick shared a picture from Priyankas visit to Ethiopia with the caption, @priyankachopra is so inspiring to me and so many people around the world every day. The work she does with @unicef is incredible. #proudhusband. Priyanka Chopra makes her Cannes debut (left) and walks the red carpet with Nick Jonas on her second day. Also read: Neena Gupta on playing Kangana Ranauts mother in Panga: I make a difference and have a distinct colour to my character Priyanka has been constantly sharing pictures and videos from the trip on her Instagram. She shared pictures and stories of two women 26-year-old Abda Abdulaziz and 15-year-old Hasina on Wednesday. Follow @htshowbiz for more The benchmark BSE Sensex hit the 40,000 mark for the first time ever and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level in morning trade, as early trends suggested a huge majority for the ruling NDA. Amid market euphoria, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar trade. The 30-share index zoomed over 900 points to hit an intra-day high of 40,012.35. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty spurted 265 points to touch a record 12,003.50. Top Sensex gainers included Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, L&T, SBI, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, RIL and HDFC twins, surging up to 8 per cent. While, Vedanta, ITC and TCS slipped up to 0.45 per cent. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 According to traders, investor sentiment was boosted by initial trends that suggested a second term for the Narendra Modi-led NDA. Nearly two hours into counting, television channels on Thursday showed Indias ruling NDA leading in more than 300 seats with the BJP at 270-plus while the UPA hovered around the 100 mark. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors sold equity worth Rs 965.02 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares to the tune of Rs 157.75 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in China, Japan and Korea were trading on a negative note in their respective early sessions. One thing is for certain: The Allison Williams Scream Queen evolution is one of the most exciting current trends in cinema. After her brilliantly basic, benevolently brutal performance in Get Out, and now with The Perfection, where she continually shifts between victim and villain, its obvious that the Girls actress has incredibly daring taste when it comes to her film roles. What makes her so effective in these complex roles is the way that Williams preppy, pleasant-seeming demeanor the wide, white surfaces of her teeth, the doe eyes, the dimples can shape-shift between sinister or sweet, depending on the context. Sometimes its both. A 22-year-old man allegedly murdered his 48-year-old father following a heated argument at their house in east Delhi and then chopped the body into at least 25 pieces on Monday night, police said on Wednesday. The son then enlisted the help of a friend and was planning to scatter the body parts in the citys outskirts a day later, police said. The son, Aman Agarwal, was arrested minutes before he could leave the house in east Delhis Farsh Bazar neighbourhood with four bags stuffed with the body parts, police said. Joint commissioner of police (eastern range) Alok Kumar said that since Aman skipped work on Tuesday, police believe he spent the day cutting the body of his father, Sandesh Agarwal, and packing it the bags. He was allegedly planning to scatter the body parts in isolated areas around midnight on Tuesday. Amans mother and younger brother, who stay in the same house, were in Manali on vacation, he said. Aman and his friend Ayush, 22, were arrested for the murder, Kumar added. During questioning, Aman said told us that his father Sandesh often used to assault him and his mother. He told us that when he came home on Monday night, his father started scolding him for splurging money. He said the argument got heated and he strangled his father. After that he chopped off the body into around 25 pieces using a meat cleaver and was planning to dispose it in the early hours of Wednesday, Kumar said. The alleged murder came to light when Sandeshs younger brother, Adesh, who lives nearby, came to their house looking for his brother. Around 10.30 pm on Tuesday, I went to check in on Sandesh, but his son said he was not at home. I noticed that Sandeshs room was unlocked, which was unusual as he used to keep it locked as he had an ongoing dispute with his wife and sons. He always locked his room when he left the house, said Adesh, 42, who runs a general store in the same neighbourhood. I got suspicious, so I decided to check the footage of the CCTV cameras we had installed in the house. I saw that my brother was not seen leaving. I confronted Aman and asked him why he lied to me, he said. I also spotted a man who was seen entering the house in the footage. Aman said that the man had come to deliver food. At around 1.30am on Tuesday, I spotted a grey sedan in front of Sandeshs house, he said. I went to the house and saw the man who Aman had earlier said was the delivery boy inside. This time, they said he was Amans friend Ayush. I feared that the two may have locked Sandesh up somewhere inside so I called the police, Adesh said. After about 15-20 minutes a policeman arrived. When I went inside the house with the police officer, we found three bags on the floor. When the officer asked Aman about the bags, he said there was some raw food that he had to move to one of his restaurants, Adesh said. When the policeman opened the first bag, they found Sandeshs head in it, he said. He found Sandeshs body chopped into at least 25 pieces in the other bags, Adesh said. We also found Sandeshs blood-drenched clothes in a trunk. Aman and Ayush were arrested for the murder from the spot, joint commissioner Kumar said. Prima facie it appears that Ayush was also present in the house at the time of the murder, Kumar added. Kumar said Adesh told them that Sandesh had longstanding dispute with his wife Kanchan and the older son. He had also lodged a complaint against them at Farsh Bazar police station alleging that they had tried to kill him. We are investigating if others are involved, the joint commissioner said. Sandeshs wife and son are yet to arrive in Delhi. They will be questioned once they are here, he said. The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) triumphant return to power, with 303 seats (leads and wins at 10 pm) as compared to 2014s 282, shows that the latter wasnt the outlier or black swan everyone considered it to be. In 2014, the party won 171 of 185 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat. No one thought that number could be repeated. Not even senior leaders of the BJP. In 2019, the party won 158 of these 185 seats. But it did something better. In 2014, the party won just 111 seats of the 358 seats outside these states. This year, it won 142. Also in 2014, the party won 86% of its head-to-head contests against the Congress, according to political analyst and HT columnist, Neelanjan Sircar. This year, he points out, it actually managed to improve this strike rate to 93%. The biggest factor behind the BJPs win was Prime Minister Narendra Modi: nothing else can explain why, across states, stalwarts from the opposition bit the dust. And nothing else can explain why the BJP swept states where the Congress won assembly polls as recently as December 2018. Left stranded in the wake of the BJPs win are Samajwadi Partys Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Partys Mayawati, both of whom staked their political future by forging an unlikely partnership to take on the BJP; Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress has suffered significant losses in West Bengal; even Naveen Patnaik, whose Biju Janata Dal, while holding its own in both the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, has ceded ground to the BJP. The Telugu Desam Partys (TDPs) N Chandrababu Naidu, one of the prime movers of a possible alliance that actually thought it may have a chance to form the government, finds himself in political wilderness, although it is Jagan Mohan Reddys YSRCP and not the BJP that is responsible for this. The only winners in these elections, apart from the BJP, are the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagams (DMKs) MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu, YSCRPs Mr Reddy, and the Congress Amarinder Singh. The first, by winning his first big electoral battle after the death of his father and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi; the second by sweeping aside the incumbent Mr Naidu-led TDP government in Andhra Pradesh apart from registering a landslide win in the Lok Sabha elections in the state; and the third by ensuring the Congress did well in Punjab. At the level of the two main national parties, the result of these elections poses two questions, one to each. For the Congress, that question is simply whether it is time to look beyond the Gandhis. Three Gandhis (one of whom didnt campaign much) couldnt win it this election or even help it improve its performance significantly over 2014. Former party president Sonia Gandhi was succeeded by her son Rahul Gandhi. And her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, although just one of the partys several general secretaries, is effectively No 3. The Trinamool Congress Ms Banerjee and YSCRPs Mr Reddy are both former Congress leaders who have thrived outside the party. Punjabs Mr Singh has managed to create space for himself in the party, but he is one of very few leaders that have managed to do so. The party has to indulge in some serious introspection on this. For the BJP, that question is about what it needs to do in terms of governance and administration to ensure that it can win an election where people are electing their representatives and not the prime minister. While the partys focus on reaching out to the 220 million beneficiaries of the governments welfare programmes did help its cause, it was its ability to present the contest as a presidential style one with Mr Modi as its candidate that helped it drown out very real issues such as the agrarian crisis and unemployment. At a larger level, the BJPs win in these elections raises the question whether India is finally moving into a post-Mandal phase of politics. The BJP may have helped accelerate this with its move to reorganise the Other Backward Classes by looking at subcategories. The poor performance of the SP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal could perhaps be indicative of this. While an answer to this question will require more research, if this is happening, it will mean that after three decades, Indian politics has definitely moved into a new epoch. Which is only in the fitness of things: the BJPs new India will also see a new wave of politics. Actor Daniel Craig, who was recently injured while filming for the upcoming Jame Bond film, will undergo a minor ankle surgery, the producers have said. The official Twitter handle of the franchise revealed the actor sustained the injury during a shooting schedule in Jamaica and the rest of cast will keep on filming while he recuperates. BOND 25 update: Daniel Craig will be undergoing minor ankle surgery resulting from an injury sustained during filming in Jamaica. Production will continue whilst Craig is rehabilitating for two weeks post-surgery, the tweet read. The film remains on track for the same release date in April 2020, it added. This is not the first time Craig, who performs his own stunts, has sustained injury on a Bond film sets. The actor had two teeth knocked out during his first stunt scene for his Bond debut in Casino Royale; sustained a number of injuries, including slicing off the tip of a finger and tearing a shoulder muscle on his next, Quantum of Solace and injuring his knee during a fight scene for his most recent Spectre. Also read: On Priyanka Chopras pics from Ethiopia, fans ask what she is she doing for Indian kids. Heres her reply Director Cary Joji Fukunaga and actor Daniel Craig pose for a picture during a photocall for the British spy franchise's 25th film set for release next year, titled Bond 25 in Oracabessa, Jamaica April 25, 2019. (REUTERS) The new film in the Bond franchise has had a tumultuous journey. It was previously set to be directed by Danny Boyle with a release date of November 8, 2019. After Boyle dropped out of the project over creative differences, along with frequent collaborator, screenwriter John Hodge, the films release date was moved to February 14, 2020. Cary Joji Fukunaga is now attached as director, with Scott Z Burns hired by MGM studio to pen a new script. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have already drafted a version of the script but it is being reported that the studio is unhappy with their story. Recently, Fleabag creator-actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge came on board the movie to polish the script of Bond 25. The release of the film was recently pushed to April 8, 2020. Follow @htshowbiz for more In 2017, when it decided to part with the Grand Alliance (GA) Nitish Kumars Janata Dal (United) seemed to have correctly gauged what lay in wait for them during the 2019 general elections. The emphatic win of its 16 out of 17 candidates endorses the trend of JD (U)s successful track record of poll alliances. Outsmarting its 2015 assembly poll results when it won 70 out of the 100 seats after deciding to contest in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress, the JD (U) has improved its strike rate to near 100%. Translated into assembly segments, this comes to more than 102 seats. Kumar has emerged more powerful than before and his performance as the chief minister has not only been accepted, but has also helped him keep his carefully cultivated electoral constituencies of women, economically backward castes (EBCs), dalits and even minorities intact even as he complemented the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a bigger win. While Narendra Modis nationalism pitch has superseded all other issues, in Bihar, people have a favourable disposition towards Nitish Kumars commitment for development and these two factors have struck an emotional connect which has resulted in decimating the opposition, said DM Diwakar, former director, AN Sinha Institute for Social Studies, Patna. In the 2014 general elections, JD(U) had contested alone and won only two seats. The BJP, which had contested in alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), won 22 seats on its own and with its allies, the tally went up to 31 (BJP-22, RLSP-3, LJP-6) out of the 40 seats. The equations changed in 2019 with JD(U) entering the polls with BJP and LJP under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) banner. The trends so far indicate that in Bihar, the electorate overwhelmingly stood behind the Nitish Kumar-Narendra Modi combine, in the hope of placing the state on a faster growth trajectory. Kumar deserves credit for the NDAs performance since he travelled across the state and appeared at the highest number of election rallies (172). The JD(U)-BJP coalition proved lethal for the opposition. The BJP brought in the wide support of upper castes to the JD(U)s existing popularity the EBCs, other backward castes (OBCs), minorities and women voters. The NDA also managed to wean a chunk of the Yadavs and Muslims away from the RJD and Congress, for whom these communities have been a traditional vote bank. Together, BJP, JD (U) and LJP secured 52.30% of the vote share. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the three parties had 29.86% of the vote share. Hoping for this scenario, the coalition was put together in a hassle-free manner with the BJP agreeing to sacrifice five sitting seats to accommodate JD(U) as an equal partner, with both parties contesting 17 seats each. The LJP, a hard bargainer, agreed to part with one seat out of the seven it had contested last time. With barely a year to go for the assembly polls, the JD(U) with a 100% strike rate will sit at the negotiating table for the Assembly elections with a lot more confidence and Kumar will undoubtedly remain the partys chief ministerial candidate while JD(U) retains its elder brother tag in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday scored a perfect 10 in Haryana, winning all 10 Lok Sabha seats, and bettering its 2014 tally when it had bagged seven seats. With its eyes on the assembly polls to be held later this year, the party, which had contested eight seats in 2014, went it alone this time, winning nine seats by hefty margins. The Congress, which emerged as the BJPs main rival, was routed, with most of its candidates losing by over a lakh votes. Among the biggest losers were former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who lost by 1.62 lakh votes from Sonipat, state Congress president Ashok Tanwar who lost Sirsa by about 3.08 lakh votes, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kumari Selja who lost by 3.40 lakh votes from Ambala and Shruti Choudhary, daughter of Congress legislature party leader Kiran Choudhary, from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh by 4.35 lakh votes. The results spelt bad news for candidates of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and its breakaway Jannayak Janta Party (JJP). All INLD candidates forfeited deposits with Arjun Chautala, son of INLD leader Abhay Chautala, finishing fifth from Kurukshetra. Barring JJPs Dushyant Chautala, the sitting MP from Hisar, all JJP candidates lost their deposits. Dushyants younger brother Digvijay Chautala, who contested from Sonipat, finished third, only managing about 50,000 votes. The big wins for the BJP came from Karnal where Sanjay Bhatia won by over 6.54 lakh votes; Faridabad from where Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar won by 6.36 lakh votes; Bhiwani-Mahendragarh from where Dharambir Singh won by 4.35 lakh votes, Gurgaon where Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh won by over 3.82 lakh votes and Hisar, where Brijendra Singh, a former IAS officer and son of Union minister, Birender Singh won by 3.11 lakh votes. Chandigarh-based retired journalist VP Prabhakar said the BJPs thumping win in Haryana was a result of the positive developmental agenda and accessible governance of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, coupled with an undercurrent of support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The decisiveness shown by the prime minister in undertaking the Balakot air strikes and Uri surgical strike fired the imagination of the people of the state, a large number of whom have a connect with the armed forces, Prabhakar said. State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said it was not a win for the BJP candidates, but a win for Narendra Modi, whose image secured the partys victory, he said. Crediting the prime minister, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the BJPs win showed that the people rejected dynastic politics, regional discrimination, nepotism and favouritism. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Punjab turned out to be an exception as the Congress faced losses across the country in the Lok Sabha elections. The party won eight of the states 13 seats under chief minister Captain Amarinder Singhs leadership. Singh spoke to Ramesh Vinayak about his partys performance in Punjab, elsewhere in the country, and the factors responsible for it. Edited excerpts: What do you make of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s victory? That is a part of the introspection we need to do in Congress: What worked for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and did not work for the Congress. It is really too early to come to any definitive conclusions on that. But as a first reaction, I can only say that evidently the BJP succeeded in riding the Hindutva wave to polarise the nation on communal and caste lines. Do you think that Modis Balkot and nationalism pitch were game changers? No.[Indias airstrike on a terror camp in Pakistans] Balakot and nationalism were never an issue in these elections. How could they be when our soldiers continue to be killed at the borders even after Balakot... . You are the only Congress leader standing tall after a massive defeat. Do you see yourself in a national role to revive the partys fortunes? I do not think I am the only Congress leader standing tall. The Congress has a strong core of good leaders, who will review and introspect and identify the weaknesses in the party to revive it. And as a party leader, I will join these efforts to restore the party to its old glory. It is not about a national or state role. It is about being a part and parcel of the Congress, which I still maintain is the only party that can save the nation from the divisive policies of the BJP and its allies. Do you think the time has come for the Congress to look beyond the Gandhi dynasty? It never was and still is not about dynastic politics, which is something the opposition harps on to further its own interests. From Indira Gandhi to Rajiv and now [Congress president] Rahul [Gandhi], every member of the Gandhi family has fought for his/her place in the party and served it with sweat and blood. How was the Congress able to deal with the Modi factor in Punjab? Modi was never a factor in Punjab. He was not in 2014 and is not even today. Do not forget that Modis BJP was an ally of the Akalis, who ruined Punjab for 10 years. People have not forgiven them for ruining their children with drugs, farmers have not forgotten the pain of huge debts, our young men and women are still struggling with the unemployment problem they left behind... The people have seen the contrast of the last two years, the development work we have initiated, the elimination of the drugs mafia, gangsterism, the farm debt waiver scheme we have launched, the jobs we are giving. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In the intense, long-drawn out, and often confrontational campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the most optimistic Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters borrowed a slogan first used ahead of the 2017 state elections in Uttar Pradesh: Ab ki baar; teen sau paar (This time, over 300). On Thursday, the party did just that. It had won or was leading in 303 seats (of a total of 542 polled) at midnight. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had returned to power for second term, and how. Modi led his party to a higher vote share (37%) as compared to 2014 as well, achieving outright political dominance in large parts of north, central, west, and east India. The electorate has decisively rejected the Opposition, reducing the Congress to a mere 52 seats (won or leading at midnight), just eight more than what it won in 2014. Party president Rahul Gandhi himself lost from the family pocket borough Amethi to the BJPs Smriti Irani, though he won from Wayanad. The 2019 mandate has also come as a huge setback for several regional players, from Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh to Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal to Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra. It is only in south India - where barring Karnataka and to some extent Telangana - that the BJP faced a strong opposition. This is the first time since 1971 that a Prime Minister has been re-elected to office with an outright majority. The Modi hawa This is also the first time in decades that an election turned truly presidential. This was the most important strand of the political message of the BJP, with Modi reiterating that a vote on Kamal (the partys lotus symbol) would directly be a vote for him. The decision to turn the poll into a referendum on himself completely overwhelmed local anti-incumbency against BJP candidates, adverse social equations in seats, larger economic issues, and helped the party penetrate areas where it had been traditionally vulnerable. From March 28, starting from a rally in Meerut in west Uttar Pradesh, Modi addressed 142 rallies. His speeches combined a focus on his governments delivery of rural assets in villages ; national security ; honest administration; and most importantly, strong leadership and a cohesive government . The BJP, acutely conscious of the 2004 verdict, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost despite being the favourite, was careful to avoid the same mistakes. By playing up its pro-poor welfare agenda, it sought to avoid the trap of being seen as elitist. The party also coordinated closely with its ideological co-travellers in the Sangh Parivar, which many believed had turned somewhat inert back in 2004. The coordination also involved an explicit Hindutva tilt in the campaign -- this was most visible in its decision to award a ticket to terror accused Pragya Singh Thakur in Bhopal, its firm defence of the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Bill, and a commitment to remove the special provisions with regard to Jammu and Kashmir in the Constitution. Compared to 2004, the BJP has also expanded its social base, winning over the support of a large segment of both backward and Dalit communities, while it succeeded in retaining its old traditional vote of the middle-class, and upper castes. All of this, aided by a strong organisation shepherded by Amit Shah, made 2019 different. But it was, at the core, Modis appeal and the faith he evoked among voters that best explains the verdict. The BJP achieved what was considered almost impossible in political circles. The NDA replicated its 2014 performance of winning all 26 seats in Gujarat, 25 in Rajasthan, seven in Delhi, and five each in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand yet again It improved its tally in Haryana by winning 10 of the 11 seats, and in Madhya Pradesh by winning 28 of the 29 seats. It won nine of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh. And it swept Bihar along with its ally, Janata Dal (United), winning 39 of the 40 seats in the state. The partys most remarkable performance came in three battleground states. The first was Uttar Pradesh where the party confronted the formidable alliance of Samajwadi Party-Bhaujan Samaj Party. But a robust social coalition across Hindu castes, the message of nationalism, the governments welfare delivery, and Modis appeal saw the NDA win 61 of the 80 seats, a loss of only 13 from 2014. The second state was West Bengal, where from a mere two seats in 2014, the BJPs aggressive campaign yielded dividends and the party won 18 seats. In Odisha too, while the electorate swept Naveen Patnaik to a fifth term in office in the state assembly, they rewarded BJP with eight seats, from just one back in 2014. Soon after the trends became clear, Modi tweeted:Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again. The Opposition rout But if one element of the 2019 verdict was the resounding mandate for Modi, the other accompanying story has been the decimation of the Congress, yet again. Rahul Gandhi, at a press conference on Thursday evening, conceded defeat, took full responsibility, said he respected the verdict of the electorate, congratulated Narendra Modi and the BJP, and asked Congress workers to keep up their morale. But the message hid the scale of failure of Indias grand old party. It had won three state assembly polls only at the end of last year -- Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. But put together, it won only three of the 53 seats in these very states in the Lok Sabha elections. It had put up a spirited fight in the Gujarat assembly elections of 2017, but failed to win a single seat this time around. In North India, it was only in Punjab where Captain Amarinder Singh was able to deliver eight seats to the party. The Congresss failure is being seen as a culmination of several factors. While Gandhi had put up a strong challenge, he was clearly not seen as prime ministerial by a large section of the electorate . Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was admittedly just one of the partys many General secretaries, failed to make an impact in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The partys big issues did not resonate. While citizens did not appear to believe that Modi was corrupt, Gandhi kept repeating allegations in the context of the Rafale deal. The party also failed to communicate its promise of Nyay effectively to the electorate. The failure to stich up an alliance with the SP-BSP -- which was attributed to Mayawatis refusal rather than the Congress -- also hurt the party. The Congresss only gains happened in South India, where, riding on the alliance with the DMK, it was able to win eight seats in Tamil Nadu; it scored an impressive victory in Kerala, winning 15 of the 20 seats on its own and 18 along with its smaller allies; it also won three seats in Telangana. But it was not just the Congress. The SP- BSP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance won just 18 of the states 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. It was clear that their social coalition of Yadavs, Muslims and Jatavs was either unable to match the combined social coalition of the BJP or cracked, and not all constituents and supporters of one party transferred their votes to candidates from the other party. This leaves the fate of the alliance uncertain. Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal won 22 seats, but with the BJP emerging as the principal and extremely strong opposition with 18 seats, the Trinamool will confront a major challenge in the next assembly elections of 2021. In Odisha, the BJP replaced the Congress as the second-largest party, and is set to grow even as Naveen Patnaik managed to hold on to his own. The most devastating news, however, for a regional satrap would be received in Ranchi. Currently in jail, Lalu Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal, was being led by Tejaswi Yadav. The party has failed to win a single seat across Bihar, with the Congress just picking Kishanganj, a Muslim-dominated constituency in Seemanchal. The southern frontier It was only in the south that regional forces were able to put up a strong show. In Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Mohan Reddys YSR Congress Party won both the state assembly elections convincingly, winning 145 of the 175 seats, but also won all the 25 Lok Sabha seats from the state. But the real story of change came from Tamil Nadu. This was the first national election after the death of the states two iconic leaders, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa. From winning no seat in 2014, the DMK has now won 23 seats in the state, and 33 along with its allies. This marks the arrival of MK Stalin, the DMKs current leader, as a leader in his own right. Looking forward Analysts credited Modi for his big win but also pointed out that the challenge for the Prime Minister begins now. From a range of crucial foreign policy decisions to addressing the situation in Kashmir, the PM will have his plate full. But the most important item on his table could well be the economy. Devesh Kapur, the head of the Asia Programme at the Johns Hopkins University and an authority of Indias political institutions and economy, said, Mr. Modi may well find that winning was easier than governing is likely to be. Indias economy is in much worse shape than is realized. The biggest challenge is reviving growth which almost certainly has been lower than the official numbers over the past decade. He added that all the ambitions that the Prime Minister had for the country would come to naught unless growth is much more robust. Frankly, there are no easy ways to make it happen, especially given the massive problems in the financial sector and a deteriorating global environment. Unless the balance sheet problems of the banks and NBFCs are addressed with utmost urgency, credit and liquidity will be constrained and the private investment cycle will not revive, and unless that happens growth will not pick up. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress-led grand alliances (GA) rout in Bihar showed how the rainbow coalition of five secular parties failed to put up a formidable challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United)-led National Democratic Alliance. Instead, the GA became a victim of internal contradictions. The GA suffered a more pronounced loss in comparison to the 2014 parliamentary polls when the RJD-Congress- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) coalition had won seven seats. This time, RJD, which contested 19 seats, failed to win even one while the Congress, having contested nine seats, won only in Kishanganj. Other small allies, like the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), could make no impact. Poll observers said that the secular alliance suffered was routed primarily due to jailed RJD chief and former chief minister of the state Lalu Prasad Yadavs absence. (Hes been incarcerated because of his role in fodder scam cases.) There were also delays in seat adjustments and RJDs strategic ploy to give priority to small allies, such as RLSP, HAM(S) and VIP, over the Congress in seat allotments did not yield benefits. Lack of energy in the campaign steered by opposition leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and internal bickering within the coalition were other factors. Lalu was the cementing force to keep his traditional voters among Yadavs and Muslims, but this did not happen this time. Tejashwi lacked his fathers vote-transferring ability, said D M Diwakar, former director, AN Sinha Institute for Social Studies, Patna. The GA, with a combined vote share of around 45%, looked like a formidable match for NDAs vote share of 51.60%. However, the NDAs success in keeping its vote bank intact and its ability to make inroads in rival camps, especially among the Yadavs with the nationalism rhetoric, proved to be more than a match for the secular front. Observers feel the RJD miscalculated its strategy of keeping the Congress on a leash and banked heavily on smaller allies to garner votes from economically backward classes (EBCs) and scheduled caste votes. RLSP, HAM(S) and VIP are all small parties, having a limited appeal among voters of their castes. The RJDs caste-based politics also did not work this time as the NDAs caste arithmetic was more potent with the JD(U) on its side, said Rajeev Kumar, a political worker associated with the GA. That the JD(U)s vote bank worked as a catalyst in all 40 seats for the NDA was reflected in Pataliputra and Arrah, where the GA lost to BJP candidates despite a tactical understanding with the CPI-ML to check the division of secular votes. GA insiders said delay in seat adjustment and rebel candidates of RJD and Congress contesting against the official nominees in seats like Madhubani, Jehanabad and Buxar spoiled the coalitions poll prospects even as Lalus elder son Tej Pratap Yadavs rebellious antics sent the wrong message to core supporters. Corruption was another plank where the GA was on a weak wicket, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi making it a poll issue to nail the alliance as a coalition of corrupt leaders out to save their skin. It worked for the NDA, said BJPs Shambu Kumar. Ashok Sinha of the BJP said the GA crumbled under the weight of its internal contradictions and vaulting ambition of the siblings of the RJDs first family. RJDs national vice president Shivanand Tiwary said the election results were totally out of sync with existing ground realities and expressed surprise at RJD losing Araria, a seat the party had won in the by-elections just eight months ago. We will introspect on the reasons and there is nothing to worry, Tiwary said, denying the argument that the Lok Sabha results would impact the GAs poll fortunes in the coming 2020 Assembly polls. The giant laddoo cake that had been ordered by the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hadnt even arrived yet from Bengali Sweets on Thursday when the party accomplished a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha. Although all its allies hadnt done as well, the BJP, on the strength of its own performance, had taken the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to 346 seats, a gain of 10 seats. What it meant was that the biggest winner of the 17th general election was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned indefatigably for the BJP and the NDA, addressing 142 election rallies crisscrossing the nation, to make sure that the party and the alliance returned to power once again. Phir ek baar Modi Sarkar (Modi government yet again) was accomplished in the face of an Opposition, led by Rahul Gandhis Congress, that trained all its guns on the 68-year-old prime minister for joblessness, distress in the countryside and even for alleged corruption in the 59,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal. BJP general senior leader JP Nadda said, `I had always said 2014 was a Modi wave, 2019 will be a Modi tsunami. As the BJP saw it, every time Rahul Gandhi repeated what became his pet campaign slogan Chowkidar chor hai (The watchman is a thief) a take-off on Modis description of himself as the nations chowkidar (watchman), referring to the alleged wrongdoing in the Rafale deal, the voters became even more united in their resolve to vote for the prime minister. This is not a complex issue, this election was Modi vs the rest. Whatever narrative the BJP built was actually amplified by the opposition, said Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary who oversees southern India at the ruling party. Any reference to the winners wouldnt be complete without a mention of BJP President Amit Shah. It wasnt just about his victory in the Gandhinagar seat which he has taken on from party veteran Lal Krishna Advani, but in the manner he achieved what he set out to do. The BJP was set for a clean sweep of all the Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan and Gujarat and all but one seat in Madhya Pradesh. In his victory, Modi greeted another big winner in the elections 2019: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, founder and leader of the YSR Congress Party, which won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and 141 of the 175 assembly seats in simultaneous elections. Modi wrote in a message to the man set to be the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh: Congratulations on the remarkable win in Andhra Pradesh. Best wishes to you for a successful tenure. The Congress was left non-existent in Andhra Pradesh and outgoing chief minister N Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party was reduced to a mere 29 seats in the assembly. Naidu pulled out of the NDA last year after being denied special status for Andhra Pradesh. In Odisha, Naveen Patnaik proved he cant be written off just yet, securing a fifth term in office as chief minister by leading his Biju Janata Dal to victory. Although the BJP reduced his strength in the Lok Sabha to 13, from 20 in 2014, the 72-year-old carried his party to victory in the simultaneous assembly polls. Modi, who showered praise on Patnaik for his handling of Cyclone Fani, greeted Patnaik. Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory... Modis own ally, Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar emerged triumphant too, his party winning 16 of the 17 seats it contested in the state. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president MK Stalin was another big winner. Not only did the DMK win 23 of the states 40 seats, but it helped its alliance partner Congress win eight in a state where it had abso Smriti Irani was defeated in Amethi in 2014. The 43-year-old leader bounced back to extract revenge on Thursday, defeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his pocket borough by more than 49103 votes at 10pm. In New Delhi in the evening, Gandhi conceded defeat. I would like to congratulate Smriti Irani for winning. Amethi has chosen her and I would want that she takes care of it with love and responsibility, he said at a press conference. Kaun kahta hai aasman me surakh nahi ho sakta Irani wrote on Twitter immediately after Gandhis comment, quoting from a couplet by poet Dushyant Kumar who wrote: kaun kahta hai aasman mein surakh nahi ho sakta, ek patthar to tabiyat se uchalo yaaron [who says the sky is impenetrable, Try throwing a stone at it with conviction]. Irani did display conviction to defeat Gandhi in Amethi something that was unimaginable until 2014. That too when the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance announced support to the Congress in the constituency and did not field a candidate. The previous election was the first time Gandhi had smelled a near defeat, for a while in the early round. In one of the most closely watched fights of 2014, Irani reduced his victory margin from 370,000 votes in 2009 to 108,000. Gandhis vote share was down from 71.8% to 46.7% between the two elections. Also read: Will take everyone along, even opponents: PM Modi after big win Irani lost, but did not give up. She was rewarded with a Cabinet berth in the Narendra Modi government in 2014 and returned to Amethi often, and with great more enthusiasm. The BJPs massive mandate in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 assembly elections gave the party more energy to prepare the ground for 2019 battle. Every discussion in the BJP about Uttar Pradesh, there would invariably be a lot of time spent on Amethi. Gandhis decision to contest from another seat (Wayanad in Kerala) proved to be the last straw, and Smriti made the best out of it. The day Gandhi filed his nomination papers from Wayanad, Irani was in Amethi. My party leadership has sent me to empower Amethi whose MP ruined it completely. After using Amethi to enjoy power for 15 years, the MP is now leaving it for another constituency. Amethi wont tolerate this deceit, insult and injustice, Smriti told the crowd. Gandhi now becomes the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to lose in Amethi. In neighbouring Rae Bareli, former prime minister the late Indira Gandhi lost in 1977.On Thursday, the Rae Bareli seat was won by Sonia Gandhi. She was menstruating, and she made sure she left blood evidence on the backseat of his car. She could tell the direction they were driving and when they were on Interstate 275 north of Tampa. When she was brought to the killer's apartment, she counted the steps up to the second floor. When he let her use the bathroom, she made sure she left fingerprints everywhere. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to sweep Gujarat, where it had won all the 26 seats in the western state in the last Lok Sabha elections, early trends indicated on Thursday as votes were being counted across the country. With a lead in all the parliamentary constituencies after more than two hours of counting, the BJP is likely to retain its stronghold in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah in the two-cornered contest with the Congress. The Congress, which had given its best performance since 1995 by winning 77 seats in the assembly elections, was trailing by huge margins in most of the Lok Sabha constituencies. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 It appears the BJP is set to regain rural areas, including Saurashtra and north Gujarat, which the Modi-led party had lost in the 2015 local body elections and the assembly elections owing to the impact of Patidar quota agitation and rural distress. Click here for LIVE West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Results Amit Shah was leading against Congress candidate CJ Chavda by over 1.3 lakh votes in the Gandhinagar seat. While Amreli Congress candidate Paresh Dhanani is giving a tough fight, the BJPs Naran Kacchadiya was leading by a thin margin of 5,000 votes on the seat. In Anand, the Congress Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki was trailing by over 25,000 votes against Patel Mitesh Rameshbhai of the BJP. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE The BJPs bounce-back comes after the ruling partys lukewarm performance in the 2017 Gujarat state elections when its tally was reduced to 99 from the previous 115 in the 182-member assembly. The National Conference (NC) won all three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won both seats in the Jammu region and the Ladakh constituency. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had won all three Kashmir seats in 2014, drew a blank with party chief Mehbooba Mufti losing from Anantnag. Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah won from Srinagar, a seat he had won in a bypoll in 2017. He defeated his nearest rival, PDPs Syed Mohsin, by over 70,000 votes. The NCs Mohammad Akbar Lone and Husnain Masoodi won the Anantnag and Baramulla seats. Masoodi defeated Mufti. Union minister Jitendra Singh won the Udhampur seat and secured over 700,000 votes. The Congresss Vikramaditya Singh managed to get over 365,000 votes. The BJPs Jugal Kishore defeated Congress candidate Raman Bhalla in Jammu. The BJPs Jamyang Tsering Namgyal defeated Sajjad Hussain, an NC and PDP-backed candidate, to win the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat. The Congress failed to win any seat while it contested five out of the six seats in the state. Abdullah said he has been voted to represent Srinagar in Parliament at a critical juncture. We have critical issues related to Jammu and Kashmir because their intention is to do away with (the Constitutions) Article 370 and 35A. We have to fight with them on these issues, he said. He was referring to the BJPs promise of doing away with constitutional provisions that give Jammu and Kashmir a certain amount of autonomy in legislation and prevent non-residents from buying property in the state. BJP state general secretary, Ashok Kaul, said his partys performance was on expected lines. People of the state have reposed faith in us. We are hopeful that in the assembly elections, the party will do well, he said. PDP youth president, Waheed ur Rehman Parra, acknowledged the people were angry with his party for allying with the BJP (after the state elections in 2014). Also, the places which we considered as our bastions witnessed a complete poll boycott. We have learned our lessons and will do better in assembly polls. Mufti led a government in Jammu and Kashmir with the BJPs help until June 2018. The PDP allied with the BJP even as it had sought votes in the name of halting it from making inroads into the state in 2014. Srinagar-based political analyst Gowhar Geelani said the results of the elections reflect the way the wind was blowing ahead of the state elections. People could vote on similar lines in the assembly polls. While the BJP will have an advantage in the Jammu region, the NC could replace the PDP in Kashmir. It is a going to be a replica of the old mandate that Kashmir and Jammu regions will vote differently, Geelani said. A home ministry official told HT this week that assembly elections were likely to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in November this year. In a near-sweep the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has won 19 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, a record in the recent past. One of the architects of the stunning victory, Kerala opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala spoke to the Hindustan Times. Is it more than you expected? True, we never expected such a tally. It is a verdict against two dictators, Prime Minister Modi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Both majority and minority communities backed us whole heartedly. We are happy the state has kept its secular credentials intact. Really indebted to the people of the state and we will rise up to their expectations. What really helped you notch up such a victory? Three factors helped us-- our position on Sabarimala, party presidents entry and misrule of the present CPI(M) government. We have taken a mature position on Sabarimala. Like BJP, we never resorted to violent agitations. Initially, the partys central leadership was not willing to support us on Sabarimala but they came around once we convinced them. We are also happy we contained the saffron surge in the state effectively. (Rahul) Gandhis entry was a real game-changer. It electrified the UDF machinery and workers moved as a well-oiled machine. We will ask the party president to retain Wayanad which gifted him a record margin in the state. You have sought the resignation of the Kerala CM? Yes. The verdict is a slap on the face of the left front government. Humiliated, Pinarayi Vijayan has no right to continue in power. Even in his home constituency Dharmadom Congress candidate K Sudhakaran managed a good lead. It is an antidote to the CMs arrogance and misrule. The state witnessed the flood of the century last year and many people are still living in make-shift camps. And many are yet to get the initial assistance of 10,000. The CM was on a 10-day foreign trip when West Bengal was going to the polls. He was at the London Stock Exchange to ring bells for masala bonds when Bengal was in the thick of polls. I reiterate these bonds are a sure recipe for corruption. How can he continue in power after the party suffered such a debacle? I hope the party leadership will intervene to shift him. Though shining bright in Kerala, the situation is not rosy at the national level? Yes, it is a mixed feeling for us. We did well in the state but nationally we couldnt do much. We have to strengthen our organisation well. We have got a young leadership and we will do it systematically. We will do enough introspection and rise from the ashes. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) on Wednesday dismissed speculation that three of its four lawmakers may join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh. SBSPs state unit general secretary, Shashi Pratap Singh, said the three, Triveni Ram, Ramanand Baudh and Kailash Sonkar, are very much with the party. reports in the media about them leaving are just speculation, Singh said. He underlined the lawmakers are founder members of the party and accused the BJP of spreading rumours of their exit to weaken the SBSP. Singh said the BJP had asked the SBSP chief Omprakash Rajbhar to contest national elections on its symbol from Ghosi. He added Rajbhar turned down the offer because he understood the BJP gameplan. Singh said the SBSP would continue to raise its demand for a liquor ban and division of 27% reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) into three categories OBC, Extreme Backward, and Most Backward. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday sacked Rajbhar from his Cabinet. Rajbhar was removed two days after a case was filed against him for allegedly threatening and abusing BJP workers and a day after he predicted the ruling party would fare poorly in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Adityanath removed all members appointed to various boards and corporations in UP on Rajbhars recommendation. Bishkek: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries during a SCO meeting here on Wednesday and sat next to each other during a joint call on on Kyrgyz president, amid strained ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Swaraj and Qureshi attended the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistani media reported that two leaders sat next to each other during a multilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. According to the photos published by the Pakistani media, Swaraj and Qureshi were seen seated next to each other. On being asked about the Swaraj-Qureshi meeting, the MEA sources said the two leaders only exchanged pleasantries. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj delivers her statement at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. (PTI) There was no meeting between them, they said. The picture of the two leaders is from a joint call on on Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, they said. They said the Pakistani media report that the two leaders were seated next to each other at the SCO meeting is factually incorrect and misleading. The seating arrangement at SCO follows the Russian alphabet system which does not put India and Pakistan together. This is a standard practise at SCO meetings, they added. Swaraj arrived here in the Kyrgyz capital on Tuesday to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting. India was granted the membership of the SCO along with Pakistan in 2017. Meanwhile, Pakistans Foreign Office quoted Qureshi as saying, Today (I) met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly. We made it clear to her that we want all the matters resolved through dialogue, and that Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward, Qureshi said. He said, Even today we are ready for a dialogue. Earlier in Islamabad prior to his departure, Qureshi said besides addressing the inaugural session of the regional forum, he would also hold meetings with his counterparts from other countries. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the February 14 Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group which killed 40 CRPF personnel. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an Indian pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1. For the Congress, battered by its second worst defeat in the history of the Lok Sabha elections (four years after suffering its worst), a consolation emerged in Punjab where the party fended off the Modi wave that swept the country. Of all the states where the Grand Old Party is in power (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh) or in coalition rule (Karnataka), it could hold its ground only in the border state. Elsewhere, it suffered crushing defeats despite having wrested power in the Hindi heartland states barely six months ago. The man who led the Congress charge in defending the Punjab fort is chief minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, who has emerged as one of the partys few regional satraps standing tall amid the ruins. Truth be told, the Congress fell short of Amarinders much-touted Mission 13, a bid to win all 13 Punjab seats, having won in eight. Yet, the creditable performance in the face of the saffron onslaught is nothing short of a big shot in the arm for the scion of Patiala royalty, whose wife Preneet Kaur was among the winners. It has catapulted him to the front line of a handful of senior Congress faces who still command grassroots support and emerged unscathed by electoral defeat. As a long-time friend of the Gandhi family, Amarinder is now sure to be the one Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, will have to look up to while picking the pieces to rebuild the party. It has added to Amarinders stature and he has emerged as a powerful regional satrap in the Congress, says Ashutosh Kumar, a professor of political science at Panjab University, Chandigarh. CAPTS COUNTER So, how did Amarinder stand in the way of the Modi juggernaut that turned out to be unstoppable in neighbouring Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Rajasthan? The answer lies as much in his sharp political instincts and personal charisma as in his deftness in crafting a narrative to counter the BJPs. After Pulwama and Balakot, the Captain was the first senior Congress leader to articulate a tough anti-Pakistan line while questioning the exact outcome of the air strikes and denouncing Modis attempt to politicise the armed forces. With this, he managed to blunt, to an extent, the BJPs Pakistan punch. As a perceptive military historian with an intuitive sense of the popular mood, Amarinder knew too well that Modis national security pitch, almost akin to war rhetoric, would not resonate, particularly among the war-weary border state that was the main theatre of wars before. Modis nationalism card will not work in Punjab, he had told Hindustan Times in an interview in March. The poll results have largely endorsed him, considering that the Modi factor cut a limited swathe and that too only in the Hindu majority belts of Punjab. At another level, Amarinder bucked the anti-incumbency ire by a clever amalgam of his achievements, chiefly farm loan waiver, and an emotive sacrilege issue that threw his main rival, the Akalis, off balance. By harping on the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and incidents of firing during the previous Akali regime and swearing to hold the Badals to account, he struck a chord with the Sikh electorate. Amarinder successfully repackaged the Sikh identity issues as a counter to Modis Hindutva agenda couched in nationalism, says political analyst, Pramod Kumar. A stellar performance in Punjab may mark Amarinders ascendance to pole position in the Congress. While the high command is on a weak wicket, he has emerged stronger in the party, which is bad news for his chief dissenter and cabinet minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu. The key question is: Will the Captain, so far averse to national politics, step up now? SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In a major breakthrough for the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, the Valleys most wanted militant Zakir Musa was on Thursday killed in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and state police in south Kashmirs Pulwama district. A police official said after having specific information about the presence of Zakir Musa and his associates in Dadsar village of the district, the Army, police, and the CRPF launched a joint operation around 5 pm, as the forces zeroed in on the house where militants were hiding, the militants fired upon forces triggering a fierce gunfight. In the ensuing fight, Musa was killed inside the house. Scores of youth marched towards the encounter site, and government forces fired tear gas shells, leading to clashes. The divisional administration in Kashmir snapped internet in south Kashmir and Srinagar as a precautionary measure and also ordered the closure of all schools and colleges across the Kashmir division on Friday. Zakir Rashid Bhat, aka Zakir Musa, joined militancy in 2013 at the age of 19. He was earlier affiliated with Pakistan-based militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen when it was led by Burhan Wani, who was killed in 2016. He shot to prominence in 2017, after he announced his disassociation with HM, and formed his own outfit Ansar ul Gazwat ul Hind, which had less than 10 militants and in past two years, most of its militants have been killed. As protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) was raging in Assam and several other states in the north-east in January and February this year, many political experts predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was likely to face an uphill battle in the region in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The protests forced the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) not to table the legislation, which sought to give citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the Rajya Sabha. But on Thursday, as trends from the 24 seats in the seven states in the region (except Sikkim) trickled in, it appeared that the apparent anger against CAB did not have any impact on the BJPs political prospects in the region. By noon, four hours after counting started, the BJP and its allies were leading in 19 of the 24 seats. If the trend continues, the north-east would play a crucial part in the NDA retaining power in New Delhi in 2019. In 2014, the BJP won eight seats (seven in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh) in the region, while its allies won two. In Assam, the BJP was leading in nine of the 10 seats it had contested, while its coalition partner in the state Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) was leading in two of the three seats it contested. All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) was leading in two seats, while the Congress was not leading in any of the 14 seats in the state.. People in Assam have completely rejected the divisive politics of Congress. Like the rest of the country, they have reposed faith in Modis leadership. This is the bigger wave in favour of us than 2016 when we won the assembly polls, said Assam BJP leader and party candidate from Mangaldoi seat Dilip Saikia, who was leading on his seat by more than 80,000 votes as of 1pm. Follow Election Results 2019 Live Updates here In neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, the two BJP candidates Union minister Kiren Rijiju in Arunachal West and BJP state chief Tapir Gao in Arunachal East were leading from both the seats in the state. In Tripura, where poll-related violence forced re-poll in 168 booths in the Tripura West seat, BJP candidates Rebati Tripura in Tripura East and Pratima Bhowmik in Tripura West were leading . In Nagaland, BJP-ally Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) candidate and sitting MP Tokheho Yepthomi was leading from the states only Lok Sabha seat. In Mizoram, ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate C Lalrosanga was leading in the contest for the only seat in the state. The MNF is part of the NDA. In Meghalaya, NDA-ally ruling National Peoples Party (NPP) candidate Agatha Sangma was leading Congress candidate and former chief minister Mukul Sangma in the battle for Tura seat. In Shillong, sitting Congress MP Vincent Pala was leading. The trend continues in Manipur where BJP candidate Rajkumar Ranjan Singh was leading from the Inner Manipur seat while Naga Peoples Front (NPF) candidate LS Pfoze was ahead in the Outer Manipur seat. While NPF is not in good terms with BJP in Nagaland, the regional partys Manipur unit is a coalition partner of the BJP-led government in Manipur. There is no single factor for BJPs stellar show in the north-east. Primarily, the most important factor was Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself as people saw him as a decisive and strong leader, said Prog Nani Gopal Mahanta, political expert and registrar in-charge of Gauhati University. In Assam, the CAB did not matter at all and polarisation of voters due to BJPs Hindutva in indigenous coating helped the saffron party. Development projects in the region and schemes which provided toilets and health benefits among other things also helped, he added. The Congress, which was the dominant national party in the region till BJPs emergence few years ago, may win just the Shillong seat this time. The party won eight seats out of the regions 24 in 2014. The counting process is still underway and we are confident of winning 4-5 seats in Assam, said senior Assam Congress leader and leader of opposition in state assembly Debabrata Saikia. In Tripura, Communist Party of India (Marxist), which lost the state to BJP in 2018, could see a wipeout. The party had been winning both the seats from the state since 1996, but as of 1pm was trailing the BJP on both seats by more than one lakh votes. In Arunachal Pradesh, where elections to 60 assembly seats took place simultaneously, the BJP was leading in 13 of the 17 seats for which trends were available till 12.30pm. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With all counting trends in, the Bharatiya Janata Party seems set to make inroads in West Bengal with leads in 18 seats against Trinamool Congresss 23 seats in the state where the two parties are locked in a fierce fight . The Congress is ahead in 1 seats. In 2014, TMC won 34 seats, the Congress four, the Left and the BJP two each. The exit polls have projected gains fo the BJP in the state with the tally set to go up from 2 of 2014 polls to double figures. Mamata Banerjee, whose TMC won 34 seats in 2014, has vowed to make a clean sweep. The campaign in Bengal has been a bitter and often violent one. Last week, the Election Commission cut short the campaign for the final phase of polling by a day for what it called unprecedented law and order situation. Click here for LIVE West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Results Bengal had voted in all phases of the seven-phase elections. Going by the ramifications that the results might have on the state, the significance of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections perhaps surpasses that of the 2009 general elections when cracks in the seemingly impregnable Left Front fortress became evident, or the landmark 2011 Assembly polls that ended the 34-year-old Left rule in Bengal. The stakes are very high for both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as well as the challenger Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While TMC supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee had vowed to make a clean sweep of the 42 constituencies in the state to emerge as a power behind the throne in Delhi, BJP president Amit Shah has set a target of a minimum of 22-23 seats to compensate for any possible of erosion of seats in the Hindi heartland. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 If, as indicated by the exit poll results, the BJP wins double digit seats, it will have wide repercussions in the state, where the partys best show has been two MPs and three MLAs in an Assembly of 294. The campaign in Bengal was the most high-decibel and the most rhetoric-laden ever. Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek were extortionists, while the chief minister described him as a rioter and prescribed sit-ups for him holding his ears. Words such as liar, fraud, thugs and thieves targeted at senior most leaders of political parties flew thick and fast from public rallies and personal attacks that frequently transgressed limits of etiquette were launched without batting an eyelid. Trinamool Congress candidates such as filmstars Nusrat Jahan (from Basirhat constituency), Mimi Chakraborty (from Jadavpur), Moon Moon Sen (from Asansol) were targeted in obscene memes. I have never seen such a torrent of personal attacks in any campaign in Bengal, said former principal of Presidency College and political analyst Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay. Also read: On Mamatas instructions, TMC workers guard counting centres 24x7 The Election Commission and the central paramilitary forces came under heavy criticism by the TMC leaders. While Mamata Banerjee criticised the poll panel and accused it of selling out to the ruling party at the Centre, she also alleged that BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha men were masquerading as central forces personnel and influencing voters to cast their vote in favour of the BJP. The BJP pulled out all the stops in the electioneering as it deployed all its star campaigners in the state from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to party president Amit Shah, from Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Modi addressed as many as 17 public rallies in Bengal. To protect her turf, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee addressed more than 120 public meetings and walked more than 100 km in padayatras, most of which were under a merciless sun between 3 and 5 pm and in the extreme humidity that the state is infamous for. The saffron camp built their campaign on allegations such as extortion by TMC leaders, appeasement of Muslims by the ruling party and tailoring of government policies accordingly, encouragement to infiltration across the Bangladesh border, throttling of democracy by the TMC leaders with special reference to the 34% of the seats in 2018 panchayat polls being won without a contest by the TMC, impediment to development in the state by the chief minister herself, denial of central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat to the residents of Bengal. The BJP leaders also accused the TMC chief of questioning the effectiveness of the Balakot air strikes and portrayed her as someone who is ready to accept the Pakistan Prime Minister but not the Indian Prime Minister, who she described as Expiry babu. Also read: Lok Sabha elections 2019: Left ready to back non-NDA govt but in a fix over Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee led a blistering counter-attack and questioned Modi on all fronts, alleging that he failed to perform on all fronts and counted demonetisation, the Goods and Services Tax, the massacre of CRPF personnel in Pulawama, NRC, Citizenship Amendment Bill. She also alleged that he not only neglected Bengal, but also understood little of Bengali ethos and was trying to use Hindutva to win elections in the state. However, the most intriguing aspect of the Bengal elections is the four-cornered fight that has been very rare in the state. It has led the pundits and analysts speculate on a variety of combinations and the real possibilities of voters from one camp aligning with another. This was the first time when the BJP, TMC, the Left and Congress fought the elections with none of the parties having any understanding with another. Though the four camps contested on their own in 2014 Lok Sabha elections as well, the BJP was a fringe force in the state that had won only 6.14% and 4.06% of the votes in 2009 LS polls and the 2011 Assembly elections. I dont expect too much erosion in Left votes that stood at close to 30% in 2014 Lok Sabha polls and 26% in 2016 Assembly elections when they had an understanding with the Congress, said Maidul Islam, who teaches political science at Centre for Studies In Social Sciences Kolkata. I think the BJP could have done better if they had focused on the undemocratic nature of the TMC and not on the NRC or any citizenship screening exercise, said Biswanath Chakraborty, psephologist and professor of political science of Rabindra Bharati University. The opposition Congress wrested the Panaji assembly bypoll seat from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even as the saffron party is set to win the remaining three by-elections in Goa. Although leads in Mapusa, Mandrem, Shiroda bypolls will give a breather to chief minister Pramod Sawant-led coalition in the state, losing the Panaji by-election -- a seat held by the BJP for 26 years -- is likely to hit the party. Bypolls to four assembly seats in Goa were held alongside the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Congress candidate Atanasio Monserrate won by 1,758 votes after three rounds of counting concluded on Thursday. He polled 8,748 votes as against the BJPs Siddharth Kuncaliencar, who stood at 6,990 votes. The official announcement is awaited. Speaking to reporters outside the counting centre on Thursday, Monserrate thanked voters for reposing faith in him and said the result proved that the BJP had a leadership crisis after Parrikars death. It is now proved that they are nothing without Parrikar. They tried to tarnish my image and instead of talking about what they are going to do for Panaji, they were trying to defame me. I will implement my vision for Panaji, he said. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage The Panaji seat was vacated after the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who had represented it since 1994 barring a brief period when he was appointed the Union defence minister. I accept the decision given by Panimites (people from Panaji) and take responsibility for the defeat. My countless workers who worked day and night for the election [and] our office bearers, I also thank [them]. We will need to work harder for Panaji and we will start the work immediately, Kuncalienkar said. The BJP is set to win the Mapusa assembly bypoll by a margin of around 1,113 votes after all seven rounds of counting were completed. The saffron party had fielded Joshua DSouza, son of late former chief minister Francis DSouza whose death earlier this year necessitating the bypoll, against Congresss Sudhir Kandolkar. In the Mandrem assembly by-election, the BJP was leading by around 1,000 votes and in Shiroda, by around 200 votes. The figures are likely to be updated as counting continues. In Lok Sabha election results, the Narendra Modi-led BJP was leading by 21,000 votes in the North Goa parliamentary constituency while in South Goa, the Congress was leading by 8,000 votes. The ruling BJP currently has 14 members including the two MGP MLAs who recently merged their faction with the BJP and enjoys the support of three MLAs of the Goa Forward Party and three independents who had campaigned on an anti-BJP platform but agreed to support the BJP on condition that Manohar Parrikar returns from Delhi, where he was Union Defence Minister, to be Goas Chief Minister. Even Iran, which hated Saddam for starting their 1980s war, remained suspicious of Bush despite his pledge of "good will begets good will." Iran leaned on Lebanon's Shiite militants to help win the release American hostages like Terry Anderson of The Associated Press, but relations went no further. One of Bush's last acts as president, pardoning former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and others for their role in the Iran-Contra scandal, an offshoot of that hostage crisis. By end of day today, perhaps even earlier, India will have its say on who will administer the country for the next five years. All exit polls have predicted that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will return to power . If that happens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the face of the BJPs campaign, will win a second term in office. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage Follow highlights here: 06: 06 PM: Rahul Gandhi congratulates Smriti Irani, concedes defeat in Amethi 06:04 PM: Pakistan PM Imran Khan congratulates Modi on election victory, calls for peace 06:03 PM: Lok Sabha Elections: Naveen Patnaik all set for record 5th term as Odisha CM, BJP makes gains 05:52 PM: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulates PM Modi over LS polls win 05:34 PM: LS polls: Amit Shah gets heros welcome as BJP sweeps elections 05:17 PM: Union cabinet to meet Friday; recommend dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha 04:53 PM: Time for Cong to get an Amit Shah, says Mehbooba after losing her own seat 04: 20 PM: Modi wave became tsunami this time, says Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis 04:14 PM: Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates Narendra Modi on win before official announcement 03:42 PM: Sonia, Priyanka head to meet Rahul Gandhi as Congress stares at big defeat in LS polls 03: 26 PM: Congratulations to PM Narendra Modi on a strong mandate from the people of India, tweets Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani 03: 25 PM: King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck congratulates PM Narendra Modi in a telephonic conversation, reports news agency ANI 03: 24 PM: Russias President Vladimir Putin sends a congratulatory telegram to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections, ANI reports. 03:03 PM: With 100% strike rate, Nitish Kumar seals position as leader No.1 in Bihar 02:54 PM: Big setback for Congress-JD(S) combine in Karnataka as BJP takes big lead 02:31 PM: All losers are not losers, says Mamata as BJP makes deep cuts in Bengal 02:06 PM: Bring on the next 5 years: Omar Abdullah congratulates PM Modi, Amit Shah 01:42 PM: PM Modis mother greets supporters amid slogans of Har, Har Modi 01: 37 PM: PM Modi will now build New India, says Rajnath Singh 01:36 PM: Jagan Reddy likely to be sworn-in as Andhra Pradesh CM on May 30 01:31 PM: Naveen Patnaik led BJD looking at fifth term in Odisha Assembly as BJP makes impressive gains 01:00 PM: Mehbooba Mufti drops to third slot in Anantnag; BJP ahead in Jammu, Udhampur 12:37 PM: BJP heads for landslide win in Himachal Pradesh; all four candidates lead by over 2.5 lakh votes 12:26 PM: Lok Sabha election result 2019: BJP set to sweep Gujarat with leads in all 26 seats 12: 13 PM: NC leading in 3 seats, BJP in 2 in Jammu and Kashmir 12: 01 PM: Celebrations outside BJP office in Patna as trends show the party leading in Bihar 11:47 AM: Sushma Swaraj congratulates PM Narendra Modi on big win in Lok Sabha elections 11:30 AM: Counting trends show BJP making inroads in West Bengal 11:21 AM: In Andhra, YSR Congress Jagan Reddy looks set to unseat Chandrababu Naidu 11:10 AM: Sensex hits 40,000 mark for first time ever as trends show NDA leading 11:05 AM: Lok Sabha election result 2019: BJP-Sena combine ahead in 41 seats in Maharashtra 10:28 AM: BJP alliance ahead in more than 300 seats in early leads, party making inroads in Bengal 10:15 AM: Early trends show BJPs GautamGambhir is leading against AAPs Atishi in East Delhi 9: 53 AM: BJP ahead in Uttar Pradesh, SP-BSP alliance close second 9: 44 AM: BJP takes big lead over Congress in Madhya Pradesh in early trends 9: 30 AM: PM Narendra Modi leads in Varanasi by over 11,000 votes 9:28 AM: Early trends show UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh 9:11 AM: Early trends show Trinamool, BJP in close fight in West Bengal 9:04 AM: Trends show Congress president Rahul Gandhi is trailing in UPs Amethi 9:00 AM: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: DMK chief Stalin pushes for Rahul Gandhi as PM 8:30 AM: After 30 minutes of counting, BJP+ is ahead on 24 seats and Congress+ on 14 seats 8:15 AM: The counting of votes of Lok Sabha polls is in progress. Political analysts had virtually written off Mayawati, 63, after the BSP failed to open its account in the 2014 Lok Sabha election (in the 2017 assembly election it bagged merely 19 seats). But just when the chips were down for her, the Dalit leader decided to sew a strategic alliance with the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh, jumping right back into reckoning. If exit polls are anything to go by, the alliance is expected to make gains in the politically crucial state with various exit polls giving them seats in the range of 30-55 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. This could propel her into the role of a kingmaker in case of an unclear verdict. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 She has already met Andhra chief minister Chandra Babu Naidu and sent her emissary Satish Chandra Mishra to Delhi to discuss with opposition leaders a post-poll alliance for the formation of the new government at the centre. A senior BSP leader said the party had projected behenji (Mayawati) as the next Prime Minister candidate and depending on the performance of the BSP-SP- RLD alliance in the polls she will unveil her strategy in the national politics. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE If BSP performs well, she will be right back on the centre stage, but an adverse result will not only upset her plans of regaining the lost ground in UP but might also spark a revolt in the party. Her hold over the Dalit and Backward voters will be challenged by the party leaders who hoped she will be able to bring the party out of the rough weather after weaving an alliance with the SP, he said. Political observer RK Gautam said after three consecutive electoral defeats - 2012 assembly elections, 2014 Lok Sabha election and 2017 assembly elections- combined with the rebellion by senior party leaders had rattled Mayawati. To remain relevant in the national and state politics, the BSP desperately needs a convincing victory and grab maximum number of seats it contested, he said. READ: Endgame Now, Counting Of Votes In Mega Lok Sabha Election Begins 8 Am To keep Congress out of the alliance was part of this game plan as she admitted that such an arrangement would have helped the Congress and not her party as she did not expect the Congress votes to shift to the BSP. The Congresss proposal to join the alliance was rejected even though the BSP is supporting the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The 63-year-old Dalit leader also for the first time, showed that she was grooming her nephew Akash Kumar, who attended all the crucial party meetings as well as rallies organized by BSP across the state. This was ostensibly to counter the challenge posed by Bhim Army led by young Dalit leader Chandrashekhar and to build a second line in the party. Senior leaders opposed to dynasty politics are silently awaiting the outcome of the election results. If the results are unfavourable, these leaders will raise question mark over the ability of Akash to lead the party, the senior BSP leader said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The United States Wednesday said that it was confident in the fairness and integrity of the Indian elections and would work with whoever is the victor. I would say from the US perspective, we are very confident in the fairness and the integrity of the Indian elections, and we will obviously work with whoever is the victor and whatever the outcome is there, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told reporters during an off-camera gaggle here. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Unlike other countries, the US does not send its election observers to India because of the strong independent credentials of the Election Commission of India. We have a very strong relationship and a lot of cooperation with the Indian government on a full range of issues, and the Secretary (of State, Mike Pompeo) has said numerous times that we have a true strategic partner in India, Ortagus said in response to a question. The diplomat praised India and its people for carrying out such a massive exercise peacefully, describing it as fascinating. Someone pointed this out to me today that Indias election is the largest exercise in democracy in human history, she said. I think with everything going on in the world, thats a thing that we can pause and think about and certainly commend the Indian people, Ortagus added. The Washington Post had on Wednesday said that the Indian election was the largest democratic exercise in the world. With about 900 million eligible voters, the size of the electorate had swelled by more than 80 million compared to 2014. In that election, 550 million people ultimately cast votes, it had said. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage Richard M Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank, said the next Indian government will have a difficult time managing ties with the United States. A dual-track approach is quite clear: Continued progress in deepening our security relationship while simultaneously engaging in a wider trade fight, Rossow said. Too often this trade fight is attributed mainly to the United States. This is unfair, as the Modi government took significant steps to slow imports in recent years, such as increasing customs duties and initiating new local content mandates for government procurement, Rossow told PTI in response to a question. He said while the next government in India might trigger fresh reforms early in its tenure, they are likely to be more focused on attracting foreign investment rather than taking steps that could increase imports. Investment-oriented reforms are unlikely to assuage US trade policy concerns. So this dual-track approach is likely to persist post-election, Rossow added. A New York Times editorial piece said the election had become a sweeping referendum on the last five years of governance by Narendra Modi, the countrys dominant and divisive prime minister. It is also likely to be the worlds most expensive elections, with parties estimated to have spent a total of as much as USD7 billion, it read. During the campaign this year, Mr. Modis Bharatiya Janata Party seemed to intensify its Hindu right-wing rhetoric. Whether voters reward or punish that choice will be one of the most important takeaways from the biggest elections in the world, the NYT said. According to The Washington Post, the result of this election will be pivotal to the future of India, soon to become the worlds most populous nation. India is attempting to catch up in economic terms with China, its neighbour to the east, a pursuit that requires massive investment in infrastructure and significant policy change. At the same time, the country is also deciding what kind of democracy it wants to be, having embraced a Hindu chauvinist leader by a landslide in the last national polls in 2014, the daily said. In a news dispatch from New Delhi, The Wall Street Journal reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears on track for a second term if exit polls bear out, but less clear to investors and executives is which version of Mr Modi would take charge: the business-friendly leader or the divisive nationalist. The BJP-led NDA is ahead on 57 seats in early trends as counting of votes began at 8 am for the the Lok Sabha election on Thursday with the SP-BSP -RLD combine at 19 seats , in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh that send 80 lawmakers to Lok Sabha. Among the alliance partners, Mayawatis BSP is marginally ahead with 11 seats against Akhilesh Yadavs SP with 7 seats, RLD is ahead in 1, Congress 1 and Others 2 . The Congress is ahead in 1 seats. The BJP and ally Apna Dal won an unprecedented 73 seats in 2014 and the Congress two, the Samajwadi Party five in the politically-crucial state. The Bahujan Samaj Party did not win a single seat in the last general election. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 In 2016, the BJP added to its UP success a sweep of the states assembly elections, uprooting the Samajwadi Party and then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav from power. Exit polls differ widely on their projections for Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, aligned only in predicting that the tally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliances tally will come down from the spectacular 73 of 80 seats five years ago. A survey by Times Now-VMR showed the NDA winning 58 seats in the state, with the Congress-led UPA winning two. It shows others - which includes the ambitious alliance between Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party and Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party - getting 20 seats. But the ABP-AC Nielsen exit poll predicted the opposite; 22 for the BJP and allies and 56 for the others, which includes the BSP-SP alliance. This survey too predicted a bleak two for the Congress, equal to the partys tally in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage Republic TV-C Voter projected that the NDA tally will come down to 38, the gathbandhan (BSP-SP-RLD) will get 40 seats and the UPA 2 seats. Yet another exit poll, by Republic-Jan ki Baat, gave seats in the range of 46-57 to NDA, UPA 2-4 and Others 21-32. For this years general election the BSP allied with arch-rival Samajwadi Party in an attempt to limit the BJP and was being seen as posing a tough challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modis party. The BSP-SP combine, along with partner Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal, sought to consolidate backward, Dalit and Muslim votes. It tested waters in by-elections last year, coming up trumps. The BJP lost three of the Lok Sabha seats it had won in 2014. The Congress, left out of the Gathbandhan after talks with Mayawati failed, turned it into a triangular contest on several seats, while on others seeming to aid the battle against the BJP. All sides have said they are confident about the position in the Lok Sabha election. While Akhilesh Yadavs Samajwadi Party asserts that the Gathbandhan will sweep UP and dislodge the BJP, the BJP says it will win 70 + seats. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE UP voted in all the seven phases of the month-and-a-half long elections, with Prime Minister Modis seat, Varanasi, voting in the last phase on Sunday. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is also in the fray from UP; he is contesting from Amethi, of which he is the sitting MP. Gandhi has also chosen to contest a second seat, Wayanad in Kerala. The BJP held more than 470 rallies in UP, with PM Modi fronting 29, party chief Amit Shah 28, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath the most at 130. In the Gathbandhan, the SP, BSP and RLD held 21 joint rallies while Akhilesh Yadav held 50 solo rallies and Mayawati about 25. The Congress Priyanka Gandhi held 40 rallies and an equal number of road shows. The BJPs Pragya Singh Thakur is leading against Congress Digvijaya Singh by a margin of 3,105 votes in the Bhopal of Madhya Pradesh, as per initial trends as votes were being counted in the Lok Sabha election on Thursday. Pragya Thakur was named the BJPs candidate from Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal in a surprise choice against the Congress former chief minister Digvijaya Singh. She is facing trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case where six people died and at least 100 were injured. The 49-year old has been under fire for several of her controversial comments against several people, including former chief of the Mumbai anti-terrorist squad Hemant Karkare. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 In her last remarks, Thakur talked about Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse, who she said was a patriot, is a patriot, and will remain a patriot those who call him a terrorist should look within they will get a reply in this election. She was responding to a comment made by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, who had claimed Godse was the first Hindu extremist in independent India. The saffron-clad woman monk later apologised for her statement as she was hit by a barrage of criticism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on last Friday he will never be able to forgive Thakur for insulting Mahatma Gandhi. The BJPs president Amit Shah also said on Friday that the party had served Thakur a show cause notice and asked her to reply within ten days over her comment. She had said in April that former chief of the Mumbai ATS Hemant Karkare was killed because of her curse. Thakur had alleged Karkare tortured her while she was in custody in connection with the Malegaon blasts case. Karkare was killed fighting terrorists during the attacks on Mumbai on November 26, 2008. She also boasted about her role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Thakur again apologised for her remarks on Karkare and Babri Masjid. The Election Commission barred her from campaigning for 72 hours over her two comments. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra was leading in more than 40 seats with the Congress-NCP combine ahead in six constituencies, according to initial trends as votes were being counted for the Lok Sabha election on Thursday. Counting for the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state began at 8 am. Maharashtra went to polls in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 and 867 candidates were in the fray in this election. The voter turnout this year was 60.80%, up from 60.32% in 2014. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Maharashtra, which has the second highest number of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the country after Uttar Pradeshs 80, added to the sizeable chunk of the National Democratic Alliances (NDAs) 300-plus victory in the last general election. Union minister Nitin Gadkari was leading by 3,066 votes in Nagpur, while Union minister Subhash Bhamre was leading in Dhule by 13,128 votes, initial trends suggested. Congress Maharashtra unit president Ashok Chavan was trailing by 2,876 votes in Nanded while former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde was trailing in Solapur by 4,627 votes. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage Parth Pawar, Sharad Pawars grand nephew, was trailing in Maval by 43,979 votes and the NCP chiefs daughter Supriya Sule was leading Baramati by 6,486 votes. Union minister Hansraj Ahir was leading in Chandrapur by a margin of 49 votes. Union minister Anant Gite was trailing in Raigad by a margin of 1,064 votes. Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora was trailing in Mumbai South by 15,904 votes. The BJPs candidate from Mumbai North Central constituency Poonam Mahajan was leading by 23,039 votes against Congress candidate Priya Dutt. A majority of exit polls had unanimously predicted a big win for the BJP-led NDA in Maharashtra. The Republic-C Voter gave the BJP-led NDA 34 seats, while it predicted 14 seats for the Congress-led UPA. Times Now-VMR further increased the NDA tally in comparison to C-Voter survey and predicted 38 seats for it, while the Congress had to make do with 10. The CNN-News18-IPSOS survey further hiked the NDA numbers to 42-44, while leaving out 4-6 seats for the UPA. The ABP-AC Nielsen survey was the same as the Republic-C Voter with 34 and 14 seats for the NDA and the Congress respectively. News 24-Chanakya predicted 38 seats for the NDA and 10 seats for the Congress. The Republic-Jan Ki Baat also gave the NDA 34-39 seats while the range for the Congress hovered between 8-12. A total of 98,430 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used for the four-phase polls in the state where counting is taking place in 38 locations, an election official said. The trends are likely to start coming in by afternoon and results by 4pm, he said. More than one lakh polling staff and around 50,000 police personnel have been deployed in the state, the official said. Officials said the maximum rounds of counting of 35 each will be held in Palghar and Bhiwandi seats, followed by 33 in Bhandara-Gondiya and Thane, and 32 in Beed and Shirur. Hatkanangale will have the lowest 17 rounds of counting while there will be 18 rounds each in Amravati and Sangli, they said. Counting personnel will randomly select five EVMs from each Assembly segment for VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) checking. If a candidate demands a particular EVM be chosen, it will be done and one of the voting machines randomly chosen will be dropped, the official said. Several digital hoardings have been set up at the state secretariat in Mumbai. For the first time, the election trends and results will be seen on digital signboards of the traffic police department. At the district level, information will be provided after every round of counting, he said. For a long time MK Stalin, who even at the age of 64 was the youth president of the DMK, would be privately sneered at by rivals internal and external for failing to emerge from the shadows of his larger than life father M Karunanidhi. Even in 2016, while the election was led by Stalin as Karunanidhi was ailing, the unexpected defeat in the assembly polls to the AIADMK then led by J Jayalalithaa meant that the blame was laid at his feet. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Early trends indicated that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance, which includes the Congress, was leading in 34 of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state. This emphatic win of the alliance led by Stalin, who is fondly called Thalapathi (commander in Tamil), has stamped his hold on the party. Interestingly, the state is facing a mini-assembly election too with 22 of the 234 assembly seats also going for polls, the outcome of which is likely to determine the fate of the E Palaniswami-led AIADMK government. Click here for Assembly Election Results 2019 However, early trends indicate that of the 17 seats where leads are available, the DMK is ahead in ten and the ruling AIADMK in seven. The ruling party needs to win at least eight of the 22 assembly seats to retain power in the state. Congress and the communists, who rode on the coattails of the DMK, also seem to have done very well in Tamil Nadu. While Stalin will deservedly get credit for ensuring win of his alliance, it was not an easy task. Click here for LIVE West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Results He had to battle his brother MK Azhagiri for the leadership of the party, co-opt his half-sister Kanimozhi to his fold and ensure that seniors in the party like Durai Murugan and K Anbazhagan, who are peers of his father accept his leadership. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE If the current trends hold and the DMK-led alliance sweeps Tamil Nadu, the Congress will have to thank Stalin for preventing the lotus, the BJPs symbol, from blooming in another southern state. National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah Thursday said the country has rejected an alternative to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modis second term is not a fluke. A vocal critic of Modi-led NDA government, Abdullah also requested the BJP leader to take everyone along in the coming five years as this country belongs to all. We fought the election and tried to have an alternative to the BJP and the NDA and put it before the country. The country did not accept it. The reality is that the places from where we were expecting the opposition to win, the number of seats from there has come down rather than going up, Abdullah told reporters here. Click here for Latest Election Results 2019 India highlights But, today is the day of Modis success. I think it would be wrong if we do not send a message of congratulations to him. Jo jeeta wohi sikandar (he who wins, is the king), he said. The endeavour should be to take everyone along. When he (Modi) won for the first time (in 2014), people said he won by a fluke, but now this is not by fluke and the people of the country have given him another opportunity, he added. In what is certain to be a resounding victory, the BJP, until 4.30 pm, had won five seats and was leading in 294 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, demolishing the combined opposition, according to the partial vote count released by the Election Commission. The Congress is leading in only 50 seats, the trends showed. The NC leader said while his party played its role, the opposition would have to analyse what went wrong in other states. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE We played our role. We contested three seats and we expect to win all three. We tried on the fourth seat (Ladakh), but perhaps the Congress helped the BJP to win from there. What has happened in the other states and why did the opposition lose in those states, that will have to be analysed, Abdullah said. The results have not come yet, but the reality is that had the Congress not conspired there, then the BJP would not have won. By fielding two candidates, the Congress has done injustice and betrayed the people there, particularly the people of Kargil. I hope that the people of Kargil would seek answers from them, he added. Listing his expectations from the new government, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said, There are expectations from the Centre that there will be a better thinking for this state, that the dialogue would be restarted whether with Pakistan, of which we saw a little beginning yesterday when the foreign ministers of both the countries were talking to each other (at the SCO meeting). In the same way, if some steps are taken internally, if the difficulties which we saw in the last few months are minimised and the border trade be restarted. There are expectations that such steps will be taken so that the people of J-K breathe a sigh of relief, he said. Asked if the onus of the loss of opposition parties lay on the Congress, Abdullah said the party will have to do that analysis. Today, we are thinking about the state. We want to assure the people of the state that we will not let their hard work go waste and will represent the state and its issues in the parliament strongly and protect the special status of the state. As far as the rest of the country is concerned, the big leaders in the country should see that, he said. When asked about his tweet after the BJPs victory in the UP polls in 2017 that the opposition should forget 2019 and start preparing for 2024 polls, Abdullah said it was unfortunate that his words had come true. I did not want it to come true and wanted the others to hear the warning bells which I had heard and then do something about that. But, I felt I was the only one talking about that. It is said that one can only snap his fingers alone and not clap. So today, we are clapping and the others perhaps are not capable of clapping now, he said. Abdullah said the opposition lost most of its steam after the Balakot airstirke across the Line of Control. Who can say what would have happened if Balakot had not happened? But, it is also true that after Balakot, the opposition lost most of its steam. There were several issues. We can discuss many of them. Whether chowkidar chor hai (watchman is a thief) was a right slogan, whether it was right to focus on Rafale, whether we presented rural distress, unemployment, economic distress properly or not? If we should have questioned Pulwama rather than Balakot? he said. We can do analysis on several such issues, but as goes a saying that once the horse has bolted, what is the point of closing the stable door? Now, if we catch hold of the horse after five years, then it is fine, otherwise, it will go ahead, he said. Abdullah asserted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should not treat the threat to Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution as ordinary. Scrapping Article 370 and 35A has been in their (BJP) manifesto before as well. But, we should not think of this threat as ordinary, we will use all of our power to save them, he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modis nearly 99-year-old mother Heeraben Modi on Thursday greeted the BJPs supporters outside her home in Gandhinagar of Gujarat as the party looked set to sweep the Lok Sabha election. News agency ANI tweeted a 19-second video of Heeraben outside her house surrounded by relatives as people were heard shouting the slogans of Har, Har Modi and Modi Sahab Aap Aage Chalo, Hum Tumhare Saath Hain and Vande Mataram. Prime Minister Modi was leading in Varanasi by a margin of 169,000 votes, according to Election Commission trends as the BJP and its ally Apna Dal surged ahead of their rivals in 58 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 With a lead in all the parliamentary constituencies after more than two hours of counting, the Bharatiya Janata Party is also looking to retain its stronghold in the home state of Modi and party president Amit Shah in the two-cornered contest with the Congress. It had won all the 26 seats in the western state in the last Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar on Thursday. (ANI) The Congress, which had given its best performance since 1995 by winning 77 seats in the assembly elections, was trailing by huge margins in most of the Lok Sabha constituencies. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE He had met his mother on Modi on April 23 before casting his vote in Ahmedabad as polling began in the third phase of Lok Sabha election. Photographs tweeted by news agency ANI showed the Prime Minister touching Heerabens feet as she blesses him. All the 26 parliamentary constituencies in Gujarat polled in the third phase of the general elections. Click here for LIVE West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Results Amit Shah had planned to land up at the Gandhinagar returning officer to file his nomination with all of 11 supporters. But then, he got a phone call from Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal. The 91-year-old leader advised Amit Shah to get all NDA allies to join him for a show of strength before filing his papers on March 30. The 54-year-old BJP president was reluctant to make his nomination into such a big deal or broach the topic with anyone. But Parkash Badal prevailed on Shah, called up PM Modi and got a whole rally-cum-road show organised for Amit Shah with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in tow. Click here for Latest Election Results 2019 India highlights Clearly reading the political signs, Badal insisted on speaking first at the rally and set the agenda for the ascendency of Shah as the leader in the BJP pantheon. The run-away victory in 2019 elections has just underscored the point. Amit Shah has arrived. A political fighter to the core, Shah had requested the BJP election committee to allow him to fight from Amethi against Congress President Rahul Gandhi even as he promised to give him a tough fight. However, former party president and Home Minister Rajnath Singh prevailed upon him to fight from safer confines of Gandhinagar so that he could spare time to consolidate the partys best seats. WATCH: Watch: How Modi-Shahs Jodi No 1 scripted historic Lok Sabha 2019 mandate Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE Shahs biggest strength is his political astuteness combined with humungous reserves of energy, which are second only to PM Modi. As an example of how his day looked like in the run up to the national election, Shah participated in an unusual Kolkata road show at 6 pm on May 14. He then addressed a meeting of intellectuals in Rajarhat at 8.30 pm amidst a slew of interviews, boarded a charter flight to Varanasi at midnight, held a meeting with Railway Minister Piyush Goyal at Amethi House in Kashi and then returned to Delhi by 6 am. He held a press conference on the Kolkata roadshow violence at 10 am and then went back to Uttar Pradesh for his usual five-rallies-a-day schedule. On his way to Chandigarh about 10 days earlier, Shah had in an informal interaction with Hindustan Times said that some in his party may think of him to be off his mind but he expected the BJP to win around 23 seats in West Bengal and around 63 seats in Uttar Pradesh. While many armchair strategists thought the BSP-SP will overcome the BJP in UP and the Trinamool will comfortably retain Bengal, Shah obviously had other plans. Clearly, his predictions are not far off the mark. After the 2014 win, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah knew that they had to win over eastern India to balance any losses from north and west of India in 2019 as the BJP held optimum seats in these parts. Shah also focused on Uttar Pradesh. When the October 2, 2014 Burdwan blasts exposed the TMC to allegations of links to the Bangladesh-based Jamait-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), it provided Shah with an opportunity which he utilized to the optimum. Shah had told Hindustan Times back in January 2015 that the BJPs time had come in Bengal because of corruption by the TMC leaders and the worsening internal security situation in the state. Just as Shah discovered Himanta Biswa Sarma as the leader of the BJP in the North-East, he pushed strongman Kailash Vijayvargia and the suave Sidharth Nath Singh as BJP faces in West Bengal. After Singh became a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government in UP, Shah put his best poll teams into action with Sarma being brought in from Assam and other teams from Gujarat. Although the intellectual face of the BJP was led by Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta and Anirban Ganguly, Shah knew that he had to take on mercurial Mamata Banerjee on the Trinamools terms and stake claim. The strategy worked with West Bengal chief minister taking the BJP bait to the full and ending up alienating large sections of rural and urban Bengal. Even though Shah focused on eastern India, Uttar Pradesh remained his principal focus as he knew that the state was critical to BJP victory. For anyone sitting at Lal Bahadur Shastri airport in Varanasi, this was quite evident as a Club one Falcon Charter jet used by Shah was seen going up and down the runway at all hours. Three helicopters and a 737-200 Air Force jet carrying PM Modi were on a similar routine. Today, the BSP-SP grand alliance has been cut to size with the BJP crossing the 50 mark in Uttar Pradesh alone. The BJP has made serious inroads into Bengal and now the target will be the 2021 Assembly elections. When Modi filed his nomination from Varanasi on April 26, the senior Badal told Shah that the prime minister should not be casual about Kashi and leave the constituency to his voters. He suggested that PM Modi should address another rally in Varanasi closer to the May 19 polls. Much as both Modi and Shah respect Badal senior, it wasnt a suggestion that PM Modi eventually accepted. He left the Varanasi election to Shah and his women supporters. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Riess is accused of shooting her husband, 54-year-old David Riess, at the couple's home in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, in March 2018. Authorities say Lois Riess went to Fort Myers, Florida, met 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson while there and killed her in April 2018, to assume her identity. The two women were close in age and height, with both having almost white hair. The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) performance in both urban and rural constituencies across the country prove that the 2016 invalidation of high-value banknotes and the 2017 introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) did not have a negative impact on the partys political prospects. Even though the Congress and some Opposition parties raised the two issues throughout the campaign, but the results show that they failed to reap any political benefit out of it. The Narendra Modi government pulled out high-value currency note from the economy in November 2016 and rolled out the GST in 2017; inviting criticism from Opposition parties that the two decisions allegedly crippled the economy, dealt a blow to businesses, lessened job opportunities and caused discomfort to people, particularly in the countrys rural areas where cash was predominantly the preferred mode of transaction. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in particular, was relentless in his criticism of the two economic schemes. We will simplify the tax regime. We will remove Gabbar Singh Tax and bring about the GST, Gandhi had said at a public meeting in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, on April 20. Unemployment rose as soon as Narendra Modi imposed demonetisation. As soon as your money was taken from you, you stopped buying and the producers stopped producing. The economy of the country was destroyed, he said at Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh on May 1. The talking points in Gandhis speeches, however, could not translate on to the ground. It has been more than two-and-a-half years since demonetisation and close to two years since GST was rolled out. This meant that the two issues and the struggles that came with their introduction appear to have largely receded from public memory; instead, a large majority of voters appear to have seen the moves as examples of Prime Minister Narendra Modis decisive action against corruption and black money. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage Experts feel that Modi was able to convince voters about his intent. Narendra Modi was able to convey this message that he was after the corrupt and his actions, irrespective of the immediate and short-term discomfort, were aimed at a larger good, said Sidharth Mishra, president, Centre for Reforms Development and Justice. The poor were ready to take a hit, and Modi compensated them through several welfare measures, he added. In an interview for a TV news channel, Modi said people voted on demonetisation during the 2017 assembly election in Uttar Pradesh and on GST in the 2018 assembly election in Gujarat. The BJP won both elections. Click here for full Lok Sabha elections 2019 Coverage The 2019 Lok Sabha results show that the BJP has performed well both in the rural and the urban area, among poor as well as the business community. In its campaign, the BJP kept its focus on the promise that the work started by Narendra Modi needed another five-year term to achieve its goal. And voters bought this argument. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) suffered a humiliating defeat in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, with the mandate going in favour of a young leader as opposed to a seasoned politician, N Chandrababu Naidu, who is perceived as having failed the state in the past five years. The TDP, led by Naidu, could get just 24 seats in the 175-member assembly, while the Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress, won a whopping 150 seats. The Lok Sabha results in the state are even worse the TDP is expected to win a maximum of three seats of the 25, leaving the remaining 22 to the YSRC. The debacle has come at a time when Naidu was hoping to play kingmaker at the Centre by stitching up an anti-BJP alliance in the event of a fractured mandate at the national level. Naidu will send his resignation letter to governor ESL Narasimhan at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad later in the evening, party leaders said. It was not that the TDP chief did not anticipate this defeat. He sensed it last year itself, when the demand for special category status was gaining momentum across the state and his compromise with the Centre by accepting the special financial package did not go down well with the people. Apart from non-fulfilment of several promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, poor financial position of the state and the mounting burden of completing two flagship projects the new capital of Amaravati and major irrigation project Polavaram were also weighing down Naidu. Having no other option, Naidu was compelled to leave the National Democratic Alliance and, in order to overcome the anti-incumbency, he started shifting the blame to the Narendra Modi-led central government. Political analyst S Ramakrishna says one cannot still write off Naidu. He has tremendous willpower and is a shrewd politician. Even though he was out of power for 10 years, he had managed to bring the TDP back to power in 2014. The TDP is a strong cadre-based party and it cannot collapse with just one election loss, Ramakrishna said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In 2017, when Nitish Kumar decided to part ways with the grand alliance in Bihar, he perhaps read the writing on the wall for what was to come for his Janata Dal (United) by the time the general elections were to be held two years later. Counting trends suggest Kumars party has secured all 17 Lok Sabha seats it fielded its candidates on, reiterating the JD(U)s track record of successful poll alliances. In 2015, the JD(U) reaped rich dividends when it contested the assembly elections in a grand alliance of Lalu Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress party the party won 70 out of 100 seats it contested. Cut to 2019 and if the JD(U) wins the 17 out of 40 seats it has contested, that translates to at least 102 assembly seats. Kumar, who contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after breaking off from the grand alliance, has now emerged more powerful than before, and his performance as the chief minister of Bihar has not only been accepted by the people at large but also helped him keep his carefully cultivated electoral constituencies of women, EBCs, Dalits, and even minorities intact. In the 2014 general elections, the JD(U) contested solo and won only two seats, while the BJP, in an alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), won 31 out of 40 seats in the state. Equations changed in 2019 with the JD(U) entering the poll fray with the BJP and the LJP under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) banner. Trends so far indicate that in Bihar, electors overwhelmingly stood behind the Nitish Kumar-Prime Minister Narendra Modi combine in the hope that the state is on a faster growth trajectory. The alliance proved lethal for the Opposition. The BJP brought in the wide support of upper castes while the JD(U) complemented the alliance with deep-rooted support of the OBC, EBC, minority and the women voters. The NDA also successfully managed to wean away a chunk of the Yadav and Muslim voters who were the traditional vote bank of the opposition parties. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE The vote share of the BJP, JD(U) and the LJP during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was 29.86 %, 16.04 % and 6.40%, respectively, which takes the total to a brute 52.30%. Cut to 2019 and their coming together has proved to be a multiplier effect in improving the NDAs seats. All three parties realised this potential and sewed the coalition in a relatively hassle-free manner even though the BJP, the lead party in the coalition, agreed to let go of five seats to accommodate the JD(U) as an equal partner with both contesting 17 seats. The LJP, too, which is known to be a hard bargainer, agreed to part with one seat out of the seven it had contested in 2014. With barely a year to go for assembly polls in Bihar, the JD(U) with a 100% strike rate will sit on the negotiating table with a lot of confidence and command. Kumar will undoubtedly remain the chief ministerial candidate and the JD(U) is likely to retain its image of the elder brother in the state. Kumar also deserved a pat on the back for the NDAs performance as he relentlessly criss-crossed the state in the sweltering heat to address the highest number of election rallies 172 where he wooed electors with his development initiatives. Displaying the alliance bonhomie, Nitish Kumar also spoke highly of Modis performance as Prime Minister. While Narendra Modis nationalism pitch has superseded all other issues, in Bihar, people have a favourable disposition towards Nitish Kumars commitment for development and these two factors have struck an emotional connect. This has resulted in decimating the Opposition, said DM Diwakar, former director, AN Sinha Institute for Social Studies, Patna. Eight hundred thousand seconds of airtime, 102.5 million voice messages and 12 million printed pamphlets -- these are some of the numbers emerging from the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party camps on the campaign blitzkrieg they waged in the 17th general elections. The Congress spent more than 800,000 seconds of airtime on television, nearly 20 million seconds on radio and printed more than 10 million pamphlets to publicise its Nyuntam Aay Yojana (Nyay) scheme, guaranteeing a minimum income of Rs72,000 a year to Indias poorest of the poor.The numbers are from an internal document of the Congress party. The BJP sent out more than 90 million text messages and 110 million audio messages to voters and had its workers place phone calls to nearly 250 million as part of their campaign, according to a party spokesperson on condition of anonymity. In all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJPs star campaigner, attended 142 rallies and Congress president Rahul Gandhi 158. In a presentation that the Congress publicity campaign team is placing before Gandhi this week, accessed by HT, the team says that it closed in on 8,82,446 seconds of airtime on 54 channels in 36,711 spots between April 1 and May 10 this year. Among these spot placements on TV, 25% were aired in the first break, 57% during the last break and 18% in between. Radio ads, aired in 399 Lok Sabha seats in 26 states and four Union Territories, stretched for 1,88,92,955 seconds in a bid to reach out to 517 million voters. For complete coverage of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Click here: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lok-sabha-elections/ We customised these campaigns in different regions, ensuring that issues were highlighted in regional languages..., said a member of the Congress publicity committee on condition of anonymity. The Youth Congress printed 12 million pamphlets and more than 10,000 flags to publicise the Nyay scheme. While the BJP remained silent on these parameters, a party leader said on condition of anonymity that the partys poll campaign was more expansive in reach than other parties. The BJP set up 162 communication centres across the country through which 15,682 BJP workers got in touch with 248.1 million people over the phone. Data from media research firm AdEx from March 2019 suggests that while the BJP had a 4% share of TV ads, the Congress had 7%. Former Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi said,The numbers highlight the money power of the parties, and while there is a legal limit of 17 lakh for a candidate, there is no cap on spend by parties, negating the logic of a ceiling. Exactly a year ago to the day, leaders of opposition parties from across the country sat on a platform in front of the majestic Vidhana Soudha , the seat of the Karnataka legislature, in a show of solidarity to mark the swearing-in of a new coalition government in the state. Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), or JD (S), and deputy chief minister G Parameshwara of the Congress took the oaths of office and secrecy that day following days of intrigue over government formation. The alliance was forged in the confusion that surrounded the results of last years state elections. The BJP had come closest to a majority, winning 104 of the 224 seats to emerge as the largest single party in the assembly. The Congress had been reduced from a majority to 80 seats, after providing the first government in over two decades to complete a full term in Karnataka. With the support of the 37 MLAs of the JD(S), and the lone Bahujan Samaj Party legislator, the coalition cobbled together a majority of 118. And although it began with promise, the coalition has spent a tenuous year in power, fretful about legislators switching allegiance to the BJP and bickering among themselves. Matters reached a head in January when the coalition appeared to be teetering on the brink after four Congress legislators went missing. The four rebels had been expected to defect to the BJP; only one, Umesh Jadhav, eventually did so. Another MLA, Ramesh Jarkiholi, has stated publicly that he would quit the party at a suitable time. For complete coverage of Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Click here: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lok-sabha-elections/ These issues have continued unabated, as was seen again on Wednesday. JD(S) state president AH Vishwanath, a long-time foe of former Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah, once again rebuked him for failing in his duty as the chief of the coalitions coordination committee. Siddaramaiah, as chief of the coordination committee, should ensure we work together and also draw up a common minimum programme. However, there are no such guidelines for this government, Vishwanath said. One key factor in these internecine quarrels has been the overhanging shadow of the Siddaramaiah government. And Siddaramaiahs influence over the government has been such that even Congress leaders have lashed out at him. On Monday, Congress MLA Roshan Baig accused Siddaramaiah of being arrogant. The Lok Sabha seat division and subsequent election campaign, too, turned into a flash point as first the parties took a long time on settling on a seat-sharing formula. The Mandya Lok Sabha seat became the focal point for dissenting leaders from both sides. Independent candidate Sumalatha, wife of the late film star and former union minister MH Ambareesh, received the tacit backing of Congress leaders from the constituency. As a result, what had once seemed to be a cakewalk for Kumaraswamys son Nikhil turned into one of the most bitterly fought contests. These infractions from the Congress were serious enough for party president Rahul Gandhi to instruct state leaders at a meeting in New Delhi on Sunday to make sure the coalition did not collapse. Privately, several leaders of the coalition admitted to HT that the arrangement was fraying fast, with both parties daring the other to pull the plug. The alliance was not formed to provide good governance, it was formed to show the country that we can work in a coalition. If we cannot hold on to a coalition with one party, how will we convince others nationally that they can forge a large front with us, a senior Congress minister in the state government said. According to the minister, it was apparent to the party that its vote base in the southern old Mysuru region was being affected by the alliance. Politically there has been little benefit for us from this at the state level. In fact, our association with this government is hurting our image, the minister said. These fundamental differences have made the BJP sense that a collapse of the government may be around the corner. On Wednesday, Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda predicted that the government would fall by the evening of Thursday, when the results of the Lok Sabha elections will be declared . SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In January and February, when protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which proposed Indian citizenship for minorities from the Muslim-majority nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, raged in Assam and several other states in the North-east, it seemed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would feel their impact in the Lok Sabha polls. The protests, which stemmed from concerns that the legislation could turn indigenous communities into minorities, forced the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) not to table the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. On Thursday, trends/wins in 25 seats of the region showed anger against CAB didnt affect the BJP one bit. The BJP and its allies are leading in 17 seats. The Northeast has turned into a bastion of the BJP. In 2014, BJP won eight seats (seven in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh) and its allies won two. In Assam, BJP was leading or had won in nine of the 10 seats (out of a total of 14) it contested. Instead of losing, CAB consolidated our votes. Attempts by Congress to polarise voters on the basis of the legislation led to counter-polarisation, which worked in our favour, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. In Arunachal Pradesh, the party candidates, Union minister Kiren Rijiju and BJP state chief Tapir Gao, looked set to win the seats. In Tripura, BJP candidates Rebati Tripura (Tripura East) and Pratima Bhowmik (Tripura West) won seats that have been Communist bastions since 1996. In Meghalaya, NDA ally, the ruling National Peoples Partys candidate Agatha Sangma was set to defeat Congress candidate and former chief minister Mukul Sangma in the Tura seat. In Shillong, sitting Congress MP Vincent Pala was set to win. In Manipur, BJP candidate Rajkumar Ranjan Singh was leading in the Inner Manipur seat while Naga Peoples Front (NPF) candidate LS Pfoze was ahead in the Outer Manipur seat. While NPF is not on good terms with BJP in Nagaland, the regional partys Manipur unit is a coalition partner of the BJP-led government in the state. There is no single factor for BJPs stellar show in the Northeast. The most important factor was PM Narendra Modi himself as people saw him as a decisive and strong leader, said Nani Gopal Mahanta, a political expert and registrar in-charge of Gauhati University. In Assam, CAB didnt matter at all and polarisation of voters due to BJPs Hindutva in indigenous coating helped the saffron party. Development projects in the region and schemes which provided toilets and health benefits, among other things, also helped, he added. In Nagaland, former chief minister and Congress candidate KL Chisi was losing to Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party candidate and sitting MP Tokheho Yepthomi in the lone Lok Sabha seat. In Mizoram, ruling Mizo National Front candidate C Lalrosanga was leading in the only seat. The party is a part of the NDA. Congress, the dominant party in the Northeast until the BJPs emergence a few years ago, has been pushed to a corner in the region too. The party, which won eight seats in 2014, may have to be content with four this time. The counting process is still underway and we are confident of winning 4-5 seats in Assam, said senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Debabrata Saikia. (inputs from Sadiq NaqvI) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON When Mamata Banerjee unseated West Bengals 34-year-old Left regime in May 2011, she seemed invincible and many thought that Trinamool Congress would last a similar term as its predecessor. Eight years and a couple of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections later, doubts have surfaced on whether she would be able to continue the entire five years till 2021 Assembly polls, if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) manages to win anything close to the 22-23 seats Amit Shah set as a target. Bengal has 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, of which the Trinamool won 34 in 2014. The Congress managed four and the Left two. The BJP secured only two, despite the Narendra Modi wave in the country that year. There is no discernible Modi wave this year, but an anti-incumbency against Bengals ruling party is hanging in the air, which has caused a great air of uncertainty in the TMC camp. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 And the exit poll predictions, projecting gains for the BJP at the cost of Trinamool, has added to the unease in the party. Also Read | Exit polls gossip, dont trust them, says Mamata Banerjee The chief ministers relevance in the state will critically depend on the numbers she manages in the state and the numbers the Opposition win in the country. Even if her party manages a number close to its 2014 score, but the National Democratic Alliance returns in Delhi, Mamata Banerjee will have a tough time in keeping her turf intact in her home state. According to BJP leaders, whether the TMC government will last till the 2021 Assembly elections will depend on the number of seats they will win on Thursday. If they win anywhere close to Shahs target, there will be a scramble for TMC MLAs to join the BJP which can lead to a majority of the legislators moving to the BJP that has only three members in a House of 294. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage The BJP hopes have been fuelled by the fact that various exit poll results have estimated the saffron camp tally to be anywhere between 11 and 21. During the campaign, Modi had remarked that 40 TMC MLAs were in touch with him. Former four-time TMC MLA and BJP candidate from Barrackpore claimed that as many as 60 legislators were keeping in touch with him. Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said on Tuesday that he has started getting courtesy phone calls from TMC leaders as well as those of other parties. During the campaign Mamata vowed to win all 42 seats, hoping to emerge as a power behind the throne in Delhi, if the Opposition parties could manage to oust the Modi government. Click here for LIVE West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Results Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday responded to his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khans congratulatory message and desire to work for stability in South Asia by saying he had always given priority to regional peace and development. The exchange on Twitter between Modi and Khan followed the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) sweeping Indias election. Determining the future course of India-Pakistan ties, which plunged to a low after a suicide attack at Pulwama in Kashmir killed 40 troops in February, is expected to be on the agenda of the new government in New Delhi. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Khan tweeted. Hours later, Modi responded by tweeting: Thank you PM @ImranKhanPTI. I warmly express my gratitude for your good wishes. I have always given primacy to peace and development in our region. Khan said last month he believed there may be a better chance of peace with India if the BJP won the election. Perhaps if the BJP a right-wing party wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached, he said in an interview. Tensions flared between India and Pakistan after the suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) in Pulwama on February 14. India responded to the attack by conducting an air strike on a JeM camp at Balakot, deep inside Pakistan, on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated by targeting Indian military facilities along the Line of Control (LoC). An Indian MiG-21 jet was downed in an engagement on the LoC and its pilot was captured and briefly detained before being handed over to India. Pakistan has made several peace overtures but India has maintained there cant be talks till the neighbouring country cracks down on terrorists operating from its soil. On Wednesday, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj exchanged pleasantries on the margins of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Qureshi told the meeting that Pakistan had delivered a message of peace by announcing the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India. He also emphasised the importance of conflict resolution for peace in South Asia. Click here for UP Lok Sabha Election Results LIVE The Chicago Police Department says it is conducting "a very comprehensive review" after the city experienced one of its most violent Fourth of July weekends in recent years, with at least 102 people shot between late Friday afternoon and early Wednesday. "We're doing a debriefing," said chief police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. "The mood here is frustration." The review will include an analysis of how "amateur fireworks" might have affected the ShotSpotter system, which captures audio of gunfire and attempts to pinpoint its location for quicker deployment of officers. The system is deployed in the Englewood and Harrison districts, traditionally among the city's most violent. "It's perplexing," Guglielmi said. "We deployed some very successful tactics over the Memorial Day weekend." Yet those same tactics did not seem to work as well over the Fourth holiday. Fifteen people were killed and 87 others were wounded. Nearly half the shootings occurred in the last 12 hours of the long holiday. The last time the Fourth holiday spanned four full days was in 2013, when July 4 fell on a Thursday and many people had Friday off. At least 74 people were shot between Wednesday evening and early Monday that year, and 12 of them died, according to Tribune data. The violence this year was largely confined to the South and West sides, where hundreds of officers on overtime were deployed. The youngest person shot was a 13-year-old boy seriously wounded in Gage Park on Friday night. The oldest was a 60-year-old man in the Lawndale neighborhood. The weekend had been relatively calm when police Superintendent Eddie Johnson held a news conference early Tuesday afternoon and announced the arrests of 58 people on drug and gun charges "to keep residents and visitors safe in every neighborhood." But within hours, violence erupted in nearly every police district south of North Avenue, according to data kept by the Tribune. At least 43 people were shot between 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. Only two of those 43 were shot north of Chicago Avenue. As part of its review of what happened over the weekend, the department is looking at how fireworks may have interfered with the ShotSpotter system, a relatively new technology the department hopes to expand. The spotters register a shooting and deploy cameras in the direction of the shots while officers are deployed. Analysts at the district station look at the data in real time to decide what steps to take next. Guglielmi called it "micro-deployment." The department is also reviewing calls for service, particularly as the weekend ended. "A lot of incidents happened in a short amount of time. We're also looking at that. We did typically see it (violence) where we typically see it." A lot of the shootings appeared to be over "petty disputes that escalated into somebody pulling out a gun." He mentioned some examples: A shooting in Smith Park that started as an argument over where people were sitting; a confrontation between a driver and bicyclists on State Street, with the driver getting a gun from his trunk and officers intervening. He said a "handful" of shootings were "retaliatory .. People drinking all day and then things escalating ... It's just enormously frustrating." A total of 1,300 extra officers were deployed over the long weekend through 6 a.m. Wednesday. The additional officers came from the summer mobile teams, organized crime units and area saturation teams. "I don't think lack of resources was an issue." A total of 159 guns were seized by Chicago police since Friday. "We have to change the underlying culture," Guglielmi said. The weekend began with 19 people shot on Friday night and 23 on Saturday. Sunday and Monday nights were both relatively quiet, by summer standards, with 17 people shot over the two days, according to Tribune data. The Harrison District on the West Side, which had gone without any shootings over the Memorial Day weekend, recorded 14 people shot over the long Fourth weekend. At one homicide scene in the district, onlookers peeked around the entrance to the Green Line station at Pulaski Road and Lake Street, trying to get a glimpse of the body of a man chased down and shot early Wednesday. The shooting happened on two sides of a popular West Side liquor store. Officers found shell casings and one man shot behind the store, next to an alley. The other wounded man fell face-up on a sidewalk underneath the elevated train tracks. A garbage can fire burned as officers counted shell casings and draped tape from support pillars holding up the "L" tracks. A fire engine backed down the alley, and firefighters dumped the trash and pumped water from a tin can onto the smoldering waste. Other scenes from the weekend The only shooting north of North Avenue happened about 50 yards from the street that marks the West Side's northern edge. A 56-year-old man died and a 19-year-old man was seriously wounded around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 1600 block of North Major Avenue -- the same block where an 8-year-old girl was shot last August. The house where the two men were shot was home to a young man killed last year around the corner. The older man was pronounced dead overnight at Loyola University Medical Center. Tuesday night, a man approached the crime scene with a toddler, who seemed to be just learning to walk as she ambled ahead of him. An officer walked up to the little girl and gently turned her around, while another yelled at her father for walking under yellow tape officers had stretched across Major Avenue. Seven miles to the south, shortly before midnight, a woman searched the 1900 block of South Spaulding for shell casings by the light of her cellphone before officers arrived. Two people walked into St. Anthony's Hospital, a block from Mount Sinai Hospital, saying they had been shot there. Earlier Tuesday, officers found a woman shot on Roosevelt Road. She was in a silver car just east of Independence Boulevard and had been shot around the corner, on Lawndale Avenue. Every few minutes, officers found a few more shell casings, each a little farther from the alley south of Roosevelt. Police found a 42-year-old man in "extremely critical" condition on Laflin Street just south of 62nd Street, and he was later pronounced dead from gunshot wounds. Neighbors gathered on a front porch nearby and in a smaller group across the street, on church steps, while paramedics worked on the man. The ambulance left after a few minutes with a squad car in tow. Just before 3 a.m. Wednesday, police taped off Roosevelt Road because they found a person shot where the road intersects with Loomis Avenue in the University Village/Little Italy neighborhood. He had been shot about a block south on the 1300 block of West 13th Street. A shooting in the 3400 block of West Grenshaw Street about 10:15 p.m. left two men wounded. People nearby said they hesitated when they heard the gunfire but weren't certain because of the frequency of the fireworks. A woman, who neighbors said was the young man's grandmother, stepped to the ambulance to find out what happened. "Right now, ma'am, he's worried about you. He's going to be OK, but he's worried about you," a paramedic told the woman. She stepped away, and the ambulance pulled off toward Mount Sinai Hospital. "I can't go with him?" she asked. Mount Sinai Hospital treated at least 22 of the 102 people shot over the weekend. At one point early Wednesday morning, five ambulances crowded into the emergency room's small ambulance bay and a Chicago police squad SUV sat parked nearby. PUNE The results are shocking, not just in Maval but all over India, said 28-year-old Parth Pawar, grand newphew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar after his defeat from the Maval Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district. Parth, who is son of Pawars nephew and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar entered the political fray somewhat forcibly. His candidature was announced after the Ajit Pawar faction put considerable pressure on the party president saying that there was a demand from the cadres for fielding Parth. Sharad Pawar who was slated to contest from the Madha constituency, withdrew from the fray saying he did not want too many from his own family contesting the polls. Parth, who lost by 2.16 lakh votes to Shiv Senas Shrirang Barne said, Whatever be the results, since I have entered politics, I am here to stay and I will concentrate on working for Maval constituency. The manner in which the results are coming in from all over India is shocking. We never felt such a wave on ground. Just a year back, the assembly results in some states were very different, but all of a sudden, all those states are going to BJP. Shiv Senas victorious candidate from Maval who defeated Parth said, The NCP tried to impose a member from the Pawar family in Maval constituency but the voters rejected them. Ajit Pawar used money and muscle power, but finally the voters did justice to me. Barne said, I did not defeat Parth, but his father Ajit Pawar in this election. I am in politics for the last 25 years and voters respect my work. Grassroots workers of the BJP and Shiv Sena worked hard for our victory in Maval. I am now ready to accept whatever responsibility is given to me by the party in future. Her rivals had jeered when Smriti Irani, 43, was named the BJPs candidate against Rahul Gandhi five years ago. This was the second time the BJP had set her up as a candidate against a strong opponent just before the election. Smriti Irani predictably lost the 2014 election but she did hugely narrow down Rahul Gandhis winning margin from 3.7 lakh to just over 1 lakh. Unlike 2004 when she moved away from Delhis Chandni Chowk from where she had contested her first parliamentary election, this time she kept her focus sharply on Amethi. On Thursday, she pulled off what had been considered impossible. As Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat at a news conference long before the last vote was counted, Irani put out a line from a poem to underline that nothing was impossible. Kaun kehta hai aasmaan mein suraakh nahin ho sakta (who says the sky is impenetrable), she tweeted, quoting from a couplet by poet Dushyant Kumar. Her job in Amethi hadnt been made any easy by the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samajwadi Party alliance that decided against fielding any candidates in Amethi and Rae Bareli, the seats represented in parliament for years by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and mother Sonia. Smriti Irani and the BJP had moved in swiftly to hammer the Congress president after word got out that the Congress chief could also contest from Wayanad in Kerala. Smriti Irani told reporters that this was a sign that Rahul Gandhi would dump the constituency after ruining it for 15 years. Rahul had first won the Amethi seat in 2004 when his mother and then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi shifted to Rae Bareli to claim the legacy of former prime minister the late Indira Gandhi. EC tweets winners of Ghaziabad, Mathura, Amethi seats BJP candidate Vijay Kumar Singh has won from Ghaziabad, UP. BJP candidate Hema Malini has won from Mathura, UP. BJP candidate Smriti Irani has won from Amethi, UP : Election Commission (Twitter) Akhilesh Yadav gets Azamgarh, Mulayam Singh Yadav Mainpuri Samajwadi Party candidate Akhilesh Yadav has won from Azamgarh, UP. Samajwadi Party candidate Mulayam Singh Yadav has won from Mainpuri, UP : Election Commission (Twitter) The people of the country have blessed this fakir: PM Modi The people of this country have blessed this fakir, said PM Modi at the BJP office thanking people Additional forces rushed to Kannauj as violence feared on Dimple Yadav defeat Additional force has been rushed to Kannauj as violence feared in case Dimple Yadav loses. She is trailing after 17 rounds of counting. Total rounds 38. Rahul Gandhi congratulates Smriti Irani for her victory in Amethi Rahul Gandhi while addressing a press conference concedes defeat in Amethi and congratulates Smriti Irani. Congress President Rahul Gandhi concedes defeat in Amethi, says, I respect the decision and congratulate Smriti Irani ji. Official result is yet to be declared. Akshaibar Lal of BJP wins in Bharaich Akshaibar Lal of BJP has been declared winner in Bahraich (UP) BAHRAICH (UP) with UP margin of 1.28 lakh Rita Joshi from Allahabad leading BJP candidate for Allahabad seat Rita Joshi leads by 1,15,606 votes in 18th round. Smriti Irani leading in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi trails Union minister Smriti Iran has widened her lead over Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to almost 19,000 votes after nine rounds of counting in Amethi which has seen one of the fiercest contests of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Smriti Irani ahead in Amethi, #Congress chief Rahul Gandhi trails via @htTweets https://t.co/JtmE7L3aig HT Uttar Pradesh (@HTUttarPradesh) May 23, 2019 Akhilesh Yadav leading in Azamgarh Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party is leading with 366093 votes against Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua of Bharatiya Janata Party who has 215906 votes. Sanatan Pandey leading with 2500 votes in Ballia Sanatan Pandey has taken a lead of 2,500 votes, over the BJP candidate Virendra Singh Mast who is trailing Mahendra Nath Pandey, BJP candidate from Chandauli leads Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey of BJP is leading in Chandauli with 474235 votes while Sanjay Singh Chauhan of SP is trailing with 463588 votes. PM Narendra breaks all records, gets 6.2 lakh votes and counting Prime Minister Narendra Modi has got 622477 till now, breaking all past records.Shalini Yadav of Samajwadi Party has got only 185646 lakh votes. Peoples mandate against oppn propaganda: Amit Shah on BJPs big win Todays result is Indias mandate against Oppositions propaganda, lies, personal insinuations and baseless politics. It is also peoples mandate who have chosen development and nationalism and rejected casteism, dynasty and appeasement, Amit Shah said. Asserting that this win is a victory for the whole of India, he said, It is the victory of the hopes of youth, the poor and farmers. This grand victory is a triumph of peoples confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modis development work and strong leadership. Modi wave became tsunami this time Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Thursday hailed BJP-led NDAs performance in the Lok Sabha elections saying the Modi wave of the 2014 polls turned into a tsunami this time. The BJP is set to return to power as it led in over 300 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with about 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. BJP leading in Allahabad in 14th round of counting On Allahabad seat BJPs Rita Bahuguna Joshi leads by 108102 votes while on Phulpur seat BJPs Keshri Devi Patel leads by 84,398 till 14 round of counting at 4pm A shocker for BSP-SP-RLD alliance as BJP wins in Braj Those who thought the SP-BSP-RLD alliance would have a smooth sailing in Uttar Pradeshs Braj region with the Yadav, Jatav and Muslim vote banks secure in its kitty, have been shocked by the trends pouring in, writes IANS. Is it the end of caste politics in UP? The caste arithmetic in Uttar Pradesh has fallen flat on its face and the SP-BSP-RLD alliance has nothing left to cheer about, reports IANS. The alliance that was forged in January this year had claimed to trounce the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and, thereby, halt its return to power. The alliance with less than 20 seats has been left powerless. Brand Modi has dissolved that caste arithmetic, the agency wrote. Narendra Modi leads in Varanasi with 5.4 lakh votes Narendra Modi of BJP gets 545056 votes while Shalini Yadav of gets SP 159722 vote. Akhilesh Yadav leading in Azamgarh Akhilesh Yadav of SP has taken a lead of 129826 votes over the BJP candidate Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahuaa in Azamgarh. Akhilesh Yadav--SP---259453; Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua--BJP--139607 Smriti Irani leading by 15K votes in Amethi Smriti Irani is leading by 15000 votes in Amethi says ECI. Dimple Yadav trailing in Kannauj Dimple Yadav trailing in Kannauj with 203077, BJPs Subrat Pathak leading with 204651 votes PM Modi tweets, says India wins yet again PM Modi tweets on election results, says India wins yet again. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Smriti Irani leading over Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, reports ANI BJPs Smriti Irani leading over Congress chief Rahul Gandhi with 11226 votes from Amethi, reports ANI. Three UP ministers leading over their rivals Three out of the four Uttar Pradesh cabinet ministers fielded by the BJP are leading, according to the Election Commission trends, reports PTI. S P Singh Baghel, Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Satyadev Pachauri are leading over their rivals from their respective seats, while Mukut Bihari Verma are trailing in the latest round of counting. Celebrations begin at BJP office in UP Celebrations begin in BJP headquarters in Uttar Pradesh. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma are to take part in celebrations. Congress office wears deserted look while BJP office sees huge crowd Party offices of BJP and those of SP, BSP and Congress in Uttar Pradesh offered a study in contrast. While those of SP, BSP and Congress wore a deserted look, at the BJP headquarters in Lucknow crowd and cadre had started to build up despite scorching heat. Counting on 2 booths stopped in Kannauj Counting on two booths stopped in Kannauj after agents found that machine recorded 582 votes against 519 polled. Booth no 32 of Karimullahpur , Chibramau assembly segment. Another booth is 41 of Nagla Khargai of Tirva assembly. Machine recorded 445 votes against 393 polled. UP Election Results 2019: Prayagraj round 7 update Round 7--------- Prayagraj BJP Kesri Devi Patel leading on Phulpur seat BJP : 126423 SP-BSP Pandhari Yadav: 92251 Cong Pankaj Niranjan: 6249 BJPs Rita Joshi continuing to lead on Allahabad seat BJP: 139205 SP-BSP Rajendra Patel: 88664 Cong Yogesh Shukla: 9168 Akhilesh Yadav of SP is leading by 74,000 votes in Azamgarh Akhilesh Yadav of SP is leading by 74,000 votes in Azamgarh. Women candidates are leading in many UP seats Seats where women candidates are leading: Fatehpur- Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Phulpur- Keshari Devi Patel, Mirzapur- Anupriya Patel, Lalganj-Sangeeta Azad and Kannauj- Dimple Yadav. Sriprakash Jaiswal trails by 30K In Kanpur, former Union Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal trails by 30, 350 votes, BJPs Satydev Pachauri leads. India choses PM Modi again, BJP powers another jumbo win for alliance Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks set for a second term with another sweep, with the National Democratic Alliance that his party the BJP leads ahead in 339 seats as votes are counted for the Lok Sabha elections. The opposition bloc led by the Congress may not touch three figures if current trends continue. Leads are now in for all 542 Parliament seats in which elections were held. Read more Modi wave can be witnessed. GST, demonetisation had no impact on the ground The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) performance in both urban and rural constituencies across the country prove that the 2016 invalidation of high-value banknotes and the 2017 introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) did not have a negative impact on the partys political prospects. Even though the Congress and some Opposition parties raised the two issues throughout the campaign, but the results show that they failed to reap any political benefit out of it. Read here UP Election Results 2019: Agra seat update after 5th round Agra Reserved Seat 5th Round BJP Prof SP Singh Baghel - 36847 BSP Manoj Kumar Soni - 30843 Congress Preeta Harit 2161 BJP leading by about 6000 votes BJP Party workers celebrate in Kanpur Workers celebrate in Kanpur as BJP heads for landsliding win across country. Badaun Lok Sabha Update Badaun LS segment: Sanghamitra Maurya (BJP): 88762 votes Dharmendra Yadav (MGB): 78046 Saleem Shervani (Cong): 4538 UP Election Results 2019: Mathura Update after 7th round Mathura Update after 7th Round Hema Malini BJP - 130754 Narendra Kumar Singh RLD - 64961 Mahesh Pathak Congress 5573 Hema Malini leads by 65793 BJP leader Gen VK Singh leading in Ghaziabad Union Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gen. V.K. Singh was leading against alliance candidate Suresh Bansal by over 50,000 votes from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, reports IANS. Singh secured 1,23,349 votes while Samajwadi Party's Bansal got 65,563 votes at the end of the 14th round. Congress candidate Dolly Sharma was trailing with 10,798 votes. UP Election Results 2019: Firozabad Lok Sabha Update Firozabad Lok Sabha Update BJP Chandra Sen Jadaun 87487 Samajwadi Party Akshay Yadav 70295 Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) Shivpal Yadav 11852 BJP leads by 17192 votes Modi ji and Yogi ji have demolished caste based politics in UP: Ravi Kishan BJP candidate from Gorakhpur Ravi Kishan says that Modi Ji and Yogi Ji have demolished the caste based politics in Uttar Pradesh. This victory is historical and we were confident about it. He also said that they have proven exit polls prediction right and BJP will cross 400 seats this election. #ElectionsWithHT#UttarPradesh#BJP candidate from #Gorakhpur Ravi Kishan says: "Modi Ji and Yogi Ji have demolished the caste based politics in Uttar Pradesh. This victory is historical and we were confident about it." #ResultsWithHT#Verdict2019 #ElectionResults2019 @htTweets HT Uttar Pradesh (@HTUttarPradesh) May 23, 2019 UP Election Results 2019: Firozabad Update Firozabad Lok Sabha Update BJP Chandra Sen Jadaun 70885 Samajwadi Party Akshay Yadav 58346 Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) Shivpal Yadav 9425 Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan leading with 65K votes after 7th round After seventh round counting in Gorakhpur BJP Ravi kishan leading by 65156 votes BJP 159943 SP 94787 Cong 5426 UP Election Results 2019: Kushinagar update after 6th round of counting Kushinagar update ( after six round counting ) BJP 95731. Alliance 41926 Cong 21510 BJPs Vijay Dubey leading by 53805 votes BJP Kesri Devi Patel leading on Phulpur seat BJP Kesri Devi Patel leading on Phulpur seat BJP : 74129 SP-BSP Pandhari Yadav: 50607 Cong Pankaj Niranjan: 3624 BJPs Rita Joshi continuing to lead on Allahabad seat BJP: 89966 SP-BSP Rajendra Patel: 50909 Cong Yogesh Shukla: 5403 UP Elections Results 2019: Fifth round counting trends Fifth round BJP Kesri Devi Patel ahead with 17879 votes from Phulpur BJP : 47688 SP pandhari yadav: 29809 Cong Pankaj Niranjan: 3240 BJPs Rita Joshi ahead with 23337 votes from Allahabad seat BJP: 59110 SP Rajendra Patel: 35773 Cong Yogesh Shukla: 3954 Varun Gandhi is leading in Pilibhit with 62K votes Varun Gandhi is leading by over 62000 votes on Pilibhit seat. Kannauj: Dimple Yadav leads with 22K votes Dimple Yadav is leading in Kannuaj. She has got 22856 votes against BJPs Subrat Pathak. PM Modi leads in Varanasi with 2 Lakh votes Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading 208814 against SPs candidates Shalini Yadav who has got 63954 votes. Varanasi in celebration mode as PM Modi leads with 2 lakh votes UP Election Results 2019: Smriti Irani leads in Amethi, Sonia Gandhi in Rae Bareli In the high-profile Amethi seat, BJP's Smriti Irani established an early lead of 1,931 votes against sitting MP and Congress president Rahul Gandhi while UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was leading in neighbouring Rae Bareli by over 17,000 votes, reports PTI. Akhilesh Yadav leading with 50K votes in Azamgarh, In Azamgarh SPs Akhilesh Yadav is leading with 50886 votes. He is leading by 24,000 votes.Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua has 25161 votes In UP, BJP far ahead of 'gathbandhan', Rahul trails in Amethi With counting of votes underway for Lok Sabha elections, trends show a positive signal for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh with the party leading on 54 seats. The BSP and SP, which are in alliance, are ahead on 13 and eight seats, respectively, as per official Election Commission of India trends, reports ANI. The Congress party is leading on just one seat and Rashtriya Lok Dal, a part of SP-BSP alliance, is ahead on 2. In what could become a major upset for the Congress, party president Rahul Gandhi is trailing by around 3,000 votes in Amethi against BJP's Smriti Irani. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is leading from Rae Bareli against Dinesh Pratap Singh of BJP. PM Narendra Modis tally cross 171,000 mark Prime Minister Narendra Modis tally cross 171,000 mark. He contested on Varanasi against Ajay Rai of Congress SP-BSP candidates leading in 3 seats Alliance candidates are leading at three seats, including Ghosi, Ballia and Ghazipur of Eastern UP With you all the way... Good luck: Robert Vadras message for Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Businessman Robert Vadra wished Congress president and his brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi and his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the partys general secretary, good luck ahead of counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election started on Thursday. Read here Rahul Gandhi regained his lead over Union minister Smriti Irani in Amethi after he trailed her for some time shortly after counting began Thursday. The fight to retain the family bastion of Amethi has been one of the fiercest of contests of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He was also leading in Keralas Wayanad, the second seat he is contesting from. Afzal Ansari of Mahagathbandan leading in Ghazipur Mahagathbandhan candidate Afzal Ansari is leading in Ghazipur, BJPs pick Manoj Sinha is trailing. Mulayam Singh Yadav leads in Mainpuri In Mainpuri, Mulayam Singh Yadav is leading by 6778 votes after first round of counting. BJP ahead in 300 seats, sensex hits 40K mark Sensex hits 40,00 mark for the first time as BJP alliance ahead in over 300 seats Drones are being used to keep an eye on counting of votes Drones are being used to keep a watch around the counting venue in Kanpur. Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan leading by 50K votes in Gorakhpur After fifth round counting, BJP candidate Ravi Kishan leading by over 50000 votes in Gorakhpur PM Narendra Modi is leading in Varanasi with over 1 lakh votes PM Narendra Modi is leading in Varanasi with 105874 votes. He is contesting against Ajay Rai of Congress. Akhilesh Yadav leads by 15K Votes SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is leading by 15,000 votes on Azamgarh seat Sakshi Maharaj leads in Unnao, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti ahead in Fatehpur BJPs Sakshi Maharaj in Unnao and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in Fatehpur lead. PM Narendra Modi leaves MGB candidate Shalini Yadav way behind Narendra Modi of BJP leaves the alliance candidate far behind. Modi: 81130, Shalini Yadav: 28711. BJPs Mahendra Nath Pandey leading in Chandauli BJP state unit president Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey is leading by 5 thousand votes at Chandauli. BJP leading in Kanpur, Akbarpur, Unnao, Farurukhabad, Firozabad BJP leading from Kanpur, Akbarpur, Unnao and Farrukhabad seats. BJP leading in Firozabad and ahead of Akshay Yadav , son of Ram Gopal Yadav general secretary of Samajwadi party. Basgaon BJP candidate Kamlesh Paswan leading by over 43K votes Basgaon BJP candidate Kamlesh Paswan leading by over 43000 votes while in Kushinagar, RPN Singh is trailing. Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan leading with 25K votes BJPs Ravi Kishan maintains lead by over 25000 votes. UP Election Results 2019: BJP leading in Allahabad in first round of counting First round Allahabad seat: BJPs Reeta Joshi ahead with 4091 votes BJP: 7683 SP: 3592 Congress: 766 Maneka Gandhi of BJP training in Sultanpur Maneka Gandhi of BJP is trailing by 7242 votes in Sultanpur. Alliance candidate Chandrabhadra Singh is leading. PM Modi leading by 50,000 votes at Varanasi seat in 3rd round of counting Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading by 50,000 votes at Varanasi seat in the third round of counting. Modi is ahead of others with 53287 votes. He is leading by over 20,000 votes. Alliance candidate Shalini 23777 BJP leading in Pratapgarh seat In Pratapgarh seat, BJPs Sangam Lal Gupta leading with 6542 votes with Congresss Rajkumari Ratna Singh at second place with 4342 votes. Ashok Tripathi of SP-BSP is trailing at third place with 1299 votes. Hema Malini leading in Mathura Hema Malini of BJP is leading in Mathura. Sitting BJP MP and actor Hema Malini has contested against Narendra Singh of the RLD, a part of SP-BSP alliance, and Mahesh Pathak of the Congress. BJP leading in Agra, Fatehpur Sikri BJP candidates leading in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri . Raj Babbar trailing in Fatehpur Sikri Rajnath Singh secures 6203 votes in first round of counting In Lucknow, BJPs Rajnath Singh secured 6203, MGBs Poonam Sinha got 2316 and Congress candidate Acharya Pramod secured 726 votes after first round of counting. NDA ahead on 35 seats in early trends The BJP-led NDA is ahead on 35 seats in early trends as counting of votes began at 8 am for the the Lok Sabha election on Thursday with the SP-BSP combine at close second with 27 seats , in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh that send 80 lawmakers to Lok Sabha. Read here PM Narendra Modi ahead with 19380 votes in Varanasi PM Narendra Modi is leading with 19380 votes in Varanasi while the alliance candidate Shalini has 9963 votes and, Congress candidate Ajay Rai has 1370 votes. Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan of BJP leading in Gorakhpur by over 14K votes Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan of BJP is leading by over 14000 votes in Gorakhpur Jayant Chaudary is leading Baghpat seat Jayant Chaudhary is leading in Bagpat seat. Sanjeev Baliyan of BJP leading in Muzaffarnagar Sanjeev Baliyan (BJP) is leading by approximate 10,000 votes. Ajit Singh (RLD) is trailing on Muzaffarnagar seat. Afzal Ansari leading in Ghazipur Afzal Ansari leads in Ghazipur and union Minister Manoj Sinha trailing Sonia Gandhi leading in Rae Bareli with over 5,000 votes Sonia Gandhi is leading with over 5000 votes in RaeBareli, UttarPradesh. Narendra Modi leading in Varanasi by 11K votes Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading in Varanasi by over 11,000 votes. He has contested from Varanasi seat against Congress candidate Ajay Rai. BJPs Kamlesh Paswan leading from Bansgaon by 4K votes BJPs Kamlesh Paswan leading from Bansgaon by 4356 votes. In Bansgoan, sitting BJP MP Kamlesh Paswan is locked in direct poll battle with Alliance candidate Sadal Prasad, as the nomination of Congress candidate Kush Tiwari was rejected along with 28 others on April 29. Mahendra Nath Pandey of BJP leading in Chandauli Mahendra Nath Pandey of Bhartiya Janta Party is leading in Chandauli Lok Sabha seat in initial trends. He has been a Member of Lok Sabha for Chandauli since 2014 while in Deoria, BJP candidate Rama Pati Tripathi is leading Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan leading in Gorakhpur Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan of BJP is leading in Gorakhpur lok sabha seat while in Maharajganj, BJPs Pankaj Chowdhry is leading Congress leading in 4, MGB in 9, BJP in 32 Lok Sabha seats In UttarPradesh, Congress is leading in Rae Bareli, Fatehpur, Mirzapur, Kanpur. Mahagathbandhan is leading in Baghpat, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Azamgarh, Kairana, Rampur, Kaushambi, Farrukhabad, Aonla. Shivpal Yadav is leading from Firozabad while BJP is leading in 32 Lok Sabha segments. Congress leading in Mirzapur Counting of votes is going on. Congress is leading in Mirzapur seat. Laliteshpati Tripathi is the Congress candidate from Mirzapur. Rahul Gandhi trailing in Amethi Congress president Rahul Gandhi trails Smriti Irani in Amethi lok sabha seat. He has contested against union textile minister Smriti Irani in Amethi. Read more Akhilesh Yadav leading in Azamgarh Akhilesh Yadav, chief of Samajwadi Party is leading in Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat. Counting begins for Varanasi seat Counting of votes has begun for Varanasi seat. PM Narendra Modi has contested from BJP for the Varanasi seat against Ajay Rai from Congress Never underestimate the power of Mayawati, say analysts Political analysts had virtually written off Mayawati, after the BSP failed to open its account in the 2014 Lok Sabha election (in the 2017 assembly election it bagged merely 19 seats). But just when the chips were down for her, the Dalit leader decided to sew a strategic alliance with the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh, jumping right back into reckoning. Read more. UP Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: A tough battle between Modi and SP-BSP alliance While Prime Minister Narendra Modis Varanasi constituency looks largely predictable for the BJP, the saffron party is on shaky ground in the other constituencies against the SP-BSP alliance stitched by Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. Under the seat sharing arrangement, the SP is contesting eight seats and BSP five in the last phase. Read more here UP candidates visits temples ahead of election results Ahead of counting, the candidates from Kanpur and Akbarpur lok sabha seats knock at the Gods door for victory. BJP candidates Satyadeo Pachauri and Devendra Singh Bholey pray at different temples before heading to counting venue. BSP candidate Nisha Sachan visits Anandeshwar Temple, Congress candidate/former coal minister Prakash Jaiswal attends special prayer at his house. UP Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Amethi to decide fate of Smriti Irani and Rahul Gandhi The Union textiles minister Smriti Irani has contested from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency from where Rahul Gandhi has contested the election. This is the second time that she has been pitted against the Congress president. Read More here Counting of votes begins The countdown has begun. Major political leaders like Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav will test their luck today as the counting of votes begins. UP Election Results 2019: In Congress bastion of Amethi, BJP sounding optimistic In Congress bastion of Amethi, the BJP is sounding optimistic for the first time even though the Congress leaders claim that it would be an easy victory for Rahul Gandhi who is seeking his fourth consecutive term. Read more here. Counting of votes to begin at 8 am, trends expected to be known by noon Counting of votes to begin at 8am and trends are expected to be known by afternoon. Final results of Lok Sabha Elections 2019, in which around 900 million Indians were eligible to vote, will be out by the evening. Forces instructed to be extra- vigilant in 34 communally sensitive districts of UP With the results of the general elections coming today, police are gearing up as many political heavyweights including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are trying their luck from the state. We have arranged central as well as state armed forces including PAC, civil defence adequately. The forces will ensure that the counting of votes is also conducted as peacefully as the last seven phases of voting, Praveen Kumar, Inspector General of Police (IG), Law and Order told ANI. Forces have also been instructed to be extra- vigilant in 34 communally sensitive districts, he added. UP fielded highest number of women in Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Uttar Pradesh fielded the highest number of women at 104, followed by Maharashtra. Sixty-four women candidates have been fielded from Tamil Nadu, 55 from Bihar and 54 from West Bengal. All eyes on East Uttar Pradesh election results All eyes are on Eastern UP, including Varanasi, as counting of votes begins on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has contested election from the Varanasi seat as a BJP candidate. His cabinet colleague, union minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha, has tried his poll luck from Ghazipur. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has contested election from the Azamgarh parliamentary seat considered to be stronghold of the party. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Counting of votes to begin at 8 am At 8 am, the counting of votes will begin. Fate of top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav and president Akhilesh Yadav, RLD chief Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary will be decided. PM Modi begins his address by congratulating BJP Chief Amit Shah He expresses his gratitude towards all Indians for leading BJP to landmark win. Despite poll violence, we made an impact in Bengal: Amit Shah BJP will govern Bengal soon: Amit Shah on Bengal gains. He says Congress might have won Rajasthan, M.P and Chattisgarh but BJP did not concede defeat. Meanwhile, PM Modi has won the Varanasi constituency. BJP chief Amit Shah says these elections indicate that nepotism, dynasty politics and politics of appeasement is over You should have concentrated towards garnering votes, not defying the exit polls: Amit Shah takes a dig at TDP chief and outgoing CM Chandrababu Naidu. BJP chief Amit Shah says BJP owes its win to PM Modis popularity Amit Shah says, BJP has won more than 50% seats in more than 9 states. He claims due to BJPs popularity Congress could not secure a single seat in Manipur, Himachal, Mizoram and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and several other states. BJP President Amit Shah addresses the media BJP President Amit Shah lauds PM Narendra Modi for BJPs historic win These Trinamool leaders are trailing majorly in Bengal Moon Moon Sen, Dasarath Tirkey, Apurba Sarkar, Arpita Ghosh and Subrata Mukherjee are trailing behind massively. These were incumbent MPs but BJP candidates across these constituencies gave them a strong fight. Meanwhile, the Left failed to secure a single seat and faced a complete rout in Bengal. BJP Parliamentary Committee headed by PM Narendra Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah to address press conference shortly These BJP candidates are leading big in West Bengal as of now - Dr. Jayanta Roy from Jalpaiguri, Locket Chatterjee (Hooghly), Kunar Hembram (Jhargram), John Barla (Alipurduar), Babul Supriyo (Asansol), Sukanta Majumdar (Balurghat), Shantanu Thakur (Bangaon), Dr. Subhas Sarkar (Bankura), Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury (Maldaha Dakshin), Khagen Murmu (Maldaha Uttar), Dilip Ghosh (Medinipur), Raju Bista (Darjeeling) It has been 10 hours since the counting began. These are the current trends: All India Trinamool Congress - 23, Bharatiya Janata Party - 18, Congress - 1 Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Raju Bista (BJP), Mimi Chakraborty(TMC), Babul Supriyo (BJP) have strong leads and could secure major wins. Congress could secure only one seat in West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has secured a comfortable lead in Baharampur . He leads by 67,588 votes. Rahul Gandhi addresses a press conference following his poor show in Amethi Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi congratulates Smriti Irani and says he respects the verdict of Amethis public. He congratulates the Prime Minister and says he accepts the verdict of the nation. PM Narendra Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah will address a press conference shortly Jubilant scenes from the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, BJP workers cannot wait to celebrate. Prasun Banerjee (TMC) is leading by 77,051 votes from Howrah constituency. Nusrat Jahan Ruhi of Trinamool secures a formidable lead in Basirhat Actor-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan leads by 3,05,176 votes. Abhishek Banerjee (TMC) and Raju Bista (BJP) are the only other leaders from West Bengal to cross the 300, 000 mark The tables have not turned yet as BJPs Khagen Murmu and SS Ahluwalia retake lead. But, in Arambagh and Barrackpore Trinamool can be seen fighting back as both Dinesh Trivedi and Aparupa Poddar take slender leads after trailing for the entire day. The contest for Burdwan - Durgapur constituency gets interesting Dr Mumtaz Sanghmita gains a slender lead of 129 votes. Raju Bista (BJP) and Abhishek Banerjee (TMC) increase their leads 3,43,929 and 3,05,886 respectively. Barrackpore sees a close fight between Dinesh Trivedi (TMC) and Arjun Singh (BJP) After trailing for most part of the day, Dinesh Trivedi of the TMC takes a slender lead of 696 votes. Arambaghs stats are continuously changing as Aparupa Poddar (TMC) takes a slender lead of 1346 votes over Tapan Ray of the BJP Malda North sees Mausam Noor leading by 4800 votes. Khagen Murmus lead has been taken over by the former minister from the UPA-II regime. BJP leading in 19, Trinamool looks to solidify their lead in 21. Will Amit Shahs predicitions come true? Arambagh again sways towards BJP as Tapan Kumar Ray has a slender lead of 5271 votes against Aparupa Poddar of the TMC These candidates have the biggest leads until 4:20 pm Raju Bista (BJP), Darjeeling - 302228 Abhishek Banerjee (TMC), Diamond Harbour - 285211 Pratima Mondal (TMC), Joynagar - 257335 Mimi Chakraborty (TMC), Jadavpur - 222499 Jagannath Sarkar (BJP), Ranaghat - 209143 Sajda Ahmed (TMC), Uluberia - 204190 Dr. Subhas Sarkar (BJP), Bankura - 125244 John Barla (BJP), Alipurduar - 142536 Babul Supriyo (BJP), Asansol - 117759 LK Advani congratulates PM Narendra Modi for historic BJP win Advani, one of the senior most leaders of the BJP, was denied a ticket but all differences seemed to have disappeared as the veteran leader congratulated PM Modi for his efforts which clearly is steering India towards a second term governed by the BJP. L K Advani, BJP: Heartiest congratulations to Narendrabhai Modi for steering BJP towards this unprecedented victory in elections. Amitbhai Shah as BJP President & all dedicated workers of the party have put in enormous effort in making sure that BJP's message reaches every voter. pic.twitter.com/LIr7vW4zXc ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Abhishek Banerjee consolidates his lead against Nilanjan Roy in Diamond Harbour constituency Abhishek Banerjee who was at the centre of controversy in several occasions is leading by a margin of 277476 votes in Diamond Harbour. Raju Bista of the BJP has similar numbers from Darjeeling constituency. BJP leads big in Burdwan-Durgapore, Maldah North and South SS Ahluwalia, Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, and Khagen Murmu make major gains. Murmu who contested and was a CPI(M) MLA is leading against heavyweight Mausam Nuur who recently defected to Trinamool Congress. Jyotirmay Mahato is leading by almost one lakh votes in Purulia BJP increases its lead in some South Bengal constituencies. Jyotirmay Singh Mahato of Purulia, Dilip Ghosh in Medinipur retain their leads. Prime Minister Narendra Modi jubilant as BJP looks toward making history PM Modi tweeted that NDAs lead means it is a victory for India + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 BJP leads in 19 seats, Trinamool holds lead in 22 seats BJP president Amit Shah is the rising star of the BJP after its indomitable leader Narendra Modi as National Democratic Alliance looks to sweep back to power in 2019. He also promised to oust Trinamool from West Bengal, in a heated electoral battle which was rife with barbs and poll violence. In an informal interaction with Hindustan Times, Amit Shah said that some in his party may think of him as a loony but he expected the BJP to win around 23 seats in West Bengal. Has Amit Shah kept his promise? Read more about this here. Trinamools major setbacks this elections Bankura, Barrackpore, Balurghat, Bishnupur and Burdwan-Durgapur are the major seats where TMC is trailing currently. The campaign in Bengal was the most high-decibel and the most rhetoric-laden ever. Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek were extortionists, while the chief minister described him as a rioter and prescribed sit-ups for him holding his ears. Words such as liar, fraud, thugs and thieves targeted at senior most leaders of political parties flew thick and fast from public rallies and personal attacks that frequently transgressed limits of etiquette were launched without batting an eyelid. Trinamool takes the lead in 23 seats, BJP closing in with 18, INC lead in two seats Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made deep inroads in West Bengal, increasing its vote share by more than 20 percentage points from 17.02% in 2014 to about 39% (till 1 pm) and was leading in 16 of Bengals 42 seats against their 2014 tally of only two seats. Though ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) increased its vote share by about 5 percentage points to about 45% (till 1 pm) from 39.79% (in 2014), the party was leading in 25 seats against their tally of 34 five years ago. Read more about BJPs rise in Bengal here. Trinamool looks to retain urban Kolkata seats Dum Dum, Barasat, Jadavpur, Haora, Kolkata North and Kolkata South trends until midday show that TMC is leading at these urban centres. Sougata Ray, Dr. Kakoli Ghoshdastidar, Mimi Chakaraborty, Prasun Banerjee, Sudip Banopadhyay and Mala Roy lead in these constituencies. Mamata Banerjee tweets congratulating all winners but she has a message... West Bengal CM assures the trailing candidates that all losers are not losers. Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 23, 2019 Trinamool Congress star candidates lead from their constituencies Nusrat Jahan, Mimi Chakarborty, and Deepak Adhikari a.k.a Dev are leading from Basirhat, Jadavpur and Ghatal constituencies. Locket Chatterjee, formerly an actor is leading from Hooghly while Babul Supriyo, sitting MP from Asansol is leading with 69, 411 votes. BJP holding up its leads across North Bengal The Bharatiya Janata Party has kept its leads intact across Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Aliporeduar, Cooch Behar and Raiganj- BJP increase in seat share could dampen Mamatas hopes to form Govt in centre. Mamata Banerjee had challenged PM Modi over demonetisation, jobs and economy. Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other leaders did the same. Did it have any major impact? Read our report here. These elections are reminiscent of 1977 and 1980 elections The 2019 results, if the current trends hold, will be closer to what the Janata Party and the Congress achieved in the 1977 and 1980 elections. In 1980, the Congress won 353 PCs with an all-India vote share of 42.7%. In 1977, it was the Janata Party which got 295 PCs with a vote share of 41.3%. Read more about how the verdict could shape up here. In Bangaon, family members battle it out. Bongaon Lok Sabha constituency, BJP candidate and late Matua matriarch Binapani Thakurs grandson Shantanu Thakur was leading over his aunt and Trinamool Congress candidate and sitting MP Mamata Bala Thakur by over 10,000 votes. Arambagh constituency sees Trinamool take the lead Aparupa Poddar leads ahead Tapan Kumar Ray of BJP. Dr. Kakoli Ghoshdastidar has also taken the lead in Barasat. BJP is leading in both Malda North and South. Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury and Khagen Murmu are increasing their lead. Abu Hasem Khan Chaudhury of Congress and Mausam Noor who formerly fought as a Congress candidate, both kin of veteran Congress leader Abu Ghani Khan Choudhury trail in these two constituencies Arjun Singh of BJP takes the lead in Barrackpore. Jalpaiguri and Jhargram also see BJP leading. Mala Roy of Trinamool leads by 2,12,149 votes in South Kolkata constituency Kin of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose trails by a huge margin. Birbhum sees Trinamool candidate Satabdi Roy leading by 23898 votes Hooghly, on the other hand, sees actress-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee leading by 34420 votes as per Election Commissions trends Former President Pranab Mukherjees son, Abhijit of the Congress trails in Jangipur Former president Pranab Mukherjees son Abhijit is trailing by 14,333 votes against Khalilur Rahman of the Trinamool in Jangipur Actor-turned-politician Deepak Adhikari a.k.a Dev takes lead over former IPS officer and BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh Ghatal sees Bharati Ghish falling behind, Tollywood actor Nusrat Jahan Ruhi of the TMC is also leading from Basirhat constituency. No major gains for Congress and the Left in West Bengal Once a Left bastion, the party has not taken lead in any of the constituencies. Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is a staunch critic of CM Mamata Banerjee, has the lead from Berhampore constituency. BJP Bengal President Dilip Ghosh is leading from Medinipur constituency Manas Bhunia of the TMC is currently trailing. Medinipur saw a turnout of 81.09%, according to the Voter Turnout app of the Election Commission of India. The seat saw a battle between two heavyweights Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s state unit chief Dilip Ghosh and Trinamool Congress (TMC)s Manas Bhuniya. It is the BJP state president versus TMC heavyweight in Medinipur. In Purulia, BJPs Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato leads against Dr. Mriganka Mahato of the Trinamool. In Ranaghat and Srerampur, BJPs Debjit Sarkar and Jagannath Sarkar take the lead. BJP is leading in 19 constituencies in West Bengal Sukanta Majumdar of Balurghat , Shantanu Thakur of Bangaon, Subhas Sarkar in Bankura are emerging with clear leads. Kolkata South sees BJPs Chandra Kumar Bose trail by 21621 votes. Both Kolkata North and South has seen the Trinamool taking the lead after two hours of counting. Mimi Chakraborty, actor-turned-politician of the TMC takes the lead in Jadavpur constituency Once close to Mamata Banerjee, former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, is leading from Ghatal by almost a 1000 votes, according to the recent trends from the ECI. Bharati Ghosh had returned a medal and certificate for commendable service that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee gave her on August 15, 2014. Read our report here. Saumitra Khan of the BJP takes lead over Shyamal Santra of the Trinamool Congress Mamatas nephew Abhishek Banerjee who had sent a defamation notice to the Prime Minister leads from Diamond Harbour by 3800 votes, according to early trends. Birbhum sees Satabdi Roy taking the lead again. Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, four-time Congress MP from Berhampore is leading. Satabdi Roy is trailing in Birbhum, as Bharatiya Janata Partys Dudh Kumar Mondal leads by 735 votes. Catch the live updates from all over the nation. It is a neck-to-neck fight in Bengal. Babul Supriyo Baral of the BJP leads in Asansol. The star-studded fight for Asansol sees actor-turned-politician Moon Moon Sen trailing by almost 12100 votes according to the early trends. In Hooghly, BJP candidate, actor-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee is leading. Trinamool Candidate Dr. Ratna De is trailing by 4489 votes According to early trends, Subrata Mukherjee of the Trinamool Congress is trailing from Bankura Sajda Ahmed and Ratna De take the lead in Uluberia and Hooghly according to early trends posted by the Election Commission of India. One hour into the counting, the initial leads have come in. Leads for several constituencies have come in, counting of postal ballots are almost. EVMs have been opened across several constituencies as counting begins and the leads pour in. Its a close contest. TMC leads in seven constituencies in West Bengal Sougata Ray, Mahua Moitra, actor-turned-politician Satabdi Roy (Banerjee), Dibyendu Adhikari and Asit Kumar Mal lead from their respective constituencies. BJP inches towards 6 seats as Tapan Kumar Ray and Arjun Singh take the lead in Barrackpore and Arambagh... Abhijit Mukherjee of the Congress is leading from Jangipur Congress candidate from Malda Dakshin Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury is leading Trinamool Candidate Apurba Sarkar leads from Baharampur BJP leads in four constituencies in Bengal BJP is leading in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Alipurduar. TMC is leading in Maldah North with actor Mausam Noor of TMC. Counting begins across 42 constituencies in Bengal BJP and TMC go head to head in heated electoral battle . Left and Congress look forward to boost their chances. Stay tuned for whos leading and trailing in West Bengal and all over the country. Amid chaos regarding EVM tampering, TMC workers are guarding EVM strongrooms. Trinamool Congress leadership has asked its workers in West Bengal to guard strongrooms in their respective areas, fearing that the BJP might try to smuggle out EVMs. BJP had won 2 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 elections BJP Chief Amit Shah has set a goal of winning 22 of those 42 seats this Lok Sabha elections. Union Minister Smriti Irani also echoed similar sentiments in a tweet yesterday ahead of the counting of polls We are conscious of the sacrifices made by the families of karyakartas especially in Kerala and West Bengal. No words will ever be enough to pay homage to those who died. However , the best tribute would be that every day we contribute constructively to Nation building. Chowkidar Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 22, 2019 EC deploys Central Forces for counting of votes The EC will deploy 200 coys of Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) in West Bengal in addition to the 82 companies present to ensure security at the counting centres and check any post-poll violence when the exercise is taken up. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A year to the date after they came together on a stage in Bengaluru to celebrate the formation of a Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress government in Karnataka and the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), many of the parties involved are hoping they will have a chance for an encore in New Delhi. A new grouping of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) plus six parties, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Aam Aadmi Party, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and the Left Front, tentatively called the Secular Democratic Front (SDF), is hoping to make a bid to form the government if the election results to be announced today gives it the numbers and provided the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance doesnt have the numbers. Also Read | For Karnataka coalition, a year of living dangerously Hindustan Times has reviewed a draft of the letter prepared by the parties as part of their plan to ensure they get a chance to form the government in case no single party has the numbers required. To be sure, most exit polls suggest the BJP will have the numbers on its own, and almost all say the NDA will cross the halfway mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Follow LIVE updates here. The letter was supposed to be part of the three-step process these parties agreed to adopt; the original plan was to send the letter to the President ahead of the results, announcing a post-poll, pre-results alliance, but this was abandoned after the BSP said it wasnt comfortable with announcing an alliance before the numbers came out. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 The name SDF was suggested by the Congress, according to people directly involved in the process of forming the alliance who asked not to be named . A team comprising Jairam Ramesh, Abhishek Singhvi, Randeep Surjewala, and Ahmed Patel was tasked by Party President Rahul Gandhi four days ago to come up with a plan in case no party had a majority. The team came up with a three-step plan. One, to send a letter a day before the results with the intention of staking claim with the names of all the parties in the coalition. The draft states their intention to continue to stay together even after the results are declared. Two, to stake claim with the signatures of leaders all the parties. And three, to announce the leader of the coalition. However, three leaders HT spoke to, one in the TDP and two in the Congress, confirmed that a last-minute decision was taken not to send such a letter after the BSP thought it would be premature. Also Read | Congress, BJP go all out in mega publicity drive We would have sent the letter today but it was felt that in case the numbers were not in our favour, it would have been a premature move, said one of the three. The TDP leader and a Left Front leader added that the name SDF has also not been approved by all members. Nor, they admitted, has there been any consultation on the possible leader of such a grouping. According to the people involved in the process of forming the alliance, three leaders have been tasked with getting on board the three parties that are not part of any grouping, the Biju Janata Dal, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the YSRCP: Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and Chandrababu Naidu. The leaders of all parties in the grouping are set to fly in to Delhi, provided the numbers are favourable. A tentative meeting has been fixed for Thursday evening, the people added. The letter which was supposed to go today was supposed to be a precautionary step by Opposition -- preventing the President from acting in haste, said an NCP leader. The Congress said that this would have given moral authority to the alliance, but didnt insist once parties such as the BSP expressed their unease with it, this person added. With demands for underground Metros gathering steam, a 2010 study by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay revealed that 90% of the citizens screened for the study wanted underground Metros in the city. The study was undertaken on the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd route and sampled 1,070 citizens. Professor SL Dhingra, who undertook the study and is also a transport expert, said,People had said that elevated Metros will lead to a lot of congestion on roads, increase travel time and pollution. Barricading will make travel difficult for seven to eight years. Also, after the construction, pillars will occupy a lane. There are 13 Metro lines planned for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region of which, only one is fully-underground the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 corridor. However, citizens in the western suburbs have demanded that the Metro-2B (DN Nagar to Mandale) be made underground. Of late, citizens of the eastern suburbs and neighbouring Thane have also demanded that Metro-4 (Wadala-Kasarvadavali) and Metro-6 (Swami Samarth Nagar-Vikhroli) be made underground. Work on all the corridors has already begun. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has maintained that the cost of an underground Metro is more than an elevated Metro. For Metro-4, MMRDA said, the cost will triple if the corridor is made underground. An MMRDA official said, A lot of deliberations and studies were conducted before taking the decision on elevated corridors. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sometimes, one wonders why men and women are not happy. Quentin Tarantino should have been a very happy man; the Cannes Film Festival waited for his latest adventure, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, to be completed in the laborious 35 mm format, and slotted it in the main Competition. The movie evoked a mixed reaction, but that is how Cannes has always been. Yet, Tarantino seemed edgy at his media conference on Wednesday afternoon. To questions on the portrayal of women in his cinema and disgraced director Roman Polanski, Tarantinos replies were snappy and rude. He told a woman journalist from the New York Times to a question on why Margot Robbie (who plays Sharon Tate in the film) had so few lines: I reject your hypothesis. Brad Pitt in a still from the film. The director also refused to speak about violence against women, and mentioned Polanski in the passing - as he did in his movie, which many felt was sad given Romans magnificent cinema. Tarantino said that he had not spoken with Polanski before making the film. Tarantinos answers had the dozens of journalists at the conference feeling angry. In fact, the master American auteur never ceases to surprise and shock me. In the early years of 2000, he, as the head of the Cannes Film Festival jury, gave the Palm dOr to Michael Moores Bush bashing documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. Many of us were livid. The work did not deserve the honour, and was seen as a political decision. Also read: Kareena Kapoor reveals son Taimur isnt allowed to eat at birthday parties Later, his Inglorious Basterds weaved in a Jewish fantasy during World War II of getting all the top Nazi leaders in one place and destroying them. Of course, we all know that such a thing never happened, but in Tarantinos canvas, it took place as the movies finale. I loved the film (and many others as well) -- especially for having discovered a brilliant actor like Christoph Waltz. He was a small-time German television star, who rose to great fame after Tarantino cast him as a cruel Nazi officer. Tarantino became a hero as well. And just before the film was screened at Cannes some years ago, Tarantino made an appeal to all those about to watch his work. Please do not divulge the end. Similarly, just before Tarantinos latest, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, was screened at Cannes on Wednesday evening, up went another plea. Please do not reveal the climax. Tarantinos newest outing is set in Hollywood in the late 1960s, when he was growing up there. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was touted as a take on the brutal murder of actor Sharon Tate by the Manson Family, though it turned out to be different. Sharon was eight months pregnant with husband Roman Polanskis child. But the killers did not spare her. Many believed that the golden period of Hollywood ended on the night of the gruesome murder - August 9, 1969. Tarantino must have been six, but the adoration he shows for Tate is admirable. Yes, in the brief screen time he offers her! Leonardo DiCaprio in a still from the film. The movie plot is rather thin, and does end in a crime. It has more to do with Tates neighbours Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a television star, and his best pal, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), a stunt artist. Though there are liberal takes on the Hollywood of an era gone by, the film seems more like a buddy adventure. There is very little of Sharon or Roman; they flit in and out of the screen. But towards the end, the breezy atmosphere changes, and we see the Mansons lair at the Spahn Movie Ranch. There is evil in the air, and murder does not seem far behind. And one begins to dread what is coming. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has all the classic Tarantino ingredients - laughter contrasted with mayhem, wit with bloodshed. Only that the director is too much in love with his Hollywood, and he takes his story towards an end that he wants or imagines or desires. Call it a homage to Hollywood or requiem, but all in Tarantino style, though I wished that there was more substance than mere style in the film. Cannot reveal more or Mr Tarantino may be displeased - like he was at the conference. (Gautaman Bhaskaran has covered the Cannes Film Festival close to 30 years.) Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Several members and supporters of the Overseas Friends of BJP (UK) converged on the century-old Indian Gymkhana in west London on Thursday to celebrate the election victory, while many in the 1.5 million-strong Indian community closely followed the results from early morning. Music, sweets and slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were raised as the supporters led by Kuldip Singh Shekhawat, president of OFBJP (UK) recalled their role in BJPs election campaign. From holding car rallies with Modis image in various towns across the UK, to making hundreds of thousands of calls from a call centre in London to friends and family members in India, the role of UK-based supporters included 2,000 volunteers travelling to India at their own expense to help in the campaign. Shekhawat, who was part of several campaign events in India, said: The volunteers spent their own money to help in the campaign mainly in constituencies in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala. From homes and a call centre, our people made a large number of calls under the ek call desh ke nam programme. Getting a call from London, asking people to support Modi, made a difference to many, and added to the perception of Modis jalwa (reputation) abroad. Virendra Sharma, senior Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on India, said India-UK relations can only grow further under Modi, since he understood the importance of the diaspora and has already made two visits to London as prime minister. Sharma said: The election result is the victory of the Indian voter. There was a lack of leadership in the opposition. There was no single identifiable consensus leader among the opposition parties, neither was there a common agenda. Besides, a major factor is the success of Modis communication strategy through social media, radio, apps to convey to the common man that he is an accessible prime minister, never mind the reality. His travels abroad also had positive impact on peoples minds. London-based industrialist Swaraj Paul, who was reputed to be close to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, hailed the election results, adding that the scale of the election showed the common mans commitment to democracy that made Indians abroad proud. The considerable support for BJP in the Indian community is aided by the presence in the UK of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), which has been functioning since 1966. The structure, principles and activities of HSS are similar to those of the RSS, whose head, Mohan Bhagwat, attended a mahashibir in August 2016 to mark 50 years of its existence. Many UK-based supporters of the BJP were active in campaigning for the 2014 elections, including 500 volunteers who travelled to India. They organised several events in the UK, including Chai pe Charcha with Namo in Harrow. The considerable support for the BJP and Modi in the UK was reflected in the packed audience at the Wembley Stadium during the prime ministers visit in November 2015, one of the largest such meetings addressed outside India. The BJPs win, entrepreneur and member of House of Lords Karan Bilimoria said, brings stability and assurance of the focus on continued economic growth for the Indian economy. He said: Prime Minister Modi has a clear vision for Indias future and in spite of some setbacks in his first term, he took several bold steps, including introducing GST and increasing spending on infrastructure in five years multifold. Although economic growth has slowed, it is still relatively high at around 7%. Prime Minister Modi has also gone the extra mile in travelling around the world and increasing Indias reach and image globally. As India continues on its path to becoming a global economic superpower, having a strong dynamic, articulate and visionary leader, who has really made a mark on the global stage, will help India fulfil its destiny. Senior Conservative MP Bob Blackman added: My heartfelt congratulations to Narendra Modi on the occasion of his victory in the Indian general election and my congratulations to the BJP on being elected to govern for another term. For the BJP to win such a vast number of seats sends a very clear message that the people of India trust the party to deliver on its election pledges and promises. Beyond the size of the majority now commanded by the BJP, this result is a decisive verdict on the support enjoyed by Narendra Modi across the nation of India. His first term provided prosperity, security and a major uplift in social conditions and let us look forward to him delivering on these three fronts and many more in the next few years. The BJP are the natural allies of the Conservative and Unionist Party and I am positive about the ever blossoming relationship between our two great nation states. India has been strengthened both domestically and abroad under Modis premiership and I look forward to his new term - Jai Hind! SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The US department of defense is expected to present a plan to the White House proposing the deployment of up to 10,000 troops to West Asia in light of escalating tensions with Iran even as top Trump administration have maintained the continuing build-up is about deterrence and not war. The Pentagon presentation is slated for Thursday, but it was not known if President Donald Trump will attend the briefing. No timeline was disclosed for the deployment, but reports citing unidentified US officials indicated the additional troops are not expected to be sent all at once, and will be mostly in deterrence posture. Reports of the additional deployment plan came a day after US secretaries of state and defense Mike Pompeo and Pat Shanahan told lawmakers in closed-door briefings the build up was about deterrence and not war. Citing credible intelligence missiles in small Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf the Trump administration has bolstered its military presence in West Asia significantly in recent days, with an aircraft carrier group, B-52 bombers, anti-missile defense systems and an amphibious warship used for transporting troops. Also read | If Iran wants to fight, itll be the official end of it, warns Donald Trump CNN, which first reported the planned deployment of additional troops Wednesday, said it was in response to a request from the US central military command, which oversees operations in the region, and the deployment of more military assets was also on the anvil, including Tomahawk cruise missiles. The US military build-up follows Trump administration dialing up pressure on Iran to sign a new deal giving up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes and undertaking to cease malign activities in the region. It also designated Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a foreign terrorist organization, the first instance of a government agency so sanctioned. Also read | Iran build-up only for deterrence: Officials tell US Congress Another triple shooting occurred around the same time in the South Austin neighborhood to the northwest. Officers placed evidence markers around a vehicle that had been damaged by the gunfire in the 5500 block of West Lake Street. A woman, pushing a stroller, walked past the crime scene and through police tape. A woman, who did not want to be identified but is nicknamed the "Sheet Lady," was visiting friends near where the shooting took place. She huddled at the edge of the crime scene on Lake and voiced her frustration with gun violence. She said she was wounded in a shooting about two years ago in Maywood. "We out here helpless," she said. Before Monday, only 28 people had been shot over the previous three nights, a low total for any weekend in Chicago. This year, 1,300 extra officers were deployed during the weekend on top of normal staffing levels, according to police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. Last year, there were about 880 extra officers working, he said. The officers worked in areas where much of the city violence occurs. The Chicago Police Department parked a mobile command center on one of the city's most widely known open-air heroin markets, at Roosevelt Road and Independence Boulevard, for the first two nights of the weekend. The RV-size command van moved to an area near 63rd Street and King Drive after the second night. Nineteen of the 28 people shot the first three nights were wounded on the South Side, while the West Side saw just five shootings with a total of eight victims the first three nights. One person over that period was wounded in a Northwest Side shooting, at Addison Street and Keeler Avenue. The Cook County sheriff's office parked its mobile command center on a block widely known as one of the city's busiest marijuana spots -- Madison Street and Leamington Avenue -- where there have been close to a dozen shootings over the last 18 months. It was common to see officers three or four to a car, or officers riding around in rented vans. Evidence techs also were moved into rental cars before the weekend. Many officers' days off were canceled and hours extended. As the weekend drew to a close Tuesday morning, someone in a passing car fired toward a group standing outside Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. An evidence tech at the hospital alerted his dispatcher that a car was shooting as nearby officers called out the sound of gunfire near the hospital. Six of the 24 people shot between Monday and Tuesday mornings had been taken to the West Side trauma center for treatment. No one had been taken into custody for those shootings. Outside the hospital a few minutes after the shooting, officers surrounded a group of people who were arguing. Shortly afterward, two cars filled with people left the hospital while others walked toward Douglas Park. Police at the scene said no one was hit by the gunfire. The opulent wardrobe of Maharaja Duleep Singh is one of the highlights of a major exhibition showcasing Queen Victorias complex love affair with India at the Kensington Palace from Friday, marking the 200th anniversary of her birth. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was the Empress of India. Titled Victoria: Woman and Crown, the exhibition hosted in her birthplace explores various facets of her life, with India as one of its central themes. As the former ruler of the Sikh empire deposed during the Anglo-Sikh Wars with the annexation of the Punjab - the young Duleep Singh was exiled in 1854 to Britain, where he was first introduced to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. After this meeting, she described him in her journal as 16 & extremely handsome ... [he] has a pretty, graceful & dignified manner. He was beautifully dressed & covered with diamonds. For the first time, the exhibits include his wardrobe worn at the time. Queen Victoria was godmother to Duleep Singhs daughter Sophia, and offered his children accommodation at the Hampton Court Palace following his death. The exhibition includes a portrait of Duleep Singh commissioned by the queen. Also in focus is the role played by her Indian servant Abdul Karim, on whom she bestowed the title of Munshi, who taught her to read and write Urdu. One of her diaries carefully inscribed in the language is one of the star items of the display, set alongside items showcasing Victorias relationship with her empire. The exhibition also assesses her power and influence, and how she carefully curated her public image. As the most famous woman in the world at the dawn of the photographic age, Victoria understood and consciously harnessed this new technology, using it both to project an image of imperial power across continents and document the minutia of family life. Victorias long reign also saw the birth of four future kings. A poignant portrait of her with her son, grandson and great-grandson (the future Edward VII, George V and Edward VIII respectively) is on display. Polly Putnam, exhibition curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said: Although considered one of the most famous women in history, Queen Victorias personality, passions and politics remain little known. To mark the 200th anniversary of her birth at Kensington Palace, this year well be re-examining the life of this fascinating and contradictory monarch, whose cultural legacy and impact on world affairs are still felt to this day. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prasun Sonwalkar Prasun Sonwalkar was Editor (UK & Europe), Hindustan Times. During more than three decades, he held senior positions on the Desk, besides reporting from Indias north-east and other states, including a decade covering politics from New Delhi. He has been reporting from UK and Europe since 1999. ...view detail Although it will be years before the first humans set foot on Mars, the US space agency has invited public to submit their names to fly abroad the next rover to Red Planet in 2020. Souvenir boarding passes will display names submitted by the people which will also be on microchips aboard the Mars 2020 rover, NASA said in a statement on late Tuesday. People who want to send their name to Mars on NASAs next rover mission to the Red Planet (Mars 2020) can get a souvenir boarding pass and their names etched on microchips to be affixed to the rover. The rover is scheduled to launch as early as July 2020, with the spacecraft expected to touch down on Mars in February 2021. The 1,000-kg rover would search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planets climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration, said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington, DC. Its an exciting time for NASA, as we embark on this voyage to answer profound questions about our neighbouring planet, and even the origins of life itself, he added. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California would use an electron beam to stencil the submitted names onto a silicon chip. The chip (or chips) will ride on the rover under a glass cover. More than two million names flew on NASAs InSight mission to Mars, giving each flyer nearly 500 million frequent flyer kms. The last date to submit your name is September 30. Leaders of several countries, including neighbours China and Sri Lanka and Israel, on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was on its way to increase its majority as votes were being counted for the Lok Sabha elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party was set to return to power as vote count showed that along with its allies it was leading more than 340 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in seven phases, pushing the Congress to 95 seats. The BJP alone is leading in 291 seats, well over the halfway mark of 272, and if the party wins all of these, it will improve upon its tally of 282 in the last general election. Chinas Xi Jinping congratulated Modi and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe called him to extend his wishes as he led the BJP towards a resounding victory for a second term in office. King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck also called the Prime Minister. Click here for Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Israels Benjamin Netanyahu, who won a record fourth term as prime minister last month, congratulated Modi in Hebrew as well as Hindi on social media. Congratulating his friend in Hebrew, Hindi and English, Netanyahu wished to strengthen ties between his country and India. Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the worlds largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Well done, my friend! Netanyahu tweeted. Click here for Election results 2019 Coverage Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa also tweeted their congratulations to Modi. Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership, Sirisena said in a tweet. I have immense pleasure in extending to you my warmest congratulations and sincere best wishes on the victory of the BJP, Wickremesinghe said. Heartfelt best wishes and congratulations, Rajapaksa said in his message. The island countrys finance minister Mangala Samaraweera interrupted his speech in parliament to offer congratulations to Prime Minister Modi. Several other Sri Lankan lawmakers offered their best wishes to the Indian leader. Afghanistans president Ashraf Ghani posted his wishes to Modi on Twitter. Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia, he wrote. Nepalese prime minister KP Sharma Oli also took to Twitter to congratulate Modi on his massive victory. I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you. #PMOIndia, Oli wrote. American laws barring interracial sex and marriage were model for the anti-Jewish Nuremberg laws James Whitman is a historian and professor at Yale Law School. His 2017 book, Hitlers American Model, explores how racist legislation enacted by the United States influenced development of the Nazi-era statutes on race and citizenship in Germany that came to be known as the Nuremberg Laws. How did you come to this topic? Im not the first to wonder if the Jim Crow era influenced the Nazis, but I looked a little harder than other people had and found what I think was real influence. I began by pulling Mein Kampf off the shelf; I found a passage in which Hitler describes America as the one state that is making progress toward creation of a healthy racial order. And I thought there must be more. Explain this startling link. Upon taking power in 1933, the Nazis wanted to establish a race-based legal regime that in essence would reduce Jews to second-class citizens and ban, indeed criminalize, sex and marriage between Jews and Germans. This led to the Nuremberg Laws, enacted in 1935 and informed by what the Nazis termed material of interest in American law. Nazis saw the United States as a pioneer? In regard to citizenship, the first Nuremberg laws, as they are usually described, related to the de facto second-class citizenship accorded African Americans. Technically, the United States could not deny African Americans citizenship. However, in practice, especially but not exclusively through the deprivation of voting rights in the latter 19th century, blacks in America were subjected to forms of second-class citizenship that were of real interest to Nazi lawyers. Far right-wingers in Germany had been interested in this for a long time. After the Spanish-American War, the United States also created a legal form of second-class citizenship for the people of the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other conquered territories. These populations couldnt be granted citizenship, but constitutional law had no provision under which to designate second-class citizenship. In decisions called the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court created a new statusnon-citizen nationalwhich still exists. Nazi lawyers were very interested in these American innovations. What else did the United States pioneer? In the early 20th century, the idea that interracial marriage was morally objectionable or dangerous was very widespread in the world. But the United States stood out as the creator of laws cracking down on interracial sex, interracial marriage, and their perceived danger. American willingness to come up with these legislative schemes reflected something that we still see in the USA todayan innovative legislative energy rarely found elsewhere. To the Nazis, this approach was intriguing, even exciting. How did they learn about American race law? In 1935, 45 Nazi lawyers came to America on a study trip. One man in particular was instrumental in collecting knowledge about American race law. In 1933-34, Heinrich Krieger was an exchange student at the University of Arkansas Law School. On his return to Germany, Krieger became the main source informing the Nazi investigation that produced the Nuremburg Laws. In 1936, Junker & Dunnhaupt, a Berlin publisher sympathetic to the Nazis, brought out Kriegers Das Rassenrecht in den vereinigten StaatenRace Law in the United States. Its quite an interesting book. Nazi studies went beyond Jim Crow. Our memory of race law in America is mostly of the South and the treatment of American blacks there. But American racial law involved a much broader swath of the country, and affected many populations beyond the black population. Thirty states had anti-miscegenation statutes banning interracial marriage, targeting not only blacks but Asians and to some extent Native Americans. These laws interested the Nazis, who also were intrigued by American immigration law. In the late 19th century, the United States restricted immigration, particularly from China and Japan, and in the 1920s imposed national immigration quotas that Hitler praised in Mein Kampf. Those immigration laws, like anti-miscegenation laws, belonged to a national pattern of effort aimed at maintaining the white Anglo-Saxon character of the United States that went well beyond anything going on in the South. Yet the Nazis officially opposed lynching. That is one of the most dramatic and frightening observations. After Hitler took power, lynchings occurred in Germany, but the Nazi Party leadership was not in favor of lynching. They favored control of institutions and state-managed actionhence the Nuremberg Laws and the Final Solution. What is the takeaway? America was so much the leading racist jurisdiction that even Nazis looked here for inspiration. They wanted nothing to do with American liberal and humanitarian currents, but when it came to race law, they saw the United States as a country that had started down a path that they wanted to walk to the final destination. Thats important for Americans to understand: we cannot wish away the fact that Nazis could see aspects of American law as pioneeringand in some measure inspiring. What was so inspiring? Nazis liked the relatively politicized character of American law. Whats an example? Americas openness to imposing relatively harsh measures on interracial marriage, and the broader theme of American criminal justice. Before coming to power the Nazi party and other far right groups in Germany had very little success shaping legislation there, especially criminal legislation. The Nazis didnt want an American-style democracy, but they liked laws that the American legislative process produced. We have a long tradition, in many aspects of society, of deferring to the political process. American racists had much more success in shaping legislation here because the American process is more open to democratic political influence. American criminal law is the product of tough-on-crime politics. Elected officials here made and make criminal law policy with remarkable little regard for what trained criminal lawyers and criminologists believe would be the sound approach. And thats part of what appealed to the Nazis, who eventually overruled the moderate approach advocated by trained German lawyers, who supported basic doctrines like the presumption of innocence. White supremacy and court battles over executive actions are front and center. Did you expect this? What I learned makes me more uneasy about American institutions than I used to be. I finished the proofs of the book the day before the 2016 election, having no idea how much these questions would remain on the menu. The institutions that we hope will hold up are the institutions that produced the laws that the Nazis found so interesting. I must be the worlds luckiest historian, says Will Bagley, 69, who is best known for monumental nonfiction books about the Mormon West and overland trails published by the University of Oklahoma Press. That may be, but the Salt Lake Citybased author is also one of the worlds best historians of the American West. Western Writers of America (WWA) recognizes Bagley this year with its Owen Wister Award for lifetime contributions to Western literature, as well as induction into its Western Writers Hall of Fame, housed at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyo. Bagley previously earned WWA Spur Awards for his narrative histories Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows (2002); The Mormon Rebellion: Americas First Civil War, 18571858, co-written by David L. Bigler (2011); and With Golden Visions Bright Before Them: Trails to the Mining West, 18491852 (2012). Two of his other booksSo Rugged and Mountainous: Blazing the Trails to Oregon and California, 18121848 (2010) and South Pass: Gateway to a Continent (2014)were Spur Award finalists. Bagley recently spoke with Wild West about his work and the august ranks he has joined. Now that youve joined the ranks of Western Hall of Fame writers, would you share insight into others work? A discussion of WWA greats should start with the Old Bison, Bob Utley, who is a force of nature and may be the best and most prolific Western historian of the last century. Like the rest of the men and women on this list, hes also a profoundly decent person and a lot of fun. The Old Bisons addiction to writing about the history of the West is still going stronghell turn 90 on Halloween 2019. He published his first major book, The Last Days of the Sioux Nation, 56 years ago but continues to produce a great book about once a year. Being in Western Writers of America has let me meet and work with truly great writers, like Jim Crutchfield, who has made enormous contributions to WWA over the years. His The Settlement of America: Encyclopedia of Westward Expansion is big, sweeping history at its best. The work of Alvin M. Josephy Jr. and Robert J. Conley taught a critical lesson for any Western writer: Put Indians at the center of the story, because its where they belong in their native land. Other Wister winners Ive been lucky to meet at WWA gatheringsLucia St. Clair Robson, Win Blevins, Elmer Kelton, Loren Estleman, Don Coldsmith, David Dary and Dale L. Walkerwere and are not only masters of the craft but seriously fine, fun folks. Western writers are standing on the shoulders of giants. History strikes me as a series of random events stacked atop each other Who are your personal inspirations? The writers and historians I owe the most to all happen to be Utah nativesDale Morgan, Bernard DeVoto, David L. Bigler, Floyd A. ONeil, Fawn Brodie, John Dizikes and Page Stegner. Page was the great Wallaces son. He taught creative writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and put up with me from 1969 to 1972. Professor Dizikes told captivating anecdotes that captured entire epochs for generations of students and helped me get academic credit for taking a raft down the Mississippi. I never met him, but Morgan was my primary inspiration. His massive papers provided instructions on how to write virtually every one of my books. Brodie was one of the bravest and smartest women to ever put pen to paper. Finally, nobody ever wrote more compelling history than DeVoto did in his epic trilogy about the Wests discovery, exploration and settlement. I lost two major mentors this last year: David Bigler and Floyd ONeil. Fearless Floyd taught me how to think like a historian. Bigler showed me writing is organization. Everything Ive ever published reflects the influence of Floyds teaching and Daves thought-provoking storytelling. Describe some of the remarkable documents youve unearthed. What I love about being a research historian is that I learn something new every day. Historians are detectives. Thirty years ago I realized Utahs overlooked archives were full of clues, secrets and unique insights into the conquest of the West. This proved true when I found dozens of overlooked sources about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Maybe my best find was the letter a New Mexican trader, M.S. Martenas, wrote in July 1853 reporting what the Ute leaders he had known for upward of 30 years told him: They cannot live with the whites, for they cannot live in peacethe whites want everything and will give the Indians nothing. What I would give to have 15 minutes to ask Martenas some questions. Franklin Benjamin Woolleys autobiographical account of 1856 confirmed all my darkest suspicions about Brigham Youngs handcart scheme. Was there a pivotal decade in the 19th century? Without a doubt its the antebellum decade, 1850 to 1860, which paved the road to Americas bloodiest war. Its filled with lessons for today, if anybody learns anything from history. Im skeptical. Why focus on overland travel and the Mormons? I grew up with these great stories, which were all over 1950s popular culture, had a huge audience and inspired movies, television series, magazine and newspaper articles, and bestselling books. They inspired me, too. Tell us about your autobiography. I have been writing River Fever: Adventures on the Mississippi, 19691972 since it was happening and spent a half-century trying to find a publisher. Salt Lake Citys Signature Books releases it this June, and Im currently recording the audiobook, which opens up a new frontier. Reading your prose out loud is the perfect acid test. There is no better way to spot long, clunky sentences and learn why shorter prose is better prose. Why have you referred to yourself as a one damn thing after another historian? I dont believe in fate. History strikes me as a series of random events stacked atop each other. If there is a grand plan behind history, I cant see it or figure out what that plan could be. There are always plots to turn the course of events, but they are almost impossible to pull off: Life is too complicated. What are you writing now? Im working on The Long and Perilous Journey: Trails and the Transformation of the American West, 1853 to 1861. Its the third volume of the series friend and editor Bob Clark named Overland West, which will take the epic up to the Civil War. WW Dr. Isaac Coates and Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer first met at Fort Riley, Kansas, at the outset of Major General Winfield Scott Hancocks 1867 campaign against the CheyennesCusters introduction to the Indian wars. The first thing I noted about [him]was his laugh, which, soon after I entered the room, burst forth volcanolike until the very windows shook, Coates wrote of Custer in April 1867. There was an intellectual vigor, a whole-souled manliness and an indomitable energy expressed in that laugh. Assigned to the campaign, the doctor would shortly see more of and come to befriend the colonel. Isaac Taylor Coates was born in Coatesville. Pa., on March 17, 1834, to a Pennsylvania family with deep roots and a good repute if little money. He taught school to pay his way through medical school and earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1858. After making several trans-Atlantic crossings as surgeon aboard the packet ship Great Western for the Black Ball Line of passenger vessels, he served as a physician on various Union Navy ships during the Civil War. On March 22, 1865, Coates married Mary Penn-Gaskel, a descendant of Pennsylvania founder and namesake William Penn. That fall he received a commission from Pennsylvania Governor Andrew G. Curtin, and he served through years end as assistant surgeon to the 77th Pennsylvania Infantry, then on Reconstruction duty in Texas. Isaac and Mary had three children (two of whom died in infancy), but he spent most of his life away from home. Descendants surmise he loved his wife but disliked her snobbish family. For much of 1866 he remained on Reconstruction duty in the South as an acting surgeon with the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. In February 1867, during one of his rare visits home to Chester, Pa., a restless Coates wrote to U.S. Army Surgeon General Joseph Barnes, offering his services as a surgeon for one or two years in the territories. Quickly accepted, he was directed to report for duty at Fort Riley, headquarters of the newly created 7th U.S. Cavalry. He arrived on March 22. Eight months earlier an equally restless Custer, whod ended the war as a brevet major general and taken a long leave of absence, had been appointed lieutenant colonel of the regiment. Coates and Custer immediately hit it off, the doctor joining General Hancock and the colonel on expedition. Coates was soon the focal point of one of the many seriocomic adventures Custer describes in My Life on the Plains. In mid-April, after a conference with truculent Cheyennes under Roman Nose and Bull Bear and Oglala Sioux under Pawnee Killer, the Indians rode back to their village, vowing to return for a full council with the general. But Custer had his doubts, reinforced on the evening of April 14 by intelligence from half-French, half-Cheyenne interpreter Edmund Guerrier, who had accompanied the Indians to their camp and reported they were preparing to leave. Hancock ordered Custer to lead out a strong patrol, surround the village and prevent the Indians from departing. Custer recalled the tense night action: Directing the entire line of troopers to remain mounted with carbines held at the advance, I dismounted, and taking with me Guerrier, the half-breed, Dr. Coates, one of our medical staff, and Lieutenant [Myles] Moylan, the adjutant, proceeded on our hands and knees toward the village. The prevailing opinion was that the Indians were still asleep. The doctor, who was a great wag, even in moments of greatest danger, could not restrain his propensities in this direction. When everything between us was being discussed in the most serious manner, he remarked: General, this recalls to my mind those beautiful lines: Backward, turn backward, O Time, in thy flight / Make me a child again just for one nightthis night of all others. Coates was relieved and Custer disappointed when the Cheyenne village proved empty. As the curious quartet explored the still-standing lodges, Coates used a horn spoon to ladle a piece of meat from an Indian kettle, examining it with scientific curiosity. Ah, here is the opportunity I have long been waiting for! Coates exclaimed, savoring the aroma of the meat. I have often desired to test and taste of the Indian mode of cooking. What do you suppose this is? Custer merely looked on as the doctor tucked in, finding the morsel delicious. Guerrier, who had lived with his mothers Cheyenne people for much of his adult life, slipped into the lodge as Coates was eating. What can this be? Coates again asked. Guerrier fished a large chunk from the kettle and gulped it down. Why, this is dog. I will not attempt to repeat the few but emphatic words uttered by the heartily disgusted member of the medical fraternity as he rushed from the lodge, Custer wrote. Moving on to another lodge, Custer and Coates discovered a protruding foot attached to a terrified half-blood girl, no more than 10 years old, wrapped in a buffalo robe. Having Guerrier translate, they asked why shed been left behind. Her answer quashed their recent mirth. After being shamefully abandoned by the entire village, Custer recalled, a few of the young men of the tribe returned to the deserted lodge and upon the person of this little girl committed atrocities, the details of which are too sickening for these pages. Years later Guerrier dismissed her as a crazy girl. On examination, however, Coates confirmed that the girl, who he believed to be a full-blood Indian, had been raped. He later questioned whether soldiers had assaulted her, noting in his journal, Colonel [Edward W.] Wynkoop [agent to the Southern Cheyennes and Arapaho], who declared the girl was an Indian (and an idiot), said there was no instance on record of Indians committing such an outrage on one of their own people. The girl wasnt the only one the fleeing Indians had abandoned in the village. [Others] found an old, decrepit Indian of the Sioux tribe, Custer wrote, who also had been deserted, owing to his infirmities and inability to travel. On April 15 Hancock assigned his infantry to secure the empty village and sent Custer with eight companies of cavalry in pursuit of the Indians. The latter raided mail stations and Kansas Pacific rail crews but were never brought to battle. On April 19 Hancock had the Army burn the village of 272 lodges to the ground and destroy all of its possessions in retribution. The column then resumed the chase. On June 8 a shot was heard in camp. Major Robert Wickliffe Cooper, a 35-year-old Civil War veteran and known alcoholic, was found dead in his tent, his pistol by his side. Coates examined the body and ruled the death a suicide. It appeared the major had acted out of desperation after running out of booze. In a letter written some three decades later, Captain Frederick Benteenwho came to despise Custerplaced the blame on the colonel and the doctor: On leaving the post of old Fort Hays, Major Wycliffe Cooper, being some days from post and out of whiskey, shot himselfsuicidebecause the d-d fool doctor, acting under orders from Custer, wouldnt give him even a drink of whiskey to straighten out on. For his part, Custer spoke glowingly of Cooper as a brilliant and most companionable gentleman. He leaves a young wife, shortly to become a mother. Coates own sympathy for Coopers widow would get him into trouble. Meanwhile, he faced more immediate perils. By late June the 7th Cavalry had again caught up to Pawnee Killer, who led the troopers on a wild goose chase while a handful of his warriors dropped back to loot Custers supply train. The colonel sent a detachment in pursuit under Captain Lewis McLane Hamilton, a grandson of Alexander Hamilton. Coates rode along in case there was trouble. The captain, in turn, split his command, sending a unit under the colonels brother Lieutenant Tom Custer after one group of Indians, while he pursued another. As the troopers separated, the Indians sprang an ambush, placing each unit in peril. In the confusion Coates became separated from both parties. A half-dozen warriors took notice and rode after the doctor. Custer recalled his flight: How often, if ever, the doctor looked back I know not.His pursuers, knowing that their success must be gained soon, if at all, pressed their fleet ponies forward until they seemed to skim over the surface of the green plain, and their shouts of exultation falling clearer and louder upon his ear told the doctor that they were surely gaining upon him. So close had the Indians succeeded in approaching that they were almost within arrow range and would soon have sent one flying through the doctors body, when, to the great joy of the pursued and the corresponding grief of his pursuers, camp suddenly appeared in full view scarcely a mile distant. The ponies of the Indians had been ridden too hard to justify their riders in venturing near enough to provoke pursuit upon fresh animals. Sending a parting volley of bullets after the flying doctor, they turned about and disappeared. The doctor did not slacken his pace on this account, however; he knew that Captain Hamiltons party was in peril and that assistance should reach him as soon as possible. Without tightening rein or sparing spur he came dashing into camp, and the first we knew of his presence, he had thrown himself from his own nearly breathless horse and was lying on the ground, unable, from sheer exhaustion and excitement, to utter a word. The detachments managed to repel the Indians, who were loath to mount a charge against troopers armed with revolvers and repeating rifles. But Coates won great respect for his wild ride. By early July the fruitless pursuit in summer heat across the shadeless Plains on meager rations had taken a toll on Custers troopers By early July the fruitless pursuit in summer heat across the shadeless Plains on meager rations had taken a toll on Custers troopers. More ominously, the cavalry had begun hunting for 2nd Lt. Lyman Kidder, who had vanished days earlier with 10 men and a Lakota scout named Red Bead. Those factors, coupled with word of a nearby gold strike, had convinced a number of men to desert en masse. On the night of July 5 upward of 35 enlisted men did just that. Two days later came a bold daylight desertion. Attention was called to 13 soldiers who were then to be seen rapidly leaving camp in the direction from which we had marched, Custer recalled. Seven of these were mounted and were moving off at a rapid gallop; the remaining six were dismounted.This, unfortunately, was an emergency which involved the safety of the entire command and required treatment of the most summary character. Custer bluntly described that summary treatment to wife Libbie in a July 8 letter he never intended for publication: I directed Major [Joel] Elliott and Lieutenants Custer, [William] Cooke and [Henry] Jackson, with a few of the guard, to pursue the deserters who were still visible, though more than a mile distant, and to bring the dead bodies of as many as could be taken back to camp. Custer nemesis Captain Benteen described the incident in a predictably hyperbolic letter written in 1896. The dismounted deserters were shot down, he wrote, while begging for their lives, by General Custers executioners: Major Elliott, Lieutenant Custer and the executioner-in-chief, Lieutenant Cooke. One of the deserters was brought in badly wounded, and in extreme agony from riding in wagon (over the Plains without a road), screamed in his anguish. General Custer, in passing by, rode up to the wagon and, pistol in hand, told the soldier that if he didnt cease making so much noise, he would shoot him to death! Hows that for high? Within days 7th Cavalry scout Will Comstock found the grisly evidence that Kidder and his men had been encircled, killed and horrifically mutilated. After ensuring they received as decent a burial as possible, Custer led his command into Fort Wallace. The colonel himself then took French leave. Concerned for his wife amid rumors of a cholera epidemic, he led a 75-man detachment on a rapid march to Fort Hays, split off to check in with Colonel Andrew J. Smith, his superior at Fort Harker, then boarded a train to see Libbie at Fort Riley. Almost immediately he received a telegram ordering him back to Fort Harker, where Smith, on Hancocks orders, placed Custer under arrest. The court-martial convened at Fort Leavenworth on September 15. Lieutenant Charles Brewster, assigned to Custers defense counsel, warned the colonel not to count on his 7th Cavalry officers, as most had refused to testify. The two principal charges were absence without leave and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline, the second a catchall that included leaving his command in the field without proper authority and employing troops and government stock on personal business, as well as his July 7 orders to shoot the fleeing deserters. On September 26 Dr. Coates was sworn in as a witness for the prosecution. As far as my memory serves me, he began, on the 7th of July a number of men deserted while the regiment had halted, and some of those deserters were shotthree of them to my certain knowledge. When you first saw them, did you give them any medical attendance? the prosecutor asked. No, sir, Coates answered. For what reason did you not? When the wagon first came in, I with a number of others started to it, Coates replied. As I was going to it, I believe General Custer said to me not to go near those men at that time. I stopped there, just where I stood, of course. I obeyed his order. How long were those men in the wagon before you gave them medical attendance? I suppose two hours.I administered opiates and made them comfortable, just as I should have done on the field of battle. Would it not have been better to have dressed their wounds than to have delayed it? It was impossible to dress them on account of not having fresh water, Coates explained. We had no water but in the buffalo wallows, and it would have been very hurtful to have dressed the wounds with muddy water.I waited two days until we came to a stream of clear waterthe first we came to.Sometimes gunshot wounds do not need dressing. Sometimes they do better by allowing the blood to congeal on them. That was the case in these cases. The hemorrhage was arrested by the gluing of their clothing to the wounds. And there was no more hemorrhage after the first hour or so. Coates testimony had saved Custer from the worst charges of denying medical care to the wounded deserters Custer then asked to question Coates through his defense counsel. When you reached the camp on the night of the 7th and gave the deserters medical attendance, who directed you or instructed you to give them that attendance? the colonel asked. General Custer, Coates replied. As far as I recollect now, he said to me, Doctor, my sympathies are not with these men who are wounded, but I want you to give them all necessary attention. Pressed again to answer why Custer had initially directed him not to tend the wounded, Coates spoke to the heavy responsibility the colonel bore at the time. I had at that time an idea the objection [to immediate treatment] was made for effect, he told the court-martial. There had been a great many desertions, some 30 or 40 the night previous, and the men were crowding around the wagon, and I had an idea the general wished to make an impression on the men, that they would be dealt with the severest and harshest manner.Soon after I had started to those menI think just before General Custer moved out with the column, or it might have been immediately after he told me not to go near themhe said, You can attend to them after a while. Coates testimony had saved Custer from the worst charges of denying medical care to the wounded deserters. Despite the doctors outmoded belief that open wounds dont require dressing (iodine and other disinfectants were already in field use during the 187071 Franco-Prussian War), using water from buffalo wallows, as he testified, would have proved injurious. However, the court found Custer guilty on all other charges and suspended him from rank and command for a year without pay. It was a bitter footnote to his first Indian campaign, which itself had proven less than glorious. Fortunately for him, the brass in Washington felt the same about Hancocks performance and soon replaced him in Kansas with Lt. Gen. Phil Sheridan. Sheridan appreciated a good fighting officer, and thanks to his intervention, Custer was back with the 7th Cavalry well before his sentence had expired. In the wake of the court-martial Coates left the 7th Cavalry and the Plains behind and spent a few months as post surgeon at Fort McRae in New Mexico Territory. It was while he was posted there his innate kindness tripped him up. Sometime in January 1868 a lawyer representing the family of Robert Wickliffe Cooper, the major whod shot himself in camp the prior June, sought Coates help in securing a survivors pension for his widow. The Army had thus far denied her petition due to the cause of death. Coates obliged by returning a signed, blank pension form that omitted his medical verdicta clear violation of U.S. Army regulations. In an accompanying letter, the doctor cautioned the lawyer to practice discretion. Inexplicably, the man forwarded Coates signed pension form and the confidential letter to the Army. Oblivious to the attorneys betrayal of trust, Coates resigned from the service that March, at last report bound for his Pennsylvania home via San Francisco. The doctor was out of the Army for goodnot that he let the dust settle on his boots On April 21, 1869, after requesting a new field posting, Coates received a terse reply from Surgeon General Barnes. Your request cannot be complied with, it read, as your name had been placed on the list of physicians not to be contracted with again. for the reason of having signed blank Certificate for Pension in the case of the late Major Cooper. In 1885, after repeated entreaties by Coopers widow, sympathetic U.S. senators finally directed the War Department to change her husbands record to state he had died by hand of person or persons unknown while in the line of duty. But the governments change of heart came too late for Coates. The doctor was out of the Army for goodnot that he let the dust settle on his boots. He soon embarked on a grand voyage, crossing the country by stage, traveling by ship down the California coast to the Isthmus of Panama, then sailing up the Atlantic Coast to New York and Philadelphia. He returned home just in time to help comfort his first son, Peter, through a fatal case of tuberculosis. Mary gave birth to another son, Harold, as Isaac engaged in a vain effort to get his Army pension. Their last child was stillborn. Coates then took a job as company surgeon with a railroad in Peru, while there making the first recorded ascent of El Misti, a volcano that towered 19,931 feet in the central Andes. Back in Chester by 1876, he delivered the centennial oration for the communitys Fourth of July committee. A year later wife Mary died at her parents home in Philadelphia. Ever the escapist, Coates brought along 7-year-old Harold on a harrowing expedition along Brazilian tributaries of the Amazon River. He and returned with rheumatism and no money. Ironically, in 1881 Harold inherited the considerable properties of one of his mothers wealthy Irish relativesthe snobbish clan his father had tried so hard to avoid. By then Isaac had left for Colorado, reportedly for health reasons. For some years he bounced around the Southwest practicing medicine. He was working from an office off the plaza in Socorro, New Mexico Territory, when he died on June 23, 1883, nine months shy of his 50th birthday. The details of his untimely demise remain elusive, though a dispatch in The San Francisco Examiner pointed to suicide. After surviving three decades of harrowing adventures from the high seas to the Great Plains and beyond, the good doctor had taken his own life with an overdose of chloroform. WW Wild West special contributor John Koster is the author of Custers Lost Scout and Custer Survivor: The Final Showdown. For further reading he recommends On the Plains With Custer and Hancock: The Journal of Isaac Coates, Army Surgeon, edited by W.J.D. Kennedy, and My Life on the Plains, by George Armstrong Custer. The Tribune has written several front-page stories since last year detailing the fallout over Watts' nearly decadelong run of corruption. So far, four drug convictions involving three defendants have been tossed because of Watts' tainted history. In addition, two officers who maintained they were victims of the "code of silence" won a $2 million settlement to their whistleblower lawsuit that alleged they were blackballed for trying to expose Watts' corruption years ago. Half Moon Bay, CA (94019) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 49F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Showers this evening becoming a steady light rain overnight. Low around 45F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. About 5:45 a.m. Saturday, the man was shot in the groin and in the abdomen during an attempted carjacking in the 1200 block of South California Avenue, police said. He had been driving a car when the incident happened. The passenger of the car drove him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Chicago recorded its 300th homicide over the Father's Day weekend, just like it did last year. The somber milestone was reached around 2:30 a.m. Monday when a 33-year-old man was gunned down during a burst of violence that saw four people killed and 13 others wounded over just five hours Sunday evening through early Monday, according to data kept by the Tribune. At one point, officers working a double-shooting on the Near West Side late Sunday night had to duck for cover when shots were fired blocks away. "That's pretty arrogant to do so much shooting when the police are there," said a 65-year-old man who was sitting on his porch in the 2400 block of West Jackson Boulevard when the gunfire erupted on either side of his brick home. "It's ridiculous but it's been going on forever." Over the entire weekend, 11 people were killed and at least 50 others were shot across the city. The toll was similar to last Father's Day weekend when 13 people were killed and 46 others were shot, according to Tribune data. Last year, Chicago recorded its 300th homicide on June 17. This year, it came two days later, Tribune data shows. The Chicago Police Department's tally is slightly lower because it does not count killings on area expressways, police-involved shootings or homicides where someone was killed in self-defense. As of early Monday, the department had logged 296 homicides for the year. Among those killed this past weekend were Shirley Ervin, 69, and her husband, Johnnie Ervin, 67, known as "mom and pop" on their block in North Austin. A relative found them around 1:10 a.m. Sunday inside their home in the 1400 block of North Leclaire Avenue. They had been stabbed to death, authorities said. Shirley Ervin, a retired postal worker, had been ill lately and her husband was caring for her, neighbors said. "I can't believe it," said a woman who checked on them regularly. "She was sick, and they stayed in the house. They didn't bother anyone." In Little Village to the south, 3-year-old Jazebel Aleman was found dead early Sunday in an apartment in the 2500 block of South Homan Avenue. An autopsy found she suffered multiple injuries from an assault, authorities said. And in the Back of the Yards, four people were hit by rifle fire in separate attacks Saturday, according to police. One of them died. Gangs in Back of the Yards and neighboring Brighton Park have been increasingly using semi-automatic rifles since last year, according to police. Despite the violent weekend, the number of shootings remains lower than last year, when violence reached levels not seen in two decades. Homicides are down slightly, by about six, from this time last year, according to Tribune data. Shootings are down more sharply: at least 1,609 people shot this year compared with 1,789 this time last year. However, the violence this year is much higher than other recent years. The city didn't see its 300th homicide in 2015 until Aug. 17, according to Tribune data. In 2014, it was Sept. 11, and in 2013 it was Sept 1. The complaint alleges it was improper for Burke to vote for the unions collective bargaining agreements and also represent them as an attorney because it created an apparent conflict of interest. Burke also had an alleged conflict of interest by representing unions whose members had workers compensation claims pending before the Finance Committee he chaired. Pipeline 23 May 2019 Dusit has signed a management agreement with Jiangxi Honglv Real Estate for a Dusit Thani hot springs resort in China. Scheduled to open in 2021, the Dusit Thani Hot Springs Resort Wugongshan, Jiangxi is approximately 30 minutes by car from Pingxiang High-Speed Train Station in the southeast of Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province. Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, and Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, can both be reached in one hour by high-speed train. Comprising 300 guest rooms and suites, the resort will be located amidst the natural splendour of Wugong Mountain, which is famous for its rolling forested peaks, vast beautiful meadows, natural hot springs, and ancient altars. The resort's key feature will be the outdoor and indoor hot springs providing a choice of therapeutic, aromatic, splash and foot reflexology pools. The stay experience will be further enriched by an all-day dining restaurant, a fully equipped gym, a swimming pool, and a luxury spa. Appointment 23 May 2019 Decade-and-a-half Four Seasons veteran to helm the brand's newest property in Mexico. Four Seasons Resort Los Cabos at Costa Palmas announces that Borja Manchado will lead the team at the third and newest Four Seasons property in Mexico. The new construction boasts 141 rooms and the largest resort residential real estate footprint in the portfolio. A seasoned hotelier, Manchado's career has spanned across every continent except Antarctica. His new role as General Manager marks his return to Mexico, having started his journey with Four Seasons at Four Seasons HOtel Mexico City as Front Desk Manager in 2004. He has since held roles at the former Four Seasons Resort Carmelo, Uruguay, Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh, Four Seasons Hotel Casablanca, Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, and most recently, Four Seasons Hotel Miami, where he served as Hotel Manager. Press Release 23 May 2019 With the rise of at-home genetic tests like 23andMe, it has never been easier to learn about your ancestry, and this has contributed to a growing trend of heritage travel. People around the world are taking trips to connect with their ancestry, and that's why Airbnb and 23andMe are teaming up to make traveling to your roots easier than ever. Advertisements Both companies will be incorporating heritage travel into their product experiences. On 23andMe, once a customer receives their ancestry reports, they will be able to click through to their ancestral populations and find Airbnb Homes and Experiences in their native countries. For example, if a 23andMe customer has Southern Italian ancestry, they might be able to find a trullo in Puglia as a home base to explore their heritage. Or someone with Mexican roots could find an experience in Mexico City to learn ancient techniques of natural dye as part of their heritage vacation. Additionally, Airbnb now has dedicated pages that correspond with 23andMe's genetic populations, so that travelers coming to Airbnb's site will be able to easily plan an end-to-end heritage trip. At Airbnb, we believe that authentic travel experiences help you connect with local cultures and create a sense of belonging anywhere in the world and what better way to do that than traveling to your roots. We're proud to team up with 23andMe, the leader in helping people learn about their genes and ancestry, to make it easier for travelers to plan trips as unique as their DNA. Joe Gebbia, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer "We empower 23andMe customers to learn about themselves and their ancestry through their unique genetic code," said 23andMe CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki. "Working with Airbnb, a leader who is reimagining travel, provides an exciting opportunity for our customers to connect with their heritage through deeply personal cultural and travel experiences." The Rise of Heritage Travel Learning about ancestry is a key reason people take at-home genetic tests like 23andMe 53 percent of buyers of genetic kits say they decided to take a test because they want to know information about their ancestry and the ancestry of their family*. For those who hadn't yet taken a test, 73 percent of survey respondents said knowing their heritage by exploring personal DNA made them more likely to take a test. And this curiosity about ancestry has contributed to a rise in heritage travel, which is now trending all over the world. According to an April 2019 study commissioned by Airbnb of 8,000 people across the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, India, France, the UK, and Australia 89 percent of survey respondents in India have traveled to at least one country of their ancestry as well as 69 percent in France and over half of Americans. Airbnb And compared to five years ago, 66 percent of respondents in Brazil said they are more likely to travel to their place of heritage. Additionally, people in Australia, India, the UK and Brazil said that visiting a place connected with their DNA was the most important consideration when planning their next vacation. Ancestry trips also tend to be more enriching than a normal vacation 83 percent of people in Argentina said that they considered heritage trips to be more valuable than a normal vacation. But perhaps the biggest sign of the rise of heritage travel is what people are willing to give up for it 55 percent of respondents in India would give up eating dessert for a year in exchange for a free trip to a place of their ancestry. And 61 percent of Brazilians, 57 percent of Americans, and 56 percent of Australians would give up alcohol for a year for an ancestry trip. Airbnb The rise of DNA travel is also prevalent on Airbnb. Since 2014, the number of travelers using Airbnb for tracing their roots increased by 500 percent, and 78 percent of these trips are taken in pairs or solo, suggesting that these are introspective journeys or an important moment to share with a significant other. Additionally, as our guests grow older, their desire to understand their roots grows as well guests aged 60-90 are the most likely to take heritage travel trips. And the most popular places of origin for DNA trips are the places typically known for their history of immigration the United States tops the list followed by Canada and Australia. Mainland China, the United Kingdom, France, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Brazil round out the top ten origin list. According to 23andMe, some of the top places in which its customers have recent ancestry outside of the United States and Canada are the United Kingdom, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Mainland China, Spain, Nigeria, India and Russia. 23andMe data also shows that the majority of its customers have at least five populations within their Ancestry Composition report, which presents many opportunities for one to explore heritage travel. Airbnb However, you don't even need to travel to explore your roots. Through Airbnb Experiences, you can still connect with your ancestry in a meaningful way right in your hometown. For example, in San Francisco, Chuhan and her husband lead a Chinese calligraphy and tea tasting experience. In fact, you could say calligraphy is in their DNA their grandparents and parents have created a number of calligraphy masterpieces, many of which were sold in art auctions. Or in Paris, you can take a West African fashion tour with Chayet, an African fashion specialist who takes her guests to buy waxed fabric and meet Senegalese tailors. Whether it's a class in your neighborhood, or a trip to a distant country where your ancestors called home, connecting with your roots can be an eye-opening, enriching experience, and with the help of Airbnb and 23andMe, you can now plan a trip as unique as your DNA. *According to a post-purchase survey of 600 23andMe customers in Q1 2019. According to a national survey of 1,500 U.S.-based adults conducted by 23andMe in April 2019. All internal Airbnb data in this post is based on guest reviews containing keywords related to DNA and heritage travel, and local translations between 2014 and 2018. The Airbnb Press Room is aimed at journalists. All Homes and Experiences referenced on the Airbnb Press Room are intended purely to inspire and illustrate. Airbnb does not recommend or endorse specific Home or Experience listings on the Airbnb platform. The woman, in her 30s, was parking her black SUV around 8:10 a.m. when Williams got into the passenger side and displayed a gun, according to Officer Anthony Spicuzza, a police spokesman. The woman got out and the teen drove off, heading north on Laflin, according to police. The teacher was not injured. Opinion Article 23 May 2019 Hawaii experienced another stellar year of RevPAR performance in 2018, bolstered by improved airlift and a strong domestic economy, which resulted in another record year of visitor arrivals. Despite these impressive achievements, the year was not without its share of difficulties, including volcanic eruptions at Kilauea, disruptions caused by Hurricane Lane and Hurricane Olivia, and an extended 51-day hotel worker strike. Nevertheless, the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) forecasts sustained year-over-year growth in visitor arrivals through 2022, which should support a robust hotel market. Advertisements Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority HVS According to the 2018 December Hawaii Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, overall occupancy levels for hotels statewide declined between 2017 and 2018. However, the decrease in occupancy was offset by strong gains in average daily rate (ADR). Overall, RevPAR rose from $212.07 to $221.85, placing Hawaii as the second-strongest-performing major market in the United States, only trailing New York City. This is the ninth consecutive year that hotels in Hawaii have experienced gains in RevPAR. Source: Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development, & Tourism HVS Visitor arrivals surged by nearly 6% between 2017 and 2018, primarily generated by growth in domestic tourism. [1] On the island of Oahu, this corresponded with an increase in occupancy of 0.4%, while Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai experienced slight declines. [2] The overall statewide decrease in hotel occupancy, coupled with the significant increase in visitor arrivals and total visitor days, suggest that a notable portion of occupied room nights were accommodated by other forms of transient lodging, particularly short-term vacation rentals. While short-term vacation rentals accommodate a certain segment of unaccommodated demand, oversupply and competition from vacation rentals will likely remain a threat to the hotel industry in Hawaii for the foreseeable future. HVS Below is a brief list of recent highlights pertaining to the Hawaii lodging market, categorized by island: Hawaii: The former Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows closed in October 2018; redevelopment is currently underway, and the hotel is expected to reopen as an Auberge Resort in late 2019. [3] In January 2019, developer Kennedy Wilson announced that the Kona Village Resort would reopen as a Rosewood Resort in 2022. [4] Ocean Tower by Hilton Grand Vacations opened in February 2019; the 72 timeshare units are the first of a multi-phase redevelopment of the former 600-room Ocean Tower at Hilton Waikoloa Village. [5] Maui: Developer R.D. Olson broke ground on the 110-room AC Hotel by Marriott Wailea in April 2019. [6] The Blackstone Group is currently pursuing entitlements related to a 224-guestroom expansion and renovation of the Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. [7] Construction has started on the first phase of the Maui Bay Villas by Hilton Grand Vacations; the initial phase is expected to feature 131 timeshare units and is anticipated to open in 2021. [8] Lanai: The Four Seasons Lanai Lodge at Koele is expected to reopen in early 2020 following its closure in January 2015 [9] Oahu: Park Hotels & Resorts announced plans to develop a new hotel under a brand affiliated with Hilton Inc. adjacent to the Grand Waikikian by Hilton Grand Vacations. [10] Construction is likely to commence before year-end 2019 on the Mandarin Oriental Hotel & Residences near the Hawaii Convention Center and Ala Moana Shopping Center. [11] The Modern Honolulu, purchased by Diamond Resorts in 2018, is expected to be converted to timeshare units; a concrete timeline for its redevelopment has yet to be announced. [12] Kauai: The Princeville Resort (formerly known as the St. Regis Princeville) is anticipated to undergo an extensive renovation and reopen as the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay in 2022. [13] Following a failed redevelopment attempt under the Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand, the site of the former Coco Palms Resort is reportedly on the market. [14] Another major highlight is the recent introduction of Southwest Airlines' service to Hawaii. The Dallas-based carrier began flights from the mainland U.S. to the state of Hawaii mid-March 2019, as well as interisland service in late April. The introduction of Southwest Airlines' service to Hawaii is also expected to increase competition in pricing, which should support growth in visitation. According to an analysis conducted by Kayak.com, the average round-trip, economy-class fare from California to Hawaii decreased by 17% in March 2019, compared to March 2018. In general, the Hawaii hotel market continues to remain an attractive market for institutional capital, and trophy assets should continue to draw investor interest both domestically and internationally. The market's high barriers to entry, forecasted growth in visitor arrivals, and favorable economic conditions support a positive outlook. HVS continues to regularly consult in this area, with the San Francisco office serving the greater Hawaii market. John Berean; Adam Lair, MAI; and Suzanne R. Mellen, MAI, CRE, FRICS, ISHC; are ready to assist you on any consulting need you may have. [1] Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) [2] Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA) [3] Auberge Resorts Collection. "Hawaii's Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows Joins Auberge Resorts Collection". 23 May 2018: https://aubergeresorts.com/press/hawaiis-mauna-lani-bay-hotel-bungalows-joins-auberge-resorts-collection/ [4] Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. "Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort to Open in 2022 on the Island of Hawai'i". 30 Jan. 2019: https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/media/press/2019/Kona-Village-A-Rosewood-Resort-to-Open-in-2022 [5] Hilton Grand Vacations. "Hilton Grand Vacations Opens Ocean Tower by Hilton Grand Vacations Club". 7 Feb. 2019: https://www.hgv.com/hilton-grand-vacations-opens-ocean-tower-by-hilton-grand-vacations-club/ [6] R.D. Olson Construction. "R.D. Olson Construction Breaks Ground on AC Hotel Wailea", 10 Apr. 2019: https://www.rdolson.com/news-items/r-d-olson-construction-breaks-ground-on-ac-hotel-wailea/ [7] Tanji, Melissa. "Grand Wailea planning 224 room expansion." 28 Feb. 2019: https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2019/02/grand-wailea-planning-224-room-expansion/ [8] Hilton Grand Vacations. "Hilton grand Vacations to expand Hawaii portfolio, offer first property on Maui". 25 Jan. 2019: https://www.hgv.com/hilton-grand-vacations-to-expand-hawaii-portfolio-offer-first-property-on-maui/ [9] Gollan, Doug. "Four Seasons to open Nine Resorts in 2019". 5 Dec. 2018: https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Four-Seasons-to-Open-Nine-Resorts-In-2019 [10] Magin, Janis L. "Park Hotels & Resorts plans to build first new Waikiki hotel in 30 years". 27 Mar. 2019: https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2019/03/27/park-hotels-resorts-plans-to-build-first-new.html [11] Magin, Janis L. "Prices of Residences at Mandarin Oriental Honolulu to start at $3.5M". 15 Jan. 2019: https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2019/01/15/prices-of-residences-at-mandarin-oriental-honolulu.html [12] O'Connor, Christina. "The Modern Honolulu to lay off 78, according to Local 5". 2 Feb. 2019: https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2019/05/02/the-modern-honolulu-to-lay-off-78-according-to.html [13] SH Hotels & Resorts. "Starwood Capital Group Acquires Princeville Resort". 16 Nov. 2018: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/starwood-capital-group-acquires-princeville-resort-300752310.html [14] Magin, Janis L. "Coco Palms project listed with no asking price but valued at $40M". https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2019/03/28/coco-palms-project-listed-with-no-asking-price-but.html Press Release 23 May 2019 Currently, if you are planning a trip to Russia for either tourism or business the application process is quite long and drawn out. Russia is big on obtaining details before they hand out a visa and as such you will need to complete an in-depth online form, print it, sign it, and present it at the Russian consulate or embassy with your passport and other documents. As you can imagine this take times. The good news is that a Russia Visa online application process is on the horizon. Advertisements Good news if you are travelling for hospitality business purposes or as a tourist. The Russia eVisa The eVisa is expected to work like the eVisa that Russia issues for visits to far eastern regions of Russia. There are 18 countries that can apply for it including China, Mexico, and India. People here just complete an online form. They can apply for the visa between 20 and 4 days before their arrival date in Russia. Ports of entry are specific and the visa will not allow entry into Russia in other ports. There is no requirement to show hotel booking tickets, however, once the eVisa has been approved. Travel is limited to 8 days. Only 8 parts of Russia are part of this scheme. They are: Primorsky Krai Kamchatka Krai Sakhalin Oblast Amur Oblast Khabarovsk Krai Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Zabaykalsky Krai Buryatia In 2021 the eVisa system should be rolled out to other countries making travelling to the country far easier. Current Documentation for Obtaining a Visa Right now, if you apply for a tourist visa to visit Russia you will need to show the following documentation: The printed and signed tourist visa online form A signed passport sized photograph Your passport Proof of accommodation such as hostel and hotel bookings Supporting documentation showing that it is a tourist visit such as tour tickets There are 54 states that can travel to Russia without a visa. These tend to be South American nations and former states of the USSR. If you are travelling as part of a group of seven people or more you can make a group application and receive a discount on the cost of a visa. All members of the group have to present their documentation at the same time at the embassy or consulate. Travel is restricted to 30 days. The only exception is the United States where tourist visas can run for 3 years. Check Before you Apply for a Visa Depending on why you are visiting Russia you should check the visa application process for your specific country. There are subtle differences and these change from time to time. If you are planning a trip to Russia it might be worth waiting for the eVisa system to be rolled out. The whole process will be faster and more convenient. Russia is a beautiful country with a unique culture. Soon, experiencing the country will be a lot easier than it is now no matter where you are in the world. In the meantime, you will need to carry on with the existing visa system if you want to travel to Russia. Cambria Hotels will be expanding to Vermont, following Choice Hotels International, Inc.'s (NYSE: CHH) agreement with Hospitality Funding Inc. and TQP Capital Partners to develop a 142-room hotel, slated to open in 2021. Cambria Hotels will be expanding to Vermont, following Choice Hotels International, Inc.'s (NYSE: CHH) agreement with Hospitality Funding Inc. and TQP Capital Partners to develop a 142-room hotel, slated to open in 2021. Located at 266 College St., the new Cambria hotel in Burlington will preserve the historic facade of the existing structure, which was built in 1934 and formerly housed the Greater Burlington YMCA. Located on one of Burlington's busiest thoroughfares, the hotel is a few blocks from the University of Vermont (UVM) and the UVM Medical Centerthe state's largest university and medical center, respectivelyas well as Champlain College and The Church Street Marketplace, an outdoor, pedestrian-friendly shopping district. "The Cambria Hotels brand excels at delivering a best-in-class experience, and developers notice its enduring success," said Mark Shalala, vice president, franchise development, upscale brands, Choice Hotels. "We are thrilled to bring the first Cambria to the Green Mountain State. Burlington, a vibrant college town with a rich history, is the perfect place to start." Cambria Hotels is designed for today's time-starved travelers looking for moments to connect to people and places through modern conveniences. The Cambria hotel in Burlington will feature the following amenities: A rooftop bar and restaurant with sunset views of Lake Champlainideal for a nightcap or formal event Multi-function meeting space, equipped with versatile technology and reliable essentials Immersive, spa-style bathrooms with Bluetooth mirrors Contemporary and sophisticated guestrooms, complete with modern fixtures, abundant lighting, and plush bedding Onsite dining featuring freshly made food, local craft beer on tap, wine, specialty cocktails, and small bites State-of-the-art fitness center Locally inspired design "Choice Hotels' experience in cultivating developer relationships and the resources they provide helped lay the groundwork for our agreement," said Scott Silver, chairman and CEO, Hospitality Funding. "My roots in Vermont and Burlington, as well as collaboration with the Greater Burlington YMCA, give me great insight into the sense of community here. The unique blend of a bustling metropolis and the coziness of a tucked-away town sealed the deal for the development of this Cambria Hotel." "Our Cambria will have the first and only rooftop restaurant in Burlington," said Thomas Prins, Principal of TQP Capital. "The views and vibe of the rooftop will be amazing." The Burlington Cambria will be operated by Hostmark Hospitality, a hotel management firm based in Schaumburg, Ill., which has been managing hotels and resorts for 54 years. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource The total sale price agreed was Ps. $95.0 million plus VAT. This price represents a cap rate of 9.4% considering an NOI of Ps. $8.9 million generated by the hotel from May 2018 to April 2019. Hoteles City Express, S.A.B. of C.V. (BMV: HCITY), announced the signing of a binding agreement with Deutsche Bank Mexico, SA, Multiple Banking Institution, Fiduciary Division F / 1616 or "Fibra Inn" for the acquisition of the City Express Chihuahua hotel. The total sale price agreed was Ps. $95.0 million plus VAT. This price represents a cap rate of 9.4% considering an NOI of Ps. $8.9 million generated by the hotel from May 2018 to April 2019 according to the information provided by Fibra Inn and on which a Due Diligence process was carried out. The hotel, which until now was a pure franchise and was operated by Gestor de Activos Prisma (entity related to Fibra Inn), will become part of the wholly owned hotel inventory of the Company and of Fibra STAY and will be operated by Operadora de Hoteles City Express with the objective of optimizing its performance over the next 12 months according to the parameters of maintenance, quality, productivity and profitability of the Company. The Company considers that the acquisition of the City Express Chihuahua hotel complements the competitive position of its proprietary hotel inventory in the northwest region of the country, which in the last 12 months has presented high single digit growth in revenues and represents one of the main poles of development and economic activity in Mexico derived from the arrival of new investments boosted by the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada ("USMCA"), the strengthening of the "maquila" activity and the convergence between the industrial, manufacturing, mining, logistics and export economic corridors. The acquisition of the hotel, subject of the binding agreement, will be executed over the next 62 days. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource Blake Griffin was in the midst of being sued back in February after an alleged incident in June where his dog attacked a 64-year-old man who was eating at A Votre Sante in Los Angeles. Emmanuel Aframian claims that he was eating and minding his own business when all of a sudden, the dog lunged at him in a vicious attack. During the time of the lawsuit, Aframian said that he had endured disabling and permanent all while claiming that the dog had a past of being violent towards people. According to The Blast, Aframian filed a request to have his lawsuit against the Detroit Pistons star dismissed. It's an interesting development considering Aframian appeared to be adamant about his charges in February. As of right now, it's unclear as to whether or not Griffin settled with Aframian out of court. If they did, that is certainly the reason why this lawsuit would be dismissed so suddenly. Duane Burleson/Getty Images Griffin has been keeping a low profile since being swept from the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pistons big man was recently asked about future NBA draft pick Zion Williamson, where he explained how the Duke star could be one of the best dunkers to ever play the game. New York Knicks fans around the world were scratching their heads a few months ago when the team traded big man Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a handful of players. Porzingis was one of the few bright spots on the team over the past few seasons but was constantly injured which led to some fans falling out of favor with him. Now, new information has come to the surface according to Bleacher Report, that states Porzingis actually wanted to be traded and even pressured the Knicks to do so. During a fan forum series on Wednesday, Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry explained how Porzingis told the front office that if they didn't trade him within seven days, he would go back to Europe and not come back to the Knicks. "When he walked into our officemy office and Scott was sitting there with meand point blank said to us, 'I don't want to be here, I'm not going to re-sign with the Knicks, and I'll give you seven days to try and trade me or I'm going back to Europe,'" Mills said. Most recently, Porzingis was in a bar fight in Latvia where he was left bloodied. He is expected to make his debut with the Mavericks next season. The beef between Yung Miami, Hazel-E and Joseline Hernandez has been messy as all hell. This all stems from when Hazel accused City Girls of stealing her idea for their hit record "Act Up." Not one to lay down and do nothing about a conflict, Yung Miami stood up for herself and her incarcerated partner JT, clapping back at Hazel. Things reached a new height when ex-Love & Hip Hop star Hazel recorded a diss song against Yung Miami, getting Joseline Hernandez involved and creating a whole mess. Now, Southside, who has been dating Yung Miami since last year, has gotten involved and is digging deep, taking big shots at Hazel's appearance. Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images -- Hazel-E attends the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 27, 2017 in Inglewood, California Southside should probably consider leaving this battle for his girlfriend to fight because saying you're about to whoop two women's asses isn't exactly the wisest move. The famed producer took to Instagram Live to speak on the current drama, addressing Joseline and Hazel in a heated war of words. "Hazel, you look like the man that you is, I promise you Ima knock you out on everything I love," said Southside according to Bossip. "Ima beat both yall hoes on everything when I catch yall. Hazel you better be with this shit, cause I fight hoes and I promise yall hoes Ima beat both yall hoeson Piru." https://twitter.com/_/status/1131062074086436869 That whole statement is problematic as hell. Regardless, Hazel responded in a since-deleted post, saying, "Yo does this n***a have hearts tattooed under his eye? Like Game had the ? No wonder he tryna beat up women. You can keep that weak ass apology you just didyou calling me a man is not making you look any cuter sis!" The producer then clapped back again, threatening to spit on Hazel when he sees her. "That bitch can suck a aids dick fuck that mut ugly bitch Ill never apologize to u bitch never ima spit on u when I see u bitch," he wrote on Twitter. As we said, this is messy. https://twitter.com/_/status/1131547376320208896 https://twitter.com/_/status/1131548671944867840 Oil spiraled to its worst daily performance of the year as mounting trade tensions between the world's biggest economies sent investors fleeing from risky assets. Futures in New York fell almost 6% on Thursday for the steepest decline since Dec. 24. Equity markets also slumped, with six of every seven companies in the S&P 500 Index dropping after China assailed American sanctions and U.S. lawmakers proposed a ban on Chinese 5G technology. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery settled down $3.51 at $57.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the international benchmark, dipped 4.5% to close at $67.76 on London's ICE Europe Futures. PREVIOUSLY: Oil dragged down by swelling U.S. stockpiles and trade tensions Oil's worst day of 2019 occurred against the backdrop of growing gloom over worldwide trade and swelling American crude stockpiles that rekindled fear of a glut. Subdued private-sector growth figures from Europe compounded fears about stalling growth in China. "It seems like we're going to be entrenched in a trade war, which is really going to hurt demand for crude oil," said Tariq Zahir, a commodity fund manager at New York-based Tyche Capital Advisors LLC. After a long run-up earlier this year, some investors may have closed out optimistic bets ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the U.S., said Gene McGillian, vice-president of research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. "If we don't have strong enough demand growth, the market's telling us we can't justify oil in the mid-60s," he said. Trade concerns and expanding American petroleum stockpiles have smothered a rally that saw the U.S. benchmark jump 41% during the first four months of the year. The supply threats that sparked oil's upsurge persist and include a growing proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran; production outages in Russia, Nigeria, Venezuela and Libya; and output cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that may be extended to the end of 2019. Nonetheless, WTI settled below its 200-day moving average for the first time since early April, a level seen by some analysts and investors as a further sell signal. Oil investors should get accustomed to "a hell of a lot of volatility," ConocoPhillips' Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance said during an industry conference in Houston on Thursday. Global oil markets generally remain "well supplied" but also "thinly balanced" between supply and demand. "If we see $80 we kind of tell people: Be prepared, you might see $40 or $50 on the back end," Lance told the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. "Cycles are getting shorter, the peaks and troughs are getting significant." --With assistance from James Thornhill, Tsuyoshi Inajima, Kevin Crowley and Jessica Summers. 2019 Bloomberg L.P. About 12:25 a.m., both boys were in the 6900 block of South Maplewood Avenue, when they were approached by someone on foot. The person opened fire once the teens ran for the front door of an apartment building. Tiffany Thayer is moments away from grabbing a snack for her 2-year-old boy when her glance stops briefly at her kitchen window. Beyond the glass, she can see her neighbor's driveway, a thin strip of buckled concrete, similar to the ones leading up to every house in this quiet neighborhood in Sodus, New York, a small town resting against Lake Ontario east of Rochester. Her neighbor, 28-year-old Joshua Niles, stands in the driveway on this afternoon, Oct. 22, 2018. His girlfriend, 24-year-old Amber Washburn, had just wheeled her truck in from the street. She is still in the driver's seat. Niles is talking to a man in a dark sweatshirt, the hood yanked up over his head to hide his face. Thayer turns away from the window, fishing gummies out of the kitchen cabinet for her son. Then, a blast rips through the afternoon. "I heard a shot and I turned and I saw Josh grab his chest and Amber threw her car in reverse," Thayer testified on Monday, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported. "I saw Josh crawling underneath his truck, calling for Amber." As Thayer's testimony continued this week, details emerged of the next frantic moments: the man in the hoodie stood over Niles and fired again. Then, he swung around to the woman in the car. "When he turned and shot in Amber's car, I saw his face," Thayer told the court this week. With Washburn slumped at the wheel, the truck rolled down the driveway until smashing into a neighbor's vehicle across the street. Both Niles and Washburn were killed in the attack. When police arrived at the house, an unhurt infant was discovered in the back of the truck Washburn had been driving. The child, as well as another sibling, would turn out to be the motive behind the brutal episode, prosecutors now allege. According to authorities, Niles's ex-girlfriend, Charlene Childers, then 25 and living in Texas, hatched the murder plot in an effort get back the two children she had with Niles. To carry out her plan, she allegedly turned to her current husband, Timothy Dean, a former police chief in Texas. As the ex-lawman's murder trial opened this week, prosecutors alleged Dean, now 34, personally drove nearly 1,600 miles from Texas to New York to gun down Niles and Washburn. The state's main evidence in the case is Childers, who pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon last month, according to Spectrum News. "I told my husband the murder had to happen and he agreed," Childers said in court Tuesday, WROC reported. Dean, who has pleaded not guilty, contends that the evidence lined up against the defendant is circumstantial. In court this week, Dean's attorney, Joe Damelio, attacked Childers's credibility. "She's told many different versions for many different reasons and most of them seem to be self-serving," the attorney told jurors, according to Spectrum News. The relationship between Childers and Niles started back in New York. They had two children together before splitting up. Childers told the court she moved to Texas in 2013, and the two kids initially went with her. It's unclear how she and Dean became involved, but a cross-country custody battle soon raged between the parents. In August 2018, Niles was awarded full custody and the children were sent back to New York. "I know Charlene was very upset about the situation," a friend told WHAM. Childers lost her children as Dean's own law enforcement career was also crumbling. The police chief of Sunray, a tiny town in the Texas Panhandle, Dean was charged with one count of injury to a child in May 2018. The details of the allegation have not been made public, but according to KFDA, Dean was forced to resign from his position. His Texan neighbors would later recall Dean as strange. "For instance, when I'd see him at the alley or dumping garbage, he was always carrying his gun," a neighbor told KFDA. "I was like, 'Just to take your garbage?' He was very different. " According to the Democrat and Chronicle, Childers said in her testimony this week that in October 2018, after losing custody and as her husband's law enforcement career appeared stained from his criminal charge, she returned to New York to spend time with her two children. On the long drive back to Texas, feeling "pissed and depressed," she decided to have Niles killed. When she returned home, she told Dean about her plan, and he agreed. "We sat down and we planned it, describing how we were gonna do it and what would be used, what type of gun and when," she told the court. The plan, Childers alleges, was for Dean to get a 9mm handgun from the Sunray Police Department. He then enlisted a friend from the department, Bron Bohlar, to rent a car for his trip east. (Bohlar was also arrested for his involvement in the murder plot, and pleaded guilty in February to second-degree conspiracy.) When Dean crashed his rental in Kansas, Childers drove to meet him and rented another car in her name, she testified - an incident that helped investigators tie the couple to the New York killings. Childers told the jury Washburn was never supposed to be killed. When she heard about the murders, she called Niles's family, and drove to New York to be with her two children. "I got what I wanted," Childers told the court, according to WROC. Testifying in quiet, calm tones as he leaned forward with his hands clasped in front of him, Harris said he was suspicious at first of the three people who came to his home looking to take Kyrian. But he said he let the boy go with them after a woman he believed to be Kyrian's mother gave him her approval to do so by phone. Houston police have switched to a new crime reporting system as part of a nationwide transition by law enforcement to one that experts say will provide more information about crime in individual communities. Chief Art Acevedo said Thursday the department has begun using the National Incident Based Reporting System to record information about crimes across the city, a move that will provide far more details than were collected under the Unified Crime Reporting Programs Summary Reporting System, which had been the standard for more than 80 years. Under the previous reporting system, a series of crimes committed in one incident such as a burglary that ends in murder was catalogued as just one crime. The NIBRS reporting system collects information from each crime committed during an incident, with 52 types of possible offenses. Acevedo said he believes the system will help the department be more transparent and effective in analyzing crime trends across Houston. Were going from a very narrow focus to a very in-depth focus, Acevedo said. The department began submitting information to the NIBRS system in June last year, said Diana Poor, HPDs deputy director for the office of planning. She cautioned against thinking that the influx of new information might appear like a spike in crime. Its just a different way of counting, she said. RELATED: Houston ends year with slight uptick in homicides Perrye K. Turner, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBIs Houston Field Office, said NIBRS provides far greater specificity about crimes, including the type of victim, residential status of the victim and the person arrested, weapons data, and the value of property stolen or recovered. Armed with this type of information, law enforcement can better define the resources it needs to fight crime, as well as use those resources in the most efficient and effective manner, he said, in an emailed statement. I think thats exactly what law enforcement and the public expects, needs, and deserves. HPDs transition to the NIBRS reporting system comes as the FBI has set an August 2021 deadline for police agencies across the country to begin using the NIBRS system. Currently, about 7,000 of the nations 18,000 law enforcement agencies have made the switch, according to the FBI. Its a massive undertaking, said Jeff Asher, a New Orleans-based crime analyst. This is the way we count crime. NIBRS is supposed to be a step forward, in terms of technology and the scope of crimes being collected. Asher said the system would also help citizens and policymakers better understand how their police departments function. Police departments do more than fight crime but one of the big [responsibilities they have] is to continually reduce crimes, he said. And if youre not collecting statistics, and if theyre not good and reliable, then you have a hard time understanding if law enforcement is fulfilling its obligation. INVESTIGATION: Houston police investigation into botched drug raid completed, turned over to prosecutors In Texas, more than 850 agencies have committed to making the switch to NIBRS reporting by the FBIs deadline, according to information from the Texas Department of Public Safety. To date, more than 450 have successfully transitioned to the new system. Along with HPD, the Harris County Sheriffs Office has also recently transitioned to the new reporting system. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez echoed Acevedos hope that the new system would help fight crime more effectively across Houston and Harris County. Incident-based reporting will provide a more comprehensive understanding of crime trends in our area and help measure the effectiveness of programs and initiatives, he said. This gives front-line supervisors the information they need to deploy our resources strategically, improving our odds of protecting our citizens and more consistently defeating criminals. st.john.smith@chron.com twitter.com/stjbs The Texas 1st Court of Appeals has struck down an appeal from a Houston businessman who contested the citys 2017 pension bond referendum, appearing to end the legal challenge that began almost a year and a half ago. Mayor Sylvester Turners office had denied former housing director James Notewares allegation that the mayor misled voters into approving the $1 billion bond sale with a materially misleading ballot description. Noteware claimed that the election authorized the city to pay off the bonds by levying a tax that exceeds its voter-imposed revenue cap. A state district judge last year dismissed Notewares claim without ruling on his motion for summary judgment in the case. In the ruling, the judge agreed with the citys argument that the court lacked jurisdiction because Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had issued an opinion approving and validating the bonds, while Notewares claim depends on contingent or hypothetical facts. The city also certified to Paxtons office that the bonds would be paid in compliance with the citys revenue cap. The state appellate court on Tuesday affirmed the district courts judgment dismissing Notewares suit. The city used the bond sale to issue funds to its police and municipal employee funds, cementing Turners pension reform package. Noteware sued the city before it completed the bond sale, yet a state district judge allowed the transaction to go through amid the lawsuit. Turner has highlighted pension reform early in his re-election campaign and appears likely to make it a centerpiece of his bid for a second term. The mayor said at his State of the City address Monday that the citys unfunded pension liability has been cut in half, to about $4 billion, and the city is set to fully fund its annual pension costs in the fiscal year ending June 30. jasper.scherer@chron.com A 44-year-old woman last week suffered three gunshot wounds during a fatal confrontation with a Baytown police officer, according to a private autopsy commissioned by the womans family. One of those gunshots hit Pamela Turner, who had paranoid schizophrenia, in the left cheek and shattered several bones, attorney Benjamin Crump said on Wednesday. The autopsy found that another gunshot hit the slain woman in the left chest, and a third struck her in the right abdomen. None of the shots were fired from whats classified as a close range, and none of them exited her body, according to the report. After learning the details of this autopsy, theres only one conclusion in my mind: This man tried to kill my mom, daughter Chelsie Rubin said under the domed ceiling of the Community of Faith church in north Houston. This was purposely done. Juan Delacruz has been identified as the Baytown police officer in the May 13 shooting that killed the mother of two and grandmother of three. He is on paid administrative leave. Lt. Steve Dorris, spokesman of the Baytown Police Department, declined to provide updates on the officer-involved shooting investigation which has drawn national attention. He referred questions to the Texas Rangers, who are taking over the investigation. Since we have turned the case over to the Rangers we are patiently waiting just like everyone else for the results of their investigation, Dorris said on Wednesday. Delacruz was attempting to arrest Turner on open warrants when they began to struggle at her apartment complex at 1601 Garth, police said. The officer deployed a Taser on Turner, after which she used the officers own Taser against him, Dorris said. A bystander video showed the officer struggling with Turner, standing over her, as she laid on the ground. He appeared to be backing away as five gunshots sounded, according to the footage. An autopsy report by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences is not ready to be released, a spokeswoman said Wednesday afternoon. Preliminary information classified the shooting as a homicide, with Turner dying of multiple gunshot wounds. The attorneys representing Turners family declined to release the name of the independent pathologist who performed the private autopsy. The doctor does not wish to be publicly associated with this highly publicized case, according to a spokeswoman for Crumpk a nationally known civil rights attorney. The first gunshot wound described in the autopsy entered Turners left cheek and traveled down to her neck, fracturing bones in her face. That one was particularly gruesome, but wasnt fatal, Crump said. The funeral home director had to rebuild her face so she can have a proper homegoing service, he said. The second and third wounds described in the report caused her death, according to the autopsy. One of the wounds entered her chest on the left side of her body and moved laterally, passing through several organs. The other fatal wound broke through Turners right abdomen. Two other unclassified wounds were found on Turners body but were not identified. Turners family believes they were from Delacruzs Taser, Crump said. The pathologist didnt come to a conclusion on whether Turner was pregnant, as the bystanders video caught her telling Delacruz in the moments before she was shot. Baytown police said after the confrontation that the countys autopsy found her not to be with child. Several family members stood in a huddle, crying, as Crump read the results of the report. Antoinette Dorsey-James also read a letter she said her slain sister relayed to her during conversations theyve had at night. In those conversations, Turner told Dorsey-James that God is using her death to bring awareness to mental health issues. We are human; we deserve to live without harassment, she read. We have rights, but more importantly our lives matter. Turners funeral is scheduled to be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Lilly Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Houston with Rev. Al Sharpton delivering a eulogy. samantha.ketterer@chron.com Twitter.com/sam_kett Ramos said he saw a grayish blue SUV with three people inside pull up, one of them the gunman. As shots were fired, Ramos said he grabbed his wife and the two sprinted away until she collapsed. They took cover under a parked car, and the shooter then went after their friend. Houstons highest-paid city council staffer was suspended this week after a Houston Chronicle investigation found he reported working standard work days or sick days to continue collecting his $119,600 salary while he was out of the state for four months in a military law training program. Daniel Albert, chief of staff to District F Councilman Steve Le, was suspended effective Monday the same day that Albert met with investigators from the citys Office of Inspector General, the council member said Wednesday Le said he directed that Albert be suspended without pay, but added that the city legal department is examining whether that would be proper before the OIG probe is finished. Le said that investigation, which he initiated several weeks ago, could wrap up next week. I thought it was just more prudent to make sure theres nothing else that can be done, because once hes suspended, then he cant access the city computer or anything else to do any changes, Le said. We just want to make sure we keep the integrity of the data. Not saying hes doing anything wrong, but I just want to preserve all that. Albert referred questions to Houston attorney Sean Timmons, who said Alberts conduct may be covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which protects service members employment rights when they engage in military service. There was no nefarious intent here, Timmons said. If there was a misunderstanding, well take appropriate steps to correct whatever deficiency resulted from that. The Army confirmed that Albert deployed to Fort Benning, Georgia, as part of the Judge Advocate Generals Officer Basic Course from Jan. 21 through March 1, learning military skills and tactics. He then reported to the JAG Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he studied military law from March 4 until May 15. During his training, Albert was on active-duty status, earning a lieutenants pay. For the first two months of his deployment, however, Albert reported working standard 40-hour weeks on his city time cards. Two days after being notified that the Chronicle had requested records related to his city work in late March, records show Albert logged into the payroll system and listed six weeks of paid leave, though he had accrued only 11 such days at the time. The next night, records show, he deleted those entries and used the 40 days of paid sick leave he had accumulated instead, scheduling the sick leave to run through the end of his deployment. City ordinance prohibits employees from working outside jobs while on sick leave. Houston city workers can use 15 days of paid military leave if they apply for that status, but city officials have no record of Albert submitting the required paperwork. Timmons said USERRA may override the city regulations at issue. This is not just somebody going to work for IBM. This is somebody serving his country, he said. The inference of impermissibility is totally inappropriate. Le has said he approved Alberts deployment but did not expect him to do his city job remotely during the training and assumed the proper procedures had been followed. Le said he approved Alberts sick leave after the aide told him he had broken his leg; Le said he did not know city rules prohibit employees from working outside jobs while on sick leave. Julie Sagissor, a District F civic leader in the Tangelwilde neighborhood, welcomed Alberts suspension but said the move was insufficient. It should have been done a couple years ago, but Im happy to hear its being done now, he said. The next step, obviously, is Le needs to resign. Time for a full house-cleaning. Councilman Greg Travis, who has long heard complaints about Albert, in part because his District G shares a long border with District F, agreed. I have no idea what a suspension means or entails but I find it, under the circumstances, very inadequate, Travis said. Based upon what I currently know, Id fire him immediately. Alberts work habits first came into question in 2017 during his unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the Houston ISD board of trustees. A Chronicle investigation showed Albert for months listed 40-hour work weeks on his time cards despite being a relatively infrequent presence at City Hall and taking several out-of-town trips, in addition to running his civil law practice. Albert said he often worked from his home or law office and attended evening and weekend events that ensured he worked a full schedule. Le said at the time that he had authorized Albert to work remotely and on a flexible schedule, and praised his professionalism. City investigators that year cleared Albert of wrongdoing, saying they could not prove he had intentionally violated city policies and describing his record-keeping errors as the product of inexperience. Albert amended his time cards retroactively to list a cruise to Australia and New Zealand as a vacation rather than as days worked and updated the required annual form that lets him pursue employment outside the city. The city exempts military reserve assignments from the requirement that employees file these annual authorization forms. Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect that the city of Houston exempts military reserve assignments from rules requiring employees to file annual forms letting them work jobs outside the city. mike.morris@chron.com The Southern Baptist Conventions missionary arm knew of sexual abuse allegations against one of its former top missionaries for over 10 years before his arrest accusations that exploded last year and forced the organization to bring in a third party to investigate its handling of abuse. Anne Marie Miller told the International Mission Board in 2007 that Mark Aderholt, then a missionary to Central Europe, had initiated sexual contact with her as a teenager. He resigned quietly from the IMB and went on to rise in the Southern Baptist ranks until Miller reported him to police and went public with her story in 2018. No one from the IMB contacted law enforcement during the course of its 2007 investigation. The law firm retained by the IMB in the wake of the Aderholt scandal put out a release on Wednesday recommending sweeping changes to the organizations policies for reporting abuse to law enforcement. IMB is a unique organization that places families all around the world, often in remote and isolated locations, Gray Plant Mooty, the Minnesota-based law firm the IMB hired to conduct the investigation, wrote. Unfortunately, that isolation has the potential to put children at greater risk of abuse. The review is ongoing. The IMB did not release any specific details on past failings, nor did it indicate that it plans to do so. The update on the investigation comes as the Southern Baptist Convention gears up for its annual meeting in June, which will revolve around how the denomination deals with sex abuse in the wake of a Houston Chronicle investigation that found over 700 victims of sexual abuse by Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers over two decades. Neither the International Mission Board nor Gray Plant Mooty responded to requests for comment. Gray Plant Mooty recommended that the IMB adopt protocols to report allegations of child abuse to U.S. and foreign authorities even when there is not a legal duty to do so and involve outside counsel when the board gets a report of abuse. The firm also recommended that the IMB create a full-time position to oversee abuse prevention and response and revise its current policies to clarify that IMB personnel can and often must report abuse allegations to authorities as well as mission board officials. IMB President Paul Chitwood issued an apology on the organizations website, pledging to do better in the future and implement all the recommendations. The IMB has already started reporting incidents of abuse by IMB personnel and affiliates to law enforcement, according to the statement. The IMBs silence allowed Aderholt to continue in the Southern Baptist world and eventually become the chief strategist of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Miller, now of Fort Worth, Texas, had just moved to Arlington and met Aderholt as a teenager looking to connect with a Christian community. Aderholt, who was 25 at the time, allegedly initiated sexual contact with her when she was 16. After a two-month investigation, the IMB concluded that Aderholt had more likely than not engaged in inappropriate sexual relationship with Miller. Two months after his January 2008 resignation, he found employment at another Southern Baptist Church. His 2009 resume lists two top IMB personnel as references. Aderholt awaits trial in Tarrant County on one count of sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child. His lawyer did not return requests for comment. Miller found the study update and promise of reforms encouraging but said she still worries that the changes wont go far enough. The IMB needs to look further into situations like mine to see if there was any abuse on the field, she said. I dont think a girl in Vietnam or Hungary is going to be aware of this and see this and go, Oh, I remember that guy from 20 years agohe molested me. They need to go above and beyond to find and appropriately care for any other victims. Aderholt visited 29 countries during his eight years with the IMB, according to his 2009 resume. Unlike the IMB thus far, other mission boards have released voluminous reports detailing their past failures after similar outside investigations. Those reports named not only alleged abusers, but enablers in the organizational hierarchy. The Presbyterian Churchs General Assembly Mission Counsel commissioned a three-member independent board to investigate sexual abuse in 2003. The board spent seven years investigating and released a 546 page report that found 30 instances of abuse. A missionary to Bangladesh with the Pennsylvania-based Association of Baptists for World Evangelism which isnt associated with the Southern Baptist Convention or the IMB abused children for nearly three decades with the knowledge of his supervisors. In a 280-page report, a third-party group revealed 23 alleged victims and that ABWE leadership knew about the abuse. The IMB has not said whether it plans to release a similar accounting. Miller hopes the IMB publishes a full report but doubts that they will. If they summarize the report and keep the meat of it private, there is no way of knowing why they failed in the past and what they strive for in the future, she said. Releasing it publicly is a tangible way of saying, Were sorry we have failed you. Heres why, and heres what we are doing in the future. sarah.smith@chron.com In the summer of 2014, a man known as Broadway gunned down Tremayne Richardson in a late-night drug deal-gone-bad. It was a brazen outdoor slaying that left Richardsons body riddled with gunshots, a bag of Transformers-stamped ecstasy pills in his hand. Police arrested 28-year-old Jeremy Wayne Miller and charged him with murder. But after he got out on bond, Miller was arrested in another slaying and this time prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Its one of two cases in recent months in which the Harris County District Attorneys Office has notified defense attorneys of plans to pursue the states harshest punishment. In the other case, 22-year-old Julius Merchant is accused of terrorizing a woman and killing her husband during a home invasion, the last in a series of alleged break-ins and assaults across the county. Theyre suspected of a lot of murdering, raping and robbing activity, and we believe the evidence is going to show that both of these individuals committed capital murder and that they present a future danger to society, First Assistant District Attorney David Mitcham said of the two cases, which are unrelated. We have serial killers living among us. The two cases bring to eight the number of local cases for which the district attorneys office is seeking the death penalty. That represents an increase from a year ago, but its still down from previous administrations, when prosecutors were sometimes handling more than a dozen pending death cases at once. We use the death penalty extremely carefully and sparingly, Mitcham said. We are mindful of the grave nature of this kind of state action and its only used in the worst of the worst cases. Jeremy Wayne Miller Millers criminal history dates back to at least 2011, when he was convicted of robbery and sentenced to two years in prison, according to court records. After his release, he racked up a short string of other arrests and convictions and in late 2014 authorities collared him in connection with both Richardsons slaying and an unrelated shooting a month later. A judge set his bail at $150,000 for the murder charge, a move Mitcham said prosecutors vociferously opposed. In January 2015 he bonded out of jail and was released under supervision, given an ankle monitor and ordered to stay away from guns, court records show. Six months later, according to prosecutors, Miller killed security guard Daniel Arp as he patrolled the back parking lot of an apartment complex in the 8200 block of Park Place. Its not clear what motivated the killing, but investigators later used the ankle monitors GPS data to tie Miller to the scene. When police finally showed up at his apartment to arrest him, Miller refused to come out, sparking a SWAT standoff. Then, after the tactical team burst in and handcuffed him, prosecutors say Miller tried escaping and swiping a cops gun on the way, sparking a struggled that netted two more felony charges. Now, hes in jail without bond and facing a total of five felonies, including the capital murder charge for which prosecutors are seeking a death sentence. The district attorneys office notified the defense in March of prosecutors plans to seek the states harshest punishment, court records show. In a statement to the Chronicle, Millers defense team attorneys Patrick McCann, Gerald Bourque and Tyrone Moncriffe didnt protest his guilt, but said that if hes spared, the 28-year-old could influence lives for the better from behind bars. Killing Mr. Miller does nothing for deterrence nor does it truly achieve just retribution, they said, calling the long appeals process a gauntlet of tragedy for family members of both sides of the case. The case will last many years, even decades on appeal. Why do such a terrible thing to two different families when it serves no purpose? Julius Merchant In April 2016, prosecutors say, Merchant started following a woman whod just climbed out of an Uber in the 9500 block of Meyer Forest. As she opened the door, he allegedly ran up to her and punched her in the face, then dragged her into her apartment, choked her and raped her. One morning the next month, he allegedly knocked on the door of a Riviera East apartment in the 500 block of Normandy. A 29-year-old mother of two whose children and husband had already left for school and work answered. According to prosecutors, Merchant asked for someone who didnt live there, and the woman told him he had the wrong house. She closed the door, but a minute later, he knocked again and this time when she opened up he allegedly pulled out a gun and forced his way inside. He demanded money, prosecutors say, then forced her to perform oral sex at gunpoint before raping her repeatedly. Eventually, he barricaded her in the master bedroom closet, stole some of her belongings and fled. The woman used the pointed end of a clothing iron to create a hole in the closet door and free herself. Later that same month, he allegedly knocked on the door of Cynthia and David Macias, asking for a woman named Leslie. After explaining that there was no one there by that name, Cynthia closed the door. A couple minutes later, Merchant kicked it open and ran into the Westbury home with a gun, prosecutors said. When David came out of the bathroom to confront the invader, Merchant allegedly shot him to death and then pistol-whipped his wife. Before he fled, according to prosecutors, Merchant swiped Cynthias purse, wedding ring and phones a last-minute steal that landed him in custody. Later that day, police tracked the wounded womans phone to the Interstate Motel on East Freeway and found Merchant along with the stolen goods. In addition to the trio of charges from the 2016 rampage, Merchant is also facing one count of evading arrest from 2014, when he refused to pull over for a routine traffic stop and sparked a police chase. The case initially netted a deferred adjudication, but then Merchant stopped showing up to probation and the court put out a warrant for his arrest. Merchants attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. Gatekeepers for the death penalty Before deciding whether to seek a death sentence, the Harris County District Attorneys Office capital review committee evaluates each case and votes on how to proceed. Anywhere from five to a dozen senior prosecutors meet to go over the facts, along with any materials submitted by the defense suggesting why a death sentence may not be appropriate. We are gatekeepers for the use of the death penalty, which is the most serious action a government can take against an individual, Ogg told the Chronicle last year. That is why we bring our most experienced legal minds to the table to make these decisions. Four of the cases in which the committee opted to pursue a death sentence were holdovers from the previous administration. Once Ogg took office, her team again reviewed and decided to seek the ultimate punishment against accused killers David Ray Conley III, Ronald Haskell, Steven Alexander Hobbs and Lucky Ward. The first new case in which Oggs office decided to push for a death sentence was that of Omar Torres, a suspected MS-13 gang member accused of killing one man then ordering a hit from jail to knock off the teenage informant who helped land him behind bars. A few months later, prosecutors decided to seek the same sentence against another one of the seven men linked to the informants slaying, Douglas Terror Alexander Herrera-Hernandez. Even as shes added death penalty cases to the court dockets, Oggs office has decided to no longer pursue the harsh punishment in at least nine cases headed for death row under previous administrations, including some men who were sent back for retrials. Since Ogg took office at the start of 2017, a number of convicted killers including Duane Buck, Calvin Hunter, Michael Norris and Robert Campbell were taken off of death row and instead given sentences that amount to life behind bars. Ogg has pushed for the same fate in the case of intellectually disabled death row prisoner Bobby Moore, but the case is still winding its way through the courts. keri.blakinger@chron.com A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a prominent conservative groups lawsuit against a Republican Texas House member. Empower Texans sued administration committee chair Rep. Charlie Geren and the state last month in federal district court in Austin, claiming Gerens refusal to grant the group a media credential constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment. The group, known for using its political action committees deep pockets to threaten Republicans with aggressive primary challenges if they fall out of line with its agenda, has been attempting for years to establish itself as a media organization. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox In the lawsuit filed last month, the group pointed to the Texas Scorecard, its signature Texas Scorecard website, which ranks legislators based on its own fiscal responsibility index, as its primary news product. Texas Scorecards request for press credentials was approved for the first time this year by the state Senate, led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has received more than $850,000 from the Empower Texans PAC in the last five years. But in the House, the groups request was refused by Geren, a Fort Worth Republican who turned it down based on Texas Scorecards close association with the Empower Texans PAC. For subscribers: Group that funded civil war in Texas GOP launches new offensive In dismissing the suit, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said Thursday that legislators such as Geren are protected by legislative immunity, which allows them to make and enforce any rules they deem most conducive to conducting legislative business. Geren said Thursday he was "glad the judge agreed with us." Tony McDonald, the lawyer representing Empower Texans, said he was not authorized to speak about the suit but told the Austin American-Statesman his group was considering an appeal. WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate today passed a disaster relief package that would give the federal governments budget office 90 days to release nearly $4.4 billion in Hurricane Harvey funds to Texas to gird against future storms. The provision added to a $19.1 billion appropriation by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, seeks to free up Housing and Urban Development Department funds stalled in government rule-making for more than a year. Hurricane season is less than a week away and Texans still have not received the resources Congress and HUD approved after Harvey, Cornyn said in a statement. HUD allocated $4.38 billion to Texas after legislation passed more than a year ago under a new program to protect against future storms. The money would be spent on improvements in low-income and moderate-income neighborhoods. States must spend the majority of the money in areas identified by HUD as most impacted. Related: Federal officials say delayed $4B in Harvey aid will be tied up until May The program, which is new, requires a set of regulations that must be approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget. HUD Secretary Ben Carson said earlier this year that he expected the review to be completed by May 1, but a HUD spokesman said today that they remain under study. Beyond Texas, the 90-day shot clock Cornyn engineered seeks release of billions of dollars to several more states and Puerto Rico. The $19.1 billion spending bill passed 85-8. It aids victims of recent disasters, including California wildfires and historic Midwest flooding. It stalled for months amid squabbling over requests by the White House for additional funds for the U.S.-Mexico border and President Donald Trumps complaints about additional help for Puerto Rico. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox A deal cut shortly before the vote left out money for the border, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told reporters. The House is expected to agree with Senate changes and Trump has told GOP senators he will sign the bill. These are not the actions of a person seeking to maintain his privacy or simply be let alone, Watkins said in a 10-page ruling that he read aloud in court. While the court appreciates that (Smollett) was in the public eye before the events that precipitated this case, it was not necessary for him to address this so publicly and to such an extent. By doing so, the court cannot credit his privacy interest as good cause to keep the case records sealed. The goal of the census is to make sure everyone in America is counted. Its right there in the Constitution. The parchment doesnt say only those who return a form or someone who has valid immigration status. It talks about numbers of people and little else. Its a mandate the Census Bureau takes seriously, from processing millions of mailed survey responses to census takers walking neighborhoods and knocking on doors. The goal is an accurate count that helps determine how to divvy up everything from school breakfast funding to political power. That mandate is threatened by the Trump administration, which plans to add a question about citizenship status to the 2020 census. The move a malignant outgrowth of the presidents focus on demonizing those in the country illegally and his anti-immigrant rhetoric is a blatant effort to curb participation. While the measure is tied up in the courts, suspicion of the decennial count and how that information will be used is already having an effect, creating fear among immigrant communities. Fortunately, Harris County and the city of Houston are working together, along with dozens of area nonprofits, to counter the administrations execrable goal. Our campaign is an attack on fear, an attack on apathy, an attack on ignorance, said Margaret Wallace Brown, the citys top planning and development official, who is leading Houstons census efforts. We need to convince Houstonians that this is one of the most important civic duties they have in 2020. The population count is used in many ways, including apportioning congressional districts and federal money. For each person who goes uncounted, Houston would lose about $1,500 per person, per year in government funds, officials said. With limited resources to go around, every penny matters in better serving our areas needs. Less federal funding affects all of us, as census data is used to determine support for a variety of programs, including road projects, improving teacher quality, wildlife restoration and crime victims assistance. Its hard enough to get an accurate head count in a normal year when theres no controversial provision to scare people away. The homeless, refugees, immigrants, college students and renters be they a millennial in a Montrose loft or a family in a West Houston apartment complex are traditionally undercounted, officials said. For the 2010 census, officials wisely changed their efforts from what had been primarily an advertisement campaign to more direct contact. Workers and volunteers walked through neighborhoods, talked to residents and spoke at churches and civic clubs to get the word out. The plan this time around is to do that and more, including targeting influencers, people who are trusted contacts in the community such as pastors, doctors and service providers so they can spread the word about the census. The city has committed $650,000 so far to outreach efforts, while the county is spending up to $4 million on an initiative aimed at traditionally undercounted communities. Wallace Brown, who was involved in the 2010 count, said the political rhetoric around the census may make next years efforts more difficult. Its not just people in the country illegally who would not be counted, but entire households with mixed immigration status families that will think twice before giving the government any information. The Census Bureau is prohibited from releasing records to other government agencies. But given the Trump administrations cruel immigration policies and the fact that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross misrepresentedto Congress how the citizenship question came up in the first place, claiming it was requested by the Justice Department while records show it came from White House officials, peoples skepticism and fear are justified. But Trumps true intent may be simpler if no less ugly. Most immigrants in the U.S. live in counties, including a dozen in Texas, that have seen an increase in Democratic voters. By suppressing the count, these areas will receive fewer federal resources and may lose political clout another line of attack, perhaps, in keeping with President Trumps multiple attempts to reward Republican strongholds and punish regions that support Democrats. The U.S. Supreme Court may yet stop this cynical exploitation of the census, but distrust has been sown and the damage is done. It is now up to our local governments to guarantee that the Constitutions directive for a true count for true representation of all residents is honored. Thankfully, Houston and Harris County are up to the task. The aroma of fried chicken and biscuits roused my appetite as the country sounds of Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson and Johnny Cash played over the loudspeakers. This might have been a county fair back home in Tennessee, but it wasnt. I was in a cemetery in rural Brazil, at the Festa Confederada - the Confederate Party - an annual celebration of southern U.S. heritage held each April in Santa Barbara d'Oeste, in Sao Paulo state. A sign explaining What the Confederate Flag Really Means in both English and Portuguese greeted the roughly 2,500 visitors - most of them white - at the entryway of the American Cemetery. Inside, women wearing Antebellum-style hoop skirts square danced with men clad in gray Confederate uniforms. Couples in T-shirts were doing the two-step. Just outside cemetery grounds stood black activists protesting the April 28 party with signs and banners saying, Down with the Confederate flag. How did an American debate about racism make its way to Brazil? Thats a tangled question Im unraveling in my dissertation research on the history and meaning of Confederate symbols in Brazil. The Confederacy comes to Brazil Jordan Brasher Brazil has a long, strange relationship with the United States Confederacy. After the Civil War ended in 1865, ending slavery in the United States, some 8,000 to 10,000Southern soldiers and their families left the vanquished Confederacy and went to Brazil. Jordan Brasher There, slavery was still legal. Roughly 40% of the nearly 11 million Africans forcibly brought across the Atlantic between 1517 and 1867 went to work on sugarcane plantations in Brazil. It was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to formally abolish slavery, in 1888 - 23 years after the United States. Legal slavery may have been a draw for the Confederate soldiers who migrated to Brazil after abolition. Brazilian political economist Celio Antonio Alcantara Silva analyzed letters sent to Brazilian consulates and vice-consulates in the United States at the end of the Civil War and found that 74% of Southerners inquiring about emigration were slaveowners. At the time, 25% of white Southern households owned slaves. That means the people interested in moving to Brazil in the 1860s disproportionately represented a relatively small, slaveholding slice of the free Southern population. Because the exact number of Confederate families that migrated to Brazil is unknown, it is impossible to state with certainty how many rejoined the slave trade upon arrival. Silvas research finds records of 54 Confederate families that purchased, in total, 536 enslaved Africans in Brazil. Jordan Brasher The Brazilian historian Luciana da Cruz Brito has also found evidence in the 150-year-old Confederado journals she dug up that slavery attracted white Southerners to Brazil. In one, an American named Charles Gunter wrote about his desire to purchase enslaved people in Brazil at a lower price than he could in the U.S. Another Confederado, James Gaston, expressed disappointment that he couldnt bring recently freed African Americans to Brazil. Jordan Brasher Rural expertise Despite these historical records, many descendants of the Confederados dispute that slavery brought their forefathers to Brazil. Jordan Brasher As early as the 1860s, Brazil was actively recruiting Southern American plantation owners, part of an immigration policy aimed at attracting Europeans, European-American and other white migrants. According to historians Cyrus and James Dawsey, who were born and raised near Confederado communities in Sao Paulo, Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II also promised cheap land to any American farmer who would come with a plow - a technology Brazil lacked. Either way, thousands of white southerners made Brazil their new home after the Civil War. In Sao Paulo state, they established a somewhat closed and culturally homogeneous community that maintained its southern traditions for generations. Brazils Confederados continued to speak English and to practice their Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian faiths, introducing Protestantism to the Catholic country. To this day, many Confederado descendants still describe the Civil War as the War of Secession - one of its original southern names. And, since 1986, at the American Cemetery where their ancestors were laid to rest - as Protestants, they were barred from burial alongside Catholics - the Fraternity of American Descendants has held a low-profile, annual celebration of their southern heritage. Racism and the legacy of Charlottesville in Brazil For three decades, Brazils Confederate Party was relatively uncontroversial. That changed after the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 when an anti-racist protester Heather Heyer was murdered by a white supremacist at the Unite the Rightmarch protesting the Virginia citys planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Racism is a persistent social problem in multicultural Brazil, where about half the population is of African descent. White Brazilians on average earn twice as much as black Brazilians, and two-thirds of all prisoners are black. Efforts since 2010 to set racial quotas for university admissions and government jobs have been controversial. In a country where people use dozens of categories to identify their race, allegations of fraud and questions about who is and isnt black have plagued the affirmative action system. One month after the violence in Charlottesville, black activists in Sao Paulo organized a public debate with the Fraternity of American Descendants, which organizes the annual Confederate Party. The activists wanted to discuss its embrace of Confederate symbols. You can leave the flag behind, said professor Claudia Monteiro of UNEGRO, a member organization of Brazils national Unified Black Movement. Black people cant. The stigma [it represents] is in the color of our skin. The Fraternity of American Descendants insists their group does not represent racism. In a 2018 bulletin, the organization stated that it does not discriminate based on race, gender, color, age, religion or on any other basis. Confederate culture lives on Marcelo Dodson, ex-president of the Fraternity of American Descendants, said in the 2017 debate that the Civil War was a battle not for slavery but for small government, low taxes, free commerce and states rights - a stance many American defenders of the Confederacys lost cause also maintain. The 2017 dialogue between black activists and Confederados, which was filmed and posted on YouTube, did not resolve their disagreement. Last year, visitors to the Confederate Party were greeted by protesters who said the Confederate flag was a symbol of oppression. This year, black activists outside the cemetery in Santa Barbara d'Oeste carried the same message, saying a lot of blood was shed under the auspices of the Confederate flag. They also played drums and practiced capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian dance and martial art form, in a display of Brazils deep African roots. A week after the Confederate Party, at least 100 civil society groups from across the country had signed a manifesto criticizing the events use of symbols that elevate white supremacy - a sign of growing Brazilian awareness about the complicated, controversial history of the American Confederacy. Brasher is a member of the American Association of Geographers. The association is a funding partner of The Conversation US. The statistics on maternal mortality in Texas are staggering. For every 100,000 live births, there are between 14.6 and 18.6 maternal deaths. Among black women, who are still severely disproportionately affected, the rate leaps to 27.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. These numbers, according to data published in the Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology last year, were both astounding and unacceptable to the medical community. A key fact to remember about maternal mortality is more than 60 percent of deaths occurred after 42 days post-delivery. That statistic highlights the importance of continuous Medicaid coverage for new moms and their children, which several House and Senate bills aim to achieve. As the legislative sessions rapidly comes to a close, the clock is running out on these bills. That does not mean we should stop working on a solution to make sure Texas mothers and their children have access to life-saving care. Two things we do know about deliveries and maternal mortality in Texas: first, more than 50 percent of births in Texas are covered by Medicaid; second, a large portion of women covered by Medicaid do not have access to health care prior to pregnancy. Not surprisingly, delayed access to quality obstetrical care, increasing maternal age and low-socioeconomic status are all contributors to maternal mortality. Black women in all socioeconomic groups are bearing the burden of maternal mortality nationally, with rates two to three times higher than their white and Hispanic counterparts. Maternal mortality doesnt just happen. Its usually preceded by severe maternal morbidity, which often arises from underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes or heart disease. The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force, a collaborative of more than 50 leaders chosen to address poor maternal health outcomes in our state, has worked tirelessly to outline the gravity of the problem and determine solutions. The task force illuminated several important concepts. The leading causes of maternal deaths are drug overdose, heart disease, homicide and suicide. Medical conditions such as hypertensive disorders, hemorrhage and sepsis are also linked to maternal deaths. For the last year, one of us, Dr. Erica Giwa, participated in the work group tasked with reducing maternal mortality. The team outlined potential improvements in data collection, developed an awareness campaign to improve postpartum maternal support and addressed ways to improve hospital best practices. We also began to understand the significance of a shift in the mindset of the medical community and the community at large: Care for mothers does not end immediately after delivery. The finish line isnt reached when we hold that newborn in our arms. The data indicate that to provide the best care for mothers and their babies, we need to move our finish line out at least 12 months. Think of it this way: Clinicians are in the community providing the best care possible for our patients. We spend the months of prenatal care emphasizing the importance of blood sugar control, blood pressure monitoring and reporting any abnormal symptoms to the provider. We deliver the baby and continue the message for another 60 days. Then on Day 61 radio silence. We dont fall silent because we want to. We fall silent because their Medicaid coverage ends. Without coverage, we cant continue to refill the blood pressure and blood sugar medications mothers need to prevent long-term complications or diseases. We cant make the referrals to specialists that are needed to help with maintenance of chronic diseases. We cant make sure mothers receive the postpartum care they need. The bills lawmakers are now weighing help us better care for Texas families. They move the finish line to that 12-month mark for mothers enrolled in Medicaid. They would make it possible for children to remain covered by eliminating the spot checks on income, extending the timeframe to attest to Medicaid qualifications, and keeping children enrolled. Where one aims to ensure that low-income children maintain full coverage, a separate bill complements this goal by bridging the gaps in maternal health coverage and synchronizing it with the Healthy Texas Womens program. In the final days of the 86th legislature, we urge lawmakers to support bill language that lengthens the coverage period offered to new mothers in Medicaid and streamlines the income verification process for children enrolled in the program. These policies are a long-term investment in the health of Texas families. At the end of the day, we should provide Texas mothers and children with the coverage and care they need to raise a healthy family and continue their path of health and self-sufficiency. Giwa is the medical director of OB/GYN at Texas Childrens Health Plan and The Center for Children and Women, and Marton is the medical director of pediatrics at Texas Childrens Health Plan and The Center for Children and Women. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Even though an exam showed Figueroa had not given birth, the hospital did not notify anyone until two weeks later, after detectives went to the hospital asking about the baby. It was another week before Ochoa-Lopez's body was found and the Figueroas were arrested, along with the elder Figueroa's boyfriend, Piotr Bobak, 40. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. The U.S. hotel industry saw occupancy increase 0.8% to 70.8% during the week of 12-18 May, and a 1.4% ADR increase to $134.36 pushed RevPAR up 2.2% to $95.13. The U.S. hotel industry reported positive year-over-year results in the three key performance metrics during the week of 12-18 May 2019, according to data from STR. In comparison with the week of 13-19 May 2018, the industry recorded the following: Occupancy: +0.8% to 70.8% Average daily rate (ADR): +1.4% to US$134.36 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +2.2% to US$95.13 Among the Top 25 Markets, Boston, Massachusetts, reported the largest increase in RevPAR (+11.5% to US$212.97), due primarily to the second-highest lift in ADR (+7.2% to US$245.41). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-New Jersey, posted the largest jump in ADR (+7.9% to US$160.06). Anaheim/Santa Ana, California, experienced the highest rise in occupancy (+5.3% to 78.3%). Seattle, Washington, registered the largest drop in RevPAR (-14.8% to US$130.65) primarily because of the steepest decline in ADR (-9.8% to US$163.51). Miami/Hialeah, Florida, saw the largest decrease in occupancy. View U.S. weekly hotel performance review STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 10 countries around the world with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest all industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hospitality Trends How Cameo App Can Jumpstart Music, Tour Promotion Celebrity endorsements have long been a powerful force in the music industry, helping to propel certain releases on to massive success. Now, thanks to Cameo, these gold stars of approval are easier (and cheaper) to get than ever before. ____________________________ Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix Celebrity endorsements can make or break certain releases, and in 2019, Cameo makes getting a celebrity to promote your music is easier (not to mention more affordable) than ever. Every musician is different, but the ways musicians promote their music and performances are largely the same. Musicians will announce their upcoming event or thing through their channel or a music publication, and then they will continue to promote that happening until the big day arrives. There are, of course, variations in how this promotional period is handled, but most efforts boil down to text, still images, and the occasional video, all made by the group/artist. Cameo offers an alternative option for promotion. The service, which launched in 2017, is a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities, athletes, or influencers. The company claims its mission is to create the most memorable fan experiences in the world, and it does this by allowing consumers to purchase short clips recorded by their chosen celebrity that are curated to mention a specific event or happening. Two common uses for Cameo are birthday and anniversaries. People hire their loved ones favorite entertainer to record a short video where they offer congratulations or support or just say something funny. The clips can be downloaded and shared anywhere, and many are uploaded to the Cameo site so future consumers know what to expect. Who can you hire on Cameo? There are seemingly hundreds of people to choose from, including Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Gilbert Gottfried. Each celebrity chooses the price of their Cameo clips, which can range from a few bucks to $1,000. The talent also has the right to refuse or decline a Cameo request, which is important to remember. A number of up and coming musicians have already leveraged the power of Cameo to promote their own endeavors. Recently, Michigans If Only, If Only bought a Cameo from Jackass star and skateboarding legend Bam Margera to promote their upcoming performance at BLED Fest in Michigan. The video, which you can view below, cost them just $65 to create: In less than three days, the video above has been viewed over 4200 times, which nearly double the size of If Only If Onlys Twitter following. The band also posted the video to their Facebook page, where it has already generated more than 500 views. The benefits to using Cameo as part of a marketing effort are numerous. For starters, people who recognize the celebrity are likely to watch the video, even if they may not be as familiar with your music. Additionally, the video can be shared on a number of platforms, and it provides a different voice (style) of promotion. However, the usefulness of a Cameo video is directly tied to the person hired to create the promotional clip. If fans are unfamiliar with the talent they may not click or care about the content. Artists need to know their audience and what that group cares about before spending money on promotion, which is true in any promotional endeavor. You can browse Cameos talent by heading over to the companys official website. If you choose to promote through a Cameo clip, please send us a link! You can email james@haulix.com or reach us on Twitter: @Haulix. James Shotwell is the Director of Customer Engagement at Haulix and host of the company's podcast, Inside Music. He is also a public speaker known for promoting careers in the entertainment industry, as well as an entertainment journalist with over a decade of experience. His bylines include Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, Nu Sound, and Under The Gun Review, among other popular outlets. Share on: Pittsfield Council OKs $175M Operating Budget, $11M Capital Plan Below are the budget sessions for fiscal 2020 in order of when they occurred, with the latest first. The first day budget review on Tuesday, May 21, covered City Hall departments, health and inspections. It is available here. The second day budget review on Thursday, May 23, included RSVP, the library, information systems, maintenance, community development and the Fire Department. That review can be found here. The third day budget review of the schools on Thursday, May 30, can be found here. The budget is embedded at the end of the article here. The fourth and final review done on Tuesday, June 4, looked at police, public services, finance and administration and unclassified. It can be found here. Tuesday, June 4, can be found here. A separate article covering the capital budget, also discussed on Final Budget Approvals: posted June 14, 2019, at 1 a.m. PITTSFIELD, Mass. The City Council approved both the operating budget and the capital budget on Tuesday, June 11,but not before one more match of pickleball. The City Council had voted against borrowing $52,500 to support the construction of new pickleball courts at Springside Park. The mayor returned with a $10.7 million capital order that did not include that the only change requested by the council. Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo, however, pressed Mayor Linda Tyer on why she didn't pursue it anyway. Mazzeo feels that the council's discussion may have changed the tenor among constituents who perhaps were unsure of the exact location before. "So many people I heard from were so confused on where this pickleball court was going," Mazzeo said. While many were against using the park for the site of the new courts, Mazzeo had emphasized that the location by the Doyle Softball Complex on Benedict Road was ideal. She said that didn't interfere with other uses in the park and the location is already for active use. Tyer responded that she, too, supported that location, hence why she put forth the proposal. But, she "honored the vote of the City Council." Had she not pulled that from the proposal, there was a risk that the council would vote down the entire order, thus leaving the numerous other projects in the plan unfunded. "I could have sent it back to you with it with the pickleball line item in there but I would have risked losing the entire capital budget," Tyer said. Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell had voted in favor of pickleball at the time. But he was also on the council a handful of years ago when former Mayor Daniel Bianchi and the council fought over a fire truck in the capital budget. In the end, the council did not approve the order and some projects ultimately were delayed. "I didn't want to take out the funding for pickleball courts, there were some other things I was concerned about. But we were on this path five years ago when the capital budget did not get approved and basically there was a standstill," Connell said before voting in favor of the capital budget. Tyer said there could be potential further discussion about moving forward with a project, and that could mean finding a new location. Another capital order could be brought before the council in the future. "I support pickleball, I support the location. That's why I proposed it," Tyer said. Councilor at Large Earl Persip said the location is the only problem and bemoaned that the council was yet again discussing the proposal after a lengthy debate about it already. "You might have an 11-0 vote for pickleball if we moved it from Springside Park, why are we stuck on Springside Park?" Persip said. But Ward 2 Councilor Kevin Morandi said that was not true because he won't be voting for it anywhere. Morandi believes the city has enough parks that it can't maintain to add more. "Until those needs are met, I can't see spending that money on a new facility we have to maintain," he said. In the end the council approved the capital order. The council also picked through the operating budget and approved an amended appropriation of $166,599,139. During the budget hearings, the council reduced the water and the wastewater enterprise accounts by $25,000 each. The city solicitor's budget was increased by $2,039. The budget overall is increasing by just short of $7 million. The budget is broken down into $154,167,742 for the municipal and school operations, and $12,431,397 for the enterprise accounts, for a total of $166,599,139 on total appropriations from the council. Also on the books is another $8,838,314 for other charges, particularly offsets to state aid like school choice and various assessments. The mayor's overall spending plan calls for a $175,437,453 operating budget, which is about 3.9 percent more than the current year. The revenues would come from about $57 million in state aid, $12 million in local receipts, $12 million in enterprise fees, $1.8 million in other revenues collected, $750,000 in free cash, and $91 million in property taxes, according to Director of Finance Matthew Kerwood. The schools are seeing an increase of $2.9 million in the budget in response to the state being expected to release an additional $3.7 million in support. Council Vice President John Krol voted against the budget for the first time in his career as a councilor because he felt more of that aid should have been directed to where it was intended the schools. He said a lot of people fought hard to get increased support for schools and now, quoting fellow Councilor Helen Moon, the city is "balancing the rest of the budget on the backs of the school." "In 10 years I've never voted against a budget. There have been things I haven't liked from time but not enough to vote against it," he said. Councilors Anthony Simonelli and Morandi also voted against the budget but for different reasons. All three councilors, however, didn't feel the proposal correctly prioritized certain aspects of operations. Connell voted in favor of the budget but said some of the lines that councilors felt were underfunded were so because the council failed to make enough cuts in other places of the budget to reallocate. "The reason why we don't have the money is because we didn't make any cuts," Connell said. "There was money. Some of us were trying to find it but unfortunately, it didn't get the votes." ****** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** The City Council wrapped up the fiscal 2020 budget review in a marathon meeting on Tuesday night that ended shortly after midnight. Day 1 Posted May 23, 2019 at 4:03 a.m. Pittsfield Budget Review Day 1: Nine of 10 Budgets Approved As Is Mayor Linda Tyer presented the budget to the City Council on Tuesday. The first of four days of budget hearings kicked off Tuesday night with the City Council reviewing the first 10 departmental budgets. PITTSFIELD, Mass. The council made zero changes to the $175,485,414 spending plan. Nine of the budgets reviewed were approved as proposed by Mayor Linda Tyer and one was tabled because of an error. The council will review all of the departmental budgets over the course of the next two weeks, which will be detailed as it unfolds. To read more about each budget review on Tuesday, scroll down. Overall, the council is reviewing Tyer's proposal that increases the budget by nearly $7 million for fiscal 2020. The budget is broken down into $154,165,703 for the municipal and school operations, and $12,481,397 for the enterprise accounts, for a total of $166,647,100 on total appropriations from the council. Also on the books is another $8,838,314 for other charges, particularly offsets to state aid like school choice and various assessments. On Tuesday, the mayor said the proposal focuses on investing in her priority areas of public safety, infrastructure, and education but also doesn't leave any area of municipal operations out. "The FY20 budget demonstrates our continued commitment to support areas of public safety, community infrastructure and maintenance, exceptional public schools, and the advancement of economic development," Tyer said. "Every resident from birth to advanced age is represented and served in this budget proposal. The mayor's proposal calls for a $175,485,414 operating budget, which is 3.9 percent more than the current year. The revenues would come from about $57 million in state aid, $12 million in local receipts, $12 million in enterprise fees, $1.8 million in other revenues collected, $750,000 in free cash, and $91 million in property taxes, according to Director of Finance Matthew Kerwood. The mayor said the budget not only keeps all city staff working but also restores some of the positions that were cut a few years ago when the city faced tax levy constraints. The budget for schools is proposed to increase by about $2.9 million and the rest of the municipal budget is proposed to increase by about $4 million. Meanwhile, the city is expecting $2.4 million more in revenues outside of property taxes, particularly driven by an increase in state aid for schools. In a letter to the City Council, Tyer wrote that the biggest drivers of the increase include a $1.4 million hike in health insurance, a $200,524 increase in retirement contributions, and a $188,448 increase in solid waste collection and disposal. "The level of funding proposed in this budget reflects our commitment to excellence in customer service, our dedication to meaningful community engagement, and our collective desire to do as much as we responsibly can to meet the urgent and varying needs facing Pittsfield today and into the future," the mayor wrote. She highlighted health insurance on Tuesday saying the six-year health insurance agreement that is currently in the second year is curbing what the potential increases could have been. "The anticipated savings over the six-year agreement will be vital to the long-term stability of the city's finances by gradually shifting more out of pocket costs for direct services such as co-pays to the employees," Tyer said. She added that the share of the health insurance is also switching from being 85 percent paid by the city to 80 percent paid by the city, with the employees picking up the remaining 20 percent. The school budget is proposed at $63 million more can be read about the details here (note that budget was scaled back somewhat here ) - and the increase is more than offset by an increase in Chapter 70 aid for schools from the state. The city's proposed school budget is calling for a $2.9 million increase while the state is looking to increase its funding by $3.7 million and perhaps more if the state settles on a number closer to the state Senate's proposal. "Our kids and their families from every corner of our city and from every economic class are counting on us, especially if they have special education and special needs issues," Tyer said. "Data indicates that the increase in the number of special education students has put pressure on existing systems that are in place to help our special education students achieve their greatest potential. While student enrollment in 2014 to 2018 has declined by 7 percent, the percentage of special education students climbed by 16 percent." The largest departmental budget outside of the schools is the Police Department, which is proposed at $10,899,632. That is $866,389 more than the current year, or 8.6 percent. The raise includes a new line to fund ShotSpotter the gunshot detection system the city contracted and was hoping to get private donations to pay for but fell short of the total price. That line is proposed at $240,000. The budget is also has a contractual allowances increase of about $150,000 for uniforms and boot issues to officers a line for uniforms was subsequently reduced by $56,600. The proposal also includes a new line to pay for community outreach overtime. The department has been undertaking many communities policing efforts in recent years but had been on the individual officer's off time or on regular overtime. The new line of $12,500 accounts for those efforts. Scheduled overtime is also proposed to increase by $100,000 a line that has historically and publicly been noted as being underfunded. The Department of Public Services is the second largest department budget at a proposed $8,076,245. That is $109,508 more than this year, most of which is driven by contractual salary increases. The building inspectors department is looking at a 16.9 percent increase, which equals $64,671. The majority of that increase is simply moving the inspector of weights and measures job back to the budget from the Department of Public Services and a matching reduction in that budget was made. The department is also adding a part-time senior clerk. Percentage-wise, five departments are seeing greater than a 10 percent increase. The Fire Department is seeing the largest overall increase to the tune of $1,050,509. The majority of the increase is contractual salary increases accounting for $998,509. The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has a large percentage increase at 13.8 percent but it is a relatively small line in the budget so the increase is $10,906, all of which is related to salary increases for the staff. The budget calls for a $150,000 increase for maintenance of schools. That is $125,000 for contractual services and $25,000 in supplies. The Berkshire Athenaeum is proposed to receive a 10.1 percent increase, $108,822, mostly driven by contractual salary increases but also a significant increase in the amount spent on books and audio and visual material. Three departments will see reduced funding: the city solicitor's office, the airport, and worker's compensation. The city contracts the solicitor services and that amount haven't changed but there is a cut of $4,300 in other expenses. The airport is dropping by $1,960. That is accounted for in a reduction of overtime by $5,000, about $3,000 of which is used in salary increases. Worker's compensation is being reduced by $25,000. The city is also seeing a decrease in long-term debt to the tune of $2,299,695. That savings is mostly offset by the increase in health insurance in the unclassified budget, which overall is seeing a 0.2 percent increase. The mayor is also proposing to apply $750,000 in free cash to the budget to reduce the tax rate. The city has been scaling back the amount it uses to offset the budget each year following the auditor's recommendations. The mayor is also proposing a $10,789,300 capital budget. That budget calls for borrowing for a number of projects, the largest of which is a $2 million reconstruction of Tyler Street and $2.5 million for general street improvements. The City Council will be hosting a series of budget hearings to review each department. iBerkshires will be providing in-depth coverage of the budget during those hearings but for now, the full budget proposal from the mayor's office is available here. Mayor's Office The Mayor's Office budget of $212,983 was preliminarily approved without discussion. The budget is $5,482 more than last year, all of which is contributed to salary increases for the three positions in the office. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Mayor $91,540 $95,000 $95,000 $96,998 $98,453 Director of Admin Services $53,095 $52,195 $53,092 $56,064 $58,101 Executive Assistant $38,355 $36,658 $37,285 $39,364 $41,354 Markets and Advertising $2,000 $500 $250 $300 $300 Supplies $3,500 $3,500 $2,922 $2,775 $2,575 Travel $5,000 $2,000 $1,297 $1,000 $1,000 MA Municipal Association $10,200 $11,000 $11,000 $11,000 $11,200 Total $203,690 $200,853 $200,846 $207,501 $212,983 City Council Councilor Melissa Mazzeo objected to a new line to pay for councilors to attend an annual MMA conference, instead suggesting councilors pay out of pocket for it. The City Council's budget of $106,062 received approval but only after lengthy discussion regarding a new line for education and training. The budget proposal asked for $2,420 in that line, which City Council President Peter Marchetti is eyed to pay for the registration fee for an annual Massachusetts Municipal Association conference. Marchetti said he believes the weekend conference provides a good opportunity for councilors to meet and discuss various issues with elected and appointed officials from communities across the state, take workshops with municipal professionals and attend lectures on various topics. Councilor Melissa Mazzeo, however, believes councilors should be paying for that out of their annual stipends of $8,000 per year instead. "I think that is what the stipend is for. It was never meant to be lived on," Mazzeo said. Mazzeo said she hasn't been able to attend that particular event in the past but said there are other free opportunities councilors can take to learn the same things. She doesn't think the taxpayers should foot the bill for their education. The conference costs $180 to attend and Councilor Peter White said it provides a big benefit. He said there are break-out sessions to talk about different ideas, and where he first heard about the Complete Streets program, and it nurtures long-lasting connections with other municipalities that may have handled similar issues to what this council is addressing. "Unless we learn new ways of doing things, it is difficult to not do things the way they've always been done," White said. Marchetti added that while the current council has the financial ability to attend, a future councilor may not. He'd like it to be available to all of the councilors. Mazzeo's attempt to reduce the line was rejected by a split 5-5 vote, with her, Christopher Connell, Anthony Simonelli, Kevin Morandi, and Donna Todd Rivers in opposition and Marchetti, White, Helen Moon, Nicholas Caccamo, and Earl Persip in opposition. Councilor John Krol was absent from the meeting. The full budget was passed right after. That budget is up by $2,170, consisting of the new training line and a reduction to advertising and marketing expenses. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Councilors $90,002 $90,002 $90,002 $90,002 $90,002 Clerk of the City Council $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 Clerk of Committees $8,640 $8,640 $8,640 $8,640 $8,640 NEW: Education and Training $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,420 Advertising/Marketing $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,000 Total $103,892 $103,892 $103,892 $103,892 $106,062 City Solicitor The Solicitor's Office budget of $217,707 was tabled on the first day of budget hearings after an error was found. The legal assistant line had not seen any increase in salary, though the employee would be due for a contractual raise, according to Director of Personnel Michael Taylor. The Personnel Department will need to calculate the salary increase and present a new budget. The council revisited the budget on Tuesday, June 6 and approved the bottom line at $219,746 after determining the salary increase would be $2,309. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval City Solicitor $77,472 $1 $1 $0 $0 Assistant City Solicitor $35,218 $1 $1 $0 $0 Executive Legal Secretary $39,210 $39,011 $39,011 $43,207 $45,246 Tax Title Litigation $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $5,000 Supplies $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $500 Law Library $11,500 $11,500 $11,500 $11,500 $5,000 Legal Fees and Court Costs $60,000 $162,000 $162,000 $162,000 $162,000 Legal Settlements $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Equipment Maintenance $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 $2,000 Total $228,700 $217,813 $217,813 $222,007 $219,746 City Clerk The City Clerk's budget of $359,560 was preliminarily approved with little discussion. Councilor Melissa Mazzeo questions City Clerk Michelle Benjamin on a few items but all of which were related to the three elections this year. Benjamin said the election will cost more in custodians, ballots, election programming, election supplies, and rental expenses. The total clerk budget is increasing by $30,432, about two-thirds of which is attributed to contractual salary increases and additional election workers. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval City Clerk $65,625 $67,264 $68,682 $67,607 $70,062 Assistant City Clerk $39,090 $40,668 $43,350 $45,104 $47,036 Head Clerk $34,885 $36,099 $36,634 $37,183 $37,834 Assistant Clerk Registrar $36,180 $36,483 $36,211 $33,373 $34,843 Election Officers $34,314 $26,516 $22,932 $24,696 $35,280 Secretary Board $32,550 $33,862 $31,120 $32,381 $33,775 Senior Clerk Typist $26,590 $26,980 $28,048 $29,185 $30,445 Registrars Board $2,400 $0 $0 $0 $0 Licensing Board $2,950 $0 $0 $0 $0 Election Custodians $3,600 $2,600 $2,700 $2,754 $4,435 Equipment Maintenance $5,424 $6,300 $6,300 $6,300 $3,300 Election Programming $9,000 $5,600 $4,936 $4,936 $9,000 Election Rentals $1,200 $900 $705 $705 $1,050 Education and Training $1,000 $1,500 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Advertising and Marketing $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 City Code Updates $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 Records Preservation $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Supplies $23,000 $13,500 $16,404 $16,404 $23,000 Census $15,000 $15,750 $15,000 $15,000 $16,000 Total $345,308 $326,522 $326,522 $329,128 $359,560 Council on Aging The Council on Aging budget was approved without discussion. The $310,074 budget is $9,660 more than last year. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Director $52,910 $52,910 $52,910 $54,508 $59,728 Senior Clerk Typist $30,680 $30,897 $31,180 $32,709 $33,282 SDC Assistant $22,935 $23,558 $23,558 $25,233 $25,675 Soc Serv Tech/Custodian $31,440 $31,665 $32,000 $32,867 $33,443 Soc Serv Tech/Custodian (PT) $25,280 $25,377 $25,377 $25,967 $26,422 Program Assistant $32,125 $32,125 $32,125 $33,490 $34,076 Activities Leaders (PT) $21,545 $21,545 $21,545 $22,017 $22,403 Kitchen Coordinator $22,490 $22,490 $22,490 $23,449 $23,860 Temp. Labor $4,000 $4,000 $3,382 $3,484 $3,485 Equipment Maintenance $6,435 $6,435 $6,435 $6,000 $6,300 Building Maintenance $13,500 $13,500 $13,500 $13,400 $14,000 Printing $1,300 $1,300 $1,300 $888 $1,000 Supplies $3,000 $3,000 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 Program Expense $24,350 $24,350 $24,350 $23,900 $23,900 Total $291,990 $293,152 $292,652 $300,414 $310,074 Veterans Services The Veteran's Services budget was approved without discussion. The $1,072,474 budget is $23,909 more than last year. The largest portion of that is $20,207 for program expenses, the benefits which are given to local veterans. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Veterans' Agent $48,100 $48,100 $48,100 $52,061 $51,102 Administrative Assistant $27,235 $28,333 $29,478 $27,112 $28,165 Temporary Labor $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Equipment Maintenance $650 $975 $975 $0 $0 Rental Expense $6,700 $6,700 $0 $5,900 $6,500 Education and Training $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Flags $2,000 $2,000 $0 $1,500 $2,000 Supplies $2,000 $2,000 $3,000 $2,000 $2,000 Program Expense $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $962,250 $982,457 Award and Declarations $300 $300 $300 $250 $250 Total $1,086,985 $1,088,456 $1,081,853 $1,051,073 $1,072,474 Cultural Development The Cultural Development budget of $115,841 was approved with no discussion. The budget is $7,283 more than last year. The increase is made up of salary increases for the two employees and an additional $5,000 for tourism expenses marketing and other promotional material. The visitor's center expenses were cut completely from the budget. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Director $52,910 $52,910 $52,910 $55,872 $57,902 Administrative Assistant $20,480 $29,981 $30,375 $31,586 $32,139 Tourism Administrator $13,240 $0 $0 $0 $0 Building Maintenance $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Contractual Services $4,000 $5,000 $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 Tourism Expenses $12,000 $12,000 $12,000 $12,000 $17,000 Visitor Center Expenses $1,000 $500 $500 $300 $0 Supplies $3,500 $3,500 $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 Telephone $800 $800 $800 $800 $800 Travel and Dues $1,500 $1,500 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Equipment Building $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total $109,430 $106,191 $104,585 $108,558 $115,841 Health Department The Health Department's budget was discussed a bit but ultimately no changes were made to the $492,832 budget. Councilor Earl Persip questioned a 15 percent salary increase for an administrative assistant. Health Director Gina Armstrong said that was because the former assistant left and a current employee with a lengthy history of working with the department took the job. "We had a new person take that position this fiscal year. It is a transfer from another city department. She has been working for the city for 12 years so that was the step," Armstrong said. Councilor Anthony Simonelli asked about contractual services rising by 33 percent and Armstrong said that is increases in the contracts with the Berkshire Public Health Alliance which provides the city with public nursing when the city's nurse is unavailable and septic tests with a licensed soil evaluator, a state requirement. Health Director Gina Armstrong explained her budget to the council. Simonelli prodded further, asking if Tri-Town Health had a role. He remembered earlier this year when a tobacco retailer was caught violating the city's laws by Tri-town and that ultimately led the city's Board of Health to dish out punishment. "Why are they here looking into our businesses?" Simonelli said. Armstrong said Tri-town has a state grant to administer tobacco programs throughout Berkshire County. It runs online training for vendors, has inspectors, and does compliance checks for the city at no cost. "We still handle the enforcement. They inform us of their inspection results and we handle enforcement," Armstrong said. Simonelli asked why the city couldn't apply for the grant and do the tobacco control for itself. Armstrong said it would be costly because the city would have to hire its own staff, develop the training, and be responsible to provide the service to the rest of the county. "I would rather us tell people what to do than other people telling us what to do," Simonelli responded. The budget was unchanged and is preliminarily approved to increased by $21,677, nearly all of which is related to contractual salary increases. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Board of Health Director $55,945 $64,023 $64,023 $67,606 $70,062 Senior Sanitarian $45,584 $45,880 $46,918 $48,822 $50,918 Inspector of Weights and Measures $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Animal Inspector $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 Sanitarians $75,967 $79,725 $83,565 $86,935 $90,663 Senior Code Enforcement Inspector $43,190 $44,760 $46,918 $48,822 $50,918 Nuisance Control Officer $29,379 $29,703 $33,279 $36,835 $38,406 Officer Manager $31,626 $32,780 $34,956 $37,745 $39,371 Public Health Nurse $41,001 $49,300 $48,920 $51,659 $54,605 Administrative Assistant $25,578 $26,120 $29,266 $30,831 $35,489 Board of Health Clerk $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Water Testing $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 Uniforms $1,500 $900 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 Contractual Services $2,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 Telephone $3,450 $3,450 $3,450 $1,500 $1,500 Equipment Maintenance $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 $4,500 Education and Training $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $2,000 $2,000 Nuisance Abatement $6,000 $7,000 $10,000 $10,000 $7,000 Code Enforcement $0 $6,000 $4,300 $2,000 $3,000 Advertising $3,500 $300 $300 $0 $0 Property Demolitions $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 $23,00 $23,000 Medical Supplies $0 $8,750 $7,000 $7,000 $9,000 Supplies $7,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Total $431,674 $441,391 $456,795 $471,155 $492,832 Building Inspectors The Building Inspector's budget of $448,282 drew a lengthy debate over the filling of position of Building Commissioner Gerald Garner. Garner has served in the position for more than a decade and was poised to see a salary increase when the budget was developed. He has since left the position and it remains open. But, the budget number is still associated with Garner. Councilor Christopher Connell pushed to cut out that raise, starting the new commissioner at the same rate Garner had this past year. The issue isn't quite so straight forward. Garner did have a lengthy history with the city but he had gone most of his time without raises. The City Council had recently made significant changes to the pay scales and raises - implementing a merit process, picking ranges instead of specific numbers a candidate can start at, and providing cost of living raises. The new salary matrix would put a new commissioner would make slightly less than Garner was making but significantly more than he had been making years earlier. At the same time, the Council opted to increase the salaries fairly recently in hopes for better job attraction and retainment as the salaries trailed other areas in the various professions. As that relates to the budget hearing, some councilors felt leaving the extra $2,456 in the budget would provide the city with more flexibility in being able to attract the right candidate with whatever isn't spent being rolled into free cash at the end of the years. "I understand the want to reduce the budget but I want to make sure we have enough if we have to entice somebody to come into the job," Councilor Peter White said. Whereas Connell and a few others felt the salaries have already been creeping up across the board and needed to be restricted. "We've already done what we could do and we've already now started giving the cost of living increases, and I was even hesitant to do that," Councilor Melissa Mazzeo said. Eventually, Mazzeo, Connell, Kevin Morandi, and Anthony Simonelli were outvoted on the push to reduced the commissioner's line by $2,456 the first of what was a trend last year and could be this year in the foursome being consistently outvoted on various measures. Morandi then questioned the addition of a senior clerk. The mayor said it was a position that was cut a few years earlier when the financial picture was grimmer and now she is trying to restore that service. "It really needs another full-time person," said Persip, adding that in his private employment he's had difficulties getting in touch with the building department because it been so busy. The entire budget preliminarily passed 6-4, with Connell, Mazzeo, Morandi, and Simonelli in opposition. The budget is increasing by $64,671. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Senior Wire Inspector $49,075 $50,851 $52,835 $54,700 $56,075 Building Commissioner $64,025 $64,022 $64,022 $67,606 $70,062 Head Clerk $30,975 $32,103 $33,525 $34,900 $34,890 Senior Clerk $25,935 $26,877 $0 $0 $15,350 Building Inspectors $136,750 $143,888 $149,205 $152,600 $158,816 Plumbing and Gas Inspector $45,555 $47,217 $49,305 $51,305 $53,911 Inspector of Weights and Measures $41,578 Temporary Labor $7,500 $7,500 $6,000 $6,000 $3,000 Insurance Deductible $500 $0 $0 $0 $0 Uniforms $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $3,000 $3,600 Telephone $3,500 $3,500 $3,500 $3,500 $3,500 Supplies $7,500 $11,300 $10,000 $10,000 $7,500 Total $372,815 $388,758 $369,892 $383,611 $448,282 Personnel The Personnel Department budget of $200,857 passed with little discussion. The budget is increasing by $4,032. Councilor Anthony Simonelli questioned the cutting of medical expenses. Director of Personnel Michael Taylor said the city has implemented proactive measures in hopes to reduce that line and it has shown the be working. He felt this year a little could be trimmed and placed into other areas of his budget that he felt could use bolstering, such as education. "We are taking some practical steps in managing the funding of that line. I felt it was best to move the money elsewhere," he said. The lines for both education and training and educational opportunities contractually negotiated offerings for employees to further education have both come in over budget this last year, he said. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Director of Personnel $64,025 $64,022 $65,623 $69,297 $72,518 Personnel Technician $35,265 $35,675 $38,099 $40,428 $42,239 Personnel Specialist $35,420 $0 $0 $0 $0 Training $3,000 $4,500 $4,500 $3,500 $5,000 Educational Opportunity $3,000 $4,500 $4,500 $3,500 $5,000 City Physician/ Medical Services $40,500 $60,000 $45,000 $45,000 $40,000 Online Application Program $4,800 $5,600 $5,600 $5,600 $5,600 Advertising $2,500 $2,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 Diversity and Inclusion (new) $5,000 $5,000 Postage $85,850 $50,000 $0 $0 $0 Supplies $3,000 $3,000 $3,000 $2,500 $3,000 Assessment Centers $0 $0 $26,000 $19,500 $19,500 Total $277,360 $229,797 $194,322 $196,825 $200,857 ****** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Pittsfield Budget Review Day 2: RSVP Budget Sparks Discussion Posted May 24, 2019 at 3:58 a.m. Jeff Roucoulet received the longest questioning on Thursday evening. PITTSFIELD, Mass. The City Council preliminarily approved eight additional department budgets on Thursday with most of the discussion being focused on RSVP. The debate over the Retired Senior Volunteer Program was focused on a 49.2 percent raise for the volunteer coordinator position. Director Jeffrey Roucoulet said there had been high turnover in the position and the position of administrative assistant/bookkeeper and the decision was made to raise both of the salaries. However, some of the city councilors felt the increase was too steep at once. "The wages for those two positions are inadequate. They haven't been updated in many, many years," Roucoulet said. The volunteer coordinator position currently pays $12.56 for a new hire and the city is looking for a person to fill the job now. Roucoulet advocated for $7,230 increase to the city's share of that salary to bring it into the $15 to $18 an hour range. Both positions receive around $7,500 in federal funding for salaries. The budget called for $21,915 for the volunteer coordinator and $23,187 for the administrative assistant up from $14,685 and $18,272 which would put both positions in the $30,000 per year range. Councilor Melissa Mazzeo, however, said she doesn't see the position as being a traditional full-time job. She always envisioned it being a retiree making some extra income and serving the community. She said the current salaries reflect those type of employees. "If somebody is coming in and trying to support a family, even that salary is not enough," she said. She also questioned if volunteers in the program can handle the duties. Roucoulet said that isn't how the position operates though. He said it is a full-time city job not restricted to any certain demographic. The program assigns volunteers to help in some 60 non-profits throughout the city and the county and the coordinator plays an important administrative role in making sure all of that goes off without a hitch. He added that the person gives presentations at the Senior Center to recruit volunteers, organizes and runs activities, and sets up projects and programs. "They are pretty much the liaison for RSVP," Roucoulet said. He said there has been trouble keeping people in those positions because move onto higher-paying jobs such as a recent administrative assistant who transferred to a similar job in the Fire Department for $3 more per hour. "We have a high turnover rate for the volunteer coordinator and administrative assistant," Roucoulet said. Councilor Christopher Connell questioned if the salary is truly what is leading people to leave. He wondered if the increase could have been smaller in an attempt to see if that helps curb the revolving door. Particularly, Connell said the benefits associated with city employment close the salary gap a bit compared to jobs in the private sector or even in other municipalities. "We have outstanding benefits still in this city," he said. "That has basically compensated for being on the low side of the pay scale." Councilor Helen Moon, however, countered by saying that even though the benefits may be good, an employee still needs income to pay their bills. She believes the city should be paying its workers livable wages. "We want to pay our employees something they can live on," Moon said. Councilor Earl Persip added that there are a cost and time associated with training and bringing on new employees so efforts to keep an employee longer does pay a benefit. "I can go work at a fast food place for $15," Persip said to compare the wages. Connell was going to move to reduce the increase in half but a motion to table led to a predictable outcome: Mazzeo, Connell, and Councilor Kevin Morandi were the only opposition. The three have routinely been outvoted. "I can make the amendment again but it is going to be the same vote," Connell said. The RSVP budget took up about half of the meeting and was the first budget reviewed. Things got much easier after with approvals for Information Technology, Berkshire Athenaeum, Building Maintenance, Airport Commission, Community Development, Fire Department, and Emergency Management passing with relative ease. Below are more details about the discussion on each budget. RSVP The RSVP budget of $89,967 is going up by $10,906, which is entirely driven by salary increases to the administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator as detailed above. Beyond a lengthy discussion on those raises, concerns were also raised about the program's work outside of the city. Director Jeffrey Roucoulet said the majority of the work is in Pittsfield but the federal grant requires the program to serve all of Berkshire County. He said there are sites in towns like Stockbridge and Adams for volunteers to work. "We are primarily Pittsfield. We have a few stations throughout the county. It isn't many," he said. The other communities aren't paying for the salaries for those administering the program. A long-standing federal grant pays a portion for the three full-time employees with the city paying the rest. "Even though the volunteers are going out there, somebody who is directing the volunteers is paid by the taxpayers of Pittsfield," Councilor Christopher Connell said. That aspect was a sticking point for Connell and Councilor Melissa Mazzeo but one the two could overlook because of the limited scope of work being done outside the city. However, the questions were still raised as part of the lengthy debate about the salaries of those three people. Mazzeo recognized the focus was on $7,230 in a $175 million budget but believes every bit counts. "I know when you look at the whole budget it is a minuscule amount what that is what we are up here doing, looking for ways to cut costs," Mazzeo said. In the end, the budget was approved unchanged with Mazzeo and Connell voting in opposition and Councilor Donna Todd Rivers abstaining. The rest of the council was in favor of the budget as proposed. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Director of RSVP $34,793 $34,984 $34,984 $36,486 $36,678 Volunteer Coordinator $15,381 $15,948 $15,753 $14,685 $21,915 Administrative Assistant $16,910 $18,851 $19,638 $19,703 $23,187 Membership and Dues $300 $1,121 $1,253 $400 $400 Postage $400 $400 $400 $500 $600 Staff Training $457 $300 $300 $300 $300 Advertising $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Telephone $350 $6 $6 $6 $6 Supplies $1,900 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,400 Staff Travel $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Volunteer Recognition $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 Equipment and Copier Lease $2,947 $1,981 $1,981 $1,981 $1,981 Total $76,938 $78,591 $79,045 $79,061 $89,967 Information Technology The Information Technology budget of $625,043 passed unanimously. The budget is increasing by $37,334 with the largest increases coming from computer licenses and support to the tune of $23,000. Councilor Christopher Connell, who has been hawking over the budget, questioned that increase but was happy with IT Manager Michael Steben's response. Steben said the increase is associated with a 5 percent price hike in the city's accounting program, the IT department is taking on additional public records requirements, and he wants more cybersecurity. "We do want to be investing more in infrastructure security," Steben said. "The attack that are coming from countries all over the world, it doesn't stop." Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval IT Manager $67,663 $64,824 $67,606 $72,518 Info Syustems Specialists $109,756 $168,104 $115,598 $124,738 Network Administrator $59,498 $62,957 $125,005 $125,287 Computer Upgrade and Repair $70,000 $70,000 $70,000 $46,500 $46,500 Computer License/Support $220,000 $230,000 $230,000 $232,000 $255,000 Supplies $3,000 $3,000 $1,000 $1,000 Total $543,917 $598,885 $587,709 $625,043 Berkshire Athenaeum The $1,184,229 budget for the Berkshire Athenaeum is proposed to increase by $108,822, mostly driven by annual salary increases, and represents 10.1 percent increase. However, a request for $34,674 more for books and audio-visual material raised some eyebrows. Library Director Alex Reczkowski said the request keeps the library in compliance with state regulations that call for libraries to have 13 percent of the budget dedicated to refreshing and enhancing the items at the library. The substantial increase this year is because the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum and the Board of Trustees are contributing less. Reczkowski said $120,000 was typically contributed to that line from those two sources and that has dropped by a third as those two sources are putting resources aside to take on a massive amount of Herman Melville material. A Melville scholar is donating his life's work of research to the library and it is going to cost money for new shelving and other aspects to preserve it. "It is the cost of this great gift we are getting," he said. The director said things like that are what the friend's group and trustees would rather spend money on but in recent years they've been called on to fill the gap in the amount of new material the city buys and that 13 percent state requirement. The budget was approved. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Senior Supervisors $193,165 $190,949 $195,763 $192,982 $201,242 Supervisor Specialist $45,105 $47,323 $36,820 $38,605 $42,269 Supervisor Specialist $116,590 $123,986 $121,997 $126,594 $132,277 Library Assistant II $48,305 $51,324 $63,528 $65,149 $75,587 Senior Technicians $97,344 $102,504 $106,373 $106,929 $110,956 Senior Assistants $67,098 $76,210 $81,194 $91,302 $99,169 Director of Athenaeum $78,337 $66,022 $67,673 $70,409 $74,419 Library Custodians $61,573 $65,320 $64,276 $71,865 $77,788 Library Assistant I $60,431 $67,950 $65,433 $66,563 $77,888 Library Technicians $60,113 $63,642 $64,751 $66,565 $70,202 Library Shelvers $58,733 $57,242 $54,664 $59,014 $68,328 Equipment Maintenance $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $950 $950 Library Staff Development $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 Supplies - General $12,000 $13,000 $13,000 $12,770 $12,770 Supplies - Custodial $6,000 $6,500 $6,500 $6,450 $6,450 Binding and Microfilm $2,200 $3,345 $3,648 $3,575 $3,575 Newspapers and Periodicals $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $10,000 $10,000 Books and Audio Visual $75,000 $29,320 $29,365 $29,365 $64,039 Travel $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Reimbursement ($45,453) $0 $0 $0 $0 Unclassified - Library $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $1,900 $1,900 Library Networking Fees $43,125 $49,980 $49,980 $50,420 $50,420 Theft Deterrent System $1,000 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 Total $998,666 $1,044,617 $1,044,965 $1,075,407 $1,184,229 Maintenance: City The City Council said it would like to see additional staffing in Brian Filiault's Building Maintenance budget. Councilor Donna Todd Rivers considered voted against the Building Maintenance budget of $1,792,460 just to make a point. She doesn't think it is enough. The budget is increasing by 4.2 percent, or $71,809, but Rivers said a staff of 17 is not enough to take care of all of the city's buildings. She said she'd rather see that budget be increased to add workers. "I want to approve it because I believe it is a fair budget given what your department is doing but I feel the need to make a public statement and not approve it because I think you need help," Rivers. Councilor Earl Persip also had concerns about manpower, particularly in the city's ability to find and retain tradesmen. He particularly cited HVAC technicians as an example saying companies are hiring qualified people in a heartbeat. If the city can't retain its tradesmen, that forces them to outsource the work at more than $100 an hour. The same goes for electricians, plumbers, and other tradesmen, Persip said. He'd like to see the city raise those salaries to remain competitive. "Some of these salaries, you are going to have trouble finding people," Persip said. "You should start pumping this up or you are going to find this empty." Director Brian Filiault agreed that retention of employees is important. He said the staff know the buildings, know the systems and parts, and can be very efficient on the job and that an outside company has a learning curve. "There is a big difference between outside tradesmen and inside tradesmen," he said. Filiault agreed that the staff is currently "buried in work" but they've been effective. However, the city has only one painter who can never get all of the work needed to be done. He is hoping to lessen the workload somewhat and that the city has been upgrading systems to hopefully lower the demand for service. "Everything in these buildings are old and a lot is in need of repairs and a lot is in need of replacement," he said. Councilor Christopher Connell then questioned the purchasing of material. He said years ago he had a meeting with a representative from Home Depot who had a plan to provide the city with supplies, would match prices, and then at the end of the year give the city 2 to 3 percent credit. He felt that would have been a good deal for the city. "It was never explored. They wanted to do business with us," he said. Filiault, however, felt that maybe a bit too good to be true. He said while Home Depot is a vendor and the city will purchase materials from, there are many other vendors the city uses to find the best price and the best quality. "We search out for the best price. We don't just call a guy because we like them," Filiault said. "We look at multiple vendors for anything we purchase." Nonetheless, the budget was approved as presented. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Director of Maintenance $67,522 $67,264 $64,022 $69,297 $72,518 Boiler/HVAC Repairman $43,995 $44,485 $45,846 $48,016 $46,980 Painter $44,151 $44,652 $43,721 $45,255 $47,798 Parking Garage Manager (Transferred to Public Services) $54,182 $53,985 $0 $0 $0 Parking Control Officers (Transferred to Public Services) $56,173 $58,222 $0 $0 $0 Working Foreman Craft $44,666 $47,455 $52,311 $54,424 $55,803 Plumber $87,660 $89,645 $96,023 $100,359 $106,177 Carpenters $135,428 $133,513 $142,919 $143,670 $150,542 Principal Clerk $27,913 $33,071 $37,375 $38,887 $39,872 HVAC Technician $88,526 $90,510 $93,603 $96,630 $102,001 Custodian $31,031 $32,999 $34,747 $36,322 $38,336 Custodian (Transferred to Public Services) $0 $28,707 $0 $0 $0 Office Manager $36,093 $42,767 $49,542 $51,547 $52,852 Electricians $131,823 $132,606 $139,969 $146,744 $155,081 Seasonal Labor $16,000 $16,000 $10,000 $0 $0 Temporary Labor $0 $0 $40,000 $40,000 $40,000 Custodial Labor Rentals $30,000 $30,000 $25,000 $25,000 $25,000 Assistant Director of Maintenance $59,966 $59,737 $0 $0 $0 Utilities $520,000 $520,000 $520,000 $555,000 $575,000 Repairs Municipal $225,200 $205,200 $239,826 $260,000 $275,000 Abandoned Property $0 $20,000 $10,000 $5,000 $5,000 Contractual Allowances $4,800 $4,800 $4,400 $4,500 $4,500 Repairs/Services Garage (Transferred to Public Services) $55,000 $55,000 $0 $0 $0 Total $1,760,129 $1,810,618 $1,649,703 $1,720,651 $1,792,460 Maintenance: School The maintenance budget for schools was approved with no discussion. The budget of $770,000 is $150,000 more than last year with a $125,000 increase for contractual services and a $25,000 increase for supplies. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Contractual Services $257,500 $217,500 $325,000 $270,000 $375,000 Maintenance Supplies $217,000 $257,500 $295,000 $350,000 $395,000 Total $475,000 $475,000 $620,000 $620,000 $770,000 Airport The Airport's budget of $275,190 was approved without discussion. That budget is decreasing by $1,960, with a $5,000 drop in overtime which is partly offset by annual pay increases for the three employees. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Airport Manager $58,204 $58,204 $59,659 $61,460 $61,837 Assistant Airport Manager $0 $0 $47,755 $49,220 $50,696 Airport Inspector $45,370 $45,370 $34,155 $39,598 $40,785 Scheduled Overtime $0 $0 $15,000 $15,000 $10,000 Commission Clerk $1,560 $1,872 $1,872 $1,872 $1,872 Contractual Services $11,100 $12,000 $12,000 $12,000 $12,000 Utilities $55,000 $56,800 $56,800 $56,800 $56,800 Telephone $1,560 $1,500 $2,200 $2,200 $2,200 Maintenance $14,500 $15,000 $33,500 $30,000 $30,000 Snow Removal $8,000 $8,500 $4,000 $5,000 $5,000 Membership and Dues $0 $0 $0 $1,500 $1,500 Supplies $2,550 $2,550 $2,500 $2,500 $2,500 Equipment $1,500 $1,500 $1,500 $0 $0 Total $199,344 $203,296 $270,941 $277,150 $275,190 Community Development The Office of Community Development's budget of $690,716 was approved with little discussion. The budget is going by by 4.4 percent, or $29,407. The annual salary increases for staff drives all of that increase but a small $7,631 cut in non-personnel related expenses offsets the increase somewhat. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Director $40,852 $40,851 $41,712 $45,148 $46,788 Parks Open Space Planner $64,250 $64,001 $64,000 $67,842 $70,306 City Planner $61,150 $61,150 $60,916 $62,998 $65,286 Conservation Agent $49,070 $50,851 $52,833 $54,028 $55,647 Planning Administrator $4,000 $4,000 $0 $0 $0 Administrative Coordinator $40,456 $40,905 $41,671 $35,853 $36,553 Business Development Manager $0 $0 $0 $29,071 $30,880 Community Development Specialist $47,579 $47,579 $50,677 $63,460 $87,316 Administrative Assistant $6,997 $7,192 $6,381 $6,639 $6,274 Playground Leaders $18,879 $18,879 $18,356 $17,700 $20,400 ZBA Clerk $801 $0 $0 $0 $0 Seasonal Labor $17,195 $17,195 $15,000 $14,625 $15,000 Recreation Coordinator $40,456 $40,905 $41,671 $42,613 $43,686 Human Services $140,000 $138,000 $107,000 $84,000 $71,750 Land Use and Zoning $0 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Lake Management $20,000 $35,000 $54,950 $51,950 $52,000 Supplies $8,000 $8,000 $7,995 $9,000 $7,500 Recreation Programs $7,000 $7,500 $7,500 $7,300 $7,500 Downtown Inc. $43,000 $32,250 $24,185 $24,185 $29,185 Tyler Street Business Group $1,000 $10,000 $2,500 $0 $0 Planning Studies $15,000 $15,000 $5,000 $7,000 $7,000 BRPC Assessment $0 $0 $33,928 $34,776 $35,645 Total $625,665 $641,258 $666,938 $660,188 $690,716 Fire Department The Fire Department budget of $8,389,896 was preliminarily approved. The budget is increasing by a total of 14.3 percent, or $1,050,509. The majority of the increase is because the city had increased the staff size in recent years through a grant and that grant is expiring and the firefighters are now hitting the city's ledger. The city now pays the salaries of 100 people in the department. Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said he is confident with that size of a department. "I am very comfortable with this number.r I think the city should feel comfortable with it," Czerwinski said. He said the department could use extra staff on some occasions such as earlier Thursday morning when a large fire broke out on Tyler Street but those occasions are rare. The increased staffing does help address a long concern of the Council in overtime. The Department is cutting $25,000 out of its overtime budget this year when historically that line had been underfunded on an annual basis. "We have a number of openings right now that we anticipate on filing," the chief said. Czerwinski said the grant still has $200,000 worth which will pay some salaries for this year and will hit the books next year. That extra $200,000 from the federal government was supplemental, he said. Councilor Earl Persip questioned a $25,000 increase for vehicle maintenance. Czerwinski said the price of maintaining fire trucks continues to go up and the increase reflects that. He said the city is on pace with its fleet replacement schedule. "We have a truck right now that is seven years old and we are looking at $10,000 in repairs right now," he said. "We are always going to have problems. These are specialized pieces of equipment. They aren't Chevys and Fords we can take down to the local dealer." Councilor Christopher Connell questioned the line for uniforms, suggesting that with more firefighters there should be a greater cost for uniforms. But Czerwinski said the department had changed its policy in recent years from just giving new uniforms to all to having the firefighters request them. That's led to some not using all of their allotment. "We've noticed a small decrease in those," Czerwinski said. The budget was approved unanimously. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Fire Chief $99,340 $99,340 $99,775 $103,371 $98,500 Deputy Fire Chiefs $357,500 $363,103 $363,235 $396,000 $405,279 Fire Captains $756,472 $1,004,000 $831,669 $897,000 $1,134,882 Fire Lieutenants $982,243 $980,000 $1,020,000 $1,088,855 $1,266,635 Firefighters $3,527,764 $3,358,000 $3,320,307 $3,716,000 $4,298,751 Head Clerk $33,365 $34,575 $32,025 $33,340 $35,288 Master Mechanic $32,050 $68,470 $68,470 $72,975 $73,876 Principal Clerk $30,065 $31,016 $32,350 $32,846 $28,821 Office Manager $37,010 $38,358 $40,203 $42,000 $43,864 Emergency Apparatus Staffing $30,000 $30,000 $50,000 $30,000 $35,000 Emergency Manning $550,000 $700,000 $700,000 $400,000 $375,000 Assuming Additional Response $24,200 $24,200 $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 Uniforms $88,475 $109,000 $139,000 $120,000 $122,000 Maintenance General $12,100 $12,100 $13,000 $13,000 $15,000 Vehicle Maintenance $140,000 $140,000 $140,000 $200,000 $225,000 Medical Maintenance $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $13,000 $15,000 Education and Training $15,000 $15,000 $25,000 $20,000 $22,000 Arson Investigation $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $10,000 $0 Supplies $7,500 $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $10,000 Equipment $30,000 $30,000 $30,000 $30,000 $40,000 Equipment Replacement $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $35,000 $45,000 CAD License/Maint/Admin Fees $26,855 $29,000 $31,000 $53,000 $50,000 Total $6,831,939 $7,126,162 $7,026,034 $7,339,387 $8,389,896 Emergency Management The $26,400 budget for emergency management remains unchanged from last year and was approved without discussion. Account Name 2016 Approval 2017 Approval 2018 Approval 2019 Approval 2020 Approval Deputy Director of Emergency Management $2,250 $0 $0 $0 $0 Utilities $1,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 Education and Training $500 $500 $500 $500 $500 Code Red $30,000 $22,500 $23,000 $23,000 $23,000 Supplies $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 Emergency Operating Center $1,500 $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 $2,800 Radio Amateur $150 $0 $0 $0 $0 Radio Citizen $150 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total $28,060 $25,900 $26,400 $26,400 $26,400 ****** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** Day 3 Pittsfield Budget Review Day 3: State Aid Bolsters School Budget Posted May 31, 2019 at 3:58 a.m. School Department Among other things, Medline hired a former scientist for one of the biggest manufacturers of the toxic gas who has co-authored several industry-funded studies rejected by the U.S. EPA and independent scientific reviewers. The company also has called for another analysis of the chemical, part of a concerted effort by makers and users of ethylene oxide to overturn a stringent safety limit established by the EPA in 2016 after more than a decade of study and two rounds of independent review delayed several times by industry opposition. It was the second time she had migrated to the United States. In the early 2000s, she said she entered the country without legal paperwork and lived in California for about two years. During this time, she had her oldest son, Jesus Hernandez, who is a U.S. citizen. She returned to Mexico and lived there until her return to the U.S. in 2015, she said. While her 2015 immigration case was pending, she had her third son, Joshua Pino, who is also a U.S. citizen. In the past week, three activists were arrested in Bangladesh under the countrys internet and digital security laws. The International Federation of Journalists strongly criticises the arrests and urge the authorities to show respect and protect freedom of speech as well as freedom of expression. According to AFP, the three activists who have been arrested were prominent poet Henry Sawpon, lawyer, indigenous rights activist Imtiaz Mahmood and human rights activist Abdul Kaium. Kaium also edits an online news portal in his hometown northern city of Mymensingh.Sawpon and Mahmood were released on bail Thursday. Kaium remains in detention on charges of extortion and defamation under the Digital Security Act 2018. These arrests were the first major arrests under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas new term of government, following her re-election in January. The Hasina government has been in power since 2009. Her government has been criticised over the use of internet and digital security laws to silence her opponents and limit the freedom for civil society. Hasina has defended the law and said: if there is no criminal mind, there is no reason to worry. The IFJ said: "We strongly criticise the arrests of three activists under the internet laws. We urge the authorities to guarantee the freedom of speech and freedom of expression. In any democratic system, both freedom of the speech as well as freedom of expression are the keystones. Activists and also citizens should not be arrested simply because they express their opinions. Journalists were attacked and social media was blocked, as protests broke out in central Jakarta on May 22. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the South East Asia Journalist Unions (SEAJU) join IFJ affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in condemning the attacks on media and the government-led social media blocks over the past 24 hours in Indonesia. The IFJ and SEAJU demand the authorities end the block on social media, and investigate the attacks. On Wednesday, protesters gathered in central Jakarta near the Election Agency to denounce the presidential election result, which named incumbent Joko Widodo as the winner. The protests quickly turned violent, as protesters clashed with police. According to AJI there were at least seven journalists attacked while they were covering the protests. CNN Indonesia journalists Budi Tanjung and Ryan, MNC Media journalist Ryan, Radio Sindo Trijaya journalist Fajar, Alinea.id journalist Fadli Mubarok as well as a reporter and camerperson from RTV were attacked as they covered the protests. AJIs Jakarta chapter is still processing complaints and reports of attacks and expect the number of journalists attacked to rise. Budi Tanjung from CNN Indonesia was hit on the head, and his video was forcibly erased from phone by members of the Police Mobile Brigade. Ryan from CNN Indonesia was recording video of police capturing a suspect, when the police confiscated his phone and forced him to erase the video. He was also hit on the face and upper body by police officers. Budi and Ryan both identified themselves as journalists, but were continually attacked. While the protests were taking place, the government implemented a social media ban and internet speeds slowed. Whatsapp and Facebook were blocked. Although access was only meant to be blocked in areas near the protests, reports found the block was more widespread. As of Thursday morning, Whatsapp was accessible intermittently, and internet speeds were back to normal. Several journalists had to switch platforms to communicate and share information. This was the first time the Indonesian Government had block access to the internet and social media since they had blocked Telegram in July 2017. AJI urged the security forces to fully investigate the violence and intimidation against journalists by the police and members of the public. We also call to the heads of media organizations to take responsibility over the safety of journalists on field duty and ask journalists covering the mass protests to put safety first by staying at safe distance during a riot, AJI said. The SEAJU said: We demand that all those proven to be complicit in attacking and impeding journalists from performing their tasks be made accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We also join AJI's call for security forces and the public to respect freedom of the press, and on media owners to take responsibility for ensuring the safety of their journalists and other staff. The IFJ said: "We strongly condemn the attacks to journalists both by the police and by the protestors, who are simply doing their job. We need all the parties to respect the journalists rights and ensure the safety of journalists on duty. It is journalists commitment to report from the field, in this case from the conflict area to inform the public on the latest situation. Only by ensuring their safety, journalists can fulfil their jobs. We also condemn the actions of the government in blocking social media and slowing internet speeds, during times of conflict it is important the media are able to communicate and report freely. Imperial Valley News Center House Appropriations Committee Approves Legislation to Begin Implementation of Dangerous Plan for Wild Horse Management Washington, DC - Yesterday, the House Appropriations approved legislative and report language in the FY 2020 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill related to wild horse and burro management. While the bill does include language sought by the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) to impose on the Forest Service the same prohibition on slaughtering wild horses and burros that applies the BLM, the legislation provides $6 million for to begin implementation of a dangerous mass roundup and removal plan promoted by the National Cattlemens Beef Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Public Lands Council and other Agribusiness lobbying groups along with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the ASPCA. Presented as a broad stakeholder compromise, the plan is actually opposed by the vast majority of stakeholders in the wild horse protection community. We strongly oppose the cattlemens plan for Americas wild horses and burros, which will ultimately achieve the industrys long-held goal of eradicating wild free-roaming horse and burro populations from the American West, said Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of the AWHC. While the Committee rejected the full $50 million appropriations request originally sought by plan proponents, the language provides sufficient funding for the BLM to conduct mass roundups and removals of wild horses from public lands and inhumane surgical sterilization methods that the scientific community has warned against, Roy continued. As a result, we will be asking Congress to modify the language to ensure that the program is instead implemented in a humane, scientific, and socially acceptable manner. "The BLM has invested hundreds of millions of our tax dollars in roundups and removals of wild horses and burros through the years and just a trickle of dollars for fertility control on the range," said Marty Irby, Executive Director of Animal Wellness Action (AWA). "The Congress should not enable the agency to maintain its pattern of lopsided expenditures and should instead stipulate that these new monies be devoted to humane, effective birth control strategies to limit the growth of herds in the West." Key components of the cattlemens plan include: Unprecedented mass wild horse and burro roundups removals from public lands 130,000 wild horses and burros (more than exist today in the wild) targeted for removal over 10 years. Reduction of wild herds to 27,000 animals -- the number that existed in 1971 when Congress passed a law to protect the Wests iconic wild horses and burros because they were fast disappearing from the American scene.' Use of fertility control of 90% of the horses and burros who remain on the range, including surgical sterilization of wild horses via invasive methods such as ovariectomy via colpotomy surgery on wild mares that the BLM is currently pursuing despite the National Academy of Sciences warning that the procedure is inadvisable for field application due to risk of bleeding and infection. Near tripling of the population of wild horses incarcerated at taxpayer expense, with no long term guarantee of funding to ensure their safety. Unprecedented manipulation of wild herds through sex ratio skewing to achieve populations comprised as 70% stallions and 30% mares, which will cause extreme social disruption and aggression on the range. The groups said that they would urge Congress to revise the current appropriations language to ensure that the additional funds are spent primarily to implement scientifically-recommended and humane fertility control methods. This revision is consistent with language requested by House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raul Grijalva and Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus to require the BLM to spend at least $4 million to implement proven PZP fertility control programs. The BLM currently spends 68 percent of its budget to round up, remove and store wild horses in pens and pastures, but zero percent on implementing humane PZP fertility control programs. Any removals conducted with the additional funds should be limited to Herd Management Areas where independently verifiable emergency conditions exist that threaten the immediate well being of wild horses and or burros living there, according to the groups. Imperial Valley News Center Consensus Safety Measurement Methodologies for ADS-Equipped Vehicles Gaithersburg, Maryland - NIST and its partners, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Intel, Intel Mobileye, Lyft, Ricardo, SAE International, and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, invite you to attend a workshop on Consensus Safety Measurement Methodologies for ADS-Equipped Vehicles on June 25-26, 2019, at the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus. The workshop will feature presentations and breakouts about current perspectives on safety for Automated Driving Systems (ADS). The automotive industry is planning to deploy automated vehicles (AV), at least at the level of NHTSA AV Level 3 (conditional automation), in the very near term with most major manufacturers (OEMs) targeting the early 2020s. Community consensus around reliable, broadly-acceptable performance measurement methods for assessing the safety of automated vehicles can facilitate the successful achievement of these deployment goals. This workshop will explore emerging concepts and possible paths toward consensus around effective safety measurement methodologies. Automated vehicles are cyber-physical systems (CPS) or Internet of Things (IoT) systems that can be defined as systems of interacting logical, physical, and human components engineered for function through integrated logic and physics. Performance measurement and assurance in such systems requires new evaluation strategies and approaches that accommodate the complex, hybrid nature of these systems. This workshop will examine concepts for metrics, formal models, testing protocols, taxonomies, and other approaches for measuring AV safety. This workshops objectives are to identify and develop criteria that should be satisfied for any approach to automated vehicle decision-making safety, to review existing or proposed methodologies for the establishing safety requirements and safety measurement approaches, to identify gaps and key challenges, and to explore opportunities for progress, including identifying alternative methodologies that should be considered. "Sometimes the PTSD is missed or a lot of times, it could be the patient not being forthcoming with past trauma or past physical abuse, and it's something that is definitely out there," said Malone, who is Stingley's doctor. "Unfortunately in the inner city where we are, that's something that needs to be addressed more, and the study was right on. As I'm reading through it, I'm thinking of different patients in my head that we've diagnosed." Navy Food Service Winners Rewarded with Specialized Training Chicago, Illinois - Winners of the 2018 Capt. Edward F. Ney Awards for culinary excellence attended training hosted by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) as part of the Military Food Service Awards in Chicago, Illinois, May 17-19. Over the course of the three-day program, NRAEF also provided specialized culinary training to award winners from the Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Military Sealift Command. The training offered a unique opportunity for everyone to share and explore the experiences of their fellow service members working in dining facilities across the globe. Prior to the training, Dr. Edward Walden Sr., special director of Military Programs for the NRAEF, gave attendees an overview of the training, noting the training teaches valuable skills and offers lessons that will assist them in the civilian workforce. You have spent a long period of time in your career honing your skills to be able to run an efficient military dining facility, said Walden. Many of those skills will transition when you become a civilian working in the industry. The NRAEF wants to expose you to whats available to you as you begin the transition to civilian life. Thats what this training is about. Hudson Riehle, senior vice president, Research and Knowledge Group, National Restaurant Association, presented trainees with a briefing on current restaurant industry trends. Topics of discussion included macroeconomics, dining trends, restaurant industry growth, society developments, and an increase in post-military service job opportunities. This training is providing valuable information that I can pass on to my younger Sailors, said Command Senior Chief (JW/AW) Marlo Guevarra of Naval Air Station Sigonella Ristorante Bella Etna. This is a great opportunity. Ill be able to give accurate guidance on what is available to them in the civilian restaurant industry, tips on transitioning to the civilian workforce, and how the economy affects the restaurant industry as a whole. Trainees heard from NRAEF experts about customer service, cost control, leadership, and how to communicate effectively. After the lesson, awardees broke into groups and role-played various customer service scenarios. This isnt like the training the Navy provides every day. This type of training is personalized, specialized training on more than just how to cook or prepare food, said Naval Base Kitsap Trident Inn Galley Culinary Specialist (Submarine) 2nd Class Kevin Bohler. This training is providing guidance on how to keep galleys running. Practicing great customer service helps galleys stay up and running. It also ensures culinary specialists have the skills necessary for future jobs. The second and third days of training provided awardees with expert guidance on product research and presentation development, healthy eating, and an increased focus on health conscious options on menus. This experience goes beyond the Navy, said USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Bret Waddle. The stigma when youre in the military is that youre scared of the outside world because youre worried you wont get a good job that can support your family or yourself. However, attending this training and learning about career opportunities in the food service industry is eye opening. The Ney Awards, announced in a February ALNAV message, were presented during an evening ceremony May 17. After President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association Dawn Sweeney provided opening remarks, retired U.S. Army master sergeant Chef Andre Rush gave the keynote address. Youre all winners and Im looking forward to seeing your adventures, said Rush. Be humble, stay humble, and do the best that you can every time. This years afloat winners, representing the Navys Undersea Enterprise, Surface Warfare Enterprise, and Naval Aviation Enterprise, were USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), USS Boxer (LHD 4), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). This years ashore winners, representing Commander, Navy Installations Command, were Trident Inn Galley, Bangor, Washington, and Ristorante Bella Etna Dining Facility, Sigonella, Italy. Our culinary specialists are trained with the latest, most advanced training aids and techniques available in order to effectively support afloat and ashore food service operations, said Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Wodele, Navy Food Service director, Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP). The 2018 NEY award winners are fine examples of that training. NAVSUP Command Master Chief (SW/AW) Thaddeus Wright added his own congratulations. This years winners have shown professional pride in the quality of the services they provide to the fleet in support of mission readiness, said Wright. They recognize that Navy food service is crucial to the wellness of our forces. Day in and day out, they provide quality, healthy food that supports peak physical and cognitive performance of the warfighter. The Secretary of the Navy and the International Food Service Executives Association established the Capt. Edward F. Ney Awards Program in 1958. The awards recognize the best galleys in the Navy and encourages excellence in Navy food service programs with the objective of improving quality of life for Navy personnel. What it takes to win the Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Award, is hard work every day and thinking Ney every day, said Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Program Manager Cheryl Hernandez. We strive for excellence in Navy food service with the objective of improving the quality of life for our fellow Sailors. Congratulations to the best of the best on a job well done! USS Ronald Reagan Begins Underway Operations in Indo-Pacific Yokosuka, Japan - The forward-deployed aircraft-carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), along with supporting Commander Task Force 70 units, began underway operations in the Indo-Pacific May 20. Ronald Reagan and CTF 70 units routinely operate in the Indo-Pacific to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region. For over 70 years, U.S. Pacific Fleet forces have been present and ready to respond in the Western Pacific to any contingency on behalf of friends, partners and allies. "Forward presence truly matters. For more than seventy years, our forces have been present and ready to respond immediately on behalf of our friends and allies," said Rear Adm. Karl Thomas, CTF 70. "The continued presence of Ronald Reagan and all our forward-deployed forces in the Indo-Pacific region, at sea where it matters most, promote security and stability which in turn drive peace and prosperity to benefit all regional countries." Throughout the year, CTF 70's forward-deployed forces participate in cooperative deployments, multi-lateral exercises and unit level training to ensure the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific. Forward-deployed forces act as force multipliers for the Navy, which are able to generate the same presence in a matter of days with a forward-deployed ship that would take weeks to achieve from a U.S. based ship. "Reagan Sailors worked hard to complete the most successful maintenance period the ship has ever seen," said Capt. Pat Hannifin, Ronald Reagan's Commanding Officer. "Reagan returns to the sea more lethal than ever, visibly renewing U.S. commitment to international norms in a free and open Indo-Pacific. We value our allies and partners in the region and are excited to support them again with our air wing and strike group from the sea." Ronald Reagan recently completed an extensive maintenance period which repaired and upgraded ship's systems increasing the ship's warfighting capabilities. As the only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, the ongoing presence of Ronald Reagan demonstrates the continued long-term U.S. investment in the Indo-Pacific. Ronald Reagan, forward-deployed to the Indo-Pacific from San Diego in the fall of 2015, replaced the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). CTF 70 is a credible, forward-deployed force whose operations in the region preserve peace and prevent conflict throughout the Indo-Pacific. Ronald Reagan is America's forward-deployed aircraft carrier providing combat-ready force projection to support and defend the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific. Vice President Pence Thanks First Responders, Rallies Troops at NAS Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida - Vice President Mike Pence praised first responders and service members during a visit to Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax), May 20. During the visit, the vice president toured Unmanned Aerial Patrol Squadron 19s Mission Control Center, where he flew the Triton MQ-4C simulator, and a Patrol Squadron 45 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Pence also personally thanked first responders who assisted when the Miami Air charter Boeing 737 skidded off the NAS Jax runway into the St. Johns River May 3. The aircraft was on a routine flight late that evening from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The vice president was very personable, humble and appreciative, said NAS Jax Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician Russell Russ, who was one of the first responders to jump into the river to rescue passengers. It was an honor to be recognized for what we do. I was so honored to meet Vice President Pence and am grateful he took the time to personally meet with us, said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Anthony Anello of Naval Hospital Jacksonville who assisted 40 passengers transportation to the hospital with resources and logistics. The vice president also took the stage during an all-hands call to address Sailors, civilian employees and family members. Its amazing to think that, for nearly 80 years, Naval Air Station Jacksonville has stood watch over our nations coastline and seas, Pence said. This is the third largest naval base in the country, and its here that 20,000 patriotic Americans work tirelessly every day to deliver effective and efficient readiness from the shore. Pence highlighted the partnership between the Navy and Customs Border Patrol working together to defend America, and thanked Patrol Squadrons 16 and 26 for strengthening the countrys maritime supremacy during their recent deployments. He also recognized first responders of the First Coast Navy Fire and Emergency Services, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Jacksonville Sheriffs Office, NAS Jax Security Department, NAS Jax Air Operations, Naval Hospital Jacksonville and the Coast Guard. I understand that just a little over two weeks ago, a passenger aircraft was landing during a thunderstorm when it crashed through a wall and slid into St. Johns River, Pence said. What happened next couldve been a terrible tragedy, but thanks to professionalism and courage of the men and women of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, what followed were acts of heroism. After receiving the initial call for help, firefighters rushed to the scene, jumping into the water, and sped the passengers to safety. All told, nearly 80 members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and Jacksonville Sheriffs Office rescued 143 people. I know many of those heroes are here today. So please stand up and accept the thanks of a grateful nation. Pence reinforced the Trump administrations support to the military by discussing the proposed 2019-2020 budget with military pay increases and building a 350-ship Navy. You can know with confidence that, under President Trumps leadership, we will always give our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard the resources and the support you need to accomplish your mission and come home safe, said Pence. Researchers at Cambridge University demonstrated that the unique calibration data associated with the sensors in iOS and Android smartphones can be used by websites to create a device fingerprint without the user ever knowing. The data is used to create a SensorID that uniquely identifies the specific device and can be then used to track that device anywhere it goes online. While the researchers don't believe that the method has been used in the wild, virtually every iOS and Android device could be vulnerable. The good news is that the researchers notified Apple of the vulnerability almost a year ago, and the company issued a patch in the iOS 12.2 update. If you aren't yet running that version of the operating system, you should update immediately. If you're an Android user, the good news is, you're less likely to be affected by the latest vulnerability that demonstrates just how much our online activity is tracked. The bad news is, Google hasn't issued a fix yet for Pixel 2 or Pixel 3 devices. Tracking your device based on its fingerprint. Websites routinely attempt to fingerprint devices, which is a process that creates a profile to identify a device as it navigates websites and apps, and is used to serve targeted advertising based on your activity. While you may be generally aware that this happens through things like cookies, I suspect most of you are less aware that sites and apps do this regularly without any consent or interaction required. Browsers like Safari and Firefox limit the data that sites are able to access about your device. However, this method bypasses many of those restrictions by accessing internal calibration data instead. As a result, malicious attackers could use the method to track devices without users ever knowing they were affected. Stay vigilant to protect your information. Unfortunately, since this method works without any user interaction, it's hard to prevent. Right now, we're at the mercy of companies like Apple and Google to keep their software updated to defeat these vulnerabilities. At the same time, it's up to you to take standard precautions like keeping your device software updated, avoiding interactions with sites you are unfamiliar with, and never clicking on links in suspicious emails. I was thinking the other day about a conference and trade show I attended a few years ago. When you register they give you this bag with a bunch of stuff in it. The bag itself is useful, I guess, if you need something to carry stuff around. Of course, most people who go to conferences bring their own bags, to carry the things that are important to them--so it's kind of like this bag is really just for the stuff they gave you in the bag. The bag is full of flyers, and postcards, and catalogs, and promos, and other swag. I guess you could call most of it marketing material. It's all about capturing your attention. Marketing people spend a lot of time trying to attract attention through email marketing, and blogging, and direct mail, and television commercials, and billboards, and print advertising, and a ton of other activities under the guise of marketing. The idea is to do whatever it takes to get enough people to pay attention that you might convince some of them to be customers. The problem is, in my case, the effort to win my attention didn't matter, because these companies didn't have my affection. But there's a better way. Capture your customer's affection. What if, instead, you focused on fostering your ideal clients' affection? Think about what might be different if instead of trying to get people to look at you, you focused your efforts on building an authentic relationship that resulted in genuine affection between you and your clients. Think about the brands that do this well: Apple, IKEA, Starbucks, Crossfit, or Amazon. They aren't chasing your attention, they are capturing your affection. Here's how you can do the same: 1. You are your brand's best asset. I remember years ago when I worked for FedEx, I would walk into a prospect's location and talk about what we could offer. In almost every conversation, there was a moment when the person would ask something like, "But what about Mike?" Mike is their UPS driver and he's been picking up and dropping off packages for the last 9 years. Mike's basically family. They were seriously concerned if they switched to FedEx, "What would happen to Mike?" Your job is to be like Mike. Wait, not that Mike, the UPS-guy Mike. Every time Mike walks into a business, it's marketing because he represents the brand. In fact, every interaction you have with a customer is marketing. You are the best chance you have to capture your customer's affection. 2. Keep your promises. Your brand is a promise. It's a story about who you are, what you stand for, and how you make your customer's life a little bit better. When that story comes to life and your actions back up your promise, it generates affection. The problem for many brands, especially starting out, is that they spend so much time making promises through their marketing, and not enough time keeping them in their day to day interactions. They use their promise to attract attention, but they never capture affection because they're constantly breaking promises. This is actually really simple, and you've heard it before. Just do what you say you're going to do, and don't say you're going to do something if you can't. Keep your promise. 3. Delight your customers. By the way, keeping your promise is the minimum standard of interacting with customers. In reality, you should aim higher than just doing what you said you'd do to capture the affection of your customer. For example, if you ship a package and it gets there on the day it was scheduled to arrive, that's exactly what you expected. And that's a good thing, but it's not exactly something special. Likewise, if you get on a plane, and it gets you to your destination on time, that's not exactly remarkable. Well, okay, sometimes it is. But it's also exactly what you expected. On the other hand, a month ago I was flying home from New York City when the Delta flight I had boarded had a "maintenance issue." I don't really know what that means, except that when you are sitting in line for takeoff and the Captain comes over the PA to tell you there's a problem with the starter on one of the engines, I feel like that's something they definitely want to take care of before we try to take off. So instead of heading for Detroit to make my connection, we taxied back to the terminal. Now, as much as I like New York, LaGuardia Airport isn't where I want to ever spend an evening. In fact, all I wanted to do was get home, which seemed less likely since my connecting flight was looking harder to make the longer we took. So, I did what you do when you're stuck on an airplane and you have too much time on your hands. I sent out a tweet. To @Delta. Within three minutes, this was the reply. Hi Jason, I am sorry to hear this. let me look at it for you. Can you please send me your confirmation number and verify your travel cities and dates by DM? TSR https://t.co/6iDGBJRMTU -- Delta (@Delta) March 27, 2019 Less than seven minutes later, I was rebooked on another flight if mine wasn't going to leave in time. I couldn't have done it faster over the phone. In fact, sitting next to me was a gentleman with pretty high status who did call. I was already rebooked and taken care of before he finished his phone call. To say I was delighted is an understatement. Despite the fact that it wasn't anyone's fault, Delta took what was a pretty frustrating experience and turned it into something positive for me and my family--on Twitter. Let's be honest, that's one of the last places you expect that kind of delightful experience. There were hoodies. Robots. Free drinks. Young founders milling around a loftlike, concrete-floored space. Your typical startup demo day, in other words--except for the presence of a four-star Army general and pockets of uniformed military personnel and besuited corporate types with name tags from giant defense contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton. And the senior U.S. senator from Texas, John Cornyn, standing near the general, along with the mayor of Austin and the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. It was February 21, opening day of the Center for Defense Innovation, in the downtown Austin high-rise that houses Capital Factory, the city's leading accelerator. Last fall, the U.S. Army chose Austin as the home for its new Army Futures Command, the most sweeping modernization effort in decades across the largest branch of the military. As the pace of tech change has quickened, the Army has begun to look badly outdated in fields like artificial intelligence and robotics. The AFC intends to fix that by working with startups; the new space within Capital Factory is where it all will come together. "This is the only place in the world where an entrepreneur can walk in off the street and engage authentically with members of the defense and intelligence communities," said Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer in his remarks. "The best petri dish for innovation in the nation," Cornyn intoned. Besides the AFC, several other military-innovation groups--notably the Air Force's Afwerx and the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit--were establishing beachheads in the new space, where they'd spend time with scrappy founders, sharing ideas, spreading around some of the $320 billion the Pentagon spends annually on contractors, and generally helping to keep the peace, or at least ensure U.S. dominance. It sounded good. It looked good--disparate worlds coming together with a shared purpose. It was happening, though, just as there was much handwringing in tech about working with the military. Last June, Google canceled its Project Maven partnership with the Pentagon--it sought to improve drone-strike accuracy with A.I.--after about 4,000 employees protested. The very week that the Austin Center for Defense Innovation opened, more than 100 Microsoft workers signed a letter to their top executive objecting to a $480 million Army program to turn the company's HoloLens augmented-reality headsets into battlefield devices intended to increase soldiers' "lethality." (Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stood firm, citing a patriotic duty to work with the military.) But beyond the ethical issues of turning commercial products into killing machines, for startups, there's the brute fact that the government is often a lousy partner, with its slow-grinding pace, its layers of bureaucracy, and the potential fallout from changing political winds. What red tape awaits startups working with the military? An Army staffer says, "180,000 pages of stuff." Still, hundreds of Austin entrepreneurs have shown up for defense-focused events at Capital Factory. Among the companies that demoed technology on opening night: Valkyrie, whose machine vision may help detect potential explosive devices; Apptronik, which showed off a pair of bipedal robot legs; and Athena Security, which spots firearms in a crowd. And then there was Senseye, founded by David Zakariaie, which makes technology that enables computers to read people's minds by monitoring their eyes. Zakariaie, who has dense stubble and close-cropped black hair, is just 22. A Disney freak who visits its theme parks every month or two and can recite endless arcana about them, he speaks with a boyish stutter that makes his eyes flutter and tends to make listeners hang on his every word. That night, he huddled with government officials while staffers administered a lie-detector test to attendees: A camera peered into subjects' eyes as they answered questions, and a digital readout indicated their truthfulness as measured by tiny ocular movements--allegedly with far more accuracy than a polygraph. Zakariaie had conducted countless such demonstrations in recent months, as local leaders paraded him in front of military brass and media every time there was an event related to the AFC. "The poster boy," Baer called him. Senseye had already landed a contract with the Air Force. But what few besides Zakariaie knew that night was how difficult that relationship had become. Being a mascot for startups working with the military is one thing. Making that odd-couple collaboration work, he was learning, was a much different story. At times, it seems some mythmaker conjured up Zakariaie as the prototypical wunderkind teen with a world-changing idea and no internal limiter. He was an awkward 15-year-old when he hatched the idea that became Senseye. Back then, he lived in Los Angeles and spent his afterschool hours tinkering in a UC Irvine nanotechnology lab. He decided to try to build a microscopic computer--using DNA instead of silicon--small enough to fit inside, say, a contact lens. ("This technology carries the implications and potential to be a total game-changer in the sense that DNA computers will render current silicon-based technologies as useful as the cassette tape," he wrote in a 2016 patent application.) He put together a proof-of-concept paper and submitted it to the California State Science Fair--and was promptly disqualified because, he says, the judges didn't believe he'd done the work himself. But an admiral from the Office of Naval Research approached him after the awards ceremony and offered him a small grant to pursue his vision. Zakariaie tested out of high school, got to work, and soon his idea morphed. "As awesome as the bionic chip concept was, I realized it didn't make sense until we figured out the command-and-control mechanism around it," he says. "If you had a computer in a contact lens, you're not going to use a keyboard or a mouse or a touchscreen. Those things serve as a bridge between man and machine. So the idea was to shift it--to figure out a way to tap into the brain wirelessly." By late 2013, when the world was agog over Google's connected eyeglasses (remember when Google Glass was a thing?), Zakariaie began homing in on how his idea might become a business. He would build market-research applications for Glass, he decided, that collected data on everything shoppers interacted with in a store. But he realized "the data would be worthless until we could figure out why people made purchase decisions. Did you buy the Tide detergent because of the price? The packaging? The shelf placement? Because your mom always bought it?" Decades of research had shown that reading pupil dilation provides important clues to brain activity, but this works in the lab better than in the real world, where it's difficult to isolate what a person is reacting to. Zakariaie decided to focus on the iris and its thousands of muscle fibers that control the pupil and tie back to the nervous system. Able to measure much finer eye movements, he could, in theory, begin to understand more precisely what drives them. In 2015, he raised six figures worth of funding from friends and family, hired a couple of neuroscience PhDs from UCLA--and promptly burned through all the cash and laid off his six-person team the following year. "You give a bunch of money to an 18-year-old who has no idea what he's doing and that's what happens," Zakariaie deadpans. Desperate to find a lifeline, he heard about a startup competition in Austin in early 2017 that would award its winner $100,000 and office space at Capital Factory. A few weeks later, Zakariaie landed in Austin at 11 in the morning, pitched at 12:30, won the competition at 4, and was flying back home before dinner. Two weeks later, he moved from his parents' house to Texas. His timing was good. Baer has long been a key cheerleader for Austin's tech scene, and having a precocious and wildly ambitious young founder at hand was perfect for his narrative that Austin was becoming the next great tech hub. President Obama's secretary of defense, Ash Carter, had made a couple of visits to Capital Factory the previous year and left intrigued, and then various organizations within the DOD began visiting Austin, seeking ways to work with startups. Baer started bringing Zakariaie around to meet the military brass, thinking they might find mind-reading technology compelling. Zakariaie was grinding through 18-hour days at Capital Factory--tearing through neuroscience research, looking for investors, looking for customers--so he was more than happy to perform as Young Einstein for visiting VIPs. The exposure? The potential for doing business with the U.S. government--one of the biggest customers on the planet? Yes, please. "I'll be your poster boy all day long," he told Baer. The U.S. military has a long history of trying to engage innovators from the private sector and academia (think Darpa, for instance). But those efforts are notorious for work that never crosses the gap--known in defense circles as "the valley of death"--from R&D to actual production. Most big Pentagon contracts have long gone, instead, to a few giants--Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, Raytheon--that specialize in defense work. As Army Lieutenant General Paul Ostrowski, who directs the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps, has put it, only 5,000 U.S. companies do business with the DOD--out of the six million U.S. companies that have more than one employee. But that's mostly been fine with everyone. The big defense contractors--the "Beltway bandits"--know how to navigate bureaucracy. The DOD knows what it's getting. The pace, while plodding, has been effective. But even the bureaucracy knows that this way no longer works. The Army's approach to tech has largely been "looking into the future 10, 20, 30 years, and making bets on what we thought it would look like," says Adam Jay Harrison, the AFC's newly appointed command innovation officer. "That ain't the world we live in today." Harrison, a former Naval intelligence officer, has a vibe that skews more biker than military: Stout and bearded, he wore a black Adidas tracksuit and a chunky metal bracelet the day I met him in his black-walled office. He's setting up a concierge service of sorts within the Futures Command, to help startups navigate the process of doing business with the Army. Harrison left the public sector in 2006 to start Mav6, a big-data defense contractor that made the Inc. 500 two consecutive years before being sold. After learning the contracting process from both sides, he set out to fix it, conducting a study at NYU that proposed a modernization plan. It's now a rough blueprint for his new job. Technology moves too quickly today, Harrison says, for the DOD to expect its core contractors to keep up. And many of the millions of companies that don't work with the military are making things that the DOD could use. Meanwhile, Chinese and Russian tech is catching up with the U.S.'s--and those countries have some built-in advantages. "China can reprogram its commercial industry whenever it wants to support national objectives," Harrison explains. But the U.S.'s bottom-up approach means a bigger bounty of disruptive new ideas. "For the DOD to remain competitive, we have to harvest that activity," he says. "Right now, we make it really difficult for that to happen." But contracting with the government can mean miles of red tape--"180,000 pages of stuff," in Harrison's words. "It gets pretty difficult for a small business to manage," he says. There are workarounds that the Defense Department can use to get money more quickly to "nontraditional contractors," he explains, and he's employing them as much as possible. More problematic, he says, is that "startups don't really understand what we're looking for." Pentagon types know they need to partner with startups. But "right now," one admits, "we make that really difficult to happen." Fixing the latter means more than sharing wish lists-- it requires making government work appealing, not a slow grind. Harrison plans to focus on what he calls dual-use opportunities, where the DOD acts as a starter market for products that companies can also sell to others. That's not altruistic; it can make prices come down with scale, so the military can get what it needs affordably. Each of the military innovation units hopes to create similar win-win scenarios. But even Harrison refers to many DOD efforts to work with startups as "innovation theater." And Trae Stephens, partner at the powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firm Founders Fund and chairman of Anduril Industries, a tech-focused defense contractor that he co-founded with Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey, says the Pentagon's concept of making small investments in many projects is inherently flawed: The process often starts with a one-time payment to test an idea, followed by rounds of one-offs as that idea gains traction, before a startup can land a contract that ensures revenue. The chances of making it to that final stage are small--and the Beltway bandits often elbow their way in, grabbing contracts and then subcontracting to smaller companies. For most startups, Stephens says, it's a lot of work for little money and a poor shot at success. "To be successful, you have to build your whole business around defense," Stephens says. "Or at least wait until your business is way more mature and you can have hundreds of people working on it." Neither, of course, describes Zakariaie and Senseye. In June 2017--just weeks after Zakariaie arrived in Austin--Capital Factory's Baer suggested that the young founder give his lie-detector demonstration to two Air Force officials. Zakariaie jumped at the chance. He got his pilot's license at 19 and is now a flight instructor, the highest level of pilot certification. ("I just decided to go all the way," he says.) During that meeting, as Zakariaie explained how Senseye measured "cognitive load"--how hard a subject's brain worked as he or she answered a question--an Air Force official cut in: Could Senseye measure cognitive load while someone operated a flight simulator? The Air Force was looking to speed up its flight training process, he explained. It might be more efficient if a computer could sense in real time whether the student had achieved mastery of a subject, and, if so, cut the drills short. Senseye could, Zakariaie said. The company wasn't even planning on applying eye-monitoring tech to education, but Zakariaie saw the potential "almost immediately." More efficient training would be a big deal in so many fields. And having a branch of the U.S. armed forces using his product would be a powerful persuader to other customers. Even if the Air Force ended up as the only client, he calculated that flight training could be a $20 million or $30 million business. By that November, Zakariaie was testing that product, and in February 2018, the Air Force began its Senseye-powered Pilot Training Next (PTN) program with a 30-person class of pilot trainees donning virtual-reality headsets that monitored their eyeballs as they flew simulators. Training that normally lasted more than a year took six months. But the experience was a slog. Rather than work directly with Senseye, the Air Force hired the company as a subcontractor to a multibillion-dollar Virginia-based defense contractor, SAIC. Zakariaie then had a team of three, no one to help with administrative tasks--and roughly 40 lengthy forms that he had to fill out, including multipage lists of laws to research and agree to comply with. "Our financials had to be done a certain way. There was all this hyper-specific information they needed," he remembers, his exasperation still fresh as he scrolls again through those lists of laws on his laptop. For 10 days, he worked on nothing else. It seemed worth it for a good-size check--more than a million dollars--and the potential for far more if the program succeeded. So, last fall, Senseye agreed to participate in a second-round PTN trial, on the condition that it could contract directly with the Air Force. But, as the program began in January, Senseye still didn't have a contract. No word came until mid-March--almost halfway through the program--when, Zakariaie says, he was about to take the stage to lead a panel at Austin's SXSW festival and an Air Force official pulled him aside and said, without explaining why, that the new contract would be for $250,000--a nearly 80 percent reduction in the fee. Zakariaie was aghast. He'd shelved other priorities to focus most of the team's energy on flight training--and he'd hired aggressively: The company now had two dozen employees. He'd counted on the renewed Air Force deal to keep making payroll--and never imagined the government would essentially stiff him. But he gamely stepped onstage and went ahead with his panel--one called "The ABCs of Securing a Government Contract." He'd scheduled a birthday trip to Disney World right after SXSW. There, between rides on the Frozen roller coaster, he drafted a letter to the Air Force informing it that Senseye was pulling out of the pilot-training program, a move that would effectively end any relationship with the service. (He "let it go," he cracks.) Upon returning to Austin and talking it over with his COO, Sam Marshall, an Austin tech veteran he'd recently hired, Zakariaie sent the letter, after which Senseye remotely disconnected its software from the Air Force's flight simulators. (An Air Force rep would not discuss any details beyond confirming that the Air Force worked with Senseye on two rounds of testing, and that the second ended prematurely.) Then Zakariaie and Marshall scrambled, reassuring their team, hustling to lock in new business. Zakariaie had hoped that, after a second successful round of flight training, he could raise a funding round without giving up too much equity. Now he had to raise sooner, from a weaker negotiating position--and his and Marshall's recent conversations with venture capitalists had been mostly disappointing. "The word government carries so much baggage with investors that it kind of obscures the exciting stuff," Marshall explains. "They're like, 'What else do you have? The government is known to cut budgets unexpectedly.' " Zakariaie left for London to "sell the shit out of" a program Senseye was developing with Lloyd's Register, a multinational risk-management company that was started more than 250 years ago. (It's unaffiliated with the insurance giant Lloyd's of London.) For Lloyd's, Senseye was planning to develop an eye scanner to test whether container ship crew members are safe for duty, and not tired or drunk or distracted. Back home, Marshall reflected on the recent whirlwind, with a better understanding of investors' concerns. "As a startup, you have to be very diligent about where you focus your resources," he says. It's not that pilot training was too far afield--he still finds the potential for educational applications of Senseye's technology alluring. But, he concludes, "just because something works doesn't mean it fits." As the Air Force deal collapsed, Zakariaie entered discussions with Harrison and the Army Futures Command--to re-create the Air Force training program for Army aviators. That partnership hadn't been signed as of presstime, but the hope is for a six-month engagement. Harrison sees that as a test case for a bigger idea: "You could put that sensor on the top of every classified network," he says. "So when somebody is logging into their computer in the morning, they have to answer a question: Have you stolen or misappropriated classified information? It would fundamentally change how we deal with classified materials." He sees Senseye as an "archetype" for the businesses Futures Command wants to work with. "We want companies that didn't wake up in the morning thinking, 'How am I going to help national security?'--companies that have an idea we can relate back to our needs and then be an enabler for their business." Senseye has gamed out a multifaceted best-case scenario with the Army that, when they're feeling optimistic, Zakariaie and Marshall think could eventually be worth as much as $100 million. But there's a snag: The AFC was hoping to use data from Senseye's Air Force program to validate its tech; since that deal was cut short, the Army must fund its own validation before making any commitments. But a more familiar deal might get Zakariaie closer to his dream of controlling microscopic computers with the mind. During SXSW, he impressed investors from Japan's SoftBank, which had just started a new venture capital fund--Deepcore--that focuses on early-stage advanced-technology companies. Once word spread that SoftBank was leading a seven-figure investment round in Senseye, other VC firms got excited--including several that had turned Zakariaie and Marshall away. And Zakariaie says he'd work with the military again--even the Air Force. "We're treating this as a lesson learned," he says. "All the processes they are trying to deal with, we experienced." Should Startups Work With the Military? Yes. It's your duty. When Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella faced an employee protest about a nearly half-billion-dollar contract with the Army, he said it had been the result of a "principled decision...to protect the freedoms we enjoy." It's a patriotic perspective shared by many tech leaders--even when it comes to building tech that enhances weaponry. "At the end of the day, we use drones. We use drones to kill people," says Senseye's David Zakariaie. "If the drone needs to identify if someone is a threat or not before we pull the trigger, we better have the best A.I. possible." No. Not unless you're all in. Trae Stephens, a partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of defense contractor Anduril Industries, sees most startups as a bad fit with the Pentagon. "It doesn't work for a mostly commercial business," he says. "Your people are not ideologically aligned with that kind of work. That's when you get Google pulling out of Project Maven," the controversial program to improve drone-strike accuracy. So, what's the solution? "We need to build new prime defense contractors," he says, "so people can work knowingly on military applications. We won't get the best defense-relevant tech out of commercial industry." It was a little over a year ago when Google, during their on-stage tech demonstration, showed off their A.I. booking service, called Duplex. You tell Google Duplex to make reservations at a restaurant, and with a single command its artificial intelligence system makes the reservation on your behalf by actually calling the restaurant. However, on May 22, Google announced that some of the reservation requests issued by Duplex users are actually made by humans. This means that instead of talking to a robot, some restaurants will pick up the phone and talk to a real person. Google reportedly said that roughly 25 percent of calls placed through Duplex begin with a human, and that additionally, about 15 percent of those that began with an automated system have had a human intervene at some point. So why, with its A.I. technology, would Google do such a thing? In an interview with the New York Times, the company said that it wants to "treat businesses with respect." In a world of evolving tech, this veteran move by Google is a smart one, and one all business owners should pay attention to. Here's why: Don't disrupt at all costs. Uber made several mistakes when launching and scaling the company. Many of the mistakes had to do with how they treated their drivers, customers, and even their employees. This drove a lot of resentment and a ton of bad PR. Google, knowing this, took the extra step of hiring human intervention as a sign of respect to the restaurants, even though the restaurants don't have to opt-in or pay for the service. Having this type of manual intervention costs a lot more money for Google to operate, but it's already paying off in dividends. Instead of headlines like "Google Duplex Wastes Restaurants' Time and Doesn't Even Work," they are getting headlines that discuss the safety precautions being taken with implementing this new tech. It seems like an obvious move in hindsight, but I really believe this move by Google is a sign for many entrepreneurs that thinking about the impact of what you're building on your users is the No. 1 priority. New technology adoption requires long-term thinking. Google knew its on-stage demo would get a lot of attention, and it sure did. It also knows that this technology is the start of something big once it expands out of restaurant reservations only. So, instead of "moving fast and breaking things," which used to be Facebook's mantra, they are behind thoughtful and thinking longer term. They are still collecting data, understanding how phone call reservations are actually made, and iterating on the technology. They are spending the time to get it right, and that's absolutely the best move. I made the mistake of short-term thinking several times as an entrepreneur. Every minute counted for me, and I pressured myself to "just ship it" and not think about the long-term consequences. It caused a lot of people to unsubscribe from my email lists and ask for thousands of dollars of refunds, and it damaged a brand it took me a long, long time to build. Now, I still don't waste time to ship things, but I'm much more thoughtful in how I do it. I ship one service or feature at a time, and I make sure it's getting the right feedback. When I was a college student off in Rhode Island, my parents bought a house and lived in Rochester, New York. Coming from California, and warmer weather, my dad often had fires burning in both of the double fireplaces in their home, that backed up to one another. Of course these were all cleared and up to code for the time, but that didn't stop a fire from breaking out. There was the tiniest of cracks on the wall of the fireplace, and an ember easily traveled up through that crack, starting a fire in the walls. It wasn't until smoke started billowing out of the pocket lights that my dad realized something was wrong and got everyone out of the house. We lost most of the first floor, and it forever changed the way I think about fire. The Big Wall of Flames Living in California now, we are in a pretty constant cyclical conversation about the loss from fires, and as those conversations grow, our knowledge about why there is so much loss is changing. The biggest perception shift has been about the real danger, and it isn't the big wall of flames we all imagine when we think of home fires. Of the $50 billion in losses in California, last year alone, 90% of that loss was caused by embers. Let's Talk About A Few Other Numbers 14 of the 20 most destructive fires in California have occurred since 2007 $1B spent by California to fight 2018 fires. In 2018, there were 58,083 wildfires nationwide, compared to 71,499 wildfires in 2017 Flying embers can destroy homes up to a mile from a wildfire. What these numbers are showing us, is that due to a higher concentration of people in areas that may have been less populated in the past, the damage is growing; both in lives lost and in financial devastation. Product Design As Prevention Devan LeBlanc and Adam Iveson, owners of Ember Defense- Wildfire Solutions, have pooled their entrepreneurial skill sets to tackle this massive prevention problem, and their products are opening the door for market re-education. Based out of Reno, Nevada, the Ember defense duo have been traveling to fire zones and letting people know that having a solid defensible space is not enough to protect against the real threat- embers that can travel up to one mile and easily be sucked into any small space. Smart Solutions for Everyone Their solutions are smart, and well-designed; and sit at multiple different price entry points, which is a business strategy everyone should adopt. The lower cost entry point Ember Defense offers, vulcan vents, are not a product they invented or designed- they are simply distributors and installers. The duo realized, pretty early in their learning process, they didn't need to reinvent every wheel right at the start, so they did their research and found the best product that could deliver what they wanted to offer. From there, they designed a sprinkler system- a higher cost point of entry, which allows them to offer multifaceted solutions to their clients. Prevention Over Picking Up the Pieces With all of the new data we now have access to, it's becoming much easier to identify the specific problem areas and focus our efforts on real-life solutions that are preventative. This type of entrepreneurship, whether we're talking about fire loss prevention or home design solutions, is the type of business that thrives. Looking Forward to the Future The first trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate has been released, teasing out whats to come when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprise their iconic roles in the franchise. Both actors feature in the two-minute clip released on Thursday, though the rest of the cast, including new Terminator recruits Gabriel Luna, Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes get plenty of screen time. Hamiltons Sarah Connor can be seen confronting Lunas, Davids and Reyess characters respectively, a liquid metal Terminator, an android who insists shes human, and the new Terminators target. Schwarzenegger appears towards the end of the clip as Connor seeks out T-800 Model 101, presumably to ask for his help. Terminator: Dark Fate serves as a sequel to The Terminator 2: Judgement Day, omitting all other subsequent installments in the franchise. Best films of 2019 (so far) Show all 49 1 /49 Best films of 2019 (so far) Best films of 2019 (so far) The Favourite Macabre and fraught though The Favourite gets, this isnt so much a film about sex or power as it is about plain mischief. Its a hilarious, buffoonish pleasure, right down to the sets and costume design, and a breeze to spend 120 minutes with. Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Beautiful Boy Casting Chalamet as Nic was a very clever move. The young actor from Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird has a natural charm and charisma. He still engages an audiences curiosity and sympathy even when his behaviour is at its most selfish and erratic. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) The House by the Sea Guediguians storytelling style is deceptive. At first, it seems as if this is low-key social realism in the Dardennes or Ken Loach mould, albeit set on the French Riviera. Gradually, though, we realise how stylised and theatrical his approach really is. Geoffrey Macnab Best films of 2019 (so far) Stan & Ollie Director Jon S Baird, whose previous film was scabrous Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, wrings every last drop of pathos he can from his material. This is very much a case of the tears of the clowns. Geoffrey Macnab Entertainment One Best films of 2019 (so far) Vice Vice is bravura storytelling. McKay isnt only taking us through Cheneys life and career but is giving us a whistle stop tour through US politics from the Nixon administration almost right to the present day. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Can You Ever Forgive Me? Playing Lee Israel, McCarthy manages something very special: she makes a character who is odd, obnoxious, difficult and alcoholic seem lovable and even heroic. The rest of the world is at fault, not Lee. Geoffrey Macnab Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Green Book "Green Book flatters the audience about its own good sense and tolerance. It deals with racism and homophobia but still has a fairytale, fantasy feel to it. Whatever humiliations Don endures on their road trip, we know no real harm will ever come to him as long as Tony is at his side. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Velvet Buzzsaw The golden age of bonkers horror movies is gloriously evoked by Netflixs latest feature length presentation. Beginning as a satire of the arts world, Velvet Buzzsaw swiftly and gleefully descends into a savage splatter-fest, smeared in paint, viscera and garishly-bright blood. Ed Power Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) If Beale Street Could Talk The setting is New York in the 1970s. Anyone who has watched Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver knows this was an era of violence, corruption and sleaze on a monumental level, but [Barry] Jenkins somehow makes the city seem like a modern-day Eden. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) All Is True Written by Ben Elton and directed by its star Kenneth Branagh, the film plays so fast and loose with the playwrights final years that they neednt have bothered fitting Branagh with a prosthetic nose accuracy is clearly not the priority here. Alexandra Pollard Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is the doomed progeny of a celebrated genius brilliant but slightly stunted by the knowledge they will never live up to their predecessor. Clarisse Loughrey Warner Bros. Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Piercing Nicolas Pesces sleek and stylish horror comedy is repulsive and funny by turns. In adapting Ryu Murakamis cult novel, Pesce strikes just the right balance between humour and Grand Guignol-style shock tactics. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Capernaum "The best moments here are remarkable. Labaki elicits an astonishing performance from her young lead. Hes an irrepressible figure with such an inbuilt sense of moral decency the film seems upbeat and optimistic, even at its darkest moments. Geoffrey Macnab Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The White Crow "Ralph Fiennes combines thriller elements with poetic flashbacks to ballet legend Rudolf Nureyevs childhood and keeps a tight focus on the dancer. When he is most at risk, Nureyev makes decisions with his artistic future more in mind than his personal safety. As Fiennes reminds us again and again in what is his best film yet as a director, the 'white crow' will do anything to put himself in the limelight, the one place he is convinced he belongs." StudioCanal Best films of 2019 (so far) Border "Border reverses the perspective taken by most other horror films. In more conventional genre fare, Tina and Vore would be portrayed as malevolent outsiders, but in the world conjured up by director Ali Abbasi, the humans are the monsters. Tina is the innocent a visionary who hardly understands her own powers but who can sense human venality and corruption wherever it appears." TriArt Film Best films of 2019 (so far) Fighting with My Family "Certain scenes feel very trite and predictable but the film gets you in a choke hold early on and wont let you go. It is far more gripping than its subject matter might suggest. Who ever would believe a story about a wrestling family from Norwich could have quite such heart and resonance?" James Field Best films of 2019 (so far) Us "Doppelgangers abound in Jordan Peeles weird, creepy and ingenious new horror film. As in his Oscar-winning 2017 feature Get Out, Peele leavens matters with ironic humour but the joking becomes increasingly uncomfortable once the main characters come face to face with dark shadows of themselves which wish them extreme harm." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Avengers: Endgame "The Avengers cycle comes to a rich and very satisfying conclusion with Endgame, surely the most complex and emotional superhero movie in Marvel history. At 181 minutes, this is a veritable epic, but with so many characters and plot strands, it fully warrants its lengthy running time." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Eighth Grade "Its a rare and precious feeling when a film completely dismantles you. Eighth Grade the directorial debut of US comedian Bo Burnham breaks down every delusion we have about ourselves and burrows deep into those parts weve made such an effort to lock away. You may cry. You may shudder as every awkward social interaction thats kept you up at night replays in your head all at once. You may feel the sharp pain associated with those moments when you feel completely isolated from the world. Burnham may have crafted a simple story about the most ordinary of teenage girls, but it speaks with the emotions of a true cinematic epic." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Vox Lux "Natalie Portman gives her fiercest, most memorable performance since Black Swan in Brady Corbets enjoyably subversive satire about a troubled pop star whose loss of innocence mirrors the fall from grace of the US itself. Portmans character, Celeste, is certainly one of the most objectionable figures she has played: a pampered, hard-drinking drug-taking floozy whose appearance and high-handed behaviour rekindle memories of Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford at their monstrous worst." Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) High Life Robert Pattinson gives one of his most striking performances as Monte, the death-row criminal in outer space, tricked into making a voyage described at one stage as a class-one suicide ride. The former Twilight star makes his shaven-headed, gaunt-faced character seem hyper naturally sensitive and feral at the same time. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Amazing Grace Amazing Grace is as uplifting a film as you will see all year. Its a concert movie filmed over two nights and featuring Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, performing gospel standards in a church in Los Angeles in 1972, with a huge backing choir and an enthusiastic congregation. Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) Aladdin Disneys live-action remake of its 1992 animated feature is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned matinee-style spectacle that turns out far better than we had any right to expect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Booksmart Olivia Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Late Night Late Night is a caustic satirical comedy that turns into an unlikely tearjerker. Its by turns snide and uplifting, and often very funny too. Its writer/producer/star Mindy Kaling makes vicious observations about the inanity, narcissism and corruption of the mainstream US media at the same time as she celebrates the professionalism of many of those who work within it. The film has a glorious performance from Emma Thompson and a very sly one from Kaling. Thompson is at her most imperious as Katherine Newbury, a legendary entertainer, the only female in a male-dominated field, but one whose career is beginning to slide. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) Gloria Bell Gloria Bell is somewhat exhausting both unbearably intimate and at a constant remove but it is endlessly pulled back into focus by Moore, who has a firm understanding of the delicate balance between contentment and yearning, joy and pain, recklessness and spontaneity. In a remake that could have felt indulgent in the hands of people less skilled, she more than justifies its existence. Geoffrey Macnab Curzon Best films of 2019 (so far) Toy Story 4 "The brilliance of the new film lies in the surefooted way it caters both for children too young to have seen its predecessors and for adults whove grown up (or grown older) watching the previous instalments. It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single use plastic spork retrieved from the trash." Pixar/Disney Best films of 2019 (so far) In Fabric In Fabric feels like Peter Strickland at his most free and playful, drawing as much from the British sense of humour dry and morbid to a fault as from Italian glamour. Curzon Artificial Eye Best films of 2019 (so far) The Flood "Perhaps The Flood isnt quite the urgent, profound film a crisis of this scale deserves, but in a culture where refugees are so rarely shown any empathy in mainstream media, maybe this is the film we need right now." Best films of 2019 (so far) Midsommar "Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary serves up much of the same: its a break-up movie wrapped up in pagan horror. Its also bound to be one of this years most memorable films, proving that Aster is far from a one-hit wonder." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lion King "The Lion King is undoubtedly a technological marvel that, much like Avatar, will come to be viewed as a milestone in special effects history, yet its just as interesting to see how all this innovation has been employed." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Varda by Agnes "For a film thats almost entirely narrated by Agnes Varda's own voice, it doesnt feel driven by ego, but by pure intellectual and emotional curiosity." Best films of 2019 (so far) Animals "Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. Youll find no life lessons here. Its main characters are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end." Best films of 2019 (so far) Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteens lyrical genius, but of how hes always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised." Warner Brothers Best films of 2019 (so far) Good Boys Lined up against some of this years other more heartfelt offerings, including Booksmart, Good Boys offers further proof that putting a little humanity in our comedy always gets the best results. Best films of 2019 (so far) Hustlers "Hustlers is an electrifying response to the deluge of stories weve had over the years about very rich, very bad dudes. Finally, we can turn the tables on every film thats used women, specifically strippers, as decorative accessories to drape over businessmen as they conduct their illicit backroom meetings. Or, failing that, to shake their out-of-focus tits in the background of a shot." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) For Sama For Sama is one of the most profoundly intimate depictions of the Syrian conflict ever put to film. Its the push to help those on the outside process something so incomprehensible in the depth of its horrors. Republic Film Distribution Best films of 2019 (so far) Ad Astra The real drama here is not whether or not apocalypse can be avoided but whether Brad Pitts character can reconcile himself with his father and overcome his own extreme emotional repression. In other words, in spite of all the jargon and the hardware, this is an intimate family melodrama at heart. Thanks to Pitts performance and Grays delicate direction, it turns into a very moving one. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) The Farewell Wrapped up in all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, its one of the best films of the year. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Judy This is Renee Zellwegers Judy. It doesnt belong to Rupert Goold, its director. Nor does it belong to Tom Edge, its screenwriter. Its a performance of such overwhelming force that it wrests authorship from every other hand that guided the films creation. Pathe Best films of 2019 (so far) Ready or Not As absurd and self-indulgent as Ready or Not can get, it doesnt mess around with its social commentary. The class system is the game we never asked to play, dont get a fair chance at, and have no hope of winning. Its a timeless metaphor. 20th Century Fox Best films of 2019 (so far) A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Despite its mouthful of a title, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is an utter delight proof that good storytelling and strong craft are what matters, however familiar the packaging. Studio Canal Best films of 2019 (so far) The Beach Bum Clearly, Harmony Korine is steered by his attraction to the theatrical, the absurd and the grimly nihilistic. The Beach Bum is all of that and absolutely none of it, too a leisurely, neon-soaked stroll through chaos and hazy bohemia, full of slapstick and pathos. It is as much Korines most mature film as it is his most juvenile. Neon/Vice Best films of 2019 (so far) The Last Black Man in San Francisco Its a beautiful, frightening and tragic vignette of the urban nightmare, though The Last Black Man in San Francisco isnt really an angry film. Its less of a rallying cry against gentrification than a rumination on the kind of pained acceptance those who suffer its effects must face. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Irishman Scorseses signature camerawork goes down like a glass of fine whisky, as smooth and as elegant as youd expect. The violence arrives in short, sharp shocks. Steven Zaillians screenplay even nails the mobster patter, with arguments about fish, tardiness, and business shorts that feel destined to one day be quoted to death. Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) Le Mans '66 The films greatest trick is saved for its final reel. For much of its running time, youd be easily fooled into thinking Mangold had made a grand ode to the American dream. Its a film about an immigrant worker who, through perseverance and toil, gains the respect of one of the richest men in the country. And then the rug is pulled right out from underneath you. Le Mans 66 may relish in the high life, but its final moments feel devastatingly hollow. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Marriage Story The film never loses its sense of humour and absurdity. Somehow, in spite of the bleakness of the subject matter, it feels more redemptive than despairing. Best films of 2019 (so far) The Report Adam Driver plays Jones, Annette Bening Senator Feinstein, and director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But thats the point. The Report chooses to value the truth over bombastic displays of morality. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Knives Out Casting an ensemble film is a little like perfecting a cocktail blend, balancing flavours until they sing together in harmony. Knives Out hits the mark here: the actors all feel well-suited to their roles and they bounce off each other with ease. Lionsgate It is being co-produced by James Cameron, who co-created the franchise and directed its first two films. Terminator: Dark Fate marks the first time since 1991 that Hamilton is returning as Connor. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Terminator: Dark Fate is out on 23 October, 2019 in the UK and 1 November, 2019 in the US. Dir: Olivia Wilde. Starring: Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis. 15 cert, 102 mins. The coming-of-age high school movie is given a shot in the arm in actress Olivia Wildes directorial debut. Booksmart uses plot elements that have been seen countless times before on screen in films from American Graffiti and American Pie to Brat Pack movies and Shes All That, but she approaches them in a fresh and engaging way. Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Characters here behave with a raucousness that might have made John Belushi in his prime blush and squirm in embarrassment. The film features drinking, drug taking, messy attempts at sex (involving confusion over orifices), masturbation, pornography references and the mandatory scenes of throwing up. The key difference between Booksmart and its legion of predecessors is that the main protagonists arent hedonistic jocks or frat boys, but the two most studious young women at their California high school. Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) are about to graduate. Theyre bluestockings who take immense pride in the fact that they work far harder than any of their classmates. They drive to school in a car with I love big books written on a bumper sticker on the back and no irony is intended. The former is planning to take a gap year in Botswana so she can do voluntary work to help local women make their own tampons. The latter is heading straight after finishing school to her Ivy League college. Not only are they bookish, they take political correctness to extremes. Amy is out but hasnt yet had any meaningful physical relationships with other women. She is very fussy about distinguishing between gender performance and real sexual orientation. (Unpick the jargon and what she seems to be saying is that certain classmates are playing at being lesbian.) Best films of 2019 (so far) Show all 49 1 /49 Best films of 2019 (so far) Best films of 2019 (so far) The Favourite Macabre and fraught though The Favourite gets, this isnt so much a film about sex or power as it is about plain mischief. Its a hilarious, buffoonish pleasure, right down to the sets and costume design, and a breeze to spend 120 minutes with. Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Beautiful Boy Casting Chalamet as Nic was a very clever move. The young actor from Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird has a natural charm and charisma. He still engages an audiences curiosity and sympathy even when his behaviour is at its most selfish and erratic. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) The House by the Sea Guediguians storytelling style is deceptive. At first, it seems as if this is low-key social realism in the Dardennes or Ken Loach mould, albeit set on the French Riviera. Gradually, though, we realise how stylised and theatrical his approach really is. Geoffrey Macnab Best films of 2019 (so far) Stan & Ollie Director Jon S Baird, whose previous film was scabrous Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, wrings every last drop of pathos he can from his material. This is very much a case of the tears of the clowns. Geoffrey Macnab Entertainment One Best films of 2019 (so far) Vice Vice is bravura storytelling. McKay isnt only taking us through Cheneys life and career but is giving us a whistle stop tour through US politics from the Nixon administration almost right to the present day. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Can You Ever Forgive Me? Playing Lee Israel, McCarthy manages something very special: she makes a character who is odd, obnoxious, difficult and alcoholic seem lovable and even heroic. The rest of the world is at fault, not Lee. Geoffrey Macnab Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Green Book "Green Book flatters the audience about its own good sense and tolerance. It deals with racism and homophobia but still has a fairytale, fantasy feel to it. Whatever humiliations Don endures on their road trip, we know no real harm will ever come to him as long as Tony is at his side. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Velvet Buzzsaw The golden age of bonkers horror movies is gloriously evoked by Netflixs latest feature length presentation. Beginning as a satire of the arts world, Velvet Buzzsaw swiftly and gleefully descends into a savage splatter-fest, smeared in paint, viscera and garishly-bright blood. Ed Power Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) If Beale Street Could Talk The setting is New York in the 1970s. Anyone who has watched Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver knows this was an era of violence, corruption and sleaze on a monumental level, but [Barry] Jenkins somehow makes the city seem like a modern-day Eden. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) All Is True Written by Ben Elton and directed by its star Kenneth Branagh, the film plays so fast and loose with the playwrights final years that they neednt have bothered fitting Branagh with a prosthetic nose accuracy is clearly not the priority here. Alexandra Pollard Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is the doomed progeny of a celebrated genius brilliant but slightly stunted by the knowledge they will never live up to their predecessor. Clarisse Loughrey Warner Bros. Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Piercing Nicolas Pesces sleek and stylish horror comedy is repulsive and funny by turns. In adapting Ryu Murakamis cult novel, Pesce strikes just the right balance between humour and Grand Guignol-style shock tactics. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Capernaum "The best moments here are remarkable. Labaki elicits an astonishing performance from her young lead. Hes an irrepressible figure with such an inbuilt sense of moral decency the film seems upbeat and optimistic, even at its darkest moments. Geoffrey Macnab Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The White Crow "Ralph Fiennes combines thriller elements with poetic flashbacks to ballet legend Rudolf Nureyevs childhood and keeps a tight focus on the dancer. When he is most at risk, Nureyev makes decisions with his artistic future more in mind than his personal safety. As Fiennes reminds us again and again in what is his best film yet as a director, the 'white crow' will do anything to put himself in the limelight, the one place he is convinced he belongs." StudioCanal Best films of 2019 (so far) Border "Border reverses the perspective taken by most other horror films. In more conventional genre fare, Tina and Vore would be portrayed as malevolent outsiders, but in the world conjured up by director Ali Abbasi, the humans are the monsters. Tina is the innocent a visionary who hardly understands her own powers but who can sense human venality and corruption wherever it appears." TriArt Film Best films of 2019 (so far) Fighting with My Family "Certain scenes feel very trite and predictable but the film gets you in a choke hold early on and wont let you go. It is far more gripping than its subject matter might suggest. Who ever would believe a story about a wrestling family from Norwich could have quite such heart and resonance?" James Field Best films of 2019 (so far) Us "Doppelgangers abound in Jordan Peeles weird, creepy and ingenious new horror film. As in his Oscar-winning 2017 feature Get Out, Peele leavens matters with ironic humour but the joking becomes increasingly uncomfortable once the main characters come face to face with dark shadows of themselves which wish them extreme harm." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Avengers: Endgame "The Avengers cycle comes to a rich and very satisfying conclusion with Endgame, surely the most complex and emotional superhero movie in Marvel history. At 181 minutes, this is a veritable epic, but with so many characters and plot strands, it fully warrants its lengthy running time." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Eighth Grade "Its a rare and precious feeling when a film completely dismantles you. Eighth Grade the directorial debut of US comedian Bo Burnham breaks down every delusion we have about ourselves and burrows deep into those parts weve made such an effort to lock away. You may cry. You may shudder as every awkward social interaction thats kept you up at night replays in your head all at once. You may feel the sharp pain associated with those moments when you feel completely isolated from the world. Burnham may have crafted a simple story about the most ordinary of teenage girls, but it speaks with the emotions of a true cinematic epic." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Vox Lux "Natalie Portman gives her fiercest, most memorable performance since Black Swan in Brady Corbets enjoyably subversive satire about a troubled pop star whose loss of innocence mirrors the fall from grace of the US itself. Portmans character, Celeste, is certainly one of the most objectionable figures she has played: a pampered, hard-drinking drug-taking floozy whose appearance and high-handed behaviour rekindle memories of Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford at their monstrous worst." Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) High Life Robert Pattinson gives one of his most striking performances as Monte, the death-row criminal in outer space, tricked into making a voyage described at one stage as a class-one suicide ride. The former Twilight star makes his shaven-headed, gaunt-faced character seem hyper naturally sensitive and feral at the same time. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Amazing Grace Amazing Grace is as uplifting a film as you will see all year. Its a concert movie filmed over two nights and featuring Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, performing gospel standards in a church in Los Angeles in 1972, with a huge backing choir and an enthusiastic congregation. Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) Aladdin Disneys live-action remake of its 1992 animated feature is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned matinee-style spectacle that turns out far better than we had any right to expect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Booksmart Olivia Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Late Night Late Night is a caustic satirical comedy that turns into an unlikely tearjerker. Its by turns snide and uplifting, and often very funny too. Its writer/producer/star Mindy Kaling makes vicious observations about the inanity, narcissism and corruption of the mainstream US media at the same time as she celebrates the professionalism of many of those who work within it. The film has a glorious performance from Emma Thompson and a very sly one from Kaling. Thompson is at her most imperious as Katherine Newbury, a legendary entertainer, the only female in a male-dominated field, but one whose career is beginning to slide. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) Gloria Bell Gloria Bell is somewhat exhausting both unbearably intimate and at a constant remove but it is endlessly pulled back into focus by Moore, who has a firm understanding of the delicate balance between contentment and yearning, joy and pain, recklessness and spontaneity. In a remake that could have felt indulgent in the hands of people less skilled, she more than justifies its existence. Geoffrey Macnab Curzon Best films of 2019 (so far) Toy Story 4 "The brilliance of the new film lies in the surefooted way it caters both for children too young to have seen its predecessors and for adults whove grown up (or grown older) watching the previous instalments. It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single use plastic spork retrieved from the trash." Pixar/Disney Best films of 2019 (so far) In Fabric In Fabric feels like Peter Strickland at his most free and playful, drawing as much from the British sense of humour dry and morbid to a fault as from Italian glamour. Curzon Artificial Eye Best films of 2019 (so far) The Flood "Perhaps The Flood isnt quite the urgent, profound film a crisis of this scale deserves, but in a culture where refugees are so rarely shown any empathy in mainstream media, maybe this is the film we need right now." Best films of 2019 (so far) Midsommar "Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary serves up much of the same: its a break-up movie wrapped up in pagan horror. Its also bound to be one of this years most memorable films, proving that Aster is far from a one-hit wonder." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lion King "The Lion King is undoubtedly a technological marvel that, much like Avatar, will come to be viewed as a milestone in special effects history, yet its just as interesting to see how all this innovation has been employed." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Varda by Agnes "For a film thats almost entirely narrated by Agnes Varda's own voice, it doesnt feel driven by ego, but by pure intellectual and emotional curiosity." Best films of 2019 (so far) Animals "Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. Youll find no life lessons here. Its main characters are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end." Best films of 2019 (so far) Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteens lyrical genius, but of how hes always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised." Warner Brothers Best films of 2019 (so far) Good Boys Lined up against some of this years other more heartfelt offerings, including Booksmart, Good Boys offers further proof that putting a little humanity in our comedy always gets the best results. Best films of 2019 (so far) Hustlers "Hustlers is an electrifying response to the deluge of stories weve had over the years about very rich, very bad dudes. Finally, we can turn the tables on every film thats used women, specifically strippers, as decorative accessories to drape over businessmen as they conduct their illicit backroom meetings. Or, failing that, to shake their out-of-focus tits in the background of a shot." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) For Sama For Sama is one of the most profoundly intimate depictions of the Syrian conflict ever put to film. Its the push to help those on the outside process something so incomprehensible in the depth of its horrors. Republic Film Distribution Best films of 2019 (so far) Ad Astra The real drama here is not whether or not apocalypse can be avoided but whether Brad Pitts character can reconcile himself with his father and overcome his own extreme emotional repression. In other words, in spite of all the jargon and the hardware, this is an intimate family melodrama at heart. Thanks to Pitts performance and Grays delicate direction, it turns into a very moving one. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) The Farewell Wrapped up in all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, its one of the best films of the year. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Judy This is Renee Zellwegers Judy. It doesnt belong to Rupert Goold, its director. Nor does it belong to Tom Edge, its screenwriter. Its a performance of such overwhelming force that it wrests authorship from every other hand that guided the films creation. Pathe Best films of 2019 (so far) Ready or Not As absurd and self-indulgent as Ready or Not can get, it doesnt mess around with its social commentary. The class system is the game we never asked to play, dont get a fair chance at, and have no hope of winning. Its a timeless metaphor. 20th Century Fox Best films of 2019 (so far) A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Despite its mouthful of a title, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is an utter delight proof that good storytelling and strong craft are what matters, however familiar the packaging. Studio Canal Best films of 2019 (so far) The Beach Bum Clearly, Harmony Korine is steered by his attraction to the theatrical, the absurd and the grimly nihilistic. The Beach Bum is all of that and absolutely none of it, too a leisurely, neon-soaked stroll through chaos and hazy bohemia, full of slapstick and pathos. It is as much Korines most mature film as it is his most juvenile. Neon/Vice Best films of 2019 (so far) The Last Black Man in San Francisco Its a beautiful, frightening and tragic vignette of the urban nightmare, though The Last Black Man in San Francisco isnt really an angry film. Its less of a rallying cry against gentrification than a rumination on the kind of pained acceptance those who suffer its effects must face. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Irishman Scorseses signature camerawork goes down like a glass of fine whisky, as smooth and as elegant as youd expect. The violence arrives in short, sharp shocks. Steven Zaillians screenplay even nails the mobster patter, with arguments about fish, tardiness, and business shorts that feel destined to one day be quoted to death. Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) Le Mans '66 The films greatest trick is saved for its final reel. For much of its running time, youd be easily fooled into thinking Mangold had made a grand ode to the American dream. Its a film about an immigrant worker who, through perseverance and toil, gains the respect of one of the richest men in the country. And then the rug is pulled right out from underneath you. Le Mans 66 may relish in the high life, but its final moments feel devastatingly hollow. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Marriage Story The film never loses its sense of humour and absurdity. Somehow, in spite of the bleakness of the subject matter, it feels more redemptive than despairing. Best films of 2019 (so far) The Report Adam Driver plays Jones, Annette Bening Senator Feinstein, and director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But thats the point. The Report chooses to value the truth over bombastic displays of morality. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Knives Out Casting an ensemble film is a little like perfecting a cocktail blend, balancing flavours until they sing together in harmony. Knives Out hits the mark here: the actors all feel well-suited to their roles and they bounce off each other with ease. Lionsgate The moment of revelation, which transforms the two friends lives on their very last day of high school, comes when Molly hears other school friends talking about her. Shes so weird she acts like shes 40 is one remark she hears. Her vagina is probably full of diplomas is another. Molly takes the insults in her stride because she assumes she is going to a top college and they arent. Then, to her utter dismay, she finds out that these moronic party-going airheads also have places at Yale and Stanford or top-level jobs at Google. It isnt possible! she complains. You guys dont care about school. No, we dont care only about school, comes the reply that devastates her. She and Amy belatedly realise that theyve lived their austere academic lifestyles for nothing. They could have partied wildly and still passed their exams. Nobody knows were fun, they lament. Its the last night of school and the two friends resolve to make up for all those lost years and have as wild a time as possible. The fact that they dont really know how to party, or even where the best parties are being held, wont stop them. Booksmart conforms closely to the typical end-of-school drama while mocking many of its conventions. Over the course of a tumultuous night, the two women have all the cathartic, life-changing experiences that might be expected. They ogle and try to seduce the objects of their fantasy. In the most surreal sequence in the film, they take hallucinogenic drugs and imagine theyve been transformed into voluptuous plastic Barbie dolls. The gag-filled screenplay by Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins and Katie Silberman combines the obvious, often crude jokes about sex and bodily functions, with plenty of caustic and witty repartee. However off their heads Amy and Molly become in the course of the night, they never lose their powers of observation or their flair for self-deprecating comic one-liners. Booksmart works both as satire and as a film about friendship and growing up. It has its own chorus/fairy godmother figure in the shape of Gigi (Billie Lourd), the ultra-wealthy, flaky classmate who turns up wherever Amy and Molly go, ready to lead them into fresh mischief. For all its subversive elements, the film ends up reinforcing the values that most other high-school comedies also celebrate loyalty, camaraderie, sacrifice and the ability to party so wildly that the cops are called. I used to think you were all work and no play, but youre actually pretty fun, Amy and Molly are told. Praise doesnt come any higher than that. Celebrated landscape architect Jens Jensen, according to Mathers 100-plus page final report on the proposed national park, said: If you had been with me yesterday and stood on top of one of the great blowouts, as we term them, and looked into the golds, the reds, the soft tinges of brown, and the soft shades of green that were just visible in some of those dune woods, you would have come back to your home saying, We need the dunes; we can never do without them. Rock and roll isnt really that relevant anymore, says The Amazons frontman Matt Thomson, running a hand through his shock of red hair. People probably wonder why were bothering. Its an odd thing for him to admit, given his band trade in a no-frills, Seventies-sounding din, all thunderous drums and anthemic guitars, and Thomson is here to promote their new record, Future Dust. Its the follow-up to their self-titled first album, which unexpectedly shot into the UK top 10 back in 2017 the highest-charting rock debut since Royal Bloods three years earlier. And its excellent built on massive hooks, catchy refrains and Thomsons unique voice, which yo-yos between a howl and a piercing yell. Its not about imitation, says Thomson, 25. Its about trying to tap into the spirit of it. The baseline is we love rock and roll, and when you love something that much, you want to know everything about it. Thomson and his bandmate Joe Emmett (drums) are the first to admit that theyre not exactly reinventing the wheel with their muscular guitar riffs and indeed their sound is about as meat and potatoes as rock gets. But unlike many bands, this four-piece who formed in Reading in 2014 are keenly informed about the genesis of the music that inspires their own. In his search for a heavier sound, Thomson found Howlin Wolf via Led Zeppelin and became obsessed with delving through the bluesmans back catalogue. Jerry Lee Lewiss biography Hellfire a nod to the Biblical language used to describe the rock and roll pioneers devil music served as inspiration for the records religious references. The 30 best album covers - ranked Show all 30 1 /30 The 30 best album covers - ranked The 30 best album covers - ranked 30) The Strokes Is This It Photographer Colin Lane met the Strokes in early 2001, after being commissioned to shoot them for The Face magazine. The album cover happened by chance after hanging out on another shoot a few weeks later, Lane heard the bands art director hassling them to choose an album cover. Hed brought his portfolio with him, which included the now-infamous ass shot. The photograph, Lane later revealed in interviews, was taken in either late 1999 or 2000. His girlfriend had just got out of the shower, while he was playing with an old polaroid camera. He found a Chanel glove and asked her to pose. Shooting on a Big Shot isnt easy: you can only shoot from a specific distance, and its really designed for head-and-shoulders portraits, he explained to The Guardian. But when she slid the glove on and bent forward, I knew it was the perfect shot simple, straightforward, graphic and just so sexy. For fans, the image represents one of the last definable scenes in music. The 30 best album covers - ranked 29) The Notorious BIG Ready to Die Biggie Smalls picked a baby resembling himself to star on the cover of his debut Ready to Die. By doing so, he summed up the albums autobiographical content, which begins with childhood and closes with death. He also uses the notion of childhood innocence to foreshadow how our surroundings can have a lasting impact. The 30 best album covers - ranked 28) David Bowie Aladdin Sane It might not be the quintessential David Bowie album, or the one that introduced fans to Starman. But the face staring back at you from this particular album cover is, undeniably, the most recognisable Bowie look: red mullet; a gaunt, sombre expression and that famous lightning bolt across his face. The 30 best album covers - ranked 27) Nas Illmatic One of the greatest debut albums and arguably the best hip hop record of all time has a fittingly arresting cover image. A photo of a seven-year-old Nas was superimposed over Danny Clinchs snapshot of one of the housing projects in the New York rappers native Queensbridge. Designed by Aimee Macauley, it was intended to reflect how the projects used to be Nass entire world, until I educated myself to see theres more out there. But Nas was also inviting you to see through his eyes and into those very projects where he grew up, and feel immersed in that world via the power of his storytelling. The 30 best album covers - ranked 26) Kate Bush The Dreaming Years after its release, Kate Bush noted how The Dreaming was deemed by many to be her shes gone mad album. Its multiple, disparate narratives and metamorphic production intertwine with movie influences, particularly music hall crime capers of Houdinis era. On the sepia-toned album cover, Bush plays the role of the escapists wife, looking to the distance, rather than at his face, as though trying to contact him via a different medium than mere speech. The way she holds his face in her hands gives her an additional, mesmerising power and conjures the old-world, eccentric mysticism with which she was and still is associated. The 30 best album covers - ranked 25) Oasis Definitely Maybe Photographer Michael Spencer Jones had a task on his hands organising Oasis for what is indisputably their best album cover. It was different to what the band originally envisioned Noel Gallagher had spotted a photo of the Beatles sat round a coffee in Japan, so thought Oasis could be photographed at the dining table of guitarist Boneheads house in Manchester. Jones didnt see this working, so spread the members around Boneheads living room instead, and asked them to bring objects that were personal to them for decoration. Noel liked Joness idea of hanging an inflatable globe (brought by one of the roadies) from the ceiling. Yeah, global dominance, he said. Soon after the albums release, thats exactly what happened. The 30 best album covers - ranked 24) Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers Andy Warhol conceived the idea of a vinyl cover with working zipper that would reveal a pair of white briefs beneath the bulging jeans of a male model, who has to this day never been identified. Many fans assumed it was Mick Jagger, but people working on the shoot said several models were photographed and Warhol never revealed which one was used. It represented what the Rolling Stones quickly became famous for: an edgy, hyper-sexual kind of swagger. The 30 best album covers - ranked 23) Miles Davis Bitches Brew German painter Mati Klarwein who also created Santanas artwork for Abraxas was behind this gatefold cover that served as an embodiment of Daviss creative manifesto. The surreal and complex renderings mirror what Davis does with the music itself; challenging traditional notions of structure and juxtaposing concepts of passivity and aggressiveness, anger and love. The 30 best album covers - ranked 22) AC/DC Back in Black Back in Blacks all-black cover design fit the mood of a band emerging from dark times. In the wake of the death of vocalist Bon Scott, AC/DC had tracked down Brian Johnson, whom Scott had previously mentioned to the band. Certain people at their record label, Atlantic, werent so keen on the cover, but the band were insistent: it was a memorial to Scott. And now one of the most instantly recognisable and best-loved album covers in rock history. The 30 best album covers - ranked 21) Blondie Parallel Lines Visually striking and symbolic of what Debbie Harry was doing both as a woman and an artist in the music industry, Parallel Lines cover was shot by photographer Edo Bertoglio. It was apparently rejected by the band but later chosen by their manager, Peter Leeds. The juxtaposition between the band, who beam in their matching dress suits like a bunch of schoolboys at their senior prom, and Harry, who stands defiant in her white dress, hands on hips, is wonderful. Im not impressed, her stance seems to say. Try harder. The 30 best album covers - ranked 20) Bob Dylan The Freewheelin Bob Dylan Dylan walks arm-in-arm with then-girlfriend and muse Suze Rotolo through the West Village in freezing New York, February 1963. Rotolo described the circumstances to the New York Times in 2008: He wore a very thin jacket, because image was all. Our apartment was always cold, so I had a sweater on, plus I borrowed one of his big, bulky sweaters. On top of that I put on a coat. So I felt like an Italian sausage. Every time I look at that picture, I think I look fat. Yet her memoir, A Freewheelin Time, also noted the covers significance, how it influenced the look of album covers precisely because of its casual down-home spontaneity and sensibility. The 30 best album covers - ranked 19) Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin couldnt have picked a better image to serve as a visual introduction to their fans. Its an easy tactic using a photo from a real-life tragedy, in this case the Hinderburg disaster, for shock factor. But it worked, and the cover went on to become one of the most indelible images in rock music. The 30 best album covers - ranked 18) Never Mind the Bollocks Heres the Sex Pistols The album will last. The sleeve may not, said the adverts for the Sex Pistols first and only studio album in 1977. The Sex Pistols were already controversial before the release of Never Mind the Bollocks Heres the Sex Pistols. Theyd caused nationwide uproar for swearing on live TV, been fired from two record labels, and been banned from a number of live venues in England. Using the word bollocks on the front of their artwork caused instant censorship, and more controversy that would only benefit its performance. Despite many major retailers refusing to sell it, the album debuted at number one on the UK album charts. Today, it is arguably the most recognisable punk album cover in music history. The 30 best album covers - ranked 17) The Roots Things Fall Apart For a limited time, The Roots Grammy-nominated album Things Fall Apart was available with five different covers, which reflected each of the worlds greatest turmoils. The most enduring was a photograph taken during a Civil Rights Movement-era riot a stark black and white image showing riot police as they chase two terrified black teenagers. This became the main artwork for a few reasons, art director Kenny Gravillis told Complex magazine. The cover felt like the urban community could really relate to it. Seeing real fear in the woman's face is very affecting. It feels unflinching and aggressive in its commentary on society. I remember going to Tower Records and seeing it huge; it was just so impactful. I'm not sure that it would work today. I give MCA respect for pushing it out at the time. The 30 best album covers - ranked 16) Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here Yes, Dark Side of the Moon, with Storm Thorgerson's geometric design, is the most iconic of Pink Floyd covers. But the shot he conceived for Wish You Were Here taken by Aubrey Po Powell is by far the more visceral. It shows two businessmen shaking hands, with one of them on fire, and to the band it represented the fear of revealing your true feelings for fear of getting burnt. Two stuntmen were involved, with one (Ronnie Rondell Jr) dressed in a fire-retardant outfit covered by a business suit, and his head protected by a hood, covered beneath a wig. Unfortunately, high winds meant he lost his moustache and eyebrows to the flames. Hopefully he felt the resulting shot was worth it. Fans definitely think so. The 30 best album covers - ranked 15) Fleetwood Mac Rumours Just two of Fleetwood Macs then-five members appear on the cover of their best-selling and arguably greatest album. Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwoods legs are entwined, which serves as a pretty good metaphor for the entanglement between band members that resulted in so many of the records lyrical back-and-forths. And really its just a gorgeous, classic image, photographed and conceived by Herbert W Worthington with the band, and designed by Desmond Strobel. The 30 best album covers - ranked 14) Yeah Yeah Yeahs Its Blitz! The instantly iconic cover of Its Blitz! shows little but says a lot. Theres a sense of female defiance in showing the womans hand, nails in red polish, crushing the egg, a symbol of fertility. It also embodies what the Yeah Yeah Yeahs did on this album, which is take traditional sounds, equipment and ideas and scramble them into something completely subversive. The 30 best album covers - ranked 13) Madonna True Blue This shot was taken by celebrated photographer Herb Ritts, who later teamed up with Madonna for the Like a Prayer and You Can Dance covers. It is one of her most recognisable images, inspired in part by Andy Warhols pop art and also by the iconography of Madonnas idol Marilyn Monroe. Here, she invites fans to make the immediate connection between pop art and commercial value, making her the first to exploit the late Eighties concept of pop artist as brand. The 30 best album covers - ranked 12) The Clash London Calling The Clash paid tribute to Elvis Presley by mimicking the pink and green lettering from his 1956 self-titled album. Yet the image, one of the most iconic in rock history, blows that version of rock and roll to kingdom come: everything safe that the King had offered was replaced by Pennie Smiths photograph of the ultimate rocknroll moment total loss of control. Bassist Paul Simonon later told Fender that hed smashed his guitar out of frustration with bouncers for not letting fans stand up from their seats at the Palladium in New York City. The captured moment is visceral, dangerous and anti-establishment just like The Clash. The 30 best album covers - ranked 11) Elvis Presley Elvis Presley Elvis Presley appears mid-belt on the cover of his self-titled album, clearly performing one of those iconic vocal whoops. Its a visual introduction to rocknroll for his unsuspecting American audience, done 20 years before The Clash would replicate that classic pink and green lettering to do the same for their British fans. The 30 best album covers - ranked 10) NWA Straight Outta Compton Six guys stare down toward the ground, one pointing a handgun right at the viewer. This is the cover art for Straight Outta Compton, the pioneering debut by NWA. The photographer was a 28-year-old white guy, Eric Poppleton, who was struggling to make ends meet after graduating from art school. He and his art director Kevin Hosman spent a day following the guys around alleys in LA, until Poppleton found a spot where he got on the ground and asked NWAs members to stand over him, with one holding what was hopefully an unloaded gun. He had no idea the photograph would become one of the most iconic images in gangsta rap. Poppleton would go on to shoot four other NWA album covers. The 30 best album covers - ranked 9) Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA The Boss tells you everything you need to know about him with one image. An epitome of the blue collar American, Springsteens seventh album cover was shot by Annie Leibowitz and shows the artists from behind, dressed in worn blue jeans and a simple white t-shirt, with a red cap hanging out of the back pocket after a long days grind. We took a lot of different types of pictures, said Springsteen, and in the end, the picture of my ass looked better than the picture of my face. Combined with the American flag in the background, the cover parallels the themes of Springsteens music. The 30 best album covers - ranked 8) The Ramones The Ramones An album cover that would inspire future generations of bands to slouch moodily against brick walls. The Ramones were near-impossible to gather together for a posed photograph, but Robert Bayley a photographer for Punk magazine, managed to get a shot that captured the band perfectly. Wearing ripped jeans and leather jackets, they stare blankly at the camera through sunglasses, or fringes that half-conceal their eyes. The 30 best album covers - ranked 7) The Beatles Abbey Road Few album covers can profess to have literally stopped traffic, and its testament to the iconic status of Abbey Roads artwork that thousands of fans have attempted to recreate it. The band, and photographer Iain McMillan, had just 10 minutes to get the shot, which was taken from a step-ladder while a police officer held up traffic behind the scenes. Six photos were taken, which McCartney later examined with a magnifying glass before making his decision. The 30 best album covers - ranked 6) Grace Jones Island Life Before he tried to break the internet with a nude Kim Kardashian on the cover of Paper magazine, Jean-Paul Goude took some of the most memorable images of the Eighties for Grace Joness album Island Life. She appears on the cover in what looks like an impossible pose; it is, in fact, a composite of her in different positions, cut and pasted together for one of the most striking images in music history. The 30 best album covers - ranked 5) The Velvet Underground and Nico The Velvet Underground and Nico Like the working zipper of The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, early versions of The Velvet Underground and Nico asked the owner to Peel slowly and see, upon which theyd peel the banana skin to reveal a flesh-coloured banana beneath. MGM was happy to fork out for the additional costs of manufacturing the vinyl, with the assumption that its ties to Warhol would help boost sales. Its one of very few albums where the person behind the album art, rather than the band themselves or the album title, are named on the cover. The 30 best album covers - ranked 4) Joy Division Unknown Pleasures The cover art for Joy Divisions debut album was designed by Peter Saville, who had previously created posters for Manchesters Factor Club in the late Seventies. The chosen image, which was picked by Bernard Sumner, is based on radio waves from pulsar CP 1919 from the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy. The duochrome Peter Saville cover of this first Joy Division album speaks volumes, Susie Goldring said in a review for BBC Online. Its white on black lines reflect a pulse of power, a surge of bass, and raw angst. If the cover doesn't draw you in, the music will. The 30 best album covers - ranked 3) Nirvana Nevermind Nirvana Nevermind This is one of the most recognisable album covers of all time, and makes a fierce, mocking statement about the value western society places on chasing wealth and the way it passes that message onto future generations. Record label Geffen were concerned by the appearance of three-month old Spencer Elden's penis on the cover, but Kurt Cobain would only accept a censor sticker over the image if it read: If you're offended by this, you must be a closet paedophile. The 30 best album covers - ranked 2) The Beatles Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band With its star-studded cast and bold colour scheme, the cover of Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band came to define artist Peter Blake and also The Beatles themselves. There are 88 figures in all, including the band themselves, on a set photographed by Michael Cooper. Blake collected a list of names from three of the four Beatles. The list included Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, Aubrey Beardsley, Oscar Wilde, and even Adolf Hitler (requested by John Lennon, and hidden behind other figures). If you bought the record, Blake later said, you also bought a piece of art on exactly the level that I was aiming for. The 30 best album covers - ranked 1) Patti Smith Horses Critic Camille Paglia once suggested that Robert Mapplethorpes photo of his former lover, friend and collaborator Patti Smith is the greatest ever taken of a woman, and seeing it, you feel inclined to agree. The godmother of punk herself said she thought she looked like Frank Sinatra, dressed in a crisp white shirt with a black ribbon around her neck. A black jacket with a horse brooch on the lapel is slung casually over her shoulder. The only rule we had was, Robert told me if I wore a white shirt, not to wear a dirty one, Smith told NPR in 2010. I got my favourite ribbon and my favourite jacket, and he took about 12 pictures. By the eighth one he said, 'I got it'. Future Dust is half exploration, he explains, and half love letter to rock. There arent many exciting bands around at the moment, he says. The only era that really held the guitar up is the Seventies I mean when was the last time we had guitar heroes? With guys like Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page... theres a sense of wonder in the musicianship. I ask how he thinks music fans will respond to something so different to what currently dominates the charts. Were very prepared to fail, Thomson says with a laugh. But well stand by it. Were making the music we want to hear. There are classic themes on Future Dust the disillusionment of youth, anger at the mess society continues to find itself in but it also touches on weighty issues such as anorexia and depression. Take their song 25. Over a bluesy, swinging guitar groove Thomson sings of narcissism, apathy and ambition all of which is underlined by a fear that he has nothing meaningful to offer: Lately, Ive been/ Ive been dying to ignite the fire/ Deep down, I know its all in vain/ Theres nothing left to light. Were being bombarded with conflicting information all the time, Thomson says of that track, which he wrote in response to everyone being expected to have an opinion on everything. People say things like Theresa Mays a d**k, he explains, and its so boring. What are you adding to the conversation? Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Towards the end of last year they performed a special gig in Leeds for a young fan, Joe Glew, who died of Leukaemia just two weeks before the show. It was a cause close to the bands hearts particularly Emmett, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2006 and only given the all-clear by doctors a decade later. I had to go through chemotherapy during my GSCEs, he says. Its weird, but being a teenager and getting that was the best timing, in a way. I dont know if I was naive or if my parents sheltered me from the seriousness of it. That said, you do question what you did to deserve it. Unless youre in your eighties or nineties and youve been smoking your whole life, but I was 16 and it was like what the f**k? But it definitely made me more determined to do music, he continues. Id always been a bit of a happy-go-lucky dude, and going through cancer inspired me to take more risks. Because you dont know if youre still going to be here the next day. The Amazons (left to right): Elliot Briggs, Chris Alderton, Matt Thomson, Joe Emmett (Alex Lake) Recording Future Dust against the backdrop of the dramatic, sweeping vistas of Three Cliffs Bay in Wales gave the band time to figure out their heavier sound. They felt there was unfinished business with Catherine Marks (Wolf Alice, Foals, The Big Moon), who mixed their debut. They also worked with producer Alan Moulder who has done everything, as they put it, from Nine Inch Nails and Foo Fighters to The Killers and Arctic Monkeys. Having a top 10 with the first record definitely opened a lot of doors for us, Thomson says. But I still dont believe people take us seriously. Probably because of the kind of music we make. What does he want fans to glean from this new record? I want people to get excited about what we love: rock and roll in its rawest form. Future Dust, the new album by The Amazons, is out on 24 May Emilia Clarke has explained why she famously turned down the lead part in Fifty Shades of Grey explaining she didnt want to get pigeonholed for on-screen nudity. The actor, who just wrapped up eight seasons as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, told The Hollywood Reporter that she believes the films director Sam Taylor-Johnson is a genius who had a beautiful vision for the adaptation of EL Jamess bestseller. But the last time that I was naked on camera on [Game of Thrones] was a long time ago, and yet it is the only question that I ever get asked because I am a woman, she added. And its annoying as hell and Im sick and tired of it because I did it for the character I didnt do it so some guy could check out my tits, for Gods sake. So, that coming up, I was like, I cant. I did a minimal amount and Im pigeonholed for life, so me saying yes to that, where the entire thing is about sensuality and sex and being naked and all of that stuff, I was just like, no way am I going to voluntarily walk into that situation and then never be able to look someone in the eye and be like, No, you cant keep asking me this question. Best films of 2019 (so far) Show all 49 1 /49 Best films of 2019 (so far) Best films of 2019 (so far) The Favourite Macabre and fraught though The Favourite gets, this isnt so much a film about sex or power as it is about plain mischief. Its a hilarious, buffoonish pleasure, right down to the sets and costume design, and a breeze to spend 120 minutes with. Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Beautiful Boy Casting Chalamet as Nic was a very clever move. The young actor from Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird has a natural charm and charisma. He still engages an audiences curiosity and sympathy even when his behaviour is at its most selfish and erratic. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) The House by the Sea Guediguians storytelling style is deceptive. At first, it seems as if this is low-key social realism in the Dardennes or Ken Loach mould, albeit set on the French Riviera. Gradually, though, we realise how stylised and theatrical his approach really is. Geoffrey Macnab Best films of 2019 (so far) Stan & Ollie Director Jon S Baird, whose previous film was scabrous Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, wrings every last drop of pathos he can from his material. This is very much a case of the tears of the clowns. Geoffrey Macnab Entertainment One Best films of 2019 (so far) Vice Vice is bravura storytelling. McKay isnt only taking us through Cheneys life and career but is giving us a whistle stop tour through US politics from the Nixon administration almost right to the present day. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Can You Ever Forgive Me? Playing Lee Israel, McCarthy manages something very special: she makes a character who is odd, obnoxious, difficult and alcoholic seem lovable and even heroic. The rest of the world is at fault, not Lee. Geoffrey Macnab Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Green Book "Green Book flatters the audience about its own good sense and tolerance. It deals with racism and homophobia but still has a fairytale, fantasy feel to it. Whatever humiliations Don endures on their road trip, we know no real harm will ever come to him as long as Tony is at his side. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Velvet Buzzsaw The golden age of bonkers horror movies is gloriously evoked by Netflixs latest feature length presentation. Beginning as a satire of the arts world, Velvet Buzzsaw swiftly and gleefully descends into a savage splatter-fest, smeared in paint, viscera and garishly-bright blood. Ed Power Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) If Beale Street Could Talk The setting is New York in the 1970s. Anyone who has watched Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver knows this was an era of violence, corruption and sleaze on a monumental level, but [Barry] Jenkins somehow makes the city seem like a modern-day Eden. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) All Is True Written by Ben Elton and directed by its star Kenneth Branagh, the film plays so fast and loose with the playwrights final years that they neednt have bothered fitting Branagh with a prosthetic nose accuracy is clearly not the priority here. Alexandra Pollard Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is the doomed progeny of a celebrated genius brilliant but slightly stunted by the knowledge they will never live up to their predecessor. Clarisse Loughrey Warner Bros. Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Piercing Nicolas Pesces sleek and stylish horror comedy is repulsive and funny by turns. In adapting Ryu Murakamis cult novel, Pesce strikes just the right balance between humour and Grand Guignol-style shock tactics. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Capernaum "The best moments here are remarkable. Labaki elicits an astonishing performance from her young lead. Hes an irrepressible figure with such an inbuilt sense of moral decency the film seems upbeat and optimistic, even at its darkest moments. Geoffrey Macnab Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The White Crow "Ralph Fiennes combines thriller elements with poetic flashbacks to ballet legend Rudolf Nureyevs childhood and keeps a tight focus on the dancer. When he is most at risk, Nureyev makes decisions with his artistic future more in mind than his personal safety. As Fiennes reminds us again and again in what is his best film yet as a director, the 'white crow' will do anything to put himself in the limelight, the one place he is convinced he belongs." StudioCanal Best films of 2019 (so far) Border "Border reverses the perspective taken by most other horror films. In more conventional genre fare, Tina and Vore would be portrayed as malevolent outsiders, but in the world conjured up by director Ali Abbasi, the humans are the monsters. Tina is the innocent a visionary who hardly understands her own powers but who can sense human venality and corruption wherever it appears." TriArt Film Best films of 2019 (so far) Fighting with My Family "Certain scenes feel very trite and predictable but the film gets you in a choke hold early on and wont let you go. It is far more gripping than its subject matter might suggest. Who ever would believe a story about a wrestling family from Norwich could have quite such heart and resonance?" James Field Best films of 2019 (so far) Us "Doppelgangers abound in Jordan Peeles weird, creepy and ingenious new horror film. As in his Oscar-winning 2017 feature Get Out, Peele leavens matters with ironic humour but the joking becomes increasingly uncomfortable once the main characters come face to face with dark shadows of themselves which wish them extreme harm." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Avengers: Endgame "The Avengers cycle comes to a rich and very satisfying conclusion with Endgame, surely the most complex and emotional superhero movie in Marvel history. At 181 minutes, this is a veritable epic, but with so many characters and plot strands, it fully warrants its lengthy running time." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Eighth Grade "Its a rare and precious feeling when a film completely dismantles you. Eighth Grade the directorial debut of US comedian Bo Burnham breaks down every delusion we have about ourselves and burrows deep into those parts weve made such an effort to lock away. You may cry. You may shudder as every awkward social interaction thats kept you up at night replays in your head all at once. You may feel the sharp pain associated with those moments when you feel completely isolated from the world. Burnham may have crafted a simple story about the most ordinary of teenage girls, but it speaks with the emotions of a true cinematic epic." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Vox Lux "Natalie Portman gives her fiercest, most memorable performance since Black Swan in Brady Corbets enjoyably subversive satire about a troubled pop star whose loss of innocence mirrors the fall from grace of the US itself. Portmans character, Celeste, is certainly one of the most objectionable figures she has played: a pampered, hard-drinking drug-taking floozy whose appearance and high-handed behaviour rekindle memories of Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford at their monstrous worst." Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) High Life Robert Pattinson gives one of his most striking performances as Monte, the death-row criminal in outer space, tricked into making a voyage described at one stage as a class-one suicide ride. The former Twilight star makes his shaven-headed, gaunt-faced character seem hyper naturally sensitive and feral at the same time. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Amazing Grace Amazing Grace is as uplifting a film as you will see all year. Its a concert movie filmed over two nights and featuring Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, performing gospel standards in a church in Los Angeles in 1972, with a huge backing choir and an enthusiastic congregation. Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) Aladdin Disneys live-action remake of its 1992 animated feature is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned matinee-style spectacle that turns out far better than we had any right to expect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Booksmart Olivia Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Late Night Late Night is a caustic satirical comedy that turns into an unlikely tearjerker. Its by turns snide and uplifting, and often very funny too. Its writer/producer/star Mindy Kaling makes vicious observations about the inanity, narcissism and corruption of the mainstream US media at the same time as she celebrates the professionalism of many of those who work within it. The film has a glorious performance from Emma Thompson and a very sly one from Kaling. Thompson is at her most imperious as Katherine Newbury, a legendary entertainer, the only female in a male-dominated field, but one whose career is beginning to slide. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) Gloria Bell Gloria Bell is somewhat exhausting both unbearably intimate and at a constant remove but it is endlessly pulled back into focus by Moore, who has a firm understanding of the delicate balance between contentment and yearning, joy and pain, recklessness and spontaneity. In a remake that could have felt indulgent in the hands of people less skilled, she more than justifies its existence. Geoffrey Macnab Curzon Best films of 2019 (so far) Toy Story 4 "The brilliance of the new film lies in the surefooted way it caters both for children too young to have seen its predecessors and for adults whove grown up (or grown older) watching the previous instalments. It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single use plastic spork retrieved from the trash." Pixar/Disney Best films of 2019 (so far) In Fabric In Fabric feels like Peter Strickland at his most free and playful, drawing as much from the British sense of humour dry and morbid to a fault as from Italian glamour. Curzon Artificial Eye Best films of 2019 (so far) The Flood "Perhaps The Flood isnt quite the urgent, profound film a crisis of this scale deserves, but in a culture where refugees are so rarely shown any empathy in mainstream media, maybe this is the film we need right now." Best films of 2019 (so far) Midsommar "Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary serves up much of the same: its a break-up movie wrapped up in pagan horror. Its also bound to be one of this years most memorable films, proving that Aster is far from a one-hit wonder." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lion King "The Lion King is undoubtedly a technological marvel that, much like Avatar, will come to be viewed as a milestone in special effects history, yet its just as interesting to see how all this innovation has been employed." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Varda by Agnes "For a film thats almost entirely narrated by Agnes Varda's own voice, it doesnt feel driven by ego, but by pure intellectual and emotional curiosity." Best films of 2019 (so far) Animals "Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. Youll find no life lessons here. Its main characters are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end." Best films of 2019 (so far) Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteens lyrical genius, but of how hes always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised." Warner Brothers Best films of 2019 (so far) Good Boys Lined up against some of this years other more heartfelt offerings, including Booksmart, Good Boys offers further proof that putting a little humanity in our comedy always gets the best results. Best films of 2019 (so far) Hustlers "Hustlers is an electrifying response to the deluge of stories weve had over the years about very rich, very bad dudes. Finally, we can turn the tables on every film thats used women, specifically strippers, as decorative accessories to drape over businessmen as they conduct their illicit backroom meetings. Or, failing that, to shake their out-of-focus tits in the background of a shot." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) For Sama For Sama is one of the most profoundly intimate depictions of the Syrian conflict ever put to film. Its the push to help those on the outside process something so incomprehensible in the depth of its horrors. Republic Film Distribution Best films of 2019 (so far) Ad Astra The real drama here is not whether or not apocalypse can be avoided but whether Brad Pitts character can reconcile himself with his father and overcome his own extreme emotional repression. In other words, in spite of all the jargon and the hardware, this is an intimate family melodrama at heart. Thanks to Pitts performance and Grays delicate direction, it turns into a very moving one. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) The Farewell Wrapped up in all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, its one of the best films of the year. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Judy This is Renee Zellwegers Judy. It doesnt belong to Rupert Goold, its director. Nor does it belong to Tom Edge, its screenwriter. Its a performance of such overwhelming force that it wrests authorship from every other hand that guided the films creation. Pathe Best films of 2019 (so far) Ready or Not As absurd and self-indulgent as Ready or Not can get, it doesnt mess around with its social commentary. The class system is the game we never asked to play, dont get a fair chance at, and have no hope of winning. Its a timeless metaphor. 20th Century Fox Best films of 2019 (so far) A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Despite its mouthful of a title, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is an utter delight proof that good storytelling and strong craft are what matters, however familiar the packaging. Studio Canal Best films of 2019 (so far) The Beach Bum Clearly, Harmony Korine is steered by his attraction to the theatrical, the absurd and the grimly nihilistic. The Beach Bum is all of that and absolutely none of it, too a leisurely, neon-soaked stroll through chaos and hazy bohemia, full of slapstick and pathos. It is as much Korines most mature film as it is his most juvenile. Neon/Vice Best films of 2019 (so far) The Last Black Man in San Francisco Its a beautiful, frightening and tragic vignette of the urban nightmare, though The Last Black Man in San Francisco isnt really an angry film. Its less of a rallying cry against gentrification than a rumination on the kind of pained acceptance those who suffer its effects must face. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Irishman Scorseses signature camerawork goes down like a glass of fine whisky, as smooth and as elegant as youd expect. The violence arrives in short, sharp shocks. Steven Zaillians screenplay even nails the mobster patter, with arguments about fish, tardiness, and business shorts that feel destined to one day be quoted to death. Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) Le Mans '66 The films greatest trick is saved for its final reel. For much of its running time, youd be easily fooled into thinking Mangold had made a grand ode to the American dream. Its a film about an immigrant worker who, through perseverance and toil, gains the respect of one of the richest men in the country. And then the rug is pulled right out from underneath you. Le Mans 66 may relish in the high life, but its final moments feel devastatingly hollow. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Marriage Story The film never loses its sense of humour and absurdity. Somehow, in spite of the bleakness of the subject matter, it feels more redemptive than despairing. Best films of 2019 (so far) The Report Adam Driver plays Jones, Annette Bening Senator Feinstein, and director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But thats the point. The Report chooses to value the truth over bombastic displays of morality. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Knives Out Casting an ensemble film is a little like perfecting a cocktail blend, balancing flavours until they sing together in harmony. Knives Out hits the mark here: the actors all feel well-suited to their roles and they bounce off each other with ease. Lionsgate Clarke spoke to The Hollywood Reporter as part of a group interview with Patricia Arquette, Christine Baranski, Danai Gurira, Niecy Nash and Michelle Williams. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events She will appear in the British romantic comedy Last Christmas in November this year. With Pride month just around the corner, Listerine is the latest in a series of brands who have attempted to appropriate social and political movements for commercial gain - and seen it backfire terribly. This week, the brand released a new rainbow-coloured mouthwash bottle, which is advertised with the slogan Care with pride, and branded with a series of seemingly meaningless words including healing, sunlight, and harmony. The bottle has invariably prompted censure from individuals critical of the companys motives, with many on Twitter mocking how mouthwash could be connected to the gay community. The company are not the first to capitalise on wokeness to sell products, however. Here, we round up some of the worst offenders. McDonalds (McDonald's) For International Womens Day, 2018, a McDonalds in California turned its golden arches upside down to become a W in honour of this annual day dedicated to women's global progress and achievements. The fast food chain also turned its logo upside down across its digital channels. In a statement, McDonalds chief diversity officer, Wendy Lewis, said: In celebration of women everywhere, and for the first time in our brand history, we flipped our iconic arches for International Womens Day in honor of the extraordinary accomplishments of women everywhere and especially in our restaurants. In the same year, McDonalds boss Steve Easterbrook earned $21.7m, while the average McDonalds worker earned a median wage of just 7,017 a CEO to worker pay ratio of 3,101 to one. Pink Brewdog beer Ahead of International Womens Day in 2018, craft beer producer BrewDog released a pink IPA beer, with pink labels and the strapline beer for girls on in an attempt to fight against gender inequality. While 20 per cent of proceeds were reportedly allocated to womens organisations, other consumers found the concept a lazy parody of the satirical position it claimed to be taking. BrewDog described the campaign as, "a send-up of the lazy marketing efforts targeting the female market. Not everyone agreed, however. Pepsi In 2017, Pepsi apologised for an advert which appropriated imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement to sell its product. The now notorious advert, in which model Kendall Jenner gives a smiling police officer a can of the soft drink to cheers and whoops from the assembled protesters, was pulled after widespread condemnation. But Elle Hearns, an organiser for Black Lives Matter said the advert plays down the sacrifices people have historically taken in utilising protests and the advert was pulled just hours after its release, following widespread condemnation.* A spokesperson for Pepsi said: Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologise. Pepsi (again) Pepsi advert India Following this misfire, some may have expected Pepsi to have learned their lesson after a video advert released in India in 2015 was criticised for trivialising protests in the country at that time. The film shows students protesting against college authorities after going on a hunger strike, only for one protestor to break the strike after being tempted by a bottle of Pepsi. Starbucks In 2015, Starbucks launched a campaign called Race Together which attempted to stimulate conversation, empathy and compassion toward one another by instructing employees to write the slogan on customers cups. Expecting staff to raise the emotive issue of race with customers in an effort to start a dialogue was not well received, however, with some commentators making the point that such sensitive subjects being handled insensitively could quickly escalate. "I appreciate the effort but genuine Race-talks require trust, community, relationship and mitigating of power-dynamics #RaceTogether," tweeted user Jorge J Rodriguez. User ReignOfApril tweeted: "Not sure what @Starbucks was thinking. I don't have time to explain 400 years of oppression to you & still make my train. #RaceTogether" While Howard Schultz released a statement to staff acknowledging that he did not expect universal praise for their efforts, he insisted that the initiative would continue as planned. Reebok The 2018 campaign by Reebok was criticised by some commentators (Reebok) In summer 2018, Reebok launched its #BeMoreHuman campaign featuring women leaders, celebrities and athletes offering inspirational quotes to encourage people to be the best possible version of themselves physically, mentally and socially. The billboard featuring Danai Gurira was accompanied by the statement, We have to make our shoulders strong enough for somebody else to stand on, a declaration some commentators found problematic. Critics found the use of the strong black woman trope offensive, being used - as it often has throughout history to dehumanise black women. Black women have not been allowed to be their whole selves; we cant express a full range of human emotions lest we become the Angry Black Woman, said Tanya Hayles. Theres no opportunity to relish in our strength. We are constantly asked to build up and help others, usually without reciprocation, recognition or even gratitude. Marks and Spencer Earlier this month, Marks and Spencer faced criticism online after launching an LGBT+ sandwich. The sandwich, filled with lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato (to fulfil the LGBT acronym) came in rainbow-coloured packaging. The supermarket released the sandwich to raise money for the Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT) a charity dedicated to helping homeless LGBT+ youth and BeLong to Youth Services an organisation supporting LGBT+ young people in Ireland. But many felt it was trivialising Pride to launch such a tokenistic product, and it was mercilessly mocked on social media. Hyundai In an attempt to demonstrate how few harmful emissions their new model emitted, Hyundai conveyed this message by showing a mans unsuccessful suicide by gassing. While some people may have been impressed by Hyundais green credentials, this was mostly eclipsed by their staggering lack of sensitivity. Hollywood star Amber Heard has spoken out in support of a bill fighting non-consensual pornography. She said that its online distribution of it should be made a crime. The Aquaman spoke of the "humiliation" she experienced when more than 50 "private" photographs were stolen from her phone in 2014 as she expressed her support for the Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Limiting Distribution (SHIELD) Act. It aims to to "address the exploitation of private, sexually explicit or nude images often referred to as 'revenge porn' or 'sextortion'", according to the website of US congresswoman Jackie Speier who is sponsoring the bill with her colleague John Katko. If passed into law it would establish "federal criminal liability" for individuals who share non-consensual pornography on the Internet. "Once private, intimate content is released to the Internet it is virtually impossible to remove it from online spaces, further subjecting victims to harassment and judgement from strangers and acquaintances alike," Heard told a crowd at the Capitol Visitor Centre in Washington DC. The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Show all 12 1 /12 The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Anne Hathaway The 32-year-old actress said she has already experiences job rejections because of her age. Now I'm in my early thirties and I'm like, 'Why did that 24-year-old get that part? I was that 24-year-old once. I can't be upset about it, it's the way things are, she told Glamour. EPA The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Helen Mirren On news that Maggie Gyllenhaal had been turned down for being too old, aged 37, to play a 55-year-old mans partner: Its f***ing outrageous. Its ridiculous. Honestly, its so annoying. And twas ever thus. We all watched James Bond as he got more and more geriatric, and his girlfriends got younger and younger. Its so annoying. Getty The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Maggie Gyllenhaal Gyllenhaal revealed she was told by a Hollywood producer that she was too old, aged 37, to play the love interest of a 55-year-old man. It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made feel angry, and then it made me laugh, she said at the time. Getty Images The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Meryl Streep Meryl Streep has helped fund an all-female screenwriters group called The Writers Lab to encourage more women to pen Hollywood scripts. She previously told Vogue in 2011: Once women pass childbearing age they could only be seen as grotesque on some level. Getty The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Emma Thompson The actress said she thought Hollywood is still completely s*** when it comes to treating women equally to men. When I was younger, I really did think we were on our way to a better world. And when I look at it now, it is in a worse state than I have known it, particularly for women, and I find that very disturbing and sad. EPA The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Elizabeth Banks Banks said she was driven from acting to directing due to the lack of roles for older women in Hollywood. "[Industry sexism] drove me to direct for sure. I definitely was feeling that I was unfulfilled and a little bit bored by the things that were coming across my desk. I mean look at Gwyneth Paltrow who has her Oscar [for Shakespeare in Love] and played fifth banana to Iron Man, she told Deadline. PA The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Viola Davis I had never seen a 49-year-old, dark-skinned woman who is not a size 2 be a sexualised role in TV or film. I'm a sexual woman, but nothing in my career has ever identified me as a sexualised woman. I was the prototype of the mommified role, she told The Hollywood Reporter. Getty The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Liv Tyler The Lord of the Rings actress said she only get cast in roles where she is treated as a second class citizen at the age of 38. When youre in your teens or twenties, there is an abundance of ingenue parts which are exciting to play. But at [my age], youre usually the wife or the girlfriend - a sort of second-class citizen. There are more interesting roles for women when they get a bit older, she told More magazine. Getty Images The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Cate Blanchett The actress famously called out sexism on the red carpet at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards. When a camera operator scanned her up and down, she said: Do you do this to the guys? In her Oscar acceptance speech for Blue Jasmine, she reminded the film industry that movies with leading women can still be successful. And thank you to... those of us in the industry who are still foolishly clinging to the idea that female films, with women at the centre, are niche experiences. They are not -- audiences want to see them and, in fact, they earn money. The world is round, people. Gareth Cattermole/Getty The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Ellen Page Asked if she had ever encountered sexism in Hollywood, Page told The Guardian: Oh my God, yeah! It's constant! It's how you're treated, it's how you're looked at, how you're expected to look in a photoshoot, it's how you're expected to shut up and not have an opinion, it's how you... If you're a girl and you don't fit the very specific vision of what a girl should be, which is always from a man's perspective, then you're a little bit at a loss. Getty Images The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Zoe Saldana The actress says she refuses roles where she has to play the generic girlfriend, wife or sexy bombshell. "It's very hard being a woman in a man's world, and I recognised it was a man's world even when I was a kid. It's an inequality and injustice that drove me crazy, and which I always spoke out against and I've always been outspoken, she told Manhattan magazine. Getty The actors fighting against sexism in Hollywood Charlize Theron The actress spoke to ELLE about negotiating equal pay for the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel: "This is a good time for us to bring this to a place of fairness, and girls need to know that being a feminist is a good thing. It doesn't mean that you hate men. It means equal rights. If you're doing the same job, you should be compensated and treated in the same way." Andreas Rentz/Getty Images "It can result, and often does, in devastating economic, social, psychological and even physical consequences." Heard said she experienced several of these consequences when her "private images were stolen, manipulated and released to the public online". "I continue to be harassed, stalked and humiliated by the theft of those images and those who abuse them," she said. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The "privacy rights" of individuals who are on a lower income, the LGBT+ community and women of colour are at "far greater risk" in relation to the online distribution of non-consensual pornography, she added. The bill is backed by Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The life story of abolitionist Harriet Tubman is so extraordinary it should be as fresh in our mind as that of John F Kennedy, Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin or any of the other men whose names are as much a part of the fabric of our school education as the study of Maths and English. But, like many women from history and women of colour in particular Tubmans story has long been side-lined. Now, her astonishing life is the subject of Hollywood biopic, Harriet, directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monae and Leslie Odom Jr. Born into slavery as Araminta Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland around 1822, Tubman was the fifth of nine children. Her parents worked on the farm of slave owner Anthony Thompson, along with more than 40 others. Regularly beaten by her owners, Minty, as she was known in her youth, suffered life-changing injuries from the violence, including broken ribs. One particularly horrific attack when she was around 12-years-old saw Tubman suffer a serious blow to the head when a man threw a two-pound lead weight at her, cracking her skill. Tubman suffered seizures and migraines thenceforth. In 1849, aged around 27, Tubman escaped with two of her bothers. The farm owners published a reward notice in the local paper for $300 if they were captured. Fearing capture, her brothers turned back, but Tubman pressed on, eventually fleeing to Philadelphia. Using the network of abolitionists and covert safe routes, the Underground Railroad, Tubman made the perilous 90 mile journey to the free state and then she returned to the south to save others. The passing of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 meant escaped slaves now living in the North could be legally captured and returned to slavery, yet Tubman returned around a dozen times, risking her life to save 70 other people from slavery. Tubman gained the nickname Moses for her miraculous work. When the Civil War broke out, the freedom fighter remained active, joining the effort as a nurse and then a spy. During the war, she became the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition: a Union Army raid on the Combahee River, which resulted in the liberation of over 700 slaves. Tubman spent her later years campaigning for womens suffrage and died surrounded by friends and family in 1913. (Reuters) Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard wrote the script for Harriet in 1994 and spent over two decades trying to get the film made. In 2015, rumours suggested Viola Davis would be playing the abolitionist. Now Oscars buzz surrounds Erivos powerful performance. But Howard claimed that in an early meeting about the film, one studio executive had initially suggested that Julia Roberts play the freedom fighter. I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, This script is fantastic. Lets get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman, he told Entertainment Weekly. When someone pointed out that Roberts couldnt be Harriet, the executive responded, It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference. Read on for an extract about Harriet Tubman from the book She: A Celebration of 100 Renegade Women. Harriet Tubman (c.1822 10 March 1913, USA) Abolitionist (Alice Skinner (Alice Skinner) Abolitionist Harriet Tubman crossed the border into Pennsylvania with a bounty on her head, having travelled over 90 miles fleeing her slave owners in Maryland. She had no intention of returning to chains. Born into slavery, Tubman worked as a field hand. Abused by her owners, she carried with her lifelong injuries. In 1849, Tubman made her escape to the free states in the north. But she didnt stop there. Determined to free her family and other slaves, she risked her life, returning to the south using a network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Tubman made the perilous journey almost 20 times over eight years, guiding around 70 slaves to freedom and evading capture, despite the reward for her internment increasing by the day. Her courage earned her the nickname Moses. When the Civil War broke out, Tubman turned to nursing and was later recruited as a scout and a spy. After the war, she spent her meagre earnings helping former slaves and campaigned passionately for womens suffrage. An exemplar of humanitarianism and courage, Tubmans unfaltering determination and willingness to risk her own life for others earned her a place in history. In 2016 she was overwhelmingly voted to be the first African American to appear on a US banknote. Extracted from She: A Celebration of 100 Renegade Women by Harriet Hall, published by Headline Home is out now, 12.99. You can buy it here Harriet is released in cinemas nationwide on 22 November Tess Holliday has opened up about having an abortion following the birth of her second child when she was in the midst of postpartum depression and experiencing suicidal thoughts. Following the restrictive abortion laws that have been passed in several US states, the Mississippi-born model spoke about her own termination, describing the decision as awful but necessary for her mental health. I had postpartum depression and then severe delayed postpartum and thats what I was dealing with, Holliday told People. When I found out that I was pregnant again, I thought theres no way I could do this. I was already, for the first time, experiencing suicidal thoughts. I literally didnt want to go through any day at all. So, the thought of having to do it, to go through all of that again, destroyed me. Holliday told the publication that she wished she didnt have to share her story, but felt obliged to speak out against the abortion laws that are making it incredibly difficult, and in some states impossible, for women to terminate their pregnancies, even in cases of rape and incest. Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Show all 7 1 /7 Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Derry Girls cast members Siobhan McSweeney and Nicola Coughlan (right) join MPS and women impacted by Northern Ireland's strict abortion laws PA Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Heidi Allen (second right) joins the protest PA Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster A luggage tag on a suitcase, symbolising the women who travel from Northern Ireland to England for terminations PA Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster The campaigners march across Westminster Bridge PA Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Counter-protesters Rebecca Morgan (left) and her daughter Helen, one, demonstrate in favour of Northern Ireland's current laws Getty Images Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Protesters supporting Northern Ireland's abortion laws at Parliament Square Getty Images Northern Ireland abortion protest in Westminster Demonstrators pull suitcases to symbolise the women who travel from Northern Ireland to England for a termination AFP/Getty Images In my home state of Mississippi, we had the one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy, the highest rates of school dropout, and it kind of blows my mind that all of that can be happening, but yet we dont get taught sex ed in school, she continued. I feel like were shaming people for needing to get an abortion, but then youre not actually educating them beforehand. We need more education and we need to talk about all of this more. Hollidays interview comes after she first posted about her abortion on Instagram on Friday, describing the experience as excruciating. Recommended Talking openly about abortion is how we confront the extremists The body positivity spokesperson went on to encourage her 1.9 million followers to make a donation to the Yellowhammer fund, a grassroots organisation that is raising money to give women safe abortion access in Alabama, which now has the strictest abortion laws in the US. It has banned the procedure in all instances unless it is necessary for the mothers health. The law came into force after the state senate voted 25-6 in favour of the bill earlier this month. All 25 of those who voted in favour were men, with a compilation image of their faces having now been shared thousands of times on social media after Rihanna posted it on 16 May, writing shame on you. Dont let these old white men tell us what we should do with our bodies, Hollidays post concludes. The Congolese guitarist Mose Se Sengo known to aficionados of African music as Mose Fan Fan helped pioneer the Congolese rumba sound that became extremely popular across much of Africa. Upon settling in London in 1983, his sparkling guitar playing and warm, gracious personality helped popularise African music in the UK and further afield. Se Sengo was born and raised in Leopoldville (as Congos capital, Kinshasa, was then known while a Belgian colony) and developed into a talented guitarist while a student at a Catholic missionary school. Back in Kinshasa he made his name playing guitar with Jazz Baron and Orchestra La Revolution. Kinshasa was home to a vibrant music scene with plenty of dance halls, bars and clubs for musicians to play in and a warm, melodic sound developed as the nation embraced independence. This guitar-lead dance music was dubbed rumba in reference to the popular Cuban dance rhythm and possessed a unique, shimmering sound. Congolese rumbas greatest exponent was Franco Luambo Makiadi (1938-1989) and Franco hired Se Sengo to join his band in 1967 deft guitar playing lead to Se Sengo being nicknamed Fan Fan and being appointed deputy leader of Francos huge band (up to 40 musicians). Following a dispute with Franco over money in 1974, Se Sengo struck out in tandem with several fellow OK Jazz musicians to form Orchestre Somo Somo. Financial problems caused this band to fray and Mose left Kinshasa in 1975, living in Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania Congolese rumba being very popular across much of central and east Africa. In Kenya he met the British musician Robin Scott (aka M, composer of the huge 1979 hit Pop Muzik), who was recording African musicians for a project he was working on. Scott encouraged Mose to come to London. He did so and remained based in London for the rest of his life. Fan Fans timing proved fortuitous as UK audiences were taking a broader interest in African music and large quantities of albums by Franco were being imported and sold via Sterns, an African music shop on Tottenham Court Road in London that had set up its own record label. Offered a contract by Sterns, Mose assembled an English-based version of Somo Somo he proved to be a tough taskmaster, insisting the local musicians learn to play Congolese interlocking rhythms. Two albums were released, and the likes of Charlie Gillett and Andy Kershaw championed Mose on their radio shows, but Se Sengo feared his new sound Congolese yet with Anglo musicians bringing in a different flavour would alienate his fans back home: he broke up the band and from then on mostly recorded in Paris and Brussels with other exiled Congolese musicians (often veterans of the now-late Francos OK Jazz). At one stage Mose worked as a civil servant with the Royal Army Medical Corps before returning to music in 1995 with Hello Hello the albums title track proved one of his most popular. Mose never achieved the kind of broad European success the likes of Youssou NDour and Ali Farka Toure did but he won a loyal audience who loved Congolese rumba appearances at Womad Festival won him acclaim and, after releasing The Congo Acoustic album in 1999, he toured A Night In Kinshasa around the UK in 2000, giving British audiences a taste of the belle epoque rumba that he had helped pioneer. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events His 2004 album Bayekeleye included the song Papa Lolo which became a huge hit in Kenya. A likeable man with a deep laugh, Mose frequently returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to keep in touch with musical developments there while his east-African fan base ensured he regularly toured there. He was in Kenya to record when he suddenly died. Mose Se Sengo (Mose Fan Fan) was born 16 October 1945 and died 3 May 2019 A teenage Muslim convert who travelled to Isis territory in Syria said he wanted to behead an old school friend and other soldiers in a martyrdom operation, a court has heard. Jack Letts parents are accused of attempting to send him more than 1,700 after he reached the terrorist groups stronghold, despite being warned about his radicalisation and activities. The Old Bailey heard that Sally Lane, 56, and John Letts, 58, believed their son was being manipulated and argued with him in messages. The jury was told that the couple knew the teenager had married someone in Iraq and journeyed onwards to Syria, posting a photo of himself online at a dam in Isiss de facto capital of Raqqa. In July 2015, almost a year after Ms Lane bought her son a plane ticket for a grand adventure in the Middle East, he wrote about his desire to carry out a terror attack on Facebook. 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 The court heard that a former school friend called Linus posed a photo of himself and other soldiers who passed a Commando Artillery Course in the British Army. Jack responded with the message: I would love to perform a martyrdom operation in this scene. Prosecutors said that Mr Letts challenged his son by criticising your Isis leaders and writing: Do you really think that blowing up a bunch of young soldiers is a victory for Allah? Suicide bombs will achieve nothing Jack. The teenager, who converted to Islam aged 16, responded: I genuinely believe attacking the British army is a very praiseworthy action when the intention is correct. I would happily kill each and every one of Linus Unit personally. This message for you, mum and [younger brother] Tyler, I honestly want to cut Linus head off. I hope he finds himself lost in Beji or Fallujah [cities in Iraq] one day and sees me whilst Im armed and I put six bullets in his head. Ms Lane questioned whether someone else was using her sons Facebook account and added: Im really hoping that your disgusting comments about cutting peoples heads off are not coming from you. Prosecutors said the messages showed that Jacks parents had doubt about who they were messaging or where the money they sent would end up, meaning they had reasonable cause to suspect that the property would or might be used for the purposes of terrorism. The court heard that Mr Letts and Ms Lane were initially supportive of Jacks trip to the Middle East, which saw him leave the UK for Jordan aged 18. The jury was shown a photo of Jack Letts posing at the Tabqa Dam outside Raqqa (Facebook) But Mr Letts later accused his son of lying about his plans and was to helping to spread hatred, pain, anger, suffering and violence. In March 2015, police visited the family home, seized their computers and devices and the couple were formally warned that they could be prosecuted for sending their son property or money, jurors were told. When he found out about the raid, Jack responded: Please convey to the British police that Im not planning on coming back to their broken country convey to them from me die in your rage soon youll be the ones being raided!. The court heard that in September 2015, Ms Lane transferred money to a third partys account in Lebanon after her son insisted it had nothing to do with jihad. She allegedly told him: I would go to prison for you if I thought it gave you a better chance of actually reaching your 25th birthday. Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said: Although the money was physically sent by Sally Lane, this was a joint enterprise between both defendants. She previously told the jury that the couple sent money transfers totalling more than 1,700 to their son despite having knowledge or reasonable cause to suspect that it might be used by him or others to support terrorist activity. It was not open to these defendants to take the law into their own hands and to send money to their son, whatever their own reasons and motives may have been, Ms Morgan added. John Letts and Sally Lane, the parents of Jack Letts, dubbed Jihadi Jack, arrive at the Old Bailey, London, on 22 May 2019 (Yui Mok/PA) In October 2015, Ms Lane allegedly told her son: Clearly I indulged you, I made you think you were the centre of the universe. I regret this bitterly. I was a terrible parent that gave you too much power as a child I should have made you adapt to the world, instead of adapting myself to your world. I have done you no favours by doing this. In a police interview the following month, Ms Lane denied helping terrorists and said she hoped the money she sent would pay for her son to get glasses. In December that year, the court heard that Jack urged his mother to send him more cash. Mr Letts contacted a police liaison officer, claiming his son was desperate to get out and in danger because he had made a break from Isis. The officer mistakenly claimed they could send funds in the genuine belief Jack needed help to leave Syria, but jurors were told that other officers quickly clarified that the defendants did not have permission. Despite the risk of arrest, Ms Lane allegedly attempted to send 1,000, saying: We know you are in danger so we feel we have no choice but to help you and send it. You have to use it to get out as we dont want to support Isis. Later she asked Jack to confirm if he was in danger, to which he replied: Define danger. When the defendants discovered the transfer had been blocked by authorities, they allegedly tried to make two transfers of 500 using false details, jurors heard. The attempt was blocked again and they were arrested. Ms Morgan accused the parents of committing terror offences despite being warned by police officers, academics who told the defendants what to do and not to do, who they had sought out for advice, and a charity worker who advised them as to how they might encourage their son to come back from Syria. The defendants, of Chiswell Road in Oxford, deny three charges of funding terrorism. The trial continues. Additional reporting by PA Jeremy Hunt has broken ranks by becoming the first cabinet member urging Theresa May to abandon her Brexit bill because it is clear it wouldnt pass. In a face-to-face meeting, the foreign secretary told the prime minister it was too much to ask Tory MPs to vote for the doomed legislation, The Independent has learned. It is understood that Mr Hunt did not ask Ms May to quit ahead of a showdown meeting on Friday, when Tory MPs will demand a rapid timetable for her to go. However, scrapping the withdrawal agreement bill would almost certainly trigger her departure, leaving little purpose in her remaining in No 10. Mr Hunts meeting came as a second cabinet minister Sajid Javid, the home secretary piled pressure on the prime minister in a separate encounter. Recommended May forced to shelve Brexit bill and vote bill as crisis deepens In a frank discussion, Mr Javid is understood to have made clear his opposition to the bill dangling the prospect of a Final Say referendum, in a later vote if MPs clear the bill at second reading. The revolts came as the prime minister came close to admitting defeat when she was she was forced to shelve the publication of and vote on the crucial legislation. Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Nigel Farage speaks at the launch of his new Brexit Party's campaign for the European elections Reuters Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Brexit Party candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, speaks at the launch AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures A supporter waits for Farage to speak AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Supporters wait for Farage to speak AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage's socks Reuters Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Farage and prospective candidate Annunziata Rees-Mogg wait at the launch AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Supporters listen as Farage speaks AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Free T-shirts for all attendees AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures Posters on the seats for supporters of the Brexit Party AFP/Getty Farage launches his new Brexit Party: in pictures A safety sign is pictured AFP/Getty It will not be published until the first week of June not tomorrow, as Ms May promised and the Commons will not be sitting on 7 June, the intended date for the vote itself. The delay followed the resignation of Andrea Leadsom and the threat that more Brexiteer ministers will follow her out of the door, unless the legislation is amended or scrapped. The prime minister also has a date of destiny with the head of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers on Friday, when she will be ordered to name the date for her resignation. Ms May is not believed to have signalled any intention to resign immediately. Instead, she was said by No 10 to be listening to colleagues concerns. That was interpreted as an intention to keep fighting to keep her job, despite the daunting odds stacked against her as the Conservative backlash grows. As well as Mr Hunt and Mr Javid, several other cabinet ministers including David Mundell, the Scottish secretary have criticised even enabling a referendum vote, even with Tory MPs whipped against it. Earlier, Mr Hunt said Ms May would still be in place when Donald Trump visits on 3 June, saying: Theresa May will be prime minister to welcome him and rightly so. However, at the pairs later meeting, the foreign secretary told her it was unfair to ask Tory MPs to go through the lobbies on her Brexit deal yet again when it was doomed to defeat. The intervention was seen by some as an attempt by Mr Hunt to avoid being outflanked by Ms Leadsom, a rival for the leadership when the contest gets underway. That is expected to be no later than Monday 10 June, possibly allowing her successor to be in place before the summer break at the end of July with Boris Johnson the strong favourite. Chinas growing economic power is well known and understood. Through 40 years of extraordinary effort, China has become the second largest economy and will surpass the U.S. in a few years. Much of its growth was the product of internal effort. But all too much of it was the result of nefarious and predatory practices stealing of blueprints and technology, large government subsidies to key industries and the closure of large parts of the Chinese market to foreign competition, even as Beijing enjoyed full access to U.S. and other markets. Boris Johnson could be summoned to court to face accusations of misconduct in public office over his infamous pledge to claw back 350m a week from Brussels for the NHS. Lawyers accused the former foreign secretary of lying to voters during the 2016 referendum campaign, as part of efforts to launch a private prosecution by the Brexit Justice campaign. Mr Johnson, who is a frontrunner to succeed Theresa May, has already been rapped by the statistics watchdog for using the figure, which was splashed across the side of a Vote Leave campaign bus. A barrister acting for Marcus Ball, who has accused Mr Johnson of abusing public trust, lodged an application to summons the Tory MP at Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday. Democracy demands responsible and honest leadership from those in public office, Lewis Power QC told the court. 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 The conduct of the proposed defendant Boris Johnson was both irresponsible and dishonest. It was, we say, criminal. Mr Power said the Brexiteer had deliberately misled the public during the referendum campaign and then repeated the statement during the 2017 general election. Fuel economy: Zaza the taxi driver coasted due to running low on petrol (Simon Calder) He said the case did not seek to undermine the result of the Brexit referendum but to focus only on the claims made by Mr Johnson. Mr Power added: The allegation with which this prosecution is concerned, put simply, is Mr Johnson repeatedly misrepresented the amount that the UK sends to Europe each week. It is concerned with one infamous statement: We send the EU 350m a week. The UK has never sent, given or provided 350m a week to Europe that statement is simply not ambiguous. The prosecution is not about Brexit, the only relevance to Brexit is that it was during the Brexit referendum Mr Johnson chose to mislead the public. Since launching last year, Mr Ball claims to have raised more than 200,000 through crowdfunding campaigns to fund the court case. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mr Johnson was not in court for the hearing, but his lawyer Adrian Darbishire said his client denies acting dishonestly. He said: I should make it clear that because of the interest in this case that it is absolutely denied by Mr Johnson that he acted in an improper or dishonest manner at any time. District judge Margot Coleman said would inform both parties of her decision on 29 May. The case continues. Thousands of British nationals living abroad have been deprived of their votes in todays elections due to administrative errors by UK authorities, according to widespread reports. British In Europe, which represents UK nationals living in the EU, said postal votes have gone missing, arrived late or simply didnt arrive at all. For European Parliament elections, British citizens who live abroad can choose to either vote in their host country or back in Britain with many choosing to vote in the UK this year because of the effect of Brexit on their lives. Most of these votes are conducted using a postal vote, with proxy voting also an option. People who live abroad for more than 15 years lose the right to vote at home. The reports of disenfranchisement come amid related widespread claims of EU nationals living in the UK getting turned away from polling stations. Jane Golding, co-chair of British In Europe, said hundreds if not thousands of British nationals will have been effectively disenfranchised in this vote, and previous national votes, by a combination of administration procedures that are not fit for purpose and the lack of resource to overcome them. She said: Add into that no central body looking after our disapora and we have the perfect storm. It comes as no surprise whatsoever that postal votes have gone missing, arrived late or simply didnt arrive at all because the UK's attitude to its overseas voters is outdated and broken. Just applying similar rules to someone in Germany or Spain as someone who lives 100 metres away from their local Council doesn't make sense and then sending ballots out using the cheapest route when there is an imminent deadline is nothing short of reckless. An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Show all 20 1 /20 An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria, 31, holds her daughters, Elena, two, and baby Ioana, weeks old, in her London home A few months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Maria was told her to go back to her native Romania whilst in hospital by an elderly English woman. You are a foreigner, your place is not here recalls Maria, who was stunned Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria and her husband Adi, 37, take their daughters for a walk in Hampstead Heath near their home The couple are preparing to leave Britain later this year with their two children, fed up with what Maria says is xenophobia and the rising cost of living in London Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Elena holds up British passports belonging to her and her sister. Both children have dual citizenship, but their parents do not want to apply for this despite having permanent residency in Britain Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds daughter Ioana, who is less than a week old, while Elena wipes a table Maria had never faced direct abuse over her nationality in her 10 years in the country until that moment at the hospital Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi spends time with his daughters Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi plays hide and seek with his daughter Elena Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Food is served Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi takes his daughter, Elena, to nursery Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi's sister, Nicoleta, 34, carries her niece Elena in a restaurant after a trip out Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and Maria cook together at their home Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi holds his baby daughter, Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and wife Maria take their daughters for a walk in Hampstead Heath Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Berwyn, a neighbour of the couple, who moved to the UK in the 1980s from Australia, says goodbye to Maria after a visit at her home. Berwyn has dual citizenship - Australian and Irish as she lived in Ireland for a few years before moving to Britain. She calls the family her 'dearest Christian Romanian friends' Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Religious pictures including a portrait of Arsenie Boca, a Romanian Orthodox monk, theologian and artist (top), hang on the wall at the home of Adi and Maria Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria dries Elena after giving her a bath after nursery Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds her baby daughter Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi works with his colleague Alexandru, who is also from Romania, for a removal company Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Maria holds her daughter Elena Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Neighbour, Berwyn, holds baby Ioana Reuters An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility Adi and Maria, along with their daughters, leave St Andrews church in Kingsbury after attending a service Reuters The UK needs to get its act together, give all its citizens a vote wherever they live and set up 21st century procedures for dealing with its overseas voters. Democracy matters, our votes matter. Other countries manage it, so can the UK. The Cabinet Office, which is in charge of elections, declined to comment on the record about the problems when approached by The Independent. Officials however said it was the responsibility of local returning officers to make sure postal ballot papers were sent out on time, and that the government providing some funding and advance to help postal votes get to the right place on time. Why has this happened? EU nationals have the right to vote in European parliament elections in the countries of which they are citizens. If they want to vote while living in another EU country they must transfer their vote as well as registering in the normal way, the Electoral Commission (EC) has said. European law requires this measure, and UK law says the forms involved which should be sent out automatically by councils must be returned 12 working days before polls open. The EC said that many people in the UK may not have known about it in time. "The very short notice from the government of the UKs participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process amongst citizens, and for citizens to complete the process," it said in a statement released on Thursday. It added: "This legal process could be made easier for citizens, and the Commission made the case for doing so following the last EU elections in 2014. "However, improvements to the process are reliant on changes to electoral law, which can only be taken forward by government and parliament." But some prospective voters said they had been turned away despite having filled in their forms correctly and on time. An unprecedented number of extra police have been deployed in parts of the UK in anticipation of violence as voters go to the polls for the European elections. The plan, revealed by Police Scotland, follows an increasingly tense and hostile election campaign that has seen clashes between far-right activists and anti-racism protesters. Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr, of Police Scotland, said four units comprising about 100 public order officers would be "strategically placed" throughout the day. He said: "We would never normally need that sort of support, particularly for European elections. "We do now. The tone is just fundamentally different." Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Show all 6 1 /6 Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Newcastle says "no thanks Farage" Brexit Party leader Nigel farage is led away by security after being hit with a milkshake at a campaign event in Newcastle Reuters Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Tommy Robinson covered in a milkshake... While out on the campaign trail for the European Elections in Warrington, a man threw a milkshake in Tommy Robinson's face. Frame 1: Man throws milkshake. Frame 2: Robinson and Co. beat man. Frame 3: Robinson covered in milkshake @AzTheBaz/Twitter Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right ...the day after being covered with a milkshake The day before in Bury, a suspected child threw a milkshake over Robinson before running away Paul Ryder/Youtube Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Gerrard Batten's image Amy Thompson from Plymouth greeted the Ukip tour bus by throwing a milkshake over the image of leader Gerrard Batten McCoys Media/SWNS Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Carl Benjamin milkshaked Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin aka Sargon of Akkad was met with a milkshake while campaigning in Totnes, Devon PA Milkshaking: New tactic emerges in fight against far-right Aftermath The remains of the milkshake that struck Carl Benjamin Cornwall Live/SWNS Police in London said they would be revealing any extra measures in an announcement later on Thursday. In a sign of how seriously police are treating threats of violence linked to the EU election, Sadiq Khan was given round-the-clock protection after receiving a deluge of death threats in the lead-up to polling day. Recommended Tommy Robinson campaign leaves police between rock and a hard place The London mayor said his Muslim faith had made him a target in the wake of the 2016 referendum. At the weekend, officers warned there would be arrests after two police vehicles were damaged during a disturbance at a Tommy Robinson campaign event. Footage posted on social media showed clashes between supporters of the campaigner, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and counter-demonstrators in Oldham, Greater Manchester. On Tuesday, Nigel Farage became the latest European Parliament candidate to have milkshake thrown at him, in a growing protest tactic aimed at right-wing activists. Nigel Farage hit by milkshake in Newcastle city centre A day later, the Brexit Party leader was said to have refused to leave his campaign bus after three men armed with milkshakes were spotted in the crowd. Policing plans for previous elections have tended to focus on preventing voter intimidation and fraud. Recommended Officials respond to theories over pencils in polling stations During the last European elections in 2014, the government was advised to station police in polling stations in 16 areas at risk of vote-rigging. At the time, the Electoral Commission raised concerns about voter impersonation in Birmingham, where a judge condemned activities which he said would disgrace a banana republic following the exposure in 2004 of systemic postal voting fraud in two wards. It also named the London borough of Tower Hamlets, where a reporter for The Independent was beaten up while investigating allegations of voting irregularities during the 2010 general election campaign. And during the 2017 general election, armed police were deployed to some polling stations; however, this came at a time of heightened tensions following three terror attacks in less than three months. Who opposes lowering the voting age? Conservatives have countered advocacy of lowering the voting age by asserting that 18 is the age when somebody becomes recognised as an adult and full citizenship rights are obtained. Questioned on the issue before to the last election, Theresa May said: I continue to think its right for it to be 18. Of course we now expect young people to stay in educational training up until 18. Standing in for May at PMQs earlier this year, David Lidington, her de facto deputy, suggested that those under 18 did not have sufficient maturity and responsibility to vote in elections. This stance was labelled hypocritical and self-interested by Labour, who highlighted that Tories allow members aged 15, 16 and 17 to vote in their leadership elections. Some consider support for votes at 16 to be a cynical ploy to introduce a demographic into the electorate that would be more likely to vote in favour of opposition parties. Professor James Tilley agrees such decisions are made for political gain rather than from principled conviction. He posits that many of the responsibilities afforded to 16-year-olds are not as significant as those advocating votes at 16 make out. For example, 16 and 17-year-olds must get permission from parents before they are able to marry or join the army. He contests that rather than lowering the voting age it should be increased due to a slowing rate of maturity. He cites research by Prof Lucinda Platt which shows that only 29% of 16- to 19-year-olds are currently in full-time work, compared to around four-fifths in the late '60s. Yet, the largest obstacle for votes at 16 could simply be public opinion. In 2013, a YouGov poll showed that 60% of British Adults opposed the idea and only 20% supported it. YouGov research from 2018 shows that whilst the public are still opposed, there is growing support for extending the franchise, with the way in which the question is worded having a significant impact on the response. Thirty-four per cent of the public support 16- and 17-year-olds' right to vote, but only 24% backed reducing the voting age. Theresa May will still be prime minister when Donald Trump arrives in Britain for his state visit in two weeks time, the foreign secretary said this morning. Speaking at a cybersecurity conference in London, Jeremy Hunt insisted she would be in place to greet the US president when he arrives on June 3 despite reports that she is expected to resign tomorrow. Mr Hunt said: Theresa May will be prime minister to welcome him and rightly so. However, when asked by The Independent what his advice to the prime minister would be at their scheduled meeting on Thursday afternoon, the foreign secretary refused to say. All discussions between foreign secretary and the prime minister should remain confidential and Im not going to change that this morning, he said. Mr Hunt, who is expected to be a contender for the Conservative leadership, had asked to see Mrs May on Wednesday afternoon without success. 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 According to Whitehall sources he is among senior cabinet ministers who believe she will be unable to continue in office. Mrs May is expected to negotiate the timetable of her departure with party grandees on Friday. She will also hold talks with Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, which represents Tory backbenchers, amid a rising clamour among MPs for her to step down. The 1922 executive had been expected to consider a rule change to allow another attempt to force Mrs May out after a bid to do so failed last year. Under existing rules, the prime minister would be safe from another confidence motion until December. Botswana has lifted its ban on big game hunting, with officials blaming a rise in human-elephant conflict for the decision. The southern African nation is home to almost a third of the continents elephant population. Big game hunting has been banned in Botswana since 2014 but some lawmakers say the rising elephant population has caused problems for small-scale farmers and rural villages. The initial ban was imposed by Ian Khama, Botswanas former president, after surveys showed a declining wildlife population. Conservationists estimate the country is home to 130,000 elephants but some politicians claim the number is much higher. The women hunting big-game poachers Show all 8 1 /8 The women hunting big-game poachers The women hunting big-game poachers The Black Mambas are a specially trained team of rangers who police the park night and day to protect the animals from illegal hunting Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Lukie, 26, says, 'The next generation must know rhinos in life. If poaching is allowed they will only see them in a picture' Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Proud finds and disables a snare laid by poachers Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers During a scouting trip, the Mambas examine an impala horn Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Qolile, 21, learned about wildlife and conservation at Timbavati Bush School. She would like go further both with her studies and with the Black Mambas Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Mambas on the march. The unit has so far removed more than 1,000 poachers snares, and been awarded the UNs Champions of the Earth award Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Yenzekile reports the location of a young, slain kudu to the control room Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Black Mambas Mirren, 26, Winnie, 22, Belinda, 27, and Dedeya, 26 Julia Gunther Predators appear to have increased and were causing a lot of damage as they kill livestock in large numbers, an environment ministry spokesperson said. There is a negative impact of the hunting suspension on livelihoods, particularly for community based organisations that were previously benefiting from consumptive utilisation [of wildlife]. Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswanas president, set up a committee in June 2018 to re-consider the hunting ban. The panel recommended a legal framework that will enable the growth of a safari hunting industry and manage the countrys elephant population within the historic range. It also concluded that Botswana should impose regular but limited elephant culling. Critics of the decision say the countrys tourism, one of its biggest economic sectors, has grown as a result of the ban and that reversing the legislation will damage Botswanas international reputation for conservation. Botswana, a country the size of France, has a population of around 2.3m people and its remote wilderness is a draw for foreign tourists who want to view wildlife. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The Ministry would like to reiterate that it will work with all stakeholders to ensure that re-instatement of hunting is done in an orderly and ethical manner, an environment ministry spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the return of hunting would take place in accordance with laws governing wildlife conservation, hunting and licensing. Additional reporting by agencies An entire town has been evacuated after storms caused two barges to break loose on the Arkansas River and head towards a vital dam holding back the floodwaters. Authorities told residents of Webbers Falls in eastern Oklahoma to leave their homes immediately on Wednesday night, while warning of catastrophic damage if the runaway barges on the swelling river struck the dam. A posting on the towns official Facebook page sounded the alarm for its 600 residents: Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!! Town officials ordered the mandatory evacuation because of the rising river levels following storms, torrential rain and tornado warnings across Oklahoma. It is unclear whether the barges did actually make it to the dam. Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma Show all 5 1 /5 Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Lorraine Matti / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Clint Lively / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma The silhouette of a tornado appears during a lightning strike in Haskell, Oklahoma Matthew Harden / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Lorraine Matti / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Lorraine Matti / Reuters Major roads in the area were also closed because of the wild weather conditions, creating traffic backups around the town Webbers Falls for several miles, local news channel KWCH12 reported. Residents in several other small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas were to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. The Arkansas River was approaching historic high levels, while the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers also rose after a three days of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes across the Midwest. The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of twisters by late Wednesday. A violent tornado touched down in Jefferson City in Missouri shortly before midnight, causing heavy damage in the state capital. Elsewhere in the state, Missouri Public Safety said three people were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, and several injured in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County. No fatalities have been reported in the capital, but Jefferson City Police Lieutenant David Williams said emergency services have received multiple calls of people being trapped in homes damaged after the twister struck. Its a chaotic situation right now, Mr Williams said. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see yet more severe weather on Thursday. Additional reporting by agencies For four decades, Keith Bush insisted he had been convicted as a teenager of a murder he did not commit: strangling a 14-year-old girl in Bellport, New York. The police, he said, had beaten him and forced him to sign a confession that he had never read. While imprisoned, he had enlisted the help of a lawyer at Pace Law School, who sued to obtain records and unearthed evidence showing Mr Bush had not received a fair trial. Even after he was released from state prison on parole, Mr Bush continued to fight to clear his name. On Wednesday morning, 44 years after his arrest, Mr Bush was exonerated in Suffolk County District Court in Riverhead, Long Island. Death row in California's San Quentin prison Show all 8 1 /8 Death row in California's San Quentin prison Death row in California's San Quentin prison A condemned inmate exercises in a cage out in the yard of San Quentin prison Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison San Quentin State Prison opened in 1852 and is California's oldest penitentiary. The facility houses the state's only death row for men that currently has 700 condemned inmates Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison The lethal injection facility at San Quentin prison AP Death row in California's San Quentin prison A condemned inmate stands in a cell out in the yard of San Quentin prison Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison An armrest in the interior of the lethal injection facility at San Quentin prison AP Death row in California's San Quentin prison A cell on death row in San Quentin Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison A cage on death row in San Quentin Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison A cell on death row in San Quentin Getty The Suffolk County district attorney, Timothy D Sini, asked a judge to throw out the conviction, saying prosecutors never told the defence the police had interviewed another possible culprit. I cannot give you that which was taken from you in the 1970s, but what I can restore to you today is your presumption of innocence, Judge Anthony Senft Jr told Bush. Mr Bush, now 62, wore just a hint of a smile. I am truly humbled by this decision, he said. He told the judge he had lived a long time in pain. No one would listen, he said. No one would at least hear me out. Mr Bush was only 17 years old in 1975 when he was charged with the murder of Sherese Watson, a teenager who never returned home from a house party in Bellport. Recommended Death row inmate asks that last meal be used to feed homeless person She was found in a vacant lot, strangled and sexually abused. Mr Bush was arrested four days later and signed a confession to the crime. At trial, the jury believed the confession, though he insisted from the outset it had been coerced. Another party-goer who had testified she saw Mr Bush leave with the victim that night recanted her testimony at a hearing five years later, saying she had never even been to the party. But it did not lead to a new trial. In 2006, Mr Bush wrote to Adele Bernhard, then a lawyer running a clinic at Pace Law School, from the Green Haven Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He was innocent, he said, and he hoped she would help him prove it. He had written similar letters to other lawyers. Ms Bernhard was interested in his case immediately, she said, after reading the statement he had signed. It was internally inconsistent, she said. The facts that they put in it, the words that they use, none of it rang true. His statement did not match forensic evidence about how the girl had died, she said. Ms Bernhard discovered that the DNA underneath the victims fingernails did not match a sample Mr Bush had given in prison. She also re-interviewed the witness who had recanted her testimony about seeing Mr Bush with Ms Watson at the party. But a judge denied her 2008 motion to vacate the conviction, and turned down her request for additional testing on clothes and other crime-scene evidence. Death row inmate handed last-minute reprieve as executioner runs out of time to administer lethal injection Ms Bernhard persevered. Over the next decade, she went back to key witnesses, analysed fibre evidence, pored over the confession and did more research on the detectives involved. She also filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain records of the case. Those records contained evidence that the police had another possible suspect for Ms Watsons murder another young man at the party named John W Jones Jr. In a statement, Mr Jones, who has since died, told the police he had stumbled over Ms Watsons body in the empty lot after leaving the party drunk, Mr Sini said. He also said a comb found next to her body looked like one he had dropped. Mr Bushs defence lawyer at the 1976 trial had never been told about Jones statements, a clear violation of evidence rules. In 2018, Bernhard took the records to Mr Sini, who had just been elected on a reform platform and had established a Conviction Integrity Bureau to review such cases. Mr Sini, who personally appeared in court to ask the judge to vacate Mr Bushs conviction, said the existence of an alternative suspect should have been disclosed before trial. He said the prosecutors had engaged in a deliberate cover up. Mistakes happen in all aspects of our lives, he said at a news conference. But there was intentional misconduct here. I spent 34 years on Japan's Death Row Show all 2 1 /2 I spent 34 years on Japan's Death Row I spent 34 years on Japan's Death Row 241823.bin AFP/GETTY I spent 34 years on Japan's Death Row 241824.bin AFP/GETTY Mr Sini said his offices nine-month review of the case confirmed several other problems with the case. The key witness who recanted her testimony was never seen at the party. And Mr Bushs description in his confession that he had stabbed Watson with an Afro-pick comb before she died did not fit the forensic evidence, because very little blood was found on her white sweater. One of the former detectives who obtained the confession had alluded to using coercive tactics, and another had been repeatedly cited for misconduct in other cases, Mr Sini said in a news release. At the end of the day, we came to some very simple conclusions, Mr Sini said. We dont believe Mr Bush committed this murder. We believe Mr. Bush was denied a fair trial. And we believe that John Jones is a more probable suspect in this crime. Mr Bush was released from prison on parole in 2007, about a month before his 50th birthday, and had to register as a sex offender, he said. He served another year in 2013 on a parole violation, for using a computer with internet access. He got a job in Connecticut as a forklift operator and is now engaged to be married. When asked how he contains his anger, Bush said he does not. You dont hold it back, you create outlets to release it, he said. And one of the greatest outlets is love. He added, When you have the love of people that care about you, it enables you to release the pain. When asked whether he had ever considered giving up trying to clear his name, he answered with a straight face. I dont know what that means, he said. New York Times A man was cleared of murder charges after he spent 33 years in prison for the murder of a teenager, in what is New York's longest period between a murder charge and it being overturned in history. At an emotional court hearing held in Long Island, New York, Judge Anthony Senft Jr granted a prosecution motion to dismiss murder conviction against Keith Bush, aged 62, some 44 years after his arrest, and told him: I cannot give you that which was taken from you in the 1970s, but what I can restore to you today is your presumption of innocence. Surrounded by his fiance, Dora Moore and a dozens of friends and family members, Bush stared at the judge, as his shocked relatives burst into cheers, according to The New York Post. Bush was found guilty of strangling to death 14-year-old Sherese Watson in Bellport, New York, in 1976, after they both left a house party together and her body was found on a vacant land near the party. Even though Bush signed a confession, he always claimed he was innocent and the police forced him to confess, according to The New York Times. No one would listen, Bush told the judge. No one would at least hear me out. In 2006, Bush wrote a letter to Adele Bernhard, then a lawyer running a clinic at Pace Law School, asking for her help. After she read his confession, found there were irregularities in the evidence provided in courts, she decided to work on the case. She found out the DNA sample found on Watson's body did not match the ones Bush had given in prison. After she filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to obtain court records, she also discovered prosecutors did not inform judges at the time they had another suspect for the murder, John W Jones Jr, who died in 2006. Bernard filed a joint application with District Attorney Timothy Sini. Bernard told the judge and Sini: Sometimes, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, the arc of the universe does bend to justice, and it has in this case, she said. A wrongful conviction affects the whole community, and it takes a whole community to set it straight. Mr Bush was released on parole in 2007, and had to register as a sex offender. He spent another year in prison in 2013 on a parole violation. He now lives in Connecticut and works as a forklift operator. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau numbers the city of Chicago has lost another 10,000 people. It joins Illinois in participating in a steady stream of population depletion. The only major city to do so. A storm system sweeping across Missouri has left at least three people dead, as a tornado ripped through the state capital Jefferson City late Wednesday night. The National Weather Service issued an emergency alert shortly before 11.45pm warning city residents a violent tornado was about to hit the city and advised they take shelter now! No fatalities have been reported in the capital, but Jefferson City Police Lieutenant David Williams said emergency services have received multiple calls of people being trapped in homes damaged after the twister struck. Its a chaotic situation right now, Mr Williams said. Missouri Department of Public Safety said there was extensive damage to the citys infrastructure including downed power lines. Officials have asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for assistance with the search and rescue efforts, according to NBC affiliate KOMU. The best word to describe the damage is devastating, said Jefferson Citys mayor Carrie Tergin. Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma Show all 5 1 /5 Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Lorraine Matti / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Clint Lively / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma The silhouette of a tornado appears during a lightning strike in Haskell, Oklahoma Matthew Harden / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Lorraine Matti / Reuters Highest threat level as tornado sweeps Oklahoma A tornado spins during stormy weather in Mangum, Oklahoma Lorraine Matti / Reuters It follows three confirmed deaths in Barton County in south west Missouri on Wednesday after a suspected tornado hit the area. A separate twister caused widespread damage in the town of Carl Junction, four miles north of Joplin airport. Wednesday marked the third consecutive day of dangerous storms, torrential rains and tornado warnings across the Midwest, mostly in Missouri and Oklahoma. In eastern Oklahoma, two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River, spreading alarm downstream. Officials in Webbers Falls ordered a mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon. A posting on the towns official Facebook page sounded the alarm about the runaway barges: Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!! Recommended Fears of more tornadoes for Oklahoma and Arkansas Deaths from this weeks storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Another weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman appeared to have drowned while driving around a barricade near Perkins, about 45 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified womans body was sent to the state medical examiners office to confirm the cause of death. Additional reporting by agencies So many rats regularly lurk on a sidewalk in Brooklyn that it is the humans who avoid the rats, not the other way around. Not even cars are safe: rats have chewed clean through engine wires. A Manhattan avenue lined with trendy restaurants has become a destination for foodies and rats who help themselves to their leftovers. Tenants at a public housing complex in the South Bronx worry about tripping over rats that routinely run over their feet. New York has always been forced to co-exist with the four-legged vermin, but the infestation has expanded exponentially in recent years, spreading to just about every corner of the city. Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Show all 13 1 /13 Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Looking out of the lobby of Trump Tower Philo Ratio Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property A view of the atrium of Trump Tower Sebastian Bergmann Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Trump tower from across Fifth Avenue S.F. Roberti Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property A view of the atrium inside Trump Tower Julian Stallabrass Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property A counter selling Trump merchandise including his 1987 book The Art of the Deal Takahiro Nagao Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property The Ivanka Trump jewellery shop inside Trump Tower Reuters Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property The waterfall in the atrium of Trump Tower Alistair McMillan Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property The atrium of Trump Tower featuring a Starbucks outlet Fletcher Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property A doorman stands by the lobby elevator in Trump Tower Reuters Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Donald Trump merchandise for sale in a gift shop of Trump Tower Reuters Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Trump merchandise on display by the entrance to a bar named after Trump in Trump Tower Reuters Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property Shoppers and diners in the atrium of Trump Tower AFP/Getty Inside Trump Tower: New York's least desirable luxury property A view up Trump Tower Getty Im a former Marine so Im not going to be squeamish, but this is bad, said Pablo Herrera, a 58-year-old mechanic who has counted up to 30 rats while walking on his block in Prospect Heights, just around the corner from the stately Brooklyn Museum. Rat sightings reported to the citys 311 hotline have soared nearly 38 percent, to 17,353 last year from 12,617 in 2014, according to an analysis of city data by OpenTheBooks.com, a nonprofit watchdog group, and The New York Times. In the same period, the number of times that city health inspections found active signs of rats nearly doubled. Mayor Bill de Blasio, like mayors before him, has declared war on rats, but so far the city is still losing. Recommended Bill de Blasio enters Democrat race to run against Trump in 2020 There is no doubt that rats have a major impact on New Yorkers quality of life and this administration takes seriously our responsibility to control and mitigate their population, said Laura Anglin, deputy mayor of operations. No New Yorker likes having rats in their community and we are committed to continuing the work of controlling rats in all of our neighbourhoods. One key reason rats seem to be everywhere? Gentrification. The citys construction boom is digging up burrows, forcing more rats out into the open, scientists and pest control experts say. Milder winters the result of climate change make it easier for rats to survive and reproduce. And New Yorks growing population and thriving tourism has brought more trash for rats to feed on. But the onslaught of rats extends beyond New York: Cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles are also confronting outbreaks. Everywhere I go, rat populations are up, said Robert Corrigan, a research scientist in New York who estimates that their numbers may have increased by as much as 15% to 25% in some cities. The rodents are not only a nuisance and a blight on the quality of life, but also a health risk. A bacterial infection spread by rat urine, leptospirosis, killed a Bronx resident in 2017. Donald Trump Jr posts video of messy streets in an attempt to shame New York mayor Bill de Blasio Chicago crowned the nations rat capital in one study has more than doubled its work crews dedicated to rats, who set out poison and fill in burrows in parks, alleys and back yards. It also passed ordinances requiring developers and contractors to have a rat-control plan before demolishing buildings or breaking ground on new projects. Washington, where rat complaints have nearly tripled to roughly 6,000 last year from 2,400 in 2014, is testing a rat-sterilisation program tried elsewhere that uses liquid contraceptives as bait. And Seattle is planning to train neighbourhood property owners and managers on how to stem infestations. We respond where we can, but management of rats, not elimination of them, is our practical goal, said Hilary Karasz, a county health official. In New York, rats once scurried in the shadows but now they frolic brazenly in broad daylight. One even became a social media star: pizza rat. Parents at an Upper West Side playground said rats jumped into the sandbox where their children played, though the vermin have been cleared for now. De Blasio, calling for more rat corpses, unveiled a $32m (25m) assault on rats in 2017, which included increased litter basket pickups, the deployment of solar-powered, trash compacting bins and rat-resistant steel cans. The city has also used dry ice to smother rats where they live. But after dropping last year, rat sightings are again on the upswing. The top spot for rat sighting complaints has been the Upper West Side, where residents are known for speaking up, followed by four Brooklyn neighbourhoods: Prospect Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick and Ocean Hill. Jason Munshi-South, a biology professor at Fordham University who has led rat safaris to observe the vermin in Columbus Park in Chinatown, said that while New York is doing more than other cities, it will never be able to entirely eradicate rats. A major contributing factor is how the city collects trash: bags are left outside on the curb for hours before pickup the next morning. Its just an all-night buffet for the rats, he said. On Ninth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, rats chow down on trash bags piled outside restaurants and bars. Bin in New York's Chinatown warns 'a little litter can lead to big problems' (Stephen Speranza/The New York Times) Steve Belida, the chairman of a local block association, said he used to get the occasional rat complaint. Now he gets a steady stream. Michael Deutsch, an entomologist with Arrow Exterminating on Long Island, said there is no magic bullet to reducing rats. You cant just go in and order an airstrike and then leave, he said. Rat populations can rebound unless you are always pressing them. Even buildings that never have had a rat problem are now being inundated by those rodents. Larry Jayson said he recently saw a rat jump out of a trash bin in an apartment building that is next to a new tower under construction in Flatbush, Brooklyn. It was the largest rat he had ever seen. Weve seen rats the size of Cleveland, said Jayson, the executive director of Housing and Family Services of Greater New York, a non-profit organisation. Youre unearthing and unleashing hell on those poor people who live next door. Under the citys building code, developers are required to hire a licensed exterminator for any site where a building is being demolished. But there is no similar rule for new developments. Simon H Williams, a researcher at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health, likened the impact of the construction on rats to stepping on an ants' nest. In Prospect Heights, rats have made themselves at home on a block of Lincoln Place that has attracted young families and middle-class professionals. A rundown building on the corner is being renovated while several new buildings are going up nearby, contributing to the local rat population. On a recent night, black trash bags piled along a stretch of sidewalk known as rat alley seemed to crinkle on their own as rats squirmed inside. High-pitched squeaks filled the air. Its not the night before Christmas, said Mr Herrera, who lives next door. Mr Herrera has found gnawed chicken bones and rat droppings underneath his car hood. He spent $150 (118) to replace chewed-up ignition wires. Walking down the street has become a source of anxiety for his nine-year-old daughter, Isabella Henry. Despite numerous complaints to city officials including dozens of calls to 311 the rats keep turning up. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Residents say they feast on garbage left outside the apartment building under renovation on the corner, which has failed 10 city health inspections since last year, according to records. Getz Obstfeld, a co-owner of FSG Realty, which manages and partly owns the building, said that they have targeted rat holes, added more trash cans and removed construction debris. Still, the rats keep coming. They love it over here, its up and coming, said Russell Coit, 66, a retired maintenance supervisor who lives on the block. They would like to invest in something over here, too. The New York Times Twitter co-founder Ev Williams has described Donald Trumps digital presence as pretty genius. In an interview in Toronto on Tuesday, he told CNN Business the what Trump has done with Twitter is pretty genius, frankly. In May, the president surpassed telling 10,000 lies since taking office in 2017, almost 2,000 of which were posted on Twitter. His tweets have confounded economic advisors and potential investors since he was elected. Earlier this week, he tweeted a threat to Iran, writing If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies Show all 7 1 /7 Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies Doctors and mothers killing babies At a rally in Wisconsin in April 2019, Mr Trump made this extraordinary claim. The baby is born, the mother meets with the doctor, they take care of the baby, Mr Trump said. They wrap the baby beautifully and then the doctor and the mother decide whether they will execute the baby Getty Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies "China rapes our country" At a rally in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2016, Mr Trump said this in reference to the US trade deficit with China: "we cant continue to allow China to rape our country and thats what theyre doing. Its the greatest theft in the history of the world" Getty Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies "EU formed to take advantage of US" At a rally for the midterm elections in October 2018, Mr Trump called the EU a "brutal" alliance that "formed to take advantage of us" AFP/Getty Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies "I will build a wall and Mexico will pay for it" Mr Trump first made this claim at the launch of his presidential campaign back in 2015: "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words" AFP/Getty Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies "Horrible, horrendous people" At a Republican rally in Pennsylvania on August 3 2018, President Trump deemed all journalists in attendance "horrible, horrendous people". He later denounced the "fake, fake, disgusting news" for falsely reporting that he was late to his meeting with the Queen when visiting Britain AFP/Getty Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" Mr Trump said this in reference to his popularity during a rally in Iowa in 2016 AFP/Getty Most shocking remarks made by Trump at campaign rallies "I wish I could punch him" Mr Trump said this in reference to a protester who was escorted out of his rally in Las Vegas on 22 February, 2016. There was often violence between protesters and supporters at Trump's campaign rallies AFP/Getty But none of this appears to bother Mr Williams. Hes a master of the platform like few others, the former Twitter executive said of the president. Mr Williams also said that traditional media places too much emphasis on the presidents rocky Twitter presence, echoing a common complaint from Silicon Valley The vast majority of the electorate is not on Twitter reading Trumps tweets and being convinced by that, Mr Williams said.What theyre convinced much more by is the destructive power of Fox News, which is much, much more powerful and much more destructive than Twitter. Mr Williams now runs Medium, an online host to several long-form accounts, which has been through several iterations since its founding in 2012. Most recently, a blog post published on the website accusing Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, of sexual assault was found to be fabricated. [The blog post] looked a little fishy but it was serious allegations, and we want to not jump to any conclusion, Mr Williams said. The post was removed after an investigation by Medium. It comes at cost of people trying to game that system and spread false information and abuse it, Mr Williams told CNN of the ordeal We have a lot of safeguards against that, and theyre not perfect. A student has died after falling from a scenic coastal viewpoint along the famed Highway 101. The Tillamook County Sheriffs Offices confirmed that Michelle Casey, 21, fell approximately 100 feet while taking photographs at Neahkahnie Mountain on the Oregon Coast on Sunday morning. Her boyfriend told police officials that she landed in a tree, which stopped her from falling into the Pacific Ocean. After a two-hour rescue operation, she was flown to a Portland hospital where she died. Recommended Massive earthquake off Oregon coast shakes Portland In a statement to KOIN, Ms Caseys family noted that she had chosen to be an organ donor. "Michelle always brought people together with her bubbly personality and loving, giving heart," her familys statement said. "She loved being outdoors and was at the beachher favourite placeon Sunday. " Oregon State Vice President of University Relations and Marketing Steve Clark said in an email to CNN that the university is offering supporting and counseling services to students, faculty, and staff affected by the death of Ms Casey. He said they have also reached to members of Ms Casey's family. "As a university community, we mourn at the loss of a community member -- and certainly one so young," he said. Current and former US military officials are speaking out against the presidents reported plan to pardon a handful of war criminals on or around Memorial Day. The Los Angeles Times spoke to a number of high-ranking officials who believe proposed pardons would not only be morally reprehensible, but put the US military at risk. If President Trump issues indiscriminate pardons of individuals accused or convicted by their fellow service members of war crimes, he relinquishes the United States moral high ground and undermines the good order and discipline critical to winning on the battlefield, retired Gen. Charles Krulak, a former commandant of the Marine Corps, told the LA Times. One senior officer currently serving in the Pentagon, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said many in his rank are outraged over the possible decision. I think a lot of us would see it in the same way that its just awful, the officer said. Retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was explicit in his disapproval in a tweet sent on Tuesday. Absent evidence of innocence or injustice, the wholesale pardon of U.S. service members accused of war crimes signals our troops and allies that we dont take the law of armed conflict seriously, Mr Dempseys tweet read. Serbia's last remaining war crimes suspect held after seven years on run Show all 3 1 /3 Serbia's last remaining war crimes suspect held after seven years on run Serbia's last remaining war crimes suspect held after seven years on run 626376.bin REUTERS Serbia's last remaining war crimes suspect held after seven years on run 626375.bin AP Serbia's last remaining war crimes suspect held after seven years on run 626373.bin AP Bad message. Bad precedent, the tweet continued. Abdication of moral responsibility. Risk to us. The New York Times reported on Friday that Donald Trump was likely planning to pardon several US military officers charged with committing war crimes, including murdering civilians and urinating on a corpse of a Taliban fighter. Media Matters points out that Fox News has been calling for pardons for these officers, particularly Navy Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, Army Major Mathew Golsteyn, former Blackwater contractor Nicholas Slatten, for at least the last six months. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events It was also revealed by the Daily Beast that Fox News host Pete Hegseth had been privately lobbying the president to get the war criminals pardoned, which was never disclosed to the public. Mr Hegseth responded to the article by tweeting it out along with hashtags supporting the pardons. A 10-year-old girl from El Salvador has died in US custody, it has emerged, bringing the total number of migrant children to have died after being detained by border authorities in the last eight months to six. Mark Weber, a spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said the girl was medically fragile, with a history of congenital heart defects. She died in September 2018. He said the child entered the custody of an Office of Refugee Resettlement in San Antonio, Texas, on 4 March 2018. He said that complications from an unspecified surgical procedure left her in a comatose state. Officials said she was released from the hospital in May and sent to a nursing facility in Phoenix, Arizona, for palliative care. She died on 29 September of fever and respiratory distress in a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Officials said she had been moved to Omaha to be closer to family. The girls name, as well as when and how she entered the US, has not been disclosed. HHS provides care to children the government considers unaccompanied. Recommended Fifth migrant child dies after being detained by US border patrol Democrats are calling for investigations into her death, and the five other reported deaths of migrant children detained by US border patrol. Representative Joaquin Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accused the Trump administration of covering up the 10-year-old girls death. Its outrageous that another child has died in government custody and that the Trump administration didnt tell anybody, the Texas Democrat told CBS. They covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the question about whether any child had died or been seriously injured. Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California Show all 20 1 /20 Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California The prototypes for President Trumps border wall are being demolished. AP Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California The US Customs and Border protection had built the eight 30-foot tall steel and concrete models near San Diego on the US-Mexico border. Reuters Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office found that the construction challenges presented by the four concrete models would be extensive and those presented by two of the other models would be substantial. Reuters Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California It was intended that Mr Trump would choose his favourite of the designs after testing had been completed. AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California The President is yet to comment. AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California Each prototype cost $300,000 to $500,000 to build and they are being knocked down in order to make way for the San Diego Secondary Wall project which will see up to 14 miles of barrier being built to support the existing steel border fence. AP Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California The new barrier will not employ the design of any of the prototypes, instead being built of the favoured steel bollards which make up the current section of the wall at San Diego. Reuters Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California The new secondary barrier being built near San Diego. Reuters Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California The rubble of one of the demolished prototypes. Reuters Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A steel wall prototype AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A wall prototype made from a mix of steel and concrete AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A wall prototype made from a mix of steel and concrete AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A concrete wall prototype AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A steel wall prototype AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A concrete wall prototype AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A concrete wall prototype AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A concrete wall prototype AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California A digger approaches the prototype wall AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California Aerial view of the wall prototypes at the US-Mexico border after they were torn down AFP/Getty Trump prototypes for Mexico border wall demolished in California An aerial view showing Tijuana, Mexico on the left and the demolished wall prototypes on the right AFP/Getty We give them billions of dollars, and they want to use it on a wall instead of spending it to make sure that people dont die and that they can medically treat emergencies that migrants maybe come into or that their own agents may come into, he continued. On Wednesday, it was reported that the $1.57bn (1.24bn) congress appropriated for Donald Trumps proposed border wall has so far yielded 1.7 miles of fences. The US Justice Department has unveiled 17 criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is facing extradition from the UK. The latest charges accuse him of unlawfully publishing the names of classified sources as well as conspiring and assisting ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in accessing classified information. The charges, contained in an 18-count indictment announced on Thursday, go far beyond an initial indictment against Assange made public last month that accused him of conspiring with Manning to gain access to a government computer, as part of a 2010 leak by WikiLeaks of hundreds of thousands of US military reports about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The new indictment, which accuses Assange of violating the espionage act, says his actions risked serious harm to the US. Key moments for Julian Assange Show all 9 1 /9 Key moments for Julian Assange Key moments for Julian Assange The situation today Assange was arrested after Metropolitan Police officers were invited into the Ecuadorian embassy on April 11 2019. How did it come to this? Ruptly TV Key moments for Julian Assange The break Assange shows the front page of the Guardian on July 26 2010, the day that they broke the story of the thousands of military files leaked by WikiLeaks AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Wanted A warrant for Assange's arrest was issued in August 2010 for counts of rape and molestation in Sweden AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Ruling The UK's Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face trial Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Sanctuary Following the ruling, Assange was given asylum by the Ecuadorian governement over fears that his human rights would be violated if he were extradited, he has since remained in the embassy in London Getty Key moments for Julian Assange A friend in Pam Friend Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Assange at the embassy in October 2016. She has since spoken against his arrest Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Arbitrarily detained A UN panel found in 2016 that Assange had been arbitrarily detained and that he had not been able to claim his full right to asylum. It urged Sweden to withdraw the charges against him Getty Key moments for Julian Assange The cat ultimatum Last year, the Ecuadorian embassy threatened to revoke Assange's internet access unless he stopped making political statements online and started taking better care of James, his pet cat. Assange accused Ecuador of violating his rights Reuters Key moments for Julian Assange Arrest Assange was arrested on April 11 2019. Ecuador revoked his asylum status and invited the Metropolitan Police in to the embassy to arrest him. Reuters It said Assange had repeatedly encouraged sources with access to classified information to steal and provide it to Wikileaks to disclose. Julian Assange is no journalist, said assistant attorney general John Demers, the Justice Departments top national security official. No responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential sources, exposing them to the gravest of dangers. Assange, 47, is serving a 50-week jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail conditions following his eviction from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The US is seeking his extradition. Manning, meanwhile, who was convicted in military court for providing a trove of classified documents to WikiLeaks, is currently in a northern Virginia jail on a civil contempt charge. She spent two months in the Alexandria Detention Centre beginning in March after she refused to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. That grand jury is sitting in Alexandria, where Assange is charged. She could remain in jail for up to 18 months, the length of the current grand jurys term. Manning has said she believes prosecutors want to question her about the same conduct for which she was convicted at her court-martial. She served seven years of a 35-year military sentence before receiving a commutation from then-president Barack Obama. In response to the indictment, WikiLeaks tweeted: This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment. Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, said: I find no satisfaction in saying I told you so to those who for nine years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism. Additional reporting by agencies Close Donald Trump lashes out at Nancy Pelosi over cover-up comments, claiming to be 'most transparent president in US history' Pressure is intensifying on Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. An increasing number of Democrats - and even a Republican congressman - are openly calling for the measure in response to the Mueller report's findings and the Trump administration's refusal to submit documents to congressional investigations. Mr Trump on Wednesday sabotaged a planned White House meeting with Ms Pelosi on infrastructure, and said he would not work with Democrats until all probes into him were closed. Meanwhile, the president announced a massive $16bn (12.6bn) aid package for farmers on Thursday, amid an intensifying confrontation with China on trade. US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that the first of three payments is likely to be made in July or August and suggested that the US and China were unlikely to have settled their differences by then. The package were announcing today ensures that farmers do not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other trading partners, Mr Perdue said. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was 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 AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty The latest bailout comes atop $11bn (8.7bn) in aid Mr Trump provided farmers last year. We will ensure our farmers get the relief they need and very, very quickly, Mr Trump said in an unwieldy press conference on Thursday in which he insisted is a "very stable genius." Seeking to reduce Americas trade deficit with the rest of the world and with China in particular, the president has imposed import taxes on foreign steel, aluminium, solar panels and dishwashers and on thousands of Chinese products. US trading partners have lashed back with retaliatory tariffs of their own, focusing on U.S. agricultural products in a direct shot at the American heartland, where support for Trump runs high. Financial markets slumped Thursday on heightened tensions between the US and China. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 286 points, or 1 per cent, to 25,490. It had been down 448 points earlier in the day. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Additional reporting by AP. Check out live updates as the came in below. Please allow the blog a moment to load. The Pentagon expected on Thursday to present the White House with plans to send up to 10,000 extra troops to the Middle East to bolster forces against potential threats from Iran, officials said. The morning meeting between defence chiefs and Trump administration officials comes as tensions continue to simmer with Tehran. Any move to deploy more forces would signal a shift for Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasised the need to reduce the US presence in the region. Its unclear whether the White House might approve all or some of the requested forces. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press the possible surge is not in response to any new threat from Iran. They said troops would be defensive forces and discussions include additional Patriot missile systems, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iranian activities. Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Show all 20 1 /20 Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet Donald Trump's Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pence US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mike Pompeo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump's previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Lighthizer US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump's ongoing trade spat with China. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet William Barr Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation's top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Rick Perry Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump's presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements. Ken Shipp / United States Department of Energy Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Betsy DeVos Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Steven Mnuchin Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses. AP Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump's White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet David Bernhardt Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt took office in January 2019 after the resignation of Ryan Zinke after previously serving as Zinke's deputy. Before taking office Bernhardt worked for many years as a solicitor for the Department of the Interior. Tami Heilemann / United States Department of the Interior Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Elaine Chao Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband's, Mitch McConnell. AFP/Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Kevin McAleenan Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan took over from Kirstjen Nielsen after she resigned in April 2019. He previously worked as the executive director of the executive director of the Office of Anti Terrorism in the Customs and Border Protection agency United States Customs and Border Protection Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Ben Carson Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Gina Haspel CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump's administration over his refuting the president's claims surrounding ISIS. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Sonny Perdue Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership. Reuters Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Alex Azar Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive. Getty Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Mick Mulvaney Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House. EPA Trump's inner circle: Meet the members of the US president's cabinet Robert Wilkie Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie has spent his career on Capitol Hill serving in various roles in foreign affairs and defence. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force Reserve. Gene Russell / United States Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Mr Trump was currently evaluating the forces required in the region every day. He told Fox News: Were evaluating the risks, making sure that we have it right. US officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats but indicated missiles have been taken off the boats near Irans shore. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defence leaders told congressional officials the US doesnt want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Patrick Shanahan, left, and Mike Pompeo speak after a classified briefing for members of Congress on Iran (AP) Mr Pompeo and the acting secretary of defence Patrick Shanahan have insisted the US was only seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran despite Mr Trumps posting a series of hostile tweets over the past week. On Sunday the president tweeted: If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again. In early May, the US accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East and sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defence missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdads heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling US Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad, home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Mr Trump is responsible for drawing Irans anger. Last year he abruptly pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production. The president also has re-imposed sanctions that have hurt Tehrans economy, and designated Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organisation. The tensions with Iran comes as the US military revealed it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, angering China at a time of fraught relations between the worlds two biggest economies. Pete Buttigieg has slammed Donald Trump and his administration for potentially leading the United States into yet another protracted war in the Middle East, claiming the tactic he sees coming from the West Wing mirrors the approach that brought the US into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The warning comes just as the White House has reportedly considered sending some 10,000 troops for a potential conflict with Iran, which Mr Buttigieg said on Wednesday night in New York is terrifying because this White House and this administration has not hesitated to use troops as props. Just the next morning, Mr Buttigieg repeated the warning, noting that national security adviser John Bolton was serving the White House when the United States went to war in Iraq on the false premise of securing weapons of mass destruction. It is mystifying to me that John Bolton, one of the architects of the Iraq war, probably the greatest American policy disaster of my lifetime, is allowed anywhere near the Situation Room, especially by a president who says, falsely of course, that he was against the Iraq War all along, Mr Buttigieg, a Navy veteran who deployed to Afghanistan in 2014, said on Thursday in Washington. It is unbelievable. He continued: And to see the same people taking some of the same steps, I mean they appear to be prosecuting a case, as though we hadnt seen this movie before, possibly and terrifyingly for domestic political purposes, it makes me think about my time in service and wanting to believe that everybody in the chain of command above me knew what they were doing or at least never came by a decision lightly. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was 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 AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty Mr Trump has claimed that he would seek to exhaust any conflict with Iran through diplomatic means, even as reports of an increased troop presence have been published. But, even as he has made those claims, his administration has attempted to force Iran into submission, with forceful blocks on the countrys ability to sell oil, and with a classification of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist group. Independent Minds Events: get involved in the news agenda The US has also deployed ships and bombers to the Persian gulf in anticipation of a potential conflict. The city justified its position by arguing that restaurants are good for neighborhoods and should be supported. Sure, any business that provides a positive experience for customers, creates jobs and pays taxes contributes to a stable community. That doesnt mean nimble upstarts who are doing new things should be smothered. Food trucks offer a low-cost way for small businesses to start up, try new ideas and maybe find their footing and grow. They attract attention and create a pleasant buzz of visible activity the kind that, yes, benefits the city. Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg accuses Donald Trump of faking a disability to avoid being drafted in Vietnam. The former naval intelligence officer said the presidents conduct resulted in someone else going to war in his place, during a Washington Post event on Thursday. Donald Trump received five deferments from the draft, four for university and one for medical reasons - a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels. Buttigieg said: I have a pretty dim view of his decision to use his privileged status to fake a disability in order to avoid serving in Vietnam. Allegations that Trump has dodged the draft date back to his 2016 campaign. In January 2018, Senator Amy Duckworth (Democrat-Illinois), called Trump a five-deferment draft dodger. Last February, Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney told Congress the president told him he had no medical excuse to avoid military draft. Last December, a New York Times investigation revealed Trump's medical exemption was diagnosed by a podiatrist who also rented a space from his father, Fred Trump. A member of the podiatrist family told the Times he did it as a favour to Trump's family. Buttigieg argues Trump used his privileged upbringing to avoid being drafted in Vietnam. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was 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 AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: 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 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty The 37-year-old took a seven-month leave of absence from his job as mayor of South Bend, a city of about 100,000 in the state of Indiana, in 2014 to serve in Afghanistan. added during the event: I mean, if he were a conscientious objector, Id admire that, but this is somebody who, I think it is fairly obvious to most of us, took advantage of the fact that he was a child of a multimillionaire in order to pretend to be disabled so that somebody could go to war in his place." Buttigieg officially launched his campaign on April 14, and the polyglot, millennial and openly gay mayor from Indiana intends to make climate change, gun control and income inequalities his main campaign battles. He is among the five leading candidates to win the leadership race of the Democrats. Close Locals turn out to vote in India's general elections Hindu nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi has claimed victory in Indias general election. Mr Modi promised to unite the country as his party was on course to increase its majority. Official data from the Election Commission showed Mr Modis Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead in 300 of the 542 seats being contested, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament. As counting continued, some senior members of the main opposition Congress party admitted defeat and a post mortem of the grand old partys poor performance began. Please allow the live blog a moment to load. Narendra Modi has won a dramatic second landslide election, returning him for another five-year term as prime minister of India, giving a convincing mandate to his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With the count nearing completion, the BJP was on course to win 302 of the 542 seats up for grabs, a significant improvement on its 282 tally from the last election in 2014. Pre-election surveys and most exit polls had predicted the ruling party would win again but with a reduced majority. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, which is expected to win fewer than 60 seats, conceded defeat at a news conference on Thursday evening. The people of India have decided that Narendra Modi is going to be prime minister, and as an Indian I fully respect that, Mr Gandhi said. I wish him all the best, and hopefully he will look after the interests of this country. There was a festival atmosphere at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, where the party encouraged thousands of supporters to gather and celebrate the result. Indian General Election 2019 Show all 10 1 /10 Indian General Election 2019 Indian General Election 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah (R) welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) at BJP headquarters prior to a ceremony to thank the Union council of Ministers for their contribution in India's general election, in New Delhi on May 21, 2019 AFP/Getty Indian General Election 2019 An Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter shouts slogans and holds the party flag as he celebrates on the vote results day for India's general election in New Delhi on May 23, 2019. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in India's election, with early trends from the election commission showing a clear lead for his party. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Indian election officials count votes using electronic voting machines at a counting center for the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) election, in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir, India, 23 May 2019. The parliamentary elections, which began on 11 April 2019, were held in seven phases throughout India and are currently being tabulated. The Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. EPA Indian General Election 2019 Indian supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance as they celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Siliguri on May 23, 2019. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in India's election, with early trends from the election commission showing a clear lead for his party. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Indian supporters and party workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance as they celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Bangalore on May 23, 2019. - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in the world's biggest election, with early trends suggesting his Hindu nationalist party will win a bigger majority even than 2014. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Indian supporters and party workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance and hold flags as they celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Bangalore on May 23, 2019. - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in the world's biggest election, with early trends suggesting his Hindu nationalist party will win a bigger majority even than 2014. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 An Indian member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) shouts slogans and shows portraits of party president M.K. Stalin as she celebrates on the vote results day for India's general election in Chennai on May 23, 2019. - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in the world's biggest election, with early trends suggesting his Hindu nationalist party will win a bigger majority even than 2014. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters, wearing masks dipicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, celebrate BJP's potential win in the the Lok Sabha election the Lok Sabha elections, in Amritsar, India, 23 May 2019. The Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, elections, which began on 11 April 2019, is having the results tallied today. The Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 lower house seats, and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. According to initial polling Narendra Modi could retain the position of Prime Minister along with the Bhartya Janta Party. EPA Indian General Election 2019 A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter wears a mask dipicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he celebrates BJP's potential win in the the Lok Sabha election the Lok Sabha elections, in Amritsar, India, 23 May 2019. The Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, elections, which began on 11 April 2019, is having the results tallied today. The Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 lower house seats, and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. According to initial polling Narendra Modi could retain the position of Prime Minister along with the Bhartya Janta Party EPA Indian General Election 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in their party's Assam state office in Gauhati, India, Thursday, May 23, 2019. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party have a commanding lead in early vote counting from the country's six-week general election. AP People dressed in white, green and most importantly the saffron of the BJP thronged the streets for more than a kilometre leading up to the party headquarters, where security was heightened ahead of Mr Modis appearance. Addressing thousands of party workers celebrating the outcome, he urged the world to recognise Indias democratic power, and attributed the partys showing to his pro-poor policies, including free medical insurance and relief for distressed farmers. India wins yet again, he tweeted. Arriving party leaders were met like rock stars and there was a minor stampede upon the sight of BJP president Amit Shah, with the swell of the crowd sending some supporters tumbling. Sporadic chants of Modi, Modi broke out frequently and a wedding band kept up the frenzied feel of the courtyard outside. This win was 100 per cent Modi, said Delhi-based BJP party worker Pinkesh Rana, 41. While few analysts predicted the margin of victory with its allies in the right-wing NDA coalition, the BJP looks set to command 350 of the 542 seats in the Lok Sabha lower house Ms Rana and other party workers said they did not see the result as a shock. The scale of the victory is not a surprise for us, we knew it would be like this because we know how hard Narendra Modi has been working for the country. And unlike any other leader, he connected with the people. With Indias farmers struggling, its economy slowing and leaked jobs figures showing unemployment at its highest level in decades, Congress and powerful regional opposition parties fought a campaign based on highlighting the failures of the incumbent government. That approach appears to have failed. The BJP has instead succeeded in making the election all about Modi from affluent communities in the capital to the poorest state of Bihar, voters told The Independent they were supporting the BJP because of his leadership. The BJP has now secured back-to-back outright majorities in parliament for the first time since 1984. The scale of the victory was absolutely stunning, said commentator Arti Jerath. Modi is the predominant leader in India today. He has pushed everybody else aside. Nobody in the opposition is a match for him. The Modi factor has made even the most unthinkable constituency results a reality Mr Gandhi, as he conceded the national vote, also admitted defeat in the Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh that his family has held for generations. He will remain an MP, however, as he looks to have won another contest in Wayanad, Kerala. In Bhopal, admittedly a BJP stronghold, a candidate for the party facing active terror charges looks to have won herself a seat as an MP. Pragya Singh Thakur is accused of involvement in the 2008 Malegaon bombings by suspected right-wing Hindu terrorists, and only last week described the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi as a patriot. As of Thursday evening, she was winning her seat by a margin of around 200,000 votes. The most surprising regional result of the election came in West Bengal, a state which saw the worst of the violent clashes during the mammoth six-week polls as party workers and police came to blows. There the BJP took 19 of 42 available seats, making huge inroads into a state dominated by local parties and where it has never had much of a presence. At one point it looked like it might even take a majority in the state. Even where it lost seats, the BJP exceeded expectations. In Uttar Pradesh, the bellwether state with the most seats in parliament, it was thought likely that a powerful alliance of opposition parties might defeat Mr Modis outfit, which took 71 of 80 seats in 2014. Instead, the BJP was on course to hold almost 60. Independent Minds Events: get involved in the news agenda Party supporters now want Mr Modi to use his clear second-term mandate to deliver further controversial pro-Hindu measures, including the building of a temple to Lord Ram at the site in Ayodhya where a mosque was pulled down by Hindu extremists in 1992. Mr Modi utilised a deteriorating relationship with Pakistan since the turn of the year to push national security as the BJPs number one election issue, while Kashmiri Muslims across India faced a backlash from their Hindu neighbours. Nonetheless, Pakistans Imran Khan was among the first world leaders to congratulate Mr Modi on his victory, writing on Twitter that he was look[ing] forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia. Final results will not be confirmed until Friday, but congratulations for the BJP came too from Chinese president Xi Jinping, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Russias president Vladimir Putin and Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena. While a BJP spokesman said the result was a stamp of approval from ordinary Indians for Mr Modis leadership, the post mortem began for Congress, Indias oldest party and one which has led the country for the majority of the years since it won independence from Britain in 1947. In contrast to the flares, firecrackers and huge crowds at BJP headquarters, the Congress party office in Delhi was deserted on Thursday apart from a brief flurry of activity for Mr Gandhis news conference. Beyond its failure to dent public confidence in Mr Modi himself, Congress suffered from having a party infrastructure that was outmanoeuvred and outgunned by the formidable BJP machine on the ground. The BJP outspent Congress by six times on Facebook and Google advertising, data showed, and by as much as 20 times overall, according to the Reuters news agency. But the real breakthrough was on WhatsApp, which has more than 200 million users in India and where the BJP set up hundreds of thousands of localised chats to disseminate its messaging. Meanwhile, Congress failed to innovate. The party has not been able to improve at all, on the 44 seats it won in 2014, a historic low, said Rahul Verma, a fellow at the centre for Policy Research in Delhi. With Mr Gandhi reportedly offering to tender his resignation as party chief, Mr Verma asked whether Congress was up to the challenge of remaining a national alternative to the BJP. That now is under question, he said. Climbers have been stuck in a traffic jam near the summit of Mount Everest after two climbers died near the summit. Over 200 mountaineers were climbing the worlds highest mountain from Nepal and China, but had to line up on their way for more than two hours, the Himalayan Times reported. An American and Indian were among the latest fatalities on the 8,848m mountain. Donald Lynn Cash, 55, collapsed near the summit as he was taking photos, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported. Anjali Kulkarni, 54, died after falling ill while descending the summit, according to the Himalayan Times. Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Show all 10 1 /10 Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Jake Meyer climbed Everest, aged 21 years and four months Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Team climbing at 7400m on K2 Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Ottalie and Poppy (with Daddy on the front page) Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Camp 4 on K2 - 7650m Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Jake on way to summit Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Climbing though the glacier Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Jake at summit of K2 Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Ottalie, Jake and Saskia at Heathrow as Jake arrives home Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest K2 Summit Ridge Jake Meyer Jake Meyer: youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest Basecamp panorama K2 on left, Broad Peak on right Jake Meyer Four people have died while climbing Everest so far this season. An Indian climber died last week and an Irish mountaineer is presumed dead after slipping and falling close to the summit. Recommended Sherpa mountaineer scales Everest record amount of times It comes after a Sherpa mountaineer extended his record for the number of successful climbs of Mount Everest to 24. Kami Rita climbed to the top on 15 May then returned to base camp, before climbing it again. There are 41 teams with a total of 378 climbers permitted to scale Everest during the spring climbing season. An equal number of Nepalese guides are helping them to get to the summit. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Only a few windows of good weather each May allow climbers the best chance of climbing to the summit. A new poll of Russians has revealed a complicated picture of homophobia falling slightly, but from exceptionally high levels. The Levada Centre study, published on Thursday, indicated that more than half the population still had a negative opinion on LGBT+. Nearly a third said they would disown a friend if they found out they were gay, while only three percent suggested they had a favourable opinion. On a positive note, the polls showed nearly half (47%) believed LGBT+ people should be treated equally in front of the law. This was the highest number since 2005 (51%), when polling on the question began. That, suggested the studys authors, was evidence that the power of the states propaganda was beginning to wear off. There are some positive dynamics in the monitoring, says Denis Volkov, deputy head of Levada Centre. He tells The Independent the shift is down to two things: One the Kremlins anti-gay campaign appears to have subsided. Two, it provoked a wave of coming-outs in defiance, and that appears to have had an effect on numbers. The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Show all 10 1 /10 The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers North Macedonia 16 per cent Getty Images The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Moldova 14 per cent Getty Images/iStockphoto The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Lichtenstein 14 per cent Getty Images/iStockphoto The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Belarus 13 per cent Getty Images/iStockphoto The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers San Marino 13 per cent Getty Images/iStockphoto The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Monaco 11 per cent Getty Images The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Russia 10 per cent Getty Images The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Armenia 6 per cent Getty Images/iStockphoto The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Turkey 5 per cent Getty Images The worst destinations for LGBT+ holidaymakers Azerbaijan 3 per cent Getty Images/iStockphoto Mr Volkov said it was notable that acceptance was highest among those who said they knew someone who was gay: They understand that LGBT+ people are like everyone else. Activists say the new Levada poll fell in line with their own data. Igor Kochetkov, head of the Russian LGBT+ network, said homophobia in Russia had peaked and an aggressive Kremlin campaign had failed. Of course, Russian society remains extremely homophobic, but its less than at the beginning of the decade, he says. The good news is that it isnt getting worse. While homosexuality was decriminalised following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, life in Russia has never been easy for sexual minorities especially away from more progressive cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg. But in recent years, things have taken a dramatic turn for the violent. The situation became especially tense around the time that the Kremlin adopted its anti-gay propaganda law in 2013, ostensibly to protect children. In May that year, a 23-year-old gay man was murdered in the central Russian city of Volgograd. He was found naked, his skull smashed, having been raped with a beer bottle. Six months later, unknown gunman opened fire outside Moscows most famous gay club. Then in a series of attacks beginning in spring 2017, at least five men were killed and hundreds tortured in what appeared to be an anti-gay purge in Chechnya, in Russias North Caucasus. Survivors testimony links the purge to local law enforcement bodies, and men with close links to the republicss irascible president, Ramzan Kadyrov. Mr Kadyrov responded to the allegations by declaring there were no gays in Chechnya. Mr Kotchekov, whose LGBT+ Network has been at the forefront of efforts to evacuate at-risk people from the North Caucasus, says the purge and lack of investigation demonstrated a homophobic rot at the heart of the state. But, he said, Russias youngest generation gave him hope. In a 2018 poll, half of Russians aged 18-28 said they refused to recognise there was such a thing as gay propaganda more than twice the level in the general population. Russia has been engaged in a systematic and malicious global campaign of cyber warfare targeting critical national infrastructure with Britain providing help to allied states to counter the threat, the foreign secretary is due to say in a keynote speech. The UKs National Cyber Security Centre has been working with 16 other Nato states over the past 18 months to chart how Russia has been looking for vulnerabilities in cyber systems and seeking to compromise government networks, Jeremy Hunt will state. Speaking at the Nato Cyber Defence Pledge Conference in London on Thursday, Mr Hunt is due to say: We judge that Russias intelligence services are targeting the critical national infrastructure of many countries in order to look for vulnerabilities. This global campaign also seeks to compromise central government networks. I can disclose that in the last 18 months, the National Cyber Security Centre has shared information and assessments with 16 Nato allies and even more nations outside the alliance of Russian cyber activity in their countries. The meeting with the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, and alliance ambassadors will be an opportunity for planning a common strategy, including diplomatic and political tools, to deal with the claimed Russian electronic offensive. Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event Show all 6 1 /6 Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event Vladimir Putin strokes a horse as he attends a meeting with police officers REUTERS Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event Vladimir Putin rides a horse alongside female police officers AFP/Getty Images Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event The Russian president visits a mounted police regiment ahead of International Women's Day AFP/Getty Images Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event Putin's horse walked backwards as he attempted to canter around REUTERS Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event Vladmir Putin rides a horse on a visit to a mounted police unit in Moscow AP Vladimir Putin rides on horseback for IWD event The president's horse had to be coaxed back into formation AP The challenge today is therefore to apply the eternal verities at the heart of Natos success to the alliances newest operational domain. And that means deterrence strengthening our joint ability to deter those who would harm our citizens in cyberspace, Mr Hunt will say. Pointing to Russian attempts at election interference in, among other places, Ukraine and the US, the foreign secretary will say: Recent events demonstrate that our adversaries regard democratic elections as a key vulnerability of an open society. We must be crystal clear that any cyber operations designed to manipulate another countrys electoral system and alter the result would breach international law and justify a proportionate response. Nato agreed at a Warsaw summit in 2016 to strengthen cyber defences as a matter of priority, and agreed that there should be an annual Cyber Defence Pledge Conference to facilitate sharing of experience and best practice. The conference in London is the second such conference, with France holding the first in 2018. The press-release accompanying the BBCs Tonight with Vladimir Putin may have lashed on the hype, promising a CGI comedy talk show with everybodys favourite bear-wrestling global strongman, but the shows most obvious customer the Kremlin has reacted with disinterest. Responding to Wednesdays reports that Britains public broadcaster had commissioned two pilot episodes of a virtual-reality Putin talk-show, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian leader had no plans to watch it. Many books have been written about Putin, and there have been puppets and caricatures too. The president has not read books about himself, and has not watched the cartoons either, he said. Putin doesnt want to imitate the caricatures; let the caricatures imitate him. Russia itself does not have any real political satire show on mainstream TV. The acerbic Kukly (Puppets), based on Britains Spitting Image, was taken off air in 2002, shortly after Mr Putin came to power. From the small trailer published by the BBCs press department on Wednesday, Tonight with Vladimir Putin does not look to be immediately hostile to the Russian president. Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Show all 26 1 /26 Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Volodymyr Zelenskiy, centre right, and his wife Olena Zelenska, greet supporters after exit polling gave the comedian a commanding lead AP Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Outgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko raises his hand with his wife Maryna at his party headquarters in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll REUTERS Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Comedian and leading Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy plays ping pong with a journalist at his election night gathering in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21 Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Election officials count ballots at a polling station in Kiev during the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures People walk in front of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev during Ukraine's presidential election AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian servicemen sit in a truck to head to a polling station, near the front line with pro-Russian separatists, near Butivka, Donetsk region AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishke AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A young girl casts the ballot of a man at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, on. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 2 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky waves in front of voting booths at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky casts his ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky gestures in front of voting booths at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky walks with his ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A view of the building of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission in Kiev during Ukraine's presidential election. AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) casts his ballot at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, The 53-year-old president has positioned himself during the political campaign as the only person able to stand up to the Kremlin and has promised to return Crimea to Ukraine if he is re-elected. AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A voter emerges from the voting booth after filling out her ballot for Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21. Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian president Petro O. Poroshenko (C), running for re-election, receives his ballot in Ukraine's presidential election on in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21 Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A woman holds her ballot as she leaves a voting booth at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election. - Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A young girl casts the ballot of a man at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian servicemen queue to cast their ballots at a polling station near the front line line with pro-Russian separatists near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, during the first round of Ukraine's presidential election AFP/Getty The lines uttered by the 3D digital image of Putin When I was young KGB officer in the late 1980s, I was the only person who saw the hidden delights the west: blue jeans, rocknroll and Terry Wogan are not obviously insulting (or indeed funny). Putin doesnt want to imitate the caricatures; let the caricatures imitate him. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov But the cheap tone of the production and several obvious errors left some in Russia wondering whether both Britain and the BBC had collectively lost their minds on the back of Brexit. The date for the shows release has yet to be published. But producers promise a line-up of guests including Tony Blairs former spokesman Alistair Cambell and comedian Deborah Frances-White. The show would also come to herald the ultimate victory for Vlad, leader of the free world, the BBC said. As the more informed were quick to point out, Vlad is the short form of Vladislav, not Vladimir. A more accurate short form of the presidents name would be Vova. The owner of a group of beluga whales and orcas being held in cages in Russia has said he is not planning to release the marine mammals. Any question regarding their release may be posed only after Im deprived of the ownership rights, what release are you talking about? Alexei Reshetov said. Mr Reshetov is director general of Afalina, the company which owns the illegally captured animals. These mammals are my property. I have not made any decision on releasing them and Im not planning to do this, he said. Photographs of the so-called whale prison, which is near the city of Nakhodka, first emerged last year. Originally 90 beluga whales and 12 orcas were held in the marine containment facility. Tragic photos show beached whales Show all 15 1 /15 Tragic photos show beached whales Tragic photos show beached whales A dead sperm whale lies on Hunstanton beach in Norfolk on 5 February 2016 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Volunteers pour buckets of water over the 80 remaining live pilot whales found stranded on remote Ocean Beach on New Zealand's southern-most Stewart island, 8 January 2003 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Contractors clear away the body of one of the dead 48ft sperm whales that were washed-up on a beach near Gibraltar Point in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 2016 PA Tragic photos show beached whales People pass by a beached whale at the Pointe de la Torche, near Brest in France on 29 November 2011 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales A woman touches the tail of a large whale carcass on Wattamola Beach at the Royal National Park in Sydney on 25 September 2018 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Beached humpback whale in California, 2015 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Dead long fin pilot whales at Hamelin Bay on Australia's west coast on 23 March 2009 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales A 36ft sperm whale lies dead on the beach at Sutton Bridge, in The Wash, off the Lincolnshire coast, where it became stranded in 2004 PA Tragic photos show beached whales A female fin whale opens its mouth as it lies stranded and alive on the beach at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall on 13 August 2012 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales The lower jaw of a dead sperm whale that stranded itself on a beach in Hunstanton, Norfolk on 5 February 2016 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales One of the five sperm whales that were found washed ashore on beaches near Skegness, Lincolnshire over the weekend on 25 January 2016 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Employees at work to skin the remains of a beached 60ft whale on 25 January 2013 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Two long-finned pilot whales are stranded on a beach in the northern French city of Calais on 2 November 2015 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales A sperm whale lies dead after becoming stranded on a beach in Hunstanton, Norfolk on 5 February 2016 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Crowds gather as a sperm whale lies dead after becoming stranded on a beach in Hunstanton, Norfolk on 5 February 2016 Getty But local prosecutors said some of the mammals had escaped, leaving 87 beluga whales and 11 orcas at the facility. The cramped conditions at the marine containment centre horrified environmental activists, who have staged protests near the area. Although Mr Reshetov told Russias state TASS news agency that he was the owner of the animals, it had previously been reported that four separate companies owned the mammals. Russian prosecutors have brought criminal charges against the four companies, which appear to be affiliated. The nations law only allows the capture of whales for scientific purposes. The mammals are being kept in pens near the city of Nakhodka (Screenshot/Free Russian Whales) The four companies have previously been fined for illegal capture and have a history of selling the animals to amusement parks abroad. Russian president Vladimir Putin is also said to have taken a special interest in the case. The presidents spokesperson said Mr Putin was concerned about the case and wanted the whales freed. In February Russian authorities said the mammals had to be released back into the wild but the order is yet to be complied with. Officials now hope to release the whales into the wild by the summer and have invited a French ocean explorer to advise them. Russian scientists estimate that the rehabilitation effort will cost about 300 million rubles (about 3.5m). Italian unions have refused to load two electricity generators onto a Saudi Arabian ship, to protest against the middle eastern country's role in the Yemen war. The Bahri-Yanbu ship loaded arms in Antwerp earlier this month before pulling into port in Genoa. Unions in the northern Italian city initially lobbied to have the vessel banned, but their efforts failed and the Bahri-Yanbu docked there earlier this week. It was met by protesters. One carried a sign which read no to war. Union workers then refused to load the generators. Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Show all 17 1 /17 Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Doctors take some blood of Yemeni Yousef Abdullah Bakhit Ali, 13, suffering from severe acute malnutrition. With ongoing and unending conflict in Yemen, humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate across the country Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen A doctor weighs Yemeni baby Yahya Hamoud Ali Al Huzef, 9 months suffering from malnutrition Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Ali Mohammed Ahmed Jamal,12 years old and suffering from severe acute malnutrition. He arrives with his family at a Unicef supported treatment centre in a hospital in Sanaa Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen A doctor measures the arm of Yemeni Ali Mohammed Ahmed Jamal, 12, who is suffering from malnutrition at a treatment centre in a hospital in Sanaa Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen There are over 400,000 severely malnourished children in need urgent lifesaving assistance in Yemen Unicef/Abdulhaleem Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Ali Mohammed Ahmed Jamal is weighed Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen A doctor measures the arm of baby Yahya Hamoud Ali Al Huzef Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Unicef are currently working to reach 275,000 malnourished children with critical life-saving supplies and care for over 5 million people with safe and clean water to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Yahya Hamoud Ali Al Huzef with his family in his house in the outskirts of the capital Sanaa Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen The country is on the brink of famine and children's chances of survival are becoming slimmer by the day Unicef/Abdulhaleem Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Ali Mohammed Ahmed Jamal has his arm measured Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Unicef are currently working to provide nearly 1 million children with vaccines and healthcare Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Unicef are working with partners around-the clock to save children suffering from malnutrition and disease Unicef/Abdulhaleem Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Unicef are currently working to provide 9 million people with emergency cash assistance to help families buy basic commodities so they can survive Unicef/Huwais Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Ali Mohammed Ahmed Jamal is suffering from malnutrition Unicef Children suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen Unicef/Abdulhaleem We will not be complicit in what is happening in Yemen, the groups leaders said in a statement. The workers said that although the generators were marked for civilian use, there was a risk they would instead be redirected to Yemen. Port officials said non-critical goods were loaded but the generators were left on the quay. At least 6,872 people are believed to have died in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which began in 2015. A further 10,768 civilians have been wounded. Most of the casualties were killed or injured in Saudi-led airstrikes, prompting international condemnation. The war has also left much of the surviving population on the brink of famine. The Bahri-Yanbu was also met with a hostile reception in France in early May when it docked in the Normandy port of Le Havre. The vessel left without a cargo of weapons on 9 May, after a rights group ACAT tried to block the cargo on humanitarian grounds. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The group argued in a legal challenge that the consignment should be halted, as it contravened a United Nations treaty. Although a judge threw out the case the ship left shortly afterwards without the cargo. The Bahri-Yanbu has now left Italy and is en route to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. Additional reporting by agencies The ominous hum of the planes in the night sky above interrupts the young mens light-hearted banter. A field commander named Ayman al-Omry calls out to them. Phones! he orders. The fighters, positioned south of the Yarmouk military base on the front lines outside of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, quit staring at their Facebook feeds and stuff their smartphones into their mismatched camouflage trousers. A dim, dreary sliver of moonlight illuminates an overcast night. The planes draw nearer, their monotonous hum piercing the quiet. Laughing and joking a few minutes ago, the young men defending the capital from the forces of warlord Khalifa Haftar now tense up and crowd against the wall of a disused garage that doubles as a forward operating position. Sporadic automatic weapon fire opens up, with both sides firing high-calibre guns towards each other. Mortars land nearby, sometimes striking terrifyingly close to the garage. Nearly 80 per cent of the casualties suffered by the men are caused by airstrikes, one commander tells me. The planes tend to come out during nights of heavier cloud cover, avoiding clear, starry nights for fear of drawing anti-aircraft fire. At the garage, the young men spot dots of light descending towards the ground, followed by the glow of explosions and earth-shaking thuds. The planes get closer. The thuds get louder. The drones are coming day after day, says Omry, a 45-year-old father of four. Then the planes come, with seven missiles each. We count them, one by one. Where will the next one hit? Will the next one hit us? Libyan fighters defend the UN-backed government in Tripoli from a Haftar offensive (Amru Salahuddien/The Independent) Haftar, a former army colonel and onetime western intelligence asset, on 4 April declared war on Tripolis UN-backed Government of National Accord, an authority supported by many of western Libyas armed groups as well as its main political parties, including the Libyan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. He created his Libyan National Army some five years ago, hoping to unite under his rule a nation fractured following the 2011 collapse of Muammar Gaddafis four-decade dictatorship. He conquered much of the east, including the countrys second city of Benghazi, and the sparsely populated south of the country. Haftars forces are now located just a few hundred metres from the disused garage, past the earthen berm blocking the roadway and along the pockmarked asphalt. They have better weapons and perhaps less to lose than those defending the city. By day, the conflict has quickly turned into a chaotic series of skirmishes and artillery and mortar strikes along a jagged front line that skirts southern and southeastern Tripoli. We see a car coming at us and we shoot at it, says Muftah al-Shalady, a 25-year-old oil engineering student from the city of Zawiya. He has suspended his education to come to the front lines. Maybe we kill two people. Maybe more. We are outgunned. We dont have any strategy. Were not soldiers. Recommended Battle drones deployed for the first time to defend Libyan capital By night, surveillance drones scour the terrain along the front lines separating the armed forces of eastern Libya. Then combat planes, possibly retrofitted agricultural aircraft supplied by Haftars patrons in the United Arab Emirates, unleash airstrikes. Our air forces are still continuing to strike the holdouts of the terrorist criminals, in support of our ground forces, Colonel Ahmed al-Mismari, Haftars spokesperson, told reporters on 16 May. The battle now is very close to the main neighbourhoods of Tripoli. The battle lines fall well within Tripolis metropolitan area, a city of 3 million people that is among the most densely populated areas in north Africa. Young men fight ferociously, while just a few miles up the road, mothers and fathers with children in tow shop for food, furniture and clothes at well-lit stores. Every day we have 15 to 20 war injuries, mostly at night, says Najib Birgly, an orthopaedic surgeon at a hospital in Tajoura, east of the capital and near one of the front lines. Right now were stable. But we lack some things, and every day the supplies get less and less as the injuries get worse and worse. Then the planes come, with seven missiles each. We count them, one by one. Where will the next one hit? Will the next one hit us? Anti-Haftar field commander Ayman al-Omry Universities and grammar schools have been shuttered. Prices are up. Summer is coming, promising more blackouts and water outages. On 20 May, gunmen allegedly allied with Haftar stormed a key water pump, ordering its engineers to cut off the supply of water to the capital. Theres no stability, theres no life, says Abdul Wahab al-Tarhouni, a 33-year-old employee of an electrical supplies shop in Tripoli, sipping tea with his friends in Algeria Square. We are drifting from day to day. And people have seceded from life, they dont care about Haftar or anyone else. Ghassan Salame is a Lebanese scholar who became UN envoy to Libya in 2017. He has struggled for months to bring the countrys factions together to avoid the type of conflict now unfolding. Libya is on the verge of descending into a civil war which could lead to the permanent division of the country, he told the United Nations Security Council on 21 May. The damage already done will take years to mend, and thats only if the war is ended now. Haftars attack seemingly came out of nowhere, in that there was no immediate provocation that preceded it or apparent urgent military reason to launch it (Amru Salahuddien/The Independent) Haftar, anointed a field marshal by the remnants of one of the broken nations two expired parliaments, has been pining for the capital for years. But this attack seemingly came out of nowhere, in that there was no immediate provocation that preceded it or apparent urgent military reason to launch it. In fact, a long-planned UN-organised peace conference was to be held in Ghadames just a week and a half after the offensive began. Haftars allies describe the campaign as part of a five-year effort to rid Libya of terrorist groups. So far about 500 people have been killed, at least a couple dozen of them civilians, according to the UN. And hundreds of people have been injured, putting strain on medical services of a country already broken by more than eight years of near constant armed conflict Some 75,000 people have been displaced, including African and other migrants desperate to make their way through Libya to Europe. They are holed up at schools or detention centres, the conflict making the west even more alluring. The war has also reopened an opportunity for Isis, which was all but vanquished in a gruelling western-backed conflict that drove them out of the central Libyan city of Sirte. Reinvigorated, the group has launched fresh attacks in recent weeks, targeting Haftars forces in the south of Libya and menacing the country again. Now theres a security vacuum in the south. Its very fertile ground for Isis International official We spend so much time focusing on the battle between Haftar and the government, we are forgetting the other player on the battlefield, one international official tells me. Now theres a security vacuum in the south. Its very fertile ground for Isis. Several well-placed international officials tell The Independent that Haftar had promised his backers in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Russia a quick victory that he would be welcomed by cheering Tripolitanians fed up with the armed militias that make up the citys security forces. Even US president Donald Trump, whose government has been steadfastly supporting the UN-backed authority of prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj since it was launched in 2015, cheered him in a bizarre tweet that followed conversations with Haftars patrons. The field marshal describes the operation as an attempt to take control of the capital and rid it of what he describes as terrorists. That reflects the position of the UAE and Egypt, who view any entity that includes the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation. Haftar went so far as to label Sarraj, the genteel 59-year-old head of the UN-backed Government of National Accord, a terrorist. He scored some early, easy victories, convincing elders in towns south of the capital to hand over control without a fight, and joining forces with fighters from Tarhouna, a bastion of loyalists to former dictator Gaddafi. But what was supposed to be a quick victory has turned into a long, deadly slog with no easy end in sight. Before launching his offensive, Haftar gave any armed brigades in the city 24 hours to clear out or surrender. But instead of withdrawing, the armed groups mobilised. Powerful well-armed brigades from the port city of Misurata, battle-hardened during years of fighting against the forces of Gaddafi, Isis, and rival militias, teamed up with armed groups in Tripoli and the mountain town of Zintan to reinforce the citys defences. We made the most of those 24 hours, boasts Colonel Faraj Swehli, the leader of a Misurata military unit. Haftar won control of the citys disused international airport destroyed in a 2014 war between rival militias before losing it to the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord, who vacated it under heavy fire. The area remains contested. As of mid-May, Haftar also lost some of the key battlefield advantages he had at the very start of the conflict. First came confirmation that the Tripoli government was procuring battle drones and deploying them across the front lines to counter Haftars forces. Then came the stunning photos and video showing at least 21 Turkish mine-resistant armoured personnel carriers arriving in western Libya, a sign that Ankara, under president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was not about to let its allies in Tripoli lose to a force backed by its rivals in Cairo, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. But it remains unlikely that theyll tip the balance in the GNAs favour. The newly arrived equipment appears to have produced some immediate success on the ground, because LNA airstrikes have visibly diminished over the last few days, says Claudia Gazzini, the Libya researcher at the International Crisis Group. But these gains could be short-lived because overall the forces and their equipment appear equal and in the current trajectory both sides of the conflict are likely to turn to their respective allies for more military backing. **** The young man behind the wheel of the little sedan cant be more than 15 or 16, and the girls sitting in the back seat even younger. Omry orders the vehicle to stop. This is military zone! he tells the young man. You cant be here. They explain sheepishly they were just coming back from their home, which lies in the conflict area, where they were trying to get some blankets and supplies and head back towards the city centre, where the displaced are heading. Omry beseeches them not to return to their home, in a neighbourhood which has turned into a ghost town, with bullet-pocked buildings lining the main highway. Entire districts of the city have been consumed by the fighting, which for now remains on Tripolis suburban outskirts, an area of mostly low-rise buildings and light industry, where young families bought homes because theyre cheaper and more spacious than apartments in the city centre. Salah Jouma, a 40-year-old manual labourer, was living in one such house. He had been urged to leave when the fighting began on 4 April, but he had nowhere to go. He, his wife, and their five children stayed home and watched the reports of the fighting on television. On 19 April a barrage of Grad rockets struck his neighbourhood, one caving in an entire section of his house. Dust and debris were everywhere. The children were screaming. They were hysterical, he recalls. It was a miracle no one was hurt. They left the house on foot, he and his wife walking in the night while carrying and dragging their kids, aged 13, 12, nine, seven and nine months. His wife held their infant. He carried his 7-year-old on his shoulders. They walked more than three miles along a dried-up irrigation canal, until they came to the Wadi Rabaa district, where they tried to find a taxi. Men pray at a now shuttered school, near central Tripoli, which is being used to house internally displaced people (Borzou Daragahi) They wound up like many of the displaced in an elementary school, which have been shuttered because of the war. At one school near central Tripoli, children run around the courtyard. The kids, who have grown up over the last eight years amid war and conflict, have grown somewhat used to the chaos, and appear to adjust quicker than the adults. They grew up in a very wrong environment, says Maysoon al-Diab, a 45-year-old volunteer at one school. When I was growing up the last thing I would ever think of is a Kalashnikov. They see them everywhere all day. If the war drags on or moves deeper into the city, it will continue to take a toll on civilians. Both Haftar and GNA forces claim they are studiously avoiding any civilian casualties. But the UN and international rights groups have repeatedly chastised both sides for disregarding the rules of war. Mohamed Omar, nine, and his 7-year-old brother Obeida were watching television in their house in Tajoura, near the seaside, and their mother, Awatef Muftah, 38, was cleaning up on the morning of 14 May. It was already Ramadan, when the kids stay awake to enjoy the cool night-time temperatures. Besides, schools were closed because of the war. The missile struck about 1:30am, hitting the outside of the familys home. It remains unclear what the target was, and the site had been cleaned of bomb debris by the time The Independent arrived. Hossein Attiya, the friendly and outgoing mayor of Tajoura, insists the missile was fired by Haftars forces, but an errant GNA missile could have also been the cause. Pieces of shrapnel got lodged in Awatefs head and neck. A widower, she remained on a ventilator for a week at Tajoura hospital, before she died from her injuries, never regaining consciousness. My mum was sweeping in front of the bathroom, recalls Mohamed, struggling to get his words out as he recovers in a hospital bed next to his brother. All I heard was the sound of this missile. I covered up my brother to protect him because he is smaller than me. My mum was lying on the floor, not moving. That is all I remember. All I heard was the sound of this missile, recalls Mohamed, nine, who is now an orphan. I covered up my brother to protect him because he is smaller than me (Borzou Daragahi) When hes not at the front, Omry buys and sells various items out of a small warehouse. He is often grumpy, but generally good natured and helpful, and tells The Independent about 30 times not to photograph his face he wants to travel abroad in the future and doesnt want to be smeared on social media as a militiamen or terrorist. Just no pictures, he says repeatedly. Omry says hes exhausted, and hasnt had a full nights rest in days. He catches a few hours or minutes of sleep here and there, but that is proving difficult. One brief peaceful interlude snatched to allow the young men to temporarily retire from the front line to enjoy a Ramadan breaking of the fast is interrupted by a mortar round that falls just outside the disused garage. The men scamper for cover, diving for the ground. Machine gunfire opens up wildly. Four times Haftars men have sought to exploit the air strikes and rocket barrages to breach the front and take their way close to Tripolis centre past the checkpoint where Omry spends most of his days. Each time they have been rebuffed. Despite their show of bravado, many of the young men are evidently terrified of being at the front line. Days after he was interviewed by The Independent, Muftah al-Shalady, the 25-year-old engineering student, was shot, and is still clinging to life at an intensive care unit. Even if they were able to break through, theres no guarantee Haftars forces would be successful in taking over the capital. The field marshal has his fans in the city, and some are even vocal a testament to the freer environment in the countrys west than in its east. But there is no overwhelming outpouring of support. Ironically, Haftars putsch may have accomplished exactly what he set out to fight. Over the past six months, goaded by the United Nations, many of the militias that used to dominate Tripoli and frighten residents had been slowly incorporated into the army and police. Gone were the wild-haired young guys in flip-flops driving around in pickup trucks with high-calibre guns. Instead well-behaved young men drive around in ordinary patrol cars, easing the anxieties of Tripoli residents. You dont hear the gunfire, says Abdullah bin Abdullah, a 62-year-old Tripoli resident and oil company manager. Most of the militias are engaged by the ministry of defence or ministry of interior. Two or three years ago, yes, there were militias. Now the militiamen with wild hair in trucks bearing the names of Misurata, Zawiya, and Zintan, the same guys that Haftar was supposedly trying to drive out of the capital, are back in full force, worrying Tripoli residents. Unsurprisingly, the great bulk of Libyans favour neither the collection of armed groups that have reigned over Tripoli since 2011 or Haftar, who left the eastern city of Benghazi largely in rubble when he pushed out Islamist militias, and has imposed a repressive atmosphere similar to that of his mentor, Egypts Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Some Libyans hostile to the government in Tripoli note that their relatives in the east living under Haftar describe a worse quality of life than in the west a general lack of services and security. One Benghazi native, who fled the city after Haftar took over, says that his home in the city was seized by a member of field marshals special forces, who had the temerity to call him and ask for his forgiveness. They kill people, says the Benghazi man, who asked that his name not be used. They are jailed and tortured and their bodies dumped on the street, he says, of dissidents and anti-Haftar Libyans. Haftars supporters are confident they will be able to conquer Tripoli just as they did Benghazi, a three-year battle that Mismari, the field marshals spokesperson, on 16 May described as a great historical epic in which the army and the people put their hands together in their battle against terrorists and criminal groups. Libya fighting intensified after Donald Trump spoke to warlord Khalifa Haftar Mismari claimed 17,000 fighters were holed up in Benghazi with heavy weapons, a number that many consider exaggerated. There too, he said, fighters were getting help from inside and outside Libya. And it is true that momentum appears to be on Haftars side. Though sometimes gruelling, he has posted a string of wins, even if in the case of Benghazi or Derna, it has meant the destruction of the city. But Haftar may also have overreached. His supply lines remain vulnerable. Overseas officials say they have been taken aback by Haftars charge for the capital, arguing there is evidence that other countries are being at least partly dragged into the war by Haftar himself. Algeria, the gendarme of north Africa, has no love lost for Haftar and has grown vocally critical of the offensive, noting with alarm the bombing of a north African capital. Trump has voiced support for Haftar, but he may encounter resistance from US State Department and military officials working on a political solution. The defenders of the capital are determined not to allow Haftar to take the city. As messy as Libya has been, they fear it will be worse if another strongman like Haftar takes over. Over my dead body Haftar will win. No way, says Colonel Hossein Shitat, a Misurata commander helping in the defence of Tripoli. We are determined, and we have a cause. Read the first part of the The Battle for Tripoli series, Libya: UN-backed government defending capital from warlord Haftar now using drones on front lines Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes We both understand that (Bustoss) most important job right now is her work leading the DCCC. We agree that it is in the best interest of House Democrats that she does not attend the event, Lipinski said. The Boeing 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March 2019 following two fatal accidents that involved the planes anti-stall system. These are key issues. How significant is the Boeing 737? This is the plane that, more than any other, helped to democratise aviation. The 737 is the worlds most successful airliner in terms of numbers sold. Over the past half-century, more than 10,000 have been built placing it well ahead of its main competitor, the Airbus A320. The twin-jet is the workhorse for many airlines including Ryanair, which flies the 737-800 exclusively, and Americas biggest budget carrier, Southwest. Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures This picture taken on March 11, 2019, shows debris of the crashed airplane of Ethiopia Airlines, near Bishoftu, a town some 60 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. - An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on March 10 morning en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi with 149 passengers and eight crew believed to be on board, Ethiopian Airlines said. (Photo by Michael TEWELDE / AFP)MICHAEL TEWELDE/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Family members mourn the victims at the crash site of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A page of a Boeing flight crew operations manual is seen at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane crash, near the town of Bishoftu, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner REUTERS Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures epa07434278 Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER EPA Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A grounded Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger plane of the Norwegian low-cost airline Norwegian is parked at the tarmac at Vantaa airport in Vantaa near Helsinki, Finland on March 13, 2019. - A number of countries have banned Boeing's 737 MAX 8 medium-haul workhorse jet from their airspace in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP) / Finland OUTHEIKKI SAUKKOMAA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures Rescue workers search the site for pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STRINGER EPA Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A heap of debris from the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are piled at the crash site near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA/STR EPA Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures A crew working with an investigative team to clear the site after the Sunday crash of the Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carry debris at Hama Quntushele village in the Oromia region, on March 13, 2019. - A Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all eight crew and 149 passengers on board, including tourists, business travellers, and "at least a dozen" UN staff. Families of the victims were taken to the remote site on March 13, 2019, where the plane smashed into a field with 157 passengers and crew from 35 countries, leaving a deep black crater and tiny scraps of debris. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA / AFP)TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Boeing 737 MAX grounding: Ethiopia Airlines Flight 302 in pictures FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, on a flight from Miami to New York City, comes in for landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York, U.S., March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo REUTERS What is different about the Max version? Boeing needed to offer airlines a more efficient twin-engined jet. The firm could have designed a new plane, but chose instead to continue the 737s evolution. A commercial virtue of this approach is commonality the idea that pilots trained on the current generation of the aircraft could transfer to the Max with minimal training. The latest variant, which began flying in scheduled service two years ago, uses largely the same airframe, but its engines are much larger a development that improves the fuel efficiency of the aircraft. The Boeing 737 sits much lower on the ground than its more modern counterpart, the Airbus A320. This feature enables passengers to board and leave the plane using its own internal steps, and allows easier access for engineers. But it also presented Boeing designers with a challenge. If the latest large engines had simply been hung from the wings, as on previous versions, there would have been insufficient ground clearance. The problem was solved by mounting the engines higher, so they are blended into the wing and significantly further forward. This change has aeronautical consequences, however. In some circumstances the aircraft can tilt upwards, increasing the risk of a stall in which the wings do not generate sufficient lift to keep the plane flying safely. How was this problem addressed? With new software called the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS). The anti-stall system monitors the angle between the wing and the airflow, known as the angle of attack. This is measured by a vane on the outside of the aircraft. If the system detects that the angle is getting dangerously steep, it operates an elevator in the tail to nudge the nose downwards and does so repeatedly, even overriding the pilots commands. On 29 October 2018, a Boeing 737 Max operating as Lion Air flight 610 took off from Jakarta. A single faulty angle-of-attack sensor triggered the MCAS response. It initiated a fatal struggle between the pilots and the anti-stall system. As the captain and first officer wrestled with the controls, MCAS repeatedly pushed the nose of the plane down, leading to a crash that killed all 189 passengers and crew. What happened in the wake of that tragedy? Boeing issued advice to 737 Max operators and pilots about how to combat an erroneous deployment of MCAS. But on 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed at high speed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa, with the deaths of 157 passengers and crew. Initial investigation showed the pilots were fully aware of the problem and responded appropriately. But the cockpit voice recorder and black-box investigators revealed another battle between two men and the technology installed on one of the worlds most modern aircraft. As more became known about the cause of the crash, aviation authorities around the world began to ground the Boeing 737 Max. But even as the UKs highly respected Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) banned the plane from British airspace, the FAA insisted there was no fundamental problem with the aircraft. Around 24 hours later, the FAA also issued a grounding order. What do the safety authorities want to know? They want answers to a series of specific questions about what improvements have been made to the anti-stall software by Boeing engineers; changes in procedures; and what training the planemaker proposes to offer in order to ensure that flight crew worldwide are familiar with the new system and its limitations. But they will also ask searching questions about the initial certification of the Boeing 737 Max. There have been repeated accusations that the manufacturer and the FAA have grown too close, with the safety regulator failing adequately to challenge the designers. In the process, the principle of redundancy, which allows for multiple failures without jeopardising the aircraft, appears to have been overlooked. For a plane to crash as a result of events triggered by a single failure in these cases, the angle-of-attack sensor goes against the whole philosophy of aviation safety. During previous groundings, most notably of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2013, the world was content to take the lead from the FAA. That may not happen again. What is the effect of the grounding? This is the busiest summer for aviation worldwide, and the inability to fly more than 500 aircraft has caused big problems for a number of airlines including American Airlines, Norwegian, Tui and Ryanair which was due to start flying a specially designed Boeing 737 Max, the -200 version, in May. Extra capacity is being chartered in to maintain schedules, but some flights are being cancelled. The cost to the airlines is running into billions of pounds. In May, Tui said the costs incurred for chartering in aircraft and other measures to deal with the grounding will range from 200m if the plane is allowed to fly in time for the peak month of August to 300m if the grounding continues until the end of the summer. A meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, in May heard that the FAA has no timetable for returning the Boeing 737 Max to service. The acting administrator, Dan Elwell, has said: If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us confidence to lift the order, then so be it. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events What has this done to confidence in Boeing? The whole sad saga has proved extremely damaging for the manufacturers reputation among airlines, pilots and passengers. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner grounding, which lasted four months, was imposed after a series of battery fires, none of which harmed the travelling public. There is now widespread acclaim for that aircraft. But defects in the 737 Max are implicated in two calamitous tragedies. Even when the grounding order is lifted, concern is likely to remain. Q I booked five flights to Sri Lanka in February for our family Christmas and new year holiday, at a cost of 4,200. Then we heard about the terrorist attacks and understandably want to cancel. But the airline says it will not be able to say until November whether or not our flight will leave, and has not offered a refund. Meanwhile, we cant book anything else as we need the money back. Please, could you shed any light on this situation for us? Name withheld Narendra Modi has won again in India, with initial results showing his vote share may have even risen by 10 per cent. While the post-mortem for main opposition party Congress begins in earnest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of which Modi is leader will celebrate deep into the night. But while Modis supporters might rejoice, his victory poses a very serious question. Does the continuing electoral success of a far-right Hindu nationalist demagogue finally mark the end of secular democracy in India? In the wake of Britains colonial rule, Indias democracy was conceived of as secular with a civic form of citizenship. Yet when Modis BJP came to power on 2014, critics warned against the challenges that democratic institutions were set to face. These warnings were not far off the mark. BJPs record in 2015-2019 has been divisive to say the least. The party has marginalised religious minorities, especially Muslims, from public life with many, as a result, being lynched by Hindu nationalists in the name of cow protection. They have incarcerated dissidents accused of being urban Maoists, created a cultural revolution of their own by Hinduising the bureaucracy and media; and crushed the seeds of progressive movements in universities, cultural institutions and on the streets. Yet despite his divisive politics, the countrys underperforming economy and the BJPs poor record on improving the lives of its citizens the country has its highest unemployment rate in 45 years Modi is set to be the prime minister again. Indian General Election 2019 Show all 10 1 /10 Indian General Election 2019 Indian General Election 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah (R) welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) at BJP headquarters prior to a ceremony to thank the Union council of Ministers for their contribution in India's general election, in New Delhi on May 21, 2019 AFP/Getty Indian General Election 2019 An Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter shouts slogans and holds the party flag as he celebrates on the vote results day for India's general election in New Delhi on May 23, 2019. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in India's election, with early trends from the election commission showing a clear lead for his party. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Indian election officials count votes using electronic voting machines at a counting center for the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) election, in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir, India, 23 May 2019. The parliamentary elections, which began on 11 April 2019, were held in seven phases throughout India and are currently being tabulated. The Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. EPA Indian General Election 2019 Indian supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance as they celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Siliguri on May 23, 2019. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in India's election, with early trends from the election commission showing a clear lead for his party. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Indian supporters and party workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance as they celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Bangalore on May 23, 2019. - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in the world's biggest election, with early trends suggesting his Hindu nationalist party will win a bigger majority even than 2014. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Indian supporters and party workers of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dance and hold flags as they celebrate on the vote results day for India's general election in Bangalore on May 23, 2019. - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in the world's biggest election, with early trends suggesting his Hindu nationalist party will win a bigger majority even than 2014. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 An Indian member of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) shouts slogans and shows portraits of party president M.K. Stalin as she celebrates on the vote results day for India's general election in Chennai on May 23, 2019. - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked on course on May 23 for a major victory in the world's biggest election, with early trends suggesting his Hindu nationalist party will win a bigger majority even than 2014. AFP/Getty Images Indian General Election 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters, wearing masks dipicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, celebrate BJP's potential win in the the Lok Sabha election the Lok Sabha elections, in Amritsar, India, 23 May 2019. The Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, elections, which began on 11 April 2019, is having the results tallied today. The Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 lower house seats, and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. According to initial polling Narendra Modi could retain the position of Prime Minister along with the Bhartya Janta Party. EPA Indian General Election 2019 A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter wears a mask dipicting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he celebrates BJP's potential win in the the Lok Sabha election the Lok Sabha elections, in Amritsar, India, 23 May 2019. The Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, elections, which began on 11 April 2019, is having the results tallied today. The Lok Sabha elections were held for 542 of the 543 lower house seats, and a party or alliance needs 272 seats to form a government. According to initial polling Narendra Modi could retain the position of Prime Minister along with the Bhartya Janta Party EPA Indian General Election 2019 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in their party's Assam state office in Gauhati, India, Thursday, May 23, 2019. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party have a commanding lead in early vote counting from the country's six-week general election. AP Bill Clintons Its the economy stupid assumed a certain form of rationality based on economic interest. Narendra Modi, like many other populist leaders such as Donald Trump in the USA or Recep Erdogan in Turkey, has chosen a different political formula: a lethal kind of majoritarian nationalism. While minorities are scapegoated, the majority is represented as the victim of a liberal and secular elite, with critics of the government bullied and rejected as anti-leader and hence anti-India. The election results come with no silver lining. Jingoism and Islamophobia has propelled the BJP to an even stronger showing than in 2014. The results so far show the party by itself securing a simple majority; a coalition with its allies would make its majority huge. With the opposition parties remaining weak, its clear majoritarian nationalism is the hegemonic political force in India. Majoritarian nationalism in its essence is the idea that since Hindus are the numerical majority, the political parties should privilege their identity and aspirations and do away with the secularism, that in their view, is nothing more than the appeasement of minorities. The fact that Muslims as a religious minority, around 14.2 per cent of the total population, have suffered persistently from economic, social and political marginalisation over decades will simply not be allowed to puncture the myth of minority appeasement. The fact is that the BJP and Modi have won not despite the divisive politics they espouse but precisely because of it. The election was successfully framed as a vote for or against Narendra Modi, as he cultivated an image of himself as a strong leader who would stand against secularist ideas of minority rights; speak for the nation imagined primarily as Hindu; crush resistance against Indian rule in Muslim-majority Kashmir; and take on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The BJP put up controversial candidates such as Hindu religious figures who called the killer of Mahatma Gandhi a patriot; called for the expulsion of all Muslims out of the country and some who are under trial for acts of terrorism against Muslims. Others have insisted there is no need for future elections because Narendra Modi a member himself of Indias far-right Hindu organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh will implement a Hindu Raj. The partys messaging was no longer a mere dogwhistle but a strident and visible Hindu nationalist politics. And it was a gamble that could not have paid off had a significant section of the electorate not been radicalised already. The danger for secular democracy in India does not come only from a ruling party that has a Hindu nationalist agenda but from a conspicuous section of the citizenry that has proven itself to be complicit. Violence against Muslims is a regular occurrence. It was that combination of an all-powerful political party and a colluding citizenry that drove the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Germany. There are parallels here, however tempting it is to sidestep the comparison the RSS-backed BJP see themselves as the authentic embodiment of the Indian nation. This was an election that has given an electoral mandate to majoritarian nationalism at best and Hindu fascism at worst. It will embolden the reactionary elements at work in India, unleashing them even further, and lead to even more violence against Muslims. This we know. Whether Indias hard-earned secular democracy can survive the years ahead is yet to be seen. Dibyesh Anand is a professor of politics at the University of Westminster and is the author of Hindu Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear A probe into how Googles mammoth advertising business handles personal data has been launched by Irelands Data Protection Commission. The companys lead privacy regulator in Europe is investigating whether the tech giant has breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the way it processes user data to provide personalised online advertising with Ad Exchange. The purpose of the inquiry is to establish whether processing of personal data carried out at each stage of an advertising transaction is in compliance with the relevant provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), DPC said in a statement. The GDPR principles of transparency and data minimisation, as well as Googles retention practices, will also be examined. Data Protection Commission opens statutory inquiry into Google Ireland Limited https://t.co/aWrC0bzZ3s pic.twitter.com/BWh005X1uT Data Protection Commission Ireland (@DPCIreland) May 22, 2019 In response, a Google spokesman said: We will engage fully with the DPCs investigation and welcome the opportunity for further clarification of Europes data protection rules for real-time bidding. Authorised buyers using our systems are subject to stringent policies and standards. It comes after a number of complaints were submitted to the DPC, including that of Johnny Ryan, from private web browser Brave, who last year criticised the company for behavioural ads. Every time a person visits a website and is shown a behavioural ad on a website, intimate personal data that describes each visitor, and what they are watching online, is broadcast to tens or hundreds of companies, Dr Ryan claimed. Advertising technology companies broadcast these data widely in order to solicit potential advertisers bids for the attention of the specific individual visiting the website. The regulator has the power to fine companies up to 4% of their global annual turnover. Presiding Officer Carmel McBride and Garda Adrian McGettigan carry the ballot box to the polling station on Inishbofin (Niall Carson/PA) Residents on islands off the coasts of Donegal, Galway and Mayo are casting their votes in the European and local elections for what could be the last time they are able to do so a day ahead of the rest of the country. More than 2,000 people are eligible to vote on the remote islands. It is expected to be the last time early voting on the islands is allowed under changes within government. Presiding officer Carmel McBride and garda Adrian McGettigan were dropped off by helicopter on the island of Inishbofin on Thursday morning, with Mr McGettigan delivering the ballot box to the polling station. Ms McBride has been the presiding officer for around 30 years. The rest of Ireland will vote in the European and local elections on Friday. They will also cast their ballots in a referendum on Irelands divorce laws with a Yes vote set to reduce the lengthy period separated couples have to wait before they can obtain a formal divorce. Voters in Cork, Waterford and Limerick will also be able to participate in separate plebiscites on government proposals to create directly elected city mayoral positions with executive functions. Expand Close The ballot box arrived on the island by helicopter (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The ballot box arrived on the island by helicopter (Niall Carson/PA) Counting in the local elections and divorce referendum will begin on Saturday morning. The European election count for Irelands three constituencies Dublin, South, and Midlands-North-West will commence on Sunday morning at centres in Dublin, Cork and Castlebar, Co Mayo. A Europe-wide embargo means the first results in that poll cannot be declared until 10pm that night. If previous elections are a guide, counting is likely to continue into Monday. Counting in the mayoral plebiscites is likely to get under way in the three impacted cities on Monday. The European and local government elections will be the first electoral test for Irelands main parties since the inconclusive general election of 2016. Expand Close Lucky the dog helps oversee voting on Inishbofin (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lucky the dog helps oversee voting on Inishbofin (Niall Carson/PA) The result delivered a hung parliament and precipitated months of negotiations between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two parties with a century-old enmity dating back to Irelands Civil War. A historic accord emerged that saw Fianna Fail agree to support a minority Fine Gael-led government through a confidence-and-supply deal for three years. The parties renewed that arrangement late last year, extending what has been dubbed an era of new politics until early 2020. While Fridays elections focus on European and council issues, the results will no doubt be interpreted as a public judgment on Fine Gaels performance in government and how effectively Fianna Fail has managed the delicate balancing act of holding an administration to account while at the same time propping it up. Other smaller parties in the Oireachtas parliament, such as Sinn Fein, the Green Party and Labour, will hope to be the beneficiaries of any potential public disaffection with new politics. Theresa May was bunkered down in Downing Street last night, as her ministers turned on her and Andrea Leadsom resigned from the Cabinet. The UK prime minister was accused of shutting herself in with "the sofa against the door" after she refused to meet ministers Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, who were expected to confront her over her "disastrous" new Brexit deal. Ministers and backbenchers told her she had "run out of road" and spent the day urging her to quit before polls open in today's European Parliament elections, in the hope it would limit the scale of the expected Tory defeat. An eve-of-election poll put the party on just 7pc, which would potentially deliver its worst-ever election result. However, Mrs May was still clinging to power last night after a day in which she had faced three separate plots to oust her. The pressure on her increased dramatically with the resignation of Mrs Leadsom, the Leader of the House. Mrs Leadsom, whose job was to announce Government business in the House of Commons, said she could not "fulfil my duty" by proposing a Brexit Bill that "I fundamentally oppose". With a clear plea to Mrs May to quit, she said: "I now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this government and our party." Mrs Leadsom, who intends to stand for the Tory leadership when Mrs May stands down, had been encouraged by allies to quit so she could wash her hands of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which will be published tomorrow. There are now fears in Downing Street that the resignation could prompt a domino effect among other leadership rivals and Brexiteers who could follow her out the door. Mrs May will come under renewed pressure to resign today when a succession of Cabinet ministers troop into No 10 to say they cannot support her Brexit plan. She has also agreed to meet Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, tomorrow to discuss her future. As Mrs May was accused of refusing to accept reality, Iain Duncan Smith, who led the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2003, said: "The sofa is up against the door. She's not leaving. She is like a female version of Gordon Brown: needing to be got rid of, but locked in the bunker and refusing to go. Her deal is dead, but she is stubbornly playing for time." Another Tory MP said: "We've got to change the rules to get her out. Who does she think she is? Imelda Marcos?" Support for Mrs May from some members of her Cabinet evaporated after ministers were shown a draft version of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which explicitly laid out a path to a legally binding second referendum. Ministers said they had not agreed to the policy in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, as they believed the vote on a second referendum would only be advisory. In her resignation letter, Mrs Leadsom said: "I do not believe that we will be a truly sovereign United Kingdom through the deal that is now proposed." A Cabinet minister told 'The Telegraph': "We are going to push very, very hard to make sure that this Bill does not see the light of day. It's a disaster. "She's run out of road, there's nowhere to go." More than 70 Tory MPs, including leadership rivals Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, have now said they will vote against Mrs May's Bill, meaning she is on course for a 150-vote defeat. Even supporters of the deal, including Sir Edward Leigh and Nicky Morgan, have urged her to pull it, but No 10 insists it will be published. Mrs May had already agreed to announce the timetable of her departure after a vote on the Bill in the first week of June, but with the Bill seemingly doomed, Brexiteers said there was no point in Mrs May staying on a single day longer. As Mr Graham is to meet Mrs May tomorrow, it has led to speculation that Mrs May could choose that as the time to announce her resignation. Loyalists are now said to be urging Mrs May to quit with dignity, rather than suffering the humiliation of being forced out. One minister said that 200 Tory MPs would vote against Mrs May if the rules were changed. Cabinet sources speculated that Mrs May could announce her departure in a "podium moment" outside No 10 on Monday, following the expected disaster at the European Parliament elections. THE Irish economy needs to face up to an increasing risk that there will be a no-deal Brexit, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said on Thursday. The Minister was speaking a day after Prime Minister Theresa Mays government was hit by another cabinet resignation when Andrea Leadsom said she would leave and as it appeared that Mays new Brexit deal would not make it to a vote. "I still believe it is very much possible for an agreement to be reached ... but we can all see, and we are all aware of, the strain and pressure that is building in the UK on the back of the European Parliament elections. "The risks of a no-deal Brexit scenario facing Ireland later on this year are building," the Minister told journalists after speaking at a tax conference. Most economic forecasts say that in the absence of Brexit, the economy here will grow around 4pc this year. If there is a hard Brexit, the Central Bank of Ireland believes growth could be as little as 1pc in the first 12 months following Britains departure. Read More His remarks come as Britain's foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said that Mrs May would still be prime minister when US President Donald Trump visits Britain in early June. "Theresa May will be prime minister to welcome him, and rightly so," Hunt said when asked by a reporter who he expected would be prime minister when Trump starts his state visit to Britain on June 3. Expand Close British Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: Bloomberg / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp British Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: Bloomberg Mrs May was under intense pressure to name a date for her departure after failing in her latest bid to break the Brexit impasse in parliament. Hunt declined to comment when asked what he would discuss with Mrs May in a meeting later on Thursday. Fast-track planning applications have been submitted for more than 4,000 new homes in Co Kildare since the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) fast-track planning system was introduced in 2017 and apartments accounted for at least 1,231 units, or 30pc of the total. It will be interesting to see how these are sold. Will the developers go aim to generate sales as quickly as possible and sell the entire entity to institutional investors. It will also test the appetite among institutional investors for developments where more than 70pc of the dwellings are houses rather than apartments. One local agent acknowledges that while institutions prefer to buy complete projects with complete control over the block management, some developers aim to sell the apartment section of their developments to institutions and sell the houses to individual buyers, including first-timers. This strategy will enable developers to achieve fast-track planning and will also enable them to reduce the risk of having to wait for months, if not longer, for individuals to buy vacant units and while bank interest bills are mounting. However, not all developers are adopting this strategy as some commentators say there is now stronger demand for and availability of apartment mortgages than there was in the past when lending institutions shied away from them. Joey Sheahan, head of credit at MyMortgages.ie, a broker set up in 2005, said his firm has had no difficulty obtaining mortgage approval of up to 90pc of apartment prices for first-time buyers. "Some years back, when credit was tighter, certain banks reduced the loan-to-value available for one-bedroom apartments to as low as 75pc. And still today some banks may offer a lower loan-to-value on apartments in rural areas - of perhaps 80pc. But, in the main, most lenders are offering 90pc loans on apartments now," he said. One of the country's biggest developers, Cairn Plc, is selling two-bedroom apartments at its Elsmore development in Naas, Co Kildare, for which joint agents, Coonan and Hooke & MacDonald, are quoting starting prices of 249,000. Furthermore, although not yet completed, they are already selling off the plans. Elsmore also includes three-bedroom duplexes as well as three- and four-bedroom houses, with the three-bedroom terraced houses priced from 310,000. Cairn also secured approval for an SHD at Mariavilla, Maynooth. It will comprise 320 houses and 106 student units with 483 bed spaces, as well as a local neighbourhood node including a creche, cafe, gym and a retail unit. However, it will have only 26 apartments and all of those will have only one bedroom. A local agent says some institutions are also interested in Kildare developments, with one developer believed to be in the process of selling about 90 units in Maynooth. It will be interesting to see how developers configure these mixed residential developments and the future management companies in order to attract both institutions to the apartments and home buyers to the houses. There has been institutional demand for houses as well. For instance, IRES Reit purchased tranches of houses in developments in Balbriggan and Hansfield in Co Dublin, so there may well be others who will also buy these mixed residential developments in the wider commuter belt, especially in projects which are located close to train stations and motorways. One of the largest developers in the country, Glenveagh, has shown its confidence in the Kildare market by purchasing a number of sites, including two which received SHD approval for 100 apartments and 350 houses in Barnhall, Leixlip, and another at Athgarvan Road, Kilbelin, Newbridge, with approval for 48 apartments and 283 houses. Earlier this year, Glenveagh paid around 50m for the two sites, equating to an average of about 63,000 per unit site. The vendor Ardstone Homes has been the most successful developer in terms of getting SHD approval for Kildare sites, with three approved to date. Its third was for 125 units in Naas, of which 28 are apartments. It has a fourth one in the pipeline at Celbridge comprising 230 houses and 125 apartments. An analysis of six Kildare SHDs which were granted approval shows that of the 1,912 units approved, apartments accounted for 559 of them, which indicates an average of almost three apartments to seven houses have been approved. A local estate agent said that the An Bord Pleanala does not appear to apply a minimum number of apartments or a maximum number of houses in Kildare but it does apply a minimum density of about 14 units per acre, which can be demanding for those traditional builders who focus on houses. One industry expert noted that to apply a blanket density of 14 homes to the acre for the whole county was unfair to these developers, especially when there is development in areas that are not close to rail and road services. Within the approved SHDs, the ratio of apartments to houses can vary considerably. For instance, Ardstone's Kilbelin project was granted permission where only 14pc, or 48 out of the 343 units, were apartments. By contrast, one of the few Kildare projects to seek a high portion of apartments was Stennock's 281-unit Newbridge development, where 60pc are apartments. Not that a dominance of apartments ensures An Bord Pleanala approval, as the Comer Brothers recently found out. Their application for 135 apartments on a site opposite Manor Mill shopping centre Maynooth has been the subject of negotiations with the Bord for almost two years. The Comer brothers have had a remarkable run since they returned to investing in Ireland in the wake of the bust, with a series of property developments. Global commercial real-estate advisor CBRE has been rolling-out its 'Workplace 360' programme, which aims to physically and culturally transform how the company operates. The strategy is in place in 70 offices worldwide and has now arrived at the firm's Dublin headquarters at Connaught House, Dublin 4. Louise Barry, director of international transaction management, Marie Hunt, head of research, Murray Osborne, architect and head of design and David McConnell, head of building consultancy, showed me around the revamped premises and explained the strategy. My first impression stepping into the lobby was 'Wow'! The large central lobby, known as 'The Heart', is dominated by an ultra-modern coffee shop complete with healthy snacks, and surrounded by a variety of seating areas and 'flexible working areas'. The traditional reception area is to one side and is now backed by a wall of freeze-dried moss. Light floods in from all sides and glazed partitions emphasise the feeling of space. Most of the meeting areas were occupied and there was a pleasant social atmosphere. Off the lobby is a large roof terrace with chairs and umbrellas. CBRE occupies approximately 1,600 sq m of space, and none of the 165 staff has their own desk. Louise Barry told me that the layout is all about "collaborative and agile working." All staff, including secretaries, are given a company laptop and mobile phone, and plug in daily at the desk of their choice. Whilst individual departments tend to work in 'neighbourhoods', the increased interaction with other departments is seen as very beneficial. Meeting rooms can be booked by staff, ranging from formal rooms to more informal 'break-out' spaces. One internal meeting was taking place with perhaps 15 staff members sitting on tiered timber benches, auditorium style. Part of the strategy is to improve the way the company works, maximising efficiency and with an emphasis on staff wellness. For example, healthy breakfasts are provided, as are pilates classes and free membership of the gym in the building. Forty percent of the desks can be instantly adjusted to allow the user to either sit or stand while working. The office is paperless, with practically no space taken up with storage. "Apart from the internal aspect, the client-facing aspect is very important. "The new offices showcase the business for the clients, and are also seen as important in attracting staff to work for the firm," David McConnell told me. A big step forward in the service to clients is the 'Experience Centre', which was close to completion when I visited. This is a theatre-style space, with mood lighting, and dominated by a four-metre screen and two other digital screens which will be used for presenting ideas, designs, pitches, and market updates to clients. It's certainly a quantum leap from PowerPoint presentations in stuffy boardrooms. The new offices are bristling with the latest technology and most meeting rooms have interactive whiteboard screens. A presentation on your laptop will automatically load onto a screen in a meeting room - there's no more messing about with wires. Despite being busy, the offices seemed peacefully quiet, which was helped by an eco-friendly, sound-absorbing material which is placed in the ceiling spaces. On the tour, I was welcomed by Myles Clarke, who was appointed as managing director of CBRE in Ireland at the end of last year. He is the only person with an allocated office, understandably deemed necessary for confidential discussions. Indeed, the flexible desk arrangement is seen as not only good for generating ideas, but also serves to "flatten the structure". I liked the fact that each CBRE office is encouraged to incorporate its own design features and one open-plan area has a multi-angled side, representing the Cliffs of Moher, with the floor coverings representing the transition from beach, to rock, to sea. 'Workplace 360' is an innovative move, which will impress staff and clients. The strategy can also be packaged for CBRE clients by its in-house design teams. In announcing his departure, Clark said he was very, very proud of the work of this board. The reduction of a $1 billion deficit to virtually zero, the constant and continued academic achievement under Dr. Jackson's leadership and ultimately dealing with the very sensitive issue around sexual abuse. I would say without any hesitation the structure, the process, the systems that are in place will be able to address those issues much more rigorously than we have in the past. The European Parliament elections, to be held this Friday in Ireland, and taking place across the EU from the 23-26 May, will be hugely significant in determining the future direction of Irish and EU agriculture. The incoming European Parliament will be key decision makers at a time of significant reform and upheaval for the sector. Many major agrifood policies and programmes are currently under revision and there are many new challenges facing the sector which will need an EU wide solution. The EUs multiannual budget from 2021-2027 will determine the level of funding available for the CAP post-2020. This budget is currently being discussed at a technical level by EU Member States and CAP funding is directly under threat, with proposals for a potential cut of between 5-15pc. Such a cut would not only have a significant impact directly on farmers direct payments but also impact the types of market management and rural development programmes available and how effective they are. The next Parliament will need to give their consent to the final agreed budget. This requires MEPs who will defend the current level of CAP funding. The reform of the CAP Post 2020. While the position of the current Parliaments Agriculture Committee gained a lot of attention, with regard their proposals to introduce a mandatory flat rate direct payment and a crisis management tool which would place a levy on farmers increasing their production in times of market imbalance, this is not the established position of the European Parliament and can be changed by incoming MEPs. The final policy will then need to be negotiated by Parliament with EU Member States and approved once again by the Parliament Plenary. Elected MEPs must back active commercial farmers within the policy reform and ensure the continuation and development of strong market management tools and supports for climate change mitigation and adaption, farmer co-operation, agri-food research and innovation and rural business investment. BREXIT The MEPs we elect will also play an important role in the Brexit process, as the European Parliament must provide its consent to the Withdrawal Agreement. They will also play a role during the next phase of the process on the future relationship. MEPs need to be able to understand and appreciate the complexities facing the Irish agrifood sector arising from Brexit and advocate strongly for an outcome that protects farmers and the agri-food sector. International Trade Agreements, currently under negotiation with Indonesia, Mercosur (South America), New Zealand and Australia. An agreement on all of these will need to be approved by the European Parliament. We need MEPs who will support a strong and fair-trade agenda and who will push for the greater EU market access internationally. Exports are essential for Irish agriculture and accessing new markets is more important than ever as the uncertainty of Brexit hangs over the sector. The EUs Long-Term Climate Strategy, which has become the priority topic of the election and will likely be a key focus of the new European political leadership. With the EU committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the incoming European Parliament will likely be at the helm of new Climate legislation and programmes. We need MEPs who will support commercial progressive agriculture and ensure that the necessary funding and tools are made available for the sector to rise to this challenge. Fragmentation of the EUs single market, resulting from new barriers to trade such a national decree on mandatory origin labelling in the dairy sector. Our MEPs will be centrally involved in legislation which has the opportunity to reinforce the integrity of the single market and further aid the free movement of goods across the EU. Access to plant protection products and agri-innovation. The European Parliament was central to the debate for the reauthorisation of Glyphosate in 2017. The next Parliament will be too, as Glyphosate will once again seek reauthorisation in 2022. In addition to this, legislative decisions will need to be taken on New Breeding Techniques, such as CRISPR, which are considered to be the future of plant breeding. Having MEPs who support science-based decision making will be essential to ensure continued access by Irish farmers to necessary tools and ensure the competitiveness of Irish and EU agriculture in the global market which is already embracing agri-innovation in the plant-breeding sector. The MEPs who we elect on Friday will be involved in determining the outcome of all of these policies and more. It is therefore vitally important that all of us involved in agrifood sector go to the polls and have our say on the future of EU agriculture. Alison Graham is European Affairs Executive, ICOS Holiday makers are being asked to be vigilant about bringing home food products such as ham sandwiches from their holidays abroad in order to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF). The Minister for Agriculture and Food Michael Creed said the introduction of Africian Swine Fever would devastate our pig industry and is asking holiday makers to be vigilant about not bringing home food from their holidays abroad. ASF is a contagious virus which has led to the killing of millions of pigs in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Africa and parts of Europe as it spread in recent months. Chinas pig production is forecast to drop by 134m head in 2019 as a result of the rapid spread of the disease. The disease poses no risk to humans, but Minister Creed warned that if the disease was to spread to Ireland it could put over 300 pig farmers out of business. The virus can spread by accidental acts, he said, and with over 1m Irish people travelling abroad every year there is a high risk of it being spread. He said that in order to prevent the spread of the disease its imperative that consumers do not bring home food from abroad and ensure to dispose of food from abroad properly. There is a high risk of coming in contact with this virus and the real danger in spreading it would be that some of those coming back through Cork, Dublin, Shannon or Belfast airports might bring back a ham sandwich in their lunch pack that theyve brought from eastern Europe or central Europe or from Brussels or wherever and then decides to dispose of that ham sandwich in an inappropriate way, he told The Joe Finnegan Show on Shannonside Northern Sound. If that ham sandwich or some part of it ends up in the food chain for pigs thats where you have a problem. Tourists going abroad should not under any circumstances bring food back with them. Dispose of it and do not bring food back with you. He added that its really critical that the small minority of those going on hunting holidays take all of the appropriate disinfectant steps and that commercial pig farmers do not feed waste food that may contain meat or meat products to pigs. "Theres no room for complacency here.. A simple ham sandwich or salami or meat product can bring this virus to our doorstep and it would be devastating because pig farmers have had it very difficult and this would be the last straw, he said. Collectively pig farmers and all of us citizens need to be aware what could happen. If you take countries of similar size and exports such as Latvia and Lithuania their pig exports were decimated by this. This would close markets to us and put our pig industry out of business. Factories will not benefit from the 100m Brexit beef package, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has insisted. Minister Creed has stated that farmers will be the only section to benefit from the beef package which was announced by the European Commission last week. Factories wont benefit, full stop. Im not aware of any factory that has suffered, Im aware of farmers and finishers and suckler farmers that have and can assure you the 100m will be for those farmers not factories, Minister Creed told The Joe Finnegan Show on Shannonside Northern Sound this morning. I can assure you we can make it happen that it will be just the farmers who benefit from this, thats an imperative. Were awaiting from the Commission of the exact terms and conditions. We will then go in to consultation with the industry to make sure we deliver the payments in the most effective way and in particularly just to farmers. The Minister added that his ambition is that the fund would be made available to farmers at the earliest possible date in the autumn. In reaction to the announcement of the fund, farm organisations said they were adamant that factory-controlled feedlots should not get a payout under the aid package. ICSA beef chairman, Edmund Graham, said payments to farmers should be completed by the end of July, and warned that any delay until autumn would be unacceptable. It is estimated that around 800,000 prime cattle young bulls, heifers and steers were killed in the six months from the start of September to the end of March. While industry sources accept that a straight payment per head of 125 on all prime cattle would be the simplest mechanism for allocating the 100m, farmer representatives say that such an approach would: Direct 20pc of the funds to factory controlled feedlots; Target the bulk of the funds to large-scale finishers; Exclude suckler and store producers from the aid package. IFA president, Joe Healy, said the allocation of the 100m to the farmers was critically important. Gardai have thanked the people of South Kilkenny for their prompt response to a text alert circulated which proved crucial in solving a burglary at a rural farmhouse. James Berry, 36 Hewitsland, New Ross pleaded guilty to the burglary at a rural location outside Mullinavat on August 16, 2018 at Kilkenny Circuit Court. The victim, who was 80 at the time, said he is nervous since the burglary and is not the same man I used to be. Sergeant PJ Griffin said that on the date in question he was alerted to a break-in at a rural farm where an 80-year-old male was living alone. Sgt Griffin gave evidence in the case that the injured party had left his home and gone to walk his dog at 11am. The sergeant outlined how when the injured party returned he saw a guy coming out of a window. He had his walking stick with him and struck the intruder with the stick once or twice and he left. The injured party then saw a second individual who confronted him with a knife. One of the intruders dropped some cash at the gate and was picked up by the defendant, who was driving a white van, he said. Gardai subsequently located two witnesses who were living locally and who gave descriptions of the van and a text alert was sent out. The vehicle was identified and the registered owner was identified and it was established that the ownership of the vehicle had changed in recent times. Sgt Griffin told the court that CCTV footage tracked the van travelling from New Ross and onto Tullogher and Mullinavat. James Berry was subsequently arrested and detained at Thomastown Garda Station and 2055 in cash and a mobile phone was seized. The defendant admitted leaving New Ross and meeting a number of other people and to staying in the van while other individuals went into the home of the injured party. He dropped the other guys off knowing what they were going to do. He dropped them and got a phone call ten minutes later when they were leaving and collected them. The 80-year-old man was targeted by these individuals and he got 3,000 for his part in the break in, Sgt Griffin told the court. Prosecuting counsel, Cephas Power confirmed that according to the injured party no more than 10,000 was taken. Mr Power also stressed to the court that the crime was a joint enterprise between the parties involved. In a victim impact statement the victim outlined how everywhere I go now, the place has to be locked up. He also said he had to get an alarm and is nervous and uses a lock and chain on his gate. I am not the same man I used to be, he said adding that this was the third time his home was burgled. Berrys defence barrister told the court that his client had a number of convictions, which were minor in nature at the time of the offence. He was 22 and was under financial pressure as he was due to get married. He is happy that the 2400 seized by gardai from him be given to the injured party and he has a further 600 in court for the injured party. Defence counsel also confirmed that gardai do not believe that the defendant was involved in the other two burglaries and added that his client wanted to apologise to the injured party and wanted him to know that he has nothing to fear from him or his family. Judge Patrick Meghen imposed a sentence of three years and nine months. He suspended the final two years for a period of four years on condition that he enter a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. Recommendations on who can own a veterinary practice are due within weeks, after concerns were raised about corporate entities owning veterinary practices. Current legislation governing the Veterinary Council does not deal with ownership of veterinary practices and fears that supermarket style veterinary practice chains might be established, with a possible knock on impact on clients and animal welfare, have promoted the Veterinary Council to review regulations. Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Peadar O Scanaill, President of the Veterinary Council, which regulates vets, said the topic of veterinary practise ownership has been a very divisive one and since January 2018 there has been significant ongoing work around regulation of the situation. A report on the situation along with consultations and legal advice is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, he said, and it's expected a clarification statement will be issued. Peadar O Scanaill said questions over ownership of veterinary practices had been on the radar for a number of years, but there were issues in the Veterinary Councils code that were contradictory around ownership. He said the Veterinary Council looked at the act and admitted that consultation beforehand would have been better. In December 2017 the Veterinary Council amended code of conduct to say that ownership of veterinary practise by corporate bodies is not prohibited. However, at the time Veterinary Ireland said it had serious concerns related to the changes. The interpretation from 2005 to January 2018 was that a corporate could not own a practice, but concerns that multinationals were buying practices led the Veterinary Council trying to clarify the situation, but according to Peadar O Scanaill this confused rather than clarified the situation. Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny said there is a fear in farming communities that corporate-owned veterinary practices might focus on more profitable areas, rather than large animal services. Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill criticised the Council, saying it had suspended its December 2017 decision within weeks and now practices are being bought while the review is going on. He also asked if there was a conflict of interest in the Veterinary Council at the time of the change. Labour TD Willie Penrose questioned why the consultation process did not happen before the changes to the legislation were made and said the Minister for Agriculture should be taking a hand in the situation. Veterinary Council Registrar Muldoon said the Veterinary Council has no role in ownership or practices, never has and never will. It oversees the quality of services delivered by its registrants and the practise of veterinary medicine. At no time will it allow for any diminution of standards. Fountain Healthcare Partners raises 118m for third fund bringing total capital under management to 294m. Pictured (left to right) Fountain Healthcare Partners Aidan King, Dr Manus Rogan and Dr Ena Prosser Irish life science venture capital fund, Fountain Healthcare, has raised 118m from investors. It had targeted raising 100m in what is its third fund. This brings the total assets under management at the group to 294m. Those investing in the latest fund include the European Investment Fund, Coolidge Limited an investment vehicle of Dermot Desmond and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, as well as AIB. The fund, Fund III, will primarily focus on investing in specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices. Dr Manus Rogan, co-founder and managing partner at Fountain, said: "We will continue to seek opportunities to identify life science investment opportunities with exciting potential both in Ireland and internationally." "Our ability to deploy significant capital together with our proven track record of helping early stage companies commercialise their potential, positions us a partner of choice for ambitious life science growth companies." Fountain Healthcare will invest a majority of the capital in Fund III within Europe but expects to also make investments in the US market. It plans to make a total of 10 to 12 investments in predominantly private life science companies. The National Broadband Plan has been bogged down for years. Now it is closer to going ahead, but serious questions remain about the process, the remaining bidders and - most significantly -whether the 3bn price tag represents value for money. As an Oireachtas committee investigation kicks-off, the whole project remains in jeopardy. The sole remaining bidder, Granahan McCourt, may have been selected but the contract with the Government has yet to be signed. It is understandable that certain questions about this process would be asked given how unusual the tender was. It was unusual because there was only one bidder. It was also unusual because unofficial contacts between the remaining bidder and the then Minister for Communications, Denis Naughten, led to his resignation. Finally, it was unusual because, in the end, the bidder's consortium shrank. It had included Enet, SSE and a role for the Irish Strategic Investment Fund. All of these issues are being taken by some people as a kind of smoking gun, that the Granahan McCourt consortium had too much leverage in the process; is about to get a sweetheart deal, and doesn't have enough experience of delivering these kinds of project. After all it is a US investment fund and not a telecommunications company or a utility. Finally, throw into the mix the revelation that the whole thing will cost around 3bn and Granahan McCourt is putting in just 225m, but it will own the network at a point in the future. A licence to print money, some would suggest. However, a closer look at the business case and the numbers suggests the opposite could be true. Here are a few salient facts. Eir has had a take-up of just 20pc on the fibre it put into 300,000 homes in towns, villages and rural areas in the last few years. A similar take-up for National Broadband Ireland, as the business will be called, would see them with 108,000 customers. They plan to charge a 100 up-front installation fee per home. That would yield a one-off 10.8m. If it collected an average of 50 per month, per home, its 108,000 customers would bring in revenues of 64.8m per year. Out of that Eir will have to be paid 1bn or 40m per year for use of its network. The company will have to hire or outsource customer support people, somebody to fix the network, etc. Somewhere along the line it will also have to pay interest on borrowings or bonds. Suddenly, this licence to print money begins to look more like a financial risk being borne by the bidder. It could get much higher take-up levels in the future making it more profitable, but that could be a long way away. Its 225m investment will be made first and upfront. Bear in mind that other commercial companies backed out of this bidding process. Eir decided not to continue bidding because it believed there was a commercial case for covering 300,000 extra homes but not 840,000 extra homes. Its CEO Carolan Lennon said the service level agreements (SLAs) being sought by the Department of Communications as part of the tender process were higher than those sought in urban areas. In other words, if you build and run this network you must guarantee that broken lines or service problems will be fixed more quickly than they have to be in urban areas. That is an expensive business and presumably failure to deliver on that will incur penalties. So, where does Granahan McCourt see the business case in all of this? Owning the network is one solution. But Minister Richard Bruton has said that based on a commercial valuation the network will not be worth the 3bn or more it will cost to build, but will be worth more like one tenth of that. As mobile technology improves with 5G ,etc, certain rural areas, especially those with more houses closer together, will be offered an alternative mobile broadband solution. That is simply competition. National Broadband Ireland will have to compete against other technologies and operators in the more "lucrative" rural areas in the future. That could further undermine an already limited business case. One solution would be to hike up prices to rural customers in order to make up the numbers. However, built into the contract are pricing restrictions whereby its prices will be linked and benchmarked with competitors around the country. This will be a regulated pricing structure. Both the Government and the consortium have emphasised profit clawbacks whereby the State would get an additional cut if profits went over a certain level or if the network is actually delivered at a cheaper price. I don't see either of those things happening and it is hard to see the clawbacks ever coming into play. So, where will the return on investment for the bidders come from? National Broadband Ireland CEO Peter Hendrick said at the weekend that the company is in this for the long haul, when I asked him about selling up at some point in the future. He cannot realistically talk about the company's intentions over the next twenty-five years. Who knows where any of us, including Granahan McCourt, will be then? In theory, there could be some profit to be made by selling on the network, but the company won't own the entire network for many years to come. They can only sell on the right to ownership in the future. That means a discounted price. Perhaps everyone is looking in the wrong place when it comes to this contract. Perhaps a very different kind of problem will emerge, one which doesn't involve a US investment fund making super profits and owning a valuable nationwide network. The roll-out of the network will begin in towns in every county in Ireland. These will act as hubs. The further the network goes out from those hubs, the more scattered the houses (customers) will be. This will make them even less commercially viable than homes nearer to towns. What if the network begins to be built and it goes out of these hubs in 26 counties to a level beyond which there just isn't a viable business for the bidder? The cost of build could end up being more than anticipated and the level of customer take-up could be less than expected. In this scenario, the private sector operator could simply say, "we cannot go any further". Any funding gaps have to be borne by the private company. They could just say, it isn't working. What then? Presumably, they would be on the hook to the State which could pursue them for completion of the network. But would they, especially if they had delivered fibre to enough homes to have 85pc or 90pc coverage? Would such a legal pursuit be financially worth it, especially if the business model has gone off the charts in the wrong way, on these more isolated houses? By then, there may even be alternative solutions through mobile for those people. Contrary to obvious thinking, instead of Granahan McCourt making far too much money out of this, they could end up not making enough to justify completion. Thousands of mortgage-holders are missing out on huge savings by failing to move to lower-priced home loans within their own banks. KBC Bank said it had now written to 32,000 of its customers twice to tell them they could cut their monthly costs by opting for a cheaper rate within the bank. Bank of Ireland, AIB, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank have 100,000 customers between them who could get better rates by just applying for one or submitting a home valuation. KBC Bank Ireland boss Peter Roebben told the Oireachtas Finance Committee a small number of its customers took up its offer when it wrote to them telling them how to get lower rates. Customers not signing up for the lower rates are missing out on average savings of 1,800 a year. For a family with a larger mortgage of 300,000, annual savings of 4,200 can be made. The customers concerned are on a variable rate of 4.25pc, but they could opt for a fixed rate as low as 2.5pc. The bank charges lower fixed rates for those with more value built up in their homes, so-called loan-to-value pricing. Even those with a loan-to-value of more than 90pc could get a fixed rate of 3.7pc, if they also sign up for a KBC current account. The other lenders have revealed to the committee that around 100,000 of their customers could get better rates without moving bank. All customers need to do is apply for a lower fixed rate, or submit an up-to-date valuation to avail of a lower rate based on their loan-to-value rate. Founder of personal finance website Askaboutmoney.com Brendan Burgess said the savings that could be made were "staggering". Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath said there were 35,000 Permanent TSB customers paying a variable rate of 4.5pc. Bank of Ireland has 47,000 mortgage-holders on variables of between 3.9pc and 4.5pc. They could get a one or two-year rate of 2.9pc. Some 17,000 Ulster Bank customers are still paying a variable rate of between 3.5pc and 4.3pc. Almost all of these would qualify for a two-year fixed rate of 2.3pc, and all can avail of some rate reduction. Mr McGrath said most AIB variable-rate customers had not submitted a revised valuation to get a better rate. The National Broadband Plan may cost the State 1bn less than the reported 3bn figure, the head of the State-subsidised process has told TDs. Fergal Mulligan, programme director of the National Broadband Plan, said a "best-case scenario" could see the State subsidy for the rural fibre broadband rollout come down by a third. "It's possible that a number of things could come in under cost," he told the Oireachtas Communications Committee. "You can see that subsidy coming down by up to 1bn." He said that the most predictable base cost will be 1bn to 'pass' premises with fibre broadband cable. "We have a good handle on that," he said. "This includes things likes 144,000km of fibre cable, brackets, maybe some poles. It also includes things like optical line equipment in exchanges." Mr Mulligan said that further costs could turn out to be more variable. "Connecting to each home is the biggest unknown cost," he said. "We think it will be somewhere in the order of between 400m to 700m. "However, it's only paid on costs incurred. So if connecting homes comes in at 300m, that's all we'll pay." Mr Mulligan said that the Government will be looking to reduce the subsidy "on a quarter by quarter basis". The National Broadband Plan has been estimated to cost up to 3bn in State subsidies, made up of a maximum of 2.1bn in infrastructure payments, VAT on that and 480m in "contingency funding" for unexpected events. Bidder The preferred bidder for the 25-year contract, National Broadband Ireland, has said that it will put up 175m of initial capital and a further 45m in working costs. Department officials say while State funding is capped, the bidder's costs are uncapped and may rise if rollout targets are not met. Questioned by Fianna Fail communications spokesman Timmy Dooley, Mr Mulligan said that "clawbacks" that may be due to the State are common in other countries building large infrastructure projects. Last week, Communications Minister Richard Bruton told the Irish Independent that the finished network would be one-10th the size of Eir, which recently sold for 3.5bn. However, unlike Eir, it will not own the bulk of its own poles to deliver the broadband, instead renting it from Eir. The Irish Data Protection Commissioner is to open a statutory inquiry into Google amid concerns the tech giant may not be in compliance with GDPR over personalised advertising. It is the 17th statutory inquiry into multinational tech firms by Helen Dixon's office since the advent of GDPR one year ago. Under GDPR, Google can be fined up to 20m or a maximum of 4pc of annual revenue, amounting to billions of euro. The probe was initiated after complaints by Irishman Johnny Ryan, who works for the British web browser Brave. "A statutory inquiry pursuant to Section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited's processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange," said a DPC spokesman. Dr Ryan said: "The Irish Data Protection Commission's action signals that now, nearly one year after the GDPR was introduced, a change is coming that goes beyond just Google. We need to reform online advertising to protect privacy and to protect advertisers and publishers from legal risk." *Why not use Chicago Police for security as has been the tradition? Shes developed a relationship and trust in Mr. Smith and his abilities over the years, Ruiz said, echoing comments the mayors office has made about how it has nothing to do with her trust in Chicago police. He's been working for her since the election; Lightfoot and Smith know each other from her days as a federal prosecutor and his time in the Chicago-based U.S. Marshal's office. Play time: Googles Android operating system has been used by Huawei and other Chinese brands and Huawei has replaced its own app store with Google Play on overseas models. Photo: REUTERS Google is giving Beijing cause to rethink the potential hidden costs of free technology. Washington, busily upping the trade war ante, may ultimately ban Chinese telecom champion Huawei from using Google's proprietary technology, including its app store. The search engine is blocked in China, but local handset makers selling abroad have come to rely on the group's technology anyway: the open-source Android system powers their phones. An embargo would threaten much of a $175bn export market. Chinese executives have themselves to blame. Brands like Xiaomi and Oppo needed operating systems; Android is free, and runs on almost anything. It can be tweaked to exclude censored services like Maps, YouTube, and Play. With Google's massive app market inaccessible, Chinese exchanges sprung up like mushrooms, offering downloads of homegrown games, mobile wallets, and selfie editors. But these alternatives failed to internationalise - even as overseas demand for Chinese-branded phones grew. Huawei's store, for example, offers only a token English menu. The company, which holds nearly a quarter of the European smartphone market, got around this by installing Google Play on overseas models. This complacent parochialism now looks like a strategic handicap, and not just for Huawei. The Chinese mobile market started contracting in 2017. Industry association data showed shipments, a proxy for domestic appetite, fell 15.5pc in 2018, and continued to decelerate through April. That makes foreign demand more important. Unfortunately, without access to Play's catalogue of three million-plus apps, Chinese phones hold little attraction. The closest international alternative, Amazon Appstore, has only 500,000 or so titles - and is American too. Worse, many popular apps rely on proprietary Google code, and won't run on Android phones that don't include it. It is possible the White House will ease up in exchange for trade concessions of some sort. There is, after all, no compelling national security reason to deny Ren Zhengfei's company, or by extension its peers, access to YouTube. But this shot across the bows will be noticed by every manufacturer in China. It is too late to ditch Android - a generation of mobile developers has learned to code for little else. The sector has built few apps, much less app exchanges, of use to foreigners. Free Android could end up being quite expensive. Reuters Breakingviews It is difficult to see how the companys smartphones are remotely competitive (outside China) going forward. Photo: Bloomberg Will the events of the last week sink Huawei's high-growth phone business? Does it mean that the high-end P30 Pro or P20 you just bought may shortly become useless? And does it impact any of the firm's infrastructure business in critical broadband networks in Ireland? It's a been a very tough week for the giant Chinese telecoms company. It has been caught in the middle of a trade war between the US and China. The upshot is that American authorities are telling that country's biggest tech companies that they can no longer do core business with Huawei. That includes important firms such as Intel and Qualcomm. It also may include UK firms that use some US-designed technology, such as chip design firm ARM. But the nuclear threat comes from the one company that can cripple virtually all of Huawei's international sales: Google. Google has been told that it must stop providing Huawei with the software that makes the Chinese company's smartphones work. As it stands, new Huawei models will not have a full version of Android or the Google Play Store. That not only means a lack of apps such as Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps. It also means, without an app store, lack of immediate access to download WhatsApp, Facebook, Outlook, Netflix and other apps we take for granted every day. Instead, they will have a cut-down Android operating system with whatever apps Huawei makes. In other words, the phones will be next to useless. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of Irish Huawei phone owners, there's no need to panic just yet. Both Google and Huawei have insisted that your handsets will continue to get access to Android and the Play Store for the time being. And the US has granted Huawei a 90-day licence to continue business as usual. Beyond that, though, there are no guarantees. What both companies appear to be saying is that the next version of Android (as we know it) won't be allowed on Huawei phones. That may mean that you simply can't update your Huawei phone to Android 10 (expected for release in the autumn). Or it may mean that you can try but, if you do, you'll get an operating system stuck with the crippled version. Or it may even mean that all existing models, even those that are not yet manufactured but which you buy next year, are able to be sold with today's Android version but not the next one (in which case you will have the App Store but no new upgrades). Phone functionality aside, there are other questions. For example, Huawei is one of the world's biggest telecoms equipment providers. In Ireland, it is one of the main equipment vendors in the fibre broadband network being rolled out by Siro, the joint venture between Vodafone and the ESB. That network has now passed over 300,000 homes. Does the turmoil put any of this network's functionality at risk? No, said a Siro spokesman. "Our network has not been impacted by recent developments and is not dependent on third-party software updates," he said. It's a similar story for Ireland's biggest operator, Eir. That company uses a combination of Ericsson and Huawei to support its telecoms networks here. A spokesman said that the company does not expect its Huawei equipment to be affected by the current trade-related difficulties being faced by the Chinese telecoms company. What about the 3bn state-subsidised network to be rolled out as a National Broadband Plan? "There is no Huawei equipment in the NBI network," a spokeswoman told the Irish Independent. "Nokia is the preferred supplier for all active equipment, both for the access network and core switches. Some of the retail providers may use Huawei as the residential gateways, but this is not NBI equipment or managed by us." But it is really in the realm of smartphones that Huawei's biggest impact is being immediately felt. Operators and tech retailers are beginning to report inquiries about guarantees and even sales returns. On social media, a flood of Huawei owners are asking whether their phones are set to become functionally useless. Google is trying to calm things down. "We assure you while we are complying with all US government requirements, services like Google Play and security from Google Play Protect will keep functioning on your existing Huawei device," said the company. Google may mean that this remains true so long as Huawei owners don't try to update to the next version of Android in the autumn. One consolation here is that it is very possible to keep an almost fully functional Android smartphone without upgrading to the latest edition. Indeed, the vast majority of Android phones from Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus and others use older Android versions. Google doesn't push the update as aggressively as Apple does with its iPhones. So users can easily go a year (or two) using the existing Android 9 (or Android P) version. The disadvantage to doing this is that you don't get the benefits of improved new features, like voice control or power management. If the unthinkable happens, Huawei says that it has been preparing for this kind of event for years and that it has its own operating system and software. Almost no-one believes that this would be a valid replacement for an Android interface or Play Store. "It is difficult to see how the company's smartphones are remotely competitive (outside China) going forward," says Ben Thompson, the respected technology analyst and author of 'Stratechery'. "Whatever hardware or price advantages there may be will surely be outweighed by a lack of apps (thanks to a lack of access to the Google Play Store) and a lack of Google services, which, it should be noted, are even more popular in Europe (Huawei's best international market) than they are in North America." Huawei does have a version of its phones that operate without the full Android experience, as half of its phone sales are in China, where Google is not allowed to be deployed. An Android smartphone without the Play Store can still access the web using its own mobile web browser (but not Chrome, which is a Google app). It can still make calls and send SMS texts. It can still connect to online services like email, although a user may have to go into the web browser and type out www.gmail.com or www.yahoo.com instead of being able to tap on an app (because those apps come from the Play Store, which won't be available). Similarly, there are alternatives to services such as Google Search and Maps, for future app choices in a Google-free environment. But they're relatively poor. Microsoft Bing is the second-biggest search engine, for example. But it's pretty awful in Europe. Yahoo Mail and Hotmail (now Outlook) are rivals to Gmail but few people are expected to change email provider because of this issue. And besides, they would need to create bespoke apps - assuming that they, too, are not placed on the US prohibition list. It all adds up to a grave threat to Huawei's phone business. Blow: Workers leave British Steels Scunthorpe plant in north Lincolnshire, north east England after the firm collapsed when last-ditch talks with its owners failed to secure a financial rescue. Photo: AFP/Getty Images British Steel, the UK's second-largest steel producer, has collapsed after failing to secure emergency government funding, jeopardising some 25,000 jobs, Britain's Official Receiver said yesterday. The High Court ordered the compulsory liquidation of the company, adding its staff will continue to be employed as the liquidator oversees the continuing operation of the main site in Scunthorpe, northern England. Owned by investment firm Greybull Capital, British Steel employs around 5,000 people, mostly in Scunthorpe, while 20,000 more depend on its supply chain. Greybull Capital, which specialises in trying to turn around distressed businesses, said it had tried to keep British Steel alive but the challenges of Britain's looming exit from the EU proved insurmountable. Business Minister Greg Clark said British Steel was open to new buyers, while the opposition Labour Party called on the Government to bring British Steel into public ownership. Greybull paid Tata Steel a nominal one pound for the business three years ago. After making a profit in 2017, British Steel cut around 400 jobs last year, blaming factors such as the weak pound and uncertainties surrounding Brexit, which it said hammered its order book. EU steel company shares are currently trading at their lowest in nearly three years, driven down by weak demand, high raw materials costs and cheap imports that can no longer reach the US due to trade tariffs. Turning a profit in steel is especially difficult in Britain, where steelmakers pay some of the highest green taxes and energy costs in the world and are saddled with high labour costs and business rates. Jeff Kabel, chairman emeritus of the International Steel Trade Association (ISTA), said the government was paralysed by Brexit and unable to address the steel sector's challenges. The collapse of British Steel comes after Germany's Thyssenkrupp and India's Tata Steel ditched a plan to merge their steel assets to create the EU's second-largest steelmaker after ArcelorMittal. That failed merger left the wider EU steel sector fragmented and vulnerable to economic downturns. It also called into question the fate of Britain's largest steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales, owned by Tata Steel. Signs of the ripple effect of British Steel's collapse are already beginning to emerge. Hargreaves Services, a company based in Durham, England, which supplies materials handling and other services, said earlier if the steelmaker ceases to trade, this could reduce its profit before tax in the next full year by about 1.3m. British Steel had asked the government for a 75m loan, later reducing its demand to 30m after Greybull agreed to put up more money, according to a source close to the negotiations. It had already secured a government loan of 120m this month to enable it to comply with the EU's Emissions Trading System rules. Reuters Tesla Inc is on course to deliver a record number of cars in the second quarter, beating the 90,700 it sent to customers in the final quarter of last year, according to an internal email from Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to staff. Musk's email, widely posted on social media and authenticated for Reuters by a source familiar with the matter, also said the company had on average produced 900 Model 3 cars per day this week, bringing it closer to a target of 7,000 per week. Expand Close Tesla CEO Elon Musk / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tesla CEO Elon Musk Tesla shares were up about 1% after a volatile opening. They rose on the Reuters confirmation of the email, which appeared to counter concerns that demand was dropping after a first-quarter drop in sales. Shares this week have traded at their lowest since late 2016 and were down for six consecutive sessions. The communication is one of the first about sales by Musk following an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that requires a securities lawyer to review his tweets and other communications that have material information. Demand for Tesla's Model 3 sedan and other cars has moved to the top of investors' list of worries after the company reported slack first-quarter demand against a backdrop of U.S.-China trade tensions. Expand Close Tesla CEO Elon Musk / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tesla CEO Elon Musk Musk's focus on cost-cutting has underscored broader concerns about whether Tesla has enough cash to fund its operations while it tries to turn a profit. In the email sent late on Wednesday, Musk said the company had racked up over 50,000 net new orders this quarter as of Tuesday. "It's the usual Elon Musk scheme: spread positive mood with good news. Elon is a marketing man, but the Tesla reality is sobering," Nord LB analyst Frank Schwope said. Tesla declined to comment on whether the email to staff required review under the agreement or if it had been reviewed. The SEC had sued Musk for fraud over his use of Twitter. The April settlement called for "the pre-approval of an experienced securities lawyer employed by the company of any written communication" for topics including "production numbers or sales or delivery numbers (whether actual, forecasted or projected) that have not been previously published via pre-approved written communications issued by the company." Jay Dubow, former branch chief in the SEC's enforcement division and a partner with Pepper Hamilton LLP, said, "If Musk made the communication publicly, then I believe it needs to be approved in advance by the company consistent with the settlement agreement. If the email was internal only, and was leaked, that is likely outside of the SEC's settlement." Tesla had reported a 31% fall in first-quarter deliveries and had warned that profit would be delayed until the latter half of the year as it struggled with shipments of Model 3 to China and Europe due to longer transit time. The carmaker is building a factory in China to produce Model 3 in the world's largest auto market and to escape a rise in tariffs on cars imported from the United States. "While we are critical of Tesla's execution, we think people have been way too eager to assume the worst case scenario," said Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin, who has a "neutral" rating on the stock. "Tesla is the EV industry leader for a reason, and we expect the company to remain successful." To a tea: A woman picks tea in Darjeeling geographical indication labels can be used to show where products are from Developing countries are increasingly using geographic labelling to boost the value of products ranging from carpets to rice, raising rural incomes and protecting farmland, according to agriculture experts and lawyers. Geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographic origin, which gives them certain qualities or a reputation, such as sparkling wine from Champagne and Darjeeling tea. A GI label is seen as a guarantee of authenticity, which is closely connected to the land itself, said Stephane Passeri, a GI consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). "It is generally linked to an increase in the value of the land, as well as revenues to local producers, therefore giving them an incentive to take care of this now precious land," Mr Passeri told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Bangkok. GIs can be particularly valuable for developing countries, where expanding populations and demand for highways, airports and factories are placing enormous pressure on land. In European countries with older GIs, the "high value of GI land means that it doesn't make sense to build on it," Mr Passeri said, as well as boosting the area's reputation which can attract tourists and encourage investment in infrastructure. GI certifications are awarded by each country's GI registry, which identifies and certifies products, using global standards. In Afghanistan, FAO is helping the government set up a GI system to help the country's farmers and craftsmen recover from decades of war. Pomegranates, saffron, carpets and handicrafts are likely to be among the first GI products, Passeri said. In neighbouring India, which has nearly 350 GIs, starting with Darjeeling tea in 2003, as well as varieties of rice, mangoes, tea, coffee and spices, there is evidence that GI labels help protect local traditions and economies. Sanjai Gandhi, president of the Intellectual Property Rights Attorney Association in India said GIs can raise the profile of rural areas. "The GI tag is as much for the land or area as it is for the product," said Mr Gandhi, who has helped local communities in Tamil Nadu get GI certification for rice and handicrafts. "As GI-tagged products fetch more money locally and abroad, people realise it is in their interest to preserve the area for the cultivation of the product rather than for industry." In southern India, indigenous Adivasi people have benefited from a GI for their Araku Valley coffee, said Manoj Kumar, founder of Naandi Foundation, which trained the community to produce coffee and markets the brand. "The GI is like an intellectual property for the small farmers. The Adivasis of Araku can be sure now that no one else can claim their coffee to be Araku coffee," he said. Thomson Reuters Foundation Judith Kerr has been remembered as a legendary author and illustrator whose books will live on forever following her death aged 95. Kerr, who wrote and illustrated a number of enduring childrens books including The Tiger Who Came To Tea, died at home on Wednesday following a short illness, her publisher HarperCollins said. A much-loved and timeless classic, The Tiger Who Came To Tea has sold more than five million copies since it was first published in 1968, and it has never been out of print. Kerrs other works include When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and the Mog the Cat series of books. I am so sad to hear that Judith Kerr has died. She was a legendary author and illustrator, whose stories and illustrations gave pleasure to millions around the world, not least me and my son. Judith is gone but her books will live on forever. pic.twitter.com/U36klRiQcM David Walliams HQ (@davidwalliams) May 23, 2019 Leading the tributes to Kerr was childrens author and TV star David Walliams, who tweeted that he was sad to hear of her death. He said: She was a legendary author and illustrator, whose stories and illustrations gave pleasure to millions around the world, not least me and my son. Judith is gone but her books will live on forever. Composer Howard Goodall tweeted: Adieu, beloved friend & neighbour, bonus grandmum to our girls, gentle, wry, unique Judy. Adieu, beloved friend & neighbour, bonus grandmum to our girls, gentle, wry, unique Judy. Our hearts are heavy, yet youd be urging us to tell stories, to live, laugh & love, unstintingly, with every breath we are given, as you did for 96 remarkable years. Ruht wohl #JudithKerr pic.twitter.com/mvd4zIxOZw Howard Goodall (@Howard_Goodall) May 23, 2019 Our hearts are heavy, yet youd be urging us to tell stories, to live, laugh & love, unstintingly, with every breath we are given, as you did for 96 remarkable years. Ruht wohl #JudithKerr. Video of the Day Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis shared her own memory of Kerr. She tweeted: I remember asking #JudithKerr Kerr if the tiger symbolised the 1960s sexual revolution where normal mores and suburban life became upended by this wild and exotic creature. She told me no, it was about a tiger coming to tea. I remember asking #JudithKerr Kerr if the tiger symbolised the 1960s sexual revolution where normal mores and suburban life became upended by this wild and exotic creature. She told me no, it was about a tiger coming to tea. emily m (@maitlis) May 23, 2019 Other tributes came in from Spandau Ballets Gary Kemp, who tweeted about his sons love of her books and author Tony Parsons, who said: Some books light up the world. Goodbye Judith Kerr. All my four boys have adored you and Ive loved reading your work to them. Forever on our bookshelves and in our imaginations. #JudithKerr pic.twitter.com/fJhfsIH8eI Gary Kemp (@garyjkemp) May 23, 2019 Publisher Ann-Janine Murtagh, of HarperCollins Childrens Books, said that it had been the greatest honour and privilege to have known and worked with Kerr for more than a decade. She said that Kerr would frequently visit their offices having travelled on a bus and that she would leave everyone full of laughter and in awe of her astonishing zest for life and absolute commitment to delivering the very best books for children. Murtagh also hailed Kerrs incisive wit and dry humour, adding that she embraced life as one great big adventure and lived every day to the full. Some books light up the world. Thank you for The Tiger Who Came to Tea and rest well, Judith Kerr. pic.twitter.com/VxDzCTyRgC Tony Parsons (@TonyParsonsUK) May 23, 2019 Earlier this year, Channel 4 announced it would air a special animated adaptation of The Tiger Who Came To Tea, which tells the story of a tea-guzzling tiger, who turns up unannounced and eats and drinks Sophie and her mother out of house and home. Talking to the Press Association last year, Kerr told of her inspiration for the book. She said: I first told this story to my small daughter long ago. She was rather critical of my other stories but used to say, Talk the tiger! So, when she and her brother were both at school and I had more time, I thought I would make it into a picture book and much to my amazement, here it still is 50 years later. Read More Her other literary success, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, is a semi-autobiographical tale about a young Jewish girl forced to flee Germany in 1933. The charismatic author also spoke of her joy at the fact that Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch narrated the story as part of a 50th anniversary celebration at Storystock Festival in south London, held last year, saying that he was a wonderful man and that it was the only time Ive ever been able to impress my children. Born in Berlin in 1923, Kerr came to England with her family after escaping the Nazis. Expand Close Judith Kerr (John Stillwell/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Judith Kerr (John Stillwell/PA) Her father, Alfred, was a Jewish theatre critic and satirical writer, who fled to Zurich in 1933, followed soon after by his wife Julia and two children, Michael and Judith. It was while working at the BBC as a scriptwriter that she met her husband, the late writer Thomas Nigel Kneale, with whom she had two children, Matthew and Tacy. Kerr was appointed OBE in 2012 for her services to childrens literature and Holocaust education. In 1985, the great French writer Marguerite Duras published a book called Douleur. It was inspired by her wartime experiences, and based on diaries shed kept, but she did her best to blur the line between reality and fiction. That book, and this film, describe her involvement in the Resistance, and the terrible agonies she endured waiting for news of her husband, Robert, whod been arrested and would end up in Dachau. Melanie Thierry plays Duras, a hard-headed young writer who enters a dangerous dance with a collaborating French policeman (Benoit Magimel) who clearly has a thing for her. Inevitably, the novels subtleties are lost in translation, and Emmanuel Finkiels film drags at times, but Ms. Thierrys portrayal of the alternately tender and ruthless writer is fascinating. (No Cert, IFI, 126mins) Also releasing this week: Read More Video of the Day Read More Director Quentin Tarantino bristled when asked about a supposed lack of dialogue for actress Margot Robbie in his latest film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Quentin Tarantino bristled when asked about a supposed lack of dialogue for actress Margot Robbie in his latest film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Robbie is starring as the murdered actress Sharon Tate in the movie, which features Leonardo DiCaprio as a struggling actor and Brad Pitt as his stunt double. During a press conference at the Cannes film festival on Wednesday, Tarantino was asked why Robbie does not have many lines. Expand Close Director Quentin Tarantino was promoting Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Director Quentin Tarantino was promoting Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Appearing annoyed, he replied: I reject your hypothesis. Australian actress Robbie, 28, then stepped in to discuss her role as Tate, who was a 26-year-old rising Hollywood star when she was murdered by followers of Charles Manson in 1969. She said: I think the moments I was on screen gave a moment to honour Sharon. I think the tragedy was the loss of innocence. To show the wonderful sides of her could be done without speaking. I did feel like I got a lot of time to explore the character without dialogue, which is an interesting thing. Expand Close Actress Margot Robbie stars as murdered actress Sharon Tate in the film (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actress Margot Robbie stars as murdered actress Sharon Tate in the film (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Rarely do I get an opportunity to spend so much time on my own as a character. Video of the Day Tarantino, 56, is one of Hollywoods most revered filmmakers but his legacy has been placed under scrutiny following the #MeToo movements rise to prominence. He was a frequent collaborator with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein while Uma Thurman told the New York Times last year Tarantino forced her to work under unsafe conditions on the set of Kill Bill. Tarantino described making Thurman perform a stunt in which she was injured as the biggest regret of my life. Geri Horner's husband is as excited as the fans ahead of the first Spice Girls reunion tour show in Croke Park. Formula One boss Christian (45) revealed he has been to a dress rehearsal and described the show as fantastic. 'I went to the dress rehearsal, it's going to be unbelievable. They are going to sing all the old hits... he told The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky on Virgin Radio on Thursday. 'You pretend you don't know all the words and the dance moves but you do! Half our team are going to one of the gigs!' Christian spoke as Geri was flying on a private jet to Ireland with their son Monty (2) and his step-daughter Bluebell (13). Geri shared a photo of their arrival in Dublin with fans on social media. Christian also revealed top F1 drivers are heading to see Geri and her fellow Spice Girls Mel B, Mel C, and Emma Bunton on tour. Asked if the Spice Girls have more fans than Formula One, Christian said they do. You know what, definitely more for Spice Girl tickets, all the drivers are coming, he said, adding, Its a fantastic show, I think they are celebrating everything they have achieved and having a lot of fun which will come across. Video of the Day Earlier this week Geri also shared a sneak peek of the tour when she posted a picture of herself rehearsing on stage alongside Melanie Chisholm (Mel C) on her Instagram page. Geri's arrival comes after Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm arrived in Dublin on Wednesday. They had shared a photo from London's Heathrow airport ahead of their departure for Dublin. Me and @melaniecmusic have arrived just now at the airport in proper spice girl spirit I even had a sleep over at sportys [sic] last night yipppee we are soooo on time its killing me. wrote Mel B. Over 75,000 fans are expected to descend on Croke Park for the bands first Irish gig in 21 years. The idea of bringing in the National Guard to deal with Chicago violence is popular in certain conservative political circles, and Trump tweeted in 2017 that he would send in the Feds! if the violence didnt stop. That her security chief co-authored a report with such a controversial idea is an awkward look for Lightfoot, who has been accused by some left-wing activists of being too close to police even though she repeatedly challenged Emanuel on police reform issues. The senior barrister who led the prosecution team that secured the conviction of Patrick Quirke (50) for the murder of Bobby Mr Moonlight Ryan received over 155,000 in fees for his work in the case. New figures released by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in response to an FOI request show that Michael Bowman SC received 156,274 (ex VAT) for his work in the case. In the longest running murder trial in the history of the State at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Bowman presented the circumstantial evidence that led to the conviction of Tipperary farmer, Mr Quirke. In his closing speech, Mr Bowman told the jury: The evidence has been laid painstakingly before you over the last 13 weeks. When you weave those strands together it is of sufficient strength to bear the burden and weight placed upon it. The 156,274 is made up of Mr Bowman receiving a brief fee of 8,316 to take on the case and the first day in court along with a refresher fee of 2,000 for each day in court after the first day. The total bill to the DPP for the three strong counsel team was 297,841 (ex VAT) with Mr Bowmans colleague, David Humphries BL receiving 95,447 for his work on the case. Mr Humphries' fees were made up of a brief fee of 5,544 and a refresher fee of 1,334. In its FOI response, the DPP FOI unit didnt name Mr Bowman or Mr Humphries due to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The bill to the tax-payer for Mr Quirkes defence team will be higher as it consisted of two senior counsel, Bernard Condon SC and Lorcan Staines SC along with Edward Doocey BL. The defence barristers were instructed by one of the best known criminal defence legal firms in the country, Michael Staines & Co. Mr Condon and Lorcan Staines would receive the same level of fees as fees as Mr Bowman showing that the senior counsel on both sides of the case cost a combined 468,816. Mr Bowman led the State prosecution team in the Quirke case but has established his reputation in the law library as the most in-demand defence barrister in the country. Last year, Mr Bowman was the highest paid barrister under the Criminal Legal Aid scheme earning 533,460 (ex VAT) in fees and this followed Mr Bowman being ranked the top paid criminal defence barrister under the legal aid scheme in 2017 when he received 460,289 in fees. Last year, Mr Bowman represented accused persons in some of the most notorious crimes to come before the criminal courts in recent times. Mr Bowman represented Estonian hitman, Imre Arakas (60) Sopruse, Tallinn who was contracted by an international crime cartel to murder James Gately. Mr Arakas was jailed for six years. Mr Bowman also represented Eoin Berkley (25) of Hampton Wood Way, Finglas, Dublin who was jailed for 14 years for the repeated rape of a Spanish student in July 2017. Scaling back: The Topshop store on Dublins Jervis Street is among the six shops in Ireland marked for closure. Picture: Getty It was another dark day in the fashion business as Arcadia, the UK's biggest retail group, announced it would be closing 23 stores - six of those being Miss Selfridge, Evans, Wallis and Topshop in Ireland. Topshop, once the jewel in Arcadia's crown, is now rapidly retreating from the Irish market, closing down two of the biggest stores in Dublin city. When the three-storey flagship store was launched in Stephen's Green in 2005, it was, like all Celtic Tiger launches, the source of much fanfare. Philip Green, the chairman of Arcadia, flew over for the occasion and described it as a "little bit of Oxford Street in Dublin". It was an accurate view of the shopping environment at the time - and while countless stores suffered closures through recession and recovery, Topshop endured. But now the retail group plans to scale back its retail operations around the UK and Ireland, with a total of 23 store closures across both markets. The Stephen's Green store is among those being closed. Closures have also been announced for the Topshop store in the Jervis Shopping Centre, a 20,000 square foot premises which has been open for less than two years, and the adjoining Topman, blaming a "highly competitive retail environment" for the restructuring. Henry Street's Wallis-Evans hybrid will also be closing. The Dorothy Perkins-Evans store in Cork and the Miss Selfridge store in Eyre Square Shopping Centre in Galway have also been earmarked for closure. A specific date for store closures has not yet been decided, but a spokesperson for Arcadia told the Irish Independent that it would be a matter of months and not weeks. On June 5, Arcadia will meet creditors and seek approval for the closure plan, after which, if approved, it will announce a schedule. All of the stores will "continue to trade as normal" until the meeting in two weeks' time. The decision puts 520 jobs in total at risk across the UK and Ireland. Specific figures for Irish employees were not available. All of Topshop and Topman's 11 stores in the US have also been selected for closure. As part of the plan, Philip Green's wife Tina has offered landlords a 20pc stake of any proceeds if the group is eventually sold. Patric and Geraldine Kriegel, parents of schoolgirl, Ana Kriegel, who died on May 14 last year. Photo: Collins Courts A boy told Garda interviewers that he heard schoolgirl Ana Kriegel scream after she and his co-accused went into the abandoned house, a trial heard. Boy B then started crying during the interview and said that he ran away because he was scared and he thought Ana and Boy A had been attacked. He thought that Boy A would be able to protect her, he said. Boy B also told gardai his co-accused "wouldn't do that" after he learned Ana's blood had been found on his boots. The two youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty before the Central Criminal Court to the murder of Ana Kriegel (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan, Dublin, on May 14 last year. Boy A has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault. On Wednesday, the jurors continued to watch video footage of interviews which gardai conducted with Boy B at Finglas garda station on May 24 and May 25, 2018. Present during the first three interviews were Boy B, his mother, his solicitor David Powderly, Detective Garda Donal Daly and Detective Sergeant (now Inspector) Damien Gannon. During the fourth and fifth interviews, Barry Powderly was Boy B's solicitor. At the start of the fourth interview, which began at 10.11am on May 25, 2018, Boy B said he wanted to clarify something. Boy B told gardai he was going to re-tell the story as "what I told you yesterday was a lie". He said he did not meet Boy A in the spot in the park where he'd previously said he'd met him. Boy B said he and Ana walked over towards the BMX track and he met Boy A near it. Boy B said he let Ana talk to Boy A for a while, but he stayed back to give them some privacy to talk. He then got bored and left. "That's the truth," he said. Boy B told gardai he was "scared and nervous" when he first spoke to gardai investigating Ana's disappearance and he couldn't really remember where he met Boy A, so "I made it up". Once he did remember, Boy B said he couldn't go back because he had already given a statement so he "kept to the story". Asked why the boys had arranged to meet at the BMX track, Boy B said he didn't know. The court heard the BMX track was close to the abandoned house where Ana's body was found. Asked by Insp Gannon if he had been in the abandoned house that day [May 14] Boy B said "on the day I wasn't but I was before, yeah". During interview four, Boy B was shown some photographs, including one of Boy A's boots. Gardai told Boy B there was blood spatter on the boots and it matched Ana's DNA. "No, no, [Boy A] wouldn't do that." Gardai told Boy B the blood spatter on Boy A's boots meant he either assaulted Ana or was standing by when it happened. "I don't want to believe it was [Boy A]," Boy B said, adding he was one of his closest friends. Boy B was shown other photographs, including one of a rock found at the crime scene, which gardai said had Ana's blood and hair on it. Boy B responded: "Jesus Christ, it gets worse and worse," and "this is crazy". He also told gardai: "I don't know what happened. I wasn't in the house." When shown a photograph of blue tape found at the crime scene, Boy B responded: "Holy shit, oh my God, I gave [Boy A] tape a couple of weeks ago." Boy B said he had two rolls of tape and he'd given one of them to Boy A, because he wanted to use it to make something. Boy B again repeated that he wasn't in the house. During interview five, gardai told Boy B a witness had seen a boy going into a field near the abandoned house and they believed this boy was him. "Ok, I did go into the field, but it was to look around," he said, adding he didn't go any farther. Gda Daly put it to Boy B that he was making it all up as he went along. Gda Daly said he was presenting him with facts and evidence and Boy B was changing his story to suit. Gda Daly told Boy B he only wanted the truth. A girl had been absolutely brutally murdered, said the garda, and he told Boy B he owed it to himself, to his mother and to Ana to tell the truth. Boy B then said he, Boy A and Ana had walked through the fields and Boy A brought Ana into the house. He was just "tagging along" and he didn't go into the house. He then started to leave. "It was then I heard a scream," Boy B said, adding "I was walking away when I heard the screaming". He described it as a "really like strong scream" and he could hear it from outside the house. He knew it was Ana, he said. Boy B told gardai that "just when it was about to end it got muffled". Boy B started crying in the interview. When asked why he ran away, he said he was scared, and he thought Ana and Boy A had been attacked. He also said he thought Boy A would be able to protect Ana. Boy B said he ran home and he kept thinking that everything would be all right and Boy A would be able to protect Ana. The trial continues. A woman who claims she fractured her elbow while on a shore excursion during a once-in-a-lifetime cruise has sued in the High Court. Dance teacher Siobhan Kellett injured herself during a 'White Knuckle Boat Ride' - involving 360 degrees turns - in the middle of the ocean,the court was told. Ms Kellett was on a seven night Caribbean cruise in 2016 to celebrate both her 50th birthday and silver wedding anniversary before going on for five days in Las Vegas where she and her husband Leslie planned to dance at a jive festival. Their cruise ship docked at St Martin in the West Indies where they were taken on the excursion. She said she was thrown out of her seat during the White Knuckle ride and banged her elbow against the metal side of the boat during two 360 degree manoeuvres. It was the fifth day of the 3,674 cruise for Ms Kellett and her husband who had paid for the trip by instalments over two years. We were out in the middle of the ocean and I was holding on tight but I banged my head against the skipper", she said of the first 360 degree turn. The skipper then signalled for her to change places with her husband and so she was on the outside seat. On the next spin she said she was hanging on tight to the bar in front of them but she was lifted out of her seat. "I remember thinking what was I going to do, tumble in to the water but I came back down on the seat and and was thrown against the side of the boat and my right arm banged against the side." The pain, she said, was horrendous. She felt like a child "trying to be very very brave" because she did not want to ruin the excursion for everybody else. Later back on the cruise liner, she was told by a medic her elbow was not broken. However, on her return to Dublin weeks later, she had an x-ray and a non displaced fracture of her right elbow was discovered. Ms Kellett (53) Rockfield Green, Maynooth, Co Kildare, has sued British company, RCL Cruises, of Weybridge, Surrey, operators of the "Freedom of the Seas" cruiser. It is claimed the cruise company was responsible for the excursion to the White Knuckle boat ride. She has also sued Panther Associates, trading as Tour America, of Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, where she booked the April 2016 holiday. She has claimed there was an alleged failure to provide any or any adequate safety restraints, harness or belts on the jet boat to ensure passengers were kept safe from injury. The claims are denied. It is contended by the defendants Ms Kellett failed to follow instructions and failed to have regard for her own safety. In evidence Ms Kellett said the accident brought a halt to the enjoyment of their holiday and it cast a shadow over the rest of their trip including to Las Vegas. Cross examined by Jim O'Callaghan SC, for the defendants, Ms Kellett said she has been on roller coaster rides before and felt perfectly safe. Asked by counsel did she see the boat ride as risky, she replied I did not see it as being dangerous at all. The case, before Mr Justice Anthony Barr, continues. A feared gangland criminal who was once a key member of the Brian Rattigan gang has been cleared of rape charges and attempted murder but found guilty of two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent following an 11-day trial in England. Wayne McNally (34) who originally comes from Ross Road in Dublins south inner city, was found guilty by a jury at Bradford Crown Court of the two attacks on a man and a woman in the early hours of December 22, 2018. He was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the same woman two days earlier. The jury cleared McNally of attempted murder of the man, but found him guilty of a lesser charge of GBH with intent. He was also found not guilty of raping the woman, and a charge of assault by beating against his wife. He has been remanded in custody following his conviction and will be sentenced next Tuesday. It is understood that McNally fled to Bradford after being released from high security Portlaoise Prison in late 2017 because of threats against him from gangland rivals. McNally was given the 13 year sentence in October, 2009, for shooting a bouncer in the face after he was refused entry into Hush Nightclub in the Red Cow Inn in February, 2008. He then escaped in a stolen car and was later chased by two gardai, who spotted him while on patrol in Dolphin's Barn. CCTV footage from the nightclub showed a young boy standing within 200 yards of McNally when he fired the shot. A major target for gardai for years, McNally was jailed for three years for cutting a woman's throat and stealing her car in 2003. A heavy drug user, McNally survived an assassination attempt in the south inner city in February 2007 when he received gunshot injuries. He was with his pal Brian Rattigan when the latter fired five shots at a patrol car during a garda chase in July, 2004. McNally, who was a front seat passenger in the stolen car, received an 18-month sentence for his part in that terrifying incident. It has been reported that a bearded McNally reacted with relief when cleared of raping the woman by the jury in the Bradford court on Wednesday. Throughout the trial, the court heard how during the evening of December 21 and early hours of December 22, McNally had been drinking and taking drugs with the woman while she wrapped Christmas presents. At some point that morning, a male friend of the woman turned up at the house, and the three of them continued to drink and take cocaine. McNally and the woman then got a lift to a local supermarket to buy more alcohol and some cigarettes, before returning to the house. At some point after, McNally's mood changed and be began to accuse the man and woman of being in a sexual relationship which they both denied, and the woman tried to change the conversation. Enraged, McNally embarked on a sustained, drug-fuelled attack on the pair, punching the woman repeatedly in the face and stabbing her in the neck with a pair of scissors. He also unleashed a flurry of punches on the man and stabbed him a number of times in the leg, before leaving the house. McNally called his wife to pick him up, and went home to pick up his passport before telling her to drive him to across the Pennines to Manchester Airport. A one-way ticket to Dublin was bought for him, but he was arrested in the terminal before he could board the flight back to Ireland. A former psychic charged with money laundering told bank officials that if he had done anything criminal then he would be the stupidest money launderer ever, a trial has heard. Simon Gold (54) with an address of Augharan, Aughavas, Co. Leitrim, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 22 charges including money laundering, theft, deception and control of false instruments on dates between January 1, 2010 and October 22, 2012. The trial has heard that Mr Gold accepted he had used the names Simon Gold, Simon Gould, Simon Magnier and Niall O'Donoghue. The trial has also heard Mr Gold acknowledged he is responsible for an Ulster Bank account in the name of Anglo Irish Global Ltd. On the fifth day of evidence before the jury, a fraud prevention analyst with Ulster Bank Belfast told Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, that her role in 2012 was to comply with court orders relating to bank information. The analyst identified a document as being the minutes of a meeting regarding the Ulster Bank account of Anglo Irish Global Ltd on October 23, 2012. She said that present at the meeting were Simon Gold and two officials from the bank. Reading from the minutes of the meeting, the analyst said that when asked about the nature of the business, Mr Gold said the trade it was currently involved in was a renewable energy and affordable housing scheme. According to the minutes, Mr Gold said that under the banner of the business they found finances to fund projects and secure bank guarantees. He said Anglo Irish Global Ltd wanted to be in position to leave cash reserves in the bank and send money all over the world. Mr Gold said they were a transparent organisation and that they wished to employ sensible controls and have a good working relationship with the bank. According to the minutes, Mr Gold said that all the projects were legitimate and that 17 million was due in the coming weeks. He said the 1.6 million was the first of many contracts. Mr Gold was advised by one of the Ulster Bank officials that the bank had been served with an order to freeze the account. The minutes recorded that Mr Gold was shocked and that he said he would contact his solicitors. According to the minutes, Mr Gold said he had done nothing wrong or criminal. He said that if this was the case he would be the stupidest money launderer ever. The trial continues tomorrow before Judge Nolan and a jury. You can now gamble away a farm in a week through access to gambling apps on a smartphone, a court was told. Solicitor Daragh Hassett said that his client had engaged in a "nasty crime" to finance his gambling addiction. Andrew Lees (25), of Inis Ealga, Shannon, Co Clare, stole a bank debit card belonging to Patricia Horan, who came to support Lees when he was homeless for a period. In total, Lees has pleaded guilty to stealing 1,103 from Ms Horan between October 13 to October 31, 2018. Imposing a six-month suspended jail term on one of the charges concerning 200 and striking out the remaining charges, Judge Patrick Durcan said that Ms Horan had carried out a Christian act of generosity and had been repaid by Lees "who engaged in a blatant and abusive breach of trust". Mr Hassett said that Lees took the monies to serve a gambling addiction. He said: "It was almost a sense of relief when he was caught and caught red-handed. "Lees's very severe gambling addiction led to heavy drinking - when you are chasing your losses with drink, generally it goes bad." Mr Hassett said that in his interview with gardai, Lees was "whistling Dixie" and was very co-operative. He said that his client "fully compensated" the injured party. Mr Hassett said that Lees is now working as a chef in Cork and his partner is expecting their first child in six weeks' time. He said: "Lees has brought an awful lot of shame and embarrassment to his family who still reside in Shannon." Mr Hassett said that Lees hasn't placed a bet since he was caught and has removed all gambling apps from his phone. He added that his client has no previous convictions. He said: "What happened was very much a once-off." A 35-year-old man has been jailed for nine years for a "hugely damaging" and abusive sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Eoin Vickers, described as "a manipulative, controlling and violent man" was 28 years old when he first began the "relationship" with the girl. He encouraged her not to use contraception, and when she had a contraceptive bar implanted in her arm, he removed it with a Stanley knife, the court heard. The contraceptive implant is a small plastic rod placed under the skin which releases the progesterone hormone. Vickers also had sex with the girl's friend, also a young teenager, and gave the girls heroin to smoke. In their victim impact statements, the girls described how Vickers controlled every aspect of their lives. The first girl said they got to know each other while she was in secondary school and they began texting to arrange to meet up. Her parents also told Vickers that she was 14. She described how Vickers isolated her from family and friends, and made her feel as if he was the only person she could trust. She described Vickers as an "evil monster" who had left her with scars on her body and taken away her dreams for her future. Her best friend outlined how she had been innocent, naive and oblivious to the dangers of predatory men when she first encountered Vickers. She said the abuse had had adverse effects on her life, but said: "I am not his victim, but a survivor." At the Central Criminal Court, Vickers, of no fixed abode, who lived in Co Mayo at the time of the offences, pleaded to five counts of defilement of the first victim on date between May 2011 and October 2013. He pleaded guilty to assaulting the first victim causing her harm in August 2013. He also admitted defilement of the girl's best friend in July 2013. Vickers was most recently living in the UK, from where he was returned to Ireland on foot of a European Arrest arrant. He has been in custody since December 2017. Mr Justice Michael White said this was a "particularly disturbing case". He said he accepted defence submissions that Vickers had accepted his guilt and apologised to his victims, but noted an interview in the probation report, outlining that Vickers had very little insight into the damage he was perpetrating on these young girls. "These were children, absolutely children, and Mr Vickers was twice their age and that must never be lost sight of," said Mr Justice White. He said the plea was the only mitigating factor. Mr Justice White imposed a sentence of 11 years' imprisonment and suspended the final two years on condition Vickers complete an assessment for the sex offenders' treatment programme. The court heard that Vickers had sex regularly with the first victim over a two-and-a-half year period. He became more paranoid and would hit her, she said. He checked her phone and controlled what she could wear. The girl said she was terrified of Vickers and his temper. She said he put a knife to her throat on one occasion and stabbed her with a pen on another. He told her he would put compromising photos of her on the internet if she did not do what he said. He told her the relationship had to be a secret and demanded 50 per week petrol money. Patrick Gageby SC, defending, said Vickers acknowledged the gravity of the matter and wished to make an "unequivocal" apology to the girls. On the campaign trail: Maria Walsh with Michael Ring in Newbridge, Co Kildare. Picture: Doug O'Connor Internet giant Google has removed advertisements directing users to a website that targeted EU election candidate Maria Walsh for her "homosexual lifestyle". The company has committed to clamping down on advertisements that seek to influence voters ahead of tomorrow's poll. But voters who searched for the Fine Gael representative yesterday were being directed toward a page designed to undermine her candidacy. In negative terms it accused her of promoting LGBT values to teenagers and trying to strip young people of their morals. The author also questioned her qualifications to be a candidate. Fine Gael complained to Google and the advertisements were subsequently removed. A spokesperson for the company told the Irish Independent: "Because we want people to better understand the political advertising they see online, we've introduced a new policy to verify advertisers and a transparency report for the EU parliamentary election. "We continue to improve our processes and if we discover ads that are breaking this rule, we take appropriate action." Chair of the Oireachtas Communications Committee Hildegarde Naughton said she expected Google executives to answer questions on the issue of disinformation during this year's European Election campaign when the company appears before the International Grand Committee in Dublin later this year. "The website contains a number of false claims about Maria and was promoted through Google Ads. This is a clear breach of Google's own policy that it outlined before the elections," Ms Naughton said. "I have long said that the time for self-regulation for tech companies is over and the fact that this website slipped through the net shows that companies need to be more stringent." The Garda Ombudsman is to investigate allegations of electoral fraud in Kerry, it has emerged. It's understood that the allegations centre around claims of the addition of voters to the supplementary electoral register. In order to be added to the supplementary register, voters have to present themselves to their local Garda station. However, it has been alleged that a tranche of forms in Kerry may have been signed by a garda without electors being present. A complaint was made to Killarney garda station on the matter last week. A Garda source confirmed that an investigation was under way in Kerry this week but said they could not comment further. It's understood the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) is to carry out a separate investigation into the claims. This is likely to centre around the alleged conduct of gardai. Kerry County Council is assisting gardai with their investigation but the matter is a criminal issue. A total of 2,717 electors have been added to the register via the available supplementary register. Kerry TD John Brassil has called for a full investigation to be carried out to "protect the integrity of the electoral register". "The integrity of the electoral register is sacrosanct," he said. "Procedures should be followed and any question mark around those procedures should be fully investigated," he added. The allegation of electoral fraud and investigation comes just days before the country takes to the polls in the local elections. Kerry County Council estimates the electorate in Kerry to number some 117,000 inhabitants for this year's local elections. The ruling we got from the Ethics Department is thats not necessary, (the lobbying) is not either a violation of the personnel rules or the ethical rules, Lightfoot said of Houlihan Smiths work. Obviously these are two smart professionals. They know what the lines of demarcation are. Obviously, Jims primary role is going to be focused on security. Hes not going to be a policymaker or otherwise influencing policy. His wife is a very experienced professional. She understands what the rules are, and that theres got to be an ethical wall between his work and her work. GSOC have confirmed that they have opened "a public interest investigation" into irregularities of voter registration in Kerry. This comes after Kerry County Council, who are responsible for maintaining the electoral register, confirmed they have also written to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, about the alleged electoral fraud in the county. A complaint was made to Killarney Garda Station last week about the matter and Garda sources have confirmed that an investigation is underway. The allegations centre around the addition of voters to the supplementary electoral register. In order to be added to the supplementary register, voters have to present themselves to their local garda station. However, it has been alleged that a tranche of forms in Kerry may have been signed by a garda without electors being present. The allegations centre around more than 200 votes. GSOC are to carry out a separate investigation into the claims. In a statement today they confirmed that GSOC has opened a public interest investigation under s102(4) of the Garda Siochana Act, 2005. This allows an enquiry to be opened into a matter in the interest of public interest even if a complaint has not been made. Kerry County Council are assisting gardai with their investigation but the matter is a criminal matter and not a matter for the local authority. However, the council have written to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris following a request to do so by Cllr Brendan Cronin who called for Mr Harris to investigate the matter. The supplementary register of electors is now available to candidates and has added more than 2,700 voters to the electoral register for Friday's local elections. Kerry TD John Brassil has called for a full investigation to be carried out to "protect the integrity of the electoral register." "The integrity of the electoral register is sacrosanct. Procedures should be followed and any question mark around those procedures should be fully investigated," he said. The electoral fraud investigation comes just days before thousands of Kerry votes take to the polls in the local elections. Kerry County Council estimate the electoral in Kerry to be 117,000 for this year's local elections. There has been a backlash in grassroots Fine Gael against Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's local election manifesto promise that the party's councillors will seek to reduce property tax. A series of Fine Gael candidates said they were not making the pledge at the doors. Party headquarters has been accused of "interfering" with councillors' powers - and candidates have said they would not make a commitment they may not be able to deliver on. Currently, each council has the option of increasing or reducing the local property tax (LPT) by a maximum of 15pc. Reductions occurred in just four of the country's 31 local authorities for 2019 - the councils in Dublin. Some 22 more decided not to change from the standard rate, and five others have higher rates. The LPT level in Wexford is 10pc above the standard rate. Fine Gael councillor Paddy Kavanagh said the extra income was ring-fenced to help fund enterprise initiatives. He was critical of the pledge in the manifesto, saying he would not be promising to reduce LPT as "you can't generalise from county to county". He also accused Fine Gael headquarters of "interfering" in the powers of councillors. Waterford City and County Council has maintained an LPT that is 2.5pc higher than the standard level. Cllr Damien Geoghegan said: "I'm not going to go knocking on doors promising people something I may not be able to deliver on." He said Waterford kept its LPT increase to an "absolute minimum", but said the funds were needed to provide "essential services". He added: "We're not a cash-rich local authority, unlike the larger ones in Dublin." Longford Fine Gael candidate Cllr Colm Murray said a 15pc LPT increase there is being used to support applications to regeneration funds. He said the hike amounts to less than 10 a year for most households in the county, given property values there. Mr Murray said he was not promising voters that the LPT would be reduced. The LPT rate in Limerick City and County Council is 7.5pc above the standard level. Cllr John Sheahan said he did not think Fine Gael candidates should promise to cut the LPT "because we may not be able to deliver it and we may or may not be in control of the councils to do that". His party colleague on the council Liam Galvin said the LPT had not been coming up on the doorsteps, but he had "absolutely not" been promising to reduce it either. The LPT rate in Laois is 10pc above the standard level. Cllr Mary Sweeney said it was being used for road upgrades. She said she was not going to promise voters the LPT would be cut, because the decision would ultimately come after debate in the council. The Fine Gael manifesto promises its councillors "will work to ensure that, where possible, the LPT rate levied by the council is reduced". It says upward adjustments will only be approved by its councillors to deliver new specific and additional services. If Fianna Fail put out an advertisement looking for election candidates, it would probably read: young, female, rural and able to mix it with the lads. Olivia Buckley ticks all those boxes, but there's a quirk: the Offaly woman wants a seat in south Dublin. The rural/urban divide isn't brought up once, though, as she bounces around Ballinteer on a sunny evening. The issues are predictable: housing, transport and health are all on the minds of residents in the Dundrum ward. But there is also discussion of line dancing, communion parties and that "tulip" Shane Ross. "It's a new experience," the first-time candidate says. "Fundamentally, it's about listening to people, hearing their views and giving them a flavour of what you'll bring to the council." Buckley is an interesting candidate for many reasons - but her progress will be watched more closely by party headquarters than most other doorstep debutants. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin knows he has to make gains in the capital if he is to be Taoiseach after the next general election. Buckley hasn't been selected to run for the Dail, but there is little doubt it's on the cards, provided she gets on to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council first. There is a gap on the ticket in Dublin Rathdown following the decision of Justin McAleese, the son of former president Mary, to pull back from politics. He was expected to challenge sitting ministers Ross and Josepha Madigan, as well as the Green Party's Catherine Martin. So Buckley is now very much in the frame, joining a list of "weather vane" candidates on the party's "watch list" that also includes Cllr Paul McAuliffe in Ballymun-Finglas. As Bertie Ahern, in his political heyday, summed up: "If you don't have councillors, you won't have TDs." Speaking of Ahern, Buckley worked closely with him between 2003 and 2007, before moving to the Irish Tax Institute. As head of Fianna Fail's press office, Buckley had a reputation among politicians and journalists for being able to hold her own in what was an even less female-friendly environment. With family ties to Fianna Fail, her political pedigree is well-proven - but what do the voters think? "Sometimes, people say it's only the local elections. I think it's much more than that. The world begins on your doorstep," Buckley says. On hand as she takes to canvass a short distance from Dundrum shopping centre is former Government chief whip Tom Kitt. Kitt, the local TD from 1987 until 2011, makes it very clear that he is passing the baton "to this lady". "We have Shay Brennan (son of the late minister Seamus) as well, so we're really hoping to get two in," he says, with unashamed optimism. There are 14 candidates, including five sitting councillors, for the seven seats in the area. Constituent Matt Curran is more than keen for a chat, but he's not wildly interested in Buckley's policies. He wants to know what she makes of Shane Ross, who he less-than-affectionately calls "some tulip". "He has to have a hard neck. He'll get back in, I'm telling you," he laughs. Buckley laughs along, but decides better of taking the open goal. At Damien O'Farrell's house, the talk is of bigger days out. "A general election is what we want. None of this Mickey Mouse stuff. Let's just get on with it," he says. By time she gets to the home of Anne Fitzpatrick, Kitt has not only a foot in the door but is making his way into the living room. They are a proud Labour family but "they always looked after the Kitts" and are now promising to give Buckley a chance. But there is little time for policies, either, as Anne and her friend are in a rush to line-dancing. "I'm finding less engagement now than a few weeks ago," she says. "People have things going on, and are in deciding mode." Eventually, though, the hard topics do crop up. One woman is furious about the housing situation. "Deposits are the big problem," she says. "Do I really want my children living with me forever?" Buckley is quick to point out Fianna Fail wants to treble the budget for affordable housing. But the conversation flips on to "foreign investors". "The whole of south Dublin is going rental," the woman complains. The issue of so-called 'cuckoo funds' buying up big complexes is a hot topic. "Housing at a whole range of level and across age groups is coming up," says Buckley. The welcome is broad, but one woman runs the canvass team with a tone that mixes politeness and impatience. "I don't do Fianna Fail, I'm sorry," she insists at the sight of a leaflet coming in her direction. The team quickly retreats, with Buckley accepting: "Not at all, that's democracy." She insists the rejection is rare. "I think mood I have picked up amongst a lot of voters is they'd like new blood, new thinking, fresh ideas," she says. "There's very little negativity. People are very happy that candidates come to their door and give them a hearing." And the evening does finish on a better note, with a member of the Defence Forces revealing he's already submitted his postal vote, with Buckley "number one". That's a start - but she'll need 1,000 more. Your choice could be decisive. Dont let others decide for you. Stock picture Voters going to the polls tomorrow will face a ballot bonanza. Ireland is holding local elections, European Parliament elections, a divorce referendum, and in Cork city, Limerick and Waterford people will get to vote in a local referendum, known as a plebiscite, on whether they should have a directly elected mayor in their authority area. The eligibility rules for these votes vary. All Irish citizens, resident in Ireland, are eligible to vote at the elections and the referendum. EU citizens living in Ireland may vote at the European Parliament elections so long as they are not exercising their voting right in their home country. All other residents may vote at the local elections and all registered voters in each of the three areas holding plebiscites may cast a vote in that decision. Each voter needs to be listed on the register of electors. This is the list of all voters eligible to vote and is maintained by local authorities. Voters need to complete a voter registration form to be included on the list. Once a voter is added, they receive all required election and referendum material. If a voter moves address, they need to update their registration records with the relevant local authority. The closing date for new additions to the register has passed for these votes, but names can be added again later this year. Polling cards have been distributed and have information on the location of the polling station for each voter. Voting will take place tomorrow from 7am to 10pm. If you have not received a polling card, you can check the register online at checktheregister.ie or you can phone the franchise office in your local authority. You do not need a polling card to vote, but you must be listed on the register of electors and you should bring some identification with you to the polling station. Almost 2,000 candidates are competing for the 949 positions in the 31 local authorities. Each local authority area is broken into smaller local electoral areas. Candidates for each local electoral area will be listed on the ballot paper in alphabetical order. The candidate's address, occupation, a photograph and political party affiliation if they have one will also appear on the ballot. Voters rank candidates in order of their preference - 1, 2, 3. Local government in Ireland is very weak in comparison to other European countries. Councillors have no powers in health or education but do adopt the annual budget for the council, set the rate for the local property tax and commercial rates and shape development policy for each area. Local authorities have an important role in housing, although there has been little discussion of this during the campaign. Ireland is divided into three constituencies for the European Parliament elections. These are Dublin, Ireland South and Midlands-North-West and 11 MEPs will be elected from these constituencies. Because the UK is leaving the EU, Ireland has been allocated two additional MEPs. These MEPs will be chosen through the election, bringing the total to 13 - but the last MEP elected in Dublin and Ireland South will be 'kept on ice' until Brexit actually happens. There are 59 candidates contesting the European Parliament elections. As with local elections, the electoral system is proportional representation by the single transferable vote. Candidates will appear on the ballot in alphabetical order and voters rank them in order of their preference, 1, 2, 3. Voters can express a preference for every candidate, or for as many candidates they have a view on. This is entirely at the discretion of the voter. It is often said that while a person has one vote, they can offer many choices. The divorce referendum poses one single question that addresses two issues; how long people must be living apart before applying for a divorce, and the recognition of foreign divorces. If passed, the proposal will empower the Dail and Seanad to legislate for these two issues. The design of the referendum ballot paper is set out in law and it will include the title of the bill proposing to amend the Constitution. You will be asked if you approve of the proposal to amend the Constitution. If you agree with the proposal, you should mark a clear X in the Yes box. If you disagree, you should mark a clear X in the No box. Voters in Cork city, Waterford and Limerick will be asked to vote in a plebiscite on whether the position of a directly elected should be created. If the proposals are passed, elections will be held in the coming years. The directly elected mayors would assume many of the powers currently held by the council chief executives, who are appointed, not elected. Ballot boxes will be transported to count centres once polls close tomorrow. When the boxes are opened on Saturday, ballots will be sorted. European Parliament election ballots will be transported to centralised count centres in Cork, Dublin and Castlebar, Co Mayo. Local election results will be announced through Saturday and Sunday but the first European results are not expected until late on Sunday. Counting in the plebiscites will start on Monday. In 2019, we are celebrating 100 years of democracy in Ireland. Your vote matters. In local elections, candidates can often be separated by a handful of votes. Don't let others decide for you. CHILDRENS Minister Frances Fitzgerald has disagreed with a former Supreme Court judge's view that the children's rights referendum is not needed. In his new weekly column - starting in this morning's Irish Independent - former Supreme Court judge Hugh O'Flaherty said there was no need for a new referendum. "We need to cherish our children but we don't need a referendum to prove it," he wrote. But Ms Fitzgerald said Constitutional authority was needed to protect children. "We have had 20 years of people calling for Constitutional provisions," she said. "Lawyers will always disagree. It doesn't surprise me that we will get different views on it. People have different views about how to approach the Constitution," she added. The minister's position was also backed by the Government's special rapporteur on children Geoffrey Shannon. Read Hugh O'Flaherty's new column here An Garda Siochana are launching their annual 'Slow Down Day' tomorrow, May 23. The 24 hour long events starts at 7am on Friday morning an is intended to "reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads." 'Slow Down Day' will aim to remind drivers of the dangers of speeding, increase compliance with speed limits and deter excessive speeding. Chief Superintendent of the Roads Policing Bureau, Paul Cleary said that he hoped the event will discourage 'completely unacceptable" speeding on Irish roads. "The vast majority of drivers drive safely within the speed limits, and it is most welcome, but there still remain those that do not. "Each time a vehicle speeds excessively or inappropriately, it could result in a serious or fatal collision. Please check your speed and support Slow Down day, not only on the day, but every day. "In the first three months of 2019, there has been a 46pc increase in speeding detections compared to the same period in 2018." 2018 was the lowest year on record for Irish road deaths at 146 fatalities. A recent report by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) found that between 2008 and 2012 excessive speed was a contributory factor in almost one third of all fatal collisions. "You may not think that you are driving very fast, when in reality it could be life threatening to vulnerable passengers like children or older persons and especially dangerous to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists," said Chief Executive of the RSA, Moyagh Murdock. "If you hit a pedestrian at 60km/h only one in 10 will survive. Hit at 30km/h and the outcome for the pedestrian is greatly improved as nine out of 10 will survive. "Thats why it is so important to have days like today, to remind drivers that they need to slow down, not only for their own sake, but for the safety of their passengers and vulnerable road users. "So please, dont put yourself under pressure to speed, give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your destination by setting out earlier on your journey, and watch out for vulnerable road users. As of 22nd May 2019, there have been 58 road fatalities, an increase of two on this date last year. So far this year the highest speed caught by a Garda speed camera was 208 km/h in a 100 km/h zone in Co. Mayo Since the start of the year to March 31, there have been 36,014 speeding detections (a 46pc increase on same period in 2018.) The penalty for speeding is 3 penalty points and an 80 euro fine if paid within 28 days. The move by Guinness to offer new fathers six months paid paternity leave has been described as a potential game changer for workplace equality. Men working for the brewing giant, owned by Diageo, will be entitled to 26 weeks off on full pay when they have a baby, matching the maternity benefit paid to women. The significant move by one of the countrys biggest employers is being labelled as a pivotal moment for workers rights that will encourage equal distribution of childcare between parents. From July 1, the 26 weeks paid parental leave will be offered to all Diageo employees in Ireland who become parents, regardless of gender or sexuality. It will apply regardless of how people become parents via birth, adoption or surrogacy. Economist Jim Power said Diageo is setting the bar high on paternity leave because of the tight labour market. Employers are being forced to look at innovative ways to make employment more attractive to workers, he said. It comes as Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone outlined her five-year strategy for young families. "I guess we saw from the CSO unemployment data yesterday that the economy is approaching full employment and the big challenge for employers in the next number of years will be the recruitment and retention of workers," added Mr Power. He said over the last decade the trend has been diminishing working conditions like jobs for life and defined-benefit pensions, but that is being reversed. Managing director of Brightwater Recruitment Barbara McGrath praised Diageo for introducing the paid paternity leave that would cement its place in an 'employers-of-choice' list. She said retaining staff is uppermost in many employers' minds and improved paternity leave may give them an edge. "Workplaces are getting more competitive," she said. "People are definitely looking at jobs and it's not all about pay. It's about work-life balance." Since 2016, new fathers have been entitled to two weeks' paid leave of 245 per week, under a Government scheme, but the uptake has been low. Ms Zappone yesterday unveiled the Government's initial implementation plan for 'First 5', a strategy for early childhood. It pledges that by 2021, parents will have an individual entitlement to seven weeks of paid parental leave, to potentially allow children to benefit from an additional 14 weeks' parental care in their first year. And when the plan is rolled out, parents of all children up to the age of 12 are entitled to 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Mothers will also be allowed breastfeeding breaks for up to 104 weeks following the birth of their child. In the meantime, Diageo said it hopes the policy will support employees to "focus on the joy of raising a young family, while continuing to thrive at work". The company, whose brands include Baileys, Smirnoff, and Tanqueray gin, currently employs 1,200 people across the island of Ireland. Oliver Loomes, Diageo Ireland country director, said: "Our business has always had a strong record of being one of the best employers in Ireland." The plan comes as the country is close to full employment, with a record 2.3 million people in work. In the first quarter of this year 35,200 jobs were created, most of them full-time and many of them going to women. Meanwhile, unemployment is at the lowest level in 14 years. David Joyce, equality and international development officer at employee representative body Ictu, said Diageo's move was "a very positive development". "Progressive companies know the research demonstrates that paternity leave saves them money by attracting and retaining employees, including women and men," Mr Joyce said. "This will be a major contribution to tackling other gender inequalities in the workplace, including the gender pay gap." A spokesperson for Siptu said the news was "very welcome". "The birth of a child is very important for both parents, but unless the current [Government] paternity leave is topped up, there is a very large cohort of workers that can't take it," Siptu said. Ireland's largest trade union said it is seeing some multinational companies offering 16 weeks of paid paternity leave, so "26 weeks is very much welcomed". However, groups representing smaller businesses previously warned of the strain on companies to find replacement staff during paternity leave. John Barry of ISME's national council said that instead affordable state-run creches and tax relief on childcare would improve families' quality of life. Diageo, which is listed on both the New York and London Stock Exchange, was last year named as the fourth most inclusive and diverse company in the world by Thomson Reuters. Diageo is not the first company to introduce such a policy. Bloomberg also recently said it was expanding its paternity leave to 26 weeks, from 18. The new director-general of the Health Service Executive has said that he is assessing "every euro and every cent" of spending in the health service. Paul Reid, who started in the role last week, had already issued a memo to senior managers in the health service last week, saying they must start living within budget or be held accountable. Yesterday, addressing the Oireachtas Health Committee, he said: "It is a very challenging environment of assessing every euro and every cent that we have and where we currently put it. "My early assessment is that if we continue to put it into the current system of congested acutes and building outpatients, we will continuously make slow progress." Mr Reid also said he visited the mortuary at University Hospital Waterford after concerns were raised by consultant pathologists about inadequate facilities. He said he recognised the facilities were not compliant with contemporary requirements. The HSE chief told the committee that there were now 3,388 consultant posts in the public health system. He said that 359 were unoccupied and the biggest area where they were unoccupied was in psychiatry. Other issues, including a backlog in cervical smear tests, the cost overruns at the National Children's Hospital and the delivery of Slaintecare, are also part of the committee's agenda. Fianna Fail's Stephen Donnelly told the health committee that the number of people on long-term hospital waiting lists had jumped by 800pc in three years. Mr Donnelly said there was a "postcode lottery" across different areas of the health service. The health spokesman criticised access to outpatient care, adding: "Right across the system, access is becoming worse and worse and worse. "For the first time ever, we have more than 550,000 on the list for outpatients. "The longest lists ever is a massive geographic variance. There's a postcode lottery going on, and it's different for different parts of the system." Mr Reid said the health service was continuing to deal with increased demands. "It remains a fact that waiting times are too long," he said. Health Minister Simon Harris added that the country's population was "rapidly changing", which meant changing healthcare needs. He acknowledged the health service needed to "radically change" to meet the needs of the public. Meanwhile, Mr Donnelly has said the suggestion of a private entrance at the new National Children's Hospital was "morally repugnant" and that it flies in the face of the vision set out by the Slaintecare report - that all citizens will have universal access to healthcare. During discussions, Mr Donnelly raised recent media reports which claimed that the new hospital would include a private outpatients' department. The clinic, which would be funded by taxpayers, would reportedly feature eight consultation and examination rooms, a play area, its own reception and waiting room, as well as a private entrance. When baby Poppy was born four months ago, her father Peter Neligan was back in the office three days later. The besotted new dad would have loved to have taken more time off but, running a busy legal practice with his father in Maynooth, Co Kildare, meant this was not possible. "I can't tell you how much I would have relished the opportunity to be able to take an extended period of 26 weeks' paid paternity leave on the birth of my baby girl. She is my first born and I really cherish every moment I have with her," said Peter. "To have the freedom to bond as a new dad and together as our new family unit, without the additional pressure of the daily demands of work, would have been amazing." His partner, Laura Erskine, said she would also have liked to have had Peter around more for those first few weeks as she juggled breast-feeding her newborn and recovering from the birth while caring for her older children, Lucy (7) and James (10). "I had Poppy on the Friday evening and the following Monday morning Peter was back to work. While he did go in a bit late to drop the other two to school and leave early for the first week, he had to be in work," she said. Peter said: "I could have shared more of the night-time feeds without the worry of having to get up early in the morning and function for work. I would have also been able to mind Laura more in terms of making sure she ate well throughout the day and got a chance to rest during those early weeks after the birth." He welcomed the news that Diageo will be offering all its employees, both men and women, 26 weeks of paid parental leave. "Giving a new parent this gift of time with their new family without the worry of maintaining the household income and meeting the responsibilities of their job is quite incredible," said Peter. Laura will return to work shortly as head of community at MummyPages.ie and has struggled to find childcare for Poppy. Had Peter been eligible for such a generous paternity leave, Poppy would not need childcare until she was almost one, she said. "If you were able in some way to stagger that 26 weeks it would be great. It would make sense to take it in that first year and delay the fact your child has to go into childcare," she said. A scathing report outlining a litany of failures by Government agencies which resulted in three children being sexually abused while in State care is deeply disturbing, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Speaking to reporters in Cork today, Mr Varadkar vowed the Government will act on the leaked report by the National Review Panel as soon as its published. The 22-page report investigated how the State child and family agency Tusla and its predecessor, the Health Services Executive (HSE), responded to allegations of sexual abuse concerning three children in a foster home in the west of Ireland. It found there were systemic flaws by management of both agencies in failing to protect the children who subsequently suffered "grave and heinous sexual abuse" while in the care of the State. "The report hasnt been published yet. I havent seen it myself but it will be published in the next couple of weeks and we will act on it, the Taoiseach said. "Its only a leak at this stage. But we have made some very significant strides when it comes to child protection in recent years, in particular, the fact that reporting of child abuse is now mandatory, and that was only introduced in the last two years. But there is definitely more to be done, he said. The report was leaked to RTE Investigates following its April 2018 broadcast of the documentary Failure to Foster in which a young girl was sexually abused by Keith Burke, the then-teenage son of foster parents Gerry and Kathleen Burke in Dunmore, Co Galway. Her disclosure to her biological mother ultimately led to the conviction last year of Keith Burke who was found guilty of the rape and buggery of three foster girls who were under the age of ten at the time of the offences when they stayed with the family between 2003 and 2007. The review panel found a catalogue of inactions by both State agencies, including an initial assessment of the Burkes suitability as a foster family which it described as brief and lacking detail. It also said there was no evidence that the Burkes children were included in the assessment and the State agencies did not consider the implications of placing young girls in a family with growing boys. Even after the initial sex abuse allegations came to light, the family was not re-assessed, the panel found. It was also critical of the fact that the agencies did not contact families of other foster children who stayed at the Burke home to see whether they had suffered abuse as well. The panels report cited "serious errors of judgment", "flawed assessment and decision-making" and a "lack of management oversight" concerning the Social Work Department's involvement with the foster family, according to RTE. In also pointed to quotes from a social worker who said the foster mother was "calling the shots" when it came to dealing with social workers and the fact the foster parents demanded an apology after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) initially decided not to prosecute. Tusla, meanwhile, said it accepts the findings and recommendations by the panel and that key learnings have been identified and are being addressed. We are very mindful of the devastating impact on the victims in this case and the effect that this has had on them, and their families. We now know that the decisions made in 2007 and 2011 were not robust enough to keep the children safe, the agency said in a prepared statement today. However it is important to highlight that this report reflects a certain point in time, prior to the establishment of Tusla which has resulted in an improvement in standards, staffing and services. Since 2014, social workers have actively worked with the young people involved, where thats in line with their wishes, and will continue to do so. The statement went on to say that Tusla strives to protect children and keep them safe from harm through garda vetting for foster carers and adult family members. It also conducts regular visits to foster homes and provides in depth aftercare supports. The agency is also the subject of regular inspections by the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA), it noted. When an allegation of abuse is made, Tusla takes immediate action to protect any child or children who may be at immediate risk. Currently all serious concerns and allegations in foster care are managed in line with Tuslas operational guidance for staff. Our actions are always informed by the best interests and safety of the children involved, the statement read. But the agency also took issue with the report being leaked, stating: Engagements with those affected including young people, families, and the community is in line with best practice, to ensure their wellbeing and limit any adverse effects this situation may have on them. "We are concerned that this report has been put into the public domain prior to the publication date and in advance of the completion of a number of important steps which take place in the days before a publication of this nature. Representatives from Bells Brewery give away gear during an Oberon ale release party from 6 to 9 p.m. at Tumans Tap & Grill (2159 W. Chicago Ave., 773-782-1400). The West Town bar will also be pouring a mango habanero Oberon variation, 2015 Expedition stout, and Official hazy IPA for $6-$9. Gerry Tobin (58) was taking part in an annual cycle from Cork to Roscommon on Saturday afternoon to raise money for Epilepsy Ireland when he suffered a suspected heart attack. The Alan Gallagher memorial cycle this weekend will carry an extra meaning, as it is one year on from loving father Gerry Tobins tragic death. Mr Tobin passed away suddenly during last years cycle, and Mark Tobin, Gerry's son and a friend of Alan, said the cycle will be a celebration of both their lives. The Alan Gallagher memorial cycle has raised over 50,000 for Epilepsy Ireland since its inception ten years ago. The 300km cycle from Cork to Roscommon was founded in memory of Alan Gallagher, who passed away suddenly in 2009. The cycle takes place over one weekend every year. The cycle has always been about keeping Alans memory alive and the route tracks where he lived and worked. He went to college in UCC, he died in Galway, and he was from Roscommon. This year, we also want to honour Dads memory, Mark says. Obviously without Dad this year, there will be mixed emotions. Myself and Mam will be doing the cycle and my brother will meet us at the end. It was always an event in the family calendar, but it will be even more significant. Dad was always giddy to do the cycle. This year we will be doing it in his memory. It will be very emotional, but it will also be a celebration. The age range of people doing the cycle spans 15-70. The cyclists set off from UCC at 8:30am on Saturday, and arrive in Gort in Galway around 5:30pm. They leave the next morning at 8:30am and arrive at Alans family home in Roscommon around 4pm. In total, the cycle lasts roughly 13 hours. Mark says that the cycle is for a great cause, and he is always blown away by the support. Alan had undiagnosed epilepsy. There is often a lack of awareness and stigma attached to epilepsy, and to raise this amount of money and to see the amount of work that goes in is just inspiring. The cycle unites Alans family and friends, and they should be very proud of what they have achieved. The Government-endorsed scheme to build co-living apartments has been slammed as a "glamorised form of tenement living". A proposed development to build 208 studio dwellings outside Dublin drew criticism in the Dail as the rooms were compared to the size of a parking space. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said that 42 people would be forced to share a kitchen on one of the floors of the proposed five-storey building in Dun Laoghaire. It comes after widespread criticism of comments made by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, who said that young people and workers should be "excited" about the co-living plans. "It's 1,300 per month for what amounts to glamorised tenement living," Ms McDonald said. Ms McDonald pointed to a scheme proposed for Dun Laoghaire by Bartra Capital and she criticised the Housing Minister for enthusiastic endorsements of co-living schemes. "Co-living has no place in our dysfunctional rental market. It is no solution," the Sinn Fein leader said. "I don't find that proposal exciting in the slightest. Given the public reaction to this project, people in the real world don't find it exciting either. "Minister Murphy is so out of touch that he can't seem to grasp this co-living isn't an answer to the rental crisis. "It is an insult to those seeking a safe and secure roof over their heads." Housing charity Threshold previously described them as 21st-century bedsits with a glossy makeover. Option Taoiseach Leo Varadkar hit back and said he believed that An Bord Pleanala was unlikely to approve plans which breached Government guidelines. He said there were about five co-living schemes being developed, constituting 1pc of housing developments. "It's not going to replace traditional housing. But it's another option for some people, maybe young people," the Taoiseach said. Mr Varadkar accused the Sinn Fein leader of confusing a number of issues. He said the Government was slowly making progress in tackling the housing crisis and house prices have stabilised. The Government expects up to 25,000 homes will be built this year. "Of those 25,000 new homes perhaps 1pc, maybe four or five developments, will be co-living," he told the Dail. "It's another option for people, particularly single people who don't want a house share. "They generally consist of studio apartments that are en suite with a kitchenette, and common areas such as a gym, laundry and maybe a movie room." He added claims that 42 people will share one kitchen were "not in line" with the Government's co-living guidelines. "I would anticipate that An Bord Pleanala, when it makes a decision on a planning application, would either refuse or significantly modify any planning permission that is not in line with any Government guidelines," he added. Meanwhile, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett castigated what he described as the "latest ruse" by property speculators who were renting homes. Mr Barrett argued developers were using some "obscure calculation" to rule out tenants who qualified for housing assistance payment. There has been withering criticism of the legal action taken by Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey, who is suing a Dublin hotel after she fell out of a swing. Labour leader Brendan Howlin said: "Most people expect that once you are over the age of four you can hold onto the ropes and don't need adult supervision." Ms Bailey is seeking damages of up to 60,000 after an incident in the Dean Hotel in 2015. She has alleged she suffered head, back and hip injuries after falling from the swing, which her lawyers say was "unsupervised". The hotel is denying liability, and has claimed in defence papers that Ms Bailey was holding items in both hands when she fell from the swing. The controversy dominated questions at final pre-election press conferences held by Opposition parties. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said the revelations about the case come at a time when "we're desperately trying to get insurance costs down". He said businesses are warning they will close due to insurance costs. Mr Martin said he didn't know the specifics of the case, but added: "I fell many times as a young fella. I could never understand anyone claiming left, right and centre when you go through the ordinary things of life." He also said: "I think this does impact on the claims culture. It creates 'who are they in Leinster House to be complaining about a claims culture if they're doing it themselves'." Read More Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said that there's a fear "we'd end up in a country where you've got a supervisor at a swing in a pub". He said that would be a "bleak future". Ms Bailey remained silent on the case last night. The Opposition criticism came after Senator Michael McDowell raised Ms Bailey's case in the Seanad. He said if the Government is serious about driving down the claims culture "we cannot stand idly by when adults... fall off a swing and then claim that there should have been a supervisor looking after them". He said this was especially the case when it comes from someone who has "influence over Government policy in these matters". Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan hit back at Mr McDowell's remarks, saying: "It is entirely mischievous and inaccurate for others to suggest that Government policy is determined by a personal matter affecting one TD." He outlined a string of measures the Government is taking to tackle insurance costs. They included three pieces of legislation enacted in the last year, and new guidelines for insurance companies reporting allegations of fraudulent claims to gardai. Read More Meanwhile, ministers Regina Doherty and Michael D'Arcy - the junior minister with responsibility for insurance policy - both defended Ms Bailey's right to take a personal injury case. Social Protection Minister Ms Doherty insisted the Government was "incredibly serious" in its efforts to reform the insurance sector and claims culture. She pointed to a plan to establish a committee of judges to set guidelines for public injury payouts. She said the Government doesn't want to stop anybody going to court if they feel they have a right to do so, but "what we absolutely cannot have and tolerate is exorbitant claims". A spokesperson for Mr D'Arcy said he couldn't comment on a case that is before the courts. A statement said: "Each individual has the right to take such a case to the courts if they believe there is negligence involved." It added that a key focus of the insurance reform agenda is on award levels, not challenging or disputing in any way the entitlement of a person to take legal action. Gardai have struck a blow against a dangerous criminal gang following the seizure of a machine gun during a raid. Two brothers, aged 47 and 52, were in Garda custody last night after their arrests on Tuesday at a property on Landen Road, Ballyfermot, in west Dublin. The search operation was carried out by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB), which has conducted a number of raids against associates of the criminal gang, known as 'The Family', in recent months. Sources told the Irish Independent the arrested men, who do not have serious criminal convictions, have links to associates of local criminal Derek 'Dee Dee' O'Driscoll. It is understood DOCB detectives were acting on intelligence when they raided the property. Earlier this month, officers from the same unit seized almost 300,000 worth of drugs in a raid against the same gang. The gun and drugs seizures are the most significant against the gang since gardai seized 10 high-end cars worth 700,000 last June. The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) was involved in dawn searches on that occasion in which eight Range Rovers and two BMWs were seized. The leader of 'The Family' is a 43-year-old career criminal, from Clondalkin, who previously served a six-year jail sentence for possession of almost 2m of heroin. During that case, a senior detective gave evidence that the gang he was involved with "had in the past used fatal shootings of anyone who compromised their business". Sources said the gang's stronghold is in the Ballyfermot, Clondalkin and Tallaght areas and it specialises in heroin. However, it has also made a serious push to move into the cocaine market in recent years. Caoimhe (7) and Alannah Culhane (5) celebrate the awarding of the International Blue Flag award for 2018 at Seapoint, Co Dublin. Photo: Naoise Culhane Water quality issues have been cited as the reason Dublin received only two Blue Flags for the second year running. A total of 80 beaches and eight marinas around the country received Blue Flags this year. The Blue Flag award is given out by An Taisce to beaches that meet EU standards in water quality, information provision, safety, and beach management. There were only two applications for Blue Flags from Dublin sites, Seapoint and Portmarnock for 2019, Coastal Awards Manager for An Taisce, Ian Diamond told Independent.ie. Other sites may not have applied as to be granted Blue Flag status requires beaches to be rated as having Excellent Water Quality Status. For EU countries implementing the Blue Flag it is imperative that an applicant beach is classified as having 'Excellent' water quality. Mr Diamond said that in the past, Dublin beaches had fared better in the awards but have stagnated at two flags for several years now. They havent lost any, they have had only two flags for a few years now. Usually the reason for this is the water quality. Water quality would be the main obstacle in Dublin. Historically Dublin has a large number of blue flags, so hopefully wastewater improvements in the future will get more for the county." Mr Diamond said that the current Greater Dublin Drainage project by Irish Water may help improve beach water quality in the future. The project proposes building new wastewater treatment facilities, sewers and pumping stations across the county to decrease the amount of wastewater draining into the sea. A spokesperson for Irish Water said: Safeguarding the quality of the environment, including bathing waters, is a key part of Irish Waters role. Having adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure is essential to ensuring the quality of coastal waters, as well as facilitating housing provision and commercial development. These works will ensure that the wastewater is treated in compliance with EU and national wastewater treatment regulations and returned safely to the environment." Both Killiney beach in south Dublin and Donnabate on the northside of the county lost their Blue Flags in 2017. Dun-Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said that they are hopeful of Killiney beach will have its flag returned in the near future. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is committed to protecting its coastline environment. Council staff undertake daily cleaning, maintenance management, water quality sampling and reporting of all our beaches and work proactively with community groups who have helped with Beach Clean-ups and Clean Coast initiatives. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are happy to note the awarding of Seapoint in Blackrock as a Blue Flag beach. The Council looks forward to regaining Killiney Beach Blue Flag status in the near future." Bundoran beach in Co. Donegal lost its flag in this year's round. Despite this, Donegal still has the second largest number of Blue Flag beaches with 11 awarded this year. County Kerry remains seaside champion maintaining its position as the county with the largest number of Blue Flags with 13 Blue Flag beaches currently in the county. They frustrate you, boggle your mind, and make you sick of numbers altogether, but a daily Sudoku comes with its own reward for those who are prepared to stick with them. According to a new study from the University of Exeter and King's College London, completing one of the brain-testing number puzzles every day can give midlifers the brain of someone 10 years younger. The research had already found crosswords capable of the same brain-boosting effects, but this is the first time it has found Sudoku just as effective. Leader of the research, Dr Anne Corbett of the University Of Exeter Medical School, said: "We've found that the more regularly people engage with puzzles such as crosswords and Sudoku, the sharper their performance is across a range of tasks assessing memory, attention and reasoning. "The improvements are particularly clear in the speed and accuracy of their performance. In some areas [it] was quite dramatic - on measures of problem-solving, people who regularly do these puzzles performed equivalent to an average of eight years younger compared to those who don't." But puzzles aren't the only way to anti-age your brain... Look after your physical health There is significant research linking physical health and brain function. One study found that just half an hour of moderate exercise improved adults' brain-processing speed, while another found that weight-lifting increased the growth of nerve cells. And it's not just about exercise either. Preventing the build-up of dental plaque can reduce the risk of a stroke, according to some research, while another study found that high blood pressure can lead to reduced brain performance. Learn a new language Ted Mentele, editor in didactics at Babbel, explains that learning a new language activates the brain's neuroplasticity - it's ability to expand and form new neural connections. "Language learning in adult life could improve your abilities in your elderly years. White matter, which is what allows you to better connect neural cells and improve your cognitive capacities, was actually increased in a group of adult students learning Chinese who were tested over a nine-month period." Read more books Scholars at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation found that the mental stimulation provided by reading helps protect memory and thinking skills as we get older. The study's authors suggested reading every day helps reduce cognitive decline in later life. And there could be an even more powerful way to activate your brain, according to Ben Hughes, Head of Content at Blinkist, an app which condenses whole books down into short 'blinks'. "Learning in blinks gives you the information in short bursts, making it easier to commit to your memory," says Hughes. Maintain your friendships There's a reason why we tend to form close-knit bonds with those around us - it's good for our health, especially our brain health. One study found that positive relationships with friends in old age can help stave off memory loss and other cognitive disorders. Memory decline among those without a wide social circle was twice as fast as among those with a lot of friends. Perhaps it's because even simple interactions and basic conversation improves memory skills and sharpens the mind's ability to block out distractions, says one study. And if you get really friendly with people? Even better. Sex increases brain function by boosting the level of serotonin and oxytocin in the brain. The former helps boost creativity and logical decision making, while the latter helps with problem-solving. Eat more Marmite You might love it, you might hate it, but either way, you should be eating it. In 2017, researchers from York University suggested that the high concentration of Vitamin B12 in Marmite increased levels of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter in the brain. The other great advantage of GABA is that it can help make people feel more relaxed, soothing anxiety, inducing sleep, and calming nerves. And Marmite lasts a while. After participants consumed a teaspoon of Marmite a day for a month, the scientists noticed increased levels of GABA in their bodies for two months after that. Jack Rear The Telegraph What are those mysterious mounds on Sligo's Aughris Head? Could they be the remains of 5,000-year-old a ring fort? "We have had lecturers down here studying it, the mounds are believed to be from that era," Michael Flatley of the Aughris development committee has said. Or were they platforms for stacking and drying seaweed, as Elizabeth FitzPatrick suggested in the Journal of Irish Archaeology? Either way, James Dennison's delicious drone video poses a tempting puzzle... and provides the perfect excuse to visit an under-rated stretch of the Sligo coast. Aughris Head is a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point about 6km off the N59 between Sligo and Ballina. It can be reached via a 4km walk that starts at Dunmoran Strand, continues past the local Beach Bar and skirts around part of the headland, including the mysterious ringfort in Dennison's video. Expand Close Aughris Head. Screengrab: James Dennison / Atlantic Light Productions / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aughris Head. Screengrab: James Dennison / Atlantic Light Productions Stopping at the ridge-like remains provides an opportunity not only for some archaeological speculation, but to soak up killer views of Sligo Bay and Ben Bulben. The video comes as South & West Sligo Tourism, a community network of 40 local businesses, releases its latest 'Sligo's Hidden Gems' brochure. It focuses on user-generated content, with photos ranging from seaweed baths, walking trails and surf spots to a replica early 20th-century cottage created near the Caves of Keash (pictured below). The network has been working to boost rural tourism through initiatives like booklets, maps, trails and a #MySligo marketing campaign, as well as training local businesses to present and promote themselves more effectively. Expand Close Nuala Mullaney meeting Pat Ward for tea at the 20th century replica cottage Pat has complete at Fox's Den in Co Sligo.(thebeachbarsligo.com) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nuala Mullaney meeting Pat Ward for tea at the 20th century replica cottage Pat has complete at Fox's Den in Co Sligo.(thebeachbarsligo.com) Its efforts were recognised this February, when South & West Sligo Tourism won 'Best Tourism Initiative' at the National Community & Council Awards. "The whole purpose was for the businesses and community to work together to attract more visitors and benefit the whole region," says Paul Taylor, the network's chair. "The vision has now become a reality." NB: Safety comes first on a walk, no matter how easy. Check the weather, leave word of where youre going and when youll be back, and pack smart. The Aughris Head walk is a coastal trail, so exercise due caution and care. For more, see southsligotourism.ie and sligowalks.ie. Read more: The mantra of politicians in most democracies is "jobs, jobs, jobs". When unemployment is high, that issue almost invariably tops all others in political debate. When it is low, it moves down the pecking order of priorities, but not by much. Ireland is in the happy position right now of having low unemployment. In fact, over the past half-century, joblessness has only been lower than it is now in the pre-crash noughties. Because of the amount of "creative destruction" in the labour market, there are always jobs being destroyed and new ones being created. A healthy labour market creates more jobs than are being destroyed. Thankfully, the Irish labour market has been healthy since 2012, with employment up by close to half a million. It is always worth contrasting the past seven years with the first seven decades after Independence to show what an unhealthy labour market looks like. During the 70 years from the 1920s, there was no net increase in the numbers of people at work in the Republic. Jobs were created, of course, but only enough to replace those lost. From Independence to the early 1990s, employment levels were depressingly stagnant, at around 1.1 million. Seven years of strong employment growth has meant that the numbers at work currently stand at 2.3 million, more than twice the level during the long stagnation of the 1922-1992 period. But there is no room for complacency. The share of the adult population in employment is still below its previous peak of a decade ago, and Ireland is far behind peer countries, such as Britain, Sweden and Denmark, in the proportion of adults who work. As the accompanying chart shows, the numbers of people over 15 years of age who are not in the workforce has grown by more than a quarter of a million since the crash. The numbers in the labour force have grown by just a fraction of that over the same time frame. More students and pensioners account for a large part of the growth in the adult population that is outside the labour force, but the scarring effects of recession are still evident. All of this means that compared with a decade ago, each person working is now supporting - directly or indirectly - more people who aren't. These are issues that will take years to address. In the shorter term, things are looking good. Tuesday brought quite stunning and somewhat surprising news on jobs. The Central Statistics Office's (CSO) employment numbers for last year had been showing a slowdown in the pace of growth over the course of 2018. With many businesses braced for the shock of a no-deal Brexit at the end of March, my expectation was that jobs growth would be even weaker in the first months of this year, on the basis that companies would hold off on hiring at a time of such uncertainty. Not only did a slowdown not materialise, the first three months of 2019 clocked the fastest rate of jobs growth (on a quarter-to-quarter basis) in 13 years, according to the CSO's Labour Force Survey. In only two quarters since records began (in 1998) has employment jumped by more in a single quarter. These first comprehensive figures on what is happening in the jobs market in 2019 may be revised by the State's statistics in the months to come to show jobs growth was not quite as super-heated as the first estimates show. But even if future revisions make the picture look a little less rosy, they will not change the positive picture of continued growth in jobs, which is not only the best indicator of how the economy is performing, but is also the most important for quality of life and standards of living. In that regard, a few other things jumped out from Tuesday's dump of data on the labour market. One was the continued fall in unemployment and the particularly welcome fall in the numbers who have been seeking a job for a year or more. In the first months of the year, 40,000 were in this sorry situation, a fraction of the 215,000 at the worst of the depression. Just 1.7pc of the workforce is in long-term unemployment. That is close to, but not quite back to, pre-crash levels. What the jobs figures are showing regionally is always worth keeping an eye on. Over the 12 months to the first quarter of this year, employment was up in all eight of the nation's regions. As usual, there is considerable variation, with Mid-East seeing a surge recently, but - as this column likes to remind readers on a regular basis - no region is being left behind. Over the seven years since growth returned, every region recorded jobs growth well into double digits. In the context of the much-discussed issue of precarious employment, the figures show that the numbers who are self-employed have grown much more slowly than the numbers who are employees, both since the economy turned around and over that longer two-decade period. As of the first quarter of this year, just 14pc of people at work in Ireland were self-employed, the lowest share since records began. Another indicator of precariousness in employment is people who are doing part-time work but who want to be full-time. Again, the latest raft of jobs figures shows that fewer than one in 20 people at work is in that position. That is sharply down from the height of the slump and back to the proportion of 2008 when statisticians first started counting part-time workers in this way. So while there is still a lot that could be improved in Ireland's labour market, there is a lot that is working well. If the short-term threats to the economy don't materialise, that should continue to be the case. Guests can go light or heavy at Headquarters, as the bar will offer $4 cans of its citrus IPA Dont Grow Up Its a Trap, as well as 12-ounce pours of the 2019 Founders Kentucky Bourbon stout for $12. The former is a collaboration with Brickstone Brewery in Bourbonnais, Ill. I can't be absolutely sure but I can say with a good degree of confidence that my father never pushed me anywhere in my hand-me-down Silver Cross pram. Ever. For a man to be seen navigating a footpath with a squalling baby onboard would have been injurious to his reputation in the community, if not indeed fatal. Nice man, they'd say, but a bit odd. Hen-pecked, don't you know. I can say too, and with an even greater degree of certainty, that he never minded his youngest for as much as an afternoon or had any cause to. My mother was there all the time. Mammies never went out and daddies were never in. Now this wouldn't have been today or yesterday, I grant you. We are talking somewhere between 'Love Me Tender' and 'King Creole', a time too when Dev still cast that long shadow over a land awash with comely maidens. State maternity leave didn't exist because it didn't need to and the notion that a father might go to his grumpy boss looking for time off to care for his brood could only be imagined as a Jimmy O'Dea sketch at The Royal. Women were, for the most part, stirring stews in the kitchen and that Ireland didn't see any reason for them to be anywhere else. It would be a decade later before they even began to give out about it. Not that you have to go back that far. Or anything like it. When ours were born in the late 1980s and the 1990s the notion that I would take more than a day or two away from the office would have been considered a bit, well, new mannish. We knew that the Scandinavians went in for that class of thing. Good for them, but really. I'd only be getting in the way around the house. And wouldn't the mother-in-law be inviting herself over anyway? These might best described as the in-between decades: a period when men were realising they had responsibilities and a role around parenting, but hadn't worked out exactly what. Or really wanted to. Men attended ante-natal classes, took up room in the maternity ward and learned how to change nappies. But that was about it. Women had things called careers by then, but would have to take a backseat after the baby came. Juggling both would, from then on, define a working mother's very existence. A paternalistic society might have reluctantly conceded that a woman had a role outside the home but when push came to shove - which is what giving birth is all about - her real role was still in it. Us lads just went on with our careers and our lives, a few sleepless nights aside. Since then there have been changes but it has come dropping slow. But the announcement that Diageo - the makers of the black stuff and other liquid refreshments too - is to offer equal parental leave to both men and women could be the example other corporations will feel obliged to follow. Guinness mums and dads will be eligible for the same fully-paid 26 weeks, retaining benefits and bonuses regardless of "gender, sexual orientation or whether they become parents biologically, via surrogacy or adopt". I would have thought that it would take a Silicon Valley hipster megacorp to pioneer something as bold as this. Instead it comes from an industry nearly as old as time itself. It will be interesting to see if new dads, as genetically programmed to be embedded in their careers as any generation before them, will all sign up for six months out of the office. There may well be teething problems and even tears. Imagine what colleagues would say about the new dad who decides to stay at his desk for the duration instead? By the time our third was born I had grown up a bit. I took a year out of work to mind her. I was terrible at it, but it was wonderful too. It comes highly recommended. But this Diageo announcement is really more about mums than dads. It's a bluechip corporation telling its female workforce that bringing up baby isn't all down to you anymore. Fair play. Historian, broadcaster and all-round national treasure John Bowman nailed it late on that Saturday evening, November 25, 1995. "It's hello divorce - goodbye de Valera," he said on RTE as the nation learned that Irish voters had ended the constitutional ban on divorce by precisely 9,110 votes. It was less than 1pc and another vote in each ballot box nationwide could have changed the outcome. Mr Bowman's comment was a play on one of the main anti-divorce campaign slogans: "Hello divorce - goodbye Daddy." But it also harked back to Eamon de Valera's 1937 Constitution. Article 41.3.2 of Bunreacht na hEireann simply stated: "No law shall be enacted providing for a grant of the dissolution of marriage." The ensuing decades brought many social and economic changes, including pressure for the introduction of divorce, but change came very slowly. In a referendum in June 1986 more than six out of 10 Irish voters opted to keep the constitutional ban on divorce. That result came after a strong pro-divorce campaign which looked like being successful. So that narrowest of results in 1995 had big implications, although it did not result in a rush for divorces. In fact, a quarter of a century on the institution of marriage in Ireland remains in pretty good health. The Central Statistics Office tells us there were more than 22,000 weddings in Ireland in 2017. Church weddings remain the most popular choice, though civil weddings are gaining in popularity and people are living together for some years before marriage. Marriage remains an important staging point and Ireland's divorce rate is the lowest in Europe. Dire warnings about undermining marriage back in 1995, and in the same-sex marriage campaign in 2015, have yet to materialise. Tomorrow, voters are being asked to approve another constitutional change to divorce. As things stand, a couple must have lived apart for four of the previous five years before they can get divorced. This forces people who wish to divorce to remain married for much longer than many would prefer. Many must get a judicial separation years before getting divorced, increasing financial and emotional costs. The suggested amendment removes all time restrictions from the Constitution and leaves it to TDs and senators to regulate. There will be a law fixing the time limit at two years that could be extended or curtailed in future, like all laws. Over the weeks since the campaign for change was launched, there has been almost no opposition. The Government, all the Dail political parties and many civil society groups have backed a 'Yes' vote. Sometimes, it is hard to believe how much we have changed as a society in the quarter century since we almost did not vote for divorce. Tomorrow's referendum will be carried handily. Leo Tolstoys famous opening line of Anna Karenina goes: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. In other words, there are countless ways to miss a bullseye, but only one way to hit it. Marriage breakdown is difficult and painful, especially when children are involved. From my experience of counselling couples, I suspect that many people separate unnecessarily. Couples usually avail of counselling as a last resort, when they are on the brink of separating. But once in the counselling room together, their problems are eminently solvable. They simply need to practise basic skills of listening, communication, negotiation and conflict resolution. These are easily learnable skills, which give the couple the means to hit the bullseye, whatever challenges they face. I will be voting Yes in the upcoming divorce referendum, but I hope that couples who feel that they have no option but to divorce will consider couples counselling first. In the meantime, the books Couple Skills: Making Your Relationship Work by Kim Paleg, Matthew McKay, and Patrick Fanning, and Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray are good places to start for couples. Maeve Halpin Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Pirates bent on plunder as housing ship hits the rocks How long more can the good ship Irish Housing stay viable? It is being severely buffeted by the winds of commerce. The trouble probably started years ago, when the two-incomers started flocking on board, driving up the cost of cabins. This has attracted the attention of the modern-day pirates, bent on plunder aka speculators/investors who are boarding the vessel, carving up each cabin to make multiple bunks, adding extra decks, thus accommodating more passengers and raking in loot galore from those who can afford to pay. But what about the unfortunate third-class passengers down below? You know how pirates did it it was overboard for those who couldnt pay up! Whatever lifeboats are left can get very crowded and most uncomfortable, with little or no facilities for the long journey ashore. Can the ship be stabilised or will it capsize? In all this mayhem, the captain appears to be helpless: so what to do? Why not hand over the management of the ship to consultants, who will put a robot in the wheelhouse, controlled by wireless broadband from the safety of dry land? Ted OKeeffe Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Repeal result celebrations this time last year were wrong This week marks the first anniversary of the vote that took place to remove the life-saving Eighth Amendment from the Irish Constitution. Its removal was followed by triumphant celebrations in Dublin Castle by pro-abortion activists and later by the introduction of one of the most permissive abortion laws in the world. The repeal of the Eighth Amendment was a horrific result. The vote has led to the introduction of taxpayer-funded abortion on demand in Irish hospitals and GP practices, trampled on freedom of conscience, and is now being used as an excuse to threaten freedom of expression. Repeal was a disaster which, regardless of ones views on abortion, should never have been celebrated. Nicola Daveron Galway For Life, St Augustine Street, Galway Scullys relief over end of the school run was spot on Congratulations to Barbara Scully on the very honest and hilarious article Goodbye...to the school run (Lifestyle, Irish Independent, May 22). I identify with so much in the article and while I have a few more years on this journey I will thank God for them while looking forward to Leaving Cert 2023. Jean Coleman Currabell, Dunmore, Co Galway Best wishes to my former classmates, 50 years on I left my alma mater, Blackrock College, 50 years ago this year, in June 1969. A hard-working committee has made contact with many of us to celebrate this milestone this coming weekend. I would find it difficult to attend this particular event, but I do wish my classmates a very successful and happy occasion. Brian Mc Devitt Glenties, Co Donegal Luca Connell during an Ireland training session at The Campus in Quinta do Lago, Portugal yesterday. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile Luca Connell during a Republic of Ireland training session at The Campus in Quinta do Lago, Faro, Portugal. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile New kid on the block Luca Connell says he would have no hesitation about committing his future to Ireland if Mick McCarthy asks him to play against Denmark or Gibraltar. And he has cancelled his summer holiday to prove the point. Liverpool-born Connell has come through the Irish underage set-up but it has been reported that the English FA are on the trail of the highly-rated Bolton teenager who is set for a big move this summer. Mick McCarthy has said he has no intention of sticking Connell on the pitch for a minute in order to tie him down and avoid a Declan Rice situation further down the line. Indeed, Connell is not even scheduled to be in the squad for the matches with Denmark and Gibraltar. However, he said yesterday that he has shelved a planned trip to Dubai to be available if needed. The 18-year-old was coy when asked directly what he would do if Gareth Southgate phoned him up. But he then stressed that he would not turn down a call from McCarthy if he was asked to come into the Euro 2020 qualifiers. "I wouldn't hold back," said Connell. "It's once in a lifetime so if you turn that down then not just the gaffer but the team wouldn't be happy with you. I'd take the chance. "I've cancelled the holiday just in case the gaffer wants me to go," he continued, "That's no problem. "It's a lot of money but this is an experience that money can't buy. That's no problem for me." Spurs, Southampton, Brighton, Burnley and Rangers are just five of the clubs keeping tabs on Connell. He's out of contract at the end of June so prospective buyers would only have to agree a compensation deal with his cash-strapped employers. As temperatures rise, fashion is loosening up, and your options for warm-weather dressing are greater than ever. The usual array of denim cut-offs and minis are joined by roomy shorts, printed midi dresses and a new skirt style: the sarong. For most of us, that means the flimsy little wrap you throw in your suitcase for covering up at the beach or by the pool. But this season, the holiday favourite has been elevated into a sensible skirt shape that can be as modest or as revealing as you like. Oscar de la Renta is best known for its dramatic gowns and elegant suiting beloved by A-listers and American first ladies, from Nancy Reagan to Michelle Obama. In 2017, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia took the helm as co-creative directors and were charged with bringing the brand into the Instagram era, while honouring De la Renta's legacy. Two years later, the fashion house has been thoroughly updated, and although the evening wear still has all of that famous wow factor, there is a more laid-back approach: for spring-summer, the opening look featured a fringed wrap skirt modelled by Bella Hadid and since spotted on Emily Ratajkowski. The effect is relaxed yet modern - a skirt with the ease of a sarong and a runway-ready luxe finish, amplified by an asymmetric blouse and heeled sandals. It was one of the standouts from the show, but the sarong appeared elsewhere on the catwalks too: at Marni, the look was crafty and handmade, as skirts were covered with finger dabs of paint and the side-draping had more of a sculptural feel. Worn with a beige duster coat, snakeskin slides and a chunky gold choker, it exemplified the best of the brand's eclectic, arty aesthetic. Expand Close A model walks the runway during the Paco Rabanne show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 at Grand Palais in Paris, France. Photo: Getty Images For Paco Rabanne / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A model walks the runway during the Paco Rabanne show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 at Grand Palais in Paris, France. Photo: Getty Images For Paco Rabanne Eudon Choi, the London-based designer who made a name for himself with sleek tailoring, offered a softer silhouette, with gathered wrap-style skirts in beige and neutral checks. These were paired with mesh handbags, platform sandals and short-sleeved shirts for a clean and contemporary look. Paco Rabanne, meanwhile, embraced neo-hippie modernism with a sunnier interpretation of the sarong. Taking the glamorous bohemians of the 70s as its muse, the collection featured a paisley print skirt worn with a coin belt and this season's It print, the tie-dye T-shirt. It's a beachier take on the sarong, modernised with a refined silhouette that could just as easily be worn with a biker jacket and barely-there heels for a 2019 upgrade. The high street has followed suit with a vast selection of sarong skirts - breezy prints crying out for a summer's day, understated khaki numbers that nod to the utilitarian trend, and wrap styles with buckle detailing to define the waist. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Camel, 49 from Wallis Off-white, 49.95 from Zara Checked, 178 from Hobbs.co.uk Brown, 295 from Max Mara at Brown Thomas Turquoise, 660 from Tibi at Netaporter.com Black, 22.99 from New Look Geometric print, 99 from Mint Velvet at Arnotts Khaki, 55 from M&S / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Camel, 49 from Wallis Video of the Day For maximum wearability, a neutral shade will become a daytime staple. Give it some polish with a sophisticated button-up shirt or blouse, amp it up for evening with a simple ribbed vest and heeled sandals, or try a T-shirt and trainers for easy off-duty cool. The lengths vary from asymmetric minis to ankle-grazing maxis, but most popular is the midi. These skirts are fully lined and tend to forgo the thigh-high slit, so don't worry about flashing a whole load of leg - unless you want to, in which case there are plenty of sexy high-cut styles to choose from too. For evening, look to Gwyneth Paltrow for a lesson in how to wear the sarong after dark without verging into beach bar cocktail territory. Her Michael Kors skirt is embellished with subtle sequins, and topped off with a plunging blouse and blazer for a classically chic, low-key look. A man's body has been found beside a car that was set alight in north county Dublin last night. Gardai are investigating the discovery of the man's body beside the car at Walshestown near Junction 5 on the M1, the Dublin to Belfast motorway. Early indications are that the man had been shot in the head and chest on a quiet country lane. A man's body has been found beside a car that was set alight in north county Dublin last night. Gardai are investigating the discovery of the man's body beside the car at Walshestown near Junction 5 on the M1, the Dublin to Belfast motorway. Early indications are that the man had been shot in the head and chest on a quiet country lane. Gardai were informed of the incident shortly before midnight, and the emergency services rushed to the scene. The car was an Opel Insignia, and it was extinguished by a unit from the Dublin Fire Brigade. "Gardai at Balbriggan Co Dublin are investigating a fatal shooting incident which occurred at Rowans Little, Walshstown, Balbriggan, Co Dublin at approximately 11.20pm last night," a spokesman said. READ MORE: Voters are heading to the polls across the UK for the European Parliament elections, and certain polling stations for this election are a little different. Constituents have been casting their ballots at locations including a caravan, a pub and even a windmill. Polling stations will be open until 10pm on Thursday, with voters casting ballots for a total of 73 MEPs in nine constituencies in England, and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some constituents in Hove will cast their votes at West Blatchington Windmill, while a group of Leicestershire electors will head to a farm in Garthorpe to fill in their ballot slip inside a caravan. In Hampshire, Petersfield Used Car Centre opened its doors as a polling station for the day. Also in Hampshire, some voters will be casting their votes at the White Horse Inn in Priors Dean, also known as the pub with no name. In East Lothian, monks Father Mark Caira and Father Leonard Norman, from the Sancta Maria Abbey, cast their votes at Garvald Village Hall. The results of the election will be announced once all EU nations have voted, with the voting process expected to be completed by 10pm on Sunday. When Britain leaves the European Union on October 31, the European Parliament will reduce from 751 MEPs to 705, with 27 of the UKs 73 seats being distributed among the remaining member states. It is uncertain how long British MEPs will sit in the parliament due to Brexit. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the country's capital under control after six people died yesterday in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last month's presidential election. The clashes began on Tuesday night when supporters of former General Prabowo Subianto tried to force their way into the downtown offices of the election supervisory agency and have continued unabated since then. More than two dozen vehicles were burned as rioters took over neighbourhoods in central Jakarta, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at police who responded with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. Flanked by the military chief and other top leaders, a grim-looking Mr Widodo said: "I will work together with anyone to advance this country, but I will not tolerate anyone who disrupts the security, democratic processes and unity of our beloved nation." Mr Subianto, an ultra-nationalist politician, has refused to accept the official results of the April 17 election and instead declared himself the winner. The Election Commission on Tuesday said Mr Widodo, the first Indonesian president from outside the Jakarta elite, had won 55.5pc of the vote, securing the moderate technocrat a second term as leader of the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Mr Subianto, an elite figure from a wealthy family connected to former dictator Suharto, also lost to Mr Widodo in 2014. He has made four unsuccessful bids for the presidency since Suharto was ousted in 1998. "The bottom line is the people who are protesting and rioting in the past 24 hours represent a small minority of Indonesian voters and a small minority of Indonesian Muslims," said Alexander Arifanto, an Indonesian politics expert at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "The vast majority of both clearly accepted the election results. By tacitly backing the protesters, Prabowo has lost any remaining legitimacy he had left." Rudiantara, the communications and information technology minister, said social media will be restricted on a temporary basis to prevent the spread of hoaxes and inflammatory content. National police chief Tito Karnavian said the people who died in the rioting were hit by gunshots or blunt devices. Authorities are still investigating the causes of death and are not ruling out the involvement of third parties acting as provocateurs. "There are attempts to create martyrs, blaming security officials for building public anger," he said. The rioting in the capital was planned and not spontaneous, according to police. The Brexit Party is on course to win more than a third of votes in the European elections, a new poll has suggested. Ipsos MORI found that 35pc of registered voters who say they are certain to vote would support Nigel Farage's new party on Thursday. Expand Close New party: Jacob Rees-Moggs sister Annunziata (right) will stand as an MEP for Nigel Farages new Brexit Party which was launched yesterday in Coventry. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp New party: Jacob Rees-Moggs sister Annunziata (right) will stand as an MEP for Nigel Farages new Brexit Party which was launched yesterday in Coventry. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire The Liberal Democrats are set to come second, according to the figures, with 20pc of those questioned saying they would support the pro-Remain group. Labour is forecast to win 15pc of the votes, with the Tories' share predicted to be 9pc. Ukip and Change UK are on course to win 3pc of the votes each, while the Greens are forecast to take 10pc. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they had "definitely decided" who to vote for, but a third said they may change their mind. Expand Close Nigel Farage (R) reacts as he speaks with Italian-Swedish MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt during a panel discussion at a conference on Brexit, at the Saatchi Gallery in London yesterday. Picture: AFP/Getty / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nigel Farage (R) reacts as he speaks with Italian-Swedish MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt during a panel discussion at a conference on Brexit, at the Saatchi Gallery in London yesterday. Picture: AFP/Getty Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI, said: "Both Labour and the Conservatives are suffering in this election, while the Brexit Party looks set to be the winner. "We've seen how Conservative Party voters in particular dislike their party's approach to Brexit, and prefer Nigel Farage's party's line, while Labour supporters are confused over exactly what Labour would do about Brexit if it were in power." But he said the election is "particularly difficult to predict" as it traditionally has a low turnout and the new parties add to the "volatility" - adding that it will be "important to look at how the public responds after the results are announced". "Will Brexit continue to damage the two main traditional parties, and provide a spring in the step to the others, or will traditional party loyalties recover - perhaps for the Conservatives under a new leader and a new approach? "Whatever happens though, the questions Brexit is asking of the main parties and the voter coalitions they rely on are not going away." Guests can expect a playlist of 2000s hits and plenty of songs from Fyres would-be headliners like Major Lazer and Ja Rule, plus a bevy of custom-art photo walls that are IG-ready. Additional artwork and T-shirts will be available for purchase. The pop-up will also feature several events throughout its duration, such as weenie and smores roasts, a treasure hunt and a show by a Blink-182 cover band. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate their partys victory in the general elections in New Delhi, India (Manish Swarup/AP) Indian prime minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist party claimed it won re-election with a commanding lead in Thursdays vote count, while the head of the main opposition party conceded a personal defeat that signalled the end of an era for modern Indias main political dynasty. Election Commission data by mid afternoon showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 299 out of 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The data did not indicate what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes cast over the six-week election had been counted. Although the final tally was not expected until Thursday evening at the earliest, BJP President Amit Shah claimed a victory, crediting Mr Modis leadership. Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for Indias progress. The word Chowkidar goes from my Twitter name but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too! Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Mr Modi himself tweeted: India wins yet again. The election has been seen as a referendum on 68-year-old Mr Modi, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog in Indias highly stratified society has endured. Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks exacerbating social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people. Expand Close Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in their partys Assam state office (Anupam Nath/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters celebrate in their partys Assam state office (Anupam Nath/AP) On the campaign trail, Mr Modi presented himself as a self-made man with the confidence to cut red tape and unleash Indias economic potential, and labelled Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that lost national power in 2014, as an out-of-touch member of the elite. Mr Gandhi conceded defeat for his own parliamentary seat to his BJP rival in Amethi, a constituency in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh that had for decades been a Congress party bastion. Congress, the party of Indias first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and peace activist Mahatma Gandhi, ruled India for nearly half a century after it achieved independence from Britain in 1947. In 2014, it won only 44 seats, and was projected to win only slightly more this time. The BJPs performance is absolutely stunning. Modi is the predominant leader in India today. He has pushed everybody else aside. Nobody in the opposition is a match for him, said political commentator Arti Jerath. Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India in the future.@narendramodi Maithripala Sirisena (@MaithripalaS) May 23, 2019 A party or coalition needs a simple majority of 272 seats, or just over half the seats in Parliaments lower house, to govern. Mr Modis going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that, said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. Shortly after officials began tabulating the votes, Indias Sensex jumped 2.3% to an all-time high over 40,000, though it closed Thursday off 0.76% at 38,811. If BJPs lead holds, it will not need a coalition partner to stay in power and could even improve its position compared to 2014, when it won 282 seats. This election may mark the first time in the partys history that it has won two consecutive elections on its own. I accept the verdict of the people of India Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 23, 2019 World leaders, including Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, congratulated Mr Modi on Twitter. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Mr Khan tweeted. Trends in the election data suggest that BJPs strategy of pursuing an aggressive campaign in eastern India paid off, with the party breaking into the citadels of Trinamool Congress Party in West Bengal state and the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha state. Picking up seats in these two states would compensate for projected losses in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The biggest losers appear to be the communists who ruled West Bengal state for 34 years until they were ousted by Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress Party in 2011. Coalition partners of the Congress-led government in New Delhi between 2004 and 2008, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was leading in only three constituencies and the Communist Party of India in two constituencies. Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of people cheered and shouted party slogans, lifting cardboard cutouts of Mr Modi and Mr Shah into the air as other people played drums and set off fireworks. Mohit Sharma, a 29-year-old who runs a bathroom fittings business, said India had never had a prime minister like Mr Modi. In the past, when leaders after they won elections, they sat in air-conditioned rooms and they never reached out to people, but Modi was never like that. He was always connected to the people through social media, Mr Sharma said. Fashion designer Sandeep Verma, 39, said he was not a BJP supporter but voted for the party in the elections. A country like India needs a decisive leader and the people did not find that in Rahul Gandhi. There was no alternative to Modi, Mr Verma said. The BJP harnessed social media, including Twitter, where Mr Modi has 47.4 million followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters. Expand Close Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah displays the victory sign (Manish Swarup/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah displays the victory sign (Manish Swarup/AP) Mr Modi also capitalised on a suicide bombing in Kashmir in February that killed 40 Indian soldiers. India retaliated with airstrikes at alleged terrorist training camps in Pakistan, fanning the flames of nationalism and helping the BJP turn voters attention away from the flailing economy and onto matters of national security. As votes were being counted across India, Pakistans military said it successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Tensions with Pakistan gave him the narrative he needed to counter all these allegations of non-performance, unemployment and rural distress. It reenergised him and enabled him to reclaim his image as a strong leader India needs at this juncture, Ms Jerath said. Expand Close Counting officials open electronic voting machines (EVM) (Bikas Das/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Counting officials open electronic voting machines (EVM) (Bikas Das/AP) Analysts also said that Mr Modis victory could embolden Hindu hard-liners calling for Hindu cultural practice to colour more of Indias laws and norms. BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya, a Hindu holy woman who is awaiting trial on charges connected to a 2008 bombing that targeted Muslims, and who recently called independence leader Mahatma Gandhis assassin a patriot, was leading the polls in Bhopal. At Congress headquarters, a few party workers stood outside looking dejected. Jagdish Sharma, 50, blamed the counting method, using electronic voting machines, saying Rahul Gandhi is the crowds favourite, but has always lost only due to EVMs. While EVMs exist even Lord Vishnu cant defeat Modi, he said, referring to a powerful Hindu god. Voters cast ballots on some 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse. Expand Close A BJP supporter displays a sari with a portrait of prime minister Narendra Modi (Mahesh Kumar A/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A BJP supporter displays a sari with a portrait of prime minister Narendra Modi (Mahesh Kumar A/AP) But losing candidates and political parties have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the electronic method, doing so again this week. Top opposition leaders met with Election Commission officials on Tuesday after videos appeared on social media showing some electronic voting machines being moved. The party officials alleged that the machines were going to be altered, but the commission said the images showed unused machines being moved into storage. Customers will be able to pick up John Lewis orders from a select number of Co-op shops as part of the trial (PA) John Lewis & Partners is to trial a new delivery option allowing customers to pick up online orders from The Co-operative shops. The initial test-run will launch next week across five Co-op branches in London, Manchester and Nottingham. Employees of Co-op head office have already had access to the service at a sixth outlet in Manchesters Angel Square. Eva Cullen, head of customer fulfilment operations at John Lewis, said the service will be rolled out to more locations if the trial is successful. She said: Our click & collect service is growing in popularity every year as our customers benefit from the ease of being able to pick up their order at a time and place which is convenient to them. Mark Pettigrew, Co-ops director of innovation and format, said: It is all about creating ease, convenience and choice for todays time-pressed shopper. This is an exciting development. Innovations and new technologies are driving a number of initiatives and creating value in our communities through increased offers and services for our members and customers. The move reflects the growing need for retailers to provide convenient pick-up locations for shoppers. John Lewis currently offers collection of its orders from all of its stores and all Waitrose outlets, and has also partnered with Northern supermarket Booths to offer collection at eight branches. Meanwhile Sainsburys offers collection points in many of its shops for Argos shoppers, following its acquisition of the home goods retailer in 2016. Israeli troops and police enlisted a mystical rabbi to help them hunt for Hizbollah tunnels stretching into Israel from Lebanon Israeli troops and police enlisted a "mystical" rabbi to help them hunt for Hizbollah tunnels stretching into Israel from Lebanon. The 50-year-old, known as Yehuda, is a follower of a mystic form of Judaism and joined security forces on patrols between 2013 and 2016. Officers said he seemed to be able to divine the location of tunnels, according to the 'Times of Israel', and one colonel filed a report advising his superiors to continue to seek his help. "There is no reason not to accept the rabbi's help facing other operational challenges in the army's various theatres of operation," he wrote. However, the Israel Defence Force was not convinced and ordered a halt to the patrols. "The IDF never relied at any stage upon citizens with any sort of abilities. Rather, it used advanced technological and intelligence means only," an IDF spokesman said. ( Daily Telegraph London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Turkey's defence minister has said the country is preparing for potential US sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems. (David Davies/PA) Turkey's defence minister has said the country is preparing for potential US sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems. Turkey and the United States have been at odds on several fronts, including Ankara's decision to buy the S-400s, which cannot be integrated into Nato systems. Washington says it would jeopardise Turkey's role in building Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, which it says would be compromised by S-400s. While Washington has warned that Ankara faces sanctions under its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if it presses on with the deal, Turkey has said it expects US President Donald Trump to honour commitments. Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey was fulfilling its responsibilities in the F-35 project and expected the programme to continue as planned. He said buying the S-400s was only meant to meet Turkey's defence needs. "We are doing whatever normal bilateral agreements mandate. Though there are some issues from time to time, we are pleased that there has been no sharp turn until now... Turkey is also making preparations for the potential implementation of CAATSA sanctions," he said. "In our talks with the United States, we see a general easing and rapprochement on issues including the east of the Euphrates, F-35s and Patriots." Turkey's lira has been sliding, in part over concerns on US sanctions, which would hit an economy already in recession after a currency crisis last year. Among its other disputes with Washington is strategy in Syria east of the Euphrates River, where the United States is allied with Kurdish forces that Turkey views as foes. The United States and Britain have warned Syria that they will "respond appropriately" if allegations of a fresh chemical attack on rebels are confirmed. Four fighters from the hardline Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group were taken to hospital on Sunday morning after an air assault on the village of Kabana in Latakia, which borders Idlib province - the last-remaining opposition stronghold. According to an Idlib Health Directorate report, the patients were suffering from "respiratory failure, vomiting, wheezing and damage to their pharynx". Medical staff said they smelled a substance "that was very similar to that of chlorine" while they were treating the fighters. The medical team confirmed that it had taken blood and urine samples from the victims and had sent them for testing. A video from the scene appears to show the fighters struggling for breath, with reddened eyes. The attack took place on the front line between Islamist HTS fighters and government forces - a mountainous area that has seen fierce fighting in recent weeks. There has been no independent confirmation of the use of chemicals. White Helmets civil defence workers, which do not operate in the immediate area, said they had no information on the attack. Donald Trump, the US president, has twice acted in response to a "red line" over chemical weapons once set by his predecessor, Barack Obama. The Trump administration, alongside the UK and France, hit sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons production in response to chemical attacks in Idlib in 2017 and the Damascus suburb of Douma in 2018. A US State Department spokesman warned yesterday that Washington and its allies would respond "quickly and appropriately" if the reports were proven. "Unfortunately, we continue to see signs that the Assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack in north-west Syria on the morning of May 19," Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. "We are still gathering information... but we repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately," she said. It was not clear if the statement marked an official change in policy. The US has previously said that only attacks using nerve agents, not chlorine - a less deadly chemical which has domestic uses - would elicit a military response. British Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament yesterday that she was in close contact with the US and would "respond appropriately" if a chemical attack was confirmed. "Our position is clear," she said. "We consider Assad incapable of delivering a lasting peace and his regime has lost its legitimacy due to its atrocities against its own... people." It is the first reported use of chemicals since the Syrian government began attacking Idlib in earnest last month. The government has been accused of using chemicals against its own people hundreds of times since the war began in 2011. "Assad has shown time and time again that he uses chemical weapons in strategic areas in order to give his forces advantage," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the former commanding officer of Britain's UK Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, who now advises NGOs. Kabana is a fortified and strategically positioned stronghold that has been frustrating regime advances in Idlib. The alleged chemical attack came after several failed attempts to capture the area, which overlooks regime-held Latakia - Assad's birthplace. A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Syrian government had a history of resorting to chemical weapons when fighting intensified. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government on the US statement. In March, Syrian state media cited a hospital in government-held Hama as saying 21 people suffered choking symptoms from poison gas after rebels shelled a village. In January, US national security adviser John Bolton warned the Syrian government against using chemical weapons again. "There is absolutely no change in the US position against the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime and absolutely no change in our position that any use of chemical weapons would be met by a very strong response, as we've done twice before," he said. ( Daily Telegraph London) A Republican politician reportedly punched his wife in the face after she didn't undress quickly enough when he wanted to have sex, according to a police report. Doug McLeod, a state legislator from Mississippi, was arrested on Saturday and charged with domestic violence. The 58-year-old is believed to have been drunk during the suspected attack, with officers reporting that they found him clutching a glass of alcohol at the scene. His alleged assault left the victim with a bloodied nose, according to the 'Sun Herald'. Officers also found blood in the couple's bedroom, according to the police report. Another woman inside the house told officers he had punched his wife inside the bedroom. Mr McLeod recently voted to ban abortion in Mississippi from around the sixth week of pregnancy. ( Independent News Service) Tensions: A US Navy Super Hornet landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf this week.. Photo: Getty/US Navy The risk of nuclear weapons being used is at its highest since World War II, a senior United Nations security expert said, calling it an "urgent" issue that the world should take more seriously. Renata Dwan, director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), said all states with nuclear weapons have nuclear modernisation programmes under way and the arms control landscape is changing, partly due to strategic competition between China and the United States. Traditional arms control arrangements are also being eroded by the emergence of new types of war, with increasing prevalence of armed groups and private sector forces and new technologies that blurred the line between offence and defence, she told reporters in Geneva. With disarmament talks stalemated for the past two decades, 122 countries have signed a treaty to ban nuclear weapons, partly out of frustration and partly out of a recognition of the risks, she said. "I think that it is genuinely a call to recognise, and this has been somewhat missing in the media coverage of the issues, that the risks of nuclear war are particularly high now," she said. "And the risks of the use of nuclear weapons, for some of the factors I pointed out, are higher now than at any time since World War II." The nuclear ban treaty, officially called the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, was backed by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. The treaty has so far gathered 23 of the 50 ratifications that it needs to come into force, including South Africa, Austria, Thailand, Vietnam and Mexico. It is strongly opposed by the United States, Russia, and other states with nuclear arms. Cuba also ratified the treaty in 2018, 56 years after the Cuban missile crisis, a 13-day Cold War face-off between Moscow and Washington that marked the closest the world had ever come to nuclear war. Ms Dwan said the world should not ignore the danger of nuclear weapons. "How we think about that, and how we act on that risk and the management of that risk, seems to me a pretty significant and urgent question that isn't reflected fully in the (UN) Security Council," she said. Meanwhile, Tehran claimed yesterday that the United States and its supporters do not dare attack Iran because of its "spirit of resistance". Tensions have spiked between Iran and the United States after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, in a show of force against what US officials claim are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. "If the criminal America and its Western and regional allies don't dare carry out a face-to-face military attack against our country, it is because of the spirit of resistance and sacrifice of the people and youth," Major General Gholamali Rashid said, according to the Fars news agency. In a Twitter message addressed to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday, an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the American military deployment to the region was a deliberate provocation. "You @SecPompeo do not bring warships to our region and call it deterrence. That's called provocation. It compels Iran to illustrate its own deterrence, which you call provocation. You see the cycle?," the adviser, Hesameddin Ashena, tweeted in English. US politicians were bitterly divided yesterday over whether Iran poses an imminent threat to US interests or the Trump administration is exaggerating intelligence to lay the groundwork for war. Top administration officials briefed the House and Senate in two closed-door sessions, presenting evidence that Iran may be poised to attack US military and diplomatic personnel in the Middle East. But some Democrats said that none of the information showed Iran was more of a threat now than in the past, and they accused the administration of being ready to attack at the slightest provocation. US and Western intelligence officials also have debated whether the intelligence, which includes photographs of Iranians loading missiles on to small boats, indicates that the nation is ready to strike or is responding defensively to economic pressure from Trump administration sanctions and a perception that the White House is eager for a fight. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, acting defence secretary Patrick Shanahan and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Joseph Dunford Jr faced sceptical members, some of whom said they heard echoes of a previous administration's case for war in the Middle East. "I truly believe that the intel has been misinterpreted and misrepresented by Secretary Pompeo, by [national security adviser John] Bolton and other people that do want us to go to war in Iran, as a repeat to Iraq," Democrat Ruben Gallego said upon leaving the briefing for House members. "This is a case of somebody getting into somebody's face and hoping that they'll punch, and waiting to punch back," said Democrat Joaquin Castro. But some Republicans saw the information differently, and pointed to "new", "credible" and "consistent" threats that Senator Lindsey Graham called "a game-changer". Mr Graham said the administration's recent actions, including the deployment of an aircraft carrier, were in response to "strong intelligence" that Iran's leaders had given Shiite militias in Iraq "more running room and direction that attacks against American interests and personnel were imminent". Republicans insisted that the administration was not hurtling toward a war with Iran, calling recent military moves "measured". But Mr Graham warned the administration not to shy from using force. ( Washington Post) New charges have been filed in the US against Julian Assange (Victoria Jones/PA) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged in the United States with receiving and publishing thousands of classified documents linked to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Justice Department has indicted the 47-year-old, who is currently jailed in Britain, on 18 counts that relate to his "alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States", it said. He is accused of working with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in "unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defence", a statement said. The Justice Department said that by publishing unredacted versions of the leaked files, Assange put "named human sources at a grave and imminent risk". Expand Close Julian Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy (Dominic Lipinski/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Julian Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy (Dominic Lipinski/PA) After a federal grand jury returned the indictment on Thursday, WikiLeaks swiftly issued a tweet describing the move as "madness". "It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment," it said. Manning handed over databases containing roughly 90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports and 400,000 Iraq war-related significant activities reports, the Justice Department said. There were also 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs and 250,000 US Department of State cables, it added. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Julian Assange (Victoria Jones/PA) The WikiLeaks founder had stayed at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for several years (Victoria Jones/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Julian Assange (Victoria Jones/PA) Assange was dramatically dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, last month, some seven years after he sought political asylum after the documents were published. He was then jailed for 50 weeks for a bail breach and is fighting against extradition to the US. US authorities allege the whistleblower conspired with Manning, 31, "with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation". Assange published the documents on WikiLeaks with unredacted names of sources who gave information to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. "These human sources included local Afghans and Iraqis, journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents from repressive regimes," the Justice Department said. "According to the superseding indictment, Assange's actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention." Expand Close Digging out the truth: Julian Assange was given asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Photo: Lauren Hurley/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Digging out the truth: Julian Assange was given asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Photo: Lauren Hurley/PA Wire It added: "Many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning that their unauthorised disclosure could cause serious damage to United States national security." Classified rules of engagement files for the Iraq war were also handed over by Manning, US officials said, and Assange is said to have agreed to hack into secure government networks. The Justice Department said: "Assange actively encouraged Manning to provide more information and agreed to crack a password hash stored on US Department of Defence computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a United States government network used for classified documents and communications. "Assange is also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to crack that password hash." He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each count except conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, which is punishable by five years. WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said in a tweet: "I find no satisfaction in saying 'I told you so' to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. "I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism." The U.S. Army and Concord Police Department are scheduled to sign a partnership agreement on Sunday, May 26 as part of the U.S. Army Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) program at noon in the Fan Zone at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The PaYS Program is a strategic partnership between the Army and a cross section of private industry, academia and state and local public agencies. The U.S. Army PaYS Program guarantees Soldiers a job interview for possible employment after their service in the Army. The PaYS Program provides Americas youth with the unique opportunity to simultaneously serve their country and prepare for their future. The PaYS program is designed to help soldiers prepare for a career after the Army by connecting them with employers who understand the skills, discipline and work ethic that military service members bring to a business. This program is part of a long-term U.S. Army effort to help soldiers forge professional relationships with businesses and encourage business owners to look to the Army as a plentiful and reliable recruiting source. Since PaYS began in 2000, more than 828 employers have partnered with the program. The Concord Police Department is proud to partner with the U.S. Army in this project as it continues to look for ways to enhance recruiting efforts in the community. The temperature got up to 85 degrees outside and 176 degrees inside the car. Its inexcusable because this is very preventable, Causey said. North Carolina Department of Insurance officials say 52 children in the country died from child vehicular childhood deaths in 2018, including a 7-month from Raleigh who was left in a hot car for more than two hours. This is very important, North Carolina Governors Highway Safety Program Director Mike Ezzell said. We have a warm, but not hot day in the low 80s. This is nothing what its going to be like in six weeks. This smores demonstration gives a very good indication when a child is left in the car seat, and that happens far too often. Hopefully this is the kind of reminder that will make a difference. Ezzell said it can only take a few minutes in a hot car for a child to suffer a heat-related illness. A kid could potentially get heat stroke in a matter of minutes. Its dangerous, Ezzell said. Originally published in Campus Reform Maine is the first state in the country to ban any public universities from having a mascot that depicts or refers to a Native American tribe, individual, custom or tradition. Maine Democrat Gov. Jane... Vermont has joined a handful of states in renaming Columbus Day to honor Native Americans. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill into law on Friday, May 10, 2019 recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day. At least si... By Derrick Lafrance The story of war and its effects on loving families was shared last week with local veterans who also lived that life. An eye-opening Vietnam era documentary called "When I Come Home" was presented at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casi... Whats behind lobbyist attempts to block casinos on Indigenous land? OpenSecrets News President Donald Trump threw his weight against a bipartisan House bill last week that would affirm the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe s right to 321 acres of land in Massachusetts. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act, or H.R. 312 , was introduced by Rep. William Keating (D-Mass.) and co-sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats. Supporters of the act said entitling the 2,600-member tribe to promised, federally recognized land upheld tribal sovereignty and protected the tribes economy by enabling the tribe to build a casino on the land. The House voted in favor of the bill, moving the tribe one step closer to building a $1 billion proposed casino on the land. But the presidents opposition warrants a look into his past links to casino magnates and the gambling industry . The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate. Trump made known his opposition to the bill in a tweet on May 8, calling it a special interest casino Bill and urged Republicans to back out, leading the House to temporarily delay the vote. The president has a long history of challenging tribes right to build and operate casinos on reservations. The chaos that transpired over the legislation exemplified the gaming industries complex and costly tug-of-war over casino regulations on tribal land. This is not the first time interest groups, lobbyists or the president have challenged tribes protected federal status as sovereign nations to block the construction of competitive casinos. Significant funding flows into the political fight from all sides. Last year, gambling groups spent a total of $32.53 million , deploying over 300 lobbyists. The Arizona-based Gila River Indian Community led the pack with $2.58 million in spending. Federal lobbying in the gaming industry precipitously increased 112 percent between 2000 and 2018. Tug-of-war over casino regulations Federally recognized tribal nations have the right to self-determination and the ability to oversee their own internal affairs on reservations, including the construction of casinos in many states across the U.S. But gaming facilities on reservations are not immune from federal regulations. Some tribes must establish compacts, or agreements, with states before building casinos. These states then claim a percentage of the profits from the casinos. The National Indian Gaming Commission, established in 1988, is tasked with monitoring casinos on reservations too. The ambiguity that can come with federal oversight has often resulted in tension between casinos, Congress and tribal nations over what rules to play by. When it comes to fine-tuning regulations, lobbyists play a significant role. The Mashpee Wampanoag were among the first Indigenous people to come in contact with colonizers in the seventeenth century. Of the 69 tribes that once composed the Wampanoag Nation, the Mashpee Wampanoag remain one of three surviving tribes today , following decades of colonization and genocide. Despite its over 12,000-year history, the tribe continues to live without a reservation. The U.S. government did not re-acknowledge the Mashpee Wampanoag as a tribe until 2007, well after the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Last year, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke determined the Department of Interior would not consider the 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton, Massachusetts as the Mashpee Wampanoags reservation, reversing an Obama-era decision. If a federally recognized tribe does not have land over which to exercise its tribal authority, then what good is the government authority you have? said Kathryn Rand, dean and professor of law at the University of North Dakota. You have to have a place to exercise that authority. Rand, who also co-founded the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy, said the rescinding of the tribes land dealt a blow to their proposed casino and sent the economy into a tailspin. The tribe started work on its casino, including seeking financing, she said, When the [DOI] Secretary changed his mind, the tribe was left with overwhelming debt. She estimated the debt at $440 million. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe saw the proposed casino as a key economic driver. Casinos can provide needed revenue for public services and other vital infrastructure on reservations, at times accounting for a sizeable portion of a tribes revenue. This is not the first time Congress has stepped in to preserve a tribes reservation from being taken away. In 2015, Gun Lake Tribe underwent a similar struggle. Congress introduced and eventually passed the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act to affirm that the land could be held in federal trust, but not without a grueling fight. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled the decision constitutional in 2018. Steven Light, co-founder of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy and professor at University of North Dakota, said it is arguably not the best thing for Congress to be legislating on bills specific to one tribe or another because what that suggests is that sovereignty [can be] compromised and politicized. Instead, the DOIs responsibility is to fulfill the federal governments promises to all tribes, he said. Lobbyists representing Twin River Worldwide Holdings welcomed the DOIs decision to un-acknowledge the land previously considered the Mashpee Wampanoags reservation. The private company has two casinos Twin River Casino Hotel and Tiverton Casino Hotel near the disputed site in Rhode Island. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who co-sponsored H.R. 312, said that Twin River was adverse to the competition from the new casino, according to the Washington Post Twin River paid revolving door lobbyist Matt Schlapp , who is the chairman of the American Conservative Union and a devout Trump supporter. The oppositions ties to Trump go even deeper. The president of Twin River once served as an executive at one of the casinos owned by Trump in Atlantic City too, based on findings published by the Washington Post Schlapp leads the lobbying firm Cove Strategies , which Twin River Management Group paid $30,000 in 2019 for lobbying related to the bill. Schlapps wife, Mercedes, holds a position in the White House as the director of strategic communications. Twin River Management Group also paid the firm Black Diamond Strategies $30,000. Although there is no record indicating he lobbied on H.R. 312, revolving door lobbyist Rick Wiley is a political consultant with Black Diamond Strategies and played an influential role in Trumps campaign as the political director during the presidential primaries. Doug Davenport, a former strategist for Trumps campaign, lobbied on behalf of Black Diamond Strategies as well. Rep. Keating called out Trumps well-documented alliance with the [Rhode Island] casino lobbyist in a tweet last week Tribes also have accelerated their involvement in federal lobbying. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe spent $150,000 on lobbying in this year. Last year, they spent $420,000. In the American political system, money talks, Light said. Political responsiveness is generated through access and influence, which is linked to fiscal resources and lobbying. Republicans shouldnt vote for H.R. 312, a special interest casino Bill, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren. It is unfair and doesnt treat Native Americans equally! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2019 In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the U.S. last month, Mashpee Wampanoag Vice Chairwoman Jessie Little Doe Baird said that the loss of the Mashpee Wampanoags status had devastated their economic development. The damage done to our Tribe during the years in which the status of our reservation has been thrown into doubt is beginning to reach catastrophic levels, Baird said. The denial of land rights to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe harkened back to termination policies in the mid-twentieth century when the federal government terminated the status of numerous American Indian tribes and nullified preexisting promises to tribes bound by treaty, said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said on the House floor. That said, money from casinos is not a panacea for the steep economic hurdles many tribal nations face. Some Indigenous leaders have called for alternate revenue streams given the limitations of the gaming industry. Nor do all tribal nations have a casino. Of the 567 federally recognized tribes, about 42 percent operate gaming facilities, according to 2016 data from NIGC . That means the majority 329 tribes have no casinos. Not all casinos are created equal either, and profit varies widely depending on location and tribe. Of all the gaming revenue audits obtained by the NIGC in 2017, 57 percent of casinos brought in under $25 million. FLASHBACK: Donald Trump's Congressional testimony in 1993 on Native American casino operators, where he said they "don't look like Indians to me." Watch more: https://t.co/qf1n1Ds3XF #inners pic.twitter.com/8ORWcnKGHZ All In w/Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) November 28, 2017 Lobbyists put political pressure on DOI The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is not the only tribe to run into issues with the DOI and lobbyists. Last year, the Mashantucket Pequots Tribe filed a lawsuit against the DOI and MGM Resorts International alleging that the agency intentionally delayed any decision over a proposed casino. This would be the third casino owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. The Mohegan Tribe , also located in Connecticut, joined the lawsuit. MGM Resorts International , a company with plans to build a casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, lobbied against the construction of the the Mashantucket Pequots proposal, and may have been influential in the DOIs lack of a clear verdict, according to an investigation of Zinkes calendar by Politico Judge Rudolph Contreras allowed the lawsuit to proceed in February, stating that the plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that significant political pressure was brought to bear on the issue and the Secretary may have improperly succumbed to such pressure. MGM Resorts International spent a record-breaking $1.9 million lobbying on issues related to gambling in 2018, up from $570,000 just two years before. The company paid Ballard $80,000 during the first quarter this year. Last year, he received $320,000. MGMs registered lobbyists include Brian Ballard who served as a fundraiser for Trumps presidential campaign in Florida and later became a member of Trumps transition team. Filings show MGM Resorts paid Ballard Partners $80,000 in the first quarter this year for lobbying on issues related to gambling on tribal land. Revolving door lobbyist Gale Norton , who served as Interior Secretary in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 and 2006, lobbied for MGM Resorts International about the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Connecticut gaming amendments, according to lobbying records. She also served as counsel for Shell Oil The motivations behind steady efforts by lobbyists to challenge tribes right to hold federal land in trust can extend well beyond the gambling industry. Federally recognized tribal land accounts for about 2 percent of the countrys land, but holds about 20 percent of gas and oil. When a lobbyist successfully chisels away at tribal rights to self-determination over their own affairs, fossil fuel interest groups inch closer to accessing tribal land. In 2016, Energy Transfer Partners lobbied to extend a $3.8 billion pipeline through sacred land on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota, despite widespread resistance from Indigenous organizers. Trump eventually reversed the Army Corp of Engineers decision to halt construction of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, made under the Obama administration. The case is now stuck in the courts. Trump has a lengthy history with casinos. Trump owned casino ventures, including Trump Castle, Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in the 1980 and 90s. All ended in bankruptcy but Trump walked away with significant profit. Currently, the Mashantucket Pequots Tribe owns two casinos, one of which Trump attempted to block in his days as a casino owner. In 1993 , Trump challenged the constitutionality of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in court in an attempt to eliminate competition from the the Mashantucket Pequots Tribes Foxwoods Resort Casino . Trump sued the federal government, arguing he was being discriminated against. I love to compete but I like to compete on an equal footing. Im competing and paying hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, said Trump during a hearing . All the same, a New York Times report later uncovered that Trump claimed $814 million in losses while forking over no money in income taxes. Camille is an investigative journalist covering the economy, labor and politics. She's completing her graduate degree at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Follow her on Twitter @camillesuzanne Note: This article was published by The Center for Responsive Politics and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License by OpenSecrets.org. The Center for Responsive Politics is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research group that tracks money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Join the Conversation Related Stories WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Democrats are calling for the passage of legislation to protect Native women from violence amid deepening partisan dysfunction in the nation's capital. On April 4, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed H.R.1585 , the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. The bill expands on the landmark provisions in the 2013 version of the Violence Against Women Act , which were written to ensure tribes can prosecute non-Indians who abuse their domestic partners. We stood up for tribal rights, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), a Democratic presidential candidate , said at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, citing the pressure Indian Country placed on Congress six years ago in order to address high rates of victimization on reservations. We stood up for tribal rights, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) says of the need to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and protect Native women and address crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. #MMIW #MMIWG pic.twitter.com/sNhYwCWXOV indianz.com (@indianz) May 22, 2019 But Democrats don't think the law doesn't go far enough. That's why H.R.1585 recognizes tribal jurisdiction over crimes that aren't currently covered by VAWA, including stalking, sex trafficking, sexual violence and assaults on children and law enforcement. The bill also addresses the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, an issue that has finally gained the attention of lawmakers after decades of being ignored. And it provides more resources for urban Indians, whose needs have long been overlooked despite federal policies that resulted in tribal citizens moving to metropolitan areas, away from their home communities. "For indigenous women and children throughout the United States, we must act, said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs who was the first woman to serve as its chair. Its even worse for Native Americans and indigenous women and children, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) says of need to renew the Violence Against Women Act to protect Native families and address crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. #MMIW #MMIWG pic.twitter.com/rfpRkJR25w indianz.com (@indianz) May 22, 2019 But while renewing VAWA has long been considered a bipartisan affair on Capitol Hill, H.R.1585 has struggled to gain Republican support in this divided era of politics. The bill only has one GOP co-sponsor out of the 197 in the House. And when the measure came up for a vote last month, only 33 Republicans voted in its favor. A far greater number -- 157, to be exact -- voted against it, citing language affecting gun ownership, transgender rights and even tribal jurisdiction. "We have never had a hearing on whether we should take away the constitutional rights of non-Indians who end up being charged in tribal court," Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) said in March as he tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the tribal provisions from existing law. That explains why H.R.1585 has failed to get anywhere following the vote in the House. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the Republican majority leader of the Senate, has refused to take up legislation that lacks support from his party. Right now, the U.S. Senate is a legislative graveyard, Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), a new member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said of the stalemate in her chamber. Right now the US Senate is a legislative graveyard, Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), member of Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, says in calling for passage of bill to protect Native women and address crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women. #MMIW #MMIWG pic.twitter.com/LByylwMUfn indianz.com (@indianz) May 22, 2019 VAWA needs to be reauthorized every five years and Congress has done so three times since the first version became law in 1994. The 2013 version, though, marked the first rollback of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe , a 1978 ruling which held that tribes lacked criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Long before the decision, a number of tribes had laws on their books to protect their women from violence , regardless of the race or citizenship of the perpetrator. Advocates have cited this history in order to counter arguments against recognizing the sovereignty of Indian nations. "Tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians isn't unconstitutional," Mary Kathryn Nagle , a playwright and attorney, said at the Safety for Our Sisters symposium , held at the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C. in March. "It's just pre-constitutional," said Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation whose tribe asserted jurisdiction over anyone who committed violence against a woman as far back as the early 1800s. The 2013 version of VAWA addresses the pre-constitutional issues by requiring tribes to improve their justice systems and to provide all defendants, regardless of race, with access to legal counsel and to a trial by a jury drawn from the community. among other protections. It also allows non-Indians who have been detained by a tribe to have their status reviewed in federal court. Since 2013, no such petition has ever been filed, which proponents -- even some Republicans -- say speaks to the fairness of tribal justice systems. "Tribal governments, through trust and treaty obligations, should have the same authority as states to protect women and children in vulnerable situations," Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and one of four Native Americans in the U.S. House of Representatives, said during debate on H.R.1585 last month. Though Cole objected to the process in which Democrats brought the bill to the floor of the chamber, he said he supports the expansion of tribal jurisdiction to cover additional crimes, such as those against children and law enforcement. "I support the right of tribes to enact their own definition of domestic and sexual violence, rather than replacing it with the federal government's definitions," Cole said on April 3. "States already have this flexibility -- tribes should as well." Do your job, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) says in calling for Senate to renew the Violence Against Women Act. The bill expands tribal jurisdiction over non Indians and addresses crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. #MMIW #MMIWG pic.twitter.com/Q6SrTHBQ9S indianz.com (@indianz) May 22, 2019 Despite expressing misgivings, Cole was among the 33 Republicans who voted for H.R.1585. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), whose amendment ensuring that Native villages in Alaska can exercise jurisdiction over non-Indians was included in the bill, was another crossover. "My amendment would add jurisdiction for all lands inside Alaska Native villages to cover where the majority of violence actually occurs," Young, whose children and grandchildren are Native, said during debate on April 3. "Villages need to be empowered to develop local solutions to these problems." On the other hand, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation , joined the majority of his GOP colleagues in voting against the bill. He has not publicly explained his opposition but he otherwise supports efforts to address violence and victimization of Native women. "The silent crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women is wreaking havoc on our families and our communities," Mullin said earlier this month after he and the three other Native members of Congress introduced the Not Invisible Act , which does enjoy bipartisan support. The bill, H.R.2438 , establishes an advisory committee of tribal leaders, law enforcement, federal officials, service providers and survivors. The group would make recommendations on addressing violent crime to the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice The committee would also develop best practices for law enforcement to address missing persons, murder and trafficking of Native Americans. Additionally, the bill creates a position within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to improve coordination across all federal agencies. The Not Invisible Act of 2019 will help to increase coordination and establish best practices for law enforcement on how to combat the epidemic of missing, murdered, and trafficked Native women," said Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), who is a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation and is one of the first two Native women in Congress The bill was introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland (D-New Mexico), who hails from the Pueblo of Laguna , on May 1. Original co-sponsors include Cole, Mullin and Davids, making it the first in the history of Congress to be supported by Native members. "Congressional members of federally recognized tribes are stepping up for our communities by working to set up an advisory board that is specifically focused on finding solutions to address this silent crisis, said Haaland. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources , where Haaland serves as vice chair, and to the House Committee on the Judiciary , the panel where Republicans have opposed the tribal jurisdiction provisions of VAWA. A hearing hasn't been scheduled so far. An empty red dress is seen at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington as part of The REDress Project, an installation by Metis artist Jaime Black that raises awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Join the Conversation Related Stories The Tribes and all of us got played The Tribes: Oglala, Cheyenne River, and Rosebud Sioux Tribes, and all the rest of us, got played big time by Jerrilyn Church and the Great Plains Tribal Chairmens Health Board. How? Its all in the name. If you replace Tribal Chairmens with Indian Health Service then its easy to understand. Jerrilyn Church works for the Great Plains Indian Health Service Health Board. The Tribal Chairmen have nothing to do with it. That was the gist of my editorial last week, only it was in legal terms. It was a smooth game of divide and conquer using the words self-determination. And it worked. Thank goodness, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe came to their senses right away and cared enough about their tribal members living in Rapid City and the Black Hills area so that they rescinded their resolution of support for this divide and conquer tactic. Otherwise, the Sioux San Health Facility would now be under the hands of Mrs. Church, and more than 70 employees would be gone including all the doctors. Who would be left to treat the patients? Think about it. That was the plan to be carried out in February. Thank you Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council for saving us all! The main entrance to the Sioux San Hospital, an Indian Health Service facility in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo by Kevin Abourezk But its still not done yet. If the Cheyenne River and Oglala Sioux Tribal Councils DONT rescind their resolutions, then this divide and conquer tactic by our old, original enemy, the U.S.A., will still succeed to implode Sioux San Health Facility. So listen up, people of Cheyenne River and Pine Ridge Reservations, dont let your Tribal Councils and Executive Committees continue to be the blindfolded ducks led around by Jerrilyn Church to hurt your relatives in Rapid City. Tell your Council Representatives and Executive Committee members to immediately rescind their Resolutions to 638 Contract the Sioux San Health Facility. The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen have nothing to do with this! But when it fails, and it will because its made to, then the Tribes will be blamed. All this time, IHS is behind this whole manipulation and the final date is May 29th. Yes, May 29th. By the time this is published, there will only be 7 days left before the Contract is signed: IHS to IHS, not to the Tribes. So why would some of us continue to want Sioux San under IHS they do horrible shenanigans like this? Because it is still the responsibility of the US government according to the 1868 Treaty to provide health care, and the Treaty is still legal and viable. But how do we fight actions like this? First of all by sticking together, by not letting anybody divide us. We are not urban and reservation. We are all members of the same nation. Just because some of our members have to live off the reservation, the original POW camp, they do so for good reasons: jobs, housing, and the ability to provide for themselves and live, being kicked off their own land by the US government such as happened with the Pine Ridge Bombing Range. Contact Zumila Wobaga (Charmaine White Face) is an Oglala elder (72), writer and professional organizer. She can be reached at cwhiteface@gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation Related Stories Punk with a purpose: Hardcore bands shows help flood of migrant families in Tucson Cronkite News TUCSON Yo soy Xicano! screamed Telpochtli Moreno-Cordova, vocalist for Crossfire. Many audience members in the semicircle that formed around the hardcore quartet nodded their heads and clapped for Morenos statement of identity as Xicano, an alternative spelling of Chicano. Chicano originally was used as a pejorative against Mexicans and Mexican-Americans but one that was appropriated during the civil rights movement to express pride in Mexican identity. As Crossfire began playing Yo Soy, a tribute to the fight of indigenous peoples against colonizers and other oppressors, an energy rippled through the fans, some of whom channeled it through movement that outsiders might consider unnecessarily violent. Bloody footprints from a split lip during the opening act crisscrossed the white tile floor. Dozens of people of all ages gathered at the Ward6 music venue to see hardcore bands from Arizona and California perform. They came because of how hardcore music makes them feel and the way it lets them blow off energy through movement; they also came to spend time with friends. Still others come hoping to make a difference for the migrants and indigenous peoples who make up Tucson. In addition to using their music to highlight issues migrant and indigenous communities face every day, Crossfire used the show to collect money for Peace and Dignity Journeys, a nonprofit organization that hosts ceremonial walks and runs that aim to connect indigenous communities across the Americas. Video courtesy of Luis Ferre: Hardcore punk music group rallies behind migrant families in Tucson Hardcore and its many fans long have had a reputation among the general population of being anarchistic in theory and action, rife with profanity and indecent behavior in general, a rabble of nihilistic troublemakers. Although rejection of moral principles and the questioning of authority remain prevalent themes, many groups have brought their own topics to the language and music of hardcore. Crossfire joins the long history of Latino and Chicano punk and hardcore bands that have spoken out on issues facing Latino communities. In the 1990s, the Chicago-based hardcore band Los Crudos used their performances to educate the audience about social injustices in the United States and across Latin America. After Californians passed Prop. 187 in 1994, an initiative that would create a verification system to prevent undocumented immigrants from accessing public social services, non-emergency public healthcare and public schools, Los Crudos decried the effort as another example of anti-immigrant sentiment f in the country. Although speaking out on the issues was important to Los Crudos, they also performed at many benefit shows for nonprofit organizations supporting indigenous, immigrant and marginalized communities as well as workers rights. A sense of duty For Moreno, a Tucson native, his indigenous Mexican background and growing up in such a diverse city heavily informs his music. The lyrics that I write, theyre influenced by a lot of things, but at the end of the day, the core of it is definitely, Who am I as an individual? and Who do I credit for what Ive become? he said. I credit my culture and I credit my history. I credit my people, who have existed and resisted for years. The four members of Crossfire sense a personal duty to speak out on what they see. Drummer Gabriel Perez said he feels like we have to push ourselves because of the background me and him (Moreno) have and the other dudes in the band. Moreno and Perez both identify as Xicano and take pride in using the term and its association with indigenous Mexican people. There are a lot of conservative folks who are Mexican-American and dont like that word because they think its a discriminatory word, Moreno said. He prefers Xicano, with the X, because it represents having consciousness to your indigenous roots. And for Moreno, that means being aware of how indigenous communities are being treated in Tucson. HERE IN TUCSON HUNDREDS OF ASYLUM SEEKERS WERE RELEASED INTO THE STREETS TO WAIT FOR COURT HEARINGS THESE FAMILIES NOW ARE SCATTERED THROUGHOUT OUR CITY IN SHELTERS AND THEY NEED HELP BLANKETS UNDERWEAR SOCKS EVERYTHING HELPS GRACIAS pic.twitter.com/gml6tglqUz CROSSFIRE (@crossfire520) October 11, 2018 In October, Crossfire began collecting winter clothing and supplies for migrants released by U.S. authorities to the many shelters scattered across the city, many of whom are indigenous people from Mexico and other Central American countries. Teresa Cavendish, the director of operations at Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona , said the need for any kind of donations was crucial in October, when migrant releases in Tucson skyrocketed. Actually, in early October, there was a release of 1,100 people within about three days, she said. Thats when it was a real game changer for this kind of work because in the beginning of early October, the number of folks being released in our Tucson community more than tripled. The Catholic Community Services operates Casa Alitas , a small shelter where migrant families can eat, sleep and bathe before leaving to join relatives or friends elsewhere in the country while awaiting a hearing in immigration court. For some migrants, Casa Alitas is the first time in a long time they can experience a safe place to rest peacefully. But the shelter can only house a few families at any given time, so clothing and cash donations are distributed to other shelters in need. Many of the migrants will find themselves spending the night at a historic Benedictine monastery as Casa Alitas works to keep pace with the stream of asylum seekers being released into Tucson So the need for any type of support from the community, including donated clothing, donated anything, was very great and that has not fallen at all, Cavendish said. Tucsons hardcore scene is tight-knit, local music promoter Matthew Marcum-Ugalde says. This is what Tucson is about: Helping out others, especially our brothers and sisters, indigenous peoples, specifically Mexican-American people, but other people of Latin descent. Photo by Meg Potter / Cronkite News Knowing the urgent need, Crossfire took to social media and began posting information about their clothing drive. Overlaid on the flier for their upcoming show was a request for clothing donations. Here in Tucson, hundreds of asylum seekers were released into the streets to wait for court hearings, read one Twitter post on the groups account. These families now are scattered throughout our city in shelters and they need help. Blankets, underwear, socks, everything helps. Gracias. At their October performance at District Tavern eatz, the group collected dozens of bags of clothing and supplies. It was an insane amount, Perez noted. And the donations kept coming after that show as more hardcore groups and fans where they could drop off money, clothes and other supplies. Despite the outpouring, Perez downplayed the bands efforts. I feel like it didnt start a flame or whatever, to be corny about it, but it made people realize (what was happening in the community). The amount of stuff that we got really said it, Perez said. The Tucson hardcore quartet Crossfire uses lyrics and their shows to educate fans about issues that migrant and indigenous communities face daily. Photo by Meg Potter / Cronkite News Breaking stereotypes Although humanitarian aid might seem unrelated to hardcore musicians, Cavendish said everyone is capable of engaging their community. I guess Im a little bit surprised, Cavendish said, but really not so much, because what about being a hardcore punk rock band would preclude them from being able to connect emotionally with suffering migrants? Moreno stressed the importance of engaging with music in ways other than simply listening to it. It helped people realize that there is a bigger issue going on, he said. Theres something you can do instead of just bringing your body, instead of just bringing yourself and taking space, theres something more that you can do, in any situation. Anyone can make a difference, Moreno said. Anything as simple as a clothing drive, pretty much anyone could organize it at their venue. Its something that simple and helps people realize, At least at this point and tonight, I can be part of something bigger than me. For Matthew Marcum-Ulgade, a local promoter of punk and hardcore shows, it was important to support Crossfire in their efforts to help migrants because it demonstrates what can be done when the hardcore community comes together. I was open for it. I loved it. I was always down for it, Marcum-Ulgade said. This is what were about. This is what Tucson is about: helping out others, especially our brothers and sisters, indigenous peoples, specifically Mexican-American people, but other people of Latin descent. Crossfire is just helping out as much as they can, and the platform they have, the platform is not much, but it can reach out to multiple people. And being able to reach out to multiple people is important when immigrant and Latino communities are worried their voices are being drowned out by anti-immigrant groups. Recently, Marcum-Ulgade said, he has noticed alt-right movements, white power movements coming up and popping up, little sects of that, in Tucson and across the country. White nationalists were long relegated to the fringe of American society, but in the past few years theyve gained mainstream attention and even shown up on campuses in Arizona. Marcum-Ulgade said increased visibility given to those movements has been detrimental to the targets of their rhetoric. Theyre trying to debunk years of work done to help migrants and help people of color, Marcum-Ulgade said. But now, this whole thing is popping up and were seeing more and more migrants, seeing people flee countries that are filled with war and poverty. Its just messed up that we just dont welcome them with open arms. With the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and white nationalism, Mexicans, indigenous people and people of color in hardcore community need a place to come together. But not having an all-ages music venue as a staging ground for additional humanitarian events has been an obstacle for the local hardcore scene. Thats the biggest struggle in Tucson, the venues. Weve had a lot of DIY venues, that literally never last and get shut down, Perez said. Moreno agreed there arent enough venues in Tucson, and the main thing I want to see in Tucson is our own venue. Luis Ferre, co-owner of Ward6 in south Tucson, wanted to open a space where underage people of color can express themselves freely and safely. Some kids need this place more than others, he says. Photo by Meg Potter / Cronkite News Those wishes came true in March, when Luis Ferre and Raul Portillo opened Ward6, a DIY music venue in south Tucson. Ferre said its one of the few all-ages spots where smaller shows can be staged. That lack of venues alienates younger hardcore fans, he said, especially those who need a safe space to express themselves. Sometimes, this is all they have. Especially with their family situations, what they might have going on a home, this is where their family is, Ferre said, because some kids need this place more than others, especially here in the southside. But running a music venue is something completely new for Ferre and Portillo. Ive never done anything entrepreneurial in my whole life, Ferre said. This is the first time Ive ever done something like that, and its been going pretty smooth so far. But the struggle is worth is as Ferre said it was important for young people in the hardcore community of Tucson to see two people of color successfully running a business. Ferre said its important to demonstrate to the youth that they have the option to start their own businesses if they wanted to as well. This story originally appeared on Cronkite News and is published via a Creative Commons license . Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Join the Conversation Natalie Stites Means, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe with ties to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, is the first Native woman to run for mayor of Rapid City, South Dakota. Campaign photo Candidates say gold prospecting threatens city water RAPID CITY Mayoral and city council candidates who are invited to a forum on water issues May 28 told the Native Sun News Today the main threat they see to a safe and steady supply for this town of some 75,000 residents is the mining exploration upstream from the municipalitys Pactola Reservoir source. The city of Rapid City owns water rights to a significant portion of Pactola Reservoir, said incumbent mayoral candidate Steve Allender . This reservoir is a portion of the water supply for Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base. Native Sun News Today asked the mayor and Lakota candidates what they consider threats to the Mniluzahan (Rapid City) water supply and how they would work to protect it, if elected on June 4. Protecting drinking water means guarding against all threats, environmental and human caused, Allender said. The possible threat by mining must be assessed using facts over emotions. This is a serious issue, and the assessment and solutions or prevention strategy must be taken seriously as well. Steve Allender, the mayor of Rapid City, South Dakota, is seeking a second term in office. The municipal election takes place June 4, 2019, though early voting has already started. To find a polling place, visit sdsos.gov. His challenger Natalie Stites Means said she agrees with the positions of Dakota Rural Action and Clean Water Alliance, which are sponsoring the upcoming candidates forum to be held at Racing Magpie at 406 Fifth St. A Canadian gold mining company has drilled holes in the Rochford Pe Sla area, and a second company has proposed to drill in the immediate area around Pactola Lake and Silver City, the grassroots organizations said in announcing the public event entitled, Pre-Election Dialogue Surrounding Clean Water Issues. Stites Means, the first Native American woman to seek the Rapid City mayors office , is from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. She considers herself a classic water protector, after taking part in the spirit camps established to oppose the construction of the DAPL, a hazardous materials conduit to carry fracked oil across the Missouri River at Cannon Ball, North Dakota. I was at Standing Rock and camped at Oceti Sakowin with the Kul Wicasa, she summarized, adding only, Mni wiconi! In her campaign statement, she proclaimed, Rapid City needs a mayor to champion the environment we live in against those who seek to use public natural resources exclusively for their own bottom line. We need to collectively prevent the further destruction of our air, land and water. Allender said, One of the main responsibilities of government is to deliver safe drinking water now and into the future. We take our duty to protect our water supplies very seriously and will use every legal option to do so. Ward 2 City Council candidate Ramona Herrington pointed to a 2013 council resolution signed by then Mayor Kooiker, stating the municipal governing boards precedent for protecting drinking water from mining. It declares: Due to the unanswered questions regarding the safety of the communitys water supply, the Common Council of the City of Rapid City believes that the proposed in situ mining of uranium in the Black Hills poses an unacceptable risk to the primary source of Rapid Citys drinking water. Herrington acknowledged the role the mayor and council have assumed historically in the defense of water and said she would carry on the tradition. I would definitely defend and protect the water. Thats our first medicine. Its a historic time in Rapid City, South Dakota! Theres Lakota/Dakota candidates for City Council & Mayor!!! Its... Posted by Whitney Rencountre on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 A record five Native women are running for public office in Rapid City, South Dakota. From left: Natalie Stites Means for Mayor, Ramona Herrington for City Council (Ward 2), Cante Heart for City Council (Ward 5), Stephanie Savoy for City Council (Ward 3) and Terra Houskaa for City Council (Ward 1). Image: Whitney Rencountre Again citing history, she pointed to the toxic water pollution from the Homestake and Gilt Edge mines of the northern Black Hills, which resulted in taxpayer supported Superfund sites to remediate the headwaters of the Cheyenne, Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Superfund sites demonstrate that we need to regulate the companies more, because they have proven they wont regulate themselves, she said. Im definitely concerned about my family and children. In reference to current gold exploration at Rochford near the sacred tribal trust land of Pe Sla and similar prospecting closer to Pactola Reservoir near Silver City, she said, Theyre digging for gold and theyre acting like thats more important than water. I dont appreciate that. Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@)gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is seeking clarification from a judge who dismissed a land theft case against the state of Connecticut. The tribe initially claimed ownership of 2,000 acres of its reservation but was unable to provide a deed, Judge Thomas Moukawsher wrote in a four-page decision on Wednesday. That led him to dismiss the land claim portion of the lawsuit back in December 2017 Moukawsher allowed the tribe to pursue a claim that it owned mortgages on the land. But he said he had to dismiss that portion of the case as well. "The trouble is that STN's claim to own the mortgages at issue suffers from the same flaw as its land claim: there is no express grant to the tribe of the ownership of the mortgages, and without one the tribe has no property right it can allege was wrongly taken from it," Moukawsher wrote on Wednesday. In response to the ruling, Chief Richard Velky told The Associated Press that the tribe wants some answers before determining how to proceed. A motion filed on Thursday states that four additional claims appear to be unresolved. The tribe originally sought $610 million in damages for the land at issue in the case, which is proceeding in state court. A prior land claim failed in federal court because the Schaghticokes failed to demonstrate their existence as Indian tribe for purposes of federal law. The tribe at one point won federal recognition by going through the Bureau of Indian Affairs . But the decision was reversed after the state of Connecticut filed an appeal. The tribe is otherwise recognized under Connecticut law and resides on a state-recognized reservation. The reservation was originally set aside as 2,400 acres acres but is now down to about 400 acres along the border with New York. The case is Schaghticoke Tribal Nation v. Connecticut , No. X07-HHD-CV16-6072009-S. Read More on the Story Join the Conversation Related Stories She is one of the few women who has put India on the global map with her commendable work. Priyanka Chopra kick-started her journey as Miss World, became a Bollywood actress and has now gone onto become a global face. She has not only starred in international shows but has used her position actively to promote world education after she became the Goodwill ambassador of UNICEF. After strutting at Cannes and looking gorgeous, Priyanka Chopra got back to her duties as an ambassador and flew to Ethiopia. Spending quality time with the refugee kids, Priyanka has been fondly telling us emotional stories about the children back there. Sharing Abda's story, PC wrote, Abda Abdulaziz, 26, arrived at the Bambasi camp in 2011 seeking refuge from the war in Sudan. Her 5 children were born in this camp and are being raised here, while her husband works as a laborer at a nearby farm - they see each other every two weeks for a few days. She said that if the violence in her country settles, she and her husband may consider going back, but she is not very hopeful that will happen. In the meantime, life in the camp allows her children to have access to an education. I met two of her daughters, Zulfa Ata Ey, 8, and Muzalefa, 10, at the primary school I had visited earlier in the day. Zulfa is at the top of her class and her mom is so proud. While theyre safe and her children are receiving an education, they are still living below the poverty line, and shes desperate for the most basic supplies...like water, books, and clothes for her children. To donate and learn more about @Unicefs efforts, visit UNICEF. Link in bio. (PS, the last video...Zulfa playing with my phone.) Being a constant support to wifey Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas took to Instagram to tell the world that he's a proud husband and is inspired. Priyanka, in return, thanked Nick for his love and support. PC was even seen grooving with the people of Ethiopia and was seen having a joyful time. Captioning the video, PC wrote, "Dance is such an important part of Ethiopian culture. Wherever I have been so far...even though we dont speak each others languages...the joy that has been shared through dance has bonded me with this amazing country forever." She also met Sahle-Work Zewde, the first female president of the country. Last year, Priyanka visited Bangladesh to meet Rohingya children. Well, here's more power and strength to Priyanka. You go, girl. People in our country are hooked to their television sets watching the Lok Sabha elections. Not only in India, even in the United States, Indians residing there have made a beeline at a movie theatre just to watch the Lok Sabha election results. An ardent supported of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has booked an entire movie theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota for people to see the Lok Sabha election results. An IT professional, Ramesh Noone has organised the screening of the poll results in cinema hall via several news channels- all clubbed together on big screen. The people started to get the results from 9:30 pm as per the US timing. Approximately 150 persons have bought tickets which has been priced for Rs 1000 or $15, Hindustan Times reported. afp Other places in the US such as Florida, Washington DC, Texas, and California have also set up election results watch, the report other. After a grueling month-and-a-half long seven phase elections, the counting of votes is currently underway. In a step that would encourage young women to make it big in combat role in the Indian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth has created history by becoming the first woman to qualify for combat missions on a fighter jet. She has successfully completed the operational syllabus for carrying out combat missions on MiG-21 Bison aircraft, during the day. She is the first women fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions by day on a fighter aircraft. IAF/ TWITTER "She is the first woman fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions on a fighter aircraft by day. She has been able to achieve this feat with her hard work and perseverance," Air Force Spokesperson Group Captain Anupam Banerjee was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. IAF/ TWITTER Bhawana who was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as one of the first women fighter pilots in 2016 had joined the fighter squadron in 2017. She flew solo on MiG-21 Bison last year and is now posted at the Nal base in Rajasthan's Bikaner. IAF/ TWITTER Hailing from Barauni in Bihar, Bhawana did her schooling in Barauni and engineering in Medical Electronics from Bengaluru and was recruited by Tata Consultancy Services in 2014. Later, she took the UPSC Combined Defence Services competitive examination and was selected to be commissioned into the Air Force. After the pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meditating in a cave went viral on social media, enquiries for the cave bookings have skyrocketed. Modi sat for meditation overnight after the last phase of elections at the Kedarnath shrine. The cave is now set to become a spiritual tourist destination. The dhyaan kutiya has virtually been renamed to Modi cave by a lot of people who are enquiring about its booking. Twitter/BJP The cave has been developed by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), a government enterprise which promotes tourism in the state, the cave - at a height of over 12,000 feet in the hills around the shrine. It comprises a small area with an attached bathroom and a window looking the imposing temple. PM Modi, clad in saffron, meditated in the cave for approximately 17 hours. We will shortly open this cave for tourists through online booking. Until now, due to some technical snag, booking is closed," GMVN General Manager BL Rana told IANS. There is a single bed, a hangar for clothes, a bucket and a mug for bathing. The cave has an electric connection but no network for mobile phones. Majestic and magnificent. Serene and spiritual. There is something very special about the Himalayas. It is always a humbling experience to return to the mountains. pic.twitter.com/o01iPJ5dl3 Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2019 Blessed morning at Kedarnath. pic.twitter.com/xPqEsjIMBI Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2019 PM Modi claimed he was cut off from the world while he was inside the cave. "There was no communication (inside the cave) and there was a small window through which I could see the Kedarnath temple," PM Modi had said. Interestingly, the cave rent has been reduced to Rs 990 from an earlier rate of Rs 3,000. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan extended his congratulatory messages to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his victory in the general elections and expressed desire to work with him for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what looks set to be a resounding victory for a second term in office. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. On Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his country has delivered a "message of peace" by opening the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India as he underlined the importance of "conflict resolution" for peace and stability in South Asia. Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, also attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Qureshi said enduring peace and prosperity in South Asia will remain elusive without good-faith diplomacy and result-oriented dialogue. (With PTI Inputs) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is here to stay. He will lead the 17th Lok Sabha and by doing that he will also become the first non-Congress leader to become Prime Minister for two successive tenures. As soon as the numbers started coming from the election commission, it became pretty clear that PM Modi has been given yet another mandate to run the country. PM wasted no time in thanking the voters and vowed to build an inclusive India, a message that means a lot amid allegations that he has been a divisive force in the country. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 He followed the tweet by some other messages, mainly thanking and congratulating other winners. He also congratulated Naveen Patnaik, who became Odisha's chief minister for fifth consecutive time. Congratulations to Naveen Babu for yet another victory in Odisha. Wishing him the very best for the next term. @Naveen_Odisha Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 In another feather in the cap, PM Modi has become the first minister born in independent India to get two consecutive terms. In 2014, he led NDA had won 336 seats and this general election this number is likely to get matched if not surpassed. The first non-Congress government came in 1977 after general election. The then PM Indira Gandhi was defeated by people in India for draconian rule under emergency. Janta Party won the election and Moraji Desai became the Prime Minister. However, just two years later, the internal rift within the coalition led the resignation of PM Desai and Chaudhary Charan Singh became in PM in 1979 and that too from the support of same Congress that was defeated by the united Janta Party in 1977. And then, in 1980, Congress pulled out the plug, Indira Gandhi withdrew her support and Chaudhary Charan Singh had to resign. Thank you India! The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfil people's aspirations. I salute every BJP Karyakarta for their determination, perseverance & hardwork. They went home to home, elaborating on our development agenda. Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Former PM Indira Gandhis victory in 1980, her assassination in 1984 months after Operation Blue Star and victory of Rajiv Gandhi is history most of us know about. The second non-Congress government came to power in 1989. The Janta Dal government led by former PM Vishwanath Pratap Singh fell in 1990 when an ally the BJP withdrew its support and the former PM VP Singh led government lost in no-confidence motion. The election didnt happen, but Chandra Shekhar, VP Singhs biggest rival within his government broke away from the Janta Dal and formed his own party-Samajwadi Janta Party. With a lot of permutation and combination, he became PM in 1990, but the Congress again withdrew support it had given and the government fell after seven months. Rajiv Gandhi sought election but despite resigning on March 13, 1991, Chandra Shekhar and his ministers remained in office till June 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991 and sympathy wave led Congress to power once again with PM Narsimha Rao as the PM. AFP By 1996, a third front was formed to take on both Congress and BJP much like this time in form of Mahagathbandhan. However, the BJP rose as the largest party despite witnessing a hung parliament. BJP led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed the government and was given two weeks to prove majority. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken oath on 15 May, 1996 and had to resign on 31 May after failing to prove the majority. Despite being the second largest party, the Congress didnt form the government and instead landed support to third front led by HD Deve Gowda of Janta Dal (United Front). Former PM Deve Gowda took oath on June 1, 1996 and soon the uneasiness within the alliance came to fore Congress was reportedly not happy with its passive role in the administrative decisions. As of result Deve Gowda had to resign and the Third Front had to elect Inder Kumar Gujral as the next leader of the government. After Inder Kumar Gujral emerged as the leader agreed upon by all United Front leaders, which included Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav and many other key leader, Gujral was sworn as the PM on 21 April, 1997. Gujral government too fell soon and BJP returned to power for another brief period of 13 months after general election in 1998. The BJP government ran the country from March 1998 till April 1999 and during these 13 months of power, the country had to fight war against Pakistan in Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir. The political drama led to another election in 1999 and this time finally, India got a stable government led by former PM Atal Bihar Vajpayee and the NDA government completed its tenure in 2004. The rest, as they say, is history. As the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to win a historic mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, congratulatory messages have started pouring in from world leaders for Narendra Modi, who will return as prime minister for second term. As the counting of votes is underway, Modi tweeted, saying India wins yet again! + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Thank you India! The faith placed in our alliance is humbling and gives us strength to work even harder to fulfil people's aspirations. I salute every BJP Karyakarta for their determination, perseverance & hardwork. They went home to home, elaborating on our development agenda. Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Chinese president Xi Jinping sent a letter congratulating Modi on election victory. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates PM @narendramodi on the electoral victory under his leadership pic.twitter.com/uFFlc5GHTC Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 23, 2019 Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." Russia's President Vladimir Putin sends congratulatory telegram to PM Narendra Modi in connection "with the convincing victory of the BJP at the general parliamentary elections." #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/2Er9WACMIH ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2019 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Modi in a tweet adding that the two leaders will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Well done, my friend! Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 23, 2019 Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil tweeted and congratulated Modi on his victory. Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you. Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) May 23, 2019 Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted on election results and a strong mandate from the people of India. Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) May 23, 2019 Modi is on his way to be the first non-Congress prime minister to return to power. The Trump Administration is engaged in an intense trade war with China right now, where US is imposing billions of dollars worth of tariff on Chinese goods, across various sectors and industries. US Govt is also preventing US companies from collaborating with Huawei, crippling the Chinese smartphone and technology company. And there's fear growing that China will reciprocate by doing something similar -- banning iPhone sales from China, which will hurt Apple badly as a US company. reuters According to investment bank Goldman Sachs' advisory to investors, if China banned Apple from selling iPhones in the country due to ongoing trade war between US, it expects Apple's bottom line to drop by 29 percent. China is an important market for Apple, accounting for roughly 20 percent of all iPhones sold in 2018. And banning Apple out of the country could also end up hurting China in some way. Almost all iPhone parts and component supply chain is based out of China, and banning iPhone sales could reduce production which would then have an impact on local employment on the assembly line. Reuters Already analysts are expecting the US-China trade war to have some impact on this year's iPhone launching in September -- it will be more expensive. But out of desperation or to flex its muscles, if China did take the unprecedented step of banning Apple and iPhone to send a strong message to US Trump government, Apple will take a huge hit on its business. All of this scuffle with China may force Apple to accelerate setting up alternate manufacturing plants and supply chain in countries like India. Shifting the large scale operations to India is in fact a win-win for everyone involved. Reuters Apple will have an alternative to China, and they could use the subsidies and other benefits of manufacturing in India to help grow their market share here, something they've always struggled with. But this won't happen in the short term, for sure. UK-based processor manufacturer ARM, one of the biggest names in the business, has severed business ties with Huawei. This is just a few days after other US-based chipmakers announced they were stopping supplies to the Chinese company. The move could spell the end for Huawei. Citing internal company documents, multiple reports claim that ARM has instructed employees to halt "all active contracts, support entitlements, and any pending engagements" with Huawei and its subsidiaries. It's not just another company piling though. Rather ARM, which is owned by Japan-based SoftBank, indicates in the document that its designs feature technologies of US origin. These companies are all just falling in line with the US government order earlier this year, banning local companies from having any dealings with Huawei. It's all part of a US-China trade war that has seen president Trump flexing his muscles. Previously, Google had announced it was revoking its Android licence from the company's smartphones. Later Intel, Qualcomm, and Broadcomm also pulled their chip licences, as did Microsoft with Windows permissions. This is all a huge problem for Huawei. Without Intel or Microsoft, Huawei can't manufacture any more laptops. And without ARM and Google, Huawei will be hard-pressed to build smartphones. Though the company has been working on its own chips and OS, there's no telling how long that will take to complete. Additionally, ARM processors are used in everything from IoT devices to the sensors within a smartphone. So it's likely Huawei's chips were based on their architecture, which they therefore can't use now. Essentially, their plan B is now worthless. Even if they have enough time to eventually come up with a new chip architecture of their own, that won't necessarily even be compatible with open source versions of Android either. That basically leaves Huawei without any income from its products, which were its biggest, and arguably only significant revenue source. Even their datacentres are affected by the ban. This could effectively be the beginning of the end for Huawei, at least unless the US decides to reverse this ban. And that means they first have to make nice with China despite this trade war, which experts aren't necessarily hopeful about. Otherwise, we may have seen the last of Huawei and Honor smartphones for good. Ever since we clawed a hole in the ozone with our pollutants, the restoration of it has been at the forefront of global environmental efforts, with various countries working to phase out the chemicals that deplete it. So it's shocking to hear not everyone is complying. Images courtesy: NASA Last year, scientists discovered that the ozone layer was being depleted once again, thanks to emissions of one of the banned chemicals, CFC-11. Finally, it looks like researchers have pinpointed the source of the pollutant. Surprise surprise, it's mostly coming from China. According to a newly published study, Eastern China is responsible for more than 60 percent of the recent rise in CFC-11 emissions. At the very least, this study could help Chinese authorities pinpoint the sources of this chemical and stop it in its tracks. Under the Montreal Protocol, which came into effect in 1989, countries across the world agreed to ban ozone-depleting chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons. These were previously used in a variety of industrial processes at the time. Under the pact, we were on track to completely heal the ozone hole by the mid 2060s. CFC-11 in particular is used in refrigeration, as well as to produce foams, and its emissions have been in decline for decades thanks to the phase out. However, CFC emission reductions began slowing in 2012, meaning there was a rogue source of the chemicals. "The study last year used data from a remote, clean environment in Hawaii," Matt Rigby, the new study's lead author told Earther. "That allows you to work out the global changes in emissions." Rigby and his team members had a hunch that China might be the source of the banned chemicals, but they couldn't figure that out based on the old data. Instead, they turned to other air monitoring stations in Japan and Korea. These showed that CFC-11 emissions went from an average of 6.4 gigagrams per year between 2008-12 to 13.4 gigagrams a year between 2014-2017. Additional weather modelling data also led them to the source of the emissions, namely northeast China "The new analysis narrows the options on sources and locations, providing stronger evidence that the emissions are from new production (not stores of the chemicals marked for destruction) and from Eastern China, and this should put more pressure on China to investigate and curtail any rogue production," Durwood Zaelke, the president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, told Earther. Right now, those emissions from China alone aren't as damaging as the worldwide emissions predating the Montreal Protocol. However, if they continue at their current rate, they're still capable of setting back the healing of the ozone layer by years, or even a decade. Additionally, CFC-11 is also a worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, capable of warming the atmosphere about 5,000 times more than CO2. So whatever China does about this, they need to do it fast. A woman with a heart of steel and dreams that could not be shattered, she stood on the highest peak of the world - Mount Everest - on May 23, 1984. Just one day ahead of her birthday, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest. Born in a rural working-class family, she grew up in Uttrakhand. Pal was one of seven kids born to Hansa Devi and Shri Kishan Singh Pal. Facebook It was not that she woke up one fine day and thought to scale the highest peak. Mountaineering was always her forte. She got her first taste of mountaineering at the age of 12 along with her friends when she scaled a 13,123-ft high peak during her school picnic. She was then employed by the National Adventure Foundation as an instructor of women who are keen to learn mountaineering. This was during the time when she was pursuing higher studies at Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. Twitter Pal broke the barrier of stereotyping and dared to do something that even men didnt think of doing - scaling Mount Everest. She not only dared to do it but she also achieved it. However, the journey to becoming a mountaineer wasn't easy for her and she faced her share of criticism from family members. On D-day, she flew to Kathmandu with six other women in her group and from there they all started the journey of making the impossible, possible! Her journey to Mount Everest only became more tough after half her team members left after an avalanche buried their camp. But Pal was determined to achieve her goal. After a day of constant struggle, she finally reached Everest and conquered her dreams. Twitter She did not stop there. After scaling Everest, she went on to lead many expeditions successfully such as Indo-Nepalese Womens Mount Everest Expedition in 1993, The Great Indian Womens Rafting Voyage in 1994 and many more. For her incredible achievement, she even received Padma Bhushan on Republic Day, 2019 and Arjuna Award in 1986. Her name soon made it to the Guinness Book of World Records. She also wrote a book based on her experience of scaling the highest mountain peak of the world, named Everest- My Journey To The Top. PTI My heart stood still. It dawned on me that success was within reach. And at 1.07 pm on 23 May 1984, I stood on top of Everest, and I was the first Indian woman to have done so, she wrote in her autobiography. 65-year-old Bachendri Pal is an inspiration to people from all walks of life. If Pal ever had a moment of doubt, she never showed it or let it deter her. Imagine for a minute if Pal, Tenzing Norgay or Edmund Hillary had called it quits at the first sign of distress we'd be writing a different story about people scaling the worlds highest peak. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to climb Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. Twitter Not only she is an inspiration to everyone but she also created history and taught people to never lose hope or give up trying. Picture Credits: Twitter If you've spent enough time on Tik Tok, you'll know about a bizarre 'I just took a DNA test' trends that's making people do cray cray things. It all started with a song from a rapper named Lizzo whose iconic line, 'I just took a DNA test, turns out I'm 100% that bitch,' has gone viral. So, people on Tik Tok have done a spin off of the line to suit their true identities. Here's a video of the bizarre trend: Why are we talking about this? Well, because this 31-year-old man just took a DNA test in real life and turned out to be an actual heir to an English estate worth Rs 440 crore. According to reports, the man named Jordan Adlard-Rogers moved into the 1,536-acre National Trust Penrose Estate in Cornwall, estimated to be worth 50 million pounds, after his father died aged 62. He offered to do a DNA test when I was younger but it didnt happen and then when I was 18 I knocked on his door and asked if I could have the test and he told me to do it through the solicitors. I was 18 so had other priorities at the time, he told the Cornwall Live. Source I wrote more letters in my twenties but never got a reply, and then three years ago I got in contact with power of attorney Philip Care. Philip said Charles didnt want to do the test so I wrote one final letter with a DNA test kit enclosed and that was when Philip rang and told me Charles was dead, Jordan said. However Jordan has not let this new found wealth affect his humility. He used to be a care worker and now plans on using the money to set up a charity and help the Porthleven and Helston communities. Ive been at the point of worrying about the next bill and have had a tough start in life but now Im here I want to help people. Im not going to forget where Ive come from. It was just another day in Melbourne but it quickly turned out to be extraordinary as a woman gave birth at a McDonald's outlet. Yes at McDonald's parking lot. A couple was on a drive in Croydon, in Melbourne, on Tuesday when the unexpected incident took place. The husband had just gone in to grab a burger when the woman felt the baby coming. The completely exhausted father later told the staff that they had just given birth, as they waited for an ambulance. Unsplash Licensee Ainsley Shillington said, During our lunch rush, he asked for an order for his wife who was delivering a baby in the car park. We served the customer as quickly as possible with drinks and a dinner box and he proceeded on his way, the crew at the time were quite concerned. Ms Shillington jokingly said that a Quarter Pounder was the mother's 'first request'. The couple enjoyed their respective burgers till the ambulance arrival, she added. Twitter Everyone thought it was quite fun to have such an occurrence in the car park, when they saw the ambulance in attendance they knew they were well and truly looked after," she said. The couple had to rush to the hospital so the gender of the baby is unknown to us and the staff. But we are happy to hear the babys first visit was everyones favorite McDonald's outing. Nearly a billion people took part in the world's biggest, most elaborate 'festival of democracy'. The elections that began last month, witnessed scores of Indian voting in a phased manner. The election result fever has gripped the country, with people in every nook and corner discussing politics and being hooked to their smart phones and television screens, tracking the results. This is what I came across today at a Metro station in Mumbai! #ElectionResults2019 pic.twitter.com/6mTTjukcec Jesal Sampat (@Jesal_Sampat) 23 May 2019 One Twitter user posted a picture of a man literally walking around with an LCD screen displaying results on his back at a Mumbai Railway station. One user wrote pointed out that, 'the man runs the risk of being electrocuted' and added that such stunts are unnecessary as most people have phones to check results. But, hey, we all know that bizarre things are the order of the day during election results. For now the BJP is set to return to power. The party's parliamentary board is expected to meet on Friday evening at the party headquarters. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh thanked people of India for giving the decisive mandate to the BJP-led NDA, reposing faith in Modi's leadership. "This historic victory in general elections is the outcome of Modi's visionary leadership, Amit Shah's dynamism. PM Narendra Modi is now all set to build New India," said Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother, Heeraben, 98, today thanked BJP party workers outside her residence in Raisin village near Gandhinagar, as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) looks set to record a massive win in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi greets the media outside her residence in Gandhinagar. pic.twitter.com/yR2Zi9eeL1 ANI (@ANI) 23 May 2019 The 2019 elections, which spanned six weeks, registered the highest ever voter turnout in the history of Indian parliamentary elections. The final voter turnout stands at 67.11 per cent, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday. BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has come back bigger and stronger and Twitter is full of memes that are relating Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. But there's one particular thing that's got people talking after NaMo's landslide victory, they have changed the acronym of EVM to Everyone Voted Modi! Many also took a dig at the many dysfunctional EVMs during voting, saying 'atleast one EVM worked really well.' Take a look at what Netizens had to say: #1 EVM - Everyone Voted Modi Ji. People know what is best for them n country. Many Congratulations #ModiAaGaya Ritesh Anand (@Ritzansh) 23 May 2019 #2 EVM has worked, Everyone Voted Modi Sanjay Baweja (@sanbaweja) 23 May 2019 #3 EVM stands for Everyone Voted Modi and Lotus blossomed pan Bharat for Modi. pic.twitter.com/dMPG6EvDI2 Nitin (@BanjoNitin28) 23 May 2019 #4 Opposition has great problem for EVM as for them EVM means ... Everyone Voted Modi ... #ElectionResults2019 : (@srrashmi1) 23 May 2019 #5 Congress lost due to #EVM EVM stands for Everyone Voted Modi. pic.twitter.com/hW7aIBnrre Hena Prasun (@Hena19) 23 May 2019 #EVM Means E - Everyone V - Voted M - Modi Deepak (@ndknair) 23 May 2019 #6 Another user tweeted: "Yes Narendra Modi Won Because Of EVM (Everyone Voted Modi)." The Election Commission had earlier dismissed claims by Opposition parties that EVMs were being moved around in the days ahead of the counting of votes. It also rejected allegations of discrepancies at the strong rooms where the EVMs have been kept prior to the election results, reports IANS. Narendra Modi, who will return as prime minister for second term, said in a tweet "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat." + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 23 May 2019 "This victory is India's victory. This is the victory of the hopes of youths, the poor, and farmers. This massive win is the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development and the people's trust in him. On the behalf of crores of BJP workers, I congratulate Narendra Modi," Mr Shah tweeted. File photo of members of the Overseas Friends of BJP and NRIs4Modi at a rally in support of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New York's Times Square in March 2019. (Twitter/NRIs4Modi photo) Indian American Sandeep Ray, of Kirkland, Washington, was almost beaten to death in 2017 in what federal investigators say was a hate crime. His attacker will be released next fall, after serving just three years in prison. (KIRO 7 video screen grab) President Donald Trump speaks with Reggie Singh, after he spoke about the death of his brother, Ronil Singh, fallen Newman, California Police Corporal, during his visit to the US Border Patrol McAllen Station in McAllen, Texas, on Jan. 10, 2019. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth becomes the first woman fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions on a fighter aircraft, after she completed Day operational syllabus on an MiG-21 Bison aircraft, on May 22. She had joined fighter squadron in 2017 and flew the MiG-21 Bison solo in March 2018. (IANS photo) India Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center) celebrates victory in India's general election at the party headquarters in New Delhi on May 23. Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed an "inclusive" future for all Indians on May 23 after a landslide election victory that crushed the Gandhi dynasty's comeback hopes once again. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images) A view of the special ladoo cake weighing 7 kg ordered by the Delhi BJP office, at Bengali Pastry shop in New Delhi on May 22. The Delhi BJP has ordered nine similar ladoo cakes weighing 4-5 kgs for the counting day. (IANS photo) US rare earths miner Molycorp Inc. has won legal approval to put the company up for auction, according to a report by the Denver Business Journal. The bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, agreed late last week to Molycorps auction terms, following two months of mediation between the company and its creditors. The Denver-based rare earths producer, which owns the Mountain Pass rare earths mine in California, has been battling with its creditors over plans to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which it filed for in June last year. Some of its lenders felt that the companys proposed route out of bankruptcy favoured one particular lender, Oaktree Capital Management LP, at the expense of others. Under the newly approved plan, Molycorp will seek bids for its assets that are high enough to enable it to repay its creditors. Earlier last week, Bloomberg reported that Chinese rare earths miner Shenghe Resources Holding Co. and ASX-listed lithium mineral Galaxy Resources Ltd had made offers for Molycorp that exceeded its $443m estimate of its own value. Australia-based Arafura Resources Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korean chemical manufacturer, OCI Co. Ltd, to negotiate proposals for joint venture (JV) rare earths separation plant in South Korea. Under the terms of the JV, Seoul-headquartered OCI would provide reagents for the separation plant and for Arafuras Nolans rare earths project in Australia. It would also supply the ASX-listed miner with access to infrastructure and services in relation to the plant. The two companies intend to collaborate on R&D into rare earths separation and aim to establish a business model whereby the parties jointly fund the establishment of the South Korean facility, for toll processing Nolans ore into either rare earths intermediate or carbonate products. OCI will also make an equity investment in Arafura, should the JV go ahead. Over the border, privately-held SRE Minerals Ltd is reported to be progressing its JV with North Koreas Korea Natural Resources Trading Co. to develop the Jongju rare earths project, which SRE estimates contains a mineral resource of around 6bn tonnes. A report by Australian Mining said that the venture is in progress, with around 35,100 metres of trenching completed over the deposit and a 5,700 tonne bulk sample prepared for analysis. The company said that it would report data for the project in accordance with JORC guidelines. The Australian Mining article quoted statistics from the Korea International Trade Association, which indicated that North Korea exported 62,662kg rare earth elements last year. In financing news, TSX-V-listed Commerce Resources Corp. has closed the final tranche of a two part non-brokered, flow-through private placement for gross proceeds of Canadian dollar (C$)1.974m ($1.4m*). The funds will be used for exploration activities at the companys Ashram rare earths project in Quebec, Canada. *Conversions made January 2016 ASX-listed Pilbara Minerals Ltd said it has begun a feasibility study (FS) on its Pilangoora lithium-tantalite project, near Port Headland in Western Australia, following the awarding of all major contracts for the study. The FS is due to be completed by July 2016 following the release of prefeasibility study (PFS) in March, the company said. A resource upgrade for Pilangoora is expected later this month, taking account of final assay results from a 2015 drilling programme at the site. Ardiden Ltd, an ASX-listed junior explorer, has entered an option agreement to acquire the Seymour Lake lithium-beryllium-tantalum project in Ontario, Canada. The lake has over 4,000 metres of historical diamond drilling, which has confirmed the potential for high quality spodumene mineralisation, the company said. Ardiden believes the property will complement its Manitouwadge graphite project as it seeks to position itself as a supplier of lithium-ion battery (Li-ion) materials. Lithium Australia NL, also ASX-listed, has said it expects to secure Australian dollar (A$) 6m ($4.19m*) in funding through a share placement valued at $0.14/share. The deal is set to include an A$4m investment from Lanstead Capital LP, which will become Lithium Australias first institutional shareholder, and follows a previously announced contributing share bonus issue, which is expected to raise up to A$22.5m. London-listed Bacanora Minerals Ltd has filed a technical report for its Sonora lithium project in northern Mexico, detailing its updated mineral resource estimate, originally released in November. The estimate comprises an indicated mineral resources of 364m tonnes, averaging 2,600 ppm lithium for 5m tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and an inferred mineral resource of 355m tonnes averaging 2,000 ppm lithium for 3.9m tonnes LCE. Bacanora is fast-tracking the project to supply lithium hydroxide to Tesla Inc. Li-ion battery gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, due to be brought online later this year. TSX-V and Frankfurt-listed Alix Resources Corp. said it had discovered a "lithium-bearing, clay-rich showing" in a sequence of sedimentary-volcanic rocks on the northern Tecolote concession of its Electra project in northern Mexico. The company said that the prospect, which adjoins the Buenavista concession of Bacanoras Sonora project, yielded samples "moderately to strongly anomalous in lithium", including individual samples of 211, 162.5, and 71.2 ppm. Mining nomad and broker, SP Angel, noted that although Alix is not reporting the higher grades of over 1,000 ppm seen on Bacanoras properties, it "stands to benefit in time from its proximity to Bacanoras projects and the metallurgical testwork being done". Alix also said that it had discovered sedimentary beds on Electras Tule concession similar to geological units which host Sonoras La Ventana deposit. Separately, the company has expanded its holding in the area, with the purchase of mineral rights to the 4km2 Gran 2 concession, 600 metres east of the Buenavista drilling area. Dajin Resources Corp., also listed on the TSX-V and Frankfurt exchanges, said that no objections to its proposed developments in the Salinas Grandes salar in Jujuy provice, Argentina, were raised at a meeting of the Unidad de Gestion Ambiental Minera Provincial at the end of December. The company said that neither government nor local community representatives in attendance raised concerns about its exploration plans for the San Jose and Navidad concessions. Iconic Minerals Ltd has expanded its lithium property holdings in Nye County, Nevada from 303 claims comprising 6,060 acres (24.52km2) to 413 claims comprising 8,260 acres (33.43km2). Previous sampling work on the salt flats contained in the basin where the claims are situated has revealed lithium values ranging from 50-340 ppm. TSX-V-listed Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp. has entered into an interim agreement for an option to purchase the Atlantis lithium property in Fish Lake Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada. Nevada Sunrise will exchange 500,000 of its common shares for a 100% stake in Atlantis in three instalments following signature of a definitive agreement. The site comprises unpatented placer association claims of 1,262 acres (5.11km2) In R&D news, a study carried out by Lux Research Indicates that micro-hybrids, rather than electric vehicles (EVs) or fuel cells, will drive efficiency in the automotive industry over the next decade, in the wake of fuel economy targets. Micro-hybrid technology allows vehicles to automatically stop their engines when they would otherwise be idling, using an improved or an additional battery to quickly restart when required. "The automotive industry is under intense pressure to lower emissions and increase fuel efficiency. Improved energy storage options will help make micro-hybrids the most cost-effective way to respond, along with ongoing improvements to lightweight materials," said Anthony Schiavo, associate at Lux Research and lead author of the report, entitled "Building the Car of 2025: How to Cost-Effectively Get to 54.5 MPG Using the Right Mix of Advanced Technologies." Fuel efficiency targets are being introduced in the US and Europe of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) and 95 g carbon dioxide emission per kilometre, respectively. BioSolar, Inc.has received funding to extend its research programme into advancing Li-ion battery technology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The company believes its technology can double the storage capacity, lower the cost and extend the life of lithium-ion batteries. The new financing will fund the programme for a further 12 months until June 2017. Finally, researchers at Stanford University have developed the first Li-ion battery that automatically shuts off when it overheats and restarts when its temperature lowers. "People have tried different strategies to solve the problem of accidental fires in lithium-ion batteries. We've designed the first battery that can be shut down and revived over repeated heating and cooling cycles without compromising performance," said Zhenan Bao, professor of chemical engineering at Stanford. The study was published in the journal Nature Energy earlier this week. *Conversion made January 2016. Algeria and Argentina have been declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to reports, with the countries being declared malaria-free, it simply means that in the last three years, not one person has been reported to have had to be treated or even been struck down by the disease. Algeria is the second country in Africa that WHO would recognise as malaria-free, with Mauritius being the first and certified in 1973. According to WHO; Former vice-president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has accused the minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, of planning to implicate him. According to Atiku who spoke through his media aide, Paul Ibe, he called for the immediate arrest of Lai Mohammed and accused him of planning to sabotage Buharis regime. His words: We wish to blow the whistle as an early-warning alert of the grandiose scheme being put together by some unscrupulous elements aimed at jeopardising the reputation of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar in the coming days and weeks, the statement read. By the merit of what is beginning to unfold, there are plans to create some upsets across the country whereby alleged perpetrators of such crimes will engage in phantom name-dropping of Atiku Abubakar and some senior personalities in the Peoples Democratic Party. Already, we are abreast of some other plans to plant fictitious stories in some mushroom media outlets aimed at discrediting Atiku and his political party, the PDP. It, therefore, becomes preponderant that we alert the public of this demonic plan and to say that it will be imprudent to compromise the peace and security of Nigerians in order to score a cheap political goal. Towards this end, and for the umpteenth time, we call on the Federal Government to be awake to its responsibilities of providing security and ensuring peace and to desist from actions and utterances that are capable of exposing our fault lines. It is very unsettling that senior administration officials, especially those who are the mouthpiece of government will make reckless but calculated comments to tarnish the image of Atiku Abubakar and government will sit idly on it. With the conclusion reached by relevant security outfits that there is no evidentiary proof to back the claim by Lai Mohammed that the opposition was planning to upstage the government, we demand that the information minister should be arrested for a breach of security and an apology rendered to Atiku Abubakar and the PDP. The war between actress Iyabo Ojo and Kemi Olunloyo, a self-acclaimed investigative journalist and a daughter of a former governor of Oyo state, took a different turn today, 22nd May, when Kemi dared Iyabo to come to Ibadan. Kemi who spoke in a Twitter post said Iyabo Ojo should not enter Ibadan because the state is not safe for her. The duo have been at each others neck for close to one year now with Kemi revealing last year November that Iyabo Ojo once slept with a famous pastor whom she failed to make. She wrote: Iyabo Ojo, dont enter #Ibadan https://t.co/J4uuPEr2rx Her tweet: https://twitter.com/HNNAfrica/status/1131341967223414784?s=19 Renowned Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka has warned the federal government not to disregard recent comment made by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, regarding rising insecurity in the country. Soyinka who was speaking at an event organised by the United Bank of Africa to mark the 2019 Africa Day, in Lagos, on Wednesday said the government must deal on the substance, not the person. Obasanjo while delivering a lecture on Saturday in Delta state, had stated that the Boko Haram crisis had become a West African Fulanization, African Islamisation agenda. However reacting to the comment by the ex-president, Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said such comment by the former president breeds division and disunity. According to Soyinka, leaders must rather than over concentrate on the marvellous concept of unity must also deal with issues that threaten the existence of the nation and its people. Soyinka said, we are being re-colonized by a number of forces. We should be careful not to be too dismissive over the matter. The Federal Government is leaving aside the substance, which is the high level of kidnapping, youth suicide, and terrorism in the country. I support unity in Africa but we need to particularize the area of unity we seek. Even Boko Haram also tries to unify everybody, he said. Everybody knows me and Obasanjo, and I think we should be careful not to be too dismissive or abrasive. The language must be put aside and let us deal with the substance. Let us analyse carefully what the (former) president has said. I was listening to the Minister of Information; they are living aside the substance and dealing with the person. Obasanjo also called for a meeting to deal with the social malaise of suicide, kidnapping, noting that we had better sit down and tackle these issues. President Muhammadu Buhari says he will abide by the decisions of the judiciary in his next level government. The president said this on Wednesday as he stressed that he has a lot of respect for the countrys judiciary. Buhari who spoke after an Iftar dinner with the representatives of the judiciary, at the state house in Abuja said he has a strong belief that the judiciary should be independent. I respect the institution. I have come before you three times before I got here on the fourth run for the office. Your word is the last word on any given issue. Speaking also at the Iftar dinner, the Acting Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, leading retired Chief Justices, some Justices of the Supreme Court and heads of courts in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, thanked the president for his neutrality in court processes while also assuring Nigeria a of its commitment to safeguard democracy in the nation. In May of 2015, they told me I was going to pitch, but I didnt pitch until late that season (in the Gulf Coast League), recalled Wick, 26, who had a 2.84 ERA with 25 strikeouts and five walks in 19 innings with Iowa. It took me five months just to get my arm in shape. That offseason I continued to throw, and when came to spring training in 2016, thats when I knew I was truly ready to pitch. Shuaibu Ibrahim, the Director-general (DG) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), had said that he prefers to die than to lose a member of the scheme. The NYSC DG said this during a visit to the staff and corps members at the NYSC zonal office in Akure, Ondo state on Wednesday. Shuaibu tasked corps members to be security conscious and remain very observant of the things happening around them. He also advised the corps members not to neglect entrepreneurial programmes put in place by the scheme. Ibrahim said he is very passionate about the scheme and my corps members. I will prefer to die than losing a corps member. Keep yourself abreast of what is happening in your country, and make a difference as a corps member. I want to rejig our skills acquisition programme. If you take it seriously, we have partners that are ready to lend you money. I am very passionate about the scheme and my corps members. I came for a youth programme, so I decided to visit you my children. What will you be remembered for when you leave this place? Try as much as possible to keep your records clean. The army had announced Ibrahim as the new NYSC DG, causing quite a stir among members of the public Which according to them should be done by the president as he is the only one that reserves such powers. However, the army informed the public that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment. Kim who tied the knot with rapper Kanye West on May 24, 2014, shared photos of herself getting glammed up for her big day and penned a sweet message alongside. In her words; This was my wedding day almost 5 years ago in Italy. We flew in from Paris and our glam was rushed as we were trying to make it on time! We barely got my veil in as I was being pushed out the door so fast to walk down the aisle because Andrea Bocelli had started singing and I couldnt miss it. I had no idea it was really him until I got to the isle and screamed inside! So many amazing memories. This is our top headlines from Nigerian Newspapers for Today, Thursday, 23rd May, 2019: An unidentified man has been killed by unknown men in Ikot Ekpene road Aba, Abia State The dead man was said to have been killed by a suspected ritualist who needed his private part for charm. President Muhammadu Buhari says he will abide by the decisions of the judiciary in his next level government. The president said this on Wednesday as he stressed that he has a lot of respect for the countrys judiciary. As shared on the page of the Nation newspaper, the Nigerian Customs Service(NCS) said the electronic auction of seized contraband products such as cars, food items and other has commenced. President Muhammadu Buhari has given three reasons why he did not sack his ministers despite calls from different quarters. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has dissociated itself from a group extorting Nigerians in its name in highbrow areas of Lagos. Femi Fani Kayodes wife has taken to her Twitter handle to cry out that her husband has not been the same since Daenerys Targareyan was killed by her lover in the now-viral Game of throne movie. Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa has recused herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja. This follows a request by the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Counsel to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP, Livy Ozuokwu that Justice Bulkachuwa recuses herself because her husband is a senator-elect of the All Progressives Congress(APC). Mrs Ebunoluwa Bademosi, the wife of the late Credit Switch CEO, Mr Opeyemi Bademosi, who was murdered by his cook, has testified before a Lagos State High Court, Igbosere. Those were our newspaper headlines for today: Thursday, May 23rd, 2019. Many people are feared dead after unknown gunmen invaded a community in Akwa Ibom State killing scores. On Tuesday morning, gunmen reportedly attacked Ikot Adaba fishing community in Oku Iboku clan, Itu local government area of Akwa Ibom state, killing some people, wounding some while some others are still missing. The gunmen were said to have arrived in speed boats, allegedly shot at fishermen, traders and farmers just market activities were about to begin on the Ikot Adakpan beach. A native of Oku Iboku, who spoke on the basis of anonymity said that the gunmen were suspected to come from Ikot Offiong community in Cross River State. The gunmen are suspected to be from Ikot Offiong; they came in speed boats and started sporadic shootings, but they were prevented from further attacks by the soldiers on the beach, who returned fire for fire and they had to retreat. There is a small military post close to the beach. They had already started shooting before getting to the beach. You know in an attack like this, the corpses will start to float 24 hours after. So, the search for missing persons have started, though no corpse has been found yet, he said. The media aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has bared his thoughts on the increased rate at which many are committing suicide. According to Reno, it is about time the FG bans the sale of Sniper, which is the poisonous substance many depressed persons take to end their own life. Taking to Twitter, Omokri tweeted; Dear President @MBuhari, SUICIDE is at epidemic levels. I urge you to set up a National Suicide Prevention Team. Ban sales of SNIPER and similar substances. But most importantly, address the nation and give hope to the hopeless. God bless you. A Twitter user however countered Renos opinion about the ban of Sniper saying it should not be banned. Reno responded to the Twitter user explaining what he meant by the substance being banned. In his words; Nigerians argue anyhow. Who has said sniper is the problem? It is one of the challenges. We cant do anything about all of them, but at least we can regulate pharmaceutical poisons. Anyway, reasoning with a lot of Nigerians (not all) can be very frustrating. We deserve our lot. He added: Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for not converting him to Islam during their first term tenure. Amaechi who made this known during the valedictory Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House Abuja yesterday, May 22nd, described Buhari as a Democrats contrary to popular belief that he is an autocrat. His words: Mr President, let me thank you for not converting me to Islam. I say that specifically because in 2014 when I walked into Christ the King Catholic Church, I was literally chased out of the church as a governor because I was accused of supporting a man whose agenda was to Islamise Nigeria. And in Rivers state they began to call me `Alhaji Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. I thank you because they have dropped the `Alhaji and back to Mr Chibuike Amaechi, Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation says there was no need for Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for not converting him (Amaechi) to Islam. According to the former Aviation Minister, President Buhari didnt see the need to convert Amaechi because he was already an available slave, who has been at the presidents service for four years. This was in reaction to a statement by Rotimi Amaechi on Wednesday, where he thanked Buhari for not converting him to Islam. The former Rivers state governor made the comment during the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council. He said: Mr President, let me thank you for not converting me to Islam. I say that specifically because in 2014 when I walked into Christ the King Catholic Church, I was literally chased out of the church as a governor because I was accused of supporting a man whose agenda was to Islamise Nigeria. And in Rivers state, they began to call me `Alhaji Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. I thank you because they have dropped the `Alhaji and back to Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, he said. I was told in the course of the campaign that you were autocratic and therefore you would not be democratic. Most of us are not happy that you have moved from your autocratic nature to an extreme democrat that everything puts to test of the people, to the extent that the people now feel that the only way things can go on in this country is by the rule of law. We all know that the rule of law is the beginning and the end of this government. Talking about the financial impunity that we saw before, people were making money without having any productive capacity for that, he said. However Fani Kayode while reacting to the statement via a tweet on Thursday, described the former governor as an accursed slave, whom Buhari has had by the balls for four years. Fani Kayode tweeted: Thank you, Mr President, for not converting me to Islam- Rotimi Amaechi. He does not need to convert you because you are already his useful idiot and accursed slave, because he already has you by the balls and because you have spent the last four years licking his rectum. President Muhammadu Buhari has given three reasons why he did not sack his ministers despite calls from different quarters. Buhari shared the three reasons during the valedictory session of the federal executive council (FEC) which held at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Wednesday. Reasons below: Their Unique skills Strength And Leadership qualities His speech at the valedictory session: You will recall that when we started this journey, our country was facing numerous challenges, he said. We inherited a broken economy which eventually went into recession in the second valedictory Year 2016. The situation was further compounded by insecurity and massive corruption. Many would have given up. Indeed, many outside commentators said our situation was well nigh hopeless. However, we all came together and pushed forward to deliver our campaign promise to rescue our country from its parlous state. Although we all had a common vision, we frequently had heated debates in this room on the best way to achieve our goals. These differing views are what made the decisions we took all the more rational. It is this quality that made me retain my cabinet for the full term. Each of you in this room has a unique skill and strength. We are a reflection of Nigeria we aspire to achieve A diverse but tolerant nation where no one is silenced and where every opinion should be heard and considered. I want you all to leave this meeting proud to have served your nation to the best of your ability, You should be proud to have been part of the government that liberated the local governments previously under Boko Haram rule. You should be proud to have contributed to our food security and economic diversification agenda which led to the revival of our rural agrarian economy You should be proud to have been part of the team that developed the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which led Nigeria exiting its worst recession in decades. You should be proud to have introduced the social investment program that enhanced livelihoods of millions of Nigerians. You should be proud to have participated in settling outstanding pensions of many senior citizens abandoned by previous governments while supporting state governments to meet their salary arrears. And of course, you should all be proud to have overseen the most ambitious road, rail, and airport rehabilitation programs in the history of our country. The immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has said that his successor, Kayode Fayemi, deserved to be chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, (NGF). The ex-governor made this known in a congratulatory message he sent to Fayemi. In a statement made available to the Newsmen by his Media Aide, Lere Olayinka on Thursday, Fayose described Fayemis emergence as NGF Chairman as well deserved of him and the people of Ekiti. The statement read this: I congratulate Governor Kayode Fayemi on his appointment and elevation as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) It is well deserved for you and the entire people of Ekiti. Politics will come and go, but Ekiti State will remain eternal Once again, you have my best wishes, he said. A former of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri have both hailed renowned Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka for putting aside his animus for former President Olusegun Obasanjo and taking side with him in a recent comment. Obasanjo had linked ethnoreligious motive to Boko Haram and Islamic States West Africa Province while speaking at a recent event in Delta state. The former president had received backlash for the comment by some members of the President Muhammadu Buhari led government. However speaking yesterday at an event in Lagos organised by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to commemorate this years Africa Day in Lagos, Soyinka advised the federal government not to ignore the comment of the former President. He said: This country is descending into a horrendous abyss, the like of which have not been witnessed in this country. The Nobel laureate said he read the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammeds response to Obasanjos comments and noticed that the minister was focusing largely on the language used by the former President and not the substance of what he said. We should not be too abrasive in our assessment of Obasanjos comment, but we should analyse it and focus on the substance, Soyinka stated. I believe our unity is possible even with the plethora of languages, he said. We just have to understand what the purpose of that unity is. Priorities exist, but the picture of Africa together is one we must keep in view, but not forget the issues militating against it. I wish to plead that we particularize the sense of unity. Lets prioritize the material condition of our people. Right now, we are being recolonized by some internal forces. This comment by the literary icon made both Fani-Kayode and Omokri very pleased as their reactions via Twitter, show exactly that. Fani Kayode wrote: I am glad that Baba OBJ and Prof. Wole Soyinka agree on one thing: that the Fulanisation agenda is real. I am glad that they have both cultivated the sincerity of purpose and courage to join the rest of us and speak out against this great evil that seeks to consume our nation. Omokri wrote: I must commend Professor Wole Soyinka for putting aside his well-known animus for former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to agree with him on his comments on herdsmen and Boko Haram and their Islamisation agenda and condemning the Buhari government. That took courage! You can't go through an election season without hearing the phrase "small businesses are the backbone of America" repeated over and over again. But while the adage may feel tired, it is far from untrue. Small businesses account for a whopping 99.9% of companies in the U.S., according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The number can be partly attributed to the administration's broad definition of a small business as any firm with fewer than 500 employees, but it also reflects how embedded entrepreneurship is in American culture. We watch in awe as once-small startups, like Twitter and Slack, transition into hugely successful ventures that are part of our everyday lives. We binge-watch old episodes of "Shark Tank," eager for inspiration for the next great business idea. And many of us dream of starting our own companies by dipping our toes into entrepreneurship with side hustles. But as dreamy as business ownership can seem, it takes a lot of grit, hard work, and old-fashioned luck to find success. Recent data shows that fewer than 80% of businesses make it beyond their first year, while only around half survive for at least five years or more. Small businesses also provide employment for nearly 60 million workers, and the pressure of making payroll every week can be crippling if sales don't meet expectations. Understanding the good, the bad, and the ugly about entrepreneurship is the only way you can decide if it's the right career path for you. To learn the truth about small businesses in America, Stacker took a look at figures and facts on entrepreneurship from a variety of sources, including the SBA, The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and news reports. The statistics painted a fascinating picture of who's most likely to launch a business, the chances of a business to stick around for generations, and how much economic activity comes from firms that aren't major corporations. Are you thinking of founding a company? Before you get started, click through to read 45 facts about small businesses in America. Rapper, Zlatan Ibile has finally opened up about his friend Naira Marley who remains in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The rapper was arrested alongside Naira Marley on the 10th of May but was eventually released on administrative bail, while Naira Marley remained detained. Zlatan revealed he loves Naira because he was a Marlian (Naira Marleys fan) before he started music. Also Read: Halima Abubakar Is A Snake Cossy Orjiakor Warns Uche Ogbodo He shared a picture of Naira Marley performing and wrote; Markets Meander to the Upside Market Tea Leaves - 1 minute ago Yesterday the markets migrated to the Upside. Will that continue today? Weakness for Monday Wheat Markets Barchart - Mon Dec 27, 4:49PM CST The Monday session closed with front month wheat futures down by double digits. CBT SRW gave back 3 1/4 to 10 3/4 cents, but held above $8 through December 22. KC HRW futures were 6 1/2 to 14 1/2 cents... ZOH22 : 718-4 (-0.76%) ZWH22 : 797-0 (-0.87%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.5713 (-1.44%) KEH22 : 838-4 (-1.00%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.2636 (-1.71%) MWH22 : 1018-0 (-0.63%) Cattle Market Closes Mostly Red Barchart - Mon Dec 27, 4:49PM CST The December fat cattle futures ended the session 25 cents stronger at $137.30, while the other nearbys gave back 5 to 35 cents. Cash trade for Monday was unestablished, though last weeks market was... LEZ21 : 137.300s (+0.18%) LEJ22 : 143.675s (-0.17%) GFF22 : 162.400s (-0.64%) GFH22 : 163.275s (-0.29%) Hogs Higher on Monday Barchart - Mon Dec 27, 4:49PM CST Lean hog futures rallied $0.42 to $1.07 on the first trade day of the final week for 2021. Prices had traded lower during the session, but also closed off their intra day highs. For the Feb contracts,... HEG22 : 83.650s (+0.51%) HEK22 : 91.850s (+0.71%) KMG22 : 93.350s (+0.24%) France imposes new virus measures amid spike in infections AP - Mon Dec 27, 2:38PM CST PARIS (AP) The French government announced new COVID-19 measures on Monday in an effort to curb the spread of the , yet stopped short of imposing drastic restrictions before New Years Eve. $SPX : 4,791.19 (+1.38%) $DOWI : 36,302.38 (+0.98%) $IUXX : 16,567.50 (+1.59%) Nat-Gas Prices Surge on the Outlook for Below-Normal U.S. Temps Barchart - Mon Dec 27, 2:29PM CST February Nymex natural gas (NGG22 ) on Monday climbed to a 2-week high and closed up by +0.312 (+8.60%). Natural gas prices on Monday rallied sharply to a 2-week high on a colder U.S. winter outlook. ... NGG22 : 3.956 (+0.36%) I am honoured to lead ANZIIF and serve as president, Beer said. I am excited for the year ahead, and to continue the great momentum made by Allan, Prue and her team in 2018. Meanwhile, General Insurance Australia and New Zealand Zurich Financial Services Australasia chief executive officer Tim Plant will take the role of deputy president. ANZIIF also welcomed new board members including Munich Re in Australasia chief operating officer Simone Dossetor, IAG EGM business distribution Ben Bessell and QBE Insurance Australia/New Zealand chief strategy officer Fiona Hayes-St Clair. We are pleased to welcome Simone, Ben and Fiona, all of whom have distinguished careers, to the ANZIIF board, ANZIIF CEO Prue Willsford said. They all bring a wealth of experience and will be a great benefit for ANZIIF and the insurance industry. Willsford also thanked outgoing president Reynolds and former president Karl Armstrong for their commitment and contribution to the association. Armstrong retired from the ANZIIF board at the 2019 AGM. Suncorp said it has finalised 45% of home and contents claims, forking out more than $132 million in insurance payments, as well as finalising more than one-third of commercial claims. We are working with the community and focused on restoring our customers homes to the highest levels of customer satisfaction as quickly as possible, while maintaining quality outcomes, said Paige Vincent, Suncorp head of claims. Its a huge challenge managing thousands of claims simultaneously, but were working closely with our building partners to ensure we progress them as efficiently as possible. Theres still a long way to go, but well be here through to the end. Vincent met with panel builders to hear about what they are experiencing, any challenges they are having, and how we can help. The insurers dedicated claims customer support centre is also proving to be hugely successful in providing ongoing face-to-face support for flood-affected customers across Suncorps insurance network of brands, including AAMI, Apia, Bingle, Vero, and Resilium, Vincent said. Suncorp representatives also attended the recent ICA community forums as well as a Townsville City Council insurance roundtable. Its always positive to have the opportunity to engage with our customers, suppliers, and government representatives and keep the lines of communication open, Vincent said. Ariel Re, a member of Argo Group, has announced the appointment of Stephen OFlynn as head of professional lines and casualty treaty underwriting Bermuda, effective June 10. In his new role, OFlynn will be responsible for establishing, underwriting and growing Ariel Res US professional lines book of business. He will report to Matthew Wilken, deputy global head of reinsurance for Ariel Re. OFlynn brings more than 20 years of industry experience to the role. He joins Ariel Re from Tokio Millennium Re, where he most recently served as executive vice president and head of underwriting in Bermuda. OFlynn has also held positions at General Reinsurance Corporation and Allied World Reinsurance. The predominant terrorism threat globally remains extremists focused on inflicting mass casualties in public spaces, rather than large-scale property damage, according to Marsh. The global property terrorism insurance market has responded to this threat by expanding coverage over the last few years most notably the development of coverage for active-assailant events and non-damage business interruption, Marsh reported. While the terrorism insurance market is stable globally, the long-term viability of the US property terrorism insurance market is in question, according to the brokerage giant. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) is set to expire in 2020. Should Congress allow the law to expire without a replacement, it could create capacity shortfalls especially for businesses in high-profile cities and employers with significant workers compensation accumulations, Marsh said. The existence of government backstops like TRIPRA has played an important role in ensuring the continued stability and health of the global property terrorism insurance market, said Tarique Nageer, terrorism placement advisory leader for Marsh. TRIPRA is in place until December 31, 2020, and all eyes are on the congressional schedule as we approach this deadline. In the meantime, US businesses and organizations are advised to work with their brokers as soon as possible to map out a strategy to mitigate potential disruption. Other key findings of the report include: Wealthsimple, the Canadian robo adviser company controlled by Power Financial Corp., is gaining another behemoth shareholder as it slowly gears up for an initial public offering. Allianz X, the tech investment fund of Munich-based insurer and asset manager Allianz SE, owns about 10 percent of Wealthsimple after leading a financing round of C$100 million ($74.7 million) for the fintech start-up. Allianz will also appoint a board member, the companies said Wednesday in a statement. Power, which injected fresh cash directly and through IGM Financial Inc., retains about 65 percent. Were now backed by companies that represent trillions of assets globally, Wealthsimple Chief Executive Officer Mike Katchen said in the statement. He called Allianzs investment a major endorsement of our company and growth trajectory. An online investment service company with low fees that tends to attract younger customers, Wealthsimple manages more than C$4.5 billion for clients in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. It now also offers services to traditional financial advisers and will spend some of its new funding on that platform, as well as exploring new products, it said. The Toronto-based firm plans to go public through an IPO within five years, Katchen has said. Power, including through its in-house venture capital fund Portag3, had previously invested C$165 million in Wealthsimple. Its been using its foray into fintech as a way to force its own companies, such as Great-West Lifeco Inc. and IGM, to improve their digital services. We believe the coming together of large incumbent companies that understand how to build global asset managers, with innovative, digital-first companies, is the future of financial services said Paul Desmarais III, who oversees the fintech strategy for Power and is Wealthsimples chairman. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Mergers Canada Allianz French reinsurer SCOR said it had agreed to buy 100% of Coriolis Capital, an asset manager specialized ininsurance-linked securities, for an undisclosed amount. Coriolis Capital invests mainly in natural disaster bonds, options, collateralized reinsurance and climate derivatives. SCOR said the acquisition, expected to be finalized in the second half of 2019, would raise the assets which its investment unit manages to $2.1 billion. SCOR, which recently rejected an 8.2 billion euro ($9.1 billion) takeover attempt, is due to unveil a new strategic plan in September. ($1 = 0.8971 euros) (Reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta) Topics Mergers Reinsurance Liberty Mutual Reinsurance the reinsurance arm of Liberty Specialty Markets, announced it has launched a reinsurance operation under Lloyds registration in Mexico to serve clients in Mexico and Central America. The operation will be headed up by Rosa Flores, general manager, who joins from agribusiness technical consultancy Green Mex where she was CEO. Prior to Green Mex she worked for Willis Towers Watson as head of Treaty for Mexico where she spent eight years. Flores has over 18 years experience in the Mexican market, her specialism is agribusiness and catastrophic perils. She reports to Jose Ernesto Ospina, Latam regional manager in Colombia and will work closely with the underwriting team in Europe and Colombia. The Mexico reinsurance team will provide property, casualty and specialty treaty reinsurance solutions, which will be underwritten by Liberty Mutual Re in Europe. Mexico is the largest reinsurance market in Latin America. Liberty Mutual Re did not have local representation for treaty reinsurance business until now, and establishing a local operation within Lloyds shows our commitment to our Mexican clients and the importance we place on this market, said Miguel Martinez, head of Business Development at Liberty Mutual Re. It will add to our presence in Brazil and Colombia in the region, he added. We have known Rosa for a number of years and are delighted that she has joined LM Re to be our local representative for the Mexican and Central American Market. Liberty Mutual Re can be contacted in Mexico on +52 (55) 91711086. Source: Liberty Mutual Reinsurance Topics Excess Surplus Reinsurance Agribusiness Lloyd's Mexico A landmark European privacy law is making waves worldwide a year after it came into force, fundamentally changing the way data are handled as Facebook, Apple and Google face increasingly frequent complaints. Adopted on May 25 last year, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to protect all EU citizens from privacy and data breaches, regardless of which part of the world the data handler is in. The new regulation has forced global companies to reconsider their own rules, inspiring territories from Brazil to China and India to California to develop their own privacy and security regulations based on a de facto GDPR benchmark. GDPR has fundamentally changed Facebook as a company, the worlds biggest social network said in an emailed statement, citing a range of improvements to users privacy controls it had implemented, along with additions to its compliance team. In the wake of heightened awareness of data privacy, fueled by Facebooks Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent, financial penalties and legal tests will now follow. Its going to be a year where we see and test how the rules get interpreted, said Cristina Cabella, IBMs chief privacy officer, who oversees a team of dozens of lawyers worldwide for the technology multinational. The Cambridge Analytica scandal, which erupted just before GDPR came into force, resulted in a paltry 500,000 pound ($632,000) fine in Britain the maximum amount possible at the time. But GDPR grants new powers to privacy enforcers to impose fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue or 20 million euros ($22 million), whichever is higher. The biggest penalty so far, 50 million euros, has gone to Google for failing to properly secure users consent for personalized ads in France. More may be on the way, with more than 95,000 complaints filed to national data enforcers, triggering 225 investigations. Facebook, the target of seven investigations by the Irish data protection watchdog, could face its first sanction this summer. Its WhatsApp and Instagram subsidiaries are the focus of separate probes by Dublin. Ireland, the lead regulator for the tech giants because their European headquarters are located there, is also investigating Twitter, Microsofts LinkedIn and Apple, with decisions in all the cases expected this year. GDPR has succeeded in raising awareness of personal data among individuals and companies and how to protect it, said Benoit Van Asbroeck, a partner at law firm Bird & Bird. Everywhere people realize that data is a key asset, he said. The new rules can force companies to clean house, meaning they will be more effective in data retrieval and analytics as well as building consumer confidence, said IBMs Cabella. Individuals can have more trust in the companies that process their data transparently, and that is a competitive advantage, she told Reuters. Impeding Artificial Intelligence There is a risk however that the rules could hamper Europes bid to lead in artificial intelligence, putting it at a disadvantage compared with the United States and Asia where the legal threshold is lower, Van Asbroeck said. Protection for people is too high. It will backfire for the development of artificial intelligence in the EU. To develop AI, you need to train algorithms with data. Some of this is personal data which needs to be compliant with GDPR, making it difficult for some companies, he said. Google, Facebook and Apple with their massive troves of user data and contractual consent to use it would not face any problem but the same cannot be said of other companies without the same access to volumes of information, he said. U.S. think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said there was a case for modifying GDPR. If the EU wants to thrive in the algorithmic economy, it needs to reform the GDPR, such as by expanding authorized uses of AI in the public interest, allowing re-purposing of data that poses only minimal risk, not penalizing automated decision-making, it said. VZBV, the federal umbrella for Germanys consumer protection movement, said the right to data portability which allows individuals to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services should be clarified. We need industry-specific codes of conduct for data portability. Here companies have to agree on standards with data protection authorities and civil society, said VZBV chief Klaus Mueller. ($1 = 0.7907 pounds) ($1 = 0.8956 euros) (Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Paul Sandle in London, Doug Busvine in Frankfurt; Padraic Halpin in Dublin and Jonathan Weber in Singapore; writing by Foo Yun Chee and Georgina Prodhan; editing by Georgina Prodhan and Kirsten Donovan) Related: Topics Legislation InsurTech Europe A federal judge in South Dakota has dismissed part of a lawsuit filed by a couple who had to tear down their Sioux Falls house after a long-running dispute with their neighbors. Judge Roberto Lange recently granted Liberty Mutual Insurances motion to dismiss the allegations that the company acted in bad faith by hindering Joseph and Sarah Sapienzas legal defense, the Argus Leader reported. The Sapienzas accused the insurance company of failing to pay for certain legal strategies, such as hiring an expert witness. Lange gave the couple two weeks to show why he shouldnt dismiss their claim that Liberty Mutual provided an inadequate defense and breached its duty to defend them. The Sapienzas tore down their Sioux Falls house last June after being sued by their neighbors in 2015. The neighbors argued the home was too tall and close to their property. A state judge later ruled that the couples home, which they had built in 2014, violated building standards for national historic districts. The judge ordered the Sapienzas to make their home conform to the neighborhoods historical standards, and the South Dakota Supreme Court upheld the ruling last year. Several questions regarding the couples claims against Liberty Mutual will return to the high court. Lange noted that questions remain about whether the costs that the Sapienzas incurred by demolishing their home are considered damages under their policy with Liberty Mutual. South Dakota law doesnt specify whether demolition costs would be considered damages since the Sapienzas were under a court-order injunction when they tore down their house. Angela Brandt, the couples lawyer, said the Sapienzas are considering all their options to enforce the Liberty Mutual agreement. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation South Dakota Three Democratic senators helping write a privacy bill are seeking to allow individuals to sue companies for mishandling their data, according to Republican Senator John Thune. The measure would raise the burden on businesses and could imperil Congresss ability to pass the legislation. A so-called private right of action, which several consumer groups have advocated, would likely spur opposition from Republicans and regulated businesses facing a litany of consumer lawsuits. The Democrats have a real interest in a duty of care standard and a private right of action, said Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican and a member of bipartisan group of six lawmakers from the chambers Commerce Committee who are leading efforts to write a privacy bill. Republicans have differing views. Republicans and industry groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have argued that allowing individuals to sue would expose companies to a flood of nuisance lawsuits and could smother small businesses. Business proposals largely advocate for enforcement by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, potentially supplemented by state attorneys general. Thune said Democrats are also pushing a measure to make companies responsible for individuals data. That responsibility, known as a duty of care, could resemble provisions in a bill proposed last year by another member of the working group, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, according to three people familiar with the talks. Reasonable Security That bill, which attracted more than a dozen Democratic cosponsors, focuses on requiring companies to provide reasonable security for data and promptly notify individuals of breaches involving sensitive information. It would also mean that consumers own their data and require companies to act in the interest of customers. A spokesman for Schatz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Spokesmen for Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington, the top Democrat on the Commerce panel, and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the third Democrat in the working group, declined to comment. Cantwell has pushed for adding data security components in the privacy bill after years of breaches without successful efforts by the federal government to address them. Bill Timeline Lawmakers have said a bill is unlikely to be ready before the end of May, pushing back the timeline and lowering the chances it could pass Congress before Californias privacy law goes into effect at the beginning of 2020, making the states strict new statute something of a national baseline. Senator Jerry Moran, one of the Republican members of the working group, has said he hopes the lawmakers can present a text in June. While the Democrats dont control the Senate, Republicans need some Democratic votes to advance legislation that could require comprises. If the parties remain too far apart, talks could collapse. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Legislation He called her to lure her into the garage under the ruse that he needed her help, Rowley said. He forced her into a corner of the garage where the assault took place. Lawmakers said that they agreed to a $19.1 billion disaster-aid bill after months of disagreement and that President Donald Trump said he will sign it. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby called the agreement a good deal. He added that he spoke to Trump today and the president said OK. Trumps consent came a day after he walked out of a White House meeting on public works projects with Democratic leaders, saying he wouldnt negotiate with Democrats as long as they continued congressional investigations of his campaign, businesses and associates. The president previously insisted that the disaster-aid bill provide more funds for beds for undocumented migrants, leading to an impasse with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This fight over money to address the influx of migrants at the southern border has been put off until June when Congress returns from recess. The disaster-aid bill finalized Thursday must pass the Senate and House before it goes to Trump for his signature. House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat, supports the deal. If the Senate passes the legislation today, House Democrats support clearing it through the House as soon as possible, Lowey spokesman Evan Hollander said in a statement. The Senate is working to set up a vote on the measure Thursday. The House, whose members have already left town for a week-long recess, could pass the bill without lawmakers present on Friday if no member objects, according to a Democratic aide. (Editors Note: The disaster funding bill vote in the House has been tabled until next week due to the objection of one member. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Friday blocked the unanimous vote because the bill lacks funding for border security.) Hurricanes, Floods The disaster plan would provide relief for areas hit by hurricanes, Midwest floods and California wildfires. Southern lawmakers have been clamoring for relief for farmers in states hit by Hurricanes Florence and Michael, which wiped out timber and pecan crops in Alabama and Georgia. The bill includes $900 million for Puerto Rico, Shelby said. It would also extend through Sept. 30 the National Flood Insurance Program, which expires at the end of the month. For months, the major obstacle to passing the measure was Trumps opposition to providing aid to Puerto Rico. In April, Trump told Senate Republicans that Puerto Rico squandered previous disaster assistance and should receive no more. He argued that the island is using funds to pay off its debts, a charge that Puerto Rican officials deny. An earlier version of the bill contained $600 million in nutrition assistance for Puerto Ricans but omitted other rebuilding aid. Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the delay in passing the bill, which has languished since December. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the deal shows that as long as Trump stays out of talks, Congress can function. On Puerto Rico we got everything we wanted, he said, noting he suggested dropping the border provisions earlier in the day. Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott, who has been leading the effort to pass the bill, took a different view. This bill isnt much different from the bill Senator Shelby proposed weeks ago. Chuck Schumer was blocking it for political purposes, he said. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Legislation Flood A flooded Oklahoma was deluged once again on Wednesday following days of severe weather thats blamed for at least three deaths after also battering Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, The biggest concern is more rain. I mean, theres more rain in the forecast for Tulsa, for northern Oklahoma, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said during a news conference following an aerial tour with Tulsa Mayor G.W. Bynum and other officials Wednesday morning. Officials were urging residents of Webbers Falls, some 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa, to leave their homes as the Arkansas River approached near-historic levels in the town of about 600 people. The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma through the weekend. More than 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain has fallen since Sunday in parts of Oklahoma after an already rainy spring. Forecasters say parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather in a multi-day stretch of storms that have produced dozens of tornadoes. Bynum said Tulsa is so far safe from the rising Arkansas River, which the National Weather Service said was at 34.5 feet (10.5 meters), or 6.5 feet (2 meters) above flood stage, as of Wednesday morning. The river was expected to rise to 40 feet (12 meters) by Thursday morning. The levee system is working the way its supposed to right now. The river park is serving as a buffer along the river corridor, Bynum said. Deaths from the storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield. A fourth death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said an unidentified woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday into high water near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City, and was swept off the highway. The unidentified womans body was sent to the state medical examiners office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isnt yet listed as what would be the states first storm-related death. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics USA Windstorm Oklahoma Missouri A major barrier that keeps the Mississippi River in its current path may be opened for just the third time in its history, potentially flooding a large part of rural Louisiana. Concern is growing that heavy rains will cause the Mississippi to flood over the top of the Morganza Floodway a long dam-like structure that is designed to divert 600,000 cubic feet per second of water to take pressure off the river. To prevent that, the Army Corps of Engineers may be forced to open the gates of the barrier. The river has been high or flooding since last October, engorged by huge rainfalls that have slowed crop planting in the Great Plains and the upper Midwest. The Mississippi between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is lined with energy infrastructure including refineries, and the swell has caused shipping delays in the waterway, a main route for grain, chemicals, coal and oil. Theres a risk that the river will flood over the Morganza by about June 5, which would render it useless, said Ricky Boyett, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. To avoid that, its 125 gates will have to start opening by June 2 at the latest, he said. The decision to open Morganza Spillway has not been made yet, said Jean Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The states governor, John Bel Edwards, is scheduled to hold a press conference this afternoon, according to local media. While the river is flooding, its not as severe as in 2011 the last time Morganza was opened. In February, the Bonnet Carre Spillway was opened to help alleviate flood risks in New Orleans, about 28 miles downstream. After it was finally closed in April, the Army Corps of Engineers opened it again on May 10. The U.S. Coast Guard closed a portion of the Mississippi River near St. Louis because of high water and fast currents on Thursday. The current round of flooding has lasted much longer than in 2011, said Jeff Graschel, service coordination hydrologist with the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Slidell, Louisiana. Levels on the Mississippi River are a little less than two feet below its record crest that year just upstream from the Morganza barrier. The Morganza spillway is located about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Baton Rouge, and if opened, will send water into the rural area between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers in central Louisiana. The last time the Morganza was opened, an 80,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, was forced to shut because of supply disruptions. Total grain barge traffic was 54% below the three-year average in the week ending May 18, with 369,250 tons moving on the waterway, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Grain Transportation Report. For 2019, grain shipments are off 26%. While the Mississippi could dip lower in the next few days, forecasters are expecting a new deluge caused by a weeks worth of thunderstorms across the Great Plains and Midwest to send the river rising again by the end of next week, Graschel said by telephone. A large amount of water is expected to flow into the Mississippi from the Arkansas River, he said. (With assistance from Kevin Varley and Sheela Tobben.) Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Louisiana Flood Mississippi Willis Towers Watson has made a series of personnel appointments across its Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) operations in Florida. CRBs has focused on delivering innovative products to clients with an emphasis on the real estate, construction, health care and financial institution sectors. The appointments include: Lauren Vidal was appointed Floridas CRB Health Care practice leader. Vidal will be responsible for creating and executing overall strategy to grow the companys presence in the health care space across Florida. Vidal is based in Miami. Tracy Johnson, account executive, based in Lake Mary, will oversee client relationships and service delivery and serve as a leader on a variety of large and complex accounts in the health care industry. Johnson formerly worked at Marsh where she served as an account executive. Sean Gabay, based in Miami, will lead the Condominium practice and oversee business development for real estate, hospitality and complex casualty risks. Gabay joined the company from Hays Companies where he served as vice president in their condominium and real estate division. Nancy Musial, associate director, based in Fort Lauderdale, will lead the Condominium practice service team, overseeing client relationships. Musial joined the company from Hays Companies where she served as vice president in the condominium and real estate division. Alec Alfonso, senior associate, based in Miami, will be responsible for developing new business and expanding existing relationships throughout Florida and the U.S. Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, Alfonso served as a commercial risk advisor with Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners. Chad Jones, senior associate, based in Lake Mary, will be responsible for developing new business and expanding existing relationships throughout Florida and the U.S. Prior to his role with Willis Towers Watson, Jones served as a risk advisor for Marsh & McLennan Companies. Derek Wheeler, senior associate, based in Jacksonville, will be responsible for new business and expanding existing relationships throughout Florida and the U.S. Wheeler joined the company from Sentry Insurance where he served as territory account manager. Marcela Montoya, client manager, based in Miami, will provide client service to the companys construction and real estate clients. Prior to her role with Willis Towers Watson, Montoya served as a risk analyst for Turnberry Associates. The company said the appointments are part of its commitment to cementing its risk advisory and broking business in Florida and will help with its continued expansion in the state. Topics Florida USA Willis Towers Watson Risk Management An Alaska air carrier involved in two deadly floatplane crashes in a week has voluntarily suspended operations, federal officials said. The halt of flightseeing and commuter flights is in place indefinitely, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The action comes after the passenger and the pilot of a Beaver floatplane operated by Taquan Air were killed when the single-engine aircraft crashed in Metlakatla Harbor on Monday afternoon during a 22-mile commuter flight from Ketchikan. Witnesses reported to federal investigators that one of the two floats on the plane dug into the water during landing, causing the right wing to hit the water and then the aircraft to cartwheel several times, according to Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board in Alaska. Johnson said witnesses also reported the Beaver floatplane landed upside down and became submerged in water. An NTSB investigator arrived at Metlakatla late Tuesday morning, he said. Taquan Air officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The passenger was identified by her employer and relatives in California as Sarah Luna. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium said in a statement that Luna joined the group nearly a year ago as a senior epidemiologist in the liver disease and hepatitis program. Luna, 32, had flown to Metlakatla to provide health services to the community. Sarah embodied the characteristics most valuable to our team, as a person committed to improving the health and well-being of Alaska Native people, the organization wrote. For those who worked most closely with Sarah, this loss is immeasurable. Metlakatla Police Chief Bruce Janes identified the pilot as 51-year-old Ron Rash of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The crash occurred in light winds and 10-mile visibility, Johnson said. The plane also was carrying a load of cargo and was supposed to also pick up other passengers after landing. Johnson said it was way too early to determine a cause. He anticipates the preliminary report into the crash to be released by the end of the week. Mondays crash followed the May 13 midair collision of a Taquan Air Otter floatplane with another floatplane. Six people died in that crash and another 10 people were injured. Both planes were carrying sightseeing cruise ship passengers. Johnson said the NTSB is investigating both crashes as separate cases. Last summer, all 11 on board another Taquan Air flight survived when the 72-year-old pilot confused snow on a mountain with a body of water and crashed on a rocky mountainside on Prince of Wales Island near the southern tip of the Alaska Peninsula. A pilot and eight cruise ship passengers died June 25, 2015, when a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter operated by Promech Air Inc. crashed into mountainous terrain about 24 miles from Ketchikan, also as it was returning from Misty Fjords. The NTSB later determined that pilot error, the companys culture and lack of a formal safety program were among the causes of that crash. Taquan Air purchased the assets of Promech in 2016, and currently employs three pilots who worked for Promech, a company spokeswoman said last week. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Carriers Aviation Colorado officials said that they had no plans to stop energy companies from drilling for oil and gas while regulators overhaul state rules to make health, safety and the environment their top priority. Dan Gibbs, chief of the state Department of Natural Resources, said lawmakers did not want a moratorium on drilling permits while regulators rewrite the rules under a new law that shifted the states focus from production to protection. It was never the intent of the Legislature that we pause our work, Gibbs told the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which will implement the new law. The commission is part of Gibbs department. Some environmentalists and community activists have demanded the commission stop issuing permits until the new rules are complete. They argue that drilling makes climate change worse, pollutes Colorados air and water, and puts nearby residents at risk from fires and explosions. Industry executives and workers argued against a moratorium. Janet Rost, whose company helps secure mineral rights, said she is a cancer survivor who depends on the industry for her livelihood _ a job that helped her support her children when she was a single mom. Please dont pass a moratorium, she told the commissioners. One of the measures sponsors, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Stephen Fenberg, said the law clearly contemplated that the state would keep issuing drilling permits while the regulations were revised. The law allows regulators to deny or delay permits to ensure they comply with the spirit of the law while the revisions are underway, Fenberg said in an email to The Associated Press. House Speaker KC Becker and Rep. Yadira Caraveo, Democrats who sponsored the measure in the House, also said the law was neither a moratorium nor a ban on drilling. Tuesdays meeting was the first time the oil and gas commission met since Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed the law mandating sweeping changes in regulations. In addition to the new focus on protecting the public and the environment, the law gives local governments some authority over the location of wells. The changes are Colorados latest attempt to balance its booming oil and gas industry with a burgeoning population. The states crude oil production has quadrupled since 2010, and it now ranks sixth in the nation in both oil and natural gas output, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. But the states most productive oil and gas field _ the Wattenberg field north and east of Denver, borders on some fast-growing communities, raising fears about the dangers of pollution and accidents. The new law changed the makeup of the seven-member commission to dilute industry influence, reducing the number of commissioners with oil and gas experience from three to one while adding experts in wildlife and public health. Polis announced the new members Friday, a few days before their first meeting. Only two commissioners are holdovers: Howard Boigon, who is an oil and gas attorney, and Erin Overturf, who works for the environmental group Western Resource Advocates. Four other members applied for reappointment but were passed over, commission spokesman Chris Arend said. Polis spokeswoman, Shelby Weiman, did not directly answer a question about why the four were not chosen but said the new commission has the expertise and geographic and political diversity needed to implement the new law. She said Polis appreciates the service of the former commissioners. Commission staff members have already begun rewriting rules and have held preliminary meetings and released some proposals. But the commissioners themselves are still reorganizing, and work on rewriting substantive drilling rules isnt expected to begin until later this year. Once all the rules are rewritten, the commission will be replaced by a smaller version that includes five appointed, full-time commissioners and the heads of two state departments, natural resources and public health. The commission now consists of seven appointed, part-time members and the two department heads. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Energy Oil Gas Colorado Chatsworth, Calif.-based Gorst & Compass has named Kristi Mulford a senior transportation broker/underwriter. Mulford, who is based in San Marcos, has 18 years of commercial auto insurance experience. She was previously a broker with R.E. Chaix & Associates. She was a business development manager at NSM insurance Group, and a production underwriter with Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Cos. before that. Gorst & Compass is wholesale brokerage the offers services including property/casualty, professional liability, workers compensation, personal lines homeowners, transportation and garage. Topics California Agencies May 23, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The race to be the next UK Prime Minister demands investors take action to mitigate risks to their wealth, affirms the CEO of one of the world's largest independent financial advisory organisations. The comments from Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, which has $12bn under advisement, come as it is reported by The Times that Theresa May will quit her post as early as Friday. Mr Green notes: "Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is expected to do well in the European elections. This can be expected to send a clear message to the Conservatives, and it will likely mean that their next leader - and Britain's next PM - will be a Brexiter such as Johnson or Raab. "Should a leadership contest outcome produce a hard-line Brexiter who could promote a sudden exit from the EU, markets will react accordingly with UK assets and the pound being impacted." He continues: "With the ongoing uncertainty, UK and international investors in UK assets should mitigate risks to their wealth by ensuring their portfolios are properly diversified geographically and by asset class and sector. "Exposure to equities and bonds, from as many different issuers as possible will help safeguard their savings from this uncertainty and take advantage of the opportunities that will inevitably be presented." Earlier this week, the deVere CEO noted: "European elections? It's what comes next that matters. "Whether the Pound will prolong its longest run of losses against the Euro since the single currency's introduction will depend on who imminently takes over from Prime Minister Theresa May. Nigel Green concludes: "The battle for the Conservative leadership and the keys to Number 10 should serve as a wake-up call for investors to review their portfolios to ensure they will remain on track to reach their long-term financial goals - regardless of who enters Downing Street." e: george@priorconsultancy.co.uk t: +44 207 1220 925 Twitter: @PriorConsults deVere Group is one of the world's largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients. It has a network of more than 70 offices across the world, over 80,000 clients and $12bn under advisement. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp May 23, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Technical analyst Clive Maund charts gold and explains why he believes gold will turn higher later in the summer. Gold and silver dropping back again late last week had investors in the precious metals sector feeling despondent, especially as their fears were magnified by at least one analyst calling for gold to drop to the low $900s or even lower, which is normal when prices sink, but our charts are instead suggesting that gold and silver are close to completing giant bottoming patterns that started to form (in the case of gold) as far back as 2013. We can best see gold's potential giant base pattern on a 10-year chart. It can be described as a complex Head-and-Shoulders bottom or as a Saucer, and is best considered to be both, or perhaps as a hybrid having the characteristics of both patterns. In any event, as we can see on this chart, it appears to be drawing close to breaking out of it, which will be a very big deal if it happens, because a base pattern of this magnitude can support a massive bull market. As for timing it could take several months and it is most likely to happen during gold's seasonally strong period from July through September. To maintain the bullish case it must stay above the Saucer boundary. Embedded within the giant H&S or Saucer base pattern, a fine Cup & Handle base has formed over the past year which we can see to advantage on the 1-year chart. The Handle part of this pattern may be regarded as a period of consolidation/reaction that has allowed time both for the earlier overbought condition arising from the rally from November through February to unwind and also for the moving averages to slowly swing into a much more favorable alignment, which has now happened. On both of the above charts the drop late last week looks like "a storm in a teacup" or given the pattern shown on the 1-year chart, a storm just outside a teacup, and latest COTs reveal the reason for itthe Large Specs had suddenly become too bullish, which meant that they needed to be disciplined. While COTs have doubtless improved as a result of the drop on Thursday and Friday (we won't find out until next week), the Large Specs may require some more time in the correctional facility, especially as June and July are not seasonally good months for the precious metals, so it would not be surprising to see some more downside during the weeks ahead before both gold and silver take a turn for the better from July onwards. The following seasonal chart shows that June tends to be somewhat negative for gold on average, although it won't be this year if Iran is attacked. The conclusion is that the big picture for gold and silver continues to look strongly positive, although we may first have to contend with weakness between now and July due to the current downtrend coupled with negative seasonal factors until the end of June, which should present a window of opportunity to build positions across the sector ahead of the expected late summer advance that promises to be very substantial if gold succeeds in breaking above the key $1400 level. Originally published on CliveMaund.com on May 19, 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. Disclosure: 1) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of Clive Maund and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. Clive Maund is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. Streetwise Reports was not involved in the content preparation. Clive Maund was not paid by Streetwise Reports LLC for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. 2) 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. 3) 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. 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. More Info: This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Sigfox U.S.A., the U.S. network operator for Sigfox, recently announced that its second U.S. installment of Hacking House will be hosted at the Chicago Connectory, a co-working and incubator space for those in the IoT industry. The program will kick off with an event on June 4 at the Connectory where attendees will be introduced to Sigfox and its use cases, as well as to the Hacking House program and this class participants. Sigfoxs Hacking House program is designed to provide students and young professionals with intensive IoT and Sigfox technology training, giving them the necessary tools and skills to develop IoT solutions that can address real-world problems. Throughout the 12-week-long program, the 15 Hacking House participants will work closely with Sigfox engineers and local IoT professionals to develop IoT-powered solutions that enable the smart city. The program will close with a Demo Day on August 23, when participants will present their solutions to a panel of judges who will evaluate each project based on disruption and feasibility criteria. As a former Hacking House participant, I can personally attest to the impact and importance this program has on young people interested in the IoT, said Alberto Mannil, U.S. Hacking House Manager, Sigfox. Hacking House provides participants with the opportunity to gain deep, firsthand knowledge about the industry and to develop new, innovative ideas for leveraging its power to solve the worlds problems. This latest installment of Hacking House builds off the inaugural program, which took place in San Francisco in the fall of 2018. Participants in the first program developed projects that addressed a variety of issues, from a solution that tracked when the seals on shipping containers were removed inappropriately to one that alerts firefighters when wildfire breaks out. Im excited to participate in the Hacking House because it gives me the freedom to explore a certain problem and try to solve it my way. Using Sigfox and working with people from different backgrounds and even different nationalities is very appealing to me. Everything is new. Im interested in IoT because having experience in the medical industry and seeing the potential of wearables and IoT in general makes me want to deepen my knowledge and further hone my skills while developing a solution that can make a difference in the world, said Hacking House participant, Justin Thomas. Sigfox chose Chicago for its second installment due to the wide pool of talent from local universitiesthe majority of the participating students attend local schools, including University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology and Northwestern Universityaccelerators and incubators, as well as the companys strong network presence in the city. IoT continues to explode in a plethora of different industries, many of which are located right here in Chicago. Expertise in IoT requires a broad skill set from Cloud Computing to firmware development, hardware design, wireless technologies and power technologies, just to name a few. The Sigfox Hacking House brings together mentors and a creative working environment to help the next generation of professionals succeed in this vast and growing field, said Kevin McQuown, Technical Mentor, Windy City Labs. The Hacking House program is made possible through collaboration with the Chicago Connectory and through from ST Microelectronics, Windy City Labs, Dracula Technologies, Spacebot, SeaSlugLabs, Soracom and Matrix Industries. For more information on Hacking House, visit thehackinghouse.com. Edited by Ken Briodagh In a different way they were warriors on the home front, warriors of their daily lives as they established their settlements and towns. And as their country expanded, and became a power in the world, their heroism was called for again overseas, and in lands from which their families had originally come to defend that which they had created for freedom's sake. This week the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a number of warnings to Irish policymakers. The first two are pretty obvious and non-controversial. The first risk identified is that posed to the wellbeing of the economy from a disorderly Brexit. It warned that such an eventuality could plunge the Irish economy into a recession. Not exactly a mind-blowing conclusion in a week when Simon Coveney warned that the chances of a disorderly Brexit are currently as high as they have been since the momentous vote almost three years ago. It is hard to argue with that. The second warning is that changes in the international corporation tax regime could affect foreign direct investment flows, which - surprise, surprise - would pose a significant risk for Ireland. The third warning is a little bit more controversial; namely that the property market could be laying the foundations for another boom and bust cycle. The OECD noted that over one half of the commercial property investment in Ireland is accounted for by foreign investors who obtain their funding outside of the Irish banking system. While it is good that the Irish property market is not being driven by domestic credit, the fact is that regardless of where the credit emanates from, too much credit is dangerous and does pose risks emanating from the opening up of new channels for the transmission of external shocks. What this is really saying is that in the event of some external shock, the credit-driven nature of the commercial property market does pose a potential risk of a material correction. The international think-tank also pointed out that while property prices have moderated in recent times, they remain high. The narrative concerning this moderation in residential property prices was given further credence this week with the release of the CSO's residential property price index for March. In the year to March, national average house prices increased by 3.9%. This is the lowest annual growth rate since August 2013. In Dublin, average prices increased by 1.2% in the year to March, which is the lowest annual growth rate since November 2012. Outside of Dublin, prices increased at an annual rate of 6.8% in March, which is the lowest annual growth rate since April 2014. However, while moderating, house prices outside of Dublin have not experienced any decline in recent months. Housing outside of Dublin is quite simply more affordable. The overall message is that the Irish housing market is undoubtedly moderating. Anecdotally, this is fairly obvious, as properties now seem to be taking longer to shift and sale prices in many instances appear to be lower than initial asking prices. This is particularly true in Dublin and is a very welcome development, as rapidly escalating house prices are not in the best interests of the greater good and undermine living standards and competitiveness. The only real potential downside is that supply may be damaged as the economics of house building come under pressure, because we can be pretty certain that the cost of build, and particularly the labour cost component in an economy approaching full employment, will not be coming down anytime soon. The moderation in house prices is not due to supply catching up with demand, although the number of new dwelling completions in the first quarter was 23.2% up on the equivalent period last year. The real issue is that the current level of prices, when combined with the Central Banks prudent lending restrictions, is undermining affordability. Basically, in many cases, potential house purchasers are unable to afford current price levels based on the amount of money they can borrow. It is probable that this situation will worsen as the year progresses, as the banks will most likely use up the flexibility that they have to grant higher loan-to-value mortgages in the early part of the year. Meanwhile, the imperative is to continue to do whatever it takes to drive housing supply of the right type in the areas where the demand really exists. Ireland needs to nail down new policies on corporate taxation that allow the country to be "competitive" but also comply with changes envisaged under global tax reforms. That's the message from Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe who said the race is now on to look at reforms as changes are on the way for global corporate taxes. His remarks in Dublin came after he attended a meeting this week of the OECD, the Paris-based think tank, which has set out a roadmap to try to agree on reforms by the end of 2020. The latest moves towards reforms are part of the so-called BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) process, which could see big firms paying more tax where they have significant sales - changes that may reduce revenue intake here. While Ireland does favour some reforms, the Government opposes efforts to introduce a European digital sales tax for big firms, a move favoured by France and others in the EU. Mr Donohoe said debate is now underway about global tax policies and the OECD and other countries are looking at changes to policies, particularly with digital taxes. The minister said the OECD is the right forum where these changes could be made without them spilling over into bi-lateral disputes between countries. Ireland needs to be part of these changes, but also influence and find a balance between these reforms and the right to be competitive, the minister told reporters. And with a deadline to agree on reforms by the end of 2020, this would pose a "challenge" for countries such as Ireland, admitted Mr Donohoe. The Government has hailed its success pushing back against efforts of European Commission tax chief Pierre Moscovici, who promoted the EU-wide digital tax to target US multinational giants such as Google and Facebook. The danger for Ireland in the digital tax proposal and other reforms is that it undermines the Governments defences of the current 12.5% corporate tax regime. ENTERPRISE Irelands Green Programme is designed to assist companies to incorporate sustainable practices into the day-to-day running of their business. Better environmental performance leads to improved resource efficiency, direct cost savings, and can also increase access to customers who are increasingly demanding more environmentally friendly products and services. Focused on developing capability within EI companies to improve environmental performance, the Green offer has been in place since 2012, and was developed to complement the Lean Offer, established in 2009. With current market uncertainties and Brexit, companies need to see how they can become more competitive, to see how they can do things better, more efficiently as well as more sustainably, explains Kathleen ORegan, who is a member of the Operational Excellence Department team delivering the Green Programme. Green and lean supports are also available from IDA, Udaras na Gaeltachta, and Local Enterprise Offices. More and more businesses are assessing their supply chains green credentials and require companies to have good environmental practices. Rising costs of raw materials, energy, carbon taxes, water, waste water treatment etc means that businesses require more proactive resource management it makes business sense for companies to improve their environmental performance. Kathleens role includes engaging with clients on their green journey, processing GreenStart and GreenPlus applications, reports and grant claims, Green Service Providers Directory applications, and any related queries. She works with companies on their lean transformation projects, incorporating environmental based training where appropriate; processing LeanTransform applications, and carrying out environmental assessments of Enterprise Ireland client companies in receipt of grants. As is widely accepted, Ireland is considerably short of its requirements to meet Climate Change 2020 targets, and may not even meet the 2030 targets. Every business will need to be conscious of what theyre doing in tackling climate change to reduce carbon emissions and protect natural resources. Companies from a wide range of sectors including food, engineering, construction, life sciences, electronics, timber, print, and packaging have been supported in the Green programme. Kathleen cites the example of Celtic Chocolates, a manufacturer based in Meath and which used GreenStart to prepare the Bord Bia Origin Green Sustainability plan, carrying out a resource efficiency savings projects generating water, waste, and energy savings. Similarly, ABP Ireland, one of Europes largest beef exporters, used GreenPlus to implement the European Water Stewardship Multisite Standard scheme across a number of its sites in Ireland. The implementation of the EWS standard helped the company to deliver continuous improvement in water management across the group. John Sisk & Son, the international construction company, used GreenPlus to implement an Energy Management System and reported that it had changed how we do business and is helping us to reduce cost, price future work more accurately and deliver measureable reductions in our environmental impacts. There are three levels of Green support Steps to Green Competitiveness Guidebook (non-financial aid), GreenStart grant and GreenPlus grant. The guidebook is a simplified guide to helping companies begin their environmental journey through the use of a basic environmental management tool and is free to download from the Enterprise Ireland website, she explains. The GreenStart grant is a seven day assignment, delivered by an external environmental service provider over a period of approximately eight to twelve weeks. Its aim is to enable client companies develop a simplified environmental management system to improve environmental performance through greater resource efficiency. The GreenPlus offer aids companies to develop their internal capability up to international best practice and it is delivered by an external environmental service provider, generally for a period of approximately 6-12 months. The grant supports the external environmental service provider and internal environmental champions. Eligible GreenPlus projects include embedding environmental management practices in the company through dedicated training programmes to a level compatible with international best practice, such as ISO 14001 and ISO 50001. It also incorporates training in Life Cycle Thinking, including Life Cycle Assessment projects such as European Water Stewardship Standard, Eco-labels, Environmental Product Declarations. Environmental training may also be supported under Enterprise Irelands Lean programmes; LeanStart, LeanPlus, LeanTranform, and Operational Excellence. Lean focuses closely on effectiveness and efficiency across all areas of a business from raw material into product out, including environmental improvement initiatives. With more than 70 Green-supported projects undertaken to date, 41% have been food sector companies, 27% engineering, 22% construction, 8% Life Sciences, with the remainder across electronics, timber, print, and packaging sectors. From 2012 to 2016, the majority of Green projects undertaken focused on environmental management, and from 2017 to 2018 the majority of projects focused on energy management. Going forward it is envisaged that the Green programme will be used to support companies in environmental and energy management and also in the area of Life Cycle Assessment. More companies are now taking responsibility for the impact of their processes and products across their entire life cycle rather than only dealing with issues inside their factory gates. For a company to embed environmental management practices to a level compatible with an International Standard such as ISO14001 or ISO50001, it has to make business sense, as there is a cost involved with certification and for maintaining the standard. The supply chain normally dictates if there is a business case. However, companies will still benefit from having a more simplified environmental management system in place. And the GreenStart was developed with these companies in mind, as it can help these companies through greater resource efficiency and enhanced environmental credentials even without having the International Standard in place. For more information see www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Productivity/ and www.leanbusinessireland.ie/ The owner of two prestigious Georgian office buildings in Dublin's Stephen's Green faces receivership of the properties after he failed to pursue High Court injunction proceedings blocking efforts to prevent the takeover due to a 13m debt. Monaghan-born businessman Leo Mohan owns numbers 92 and 93, on the north side of the green, loans for which were refinanced with assistance from his father-in-law Paul Anderson, a founder of the cinema-owning Anderson family and a director of Panoramic Cinemas Ireland. He claims Mr Anderson breached an agreement by selling outstanding loans on the properties to Panoramic last November. He said he has made efforts to sell the properties and has got two firm offers of 22m and 25m. In his injunction proceedings against Mr Anderson, against a company which was used in the refinancing called Dunbridge, and against Panoramic, Mr Mohan claimed there was a conspiracy to prevent him from raising other finance to pay off the outstanding loans. Mr Anderson said the proceedings were misconceived and represented an illegitimate attempt by Mr Mohan to frustrate the contractual rights of Panoramic. Mr Mohan was in court today when a hearing over whether to continue an injunction preventing the appointment of a receiver over the properties was due to take place. He left, however, during an adjournment when he was given 10 minutes by Mr Justice Robert Haughton to discuss with his solicitor, Gerald Kean, the judge's refusal to permit an adjournment of the injunction hearing. The court heard Mr Kean was brought into the case late last night after Mr Mohan's previous solicitors had applied to cease representing him. The previous solicitors had been refused an adjournment application on Tuesday. Mr Kean asked the judge for a week's adjournment so he could address errors in a last-minute affidavit submitted by Mr Mohan just before the injunction case was due to start. After the judge refused the adjournment, Mr Kean withdrew from the case and said his client was "not physically or mentally in a position to appear before the court - he is not in a good place". Rossa Fanning SC, for the Anderson side, asked the judge to discharge the injunction and direct Mr Mohan to deliver a statement of claim in relation to the rest of his case over alleged breach of a contract within the next few weeks. Mr Justice Haughton adjourned the matter for directions to next month. The judge also said the effect of the order dismissing the injunction was that the defendants would now be in a position to appoint a receiver. Mr Mohan, in an affidavit, said he bought the Stephen's Green properties for 9.5m, which he leased to "blue chip" clients, with a 2006 loan from the former Anglo Irish Bank. He received total funding of 13.9m from Anglo because he also refinanced a number of pre-existing facilities. The rent roll from Stephen's Green was around 250,000 a year which Mr Mohan said provided his main income. After the economic crash, the loan ended up with IBRC which in 2014 sold it on to Launceston Property Finance. Mr Mohan approached his father-in-law, Mr Anderson, for advice on funding to refinance the loan as Launcestown had appointed a receiver over the assets. Mr Anderson instead offered to get the property back into family control from the fund using the Dunbridge company. The total debt at this point was around 21m and under the 2016 refinancing arrangement, Launcestown agreed to a settlement of 13m and discharged the receiver. By the middle of last year, Mr Mohan said he was working on a number of options to pay off the remaining debt before December 2018. However, he said, in breach of the agreement he had with Mr Anderson, it was sold to Panoramic in November. Mr Anderson, in an affidavit, said with the deadline for completion of payment of the refinanced loan approaching, Mr Mohan had already had two and a half years to sort out his affairs and find funding to pay off the outstanding balance. Under the agreement Dunbridge had with Launceston, Dunbridge was "placed squarely at financial risk" and action had to be taken. Mr Anderson said Mr Mohan had complained about the conduct of the defendants but he said "any suggestions of unconscionable conduct properly lie at the plaintiff's (Mohan's) own door" A Waterford virtual reality firm is targeting major growth in North America and Asia after agreeing a deal with one of the biggest space museums in the US. VR Education said its Apollo 11 virtual reality experience will launch in Alabama's US Space and Rocket Centre next month to mark the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon in 1969. The museum is among the top aviation and aerospace museums in the US and was Alabamas top paid tourist attraction with 850,000 visitors last year. VR's chief executive David Whelan said the company is in negotiations with various major museums in the US, while it is also targeting growth in Asia's burgeoning virtual reality industry. Shares in the firm, which listed on the junior markets of the Irish and London stock exchanges in a 6.7m IPO last year, fell almost 10% in Dublin but rose almost 3% in London. The company has a market capitalisation of 27m. Apollo 11 allows virtual reality users to explore the lunar and command modules, and gamers can land on the moons surface and explore the Apollo 11 landing site. Late last year, VR Education released a new high-definition version of the moon landing of astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Mr Whelan said the Alabama deal would allow the company prime exposure in the US as it targeted further growth in the cities like Washington DC and New York, which have some of the world's biggest museums and tourist attractions. "The US Space and Rocket Centre is expecting over one million visitors to walk through their doors and the centre has given us a prime location within the museum where visitors can participate in the Apollo 11 VR experience," he said. The company is also targeting major growth in Asia after signing a deal with a South Korean immersive digital content company last week. The agreement with DCarrick involves VR Education's Engage programme, an online virtual social learning and presentation platform. D'Carrick creates educational programmes for the South Korean education system. Mr Whelan said it was the "first step" in the Asian market. "South Korea leads the way in education, with the rest of Asia and the world following. There are great opportunities all over the world in how we bring education through VR," he said. Mr Whelan said the release this week of Facebook's Oculus Quest headset was a huge advancement in VR. Oculus Quest is a standalone headset for gamers that is cheaper than an iPad and doesn't require a PC. A killer whale attacking a group of dolphins was witnessed by a charter boat operator off the coast of west Cork in what experts say is a very rare event in Irish waters. Charter boat operator David Edwards was about 15 miles south of Galley Head in West Cork when he witnessed the astonishing event and managed to take a picture of the ocean's largest predator in action as it bore down on a group of common dolphins. David who operates West Cork Charters based in Timoleague near Clonakilty described the chase he witnessed on Tuesday, May 21, at around 6pm. I thought it was a killer whale, he said, but it's so rare to see them I wasn't sure at first. Then I saw it was chasing the dolphins and I was just amazed. "I think there were three killer whales in total but it's so hard to tell with all that action going on...It happens so fast. There were dolphins swimming away in front of them as well, not too far ahead. Sightings officer with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) Padraig Whooley has examined David's photo and he is convinced it shows a killer whale attacking the group of dolphins. There are at least three common dolphins visible in the picture and the whale is only two or three metres behind them. It's very likely this a predation event, by the height of the dorsal fin it can only be a killer whale, he said. Killer whales are the apex predator in the ocean and to see this in Irish waters is very rare. Killer whales are native to Irish waters but sightings are uncommon with between four and 10 of them around the entire coast in a year. Sightings of killer whales attacking large prey are virtually unknown. We often wonder why we don't see these animals engaging in predatory behaviour like this so this is a really special sighting, added Mr Whooley. West Cork has become a mecca for whale watchers in recent years with sightings of several species including humpback whales a common occurrence along the coast. As part of biodiversity week, the IWDG will be hosting a free whale-watching event at Cloghna Head near Rosscarbery, West Cork, very close to where these killer whales were spotted. The event takes place from 6pm on Saturday, May 25. A new 80m development in Trinity College Dublin will allow it to continue to be one of the world's best business schools. Professor Andrew Burke, the Dean of Trinity Business School, says that the development will not be using any tax-payer money to fund the project. On June 1 starting at 8 a.m., kids age 1 to 14 years old are encouraged to come to Green Lake Park, 1101 Green Knolls Dr., Buffalo Grove, for the annual Fishing Derby. Every participant will receive a gift bag at the event and awards will be given for the longest fish, the most fish caught, the most unique catch and the most colorful fish. A deeply disappointed junior minister Andrew Doyle openly defied his party's instructions not to canvass in Cork and Tipperary amid an escalating feud between Fine Gael's Ireland South candidates. Mr Doyle and his team have said they have been snubbed by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and party bosses in favour of sitting MEP Deirdre Clune, who is in real danger of losing her seat. Mr Doyle's campaign manager, Carlow-Kilkenny TD Pat Deering said he and the team were taken aback and very disappointed to see Mr Varadkar and Tanaiste Simon Coveney in Cork yesterday morning canvassing with Ms Clune. We had made repeated requests for the Taoiseach to get out with Andrew this week but it did not happen. It is very disappointing but it is completely clear that they are all about protecting the sitting MEPs, he said. Mr Doyle had his canvassers and branded cars out and about in Cork city and in Cashel in South Tipperary, despite being told to stay out of both areas. Andrew Doyle canvassing in Cork today. As a result, we have had teams out in Tipperary and in Cork today, Mr Deering said, in defiance of very strict boundary divisions drawn up by Director of Elections Regina Doherty. It is understood Fine Gael is in full panic mode and is pulling out all the stops to save Ms Clune's seat. To have the Taoiseach and Tanaiste out is a real sign of trouble and a sign that things are desperate. Poor Andrew is being squeezed in operation save Deirdre, said one senior minister. Mr Doyle's annoyance was compounded by the emergence of a new letter from Mr Coveney and Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to Fine Gael members in Cork, pleading for number 1 votes for Ms Clune. The letter dated May 20 from the two senior ministers on harp-headed paper was sent to a vast number of Fine Gael members in the Cork area. The latest opinion poll in the Sunday Business Post indicates that we are under significant pressure to retain our two MEPs in Ireland South. Sean Kelly MEP is over quota at 17%; Deirdre Clune and Andrew Doyle are on 7% and 6% respectively. This is a very tight situation, the letter said. Written in bold, the letter continued: It is vital that all Cork Fine Gael members, friends and those within their sphere of influence Vote No 1 Deirdre Clune on the 24th of May in line with the party policy. Any divergence from this strategy could cost Cork the loss of an MEP and the party our second seat in Ireland South. We are asking you to please make every effort in the final days of this campaign to make sure that Deirdre is elected on Friday 24, the ministers wrote. Their letter came after Fine Gael was forced to revise its division of the Ireland South constituency in order to bolster Ms Clune's flagging campaign. Letters issued in parts of the vast constituency by Director of Elections Regina Doherty called on voters in Limerick and Tipperary to give Ms Clune their number 1 votes in order to ensure Fine Gael keeps its two seats in the European Parliament. Ms Doherty's letter called on voters in the city to vote for Ms Clune ahead of her party colleagues Sean Kelly, who is all but assured of a seat and junior agriculture minister Andrew Doyle, who is seen as a sweeper in Leinster. Originally, Ms Clune had been given priority campaigning rights in Cork City and County, while Waterford and South Tipperary were to be shared with Mr Kelly. However, with Mr Kelly looking likely he will exceed the quota on the first count, Ms Doherty decided to hand Limerick over to Ms Clune, but some are fearful the move has come too late. Fianna Fail has hit back at Fine Gael for trying to claim Billy Kelleher's seat before it has even been vacated. Mr Kelleher, who is running in the EU elections is tipped to win a seat in today's elections. However, Fine Gael is already eyeing up his Dail seat in Cork North Central. The fact that seven sitting TDs are contesting today's European elections has increased the prospect of a General Election in the coming months. In the Ireland South constituency Minister of State Andrew Doyle, Independents 4 Change TD Mick Wallace, and Mr Kelleher are hoping to gain an EU parliament seat. Former Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald is hoping for success in Dublin along with Independents 4 Change TD Clare Daly while in the Midlands North West region two Fianna Fail TDs Anne Rabbitte and Brendan Smith are running in today's elections. It is expected that at least three sitting TDs will be elected to the EU parliament which would require by-elections within six months. However, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar could call a General Election instead as by-elections could return TDs which tip the balance on the confidence and supply agreement. In the tightly-contested Cork North-Central constituency, Fine Gael is confident that current Senator Colm Burke could take the seat vacated by Mr Kelleher in either a by-election or a General Election. "Colm would be a good candidate," one senior party source said last night. However, Fianna Fail's European director of elections, Lisa Chambers, dismissed any threat to the seat: If Billy vacates the seat we will retain it. They can try all they like. When we have Dail elections or a by-election we will retain that seat. "I am not saying we would get the same number of votes as Billy because he has been there for 26 years and support takes years to build up," said Ms Chambers. It is expected that Fianna Fail would select local GP and councillor John Sheehan if Mr Kelleher's Dail position is vacated. "Fianna Fail would be quite competitive in Cork North Central," a senior party source said adding that there are a number of people at local level who could go forward. Asked about this, Mr Kelleher said the issue of who would take is seat is a "long way off" as the public will only be voting in the European elections today and the full results will not be known until next week. "One thing I have learned in politics is there is no such thing as a safe seat - you are given the seat by the public," he said. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned that the risks of a no-deal Brexit are growing. Amid continued political chaos in the UK and growing pressure on its prime minister, Theresa May, to resign over the Brexit impasse, Mr Donohoe called on businesses here to make preparations. In Dublin, he said: The risks of a no-deal Brexit scenario facing Ireland later on this year are building. I still believe it is still very much possible for an agreement to be reached that protects our national interests and facilitates an orderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. He also said that the message needed to go out to businesses that they have to be Brexit-ready and have special customs numbers for trade reasons after October. The finance minister said: As we approach Budget 2020, I will be giving careful consideration to the work that needs to be done from a budgetary perspective, to prepare Ireland for the challenges of a disorderly Brexit Meanwhile, in London, calls by Tory MPs for Ms May to quit as prime minister are growing following Cabinet turmoil there over her Brexit strategy. Ahead of her showdown with the chairman of the 1922 Committee Graham Brady today, the committees treasurer, Geoffrey Clifton Brown, said: I want her to give a timetable for when she will go. I think this blank denial from Number 10 today may be a smokescreen because she does not want to influence the outcome of the European elections. Maybe she will still quit tomorrow. Asked what would happen if she did not announce a resignation date, Clifton Brown said: I think there will be overwhelming pressure for the 22 to change the rules and hold a ballot on confidence in the prime minister. Ms May is facing a backlash over her proposals for a so-called bold new Brexit deal for MPs. Andrea Leadsom quit as Commons leader this week, saying she could not announce the bill, which had new elements that I fundamentally oppose. The British government has now pulled plans to publish the new Withdrawal Agreement Bill and instead said it will be released in the first week of June. Canvassing in Cork, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called on voters to return pro-European candidates with so much uncertainty ahead. We dont know what is going to happen over the next few days in the United Kingdom but we do know that Brexit is going to be very much back centre stage either because of the political changes in London or because of the results of the European elections where it seems the Brexit party is going to win in the United Kingdom, he said. Mr Varadkar is also expected to discuss the latest Brexit developments when he meets other EU leaders for an informal summit in Brussels next week. However, Brussels and Dublin have both said the Brexit deal will not be reopened no matter if there is a change in the British government leadership. Voting in the European elections in the UK began yesterday with speculation that a disastrous result for Ms Mays party could trigger her resignation. A former Fair City star who was murdered by her on-screen husband - and is now a neuroscientist and best-selling author - is in West Cork next week to explain how people can reduce their risk of developing dementia. Professor Sabina Brennan's scientific research at Trinity College Dunlins Institute of Neuroscience has focused on understanding dementia risk and protective factors to establish how a decline in cognitive function might be prevented or delayed. She had been listed as one of Irelands Women of the Year 2018 for her impact in her field of research. A psychologist and neuroscientist, Prof Brennan will deliver a talk on brain health at Inchydoney Island and Spa near Clonakilty, on Tuesday evening next. Dementia is one of the most prevalent chronic illnesses in the world, with an estimated 77,000 sufferers in Ireland. The disease affects up to 8% of people aged over 60 and currently costs the state an annual 2bn. Continued learning is hugely important for brain health because the brain has the capacity to change and adapt and an enriched, healthy brain which is kept stimulated through lifelong learning is more resilient to the effects of ageing, disease and injury, she said. In reality, the brain starts to atrophy from the age of 30, a time when many people stop exercising regularly and cease challenging their brain academically, Pro Brennan explained. Professor Brennan formerly played single mother-of-three and domestic violence victim Tess Halpin over some 160 episodes of the hugely popular RTE television soap. Her character Tess was separated from her on-screen husband. While she later reconciled with him, she was eventually murdered by him. Ms Brennan left the series in 2003 and went to college to study for a degree in psychology. It was difficult to get work as an actor because the character of Tess was so high profile, she recalled, noting that, at age of 42 she won a place on a psychology degree course at Maynooth. She later secured a scholarship to Trinity College to do a PhD on age-related brain changes. I am passionate about lifelong learning, Prof Brennan said. She had left school at aged 16 after completing her Leaving Certificate, and, until her 40's, had no further formal education. "You dont have to go to college to stimulate your brain - crosswords, knitting, or taking up a challenging new hobby all help to keep your brain active. I will also be saying to people that they should stay physically active, and socially engaged, and challenge their brain by learning something new. Defying Dementia and Improving Your Memory talk will take place at the Inchydoney Hotel on Tuesday next at 8pm, tickets 10 available at the door or online Gardai have arrested four motorists for dangerous driving in the Dublin Port Tunnel today. Three of the drivers arrested for dangerous driving by traffic officers at a checkpoint at the Dublin Port Tunnel Control Centre subsequently tested positive for drugs, two for cannabis and one for cocaine. A fourth motorist managed to evade the checkpoint by shunting the toll barrier aside to evade toll payment. They were stopped on East Wall Road and arrested for dangerous driving. All four motorists have since appeared before Dublin District Courts charged with offences under the Road Traffic Acts. A Garda boss leading investigations into the murder of two young men has warned youths across the country that even low-level drug dealing is enough to get them killed. In a plea, particularly to young men, assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy said any level of engagement with the drugs trade could end their lives. A leading youth worker called for a national conversation on how to prevent young people getting sucked into gangs and the level of violence now associated with the drugs trade. Eddie DArcy, a youth worker for more than 40 years and chief executive of the Solas Project, which works with serious young offenders, said the feud in Drogheda, Co Louth, should have been a wake-up call to the entire country that gangland violence could spread from cities to towns. Mr Leahy made his comments as he sought information from the public on the fatal shootings of friends Sean Little and Jordan Davis, both aged 22, within 24 hours. Mr Davis was shot at close range by a man on a bicycle as he pushed his four-month-old boy in a buggy in broad daylight on a laneway adjacent to a national school in Darndale, north Dublin. That came 17 hours after Mr Little, from nearby Kilmore, was found shot dead near his burning car in a remote part of north Dublin. Both men are suspected of being involved in drug dealing and intimidation and gardai are investigating if they were shot for owing a drugs debt, but are examining other lines of inquiry. Mr Leahy said gardai were not connecting the two murders at this point and said he was confident the investigators would solve the crimes. Last January, another drug-dealing associate of the duo, Zach Parker, aged 23, was shot dead in Swords, north Dublin. Mr Leahy said: We are seeing young men its difficult to term them young men at the age of 22 because they are only after coming out of their teenage years and all of a sudden their lives are taken unceremoniously. Im appealing to the young people out there at the moment, not only in Dublin but across the country please, do not get involved at any level with the drugs trade. We consistently hear comments hes only doing a little bit of low-level dealing, hes only taking a little bit of gear here and there. What we are saying to the public and to parents and to young men and women is please, please do not get involved at any level. Low-level dealing now is enough to have your life taken at a young age and weve seen it time and time again across the city over the last number of weeks and the last number of years. Mr Leahy also moved to reassure communities living under the tyranny of these gangs that gardai would stay embedded in the communities and said that gardai have had notable successes in recent years in securing convictions against top gang bosses. He said with the conviction of the top tier of the Kinahan crime cartel, a vacuum had been left and that younger people were trying to fill it. However, he said policing on its own would not divert young men away from the lure of gangland such as access to money, access to cars, and access to women and said a multi-agency response is needed. Responding, Mr DArcy said people were sickened at how cheap life was. I would be calling for a national conversation into young people being pulled into gangs, the growth of drug gangs and the level of violence now going on, he said. I thought Drogheda would have been a wake-up call that this could spread to many a town. In a show of force, gardai in Drogheda arrested 18 people and conducted 34 searches as part of a crackdown on criminality. The day of action was conducted under Operation Stratus, which is targeting the two feuding gangs. Update: Gardai arrested two men in their 30s in relation to a robbery at a post office in Little Island, Co Cork this morning. Officers searching for two armed raiders who had allegedly threatened staff before escaping with some cash made arrests a number of hours later. The men had entered the small post office at Trafford Park, Little Island at around 9.30am. Gardai said one of the men brandished what appeared to be a handgun and his accomplice was armed with an iron bar. "They threatened staff and left the scene with a small sum of cash. No staff member was injured during the incident," gardai confirmed. They left the scene in a black 05 C-registered car, possibly a Ford Mondeo which reportedly had damage on either side of it. The two suspects were arrested in the Glanmire area at approximately 2.30pm. They were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 and were being held in Mayfield and Gurranabraher Garda Stations. Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has any information is asked to contact Anglesea Street Garda Station on 021-452200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111. Little Island Business Association (LIBA) chief executive Michael Mulcahy said there were a lot of CCTV systems operating in the area which gardai were able to access. "It is quite rare that we have any serious incidents in Little Island because of the traffic situation and the numerous CCTV systems in operation," he said. A number of companies and businesses, he said, also had security staff employed. Earlier: Two men armed with gun and iron bar rob Co. Cork post office File photo Update 3.14pm: Gardai are searching for two armed raiders who threatened staff at a post office in County Cork before escaping with a small amount of cash. The men entered the small post office at Trafford Park, Little Island, at around 9.30am today. Gardai said one of the men brandished what appeared to be a handgun and his accomplice was armed with an iron bar: "They threatened staff and left the scene with a small sum of cash. No staff member was injured during the incident." They left the scene in a black 05C-registered car, possibly a Ford Mondeo, which has damage on either side of it. The garda spokesman added that no arrests have been made and that their investigation is ongoing. Witnesses are asked to contact Anglesea Street Garda Station on 021-452200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666-111 or any Garda Station. Little Island Business Association (LIBA) chief executive, Michael Mulcahy, said he is confident that the men will be tracked down fairly quickly as there are a lot of CCTV systems operating in the area, which gardai are able to access. He said: "It is quite rare that we have any serious incidents in Little Island because of the traffic situation and the numerous CCTV systems which are in operation. "A lot of the business parks have their own CCTV and employ 24-hour security. We've had some minor stuff like thefts of tools from vans, but fortunately that's been about it," he added. Update 8.45pm: Gardai in Drogheda have finished their Day of Action there with 18 arrests. In all, they carried out 34 searches in the area and seized seven vehicles for traffic offences. A 23-year-old man has since been charged and released on bail, while a woman was arrested under the Public Order Act. Earlier: Gardai arrest 16 in 32 searches in crackdown on crime in Drogheda Gardai in Drogheda have arrested 16 people and seized five cars today. Officers carried out 32 searches as part of Operation Stratus investigating criminality in the Drogheda Garda District. It comes as a gang feud in Drogheda escalated recently which has resulted in more than 70 incidents directly connected to the violent feud there since last summer. Thirty houses were searched in the District which resulted in 14 arrests on foot of outstanding warrants, resulting in all 14 being brought before the courts. Another two men, aged 23 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of the commission of criminal acts within the Drogheda Garda District in recent weeks. The 19-year-old man was charged and taken before Dundalk District Court while the 23-year-old man remains in custody in Drogheda Garda Station. Two separate searches were conducted under The Misuse of Drugs Act. Also, five vehicles were seized during the operation while 35 on-the-spot penalty notices for various roads traffic offences were issued. Gardai investigating the murder of two men in Dublin - within 24 hours of each other - are trying to establish a motive for the attacks. Jordan Davis - who was in his 20's - was shot dead while pushing a buggy on the Marigold Road area of Darndale at 4pm yesterday afternoon. On Tuesday night, 22-year-old Sean Little from Coolock was found dead beside a car on fire at Walshestown near Balbriggan. It is understood the two men were friends and Gardai are investigating whether the incidents are linked. Superintendent Tony Twomey, who is leading the investigation into Mr Littles murder, appealed for information about the car at the scene: Were particularly interested in anybody that may have seen a black, Vauxhall Insignia. Its an imported Vauxhall Insignia, registration number 181 D 46703. If anybody saw that in the area, we would be interested in talking to them. Anyone with information is asked to ring Balbriggan Garda Station on 01 8020510, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111, or any Garda station. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has said the gardai have unprecedented resources to tackle gang violence. Leo Varadkar has spoken to the Justice Minister about the murder of the two men who were thought to be friends. He says the Gardai have been empowered to tackle gang violence in recent years. "It (gang crime) is not something that ever goes away and that is why we need to continue to be vigilant and continue to support the gardai and the work they are doing. "That is why the gardai have unprecedented resources." Insurance costs, compliance obligations and funding shortfalls are just some of the big issues facing Ireland's voluntary sector. These issues will be discussed as part of The Wheel's National Charity Summit at Croke Park. The civilian Garda employee who was prosecuted over sick notes has called for a full inquiry into how she and her GP brother were investigated and brought to court. Lynn Margiotta has also called on Garda commissioner Drew Harris to clarify evidence he gave to the public accounts committee about the case. Mr Harris wrote to the PAC on Monday to clarify evidence he gave on May 9 about Ms Margiottas case. The commissioner had told PAC member David Cullinane that there was a Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) inquiry into the matter. In his letter to the committee, Mr Harris stated he had been of the mistaken belief that Gsoc was currently investigating matters in the public domain. He apologised for the error and assured the committee that there was no intention to mislead the committee. However, Ms Margiotta has said the commissioners letter does not go far enough in addressing some aspects of his evidence that reflected on her. The trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of Ms Margiotta and her GP brother Tony collapsed in March when the judge ruled her rights had been abused. The siblings believe the whole case was motivated by a bullying complaint. Ms Margiotta made the complaint against a Garda member three weeks before she was arrested in 2014. Mr Harris told the PAC that no record of a bullying complaint could be found. Ms Margiotta insists she had made a complaint and procedures in dealing with it had been started. I made the complaint verbally and I followed procedure after that, she said. There was to be a meeting on mediation but a garda involved went on holiday and before a meeting could take place I was arrested. The commissioner should clarify what he meant by no record of it. Ms Margiotta also said the commissioner needs to explain why he told the committee that the investigation into her and her brother was well founded and had been through the DPPs office. What is he basing that on? He should certainly tell us. As for a decision made by an independent body, was the DPP in full possession of the facts? There needs to be a full inquiry into the whole thing after the four-year ordeal we were put through. The Irish Examiner reported on Monday that an expert opinion commissioned by the gardai and favourable to Dr Margiotta was not in the book of evidence for the case. Ms Margiotta was first arrested in August 2014 for producing alleged fake sick notes. She had been absent from work on a number of occasions following the death of her mother in January 2014. Her trial in March this year heard that gardai didnt dispute that she was suffering from a condition at the time but that that was irrelevant to the charges. Dr Margiotta freely admitted he provided his sister with sick notes because she was unwell. The Garda case was largely based on the use by Dr Margiotta of another doctors stamp on the sick notes. However, an academic in general practice told the gardai that locums often use another doctors stamp and the area was unregulated. This report, by UCC Professor Colin Bradley, was not given to the defence when the DPP was offering a verdict of guilty to a summary offence. The Policing Authority has also requested further information from the commissioner after the matter was raised at the last two monthly meetings with Mr Harris. PAC member David Cullinane welcomed the commissioners letter of clarification but expressed concern there was no explanation over whether there was a bullying complaint. He said: Commissioner Harris, it appears, is sticking to his line that there is no record of a bullying compliant and I will be seeking further correspondence from the commissioner on this issue at the next meeting of the PAC. A taxi driver has been hospitalised following an alleged assault in Dublin. The 30-year-old man was attacked while working on the Beaumont Road at around 2.30am yesterday. A man in his 20s who was arrested in connection with the incident has since been released and a file is being prepared for the DPP. The driver was taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries. Last month, gardai in Clontarf investigated the alleged assault of another taxi driver after a dashcam video of an apparent attack went viral. The video was shared hundreds of times on social media and showed a passenger in a car repeatedly using a racial slur and attempting to punch the driver. A 42-year-old man who claimed that the powdered plant derivative found at his apartment in Cork could be extracted from a cactus plant commonly bought in flower shops was found guilty of having mescaline for sale or supply. The jury, who were unable to reach a verdict on Tuesday, resumed their deliberations yesterday and eventually returned unanimous guilty verdicts after a total of four hours of deliberation. Alexander Rojas Rey was found guilty of possession of mescaline and possession of it for sale or supply contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act at his apartment at River Towers, Lee Road, Cork, on January 23, 2018. Defence barrister Peter OFlynn produced a cactus plant during the trial and said it had been purchased for 35 at a plant shop in Cork city. He said it was not illegal to buy it or sell it, and that the powder found in the defendants possession contained nothing more than was also to be found in the cactus plant. A lot of the facts of the case were not disputed between the parties. The key issue between them was whether or not the substance was a proscribed drug. Dermot Sheehan, prosecution barrister, submitted to the jury: The prosecution case is that there is no view available to you other than that the mescaline is in the powder. "It was dry plant material and that it is a substance containing mescaline. Mr Sheehan said mescaline is a proscribed drug. Peter OFlynn, defence barrister, reminded the jury that the defence was able to go into any plant shop and buy such a cactus. He said they had done so and bought a cactus for 35 which was brought to Cork Circuit Criminal Court. He said the states expert witness said the plant contained mescaline. Mr OFlynn said the State could remedy the situation simply by adding to the list of prohibited substances any cactus containing mescaline but had not done so. The defence barrister said the defendant stated that he drinks a tonic made from hot water and the material with which he was found. Mr OFlynn said: There has been no evidence of him profiting in any way from being in possession of this plant material. I say you have to have a doubt about him being in possession of a controlled drug. Judge James McCourt brought the jury out to clarify: The accused admits he was in possession of a substance. His defence is that the substance was not a controlled drug within the meaning of the law. Mr Sheehan said there was no objection to him being remanded on continuing bail pending sentence. Mr OFlynn said the accused had been living in Ireland for ten years, was in full-time employment and had no previous convictions. Judge McCourt remanded him on bail until June 26 for sentence. Irish dance superstar, Michael Flatley, has recorded a special video endorsing his former chef's bid to become the directly elected Mayor of Clonakilty in West Cork. Richy Virhasawmy opened Richy's Restaurant in Clonakilty fourteen years ago. Richy is a Michelin trained chef who has appeared on the RTE Today show. He also runs cooking classes. Virahsawmy, has cooked for Tony Blair and countless high-profile guests - including Bertie Ahern at 10 Downing Street. In a video posted on the Richy for Mayor Facebook page Michael Flatley, who had a home for many years in Co Cork, said that he was giving his backing to the campaign of the restaurateur. "Just a quick note to say I wish you the very best of luck in your bid to become the Mayor of Clonakilty. I know you a long time Richy and you are a great man. You richly deserve this honour." Virahsawmy moved to Clonakilty in 2002. Born in Mauritius, he trained in catering at Merton College in Surrey and started his career as a commis chef in 1992. He worked as a sous chef at Rowhill Grange Country House Hotel in Kent, before moving to the Lodge and Spa at Inchydoney Island in west Cork as senior sous chef with award-winning Chris Farrell. Richy became executive head chef at the Department of Trade and Industry in London in 1999, managing 33 chefs and responsible for Tony Blairs dining at 10 Downing Street. He was subsequently executive head chef at AstraZeneca headquarters in London. Meanwhile, Clonakilty is the only town in Ireland with its own mayor after the government abolished all the statutory town councils in May 2014. Local history group, Duchas Clonakilty Heritage, organised a special election in which nine people stood for the position of non-political, community, voluntary mayor. Some 1,600 people voted and five candidates were elected, and since then have held the position of mayor for one-year terms, in the order in which they were elected by the people. Ten community non-political candidates will be on the ballot paper on Saturday when the people of Clonakilty go to Scoil na mBuachailli to vote in the Clonakilty Mayoral Election. Polling will be open from 9am to 7pm. Gardai who threatened to walk away from Dickensian conditions at a garda station in a Cork suburb will soon be able to operate out of a modern facility. The Garda Press Office has confirmed that a new garda station will open in Glanmire in July, although the exact date has not be revealed. The news has been welcomed by the Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents rank-and-file members of the force. The current station, which is in what is known locally as the 'old Glanmire village' has not been fit for purpose for many years. It was originally built for the RIC and had fallen into serious disrepair due to years of neglect by the Department of Justice and OPW. The conditions endured by gardai working there deteriorated so much that eight years ago, then GRA president, John Parker, described it as a deathtrap and senior GRA officials have echoed his words on numerous occasions since. Huge chunks of plaster have fallen off the walls; a wooden staircase is beyond repair; and there is no fire escape available from the top floors. The GRA has also criticised the fact there is no disabled access, no secure parking available for the patrol cars or members private cars, or for the public. In the meantime many attempts were made over the years by senior gardai to find a site which would house a replacement building, but to no avail. However, following talks in 2017 between senior gardai, the Department of Justice and the OPW it was finally agreed to purchase a building in an industrial estate in Sallybrooke, half a mile north of the centre of Glanmire. Work on fitting out the building is now nearing completion. GRA central executive committee member for the Cork City Garda Division, Garda Padraig Harrington, said he welcomed the news that after many years of highlighting the poor conditions his members and the public were enduring they will at last look forward to modern facilities. He said he hoped the new station would be opened within the timeline suggested by the Garda Press Office. While it might be good news for gardai and civilians in Glanmire, the same cannot be said in Macroom. Macroom Garda Station Three years ago the Department of Justice announced that it planned to build a new station in Macroom through a Public Private Partnership project. However, although a site has been identified, no work has started. GRA delegates attending their recent annual conference in Killarney, Co Kerry expressed anger at the lack of progress. The current garda station, like Glanmire, was a former RIC barracks and was built in the 1850s. Gardai have to share just one small toilet and shower and there are no proper fire escapes. An environmental group has threatened State authorities with a High Court action unless they erect public warning notices about dangerous substances on an island in Cork Harbour. The Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) claims Cork County Council and the Department of Agriculture are legally obliged to alert the public about the presence of high levels of toxic materials, including arsenic and lead, on Haulbowline. FIE said it would take a High Court action against the State if signage is not erected at the entrance to Haulbowline to notify the public of the health risk from toxic airborne dust, fibres, and gases on the site of the former Irish Steel plant. Part of Haulbowline, known as the East Tip, which was previously used to dump waste and by-products from the steelworks, is scheduled to open as a recreational area with playing pitches later this year. Details about the dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, and PCBs, a highly toxic industrial compound, emerged earlier this month from a confidential consultants report prepared for Cork County Council, obtained by FIE under the Freedom of Information Act. The materials were regarded as having the potential to cause risks to any users of a potential future park and also commercial site users. The report also documented cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, and mercury above the recommended levels, which were regarded as having to potential to contaminate waters in Cork Harbour. FIE has sent letters to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, and Cork County Council to highlight their view that authorities are obliged to make the public aware of imminent threats to human health under Access to Information in the Environment Regulations without delay. FIE director Tony Lowes said the information in the consultants report showed there was a serious imminent threat to human health and the environment. In particular there is a threat to the health of occupants of the security hut and users of the part of the roadway which crosses the factory site. There is also a risk to users of other parts of the island for recreational and military uses through dust, fibre and gas emissions. He added: The dissolved metal concentrations in the groundwater have not lessened over the last 10 years with lead leaking into the harbour from broken drains. Mr Lowes said it is irresponsible for the authorities to bury reports that allowed the impression that the environment around Haulbowline is now safe when the most contaminated parts of the island remain exposed to wind and rain. The public has a right to know about toxic dust and lead emissions into the air and water around the island so they can decide for themselves what precautions to take, said Mr Lowes. The Government has committed 61m to the Haulbowline clean-up and the opening of a public park, despite a 2011 OPW report recommending that it was an unsuitable location for a public amenity. A Department of Agriculture spokesperson said 23m had been spent up to the end of 2018 on remediation of the East Tip. Works included the laying of 47,000 tonnes of rock armour material on the site to protect the shoreline and a further 180,000 tonnes of subsoil and 37,000 tonnes of topsoil to bring the history of exposed waste on the site to a close. The spokesperson said full completion of the new public park with playing pitches, walkways, and cycleways is expected within weeks. The Tanaiste has warned of dangerous times for the European Union and urged the electorate to counter the rise of the Brexit party by voting for pro-European candidates in tomorrow's European elections. Simon Coveney made his comments today in Cork city while campaigning with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in support of Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune. I hope the best response Ireland can give to the Brexit party is to vote Fine Gael - a party that has worked night and day to protect Irish people and Irish interests through the Brexit negotiations, he said. These are dangerous times in the European Union. We need to protect Irish interests and to make sure they are understood and protected in the context of any final agreements. As we have seen a surge in support for the Brexit Party we need to see a response in Ireland to support parties that are pro-European. The canvass was mounted just hours after Fine Gael was forced to revise its division of the Ireland South constituency to bolster Ms Clunes flagging campaign. Letters issued in parts of the vast constituency by the partys director of elections Regina Doherty asked voters in Limerick and Tipperary to give Ms Clune their number one votes in order to ensure Fine Gael retains its two seats in the European Parliament. Following an early-morning canvass on Parnell Bridge, the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Ms Clune toured the English Market, stopping off to sample oysters at OConnells fish stall. At the final press conference of the campaign, Mr Varadkar said given the predicted success of the Brexit party, it is important Ireland sends out a very clear message that the country is pro-European and wants to stay in the very heart of Europe, and that we are willing to send our best team to Europe. People who will work across boundaries, build coalitions and work in the European Parliament to make sure our case is heard as we enter the next phase of Brexit negotiations," he said. And with the terms of office of President Juncker, President Tusk, and possibly Michel Barnier, coming to an end, he said Ireland will need people who know what they are doing to make new alliances and new friends. Ms Clune described the Brexit party as a destructive force and advised steady hands are needed at the tiller as Ireland enters the choppy waters of the next phase of Brexit negotiations. Weve seen what has happened in the UK over the last 48 hours with even more indecision and rancour, she said. This is what Nigel Farage is trying to achieve at EU level with his Brexiteers. When I see how Nigel Farage will be a strong force in the next parliament, now more than ever we need voices of experiences and those that are going to engage with Europe to compromise and make sure that Irelands interests are reflected in whatever future relationship the UK has with Europe. Its a very important time for us. Weve been steady for the last three years and we need more of that now to ensure Irelands voice is reflected in all the issues we will be negotiating in the next phase. Its really important tomorrow that we send out the message that we are pro-European, that we want to stay at the heart of Europe." The Taoiseach has defended the resourcing of gardai after two pals were gunned down just hours apart in brutal gangland-style executions in Dublin. Leo Varadakar said while gardai now have unprecedented resources, the latest killings prove the need for ongoing garda vigilance against the threat of gangland violence which he said never goes away. Speaking in Cork this morning, Mr Varadkar said the Garda Commissioner has briefed the Justice Minister about the killings of Sean Little, 22, and Jordan Davis, 24, within hours of each other. Davis was shot dead in Darndale yesterday afternoon in north Dublin while pushing a buggy. Littles body was found beside a burning car in a laneway near Balbriggan in north Co Dublin late on Tuesday night. Mr Varadkar said he spoke to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan this morning about the killings. The information that we have is that these killings are most likely related to drugs and organised crime and are not linked to the other feuds - the Kinihan feud and the Drogheda feud, he said. As a government, our focus is entirely and very much on increasing garda resources. The gardai now have unprecedented resources - a budget of 1.8bn a year, and we have increased the size of the garda force to 14,000 back to where it was before the economic crash. And we are going to increase it again to 15,000 - investing not just in gardai but also in equipment, in ICT, in armed support units, and all that is very much underway. The gardai have had a lot of success when it comes to dealing with organised crimes and the drug trade in particular. There have been numerous drugs seizures in recent weeks and they have had a lot of success in places like Limerick and in Dublins north-east inner city. But its not something that ever goes away and thats why we need to continue to be vigilant, to continue to support the gardai in the work they are doing. Thats why the gardai this year have unprecedented resources - a budget of 1.8bn, 14,000 gardai back up to where we were before the crash, investment in ICT and equipment, in the armed support units, and we need more of that now. And as long as we continue to manage the economy well, we will be able to continue to invest both in the gardai, so we can respond to crime, but also in prevention, by making sure that there are more opportunities, particularly in those communities which are often most affected by crimes, such as those including my own constituency. The Taoiseach says the government will act on a damning report which has identified systemic flaws in management in how the cases of the abuse of three children while in foster care were handled by the HSE and Tusla. Leo Varadkar said he hasnt seen the unpublished report yet and doesnt want to say anything that might re-traumatise those involved in what he described as a deeply disturbing case. But he said the government will study in detail and act on the report once its published. We should never forget that there are individuals, people who are very damaged by all of this, who are still hurting today and we need to make sure that in our comments we dont do anything that might re-traumatise them, he said. The report hasnt been published yet. I havent seen it myself but it will be published in the next couple of weeks and we will act on it. I dont want to prejudice whats in the report having not seen whats in it. Its only a leak at this stage. But we have made some very significant strides when it comes to child protection in recent years - in particular, the fact that reporting of child abuse is now mandatory, and that was only introduced in the last two years. But there is definitely more to be done. As I say, when we have this report it will be studied in detail and the government will act on it. He was speaking in Cork this morning in the wake of revelations by RTE Investigates earlier of the details of the report into the handling by both the Health Service Executive and the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, of the cases of abuse of children placed in a foster home in Galway. The report lists a catalogue of failures, which saw three children suffer grave and heinous sexual abuse while in the care of the State. Details of the case were first revealed by RTE Investigates in April 2016. File photo A girl placed in the foster home for monthly respite care told her biological mother that she had been sexually abused by a then-teenage son of the foster family. She also reported that a second girl who had been living with the foster family for over a decade had also been raped by the same son. The girls allegation was assessed by the HSE to be credible but at the time, the second girl did not disclose any abuse. Gardai sent a file to the DPP but no prosecution followed. The second girl and another foster child, a boy, continued to live with the family. However, in 2011, the second girl came forward and said she too had been raped, prompting a new garda probe which identified a third victim, another female foster child, who also was regularly raped. Last year, Keith Burke was found guilty and jailed for the rape and buggery of the three foster girls between 2003 and 2007 when all three were aged under 10. The report into the HSE and Tusla handling of the cases, which was delayed pending the completion of those criminal proceedings, points to serious errors of judgement, flawed assessment and decision-making and a lack of management oversight at critical points during the Social Work Departments involvement with the foster family. It also found that no attempt was made to assess the risk Keith Burke posed to other children in the community. Meanwhile, Tusla says it accepts the findings of the National Review Panel into a foster home abuse case in Galway. It says a number of important steps are being taken prior to the publication of the report, including engagements with those affected, to ensure their wellbeing and to limit any adverse effects this situation may have on them. The Child and Family Agency says the report reflects a certain point in time, prior to the establishment of Tusla, which has resulted in an improvement in standards, staffing and services. - Additional reporting digital desk Parts of Cork have three times the rates of tuberculosis infection over other parts of the county due to different vaccination polices, a new study has claimed. Researchers claim that regional variations in the incidence of tuberculosis in counties Cork and Kerry in the past two decades are linked to a policy of not vaccinating people in Cork City and north Cork for the disease. They found a higher incidence of TB in areas where the vaccination was not in use since 1972. The research, led by a team from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Cork University Hospital, examined data on 550 confirmed cases of TB in Cork and Kerry between 2003 and 2016. Although no longer considered a major health issue here, the reports main author, Eileen Sweeney, a specialist registrar, said the prevention and treatment of TB, which is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide, remains a significant challenge internationally. Three policies have existed over parts of Cork and Kerry since 1972 when the universal neonatal BCG vaccination was discontinued in Cork City and north Cork based on the low incidence of the disease. At the same time newborn babies were continued to be vaccinated in Kerry, while children aged 10-12 were vaccinated in south-west Cork. Universal vaccination for TB was discontinued in Ireland in 2015 after a global shortage of the BCG vaccine. The study found the incidence of TB was highest in the unvaccinated region of Cork City and north Cork at 132 cases per 100,000 population over the 14-year period, while it was 56 cases per 100,000 with the neonatal vaccination programme in Co Kerry and just 44 per 100,000 in Cork south-wests childhood vaccination programme. Dr Sweeney said: These findings strengthen existing data demonstrating efficacy of BCG vaccination for primary prevention of TB disease In 2017 it was estimated the incidence of TB in Ireland was 6.7 cases per 100,000 population. The study said the incidence of TB in the south of Ireland between 2003 and 2016 was consistently above that of the general Irish population. Cork stands out through the entire period of the study for above-average infection rates. We postulate that this is as a result of the variation in regional BCG vaccine policy, Dr Sweeney said. The BCG vaccine is the only one licensed for TB and is estimated to have overall efficacy against up to 80% of severe forms of TB in children, particularly meningitis. Dr Sweeney said it was reported that some children from Cork City had gone to other areas to receive the BCG vaccine due to parental concern after local outbreaks. The Department of Health is considering policy on the BCG vaccine. Gardai are investigating two gangland murders, both involving young men, in north Dublin in less than a day. Detectives are examining if there are any links between them. The victim in the first murder, Sean Little, is from Kilbarron Rd, Kilmore, about 1km from where the second fatal shooting occurred, on Marigold Rd, Darndale. There are unconfirmed reports the second victim, named locally as Jordan Davis, in his early 20s, and from Darndale, was a friend of Mr Little. Detectives are now examining the links, activities, and associates of the two young men. Mr Littles body was found shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, while the second fatal shooting occurred at around 4pm yesterday. The area around Marigold was sealed off and was being examined last night. It is the second fatal shooting in that area since last February. Emergency services found the body of Mr Little, aged 22, on the ground beside a burning car off the M1 motorway, near Balbriggan, shortly before midnight on Tuesday. He had been shot a number of times, including to the head. The murder scene, Rowans Little in Walshestown, is a remote place in north county Dublin. Gardai are investigating associations Mr Little had with a violent gang based in the Finglas area of north Dublin. That outfit is backing one of the two gangs engaged in a violent feud in neighbouring Blanchardstown, which has witnessed a spate of violent attacks and near murders. The Finglas gang is also connected with the Kinahan crime cartel. Mr Little was also close friends with a family member of a cartel leader and has been regularly spotted by gardai socialising with him. Sources said an individual does not get into the inner circle of the Kinahan cartel without being trusted and close to its leaders. Gardai will investigate both the direct connection with the Finglas gang and the social relationship with [X], said one source. Gardai stress they are keeping an open mind as this could be something else, including the possibility Mr Little owed money or was involved in a drugs row. Whether the Kinahan connection suggests a possible attack by the fractured Hutch crime group is difficult to know, sources said, but it is one line that will be considered. Detectives will investigate if the second fatal gun attack is possibly linked with Mr Littles murder, but sources said it was too early to say. Gardai believe Mr Little appeared to be meeting someone at a secluded location and must have trusted who he thought he was going to meet. The source said: It appears he was standing beside his car when he was shot, suggesting he had no reason to fear who he was meeting. It may have been a set up The car that was burned out was registered to Mr Little, indicating he had driven there. Why it was set on fire is not clear unless a passenger travelled to the spot with him. It is also possible Mr Little was beaten up in the car, then dragged outside and shot, sources said. The victim had been documented on Garda intelligence in recent times wearing a bulletproof vest, indicating he feared for his life. He was not a major player and has no criminal convictions and has not been arrested for anything serious and has only a few road traffic offences, but he has been collated with some serious players and he has seen wearing a bulletproof vest, so there was something going on, said a source. Mr Little was also believed to have been a friend of 23-year-old drug dealer Zach Parker, 23, who was shot dead in Swords, north Dublin, last January. Up to 12 members of the Finglas gang travelled to the scene in three or four cars yesterday and made comments towards gardai, who were protecting the cordon, and assembled journalists, before speeding off. Superintendent Tony Twomey, who is leading the investigation into Mr Littles murder, appealed for information about the car at the scene: Were particularly interested in anybody that may have seen a black, Vauxhall Insignia. Its an imported Vauxhall Insignia, registration number 181 D 46703. If anybody saw that in the area, we would be interested in talking to them. Anyone with information is asked to ring Balbriggan Garda Station on 01 8020510, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111, or any Garda station. A woman on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise who fractured her elbow when she took a shore excursion called a White Knuckle Boat Ride, involving 360 degrees turns in the middle of the ocean, has sued in the High Court. Dancing teacher Siobhan Kellett was on a seven-night Caribbean cruise to celebrate her 50th birthday and her silver wedding anniversary. The trip was to finish with five days at Las Vegas to dance with her husband at a jive festival. But she said she was thrown out of her seat and banged her elbow against the metal side of the jet boat during two 360 degree manoeuvres of the White Knuckle Boat Ride, when the couple took the pre-booked excursion when their cruise ship docked at St Martin in the West Indies. Mr Justice Anthony Barr was told the boat ride was described as an adrenalin-infused rush from a water rollercoaster and included spins and speeds of 53 miles per hour which involved the thrill of holding on for dear life. It was the fifth day of the 3,674 Caribbean cruise for Siobhan Kellett and her husband Leslie who had paid for the trip by instalments over two years. We were out in the middle of the ocean and I was holding on tight but I banged my head against the skipper," she said of the first 360 degree turn. The skipper then signalled for her to change places with her husband so she was on the outside seat. On the next spin she said she was hanging on tight to the bar in front of them but she was lifted out of her seat. '...Trying to be very, very brave' "I remember thinking what was I going to do - tumble into the water? - but I came back down on the seat and was thrown against the side of the boat and my right arm banged against the side." She said the pain was horrendous and she felt like a child "trying to be very, very brave" because she did not want to ruin the excursion for everybody else. Later, back on the cruise liner she was told by a medic her elbow was not broken, but when she had an X-ray after her return to Dublin weeks later, a non-displaced fracture of her right elbow was discovered. Siobhan Kellett (53) Rockfield Green, Maynooth, Co Kildare has sued British company RCL Cruises Ltd of Weybridge, Surrey who operated the cruise ship Freedom of the Seas and it is claimed was responsible for the excursion in St Martin in the West Indies called "The White Knuckle Boat Ride". She has also sued Panther Associates Ltd trading as Tour America of Middle Abbey Street, Dublin where she booked the April 2016 holiday. She has claimed there was an alleged failure to provide any or any adequate safety restraints, harness or belts on the jet boat to ensure passengers were kept safe from injury. The claims are denied and it is contended by the defendants Ms Kellett allegedly failed to follow instructions and allegedly failed to have regard for her own safety. In evidence Ms Kellett told Mr Justice Barr it was like "Christmas Day when she stepped on to the ship The Freedom of the Seas at Cocoa Beach, Florida three years ago and the cruise was "just wonderful". On the fifth day of the cruise in the West Indies they took a pre-booked boat ride which cost 120 for the couple. She said they were given life jackets and assigned seats beside the skipper on the fibreglass boat she described as "basic-looking, like "a skip".The skipper told them to use the handrail and to peg their feet of the ground and he would give a hand signal when he was going to do the 360 degree turn on the ocean. The accident she said brought a halt to the enjoyment of their holiday and it cast a shadow over the rest of their trip in Vegas. Cross-examined by Jim O'Callaghan SC for the defendants, Ms Kellett said she has been on rollercoaster rides before and felt perfectly safe. Asked by counsel did she see the boat ride as risky, she replied: I did not see it as being dangerous at all. The case before Mr Justice Anthony Barr continues tomorrow. Tishani Doshi and Carlo Pizzati are among the authors heading to Listowel next week, writes Marjorie Brennan. It is hard not to feel a stab of envy while chatting to writers Tishani Doshi and Carlo Pizzati. The married couple have breathtakingly accomplished CVs and a work-life balance that most of us can only dream of. They spend about half of the year at their home in a remote fishing village in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and the rest travelling the world, lecturing and attending literary festivals. Kerry is next on their itinerary, with the couple both appearing at this years Listowel Writers Week festival where Pizzati will discuss his memoir Mappillai, and Doshi will give a poetry workshop and speak about her latest novel, Small Days and Nights. Doshi says the couple find their trips abroad provide the perfect counter-balance to their solitary existence at their beachside home. Carlo Pizzati. Picture: Mia Murgese Mastroianni listowel When we travel, it is really like a camels stomach, amassing all these experiences so we can chew on them later and digest them and savour them in a way, because we go from being very solitary to being very social. Pizzati and Doshi met in Chennai (formerly Madras), the capital of Tamil Nadu, where Doshi was born to an Indian father and a Welsh mother. Pizzati was born in Switzerland, grew up in the Veneto region of northern Italy and attended Columbia University in New York before becoming a foreign correspondent for the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica, and also presenting and producing a political talk show on Italian TV. He has also covered Irish politics, and one of his first trips here was to interview Gerry Adams. Pizzati says he has always felt a special connection with Ireland, and recently discovered a possible reason for this affinity. My sister did a DNA test and it turns out we are 5% Irish, which for Italians who have been in northern Italy for hundreds of years, was particularly odd. "For Americans, it would be normal, but my family from both sides have not left the valley for four or five hundred years, so obviously some Irish sailor walked into a bar down there at some point at the beginning of the 1800s. We are trying to figure it out, he laughs. Pizzatis latest book is about another country with which he has a special relationship, India. His book Mappillai (son-in-law in Tamil) is about his experiences living with his in-laws in urban Chennai and later with his wife in the village of Paramankeni. There is no shortage of books written by westerners about India with the spiritual journey to find oneself a recurring trope, and Pizzati was very wary of falling into the trap of explaining the country to its own inhabitants. I call this a serious book in funny clothes but I also call it the journal of a stupid white man in a brown country. I was very happy to see that the critics have recognised that. I think Indians have had enough of white people going to India and telling them about their country I also resisted writing about India for ten years because of this very same reason. It was such an impossible conundrum but I found the key when I realised that I would just relay my experiences without drawing any grandiose conclusions about the meaning of the Indian culture in the world or within India. I try to explain how living in India somehow massages Indian philosophy into your mind, spontaneously, naturally. "I have read the Vedas [ancient religious Hindu texts] and I meditate and do yoga but I have tried to explain in the book that it is by living there that you learn the non-attachment and the patience and all of that, it is not taught to you necessarily in the demagogy of religion but by the quotidian occurrences of life. MARRIED LIFE Pizzati says that being married to another writer has been a mutually supportive experience. I have heard that sometimes there is a submerged competitiveness that can exist [between writers who are in a relationship] but I think we arrived at it mature enough and it strengthened that aspect of not being envious and competitive within the relationship. We rejoice in each others success and it has been very helpful for both of us. Doshi concurs with this sentiment, saying that being married to a writer also helps alleviate the loneliness of the creative process. It can be terribly lonely to be a writer.. It has been a joy and comfort to be somewhat less lonely, to think that I am in my room working, and he is in his room, working and then we meet at lunch and we can talk about things. His opinion, his eye and ear are very important because I also know he is not a bullshitter so he will give me an honest opinion. Doshi has published several books of poetry and fiction and has also had an illustrious career as a dancer, touring internationally with the renowned Chandralekha Troupe. Her most recent collection of poetry, Girls Coming Out of the Woods, was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award in 2018. The powerful title poem was written just over six months after the gang rape of Jyoti Singh on a bus in Delhi led to international outrage; Doshi tells me how a journey in Ireland sparked its creation. I have been writing poems about women, particularly violence against women, for some time but that incident really was a watershed moment. It was the following July and I was on a bus in Ireland passing this forest, and I had this image of women and girls coming out of these ancient forests in different stages of mutilation, the whole idea of the poem being a resuscitation in a way, bringing back the voices of those who were silenced. "It was a strange moment of disassociation, of thinking about home, being in this place, passing by that scenery and just having that image. For some reason, that image stayed with me and I wrote the poem as a kind of a chant, an anthem. LOVE AND DEATH The poetry workshop that Doshi is giving at Listowel is titled Love, Death and Breaking News. Whereas the first two are evergreen themes in poetry, the latter topic is something that reflects more contemporary concerns. Love and death are the ancient topics of poetry I brought in the breaking news aspect of it because actually a lot of the poems in English that I have been writing recently have to do with responding to things I read about in the news. I wanted to explore the immediacy of poetry and how do we think it stands up to the grander ideas of death and love. I think the consensus is that unlike fiction, which needs a much longer gestation period, poetry can be more immediate, and it can respond to all the political things that are happening now and the things that we are angry and concerned about. Listowel Writers Week runs from May 29-Jun 2. Memory and Memoir with Carlo Pizzati and Eilis Ni Dhuibhne, May 31; reading and interview with Tishani Doshi and Kit de Waal, Jun 2; three-day poetry workshop with Tishani Doshi, writersweek.ie for details. Listowel Writer's Week: Selected highlights THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY The first of the summers big gigs take place this weekend, with the Spice Girls at Croke Park tonight, and Rod Stewart in Pairc Ui Chaoimh tomorrow. Be warned that organisers say Stewart will be going on stage at 8pm. Meanwhile, the Sounds From A Safe Harbour festival in Cork in September has added more acts to its lineup, including Nordic art-rock outfit Efterklang, American folkie Sam Amidon, and German electronic duo Grandbrothers. Tickets on sale Monday. MUSIC NEWS: Various people in the music world have been paying tribute to Alabama 3s Jake Black, AKA the Very Reverend D.Wayne Love, who died earlier this week. Best known for The Sopranos theme tune Woke Up This Morning, apparently Black wasnt due to tour in Ireland next week for the groups acoustic set, with gigs in Cork, Limerick and other centres going ahead. FILM TIPS: Rocketman hits Irish cinemas today on the back on lukewarm reviews which suggest the Elton John biopic is watchable without exactly pushing the envelope. Aladdin is already showing, and the word on the street is that Will Smith and co have done a decent job on Guy Ritchies live action retelling of the Arabian Nights tale. Triskel in Cork continues its season of Scott Walker related films tomorrow, with the 30 Century Man documentary that also features David Bowie and Jarvis Cocker. Cannes in the south of France and Schull in the west of Cork both conclude their film festivals this weekend. In the Cote dAzur, Quentin Tarantino has been getting heaped with praise for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt starring in tale set around the Manson murders in 1969. It will be released in Ireland on August 15, just a few days after the 50th anniversary of the killings of Sharon Tate and the others. ON THE TELLY: Anyone heading to Electric Picnic in September who wants to get a taste of whats in store with some of the headliners should catch the highlights shows from the Big Weekend in Middlesbro ugh. On Saturday night on BBC Two, youll be able to see Billie Eilish, while the Sunday highlights will feature The 1975. Many viewers have a large Game of Thrones-sized hole in their viewing after the final season fizzled out on Monday. One alternative option could include Good Omens, adapted from the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, available on Amazon Prime Video from next Friday, and popping up on BBC later. Chernobyl continues to impress on Sky Atlantic, with catch-ups available, and drama series worth catching on the Beeb include Years and Years, and Summer of Rockets. THEATRE NIGHTS: Patrick Bergin returns south to join up with the Lee Valley Players again, this time for a musical entitled The Blarney Stone, which will be performed at Cork Opera House next Wednesday. Written by John McDonagh (brother of 1916 hero Thomas McDonagh) in 1928, the music had been composed by Fritz Brase, the German director of the Irish armys school of music. Bergin himself found the almost-forgotten play and score in the McDonagh brothers home town of Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, and has been hands-on in the production. Also in Cork, the Everyman has Co Armagh-set Pumpgirl, from Tuesday to Thursday; followed by one performance by Camille OSullivan in The Rape of Lucrece, on Saturday, June 1. Helen OCallaghan talks to three Cork business owners who are thriving with used goods. Business in a bind In 2015, NCAD graduate Sean OSullivan created an illustrated story with no words called Other Seas. I put it together myself with no book-making experience. I did it quite badly the first time so I decided Id make a better version of the same thing. This was the beginning of Badly Made Books, which OSullivan describes as a bit of curiosity that turned into something worth competing in the market. He thinks of his endeavour as a paper-works or book factory, like similar enterprises existing 100 years ago. The name stems from his initial uncertainty about the longevity of our experimental binding products made with great paper but held together with homemade glue. Now, with some of the oldest prototypes having survived over two years, the business title is more reflective of his ironic sense of humour. I built my own experience. Looking to recycled papers, handmade art and analog technologies for inspiration, Badly Made Books makes books for readers, writers, doodlers and scribblers. The notebooks (first thing I learned in art college was to carry a notebook an essential product for creative people who keep track of ideas), art books and picture-based storybooks are stocked in 30 shops around Ireland. 2019 sees the release of titles including Melanie Jean Whelans The Mountain that Moved, as well as re-release of OSullivans original Other Seas, the first 100% post-consumer waste Badly Made Book. OSullivans design background made him look at what a book is, how its made, how it works. I developed a recipe for making books and I looked to find better ingredients, e.g. a higher percentage of recycled content in the paper. I wanted to see if there was a way to make books locally with recycled papers. Studying Design, hed paid attention to the overall impact of industrial production. I didnt like what I saw. It didnt seem the most attractive way of working, knowing the damage caused to the environment. The furniture and machinery he uses creasers, guillotines are pre-used. He uses Risograph printing. Its a Japanese style and is heat-free. The inks are a by-product of rice manufacture. These are small ways to build the company in an environmentally-sensitive way. OSullivan collaborates a lot with artist and writers the aim is also to tell stories addressing issues of climate change and sustainability. Visit www.badlymadebooks.com Insulation inspiration A small vanload of paper has just arrived at the Ecocel factory in Marina Commercial Park off Corks Centre Park Road. For the local business offloading its used paper here, its a win-win they dont have to pay someone to shred it and they know its going to be used to save energy. For almost 10 years Ecocel has been making cellulose fibre insulation from recycled newspapers and paper insulation for use in attics, timber frame walls, sloping ceilings and party floors/walls. According to Ecocel CEO John Egan, cellulose has five clear advantages over imported mineral wools, which is whats generally used to insulate these areas. First off, cellulose has a good fire safety profile. [Mineral wools make a house more dangerous to fire than if theres no insulation it becomes the fuel. Cellulose is safer in a fire. It doesnt burn its treated with safe fire retardants. Cellulose is also healthier. Imported mineral wools can only absorb moisture they cant release it. "So theres more chance of mould in the house, which is a health issue, whereas cellulose, a natural fibre, can take in and release moisture, thereby improving air quality in the house. Egan says cellulose lasts the lifespan of the building, whereas because imported mineral wools are synthetic and cant release moisture, theyll need replacing. A big plus is that cellulose has a fairly low, even almost neutral carbon footprint. With Ecocel cellulose, were doing no harm, says Egan. The biggest carbon footprint in most building products is the transport. We collect all our paper locally. Some companies in Ireland import cellulose from the Czech Republic. John Egan , CEO of Ecocel at Marina commercial park, Cork. Picture: Eddie O'Hare Imported mineral wools, he says, come mostly from France and England and some even from China. Mineral wools have a very high carbon footprint, also because of the way theyre made with lots of heat. Theres no heat involved in making cellulose. It has much better heat retention ability. With 300mm of cellulose in the attic, we achieve a U-value of 0.11. The SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) looks for U-value of 0.16 were way below that. Imported mineral wools would only achieve 0.16, says Egan, adding that consumers shouldnt choose price as point of comparison between different insulation materials rather they should look at euro cost to U-value. From that perspective, cellulose is no more costly than imported mineral wools. Egan included, Ecocel employs three people and is, he says, a very good example of the circular economy where one organisations waste becomes anothers valuable resource. Ecocel cellulose not only reuses the material it makes an insulation product that performs better than the imported high carbon insulation product which it can replace. Visit www.ecocel.ie Spring clean Since Boomerang Enterprises started in 2014, it has recycled almost 35,000 mattresses and diverted over 1,000 tonnes away from landfill. A social enterprise project owned and managed by Cork Environmental Forum, the idea came from a Global Action Green Living programme delivered in Farranree participants said they wanted a project with a recycle/reuse focus that would give employment. It generally costs 12 to recycle a mattress, with an additional 2 charge for collection. We were aware of mattresses being dumped and going to landfill and that a lot of the materials would take a long time to break down. It was an environmental hazard, says Bernadette Connolly, coordinator with Cork Environmental Forum. Bernadette Connolly, Cork Environmental Forum and Paul Kelly, project manager, Boomerang Enterprises standing among the recycled mattresses to by recycled at Boomerant Enterprises, Ballyvolane, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan A visit to a similar Dublin-based project convinced the steering group this could be replicated in Cork. Mindful that by 2022, mattresses wont be allowed into landfill, an early partnership was formed with local authority civic amenity sites and 50% of mattresses come from this source. They also come from local retailers, who offer customers take-back on old mattresses (bringing more responsibility into the supply chain), and from hotels and student accommodation providers, as well as from individuals who have an old mattress stuck in a spare room. Based at Northside for Business campus in Ballyvolane, Boomerang Enterprises takes in about 350 mattresses weekly. Connolly believes some hotels dont know about the service. By supporting social enterprise, they contribute to the circular economy, which is all about shifting perspective on how we see waste as resource rather than waste. The project employs 13-15 people on placement through job activation schemes like Tus, Community Employment (CE), Community Support Scheme and most recently Deaf Enterprises. Work involves manually deconstructing mattresses/beds separating the different component elements, e.g. steel, wood, polyester, flock and coir. The steels sold to metal recyclers and the wood chopped into kindling. The textiles currently go to waste to energy, which Connolly says isnt environmentally ideal. However, research has been done with DIT on properties of some of the textiles and theyve been tested by a private company for use as noise barriers. Theyve also been proven to have very good insulation properties. Wed rather they be used as noise barriers or for insulation. Thats going to be our big focus textile reuse. That way wed be preparing some materials for reprocessing, which could create more jobs, says Connolly, who loves that Boomerang Enterprises is changing the way we see waste and taking mattresses out of landfill, as well as providing job satisfaction and training to people who need it. Its really contributing to the circular economy, she says, adding better design needs to be built into products so materials arent environmentally harmful and can be easily taken apart, reprocessed and reused. Visit www.boomerangenterprises.ie By Amelia Hadfield, University of Surrey Voters across Europe are about to head to the polls to elect 751 members to the European Parliament from across 28 separate member states, representing more than 512m people. The 2019 elections are a mammoth democratic exercise with profound consequences for European citizens and the global role of the EU. Here are five things to look out for that could shape the future of Europe, and the world. Will populists gain ground? Populist upswings are part of the political cycle the world over. Europe has moved from pro-integrationist parties to populist backlashes many times in its recent history, as have states in North America, Asia and Africa. Current European populist movements tend to be national in type (protesting against key government decisions, like the Gilets Jaunes movement in France) or international (focused against the EU itself, or specific trends like migration and globalisation). Italys Matteo Salvini is leading an alliance of populists in the election. EPA/Matteo Bazzi The 2019 election is an opportunity for populist movements in Europe to gain ground internationally. Among the most likely populist parties to win seats are Nigel Farages Brexit party in the UK, Marine le Pens rebranded National Rally from France, and Matteo Salvinis League from Italy. The far-right Alternative for Germany is now the largest national opposition party, but its not expected to be a major European contender, nor is Austrias Freedom Party. Hungary, however, could win seats for the centre-right Fidesz party (despite serious questions over the validity of its last election). Poland will also witness a clash between pro-EU groups like the European Coalition and the ruling Law and Justice party, which is promoting a conservative vision of a Christian Europe of sovereign states. How will the parliament regroup? Once elected to the European Parliament, populist parties (right- or left-leaning) will need to decide which of the eight party groups they want to join or whether to remain unaffiliated. This could have a big impact on how the parliament operates. Essentially, they can then play along, or dig their heels in. Working in coalition, they can promote a key policy (for example, opposing the euro, enhanced migration options, foreign affairs), building consensus with other parties, left and right. Equally, they can refuse to engage and stonewall legislation that comes before the European Parliament, producing procedural inertia. As populist parties have very specific demands on key EU issues (including those with international implications), the size of their possible gains will be key. A boost in centre-right seats would see the parliaments largest group the European Peoples Party (EPP) strengthen its ability to dictate the next legislative term of the parliament, and bolster its influence over EU posts and policies. But if centre-right and populist votes simply arent there, then the democrats and socialists will get a boost as the second and third largest parties, making things tough for the dominant centre-right EPP grouping. Could green parties be about to set the agenda? Centrist parties are important, but recognising the greens is crucial. In Britain, and in Europe, green parties are aiming to mop up votes from people who are uneasy with simplistic far-left or far-right messaging. Their strength is to sidestep much of binary us vs. them dynamic by simply platforming an issue that generates near-universal consensus: tackling climate change. Green parties are looking for a big win. EPA The European Parliament has not one but two green groups, and both are likely to increase their seats. Should they choose to work together, as well as pulling others into their orbit on key issues, the outcome could strengthen the European Parliaments hand as a purveyor of climate change activism, as well as deepen the instituitons ability to work with the European Commission in legislating on the EUs approach to climate change. This, in turn, would enhance the EUs role as a green pioneer on the world stage in the face of climate-sceptic states like the US and Brazil. If the Greens wind up as the issue-based glue of the parliament, brokering agreements between other, less unified groups, this could certainly help bring climate issues to the fore internationally. Will the UK vote for Brexit again? In the years since the UKs vote for Brexit, the UK government still hasnt produced a deal that everyone can agree on, and the deadlock seems interminable. Into this vacuum comes an opportunity to issue a satisfying smack to the establishment. For some, the Brexit party provides a cathartic release with a simple message: You want to get on with leaving vote our way and well ensure the message is heard. That may be the case, but MEPs cant actually enforce Brexit from the European Parliament. Pro-Remain parties are more fragmented but are still neck-and-neck collectively with the combined Brexit coalition. Who will the parliament choose to lead the EU? The European Parliament has gained power, visibility and an enhanced reputation since the first election in 1979. It is a force to be reckoned with. It co-legislates with the European Commission and scrutinises legislation in trade and foreign policy and climate change, to name but a few. It also controls the EU budget. The parliament also plays a major role in choosing the top jobs in the European Commission. The largest European Parliament party gets to propose its preferred candidate for the European Commission president (among others) for the Council to consider, and accept. There are currently six lead candidates (or Spitzenkandidaten) from among the eight groups in parliament. The individuals appointed to these positions will doubtless become key players in current and future Brexit talks. They and MEPs will also have to promote the new 2020 European vision that will be unveiled as part of the changing of the guard. This vision will dictate specific bilateral relations, like Franco-German cooperation, and regional balances, from the Baltics to the Balkans. It will also involve kick-starting relations with new partners like Canada and China, or restarting work with the US on ticklish issues like trade, state aid and competition. Whether this vision will balance integrationist and populist strains remains to be seen. The outcome of the European elections will give us our first clue. This article was written by Amelia Hadfield, Head of Department of Politics, University of Surrey and is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Being the son or daughter of a politician can get you elected, but may be an unfair point of comparison once you are in office, says Political Correspondent Elaine Loughlin. Haughey, Lemass, McGrath, Healy-Rae, Currie, Dempsey, and Andrews: Certain family names keep cropping up in politics. Political dynasties are not unique to Ireland, but our system of multi-seat constituencies is more amenable to them. Political parties like putting forward the sons, daughters, or relatives of sitting politicians. Independent representatives are now also hoping to pass the baton on: In Kerry, for example, three Healy-Raes will contest the local elections. Independent TD Mattie McGrath will be hoping his daughter, Mairin, will be elected in Tipperary, while OPW Minister Kevin Boxer Morans son is looking to win a seat in the Athlone area, but faces opposition from Mr Morans brother, Anthony, who is running under the Renua banner. Johnny Fallon, author of Dynasties: Irish Political Families, puts the success of political dynasties down, simply, to name recognition. People need to feel that connection and there is something of a security blanket that people have around names they recognise. Hannah Lemass, the great-granddaughter of Sean Lemass, who was taoiseach from 1959 to 1966; But he said there are double benefits in dynastic politics, due to our favour-based system, especially at local level. Its the old thing of where people will say, they fixed the road; it may be that their father fixed the road, but people still feel they owe them. That loyalty becomes much stronger with the family name than it does with the party brand, and parties, in particular, like to jump on that opportunity, he said. This time around is no different and political parties have latched onto the lure of a surname. In Dublin, Fianna Fail is putting forward Cathal Haughey, grandson of former taoiseach Charles Haughey, and Hannah Lemass, the great-grandchild of another Taoiseach, Sean Lemass. Jackie Healy-Rae Aisling Dempsey, daughter of former minister Noel Dempsey, is running in Meath, while in Cork, Seamus McGrath, brother of TD Michael McGrath, is looking to retain his local council seat. Fine Gael is hoping Eimear Currie, whose father, Austin, served in John Brutons government, will carry on the family name, and, in Louth, John McGahon is seeking to retain his seat, following his father, uncle, and grandfather, who were all elected for the party. Likewise, in Kerry, Toireasa Ferris will stand in the local elections for Sinn Fein, although her father, Martin, will not contest the next general election. While having a well-known surname may significantly boost the chances of being elected, it does have its drawbacks. The only disadvantage is, once they get in there, they carry a huge weight of expectation to live up to exactly who was there before them, said Mr Fallon. People question whether he or she is as good as their father. A lot of them fail to live up to their famous predecessor. With a new generation now putting themselves forward at local level, some family names will remain on election posters and ballot papers across the country for at least another generation. There was a lot of talk in 2011 that we were getting rid of dynasties, because the collapse in the Fianna Fail vote seemed to suggest that some of the big names, the Haugheys, the Lenihans, the Andrews, were taking a hit, but, really, when you looked across it, there were just new names coming, said Mr Fallon. FIVE IS THE LUCKY NUMBER If all of those carrying the Healy-Rae name are successful this Friday, five of them will have been elected. Twenty-three-year-old Jackie Healy-Rae is looking to join his cousins, Johnny and Maura, on Kerry County Council, and will also be following a route taken by his father, Michael, uncle, Danny, and grandfather, Jackie. Putting his name forward for election was a natural progression. I remember my father brought myself and my younger brother, Kevin, to Dublin; it was when my grandfather was a TD, I was around 10 or 12. I remember we left Kilgarvan and it was still dark when we left. We got the train up to to Dublin and we went to the Dail. We visited Croke Park and we even did a bit of shopping. It was a big ordeal, he said. Mr Healy-Rae began working with his father, Michael, in late 2014, shortly after finishing school, taking over from a staff member who had to leave due to illness. I have done my five years of training and slogging and learning the tricks of the trade. I am lucky, in the fact that I have great people around me. I would never take for granted the name. The name is one thing and I am my own man, he said. POLITICAL ROYALTY Some names carry more weight than others and, in politics, the Lemass moniker is as valuable as gold. By running in the local elections, Hannah Lemass, 27, will continue the family tradition. She says her great-grandfather, Sean Lemass, is often a good conversation starter with voters. I am very lucky that he is so well-remembered after all this time. It is very humbling and I am always very proud to hear that he obviously had a very positive impact on people, that he is still remembered now. People still talk about him, even young people on the doors, and people that were born long after he passed away. Mairin McGrath, daughter of Independent TD Mattie McGrath Her cousin, Cathal Haughey the grandson of former taoiseach Charles Haughey is also standing for Fianna Fail in the local elections in Dublin. She is adamant that she wont be relying on family ties. I always felt a strong sense of social and civic responsibility, wanting to give back and help the community be its very best, so I had always planned to go into politics at some stage, at local level anyway. The reason why I decided to do it now, rather than later, is because I wanted to have young people represented in the city council, she said. WE ARE NO HEALY-RAES Mairin McGrath is adamant that her family are no Healy-Raes. The 21-year-old daughter of Independent TD Mattie McGrath, she has been campaigning for a seat in Tipperary while studying for her final-year exams in DCU. I probably wouldnt be the person that I am today if it wasnt for the family I grew up in. When you grow up in a family like ours, you have no choice but to be interested in politics. People will recognise me for being Matties daughter, but then I am the sixth child out of eight children in our family and I am the only one to get into politics. So we are no Healy-Raes; we are not trying to create any kind of dynasty like that, she said. Ms McGrath is running on the campaign slogan, youth backed by experience, an experience gained over years of canvassing and leaflet-dropping with her father. It is definitely a help. I would never deny who I am and absolutely everything I have learned came from home, she said. Phil Hogan, as minister for the environment and local government, just about destroyed local democracy in the run-up to his Local Government Act of 2014 and I took no notice. I might have heard something on the airwaves about cost savings. I might have briefly imagined rafts of useless councillors, who were costing us money we could ill-afford, being put out to grass. How stupid of me. How irresponsible. Fine Gaels rampage through local government has been a massive power grab for central government, which has all but annihilated accountability in local politics. The sop for abolishing 80 town councils and amalgamating city and county councils was always the opportunity to directly elect mayors in the cities. Whether by intention or by accident, the reform of local government, which has spatch-cocked together the city and county councils of Waterford and Limerick, threatens the cities ability to elect their own mayors. Why would a person from Mungret vote to provide the citizens of Limerick with more democracy and more resources, in the form of a directly-elected mayor? Why would a person in Ardmore vote for a directly elected mayor for Waterford City? As the rationale behind Ireland 2040 makes plain, a thriving city is pretty much essential to a thriving county. This argument is not well-understood, however, and it is not being made by either of the big parties that are running the country. Fine Gael has wrecked local democracy and if the plebiscites in Waterford and Limerick result in a no for a directly elected mayor, it will be their doing. I really hope this isnt going to happen. Liveable Limerick, chaired by the same John Moran who was recently appointed chair of the new Land Agency, is staging a magnificent campaign. On Tuesday, the Limerick Post published Morans pitch for a yes vote in the plebiscite tomorrow as a chance for the people of Limerick to take back control of their city. He accuses the vast majority of politicians and political parties of self-interest in preferring silence or weak support on this issue. Indeed, the Mayor of Waterford, Cllr Declan Doocey, of Lismore, claimed the proposal for his city implied a criticism of us and of our system and added, I dont see any bit of Waterford falling into the Atlantic or the Suir. Local councillors do not want to lose the positions they have, including the chance of the 50,000-a-year ceremonial role enjoyed by the mayors, whom they can choose from among themselves. Nor does central government want to lose the control it exercises through councils bereft of real power. Moran quotes a former mayor with a doctorate in political science, Diarmuid Scully, who said on the Live 95 radio station that massive vested interests are opposed to a directly-elected mayor for Limerick and civil servants are terrified by the idea of devolving power to the cities and counties. Judging from the way the Government has gone at local government reform, its hard to disagree with him. Just look at the wonderful city of Galway, which is not even having a plebiscite tomorrow on directly elected mayors. This is because the Government is forcing together the city and county councils, and will use their reserved powers to do so if it is not agreed by 2021. How can Inishbofin be adequately served by a council that also represents Eyre Square, or vice versa? Does nobody in government understand what a city is and what it needs and what it has needed since Western civilisation took root in the cities of Greece and Rome? It seems they dont. Minister of state Sean Kyne defended the amalgamation by citing the existing co-operation between city and county, including libraries and fire services, and there is potential to be realised on roads and the arts. Roads and the arts: Consider that phrase in the context of Galway, a city that has been rebuilt since the 1970s by the arts and artists. Dublin, the city for which a directly-elected mayor was first conceived back in 2000, has still not had the opportunity to state her preference for the creation of the office. Research in Dublin, in 2013, saw support of 78% for a directly-elected mayor. The Government put in place a process by which all four Dublin local authorities would have to approve the idea, and while three did, Fingal said no. At the time, then-minister Phil Hogan said: It appears that it is down to me to come with a fresh initiative on the issue, but if you were holding your breath, youd be long gone. Dublin is now promised a citizens assembly to consider the issue this year, while, inexplicably, three smaller cities were given the go-head for plebiscites before the capital. Tomorrow, Cork City gets the chance to move ahead of Dublin and say yes to a directly-elected mayor. But if the Government had had its way, the city would no longer be capable of voting on its own future. Cork City, the second city of the Republic, and its county, the largest in Ireland, were to be served by one super-council, as recommended by our old friend, an expert advisory group, in 2015. These experts wanted Cork City to become a mere metropolitan division of the super-council, an entity described by UCCs Dermot Keogh and Theresa Reidy in their minority report for the expert group as nothing more than a municipal district with no budgetary powers. This appalling suggestion, which would have rendered tomorrows plebiscite pointless, was only thrown out following the threat of a High Court action by the city council against the Governments plan. The boundary extension approved this year will quadruple the city council area, which risks diluting the city vote, though it is arguable that the new areas included are essentially suburbs. Tomorrow, Cork City has a rare opportunity to start the process of giving the city back control over its own fate. The campaign points to issues as obvious as the OPWs plan to wall in the River Lee in a destructive, expensive, and temporary attempt to save the city from flooding, a proposal rejected by 14,000 public submissions. It was presented to city councillors by the executive as a fait accompli, but would surely never be allowed by a representative elected by the people. Having a directly-elected mayor will not in itself reform local government, but it could start a powerful movement to do just that. Cork deserves that. So do Limerick and Waterford. So do Galway and Dublin. And our towns need their councils. Fight back for local democracy by voting yes to a directly-elected mayor tomorrow. Food Spreading the NooDi Love for Kaw Yay Noodles Ma Myat Phoo Wai, founder of NooDi, at her restaurant. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy YANGONMa Myat Phoo Wai, founder of NooDi cafe, is a young woman looking to introduce a little-known local dish kaw yay khouk swel, or kaw yay sticky noodles, to more people around the world with the aim of making it as popular as mohinga. The kaw yay noodles are served with glutinous chicken soup with different toppings and meats added. The dish is rarely found in local shopsexcept at NooDi. Most restaurants serve only Shan noodles and kaw yay noodles might feature only as a side dish. I realized that fact and wondered why people dont sell this kaw yay noodle dish even though the taste is great, Ma Myat Phoo Wai told The Irrawaddy. Before opening NooDi she wasnt much of a fan of the sticky noodle dish, but once she had it with ngapi (a salty, spicy fermented fish paste) in Yangons Chinatown area, she fell in love with the combined taste and got an idea to serve the dish in a new shop concept. She quickly started learning how to cook kaw yay noodles with glutinous chicken soup by herself. Firstly, I wanted to see kaw yay noodles not as a side dish. Thats why I decided to start my business with only these noodles on the menu. I have always had a passion for cooking and was always curious about what kinds of ingredients are included in the dishes I eat. I was always making food at home with my family and friends, she said. After creating my own recipe of sticky chicken soup, I invited my friends to taste it. They gave me suggestions about the flavors I needed to add and I practiced cooking it more to get the best taste. She started her noodle business four years ago, initially selling the dish online. The thing I struggled with the most was that I dont have any [food and beverage] background. I couldnt get any feedback from my family as they wanted me to continue the family business. But Im not interested in making clothes, so I have to do all the things by myself and asked for suggestions from friends, she said. Ma Myat Phoo Wai aims to attract customers with different packaging styles. We used paper bags as packaging. Sticky chicken soup still needs to be put in a plastic box which we packed in a paper bag. We shot good photos and started attracting customers with the packaging style and photos, she said, explaining how she started to run her own business. At the beginning, in 2015, they didnt even have their own Facebook page. Instead, they just promoted the product in local food groups and participated in food festivals. She sold one portion of sticky noodles for 1,300 kyats. She collected the orders on weekdays and sold the noodles every Saturday. Thats only four times per month. Even though it wasnt an easy time, I was so happy. I drove the car and delivered the food by myself with a delivery fee of 1,000 kyats to every township because I needed customers. Another important thing is that sticky noodles are only good to eat while theyre warm. If the delivery company is not careful, the noodles will be ruined and customers will be disappointed, said Ma Myat Phoo Wai. She added, The feedback was really good and it encouraged me to achieve todays NooDi, she said. After using this method to sell the food for three months, she stopped business for two months in order to recreate the business strategy. Then we chose the name, hired kitchen helpers and began selling online every day. We collected the orders but we also prepared 20 extra noodle boxes, she said. Eight months later, she expanded her business further by opening the NooDi restaurant on Insein Road in Yangons Kyimyindine Township. The unique thing about NooDi is that customers can choose any topping, soup base and type of noodles they like. NooDi is the first restaurant to serve kaw yay noodles in that style. Other places serve the dish with everything already mixed together. Customers only get to choose whether to order chicken or pork. Customers can get their customized kaw yay bowls at our shop and I have created kaw yay noodle salad for those who dont like to eat it with sticky chicken soup. Thats my own creation, she said proudly. She added, We ordered raw ngapi from Myeik and I re-created the taste by myself. Even though the spicy fish paste is the best match for kaw yay noodles, foreigners dont like it because of its strong smell, so we have to prepare a chilli sauce for them. NooDi also has its own creation menu from which customers can order steamed pork intestine sticky rice. Everything on the special menu is made with sticky gravy. When people hear the word NooDi I hope they can also think about our other main ingredients of sticky gravy and sticky chicken soup, Ma Myat Phoo Wai said. During these four years, NooDi has become fairly popular among both foreigners and locals. Recently, she won the KBZ Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Myanmore Awards 2019. Now shes planning to open a new branch of NooDi. My best friends still help me with many things. And my staff are really good girls, even though some of them arent educated. They try so hard and are polite. Winning the KBZ award is also a blessing and they still help me with many things, she said. I started this business out of my own craziness but I wouldnt have been able to reach todays success without the help from them. If you want to do something new, just try it. Dont be afraid. If you wont try, you cant know whether it will work or not, she said. In the future, she wants to open more branches of NooDi in other regions and make it a franchise business. She will keep promoting these Burmese kaw yay noodles to people from around the world. Asia Sri Lanka President Pardons Hardline Buddhist Monk Buddhist monk Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara walks toward a prison bus while accompanied by prison officers after he was sentenced by a court for threatening Sandya Eknelygoda, wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, in Homagama, Sri Lanka, on June 14, 2018. / Reuters COLOMBOSri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena has pardoned a hardline Buddhist monk who is accused of inciting violence against ethnic minority Muslims and convicted of contempt of court, officials said on Wednesday. The presidents office did not give any reason for the pardon, which was condemned by a security thinktank as a blow to Sri Lankas battered rule of law. The pardoning of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, head of the hardline Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or Buddhist Power Force, comes a week after extremist Buddhists attacked Muslim-owned homes, mosques and shops in apparent reprisal for the Easter bombings by Islamist militants that killed more than 250 people. One person was killed in the anti-Muslim riots. Government ministers and Muslim leaders openly accused Gnanasara of stirring up violence against Muslims and Christians before his imprisonment, allegations he has denied. Dilantha Vithanage, the chief executive of the BBS, said he had been informed that the president had pardoned Gnanasara. He will not be released today as the paperwork has not finished yet, Vithanage told Reuters. A Justice Ministry official told Reuters: The presidents office has sent the relevant documents to pardon Gnanasara monk to the ministry. A prison spokesman was not immediately available for comment. The Buddhist clergy has been pushing for Gnanasaras release. They have strong influence in Sri Lankan politics. A big blow to Sri Lankas already battered rule of law, sending precisely the wrong message after Easter attacks, Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka project director at the International Crisis Group, said on Twitter. A peaceful [Sri] Lanka requires all communities to feel safe & equal. Pardoning Gnanasara says impunity rules & Muslims, Evangelical Christians & Tamils are fair game. He was sentenced to six years in prison in August over a 2016 incident when he interrupted a court hearing about the abduction of the journalist in which military intelligence officials were accused. Gnanasara was also sentenced in a separate case in June for having threatened the journalists wife. Since 2014, the monk has faced accusations in cases regarding anti-Muslim violence, hate speech, and defaming the Koran. That year Gnanasara signed a pact with Myanmars U Wirathu, who once described himself as the Burmese bin Laden, in what the duo called a bid to counter regional conversion efforts by Islamists. You may also like these stories: Sri Lankas Lord of the Rings Back in Power, Pro-China Strongman Wiped Out Tamil Rebels Sri Lankan Army Defends Rehiring Major Amid Outcry from Rights Groups Leave My Country Alone, Sri Lanka President Tells Islamic State Sri Lanka Imposes Emergency Law after Bombing Attacks Burma Govt Set to Ban Leasing of Land to Foreign Melon Growers A watermelon farm in Bago Region / The Irrawaddy YANGONThe Union government will prohibit landowners from leasing out lands for melon cultivation to foreign individuals or groups as of the next growing season, according to Sagaing Region Minister for Agriculture Kam Za Mon. The Union government is preparing the regulation, which will be effective nationwide, the minister said, adding that the regional government has not yet received detailed instructions. The move is targeted mainly at Chinese nationals, of whom there are large numbers engaged in large-scale melon cultivation in many parts of the country. As far as I know, this plan will be implemented across the country, and it is still being drawn up. As we are a regional government, we have to wait for instructions from the Union level, the minister said. The plan follows allegations of bribery and corruption in which a village administrator in Sagaing Regions Kanbalu Township gave a license to Chinese nationals to grow melons on 200 acres of alluvial land in the township in exchange for money, which he appropriated. Dr. Kyaw Thu Han Tun, a regional lawmaker representing Kanbalu Township, raised a question about the leasing of land for melon growing in the regional parliament on May 13. Minister Kam Za Mon replied that the Sagaing government would impose regulations ahead of the next cultivation season. Dr. Kyaw Thu Han Tun claimed that Chinese nationals have been skirting the law by renting land through Myanmar citizens. The lawmaker said Chinese nationals may have rented as much as 500 acres of land in this way. The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law bars foreigners from cultivating such lands. They acquire lands by skirting the rules. As the alleged actions took place in my constituency, I conducted an investigation. The case was genuine, so action was taken against the village administrator and concerned persons. But no action was taken against the growers. The government promised to regulate [the activity] only after I raised a question about it during the parliamentary session earlier this month, he said. It has been around two decades since Chinese melon-growers first started growing watermelon and muskmelon in Myanmar, according the Myanmar Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Producer and Exporter Association. Leasing land to Chinese growers risks soil degradation due to their excessive use of chemical fertilizers, said U Kyaw Thu, the secretary of the association. It was found that after they grew on a particular land plot for three consecutive years, nothing can be grown on it for the next six years. The plastic and trash they leave behind degrades the soil. It takes time just to clear up the trash they leave behind, he said. On the other hand, there is a benefit. As China is the only market for our fruit, [their farming here] means we continue to have a market, he said. In addition to Magwe, Chinese melon-growers are also present in Bago, Mandalay, Sagaing, northern Shan State and some parts of Kachin State. Besides watermelons and muskmelons, Chinese growers plant bananas in Kachin State and northern Shan State. You may also like these stories: Huawei to Supply Mandalays Safe City Project with Cameras, Security Equipment Rohingya Man, 8-Year-Old Son Killed in Blast in Northern Rakhine Bank Manager Demanded Bribe from Farmers Seeking Loan, ACC Sa Hpakant Mines to Close for Monsoon Season Burma Hpakant Mines to Close for Monsoon Season A jade mine in Hpakant, Kachin State. / Myat Pyae Phyo / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAWJade and gems mining will be halted in Kachin States Hpakant for three months during the rainy season, according to U Min Min Oo, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. The ministry is suspending work in the mines in the area, partly because of fatal landslides which occurred recently at jade mines in Hpakant, and partly because it plans to grant new licenses under the new mining law, the permanent secretary said at a press conference held by the ministry on Tuesday. The Parliament is set to submit a proposal to suspend mining, and the ministry will proceed with the approval of the president, he said. It is likely that the suspension will begin next month, U Min Min Oo told reporters. The ministry is likely to measure and re-designate the mining fields under the new mining law during the rainy season, said chairman of the parliamentary committee for natural resources and environmental conservation U Soe Thura Tun. U Soe Thura Tun, however, said that he has no information about the ministrys plan to suspend mining for three months. Due to the high risks and higher costs associated with operating during the rainy season, mining companies can usually only continue digging in certain places, and the suspension will not have much impact on the industry, according to Hpakant Township Lower House lawmaker U Tint Soe. I havent seen a suspension of mines [during the rainy season] due to an official announcement. If the ministry officially suspends mining, [the mining companies] will have to follow [the order], said the lawmaker. President U Thein Seins government issued an order to halt mining from May through September annually. But later, as the government of the National League for Democracy decided not to renew the licenses of jade mining companies until it completed an environmental management plan for jade mining areas in Kachin State, companies continued digging during the monsoon season. The current government has never imposed an official suspension. On April 22, 54 employees of two mining companies were buried alive in the collapse of a lake that formed on the site of a disused mine in Kachin States Hpakant. Four more were killed in subsequent landslides on April 23 and April 25. According to data from the State Mining Enterprise, 213 mining companies whose licenses have not yet expired are still working on over 1,000 jade and gem mines in the Lone Khin and Hpakant mining areas. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. You may also like these stories: Foreign Mining Equipment Makers Enabling Rights Abuses, Watchdog Alleges Lower House Discusses Sustainable Gem Mining Rescued Chilean Miner Sends Message of Hope to Trapped Thai Boys Burma Man Killed, 1 Wounded by Landmines in Northern Shan State Shan villagers who fled fighting between the RCSS and TNLA are seen at an IDP camp in Namtu Township, Shan State in 2017. / Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy One man was killed and another wounded in separate landmine explosions in Namtu and Hsipaw townships in northern Shan State on May 20. Phoe Htaung, the head of the Mann San village tract in Namtu Township, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Lone San Jam, 50, a resident of Mong Mu village in the tract, was killed while farming on Monday. He went to his field and stepped on the landmine, he said. Lone San Jam suffered wounds to his leg, body and hand and died on the way to a hospital in Lashio. The deceased mans farmland is located in a conflict zone that has seen frequent fighting between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and an alliance of the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP), according to local sources. Now is rice-growing season, but many people in Mann San no longer dare to work in their fields, fearing landmines, Phoe Htaung said. Animals are often wounded by landmines in the area, he said, adding that this was first time a local resident had been killed. Sai Ann, a resident of Tom Kyaing village in Hsipaw Township, was wounded while working on his farm on the same day. The Lashio-based Marnagar News Journal reported that Sai Ann suffered leg wounds and was sent to a hospital in Hsipaw town for treatment on May 20. Northern Shan State is home to several ethnic armed groups that frequently clash with the Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw). Recently, however, rival ethnic armed groups have been fighting each other; in particular the two Shan groups, the RCSS and the SSPP, have clashed, the latter group being assisted by the TNLA. Northern Shan is a high-risk area for landmines, according to the Halo Trust, a U.K.-based non-governmental organization that helps landmine victims in Kachin, Shan and Karen states. In 2018, of the 276 victims of landmine blasts nationwide, 123 were involved in incidents in Shan State. Of these, 25 were killed. So far this year 56 people in Shan State have been involved in landmine blasts. Of these, 17 were killed. This year, 95 percent [of landmine] victims have been from northern Shan State, Lway Ai Aww, a Halo Trust manager based in Lashio, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. Most of the landmine explosions in the area are reported in Namtu, Hsipaw, Kyaukme, Lashio and Namsan. This reporter has noted that Namtu and Hsipaw in particular have seen a spike in landmine incidents. Both the Myanmar Army and the ethnic armed groups are known to plant landmines, though they all routinely deny responsibility when civilians are killed or wounded. Kachin, Shan, and Karen civilians face the highest risk from landmines in areas where ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar Army fight, and many IDPs are unable to return to their homes due the presence of minefields. In Kachin State, Army officials and religious leaders are currently negotiating so that demining activities can begin. In Kayin State, meanwhile, more than 5,000 Karen IDPs in Myaing Gyi Ngu are still unable to go home despite the fact that their home villages, which they fled in 2016, are no longer affected by fighting. The Karen Border Guard Force and other local authorities have in the past promised IDPs that demining would allow them to return to their homes, but the process has yet to begin. You may also like these stories: Anti-Statue Activists Ignore Police Summons in Loikaw Taang Rape Victim Claims Attackers Army Soldiers Tensions High as Security Forces Deployed in Loikaw Karenni Activists Walk Out of Govt Meeting Burma Sri Lankan in Myanmar with Suspected Ties to Easter Bombings A scanned copy of the passport of Sri Lankan citizen unaccounted for in Myanmar, Abdul Salam Irshad Mohmood. YANGONMyanmar police are looking for a Sri Lankan man believed to have connections with those involved in a series of suicide bombings that killed at least 250 people in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa in April. On Wednesday, the Myanmar Tourist Police asked the countrys Hotel and Tourism Department to report if Abdul Salam Irshad Mohmood, 39, had registered at hotels or guesthouses in the country. In Myanmar, hotels and guesthouses are operated on a license approved by the department. According to a letter sent out by the department to hotels and guesthouses, the suspected Sri Lankan man arrived Yangon on a tourist visa in January 2018. It is found that he hasnt departed from Yangon International Airport yet and has over stayed [his tourist visa] for one year and two months, the notice says. It is not clear whether Sri Lankan authorities tipped off the Myanmar government with the information that the suspect is in Myanmar. An official from the Myanmar Tourist Police told The Irrawaddy they have sent the official notice about the man to all their branches across the country. The case is still under investigation. Police forces from aviation, tourism and Yangon are handling it, said he under condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to talk to the media. Myanmars Foreign Affairs Ministry permanent secretary U Myint Thu said on Thursday that the Sri Lankan man has been listed as a serious cause for attention. In the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, Sri Lankan authorities have said all suspected plotters and those directly linked to the attacks have either been arrested or are dead. They said the bombings were believed to have been carried out by two little-known local Islamist groups, the National Tawheed Jamaath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI). Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Myanmar has long been warned about terror attacks by foreign supporters of Islamic State (IS) recruited from Southeast Asian networks in support of the persecuted Muslim Rohingya. In 2017, Malaysias counter terrorism force detained a suspected IS follower planning to head to Myanmar to perform jihad, to fight against the Myanmar government on behalf of the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Early this month, Malaysia arrested four men for plotting assassinations and large-scale terror attacks in the Klang Valley. One of the suspects, a 20-year old Rohingya man admitted to supporting the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya militant group denounced as a terrorist organization by the Myanmar government, and had planned to attack the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur and continue his jihad in Rakhine, according to Abdul Hamid, the Inspector General of Malaysian Police Force. On Wednesday, the deputy minister of Myanmars Home Affairs Ministry inspected Yangon International Airport for security measures following the alert sent by Malaysian police. You may also like these stories: Sri Lanka Imposes Emergency Law after Bombing Attacks Muslims Flee, Christians Grieve in Sri Lankan Town Torn by Violence Sri Lankans Urged to Avoid Mosques, Churches Amid Fears of More Attacks Sri Lanka Police Arrest 23 for Targeting Muslims after Easter Bombings Burma Sri Lankan with Suspected Easter Bombing Ties Arrested in Yangon Sri Lankan Abdul Salam Irshad Mohmood (in gray top) before he was brought for investigation by the polices Special Branch on May 23, 2019 / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy YANGONA Sri Lankan man, believed to have connections with those involved in the Easter bombings that killed at least 250 people, was arrested in Myanmar on Thursday afternoon. Abdul Salam Irshad Mohmood, 39, was detained by police when he appeared at an immigration office in downtown Yangon to renew his visa. The arrest came after Myanmar Tourist Polices request on Wednesday to the countrys Hotel and Tourism Department to report if the man had registered at hotels or guesthouses in the country. In Myanmar, hotels and guesthouses are operated on a license approved by the department. According to a letter sent out by the department to hotels and guesthouses, the suspect, a Sri Lankan citizen, arrived in Yangon on a tourist visa in January 2018. The letter also provides his passport number as well as his date of birth. An official from the Tourism Police said the arrest was made at 3:20 p.m. by police acting on the shared information of the suspects data. Now he has been referred to the polices Special Branch [for further investigation into his connections with the suicide bombings], he added. The Tourist Police said Abdul Salam Irshad Mohmood has over-stayed (his tourist visa) for one year and two months. It is not clear whether Sri Lankan authorities tipped off the Myanmar government with the information that the suspect is in Myanmar. In the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings, Sri Lankan authorities have said all suspected plotters and those directly linked to the attacks have either been arrested or are dead. They said the bombings were believed to have been carried out by two little-known local Islamist groups, the National Tawheed Jamaath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI). Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Myanmar has long been warned about terror attacks by foreign supporters of Islamic State (IS) recruited from Southeast Asian networks in support of the persecuted Muslim Rohingya. In 2017, Malaysias counter terrorism force detained a suspected IS follower planning to head to Myanmar to perform jihad, to fight against the Myanmar government on behalf of the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Early this month, Malaysia arrested four men for plotting assassinations and large-scale terror attacks in the Klang Valley. One of the suspects, a 20-year old Rohingya man admitted to supporting the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya militant group denounced as a terrorist organization by the Myanmar government, and had planned to attack the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur and continue his jihad in Rakhine, according to Abdul Hamid, the Inspector General of Malaysian Police Force. On Wednesday, the deputy minister of Myanmars Home Affairs Ministry inspected Yangon International Airport for security measures following the alert sent by Malaysian police. Burma Union Govt Office Minister Unveils Reform Plan for GAD U Min Thu, minister for the Office of the Union Government, attends Parliament in December 2018. / The Irrawaddy / Htet Naing Zaw YANGONU Min Thu, minister for the Office of the Union Government, has unveiled the ministrys reform plan for the General Administration Department (GAD), which includes revisions of the departments staff manuals and code of conduct, and the curriculum of the Institute of Development Administration. Four months after the military transferred control of the department to the Ministry of the Office of the Union Government, the minister held a meeting on Wednesday with GAD staff in the Naypyitaw Union Territory, which contains the capital of Myanmar. According to the Ministry of Information, U Min Thu said the first three months after the transfer were devoted to the physical requirements of transferring control. This has been followed by a second three-month period in which the departments core functions are being reformed. U Min Thu said he would form a ministry-level Regulatory Review Unit to revise staff manuals and the code of conduct, and review existing directives and protocols for any necessary amendments. The review unit will comprise two members of the ministrys advisory board and staff from the ministry and the GAD. He said the department is also speeding up efforts to revise the Institute of Development Administration (IDA)s curriculum to meet international standards. The IDA provides leadership, administration and management training to GAD staff. We are discussing policies to ensure the system of promotions and transfers of GAD staff and its human resources management are transparent and systematic, the minister added. Formerly overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), for more than 30 years the GAD has formed the backbone of Myanmars public administration. Under the 2008 Constitution, MOHA is one of three ministries led by major-generals appointed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The GAD is authorized to support government security efforts, the rule of law and stability, and enforce some civil laws. Its duties also include reporting on population movements, security incidents and basic demographic data, and conveying relevant information back to Naypyitaw. Human rights groups and political activists have long chafed under what they see as excessive scrutiny and interference by the GAD, viewing the department as basically a tool to suppress their activities while providing on-the-ground information from across the country to MOHA. Since the department was transferred to the ministry, U Min Thu has traveled across the country urging staff to change their mindset and shed old habits when carrying out their duties. During the meeting, U Min Thu urged the departments staff to address two main issues ahead of the upcoming election. The first was to ensure that no eligible voters are denied their right to vote. The minister explained that it is the GADs duty to compile the electoral roll, along with the national registration and population departments and the election sub-commissions. The second issue was the need for GAD staff to collect updated population records for citizens above age of 18 in order to ensure that Union Election Commission officials electoral rolls were accurate. Myanmar will hold a general election in 2020. The ministry is planning to establish a Corruption Prevention Unit and related mechanisms, U Min Thu added. He urged staff to develop their moral character in order to be free of self-interest and corruption. The Ministry of the Office of the Union Government was created by the current administration. In November, U Min Thu, a retired colonel and former Air Force pilot, was appointed as its minister. You may also like this stories: Surveying Begins on Muse-Mandalay Railway Filmmaker Accused of Insulting Army Is Denied Bail, Sent to Prison Medias Unfair Coverage Exhausts Militarys Patience: Spokesperson Hpakant Mines to Close for Monsoon Season World U.S. Urges S. Korea to Reject Huawei Goods, Citing Security Risks: Chosun Ilbo A woman stands at the booth of Huawei featuring 5G technology at the PT Expo in Beijing, China on September 28, 2018. / REUTERS SEOULThe U.S. government is lobbying South Korea not to use Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. products, a South Korean newspaper reported on Thursday, amid a wider push by Washington to get its allies to reject the Chinese tech firms goods. In one incident, a U.S. State Department official said in a recent meeting with a South Korean counterpart that local telco LG Uplus Corp., which uses Huaweis equipment, should not be allowed to serve in sensitive areas in South Korea, Chosun Ilbo, a major daily South Korean newspaper, reported. The official added Huawei needs be eventually driven out of the country, if not immediately. LG Uplus shares dropped 6 percent in Thursdays morning trade, which compared to a 0.4 percent drop in the benchmark KOSPI. LG Uplus has not received any statements or requests from either South Koreas foreign ministry or the United States regarding our use of Huawei equipment, a LG Uplus official told Reuters on Thursday. Washington has been pressing its allies not to use equipment made by Huawei over concerns it could be used for espionage or cyberattacks, a concern that Huawei says is unfounded. The anti-Huawei campaign intensified last week, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively banned the use of Huawei equipment in U.S. telecom networks on national security grounds. Additionally, the Commerce Department put limits on the firms purchases of U.S. technology. While South Korea is a U.S. ally, China is its biggest export market. China took in nearly a quarter of South Koreas total exports in the first four months of this year, according to South Korea government data. The U.S. government has repeatedly sent the message to South Koreas Foreign Ministry through various diplomatic channels that using Huawei products could cause security problems, Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed diplomatic source in Seoul. The U.S. has stressed the importance of security for 5G equipment, and we are aware of the U.S.s position, South Koreas Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that Seoul and Washington have been in continued talks on this issue, but declining to elaborate. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to request for comment. You may also like these stories: Huawei CFO Seeks Bail on Health Concerns; Canada Wants Her in Jail Chinas Huawei in Unprecedented Media Blitz as it Battles Heightened Scrutiny By Spying on Huawei, U.S. Found Evidence Against the Chinese Firm Britain Managing Huawei Risks, Has No Evidence of Spying: Official Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 (12:40 pm) - Score 10,833 Budget UK ISP TalkTalk has today revealed that they added a further +2,000 on-net broadband customers to total 4,289,000 during the first three months of 2019 (down sharply from +44k added in the previous quarter). Work on their FibreNation roll-out of full fibre (FTTH) broadband is also set to begin this Summer. Several developments have taken place since the last update. Firstly, TalkTalk has teamed up with Plume to offer a new cloud-coordinated WiFi system that uses AI to optimise your home wireless network (here). Secondly, one of their TV adverts was banned after they misleadingly claimed to be the only major provider to guarantee no mid-contract broadband price rises on all our plans (here). The ISP also confirmed in March that their on-going Ultra Fibre Optic deployment of a 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) based broadband network in the city of York had covered 33,000 premises. TalkTalk is now on-course to complete that work aiming for 55,000 premises passed by 2020 (here and here). The above work also feeds into their FibreNation programme, which had originally planned to work with Infracapital on a 1.5bn investment to cover 3 million UK premises with a new wholly owned full fibre wholesale network. Unfortunately the Infracapital deal was put on ice after a disagreement (here), while TalkTalks founder is allegedly now hoping to raise 400m in equity and 600m in debt to support their plan (here). In the meantime they proposed to start work on a downgraded deployment, which would initially aim to roll-out FTTH to cover 50K to 60K homes in three towns and cities: Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon (taking place within the next 12-18 months, is what they said 6 months ago). This rises to c.100,000 premises when York is included. Sadly the previous Q3 FY19 results update didnt include any solid mention of progress on their FibreNation plan (theyre supposed to be aiming for Harrogate first) and todays Q4 FY19 update is similarly vague, although crucially they have finally set a Summer 2019 window for their rollout to begin. Fibre for Everyone As Consumer and B2B customers increasingly demand faster, more reliable services, it is crucial TalkTalk has a clear strategy to offer a more diverse range of Fibre products that can accommodate different needs. In FY19 we launched Fibre for Everyone, a cross-group initiative to ensure we are well positioned to benefit from existing and future Fibre demand. In the short term, that means migrating a greater proportion of our base onto Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) services and ensuring TalkTalk is a fast adopter of products such as Single Order Generic Ethernet Access (SOGEA) and G.Fast. The only long term solution to rising demand, however, remains Full Fibre. FY19 saw us make significant progress on our plan to use our scale to unlock greater Full Fibre investment and ensure the maximum number of customers benefit from gigabit services. We launched FibreNation as a wholly owned subsidiary of TalkTalk and initiated a formal process to identify the right long term funding partner as it rolls out gigabit services to three million premises as an independent company. In the meantime, we accelerated the rollout to three additional towns and cities, Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon, with building due to start in summer 2019. That means the value of our asset increases as we finalise the long term funding arrangement. In the areas not served by FibreNation, we intend to wholesale Full Fibre [FTTP] services from Openreach and potentially others. The Fibre for Everyone programme will ensure the business is well positioned to negotiate access to the services our customers need at a price they can afford. Now they just need to sort out the investment side and confirm how their own FTTH roll-out is to be funded (the investment partner process is merely said to be well underway). So far only 13m (capex) has been set aside to cope with their initial FibreNation costs and the FY20 Headline EBITDA consensus is 266m (excluding FibreNation costs) and 263m (including FibreNation costs), based on a range of estimates. Tristia Harrison, CEO of TalkTalk, said: Todays results show that two years after re-setting TalkTalk, the fundamentals of the business are much stronger. We have grown our customer base in a disciplined way, accelerated Fibre take-up, and reduced costs. This is translating to revenue growth and a c.17% increase in Headline EBITDA. Looking forward the business will continue with the same plan, focused on accelerating Fibre, reducing costs and simplifying the business. Having re-structured the customer base to reduce the difference between our front and back book pricing, the business is also well placed to benefit from imminent regulatory changes related to fairer pricing. These trends, coupled with ongoing cost reductions including our move to one Salford campus, mean we are confident in delivering strong Headline EBITDA growth both next year and over the medium term. Overall TalkTalk reported that they added +152,000 new fibre (FTTC/P) customers during the past quarter (compared with +146K in the same quarter last year), which will be dominated by their Openreach based FTTC (VDSL2) network. Sadly there are no stats for their new G.fast products or their FTTP/H roll-out. We note that overall the ISP had +150k broadband net adds in FY19, which is down from +192K in FY18, although the fibre side of this is clearly doing much better. We had our strongest ever year of Fibre net adds, at 490k (FY18: 348k), including a record 152k in Q4 (Q4 FY18: 98k), where 71% of new customers took a Fibre product (Q4 FY18: 45%), said the update. NOTE: All customer figures relate to the on-net base. The closing off-net base represented less than 1% of the total broadband base (FY19: 29k, FY18: 43k). On the financial front they reported total headline revenue for FY19 (excluding carrier & off-net) of 1,609m (vs 1,605m last year) and churn of 1.2% (vs 1.22% last year), while net debt stood at 781m (including finance leases of 39m) and thats compared with 776m last year. Thursday, May 23rd, 2019 (11:28 am) - Score 4,244 Cable ISP Virgin Media has today announced that they have plans to connect more homes to their 516Mbps capable ultrafast broadband and TV network in Scotland, provided the Scottish Government and local authorities are able to support them. Sadly they havent said how much further theyd go. So far the DOCSIS based hybrid fibre coax and full fibre (FTTP) using provider has already extended their network to cover more than 1 million homes and businesses across Scotland and theyve today committed to further expansion over the coming years. We know from Virgin Medias past announcements that their 3bn Project Lightning work originally aimed to reach an additional 360,000 premises in Scotland by around the end of 2020 (here). Similarly in March 2018 we were told that they had already completed around 100,000 premises of that deployment (here), which still leaves a sizeable gap to fill. Meanwhile the Scottish Government has made a commitment, as part of its delayed Reaching 100 (R100) programme, to connect every premise in Scotland to broadband speeds in excess of 30Mbps. However this will be difficult as a lot of the countrys remaining rural communities are sparse, small and theres often a fair bit of rugged terrain between them. As such Virgin has identified the following issues. NOTE: Ofcom s recent spring 2019 update noted that 93% of premises in Scotland can access 30Mbps+ speeds, but this drops to 45% for ultrafast speeds (defined by the regulator as 300Mbps+) and just 5% for full fibre lines. Virgin Medias Key Asks Local Authorities to ensure that all new housing developers consult more than one provider to maximise fibre rollout and provide choice for homeowners. Westminster and Scottish Government to make it easier for broadband providers to secure wayleave access for multi-dwelling units (MDUs). Scottish Government to work closely with Virgin Media to ensure that its investment and rollout complements R100. A lot of these should be supported by the changes that have been proposed as part of the UKs Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR) and no doubt Scotlands recent move to adopt a 10 year business rates holiday on new fibre deployments will also be very welcome (Virgin called for this last year). Otherwise its difficult to know, from the vague statements above, all of what they might be seeking. Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scottish Minister for Energy and Connectivity, said: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that every household and business in Scotland has access to superfast broadband at speeds of 30 Megabits per second or better, and this is a commitment that has been backed up by a 600 million investment in the Reaching 100 percent Programme, or R100, with 579 million of this funding coming from the Scottish Government. Investment from commercial suppliers is also critical to achieving our target which is why I am delighted to see Virgin Media extend the reach of its network. Our approach will build on our previous investment, which has seen more than 95% of premises across Scotland now able to access fibre broadband. Colin Brown, VM Director of Build for Scotland, said: As part of our ultrafast broadband expansion in Scotland, Virgin Media has invested millions of pounds to help bring better and faster connectivity to more homes and businesses. Working in partnership with the Scottish Government, we want to reach new areas in Scotland so they too can enjoy the benefits our network can bring. Sadly what todays announcement doesnt tell us is arguably the most important piece of information to know; what does connect more homes actually mean? Do they mean connect more than the 360,000 premises already promised or is this merely about helping to reach the existing target? We have asked their media team but so far no response has been received (in the case of a non-reply wed assume the latter). UPDATE 1:01pm Virgin has responded to clarify that this is just reaffirming their commitment to Scotland by connecting more premises as part of Project Lightning and their wider plans beyond that. American multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm has been found to have illegally suppressed competition for smartphone processors by holding out the threat of limiting supplies and obtaining excessive licensing fees. US District Judge Lucy Koh made the ruling late on Tuesday night US time in San Jose, California, leading to a 12.5% plunge in the company's shares on Wednesday. Justice Koh said Qualcomm's licensing strategy had "strangled" competition and ordered the company to cut new, reasonable licensing deals without threats of cutting off supplies. She also said Qualcomm would have to be monitored for seven years to ensure that it was staying compliant. The case against Qualcomm was brought by the US Federal Trade Commission which, in 2017, accused the company of violating anti-trust laws. Qualcomm's executive vice-president and general counsel Don Rosenbergthe company "strongly disagreed" with Justice Koh's "conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law". He said Qualcomm would seek an immediate stay of the judgment and an expedited appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The court verdict follows a surprise end last month to litigation between Apple and Qualcomm. The two firms announced an end to all litigation on 16 April, a day which was expected to mark the beginning of a long and brutal fight over Qualcomm's patent-licensing practices. In a judgment that ran to 233 pages, Justice Koh said the company had "engaged in extensive anti-competitive conduct against OEMs". "In practices that are unique within Qualcomm and unique in the industry, Qualcomm refuses to sell its modem chips exhaustively and to sell modem chips to an OEM until the OEM signs a separate patent licence agreement. To enforce those licensing practices, Qualcomm has cut off OEMs chip supply, threatened OEMs chip supply, withheld sample chips, delayed software and threatened to require the return of software, withheld technical support, and refused to share patent claim charts or patent lists," she said. "In addition, Qualcomm has required OEMs to grant QCT [Qualcomm CDMA Technology] cross-licences (often royalty-free) to OEMs patent portfolios and charged OEMs higher royalty rates on rivals chips. All of these tactics ensure that OEMs will sign Qualcomms licence agreements and generally result in exclusivity." The OEMs Justice Koh referred to included Apple, BlackBerry, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony. "With practices that result in exclusivity and eliminate opportunities to compete for OEM business, Qualcomm undermines rivals in every facet," Justice Koh wrote. "Qualcomm attempts to eliminate competition in certain markets; eliminates competing standards; deprives rivals of revenues to invest in research and development and acquisitions; forecloses rivals from establishing technical and business relationships with OEMs; prevents rivals from field testing with OEMs, network vendors, and operators; and ensures that Qualcomm retains influence in SSOs, so that Qualcomm can maintain its time-to-market advantage and its unlawful monopoly. "By so hobbling rivals, Qualcomms practices 'unfairly tend to destroy competition itself'. Thanks to The Register for a link to the ruling. New Zealand competition regulator, The Commerce Commission, has warned the countrys largest telco, Spark, over likely breaching of thelaw in a notification to customers on broadband prices rises. The warning follows an investigation into representations Spark made on its website and in emails in August and September 2018, notifying in-contract customers receiving its copper-based broadband service of its decision to increase the price by $5 a month. The Commission said in a statement issued on Thursday that in its notification to customers, Sparks contractual terms and conditions stated that they would not change the monthly charge for in-contract customers without either gaining the customers consent or giving them the option to cancel their contract without early termination fees. However, when Spark notified customers of the price rise on its website and in email communications, Spark focused solely on the $5 a month price increase and did not explain that if customers did not consent to the price rise they had the right to terminate their contract without penalty, the Commission said. Commissioner Anna Rawlings says in the Commissions view, Spark has likely breached the Fair Trading Act by making false or misleading representations about the existence or effect of its customers rights when it notified them of the price rise. In the Commissions view, customers reading Sparks notification of the price rise would have assumed that Spark had a right to increase price without discussing it with the customer and that the customer had no choice but to accept the price increase," she said. In fact, customers who did not agree to the price rise, could terminate the contract without incurring an early termination fee and could take up a more acceptable offer elsewhere if they wanted to. When communicating with customers about price increases, businesses need to clearly and accurately represent any contractual rights customers may have if they do not accept the price increase. Businesses must not create the impression that prices can be unilaterally increased if that is not permitted by the contract, or if consumers are not bound to accept the increase, Rawlings cautioned. The Commission says Spark has responded to the Commissions inquiries by updating information on its website and sending updated information to customers affected by the price rise. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register Referencing police investigative reports, the autopsy report said police found Dunlap in a dumpster behind Juggs Growlers and Pints on Country Club Road. Her body was wrapped in a blanket secured with tape. When officers removed the blanket, they found a plastic trash bag was taped over Dunlaps head. Her feet were covered with another trash bag that was taped at the ankles, the report said. The report said Dunlap was partially clothed, wearing a red floral print shirt and orange shirt. Forsyth County medical examiners did not find any drugs or alcohol in Dunlaps body. The report indicates that a sexual assault exam was performed on Dunlap, but the results have not been publicly released. Bennett is not currently charged with rape or sexual assault in connection with Dunlaps death. Authorities have not released much information about Dunlaps death, including whether Bennett knew Dunlap and how he may have come into contact with her. Judge Eric Morgan of Forsyth Superior Court has sealed all search warrants until the criminal case is resolved, according to his order. The medical examiners office has determined that the December death of a 69-year-old Winston-Salem man is a homicide, according to a recently released autopsy report. James Herbert McCormick, of 3954 Sugar Creek Drive, was found dead on Dec. 30 after officers were called to his apartment for a welfare check, police said. He died from lack of oxygen, according to the autopsy report. Lt. Gregory Dorn said its believed McCormick was last alive on Dec. 23. The medical examiners report reveals an acquaintance tried to call McCormick several times between Dec. 21 and Dec. 30 but that someone unknown to the acquaintance answered McCormicks cellphone. Unable to reach McCormick, the acquaintance requested the welfare check. Dorn identified the people who tried to call McCormick as a sister and brother-in-law who live out-of-town. When police went to McCormicks apartment, they found his body on the floor of a bedroom, covered with a sheet, the autopsy report says. His wrists were bound behind his back with an electrical cord, and his ankles and feet were bound with another cord. The order "brings North Carolina closer to a time when families will no longer be forced to choose between their financial security when serious illness strikes, a family member needs care or a new baby arrives," said Beth Messersmith with the Moms Rising North Carolina advocacy group. State Trooper Marcus Bethea, a Highway Patrol recruiter, said he was back at work within two weeks of his children being born while working for the patrol. "I am ecstatic ... to tell our applicants, 'Yes, we are hiring and, yes, we support your ambition to start a family,'" Bethea said. Cooper said the order would cover about 56,000 state employees in the Cabinet agencies, boards and commissions, and officers under his oversight. Other Council of State agencies those led by people separately elected by voters will be urged to participate. The paid leave must be taken within 12 months of the birth or adoption. Cooper said carrying out the order will cost the state $3.5 million annually, but he said his agencies can absorb the expense from current funding. He said it would result in taxpayer saving over time by keeping good workers in place and reducing the need for workers who could take unpaid leave to access other public assistance services. Thursday's order is the latest signed by Cooper to promote policies his administration considers supportive of women in the workplace and family-friendly. One order requires agencies to provide workplace adjustments to pregnant workers. The other prevents agencies in his administration from reviewing salary histories of job applicants. My younger child is what many may call special and unique. His cognitive and developmental delays will not allow him to be as academically proficient with his same-aged-peers. His speech is sometimes hard to understand, and he acts on impulse and immediate needs in a manner that others may find inconvenient. He will never score high on the very standardized tests that other students will excel on. His Individual Educational Plan (IEP) is as long as some novels that I have assigned to my high schoolers. He needs extra time and attention during classes. His having an extra chromosome and being in the middle of the autism spectrum might clinically frighten some, but not to those he spends his days with at a traditional elementary school. Why? Because he still learns and his progress can be measured in so many ways. And the one aspect of his education that has helped him the most is a rather simple notion, yet one that seems to be overlooked in many places: inclusion. Stories For the fifth consecutive year, JPMorgan Chase is the presenting sponsor of the Carry The Load National Relay. In late 2004, Marine Josh Lewis and his fellow Marine Tyler Trovillion were hiking through a training course at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. Carrying heavy equipment over exhausting terrain, Josh struggled to keep up with the long strides of his 6-foot-4-inch friend. Come on buddy, this aint that bad! Tyler called out to Josh from ahead. Months later, while the two were deployed in Iraq, Tyler was killed in action while conducting combat operations near Ramadi. Four other members of Joshs platoon also lost their lives during the same operation. With Tylers words of encouragement in mind, Josh will complete a 20-hour walk supporting the National Relay for Carry The Load, a nonprofit that provides active ways to connect Americans to the sacrifices made daily by our nations military, veterans, first responders and their families. For the fifth consecutive year, JPMorgan Chase is the presenting sponsor of the National Relay, a 32-day, 11,500-mile trek across 40 states during the weeks leading up to Memorial Day. Josh, now a credit underwriter supporting Corporate Client Banking Specialized Industries at JPMorgan Chase, will join hundreds of fellow employeesmany of them also veteransmarching in cities across the country to honor friends, family and fellow service members. Veteran Community Connection Former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer Caitlin McGilley has supported Carry The Load for years. Caitlin served on active duty with the Navy from 2008 to 2015, deploying multiple times around the world. Now a vice president and security specialist at JPMorgan Chase, she remains closely connected to the military and veteran communities. At the 2016 march in New York, Caitlin carried with her the photos of 30 service members who never returned from war. That was one of the most tragic events in the Afghan war," she said of August 6, 2011, the day a U.S. Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. All on boardincluding 30 U.S. service members and one military working dogwere killed in the resulting crash. Sense of Patriotism Nuclear Surface Warfare Officer Lieutenant Commander Sarah Kuehl, now an operations lead for the JPMorgan Chase Institute, completed two deployments to Haiti and the Middle East during active duty, and continues to serve in the reserves today. Sarah expressed her appreciation for JPMorgan Chases commitment to veterans through programs like Carry The Load. Because veterans humbly serve the United States, its nice to see the company humbly supporting veterans. This humility is woven into our character, and seeing that its also woven into the character of JPMorgan Chase touches us in a deeper way. For Sarah, participating in Carry The Load is a powerful way to share her passion for military service with her colleagues. As a veteran, its always nice to be a part of something thats bigger than just yourself, she said. But Carry The Load is not just for our veterans. Its for everybodyevery American has a sense of patriotism and respect for military members and their families. This is one way to demonstrate that. Josh echoed Sarahs sentiments, saying that everyone has a tie to those who serve. Memorial Day is a day to remember, he said. We need to remember those who gave their lives so we are able to move on with ours. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Core Gold Inc. ("Core Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV: CGLD, OTCQX: CGLDF) would like to thank shareholders for their continued support during this pivotal time as Core Gold proceeds with the proposed plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) with Titan Minerals Limited (Titan). To date, 91,628,912 securities representing 45.69% of all outstanding Core Gold securities have been voted with 94.91% of the votes being cast FOR the Arrangement with Titan. This strong support IN FAVOUR of the proposed Arrangement with Titan is a positive step in the right direction in building future value for all Core Gold shareholders. Furthermore, this strong support indicates that significant numbers of Core Gold shareholders understand the importance of their vote, agree with Core that the Arrangement with Titan is in the best interests of all Core Gold shareholders, and are disregarding the false and inaccurate information being circulated by Core Golds former CEO. The Company encourages all shareholders to vote prior to 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on Monday, June 10, 2019, in advance of the Special General Meeting to be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at The Terminal City Club in Vancouver, BC. Core Gold would like to remind shareholders to read about the benefits of the Arrangement in the Management Information Circular (the Circular) that was mailed on May 13, 2019. The Circular can also be found on Core Golds website at www.coregoldinc.com and at www.sedar.com. VOTE YOUR SECURITIES TODAY Your vote is important regardless of the number of securities you own. Whether or not you are able to attend the Core Gold Meeting, we urge you to vote. If you have any questions or require assistance with voting, please contact our proxy solicitation agent: Laurel Hill Advisory Group North American Toll-Free Number: 1-877-452-7184 Collect Calls Outside North America: 416-304-0211 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. About Core Gold The Company is a Canadian based mining company involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties in Ecuador. The Company is currently focused on gold production at its wholly-owned Dynasty Goldfield project. Mineral is treated at the Company's wholly-owned Portovelo treatment plant. The Company also owns other significant gold exploration projects including the Linderos and Copper Duke area in southern Ecuador all of which are on the main Peruvian Andean gold-copper belt extending into Ecuador. For further information please contact: Mark Bailey, Interim CEO, Director Suite 1201 1166 Alberni Street Vancouver, B.C. V6E 3Z3 Phone: +1 (604) 345-4822 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. VANCOUVER, May 22, 2019 /CNW/ - Entree Resources Ltd. (TSX:ETG; NYSE American:EGI the "Company" or "Entree") is pleased to announce the results of voting at its annual general meeting of shareholders which was held today in Vancouver, British Columbia (the "Meeting"). All matters submitted to shareholders for approval as set out in the Company's Notice of Meeting and Information Circular, both dated April 17, 2019, were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at the Meeting. NUMBER OF DIRECTORS Shareholders approved setting the number of directors at six. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS The details of the voting results for the election of directors are set out below: Votes For Withheld Votes Director # % # % Mark Bailey 66,817,716 96.96 2,811,910 4.04 Alan Edwards 66,826,548 95.97 2,803,078 4.03 James Harris 66,517,543 95.53 3,112,083 4.47 Michael Price 66,505.532 95.51 3,124,094 4.49 Stephen Scott 66,825,289 95.97 2,804,337 4.03 Anna Stylianides 66,816,444 95.96 2,813,182 4.04 APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS Davidson & Company LLP was re-appointed auditors of the Company for the ensuing year at the remuneration to be fixed by the directors. Detailed voting results for the Meeting are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. ABOUT ENTREE RESOURCES LTD. Entree Resources Ltd. is a well-funded Canadian mining company with a unique carried joint venture interest on a significant portion of one of the world's largest copper-gold projects the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. Entree has a 20% or 30% carried participating interest in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi joint venture, depending on the depth of mineralization. Sandstorm Gold Ltd., Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill are major shareholders of Entree, holding approximately 16%, 9% and 8% of the shares of the Company, respectively. More information about Entree can be found at www.EntreeResourcesLtd.com. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 23, 2019) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV: ELY) (OTCQB: ELYGF) ("Ely Gold") or the ("Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding letter of intent (the "Transaction") with a private individual ("the Owner") whereby Ely Gold will acquire 100% of all rights and interests to a Per Ton Royalty Interest on the Jerritt Canyon Processing Facilities (the "PTR Interest"). The Jerritt Canyon Operations, located in Elko Nevada, encompasses a number of underground operations, and are operated by Jerritt Canyon Gold LLC, a privately held company ("JCG"). In consideration of the PTR Interest, Ely Gold will pay the Owner a total cash consideration of US$650,000 and issue 500,000 warrants. The closing of the Transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent, including approval of the Transaction by the TSX-V (the "Closing"). Closing is expected on or about June 15, 2019. The PTR Interest was granted in an Amended License Agreement dated May 19, 2015 between former operator, Veris Gold Corp., JCG (formerly WBVG LLC) and the Owner (the "License Agreement"). Pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement, the Owner granted to JCG a perpetual license for the patent to certain proprietary scrubbing technology involved in the removal of mercury from gas that is currently being used at the Jerritt Canyon Processing Facilities. The License Agreement entitles the Owner to receive a Per Ton Royalty Payment (the "PTR Payment") based on overall throughput from mining operations at the Jerritt Canyon Processing Facilities. As a production royalty, the source of the mill feed would include any contract that JCG would enter for toll milled ore. The term of the License Agreement is for a period ending on the earlier of the expiration of the Patent or the life of the Jerritt Canyon Mine. The PTR Payment is based on the Average Realized Gold Price ("ARGP") which is derived by dividing Total Gold Revenue during the previous month by Gold Ounces Sold during the previous month, Royalties would be calculated, in US$, as: $0.15 per ton if the ARGP is less than or equal to $1,300 per ounce; or $0.225 per ton if the ARGP is greater than $1,300 but less than or equal to $1,600 per ounce; or $0.30 per ton if the ARGP is greater than $1,600 but less than or equal to $2,000 per ounce; or $0.40 per ton if the ARGP is greater than $2,000 per ounce. Since mining began at Jerritt Canyon, more than eight million ounces of gold have been produced. Gold was first discovered at Jerritt Canyon in 1972, with the first gold poured in 1981. Underground operations began in 1993. The mineral processing operation at Jerritt Canyon is one of only three gold processing plants in Nevada that uses roasting in its treatment of refractory ores. Jerritt Canyon is designed to process highly refractory gold ores up to 4,000 TPD and has processed in excess of 1.1 million tons in 2017 and 1.2 million tons in 2018. (1) Under the terms of the Transaction, Ely Gold will make the following payments to the Owner: US$300,000 cash at Closing; 500,000 warrants at Closing; and Deferred Payments as follows; US$150,000 cash on the 1st anniversary of Closing; US$150,000 cash on the 2nd anniversary of Closing; and US$50,000 cash on the 3rd anniversary of Closing. The Deferred Payments will accrue simple annual interest at 5% and be secured by the PTR Interest. If production or PTR Payments cease at the Facility for two (2) consecutive months or greater, Deferred Payments will be delayed by an amount equal to the time the production is halted. The warrants will be priced at C$0.18 and have a term of three years. Trey Wasser, Ely Gold's President and CEO, commented, "The acquisition of the producing royalty at Jerritt Canyon is another significant asset for the Ely Gold Portfolio. The pricing structure of this Per Ton Royalty offers excellent leverage to gold prices, similar to a traditional net smelter royalty. The Jerritt Canyon Facility is one of only three roasters capable of processing refractory ore, which is very common in Nevada. The current owners have made significant improvements to the facilities, increased the resources and extended the mine life." Stephen Kenwood, P. Geo, is a director of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Kenwood has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. The Company does not intend to file a technical report supporting disclosure with respect to acquisition of this royalty interest. (1) Source: Jerritt Canyon Gold LLC About Ely Gold Royalties Inc. Ely Gold Royalties Inc. is a Vancouver-based, emerging royalty company with development assets focused in Nevada and Quebec. Its current portfolio includes 33 Deeded Royalties and 20 properties optioned to third parties. Ely Gold's royalty portfolio includes producing royalties, fully-permitted mines and development projects that are at or near producing mines. The Company is actively seeking opportunities to purchase existing third-party royalties for its portfolio and all the Company's Option Properties are expected to produce royalties, if exercised. The royalty and option portfolios are currently generating significant revenue. Ely Gold is well positioned with its current portfolio of over 20 available properties to generate additional operating revenue through option and sale transactions. The Company has a proven track record of maximizing the value of its properties through claim consolidation and advancement using its extensive, proprietary data base. All portfolio properties are sold or optioned on a 100% basis, while the Company retains royalty interests. Management believes that due to the Company's ability to generate third-party royalty transactions, its successful strategy of organically creating royalties, its equity portfolio and its current low valuation, Ely Gold offers shareholders a low-risk leverage to the current price of gold and low-cost access to long-term mineral royalties. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Signed "Trey Wasser" Trey Wasser, President & CEO For further information, please contact: Trey Wasser, President & CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 972-803-3087 Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 604-488-1104 Forward-looking Statement Caution This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company's acquisition of the Jerritt Canyon Per Ton Royalty relating to the Jerritt Canyon Mine Property, the Company is not aware of any stated plans for further near-term exploration and development of the Jerritt Canyon Property, and the Company's outlook for the expected performance of its royalty and option portfolios. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the risk of accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration, development, extraction and processing operations, the risk that Jerritt Canyon will encounter unanticipated production factors, or the possibility that the operators may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances, necessary to carry out its stated plans for the Jerritt Canyon Property, the risk of unknown contract defects that could impair the Company's inability to enforce the Jerritt Canyon Per Ton Royalty, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL, OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OF SECURITIES OF THE COMPANY IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL PRIOR TO REGISTRATION OR QUALIFICATION UNDER THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY SUCH JURISDICTION. This press release, as required by applicable Canadian laws, is not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States TORONTO, May 23, 2019 /CNW/ - Rubicon Minerals Corporation (TSX: RMX | OTCQX: RBYCF) ("Rubicon" or the "Company") provides assay results from its 2019 drilling program at the Phoenix Gold Project (the "Project"). Assay Results Highlights (as of May 23, 2019) representing approximately 8,000 metres ("m") of drilling in 2019: Drilling program at the 610- and 685 m Levels with the objective of potentially upgrading and expanding the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate (not true widths, more details in the 'Qualified Persons and QA/QC' section below) produced the following highlights: 610L-19-04: 9.52 g/t Au over 2.0 m (High-Ti Basalts) over (High-Ti Basalts) 685L-19-01: 6.31 g/t Au over 16.9 m ( including 19.21 g/t Au over 0.8 m ) (High-Ti Basalts) over ( ) (High-Ti Basalts) 685L-19-02: 7.63 g/t Au over 3.0 m (including 22.23 g/t Au over 0.8 m ) (High-Ti Basalts) over (High-Ti Basalts) 685L-19-04: 4.00 g/t Au over 21.3 m (including 7.70 g/t Au over 2.0 m and 6.93 g/t Au over 2.9 m ) (High-Ti Basalts) 2019 Drilling Results The 2019 oriented diamond drilling program was designed to upgrade and expand the Inferred Mineral Resource estimate, and advance the current understanding of the high-grade mineralization potential at depth, below the 854 m Level. The Company's most recent NI 43-101 2019 Mineral Resource Statement is comprised of 589,000 gold ounces in the Measured and Indicated Resources category located above the 854 m Level and 540,000 gold ounces in the Inferred Mineral Resource category, of which more than 340,000 ounces are located below the 854 m Level1. There are also 0.9 to 1.0 million tonnes of sparsely-drilled (greater than 80-metre drill centres) mineralized material grading between 5.0 to 7.0 g/t Au ("Explore Targets"), where estimated Mineral Resources could potentially be expanded with further drilling. Results from the 2019 drill program so far have been encouraging. Rubicon encountered high-grade mineralization at both narrow and wide (>10 m) horizontal widths, intersected within the high titanium basalt units ("High-Ti Basalts"), the main host rock of gold mineralization at the Project. The mineralization at depth, especially at wider widths, could potentially translate to sizable stopes in future mining and enhance the economics of the Project. The Company is getting a better view of the structural geology at depth with the oriented drilling and is currently analyzing the resulting data. Rubicon has a preliminary model of the East Bay Deformation Zone ("EBDZ") created from the structural data, which has enhanced the understanding of the mineralization and improved drill targeting at depth. Rubicon will continue to build on the current understanding of the geology at depth with further drilling. Please see Table 1 at the end of the news release for the summary of the assays. Longitudinal, plan, and section views of the drilling are represented in Diagrams 1 to 13 at the end of the news release. CEO's Comments George Ogilvie, P.Eng., President and CEO of Rubicon, commented, "Drill results to-date give us confidence that we will upgrade some of the estimated Inferred Mineral Resources at depth to Measured and Indicated categories, and grow the Mineral Resource estimates of the Project. We saw a robust conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources in our 2018 drilling, which was reflected in our most recent NI 43-101 2019 Mineral Resource Statement and we are anticipating healthy conversion rates as we continue to drill at depth. Expanding the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource estimates are key for us to advance the Project to Feasibility Stage. We are well underway in putting together the New Preliminary Economic Assessment ("New PEA") for the Project and anticipate its delivery in the second half of this year." Qualified Persons and QA/QC The content of this news release has been read and approved by George Ogilvie, P.Eng., President and CEO, and, was also verified by, Michael Nerup, P.Geo., Senior Geologist, for Rubicon. Both are Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101. Underground drilling was conducted by Boart Longyear Drilling of Haileybury, Ontario and was supervised by the Rubicon exploration team. All assays reported are uncut unless otherwise stated. All samples reported herein were performed by SGS Mineral Services of Red Lake, Ontario. All NQ core assays reported were obtained by fire assay with AA-finish or using gravimetric finish for values over 10.0 g/t Au. The data verification procedures applied in this drilling program largely mirror those performed by Golder Associates Ltd. (2018) and confirmed by T. Maunula and Associates for the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate. Please refer to the NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Project dated April 25, 2019 available under Rubicon's profile on www.sedar.com. Intercepts cited do not necessarily represent true widths, unless otherwise noted, however drilling is generally intersecting interpreted mineralized zones at angles between -30o and +30o. True width determinations are estimated at 75-95% of the core length for the 610- and 685-m level drilling. Rubicon's quality control checks include insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy and precision. About Rubicon Minerals Corporation Rubicon Minerals Corporation is an advanced gold exploration company that owns the Phoenix Gold Project, located in the prolific Red Lake gold district in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Additionally, Rubicon controls over 285 square kilometres of prime exploration ground in Red Lake and more than 900 square kilometres of mineral property interests in the emerging Long Canyon gold district that straddles the Nevada-Utah border in the United States. Rubicon's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (RMX) and the OTCQX markets (RBYCF). For more information, please visit our website at www.rubiconminerals.com. RUBICON MINERALS CORPORATION George Ogilvie, P.Eng. President, CEO, and Director Table 1: Summary of the 2019 Drilling Assay Results, up to May 23, 2019 Drill hole number Type Elevation Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Width (m) Grade g/t Au 610L-19-01 infill/step-out 610 m Level 550.0 No Significant Assays 610L-19-02 infill/step-out 610 m Level 550.0 429.0 430.0 1.0 2.27 610L-19-03 infill/step-out 610 m Level 550.5 392.0 394.0 2.0 3.91 467.0 471.0 4.0 5.61 537.0 538.2 1.2 3.48 610L-19-04 infill/step-out 610 m Level 650.0 479.0 482.0 3.0 3.33 605.0 607.0 2.0 9.52 640.0 642.0 2.0 13.79 610L-19-05 infill/step-out 610 m Level 534.0 No significant assays 610L-19-07 infill/step-out 610 m Level 450.0 339.6 342.5 2.9 3.58 347.3 348.5 1.2 3.02 685L-19-01 infill/step-out 685 m Level 375.0 312.0 316.0 4.0 3.57 326.4 343.3 16.9 6.31 including 329.4 330.0 0.6 10.30 including 335.2 336.0 0.8 19.21 including 341.3 342.0 0.7 14.01 685L-19-02 infill/step-out 685 m Level 523.5 514.0 517.0 3.0 7.63 including 515.5 516.4 0.8 22.23 685L-19-02A infill/step-out 685 m Level 688.5 575.0 577.5 2.5 3.87 583.2 583.6 0.4 16.35 685L-19-03 Infill/step-out 685 m Level 702.5 61.0 62.0 1.0 1.58 685L-19-04 infill/step-out 685 m Level 669.8 608.5 613.0 4.5 3.52 619.2 620.0 0.8 8.32 632.3 633.4 1.1 9.01 647.5 668.8 21.3 4.00 including 647.5 649.5 2.0 7.70 including 653.0 654.0 1.0 6.90 including 656.1 659.0 2.9 6.93 Diagram 1: 2019 Drilling Results - 2019 Mineral Resource Block Model Zone 2 Diagram 2: 2019 Drilling Results - 2019 Mineral Resource Block Model Zone 2 Diagram 3: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 4: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 5: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 6: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 7: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 8: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 9: 2019 Drilling Results - 2019 Mineral Resource Block Model Zone 2 Diagram 10: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 11: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 12: 2019 Drilling Results Diagram 13: 2019 Drilling Results Cautionary Statement regarding Forward-Looking Statements and other Cautionary Notes This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipates", "build on", "confidence", encouraging", "estimates", "exploration", "likely", "may", "model", "objective", "plans", "potential", "target", "view", "will", or variations of such words, and similar such words, expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results may or may not be achieved or occur in the future. In some cases, forward-looking information may be stated in the present tense, such as in respect of current matters that may be continuing, or that may have a future impact or effect. Forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Mineral Resource Estimates, the anticipated timing of the delivery and details of the New PEA, the anticipated outcome of further oriented infill and expansion drilling of the Project, the potential tonnage of mineralized material and its grade estimated in the Explore Target areas, the impact of the data from the drilling planned in 2019 on the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate, the potential to improve the quantities and classification of the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimate, the further steps necessary to potentially improve upon the 2019 Mineral Resource Estimates, including targeted infill and step-out drilling to potentially convert Inferred Mineral Resource estimates to the Indicated Mineral Resource category, the potential impact of drilling on stope dimensions at depth and its impact on future mining and Project economics, and the understanding of the structural geology, including the EBDZ, at depth. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and represent management's best judgment based on facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable. If such opinions and estimates prove to be incorrect, actual and future results may be materially different than expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Rubicon to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery or throughput rates; uncertainty of Mineral Resource estimates; inability to realize exploration potential, mineral grades and mineral recovery estimates; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of reclamation activities; uncertainty of future operations, delays in completion of exploration plans for any reason including insufficient capital, delays in permitting, and labour issues; conclusions of future economic or geological evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents and other risks of the mining industry; delays and other risks related to operations; timing, receipt and maintenance of permits and other required regulatory approvals; the ability of Rubicon and other relevant parties to satisfy regulatory requirements; the ability of Rubicon to comply with its obligations under material agreements including financing agreements; the availability of financing for proposed programs and working capital requirements on reasonable terms; the ability of third-party service providers to deliver services on reasonable terms and in a timely manner; risks associated with the ability to retain key executives and key operating personnel; cost of environmental expenditures and potential environmental liabilities; dissatisfaction or disputes with local communities or First Nations or Aboriginal Communities; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions; our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations or obtain adequate financing to fund our capital expenditures and working capital needs and meet our other obligations; the volatility of our stock price, and the ability of our common stock to remain listed and traded on the TSX. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Rubicon disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Readers are advised to carefully review and consider the risk factors identified in the Company's annual information form dated March 22, 2019 under the heading "Risk Factors" and in other continuous disclosure documents of the Company filed under its profile at www.sedar.com for a discussion of the factors that could cause Rubicon's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Readers are further cautioned that the foregoing list of assumptions and risk factors is not exhaustive and it is recommended that prospective investors consult the more complete discussion of Rubicon's business, financial condition and prospects that is included in this news release. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Cautionary Note to U.S. Readers Regarding Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources This news release uses the terms "Measured" and "Indicated" Mineral Resources and "Inferred" Mineral Resources. The Company advises U.S. investors that while these terms are recognized and required by the Canadian Securities Administrators, they are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The estimation of "Measured" and "Indicated" Mineral Resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of Proven and Probable Reserves. The estimation of "Inferred" Mineral Resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of Mineral Resources. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of a "Inferred", "Measured", or "Indicated" Mineral Resource estimate will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of "Inferred Mineral Resources" may not form the basis of feasibility studies, pre-feasibility studies or other economic studies, except in prescribed cases, such as in a preliminary economic assessment (or New PEA) under certain circumstances. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "Reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "Reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the Reserve determination is made. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of a "Inferred", "Measured" or "Indicated" Mineral Resource exists or is economically or legally mineable. Information concerning descriptions of mineralization and Mineral Resources contained herein may not be comparable to information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. MONTREAL, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amex Exploration Inc. (Amex or the Company) (AMX: TSX-V; OTCQX: AMXEF; FRA: MX0) today announced that it has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market, operated by OTC Markets Group Inc. Amex Exploration begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol AMXEF. U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com. We are pleased to welcome Amex Exploration to the OTCQX Best Market, said Jason Paltrowitz, EVP of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. OTCQX companies must meet high financial standards, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction. We look forward to supporting Amex Exploration as the company seeks to build visibility among U.S. investors. Trading on the OTCQX Market is an important milestone as it provides US investors with a pathway to invest and participate in the Amex Exploration story, commented Victor Cantore, President and CEO of Amex Exploration. We recently made an important super high-grade gold discovery in the Quebec, Canada, reporting gold values rarely seen in Quebec. Our project is located just 1 hour north of Rouyn, a major mining camp and is year-round accessible. Exploration drilling is expected to continue throughout the year providing for ample news flow on this important new gold discovery. J.P. Galda & Co. acted as the companys OTCQX sponsor. About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com. OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed Media Contact: OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. About Amex Exploration Inc. Amex Exploration Inc. is a junior mining exploration company, the primary objective of which is to acquire, explore, and develop viable gold projects in the mining-friendly jurisdictions on Quebec and Ontario. Amex has multiple highly prospective projects: the 100% owned Perron gold project located 110 kilometres north of Rouyn Noranda, Quebec, consisting of 116 adjacent claims covering 4,518 hectares. Perron is the flag ship asset of the Company and a 25,000 metre drill program was recently announced for the 2019 year. In addition, the Company holds the 100% owned Eastmain River gold properties consisting of 135 claims covering 7,102 hectares and the 100% owned Cameron project located in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec, comprising 263 claims covering 14,743 hectares. In addition, Amex has an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Gowan Property located near the Kidd Creek Mine. For further information please contact: Victor Cantore President and Chief Executive Officer Amex Exploration: 514-866-8209 Forward-looking statements: Except for statements of historical facts, all statements in this news release regarding, without limitation, future plans and objectives are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release In early 2014, Abu Khuder his nom-de-guerre moved to Europe from Syria. A career combatant, he told The Guardian in 2012 that he had successively fought for the Syrian government, the opposing Free Syrian army and an Al Qaeda-related group, the al-Nusra Front. But after about three years of fighting, he left Syria and moved to The Netherlands where he got a temporary residence permit after registering as a refugee. On May 21, the Dutch office of the war crimes prosecutor, following up on information from German judicial authorities, announced the arrest of Abu Khuder, now 47. He is accused of committing war crimes and terrorism offences in Syria where he allegedly commanded a battalion known as Ghurabaa Mohassan or Strangers of Mohassan. Two Jihadists in the dock The arrest of Abu Khuder is a boost for the Dutch war crimes unit which has been trying to get Syria war crimes cases before a judge. In an interview conducted before this weeks arrest Dutch war crimes prosecutor Nicole Vogelenzang told JusticeInfo that there were several causes for the perceived lag of The Netherlands in getting Syrian cases to court. Other countries have started doing much more than before with regards to Syria or ISIS [Islamic State, or Daesh] cases; they also have many more refugees on their territory that can give them information about crimes, she explained. Annemarie van Zeeland, legal advisor to the prosecutors office stressed that there has to be a link to The Netherlands for a universal jurisdiction case to stick. In practice that means a suspect must be present on Dutch soil before a full-fledged investigation can be launched or there must be victims who are Dutch nationals or perpetrators who are Dutch nationals. Countries like Germany can start thematic, structural investigations. We cannot. We have to wait until we have a suspect on Dutch soil, she said. The Dutch unit has looked at crimes perpetrated by the Syrian regime as well but while we have a big diaspora in Europe they often have family still in Syria which means they are very reluctant to testify publically and with only anonymous witnesses we cannot build a case, Vogelenzang laments. In July returned Dutch ISIS fighter Oussama Achraf Akhlafa, will go on trial for war crimes and charges of membership of a terrorist organization. He is accused of posing with the remains of a crucified victim, which amounts to outrage upon personal dignity and humiliating and degrading treatment, a war crime. The case will mark the first time war crimes are charged under the overhauled 2003 law on international crimes in The Netherlands. A pioneer of universal jurisdiction With the arrest of al-Nusras Abu Khuder the Dutch unit now has a second Syria case, involving another Jihadist fighter. The exact charges against Abu Khuder and a date for trial still have to be announced. Whats clear, however, is that this case is the result of close cooperation between the German and Dutch war crimes units. Vogelenzang said her unit is in very close contact with their German colleagues, as well as those in Sweden, France, Norway and Belgium. European war crimes prosecutors also meet twice a year through the Eurojust Genocide Network. At those meetings in closed sessions we tell each other what we are working on, Vogelenzang said. The Netherlands has long been at the forefront of prosecuting international crimes under universal jurisdiction with a specially dedicated team. When the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) came to The Hague in 1994 a special police and prosecution team was established to investigate potential perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity from the former Yugoslavia. In 1998 it was broadened to look beyond the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The Netherlands was one of the first European countries with a specialized war crimes unit looking into universal jurisdiction cases. Germany would follow in 2003 and France and Switzerland would take another decade to set up their units. I think the Dutch unit inspired many other European countries to set up their own specialized war crimes units, said Vogelenzang. Recommended reading International crimes: Spotlight on Germanys war crimes unit A flurry of trials in the early 2000s The early years of the Dutch unit, however, did not see many trials apart from one Rwandan extradition case. After 2003 it got a new impulse from a new law on international crimes. The new law confirmed that universal jurisdiction applied for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes also for non-Dutch nationals but there had to be a link to The Netherlands. Unless victims or perpetrators are Dutch nationals the prosecution team can only investigate if suspects are actually present on the territory of The Netherlands. The war crimes unit was renamed Team International Crimes (known by its Dutch acronym of TIM). It was brought directly under the national prosecutors office in Rotterdam. A flurry of trials followed. Congolese Sebastien Nzapali, a former commander in the Garde Civile of former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, was arrested in 2003 and convicted to two and a half years in prison a year later. Two former high-ranking Afghan officers in the intelligence services were arrested in 2004 and received sentences of up to 12 years for torture. Two Dutch businessmen were also indicted in that period. Frans van Anraat was convicted in December 2005 to 15 years in jail for supplying chemicals to the regime of Saddam Hussein. The chemicals were used in poison gas attacks which killed thousands of civilians in Iraq. On appeal in 2007 his sentence was increased to 17 years. In 2004 the war crimes unit also started investigating timber merchant Guus Kouwenhoven. Prosecutors said Kouwenhoven trafficked so-called blood timber for illegally imported guns for the regime of Liberian president Charles Taylor during the wars that ravaged his country and neighboring Sierra Leone in the 1990s. After a drawn out legal battle that eventually ended in a retrial Kouwenhoven was convicted for war crimes and illegal arms trafficking in 2017 and sentenced to 19 years in prison. In addition, two Rwandan suspects accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide were tried and convicted while five were handed over to other jurisdictions. Three of those accused were convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). The other two were handed over to Rwanda after the ICTR had closed its doors. Their trials are ongoing. Priority to the MH17 investigation Then, after 2014, such cases seemed to taper off. In 2011 five Sri Lankan members of the so-called Tamil Tigers, a militant separatist group, who resided in the Netherlands were tried and convicted. But the charge against them was of membership of a criminal organization which had as an aim to commit terrorist acts and war crimes. There are several reasons for the lull. After the initial push in the early 2000s it is said that most of the low hanging fruit was already dealt with. Prosecutors also learned that trying international crimes in Dutch courts with witnesses mainly based outside of The Netherlands was particularly complicated. In the Kouwenhoven case the prosecution ran into a lot of trouble by using Liberian intermediaries to find witnesses who were later discredited by the defence. The most important lesson we learned from the Kouwenhoven case [is]: We want the least possible interference with our witnesses no matter where they are, Vogelenzang said. Now we really focus on cases that have clear evidence and where the witnesses are in The Netherlands or countries where they are easily accessible, she added. Another important reason for the slowing down of war crimes investigations came in June 2014 after a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over Ukraine killing all 298 people on board, including 193 Dutch nationals. While the TIM was not itself investigating the attack, the Joint Investigation Team set up to probe the MH17 flight borrowed heavily from TIM staff because its police investigators and prosecutors had knowledge about international crimes and cross border investigations. In the beginning a lot of our capacity was added to the MH17 investigation. Its only this year that we are back up to strength and we have replaced the people who left for the Joint Investigative Team, explained Vogelenzang. Ethiopias Red Terror While operating with diminished capacity the war crimes unit still managed to pull off a remarkable case against Eshetu Alemu for crimes committed during Ethiopias Red Terror in the 1970s. For the war crimes unit the case was unique in many ways. It was the first time they prosecuted crimes dating back to the 1970s, and they did it without much cooperation from Ethiopia. While Addis Abeba had worked with Dutch prosecutors in the early stages of the case and handed over some documents they later withdrew their cooperation. The case against Alemu was entirely based on the documents the Ethiopians had handed over from Alemus in absentia trial in Ethiopia for similar facts, on testimonies from victims found among the Ethiopian diaspora in the United States and Canada. In late 2017, outside a modernist courtroom in The Hague a Canadian member of the Ethiopian diaspora was overcome by emotion. Alemu, the man who oversaw the prison where he was tortured as a schoolboy, had just been sentenced to life in prison, more than 40 years after the facts. Vogelenzang now wants to focus on more recent war crimes cases in active conflicts like Syria and Iraq. In the past we did a lot of Afghanistan and Rwanda cases and these are still important for us because we have a large diaspora. But because the events are now longer ago than the first time we did those cases, were seeing that investigating gets harder and harder. The passing of time really works against us, she explained. Dealing with genocide The unit is actively trying to contact Yazidi NGOs and is looking for information from Yazidi victims. UN experts have assessed that ISIS had committed genocide against the Yazidi religious minority in Syria and Iraq. Among other crimes, some 7,000 Yazidi women and girls were captured in Iraq by Islamic State in 2014, kept as slaves, tortured and raped. We really have our attention on the Yazidi community and what was done to them, with the caveat that there has to be a link to The Netherlands for us to investigate, Van Zeeland said. Vogelenzang echoed that a Yazidi case would be welcomed with open arms. This would also open the door to another first in the country: a conviction for genocide. We dont have a genocide conviction on the books in the Dutch system, Vogelenzang explained. There was one Rwandan suspect who was tried at a time when it was impossible under Dutch law to try for genocide so he was convicted of war crimes. Another Rwandan suspect was convicted of the lesser charge of incitement to genocide. Kansas State University names Thomas Lane as new vice president for student life and dean of students Thursday, May 23, 2019 MANHATTAN Thomas Lane, a highly experienced student affairs administrator, will become Kansas State University's new vice president for student life and dean of students. Kansas State University President Richard Myers announced the appointment of Lane, who currently serves as associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Missouri State University. His appointment follows a national search to replace Pat Bosco, who is retiring after nearly 50 years of service in student life administration at the university. Lane will join Kansas State University on July 14 and brings more than 25 years of experience in student life administration to his new job. "We are excited to have found someone of Dr. Lane's caliber for this vital position at K-State," Myers said. "His broad experience in student life administration will serve him well as the top advocate for Kansas State University students while he plays a key role in ensuring and enriching their development and success." Lane will provide executive-level leadership, strategic planning, oversight and coordination of all units in the Division of Student Life, which include the Office of Student Life, Housing and Dining Services, Recreational Services, K-State Student Union, Career Center, Lafene Health Center, Counseling Services and many other key services and programs essential to student success. He also will provide leadership for the development and implementation of high-quality and student-centered approaches to support student success in nonacademic dimensions of student university experiences, and he will respond to student crises and issues and concerns, among many other duties. "I am truly humbled and excited to be joining the K-State family," Lane said. "During my time on campus, it was clear to me the university is deeply committed to students' personal and academic success. I am greatly looking forward to working with students, faculty, staff, administration and alumni in ensuring a Wildcat student experience that is welcoming, inclusive and changes lives for the better." Lane has been in his current position at Missouri State University since June 2015. He joined the university in 2005, serving as assistant dean of students and director of the student union. He was promoted to assistant to the vice president for student affairs in 2008 and became the assistant vice president for student affairs in 2011, serving until his appointment as associate vice president for student affairs. Before joining Missouri State, Lane served as associate director of the student union and activities at Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he initially was assistant director of operations. He also has been a coordinator of Visitor and Information Services at Illinois State University. Lane earned a bachelor's degree in communications in 1991 and a master's degree in educational administration in 1995, both from Illinois State University. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership and analysis in 2010 from the University of Missouri, where he serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the educational leadership cooperative doctoral program. "I want to thank the members of the search committee for their outstanding work," Myers said. Several operating rooms have been shut down in a Washington children's hospital because of mold. Aspergillus mold was detected by air tests last week in operating rooms and equipment storage rooms at the main campus of Seattle Children's Hospital, according to a statement from the hospital. "Though we believe the risk to our patients is very low, we will be contacting our surgical patients who may have been exposed," the statement said. "Patient safety is our top priority, and we are taking this situation very seriously." The hospital said it is working with an outside industrial hygienist to locate the source and clear the rooms. The detection was also reported to the Washington State Department of Health. Aspergillus is a common mold that most people breathe without getting sick but that poses a greater risk to those with weakened immune systems or lung disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health problems can include allergic reactions, lung infections and other organ infections. Some surgical cases have been postponed or moved to the hospital's Bellevue campus until the rooms are clear, the hospital's statement said. Mold played a part in five deaths between October 2014 and May 2016 at two University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals, according to a 2017 report. Those patients were exposed to Mucor and Rhizopus mold. Those who died of the infection were transplant patients. The report showed that both the hospital and the facility that handled the hospital's linens tested positive for mold. KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. Family and friends of those buried at the Eternal Hills Cemetery in Klamath Falls did not get all of the answers they wanted in a meeting Wednesday night. They learned it could be a long time before the problems will be solved. When the cemetery began to fall apart, members of the community created a Facebook group called the Eternal Hills Guardians. For months, theyve been working to see how they can get the answers on whats happened and happening to repair the cemetery. Wednesday, at the Klamath County Fairgrounds, they got some of those answers. Klamath County Sheriff Kaber, a representative from Klamath County Animal Control, Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot as well as Senior Assistant Attorney General of the Oregon Department of Justice Carolyn Wade and the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board (OMCB) Executive Director Chad Dresselhaus were guest speakers at a meeting organized by the Facebook group and about 200 community members went. "I cannot wrap into a single word the emotion that I saw looking out across all the people in our community and that's what drives me to continue, said Kimberlee Underwood. She is one of the groups administrators. Seven of her family members are laid to rest at Eternal Hills. She takes care of her familys graves when she can. "It just takes time to go out to make sure the appearance and the structure is intact and making it as presentable as possible and everything that we do as a group effort, Underwood added. CLICK HERE for the initial response from a state lawmaker and the OMCB following public outcry at the end of April. The Eternal Hills Cemetery involuntary bankruptcy is a case the Oregon Department of Justice has never dealt with before. It is Senior Assistant Attorney General Carolyn Wades first cemetery case in her 35 years as a lawyer. "Its very shocking, Wade said. Both the condition of the cemetery, which was exceedingly shocking, and the real disregard for the people who were buried in the cemetery and the people who are still alive whose families are buried there. About a year and a half ago, the Department of Justice filed its very first involuntary bankruptcy against the Eternal Hills corporation. Wade said five parts of the cemetery were illegally transferred to five different companies by Gordon. The rights to be interred were also illegally transferred. Right now, a trustee has six different lawsuits within the bankruptcy, so she can get those six parts and then sell them as a whole to a buyer who will be willing to get the cemetery back to repair. "We heard some negative talk today about it's too far gone. Nobody will buy it, Wade added. Commissioner DeGroot said he is very hopeful that he thinks there will be a buyer, and that the buyer will be able to bring the cemetery back up to its former state. Until then, people are allowed to take care of their own familys graves but are warned to be careful since the ground and headstones are sinking. Commissioner DeGroot urged not to use any heavy machinery for this reason. The Facebook group live streamed the entire meeting so people who couldnt attend to hear the updates. The people that went got some answers but know there is a long road ahead to get Eternal Hills back to what it once was. The Eternal Hills Guardians have organized a cemetery cleanup day scheduled for Saturday, June 29th at 8AM. MEDFORD, Ore--- This Memorial Day Weekend is expected to be one of the busiest on record. According to TripAdvisor, travel for the weekend is up 30 percent from last year. Of that 30 percent, 64 percent will be driving. Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the weekend. Many are leaving Thursday, in order to miss the rush on Friday. Gas prices will be an important thing to budget for. AAA says the most popular destination among Oregon travelers is Seattle. If you are heading north from the Rogue Valley, you will have to fill up again in Oregon. While the national average is still around $2.85 a gallon, the Oregon average is at $3.44 a gallon. If you are headed to the other direction, be ready for it to be even higher. The California average is $4.02 a gallon. Siskiyou County is at $4.05 a gallon, and it stays consistent all the way to the Bay Area. However, another 25 percent will travel by flight. So, be ready for the airports to be busy as well. Going in earlier than you normally would may save your trip. NewsWatch12 This Morning will continue to bring you updates throughout the morning. WHITE CITY, Ore. -- Students across the country are graduating, and starting their next chapters. For Levi Strong, a senior at Eagle Point High School, college wasn't the right fit. He and three other high school students toured Croman Corporation today, a helicopter company. They are hoping to receive apprenticeships, which will provide them with training and certifications. "The program is based on everything that we do here in the facility," Kristopher Kaufman, director of maintenance, said. That includes maintaining the helicopters, working in the truck shop, or running the computer production equipment. Students dropped off their resumes today, hoping to be called back for an interview. Strong hopes he can get this apprenticeship opportunity. "An internship opportunity where they teach you, they train you, and then they get you your certifications and everything you need to be qualified to go elsewhere -- it just seemed too good to be true," Strong said. Kaufman says they pay their apprentices while also training them on the job. The company also pays for their certifications, hoping to train the younger generation of mechanics the ropes while the Baby Boomer generation is still in the workforce. "A lot of the older mechanics are retiring now," Kaufman said. For Strong, this is what he hopes to do for the rest of his life. "I've just always had an aptitude for it," Strong said. "I built my own motors for my truck. It's always something that's appealing -- it gives me energy." BROKEN BOW Rob Kugler lives the words he writes. He missed an appointment for an interview only by a few minutes because he wanted to stop and take a few pictures of the Colorado mountains in the late spring snowfall. Im at Empire, Colo., Kugler said. I just visited a buddy in Grandby Ranch, just outside of Grandby. Do you know where that is? He has an amazing trail dog that is a mix of border collie, husky, shepherd and a little bit of wolf in there. Hes a Marine buddy of mine I met while on the trip with Bella. Kugler, a former U.S. Marine who was deployed in Iraq, returned to civilian life with his own personal demons. He lost a brother to the fighting. To cope, Kugler adopted a Chocolate Lab, named her Bella and started to piece his life back together. He details his experiences and his life in a memoir, A Dog Named Beautiful: A Marine, a Dog and a Long Trip Home published this month by Flatiron Books. Kugler, a former resident of Broken Bow, will return to his hometown for a reading and book signing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Broken Bow Public Library. Admission to the event is free. To close out this high school theater season, Holly Stanfield, an Educational Theatre Association Hall of Fame member, is bringing The Scottsboro Boys to the Bradford High School stage. The Broadway musical is based on the infamous trials that started in 1931 in Alabama. Chris Carter, a professional actor and choreographer, is directing the show. Stanfield is the shows producer and vocal director. In addition to local students, the cast features three professional actors/mentors Braxton Molinaro, Denzel Tsopnang and David L. Murray Jr. Murray and Molinaro are Bradford graduates who performed in shows together as students. The two are professional actors Murray in New York; Molinaro in Los Angeles and welcomed the chance to come home for the show. For Murray, this is also the first time hes performing on stage with his younger brother, Ben Woods, a senior at Bradford. Stanfield wanted to do this show after seeing it on Broadway. It takes your breath away, she said of the musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb (of Chicago and Cabaret fame). I enjoy musical theater, she said, but in general, musicals dont hit me the same way straight (non-musical) plays do. But this one just really struck me. This is the only musical thats ever done this for me; I had a real emotional reaction. Part of the shows power, she said, is because its a true story. When youre sitting in front of people on a stage, the show tells the story in a poignant and emotional way. Carter said of the Bradford students in the cast, These kids take my breath away. And because they are the same age as the real boys in the Scottsboro case, it really resonates in the audience. Youll see kids you know on stage and think about your own kids. Story remains relevant The show is based on the so-called Scottsboro Boys case. It started in 1931, when nine young black men were taken off a train in Alabama and accused of raping two white women. After several years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, the nine were eventually vindicated. Eventually, all the defendants were exonerated, though it wasnt until 2013 that the state of Alabama posthumously pardoned all the defendants. Its still relevant today, Carter said, because racism is so present. This younger generation should know that weve gone through a lot already, but racism is a real thing. Weve made great strides, but its about equality. Its difficult, he added, as an African-American man to talk about racism without getting angry Ive seen some people drive themselves crazy over that anger; it can become an obsession. While researching the real-life Scottsboro case, he said, some of the kids said I wouldnt let them do that to me. They have no idea how life was then. Thats why were doing this story. This is the full Broadway version of the musical and is a Music Theatre International pilot production. Representatives from MTI will come to Bradford to see a performance. The show will also be performed as a late-night production at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb., in June. In Nebraska, Susan Stroman, who directed and choreographed the Broadway production, will do a talkback after the show. Stanfield brought in the three adult actors to work with the students as a great way to connect our students to the larger theatrical world, she said, adding that several of the local Bradford students are going on to college theater departments. Stanfield hopes audience members come away from this show wanting to have a reasonable discussion about these issues. For his part, Carter hopes the show spurs people to be more aware of racism and how to help our country deal with it. History, Stanfield added, can inform the present. By knowing more about our history, it can help us make a connection and see where we need to go. It can shine a light on a path we need to follow as a country. Were all in this together, and this is one of the few places on this planet where we can have a discussion and move forward. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Kenosha County man will remain in prison for at least another seven months for the 1985 murder of Bristol resident Joseph Vite. Eric S. Nelson, 50, had his parole considerations deferred after a May 14 hearing, according to Wisconsin Department of Corrections Deputy Communications Director Clare Hendricks. Nelson is expected to appear in front of the parole commission, once again, in October. Last month, the Vite family sought support of county officials and created a community petition to keep Nelson behind bars. Nelson was 16 years old and sentenced to life in prison, plus five additional years, for the Jan. 16, 1985, homicide of the 41-year-old Vite. The Vite family released a statement on its blog, found online at https://keepamurdererbehindbars.home.blog. Were pleased to report that Eric Nelson will spend at least seven more months behind bars, the Vite family said. We thank everyone who signed our petition and shared it with family, friends and neighbors. The more than 3,100 signatures that we collected plus the support we received from elected officials no doubt made an impact on the commissioners decision. Vite was the oldest of six siblings in a large Italian-American family and a well-respected businessman who served the community as an American Family Insurance agent. In a crime described by Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder as an assassination, Vite was shot in the head with a rifle in an act orchestrated by one of his foster children, Daniel Dower. Dower lived at the Bristol residence and conspired with Nelson, a Central High School classmate, to murder Vite and steal his cash, vehicle and weapons. Joseph Vite, the victims brother, attended the hearing and addressed Wisconsin Parole commissioner Danielle Lacost. Hes a threat to society, and releasing him would not serve sufficient time so as to not depreciate the severity of the crime, Ed Vite said. When you lose somebody like that, its very, very difficult. All we can do is keep fighting. Nelson was sentenced under a past law prior to the Life Means Life Act which allowed individuals with life sentences to be eligible for parole. Denied every year since 1999, Nelson could potentially be granted parole after being transferred to a minimum-security, pre-release correctional facility in Oneida. The fights not over, said the Vite family. Eric Nelson will likely go before the commission again in just a matter of months, and its important for us to continue to send the message that he does not belong out of prison. The family is encouraging local residents to sign its petition, which can be found on its blog or through a direct link at http://bit.ly/NelsonParolePetition. The support weve been given by people in the community and the district attorneys office and elected officials has been unbelievable, Ed Vite said. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 SILVER LAKE The community is invited to an outdoor barbecue from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday to celebrate the grand opening of the new Kenosha Community Health Center, at 903 S. Second St., in Silver Lake. The medical, behavioral health and dental satellite office will fill a health care void for the underinsured and uninsured in the rural reaches of Kenosha County, Chief Executive Officer Alan Marshall said. Service will be provided on a sliding fee scale based on family size and income. Because KCHC is a nonprofit, it can also waive fees depending on need as well. Sharon Pomaville, executive director of the Sharing Center, helped quantify the need for the center as part of the grant application submitted by KCHC to secure a $1 million Health Infrastructure Program grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to renovate the building. I see a lot of people suffering for lack of good, affordable health care, Pomaville said when the center was announced last December. There is a disparity between the care low-income (people) receive and the care available to the insured. Pomaville said she knows of only two dental offices in Kenosha County that accept Medicaid, for example. The medical center features a lobby, four medical exam rooms, office space and a lab area on the main floor and a behavioral health room, three dental bays and a sterilization lab on the lower level. The building was once a medical center, but was most recently a veterinarian clinic. KCHC will lease the building, with an option to purchase. It was one of four health centers in Wisconsin and 290 in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that were awarded more than $260 million for facility renovation, expansion or construction. The center will offer: Chronic disease management. Immunizations for adults and children. Preventative care screenings. Urgent medical care. Family planning. Behavioral screenings and interventions. General and urgent dental care. KCHC also has three service sites in the city of Kenosha with the goal of making preventive and health management care affordable and accessible. To make an appointment at the Silver Lake medical center, call 262-236-7590. For more information about KCHC and biographies of the health care providers, visit kenoshachc.org. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Eight-year-old Ethan Russert, of Pleasant Prairie, steadied his hand, flattening it as he approached two small Poland pigs corralled in a low fence. He was about to pet them. Thats what he was supposed to do as he learned from Jessica Clapper of the Elkhorn-based Benhart Farms, who brought a few of her animals to St. Joseph Catholic Academys lower campus, 7207 14th Ave., Tuesday afternoon. Clapper was one of several community volunteers to visit the school for its annual May Term activities, and the students were learning about the animals as part of a zoology-themed course. It was also the first time a petting zoo has come to the campus. Around her were three dozen students whose excited giggles filled the air along with the pigs snorting and sounds of the pairs of ducks and dwarf goats quacking and neighing, respectively. While Ethans approach was by the book, he learned quickly that the small swine could be a little unpredictable something that Clapper also told students to watch for and why they needed to be calm and gentle. Ethan had never pet one before, though. I tried to pet the pig and it jumped! he said with surprise. May Term is a weeklong session in which preschool and elementary school students at the academy are given unique opportunities to learn from teachers, parents and volunteers, who shared their passions with the youths. Other activities include art projects, a readers theater, sewing, calligraphy, bike safety and a STEM lab. Through the activities, students discovered about something not normally part of the school day, many with practical applications all the while having fun. Kaitlin Santarelli, 10, of Bristol, said she enjoyed learning about goats. I think its cool how we got animals at our school, she said. As some groups took turns petting the animals, teacher Amanda Campagna handed off Mason jars filled with whipping cream and salt to other students who were tasked with shaking them until they could no longer hear the contents inside. They were making butter, she said. After the zoology activity, they would head inside to butter bread. While the petting zoo is a first, Campagna in the past has invited others from the animal kingdom, including a horse and a tarantula. The students will see the tarantula again this week and later Skype with a handler of exotic animals and learn about taxidermy and Wisconsin wildlife, as well. The butter-making activity was something Campagna learned as a kid. The shaken contents are more whipped than solid, however. It takes about a half hour if you shake it really good, she said. My family actually used to make this for Thanksgiving when I was a kid with me and the littles it was something to do to keep us out of the kitchen. On the other side of the school, students were learning how to tune up bicycles and how to safely ride them thanks to physical education teacher Michael Axthelm. While students gathered around the bikes, they learned how to use tools to adjust brakes and replace tires. Things when youre riding a bike, these are two somewhat more common things, are adjusting the brakes and learning how to switch out the tires, he said. Later in the week, the students will be learning how to ride safely, he said pointing to the obstacle course set up in the school parking lot. Theyll be learning the rules of the road, he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 2 Angry 0 Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Flint whistleblower, receives Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism New York, NY, May 23, 2019 -- The Vilcek Foundation (New York, NY) and The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (Englewood Cliffs, NJ) are pleased to announce the creation of a new joint award, the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare, and its inaugural recipient, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Dr. Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and associate professor at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, is an immigrant born in the United Kingdom to parents of Iraqi descent; she is receiving the award for research and activism that brought national attention to the widespread lead poisoning of children in Flint, Michigan through the public water supply. Dr. Hanna-Attisha's public health activism arises from a deep wellspring of humanism--an ideal that puts human interests, values, and dignity at the core of healthcare. The Vilcek and Gold foundations sought to honor the impact of humanism and compassion in medicine while spotlighting immigrant leaders in American healthcare when they joined forces to create the award. "One does not have to look far to find evidence of immigrant contributions to American society, and medicine is no exception," said Dr. Jan Vilcek, Chairman and CEO of the Vilcek Foundation. "With the Vilcek-Gold Award, we are proud to honor immigrants in healthcare who serve the American public with both their hearts and their minds." "With this new joint award, we are so pleased to extend the foundation's annual honors to recognize foreign-born healthcare professionals who embody the very core of healthcare: humanism joined with scientific excellence," said Gold Foundation President and CEO Dr. Richard I. Levin. "As our first honoree, Dr. Hanna-Attisha provides a historic mark with her unwavering and courageous commitment to patients and the well-being of our nation." Upon the rise of fascism, oppression, and dictatorship in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's rule, Dr. Hanna-Attisha immigrated with her family to the United States in 1980. They settled in Michigan, where she later received her bachelor's and master's degrees in public health from the University of Michigan, her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and completed her residency at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. In September 2015, Dr. Hanna-Attisha's research uncovered high blood lead levels found in Flint children after the city's water supply was switched to a new source as a part of austerity measures in 2014. Despite denials from state officials that the water source was responsible for the elevated blood lead levels, Dr. Hanna-Attisha's persistent advocacy, along with that of Flint community activists, forced city management to acknowledge wrongdoing, switch the water supply back to a safe source, and commit to long-term public health measures to mitigate the lead poisoning. She is receiving the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare not only for this monumental work, but also for her continued activities as the director of the Michigan State University--Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, serving as a champion for underprivileged kids worldwide. Her efforts have since made international impact as she has testified before the United States Congress twice, was presented the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN America, and was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2011, as a faculty member at Wayne State University in Detroit, she was recognized as a role model of humanistic care and inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Dr. Hanna-Attisha's deep commitment to humanism is illuminated in her recently published bestselling book, "What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City." She writes, "Physicians need to be trained to see symptoms of the larger structural problems that will bedevil a child's health and well-being more than a simple cold ever could... When we know about the child's environment, we can treat these kids in the best, most holistic way, which will leave them with much more than just a prescription for amoxicillin." The award will be presented at Learn Serve Lead 2019: The AAMC Annual Meeting this November in Phoenix, Arizona. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has been a champion for immigrant physicians and their contributions to academic medicine, and Dr. Hanna-Attisha will share her insights as part of the Voices in Medicine and Society lecture series during the meeting. The award includes an unrestricted cash prize of $10,000, which she has pledged to donate to the Flint Kids Fund, part of The Community Foundation of Greater Flint, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ### About the Vilcek Foundation The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation, to honor the contributions of immigrants to the United States and to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences, was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history, as well as their appreciation for the opportunities they received as newcomers to this country. About The Arnold P. Gold Foundation The Arnold P. Gold Foundation was created 30 years ago to infuse the human connection into healthcare. The foundation engages schools, health systems, companies, and individual clinicians in the joy and meaning of humanistic healthcare, so that they have the strength and knowledge to ensure patients and families are partners in collaborative, compassionate, and scientifically excellent care. For information about the Vilcek Foundation: Joyce Li (212) 472-2500 Joyce.li@vilcek.org For information about The Arnold P. Gold Foundation: Brianne Alcala (201) 567-7999 Brianne.alcala@gold-foundation.org This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Los Angeles districts school board has passed an unusual resolution to stop the bans on abortion , thrusting the district directly into the heart of a searing national debate about abortionan issue the U.S. Supreme Court could choose to address in the near future. The resolution, passed as a special order of business May 21, is a clear rebuke to Alabama lawmakers, who recently passed a law banning nearly all instances of abortion in that state with no provisions made for victims of rape or incest, and to other states that have moved to curb abortion. This is an anti-choice movement that will particularly impact women of color and low-income women, the resolution reads in part. " ... We reiterate our support for women making decisions about their bodies and their own lives. Politicians shouldnt be making decisions best left to women, their families, and their doctors. ... The district will support legislative advocacy in an attempt to against this unconstitutional attempt to gut Roe v. Wade and punish women. There do not appear to be any other examples of a school board taking a stand on abortion, which naturally raises the question: Should school boards wade into social issues like this? In a statement, the chairwoman of the Los Angeles school board sounded a note of solidarity with women, and also suggests that the decision to pass the policy modeled leadership for the districts students. We stand with the women across the nation whose constitutional rights are being jeopardized, Monica Garcia said. The health and well-being of women must be prioritized, and we strongly challenge this violation of womens freedom and reproductive rights. If you are being affected by the recent anti-choice state laws, please know that you are not alone in this fight. Our children are counting us to be our absolute best selves. Of course, school boards are not the only ones who take up issues only tangentially related to their duties. (Congress is notorious for passing random resolutions on topics or renaming post offices for favored lawmakers.) On the other hand, school boards, unlike Congress, are at least theoretically nonpartisan, and social issues often cleave down political lines. Abortion: Relevant or Not? Andrew Saultz, a former teacher and local school board member in Michigan, noted that abortion does have a relationship to districts health and wellness policiesand like those topics, abortion has the potential to be controversial. (Hes now an assistant professor and director of the Ph.D program in education and leadership at Pacific University in Oregon.) Some of the school board meetings Ive been a part of, and have been the most vitriolic, have been the meetings related to health curriculum, he said. So I immediately thought, Well, the base on both the political left and right are fired up on reproductive health and choice, so particularly in a liberal area like L.A., its not a surprise. That said, he noted, it is a topic that young people are interested in. I would say that the connection directly to students lives really is pretty present for high school students, he said. California recently updated its health and sex-education framework, but most of the controversy about those guidelines had to do with their inclusion of LGBT topics and some of the specific recommended resources, which some parents felt were too explicit for students. (Several of those resources were removed from the final draft.) Surprisingly, though, the states grade 9-12 framework, despite being more than 100 pages long, references abortion only once, and only as an example of something young people would need to communicate about in a relationship. Heres the line from the draft: Vignette topics should be conveyed objectively and may include pregnancy options and the decision to parent, have an abortion, or choose adoption. Saultz also noted that resolutions like Los Angeles can also carry a political purpose: School boards are often a stepping stone to other political roles, so to the extent that board members want to run for other offices, its a good signal for where they stand on key social issues. From a political side, its the school board members opportunity to demonstrate their values that will help them on the campaign trail moving forward, he said. Could it backfire? Experts werent sure. You have a large number of immigrants, many relatively traditional, and would some of them feel uncomfortable about this? I dont know, said Robert Maranto, a chair of leadership at the University of Arkansas department of education reform. In general, he said, he worries that focusing on social issues risks making it harder for board members to concur on core issues of teaching and learning. If youre fighting over issues that more properly should be decided in Washington or in court, youll be less effective improving the schools at your home town, he said. Is it a Trend? Other recent news headlines suggest that social issues do show up from time to time, and that that trend, while generally quite rare, may be increasing. Several recent school board issues are arguably more closely linked to student well-being than abortion. In the wake of the Trump administrations anti-immigration rhetoric, for example, districts like Denver have passed resolutions clarifying their positions on immigration; in Denvers case, the district vowed not to collect or share information on students immigration status . A few districts like Sioux City, Iowa, have passed resolutions backing students under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, an Obama administration policy that defers deportation for eligible youths and gives them a chance to hold a work permit in the United States. The Des Moines, Iowa, district went further in its resolution, supporting DACA and putting out a protocol for dealing with officials with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. In both cases, the school systems said the policies were meant to reassure students and parents, according to local news reprots. It is for (students) to feel safe in our schools, a Sioux City board member told the Sioux City Journal. In 2019, Howard County, in Maryland, passed a resolution endorsing the Black Lives Matter at School week of action, spotlighting structural racism in the education system, and in 2018, Prince Georges County, Md., where nearly two-thirds of residents are black, did the same. Maranto said he appreciated schools desire to make kids feel welcome and safe. But hed also like to see boards more focused on unglamorous but necessary questions, like whether math teachers are well trained and the curriculum theyve chosen is effective. If school boards keep taking liberal political stands, then why should those on the center and right vote for our next tax increase for schools? he said. We are supposed to serve people with a wide range of views. And while its tempting to think that pronouncements like Los Angeles wind up influencing relatively few people in public debates, they can directly affect the functioning of a school board, he noted. School board elections tend to be relatively low-turnout affairsso alienating any constituency, even a small one, is risky. Generally, I wish we would focus more on school quality and less on taking social stands on culture war issues, he said. Every social issue you take a stand on will please some and displease others, and those you displease are more likely to remember. 258 Shares Share As a college freshman in 2012, my life seemed perfect. I was attending Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, with the dream of becoming a pediatric oncologist. To that end, I was serving as a volunteer, researcher, and clinical intern at the world-renowned St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. I was thriving in my classes and building incredible relationships with my peers and professors. I had never been happier. Everything changed when I grew ill in early 2013. At first, it seemed like a minor infection: a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes that kept coming and going. By the summer, however, I had become a mere shell of my former self. I was exhausted, frequently sleeping 20 hours per day to no avail. I was confused almost constantly; I could not read nor comprehend most words, didnt understand what a red light meant while driving and forgot how to make a meal as simple as cereal. I was losing my balance, falling as I walked through the halls. I started to experience stiffness down my left side, then partial paralysis. No one knew it at the time, but the seemingly trivial virus from months earlier had traveled to my brain and caused swelling, known as encephalitis. And beyond my wildest imagination, it would be chronic: I would come to suffer from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which would leave me with periods of fatigue, confusion, and weakness for years. Eventually, I would learn that 25% of people with a story similar to mine are entirely bedbound, and another 50% are able to work only part-time. The hand we were dealt was horrible, but from that terrible draw, I am one of the lucky ones. During the formative periods of my illness, however, I was too sick to realize that I was sick. It was only after many months of excruciating delirium that a caring professor noticed something was wrong and pushed me to seek medical help. In my cognitively aware moments, I was hopeful that a physician would know what was wrong and give me a simple pill that could return me to my former, non-sick self. I was stunned when instead, the doctor said just a few minutes after meeting me, Well, college is hard, and maybe its not for you. We need to deal with this mood issue. I was devastated. Somehow, my physician had internalized my illness to his perception of my faults: I was not smart enough for college, I was not strong enough to handle the stress, and changing my mood or attitude would somehow cure me as opposed to running even one medical test. Shortly after arriving to medical school, I found myself on the other side of the hospital bed as part of the team listening to patients with stories like mine. Unfortunately, I was frequently discouraged by what I saw. In my first year, for example, the other students and I were assigned to interview a patient whose main complaint was fatigue. This patient described how he had lost the ability to participate in the things he once enjoyed and how he could barely think straight. My heart broke as I listened to his story, knowing the indescribable pain that accompanies the loss of such core components of ones identity. Yet as I left the room, I heard some of the students say, I had no idea what to do there was nothing wrong with that guy. At first, I was angry. I knew how shattered I felt when my doctor said nearly the same thing to me. It was hard for me to understand how, as early as our first semester of training, it had become natural for students to deny the existence of the problem when there was a concern that couldnt be measured, seen, or immediately fixed. As I reflected more deeply, however, I realized that the issue was not a lack of compassion. It was a lack of training. Before this encounter, we were taught a widely-used mnemonic to interview patients and ascertain the medical issue: OLDCARTS. Origin, location, duration, character, associations/alleviations, radiation, timing, and severity. Where does it hurt? When did it start? How bad is the pain, on a scale from 1 to 10? This works great for something like chest pain, where there is a clear onset and physical manifestation of the condition. Yet not every illness works this way, and no one had even mentioned that possibility to us. As a result, future physicians with less than a year of training jumped to the conclusion that if an illness does not fit these criteria, it simply does not exist. And by neglecting to prepare us for the possibility that OLDCARTS may fail and present us with alternative question schemes, medical institutions are silently conveying the message that these types of beliefs are OK. On some occasions, I have also found myself nearly falling into this trap. I have listened to a patient describe her symptoms related to congestive heart failure, and as some of these did not align with descriptions in our lectures or textbooks, I began to doubt the patients recollections and motives. The only thing that transformed my encounter was my lived experience. I had been on the other side of that bed, desperately trying to explain something that didnt make sense based on lab values or physical examination findings. I understood this patients struggle not because I was a better student or doctor than my peers at this stage, but because I innately understood the words and plight of invisible, complex illness better. This, too, underscores the need for more doctors who have experienced disability or chronic illness. We are often overlooked, but we are an asset to a field that struggles with diversity and inclusion. I will certainly have limitations; fortunately, I never wanted to be a surgeon even before I grew sick, but I know that the periods of weakness down my left side would prevent me from excelling in long days of standing in the operating room. But I and many future doctors like me will understand my patients in ways that others cannot. I will fight endlessly for them because I have known the isolation and despair that result from being disbelieved by the person whom you trusted to help. I will have considered every aspect of my patients health, knowing all too well the physical, emotional and mental toll that illness takes. Ultimately, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. The best thing we can do as physicians (and perhaps simply as human beings) is to be intimately aware of them. From there, we can skillfully craft our everyday practice to maximize our strengths and find resources to compensate for our weaknesses. And, contrary to common belief, I would argue that illness forces you to do this. I am not the person I was before I became sick. I am acutely aware of the skills I have lost. Yet I am also in awe of the beautiful traits I have come to develop and the incredible strength I can derive from places I never knew existed before my illness. The profile of my strengths and weaknesses is different but just as expansive and just as wonderful as that of my peers. Too often do we see chronic illness and disability as only a disadvantage when truthfully, they can benefit the medical community in ways that fill many of our current gaps. Emily Hayward is a medical student. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 4K Shares Share Every time I hear that there is a nursing shortage in America, I feel myself cringe. There is not a shortage of nurses in America. There is a shortage of nurses who choose to work at the bedside. There is a reason, and it is called post-traumatic stress disorder. Medically, we have learned that PTSD can occur after a single event or as a result of chronic stressors for a period of time. As a living organism, we know that the body can only sustain so much stress before it starts to break down. These ailments can be physical and/or mental. Sometimes they happen over a period of time, however often times we do not even realize the symptoms until they have forced us to take notice. As a nurse, I know when our bodies have had enough, and they need to rest, they will make us rest. Bedside nursing is hard and very stressful. The bedside nurse is responsible for caring for multiple people every minute of every shift. That is, multiple sick and potentially dying people. The nurse is responsible for monitoring the patients response to treatment, the patients condition, the patients mental health, the doctors orders, assisting the patient with activities of daily living, and being there for the family. Bedside nurses are the coordinators of care. We are the ones who make sure that all parts of the care plan are being carried out and that the system is working the best it can. We are the ones who comfort the patients when they need us the most. We do not mind doing all of this. In fact, this is what we signed up for when we graduated from nursing school. We can handle these tasks if we have a partnership with the hospitals that we work for. This partnership all starts with the nursing grid. Each unit in a hospital has one. It is basically a chart that states how many patients each nurse should have. It is a chart that is supposed to indicate the safe number of patients that each nurse should be assigned every shift. It is a topic of heated discussion in the nursing world. Normal patient-to-nurse ratios depend on the unit and the acuity of the patients. For instance, most nurses agree that in the intensive care unit (ICU) nurses should not be assigned more than two patients each. If a patient needs continuous dialysis or another procedure that needs to be monitored, then this ratio goes to 1:1. This is a common theme. If a nurse is assigned to a critical care unit or cardiac unit, then the patient to nurse ratio is acceptable and safe at 3:1. This means that each nurse on the unit should only have three patients. Acceptable medical-surgical unit ratios are usually either 4:1. This means that for every four patients, there should be a nurse. Another rule of safety is that there should never be only one nurse on a unit. Too many things can change quickly, and safety comes in numbers. Remember we are talking about human life. When these basic rules are followed, then nurses and patients have better outcomes. Nurses stay at the bedside longer and patients do better overall. The problem that nurses are having is these basic safety numbers are not being followed, and we are burning out as a result. This has to change if we are going to keep our valuable nurses at the bedside. It has to change if people are going to receive the care they deserve when they are in the hospital. Nursing salaries also need to be increased. Most nurses have their bachelors in nursing degree (BSN). Many hospitals require it as a condition of employment. A bachelor of nursing degree takes about five years, and the cost of the education starts at $50,000. Many nurses have to take out loans to pay for school. If we look at a 10-year repayment plan that does not include interest a $50,000 loan means a monthly payment of $417.00. I work in the Midwest. Our new nurses start at $22.00/hour. Some nurses earn a differential for working nights and weekends, too, although those shifts come with health and family costs. If we multiply $22.00/hour by the average 160 hours that most full-time people work each month, we end up with a gross monthly salary of $3,520. Most accountants say that taxes and benefits equal at least 30% of our pay. This means that on average, a new nurse can expect to bring home $2,464 a month. If we subtract the student loan payment, this means a new nurse will need to live off of a little over $2,000 a month. Trying to pay for housing, food, transportation, and utilities each month, forces many nurses to choose to work overtime. Working 12-hour shifts are rough. In fact, 12-hour shifts often are 13-hour shifts, and many times, nurses do not get breaks. We want breaks, we do! They just become impossible with the increased patient loads and the increase in patient illness that we see. If a nurse somehow gets to leave to go on break, the relieving nurse needs to assume the responsibility for double the patients for the period of time. If that nurse is already having a hard time staying afloat of the assigned tasks at hand, then giving this nurse more responsibility doesnt make sense. Bedside nurses are tired. We also are often asked to float to other areas of the hospital without training. Yes, I learned about basic orthopedics in nursing school; however as a neurology nurse, my knowledge of repairing bones is limited. Nurses should never be asked to float to another unit of a hospital unless they receive adequate training. This is a matter of safety. No other professional business would do this. A payroll accountant would never be asked to float to the sales department. A salesperson would never be asked to work as an architect. A cardiologist would not be asked to fill in for a neurologist. It just isnt done. Why do nurses have to risk their licenses to do this? It is not safe patient practice. We get scared. When nurses have all of these stressors constantly, they may not even realize that they are having symptoms of chronic stress that can lead to PTSD. It sneaks up on us as we are caring for our patients. We learn to compartmentalize the constant stress and emotions that we feel, as we chalk them up as another part of the job. We suppress them, until one day, all of a sudden, the compartment opens, and we find ourselves overrun with anxiety and depression. We find ourselves having flashbacks, feeling guilty and having trouble sleeping. We begin to doubt our ability to be a nurse. We begin to question everything. We find ourselves unable to work, at least at the bedside at least until we heal, maybe never again. Nurses need support from our hospitals, our government officials and our communities. We need regulated patient ratios and increased pay. Hospitals need to stop floating us to other units unless we are trained in that area of nursing. We need classes on caring for ourselves, and we need to take advantage of employee-assistance programs that offer free, confidential counseling. We need hospital-provided exercise rooms. We need to learn coping skills. We need to be able to process all of the emotions that we feel that have always been discarded as, part of the job. We need to talk about our issues, and we need to feel like we are being heard. We need to heal. Anne Naulty is a nurse. Image credit: Shutterstock.com After weeks of wrangling, an Illinois judge Thursday decided to unseal the case file in the Jussie Smollett case. 'Good cause does not exist to keep the records of this case sealed,' Cook County Circuit Judge Steven Watkins wrote. Cook County prosecutors will release the documents in the case by June 3, according to a statement from State's Attorney Kim Foxx. The gay black actor claimed in January that he'd been the victim of a hate-fueled attack in Chicago, but police in February announced that Smollett had staged the attack. A Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett on 16 felony counts, but on March 26, prosecutors unexpectedly dropped the charges against the 36-year-old 'Empire' actor. The lead prosecutor said they reviewed facts and considered Smollett's volunteer service in the community as well as his willingness to forfeit his $10,000 bond. Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel denounced the decision. Defense attorney Patricia Brown Holmes lauded the dismissal and told reporters that prosecutors sought to seal the case file. 'Today as you have figured out, the state made a motion to drop the charges against Jussie Smollett and to seal the record in this case,' she said in March. However, Thursday's order says that Smollett's defense team requested the files be sealed and prosecutors did not object. Writing that it's 'easily conceivable that a defendant whose case was dismissed would wish to maintain his sense of privacy,' Watkins said that this was not the case with Smollett and noted that the actor and his attorneys spoke to several media outlets following the dismissal. 'These are not the actions of a person seeking to maintain his privacy or simply be let alone,' the judge wrote. 'While the court appreciates that the defendant was in the public eye before the events that precipitated this case, it was not necessary for him to address this so publicly and to such an extent.' CNN was among numerous media outlets fighting to have the records unsealed. Smollett's publicist, Hilary Rosen, declined to comment on the ruling. EUGENE, Ore. -- A Eugene man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in federal prison and three years supervised release for committing a hate crime against St. Mary Catholic Church in September 2018. Benjamin Jaramillo Hernandez, 69, pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to obstruction or attempted obstruction of persons in the free exercise of their religious beliefs and unlawful possession of ammunition. St. Mary Catholic Church staff and parishioners have reported that Hernandezs threats have left staff and churchgoers physically injured, frightened, concerned about their own safety and unable to participate freely in the exercise of their religious beliefs. The harassment has not only affected individual parishioners, but the parish as a whole. Multiple members of the St. Mary community have reported that the church has experienced a drop in attendance and in weekly collections after Hernandezs conduct. Threats of violence and hateful intimidation will not be tolerated by the Department of Justice, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. As demonstrated by this case, the Civil Rights Division will vigorously prosecute those who violate the right of individuals or entire communities to freely exercise their religious beliefs. U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said Hernandez used intimidation and threats of violence to terrorize a single congregation, but the harm from hate crimes like this extends beyond the specific individuals or group targeted. These crimes threaten the security, freedom and well-being of entire communities, Williams said. No conviction can reverse the harm caused by Mr. Hernandez, but we hope it provides some measure of justice to St. Mary parishioners and the entire Eugene community. Renn Cannon, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said the right to worship freely and without fear is fundamental to life in America. Whatever your faith, the FBI and our partners will work to protect your right to express your beliefs and live in peace, Cannon said. According to court documents, on Sept. 9, 2018, Hernandez was escorted from St. Mary property following an angry outburst during communion. On Sept. 14, a church employee reported to the Eugene Police Department that someone had dispensed pepper spray on the exterior door handles and through the mail slot of the St. Mary office front door. Employees reported burning sensations in their fingers and respiratory distress. A Eugene police officer and FBI agent identified Hernandez in church surveillance footage as the person responsible for both incidents. On Sept. 16, 2018, Hernandez was again spotted near the church. A witness saw Hernandez across the street from the church when he stopped near the Eugene Public Library and shouted at the witness, Ive got something for you right here, while pointing to a bag he was carrying. On Sept. 20, St. Mary employees reported finding a threatening note and seven 10mm Sig hollow point bullets left in the office. The note threatened the church with 2 MP5s w/ 50 rounds each, a type of submachine gun. The note also said: Eugene is going on the [expletive] map. A Eugene police officer again reviewed church surveillance footage and identified Hernandez as the individual who dropped off the note and bullets. On Sept. 21, 2018, Eugene Police arrested Hernandez at the Eugene Public Library. While searching Hernandez officers found a partially empty can of pepper spray, three .410 shotgun shells, and thirteen 10mm Sig hollow point bullets. The 10mm bullets were the same brand and caliber as the bullets left at St. Mary with the threatening note. This case was investigated by the Eugene Police Department and the FBI and prosecuted by Gavin W. Bruce, assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon, and Cameron Bell, trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division. EUGENE, Ore. -- The University of Oregon Board of Trustees is expected to vote on an in-state tuition increase for undergraduate students Thursday morning, and students and staff plan to make their voices heard. In a letter to UO community members, President Michael Schill said he is recommending a top rate of 9.68 percent. That would mean a $21 dollar increase per credit hour. Tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students are estimated at $12,825 for 45 credits during the 2019-2020 academic year, according to the universitys website. The move comes as university officials said they are working to balance their budget and get more funding for higher education from the state. RELATED: UNIVERSITY OF OREGON COULD IMPLEMENT BUDGET CUTS, TUITION INCREASE Senior Andy Alfonso said he recently traveled to Salem with other students and President Shill to speak with lawmakers to close the funding gap. "It frightens me because my future children ... what do I tell them? What can I do, you know? I don't know what to say," Alfonso said. The meeting is set to take place at 9:30 a.m. at the Ford Alumni Center. Organizers with the Campus Labor Council, which represents students and workers at the university, plan to submit a letter that expresses their concerns to the board and then hold a rally at the EMU. The university is also proposing $11.5 million in budget cuts. Bob Bussel, the director for the on-campus Labor Education and Research Center, said 68 percent of the funding they get through the UO is on the chopping block. "We hope to let the trustees know that there is a broad campus concern about these issues," Bussell said. The rally is set to start at 12:30 p.m. 1 of 2 Election results 2019: Ab ki baar, phir Modi sarkar, BJP set for second term Prime Minister Narendra Modi's NDA government has been picked to lead India again by many of the hundreds of millions who voted in the hotly contested, six-week long Lok Sabha election, trends emerging from vote counts show. If the current numbers hold, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win a parliamentary majority on its own in a 543-strong Lok Sabha with two nominated members - just as it did in 2014. None of the 542 races have been called, but the writing appears to be on the wall for Opposition leaders who dismissed exit poll data predicting such an emphatic victory for the incumbent . The BJP is heading for a sweep in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi. The party has also made inroads in West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana. It is comfortably placed in key states such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra despite a strong challenge from the Opposition. Meanwhile, the Congress has failed to carry forward the momentum from its recent election victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It is, however, faring better in Punjab and Kerala. The full results are expected to be officially declared only late evening. In Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP was leading in 56 of the 80 seats at stake. The SP was ahead in eight and BSP in 12. Read More... The National Reptile Zoo in Gowran has raised a 40,000 loan through Linked Finance, Irelands leading peer-to-peer (P2P) lender. The unique and intriguing visitor centre is Irelands only reptile-dedicated centre and will use the funds to expand the Zoo to a larger facility closer to Kilkenny City Centre in Autumn. The National Reptile Zoo is a labour of love for James Hennessy. Having led science-based expeditions to the tropics, he is one of the lucky people to turn his passion into a successful business. Established in 2016, the zoo is home to 200 animals and 50 different species including alligators, six-foot-long Monitor lizards, rattle snakes, cobras and poison dart frogs. James showcases the wonderful creatures for others to experience and learn about the reptiles in the Kilkenny-based visitor centre. The visitor centre has managed to blend conservation, education and exploration of all things reptile into a thriving business. Both visitor numbers and reptile numbers are steadily increasing, with over 30,000 visitors to the zoo in 2018. The loan will facilitate the growth and expansion of the business and until opening in Autumn it is business as usual in the existing zoo. To support the increasing growth and business expansion, James required access to fast and affordable source of funding. Commenting on the funding, James Hennessy, Owner, National Reptile Zoo: Applying to the Linked Finance platform was a great experience for us. We could never have imagined how quick and hassle-free P2P finance could be. Within 24 hours our loan was evaluated and funded by Linked Finances lenders. Working with the platform was effortless. I would recommend them to any SME with plans for growth. Niall Dorrian, CEO Linked Finance comments: The purpose of our platform is to support great Irish businesses, like The National Reptile Zoo, and provide them with access to funding so they can unlock the full potential of their business. The National Reptile Zoo is exactly the kind of hungry, innovative and rare Irish business that Linked Finance investors love to support. The drive of Irish SMEs and their dedication to achieving their targets is essential to the continued growth of the Irish economy. Linked Finance has now provided more than 1200 loans for Irish SMEs since its launch in 2013, with more than 3 million in interest already repaid to Linked Finance lenders. In 2018, the Linked Finance platform supported 11 fantastic Kilkenny businesses to raise almost 650,000 to fund business growth. Since its establishment, Linked Finance has pioneered P2P lending in Ireland. Its market-leading platform has demonstrated that there is a real appetite among Irish SMEs for new and innovative paths to funding. Lending on the site has effectively doubled each year. A man has been jailed for two years for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old girl in Kilkenny. The young woman thought the three and a half hour ordeal was the end for her and in her victim impact statement said her life will never be the same. On Sunday, July 29, 2017, the young woman was socialising in a Kilkenny city night club with friends. She became separated from them and at 3am went outside intending to get a taxi. As she tried to hail a taxi, a car pulled up and stopped. She assumed it was a taxi and got in, giving the driver, Dariusz Swiderski, 25 Dolmen Mews, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, the address she wanted to go to. The young woman fell asleep in the car. It drove around for a short time before parking in a secluded area of a housing estate on the outskirts of Kilkenny. She was sexually assaulted over three and a half hours. When arrested Mr Swiderski admitted kissing the teenagers legs and breasts. He also admitted touching her breasts and vagina. She awoke to being digitally penetrated by the defendant. Her top was pulled up and her trousers were around her knees. She was in shock and stayed in the car for a short time before she fled and hid behind a tree. She made her way through the estate and out onto the city ring road where a passer-by stopped and called the gardai. Garda James McGuill attended the scene and accompanied the young woman to the sexual assault unit at Waterford University Hospital. Garda McGuill used CCTV to identify the car that the young lady got into and the licence plate to identify the driver. He went to Mr Swiderskis home but he was not there. On July 31, with other gardai, he arrested Mr Swiderskis at his workplace. Mr Swiderski was interviewed four times. He admitted picking up the injured party, touching and kissing her. He said she never said to him she didnt want it. He believed it was consensual. The garda said the young lady was quite clear she did not want any contact with the defendant. Mr Swiderski entered a guilty plea during the investigation but later made an application in court to vacate that plea. The application was denied. The young lady prepared a victim impact statement which she asked Garda McGuill to read in court. She said that she had just finished her second year in college and started a summer job when this assault happened. She had been bubbly, outgoing and happy, overall life was good. On the night of the incident she remembered getting into a taxi but after a few minutes being scared and texting her boyfriend to say this. It was the most frightening thing that ever happened to me. She said when she woke up, she felt trapped. I thought this was the end for me. She told Mr Swiderski that she needed to pee and got out of the car and ran. At the hospital she said she felt disgusted and used. Following the assault she was afraid he had her name and would try to find her. She said she found it tough getting back to a normal life. Her relationship with her boyfriend broke down, she became depressed and college became a dark place for me. She said she didnt trust anyone anymore, not even her family. My quality of life has never been the same. The young woman said there are days when she doesnt see a future and is haunted by not knowing what happened while she was asleep. I feel like damaged goods. The court heard that Mr Swiderski offered a letter of apology and 9,000 in compensation to the young woman. She did not accept either, the court heard. The barrister defending Mr Swiderski said his client had not been parading around as a taxi he just stopped when he saw the ladys arm out to flag a taxi. He did not attempt to stop her getting out of the car. Judge Patrick Meghen asked the young woman if she would consent to the 9,000 being given to charity and she asked for some time to think of an appropriate charity. Defending Mr Swiderski, his barrister said he is 46 and a devout family man who supports his family in Poland. He helped his sister and her husband buy a home for their family. He has engaged with the Probation Service and is remorseful. He regrets the distress and anxiety caused. A Probation Report said Mr Swiderski is at low risk of reoffending. A psychological report said he is a vulnerable individual. He suffers with anxiety and depression and has some psychological difficulties. In Poland he was rejected from the army by an Army Medical Commission report that said he had a personality disorder. Judge Meghen said there were aggravating factors in the case - the deception of allowing the injured party think she was getting into a taxi; that she was in the car for three and a half hours; that the defendant is still in denial about the circumstances of the assault. Mitigating circumstances were that Mr Swiderski made admissions to gardai, he offered an apology and had no previous conviction, there was no violence or attempt to stop the lady leave the car. Mr Swiderski was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment with 18 months suspended on condition he enter a bond to keep the peace. He was also sentenced to three years post-release supervision and he will be entered on the sex offenders register for five years. Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials trying to shore up their arsenal to defend the economy in the next U.S. recession received a warning about one approach they have been considering. Plans to hold more short-term bonds to prepare for a downturn could create risks of its own, Fed staff told policymakers, according to minutes from the Feds April 30-May 1 meeting that were released on Wednesday. Many Fed officials think it would be a good idea for the central bank to hold more bonds that come due soon. The logic is that during the next recession, the Fed could trade in those soon-to-expire bonds for longer-term ones, putting downward pressure on borrowing costs without expanding the U.S. central banks overall asset pile. It is an approach called a maturity extension program, or Operation Twist, and the Fed did it 2011-2012. There is a potential problem, though. If the Fed shifts to more short-term bonds, that could make longer-term debt pricier now, pressuring rates that business and consumers get on mortgages and other loans. In other words, instead of helping its goal of making monetary conditions easier, the Fed would be tightening financial conditions. All else being equal, the Fed would have to offset the extra pressure by lowering rates, the central banks staff told policymakers at the meeting. That might be hard to do with rates already at 2.25-2.50%, not far from zero. The Fed made no abrupt shift to shorter bonds prior to Operation Twist. Meanwhile, it could take five to 15 years for the Fed to transition to the sorts of bonds policymakers want going into a recession, Fed staff said. The Fed holds nearly $4 trillion in assets, much in government-backed bonds bought to support the economy after the 2008 global financial crisis and not scheduled to come due for a decade or more. A faster transition may require the Fed to start selling some of the mortgage bonds it bought. There is a group of officials who want to shorten the maturities of Treasuries now so they could do an Operation Twist later, said Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank in New York. There isnt a consensus agreement on this right now. Fed officials are not forecasting a recession but want to be ready. Several policymakers at the most recent meeting saw no need to resolve this debate for some time. Still, policymakers skepticism over holding shorter-term bonds seems to show more debate over the issue than previously reported, for instance in March, when Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker described a general consensus to build a shorter-maturity portfolio. Skepticism over that conclusion could lead to a narrower gap between bonds maturing soon and longer-term Treasuries, according to a couple of Fed policymakers during the meeting who worried if that fact could push investors to take on more risk. But some Fed officials see risks in favoring short-term bonds, as well, if the Fed becomes too large a part of the market for those bonds or if they encourage companies to take on more short-term debt. The gap between 2- and 10-year Treasuries narrowed to its lowest levels in more than a month on Wednesday. Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Howard Schneider and Jason Lange in Washington, Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler LONDON A(Reuters) - Time is of the essence if the UK authorities are to broker a rescue of British Steel after it collapsed into liquidation, putting 25,000 jobs at risk. British industrialist Sanjeev Guptas Liberty House has emerged as one potential bidder for the countrys second largest steel producer, two sources told Reuters on Thursday. The Financial Times reported that Chinese state-owned group Hesteel, which owns a steel plant in Serbia, and private equity fund Endless could also be bidders. A buyer would need to be in place within 2-3 months at most as the business needs access to 400 to 500 million pounds of working capital and a cash injection in excess of 75 million pounds ($95 million), one of the sources said. Business minister Greg Clark said the government had been in talks with potential buyers of British Steel while the opposition Labour Party and trade unions have called for the steelmaker to be nationalized. Based in Scunthorpe, northern England, British Steel employs around 5,000 people directly, while 20,000 more depend on its supply chain. It is owned by investment firm Greybull Capital, former owners of collapsed airline Monarch. Despite going into forced liquidation on Wednesday, staff have been kept on and operations maintained, with the UKs Official Receiver granted an indemnity which allows it access to government funds to keep the business running for now. There are practical reasons for this as it would facilitate a rescue but the cash crunch could be felt by suppliers as all of British Steels lenders are in the process of pulling out, the source said. British Steel produces steel from scratch in its blast furnace in Scunthorpe. Blast furnaces cannot easily be turned on or off, but need to be continually supplied with raw materials to keep their temperature steady. Electricity, gas and oxygen, these things you dont stock, if suppliers decide to stop they (British Steel) close. Some suppliers need to be paid every day, its a very difficult situation, the source said. Were going to see announcements from these companies explaining that they have to make people redundant, he said, adding the government would be looking to find a solution within weeks. Hargreaves Services, a materials services firm, has warned it could take a pretax profit hit of 1.3 million pounds in its next full year if British Steel ceases to trade. Around 170 jobs at the firm would be at risk. On the customer side, Network Rail, which buys about 100,000 tonnes of rail a year from British Steel, told Reuters its contingency plans include stockpiling rail, reallocating stock and servicing rail to re-use it. Another British Steel customer said it was looking into new supply sources should the steelmaker fail. TRICKY OPERATION Liberty House, one of the worlds largest privately owned industrial groups and Europes third largest steel producer, has expanded rapidly in recent years, snapping up distressed steel and aluminum assets around the world since. Gupta is showing interest (but) to make it feasible you need a pool of banks supporting the business, said the source. He explained the government was keen to put money into the business so long as the funds were structured in such a way that a private buyer does not benefit from them should the steelmaker fold for good. Liberty House declined comment. According to pollster YouGov, 46 percent of Britons say British Steel should be nationalized, 18 percent say it should not, while 36 percent say they do not know. Greybull Capital, which specializes in trying to turn around distressed businesses, paid former British Steel owners Tata Steel a nominal one pound for the business three years ago. Jon Bolton, director of global steel development at Liberty House, was formerly director at Tata Steel Long Products Europe - the business sold to Greybull and renamed British Steel. British Steel had asked the government for a 75 million pound loan this month, later reducing its demand to 30 million pounds. It had already secured a government loan of around 120 million pounds ($154 million) to cover its carbon taxes. Having turned a profit in 2017, British Steel cut around 400 jobs last year, blaming factors such as the weak pound and uncertainties surrounding Brexit, which it said hammered its order book. Making a profit in steel is particularly difficult in Britain, where steelmakers pay some of the highest green taxes and energy costs in the world, as well as facing high labor costs and business rates. The collapse of British Steel has put Greybull in the spotlight. Known for buying up distressed assets on the cheap, its record has been patchy, with four of the 10 companies it bought since 2010 placed into administration. British Steel also operates a business in France producing rail, and a wire and processing unit in the Netherlands. (For a graphic on 'UK steel production since 1970' click tmsnrt.rs/2LX989V) Reporting by Maytaal Angel. Additional reporting by Sangameswaran S and Pratima Desai; Graphic by Andy Bruce; Editing by Keith Weir and David Evans (Reuters) - German shipping firm Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has moved to legally detain three of Venezuelan PDVSAs oil tankers to collect on late payments owed to it by the state-run oil company, according to a document seen by Reuters and sources close to the decision. PDVSA has struggled for years to pay its bills due to falling crude output and limited cash flow, leaving it owing numerous firms worldwide. That was even before the United States in late January imposed tough sanctions on Venezuelas oil exports, which have since dropped by more than 40 percent. BSM operated 13 of the 32 tankers owned by PDVSA and two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) jointly owned by PDVSA and PetroChina, according to the companies. In March, BSM started withdrawing staff from PDVSAs tankers to reduce its exposure to Venezuela and later returned some of them to the firm. Hamburg-based BSM is now looking to arrest - the legal term for preventing a ship from moving, but short of an outright seizure - the three tankers in question over debt accumulated by PDVSA. Due to the substantial fees due to BSM from owners we have placed arrest on three of the tankers, the Arita in Singapore and the Parnaso and Rio Arauca which are both in Lisbon, Portugal, said a letter distributed internally by BSM this month. PDVSA crude and fuel exports have dropped to around 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far in May, down from 1.4 million bpd just before sanctions, according to PDVSAs trade documents and Refinitiv Eikon data. BSM is not the only maritime firm taking action against PDVSA. U.S.-based shipbroker McQuilling Partners in March ended a contract for providing four tankers to PDVSA, citing sanctions. The two maritime services firms handled a large portion of vessels leased and owned by PDVSA. Without them, Venezuela is limited in its ability to store oil, move cargoes between ports internally, and even export to certain destinations. On April 6, the Arita, owned by PDVSAs subsidiary Albanave and operated by a unit of BSM, was detained in Singapore by law firm Gurbani & Co on behalf of BSM, according to the countrys Supreme Court website and a source familiar with the matter. BSMs attempt to arrest the Parnaso and the Rio Arauca in Portugal has been more complicated. Those two vessels have been moored in that countrys waters since 2017 due to disputes with shipping firms and fuel providers in Portugal, along with Lisbons Port Authority. BSM, Lisbon Port Authority and PDVSAs maritime unit PDV Marina declined to comment. PDVSA did not respond to a request for comment. In March, it said its relationship with BSM had not ended. The amount owed by PDV Marina to BSM globally at the end of 2018 was at least $15 million, according to a source at the company and another document seen by Reuters early this year. The Arita, an Aframax vessel that can hold up to 700,000 barrels of oil, has not navigated much since it first set sail at the end of 2017, as it was hampered by a dispute between PDVSA and Iranian shipyard Sadra that kept it from being used. Following a few trips to China and Indonesia in 2018, it has remained in Singapore since April with its engine immobilized, according to Refinitiv Eikon tanker tracking data. FEW OPTIONS FOR PDVSA BSM has returned four vessels to PDVSA and plans to return another nine by the end of June, but the process has proven to be challenging and time consuming, the company said in the internal letter. The two VLCCs jointly owned by PDVSA and PetroChina have not been included in the plans. PDVSA has struggled to hire maritime services due to sanctions and mounting bills. It has started talks with a Venezuela-based firm, Blue Oceanic Services CA, for placing crew and supplying food and provisions to some tankers, the same source added. Blue Oceanic Services did not respond to requests for comment. In recent weeks PDVSA has asked some tankers to switch off transponders while in Venezuelan or Cuban waters, which could be to avoid detection due to U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan shipments, according to captains, inspectors and shipping sources. It has also sought to beef up security by putting military officers on certain vessels, the company said. Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; Florence Tan in Singapore and Mircely Guanipa in Punto Fijo, Venezuela. Additional reporting by Catarina Demony in Lisbon and Luc Cohen in Caracas; Editing by Marguerita Choy ZURICH (Reuters) - Opposition from across the political spectrum will make it all but impossible for the Swiss government to sign a draft treaty with the European Union next month, sources close to the matter told Reuters. Failure to sign the accord that Brussels has sought for a decade and which was negotiated over four years would plunge Swiss ties with its biggest trading partner into a new ice age, potentially disrupting trade and cross-border securities deals. The Swiss cabinet is likely to tell Brussels that too many issues remain unresolved to clinch a deal now while it battles a far-right campaign to end the free movement of EU citizens in a referendum due next year, the sources said. That looming battle is being billed as Switzerlands Brexit moment. With the treaty stalled, the European Commission has threatened not to extend beyond mid-2019 the recognition of Swiss stock exchange rules that lets EU investors make trades there. Swiss medical technology firms could feel the pinch as Brussels drags its feet on updating mutual recognition of industrial standards in the sector, making exports harder. Swiss scientists could also be frozen out of EU research programs if Europe plays hardball over Swiss footdragging on a pact. The EU accounts for 60% of Switzerlands foreign trade by volume. The dangers are clear, but it is a price Swiss leaders appear ready to pay. There are still too many open points that can been seen as negative for the economy, broadcaster SRF quoted President Ueli Maurer as telling a conference in Interlaken. FIFTY SHADES OF NO In the four-party, seven-member cabinet, only Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis of the pro-business Liberals actively supports the deal, said one senior official from a coalition member. For the others, it is fifty shades of no, the source said, seeking anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. The treaty would have non-EU member Switzerland routinely adopt EU single market rules and have EU citizens in Switzerland enjoy the same rights as in their home countries. It would open the possibility of new trade deals, such as for an electricity union yoking Swiss and European utilities. Opponents range from the far-right Swiss Peoples Party, which calls the treaty an unacceptable infringement of sovereignty, to the center-left Social Democrats, who reject diluting Swiss rules that protect Europes highest wages from cross-border competition. The government has wrapped up months of consultations with domestic power brokers on how to proceed, and must give Brussels an answer next month. The message is likely to be that Switzerland will keep working on a treaty but that its top priority is to unite its political forces and stave off the campaign to end the free movement of EU nationals into the country. That is unlikely to satisfy the EU, which expects a clear signal that Bern accepts the treaty text and will start the ratification process. It has ruled out renegotiating the treaty. A Swiss government spokesman said only that the cabinet discussed the situation regularly and would communicate its decision by summer. The timing is complicated by parliamentary elections in both the EU and Switzerland this year. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has urged the Swiss to do a deal while he is still in office, but this looks increasingly unlikely. Unlike Britains messy Brexit divorce from the EU, Switzerland has a patchwork of 120 sectoral accords that govern EU ties and which would remain in place in the absence of a new treaty. But they will become increasingly outdated as EU single market rules evolve. Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Mark Heinrich and John Stonestreet LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May was clinging on to power on Thursday after her final Brexit gambit backfired, overshadowing a European election that has shown a United Kingdom still riven by division over its EU divorce. Mays departure will deepen the Brexit crisis as a new leader is likely to want a more decisive split with the European Union, raising the chances of a confrontation with the bloc and an election which could usher in a socialist government. In such a fluid situation, the worlds fifth largest economy faces an array of options including an orderly exit with a deal, a no-deal exit, an election or a second referendum which could ultimately reverse the 2016 decision to leave the EU. May, who won the top job in the turmoil which followed the 2016 referendum on EU membership, has repeatedly failed to get parliaments approval for the divorce deal she pitched as a way to heal the Brexit divisions of the country. But her last gambit, offering a possible second referendum and closer trading arrangements with the EU, triggered a revolt by some Brexit-supporting ministers. She is now under pressure to name her departure date. House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom resigned, saying she felt Mays approach would not deliver Brexit. The BBC said more ministers could follow. May set to go after Brexit fiasco, read The Sun newspapers front page, while The Times said: May prepares to quit after cabinet mutiny. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said May would still be prime minister when U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a state visit on June 3. Theresa May will be prime minister to welcome him, and rightly so, Hunt said. While the country remains deeply divided over Brexit, most agree that it will shape the future of the United Kingdom for generations to come. Pro-Europeans fear Brexit will undermine Londons position as one of the worlds top two financial capitals and weaken the West as it grapples with Trumps unpredictable presidency and growing assertiveness from Russia and China. The loss of Britain for the EU is the biggest blow yet to more than 60 years of effort to forge European unity after two world wars, though the 27 other members of the bloc have shown surprising unity during the tortuous negotiations. May, who has shown obduracy during one of the most tumultuous premierships of recent British history, had promised to leave office if lawmakers approved her Brexit deal but she is now under intense pressure to name a date. Sterling, which tumbled on the 2016 Brexit vote to its biggest one-day fall since the early 1970s, dropped 0.4% to a new 4-1/2 month low of $1.2605. The yield on the United Kingdoms 10-year gilt fell to 0.991%, the lowest since March 29, the day Britain had been due to leave the EU. Downing Street refused to comment on Mays future. BREXIT CRISIS Nearly three years after the United Kingdom voted 52% to 48% to leave the EU, it remains unclear how, when or even if it will leave the European club it joined in 1973. The current deadline to leave is Oct. 31. When May goes, her Conservative Party will elect a leader who is likely to want to renegotiate the deal May agreed with the EU in November, raising the chances of a confrontation with the bloc and a national election. The bookmakers favorite to succeed May is Boris Johnson, the face of the official campaign to leave the EU, who has said he wants a more decisive split with the bloc. More than a dozen others are seen as potential candidates. If there was an election and the Conservatives lost, the winner would be Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who wants to nationalize swathes of the British economy but has not said what shareholders will get in return. U.S. investment bank JPMorgan raised its probability of a no-deal Brexit to 25% from 15%, saying its base case is that Johnson becomes prime minister, followed by a general election and then another delay to Brexit. Investment bank BNP Paribas said on Thursday it now saw a 40% probability of Britain exiting the European Union without a transition agreement in place. The chairman of the powerful Conservative 1922 Committee, which can make or break prime ministers, told lawmakers that May planned to campaign in the European poll on Thursday before meeting with the group on Friday to discuss her leadership. I will be meeting the prime minister on Friday following her campaigning in the European elections tomorrow and following that meeting I will be consulting with the 1922 executive, 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady told reporters. The Times newspaper reported that May would name a date for her departure on Friday. May will remain as prime minister while her successor is elected in a two-stage process, the newspaper said. The delay to Brexit means voters across the United Kingdom are going to the polls on Thursday in a European parliamentary election that has been fought almost exclusively over the EU divorce. According to polling data published before polls opened, Nigel Farages Brexit Party was on course to win and Mays Conservatives are on course to do very badly. Results are expected after 2100 GMT on Sunday. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kate Holton and Janet Lawrence FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration is meeting with international air regulators from around the world on Thursday to determine what is needed to return the grounded Boeing Co 737 MAX to return it to service. Senior FAA officials will give detailed descriptions of the findings to date from the two crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia which occurred within five months of each other and killed a combined 346 people. The agency will summarize the status of three major ongoing reviews of the 737 MAX and give an update of the recertification process and shed light on Boeings proposed revisions to its software and pilot training. Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said on Thursday he thought travelers in the United States and around the world would respect any eventual decision by the FAA to return the plane to service. Theyll get back on the MAX and fly it again. Boeings 737 MAX is its fastest-selling line of planes ever, and there are now roughly 5,000 of the aircraft on order. The planemaker in April slowed production and said the two crashes had cost it at least $1 billion. Boeing shares were down 1.7 percent at $346.85 at midday on Thursday. Nearly 60 air regulators from 33 governmental agencies, including from China, Brazil, Australia, the European Union, France, Ethiopia, Indonesia and South Korea, are attending the meeting at an FAA office in Texas. The agency came under criticism in March for failing to ground the Boeing 737 MAX as quickly as Europe, China and other countries. One of Thursdays sessions is titled Data mapping to accidents: safety actions and changes to the 737 MAX training requirements. Elwell told reporters on Wednesday the FAA would share the agencys safety analysis that will form the basis for our return to service decision process. Some air regulators have said they will conduct independent reviews of the Boeing 737 MAX. Elwell was asked by a reporter on Wednesday if he would delay ungrounding the plane in order to have peace with other regulators. We have peace with other regulators, Elwell said. Were talking to them constantly. You want to make this like, We at war with the other countries over this. Were not. The FAA is still asking Boeing questions about a proposed software upgrade and training revisions and has not decided whether to require simulator training. Elwell declined to provide a time frame for how soon the agency might approve the airplanes return to service or say if it was realistic that airlines could resume flights by August as some have suggested. Elwell told CNBC it could definitely be a month, two months or even longer than that. Also on Thursday, Boeing and the FAA will brief members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the 737 MAX for the first time. The FAA will not unground the plane until it obtains the findings from a multi-agency Technical Advisory Board reviewing the software fix. It consists of experts not involved in any aspect of the Boeing 737 MAX certification. Boeing said last week it had completed development of the software update on the 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system known as MCAS that is under scrutiny following the two disastrous nose-down crashes. It must still formally submit the upgrade for approval and conduct a certification flight before the FAA can act. Reporting by David Shepardson in Fort Worth, Texas; Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Matthew Lewis (This May 22 story corrects party affiliation for Wicker, paragraph 5) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to provide about $700 million in grants to help U.S. telecommunications providers with the cost of removing Huawei equipment from their networks. The bill also moves to block the use of equipment or services from Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE in next-generation 5G networks, according to a statement by the senators. The United States has accused ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd of working for the Chinese government and has expressed concern their equipment could be used to spy on Americans, allegations the Chinese government and the companies say are baseless. With so much at stake, our communications infrastructure must be protected from threats posed by foreign governments and companies like Huawei, Tom Cotton, a Republican senator co-sponsoring the bill, said in a statement. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Roger Wicker, Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, are also backing the bill. While large U.S. wireless companies have severed ties with Huawei, small rural carriers have leaned on Huawei and ZTE switches and equipment because they are often less expensive. The Rural Wireless Association, which represents carriers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers, estimates that 25 percent of its members have Huawei and ZTE in their networks, and have said it would cost $800 million to $1 billion to replace it. The move goes further than steps taken so far by U.S. President Donald Trumps administration, even as it has hardened its stance on Huawei. Last August, Trump signed a bill barring the U.S. government itself from using Huawei and ZTE equipment. Then, last week, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei and 70 affiliates, barring the company from buying parts or components from U.S. companies without U.S. government approval. Five days later, the U.S. government temporarily eased trade restrictions, allowing the Chinese firm to buy American-made goods to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei headsets. Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Lisa Shumaker NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday handed over the first of 1 million evidentiary documents to the lawyers of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker facing criminal charges linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at the Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB. The U.S. Department of Justice handed over to Ngs lawyers a small subset of more than 1 million documents the government is relying on to prosecute the case, said Assistant United States Attorney Drew Rolle during a hearing at a Brooklyn federal court. The United States accused 46-year-old Ng last year of conspiring to launder money and bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi through bond offerings that Goldman Sachs Group Inc handled. He was extradited on May 3 to New York from Kuala Lumpur, where he had been jailed since November. Ng pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 6 and was released in exchange for a $20 million bond. Prosecutors are working on how to best format and organize the remaining documents, which they will likely send to Ngs lawyers on a rolling basis, Rolle said. Prosecutors and Ngs lawyer, in a May 6 court document related to the case, had requested delaying the trial date for Ng because they believed plea negotiations are likely to result in a disposition of this case without trial. Government lawyers have said they hope to avoid a trial by reaching a plea deal though Ngs attorney. Im not ruling anything out, said Marc Agnifilo, Ngs lawyer, to reporters after the hearing about a possible plea deal. There is a full range of possibilities for a criminal defendant, and there are still options. Ng, who left Goldman Sachs in 2014, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the three charges based on alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Malaysias home minister wanted Ng to face criminal charges there first, but agreed to temporarily surrender him to the United States for 10 months, Malaysias attorney general, Tommy Thomas, said in a statement. The period may be extended, Thomas has said. But that issue is for the U.S. and Malaysian governments to discuss, Agnifilo told reporters. Given the complexity of the case, its going to require us to do a lot of work up front and as soon as possible, Agnifilo said to reporters about the 10-month period. Malaysia has said it was seeking up to $7.5 billion in reparations from Goldman over its dealings with 1MDB, set up in 2009 by then-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib, who lost a general election last year, faces 42 criminal charges related to losses at 1MDB and other state entities. He has pleaded not guilty. Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Additional reporting by Rozanna Latiff in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by Lauren LaCapra and Phil Berlowitz Chris Mfula LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will carry out regular audits at all mines to avoid any repeat of the situation at Vedanta unit Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), which has breached the terms of its license, the mining ministry said on Thursday. Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Monday the government planned to strip KCM of its mining license and bring a new investor into the operation. His spokesman said the move followed a number of breaches of the terms of the license, without giving details. A court hearing has been scheduled for Friday, according to documents seen by Reuters, following a high court order this week that named a Zambian law firm as the liquidator to oversee KCM. Vedanta and KCM have said they are seeking urgent talks with the Zambian president over the issue. The governments action has added to concerns among the mining community about rising resource nationalism in Africa. Mining Minister Richard Musukwa said the action at KCM should not be misconstrued as nationalization and followed KCMs failure to comply with license conditions. The government will be undertaking regular audits at all the mines to ensure compliance and avoid the recurrence of the situation at KCM, he said. Zambia has already riled miners with tax changes that mining companies say will deter the investment Zambia desperately needs after repeated warnings from the International Monetary Fund about its debts and shrinking foreign currency reserves. In addition, the country is facing rolling power cuts as water levels in hydroelectric dams have been depleted by drought. A source at the Zambian power company ZESCO told Reuters it would hold talks with long-term power contract holders, which include miners, on how their needs could be met. Industry sources say so far the countrys big miners, which include Glencore and First Quantum, as well as KCM, have not experienced power disruptions. Zambias Chamber of Mines said on Thursday that the country, Africas second largest copper producer, was at risk of a drastic fall in copper output because of the impact of the tax changes. Reporting by Chris Mfula; writing by Barbara Lewis; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Susan Fenton HARARE, May 23 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has awarded a concession to explore for and mine platinum to a company linked to a Nigerian billionaire as the country speeds up investment in a mining sector it hopes will transform the country's struggling economy. The concession comes just over a year after President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government signed an agreement with Cyprus-based Karo Resources to develop a $4.2 billion integrated platinum mine. Zimbabwe is seeking to quickly exploit its reserves of platinum, which is used in catalytic converters for limiting emissions at a time vehicle manufacturers are moving to electric cars powered by lithium batteries. The information ministry said Bavura Holdings, in which Nigerian billionaire Benedict Peters is a major shareholder, would on Thursday sign an agreement to mine platinum on Zimbabwe's mineral-rich Greak Dyke. It did not give details. Peters, who is based in Ghana, is the founder of Aiteo Group, which has interests in oil. Mines Minister Winston Chitando said last month the government would name two new investors to develop separate platinum mining projects west of the capital. Anglo Platinum and Impala Platinum Holdings already mine platinum in Zimbabwe. Impala also owns a joint-venture mine with Sibanye-Stillwater. A Russian consortium and Zimbabwean investors are developing a platinum project in Darwendale near Harare. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Mark Potter) Reuters Messaging: macdonald.dzirutwe.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) As various media outlets have refused to run an op ed from David Seymour defending himself, I have agreed to run it here. Let it be known, the public beating has not gone out of fashion. So goes the quote from the movie Thank You for Smoking, as politicians attack the wildly unpopular protagonist, a tobacco lobbyist. Ive found those words to be true over the past week and it has strengthened my belief in the importance of freedom of expression. To recap, I was asked about Green MP Golriz Ghahramans stance on free speech. In her own words it is vital that the public is involved in a conversation about what speech meets the threshold for being regulated, and what mix of enforcement tools should be used. I believe that such an idea, and by extension politicians who promote it, is a danger to our free society. When asked about Ghahramans position, in the middle of a 15-minute radio interview, I responded that I thought she was a menace to freedom. What has followed has been extraordinary. It has been a lesson in how beat-ups and witch-hunts occur, and why its so important that we retain laws that allow us to express ourselves freely. By Tuesday afternoon, I was being asked by media if I was responsible for Ghahraman requiring a security detail. It was clearly a rhetorical question. Politicians, journalists and other establishment figures have lined up to denounce my comment. Nationals position is that being nice to people who threaten free speech is more important than defending freedom itself. The Greens have said its my fault that a few nutcases are threatening an MP. The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians wrote, asking me to apologise for my comment. I should have known it was not a sincere gesture because the letter was duly released to the media who happily published it with barely a response from me. Other women MPs told me theyd known nothing about it. Surprisingly, Trevor Mallard went on TV and said I was a bully. The Speaker is supposed to be Parliaments neutral referee. A number of journalists have attacked me. The media should be the loudest cheerleaders for freedom of expression. Their job relies on freedom of expression, and freedom and democracy rely on the media doing their job. Were it not for ACT, Parliament would be sleepwalking towards tighter speech laws. The media wouldnt bat an eyelid. Only a few brave academics might raise their heads above the parapet. There is something not right about this situation. If my comment endangered Ghahraman, then the response of media and politicians has multiplied its airplay exponentially. That response has been driven by the very people accusing me of endangering Ghahraman. Because I do not think anyone should be endangered for engaging in political debate, I am reluctant to respond any further, but its difficult when the very people who say theyre concerned are using the situation to attack me politically. After all, the media cited a source, then Ghahraman herself, when reporting the new security arrangements and attributing them to me. My detractors believe that expressing a genuinely held view on an important issue makes me responsible for threats of violence. They are wrong. My comments do not come close to giving me such responsibility. And the current law is easily on my side. This belief absolves the real perpetrators those making the threats of responsibility. It also introduces the worrying implication that some MPs are unable to fully participate or be criticised because there are violent threats. Its a belief that allows violent thugs to set the agenda. The response to my comment proves we cannot trust government to enforce hate speech laws. Imagine if the state had even greater powers to punish speech at its disposal. Some state agency would now be using that power to investigate and punish a sitting MPs genuinely-held views. Hate speech laws turn debate into a popularity contest where the winners get to silence views they dont like by using the power of the state. Tighter restrictions on speech can only mean giving some agency the power to punish people for saying things that do not incite harm but are merely offensive or distasteful. In other words, what you can think is determined by what is popular. ACT will continue to defend the critical principle that nobody should ever be punished by the power of the state on the basis of opinion. Stuff reports: The Opposition has claimed guns stolen from a Palmerston North police station were bought back by police. National MP and the partys police spokesman Chris Bishop made the claim on Wednesday but offered no evidence. Police would not confirm or deny the allegation, saying they would not discuss specific matters relating to the ongoing investigation. During Question Time, Bishop asked Police Minister Stuart Nash if he stood by statements of police in relation to the theft of 11 guns from the Palmerston North police station and if police paid for the return for some or all the guns that were stolen. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Snow this morning will give way to a mixture of rain and snow this afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 100%. 3 to 5 inches of snow expected.. Tonight Cloudy this evening. Fog developing late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 32F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Angola, IN (46703) Today Cloudy with some snow showers this morning. A steady snow likely this afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 100%. 3 to 5 inches of snow expected.. Tonight Rain and freezing rain this evening with fog developing overnight. Low 31F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 40%. Auburn, IN (46706) Today Snow this morning will give way to a mixture of rain and snow this afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 100%. 3 to 5 inches of snow expected.. Tonight Cloudy this evening. Fog developing late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 32F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Paris Hilton wears many hats, and one of those is being one of America's most fabulous party lady. Viewers of "Why Did You Come To My Home?" are about to see this side of hers as the popular personality is set to appear on the new Korean reality show. As announced by SkyDrama on May 22, Hilton will serve as a special guest of the show. This much-anticipated episode will be aired in mid-June. "Did You Come To My Home," which premiered on the 19th, follows its four MCs -- Super Junior's Kim Hee Chul, model Han Hye Jin, chef Austin Kang, and comedian Kim Shin Young -- as they invade a celebrity house to host a fun-filled party. On its pilot broadcast, the program featured Mon Hye Min and received warm responses from the audience. In another news, the American businesswoman and socialite are also being considered by JTBC to possibly appear on CL's upcoming talk show, "CL Nine." "We're currently working on launching a talk show with CL... [but] the premiere date is not yet confirmed. We're discussing Paris Hilton as a possible guest," the station revealed in a statement released last May 16. Hilton is coming to Korea at the end of the month to promote a line of beauty products. Her last Korean variety show guesting was in July 2014. She shared some beauty tips and some of her regimens during a special episode of the Korean beauty program, "Get It Beauty." Back in 2018, Hilton has launched a skin-care collection called ProD.N.A. According to a press release, she has "met with world-renowned chemists to tackle select beauty concerns that have previously only been met with products that produce minimal results." This collaborative effort has spawned skin-care products that "utilizes a DNA repair enzyme found in a strain of microalgae sourced from the Mediterranean Sea, providing a natural solution to aging skin." Teachers of color are disproportionately more likely to be rated minimally ineffective or ineffective on evaluations than their white counterparts, a new study finds . The study finds that across Michigan, nearly 19 percent of black teachers and about 13 percent of Hispanic teachers received a low evaluation rating from 2011-12 to 2015-16, compared to just 7 percent of white teachers. Teachers of color in schools with a predominately white faculty are even more likely to receive low scores. The results are consistent with, but not conclusive of, a story in which the evaluation system disproportionately and negatively harms teachers of color, said Joshua Cowen, the faculty co-director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University. We dont know, nor can we directly claim, that this is willful or explicit intent, but theres a lot of research being done ... on the roles of implicit bias in the classroom, including between supervisors and teachers. Since 2011, Michigan has required school districts to rate teachers as highly effective, effective, minimally effective, or ineffective, based on classroom observations and a measure of student achievement. Cowen, along with his co-authors Steven Drake and Amy Auletto, analyzed the evaluation ratings of about 97,500 teachers in Michigan from 2011 to 2015. On average, only about 3 percent of Michigan teachers received a low rating in any given year. (Across the country, principals continue to rate nearly all teachers as effective , despite states efforts to make evaluations tougher.) Still, teachers of color, especially black teachers, are 50 percent more likely to receive low evaluation ratings than white teachers within the same schools. Researchers controlled for student-achievement measures, so classroom observations are largely driving this finding, Cowen said. And black teachers are less likely to get a low evaluation score in schools with more black colleagues. That further strengthens the notion that theres something about the context these teachers are in [and] the ambiguous role these supervisors play, and having familiarity about teachers from a certain background may play a role in reducing these negative patterns, he said. These findings suggest that evaluators could benefit from some additional training, including on cultural relevancy and implicit bias, Cowen said. Next Step in Diversity Training: Teachers Learn to Face Their Unconscious Biases Effects of Gender on Evaluation Ratings Male teachers are also more likely than female teachers to receive low evaluation scores, the study found. Across the state, 6.7 percent of female teachers and 9.4 percent of male teachers received at least one low effectiveness rating. Male teachers are less likely to receive low ratings in schools with male administrators. Cowen said that discrepency could be attributed to the same reason why white administrators are more likely to score white teachers higherpeople tend to think of a good teacher as someone who is like them. Past research has pointed to friction between male teachers and female administrators: A study last year found that male teachers were 12 percent more likely to leave their school if the principal were a woman than if the principal were a man. Effects on Attrition? In general, teachers who are rated below effective are more likely to leave their school. Most low-performing teachers are not formally dismissed, but they are more likely to be counseled out , Cowen said. The study found that low-rated teachers of color are not more likely to leave than low-rated white teachers. In other words, the evaluation rating is a more meaningful predictor of teachers leaving than race or gender. Still, teachers of color are in short supply, Cowen said, adding that these findings could indicate a pushout effect in the margins. In Michigan alone, the black teaching force has declined by about 27 percent from 2011 to 2015. And researchers wrote that these findings place the reputation of teacher-evaluation systems at stake, and if they are not seen as fair, that could harm teacher recruitment and retention. Cowen said these findings call for additional research on the results of the evaluation systems that were put in place over the past decade. Collectively in the education community, ... weve lost the interest or fire about teacher evaluation, he said. We should be looking under the hood of all of these teacher evaluation systems and say whats working well and whats not working well. Image via Getty A man woke up from a night of heavy drinking to find his p-nis had been chopped off and was hanging by a bit of skin. Tan Nan, 44, had consumed so much alcohol he fell asleep while out with his friends in Hunan, China. In the morning, a sharp pain work him up and he opened his eyes to see his genitals had been cut off and he was bleeding profusely. He then rushed to seek medical assistance but was reportedly turned away from numerous hospitals as they were unable to complete such an operation. Finally Changsha Hospital took him in and he was treated by microsurgery experts. His p-nis was successfully reattached during seven hours of intensive surgery. Medics say the blood flow around his genitals is now good, although it is unclear if the urinary function and s-xual function can be restored. Nan does not know who is responsible for the attack. Police are now investigating the incident but say the victim is not yet recovered enough to answer questions about what happened. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Actress Foluke Daramola has said if indeed Naira Marley has done something wrong, then he should be made to face the consequences. Foluke made this known in a video posted on her Instagram page saying what is wrong is wrong and its time for us all to say the truth in order for this country to be a better place. She posted the video and backed it up with these words. My take is we have to start building a stronger and better Nigeria from u and 1 if we say cos the country is bad and doesnt have anything to offer us then we will be the victims of our own misbehavior,never forget we are 1st Nigerians before anything and we can only but be 2nd class citizens wherever we find ourselves so y are we bent on soiling the name of our country further???!!!! #2wrongsdontmakearight #bethepositivechangeyouwanttosee #negativityisanonoforme #makethepositiveimpactuwanttisee Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates South African lawmakers on Wednesday re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as the nations president, two weeks after the ruling ANC party returned to power in legislative elections. Ramaphosa was duly elected president of the Republic of South Africa, chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng told parliament after Ramaphosa was the only name nominated by lawmakers in Cape Town. MPs from the African National Congress, which won 230 out of 400 seats on May 8, choose the head of state in the parliaments first post-election sitting. The ANC won the ballot with 57.5 per cent of the vote, its thinnest majority since the end of apartheid. Ramaphosa will be sworn in on Saturday and name a deputy president and cabinet at the weekend. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Mumbai/Kolkata, May 15: Following the row over arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party's social media worker Priyanka Sharma in Kolkata for allegedly sharing an unsavoury meme of Mamata Banerjee on Facebook, Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi took potshots at TMC chief and wondered aloud as to why she was acting like Saddam Hussein in wake of violent clashes. Expressing his opinion through his Twitter account, he wrote, "I cant understand why a respected lady like Didi is behaving like Saddam Hussain! Ironically, democracy is under threat and in danger by Dictator Didi herself. First #PriyankaSharma & now #TajinderBagga. ! #SaveBengalSaveDemocracy #FreeTajinderBagga" Poll Violence in West Bengal: Election Commission Cuts Short Campaigning For Nine Constituencies by 20 Hours; PM Narendra Modi To Hold Rally In State Tomorrow. Here's the Tweet: I cant understand why a respected lady like Didi is behaving like Saddam Hussain! Ironically, democracy is under threat and in danger by Dictator Didi herself. First #PriyankaSharma & now #TajinderBagga. ! #SaveBengalSaveDemocracy #FreeTajinderBagga pic.twitter.com/oRq596aljH Vivek Anand Oberoi (@vivekoberoi) May 15, 2019 The 'PM Narendra Modi' biopic actor was commenting on the violence that erupted on Tuesday during BJP president Amit Shah's rally in Kolkata. During the violent clash, a statue of iconic Bengali reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalised, after which more than 100 people were detained. Among the detained include BJP leader Tajinder Bagga, who was allegedly arrested at 2 am on Wednesday. Speaking to the media, Bagga had claimed that he had nothing to do with the violence. On the contrary, TMC leaders alleged BJP workers of vandalising the statue and invoking violence in the state's capital. Priyanka Sharma Arrest Row: PM Modi Jabs 'Artist' Mamata Banerjee, 'Draw My Murkiest Caricature, Will Not File FIR Against You'. Also, an FIR was lodged by TMC against Sharma for allegedly sharing an unsavoury meme of Mamata Banerjee on Facebook, where Banerjees face was photoshopped on to actor Priyanka Chopras picture from the MET Gala event in New York. Following this, she was arrested on May 10 and sent to two weeks' judicial custody. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2019 08:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). DeShawn Charles Winslows debut novel In West Mills opens with the books antiheroine, Azalea Knot Centre, being forced to choose between her two lovers: her boyfriend, Pratt, and the moonshine she cant live without. It doesnt take her long to choose the latter. Need some help packin? she asks the man who gave her an ultimatum. Defiant and unbowed, Knot refuses to keep anyones counsel, with the exception of Otis Lee, her next-door neighbor and best friend. In West Mills follows the two over decades in the fictional town of West Mills, N.C. Winslow said he based West Mills on the North Carolina town of South Mills, not far from where he grew up in Elizabeth City. A recent graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop, Winslow now lives in New York. He spoke to The Times about his novel via telephone. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Youve been writing fiction for about 10 years now. What got you interested in writing? My father had passed unexpectedly, and I realized that I had a lot of questions about him that never got answered. In realizing that there was nowhere else to get those answers except for him, I started to fictionalize what had started off to be an essay about my dad. I thought, "You know what? I don't have much to put into this essay because I don't have real answers, but if I write fiction, then I can create the things that I think are probably what happened in his life." That's kind of where it started. I ended up losing interest in that particular project, and eventually just started writing about stories based on people I had grown up around, or people who had been long dead before I was born. That's where it kind of all started. Was the story that you tell in In West Mills one that you wanted to tell for a long time? Yeah. I would say the stories that are in In West Mills are things that I have been thinking about probably since I was a teenager. But I just had no clue that I was interested in writing it. It wasn't until after that whole thing of me trying to learn more about my dad through writing that the other stories started to come about, and they kind of just all ended up in one novel. A book jacket for DeShawn Charles Wislows In West Mills. Bloomsbury Publishing Knot Centre is such an unforgettable character. What was the inspiration for her? The outer, superficial shell of Knot is based on a person who I actually knew. Her nickname was Knot. She was my great-uncle's girlfriend for a time, and she passed away when I was 10 years old. I knew very, very little about her except that she was an alcoholic. That was almost the extent of it. She was like the town wino. My great-uncle also had a very serious drinking problem during that time, so they were a perfect couple, you know? She was very fascinating to me because people seemed to love her and treat her with a certain amount of respect. People had a hard time telling her no when she asked for rides and that sort of thing, and what that said to me is that people must have known Knot to have once been a person who was not messy, for lack of a better word. But I wasn't able to get real answers about what was Knot like before she was an alcoholic. My mother would be like, "Well, I've only known Knot as an alcoholic, so I don't know." I was just so curious about what she would've been like before the drinking got serious. Even if she started drinking as a very young woman, I wanted to know what else her life was like. There was no choice but for me to create it, because she's been long deceased. It seems like a lot of your writing is kind of a way to tell the stories of people that you knew, but that you might not have known so much about. Does writing fiction help you understand these people whom you might not have understood otherwise? I think it does, and it does a couple of things. Theres a little bit of a historian inside of me. It allows me to explore that part of me, and look at when people were born and all that kind of stuff and just try to imagine what things would've been like for them. But it also allows me to put people who have been marginalized, the types of people that we tend not to think much about on a day-to-day basis,on the front line. Knot isnt what most people would call a conventionally likable character. Was it challenging to write about a protagonist who isn't necessarily the most virtuous person in the world? Yeah, it was, because I tend not to stay in contact with people like Knot. So I had to create that snarky, angry, "leave me alone" type of attitude. I had to draw from just many, many experiences I've had with other people. But I didn't want her to be an alcoholic, but otherwise perfect. I wanted her to be an alcoholic and ornery, but also smart, and have her reasons for being ornery. One of the things that struck me in the book is the friendship between Knot and Otis Lee. It seems like it's relatively rare in fiction to see platonic relationships between men and women. Did you always envision Knot and Otis Lee having a non-romantic relationship? Yes. Before I started writing, the novel started off as a short story, and then eventually I kept getting advice to make it into a novel. When I finally took that advice, I thought, "This novel is not going to work unless I make them romantic partners." But when I started thinking more about it, it was like, "I'm not going to force that." That's not what I intended. In the book it wouldn't be believable because the two of them have so many contrasts that they could only be friends and not romantically involved. So I decided that they would have to be platonic. There was just a little bit of thought for a moment that there would have to be some romantic interest, but I canceled that fairly early on. I feel like you don't see that a lot in literature. All my best friends growing up were women, but it's rare to see that reflected in a novel. Right, and that's what made me stick to the decision to not let them be romantically involved, because growing up as a gay teen and preteen, most of my friendships were with girls. Girls were who were more available to me, and I thought, "This novel can reflect that people from opposite sex can have best friendships." When you were writing the book, did you go back to North Carolina to do any kind of research, or was it mostly based on your childhood there? I did, but none of it made into the book. In an early draft, some of the towns origins are mentioned, like when the town was founded and that sort of thing. I ended up cutting it because, first of all, I had to remind myself that I wasn't writing a historical textbook. And all that stuff really wasn't important. The dialogue in the book captures the North Carolina accent really well, I thought. How did you go about capturing that dialect and that accent of the characters? It wasn't a challenge, because I grew up listening to that. Most people in my hometown don't speak that way today in 2019, but I grew up I didn't go to a day care. Day care for me was old women in the neighborhood. So I was around that sort of speech, that kind of talk, every day up until I went to kindergarten. The book covers decades in the lives of the people of West Mills. How radically do you think that either North Carolina or the South in general has changed in the years since the beginning of the novel? I think that certain areas have probably changed a lot. But unfortunately, I would venture to say that small towns have not changed much in terms of attitude and that sort of thing. They may change, they have nice hotels and lots of fancy car dealerships and stuff like that, but I think people on a large scale still feel the same way about social issues as they did probably in the 40s, sadly. Because those teachings get passed down. Arizona officials are under fire from prisoners rights activists after their decision to ban a book about problems in the criminal justice decision from prisons in the state. Chokehold: Policing Black Men, by law professor and former prosecutor Paul Butler, has been banned from state corrections facilities, NPR reports, because it contains unauthorized content. The Arizona Department of Corrections confirmed the ban to the books publisher, the New Press, saying the book might be detrimental to the safe, secure and orderly operation of Arizona prisons. Butlers book addresses issues of racism against African American men in the criminal justice system, and urges government officials to reconsider the way the American prison system works. The author told NPR that nothing in his book would make jailers have to worry about their safety. Advertisement My book wants to transform society in the same non-violent way that people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King have created change, he said. Emerson Sykes of the ACLU told the Washington Post that the books ban is unconstitutional. The book bans are a symptom of the punitive mind-set that fails to account for the intellectual well-being and growth of those who are incarcerated, Sykes said. Arizona legislator Reginald Bolding, a Democrat, agreed with the ACLU. I think it should be required reading, Bolding told the Post."Whenever the state becomes a sponsor of shielding information, we become just as bad as those we see around the world doing the same thing. In a letter to Arizona Department of Corrections director Charles Ryan, Sykes said the ban represents content-based censorship. To prohibit prisoners from reading a book about race and the criminal legal system is not only misguided and harmful, but also violates the right to free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S.Constitution and the analogous right under Article 2, Section 6 of the Arizona Constitution, the ACLU wrote. A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections told the New York Times that his department will review the book, and respond to the ACLUs letter after the review is finished. Sykes told NPR that the ACLU is prepared to sue the corrections department if the ban on Chokehold isnt lifted. It is unconstitutional to ban a book just because the government doesnt like its policy proposals, Sykes said. This is a classic First Amendment violation. The famous image was taken 150 years ago: On May 10, 1869, photographer Andrew Russell captured the triumphant moment when the East and West halves of the Transcontinental Railroad met and shook hands prior to the tapping of the golden spike into the ground at Promontory Summit, Utah, opening up the nations westward expansion. Russell was a painter and a Civil War photographer from New Hampshire commissioned by Union Pacific to bring the railroads and the American West to a larger audience. His images reveal the tension between the technological advances and economic potential the railroad represented versus the consequences to the land and the displacement of native peoples that would result. Coinciding with the anniversary, the Oakland Museum of California is celebrating Russells epic works with the exhibit Pushing West: The Photography of Andrew J. Russell. REVIEW: Miho Dohi turns scrap materials into sculptural poetry Advertisement Russell hasnt received anywhere near the attention that somebody like Mathew Brady, Carleton Watkins, Eadweard Muybridge or Timothy OSullivan, Oakland Museum curator Drew Johnson said. About 650 of Russells original glass-plate collodion negatives survived and are part of the museums collection along with 60 prints from the 1860s. Although Russell was hired to glorify the railroad, his distance from his employer allowed him to be free to photograph what he wished. In some cases that meant vast plains, colossal mountain ranges and the insignificance of humans in the landscape, including an incredible shot of a man sitting, seemingly perilously, beneath the massive Hanging Rock by Echo City, Utah. Andrew J. Russell, Hanging Rock, Echo City, 1868. Glass. (Collection of the Oakland Museum of California) But Russells photos also capture a human toll. A series of images focused on a Shoshone Indian camp, the mythic and poetic accomplishment of the railroad matched with reminders of what else was at stake. Some look at the railroad and gold rush as a triumph of American ingenuity, Johnson said. But if you were a native person then, you looked at the gold rush as a holocaust. Andrew J. Russell, Shoshone Indians, 1869. Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. (Collection of the Oakland Museum) A DTLA SPECIAL: The past, present and future of Grand Avenue Part of whats remarkable about Russells work was his primitive printing process. In the middle of nowhere, without a real studio, he made do with a tent darkroom built inside a ramshackle wagon. The exhibition is on view through Sept. 1. See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts. Kevin Costner is in a tux. With a rifle. A group of Chinese tourists has trespassed on the land of his Yellowstone character, John Dutton, to get a look at a large bear nearby. Dutton tries to persuade them to get back on their bus. They ignore him. WATCH: 2019 Emmy Contenders video chats Probably the scaredest guy out there is Dutton. If you notice in the scene, hes doing this constantly, Costner says, eyes darting all around as he talks in a conference room on the Paramount lot. Advertisement They somehow dont think [bears are] wild, and they are. Think of how confused John Dutton is. Hes on his way to a black-tie thing and, What the ...?! The notion of Yellowstone, the Paramount Network drama starring Costner as the patriarch of a Montana ranching clan, might evoke something like Dynasty with prettier scenery: Wealthy families holding on to their empire against other wealthy families. But the show was created, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, whose scripts for Sicario, Hell or High Water and Wind River should reassure this wont be cliched. It returns for Season 2 next month, and Costner says theyre about to start filming Season 3. Rather than Dallas or Dynasty, Yellowstone feels more like The Godfather on a ranch. The Dutton clan turns out to be nothing less than a crime family. There are Godfather echoes among the characters: a wayward, war-vet son on whom the fathers hopes are pinned (Luke Grimes), and a consigliere son (Wes Bentley). The daughter (Kelly Reilly), though, is more of a tiger than Talia Shires Connie ever was. And yes, Costner plays the Don Corleone figure. Costner sees the parallels, but says. Don Corleone didnt have his fingers as much on the killing as I seem to. Im a little closer to the thumbs up or thumbs down because Im not dealing with a large organization; Im dealing with my land. Dutton struggles to bridge the gap between his familys Old West past and the rule-of-law present. Its the times that are getting him. Its the EPA, the Native American issues, the land-use permissions, urban development thats encroaching on him that his father and his grandfather and great-grandfather, they didnt have to deal with. Those people had nobody to arbitrate their problems but themselves. They didnt have a PR person, an agent, a lawyer. Things were arbitrated in the West right at the moment. But you cant touch anybody anymore; thats assault. You cant just redirect a river when you want to. And hes got children who think its no longer the thing to be on the property. Previous generations felt lucky to be part of the Dutton dynasty. But these children have seen the world. They have TVs. They dont have the same attachment. So John is a man a little out of time doing whatever it takes to protect his familys interests including ordering murders. Costner brings to him bootloads of gravitas, dressed in the solid, no-nonsense persona audiences are used to cheering on. The big note was he behaves like a king on his side of the wire, he says. He doesnt think hes a bad guy. Most bad guys dont. Hes complicated. Despite the wide-open Montana vistas, there are figurative walls and theyre closing in. The Duttons lawlessness is sure to have consequences. Theyre coming. They have to come or were defying the law of gravity and modern civility. These things have happened. We have to deal with them. People are going to start coming to this Montana town, and noticing all the disappearances. Then he remembers the tourists and says, I dont want to have to kill that bear for those people, because Im going to have to answer for that too. I think the randomness of [that scene] is Yellowstone at its best. Thats when I enjoy it. The ranching goes on every day and theres this intrigue thats present. But to me, thats a perfect scene, in a way. Look at him hes a rancher, hes in a tuxedo, hes about to go speak. He pulls a rifle and deals with a situation. Every ... thing over there is mine and everything over here is mine. This is all mine. His anger is hes afraid, more than anything. My God, if I wouldnt have been driving here, what might have happened? He might look back a little later and say, Maybe I was a little harsh, but you cant apologize for your survival instinct. Kayce Dutton is the favorite son of the powerful, Montana-ranching Dutton clan on Paramount Networks Yellowstone. Hes a loving husband, dedicated father, expert horseman and extremely effective killer. The former Navy SEAL is shown in the first few episodes of the Kevin Costner-starring series taking lives, but its not something he embraces. Sometimes these guys come back from these experiences that are horrendous and no one should have to go through, and now are trying to fit into a normal, civilized world, and still feel like maybe this killer, this monster that they were taught to be in another place, said Luke Grimes, who plays the role. I think Kayce ... thats where hes at. He just feels like no matter where he goes in that first season, death is sort of following him around. The nightmare of who you have to become to fight a war. Grimes dropped by the Los Angeles Times video studio for an Emmy Contenders chat about the modern-day western series, already filming its third season as its second season prepares to drop. WATCH: 2019 Emmy Contenders video chats Advertisement One of my favorite things about whats happening in Season 2 is him kind of confronting all that, he said. Kind of taking a look at that stuff and trying to become a human in a civilized world again. Its tough enough that Kayce is suffering from PTSD from his wartime experiences, but hes also caught between two worlds at home. The Dutton clan, and especially ruthless patriarch John (Costner), expect his fealty, but he defied his father to start his own family with a Native American woman he loves (Kelsey Chow). Because her tribe is in direct conflict with the Duttons, Kayce suffers from the guilt and the shame of being on both sides. Its a family drama at its core, and I think we all love that because we all relate. Also, its an American story thats as old as how this country was founded and the way that it is now, which is a lot of people fighting over a really beautiful place, says the actor. There really, at the end of the day, was no good guy or bad guy in this story. And especially with Kayce, who doesnt really even know what hes fighting for at this point, or what team he should be on. Instead of being the soapy rich-people-squabbling-over-their-empires Dallas or Dynasty in Montana one might expect, Yellowstone is gritty and ugly. The Duttons are hardly heroic; theyre not above taking what they want by force including committing murder. In fact, Grimes acknowledges, the Duttons bear a similarity to the Corleone crime family of Mario Puzos The Godfather. Its actually been spoken about, he said with a smile. If Costner is the Don Corleone figure, Kayce is the Michael doppelganger, struggling to make his own life outside of the familys dirty dealings but repeatedly being dragged back in. I went back and rewatched all the Godfathers before the second season because through the process of making the first season, we all started to realize that. Those are some good movies, man. Rather than the streets of New York, though, the Duttons rule over beautiful Montana vistas. The Dayton, Ohio, native has played cowboys before and is getting better at faking it, largely thanks to the advisors on the show and the actual ranch hands involved in the production. The thing that makes me happiest [about working on the show] is also the thing thats most frustrating, and thats the horses. Ive loved learning, theyve taught me some different disciplines. I didnt realize how much there was to this horse-riding world until now and Im really getting into it. But at the same time, some days, the horse that you loved the day before can be an [expletive], he says, laughing. And thats frustrating. To see the entire interview, click on the video below. Amazons Homecoming is a twisty, low-key, sci-fi-tinged thriller series in which well-meaning therapist Heidi (Julia Roberts) works with veterans including young Walter (Stephan James) at a re-assimilation facility employing an experimental treatment. There are multiple timelines, with buried secrets and suppressed memories clawing their way to the surface. And one of its key moments is a quick hug? I think thats the first time Walter had any kind of inclination he might really like this woman further than being his therapist, says James. I think that hug catches Heidi off guard a little bit, but maybe thats the moment too where she sees Walter a little differently. Its fleeting. Its awkward. Its a beautiful nonverbal exchange in which the two experience each other in a new way. It sparks one of the most convincing romances in Roberts storied screen career. And despite Homecomings mind-bending bells and whistles, its that romances emotional resonance viewers are likely to carry after the final shot of the final episode. So no pressure, Mr. 25-year-old Toronto native, whos just starting to break stateside. You just have to perform 10- to 15-page scenes with an Oscar-winning movie star and hold the emotional center of the entire show. Also, play multiple layers of a soldier haunted by his wartime experiences. Advertisement And to land the part, you have to fly across the country on an off-day during your work as the lead in Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk to nail a chemistry read with Americas Sweetheart. I had so many pages of dialogue to memorize, like 15 pages. The Julia Roberts of it all sort of just floated to the back of my head, says the thoughtful actor, chuckling on a sofa in his publicists offices. I was just concerned with getting these lines. Then I was in the waiting room and I get called to go in and I was like, Oh! Im about to do this with Julia Roberts. Like, Pretty Woman. But she broke it down so quickly. So, so quickly. The moment I walked in, she gave me a hug. We spoke about things that had nothing to do with the audition. All these producers are sitting around, waiting and Im just having this personal moment with Julia Roberts. That was the moment when I felt like this was gonna be a special thing, because of the kind of human being I realized she was. James, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for the performance, is aware of how crucial Walter and Heidis chemistry was to the show. A lot of its in the writing, but you know, Julia and I spent a lot of time together a lot, a lot of time together hours locked up in a room much like this, he chuckles again, indicating the spare office. Theres nowhere, really, to hide. We only have each other to bounce off of. The cameras are rolling, but we still have to be in front of each other and form a relationship. I honestly credit that to time. Walter presents as a strong, stand-up guy, but he recognizes hes been damaged enough to need help. James strikes a delicate balance between solid and showing hairline cracks. I think, oftentimes, we have this idea in our heads of what PTSD looks like, he says. Just because you have one guy over there smiling and another guy not smiling, doesnt mean that hes any better than the one whos not smiling. Some come back seemingly very normal. You wouldnt know whats affecting them and how deeply its affecting them. I feel like Walter is that version. I wanted that struggle to slowly unfold. James is, as the kids say, blowing up. His other recent Hollywood work includes Selma, Race, and the upcoming 21 Bridges. Despite his extensive Canadian resume, he says hes still learning. Honestly, I was just fortunate to go to work every day with someone of the caliber of Julia Roberts. To be in the trenches with her every day. It really aided my confidence about the level of workload I could sustain. Im not really scared of words too much anymore, he says, laughing. Who needs Disneylands Star Wars: Galaxys Edge when you have this new theme park offering: a re-creation of the 1997 fatal car crash of Diana, Princess of Wales. No, were not kidding. The attraction can be found at the new National Enquirer Live! when the park opens Friday. Its located in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., just a few miles from Dolly Partons Dollywood. Among other exhibits related to stories the tabloid has covered over the years, guests can look down at a computer-generated 3-D model of Paris, with the path of Dianas car shown via animation, according to the Daily Beast. Advertisement Its projected, and you see the buildings and everything in a 3-D presentation, amusements impresario Robin Turner told the website. And it shows the pathway as she left the Ritz hotel, and the paparazzi chasing her, and the bang-flash that we think blinded the driver and how it happened. Theres no blood or mangled Mercedes Benz from the paparazzi-fueled crash that killed Diana and Dodi Fayed, Turner told the Daily Beast. Rather, he said, the exhibit was tasteful and sensitively handled, with only computer animation at work. And for less than $25 per adult, visitors can judge for themselves and also be quizzed as to what they think was the cause of her death. Its done in a positive fashion, Turner said. A representative for the theme park didnt immediately respond to The Times request for comment Thursday. According to the parks limited website, guests to National Enquirer Live! can walk the red carpet and explore the crimes of the century. No details are provided. Also, if youve already been to Pigeon Forge, theres still no need to worry. Theres a National Enquirer Live! coming to Branson, Mo., in late June. cdz@latimes.com @theCDZ on Twitter and Instagram For anyone who spent their high-school years studying hard, racking up extracurriculars, avoiding parties and sneering at the popular kids who were clearly destined to peak in 12th grade Im not thinking of anyone in particular, of course the opening scenes of Booksmart will play out with a strangely potent, slow-dawning horror. On the last day of high school, Molly (Beanie Feldstein), a Yale-bound senior who dreams of becoming the nations youngest Supreme Court justice, learns that not all her classmates were the losers and burnouts shed thought (and hoped) they were. Some of them, like her, are headed for Ivy League schools; another has landed a job coding for Google. But unlike Molly and her similarly overachieving best friend, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), they were cool enough not to make a big deal of it, and to have other interests along the way: drinking, partying, having sex, the usual. Molly and Amys realization that they arent the only school standouts that from a certain perspective, their high-school years have been woefully underachieved provides the first big jolt in this wickedly clever and furiously paced comedy. It isnt the last. Determined to make up for lost time before they graduate, Molly and Amy set off in search of a year-end party thrown by Nick (Mason Gooding), the popular vice president of their senior class. A long night of wrong turns, false moves and one painful bout of coitus interruptus ensues. That may sound like the stuff of a familiar buddy-comedy template. But Booksmart, directed with terrific verve by actress-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde from a sharp script by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman, keeps rattling off surprise after surprise. Not all of them work, to be sure, though some of them actually improve with repetition. (Keep your eye on Mollys classmate Gigi, played by the comic firecracker Billie Lourd.) But each twist is engineered to remind you sometimes with a tender touch, sometimes with a forceful wallop that people are rarely as mean, shallow or clueless as the rumor mill would have you believe. Advertisement Thats a lovely sentiment for a movie about the Darwinian shark tank called high school. Its also an inspiring, unfashionably optimistic thought for the species in general. Booksmart leaves you feeling unaccountably hopeful for the state of humanity and the state of American screen comedy too. Some of that hope stems from the fact that the movies director, four screenwriters and two stars are all women, a talent combination thats rarer than it should be and that should lay waste to the last pathetic vestiges of the can women be funny debate. It probably wont, of course. No one who had any doubt to begin with is likely to be convinced by evidence to the contrary. RELATED: Olivia Wilde on the high school comedies and buddy cop films that inspired Booksmart Booksmart, directed by Olivia Wilde, is about two high school seniors, Molly and Amy, who realize theyve been so diligent in their studies that they missed out on a social life. Still, there is plenty of evidence here if you want it. Molly and Amy are the most entertaining duo to grace a high-school comedy in some time, not least because they are also the most plausible. They dish and rant with the practiced routine and whip-smart banter of longtime besties, poking fun at each others quirks, boosting each others egos and agonizing over their sexual frustrations. For Amy, who came out as a lesbian not too long ago, that involves her current crush on an adorably spacey classmate named Ryan (Victoria Ruesga). The chance of a pre-graduation hook-up turns out to be one of the chief enticements of Nicks party. And so off they go, first ducking out the door before Amys super-sweet parents (Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte) can protest, then enduring a couple of rideshares from hell and at one point imbibing a substance that sends the movie into surreal, hallucinatory terrain. Feldstein, whose brother Jonah Hill starred in Superbad, honors his comic legacy and more important, forges her own by taking on the equivalent role here as the more determined and outspoken of the two. Molly often tries to pressure the quieter, more prudent Amy into doing something shed rather not, and the excellent Dever, in a touching performance that feels both open and guarded, locates telling flickers of resentment and anxiety beneath the bubbly, chattery surface. The two of them are complex, fully individuated young women in a sea of high-school types, some of them vivid and specific enough to call out for an update to the usual Breakfast Club taxonomy. Theres Jared (Skyler Gisondo), the rich kid trying way too hard to make new friends. There are the hardcore theater geeks (Noah Galvin and Austin Crute) who turn every scene into an opportunity for snark, and the girl (Molly Gordon) with the slut-shaming nickname. Theres the hip teacher (Jessica Williams) and the dorky principal (Jason Sudeikis). I already mentioned Gigi, but shes worth mentioning again and again. They may begin as seemingly one-dimensional types, but the achievement of Booksmart is that, without compromising its first and foremost obligation to be funny, it also turns them into plausible, recognizable human beings. Behind this movies sharply satirical teeth is a sincere reminder of that maxim to be kind to others, because you never know what they may be going through. Sometimes you dont know what even your best friend is going through, as the story makes clear in one stomach-clutching emotional high point, shot in a single take, that stops the laughs dead. Its an impressive technical feat, but also a moment of deep, generous feeling. It gives overachievement a good name. RELATED: To play BFFs in Booksmart, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever moved in together Billie Lourd, left, as the scene-stealing Gigi and Kaitlyn Dever in Olivia Wildes high school comedy Booksmart. (Francois Duhamel / Annapurna Pictures) ------------ Booksmart Rating: R, for strong sexual content and language throughout, drug use and drinking all involving teens Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes Playing: In general reason justin.chang@latimes.com | Twitter: @JustinCChang What must Thanksgiving dinners in the Gunn family be like? Though directed by David Yarovesky, the uber-gory superhero horror film Brightburn is written by cousins Brian and Mark Gunn and produced by Brians brother, James. But this isnt the more mainstream version of James Gunn behind the gloriously goofy Guardians of the Galaxy films; instead, it broadcasts the fingerprints of the director of the much darker Super and Slither. Brightburn bears the bleak outlook and stomach-churning gore of those movies, though it has none of their off-kilter humor. Theres some truly nasty stuff here both violence-wise and in its outlook on evil but it still somehow manages to be fun amid all the carnage. For the record: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that screenwriters Mark and Brian Gunn are brothers. They are cousins. Though Brightburn never says the name Superman, its clear what comic book IP the Gunns are riffing on. Their script imagines what would happen if DC Comics altruistic hero had all his powers and none of his goodness or love for humanity. Of course, the setting is Kansas, but instead of Smallville, its the fictional town of Brightburn. Theres a scene where a child with super strength lifts a car, but it doesnt go quite like the heroics of the one in Superman. Brightburn even begins similarly to Richard Donners 1978 film about the Man of Steel. From their shelves of books on infertility, its clear that Tori (Elizabeth Banks) and Kyle Breyer (David Denham) have been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant. An object from the sky falls into their field and interrupts their latest attempt, but Tori views the baby inside as the blessing theyve been waiting for. The new parents alliteratively name the boy Brandon Breyer (you know, like Lex Luthor and Otto Octavius), but their home movies of the toddler and their address (143, a.k.a. code for I love you) tell us that this is a house of affection and acceptance. Advertisement Fast forward a decade and Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) is approaching puberty. And instead of the normal, figurative monster that most of us turn into in adolescence, 12-year-old Brandon transforms into an actual one. His mothers sweet boy is a psychopath, suddenly obsessed with anatomy and drawing violent pictures in his notebook. He also possesses superhuman abilities, including a strength that allows him to break a classmates hand. These changes may just have something to do with the UFO wreckage thats stashed in the barn and glows red at night, luring Brandon with its unintelligible but sinister alien murmurs. Maybe. In the question of nature vs. nurture, Brightburn comes down hard on the side of the former. Despite the unconditional love of his mother, Brandon is destined to break bad, with no conscience holding him back from committing violence. The script never really questions whether hes going to turn evil, but instead just lays out how it happens. Several visuals and the accompanying crunches and gurgles will make appearances in my nightmares. There are some truly indelible images here. All but the hardest of horror fans will find themselves looking away at least once as the Gunn brothers and director Yarovesky (The Hive) find new ways to make the audience squirm. If you watch the brutal first kill without blinking (who are you?!), the second will have you dropping your jaw in awe over just how far this movie is willing to go. Brightburn fully commits to its grim outlook, though its a bit too serious at times, with a few moments getting a laugh that the filmmakers likely werent intending. Yarovesky and cinematographer Michael Dallatorre lean into a palette of reds and blacks, complementing the films dark tone. Some special effects look a little shaky, but its never enough to ruin the movies ability to make you jump or shudder. With Brightburn, Yarovesky and the Gunns have mutated the superhero and horror genres into a single creature, engineered to terrify and sicken. This isnt a comic book movie made with four-quadrant appeal; its for that niche audience who finds that feeling of nausea doesnt put them off their popcorn. ------------- Brightburn Rated: R, for horror violence/bloody images, and language Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Playing: Starts May 24 in general release ------------ calendar@latimes.com @LATimesMovies In the lovely, slender documentary That Part Feeling: The Universe of Arvo Part, producer-director Paul Hegeman highlights the music of renowned Estonian composer Arvo Part while attempting to unveil the mystery around the purportedly reclusive writer of such famed works as Tabula Rasa, Fratres, Trivium and Fur Alina, all stirringly performed here. But Hegeman, who also shot the film (with Auke Dijkstra), eschews a typical biographical recounting of the 83-year-old maestros prolific life; we learn little of his past, his process or what makes him tick. Perhaps then the mystery of the man billed here as the most performed composer of our times is just that hes a serene, low-profile guy who lives to create his uniquely spiritual and minimalist brand of classical music and the world is better for it. Although Part is seen genially working with the Cello Quartet Amsterdam and members of a student conservatory, he only briefly chats with Hegeman. Analysis of Part is left to an eclectic, talented swath of artists and collaborators who describe his venerable output as confrontational yet comforting and beautiful yet dangerous. Listening to the films gorgeous renderings will make you a believer. Advertisement ------------- That Part Feeling: The Universe of Arvo Part In English, Dutch, German and French with English subtitles Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Playing: Starts May 24, Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills; also, May 27 only, Laemmle Royal, West L.A.; Laemmle Town Center 5, Encino; Laemmle Playhouse, Pasadena; Laemmle Claremont 5 ------------ calendar@latimes.com @LATimesMovies If Running with Beto, which follows Beto ORourkes meteoric rise from lesser-known Texas Democratic congressman to U.S. Senate hopeful via his 2018 bid to unseat Republican incumbent Ted Cruz is expected to serve as a promotional tool for ORourkes 2020 presidential campaign, this entertaining, if straightforward documentary may only partly achieve that lofty goal. Although it certainly presents ORourke as a spirited, galvanizing, staunchly progressive force, the movie, produced and directed by David Modigliani, doesnt necessarily show or tell us much of import that most political junkies this movies seemingly chief audience do not already know. If anything, in its well-paced, largely fly-on-the-wall style, Running simply reconfirms what supporters have seemed to like best about the El Paso native: Hes a charismatic, hyper-articulate, casually handsome everyman with bold ideas and a Kennedy-esque idealism; a strong and viable package for those voters who are so inclined. That said, this almost constantly on-the-move film vividly hits the highlights of ORourkes hard-fought, hands-on battle against the deep-rooted Cruz, including campaign stops in every one of Texas 254 counties, several feisty candidate debates, rousing rallies, innovative uses of social media, a shunning of PAC money, a few policy dust-ups, big-time TV interviews and a surprisingly close outcome. (Cruz won re-election by less than 3 percentage points.) Advertisement Its an absorbing, yearlong look at how two polar-opposite politicians vie for supremacy in the age of Donald Trump, with one seeming to rely on truth-twisting and fear-mongering while the other takes a more visionary, egalitarian approach. Two guesses which is which. Although neither Cruz nor Trump is shown in a particularly positive light, Modigliani doesnt overly demonize them for ORourkes benefit. Their words essentially speak for themselves. The film also does a nice job involving us with ORourkes steadfast wife Amy and their adorable young children Ulysses, Molly and Henry whose patience with his absences during this hectic time is tested and, it seems, effectively managed. Whether from near or far, ORourke seems to keep them as connected to his campaign as possible, despite the kids increasing antsiness. Modigliani also intimately captures the candidates election night loss and the ORourke familys resigned reaction with bittersweet, tomorrow-is-another-day grace. But as eager, warm, sincere and inspiring as ORourke may appear, he isnt given the saintly treatment either. The film features a handful of tense moments in which the congressman takes a staffer or two to task over their lack of preparation or vigilance on his behalf. Given ORourkes usual warmth and general equanimity, these instances come off a bit unexpected yet, in a way, also refreshingly real. He also tosses off the sporadic f-bomb with unselfconscious exuberance. In addition, the movie makes time to engagingly focus on a diverse trio of ORourkes devoted grassroots volunteers: 17-year-old gun-safety activist Marcel McClinton; ex-Republican Amanda Salas, a lesbian bucking the odds in her apathetic hometown of McAllen (chats with her pro-Trump stepfather succinctly mirror the left-right divide); and tattooed, forthright, former military wife Shannon Gay. What Running doesnt do is provide much history or personal dimension about ORourke beyond several passing comments (there were a few 1990s legal infractions, a love of punk rock music) and scrapbook photos. Modigliani also eschews any outside punditry that could have helped to more objectively frame the candidate. Its decidedly not that kind of documentary often more run-and-gun than deep dive. So be it. It can be tough to build a lot of cinematic tension when a storys outcome is already known. Running is no exception, despite the filmmakers efforts to keep things whipping forward around election night. Still, as Gay notes of ORourkes future after his senatorial defeat, This is the bed of coals here, and were just getting cooking. So far, her prediction seems about right. ------------- Running with Beto Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes Playing: Starts Friday, Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica; Available May 28 on HBO ------------ calendar@latimes.com @LATimesMovies The year was 1970 and Elton John, then just 23, was making his U.S. debut onstage at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. L.A. Times music critic Robert Hilburn was there and wrote a review, published Aug. 27, 1970, which bore the headline New rock talent, and boldly predicted that John would become one of rocks biggest and most important stars. Original text below: Rejoice. Rock music, which has been going through a rather uneventful period lately, has a new star. Hes Elton John, a 23-year-old Englishman whose United States debut Tuesday night at the Troubadour was, in almost every way, magnificent. Advertisement Because his new Uni album has been aired extensively on local FM radio and several of his songs have been recorded by other artists (from Rod Stewart to Three Dog Night), there was a large, enthusiastic audience on hand for the opening. John, whose music is published by the same man (Dick James) who publishes the Beatles songs, proved to be a multidirectional talent of the highest order. His music is so staggeringly original that it is obvious he is not merely operating within a given musical field (such as country or blues or rock) but, like Randy Newman and Laura Nyro among others, creating his own field. He has, to be sure, borrowed from country, rock, blues, folk and other influences, but he has mixed them in his own way. The resulting songs are so varied in texture that his work defies classification. REVIEW: Rocketman is an affecting, sprawling musical about the life of Elton John In his opening set Tuesday, John did songs from his first album, from his still-to-be-released second album and from his planned third album. While his voice most often resembles Jose Feliciano, there are also at times touches of Leon Russell and Mick Jagger. Since he was backed Tuesday only by his own piano, Nigel Olsson on drums and Dee Murray on bass, his sound was much earthier in general than the sweet, heavily orchestrated music of the first album. Johns songs are co-written by lyricist Bernie Taupin, whose lyrics often capture the same timeless, objective spirit of the Bands Robbie Robertson. In fact, Johns intense vocals, coupled with Taupins biting lyrics, on Burn Down the Mission, would be right at home alongside Levon Helm on stage with the Band. Beyond his vocals, melodies and arrangements, there is a certain sense of the absurd about John as a performer that is reminiscent of the American rock stars of the mid-1950s. ALSO: Taron Egerton channels Elton John in Rocketman, and the role is about to change his life Only someone with that wild, uninhibited view of his music would dare ask the audience to sing along something that is almost never done anymore or drop to his knees, like Jerry Lee Lewis used to do, in a rousing piano finale on Burn Down the Mission. It worked wonderfully well. The audience, which included one of the largest local gatherings of rock writers in months, roared its approval, bringing John back for an encore. By the end of the evening, there was no question about Johns talent and potential. Tuesday night at the Troubadour was just the beginnning. Hes going to be one of rocks biggest and most important stars. Hell be at the Troubadour with Elektras David Ackles through Sunday. Tyler, the Creator was so sweaty by the end of his concert Wednesday night that his blond wig had begun to look more like a pile of Top Ramen plopped on his head. At least that was the judgment of one of the rappers fans, who offered his style assessment just inches from where Tyler was performing on a small stage set up inside a studio on an industrial strip in Van Nuys. Having heard the guy, though, Tyler cheerfully agreed. Please someone meme me, he said between laughs. Part of the release-week rollout of his surprisingly moving new album, Igor, Wednesdays hourlong show had Tyler the hip-hop provocateur known (and often feared) since he emerged about a decade ago as the leader of Los Angeles anarchic Odd Future crew performing the record from beginning to end for the first time before a few hundred folks whod received free tickets from Apple Music, which livestreamed the gig. Advertisement To mark the occasion, the rapper wore the outfit hes been wearing in much of Igors promotional material: a too-tight powder-blue suit, boxy sunglasses and that goofy bowl cut, which he said had followed a progression similar to the albums. It starts happy, then its just dark and sad and gross at the end. Yet his discomfort was worth it, he added. The idea is executed. Execution is clearly important right now to Tyler, whose earlier work got over on the raw intensity of his punk-like attack. Igor, in contrast, feels carefully constructed, with more melody and with complex instrumental textures drawn from old-school soul music and psychedelic rock. The album, expected to top sales charts next week, features input from plenty of high-profile collaborators, including Solange, Kanye West, Charlie Wilson and Lil Uzi Vert. But the cover art proudly proclaims that all 12 tracks which chart a painful breakup were written, produced and arranged by Tyler Okonma, who recently turned 28. And here, he moved his body to the music with a precision that reflected his familiarity with every guitar lick and drum beat. Take it to the bridge, he told himself no band accompanied him, just a hard drive during I Think, before he perfectly mimed a keyboard solo. You got a sense of his auteurs sensibility too from the stories he told about how Igors songs came to be. The throbbing I Think grew out of his fascination with Nigerian funk My dads Nigerian, supposedly, he said and out of a trip he took with Solange and Frank Ocean to Lake Como in Italy. Running Out of Time, with a dreamy vocal over twinkling electric piano, happened during a break from a writing session with the rapper ASAP Ferg, he said; theyd been making hard stuff when this dewy number materialized out of nowhere. Of Earfquake, the albums catchiest tune, Tyler said hed written it in the hopes that Justin Bieber would record it a long shot, perhaps, but not out of the question given Tylers widespread influence among the young pop stars (including Billie Eilish) eager to play his annual Camp Flog Gnaw festival. (The lyrics contain some strong language.) More than any of his peers, he represents a kind of bridge figure between the SoundCloud underground and the Top 40 mainstream. In any event, Bieber passed on the song, Tyler said, a touch of disappointment still evident in his low, raspy voice. Yet its easy to view that as a good thing: The reason Earfquake is so affecting on Igor is because of how unguarded Tyler sounds as he sings about someones love threatening to shake his foundation. Its not a superstars performance but that of a once-blustering rebel now softening with age. And that was no less true in Van Nuys, where Tyler said his pumping adrenaline and the constricting fit of his suit were making it even harder to sing than usual. What this exacting artist understood was that sometimes a mess is just the arrangement you need. mikael.wood@latimes.com Twitter: @mikaelwood In this series, Running the Show, The Times speaks with showrunners of your favorite TV programs about breaking into Hollywood, being the boss and more challenges of the job. Tanya Saracho, the creator of Starzs Latinx-fronted Vida, is on a mission to keep her show going. The half-hour series, which revolves around two Mexican American sisters who return to their Eastside neighborhood following their mothers death, garnered praise from critics in its first season for its sociopolitical commentary and exploration of identity. But its ratings were modest. Advertisement The series returns this week with new viewing options for fans. All 10 episodes will be available to binge instantly on the premium networks app starting Thursday. Those who prefer the traditional, weekly linear experience can catch its premiere on Sunday. Whatever the preference, Saracho hopes viewers show up. As fans still grieve the Netflix cancellation of One Day at a Time and others prepare for the culmination of the CWs Jane the Virgin, the departures highlight the dearth of Latinx programming on television. I dont have a third season secured, Saracho says. I dont know what will happen to us. The thing is that with Season 2, people have to watch. Because at the end of the day, its a business. Theyre going to have to be like, OK, this was a good gamble. We gambled on this audience and they showed up Were like any show that is dependent on ratings. Saracho nurtured her writing as a playwright in Chicago before making the jump to TV in 2012. She had staff jobs on shows like Lifetimes Devious Maids, HBOs Looking and How to Get Away With Murder on ABC. But Vida marks Sarachos first series as creator and showrunner. Inside the office of the West Hollywood home she recently moved into, Saracho talked about how her writing process has changed since working in TV, her efforts to give opportunities to people of color and the pressure to be excellent just to keep a seat at the Hollywood table. Various notes and artwork carrying positive messages decorate Tanya Sarachos office. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) On the transition from theater to TV I didnt know how to write TV when I got here.The first year was about learning Final Draft. Id never seen an outline before. But I thought maybe I could make some money so I could keep doing my theater stuff. It was like, whatever I do, the end purpose is theater. I didnt know TV was going to be so time consuming. My first year as a TV writer, I remember the No. 2 of that first writers room told me: You know your theater stuff is going to be tainted. I was like, Never! I am a theater artiste. But he was so right. My scenes are different. The way I tell the story is different. TV just absorbed me. I didnt plan for it. I know there are other writers who have been able to navigate both. Im done with theater, creatively. I didnt want to be. But I cant dream plays anymore. Now, I dream stories that keep going. Its weird. Tanya Saracho shares her desk with her cat Roscoe. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) TV and the Latinx privilege We have been absent from the narrative for so long. And that is not a Hollywood thing. That is an American thing. There are a lot of reasons why we have not had visibility or, dare I say it, value in this country social reasons, economic reasons, immigration reasons that have contributed to this decade after decade. To have this opportunity is a privilege it shouldnt be. We should be able to take up space and our shows should be supported. Not just one. A ton of them. I should not be the only one. But also, it is as an artist awesome that I get to tell my story. So its twofold. I resent it a little bit because you have to be so grateful that you get to do this show because our people dont get this opportunity. And thats what sucks. I wish it wasnt so. But its not just Hollywood. A lot of America doesnt see our worth. Even though these girls [the two main characters of Vida] are representing Americans. Theyre third generation second-, third-generation Americans. But they see z at the end of our last name, they see the color of our skin. Because were suffering from that problem of visibility and agency and access in this country, it feels like a great privilege. I wish we didnt have to use that word. The thing that keeps her from writing Instagram. Posting dance videos of myself on Instagram. I dont have a brand that Im trying to build. If I have an anxiety attack, I post an Insta story as it happens. I went to New York for the Tribeca Film Festival and some fans were asking for autographs and one was like, Hi, youre so stressed out, I brought you these edibles. And Im like, hmm, I should edit myself, maybe? Because people were thinking Im a mess which I am but, Im not. Especially now that Im on hiatus, all I put up is my cat. And people have opinions on my cat. Social media is weird. Pictures of the Vida cast and one with her sister Tatiana, far right, decorate Tanya Sarachos office. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Building a content empire Right now Im watching Lena Waithe and Ava DuVernay and Issa Rae and they have a really good thing going. Theyre opening so many doors for their community. I want to be able to do that. We dont have one of us up there. Somebody had to give me, not just permission, but the suggestion. There are not a lot of Latina creators with overalls. You need people to encourage you to dream up these worlds. Now Im dreaming it. And I think I should be dreaming it. Power can be really good and we have been powerless for so long. For us, being just good is not an option. Look at the shows weve got. We have to be excellent. Good is not enough. And that can be exhausting. White men dont have the burden of being the ambassadors for an entire people and having to represent the diaspora. On her next passion project: Brujas (Witches) I hope we get to do it. In Chicago, a lot of my circle was Afro-Latinx in my theater company, my friends, people I dated. They took me to their senoras too, who were also Afro-Latinx. It just opened up a whole world. Walking in step with them, I realized how much we Latinx police Afro-Latinx, and also how they were policed by black American culture. Any time Latinx had access, it felt like the voice that was left off is the Afro-Latinx voice. And with magic I mean, this town has dealt with it in such a Eurocentric way. Movies I love, like Practical Magic and The Craft, and shows that are great like Charmed its all Eurocentric. Its all based in Europagan belief systems. Never has proper credit been given to the Yoruba-based traditions that were imported when the slave trade started and that are older than paganism. And they affect so much of the Caribbean. I just wanted to re-shift the narrative. Magic does not belong to white people. Every time we see Santeria in a movie, its like a joke or horror, voodoo zombies. These four millennial Afro-Latinas [in the show] will be honoring that legacy. But also, theyre American girls in Chicago. I had a mini writers room full of Afo-Latinx writers. The first exercise when we opened the room, I said: If you were watching this show, what would you want it to be about? It took hours before [we] said it was about witchcraft. We wrote things like colorism, pelo bueno, pelo malo (good hair, bad hair) all these things. The standoff between Hollywood writers and agents Were in limbo. I love my agents, [but] these agents, in practice, are a problem. Obviously we all took the stance. I hope it gets sorted out. And everyone complains about it and everyones scared, but we stand with the union because its the right thing. I put out on Twitter the #WGAboost and I was like, I dont have a third season but Ill read people. And most of the people are not even in the WGA. But I already vowed to read them. Im doing my part in this. It might last a while and we need to hold on. I do worry about the lower-level writers. The thing is, for me in practice, I hardly ever use any lists from agents, including my own agency. I find us. Candles aplenty in Tanya Sarachos office. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) On who or what inspires her That needle moves artistically. Im always inspired by [Mexicos philosopher, musician and writer] Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and how she had to feel and suffer through her queerness and her talent. But also not positive things inspire me. If I get a third season, I really want to touch on the subject of immigration because I just feel very helpless. And I know others around me feel helpless too. If I have this platform around me, I hope I can at least shed some light. Tanya Sarachos office is arranged according to feng shui with different colors around the room symbolizing fame, harmony and, pictured, purple for prosperity. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com Twitter: @villarrealy To dine well at the 4-month-old, 12-seat Thai Town restaurant called Northern Thai Food Club, sidle up to its steam table. Chef-owner Nancy Amphai Dunne dotes on the steel barge, which takes up serious real estate in the tiny room and sits framed against a chartreuse wall. Dunne is constantly shuffling ruddy, brothy stews animated by herbs and brimming with hunks of pork or chicken. On the tables left side sits a warming rack laid out with coils of sausage, small battered fish and knobs of fried pork ribs. Electric scents of shrimp paste and lemongrass charge the air. The selection of soups changes continuously; your introduction to Dunnes cooking might be gaeng hung lay (sometimes also phonetically spelled kaeng hang le), a fragrant pork belly curry whose flavors never stay still. Dunne renders the meat until the fat leaves a liquid sheen, a palliative for the flavors blunt-force chiles, a sour kiss of tamarind, the sweet sting of julienned ginger churning underneath. Hefty doses of turmeric stain the curry an autumnal shade of orange-brown. This is powerful, pulse-quickening nourishment. Food Sign up for the Tasting Notes newsletter Dunne cooks the dishes of her native Chiang Rai, Thailands northernmost province, which borders Myanmar and Laos. She provides menus in Thai and English, and pictures of dishes cover the restaurants window, but the direction of your meal is best decided in a conversation with Dunne over the steam table. Advertisement Other instructive chats can happen there too. During a recent lunch, a friend and I talked to a woman who works at the Royal Thai Consulate a couple of miles from the restaurant. This is homemade-style Northern Thai food like my mom makes, she said. How Nancy cuts the herbs and the meats its like back home. She knew Dunne before she opened the restaurant, when the chef cooked privately for the local Thai community. Riches from Northern Thai Food Clubs steam table. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) I asked the woman if she knows of other Los Angeles restaurants serving the regional cuisine in quite this way. She shook her head. In the infinity that is L.A., who can know for sure? Night + Market Song, two miles down Sunset Boulevard, does serve excellent Chiang Rai-inspired versions of sausages and pork larb; Kris Yenbamroong has family from the province. But I can say with admiring certainty that Dunnes stews and many of her other dishes are intricate and distinctive and unbridled in their potency. Food obsessives invested in the ecology of L.A.s Thai dining landscape should put her tiny storefront on their itinerary immediately. A baseline of aromatics energizes her soups: lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, red chiles. She goes heavy on the Makrut lime leaves for an herbal chicken variation called gaeng om. Handfuls of fermented bamboo shoots aggressively tilt a stormy jumble of pork, mushrooms and long beans toward earthier, funkier angles. Nancy Amphai Dunne serves a customer from the steam table. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) Begin by ordering one or two steam table stews. Dunne has a sharp memory for faces: She remembers regulars, and she might start suggesting smaller servings of three or four contrasting specials. Do you want sticky rice? she asks. Always. Khao soi, the coconut curry noodle soup that originates from this corner of the world, isnt a steam table staple but can be easily requested. In the context of the other dishes, the profusion of coconut cream tastes jarringly sweet. I douse it with chile oil and wring out every last bit of juice from two lime wedges to ratchet up the tension. Not every dish at Northern Thai Food need be consumed with a spoon. Dunnes recipe for sai ua, Chiang Rais ubiquitous pork sausage, is remarkable packed with coarsely minced lemongrass and other herbs to the point of fibrousness, but in a way that the flavors remain distinct and the textures stay captivating. Choose the sai ua over the fried spheres of shrimp and squid paste threaded on skewers; they look more tempting than they taste. The pork larb deviates from the iterations in most Los Angeles Thai restaurants: Rather than the vividly acidic, herbaceous Isan-style larb flavored with rice powder, this is a brooding mountain of meat. It smacks of offal; pork bile lurks within. Sweet and dusky seasonings ripple through the pork; their combination lands somewhere between Chinese five-spice and Indian garam masala, which speaks to the centuries of cultural exchange evident in the regions cooking. Feasting on khao soi at Northern Thai Food Club. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) Time for something dazzlingly bright: green mango salad. Dunne tings her garlicky version with salted crab. Beneath the heat and the salinity, the crab is so subtle a near-forgotten memory in the dishs subconscious. I have to close my eyes and concentrate for the taste to reveal itself. My friend, who speaks Thai, marvels with the woman from the consulate over the mango salads garnish: fresh cha-om, a feathery herb with a dank smell and nutty taste that theyve rarely seen outside Thailand. Dunne tells them she found a grower in Fresno. This kind of entryway into Dunnes culinary heritage has me returning again and again, always wondering what will usher next from her mind and hands. A doughnut shop once filled the space; Dunne tacked up her own banner over the signs of other recent occupants who served Thai cuisine. This corner slot in a nondescript strip mall has seen a lot of turnover. I have never witnessed Northern Thai Food packed with customers; an ephemeral feeling shimmers around the operation. This is not cooking to let slip quietly away. Its genuineness deserves a steady and hungry following. Dunne garnishes a dish at the steam table. (Silvia Razgova / For The Times) There are few things that better represent the greatness of Los Angeles and our love of constant movement than the taco truck, sometimes called a lonchera (lunchbox), a name that encompasses food trucks of all kinds. Taco trucks dot the Los Angeles cityscape there are over 3,000 licensed food trucks and carts roaming the streets. But many people dont venture beyond a trucks signature item. Sticking just to carne asada tacos, for example, while satisfying, can limit your experience. Here is a far-from-complete but good general overview of what one could expect to find at a typical taco truck. Red birria tacos from Teddys Red Tacos. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Tacos Tacos are as perfect a food youll find on this earth. Most tacos from a workaday truck are soft corn tortillas, a little bigger than a coaster, wrapped around whatever you wish usually meat. Two tortillas are the norm for an L.A. streetside taco. But there are numerous variations you can encounter: Tacos dorados are deep fried, giving the outer shell a satisfying crunch. The vegetables are placed on the outside of the taco the inside is usually meat-only. The fried shrimp tacos from Mariscos Jalisco are some of the most famous tacos dorados in the city. Tacos arabes (literally Arab tacos) come from the city of Puebla, where immigrants from the Middle East adapted their cooking practices specifically spit-roasting meat and baking pitas to create a new style of taco. The juicy, marinated pork is cut from a rotating spit and served on pan arabe, a thin, pita-like bread, instead of a tortilla and served with a red, chipotle-powered salsa. Check out Los Originales Tacos Arabes de Puebla on East Olympic Boulevard to get your fix. Tacos estilo Tijuana are usually served with a smear of guacamole and wrapped in a thin piece of parchment paper, used to pinch the taco closed. Tacos de adobada are Tijuanas version of tacos al pastor marinated, seasoned pork thats sometimes treated with achiote paste to give it a vivid red color. A classic taco al pastor can be found at Tacos Tamix or Leos Tacos. While not really truck fare, if you grew up in Los Angeles, you likely at some point ate a crunchy hard-shell taco at Titos Tacos. A distinctly American invention that Taco Bell would eventually make famous worldwide, hard-shell tacos are topped with cool shredded cheese and iceberg lettuce. A classic Mexican street treat, tacos de canasta are traditionally layered in a big basket and sold from vendors on bikes. Also known as tacos al vapor or tacos sudados, these tacos are steamed. Fillings and toppings can vary. Carnitas El Momo is operated by Juan Acosta and his brother-in-law Jerry Briseno in Boyle Heights. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) Burritos The burrito consists of a large flour tortilla that completely encases its fillings. Popular in areas of northern Mexico and everywhere in the United States, burritos usually contain meat and beans (for purists) but can incorporate rice, cheese, sour cream and various condiments. For Northern Californians in particular, where burrito decency conspicuously lacks, theres apparently no limit to what you can stuff into a flour tortilla. Tostadas and vampiros A tostada is the crisp, open-faced sister of the taco; the tortilla is fried and golden and piled with toppings: meat, cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream. The fragile tostada is prone to breakage, and beans are commonly smeared on the tortilla to prevent the toppings from tumbling off. While tostadas are created with pre-made crunchy tortillas, the tortilla of a vampiro is grilled to order. Buckling sinisterly on the plancha, the tortilla is first covered in melted cheese before loaded up with other toppings an effective way of preventing the tortilla from shattering, as frequently happens with tostadas. The blackjack quesadilla from the Kogi truck. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times) Quesadilla A quesadilla is a tortilla filled with gooey melted cheese and, optionally, meat and vegetables. Quesadillas can be made with flour or corn tortillas. Tortillas can be stacked, one on top of the other, or a larger tortilla and its fillings can be cooked open-faced, then folded in half. Mulitas A mulita is a cheesy, meaty sandwich smaller than a typical quesadilla, and almost always including protein. Two corn tortillas, stacked one on top of the other, act as bookends to the delicious insides. Nachos You can thank Ignacio Anaya and the border town of Piedras Negras, Mexico, the next time you sit down with a plate of nachos. Conventional wisdom is that in 1943, forced to improvise an appetizer one evening, Anaya covered a batch of tortilla chips with cheese and slices of jalapeno. A few minutes in the oven later, nachos were born. A huarache at Huarache Azteca dressed with red salsa, green salsa, cactus leaf, grilled onions, avocado, queso fresco and sour cream. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) Sopes, picaditas, huaraches, gorditas These belong roughly in the same family masa that has been shaped and pinched by hand and married to cheese, meat and vegetable toppings. The thickness and shape of the masa ranges and there are endless regional variations, but in general: sopes are smallish, with crimped edges like a little tart; picaditas are essentially the same, but from the state of Guerrero; huaraches are named after sandals and are oblong like their namesake; gorditas are hot little corn pockets stuffed with different fillings. Torta A torta is a sandwich. Frequently served on a crusty, white telera or bolillo roll, there are as many torta variations as galaxies in the universe, from the Pueblan cemita poblana (distinguished by the inclusion of the divisive herb papalo) to the salsa-drenched Guadalajaran torta ahogada to the delectable, unholy monstrosity of the multi-meat 20-car pile-up of the torta cubana. The Super Tortas D.F. trailer specializes in massive tortas of all shapes and sizes. Alambres While alambre technically means wire, referring in this case to a metal skewer on which meat and vegetables are cooked (or possibly how strings of cheese resemble a tangled mess), theres no real requirement that alambres require any skewer- or shish kebab-like cooking. It can be thought of as a catch-all term for a pile of grilled meats, veggies and cheese, and is frequently served with tortillas. Carnes Carne Asada The verb asar means to grill or roast. Carne asada is grilled, seasoned beef. Particularly well-known in northern parts of Mexico, its a staple of almost every taco truck. Morsels of meat are shaved from a spit for al pastor tacos at Leos Taco Truck at South La Brea Avenue and Venice Boulevard. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times) Pastor Instantly recognizable from the spinning trompo, or vertical spit, tacos al pastor are made with pork marinated in bright red achiote paste, guajillo chiles and other spices. A sliver of pineapple commonly rests on top. In Baja California, youll find tacos de adobada prepared in a similar style. Carnitas This classic Michoacanense preparation, which literally means little meats, is pork that has been cooked long and slow in a bath of fat. Its often crisped/reheated on a griddle before it goes into your taco. The Carnitas El Momo trailer has taken pig preparation and elevated it to something truly special. Handmade flour tortillas are grilled for vampiros at the Asadero Chikali truck. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Pollo Not many trucks are particularly known for their chicken tacos, but if you find a good one, hold onto it. Youve found something special. Buche Chewy bits of pig stomach. Trompa Not to be confused with trompo, the rotating spit on which youll find delicious marinated pork for tacos al pastor, tacos de trompa are filled with gelatinous, chopped pig snout. Jerry Briseno of Carnitas El Momo chops carnitas for tacos. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) Cabeza Cabeza tacos consist of meat from the head of a cow aforementioned cranium is slowly roasted until the flavorful meat can be picked off. At places that specialize in cabeza, you can have your pick of the frontispiece from labios to the silky-smooth ojos. Chorizo Mexican chorizo is a deeply spiced pork sausage flavored with chiles and vinegar. Check out the Chori-Man, with citywide pop-ups and a storefront in San Pedro, for chorizo of all sorts, including Zacatecano red and Tolucan green chorizos. Tripas Tripe, or beef intestine, may not be to everyones liking, but are particularly nice when cooked to the point of being slightly crunchy on the edges, with a pleasing chew. El Doctor del Valle serves up tacos and more in the San Fernando Valley. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times) Birria A spiced meat stew. Although it can technically be made from nearly any kind of meat, purists will contend that it must be made from goat or mutton. The tender, saucy meat is typically eaten with tortillas, and is frequently a special-occasion dish. Beef is the meat en vogue for birria these days, and can be found in L.A. at places like Birrieria Gonzalez and Teddys Red Tacos. A cup of salty, meaty consomme is often served alongside for dipping. Barbacoa Barbacoa refers to the pit-roasting of whole animals, which can include goat, sheep, and beef think fire pit dug into the ground, and whole-day (or night) affair of cooking the meat until fall-off-the-bone tender. Suadero Meat from the underside of the cow, around where the belly meets the leg; it is usually fried confit-style in a massive flat-bottomed comal. Tacos de suadero are a true Mexico City specialty. Lengua Chunks of firm, flavorful beef tongue. Do not fear the tongue tacos, one of the most undeservedly avoided fillings in the taco pantheon. Nopales Cactus meat. If veggies are your thing, sink your teeth into a taco with bits of plump, slightly tart bits of the prickly pear cactus. Guisados Stewed meats. Guisados of all kinds beef, chicken, cochinita pibil, chicharron can be used as taco fillings. La mochila, a shrimp ceviche and fish aguachile with abalone, octopus and oysters from the El Doctor del Valle truck. (Calvin B. Alagot / Los Angeles Times) Mariscos and fish Why should the pleasures of the taco be limited to terrestrial mammals? White fish battered and fried, Ensenada-style, is a classic taco filling as is smoked marlin or tuna (in both cases, the name taco de marlin is used). Searing aguachiles and tangy ceviches can be made with various combinations of shrimp, octopus, scallop, fish and other creatures of the sea. Mariscos Jalisco is the go-to, but Mariscos 4 Vientos, just down the street, is a viable alternative. The fried fish tacos from the Rickys Fish Tacos truck are excellent if youre lucky enough to catch the truck on its weekly rounds. As of this writing, its frequently parked on Riverside Drive under the Hyperion Avenue bridge. Campechano You know when you were a kid and would go to the soda fountain and fill your cup with a little bit of Coke, a little Sprite, some Fanta, Dr. Pepper and anything else available? The taco equivalent is the campechano, a mixture of different meats (a typical combo would be carne asada and chorizo). Mix and match to your hearts desire. Condiments A good truck has plenty of condiments to accompany your purchase, including salsa verde (usually made with tomatillos) and salsa roja (made with red jitomate) and containers full of cilantro, diced onion, sliced limes and radishes. Angelica Rodriguez, left, and Merli Son serve up aguas frescas and other beverages from a street stand in the pinata district in downtown Los Angeles on March 23, 2019. (Agustin Paullier / AFP/Getty Images) Bebidas Jarritos, Boing!, Topo Chico Jarritos, a beloved brand of Mexican soda introduced in 1950, can be found at most good taco trucks. Flavors include strawberry, lime, tamarind and guava. Boing! is a brand of non-carbonated, thick and pulpy fruit juice. Topo Chico, from Monterrey, Mexico, is one of the best (and most bubbly) waters youll come across. Horchata Most commonly consumed as rice milk, flavored with cinnamon and sweetened with sugar. Horchata can also be made from sesame seeds, calabash tree seeds and other plant products. Aguas frescas Literally fresh waters or cool waters, these are drinks commonly made by blending fruit with water. Two common (and two of the best) flavors are jamaica (hibiscus) and maracuya (passion fruit). Taco truck tips In the words of Jonathan Gold, the taco honors the truck. But what truck to pick? Daniel Hernandez, editor of the website L.A. Taco, offers a few pieces of advice. In most cases, a good-sized, decent crowd is a sign of a good taqueria or lonchera, he says, but sometimes theres a herd mentality. Another is to follow your nose is there a strong smell of grease or butane? That could be a negative sign. Check the tortilla situation: If handmade is an option, go with that. Lastly, watch the cash box. Are they conscientious about whos handling food versus whos handling money? Hernandez asks. If the person dispensing change immediately grabs a tortilla to make a taco, you might want to search elsewhere. Let me tell you: My apartment in Paris is located near the Centre Pompidou. If youve ever visited the French capital, you know what Im talking about that big contraption that looks like a colorful oil refinery, with its blue air conditioning tubes, green pipes, yellow power lines, red elevators, rolling escalators visible behind a gigantic glass facade, placed at the very center of the city, where the heart of Old Paris beat, long ago, not far from Les Halles. I like this place that at first shocked people, because sometimes we find it hard to deal with anything that is out of the ordinary, but to which they eventually got accustomed. The street where I live leads to it. It is a pedestrian street, with old cobblestones and young trees, oddly calm despite the busy terraces of the neighboring cafes and the constant comings and goings of the passersby. From my windows, I can see the treetops and feel the reassuring presence of that postmodern steamer in the distance. Advertisement I am lucky to have a balcony. There, I put a table and a wrought iron chair between an olive tree and an oleander. This is where I sit to read on sunny days; the sun is a pleasant company when you turn the pages of a book. At the moment, I am reading Romain Gary, who was formerly the consul of France in Los Angeles, and who, in The Night Will Be Calm, recalls his life. He especially conjures up Hollywood in the 1950s. He writes some lovely words about Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy: She was devoted to him while he was married to another woman, it lasted twenty years and the spring kept them company all the way. I must admit that plunging back into that era is exhilarating for us French dreamers, who love myths and want to believe that a springtime could last 20 years. Its even more delightful and disarming to be carried away by a book from the balcony of a Paris apartment in 2019. Reading takes us elsewhere, to another geography, another temporality. And when we end up closing the book, normal life comes rushing back. For me, normal life is the balcony, the treetops, the branches of the olive tree, the scent of the oleander, the heat of the sun. In the fall and winter, Besson prefers to read on his living room couch, next to his cat, a Maine Coon named Leo. (Sophiane Meddour) For the rest of the year in the fall, in the winter I read in my living room, comfortably ensconced in a blue sofa, which I bought in a lovely shop located in the Marais on a day when I wanted to change the scenery, as happens to me sometimes. It is a large and bright room with a lot of windows, moldings on the ceiling, a fireplace, traditional herringbone parquet flooring. Baron Haussmann, who renewed Paris in the 19th century, left his mark in many apartments. However, the true singularity of that room is the presence of my cat, a cream-colored Maine Coon named Leo. He has green eyes, ears with tufts of hair at their ends and a mane under his throat. As soon as I sit on the couch to read, Leo climbs up, to his spot that no one denies him. He curls up in a ball, or rests on the orange pillows, and keeps me company the entire time. He is both near and far, manifesting a desire for intimacy through this ceremony but maintaining a regulatory distance. He reopens his eyes from time to time, as if to check the progress of my reading. Ive come to believe that he prefers I read long books, so that this moment that belongs only to him and me lasts longer. Besson is the author of 18 books, most recently the novel Lie With Me, which was translated into English by Molly Ringwald. An indoor-outdoor lifestyle or the potential for one is a notable perk of living in a temperate climate like California. But what if your home lacks panoramic views, a sunny loggia or a saltwater lap pool? You can add a skylight. Creating a portal to the sky, or updating an old one, offers a substantial and surprisingly affordable way to integrate nature into a home. At their best, skylights provide an abundance of light, fresh air and design impact. In many cases, the ideal source of natural light comes not from a wall or a ceiling but from a combination of the two, said Ron Radziner, a principal of the Los Angeles-based design-build firm, Marmol Radziner. More than anything, though, the drama of a good skylight is immense. For many homeowners, skylights still represent exactly the wrong kind of drama. Exhibit A: The 20-year-old model in my in-laws Brentwood kitchen. At present, it is sealed shut by a heavy, potted strawberry plant that has acted like a rooftop paperweight ever since the hatch blew open during a torrential rainstorm. Advertisement This may sound like a familiar tale, but todays skylights are almost universally waterproof. Leaking is honestly not a problem we ever run into, Radziner told me. A skylight in the home of actress Mandy Moore. An old, unattractive model was replaced for $2,700, including installation. (Tessa Neustadt) Velux, a premier manufacturer of skylights headquartered in Denmark, goes so far as to dub its model The No-Leak Skylight and backs up that claim with generous warranties on both its products and installation. We know skylights have gotten a bad rap for leaks, said Ross Vandermark, national sales manager for Velux. The company even extends its warranties to DIY installers. We are that certain the new process and product are foolproof, he said. There is also a persistent notion that skylights are bulky looking. (The plastic bubble designs of yesteryear are hard to erase from memory.) But the design market has pushed manufacturers in a more minimal visual direction, allowing skylights to blend seamlessly into ceilings and rooflines. In 2017, Emily Farnham, principal of the Los Angeles-based practice Emily Farnham Architecture, undertook a gut renovation of actress Mandy Moores Pasadena home that landed on the cover of Architectural Digest. Among its memorable moments is a sun-splashed library nook that Farnham created in a former hallway dominated by a large, pyramid-shaped skylight. It felt institutional and out of place like a shopping mall, she said. Instead of simply replacing it with a sleeker model, Farnham also minimized the new skylight. One direction you can go in is to make a skylight a design element, but it can be a much stronger move to make it about the absence of details, she explained. We detailed Mandys skylights so that the drywall almost touches the glass; you dont see any visible frame. It now feels more like a James Turrell light sculpture. The cost of the new skylight was $2,400 and the installation was only $300 given the existing opening in the ceiling. (To open a new hole would have cost $1,000 to $1,500.) The 288 square feet of skylights in the Experimental Ranch House, a landmark 1952 Brentwood home by architect Cliff May, let in far too much light and heat. In the gut renovation by Marmol Radziner, the old glass was replaced with modern, UV-protective skylight glass. (Joe Fletcher) Much of the credit for todays durable, minimalist-looking skylights is due to the new technologies that have also radically improved their energy efficiency and maintenance. Radziner said perhaps the most unforgettable skylight he has ever encountered on a residential project was also, at first, the least compatible with modern life. The Experimental Ranch House, a landmark 1952 home by architect Cliff May, had a 288-square-foot row of skylights in its main living area. I remember meeting there with the client and it was an oven, Radziner said. But the entire vibe was transformed by new state-of-the-art skylight glass with built-in heat protection that is now standard. You cant overstate the difference updated glass can make. Velux is one of several skylight manufacturers offering bells and whistles that make skylights easier to live with. Their products are heat reflective, self-cleaning and smart. (Some models open and close automatically when a room is getting hot or rain is forecast, and they can also be manually controlled from a mobile app.) Installing a technology-enhanced skylight can also be cost-effective since they reduce monthly lighting and cooling bills. Furthermore, many new models are eligible for a federal tax rebate that shaves 30% off the price of purchase and installation about $800 to replace an old fixed or non-opening skylight up to around $3,000 for a new, souped-up solar-powered model. In a Mar Vista project by Mason St. Peter, a pair of skylights meet at the roof ridge. These operable Velux skylights cost about $1,800 to $3,000 each, depending on whether youre replacing an old skylight or putting in a brand new one. (Mariko Reed) Conveniently, almost any skylight can be installed in less than a day, whether it is going into an existing roof or a new one. If adding or redoing a skylight is starting to sound appealing, you might be wondering where to put one or how to best integrate it into your homes overall lighting plan. The goal is not to use them like a ceiling light in the middle of a room but at the edges, where shadows and light coexist, and where you can build a sense of mystery and connection to the environment, advised Radziner. Farnham said bathrooms are one of her favorite spots for skylights. The way light from above plays off tile is very striking, she said. You just cant get that effect with LED or incandescent lighting. Mason St. Peter, a designer who specializes in bright, uncluttered spaces and is a co-author of a new book with a section on skylights, Abode: Thoughtful Living With Less (Abrams, April 2019), takes every opportunity to include them in his projects. But, he stresses the benefit of designing skylights in atypical ways. It sounds counterintuitive, said St. Peter, but you can get a lot of light out of a really small skylight. What matters much more than the size of the opening is the positioning, he noted. If you angle the ceiling shaft around a skylight, you can spread the light around to fill a space much bigger than your skylight opening. He also suggests placing a skylight wherever light can bounce off nearby walls or mirrors. A skylight can be a circle, a triangle or a narrow slot. Whats most important to consider is how it will play with your architecture and the direction of sunlight. Another new idea is to install skylights where they can take advantage of moonlight perhaps the most magical and underrated aspect of a ceiling opening. You can be walking around in the dark and you have these shafts of light pouring in and moving across the floor, said Radziner of the skylights in his own home, which bring in ample moonlight. Daylight is one thing, but appreciating the cycle of the moon in your home is what really puts you in touch with the outside environment. I completely love that experience. Officials from the California Department of Justice on Thursday visited two of Los Angeles Countys troubled juvenile halls a sign that conditions inside the facilities are drawing the attention of state monitors. The officials toured Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, where staff complaints and damage caused by detainees were the subject of a story in The Times on Sunday. The officials spent the morning at the facility with detention supervisors and county lawyers before heading to the Central Juvenile Hall, northeast of downtown L.A., about lunchtime. A shattered window at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, one of two L.A. County juvenile detention centers visited by state Department of Justice officials Thursday. (Joe Gardner / L.A. County Probation Commission) The details of the visits were not made public. Advertisement Officials with the state Department of Justice declined to comment. To protect its integrity, we cant comment on a potential or ongoing investigation, spokeswoman Bethany Lesser said. A spokesman for the countys Probation Department, which operates the network of 10 juvenile halls and camps, initially referred questions to the other agencies involved but later issued a statement downplaying the visits. The county and probation have been acutely focused on reform in juvenile services and have been engaging with the California attorney generals office for several months about the progress that has been made and the challenges that still exist, spokesman Adam Wolfson said. The previously scheduled tour today is an aspect of those ongoing discussions. The department and the county have remained open and collaborative with the attorney generals office and we welcome their input and feedback as we all are focused on safe and rehabilitative juvenile facilities. Wolfson said the department was told about the visits in early May. Detention service officers, who discussed the tour with The Times on the condition of anonymity, said they were surprised to see the state officials Thursday. The state officials were accompanied by county lawyers, including Rodrigo Castro-Silva, who until recently was L.A. Countys interim inspector general. Before returning to his previous job as a senior member of the county counsels office, Castro-Silva had taken an interest in juvenile detention issues, testifying before the county Probation Reform and Implementation Team. Earlier this year, staffers from the inspector generals office documented what they said was an excessive use of pepper spray by detention officers inside the juvenile halls. Overall, its unclear precisely what prompted the visits on Thursday, but they come weeks after staff members complained to the countys Probation Commission a volunteer group that advises the L.A. County Board of Supervisors on department policy about working conditions inside the Nidorf Juvenile Hall. In addition to unruly youths, staff members have documented outbreaks of violence that have led to broken windows, damaged walls and ceilings, and gang graffiti. The states Department of Justice supports law enforcement officials statewide but also investigates potential civil rights violations and childrens justice issues, among many functions. The department recently released a report, for example, reviewing the use-of-force policies, training and practices at the Sacramento Police Department. Ever since he stole his first car at age 10, Cody Garland has spent much of his life behind bars. Now 35, he has served time at eight different California prisons. But the hardest stint, he says, was not in a state penitentiary. It was in a Sacramento County jail, where in 2016 he was sentenced to serve eight years for burglary, identity theft and other charges. Medical care at the jail was even worse than in prison; untreated glaucoma left him legally blind, he says. Advertisement Solitary confinement in a windowless room was a common punishment; Garland says he lost track of whether it was day or night during a spell in solitary and began to hear voices. Mental-health help was hard to get, he alleged, even after he started swallowing shards of metal and tried to hang himself. He detailed the treatment in a lawsuit accusing the county of subjecting inmates to inhumane conditions a claim the county denies. Ive done a lot of prison time, he says, and this was the worst time Id ever done. Cody Garland, left, and his daughter. Garland is currently in the California Mens Colony in San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Michelle Bernier) Garland is one of more than 175,000 people sentenced to county jails instead of state prisons in the last eight years because of sweeping changes to Californias justice system, according to an analysis of state data by The Marshall Project. The reforms were intended to ease prison overcrowding and they have. But the changes were also supposed to help people convicted of nonviolent crimes, by letting them serve their sentences close to home in county jails with lots of education and training programs. It hasnt worked out that way in some urban counties. Jails built to hold people for days or weeks awaiting trial or serving short sentences for petty crimes have strained to handle long-term inmates, many with chronic medical and mental-health problems and histories of violence. Statewide, assaults on jailers increased almost 90% from 2010, the year before prison downsizing began, to 2017, the most recent year for which there is complete data. Mental-health cases, which had been declining in jails, have risen. County spending on medicine for inmates has jumped (to almost $64 million in 2017 from $38 million in 2010), and the cost of psychotropic medication has recently surged. Legal challenges over inmate treatment have expanded to about a dozen county lockups. Deaths in California jails jumped by 26% in the years after they started receiving long-term inmates, peaking at 153 in 2014 before falling to 133 in 2017. That year, California had 17.7 deaths per 10,000 inmates; Texas, which has the second largest jail population, had 13.2. A Fresno County sheriffs deputy looks over a jail holding block inside a control center. (Gary Kazanjian / For The Times) Problems have been particularly acute in counties with old facilities, tight budgets and a lot of long-term inmates, including Sacramento, San Bernardino, Fresno and San Diego, which had a spate of suicides this spring. Los Angeles County has had to deal with the largest number of these inmates: 45,000, or about a quarter of the total since 2010. For these counties, Californias prison changes have been a budget buster, said Mike Brady, a former official with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who now works as a consultant. The jails now have serious mental illnesses, violence. Theyve got gang issues. Theyve got developmental disabilities. Theyve got physical disabilities. Theyve got to change their whole physical plant. Its a phenomenal expense. Californias experiment in prison downsizing has implications for states across the country as they try to cut the size of their prison systems. Some, like Texas, are tackling the issue because of the high cost of locking people up, while others, like Alabama, are under pressure to relieve overcrowding and violence. And in many regions, voters are concluding that prison populations, which include disproportionate numbers of people of color, reflect outdated tough-on-crime policies. For such states, California is a pretty remarkable study, says James Austin, a corrections expert who has examined California prisons and jails. The whole system has dropped about 220,000 people without the surge in crime many critics feared. Some counties have coped well with the changes. In wealthy Silicon Valley, governments have poured cash into fixing up their jails. They have also spent a lot on programs to keep people out of jail in the first place, and to help those who are incarcerated make a successful return to their communities. Others, such as Humboldt County, a rural area along the rugged coastline about 300 miles north of San Francisco, say they have relatively few long-term inmates because judges and prosecutors have changed their sentencing practices to allow people to serve more of their time in the community. One of the things that made us successful is weve been fortunate not to have some of the longer sentences that some other counties have had, said Capt. Duane Christian, who leads the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. Overall, the consequences for county jails arent easy to measure. No state agency collects data that could answer important questions, such as what percentage of a countys inmates are there because of the new measures and whether some jails hold an outsized number of inmates with long sentences. The state does track the size of the overall jail population, which increased briefly after a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision required California to downsize the prisons, climbing to an average of 82,000 people in 2013. But the number of people in county lockups began to drop after 2014, when state voters approved a measure to cut the length of some sentences. Last year, county jails held 72,500 people. A line forms inside the general area at the Mens Central Jail in Los Angeles. (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) L.A. County still holds a lot of long-term inmates almost 2,700 on average, as of the third quarter of 2018. That might not seem like a huge number in a giant jail system that generally housed about 16,500 people last year. But like other counties, L.A. says it is having problems associated with this different population. The number of mental-health cases L.A. jails are reporting to the state has doubled since 2010, to 24,400 last year. And reported assaults on guards and other jail workers are double what they were before prison downsizing, at about 550 per year, though critics have questioned both the validity of the data and the countys assertion that violence is rising in its jails. The state allocated $440 million to Los Angeles in the last fiscal year to offset the costs of the new measures, including staffing, treatment programs and court hearings for people who violate the terms of their community-based sentences. Sacramento County, for one, continues to struggle with adapting local jails to house long-term inmates. The county has about 1.5 million residents and has received about 8,000 long-term inmates since 2011, according to the Marshall Projects analysis. The data do not show how many of those people are still in the countys jails, which generally house 3,500 to 4,000 people. Most people waiting for trial are housed in the Sacramento County Main Jail, a series of six slender concrete towers a few blocks from the Capitol downtown. Built in 1989, the jail can hold up to 2,380 people. The Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove, Calif., where Cody Garland tried to kill himself. (Max Whittaker) RELATED: Wrongfully convicted in California? To get compensated, you must prove your innocence The countys other jail, the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, sprawls across a 140-acre campus south of the city and can hold 1,625 people in buildings and dorms, some of which date to the late 1950s. Its here that Garland tried to end his life. The number of Sacramento inmates with psychological problems has soared. Last year, its jails reported about 8,800 new mental-health cases, up from around 4,100 in 2010 before the prison reform efforts took hold. Violence at the jails has also increased. While the county does not report how often inmates attack one another, assaults on staff have almost doubled, to 111 last year from 58 in 2010. One of the things that weve gotten from this is a more sophisticated offender people that have done prior prison sentences, said Lt. Brad Rose of the county Sheriffs Department, which runs the jails. Its the state prison mentality and sophistication. They make weapons out of anything. On the positive side, he said, the county has used state funding to increase the programs it offers inmates to help them prepare to return to their communities. Sacramento County receives millions of dollars from the state each year to help offset the costs of the new measures, money which covers drug court, public defenders and prosecutors as well as jails. In 2018-19, those payments amounted to $320 million, according to the county budget. Those funds are not enough to pay for fixes to the jail or the additional staff needed, county officials contend. They declined to provide specifics, citing pending litigation. In August 2015, the nonprofit Disability Rights California published a scathing report about Sacramento jail conditions. The group found the county held disabled inmates in excessive solitary confinement and provided inadequate mental health care; in one unit, inmates spent nearly 24 hours a day in bare cells, released only once or twice a week into a dayroom that smelled of feces. The group, together with the Prison Law Office, which has successfully sued the state prison system over the treatment of inmates, threatened to file a suit against Sacramento. In January 2016, the county began to negotiate and hired some experts of its own to evaluate its jails. Inmates talk during their one-hour free time in the restrictive housing unit, also known as solitary confinement, at the Mens Central Jail in Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Their findings were bleak: They confirmed that the main jail put people in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, in conditions that were very stark and unlikely to meet constitutional standards, and found the jails use of segregation dramatically out of step with emerging national standards on the dangers of solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners. The medical screening process was wholly inadequate to identify inmates with disabilities, and inmates deemed suicide risks spent weeks locked alone in empty classrooms without toilets. The number of staff members in both county jails was startlingly and dangerously low, leaving them to operate in a state of near perpetual emergency. In settlement negotiations, Disability Rights asked that inmates be given more time out of their cells, more services for the nearly 40% with mental illnesses and better medical care for those serving longer sentences under the new measures. After 2 years, negotiations broke down. In July 2018, Garland and five other inmates sued Sacramento County, accusing it of housing about 3,800 people in overcrowded and understaffed jails, subjecting people to dangerous, inhumane and degrading conditions. The county denied providing inhumane treatment or inadequate care but did not address specific claims by Garland or the other inmates. Other counties, such as Santa Clara, have reached settlements in similar suits. But Sacramento officials said the plaintiffs proposal would cost too much and happen too fast. The plan would require an additional $50 million a year to operate the jails, they said, and $160 million for renovation. To cover these costs, the county said, it would have to gut programs for community mental health and homelessness. It is unfortunate that once again California county governments are being asked to solve the states correctional issues, said a statement issued last summer by Susan Peters, a county supervisor. She called on the state to provide the full funding necessary to responsibly shift the states prison population to county jails. The Sheriffs Department had been making improvements to the jails even before the lawsuit was filed, said county spokeswoman Kim Nava. She said the county added 72 new positions for jail staff in the last year, including 12 health workers, and increased its contract for psychiatric services. In March 2017, the county built a 20-bed mental-health unit at the Main Jail. The lawsuit is before a federal judge in Sacramento. The county and the plaintiffs lawyers are in settlement talks. Garland no longer spends his days in the Sacramento jail. Since December, he has been living in a prison medical facility in San Luis Obispo, where he says his health problems have improved. How did he get transferred? In 2018, he hit a sheriffs deputy in the jail. Garland did not contest charges of resisting an officer and assault likely to produce great bodily injury, a felony. He begged his public defender to make sure that this time, he went to prison. They wanted to give me six months in jail, he recalled recently. I said Id take two years if youd just let me go to prison. This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit newsroom that reports on the criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletter, or follow the Marshall Project on Facebook or Twitter. The Marshall Project receives funding from the California Endowment and other organizations that favor efforts to reform Californias criminal justice system. Under terms of its funding, The Marshall Project has sole editorial control of its news reporting. John Walker Lindh was one of the many perplexing stories of 9/11 America. The so-called American Taliban grew up in the affluent suburb of Marin County, a cradle of liberal values. But he ended up half a world away at a training camp run by Al Qaeda, conspiring with the enemy. For the record: An earlier version of this story said British rock musician Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, was part of the Tablighi Jamaat movement. His attorney says he has never been a member of the group and has had no contact with since 1980. Lindh spent 17 years behind bars before being released Thursday from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. Lindh remains an enigma. There have been protests over his release, especially from the family of Mike Spann. The CIA officer was killed during an uprising of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan shortly after Spann interrogated Lindh. There is also is evidence he continues to harbor extremist views. Advertisement Its unclear whether Lindh plans to rejoin his family in California. Here is the story of the American Taliban from the page of The Times: An unusual upbringing in Marin County The second of three children, Lindh was born John Phillip Walker Lindh, named after John Lennon, the Beatle who was killed a year before his birth. His family lived in Silver Spring, Md., before moving west. Walkers teenage years were spent in the wealthy Marin County enclave of San Anselmo, in a neighborhood that features a mix of 60-year-old cottages and houses such as the new 3,000-square-foot trilevel where he and his family lived. Residents described the neighborhood with its narrow, tree-shaded streets as a mix of longtime locals and 1960s radicals who found success. Walker lasted about a semester at Redwood High School, then transferred to an alternative public school next door. At Tamiscal High, an elite independent-study center for 100 artistically oriented musicians, dancers and others, Walker was allowed to chart his own scholastic course, checking in with teachers on a weekly basis. Though raised a Roman Catholic, Walker developed an interest in Islam about this time as he read the classic American biography of Malcolm X, the African American activist who converted to Islam and was transformed from convict to political leader and cultural icon. Walker embraced the religion, changing his name to Sulayman al Faris. His father said Walker began visiting a mosque in Mill Valley, a few miles down the highway from the familys home. Later, he turned to the San Francisco Islamic Center. Neighbors watched the young man whom they described as a thin, academic-looking boy slowly change as he entered high school. One neighbor said Walker began growing a beard and wearing traditional Islamic robes and a turban. A move to the Middle East In 1998, Walker graduated early by taking a high school equivalency test. He set off to Yemen at age 17 to learn Arabic and pursue religious studies. Walker told his parents in 2000 he was going to Bannu, Pakistan, to continue his studies with the Tablighi Jamaat movement there. The Jamaat is widely perceived as apolitical, though media reports from Pakistan suggest that some senior members have ties to radical Islamic factions. A revivalist movement that originated in India, the Jamaat has traditionally stressed personal piety. Frank Lindh, his father, told The Times in 2002 that he lost touch after his son began studying at the religious school in Pakistan. At the time, the young man sent an email saying he was going to the mountains to escape the summer heat and would be in touch only infrequently, the elder Lindh said. When his son still had not made contact after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Lindh said, my anxiety went sky-high. The American Taliban Prosecutors said John Walker Lindh sometimes sent angry emails home, distancing himself from his family. He claimed the U.S. had instigated the Persian Gulf War and showed no sympathy for the 17 lives lost in the terrorist bombing of the destroyer Cole. Lindh found his way to a training camp that the government said was run by Al Qaeda, an ally of the Taliban. He learned to fight for the Taliban army and later surrendered to the Northern Alliance. He then was turned over to U.S. authorities. Returned under heavy guard to the U.S., he was indicted by a federal grand jury on 10 counts, including a charge that he conspired to kill Americans and that he conspired with the Taliban and Osama bin Ladens Al Qaeda network. He also was implicated indirectly in the death of Spann. Lindh agreed to plead guilty to two felony charges: He admitted serving as a soldier for the Taliban and said he carried a rifle and hand grenades while doing so. In the frenzy after 9/11, the Lindh case captivated America. He was called the American Taliban, and many wondered how a kid from an upscale suburb could end up involved in terrorism. Former President George H.W. Bush quipped once that Lindh was some misguided Marin County hot-tubber. He later apologized. A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted an Army veteran in a plot to plant a bomb at a white supremacist rally in Long Beach. The indictment charged 26-year-old Mark Domingo with providing material support to terrorists and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, the U.S. attorneys office said. His public defender, David Wasserman, declined to comment on the charges. Domingo was arrested last month. Investigators said he wanted to kill people at a Nazi rally that was planned but didnt happen. Advertisement Domingo discussed with an informant several types of attacks that included targeting Jews, churches and police, court papers said. He also spouted about violent jihad in online forums, according to court documents that spell out online chats and conversations recorded over two months. Domingo posted an online message March 3 saying, America needs another Vegas event, an apparent reference to the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people, documents show. The records indicate that he said it would spark civil unrest to weaken America by giving them a taste of the terror they gladly spread all over the world. Domingo, a combat veteran who served four months in Afghanistan before being kicked out of the Army, converted to Islam and was plotting attacks across Southern California to seek revenge for killings at two New Zealand mosques, prosecutors said. Domingo is scheduled to be arraigned May 31. He could face life in prison if convicted of all charges. Dont stash the umbrellas quite yet. More precipitation is on the way as the strange spring weather that has battered the Golden State this week with pounding rain, hail and lightning continues. A low-pressure system moving into Southern California on Thursday is expected to bring scattered showers to the coasts and valleys by the afternoon. Most areas will see light precipitation, but higher elevations including areas north of Point Conception and along the northern slopes of the mountains could see more significant showers, said Kristen Stewart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Forecasters dont expect this storm to be as strong as the one that hit the region Wednesday, surprising afternoon commuters with downpours, lightning, thunder and even hail. Advertisement That storm dumped roughly an inch of rain on the Bel-Air Hotel in less than an hour and spurred the closure of beaches stretching from Dockweiler State Beach to Malibu for two hours. Stewart said there were reports of lightning strikes throughout the San Fernando Valley and in Ventura County. But it was the pea-sized pellets of hail and the thunderstorms in several Southland communities, including Ontario and Yucaipa in San Bernardino County, that shocked people. Tiny bits of hail also littered lawns and residential streets in South Pasadena as the chilly storm moved through the area. The public is so used to the long drought that people forget it actually rains here, Stewart said. Impressive satellite imagery as organized cluster of strong thunderstorms spreads across much of #LosAngeles basin. Torrential downpours, lightning, & even hail being reported. Widespread storms like this are pretty rare in this part of the world at any time of year!#CAwx #LArain pic.twitter.com/UlFmIv5Pa5 Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) May 22, 2019 Large swaths of the state, including parts of Los Angeles, have seen two to five times more precipitation than is normal at this point in May, according to the weather service. The rain in the southern part of the state has fallen as snow at higher elevations. In San Bernardino and Riverside counties, as much as 4 inches of snow are forecast for elevations of 5,500 to 7,500 feet, according to the weather service. Over the last couple of days, major snow has fallen in the Sierra Nevada. Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe saw 32 inches of snow in the last week, while Mammoth Mountain has reported 22 inches at its Main Lodge so far this month. Both resorts plan to stay open until July. The latest storm is expected to move out of Southern California by late Thursday, making way for sunny skies Friday and Saturday. But that wont last long, forecasters say. Another storm, originating from the Gulf of Alaska, is expected to move into the area by Sunday, bringing with it chances of thunderstorms and more unseasonably cold temperatures. Snow levels could drop as low as 5,000 feet with that system, according to the weather service. The series of odd late-spring storms follows what was an extremely wet winter in California. A series of atmospheric river storms that hit during the winter months bolstered the snowpack a key source of the states water supply filled reservoirs and streams, and even left California drought-free for the first time in nearly a decade. RECORD LOW DROUGHT: U.S. Drought coverage May 14, 2019: 2.4%. See a comparative story map of the lowest and greatest events: https://t.co/qHbC9iUxCe https://t.co/hs7rCpQMsY #DroughtMonitor pic.twitter.com/9avWcY7ixO NOAA NCEI Climate (@NOAANCEIclimate) May 22, 2019 hannah.fry@latimes.com Twitter: @Hannahnfry Laguna Beach police said Thursday that theyve identified four more children who may have been abused by a Costa Mesa man who was charged this week with sexually assaulting two boys while babysitting them. Authorities are also vetting 16 voicemails they received overnight after the arrest of Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was made public, said Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jim Cota. The six children identified so far are between 7 and 13 years old, Cota said. On his professional website, Zakrzewski, 30, describes his role as babysitter, buddy, big brother, role model and mentor, and lists credentials such as LiveScan and background screenings as well as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, lifeguard and TrustLine certifications. Advertisement Zakrzewski was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14 and one felony count of oral copulation of a child younger than 10, according to the Orange County district attorneys office. He also was charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty and has not yet been charged in connection with the four additional children. Zakrzewski has worked as a nanny or manny, as he refers to himself on his website for families across Southern California, and authorities suspect that more children might have been abused, said Cota, whose department arrested Zakrzewski on Friday after he got off an international flight. Authorities did not disclose the airport where the arrest occurred. Police said they found pornographic images Zakrzewski had taken, as well as content accessed online, on his camera and electronic devices at his home. Zakrzewski was booked into Orange County Jail with bail set at $1 million. The investigation of Zakrzewski began this month after a Laguna Beach couple reported to police that they believed Zakrzewski, their babysitter, had touched their 8-year-old son inappropriately, prosecutors said. During the investigation, Laguna Beach police identified another possible victim, a 7-year-old boy in Los Angeles, authorities said. The alleged incidents of molestation are believed to have occurred between December 2017 and February this year, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the Laguna Beach couple had hired Zakrzewski through one of several websites where he lists his services. My childcare experience spans from 3 months to 14 years of age, including autism & bipolar spectrum, ADD, ADHD, ODD, Down syndrome and severe asthma kids, Zakrzewskis personal biography states. He said on his website that he had been a professional nanny for more than six years. We have a lot of work to do, Cota said. Its going to be an extensive investigation. I dont see this concluding any time soon. The defendants next court date is a May 31 pretrial hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Laguna Beach police at (949) 715-1300. Sclafani writes for Times Community News. julia.sclafani@latimes.com Sclafani writes for Times Community News. The Sacramento Police Department is again facing accusations of police brutality after a video of officers and a security guard forcing a 12-year-old boy to the ground and placing a spit mask over his head went viral. The Police Department is not investigating the officers involved. The boy, Isaiah, has been charged with two misdemeanors of suspicion of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, according to police spokesman Marcus Basquez. The battery charge involved spitting on officers. The department responded to the viral video on Monday, and released the officers body camera footage of the incident. Our officers involved in this incident appropriately used a spit mask to protect themselves and defuse the situation, Police Chief Daniel Hahn said in a statement. I am grateful that our officers were willing to proactively intervene when they observed suspicious activity, and that nobody was injured during this encounter. Advertisement Attorney Mark Harris, who is representing Isaiahs family, condemned the police officers and the private security officer involved for using excessive force against the minor. The family is not yet filing a claim with the city or a lawsuit, he said, but are demanding the Police Department apologize and drop the charges. Isaiah suffered something no young person should have to go through, Harris said in the video released last week. He was accosted, chased down and all kinds of things happened to him. We want to make sure that the greater Sacramento community, the state of California and the world is aware of what happened to this young man, who was doing nothing more than trying to enjoy the benefits of a neighborhood carnival. Tensions between the black community and the Sacramento Police Department have escalated since 2018, when an unarmed man, 22-year-old Stephon Clark, was shot by police 20 times in his own backyard. In January, the states Department of Justice published 49 recommendations for the Sacramento Police Departments use-of-force policies following Clarks death. The latest incident has caused alarm within the black community. There is still no trust or accountability, said Sonia Lewis, a member of the Sacramento chapter of Black Lives Matter. The Police Department continues to engage with different rules of engagement for black folks. He wouldnt have been spitting on anyone if handcuffs were not placed on him, if he hadnt been chased down and treated like an animal instead of a human being with dignity. According to Basquez, the incident began when a guard with Paladin Private Security chased Isaiah to the area of Del Paso Boulevard and El Camino Avenue about 7:45 p.m. on April 28. The security guard told police that the boy had been asking for money at businesses and was asked to leave several times, Basquez said, but the boys family disputes he was panhandling. The security guard tried to stop the boy, but he ran away, and patrolling officers stopped to help the security guard detain Isaiah after the guard pursued him to a nearby parking lot. In the viral video that began circulating this month, the boy can be seen clinging to the security guards leg, his arms held behind his back, as officers try walking him to a patrol vehicle. They handcuff him, and one officer appears to wipe her face. The boy can be heard saying, Yeah, I spit on yall. How do you like that ...? When Isaiah wouldnt get in the patrol vehicle, the officers pushed him to the ground and placed the mask over his head. In the background, children call Isaiahs name and tell him to stay on the ground and stop resisting. The man who recorded the video angrily argued with officers for almost 30 minutes. If hes just asking people to buy things for him, why does it have to get this far? the man asks. In the body camera footage released by police, Isaiah can be heard cursing at officers and calling them racist. You aint got no right to be doing this. Come on now, come on now. What is you doing? Yeah, I spit on you. What you going to do? he said. One of the officers responds, Youre going to go to juvie now dude, and asks a colleague for a spit mask after she said he spit on her three times. Another officer says, He is just a little terrorizer. Harris, Isaiahs attorney, had a different account of the events leading up to the detention. He asked the boys last name not be used because he is a minor. Harris said Isaiah was attending an Easter Sunday carnival held next to a strip mall in Del Paso Heights, a largely Latino and black neighborhood in northern Sacramento with a history of tension with police. Harris said the boy was asked by an adult guardian to go to their car to get more money, and encountered the security guard in front of Walgreens. Harris said the guard and Isaiah knew each other, and the guard attempted to take the car keys from the boy. Isaiah ran, dodging across multiple lanes of a busy street as he was pursued by the guard into the parking lot of a Wienerschnitzel. An employee of that restaurant allegedly grabbed Isaiah and detained him, Harris said. The security guard arrived, and shortly after, two officers who regularly patrol the area stopped to assist, Harris said. Harris said Isaiah resisted because he was afraid of police. Its almost like the bogeyman, the way this kid felt about law enforcement, he said. Harris contends that Isaiah broke no laws before the pursuit, adding that he is troubled that the minor has been charged for resisting without being charged with a crime that could have necessitated the pursuit and arrest. For them to have no underlying crime at all, and have the kid subjected to that ... is horrible, he said. If hes found guilty, thats another piece of lint on this boys record that he has to face as he enters adulthood that he shouldnt. Reyes-Velarde reported from Los Angeles, Chabria from Sacramento. alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra Judith Kerr, a refugee from Nazi Germany who wrote and illustrated the bestselling The Tiger Who Came to Tea and other beloved childrens books, has died at her home in London. She was 95. The author died Wednesday after a brief illness, said Charlie Redmayne, chief executive at HarperCollins. Kerr was a brilliantly talented artist and storyteller who has left us an extraordinary body of work, he said. The beguiling story of the tea-drinking tiger has been shared by parents with young children since it was first published in 1968 and has never been out of print. It has sold more than 5 million copies. Advertisement The book, with its memorable illustrations and simple surprises, conveys a sense of wonder and possibility that generations of children embraced. Her next book introduced Mog the cat, who starred in some 15 books and developed a large following until Goodbye Mog, the 2002 publication that chronicled the death of the beloved gray and black-striped tabby. The popular feline was brought back in 2015 for Mogs Christmas Calamity, which raised more than 1 million pounds (about $1.5 million) for a literacy campaign with the charity Save the Children. Her third book, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, was an autobiographical story based on her familys escape from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Cressida Cowell, author of the How to Train Your Dragon series, said Kerr was a true creative hero who will be missed. She came to this country as a refugee and has given so much back with her joyful creations and gentle humor, Cowell said. She has inspired generation after generation of children to read for pleasure. Peter Florence, the director of Britains Hay Festival, a literary event where Kerr made many appearances, said the author had grace, born of wisdom, generosity of spirit and the resilience of a woman who had been a refugee from the extremes of 20th century history. He said she has brought millions of people to books by bringing the Tiger and Mog to life. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is one of the great books of our times. Weve been blessed. And we have her with us forever in print. Kerr was born in Berlin on June 14, 1923, but left Germany with her family in 1933 to escape Nazi tyranny. The family settled in England, where she studied art and worked as a scriptwriter at BBC. She kept writing throughout her life. Her next book, The Curse of the School Rabbit, is set for publication in June. She is survived by her children Matthew and Tacy and her grandchildren. The California man who became known as the American Taliban after his capture on an Afghanistan battlefield in late 2001 has been released from prison. John Walker Lindh, 38, was released Thursday from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., a federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman told the Associated Press. Lindh spent more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. The plea deal called for a 20-year sentence, but Lindh is getting out a few years early for good behavior. His release was opposed by the family of Mike Spann, a CIA officer who was killed during an uprising of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan shortly after interrogating Lindh. Advertisement A judge recently imposed additional restrictions on Lindhs post-release supervision, including monitoring of his internet use. FROM THE ARCHIVES: American Taliban was a suburban white youth who took to Islam with fervor RELATED: John Walker Lindh, the America Taliban from Marin County, remains a 9/11 enigma Researchers working in the murky waters of the northern Gulf Coast have located the wreck of the last ship known to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States, historical officials said Wednesday. Remains of the Gulf schooner Clotilda were identified and verified near Mobile after months of assessment, a statement by the Alabama Historical Commission said. The wooden vessel was scuttled the year before the Civil War began to hide evidence of its illegal trip and hadnt been seen since. The discovery of the Clotilda is an extraordinary archaeological find, said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the commission. She said the ships journey represented one of the darkest eras of modern history, and the wreck provides tangible evidence of slavery. Advertisement In 1860, the wooden ship illegally transported 110 people from what is now the West African nation of Benin to Mobile. The Clotilda was then taken into delta waters north of the port and burned to avoid detection. The captives were later freed and settled a community thats still called Africatown USA, but no one knew the location of the Clotilda. A descendant of one of the Africans who was brought to America aboard the ship said she got chills when she learned its wreckage had been found. I think about the people who came before us who labored and fought and worked so hard, said Joycelyn Davis, a sixth-generation granddaughter of African captive Charlie Lewis. She added, Im sure people had given up on finding it. Its a wow factor. A Mobile-area news reporter discovered wooden remains of what was initially suspected to be the Clotilda, but the wreck turned out to be that of another ship. That publicity helped spark a renewed search last year that found another wreck, now identified as the slave ship. Officials didnt say how much of the ship remains or what might become of its remnants. But the dimensions and construction of the wreck match those of the Clotilda, the commission said, as do the materials used to build the ship, including locally sourced lumber and metal pieces made from pig iron. There are also signs of fire. We are cautious about placing names on shipwrecks that no longer bear a name or something like a bell with the ships name on it, maritime archaeologist James Delgado said in a statement. But the physical and forensic evidence powerfully suggests that this is Clotilda. Officials said they are working on a plan to preserve the site where the ship was located. The United States banned the importation of slaves in 1808, but smugglers kept traveling the Atlantic with wooden ships full of people in chains. Southern plantation owners demanded workers for their cotton fields. With Southern resentment of federal control at a fever pitch, Alabama plantation owner Timothy Meaher made a bet that he could bring a shipload of Africans across the ocean, historian Natalie S. Robertson has said. The schooner Clotilda sailed from Mobile to western Africa, where it picked up captives and returned them to Alabama, evading authorities during a tortuous voyage. They were smuggling people as much for defiance as for sport, Robertson said. The Clotilda arrived in Mobile in 1860 and was quickly scuttled north of Mobile Bay. The Africans spent the next five years as slaves during the Civil War, freed only after the South had lost. Unable to return home to Africa, about 30 of them used money earned working in fields, homes and vessels to purchase land from the Meaher family and settle into the community known as Africatown. Officials said they plan to present a report on the findings at a community center in Africatown next week. Gilead Sciences, a California biopharmaceutical company, scored a major breakthrough in 2013 when the Food and Drug Administration approved Sovaldi, a pill that could cure hepatitis C when combined with another antiviral medication. And then Gilead delivered another breakthrough, albeit not a good one: It priced Sovaldi at $1,000 per pill, or $84,000 to $168,000 per course of treatment. The pricing stunned patients, insurers and state governments, which were suddenly exposed to billions of dollars in potential prescription costs. But as it turns out, Sovaldi was just a milepost on the way to the six- and seven-figure prices that a new generation of specialty drugs are expected to command. These gene therapies seek to cure conditions linked to genetic abnormalities or alter cells to build up the bodys defenses. According to the pharmaceutical industry, close to 300 such treatments are in development, with the largest number of them focused on fighting cancer. One of the first was Spark Therapeutics Luxturna, which the FDA approved in 2017. Luxturna, which can reverse blindness caused by a specific inherited condition, is a one-time treatment that costs $425,000 per eye. Next up is likely to be Novartis Zolgensma, a fix for the defective genes behind spinal muscular atrophy that the FDA could approve within weeks. No price has been set, but Novartis has said it is considering $1.5 million to $5 million for the treatment. Market forces dont function well in a field populated by monopoly suppliers, huge information gaps between providers and consumers, and life-or-death stakes. Advertisement Against this backdrop, the Trump administration and Congress have taken some first steps to address the problem of skyrocketing prescription drug costs. As welcome as all of these actions are, though, none of them would make an iota of difference in the price of Luxturna, Zolgensma or any other blockbuster drug with a blockbuster price tag. Thats because they aim at easier targets, not daring to shorten the temporary patent monopoly that pharmaceutical companies are awarded over newly approved drugs, nor to tamper with the freedom those companies have to price their products even while they are shielded from competition. Instead, the Trump administration has focused primarily on price transparency. This month, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule requiring advertisements for many of the drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid to disclose the medications list price. The idea is to stop patients from asking their doctors to prescribe drugs they dont realize are prohibitively expensive, or costlier than equally effective alternatives. Thats great unless the drug in question happens to be the only drug that treats your condition. Market forces dont function well in a field populated by monopoly suppliers, huge information gaps between providers and consumers, and life-or-death stakes. The House, meanwhile, passed a healthcare bill that includes three prescription drug proposals with bipartisan backing. The three proposals previously introduced as HR 1499, HR 965 and HR 938 all would remove barriers to the introduction of generic drugs, which should help increase competition. But the competition they promote wont arrive until after a drugmakers patents have expired, typically 12 or more years after a drug has been approved for sale. Senate Democrats also are backing a proposal by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to cap the prescription drug costs faced by elderly Americans enrolled in Medicare Part D. That bill, which has some supporters in the pharmaceutical industry, wouldnt cut into drug company revenues it would simply shift drug costs from seniors with chronic or expensive conditions to taxpayers. The ugly reality is that in many cases, the makers of medically necessary drugs can set prices as high as they wish. Breakthrough drugs, by definition, have no alternatives a monopoly thats then protected by federal patents. The only risk the manufacturers face is that insurers wont cover the product or will discourage people from using it, which may not be a viable option for insurers if the drugs are truly effective. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Drugmakers, meanwhile, argue that they need to make enough profit off of successful new drugs to pay for all the research, false starts and failed trials that preceded them. Otherwise, they say, no one would make the risky investment in drug development. Theres some truth to that argument, but it also ignores the substantial investments that taxpayers make in the research that lights the way to new drug discoveries and the enormous profits racked up by some drugmakers. If Congress really wants to rein in the price of new branded drugs, it would need to take some pricing control away from the pharmaceutical industry. The most popular proposal would be to let Medicare negotiate drug prices for the medications it covers, using the programs enormous buying power to extract even larger discounts than the program now commands through statute. To be an effective negotiator, however, Medicare would have to be willing to drop coverage of some costly drugs, which would only expose the program to accusations of rationing. So while that approach is worth considering, it is fraught with risk. The Trump administration has put forward an alternative requiring drugmakers to sell their products to Medicare at the same price they do to European health insurance programs, which negotiate much lower prices than Medicare typically pays. The move could cut Medicares costs, but it would probably raise drug prices in Europe as well, blunting its effect here. A third idea, advanced by John Rother of the National Coalition on Health Care, would be to have an independent body set prices for new drugs based on their effectiveness and some measure of affordability. Thats similar to what the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review does for a variety of healthcare products and services. The entire healthcare industry is trying to figure out how to base prices on the value of the care delivered, and Rothers idea rides that wave. But then, whats the value of a treatment that cures a chronic disease? Surely it is more complicated than merely computing the cost of the care the patient will no longer need. How do you measure the value of a cure for blindness or a drug that eliminates years of pain and disability? If the new generation of breakthrough drugs are worth $1 million or more by those measures, then the issue wont be how to rein in the drugs prices. It will be how to afford them. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook President Trump already has brought presidential pardon power into disrepute by using it to reward political supporters and ideological allies. He would be taking that abuse to an even more outrageous extreme if he decides to pardon members of the U.S. armed forces accused or convicted of war crimes. But that is precisely what the president might do, perhaps in a grandiose gesture on Memorial Day. The most prominent potential recipient of clemency is Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL facing a court-martial on charges that he shot unarmed civilians and stabbed a teenage Islamic State fighter in Iraq in 2017. Fox News, which functions as a kind of electronic kitchen Cabinet for the television-obsessed president, has helped build a case for Gallaghers release. Administration officials have also reportedly been laying the pardon groundwork for Army Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, charged with killing an unarmed Afghan in 2010, and three Marine snipers prosecuted for urinating on the corpse of an Afghan fighter in 2011. Trump is also considering clemency for a former Blackwater security guard who was convicted of murder in December for killing unarmed Iraqis in 2007. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement Earlier this month, Trump pardoned former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, who had been convicted of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone after killing a suspected Al Qaeda terrorist in Iraq. Behennas conviction had been controversial, and a number of military and elected officials supported his bid for clemency. But the possibility of further pardons of service members accused of war crimes has alarmed current and former military leaders. Wholesale pardons of accused or convicted war criminals send a dangerous signal to U.S. troops that, as retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put it, we dont take the law of armed conflict seriously. That perception also can serve as a rallying cry for Americas enemies and an excuse for brutality against U.S. forces. In other contexts, Trump has seemed to yearn for the days when official brutality was tolerated or even expected. In remarks in 2017 to police cadets on Long Island in New York, the president suggested that officers neednt protect the heads of suspects theyre pushing into police cars. (You can take your hand away, OK?) In April of this year, he lamented that U.S. military forces deployed on the border with Mexico cant act like a military would act because if they get a little rough, everybody would go crazy. Trump should heed the pleas of distinguished military figures that he refrain from grants of clemency that would be perceived as a license for service members to engage in brutality on the battlefield. Far from honoring the military, such pardons would be a mockery of those who served this country and sometimes gave their lives for it without acting like torturers or thugs. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook President Donald Trump has promised he will soon unveil his Deal of the Century for Palestinians and Israelis. But it is unlikely to do much more than consecrate a reality that has prevailed for decades: Israelis living within the borders of historic Palestine will enjoy full freedoms and political rights, while a majority of Palestinians living within the same space will remain largely disenfranchised and voiceless. One thing the deal will make apparent, however, is that the two-state solution is dead, laid low by a thousand cuts or, more precisely, by the hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, whose immovable presence ensures that no genuinely sovereign Palestinian state will ever emerge there. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both played a role in delivering the final blows: Trump with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital and of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and Netanyahu by promising voters prior to his recent reelection to begin annexation of the West Bank. It is time to face some undeniable facts: First, despite Israels every effort to establish and maintain a Jewish majority, the two peoples living under Israeli rule hover at near parity, at approximately 6.5 million Jews and 6.5 million Palestinians. Advertisement Of course, an Israel founded on equal rights for all will no longer be a Jewish state. Second, Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Arabs are destined to live together in Israel/Palestine in perpetuity. Neither people can or should be forced to leave the land in which they reside and to which they are passionately committed. Third, segregation, of which the two-state solution was a form, is not the answer. As Americans know from our own historical experience, separate is never equal. Finally, it is only equal rights and justice that can provide the foundation for a durable peace for Israelis and Palestinians. The way forward will be difficult, but it could start with a compassionate declaration from Palestinians, along the lines of South Africas Freedom Charter, committing to a just society that includes both Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Such a declaration should embrace a broad, multi-faceted and contemporary vision of justice for this troubled land. For example, a Freedom Charter would address the rights of the Israeli Jews who currently inhabit homes of Palestinians seized in 1948, and fear eviction when Palestinian refugees return, as we are legally and morally due. My family, like survivors of the Nazi Holocaust seeking return of their seized works of art, insists that ownership of our grandfathers Villa Harun ar-Rashid in West Jerusalem should be restored to us. But we have no need nor desire to evict its current Jewish residents. In a similar vein, Israelis living in Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank should not lose their homes, but the settlements should be desegregated by permitting Palestinian families to move in. The charter should also address rights for women and members of the LGBTQ community, which some Palestinians as well as some Jewish Israelis have been slow to embrace. And it should address environmental issues that will be crucial as global warming puts increasing pressure on the Middle East. Although some would argue a single state is unrealistic, there is a growing constituency for such a solution, particularly among young people. About one-third of Palestinians support a one-state solution, and thats without any major Palestinian political party or faction advocating for it. Meanwhile, in the U.S., polls show that about an equal number of Americans support one state with equality as support a two-state solution, with young people leading the way. According to a poll released by the University of Maryland in December 2018, 42% of Americans ages 18 to 35 support a single state, versus 33% for two states. And if a two-state solution is no longer possible, a majority of all Americans support one state with equal rights. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Of course, an Israel founded on equal rights for all will no longer be a Jewish state just as South Africa, after the fall of apartheid, was no longer a state that institutionalized white supremacy. It was a fundamental misperception of Israels founders that a homeland privileging Jews could be accepted in another peoples land. Israeli Jews will not surrender their advantages easily. Privileged groups never do. A 2018 poll showed, however, that more Israeli Jews (19%) supported a single state with equal rights than supported either apartheid (15%) or expulsion of Palestinians (8%). Israeli Jews must recognize the equal rights of the Palestinians with whom they cohabit the land to secure a peaceful future. Doing so would certainly come with benefits for Israel, including regional acceptance. What would it be worth to Israeli Jews to travel safely throughout the Middle East, or to do business not just with the tyrants of the Arab world but with its people? Trump, Netanyahu, Brazils Jair Bolsonaro, Hungarys Viktor Orban and the other ethno-chauvinistic leaders of the world are having their moment now. Yet hope is a powerful motivator, and the prospect of building a just and genuinely free and democratic society a true beacon of progress for the region if not the world can inspire heroism in both Israelis and Palestinians. George Bisharat is a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and writes frequently on the Middle East. California, a global leader on climate change, is poised to take the lead once again as it considers expanding its carbon offset program to allow polluting companies to compensate for their excess emissions by paying to preserve the Amazon rainforest. That sounds like a winning proposition: The carbon preserved in trees spared from deforestation would cancel out the corresponding amount of pollution from, say, refineries. But as I found on a recent trip to the Amazon, forestry offsets are more complicated than they seem. Proponents point to the urgent threat of deforestation and say that action is imperative, both for preserving ecosystems and for preventing the worst effects of climate change. When trees are destroyed, the carbon they have previously stored is released into the atmosphere. But critics fear that forest offsets will give polluters a guilt-free pass to keep emitting carbon without canceling out the same amount. Advertisement Evaluating the impact such a program might have is difficult. Researchers are just beginning to understand the complexities of calculating the carbon bound up in forests. And there has been no comprehensive look at these types of offsets, collectively called REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Critics fear that forest offsets will give polluters a guilt-free pass to keep emitting carbon without canceling out the same amount. To try to assess the potential for these forestry offsets for a ProPublica investigation, I examined their track record by reviewing thousands of pages of studies and technical reports, including one from Norway, the largest funder of REDD. I found forests that had been cut down soon after credits were sold, and climate benefits that were smaller than what was claimed. Many countries, including Brazil, often leave out the effects of wildfires and hard-to-detect forms of tree loss, leading them to overestimate their forest protection, and thus their carbon reductions. Then theres leakage, in which preserving one area just shifts deforestation to a less protected area. If theres demand for a product that requires cutting down trees, production will simply move to an unprotected area, negating some of the carbon impact of the protected land. The biggest hurdle is called additionality: Offsets are only effective if carbon reductions go above and beyond what would have happened without the offsets. But untangling the threads of cause and effect with forest offsets is often impossible. It is difficult to determine whether a forest was saved because of a polluters funding or because of preexisting conservation policies or because of something even more indirect, like a drop in the price of beef and soy. I visited the site of the most renowned forest offset program, in the state of Acre, Brazil, which is expected to be the first to link up with California if the standard is approved. There, all this scientific hand-wringing seemed like a luxury. I met dedicated public servants trying to keep the forest standing and rural residents who told me they cant make a living without cutting down trees. Several officials there told me their priority was getting the money to support conservation. But one warned against looking too closely at the quality of the credits. You are going to create a non-incentive to preserve, he said. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute The best we can hope for is a program that helps the climate in some unmeasurable way, said Barbara Haya, a UC Berkeley research fellow who studies the carbon market. Thats what offsets are. And I think thats the best of what offsets can be. Thus far, the stakes have been minimal. Forestry offsets have been used almost exclusively on the voluntary market, for green public relations campaigns and by well-meaning consumers. California could change that if it were to begin allowing forestry offsets. Although polluters in the state can only use offsets for a fraction of their emissions, it would set an example for other potential customers, including the airline industry. In the next few weeks, a state legislative committee will consider the Tropical Forest Standard, a blueprint developed by the California Air Resources Board, for how intercontinental forestry offsets could work. The committee may make recommendations. The Air Resources Board will then decide whether to approve the standard. Any potential purchase of tropical offsets would require additional board action. The world will be watching as California tries to hone a formula that adds up. Lisa Song is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covers the environment, energy and climate change for ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom based in New York. ProPublica.org. To the editor: As a practicing physician and the managing partner of an emergency medicine practice, I know of the problem that patients have when they arrive at a hospital that is listed as participating in their health plan, but then find out that the physician who cared for them is out of network. (Surprise medical bills could prompt rare bipartisan action in Congress, May 21) For Anthem Blue Cross to state, There are some physicians who chose not to participate in our network and that this refusal allows them to charge consumers excessive amounts, well above what is customary and far greater than what we reimburse for out-of-network services, is disingenuous. The reason physicians opt out of their network is that the insurer offers to pay us so far below what is customary. Make no mistake, the objective of for-profit health insurance companies is to make as much money as possible. The chief executive of Anthem Blue Cross made more than $14 million in 2018. Advertisement Dr. Philip Schwarzman, Marina del Rey Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook. To the editor: I have always believed there are more good, generous people in this world than self-serving individuals; otherwise as a species, we would not have survived. A case in point is the amazing gift of paying off the student loans of the 2019 graduating class of Morehouse College by Robert F. Smith, chief executive of Vista Equity Partners. In stark comparison, Robert Mnuchin, father of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, recently paid $91 million for a metal art piece shaped like a rabbit by Jeff Koons. What good that $91 million could have done for young, old or in-between people whose lives can be changed by acts of kindness. We need more Robert F. Smiths and fewer people who think they can impress the world by spending so much on art. Eileen Blankenhorn, Valencia Advertisement .. To the editor: The world needs more people like Smith, the tech investor who, after giving the commencement speech at Morehouse College on Sunday, announced he would cover the student loans for the class of 2019. That gift is worth roughly $40 million and means nearly 400 students wont be saddled with student loan debt. I didnt know who Smith was, so I did some research and discovered he not only is a smart guy when it comes to business, but also a man who knows how to use his money for good. His gift will help these young people launch their careers, hopefully save money for a house and inspire others to act in the same manner. Ron Epstein, Woodland Hills Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook. To the editor: Currently we are wringing our hands over the very real picture of a lawless, chaotic, out-of-control president holding a club over a spineless Senate while a Democratic House works tirelessly to right this badly tilting ship of state. (McGahn defies subpoena to testify and faces contempt of Congress vote, May 21) This is what happens when the American public takes its eyes off the ball. Democracy can never be taken for granted. There are opportunistic sources that are always on the lookout to destroy a democracy that works for all its people. Let us all learn from this. We need to work our hearts out to right this ship before it sinks and never let our eyes off the ball again. Marcy Bregman, Agoura Hills Advertisement Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook A banker who prosecutors say tried to buy himself a senior post in President Trumps administration by making risky loans to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was arrested Thursday on a charge of financial institution bribery. Stephen M. Calk, 54, was scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court in the afternoon. A message left with his attorney for comment was not immediately returned. Authorities said Calk committed the crime while serving as chief executive of the Federal Savings Bank based in Chicago. Federal prosecutors described the charge in a release, saying Calk abused his bank position by approving $16 million in high-risk loans that were ultimately downgraded. Advertisement William F. Sweeney Jr., head of the New York FBI office, said Calk went to great lengths to avoid banking violations in an attempt to secure a senior position in a presidential administration. His attempt at petitioning for political favors was unsuccessful in more ways than one he didnt get the job he wanted, and he compromised the one he had, Sweeney added. Manafort lobbied Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to consider Calk for the job of secretary of the Army, according to emails from the weeks leading up to the 2016 election that were shown to jurors at Manaforts tax evasion and bank fraud trial last year. Prosecutors said that while Manaforts loans were pending approval, Calk gave Manafort a ranked list of government positions he wanted, starting with secretary of the Treasury, followed by deputy secretary of the Treasury, secretary of Commerce and secretary of Defense, as well as 19 ambassadorships similarly ranked and starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. According to trial evidence, Manafort passed along Calks resume to Kushner in a Nov. 30, 2016, email, along with two other names of people he said should be a part of the Trump administration. Manafort wrote that the individuals would be totally reliable and responsive to the Trump White House. He also said Calk was strong in defense issues, management and finance. Kushner responded, On it! Calk was formally interviewed for the position of undersecretary of the Army in early January 2017 at the Trump presidential transition teams Manhattan offices, prosecutors noted. Calk never got an administration post, though he did approve Manaforts loans. Manafort is serving a 7-year sentence on charges he misled the government over his foreign lobbying work and encouraged witnesses to lie on his behalf. He also faces an indictment in New York charging him with state crimes, including a residential mortgage fraud scheme. Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks and a thorn in the side of intelligence agencies, faces 17 additional U.S. criminal charges under the Espionage Act, according to an indictment released Thursday, a step that 1st Amendment advocates warned could set a precedent for far-reaching restrictions on press freedoms. British police removed Assange, 47, on April 11 from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had sought refuge seven years ago to avoid prosecution in Sweden in an unrelated sexual assault case. At that time, prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to hack into a Pentagon computer network by allegedly offering to help Chelsea Manning, then a U.S. Army intelligence analyst in Iraq, with cracking a password in 2010. Manning ultimately provided WikiLeaks, an online organization that collects and disperses sensitive records, with hundreds of thousands of classified documents, including State Department cables and reports on fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. By contrast, the new charges allege that Assange, who is currently fighting extradition to the U.S., unlawfully obtained and disclosed national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act. Advertisement That law was originally enacted to crack down on spying during World War I, but it has been increasingly used to target people who leak classified documents. It has never been used against a person for publishing national security information. The new charges will reignite the debate over Assanges claim that he is a publisher like any other and broader issues of how far the press can go in publishing government secrets. News organizations routinely encourage sources to provide them with highly sensitive information, and publication of even secret material has been considered shielded by the 1st Amendments protection of freedom of the press. The Obama administration aggressively prosecuted leakers, but Justice Department officials decided not to charge Assange under the Espionage Act because of concerns about the 1st Amendment. The Trump administration signaled early on that it planned to reconsider that issue. The decision to move ahead with the prosecution comes against a background of tense relations between the administration and news organizations, which Trump has often referred to as enemies of the people, and amid an escalating effort to crack down on government officials who provide information to reporters. This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administrations attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the 1st Amendment. It establishes a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets, said Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. WikiLeaks gave a more pungent response. This is madness, the group said on Twitter. It is the end of national security journalism and the 1st Amendment. John Demers, the Justice Departments top national security official, defended the decision to prosecute. Some say Assange is a journalist and he should be immune from prosecution for these actions, he said. The department takes seriously the role of journalists in our democracy. It is not and has never been the departments policy to target them for reporting. But, Demers added, Julian Assange is no journalist. This is made plain by the totality of his conduct as alleged in the indictment. Assistant Atty. Gen. John Demers. (CJ Gunther / EPA-Shutterstock) Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement that the governments insistence that Assange is not a journalist doesnt remove the threat to those who are. Any government use of the Espionage Act to criminalize the receipt and publication of classified information poses a dire threat to journalists seeking to publish such information in the public interest, irrespective of the Justice Departments assertion that Assange is not a journalist, he said. If Assange is successfully extradited, he will face trial in the Eastern District of Virginia. Each new charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Zachary Terwilliger, the U.S. attorney there, said Assanges disclosure of sensitive information jeopardized human sources relied on by U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials in Syria, Iraq, Iran, China and Afghanistan. Assange knew his publication of these sources would endanger them, Terwilliger said. He is not charged simply because he is a publisher. The indictment said Assange in 2009 released a list of his organizations Most Wanted Leaks to encourage people to provide military and intelligence documents. Manning appears to have responded to Assanges public solicitation, the indictment said, searching the classified Pentagon network for some of the same terms highlighted by WikiLeaks, such as interrogation videos. Who is Julian Assange? Arrest of WikiLeaks founder spotlights a showy yet enigmatic figure Assange knew, understood, and fully anticipated that Manning was taking and illegally providing WikiLeaks with classified records containing national defense information of the United States, the indictment said. The indictment said Assange was warned by a State Department legal advisor that publication of some documents could endanger people, something he allegedly acknowledged in a media interview at the time. We are not obligated to protect other peoples sources, Assange said during an event in 2010. After Manning began providing classified records to WikiLeaks, Assange encouraged her to provide more, according to the indictment. At one point he sent her a message saying curious eyes never run dry, and Manning downloaded more files to provide to WikiLeaks, the indictment said. The documents involved the militarys rules of engagement, and the indictment said the disclosure would allow enemy forces in Iraq and elsewhere to anticipate certain actions or responses by U.S. armed forces and to carry out more effective attacks, according to the indictment. Manning was prosecuted for leaking the documents to WikiLeaks, and she was sentenced to 35 years in prison. President Obama commuted her sentence before leaving office, and she ultimately served seven years from the date of her initial arrest. She is currently in custody after being jailed this year for a second time for refusing to cooperate with a federal grand jury investigation related to WikiLeaks. Assange faces more legal problems in Sweden, where authorities have reopened a sexual assault case against him. That investigation began in 2010, which led Assange to take refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid extradition to the country. WikiLeaks also played a key role in Moscows covert operation to influence the 2016 election. Russian military intelligence officers hacked Democratic Party emails and provided them to WikiLeaks, which later released them at key moments during the campaign. Assange has not been charged in connection with that case. The Pentagon has asked the White House to send several thousand more troops, Patriot anti-missile batteries and warplanes to the Middle East to boost U.S. defenses against Iranian threats, senior U.S. officials said Thursday, in a sign of the growing friction with Tehran. If approved, the reinforcements would represent another course correction by President Trump, who has given mixed signals to Iran, most recently appealing to Tehrans supreme leader to open direct negotiations with him only days after he threatened punishing retaliation if Iran attacked U.S. targets. The proposed escalation includes an Air Force fighter squadron, several additional warships and special reconnaissance aircraft to help keep tabs on Iranian forces. The White House announced on May 6 that it was sending the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike force and four B-52 bombers to the region, citing growing threats from Iran. Trump, who was scheduled to meet with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not say whether he had approved the request. Advertisement I dont think well need it but if we need it well be there with any number we need, Trump told reporters at the White House. I would certainly send troops if we need them. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, is especially interested in adding Patriot anti-missile batteries to help defend U.S. troops, facilities and allies in the region, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. One Patriot battery is already headed to an undisclosed country in the area, but McKenzie is interested in beefing up anti-missile protection more broadly, the U.S. official said. We are looking at things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East and the options may involve sending additional troops, Shanahan told reporters at the Pentagon. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have run high since U.S. officials received intelligence indicating that Iranian security forces had loaded missiles aboard small boats, raising fears that they planned to carry out attacks against oil tankers or other shipping in the Persian Gulf. U.S. surveillance of Irans naval bases and military installations showed a high state of alert by Iranian cruise missile batteries and other maritime forces along the strategic waterway. That partly prompted the Pentagon request for more forces, although it wasnt clear whether the Iranian moves were in response to the growing U.S. military operations. They continue to operate at a high level, moving missiles, air defense systems and small boats that Iran has long used to threaten American warships, the U.S. official said. U.S. intelligence agencies believe Iran probably does not want a military confrontation. But hard-line units from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may try to use proxies and unconventional tactics for low-level attacks against the U.S. and its allies, U.S. officials said. Trumps decision last month to designate the powerful Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist organization under U.S. law has especially inflamed tensions. A tightening tourniquet of U.S. sanctions has constricted Irans economy and oil exports, which reduced a crucial income stream for the Revolutionary Guard. U.S. officials claim evidence shows that Iran was responsible for apparent sabotage attacks that damaged four oil tankers at anchor off the United Arab Emirates on May 12. The administration has not made public any evidence implicating Iran. U.S. officials also suspect Iraqi militia fighters loyal to Iran of firing a rocket in Baghdad on Sunday night that landed less than a mile from the American Embassy. In recent years, Iran has invested substantially in anti-ship cruise missiles, posing a greater risk to oil tankers and to warships. Of particular concern is Irans ability to block access or free passage in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow choke point in the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the worlds oil shipments pass. Navy officials say Iran might be able to temporarily block tanker traffic in the strait using anti-ship missiles and other weapons, but U.S. commanders say they can reopen the waterway quickly if necessary. During its 1980-88 war with Iraq, Iranian forces mined shipping routes and threatened to close the strait. When the Samuel Roberts, a U.S. guided-missile frigate, was severely damaged by an Iranian mine in 1988, the Reagan administration ordered the destruction of two Iranian oil platforms, an Iranian frigate and a number of smaller armed boats. The current American buildup has prompted fierce criticism by Democrats in Congress, who warned that hard-line Iran critics in the White House, including national security advisor John Bolton, were seeking a military confrontation with Iran without authorization from Congress and without sharing intelligence that Tehran was in a threatening posture. Right now the administration is involved in what I would characterize as a series of blind, senseless escalatory measures with respect to Iran with no ending, with no strategy, Sen. Christopher S. Murphy (D-Conn.) said Thursday in an event with Win Without War, an activist group The danger is that a mistake turns into a war. The Pentagon already has as many as 80,000 troops in the Middle East, including roughly 14,000 in Afghanistan, 5,000 in Iraq, 2,000 in Syria, 10,000 in Kuwait and 10,000 in Qatar. More than 1,000 Marines are aboard the Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship, in the North Arabian Sea. Shanahan played down published reports that the Pentagon was seeking between 5,000 and 10,000 additional troops. I woke up this morning and read that we were sending 10,000 troops to the Middle East and read more recently there was 5,000, he said. There is no 10,000 and there is no 5,000. Thats not accurate. Shanahan and Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo held a closed-door briefing on Iran for lawmakers Tuesday. They summarized the intelligence and emphasized that their aim in sending additional forces was to deter attacks from Iran, not to provoke a crisis. But Shanahan has sent conflicting signals, telling reporters before Tuesdays briefing that the U.S. military moves had forced Iran to recalculate and that the potential for attacks on Americans were on hold as a result On Thursday, Shanahan again warned that Tehran might strike, suggesting it could misinterpret the U.S. military moves as a threat. This gets back to the risk of Iranian miscalculation, he said. So were very protective of our men and women. Were very protective of our interests in the region. The White House recently said Trump would nominate Shanahan as secretary of Defense, so he has to worry about congressional views since he would require confirmation by the Senate. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said Thursday it was up to Shanahan to prevent Trump from accidentally sparking a war. The secretary of Defense in the Trump administration has a special responsibility to advise a president with no experience in national security and a limited grasp of the life-and-death decisions he must make, Durbin said. He added, It remains to be seen whether Patrick Shanahan is up to that job. The latest from Washington More stories from David S. Cloud Broke and angry, Maurice Caldwell wants California to know that it owes him more than his liberty. Caldwell was sentenced to 27 years to life for second-degree murder in 1991 and served 7,494 days before that conviction was overturned in 2011, in part because another man confessed to the crime. At 43, he was released to the streets of San Francisco with only the prison-issued clothes he wore and a belief that good times were coming. But his eight years on the outside have been spent unsuccessfully fighting the state for compensation. He also says hes wrestling with post-traumatic stress disorder, health problems and the stigma of a conviction that makes it hard to find a job and a place to live. Some people try to say just be thankful that you [are] free, Caldwell said recently from the extended-stay hotel in Sacramento where hes living until money runs out at the end of the month. Photos of his three children are tacked to the wall, and carefully folded shirts are balanced on one end of an ironing board in a bedroom not much bigger than his old cell. Advertisement I didnt get away with a crime, so why [do] I just want to be thankful for being free? Caldwell asked. Im going to be thankful when I get the justice of me being free, my actual innocence, the compensation, the truth. Caldwell is navigating what legal justice advocates say is an unfair and burdensome process for financial restitution for exonerees those who have had their convictions set aside by the courts, usually after new evidence is found. Under state law, California must pay those wrongfully convicted $140 for each day they spent behind bars about $1 million in Caldwells case. But receiving that money requires them first to prove to a state board that they are more likely than not innocent of the crime. The process can take years and often ends with a denial. Michael Ramos, a former San Bernardino County district attorney who served for 15 years on the three-person California Victim Compensation Board, said most of those who have been freed were wrongfully convicted, but not because they are innocent. There is a big distinction there. Because California historically has provided exonerees with less state support than others released from prison, they are often nearly destitute when freed. I didnt get away with a crime, so why [do] I just want to be thankful for being free? Maurice Caldwell, whose murder conviction was overturned in 2011 The precarious realities of life after freedom have made this group a fraternity none of us asked to be a part of, said Obie Anthony, who was freed in 2011 and has been able to win state compensation. He is paying for Caldwells hotel through a foundation he started to help the exonerated. Anthony said members of this unlucky fellowship live in a gray zone between the presumption of innocence that state courts have granted them and the presumption of guilt they must overcome before California will help them get back on their feet. In effect, he said, the state is adding a second wrong to the first. Maurice Caldwell walks with his daughter Amaya Haynes, 9, in Sacramento. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Zavion Johnson was exonerated in the shaken-baby death of his infant daughter in 2017 after 16 years in prison. It makes me feel, I dont want to say unwanted, but alien, he said. I am back in society, yes, but with extra worries and extra stress. California has exonerated 201 people since 1989, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, with the average person spending more than eight years in prison. Most are men who were convicted of murder, though about 10% are women. They are a racially diverse group black and Latino people each account for about 30%, while 40% are white. Their paths to freedom are varied. Some were released because of advances in DNA or other scientific evidence. Some, like Caldwell, were able to raise serious doubts about the fairness and accuracy of the investigation and trial that led to their incarcerations. The dispute over compensation, advocates say, comes down to who is deserving of Californias cash and who gets to decide. Should a person be compensated if they cant prove their innocence but a court has found their conviction was unfair? Those representing the state legislators and career officials have largely been loath to favor exonerees for fear of paying taxpayer dollars to someone who may be guilty despite being free. Those who represent the exonerated say overturning a conviction is onerous and requires presenting new evidence that, had it been heard during the original trial, probably would have led to a different verdict. Once the conviction is wiped out, they say, the presumption of innocence and the culpability of the state for flawed justice are indisputable. Its not fair to leave these people in legal limbo, living in this nether region between guilt and innocence, said Paula Mitchell of Loyola Law Schools Project for the Innocent. Quite simply, if the conviction has been overturned and the prosecution cannot retry the person, then they should be entitled to compensation. A series of reforms in recent years has mandated that the victims board automatically approve payments in cases in which a judge has ruled the exoneree was factually innocent a high standard. But in cases like Caldwells and Johnsons, in which factual innocence is denied or hasnt been granted, the board still holds full authority to draw conclusions independent of the judicial system. This year, the Legislature considered forcing the board to rubber-stamp more kinds of claims. Senate Bill 269 would have extended the types of exonerees who are automatically entitled to approval for payments. But, like legislation last year, it could not win support. This week, a legislative committee largely gutted it. Maurice Caldwell makes oatmeal for breakfast in the hotel room he calls home in Sacramento. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) The victims board is made up of Marybel Batjer, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency; state Controller Betty T. Yee (who often sends a delegate); and former sheriff and corrections official Curtis Hill, a political appointee. The board makes a case-by-case recommendation for compensation to the Legislature, which must pass a bill authorizing the payment. During its hearings, the state attorney general can present evidence, witnesses can be interviewed and court records examined. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they dont, and it seems to be arbitrary, said attorney Linda Starr with the Northern California Innocence Project. Ramos, appointed to the board by Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, was considered an almost-certain no vote for compensation, said multiple attorneys who appeared before him. It was proof, they said, that the board was often driven more by ideology than by facts. Ramos became ineligible to serve on the board in 2018 when he lost reelection as district attorney in San Bernardino County. It makes me feel, I dont want to say unwanted, but alien. I am back in society, yes, but with extra worries and extra stress. Zavion Johnson, who was exonerated after 16 years in prison Ramos said that as a prosecutor, he believed determining innocence was an obligation not just to the state, but to the victims of the crimes. He said he spent hours considering every fact for each case. But even he has doubts about a system under which people not experienced in the law are making the final decision. Maybe this isnt the right place for wrongful-conviction determinations, Ramos said. Why isnt it under the judicial arm of our government? Wouldnt that make more sense? Batjer, who chairs the board and has at times been the sole vote in favor of compensation, said she believes the staff attorneys who conduct initial hearings and write case summaries provide the board with the expertise they need. The daughter of a Nevada Supreme Court judge, Batjer said the cases are terribly emotionally difficult rather than legally difficult. Zavion Johnson sits in his great-grandmothers Sacramento home. Johnson was exonerated in 2017 in the death of his daughter Nadia after spending 16 years in prison. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) Johnson said he is awaiting the outcome of the pending legislation before filing his own claim with the board. Like Caldwells, Johnsons case highlights the potential disparity between legal outcomes and winning compensation. Johnson was 17 and living in Sacramento when he and his best friend had a daughter, Nadia Dyvine, a baby who he said inherited his eyes and was my first piece of real joy. Nadia Dyvine Johnson is seen in an undated photo. Her father, Zavion Johnson, said he has been plagued by what ifs surrounding her death. (Family photo) When she was 4 months old, he said, he was showering in a cast-iron tub with Nadia in a plastic washbasin at his feet. He picked her up to rinse her. Thats when she kicked off my chest, slipped and hit her head, said Johnson, rubbing his knuckles as emotion threatened to seep out. At first Nadia seemed fine, but hours later at his great-grandmothers house, she stopped breathing, he said. Sitting in that living room on a recent Saturday, he remembered giving Nadia CPR on the floor by the door, but it was too late. She died of brain trauma at the hospital, and Johnson was arrested the day of her funeral, still in his suit, and accused of shaking her to death. At the time, shaken baby syndrome was a near slam-dunk conviction after medical experts testified that a trio of injuries to Nadias brain could only have been caused in that manner. In the 16 years and four days Johnson spent in prison, science has changed dramatically. Two of the experts who testified against him recanted after being contacted by the Northern California Innocence Project, which represented Johnson, citing new research. The Sacramento County district attorney declined to retry Johnson because there was insufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, said Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Grippi. In prison, Johnson said, he often thought about the moment he dropped Nadia, plagued by what ifs. What if he had not decided to get her dressed that morning, not decided to visit his great-grandmother? He has been to Nadias grave four times in the 17 months hes been out. Johnson said the chaos of readjusting to the free world has helped distract him from those memories, but not completely. Yeah, shell be 18 this year, he said. Like Caldwell, Johnson left prison with only his clothes, the baggy orange pants of a paper suit issued by the state, and a gray sweatshirt his lawyer brought. He lives with a member of his legal team in Hayward and works loading trucks for a Toyota factory. A poet, he would like to find work that engages his mind or return to school, but its either this or dont eat, he said. When he was young, he dreamed of working for the parks department. Now, he said, life for me has not been the greatest, but its been pretty good compared to some of my exonerated brothers. But he too thinks California owes him something. They should figure out something that works better instead of basically just kicking you out with nothing. It doesnt make sense, he said. They should just make it right. Big and bold ideas often bomb out in the Legislature. And the biggest bill of this young session a proposal to spur high-density housing just blew up. Our democratic system of frustrating checks and balances isnt designed for quick fixes. It fosters incrementalism. That can be agonizing. But more often than not, it ultimately produces practical, workable compromise legislation. Something similar to San Francisco Democrat Scott Wieners Senate Bill 50 will eventually pass the Legislature. But its highly unlikely to happen this year, nor maybe next. When it does, therell need to be a committed effort by the governor to muscle such a contentious measure through the torturous legislative process. There was none of that this time from rookie Gov. Gavin Newsom, although at the bills funeral he professed to be disappointed at its demise. Advertisement I alone cannot determine the fate of particular bills, Newsom told reporters Tuesday. But an effective governor can steer a bill to passage by cajoling and coercing lawmakers to vote the way he wants. Ask Govs. Brown, Schwarzenegger, Wilson ... any of them. They all rolled out pork and strong-armed. Governing is more than photo-ops. California must build upward more and sideways less to meet the housing demands of a still-expanding population. Theres only so much livable land left with easy access to jobs and water. At around 40 million people, were growing much slower than 30 or 50 years ago, partly because California has become unaffordable for many low-income and middle-class families. So theyre settling out of state. Desirable housing within tolerable commute distance of good jobs is already financially unattainable for millions, especially young adults just starting out, and were headed to 50 million people by midcentury. We need to build 180,000 new housing units a year, experts say, and weve only averaged 80,000 over the last decade. In contrast, before the Great Recession, we built 213,000 in 2004. In 1986, 315,000 were built. Running for election last year, Newsom promised to help build 3.5 million new homes by 2025. Hes off to a slow start. SB 50 would have forced Sacramentos desire for more high-density housing on local governments that are still wedded to ranch-style living with backyard pools and barbecues an integral part of the old California Dream. The measure would have overridden local zoning laws. It would have required cities to permit mid-rise apartment complexes near rail stations and major job centers. Duplexes and fourplexes would have been allowed even on land zoned only for single-family homes. Minimum parking requirements could have been waived. We set up our land-use patterns for a much smaller state, Wiener says. This is a hard bill because anytime you ask people to do things differently theres a pushback. But look at the cost of housing, the explosion of homelessness and exodus of working families. One big pushback is from local government officials who object to losing substantial control over housing decisions in their communities. Theres only one truth in government, and that is that no one likes to give up power, says Dan Dunmoyer, president of the California Building Industry Assn., which strongly supported the bill. Its really hard for local government to say, We want someone from on high to create a housing plan for our community. Suburban homeowners also pushed back against their legislative representatives. They feared increased congestion and loss of community character. Theyre the NIMBYs not in my backyard. And, really, who can blame them? Youre a legislator and you go back to your community and a local official says, This guy sold the community down the river. And thats a tough vote for a legislator to make, says Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, which supported the bill. All our polls show that the public always has more faith in local officials than the state. Theyre more likely to be known and more likely to be trusted. Many legislators understand that because they once were a city council member or a county supervisor. For SB 50, the legislative process worked as designed and should have been expected, given the players. The bill first went to the Senate Housing Committee, headed by the measures author. No surprise: It passed easily. Then came the Governance and Finance Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), who represents several small counties in the northern wine country. He opposed the bill. So a deal was cut: Counties with fewer than 600,000 residents would be exempt from much of the bill. There was just one no vote by Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys). Heavy opposition came from his San Fernando Valley district. Its an overreach, Hertzberg says of the bill. We dont need to go that far. Next stop was the Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge.) His district is the epitome of comfortable ranch-style living. No compromise. No hearing. No public vote. On the shelf. Portantino issued a statement indicating he thought the state should offer local governments incentives presumably money to speed up homebuilding. Meanwhile, the homebuilding industry is impatient and perplexed. Government is telling us to build inside cities, Dunmoyer says, but theyre killing legislation that makes it easier to build inside cities. Thats schizophrenia. The question is: How does the governor weigh in? Portantino arguably represented his district well. But somebody has to represent California better. Representing California is the governors job. More from George Skelton george.skelton@latimes.com Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter An apartment project on Cedar Avenue at Sixth Street is moving forward to the dismay of some residents and a few city officials. The Burbank City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to approve a proposed 46-unit apartment complex in the foothill area a project some neighboring residents say would negatively impact their community. Resident Tim Bissell, president of the Cedar Town Homes Homeowners Assn., appealed the project, saying it is too large for the surrounding community. The project was initially approved by Patrick Prescott, the citys community development director, on Oct. 25, 2018. Council members voted on April 30 to delay a vote on the project for three weeks as a Hail-Mary attempt to work with developer Rafa La Development one last time to try and make the apartment complex more acceptable for residents who live near the site. However, city staff members met with representatives from Rafa La Development once during that time period, and company officials were set on moving forward with the proposal on the table, said Councilman Tim Murphy, who suggested postponing a decision on the project three weeks ago. I was hopeful, Murphy said. Im not saying that I support the project, but I believe Im going to vote for the project because I feel that I have to according to the law, but that does not mean Im happy about it. The project is unique because Rafa La Development requested a density bonus and waivers for specific development standards, which are mainly regulated by state law. The property is zoned for high-density residential, and the maximum number of units that can be constructed is 34. However, Rafa La Development was legally permitted to request a density bonus for the site and, in this case, the company will be allowed to build an extra 12 units. Additionally, the developer requested several waivers, which included smaller setbacks to allow for a larger open space in the center of the site and to have three-story buildings in the complex. To qualify for the bonus and waivers, the developer had to set aside eight low-income units six low income and two very low income for a minimum of 55 years. Although some residents and a few council members had concerns about aspects of the apartment complex, city staff said the project complies with all state and city regulations. The state law says the local jurisdiction shall comply with these requirements, Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy said. It doesnt say the local jurisdiction may comply with these requirements. It is a mandatory requirement. Gabel-Luddy added that local governments won a small battle last week after Senate Bill 50 was shelved until 2020. Its a measure authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) which would have required job-rich cities to allow fourplexes to be built in areas zoned for single-family homes, as well as loosen requirements for housing projects built near transit hubs. She said cities like Burbank are in a vice grip by the state to create more housing to address a statewide housing shortfall. Had SB 50 gone through, Gabel-Luddy said Burbank would have less of a say about housing projects like the one proposed. On the one hand, we have residents who say, No more density no matter what, even if the state mandates that we approve it, and Sacramento saying, Well, neighbors dont want more density, so were just going to rip local control away from local government and take it over, Gabel-Luddy said. The last thing in the world I want to see is our city lose control of the kind of direction that we, as a council, have worked on to begin to develop the kind of housing thats needed in our city, she added. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. The California High Speed Rail Authority redrew its proposed routes for the Burbank-to-Palmdale stretch of the states bullet train in an effort to address concerns from residents impacted by the project, officials said this week. However, some residents and elected officials from the northeast section of the San Fernando Valley aired their displeasure and skepticism of the refined routes during a meeting of the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments on Thursday. NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in the 818 >> The revised routes, which are between 35 and 45 miles in length, are proposed to have the bullet train travel underground for most of its run from the Palmdale station to the Burbank Station, which would possibly be located next to Bob Hope Airport. Dan Richard, chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority, said that a supplemental alternatives analysis found no issues for the underground railway, in which some stretches could be as long as 16.3 miles. The changes to the proposed rail routes from Palmdale to Burbank are in color, while the original routes are in gray. (Courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority) However, there are certain sections along a route known as E2 that have tracks above ground, which some residents said will negatively impact the communities in the northeast San Fernando Valley, such as Shadow Hills, Lake View Terrace and Sun Valley. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Additionally, the route would involve tunneling under mountainous areas of Angeles National Forest. I am deeply disappointed in the HSR Authoritys decision to move forward with these routes through the Angeles National Forest. California needs high-speed rail but it needs to be done in the right way, with proper thought given to how a particular route will affect communities, open space and environmental justice concerns, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said in a statement Friday. If a route through our communities cannot adequately address all of these important considerations, the HSR Authority may need to go back to the drawing board. Some residents were concerned the route would have a negative impact on the groundwater and wildlife in the area. That route would destroy the open space in the Big Tujunga Wash, Shadow Hills resident Dave DePinto said, who was speaking on behalf of the resident group Save Angeles Forest for Everyone Coalition. This is the gateway to the San Fernando Valley, Hansen Dam Recreation Center, [Angeles] National Forest and the Crescenta Valley. San Fernando Mayor Joel Fajardo said more work needs to be done to address the concerns many residents still have with the routes. He also criticized the project, saying that it lacked the funding to make the proposal a reality. Richard argued that the funding will come about over time and that even the state legislature does not know where the funding for the project will come from. The L.A. Metro system, when it started, did anybody know where all the money was coming from? he asked. Nobody knew that Measure R was going to be there. Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander added to Fajardos concern, saying that the high-speed railway project was like building an airplane in midair without any landing gear. Authority officials are continuing to study the new routes and will present the plan for the Palmdale-Burbank route at a meeting on April 12 at the Anaheim Convention Center. -- Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com Twitter: @acocarpio -- ALSO: Luther Burbank Middle School honors namesake with new mural Burbank high school students pair up with senior citizens for a day of shared learning Glendale resident who wrote weight-loss book based on biblical principles to appear in Burbank Hows this for a newspaper headline? One space between each sentence, they said. Science just proved them wrong. Wow. Strong stuff. It sounds like the Washington Post, which recently ran this story about how many spaces you should put after a period, must have blown the lid off some longstanding language myth. Actually, they didnt. Articles about new research have an annoying tendency to overstate the results. Eating fast food can cause spinsterhood is far more attention-grabbing than Single people, in general, and young single people, in particular, are less likely to cook meals and are, therefore, statistically more likely to eat fast food. Such is the case with a recent Washington Post article about spacing after a period. From the headline, we can infer two things: 1. Theres a they who have been arguing that single spacing is better. 2. They have now been debunked. The Washington Posts source: a recent study showing that double-spacing after a period improves reading speed. Thus, those hordes of people who say single-spacing is better are officially proven wrong. Its all quite misleading. First, despite the articles implication that armies of pro-single-spacers are marching on a town near you, only two such proponents are cited. Ive spent a lot of time talking with people about matters like this, and I can tell you that theres no war going on here. Its not like the serial comma the second comma in red, white, and blue whose proponents are loud, proud and plentiful (and whose opponents have an equally valid argument). When it comes to spacing between sentences, most people simply want to know what the rule is rather than tell others what the rule should be. Second, the research is weak. Psychologists monitored the eye movements of 60 test subjects thats right, just 60 and found that 21 of them read a tiny bit faster when sentences were separated by two spaces. Those 21 people, it turns out, were the same 21 who used double-spacing in their own writing. The other 39 read no faster when periods were followed by double spaces. Another problem: For the study, participants read text in a wide, squat courier font similar to the fonts used by the first typewriters. Back in those days, you pretty much had to double-space after a period because the typeface made every sentence look run together. Single-spacing came into vogue only after word processors created fonts that fixed this problem, making it easier to see where each sentence began. Finally, the conclusion, according to the article, is that double spaces are better not because they make reading faster but because they make it smoother. What does that mean? They dont say. But the biggest problem with the Washington Post piece: The whole thing is a straw-man argument. The people who say to use the single spaces between sentences dont argue their way is superior. They dont say it makes reading faster or smoother. They say only: Those are the rules. And, indeed, they are. The Chicago Manual of Style, which is followed by most book publishers, and the Associated Press Stylebook, which is followed by most news media, agree you should type just one space between sentences. Thats their rule. Its a safe bet these rules dont have much to do with reading speed measured in nanoseconds. In news media, many style rules stem from the fact that it costs a lot of money to print thousands of newspapers every day. Policies designed to use space as efficiently as possible improve cost efficiencies at least in the old days when the rules were written. Aesthetic considerations likely came into play, too. Either way, the consensus is clear: Most rule books require single spaces between sentences. JUNE CASAGRANDE is the author of The Best Punctuation Book, Period. She can be reached at JuneTCN@aol.com. A Costa Mesa man who works as a professional nanny has pleaded not guilty to molesting two young boys in his care, authorities said Wednesday. Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 30, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14 and one felony count of oral copulation of a child younger than 10, according to the Orange County district attorneys office. He also was charged with one misdemeanor count of possession of child pornography. For the record: This article originally stated that Zakrzewski was charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography. The charge is a misdemeanor. If convicted, he could face 90 years to life in prison, prosecutors said. Zakrzewski has worked as a nanny or manny, as he refers to himself on his website for families across Southern California, and authorities believe there may be more victims, said Sgt. Jim Cota of the Laguna Beach Police Department, which arrested Zakrzewski on Friday after he got off an international flight. Authorities did not disclose the airport where the arrest occurred. Pornographic images Zakrzewski had taken, as well as content accessed online, were found on his camera and on electronic devices at his home, police said. Zakrzewski was booked into Orange County Jail with bail set at $1 million, authorities said. The investigation of Zakrzewski began this month after a Laguna Beach couple reported to police that they believed Zakrzewski, their babysitter, had touched their 8-year-old son inappropriately, prosecutors said. During the investigation, the Laguna Beach Police Department identified another possible victim, a 7-year-old boy in Los Angeles, authorities said. The alleged incidents of molestation are believed to have occurred between December 2017 and February this year, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the Laguna Beach couple had hired Zakrzewski through one of several websites where he lists his services. My childcare experience spans from 3 months to 14 years of age, including autism & bipolar spectrum, ADD, ADHD, ODD, Down syndrome and severe asthma kids, Zakrzewskis personal biography states. On his professional website, he describes his role as manny, babysitter, buddy, big brother, role model and mentor and lists credentials such as LiveScan and background screenings and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, lifeguard and TrustLine certifications. He says he has a been a professional nanny for more than six years. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Laguna Beach police at (949) 715-1300. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. A crowd of residents cheered Tuesday night as the Laguna Beach City Council voted unanimously to continue with plans to place utility lines underground in their Woods Cove neighborhood. The residents who attended the meeting were nearly unanimous in their support for the councils decision to appropriate $300,000 to expand the project design. We will do whatever it takes to get this project moving forward, said Karen Klammer, who has headed a grassroots effort to get neighborhood support for undergrounding. It is a dynamite keg ready to go off, resident G. Ray Kerciu said, referring to the possibility of downed power lines igniting fires in the hills surrounding Woods Cove. The city should be concerned about our safety. The city already has spent $600,000 on project assessments and design, and 199 property owners (representing about 60% of the 335 parcels) have put up $99,500 toward it, according to a city staff report. When neighborhood petitions were circulated in 2014, property assessments were projected to be $6,000 to $45,000. Because of the proposed redesign, the estimated average cost is now $43,000 up to $100,000. The council was tasked with deciding whether to postpone the redesign and survey residents again to ensure there was still neighborhood support with the increased costs, or move forward with the $300,000 appropriation, bringing the total city cost to nearly $1 million. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. The California Fair Political Practices Commission issued a warning to Newport Beach City Councilman Jeff Herdman this week for omitting required identifying language in his email newsletters. A complaint filed in March by local activist Bob Rush alleged 32 instances in which Herdman failed to include Paid for by disclosures and an individual mailing address on mass emails from 2018 and early 2019. In a letter to Herdman dated Tuesday, FPPC enforcement chief Galena West confirmed that Herdman had sent email blasts lacking the Paid for by language. However, the number of emails sent was small, it was clear that [Herdmans campaign] committee sent the subject mass emails, and the emails sent did not pertain to an election in which you were a candidate, so the violation resulted in minimal public harm, West wrote. Additionally, the committee raised and spent a low amount of money and does not have a prior history of violating this section of the [Political Reform] Act, so the enforcement division is closing this matter with a warning letter instead of a fine. Herdman said Wednesday that he was pleased that the matter is resolved and that I dont have this complaint hanging over my head. Rush revealed his complaint to Herdman at a City Council meeting, calling it down payment on payback for Herdmans involvement in a lawsuit that residents supported by Herdman filed against Rush in 2018. On Wednesday, Rush said he still plans to target Herdman with allegations of ethical violations, which he did not detail. I wasnt sure what the FPPC reaction would be, but I wanted to get a base point from which to begin filing my series of ethical complaints, Rush said. The lawsuit against Rush was an unsuccessful attempt by a group of former Newport Beach council members to get their argument opposing a local ballot proposition into informational pamphlets for Novembers election in place of an argument written by Rush. Herdman submitted a declaration supporting the plaintiffs former mayors Keith Curry, Rush Hill and Mike Henn and former mayor pro tem Jean Watt. Among the arguments in the lawsuit and Herdmans declaration was that Rush didnt actually oppose Measure T, which asked voters to approve an amendment to Newports city charter to require 55% voter approval whenever the council wants to spend at least $50 million on capital projects using a financing method known as certificates of participation. Rush prevailed in the lawsuit. The proposition cruised to victory in the election with about 80% of the vote. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. The California Assembly recently voted on a matter of life and death for me and thousands of other Californians living with failed kidneys. If it sounds dramatic, it is because it is. At age 50, I depend on a charitable financial grant from the nonprofit American Kidney Fund to help pay for my daily at-home dialysis. Without the grant, I cannot afford the treatment. Without the treatment, I will die. Assembly Bill 290, supported by Californias health insurance companies, will force AKF to cease operating its program in California, hurting me and the more than 3,700 Californians who rely on its financial assistance. This is because provisions in AB 290 conflict with the strict federal guidelines under which AKF operates and, rather than risk its operations nationwide, AKF will simply stop offering assistance in California. The bill recently passed the Assembly and is headed to the Senate. When I was 30 and first suffered kidney failure as a result of hypertension, my brother gave me one of his kidneys. I lived a healthy life for 19 years after the successful transplant, working in the mortgage business. But that kidney failed in 2017, forcing me back on dialysis. I lost 30 pounds and was so sick for six months I could not work. Even after returning to work, I soon got laid off because my illness prevented me from bringing in business. Today the AKFs charitable premium assistance, along with COBRA from my previous job, combine to pay for expensive dialysis treatment that cleans my blood and removes toxins from my body. This treatment keeps me alive. AB 290, as the insurance companies designed it, means I will lose my financial assistance and I will be unable to pay my insurance premiums. I will be forced on to Medicare which I dont want. It will not provide the medical coverage that is best for me. Im not alone. There are more than 3,700 dialysis patients in California who will lose financial assistance if AB 290 passes and AKF is forced to stop offering its services in California. By forcing dialysis patients on to government-funded health care plans, AB 290 will threaten the long-term viability of dialysis clinics since government reimbursements dont cover the cost of care. If dialysis clinics are forced to cut back services or close because they cant cover their costs, patients will end up in emergency rooms where care is up to eight times more expensive. The health care system as a whole, and taxpayers, will bear the burden of higher costs. Not surprisingly, AB 290 also allows insurance companies to pay less to dialysis providers as reimbursement for dialysis treatments. Of course thats why the insurance industry is supporting the bill. But it doesnt force insurers to pass any of their savings to consumers. A win-win for insurance companies, but not for patients. I am trying to do my part to contribute to my health care; working part time and awaiting a kidney transplant on the UC Irvine Medical Center donor list. But it will be years, most likely, before I can get another kidney. If AB 290 passes, it would cruelly revoke my insurance, right when I need it the most. Dialysis that keeps me alive might be pulled away from me before I even get a chance for my name to come up on the transplant list. I will be forced to either live so far in debt I wont be able to afford food or shelter, or I will die. This bill, quite literally, is targeting some of Californias poorest and sickest residents. It is that simple, and that sad. Duc Dang lives in Irvine. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. A federal court sentenced a La Crescenta man to nine years in prison Monday for running a pair of fraudulent schemes that bilked victims out of over $1 million. The sentence comes after 55-year-old David William Bell pleaded guilty last summer to one count each of wire fraud and mail fraud. Bell admitted he started a company called UST Development Inc. to run the fraud schemes. Bell ran the company out of Ontario and Pomona. Authorities said he used multiple company names besides UST while running the schemes. According to the U.S. attorneys office, the first scheme occurred from 2008 to 2010 and involved Bell eliciting the services from several third-party payroll companies to fund USTs payroll. Bell would then fail to reimburse the third-party companies. Oftentimes, a check from accounts with insufficient funds would be sent to pay for services. Authorities said Paychex and Ceridian were just two of the companies that were targeted. The second scheme involved Bell and UST sending out mailers that were made to look like bills using terms such as invoice, statement and past due. The U.S. attorneys office said the fake bills asked for $175 or $350 for services rendered by UST and were sent to thousands of small businesses and other entities, most of which were located across Southern California. However, no services were ever provided and no money was owed. In addition to the prison sentence, Bell will also pay over $1 million in restitution to the victims he defrauded. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc At the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, Roosevelt Middle School will be rebranded and open its doors as Roosevelt Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, or STEAM, Academy Magnet. After years of talks and preparation, the Glendale Unified school board unanimously voted to make the change during its meeting on May 7. We have had a wonderful faculty and staff at Roosevelt, committed to making sure our students are committed to the best, Roosevelt principal Kyle Bruich said. This project started with our former principal Mary Mason [now the districts executive director of elementary education]. It feels great to come through for students and future students who will get this opportunity. Before Aug. 19, 2020, the first day of classes for that school year, Roosevelt will need to undergo a few changes to be considered a STEAM magnet. What we would like to do that would really, really make us stand out as a true STEAM academy is we would like to add STEAM curriculum for all students as part of their integrated curriculum and science classes, Bruich said. With computer science now accepted as a lab science for admission to many University of California and Cal State University schools, Bruich is looking for enhanced implementation. It gives us wonderful opportunities for us to integrate on top of the basic coding we would teach, he said. Roosevelt is planning to adopt Stanford Universitys bifocal modeling method, which calls for computer modeling and simulation to help supplement real-world lessons, Bruich said. The school will also implement Googles applied digital-skills program, which wont cost the district additional money and includes curriculum such as learning how to research and develop a topic online as well as planning and budgeting and creating an editing tool with programming. On top of the mandatory STEAM curriculum, Roosevelt will add an elective course in advanced coding, which will be taught by already-trained instructor Jean Marie Pascale Parra and will cover topics such as Thunkable, an app development program, and Advanced Scratch, according to Bruich. The Advanced Scratch program will continue the basic Scratch curriculum already taught to students at Cerritos Elementary, he added. Im so excited for our Roosevelt students and families, board member Shant Sahakian said during the May 7 meeting. When our motto is Preparing Our Students for Their Future, teaching STEAM skills to our students [is] essential. Many of the courses already taught at Roosevelt, such as robotics, 3-D game design, visual/digital media arts, and dual-immersion languages already fit the STEAM magnet model. Beyond the enhanced courses for students, one issue fueling the STEAM movement has been declining enrollment at Roosevelt. According to California Department of Education statistics, Roosevelts enrollment has dropped from 1,009 students to 756 over the past 10 years. In comparison, district elementary schools Franklin, Jefferson and Keppel have all seen growth since becoming magnet schools in 2010, reporting 32%, 16% and 14% enrollment increases, respectively. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. A forecast calling for rain this weekend is doing nothing to dampen the spirits of the individuals and organizations finalizing plans for La Canadas 46th annual Memorial Weekend Fiesta Days, which begins Friday evening and runs through Monday. Pat Anderson, president and chief executive of the sponsoring La Canada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce and Community Assn., said in her 16 years of organizing the hometown event shes never had to worry about rain. The show, she assures, will go on. Were sticking to the schedule, and were going to hope that Mother Nature cooperates, Anderson said Wednesday, vowing to forge forth even with plans for a fireworks show Sunday. At least this means we dont have to worry about fire danger. And what a schedule it is locals can ante up in support of the Community Center of La Canada Flintridge at its annual Casino Night Friday from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. and engage in a suite of activities and events that almost run nonstop before culminating Monday at 4 p.m. with the first installment of the city-sponsored Music in the Park concert series. Barbara Marshall, whos chaired the event for the past 10 years, said her personal day planner is packed. I start off at the Community Center with Casino Night and will attend the French toast breakfast and car show Saturday morning, then come back and set up for the movie in the park, she said. Then on Sunday, its dinner at the park and fireworks, then Ill be on duty at around 7 a.m. on Monday. Keeping the spirit of Memorial Day front and center is the mission of Marine veteran and Valley Sun columnist Joe Puglia, who organizes the citys Memorial Day service Monday at 9 a.m. Every year, local Scouts participate by singing, reciting poems and reading letters written in times of war. This years ceremony will recognize service members who were held as prisoners of war or went missing in action and never returned home. Children will read poems and letters found in the possession of unidentified solders and, in this way, honor the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Seventy-five thousand Americans went missing in World War II, and their moms and dads lived their whole lives and died never knowing what happened to them, Puglia said. Were going to give memory to that. After the service, locals will line Foothill Boulevard for the annual Fiesta Days parade, which begins at 10:30 a.m. There, locals can meet Todd Deeds, recently selected by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department to serve as the new captain of the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station, who will ride in the parade. Embodying the theme Family First, parade Grand Marshal, L.A. Times columnist and local dad Chris Erskine will lead the procession alongside teen son Jack. My hope was to be carried down Foothill Boulevard by Egyptian servants, a la Cleopatra, Erskine quipped of his ride, a Lexus. But my buddies wouldnt go for it plus, they dont look so good with their shirts off. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. If you are very still, you can almost hear it: our kids just lost again. It can be difficult to hear. It better approximates silence than anything else, but it is deafening nonetheless. Earlier this week, the California Supreme Court brought a swift and near-silent conclusion to the plight of schoolchildren around the state. These kids had sued California, claiming that teacher tenure, layoff, and dismissal laws violated our states constitution. At trial, they won. On appeal, they lost. And this week our state Supreme Court decided to pass on the case altogether leaving in place the Court of Appeals decision. And so California schools are, as they always are, back where they began. The dissenting justices on the state Supreme Court noted the sheer significance of the laws in question to the lives of every child in our public school system. Whenever Californias irresponsible budgeting leaves school districts on the hook, the state requires school districts to ignore local needs and considerations and to blindly lay off first their most junior teachers, no matter how effective they are. California requires school districts to either dismiss or grant permanent status (i.e. tenure) after about 16 months of classroom performance. This status makes a teacher more legally entitled to his/her job than you are legally entitled to your physical property. You could fill about 3 Rose Bowl stadiums with all of Californias public school teachers in the last 10 years. Ninety-one of them 0.003% were tenured and lost their jobs. Of those, only 19 0.0007% were dismissed for poor teaching performance. No one is immune to a system so plagued. Not even La Canada. These restrictive laws force our board of education to make high-stakes decisions on impossibly short timelines. By March of a teachers second year with the district, the school board is given just two choices: let the teacher go, or keep them forever. Imagine the excellence that has slipped through our fingers in the name of abundant caution. We dont need our imagination to know the harms of erring in the other direction. And what about the states insistence on a blind allegiance to seniority? Think about your top five favorite teachers in the district. My guess is that at least one maybe more are among the newer faces to our family. The law requires that they be the first to go. Public education makes up about 50% of our state budget, and nearly 100% of our states future depends upon us getting it right. While I would be skeptical of anyone who claimed they knew exactly what right was, I am equally skeptical and horrified at anyone who cant see that what we are doing is patently wrong. Which is why I am so embarrassed by our state Supreme Court, and I am so ashamed of our state Legislature. At every turn, those who would purport to lead, represent and serve us, have shown up only to abstain. Its not just that they wont find an answer, it is that they have declined even to ask the question. They have cowered at the question. No doubt it is because something this important is, of course, very complicated. And even more to the point: There are those that benefit from the status quo and fight vigorously to defend it. But these are precisely the sort of challenges children are counting on adults to take on. Children are resilient and forgiving; they will excuse our inability to strike at perfection every time. What they cant afford is the complete abdication of our responsibility to build for them a better system. It is what our Legislature has done through its inaction. It is what forced nine schoolchildren on behalf of millions to seek redress for their squandered futures in the judiciary. It is what happened Monday, when they were told they would simply not be heard by the highest court in our state. And it is what we enable, through our deafening silence. This upcoming election represents our chance to be the loudest we have been in a while, and the loudest we will get to be for some time. Those willing to engage in these tough conversations those unwilling to acquiesce silently to the status quo will sometimes be demonized for their audacity. But thats a small price to pay. And Im going to support those who think that for our kids futures its a steal at twice the price. I hope you will join me. ANDREW BLUMENFELD, an educator and former member of the La Canada Unified School District Governing Board, can be reached at aj.blumenfeld@gmail.com. The crisis that prompted the California legislature to hold a hearing on the rise in equine deaths Wednesday turned into more of a rushed recitation on how the state has some of the toughest standards in the country and has a plan to lead the nation in reform. Starting just over an hour late in the state Capitol because of an extended session in the assembly, a scant group of legislators that started at eight, grew momentarily to 12, and then shrunk to four by the end of the almost two-hour meeting, lacked any fireworks or tough questioning that can define these sessions There were 17 people on six different panel groups that read statements and answered questions. The most pointed questioning was directed at Belinda Stronach, chairman and chief executive officer of the Stronach Group, when co-chair and Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) brought up the perception issue of the sport. Stronach instituted a series of reforms at Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields that included the reduction of race-day Lasix, a medicine given to reduce bleeding from the lungs in horses, and elimination of the use of the riding crop or whip. Gray pointed out that these reforms seem to have little to do with the rash of 25 deaths since Dec. 26. Advertisement At the end of the day, if people dont want to come to racing because horses are whipped or have to have medication to compete then we dont have a product, Stronach said. And we need to be doing the best thing now to put the horses before the sport. Stronach also said its her hope to make the sport Lasix free by 2024 or 2025. Many of the speakers stressed the point that California is heavily regulated when it comes to racing and a combination of existing rules and reform measures has made this the safest state in racing. I can honestly tell you that right now after 38 years of experience that I feel more safe riding at Santa Anita, or Del Mar for that matter, that Ive ever felt at any track in my life, said Mike Smith, a hall of fame jockey. Santa Anita was in the midst of an unprecedented run of safety, lasting almost six weeks without a breakdown in either racing or training, when two horses died in a four-day span. One fatality was in training and one in racing, and both were nontypical injuries in the shoulder and pelvis. Many injuries occur in the area of the fetlock, or ankle, and Santa Anita just made a major investment in a machine that can more easily detect injuries to that area without having to put a horse under anesthesia. The tone of the questioning was that Santa Anita is moving in the right direction and has a handle on the situation. Sign up for our horse racing newsletter Rick Baedeker, executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, said the joint investigation of the CHRB and L.A. County District Attorneys office is about two-thirds through the interviewing process. He also said, as he has in the past, that the actual cause of the breakdowns may never be known. Santa Anita was named last year to be this years host of the Breeders Cup. However, the rise in fatalities has made it a discussion point. Craig Fravel, president and chief executive of the Breeders Cup, lauded Santa Anita for its effort but quietly left the door open to a change when he said the track was scheduled to host the November event. State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), the co-chair, tried to hurry along the proceedings because of the late start, often asking the speakers to keep their prepared remarks short and at one point telling Alex Waldrop, president and chief executive of the National Thoroughbred Racing Assn., not to read his prepared slides. There were no questions for the last panel of speakers on the economic impact of racing in the state. There were two public comment speakers, both animal rights advocates. The current Santa Anita meet concludes June 23. Click here (or type in this url: lat.ms/2wVt90g) to sign up for our free horse racing newsletter. sports@latimes.com World War II buffs can trace the historic path taken by Gen. Douglas MacArthur at the conclusion of the war on a two-week Ponant East Asia cruise. The voyage, from Hong Kong to Osaka, Japan, marks MacArthurs trip to accept the Japanese surrender in 1945. Participants will be able to walk along Okinawas beaches, hike snow-capped Mt. Fuji and see the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima. Cruisers will also meet with survivors and their successors at the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima. World War II historian James Bradley will lead discussions on board. The cruise will be aboard the Ponant ship Le Laperouse, the first in the Ponant Explorer series, which includes an underwater lounge that allows passengers to see marine life outside the ship. Advertisement Dates: Sept. 27-Oct. 10 Price: From $8,110 per person, double occupancy. Includes accommodations, meals, excursions and transfers. International airfare not included. Info: Ponant travel@latimes.com @latimestravel Groveland, a historic Gold Rush town about 25 miles outside Yosemite National Parks westernmost entrance, is an ideal layover when visiting the park. The towns Main Street is lined with places to eat, drink, sleep and shop. Groveland also can be a base for exploring the California 120 corridor, including Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and lesser-known areas of Yosemite. The tab: Rooms at the Groveland Hotel this summer cost $199 to $325 per night; breakfast for a family of four at Priest Station Cafe costs $52. THE BED The Groveland Hotel (originally known as the Garrote Hotel) was built in 1849 and later housed workers building the dam at Hetch Hetchy. Today, the hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, caters to those visiting Yosemite. It has 18 guest rooms, wrap-around porches and outdoor patios. New owners took charge of the hotel in 2017 and remodeled it last year, changing its Victorian motif to sophisticated ranch decor. One room that kept its traditional style, however, is Lyles Room, named after an old miner who died here in 1927 and is thought to haunt it. THE MEAL Advertisement (Lou Spirito For The Times) The Groveland Hotel offers small bites in its downstairs bar, including a cheese panini ($9) and fermented veggies ($8). Next door is the Iron Door Saloon, whose sign proclaims its the oldest liquor-serving establishment in the state of California. Dining options in downtown Groveland includes Mexican food, hot dogs, pizza and an old-fashioned meat market and delicatessen. The Priest Station Cafe, three miles west in Big Oak Flat, offers sweeping views of the surrounding foothills. My wife and I ate hearty breakfast burritos with spinach and mushrooms while our kids enjoyed French toast, bacon and hash browns. Before driving into Yosemite, pick up a drink at Mountain Sage, a rustic coffeehouse that showcases stunning photography of the park. THE FIND Yosemite Valley isnt the only place in the park where waterfalls plummet over granite cliffs. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, hidden in Yosemites northwest corner, is the starting point for day hikes, including the 5-mile round-trip trek to Wapama Falls, and overnight backpacking trips. After parking and walking across OShaughnessy Dam, continue through a dimly lighted tunnel to the trailhead. Youll see far fewer crowds in this part of the park. In March, 1,119 vehicles passed through Yosemites Hetch Hetchy entrance. In contrast, the parks southern entrance on California 41 tallied 21,700 vehicles during the same period, according to the National Park Service. THE LESSON LEARNED Just because its not in Yosemite doesnt mean its not worth checking out. Visit Rainbow Pool, a picnic spot you can drive to between Groveland and Yosemite. Carlon Falls, off Evergreen Road, is on the way to Hetch Hetchy. The trail begins outside the park, but the waterfall is in Yosemite. This means you end up walking not driving into Yosemite. Groveland Hotel, 18767 Main St., Groveland; (209) 962-4000, groveland.com. Wheelchair accessible. Priest Station Cafe, 16756 Old Priest Grade, Big Oak Flat; (209) 962-1888, prieststation.com. Wheelchair accessible. Mountain Sage, 18653 Main St., Groveland; (209) 962-4686, bit.ly/mountainsageCA Yosemite National Park; (209) 372-0200, nps.gov/yose The route: From Taos, N.M., take U.S. 64 west to County Road CB-115/Upper Rim Road west, then New Mexico 567 west to U.S. 285 south in Carson. Turn left on Old Highway 285 to Ojo Caliente. Miles: About 40 miles. You can return to Taos, or head to Santa Fe, N.M., about 50 miles south. Best time: Summers and holiday weekends draw crowds; spring and fall are better. Why: Go for a drive through wide-open spaces under blue skies with mountains looming in the distance. The dry plain turns into forest; youll have the road to yourself for long stretches so roll down the windows and enjoy the ride. Advertisement Highlights: First up: the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge rest stop. Walk to a lookout spot on the steel arch bridge and take a selfie with the river 600 feet below. The self-sustaining buildings at Earthship Biotecture in New Mexico. (Irene Lechowitzky) Drive a mile past the Upper Rim Road turnoff to Earthship Biotecture and its mind-blowing sustainable construction. Halfway to your destination, take a hike in Carson National Forest. Hop from one pool to another at the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa to sample four kinds of natural mineral springs: iron, lithia, arsenic and soda. It just might cure what ails ya. Memorable stay: Rough it at the historic hotel at the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa. The rooms at the hotel, built in 1916, can feel a bit small and have half-bathrooms (no showers, youll bathe in the bathhouses). If thats not your thing, choose one of the newer, roomier suites or cottages. Lodging includes access to the pools. Road trip: In New Mexico, a volcano hike and Wild West history (Lou Spirito / For The Times) Memorable meal: The hotels Artesian Restaurant has a casual Old West vibe. The chicken pot pie was excellent as was the Ojo club wrap, club sandwich fixings rolled in a sun-dried tomato tortilla. Tourist trap or treat: The Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa is a treat with one trap: The weekends can be crowded and noisy, even in a spot filled with signs marking it as a quiet zone. Plan to spend: Its an easy day of exploring and spa-ing that can easily turn into a couple of days of soaking awayyour cares. In the late 1970s, Glendale preacher Gene Scotts broadcast network ran afoul of the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC began its investigation after accusations of financial mismanagement. Scotts refusal to turn over financial records led to the FCC shutting down his network, starting with KHOF-TV Channel 30. The dispute involved the licenses of KHOF-TV, a San Bernardino FM radio station, and TV stations in San Francisco and Hartford, Conn. Allan Parachini reported on the shutdown in the May 25, 1983, Los Angeles Times: A few seconds after 12 a.m. Tuesday, sitting alone in a small cubicle on a ridge in the San Gabriel Mountains, 5 1/2 miles north of Claremont, a man named Stan Lehman reached up, pushed a small green button and, with no audience to watch him, accomplished two things no one else has achieved in the United States in eight years. Lehman is a transmitter engineer for KHOF-TV Channel 30, the flagship station of the Faith Broadcasting Network, the television ministry of eccentric Glendale preacher Gene Scott. With the flick of the switch, Lehman turned off the transmitter, allowing KHOF-TV to become the first American television outlet to go dark since 1975. Lehman also became the only person ever to successfully interrupt Scotts often seemingly endless diatribe against the federal and state governments in general and the Federal Communications Commission in particular. Faced with an FCC order to shut down his Channel 30 flagship station, Scott elected to silence its signal 60 seconds before the FCC deadline. But the shutdown came only after the preacher, angry and defiant as ever, had ceremoniously beaten the heads of dozens of toy monkeys that served as his sort of voodoo dolls for bureaucrats and proclaimed that what almost anyone else might see as a major defeat was really a significant victory. This whole episode was just a blip in Scotts ministry. Only KHOF-TV was shut down. Scott continued broadcasting on his other radio and TV stations. As part of the shutdown, Scott exhorted his faithful to start calling him on the telephone and pledge money for the ministry Twelve seconds later (after the shutdown), every one of the 46 telephone operatorswas occupied with a call. Ten minutes later, he counted the pledges. The total was $1 million. Two years later, a July 21, 1985, Los Angeles Times story reported that Scott had put together a new network by buying time on some stations usually in the middle of the night selling satellite receiver dishes to his followers and persuading cable companies to run his programming 24 hours a day on closed circuit. The network now includes 18 over-the-air stations and cable outlets in 15 markets. And The Times reported Scotts broadcast brought strong ratings. In Reno, Scotts late-night share has been as high as 39%. Below are several additional images of Gene Scott from the Los Angeles Times archives. June 5, 1985: Gene Scott during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Scott Flynn / Los Angeles Times July 13, 1980: Gene Scott on the set of his religious show. He later changed the set to a more austere, plain look. Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times July 13, 1980: The exterior of Gene Scott's Faith Center church complex in Glendale. Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times July 13, 1980: Gene Scott sits in his lavish chair during his religious show broadcast from KHOF-TV studio in Glendale. Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times July 6, 1986: Church of the Open Door congregation in Los Angeles cheering Dr. Gene Scott. Lacy Atkins / Los Angeles Times Archive / UCLA July 6, 1986: Dr. Gene Scott on stage of Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles. Lacy Atkins / Los Angeles Times Archive / UCLA See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here Christopher Devereux believes anything can be made in China. In 2003, he came to Guangzhou to open ChinaSavvy, a British-owned firm that connects Western companies with Chinese factories to produce metal and plastic goods. For 16 years, ChinaSavvy supervised factories making everything from industrial rock crushers to Canon camera parts. But within three months of Donald Trumps election in 2016, ChinaSavvy had opened a new branch in Vietnam. Advertisement At that time there were no tariffs, but we thought it was a prudent step to take, said Devereux, the companys managing director and vice chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce. By the time the newest U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were enacted last week, Devereux had changed the companys name from ChinaSavvy to Omnidex, and now hes fielding calls from panicked clients wanting to shift their supply chains to Vietnam. The tit-for-tat trade war between Washington and Beijing is pushing some foreign manufacturers to move factories out of China not to the United States, despite President Trumps insistence that tariffs will bring back U.S. factory jobs, but to a second China, in Southeast Asia. Even Chinese firms, which were already leaving over other issues, are speeding up their exits and changing the face of Guangdong province, once the manufacturing capital of the world. The United States and China have been imposing or increasing customs taxes on each others goods for nearly a year while negotiating over business issues including intellectual property protection and foreign access to Chinese markets. On May 10, the U.S. raised existing tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. On May 13, China retaliated, raising tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods. A worker at the Everwin precision technology factory in Dongguan, in Chinas Guangdong province. (Aleksandar Plavevski / EPA/Shutterstock) Although tariffs end up mostly being paid by domestic consumers, they are affecting the supply chain. Low-end manufacturers, facing rising wages and increased labor and environmental controls, had already started leaving China to seek cheaper labor and looser regulations. Trumps tariffs are prompting them to move faster. Devereux said his American clients have been calling every other day, asking how quickly they can shift supply chains to Vietnam. Customers dont trust Trump, that hes not suddenly going to come up with more tariffs, Devereux said. So theyre looking for us to move products we manufacture that arent even covered by the tariffs at the moment, to be ready to move that to Vietnam. Its not just foreign companies shifting supply chains. Chinese companies are also moving to Vietnam, where they can avoid tariffs and pay one-third to half the minimum wage in Guangdong, he said. None of his clients have chosen to move production lines to the United States, Devereux said. You force businesses back to the United States, and you have a wage level thats five times, 10 times more, he said. How are you going to compete? Even if you keep on putting bigger and bigger tariffs, youve got to manufacture somewhere else. Trump pushing factories out of China doesnt create jobs for the U.S. factory worker, Devereux said. Effectively, he will create another mini-China in Vietnam, he said. And then I suppose hell put tariffs on those products. Workers churn out nursery products at the Wonderland company in Dongguan, China. (Aleksandar Plavevski / EPA/Shutterstock) Chinas factory province Guangdong province was once the heart of Chinas economic reform. It attracted waves of investors first from Hong Kong and Taiwan, then from farther abroad who turned small towns such as Dongguan into sprawling factory cities in the 1990s and 2000s. As China became the factory of the world, migrant workers from poorer, inland provinces flooded to Guangdong, accepting dire working conditions and dirt-cheap wages that were still higher than anything they could get at home. Migrants would line up overnight for factory jobs. Twenty years later, Guangdong has transformed. Rising affluence has raised wages and empowered workers to demand better labor protections. Millennials want freedom and meaning in their choice of work, not 18-hour days in a factory. Chinese millennials are rejecting dull factory jobs and transforming the economy The trade war gives China a chance to rise up, said Kate Liang, president of Guangdong ABLinox Sanitaryware Co., which makes stainless steel kitchen and bathroom fittings in Zhaoqing, a quiet city about an hours drive from Guangzhou. When the Trump administration began imposing tariffs, Liang said, she started reading philosophy books to help her strategize. A book about West Point leadership strategy lay on her desk. Its survival of the fittest, she said, invoking her favorite theorist, Charles Darwin. If the environment is harsh, maybe a lot will die. But those who live on will be the best. In Guangdongs factory boom, in the early 2000s, she said, business was good, but there was low quality, zero process. As trade war escalates, Chinese remember national humiliation As cheap mass production gets squeezed out of China, she hopes higher-quality companies will remain. It affects those who are low-end, lower quality, wasteful bad energy use, bad for the environment those working purely for money, she said. Many of Liangs competitors have moved to Vietnam since wages increased in China. But she decided to stay and upgrade her company. After 10 years, the salary for Vietnam will increase. Everything will increase, and then they need to go away again, Liang said. If you move, its good for the Vietnamese economy but not for the industry, because there are no breakthroughs. Youre just walking the same road again, wasting the same resources, time and earth. U.S. customers make up 20% of Liangs market, and she wants to expand there. But if tariffs continue, she said, shed focus on China and other markets. My market exists, whether you buy or not, Liang said. Everyone is anxious Those who rely on U.S.-China trade for a living are not so confident. Charles Fung, deputy general manager of Great Supply Chain Management, a logistics company in Dongguan that makes shipping and customs arrangements for U.S. buyers of Chinese goods, said the new tariffs were a shock. The U.S.-China trade war just got a lot worse. And theres no quick fix for relations We exporters are directly affected, especially people like me who only work on America, Fung said. We really hope this will be solved in the next few months. But were not sure how Trump is thinking, so everyone is anxious. As U.S.-China trade talks continue, Fung said he is also watching negotiations between shippers and buyers. Theoretically, U.S. consumers pay the tariffs on Chinese goods. But buyers have negotiating power, and many Chinese factories split the cost of taxes with their American buyers. Trumps taxes are not just added on to Americans, Fung said. When tariff levels were at 10%, many Chinese factories split the taxes with their American buyers, he said. Fifty percent of 10% taxes was a lot. But they just did it, because this was the only way. But a 25% level, he said, would be harder to bear. So many people are saying fight, fight, kill, kill, Fung said, referring to nationalistic comments in Chinese media about resisting U.S. pressure. But a lot of us here are living off of the U.S.-China relationship. We survive on this, especially here in the worlds manufacturing center. Many other Dongguan agents who once worked on U.S.-China shipping have now shifted to work on the China-Vietnam line, Fung said. Fung, however, has invested decades into building relationships with agents in L.A., Chicago, Seattle and New York. Hes specialized in the American system and doesnt want to change fields. But hes thinking about it. I really hope itll get better, so that the U.S. and China both benefit. Im sure American consumers hope that too, Fung said. If they dont work together anymore, well be living off nothing but air. The world-changing technology of the last 40 years has been spun from the strands of supply chains crisscrossing the Pacific. But that system is at risk of fraying after the Trump administrations decision to blacklist Huawei, Chinas largest telecommunications firm and smartphone manufacturer, from doing business in the U.S. or with U.S. suppliers. The consequences could soon be felt by companies and consumers on both sides of the trade war. Chip and memory manufacturers such as Intel, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Western Digital and Micron have reportedly cut ties, and Google announced that it would stop licensing its crucial Android smartphone operating system to the Chinese company. With the Trump administration reportedly considering additional bans on five major Chinese surveillance technology firms, including Megvii and Hikvision, tensions are only rising. Advertisement If China chooses to retaliate by restricting Chinese firms from serving U.S. customers or buying from American suppliers, then the intricate supply chain built over decades could break under the strain, forcing companies to scramble for alternatives. Such a split would undoubtedly shake global markets, though consequences would be more severe for some companies than others, depending on their position along the supply chain. At the center, caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China battle will be the semiconductor [manufacturers] as well as Apple, said Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities. Apple is the poster child for the trade wars, with semiconductor names such as Micron, Skyworks, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm potentially having a target on their backs. Who is Ren Zhengfei -- the man behind Huawei? The component crunch Businesses that assemble and produce components for consumer electronics companies such as Huawei, Foxconn, Qualcomm, ZTE and Broadcom stand to lose the most if shipments of the vital parts needed to assemble products are cut off or made vastly more expensive by tariffs. Chip manufacturers in the U.S. have provided an early window into the disruption caused by a ban on supplying Huawei, a company the Trump administration accuses of spying for the Chinese government. Out of the $70 billion that Huawei spent on components in 2018, $11 billion went to U.S. companies. Data from Bloomberg Supply Chain shows that the small chip manufacturer NeoPhotonics is the most at risk, with 49% of its revenue coming from Huawei. But some of the largest chip houses are also significantly exposed. In 2018, Huawei sales made up 13% of Microns $30 billion and 5% of Broadcoms $20 billion revenues. Stock prices for those chipmakers have all experienced dips since the Trump administrations move Friday. Cutting to Apples core Retail hardware brands such as Apple would lose sales if iced out of the worlds largest country, but the bigger risk is manufacturing. Finding viable manufacturers for consumer devices outside of the Chinese firms such companies rely on could take years. But they would at least have the option of passing rising costs down to customers to buoy their bottom lines as they reshape their supply chains. But if the Chinese government takes the step of blacklisting Apple, which has the countrys largest smartphone market share of any non-Chinese company, it would deliver a serious blow to the companys business. Earlier this year, Chief Executive Tim Cook blamed Apples disappointing earnings numbers on a weaker Chinese economy, which it had looked to for growth outside of the saturated American market. Losing access to the Chinese market entirely would cut Apples overall revenues by 20%. But thats assuming that Apple still has smartphones to sell after being banned from China. The components for the companys devices come from all over the world gyroscopes from France, memory from Japan and Taiwan, Gorilla Glass for the touchscreens from Kentucky. But the vast majority are assembled in Foxconns factory complex in Shenzhen, China. Apples stock has dipped 13% this month in response to the rising trade tensions. But with $245 billion in cash on hand as of January equivalent to an entire years revenue the Cupertino, Calif., company has the resources to survive most crises, and Foxconn has been reported to be considering opening an iPhone facility in Vietnam in order to sidestep a trade war. A soft landing for software Smartphone software makers like Google stand to lose a chunk of their revenues if Chinese phone makers such as Huawei cant license their operating systems and apps. But Silicon Valleys software companies may be techs least exposed to the risks of a possible decoupling, since many American apps and websites have been banned in China for years. Googles decision to pull Android from new Huawei devices a move delayed for 90 days after the U.S. Commerce Departments decision to issue a temporary reprieve doesnt represent much of a financial sacrifice for the company. Googles core business is advertising, with its search, email, content, artificial intelligence and operating system products all feeding back into the basic mission of amassing user data and using it to sell more effective ads to companies. So for years, Google has offered its Android operating system to smartphone manufacturers such as Huawei for free. In some markets, Google profits by making money selling ads to the users of those phones, gleaning data through its browsers and search technology, and selling apps through its Google Play store. In mainland China, Huawei devices running Android block Googles search and Play store because of Beijings policy restricting open access to the internet. Huawei devices have been making inroads in the European market, where Google search and Play are available, but European revenues for Google Play are minuscule compared to U.S., Japanese, and South Korean markets. About 70% of Google Play revenue comes from markets where Huawei has a total market share of less than 4%, said Randy Nelson, head of mobile insights at research firm Sensor Tower. I feel like that puts the potential Google Play revenue impact of losing their Android license into perspective. We have prepared Huawei, the second-largest smartphone manufacturer after Samsung, is dependent on U.S. components and Android software for its devices. The loss of American suppliers is likely to massively disrupt the companys business and hamper any plans to expand beyond China. But the companys chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, is downplaying the risk, saying that the company was prepared for U.S. sanctions, having stockpiled components to weather several months of supply disruption. We always need U.S.-developed chipsets, and we cant exclude American products with a narrow mind, Zhengfei said in a televised interview with Chinese media. But he added that Huawei is working to develop its own chips and software to reduce its dependence on American products. Even if there is an insufficient supply from our partners, we will face no problems, he said. david.pierson@latimes.com | Follow me @dhpierson British politicians agree on precious little these days. But on one matter, theres near-unanimity across the spectrum: Theresa Mays days as prime minister are numbered. The political deathwatch comes against the backdrop of Britons vote Thursday for the European Parliament balloting that would not have taken place if the country had left the European Union as scheduled nearly two months ago. The newly constituted Brexit party which, as its name suggests, is devoted to getting Britain out of the EU as soon as possible was expected to triumph, although results will not be announced until Sunday, when all 28 nations in the bloc have finished voting. In the meantime, May was being treated, even by senior members of her own party, as a pariah. Speculation about the prime ministers likely ouster reached fever pitch as fellow Conservatives publicly excoriated her fourth and latest proposal setting terms for Britains departure from the EU, as approved by voters in the Brexit referendum in June 2016. Advertisement An important Cabinet member, Andrea Leadsom, quit late Wednesday the 36th such ministerial departure since May took office nearly three years ago expressing a lack of confidence in the governments approach. When the prime minister made a visit to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, news reports portrayed her regularly scheduled audience with the queen as a grim milestone. A BBC report in funereal tones suggesting that May, like some luckless historical figure, was about to be whisked away to the Tower of London for the coup de grace declared it would probably be one of her last trips through the palace gates. In another ominous portent, a key party committee on Wednesday held a secret ballot without publicly disclosing the results over whether to change party rules to allow an early vote of confidence in the prime minister. May won the last one, in December, and under party rules, another was not supposed to occur for 12 months. Thursdays headlines were predictably savage. May set to go after Brexit fiasco, said the Sun tabloid. May hides away as Cabinet bangs on No. 10 door, the Evening Standard declared on its front page, referring to reports that the prime minister had ducked meetings with alarmed senior aides. Mays foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said Thursday that the prime minister would still be in office June 3, when President Trump pays a visit. That could be a mixed blessing, as the U.S. presidents visits are traditionally bruising affairs for the prime minister. On past trips, Trump has enthusiastically praised Mays political opponents and suggested that Brexit would have gone off smoothly if May had taken his negotiating advice. Its been clear for many months, as Mays proposed Brexit deals were serially rejected by Parliament, that her grip on power has waned. In April 2017, she called early elections meant to bolster her strength but instead lost badly and maintained her parliamentary majority only by teaming up with a Northern Irish party whose complicated Brexit aims diminished her ability to strike a compromise. When she fought off a party leadership challenge in December, May had to promise that she would not be leading the Conservative Party in elections set for 2022. Only a month after that, May suffered one of the worst parliamentary defeats of modern times when lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected the Brexit withdrawal agreement she had struck with European Union leaders, throwing the whole process into disarray. In a bid to stave off ouster, May has moved up her own projected departure date. In March, she promised to quit before the next phase of Brexit negotiations begin. Its unclear when that will be, but the current target date for splitting with the EU is the end of October. Last week, May dangled the promise of departing within weeks, after her current withdrawal plan gets a second parliamentary reading. But the government on Thursday put off planned publication of the legislation until June 3 yet another sign that there was no support for it. On Thursday, May met with Hunt and her home secretary, Sajid Javid, seemingly trying to project willingness to address her Cabinet colleagues concerns about her political future and the viability of her Brexit plan. Then she went to her home constituency to cast a ballot in the EU vote, but she said nothing publicly. The next inflection point could be Friday, when May is to meet with Sir Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee, a powerful Conservative political body that in the past has let prime ministers know that the time has come to go. A rare show of support came from a fellow Conservative politician, Margot James, who suggested May was being hounded out of office because of Parliaments failure to find common ground on how and when to carry out Brexit. But even she seemed to bow to the inevitable. In the end, she said, theres got to be a compromise. Special correspondent Boyle reported from London and staff writer King from Washington. The 10-minute segment that ran on Chinese state television this week showed cadet trainees of the Peoples Liberation Army scrambling over towering walls, dragging enormous tires, crawling through mud and shouting motivational slogans as President Xi Jinping exhorted the academy to be ready to fight and win a modern war. The trade war with the United States went unmentioned. But the message was clear: Beijing is ready not only for a protracted battle over trade but also for what could be a much larger geopolitical struggle. Chinese media coverage of the trade war turned sharply nationalistic over the last week. References to national dignity and the willingness of the Chinese people to suffer any burden in the confrontation with the U.S. underscore how bad the situation has become. Advertisement Some analysts have warned that a Cold War 2.0 has already started in the wake of the break in U.S.-China trade talks this month and Washingtons moves to hike tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods to 25% from 10% and ban U.S. suppliers from selling to Chinese tech giant Huawei without government permission. Huawei, the worlds biggest telecommunications manufacturer, is dependent on U.S. chips and software. A U.S. Department of Commerce decision Tuesday to allow component sales until Aug. 19 was seen less as a reprieve for Huawei than as a cushion for American companies that do business with Huawei. The province that Xi toured this week Jiangxi carries potent symbolism in China: It was the starting point for the Red Armys Long March in 1934, a storied odyssey in the history of the Communist Party, leading to the ascent of Mao Tse-tung, and is often used in propaganda to urge Chinese people to show grit and endurance. We are now embarking on a new Long March, and we must start all over again, President Xi Jinping, shown on video screen, said in a recent speech. (How Hwee Young / EPA/Shutterstock) Xi told the cadets and their officers that China was facing a new Long March, signaling that Chinese authorities are preparing for a protracted trade war and increasing military and geopolitical rivalry between the worlds two largest economies. We are now embarking on a new Long March, and we must start all over again, he said to rapturous applause. A day earlier, Xi visited a firm that produces rare earth elements, which are crucial in high-tech manufacturing, provoking speculation that China, the worlds dominant source, could ban their export to the U.S. should the trade war worsen. Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Peoples University in Beijing, wrote this month on the state-owned news website Guancha that a ban would give Chinese chip makers the chance to catch up and compete with American ones and have dire consequences for U.S. markets. Once the high-end chips in the United States are finished, Wall Street will be finished, he wrote. Another threat in an all-out trade war is that U.S. companies such as Apple could face nationalist boycotts. Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-owned Global Times, tweeted Monday that he had switched from an iPhone to a Huawei phone because Huawei is being unreasonably suppressed by the U.S. government and I wish to support Huawei. Chinese state media coverage of the trade war, which began in July when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods, had long been restrained in its criticism of the United States in hopes of not aggravating the fraying relationship. That is no longer the case. Last weekend Chinese state television changed its regular programming and aired three anti-American movies about Chinese victory over the U.S. in the Korean War. A Huawei store in Shanghai. (Hector Retamal / AFP/Getty Images) The state-owned Peoples Daily warned Monday that U.S. actions threatened to return the relationship between the two countries to a barbaric era. An editorial Tuesday by the state-run New China News Agency said that the United States has been using trade bullying, the logic of gangsters and the law of the jungle and that Washington had disgraced itself internationally. A front-page editorial in the Peoples Daily last week said the Chinese people were at one in their conviction to protect the interests of our people and the dignity of the nation. Bill Bishop, an American who authors the Sinocism newsletter, which offers political analysis of China, wrote this week that he could not remember feeling so pessimistic about U.S.-China relations. If I were still living in China with my family, I would be far along with my exit plan and ready to execute it at very short notice, Bishop tweeted Sunday. The U.S.-China trajectory is clear and looks like there is now much more sudden, downside risk than there was even a month ago. What remains murky is the Trump administrations objective in dramatically upping the ante with its action against Huawei. Is it a negotiating tactic aimed at securing a deal that would see America continue to engage economically with China from a more advantageous position? Or does it signal determination in Washington to decouple the U.S. economy from Chinas and hinder Chinas inexorable rise? Either way, analysts said, the risk is a new cold war. The next chance to escape the dangerous spiral will come next month at a meeting between Trump and Xi at the Group of 20 summit in Japan. In the meantime, the situation continues to deteriorate, with recent warnings from the U.S. that Chinese drone companies pose a security threat and new reports Wednesday that the U.S. may now target Chinese digital surveillance companies such as Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology. Analysts have been warning for months of a risk that the trade war may herald a severe deterioration in relations. Henry M. Paulson, the former Treasury secretary, warned in a February speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that the intensifying geopolitical rivalry between the U.S. and China could result in an economic iron curtain dividing the world. National security concerns are now bleeding into virtually every aspect of our economic relationship, he said. He added, And against that backdrop, we must look warily at the prospect that what, until now, has been a healthy strategic competition could head in directions that tip us into a full-blown cold war. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored an overwhelming reelection victory on Thursday, winning a second five-year mandate while fighting off concerns about rising unemployment and his divisive Hindu nationalist policies. Results released by Indias Election Commission late Thursday showed Modis Bharatiya Janata Party winning in more than 300 of 542 parliamentary races and parties allied with the BJP leading in dozens more, with some votes still to be counted. A total of 272 seats are needed to secure a majority and select the prime minister. That tally, if confirmed, would represent one of the biggest landslides in Indian history, besting the absolute majority that the BJP won five years ago and surpassing even the most optimistic projections of many of Modis partisans. The result showed that Modis naked appeals to patriotism and his partys frequent scapegoating of minorities, especially Muslims, resonated with Indians who believe that he has made Hindu majority India stronger and safer. Advertisement His message gained momentum after a terrorist attack against Indian forces in February triggered a brief military skirmish with rival Pakistan and raised the specter of an all-out war. This election was fought not by politicians but by the people of this country and its the people of this country who have emerged victorious, Modi told a raucous rally at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, where supporters braved a driving rainstorm to sing and dance in the streets. + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Modis chief opposition, the Indian National Congress, was on track to win barely 50 seats, the second consecutive dismal showing in a national election for what was once Indias most powerful political party. The oppositions disarray stood in stark contrast to the BJPs massive fundraising advantage and the larger-than-life persona of the 68-year-old Modi, the most popular Indian leader in decades. Led by Modis chief political strategist, BJP President Amit Shah, the party waged what many critics described as a campaign of fear. Modi and other party leaders frequently portrayed the political opposition as being in league with Muslim majority Pakistan, and called on voters to honor soldiers who died in the February attack by supporting the BJP. Modi and Amit Shah ran perhaps the most polarizing campaign in Indian history, an acknowledgement that they didnt think their policy record was adequate, said Irfan Nooruddin, director of the Georgetown India Initiative at Georgetown University. Their tactics showed a willingness to pander to the most extreme elements of the Hindu right wing, Nooruddin said. A big win this week will be interpreted as vindication of this strategy, and, minimally, that there was no cost to the polarization caused over the past five years. Exit polls released this week had indicated that Modi would win comfortably in what has been described as the largest democratic exercise ever held, with 900 million eligible voters. But few expected the BJP to do better than it did when Modi stormed to power in 2014, when the once-moribund party won 282 seats out of 543, a rare single-party majority in a vast, fractious country most often ruled by coalition governments. Modis second five-year term will be the age of the BJPs expansion, Shah said. In office, Modi cast himself as a self-denying, uncorrupted leader bent on developing India by creating manufacturing jobs, empowering women, installing toilets and boosting the digital economy. But his controversial 2016 decision to eliminate most of the cash in circulation billed as an anti-corruption measure kneecapped small businesses and worsened distress among a giant working class that transacts mainly in hard currency. While Indias economy continued to grow at a respectable annual rate of at least 6%, rising unemployment showed Modi had failed to meet his sweeping promises of providing jobs for the millions of educated young people entering the workforce every year. Modi ... ran perhaps the most polarizing campaign in Indian history. Irfan Nooruddin, Georgetown University professor The economic distress in India is very real, but Modi managed to make this an election about leadership by transforming a parliamentary contest into a presidential one, much like he did in 2014, said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. As his economic record came into question, Modis government turned to darker political appeals to attract support from Hindu voters, who make up nearly 80% of the countrys 1.3 billion people. Indias constitution enshrines religious freedom, and for most of the seven decades since independence from Britain, the country has been led by the secular Congress party. But as religious nationalism rises across the globe, Modi has edged India closer to the BJPs long-standing vision of a Hindu nation. In the last five years, religious minorities, especially Muslims, have faced mob attacks from Hindu vigilante groups emboldened and in some cases directly supported by BJP politicians. On the campaign trail, Modi used the term secular as an epithet and lampooned Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, whose great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was Indias first prime minister, as a scion of a dynasty out of touch with mainstream Indians. Shah, the BJP president, pledged to institute a controversial citizenship verification process nationwide and remove every single infiltrator from the country except Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs a clear threat to Muslims, the largest religious minority. The BJP also ran a parliamentary candidate, Pragya Singh Thakur, who has been indicted in connection with a terrorist attack that killed six people near a mosque in western India in 2008. In a campaign appearance, Thakur called independence leader Mahatma Gandhis assassin a patriot an apparent reference to Gandhis policies of inclusion toward Muslims. Modi spoke out against Thakurs remark, calling it unforgivable but only after voting in her central Indian constituency had ended. She was also poised to win her seat. Modis victory also reflected the success of BJPs relentless social media machine which helped him win fawning domestic media coverage despite having not held a news conference in India in five years and an expansive network of campaign workers in the field. People are not making up their opinions in a vacuum. They are constantly being visited, approached and contacted by members of the party organization, said Neelanjan Sircar, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi. In the end, Sircar said, the BJPs tireless campaigning and media strategy carried more weight with voters than economic woes. One of the big lessons for the government will be perhaps to not have to focus on macroeconomic stability and health because they may not have the kind of electoral impact that we once thought. Special correspondent Malhotra reported from New Delhi and Times staff writer Bengali from Singapore. - Over 100 suspected homeless people have been evacuated from the Redemption Camp - The destitute comprised couples with their young children, middle-aged men and women as well as the elderly - The evacuation was carried out by policemen and security personnel of the Redeemed Christian Church of God A report by New Telegraph indicates that over 100 suspected homeless people have been evacuated from the Redemption Camp on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. According to the report, the evacuation was carried out by policemen and security personnel of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). The destitute comprising of couples with their young children, middle-aged men and women as well as the elderly were said to have been dumped at different locations in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital. It was learnt that policemen and RCCG security personnel raided the worship ground in the early hours of Wednesday, May 22 and apprehended the victims. The security agents were said to have bundled the destitute into waiting vehicles and drove them to Abeokuta under the cover of the night. The sight of the destitute at Oke-Sokori, Kuto and Iyana Mortuary areas of Abeokuta sparked tension among residents. READ ALSO: Boy finds his way back home after 6 years of being kidnapped in Kano to assist beggars in Lagos Rumours that some of the victims might have been used for money rituals also spread like wildfire, even as angry residents rained curses on those responsible for their plight. Some of the destitute, who claimed to have spent between six months and one year at the Redemption Camp, accused the church authorities of victimisation. The victims explained that the RCCG security operatives with policemen indiscriminately rounded them up during vigil service midnight on Tuesday, May 21 and threw them into waiting vehicles which eventually took them to Abeokuta. A 38-year-old businessman, who is one of the victims, Emmanuel Obi, explained that he was at the Redemption Camp for the Holy Ghost Service, where he left his wife and headed to Lagos state to buy some goods. Obi, who hails from Nnewi north local government area of Anambra state, said when he returned, he learnt that his wife and six-month-old baby had been raided and kept in police custody within the camp, hence, his decision to join them. Another victim, Priscilla Okonkwo, said she came to the camp from Ajangbadi in Lagos state because of her accommodation challenges. The 42-year-old native of Abia state, lamented her eviction from the church premises. But when contacted on the telephone, the head of media, RCCG, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, absolved the church of any blame. Olubiyi denied the allegation that the church forcibly ejected the destitute from its premises, explaining that what the church did was simply to purge the camp of miscreants and others with criminal tendencies. His words: We have a system through which we screen those who genuinely come for prayers. We also have an approved way of taking care of the destitute in the church of God. Whenever anyone comes for prayer, we do ensure that we properly document their data in our register to prevent criminal situations. But those ones you see illegally found their ways into the church. Some of them were screened for the purpose of knowing their challenges and those with genuine accommodation problems were assisted. But you will discover that they change their addresses and still return to the church. READ ALSO: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie bags 2 doctorates back to back from 2 US universities Meanwhile, Nigeria police operatives on Tuesday, May 21 arrested Alhaji Musa Imam, the man who raised an alarm in Kaduna state that resulted in the death of three persons on the same day. Imam was trailed by three of his friends who stood as surety for him in Lagos after he jumped bail. His scream attracted a mob who lynched the driver of the vehicle conveying three men while the two others ran to a nearby fuel station until they were rescued by policemen. In the process of trying to get the men out from the scene, security agents shot three other persons. Stay with Legit and keep track of the latest news in Nigeria! Top 3 Nigerian Mega-Churches: Which Are The Most Popular? | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has shown fears that Nigeria may slide into another recession if measures are notput in place to combat the high rate of unemployment and other economic crisis. Emefiele said this on Wednesday, May 22, at the University of Benin, while delivering a lecture titled: Beyond the Global Financial Crisis: Monetary Policy Under Global Uncertainty, Daily Trust reports. According to him, monetary and fiscal policy authority must be ready to challenge the situation and begin to think of what can be done to tackle the the situation. READ ALSO: Atiku vs Buhari: Live updates from presidential election tribunal The CBN governor said: From some of my concluding remarks, you may have observed whether you like it or not, there is global uncertainty that will unfortunately most certainly, lead to another crisis. The question could be, how are we, as Nigerians, particularly our leaders, I am talking of Monetary and Fiscal Policy Authority, how are we preparing our country for the next set of crisis? "We have luckily exited recession. We have seen recession pending downward to about 18.72 percent in 2017 to about 11. 37% today. "We see reserve moving up, exchange rate stabilizing but unfortunately, we still have issue and those issues bother on unemployment rate. He also assured that the apex bank will continue to take active approach to reduce the likely adverse effects that may emanate from external headwinds. READ ALSO: Zamfara Assembly passes bill for creation of additional emirate council Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Emefiele identified poverty and unemployment as the country's major problem. The CBN governor spoke in Lokoja, during a three day sensitisation seminar for bank customers tagged CBN Fair. Represented by the assistant director, corporate communications department of the CBN, Emefiele said the CBN under his leadership has been re-positioned to be highly professional, people-focused, apolitical. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better Most Nigerians dream of spending their next birthday abroad | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - The federal government says it will create more than four million jobs through oil palm production - The government says it is working towards ensuring the repositioning of the Oil Palm sector for optimal contribution in terms of job creation - Officials say the final National Policy Document on Palm Oil value chain in Nigeria would allow producers to complete globally The federal government says it will create more than four million jobs through oil palm production in the country. Sunday Akpan, permanent secretary, federal ministry of industry, trade and investment said this in a statement signed by Sorinolu Olayinka, senior information officer in the ministry in Abuja on Wednesday, May 22. Akpan, who was represented by the director, department of commodity produce and inspectorate (CPI), Mrs Omololu Ope-Ewe, said this during the presentation of the draft Oil Palm Policy document value chain. He said that federal government was working towards ensuring the repositioning of the Oil Palm sector for optimal contribution in terms of job creation and revenue sources for both government and the private sector. READ ALSO: Massive recruitment talk in Bauchi is a lie - Governor Abubakar Akpan said that oil palm which once played a predominant role in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, depended on imported ones to augment local production. He said the local production was just about one per cent GDP, unlike the contribution of 70 per cent GDP in the past. Akpan said that potentiality in the sector with the propensity to sufficiently and conveniently to place the country as a major oil palm producer and exporter, as against what is obtainable in the crude oil sector. The essence of the national oil palm policy is to guide, regulate, protect and support both public and private investment in the sector, he added. He charged stakeholders to put aside personal and organisational interest and consider the draft policy document bearing in mind the impact it would create on the economy. Akpan said that with the policy in place, the country would have a national document that would protect the sector, while due diligence would be done to stimulate investment for higher productivity. He assured all stakeholders of governments support for a robust oil palm industry that would be of immensed benefit for all, which upon completion, the document would be forwarded to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval. Earlier, in her presentation of the draft policy document, Mrs Funmi Ilamah of the Management Strategy Advisory Ltd., said the policy document was very important to the producers of the crude palm oil. Ilamah said that the policy remained a fundamental step toward strengthening and supporting the development of agriculture in Nigeria as presently introduced by the current administration and the private sector. She said that the final National Policy Document on Palm Oil value chain in Nigeria would allow producers to complete globally in the international market. According to her, the policy will ncrease the sources of revenue to government at state and federal levels and boost job creation in the country. READ ALSO: Kogi workers to Gov Bello: You owe us 39-month salary arrears Meanwhile, the executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello has revealed that about 24,000 direct jobs would be created when the Kaduna Dry Port links to Niger Republic and Chad. Bello stated this at the flag-off of the Cargo delivery by rail to the Kaduna Dry Inland Ports in Kaduna. According to him, about 24,000 direct jobs would be created from this project, if we are able to connect Niger Republic and Chad to use the port as destination port for their cargo, it would have a multiplier effect for Kaduna and its environs. Stay with Legit and keep track of the latest news in Nigeria! Nigeria Latest News: The Abuja Metro is West Africa's First Light Rail Network | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng BOSTON (AP) Celebrity chef Mario Batali is facing a criminal charge on allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. Batali, who recently gave up financial stakes in all his restaurants, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of indecent assault and battery, a spokeswoman for Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said. Its the first criminal charge against Batali resulting from several sexual harassment and assault allegations that have crippled his career. A criminal complaint filed last month says the woman told police that Batali noticed her taking a picture of him at the restaurant and offered to take a selfie with her, The Boston Globe reported . The woman says Batali then grabbed her chest, kissed her face and touched her groin without her consent. A Monroe County man is accused of smothering his infant son after threatening to kill the baby and another child over missing drugs, Pennsylvania State Police said. Christian Tuliszewski and Samantha DeFrancesca, both 24, were already facing child endangerment charges following the May 6, 2018, death of their 6-month-old son Brady. But after a year-long investigation, Tuliszewski is now accused of killing the baby and DeFrancesca accused of not protecting the boy, after Tuliszewski allegedly made repeated threats to harm the baby and another child. Tuliszewski is charged with homicide and DeFrancesca with third-degree murder in the boys death. They are each charged with two counts of child endangerment and single counts of conspiracy to hinder prosecution and possession of a controlled substance. Tuliszewski is also charged with tampering with evidence, for deleting text messages he sent DeFrancesca about their drug use after troopers found drug paraphernalia in their home, state police said. Tuliszewski is now being held without bail, while DeFrancesca is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. The couple were using heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in the days and hours before Brady was found blue and not responding by his mother at 11:28 a.m. May 6 in their Chestnuthill Township apartment, troopers said. The baby was taken by ambulance to the St. Lukes Hospital in Stroud Township, and a doctor noted a cut on the babys chin and a cut on the inside of his lip, near two emerging teeth, state police said. A doctor said Brady had been dead for several hours, and he was pronounced dead at 12:27 p.m. May 6. An autopsy determined the infant died from blunt force trauma, and his injuries included faint bruising on the left side of his face, cuts on his chin and inside of his lip, and mild brain edema. Multiple injuries that had not healed were also discovered, and a forensic pathologist determined an additional investigation would be required. DeFrancesca initially told police she fed and bathed the baby the night before, and she then went to bed because she didnt feel well, according to court papers. The mother and other witnesses said the baby woke up crying between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., and she told troopers Tuliszewski got up and gave the baby a bottle. When DeFrancesca woke up about 11 a.m., she went to the bathroom and checked on the baby, then called 911, state police said. Troopers said Tuliszewski initially told them he got up at 5 a.m. to give the baby a bottle, and that it was DeFrancesca who got up a few hours later, but that in subsequent interviews his version of events changed. Tuliszewski said he believed the baby suffocated on a blanket. Tuliszewski reportedly said there were no drugs in the apartment and he had not used drugs for several years, but in a later interview he allegedly told troopers he woke up at 7 a.m. May 6 and snorted two bags of heroin, but did not check on the baby. The couple used heroin the previous day, and smoked marijuana the night before, according to state police, and DeFrancesca eventually told troopers she snorted heroin and smoked meth before checking on the baby the morning of May 6. Troopers found empty wax baggies in the room where the baby slept and in the bathroom, and glass smoking pipes in the apartment. Investigators said in April and May the couple discussed drugs and argued about them via text messages, and that five days before Brady died an enraged Tuliszewski threatened to kill the baby and another child after drugs went missing. Hours before the baby was discovered, the couple argued about Tuliszewski taking money from DeFrancescas account to buy meth, and that he also bought bud, troopers said. DeFrancesca allegedly responded that she needed to roll one right away. In earlier text messages, Tuliszewski allegedly threatened to starve the baby and another child, texting Bradys not eating and bleeding even more from nose and chin. He can suffer IDGAF. Later, Tuliszewski allegedly sent a picture of a cut cord on a curling iron and message that DeFrancescas makeup was next, troopers said. Two days later, DeFrancesca texted him because his mother found the kids home alone, troopers said. On May 1, Tuliszewski allegedly sent a series of texts to DeFrancesca after he could not find drugs that were hidden. Neither of them are eating now (expletive) ... Ill suffocate him if I dont get my (expletive) IDGAF, the texts said, and then later, If I stay here any longer your kids throats would be cut. Tuliszewski allegedly went on to say he would leave the kids alone so he can smoke. Later that day, Tuliszewski allegedly texted DeFrancesca that the other child dropped his cellphone while he was smoking, and shattered the screen. Wait till you see Im so close to beating her ass until its purple But I wont because I wont stop thats how mad I am at her, the texts said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Lafayette College will lease the land for its new dorms to private companies, who will build and operate the dorms. The news was unveiled Thursday in a note to members of the Easton college community, according to Lafayette Vice President of Communications Mark Eyerly. By leasing the land to Radnor Property Group and Harrison Street, the college reserves debt capacity for other projects, according to the note penned by Roger Demareski, the colleges vice president of finance and administration. Bringing in outside companies to build, own and operate dorms is a model that is becoming increasingly popular on college campuses, Demareski wrote. Work on the McCartney Street dormitories will start this month, the note says. The dorms are slated to open in fall 2020, it says. The block of homes between March and High streets was leveled in February to make way for the dorms. The dorms will house 165 students on the second, third, and fourth floors. A first-floor diner and bookstore will be open to students, faculty, staff and the public. The old bookstore in the Farinon College Center will be converted to space for student support functions and activities. The community fought the dorm plans for more than two years. A settlement reached in November 2018 calls for the preservation of a historic home slated for demolition, the formation of a committee to strengthen college-community bonds and the creation of an annual scholarship for one Easton Area High School senior. The dorms are part of an expansion plan aimed at making the schools admissions process need blind." By raising the enrollment from 2,500 to 2,900 students, the school will raise enough revenue to provide financial aid to any academically-qualified candidate. The note to the community says Radnor Property Group has similar partnerships for dorms at Duquesne University, Drexel University, Bucknell University and Franklin & Marshall College. Lafayette controls the design of the building and will assign student rooms, direct dorm programming and oversee all the residential advisors. Students will lease their rooms directly from the developer. Radnor and Harrison Street hired Capstone On-Campus Management to maintain the property once it opens. That company exclusively manages on-campus communities and currently works on 40 college and university campuses across the country, including campuses in Raleigh, N.C., Gainesville, Fla., and Austin, Texas, the community note says. Even though Lafayette College is a nonprofit corporation, the college has agreed to pay real estate taxes on the dorm project. Students who live in the dorms must park on campus and wont be eligible for city parking permits. The college will fund the salary of one parking enforcement officer employed by the city. According to Lafayette, Radnor is a leading real estate development company with a specialty in mixed-use commercial, student and multi-family housing. Harrison Street is one of the largest alternative real asset investment firms dedicated to the education, healthcare and storage sectors, according to Lafayette. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Laois gardai have been given two months to investigate whether or not 10,000 in cash seized from an unemployed man is the proceeds of crime. At last week's sitting of Portlaoise District Court, the State made an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act against Michael OConnor (19), Riverview, Scarawalsh, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Detective Garda JP OBrien gave evidence that on May 12 this year, at a location in Borris in Ossory, he seized and detained cash to the value of 10,100 which was under the control of Mr OConnor. He said he had reasonable grounds to suspect the money was the proceeds of crime. Det OBrien told the court that when he stopped Mr OConnor, Mr O'Connor said he would like to seek legal advice. The court heard that Mr OConnor is not employed and is on social welfare. Det OBrien said that on the morning of the court, Mr OConnor had told him the money was from the sale of a car. Det OBrien requested three months to investigate the matter. Solicitor, Mr Barry Fitzgerald put it to Det OBrien that Mr OConnor would say he indicated when stopped that the money was from the sale of a car, but Det OBrien refuted this, saying Mr OConnor had told him he was travelling from Limerick to Dublin to buy a vehicle. The detective also confirmed that Mr OConnor had been stopped at a national checkpoint on the motorway and he had no previous convictions. I want to try and find the true origin of the money, said Det OBrien. Mr Fitzgerald said Mr OConnor had sold a car to his aunt, who was present in court. He said she had a document showing the withdrawal of the money. Det OBrien restated that he needed time to investigate. I have my suspicions, said Det OBrien. Mr Fitzgerald said his client had a constitutional right to his own property and there was nothing to support the detectives view that criminality was involved. Mr OConnor took to the witness box to say he had sold a car to his aunt. In response to a question from the State, he said the vehicle had originally been bought using money he obtained from selling horses. Judge Catherine Staines remarked they must have been very good horses, to which Mr OConnor replied they were piebald ponies. Det OBrien asked him where he had got the money from to buy the jeep he was driving when stopped by gardai. The witness replied that he had borrowed the money from his uncle and had to pay it back. Judge Staines said this was the first that Det OBrien had heard of the aunts involvement, so he was entitled to investigate. Mr Fitzgerald said that the legislation under which the State was making the application related to the import or export of money to the State, but there was no suggestion that the money had been imported, so the application was futile. To this, Sgt JJ Kirby said that the State was still trying to establish where the money had come from. In ruling, Judge Staines said that based on the evidence she did believe there was a valid suspicion and granted the order, allowing the State two months to investigate. A book of evidence has been served on a middle-aged Stradbally man who allegedly propositioned a youth for sex. At last weeks sitting of Portlaoise District Court, Liam Byrne (56), 1 Church Avenue, Stradbally, was charged with the sexual exploitation of a child, between June 29, 2017, and July 15, 2017. When the case first came before the court in March, Detective Garda Brian Kennedy gave evidence that it was alleged that the accused had befriended the injured party, who was 17 at the time, and offered him alcohol and cannabis. They exchanged numbers and a number of calls were made, with the accused allegedly propositioning the injured party to meet up for sex. An agreement was allegedly made for them to meet up, but the injured party travelled to the agreed location with a number of his friends and an altercation ensued, which resulted in the accused having to seek medical attention. After hearing the outline of the alleged facts, Judge Catherine Staines accepted jurisdiction in the case. However, when the case returned to court in April, defence barrister for the accused said that in her opinion, this should be an indictable offence dealt with by the circuit court. At last weeks court, a book of evidence was served on the accused. The matter was sent forward to Portlaoise Circuit Court on June 19 this year. Legal aid was assigned to the accused, to include one junior counsel. The accused was granted district court bail, with conditions that he sign on weekly at the garda station; he reside at his listed address and give the gardai 48 hours notice of any change of address; he provide a telephone number to the gardai; and he not approach three named individuals. A Laois shop owner is literally having nightmares about the imminent move of the Post Office out of the town centre. Assumpta Gorman runs O'Gorman's newsagents with her family close to Mountmellick Post Office and said she is having nightmares about what the future now holds. Everybody is sick with worry. I am having nightmares. Mountmellick is still not really over the recession, she said to the Leinster Express on Monday May 20. I'm not the only one, there are 47 businesses on Main Street, with 160 people working on it, she said. O'Gorman's shop employs seven staff including three family members. At least two, maybe three staff would have to go. We get so much business from the Post Office. It might be a phone top-up one day, a birthday present another . It is a big part of our business, said Ms O'Gorman. SuperValu head office issued a brief statement in reaction to public concerns. SuperValu is aware of An Posts plan to re-locate Mountmellick post office to a unit adjacent to McConvilles SuperValu Mountmellick in the Davitt Shopping Centre. A spokesperson said the supermarkets are owned and managed individually. Last week a group of customers and traders and politicians gathered outside the Post Office to show their opposition. A petition is being gathered in the town against the planned move, available to sign in many main street businesses. Work is continuing on the fit out of a unit that opens into the SuperValu shop on Connolly Street at one end of the town. Weeks of knocking on doors and shaking hands end this Friday when the voters take over the democratic process in Laois. An electorate of about 60,000 eligible voters stands between 39 candidates and the holy grail of public office. Fianna Fail leads the way with 11 candidates while Fine Gael is running ten candidates each. There are ten candidates going it alone as Independents while Sinn Fein has four in the field. The Labour Party and Renua Ireland have two each. The Portlaoise Municipal District is the biggest electoral area with seven seats on offer. It has fewer voters than the other districts but has more seats because of its bigger albeit, younger population. Councillor numbers are based on population figures. The district, which takes in Abbeyleix and Ballinakill, has attracted the largest field with 16 candidates entering the race. However, the biggest battle looks likely to be in the sprawling Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District where 14 candidates are bidding to win one of the six seats. A disappointing number of candidates have put their names in the hat for the Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District. While the area is the fastest growing part in Laois in terms of population, just nine politicians are in the mix for six seats. Just three of the candidates are based in the two big towns of Port and Grauigue which have the highest concentrations of voters. Despite a push to get more women into politics, the race in Laois is male-dominated. Of the 39 going forward more than three quarters are men. One of the municipal districts has just one female candidate. The growth in the number of people born outside Ireland who have moved to Laois is not reflected on the ticket. Just two candidates in the race come from a non-Irish background. All but one of the 19 outgoing councillors are running. Cllr John Moran is not in the race but his daughter Aisling is a candidate in the Port-Graigue District. Voting also takes place this week in the European Parliament Elections. The reunited Laois Offaly constituency has been bounced into a constituency dominated by Munster counties and candidates. A total of 23 candidates have thrown their hats in the ring in the race for one of the five seats on offer. There are no candidates from Laois or Offaly on the ticket. Voters will also be asked to vote in a constitutional referendum on divorce. The proposal is about two issues: how long people must be living apart before applying for a divorce, and the recognition of foreign divorces. Voting gets underway on Friday morning at 7 am with the Polling Stations closing at 10.30pm. The local and referendum votes will be counted in Portlaoise from Saturday. The European votes go to Cork for counting. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. The 10th annual Laois Community and Voluntary Awards were launched this week and applications are now available for nominations. The Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council, Mr John King, launched the 2019 Laois Community and Voluntary Awards at County Hall. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge groups and individuals who, through their commitment to voluntary and community activities, have played a significant role in enhancing the quality of life in their communities. Laois County Council in partnership with Laois Public Participation Network and Sponsored by Peoples First Credit Union will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Laois Community and Voluntary Awards at a Gala Event in the Midlands Park Hotel on Friday, October 18 2019. Nomination forms are available online or in paper format via Laois County Council, Laois PPN or your local Peoples First Credit Union Branch. For further details call 057-8664150 or email awards@laoiscoco.ie The closing date for nominations for the Laois Community and Voluntary Awards 2019 is Friday, July 5. A great night was had at the awards night last year. See some pictures an videos from last year in the links below: WATCH: Laois Community and Voluntary Unsung Hero of the Year is announced Hard work pays off for Durrow Scarecrow Festival volunteers Abbeyleix Bog Project honoured for hard work, vision and collaboration Kildare based craft beer brewer, DP Financial Limited, trading as Rye River Brewing Company, which produces beers under the McGargles brand in north Kildare, made an operating profit of 85,317 for the financial year ending December 31, 2018. The loss for the 2018 financial year after taxation amounted to 194,201, after charging interest payable of 461,284. This compared favourably to a loss of 797,313 in 2017. In a statement on May 22, a company spokesperson, said the company expects to deliver a net profit in 2019 and is on track to deliver its five-year strategic growth plan by the end of 2023. The company said it had refocused the business on brewing its own portfolio of beers and development of export markets for its range of premium Irish-brewed craft beers. SEE ALSO: 10,000 fine for former Kildare AIB worker who stole money from customer accounts Last year, it said, it more than doubled its sales across Europe from 1.3m in 2017 to over 2.7m. Dropping third-party brands led to a 5.5% fall in sales in the Republic of Ireland but sales of its own-produced beers grew by 34% in 2018. It invested an additional 634,710 in capital equipment in 2018, including three new fermentation vessels and two new bright beer tanks. Tom Cronin, founder and managing director, said: The outlook remains strong. Last year the company won 19 World Beer Awards. It also said that in recent weeks Tom Cronin, has been shortlisted as one of the finalists in the Emerging category of the 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Ireland programme. Part of the programme included a recent CEO visit to Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Macau. The brewery employed 49 people at the end of last December, two more than current numbers. Its staff bill for 2018 included 1.6m in wages and an average of over 3,300 per person paid in social insurance costs. Directors remuneration for the four directors was 380,247, up from 307,164 in 2017. The company had borrowings of around 6 million at the end of 2018. Rye River was founded in 2013 by Tom Cronin, Niall Phelan and Alan Wolfe, but is now headed by Tom Cronin, following the departure of his co-founders in early 2017. The companys Celbridge premises secures a 1.4 million loan from Ulster Bank and additional security includes a personal guarantee of 750,000 by a former director, according to the company accounts. In a statement, the company said that last year a 2 million investment was used for working capital as well as substantial further Capex investments aimed at further enhancing capacity, quality and standards at the brewery. This investment coincided with the restructure, said the company. You are here: Arts Five young artists from pastoral areas in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region performed folk music works Wednesday after finishing four-year overseas study. The young artists, funded by the China Literature and Art Foundation (CLAF), graduated from the University of Kentucky in the United States and they can perform traditional and modern Mongolian chorus as well as Chinese and western instruments. This was the first time that the CLAF sent young people from poor areas to study abroad and it was a successful attempt, said Xiang Yunju, deputy president and secretary general of the CLAF. The CLAF launched a project in 2014 to subsidize visiting scholars, young art teachers and music talent for overseas study. Just over half (1.7 million) of those people eligible to vote actually made it their business to go to their local polling station and vote in the 2014 Local Elections. A similar number didn't vote while many people feel disillusioned with local, national and European politics, it is important to have a say in 2019. Get to know the candidates and what they offer in terms of representation because the role they play will have a massive impact on your life. Take the local elections for example. The councillors hoisted above their supporters' heads at count centres up and down the country this weekend will decide many facets of local life in your area over the next five years. They vote on development and strategic plans which will filter policy into every area of towns and villages; roads, housing, public amenities, health and more. They decide on the council budget which funds projects that will either inhibit or help your area. It's up to you to impress upon them the issues needing attention. Councillors sit on various committees discussing issues like rural crime with gardai; rural isolation, agriculture, footpath and road works, health and housing. What they bring to those meetings is shaped by their interactions with constituents, so it pays to be in their ear and engaged. With all this back-and-forth in mind, it also pays to know these individuals are the right people to act on those concerns, and that's why we need to vote. The next time you complain about something under the auspices of the council in your area, make a note of it; make a call to your local councillor and demand action. That is their job; to serve you and the community and bring your interests to the fore at decision time. You can put the right person in that role by voting on Friday. Voting for European candidates is just as important, perhaps more on a national scale for Ireland, but nonetheless, decisions made in Brussels will filter down and affect your daily life. The bulk of the work carried out by an MEP is shaping European legislation at committee level and subsequently voting on said legislation. These laws then become binding across the European Union. MEPs deal with the big issues in the areas of European funding for various projects which are then acted upon by national governments, while also deciding on employee conditions, healthcare policy, agriculture regulation and funding, telecommunications costs and the environment. Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing the EU and decisions made at the European Parliament will have a major impact on the entire world. The MEP you vote for on Friday will have a role to play in that and all legislation formed at EU level by way of the representations they make on Ireland's national and regional interests. Get to know the candidates, even if they are not from your county or immediate region, and send a voice you trust and believe in to represent us in Europe. We are also tasked with voting in another referendum this Friday, a proposal paving the way for the Oirechtas to legislate on the regulation of divorce. Voting in a referendum is always important as it seeks to amend our Constitution, the fundamental mechanism affecting the laws of this country, laws that can only be changed by way of referendum. In this case, the proposal is about two issues relating to divorce, namely how long people must be living apart before applying for a divorce, and the recognition of foreign divorces. There will be one question on the ballot paper and voters can either vote Yes to allow both changes, or No to reject both changes. Voters cannot accept one change and reject the other. By voting 'Yes' who will give the Oireachtas the powers to legislate on both issues. By voting 'No,' no such legislative action will be permitted and the Constitution will remain unchanged in relation to divorce. All of these votes will affect the lives of Irish people, both directly and indirectly. Therefore, an examination of the candidates and their priorities is essential so you can vote for those you believe will make a welcome difference. Voting is the most basic, but most effective way, for us as citizens to affect change in our country, counties and communities. Use yours! You can find out more about all of the votes you are being asked to decide on below, while you can also follow rolling coverage of those votes and the subsequent counts on our live blog on www.leitrimobserver.ie The newly developed family room Seomra Teaghlaigh located in Medical 7 ward at Sligo University Hospital was officially opened on Thursday, 16 May by hospital chaplain Fr John Carroll. Funded through the Irish Hospice Foundations (IHF) Design and Dignity Programme, the HSE and local support, the family room is a beautiful serene space in the midst of a very busy acute Medical ward catering for stroke and frail elderly patients. The room will provide family members with a peaceful and restful space. The room can accommodate up to twelve people comfortably and can facilitate overnight stays. It includes a kitchenette, armchairs, kitchen table and chairs. The family room is beautifully finished with exquisite original paintings by one of Irelands pre-eminent romantic landscape painters the late Sean McSweeney in unification with the Model Art Gallery in Sligo. Sligo University Hospital is one of over forty hospitals in Ireland linked to the Hospice Friendly Hospitals (HFH) Programme. The HFH Programme is an initiative of the Irish Hospice Foundation. It seeks to ensure that palliative, end of life and bereavement care are central to the everyday business of hospitals. Ann Hayes, Development Coordinator for End of Life Care, Sligo University Hospital explains, We wanted to create a dignified comfortable space away from the clinical environment that was welcoming and homely for families and friends. This new space will help in practical ways, for example in minimising travel and accommodation costs at a time when families have more important things to think about. The most important thing for all of us at Sligo University Hospital is to continue to improve the family experience by demonstrating true care and compassion at a time when it is needed most. Grainne McCann, General Manager, Sligo University Hospital said, We are pleased to open this new facility which will provide an opportunity for families to spend time together in a calmer and quieter environment at a very difficult time. The room is designed to give families a private and comforting space where loved ones can all be together. Fr. John Carroll stated, "Almost everyone knows from personal experience how the illness of a loved one can impact on a family. This new family room Seomra Teaghlaigh offers a quiet family friendly space where relatives can get some rest, share their anxieties and concerns, share stories and just spend time together as a family. The family of the late Maureen Mullen conveyed, As a family coming to terms with our mothers Illness, the family room was invaluable to us. It enabled us to have the privacy we needed. In this room we eat, rested and chatted with friends and family, we laughed and cried there. In the family Room it was like Home from Home for the 2 weeks our mum was in hospital and gave us quality time to spend with her. Without this room we would not have been able to spend so much time in the Hospital and remembering those precious days is what is going to help us to get through the loss of our mum. Mary Lovegrove, Design and Dignity Project Manager, Irish Hospice Foundation said, Design and Dignity brings design excellence to hospitals where so many people spend their last days. Were aiming to create sanctuaries for patients and families at a very distressing time, and allow them the proper space and privacy they need. Thanks to the leadership and support of the HSE we have funded over forty hospitals projects across Ireland to date. The hospital project team consisted of Maura Heffernan, Assistant Director of Nursing, Medical Directorate; Caitriona Gaffney, Clinical Nurse Manager; Michelle McMorrow, Clinical Nurse Manager; Ann Hayes, Development Coordinator for End of Life Care; Austin Lyons, HSE estates; Rathigan Architects, Sligo and General Management personnel. The team was also supported by Mr Ronan Rose Roberts, Architect. SIPTU activists will be supporting secondary school student groups in organising major rallies across the country during their strike for action on climate change, which is taking place tomorrow Friday, May 24. SIPTU Global Solidarity Campaign Secretary, Yvonne OCallaghan, said: Our union is built on the belief that through collective action real and progressive change can be achieved. Our activists are honoured to have been asked to assist a number of grassroots organisations of young people who are focused on ensuring that there is effective action taken to deal with the existential crisis that is climate change. In relation to the strike on Friday, the students have agreed that SIPTU activists will assist with the logistics and stewarding of what are likely to be large demonstrations in Cork and Dublin. Our activists will also be lending support in other locations around the country. She added: Students are exploring possibilities for working together with trade unions on common demands such as the call for a just transition that will ensure that the move to sustainable energy sources is managed in a manner which adequately considers the interests of workers and the communities in which they live. A former psychic charged with money laundering told bank officials that if he had done anything criminal then he would be the stupidest money launderer ever, a trial has heard. Simon Gold (54) with an address of Augharan, Aughavas, Co. Leitrim, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 22 charges including money laundering, theft, deception and control of false instruments on dates between January 1, 2010 and October 22, 2012. The trial has heard that Mr Gold accepted he had used the names Simon Gold, Simon Gould, Simon Magnier and Niall O'Donoghue. The trial has also heard Mr Gold acknowledged he is responsible for an Ulster Bank account in the name of Anglo Irish Global Ltd. On the fifth day of evidence before the jury, a fraud prevention analyst with Ulster Bank Belfast told Lorcan Staines SC, prosecuting, that her role in 2012 was to comply with court orders relating to bank information. The analyst identified a document as being the minutes of a meeting regarding the Ulster Bank account of Anglo Irish Global Ltd on October 23, 2012. She said that present at the meeting were Simon Gold and two officials from the bank. Reading from the minutes of the meeting, the analyst said that when asked about the nature of the business, Mr Gold said the trade it was currently involved in was a renewable energy and affordable housing scheme. According to the minutes, Mr Gold said that under the banner of the business they found finances to fund projects and secure bank guarantees. He said Anglo Irish Global Ltd wanted to be in position to leave cash reserves in the bank and send money all over the world. Mr Gold said they were a transparent organisation and that they wished to employ sensible controls and have a good working relationship with the bank. According to the minutes, Mr Gold said that all the projects were legitimate and that 17 million was due in the coming weeks. He said the 1.6 million was the first of many contracts. Mr Gold was advised by one of the Ulster Bank officials that the bank had been served with an order to freeze the account. The minutes recorded that Mr Gold was shocked and that he said he would contact his solicitors. According to the minutes, Mr Gold said he had done nothing wrong or criminal. He said that if this was the case he would be the stupidest money launderer ever. The trial continues tomorrow, Friday before Judge Nolan and a jury. We're sorry that the ministry you were looking for is no longer available on LightSource.com. However, below are some great ministries that offer related content. Enjoy the inspiration, encouragement, and Biblical challenge from these LightSource.com ministry partners! THE man who shot innocent rugby player Shane Geoghegan more than ten years ago has failed in his attempt to have his conviction overturned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Barry Doyle, 34, who has addresses in Ballinacurra Weston and Portland Row in Dublin was sentenced to life imprisonment more than six years ago after he was convicted, following a retrial, of murdering the 28-year-old in Dooradoyle on November 9, 2008. During the trial, a jury at the Central Criminal Court heard that Doyle admitted during garda interviews that he shot Mr Geoghegan in a what was a case of mistaken identity. Doyle, who had been ordered to shoot another man by criminal figure John Dundon, was arrested on February 24, 2009 and taken to Bruff garda station. He was questioned more than a dozen times over three days and the admissions, the jury heard, were made during his 15th interview. In previous appeals before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, lawyers representing the hitman argued the admissions should not have been admitted as evidence during the original trial because they were obtained in a non-voluntary manner as a result of threats and inducements and psychological oppression by gardai. This, they claimed, was because Doyle was promised by gardai that his girlfriend would be released if he admitted his role in the killing. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal in 2015 while the Supreme also rejected the appeal in a 6-1 majority decision which was handed down in January 2017. In a further appeal before the ECHR, lawyers representing Mr Doyle argued his right of access to consult a solicitor was unlawfully restricted while he was being questioned following his arrest. In its majority judgment, details of which were released this Thursday morning, the ECHR found Mr Doyles human rights had not been breached. The Court found that very strict scrutiny had to be applied in cases where, as here, there had been no compelling reasons to justify restricting the applicants right of access to a lawyer. However, when examining the proceedings as a whole, the Court held that the overall fairness of the trial had not been prejudiced, stated a press release issued by the Registrar of the Court. The Court observed that Mr Doyle had been entitled to and had been granted access to a lawyer after his arrest and prior to being interviewed by police. After that first interview he had been able to request access to his lawyer at any time. However, in accordance with police practice at the time, his lawyer had not been permitted to be physically present during the interviews themselves, it added. Six of the seven judges, who heard the appeal, found there had been no violation of Article 6,1 and 3 (c). Having assessed the impact of the restriction on access at the pre-trial stage on the overall fairness of the criminal proceedings, the Court concluded that the overall fairness had not been irretrievably prejudiced, stated the judgment. ONCE again, the Adare Rathkeale Municipal District is a battleground for votes. Eleven candidates are chasing six seats but, on the ground, an even tougher struggle is going on within parties. Fianna Fail is standing three candidates: its sole sitting councillor Kevin Sheahan and two newcomers, Bridie Collins in Adare and Trina ODea in Croom. The new faces have been gaining traction and Trina ODeas serious mishap with a hostile dog, in particular, has raised her public profile though not in a way she would have sought. Canvassing on crutches is not to be recommended. Fianna Fail in this area has a bit of a chequered history and seems to have developed an unfortunate habit of losing councillors. In 2014, former party member Emmett OBrien went Independent and on polling day weighed in with a massive, 2,270 first preference votes or 18% of the vote. But Fianna Fail, with four candidates, held on to win two seats: Kevin Sheahan and Richard ODonoghue, leaving outgoing councillor James Cavanagh out in the cold. By 2016, however, Cllr ODonoghue had also left the fold and gone Independent. The big question for Fianna Fail is how much of the vote will be absorbed by the two Independents, OBrien and ODonoghue? But a second seat for the party is entirely feasible. There is strong rivalry also within the Fine Gael. Fine Gaels poll topper in 2014, Tom Neville has since gone to the Dail but going on past performance, Stephen Keary is likely to take that accolade this time out. However, Cllr Adam Teskey, who was co-opted to the Neville seat, will be hoping some of the Neville vote-catcher magic will have rubbed off on him on this, his first time on the ballot paper. Leo Walsh, a former councillor, is hoping to make a come-back, but has the disadvantage that some of his home-ground lies in a city electoral area. He will be hoping to soak up votes won by Rose Brennan, Adare, last time. Independent Emmett OBrien had a runaway success on his first hustings in 2014, hoovering up 2,270 first preference votes. His challenge will be to repeat this. Fellow Independent Richard ODonoghue, who also ran in the 2016 general election, will be aiming to increase on his 2014 vote to retain his seat. But he has competition in his stronghold of Ballingarry Croom from new candidates. The absence of a Sinn Fein candidate on the ballot paper this time does open up the field, with Fianna Fail and Independents the most likely beneficiaries. However, it could also open a door for Green Party candidate Theresa Storey who could also win voters not inclined to vote Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. Other newcomers, Mark Keogh and Mike Putt, both standing for Direct Democracy Ireland, will struggle to get around what is a big district. The issues on the doors include A&E, the Adare by-pass, rural broadband, rural crime and housing. A CLINICAL director of the UL Hospitals Group has said we need to raise a small army of activists, as he claims the people of Limerick are being left short-changed over access to medical care. Dr Gerry Burke, clinical director of maternal and child health at UL Hospitals Group, made the call on social media, just weeks after he and four other top officials issued a public statement on University Hospital Limericks trolley crisis. This follows the launch of the Limerick Leaders Enough Is Enough campaign, which will continue to put a strong spotlight on UHLs overcrowding problem until the Government gives a firm commitment to end the crisis. Commenting on May 16 on resources given to the UL Hospitals Group, Dr Burke said: Were getting nowhere. Theres an obstinate refusal to address or even talk about health care inequity in Limerick and the Mid-West. Glib dismissals. We need to raise a small army of community advocates and activists. In another tweet on the same day, Dr Burke said: The people of Limerick and the Mid-West are being short-changed. Cheated, basically. They pay taxes like everyone else. But they get less access to medical care. Dr Burke said that, compared with the UL Hospitals Group per 1,000 of population, the five other hospital groups in the country have 25% more hospital doctors, 27% more consultants, 50% more health and social care professionals, and 7% more nurses and midwives. One Twitter user asked Dr Burke asked how many consultants, doctors, nurses and other professionals would be required to bring the Mid-West up to national average. In response on May 17, he said: About 130 doctors (one third at consultant level), 200 health and social care staff, 120 nurses, 40 management/admin would bring us to the same level as the other five groups. Some 500 people altogether. Plus beds, offices, equipment, including major items like MRI. On April 17, five clinical directors of the UL Hospitals Group issued an open letter to the public, calling for support amid the escalating overcrowding problem in Limerick. They said much of UL Hospitals strategic vision is dependent on additional funding, which they said is necessary to bring staffing levels up to the same levels in other catchment areas. There is a lot of competition in Ireland for resources. Their distribution is controlled centrally. So this ambitious agenda will need the support of the community and its representatives and activists. We all want the same thing a hospital that is deeply rooted in the community that services ir well and that it known as a centre of excellence for clinical care, teaching and research. On April 4, UHL set the record for the most number of patients on trolleys with 81 patients. This Wednesday, there were 39 patients on trolleys, the third highest in the country. The HSE has approved funding for the delivery of a 60-bed modular block at University Hospital Limerick, which is due to be delivered sometime in late 2020. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Though trade frictions have cast a shadow on the China-U.S. ties, people-to-people exchanges have not been affected and thrived with stronger momentum. The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the "Big Five" American orchestras, is in China to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and the United States. The preeminent orchestra was joined by musicians from China's National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) to present a benefit concert at the Future Theatre of China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) in Beijing on May 21, 2019. The musicians from the two countries performed W. A. Mozart's "The String Quartet No. 17 in B Flat, K.458, (The Hunt)" and Robert Schumann's "The String Quartet No.1 in A Minor, Op.41" and other world-famous compositions. They also performed several traditional Chinese songs: Guessing Melodies, Green Willow, Yao Dance, Reflection of the Moon in the Er-Quan Spring, and Jasmine Flower. Nearly 1,000 teenagers and parents participated in the concert. At the end of the concert, a group of 12 children from the Soong Ching Ling Science, Technology and Culture Exchange Center presented flowers to the musicians. The concert entitled Heartfelt Symphony Across the Pacific was organized in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations. It was cohosted by the CSCLF, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and the NCPA, and supported by Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co, Ltd. For a long time, the CSCLF has been working on enhancing China-U.S. relations through people-to-people and cultural exchanges. The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra has been a strong promoter of China-U.S. ties. In 1973, it became the first American orchestra to visit the People's Republic of China, a year after U.S. President Nixon made his historic visit. Since then, ties between China and the United States have experienced ups and downs. However, the peoples of the two countries continue to engage in cultural, sport and artistic exchanges, despite the current trade frictions. Nicholas Platt, senior advisor of the orchestra and honorary president of the Asia Society, said that people-to-people exchanges are the foundation and driving force of the China-U.S. friendship. He said that promoting friendship between the two peoples through music and culture has always been an important mission of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Ambassador Platt was the person who facilitated The Philadelphia Orchestra's historic Tour of China in 1973. Matias Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra, told China.org.cn that he was delighted to see exchanges between musicians. When being asked the significance of the music tour in China, Tarnopolsky said that "music can express ideas that thoughts and words alone cannot. Music inspires cooperation that was demonstrated on this stage tonight." He revealed that the orchestra will stay in China for another week and give concerts in Tianjin, Philadelphia's sister city, and will also in Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Shanghai. CSCLF Chairman Wang Jiarui also attended the event. A COUNTY Limerick priest said Pope Franciss comments on women deacons is kicking the can down a timeless road. Fr Roy Donovan, a spokesperson for the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), said it was a major disappointment. This month, Pope Francis said that a commission to study the possibility of women deacons he established in 2016 ended without a clear conclusion. We had come to expect reactions like this from previous popes, but we thought Francis was different, and consequently our disappointment is greater. The equality of women is critical for the credibility and the future of the Church. Introducing women deacons is such a minimalist step that if he cannot move on that, there is little or no prospect of any real movement towards equality, said Fr Donovan, parish priest of Caherconlish / Caherline. The ACP believes there should be women priests and allow married men be ordained as priests. Fr Donovan said Pope Franciss comments confirm that women are not good enough, and that in the eyes of the official Church men are more worthy than women. The Galbally man said it confirms that many of womens gifts will continue to be wasted and that the official institutional Church is a mens Church. This is an enormous blow to reforming the Church and bringing it into the 21st century. Now is the time for all of us who believe in equality to make our voices heard, clearly and without equivocation. There must be no fudge about where we stand; bishops, priests and people in the pews. Now is not the time for looking over our shoulders, thinking of our chances of promotion, or of offending those in authority. This is much too important, said Fr Donovan. A gigantic python was recently captured in photos vomiting up another, bigger python. This snake regurgitation happened in East Kimberley, Western Australia, according to local news site The New Daily. Kurt Jongedyk, the manager at Parry Creek Farm Tourist Resort and Caravan Park in the area, reportedly came across a 11.5- to 13-foot (3.5 to 4 meters) python and "relocated" it away from his house. At that point, the python began to "bring up its meal" "an even fatter python of about the same length." Amanda Jongedyk took the photos, which were posted to the parks Facebook page. [Photos: Python Chows Down on 3 Deer] Accounts of pythons eating other pythons turn out not to be that rare. Here's a National Geographic video of exactly this sort of snake cannibalism in action. And pythons are more than capable of swallowing larger animals, and even, in some awful cases, humans. Contrary to popular belief, snakes don't unhinge their jaws to swallow bigger critters. "One of the enduring myths about snake feeding mechanisms is the idea that the jaws detach," Patrick T. Gregory, a biology professor at the University of Victoria in Canada, previously told Live Science. "In fact, they stay connected all the time." But the two jaws move independently of one another, without the bony restrictions that you have with human jaw hinges. "The two mandibles are not joined at the front by a rigid [joint], as ours are, but by an elastic ligament that allows them to spread apart," Gregory said. In order to swallow snakes larger than themselves, Live Science previously reported, smaller snakes force their prey's spinal columns to bend in waves. That shrinks the swallowed snake's overall length, "packaging" it to fit in the predator snake's stomach. Originally published on Live Science. Researchers used multibeam sonar to find the underwater volcano. The reflected sonar waves revealed the outline of the underwater volcano (red) and the gassy plume rising from it. A strange seismic event off the coast of Africa has led scientists to a mighty finding: the discovery of the largest underwater volcanic eruption ever recorded. The eruption also may explain a weird seismic event recorded in November 2018 just off the island of Mayotte, located between Madagascar and Mozambique in the Indian Ocean. Researchers described that event as a seismic hum that circled the world, but no one could figure out what sparked it. For starters, the hum rang at a single, ultralow frequency, which was strange because seismic waves usually rumble at many frequencies. Moreover, there were hardly any detectable "p-waves" or "s-waves," which usually accompany earthquakes. And, incredibly, the island of Mayotte moved a few inches south and east after the mysterious event. [Photos: Hawaii's New Underwater Volcano] Now, scientists have an idea why. This weird seismic hum was likely the birth announcement of a new underwater volcano, according to Science magazine. The underwater volcano is enormous, rising nearly a half mile (0.8 kilometers) from the ocean floor. It's the length of a 3.1-mile (5 km) race and lies about 31 miles (50 km) off Mayotte's eastern coast. And it came into being in just six months. The underwater volcano lies off the eastern coast of Mayotte island (part of which is shown here). (Image credit: Insularis via iStock/Getty Images Plus) "We have never seen anything like this," Nathalie Feuillet, a leader of an expedition to the site by the research vessel Marion Dufresne, who is with the Institute of Geophysics in Paris (IPGP), told Science magazine. In addition to the weird "seismic hum," there were other clues that something big was happening. The inhabitants of the French island of Mayotte reported feeling more than 1,800 little earthquakes almost daily since the middle of last year, including a large magnitude-5.8 earthquake in May 2018, the largest ever recorded in the region, National Geographic reported. How scientists found it Finding the newborn volcano took an enormous effort, including work from organizations such as the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, the IPGP and the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER), according to a joint statement released May 16. Part of that research included six seismometers placed on the ocean floor, close to the seismic activity, Science magazine reported. These instruments revealed a tight cluster of earthquakes deep in Earth's crust, likely stemming from a deep magma chamber that's gushing molten rock onto the sea's bottom. This magma chamber may also be shrinking, as Mayotte has sunk about 5 inches (13 centimeters) and moved 2.5 inches (10 cm) to the east over the past year, Science magazine reported. In addition, sonar revealed 1.2 cubic miles (5 cubic km) of magma on the seafloor, as well as plumes of bubble-rich water streaming from the volcano. Rock samples collected from the site may reveal the depth of the magma source, as well as the risk of a volcanic eruption. A volcano in the Indian Ocean? Mayotte isn't a stranger to volcanic eruptions, but it's been at least 4,000 years since volcanoes last stirred in the area, National Geographic reported. The island is part of the Comoro archipelago, islands created by volcanism. [Sunset Crater: Spectacular Photos of a Cinder Cone Volcano] As news of the seismic hum and the tiny earthquakes spread, a group of French researchers posted a draft of a research study on EarthArxiv, a non-peer-reviewed site in February 2019, positing that the rumblings might have to do with a draining magma chamber. But researchers still have to publish a peer-reviewed study on the events, and it remains unclear exactly how the weird hum, earthquakes and volcano are related. It's also a mystery why volcanoes are found near the tiny island. Unlike Hawaii, which formed because of hotspot volcanism roiling up, the volcano near Mayotte lies within the ancient rift where Madagascar tore away from eastern Africa long ago. It's possible that fissures from this break are now a cradle for this new volcano. However, it's strange that the volcano popped up by Mayotte, which is the oldest island in the archipelago, Ken Rubin, a volcanologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, told National Geographic. It also remains to be seen if this volcano is completely new, or whether it sits on an older volcanic structure, the researchers said. In other words, geologists have a lot of work to do, and they're eager to get to the bottom of this geologic conundrum. Originally published on Live Science. Scientists are predicting a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season this year, with two to four major hurricanes reaching at least Category 3 status, with winds of 111 mph (178 km/h) or higher, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today (May 23). But this "near-normal" description doesn't mean people in the U.S. Southeast and Eastern Seaboard can rest easy. "That's a lot of activity," Gerry Bell, the lead hurricane season forecaster with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, told reporters at a news conference today. "You need to start getting ready for the hurricane season now." [The 20 Costliest, Most Destructive Hurricanes to Hit the US] The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season which lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30 is expected to have between nine and 15 named storms, which means they pack winds of 39 mph (62 kilometers/hour) or higher, NOAA reported. Of those, between four and eight could become hurricanes, meaning their winds reach speeds of 74 mph (119 km/h) or higher. Although just four of these hurricanes may top Category 3 status, "it only takes one land-falling hurricane to cause great destruction to a community," Daniel Kaniewski, the acting deputy administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told reporters. During an average hurricane season, the Atlantic sees about 12 named storms, including six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Last year's season was above average, with 15 named storms, including eight hurricanes, of which two were major the destructive hurricanes Michael and Florence. However, it's impossible to know whether any of the storms or hurricanes predicted for the 2019 season will make landfall, said Neil Jacobs, acting NOAA administrator. The officials added that this year marks the first time NOAA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites, including three operational next-generation satellites, were used to gather data for the hurricane forecast models. This data also helped NOAA issue a storm prediction for the eastern and central Pacific basins. According to NOAA, the Pacific should expect an above-normal season with 15 to 22 named storms, of which eight to 13 are expected to become cyclones (the term given to "hurricanes" in these parts of the Pacific). Of these, between four and eight could be major cyclones, NOAA reported. What forces are involved? A near-normal Atlantic hurricane season may sound surprising, given that there is an ongoing El Nino this year a climate phenomenon known for warming waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that can impact weather worldwide. El Nino also acts to increase wind shear in the Atlantic, which disrupts the flow of heat and moisture, ingredients needed for hurricanes to form. In other words, El Nino often suppresses hurricane activity in the Atlantic, Bell said. But this year's El Nino is weak, and it's competing with the other climate factors. These hurricane-favoring factors are warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea (a pattern seen since 1995) and a strong monsoon in West Africa, Bell said. "They favor more activity," Bell said. What to do People in hurricane-prone areas should make emergency plans now, Kaniewski said. This includes getting enough supplies such as food, water and medicine to last at least 72 hours, he said. In the event of a powerful storm or hurricane, people should also expect major communication networks to go down, so they should have a battery-powered radio to stay updated and have an emergency evacuation route in mind, he added. Kaniewski also encouraged people to have cash on hand, in case the electricity goes out and ATMs and credit card swipe machines fail, as well as homeowners' and flood insurance. To learn more, download the free FEMA application, which provides a number of services, including weather alerts, lists of open shelters and advice on emergency preparedness. Originally published on Live Science. Botswana has lifted its elephant hunting ban, after a five-year probation period. The country's officials said that the reversal of the ban followed "extensive consultations with all the stakeholders," in a statement published yesterday (May 22) by Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism. The move was deeply criticized by conservationists, who are concerned that it will increase ivory poaching. [Photos: Seized Elephant Ivory Reveals How Massive Cartels Operate] Botswana is thought to be home to some 130,000 elephants about a third of all the elephants in Africa. The country has long been a safe haven for the animals and has been largely unaffected by the ivory poaching that has wiped out a third of the continent's elephants in the past decade. But there have been exceptions. Back in September 2018, Elephants Without Borders, an elephant conservation organization, conducted an aerial survey and claimed to have found one of the largest elephant slaughters to date, with about 87 of the majestic beasts killed in Botswana, Live Science previously reported. Later, however, scientists and government officials in Botswana disputed these claims, saying that Elephants Without Borders exaggerated the numbers, The New York Times reported. The hunting ban was originally put in place in 2014 by former president and avid conservationist Ian Khama. But the current president, Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi, put together a committee last year to discuss the economic and other impacts of the ban. The government of Botswana's reasons for lifting the ban include an increase in the number of elephants in the country, a negative impact on the livelihoods of elephant hunters and an increase in elephant-human conflicts. Recent droughts have driven elephants to search for water in regions they hadn't been before, according to National Geographic. This has led to increased contact with humans, in a way that threatens human lives, crops and property, according to Nat Geo. The committee, which included local authorities, communities that were affected by the elephants, conservationists and researchers, came to the "general consensus that the hunting ban should be lifted," according to the statement. The reinstatement of hunting will be done "in an orderly and ethical manner," according to the statement. But officials didn't say how. Critics, such as Paula Kahumbu, CEO of the nonprofit organization Wildlife Direct, tweeted "hunting elephants in Botswana will not reduce human elephant conflict." That's because "no hunter wants to go after elephants in a village, they want only the big Tusker[s]," she said. But also, "hunting causes serious stress making elephants far more dangerous." In a separate tweet she said "expect mass culling next." Originally published on Live Science. On Friday, the United 9th Grade campus was converted into a courtroom as 406th District Judge Oscar Jesus Hale Jr. held his Courts In School sentencing hearings before 500 students. The students witnessed two defendants receive their prison sentence for drug possession and distribution charges. A defendant, who was sentenced to nine years, told the students, "Prison is no joke. You need to stay in school and avoid using drugs." A female defendant sentenced to 10 years warned students saying, "If you use drugs, you will lose everything: your family, your home, your freedom." Speakers also shared personal hardships and consequences due to drug abuse and addiction. READ MORE: Council votes to seek immigration court in downtown Laredo "Cocaine literally destroyed my nose, and yet I continued to use because that's how powerful my addiction was, so please keep your nose clean and don't do drugs," she said. Another speaker gave the students a snapshot of his life by describing his early gang affiliations while living in Houston, his near-death experience after being robbed and shot five times while working in Corpus Christi, and then his subsequent drug addiction to cope with his trauma and pain. "I made excuses for myself. I believed it was OK to use drugs to satisfy my addiction and to soothe my pain. I finally understood that I was an addict and that I always would be an addict because while you can treat it, there is no cure. Today, I am sober, he said. READ MORE: Traffic stop leads to discovery of $128K, money laundering charges He added, The other day my son asked me, 'Dad, if you could have any superhero power, what would it be?' and I said, 'I would want to have the power to go back in time because I would go back to school and I would not use drugs.'" Hale interjected, "You are actually using that superpower right now by going back in time with these students and sharing what you've learned and what you've experienced so that they can learn through your consequences, stay in school and not use drugs." Laredo Independent School District campuses will be closed Monday, May 27, for staff development and training. LISD administration, faculty and staff will report to work on Monday morning for their required staff development training. However, there will be no classes for students on Monday due to the required staff trainings. Students will return to class on Tuesday, May 28. The US-initiated trade row with China has cast a shadow on foreign businesses in China and elsewhere in the world, setting back their long-term efforts in establishing trade connections, according to Xinhua's interviews with foreign firms and unions. Caitlin Kennedy Eannello, director of communications of the U.S. National Association of Wheat Growers, told Xinhua on Wednesday that American wheat growers have spent a lot of time building trade relationships with China. Due to the tariffs, they don't expect to export to China in the near future. According to the association, between June 2016 and February 2018, China imported about 2.6 million tonnes of the U.S. wheat products. Eannello said the association is an advocacy organization, committed to getting growers' messages heard. At a meeting in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, Friday, Charles Freeman, former assistant U.S. Trade Representative and senior vice president for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the trade tensions are hurting U.S. farmers. "They are not selling the products they otherwise would. That's a big concern," he said. Freeman said the cost of decoupling between the U.S. and China on companies and the global economy is extremely high. Carlo Diego D'Andrea, vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the chamber launched a business confidence survey this week asking its members about the impact of the trade pressure. A total of 585 members responded to the questionnaire. Among them, 25 percent, or over 100 companies, said U.S. tariffs on China would have a negative impact on them, as their businesses involve exports from the Chinese market into the U.S. market. D'Andrea said the European firms are caught in the middle. The chamber advocates for a multilateral approach to resolving the trade friction between the U.S. and China. "Our European member firms are committed to the Chinese market. Even if we lose a bit of optimism, we still believe that China is a top destination for further investment," said D'Andrea. Cuate Santos / Laredo Morning Times Triumph Public High Schools - Laredo North, a local public charter high school recently received first-place honors at the Rio Grande International Study Centers (RGISC) recent Earth Day Fest Parade. Triumph Public High School students entered a float and were chosen as first-place winners. The float required that all materials used were recyclable. This honor earned their students and their school the donation of a Texas lilac tree. The tree was delivered to the school today during a tree planting ceremony, where RGISC officials presented the tree to the participating students, science teacher Shannon Aguilar and school principal Olga Trevino. 3 1 of 3 Courtesy photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Today, 10 UISD middle school students were amongst a group of 22 finalists who prevailed as Outstanding 8th Graders of The Year. The finalists were culled from a pool of 144 local middle school students who had been celebrated as Outstanding 8th Graders of The Month during the 2018-19 school year. All former honorees were commissioned to compose essays, and the authors of the top 22 dissertations earned the title of Outstanding 8th Graders of The Year. Valentina Moreno-Cruz from United Middle School won first place, and Yaniel Ayala from Lamar Bruni Vergara garnered the third-place trophy. Both received an estimated $420 in prizes from sponsors, and the remaining 19 winners received a trophy and an estimated $150 in prizes from sponsors. James Derek Mize is an American citizen, born and raised in the United States. His husband, who was born in Britain to an American mother, is a U.S. citizen, too. But the couples infant daughter isnt, according to the State Department. She was born abroad to a surrogate, using a donor egg and sperm from her British-born father. Those distinct circumstances mean that, under a decades-old policy, she did not qualify for citizenship at birth, even though both her parents are American. Its shocking, said Mize, 38, a former lawyer who lives in Atlanta with his husband, Jonathan Gregg, a management consultant. The couple received a letter denying their daughters citizenship last month. Were both Americans; were married, Mize said. We just found it really hard to believe that we could have a child that wouldnt be able to be in our country. Their case illustrates the latest complication facing some families who use assisted reproductive technology, like surrogacy and in vitro fertilization, to have children. For years the techniques have set off provocative legal and ethical debates about what defines parenthood. Immigration and citizenship are the latest frontier in those debates. At issue is a State Department policy, based on immigration law, that requires a child born abroad to have a biological connection to an American parent in order to receive citizenship at birth. That is generally not a problem when couples have babies the traditional way, but can prove tricky when only one spouse is the genetic parent. The policy has come under intense scrutiny in recent months amid lawsuits arguing that the State Department discriminates against same-sex couples and their children by failing to recognize their marriages. Under the policy, the department classifies certain children born through assisted reproductive technology as out of wedlock, which triggers a higher bar for citizenship, even if the parents are legally married. In one instance, a married Israeli-American gay couple had twin sons in Canada using sperm from each of the fathers. The biological son of the American received citizenship, but his brother, the biological son of the Israeli, did not. In February, a federal judge sided with the couple, calling the State Departments interpretation of the law strained. The department is appealing. The government is also fighting a similar suit from a lesbian couple in London, who did not use a surrogate. One is American and one is Italian. They took turns conceiving and carrying their two children. Only the child born to the American mother was granted citizenship. Last week, a federal judge allowed the case to proceed, calling the familys predicament terrible and outrageous. Though the policy predates the Trump administration, the presidents opponents have seized upon it. On May 17, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, the Democratic leader of the House, called it an unconscionable attack on American families. The State Department, which has emphasized that the policy applies to opposite-sex and same-sex couples alike, declined to comment, citing pending litigation. The focus on a biological connection dates to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, well before the advent of modern reproductive technology and the legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The State Departments policy on assisted reproductive technology, first drafted in the late 1990s, is based on an interpretation of that law, which includes language that children are born of their parents and mentions a blood relationship in certain cases. The rules for passing down citizenship are meant to ensure that children born abroad have a sufficient connection to the United States. Proof of the biological connection is necessary so that the born-abroad citizenship route is not susceptible to fraud by people claiming they are children of United States citizens when, in fact, they are not, said John Eastman, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank in California. The interpretation has led the State Department to regard births from assisted reproductive technology as out of wedlock, if the source of the sperm and the egg do not match married parents. Such a designation comes with extra requirements for transmitting citizenship, including showing that a biological parent is a U.S. citizen who has spent at least five years in the United States. Scott Titshaw, an associate professor at Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Georgia, said the policy reflects a mismatch of immigration and family laws. It runs counter to the current societal understanding of what marriage is, he said. And probably more important, it runs counter to the current legal definition of what parentage is. Under the Obama administration, the State Department adjusted the requirement so that a parent could also establish a biological connection by giving birth, in addition to supplying the egg or sperm. That allows a lesbian couple to have a child in wedlock if one woman provides the egg and the other carries the baby. But two men in a marriage dont have that option. A same-sex male couple cannot conceive a child where both of them are a parent under this definition, Titshaw said. Its unclear how many people are affected by the policy, or how many are same-sex couples. Relatively few families go abroad to have children through assisted reproductive technology, but there can be financial or personal reasons for doing so. Mize, whose daughter is now 11 months old and learning to walk, said he had been traveling back and forth to Britain with Simone, who has a tourist visa. He worries about disrupting her development at such a young age, and fears what could happen if her legal status is not resolved. This is where our life is. This is where our jobs are, he said. Our daughter cant be here, but she has no one else to care for her. Sarah Mervosh is a New York Times writer. 3 1 of 3 Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Police seized approximately 29 kilograms, or roughly 64 pounds of cocaine during a traffic stop on U.S. 59 north in the Kendleton area Wednesday. Officials with the Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force and a K-9 partner named "Spyke" located the cocaine in an aftermarket-fabricated compartment of the vehicle that was stopped, according to a release from the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. The cocaine had an estimated street value of more than $1.4 million. For years, asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat have been turned away, sent instead to offshore processing centers in Nauru and on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, where they have lingered indefinitely, hoping to be resettled elsewhere. Medical and human rights experts have warned that their isolation on the islands is dangerous: Some children detained on Nauru have self-harmed or developed resignation syndrome, a potentially deadly condition brought on by severe stress. As of early last year, at least a dozen asylum seekers and refugees had died while on Nauru and Manus. So when Australians took to the polls this past week, refugees were among those who felt they had the most at stake. With polls suggesting that the Labor Party was looking likely to unseat the center-right government, some refugees dared to dream that resettlement off the islands could soon be possible. But in a completely unexpected, poll-defying twist, Prime Minister Scott Morrison managed to hold onto power. Morrison helped develop Australia's hard-line immigration policies, including the controversial offshore processing. As the New York Times reported last year, he even has a model migrant boat in his office, inscribed with the words "I Stopped These." Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian-Kurdish journalist and writer who has been on Manus since 2013, told The Washington Post in a phone call that the election results brought a wave of despair to the island. He knows of at least 12 refugees who have attempted suicide in recent days, he said. "The election was like a big chance and the last chance for us," he said. "After that, people just lost hope." There have been mixed reports over the number of attempted suicides and incidents of self-harm since the election. CNN reported that the provincial police commander on Manus said two refugees attempted suicide this past weekend. Agence France-Presse reported Tuesday that at least four asylum seekers at the offshore centers had attempted suicide since Morrison's government was reelected Saturday. Australian news outlet News.com.au reported that six people had attempted suicide since Sunday. In an email, Amnesty International campaigns manager Tim O'Connor told The Post that his organization had heard "reports from several sources, including Government officials, that there have been nine attempted suicides since the weekend in [Papua New Guinea]." "There is certainly increased desperation and anxiety amongst the refugees we have spoken with, who remain trapped in limbo by the Australian Government for almost six years," O'Connor said. A spokesperson for the Australian Department of Home Affairs said in an e-mailed statement that "it takes seriously its role in supporting" Papua New Guinea and Nauru to ensure individuals in both places are "provided with a range of health, welfare and support services arrangements." According to the Refugee Council of Australia, more than 4,000 asylum seekers have been sent to Nauru and Papua New Guinea in recent years. As of March 2019, there were a total of 915 people still on the islands as the result of Australia's immigration policies, the group said. Although the Manus detention center shut down in 2017, many of those who were held there remained on Manus in various camps. Last year, legal and medical advocates working with children stranded on Nauru said a number of them had stopped eating and speaking, symptoms of resignation syndrome. Last October, when Doctors Without Borders (which goes by its French acronym MSF) was banned from working on Nauru, the group said that at least 78 people under their care had considered suicide, "engaged in self-harm or attempted suicide." There was so much demand for mental health assistance that about 100 people were on a wait list, an MSF official told The Post at the time. In February, the Australian government said the last children being held on Nauru would be resettled in the United States. The same month, lawmakers narrowly voted in favor of allowing doctors to approve asylum seekers' travel from the islands to Australia for medical reasons. That bill, which was backed by the opposition Labor Party, came to be known as the "medevac law," and Morrison's coalition government now plans to try to repeal it, the Guardian reported. Boochani has written extensively about his detention and its mental toll, including in a book called "No Friend But the Mountains," which won Australia's Victorian Prize of Literature this year. Boochani was not able to leave Manus to attend the awards ceremony for his book. He told The Post on Wednesday that he and other refugees on Manus have experienced a number of gut-wrenching incidents, including the deaths of detainees, since they arrived there years ago. But he has "never seen refugees like this before," he said, referencing the sense of despair that set in on the island once the election results came in. "It's really hard to keep yourself strong," he said. "It's really hard to survive." John Walker Lindh, the first person to be convicted of a crime in the "War on Terror," left an Indiana prison a free man Thursday after 17 years behind bars, his lawyer confirmed. The Northern California native was captured months into the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, a war that has now lasted longer than his incarceration. The revelation that a young American had joined the group that harbored the 9/11 terrorists was a national shock. Lindh pleaded guilty in 2002 to aiding the Taliban and carrying weapons. Prosecutors were unable to prove, however, that he went beyond fighting the Taliban's Afghan enemies by aiding terrorists or trying to kill Americans. "I did not go to fight against America, and I never did," Lindh told U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, at the time. "I have never supported terrorism in any form, and I never will. . . . I made a mistake by joining the Taliban. Had I realized then what I know now, I would never have joined them." Lindh's plea agreement capped his sentence at 20 years; he was released early for good behavior. Although that credit is built into the law for all federal prisoners, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has called for Lindh to be kept in prison and said he had President Trump's support. The family of CIA operative Johnny "Mike" Spann, who was killed in a riot at the Afghan prison where Lindh was held, has been vocal in denouncing his release, although prosecutors and Ellis have said there was no evidence Lindh was involved in Spann's death. In a letter to the court Monday, Spann's father asked Ellis to investigate a 2016 intelligence report that, according to the publication Foreign Policy, said Lindh has "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." NBC News on Wednesday reported that Lindh had written to a network affiliate in 2015 and said he believed the Islamic State was "doing a spectacular job." The report said Lindh sent three letters to the station and in one said the terrorist group was "very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle, which is the only correct method." Lindh has served his time in a unit of Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution in Indiana, where interactions are highly restricted and monitored. Officials would not say what time of day he would be released. The morning release was first reported by CNN. "For safety, security and privacy reasons, we do not comment on individual release plans," a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons said. "Mr. Lindh is being released in accordance with applicable statutes and BOP regulations." In prison, he has remained religiously doctrinaire. Going by Yayyah Lindh, he successfully challenged a policy of strip-searching detainees in his unit before visits, because in Islam "a male person is prohibited from exposing the area of his body between the navel and the knees." He also won the right in court to cuff his pants above the ankles and participate in daily group prayer. "This is mandatory and not optional," he wrote in a 2009 letter to the prison authorities of his religious obligations. Lindh now must serve three years of supervised release during which he cannot hold a passport, use the internet without monitoring, view extremist or terroristic material, communicate with known extremists, or converse online in any language other than English without prior approval. He must undergo mental health treatment. He initially opposed the imposition of those conditions but ultimately acquiesced without a challenge. They were requested by his probation officer, according to an order from Ellis, "given the rare nature of the defendant's crime and his unique personal history and characteristics." Lindh's family and attorneys declined to comment. But in a question-and-answer session after the guilty plea, defense attorney Tony West said Lindh wanted to get a college degree and doctorate. West also said prosecutors initially wanted to bar Lindh from ever leaving the country again. Lindh refused to sign any agreement that prevented him from making a pilgrimage to Mecca. "I would hope that he would make a good transition," Paul McNulty, former U.S. attorney, said in advance of Lindh's release, adding that it was understood at the time of the plea that the Taliban supporter would qualify for early release on good behavior. He said the Justice Department was "confident" in its initial, stronger charges against Lindh but thought the plea agreement was "a fair and just resolution of the case." Lindh's attorney, William Cummings, said Lindh must reside in the Eastern District of Virginia to comply with probation. He said Lindh aims to lie low and keep out of trouble; his family has been concerned about death threats. Lindh, 21 at the time of his arrest, was raised outside San Francisco by a Catholic father and Buddhist mother. He converted to Islam as a teenager after reading "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and went to the Middle East to study Arabic and religion. He became increasingly fundamentalist in his views. Living in Pakistan, he wrote his family, "really makes me look upon American society with pity." At a madrassa there, he later told CNN, his "heart became attached" to the Taliban. He joined the group in Afghanistan, committing to the fight against the Northern Alliance for a "pure Islamic state." He trained at an al-Qaida camp where he met Osama bin Laden, but he told the FBI he declined to join the group or participate in attacks on the United States and Israel. His jihad, he said, was in Afghanistan. "Bin Laden's terrorist attacks are completely against Islam," he said at his sentencing, "completely contrary to the conventions of jihad and without any justification whatsoever. . . . Terrorism is never justified and has proved extremely damaging to Muslims around the world." _ _ _ The Washington Post's Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report. The Panasonic Corporation of China has not suspended business with Huawei and continues to supply the Chinese firm normally, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Huawei has long been an important partner of the company, the statement said, adding that Panasonic will continue to provide products and services to Huawei and other Chinese companies. Huawei on US blacklist Earlier on Thursday, media reports said that Japan's Panasonic has stopped business transactions with Huawei and its affiliates covered by the U.S. ban. Last week, Washington placed the Chinese tech company on its trade blacklist, blocking it from buying components from U.S. firms. Huawei: Business with Panasonic remains normal Huawei also said on Thursday that its business with Panasonic remains normal after the latter refuted reports of suspending shipments with the Chinese telecom giant. "Panasonic is an important partner of Huawei, we have close cooperation in various sectors. We thank Panasonic for its consistent support," said the company. Binyavanga Wainaina, a prize-winning Kenyan writer whose humorous, incisive books and essays explored themes of postcolonialism, gender and sexual identity, including his own decision to come out as a gay man in a country that long demonized homosexuality, died May 21 in Nairobi. He was 48. Tom Maliti, the chairman of Wainaina's literary organization, the Kwani Trust, confirmed the death to the Associated Press but did not give a precise cause. Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper reported that Wainaina had died at a hospital after a stroke, one of several he had suffered since announcing in 2016 that he was living with HIV. Easily recognizable by his short-cropped, rainbow-dyed hair, Wainaina was considered one of the finest African writers of his generation and a pivotal figure in Kenya's modern literary history. He received the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story "Discovering Home," a semiautobiographical tale of a young man returning to Kenya from South Africa. The next year, he founded the English-language literary magazine Kwani? (Swahili for So?), which spurred a wave of artistic creativity just as Kenya's autocratic president, Daniel arap Moi, left office after 24 years in power. "Binyavanga was unbound in his imagining - reminding us with art and characteristic playfulness what English can look like when it's an African language," Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, a Zimbabwe-born editor and literary critic, said in a tribute after Wainaina's death. As an editor and writer for publications in Africa and abroad, including Vanity Fair and the New York Times, Wainaina (pronounced why-NYE-na) spent much of his career working to dismantle stereotypes against gay Africans and the continent as a whole. He acquired international renown with his 2005 essay "How to Write About Africa," a satirical response to more than a century of overgeneralized, condescending works about the "dark continent." "Always use the word 'Africa' or 'Darkness' or 'Safari' in your title," he began, before advising Western writers to "treat Africa as if it were one country," "make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls" and avoid mentioning "school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation." "Africa is the only continent you can love - take advantage of this," he added. "If you are a man, thrust yourself into her warm virgin forests. If you are a woman, treat Africa as a man who wears a bush jacket and disappears off into the sunset. Africa is to be pitied, worshiped or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed." The essay was originally published in the British literary magazine Granta, which said that Wainaina's article was one of its most popular pieces. "As a student, he sent the magazine a strongly worded letter condemning our 1994 Africa issue," Granta tweeted Wednesday. "His ironic critique was so incisive and true that we published it." Wainaina drew glowing reviews for his 2011 memoir, "One Day I Will Write About This Place," and three years later released what he described as "a lost chapter" from the book, "I Am a Homosexual, Mum." With its release online, the essay became a "gay bombshell" in Kenya, the Daily Nation wrote, and made Wainaina one of the most prominent openly gay men in Africa. The story imagined his coming out to his mother on her deathbed - because of visa issues, he was unable to fly from South Africa to reach her in time - and his decades-long struggle to embrace his sexuality. He had known he was gay since he was 5, he said, but did not act on his feelings until five years after his mother's death, when he received "a massage and some brief, paid-for love" in London. "I cannot say the word gay until I am 39, four years after that brief massage encounter," he wrote. Wainaina said the article was inspired in part by increasing penalties against gays in Africa. Homosexual activity remains outlawed in Kenya, and the country's High Court is expected to rule on the law's constitutionality on Friday. Three months after he published the essay, Wainaina was named to Time magazine's list of "The 100 Most Influential People." "He felt an obligation to chip away at the shame" surrounding homosexuality, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote in Time. "By publicly and courageously declaring that he is a gay African, Binyavanga has demystified and humanized homosexuality and begun a necessary conversation that can no longer be about the 'faceless other.' " Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina was born in Nakuru, in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, on Jan. 18, 1971. His father was the managing director of an agricultural company, and his mother was a Ugandan-born hair salon owner. By 11, Wainaina recalled in his memoir, he found himself engrossed in storybooks. "If words, in English, arranged on the page have the power to control my body in this world," he wrote, "this sound and language can close its folds, like a fan, and I will slide into its world, where things are arranged differently." While in school, Wainaina preferred writing plays and novels over studying. He attended the University of Transkei in South Africa but dropped out and moved into a "one-room outhouse" to devote his life to reading. He came to support himself through a catering and food consultancy business in Cape Town, where he developed a collection of more than 13,000 African recipes, worked as a freelance food and travel journalist, and began writing short stories. (He later received a master's degree in creative writing from the University of East Anglia in England.) By 2001, when he was back in Kenya, he was urging almost everyone he knew to "write, write, write" - developing a roster of photographers, poets and short-story writers who ultimately contributed to Kwani?, considered the country's first literary journal. "He told us that in the new Kenya, you can talk about real issues," writer Alvas Onguru told The Washington Post in 2003. "You can talk about race and express yourself politically. So many friends and friends of friends who dreamed of being writers came out of the woodwork." "Since colonialism, we have been told how to think," Wainaina told The Post. "I think most people are thrilled that those days are gone. It's time for Kenyans to bring out their work and define themselves." Last year, he announced that he was engaged to his partner, a Nigerian whom he did not name publicly, saying they planned to marry and live in South Africa. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available. Wainaina served as the director of the Chinua Achebe Center for African Writers and Artists, based at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. But for all his lectureships, speaking appearances and magazine honors, he resisted being viewed as a world-changing activist - notably when he declined the World Economic Forum's 2007 "Young Global Leader" award. "The problem here is that I am a writer," he wrote in a letter to the organization. "And although, like many, I go to sleep at night fantasizing about fame, fortune and credibility, the thing that is most valuable in my trade is to try, all the time, to keep myself loose, independent and creative. . . . It would be an act of great fraudulence for me to accept the trite idea that I am 'going to significantly impact world affairs.' " For almost five hours, the infant girl remained strapped in her car seat, forgotten in a day-care center van that was parked in the sun on a 91-degree day. According to authorities, the 4-month-old was picked up from her home on Wednesday morning along with other children headed to the Ewing's Love and Hope Preschool and Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. But when her mother called at about 1 p.m. to make arrangements for her children, day-care employees realized the baby had never been checked in. When they opened the van, the girl was still there, sitting in the third row. And she was unresponsive. The day-care employees called emergency services, who attempted to resuscitate the girl and took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Authorities have not released her name. Jacksonville sheriff's office assistant chief Brian Kee told reporters on Wednesday that the child appeared to have died from a "heat-related injury" but that a homicide investigation was underway. On Wednesday, the Jacksonville sheriff's office arrested the day-care center's co-owner and director, Darryl Ewing, for child neglect. The 56-year-old was the sole driver of the van and was responsible for logging all the children transported in the vehicle, according to a department statement. The sheriff's office said Ewing was taken to a police station, where he refused to talk to detectives. He was later booked into jail. He appeared in court on Thursday, a local ABC affiliate, First Coast News, reported. He was charged with child neglect and is being held on a $75,000 bond. The sheriff's office said his actions "failed to provide the victim with the necessary supervision and provide services to protect the victim's physical health," which "contributed to the death of the victim." Ewing's Love and Hope Preschool Academy had not notified the Florida Department of Children and Families, which regulates day-care centers, that it would be transporting children, according to the agency. Therefore, its transportation methods were not being monitored. DCF has issued an emergency suspension order to cease operations at the day-care center, which had been licensed by the agency since 2016. Regulations require day-care facility drivers to keep a thorough log of all children transported in the vehicle, and a signature of a second staffer to verify that all children have left the vehicle. Drivers must also conduct visual inspections to make sure no child is left in the vehicle. "DCF immediately opened a joint child death and child-care licensing investigation in coordination with law enforcement," DCF secretary Chad Poppell said in a statement. "We will continue to support this family as they mourn the loss of their baby girl." The day-care facility had received two "Class II violations," which the agency defines as a violation that "could be anticipated to pose a threat to the health, safety or well-being of a child, although the threat is not imminent," and 13 "Class III violations," which are less severe and "pose a low potential for harm to children." A co-owner of the day care, Gloryian Ewing, was arrested in December 2017 and charged with child abuse after a parent alleged she had beaten two children, First Coast News reported. Ewing entered a pretrial intervention program and the charges were dropped in March 2019, according to records obtained by FCN. The 4-month-old is not the first infant to die after being left in a car in recent days. On Saturday, a 1-year-old girl died in Indianapolis after she was left in a car with her mother on an 84-degree day, Fox 59 reported. Her death is under investigation and results could take eight weeks, officials said. In 2018, 52 children died in hot cars, according to the National Safety Council, and an average of 38 children die annually because of vehicular heat stroke. And the fatalities are preventable. More than half of these deaths occur because a child is forgotten in the car. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The day after violent tornadoes ripped through parts of Missouri, authorities in the Jefferson City area and other parts of the state sifted through debris and swept the most devastated residential areas, searching for people in need of aid. About two dozen people were reportedly injured when the "wedge tornado" - which looks wider than it is tall - ripped through the capital at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday. The twister left a 3-square-mile trail of destruction. Authorities had received reports of collapsed apartment complexes and shredded mobile homes. People called to say they were trapped in their homes. Yet, there were no reported fatalities. Earlier in the night, tornadoes flew around Southwest Missouri, near the Oklahoma border, setting off alarm in Joplin, where on the same date eight years earlier a tornado killed 161 people. Tornadoes caused damage in nearby town of Carl Junction, and landed a deadly blow in the town of Golden City, where three people were killed. The Missouri Highway Patrol identified the victims as Kenneth Harris, 86, Opal Harris, 83, and Betty Berg, 56. Berg's husband, 56-year-old Mark Berg, also suffered serious injuries in the storm, Ozarks First reported. "We were very fortunate last night that we didn't have more injuries than what we had, and that we didn't have more fatalities across the state," Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, said at news conference. President Donald Trump tweeted that Missouri residents are "strong and resilient." The destruction in Jefferson City is the latest in a week of severe storms across the central United States. More than 60 tornado reports and nearly 400 river gauges in the region had exceeded flood stage as of Wednesday, resulting in several deaths and inundated communities, The Washington Post's Jason Samenow reported. Across Jefferson City on Thursday, the power was out, the gas had been turned off and dazed residents wandered the streets, stepping around the fallen trees that obstructed their neighborhood streets. In the center of East Dunklin Street, a windblown Mickey Mouse stuffed animal sat soaking wet. Twenty yards away was a home with no roof. Fallen power lines draped the pavement, and an uprooted crosswalk sign lay on a front lawn. Broken windows outnumbered intact ones. "It's devastation right now," Jerri Bowles, who lives in the capital city, said Thursday. "Jefferson City hasn't had a tornado in many, many, many years, and we all had this false sense of security that tornadoes just don't happen here. So last night we had our eyes opened." Before midnight Wednesday, the National Weather Service had urged Jefferson City residents to "shelter now!" as the tornado moved at 40 mph through the central Missouri region and shot debris about 13,000 feet into the air. Eric Wright of Jefferson City took refuge in his basement as the tornado went by, but not before he caught a glimpse of the storm. "It was this neon, turquoise green," he said Thursday afternoon, across the street from his damaged house. "It was beautiful in a scary way." Melvin Eldridge, who lives in the same neighborhood, woke to leaves hitting his face. The tornado had blown out part of his air conditioner, exposing his first-story apartment to gusts of wind. "It sounded like a train was coming," Eldridge later recalled, adding that he waited in his bathtub for the storm to pass. Nearby, Steve James woke his two sons and ushered them from the second floor to ground level. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the house started shaking. The family hid in a first-floor bathroom, huddled in the tub. Wind blew loose a door that landed on the steps James had just descended, and a metal railing leading to the front porch broke from the gusts. The front windows shattered. "How can 15, 20 seconds cause this?" he said Thursday afternoon while sitting in front of his damaged house. Despite the widespread damage, authorities announced with relief that injuries in Jefferson City had been minimal, that there were no fatalities and that there were no reports of missing people. Jefferson City police Lt. David Williams said that a 3-square-mile area received the brunt of the damage from the storm and that authorities worked through the night and into Thursday, moving from door to door and ensuring residents were safe. "It's a chaotic situation right now," Williams said. "We are trying to identify the people that need our help the most." Residents appeared to have heeded the warning sirens, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told CNN, which may have prevented mass casualties. "People were saying that they took cover, and they followed the precautions," Bowles said. "That's what saved lives. There's buildings up there that don't have walls left. You can see into rooms. There's beds on top of my office building from the neighborhood." Michael Moehn, the president of Ameren Missouri, the local utility, said at the midday news conference that about 2,000 people were without electricity in Jefferson City and that another 2,300 were powerless in Eldon, about 30 miles southwest of the capital. Nearly 200 electrical poles were broken, downed or damaged, and about 250 utility workers from across the state had been mobilized. The power grid had sustained "significant infrastructure damage," Moehn said. Authorities warned that as power is restored, utilities in damaged homes and businesses could be a hazard; they urged residents to resist cleaning up before authorities assess the structural integrity of their homes and businesses. Some government buildings were damaged, but the Capitol and governor's mansion appear to have escaped unscathed. Nonessential government workers were asked to stay home from work. Kayleigh De Rosa, a resident at the Hawthorne Apartments complex in Jefferson City, shared a cellphone video with KRCG that showed how her home had been blown out by the tornado, leaving her family homeless. The family's balcony was on her mother's car, and her next-door neighbor's home was equally dismantled by the force of the natural disaster. "As you can see over here, my bedroom window and everything is completely blown through, bricks everywhere," she said. "It's bad, guys." By Thursday afternoon, some Jefferson City residents were heading to shelters, looking for places to stay overnight. Bowles went to Memorial Baptist Church, where the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers made its base of operations. The group sent out teams to help residents, and Bowles prepared sandwiches, snacks and drinks for workers and anyone who needed food. "Our city needs us," she said. "And that's where we're going to be." - - - Bella and Mettler reported from Washington. WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration is gathering dozens of the world's top aviation officials in Fort Worth, Texas, for a meeting Thursday to talk about ungrounding the Boeing 737 Max, but several of those officials say they won't commit to clearing the troubled jet to resume flights until their own safety questions are answered. After two Boeing 737 Max jets crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia within five months of each other and under similar circumstances, international aviation authorities - in China, Europe and elsewhere - grounded the aircraft. The United States was among the last to do so. The U.S.'s reluctance to take quick action earned it criticism and raised questions about the rigor and independence of its decision-making and certification of the 737 Max under a system that grants Boeing far-reaching responsibilities for overseeing the safety of the company's own products. Now the FAA is seeking to regain the confidence of its peers and its leadership position in aviation safety. Officials from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have told the FAA that the Europeans need to make their own findings on the safety of Boeing's proposed fixes for the aircraft, a U.S. official said. FAA officials say they hope to show the world on Thursday what they've been doing to restore confidence in the plane they first certified as safe more than two years ago. Last week, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell, under congressional questioning, described the uncomfortable position the U.S. was in after the March crash in Ethiopia and a cascade of grounding announcements around the world, even as U.S. officials insisted that there was no data to support such moves. And he made a remarkable appeal for global unity regarding the 737 Max and its future. Given that "there is the perception, at least, of a crisis in confidence, particularly with regard to the airplane, and maybe larger," the goal for Thursday is to "sort of fix a process that didn't, in my opinion, go in a way that we're used to internationally," Elwell said. "Internationally, we are collaborative 99% of the time. When the Ethiopian accident happened, it was not a collaborative process, from Sunday night until Wednesday morning, despite our best efforts and attempts to have conversations. I know countries act, and they act for various reasons," Elwell said. Elwell was referring to the period after the Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday, March 10, when countries, seeing similarities between it and the October crash in Indonesia, barred the 737 Max from flying. It was Wednesday, March 13, when President Donald Trump announced that the United States was grounding the planes. Investigators say faulty information from external sensors led an automated anti-stall feature to repeatedly - and mistakenly - force the nose of the planes downward before the crashes. Elwell said the decision to allow the Max to return to service should be done together as much as possible. "On the ungrounding, I think it's just critically important that, as a global aviation community, we do what we do best - we collaborate, we exhibit transparency," Elwell said. FAA officials will "answer the questions I'm sure these countries are going to have of us, and then at the end of the day . . . my hope is that they have the confidence in our work and our analysis to make their ungrounding decisions, if that's where the discussion is, as close to our decision as possible, because I think that's important for the world to have some level of confidence," Elwell said. But whether Elwell's aspiration is within reach remains unclear. A spokesman for the EU aviation safety agency did not respond to a request for comment, but he told the Financial Times that the agency is working to return the plane "to service as soon as possible, but only once there is complete reassurance that it is safe." Among the conditions for doing that are that Boeing's design changes are approved by the European agency and that pilots are "adequately trained," according to the Financial Times. The issue of what would constitute sufficient pilot training is a crucial one. Among the questions is whether simulators should be required before the planes are allowed back in the air, which would be more expensive and time consuming yet also more immersive, or whether the needed training could be done on a tablet computer. Elwell said Wednesday that the issue is under review. He also said that under international protocols, the United States will be the first to lift the grounding, since it was the country that originally certified the Max, and that that would happen "only when we determine based on facts and technical data that it is safe to do so." Boeing has said it has crafted a software fix for the anti-stall feature, the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which has been implicated in the crashes. The fix makes the system reliant on two external sensors, rather than one, and is essentially meant to make the system less aggressive, to prevent it from overpowering pilots, as appears to have happened in the two crashes. Boeing and the FAA have faced sharp questions about why pilots were not given detailed information about the MCAS before the crashes. Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement last week that it was one of the few countries to purchase a Boeing Max 8 simulator, but "it's very unfortunate" that the simulator "was not configured to simulate the MCAS operation by the aircraft manufacturer." Boeing said Wednesday that it will continue to "fully support airline customers and regulators from around the world" as the software fix is examined and certified, and is supporting "enhanced pilot training and education that will help prevent accidents like these from happening again." Over the past two weeks, the company has held seven global conferences for airlines that operate the Max "to answer their questions and provide them with the information needed to safely return the updated Max to service, once FAA certification is complete and approval is gained from regulators around the world," the company said. A Jacksonville woman is doing her part to remember Civil War veterans this Memorial Day weekend, playing host at Jacksonville Public Library to a free screening of a PBS documentary looking at the sheer volume of deaths attributed to the war and how it affected Americas approach to death. People used to die at home and now they were dying in the (battle) field, Jeannie Hemphill said. It put a whole different spin on death and dying. A free screening of the PBS documentary Death and the Civil War, based on historian Drew Gilpin Fausts book, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War, will be at 6:30 p.m. today at the library. Its about what it did to families, what it did to dying at home, and how the Civil War really uprooted the entire nation, Hemphill said of the film. Many, many families couldnt come back together (after the war). Of course people rebuilt, but it was very disturbing. Since people (at the time) wrote letters, there is so much written about it and how it changed lives. An estimated and unprecedented 620,000 people died as a result of the Civil War approximately equal to American fatalities in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War combined, according to an article Faust wrote for the National Park Service website at nps.gov. That was about 2 percent of the U.S. population at the time, or a modern-day equivalent of around 6 million people, by Fausts calculations. As a result, soldiers were dying and being buried far from home often without identification. Very often theyre buried on their own without family, Hemphill said of Civil War soldiers. In Jacksonville, many of them were in the state hospital and didnt have family. I think thats terribly interesting and feel its worth remembering. Thats what Decoration Day is all about. Though the practice of decorating graves had a history long predating the Civil War, it took on new significance in the wars wake. John Alexander Logan, an Illinois native and politician and Union Army general who served as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic from 1868 to 1871, called for a more formal recognition of Decoration Day to honor fallen Civil War soldiers. The GAR, an organization for Union Civil War veterans, and others in the Union states readily embraced the holiday, which was similar to one Confederate states already had been marking for a few years. Decoration Day later was renamed Memorial Day. History never really spoke to Hemphill when she was a student, but the stories of Civil War soldiers stories she works to track via their tombstones and through other records speak volumes, she said. I really like to go out and see the old (grave) stones, she said. There arent really that many, and theyre really hard to read. But they tell such stories. Its so important to the history of the country. With the films 2-hour length and the librarys closing time, there wont be much time after the screening for discussion, but it will give those who attend the screening much to think about, Hemphill said. Hopefully some of us will walk out together and can talk about it on the way out, she said. The film is very powerful. Youll want to think about it. Well start right on time and will talk as much as possible. If you go A screening of Death and the Civil War will be at 6:30 p.m. today at Jacksonville Public Library. Admission is free and open to the public. Angela Bauer can be reached at 217-408-2057. A Chicago banker who loaned millions of dollars to Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was charged by prosecutors with bribery for seeking a post in the Trump administration in return for $16 million in loans. Stephen Calk was appointed to a post as economic adviser to Donald Trump's campaign in summer 2016, days after his bank approved a $9.5 million loan, federal prosecutors in New York said. Months later, after Trump was elected president, Calk was recommended for a position in the Trump administration while loans worth more than $6 million were awaiting approval at Calk's bank, they said. Calk presented a list of positions he wanted, ranking them from secretary of the Treasury on down to 19 ambassador posts beginning with the U.K. and France, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Calk, 54, faces a single count of financial institution bribery. He is scheduled to appear later in the day in federal court in New York. Calk's attorney didn't immediately return a call for comment. Manafort isn't named in court papers, but the description of the high-ranking campaign official matches him. Calk's name came up several times during Manafort's criminal fraud trial last year as a lender seeking a post in the administration. The indictment is the latest to target a Trump campaign associate and indicates that prosecutors are aggressively pursuing offshoots of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. In addition to Manafort, former Trump aides Michael Cohen and Michael Flynn have been convicted of federal crimes. The indictment also shows prosecutors have examined actions of Trump's transition team. About three weeks after Trump's election, Manafort sent Calk's request for a job to a senior transition official, who forwarded it to three other transition representatives with a recommendation to consider Calk, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say that Calk abused his positions as head of his bank and holding company to provide loans to Manafort, who Calk understood needed the loans to avoid foreclosures on multiple properties owned by him and his family. After Trump was elected, Manafort used his influence with the transition team to help Calk, recommending him for a position in the new White House. Calk was formally interviewed for the position of under secretary of the Army in January 2017 but wasn't hired, prosecutors said. Calk proceeded with the loans despite "significant red flags regarding the Borrower's ability to repay the loans, such as his history of defaulting on prior loans," according to the U.S. The Manafort loans became the single largest lending relationship at the bank. In addition, in order to enable the bank to issue the loans without violating legal limits on lending to a single borrower, Calk authorized a maneuver never before done by the bank, using the holding company -- which Calk also controlled -- to acquire a portion of the loans from the bank, prosecutors said. About July 2017, the bank's primary regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, downgraded the credit quality of the loans to "substandard," after determining that the bank's "satisfactory" classification was inappropriate, prosecutors said. Calk lied to regulators about the Manafort loans and falsely told them that he had never desired a position in the Trump administration, the U.S. said. After Manafort was charged, he subsequently stopped making payments to Federal Savings Bank, and the bank has foreclosed on the cash collateral securing the loans and written off the remaining principal balance -- more than $12 million, prosecutors said. In Manafort's trial last August, a witness testified that Calk expedited approval of two loans to Manafort despite red flags raised by his staff about Manafort's ability to repay. Calk wanted Manafort to help him land a job in Trump's administration as Treasury secretary or housing secretary, according to testimony at the Manafort trial by Dennis Raico, a former senior vice president at Federal Savings Bank. Jurors were also told that Calk was also interested in becoming secretary of the Army. Manafort's request "didn't go through the normal process because Mr. Calk was expediting the loan and pushing it through, notwithstanding the red flags," prosecutor Greg Andres said during Manafort's trial. "So there was agreement between Mr. Manafort and Mr. Calk to have the loans approved, they were approved, and in turn, Mr. Manafort proposed Mr. Calk for certain positions within the administration." Calk didn't receive a position in the administration. But a defense attorney countered that there was no evidence that Calk knew that Manafort had submitted false financial documents and questioned whether Calk could defraud a bank that he controlled. Manafort was convicted of tax and bank fraud in a trial in Alexandria, Virginia. Jurors deadlocked on some charges, including four relating to Federal Savings bank. A month later, Manafort pleaded guilty in Washington to two separate conspiracy counts, and he also admitted but didn't plead guilty to an assortment of other crimes, including defrauding Federal Savings Bank. China will further open and reform its markets, as well as facilitate a predictable business environment to help companies improve their ability to respond to risks, said the Ministry of Commerce. The ministry made the remarks after the United States government late last week ordered its tech companies to cut ties with China's Huawei and put a number of Chinese companies on an export blacklist , which makes it almost impossible for listed companies to purchase US-made goods. Gao Feng, ministry spokesman, said China will provide consumers in various countries with quality, reliable and diverse products. The Chinese government is confident it will protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, he said Thursday at a news conference. The misuse of the state power by the US to suppress Chinese companies not only seriously undermines the commercial cooperation between companies on both sides, but poses a serious threat to the safety of the global industrial chain, he said. He said China firmly opposes this and hopes that the US will remain rational and correct such dangerous practices. China in the meantime will follow the situation closely and be prepared for future change, he said. WASHINGTON - Before he left on a 10-day training maneuver, he called his mom to tell her the engagement ring was almost ready. It had Grandma's diamonds. And Marine 1st Lt. Hugh Conor McDowell designed it himself. He'd propose as soon as he returned, he confided. But he never got the chance. Conor, 24, had asked Kathleen Isabel Rose Bourque to move across the country only four days after they met for the first time face to face. That surprised his parents and floored hers. Kathleen packed a bag - a small carry-on was all she would bring to her new life - in the decisive, cinematic moment of their love story. They met through Hinge, a dating app, rather than any of the District of Columbia places they'd both been hanging out in for years, missing each other countless times. She liked that Conor's profile picture was a sweet mother-son shot of him, taken during a ceremony at The Citadel. "Who does that? Include his mother?" she said. As soon as they connected, they began texting furiously. Then they started talking on the phone. "The first call was from 10:30 at night until 6 a.m." Kathleen said. During those calls, they covered it all, from Conor's toddlerhood on Capitol Hill to his D.C. high school days. She learned about the sign language he picked up hanging out with his mom, Susan Flanigan, during some of her 26 years working at Gallaudet University, the French he spoke during his summers in a village in Burgundy, his drumming, his recipe for the perfect blueberry pancake. Kathleen was restless back home in her small North Carolina hometown, where she was working at a bakery after graduating from Loyola University in Baltimore with a psychology degree. She had studied military mental health systems, worked for the ROTC department in college and had family in the Navy. It wasn't a surprise she'd be attracted to a military man. Conor was about to cross the country to report for duty at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. From the moment his mom explained the 9/11 attacks to him by building the twin towers out of Legos, Conor said he was going to serve his country as a Marine. "If we had a choice, the Coast Guard would've been nice," said his father, Michael McDowell, an Irish-born former BBC journalist who had played a part in the Irish peace process. "But he was always going to be a Marine." Then, he was a Marine falling in love. "I'm not going to San Diego without meeting you," Kathleen said he told her. And he got into his truck and drove south to Salisbury, North Carolina. Her mom let him in when he got there. Kathleen was wearing her favorite white eyelet sundress, and she saw him at the bottom of the stairs. He was "wearing a Captain America T-shirt, khaki pants and his favorite brown boots," she said. "He was just so tall and broad and classically handsome." "I saw him. And that was just it. I just knew, every fiber in my being told me that was it. He was the one," she said. He stayed for four days. Mimosas and long walks. They went to the amusement park, and she conquered her lifelong fear of roller coasters. They talked and talked. They'd both done long-distance relationships before. They both hated them. "Come with me," he urged. It made no sense. They'd met July 11. It was July 15, and she was supposed to run away with him? But she did it. She packed that small bag and got into his truck. They drove across the country, windows down, singing out loud. "In the middle of the country, I freaked out. What have I done? I told Conor that everyone thinks we're insane," she said. "And Conor said: 'We both know we're insane. At least we're insane together.' " They got a small apartment in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, adopted two cats and a black lab puppy they named Ruthie, who ran in the California surf with Conor. Kathleen and Ruthie hated it when Conor went on his training operations. He wasn't on foreign soil or facing enemy gunfire. But she knew those training exercises were dangerous. Training for war, it turns out, has become deadlier for U.S. forces than actual war. Starting in 2015, training deaths have been outpacing combat deaths every year. In 2017, the ratio was 4 to 1, according to a report by the House Armed Services Committee. On May 9, Conor was in the turret of a light armored reconnaissance vehicle with six other Marines. As the Pacific's early summer morning haze known as June Gloom settled across the training grounds, visibility was poor. That's what some of the six men with the 1st Light Armored Battalion at Camp Pendleton told Michael McDowell when he visited them to reconstruct what happened that day. The San Diego rains were intense this spring, and the grasses had grown up to 6 feet high in some places. The men in the vehicle couldn't see very well, and Conor told them to go down below and look through the reticle gunsights, McDowell said he was told. Just as the gunner was coming back up to report the vision was no better down there, Conor started shouting, "Rollover! Rollover!" The vehicle lurched. "Conor saved the gunner in the twin turret on his left, quickly pushing the corporal down into the safety of the heavy armor, but it was too late to save his own life," his father said. The vehicle flipped over. The six Marines inside were hurt, suffering concussions and bruises. But Conor, the only one outside, was instantly crushed. "They told me they pulled an American flag out to cover his head and torso. They knew he was gone," McDowell said. The Marine Corps issued a statement about the occurrence, identifying McDowell and explaining that they are investigating. "We recognize that military operations are inherently dangerous and we take extreme precautions to ensure the safety and welfare of our Marines," the statement said. "We will do all we can to comfort the family, friends and colleagues of Lt. McDowell." Conor was the fourth person to die in a rollover during military training this year alone. McDowell said wants to know more about what happened that morning and wants to make sure it doesn't happen again. It's all a grieving father can do. "I want to make sure this is fixed, that he didn't die in vain." Conor's parents, who now live in Chestertown, Maryland, came to San Diego to help Kathleen pack their place up and see their only child's body. Kathleen returned to Maryland with them. She is living in his old bedroom, reading his field journals. They were full of references to her. She and Conor were supposed to be planning their wedding. Instead, this Memorial Day weekend, she will be at his funeral. She still can't believe he's gone. "Ten days. He was supposed to be gone for 10 days," she said. "Not forever." A Veterans Affairs employee is accused of recording videos of women in bathroom stalls. In January, Alex Greenlee, 24, of Maryland, allegedly recorded at least four people using the female bathroom, according to a court document filed Wednesday. An affidavit also said there was a fifth victim not yet identified. The incidents allegedly happened at the Department of Veterans of Affairs in Washington. Women reported finding micro cameras in stalls underneath toilets in a bathroom. Greenlee was questioned after the first one was found because he was seen outside the bathroom on his phone. He told law enforcement he went inside the womens restroom for paper towels. According to a female witness, he said the mens bathroom didnt have any. When advised of the cameras, he said he had no knowledge of them and said they didnt belong to him, authorities said. According to an affidavit, law enforcement reviewed video and determined he placed and/or maneuvered the cameras. At an arraignment Wednesday, Greenlee pleaded not guilty. A VA spokeswoman said Thursday the department has begun the process of firing him. If anyone had any doubts about Narendra Modi's popularity, India's masses just put them to rest. His Bharatiya Janata Party swept to another single-party majority on Thursday, a margin that surprised political watchers who expected him to return with a weakened mandate. A combination of economic populism, Hindu nationalism and air strikes against arch-rival Pakistan earlier this year proved unbeatable. "This is a stunning reaffirmation of Modi and the BJP and, conversely, a sharp rebuke of the opposition," said Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "The BJP will have wide latitude to redraw the boundaries between religion and politics in a way that favors the Hindu majority." In a speech to thousands of party workers in Delhi on Thursday night, Modi denounced parties that campaigned on secularism and said the electorate had rejected the idea while handing him a landslide. Peppering his speech with references to Hindu gods, he said his victory will be recorded as the biggest event in the political history of the world. "You must have seen how from 2014 to 2019, those who brandished the tag of secularism have stopped speaking," Modi told cheering supporters. "In this entire election, political parties wearing the veil of secularism couldn't misguide people." Investors pushed India's benchmark stock indexes to new highs on Thursday before the rally faded late in the session. The prospect of a coalition government, which was previously the norm for decades in India, had sparked concerns that the nation would see a return to the policy gridlock that led to Modi's first big win five years ago. The big question now is where Modi takes India over the next five years. After his 2014 win, he promised voters staples like jobs, toilets and affordable housing in a bid to bolster an economy where one in five people live on less than $2 per day. This time around, his presidential-style campaign focused more on stoking patriotism and appealing to Hindus who make up about 80 percent of the country's 1.3 billion people. "I worry that the communal bitterness unleashed in this campaign will make it hard to heal," said Alyssa Ayres, a former U.S. diplomat and now senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The Modi of five years ago spoke about development for all and inclusive growth. That message sounds pretty faint today." Modi's immediate task will be revving up the economy. Economists forecast growth in the three months through March at the slowest pace in almost two years, and fiscal space is limited to pay for promises like cash handouts to farmers and hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure spending. An escalating U.S.-China trade war and volatile oil prices -- India's biggest import -- are adding to the uncertainty. Most government ministries are focused on broad plans to create jobs and boost exports by 2022, the 75th anniversary of India's independence. "I expect a lot more on this new India 2022 -- the thrust on this is quite strong," said Amarjeet Sinha, a secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development. On foreign policy, Modi's mandate will also allow him to continue boosting India's role on the global stage, which included shifting closer to the U.S. to counter China. His administration is also expected to continue to rally global opinion against Pakistan. But the biggest question mark over Modi's second term is how hard he'll push a pro-Hindu agenda. Under his watch running the western state of Gujarat in 2002, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in deadly riots. While human-rights groups say Modi could've stopped them, a Supreme Court-appointed panel found no evidence he gave orders that prevented assistance for the victims. Modi's political career -- and the BJP itself -- is rooted in efforts to build a temple to the Hindu god Ram in the northern city of Ayodhya in the 1980s. Nation-wide riots after a mosque was demolished on the site in December 1992 killed at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. Modi told a local media outlet earlier this year that his government may issue an order to build the Ram temple after the Supreme Court decides on a pending land dispute over the site that has been in court for some seven decades. That would build on pro-Hindu measures during his first term, including a national ban on sale of cattle to slaughterhouses. Human Rights Watch cited the measure as a reason mobs of so-called cow vigilantes have killed dozens of Muslims across 12 Indian states since 2015. Cows are sacred to Hindus, while Muslims are traditionally cattle dealers and butchers. One victor Thursday was BJP member Pragya Singh Thakur, who was accused of planning bomb blasts in a Muslim neighborhood that killed six people in 2008 and also called founding father Mahatma Gandhi's assassin a patriot. Party leaders defended her candidacy. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, didn't fare as well after warning that Modi would erode the nation's secular roots. The grandson of the late Indira Gandhi (and great-grandson of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru) lost one of the two seats he contested. Congress only won a few more seats than it took in 2014, which was its worst performance since India's independence. "India hasn't seen this kind of concentration of power in an individual since Indira Gandhi's heyday more than 40 years ago," said Sadanand Dhume, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "Modi's personal triumph means there will be even fewer checks on his authority than before." - - - Bloomberg's Bibhudatta Pradhan, Shruti Srivastava, Pradipta Mukherjee and Ganesh Nagarajan contributed. Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar's almost two-month assault on the capital, Tripoli, has stalled and he can't take the city, according to a Russian special envoy to the oil-rich North African state. "It was absolutely predictable that Haftar would get bogged down," said Lev Dengov, who forecast a lengthy stand-off. The leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army "isn't capable of taking Tripoli. That's clear," Dengov said in an interview on Tuesday in Moscow. After intervening to tip the balance in Syria's civil war, Libya has emerged as another arena where Russia's flexing its geopolitical muscle in the region. Moscow has backed Haftar by providing training for his forces, according to Western diplomats and Russian media reports. At the same time, the Kremlin has built ties with the United Nations-backed government of Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj. Russia lost billions of dollars in contracts after the 2011 overthrow of Libya's former ruler Moammar Gadhafi. Fighting between the rival administrations has repeatedly interrupted oil shipments and production in Libya, which has Africa's largest proven crude reserves. Haftar, who controls much of Libya's east and south, appeared to get encouragement from President Donald Trump last month to take Tripoli and depose Sarraj's government, contradicting the administration's previous opposition to the assault. The military commander has also enjoyed support from France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Sarraj, who has backing from former colonial power Italy and other European countries, as well as Qatar and Turkey, is demanding that Haftar withdraws his forces to pre-offensive lines. The risk of a prolonged proxy war deepened after the Libyan government said this week that it had received a shipment of foreign weapons, weeks after announcing that Turkey would help its army fend off the assault by Haftar. Weapons have reached Haftar from Egypt in the past, according to the U.N. His forces have also used Chinese precision-guided Blue Arrow missiles sold to the UAE, according to experts who examined missile remnants. Libya is under a U.N. arms embargo. "If any actions happen that aren't sanctioned by the U.N., they are illegal and ineffective, they will only worsen the problem," said Dengov, who urged foreign backers of the rival sides to focus on mediating a resolution of the conflict. "If the parties inside the country remain at odds and the outside powers too, there won't be peace any time soon in Libya," he said. Achieving a cease-fire "would require input from the big Security Council members" such as Russia and the U.S., said Claudia Gazzini, a Libya analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. While Russia's role in Libya has been somewhat overshadowed by regional powers since the offensive began, it "still has some leverage over Haftar and has a certain degree of credibility" with the government, she said. U.N. Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame told the Security Council on Tuesday that the fighting around Tripoli, which has killed 460 people since it began in early April, risks descending into a "civil war which could lead to the permanent division of the country." Dengov criticized both Haftar and Sarraj for their unwillingness to sit at the negotiating table and abide by any agreements. He also expressed concern that possible steps by the central bank to effectively cut off the banking sector in Haftar's eastern stronghold could provoke him to retaliate by seizing control of oil exports. "It would be one of the most unwise decisions for the future of a united Libya," the envoy said. "It would lead to a new cycle of aggression and escalation." With Haftar's offensive having ground to a halt on Tripoli's outskirts, he's rejecting calls for a cease-fire that would involve withdrawing his forces. The conflict will continue until a leader emerges "who can unite everyone," said Dengov. "If that leader was Haftar, he would already be in Tripoli, the city would have fallen without a fight." Washington The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested forces. Officials said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran, but is aimed at reinforcing security in the region. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been formally announced. Thursday morning's meeting comes as tensions with Iran continue to simmer, and it wasn't clear if a decision would be made during the session. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump, flanked by more than a dozen U.S. farmers at the White House, on Thursday announced a new $16 billion farm aid package to offset losses from the U.S. trade war with China. Trump told the farmers in attendance, including an Idaho potato farmer wearing a red "Make Potatoes Great Again" cap, that he was "honored to have done this for you." "This support for farmers will be paid for by the billions of dollars the Treasury takes in" from China, Trump said. He said it will keep America's "cherished" farms thriving. Despite Trump's assertion, China does not pay tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese imports. Importers pay those tariffs, and some of them pass the cost on to U.S. consumers. In a conference call with reporters ahead of the event, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said $14.5 billion of the $16 billion would be paid out directly to producers, who have been hit hard by Trump's tariff showdowns with China, Mexico and other countries. "This package insures farmers will not bear the brunt" of the trade wars, Perdue said. Perdue acknowledged that U.S. farmers have been hit hard by the escalating trade fight with Beijing -- but he said that Trump was working hard to shield them from the worst impacts. He said he remained optimistic about reaching a comprehensive trade agreement with China. "All of us are hopeful of a renewed or signing of fair trade deal," Perdue said. "I can't recall a president more concerned about farmer well-being. We are working hard to assess trade damages and this package ensures farmers will not bear the brunt." After Trump slapped tariffs of 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese imports, Beijing retaliated with import taxes on U.S. agricultural commodities such as soybeans. But even before the trade war began, farmers around the country had been struggling with falling farm income and commodity prices, rising debt and the vagaries of weather, including historic floods through the Midwest and now rain that has delayed spring planting around the country. A new data analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation showed that Chapter 12 bankruptcies - which allows family farmers and fishermen to restructure their finances to avoid foreclosure - rose from March, 2017 to March 2018, particularly in areas like the Upper Midwest where farmers have been particularly hard-hit. Nancy Johnson, the executive director of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association, said that the aid would be welcome by her increasingly stressed out and frustrated members, that have seen the price of soybeans per bushel drop to around $7.25 - under the level where farmers can even break even - down from $14 per bushel in 2012. "We didn't expect this to take a year, that's where the frustration comes in," said Wayne Fredericks, 68, who farms corn and soybeans in Osage, Iowa. "I'm not going to turn it down, I can't afford to. Right now we're looking at just breaking even." Randy Spronk, a hog farmer and past president of the National Pork Producers Council, who attended the president's meeting with farmers, said that farmers realized the potential payouts will not make up for the losses due to a protracted trade war with China. "Will it cover the losses? No. But it makes enough of a difference to keep a lot of farmers so they can survive," he said. And, he said, farmers remained hopeful that the U.S., and China would soon come to a deal -- much as the U.S. came to an agreement with Canada and Mexico to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum. "As we saw from the metal tariffs, it can end very quickly-that's good news for us," Spronk said. The aid package is the second bailout for farmers after the Trump administration announced $12 billion in emergency measures last July. The latest relief package will be paid to farmers in three installments, with the first payment in July or August. Further payments would take place in November and January 2020 -- assuming the tariffs are still in place at that time, undersecretary for farm production and conservation Bill Northey told reporters on the call. The relief plan aims to avoid problems that arose in the first aid package when soybeans received what many believed was a disproportionate amount of the money, while corn received only a penny a bushel. Other producers were shut out entirely from relief payments. The bulk of the payments will be set aside for row crops such as alfalfa, wheat and oats, which will be paid at a single rate according to the number of acres planted in each county. More niche crops, including tree nuts, sweet cherries, cranberries and grapes, will also be eligible for relief, depending on tariff impacts. Dairy and pork producers also stand to receive relief under the system. Distributing relief funds by-county, and not by commodity, will hopefully discourage farmers from planting crops that would be more lucrative in aid money. An additional $1.4 billion will be used to purchase surplus food for food banks, schools and Native American tribes. Trump said he allocated funds to the farmers because "trade has been very unfair to them." He also said the farmers, who have been supportive of him politically, tell him he's "doing the right thing" because they know China has been "unfair to this country." As Trump left the event, he turned to the Idaho potato farmer and said, "I'd rather be farming potatoes." Two suspected meth smugglers from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, have been sentenced to federal prison. Jesus Francisco Perez-Lumbreras, 36, and Gerardo Cervantes-Valenzuela, 27, pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to conspiracy to import methamphetamine, according to court documents. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Cervantes-Valenzuela to 120 months while Perez-Lumbreras received a 57-month sentence. Both are expected to be deported following their sentences. Federal authorities said the case unfolded Nov. 26, 2018. Perez-Lumbreras arrived at the World Trade Bridge in a white box truck. He was transporting a shipment of safety valves from Nuevo Laredo to Laredo. He was then referred to a non-intrusive inspection, according to court documents. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer observed Perez-Lumbreras truck parked in the drivers waiting area instead of Perez-Lumbreras truck going to the non-intrusive inspection area, states the arrest affidavit filed Nov. 28. READ MORE: Two arrested for alleged firearm theft, tampering with evidence Perez was observed conversing in a suspicious manner with a truck driver identified as Cervantes-Valenzuela. A CBP officer approached both and saw what appeared to be a new speaker box in the cab of the tractor driven by Cervantes-Valenzuela. An identical speaker was also found in Perez-Lumbreras box truck. A K-9 unit alerted to possible contraband in both speakers, the affidavit states. In a secondary inspection, CBP officers said they discovered 10 packages inside the speakers. The packages contained 18 pounds of methamphetamines, court documents state. Homeland Security Investigations special agents and task force officers took over the case. Cervantes-Valenzuela allegedly agreed to a post-arrest interview with authorities. READ MORE: Man arrested after theft from Laredo funeral home reported Cervantes-Valenzuela admitted having hired Perez-Lumbreras to smuggle the drugs into the United States for 40,000 pesos, or about $2,100. Cervantes-Valenzuela allegedly stated Perez-Lumbreras called him because he was being referred to secondary for inspection and was getting nervous. Cervantes-Valenzuela stated he stopped at secondary to try to retrieve the speaker box from Perezs tractor, states the affidavit. Perez also agreed to talk to authorities. He too admitted to being hired by Cervantes-Valenzuela, according to court documents. You are here: China China will improve the sound development of private hospitals in a bid to increase medical service supplying and improve people's wellbeing. The decision was made at a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday. Deepening reform of the medicine and healthcare system and actively promoting the development of private hospitals will help meet people's needs for medical services, better stimulate market vitality and unleash service consumption potential, said a statement released after the meeting. Space for the development of private hospitals should be expanded, it said, adding that government departments should not impose restrictions on the aggregate volume as well as layout of private hospitals. The meeting also required enhancing approval efficiency for private hospitals and that all localities should establish a cross-department approval mechanism by the end of this year. China will beef up policy support for private hospitals and treat them equally with public ones in terms of interprovincial on-the-spot settlement of medical bills through basic medical insurance accounts. Private hospitals will be encouraged to conduct cooperations with public medical institutions in developing Internet Plus Healthcare models and carrying out remote medicare services, according to the statement. Private hospitals providing services in communities will enjoy reduction or exemption of fees and taxes in accordance with related rules. Meanwhile, supervision over the sector will also be enhanced to crack down on violations. President Xi Jinping chairs a meeting in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on Tuesday about advancing the development of the central region. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping stressed the significance of owning independent intellectual property rights and core technology while visiting a producer of rare earth, which he hailed as an "important strategic resource", in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, on Monday. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited the JL MAG Rare-Earth Co immediately after he arrived in Jiangxi for the three-day inspection tour. At the company, Xi learned about its production and operation, the rare earth industry's development in Ganzhou, the development and application of the country's rare earth resources, and the environmental protection measures the company takes in production. Only when a company has independent intellectual property rights and core technology will it make competitive products and succeed amid fierce competition, Xi said. Noting that technological innovation is the lifeblood of enterprises, Xi encouraged the company to focus on technological innovation and master more core technologies. Rare earth is a non-renewable important strategic resource, Xi said, adding that more efforts are needed to upgrade the technology for its exploitation and application, increase its added value, and protect the environment, to achieve green and sustainable development. At a meeting held in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, on Tuesday afternoon, Xi called for efforts to make new advances in the development of the country's central region. Xi presided over the meeting, at which he was briefed by the Party secretaries of Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and Hunan provinces, as well as He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission. Promoting the rise of the central region is an important strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee, Xi said, adding that it has great significance in achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Xi said that although China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for its development, the country faces an increasingly complicated international situation. He cautioned that the government should have a clear outlook on the long-term and complex characteristics of all unfavorable factors both at home and abroad, and should prepare for all possible difficulties. The most important thing for China is to focus on its own issues, Xi said, adding that joint efforts are needed to push forward reform and development. Xi required governments in the central region to promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing sector and speed up the application of digital, internet and intelligent technologies in all areas. More efforts are needed to promote independent innovation capabilities in key areas, speed up developing core technologies with independent intellectual property rights, encourage the innovation of original technologies, and enhance intellectual property right protection, Xi said. He called on the governments to build a stable, fair and transparent business environment, and to help private enterprises and small and medium-sized companies to address their difficulties in finance. Governments in the central region should attract advanced manufacturing enterprises moved from the coastal region, take part in Belt and Road international cooperation, enhance the protection of the environment, create more jobs for poverty reduction and make relevant policies to support the rise of the central region, Xi said. A 30-year-old man was arrested Wednesday, more than a year after he allegedly injured his 3-month-old daughter so badly she later died. Arthur Martinez now faces a charge of injury to a child causing severe bodily injury in the death of Melanie Martinez. He will be booked into the Bexar County Jail on Wednesday. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox According to police, Martinez called 911 on May 7, 2018, and informed dispatchers his daughter was blue in the face and wasn't breathing. When she was hospitalized, doctors discovered she had suffered severe head trauma and retinal hemorrhaging. Martinez initially chalked the girls injuries up to a tumble from the couch, but later changed his story. "Since the very beginning of being interviewed with detectives, Mr. Martinez has consistently changed his story, and his story does not match up with the injuries that this child suffered," said Jennifer Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the police department. READ ALSO: San Antonio man accused in King Jay's death is not the father, mother testifies Melanie Martinez died five days after she was hospitalized. Homicide detectives eventually passed the case off to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, who then presented the case before a grand jury. The jury issued an arrest warrant on the first-degree felony charge, and Martinez was subsequently arrested on the South Side. Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com Caleb Downs covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | cdowns@mysa.com | @calebjdowns Sun Jiadong, former chief designer of the Beidou navigation system, tries out a device combining Beidou and augmented reality technologies at an exhibition in Beijing on Wednesday. [Photo/China Daily] Chinese researchers are developing a satellite-based monitoring system capable of tracking and reporting the location of airliners in flight in nearly real time, according to project leaders. Sky Mirror, designed by China Electronics Technology Group Corp's 54th Research Institute in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, will enable air traffic controllers to avoid another tragedy similar to that involving Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in which ground control lost the tracking of the jetliner due to suspected human factors, and will also help rescuers quickly and accurately locate airliners in distress. With these advantages, the system will extensively improve civil aviation industry safety around the world, said Wei Haitao, deputy head of the institute's satellite navigation operation. MH370, which carried 239 passengers and crew, disappeared from radar screens during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. "After the MH370 incident, the need for time-sensitive air traffic surveillance has rapidly increased," he said. "We were asked by our civil aviation authorities to design and construct a space-based network that can monitor and track the real-time location and flight trajectory of civil airliner." Currently, air traffic controllers mainly rely on ground surveillance radar to track flights, but this approach is subject to many restrictions such as the radars' detection range and the absence of such equipment on the sea. The improved method, involving the use of a satellite-enabled device called automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, or ADS-B, in which a plane obtains its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts the information to ground control, also requires a certain number of ground facilities along the flight route. In contrast, Sky Mirror will consist of a number of satellites placed in low-Earth orbit and will receive signals emitted by the ADS-B from airborne airliners, no matter where they are, and then transfer the location to ground control, Wei explained. He said new airliners to be delivered to domestic carriers in the future will all be equipped with ADS-B capable of receiving navigation and positioning signals from China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System, and will benefit from Beidou's high-accuracy services. Ye Hongjun, project manager of Sky Mirror, said the system's first satellite will soon be launched on a Long March 11 carrier rocket to perform a two-year technological demonstration. He added that eight such satellites are scheduled for launching in 2021 to form a regional system covering the Asia-Pacific region and will then offer commercial services to airlines. China is the second nation, after the United States, that is developing and building a space-based air traffic surveillance network. The researchers made the remarks on the sidelines of the 10th China Satellite Navigation Conference which opened in Beijing on Wednesday. This year, Christus Santa Rosa Health System is proudly celebrating its sesquicentennial 150 years of providing the highest quality, compassionate, faith-based health care to San Antonio and surrounding communities. In 1866, three young Catholic sisters bravely answered a plea by Bishop Claude Dubuis to leave their native France and come to Texas to care for victims of smallpox, cholera and other deadly diseases. They founded the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Galveston and in 1869 brought their ministry to San Antonio. Guided by their mission to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, the sisters opened the Santa Rosa Infirmary with an ad in the local newspaper welcoming all those in need, regardless of race, religion or ability to pay. As San Antonio has grown and developed over the past 150 years, so too has Christus Santa Rosa. Today, this health ministry includes five major hospital facilities, numerous outpatient health care centers, state-of-the-art technology and clinical programs designed to meet the unique needs of South Texans. Christus Santa Rosa partners with Baylor College of Medicine to operate the Childrens Hospital of San Antonio, the only free-standing, teaching hospital in the city entirely dedicated to childrens health care. Christus Santa Rosa is also the anchor institution of Christus Health, a leading international health system, which operates more than 100 hospitals and large outpatient facilities throughout the United States and Central and South America. The Christus Santa Rosa Health System is so much more than its buildings and cutting-edge technologies. It is the people of Christus Santa Rosa, grounded in their commitment to its mission, that make this health system a true ministry. Thousands of dedicated doctors, nurses, clinical technologists and administrative staff serve as the healing hands and heart of Christus Santa Rosa, working tirelessly to ensure that every patient and family receives the highest quality care with genuine compassion and respect. Christus Santa Rosas board members, donors and volunteers give their time, talent and treasure to ensure that the ministry has the resources necessary to care for all in the community, regardless of their ability to pay. As we look to the next 150 years of this health ministry, we are grateful for the support and trust of the San Antonio community. We are also mindful that our mission, to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, is as urgent today as it was when our founding sisters first came to San Antonio. Like them, we are deeply committed to our community and to ensuring that the care we provide responds to the real and changing needs of those we serve and all we do honors the beauty and diversity of San Antonio and South Texas, always. Dean Alexander is president and CEO of Christus Santa Rosa Health System. Sister Teresa Maya is congregational leader of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. NEW DELHI He called himself Indias watchman, even as minorities said they felt unsafe under his gaze. He boasted of his humble origins while doing favors for billionaires. He spoke the language of business, yet could not deliver enough jobs to Indians aspiring to a better life. Despite those contradictions, Narendra Modi, Indias incumbent prime minister, led his party to a stunning election victory Thursday, eviscerating the opposition and giving Hindu nationalists the strongest hand they have ever held in modern Indian history. His mix of brawny Hindu nationalism, populist humility and grand gestures for the poor like building tens of millions of new toilets helped him become the first prime minister in nearly 50 years to win a majority in successive parliamentary elections. This is the victory of the mother who was longing for a toilet, Modi said in a speech to supporters on Thursday night. This victory is of the farmers who sweat to fill the stomachs of others. Many Indians see Modi, 68, as a nationalist icon. He stood up to China, nearly went to war with Pakistan and brought India closer to the United States. During the campaign, he described himself as the chowkidar the watchman. And many Indians felt he was the best leader to raise Indias standing in the world. His success mirrors the rise of right-leaning populist figures around the world. But detractors say his commitment to giving more power to the countrys Hindu majority has struck fear in the Muslim minority and is pulling the countrys delicate social fabric apart. Under him, mob lynchings have shot up, Muslim representation in parliament has dropped to its lowest level in decades, and right-wing Hindus have felt emboldened to push an extreme agenda, including lionizing the man who fatally shot the independence hero Mohandas Gandhi. Yet in Indian politics today, no other figure can approach Modis aura. Analysts call him larger than life and a cinematic character. His Bharatiya Janata Party, by far Indias richest and most aggressive, has built a personality cult around him, and in speeches he refers to himself in the third person. Are you happy that Modi kills by entering homes? he thundered at a recent rally, recalling the airstrike he ordered on Pakistan in February. Doesnt your chest puff out with pride? The crowd cheered. In contrast, Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party and the scion of a long political dynasty, is widely perceived as inexperienced and weak. In acknowledging his defeat, Gandhi said that the country was engaged in a long ideological battle, and love never loses. The election turnout was one for the history books the largest democratic exercise ever. From April 11 to May 19, more than 600 million Indians cast ballots at a million polling stations. Jeffrey Gettleman, Vindu Goel, Kai Schultz, Suhasini Raj and Hari Kumar are New York Times writers. The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks! Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics. The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc. The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics. The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates. Access to college recruiters and advisors its harder to line up higher education. Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family. Vote View Results 43-year-old father of two Garry Murtagh lives in Dromard with his wife, Lorraine, and two kids. He worked in the construction industry for 20 years until the recession struck and, in 2011, he gained employment with Longford Community Resources Clg (LCRL), while completing a BA in Community Development & Business Enterprise. Garry now co-ordinates the Tus initiative in Co Longford for LCRL, which supports an extensive range of community groups and individuals and helps to deliver vital services throughout the county, such as Village Enhancement Projects, Social Care and Charity Organisation Initiatives. Also read: Longford County Council officially launches Property Marking Scheme He is also a Director of Leebeen Park, Chairperson of the Colmcille Area Development Group and an active volunteer with various charitable organisations. He has also represented Longford and Colmcille on the field at all levels in the GAA. If elected, Garry hopes to help stem the demise of rural Longford; procure additional supports for people with disabilities, the elderly and youth; promote mental health & wellbeing. He also hopes to lobby for road improvements, rural transport, broadband for rural Longford, while promoting tourism and jobs in the county and the preservation of the environment, and striving for better supports for local farmers. Australia has proven to be a hugely popular destination for Irish people with over 100,000 emigrating there in the last decade. The Irish desire to pack up everything and head to Oz seems to be stronger than ever before with 9,000 Irish people going on the Australia Working Holiday visa this past year, a massive increase of 11% since the year before. However, its still not enough for the Aussies! 2,500 WORTH OF SHOPPING VOUCHERS TO BE WON! They want more of us to head Down Under. Tourism Australia has launched a new campaign called Australia Inc. This new initiative seeks to fill thousands of jobs available right now in Australia in a wide range of industries. To help answer their call for Irish backpackers, Tourism Australia have partnered with USIT the work and travel visa experts. USIT can get you to Australia for less than a grand! For only 999 you can get a flight to Oz, a visa, travel insurance and other includes to help you get set up. Check out USITs website for more details. Also check @australia on Instagram for some serious motivation to make the move! Why go to Australia on a working holiday visa? Well according to Australia Inc Australia is the best workplace in the world. A year spent in Australia is all about learning, discovering and experiencing. While some might imagine a year spent sunbaking on the sand, a working holiday gives you valuable real-life experience that you couldnt gain by staying home. Earning money while you travel will allow you to stay longer and explore further. Youll get international experience on your C.V no matter where or what you work as, Irish employers love this. Tourism Australia Managing Director, John OSullivan said, Australia Inc. will target a new generation of young Irish traveller and show them that a working holiday in Australia not only offers incredible fun and a life changing experience, but also the environment and opportunity to improve their life skills and employability after they return home. Working holiday makers are crucial to Australias tourism industry, especially the Irish, who have been coming Down Under in large numbers for many years. Dont forget the rules recently changed for Irish passport holders so you can now head to Australia on a one year visa up until the age of 35 (it was previously 30). If youve any questions USIT are on hand so head to their website for more information. Also read: MEP candidate Saoirse McHugh comes home to her Longford roots in Moydow Flash Civil aviation agreements signed by China and the European Union (EU) will enrich the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said Wednesday. The signing also demonstrated their resolve to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation for common interests under current circumstances, he said. Lu made the remarks at a press briefing when asked if China's increasing cooperation with the EU in civil aviation safety area was due to the safety concerns of Boeing aircraft. China and the EU signed two milestone agreements on civil aviation in Brussels on Monday, the first of its kind ever reached in the 20 years of cooperation in the civil aviation sector between China and Europe. Lu said the agreements marked a concrete measure to implement the joint statement of the 21st China-EU leaders' meeting last month, and both China and the EU have always had a strong will to cooperate in the field of civil aviation safety. As for the safety concerns of Boeing aircraft, the spokesman said it is natural for relevant stakeholders to show concerns over safety risks of Boeing's relevant aircraft and claim their legitimate rights. Apart from the local and European elections you will also be asked on Friday to vote on a proposal to change the Constitution of Ireland in relation to divorce. The Referendum Commission says the proposal is about two issues relating to divorce, namely how long people must be living apart before applying for a divorce, and the recognition of foreign divorces. There will be one question on the ballot paper and voters can either vote Yes to allow both changes, or No to reject both changes. Voters cannot accept one change and reject the other. You are being asked whether or not to change the current Article 41.3 of the Constitution. Voters will be asked if they wish to remove this clause at the date of the institution of the (divorce) proceedings, the spouses have lived apart from one another for a period of, or periods amounting to, at least four years during the previous five years. It is likely that the Government will reduce the waiting time from four to two years through legislation. The Government also asks if people want to remove this wording relating to foreign divorces: No person whose marriage has been dissolved under the civil law of any other State but is a subsisting valid marriage under the law for the time being in force within the jurisdiction of the Government and Parliament established by this Constitution shall be capable of contracting a valid marriage within that jurisdiction during the lifetime of the other party to the marriage so dissolved. The Referendum asks if you wish to replace this section with the text as follows: Provision may be made by law for the recognition under the law of the State of a dissolution of marriage granted under the civil law of another state. In 1995, a referendum was passed by the people which removed the prohibition on divorce by permitting a court to grant a divorce under certain conditions. The Constitution originally prohibited divorce within the State. Independent candidate Peter Casey is calling on Longford voters to put their county at the heart of the EU by voting for him on Friday. The Midlands North West candidate said he will provide the strong independent voice Longford needs and deserves in the EU Parliament. Mr Casey said, Longford is suffering from years of neglect and needs a strong independent voice to fight for our prosperity. On May 24, you will have the opportunity to put Longford and your interests into the heart of Europe by lending me your support. I am committed to connecting Longford and rural Ireland to the heart of Europe I am dedicated to fighting to improve our rural economy, infrastructure, internet connectivity, education, housing and security. Mr Casey is calling for a temporary suspension of freedom of movement to Ireland in light of the serious economic, societal and environmental difficulties Brexit presents. Wed be overwhelmed, we couldnt afford it. The Government is already failing to address the housing crisis in Ireland, he said. On rural regeneration, Mr Casey remarked, Rural Ireland has been abandoned, to the extent that young people living there feel they must leave to be successful. I will drive to ensure our towns and villages are well connected and properly serviced places where more people want to live and work. Covering thirteen counties and with a population of 1,523,517, the Midlands North West constituency is vast. The constituency, which has a strong tradition of supporting Independent candidates, takes in Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal in Ulster; all five counties of Connacht (Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Galway and Mayo); and five counties in Leinster - Kildare, Longford, Louth, Meath and Westmeath. Three of the four outgoing MEPs Matt Carthy (Sinn Fein), Luke 'Ming' Flanagan (Independent) and Mairead McGuinness (Fine Gael) are seeking re-election, while Marian Harkin (Independent), a MEP since 2004, is retiring. A Sunday Business Post/Red C poll published last weekend indicates healthy support for the three outgoing MEPs in the congested field of seventeen candidates. First vice-president of the European Parliament, Ms McGuinness polled at 27%, with Carthy and Flanagan coming in at 14% and 12%, respectively. Three other candidates would also appear to be firmly in the shake-up to capture a seat - Independent Peter Casey who was on 10%, Fine Gaels Maria Walsh, also 10%, and Fianna Fails Brendan Smith on 9%. FFs second candidate in the field, Anne Rabbitte, was seventh highest in the poll with 6%, leading one to believe that with astute vote management FF could reclaim the seat it lost in 2014. Votes didnt transfer between FFs two candidates five years ago - Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher and Thomas Byrne - so theyll be hoping history doesnt repeat itself. In an effort to avoid this, FF headquarters issued a directive to its candidates - Cavan/Monaghan TD Smith & Galway East TD Rabbitte - to split the constituency for canvassing purposes. Education Minister Joe McHugh is FGs Director of European Elections for the Midlands North West constituency and he is urging Longford voters to vote number one Maria Walsh and number two, Mairead McGuinness. In 2014, McGuinness secured 92,080 first preference votes and she was the second candidate elected behind poll topper Luke Ming Flanagan (124,063 votes or 19.2%). In the Red C poll, Ming was down seven points on that showing and although he may not top the poll on Friday, the Roscommon man should have sufficient support to get him over the line. Businesswoman and former Rose of Tralee winner, Walsh is contesting her first election, and her campaign is gathering steady momentum. An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has also added significant clout and profile to Ms Walshs election bid by joining her on the canvass trail and FG insiders are quietly confident that they can pull off a remarkable double success. Five years ago, Sinn Feins Matt Carthy garnered 114,727 first preferences and it would be a surprise if he failed to retain his seat. An intriguing aspect of the Midlands North West constituency race is the presence of Independent Peter Casey, who was runner-up in the Presidential election to Michael D Higgins and the former Dragons Den businessman actually polled stronger in Longford than Michael D. Mr Casey is renowned for shooting from the hip and it will be interesting to see if his sound bytes resonate with voters as strongly as they did in the build up to last Octobers presidential election. Votes will be counted in Castlebar and keep an eye on longfordleader.ie for Elections 2019 updates. LOrient-Le Jour was able to obtain a copy of the latest version of the 2019 draft budget that is being compiled by Saad Hariris government. The main provisions of the budget follow below. But the document does not include the latest estimates of government expenditures and revenue, making it impossible to calculate the projected government deficit. Since the beginning of the month, the Council of Ministers has held intensive meetings aimed at reaching a final agreement on the budget amid sharp tensions between Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. The tensions could cause the adoption of the draft budget and its referral to parliament to be further delayed. Austerity measures aimed to achieve budgetary savings: - Capping the fees for judges providing advisory services in other administrations at three times the minimum wage (currently $450). - A freeze on early retirement for civil servants for a period of three years (including military and security forces), unless civil servants agree to a 25 percent pension reduction. - A three year blanket freeze on all recruitment in the public sector, including in the army. Top tier civil servants will not be affected by the freeze. - Capping total allowances received by the military (as well as other civil servants) per year at the equivalent of 75 percent of their main salary for the same year. - A monthly deduction of 3 percent to the pensions of retired military personnel that will be used to finance their health care coverage. - Reduction of annual leave, beginning in 2020 (excluding teachers and judges), from 20 to 15 days with the possibility of earning an extra day off every five years. - Prohibiting the combination of a civil service salary and a civil service pension. - A halt to bonuses and other allowances other than those earned in the 12 month salary structure, with the exception of certain public establishments which will still be able to pay a 13 or 14 month salary each year. - An investigation by the Central Inspectorate to determine the cost of the State's contribution to tuition fees for pupils enrolled in free private schools. - An increase in the number of years of effective service required to apply for retirement from 20 to 25 years in administration, 18 to 23 years for soldiers and noncommissioned officers in the army, 20 to 25 years for officers and 15 to 18 years for specialist officers. - Rescheduling some loan programs. New tax provisions - The introduction of a temporary tax (effective until the end of 2022) of 2 percent on the value of imports, to be collected by Customs. The tax will exclude electric and hybrid vehicles and equipment and raw materials used in the agricultural and industrial sectors. From 2020 to 2022, 35 percent of the revenue generated by this tax will be allocated to support programs for productive sectors and the financing of subsidized housing loans. - Amendments to the income tax law + On monthly salaries and on retirement pensions that will be subjected to income tax starting July 1, 2019: 2 percent on wages and salaries not exceeding 6 million LBP ($4,000) and 1 percent on retirement pensions in that same bracket. 4 percent on wages and salaries ranging from 6 million LBP ($4,000) to 15 million ($10,000), and 2 percent on retirement pensions falling in the same bracket. 7 percent on salaries, wages and pensions ranging from 15 million LBP ($10,000) to 30 million LBP ($20,000). 11 percent on salaries, wages and pensions ranging from 30 million LBP ($20,000) to 60 million LBP ($40,000). 15 percent on salaries, wages and pensions ranging from 60 million LBP ($40,000) to 120 million LBP ($ 80,000). 20 percent on salaries, wages and pensions ranging from 120 million LBP ($80,000) to 225 million LBP ($ 150,000). 25 percent on salaries, wages and pensions exceeding 225 million LBP ($ 150,000). This is a new tax bracket for taxpayers. + The addition of a sixth tax bracket above 225 million LBP ($150,000) for taxpayers taxed on industrial and commercial profits that will be taxed at 25 percent as of the fiscal year of 2019. Until then, these taxpayers will be included in the 5th bracket and taxed at 21 percent. - A temporary increase in the tax on bank interest from 7 percent to 10 percent. This increase will be effective the day after the publication of the Budget Law for 2019 and remain in effect for a period of three years. - The VAT Law has been amended to reduce the minimum turnover below which companies are not subject to VAT. While it was reduced in 2017 from 150 to 100 million LBP a year ($100,000 to $66,000), it will now be reduced to 50 million ($33,300). - The cancellation of all customs exemptions (of all types), with the exception of goods subject to trade agreements, materials and equipment used by the industrial and agricultural sectors, equipment used by persons with special needs, electric and hybrid vehicles and tax exemptions granted under the tax law governing the offshore hydrocarbon sector. Goods that can be proven to have been sent directly to Lebanon before the publication of the 2019 Budget Law will qualify for exemptions. - The cancellation of exemptions from vehicle registration fees and the MOT tax, with the exception of persons with special needs, the State, public institutions, municipalities, consular and diplomatic corps and UN organizations . The President, Parliament Speaker and Prime Minister, deputies and ministers who benefited so far from these exemptions are also affected by this cancellation. - The monthly allowances received by the President, the Parliament Speaker, the Prime Minister, deputies and former deputies will now be subjected to income tax. The former Presidents of the Republic, Speakers of the Parliament and former Prime Ministers are also affected by this provision. An increase in fees collected by General Security: 35,000 LBP ($23) for an authorization to broadcast an advertisement; 700,000 LBP ($467) for a work permit for 1st category artists; 250,000 LBP ($167) for a work permit for 2nd category artists; 25,000 LBP ($17) for port entry (monthly declaration); 250,000 LBP ($167) for port entry (annual declaration); 75,000 LBP ($50) for visas valid for three months / single entry; 150,000 LBP ($100) for visas valid for six months / multiple entries; - Tour companies that host foreign tour groups for organized tours will be subjected to a new fine of 3 million LBP (US $1,950) for each tourist under their responsibility who does not show up for the group's scheduled return. The payment of this fine must be made before the return of the rest of the group of tourists. - The introduction of new fees to be collected by General Security: 50,000 LBP ($33) for any advertisement poster; 50,000 LBP ($33) for any sponsor change for foreign workers; 200,000 LBP ($133) for each annual authorization granted to an agent to access the port premises; - The introduction of a contribution of at least 20 million LBP ($13,333) for the registration of new 3-digit car registration plates in addition to an annual fee of 1 million LBP ($667) to 2.3 million LBP ($ 1,533); a contribution of at least 350,000 LBP ($233) for those with 4 digits in addition to an annual fee ranging from 160,000 LBP ($107) to 1.3 million LBP ($867), among others. - To encourage natural and legal persons who acquired real estate to register them in the land register, they are to pay only 2 percent of the amount of the purchase for transactions below 375 million LBP ($250,000) and 3 percent for those over this amount. - The introduction of a new tax on each night in a hotel or apartment-hotel: 10,000 LBP ($6.67) in a 5-star hotel, 5,000 LBP ($3.33) in a 4-star hotel and 3,000 LBP ($2) in a 3-star hotel. 7,000 LBP ($4.67) in 1st class apartment-hotels and 5,000 LBP ($3.33) in 2nd class apartment hotels. - An increase on work permit fees (granted annually to foreign workers) collected by the Ministry of Labor: 3 million LBP ($2,000) instead of 1 million LBP ($667) for the first category; 2 million LBP ($1,333) instead of 1 million LBP ($667) for the second category; 1 million LBP ($667) instead of 300,000 LBP ($200) for the third category; 300,000 LBP ($200) instead of 50,000 LBP ($33) for the 4th category; - A 200,000 LBP ($133) tax on any personal firearm license. - A 200,000 LBP ($133) tax on any tinted window installation permit for the entire vehicle and 100,000 LBP ($ 66) for a portion of the vehicle. - A 1,000 LBP ($0.66) tax on each hookah/shisha consumed in a restaurant, cafe, hotel or nightclub. Measures to prevent tax evasion - Municipalities are now required to report to the Ministry of Finance the companies and professionals they grant building permits to who do not have a fiscal number. - Municipalities should conduct field surveys of businesses and professionals to compile tax information and forward it to the Ministry of Finance. - A more comprehensive definition of tax evasion is included in the law on tax provisions in order to cover intentional element. The new provisions on public accounting - The Government is now required to submit a report to Parliament each quarter on the real Government deficit, disbursed expenditures, repayment installments for domestic and foreign debts, the results of treasury bills and Eurobonds and Treasury advances. - Expenditure related to external grants and loans agreements with public entities and approved by government decree or law must now be subjected to an audit by the Court of Audits. These funds will be transferred to the relevant public entities through the Ministry of Finance, which will include the disbursement (either as lump sum or gradually) of these credits into the budgets of the fiscal years concerned. These credits will be entered in the Treasurys grants account. - The opening of exceptional credits by the President for the financing of emergency expenses is capped at $66.3 million. - The Council of Ministers will now determine which sectors will be prioritized to benefit from loans subsidized by the Central Bank, and the eligibility conditions for these loans, following a proposal by the Ministers of Finance and the Economy, and after consulting the Central Bank governor. - A $1.13 billion treasury advance will be granted to Electricite du Liban (EDL), which will be added to the $527 million advance already granted by the Parliament to EDL last March for the purchase of fuel. EDL does not have the right to use these advances for any other purpose. - Starting in 2021, all supplementary budgets will be canceled and included in the consolidated state budget. (This article was originally published in Frecn in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 22nd of May) Flash The United Nations on Wednesday confirmed that a UN expert detained since March 26 in Tunisia has been released and is at his home in Germany. "The UN confirms that Moncef Kartas was released from detention and that he is now at his home in Berlin in Germany," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "We are pleased to see that Kartas has been freed and is recovering at home." "We will continue to engage with the government of Tunisia on any outstanding matters," Dujarric added. Kartas, a member of the Panel of Experts supporting the Libya Sanctions Committee under the UN Security Council, was reportedly investigating arms smuggling into Libya through Tunisia. He was detained on March 26 on espionage charges, reportedly after using his Tunisian passport to enter the country. He is a German-Tunisian dual national. Earlier in May, the spokesman called for Kartas' immediate release, saying that Kartas was on UN business and had diplomatic immunity. Diversity We can buy fair trade coffee, so why not fair trade legal services? IP experts during INTAs Annual Meeting in Boston tackled just that topic on Monday, discussing how the legal industry could establish standards to ensure that a business can be successful while also putting people and the environment first. Starbucks IP counsel Yihong Ying communicated how already-established fair trade certifications in the coffee business can apply to the legal industry. Sustainability is quite important to our industry, whether it is coffee or IP practitioners, he said. Ying said that trademark law already lends itself well to fair trade practices, since IP professionals play a part in branding the very certifications associated with fair trade products. We use IP as an important tool, he said. The non-profit Fair Trade Federation defines the practice as an approach to business and to development based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seeks to create greater equity in the international trading system. Applying this concept to the legal industry, the panel started with two main areas to define a fair trade standard: 1) social responsibility and how conducting business affects surrounding communities, and 2) how law firms can regulate themselves to promote equal competition among other firms. Diversity and inclusion While fair trade as a general concept has not often been connected to practices in the legal industry, there are elements of it that already have plenty of visibility, such as diversity and inclusion efforts. Part of a firms social impact is how inclusive it is with its hiring practices. Whether a firm is diverse in terms of gender and race is a consideration that in-house teams already have when hiring legal counsel, even if they are not thinking about fair trade legal standards in general. Ying said this is a standard that Starbucks already follows, both internally with its own personnel and externally when the company hires outside legal counsel. We want to work with people who share our values, he said. Starbucks operates in over 88 major countries and areas To maintain that type of trademark portfolio we need to be able to work with counsel from different backgrounds, and thats very important to us. Ying added that the company currently conducts assessments of its outside counsel to ensure that the firms meet its diversity standards. Other factors that fall under the social impact area of fair trade include anti-bribery measures, transparency, safe working conditions, and environmental efforts. Price competition The main considerations in the second area of fair trade legal service hinges largely around pricing and pro-competitive practices. It isnt news that companies have tight legal budgets, and some firms use attractive pricing models as a way to win client work. So the question was posed by the panel: Is there an ethical line to be drawn when it comes to price competition among law firms? If some firms use aggressively low fee structures to appeal to budget-conscious clients, there may need to be a minimum established so that law firm employees are properly compensated for their work and competition is fair, the panel suggested. There are many firms that are based in or have support teams in developing countries, where this type of minimum would be a strong benefit. This could lead to higher prices than todays most competitive fee structures, but the panel said that a proposed fair trade certification could entice clients to opt for a slightly higher cost, much the way shoppers choose pricier food products if they meet certain ethical standards. At the end of the discussion, attendees were left with two questions: 1) should the industry move towards developing a standard or certification for fair trade legal services? And 2) would clients be willing to pay a premium if they were guaranteed these defined ethical practices? The panel determined that the first step is awareness, adding that with enough attention, established legal organisations might be best positioned to create a fair trade standard in the industry. 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. Share this article You are here: World Flash Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Pakistan on Thursday for talks on diverse topics of mutual interest, Tehran Times daily reported Wednesday. Zarif is scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other senior Pakistani officials to discuss Tehran-Islamabad ties and the latest regional and international developments. His visit will also focus on the plans to implement recent agreements reached between the two countries. In April, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Iran, when both sides agreed to use their capacity to step up necessary measures to maximize monetary, financial, and commercial cooperation. A Henry County grand jury indicted a North Carolina man Monday in connection with an armed robbery in 2016 at Loan Max Title Loans in Martinsville. The grand jury indicted Carlos Deangelo Clark, 29, of Eden, N.C., on one charge each of robbery with a deadly weapon and use of a firearm in the commission of robbery, three counts of abduction and three counts of use of firearm in the commission of abduction (those three charges being subsequent offenses). A criminal complaint by Michael D. Wagoner of the Henry County Sheriffs Office alleged that on April 8, 2016, at 5:13 p.m. a robbery was reported at Loan Max Title Loans at 1150 Memorial Blvd. Wagoner responded to the scene and talked with employees. An employee stated that a male entered the store with a handgun and demanded money. Another employee placed approximately $543 in cash in a plastic bag that the armed person had presented. The armed male then fled the store on foot. Wagoner reviewed security footage of the robbery and observed what appeared to be a male suspect entering the business with his face covered with some type of cloth. The person in the video was armed with a handgun and wearing black gloves with white coloring on the bottom. The person was wearing shoes that had orange coloring on them. Wagoner canvassed the area and located a black glove in the parking lot next to Loan Max. The glove was consistent with the one Wagoner had observed in the video of the robbery. Wagoner then spoke with detective Marcus Marshall of the Rockingham County Sheriffs Office. Wagoner showed the video to Marshall, and Marshall told him that the voice on the video during the robbery was consistent with the voice of Carlos Clark. Wagoner then went to a business in Ridgeway where Clark worked. Wagoner watched the security video of Clark leaving the business where he worked at 3 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2016. He was wearing black shoes with orange on them. The shoes were consistent with the shoes in the video of the suspect in the Loan Max robbery. The glove that was collected from the parking lot was sent to the Virginia Western Regional Lab for DNA testing, and the DNA profile that was developed was found to be consistent with Clark. This was one of 150 indictments handed down Monday by the grand jury. An indictment is not an indication of guilt. It is a grand jurys determination that enough evidence exists to hold a trial. Essie Handy, a sister of Lorene Bug Hopkins-Pequignot, said Wednesday she had been hearing that Thomas Richard Pequignot would be charged in Lorenes death but that she hadnt believed that would happen. At a news conference Wednesday morning, that did happen. Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry and Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester announced the indictment Monday and arrest Tuesday of Tom Pequignot, 71, on a charge of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of his wife, Lorene Hopkins-Pequignot, 69, last year. On Jan. 12, 2018, at 6:57 p.m., the Martinsville-Henry County 911 Center received a call from Tom Pequignot, who told the dispatcher that it appeared his home at 4436 Longview Drive in Fieldale had been broken into and he could not find his wife. Deputies entered the house and found the body of Mrs. Hopkins-Pequignot, and she was deceased, Perry said at the press conference. Her body was sent to the Office of the Chef Medical Examiner for the Western District of Virginia for an autopsy, which ruled the death a homicide caused by manual strangulation. While working the crime scene to identify and collecting evidence, it became quickly apparent that it appeared to be a staged crime scene, Perry said. Evidence was collected, and then over the past 16 months we have continued working very diligently on this case, going through the evidence, the testing with that We also have conducted dozens of interviews, and some of these interviews have been in South Carolina and other locations. On Monday a Henry County grand jury issued a sealed indictment of Tom Pequignot, now of 277 Sheppard Road in Stuart, and he was arrested at that address on Tuesday by deputies from the Henry County and Patrick County sheriffs offices. Handy said she didnt know about the news conference Wednesday, and she and some other family members didnt know that Pequignot had been charged until she heard that on TV news Wednesday morning. We are mad as hell. We are furious we had to see that, Handy said. No one called me, my sister or my brother. They apparently got in touch with the son and grandson last night at the time they picked him [Pequignot] up. They didnt call the rest of us. Do you think thats right? It makes us feel we are not important for us to be called. They have treated me, my sister and my brother like we are not part of this murder. It is like Lorene has been murdered all over again. Was she surprised at Tom Pequignot being charged? I dont know. I was hearing he was going to be arrested, Handy said, adding she didnt believe it. I did not hear the reasons. I heard all they have is circumstantial evidence, very little DNA and its not a strong case. I dont think Tom got up one day and said Im going to murder Lorene. He [Tom] was a very quiet person. He seemed to worship the ground Lorene walked on. If she wanted something built in the house, or redone, he was proud to do it. Handy said she never heard Pequignot say an unkind word to her and that her sister was difficult because she suffered from bipolar disorder and had significant mood swings. Lorene was a wonderful human being, good, but she was bipolar, and you never knew what you were getting [in terms of her mood], Handy said. She pushed all our buttons, and she knew how to do it. Perry, when asked about motive in the slaying, didnt offer one. At this point all we can say is that it was a husband and wife, and we do not know that we can accurately say what a motive is at this time, what may have led to it, he said. He said he believes the slaying took place at the couples home in Fieldale and that Lorene Hopkins had been dead for hours when officers found her. He declined to describe the crime scene or what led investigators to believe it was staged to appear like a break-in As to why Pequignot was charged: The evidence in the case, everything we worked through brought us to the conclusion he was the person who committed this crime, Perry said, declining to be more specific. He would not say if Lorene Pequignot was injured beyond strangulation. We cant elaborate on what evidence we have at this juncture because it is a pending criminal matter that will appear potentially in front of a Henry County jury, Nester said. So we cant disclose all of our evidence at this juncture. Pequignot is being held without bond in Henry County Jail, and Nester said there would be a first appearance hearing soon, when counsel will be appointed, with a docket hearing set for July 15. Arlie Dalton of Willis, Lorenes brother, said Wednesday he wasnt too surprised that Pequignot was charged with the death. Most times, if a family member gets killed, its someone in the family. It was a little surprise, he said. His wife, Jackie Dalton, said that Pequignot told the family that he had a lie detector test and was cleared. She said the couple met via the internet and that Pequignot had moved to Henry County from West Virginia. She said she saw him at family dinners and special occasions. He was always nice and very quiet, she said. I was actually shocked when it happened, and even more [now]. You are here: World Flash The Thai Immigration Bureau on Wednesday told Thai media that fifteen Japanese nationals had been rounded up and arrested for allegedly running a call centre scam. Police said the Japanese suspects will be deported back to Japan on Friday. The group of scammers was rounded up on March 29 in Pattaya City after luring over 200 million yen (1.8 million U.S. dollars) from Japanese victims. They allegedly ran a phone scam targeting mostly elderly people in Japan by using extortion tactic. Police said an estimated 200 Japanese victims were affected. Thai TV displayed footage of police seizing dozens of Internet telephones, routers, equipment and documents written in Japanese. Acting Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Sompon Chingduang said on TV that the Japanese criminal gang had caused 200 million yen in damage. Thai police is handing over the suspects to Japanese authorities on Friday to face charges in Japan. According to Japanese media, Japanese phone scam gangs have been on the rise using Southeast Asian countries as their operation bases. Three political activists who had fled Thailand for their safety have disappeared. Chucheep Chivasut, Siam Theerawut and Kritsana Thapthai were wanted for the crime of insulting the monarchy. In Thailand, under Article 112 of the countrys criminal code, anyone who is deemed to have committed this crime faces up to 15 years in prison. The three activists had, after fleeing to Laos, continued their crime on their own underground radio programmes. However, in December 2018, three other activists who were also in self-imposed exile in Laos (Surachai Danwattananusorn, Kraidej Luelert, and Chatchan Buphawan), disappeared, with two of their bodies washing up on the banks of the Mekong river. The Guardian reports that: They had been disembowelled and stuffed with concrete, their legs broken and their hands handcuffed, as well as tied with rope at the neck, waist and knees. The third activist, Danwattananusorn, who in the past had been head of the Thai communists, has still not been found. This provoked Chucheep, Siam and Kritsana to flee Laos for Vietnam early this year. They were then detained on the border by Vietnamese authorities for using fake travel documents to illegally enter the country. According to Human Rights Watch, on 8 May, the three were secretly handed over to Thai authorities. Deputy Prime Minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, has denied that they are in Thai custody, saying that Vietnam has not coordinated transfers. We have not received any request. Whether this is true or not, over the last five years, there have been many disappearances of enemies of the Thai monarchy and the Thai ruling class. In fact, last September, the Deputy Prime Minister arrogantly said that the traitors, who had fled to Laos would all be arrested. Clearly, these people have been illegally detained merely for expressing their opinion. They are at risk of torture or death. It is incumbent on all socialists to do all they can to free these innocent people. We therefore call on our readers to contact Thai embassies in their countries to demand to know the whereabouts of Chucheep, Siam and Kritsana, and that they be immediately released. A Boston federal court judge heard the first arguments Thursday in a case that will decide whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can target and arrest undocumented immigrants who show up for court dates in Massachusetts. Erez Reuveni, who is representing the government, argued that ICE focuses only on people who pose a national security or public safety threat when they take the step of a courthouse arrest. David Zimmer, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the arrests reach beyond that - to witnesses being called to testify in criminal trials and others who seek to report crimes or otherwise use the states justice system. He is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the arrests while the federal case continues. Zimmer called the arrests an unprecedented intrusion on the right of the undocumented population to show up in court without the fear of arrest and potential deportation. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan joined with nonprofit immigration groups at the end of up April to sue the federal government to stop immigrant agents from arresting undocumented people in Massachusetts courthouses. The suit argues that the practice has a chilling effect on prosecution in the commonwealth, where people without proper documentation may be afraid to report crimes or participate in the justice system for fear of arrest. Lawyers for Civil Rights, also a party in the suit, has tracked more than 100 arrested by ICE agents at local courthouses in the past year. During Thursdays hearing concerning the preliminary injunction, Judge Indira Talwani and Reuveni butted heads when he struggled to answer the judges questions. Talwani wanted to know if the immigrants arrested had criminal warrants out for their arrest. Reuveni said usually they do not, but then backtracked saying he did not have the data. What is animating this whole policy in Massachusetts is that the state courts say our folks dont have authority on a civil arrest to turn the person over but they havent said dont have authority on criminal complaint, Talwani said. She asked if the circumstances are different with a criminal complaint. Reuveni said he was not sure. The policy covers people with criminal convictions who pose national security concerns, or are subject to removal proceedings, he said. All those people are in civil proceedings. The judge said this did not answer her question. I am trying to understand your statement that generally, the arrests at the courthouse are of individuals you would not be able to bring criminal charges against, Talwani said. Again, Reuveni said he did not know, adding I am not sure why it matters. Talwani grew more stern, chiding Reuveni for being evasive. When they have an actual person with an actual controversy, we can revisit this but right now were arguing in a vacuum, Reuveni said. He said that people who are concerned about being arrested or deported at an unrelated court hearing should talk to ICE on a case-by-case basis. Talwani said the court was running out of time and she still had more questions. The hearing was continued. Rollins, who sat in the front row for the proceedings, said she was encouraged by the judges thoroughness. I think it is wonderful the judge obviously is very aware of our arguments and has done her homework, she said outside court. Were excited to abide by whatever it is she determines is the right outcome. The hearing continues Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. Daniel Rosado, who is accused of robbing Middlesex Savings Bank in Somerville earlier this month, will remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing. Rosado, who allegedly robbed the bank May 1 but evaded capture for weeks, was arrested in Rhode Island on Thursday. He lives in Providence, according to authorities. He was brought to a Boston federal court on Thursday. Rosado, who wore jeans and a black shirt, is charged with three felonies: one count of armed bank robbery, one count of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. His charges carry a potential life sentence, federal prosecutors said in court. According to the charging documents, Rosado, 32, entered the bank May 1 while carrying a handgun. He fired a shot into the ceiling before turning the gun on customers and employees and shouting, "Get down!, Everybody on the ground! and Give me money or Ill shoot! Rosado threw a backpack at the bank teller and ordered her to fill it with money as customers stayed on the ground. One customer left the bank while Rosado was distracted and flagged down a police cruiser, authorities said. The officer entered the bank, pointed his gun at Rosado and told him to freeze. Rosado fired his gun at the officer, and the officer shot back, according to court documents. During the gunfire Rosado ran out of the bank, the FBI said. He ran down College Avenue - and slammed into a web developer walking to work. That man knocked Rosados backpack out of his hands. It contained a gun, loaded with four rounds of ammunition, two cartridge casings and more than $500, authorities said. A forensic analysis of the backpack linked a DNA profile to Rosado, according to the FBI. According to court records, Rosado has prior felony convictions including negligent driving, larceny from a person and witness intimidation, and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. Because of these convictions, Rosado is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Rosado will return to court May 31 for a detention hearing and a probable cause hearing. After a man entered a Somerville bank earlier this month, firing a shot into the ceiling and firing again shortly later at police as he ran off with money, it was DNA from the suspects backpack that helped led to a Thursday morning arrest, according to court documents. The Middlesex Federal Savings Bank at 1 College Ave. in Somerville was robbed just before 10 a.m. on May 1, authorities said. A male robber yelled, Everybody on the ground," while firing a gun and leaving with $929, according to a federal affidavit. The robber ran off and when a bystander tried to tackle him on the sidewalk, the suspect dropped his black backpack. At 6:25 a.m., Thursday, authorities arrested 32-year-old Daniel Rosado in Providence in connection with that robbery. The federal affidavit reveals that DNA samples from that black backpack helped identify Rosado as the suspect. DNA samples were taken from the straps, buckles and zippers of the backpack and were sent to the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab for testing, the affidavit reads. On May 18, the Crime Lab informed the FBI that the DNA from the backpack matched a DNA profile in the Combined DNA Index System. The profile was for Daniel Santos Rosado, according to the affidavit. Agents looked at a photo associated with Rosados Rhode Island license, which was taken around May 16, the affidavit reads. Compared to video surveillance from the bank robbery, authorities believed Rosado was the suspect, according to the affidavit, which noted that the height and weight listed on Rosados license matched the description of the robbery suspect given in witness statements. As the investigation continued, the FBI learned that Rosado was stopped by East Bridgewater police several months earlier and was cited for driving without a license, according to the affidavit. On May 19, officials showed East Bridgewater police video surveillance from the robbery. The EBPD officer identified the bank robber as Rosado, the driver of the car he stopped on Jan. 14, 2019, the affidavit reads. Then, a photo array was shown on May 20 to a Middlesex Bank employee who witnessed the robbery. The array had eight photos, according to the affidavit, and the employee positively identified Rosado as the bank robber. Rosado has a criminal record, according to the affidavit. He has been convicted in New Bedford District Court of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, for which he received a sentence of two years committed. In 2012, he was convicted in New Bedford District Court of larceny from a person and witness intimidation. Also in New Bedford District Court in 2012, Rosado was convicted of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and received a sentence of two years committed. Those crimes would preclude Rosado from possessing a firearm or ammunition, according to the affidavit. The Museum of Fine Arts issued an apology on Wednesday after students of color at the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy say they were racially profiled during a class trip to the Boston museum. Marvelyne Lamy, a teacher at the Dorchester school, said in a Facebook post she took about 30 seventh grade students on a trip May 16 to enhance what theyve learned in their history class. All of her students are black and brown, she wrote. At the very beginning of the tour, one of the staff gave an overview on what to expect and told the kids no food, no drink and no watermelon, Lamy wrote on Facebook. ...There were other groups of students that were there, but those students were white. We were instructed not to touch any of the artifacts in the museum, yet the white students there touched the displays several times while security looked on without saying anything. Lamy said guards followed the group of students around the museum tracking their every movement. When one girl danced to music in an exhibit a woman told her its a shame that she is not learning and instead stripping, Lamy wrote on Facebook. Eventually, the students and staff became so agitated they left the museum and cut the trip short. I cannot stress to you enough, I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, Lamy wrote on Facebook. They will not see a dollar of mine. If you are a person of color, please do not support this museum until they improve how they treat people of color at their institution. The MFA posted an apology on its website Wednesday saying that the leadership team was troubled by the incident and immediately reached out to the school upon hearing the complaint. We want to apologize specifically to the students, faculty, and parents of the Davis Leadership Academy. We deeply regret any interactions that led to this outcome and are committed to being a place where all people trust that they will feel safe and treated with respect. We look forward to ongoing conversation and commit to using this situation as an opportunity to learn and create a culture of unwavering inclusion, the leadership team wrote in the apology. Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the capital of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, with both sides pledging to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation. The China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has been developed in the joint construction of the Belt and Road, Wang said while meeting with Qureshi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers' meeting. The two sides should jointly implement consensuses reached between leaders of China and Pakistan when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, Wang said. The two countries should enhance high-level exchanges, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, and promote bilateral ties to achieve new development given the complicated and changing international situation, he added. Wang condemned a recent terrorist attack against the Pearl Continental Hotel in the Pakistani port city of Gwadar, saying China appreciates Pakistan's efforts in combating terrorism. China believes that Pakistan will strengthen security and protection for Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan and maintain bilateral cooperation, Wang added. For his part, Qureshi said Pakistan is willing to jointly prepare for high-level exchanges for the next stage and implement the outcomes of the second BRF, so as to deepen bilateral cooperation by strengthening the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a central theme and promote bilateral ties so that they will yield more results. Pakistan shares the same goal with China in combating terrorism and extremism, Qureshi said. Pakistan will do its best to protect Chinese personnel and institutions in the country, continue to enhance bilateral cooperation on anti-terrorism within multilateral frameworks and preserve the two countries' common interests as well as regional peace and stability, Qureshi said. The two sides also exchanged views on the Afghanistan issue, agreed to strengthen communication and coordination, jointly promote a prompt political settlement of the Afghanistan issue and preserve regional peace and stability. Federal authorities have arrested a man accused of robbing a Somerville bank earlier this month before opening fire on a police officer. Daniel Rosado, 32, of Providence, Rhode Island, was arrested and charged in federal court on Boston Thursday, the FBI said in a statement. He is accused of robbing Middlesex Federal Savings Bank on the morning of May 1 before exchanging fire with a Somerville police officer. Todays arrest and charges put an end to a three week search for a dangerous and reckless individual, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement. No one should feel afraid to do the everyday, basic American errands we all need to do. But on May 1, its alleged that one man callously threatened the lives of dozens of innocent people who were doing just that. By not just brandishing, but actually discharging his weapon twice the alleged defendant instilled fear and endangered the lives of members of our community for his own greed and selfishness. According to charging documents, Rosado entered the bank on May 1, brandished a handgun and fired a shot into the ceiling before pointing the firearm at customers and employees and shouting, Get down!, Everybody on the ground!, Second drawer, hurry up!, Give me money or Ill shoot! Customers and bank employees laid on the floor, while the robber approached a teller window, threw a backpack at the teller, and demanded money, the FBI said. While the teller filled the backpack with money, a customer exited the bank and flagged down a marked police cruiser occupied by a uniformed Somerville police officer, the documents state. The officer entered the bank, pointed his gun at the robber, and ordered him to freeze. In response, Rosado allegedly pointed his gun in the officers direction and fired one shot. The officer shot back. During the exchange of gunfire, Rosado left the bank and ran away, according the to FBI. He then ran down College Avenue - and slammed into a web developer walking to work who knocked the mans backpack out of his hands. The backpack contained a gun, loaded with four unfired rounds of ammunition, two cartridge casings and more than $500, authorities said. A forensic analysis of the backpack linked a DNA profile found on it to Rosado, according to the FBI. A subsequent review of Rosados drivers license photo matched the images of the robber captured on video surveillance. The FBI and Somerville police offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the suspects arrest. According to court records, Rosado has prior felony convictions, such as negligent operation of a motor vehicle, larceny from a person and witness intimidation, and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. Due to these prior convictions, Rosado is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. He was charged with one count of armed bank robbery, one count of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the FBI said. Rosado is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Thursday. Springfield - Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts (JAWM), now celebrating its centennial anniversary, is proud to announce that Aieshya Jackson has joined their board of directors. Jackson is a branch manager for Santander Bank, where she oversees a full range of products and services, leads branch staff, ensures member satisfaction and minimizes operational issues. Prior to her current role, she served as branch manager at United Bank. Aside from serving on JAWMs board of directors, Jackson sits on the board for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services organization and volunteers for the Revitalize Community Development Corporation and the Springfield Rescue Mission. She graduated from the Connecticut School of Finance and Management and resides in Springfield with her three children. For more information about Junior Achievement and its programs, please visit jawm.org. SPRINGFIELD The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has issued a $100,000 fine against MGM Springfield due to 22 documented cases of minors being found on the gambling floor during the casinos first two months of operations. After the initial two months, Gaming Commission said, there were eight additions cases of underage people found on the gambling floor from Nov. 22 to Dec. 2. The fine was disclosed during the commissions meeting Thursday at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. MGM agreed to the fine, rather than appeal. MGM Springfield officials said they are working aggressively to prevent those under the age of 21 from gambling. Measures include added Under 21 warning signs, eliminating an "X" crossing route on the gambling floor, increased security at peak times to check minors, emphasis on the availability of hand stamps for young legal gamblers, and community education. The crossing was closed Dec. 14 in response to concerns about minors on the gambling floor and minors drinking alcohol. The measures began in late 2018 and continue this year, said Seth Stratton, legal counsel for MGM Springfield. While the number of minors being caught has increased each month, MGM officials said that reflects the more aggressive effort to find and stop minors from gambling. MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis said there continues to be a zero tolerance for minors being on the gambling floor. Gaming Commission Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein thanked MGM officials for their efforts and said the design of the casino, with multiple entrances/and exits, presents challenges. The design was intended to encourage casino patrons to go into the community. Judd-Stein praised MGM Springfield for its coordination and collaboration with the commission in addressing the issue of underage gaming. They have taken it very, very seriously, Judd-Stein said. We made it clear it is going to be a very serious concern for us. They have put in new resources to address it. MGM understands the importance of the issue and of the need for all employees to have that message, she said. The commission meeting took place two days after MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas announced it was pulling out of discussions over the potential purchase of the Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett, with construction nearly completed. MGM Springfield on Thursday also presented its most recent quarterly report, in which it described the status of its operations including employment and diversity. The casino said it continues to exceed goals for minority and veteran hiring and is near its goal for hiring of women. Last week MGM Springfield said its gross gambling revenue totaled $21.8 million in April, reflecting an 15% decrease from March. The March gross gaming revenues were $25.7 million. SPRINGFIELD A report provided to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission found that crime, in general, was stable in downtown Springfield and beyond in the first four months after the MGM Springfield casino opened in late August. The 87-page report, titled Assessing the Impact of Gambling on Public Safety in Massachusetts, by the commissions crime analysis consultant Christopher W. Bruce, was revealed at the commissions meeting on Thursday. It provided statistics on crime in the downtown, surrounding areas, and surrounding communities. An extra 10-15,000 people a day has caused crime to barely budge, the report said, referring to visitors to the casino. The report covered the period of September through December of 2018, and was described as a "brief scan," with plans to analyze some issues more fully in future reports. Commission Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said the report provides very early data, "so we can't jump to any conclusions or see any firm trends." I think overall, the initial findings, as early as they are, are positive, Judd-Stein said. So we are happy to see those early results. The police departments are providing the data that will help us for the future so we can start to think about trends. But right now, it would be premature. The report compared the 2018 crime data with data from the prior five to eight years. Some of the other key findings in Thursdays presentation included: Crime in Metro Center (downtown Springfield) generally did not increase with the influx of people. During its first four months, with more than 1.5 million visitors, MGM Springfield was the top individual location for crimes and calls for service in the 11-community region. Incidents at the casino itself led to a 2% increase in violent crime in Springfield, a 1% increase in property crime, and a 2% increase in total crime in Springfield. More than 90% of the criminal incidents reported on the casino property were closed by arrests. Changes in the overall crime numbers (excluding the casino itself) were mild. Surrounding communities reported a variety of increases and decreases in crime, but various offenses and calls for service that were analyzed have failed to show an MGM relationship. There was an increase in traffic-related incidents, including collisions to the south and west of the casino on local roads. Crashes showed normal volumes on state roads. The commissions enforcement unit reported the equivalent of 1,751 calls for service at MGM Springfield during the first four months, and made 115 arrests. The Springfield Police Department responded to the location 903 times and recorded 118 crimes, according to an executive summary. The report cited "circumstantial evidence" including a pattern of nighttime thefts from vehicles and other residential thefts in neighborhoods southeast of MGM in Springfield, East Longmeadow and Longmeadow, but added that "this isn't a new pattern as much an intensification of a longstanding problem." It also cited a small pattern of thefts from cars immediately adjacent to MGM. There hasnt been a robbery or burglary since MGM opened, but all the extra cars in the area have clearly proven too tempting a target to cat burglars and auto thieves (not that the numbers are very high), the report said. The report added that crime is down in the surrounding mixed residential-business neighborhoods the lowest in at least nine years. Robberies, burglaries, auto thefts, and miscellaneous thefts are way down, although some domestic crimes have increased, the report said. "Thefts from vehicles have increased elsewhere, but not here. Thefts from buildings are high, including seven at a homeless shelter." Bruce was described as a crime analyst and an internationally-recognized expert in police data systems and police data analysis. He is former president of the Massachusetts Association of Crime Analysts and International Association of Crime Analysts. SHEFFIELD -- One person was killed in a crash on Wednesday afternoon near the Connecticut state line and a second person is expected to face charges in the fatal collision. Sheffield Police and several units from the Massachusetts State Police, including detectives assigned to the Berkshire County District Attorney, responded to the crash that took place near 199 Canaan Road, said Dennis Yusko, spokesman for District Attorney Andrea Harrington. "The driver at fault will be arraigned soon in southern Berkshire District Court," Yusko said. Law enforcement officials have not released the name of the victim yet because they are still trying to notify family members, he said. The name of the driver who was at fault in the accident and the charges the suspect faces are currently being withheld while police continue their investigation, Yusko said. This is a breaking story. MassLive will update as more information becomes available. PITTSFIELD Thirteen people were reportedly displaced Wednesday night after two separate fires broke out in multi-family homes. Pittsfield Deputy Fire Chief Tom Sammons told Western Mass News the fires broke out within minutes of each other. The first fire, sparked by an overheated dryer, broke out on South Onota Street. The building sustained heavy smoke damage and eight people were displaced. The second fire broke out at Wahconnah Street and five people were displaced. Sammons described the blaze as a room and contents fire. The Berkshire Eagle reported the fire was reported at about 7:45 p.m. at 252 Wahconnah St. Arson investigators and personnel from the American Red Cross were summoned to the scene. Western Mass News is television partner to The Republican and MassLive.com. AMHERST The Town Council this week appointed members to the planning and zoning boards without any public interviews, despite concerns raised by some councilors and residents about transparency. District 4 Councilor Stephen D. Schreiber said at a meeting last month that he imagined a very public process in which the people who wanted to be on those boards would make themselves known and that, essentially, we would have an election. During the May 6 meeting, Councilor at Large Alisa Brewer said the names of the applicants would remain confidential: There is no question, right now, they are personnel documents, she stated, referring to the application forms candidates submitted. When Councilor Darcy Dumont said the attorney general should be consulted about the legality of the process, Brewer responded the council would rely on the advice of the towns legal counsel. Lauren Goldberg of the firm KP Law is Amhersts municipal attorney. In March she conducted a training session for the council about the states Open Meeting Law and the Public Records Law. At Mondays meeting, a resident said it was wrong for only one councilor to have interviewed all the candidates. Candidates were interviewed by the chair of the councils Outreach, Communications, & Appointments Standing Committee, Sarah Swartz, after which she presented a slate of candidates for each board to the standing committee for its consideration. Each slate of candidates put forward by the standing committee was approved by the full council Monday. Appointed to the planning board were Maria Chao, Jack Jemsek, Pari Riahiand and Janet McGowan. Appointed to the zoning board were: Mark Parent, Thomas Simpson, Matthew Wilk, Steve Judge, Joan OMeara and associate members Aaron Arcello, Sharon Waldman and Tammy Parks. A report from the standing committee said: OCA had previously decided to continue the tradition of past appointments by the Select Board and Town Manager to protect the privacy of applicants who are not brought forward for appointment. I dont see any transparency in this process, resident Maura Keene told the council Monday. Another resident stated that absent a public airing of the qualifications of candidates seeking to serve on a town board or committee, all we are left with is rumor and innuendo. The standing committee declined to disclose candidate applications. But on May 6, by an 8-5 vote, the full council approved a motion directing the town manager to provide the applications to the council. A second motion to keep the forms confidential was withdrawn. A public records request for the forms, filed with the town Monday by The Republican, was denied. AMHERST Amherst College President Carolyn Biddy Martin will deliver the commencement address at the schools 198th graduation ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. Sunday. The public ceremony will be held outside at the Main Quadrangle. In case of bad weather, it will be held inside LeFrak Gymnasium and limited to ticket holders. In addition to Martin, graduating senior Helena Burgueno will speak. A local high school teacher will be recognized during the graduation ceremony. The Phebe and Zephaniah Swift Moore Teaching Award will go to Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School mathematics teacher Heather Anderson. Also receiving the award will be music instructor Aaron Barkon of Hampden High School in Connecticut and John Hoerster, an English teacher at Oak Park River Forest High School in Illinois. The festivities also include Saturday events on campus. One of them is with photographer Annie Leibovitz, scheduled to present a talk titled Life Through a Lens at 3:15 p.m. inside Kirby Theater. Celebrity chef Mario Batali is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday on charges connected with a 2017 alleged sexual assault on a woman in a Back Bay restaurant. Batali is facing a charge of indecent assault and battery connected to a March 31, 2017 incident, where he allegedly kissed and grabbed a woman in the restaurant. He will be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court, said Renee Nadeau Algarin, deputy press secretary for Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins. In March, Batali gave up his stake in dozens of restaurants and properties across the world following sexual harassment and assault allegations which came to light last year. The celebrity chef became a household name due to his appearances on the Food Network and then went on to open numerous restaurants with the Bastianichs, a well-known family of restaurateurs in Italy. Together, they opened 16 businesses, including their flagship property, Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, in New York City. In the March incident, the woman told police she was in the Towne Stove & Spirits Restaurant when she spotted Batali and took a photo over her shoulder. She apologized to him and promised to delete the photo when he told her to come to him. Instead, he said it was OK and offered to take a selfie with her, according to the Boston Globe. As she stood next to him, Batali allegedly grabbed her chest, touched her groin and continued to kiss her, the Globe said. Batali apologized about the incident after numerous allegations were made public. There is no question I have behaved terribly. There are no excuses. I take full responsibility and am deeply sorry for any pain, humiliation, or discomfort I have caused, Batali said in a statement The ongoing case for convicted child rapist Wayne Chapman, accused of exposing himself in front of Department of Correction employees and nursing staff last June, will be further delayed as a witness undergoes surgery. Chapman appeared in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on Thursday for a pretrial conference on charges related to the alleged indecent exposure. Now 71, Chapman remained seated in a wheelchair due to a diagnosis of Parkinsons disease. Despite pushback from court-appointed attorney Melissa Devore, who said Chapman is anxious for his day in court, the case will be delayed after Assistant District Attorney Emily Jackson said a witness in the case needed surgery. Another pretrial conference is set for July 18. Chapman was arraigned on charges of open and gross lewdness last June, just as he was set to be released after 40 years in prison for raping two Lawrence boys in the 1970s. The Level 3 sex offender has admitted to attacking at least 100 children and remains a suspect in the 1976 disappearance of 10-year-old Lawrence boy Andy Puglisi. Prosecutors said he allegedly exposed himself and masturbated in front of workers at MCI-Shirley on June 3 and 4 in 2018, just two days after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied an appeal from one of Chapmans victims. Convicted child rapist Wayne Chapman, who was to be released from prison, arrested on new indecent exposure charges That ruling moved Chapman a step closer to being released from a state treatment facility, where he was committed at the end of his prison sentence in 2004 after being deemed sexually dangerous. Last week, the states SJC ruled Chapman be released because he was no longer deemed sexually dangerous. The decision followed a ruling by Judicial Court Associate Justice Scott Kafker in June 2018 after mental health examiners determined Chapman was deemed too frail to attack again. SJC to hear arguments over release of child rapist Wayne Chapman Though he was freed from the state facility, Chapman has not met the $25,000 bail set for him last June and has remained in custody for the indecent exposure allegations at MCI-Shirley last year. Devore said on Thursday her client was strenuously objecting the delay in the case, and argued that the $25,000 bail set for him last year was too high given his means. She was denied a request to reduce his bail to $1,000. Flash Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday extended the state of emergency by a further one month considering the security situation in the country, local media reports said. The president extended the state of emergency by signing an extraordinary gazette notification which said that the emergency was in effect for public security, the preservation of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community. Sirisena declared the state of emergency on April 22, a day after multiple terror attacks in the country which killed over 250 people. Under the emergency regulations, security forces have been conducting nationwide raids to hunt for suspects linked to the terror attacks. Police said 89 suspects had been arrested over the terror attacks so far. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff on Monday in honor of Navy sailor Meaghan Burns, a native of Western Massachusetts. The flags will be lowered to half-staff from sunrise until noon in honor of Burns and Memorial Day. Flags will be displayed at full staff from noon until sunset. The 23-year-old woman was fatally shot in Virginia while trying to help a friend, her family said. Meggy was a free spirit, a fierce and loyal friend and loving daughter and sister. She will be missed by many and loved forever, her obituary states. She is survived by her parents, Carolyn and Matthew, younger sister, Kyleigh Rose, and extended family. Born in Springfield, she and her family moved to South Deerfield in 2004. She attended Deerfield Elementary and was a graduate of Frontier Regional High School. Meggy loved the hills and rivers of Western Mass but she got some sand stuck in her toes when she was a baby on Nantucket Island and was a beach girl at heart," her obituary states. "She loved Cape Cod, Southern California, all things Boston and her years traveling around Italy and all of Europe. She enlisted in 2015, serving as a hospital corpsman in Italy and most recently at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in Virginia. She was a proud sailor and was planning to further her career in healthcare at the end of her enlistment, Her obituary states. Burns and 19-year-old Shianne Soles, of Veradale, Washington, were shot at a convenience store on May 4 just outside of the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center by a Navy corpsman who then turned the gun on himself. Her body was returned to Western Massachusetts on May 14. She was welcomed home by residents of South Deerfield and loved ones lining the town common. Multiple police departments honored her as the vehicle carrying her body passed on Interstate 91 traveling north from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn. to South Deerfield. HOLYOKE A proposal to build one middle school instead of two didnt get very far Tuesday at the City Council. The proposal, from Ward 2 Councilor Terence Murphy, was referred for further discussion to the Charter and Rules Committee, which Murphy chairs. City officials and residents have been debating whether to go forward with a citywide election on a Proposition 2 override to help fund construction of two middle schools, one at Cabot and Chestnut streets and the other replacing the current William R. Peck School off Northampton Street. The two schools, at 105,000 square feet each, would cost a total of over $134 million. The Massachusetts School Building Authority would refund about 60% of the construction cost, necessitating an override to pay for a $55 million, 30-year construction bond. Murphys order, which also calls for a debt exclusion ballot question, eliminates the Peck School project. Councilor Rebecca Lisi said a memo from the School Building Authority clearly states support for two middle schools and not one. She asked Murphy to withdraw his order. The state has to approve a proposal from the city of Holyoke. The only proposal they have approved is a two-building solution, she said. A single-school plan would need initial local approval. Lisi said Murphys order only confuses the issue. Murphy said he was diligently working with the School Building Authority, the state education board and the Legislature. I asked the question can we deal with the question of one school, he said. Bonding for two schools could create negative impact on the tax base, Murphy said. Now we have two schools and fewer police officers or fewer firefighters or whatever the case may be, he said. According to the memo to school Receiver Stephen Zrike, the School Building Authority in August 2018 approved schematic designs for the two schools. The district submitted a project scope and budget in February for the authoritys consideration. Shortly after that, the district requested a delay for its submittal until July 10. Per the Districts request to delay their submittal, once the District determines its voting schedule the Project Scope and Budget Submittal would need to be revised to include an updated cost and schedule for the Project, the memo stated. The School Building Authority grants districts 120 days from board approval of the project scope and budget submittal to secure local funding. The authority noted that historically districts that cannot secure local funding face removal from its grant program. The authoritys board must review and approve alternative funding schemes. A feasibility study agreement between the School Building Authority and Holyoke expires Nov. 12. If the District were to consider requesting an extension to the FSA, dependent upon the amount of time requested, this could require MSBA Board Approval. Please include this in any local discussions, the memo stated. It added, Finally, please also note that for any local funding votes associated with a project in the MSBA grant program, the MSBA legal department will need to review the vote language at least two weeks ahead of the vote and any applicable local deadlines. A Holyoke man who was wanted in Massachusetts is now facing several motor vehicle charges in Connecticut as a result of a Tuesday night crash in Enfield that that injured four people, according to reports. John Castillo, 19, is being held on $110,000 bail. He is due back in court at Rockville Superior Court on June 19. He is charged with reckless driving, engaging in a police pursuit and driving without a license. Castillo is also charged in Connecticut on a fugitive from justice warrant issued in Massachusetts, where he is wanted on charges of assault and battery on a family member. The crash occurred moments after Connecticut State Police called off a police pursuit of Castillos vehicle through Somers. According to WVIT, NBC Connecticut, Castillo was driving a Honda sedan that smashed head-on into an Acura SUV on Route 190 near Taylor Road at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. A woman and her son in the Acura were injured and needed treatment at a local hospital. A passenger in Castillos vehicle suffered a serious leg injury and needed to be taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Moments before the crash, Castillo was being pursued by Connecticut State Police through Somers along I-190. The pursuit was called off by state police in the area of the Enfield town line. Troopers began chasing Castillo because his vehicle matched the description of a Honda that had been involved in an earlier pursuit that began in Massachusetts and continued into Connecticut. John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for the Taliban and was captured by invading U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, got out of prison Thursday after more than 17 years, released under tight restrictions that reflected government fears he still harbors radical views. Lindh, 38, left a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, after getting time off for good behavior from the 20-year sentence he received upon pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. It was not immediately clear where the man known as the "American Taliban" will live or what he will do. In a Fox interview, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned his early release as "unexplainable and unconscionable" and called for a review of prison system policies. Lindh's release was also opposed by the family of CIA officer Mike Spann, who was killed during an uprising of Taliban prisoners shortly after interrogating Lindh in Afghanistan. Under restrictions imposed by a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, Lindh's internet devices must have monitoring software; his online communications must be conducted in English; he must undergo mental health counseling; he is forbidden to possess or view extremist material; and he cannot hold a passport or leave the U.S. Probation officers never explained why they sought the restrictions, but it is clear authorities retain misgivings about Lindh. In 2017, Foreign Policy magazine cited a National Counterterrorism Center report that Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." On Wednesday, NBC reported that Lindh, in a letter to a producer from Los Angeles-based affiliate KNBC, wrote in 2015 that the Islamic State group is "doing a spectacular job" and "is clearly very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle." Lindh converted to Islam as a teenager after seeing the movie "Malcolm X," went overseas to study Arabic and the Quran and eventually made his way to Pakistan and Afghanistan and joined the Taliban. He met Osama bin Laden and was with the Taliban on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Lindh was captured in a battle with U.S.-allied Northern Alliance fighters in late 2001. He was present when a group of Taliban prisoners launched an attack that killed Spann. Spann's daughter Alison Spann, now a journalist in Alabama, posted a letter on her Twitter account that she said she had sent to President Donald Trump. In it, she called Lindh's early release "a slap in the face" to everyone killed on 9/11 and in the war on terror since then, along with "the millions of Muslims worldwide who don't support radical extremists." Lindh was initially charged with conspiring to kill Spann. He denied any role in Spann's death but admitted carrying an assault rifle and two grenades. Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan also expressed concern about Lindh's release in a letter last week to the Bureau of Prisons. "We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence," they wrote. The bureau defended itself Thursday in a statement that said Lindh's release followed federal laws and guidelines. It said it works closely with outside agencies "to reduce the risk terrorist offenders pose inside and outside of prisons," and added that no radicalized inmate has returned to federal prison on terrorism-related charges. ___ Barakat reported from Falls Church, Va. Contributors include Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, and Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama. SHEFFIELD - Police have charged Kristopher H. Laine of New Marlboro with drunken driving and vehicular homicide in connection with a Wednesday crash on Canaan Road that killed a Connecticut motorcycle operator. According to the office of Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington, Laine is charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. Laine is accused of crossing into the oncoming lane and striking a motorcycle operated by John Howard, 70, of Bethlehem, Connecticut. Howard was pronounced dead at the scene. Laine was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Southern Berkshire District Court, but the arraignment has been postponed until June 6 because Laine has sought medical treatment. According to the Berkshire Eagle, Laines wife, Jessica Laine, appeared before the court to say that her husband is hospitalized in Connecticut and will be transferred to a Veterans Affairs hospital. She told police that her husband has a drinking problem as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder from serving three tours in Iraq. SPRINGFIELD -- A woman who fraudulently received a $4.2 million loan based on false representations about her struggling Chicopee machining business pleaded guilty to bank fraud Tuesday. Beth Zastawny, 53, of Ludlow, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and three counts of money laundering in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni scheduled her sentencing for Oct. 1, said Christina DiLorio-Sterling, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. She faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, she said. Zastawny admitted she applied for and received a $4.2 million loan package from Blue Hills Bank for her business Diecast Connections Company, Inc. in January 2015. In her loan application she submitted fake financial statements and made false representations about the company's assets and liabilities to make it appear financially stronger than it was, she said. Zastawny then used the money to pay back creditors who had not been disclosed to the bank. Funds were also used for other purposes not called for in the loan agreement. A year later the bank foreclosed on the loan at a substantial loss, after Zastawny failed to meet the terms of the agreement, she said. The case was investigated by Lellings office and the Internal Revenue Services Criminal Investigation in Boston. The Massachusetts Senate is renewing its push to develop a common application where low-income individuals can apply for food stamps at the same time they apply for public health insurance. The issue has been discussed for several years, and the Senate included the common application in its budget in 2016, but it did not make it through final budget negotiations with the House. A budget amendment adopted by the Senate on Wednesday during its debate on the fiscal 2020 budget, sponsored by Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, would let applicants for MassHealth or the Medicare Savings Program apply for benefits from the supplemental nutrition assistance program, or SNAP, at the same time. MassHealth would transfer all eligibility information to the Department of Transitional Assistance to make sure the person is eligible for the federally funded food stamps program. The amendment would add $1 million to the budget to cover the costs of developing and implementing the common application. Advocates for low-income individuals say there is no reason people should have to go through multiple onerous application processes for public benefits, providing the same documents multiple times. In addition, some people may apply for one benefit and not know they are eligible for another. The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute estimates that 741,000 people are on MassHealth and eligible for SNAP but not receiving SNAP benefits. The amendment still faces the same hurdle it did last time of making it through the conference committee, where Senate and House negotiators iron out policy differences. A separate bill to develop a common application is also going through the Legislature independently of the budget, and the Committee on Health Care Financing will hold a hearing on that bill next Tuesday. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services has said it is looking at ways to improve the administration of public benefits programs, including potentially developing a common platform that someone could use to apply for different types of benefits. Lawmakers appropriated some money last year for a consultant to look at these issues. The budget amendment only addresses MassHealth and SNAP, although advocates for the poor have asked state officials to look at expanding a common application to other benefit programs in the future. The fact that different agencies are going to be processing the information is something the administration needs to wrestle with, but for consumers, we want the front door to be the front door, said Pat Baker, senior policy analyst at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. BOSTON The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday that Pembroke Hospital should not have arranged for a mentally ill patient who had nowhere else to go to be confined against his will after a judge ordered the patients release. The decision stems from the dilemma posed when a hospital must discharge a patient but cannot find a safe place to release the person. The ruling could be relevant in similar future cases. According to the SJCs decision in Pembroke Hospital v. D.L., the patient had been held temporarily at Pembroke Hospital because he was mentally ill and had made suicidal statements. Under the states civil commitment law, a person can be held against their will because of mental illness if a judge determines releasing them would pose an imminent likelihood of serious harm to the patient or someone else, and if there is no less restrictive means of avoiding that harm. Pembroke Hospital petitioned a judge to extend D.L.s confinement, alleging D.L. had been refusing food and medication, drinking only minimal fluids, and had been unresponsive to staff. A doctor worried that D.L. would die within two weeks without continued intervention. The judge denied the petition and ordered that D.L. be discharged. However, hospital staff could not find a family member to release D.L. to. According to court documents, D.L. previously had been living with his grandmother, but both his grandmother and his aunt refused to take him because they worried about his safety in the community. His father could not be reached. His psychiatrist said D.L. could not take care of himself. Hospital officials did not believe D.L. could be safely released to a shelter. After the initial judges ruling, Pembroke Hospital discharged D.L., but rather than letting him leave, the hospital transported him by ambulance to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where he was reevaluated, then returned to Pembroke Hospital on another civil commitment petition. The judge who heard that petition ordered him committed to the hospital for up to six months. D.L.s attorney argued that he was never discharged, counter to the first judges order, so his continued confinement was illegal. In a decision written by Justice Kimberly Budd, the SJC agreed with D.L. and wrote that the confinement was improper. The court wrote that a person cannot be considered discharged if their liberty is not restored. Budd wrote that, under state law, a person can only be considered discharged when that individual is set at liberty from involuntary restraint. That does not include being released from one hospitals care but involuntary transported to another hospital. Although we have no reason to believe Pembroke acted in bad faith to the contrary, the staff seem to have moved quickly out of genuine concern for D.L.s well-being we nonetheless cannot conclude that Pembroke was in compliance with the strict requirements of (state law), Budd wrote. Once the District Court judge ruled that D.L. was not at imminent risk of serious harm, Budd wrote, the fact that D.L. had no place to live was not proper grounds for the hospital to involuntarily detain him. Massachusetts law enforcement officials failed on Wednesday to limit the scope of a federal ruling deeming secret audio recordings of police or other government officials constitutional. Chief U.S. District Judge Patti Saris rejected the governments requests to narrow the definition of government official and public space under the ruling issued on Dec. 10, 2018 in a lawsuit filed on behalf of two activists who frequently record police activity in public. Saris ruling nullifies Chapter 272, Section 99 as it relates to prohibiting open or secret recording of police activity in public. Boston police and Suffolk County assistant district attorneys are on notice: People in Massachusetts have a fundamental right to record police officers, said Carol Rose, executive director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, who represented the activists. Saris stopped short of issuing an injunction against that section of the law and instead gave the government 30 days to make sure every police officer and district attorney in the state are aware of the ruling and what it means. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in 2016 challenging the Boston Police Department and then Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conleys use of Chapter 272, Section 99, commonly known as the wiretapping law, against activists K. Eric Martin and Rene Perez. On Dec. 10, Saris made a ruling on two similar cases: the ACLU case and another involving Project Veritas, an undercover organization founded by conservative political activist James OKeefe. The organization is known for filming progressive politicians and then releasing heavily edited videos of them. Project Veritas argued it was prevented from conducting the secret video recordings that are the basis of its reports in Massachusetts because of Section 99. In the ruling, Saris wrote that secret audio recording of government officials, including law enforcement officials, performing their duties in public is protected by the First Amendment, subject only to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions. Martin, a Jamaica Plain resident, said in December that he often fears for his safety when he openly records police officers in public, but he fears prosecution if he records secretly. Caught between safety concerns and fear of punishment, I often choose not to record at all. I am grateful that the court affirmed that our right to secretly record law enforcement is in fact protected. We all suffer when fear of retribution or prosecution stifles conversations about police accountability, said Perez, a Roxbury resident. This ruling is a step towards greater police accountability and towards the safe, effective exercise of the right to record the police. Federal courts across the country have affirmed the right to record police in public, but the ruling affirmed the practice as constitutional even under Massachusetts anti-wiretapping law, among the strictest in the nation. People have been charged with illegal wiretapping even when recording their own interactions with law enforcement officials. The most widely cited example is the case against Simon Glik in 2007. He was arrested after he used his cellphone to record Boston police officers punching a man on the Boston Common. Glik sued the three officers and the City of Boston three years later for violating his civil rights and won a $170,00 settlement. The court ruled that people have a First Amendment right to record the police carrying out their duties in a public space. Yet police in Massachusetts continued arresting people for recording their own interactions with police, arguing that the officer didnt consent and the recording done secretly. In 2014, Karen Dziewit was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, possession of an open container of vodka and conducting an illegal wiretap. The wiretapping charge came after she told the police officer after the interaction that she was using her phone to record them. The wiretapping charge was later dropped. She was found guilty on the disorderly conduct and open container charges. In 2015, a Westfield man was sentenced to probation after secretly recording a traffic stop with a police officer. The U.S. House of Representatives passage on Thursday of a bill that intends to increase the ability of people to save for retirement was praised by U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal as a way of averting an impending retirement crisis. The bill, known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, was overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 417-3, with 11 representatives not voting. Neal, D-Springfield, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement that the House has made significant progress in helping to ensure workers of all ages are able to save enough money for retirement. The bill aims to make it easier for small businesses to join together to create 401(k) plans for employees, require businesses to allow longtime part-time employees to participate in 401(k) plans, and repeal the prohibition on anyone older than 70 contributing to an individual retirement account. Other components of the SECURE may be found here. The legislation closes loopholes and makes it easier for small business employees, home care workers, and long-term part-time workers to save for retirement, Neal said. Im also proud that we were able to incorporate a much-needed fix to reverse unfair and unexpected high taxes on Gold Star families, low-income scholarship recipients, and children of fallen first responders, among others. Neal has previously spoken of how half of American workers are not enrolled in any retirement savings plan. In order to become law, the bill must be approved by the Senate and then signed by the president. Neal said he encourages the Senate to act quickly and swiftly pass this important bill that goes a long way in helping American families prepare for a financially secure retirement. You are here: World Flash The Jakarta police have arrested 257 rioters involved in violent election demonstrations and more are expected to be arrested as the demonstrations are still going on, Jakarta police spokesperson Argo Yuwono said on Wednesday. "Those rioters were arrested in the last two days in Gambir, Petamburan and around the Bawaslu building," Argo told a press conference in his office. He said the rioters involved in clashes with police are apparently from different groups with supporters of the defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. The spokesperson said the rioters had been paid to incite chaos and carry out aggressive acts against the police. "We suspect their acts have been well-planned." Police confiscated money, stones, Molotov cocktails, machetes and cellphones from the arrested rioters. The Red Sox placed reliever Tyler Thornburg on the 10-day injured list with a right hip impingement and promoted Travis Lakins from Pawtucket on Thursday morning. Boston used five relievers in Wednesdays win and needed an extra arm for the series finale in Toronto. Thornburg last pitched Tuesday, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in an inning. Thornburg owns a 7.71 ERA in 18.2 innings this year and appeared to be a candidate to be designated for assignment. Instead, hell remain with the Red Sox, albeit on the injured list with the hip issue. Lakins, a 24-year-old righty, made his major-league debut on April 23 against the Tigers, allowing one run on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. The former sixth-round pick has a 4.02 ERA and 8.6 K/9 in 15.2 innings at Pawtucket this year. The Red Sox will likely make another move involving a reliever when they activate Brock Holt from the injured list. Holt could be nearing a return after an extended rehab stint with the PawSox. Lakins joins Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Brandon Workman, Marcus Walden, Heath Hembree, Hector Velazquez and Colten Brewer in Bostons bullpen behind starter Ryan Weber on Thursday. Flash With the use of state power, Washington's groundless crackdown on Chinese private company Huawei is typical economic bullying, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters on Wednesday. During a press conference on the sidelines of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers, Wang said some people in the United States do not want China to have legitimate rights to development and attempt to impede China's development process. A typical example is that Washington uses its state power to unjustifiably suppress Huawei without any factual basis, Wang said, adding that "this is typical economic bullying." The Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier put Huawei and its affiliates on an "Entity List," which restricts the sale or transfer of U.S. technologies to the company. The ban has triggered opposition from markets worldwide. "A just cause attracts much support, an unjust one finds little," said Wang, quoting an idiom said by Mencius, an ancient Chinese philosopher. Such an egocentric approach by the the United States will not win the recognition and support of the international community, said Wang. The SCO Council of Foreign Ministers on Wednesday adopted a press communique in which the members jointly oppose all forms of unilateralism and trade protectionism. The communique particularly stressed their opposition to discriminatory practices against mutually beneficial international cooperation in the fields of digital economy and communication technology under any pretext. Acknowledging The Traction This Market Perceives Today, Market Research Future (MRFR) In Its Recently Published Study Report Asserts That The Already Booming Market Of Ayurveda Is Expected To Gain Fabulous Accruals Registering A Phenomenal CAGR During 2017-2023. Market overview Ayurveda, although a traditional Indian healing system, worldwide, it has long been recognized as an effective alternative treatment, being offered in therapeutic practices. It takes a holistic approach to health, promoting daily maintenance of the mind, body, and soul, striking a balance between the two which further reduces the risk of needing major medical intervention in the future. Alongside the recognition, Ayurveda has also garnered huge popularity across the globe. Online and store-based distribution channels are availing various therapeutic-grade Ayurveda products, offering the convenience of purchasing. Resultantly, the global Ayurveda market is growing pervasively, witnessing augmented uptake of Ayurveda as an alternative medicine practice. All these factors such as advantages, awareness, and accessibility cumulatively drive the Ayurveda market on the global platform. Fill Out Details To Receive FREE Sample Here: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6166 Improving economic conditions worldwide are fuelling the urbanization, further ushering in the problems of the changing lifestyle. Simultaneously, the improving economy is fostering the market growth, enhancing the quality of life of people making the best healthcare available to them. The non-invasive nature of Ayurveda is also one of the key factors fostering the market growth exclusively. Conversely, there are some growth restraining factors as well that are expected to hinder the market growth. These factors are stringent regulations about the obligatory differentiation label on the product citing therapeutic grade or cosmetic grade products, and lack of expertise Also, the fact that there is no solid medical evidence that Ayurveda prevents or cures diseases mentioned above, is impeding the market growth up to some extent. Key Players: The global Ayurveda market is led by some of the fervent players including Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., Zandu Pharmaceutical Works Ltd, Dabur, Baidyanath Group, Charak Pharma, Hamdard laboratories, Vicco Labs, and Emami Group Industry/innovation/Related News: April 25, 2018 Hanna, LLC (US), an Ayurvedic-influenced company announced the launch of its new product HANAH Cordyceps+, wild-harvested from the Bhutanese Himalayas. The new product is a powerful combination of wild Bhutanese Cordyceps sinensis, a rare Himalayan medicinal mushroom, with eight other herbs and minerals all wild harvested from the untouched Bhutanese Himalayas. August 14, 2018 India Ministry of AYUSH introduced new Central Sector scheme for promoting pharmacovigilance of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) Drugs. The prime objective of the scheme is to develop the culture of documenting adverse effects and undertake safety monitoring of these alternative therapies including Ayurveda and Homoeopathy alongside surveillance of misleading advertisements appearing in the print and electronic media. The scheme intends to facilitate the establishment of a three-tier network of National Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPvCC), Intermediary Pharmacovigilance Centres (IPvCCs) and Peripheral Pharmacovigilance Centres (PPvCC). Global Ayurveda Market Competitive Analysis Key players are more focusing on the expansion of Ayurveda business across the globe which is contributing around 40% of strategy share. After expansion, key players are acquiring companies to strengthen their presence and to get an edge over increasing competition. R&D, partnership, and product launch contribute equally (~10%) in the strategic share of key players in Ayurveda market. Access Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/upcoming-reports/ayurveda-market-6166 Global Ayurveda Market Segments: The MRFR analysis is segmented into seven key dynamics; By Applications : Medicinal, and Personal Care among others. By Disease Pattern : Respiratory System, Nervous Systems, Gastrointestinal Track, Cardiovascular System, Infectious Diseases, Skeletal System, Skin & Hair among others. By Sources : Vegetable (leaves and fruit, seeds, roots, bark and other), Animals (oils, bones, and other) and Minerals. By Forms : Herbal, Herbomineral, and Mineral among others. By End-Users : Academia & Research Centers, Hospitals, and Clinics among others. By Distributions : Organized, and Over the Counter among others. By Regions : North America, Europe, APAC and the Rest-of-the-World. Global Ayurveda Market Regional Analysis The Asia Pacific region is estimated to dominate the market with the largest market share in terms of revenue and size both, followed by North America and Europe respectively. Led by China and India, the region is expected to emerge as the fastest growing market for Ayurveda, owing to their rich traditions of herbal medicines. Besides the APAC region is the largest producer of ayurvedic products including medicinal products which is undoubtedly impacting the regional market growth positively. North America accounts for one of the growing markets for Ayurveda owing to the high per capita income and healthcare expenditures, the U.S. and Canada are major markets for Ayurveda in the region. Strong potential of Ayurveda products, rising application areas and therapeutic applications in cosmetics and personal care are supporting market growth in the region. Whereas, in Europe, another promising market for Ayurveda, France, Italy, and Germany are major Ayurveda products market. Increasing popularity of Ayurveda as therapeutics and pharmaceuticals is supporting the Ayurveda market in the region. High disposable income and the presence of large facilities especially in France and Germany drive the regional market growth. About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Several private institutions and government organizations are actively participating to spread awareness on the use of contraceptives. This, as per Fortune Business Insights is the chief driver of the global contraceptives devices market. Fortune Business Insights in a new report, titled Contraceptives Devices Market: Global Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2018-2025 predicts the market to exhibit a CAGR of 6.0%. The report further calculated the value of the contraceptives devices market as US$ 7013.8 Mn in the year 2018 and expected the market to reach US$ 11166.4 Mn by 2025. Contraceptives devices for female are expected to lead the contraceptives devices market during the forecast period. Contraceptive devices for female are available in different types, among which the report emphasizes on the rising uptake of intrauterine contraceptive devices. Some of these include diaphragms & sponges, vaginal rings, sub-dermal implants, and female condoms. Consequently, the sales of female contraceptive devices are accelerating at an exponential rate. As per Fortune Business Insights, the female contraceptive devices segment held nearly 54.8% of the overall market in the year 2017 and is expected to remain dominant over the forecast years. Request Sample Copy at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/contraceptive-devices-market-100062 With the advent of advanced technology, hormonal contraceptives are likely to lead the contraceptive devices market. This is mainly on account of their enhanced efficiency and rising preference among consumers. Governments in several countries are actively participating in the distribution of contraceptive devices across several hospitals. This further makes hospital pharmacies one of the leading sources for birth control devices. Top Leaders Overview: Some of the leading companies in the global Cardiovascular Stents Market are Bayer AG Pfizer Inc. Janssen Global Services, LLC Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Merck & Co., Inc. Mylan N.V. Allergan Reckitt Benckiser Group plc Veru Inc. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. Medisafe Distribution Inc. Other players The Global Contraceptive Devices Market derives growth from a number of factors such as increasing focus on research and development (R&D), increasing investment from leading companies towards R&D. Besides this, increasing regulatory approvals from organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have contributed significantly to the global Contraceptive Devices Market. Furthermore, newer drug discoveries as a result of emphasis on R&D have favored the growth of the global Contraceptive Devices Market and are likely to boost the market in the coming years. Backed by contributions from government as well as private organizations, the global Contraceptive Devices Market is likely to gain traction in the coming years. Lack of Proper Family Planning Will Fuel Demand for Contraceptive Devices The demand for contraceptive devices and drugs is likely to increase owing to the rising prevalence of STDs, stated a lead analyst at FBI. These include injectable contraceptives, hormonal oral pills, and topical contraceptives. This, coupled with the lack of family planning, drives the contraceptive devices market, he added. Furthermore, unwanted pregnancies can have widespread implications. Browse Complete Report Details at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/contraceptive-devices-market-100062 This is further expected to increase the requirement of fertility control devices over the upcoming years. In addition to this, the rapid growth in population across the world is anticipated to enable contraceptives market witness accelerated gains. Several companies are increasing awareness on the use and safety of contraceptive devices. This is also considered as a growth factor driving the contraceptive devices market. These devices are preferred more as they offer a safer course of action. All the above factors are anticipated to witness promising growth in the contraceptive devices market between 2018 and 2025. Among regions, North America is expected to remain dominant in the global contraceptive devices market throughout the forecast period. The rate of awareness among the population is high and the healthcare industry is well-established, thus making North America a leading region. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is also anticipated to offer considerable growth opportunities owing to the large population base and rising disposable income. In addition to this, the region is expected to witness significant growth with the rising awareness regarding the usage and benefits of contraceptives. Adverse Effects of Contraceptives and their Limited Supply May Restrict the Markets Growth Although the use of contraceptives is increasing, there are some risks associated with the use of the same. These risks include infections which compe people to opt for permanent contraception methods. Also, there are millions of men and women who dont use contraceptive devices owing to their limited supply. Not all countries have access to contraception, which limits the growth of the contraceptive devices market. Initiatives by Several Players Aimed at Sustaining Competitive Advantage to Bode Well Some of the key players present in the global contraceptives devices market are Janssen Pharmaceutical Company, Allergan plc, Veru Inc., Pfizer Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals Industry, Mylan, Medisafe Distribution Inc., and Reckitt Benckiser plc. Several companies are taking initiatives to sustain in their competitiveness in the market for contraceptive devices. Furthermore, companies are creating awareness programs to encourage the use of contraceptives. These companies also provide different types of birth control devices at affordable rates to maintain their market share. For instance, Tera Pharmaceuticals in November 2017 signed an agreement with another company called CopperSurgical with an aim to acquire an intrauterine copper contraceptive called Paragard. Such strategies adopted by the leading players are expected to boost the global contraceptive devices market in the coming years. Speak to Analyst at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/contraceptive-devices-market-100062 About us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Sepsis is a type of life-threatening organ dysfunction arises when the bodys response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. It can be caused due to weakened immune system, chronic illness, kidney or liver disease, cancer and severe wounds. It can be of two types severe sepsis when theres organ failure and other is septic shock in which there are the symptoms of severe sepsis includes a low blood pressure. The hospital-acquired infections and rising prevalence of sepsis has led to a growing need for its early diagnosis, which is one of the driving factor for sepsis diagnostics market. Get Free Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2110 Competitive Analysis bioMerieux, Inc. (US), EKF Diagnostics (UK), Immunexpress (US), T2 Biosystems, Inc. (US), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Axis-Shield Diagnostics Ltd. (Scotland), Cube Dx GmbH (Austria), Sandstone Diagnostics, Inc. (US) Study Objectives of Global Sepsis Diagnostics Market: To provide detail analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 7 years of various segments and sub-segments of the global sepsis diagnostics market. To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth. To analyze the market based on various factors which includes price analysis, supply chain analysis, Porters Five Force Analysis etc. To offer past as well as estimated future revenue of the markets segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries; these includes Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and estimated future growth of the market. To give country level analysis of the markets segments which includes by technology, by type of product, by end users and other sub segments. To provide overview about key players and their strategic profiling in the market; comprehensively analyzing their core competencies and drawing a competitive landscape for the market. To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, along with research and developments that is taking place globally. Segmental Analysis Global sepsis diagnostics market has been segmented on the basis of technology which comprises molecular diagnostics, biomarkers, immunoassays and others. On the basis of type of product product types; the market is segmented into kits, instruments, blood culture media and others. On the basis of end users the market is segmented into pathology laboratories, specialty clinics, hospitals, diagnostic centers and others. Regional Analysis Globally North America is the largest market for medical tourism. The North American market for sepsis diagnostics is expected to reach USD 320 million by the end of the forecasted period. Europe is the second largest market for sepsis diagnostics which is expected to grow at the CAGR of 6.8%. Asia Pacific is expected to be fastest growing region in sepsis diagnostics market. The report of global sepsis diagnostics market by Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with detail analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts and key opinion leaders to gain a deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes past and projected future market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. Along with all these detail information and strategies about top key players in the industry is also given. Further a broad study of different markets segments and regions is also provided. Industry Updates: Dec 2018 Beckman Coulter, which is an international leader in the clinical diagnostics industry has announced that it is joining forces with Sepsis Alliance, the nations leading sepsis organization, to support the Sepsis Coordinator Network. The pioneering online, peer-to-peer alliance for healthcare professionals, the Sepsis Coordinator Network is dedicated to saving lives by advancing patient results. May 2018 Mobidiag, a Finnish firm, has obtained funding to create a rapid molecular sepsis assay on its Novodiag system. The fresh funding comprises of a 1.5 million ($1.74 million) loan for the first year of the project provided by Business Finland, a funding agency previously known as Tekes. Browse Complete 85 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with Respective Tables and Figures @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/sepsis-diagnostics-market-2110 Detailed Table of Contents: Table Of Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Definition 1.2 Scope Of Study 1.3 Research Objective 1.4 Assumptions & Limitations 1.5 Market Structure: 2 Research Methodology 2.1 Research Process 2.2 Primary Research 2.3 Secondary Research 3 Market Dynamics 3.1 Drivers 3.2 Restraints 3.3 Opportunities 3.4 Challenges 3.5 Macroeconomic Indicators 4 Market Factor Analysis 4.1 Porters Five Forces Model 4.1.1 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers 4.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Customer 4.1.3 Intensity Of Competitors 4.1.4 Threat Of New Entrants 5 Global Sepsis Diagnostics Market, By Technology 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 Molecular Diagnostics 5.1.2 Biomarkers 5.1.3 Immunoassays 5.1.4 Others TOC Continued! Send an Enquiry @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/2110 About US: Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact Us: Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India Phone: +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com The Global Teleradiology Market is likely to grow in the coming years due to recent technological advancements in digital healthcare devices. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Market: Global Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019 to 2026. Besides IoT, Artificial Intelligence(AI) and predictive analysis have been major drivers of the global Teleradiology Market. The applications of AI and IoT include efficient decision making and proper financial management. Thus, the aforementioned factors are likely to enable the growth of the Global Teleradiology Market in the forthcoming years. Fortune Business Insights has stated that the Market in North America, Europe Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa will emerge leading in the forecast period. North America is likely to exhibit the highest CAGR in the forecast period. Fortune Business Insights has profiled some of the leading companies that are operating in the global Teleradiology Market. Request Sample Copy at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/teleradiology-market-100284 Top Leaders Profile: A few of the leading companies are Nexxrad Vision Radiology ONRAD Inc Agfa-Gevaert Group Virtual Radiologic Everlight Radiology RamSoft, Inc. 4ways Limited Argus Radiology RadNet, Inc., and other. The advent of digitalization has completely transformed the face of Teleradiology Market. Increasing demand for simplified treatment options has led to the growth of the global Teleradiology Market. There has been an increasing need for protecting health information and other confidential data private organizations, hospitals, and other healthcare institutions. Incorporation of technologies such as cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) has boosted the global Teleradiology Market and are likely to favor the growth of the market in the forecast period. Browse Complete Report Details at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/teleradiology-market-100284 Major Segmentation: By Mode of Imaging By Technology By End User By Geography The report offers detailed market analysis and insights for the Global Market. Fortune Business Insights segments the market based on various factors. Besides this, Fortune Business Insights profiles leading market players and predicts market values for the forecast period 2019 to 2026. The report also includes various growth drivers and restraints that had a substantial impact on the global market. Major Table of Content for Teleradiology Market: Introduction Executive Summary Market Dynamics Key Insights Global Teleradiology Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2026 North America Teleradiology Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2026 Europe Teleradiology Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2026 Asia Pacific Teleradiology Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2026 Middle East and Africa Teleradiology Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2026 Latin America Teleradiology Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2014-2026 Competitive Landscape Company Profile Conclusion Speak to Analyst at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/teleradiology-market-100284 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We, therefore, offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com The Global Blood Pressure Monitors Market is likely to grow exponentially driven by the increasing FDA approvals for newer devices. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, titled Blood Pressure Monitors Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Product Type (Sphygmomanometers, Digital Blood Pressure Monitors, Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitors & Hospitals), End User (Ambulatory Surgery Centers & Clinics, Home Healthcare & Others) and Geography Forecast Till 2025, the market was valued at US$ 1,037.2 Mn in 2017. Fortune Business Insights states that the market is likely to expand at a CAGR of 9.1% in the forecast period and will be valued at around US$ 2,074.6 Mn by the end of 2026. Omron Introduces Blood Pressure Monitors with EKG Capability In May 2019, Omron introduced a new blood pressure monitoring device with the ability to read electrocardiogram pulses. The device had earlier received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use. The company made these products available for commercialization in May 2019, after a series of successful clinical trials. Omrons blood pressure monitors are quickly adopted by many healthcare professionals due to their efficiency and EKG capability. Request Sample Copy at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/blood-pressure-monitors-market-100059 Omrons innovative blood pressure devices have encouraged its competitors, as a result of which many healthcare companies are acting swiftly to introduce their own products. Many renowned companies are now focusing on investing more in the research and development of new blood pressure monitors and introducing newer concepts as well as additional features within the devices. The success of Ormans product had a massive impact on the global market and is likely to favor the growth of the global blood pressure monitoring market in the forecast period. Omron Healthcare to Emerge as Leading Market Player The rising practice of sedentary lifestyle in emerging nations of Asia Pacific is a major factor spurring the incidence of cardiovascular diseases. This is a chief driver of the digital blood pressure monitors in China and India. Additionally, the presence of a large number of players in the U.S. and Canada has helped the market in North America to emerge dominant. In 2017, the North America market was valued at US$ 415.2 Mn. This is also attributable to the improvements in domestic level distribution of blood pressure monitors in the region. The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and the introduction of smart health monitors will help Asia Pacific emerge as the fastest growing region. Browse Complete Report Details at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/blood-pressure-monitors-market-100059 Market players are investing huge sums in research and development activities in order to introduce innovative blood pressure monitors. An analyst at Fortune Business Insights foretells Omron Healthcare to lead the market on account of its widespread geographical reach. Some of the other companies operating in the global digital blood pressure monitors market are Masimo Corporation, Philips, Smiths Group, Nihon Kohden Corporation, American Diagnostic Corporation, Welch Allyn, and GE Healthcare. Digital Blood Pressures are by far, the Most Used Product Type Digital blood pressure monitors are a growing favorite among healthcare professionals. The high caliber functional ability and precise readings due to digital devices have led to an increasing use among end users, globally. Single handedly, the digital blood pressure monitor devices have accounted for around 64% of the total market share. Product benefits such as low cost and lesser time for diagnosis are likely to favor the digital blood pressure devices and they will continue to dominate the global market in the forecast period. Some of the leading companies that are operating in the global digital blood pressure monitors market are American Diagnostic Corporation, Welch Allyn, Philips, Nihon Kohden Corporation, GE Healthcare, Smiths Group, Masimo Corporation and Omron Healthcare. Speak to Analyst at https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/blood-pressure-monitors-market-100059 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges. Contact Us Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. 308, Supreme Headquarters, Survey No. 36, Baner, Pune-Bangalore Highway, Pune 411045, Maharashtra, India. Phone: USa: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com The report provides a comprehensive overview of the market complete with statistical graphs to support the forecasted figures. Our analysts make insightful predictions regarding the scope of the market and its future prospects. MRFRs report includes a thorough analysis of the global vocal cord paralysis market segmented on the basis of type, treatment, and region. Numerous growth strategies undertaken by companies as well as the latest trends driving the market are outlined in the report. The market share of all prominent players and their current position is discussed in minute detail. It analyzes new revenue sources for players and emphasizes on the various strategies implemented by players. The global vocal cord paralysis market is expected to exhibit a 3.8% CAGR from 2018 to 2023 (forecast period), as per the latest report by Market Research Future (MRFR) owing to prevalence of brain disorders. Vocal cord paralysis is a medical condition in which nerves leading to vocal cords are damaged causing dysphonia. It is also known as vocal fold paresis. Get Free Sample Copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5079 Growing cases of neck, head, and laryngeal cancers is one of the major factors expected to bolster market demand over the forecast period. Moreover, surgeries carry the highest risk of causing vocal cord paralysis. Technological advances in the medical sector such as endoscopy, laryngoscopy, and others can be used in rapid diagnosis of the condition and thrust the market growth to new heights. Increased healthcare expenditure of several countries can facilitate the market demand till 2023. Favorable medical reimbursement schemes provided in various economies offer the vocal cord paralysis market scope to expand in the forthcoming years. Competitive Landscape Key players in the vocal cord paralysis market include Cytophil, Inc. (U.S.), Teleflex Incorporated (U.S.), Medtronic Plc (U.S.), Olympus Corporation (Japan), Stryker Corporation (U.S.), FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (Japan), LifeCell Corporation (U.S.), Therapy Solutions Inc. (U.S.), KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), and Smiths Group Plc (U.K.). The report offers a comprehensive analysis on the profiles on these market players and assesses their current standing in the market. Company history coupled with annual turnover, profit margins, segmental share, SWOT analysis, growth strategies, expansion techniques, and latest R&D initiatives are discussed in minute detail. Segmentation By type, the market is divided into unilateral and bilateral. Treatment options in the vocal cord paralysis market voice therapy and surgery. The surgery treatment segment is further divided into structural implants, tracheotomy, bulk injection (phonosurgery), and vocal cord repositioning. The segments covered in the vocal cord paralysis market report are analyzed with respect to four regions namely Americas, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), and Europe. The report discusses in detail the various players residing in these regions and their respective strategies to climb up the market standings. Regional Analysis By region, the global vocal cord paralysis market has been segmented into the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). The Americas accounted for the largest share of 35.4% share of the global market in 2017 and is due to reach USD 1,007.5 Mn in 2023 at a CAGR of 3.4% by the end of the forecast period. Robust healthcare sector, technological superiority, and rising expenditure ion healthcare sector drive the market in the Americas. In addition, the region is highly aware of the medical condition which is acts a plus for the growth of the market. Europe is a prominent market for vocal cord paralysis and is likely to scale valuation of USD 958.1 Mn at a CAGR of 4% by the end of the forecast period. Similar factors spur the Europe market as the Americas. Also, favorable reimbursement policies and high government support create a conducive environment for the growth of the Europe vocal cord paralysis market. APAC vocal cord paralysis market is likely to exhibit rapid growth over the forecast period and emerge as the fastest growing market over the forecast period. The increasing prevalence of laryngeal cancer, availability of affordable treatment options and high expenditure on healthcare drive the market in APAC. The APAC market is expected to capture a CAGR of 4.11% over the forecast period. The MEA market for vocal cord is expected to hold the least share of the market and expand at a CAGR of 3.90% over the forecast period. Browse Complete 103 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with Respective Tables and Figures @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/vocal-cord-paralysis-market-5079 Detailed Table of Contents: Chapter 1. Report Prologue Chapter 2. Market Introduction 2.1 Definition 2.2 Scope Of The Study 2.2.1 Research Objective 2.2.2 Assumptions 2.2.3 Limitations Chapter 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Primary Research 3.3 Secondary Research 3.4 Market Size Estimation Chapter 4. Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.2 Restrains 4.3 Opportunities 4.4 Challenges 4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators 4.6 Treatment Trends & Assessment Chapter 5. Market Factor Analysis 5.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis 5.1.1 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers 5.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Buyers 5.1.3 Threat Of New Entrants 5.1.4 Threat Of Substitutes 5.1.5 Intensity Of Rivalry TOC Continued! Send an Enquiry @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/5079 About US: Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact Us: Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India Phone: +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, May 20, 2019 Global data use for advertising varies widely, but Evgeny Popov, Lotame's recently appointed global head of data, is up for the challenge. His parents pushed him to learn more about mathematics. Here's how it paid off. Popov recently acted on his personal dream of moving to the United States from Singapore to work from the Big Apple, taking on the position at Lotame to head its global data exchange as VP of data solutions and international. Lotame saw 460% growth in second-party data adoption last year. As its data business continues to expand rapidly, driven by a shift in the way marketers use data, Lotames third-party marketplace has more than 4 billion data points and actively sells more than 5,000 segments across more than 50 countries, with annual growth of 50%. advertisement advertisement Popov played a key role in the companys growth in the region, doubling revenue. He previously served as senior director and lead organizer for AdTech Meetups in Australia and Hong Kong, and also served as co-chairman of marketing and ad technology for IAB Singapore and the Ad Tech Advisory Council in Sydney. Data & Programmatic Insider caught up with Popov to talk about data in Asia versus the U.S., along with some of his personal views on business. D&PI: What is the biggest difference in the use of data in Asia versus the U.S.? Popov: Theres a colossal difference, mostly cultural. When you look at Asia you group as one. You have diversity in terms of the way business is conducted, from Japan to Indonesia and Singapore. In those 14 markets there is a difference in the way you build trust. In the U.S. there is a lot of offline data that can be onboarded and sold. In Asia there are no data -- we call them "match" providers that can bring that data online in a non-personally identifiable way. It limits businesses. In North America, about 60% comes from offline sources. In Asia its more contextual and traffic data. D&PI: Are there strategies or processes you might take from the Asian market and apply to the U.S.? Popov: The U.S. market leads in the use of data, so its not really about taking Asian processing and bringing it to the U.S. There is some crossover. Data availability is key. Being more strategic is important -- working with agencies by not being just another data provider, but becoming a strategic and advisory partner. D&PI: Would the Asian markets accept U.S. practices? Popov: Im trying to unify how all markets work. In Australia, for example, if theres a global brand campaign for Nike, its about determining how it can work across all markets. Its also about lining up all the teams. We have a lot of data globally. D&PI: What books are you reading and how might they contribute to your profession? Popov: Im reading Legacy by James Kerr. I like books about thought leadership. Im not a big fan of All Blacks, the New Zealand Rugby team, but that book was a phenomenal read. It talks about teamwork and cooperation and what it teaches us about business. It correlates with the ad-tech stack and how it applies to working as a team to create a global business and strategy. D&PI: When you were growing up as a kid did you want to work with data? Popov: I grew up in Moscow, Russia. I spent a fair degree of time there, and then left for Australia to do my masters in applied mathematics. My parents pushed me to work on mathematics and how it can apply to anything. My analytical background skills have always helped me to think differently -- to solve problems and be logical in everything I do -- but data was never a concept when I was growing up. We didnt have things called "Big Data." It wasnt until 2000 that I gave it serious thought. D&PI: What is the one missing technology to support data? Popov: The one missing thing is the ability to transact on accuracy as a common currency. Say youre in market for the car or have a strong affinity for Nike -- how do we validate that in real-time and let buyers only pay for the data if its accurate? by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 21, 2019 LinkedIn on Tuesday introduced an Ads tab on LinkedIn Pages in an effort to become more transparent. Those using the site will have an option to view all the Sponsored Content and native ads running in the LinkedIn feed that advertisers have run in the past six months. Members can click on the ads without advertisers having to pay for the view of the sponsored content. The click also will not impact the campaign reporting. The new Ads tab builds on similar tools recently introduced to help members understand and control their ads experience, and is one of many updates LinkedIn plans to release to help members learn more about the ads they see on the site. Transparency has been a major topic in the past few years, but hit a peak on Friday when Google faced consumer privacy and advertising transparency claims. advertisement advertisement One claim involved refunds from an advertising fraud scheme that took place in 2017, while the other involved collecting data from within emails receipts that merchants send to consumers for online and offline transactions. Advertising holding companies are having conversations among their respective agencies with Google to find remedies. This is not based on monetary losses, but rather based on trust, according to one agency. Google has promised to rebuild trust, according to a person familiar with the 2017 fraud scheme. Google is working to assess the impact, per advertisers, and create measures to avoid similar problems n the future, according to people close to the matter. Google offered to refund some of the money to hundreds of marketers and advertising agencies that had bought space through its online buying tool. The fraud scheme involved bots that boosted numbers and costs for the ads based on clicks. Other money could not be returned, Google said, because the funds had already flowed from its Display & Video 360 platform to third parties. Some companies were satisfied with the response. The online ad company AdTrader sued Google, arguing that part of the money went to ad marketplaces that Google owns such as AdX and AdSense. The Wall Street Journal discovered through an internal Google memo unsealed last week that a Google engineer said the company didnt pay about $75 million of refunds linked to its own products. by Ray Schultz , May 22, 2019 Broadband and email service TalkTalk failed to notify 4,545 customers that their personal data was breached in 2015, according to an investigation by BBC Watchdog Live. The company has apologized for the episode. BBC says it Googled TalkTalk customers and found TalkTalk customers personal details, including names, email addresses, home addresses, dates of birth, mobile numbers and bank details. The issue is a result of the 2015 breach in which personal details on almost 150,000 customers were breached. These included bank account numbers and sort codes of over 15,000 individuals, BBC continues. BBC adds that the information is likely to have been online since the breach, without the knowledge of the people affected. The UK Information Commissioners Office conducted a probe of the 2015 breach and assessed a fine of 400,000. BBC claims it spoke to multiple people affected by the breach. advertisement advertisement They said they had been subject to frequent scam calls, and in some cases attempted fraud and identity theft, impacting their credit rating, it reports. Failure to notify customers of a data breach in a timely way is now a violation of GDPR. In response to the BBC probe, TalkTalk issued the following statement: "The 2015 incident impacted 4% of TalkTalk customers and at the time, we wrote to all those impacted. "In addition, we wrote to our entire base to inform them about the breach, advise them about the risk of scam calls and offer free credit monitoring to protect against fraud. "A recent investigation has shown that 4,545 customers may have received the wrong notification regarding this incident. This was a genuine error and we have since written to all those impacted to apologise. 99.9% of customers received the correct notification in 2015. "On their own, none of the details accessed in the 2015 incident could lead to any direct financial loss." This has been a couple of rough months for TalkTalk. In April, it experienced an email outage in the UK, drawing hundreds of complaints. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, May 22, 2019 Regulators in Ireland are investigating whether Google's real-time bidding platform violates Europe's privacy laws, officials said Wednesday. The purpose of the inquiry is to establish whether processing of personal data carried out at each stage of an advertising transaction is in compliance with the relevant provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, the Ireland Data Protection Commission stated. The GDPR, which went into effect May 25 of last year, sets out sweeping privacy mandates, including the requirement that companies obtain people's consent before using their data for ad targeting. advertisement advertisement The Ireland DPC also plans to probe whether Google minimizes the data it collects and retains, and whether the company complies with transparency principles. The commission said Wednesday its investigation stems, in part, from filings by Johnny Ryan, chief policy officer for the Brave browser. Last September, Ryan alleged in complaints filed with European regulators that Google (and other online ad tech companies) engage in pervasive and invasive profiling and processing of personal data for profit. Among other allegations, he said Google doesn't control what happens to data about consumers after it's shared with other companies via real-time bidding -- which means Google can't prevent third parties from using consumer data in ways that may violate the GDPR, or even tell consumers how their data will be used by third parties. A Google spokesperson said: We will engage fully with the DPCs investigation and welcome the opportunity for further clarification of Europes data protection rules for real-time bidding. Authorized buyers using our systems are subject to stringent policies and standards." In January, Ryan supplemented the original complaint with new papers alleging that Google profiles web users based on sensitive data like religious beliefs, ethnicities, diseases, disabilities, and sexual orientation. Google said at the time it doesn't create profiles based on sensitive data, or allow advertisers to target people based on categories including race, sexual orientation, health conditions and pregnancy status. News of the investigation in Ireland comes four months after privacy regulators in France fined Google around $57 million for failing to obtain people's unambiguous consent before using their data to target ads. by Tanya Gazdik , May 22, 2019 The Los Angeles LGBT Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the release of a new logo and a video. The redesign comes just in time for national Pride month in June. The logo was created using images from multiple protest signs to create a singular symbol. A video, narrated by actress Patricia Arquette, details the creative process and shows the historic protest signs. Both the logo and the video were created by RPA, which has been working with the center on a pro bono basis for two years, says Jason Sperling, RPA senior vice president, chief, creative development. Our goal with this work and with our relationship is to help give the community a voice and create the kind of work that helps the LGBT Center stand apart, Sperling tells Marketing Daily. Given that this was a celebration of their 50th year in Los Angeles, it felt like an opportunity to celebrate the people that fought so hard, for so long, for necessary change. advertisement advertisement Raconteur, a consultancy focused on a creative storytelling approach to marketing, was also involved with the logo development. The logo aims to pay tribute to the movements past and convey the momentum thats being carried into the future by using 292 images from collections at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. Images included those from Chuck Stallard, a photographer whose largest body of work covers the war against HIV/AIDS as seen from the battlefronts of street demonstrations; and Pat Rocco, an activist who documented the LGBTQ rights movement in film and photographs. The images were taken from protests from the past 50 years around the U.S., mainly in Los Angeles. The "Forward for 50" logo directly speaks to the centers 50-year commitment to moving in just one direction -- toward progress, by honoring the decades of struggle that have paved the way to freedoms and acceptance, says Kelly Freter, director of marketing and communications at the center, which claims to be the largest LGBT organization in the world. The font will be available for download on the centers website. Additionally, stencils created out of the font easily enable people to create present-day signage of their own. The LGBT Center's Anita May Rosenstein Campus, completed in April 2019, provides health and recreational programs and services as well as affordable housing for seniors and homeless youth. The mixed-use development includes a Senior Services Center for residents and other senior clients, and a Youth Academy that focuses on youth empowerment through education and employment. There are an estimated 65,000 LGBT seniors in Los Angeles; by 2030 that number will more than double. The centers Senior Services program has seen a 450% increase in clients over the past five years. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, May 22, 2019 T-Mobile's proposed $26 billion acquisition of Sprint may have secured the blessing of the Federal Communications Commission, but the deal has reportedly run into opposition at the Justice Department. Staff at the Justice Department's antitrust division will recommend blocking the merger, Reuters reported Wednesday. Makan Delrahim, head of DOJ's antitrust division, is expected to make a final decision within a month, according to Reuters. If the transaction closes, the country will only have three major wireless carriers -- Verizon, AT&T and the newly merged T-Mobile/Sprint -- all roughly the same size. Consumer advocacy groups oppose the deal, arguing that the consolidation will result in less competition and higher prices. advertisement advertisement Earlier this week, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai endorsed the acquisition, while the other two Republican commissioners expressed support for the deal. Pai said the merger will spur 5G deployment and bring much faster mobile broadband to rural Americans. In regulatory filings, T-Mobile and Sprint promised to build out a 5G network that will extend to rural parts of the country -- many of which currently lack high-speed broadband access. Pai added this week that the companies guaranteed that the new network will cover 97% of the country within three years, including 85% of rural Americans. But critics weren't swayed. These promises are speculative, unsubstantiated, and entirely unenforceable, Gigi Sohn, a fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy, wrote this week in a Wiredop-ed. "Nothing in T-Mobiles filings prove that they can meet these goals, and much like the broken promises of other big broadband, telephone, and cable providers, they are wildly optimistic." Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), who earlier this year urged regulators to block the deal, cheered news that the merger may hit a roadblock. DOJ is right to scrutinize this anti-competitive, anti-worker & anti-consumer attempt at corporate consolidation, he tweeted Wednesday afternoon. T-Mobile & Sprints unenforceable sales pitches & weak promises dont hold up to antitrust scrutiny. by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 23, 2019 President Trump has fired many top administration officials over his 30-month reign -- as well as previously doing some TV firing on reality shows Celebrity Apprentice and The Apprentice. As fawning as his favorite TV news network has been to his administration -- especially from its prime-time opinion shows -- what would happen if his amped-up tough guy attitude, now increasingly under pressure from investigations and possible impeachment hearings, turned on Fox News Channel? Sounds crazy. Well, a lot of stuff has been crazy during his presidency. Heres the scenario: After a Fox News Channel aired a Town Hall featuring Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, interviewed by Chris Wallace, the in-studio crowd gave Mayor Pete -- as he is known, being the mayor of South Bend, Indiana -- a standing ovation. advertisement advertisement Wallace was even surprised, speaking above the crowd noise: A standing ovation! But the President, who keenly watches every move on the network, wasnt one of them. In two May 19 tweets, Trump said: Hard to believe that @FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete, as Chris Wallace likes to call him. Fox is moving more and more to the losing (wrong) side in covering the Dems. They got dumped from the Democrats boring debates, and they just want in. They forgot the people... He added: .... who got them there. Chris Wallace said: I actually think, whether you like his opinions or not, that Mayor Pete has a lot of substance ... fascinating biography. Gee, he never speaks well of me I like Mike Wallace better... and Alfred E. Newman will never be President! Fox News Channel said it pulled in 1.1 million viewers for the May 19 event -- easily beating CNN and MSNBC in the same time period. Fluke? Now, it seems other Democratic presidential candidates are considering doing the same. For sure, repeating the exact same level of on-screen enthusiasm may not occur among all 20-plus candidates. In addition, location can be a factor; Buttigiegs Foxs appearance was in New Hampshire. But what if two, three, or four of those seeking high office get similar respectable positive screen time reaction? Know this: With more pressure from all sides at Trump -- and the presidential election coming soon -- you can expect more blunt Trump tweets. And maybe even a call to action aimed at his base. Buttigieg responded to his performance with this May 19 tweet: The way folks responded to the Fox News Town Hall tonight shows that we can connect with people anywhere while standing firm on our values... Values, sm-alues! (Something Trump might say privately!). Publicly, he could tell supporters to turn away -- from all or parts of Fox News Channel, the highest-rated cable TV network. Although Trump has been masterful at playing the media, anything goes when financial, tax returns, reputation or other pressures come knocking on your door. And your favorite social media platform is only fingertips away. by Larissa Faw , May 23, 2019 Publicis Groupe is appointing Delphine Stricker as the Groupe's new vice president/director of communication replacing Peggy Nahmany who left earlier this year to join The Thales Group. Reporting to Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe, Stricker will be in charge of Publicis Groupes communications efforts globally. Stricker has extensive experience in media relations. Most recently she has worked as a partner consultant at French PR agency Image 7 which has clients including Bain + Co, Hermes, Estee Lauder, and Capgemini. Her earlier positions were rooted largely in government, including serving as communication officer of Alain Lambert, French Minister of the budget, Jean-Louis Borloo, French Minister for social cohesion and Jean-Francois Cope, French Minister of the budget and government spokesman from 2002 to 2007. advertisement advertisement Stricker was appointed Head of the Press office of the Prime Minister Francois Fillon from 2007 to 2009. In 2010 she founded Wise Conseil, a consulting agency in corporate and financial communication. "She brings valuable skills in communication strategy, press relations, financial communication and crisis communication to the Groupe and our agencies," says Sadoun. A recent paper describes how scientists set up a gym in a psychiatric inpatient unit to find out whether exercise could improve symptoms and general well-being in this challenging environment. Share on Pinterest A new study asks whether exercise could, at least partially, replace medication for psychiatric inpatients. Over recent years, there have been several investigations into the relationship between exercise and mental health. Studies have shown that physical activity can reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms in some cases. However, the most recent study takes this effect one step further. The study, carried out by scientists from the University of Vermont in Burlington, investigated how an exercise regime might benefit inpatients at a psychiatric facility. They published their findings in the journal Global Advances in Health and Medicine. A new approach to inpatients Inpatient psychiatric populations are complex, comprising individuals with a wide range of conditions and symptoms. When an individual arrives at a facility, doctors usually prescribe psychotropic medications. The patient also receives talking therapies, such as psychotherapy. Doctors monitor and tweak drug and therapy regimes until the patient improves enough to leave their care. These facilities are often cramped, and patients often find them stressful. Stress can exacerbate mental health conditions, so it is essential to find ways to minimize discomfort and reduce the time people spend in these facilities. Lead author, Prof. David Tomasi, a lecturer, psychotherapist, and inpatient psychiatry group therapist, wants to find ways to improve these facilities and, consequently, improve patient outcomes. He designed an experiment that combined physical activity with information about healthful nutrition building a holistic, drug-free intervention. Building a gym To investigate, Prof. Tomasi and his colleagues, Sheri Gates and Emily Reyns, installed gym equipment in their inpatient facility, including rowing machines, exercise bikes, and aerobic steps. In all, they recruited 100 patients to take place in the trial. There was a cross-section of conditions represented in the sample, including bipolar affective disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, and psychosis. Each participant carried out 60-minute sessions of structured exercise. According to the authors, Each 60-minute exercise session consisted [of] a combination of cardiovascular training, resistance training, and flexibility development. The researchers also held 60-minute education sessions on nutrition, which explained how to identify food groups and discussed healthful food choices, budgeting, and meal preparation. To gauge the impact of the gym activity, the researchers gave questionnaires to the participants just before and after the sessions. The surveys asked about levels of self-esteem, mood, and self-image. A well-being boost Overall, the findings were encouraging. After completing the bouts of physical activity, 95% of participants showed improvements in mood and self-esteem, compared with the questionnaire scores before the sessions. Also, 91.8% of participants said that they were happy with how their bodies felt after the sessions. They also reported reductions in depression, anxiety, and anger. The general attitude of medicine is that you treat the primary problem first, and exercise was never considered to be a life or death treatment option. Now that we know its so effective, it can become as fundamental as pharmacological intervention. Prof. David Tomasi Importantly, 97.6% of participants said that following the session, they would like to exercise more often. Medical News Today recently spoke with Prof. Tomasi. We asked whether he was surprised by the findings. He said, We were certainly surprised by the percentages, especially given that they were consistently high, irrespective of the specific diagnostic backgrounds. In other words, the level of positivity was comparable between people with very different types of mental condition, from schizophrenia to major depressive disorder. Prescribing exercise We also asked Prof. Tomasi whether doctors might prescribe exercise regimes to patients in these types of facilities in the future. He said, It is my true hope that this would be the case. Prof. Tomasi explained that because the risks and costs associated with exercise are minimal, it would be an ideal intervention. The study does have limitations, however. Primarily, as the authors note, they had a relatively small sample size. Also, the study did not follow patients over the coming hours, days, or weeks, which would have yielded further insight. Additionally, the windows of the newly built gym let in a large amount of natural light, something that the rest of the facility lacked. Natural light itself might have some impact on mood levels. However, that said, this study aimed to look at a holistic experience exercise, a welcoming environment, and education wrapped into one. The important takehome message, as far as the authors are concerned, is that the intervention boosted self-reported levels of happiness and well-being without using any drugs. The fantastic thing about these results is that if youre in a psychotic state, youre sort of limited with what you can do in terms of talk therapy or psychotherapy. Its hard to receive a message through talk therapy in that state, whereas with exercise, you can use your body and not rely on emotional intelligence alone. Prof. Tomasi Steroids, or corticosteroids, can help relieve inflammation. Since rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder, steroids are often one part of the treatment plan. Different steroid types exist, each with specific benefits and side effects. The corticosteroids that help treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not the same as the steroids an athlete might take to build muscle. Typically, a doctor prescribes steroids for short-term use to reduce flare-ups or while waiting for other medicines to work. In this article, learn more about steroids for treating RA, including the different types, possible side effects, and what to ask a doctor. Types Share on Pinterest Steroids are available in a range of forms. Steroids are medicines that mimic the activity of hormones in the body. The bodys adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, produce natural steroids. Pharmaceutical manufacturers can create steroids that have similar actions and can suppress the bodys immune system. This can help treat RA, as the disease causes the immune system to attack the bodys synovial joints. Examples of steroids a doctor might prescribe to treat RA include: dexamethasone methylprednisolone prednisolone prednisone Some of these steroids are more potent or longer-lasting than others. A doctor will consider a persons symptoms when determining which medicine to prescribe. In addition to different medications, there are different preparations of corticosteroids available, such as: intra-articular injections, which is an injection that goes directly into the joint intramuscular injections, which go into the muscles intravenous (IV) injections, which go into the veins oral medications, such as pills or capsules A doctor will consider a persons symptoms, where the symptoms occur, and their medical history when recommending different preparations. Uses Doctors can prescribe steroids: to reduce RA symptoms while a person is waiting for disease-modulating anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or biologics to work to reduce pain and discomfort when a person is going through a flare-up to reduce symptoms when other medications have not proven effective to reduce or lessen the extent of heart and blood vessel damage due to RA Dosage The correct dosage will depend on the desired effect and the persons overall health. Larger dosages are more likely to produce a faster effect than lower ones. A typical dose of prednisone is usually around 510 milligrams (mg) per day, although some people may take more. While steroids can initially improve symptoms and mask the effects of RA at first, taking steroids for a prolonged time will not permanently stop the diseases progression. For this reason, doctors usually prescribe steroids at high dosages for a short time to achieve more immediate effects or at lower dosages for a longer time to help minimize side effects. Side effects Share on Pinterest Side effects of steroids can include fatigue. A doctor should discuss the potential side effects of steroids as a treatment for RA. Some of the possible side effects include: fragile skin that tears or bruises easily greater risks for infections high blood pressure high blood sugar fatigue increased risk of cataracts leg swelling mood changes problems sleeping weakness weight gain Not everyone will experience all or any of the side effects above. As a general rule, the longer a person takes steroids, the more likely they are to have side effects. Effects of taking steroids fpr extended periods can include an increased risk of: diabetes heart problems obesity These side effects are less likely with intra-articular steroid injections. A doctor may recommend slowly increasing the dosage when starting to take the corticosteroids and tapering the dosages over time. If a person takes steroids regularly and suddenly stops taking them, they may experience hypotension (low blood pressure) and dizziness. Additional RA treatments Steroids are not the only treatment option for people with RA. Doctors may prescribe other medications or a combination that includes: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) : These medications include over-the-counter drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, as well as stronger prescription drugs. NSAIDs reduce inflammation and minimize pain in the joints. : These medications include over-the-counter drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, as well as stronger prescription drugs. NSAIDs reduce inflammation and minimize pain in the joints. DMARDs : These medications suppress the bodys immune system, but can take weeks to months to start working. Examples include methotrexate (Trexall) and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil). : These medications suppress the bodys immune system, but can take weeks to months to start working. Examples include methotrexate (Trexall) and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil). Biologic agents: Biologic agents modify the bodys response to inflammation and reduce the risk of tissue damage. Examples include abatacept (Orencia) and etanercept (Enbrel). In addition to medications, doctors may recommend physical and occupational therapy to maintain flexibility in the joints. If RA causes severe joint damage, a doctor may suggest surgical procedures to remove the damaged joint portions and minimize joint pain. What to ask a doctor Share on Pinterest A person can speak to their doctor about what to expect when taking steroids. Whenever someone starts taking a new medication, they should ask their doctor or a pharmacist about what results and side effects they can expect. There are several different steroids on the market, so if a person is concerned about the side effects of one, there may be another one or a lower dose a doctor could prescribe. Some questions a person could ask if their doctor prescribes steroids include: What kind of results can I expect when taking steroids? How long do you anticipate I will need to take steroids? Am I taking the lowest possible effective dose? Are there measures I can take to reduce the likelihood I will experience side effects? A phase 3 clinical trial testing esketamine nasal spray in the treatment of severe depression found the spray mostly safe and effective. The findings led to the recent FDA approval of this treatment. Despite this, other researchers caution that more questions than answers remain. Share on Pinterest A phase 3 clinical trial found esketamine nasal spray safe and effective in the treatment of severe depression. Esketamine is a form of ketamine, which doctors typically use as an anesthetic. Recent research has accumulated evidence that this substance can also quickly reduce the symptoms of severe depression, such as suicidal ideation. These were the findings of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study from 2018, which suggested that an esketamine nasal spray could produce quick and positive short-term effects for individuals at risk of depression for whom traditional antidepressants had failed. However, the authors of that study also expressed a worry that without proper risk assessment, using esketamine for depression could lead to unwanted side effects, such as psychosis and depersonalization. Since then, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved an esketamine nasal spray for the treatment of severe depression, specifically for use alongside an orally administered antidepressant, and only in adults in whom other treatments had failed. The American Journal of Psychiatry has finally published the findings of one of the studies that stood behind this FDA approval. The study in question built on the results of a 2018 trial, qualifying as a phase 3 clinical trial, which is a study that assesses the effectiveness and the safety of the proposed treatment. This trial of esketamine was one of the pivotal trials in the FDAs review of this treatment for patients with treatment resistant depression, notes one of the studys authors, Dr. Michael Thase, who is a professor of psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Study confirms effectiveness and safety The researchers conducted their trial at 39 outpatient referral centers across five countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the United States. In the trial which lasted for approximately 2 years the team worked with almost 200 adults with moderate to severe depression who had not responded to at least two antidepressants. As part of the study, the investigators randomly split the participants into two groups: One group received esketamine nasal spray in doses of 56 or 84 milligrams (mg) twice a week, as well as an antidepressant that the participants had never taken before (duloxetine, escitalopram, sertraline, or extended-release venlafaxine). Another group received a nasal spray containing a placebo, as well as a novel antidepressant. After 28 days, the participants who received the intranasal esketamine still showed significantly higher improvements than people who received the placebo, suggesting that the esketamine treatment is effective. Since one of the main concerns of the researchers was that of safety, they also recorded any adverse effects. The team saw that individuals who received esketamine experienced symptoms of dissociation, as well as some effects on perception that started shortly after the administration of the drug. These effects reached their peak of severity after 40 minutes but resolved after 1.5 hours. They also happened less and less as the treatment continued. The researchers report no symptoms or adverse events of psychosis. Some of the other most common side effects were nausea, vertigo, alterations to the sense of taste, and dizziness. Among the people who received esketamine, 7% pulled out of the trial because of the adverse effects they were experiencing. Considering all of these results, Dr. Thase and colleagues conclude in their study that the esketamine and antidepressant combination is not just effective but also safe and tolerated. Not only was adjunctive esketamine therapy effective, the improvement was evident within the first 24 hours, says Dr. Thase. He adds that [t]he novel mechanism of action of esketamine, coupled with the rapidity of benefit, underpin just how important this development is for patients with difficult to treat depression. The choice to own a dog has a strong genetic element, according to new research. Share on Pinterest A new study suggests that genes may govern our decision to own a dog. A study of more than 35,000 pairs of twins from Sweden examined the extent to which peoples genetic makeup corresponded to whether or not they owned a dog. The investigators, who hail from Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet, in Sweden, and the University of Liverpool, in the United Kingdom, found that genetic differences could explain more than 50% of the variation in dog ownership. It also seems that the influence of genes on the choice to own a dog is stronger in women than in men. In a recent Scientific Reports paper on the study, the researchers estimate that the contribution of genetic factors to dog ownership is 57% for females and 51% for males. We were surprised to see that a persons genetic makeup appears to be a significant influence in whether they own a dog, says lead study author Tove Fall, Ph.D., a professor of molecular epidemiology at Uppsala University. Perhaps some people have a higher innate propensity to care for a pet than others, she muses. Humans and dogs go back a long way In their study paper, the researchers explain that, while the origin of the domestic dog is still a topic of heated debate, there is no doubt that pre-farming, hunter-gatherer societies made much use of domesticated canines. Humans likely began using dogs to help them with hunting and herding, as well as for protection. Today, pet dogs not only offer companionship, but they also assist in a range of settings, from prison rehabilitation to post-surgery care. Decades of archaeological research have helped us construct a better picture of where and when dogs entered into the human world, says study co-author Keith Dobney, Ph.D., a zooarchaeologist and professor at the University of Liverpool. Now, by bringing together modern and ancient genetic data, scientists can also directly explore why and how, he adds. He and his co-authors cite numerous studies that have explored the connection between dog ownership and human health. These show, for example, that people who own dogs exercise more, experience less loneliness, and have an improved perception of well-being. This is particularly the case with older people and those who live alone. Untangling the contribution of genes However, what is not clear from previous research is whether health differences between dog owners and non-dog owners reflect effects of dog ownership itself or underlying preexisting differences in personality, health, and genetics, ask the authors. The advantages of using a Swedish population to explore the genetics of this question are that Sweden has the largest twin cohort for this type of study in the world, and all dog ownership in Sweden has to be registered. The team accessed Swedish Twin Registry data on all twins that were born during 19261996 and were alive in 2006. Using national dog registers, they were able to obtain information on dog ownership and link this to the twin cohort with personal identity numbers. These sources gave them a data set that included 85,542 twins from 50,507 twin pairs with known zygosity, while information on both twins [was] available in 35,035 pairs. Knowing the zygosity of twin pairs can tell you if they are identical or nonidentical. Scientists use twin studies to try and untangle the effects of environment and genes on biology and behavior. Identical twins have the same genetic makeup, whereas in nonidentical twins, on average, only around 50% of their genomes are the same. Advertisement For decades, the U.S. government has sponsored research on and development of engineered organisms and better ways to design DNA, while the government and the synthetic biology community have worked together to develop safety and ethical practices to ensure the organisms that are made are safe and can be contained. For example, the government has sponsored the development of "kill switches" that make it impossible for engineered organisms to survive outside the lab.Recently, the U.S. government and research scientists have identified a need for new tools that can identify engineered organisms when they are mixed in with a myriad of naturally occurring microorganisms. These tools could eventually be deployed to detect engineered organisms in the environment. They could be used to protect a company's intellectual property should an organism it designed accidentally escape the lab or to detect intentional releases of potentially harmful organisms.This is the task being taken on by the multi-institutional team charged with developing such a tool. The project is funded by an 18-month award from the Finding Engineering Linked Indicators (FELIX) program, which is run through Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), an organization within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that funds research to address challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community. The award has a second phase that could be renewed for an additional 24 months. Raytheon, a Massachusetts-based defense contractor, is the primary contractor; Young, who has received a $377,746 award for his part of the project, is one of five subcontractors. The others are Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, University of California at San Francisco, and Mission Bio, a San Francisco-based biotech company."We realize the power of engineering and bioengineering," said Young, whose expertise is in synthetic biology, including the genetic engineering of bacteria, yeast, and fungi. "We are excited about the promise of synthetic biology, but we also have an ethical responsibility to think about the potentially negative uses of the technologies we develop."My lab is developing engineered organisms to solve problems, and we use safety practices beyond what we are required to use," he added. "Hopefully, this project will lead us to a low-cost tool that we can use to make sure everyone is working to prevent the release of organisms into the environment, from universities to manufacturing plants to DIY bio enthusiasts in their garages."Scientists create engineered microorganisms by introducing new genes into their genomes that enable them to produce valuable drugs, biofuels, or food products. A bacterium containing the human gene for producing insulin, or a yeast bearing multiple genes from several organisms to make the antimalarial drug artemisinin are examples. Because many of the genes in these engineered organisms exist in nature, telling them apart from non-engineered organisms in soil or water samples can be challenging. "It's akin to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack," Young said.He added that the key to making that distinction will be identifying genetic signatures for each organism. By virtue of the way they are produced, the majority of genetically engineered organisms have one or more short sections of DNA that are unique to their genomes and make them different from their non-engineered cousins. These DNA signatures can be used as markers to quickly spot an engineered organism in a population of naturally occurring microorganisms. Young's role in the research project is to generate examples of bioengineered organisms that contain these specific markers."We are supplying the 'expert' information the detection device will look for," he said. "We are taking into account the genetic engineering of the past 50 years and reducing all of that knowledge and information down to a set of essential signatures for bioengineered organisms that we would most likely need to find. It's up to our sponsor and the team to decide which organisms are important, and we help decide what signatures we have to look at. It's very exciting work."Initially, Young, who is working with two graduate students, will focus on brewer's yeast, which he says is increasingly becoming the organism-of-choice for bioengineering companies because it is easy to engineer and simple to grow, given the decades of large-scale fermentation experience in the brewing industry. The signatures he is identifying will be useful for detecting known engineered organisms that may have come from corporate and university labs. Detecting potentially harmful organisms that may have been intentionally released into the environment will be a greater challenge."It's a whole lot more complicated when you don't know what organisms you might need to look for," he said. "We have to think about what is most likely to be out there and what would somebody with limited resources create. We need to create tools that can detect a wide range of engineered organisms. And they need to be flexible enough that they could detect a specific set of signatures but then detect newly added signatures as they are found. We are helping develop a technology to do that."The knowledge Young is generating will ultimately be incorporated into a benchtop detection device that will be developed by other members of the research team. Other team members are creating machine learning algorithms that will find new signatures that experts may not identify. Young said he expects a usable detection device for yeast will be ready at the conclusion of the program, but it could be five to 10 years before the more complex challenges are solved.Source: Eurekalert Advertisement Overall, the study found that 46% of young adolescents reported experiencing violence, 38% suffered emotional neglect and 29% experienced physical neglect. But boys stood out in several categories. They were more likely to report physical neglect, sexual abuse and violence victimization. Also, for both boys and girls, the more adversity they experienced, the more likely they were to engage in violent behaviors, such as bullying, threatening or hitting someone. But the effect of the adversity was more pronounced for boys than girls, with boys 11 times more likely to be engaged in violence, and girls four times more likely to be violent.Also, the study found that, in general, the cumulative effect of their traumas tended to produce higher levels of depressive symptoms among girls than boys, while boys tended to show more external aggression than girls.Study Supports New Assessment from Global Coalition of Adolescent Health ExpertsThe study is part of the Global Early Adolescent Study, a major collaboration of the World Health Organization and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to understand more about the development of gender stereotypes in early adolescence and their impact on adolescent health around the world. And it buttresses a key conclusion from a major new report to be released next week at Women Deliver in Vancouver based on a global coalition of adolescent health experts: that the world will never achieve gender equality "by focusing on girls and women alone and excluding boys and men."That report, from the Bellagio Working Group on Gender Equality, reflects the assessment of 22 experts from 15 countries. Their analysis, Achieving Gender Equality by 2030: Putting Adolescents at the Center, finds that boys have as equal a part to play as girls in achieving the fifth of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG5), which seeks to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls" by 2030. The report notes that the current indicators for SDG5 ignore boys and men. But it warns that "we cannot achieve a gender equitable world by ignoring half of its occupants."In a commentary summarizing the Bellagio report for the Journal of Adolescent Health, working group members from the United States, Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia and Great Britain point to the growing amount of data that refute a "prevailing myth that girls alone are disadvantaged by gender norms." They note that evidence from the GEAS work shows that in the many settings around the world, "boys experience as much disadvantage as girls" and are "more likely to smoke, drink and suffer both unintentional and intentional injury and death in the second decade of life than their female counterparts."They conclude that the key to achieving gender equality by 2030 involves addressing conditions and stereotypes that are harmful to both girls and boys--and to intervene much earlier, in early adolescence, at least by age 10, rather than at age 15 which is now the norm. Early adolescence is critical, the Bellagio group asserts, because "gender norms, attitudes and beliefs appear to solidify by age 15 or 16."Their report calls a broader set of indicators for tracking progress on achieving SDG 5 that would include:Tracking the percentage of both boys and girls who at the community level feel that they can ask for help when needed since there appears to be a strong relationship between voice and empowermentTracking the percentage of boys and girls who feel safe in their neighborhood, as safety and security is a critical factor in the healthy development of both boys and girls; for example, the new study on adverse childhood experiences found a third of children reported a persistent fear of physical harmGender Equality Critical to Economic Growth in Africa, South AsiaThe Bellagio Working Group also finds gender equality is a critical component of efforts in the developing world to achieve what economists call a "demographic dividend." It refers to harnessing the vigor of a surging youth population to generate a period of sustained economic growth. A demographic dividend was a major factor behind in the rise of the economic "tigers" of East Asia and even in Ireland's economic boom of the 1990s.There is now hope for something similar to propel the economies of sub-Saharan Africa, home to the fastest growing--and youngest--population in the world. Youth populations also are ascendant in South Asia and across much of the Middle East.The Bellagio Working Group concludes that if these regions want to experience a demographic dividend, they need to "address gender inequalities and rigid gender expectations that limit the future of many of the world's young people.""We must actively engage girls and boys at the onset of adolescence to increase total social inclusion and produce generational change," the report states.Source: Eurekalert Advertisement "These findings are noteworthy in that this is the first study to describe that pesticide spray seasons not only can increase the exposure to pesticides of children living near agriculture, but can increase their blood pressures and overall risk for hypertension," said first author Jose R. Suarez, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine.A team of researchers assessed 313 boys and girls, ages 4 to 9, residing in floricultural communities in Ecuador. The children were examined up to 100 days after the Mother's Day harvest. The analyses are part of a long-term study of environmental pollutants and child development in Ecuador, directed by Suarez."We observed that children examined sooner after the Mother's Day harvest had higher pesticide exposures and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared to children examined later. In addition, children who were examined within 81 days after the harvest were three times more likely to have hypertension than children examined between 91 and 100 days."Research regarding the effects of pesticides on the cardiovascular system is limited, but Suarez said there is some evidence that insecticides, such as organophosphates, can increase blood pressure. Organophosphates and several other classes of insecticides and fungicides are commonly used to treat flowers for pests before export.In a previous study, Suarez and colleagues had reported that children examined sooner after the harvest displayed lower performances in tasks of attention, self-control, visuospatial processing and sensorimotor than children examined later."These new findings build upon a growing number of studies describing that pesticide spray seasons may be affecting the development of children living near agricultural spray sites," said Suarez. "They highlight the importance of reducing the exposures to pesticides of children and families living near agriculture."Source: Eurekalert 'Jo lakhon ke dil mein dhadhak raha tha, woh kuch ke aankhon mein khatak rakh tha' - That's how we are given the introduction of Narendra Damodardas Modi in Omung Kumar's biopic. Well, Bollywood is minting cash on the popular trend of biopics, and the latest one to join the bandwagon is Vivek Oberoi's 'PM Narendra Modi'. From the very beginning, the movie sets the tone that India's most powerful leader, Modi is honest and has no flaws. From 1950 to the day he took the oath as India's Prime Minister, the movie has captured all the events wherein you see the heroic side of the man who started his journey from being a 'chaiwala' to India's biggest 'chowkidar'. For Modi followers, the movie is a celebration of the man who rose to become one of the most powerful politicians in the world, from humble beginnings. Legend Global Studio From his personal to professional life, Modi has been glorified to the fullest in this biopic. There will be moments in the movie where your heart will burst with immense pride, but this saintly tale comes off somewhat as an account told by a fanboy or in colloquial yet controversial terms, a 'Modi Bhakt'. Narendra Modi is shown as a prophet of humanity and now, we totally get why the Election Commission banned the film before the polls, as it would have garnered the PM nothing but more fan following before the results. But, we must say that the timing of the movie is still apt, as the NDA government is set to come to power again, along with Modi retaining his chair as Prime Minister. Reuters However, the movie has whitewashed all the controversies associated with Modi, particularly the Gujarat riots. But, I am not saying the movie won't evoke a sliver of patriotism in you. Although, as a movie buff or critic, you might find it as a manipulative attempt to make Modi look like a Messiah of sorts. The first half is sort of a snoozefest as Vivek delivers a very mediocre performance. It's the second half where Vivek sinks his teeth into the character of Modi and channels the mannerisms of the Prime Minister perfectly and here's when you see the true actor in Vivek emerge. The movie falls flat, considering the dialogues which are just on your face. It seems like a pro-Modi college student has written the dialogues. For example, mera Gujarat jal raha hai, and akhand Bharat ki neev khadi karni hai. It's jingoistic in some ways and clearly obvious, that the idea was to just show Modi as the only hope to provide salvation to an India that is doomed. Overall, the movie can surely be an enjoyable watch for his fans, but to the critical eye, it just lacks soul. The verdict is finally here. Well, almost. The day of the final judgement, if you will, has declared the fate of our beloved country for the next five years. Most national news channels have been up and running since 6 AM this morning, throwing out data and figures our way, from the recently concluded rounds of polling, and by 12 noon today the Indian subcontinent knew all too well what's in store. Getty Images We have chosen our leader for the next five years, and that too by a whopping majority. With over 300 seats to itself in the Lok Sabha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is basically enjoying a clean sweep (yet again) win across the country. While the country has stepped out to celebrate the big win along with the winning party, how could our neighbouring nation stay behind? Sure enough, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, took to Twitter to congratulate PM Narendra Modi and NDA on their big win. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 However, what caught people's attention was the fact that Imran Khan, once again, expressed his desire to take up peace talks with India, and work towards a progressive and prosperous future. Twitter This is coming just over a month after the Pakistan PM said during a press conference that he believes there may be a better chance of peace talks with India, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the elections. Twitter We are all for sharing amicable and friendly ties with Pakistan, who only seem like an extension of India in a lot of ways, given our shared history together. On multiple occasions, we have heard about how the common people on both sides of the LOC share their desire to live on friendly terms with each other, and for once, we dearly hope Pakistan will walk the talk and help establish strong, peaceful ties between the two countries. The day is finally here. The day of the final judgement, if you will, that is going to decide the fate of our beloved country for the next five years. Most national news channels have been up and running since 6 AM this morning, throwing out data and figures our way, from the recently concluded rounds of polling. Twitter Now, as we gradually move towards the final rounds of counting, we have all these journalists and analysts charting the winning and losing trends for parties and candidates. As we write this, NDA seems to be inching closer towards the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha polls. However, it must also be kept in mind that initial trends have undergone changes, and the final result has turned out to be different. Reuters Now, while the counting (and recounting) is going to go on for a while, we would like to trace our steps back a bit and recount the results of the exit polls that also hinted towards a NDA clean sweep in the Lok Sabha polls. While opposition and other regional parties maintained that the exit poll results were inconsequential, people felt they knew better than to believe them. However, there have been a few times when the exit polls and the actual results turned out to be completely different. Could that be the case this time? Read about these 5 incidents here. 1. Lok Sabha Elections 2004 Getty Images During this time, BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had dissolved the parliament early after winning three back-to-back state elections. The party hoped to win the re-election. Exit polls in that year suggested NDA would win with majority of 240-250 seats, but the final results saw them secure only 187 seats. 2. Lok Sabha Elections 2014 Reuters The last Lok Sabha elections in the country showed a new inclination towards a NDA led government. Now, while the exit polls suggested that BJP might end up winning, nobody predicted that it would be a clean sweep for the Modi-led government. 3. Bihar Assembly Elections 2015 Reuters The re-election held in 2015 for the Bihar assembly made it difficult to paint a clear picture of the winning party. No clear winners were declared and people almost thought a coalition or mixed-bag government was on the cards. Finally, RJD-JDU-Congress alliance took the trophy. 4. Delhi Assembly Elections 2015 Reuters This became a national news and for obvious reasons. No one had seen a new party swipe out the stronghold of a national party such as Congress. Exit polls could never predict that Congress would end up losing every single vote to AAP. 5. UP Assembly Elections 2017 Reuters During the UP assembly elections in 2017, the ruling Samajwadi Party formed an alliance with Congress, in the hopes of quashing BJP. Also, the exit polls predicted BJP will lose a lot of votes due to demonetisation. However, BJP ended up forming the government with a majority win. Reuters While the counting of votes is still on-going for the Lok Sabha elections 2019, and in all honesty that trend seems to be veering towards an NDA-led government, what do you feel would be the final verdict? Will NDA win with a majority, will UPA bite the dust once again, or do you have other expectations? Let us know below. Huawei is already working on its own operating system since Google revoked its access to the Android license earlier this week. The Chinese company says that its own operating system for both smartphones and laptops will be ready for use by fall this year. The new operating systems will first be released for use in China, and it would only happen if the situation between Huawei and Google does not change in the coming months. MensXP/Akshay Bhalla The Chinese tech giant already had a contingency plan and has been developing its own OS for a while in preparation for a worst-case scenario, such as President Trump's blacklist. Huawei is looking to release the operating system that will work on both smartphones and laptops. This move comes as American companies need to seek permission from the US government before selling services and goods to Huawei. MensXP/Akshay Bhalla The company has detailed that the operating system will be available for markets outside of China either by the first or second quarter of 2020. Huawei's new operating system will work with other products such as wearables, auto, laptops and other devices. The operating system will be compatible with Android apps as well and would be 60% faster than Android. However, the new Huawei OS will not have access to the Google Play Store but the Chinese company has already started talks with third-party app store 'Aptoid'. The third-party store may come pre-installed on Huawei smartphones for global markets like India and Europe. MensXP/Akshay Bhalla Huawei now has a bigger hurdle to overcome as the company has also lost access to ARM, the company that provides license for the basis of most mobile device processors worldwide. This effectively leaves Huawei's HiSilicon division useless, as Huawei will not be able to build their own processors for smartphones and even IoT products. Source: CNBC Due to the ongoing battle between the US Government and Huawei, many Chinese citizens have been firmly supporting the Chinese company. Yesterday, we reported how some Chinese social media users are posting in Huawei's support and are even switching from iPhones. In the light of this situation, a Chinese diplomat recently tweeted his allegiance for Huawei, where the Huawei logo looks like it has sliced-up an apple. The irony here is that the diplomat tweeted the image from his Apple iPhone instead of a Chinese smartphone, let alone a Huawei device! Twitter Zhao Lijian, the Chinese diplomat who tweeted the picture with the caption, Look at the logo of Huawei. It has cut APPLE into pieces was indeed sent via the Twitter client for iPhones. Followers were quick to point out the blunder with replies on the thread, Twitter for iPhone. Lijian is a Deputy Chief at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. iPhones are also used quite commonly among Huawei employees. In fact, Meng Wanzhou, the company's CFO was arrested in Canada with three Apple devices on her i.e. an Apple iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Pro and a MacBook Pro. Pexels Lijian's tweet comes after Huawei's inclusion in the US Entity List where American companies have to seek permission to do business with the Chinese company. As a result, companies like Qualcomm, Intel, and Google have suspended licences and business with the Chinese Tech giant. Huawei already has contingency plans in place to tackle this debacle with the US government, as the company is already working on its own operating system. BAD AXE A Bad Axe man was sentenced to 180 days in the county jail this week for what his attorney referred to as taking parenting one step too far. Brian P. Janik, 40, pleaded guilty in April to using a computer to commit a crime, and surveilling an unclothed person. He appeared in Huron County Circuit Court for sentencing Monday. Defense attorney Walt Salens spoke highly of his client to Judge Gerald M. Prill, noting hes been gainfully employed at the same business for the last 18 years. Janik was charged after a family member the victim reported suspicious activity at Janiks Colfax Township residence July 2017, according to a police report. Authorities discovered cameras surveilling two portions of the home: One in the kitchen area and another in the victims bedroom. Salens told the court the camera was in the victims bedroom based on problems being caused at the home by the victim such as going out late and underage drinking. He took parenting a step too far, Salens said of Janik's actions. An emotional Janik then apologized and reiterated the reasons for placing a camera in the bedroom. It (explicit content) wasnt what I was looking for, he said, adding he and the victim have developed a very strong, close-knit bond throughout the years. The victim addressed the court as she read from a prepared letter. I dont want to make this into a huge family feud, she said as tears quickly poured down her cheeks. With this whole incident I wasnt hurt, threatened or violated. The victim asked Prill to consider other sentencing options such as counseling instead of jail time. She said it was going to be important for Janik to be there for the victims other family members. I feel the request of 180 days will not only be the longest days of his life, but my (relatives) as well, she said. Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski said there was no question the victim and Janik had a strong bond. However, he said, he differed with the victim on what should be done based on the facts and circumstances. During a search of Janiks home in July 2017, investigators seized a cell phone and computer, which were sent to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab to be analyzed. Authorities found explicit images of children on the computer. Its safe to say its pretty sick what websites he goes to shortly after communicating with (the victim), Rutkowski said in reference to images and pornographic searches found on Janiks computer. The problem is, he has three (family members) looking up to him and yet, this still goes on. Why? Because he said hes depressed. Prill sympathized with Janik as a parent trying to know the whereabouts of a family member. There are times whereas, we as parents, worry what theyre doing, he said. When you take a video camera and put it in a childs bedroom, clearly, youve crossed the line." When fashioning the 180-day sentence, Prill took the victims comments made in court as well as her victim impact statement, which stated the victim didnt fear retaliation. As part of the sentence, Janik must register with the states Sex Offender Registry and cant provide care for anyone under the age of 17. He was given credit for four days served and granted work release. #ThrowbackThursday is part of an ongoing series highlighting the culture of Connecticut throughout the past few decades. With the dawn of warmer weather in Connecticut this week comes to unbridled anticipation for the summer months. Summers in Connecticut are some of the most celebrated in New England, with a plethora of activities that make every day a new adventure. SHERMAN The name of a fallen local veteran was added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial this week. Staff Sgt. Todd James TJ Lobraico Jr. was one of 371 fallen law enforcement officers whose names were added to the memorial in Washington, D.C., this year and honored during the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Funds 31st Annual Candlelight Vigil on Monday. Actor Paul Rudd has made a video lending his support for the gun safety storage proposal known as Ethans Law The day after the video was posted, the state Senate approved the bill that only needs Gov. Ned Lamonts signature for it to become law. The video was posted on Ethan Song Acts of Kindness Facebook page. Ethan Song, of Guilford, died of a self-inflicted gunshot. The 15-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head in January of 2018, the Waterbury states attorneys office said after concluding its investigation. A juvenile friend of Ethans was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death. Ethans parents, Kristin and Mike Song, have become nationally known advocates for stronger gun storage laws since their sons death. Ethans Law would require all firearms, loaded and unloaded, to be safely stored in homes occupied by minors under 18 years of age. On the Ethan Song Acts of Kindness Facebook page, the group said, PLEASE SHARE: We are so excited that superstar Paul Rudd (Avengers, SNL Host, Ant Man and so much more) is giving our 5K race on 6/8 and Ethans Law a BIG, BIG shout out! Lets Keep Kids Safe! Please register at songstrong.org. Funds from the race will go to programs that help KEEP KIDS SAFE. Special thanks to Paul Rudd, Scott Markovich and Jon Hitchcock for there help on this incredible video. Connecticuts current safe storage law only requires that loaded firearms be properly stored if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or guardian of the minor. The House approved the bill, which passed by a 127-16 vote on May 7. On Thursday, the state Senate approved the bill in 34-2 vote. Gov. Ned Lamont has said he would sign the bill. Securus Technologies, the Texas-based corporation which runs the states inmate phone system, announced Wednesday the company will no longer oppose a bill that would give inmates and their families free phone calls from prison. In a letter addressed to state Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, Securus Chief Executive Officer Robert Pickens said his company was withdrawing opposition to HB 6714 as his company and the state review options for cheaper calls. We previously opposed HB 6714 out of concern that it did not clearly indicate who would cover the cost of services once charges to consumers were waived, Pickens said. But in the interest of good faith discussions with state officials regarding these issues, we are formally withdrawing opposition to the legislation. The current version of the amended bill, which may come up for a vote today, would prohibit the state Department of Correction from collecting revenue from the phone system as of 2021. The state collects $7.7 million annually from the calls. The question now, said Elliott, who is the sponsor of the bill, is how will the state make up the lost revenue and the cost of providing phone service? We still have to figure out a way for this to work, Elliott said. Its in the hands of the leadership now. In early April Securus hired the Hartford-based lobbying firm Capitol Strategies Group LLC on a $40,000 retainer to lobby the DOC and Gov. Ned Lamonts office against the prison telecommunications bill, according to state records. The bill gained traction after several families of inmates testified at a public hearing in March that the cost of calls to loved ones in prison was prohibitive. My point was not that this was an awful company, Elliott said. My point was we on the state end need to be helping to deliver these services which are costing a penalty above and beyond what your actual sentence is. The calls cost $3.50 to $4.50 for 15 minutes with the state, with the state collecting 68% of the revenue from all in-state calls. Some families reported spending more than $40 a week on the calls just to stay in contact with loved ones. Brian Highsmith of the National Consumer Law Center testified in favor of the bill, calling it a regressive tax on some of the most economically fragile members of our community. The 68% translated into $7.7 million in state revenue annually. Based on a 2011 state law, the money is split between the Judicial Branch, which receives $5 million to $6 million a year for probation officers, and the states Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), which gets about $2 million annually. The DOC only receives about $350,000 a year, which is spent on programs for inmates. Securus receives about $5.5 million a year from the contract. CJIS officials said earlier this month that the agency was hoping to receive another $2.5 million from the calls, or other telecommunications services offered by the company, to pay for operating expenses as the system came fully online in the next year. The free inmate phone service bill was approved April 9 by the Judiciary Committee, but has not been sent by leadership to the Appropriations Committee for review even though it will have an impact on the budget. Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, the co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, said a few weeks ago that HB 6714 was unlikely to move forward since it came with a hefty loss in state revenue and the cost of the phone service would still have to be paid. A recent version of the bill repealed the 2011 law and a law requiring the DOC to establish a debit account telephone system pilot program. That version was reintroduced as an amendment that would prohibit the DOC from making any money off of prison calls or denying any telecommunication services based on the cost of the calls. The amended version of the bill would also require the DOC to allow for in-person visits something that is often limited when phone service is free, Elliott said. Representatives from Securus met with state officials in late April to discuss ways to cut the cost of the calls at the urging DOC Commissioner Rollin Cook. The company said last week that the state has been given several alternatives, including one which would remove the 68% commission and provide inmates with some of the lowest phone rates in the country. Dicken said in the letter that the company would work with the state to lower the cost of the calls regardless of whether the bill passes. The city of New York agreed in July 2018 to change its contract with Securus to provide free phone calls from all city prisons. The city houses about 10,000 inmates who are either detained for pre-trial proceedings or sentenced to one year or less. The cost of the calls provided the city with about $5 million in revenue and $2.5 million for the service under the old contract, according to a memo from the citys Finance Division. The city now pays Securus for the service and does not collect any revenue. If the bill passes, legislators would have two years to figure out how to make up the $7.7 million in lost revenue and the cost of the service, Elliott said. The states contract with Securus runs out in 2021. It is possible that the state could put out a request for proposals seeking a different telecommunications provider that would be cheaper, Elliott said. Im happy with the progress, Elliott said. The goal was to allow families to call loved ones for free. The money is going to be a difficult barrier to overcome. But with the amendment filed, it would be implemented two years from now. HARTFORD After months of indecision by the state House of Representatives, the saga of Stratfords contested election is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican Jim Feehan has filed a petition with the high court over a state Supreme Court ruling that gave the General Assembly the sole power to settle disputes over the election of its members. The U.S. Supreme Court may decline to rule on the issue, and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter predicted Thursday that the request will be rejected. I dont think its a U.S. Supreme Court issue, Ritter, D-Hartford. Its a state constitutional issue, so it seems probably the wrong forum to adjudicate their claim. Feehan, a Republican challenger, lost election last November by 13 votes to incumbent Rep. Phil Young, D-Stratford, in the 120th District. After investigating, a bipartisan committee of lawmakers agreed 75 voters at Bunnell High School were given the wrong ballot and thus, were unable to vote in the 120th race. The ballot mix-up throws Youngs victory into question, especially since Feehan far outpolled Young at Bunnell and may have made up the 13-vote margin with the 75 lost voters. The legislative committee and House leadership have been divided for months strictly along party lines over what to do about it. Young was sworn in with other lawmakers on Jan. 9 and has been serving as Stratfords representative. The House has twice turned back Republican attempts at calling for new balloting and negotiations between the parties have not led to an agreement. What happened that day was an unfortunate situation, but whats occurred since then is no accident, Feehan said. Connecticuts Supreme Court told the legislature to resolve this, yet Democrats who control the flow of business in Hartford are sitting on their hands, hoping Ill go away. Well, Im not going anywhere this fight sends an important message to voters who need to believe in the integrity of the process that gives them their voice in state government. The core of the legal question is whether the courts have jurisdiction over election disputes in legislative bodies, specifically the Connecticut House of Representatives. Bill Bloss, attorney for Young, successfully argued before the state Supreme Court that the Connecticut constitution is clear: Only the House can settle election disputes in the House. That led the state court to say it had no ability to rule on the election. The request from Feehan asks the U.S. high court to uphold the fundamental principle that the judiciary has not only the ability to protect individuals constitutional rights but, indeed, the obligation to do. It cites ten cases, including towering, landmark rulings in Supreme Court history: Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, Griswold v. Connecticut and Obergefell v. Hodges. Bloss predicted Thursday the petition is highly unlikely to result in further review on the merits. The Connecticut Constitution is quite clear that this issue belongs to the House, as every judge who has considered the issue has agreed, and his efforts to avoid the mandates of the Connecticut Constitution have no chance of prevailing, said Bloss, of the Bridgeport-based firm Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder. Democrats whole hold a 91-60 majority in the House have been unwilling to hold a new election in Stratford because, they argue, that would disenfranchise the 10,000 voters who correctly cast ballots in November. A special election would likely attract far fewer voters, they say. Among the sticking points in talks between House leaders over the botched election is whether new balloting could be held at Bunnell only which Feehan and Republicans accepted, even though it would give Feehan little chance of winning the seat and, more broadly, how this case should change the way disputed elections are handled going forward. Obviously were always reluctant to take care of an issue while its involved in litigation, and well have to see how the litigation turns out and well take the next step from there, Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said Thursday after Feehans filing. If we were to do some sort of revote in a particular district or the whole district, would that put it to bed? Would that then be it? So now well see what the court has to say and when they send it back to us well take action from there. There is little precedent for this case in Connecticut. A four-member Committee on Contested Elections, which gave recommendations in the Stratford case, was last convened in 1985 over an election involving Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury, then a House member. Hartley was allowed to stay in office. Lawmakers believe the Committee has never previously been split in its recommendations as it was in the case of Stratford. Ken Dixon contributed to this report. CROMWELL The towns first female police chief is being recognized by the areas business community for her distinguished service to the citizens of Cromwell. Chief Denise Lamontagne, head of the Cromwell Police Department, has earned the Michael L. Green Award, presented annually to a member of the police or fire service for his/her outstanding efforts in the community and to the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce. Chief Denise Lamontagne has dedicated her career of service to the town of Cromwell. We are very proud of her, and look forward to honoring the chief ... , President Larry McHugh said in a prepared statement. Lamontagne joined the department in 1990 as a patrol officer, rose through the ranks to detective in 2004, sergeant in 2006 and captain in 2012. She was formally appointed as chief in September 2015, according to a press release. One of her major accomplishments includes completion of the 10-week FBI National Training Academy at Quantico in 2016. She has also completed the FBI New England Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar, Critical Legal Issues for Law Enforcement Commanders and Executives, and serves on the board of directors of the Connecticut Chiefs of Police Association, the chamber said. She earned a bachelors degree from Eastern Connecticut State University and was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 2010. Lamontagne enjoys playing softball, time spent with family and traveling. Her professional affiliations include: International Association of Chiefs of Police, Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, Capital Region Chiefs Association, Cromwell Police Benevolent Association, FBI National Academy Associates and the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce. The award will be presented at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce annual awards dinner June 5 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel in Cromwell. For tickets, contact Johanna Bond at Johanna@middlesexchamber.com or 860-347-6924. EAST HAMPTON The Board of Finance is scheduled to meet Thursday evening to discuss reducing the 2019-20 budget after voters Tuesday rejected both the education and general government spending requests. With more than 1,600 people out of the 8,472 who were eligible voting, the budgets were rejected by fewer than 100 votes. In the case of the $31.253 million education budget, the margin of defeat was19 votes, 849 to 830. The $15.451 million general government budget was rejected by an 83-vote margin, 883-800. The final results were not available until just after 1 p.m. Wednesday. Town Council Chairwoman Melissa H. Engel was characteristically brief but direct in commenting on the defeat of the budgets. The voters have spoken, and we will now set about making the requested cuts, Engel said in an early-afternoon email. For his part, Town Manager Michael Maniscalco said, Well find out what the board of finance wants to do first. If the finance board does act on to revise the budget, Maniscalco said the Town Council could take up the revisions at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday. The proposed budget was some 2.77 percent higher than the current budget. If it had been approved, it would have required an increase of 1.33 mills in the tax rate. The proposed increase in the operating budget for the school system was 2.0 percent higher than the 2018-19 budget. General government (or the town budget), which includes police, the public works department and the towns non-education governmental functions, was higher by some 5.5 percent. Prior the vote, Maniscalco noted that the current general government budget increased by just 1.1 percent. He said it is not unusual to compensate for very low increase one year with a larger increase in the next year. Over two years, the average increase is 2.25 percent. However, in what has come to be known as the Goldilocks question, residents overwhelming said both the education and general government budgets were too high. East Hampton each year asks its resident to rate (as an advisory only) the budgets as too high, too low, or just right. On Tuesday, residents rated the general government budget 825 (too high), 491 (just right) and 322 (too low.) The education budget was rated too high (906) too low (418) and just right (324). And yet 883 residents voted to reject the general government and 849 voted against the education budget. In addition to the governmental functions, general government also includes both debt service (the money used to pay down the towns bonded indebtedness) and capital spending, the money for purchases of so-called big-ticket items. Officials declined to speculate why the budgets were rejected. In Portland, which also rejected its budget last week, officials there laid much of the blame on the continuing budget uncertainty in Hartford and voters angst over a number of divisive issues such as tolls. In the meantime, Weve dealt with it before and we will do so again, Maniscalco said. PORTLAND For many people Memorial Day has become just the un-official start of summer. But for some, remembering and honoring the legacy of the day remains paramount. Organizers of Portlands ceremonies this weekend are among the latter and continue the traditions. Just as importantly, they are committed to handing them down to younger generations. Memorial Day, which began in the aftermath of the nations brutal conflict, the Civil War, honors the men and women who were killed or died in service to the country. In all, they number more than 1.2 million, from the rough-hewn men who fought in the American Revolution to the men and women who have died in the heat and grit of Iraq and Afghanistan. Quietly, the town has been preparing for Memorial Day since last week, when a group of volunteers visited the four cemeteries in town to place flag on the graves of each veteran. On Wednesday, members of the Portland High School Student Government did their part, creating a memorial to the 65 service members from Connecticut who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Still to come: the annual Memorial Day Breakfast on Saturday. The all-you-can-eat G.I. breakfast is served by American Legion Post 69 at the Freestone Avenue post beginning at 7 a.m. and continuing until the food runs out. The price is $6, and the menu offers ham, cheese or plain omelets, grits, bacon and sausages, and retired Marine Sgt. Kathleen Burkes famous SOS (chipped beef on toast). Coffee, tea and orange juice also will be served. The events culminate on Sunday with the annual Memorial Day Parade. Prior to that, at noon, a special honor guard will visit each of the cemeteries to fire a volley in honor of the men and women who gave their lives for their country. At 2 p.m., the parade steps off from Fire House No. 2, moves south along Main Street past well-kept homes, many bedecked with bunting or America flags. The parade ends at Town Hall, where a wreath is laid and an address is given - this year by Reg Farrington, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served two tours in Vietnam. A soldier, a student of history, and in his retirement a teacher, Farrington has been a driving force in bringing veterans out the shadows and coming front and center in the consciousness of Portland. Farrington was commander of the American Legion post, as well as a founding member and first chairman of the veterans committee that established the veterans memorial located behind Town Hall. He has taken the lead in dressing the graves of veterans for both Memorial and Veterans days. On Wednesday, in the company of social studies teacher Michelle Stotler, he helped supervise the placement of 65 flags on the traffic circle in front of the high school. Ten of the 22 members of the student government helped place the flags in a location chosen intentionally so it will be readily seen by everyone entering the school campus. Stotler said she thinks it important for the students to play a part in remembering those who have served and those who died. They study Memorial Day from a global and national level and its a nice way to make it more of a local experience, she said. In 2014, then-student Andrew Donahue came up with the idea to memorialize the states war dead with the flag display. Since then, the tradition it has been carried on, first by his sister Sarah and now by his sister Kathleen, who is a junior. Its become sort of a tradition, senior Avery Tureck said after she and classmate Nancy McQuade finished their work on creating the memorial. Its a nice thing to see our high school wants to honor our veterans and remember them on Memorial Day, Tureck said. Kathleen Donahue, meanwhile, will join her family on Saturday at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. They will be on hand to see Andrew graduate with the Class of 2019 and receive his commission as second lieutenant, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Zeman warns of 'sad day' unless new rendition law is passed Updated: 2019-05-20 06:20 By Kathy Zhang in Hong Kong(HK Edition) 'Father of Lan Kwai Fong' says HK must remain as a safe world city Eminent entrepreneur Allan Zeman has warned that it's incumbent on Hong Kong to overhaul its extradition laws, failing which would be a "sad day" for the special administrative region. In an interview with China Daily, he said there's an absolute need to revise the city's laws to fill the legal vacuum caused by the protracted absence of a rendition pact with other jurisdictions, including the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Zeman - chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings and known as the "Father of Lan Kwai Fong" - took a swipe at opposition legislators, deriding them for "playing like children" and telling them to get on with scrutinizing the proposed amendments in a rational way. "I think every major city in the world has a strong extradition law. Hong Kong is no exception," he said. The SAR government plans to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, saying it has to act to plug a legal loophole to prevent the city from being turned into a haven for criminal suspects. Hong Kong currently has fugitive extradition agreements with 20 jurisdictions, excluding the Chinese mainland, the Macao SAR and Taiwan. Vowing support for the government's move, Zeman said it's important for Hong Kong to change the rendition laws to preserve its legal system and public safety. "If we want to keep Hong Kong as Asia's world city, the last thing we want is to have criminals coming here." A safety environment and a sound legal system will be good news for business people in Hong Kong who want stability, Zeman said. A stable social environment will not only allow the city to attract more business people, but also lure more talents and visitors from abroad. "If the fugitive law amendment bill fails to get passed in the Legislative Council, it'll be a sad day for Hong Kong," he said. A LegCo bills committee tasked with vetting the amendments has stalled for a month, failing to elect a chairman after four meetings as opposition lawmakers step up their filibustering tactics. Zeman expressed dissatisfaction with the opposition camp's filibustering, saying he was "disturbed, upset and angry" when he saw how they behaved in a way that's not in line with the image they're supposed to have - educated - and elected by the public. "This is not a good lesson for our future generations," he said. To break the deadlock, he urged opposition lawmakers to deal with the issue rationally. Otherwise, he suggested that the legislature bypass the bills committee and go right to the full council meeting in accordance with its rules of procedures. "Don't delay further and cost more resources and money," Zeman said, adding that greater efforts should be made instead to solve some of the city's most pressing issues like housing, and give residents a better life. According to the amendments to the fugitive surrender arrangements, offenses of a political nature are non-extraditable. And the city's courts will have a final say in extradition cases. Zeman said he has faith in Hong Kong's legal system and judiciary independence, adding that the rule of law has always been one of the city's strengths. kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com (HK Edition 05/20/2019 page5) Several members of the Marine Corps' famous Silent Drill Platoon were kicked out of the service or punished by their command after someone reported witnessing them using a training rifle to strike someone. Three Marines have been discharged in the last 60 days and two others lost a rank after the Naval Criminal Investigative Service began looking into hazing allegations inside the revered unit that performs at public events around the world. The Marines who were separated accepted plea agreements, according to Gunnery Sgt. John Jackson, a spokesman for Marine Barracks Washington. The three, who had been charged with conspiracy and failure to obey an order, agreed to accept nonjudicial punishment and waive their rights to administrative separation boards, he said. "The hazing that occurred within the Silent Drill Platoon was intolerable, and those Marines were held accountable for their actions," Jackson added. Related content: Two other Marines were busted down in rank, put on 45 days of restriction, and had to forfeit a half-month's pay after they were charged with failure to obey orders and violating the general article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Marine Corps did not identify those involved. Copies of the charge sheets have not yet been made available, and NCIS did not respond to a request to view the investigation. The punishments were reported by Marine Corps Times over the weekend. The investigation was launched last fall when a Marine came forward to report the alleged crimes following a platoon-level hazing class. "The hazing allegations in this case consisted of striking an individual with an open hand and closed fist, as well as with the buttstock of a nonfunctioning training rifle," Jackson said. Col. Donald Tomich, commanding officer of Marine Barracks Washington, where the platoon is based, immediately assigned an investigating officer to look into the claims. The next day, the case was turned over to NCIS. "The commanding officer has proven he doesn't take hazing allegations lightly, and he's created an environment where Marines can feel comfortable reporting prohibited activities," Jackson said. "Marines realize how serious the command treats these claims, and we believe they are confident in the command's ability to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted following any allegations." Military.com reported in November that five Marines had been placed in pretrial confinement after the investigation began. Jackson said they were sent to Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, Virginia, "to protect other Marines from hazing or retaliation." Two were released within a week, two after about four weeks, and one after six weeks. More Oversight, No Unit Is 'Elite' Tomich and his top enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Matthew Hackett, now hold regular formations where they try to dispel thinking that any unit at Marine Barracks Washington -- including the Silent Drill Platoon, which performs at high-profile events -- is considered "elite," Jackson said. The Silent Drill School, where members of the platoon train, has also seen adjustments. There's now battalion-level oversight not only within the unit, but the schoolhouse too. "There have been adjustments made to the training pipeline to ensure any elitist mindset is eliminated," Jackson said. That includes daily stops at the schoolhouse from either the platoon commander, platoon sergeant or battalion drill master. The goal, Jackson said, is engaged leadership and supervision. All Marines receive annual training on preventing and responding to misconduct at the battalion and small-unit levels, Jackson said, and that will continue. Command leaders also looked for ways to "better cultivate a climate and culture of dignity, respect and trust within our units," he added. The Silent Drill Platoon has a new commander and platoon sergeant, but the changes are not a result of the investigation, Jackson said. The Marines in those positions had been scheduled to rotate months before the allegations surfaced. Despite the high-profile investigation, Jackson stressed that most of those assigned to Marine Barracks Washington meet their missions with dedication and integrity. "The Marines and sailors here at Marine Barracks Washington support upward of 1,500 events every year, and do so with the highest of standards," he said. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins. Isaak Olson was two months from graduating in 2014 when he disclosed that his fiancee had given birth several months earlier... ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT -- Even as F-22 Raptors conducted two intercepts of Russian bombers off Alaska's coast early this week, the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt ran training operations in the Gulf of Alaska -- the first time a carrier group has joined the biennial Arctic exercise in a decade. The 12-day Exercise Northern Edge is the largest joint U.S. military training operation in the region. More than 10,000 troops from all the services are expected to participate, with thousands coming into the state and staying at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, about 150 miles from where the Roosevelt conducted turns off the coast Wednesday. Focused largely on air warfare, the exercise pits a "red team" and a "blue team" of American forces against each other, primarily over the Alaska Range mountains. Bringing a carrier into this exercise made sense, given the Pentagon's focus on defense as climate change opens up the Arctic amid growing threats from China and Russia, officials said. "With a renewed emphasis and focus on the Pacific ... my strike group had the opportunity to participate, and we're happy to do so," said Rear Adm. Dan Dwyer, who commands Carrier Strike Group Nine, which includes the Roosevelt. "My mission as a strike group commander is to provide prompt and sustained combat operations at sea. ... Any time that I can get the strike group to sea and just conduct reps and sets of different missions that we would be potentially be called upon to perform is invaluable," he said. "And then you throw in the added benefit of training alongside the joint force, that just further increases my readiness, makes me more capable and, in the end, more lethal. And that is my mission." Although the ship did practice anchoring in the Gulf of Alaska, its sailors won't see shore leave during this trip north, said Lt. Cmdr. Julie Holland, a spokesperson for the Roosevelt. No port in Alaska is equipped to handle the presence of an aircraft carrier or its 5,000-odd crew members. Operating in Alaska's waters brings new challenges for the carrier's crew, which is homeported in San Diego, particularly in regard to the "hazards" of fishing vessels and sea mammal traffic, sailors on the bridge said. In 2017, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski sent a letter to U.S. Pacific Command leaders asking them to consider bumping this year's exercise to the autumn out of concern for migrating sea life, which could be impacted by the carrier group's traffic and use of sonar. That would have pushed the exercise to the end of Alaska's commercial salmon fishing season, which opened this month. Navy leaders, however, said a 2016 environmental assessment found that the exercise's impact on marine life would be minimal. While not a part of the exercise, the carrier is also preparing to welcome its first F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, slated to join the strike group no later than 2025, Dwyer said. But since Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, is set to receive two squadrons of the Air Force's F-35A by next year, the aircraft is likely to play a starring role in the 2021 version of the joint exercise. -- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com. Taiwan compatriots urged to play a role in nation's reunification Updated: 2019-05-20 06:20 By Kathy zhang in Hong Kong(HK Edition) Taiwan compatriots in Hong Kong can serve as a bridge between the two regions and contribute to national reunification, said a senior official of the Central Government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The call came from Yang Jianping, deputy director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as he welcomed visitors to the liaison office's third Open Day on Saturday. More than 1,500 residents visited the office during the two-day event at the weekend, during which they were received by Director Wang Zhimin, who also took photos with them. Yang gave a speech on the country's recent developments and its policies on Taiwan. He noted that the successful implementation of "one country, two systems" in the SAR has set an example for Taiwan in the peaceful reunification process, and the experience gained could be used to explore the practice of "two systems" in Taiwan. Grace Ling Yu-shih, a Taiwan-born member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - the nation's top political advisory body - agreed that Taiwan compatriots in Hong Kong can present an objective account of the mainland when they go back to Taiwan and forge closer ties between the two sides. This year's Open Day was the third held by the liaison office. Visitors were allowed to tour selected areas in the office, including the lobby, meeting rooms, the staff canteen and activity rooms. The office hosted its first Open Day in April last year, receiving some 1,500 Hong Kong residents from all walks of life. This year's event also included a marionette performance by artists from Quanzhou, Fujian province, paper cutting lessons and Taiwan snacks being offered. Hong Kong resident Li Tung-kuan, 80, said he was excited watching the puppet show performed in the Minnan dialect - a language used in Fujian and Taiwan. Li, who came to Hong Kong from Fujian in the 1970s, said the performance took him down memory lane. The event also provided a good opportunity for Hong Kong residents to know more about the office and the nation's development, he said, adding that he no longer feels the office "mysterious". kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com (HK Edition 05/20/2019 page4) ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT -- Loose lips sink ships, but do they reveal too much about the hugely anticipated "Top Gun" sequel, "Top Gun: Maverick," filmed onboard in February? Not on this carrier, they don't. Although sailors here dropped a few hints about spotting movie stars around the ship as it was docked in San Diego for the film shoot, no cats -- or Tomcats -- were let out of the bag. "I can't talk about that," said Capt. Carlos Sardiello, who commands the Roosevelt. What they would talk about, however, was the challenge of balancing the film crew's needs with training aboard the ship, which was not put on hold during the shoot. "It was amazing -- two weeks of very, very difficult work because we were training at the time, taking care of our mission and, on top of that, supporting the filming," Sardiello said. "It was very rewarding to sailors looking back on it to be a part of it." Balancing filming with training meant adding another level of complication to operations aboard the carrier. "They fit into our operations. We set the bounds and the constraints for them to achieve their objectives at the same time," Sardiello said. "Another layer of coordination, another team member, to make sure they were doing what they needed to do safely, meet our training objections and to help them capture what the Navy is providing them." Just what the service is providing is supposed to be under wraps, but an F-14 Tomcat, reportedly borrowed from the San Diego Air and Space Museum, was spotted by onlookers on the carrier's deck during the February shoot. The iconic Tomcat was left out of the group photo with the cast and crew proudly displayed on Sardiello's office table here. The photo is, however, signed by Tom Cruise, "Top Gun Maverick," according to the inscription. The cast and crew of Top Gun: Maverick and the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt pose for a photo aboard the Roosevelt in February, 2019. (Amy Bushatz/Military.com) Down in flight deck control, Lt. Cmdr. Alex Diaz said his major challenge was organizing the flight deck around the needs of training and aircraft background shots sought by the film crew. "At that stage, if you're making Top Gun 2, me being a flight decker my whole career, you had me at 'hello,'" he said, adding that the command and film crew coordinated the schedule carefully. "They didn't expect you to go from filming into launching aircraft. There was a gap big enough to be able to fit both requirements." Still, filming a movie brought a few unexpected situations for some of the sailors onboard. "We supported the film crew. We used radios for stuff I thought we'd never use radios for [like], 'We need them to hair and makeup,'" said Lt. Cmdr. Julie Holland, the ship's public affairs officer. -- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com. As the health of some Guantanamo Bay detainees deteriorates, lawmakers are once again pushing to authorize the transfer of prisoners to the U.S. for emergency medical care, according to the Senate Armed Services Committee version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The provision, part of the defense policy bill the committee passed Wednesday authorizing $750 billion in Pentagon spending, would be a "narrow carve-out exception" to the transfer ban currently in place for detainees, a senior committee aide said Thursday on background. The measure would also establish a chief medical officer position, allowing for direct reporting on the detainees' status to the Pentagon's Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. "We had a concern that the medical officers at Guantanamo under the command of the Joint Task Force commander might not be able to make an independent decision in regard to medical care," another staff aide said. "So we wanted to give them an option [by creating] the chief medical officer to appeal to the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs concerning issues where there may be a conflict." Lawmakers have attempted to pass a similar measure for the last five years, the senior aide said. But lawmakers believe that the detainees' health will only get worse, and that facilities at the naval base are not equipped to handle emergency or complex procedures. Related content: "There is not a robust medical facility down there," the senior aide told reporters. The aide also cited a recent incident in which a lawyer at the base suffered a detached retina and was unable to receive the proper ophthalmological care there. "There are certain emergency conditions that cannot be treated at Guantanamo. We acknowledge that the humane treatment of detainees requires them to get [proper care]," the staff aide added. The move comes as officials have publicly acknowledged the center has become a "nursing home" for the aging terror suspects. According to reporters who have recently visited the naval base, there are roughly 40 detainees at the facility, ranging in age from their 50s to 70s, who have multiple health problems, including chronic pain, sleep disorders and poor eyesight. Some exhibit early signs of what could be dementia, according to the base's senior medical officer. The oldest prisoner is 71. The Geneva Conventions require the U.S. to provide detainees health care comparable to that its military members receive. In April, Rear Adm. John Ring, commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, was relieved from his post by Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command. One day earlier, Ring had publicly stated to members of the media that the detainees might not be receiving adequate medical treatment. "I'm sort of caught between a rock and a hard place," he told DefenseOne in an interview. "The Geneva Conventions' Article III, that says that I have to give the detainees equivalent medical care that I would give to a trooper. But if a trooper got sick, I'd send him home to the United States. And so I'm stuck. Whatever I'm going to do, I have to do here." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Navy officials have identified the woman who died aboard a ship during a port stop in Spain as Lt. Kaylie Ludwig. Ludwig, a medical corps officer, was found unresponsive aboard the amphibious transport dock ship Arlington on Tuesday. She was later pronounced dead aboard the ship. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is conducting an official investigation, said Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a U.S. 6th Fleet spokesman. Ludwig had been assigned to the Arlington since July 2018. She began her Navy career in 2013. The amphibious transport dock ship was at Naval Station Rota on a regularly scheduled port visit at the time of Ludwig's death. The Arlington is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. The ship deployed as part of the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group in December. The ARG is conducting naval operations in Europe and Africa. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. The Senate Armed Services Committee's $750 billion budget plan would restore some funding for Navy warships that Marines say they need to get to the fight. The committee's plan adds almost $1 billion on top of President Donald Trump's 2020 budget request to speed up the delivery of two amphibious ships. The committee's planned $24.1 billion to fund a dozen new Navy vessels includes $650 million above the administration's request for a new amphibious assault ship and nearly $278 million more for a new amphibious transport dock ship. The Navy Department's 2020 budget request, which was released in March, delayed plans for two new amphibious transport dock ships, or LPD Flight IIs. It also kept the procurement date on the new amphib -- a landing helicopter assault ship -- at 2024, despite Marine leaders pushing to get that ship online faster. Amphibious assault ships carry thousands of Marines and next-generation aircraft, including the MV-22B Osprey and F-35B Joint Strike Fighter jet. Amphibious transport dock ships, or LPDs, carry several hundred Marines along with helicopters and amphibious vehicles that can take them ashore. Marine leaders have stressed that they won't be able to meet future missions without more amphibious ships, especially if things heat up with China. "[The Asia-Pacific region] is a maritime theater and ... we have a Marine Corps that comes from the sea," Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said after the budget request dropped. "But we can't come from the sea if I don't have a way to get underway." Aside from accelerating the timeline for the new ships, the Senate's plan calls for "a report on alternative LHA and LPD acquisition strategies." Senate leaders said Thursday that improving the military's procurement processes will mean getting equipment the military needs faster and at lower costs to American taxpayers. The Republican-led Senate Armed Services Committee passed the spending proposal in a 25-2 vote. A proposal from the Democratic-led House Armed Services Committee is expected to drop in June. The House and Senate committees must agree on a compromised spending bill before it can be passed through Congress and onto the president's desk. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. The Senate Armed Services Committee's approved version of the fiscal 2020 defense spending bill provides additional dollars for Army helicopters and a futuristic weapon to replace the M249 squad automatic weapon. The panel's draft $750 billion Pentagon spending bill authorizes $806.8 million for 48 AH-64E remanufactured Apache helicopters plus $105 million for three new-build Apaches -- three more than the Army requested, according to the executive summary of the committee's Fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The spending plan provides $1.27 billion for 66 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, which is seven fewer than the Army's initial request. The committee, however, authorized $204.3 million for 33 UH-60V Black Hawk conversions, which is eight more than the service requested, according to the executive summary. The UH-60V upgrade adds a more modern, digital cockpit to the older UH-60L model aircraft. The spending bill also approves the Army's request to buy only nine CH-47 Chinook helicopters, a program the service decided to trim as a way of freeing up funding for modernization programs such as Future Vertical Lift, a project to build a new family of combat helicopters by 2028. During budget hearings, lawmakers questioned the Army's decision, but senior leaders maintained that the service doesn't need any more Chinooks for the conventional force, though it still plans to buy the heavy-lift workhorse for special operations forces. The committee approved $126 million for infantry support weapons, which includes $19.9 million above the administration's request for the automatic rifle version of the Next-Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW). The NGSW program is being designed to feature automatic rifle and rifle versions of a 6.8mm weapon that will replace the M249 and M4 carbine family in infantry and other close-combat formations. It's a top program under the Army's Soldier Lethality modernization priority. In July, Project Manager Soldier Weapons awarded contracts to AAI Corporation/Textron Systems, General Dynamics-OTS Inc., PCP Tactical LLC and Sig Sauer Inc. and FN America LLC to develop prototypes of the automatic rifle version. In January, the Army also released a separate prototyping opportunity notice inviting gun makers to develop prototypes of both the rifle and auto rifle versions of the NGSW using a common, government-produced 6.8mm projectile. Both versions of the NGSW are being designed to include a high-tech fire-control system that estimates range and calculates wind and other atmospheric conditions. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Legislation proposed Wednesday by the Senate Armed Services Committee aims to improve the Pentagon's oversight of privately managed military housing and bolster a service member's right to live in a clean, safe home. The draft fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act includes a tenant bill of rights for troops who live in on-base housing, similar to one currently being considered by the military services. But it also contains measures that would require homes to be in clean, working order on move-in day and would require that base commanders and military personnel responsible for the Military Housing Privatization Initiative, or MHPI, program receive performance evaluations on housing. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said the measures are needed because military personnel have been dealing with housing problems "no commercial tenant would put up with." Related Content: "These companies know how to treat customers in their private business, [but] it feels like they were, 'We've got a captive audience with these poor schlubs in the military, and we're not going to do anything for them,'" Kaine said during a phone call with reporters Thursday. Problems began surfacing in 2011 with reports of mold and substandard conditions in homes managed by private firms awarded 50-year contracts to run military housing. A scandal erupted last year, however, following a series of scathing reports by Reuters that found unsanitary and unsafe living conditions in base homes, with private companies largely ignoring tenants' complaints. Since February, Army, Navy and Air Force leaders have inspected thousands of homes, developed a draft tenants' bill of rights and made plans to hire customer service representatives to advocate for residents. The draft Senate bill, if approved, would ensure that the Defense Department continues to address the problem. It would allow an additional $301.8 million to be used to hire and retain government housing personnel to oversee the MHPI program, funds that senior Senate Armed Services Committee staff officials say would help reduce housing employee turnover and improve oversight. Military families had complained that federal housing officials, whose jobs are to manage the private companies and protect tenants, share office space with company employees and often side with them on disputes rather than advocate for service members. On Thursday, the committee staff members, who discussed the contents of the bill on background, said the funds would be used to hire personnel to represent the tenants and to improve salaries to reduce employee turnover. "Some of the installations we visited over the last few months, we saw reductions of up to 80% of the workforce over the last five to 10 years," one committee staff member said, referring to government housing employees. The Senate bill also would institute new quality-assurance and quality-control measures and increase the number of health and hazard inspections. The committee did not release the complete text of the proposed bill, instead issuing an executive summary, but Kaine said the legislation definitely would give troops and the individual services the ability to exercise greater oversight over the private contractors. He said he is particularly proud of the "move out" provision, which would require management companies to fulfill all maintenance requests prior to move out so tenants don't get charged for problems that should have been fixed while they lived in the home. "The 'move out' provision is also a 'move in' provision. Families moving across the country have enough to do when they get to a new city ... without having to move into a pigpen that a company hasn't cleaned up," Kaine said. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, introduced the provision that installation commanders be rated on their base housing. She said it means to address the "hands-off" approach the military appears to have taken since outsourcing management of base housing in the early 2000s. "[This] helps ensure military commanders have more of a personal stake in their oversight duties of Military Housing Privatization Initiative facilities and remain engaged in its proper management," according to Duckworth. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciakime. How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image) Controls - all media types Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device. Use the mouse or your finger to drag the image or the view area of the image around the screen. < and > at the left and right hand side of the screen move forwards and backwards for the other images associated with the media you selected. Usually this is used for previous/next photo in a gallery, in an article or in search results. Keyboard shortcuts: use shift + the left and right arrow keys. < and > in the bottom center are used for switching between the photos of the same specimen. Keyboard shortcuts: use the left and right arrow keys. > in the bottom center, raises the information box giving details and further options for the media, < at the top of this box then hides it. Keyboard shortcuts: use the up and down arrow keys. ? opens this help window. Keyboard shortcuts: use the H key or the ? key. Other keyboard shortcuts: 1 Fit image to screen 2 Fill screen with image 5 Display at full resolution < Make background darker > Make background lighter space Hide/dim titles and buttons Scalebar If the field of view (FOV) is specified for the photo, the scalebar appears in the left bottom corner of the viewer. The scalebar is draggable and resizeable. Drag the right edge to resize it. Double click will reset the scalebar to it's default size and position. If the scalebar is in default position, double click will make it circular. Controls - Video Video files have a standard set of video controls: - Reset to start, - Skip back, - Play, - Pause, - Skip forwards. Keyboard shortcuts: You can stop/start video play with the P key. Controls - Animation (Spin Rotation) Animation (usually 360 degree spin rotations) have their own controls: - enable spin mode. Note that while images are loading this option will not be available but will be automatically activated when the animation has loaded. Once active you can spin the image/change the animation by moving your mouse or finger on the image left/right or by pressing the [ or ] keys. The button switches to move mode so that you can use your mouse/fingers to move the image around the screen as with other media types. The button, or the P key will start playing the animation directly, you can interrupt this by using the mouse or finger on the image to regain manual movement control. Controls - 3D Stereoscopic images If a stereoscopic 3D image is opened in the viewer, the 3D button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "3D settings" menu. The 3D images can be viewed in several ways: - without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method - with stereoscope - with anaglyph glasses. - on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system) For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them. Controls - photo comparison mode If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu. Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder. Summary of all keyboard shortcuts SANDUSKY The story goes something like this: Two clans, the Wapis and Cayugas, have maintained a fitful peace on Adventure Island for five years. And its finally time to figure out which tribe gets to control the treasure map that they were fighting about all those years ago. But first: visit a farm, chat with a fortune teller, search for gems and explore an elevated ropes playground. Sound complicated? It really isnt. But Cedar Points new attraction, Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island, is a significant departure for the Cedar Fair-owned amusement park best known for its roster of record-breaking roller coasters. The new attraction is part show, part interactive story-telling experience. Its spread across several acres in the back of the park, building on the Old West theme of Frontier Town in the space formerly occupied by Dinosaurs Alive. Guests can access the island via a new rope-powered raft, a shaky bridge or boardwalk. The area opens to the public Saturday, with a season-passholder event Friday. Members of the media were invited to preview the attraction Wednesday. Cedar Point General Manager Jason McClure said the new attraction is trying to capture the success of more interactive experiences like HalloWeekends, Cedar Points popular fall festival with haunted houses, decorations and other themed activities. But were not looking for scares here, McClure said. Instead, the park is hoping to create a family-friendly space, where visitors can work together to piece together clues, solve puzzles and have some fun in friendly competitions. It really is the guest who becomes the star of the show, McClure said. Visitors can participate as much, or as little, as they want spend several hours here, or just walk through the shady, wooded area, a respite from the park frenzy nearby. (That said, Millennium Force roller coaster winds in, out and just above Adventure Island, so youll never really forget where you are.) Earlier this year, the park hired 20 actors to serve as inhabitants of Adventure Island. Among the characters: Commander Etta Fox, who presides over the islands first annual Truce Day (which will be celebrated day after day in Sandusky this summer). The inhabitants are stationed at various spots throughout the island, encouraged to interact with visitors, filling them in on island goings-on, sending them on errands, engaging them in a variety of activities. All the characters were so fun, said Abigail Schreiner of Medina, who previewed the attraction Wednesday. Every time you finished a task, you were given another one. Among the more notable stops: * Dig Pit, where guests can dig in the sand for gemstones and interact with eccentric Professor Brady. * Highground, a massive, three-story ropes playground that youll probably need to pry your kids from. * Middle Ground, a small stage where island residents gather numerous times daily to cheer on visitors in a variety of friendly competitions (wagon pull, bucket fill, egg race and more). At the end of every day, the treasure map will be awarded to one of the clans based on the outcome of the contests. Theres also a new restaurant here, Provisions, serving a variety of easy-to-eat food that guests can carry with them while they wander Adventure Island (mini corndogs, shrimp or steak on a stick, turkey legs and dessert crepes). McClure said almost everything on the island is new, except for part of a concrete path that was recycled from Dinosaurs Alive. This is also where the Paddlewheel Excursions boat ride was located, prior to the dinosaur invasion in 2012. McClure declined to reveal the cost of the project. Its similar in concept to Ghost Town Alive, an interactive attraction at Knotts Berry Farm, a fellow Cedar Fair park in southern California. McClure said the company will be watching to see how well the experience does at Cedar Point before replicating it elsewhere. One concern: How the attraction will work when large, peak-summer crowds invade the park later this year. McClure said there are no plans to control access to the area, though park officials will monitor crowds. If you go: Cedar Points Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island What: The new attraction is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., starting Saturday. Admission: The experience is included with park admission, which is $73 at the gate, $49.99 and up online. Information: cedarpoint.com Read more: Monster Jam trucks invade Cedar Point; take a bumpy ride aboard Grave Digger LANSING, MI -- A Jackson County man was hoping to turn his work bonus into even more money with a trip to the casino. Along the way, he decided to warm up his luck a bit but had no idea just how hot his luck was: He won a $300,000 prize and didnt even know it until the next day. I got a little bonus from work Sunday, so my wife and I decided to celebrate by going to the casino, said the 48-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous. "On the way, we bought a couple scratch-off tickets. I scratched the tickets off but didnt look at them too closely. We ended up winning $300 at the casino, which we thought was great. I came across the tickets this morning and double checked them, and thats when I saw I had won $300,000. My first thought was: My house is paid for! The lucky player bought his ticket - a 25th anniversary Wild Time ticket -- at the TA Travel Center, located at 15874 Eleven Mile Road in Battle Creek. He visited Michigan Lottery headquarters in Lansing Wednesday to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to pay off his house and buy a new car. Winning means weve got a secure future, and I am happy knowing that, said the winner. Bills committee victimized by belligerent opposition camp Updated: 2019-05-21 07:30 (HK Edition) Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Monday the SAR government would skip the bills committee set up to scrutinize the extradition law amendment bill after weeks of obstruction by the opposition camp in the Legislative Council. The government plans to take the bill directly to a full LegCo meeting for the continuation of the second reading on June 12, as time is running out for these amendments to become law so justice can be served. The move may not be an ideal way to complete the usual legislative procedures but it is allowed by LegCo Rules of Procedure and House Rules. The government was forced to make this difficult decision by the unreasonable actions of the opposition camp. It is widely known that the main purpose of introducing the extradition law amendment bill now is to pave the way for Hong Kong Police to hand over an SAR man to Taiwan to stand trial for allegedly killing his Hong Kong girlfriend during a trip to Taiwan last year. It is also meant to plug some loopholes in the two existing ordinances on fugitive offenders and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with other jurisdictions. This is clearly a matter of justice for not only one particular family but also for Hong Kong society. The opposition camp boasts having the "moral support" from a few Western governments, and Washington in particular, because the US will do anything to keep on side with Taiwan for its own strategic benefits. As for others who joined the anti-extradition law amendment bill chorus, such as some members of the local business community who operate on the mainland, their "fears" about the mainland's judicial system and rule of law are completely unwarranted - particularly if they sincerely abide by mainland laws. If they have been lawful on the mainland so far, what sound reason do they think mainland authorities have to prosecute them in future - let alone requesting their extradition? The same goes for foreign, especially US, business people on the mainland: Just because their governments make irresponsible remarks, and even tell lies, it does not mean they cannot make their own decisions about lawfully doing business on the mainland. The amended extradition laws will also have sufficient safeguards to ensure only criminal cases, punishable by at least three years of imprisonment in Hong Kong, will be considered by SAR courts for extradition requests. The truth is the opposition camp and those who parrot Washington's views are being used by the US government to serve US interests. In that sense, the bills committee is no more than a soapbox for badly behaved opposition lawmakers. Since it cannot serve the interests of Hong Kong society, the government has every reason to move forward and to stop wasting precious time. (HK Edition 05/21/2019 page8) CLINTON TOWNSHIP, MI A 72-year-old man allegedly scratched multiple vehicles parked at a Metro Detroit library for no apparent reason. According to WDIV-TV in Detroit, Gary Robert Young has been charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property over $1,000 but less than $20,000 for the incidents that occurred between March 22 and May 13. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison for each count. Surveillance footage shows the suspect walking up to several cars parked at the Clinton Township Library and scratching the paint with a sharp object before driving away. This behavior is very troubling, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith told the TV station. Libraries, schools, parks are all community environments we want our citizens to visit and feel safe doing so. You would never think, while checking out a book, a senior citizen, with no apparent motive, is maliciously damaging your vehicle in the parking lot. The Clinton Township Police Department had asked for the publics help in identifying the man. Authorities believe there may be more victims, according to Smith. LANSING, MI -- Attorney General Dana Nessel on Tuesday issued an opinion declaring the key component of a lame-duck law that heightened requirements for gathering signatures in ballot drives unconstitutional. The law at the crux of the issue is Public Act 608 of 2018, signed into law on Dec. 31. Introduced and passed quickly in the last legislatures lame-duck session, the bills biggest change to the current process is that it requires no more than 15 percent of signatures come from the same congressional district. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson asked for Nessel to issue an opinion on whether portions of the law were unconstitutional. That opinion came out today, and Nessel found the 15 percent by congressional district threshold unconstitutional because there is not support for it in the state constitution. In the opinion, she noted ...the 15% distribution requirement imposes an absolute limitation, which denies many registered electors the right to have their signatures counted," a limitation without any basis in the constitution. She found two other parts of the law -- one changing signature-gathering forms to be by congressional districts instead of by county, and another requiring circulators to file affidavits and indicate on forms whether they are paid or volunteering -- unconstitutional. She found parts of the law invalidating signatures from forms circulators provided false information on, an option for the Board of State Canvassers to approve a summary of a petition earlier in the process and sending challenge to the Board of State Canvassers determination of petition sufficiency directly to the Supreme Court to be constitutional. "Several senior staff contributed to the research, analysis and preparation of this opinion, said Nessel in a press release. Based on our review, this new law clearly violates the Constitution on several but not all fronts. With these issues resolved, Secretary Benson and her team can now go forward in the work they need to do in managing Michigans election process. Rep. James Lower, R-Cedar Lake, who sponsored the bill, said it was clear from Nessels earlier comments that she had already concluded parts of the law were unconstitutional and was coming up with a way to justify it. Its a very partisan ruling, and shes been very partisan since shes taken office. It will definitely be litigated in the courts, and I think it will be upheld, ultimately, Lower said. When the legislature put it together they had a legal team review it, Lower said, and he is confident it is constitutional. Read Nessels full opinion here. LANSING, MI -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed a package of bills allowing for the parole of certain medically frail prisoners. House Bills 4129 through 4132 allow for medically frail prisoners to be released on parole provided they havent been convicted of certain crimes, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct or any crime punishable by life without parole. The bills also set requirements for the parole board in releasing such prisoners, create a misdemeanor for someone who helps a medically frail parolee break the terms of their parole and lets medically frail prisoners be paroled before they have served their minimum sentences. Medically frail prisoners require increased medical attention to care for serious illnesses -- something the Michigan Department of Corrections currently pays for because federal law prohibits prisoners from receiving treatment under Medicaid or Medicare. The idea is to parole prisoners to facilities that accept those federal programs. This bill package will ensure that our state can properly manage treatment options for our aging inmate population while reducing the cost to taxpayers, Whitmer said in a press release. But the estimates around whether and how much taxpayers will save vary. According to an analysis from the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, 20-30 prisoners are thought to be eligible currently, and another 450 to 500 could become eligible in the future. While releasing eligible prisoners would save the state the $26,300 to $41,400 it spends on medical costs for the prisoner, the state would also spend roughly $28,000 housing the prisoner in a nursing home through Medicaid. If 30 prisoners are eligible, the measure could end up costing the state up to $50,000 or go the other way and save the state up to $400,000, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency. An earlier analysis from the House Fiscal Agency uses slightly different estimates and pegs state savings at between $92,000 and $138,000. The states total budget this year is over $56 billion. The bills sponsors are Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain; Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit; Rep. Beth Griffin, R-Mattawan; and Rep. Kyra Harris Bolden, D-Southfield. Carter said in a press release the bills created sensible reform. As this legislation is signed into law, Michiganders can feel proud that we are once again bringing compassion into our criminal justice system," he said. These terminally ill, medically frail and elderly inmates pose no threat to society, and we do a disservice to our communities and our state budget by keeping them from receiving the off-site medical care they need. Bolden said in a press release she was proud to be a sponsor of the bipartisan legislation. The bills go into effect in 90 days. PITTSFIELD TWP., MI Christopher Marsh Jr. was sweet meat, an easy target to rob, according to text and social media messages between five alleged gang members accused of robbing and killing him a year ago, prosecutors say. Tell him you got 400 for two zip. He sweet meat, wrote Charles Robertson, who is charged as a co-conspirator in Marshs death, in one of the messages. Robertson, 19; Karon Hadden, 19; Deandre Hinton, 18; Camron Williams-Evans, 19; and Garvin Crout, 19, all were bound over to circuit court after a lengthy preliminary examination Wednesday, May 22, before 14B District Court Judge Charles Pope. The five men allegedly worked together as part of a gang, identified during the preliminary exam as OTF900, to set up a meeting to buy two ounces of marijuana from Marsh and rob him that day, police said. The men each face 11 felony counts in connection with Marshs death. All five are charged as co-defendants in the shooting death of Marsh Jr., 19, of Ypsilanti Township, who was found wounded about 9:30 p.m., April 28, 2018, outside Glencoe Hills Apartments in the 2100 block of Glencoe Hills Drive. He was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where he died from his injuries. They are charged with felony murder, armed robbery and conducting a criminal enterprise, as well as eight additional weapons-related and conspiracy charges. The conducting a criminal enterprise charge was added to each of the mens cases after the preliminary examination, with each of their attorneys waiving examination on that specific charge. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Vella was in the process of introducing more than 800 pieces of evidence to support the criminal enterprise charge when the attorneys agreed to take the matter to circuit court. Wednesdays hearing was a continuation of an already lengthy preliminary April 26 examination where the court heard from police witnesses who were at the scene the day of the shooting. Vella also introduced numerous texts and Snapchat messages showing Robertson identifying easy robbery targets, including Marsh, indicating he was organizing the crimes for the group. Pittsfield Township Det. Kyle Erskine testified Wednesday he performed a forensic investigation on the mens cell phones and subpoenaed phone records which showed a path the men followed the day of the shooting. Using cell tower data, phone GPS coordinates and various location trackers installed on the mens social media apps on their phones, Erskine drew a path following the four of the men from Haddens home in Ypsilanti to the scene of the shooting and back home again. Robertsons cell phone data showed he was at work at Wal-Mart shortly before the shooting. The men stayed in contact with each other after the shooting, sharing MLive/The Ann Arbor News stories regarding the crime and later writing a rap song about it called MLive. Vella showed multiple Snapchat videos of the men belonging to the alleged OTF900 gang rapping and waiving around various handguns including one ivory-handled revolver which made numerous appearances in their videos. OTF stands for only the family and 900 represents the block they live on, police said. The men, chained and in jail garb, were seen smiling and lip-syncing to their rap songs as they were played in the courtroom. The mens attorneys had issue with several aspects of the prosecutions case, namely slang used in the texts, how precise cell towers are in showing where phones are located and how the men were interrogated by police. Robertsons attorney, Arnold Weiner, argued that much of what his client wrote about Marsh could easily be interpreted as Marsh was not street smart and was easy to buy marijuana from, he said. Crouts attorney, Michael Vincent, questioned why his client was not read his Miranda rights using a standard Miranda warning sheet and why he was not allowed to call his father for an attorney during his interrogation. Det. Jami Booth stated she read Crout his Miranda rights by memory, based off 20 years of police experience, adding she told him he could call his father when he was booked in jail. Hintons attorney, Raymond Burkett, called the entire investigation against the men bias and flawed. Im trying to show the court before we go to trial what a lousy job the police did, Burkett said. (Hinton) asked for an attorney and since he dialed a wrong number, it was considered he waived his right to attorney. Its in the police report. This investigation was bias. The case is still an open investigation and the police report in question is unavailable for release to the public. The mens cases have been assigned to Washtenaw County Trial Judge Darlene OBrien, with their first pretrial hearing scheduled for June 27. All the men are being held in the Washtenaw County Jail without bond. Each man, with exception of Hinton, faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted on the felony murder charges. Because he was 17 at the time of the shooting, Hinton is charged as a juvenile on the felony murder charge which gives the judge the option to either give him 25 to 60 years in prison or life if convicted. ANN ARBOR, MI Local officials are planning to meet again to discuss next steps for addressing the Gelman dioxane plume. The toxic chemical pollution spreading through the Ann Arbor areas groundwater will be the focus of a May 28 listening session at the downtown library and June 6 joint meeting of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Ann Arbor City Council and Scio and Ann Arbor township boards. Both meetings are open to the public. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, is facilitating the June 6 meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at the MI-HQ Michigan Innovation Headquarters and 2|42 Community Church, 648 S. Wagner Road, on the site previously operated by polluter Gelman Sciences. There are three primary goals for the meeting, County Board Chairman Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, told local officials in an email announcing the joint working session. Bring everyone to the table and provide opportunity for public awareness and input as officials move toward taking action Publicly discuss and explore a collective call for federal Superfund designation Establish Gelman lawsuit legal strategy Its our hope at at the county that this will be a significant meeting that will set a clear path forward around Gelman and sort of finally call the question to get results on this, Morgan said in an interview. I hope that through this conversation we can get to something that we can all work with and all agree on. While there have been recent conversations with small groups from the various elected bodies and other stakeholders, this will be the first time theyre all at the table at the same time, Morgan said. A joint discussion of the decision-makers will demonstrate that we are more unified than ever, as a community, in tackling this issue, Morgan wrote in his email, adding state Attorney General Dana Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer need a unified message from the community regarding next steps if they are going to help. This meeting is meant to move us toward that goal. While several jurisdictions have requested Superfund designation in the past, we hope to discuss a current path forward together, focused on whether we pursue Superfund designation through a joint letter to the governor to call on her to request designation, and on what timeline. The auditorium holds 600 people, so there will be plenty of space for anyone to attend, Morgan said. For the legal strategy part of the meeting, its expected officials will go into closed session to discuss the ongoing Washtenaw County Circuit Court case against Gelman, in which the state, county, city, Scio Township and Huron River Watershed Council are co-plaintiffs. The local parties are seeking a better cleanup and more monitoring after years of limited pump-and-treat remediation that has allowed the pollution to spread for miles, inching toward the Huron River. Ahead of the big meeting on June 6, County Commissioner Katie Scott, D-Ann Arbor, is holding a listening session to discuss Gelman plume issues with District 9 residents from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28 on the fourth floor of the downtown library. The event will be moderated by former state Rep. Adam Zemke. Pollution concerns about wastewater at Gelman Sciences trace back to the 1960s, Scott noted, but whats now known as the Gelman plume, stretching for miles underground, was first discovered in the 1980s in Third Sister Lake, just west of the Gelman property. This issue has plagued our community for almost 40 years, and I want to hear what residents think should be done, Scott said in a statement. Many people have devoted years to resolving this problem. I want residents to know I am listening to their concerns about local pollution and share their hopes for the best outcome possible regarding remediation and cleanup. Hundreds of people have signed a MoveOn.org petition in support of pursuing a federal Superfund cleanup, which Ann Arbor officials discussed at a recent meeting. Dioxane is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as likely to be carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure. It also can cause kidney and liver damage, and respiratory problems. Just a few parts per billion in drinking water, with long-term exposure, poses a 1 in 100,000 cancer risk, according to the EPA. Recent monitoring well data shows its still in the groundwater at different locations at concentrations of hundreds and thousands of parts per billion. Some well readings so far this year have been as high as 5,200 and 4,600 ppb at the plumes core on the Gelman site. Dioxane is now infiltrating the Allen Creek drain pipes at West Park that flush out to the Huron River. With dioxane in shallow groundwater, some worry it could seep into home basements and pose vapor-intrusion risks. Another fear is that high concentrations of dioxane could some day reach Barton Pond, an impoundment on the Huron River from which the city draws most of its drinking water. The city recently discovered trace amounts of dioxane in the citys treated drinking water from the pond. The plume also is a threat to private drinking water wells in surrounding township areas, and some wells including a city municipal supply well and many residents wells have had to be shut down because of the contamination. The state initially sued Gelman in 1988, leading to a Washtenaw County Circuit Court consent judgment in 1992 that has been amended multiple times, most recently in 2011. That essentially governs the plume and allows it to spread through the city at high concentrations to the Huron River downstream of Barton Pond. Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Scio Township and the Huron River Watershed Council reopened the case against the polluter more than two years ago, intervening as co-plaintiffs. So far, with pushback from the polluter, the parties have been unable to negotiate a new cleanup plan, and the case could eventually go to trial. Gelman Sciences was acquired in 1997 by Pall Corp., which was acquired in 2015 by Danaher Corp., a multibillion-dollar corporation that some local officials and residents argue has the financial resources to do a better cleanup. Ann Arbor lawmakers are fighting in Lansing for passage of a polluter-pay cleanup law that could help address the Gelman plume. PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI Andre-A Edwards may not have intended to hurt anyone while driving drunk and unlicensed on I-94 a year ago, but she did, prosecutors say. Thats why she faces two murder charges along with 17 other felonies, Edwards, 26, of Ann Arbor was bound over for trial following an emotional preliminary examination Thursday, May 23, before Washtenaw County District Court Judge Elizabeth Pollard Hines. Edwards is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of operating while intoxicated causing death and two counts of operating a vehicle while license suspended causing death. She also faces three counts of second-degree child abuse, three counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, two counts operating while intoxicated third offense and three counts of operating a vehicle with a suspended license causing serious injury. She did not intend to kill anyone, but she did act in blatant disregard for the safety of others which makes a charge of second-degree murder appropriate, Hines said. She was driving more than 77 miles per hour on the freeway when she knew she wasnt allowed to be driving in the first place, with alcohol and drugs in her system and her three young children in the back of the SUV unrestrained. Edwards attorney, Gina Noveskey, disagreed with the inclusion of the murder charge in case, arguing that the prosecution did not establish enough evidence during the exam to validate the charge. This was a horrible tragedy, but at its base, it was an accident and not a homicide, she said, adding that all the events leading up to the crash happened in the span of about 15 to 20 seconds. Witnesses and police testified Thursday that on May 29, 2018, Edwards was behind the wheel of black Ford Explorer that crashed into the back of a school bus being serviced on the side of eastbound I-94 near U.S. 23. The bus was unoccupied, but the tow truck driver attending to the bus, Nader Chehadi, 42, of Ypsilanti, died at the scene. One of Edwards passengers, Antoinette Butler, 28, of Ypsilanti, also died days later. Butler died of a closed head injury and Chehadi died of crushing injuries and the severing of his spin, according to autopsy reports discussed during the preliminary examination. Edwards and her three minor children, ages 2, 4, and 5, were also seriously injured in the crash. Evidence showed none of the children were wearing seat belts or child restraints. It was crazy. It just happened so fast, said Austin Pitch, a motorist who saw the crash and testified Thursday. Pitch said the SUV passed him and, moments later, saw the SUV swerve and leave the freeway. The SUV drove on the grassy area off the freeway for a few seconds before it veered back toward the roadway trying to reenter traffic, he said. The SUV did not appear to slow until it slammed into the back of the bus and caught fire, he said. A crash reconstructionist, Michigan State Police Sgt. Allen Avery, determined Edwards was driving about 80 miles per hour leading up to the crash and was going 66 when she hit the bus. According to data pulled from the SUVs event data recorder, at no point during the crash were the brakes used, Avery testified. The first officer to arrive at the scene, Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Trooper Zachary Morgan, described the chaos of arriving to a smoking SUV and panicked bystanders. He, along with other motorists who stopped to assist, attempted to extinguish the fire while also getting everyone out of the wreckage safely. All three of Edwards children were wedged in the footing area in the back seat, broken, bleeding and crying in pain, he said. They were so tiny. I was afraid to move them, Morgan said weeping at the witness stand. I didnt want to hurt them more than they already were. The children were eventually freed from the SUV as more emergency crews arrived and began working on them in the back of the ambulances. Several troopers at the scene drove the ambulances to the hospital so paramedics could continue to tend to the children, Morgan said. A blood draw, taken about five hours after the crash, found Edwards had a blood alcohol content of .035 as well as 2 nanograms of THC in her system, lead investigator Trooper Andrew Hayes said. Edwards case has been assigned to Washtenaw County Trial Judge Carol Kuhnke with her first pretrial hearing scheduled for July 9. She remains in jail on a $500,000 cash or surety bond. (This story has been updated with comments from state Sen. Jim Ananich.) FLINT, MI -- When talks aimed at ending a federal government shutdown fell apart in January, U.S. Rep Dan Kildee called President Trumps behavior childish. After the presidents angry walkout from a meeting with top Democrats on Wednesday, May 22, Kildee had a new name for Trump: Man baby. Mr. President, you walked out of a meeting with Democrats who wanted to work with you on infrastructure. Instead of working with us, you threw a temper tantrum like man baby because you couldnt have your way, Kildee said on Twitter. Kildee was responding to a tweet from Trump in which the president accused Democrats of getting nothing done in Congress. All of their effort is about a Re-Do of the Mueller Report, which didnt turn out the way they wanted. It is not possible for them to investigate and legislate at the same time. Their heart is not into Infrastructure, lower drug prices, pre-existing conditions and our great Vets, Trumps message said. " All they are geared up to do, six committees, is squander time, day after day, trying to find anything which will be bad for me. A pure fishing expedition like this never happened before, & it should never happen again!" Kildee, the chief deputy whip of the House Democratic Caucus, also told MSNBC Wednesday that Trump is being petty, shameful and really pathetic. This is the return of Trump the man baby, Kildee said again. State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, also released a statement about Wednesdays meeting. Today, this president set up Democratic leaders only to storm out of a meeting about one of our nations most pressing issues -- infrastructure. We now know that Michigan shouldnt expect to see real assistance on infrastructure and roads from Washington any time soon. It is solely up to us to fix the roads, and I remind the Republican majority that time is of the essence," Ananichs statement says. Wednesdays meeting about putting together a bipartisan infrastructure effort fell apart after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested before it began that Trump was involved in a cover-up." The Associated Press reported that Trump stayed in the infrastructure meeting just three minutes, never stopping to sit down or shake hands. After, at an impromptu news conference, the president said he would not work with Democrats if they continue with their probes of his administration. FLINT, MI -- The Genesee County Health Department is advising Flint River users to avoid contact with foam on that body of water and two connected bodies of water because of the potential for the material to contain high amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. In a joint statement issued by the county and the Flint River Watershed Coalition, officials offered the advice for the Flint River, Holloway Reservoir and Mott Lake. This is a precautionary advisory because of the PFAS that has been found in the surface water and fish in these waterways, and also based on PFAS foam testing in other areas of Michigan, the statement says. The science is currently unclear on how readily PFAS is absorbed through the skin. The most common way people get PFAS in their bodies is through ingestion. If someone comes into contact with foam, they are encouraged to wash it off with soap and water as quickly as possible, especially from the hands to avoid accidentally ingesting PFAS while eating, the Health Department statement says. "Additionally, it is recommended that people not allow their dogs and other pets to come into contact with or ingest the foam." Pets can potentially swallow foam collected in their fur when grooming themselves, the county said, and should be thoroughly rinsed off with fresh water after contact with foamy water. The cautionary message from the county comes weeks after the state Department of Health and Human Services urged residents to avoid surface water foam found near some PFAS contamination sites. Previously, DHHS had warned not to ingest the foam, but suggested that touching it wasnt a major concern. Thirteen months ago, the state issued new warnings about eating fish from the Flint River, primarily due to elevated levels of PFOS discovered in testing in 2015 and 2016. At the same time, it also set new guidelines for certain types of fish caught in Mott Lake and Holloway Reservoir. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality first detected PFAS in water samples from the Flint River in 2013. In addition to the Flint River, the sudsy-looking foam has been found on contaminated waters in Alpena, Oscoda, Rockford, Cascade Township and Grayling, as well as along the Huron River from Wixom to Lake Erie. Exposure to the per- and polyfluorinated chemicals has been tied to cancer, thyroid disorders, developmental delays and other adverse health effects. PFAS foam is usually bright white -- unlike naturally occurring foam on water, which is usually discolored, according to the state and county. More details about PFAS foam can be found here. BURTON, MI -- Police are piecing together clues following an armed robbery at a business along South Center Road in Burton. Officers with the Burton Police Department were called out around 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 21 to the Cash Store, 2424 S. Center Road, between Atherton Road and Lippincott Boulevard, for a report of an armed robbery. Upon arriving at the scene, police were informed two suspects had entered the store -- at least one of them with a weapon -- and demanded money. The suspects were able to steal an undisclosed amount of cash from the business before leaving northbound on foot, police said. A perimeter was set up to search for the suspects. Michigan State Police troopers and officers with the Grand Blanc Police Department, Metro Police Authority of Genesee County, and deputies with the Genesee County Sheriffs Office assisted Burton police in the area to search for the suspects. A Genesee County K-9 unit also responded to the scene for a track, but no suspects have been taken into custody. Burton police Sgt. Dave Powell described the suspects as two young males. One of the suspects was wearing light-colored pants and a dark shirt, while the second suspect had on a blue shirt with a dark sweatshirt over the top. Powell said police are reviewing surveillance video from the business to try and collect additional information. Anyone who may have information about the incident or the whereabouts of the suspects is asked to contact the Burton Police Department at 810-742-2542 or 911. GRAND RAPIDS, MI U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, the first Republican congressman to support impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, took to Twitter Thursday to lay out in greater detail why he believes Trump obstructed justice. Amash, of Cascade Township, pointed to several examples in special counsel Robert Muellers report, including Trumps request that the FBI stop investigating former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn. He also highlighted Trumps request that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reverse his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation so Sessions could retain control over the investigation and help the president." Muellers report describes a consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede the Russian election interference investigation because it put his interests at risk. Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 23, 2019 Amash, a libertarian-leaning lawmaker who was first elected to Congress in 2010, has drawn heat from fellow Republicans after first tweeting last weekend that Trump engaged in impeachable conduct. Two people state Rep. Jim Lower, R-Greenville, and Tom Norton, the former president of the Village of Sand Lake in Kent County now say they will challenge him in the August 2020 Republican primary And the wealthy DeVos family, which has a longstanding relationship with Amash, has announced they will no longer financially support him. In the 2013-14 election cycle, the last time Amash faced a strong primary competitor, the family contributed about $65,000 to his campaign, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. Muellers report, released last month, did not establish Trump or any of his aides coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice. Amash, a frequent critic of Trump, said on Twitter last weekend that he made his impeachment comments after he read Muellers report carefully and completely, and having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis. CPPCC leader voices support for extradition bill Updated: 2019-05-23 07:09 By Kathy Zhang in Hong Kong and Yang Zekun(HK Edition) Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, has voiced his "full support" on Wednesday for the proposed amendments to Hong Kong's extradition law. Wang's remarks were cited by Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, in a media briefing after Wang met with a chamber delegation in Beijing. Wang also called on Hong Kong's business sector to back the extradition bill proposed by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, said Choi, who's also a Standing Committee member of the CPPCC National Committee. The bill, presented by the Hong Kong SAR Government to the Legislative Council, will allow Hong Kong to surrender fugitives, on a one-time and case-by-case basis, to jurisdictions that currently have no extradition agreement with the city. The revision was triggered by a murder case last year in which a Hong Kong man, Chan Tong-kai, allegedly killed his pregnant girlfriend in Taiwan and then fled back to the SAR. Taiwan authorities have been unable to prosecute him as the two sides have no fugitive transfer arrangements. Vice-Premier Han Zheng, the central government's top official in charge of Hong Kong and Macao affairs, on Tuesday also pledged support for the amendments, saying the amendment proposal is fully in line with the Basic Law, the SAR's constitutional document, and will strengthen the city's rule of law. At the media briefing, Choi reiterated the chamber's support for the revision to the city's extradition laws, the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. The Hong Kong SAR Government has consulted the public on the rendition proposal, Choi said. The SAR's Security Bureau had earlier adopted the business sector's suggestions and removed nine commercial offenses from the original list of 46 extraditable crimes. According to statements issued by the chamber in late March and early May, the government's move to drop nine economic crimes from the proposed extradition law amendments will help address the concerns of the business sector. The chamber stressed that the amendment proposal to the ordinances will help to plug legal loopholes in the city's extradition laws. Contact the writers at kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com (HK Edition 05/23/2019 page4) OSCEOLA COUNTY, MI -- A Michigan deer farm owner with a history of violating state regulations is facing several misdemeanor charges in connection to 11 alleged violations. Ryan Hopkins, the owner and operator of Hopkins Trophy Whitetails in Sears, Michigan, was arraigned Tuesday, May 21, in Osceola County District Court. Hopkins, 42, of Sears, pleaded not guilty on all violations. Hes accused of operating an unregistered facility and failing to properly identify animals and submit annual inventories. Hes also accused of failing to maintain farm records, fence inspections, and facility standards. In this case, the owner failed to follow the state (privately owned cervid facilities) regulations, as he has in the past," said Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Chief Gary Hagler. "Its our responsibility to prevent this type of behavior, which poses risk to the animals within the deer farm and the animals outside of it. The Sears deer farm operates both a breeding facility and a ranch, and offers paying clients the opportunity to hunt whitetail deer. According to the state, Hopkins has a history of similar violations related to fencing and inspection records, annual inventory reports, animal tagging and disposal records. Hes also previously been accused of not properly reporting deer escapes. Ryan Soulard, a DNR wildlife biologist who assisted in the investigation, said the state is committed to the overall compliance and regulation of deer farms in Michigan to ensure the industrys long-term integrity, economic viability and compliance. The vast majority of the owners of Michigans more than 300 deer farms are trying to do the right thing and are complying with state rules and regulations, Soulard said. However, we still encounter farms from time to time that require attention. Hopkins is due back in court Friday, June 7, for a pretrial hearing. DNR officers ask those who witness or suspect a natural resource violation to call the states poaching hotline at 800-292-7800. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A man accused of fatally stabbing a well-known pizza shop owner has rejected a plea deal. Tony Devern Streets Jr., 33, was offered a chance to plead to second-degree murder with a minimum 50-year prison sentence, according to his attorney, Damian Nunzio. He rejected the deal Wednesday, May 22 during a court hearing. During the same hearing, he also was deemed competent to stand trial. The trial is set for October. Streets is accused of fatally stabbing 31-year-old Joey Vitale, a married father of two young girls, on Oct. 3. Earlier testimony showed Streets came into Vitales restaurant on Burton Street SW, with a half-bottle of whiskey, and began hassling customers. He then argued with Vitale and, according to police and prosecutors, stabbed Vitale with a large pizza cutter knife. GRAND RAPIDS, MI A man accused of threatening bank workers by implying he had a bomb was indicted in holdups in Berrien, Kalamazoo and Kent counties. Another man is accused of taking part in the Kalamazoo robbery. Kevin Delando Turner, 49, was indicted on two counts of armed bank robbery and a single count of bank robbery. Draper Delaneo Turner, 37, was indicted for bank robbery in the Kalamazoo holdup. The latest robbery happened March 25 at Old National Bank, 3201 Portage Street in Kalamazoo. The robber implied he had a gun but no weapon was seen, police said. Kevin Delando Turner A witness said the robber ran from the bank and through a parking lot. Another witness told police the man got into a small car parked on Howland Avenue. About $3,150 was taken. On Jan. 22, a robber threatened to harm workers at Fifth Third Bank, 1031 Chicago Drive SW, in Wyoming with a bomb. The robber got away with about $5,000. On Dec. 19, a robber took about $5,540 from Horizon Bank, 1041 Napier Ave., Benton Harbor. The robber threatened workers by implying he had a bomb. Armed bank robbery carries a potential prison sentence of 25 years. Bank robbery is a 20-year felony. Kevin Turner had previously served a prison sentence for an Aug. 3, 2009, bank robbery in Kalamazoo, records showed. He was paroled in September but later returned to prison for a parole violation. Draper Turner is held in the Berrien County Jail accused of domestic violence, malicious destruction of property less than $100 and illegal entry, jail records showed. Both await initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. Youve heard about the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the 1963 March on Washington in history class, but youve never heard it quite like this. A new exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, Changing America, set to open Saturday, May 25, will illustrate how these two great peoples movements shaped Grand Rapids. The museum is working with the Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives to showcase artifacts from community members in order to bring a local perspective to the significant events in American history. Larger pieces included in the exhibit are part of a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Museum of American History. Changing America will be located on the third floor of the museum in the LACKS Changing Gallery, and will be free with general admission. The exhibit has many video, audio and text aspects which bring a fresh perspective to an already established part of history. Christie Bender, director of marketing for the museum, spoke about how the museum worked with a broad group of community members to ensure theyre telling a story that correctly represents everybody in the community. We have panels of community where youll actually be able to pick up a phone essentially and listen to them in their own words tell their stories about how theyve been impacted in social movements in Grand Rapids, Bender said. The 'Changing America' exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum opens May 25, 2019 and will run until Oct. 13, 2019. Another feature lets visitors write about their own experiences in history, or feelings toward the exhibit itself that will be displayed on the museum wall. The museum is working with several community groups to offer extra programs as an added experience to the exhibition. This exhibit really excites us because it allows us to post all these important things that happened in the past, as we are a history museum, as well as really be that venue for future conversation, Bender said. The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located at 272 Pearl St. NW. Changing America will run through Oct. 13, 2019. LEELANAU COUNTY, MI A Northern Michigan woman was killed Wednesday, May 22, in a rollover crash, sheriffs deputies said. Danielle Klein, 26, of Cedar, died in the 6:12 p.m. crash in Leelanau Countys Solon Township. She was driving a 2005 Kia Sorrento north on East Alpine Road when her vehicle went onto the shoulder on a curve. The vehicle went out of control and rolled over, ejecting the driver. She died at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. WYOMING, MI -- Police want help to identify a man who broke into a Wyoming gas station early Thursday, May 23. Wyoming police released a surveillance camera image of the man. The break-in happened about 2:30 a.m. at the Rich Oil gas station, 3155 S. Division Avenue. The Police said the man caused damage to the glass entry door and then stole items from inside. Anyone with information about the mans identity can call police at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345. ANN ARBOR, MI -- After out-spelling 48 fifth- through eighth-graders in the MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot Spelling Bee on March 19, Thomas Hays is ready to compete again -- this time in Washington D.C. The Napoleon Middle School seventh-grader and his mom, Nicole, will leave Sunday, May 26, to compete in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The national competition is Monday, May 27 to Thursday, May 30, beginning with three preliminary spelling rounds. The preliminaries are 9:45 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. and 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, on ESPN 3. After knocking down the competition from 567 competitors to 50, semifinals will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on ESPN 2. The finals are 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. on ESPN on Thursday, May 30. Thomas, 13, will be in group three. Hes No. 335 in the competition. Moving forward to the national competition is nerve wracking, he said. Hell compete against talented spellers from around the nation and the words will be harder. Despite this, Thomas is more prepared and confident than while competing in the Jackson spelling bee because hes studied more, he said. Im not sure how Im going to do (in the Scripps National Spelling Bee), but Im going to do my best, he said. I dont know if Im going to win. Im just excited to go there and make friends with other people who like to spell. To prepare, Thomas chose to stay loyal to the studying method hes used since his first spelling bee in third grade -- simply studying lists of words and having his parents quiz him. I really like to read and I learn a lot of words from it, Thomas said. Thats also how I realized I like to spell. He and his mom plan on touring historical buildings and monuments between competition rounds, including the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the White House. Im really excited to see him have this wonderful experience, Nicole Hays said. Were really proud of what hes accomplished and excited he gets the chance to do what he loves. We were given the opportunity to test him on words and it was nice family time. BROOKLYN, MI Michigan International Speedway could have new owners by the end of 2019, although the property deed wont have to travel far. NASCAR announced its plans to merge with International Speedway Corporation which owns 13 U.S. racetracks, including MIS. The France family owns both NASCAR and ISC, with Jim France leading both organizations in recent years. The deal is for $2 billion, which is $45 per share of stock, according to an ISC press release. MIS officials had no comment about the news, Wednesday, May 22, said spokesman Brad Kuhbander. ISC is publicly traded, and therefore had to report financial data like attendance revenue. NASCAR is private and does not have to share such information. Gaining control of these tracks would seemingly make it easier for NASCAR to alter its racing schedule, including the possibility of fewer events, according to the Associated Press. NASCAR's current deal with tracks which affords MIS two race weekends each year runs through 2020. The track has had two Cup races every year since 1974. ISC's track inventory includes Daytona International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Darlington Raceway, among others. The series returns to the Irish Hills next month for its 100th Cup Series race at MIS, with the FireKeepers Casino 400 on June 9. PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP, MI -- A 33-year-old Battle Creek man is not expected to survive his injuries after striking a deer while riding a motorcycle last night, police say. The crash occurred Wednesday, May 22, on Norris Road north of 4 Mile Road in Barry Countys Prairieville Township, according to a press release from Michigan State Police. The motorcyclist, Justin Ryan Skaggs, was taken by helicopter to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids after Michigan State troopers arrived at the scene. A hospital social worker said Skaggs was going to be taken off life support, the release said. The crash remains under investigation. The driver did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the release said. VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI A fired Mattawan police officer cleared of criminal charges for shooting at a stolen car says she was subjected to selective and malicious prosecution because she is female. Chelsey Omilian filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Van Buren County Prosecutor Michael Bedford, police Chief Scott Herbert and the Village of Mattawan. The police chief unduly influenced a state-police investigation into the officer-involved shooting and encouraged the filing of criminal charges in an effort to shield himself and his department from scrutiny, and to support a termination of (Omilians) employment , Grand Rapids attorney Sarah Riley Howard wrote in the lawsuit. The police chief, who said he was surprised that Omilian was acquitted at trial, has not yet been served with the lawsuit. The prosecutor said he also had not seen the lawsuit which will be referred to the countys legal department. Howard said that the prosecutor did not file charges against a male South Haven police officer in an almost identical situation five months earlier. The prosecutor authorized a felony charge against Omilian, then, instead, a misdemeanor, despite the fact that there is clearly established law that permits a police officer to use deadly force to protect herself or the lives of other innocent parties and to prevent a felon from escaping if the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a dangerous threat to others, Howard wrote. Omilian was acquitted by a jury in January on a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. She had fired six shots at a stolen car, hitting a passenger in the leg. She was investigating a Nov. 7, 2017, report of a stolen Chevrolet Impala when she drove the car owner to a Shell gas station where the owner believed it had been abandoned. As she neared the station, Omilian saw the Impala start to pull away. She turned on overhead lights and tried to block it with her car. She knew the driver and believed he could be armed with a gun and under the influence of drugs, a police report showed. She told a state police investigator that she got out and pulled her gun, intending to order the occupants out of the car, but the driver drove at her as she stood in front of her patrol car. Omilian shot at the back of the car as it left. After the shots were fired, Omilian is heard saying, "I just shot at somebody. I just (expletive) shot at somebody." The driver of the stolen car, Gary Kingsbury III, was sentenced in April 2018 to six months of jail and two years of probation after pleading guilty to unlawful use of a motor vehicle, court records said. A witness said it did not appear Kingsbury would hit the officer. Another witness said it did not appear the officer would be hit but acknowledged it could have appeared that way from the officers view. Omilian, honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy, was hired in Mattawan about two months before the shooting. Howard, her attorney, said Omilian knew Kingsbury from an earlier theft of the same car. She knew Kingsbury to carry a .38-caliber firearm, while the victim said she had recently seen him with a gun, the lawsuit said. While trying to stop the driver of the stolen car, Omilian walked to the front of her patrol car. Before (the officer) could give any orders, within seconds of her exiting her patrol car, Mr. Kingsbury accelerated instead of getting out of the vehicle, Howard wrote. From the officers vantage point, Mr. Kingsbury was driving the vehicle directly at her, and she believed Mr. Kingsbury intended to run her over with the vehicle, Howard said. Omilian believed that the driver would be armed. Police did not find a gun at the time but a pedestrian found a loaded handgun with Kingsburys DNA some time later a few hundred feet from the area where the confrontation occurred, the lawsuit said. The woman who was struck in the leg settled a lawsuit with the village for $250,000, Howard said in the lawsuit. MUSKEGON, MI The first cruise ship of the 2019 season arrived in downtown Muskegon early Thursday. The Victory I tied down at Heritage Landing park around 7 a.m. on May 23. The 300-foot ship will depart at 6 p.m. Cruise ship passengers are expected to visit the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum, USS Silversides Submarine Museum and downtown Muskegon, according to a news release from the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce. Because theyve traveled a lot they are really interested in learning about our community, our history and our culture, Chamber President Cindy Larsen said previously. Its very unique and different to them - that was something we didnt expect. The most cruise ships yet will visit Muskegon this year. Since cruise ships began stopping in Muskegon on purpose in 2016 the first stop in 2015 was unplanned there have been no more than two ships and 11 total moorings each year. This year, the schedule includes three ships making a total of 13 stops. Le Champlain, a French ship, will visit Muskegon for the first time this year, bringing 200 passengers twice in the fall. The Pearl Mist of Pearl Sea Cruises will return to Muskegon 10 times this year. It was the first ship to stop in Muskegon in 2015 when it was diverted from Holland due to a docking conflict. It has moored in Muskegon at least nine times every year since. Also returning this year is the Victory I, which made a test stop in 2017. There were plans for one docking in 2018 and five in 2019, but those were canceled prior to the start of the 2018 season. The ship will visit Muskegon one time this year. The first modern cruise ship mooring in Muskegon was in 2015 when the Pearl Mist was diverted from Holland to Muskegon due to a docking conflict. That event set off a flurry of activity, including dock improvements at Heritage Landing park, that has led to a growing cruise ship presence. The Chamber of Commerce is determined to bring even more ships to the city, Larsen has said. Its in talks with at least three more companies that could bring ships carrying double the number of passengers than those coming this year. The ships have to be designed for the St. Lawrence Seaway so they either have to find a ship and buy it or build a ship, she said earlier. Thats why this is a long process. A couple of the ships would have 400 passengers instead of 200 passengers - we would really feel their presence in the downtown. Heres the schedule of this years cruise ship visits: NORTON SHORES, MI An engineering company based in the United Kingdom is moving its West Michigan operations from Grand Haven to a new facility it is constructing in Norton Shores. Renishaw Metrology Fixture Solutions will move into a new 52,000-square-foot research, development and manufacturing facility at the corner of Devin Drive and Grand Haven Road in early 2020, according to a news release. Renishaw purchased R&R Fixtures in Grand Haven in 2012, according to the release. R&R will change its name to Renishaw Metrology Fixturing Solutions in conjunction with the move to Norton Shores. The new facility, 5500 Grand Haven Road, will be about three times the size of the Grand Haven facility, according to the release. Theres also room to expand the facility eastward to the parcel at 1180 Devin Drive. Both properties were rezoned to general industrial by the Norton Shores City Council, according to city documents. The company makes fixturing tools that are used to hold and inspect manufactured parts to ensure uniformity. The facility will be Renishaws only research and development location with manufacturing in the United States and represents a major investment in West Michigan, Drew Baker, general manager of Renishaw Metrology Fixture Solutions, said in a written statement. Supporting both our current technology road map and future advanced engineering, this exceptional new facility will continue the high standard for Renishaw manufacturing, he said. The company hired Grand Haven-based Westwind construction company to manage the project. The facility reflects Renishaws commitment to environmental responsibility, according to a news release from Westwind. It will set the standard for local manufacturing. It will be energy efficient and brightly lit with a 150-kilowatt solar array. It will also have a staff dining area, outdoor patio and water features. We are very excited to showcase this exceptional project, born of collaboration between the teams at Renishaw, Bergmann, and Westwind, to produce such a high-functioning facility, Mark Bonser, senior project manager for Westwind said in a written statement. Bergmann is an architecture, engineering and planning firm. SAGINAW, MI A priest recently suspended by the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw due to an allegation of sexual misconduct was named more than a year ago in sealed police affidavits as a suspect in a misconduct case involving a minor, documents show. The documents, unsealed this month, name the Rev. Dennis Kucharczyk, who the Saginaw Diocese said in press release on Tuesday, May 21, was placed administrative leave from priestly ministry on Sunday, May 19. The diocese took the action after it said it received information from law enforcement regarding an allegation of misconduct involving a minor that occurred many years ago. A 19-page affidavit authored by Saginaw Township Police Detective Scott Jackson and dated March 22, 2018, states police sought personnel records of Kucharczyk, three other priests, and one deacon as part of their investigation. The contents of the affidavit was first reported by The Detroit News on Wednesday. The affidavit was used to request warrants for police to search the home of then-Bishop Joseph R. Cistone, the Saginaw dioceses headquarters both in Saginaw Township and the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw. In the affidavit, Jackson wrote that on March 21, 2018, a fellow detective interviewed an adult woman who alleged Kucharczyk would constantly hug her and kiss her on the cheek, hold her hand in the parking lot, and give her small gifts when he would return from trips when she was a student in first or second grade at Blessed Sacrament in Midland. The diocese has said Kucharczyk was an associate pastor at that location from July 1988 to June 1991. The woman said on one occasion, Kucharczyk called her into an unoccupied classroom with the lights off and made her sit on his lap and then put his arms around her waist and put his hands on her inner thighs, the police affidavit states. The woman said that as the years went on Dennis Kucharczyks behavior continued, including writing letters to her which she described as gushy and lovey type letters, as well as emails and text messages, Jackson wrote. Kucharczyk also repeatedly told her if she were to run away from home, she could stay with him at the rectory, the woman told police. Kucharczyk later officiated the womans wedding and kissed her on the lips that day, the affidavit states. She later confronted him via email, prompting him to reply that he did nothing inappropriate. He also requested to meet with her in person, Jackson wrote. According to the affidavit, the woman eventually met with Kucharczyk, only for him to immediately put his arm around her and stated, Boy, what did we get ourselves into? The woman told police she reported the behavior to a nun in 2010 and the nun assured her she would forward the allegations to a review board. The woman never heard back from the church on the issue, she said. Kucharczyk has not been charged with a crime. Of the other four clergymen named in the document, one is the Rev. Robert J. Father Bob DeLand Jr. DeLand, 72, was criminally prosecuted in March of this year and was suspended by the Saginaw Diocese after his first arrest on sexual assault charges on Feb. 25, 2018. Another of those named in the document is the Rev. Ronald J. Dombrowski, who the diocese suspended in March 2018 as a precautionary measure after someone told the diocese Dombrowski sexually abused them as a minor. No criminal charges have been filed against Dombrowski. The other two men have not been criminally charged, nor are their names among the 22 the diocese has disclosed as having been credibly accused of sexual misconduct. The affidavit was reviewed and signed by Saginaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark J. Gaertner, who told MLive the matter is now part of the Michigan Attorney Generals Offices ongoing probe of all seven Catholic dioceses in the state. Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark signed the affidavit and authorized the warrants. MLive was unable to reach the diocese or staff at the Attorney Generals Office immediately for comment. In a Feb. 21 press conference, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office had received more than 300 complaints of sexual misconduct involving Catholic clergy since predecessor Bill Schuette announced the investigation in August. As part of that investigation, law enforcement in October executed search warrants on each diocese in Saginaw, Detroit, Marquette, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Grand Rapids. Nessel said she anticipated the investigation would take in the neighborhood of two years. Nessel encouraged victims or their loved ones to report clergy abuse through a hotline (1-844-324-3374) or an online tip form mi.gov/clergyabuse. At the same time, she urged people not to bring their abuse complaints to the church itself. Kucharczyk was ordained in 1985 and has most recently served as the pastor of St. John XXIII Parish, which includes St. Mary Church in Hemlock, Sacred Heart Church in Merrill and St. Patrick Church in Ryan. The church has prohibited Kucharczyk from having contact with anyone younger than 21. As such, he must not visit school properties or participate in school and parish activities and functions. He must also refrain from wearing clerical garb, refrain from the exercise of public ministry, and may not present himself publicly as a priest while the allegation is internally investigated. SAGINAW, MI Police said a 29-year-old man was shot to death on Saginaws East Side on Wednesday, May 22. Officers from the Saginaw Police Department were dispatched to the now closed Heavenrich Elementary School, 2435 Perkins, for a report of a man down. Upon arrival, police found Robert Tywan Washington deceased near the rear playground. Washington suffered at least one gunshot wound, according to Detective Sgt. Matthew Gerow. Several streets near the crime scene were blocked off as police investigated. Gerow said that social media reports of a second and third victim are false. Any further official information will be released via the Saginaw Police Facebook page or a press release, Gerow said. Washington is the fifth homicide in the city of Saginaw this year and the second within a week. Washington also is the citys second shooting victim in less than 24 hours. Deonte Dexter, 33, was killed about 2 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, at Babel Food Store, 2321 Webber St. Edwin J. Singleton Jr., 26, appeared in Saginaw County District Court on Tuesday, May 21, for his arraignment on single counts of open murder and felony firearms in connection to Dexters death. A 35-year-old man was shot multiple times in front of the Metro PCS store in the 1700 block of East Genesee Avenue near Hartsuff Street Tuesday night. Police have made no arrests in connection with the incident. Saginaw police detectives and Michigan State Police detectives are investigating Washingtons death as a homicide and ask anyone with information to call Detective Jeff Doud at 989-759-1285 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL. SAGINAW, MI Another priest in the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is accused of sexual misconduct, adding to those previously named by the diocese. The Rev. Dennis Kucharczyk is the 22nd clergyman the diocese has named as having had credible allegations of misconduct made against them. Many of those previously named are deceased. Kucharczyk does not face any criminal charges and law enforcement officials have not said if they are specifically investigating him. Representatives from both the Michigan State Police and Saginaw County Sheriffs Office told MLive their agencies were not involved in the Kucharczyk matter. The Saginaw County Prosecutors Office referred all inquiries to the Michigan Attorney Generals Office, which is conducting a review of sex-abuse allegations dating back decades in all Michigan Catholic dioceses. Any allegation that a priest has committed these kinds of criminal acts is within the scope of our investigation, said Kelly Rossman-McKinney, communications director for the Attorney Generals Office. The Saginaw Diocese said in press release on Tuesday, May 21, it placed Kucharczyk on administrative leave from priestly ministry on Sunday, May 19, after it received information from law enforcement regarding an allegation of misconduct involving a minor that occurred many years ago. Kucharczyk was ordained in 1985 and has most recently served as the pastor of St. John XXIII Parish, which includes St. Mary Church in Hemlock, Sacred Heart Church in Merrill and St. Patrick Church in Ryan. The church has prohibited Kucharczyk from having contact with anyone younger than 21. As such, he must not visit school properties or participate in school and parish activities and functions. He must also refrain from wearing clerical garb, refrain from the exercise of public ministry, and may not present himself publicly as a priest while the allegation is internally investigated. The church action against Kucharczyk follows the criminal prosecution in March of Robert J. Father Bob DeLand Jr., who was suspended by the Saginaw Diocese after his first arrest on sexual assault charges on Feb. 25, 2018. In March 2018, the diocese also said it had suspended 72-year-old Rev. Ronald J. Dombrowski as a precautionary measure after someone told the diocese Dombrowski sexually abused them as a minor. No criminal charges have been filed against Dombrowski. The diocese in April 2018 named five clerics permanently removed from ministry since 2002 due to what the church said were credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors: Stanislaus A. Bur (former priest - deceased) John E. Hammer (former priest) Richard L. Howard (former deacon) Jack J. Leipert (former priest) Leonard F. Wilkuski (former priest) Then, on Nov. 21, the diocese released the names of 13 more clergymen credibly accused of sexually abusing children: Martin Ignatius Kalahar, retired Feb. 1, 1966, died April 13, 1966. Allegation made posthumously. James Aloysius Mulvey, died Nov. 7, 1959. Allegation made posthumously. Neil Francis O'Connor, retired Sept. 16, 1966, died March 8, 1989, age 81. Allegation made posthumously Thomas William Ryan, died Jan. 25, 1975. Raymond John Pilarski, permanently removed from ministry Oct. 9, 2007, died Oct. 17, 2017. Robert Gordon Smith, previously removed from public ministry, died June 24, 1980. Joseph Szarek, removed from ministry in Saginaw October 1958, but later served in Diocese of Albany. Died July 14, 2012. Camillus Frigo James A. Marron, posthumous allegation, died 1987. Francis McHugh, posthumous allegation. Richard Thomas Szafranski, removed from ministry in April 2006. Ronald Vincent Gronowski, permanently removed from public ministry 2002. Terrence Andrew Raymond, deceased 1986. Gronowski, 76, and Szafranski, 70, are still living. In March, the diocese announced it had learned of new sexual abuse allegations against Francis M. Landwermeyer, a former Jesuit priest who served as principal of Nouvel Catholic Central High School from 1985-88. Landwermeyer was removed from ministry in 2010 and left the Jesuit order and priesthood in 2011. He died in 2018. The dioceses statement regarding Landwermeyer followed a one-man protest outside the dioceses main office. The man said he was a Catholic sex-abuse survivor from Missouri and part of a survivors group known as SNAP. The Saginaw County Prosecutors Office handled the prosecution of DeLand, 72, who was charged with several counts related to the alleged abuse of two teens and one young man. A jury on March 21 acquitted DeLand on some of the charges, but he later pleaded no contest to three charges. On April 25, Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson sentenced DeLand to two to 15 years in prison. Afterward, MLive submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to prosecutors seeking copies of audio recordings made by one of DeLands teen victims, who was wearing a wire supplied by police, while in the priests presence. Prosecutors provided MLive with recordings, which span several hours and police said were recorded on five days in February 2017. The audio features DeLand, who did not know he was being recorded, telling the teen he loves him, encouraging him to watch pornography and tell him about it, offering to buy him cigarettes, and saying he would get him intoxicated. Robert J. DeLand Jr.'s prison mug shot, taken May 3, 2019. DeLand is currently incarcerated at the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson. In August 2018, then-Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced his office had launched an investigation into the states seven Catholic dioceses. In a Feb. 21 press conference, current Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said her office had received more than 300 complaints of sexual misconduct involving Catholic clergy. As part of that investigation, law enforcement in October executed search warrants on each diocese in Saginaw, Detroit, Marquette, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Grand Rapids. Nessel said she anticipated the investigation would take in the neighborhood of two years. Nessel encouraged victims or their loved ones to report clergy abuse through a hotline (1-844-324-3374) or an online tip form mi.gov/clergyabuse. At the same time, she urged people not to bring their abuse complaints to the church itself. Were strongly urging victims, or anyone who knows a victim, to contact the states team of certified law enforcement investigators by calling this number, Nessel said. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Court documents show FBI agents conducted an Aug. 1 search of the home and phone of a Michigan lawmaker who now is criminally accused of trying to sell his vote. Federal prosecutors released details Thursday, May 23 of the documents they plan to present against state Rep. Larry Inman, R-Traverse City. Among them are data from Inmans Samsung phone seized during a federal search warrant at Inmans residence on Aug. 1. The search came some three months before Inman won re-election to his seat in November. Inman was indicted May 15 by federal prosecutors for attempted extortion, bribery and lying to an FBI agent. Prosecutors allege he solicited money from a labor union, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights, in exchange for a no vote on the 2018 legislative initiative petition to repeal the states prevailing wage law. He ultimately voted in favor of repealing the law. The court documents filed Thursday show prosecutors plan to introduce evidence that includes a consensually monitored and recorded phone call between Inman and person A." The call was made June 19, about three weeks after an alleged June 1 text message that solicited campaign contributions from the union. Prosecutors also plan to introduce bank records, phone records, union records and statements he made to various media, including MLive, on May 16. Inman, who says the whole situation is a misunderstanding, is to be arraigned in federal court May 28. Libertarians are trying to convince Michigan Congressman Justin Amash to leave the Republican Party and mount a third-party challenge to President Donald Trump. Amash, R-Cascade Township, faces harsh criticism from his House GOP colleagues, a primary challenger, campaign donors and the president himself after supporting impeachment proceedings last weekend. Libertarian Party Chairman Nicholas Sarwark said individuals within the party are making a concerted effort to recruit Amash for 2020. Its heartening to me to have someone else who has actually read the report," Sarwark said. I think his impeachment analysis is correct ... obstruction is present and more serious than either Nixon or Clinton. Amash said Trumps actions meet the threshold for impeachment," in a series of tweets outlining his conclusions from findings in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into 2016 election interference. The 448-page report details a variety of actions Trump took toward the investigation into Russian interference that raised questions" about whether Trump obstructed justice. Amash said any person who is not the president of the United States would undoubtedly be indicted based on evidence in the report. The report did not conclude that Trump committed a crime, but also did not exonerate him. Months earlier, the president celebrated the Mueller reports findings during a March campaign rally in Amashs district. The collusion delusion is over," Trump said in Grand Rapids. Amashs comments drew swift retribution from Trump and his Republican allies. Trump responded on Twitter, calling Amash a loser and total lightweight who is attempting to call attention to himself. The attention has been largely negative from Republicans. Leaders of the Michigan GOP and Republican National Committee condemned Amashs comments. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unloaded on Amash during an appearance on Fox News, calling his remarks very disturbing." McCarthy questioned why Amash is a Republican in the first place. The wealthy West Michigan-based DeVos family announced it would no longer support Amash in future elections. The familys spokesperson Nick Wasmiller said Amashs statements did not change their mind, instead the DeVos felt increasing concerns about a lack of representation for the 3rd Congressional district. Wasmiller is the director of communications for RDV Corporation, the DeVos family office. He said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos resigned from her role at the company and was not involved in the discussion to drop support for Amash. State Rep. Jim Lower, R-Greenville, rose to challenge Amash in the 2020 Republican primary two days after the initial tweets were published. Lower said Amashs comments show "how out of touch he is with the truth and how out of touch he is with people he represents. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, asked Amash on Twitter to support her resolution to impeach Trump. While finding himself on the periphery of the GOP, Amash is a darling of the Libertarian Party. Amash, now serving his fifth term in the House, said earlier this year that he cant rule out running for president as a Libertarian. Amashs office said he has not come to a decision on 2020, but referred MLive to Amashs response to The Hill when asked if he is considering leaving the Republican Party to run for president as the Libertarian Party candidate. Im just focused on defending the Constitution, its not something Ive thought about, Amash told The Hill. I dont take things off the table like that, but its not something at the forefront of my considerations right now. Im just focused on my job. I wouldnt take running for governor off the table or Senate or statehouse, I dont take things off the table. Sarwark said he would be happy to see Amash run, but the party does not officially back candidates before a nominee is chosen. He still seems pretty cagey about what he wants to do, Sarwark said. I dont think hes trying to signal anything. Iowa Libertarian Party Chairman Joseph Howe is among influential party officials trying to court Amash for 2020, Sarwark said. Howe is active on Amash 4 President," a Facebook group created in March. Sarwark said libertarians support for Amash goes beyond his calls for Trumps impeachment. Amash has the most libertarian voting record of any congressman, he said, opposing Trumps stances on foreign intervention in , the war on drugs, federal spending and trade. Amash has recently become more vocal about the need level the playing field for third-party candidates. Earlier this year, he introduced a bill requiring states to impose the same ballot access requirements on all candidates, regardless of party nomination status or affiliation. It would also prohibit straight-ticket voting for congressional elections. Support for Amash in Michigan, now recognized as a key battleground state, could make a 2020 presidential campaign interesting. In 2018, Amash sailed to re-election for another term representing Michigans 3rd District, winning by 11 percentage points. Trump won Michigan in 2016 by 10,704 votes, a slim margin that has Democrats and Republicans poised to fight hard for the Great Lakes State in 2020. Amash always had an independent streak -- he entered Congress in 2010 during the height of the Tea Party movement -- but hes become somewhat of a pariah within the Republican Party over time. The Michigan Republican has gained a national following as one of the only congressmen who isnt afraid to buck the Republican line, often calling out Trumps policies on Twitter, the presidents favorite social media platform. Trump didnt receive Amashs endorsement 2016. Amash was one of only eight Republicans to vote against a spending bill that would have provided $5.7 billion in border wall funding. He was one of 13 Republicans to join Democrats in favor of a bill to overturn Trumps emergency declaration to build a border wall, which Amash said violates the constitution." Amash voted again with House Democrats to override the presidents veto of that measure. The measure fell 38 votes shy of its required two-thirds margin. Amash supported Trumps positions more often this year. Amash took Trumps stance on 92% of votes in 2019, compared to 54.2% of the time in the first two years of Trumps term, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis of Amashs voting record. Styling himself as the leading advocate for government restraint in the U.S. House of Representatives, Amash told MLive in a March interview that many of his colleagues were seduced by power" after moving to Washington. "If anything, the establishment is the most powerful Ive ever seen it in D.C. at any time Ive been involved in politics, Amash said. People think (Trump) is draining the swamp because of the way he talks. So hes solved the problem for the Republican establishment. They have always had trouble with the grassroots and the tea party who have pushed back against their positions. Sarwark said Amash accurately pointed out that Michigans Republican Congressional delegation released similar statements within hours of the Mueller report being released. There is an appetite for politicians who are honest with people, he said. John Walker Lindh, the American captured in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, is to be released early from federal prison on Thursday. Lindh, photographed as a bearded 20-year-old at his Afghanistan capture, will leave a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana on probation after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, Reuters said, citing a prison official. Now 38, Lindh is among dozens of prisoners set to be released over the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan by US forces and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Some US lawmakers fear Lindh remains a security risk. American Taliban to be released early from US federal prison official American Taliban to be released early from US federal prison official Source : RT - Daily news Ankara has rejected news reports that the US has set an official deadline for Turkey to pull out from the S-400 deal with Russia by the end of the first week of June, according to Turkish TV channel A Haber. Nothing of that kind [has occurred] at the official level, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran said, In March the US renewed its previous proposal on supplies of Patriot missile systems. Actually, we believe that this [media report] concerned this proposal. Also on rt.com Turkey braces for potential US sanctions over S-400 purchase as troops begin training in Russia Kiran speaking in Washington on Wednesday, also noted that Ankara opposed the American sanctions under the "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. He stressed that the deal with Moscow to buy four batteries of the S-400 air defence systems had been signed before the law was passed. As a NATO-state, Turkey has been facing mounting pressure from the US and its allies over the S-400 deal. On Wednesday, Germany urged Turkey to cancel the agreement which could trigger US sanctions, which would run counter to Turkish and NATO interests, and opt for the US-made Patriot system. Also on rt.com No other options: US will deliver F-35s, while Turkey will get S-400 and S-500, Erdogan says On Tuesday several American media outlets quoted sources in the government as saying that Turkey was facing an ultimatum to stop the transaction with Russia within two weeks. The White House opposes the deal citing security concerns and arguing that the S-400 is not compatible with NATO systems. If you like this story, share it with a friend! Chinese Commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said Thursday that his government had lodged solemn representations with the US over its decision to bar the telecoms giant Huawei from purchasing US goods. Feng said that China hoped the US will behave rationally and curb what he described as its dangerous actions. He added that Beijing would be assisting Chinese companies to mitigate future risks as Sino-US trade war escalations continue. What we are witnessing is a potential reconfiguration of global trade as it has stood since World War II, Saxo Bank's head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, wrote in a report entitled Are you ready for a cold war in tech? Also on rt.com Huawei CEO says companys own OS will run Android apps - reports In 2018, China reportedly imported some $300 billion of computer chips, exposing a veritable Achilles heel in the country's bid for technological marketplace dominance. Huawei has essentially been besieged by the Trump administration, which last week cut off the company's supply of Google software, Qualcomm chips and, temporarily at least, it's access to the US market by adding it to a trade blacklist. Also on rt.com Huawei granted temporary US license in blacklist stay of execution The company was granted a 90-day reprieve on Monday while the Chinese tech giant gets its house in order, and prevents disruption to mobile networks that use its technology in the US. It [Huawei] is a major national security threat, not just to the US but to the rest of the world. We are going to shut it down, former chief strategist for the Trump campaign Steve Bannon told the South China Morning Post Wednesday. This perception rings true with regard to Washington's defensive posture in the trade war so far, with an 'all or nothing' approach to what can only dubiously be referred to as 'negotiations' with Beijing over the last several months. Bannon's perception of Huawei and Chinese 5G tech in general is shared by the US intelligence community it would seem, as the national security implications for the US and its allies, should control of international 5G networks be ceded to Chinese companies is not lost on anyone in the West. Also on rt.com Race we must win: US spies desperate to beat China on 5G The race to 5G is the race America must win. Its the race that we will win, Trump said. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! The US trade war with China stems from the same strategy used on Mexico and Canada, and the recent end of metals duties for Americas allies could mean that the trade spat with Beijing is far from over, analysts have told RT. Washington announced its decision to remove tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Canada and Mexico, effective on Monday, in an effort to boost ratification of a new trade deal to replace NAFTA, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Initially tearing apart the old deal and imposing tariffs was just political theatre to gain internal political support, Richard Wolff, a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts, told RT. It was a way to show Mr. Trump is a warrior of American interests, it portrayed Mexico and Canada as taking advantage of the United States, Wolff said, adding that the reality is that every White House administration for the last 200 years managed to have mutually beneficial relationships with its northern and southern neighbors. The decision to end the tariff[s] is most likely due to the need to focus on the trade war with China and to get the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico ratified, former managing director and CEO of International Strategic Alliances, George Koo, wrote in an emailed comment. Apart from a step toward the new trade deal with the two countries, the latest Trump decision indicates that steel and aluminum are strategically important industries that cant be outsourced to high risk adversaries like Beijing, according to Jack Worthington, managing partner at Arundel & Co. It is a strong signal that the Trump administration believes the trade war/adversarial relationship with China is long term and wont be resolved anytime soon. Its an admission of irreconcilable trade and geopolitical differences with China, the analyst said. There is one thing similar in the tariffs imposed by the US on Canada, Mexico, and China, and that is the fact that they are used as an excuse for Washingtons domestic problems, according to Wolff. Also on rt.com Stupid economics: Attack on Huawei tells world to avoid doing business with US - Prof. Wolff What is similar, is the attempt by the US government to enforce a few changes on the trading partners. This is part of the idea that the problems of the American economy has something to do with foreigners, the professor told RT, adding that US capitalism is obviously in trouble. So, the tariff war with China follows from the same strategy that started with tariffs on Mexico and Canada. While Wolff stressed that Mexican and Canadian exports cannot replace Chinese ones at least for many years, others argue that Trumps move can help the countries investors to boost steel and aluminum manufacturing capacity, Worthington said. The removal of duties on metals can actually take some of the pressure off US consumers, Peter Earle from American Institute for Economic Research noted. Also on rt.com Huawei has long been ready for US ban & wont bow to pressure, CEO says Canada and Mexico may now be able to, and be in a position to, supply the US with some of the steel, aluminum, and/or other goods which tariffs on Chinese imports have made much more expensive, the researcher explained. Meanwhile, former CEO George Koo stressed that ending tariffs on the two US neighbors might have little impact on the trade war with China because the situation will worsen anyway due to the Trump administrations actions. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section The 28 EU member states, comprising some 512 million people will take to the polls to elect a total of 751 MEPs between now and Sunday, but whats at stake and what can we expect? Elections for the ninth European parliament come at a critical juncture for European politics, with rising geopolitical tensions worldwide thanks to bombastic rhetoric courtesy of the Trump administration aimed at both Iran and China and a tide of Euroskepticism. Also on rt.com Youre getting worried: Verhofstadt mocked for challenging Salvini to debate Key issues In 2019, the main campaign issues are focused on a general economic slowdown across the region, the ongoing but somewhat slowed migrant crisis and a rising tide of Euroskepticism exemplified by the respective gains made by Germany's AfD, France's Front National, Golden Dawn in Greece, Italy's Five Star movement and, of course, the UKs newly-minted Brexit party to name but a few. Timeline Voting began Thursday in the Netherlands and the UK, despite the latter's 2016 vote to leave the European Union. Ireland and the Czech Republic will follow suit on Friday May 24. The remaining EU member states will vote on the 25th and 26th. Germany commands the most seats (96) given its population of 82.79 million citizens, whereas smaller nations like Malta and Luxembourg receive a paltry six seats. Whats at stake? The elected MEPs will serve five-year terms, and will be tasked with passing EU laws, setting EU budgets and providing oversight for EU institutions. The European Commission proposes laws, but the European Parliament and the Council of Europe vote for said legislation in addition to any amendments. Also on rt.com Enemies of freedom? Germany launches anti-rightwing crusade amid Austrian govt crisis Many right-wing and anti-establishment parties are expected to make significant gains in the elections Europe-wide. The Parliament is further divided along political affiliation, not nationality, leading to the formation of subgroups including the European Peoples Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) as well as opposition groups who are predominantly Euroskeptic in nature, such as the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), and the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF). The European Council on Foreign Relations predicts this Euroskeptic subset could take up to one third of the parliamentary seats in the 2019 elections. Also on rt.com We want nothing to do with you: Salvini says Merkel and Macron ruined Europe UK - Chief among them is Farages new Brexit Party, as many expect him to replicate UKIPs stunning victory in 2014, topping the EU elections with 27.5 percent of the British vote. The beleaguered British Conservative Party is expected to cede significant ground while opposition parties like Labour may also incur the wrath of a despondent UK populace who are weary of repeated failures to draw the Brexit saga to a close. France - Marine Le Pen's right-wing National Rally party will fight a close battle with Emmanuel Macron's En Marche! party. The Netherlands - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Ruttes VVD party is expected to hold its own but the upstart, Euroskeptic Forum for Democracy (FvD) is set to be the big winner. Germany - Voters are increasingly worried about the rise of China and the lack of a coordinated defensive posture for Europe dominated campaigning in Germany. The center-right Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union are expected to be the clear winners, but the surging AfD party may also replicate gains in previous elections amid growing national anxiety over immigration and asylum policy. Italy - The incumbent Italian government, the anti-immigration League and the right-wing Five Star movement, are essentially fighting a proxy election campaign via the European elections, with each vying for control of their own national government after a fractured relationship. The first official results are expected to be published at approximately 23:00CET on Sunday. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! A plan by Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar to wipe out terrorists has sparked concern in Moscow as it is unclear who is considered a target. It comes as the UN warns that Libya is on the verge of a new civil war. If Haftar genuinely seeks to free Libya from terrorists, he should coordinate his action with the Tripoli-based government of the national accord, not fight it, the head of the Russian contact group on intra-Libyan settlement, Lev Dengov, said, adding that the generals intentions appear quite obscure so far. Also on rt.com UN envoy warns of long war in Libya, calls for steps to cut off arms flows He [Haftar] presents his action as a mission of a man purging terrorists out of Libya. Unfortunately, we cannot establish whom exactly he calls terrorists, Dengov told the RIA news agency. Even if there are any people or organizations united behind some [extremist] leaders or armed gangs, I cannot see them now. The Russian Foreign Ministry also expressed deep concerns over the fact that both the Tripoli-based government and Haftar, who supports a rival authority in the eastern city of Tobruk, are seemingly hell-bent on resolving the conflict, which they have been engaged in for almost two months, by force. Also on rt.com Humanitarian situation worsening in Libya UN The internal conflicts in Libya only help terrorist groups which have intensified their activities in the southern regions of the war-torn country, the ministrys spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on Thursday. Moscow actively supports the idea of ceasefire and a UN-sponsored intra-Libyan dialog aimed at creating unified sovereign state institutions, she said, adding that Moscow is ready to lend assistance to the Libyans, particularly in their communication with outside actors. The ongoing standoff in Libya might yet spill over into a new all-out civil war, which could lead to its ultimate collapse as a unified state, the UN warned in its recent assessment of developments in the North African country. Forty-eight days into the attack on Tripoli by General Haftars forces, there has already been too much death and destruction, the UN Libya envoy, Ghassan Salame, told the UN Security Council earlier this week. Libya is on the verge of descending into a civil war which could lead to the permanent division of the country. The damage already done will take years to mend, and thats only if the war is ended now. Haftar attempted to justify his ongoing offensive on Tripoli by claiming there is a need to wipe out alleged extremists that supposedly infested the UN-backed government. Also on rt.com Risk of nuclear war is highest since WW2, perhaps it is time to start paying attention However, his attack might in fact have aided the real terrorists entrenched in Libyas south, Salame warned. The security vacuum created by the withdrawal of many of General Haftars troops from the south, coupled with the focus of the western forces on the defense of the capital, is already being exploited by Daesh and Al-Qaeda, he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). Further hostilities between Libyas rival political powers could spell trouble not only for the nation itself but for all of its neighbors and potentially even Europe, the UN official warned. The violence on the outskirts of Tripoli is just the start of a long and bloody war on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, imperiling the security of Libyas immediate neighbors and the wider Mediterranean region. However, neither of the two warring parties is seemingly ready for genuine dialog. Earlier this week, it was reported that Haftar ruled out a ceasefire as he met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The general sees the government of national accord as completely infested by militias he fights against, a French presidential official told journalists after the meeting. Also on rt.com No ceasefire in Libya for now, Haftar tells Macron The head of the UN-backed government, Fayez al-Serraj, also rejected the idea of a ceasefire. He told Euronews on Wednesday that the fighting would only stop after Haftar pulls his troops back to the east. The distrust we see between the Libyan actors is stronger than ever today, the French official said. According to Salame, Haftars offensive on Tripoli already claimed lives of 460 people and left more than 2,400 injured. Over 75,000 civilians were forced to leave their homes while some 100,000 were trapped in frontline areas. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Speaking to French President Emmanuel Macron Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar ruled out a ceasefire and said he wanted to rid Tripoli of militias that had infested the UN-backed government, according to a French presidential official. The distrust we see between the Libyan actors is stronger than ever today, the official said on Wednesday, after the meeting between Macron and Haftar in Paris. In early April, Haftars Libyan National Army advanced on the capital Tripoli. The LNA is now bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to PM Fayez al-Serrajs Government of National Accord (GNA). Macron had asked Haftar to make a public step toward a ceasefire, the official said. Haftar responded by saying that an inclusive political dialogue was necessary and he would be ready for it if the conditions for a ceasefire were in place, Reuters reported. No ceasefire in Libya for now, Haftar tells Macron No ceasefire in Libya for now, Haftar tells Macron Source : RT - Daily news Pakistan has said it test-fired a ballistic missile, amid tensions with India, while also claiming it wants peace with its rival. The statement comes as India counts election votes, with Narendra Modi expected to retain power. Pakistans military claims the missile is capable of delivering conventional and nuclear weapons at a range of up to 1,500 miles in a possible warning to India. Shaheen-II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistans strategic needs towards maintenance of deterrence stability in the region, Pakistans military said in a statement. Shaheen has been in service since 2014 and is thought to be based on a Chinese design. No mention of India was made, but the statement was given after heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, which risked escalating into a war over the disputed Kashmir region. In February, a suicide bomb attack took place in Kashmir, killing 40 Indian paramilitary police officers. Indian jets responded by striking what New Dehli claims was a training camp for radical group Jaish-e Mohammed, which it blamed for the attack. Pakistan then launched a retaliatory strike and the two countries fought with jets, resulting in an Indian pilot being shot and captured. Also on rt.com Nuclear-armed India & Pakistan vowed missile strikes during Kashmir standoff report Pakistan has nevertheless opened up to peace talks after Indias election, which will likely see Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in power. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he believed dialogue with India would be easier if the nationalist Hindu party of Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), won the election. Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states meeting in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan. We never speak bitterly, we want to live like good neighbors and settle our outstanding issues through talks, Qureshi said. The two countries have been rivals since disputes over Kashmir, which they both claim belongs to them since gaining independence from Britain after WWII. Like this story? Share it with a friend! If you are a non-fasting Muslim in Malaysia - be warned, a local official in disguise might serve your next meal having already snapped a photo of you and sent it to the local religious affairs department. Thirty two enforcement officers in the Malaysian district of Segamat are dressing up as cooks and waiters to catch Muslims eating during the holy month of Ramadan, the New Straits Times newspaper reported on Thursday. The best tea-brewers and noodle chefs were selected from the ranks of the departments officers to carry out the task, which will be conducted at 185 food premises. Another prerequisite for the job was skin color as many restaurant staff are migrants workers. Also on rt.com Coca-Cola Ramadan campaign opens up can of anti-PC outrage in Norway We have specially selected enforcement officers who are dark skinned for the undercover job, Segamat Municipal Council president Mohamad Masni Wakiman told the paper. They sound convincing when they speak in Indonesian and Pakistani lingo, so that customers will believe they are really hired to cook and serve meals and take menu orders. Islams holy month of Ramadan runs from May 5 until June 4 this year. During this time observing Muslims are obliged to fast from dawn until dusk unless they have a special health condition. In certain parts of Malaysia Muslims are subject to Islamic laws. If a Muslim is caught breaking the fast by one of the officers, he or she might face a fine of up to $329 or up to six month detention or both. The large muslim population of the multi-ethnic Malaysia has traditionally followed a tolerant form of Islam. In recent years the spread of increasingly conservative interpretations have been a source of worry in the country. A human-rights group advocating for Muslim women in Malaysia, Sisters of Islam, has lambasted the restaurant initiative calling it a disgraceful act of spying. Like this story? Share it with a friend! Moscow has vowed to retaliate if Washington sees through the modernization of its Globus-2 radar facility in Norway, saying that the radar is used specifically to spy on Russia. The warning was issued by the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday during a press briefing. There is every reason to believe that the radar will monitor Russias territory and will become part of the US global missile defense network, Zakharova stated. As any other country, Russia wont leave the military preparations right on its borders unanswered, she warned, and will take unspecified retaliatory measures. The radar is located in Norways northernmost Vardo municipality, near the Barents Sea and within some 50km (31 miles) of the Russian border. The location of the facility affects the whole strategic balance in the Arctic region and its expansion is certainly not a Norwegian-only business, Zakharova stressed. The plans to expand and upgrade the facility were first unveiled back in 2016 and work is expected to be completed by 2020. While Moscow has repeatedly addressed the issue with Norway, the countrys officials dodged questions and failed to answer why the expansion is needed. Also on rt.com US Aegis Ashore in Romania may soon be able to fire Tomahawk missiles military analyst Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! The air defense forces destroyed four rockets, which terrorists fired from multiple launch systems at the Hmeymim airbase in Syria, Russias Defense Ministry said on Thursday. The attack came in the evening of the previous day, according to the military. All the rockets were timely detected by the Russian air defense capabilities and destroyed, the ministry said in a statement. In a precision strike, Russias air task force aircraft destroyed the terrorists launcher in the Idlib de-escalation zone, it added. Two drones launched by terrorists also, attacked the al-Zara electric power plant located in the northwest of the city of Hama, TASS reported, citing the military. Russian forces destroy 4 rockets fired by terrorists at Syrias Hmeymim airbase military Russian forces destroy 4 rockets fired by terrorists at Syrias Hmeymim airbase military Source : RT - Daily news A senior German diplomat was in Tehran on Thursday to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the US. The German Foreign Ministry says Political Director Jens Ploetner is meeting with Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The visit follows Irans declaration earlier this month that the remaining signatories to the deal Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia have two months to develop a plan to shield Iran from American sanctions, AP said. The ministry in Berlin said theres a window for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue its full compliance with the deal. German diplomats also warned that theres a real risk of escalation including due to misunderstandings or an incident. Senior German diplomat visits Iran for nuclear deal talks Senior German diplomat visits Iran for nuclear deal talks Source : RT - Daily news A US-made collectable coin lists Britain and France among the honored US allies in WWII, but, strangely, the Soviet Union, whose Red Army delivered a crushing blow to the Nazis in Europe and fought Japan, is omitted. The 24-carat gold-plated coin was designed by collectable goods and jewelry company Bradford Exchange. It was the first entry into a collection meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory in WWII, depicting key Allied battles and honoring the Allied nations. The coins reverse side shows the 33rd US president, Harry Truman, along with the 34th president, Dwight Eisenhower, who was the supreme commander of the US and British expeditionary force in Europe during the war. The obverse side, however, contains only the flags of the US, Brittan, and France, as Allied nations the item wishes to salute. Oddly enough, it completely omits the Soviet Union, whose troops were instrumental to crushing the bulk of the Nazi armies in Europe. It would have been fair to assume that the Soviet flag would possibly appear on other coins of the collection, but, according to the companys website, the design of the obverse side will remain the same. The Soviet Union was attacked by Nazi Germany and other Axis powers on June 22, 1941. Once that happened, the nation was almost immediately recognized by the US and Britain as an essential partner of the anti-Hitler coalition. Also on rt.com Ukraine depicts Soviet reprisals of Crimean Tatars with photo from... Jewish WWII ghetto After fierce resistance and four years of bloody battles, the Red Army repelled the invasion and liberated Eastern Europe from the Nazi occupation. In 1945, Soviet soldiers captured Berlin. After the warfare in Europe was over, Moscow agreed to US requests to enter the war against Japan, defeating its forces in Manchuria. More than 26.6 million Soviet citizens died in the war, with 8.7 million killed in combat. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! US Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the US island of Guam takes place ahead of President Donald Trumps visit to Japan this weekend. The drills joins forces from four, like-minded maritime nations that provide security throughout the Indo-Pacific, Vice Admiral Phillip Sawyer, commander of the US Navys Seventh Fleet, said on Thursday. The six-day exercise involves two Japanese destroyers, two Australian frigates and a destroyer from South Korea, with as many as 3,000 sailors participating, Reuters reports. US joins Japan, S. Korea, Australia for 1st combined naval drills in W. Pacific US joins Japan, S. Korea, Australia for 1st combined naval drills in W. Pacific Source : RT - Daily news Washington has passed a law barring authorities from questioning people's immigration status what Governor Jay Inslee boasts is the strongest 'sanctuary state' law in the US, netting him progressive cred for the 2020 election. The law prohibits local law enforcement from asking about immigration status or place of birth unless directly related to a criminal investigation and bars jails and prisons from cooperating in "immigration holds" detentions requested by federal immigration authorities that are often a precursor to deportation proceedings. Authorities are also barred from sharing prisoners' citizenship data or release dates with immigration authorities. Also on rt.com DNA pilot tests show 30% of migrants stopped at US border not related to their kids - report "Our state agencies are not immigration enforcement agencies," Inslee declared after signing the law on Tuesday, boasting that Washington "will not be complicit in the Trump administration's depraved efforts to break up hardworking immigrant and refugee families." Seeking to distinguish himself among a crowded field of candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, Inslee has promised to address the problem of migrants crossing the Mexican border illegally by "attacking climate change," claiming "not all of them, but a lot of them" are "climate refugees." While the governor unveiled a sweeping $9 trillion "climate change plan" earlier this month, several other candidates have put forth similar measures; so far, he appears to be the only one to merge the two issues. Not everyone was thrilled by Washington turning a blind eye to illegal immigrants. "This not only puts law enforcement at risk, it puts private citizens at risk," Republican state Senator Phil Fortunato told reporters, warning that the law would impede police's ability to take action against suspects believed to be illegals. Inslee had already imposed 'sanctuary state' requirements on state agencies with an executive order in 2017, but the new law extends the protections to the local level, which generates the majority of deportations, immigration attorney Lena Graber told AP, praising the law as "the strongest and most comprehensive state law on sanctuary in the country." Also on rt.com California refused 5,600 ICE requests to turn over criminal illegals in 2016-2017 report The new law makes Washington the sixth state to declare immigration status off-limits. While California is the best-known sanctuary state, having passed a statewide moratorium on collaboration between local authorities and immigration cops in January 2018, Oregon, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Illinois, and Connecticut also have laws barring local authorities from working with federal law enforcement on immigration matters. Maine is weighing a similar proposal. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! The deadline for Jet Airways corporate insolvency resolution process is October 21 live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More State Bank of India (SBI), that is leading a consortium of lenders to Jet Airways, has reportedly said it will not be able to release interim funds to pay the company's employee salaries. SBI is believed to have told the Regional Labour Commissioner (RLC) that it cannot get involved in a clash between the airlines management and staff, as it is not an equity holder, as per a Hindu BusinessLine report. The bank said it cannot grant credit facilities to Jet Airways since they are based on cash flows. Since the airline temporarily suspended operations on April 17, it cannot generate sufficient cash flows. Where there is no possibility of assured generation of future cash flows, the bank is not in a position to release any funds, SBI said, in a communication viewed by the paper. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story. Jet Airways, which has around 22,000 employees, has not paid its staff salaries since March. Also read: Etihad, Naresh Goyal, Hindujas, AdiGro: Mega alliance may bid to save Jet Airways SBI also highlighted that the bidding process has not yet conclusively found a new investor for Jet Airways. In the absence of a confirmed and binding bid, no assurance of release of funds can be given for the said purpose, the lender said in the communication to the RLC. SBI also requested the RLC to not involve it in future conciliation meetings between the airlines management and employees. Banks could buy a stake of up to 20 percent in Jet Airways, a media report suggests. Around 200 Jet Airways employees held a protest outside the civil aviation ministrys office in New Delhi on May 21, demanding a resolution to the airline's troubles and payment of their salaries. Jet Airways pilots and cabin crew have been looking for alternate employment with rival airlines. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Reliance Capital has signed binding definitive agreements with Nippon Life Insurance of Japan to exit its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management, according to a statement from Reliance Capital to the exchanges. Both partners currently hold 42.88 percent each in the company, while the rest is with public shareholders. Pursuant to the agreements, Nippon Life will also make an open offer to the public shareholders of RNAM at Rs 230 per share, as required under SEBI regulations, and reach the maximum permissible promoter shareholding of 75 percent for listed companies, which means Nippon will hold 75 percent stake in the AMC. The transaction price represents a premium of 15.5 percent to the minimum 60-day price as specified under the SEBI Takeover Regulations. Reliance Capital will receive proceeds of approximately Rs 6,000 crore through sale of its shareholding to Nippon Life Insurance at Rs 230 a share, and the simultaneous Offer For Sale (OFS) to other financial investors. This transaction will reduce Reliance Capitals debt by 33 percent. The transaction is subject to necessary regulatory approvals Anil D. Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Group, said, The monetisation of the RNAM stake is part of our value unlocking strategy. We expect this transaction, together with other deals underway, to substantially reduce RCAPs debt by over 50 percent in the current financial year. JM Financial Limited acted as the advisor to Reliance Capital for the above transaction. Nippon Life Insurance had made an initial investment in RNAM in 2012. The company will continue to run its operations as is without any change in structure and management. Nippon Life Insurance, a 130-year-old company, is one of the largest life insurance companies in Japan, managing assets of over $700 billion, revenues of over $70 billion and core operating profit of $6.8 billion. It has the largest market share in Japan among private life insurance companies. It employs over 70,000 employees and serves nearly 14 million customers worldwide. The company has been investing in asset management companies globally, and have they acquired 24.75 percent stake in TCW of US in December 2017 and 5 percent stake in DWS of Germany in March 2018. It has international operations across the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia region. In March quarter, Reliance Nippon Asset Management reported 34 percent YoY rise in net profit at Rs 151 crore. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is planning to invest more in patented medicines, using the 'search and development' model, according to a Bloomberg report. The company can acquire early-stage developments and generate revenue from patented medicines, the article quoted founder Dilip Shangvi as saying. The pharma major has so far spent about $1 billion on its patented-medicine programme, Shanghvi estimates. He added that money made from sale of generics in the US will be used to redevelop the company. Pharmaceutical companies in India only produce generic drugs, and do not develop their own medicines. Shanghvi said the new approach is modelled on British drugmaker Shires strategy of acquiring and licensing products, instead of focusing on R&D. The companys managing director admits that working on patented drugs requires an additional skill set, but said developing those skills is not impossible. Since Shanghvi owns 55 percent of Sun Pharma, he says it is easy for him to take crucial decisions and implement new strategies. The move follows the recent upheaval in the generic drug business, which cost Shanghvi $17 billion and the title of India's richest person. His personal fortune now stands at about $7.8 billion, or the eight wealthiest person as per Bloomberg Billionaire Index. A four-year decline on the back of record clearances by the US Food & Drug Administration to boost competition and large number of sweeping price-fixing lawsuits erased 65 percent value from the Sun Pharma counter. Shanghvi expects the company to pick-up enough early-stage innovations and key personnel to generate half its revenue from patented medicines. The advantage is that I have end-to-end understanding of all aspects of the business, he said. Its easier for me to take decisions involving risk, because I am able to assess risk from multiple dimensions. In a big company they will need 8 or 10 people who have to look at it. Earlier in May, Sun Pharma was named in a US lawsuit accusing 20 drugmakers of a conspiracy to inflate prices of over 100 drugs. The lawsuit was filed by 40 US states. Other Indian companies named in the lawsuit are Aurobindo Pharma Wockhardt and Zydus Pharma. Representative image Global port operator DP World on May 23 said its joint venture with the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) HIPL has acquired 76 stake stake in KRIBCHO Infrastructure Ltd (KRIL). Hindustan Infralog Pvt Ltd (HIPL) is a joint venture between DP World and NIIF. HIPL has acquired KRIL through its subsidiary Continental Warehousing Corporation (NhavaSeva) in which it holds 90 percent stake. The company, however, did not disclose the financial details of the deal. KRIL is an integrated multi-modal logistics operator. "With the acquisition of KRIL, DP World will emerge as one of the leading integrated rail terminal and container train operators in India with an enhanced network to provide door-to-door connectivity to cargo owners," DP World said in a statement. It will also augment DP World's existing business in terms of the business model and geographic footprint, offering an integrated portfolio to the entire logistics value chain, it added. "KRIBCHO (KrishakBharati Cooperative Society) Limited, will continue to retain the remaining 24 percent shareholding, the statement said, adding the purchase consideration is below one percent of DP World's net asset value as of FY 2018. KRIL was founded in 2009 and operates three major Inland Container Depots/Private Freight Terminals at Pali, Haryana; Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh and Hazira, Gujarat, and has container train operations with a pan India outreach. "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of KRIL, a rail logistics solutions provider, which is highly complementary to our earlier acquisition of Continental Warehousing Corporation. It enables the DP World Group to become a significant operator in the fast-growing inland logistics market," said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World. In India, DP World has made strong progress in building an integrated logistics platform which can deliver a competitive solution to cargo owners and aims to continue adding scale to its offering to deliver greater efficiencies and value to the trade, he added. "KRIBCHO continues to remain excited about the significant growth potential of logistics infrastructure in India. We believe the strategic partnership with Continental Warehousing Corporation will enable KRIL's assets to improve efficiencies, offer a compelling value-add solution to customers and deliver long-term value for all stakeholders," said Chandra Pal Singh, Chairman, KRIBHCO. DP World is a global port operator with a portfolio of 78 operating marine and inland terminals supported by over 50 related businesses in over 40 countries across six continents. With the Lok Sabha election process coming to an end, the finance ministry has prepared 100-day agenda for the new government with an aim to push the economy which has slipped to 6.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2018-19. Among other things, the agenda is likely to focus on increasing private investment, employment generation and giving relief to the farm sector, sources said. Besides, the agenda also include improving direct and indirect tax collection. Simplification of tax procedure especially with regards to the goods and services tax is also on the cards. As announced in the interim Budget, the decision with regard to changes in tax slab or tax rate as far as income tax is concerned could be taken in the final Budget for 2019-20 probably in July. The Prime Minister's Office had asked all ministries and departments to prepare 100-day agenda for the new government which is likely to take office in the next few days. Reinvigorating industrial growth, increasing credit growth, consolidation in the banking sector and funding the unfunded would also be part of the 100-day agenda, the sources said. There would be emphasis on raising corporate governance in the banking sector including a more diversified board structure. The finance ministry in the process of further improving its EASE (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) focusing on six themes of customer responsiveness, responsible banking, credit off take, PSBs as Udyami Mitra, deepening financial inclusion and digitalisation and developing personnel for brand of public sector banks. It is to be noted industrial output growth slowed to a 20-month low of 0.1 per cent in February, mainly due to contraction in the manufacturing sector. Factory output, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 6.9 per cent in February 2018, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). During April-February 2018-19, industrial output grew at 4 per cent as against 4.3 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. At the same time, passenger vehicle sales in India dropped 17.07 per cent in April, the steepest fall since October 2011, as weak customer sentiment led by liquidity crunch, uncertainty revolving elections and high product prices hit sales. The domestic sales declined for sixth straight month in April to 2,47,541 units against 2,98,504 units in the year-ago month. It is the worst dip in passenger vehicle sales since October 2011 when sales had dropped by 19.87 per cent. All major segments, including two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, witnessed a decline in sales in April, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Various experts have pointed out the new government should take on the challenge of introducing reforms in areas including land and labour in order to push economic growth. Macroeconomic stability will guide India's high growth trajectory. According to the interim Budget 2019-20, the government has pegged fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent for the current fiscal year ending March 31. Deviating from the path laid down in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the government has pegged the fiscal deficit for the next financial year at 3.4 per cent of GDP, as against the original target of 3.1 per cent. The next thing that the people of India, who gave Narendra Modi his second full majority term, would be looking towards is reduced tax rates in the full Budget. The new government will present its first central budget in the first fortnight of July 2019. There are expectations that the government will announce its intent on reforming Indias complex income tax laws and rules and distill these into a simpler, contemporary code with fewer exemptions and tax slabs. As the country looks forward to a new set of reforms to drive up growth, the onus is on new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to ensure that the momentum of the first tenure of the Modi government is not lost. A task force headed by Akhilesh Ranjan, a member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the countrys topmost policy making body on income taxes, is expected to submit a report on a new direct taxes code by end of May, 2019. The discussion on reforms pertaining to direct taxes started in September 2017, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that more than half a century old Income Tax Act needs to be re-drafted and a new Direct Tax Code (DTC) needs to be introduced in consonance with economic needs of the country. The government will shortly come with a new draft of the direct taxes code that will be put for public comments within a month for addressing the concerns of all stakeholders. The erstwhile UPA government had finalised the DTC and had introduced the Bill in the Parliament in 2010. However, the Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha. It aimed at simplifying tax legislation, widening the tax base, while removing a number of exemptions. The task force is in the process of drafting a direct tax legislation keeping in mind tax system prevalent in various countries, international best practices, economic needs of the country, among others. Some of the provisions of the DTC such as General Anti-Avoidance Rule and Place of Effective Management have already been implemented. A new DTC, among other things, could raise the income tax exemption limit from the existing Rs 3 lakhs to give more money in peoples hands. The resultant rise in spending will, in all likelihood, spur spending and eventually raise investment. In the Interim Budget, the then stand-in finance minister Piyush Goyal had announced that individual taxpayers with an annual taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh would get a full tax rebate and would, therefore, not have to pay any income tax. In its manifesto too, the party reiterated that it would continue to strive to ensure reduced tax rates. Emami Cement Ltd's IPO could hit the market in the next six months with SEBI approving the issue, company sources said on Wednesday. The company is looking to raise Rs 1,000 crore through the IPO, which comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 500 crore, and the rest as offer for sale from existing promoters. Emami officials, however, declined to speak about valuations and the timeline of the issue. "We have received Securities and Exchange Board of India approval on May 15, and we will now finalise a roadmap in consultation with the merchant bankers," a source said. Emami Cement currently operates three manufacturing plants at Risda in Madhya Pradesh, Panagarh in West Bengal and Bhabua in Bihar, having a capacity of 5.6 million tonne. It is also in the process of setting up a cement grinding plant at Kalinganagar, Odisha. The company's combined installed capacity will be 9 million tonne with a clinker capacity of 3.2 million tonne. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More A volatile day for Indian markets but a historic one for sure as trends indicate that NDA is all set to form the government in 2019. Reacting to early trend, the S&P BSE Sensex rallied over 1,000 points to hit Mount 40K while Nifty50 rallied above 12,000. A classic textbook scenario of "buy the rumour, sell the news" played out in markets as both Sensex, and Nifty50 gave up gains in the last one-hour of the trading session and turned negative as election results fell in line with the exit polls. According to CNBC-TV18, the Indian market witnessed its biggest intraday fall in last 11 years. The S&P BSE Sensex hit a fresh record high of 40,124, and the Nifty50 hit a fresh lifetime high of 12,041 on May 23. Lets look at final tally on D-Street the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.7 percent to 38,811 while the Nifty50 dropped 80 points to close at 11,657. The S&P BSE Sensex gave up 1,000 point rally as investors preferred to book profits towards the close of the trade. There is a high probability now that both Sensex and Nifty50 might have created an intermediate top at their record highs. Most experts suggest investors to wait for some correction before deploying money into markets as valuations are relatively higher. Internals of the market were far weaker this time because open interest had increased only 5 percent after exit polls compared to a massive increase in open interest in 2014 after exit polls. "The Law of Alternatives is something to remember if you are a player on Dalal Street. As contrary to the general consensus that history will repeat itself, in the stock market, nothing goes as planned. Majority market pundits had predicted that since BJP gained higher majority compared to 2014 elections, markets will scale newer highs even in the short term, Umesh Mehta, Head of Research, Samco Securities Ltd told Moneycontrol. But, the exact opposite happened. Just like 345+ seats for NDA is a surprise, markets have also surprised everyone by falling. Low Open interest suggests that sentimentally the market was supporting bulls but hard money was not flowing in, he said. Mehta further added that now for 1) traders markets will enter a deeper correction zone and could see reversals around the Budget; and, 2) investors - Markets are trading at very high valuations with Niftys P/E at 29x that keeps very little room for any margin of error. It is, therefore, better to let markets correct and invest rationally rather than emotionally, he said. In terms of sectors, the S&P BSE Telecom index rose 0.97 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Capital Goods index that rose 0.73 percent and the S&P BSE Realty index that rose 0.5 percent. Profit taking was seen in the S&P BSE FMCG index that fell 1.8 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Metal index that was down 1.5 percent and the Consumer Durable index that dropped 1.1 percent. Stocks in news IndusInd Bank shares rallied 5 percent as brokerages remained strong despite weak earnings in March quarter. Reliance Capital gained nearly 3 percent as the company said it will sell its entire stake in Reliance Nippon to Nippon Life. HDFC Bank fell 3 percent as the board approved sub-division of equity shares from 1 equity share of face value of Rs 2 each to 2 equity shares of the face value of Re 1 each. Global updates: European markets are trading lower on the back of political uncertainty across the EU and ongoing concern between the US and China. Asian markets ended on weak note amid trade tensions between the US and China. Shanghai Composite shed 1.36 percent to 2,852.52, Hang Seng was down 1.58 percent to 27,267.13. Nikkei fell 0.62 percent to 21,151.14 and Kospi shed 0.26 percent to 2,059.59. A solid majority would give the new government greater flexibility to go ahead with reforms, says Adrian Lim, Investment Director, Asian Equities, Aberdeen Standard Investments. "It has been clear over the last five years that the incumbent government was keen on expediting India's progress by building stronger infrastructure and a framework for economic development and inclusion. A strong majority would give it the affirmation that it is on the right path," said Lim in an interview with CNBC-TV18. Talking about investments, he said the firm has a disproportionately large exposure to India within the region. Given the large economy, implementation of reforms is challenging but India has a lot of companies that would do well going forward over the medium to longer term horizon. "We do have an overweight on India and based on fundamentals and what we see with respect to companies' quality on the ground, we will continue with our overweight exposure," he said. When asked if consumption would be looked at as an opportunity to buy, he said one could look at pockets of softness in some of this cyclical weaknesses. However, they would not stray too long from the larger, stronger names, for example like Asian Paints. "One can also look at playing the urban consumption theme through staples, as well as financials like HDFC, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank," he added. Source: CNBC-TV8 File photo Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE told CNBC-TV18 that BJP won two elections with thumping majority, which proved that Narendra Modi, who will continue as Prime Minister, understands common people very well. But he added that the market is in the higher end of the range and hence will not run away from here. The benchmark indices hit record highs on policy continuity at the Centre. The BSE Sensex touched 40,000 and Nifty at 12,000 for the first time in history. Ramesh Damani advised investors to invest in quality companies. "We are recommending recently listed PSU railway and defence companies, which are cheap and will benefit from expected government spending on infrastructure," he said. He further said railway stocks are trading at single digit PE now. "Railway and defence are contrarian bets and no brainer." On asking about FII money, he said, "Lot of investors we spoke to on exit polls day indicated that FII flow will continue in India due to policy continuity. Even a lot of deals, which got stuck due to elections in the last six months, will get cleared." Definitely, there is buoyancy in FII inflow, he feels. He said there is a strong chance that RBI will ease liquidity concerns. In addition, it is a duty of any finance ministry that they have to reassure and try to contain NBFC crisis. After current runaway rally, valuations are too steep. "Lot of stocks in midcap are not working due to earnings concerns, poor visibility and a lot of technology transformation." On biggest risk, Damani said, domestically, NBFC crisis is the biggest risk which the Finance Minister has to address. Globally, rattles in the Middle East by Donald Trump is a big risk for all, he added. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Gaurav Dua Initial trends show the NDA government is likely to come back to power with a majority. This certainly boosts market sentiments though there are serious challenges faced by the Indian economy like slowing consumption, squeeze on credit, fiscal deficit, global uncertainties that need to be addressed to support a sustained rally in the equity market. We expect another 5-8 percent kind of gains in Nifty and Sensex and much better upside in mid and smallcap over the next few months. We believe that a large part of the new government policy would depend upon attracting foreign direct and portfolio investment to fill in the resource gap domestically. Thus, one could see some supporting policy moves on that front by the government to encourage household savings and attract capital market investments. Policy priorities and investment opportunities Investment themes 2 key themes remain: We continue to remain positive on private sector corporate banks (ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Federal Bank) as key structural investment theme for the next two years. Also, we like specialty chemical/API space as structural growth theme (UPL, SRF, Atul, PI Industries, Granules, Hikal, Divis Labs, etc). In addition to this, it is important to understand the priorities of the new government that would enable the investors to ride the rally and position the investment portfolios accordingly. Priority goal 1: Rural development to ease farm stress through development of rural infra (roads, housing, etc) and boosting farm income; news reports suggest Rs 25,00,000 crore investments over the next 5-8 years. Sectors/stocks in focus: Rural demand-driven consumer companies, farm equipment, rural financing companies, building material including cement and agri-inputs companies. Kajaria Ceramics, M&M, Cholamadalam Finance, Dabur, Relaxo, Polycab, KEI Industries, PI Industries, UPL Priority no 2: Capital investment in infra development especially water linkage, roads among others; figure of Rs 10,00,000 crore stated in BJP manifesto and highlighted by Modi in his speeches (water is next big priority after toilets; to be done through river linking as key project). Sectors/stocks in focus: Contractors, construction, cement, electric distribution L&T, Ashoka Buildcon, Ahluwalia Contracts, KNR Construction, Ramco Cement, Ultratech, Shree Cement, pipe makers like Jindal Saw, Welspun Corp Priority no 3: National Security defense/energy and PSUs Sectors/stocks in focus: Gujarat Gas, IGL, BEL, NTPC The author is Senior VP, Head Strategy & Investments at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. A historic day for the Indian market with benchmark indices crossing key levels as emerging trends suggest continuity of the reform process, stability on the political front, and PM Modi-led government for the second term. The S&P BSE Sensex zoomed more than 1,000 points intraday to cross the 40,000 level while Nifty 50 surged over 300 points to hit a record high of 12,041.15 on May 23. The Indian market hit a fresh peak on the Lok Sabha election results day and going by the commentary from various experts there is more room for upside in the next 12 months. The S&P BSE Sensex could well touch 41,500 while Nifty 50 could well head towards 12,300-13,000 levels in the same period, according to experts. After a thumping victory, we feel that by Diwali (2019), headline indices are likely to make new highs. The Nifty is likely to extend upside to 12,600 levels. On the downside, if global headwinds play out, it may re-test 11,200, Dharmesh Kant, Head - Retail Research at IndiaNivesh Securities told Moneycontrol. So the likely broad range for Nifty in 2019 will be 11,200 to 12,600. The most probable scenario will be sideways consolidation in headline indices, where corrections will be bought into, he said. According to Vivek Ranjan Misra- Head of Fundamental Research at Karvy Stock Broking, the market could take a breather after hitting a record high. We expect that after one to two quarters there should be a resumption of a rally in markets as the economy and corporate earnings improve. We expect the market to end the year higher with the Nifty in the range 13,000-15,000, he told Moneycontrol. The S&P BSE Sensex has rallied by over 15,000 points since May 26, 2014, to climb Mount 40K but has some more room on the upside and can well touch 41,500 in the next year. It will not be a one-way rally though and investors should wait for dips before initiating long positions. The big trigger now for markets will come in the Budget from Modi 2.0 government in July. Investors and traders are advised to book profits in their long positions and wait for dips to get into quality names. Investors can also look at quality midcaps and smallcaps that are trading at better valuations than market heavyweights. Consensus on the big upward rally on the victory of BJP lead NDA can be used for unwinding long positions on market heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC, SBI etc., Romesh Tiwari, Head of Research, CapitalAim told Moneycontrol. If early trends suggest BJP winning, then the markets may make new highs and the rally we have seen on Monday will continue. In that case, Sensex can attempt to cross 41,500 and Nifty 12,300 and we can see profit booking at that level, he said. Do not ignore the risk! Yes, there is euphoria on the Street. The S&P BSE Sensex touched a fresh record high along with Nifty as well as Nifty Bank, but lets not forget that we have already rallied by about 4000 points on the Sensex and more than 1000 points on the Nifty so far in 2019. The risks of earnings, trade tensions between the US and China, a slowdown in the economy, and a slowdown in Capex and some real worries which market has to deal with over the next 12 months. Ramesh Damani, Member BSE told CNBC-TV18 that BJP is set to win a second election with a thumping majority, which proves Narendra Modi, who will continue as the prime minister, understands common people very well. After current runaway rally, valuations are too steep. "Lot of stocks in midcap are not working due to earnings concerns, poor visibility and a lot of technology transformation." On risks, Damani said, NBFC crisis is the biggest risk which Finance Minister has to address domestically. Globally, rattling of the Middle East by Donald Trump is a big risk for all, he added. Automotive supplier Bosch has agreed to pay a 90 million euros ($100.21 million) fine for lapses in supervisory duties which enabled carmakers to engage in emissions cheating, German prosecutors in the city of Stuttgart said on Friday. The auto industry's diesel emissions cheating scandal, where carmakers used engine management control software to throttle back real-world pollution levels during tests, was made possible with the help of Bosch technology, prosecutors said. Privately-held Bosch, the world's biggest automotive supplier, delivered around 17 million technical devices equipped with engine management software, prosecutors said in a statement. Bosch has accepted the fine and will not appeal the decision, they added. Prosecutors imposed a 2 million euros fine for a "regulatory offense" and a further 88 million euros to penalise "economic benefits," Bosch said in a statement on Thursday. Bosch said, "With the issue of the notice of fine, the investigations conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Stuttgart against Bosch as a supplier of engine control units for diesel engines has been completed." Volkswagen used Bosch software elements to help the carmaker mask illegal pollution in diesel-engined vehicles. Engine management software was used to measure the steering wheel angle to gauge whether the car was on a test bench. Volkswagen has borne the brunt of penalties and fines for emissions cheating since carmakers, rather than suppliers are responsible for certifying that cars meet clean air rules. Representative Image Global in-house (GIC) leasing is expected to drive demand over the next three years with leasing activity in this segment likely to be in the range of 30-35 million sq ft across the top six cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, says a survey. According to a study conducted by global real estate services firm Colliers International, in the last five years, GIC leasing touched 53 million sq ft, cementing India's leading position as the world's global centre. "With technology investments imperative to future growth, we expect occupiers will continue to invest in GICs, especially to develop centre of excellence, as R&D hubs, and innovation centres. We foresee GIC leasing to be in the range of 30-35 million sq ft, between 2019-2021, across the top six cities," its Senior Executive Director, Occupier Services, Ritesh Sachdev, said. These top six cities will likely to remain the first choice for GICs, occupiers may consider Hyderabad, led by its ease of doing business, talent pool and quality upcoming supply, the report said. It further said India is emerging as the undisputed leader in the GIC market led by a change in strategy among multi-national companies, further aided by competitively affordable rents in certain markets that offer sub-dollar rentals, a strong IT infrastructure, tax breaks and a highly skilled, English-speaking talent pool. As per the research, energy and chemical companies are considering Mumbai, and tech and consumer electronics companies are looking for options in Delhi-NCR for GICs. "We suggest pharmaceutical companies especially consider Hyderabad, where the government is developing a pharma city to create a healthcare ecosystem of companies. Pune is also a top pick for GICs for financial companies led by its proximity to Mumbai, competitive cost and diverse talent pool," he said. Since GICs typically lease large spaces, above 1 lakh sq ft, and must adhere to these standards, the report suggested the GICs should set up and/or expand their operations in the suburban and peripheral areas of major cities, as seen in the table at right. "We also foresee companies building campuses in peripheral locations in major cities, and in tier II cities like Vadodara in Gujarat, Thiruvanathapuram in Kerala, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. We expect availability of talent at low attrition rates, cost arbitrage, and a conducive policy environment enabled by certain state governments to drive demand by the IT industry in tier II cities," Sachdev added. The ruling BJP is leading in all the four Lok Sabha seats- Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur and Shimla - in Himachal Pradesh, a state election officer said. In Mandi, the sitting BJP MP Ram Swaroop of BJP was leading by over 2,37000 votes against his nearest rival Aashray Sharma of Congress, he added. Kangra: BJP candidate Kishan Kapoor of BJP was ahead by 3,05,000 votes against his nearest rival Pawan Kajal of Congress. Hamirpur: Sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur of BJP was leading by over 2,93,000 votes against his nearest rival Ram Lal Thakur of Congress, the official said. Shimla seat: BJP candidate Suresh Kashyap of BJP was forging ahead with 2,64,000 votes against his nearest rival Col Dr Dhani Ram Shandil of Congress. Barely a month back, many stock market gurus were predicting a buyers only scenario on the day of the poll results if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed to get anything in excess of 272 seats. The general view for the last few months was that the NDA would struggle to reach the halfway mark, and that made investors cautious. So it was a bit surprising to see the Sensex and Nifty plunge from their record highs and close in the red despite the BJP outdoing its 2014 performance. The rupee too ended near its lowest point for the day. What explains this anti-climax? Market reactions on the day of big events should be taken with a pinch of salt; after all it is prone to overreact on either sides. And yet there is something about today's market move that cannot be ignored. A simplistic explanation would be the buy-on-rumours-sell-on-news factor at play. Traders who had bought shares in anticipation of an NDA victory would have used the initial surge in prices to sell out at a profit. But there is more to the underlying weakness than just plain profit booking. The lack of enthusiasm among investors reflects a belief that political stability alone cannot fix the micro and macro problems the market is grappling with right now. It is not because investors doubt the governments intent or competence, but because these problems will take time to fix. Demand is weak, the problems in the NBFC sector is further hurting consumption through reduced credit flow, private sector is not investing and the government's strained finances is limiting its ability to spend. Related stories Santosh Nair Editor|Moneycontrol In addition to these domestic hurdles, there is also the ongoing trade war between the US and China, and rising crude prices, both of which threaten to hurt global economic growth. Foreign institutional investors were aggressive buyers from February to April this year, but the purchases were concentrated in a handful of frontline stocks. So while the Sensex and Nifty were making new highs, most mid and small cap stocks continued to languish. And with corporate earnings growth still anemic, the market as a whole is looking expensive. And yet, these are all known factors and have been factored in the prices, just like the landslide victory for the NDA has been. The good part is that market expectations from NDA 2.0, both in terms of new policies and fixing existing problems, are not high. That limits the downside for the market from current levels, unless the US-China trade war gets really ugly or if crude prices climb steeply. Given that global equity markets in general are going through a rough patch, FII flows into Indian equities could be volatile. But market experts expect domestic investors, especially high networth individuals, to resume investing now that the political uncertainty is behind. That could provide a floor to stock prices in the short term, and a counterbalance to volatile FII money. A runaway rally looks less probable in the short term, given domestic and global headwinds buffeting the market. But, this is a good time to look for bargains as many good names in the mid and small cap space are available at reasonable valuations. Better than expected economic policy measures and a gradual recovery in the capex cycle could be the positive triggers to bet on. Zydus Cadila has received final approval from the US health regulator to market Esomeprazole Magnesium delayed-release capsules, used to treat acid reflux. The approval has been granted in the strengths of 25 mg and 40 mg, the company said in a BSE filing. Zydus Cadila said the drug will be produced at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Ahmedabad. The company said Esomeprazole belongs to the group of medicines termed as proton pump inhibitors. Esomeprazole reduces the amount of acid secreted by the stomach. It is used to treat the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, to reduce the risk of stomach ulcers in some people taking pain medicines, to treat patients with stomach infection (Helicobacter pylori) along with certain antibiotics and long-term treatment of conditions where stomach makes too much acid. The group has more than 266 approvals and so far filed over 350 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) since it started filings in 2003-04. Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading up 0.76 per cent at Rs 253 apiece on BSE. At 3:55 pm on May 23, the Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in 20 out of 42 seats in West Bengal while Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress was leading in 21. This means the situation is evenly poised for Narendra Modis party to outnumber the ruling party in the state. If the BJP moves ahead in one more seat, it will leave the TMC behind. Now, this is something very few expected. Nevertheless, top leaders in the BJP did apparently expect this. Party President Amit Shah predicted on March 31 that his party was going to make significant progress in Odisha, West Bengal and the North-East. He predicted that the party would win 35-40 seats in those states. The party was apparently eyeing 23 seats in West Bengal. While the BJP is steadily moving toward its target in Bengal, the situation is different in Odisha where the Biju Janata Dal is leading in 14 out of 21 seats at this moment. Also, in the North-East, the BJP is leading in five seats. As Indias Lok Sabha election result 2019 grabs the world attention, there is a popular notion that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may have underestimated the BJPs muscle-power in her state. Banerjee earlier congratulated the party candidates who were winning in their individual constituencies. At the same time, she commented on those who were trailing and said she would wait for the counting process to be completed before sharing her views on the result. Congratulations to the winners. But all losers are not losers. We have to do a complete review and then we will share our views with you all. Let the counting process be completed fully and the VVPATs matched, she said. India saw the Modi wave in 2014, and many wondered if the same magic could be repeated in 2019. While BJP leaders kept predicting to better the result, not everyone was convinced. However, it became evident pretty early on the counting day that it was going to be another massive mandate in favour of the ruling party at the centre. The party, indeed, stands in an even better position this time. While the Modi wave swept India five years back, it won only two seats in West Bengal. It was a major challenge for the party to make its presence strongly felt in the state where it had never managed to make an impression before. Not only has it managed to make huge progress in terms of seats but also has 39.85 percent vote share in the state. Source: Election Commission of India Political experts believe the Hindutva politics is working well in West Bengal for the saffron party. No matter how many seats go in favour of the BJP, it has now established itself as the main opposition party in the state. As West Bengal is going to have the state election in a couple of years, the saffron party will leave no stone unturned to topple the Mamata Banerjee government. And, nobody knows it better than Didi herself. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) heads to a massive election victory on May 23, congratulatory messages began pouring in from political leaders around the globe. Congratulation letter from H.E. Mr. #XiJinping, President of the Peoples Republic of #China, addressed to Shri. #NarendraModi for the #NationalDemocraticAlliance winning the 17th Lok Sabha election of #India. pic.twitter.com/FKFduaDarM Luo Zhaohui (@China_Amb_India) May 23, 2019 Chinese Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui took to Twitter to share a congratulatory letter from Xi Jinping the Chinese President. Ashraf Ghani the President of Afghanistan congratulated PM Modi while also expressing hope of expanding regional ties with India. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates PM Modi. Diplomatic sources say a phone call to follow the letter soon. pic.twitter.com/6YLv4Va7Wn Suhasini Haidar (@suhasinih) May 23, 2019 Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to PM Modi the contents of which can be seen in this tweet. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu sent out two tweets congratulating Modi with one typed out in Hindi shared along with a picture of the two leaders enjoying a walk along the coast. Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Well done, my friend! https://t.co/2U5yJmHddS PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 23, 2019 Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India in the future.@narendramodi Maithripala Sirisena (@MaithripalaS) May 23, 2019 Maithripala Sirisena, the President of Sri Lanka congratulated Modi on the people's re-endorsement of his leadership. Lotay Tshering the Prime Minister of Bhutan congratulated Modi on behalf of all the people of Bhutan. I, on behalf of the people of Bhutan, offer heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi @PMOIndia and his team on the election victory. As we look forward to working closely in years to come, we pray India achieves greater success under your leadership. PM Bhutan (@PMBhutan) May 23, 2019 On behalf of the Government and the people of Tanzania, I congratulate Y'r Excellency Narendra Modi on y'r re-election as Prime Minister of India.This indicates the confidence that y'r compatriots have in you. Be assured of our commitment to strengthen our bilateral co-operation Dr John Magufuli (@MagufuliJP) May 23, 2019 Dr. John Magufuli, the President of the United Republic of Tanzanzia, underlined how the result shows the confidence that Modi's compatriots have in him. Nepal's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli congratulated Modi for a "landslide victory." I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you. #PMOIndia K P Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli) May 23, 2019 My heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi for his great electoral victory. Together, we will make sure that relations between #Portugal and #India will rise to a new level of friendship and cooperation in the next years. Antonio Costa (@antoniocostapm) May 23, 2019 Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa also sent his congratulations to Narendra Modi, along with expressing hope that India and Portugal would reach new levels of cooperation in the coming years. Ranil Wickremesinghe. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, also congratulated Modi on a similar note. Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you. Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) May 23, 2019 Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on his historic victory in the Indian general elections. It is a strong affirmation of the Indian people's confidence in the BJP/led government. I look forward to closer and enhanced ties of Maldives-India cooperation. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (@ibusolih) May 23, 2019 Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of Maldives, congratulated Narendra Modi for a "historic" victory in the general elections, and a "strong affirmation" of the Indian people. Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis congratulated Modi while wishing him "success in governing his beautiful and diverse country." I warmly congratulate PM @NarendraModi on the victory of BJP in the month-long parliamentary elections! I wish him much success in governing his beautiful and diverse country. India is an important partner to us and the EU and I look forward to our further cooperation. Andrej Babis (@AndrejBabis) May 23, 2019 I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan said he looked forward to working with Modi for "peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia." Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent a congratulatory message to PM Modi in which she said, "This emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democrazy." Tight security outside counting centres in West Bengal. (Image: ANI) Candidates and counting agents gather outside a polling station in the high-decibel seat of Wayanad in Kerala. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting from this seat. (Image: ANI) Tight security is seen outside a counting venue in Punjab. (Image: ANI) High security is seen outside a counting centre in Karnataka. (Image: ANI) Visuals outside a counting centre in Telangana. (Image: ANI) Security personnel gear up for counting of votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. (Image: ANI) Election officials wait with EVMs ahead of counting at Nand Nagri counting center of East Delhi. (PTI) Election officials carry out counting of votes for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, at Bharat Nagar counting center, New Delhi (PTI) EVMs are being picked for the counting of votes at a counting centre for the Lok Sabha elections 2019, in Coimbatore (PTI) File image With the BJP heading for a resounding victory in Lok Sabha polls, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said May 23 that people had once again given the party an opportunity to work for the development of the country. Until 4.30 pm, the BJP had won five seats and was leading in another 294 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats. Gadkari, the BJP candidate from Nagpur, said the development works carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi were unparalleled in the last 50 years. "India is set to become a great economic power. Programmes will be undertaken for the progress of laborers, farmers and youth," he told reporters at his residence here. Gadkari, who has taken a lead of 1,01,132 votes over his nearest Congress rival Nana Patole, also asked the Opposition to respect the mandate. "In democracy, one party gets the opportunity to rule and other parties have to sit in opposition," he said. To a question, Gadkari said slogans such as 'Chowkidar Chor Hain' should not have been used during campaigning. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly used the slogan to target prime minister Narendra Modi on Rafale fighter jet deal. Gadkari, who handled water resources portfolio among others, said he would focus on addressing the water scarcity problem in Vidarbha and rest of Maharashtra. As many as 134 irrigation projects will completed in the next one and a half years, creating 48 per cent irrigation potential in Maharashtra, he said. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on May 23 congratulated her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his "resounding" victory in the general elections, saying the renewed mandate given them by their people will further consolidate bilateral ties. Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards an emphatic victory for a second term in office. In a congratulatory message to Modi, Prime Minister Hasina said,"On behalf of the Government and the people of Bangladesh and on my own behalf, I extend my heartiest congratulations to you on the resounding victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under your dynamic leadership in the 17th Lok Sabha elections in India. "This emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy." She said that Bangladesh attaches highest importance to its multi-faceted relations with India which is driven by genuine goodwill, mutual trust and respect. India's critical role in support of Bangladesh's War of Independence under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 was a watershed moment in the relations, she said. "I strongly believe that with the renewed mandate given to both of us by our respective peoples, Bangladesh-India ties, which have already been termed as a role model of good neighbourliness, will be further consolidated and our relations will scale newer heights," Hasina said. She also said: "I wish peace, happiness and prosperity for the people of India and my best wishes for your good health, continued success and a long life. I look forward to welcoming Your Excellency in Bangladesh at your convenience." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The province of Compostela Valley may be renamed Davao de Oro, according to a new law. Republic Act 11297, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 17, allows for the name change, subject to the ratification of majority of the residents of the province. A copy of the new law was released Thursday. It did not mention a date for the plebiscite, but ordered the Commission on Elections to take charge. Once approved, the Davao region will be composed of five Davaos Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao Occidental, and Davao de Oro. Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the committee on local government, said last April that the rebranding is expected to reap more investments for the province. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a multilateral meeting here and discussed issues of bilateral interest, including the implementation of understanding reached during last year's Wuhan Summit. Swaraj arrived here on Tuesday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council (SCO) of Foreign Ministers here in the Kyrgyz capital. "Continuing the momentum of high-level exchanges. EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi on the sidelines of #SCO Foreign Minister's Meeting in Bishkek. Discussed issues of bilateral interest, including the implementation of understanding reached during Wuhan Summit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. The April 27-28 Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was largely credited to have turned around the bilateral relations soured by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff, triggered by Chinese troops attempts to build a road close to Indian border in an area also claimed by Bhutan in 2017. India had objected to it as it came close to a key highway connecting with North Eastern states. The standoff ended after Chinese troops halted plans to build the road. After the Wuhan summit, both the countries stepped up efforts to improve relations on different spheres including the military-to-military ties. Modi and Xi issued strategic guidance to their militaries to strengthen communications to build trust and understanding, a move aimed at avoiding a Doklam-like situation in the future. Meanwhile, state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Wang congratulated Swaraj for successful conclusion of the general elections in India and expressed hope that the new government would further the development of Sino-Indian relations. The 2019 general election in India was held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The results will be declared on Thursday. Wang told Swaraj that China hopes that India will set up a new government on schedule, and that both sides achieve a smooth transition and further development of bilateral relations, the report said. The Chinese leader also expressed hoped to initiate bilateral dialogue mechanisms as soon as possible, maintain peace and stability at the border region, and together celebrate the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two nations in 2020. Wang also hoped that India and Pakistan would improve their relations, to which Swaraj said New Delhi is willing to improve bilateral relations with Islamabad and she hope that the two sides can make joint efforts to that end. Swaraj said the new government in India will continue to make the development of India-China ties a diplomacy priority and will further boost bilateral cooperation in all fields, the report said. India is willing to work with China to implement the key consensuses reached by leaders of both countries, strengthen communication and coordination, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and jointly safeguard peace at the border region, so as to promote the development of bilateral relations, she said. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries during a SCO meeting here on Wednesday and sat next to each other during a joint call on on Kyrgyz president, amid strained ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Swaraj and Qureshi attended the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistani media reported that two leaders sat next to each other during a multilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. According to the photos published by the Pakistani media, Swaraj and Qureshi were seen seated next to each other. On being asked about the Swaraj-Qureshi meeting, the MEA sources said the two leaders only exchanged pleasantries. "There was no meeting between them," they said. The picture of the two leaders is from a joint call on on Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, they said. They said the Pakistani media report that the two leaders were seated next to each other at the SCO meeting is "factually incorrect and misleading". "The seating arrangement at SCO follows the Russian alphabet system which does not put India and Pakistan together. This is a standard practise at SCO meetings," they added. Swaraj arrived here in the Kyrgyz capital on Tuesday to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting. India was granted the membership of the SCO along with Pakistan in 2017. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Office quoted Qureshi as saying, "Today (I) met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly." "We made it clear to her that we want all the matters resolved through dialogue, and that Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward," Qureshi said. He said, "Even today we are ready for a dialogue". Earlier in Islamabad prior to his departure, Qureshi said besides addressing the inaugural session of the regional forum, he would also hold meetings with his counterparts from other countries. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the February 14 Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group which killed 40 CRPF personnel. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an Indian pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1. Five years ago, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won just two seats in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha Elections 2014. However, the multiple roadshows and rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah seem to have worked the magic in the state. BJP is leading in 16 out of 42 seats in the state while All India Trinamool Congress is leading in 25 according to ECI data at 11 am. BJP has been targeting 23 seats out of 42 in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Early trends suggest that they are gradually moving towards that goal. Source: Election Commission of India Early inroads In 2014, BJP was virtually non-existent. However, the election results came in as a surprise when BJP fielded Babul Supriyo from Asansol, and he won. The partys vote-share jumped up by 11.14 percent. On the other hand, BJP vice-president S S Ahluwalia won from Darjeeling with the support of Hills party Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The Left Front, on the other hand, managed only two seats a reduction of 13 from the 2009 parliamentary elections. The slow tilt towards the right began as early as in April 2017 when an elaborate Ram Navami procession was held in Kolkata. Pictures of individuals wielding bows, arrows and swords splashed across social media, and it was termed a shocker by the left-leaning intellectuals. Also Read: Did Mamata Banerjee underestimate the saffron sentiment? It was also probably the first time that both the ruling party AITC as well as the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPIM) came together to express their concerns about the alleged saffronisation of the state. The city, which celebrates several festivals including Durga Puja, Christmas and Eid with equal fervour, was not used to display of Hindu symbols, noted a few political analysts. In a recent interview, BJP West Bengal President Dilip Ghosh said that their idea was to consolidate the Hindu votes of the state. Ram has now become a symbol of Hindutva, at least in Bengal. People in Bengal are now scared that our state will become Bangladesh. You know, there have been incidents (riots) in Kaliachowk, Basirhat, Asansol. So Hindus in West Bengal are going through a crisis of existence. So they are looking for a Hindutva-based society where Hindus will be safe, Ghosh had told HuffPost in an interview. Election campaigning The election campaigning in the state was probably the most volatile period in the state. It started with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee denying permission for a rath-yatra by the BJP, citing law and order concerns. On the other hand, the Amit Shah road-show and the chants of Jay Shri Ram brought in a new wave of Hindutva to the state. Shah, on one hand, spoke about a crisis in the state and how the BJP could be the saviour, Banerjee spoke about a secular state. The worst incident of violence broke out on the sidelines of an Amit Shah rally in Kolkata on May 14. The bust of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was desecrated in a city-based college, followed by TMC alleging that BJP supporters broke the statue. Following this, for the first time ever, the Election Commission (EC) invoked Article 324 of the constitution, curtailing campaigning for the last phase of voting on May 19 by a day. The EC justified this move on the ground that the state government had failed to provide a level playing field to all candidates. The orange wave While the ruling TMC party has been talking about an emergency-like situation in the state, BJP seems to have promptly turned the Hindutva wave in their favour. In constituencies like Jadavpur which are considered a TMC bastion, BJPs Anupam Hazra is trailing by 40,527 votes against TMCs Mimi Chakraborty. EC data shows that Hazra has a vote-share of 29.08 percent while Chakraborty had 47.62 percent vote share. While the Left Front slowly moves into oblivion in the state, the BJP has taken its position as a formidable second-best party in the state. And, from here, there seems to be no stepping back. Voters of Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency wondered if Rahul Gandhi as opposition MP would be able to develop it, as local Congress-led UDF workers burst crackers May 23 celebrating a 'resounding win' of the Congress chief with a record-breaking margin from the seat. People have started discussing if the Congress chief, as an Opposition MP, would be able to bring developments as promised, during his poll campaign, in the constituency nestled in the Western Ghats. Kamaal, a smalltime business man in Kalpetta town, the district headquarters of Wayanad, said people anticipated that a Congress-led UPA government headed by Rahul Gandhi would be constituted at the Centre post-election and development issues of the tribal-dominated constituency addressed. "The voters have given Gandhi a record-breaking victory margin of more than four lakh votes," he said. "Unfortunately, it is again a BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. I dont think Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be so keen to address development issues of Rahul Gandhis constituency," Kamaal said. O N Gopalakrishnan Nair, a booth-level leader of the Congress party in Poothadi panchayat in Wayanad district, is of the view that both Modi and the Congress chief may be political opponents. But there would be friendship among them beyond the barrier of politics and the development needs of Wayanad to be raised by Gandhi are expected to be attended to by the BJP-led government, according to him. Talking to PTI, senior IUML leaderMunavarali Shihab Thangal shared the concerns expressed by the people over the development issue, saying the rival government is unlikely to pay heed to development needs of Gandhis constituency. "There is a concern on how much Gandhi can do for the development of Wayanad," he said. Thangal said Gandhis candidature in Wayanad has helped the Congress-led UDF to sweep a majority of LS seats in Kerala. "The people of Wayanad have given a historic margin for Gandhi. There was a Rahul wave across Kerala. We are very happy about it. At the same time, we are disappointed about the dismal show of the Congress-led UPA in other parts of the country," he said. As per the latest trends, Rahul Gandhi is heading for a record-breaking margin over his nearest rival CPI's P P Suneer in the Wayanad constituency, as roads in front of counting centres in this hill town wore a deserted look. As counting progressed, Gandhi established a lead of over four lakh votes, probably the biggest margin in the Lok Sabha elections in the State. Local leaders assembled at the DCC office bursting crackers in anticipation of the big win and shouted slogans congratulating the Congress chief. However, there was a palpable sense of disappointment with the Congress-led UPA's poor show in other States with senior leaders trailing according to the latest trends. Gandhi is contesting a second seat from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency nestled in the Western Ghats, besides his traditional bastion of Amethi. Asked why there was no big celebrations on the streets in Gandhis big victory, a Congress leader said the party workers were disappointed over his defeat in Amethi and the UPAs poor show in other parts of the country. "There is nothing more to celebrate," he said. As Gandhi crossed a record-breaking three lakh margin, the biggest for any candidate in Lok Sabha polls in Kerala, Congress workers took out a procession from the DCC Office Rajiv Bhavan to SKMJ High School the counting Centre. A few of them marched to Kalpetta town holding Congress flag. A separate group of workers of Indian Union Muslim League were seen traveling on two-wheelers waving their green flags. A large number of Muslim League flags seen in a Rahul Gandhi roadshow after he filed his nomination from Wayanad seat had created a row with BJP president Amit Shah reportedly likening Wayanad to Pakistan. Congress workers said they were happy that they could ensure a resounding victory for Gandhi but expressed disappointment over the dismal show of the party in other parts of the country. "You are seeing a Rahul wave across Kerala," AICC member and former Kerala minister P K Jayalakshmi said as the counting progressed. Congress-led UDF is leading in most of the 20 constituencies in the State. Expressing disappointment over the poor show of the Congress-led UPA in other states, former-MLA and Congress leader K C Rosakutty Teacher alleged that the BJP-led NDA gained by manipulating all institutions including the Election Commission of India. DCC general secretary G Vijayamma Teacher said party workers worked very hard in seven Assembly segments three each in Wayanad and Malappuram districts and one Kozhikode district, to ensure a record-breaking win for Gandhi. She said Wayanad is now a 'VVIP constituency' and the Congress chief will ensure its all round development. DCC President I C Balakrishnan said celebrations would be organised in other towns and villages of Wayanad on the "historic victory." Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy YS Jagan Mohan Reddys Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) is all set for a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh, decimating his archrival and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party (TDP). As per latest trends, YSRCP is leading in 152 out of 175 assembly constituencies in the state, far ahead of TDPs tally of 23. For Lok Sabha, YSRCP is leading in 24 out of 25 seats. Most exit polls have predicted YSRCPs victory, but none of them estimated such a wave for Jagan Reddy. Not an easy victory Jagan Reddy had twice came close to becoming chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, but power evaded him. Jagan Reddy, who was widely predicted by opinion polls to win Andhra Pradesh in 2014, lost narrowly to the deft political maneuvering of Chandrababu Naidu, who aligned with BJP and Pawan Kalyans Janasena. People also placed hope on Naidu, for his experience and Modis support to lift the truncated state out of the financial morass it is in, after it was bifurcated that year. Rubbing salt on the defeat, Jagan Reddy was also hounded by a barrage of corruption cases filed against him during the reign of Congress government, and Naidu quickly started poaching his MLAs and MPs, further making him politically vulnerable. He came close to becoming chief minister in 2009 as well, following the death of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Jagan Reddys father and a popular chief minister of the combined state of Andhra Pradesh, there was widespread support from the legislators of the state Congress unit, to anoint him as the chief minister. But the Congress high command rejected this proposal and later put a restriction on Jagan Reddys Odarpu Yatra, where Reddy visited houses of the deceased under full public spectacle, to console their families. Scores of people have allegedly died or committed suicide, unable to digest the loss of YSR. Jagan Reddy defied the Congresss order and continued his Odarpu Yatra, raising the banner of revolt against the party. The Congress, which was in power in the state and at the Centre, didnt take this defiance lightly. Soon all the land allotments and mining leases, awarded under his father YSR's tenure, were under CBI scanner. The CBI alleged that Jagan Reddy built massive media and cement businesses, based on quid-pro-quo arrangements, where the beneficiaries of these allotments invested in his companies for inflated premiums. Positives To begin with, Jagan Reddy has some positives going for him. He is young only 46 years old as compared to his rival Naidu, who is 69 years. A vastly improved leader in terms of oratory in Telugu, Jagan Reddy is also at ease in English, given that he had his schooling at one of the premier institutions, Hyderabad Public School. He inherited the legacy of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who has been the most popular chief minister in the Telugu states and remains fresh in the memory of people for his pro-poor welfare schemes like free power for farmers, Arogysri (health insurance scheme), fee reimbursement, and many more. The charisma of YSR is naturally rubbed on him. Jagan Reddy asserted himself in the vacuum left by Congress, which was decimated in Andhra Pradesh from its roots, following its decision to bifurcate the state. He quickly captured the Congress social base of Reddys, Dalits, STs and minorities. Read Also | Naveen Patnaik: Defying Modi wave, Odisha's 'Mr Clean' wins 5th straight term Smart moves Jagan Reddy hit the road very early; he has virtually been in campaign mode through the last five years. He was often criticized for not attending Assembly sessions and losing out on the opportunity to raise a voice against the government. But, Jagan Reddy knew very well that in the days of social media and 24x7 news channels, one can mount an impressive fight against a government without even sitting in the Assembly. He launched Praja Sankalpa Yatra, a mass outreach program that covered a distance of 3,648 km over a span of 341 days on foot. YSRCP claims that he directly interacted with 1.25 crore people. He exposed the failures of the TDP government, frequent flip flops of Naidu on special status for the state, and corruption of local leaders. He also came out particularly hard at Janasena leader Pawan Kalyan, even attacking him personally. It was a calculated move, Reddy didn't want a second player to cut into the anti-incumbency vote. He made some peace with Eenadu, the largest circulated Telugu daily thats been around his neck for much of his political life. He got political strategist Prashant Kishor on board to devise a campaign strategy. Kishors team at I-PAC has infused much vigor to Jagan Reddys campaign through social media, targeting young people. Even while his opponent Naidu is part of the NDA government, Jagan Reddy silently established a channel of communication with the BJP. With the exception of not granting special status to Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Reddy has maintained strategic silence on Narendra Modis government. He, in fact, called the Modi government phenomenal in a recent interview to a national TV channel. Jagan Reddy chose to stay publicly away from the regional party or opposition groupings. He also did temple hopping, bathed in the holy Ganges and touched the feet of seers. Political analysts attribute this to convincing voters about his pro-Hindu credentials. Reddy is a Christian by faith. All this did help him, his corruption cases have gathered dust in courts, and many were acquitted. No one knows at this point of time whats the status of these cases. Challenges ahead The massive mandate also comes with huge expectations. Andhra Pradesh is financially still in a mess. Naidu, quite uncharacteristic of himself, introduced reckless doles and was diverting precious financial resources towards building a new capital at Amaravati and spent massive amounts of money on publicity blitzkrieg. All this is funded by loans, putting a huge strain on the states finances. Andhra Pradesh lost claim on Hyderabad during the bifurcation, which used to be the economic engine of the combined state. Jagan Reddy will have to walk a tightrope. Not only he has to bring fiscal discipline, but also work towards fulfilling his nine major promises that include a promise to offer financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to farmers; fee reimbursements for students; government bearing medical treatment costs above Rs 1,000; Rs 2,000 pension to senior citizens; interest free loans to self-help groups; and 25 lakh houses for poor people. He also needs to address the problems of farm distress, rising unemployment, and shrinking water resources in the state. He may get some help from the Centre, given his proximity to the BJP, but needs to generate much of those resources internally. Reddy, who read the autobiography of Lee Kuan Yew, the man regarded as the father of modern Singapore, will have to borrow some ideas from there to build the state anew and fulfill his promises to the people. Kamlendra Kanwar The pre-poll alliance of Janata Dal (U) and the BJP in Bihar has proved highly efficacious. The combine has virtually swept the Lok Sabha elections in the state. With 39 of the 40 seats shared between the two alliance partners and another NDA constituent, the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by Ram Vilas Paswan, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founded by the jailed Lalu Prasad and now headed by his son Tejashwi Yadav has managed to secure a mere one seat with the picture almost clear. The Congress, which had a tie-up with the RJD has drawn a blank, a far cry from its days of glory when it was in the saddle in Patna. Clearly, the JDU led by chief minister Nitish Kumar made a shrewd calculation in forging an alliance with the BJP after a bitter parting of ways between the two parties in 2013. Considering that the JDU had won only two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP gave in to its demand for equal treatment in the interest of capitalising on the alliance to combat the RJD-Congress seat-sharing deal. In retrospect, this spirit of accommodation worked to the benefit of both parties. There was an element of gamble involved in the JDU tying up with the BJP with its anti-Muslim image, but Nitish took it in his stride, striving to convince the minorities that he would fight for fair treatment for them, come what may. Those like Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party and Jitan Ram Manjhis HAM (Secular), which deserted the BJP ostensibly for failing to get a good deal, ended up losing badly in the decimation of the RJD-led alliance. Both Kushwaha and Manjhi lost in a vote that defied the much-touted caste factor in Bihar. It is difficult to say whether it was the BJP or the JDU that benefited more from the alliance, but suffice it to say that they complemented each other, with the LJP also chipping in. The Modi wave was a distinct factor that helped and BJP president Amit Shahs penchant for feeling the pulse of people and separating the wheat from the chaff was also of much value while choosing to support Paswan at the cost of Kushwaha and Manjhi. The manner in which deserter Shatrughan Sinha was jettisoned by the BJP, which refused to give in to him, also went down well with the people at large. The RJD suffered a serious blow, with the absence of the demagogue Lalu Prasad due to a conviction for corruption. Tejashwi was not yet adequately schooled in Lalus guile to take on the mantle at this stage. He shared the big stage with Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, but lacked his fathers maturity and statecraft. Significantly, in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won 22 seats, the Congress, 2; the JDU, 2; the LJP, 6; and the RJD, 4, while others had won 3. By contrast, this time around, there is a virtual clean sweep by the JD (U) and BJP alliance, with the LJP backing them. Soon after the current Lok Sabha victory, the JDU gave indication that it will not be a sleeping partner. It reminded the BJP that it expects special status for Bihar in Prime Minister Modis second term in office. It would be too rash to predict that the JDU would be a troublesome partner like the Shiv Sena was in the first term of the NDA government, but by the present reckoning, it would demand its pound of flesh and push the NDA on certain Bihar demands. As for the RJD, it was once a force to reckon with, but there is a question mark on whether Tejashwi Yadav would be able to replicate the Lalu magic and succeed in at least building up the party in a crucial phase. Hanging on to the coat-tails of a rapidly-declining Congress would hardly prove a panacea for its ills. The Congress, on its part, has no organisational strength to recover lost ground and refurbish a once-formidable party at least under the present leadership. For now, there is indeed no challenge to Modi from Bihar except if Nitish Kumar picks up the cudgels on a cause that galvanises people to its support. Bihar has been a cauldron of caste politics and there are discernible signs that the caste factor may dissipate, but is not poised to go away. (Kamlendra Kanwar is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.) Rajeev Sharma If the BJP is staring at the 300-seat mark on its own out of the 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls, its largely because of two factors. One is its entry in eastern India, particularly West Bengal and Odisha with a combined 63 seats. Two, the BJP managed to minimise its losses considerably in Uttar Pradesh (80 seats), more than made up the losses in UP from West Bengal and Odisha, retained or almost retained its 2014 tally in Madhya Pradesh (29), Gujarat (26), Rajasthan (25), Haryana (10) and Delhi (7) on its own while coming up with a repeat performance along with allies in Maharashtra (48) and Bihar (40). Team Modi has now pushed the Congress to the role of Left parties and virtually decimated the Left. So, under the current political dispensation, the Congress is the new Left while the Left Front is gasping for breath and facing its biggest existential crisis, largely because the almost 30 percent vote share of the Left in West Bengal was transferred to the BJP. Though the announcement of final results may still take some time with the tedious process of matching the VVPAT trails, the trends look irreversible now. In West Bengal, the BJP is set to increase its meagre 2014 tally of just two seats to 17, a huge gain of 15 seats, while Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress is set to come down to just 23. In Odisha, too, the BJP has buoyed its seats tally seven times, almost matching its performance in West Bengal in terms of percentage gains. And like in West Bengal, the BJP has emerged as the biggest opposition party in Odisha. The Congress and the Left have been completely mauled and sidelined in West Bengal. In Odisha, the Congress had given up the state even before the elections began for reasons best known to the Grand Old Partys leadership. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had won a whopping 20 out of 21 seats and the BJP won just one, proving BJD chief Naveen Patnaik's gamble right as till 2009, he had fought elections as a BJP ally. But this time, the projected corresponding figures are 14 to BJD and 7 to the BJP. Todays results have the potential of changing the political narrative in eastern India as an emboldened BJP will inevitably aim at sinking its teeth further in in states like West Bengal and Odisha. For now though, Patnaik has managed to keep the BJP at bay and won a fifth straight term as chief minister by posting a 100-plus score in the 147-member Odisha Assembly which saw simultaneous polls. But he knows for sure that his real political threat stems from the BJP now, not the Congress. However, Mamata doesnt seem to be enjoying Naveen Patnaik's privilege. West Bengal is due for assembly elections in early 2021 and the BJP will certainly deem itself as the government-in-waiting in Kolkata as stated by TMC leader Chandan Mitra. But the West Bengal chief ministers worries will start immediately. 2021 seems far off for her. On April 29, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had warned her publicly from his election rally in Sreerampur that 40 of her MLAs were in touch with him and may desert her once the BJP won the general elections. So, its not just Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh or the JD(S)-Congress ruled Karnataka which are in for political tumult and a possible regime change in the coming weeks. Even a Didi-ruled West Bengal is not secure from a rampaging BJP. It seems to be a political mystery in post-Independence India that the BJPs original avatar Jan Sangh was founded by Bengali politician Syama Prasad Mookerjee way back on October 21, 1951, but the BJP could never emerge as a main player in the state. Its only now that under Modis leadership that the BJP threatens to take over the state and dislodge Mamata. Its not for nothing that Modi and his hand-picked party President Amit Shah targeted West Bengal and Odisha immediately after winning the 2014 elections. Its not for nothing that Modi addressed more rallies in West Bengal than he did in his home state of Gujarat. The Modi-Shah combine has demonstrated what long-term strategic planning can do. The best part is that its just the beginning of BJPs Operation East India! (Rajeev Sharma is an independent journalist and political analyst. He tweets at @Kishkindha. Views expressed are personal.) Representative image Kamlendra Kanwar The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance in Karnataka was perched on a precipice ever since it formed the state government upstaging the BJP which was the single-largest party in the assembly polls a year ago. Now, with the BJP virtually mauling the combine in the Parliamentary polls, and riven by dissensions, the state government fears a real danger of defections that could send it packing. Few would shed tears if the coalition collapses since the HD Kumaraswamy government has truly failed to deliver. The senior partner, the Congress, had grudgingly accepted JDSs Kumaraswamy as leader to keep the BJP at bay, However, with former (Congress) chief minister Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy at daggers drawn for long, the arrangement was doomed to fail. The JDS cadre was seething with anger at the dismissive manner in which some Congress leaders treated them and with the air of superiority of Congressmen in general. On at least a couple of occasions, Kumaraswamy had broken down in public rueing his own constant humiliation at the hands of Congressmen. However, if Kumaraswamy thought he could get away by blaming the fragility and lacklustre performance of the coalition solely on the Congress, he was mistaken. His alliance with the Congress was an opportunistic one forged for the chief ministerial seat. In such circumstances, it was inconceivable that the message that the coalition partners were at odds with each other would not percolate to the masses who have now given them a befitting response through the ballot box. In any case, when minority leader Roshan Baig gave vent to his frustration a couple of days before the Lok Sabha results, it was clear that the coalition was a sinking ship. Baig was forthright when he said that the coalition had deceived the minorities by paying them only lip service. He called state Congress President Dinesh Gundurao a flop show and took on Siddaramaiah for his arrogance. He told News18 that Muslims should look beyond Congress and in the current scenario, even the BJP was acceptable. That left many speculating that he may be contemplating joining the BJP. Baig was only reflecting public disenchantment with the coalition. With the BJP bagging 24 seats of the 28 at stake, its a washout for the coalition partners. The Congress has managed a mere two and the JDS, one, while an independent leaning towards the BJP was a winner too. At a meeting of party workers in July last year, Kumaraswamy told them that he was swallowing his pain like poison, as Vishakantha (Lord Shiva, who drank poison to save the world) did. The electorate could hardly be blamed if it saw no future for Karnataka under such a government whose leader reflected helplessness and despair. The despair showed in the governments performance. The much-touted Common Minimum Programme was farcical in so far as it extended the run of populism to a new level. Kumaraswamys 2018 election commitment to waive farmers loans proved debilitating for the economy. While farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh were waived, there were several conditions to qualify for the loan which irritated the farmers. The waiver cost the state Rs 46,000 crore across two years. With nearly 10 per cent of Karnatakas budgetary allocations going towards the loan waiver, there was little left for other welfare schemes - let alone other development projects -- like old age pension and allowances for expectant and lactating mothers. Karnatakas public debt has ballooned beyond Rs 3 lakh-crore reflecting the dire straits in which the states economy is in. A whopping Rs 19,000 crore has been set aside in the last budget for interest payments, which is 8.5 per cent of the budget. Clearly, for all these reasons the state government is non-functional and whatever hope there was of staving off the collapse seems to have disappeared with the Lok Sabha debacle. That the fall of the Kumaraswamy government is round the corner is difficult to deny. The BJP is indeed on the ascendant and it would be monumentally incompetent on the part of its state chief BS Yeddyurappa if he fails to capitalise on these favourable circumstances. (Kamlendra Kanwar is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.) Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power as it led in 295 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released Thursday by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. With its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. In the last election, the NDA had 336 seats while BJP accounted for 282. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP was leading in 58 of the 80 seats at stake. The SP was ahead in eight and BSP in 11. The Congress Party was ahead only in one. Even, Congress President Rahul Gandhi was in a neck-and-neck race in Amethi with BJP's Smriti Irani. The results are a resounding endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security and nationalism. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. "The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he done very phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP spokesman Amit Malviya said. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana appeared untouched. In Odisha, the BJP was ahead in nine of the 21 seats and Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 11. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. In Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti was leading in nine seats, the BJP in four and Congress in three. BJP ally, Janata Dal (United) was ahead in 16 seats. As votes for the seven-phase Parliamentary polls were counted on Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 25 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 15, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. The DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu. As the trends came in, pointing to another tenure of Modi as prime minister, celebrations broke out in the BJP's party offices across the country with people dancing to the sounds of drums. The trends of the ruling party's leads were in sync with the exit polls, most of which predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would be on course to retain power for a second term. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening. The voting was staggered between April 11 and May 19 in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. For the first time in Lok Sabha polls, the EC is tallying the vote count on Electronic Voting Machines with voter verified paper audit trail slips in five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency. It will effectively mean that out of nearly 10.3 lakh polling stations, the EVM-VVPAT matching will take place in 20,600 such stations. In case of a mismatch, the results based on paper slip count will be considered as final. Out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats, elections were held in 542 constituencies as the EC had cancelled polls to the Vellore constituency on the ground of excessive use of money power. The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday alerted all state chief secretaries and directors general of police about possibility of eruption of violence in different parts of the country during counting of votes. "This is in the wake of calls given and statements made in various quarters for inciting violence and causing disruption on the day of counting of votes," a Home Ministry statement said. One could feel a sense of euphoria as one entered Bengaluru South, the constituency of BJPs youngest candidate, the 28-year-old Tejasvi Surya. The young and old alike waited to get a glimpse of Surya, who won the seat with a significant margin of over three lakh votes against Congress BK Hariprasad. Suryas name resonated in the constituency as the Election Commission (EC) handed the contest to him. Men and women adorned in 'Modi t-shirts' and saffron scarfs as celebrations with fire crackers greeted their youngest MP this election. Tejesvi Surya meeting excited supporters from the Bengaluru South constituency. Supporters in NaMo t-shirts Supporters wait for Surya While Surya's victory may not have been a big surprise, the large margin -- of over three lakh votes -- was, say his friends and party workers who were trying hard to contain the excited crowd gathered to meet him when he reached the counting centre. Surya was announced as the Bengaluru South candidate with barely a month left before the city went for polls, on April 18. It came as a surprise to many when the 28-year-old was selected to represent the constituency by the BJP. It created a ripple in the party as a section of them wanted Tejeswini Ananth Kumar, the wife of late Union Minister Ananth Kumar, to contest. Even so, the youngster is confident that he had full support of party seniors. When a new decision is made it takes some time for the people to come to terms with it. Now everybody is extremely happy. All the seniors are supporting me now, he added. Sandesh P, Suryas friend and classmate from Class 11 and 12, said, With hardly a month left, the announcement was last minute leaving us with very less time for campaigning. That did not deter the young candidate who tried to meet people in each block in his constituency. Longer hours were spent in campaigning and ensuring that each block in the South was covered, from urban pockets to slums. His aim, Surya told Moneycontrol, was to reach out to each and every person in his constituency. He did not want to leave a single person out. Surya is hardly new to the political scene. He started Arise India Foundation in 2008 to usher in social-political change in education in rural Bengaluru, which is still active. He was an active member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)s student organisation Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha -- BJPs Youth Wing. He was also social media in-charge during the Karnataka state elections. According to Sandesh, the young lawyer had always shown keen interest in politics, nation and development. Surya would give politically inspired speeches during school festival and radio much to teachers chagrin, Sandesh reminisced. Talking about his interest in politics, Surya, said: I had always felt that politics is the platform where you can get to impact a great many number of people lives. Sadly to a great extent until Narendra Modis arrival on the national scene, the youth or people of my generation felt disconnected with politics. Because we felt that politicians do not truly represent our aspirations and values. So I thought if we dont change it ourselves who will? he asked. Talking about is inexperience as a politician, Surya said, Not having experience is itself going to be a blessing because the system has not yet tamed me. I will bring fresh energy, fresh insights and out of box thinking to problems of today. There is just one primary agenda in this national elections it is to re-elect Narendra Modi as the prime minister and continue the growth of India as secure prosperous modern nation, he had said. As a first-time MP, he still stands by that. I am not expecting ministerial post and am happy that I was able to win. I will carry on Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of new India in Bengaluru, he added, while meeting media persons. Surya said, I dedicate my victory to Ananth Kumar, who was my mentor. Now in his absence, Tejeswini will be my guide. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) A Bicolano businessman linked to the viral Ang Totoong Narco List clips has filed cyber libel complaints against social media platform Facebook and web search engine Google. Zaldy Co, owner of Misibis Bay resort, filed two separate complaintsin relation to libel under Articles 353, 354, and 356 of the Revised Penal Code-- before the Legazpi City Prosecutors Office on May 14. He is seeking over P1 billion in damages against the respondents. Co, in a press release Thursday, said he filed the cases against the social media giants for allowing Bikoy to use their online platforms to spread false and malicious information. The truth is finally out. By his own admission, Bikoy said everything in the viral video series that implicates me, Misibis Bay Resort and other personalities in the illegal drug trade are pure fabrication, Co said in his statement. Like Bikoy, Facebook and Youtube must be held accountable. Our legal system shouldnt allow them to be part of a systematic campaign to destroy people and simply get away with it, he added. The businessman also listed the self-confessed Bikoy Peter Joemel Advincula, and the MetroBalita webmaster Rodel Jayme in his complaints. Co added his camp has asked for Google and Facebook to take down the videos, but both companies allegedly ignored the request. In the fifth episode of the viral video web series, Bikoy said a drug syndicatecollectively known as the Quadrangle Grouphas been operating in Bicol. The hooded man claimed Co was the leader of the group. Advincula on Thursday tagged the Senator Antonio Trillanes and the Liberal Party as the orchestrator of the narco list videos. CNN Philippines is waiting for a response to its request for comment from Facebook and Google. Advincula and Jayme are in police custody and could not immediately be reached for comment. Nazimuddin Siddique As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set for a massive and unprecedented victory, it is clear that Assam, too, has shown trends similar to the Hindi belt. Out of a total of 14 seats in the state, the BJP and its ally the Asom Gana Parisad (AGP) are set to register a victory in eight seats. The Congress has somehow managed to maintain a lead in three seats, while the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) is winning in two seats. Assam can be largely segmented into three divisionslower Assam, upper Assam and the Barak Valley. Upper Assam has seen a clean sweep by the saffron party. The BJP is distinctly winning in Lakhimpur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and Tezpur parliamentary constituencies which are largely part of upper Assam. The party is also winning in the Mangaldai constituency of lower Assam, and its ally AGP is trailing in the Barpeta constituency. In Nagaon constituency, though, BJP was leading till 4 pm, but the Congress started to lead thereafter. In the Barak valley, BJP is leading with a huge margin, while AIUDF will retain its Karimganj constituency. Congress fielded its sitting MP Sushmita Dev from Silchar constituency. The Diphu constituency will go to BJP, as Haren Singh Bey heading towards a comfortable victory. Gaurav Gogoi, a candidate of Congress, and son of the former chief minister Tarun Gogoi is leading in Kaliabar constituency, while there is a neck-to-neck contest between BJP and Congress candidates in the Guwahati constituency. Babita Sharma of Congress is contesting with Queen Ojha of the BJP. Dhubri will be retained by the AIUIDF chief and perfume baron Badaruddin Ajmal. Interestingly, this election marked the near decimation of the Congress party in Assam. With the gradual rise of the saffron brigade in Assam, the Congress lost ground among the Assamese Hindus. The Congress party also witnessed an erosion of its base among tea-tribes. Persisting decay of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), and the exponential growth of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) decreased the influence of Congress among the tea-tribes. The presence of the RSS among the tea-tribes is such that it has about 15,000 Sanskar Kendras together with 800 Ekal Vidyalays in tribal areas. These have an influence which led to the switchover of the tea-tribe voters from the Congress to the BJP. The loss of ground forced the grand old party to resort to constituencies where Muslims are in majority. In the process, they tried to erode the vote bank of AIUDF, since the latter enjoys significant support from the Muslims. In the Barpeta constituency of lower Assam, AGPs Kumar Deepak Das was leading till late afternoon but he was overtaken by Abdul Khaleque of Congress later. This constituency is Muslim dominated and in the 2014 parliamentary elections AIUDF won here. The BJPs campaign in this election was presidential style. They made the people see everything in the binary of Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. And most picked Modi over Gandhi. The BJP hardly campaigned around real and legitimate issues such as employment generation, healthcare and improvement of education, among others. But the Congress failed to take these issues to the people too. Assam saw significant protest against Constitution Amendment Bill, 2016. Many claimed that the protest will benefit the Congress. But the Congress party completely failed gain from this. It is clear that BJP has won because of the rhetoric of Narendra Modi on national security, nationalism and Hindutva. But whether his rhetoric brings development to a backward state like Assam remains to be seen. (Nazimuddin Siddique is an Assam-based independent researcher. Views expressed are personal.) Subir Roy A major political upheaval appears to have taken place in West Bengal with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forging ahead dramatically and severely shaking up the rock solid hold of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). From a mere two seats won in 2014, the BJP was seen leading in 18 seats by late afternoon. This is way ahead of the best forecast by analysts of a tally of 11 seats. Correspondingly, Trinamool is biting the dust seeing its tally go down from 34 to 23. The trends that have emerged till now indicates that Trinamool has lost heavily in the hills stretching across Darjeeling and North Bengal. Darjeeling is driven by its own cardinal issue of the demand for Gorkhaland and the various issues of autonomy that go with it. As for the North Bengal districts stretching up to Malda, a combination of several factors appear to have worked in favour of the BJP. Both Muslims and Hindu refugees from erstwhile East Bengal are high in numbers in these districts. The animosity of refugees, mostly poor cultivators, towards Muslims whom they hold guilty of having driven them out of the original homes is a key factor. The decision by the BJP to highlight the promise to initiate the National Register of Citizens in West Bengal and also pass again the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill appears to have had an impact. Through these moves the BJP promised to rid the country of illegal immigrants who had been used as a vote bank by TMC leader and chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Another factor that seems to have worked in favour of the BJP is the support of the Matuas, a backward caste, who are refugees from East Bengal and who do not see themselves as having made good under Left or Trinamool rule. Coming down further geographically, the BJP has done well in the districts like Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia which are significantly tribal. Notably, the BJP has scored in Jangalmahal, which was a centre of Maoist revolt during Left rule. Trinamool, under Banerjee, sought to take development to these areas but the long-standing work that the RSS has done in the area for tribal uplift, notably starting and running hundreds of schools, has obviously paid off. It is in south Bengal and areas in and around Kolkata in which Trinamool has held on to its seats. This is attributed to the fact that the area, being closer to the seat of power, has benefited the most from the governments development efforts. In Kolkata and adjoining areas in particular, the voters are more sophisticated, it is being argued, and hence they have not bought into the BJPs promise over the citizenship bill which may prove a non-starter as there is serious opposition to it in Assam and the entire northeast. Also, the destruction of the statue of Vidyasagar may have turned voters off towards the BJP in the last phase of voting in the area. The big issue that the results will highlight is the voting pattern of former Left supporters. They seem to have crossed over in large numbers to the BJP fold, enabling it to register such a decisive victory. How followers of the Marxist and socialist credos could have chosen to vote for a right-wing Hindutva party is an issue that will continue to intrigue academics for long. For just now it is pure personal animosity that seems to have been in play. Former Left supporters seem unable to forgive Trinamool for having thrown their political formation out of power. For now, the Left party cadre is rationalising its choice by saying that we will first destroy the mosquito (Trinamool) and then take on the tiger (BJP). The foregoing serious political analysis appears to be negated by one relatively minor aspect of the voting. All the film and celebrity candidates stretching across the Trinamool-BJP divide, with the exception of one, seem set to do well. This can be the final nail in the coffin of the educated Bengali bhadralok who was, if anything, obsessed with politics. His influence on West Bengal, long diminished, can now be said to be zero. (Subir Roy is a senior journalist and author. Views expressed are personal.) G Babu Jayakumar Bucking the national trend, Tamil Nadu, along with its neighbour Kerala, charted its own course in the 2019 general elections. The state handed out an overwhelming defeat to the BJP-led alliance that was leading in just two of the 39 seats (including Puducherry) at the time of publishing. The pro-DMK wave swept away the electoral fortunes of BJP leaders such as H Raja, Pon Radhakrishnan, C P Radhakrishnan and Tamilisai Soundararajan, besides PMKs Anbumani Ramadoss, like a tsunami. That left the AIADMK reeling under a defeat that revealed the lack of peoples confidence in the party, which captured power in the state in 2016 with the late J Jayalalithaa at the helm of affairs. The DMK-led coalitions winning trend that began with the counting of postal votes continued through the day, making it evident that the Tamil Nadus DNA is different from the rest of India and has its own political aspirations. It also revealed a harsh truth about the binary view the state collectively has when it comes to electing their representatives. Only the DMK or the AIADMK seems to be the states dominant political mantra. Every other player fell by the wayside. Actor Kamal Haasan, who launched his Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) after the death of Jayalalithaa in December 2017 and hitched it to the electoral bandwagon, actor Seeman, whose Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) has been professing a sort of chauvinistic Tamil nationalism for quite some time, and T T V Dinkaran, claiming to be the real inheritor of legacy of Jaya with his breakaway group Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) lost the plot. As a clear picture emerged, it was clear that the DMK is the winner and the AIADMK the loser while others just ran the race with no clear distinction on who came third, fourth and fifth. Another party that was totally vanquished was Vijaykanths Desiya Muropoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), whose candidates lost miserably in all the four seats that they had wrested from the AIADMK after a protracted negotiation. That included the brother-in-law and party top honcho Sudheesh, who contested in Kallakurichi constituency. Even the PMK that suddenly allied with the AIADMK, abruptly stopping its prolonged attack on the party and its leaders, could not keep up with the DMK fronts surge, though the sitting MP from Dharmapuri kept hustling up the chart during the initial rounds and then plunging into the losers gallery. What, however, came as a surprise for many was the abysmally poor performance of the AMMK that was expected to split the AIADMK votes. Its candidates, who contested in all the constituencies, could not come close to even the losing AIADMK alliance nominees in terms of votes polled. In fact, in Tiruchi constituency, the citys former mayor and a member of the erstwhile royal family, Sarubala Thondaiman, was expected to give a tough fight to Congress candidate S Thirunavukarasar, but could not poll votes closer to what an unknown DMDK candidate, who came second, could. Not only did Tamil Nadu contribute profusely to the Congress kitty nine MPs, with only EVKS Elangovan trailing AIADMKs P Ravindranath Kumar, son of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam it is also the biggest contributor to the Red marquee. All the four seats allotted, two each to the CPI and the CPI (M), by the DMK have been won by the respective candidates. So, when the traditional Communist bastions like West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura failed to send their nominees to the Lok Sabha, Tamil Nadu has done its bit to keep the Red flag fly high in Parliament. Interestingly, the Communists in Tamil Nadu had been vocal critics of the DMK, with whose support they have now won the seats. Also, this election results indicated that DMK President M K Stalin has emerged as the top political leader in the state. For, as it was repeatedly pointed out during the hustings, this was the first election that the state faced without any tall leader like M Karunanidhi, who passed away in August 2018, or Jayalalithaa. It was Stalin who spearheaded the DMK alliances campaign. However, the results of the by-elections to the 22 Assembly seats show that the AIADMK, under E Palanisamy and Panneerselvam, has its share of supporters among the people. For, if the DMK had captured the 22 Assembly seats, Stalin could have become the chief minister immediately. Now, he may have to wait till 2021, unless there is yet another rebellion in the AIADMK. (G Babu Jayakumar is a Chennai-based senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.) Some exit polls had predicted that the BJP would retain most of the 71 seats it won in UP in 2014. Now, with the saffron party leading in at least 50 seats, all caste-based predictions that were projecting the largest number of seats in Uttar Pradesh for the Mahagathbandhan (SP+BSP+RLD) now stand completely demolished. Though it is early to fully conclude what factors overrode the considerable appeal of caste in the northern Indian state that sends the highest number of MPs to Parliament, what is clear is that it is the BSP among the Mahagathbandhan allies which has benefited the most. From zero in 2014, the Mayawati-headed party is leading in at least 13 seats. The Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, is struggling to retain the 5 seats it had won last time. The Rashtriya Lok Dal, the smallest ally in the Gathbandhan, too is struggling, with both RLD chief Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary trailing in Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat, respectively. The Congress, which was not part of the Gathbandhan and had put up its own candidates, is faring the worst, with even its President Rahul Gandhi trailing BJPs Smriti Irani in Amethi, a Congress stronghold since the time of Indira Gandhi. Unsurprisingly, this has prompted triumphant BJP supporters to assert that they have made inroads into Congress, SP and BSP fortresses in UP, much like their government entered Pakistan -- a reference to Balakot airstrikes -- and destroyed terrorists. For the BJP, its strategy of dropping nearly 40 percent of its sitting MPs and fielding fresh faces seems to have paid off in Uttar Pradesh as well as other states. The other factor that has played a crucial role in BJPs success seems to be the sub-optimal transfer of BSPs Jatav votes to SP candidates. This seems to be emerging as a major factor in the poor overall performance of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance. Even as counting is in progress what can be said is that Muslims have voted en masse for Gathbandhan candidates and the same doesnt hold true for Yadavs and Jatavs, whose votes have splintered. The BJP has also successfully retained the support of the non-Yadav OBCs as well the support of almost every other non-Jatav scheduled castes. Despite the oppositions campaign that the chief ministership of Adityanath, a Thakur, has alienated the backward castes, the results have proven that the successful marketing of the Indian response to the Pulwama airstrikes and schemes like Ujjawala have swung the average voter towards Modi-led BJP. For the average UP voter, Modis appeal seems to be intact, and in fact as some observers have noted, the PMs charisma has grown much more since the airstrikes. The clever unification of all Hindu castes and sub-castes into a solid vote bank was done on the plank of nationalism and equating the opposition with Pakistan. While not perceptible earlier, the results in UP and states like MP, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh indicate that the electorate has been swayed by Hindu nationalist sentiment instead of issues like unemployment, farm distress, demonetisation and economic slowdown. Though it was widely expected that the BJP would lose most of its 71 seats in UP, this astounding performance has propelled the party way past the majority figure of 271 in the Lok Sabha. The opposition was hoping that the Mahagathbandhan would damage the BJP tally in UP and thereby open the possibility of a non-BJP government at the Centre. That remains a pipe dream for at least the next five years. The only silver lining seems to be that the oppositions illusion of relying solely on caste-based arithmetic stands shattered and one can only hope that this would lead to serious introspection among parties that want to take on the BJP and its brand of hard Hindutva politics in the future. (Valay Singh is a freelance journalist. Views expressed are personal.) Representative image A group of unidentified persons broke into a facility of the Indian Air Forces (IAF) Rafale Project Management Team (PMT) in a Parisian suburb in France on May 19. News agency ANI quoting IAF sources said no document or hard disk has been stolen and further details pertaining to the motive behind the attempt are being ascertained. However, The Hindu reported that some documents have been taken away from IAFs PMT office, which is located at the Saint-Cloud suburb in Paris. Consisting of four IAF officers and headed by a Group Captain, the Indian team oversees the production of the 36 Rafale aircraft by French manufacturer Dassault Aviation as well as the training of personnel. Since no money or other valuables are usually not kept in these administrative offices, the break-in could have been a possible espionage attempt to steal sensitive data related to the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) being acquired by the IAF, Times of India reports. The Ministry of Defence has been briefed about the incident, however, no official statement has been made yet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the procurement of the 36 Rafale aircraft in April 2015, following which the final deal worth Rs 56,000 crore was completed in September 2016. The deal also comes with a 50 per cent offset offered by France to help India with several high-end collaborations. Redmis upcoming flagship K20 Pro has been surrounded by leaks and speculations since its inception. Specifications and features of the new flagship killer have been leaked multiple times, with the company initially confirming a Snapdragon 855 SoC under the hood. In the latest, Xiaomi has revealed the first look of Redmi K20 Pro which confirms the smartphone would have a triple camera setup. Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain has posted the first look of Redmi K20 Pro on Twitter. The photo shows Redmi K20 Pro would come in a Red colour variant amongst others. It also confirms that Redmi K20 Pro would come with a triple camera setup at the back. The image shared by Jain also shows the flagship with a vertically aligned camera unit, with one of the three lenses placed separately inside a golden ring. Below the camera unit is an LED flash unit with Redmi branding at the bottom. While these are the confirmed features, rumours from popular tipsters suggest that Redmi K20 Pro would come with a 6.39-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 * 2340 pixels. The smartphone is said to come with an in-display fingerprint scanner and offer a screen-to-body ratio of 91.2 percent. Under the hood, the Snapdragon 855 SoC is expected to come paired with 6GB and 8GB RAM coupled with 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB onboard storage. In optics, K20 Pro is confirmed to come with a triple camera setup at the back that could have a 48MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture combined with a 13MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.4 aperture and an 8MP telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture. With no notch on top, the K20 Pro is expected to sport either a 20MP sensor or 32MP front camera inside the pop-up camera. The smartphone would run on Android 9.0 based MiUi 10. It could come packed with a 4,000 mAh battery with QuickCharge 4.0 through USB Type-C port. The K20 Pro would have a headphone jack and NFC support. It would be available in four variants 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB and launch in three colours Flame Red, Glacier Blue, and Carbon Fibre Black. Japanese manufacturing activity swung back into contraction in May as export orders fell at the fastest pace in four months, highlighting why policy makers and investors remain anxious about the growing economic impact of a bruising Sino-U.S. trade war. The Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 49.6 in May from a final 50.2 in the previous month. The 50 mark separates contraction from expansion, and the latest result dashed expectations that Japan's crucial manufacturing sector had started to bottom out after shrinking in both February and March. "The re-escalation of US-China trade frictions has heightened concern among Japanese goods producers," said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey. "Underlying growth weakness across much of Asia led to struggling exports, which fell at the sharpest rate in four months." The index for new export orders fell to a preliminary 47.1 from a final 47.8 in the previous month for the sixth consecutive month of contraction. Furthermore, companies' expectations for future output showed contraction for the first time since November 2012. On Wednesday, official data showed Japan's exports shrank for the fifth consecutive month in April, with shipments to China falling again. The gloomy readings for the world's third-biggest economy come as the dispute between the United States and China over trade and industrial policy has taken a nasty turn. The U.S. government this month sharply increased tariffs on Chinese goods and blacklisted Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from buying U.S. technology. Japan is also negotiating with the United States over trade. U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear he is unhappy with Japan's trade surplus with the United States, much of it from auto exports, and wants a two-way deal to tackle it. Japanese policymakers worry Trump could target Japanese autos with tariffs or quotas to lower the U.S. trade deficit. Pakistan has signalled a willingness to open peace talks with India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to return to power in New Delhi after an election fought in the shadow of renewed confrontation between the nuclear-armed enemies. But in a possible warning to India, Pakistan also announced that it has conducted a training launch of a Shaheen II, surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which it said is capable of delivering conventional and nuclear weapons at a range of up to 1,500 miles. "Shaheen II is a highly capable missile which fully meets Pakistan's strategic needs towards maintenance of deterrence stability in the region," Pakistan's military said in a statement that made no direct mention of its neighbour. On Wednesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi spoke briefly with his Indian counterpart at the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. "We never speak bitterly, we want to live like good neighbours and settle our outstanding issues through talks," he said following the meeting. The remark follows months of tension between the long-time rivals, which came close to war in February over the disputed region of Kashmir, which both sides have claimed since independence from Britain in 1947. Following a suicide attack in Kashmir that killed 40 members of an Indian paramilitary police force in February, Indian jets launched a raid inside Pakistan, striking what New Delhi said was a training camp of Jaish-e Mohammed, the radical group that claimed the Kashmir attack. In response, Pakistan conducted a retaliatory strike of its own and jets from the two countries fought a dogfight in the skies over KashmirA during which an Indian pilot was shot down and captured. Amid international pressure to end the conflict, Pakistan returned the pilot and there were no further strikes but tensions remained high, with regular exchanges of artillery fire from both sides in Kashmir. Pakistan has also kept part of its airspace closed to international air traffic, disrupting flights to India and other parts of the region. Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly offered to start talks with India to resolve the Kashmir issue, and officials have said that they hoped the process could start once the election is concluded. Khan himself said last month he believed there was more prospect of peace talks with Indian if Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the election. In August 2016, Mumbai-based Cambata Aviation Pvt Ltd, one of the oldest ground services-provider at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, closed its operation without paying over 2,000 of its employees, their salaries and provident fund, which amounted to over Rs100 crore. This led to the state government filing a criminal complaint against the company. Aggrieved by non-receipt of his salary, an employee, Subramanian Ansari sought information from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) in the office of deputy commissioner of income-tax (I-T) for certified copy of Cambata Aviations balance sheet and profit and loss account for 10 years from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2017. He also asked for copies of the I-T departments correspondence regarding closure of the company. The CPIO, however, denied disclosure of information under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act 2005. When Mr Ansari filed his first appeal, the first appellate authority (FAA) directed the CPIO to contact the third party, that is, Cambata Aviation and request it to make a submission in writing regarding whether the information sought should be disclosed. Predictably, the company objected to the disclosure of information. Mr Ansaris second appeal to the information commission came up for hearing, one and a half years later, on 18 April 2019. The CIC ordered the I-T office to promptly disclose all information to Mr Ansari, as it found the CPIO wrongfully taking shelter under Section 8 of the RTI Act. The order issued by CIC Bimal Jhulka says, Keeping in view the facts of the case and the submissions made by both the parties, it is the considered view of the Commission that it cannot be a mute spectator to the pitiable conditions being faced by the employees of the aviation company, which is seeking shelter under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. Therefore, considering the sensitivities of the matter as also in the light of the criticality of sustenance issues faced by its employees, the Commission instructs the respondent (the income tax department) to disclose point wise information as held and available with them to the appellant (Ansari)in the larger public interest. As per the argument put forth by RTI applicant Mr Ansari during the CIC hearing, Cambata Aviation had deprived salary and wages to more than 2,100 employees since March 2016 on the pretext of bad condition of finance and loss in the business resulting in extreme financial hardships to him and hundreds of other employees. He further alleged that the company was also willfully defaulting in payment of statutory dues of provident fund (PF), sales tax (ST), insurance, employees state insurance corp (ESIC) and credit society. Mr Ansari was employed with Cambata Aviation at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai since 1 March 1996 and had not received salary since March 2016. The CIC observed in his order that, the company had deprived salary since March 2016 to its more than 2,100 employees on the pretext of bad condition of finance and loss in the business. On the other hand the company had given increments in January 2014, and recruited more than 800 employees in the year 2014 and 2015, which was a contradictory activity of Cambata Aviation. Furthermore the company had not issued Form No. 16 for the period from 2014-15, to 2016-17 to its 2,100 employees, which aroused suspicion and compelled him (Mr Ansari) to file a RTI application for financial statements, which could unearth the scam of his company such as willfully defaulting statutory dues of PF, ST, insurance, ESIC and credit society. Mr Ansari was denied personal hearing for his first appeal due to which CIC Jhulka felt this raised suspicion in Mr Ansaris mind that the CPIO and FAA were indirectly helping Cambata Aviation under the pretext of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. The CIC pointed out that information sought by Mr Ansari was clearly in the larger public interest and so cannot come under denial of information section. He cited the Supreme Court case of Girish Ramchandra Deshpande vs Central Information Commission &Ors. SLP(C) No. 27734 of 2012 dated 03/10/2012, which stated: the details disclosed by a person in his income tax returns are personal information, which stand exempted from disclosure under clause (j) of Section 8(1)of the RTI Act, unless it involves a larger public interest and the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the Appellate Authority is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information. The CIC order will hopefully, be implemented by the I-T department and provide ground for employees like Mr Ansari to further their cause. We had mentioned in Wednesdays closing report that Nifty, Sensex await poll results. The major indices of the Indian stock markets rallied on Thursday morning but soon corrected and closed with losses. On the NSE, there were 810 advances, 920 declines and 367 unchanged. The trends of the major indices in the course of Thursdays trading are given in the table below: Taking a cue from the initial trend of the Lok Sabha polls verdict which indicated the BJP-led NDA candidates as leading, the Indian equity market indices opened sharply higher on Thursday. Later during the afternoon, the Sensex began retreating after it surpassed the 40,000 mark within minutes into the days trade. The Nifty also fell by 86.05 points or 0.73% to 11,651.85. The market will remain range-bound and will be more driven by external events because there is no domestic events immediately on the horizon. On Thursday, Asian indices were showing a negative trend. Japan's Nikkei 225 was quoting in red, down by 0.62% while Hang Seng was down by 1.58%. Shanghai Composite was down by 1.36%. The US futures were trading deeply in the red. Reliance Capital Ltd (RCAP) on Thursday said it has signed binding definitive agreements with Nippon Life Insurance of Japan to exit its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd (RNAM). In a statement to IANS, RCAP said it will receive approximately Rs6,000 crore as sale consideration for its stakes in RNAM. Both partners currently hold 42.88% each in the company, while the rest is held by public shareholders. Shares of Adani Group companies surged up to 14% intra-day on the BSE on Thursday as trends showed the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading the vote counts for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Adani Group stocks have historically performed well whenever the BJP government has tasted victory because of the perception that the group Chief Gautam Adani is close to Modi. Adani Ports today announced that it has signed an agreement to develop and operate a container terminal at Yangon Port in Myanmar. The board of Sintex Industries at its meeting held on 22 May 2019 approved the disinvestment in BVM Overseas upto 24.99% for the purpose of raising resources for long term working capital requirement and accordingly BVM Overseas will cease to be a wholly owned subsidiary and will remain a subsidiary. The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below: The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: The ongoing trade skirmish between the US and China is showing no signs of abating with the US increasing tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese products on 10 May 2019. China in retaliation has said that it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth US imports beginning 1 June 2019. China has already imposed tariffs on US products worth $110 billion last year. The worsening economic indicators in the US, like student loan delinquency and yield curve inversion, may pose challenges for the incumbent Indian government as well, says a research note. In the report, Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser of State Bank of India (SBI), says, "Not just China, the US is waging tariff war with other countries, with tariffs imposed on its major trade partners Canada, Mexico and others as US is convinced that it has to reduce its burgeoning trade deficit. Interestingly, we find that the impact of such tariffs may be hurting US more and hence that country may be caught in a vicious cycle of imposing more tariffs as a veiled threat of not retaliating." US President Trump has created a lot of noise on the trade front, since he joined office, with the language of the various trade related documents making it amply clear that US has felt itself to be handed the short end of the stick by its trade partners. It began with the 2017 US Trade Policy Agenda outlining the new administrations four trade priorities: promoting US sovereignty, enforcing US trade laws, leveraging American economic strength to expand their goods and services exports, and protecting US intellectual property rights. Since then the US has renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico and the US Korea (KORUS) free trade agreement. It has imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, which have invoked retaliation from its trade partners. "With all the hullabaloo created over President Trumps trade measures, we looked at US trade deficit and found that its goods trade deficit has in fact increased in 2018, with imports growing more than exports. A strengthening US economy and strong dollar have supported the imports, despite the hue and cry raised by President Trump on the trade deficit," Dr Ghosh from SBI added. On an annual basis, in the end use commodity category, foods, feeds, beverages exports has seen the slowest growth. More than 800 food and agricultural products from the US have been subject to retaliatory tariffs from China, the EU, Turkey, Canada, and Mexico. This could be reason for the slowing exports growth of agricultural products. With nearly 20% of farm income derived from exports, the trade war will impact the US farmers to a considerable extent, SBI says. For example, Dr Ghosh says, Chinese data shows that the monthly growth of imports from US has declined more as compared to Chinese exports to US after July 2018. Although, China will be impacted more as the base of its exports to US is much larger than its imports, it appears that US is not going to remain unscathed, he added. The report also points out the large difference between the official trade statistics released by the US and Peoples Republic of China. However, as the latest data is available in the Chinese General Administration of Customs, SBI found that in absolute terms Chinese exports to the US have gone down to $31.4 billion in April 2019 from $36.1 billion in April 2018. Meanwhile Chinese imports from US have declined to $10.3 billion in April this year from $13.9 billion in same period a year ago. In addition, SBI says, there are even concerns about the tariff wars spilling over to the financial markets in the form of China cutting short its exposure in US treasury market. China owns $1.13 trillion in treasury, a fraction of the total $22 trillion in US debt outstanding but 17.7% of the various securities held by foreign governments, according to data from the treasury and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. With 25% tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, the US can generate revenue to the tune of $62.5 billion annually. "Will this be sufficient to compensate for the loss incurred by the American consumers and exporters and more importantly the harm caused to the China-US relations? A recent survey by Pew Research Centre has found that American public is more positive about free trade agreements and sceptical about tariffs. With the upcoming elections, it would not be amiss for the US President to take into account sound economic principles and peoples mandate," Dr Ghosh from SBI concludes. Australian gambling machine manufacture Aristocrat Leisure Ltd [ASX:ALL] has pushed higher this morning, with its share price continuing to rally since the beginning of the year. At the time of writing Aristocrat Leisure share price is up 8.18% to trade at $28.69. ALL designs, develops and distributes electronic gaming machines, casino management systems and digital social games. The companys land-based products are approved for use in more than 300 licensed jurisdictions and are available in over 90 countries. The group also operates within the online social gaming and real money wager markets. Special 2019 report: The next generation of Aussie income super stars revealed. Hint: its not the banks. Click here to claim your copy now (for free). Half-year results hit targets After hitting a 15-month low at the beginning of the year, fuelled by disappointing FY2018 results, ALL has been out to prove itself to investors. A note out of investment bank Goldman Sachs set a high bar for the pokie machine manufacturer, expecting a 51% increase in revenue. ALL published its highly anticipated results this morning, which have obviously pleased investors. While Aristocrat didnt quite hit Goldmans 51% mark, revenue was up 35% to $2.105 billion. EBIT was up 16.8% compared to the prior corresponding period to $644.4 million and net profit after tax also increased by 16.8% to $422.3 million. Aside from revenue, all other metrics exceeded expectations. According to ALL, revenue growth was principally driven by growth in their gaming operations and digital business segments. In gaming operations, revenue increased 15%, while overall average fee per day increased by 1.3%. Performance was fuelled by continued penetration of their higher performing products. Digital revenue grew 37% to US$587 million, driven by the realised impact of earlier acquisitions. The Americas were the standout performer in terms of revenue, posting a 28.3% growth to pull in $957 million. Growth in ANZ was moderate in comparison, with growth of 7.3% contributing $230.6 million in overall revenue. Digital grew by nearly 50% to $820.9 million. The company increased its dividend by three cents per share from the previous half-year and will pay a fully franked 22 cents per share dividend on 30 May 2019. Whats next for Aristocrat? With such strong performance from its digital segment, its possible well see a lot more investment in this area. ALL said it had invested significantly in talent and technology to deliver competitive product across a broad range of land-based and digital segments. The groups investment in D&D represented 11.6% of revenue for the period. However, daily active users for the digital segment had decreased slightly from 8.3 million to eight million. The company defended the dip in daily users saying the full period impact of the acquisitions, which aimed to introduce a diverse portfolio of customers and social products, monetise differently to Aristocrats established digital business. Consequently, this resulted in lower users compared to prior periods. Regards, Ryan Clarkson-Ledward, For Money Morning PS: If Aristocrat Leisure looks like a good buy to you, make sure you check out this free investor report revealing the highest potential growth sectors for 2019 and beyond. Download now to find out more. Today, Kidman Resources Ltd [ASX:KDR] announced it had entered a Scheme Implementation Deed (SID), proposing Wesfarmers Limited [ASX:WES] acquire 100% of Kidmans shares at $1.90 by way of a Scheme of Arrangement. At time of writing, Kidman Resources share price is sitting at $1.90. Related: Dont buy a single lithium stock until youve read this report. Read more about it here for free. What SID means for Kidman shareholders In relation to its proposal, Wesfarmers has completed its exclusive period of due diligence, as well as entering into the SID. If implemented, Kidmans shareholders will get $1.90 cash for each share, valuing the companys equity at around $776 million. The announcement also offers an attractive premium of 47.3% to Kidmans 1 May 2019 closing share price of $1.29, at the last trading day before its announcement of Wesfarmers proposal as well as the SID. The decision was recommended by Kidmans board to be in the best interest of shareholders. Kidman Chairman, Mr John Pizzey commented on the transaction: We are pleased to recommend this attractive all-cash transaction with Wesfarmers to our shareholders. Kidmans Focus has been to create value for shareholders through the development of a leading Australia integrated lithium project and we have made significant progress towards achieving this goal. However, the overarching objective of the Kidman Board has always been to act in the best interest of shareholders and maximise shareholder value. After careful consideration of the future development pathway for the Mt Holland Lithium Project, the Kidman Board has concluded unanimously that realisation of a significantly Premium to the undisturbed market value, at a certain cash price, is in the best interest of all our shareholders. Kidman Resources share price outlook Kidman resources share price has been plagued with volatility, but the thing about volatility is that it isnt always a bad thing. Volatility at a time like this, with the company releasing a string of announcements about its deed with Wesfarmers, makes sense. Kidmans CEO commented the future of the company, saying: We are extremely proud of the hard work and achievements of all our staff and the significant progress we have made to date in the developing the Mt Holland Lithium Project. This transaction rewards shareholders for this progress while delivering them with certain cash value for their investment in Kidman today. Regards, Ryan Clarkson-Ledward, For Money Morning PS: Free investor report reveals the highest potential growth sectors for 2019 and beyond. Download now to find out more (for free). May 23, 2019 Why Trump's Huawei Ban Is Unlikely To Persist The Washington Post World page summarizes a piece about consequences of Trump's ban on the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei: A key chip designer and British telecom companies suspended some dealings with the Chinese tech giant over security concerns. However, nothing in the actual piece talks about security concerns. (I point this out because I perceive a trend towards such misleading summaries and headlines which contradict what the actual reporting says.) The British processor company ARM, which licenses its design to Huawei, cites U.S. export controls as the reason to stop cooperation with Huawei: The conflict is putting companies and governments around the world in a tough spot, forcing them to choose between alienating the United States or China. Arm Holdings issued its statement after the BBC reported the firm had told staff to suspend dealings with Huawei. An Arm spokesman said some of the companys intellectual property is designed in the United States and is therefore subject to U.S. export controls. Additionally two British telecom providers quote U.S. restrictions as reason for no longer buying Huawei smartphones: BT Groups EE division, which is preparing to launch 5G service in six British cities later this month, said Wednesday it would no longer offer a new Huawei smartphone as part of that service. Vodafone also said it would drop a Huawei smartphone from its lineup. Both companies appeared to tie that decision to Googles move to withhold licenses for its Android operating software from future Huawei phones. These companies do not have security concerns over Huawei. But the casual reader, who does not dive down into the actual piece, is left with a false impression that such concerns are valid and shared. That the Trump administration says it has security reasons for its Huawei ban does not mean that the claim is true. Huawei equipment is as good or bad as any other telecommunication equipment, be it from Cisco or Apple. The National Security Agency and other secret services will try to infiltrate all types of such equipment. After the sudden ban on U.S. entities to export to Huawei, chipmakers like Qualcomm temporarily stopped their relations with Huawei. Google said that it would no longer allow access to the Google Play store for new Huawei smartphones. That will diminish their utility for many users. The public reaction in China to this move was quite negative. There were many calls for counter boycotts of Apple's i-phones on social media and a general anti-American sentiment. The founder and CEO of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, tried to counter that. He gave a two hour interview (vid, 3 min excerpt with subtitles) directed at the Chinese public. Ren sounds very conciliatory and relaxed. The Global Times and the South China Morning Post only have short excerpts of what he said. They empathize that Huawei is well prepared and can master the challenge: Ren said that Huawei will not easily give up on US chips but has a backup. The company is able to make American-quality semiconductors but does not mean it will not buy them, he said. Huawei is nevertheless very grateful to American companies, who have contributed a lot to Huawei. Many of Huaweis consultants are from American companies such as IBM, Ren said. Asked how long the crisis will last for Huawei, Ren said the question should be directed at Trump instead. But Ren said much more than that. Yiqin Fu, a PhD candidate at Stanford University, translated other parts of the interview which are more interesting then the English media reports: Yiqin Fu @yiqinfu - 11:43 utc- 22 May 2019 Remarkable that Huawei's CEO never appealed to patriotism in his two-hour interview with the Chinese press yesterday. Instead, he said 1) nationalism is bad for the country; 2) China's future hinges on reform and opening up, and 3) China should honor its promises at the WTO. Re innovation, Huawei's CEO said that China wouldn't be able to innovate given the state of its education. "China is used to throwing money at things. This strategy works for roads and bridges but won't work for chips. How much scholarship is there in our doctoral theses?" Huawei CEO: China should incentivize foreign talent to migrate -- Israel and the U.S. became innovation hubs because they were able to attract migrants from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. China will waste lots of time trying to innovate with closed doors. Ren's tone stands in stark contrast to that of state media and official responses from Chinese ministries re Huawei. He even explicitly said, "Huawei products are only commodities. The only basis for using them is if you like them. Politics has nothing to do with it." Also interesting that Chinese and English-language media focused on entirely different things when reporting the two-hour interview. Chinese intellectuals mostly seized on Ren's comment re innovation and nationalism, while the English-language press ran with headlines like these: Huawei CEO says U.S. underestimates the companys strength U.S. media often portrait China as tight dictatorship where no one can speak his mind. But these public statements by Ren are nearly all in contradiction to China's current official policies. In an earlier piece on Trump's trade war with China we pointed out that the U.S. can not win this game because Trump's policy lacks international support: Few other countries will join Trump's anti-China campaign. It will further isolate the United States. That is quite an achievement for the MAGA man. A new Bloomberg opinion piece agrees with that view: Any effort to exert economic pressure on China, or to pursue selective de-integration with Beijing, would be most effective if coupled with a concerted effort to deepen integration with Americas democratic allies. Many of them also have growing concerns about Chinese economic coercion. Yet by launching trade skirmishes not just with China but with allies in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, the Trump administration has created discord where unity is urgently needed. And by reportedly failing to coordinate this ban with close allies beforehand, the administration risks heightening widespread European anger about American unilateralism under Trump. There is also the question of whether Trump will stick with his current hard line. That question is the also the most important for the Europeans. Why should they break with China when Trump is likely to reverse his decision? He says he still wants to make a deal. The consequence of the the 737 MAX accidents give China a tool to exert pressure of its own. The credibility of the U.S. regulator FAA is damaged as it was the last one to ground the planes. It is China that will decide when those planes are allowed back into its air. What if it does not do that. What if it buys less planes: No other country has greater demand for aircraft: In the 20 years through 2037, Boeing estimates Chinese purchases at 7,690 new planes worth $1.2 trillion. Airbus will be happy to sell all those planes. Unless of course Trump makes a deal and lets Huawei off the hook. That will be -for now- most likely be the end of the story. Posted by b on May 23, 2019 at 13:46 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page Eller said the keynote speaker for the service this year will be Timothy Moore, a U.S. Army veteran who is a veterans service officer for the state of North Carolina. He enlisted in the Army in 2007 and was assigned to 18th Fires Brigade at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, according to his biography. After attending airborne school at Fort Benning in Georgia, he was deployed to Iraq in 2009 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. He went on to attend Advanced Individualized Training at Fort Eustis in Virginia and then was reassigned to the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Bragg. He was deployed again in October, 2011 to support Operation Enduring Freedom. More assignments came afterward, including the Green Platoon Selection for 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Night Stalkers, the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Camp Humphreys in South Korea and the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He took a medical retirement from the Army in 2016. An array of restrictive policies like school and speculation taxes have led to the loss of as much as $90 billion in the overall value of Metro Vancouver properties, according to an analysis by a non-partisan organization. The study conducted by STEPUP Now estimated that on average, each home in Vancouver lost $153,873 in value due to misguided legislation, CTV News Vancouver reported. Of the Metro areas locales, West Vancouver and Vancouver suffered the largest declines in market value, at 14.68% and 13%, respectively. The International Monetary Fund has urged the Canadian government to avoid stimulating home-buying activity in the meantime, instead recommending a measured cooling in overheated real estate markets to reduce economic risks. The government is under pressure to ease macroprudential policy or introduce new initiatives that buttress housing activity, the IMF explained in its latest analysis, as quoted by The Canadian Press. This would be ill-advised, as household debt remains high and a gradual slowdown in the housing market is desirable to reduce vulnerabilities. These results differ greatly from those garnered from polling done by private military housing operators, whose annual satisfaction rates are often above 90%. The online survey was conducted over a one-week period ending February 6. Since then, the military has put some significant reforms in place, so polling may not reflect those efforts. Given the dissatisfaction with military housing, there could be a huge opportunity for mortgage originators to help servicemembers get a mortgage instead of renting. Although frequency of movement could be a detriment to buying a home, VA expert Ryan Sawyer says that the biggest barrier to homeownership for members of the military is under-education. When our military members are in service, this is pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole if even on the totem pole as far as education. Its not used for recruiting purposes, and its not used for exiting the military either, they dont really bring up the home loan benefit, he said. Instead, the focus is on schooling and benefits that veterans could be eligible for, such as disability claims and healthcare. Sawyer is a branch manager and vice president of mortgage lending with Guaranteed Rate, and has been educating veterans on their mortgage options for more than 10 years. Whether his borrowers are currently in the military or have been out for decades, he finds that most of them dont know about certain aspects of the home loan benefit. Midland-Petro DC Partnerships, LLC on Tuesday asked the Midland College board to consider joining in on the Permian Basins oil and gas success and issue a request for proposal for a lease. The 53.26 acres of minerals that would be put up for bid would be the location of an 11 to 12-acre drilling site, per the lease terms. The drill site would cover just 5 percent of the campus, but there would be many benefits for the college and city, said Wayne Bailey, the companys vice president of land and legal. Mayor Jerry Morales, City Council member J.Ross Lacy and Assistant City Manager Robert Patrick attended the board meeting and were available to answer any city-specific questions. The drill site On the northeast side of the campus, approximately 10 feet off the Midland Airpark fence, Midland-Petro would place an 11.4-acre drilling site with eight to 10 all-weather concrete cellars that would house 32 to 34 wells, said Midland-Petro President David Arrington. An additional six-tenths of an acre would be used for a road to enter and exit on Garfield Street. This (land) is important because it is the only viable location to drill wells to the south, Arrington told the Reporter-Telegram. Its the only available piece of land that can reach this area of the city and produce the oil. Back in the day, I would have had to put a well up every 40 acres of the whole city (to receive this much in minerals), which isnt viable. But because of horizontal drilling, with only (these) 11 acres, well be able to access 1,280 acres of minerals. We would be reducing the footprint by 75 percent and using less land by doing it the way we are proposing, Arrington added. Midland-Petro would work hard to ensure minimal disruption to campus activity, he said. For instance, any fill dirt that was removed from the drill site to place the wells would be used to build a berm on the south side of the location to help screen activity from the college campus. Sitting on the berm would be a wall with Chaparrals painted on it that encloses the site and extends across the acreage to Garfield Street to block much of the traffic from the view of the campus. The combined berm and wall would be approximately 25 feet tall. Additionally, the entrance to the road would have a 24-hour gate guard to control any traffic. Midland-Petros general manager, Keith Bucy, said sound walls and high-quality mufflers would also be used during all drilling and frac operations to help reduce any noise distraction. VP Bailey said that over a span of three to four years, the rate of drilling would be continuous, and some wells would be complete before all had even been placed. The production from the on-campus drill site would be piped to the tank farm near the corner of Fairgrounds Road and Highway 80, he said. If the request is approved, drilling could begin as early as the beginning of next year, Bucy said. The benefits MC will receive an immediate cash bonus that is substantial, said Bailey. Additionally, future royalty payments have been approximated at $20 million total throughout the life of the wells about 40 years. The city would receive nearly eight times as much, about $155 million in royalties, and an additional $307 million in royalties would be split by various home and business owners who have a royalty interest under any well in Midland. In addition to the cash benefit, Midland-Petro would provide water to the campus for irrigation and land. Off-campus water wells would provide water to the college at no charge. Bailey said 60 million gallons of water per month is a fair estimate of what the wells would produce once they have been drilled. He said the water source would be available at all times, as soon as the water wells are established. The college would retain the water once the life of the wells expired. Bailey said Midland-Petro could also provide landscaping and plant as few or as many premature high-quality trees and shrubs as the college would like. There could also be a walking or biking trail placed in the area, he said. Theres a lot of space that can be utilized for beautification, Bailey said. This is what we know we can do short-term for planning purposes. If you have future buildings in mind, then after we make the campus green and plant trees, you can move it and build more buildings. There could be on-site petroleum training offered, as well as educational opportunities and mentorships from Bucy and other executives who would be working on the project. This would directly align with MCs engineering partnerships with University of Texas of the Permian Basin and Texas A&M University, he said. MC would not be liable for any accidents or injuries as a result of the drilling, he said. Landowners, mineral owners and surface owners will partner together, and its all for the greater good, Bailey said of Midland-Petros request to the MC board. Many of the board members appeared interested and asked questions throughout the companys presentation. MC President Steve Thomas said the trustees will deliberate about it and try to gather information to make the best decision for Midland College. The current plan is to discuss Midland-Petros request during executive session at the end of the next board meeting on June 18. He said board members were interested in Tuesdays proposal, but there is also concern about the acreage the college would have to give up. Well just see where it goes, Thomas said. Its an important issue for all of us. Midland Memorial Hospital was one of the 6 percent of the hospitals nationally to receive a D for safety, according to the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide. The Leapfrog Group contracted with the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality to create an analysis of hospitals across the nation. The analysis found that hospitals rated D and F carry nearly twice the risk of mortality of hospitals with an A rating. The report showed that MMH scored a C in fall 2018, a B in spring 2018, Bs in fall and spring of 2017, a C in fall 2016 and a B in spring 2016. Other grades from around the region this period included a D for Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, a C for Odessa Regional Medical Center and a C for Scenic Mountain Medical Center in Big Spring. Grades of A were reported for Lubbock Grace Medical Center and Hendrick Health Center in Abilene. B grades were given to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Carlsbad (New Mexico) Medical Center and Lovelace Medical Center in Roswell, New Mexico. RELATED: MMH: Population increase forces diversion of EMS to Odessa The report showed the following earned C grades: Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, Abilene Regional Medical Center and Covenant Hospital Plainview. Marcy Madrid, vice president for Community Health for Midland Health, offered the following response to the rankings. More Information Editor's Note: The Reporter-Telegram will provide more information from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide in Sunday's Reporter-Telegram. See More Collapse Midland Memorial Hospital chooses not to participate in the Leapfrog Groups reporting platform due to the fact that the methodology they use to score hospitals does not align with our quality processes. An article about the report in USA Today showed a third of the 2,600 hospitals analyzed received an A grade, one-quarter received a B, 36 percent received a C and 168 hospitals received near-failing or failing grades. Categories scored included infections, problems with surgery, practices to prevent errors, safety problems and doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Overall, there were 28 total scores inside the five categories. MMH scored better than average 10 times, below average 12 times and declined to report six times. The hospitals best category was problems with surgery, where it scored above average five of seven times. In practices to prevent errors and doctors, nurses and hospital staff, there were no scores above average, seven scores below average and five times MMH declined to report. The time period covered varied, with some periods ending in 2017 and others in 2018. --- The following is the complete response from Midland Health about its D grade in the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide. Despite our decision not to voluntarily participate, Midland Memorial Hospital scored better than average in many areas related to quality and patient safety, including: bloodstream and urinary tract infections, C. difficile infections, pressure ulcers, pulmonary embolism and several other outcome measures. While we do not have access to the details of Leapfrogs scoring methodology, we believe a few measures lowered our grade: --Falls with injury This is an area of focus for us. Since these data were reported, we have created a robust fall prevention program to better monitor, report and prevent falls with injury from occurring. --Closed ICU Leapfrogs definition of a closed ICU requires a critical care specialist to manage every patient in the ICU. Our medical community does not agree that such a policy is necessary to deliver high quality critical care, and it would be virtually impossible to recruit an adequate number of critical care specialists to our community to accomplish this. --Doctors ordering medication through an Electronic Health Record (EHR) Leapfrog ranks their scores in this area based on how many alerts an electronic record system has around medication orders. Since the time frame in which this data was captured, we have installed a new EHR that dramatically increase physicians use of the EHR. --HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) A very small subset of our inpatient population completes these lengthy surveys. During the reporting period reflected in this years grade, our scores had fallen from previous years data, resulting in a significant impact to our overall grade with Leapfrog. Several patient experience initiatives we have begun over the past few years have already resulted in improved scores. After receiving backlash from the community, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and IDEA Public Schools have decided to withdraw their proposed partnership, which was introduced to families and staff last week. The plan was to transition the UTPB Stem Academy into a charter school under IDEA in the fall of 2021. Tatum Hubbard, executive director of communication for the university, said UTPB originally made the decision because it did not have sustainable plan for the school. IDEA offered really strong academics, and thats what we wanted, Hubbard said. There was a lot of opportunity there to align the two programs. But STEM parents spoke out and didnt support the partnership. She said the university is proud of the academys existing programs and model, and they believe the school is a great one. There was just no way to ensure the school was sustainable in its facilities and finances long-term, and IDEA could have been a solution to that. University officials are now seeking other solutions, she said. We want to be able to fund the school in the way it deserves to be funded, Hubbard said. UTPB President Sandra Woodley and IDEAs executive director of the Permian Basin region, Bethany Solis, wrote letters to the STEM community on Thursday, apologizing for not first vetting with them. Solis wrote that IDEA did not at all want to disrupt the STEM Academy family, and that its passion and advocacy for its childrens education is admirable. As a parent myself, I connected completely with your desire to make sure your children have the education that is right for them, Solis wrote. As a teacher and principal, I also experienced the unity that develops within a staff that founds and grows a school together. I deeply regret the angst that our proposal caused you and your families. With this in mind, Dr. Woodley and I have discussed at length the right path forward and we both agree that the best decision is to not move forward with our proposed partnership. We hope to find many other ways to work together in our shared goal to increase access to higher education in the Permian Basin. Woodley wrote in her letter that when seeking a long-term solution that would secure the future of the school, she picked what she believed was the best option. However, since the announcement, the STEM familys consistent message was that transitioning to IDEA was not the right solution, she said. She plans to assemble a task force of parents, teachers, staff and students to help the university and STEM advisory board find another solution to secure the future of the school. While the university will not partner directly with IDEA, I enthusiastically support the value IDEA schools will bring to the Permian Basin and stand firm in my belief that IDEA is represented by outstanding academic leaders and will serve other schools in Ector and Midland counties very well, Woodley wrote. The man accused of stabbing an elderly woman to death in her Sharpstown home detailed the gruesome killing to police investigators, saying that he spent at least 40 minutes with her as she begged for her life, according to prosecutors. Marco Cobos, 19, allegedly used multiple knives to stab Etta Nugent to death for about 40 minutes to an hour, according to the charging documents which prosecutors read aloud during his first appearance in court Wednesday morning. The medical examiner reported finding more than 13 stab wounds on the 75-year-old woman's body. He has been charged with capital murder in Nugent's death. The Mexican national is being held at the Harris County Jail without bond and federal authorities have placed an immigration detainer on him. Cobos, who also is homeless, had sought help from Nugent to fix his broken down Ford F-150, but she was unable to "because of her age," police said. POLICE: Man living in stolen truck robbed, killed elderly woman inside her southwest Houston home The truck Cobos had been sleeping in had been reported stolen in Phoenix, Arizona, authorities said. Before the attack, neighbors said they saw Cobos and his vehicle parked outside Nugent's home in the 8100 block of Neff Street. Prosecutors said Cobos confessed to stabbing the woman around 10 p.m. Sunday. "The family of Etta Nugent is heartbroken and in absolute shock at the senseless tragedy that unfolded before them this week," relatives to the slain woman said in a statement. "Etta was a kind, gentle and generous woman who lived her life with unwavering dedication to her faith, family and friends." "To see her life end in such a tragic, evil matter is simply unexplainable," the statement continued. Nugent, a mother of three and grandmother to six, was a retired parish secretary at Holy Ghost Catholic Church and attended St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church. The family thanked the Houston Police Department and "observant neighbors" whose tips helped police identify Nugent's alleged assailant and apprehend him. Nugent's son found her dead in the living room after she failed to answer her phone or visit her husband Monday morning at a convalescent care facility. The son also reported that her Honda Accord had been stolen. Police found Cobos' stolen Ford F-150 around 8:30 p.m., about a quarter mile from Nugent's home. Police then saw Cobos arrive in Nugent's car and park behind the truck, prosecutors said. He was walking toward the Nugents resident when police arrested him. During an interview, police said he confessed to forcing his way into the home. He forced his way into the home as Nugent spoke to him through a crack in the door. He stabbed her in the chest and went to the kitchen to find more knives, according to prosecutors. He heard the doorbell ring and saw Nugent on the front porch trying to escape. Cobos said he went outside and grabbed her in a "bear hug." He got more knives from the kitchen and continued stabbing her until she died. Cobos took her car keys and about $560 from her purse to buy food and a new battery for the stolen F-150, prosecutors said. He returned again to eat and look through her belongings, prosecutors said. Cobos admitted to taking three credit cards from her purse and using them at a truck stop in Edna, prosecutors. He also used the cards to pay his cellphone bill. A court-appointed defense attorney said that Cobos, having lived in the U.S. for the past 18 years, most recently worked at a Houston grocery. He had been out of a job for the past week, the lawyer said. He is slated to return to court 9 a.m. Thursday in the 174th District Court. Staff writer Nicole Hensley contributed to this report. julian.gill@chron.com Looking for the right time to visit New York City, but hoping to skip the typical Big Apple tourist scene in favor of a more local experience? The Governors Ball Music Festival is right around the corner, and might have exactly what you're looking for. Started by local music lovers eight years ago, it features 60-plus artists of all genres, plus a selection of the best eats in town, street artists from around the city, interactive games and activities, and more. What better way to experience the music, art and culture at the heart of NYC? Whether youre ready to book your trip now or just interested in what's available, take a look at these forthcoming flights between Seattle and New York City, which we pulled from travel site Skyscanner. We've also included top-rated hotels, restaurants and attractions in New York City to round out any visit. (Prices and availability are current as of publication and subject to change.) Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in the articles may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Flight deals to New York City Currently, the cheapest flights between Seattle and New York City are if you leave on May 31 and return from New York on June 3. Frontier Airlines currently has tickets for $284, roundtrip. If you fly out of Seattle on May 31 and return from New York City on June 2, Frontier Airlines can get you there and back for $293 roundtrip. Top New York City accommodations To plan your accommodations, here are some of New York Citys top-rated hotels, that we selected from Skyscanner's listings based on price and customer satisfaction. The Standard, High Line (848 Washington St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking to treat yourself, consider The Standard, High Line. The hotel has a 4.4-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $275. All 338 rooms have ground-to-ceiling windows with spectacular views that include the Hudson River, the High Line or the city skyline. It is within close proximity to the west side highway, Javits Center, SoHo and the Financial District. The Dream Downtown (355 W. 16th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner There's also the 4.5-star-rated The Dream Downtown. Rooms are currently set at $204/night. Situated between the thriving Meatpacking District and Chelsea, the Dream Downtown is the latest addition to the Vikram Chatwal Hotel portfolio. This luxury property features 315 loft-inspired rooms and a rooftop lounge with city views. Ace Hotel New York (20 W. 29th St.) If you're looking for an inexpensive place to stay, try Ace Hotel New York. The 4.3-star hotel has rooms for $84/night. The 12-story boutique hotel is within walking distance of many popular destinations like Times Square, the Empire State Building, Macy's and the Broadway theaters. Featured New York City restaurants If you're looking for a popular spot to grab a bite, New York City has plenty of excellent eateries to choose from. Here are a few from Skyscanner's listings to help you get started. Levain Bakery (167 W. 74th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First things first: where to satisfy your sweet tooth. For a popular option, check out Levain Bakery, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 42 reviews on Skyscanner. The bakery boasts a steady stream of community regulars and tourists loyal to its diverse assortment of freshly baked products. The menu includes an inventive array of rustic breads and other equally creative takes on traditional baked goods. The Meatball Shop (84 Stanton St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner One of New York City's most popular restaurants is The Meatball Shop, with 4.6 stars from 49 reviews. "These are the best meatballs I have ever had," wrote ABelle. Red Rooster (310 Lenox Ave.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is Red Rooster, which is part of the vibrant Harlem community. The menu reflects the roots of American cuisine while celebrating local farmers and artisanal food makers. The Red Rooster features a takeout market, bar and restaurant. "The attention to detail in every part of this dining experience really made it a standout that we'll remember," wrote John349. Dominique Ansel Bakery (189 Spring St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, there's Dominique Ansel Bakery. "A visit to New York meant that we had to visit the bakery that started the cronut craze," wrote Trina. "Their cronut flavors rotate monthly and they never feature the same flavor twice. ... The cronut has flaky layers of pastry with a cream bursting from inside." Featured local attractions New York City is also full of sites to visit and explore. Here are some popular attractions to round out your trip, again from Skyscanner's listings. The Brooklyn Bridge Park (334 Furman St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is The Brooklyn Bridge Park. This park is located beside the Brooklyn bridge, considered one of the portals into the city and although the park itself is simple, it also offers an amazing view of the entire city. It is a great place for a tourist to stop and take a quick lunch break while absorbing the skyline of Manhattan. "The walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, whether you're walking from Brooklyn to Manhattan or vice versa, is one of the most iconic walks New York City has to offer," wrote visitor Gary. The High Line Park Photo: Trip by Skyscanner The High Line Park is another popular destination. This repurposing of the old railroad line running through the Meatpacking District of Manhattan has become an outdoor favorite for locals and tourists alike. With wood-planked floors and landscaping, the High Line is a great place to escape the craziness of the city and enjoy a few quiet moments. "The most fun place I have found to walk in the city yet," wrote visitor Lars. "The views are amazing and ever-changing. There is a lot of great art along the High Line to enjoy and photo ops are endless." The Statue of Liberty Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Lastly, spend some time at The Statue of Liberty. A symbol of the country's possibilities, the Statue of Liberty National Monument includes nearby Ellis Island, where many European immigrants started on their journey of becoming Americans. This story was created automatically using flight, hotel, and local attractions data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. SPRINGFIELD A Multi-Agency Resource Center is scheduled to open in Calhoun County this weekend to help residents after the recent historic floods. The one-stop-shop for flood victims will offer disaster related relief services and information. The MARC brings together representatives from local and state agencies and essential support organizations. Any Illinois resident affected by recent flooding can visit the MARC at the First Presbyterian Church, 400 W. Main St., Hardin, Friday, May 24, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, May 25, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Proof of address is requested. One of the most sought after resources following any storm or flood is a clean-up kit. Each kit consists of a bucket, mop, gloves, cleaning supplies, sponges, broom and a squeegee. Representatives will be on-hand this weekend to provide the kits to residents in need. Important flood safety information will also be distributed. Several state and local agencies will offer assistance through the Calhoun County MARC. Illinois Department on Aging staff will help older adults and their family caregivers, providing information on services and public benefits within the community. They also will evaluate the problems and capacities of individuals to recover from the flood and try to address service gaps; provide follow-up services based on the older individuals and family caregivers needs; and deliver information regarding the wide range of services offered by the Aging Network. Illinois Department of Human Services representatives will assist residents seeking to replace Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits due to the flood. They also will provide access to mental health and substance abuse programs, referrals to local childcare providers and functional needs support services. Illinois Department of Insurance representatives will answer questions about individual insurance policies or questions about the insurance claim process. They also will address issues with individual insurance agents or insurance companies. Illinois Attorney General representatives will provide information on identity theft, home repair scams and how residents can protect themselves from predators during the recovery process. Also in attendance will be various non-profit and faith-based disaster relief organizations to assist those directly impacted by the flooding. Upon arrival at the MARC, residents will be paired with a service ambassador who will help residents navigate the facility and ensure their needs are addressed. The American Red Cross will provide client casework, information and referrals. Earlier this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation for 34 counties in Illinois. Emergency management officials urge residents to remain vigilant of spring flooding, be aware of flood risks in their neighborhood and know the steps to take to keep their family safe in the event of an emergency. For more details, visit ready.illinois.gov. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) More than 80 people are staying in shelters in central Missouri after tornadoes ripped through the region. Tornadoes caused significant damage overnight in Missouris capital city of Jefferson City and in Eldon, a town of about 4,900 residents around 30 miles southwest. The National Weather Service said it was the same storm that hit Jefferson City, though its not clear whether it was the same tornado. Is America headed for a war involving Iran? Actually, were already mired in one. Its the unconscionable war in Yemen, where we are complicit in the deaths of almost a quarter million Yemenis so far, many of them children who have starved to death. Just a few days ago, bombs (perhaps American made) killed four Yemeni children. Every 12 minutes, another child in Yemen dies. Yemen is a complicated place with many bad actors, but heres the bottom line: Because of our enmity toward Iran and our bond with Saudi Arabia, we are helping to starve and bomb Yemeni children. With tensions in the region high, Saudi Arabia is now encouraging the United States to escalate the hostilities and order a military strike on Iran. They must be hit hard, Arab News, a newspaper with ties to the Saudi government, declared on Thursday. Beware. That was the Saudi line as well in 2015 when Saudi Arabias Mad Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, intervened in Yemen. He wanted to show his toughness and assumed that his armed forces would crush an Iran-backed faction there called the Houthis. Instead, the Saudi intervention resulted in Iran gaining influence in Yemen, while the Saudis have helped cause what the United Nations calls the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. With talk of American conflict with Iran again in the air, Yemen should be a reminder that wars are easy to get into, harder to exit. It is Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that drop the bombs on Yemen, but Washington supplies weaponry and intelligence that allow this war to drag on indefinitely. American policy is to support the starvation of Yemeni children because they are ruled by a faction with ties to Iran. This should not be a partisan issue. President Barack Obama backed the Saudis in Yemen, and President Donald Trump has doubled down on that support. Most presidential candidates (with the exception of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has been a strong opponent of the Yemen war) dont mention Yemen much, and it receives little public attention. Im writing about it partly because I was able to slip through the Saudi blockade into Yemen late last year, and Im haunted by seeing my tax dollars go to help starve children to death. Congress passed a bipartisan measure to end U.S. involvement in the war, but Trump vetoed it last month. A recent U.N. study calculated that if the war ends this year, it will have claimed 233,000 lives, and that if it continues until 2022, it will claim a total of 482,000 lives. If it lasts until 2030, the U.N. estimated, it will cause 1.8 million deaths. Every day things get worse, Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, told me this month. There isnt anyone working today in Yemen who doesnt believe that the only solution to this terrible, senseless crisis is to end the conflict. We have to face the fact that if fighting drags on, Yemen will be a failed state, unstable for generations. Nearly every family has either lost someone, is hungry, has children out of school or is battling cholera, Grande said. Its hard to understand why the lives of so many innocent people seem to mean so little. The Mad Princes rash interference in Yemen not only backfired and helped Iran, but a CNN investigation also found that it led Saudi Arabia to give American weapons to fighters linked to al-Qaida. The chaos led to the cholera outbreak, which worsened recently, with more than 300,000 suspected cases so far in 2019. Iran and the Houthis have also behaved badly, but thats a poor excuse for Americans to support war crimes against Yemeni children. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are no longer enthusiastic about the Yemen war, but they dont want to leave and give Iran and the Houthis a victory. So its difficult to see how the war ends unless the U.S. forces the issue. Trump has said that if the United States doesnt sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, then Russia or China will. But Saudi Arabia needs American spare parts, and it also buys U.S. weapons partly for the implicit security guarantee that comes with them. No other country can provide that security blanket. The Saudi military is dependent on American spare parts, logistics and munitions, noted Bruce Riedel, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institution. If Washington uses its enormous leverage, the Saudis have no choice but to end the war. We are drifting toward an increased risk of a collision with Iran, and the U.S. Navy in particular worries about an accident in the Persian Gulf that escalates. In 1988, in a similar period of tensions, the United States mistakenly shot down an Iranian passenger plane, killing 290 people on board. So of course lets work to reduce the risk of a war directly with Iran. But lets also not forget this old, shameful war outside Irans borders: Its time to end American support for the bombing and starvation of children in Yemen. Nicholas Kristof is a columnist for The New York Times. Man stabs another to death for ... (CNN) Siri, Alexa and other female-voiced AI assistants are perpetuating gender stereotypes and encouraging sexist and abusive language from users, a UN report has said. The report by UNESCO warns of the negative consequences of the personal assistants, claiming they perpetuate the idea that "women are obliging, docile and eager-to-please helpers, available at the touch of a button or with a blunt voice command." It also highlighted the passive and polite responses the assistants give when users make sexually abusive remarks, warning that their algorithms are reinforcing sexist tropes. "The assistant holds no power of agency beyond what the commander asks of it," the report states. "It honours commands and responds to queries regardless of their tone or hostility. In many communities, this reinforces commonly held gender biases that women are subservient and tolerant of poor treatment." "What emerges is an illusion that Siri an unfeeling, unknowing, and non-human string of computer code is a heterosexual female, tolerant and occasionally inviting of male sexual advances and even harassment. It projects a digitally encrypted 'boys will be boys' attitude." Hundreds of millions of people use personal assistants, and the four main offerings Apple's Siri, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft's Cortana and Google Assistant are all voiced by women as a default setting. The report was named "I'd Blush If I Could," which is the response Siri once gave when users said "You're a slut." The UNESCO report outlined a number of similarly polite and accepting responses made when people use sexist language. To the same insult, Alexa responded, "Well, thanks for the feedback," it said. "Siri responded provocatively to requests for sexual favours by men ('Oooh!'; 'Now, now'; 'I'd blush if I could'; or 'Your language!'), but less provocatively to sexual requests from women ('That's not nice' or 'I'm not THAT kind of personal assistant')," it found. "Their passivity, especially in the face of explicit abuse, reinforces sexist tropes," it said. Saniye Gulser Corat, UNESCO's Director for Gender Equality, said much greater attention should be paid "to how, when and whether AI technologies are gendered and, crucially, who is gendering them." Earlier in May, Melinda Gates warned of a lack of diversity in the AI sector, saying that the number of women is "so small its unbelievable". This had a serious impact on an increasingly influential industry, she said, explaining: "We are baking bias into the system by not having women have a seat at the table and not having people of color at the table." The study made the first official UN recommendations regarding AI personal assistants, urging companies and governments to end the practice of making digital assistants female by default. It also suggested that bodies explore the possibility of making the voices "neither male nor female," program assistants to discourage abusive or sexist language, and require them to "announce the technology as non-human at the outset of interactions with human users." This story was first published on CNN.com "Hey Siri, stop perpetuating sexist stereotypes, UN says" 3 1 of 3 Ellysa Harris/Plainview Herald Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Don Brown/For The Herald Show More Show Less 3 of 3 High wind speeds caused a number of issues around the area on Tuesday including knocking out power to a few Plainview campuses and knocking over a semi. According to the National Weather Service, the wind speeds picked up early Tuesday morning in Plainview and escalated throughout the early afternoon, reaching 45 miles per hour at 1:15 p.m. Gust speeds of 55 mph were measured at 3:45 p.m. Speeds did not begin to de-escalate until the early evening, finally reaching single-digit numbers at 9:15 p.m. One member of the Schott family is moving out, and another is taking his place in a Helotes meat market space on Bandera Road that has been serving the area for nearly 20 years. The end result is a net gain for the area carnivore community. Mike Schott is moving his Schotts Meat Market into a new location closer to San Antonio on Bandera Road, just outside Loop 1604, that used to be the former Bad Dogz Beer & Bites bar. Memorial Day will be his final day of business before moving. Rodney Schott, Mikes cousin who owns the complex that houses the orginal market at 19405 Bandera Road, is taking deer and is renaming the business Schott Country Store & Meat Market. He also will process deer at the facility, which also includes a large convenience store. Both Schotts said they hope their new businesses, which are not affiliated with one another, are up and running around Fathers Day, June 16. On ExpressNews.com: Your guide to the 10 best meat markets around San Antonio We are rearranging the layout a bit and installing a new cooler and freezer to the property, but this should be a pretty quick turnaround for us, Mike Schott said. Well have a little more space to operate here, and that will allow us to do some new things, like maybe expand our sausage-making operations and maybe also carry more produce. This will be the second Schott Country Store & Meat Market in the San Antonio area. The original is located off Interstate 10 West in Fair Oaks Ranch. Customers that are familiar with what we do there will find a similar experience at the new location, Rodney Schott said. Well have somebody behind the counter, but also feature a lot of grab-and-go items, jerky, dried sausage and premium beef. Chuck Blount is a food writer and columnist covering all things grilled and smoked in the San Antonio area. Find his Chuck's Food Shack columns on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com, or read his other coverage on our free site, mySA.com. | cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount | Instagram: @bbqdiver Note: This is a Just a Taste review, which the Express-News does soon after a restaurant or bar opens to give our first impressions. Joe Saenz has given downtown San Antonios sandwich scene a much-needed booster shot with the May 17 opening of his Swine House Bodega. The petite newcomer is tucked away in a back corner of Pinch Boil House and Bia Bar in the Rand Building, and despite its cozy quarters, is serving up some impressively big flavors. Saenz has operated Swine House as a pop-up and catering outfit for the past couple years, and the bodega is the first brick-and-mortar home for the concept he bills as a whole-animal sandwich shop. That means layering scratch-made biscuits and breads with deli meat and charcuterie Saenz either cures himself or sources from trusted providers. Now dont be fooled; Swine House is a far cry from a full-service sandwich shop. The menu currently boasts just four regular items plus a rotating lunch special. If you want a drink, youll have to select from very limited options including Topo Chico, coconut water, orange-flavored S.Pellegrino and a couple others, but nary a Coke or Pepsi in sight. On ExpressNews.com: Review: Bistr09 meets and beats expectations for French food But trust us here, if you visit Swine House Bodega expecting a Subway or Jimmy Johns experience, youre doing it wrong. This is a focused operation with a singular mission: celebrating the multitude of flavors that can be coaxed out of high-quality meats from animals that were humanely and responsibly raised on Texas pastures. On the menu: Its hard to beat a biscuit for breakfast, and Saenzs are among the better to be found downtown. He serves the light and flaky rounds topped with butter and jam ($2.99) or as a sandwich with house-made sausage, a pasture-raised egg and American cheese ($6.99). The latter is a delightfully savory start to the day, the biscuit offering just enough structure to keep the juicy sausage, jammy egg yolks and gooey cheese in place. The main lunch menu includes two staples: a premade grab-and-go sandwich built on a house-baked sourdough focaccia, and a more substantial deli classic made on a submarine roll or other bread. During my visit, the focaccia ($4.99) sported pungent slices of Tomme de Hood from the Granbury-based Eagle Mountain Cheese, diced pickles and a few layers of razor-thin lonza, a type of cured pork loin, that Saenz finished with a coffee-based rub. It was a minimalist treat not much bigger than a deck of cards, but it delivered a huge burst of flavor and substance. On ExpressNews.com: Review: San Antonio meets Southeast Asia at Pinch Boil House The days heftier option was an assembly of peppery and well-marbled house-made pastrami with homemade sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and spicy brown mustard on rye bread ($11.99). It came together to form what is easily one of downtowns more satisfying Reubenlike bites. If youre craving an overstuffed hoagie bursting at the seams with mounds of meat, lettuce and tomato, keep walking. But if you want a sandwich made with a clear point of view and integrity, Swine House Bodega is the place for you. Location: 124 N. Main Ave. in the back corner of Pinch Boil House and Bia Bar, swinehousesa.com, Facebook: @swinehousesa Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. for breakfast, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch Monday through Friday Paul Stephen is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen Andrews High School valedictorian Jordan Barton will be the first AISD student to be named a Presidential Scholar and the first to attend an Ivy League since the 1980s. Next month, he will head to the White House to receive a medallion for his accomplishments and shake the hand of President Donald Trump. The application to become a Presidential Scholar is by invitation only, according to the Department of Education website. Students are invited based on their SAT or ACT scores or they were nominated by the person who heads their state Department of Education or by one of the recognition organizations the department partners with. Barton was invited to apply by QuestBridge, a nonprofit that helps talented low-income youth get accepted into higher education institutions and other opportunities. Its nominees for the Presidential Scholars program were selected from a pool of more than 6,500 QuestBridge National College Match finalists, which initially received more than 16,200 applications. Once he received his invitation for the Presidential Scholars program, Barton said he completed an application that required an essay, a self-assessment, secondary school reports and transcripts. After initial applications from approximately 5,200 students were reviewed in January, 800 semi-finalists were selected in April. The semi-finalist selections were then sent to the White House, which selected the finalists. Each state can have one male and one female Presidential Scholar for academics, and Barton learned in early May he would be that one male from Texas. The state's other three scholars were selected for the fine arts component. There is also a computer and technology component students can apply for. Barton, who will graduate tonight, said he just finished taking an AP exam when he learned the news. "It was truly something I did not have high expectations on something I had cleared from my psyche," Barton said. "So, I was really excited when I found out." He plans to study government in college, so he said he is especially excited to be able to talk to elected officials whenever he makes his trip to Washington, D.C. After receiving acceptance letters from Harvard University, Princeton University, Stanford University and University of Texas at Austin, Barton said he decided Harvard was the place for him. AISD Superintendent Bobby Azam said it is an honor to have a student like Barton in the district. "What he has accomplished is a testament to his work ethic, his family (and) his teachers who worked with him all the way through. (Plus) he's incredibly bright," Azam said. "Put all of (these things) together, and the success he is having is due to it." He said other AHS students applied to become a Presidential Scholar in the past, but Barton was the first to become a finalist and receive the medallion for it. Barton said he has done his research of students around the area, and he believes he will be the second student in AHS history to attend an Ivy League school; the first attended Brown in the 1980s. He will be the first student Azam gets to see go to an Ivy League school. "To have someone like Jordan, who had Ivy League schools, not only accept him, but pursue him, is incredible. They chased him hard," Azam said. "And getting accepted to an Ivy League would be the pinnacle for everything (for most students). But he's the type that there's no telling what he'll accomplish after receiving his Harvard degree. He may be the president of the United States someday. "This is just a starting point for him, and we are excited to watch, because there is really no limit," Azam said. AISD is a 4-A school district with about 1,300 students in the high school. Azam said he hopes Barton's story could be a segue for other students to realize what all they can accomplish. Barton said he hopes for the same. "This is all completely possible for anyone," Barton said. "I know it's unusual coming from a small town, and I came from very modest means. But it's a real possibility for anyone, and no one should be discouraged from applying themselves. It is for them, because I think it's for everyone, really." The man accused in the disappearance of 4-year-old Maleah Davis is the key to finding her body, but he's not talking, Police Chief Art Acevedo said Thursday during a plea for tips. According to Houston's top cop, Harris County Jail inmate Derion Vence, 26, has refused to elaborate on Maleah's whereabouts since May 4 when he reported her missing. "We strongly believe he knows where she's at," Acevedo said during a news conference. As for everything else Vence has divulged, the chief dismissed it as "a tall-tale." The alleged fabrication stems from when Vence, who was engaged to Maleah's mother, was tasked from April 30 to May 3 with caring for the child. He told investigators that three men knocked him unconscious and abducted the girl while they were on their way to pick up Maleah's mother at Bush Intercontinental Airport. He was arrested and charged on May 11 with tampering with evidence, in this case a human corpse, after police found traces of decomposition in his car and blood linked to the girl's DNA in their apartment. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Maleah Davis custody hearing handled behind closed doors "The evidence shows that she's been murdered," Acevedo said, marking the first time that local authorities have publicly floated the notion that Maleah is no longer alive. "I can sit here and say we're going to find her alive, but I'd be lying," Acevedo continued. "She deserves to be found. She deserves to be recovered. She deserves to have a proper burial." The lack of cooperation has extended beyond Vence, HPD Executive Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard also said during the news conference. "We are not receiving the level of cooperation that we need from anybody involved," Slinkard said. Acevedo urged the public to continue sharing tips, adding that Houston Crime Stoppers has already pledged $5,000 for information leading to Maleah's discovery. The reward later ballooned to $15,000 on Thursday night as the chief tweeted that Maleah's maternal aunt and uncle would supply another $10,000. Texas EquuSearch crews have scoured a large swath of land since Maleah's disappearance, including the fields near the site of the alleged abduction and the thick vegetation near Vence's Alief area apartment. Searchers later trekked 30 miles south of Houston to Rosharon where Vence previously had a mail route. The search has since been called off pending new leads. Acevedo compared the search for Maleah to the 2014 disappearance of a toddler boy in Austin whose body was found buried in a wooded area. "I was there when we found him, when the FBI found his body in a carpet under an inch a foot at most of dirt," said Acevedo, who was chief of Austin's police department at the time. The discovery brought law enforcement officials to tears, Acevedo continued. "There wasn't a dry eye." Anyone with information is urged to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477). jay.jordan@chron.com nicole.hensley@chron.com A man who assumed someone would find a dead woman in the back of his SUV parked at a West Side lot called police the next day when he saw that it was still there, officials said. The body of Ashley Rochelle Taylor, 30, was found under a blanket in the back seat of the mans white Chevrolet Tahoe at about 7:30 p.m. May 13, according to a San Antonio police report. The SUV had been abandoned at a parking lot in the 3600 block of Culebra Road. A man who called police to report her death and location said Taylor may have overdosed on heroin the day before between 3 and 5 p.m. He told officers that he left the vehicle at the lot because he assumed someone would come across it and discover Taylors body, according to the report. The man, who was not identified in the report, said he decided to call police when he drove by the lot the next day and discovered that the SUV was still there. Investigators said the vehicle is registered to the man. The Bexar County Medical Examiners Office took possession of her body, but they have not ruled on a cause or manner of death as of Wednesday. The determinations could take up to 12 weeks. At the end of the phone call, police said the man had declined to meet with them and was going to consult with his attorney, the report states. Investigators visited two of the mans last known locations but they did not find him at either one. An SAPD spokeswoman said that there is an on-going investigation into criminal charges. The man mentioned during his call with police that he had traveling for work and had been in Indiana. Taylor had posted a Gofundme on May 8 seeking to raise money for her return to San Antonio. In it, she said that she was traveling with a liquidation company and that they had been in Indianapolis when a deal fell through. She said her boss was planning to head to Chicago and that she did not want to go. According to Taylors post, she was the mother of a 1-year-old son. Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA Police on Thursday arrested a man after he allegedly shot and killed his relative in the backyard of an East Side home. Darryl Webb, 57, will be charged with murder after police said he killed a 61-year-old man in the 400 block of Dorie Street around 9:45 a.m., according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. READ ALSO: SAPD officer shoots suspected car burglar following 'knock-down, drag out' fight at West Side hotel The dispute escalated until one of the men shot the other several times in the upper torso and head. Responding officers found Webb in the home and took him into custody without incident, according to Officer Doug Greene, a police spokesperson. Webb cooperated with investigators, Greene said. However, Webb declined to comment on the shooting to the media as he was taken to Bexar County Jail. Police believe Webb and his relative have a "history of disputes" between them. "It spilled over today and led, unfortunately, to the death of the victim," Greene said. Police have not yet identified the victim. Webb has a criminal history that includes convictions for murder and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. On Aug. 17, 1982, Webb and his brother robbed and killed a taxi driver named Rogelio Rodriguez in the 2600 block of Dignowity Street, according to an Express-News story. Rodriguez had only been employed by the cab company for three days before his death. Darryl Webb and his brother Felmo Webb were both convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Court records showed Darryl Webb was released from prison in 2006. The shooting took residents in that area by surprise, McManus said. "The neighbors all tell me that they're shocked," he said. Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com Caleb Downs covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | cdowns@mysa.com | @calebjdowns A 17-year-old San Antonio man initially accused of sexually assaulting his 6-year-old relative was taken into custody again Wednesday after police interviewed the girl's sister. Angel Hinojosa, who was initially arrested on May 6 for super aggravated sexual assault of a child, was additionally charged Wednesday with aggravated sexual assault of a child. A San Antonio police officer shot a man in the leg Thursday following a "knock-down, drag out fight" on the West Side, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. The 17-year veteran officer responded to the OYO Hotel in the 2400 block of S.W. Loop 410 at about 8:10 a.m. for a reported car burglar in the parking lot. When he arrived he found a man in his 20s, prowling the lot, McManus said. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox Despite the officer's attempts to calm the suspect a physical confrontation ensued that McManus described as a hand-to-hand "knock-down, drag out fight." The officer took the suspect to the ground but was unable to subdue him, according to the officer, McManus said. Pepper spray was also used on the suspect, but to no effect. The officer then began to back off when it became apparent he was on the "losing end of that fight," McManus said. The chief explained that the officer said he felt his life was in danger as the suspect continued to advance, the officer then opened fire striking the suspect in the back of the leg. RELATED: BCSO: Husband accused of fatally shooting 60-year-old wife on far West Side Paramedics took the man to University Hospital for treatment. The officer was not physically injured, McManus said. The officer will be placed on administrative duty pending an investigation into the shooting. This is a developing story. Check back later for more information. Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com Caleb Downs covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | cdowns@mysa.com | @calebjdowns President Donald Trumps Iran policy appears to be careening between diplomacy and belligerence. One day Trump tweets, Im sure that Iran will want to talk soon. The next he warns that if Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Confused? Well, there is a method to the madness. The Trump administration understands that Iran doesnt want war because Iran knows it will lose. Thats why Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made clear via a government Twitter account no war is to happen. Trumps goal is not to start a war. His administration has three objectives: First, restore deterrence and contain Irans expansionism across the Middle East. Second, roll back Irans gains and force it back within its borders. And third, give Irans leaders a clear choice: They can come to the negotiating table and give up their nuclear and missile ambitions or their regime can implode, just like the Soviet Union. When Trump came into office, Iran was on the march across the Middle East in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen thanks in part to the massive infusions of cash it received from sanctions relief under President Barack Obamas Iran deal. Trump did not simply restore sanctions imposed before the deal; he ramped them up to unprecedented levels. The sanctions have already wiped $10 billion from Iranian revenue since November, The Washington Post reported, citing administration officials. This month, the administration tightened the screws even further, eliminating waivers for eight countries that had previously been allowed to continue importing Iranian oil. The goal, according to American officials, is to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero. Its working. Bloomberg News reports that Irans oil shipments tumbled this month after the U.S. ended sanctions waivers. ... So far, not a single ship has been seen leaving Irans oil terminals for foreign ports. The new sanctions are forcing Tehran to cut funds to its terrorist proxies. According to The Post, Irans ability to finance allies such as Hezbollah has been curtailed, while in Lebanon, The New York Times reports, Syrian militiamen paid by Iran have seen their salaries slashed. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress that Irans proposed defense budget has been reduced by 25 percent and the (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) proposed budget by about 10 percent. Iran is obviously unhappy with this, and U.S. intelligence saw signs that Iran was preparing to respond with attacks on Americans using terrorist proxies just as they did in the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, and by supplying Shiite militias in Iraq with armor-penetrating roadside bombs that killed hundreds of American soldiers. So the Trump administration delivered a clear message that America will hold Iran directly responsible for any attacks on Americans, even if they are carried out by surrogates and offered a show of force to back those threats providing clarity that makes it less likely Iranian leaders will miscalculate. Sanctions are inflicting major pain. But if the goal is to roll back Irans expansionism, then sanctions alone are not enough. We must also aggressively confront Iran throughout the region, building up our allies inflicting defeats on Iran in critical theaters, just as President Ronald Reagan did to the Soviets. A major drawdown of U.S. forces in Syria is incompatible with a maximum pressure approach. Will Iranian leaders come to the table? Far less draconian sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table under Obama. But Trump has rightly paired tougher sanctions with tougher demands. Pompeo has laid out 12 requirements for a deal with Iran including an end to support for Middle East terrorist groups and a complete withdrawal from Syria that Iran is unlikely to meet. If they dont come to the table, then what is our strategy? Does Trump really want to bring about the collapse of the Iranian regime? Its not clear. If he does, then, as my American Enterprise Institute colleague Frederick W. Kagan points out, this task may be even harder than it was with the Soviet Union. As North Korea has shown, tyrannical regimes can survive even crippling sanctions. Certainly, the world will be better if Iran is focused on survival rather than expansion and terror. But it will take more than sanctions to leave the Iranian regime on the ash heap of history. That requires a strategy. @marcthiessen Cabinet remains committed to addressing energy challenges, especially fuel and electricity shortages, which are affecting the country and a number of strategies are being considered. Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said this while fielding questions from journalists during a post-Cabinet press briefing on Tuesday. Cabinet is very much seized with the critical problems which are out there in terms of energy shortages, said Minister Mutsvangwa. We are having load shedding at the moment, there are also queues for fuel and this is an issue which is discussed at each and every Cabinet meeting. Strategies have been put in place and time will come when we will give you feedback on the outcome of the strategies. A lot of debate has been going on, this is an issue which gets debated each and every Cabinet meeting because it affects our people. Zimbabwe is experiencing serious electricity shortages, with most residential areas going without power for anything between six hours and 10 hours. Electricity shortages are due to low water levels at Kariba Dam while coal mining is also depressed and cannot adequately support power generation at thermal power stations. Critically, ZESA Holdings is only importing a combined 150MW from Eskom of South Africa and Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa of Mozambique due to arrears of US$80 million. The national power company is working on clearing the arrears to enable it to import more electricity. Government has indicated that it is determined to promote renewable energy generation so as to reduce dependence on coal and water for power. The Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) was on Tuesday generating 1066MW from Hwange (331MW), Kariba (718MW) and Munyati (17MW). Bulawayo and Harare power stations were not generating anything. National demand for electricity is averaging 1 600MW, which results in the deficit which has forced ZPC to introduce load shedding. Similarly, the country is battling fuel shortages due to foreign currency shortages. However, it is expected the fuel situation will improve in the near future following the decision by Government to let Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) access foreign currency from the interbank market. The move to discontinue the 1:1 foreign currency exchange rate for the procurement of fuel by (OMCs), saw petrol prices rising to $4,97 from $3,37. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr John Mangudya believes removal of the 1:1 rate will promote the efficient use of forex. Chronicle Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Exiled former Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo has mourned the fallen liberation war stalwart and Zapus former intelligence supremo, Dumiso Dabengwa. Dabengwa died early Thursday, in Nairobi, Kenya on his way back home after being airlifted to India last month for specialist treatment. He was 80. Moyo described Dabengwa as a true liberation war hero whose harassment by the Prime Minister Robert Mugabes government in the early years of independence derailed the war heros contributions to Zimbabwe. A true freedom fighter, selfless revolutionary and national hero; whose service to Zimbabwe was derailed by Gukurahundists who maliciously detained him in 1983 for four years under the evil Rhodesian State of Emergency Act. Giants like him dont fall! said Moyo. Gukurahundi is word describing a brutal military campaign by Mugabe against Zapu supporters that left over 20 000 civilians dead. Mnangagwa was State Security Minister at the time and Moyo has in the past referred to the Zanu PF leader as a Gukurahundist. Dabengwa was incarcerated alongside Lookout Masuku and four others on treason charges but the States case crumbled for lack of evidence. However, his best friend Masuku then Zapu military general died chained to his hospital bed as Mugabe sought to overturn the acquittal. Nicknamed the Black Russian, Dabengwa is a former Home Affairs minister who left Zanu PF in 2008 to revive Zapu argued the 1987 Unity Accord that brought together the two liberation movements had failed his partys supporters. Social media went into meltdown with condolence messages. Most Zimbabweans called on Mnangagwa to declare Dabengwa a national hero. NewZimbabwe Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News According to StatCounter, approximately 11% of smartphone owners in Zimbabwe use smartphones manufactured by the Shenzen-based telecom giant Huawei. At the same time, it is an important provider of the countrys telecommunication infrastructure as it is in many other countries, including several US states. Those browsing the web, listening to music and playing games at Betway online casino may have been startled by the news that hit over the weekend: US president Donald Trump banned American companies from working with Huawei, and as a result, Google has announced that it has revoked Huaweis license to use its products. This means no Play Store, no Play Services, probably no Google Maps, and Google Drive. Google was quick to specify that these new restrictions will not affect the phones already in use and they probably also wont affect those in the stocks of retailers and wholesalers. But from now on, unless something changes, Huawei will have to make do with the open-source part of the Android operating system and not use Googles services on its phones. For Huawei, this was not an entirely unexpected change. Chinas largest smartphone manufacturer has suffered repeated attacks from the US in recent years, most of them claiming that it spies for the Chinese government. The accusations were not backed by evidence made public, though and the investigations conducted by the authorities of several European countries have not managed to prove any wrongdoing either. Still, the US managed to turn many countries against Huawei over the years: the use of its equipment is banned in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan, others, like the UK and probably Denmark, will restrict the companys access to the core of its 5G network. At the same time, Huaweis equipment is already in use in Thailand and South Korea for 5G, and Brazil, Italy, South Africa, and the Czech Republic have no objection to using them in the future. How will this latest major attack affect Huawei when it comes to smartphone sales? Well, the news will probably reduce the demand for Huawei handsets in the short term, probably even cause their prices to fall as the retailers will likely try to get rid of their stocks as quickly as possible. In the long run, in turn, Huawei doesnt fear the future: during the years of attacks, it has prepared contingency plans. To replace the chips from its US-based suppliers, HiSilicon Huaweis subsidiary that produces the Kirin SoC has already announced to have backup chips at hand, and the company has started developing its own mobile operating system quite some time ago in 2012, apparently, and its name will be Hongmeng OS. Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News The 737 Max situation has developed not necessarily to Boeings advantage. A FAA news conference which presumably had restoring faith in the plane and the agency as a major goal didnt appear to make much progress on either front. And it also appears that the FAA placing way too much trust in Boeing had led to the regulator losing its hegemony in certifications. Nicely played! Boeings two largest US customers, Southwest and American Airlines, had made statements that they anticipated returning the 737 Max to service in August. That timetable was almost certainly the result of expectations set by Boeing. That plan has gone up in smoke. The FAA said it wouldnt give an idea as to when the 737 Max would be deemed airworthy again, and a year was not out of the picture, although commentators seemed to regard that long as highly unlikely. On top of that, the FAA mentioned that Boeing had missed several deadlines for submitting a software fix for the FAA to evaluate, and was set to get it in this week. Not a good look as far as the airlines with mothballed planes are concerned. Moreover, while the US press for the most part was putting a positive spin, given the givens, on the FAAs press conference, the Financial Times reported that foreign regulators, who are set to meet with the FAA today (Thursday) are taking a tough line on the 737 Max recertification, including insisting on simulator training as a requirement. This confirms a risk we and others had raised before: that the FAA, by doggedly defending the 737 Max when other regulators were proven correct in grounding it, is no longer fully in charge of the certification process. At best, it is having to negotiate terms with key foreign regulators. Key bits from the Wall Street Journal: Acting Federal Aviation Administration chief Daniel Elwell appeared to undermine industry expectations that Boeing Co.s grounded 737 MAX jets would be heading toward a smooth and predictable return to the skies. Mr. Elwell repeatedly told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that he couldnt predict when the fleet would be back in the air, suggesting instead that the process of approving a proposed software fix for the aircraft remains open-ended and subject to various factorsmany outside his control. Some of his comments seemed to signal potentially months of additional delay, as Mr. Elwell appeared to distance himself from plans by some U.S. airlines to put the jets back into operation in August The Journal did mention, but downplayed, the further impediment of winning over foreign regulators. Stunningly, it included but failed to flag the significance of the notion that foreign regulators might not accept the FAAs clean bill of health: In addition to verifying the revised software, the FAA has to establish new training requirements, create enhanced maintenance standards andmost importantpersuade foreign regulators to endorse the bulk of the eventual U.S. plan At Thursdays session, FAA officials will detail progress so far and seek suggestions from foreign participants. Weeks ago, air-safety regulators for Canada and the EU said they planned to conduct separate reviews of changes to the automated flight-control feature, called MCAS, along with a safety assessment of the entire aircraft. Other countries and other authorities may take longer to put the planes back into service, Mr. Elwell said, and they undoubtedly will. Meanwhile, the FAA is asking foreign regulators what else they would like to see from us, Ali Bahrami, the FAAs top safety official, told reporters. The Financial Times account is more pointed, perhaps because the reporters got input on where those foreign regulators stand: Canada, Europe and Indonesia made clear ahead of the meeting that they would set their own conditions for determining when the plane is safe to fly again, threatening the FAAs goal of building consensus for a co-ordinated plan to put the 737 Max back into action. At least with the pink paper, the Canadians were mum on their requirements, but per earlier remarks, training is on the list. Undermining the US role in certifying planes overseas, Indonesia said it is considering having Transport Canada or the European regulator EASA give a second opinion. The Financial Times said that the Europeans had three prerequisite conditions, which Investors Business Daily listed as: EASA must approve and mandate any design changes by Boeing EASA must complete an additional independent design review 737 Max flight crews must be adequately trained And China will be even more stringent. Again from the Financial Times: China, which was the first big regulator to ground the Max and a crucial market for Boeing, could be one of the last countries to lift its ban, aviation sources said. Chinese regulators are likely to insist on additional checks before they clear the plane to fly. That could erode the existing convention by which nations recognise safety certifications from the manufacturer nation, and someday provide an opening for Beijing to push for easier recognition of the planes it is developing. Chinese airlines and leasing companies account for at least 10 per cent of Boeings unfilled order book for the Max. And the list of countries officially not deferring to the FAA includes Brazil: Brazil, one of the few global regulators that mandated pilot training on the MCAS before allowing the Max to fly, said it continues to conduct our own evaluations about the aircraft. So Boeings 737 Max crashes, and the FAAs complacency about them, have cost the regulator dearly. And theres no way for the agency to regain its authority. The US cant throw its weight around the way it once did. By Marshall Auerback, a market analyst and commentator. Produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute The United States has increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products to 25 percent, and Beijing has responded in kind on $60 billion worth of American goods. More tit for tat appears to be on the way: the Trump administration is now openly deliberating whether to impose additional tariffs on a further $325 billion of Chinese goods exported to the United States. National security concerns are also being increasingly invoked: Not only is Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications group, already largely shut out of selling its products in the U.S. domestic market, but Trump is also now taking steps to ban the sale of U.S.-made components to Huawei as well. What was once a mere trade skirmish, therefore, appears to be metastasizing into Cold War 2.0. This creates a conundrum for the Trump administration: Beijing is increasingly viewed by many countries as an economic rival or a security threat to be contained, rather than a collaborative trade partner to be accommodated. But the presidents America First trade policy is undermining broader multilateral efforts to contain China because Trumps incessant focus on reducing his countrys bilateral trade deficit with Beijing means diverting Chinese purchases away from other trade counterparties. That means, for example, China buying more U.S. cars made on American soil than, say, German ones, more U.S. soybeans than Brazilian, or more U.S. semiconductors than Japanese or South Korean ones, all designed to help reduce the bilateral deficit. This sort of a trade deal, however, is clearly not in the interests of the EU, Brazil, Japan, or Southeast Asia, and is making them averse to collaborating with the United States with regard to any Chinese security concerns they might share (which they do), especially when one considers that the basis for the Wests successful containment strategy against the former Soviet Union was that it was both collaborative and multilateral in scope. Semiconductors are a perfect case in point to highlight the new contradiction. If Trump bans the export of U.S.-made semis to Huawei (he has now offered a temporary 90-day waiver), then the latter will naturally gravitate toward buying them from other countries. In fact, the Sino-U.S. trade dispute is just one of many growing points of friction between the U.S. and its traditional allies. Many are increasingly ignoring Trump, and competing for Chinese markets or investment (as the Italians have recently done in response to Beijings Belt and Road Initiative). The Sino-U.S. dispute throws up other challenges for the administration: Tariffs are certainly effective as an attention-getting mechanism. But if the goal is ultimately to encourage more jobs at home, they will be ineffective if unaccompanied by a national industrial policy that focuses on American re-industrialization in order to create skilled, high-paying private sector jobs capable of profitably supporting workers with solid middle-class incomes. A corollary is that a national development policy must be geared toward jobs that reflect the needs of the 21st-century economy, rather than nostalgically working to sustain industries that may be headed toward obsolescence, like steel or even fossil fuels. Many share the presidents belief that a harder line on Chinese trade is necessary. This reflects a growing loss of faith (even among those formerly well-disposed to Beijing) that the countrys market reforms will inevitably lead to multi-party liberal democracy, along with mounting skepticism that free trade and commercial co-dependence can displace military rivalry (a similar historic miscalculation was made before World War I). But support for the presidents current stance, particularly from Democrats, is conditionally tied to the embrace of a more activist form of state industrial policy to ensure that American workers derive maximum benefit from the reverse engineering of existing Chimerica supply chains. And that, argues Professor Michael Lind, means adequate and permanent production on U.S. soil, not just innovation in America and production elsewhere. This means some combination of managed trade, along with national industrial policy. Managed trade, which prioritizes concrete purchases of U.S. goods (as opposed to increased market access or structural changes to Chinas economy), is not really new. Ronald Reagan pursued a similar policy against Japan during the 1980s. Nor is the idea of a national economic development strategy particularly contrary to American historical traditions. Since the days of Alexander Hamilton, industrialization and the concomitant role of the state have long been viewed as the joint basis of modern military power and prosperity by both major parties, whether the president was a Republican like Lincoln or Eisenhower, or a Democrat such as FDR or JFK. It is only with the rise of multinational industry in the past few decades where the notion has taken hold that the state should limit its role in economic development. Borders have come second to measures of growth and corporate profitability. When there has been greater growth potential with policies that go across borders, the policies generally got the green light, even at a cost of eroding Americas homegrown manufacturing base. As industry became even more profitable when it went offshore, the focus for staying on top of the worlds economic food chain shiftedprincipally in the fields of advanced research in the fields of computing, biology and of course, military and space. But Americans themselves often did not experience the benefits of these shifts as more and more industry moved offshore. International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank loans ensured that the developing world would increasingly depend on Western agriculture to feed itself, Western engineering expertise to supply energy infrastructure, and Western finance centers to manageand leveragetheir economies. The muscle memory of state involvement in industry at this point is a matter of bailouts and buyouts. What remains of the old state-level involvement in national economic affairs has evolved into a Washington Consensus that engages in a more limited government role: Modest incentives and subsidies to avoid sudden and sharp economic convulsions. A 25-year decline in manufacturing, rather than all at once. Until the latest disruption on trade, Wall Street and the markets had come to believe Trump would get a trade deal with China that promised increased access to Beijings domestic market (e.g., the credit card companies and the U.S. rating agencies), but not much in the way of a changed status quo. One of the reasons why the president may have pulled back from this kind of an agreement is that expanding U.S. corporate access to Chinas domestic markets actually deepens Chimerica integration, rather than disrupting it and bringing much industry back to the United States. American blue-collar workers (a growing Trump constituency) will neither benefit from a status quo plus arrangement, nor is that kind of a deal consistent with the growing belief among Trumps advisers that Beijing constitutes a growing national security threat. Which leads to one of the new dimensions of this trade war: it is occurring against a backdrop in which long-standing contradictions with regard to trade and national security concerns have finally collided. These tensions are not new, as Michael Lind has observed: Under presidents of both parties, the Pentagon drew up war plans against China while the Commerce Department blessed the offshoring by U.S.-based multinationals of much of Americas industrial base to Chinese soil. This combination of containment and engagement inspired a name that itself was a contradiction: congagement. Trump is attempting to unravel congagement via the embrace of a more nationalistic industrial policy. That means returning tothe time-tested and successful Hamiltonian industrial strategy of using whatever means are necessarytariffs, subsidies, procurement, tax breaks, even overseas-development loans to countries that purchase U.S. manufactured exportsto ensure that strategic industries necessary to U.S. military power are introduced to America or remain here,as Lind writes. So with regard to China, this means exporting U.S. goods made on American soil. It therefore disrupts existing supply chains. Its not free trade by any stretch, but the virtue of numerical targets is that they are actually easier to monitor and enforce than vague promises to respect intellectual property or eliminate state subsidies. Under a managed trade framework, if China does not meet its quota of American goods, then Trump could slap on new tariffs. For Americas trade nationalists, this sort of a deal also has the happy byproduct of undermining the multilateral trade framework established by the World Trade Organization because enforcement mechanisms are left in the hands of the two parties to the agreement. With regard to national security considerations, it means preserving domestic manufacturing capacity in dual-use industries important in both defense and civilian commerce. But in resolving one contraction, Trump might well be introducing a new one. While managed trade might well dislocate many existing Chimerica supply chains, such disruption would likely come at the economic expense of Americas traditional allies in Europe, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. If Beijing were to accept specified quotas, it means some other country loses out. Not only will this likely prove unacceptable to Chinas non-U.S. trade partners, but it will also further exacerbate widening divisions between the United States and its traditional allies, making coherent economic diplomacy against Beijing less likely (especially against a backdrop of rising national populist movements that have rendered problematic any idea of a united European response in a protracted rivalry with China). And if it comes against a backdrop of China viewed as a national security threat, Beijing itself has even less incentive to accept such a deal, even if it means risking some short-term economic damage. There are also economic pitfalls for the United States in embracing such a narrowly nationalistic approach. High-tech knowledge industries (e.g., biotech, health care, AI, robotics, etc.) are crucial for future growth prospects. At the same time, growing concerns about climate change risk consigning one of Americas major comparative advantagesnamely, its dominance in the fossil fuel industriesto obsolescence, as the rest of the world works to decarbonize their economies. The issue here is that only a few countries matter in these industries (as opposed to, say, resource-based exporters). If the global economy continues to evolve into a series of regional, balkanized competing military-economic blocs in a post-unipolar world, it behooves the United States to be part of the biggest, most advanced of those geo-economic blocs. That becomes harder to do if the EU, Japan, Korea, etc., increasingly view America as an unreliable partner, pursuing a narrowly nationalistic policies that damage their own economic interests. Or the United States pursues more preemptive wars of choice, without any degree of international support (e.g., Iran). All of which stands in marked contrast to the post-WWII period, where the United States consciously made trade-offs that often worked against narrowly nationalistic considerations, but which sustained a coalition that ultimately won the Cold War. For example, it largely tolerated Asias mercantilist trade practices in order to secure the regions cooperation as part of a U.S.-dominated security umbrella (even though the resultant Asian export onslaught proved damaging to a number of American manufacturing interests). Trump has evinced little awareness of, or inclination to pursue, these trade-offs. In fact, America First almost makes it impossible to consider them. In any case, the breakdown in these trade negotiations is yet another sign that we have likely passed the high-water mark of globalization, both in economic terms and also ideologically. We are long past the point of making the naive assumption that the end of the Cold War means a universal embrace of Western liberal capitalist democracy (i.e., the end of history). Beijing may in reality have relatively limited options to retaliate against the trade sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. But it wont stand still and will seek out new partners to offset this containment as much as possible. At the same time, Trump will find it hard to sustain a multilateral coalition to contain China if the United States continues to pursue narrowly nationalistic managed trade goals that damage its allies. Something will have to give. The political demise of the UKs prime minister has been so overpredicted that its hard to believe that she might finally be leaving. But the resignation of Andrea Leadsom, Mays minister who managed the Commons, may be the fatal blow. The Times (which has gotten a great deal wrong on Brexit) reports that Mays supporters anticipate shell announce her departure after a meeting with Graham Brady, who heads the 1922 Committee. Recall that May managed to get them to hold off on plans to defenestrate her by turning on the tears. Leadsom is a staunch but not rabid Brexiter. She deemed some new features May added to the withdrawal bill, in particular to let Parliament vote again on holding a second referendum, to come too close to reneging on Brexit. From the Financial Times: In a fresh blow to Mrs Mays fragile leadership, Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons and a prominent Leave campaigner, resigned from the government on Wednesday evening saying she could no longer accept Mrs Mays Brexit deal. She said the possibility of a second EU referendum raised this week by the prime minister would be dangerously divisive and made clear her opposition to the revamped EU withdrawal agreement bill that Mrs May plans to put to parliament. I must say I feel sorry for May. Even though she did a terrible job, its hard to imagine any of the serious contenders for prime minister would have done anything other than a different type of terrible job. And we may be about to see that proven out if as is widely expected, Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. As we are seeing now, both of the major parties are too fundamentally split on Brexit for anything other than an inspired and energetic leader to have steered a path through the problem, and even then, it may not have been possible. Recall that for better part of two years after the Brexit vote, Fleet Street was braying with virtually one voice about how simple Brexit would be, how the EU was terrified of the loss of exports to the UK and of a crashout. And even if the Government had been able to hear otherwise, there was no one left in the civil service with the expertise and credibility to say otherwise. One school of historical thought rejects the great man theory, and instead argues that circumstances create opportunities for exceptional action and people with the needed skills and ambitions manage to find their way into them. I have trouble with that view, since I dont see the historical necessity of a Talleyrand, who nevertheless was enormously influential, nor do I see AOC somehow stepping into a role. And Obama ignored a critical three month window of opportunity when he could have made FDR scale reforms, and chose instead to reconstitute the status quo ante as much as possible. But I do see some elements of truth to this line of thinking with Brexit. Brexit wound up being the end game of the Thatcherite revolution that was central to the Tories and the Blairites accepted but tried to make a bit less mean-spirited. No one of any consequence in the UK countered the relentless Tory scapegoating of the EU for the damage done by Conservative austerity. And a sore point with many working class Brits in the UKs rust belt, that of the influx of Eastern European immigrants, was actually UK scheme that backfired. The UK pushed hard for EU enlargement, meaning the admission of Eastern European countries, to dilute the influence of Germany and France. So whoever chose to be Prime Minister and set the Brexit time bomb ticking (which would have to have happened at some point, although Mays rush to send in the Article 50 notice was one of her major mistakes) would be destined to preside over a colossal mess. However, the distinguishing feature of Mays time in No. 10, her astonishing ability to take pain and fight off challenges, was enabled by the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which made it far more difficult to dissolve Parliament. Under the old rules, May would have been gone long ago. But the result may have been a series of coalition governments, or alternatively, a coalition that couldnt agree on anything regarding Brexit while that clock was ticking. Even though I do feel a bit of sympathy for May, the flip side is that her record at Home Office, particularly with the Windrush scandal, means there is not likely to be much that historians will be able to find to cast her as anything other than relentless and exceptionally unimaginative, except in her idiot-savant genius at political maneuvering. It was vlade who I believe typed her out as the sort of manager who wont change course even when circumstances make clearer that a revision in plans is necessary. Of course, May did in the end, witness her getting to a deal with the EU, but only after beating her head against the wall for many months. I imagine Mays one hope for near term solace is if Boris is indeed the next prime minister. Even she will benefit from being compared to him. (As delivered) Foreign Secretary Hunt, CEO Martin, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Let me first thank the United Kingdom for hosting this second conference on the Cyber Defence Pledge. The United Kingdom has been strongly committed to the Pledge ever since we made the pledge at the Summit of Leaders and Heads of State and Governments in Warsaw in 2016. And the UK has played a crucial role in making cyber a priority for our Alliance. Hosting this conference here in London, at the National Cyber Security Centre, is a testimony to the strong commitment and the the leadership of the UK in the cyber domain. This Centre is a model for national coordination, bringing together the best expertise to tackle a growing threat. Ladies and Gentlemen, Cyber-attacks can be as damaging as conventional attacks. A single attack can inflict billions of dollars worth of damage to our economies, bring global companies to a standstill, paralyse our critical infrastructure, undermine our democracies and have a crippling impact on military capabilities. Cyber attacks are becoming more frequent, more complex and more destructive. From low-level attempts to technologically sophisticated attacks. They come from states, and non-state actors. From close to home and from very far away. And they affect each and every one of us. NATO is not immune. We register suspicious events against NATO cyber systems every day. And cyber threats will become more dangerous with the development of new technologies. Such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep fakes. These technologies are fundamentally changing the nature of warfare. As much as the industrial revolution did. NATO is adapting to this new reality. NATO leaders have agreed that a cyber attack could trigger Article 5 of our founding treaty. Where an attack against one Ally is treated as an attack against all. NATO has designated cyberspace as a military domain. Alongside land, sea and air. And at our Summit in Brussels last year, we agreed to establish a Cyberspace Operations Centre. At the heart of our military command structure. And we have agreed to integrate national cyber capabilities or offensive cyber into Alliance operations and missions. All of this has made NATO more effective in cyberspace. The Cyber Defence Pledge is helping Allies boost their defences. They have strengthened their cyber capabilities, they have improved their legal and institutional frameworks, and they have increased the resources people and money - devoted to confronting cyber threats. As a result, we are tackling increasingly complex cyber threats faster and more efficiently. And we are more aware of the threats, more resilient to incidents. None of the attempts against NATO systems have compromised our networks. And none have affected our secure operations. So Foreign Secretary, as you have just said, we also need to consider how we can deter attacks in cyberspace. Part of the answer is in attribution. Cyber attackers must know that they will be exposed. As was the case last October, when authorities in the Netherlands, with the help of British experts, foiled an attack by Russia on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. So Allies must be prepared to call out attacks. And when needed, we must be ready to use our cyber capabilities to fight an enemy. As some NATO Allies did, not least the UK, successfully in the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. By using national cyber effects or offensive cyber, they suppressed ISIS propaganda, degraded their ability to coordinate attacks, and disrupted their recruitment of foreign fighters. For deterrence to have full effect, potential attackers must know that we are not limited to respond in cyberspace when we are attacked in cyber space. We can and we will use the full range of capabilities at our disposal. NATO leaders will meet here in London on 3-4 December. At this summit, bolstering our cyber defences and resilience will be a top priority. That is why I have convened a meeting of National Security Advisers at NATO Headquarters next week. This meeting will be the first of its kind for the Alliance. It is a recognition that hybrid threats, including cyber threats, need a whole of a government response. It takes just a click to send a cyber virus spreading across the globe. But it takes a global effort to stop it from inflicting chaos. For 70 years, NATO has kept our people safe in the physical world. Now NATO needs to do the same in the cyber world. To do that, we must keep the technological edge. And ensure we harness the potential benefits of new technologies. While minimizing any possible risks. So our engagement with industry will become ever more important as technologies develop. Industry creates, innovates and operates. NATO is making sure that Allies invest more in defence. And that they invest in the capabilities and technologies we need. But cyber goes beyond technology. The people behind the technology are just as important. We need to build a strong and diverse workforce of future cyber defenders. For this, we must be smart about recruitment, and think about how to retain these highly skilled experts. And ensure these skills are kept sharp through regular exercises, as we do through Cyber Coalition one of the largest cyber defence exercises in the world. That is why, in this conference, we are focusing on education and on training. And Allies are taking innovative steps. A few examples are a Tech Academy in Luxembourg, student cyber competitions in Estonia, and the CyberFirst programme here in the UK. These national initiatives contribute to NATO. And enable us to secure our cyber defence in the future. At the same time we have to look beyond NATO. We all stand to benefit from a norms-based, predictable, and secure cyberspace. So we have stepped-up our cooperation with the European Union. Together we uphold the international rules-based system, also in cyberspace. And together we promote stability and reduce the risk of conflict. So Ladies and Gentlemen, NATO is the most successful Alliance in history. Because we have always been able to change when the world is changing. And that is precisely what we are doing now. When our security landscape is defined by new and emerging technologies. We adapt to those changes and to those challenges. By doing so, NATO will remain an anchor of peace and stability for generations to come. So thank you very much and all the best with this conference. Thank you, Secretary General, and welcome to the Foreign Secretary back to this stage. I think weve got time for a couple of questions from the floor and from the media. I think the first question is from the Ambassador from the Czech Republic. Sir? A microphone is on its way. Question: Thank you very much, sir and Foreign Secretary General. This is very impressive Ive paged through your annual report 2018 and what you have achieved in those two / three half of the years is really immense and thank you for your leadership in the alliance and it was mentioned several times now. Weve been attacked by our enemies in terms of critical infrastructure in terms of indeed military communication etc. Thats one side of the situation, the other side of the situation is that I believe that the more and better protected resilient we will have our critical infrastructure the more the enemies will focus on the mind of our societies. And here, indeed, the aim is to undermine the trust, the mutual trust, to undermine also the credibility of the government etc, etc you mentioned that. Now, a critical moment in that respect is public awareness, education, making people understand the challenge so if you could develop on this side of the challenge. Thank you. Jeremey Hunt: Let me go first on that one. I think the crucial thing to understand is that out opponents have developed a new strategy. One of the greatest strengths of the NATO alliance has been our leadership on values, our shared democratic values, our belief in an open society and thats always been our secret weapon and for years authorisation societies have said all this stuff about values its just a cover for your core national interest, it doesnt really amount to anything. But, theyve found a way to attack that values leadership, which is by shaking the confidence of our own populations in democratic processes through activities on cyberspace where it is possible to influence what people think by use of social media platforms and a range of other techniques and so, thats why I think this conference is incredibly important because we are now coming together and were recognising that we have to find a way to protect the confidence of our own populations in our own values, which are increasingly being threatened and one of the waysthe easiest ways to do that is to damage the credibility of elections and just to say look these are all being manipulated by different sources and the gap in my view, and I think we share this view is that what we dont yet have is a proper deterrence strategy, which has been so effective in the nuclear field but, of course, it has to be quite different in cyber and the way we approach it. It cant be symmetric deterrence and so we have to figure out a way to do it that is different but, make sure that people know that if they try there will be a price to pay and that price will be too high. Jens Stoltenberg: Just, first of all Im in full agreement second, just to add one reflection I think that to protect ourselves against any attempts to interfere in our democratic processes use cyber space to undermine our democratic institutions thats part about technical measures to increase the technical defence of our systems and we are doing a lot to improve those defences as NATO and as allies and together. But, its as you mentioned not only about technical measures to protect our systems against hacking or cyber attacks but is also very much about awareness. And awareness is something we can increase by conferences like this. We can increase awareness by exposing the attacks and I think thats extremely important that we are transparent and that we expose them when we see them. And also, through exercises and many of the people in this room have participated in the recent NATO exercise and I think we learn a lot from that about awareness and to fully understand that the gravity and the seriousness of cyber-attacks. So its important that NATO allies and NATO exercise but we need a whole of government approach so not only military structures but also civilian structures, institutions are exercising increasing awareness improving their understanding of the potential threats in cyber space. Thank you both. I think we have a question from the Ambassador from Norway: Question: Thank you and thank you to both of you for sharing your thoughts on such an important topic. I have a question that primarily would go to Foreign Secretary Hunt you spoke about cyber deterrence could you say a few words on the role of resilience in deterring preventing and stopping cyber-attacks? Jeremy Hunt: Absolutely. So I think that the very first step in this process is to reduce our vulnerability and thats why I think the work of the NCSC and occurrence leadership is very, very important and we should never underestimate our ability to remain one step ahead of our opponents in terms of the things that they are likely to consider trying and we need to continue to invest in that. But, combined with that increased resilience, I think resilience has been the area that weve actually made the most progress on in recent years. I think we agree significantly more resilient than we were five years ago and I think all the people in this room, all the NATO allies deserve an utmost credit for that. But, I think we also then have to go one step further and say that it isnt just resilience its also changing the calculations of your opponents as to whether they wish to try this in the first place. And if I can give you an example of where I think weve changed those calculations. It is the very successful response which NATO played a very, very important role in a response to the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury, which I think Russia thought that they would get away with. And the fact that there was the largest ever expulsion of Russian diplomats / spies from around the world will have done something to change their calculations in terms of what they choose to do in future because I think in the quieter moments in the Kremlin they will think that they probably paid too higher price for what they decided to do in Salisbury. So we have to think about those calculations now in a smart way. It cant be the same as other deterrent strategies, you know, its going to be asymmetric and not always going to respond to a cyber threat with a cyber response. But, we need to go that extra stage because I think thats been at the heart of NATO success in other areas. Jens Stoltenberg: Again, I agree but let me just highlight that resilience is of course a national responsibility and different nations make sure that they have resilient systems infrastructure in different ways, at the same time I think we need to look into how we can develop more and strong common approaches and understanding of what we mean with resilience. We have the resilience pledge not the NATO pledge, which is actually addressing, I think it is several different areas where we have created guidelines and in the light of what we now see in cyber space and also other technologies I think that its an argument for us looking into whether we can strengthen and develop a stronger common understanding some kind of minimum standards for what is resilience. Because we are faced with the same threat, the same technologies, the same challenges across borders and across countries. These are one of the dilemmas we face in all international institutions and in NATO what is a national responsibility and what should we decide and develop on the international level. Im not able to tell you exactly where that balance goes but at least I think its extremely important when you now are looking into how to strengthen the resilience. Thank you. Moving to media colleagues I think we have a question from Roland at Sky News? Question: Can you hear me? Roland Manthorpe at Sky News. Foreign Secretary, President Trump is going to be here next month with your strong warning on Russian manipulation in elections and reported tolerance for 5G. Is the UK diverging from the Trump administration on cyber and when he does come who do you think will be Prime Minister? Jeremey Hunt: Teresa May will be Prime Minister to welcome him and rightly so and we are absolutely at one with the United States on the threat of cyber. I had substantial discussions with Secretary Pompeo when he came to London very recently on this issue and we all agree on exactly the message that weve been talking about this morning which is that the thing we must not allow to happen is for hostile States to damage the fabric of our democracy by reducing public confidence in the functioning of elections and United States is acuity aware of that because of their own experience but, actually, there are many many European countries that share those concerns. And when it comes to decisions about 5G as I have said many times we would never take any decision that either threatened our national security or our intelligent sharing capabilities. I think weve time for a final question from Kim Sengupta at The Independent. Kim? Question: Foreign Secretary and Secretary General you have both expressed your concern about the hostile cyber activity of Russia. Youve stressed a need for Europe and NATO to have a strategy of common front to confront it. I just wonder how effective that is going to be with the rise of populist government within NATO who appear to be sympathetic to approving of Russia and Mr Putin and expect the success of populist parties with the same kind of views in the European elections and a quick supplementary Foreign Secretary, to you, youre seeing the Prime Minister this afternoon. What will you be advising her? Jens Stoltenberg: I can start on the first part of that question [laughter]. Because I think that you refer to the rise of populist parties and we are an alliance of 29 democracies and there are different parties and there are different views and there are actually a lot of disagreements within nations and between nations on many different issues. But the strength of NATO is that despite all these differences we have seen again and again that NATO is able to unite around our core post to protect and defend each other and what we now see when it comes to cyber defence is yet another example of that unity, our ability to deliver collective defence, our ability to stand together despite differences. And we have seen that now in cyberspace we had a remarkable increase in our capabilities to defend our networks to stand together, to integrate offensive cyber intermissions and operations and we have done that over the last years. And I totally agree with the Foreign Secretary that I think Russia has underestimated the unity of our alliance. He refer to the attacks or the use of a chemical agent in Salisbury but, I think if we look at what Russia has done over the last years in Crimea, in Donbass and elsewhere, they didnt expect that NATO would react in this firm and united way we have done. With increased readiness of our forces, with for the first time in our history deploying forces to the eastern part of the alliance, with the economic sanctions which have been there year after year. And now what we see in cyberspace we are also willing to expose what they are doing. So, while we are 29 different democracies, people vote for different parties and they have done so for the 70 years NATO has existed but for all those 70 years we have proven that despite the differences, we are able to deliver strong collective defence and I am absolutely certain we will be able to do that after the EU elections this weekend. Jeremey Hunt: Well Im sorry to disappoint you in terms of the answer to your second question but, I mean, all discussions between the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister should remain confidential and Im not going to change that this morning. But with respect to the first question I think that the fact that NATO is an alliance of countries with different parties in control, different philosophies of ruling parties, is also a sign of the strength of our belief in democratic values and our belief that in every country the people who run the country should be decided by the people who live in the country and it is true that there is a spectrum of views as to the degree of friendliness or the degree of suspicion with which we should hold President Putin and his intentions, but I have never encountered anything other than total unanimity behind the view that the electoral processes of any country, any democracy must be sacrosanct and we need to be very, very robust with countries that seek to interfere with those processes. I think thats all we have time for, Foreign Secretary, Secretary General. Thank you for those excellent contributions to this most important of events we are honoured by your presence and I just invite the audience to express their gratitude for your being here. Thank you. (Natural News) In potential retaliation against President Trumps tariffs and other trade war tactics, China could be on the verge of banning all rare earth mineral exports to the United States, which would immediately cripple a number of critical tech industries. Among the five nuclear options that Zero Hedge says China currently has at its disposal to fight back, the most impactful would appear to be a rare earths embargo which means no more smartphones, laptop computers, solar panels, electric car batteries, or wind turbines, among other cutting-edge products. Rare earth minerals, in case you dont know, are a necessary component in the manufacture of many high-tech products that millions of people today rely on for survival. And since China currently supplies around 80 percent of them to the U.S. market, an export ban would significantly decrease the supply of these products while massively increasing their cost, if not create unprecedented shortages. China says to please wait and see how it will respond to President Trumps trade moves The reason why some suspect that China is on the verge of playing this card is that President Xi Jinping recently paid a visit to a large rare earths facility, and brought with him Liu He, the guy whos been leading the Chinese side of his countrys ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S. This visit, according to Pacific Securities analyst Yang Kunhe, sends a warning signal to the U.S. that China may use rare earths as a retaliation measure as the trade war heats up. Another little tidbit about this visit is that it occurred just hours after the Trump administration announced that it was blacklisting Chinese communications provider Huawei, threatening to cut the company off entirely from accessing the software and semiconductors its needs in order to make its products. In a cryptic announcement, a spokesman for Chinas foreign ministry recently told reporters to please wait and see how the Chinese government, Huawei, and others respond to President Trumps trade moves. While China controls the vast majority of the global rare earths market, it only possesses about one-third of the global supply While there are other places in the world besides China where rare earth minerals are accessible, China has long been a top dog in the industry. Not only that, but China has been stockpiling rare earth minerals for years, allowing it to essentially control the global supply of these natural resources. As we reported back in 2011, Chinas total supply of rare earth minerals is only about 36 percent of the worlds reserves, despite controlling as much as 95 percent of the global trade for all 17 of the rare earth minerals that constitute this market. Meanwhile, China is reportedly taking other measures against the U.S., including raising its own tariffs on U.S. exports from 10 percent to 25 percent. The U.S., on the other hand, is planning to add tariffs to some $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, rare earth minerals excluded, in the next wave of measures. If China ultimately decides to ban exports of rare earth minerals, the move will negatively impact countless U.S. supply chains that rely on these rare commodities forcing painful and costly delays in U.S. production as alternative supply pathways ha[ve] to be implemented. Needless to say, should China lock out the U.S., the price of rare earths could soar orders of magnitude higher, adds Zero Hedge. For more stories like this about the action that President Trump is taking against communist China, be sure to visit Trump.news. To keep up with the latest news about our ever-shifting world, be sure to check out Chaos.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) As followers of Jesus, we are called to submit to the laws of the land and to honor those in authority. The New Testament is very clear on this (see especially Romans 13:1-7). It is also very clear that there are exceptions to this rule, namely, when the authorities require us to disobey the Lord (see Acts 5:40-42). In that case, with respect, we say, We must obey God rather than man (see Acts 4:18-20; 5:29; to be perfectly clear, Im speaking of non-violent resistance to the law.) (Article by Michael Brown republished from TownHall.com) That time has come for parents in California. In good conscience, they must say NO to the school authorities and YES to the Lord. Its time to declare to the schools of California, Quit using our children as pawns in the culture wars! Quit sexualizing our kids! Im speaking about the radical new sex-ed curriculum being imposed on all students in the public schools, K-12, without exception, and without the option of parents removing their children from objectionable classes. Were talking about kindergarteners little children just 5-6 years-old being indoctrinated with transgender talking points. Indeed, as CBN News reports, a book for kindergarten through third grade . . . teaches kids that they can be a boy, girl, neither, gender queer or gender fluid and that adults might not understand their gender identity. Parents, say NO to your impressionable little ones being exposed to trash like this. How dare the school bring such confusion to your precious children. Were talking about introducing boys as young as 9 to slang words for sexual organs. Yes, A book for fourth, fifth and sixth-grade boysdiscusses slang words for genitals and explains masturbation and sexual fantasies, the report continues. Parents, say NO to turning your little, pre-pubescent boys into sex-savvy, worldy-wise, street-talkers. Were talking about promoting outright perversion to your high-school kids. To be specific, A book for high school students introduces sex acts for all sexual orientations and introduces the concepts of bondage, body fluid, blood play, fisting and other sexual behaviors once considered to be acts of debauchery, the CBN report states. Parents, you must say that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. (To get the full impact of this curriculum, watch this short video. For a written summary, see here. To work together and stay informed, go here.) Many California parents have been speaking out for months, but the educators and legislators have largely turned a deaf ear, leading some parents to pull their kids out of classes already. Now, across California, millions of other parents need to join together to say to the Nanny State: No. You will not corrupt our children. You will not brainwash our little ones. You do not have the moral or spiritual authority to indoctrinate them. And if you refuse to listen to us, we will pull our kids out of your schools until you honor our demands. Really now, who appointed the school system to be the moral conscience of your family? Who appointed teachers to enter your homes on behalf of LGBT activists and sexual anarchists? How can you tolerate an invasion like this? We send our kids to school to learn English and Math and History and Science, not to be instructed in the intricacies of anal sex. Enough is enough! Earlier this year, hundreds of Muslim parents pulled their kids out of one school in Birmingham, England, to protest the gay activist curriculum. As a result, the school pulled the curriculum. Theres a lesson here for us. Im fully aware that not every parent is able to do this. Some work jobs while their kids are in school, and others cannot remove their children without creating further problems for their family. Wherever possible, Christian families should work together to help others stand for what is right. But, one way or another, I urge every Christian parent in California to refuse to allow your children to be polluted by an immoral educational system, whatever it takes. (Again, I am speaking here only of peaceful means, not violent means, God forbid.) And I urge every pastor and spiritual leader in California: Its time to speak up and to speak out. Its time to equip your people. Its time to take a stand. And wherever else this is happening in America, its time for parents to wake up and do the right thing. (Yes, and for pastors and leaders to do so as well.) Above all, its time for parents and leaders to pour truth and love and biblical ethics into these impressionable kids. If we dont do it, be assured that the world (and their peers) will. Heres how Jesus feels about things like this: whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:6). Need I say more? Read more at: TownHall.com (Natural News) When it came to allegations against POTUS Donald Trump by porn queen Stormy Daniels, a.k.a. Stephanie Clifford, attorney Michael Avenatti saw his golden opportunity to make a name for himself on the national stage. But in the end, it looks like hes the one who was trying to screw her over, figuratively speaking. As ABC News reported Wednesday, federal prosecutors in New York City charged Avenatti with more financial crimes including allegedly forging the signature of his former clientand diverting nearly $300,000 owed to her for a book advance into his own account, according to court records. Federal prosecutors are alleging that Avenatti then used the money he pilfered to make monthly payments on a Ferrari he owned, along with paying for dry cleaning, restaurant and hotel bills, and insurance for the employees of his defunct law firm. ABC News notes further: The new charges accuse Avenatti of misappropriating money that was supposed to be paid to Daniels when Avenatti was representing the adult film actress in her public battle against President Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen. Avenatti used misrepresentations and a fraudulent document purporting to bear his clients name and signature to convince his clients literary agent to divert money owed to Avenattis client to an account controlled by Avenatti, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. Avenatti then spent the money principally for his own personal and business purposes. Mind you, Avenatti has already been charged with attempting to extort Nike. In addition to charges related to Daniels, prosecutors also filed new allegations against Avanatti in that case on Wednesday as well. As expected, Avenatti is denying everything. No monies relating to Ms. Daniels were ever misappropriated or mishandled, he told the news network in a statement. She received millions of dollars worth of legal expenses and we expended huge sums in expenses. She directly poked only $100.00 (not a typo) for all that she received. But Berman said in a statement that wasnt even close to being true. Prosecutors say they believe Avenatti forged Daniels signature on a document so he could divert money she was owed into his own account, leaving her with the view that the publishing house she contracted with for a book did not pay promised advances. (Related: Porn lawyer Michael Avenatti indicted by Feds on multiple counts of fraud, could serve 300-plus years in prison.) Avenatti is going down A month after diverting one payment of $148,750 into his own account, Avenatti allegedly used funds received from another source to pay Daniels, prosecutors noted in the Justice Department statement. A week later, he diverted a second payment for the same amount into his own account. Daniels fired Avenatti as her attorney late last year after a series of events: He flirted with a 2020 Democratic presidential bid (and spent a lot of time on TV) until poor polling led him to reconsider; He was hit with an allegation of domestic abuse (that was credible, though Los Angeles prosecutors choose not to follow through); As he considered his White House bid, he told Time magazine the Democratic Partys nominee better be a white male, thus earning him allegations of being a racist; He represented a client during the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings named Julie Swetnick whose testimony was so bad it earned both of them a criminal referral to the Justice Department. Not only did Daniels and Avanatti not win a defamation case against POTUS Trump, the presidents legal team filed a six-figure lawsuit against her to recover legal fees in November. The Trump court documents say Daniels filed this action, not because it had any merit, but instead for the ulterior purposes of raising her media profile, engaging in political attacks against the president by herself and her attorney, who has appeared on more than 150 national television news interviews attacking the President and now is exploring a run for the presidency himself in 2020. Read more about the Lefts constant attacks against Trump and his administration at Trump.news and WhiteHouse.news. Sources include: ABCNews.Go.com TheNationalSentinel.com (Natural News) Legislators in Minnesota have introduced four separate resolutions aimed at restoring the provisions once contained in the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) that recognized the constitutional right of Americans injured or killed by vaccines to pursue rightful justice against vaccine manufacturers in a court of law. HF 2862, HF 2825, SF 2781, and SF 2831 all take aim at the Supreme Court ruling that was made in the case of Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, which immunized Big Vaccine against liability for adverse effects caused by its vaccines. In 1986, there were seven vaccines that were routinely administered to American children. Yet, there were so many catastrophic injuries caused by this schedule that some of the vaccine manufacturers threatened to stop producing them, due to the large damage awards that they were ordered to pay when people were injured, stated Representative Jeremy Munson, a Republican from Crystal Lake, Minnesota, and the man leading the charge to make vaccine corporations liable again, during a recent press conference. So, the pharmaceutical industry heavily lobbied Congress to pass the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, or the NCVIA, in 1986. This unprecedented law established a compensation program administered by the government, and funded by a tax on vaccine consumers themselves. This was to compensate those whom were killed or harmed by vaccines. One of the requirements provisioned in the NCVIA mandates that doctors report any adverse vaccine reactions they observe as a result of vaccination in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Another mandates that doctors provide parents with vaccine risk and benefit information before vaccinating these parents children. When it was first enacted, the NCVIA also provisioned that vaccine-injured or vaccine-killed petitioners who did not receive a proper judgment within a 240-day window, or who were simply not satisfied with a judgment they did receive via the NVCIP, could withdraw from the program and sue vaccine manufacturers directly in civil court. But this provision was removed in 2011 by the Supreme Courts ruling in the Bruesewitz v. Wyeth case, which means that the vaccine-injured and vaccine-killed no longer have an option at their disposal to seek justice. Overturning this decision, and returning the NCVIA to its original intent, is what our resolution is about, Rep. Munson added. This is an important check and balance that we have set up to ensure that vaccines will be safer. Senator Jim Abeler, a Republican and another of the resolutions authors, also stated during the press conference that there are now so many vaccine injury claims being filed that increasingly fewer of them are being resolved in a timely and proper manner. How tortuous the route is to actually get a claim resolved, Sen. Abeler stated, adding that, were in a world where the Department of Health calls [vaccines] exceedingly safe I think that nothing is further from the truth. Because of the way the NCVIA has been manipulated, it has also become exceedingly difficult to keep track of what the vaccine industry is doing behind closed doors. Nobody knows for sure whether or not Big Vaccine is even safety testing its vaccines anymore, let alone conducting the post-marketing surveillance reporting thats required as part of the VAERS program. If everyone believes that vaccines are safe, that they cause no injury or they cant cause injury, then there should be no problem with going back to the law that we used to have, that allowed people to seek civil cases against vaccine manufacturers, Rep. Munson concluded. For more news about the dangers and ineffectiveness of vaccines, the only products sold in American today whose manufacturers arent held liable when they injure or kill people, be sure to visit Vaccines.news. Sources for this article include: AgeOfAutism.com House.Leg.State.MN.us House.Leg.State.MN.us House.Leg.State.MN.us House.Leg.State.MN.us MNSenate.Granicus.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) With Democrats now launching all out and desperate attacks against President Trumps Attorney General William Barr with signs emerging over the past week+ that deep state traitors may indeed finally face justice for their attempted coup against President Trump, well take a look within this new ANP story at more new evidence that all coup roads lead back to Barack Obama and that its time for the coup plotters to be held accountable as heard in the videos at the bottom of this story. (Article by Stefan Stanford republished from AllNewsPipeline.com) As Gateway Pundit reports in this new story that Steve Quayle had linked to on his website Monday morning, the latest former Obama official to launch failing attacks upon Barr is former Obama AG Eric Holder who called Barr not fit to lead the DOJ. That despite the fact that Barr led the DOJ for George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. How did he suddenly become unfit to lead the DOJ after also being confirmed by the Senate just months ago? From the Gateway Pundit story.: Holder previously described himself as Obamas wingman. Holder accused Barr of protecting President Trump and asserted that the Attorney General started his probe of the Intel/FBI for political reasons. He is not fit to lead the DOJ, Holder said. HOLDER: AG Barr has deliberately misrepresented the Mueller report. He has started examinations of the conduct of Intell/FBI personnel without a predicate-for political reasons. He is protecting the President. He does not stand up for the good people he leads. He is not fit to lead DOJ. Actually, it sounds like Barr may be the perfect person to lead the DOJ which long ago sold out the American people to protect the Clinton crime family. According to this new story from DC Whispers, newly discovered evidence suggests that none other than Barack Obama had conspired with foreign powers to overthrow President Trump. As PJ Media had reported, in what must have been a very surprise move to Obamas deep state, Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister of Italy, recently fired top management of three Italian intelligence agencies. Reporting that the moves were being looked at as the Conte governments response to the previous governments coordinated surveillance activity with U.S. intelligence officials during the 2016 U.S. election, they went on to report that all of this points directly at former CIA head John Brennan, and the infighting between former US intelligence heads hints that is true. From DC Whispers. Just this week Comey attacked Brennan and Brennan attacked back. Now, Italy appears to be disclosing Brennan as a primary player in the failed coup against President Trump. Does anyone believe such a thing could have taken place without Barack Obamas knowledge and approval? NO WAY. With a very real coup attempt by Obamas deep state on President Trump thankfully exposed and hopefully soon prosecuted, President Trump may have a potent new tool in his hands to do just that. As we read in this new story from the Daily Caller, multiple senior officials have stated that President Trump plans on invoking the insurrection act. Last invoked by George H.W. Bush in 1992 to quell the Los Angeles riots, could the 1807 Act also be used by President Trump to round up enemies of America within? Much more on that in the next several sections of the story below. First, from the Daily Caller.: President Donald Trump is planning on using the Insurrection Act to remove illegal immigrants from the United States, The Daily Caller has learned. According to multiple senior administration officials, the president intends to invoke the tremendous powers of the act to remove illegal immigrants from the country. Were doing the Insurrection Act, one official said. Under the Insurrection Act of 1807, the president has the authority to use the National Guard and military in order to combat unlawful obstruction or rebellion within U.S. borders. The act was last invoked in 1992 by George H.W. Bush to quell the Los Angeles riots, and was also used by Eisenhower in 1957 to enforce school desegregation in the south. An official expressed concerns that Trumps use of the acts powers would face legal challenges, pointing to the lawsuits against the presidents travel ban from majority-Muslim countries. However, as the official noted, the travel ban ultimately prevailed in the Supreme Court. In addition to the Insurrection Act, the president is also considering declaring the country full and insisting that the U.S. can no longer handle the massive influx of illegal immigrants. 2019 is currently on pace to reach the highest levels of illegal immigration in a decade. Should President Trump use the insurrection act to round up enemies of America within? As Mike Adams reports in this recent story over at Natural News, it should be very clear to President Trump by now that there is an open rebellion against his presidency. The Insurrection Act, passed by Congress in 1807, allows the president to deploy National Guard and U.S. military troops to combat rebellion against the United States of America. The Act has been invoked by other presidents to quell violent uprisings such as the L.A. Riots. It is clear that President Trump now recognizes the open rebellion against America being committed by the Governor of California, mayors of sanctuary cities and fake news journo-terrorists who are brainwashing Americans to hate their own country. The ongoing land invasion of the United States of America is an act of war being openly supported by Democrats and Leftists who are using illegal immigration to nullify U.S. voters and overrun the United States with anti-American militants, criminals and terrorists. (See CivilWar.news for frequent updates on the coming civil war.) As Stewart Rhodes from Oath Keepers has accurately described, the illegal immigration is designed to import terror cells who plan to carry out a Tet Offensive inside the United States, once activated by enemies and traitors who are literally seeking the complete destruction of America. It has also become obvious over the past few months that the tech giants are waging a coordinated conspiracy to nullify U.S. elections and crush democracy by selectively silencing all conservative voices on the dominant online platforms. This illegal conspiracy pursued by Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple and other tech giants represents an online insurrection against the United States of America, which is why I have repeatedly called for the deployment of military police to arrest the CEOs of these tech companies and force the platforms to respect the First Amendment liberties of theAmerican people. It is time for Trump to deploy the military police to arrest Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. And thats just the start of what needs to happen to restore our democracy and the freedom to speak. Adams story then went on to call out the enemies of America within who have sold out the American people and almost succeeded at taking down our nation from within, an absolute must for their final implementation of global government being taking down the strongest nation standing. And with Barack Obama having had 8 years to build up a deep state that Dr. Peter Vincent Pry warned within this ANP story had a red thread running through it, while the deep state had been working to build up their own propaganda mouthpiece, the mainstream media, for decades, its easy to see how their control over the flow of information has allowed them to get as far along as they have. Once again, from Mike Adams crucial story we see just how implanted they are.: Heres a list of the enemies of America who are committing treason in an actual war effort to destroy this nation from within. All of these traitors must be identified, detained and removed from power by authorized forces before they succeed in destroying this nation: Corrupt liberal judges who defy the Presidents efforts to secure the U.S. border. It is time to arrest corrupt, anti-American judges and remove them from power. Journo-terrorists who pretend to be journalists but are actually anti-American traitors spreading lies, hatred and insanity to indoctrinate liberals and leftists, whipping them up into an attempted cultural revolution that has literally driven millions of Leftists to the point of mass mental illness. CEOs and top managers of the tech giants, which have now sold out to communist China and are using their power to selectively silence pro-America voices across all search engines, social media and online platforms. These tech giants must be occupied and either shut down or forced to respect a level playing field of online speech. Antifa terrorists and other radical left-wing groups that promise an armed insurrection to attempt to overthrow the United States of America. Deep state operatives who conspired to carry out a political coup against President Trump. (James Comey, Robert Mueller, John Brennan, etc.) Liberal university professors who use their positions of influence to actively recruit students into domestic terrorism organizations such as Antifa. Its long been warned that any arrests of deep state treasonists might be the final straw that pushed the rapidly maddening left over the edge and as we see within this conclusion to our story, Adams warns immediately of more leftist violence upon law-abiding Conservatives, Christians and President Trump supporters in the 1st video below. In this Summer of 2010 story over at the Middle East Forum that Steve Quayle had linked to Monday morning we got a huge reminder about just who John Brennan is, a reminder that the mainstream media will never admit to with Brennan a long time intelligence expert on MSNBC despite the fact that hes a stooge for jihad, calling jihad a holy struggle, as Middle East Forum reported. Will the arrests of Comey, Brennan and other deep state traitors and the msm trigger the left to the point of no return? The radical Left is about to be triggered by the treasonous, deep-state run mainstream media to launch an attempted communist revolution and violent coup against America. Trump fully realizes that a war against America has already begun, and he has decided to take decisive action to defend America using legitimate military forces and all the executive power available to the Commander in Chief. Once Trump initiates the Insurrection Act, the lawless, deranged Left will immediately declare Trump to be a military dictator while calling for Leftists to take to the streets in armed rebellion against the rule of law. Leftists will open fire on Trump supporters, bomb government buildings and attempt to executive police officers and National Guard troops which are deployed to defend America. Pro-Trump Americans need to be prepared to defend themselves against the violence of the lawless Left. The radical Left is an authoritarian, anti-American cult that has also demonstrated its dangerous lawlessness by censoring all online speech that opposes the deranged delusions of the progressive Left. This is an indicator of their true intent: Total authoritarian rule, complete with speech police and the elimination of those with opposing views. The Left has zero intention of respecting the rule of law, the Bill of Rights or any election laws whatsoever. Every election from this day forward will be stolen or fraudulently altered by Leftists who hate America and despise all pro-American patriots. It is time for President Trump to deploy the military police to arrest and remove from power all those in government who are actively engaged in acts of treason, sedition and vote fraud. Californias political leaders must be arrested and prosecuted for running a massive vote fraud conspiracy that attempts to steal elections from American citizens. So with the months of May and June to bring the expected release of the IGs report on the FISA abuse investigation, we pray that everybody is ready for whatever may come as mainstream media induced madness sweep over the land as Americans finally get a REAL taste of reality TV as Judge Jeanine recently stated, this will be the real thing, no scripts, no rehearsals, just a gang of criminals pointing their fingers at each other. And as Adams story concludes, its importnat that President Trump knows that the American people have his back as we plow through this absolutely crucial moment in American history. It is crucial that President Trump knows he has widespread support from the American people As all of this is about to go down, it is crucial that President Trump knows he has widespread support from the American people to take the actions necessary to defend this nation from its domestic enemies. We the People will be tasked with supporting these efforts as Trump works to clean house and root out the treasonous traitors who are conspiring to destroy this great nation. If we all succeed, we may once again restore democracy and the rule of law to America. If we fail, America falls to the authoritarian tyrants, and the nation will be deliberately dismantled and fed to the globalists. We are now fighting for our lives. We are blessed to have Donald J. Trump as our President as America faces off against treasonous actors, deep state traitors and authoritarian globalists who despise this nation and what it stands for. Be ready to literally fight for our survival and the defense of our nation. The end game has arrived, and California will be the front lines in the coming war. Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com (Natural News) For a lot of people in the U.S. and other highly developed nations, access to conventional medicine is a non-issue. Other areas around the world, however, dont have that access, which is why they rely on more traditional forms of medicine, particularly people from developing countries. A review led by the University of Ghana investigated how local communities use these medicines to treat common illnesses. Unlike the U.S., where most people pop pills to treat almost anything (something that we at Natural News repeatedly warn against), plant-based and herbal treatments are a key part of African medicine. Almost 80 percent of the emerging population regularly use traditional medicine or consult local practitioners and healers, while other areas are fully reliant on traditional medicine since its affordable, readily available, and culturally accepted. (Related: OTC pain meds mess with your head: Study suggests that as they suppress physical pain, they also suppress empathy and emotional pain.) In the study, the researchers pointed out that while many communities use some form of traditional medicine, its practice greatly varies for each region. The World Health Organization called for more research to institutionalize traditional medicine in primary healthcare settings as well as the addition of these medicines in national healthcare lists for each country. They chose the communities living around the forest reserves in southern Ghana, where there is an abundance of plants used in traditional medicine. They found that the community uses around 30 species of plants from 16 families. The plants are mainly gathered in the degraded areas around the reserve, most of which are uncultivated. The leaves are the most used parts of the plant, with over half of the herbal remedies requiring the leaves as a primary ingredient. In addition, most of these remedies were prepared by boiling, with the resulting decoctions ingested. While local healers already established the ethnobotanical uses of some plants, other studies revealed new use reports that is, a previously unidentified benefit determined through new research. The study has confirmed importance of degraded areas as a source of medicinal plants for indigenous communities and that a high proportion of non-cultivated plants is used for such medicines, the researchers wrote in their report. Plants in need of further investigations based on a survey of the available literature on their ethnobotanical use, biological activity and toxicological studies have been highlighted. Other potent medicinal plants from Africa African traditional medicine is considered one of the oldest therapeutic systems in the world. It is still widely used even today, given that the continent is rich in medicinal plants that can be used for various illnesses, including malaria and HIV/AIDS. In a study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers listed some of the plants that were widely studied for their health benefits, including. Gum arabic (Acacia senegal) While ancient Egyptians first used gum arabic to make ink, which they called komi, people from the drier regions of sub-Saharan Africa have used it in food and medicine for over 4,000 years. In particular, various parts of gum arabic can be used to treat infections like gonorrhea, upper respiratory tract infection, and even leprosy. (Acacia senegal) While ancient Egyptians first used gum arabic to make ink, which they called komi, people from the drier regions of sub-Saharan Africa have used it in food and medicine for over 4,000 years. In particular, various parts of gum arabic can be used to treat infections like gonorrhea, upper respiratory tract infection, and even leprosy. Honeybush (Cyclopia genistoides) In South Africa, honeybush is an indigenous herbal tea and a health food. In traditional medicine, the shoots and flowers are fermented to make tea which is known to benefit the urinary tract. It is also used to support digestion, especially since it carries no adverse effects. Honeybush, when used in decoctions, is used as an expectorant for pulmonary tuberculosis. Learn more about other African medicinal herbs at Herbs.news. Sources include: Science.news TheConversation.com AHO.AfRO.WHO.int ScienceDirect.com Hindawi.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The Runescape game's RS gold developer, From Software, also created Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, which were two of the last generation's favorite titles. So, there's a good chance that Bloodborne will be a fanfavorite.Even Sucker Punch's Brian Fleming is exited about Bloodborne's impending release We can?t thank you Runescape players enough ? it?s been a fun year for all of us at Sucker Punch, and that?s due in large part to the support you continue to give us, Delsin, and Fetch. Keep playing, and we?ll see you all soon in the chalice dungeons in Bloodborne Super Smash Bros Director Says Mewtwo DLC Is Almost Done. One of the new DLC packs for Super Smash Bros is Mewtwo, the uberpowerful psychic Pokemon. After a long absence of info or news about the character, it's been revealed that Mewtwo is set for release this spring.Eventhubs spotted a Runescape video interview with Super Smash Bros game director Masahiro Sakurai and offered an English transcript for the masses with a few choice quotes about the DLC.You can check out old school rs gold the Runescape video interview below, which only clocks in at seconds and is entirely in Japanese with no subtitles whatsoever, but if you can understand Japanese then all the more power to you. According to Sakurai "So with regards to my announcementish announcement, Buy cheap RuneScape gold here: https://www.rsgoldfast.com/ (Natural News) The Southern Poverty Law Center was long ago exposed as money-making scam. (Article by R. Cort Kirkwood republished from TheNewAmerican.com) It has amassed almost half-a-billion dollars fighting an imaginary tide of hate that is ever rising, which provides the twin benefits of bringing in that money and advancing the totalitarian goals of the radical Left. Topping that agenda is demonizing any opposition to the Left as hate, be it racism, homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia. But last week, the discredited group fired its co-founder, Morris Dees, a shocker in the civil rights community that opened the door to discussing exactly who Dees is and what goes on at SPLC, also called the Poverty Palace. Former SPLC staff member Bob Moser took to the New Yorker yesterday to elaborate on what weve known for some time: The SPLC is, again, a money-making scam. But he revealed that truth from the inside. Until Justice Rolls Down Like Dollars A detailed report in the Los Angeles Times explained that SPLC fired Dees likely because of the long-term abuse of women and blacks at the organization. Stephen Bright, a Yale law professor and former director of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, told the Times that SPLCs fundraising is fraudulent, and called Dees a flimflam man and hes managed to flimflam his way along for many years raising money by telling people about the Ku Klux Klan and hate groups, he said. He sort of goes to whatever will sell and has, of course, brought in millions and millions and millions of dollars. The flim-flam mans career is officially over, and Moser offers a few insights that open with an amusing but telling vignette: Ive been thinking about the jokes my S.P.L.C. colleagues and I used to tell to keep ourselves sane. Walking to lunch past the centers Maya Lin-designed memorial to civil-rights martyrs, wed cast a glance at the inscription from Martin Luther King, Jr., etched into the black marble Until justice rolls down like waters and intone, in our deepest voices, Until justice rolls down like dollars. The Law Center had a way of turning idealists into cynics. Working in a building that made social justice look despotic, the earnest young leftist quickly learned that fighting hate involved a lot of hypocrisy and a lot more money. Of the hypocrisy, Moser wrote, blacks at SPLC were almost uniformly administrative and support staff the help, one of my black colleagues said pointedly. But the professional staff the lawyers, researchers, educators, public-relations officers, and fund-raisers were almost exclusively white. Just two staffers, including me, were openly gay. Of the money-making, Moser quotes another of Deess critics, who says Dees viewed civil-rights work mainly as a marketing tool for bilking gullible Northern liberals. So beyond Deess having a reputation for hitting on young women, SPLC is just a storefront for selling the fight against hate to make a pile of money. The work could be meaningful and gratifying, Moser wrote. But it was hard, for many of us, not to feel like wed become pawns in what was, in many respects, a highly profitable scam. SPLC, a former staff member said to Moser, was a virtual buffet of injustices. Moser eventually admits that he and other staffers didnt care enough about their own integrity to blow the whistle: Outside of work, we spent a lot of time drinking and dishing in Montgomery bars and restaurants about the oppressive security regime, the hyperbolic fund-raising appeals, and the fact that, though the center claimed to be effective in fighting extremism, hate always continued to be on the rise, more dangerous than ever, with each years report on hate groups. The S.P.L.C. making hate pay, wed say. It wasnt funny then. At this moment, it seems even grimmer. But Moser and this coworkers participated in the making hate pay. No Objections at All to What SPLC Did Not once in this half-apology for joining this massive fraud did Moser express sorrow for helping smear innocent conservatives. Aside from defaming mainstream conservatives, SPLCs application of the hate group label inspired an attempted mass murder at the Family Research Council. But Mosers concern was this: As critics have long pointed out, however, the hate-group designations also drive attention to the extremists. Many groups, including the religious-right Family Research Council and the Alliance Defending Freedom, raise considerable money by decrying the S.P.L.C.s attacks. Moser never admits that the SPLCs extremist and hate designations are either bogus or highly suspect, or that the designated targets dont really exist. Nor does he mention that SPLC faces multiple lawsuits alleging defamation, mail fraud and violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizaitions Act. Read more at: TheNewAmerican.com (Natural News) When slavery was prominent in America, some white people said that it wasnt murder to kill a Black slave because they werent actually people. When Hitler and the Nazis started executing Jews during WWII, they claimed it wasnt really murder because Jews arent actually people, instead they were regarded as less than human (often referred to as swine, rats, or roaches). Now, its just more of the same in America, as the Democrats are all in for population reduction, especially when it comes to Blacks, so they say that babies in the mothers womb, even during the third trimester, are not human, so they can be executed and its not murder. That, according to Democrats, goes for babies that are born alive, come out of the womb just fine, but the mother decides she doesnt want it. Thats when the doctor strangulates the baby, or cuts its cervical spine, or simply doesnt give it any medical attention. Again, its not murder to the murdering maniacs because they dont consider live babies human (as New York Demoncrats cheer to celebrate infanticide). Still, New York just legalized murdering healthy, live babies on the day theyre born. Global warming, food shortage, societal (financial) burden, family burden all scapegoat reasons for making genocide legal Eugenics comes in many forms, but with the same end game in mind. Planned Parenthood is really planned non-parenthood, because their main goal is to talk black women into abortion. Hitlers genocide plan was to get rid of all Jews, elderly people, and anyone with a handicap, mental or physical. These were all scapegoats who created burdens on society in different ways, he claimed. The Green New Deal is another genocidal plan. AOC, the Clintons, and Obama would love to gain complete control over all minorities in America, including blacks and Hispanics. This would enable them to control their vote, while executing any who dont fit the narrative and go with the flow. Thats called communism, but the Democrats are trying to lighten the term for stupid Americans and call it Socialism. Currently, there is no global warming, there is no food shortage, there is no worldwide drought, and there is no race, creed, or religion to blame for the worlds deficits in natural resources. To try to slaughter innocent babies in the name of global warming is outright murder and should be illegal, by all means. Science: By the third trimester, babies can recognize their parents voices, open their eyes, and FEEL PAIN Did you know unborn babies feel pain as early as 18 weeks gestation? A growing body of scientific evidence and research reveals that the basic anatomical organization of the nervous system in babies is already established by six weeks. The earliest neurons in the parts of the brain responsible for thinking and memory are also established by then. Guess what else? Thats right, pain sensory mechanisms and neurophysiology all beginning at just six weeks. Wow. Then come the nerve synapses for spinal reflex after about 10 to 12 weeks. Then, just two months later, around 18 to 20 weeks young, the sensory receptors for pain are in place, present throughout mucosal surfaces and the skin. Connections are made, just like in adults, between the thalamus and the spinal cord. The perception of pain at this point is real, to babies too. But Democrats celebrate murdering these babies because to them, theyre not human. Not human. Sound familiar? At just 8 weeks, many babies exhibit reflex movements during invasive procedures You want science for your rationale? You got it. Even if you have no ethics, no values, and no religion, you should still have some kind of empathy for helpless babies incurring immense pain, especially murderous pain. Researchers, including a pediatric psychologist, at the University of British Columbia, said they found a clear cortical response and concluded there existed the potential for both higher-level pain processing and pain-induced plasticity in the human brain from a very early age. Extensive evidence in the study shockingly revealed there are fetal reactions that provide evidence theyre feeling pain, including hormonal stress response, clear cortical response, and decreases in parts of the fetal middle cerebral artery, dating back all the way to 2006. This means higher level brain processing of pain from a very early age, blowing out of the water most previous theories. In fact, the earlier an infant is delivered, the more response they have to pain (think pre-terms and newborns here). They have a hyper-responsiveness to pain, in other words. So the Left wants to say its not murder, to murder a baby, because that baby is not human. Well, then what is he/she? It has a brain, a heart, can open its eyes, feel pain, hear music and voices. Guess what? Unborn babies are treated JUST LIKE PATIENTS and given pain medication for surgeries by fetal surgeons around the world. Yep. Fact. Premiere surgeons say that the fetus is a patient. So then the Democrats are saying kill the patient. Even the European fetal surgeons say that the administration of anesthesia given directly to the fetus is CRITICAL during open fetal surgeries. Tune in to Abortions.news for updates on Democrats literally getting away with murder and genocide here on our home soil. Sources for this article include: LozierInstitute.org Congress.gov NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com Abortions.news RealClearPolitics.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) It is hard for many Americans, if not most of us, to imagine a time when our country was not so politically and culturally divided. Whats more, its hard to imagine a scenario in which things begin to improve between rival factions. A sign of our divided times is the rise of Antifa, a loosely-aligned Marxist-Left group of political agitators who came to prominence during the heady days of Donald Trumps rise in the ranks of GOP presidential contenders and his eventual presidential nomination. At rally after rally, Trump supporters werent just heckled by Antifa members, they were very often attacked, and violently so. In fact, the attacks became so violent and so frequent that even President Obamas FBI and Department of Homeland Security would eventually characterize Antifa-related violence as domestic terrorism. But despite these well-documented incidents of violence, not only was Donald Trump blamed, but groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which supposedly monitor hate-related violence, have refused to label Antifa hate group. Now, thanks to a new report, we know why. A team of researchers led by Eoin Lenihan, of Stuttgart, Germany, a former teacher who is now an analyst concentrating on online extremism, found that despite Antifas well-known acts of violence, reporters and staffers with HuffPost, The Guardian, and the SPLC have nevertheless maintained contact with Antifa activists, PJ Media reported. Lenihan says that his team mapped the social interactions of 58,254 Antifa affiliated Twitter accounts based on an initial seed of 16 self-identifying and verifiable Antifa accounts (and Mark Bray who chose not to confirm if he is a member of Antifa but whose book makes a solid case for inclusion). We mapped the social interactions of 58,254 Antifa affiliated accounts on Twitter based on an initial seed of 16 self-identifying and verifiable Antifa accounts (and Mark Bray who chose not to confirm if he is a member of Antifa but whose book makes a solid case for inclusion). pic.twitter.com/IveYa9hZ1W Dr. Eoin Lenihan (@EoinLenihan) May 15, 2019 He added: We reduced the dataset to 1.65% of all 58,254 accounts leaving us with 962 accounts. These were the 1.65% most connected Antifa and Antifa associated accounts on Twitter. Each had a minimum of 8 connections within the initial dataset, most having many more. We reduced the dataset to 1.65% of all 58,254 accounts leaving us with 962 accounts. These were the 1.65% most connected Antifa and Antifa associated accounts on Twitter. Each had a minimum of 8 connections within the initial dataset, most having many more. Dr. Eoin Lenihan (@EoinLenihan) May 15, 2019 The collusion between the Left-wing media and the violent Left is clear PJ Media noted further: After mentioning a few journalists with close Antifa connections and Twitter bios mentioning their anti-fascist affiliation, Lenihan turned to Emily Gorcenski, who uses Twitter to dox those she deems fascist. Further she created the First Vigil website that processes court documents to share the personal information of suspected members of the far right. In cases where people are found innocent (50%), info is still shared. Lenihan then turned his attention to journalists and staffers who work for the aforementioned press outlets and SPLC. (Related: FBI probing armed far-Left Antifa plot to disrupt U.S.-Mexico border in attempt to spark anti-government rebellion.) Jason Wilson writes for the Guardian. In a recent piece in which he reports on an intelligence report by the ROCIC which states that Antifa are responsible for street violence just as the far right are, he heavily relies on Mark Bray as a primary source to attack the report, Lenihan tweeted. Mark Bray also in the top 2% of our dataset & author of Antifa: The Antifascist Handbook (he donated 50% of profits to the Antifa International Defence Fund) is a recurring Wilson source in his columns. Together they downplay Antifa violence & extremism in The Guardian. He also notes that Christopher Mathias, a senior reporter for the far-Left HuffPost who specializes in the Far Right, recently exposed alleged members of Identity Evropa, a white supremacist group. But when he wrote about them, he did not yet know if they were innocent or guilty; he got their information from an Antifa sources and took them from there, Dr. Lenihan noted. Christopher Mathias is a senior writer at @HuffPost who specialises in the Far Right. In a recent piece he wrote about members of Identity Europa he spread the doxes of several alleged members serving in the military. pic.twitter.com/s5LY4Dxucd Dr. Eoin Lenihan (@EoinLenihan) May 15, 2019 Lenihan also wrote on Twitter that Mathias exposed a prominent white supremacist, which led to an investigation of the man. The subject of Mathias garbage report was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing and returned to work. Finally, Lenihan (who calls white supremacists despicable people) noted of the top 2 percent of Twitter users with close ties to Antifa extremists is chief investigative reporter for the SPLC Matthew Hayden. Read more about Antifa violence at AntifaWatch.news and Violence.news. Sources include: PJMedia.com Politico.com TheNationalSentinel.com The evolutionary use of color for mammal's survival in the wild is evident from, red foxes, to zebras. Today an international team, led by researchers from The University of Manchester, published research revealing the evidence of colorful pigments from ancient mouse remains. Colour plays an important role in the evolution of life on Earth, it has also played a role in the selective processes that have steered evolution for hundreds of millions of years. The paper, 'Pheomelanin pigment remnants mapped in fossils of an extinct mammal' is published in the journal Nature Communications. The work marks a major scientific breakthrough in our ability to define fossilised colour pigments in long extinct species for the first time. This new study applied X-ray imaging to several 3 million year old fossils in order to untangle the story of key pigments in ancient animals and reveal how we might recognise the chemical signatures of specific red pigments in long extinct animals to determine how they evolved. Professor Phil Manning, the lead palaeontologist on the paper explained: "The fossils we have studied have the vast potential to unlock many secrets of the original organism. We can reconstruct key facets from life, death and the subsequent events impacting preservation before and after burial. To unpick this complicated fossil chemical archive requires an interdisciplinary team to combine their efforts to crack this problem. In doing this, we unlock much more than just palaeontological information." Professor Roy Wogelius, co-author and geochemist said: "This was a painstaking effort involving physics, palaeontology, organic chemistry, and geochemistry. By working as a team, we were able, for the first time, to discover chemical traces of red pigment in fossil animal material. We understand now what to look for in the future and our hope is that these results will mean that we can become more confident in reconstructing extinct animals and thereby add another dimension to the study of evolution." The new research reveals that not only may chemical traces of dark black pigments be present within exceptionally preserved soft tissues, but that traces of the much more elusive red animal pigment may be resolved. The chemical residue of black pigment, which colours such animals as crows, was first resolved by this team in a previous study nearly ten years ago. But the red pigment, characteristic of animals such as foxes, is far less stable over geological time and proved much more difficult to detect. Professor Wogelius went on to say: "We had data which suggested red pigment residue was present in several fossils, but there was no useful data available to compare this to in modern organisms. So we needed to devote several years to analysing modern tissue before we could go back and review our results from some amazing fossil specimens. In the end, we were able to prove that detailed chemical analysis can resolve such pigment residue, but along the way we learned so much more about the chemistry of pigmentation throughout the animal kingdom." To unlock the fossil patterns, the Manchester team collaborated with scientists at some of the brightest sources of light on the planet, using synchrotron radiation at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (USA), and also at the Diamond Light Source (UK) to bathe the fossils in intense x-rays. It is the interaction of these x-rays with the chemistry of these fossils that enabled the team to be the first to recognise the chemistry of red (pheomelanin) pigmentation in fur from exceptionally well preserved 3 million year old mouse fossils. The key to their work was identifying trace metals incorporated by ancient organisms into their soft tissues, and comparing these to the modes of incorporation into living species. The chemistry shows that the trace metals in the mouse fur are bonded to organic chemicals in exactly the same way that these metals are bonded to organic pigments in animals with high concentrations of red pigment in their tissue. The scientists have also translated the chemical findings into sound waves so people are able to hear frequencies of sound associated with differing pigment colours present in the fossils. In order to make absolutely sure of their findings, modern comparison standards were analysed both by synchrotron radiation and by specialists in pigment chemistry based at the Fujita Health University in Japan. Prof. Manning finally added: "Palaeontology offers research that is more than relevant to our everyday life. Information gleaned from the fossil record is influencing multiple fields, including; climate research, the burial of biowaste and radwaste, the measure of environmental impact of oil spills on living species with techniques developed on fossil organisms. Whilst our research is firmly anchored in the past, we set our sights on its application to the future." Research carried out into the impact of changes to chimpanzee habitats found they have adapted to human developments in a number of ways - including learning how to cross roads safely and the best times to visit human habitats - but their survival is still threatened. A team of anthropologists from the University of Kent and universities in Spain, in collaboration with the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone, made their discoveries from hidden cameras during an eight-month study in the African country. Although chimpanzees living in fragmented habitats cross roads to move from one area to another of their home range and may approach human settlements, any further road widening, tarmacking or expansion and urbanisation could significantly affect their distribution and abundance. Consequently, the research team suggests care with infrastructure development, as well as developing agreements with farmers to allow strategic fallow areas to regenerate into community-managed forest refuges providing corridors for wildlife and vital natural resources and ecosystem services for both humans and wildlife. The research found that chimpanzees do not avoid areas frequented by people, possibly due to human tolerance and low levels of hunting in the study area - but they did not visit areas humans use at midday when human activity was more prevalent. Around settlements, farmers grow fruits that attract chimpanzees despite the risks of encounter with people. The cameras captured images of chimpanzees eating domesticated fruits like mangos and pineapples that were cultivated close to human settlements. The research team used 24 infra-red digital camera traps deployed between 2015 and 2016 for a total of 8 months across 27 1.25x1.25 km grids in the Moyamba district in south-western Sierra Leone. University of Kent expert in primate behaviour and one of the research team Dr Tatyana Humle said: 'If we want to secure their long-term survival, it is crucial that successful protection measures should benefit people and chimpanzees alike. Conservation actions should focus on education and helping farmers to implement alternative agricultural methods to slash and burn farming and environmentally-friendly revenue generating activities to ensure coexistence between the two species.' In a landscape heavily impacted by subsistence agriculture, with many swamps and minimal forest, the researchers found that chimpanzees can survive if habitat loss is gradual, key wild resources such as the native oil palm are abundant and if people are tolerant of their presence. However, chimpanzees in such landscapes tend to avoid roads, including untarmacked secondary roads, and prefer to range in close proximity to the swamps. Approximately 60% of all world's non-human primates are threatened with extinction and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) face serious threats in West Africa, including death from disease, habitat loss, poaching, and retaliation as a result of competition with people for resources. West Africa has one of the most fragmented tropical forest landscapes in the world due to high levels of deforestation. Chimpanzees in the region are critically endangered with the majority living outside protected areas. Factors influencing wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) relative abundance in an agriculture-swamp matrix outside protected areas by Rosa Garriga, Ignasi Marco and Encarna Casas-Diaz, Facultat de Veterinaria, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Pelayo Acevedo, Instituto de Investigacion en Recursos Cinegeticos, Ciudad Real, Spain; Bala Amarasekaran Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Luna Cuadrado and Tatyana Humle, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, is published in Plos One. Taiwan's Navy held its largest maritime military drills in five years on Wednesday, May 22, off Taiwan. These exercises are scheduled to end on May 31, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. Taiwan's Navy held its largest maritime military drills in five years on Wednesday, May 22, off Taiwan. These exercises are scheduled to end on May 31, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. Taiwan naval battleships manoeuver in Hualien, Taiwan, on Wednesday, May 22 (Picture Source: Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA-EF) The training on Wednesday came days ahead of the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan's biggest annual military drill, scheduled to take place from Monday to May 31, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. The drills included simulations of a mainland Chinese attack on the naval port of Suao, and included responses from a warfare centre in Suao that notified the area. The Tsoying, a 9,525-ton Keelung-class destroyer, left Suao port, as did a Kang Ding-class frigate, three Cheng Kung-class frigates, a Chi Yang class frigate and two Ching Chiang-class patrol ships. Two U.S.-manufactured Perry-class guided missile frigates were deployed on Wednesday in order to take part in the exercises. A total of 22 fighter jets joined the drills, including Mirages, Indigenous Defense Fighters and F-16s. The Iranian Navy plans to dispatch the 62nd flotilla of warships to free waters in the next few days to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirate attacks. The 62nd fleet includes Bayandor destroyer and Lavan and Bushehr logistic warships. The Iranian Navy plans to dispatch the 62nd flotilla of warships to free waters in the next few days to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirate attacks. The 62nd fleet includes Bayandor destroyer and Lavan and Bushehr logistic warships. Iranian Navy to dispatch the 62nd Fleet to counter piracy (Picture Source: farsnews) The 61st flotilla of the Iranian Navy had set off for the high seas to safeguard maritime routes used by Iranian vessels in international waters, especially in the Gulf of Aden, in March. The fleet which consisted of Sabalan destroyer and a logistic warship, Bandar Abbas, returned to Iran on Wednesday morning after 67 days of the voyage. The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen. According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates. The Gulf of Aden which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal. This deployment may also help Iran with the protection of its coasts and reassure its national security. This comes as the US government reinforces its presence in the area, with the deployment of a carrier strike group, along with plenty of bombers. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. May 23, 2019: The global marketing automation software market is expected to reach USD 7.63 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Marketing automation software help organizations in automating repetitive and monotonous tasks, such as emails, social media, and other website functions, to save time, costs, and efforts. The technology is helpful in generating quality leads and successfully implementing marketing campaigns. It aids a marketing team in optimal usage of time and channelize its effort in working on multiple online sources. The email marketing segment accounted for the largest market share, in the solution category, in 2015. However, the reporting & analytics segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 13.3% over the forecasted period. The technology is expected to be applied in discrete manufacturing and grow at an estimated CAGR of 11.8% from 2016 to 2025. Download sample Copy of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/marketing-automation-software-market/request-sample The manufacturing industry is benefitting from marketing automation solutions, as they help in aligning office processes (both front and back) with an ERP or CRM. North America dominated the overall market and accounted for 54% of the total market revenue in 2015, owing to the presence of a large number of leading players. Further key findings from the report suggest: The email marketing segment accounted for 30% of the total market share in the year 2015 In 2015, cloud deployment was the most preferred way for deploying the technology and the segment is predicted to maintain its dominance over the next nine years. Complete Report Available @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/marketing-automation-software-market The telecom & IT segment accounted for 23% of the total market revenue in 2015 The Asia Pacific region is expected to experience the highest growth over the forecast period, owing to the presence of emerging economies, such as India and China, which possess a large customer base. The regional market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.5% from 2016 to 2025. The prominent players in the market are Act-On Software, Inc., Adobe systems, Inc., HubSpot, Inc., IBM Corporation, Salesforce.com, Inc., and Oracle, among others About Radiant Insights Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. For More Information, Visit Radiant Insights Contact: Michelle Thoras Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Radiant Insights, Inc Phone: 1-415-349-0054 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Blog URL: http://ictmarketforecasts.wordpress.com At a conference in Midtown Manhattan last May, Seth Shapiro watched his lifes savings disappear in a matter of minutes. He later learned from detectives that a group of hackers had seized control of his cellphone, striking from hundreds of miles away by using a technique called SIM swapping to access Shapiros phone remotely, and drained an encrypted digital wallet of nearly $2 million in cryptocurrency. That was probably the worst moment in my life, Shapiro said. I just sat there knowing that everything we had was gone. In a case watched closely by cryptocurrency investors, hackers, and law enforcement officials alike, one of the hackers arrested in connection to Shapiros case, Joel Ortiz, 21, was sentenced last month in Santa Clara County to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in a string of cyber heists. Prosecutors say those heists involved several different hackers operating from around the country and netted a total of nearly $18 million in stolen money and assets. Ortiz, prosecutors say, is the first so-called SIM swapper to be sentenced to prison time in the United States. They say he is only a small part of a new wave of young hackers, some as young as 15-years-old, who have ripped off more than 800 victims to the tune of $50 million since early 2018. And, authorities say, there are many more hackers who have not been caught who continue to seek ways to steal through SIM swapping. Its a nationwide epidemic, said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West, who prosecuted the case against Ortiz and has four other SIM-swap cases currently pending in Santa Clara County Superior Court. It is young kids, who havent had jobs, who have figured out a sneaky way, from their homes, in their pajamas, of how to steal your money. West says the San Francisco Bay Area has been hit especially hard by SIM swap scams, where more than 50 victims who have been hit for $35 million. She says the culprits are typically young, decentralized groups of hackers who can steal millions in mere minutes from just about anywhere in the world. Despite the threat, NBC Bay Area found that there are few formal, concerted law enforcement efforts to target and stop SIM swap theft. One exception is the REACT Task Force, based in San Jose. REACT, Santa Clara Countys multijurisdictional cybercrimes team, took on their first SIM swap case in March 2018 and havent slowed down since. REACT includes representations from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The lead detectives on REACT come from the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office, and West serves as the lead prosecutor on the team. SIM swap investigations have taken the REACT task force across the country, from the Bay Area to Oklahoma City to Midtown Manhattan, and detectives say other cases may even take them overseas. We will find you, we will drag you out in your pajamas, and we will seize those assets that you have stolen from the victims of Santa Clara County, West said. How it Works San Jose State Professor Ahmed Banafa explains what SIM swapping is and how you can protect yourself. Detectives call SIM swapping a new twist on an old con. Cyber thieves first hijack your mobile phone number by getting your phone carrier to electronically switch the SIM card in your phone to a SIM card they control. Court records show hackers typically pull this off by impersonating the victim or by bribing an employee at the phone company. Once the SIM swap is pulled off, the victim loses cell service because the phone falls under the hackers control. At that point, hackers can begin changing the passwords to victims' email, social media, banking, or cryptocurrency accounts by exploiting two-factor authentication, which typically sends a verification code to the victims phone, now controlled by the hackers. According to court records and law enforcement officials who spoke with NBC Bay Area, hackers have set their sights on potential victims who maintain large amounts of cryptocurrency or other electronically accessible assets, such as Shapiro. Hackers learn which victims may have cryptocurrency stashed away in digital wallets by following those potential victims through social media, blog posts and internet chat rooms. In some cases, hackers obtained rosters of attendees at cryptocurrency conferences in search of potential targets. Its a major new way of doing an old crime, West said. Its a new way of stealing all your money. The Hackers Detectives say the loose networks of hackers working together to commit SIM-swap crimes often began as virtual friendships formed over years of playing online video games together as kids. The hackers are typically young men, ranging in age from teenagers to early 20s. Most are males, many with no criminal history before their foray into cybercrime, according to detectives. The culture is fascinating, said Samy Tarazi, a sergeant with the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office assigned to the REACT Task Force. A lot of these guys have known each other for years. Before they were ever criminals; before they had any criminal thoughts in their mind, they were just playing games together, some as early as 12-years-old. They come from all backgrounds, all walks of life. Ortiz, for instance, was raised by a single mom in Boston public housing. According to his attorney, Ortiz was diagnosed with autism, but rose to the top of his high school class before enrolling at Boston University. West has four other SIM-swap cases pending in Santa Clara County, including Kalvin Ung, accused of stealing $500,000 in cryptocurrency while living above his parents doughnut shop in Fresno, and Nicholas Truglia, accused of stealing more than $24 million, including $1 million from San Francisco resident Robert Ross. The REACT Task Force arrested Truglia at his apartment in Midtown Manhattan. Both Ung and Truglia entered not-guilty pleas and have, so far, declined to be interviewed. They dont care about the damage they are doing to other peoples lives, Ross said. Detectives say many accused SIM swap hackers havent been subtle with their stolen loot. Before Tarazi arrested Ortiz, who was decked out in Gucci clothing and carrying wads of cash, last year at LAX, Tarazi says Ortiz and his friends had been partying at Las Vegas nightclubs and had spent $150,000 for a monthlong Airbnb rental at a swanky home in the Hollywood Hills. Tarazi says they posted videos of their exploits spending the stolen money on social media. One video shows Ortiz and his friends pouring expensive bottles of champagne on $50,000 watches at a Las Vegas nightclub. It definitely makes it look all the worse when you see images of them wasting money, and thats what they were doing. But theyre kids, said Dennis Dawson, Ortizs attorney. Dawson said his client got a harsh deal for a nonviolent offense because the court system wanted to make an example of Ortiz as the first defendant to be sentenced strictly for a SIM-swap cryptocurrency theft in the United States. Dawson advised Ortiz not to agree to an interview because of potential charges in other jurisdictions that he might face. But Dawson agreed to speak for his client in the Santa Clara County case. Ortizs criminal sentence shouldnt have been 10 years, Dawson said. Not even close. As Joel explained [in his apology letter], he doesnt have any friends, Dawson said. He just has internet friends. So, this (cryptocurrency theft) seemed cool, they were including him, and I think those are the factors the court should have taken into consideration. But some of Ortizs victims say 10 years in prison isnt long enough. Its been very hard on the kids, said Shapiros wife, Ann Marie Michaels. Its been very hard on our marriage. Theres been many times where we didnt know if we were going to make it. Authorities were only able to recover $75,000 of Shapiros money. The rest has been spent, or as Shapiro believes, stashed away in a digital hiding place where authorities will never find it. The REACT Task Force says it continues to search for assets stolen by hackers. But cryptocurrency is hard to trace, making that a difficult task. Detectives say theyre pursuing more cases that havent yet been charged. Meanwhile, federal authorities in Michigan just indicted nine suspected hackers earlier this month who they say are part of the hacker group known as The Community. In addition, they charged three former employees of mobile phone providers who they accused of aiding the alleged hackers. A parent serving as a U.S. Army commander in Afghanistan sent an email in support of students and parents protesting a decision to ban skirts from the dress code of Cathedral Catholic High School. "I do not support the ban (in both the way it was rolled out and the ban period)," LTC Leah G. Smith, DVM, MPH writes in support of students protesting the removal of skirts from the Carmel Valley private school's dress code. "Ive got enough trouble over here in Afghanistan fighting for some semblance of equality for others - I didnt expect to be doing it for my daughter and other girls back home," LTC Smith writes. Smith's daughter is one of the students affected by the change in dress code communicated by Principal Kevin Calkins, Ph.D. on Friday, May 17. Students have rallied outside the school to "save the skirts," arguing they should have a choice in what they wear. Calkins told parents and students that the decision was made after "thousands of hours of detention" were issued to students for modifying the length of uniform skirts. Starting next fall, female students will have the option of wearing pants, capri pants or Bermuda shorts. Male students have the option of wearing pants or shorts. In addition to an online petition, one of the parents assisting students in their protest told NBC 7 there is a meeting scheduled for next week between school administrators and student leaders. Some parents joined students outside the school, several upset with the way the school handled the issue. Parents have said they plan to withhold donations until their concerns are heard. In response to the rally on Tuesday, Calkins issued a statement to NBC 7 that said in part, "Its a practical solution to a problem that gets more attention than its worth." Cathedral Catholic High School is a private school located in Carmel Valley serving approximately 1,600 students in grades 9-12. The school charges an annual tuition of $18,500. Here is the email from LTC Smith that was shared with NBC 7: ......I do not support the ban (in both the way it was rolled out and the ban period). Ive got enough trouble over here in Afghanistan fighting for some semblance of equality for others - I didnt expect to be doing it for my daughter and other girls back home. I would however comply with the change in dress code (even though I dont support it) if it was determined that truly the majority of families favored it, and it had been given the proper open forum to discuss it. Any unilateral, arbitrary, uninformed decision made by singular groups or individuals is a red flag to me. Even if the ultimate outcome is still the same, a better, rational process needs to be followed to get to that conclusion. I dont understand how the administration could even suggest that the majority of families support the ban when no data has been collected to support that statement, as far as I know. Misinformation, lack of critical thinking and lack of scientific method is becoming pervasive in our society, and I am disappointed that an institution of learning is falling prey to that. Ok, Ill get off my soapbox. Thanks again Michelle for getting our voices heard. Leah G. Smith, DVM, MPH, Dipl ACVPM LTC, VC Commander, 149th MDVSS (FWD) USFOR-A Veterinary Theater Consultant Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan Here is the full text of the email sent by Cathedral Catholic HS Principal Kevin Calkins, Ph.D.: Dear Students: I am writing to communicate some changes to the school dress code starting with the 2019-2020 school year. The most significant change is that skirts will no longer be an option for girls. Dress code is a perennial challenge. The dress code exists for at least three good reasons: to foster unity, to encourage modesty, and to minimize pressure to conform to particular styles or clothing brands. Basically we hope to foster a faith-based environment where students are focused on learning and not on outward appearances. NBC 7s Audra Stafford reports on a rally held outside of Cathedral Catholic HS to protest the decision to ban skirts from the private schools dress code. The main challenge with dress code has been the length of girls skirts. The school has made many attempts to rectify this challenge. The administration has worked with the Parent Association, has issued thousands of hours of detention, has made school-wide announcements (e.g., CCTV, orientations), and has worked with students one-on-one. None of this has had the desired effect of maintaining an overall modest skirt length in compliance with the dress code. The school heard feedback that part of the issue is that the skirts offered by Dennis Uniform did not fit the variety of girls bodies who attend Cathedral. We then decided to allow greater flexibility in where students could purchase skirts, so long as they followed the minimum guidelines. That did not work either. The administration eventually opted against strictly enforcing current dress code guidelines because of the negative effect that could have on the environment. Male faculty feel uncomfortable addressing female students about the length of their skirts, and even female faculty have expressed frustration with the ongoing challenge of dress code. There are challenges with boys too, but nothing that will require a change in options. Instead of skirts, girls will be allowed to wear the following: Pants Capri pants Bermuda shorts The color options for the above-mentioned are navy blue, black, or khaki. Denim fabric, leggings, and athletic wear are not allowed. Boys will also have the new color options for pants/shorts. In addition to holding boys more accountable to dress code guidelines (e.g., length of hair or facial hair), and implementing a restorative approach to dealing with dress code violations, there will be no other changes next year. The BART Board of Directors is mulling over options to replace or modify the existing fare gates throughout the system in order to stop people from stealing rides. At its meeting in Oakland on Thursday, the board was presented with three options for buying and installing new gates and one for building modifications into the existing gates. The board asked for gate options that would stop fare evaders, who cost the transit agency up to $25 million a year in lost revenue, according to BART officials. Two possible modifications would add additional retractable arms in order to increase the height of the barriers and would cost somewhere between $15 million to $25 million to implement, BART officials said. Those options, along with additional modifications currently being implemented at many stations that make it more difficult for people to force the gates open, are planned as part of a pilot program at the Fruitvale and Richmond stations. One of the replacement gate options would incorporate tall swinging gates, much like those used by San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Another option would use similar gates that slide open and close rather than swing. Both of those solutions would cost anywhere between $115 million to $135 million to implement, according to the report presented to the BART board. A third gate-replacement idea is to use floor-to-ceiling "iron maiden" style turnstiles, like those used in the New York City subway system. That option, which would cost about as much as to install as the other replacement gates, is supported by BART Director Debora Allen, who said she's been pushing to get the board to consider such a move for more than two years. "I don't see fixing these old fare gates," Allen said. "Let's just go to the thing that gives us the most protection and keeps people from evading fares." Allen said she is in favor of the modifications currently being done to the gates and wants that process accelerated, but called it an "interim measure" to stop fare evaders until new gates can be installed in maybe five to seven years. "Let's just go straight to it, because things aren't getting any better," Allen said. A few of her fellow directors, however, expressed concerns over the number of people who could move through the turnstiles in good time, the turnstiles' ability to accommodate disabled passengers and its overall appearance. The turnstiles are "foolproof" in terms of stopping gate jumpers, but could be dangerous in the event of a mass evacuation, Director John McPartland said. "It reminds me more of a jail than anything else," McPartland said. The directors didn't vote on the options, but BART staff will evaluate the modified-gate pilot program and then bring it back to the board for a decision at some point in the future. A debate over flying the rainbow flag during Pride Month in Dublin at city council meeting Tuesday turned ugly when someone suggested adding the letter "p" for pedophile to the "LGBTQ" acronym. A councilmember put forth a proposal to fly the rainbow flag on one of three flag poles in front of City Hall during gay price month in June. Council voted for a proclamation celebrating gay pride but voted down flying the flag, and it was the public comments during the debate that got people talking. "Its the flag poles that are sacred for a lot of people in the city," said gun store owner Mike Grant. So sacred that council members voted against flying the rainbow flag on one of them. "If there was a flag pole anywhere else in town and not city hall, I dont think anyone would say too much," Grant said. The people of Dublin had a lot to say about the proposal, put on the agenda by openly-gay councilman Shawn Kumagai. "My ultimate goal here was to start a conversation about the LGBT community here and how to best serve them," he said. "I believe at the end of the day there another letter that wants to be added to the end that is being propagated at our state capitol right now that is the letter 'P' for Pedophile," said a Dublin resident. "The LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bi sexual Trans and Queer there is no 'S' that would stand for straight which is not all inclusive," said another resident at the meeting. Councilman Kumagai said this debate may not feel comfortable for everyone he believes it will open the door to start a conversation about inclusiveness for all. "I understand the importance of that symbol and the sacredness that is for some, that flag is not inclusive for them," Kumagai said. San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who died suddenly earlier this year, has been posthumously awarded a prestigious national racial justice award, the Public Defender's Office announced Monday. During this past weekend's National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts 2019 conference, which was held in Miami, Adachi was awarded the Equity Award. Miami-Dade County Public Defender Carlos Martinez accepted the award on Adachi's behalf. "Jeff Adachi spoke up for the least, the lost, the left out," Martinez said in a statement. "When he passed away, a powerful voice fell silent. Jeff exposed and attacked pervasive racial injustice. He has inspired legions of public defenders justice warriors to fight, to speak out and speak up, and in the process he transformed our country." The Equity Award was created in 2017 to recognize individuals who work to advance equality. Adachi was nominated for the Equity Award by the National Association for Public Defense for leading his office in its work to transform the criminal justice system. Adachi was a founding member of the NAPD, an association made up of more than 20,000 public defenders and public defense professionals throughout the U.S. The state's only elected public defender, Adachi was first elected to the position in 2002. He was credited with advocating for the reform of the state's cash-bail system and with calling out alleged injustices happening within San Francisco's police and sheriff's departments, including allegations of abuse at the city's jails and racist text messages sent between police officers. Adachi successor, recently appointed Public Defender Manohar Raju said, "Jeff has been a leader in the area of addressing implicit bias and it is gratifying that he is receiving this acknowledgement." Media law experts have criticized a claim by San Francisco's police chief that a freelance journalist allegedly conspired to steal a police report, saying that it is not a crime to disclose a public record. San Francisco attorney Duffy Carolan, who represents several media organizations siding with the independent reporter, said the public has constitutional rights to public records. "The impact of trying to criminalize disclosure of public records, whether or not it violated internal policy or practice, will have a profound effect on public employees' willingness to disclose public records," she said. "It would have a chilling effect." A battle between the press and police is playing out in politically liberal San Francisco after police raided the home and office of Bryan Carmody earlier this month in an effort to uncover the source of a leaked police report into the unexpected death of the city's former elected public defender. A journalist who actively and meaningfully participated in unlawfully acquiring information could be successfully prosecuted for a crime, said David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition. Hypothetical examples include a reporter providing passwords or hacking instructions to allow someone on the inside to unlawfully access a database. But Snyder emphasized that a police report is "not a confidential, legally protected document" and its disclosure and publication is lawful. San Francisco Sgt. Michael Andraychak said Wednesday that the report was not a public record and that state law protects crime reports when "disclosure would endanger the successful completion of the investigation or a related investigation." But media experts said although the law allows police to keep reports secret, it does not require police to do so and it is perfectly lawful to release the information. Police also did not raid the office of a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle who obtained the same report independently of Carmody. The newspaper has said it did not pay for the report. Police used a sledgehammer to try to get into Carmody's home and office and cuffed him for hours as they searched and subsequently removed dozens of cameras, cellphones, computers and other equipment used to gather news. San Francisco Police Chief William Scott acknowledged at a press conference Tuesday that the raids looked bad. It was his first full remarks more than week after the May 10 raids. "We believe that that contact and that interaction went across the line," Scott said Tuesday, referring to Carmody's efforts to acquire the report. "It went past just doing your job as a journalist." Reporters and other First Amendment organizations are asking a San Francisco judge to revoke search warrants that authorized the raids and to unseal the materials submitted in support of them. Because the warrants are under seal, it's not known what information police provided to support the search warrants, or whether they disclosed to the judges that Carmody is a journalist. Carmody said he passively received the report from a source and that he did not pay for the report though doing so would not have been a crime, the experts said. Still, Scott said the journalist "crossed the line," motivated by profit or animosity toward the late public defender, Jeff Adachi. An autopsy found Adachi died Feb. 22 of a mixture of cocaine and alcohol, compromising an already bad heart. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that journalists are free to report on newsworthy information contained in stolen documents or illegally intercepted telephone communications obtained from a third party who violated the law, said Carolan, the attorney. The court may have ruled differently had the journalists encouraged or aided in the unlawful interception of the call, she said. But that has nothing to do with a reporter who encourages a public official or public employee to provide a public record. "That is what reporters do every day," Carolan said. Snyder, of the First Amendment Coalition, said the police chief's comments suggest the police employee may have accessed an unauthorized system to obtain the report. "Would an offer by the journalist to pay the source to break the law be enough? Maybe. It would depend on the circumstances," he said. "I don't think it matters what Carmody's motivations were. The question is: Was his conduct protected by the First Amendment? And all the facts I've seen thus far show it was," he said. Scott has not provided details of the investigation other than to say that Carmody was an active participant in acquiring a police record, which the reporter then sold to three television news outlets as part of a news package that included information obtained from interviews and video footage from the scene of Adachi's death. Carmody has not responded to requests for comment, although he posted on Twitter on Wednesday the hashtag #journalismisnotacrime. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $15,000 for the veteran reporter to replace his equipment. California's shield law specifically protects journalists from search warrants. The Associated Press is among dozens of news organizations siding with Carmody and seeking to submit a friend-of-the-court brief. The shoreline of the San Pablo Bay is a world away from Nevada's Black Rock Desert where the annual Burning Man festival goes down every year, yet the two lands now share a common link the festival's large-scale art. The new owners of the San Pablo Bay Harbor, a remote boat harbor at the tip of Point Molate north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, recently cleared a grass field strewn with trash and debris and turned it into a sculpture park where large-scale pieces from Burning Man can live. Its first installation includes a pair of large-scale art pieces that originally appeared at the festival. "Being located in Richmond is a perfect place to open this beautiful experience," said Rob Fyfe, co-owner of the harbor. When the purchase of the harbor was completed two years ago, Fyfe went about clearing trash and debris from an adjacent field covering 15 acres. As a Burning Man devotee, he saw the chance to use the space to display some of the festival's art pieces in a park setting. Joe Rosato Jr./NBC Bay Area "The idea is that we open the transformational and inspirational power of these pieces to a wider swath of the community," Fyfe said. "The inspiration you get from seeing a work of art that just makes you go, 'I cant believe someone built this.'" The remote location of the harbor, which is reached by a 20-minute drive down a pockmarked, winding road, seemed in-step with the underground nature of the annual festival which draws 80,000 revelers to a dry, inhospitable lakebed in the Nevada desert. In contrast, the harbor looks out on the San Pablo Bay with views of commercial ships lumbering past the Marin County shoreline. For the Burning Man festival each year, artists devote massive amounts of time and resources to craft imagination-defying art pieces. While some pieces are burned at the culmination of the event, pieces coming back frequently return to a less glamorous existence once the party is over. "Often times art comes back from the playa and ends up sitting in someone's warehouse collecting dust," said Will Chase, a former Burning Man employee who is now helping lead a public art organization called We Are From Dust. Joe Rosato Jr./NBC Bay Area Chase's nonprofit group, made up of former Burning Man organizers, is working toward the goal of creating public installations around the Bay Area and beyond featuring art created for the festival. "Our initiative is to get that artwork out into the world so more people can experience it, whether or not they're able to go to Burning Man," Chase said. The sculpture park is the group's first foray displaying sculptures in the new park by Burning Man artist stalwarts Kate Raudenbush from New York and Berkeley's Michael Christian. Chase said the park will have some permanent installations with a rotation of other art works. Raudenbush's piece, a large sculpture of a steel tree astride a black pyramid called Future's Past, was commissioned for 2010 Burning Man and has since appeared in an exhibit of the festival's art in the Smithsonian. Joe Rosato Jr./NBC Bay Area "This is a place that you come and you don't exactly know where you're going, and you all of a sudden end up in this magical place," said Raudenbush, flanked by her scupture as the wind whipped along the shore. Over the last decade, the Bay Area has frequently displayed Burning Man art in public venues. Five Ton Crane's Raygun Gothic Rocketship sat on San Francisco's Embarcadero. Karen Cusolito's large metal flowers lived in San Francisco's U.N. Plaza. Michael Christian's 40-foot tall alien-like sculptures created for the 2001 Burning Man were displayed in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza. "It's an opportunity to have work out in the world which is what you're doing it for in the first place," Christian said of the new sculpture park. "You're building it to share with people, so when an opportunity presents itself, it's a blessing. It doesn't happen nearly enough." Since taking over the harbor, Fyfe's group has opened a restaurant and a club that features old-time music. On a recent Sunday, around a hundred people gathered in the harbor to christen the new park. Visitors explored the docks where some 10 houseboats make up a small residential community aside 200 boat slips. They walked out the dirt path wrapping around the harbor to see Christian's spindly orb-like sculpture he calls Asterpod and picnicked in front of Raudenbush's installation called Future's Past. Electronic music carried on whipping winds as visitors stepped into the steel pyramid and marveled at the off-the-grid location just a short drive from the cities of Richmond and San Rafael. "What you find is with the art installations that are out here, you see people interacting with them and not only interacting with the art but interacting with each other," Chase said, taking in the scene. "That's the power of what we're trying to create here." An Afghanistan War veteran and purple heart recipient is suing the cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma over his arrest and police "betrayal" after he suffered an epileptic seizure. Andy Ford's lawyer said it was bad enough that police detained him for having a seizure but stresses that its what officers did afterward that sparked the federal lawsuit. It all happened Feb. 12 about a block from the Santa Rosa Police Department in a field. Ford said he was trying to help a homeless woman with her belongings when he blacked out from a seizure. When he awoke, he said, officers not only detained and arrested him but then pursued charges, even after they learned the incident may have stemmed from an epileptic seizure. Ford doesn't remember much about the incident. "You know, it was such a blur," he said. "I know I was on my way to see the Santa Rosa VA for a neurology appointment." His lawyer has body cam video from that day to demonstrate what he says was at least a 15-officer effort to detain Ford after police confused him for being drunk. "His ankles are tied to his wrists behind his back, and hes face down, and these officers are kneeling on top of him and bending his arms, and hes crying," attorney Izaak Schwaiger said. But the lawsuit filed in federal court Monday isnt about excessive use of force, Ford said. It's about what happened afterward. "After I was released, they still walked me through the hospital, in handcuffs, to bring me to jail," Ford said. After he spent a year in Afghanistan specializing in communications and building trust, Ford says he had his trust broken by Santa Rosa police, who brought him to the hospital with a black bag over his head and then to jail. "I dont hold the force against them," Ford said. "It was once the paramedics told them of my background, and that they had dealt with me before, that you know, 'Hey, hes having a seizure!' I think thats where the betrayal really, really sets in." Santa Rosa police said they cant comment on pending litigation, and calls to the city attorneys office went unreturned. The police chief told the Press Democrat officers come across people in a "variety of states," and they have to assess the situation. But Schwaiger says that doesnt explain why the DA charged Ford with resisting arrest and assault of an officer before dismissing the case. "And that's where we put a purple heart veteran," Schwaiger said. "To say, 'Thank you for your service.' By the way, please dont sue us. And to make sure it doesnt happen, were going to put you in jail and make you a convicted felon." Schwaiger said if someone is convicted of resisting arrest, they cant sue a municipality for what happens after. Police could not answer questions about why charges were brought or about the accusation that 14 officers filed a report without mentioning Fords seizure. What to Know Federal prosecutors indicted former bank CEO Stephen Calk for allegedly trading loans for a Trump Administration post Calk allegedly approved $16 million in loans to Paul Manafort and then sought a senior post after Trump's election Special Counsel Robert Mueller probed the relationship between Manafort and Calk as part of his investigation A banker who prosecutors say tried to buy himself a senior post in President Donald Trump's administration by making risky loans to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty Thursday to a financial institution bribery charge as his lawyer said he's done nothing wrong. Stephen M. Calk, 54, was released on $5 million bail after making a brief appearance in Manhattan federal court. Calk, who lives in Chicago where The Federal Savings Bank is headquartered, was told by Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman to have no contact with bank employees except for his brother until prosecutors next week submit a list of individuals he cannot communicate with. The small bank where Calk was CEO when he allegedly carried out the scheme said in a statement that Calk already had no involvement with the bank and is on a leave of absence. In a statement, Calk attorney Jeremy Margolis said Calk will be exonerated on the "baseless isolated charge." He called the arrest a "travesty." He said the bank his client founded and Calk were "victims of Mr. Manafort's ongoing fraud. Mr. Calk did not commit any offense with him." Another defense lawyer, Daniel Stein, said outside court: "These loans were simply not a bribe for anything." "The Special Counsel and a federal judge have determined that The Federal Savings Bank was a victim of Mr. Manafort's crimes," the bank said in a statement, adding it isn't accused of "any wrongdoing." Federal prosecutors described the charge in a release, saying Calk abused his bank position by approving $16 million in high risk loans that were ultimately downgraded by the bank's primary regulator. William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said Calk "went to great lengths to avoid banking violations in an attempt to secure a senior position in a presidential administration." "His attempt at petitioning for political favors was unsuccessful in more ways than one he didn't get the job he wanted, and he compromised the one he had," Sweeney added. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison. The relationship between Manafort and Calk was a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as far back as early 2018, sources told NBC News at the time. Manafort lobbied Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to consider Calk for Secretary of the Army, according to emails from the weeks leading up to the 2016 election shown to jurors at Manafort's tax evasion and bank fraud trial last year. Prosecutors said while Manafort's loans were pending approval, Calk gave Manafort a ranked list of government positions he wanted, starting with Secretary of the Treasury, followed by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Defense, as well as 19 ambassadorships similarly ranked and starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. According to trial evidence, Manafort passed along Calk's resume to Kushner in a Nov. 30, 2016, email, along with two other names of people he said "should be a part of the Trump administration." Manafort wrote that the individuals would be "totally reliable and responsive to the Trump White House." He also said Calk was "strong in defense issues, management and finance." Kushner responded, "On it!" Calk was formally interviewed for the position of under secretary of the Army in early January 2017 at the Presidential Transition Team's Trump Tower offices, prosecutors noted. But Calk never got an administration post, though he did approve Manafort's loans. Manafort received a $9.5 million cash-out refinance from Calk's bank on November 2016 and an additional $6.5 million construction loan on a Manafort property in New York in January 2017. Prosecutors said Calk began in July 2016 to exploit his position as head of the bank and its holding company, knowing Manafort urgently needed loans to avoid foreclosure proceedings on multiple properties he and his family owned. Calk himself was not summoned by federal prosecutors to testify in Manafort's case. Instead, executives who worked under Calk at The Federal Savings Bank testified he began green-lighting more than $16 million in loans after he expressed interest in joining the Cabinet if Trump won the 2016 election. Testifying under an immunity agreement, James Brennan, who was a vice president of the bank at the time, said Calk overruled bank executives who rejected Manafort's loan for "inconsistencies." The loan "closed because Mr. Calk wanted it to close," Brennan said. The federal jury was unable to reach a verdict on the bank fraud charge related to Calk, but Manafort was convicted on eight other counts in the case. Manafort later acknowledged guilt in all the bank-related charges as part of a deal with the special counsel's office. Manafort is serving a 7 year sentence after his convictions on 10 charges alleging multiple crimes, including bank and tax fraud, misleading the government over his foreign lobbying work and encouraged witnesses to lie on his behalf. He also faces an indictment in New York charging him with state crimes , including a residential mortgage fraud scheme. What to Know An NJ man faces terror charges for allegedly trying to provide material support to terrorists; he allegedly spoke of bombing Trump Tower He also allegedly discussed attacking the Israeli Consulate in New York and made threats against pro-Israel groups in the United States The man, from Basking Ridge, is accused of lying to enlist in the U.S. Army for training; he is expected in court later Wednesday A 20-year-old New Jersey man who allegedly sent money abroad to Hamas militants in an effort to support the terror group also spoke of bombing Trump Tower and attacking the Israeli Consulate in New York, authorities say. He also spewed hatred against Jewish people, allegedly vowing in an Instagram Live video that he would go to a pro-Israel march and "shoot everybody." The suspect, identified as Jonathan Xie, of Basking Ridge, was arrested Wednesday morning on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated terror group, making false statements and transmitting a threat of interstate commerce. Though he spoke of the attacks, authorities say there was no specific plot. Xie is expected in federal court in Newark later Wednesday. One official tells News 4 Xie has a history of mental issues, but his alleged actions, threats -- and the fact investigators found three guns in his family home -- were part of the reason they moved forward with the criminal terror charges. It wasn't immediately clear if the weapons were legally obtained. According to a criminal complaint, Xie lied in an effort to enlist in the U.S. Army for training earlier this year. Prosecutors say he went as far as completing a Security Clearance Application for National Security Positions in February and answered "no" to the question "Have you ever associated with anyone involved in activities to further terrorism." An error occurred in the application processing and he had to do it again 10 days later. Again, he answered no to that question. Xie allegedly said he wanted to join "to learn how to kill ... so I can use that knowledge" and "Idk if I pass the training ... If I should do lone wolf." Last month, FBI surveillance saw Xie outside Trump Tower in Manhattan. Shortly thereafter, according to Instagram records, he posted two photos to his account, one with the words "[S]hould I bomb Trump Tower," a Yes/No poll and an emoji of a bomb imposed over the Trump Tower building image. Records show Xie then posted on Instagram, "Okay, so I went to NYC today and passed by Trump Tower and then I started laughing hysterically . . . s*** I forgot to visit the Israeli embassy in NYC ... i want to bomb this place along with trump tower," according to the criminal complaint. According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Xie appeared in an Instagram Live video in April wearing a black ski mask and said he was against Zionism and the neo-liberal establishment. He allegedly said he would "find a way" to go join Hamas if he could, then displayed a Hamas flag and got a handgun. "I'm gonna go to the [expletive] pro-Israel march and I'm going to shoot everybody," officials say he said in that video. In later Instagram posts, Xie allegedly said, "I want to shoot the pro-israel demonstrators . . . you can get a gun and shoot your way through or use a vehicle and ram people . . . all you need is a gun or vehicle to go on a rampage . . . I do not care if security forces come after me, they will have to put a bullet in my head to stop me." The money to Hamas was sent last year, officials say. Xie allegedly sent $100 via Moneygram to a person in Gaza he believes to be a member of a Hamas faction that has conducted suicide bombings against civilian targets in Israel. At about the same time, he allegedly posted on Instagram, "Just donated $100 to Hamas. Pretty sure it was illegal but I don't give a damn." He also allegedly sent a small Bitcoin donation last month just to see if it went through. The investigation revealed other social media accounts for Xie, including a YouTube account which contained a playlist containing videos, many of which advocated or propagandized Soldiers for Allah, the war in Syria, Hezbollah (a foreign terrorist organization), and the Houthi movement in Yemen, as well as support for Bashar al Assad, Saddam Hussein, and North Korea. "Homegrown violent extremists like Xie are a serious threat to national security, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. "The actions that he took and planned to take made that threat both clear and present, and we commend our law enforcement partners for working closely with us to stop him before he could carry out his plans to commit violence on American soil. We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard our country and its citizens from the threat of terrorism, whether that threat comes from abroad or as here from within." Each count of attempt to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The false statements and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce counts each also carry hefty prison time and fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Information on a possible attorney for Xie wasn't immediately available. "The FBI remains vigilant in its efforts to protect the public from those who support terrorist groups and ideologies," FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge Gregory Ehrie said. "Thanks to the hard work and determination of our agents and their law enforcement partners on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, this defendants further support to terrorism was disrupted and a threat to the safety of our community was averted. This case also illustrates the value of public awareness and participation. When you report suspicious activity, you become a force multiplier in the mission to keep America safe." The outlook for department stores grew murkier Tuesday after J.C. Penney, Kohl's and Nordstrom reported fiscal first quarter results that reflected their struggles at the start of the year. Penney, which has been trying to turn around its business for several years after a disastrous reinvention plan, reported a wider than expected loss and sales declines during the quarter. Kohl's sales momentum also stalled and it cut its fiscal 2020 profit outlook. It cited damp weather that cut into sales of spring clothing and a competitive environment in discounted home goods. Upscale Nordstrom, which reported results after the close of trading on Wall Street, reported a first quarter sales drop and cut its annual sales forecast. The downbeat reports from the department store chains were in contrast to Macy's performance. Macy's reported a first-quarter profit last week that smashed Wall Street estimates. It also put up its sixth consecutive quarter of increases in comparable store sales or sales in stores open a year fueled by its robust online business after a three-year sales slump. However, it's still facing challenges attracting shoppers. Department stores have been trying to reinvent themselves as more shoppers go online. They are also facing increasing competition from the likes of T.J. Maxx and other off-price stores, which offer coveted brands at cheaper prices. T.J. Maxx's parent reported strong results Tuesday that topped Wall Street estimates, indicating that shoppers continue to be drawn to its treasure hunt experience. To lure customers, department stores have been offering exclusive merchandise and adding online services. Last month, Kohl's said it was expanding is partnership with Amazon, with plans to accept Amazon returns in all of its 1,150 stores starting in July. But apparently, those efforts haven't yet translated into higher sales. "The middle market is collapsing," said Steve Dennis, a strategic retail adviser. "They're fighting so many headwinds." Department stores are also facing the threat of escalating trade wars with China that could mean higher prices on clothing and other goods. Retailers had been left largely unscathed by the first several rounds of tariffs since they focused more on industrial and agricultural products. But items like furniture saw an increase in tariffs to 25% two weeks ago. And now the Trump administration is preparing to extend the 25% tariffs to practically all Chinese imports not already hit with levies, including toys, shirts, household goods and sneakers. Nearly 200 footwear retailers and brands including Adidas and Shoe Carnival wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday, calling for him not to slap tariffs on footwear imported from China. The group, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, estimates that Trump's proposed actions will add $7 billion in additional costs for customers every year. Kohl's Corp., based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, reported first-quarter net income of $62 million, or 38 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs, came to 61 cents per share, missing the average Street estimate of 67 cents per share. The department store's revenue of $4.09 billion in the period fell short of forecasts of $4.2 billion. Kohl's now expects full-year earnings per share earnings in the range of $5.15 to $5.45, down from a previous range of $5.80 to $6.15. Meanwhile, J.C. Penney's CEO Jill Soltau, who took the helm last October, is facing more pressure to turn around its business. The Plano, Texas-based company is bringing in new executives while trying to come up with a plan to attract shoppers. On a conference call, Soltau declined to divulge specifics and said that she wasn't ready for "prime time." J.C. Penney Co. reported a quarterly loss of $154 million, or 48 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 46 cents per share. That's worse than the per share loss of 39 cents Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research. The company's revenue was $2.56 billion, down 5.6%. Same-store sales fell 5.5%. The company attributed part of the sales drop to its move to get rid of major appliances and furniture, which were eating away at profit margins. Nordstrom reported net income of $37 million. On a per-share basis, the Seattle-based company said it had net income of 23 cents. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 43 cents per share. The department store operator posted revenue of $3.44 billion in the period, down more than 3% from $3.47 billion in the year-ago period. Kohl's shares tumbled more than 12%, or $7.76, to close at $55.15, while J.C. Penney's shares fell nearly 7%, or 8 cents, to close at $1.07 per share. Nordstrom shares fell 9%, or $3.43, to $34.42 in extended trading after the release of the company's earnings report. While Chicago police are working to enact their plans to help prevent summertime violence in the city, Father Michael Pfleger and his church have a plan of their own. Father Pfleger, who has long been an outspoken advocate against violence in the city, is calling on the community around St. Sabina Church on the South Side to come together in a new initiative to help send the message that gun violence wont be tolerated. That plan involves giving out signs to residents with a simple message: We report violence. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 5,000 of the signs have already been made, and 10,000 more are set to be distributed in the community. Parishioners helped Pfleger hand out the signs in a door-to-door operation on Wednesday. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More Its a great idea, Auburn-Gresham resident Brenda Brown said. If it stops the violence and stops the killing (its great). We need more people out here to support Father Mike. Hes done a wonderful job over here and they need to keep this up. Pfleger calls the signs a way for the neighborhood around his parish to join together to prevent the type of gun violence that has plagued Chicago in recent summers. When one speaks up, youre right, that person becomes a target, he said. But when ten people on that block speak up, there is no target. Tonya Burch, whose son Donte Smith was killed nearly 10 years ago while leaving a block party, was among those who spoke out about the new program, encouraging residents to participate in the program to prevent more tragedies like the one that befell her son. I think its a start. I think if the community gets more involved the killing will stop, she said. The signs are two-sided, according to Pfleger. One side features a message that says we report violence, and the other features phone numbers and resources necessary for those who want to report what theyve witnessed. Pfleger says that he wants to see the signs in all Chicago neighborhoods, and that he wants to send a clear message to children and residents that someone cares about the risks that they face in their neighborhoods. We want our children to know they are safe this summer, he said. Walking on the block we want them to see this in every window and in every door, so they can feel safe and so they can know there are adults who will protect us and watch out for us. He would always say 'Im coming home,' Suzanne Greene, wife of fallen Connecticut State Trooper First Class Walter Greene Jr., recalled. From the Marine Corps to the State Police, TFC Greene kept his promise to his high school sweetheart and wife of 33 years. He was very loved. He would do anything for anyone and thats just who he was, said Suzanne. In May 2018, the Norwalk native lost his two-year battle with cancer, which doctors believe was a result of the time he spent working at Ground Zero after the September 11 terrorist attacks. He helped bringing family members. He helped look for people and then he also escorted the trucks that were carrying the stuff back and forth, Suzanne explained. Hes the greatest guy in the world. Hes my hero, said his father, Ted Greene, who attended the police officers memorial service at the Connecticut State Police Academy on Thursday. Hes the type of person, if he had to do all of this he would do it again. Greene was only 49 years old when he got the diagnosis. Suzanne said the cancer started in his colon and quickly spread to his liver and lungs before taking his life. He always said to the end that he was gonna beat it, she remembered. That was a promise he couldnt keep. On Thursday, Greenes name was added to the Connecticut Police Memorial and read out loud during a moving tribute to the states men and women in blue who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The way he died was not who he was, the way he lived was, said Suzanne. Whats even more important in my eyes is never forgetting. These are brothers and sisters who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this state, added Chief James Cetran, president of the CT Police Chiefs Association and Chief of Police in Wethersfield. Nearly a year after losing her husband, Suzanne takes comfort in knowing his sacrifices wont be forgotten. His life did mean something and his legacy goes on, she said tearfully. Greene is now the 144th Connecticut police officer added to the memorial at the police academy. The state began honoring its fallen in 1989 and was one of the first in the nation to do so. After an all-day meeting with global aviation regulators, the chief of the Federal Aviation Administration sounded more upbeat than ever about prospects for clearing the troubled Boeing 737 Max to fly again. Aviation officials from more 30 countries met with the FAA in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday to hear the U.S. regulator's approach to reviewing changes that Boeing is making after two crashes that killed 346 people. "We are going through an incredibly intensive and robust process to make the safety case to unground the Max," acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell told reporters when the closed-door meeting was over. He added that the agency won't let the plane fly "until we have made that safety case." Boeing has not yet submitted a final, formal application for its update to a flight-control system that has been implicated in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. That submission will be followed by test flights to demonstrate the changes to FAA experts. Elwell declined to put a timetable on the plane's return or comment on reports that FAA officials told a separate meeting of airline officials in Montreal that the plane could be cleared for flights in the U.S. as soon as late June. The meeting Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, was crucial to the U.S. agency's hopes of convincing other regulators around the world to lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. Among those scheduled to attend were regulators from China, Europe and Canada, as well as officials from Indonesia and Ethiopia, sites of the two crashes that occurred before the Max was grounded worldwide in March. Boeing is fixing flight-control software that in each accident pushed the plane's nose down based on faulty readings from a single sensor. It will tie the system to more than one sensor and make it less powerful pilots for Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines were unable to counter the system's automatic nose-down pitch. Elwell has said he hopes other regulators will lift their bans on the plane soon after the FAA does. However, regulators in China, the European Union and Canada have said they plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's software changes and have stressed the need for additional pilot training. Once airlines get the green light, they will have to remove their Max jets from long-term storage and prepare them for flying. That will take anywhere from two days to a week, said Ali Bahrami, the FAA's associate director of aviation safety. A far more significant delay in the plane's return to service could occur if regulators decide that pilots should train in flight simulators first. Boeing is pushing for computer-based training only. Elwell said the FAA has not made a final decision, and that during Thursday's meeting no other country said it would insist on simulator training. The FAA did not allow reporters to attend or watch the meeting, and it kept them away from international aviation officials who attended the all-day session at a gated FAA office. It is unclear whether the event will do much to convince travelers that the Max is safe. Barclays said that its survey this month of 1,765 travelers in North America and Europe found that nearly half plan to avoid flying on the Max for a year or longer. About half said they would pick a non-Max flight if given the choice. Airlines are making plans for a campaign to reassure nervous customers. They know it won't be easy. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told NBC that because of all the news coverage of the crashes and their aftermath, no amount of marketing will sway worried passengers. "There may be some period of time" before customers are comfortable flying on the plane, Parker said, "but we will work through that." He suggested that if passengers see U.S. pilots getting on board, they will follow. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said this week that he will be on the carrier's next Max flight. He added, however, that United would let passengers who don't want to fly on the plane rebook without the customary ticket-change fee. The Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group based in the Washington suburbs, is urging regulators to coordinate recertification of the Max. The group's CEO, Hassan Shahidi, said that would lift public confidence and be less disruptive than a fragmented, country-by-country return of the plane. Prosecutors who won a conviction against a Phoenix man for providing guns to two Islamic State followers killed in a 2015 attack on a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in suburban Dallas say an undercover FBI agent's presence at the scene had nothing to do with the earlier activities of the two attackers. The agent was instead outside a convention center in Garland to show another suspect, who was believed to be a recruiter for the Islamic State, that he could follow his instructions in staging a one-man protest at the anti-Islam event, prosecutors Kristen Brook and Joseph Koehler said in court records filed a week ago. They say the agent didn't know Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, who were killed after opening fire outside the event, were in Texas prior to the attack. "The notion that an undercover agent would knowingly be in proximity to an impending attack involving high-powered rifles while unarmed simply defies common sense," Brook and Koehler wrote. Attorneys for Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for providing guns to Simpson and Soofi, as well as other convictions, are seeking a new trial, arguing that authorities withheld key evidence at their client's trial. Kareem is the only person convicted in the attack. They also say federal authorities didn't reveal until three years after his trial ended that the FBI placed a surveillance camera outside Simpson and Soofi's apartment in Phoenix. The camera was installed on the day they left for Texas. Kareem, who was in Arizona at the time of the 2015 attack, also was convicted of conspiring with Simpson and Soofi to provide support to the Islamic State terror group. He was one of the first people brought to trial in the United States on charges related to the Islamic State. Simpson and Soofi were armed with semi-automatic weapons, body armor and had a copy of the Islamic State flag when they arrived at the event near Dallas. They were killed in a shootout with local police officers assigned to guard the event. A security guard was shot in the leg. Investigators said Kareem had trained Simpson and Soofi on how to use the guns and watched jihadist videos with them. Kareem testified he didn't know his friends were going to attack the contest and didn't find out about the shooting until after they were killed. The undercover agent had been sitting in a vehicle outside the convention center just as the cartoon contest ended. Moments before the shooting, he took photos of a police officer and another person standing in the distance near a tree and an image showing a parking lot. The agent's presence at the event, which was publicly revealed months after Kareem's trial had concluded, came to light in a criminal case in Cleveland against Erick Jamal Hendricks, a North Carolina man who was then accused of trying to recruit people to join Islamic State. Hendricks was later convicted of conspiring to provide support to the Islamic State and attempting to provide support to the terror group. He was not charged in the Texas attack. Kareem's attorney said Hendricks put the agent into contact with Simpson 10 days before the attack. In one encounter with the agent, Simpson referred to the upcoming contest in Texas. Prosecutors say the agent's last communication with Simpson occurred nine or 10 days before the attack. On the day of the attack, the agent communicated with Hendricks while the agent was outside the convention center. Hendricks asked about the size of the crowd, whether snipers were present and other questions, according to records. A judge who rejected an earlier request by Kareem for a new trial had noted Simpson didn't reveal to the agent that he wanted to go to Texas to launch an attack. The prosecutors say they didn't become aware of the surveillance camera outside Simpson and Soofi's apartment until this year. They say nothing in the video is relevant to the case and could not have had an effect on Kareem's trial. In the days after the shooting, then-FBI Director James Comey said federal investigators learned only hours before the contest that a man under investigation for extremist activities might show up and alerted local authorities. Comey also said investigators had no indication that the man planned to attack the event. A beauty pageant winner has sued a Texas city and its former police chief over an evading arrest charge that was later dropped. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Carmen Ponder filed the federal civil rights lawsuit Monday in Dallas over her May 2017 arrest in Commerce. Ponder won the Miss Black Texas competition in 2016. Ponder's lawsuit says Commerce's then-police Chief Kerry Crews, who was off-duty, arrested her without reason during a confrontation over a traffic incident involving another driver. Crews resigned the following month, took an administrative job with the city and now is a justice of the peace. Commerce City Manager Darrek Ferrell and the city's attorney, Jay Garrett, declined comment on Ponder's lawsuit. Crews didn't immediately return a message for comment Wednesday. Commerce is 60 miles northeast of Dallas. Hundreds of migrants who have recently arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border could soon be on their way to Dallas. But Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said no Dallas private organization currently has space ready to house the migrants. Jenkins, who convened meetings with faith-based groups and churches, including Dallas Catholic Charities, said he hopes to have space available for migrants who have flooded border cities in recent weeks as early as June. CLICK HERE to read more from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News. A school science project got super-sized in the town of Sunnyvale. Students used engineering and science skills to build small models for a house in a STEM class. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. At Sunnyvale Middle School, they were using Popsicle sticks to build structures designed using those STEM skills. "I thought, 'why don't we just build one for real?'" said teacher Chris Camacho. The school partnered with different community businesses and got the supplies to build a tiny house. The mini-structures are gaining popularity around the country. "This is really unheard of in middle school this is the first time I've done a project this big," said student Carter Morgan. Morgan says it's so fun to use the same skills they were applying in class to actually make something tangible. "It's a completely different thing when you get in here put the door way in, get in the locks put up the siding," Morgan said. Camacho says they reached out to businesses in the community who helped with supplies and skills. The educators made sure the math, science and engineering were there and now, the students are challenged to take the skills they learned all year and make success. The house will be sold at auction. Money raised will go back to the class to fund future builds and projects to help students dream up something big and bring it to life. Terrell Police are searching for a brown dog they say attacked eight children waiting for the school bus on May 10 outside the Heather Lane Apartments. According to police, investigators held off on releasing information on the attack to allow space to conduct the investigation. The location of the dog and its owner remains unknown. "It came up to me and just bit me on the leg, yeah it was scary," 3rd grader Jayla Wilson, who was among those bitten said. Terrell Police said when they arrived the dog was gone. According to police, the ages of the children attacked ranges from five to 11. A surveillance camera at the Heather Lane Apartments caught the attack on video and according to police a bus driver helped to fight the dog off. "He stopped, got out to help, tried to get the dog off one of the kids I believe one of the kids was drug by this dog," Corporal Zach Boyd with the Terrell Police Department. Police hope to capture the dog and test it for rabies. Wilson's mother said she is concerned the dog is still out there. "It's a big concern because a dog running around like that, imagine the kids that's in danger now," Akia Henry said. Jennifer Perez never imagined she would one day be a graduate of Southern Methodist University, because she never even imagined she would one day come to America. Growing up in Tela, Honduras, Perez dreamed of pursuing a college education in the states. Despite good grades and two hard-working parents, an American education was financially out of the question. That all changed during a chance encounter with Dallas couple Grady and Mary Elizabeth Schleier. The couple had been traveling to the village for years for church mission trips when they met Perez during a service project. "I met Jennifer and she was so smart and so enthusiastic," said Grady Schleier. Unbeknownst to his wife, years earlier Schleier had written a bucket list with the goal of changing one person's life, only he never knew who and what that wish might look like. He said it all clicked when he met Perez. Empty-nesters after raising two sons, the Schleiers took the bold step of inviting Perez to live with them and offered to pay for her college education. It's an offer Jennifer and the Perez family accepted, despite fears over what the future might hold. "I know my mother has given up a lot for me to be here," said Perez. After two years of community college, SMU offered Perez a scholarship to complete a four-year degree. During that time, Perez excelled in her studies while mastering the English language, became an American citizen and now considers herself lucky to be a part of two families. "I don't know what our life would be like without her," said Mary Elizabeth Schleier. "Not nearly as fun or as interesting or as fulfilling." Over the weekend she graduated from SMU's Cox School of Business and all of her family was there to watch. Her parents, siblings and grandmother from Honduras traveled to Dallas to celebrate the occasion and watched the big moment alongside the Schleiers. "It's not enough to say [thank you]," said Perez. "I'm truly grateful to everyone who has put an effort into me and I hope one day I can give it back in some way." Perez will start a job with KPMG in the fall while studies to become a Certified Public Accountant. An outbreak of nasty storms spawned tornadoes that razed homes, flattened trees, tossed cars across a dealership lot and injured several people in Missouri's capital city and killed at least three others elsewhere in the state. The National Weather Service confirmed that a large and destructive twister moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight Wednesday. The tornado cut a path about 3 miles long and a mile wide from the south end of Jefferson City north toward the Missouri River, said police Lt. David Williams. Emergency workers reported about two dozen injuries, Williams said, and around 100 of people were in shelters. Hospitals reported treating injuries such as cuts and bruises. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or missing people in the capital city of about 40,000, but door-to-door checks were being done Thursday. Many in Jefferson City considered themselves fortunate to survive. David Surprenant watched the storm approach then rushed to join the rest of his family in the basement. By then, the windows had started shattering and the pressure dropped. "It was just the eeriest sound ever, and it felt like it was taking your breath right out of you," Surprenant, 34, said. He and his family were unharmed. Kevin Riley operates a car dealership next to Surprenant's home, where he sells Chevys and Toyotas. He figured that 98 percent of the approximately 750 vehicles on the lot were damaged. Lincoln University President Jerald Woolfolk rode out the tornado in the basement of his official residence, and it may have saved his life. University spokeswoman Misty Young told the Jefferson City News-Tribune that the home, built 103 years ago, was so badly damaged it appeared to be uninhabitable. Weather forecasters had been tracking the storm before it arrived in the capital city, and sirens first sounded in Jefferson City at 11:10 p.m. about 30 minutes before the first property damage. Gov. Mike Parson credited the warning system in central Missouri for saving lives. The three deaths happened more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) away near Golden City in Missouri's southwestern corner. Kenneth Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found dead about 200 yards (180 meters) from their home, and Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed, authorities said. The National Weather Service said preliminary information indicates the tornado at Jefferson City was an EF-3, which typically carry winds up to 160 mph (260kph). Meteorologist Cory Rothstein said it's possible that tornado had a 50-mile (80-kilometer) path and could have been on the ground for 80 minutes. Teams were surveying the path Thursday and trying to determine whether one or multiple tornadoes had touched down. The severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. This week has seen several days of twisters and torrential rains in the Southern Plains and Midwest. Kerry Ann Demetrius locked herself in the bathroom of her Jefferson City apartment as the storm approached. "It sounded like stuff was being thrown around, everything was just banging together, and then it just went dead silent," she said. She emerged to find the roof had been blown off her apartment building. Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings in Jefferson City when he saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and slam to the ground in the wind. The windows broke, and he dove behind the washers and dryers. The state high school track championships scheduled this weekend in the city were moved to different sites in central Missouri, after the Missouri State High School Activities Association issued a warning: "Do not travel to Jefferson City." Another natural disaster could be imminent in Jefferson City. Most of the city, including the tornado-ravaged section, sits on a bluff overlooking the south side of the Missouri River. But the swollen river is projected to top a levee on the north side of the river by Friday, potentially flooding the city's airport, which already has been evacuated. A tornado also skipped through the town of Eldon, population 4,900, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) outside Jefferson City, where it damaged the business district and "tore up several neighborhoods," Miller County Emergency Management Director Mike Rayhart said. But Mayor Larry Henderson said people in Eldon were counting their blessings: Despite all the damage, just one man was hurt, when the wind flipped his truck. Henderson did not have any details about the man's injuries. Earlier reports suggested several people in Eldon were hurt. A twister also caused damage and several injuries in the town of Carl Junction, not far from Joplin, on the eighth anniversary of the catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in that city. Police Chief Delmar Haase said nearly three dozen homes had significant damage and several people sustained minor injuries. He estimated total damage in Carl Junction was "in the millions." The severe weather was expected to push eastward Thursday, with forecasters saying parts of the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic including Baltimore and Pittsburgh could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, in the past few days. Two barges carrying a total of about 3,800 pounds (1,700 kilograms) of fertilizer broke loose Thursday and floated down the swollen Arkansas River in Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they hit a dam and sank. On Facebook, Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, warned the town's 600 residents: "If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!" The barges had been floating out of control, on and off again, since Wednesday night near the town of 600, which was under a mandatory evacuation order due to flooding concerns. Aerial footage from the Oklahoma City television station KFOR showed the moment of impact shortly before noon Thursday. The Army Corps of Engineers was checking the dam for damage. The Interstate 40 bridge and another span over the river were closed as a precaution. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water. Near Tulsa, about a dozen homes were evacuated as the Arkansas River continued to swell. The potential for further flooding also prompted the HolleyFrontier Tulsa Refinery to temporarily shut down. Officials in Tulsa said additional residents may be asked to evacuate as the Army Corps of Engineers increases the flow rate at a dam northwest of the city to help drain a watershed flooded by severe storms. Missouri's three tornado fatalities bring to seven the number of deaths from storms this week. Democrats denounced a plan by President Donald Trump's personal attorney to push Ukraine to open investigations that he hopes could benefit Trump politically, saying it was an overt attempt to recruit foreign help to influence a U.S. election. But lawyer Rudy Giuliani has scrapped plans to visit Ukraine, citing concerns about who he would be dealing with there. "I've decided ... I'm not going to go to the Ukraine," Giuliani told Fox News on Friday night. "I'm not going to go because I think I'm walking into a group of people that are enemies of the president ... in some cases enemies of the United States, and in one case an already convicted person who has been found to be involved in assisting the Democrats with the 2016 election." Giuliani had said earlier that he would to travel to Kiev in the coming days to urge the government to investigate the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller's recently concluded probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, and the involvement of former Vice President Joe Biden's son in a gas company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch. Joe Biden is the early Democratic front-runner to challenge Trump in the 2020 election. The Biden campaign has denied that Biden or his son, Hunter, did anything improper. Giuliani's plan had seemed poised to create an unprecedented moment a lawyer for the American president seeking foreign assistance in trying to damage political rivals. To Democrats, it was a blatant evocation of Russia's meddling on behalf of Trump when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 "It's stunning that the Trump administration is going down the same tragic path they did in 2016 seeking help from a foreign government again to influence an American presidential election. It's appalling," said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He said Trump allies were indicating, "We're going to do everything short of what's downright criminal. Ethics don't matter. Patriotism doesn't matter." Giuliani, a former New York City mayor who often acted as a smokescreen for Trump during the Mueller probe, pushed back against the criticism. "Explain to me why Biden shouldn't be investigated if his son got millions from a Russian loving crooked Ukrainian oligarch while He was VP and point man for Ukraine," Giuliani tweeted at Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who criticized him. "Ukrainians are investigating and your fellow Dems are interfering. Election is 17 months away. Let's answer it now." Giuliani's trip, first reported by The New York Times, would have been the most high-profile effort yet by Republicans to call attention to growing talking points in conservative circles. They are trying to undermine the special counsel's investigation, call into question the case against Paul Manafort, Trump's imprisoned former campaign chairman, and wound Joe Biden. Trump and Giuliani have urged scrutiny of Hunter Biden and have questions about whether Joe Biden helped oust a Ukrainian prosecutor whose office was investigating the oligarch behind the company that paid Hunter Biden. Some Trump allies have suggested they can tarnish Joe Biden with questions about corruption, founded or not, much like they did to Clinton in 2016. Giuliani has said he updated the president about his findings on Ukraine, a nation deeply reliant on the Trump administration for U.S. military and financial aid. "I'm hearing it's a major scandal, major problem," Trump said on Fox News recently. "I hope for (Biden) it is fake news. I don't think it is." The president has also tried to push claims that Ukrainian officials tried to help Clinton by focusing attention on Manafort's business in Ukraine. That attention forced Manafort to resign from the campaign, and he was later convicted of financial crimes and sentenced to prison. Ukrainian officials have denied involvement, but Trump has latched onto the idea that Kiev "colluded" with Democrats and that the origins of Mueller's probe were fraudulent. Trump's re-election campaign distanced itself from Giuliani's efforts, saying it had nothing to do with the lawyer's inquiry. Still, the episode could trigger uncomfortable questions about foreign entanglements for the White House, which is still grappling with the aftermath of Mueller's inquiry. Mueller did not conclude that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and did not determine whether or not Trump obstructed justice. But House Democrats are pushing the inquiry further on a number of fronts, including issuing subpoenas for the probe's witnesses and documents. Trump this week announced that he would invoke executive privilege to shield the material, certain to prompt a lengthy legal fight. Throughout the investigation, Giuliani attacked Mueller's credibility and often tried to change the public discourse by advancing conspiracy theories about the special counsel or Democratic investigators. In the probe's final days, he began to zero in on the possible Ukraine connection. Associated Press video journalist Padmananda Rama contributed to this report. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a public-awareness campaign Wednesday aimed at curbing gun violence. The campaign, dubbed Louder Than Guns, was developed with advice from the mayor's Youth Council to End Gun Violence and a creative agency, and Garcetti said it is intended to inspire the city's residents to take action on the issue. "We will never accept gun violence as the new normal for our kids, and none of us can be silent when students see lockdown drills as the norm and there are bulletproof backpacks for sale in America," Garcetti said in a statement. "Young people are leading the effort to make our communities safer, and Louder Than Guns is an expression of their commitment to change and a call to action for all of us to join them in building the future they deserve." The campaign uses mock advertisements that appear to be insurance company solicitations, with some broadcasting a number such as 1-833-GUNSURE and offering bullet insurance, highlighting the prevalence of gun violence. The campaign website, www.louderthanguns.org, provides more information on its goal of ending gun violence. "We may be teenagers, but we have grown up in an era of mass shootings and seen gun violence take the lives of our peers," said Paula Kim, a member of the Youth Council to End Gun Violence. "We can't wait for anyone else to shake themselves out of complacency, so we're taking our lives into our own hands." On June 7, which is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the mock ads will be replaced by posters featuring the campaign website, where people can share their stories and become campaign ambassadors. Rain and lightning hitting Southern California on Wednesday forced temporary closures to several outdoor rides at Disneyland, park officials said. Newschopper4 Bravo was over the world famous amusement park at about 4:45 p.m. and struggled to find any outdoor rides functioning. Officials said that it is regular protocol for some outdoor rides to go down due to weather. In addition, park officials said Disney's California Adventure experienced a power outage that also affected rides at the park neighboring Disneyland. Power had been restored to California Adventure, according to Disneyland media relations personnel. There was no reported power outage at Disneyland. All rides were open and functioning a short time later, according to Disneyland officials. Senators reached a bipartisan deal Thursday that would provide more than $19 billion in disaster aid funding to parts of the U.S. hit by hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and wildfires, following months of negotiation. Leaving a closed-door Senate Republican lunch, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala. told reporters that an agreement had been reached, NBC News reports. The two said they had spoken to President Donald Trump about the parameters of the deal Thursday afternoon, which excludes the $4.5 billion in border funding that White House and Republicans kept demanding. Trump signed off, according to the two lawmakers. Walmart is rolling out free next-day delivery on its most popular items, increasing the stakes in the retail shipping wars. The nation's largest retailer said Tuesday it's been building a network of more efficient e-commerce distribution centers to make that happen. The next-day service will cover 220,000 popular items from diapers and non-perishable food items to toys and electronics. That's nearly double the number of items it carries in its stores. Next-day delivery, which will require a minimum order of $35, will be available in Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas on Tuesday. In coming days, it will expand to southern California. The discounter plans to roll out the service to 75% of the U.S. population by year-end. It will also be adding hundreds of thousands more products as the program expands. The announcement comes just two weeks after online behemoth Amazon said it's upgrading its free shipping option to Prime members who pay $119 a year to one-day delivery from two-day delivery. Amazon has declined to say when the switch will happen, but it already offers one-day delivery for some items in certain areas. Walmart says the new delivery program has been in the works for a while. "Customer expectations continue to rise," said Marc Lore, CEO of Walmart's U.S. e-commerce division, told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "We're trying to get ahead of that." The move will only increase pressure on other rivals that are already investing in millions of dollars to shorten the delivery window. Amazon changed consumer expectations when it launched its two-day delivery for Prime members back in 2005 and forced other retailers to step up their game. But analysts say Amazon then needed to cut the delivery time in half to make its membership more attractive since others like Walmart offered free two-day deliveries without any membership. Two years ago, Walmart began offering free two-day shipping on millions of items on its website for orders of at least $35. Target also offers free two-day shipping for those who spend at least $35 or use its RedCard loyalty card. Walmart has also been expanding same-day grocery delivery service fulfilled from its stores for a fee of about $10. Lore says it will be cheaper for the company to do next-day delivery versus two-day service because eligible items will come from a single fulfillment center located closest to the customer. This means orders will ship in one box, or in as few as possible, unlike two-day deliveries that come in multiple boxes from multiple locations. Still, Walmart sells far fewer products than Amazon and its online U.S. sales are only a fraction of Amazon's online global merchandise empire. Amazon has also been delivering more packages itself rather than relying on the post office and other carriers like UPS and FedEx. The company expects to spend $800 million in the second quarter to speed up deliveries and has expanded its fleet of jets. On Monday, it announced that it will be expanding an incentive program to its employees so they can quit their jobs and start their own Amazon package delivery businesses. Walmart has one big advantage over Amazon its more than 4,700 stores. Walmart and Target have been turning their physical stores into shipping hubs, speeding up deliveries and helping to defray costs for services like curbside delivery and in-store pickup. Walmart has also been expanding the use of robots in its stores, which keep tabs on what's on and not on the shelves. Meanwhile, Target has redesigned its staging area for packages to help speed up fulfilling curbside deliveries. AP Retail Writer Joseph Pisani contributed to this story. Sheriff's deputies foiled plans for a post-prom bash at a Florida Airbnb that had been stocked with liquor, pot and stripper poles. Martin County Sheriff's Lt. Ryan Grimsdale says they heard about the April 12 party just before several hundred West Boca Community High School students were set to get on three buses to head to the three-story Palm City home. The SunSentinel reports each student paid $80, which covered the bus ride and party favors, including Jello shots, high-end liquors and mixers and beer. Marijuana joints had been pre-rolled. Grimsdale says the party would have "rivaled any bar in Martin County that day." An incident report says a 19-year-old rented the house. No one was arrested. Grimsdale says the other alternative would have been arrested minors attending the party. The Miami-Dade Police Department is investigating a social media post that warns of a mass shooting at a local movie theater. A Twitter account with the handle "Seven_JC7" posted a tweet on May 20 saying, "There will be a shooting massacre in Florida in the city of Miami. That will occur at AMC Tamiami in 13 days." The tweet goes on to say the shooting will be "carried out by the perp that goes by the name, Erin Blok." The same account makes numerous claims with similar language of shooting massacres at a school in Pittsburgh, a school in North Dakota, and more. The account names a different "perp" each time. "Although credibility of the online threat remains undetermined, we are investigating and taking precautionary measures out of an abundance of caution," Miami-Dade police tweeted. Police also caution people to remain vigilant and to say something if you see something. Pete Buttigieg accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of exploiting his privileged upbringing to "fake a disability" during the Vietnam War so that "somebody could go to war in his place, NBC News reported. The South Bend, Indiana, mayor and Democratic 2020 contender, who served in Afghanistan as a Navy intelligence officer, sought to use his own military background to draw a sharp contrast with Trump. Pressed during a Washington Post Live interview on whether he believed that Trump, who cited bone spurs in his heel to be exempted from the draft, had a disability, Buttigieg suggested he did not "at least not that one." Buttigieg also lambasted the president for reportedly considering pardons for several U.S. service members or contractors convicted or accused of war crimes, calling it "disgusting." Allegations that Trump dodged the draft have been a sore spot for the president dating back to his 2016 campaign, when it was revealed that he had received five deferments from service in the Vietnam War four for education and one for a diagnosis of bone spurs. There was no immediate comment from the White House. NBC 6s Angie Lassman has your First Alert Doppler 6000 forecast for Thursday. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) Businessman Dennis Uy's bid to be the third player in the telecommunications industry can now move forward after changes to the franchise of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. (Mislatel) cleared Congress. The House of Representatives on Monday adopted the changes to Mislatel's franchise, which was approved by the Senate in February. House Concurrent Resolution No. 23 approves the sale of additional Mislatel shares to Uy's Udenna Corp., its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings, Inc., and China Telecommunications Corp. (Chinatel), following the selection of this consortium as the "new major player" in the industry. Mislatel's new ownership structure will give a 35 percent stake to Udenna, 25 percent to Chelsea Logistics, and 40 percent to Chinatel. Through this, the Udenna-Chelsea-Chinatel group will have the majority and controlling interest in Mislatel, allowing them to take over its operations. Mislatel secured a 25-year franchise in April 19, 1998 to operate a wire and/or wireless telecommunications system in the Philippines. It expires by 2023. Congress has the sole authority to approve franchises. Under the law, franchise holders need to secure Congressional approval before selling or transferring shares of stock which will change a firm's ownership structure. The company tied up with Udenna Corp. and Chinatel in 2018, and was eventually chosen by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to be the third major player for mobile services in the country. READ: Mislatel vows 27 mbps internet speed in 1st year The third major telco player committed to cover 37 percent of subscribers on its first year and will rise to 84 percent in its fifth year. It also promised to put up a thousand cell sites in a year. Last month, state-owned Chinatel signed a $5.4-billion investment deal with Udenna to support their foray into the Philippines as the third mobile service provider. They are expected to improve competition as they go against Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, following President Rodrigo Duterte's order to break this duopoly in the telecommunications market. On Thursday, Chelsea Logistics said they have been informed about Congress' approval, adding that they are now preparing to file a request to increase Mislatel's capitalization before the NTC. "Thereafter, Mislatel will file the required documents with the NTC under the terms of reference, which is a prerequisite to the issuance of the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, and the grant of frequencies," the listed firm said in a disclosure. Mislatel has committed to invest 257 billion in the next five years, and is eyeing its commercial rollout by late 2020. Before her death, Tessa Pascarella made clear to loved ones that she wanted a "green" burial. She envisioned her final resting place in a wooded area in the town of Sherman, but her family has since learned that fulfilling her wishes would be a struggle. Green burials are designed to have less of an impact on the environment. The burials often use biodegradable caskets. They do not use chemicals for embalming, hardwood caskets, varnishes, vaults or liners. "The forest is a place she always loved, " said Aldo Pascarella, Tessa's son, as he walked through the rolling hills in western Connecticut. Beneath the tree line and under the leaf-covered soil is what he hoped will become a sacred space. Tessa, who passed away after an illness at the age of 79, had expressed to her son that she did not want to be cremated, she did not want any embalming chemicals involved, and she did not wish to be buried in a casket. "When she learned about the idea of a green burial and she knew she was going to be dying soon, she very much liked the idea," said Aldo. Green burials are legal in Connecticut and all 50 states, but there can often be restrictions at the local level concerning where these burials can take place. The vision for Tessa's burial was in the woods of Sherman on her family's own private property. "We decided that this would be a good spot to try to bury her," Aldo said. But attaining what his mother wanted has not been simple or quick. Aldo, an attorney, said he had been granted all of the necessary approvals from the state in late 2018 while dealing with town officials. Aldo said he had to write a regulation which would provide the means to apply to Sherman's Planning and Zoning Commission in December 2018. After a public hearing and after allowing time for any potential appeal, Aldo said his application for a private burying ground was accepted, but was not yet approved. Later in March, after some of the snow had melted, a site walk of the property revealed the possible presence of watercourses or wetlands. Because of this, Aldo said he was advised it would be necessary to withdraw his previous application to the Planning and Zoning Commission in order to, instead, submit the application to the town's Inland Wetlands Commission. Approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission must come before approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, Aldo said. The approval process has continued through May 2019. "It's highly regulated," said Aldo. "The longer it takes the more absurd the situation becomes." Tessa Pascarella died on Jan. 21, 2018 - nearly a year and half ago. Her remains have since been stored in a 'climate-controlled environment' at Leo P. Gallagher Funeral Home in Stamford. The funeral home offers green funeral and burial options. "Our hope is really for the family to have peace," said Christopher Farrugio, the funeral home's general manager. Farrugio and his staff said they hope to help with the Pascarella family's wishes in the near future. "To pursue this would be a great thing for many families all across the state," he said. "He's so focused on doing this because he knows it's the right thing to do for his mother and for his family," said Farrugio. "We did not realize it was going to take this long." "It is disturbing to think of a loved one's remains just sitting on ice somewhere for as long as my mom's remains have been sitting on ice," said Aldo, who is confident that his bureaucratic battles have been worth fighting. Aldo expected final approval from town officials for a small, private family cemetery in the month of June. "This is something that she very much wanted," he said. A 2018 survey by the National Funeral Directors Association showed nearly half of respondents were interested in exploring green funeral options; mostly for environmental or cost-saving reasons. "This is the most comforting idea I've ever had of death," said Elizabeth Foley, founder of Connecticut Green Burial Grounds, an organization trying to establish cemeteries specifically for green burials. "This is not a new concept. Prior to 150 years ago, this is how things were done for millennia," said Foley. "A shroud is another option, which would just be a linen or plain cloth material and a return to earth just cradled in that." Two existing Connecticut cemeteries, in Danbury and Deep River, are already using a portion of their properties for green burials. But the Connecticut Green Burial Grounds group is pushing to create the region's first all-green cemetery. An NBC 7 investigation found the owners of a San Diego based pornographic website accused of coercing women into performing in sex videos had ties to shell companies charged with laundering billions of dollars for a Mexican drug cartel and trafficking illegal weapons. Nearly two dozen women from across the country have filed a lawsuit against the three men behind the popular website GirlsDoPorn, which according to court depositions is operated out of the Spreckels office building downtown. They allege the men hatched an elaborate scheme in order to convince them to perform in erotic videos that eventually were posted online. Attorneys representing the GirlsDoPorn website and its owners have denied those allegations and said the women knew what they were signing up for. Yet, as the trial nears, NBC 7 Investigates looked into the websites finances along with its corporate affiliations and found a network of offshore shell companies that prosecutors say were used to fund criminal enterprises. Listen to how the NBC 7 Investigates team uncovered this story in INSIGHT: Episode Two. Listen below or subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Corporate filings, as well as court documents, show New Zealand native and website owner Michael Pratt purchased the internet domain name GirlsDoPorn in July 2006. By December, Pratt incorporated BubbleGum Films. BubbleGum Films was created under the umbrella of a larger corporate entity, GT Group Limited, according to the Girls Do Porn website and the companys financial filings. NBC BAY AREA GT Group was founded by a New Zealand businessman named Geoff Taylor in 1995. The company name comes from Taylors initials and, according to a company brochure, specialized in setting up offshore business entities to take advantage of offshore tax breaks. NBC 7 Investigates contacted attorneys representing GirlsDoPorn and GT Group Limited, as well as Geoff Taylor and his sons, with questions regarding the companys finances but they did not respond. GT Groups headquarters was located in a small room on Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific. In recent years, the small island nation has been reported to be a tax haven for shell companies that have hidden billions of dollars, according to a 2017 Bloomberg article. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), one of the companies incorporated by GT Group was SP Trading. It was created by Geoff Taylors sons Ian and Michael Taylor and did business with Russian arms smugglers. In 2008, authorities arrested Viktor Bout, who was nicknamed the Merchant of Death and was the inspiration behind the Nicholas Cage character in the movie Lord of War, during a joint U.S.-Thai sting operation, according to a federal complaint. One year later, agents seized 30 tons of rocket-propelled grenade launchers on a cargo plane destined for Iran. The plane was formerly owned by Bout and was registered to one of SP Tradings entities when it was stopped on a runway tarmac in Bangkok, according to the charging documents. Bout was sentenced to 25 years in a United States prison for gun trafficking-related charges and is currently appealing that conviction. In 2016, an Appellate Court denied Bouts motion for a new trial. Bout is currently appealing that ruling. In 2010, federal prosecutors in Florida linked another GT Group company to what was called at the time the largest money-laundering operation in U.S. history. Instead of Russian arms smugglers, four New Zealand firms, all registered by GT Group, helped the Sinaloa cartel launder billions of dollars, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Court records tied to the laundering prosecution remain under seal, but according to a DOJ news release, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency tied the companies to a Wachovia bank that helped disguise the origins of the funds. Wachovia later agreed to pay $160 million to the federal government to settle the case, according to federal prosecutors. One year after the drug-money laundering prosecution, according to Auckland news reports, GT Group announced it was shutting down its operations. But those werent the only ties the GT Group had to alleged international criminal enterprises. At the same time, Prevezon Holdings Limited, another company registered by GT Group, was a front for a group of corrupt Russian officials who were behind a $230 million dollar tax refund fraud scheme in Russia, according to the DOJ. In a settlement agreement in the case, the DOJ said Prevezon Holdings agreed to pay back more than $5.8 million dollars to the U.S. without its defendants admitting to the charges they faced. NBC 7 tried contacting Prevezon Holdings at the firms contact information listed online but have not heard back. In 2016, the largest documents-leak in history, known as the Panama Papers, revealed and confirmed the use of vast networks of shell companies, many of which were offshore businesses used to hide criminal activity and shield itself from taxes requirements, according to the ICIJ. Back in San Diego, Michael Pratt was busy building the adult website that GT Group incorporated, featuring videos of young amateur girls having sex on camera for the first time, according to the websites home page. The format for shooting the videos was simple, say court filings in the civil lawsuit against the website and its owners. Costs were kept to a minimum. The women who brought the lawsuit say the men would fly girls from across the country to San Diego to perform in the videos. According to the lawsuit, the videos were posted on the Girls Do Porn website, as well as popular adult websites such as PornHub, the fourth most-visited website behind Wikipedia, Netflix, and Microsoft. The site is member-only and charges $29.99 for a basic monthly plan. But in addition to the website, court records state Pratt posts the womens videos on conglomerate sites such as YouPorn and PornHub, both rank in the top ten for most popular websites. Court exhibits show in November 2015, Pratt transferred assets from his company Bubblegum Films, Inc. to new Vanuatu entities named Oh Well Media Limited and Sidle Media Limited. Pratt and Wolfe also listed these new Vanuatu entities on corporate registrations for the GirlsDoPorn website in California, Nevada, and Wyoming. When the civil lawsuit was originally filed in 2016 against the GirlsDoPorn website and its owners, four women were named. Months later, 18 additional women joined the lawsuit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 22. NBC 7 Investigates spoke to seven women who are not plaintiffs in the case but shared stories similar to what was described in court filings. As the civil trial neared, a San Diego Superior Court judge indicated the womens claims had merit and would likely prevail. NBC 7's Investigates reporter Mari Payton spoke to women victimized by a scheme they say tricks girls into filming porn for mass consumption. In January 2019, San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil issued a tentative ruling finding there was substantial probability that the women would prevail and Pratt and his employees engaged in malice, fraud, and coercion. That same day Pratt filed for bankruptcy. In his bankruptcy filings, Pratt claimed to make over $60,000 a month, or $722,000 a year in salary from GirlsDoPorn. The filings also show Pratt owed $134,000 in state and federal taxes. Mr. Pratt certainly did not file bankruptcy because he was struggling to keep up with his debts, said Brian Holm, one of the attorneys representing the women in the civil case. In fact, according to one former employee, the company often spent just ten percent of its budget on each shoot. In a court deposition, Val Moser said she worked as the websites Office Manager and also chauffeur, driving the women to and from the airport. Moser testified in the civil case that Pratt, Wolfe, and Garcia often refuse to pay the women all the money they were promised after filming the videos. Portions of Mosers testimony were recently made public. Models were booked to fly to San Diego with a certain quote or figure in mind, testified Moser. It was highballed. They were promised funds for multiple shoots. When they arrived, their body blemishes would reduce that amount. Moser testified that half of all the women she spoke to had complained to her about getting paid less than what they were promised. The women NBC 7 spoke to shared similar stories. But Moser says that while Pratt, Wolfe, and Garcia had knowingly shorted the women, they often bragged about how much money they could spend on a video if they wanted to. I have overheard Andre Garcia say on more than one occasion braggingly, that we could spend up to $50,000 on a shoot if necessary. Meanwhile, bankruptcy and civil court filings obtained by NBC 7 show the men lived a luxurious lifestyle. Pratt formerly owned a home in Rancho Santa Fe. Employees testified that Garcia drove a new BMW, Pratt drove a Lamborghini, and Wolfe a Land Rover. Despite the inner-office boasts, as well as the flashy cars and lifestyle, Pratt filed for bankruptcy protection in January. There had to be some other motivation, says attorney Holm. Delaying our clients from receiving justice and public vindication is the only thing that makes any sense. Pratts bankruptcy, however, was short-lived. In March, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that the civil case could proceed despite the presence of Pratts bankruptcy case. Just two days before the continued meeting of creditors, Pratt voluntarily dismissed that case. The ruling and subsequent dismissal now allows for the civil lawsuit from the 22 women to proceed. The trial is set for June 24. An attorney for Pratt did not respond to a request for comment for this story. With Teslas stock sinking to around $200 this week, Craig Irwin, an analyst at Roth Capital Partners, told CNBC on Tuesday that the electric car company could have sold to Apple six years ago for a significantly higher price per share. Around 2013, there was a serious bid from Apple at around $240 a share, Irwin said in an interview on Squawk Box. This is something we did multiple checks on. I have complete confidence that this is accurate. Apple bid for Tesla. I dont know if it got to a formal paperwork stage, but I know from multiple different sources that this was very credible. Apple and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla is down more than 38% in 2019, to a share price of $197.76 at the start of trading Tuesday. The stock has plunged 46% from its high in August, when CEO Elon Musk said he had funding secured to take the company private at $420 a share. Knowing there was a very credible bid on the table in 2013 keeps Irwin from being more bearish on the stock today. If Apple had interest then, they would probably have interest now at the right price, he said. Irwin said that Apples car project continues to develop in secret, and that the company is building large dry rooms in California to do something related to automotive batteries. According to Irwin, those rooms are designed to handle the environmental containment required for the production of lithium-ion batteries. My checks are Apple is building several dry rooms, including a couple that are much larger than what you would need for watch or consumer product battery development, Irwin wrote in a follow-up email. Irwin is not the first to suggest that Apple and Tesla have held discussions. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2014 that Musk met with Apples head of mergers and acquisitions and most likely CEO Tim Cook as well. If the two companies were to combine, it would be by far Apples largest acquisition ever and one of the biggest in the history of the technology industry. Teslas current market cap is about $36 billion. The most Apple has ever paid is $3 billion for Beats Electronics in 2014. For a deal to take place Apple would face the question of what to do with the outspoken Musk and his tendency to gain attention for many of the wrong reasons, whether its tweeting out material nonpublic information or smoking weed on a podcast. Regarding the acquisition: my understanding is Apple wanted Elon Musk to step away, and that was a deal killer, Irwin said in the email. This story first appeared on CNBC.com More from CNBC: The most popular stocks for hedge fund managers are crushing the market This map shows Americans' average credit score in every state Potential Fed nominee wants a change in the way interest rates are set What to Know A 40-year-old NJ woman faces first-degree murder and aggravated sex assault charges in the death of a 70-year-old NJ woman The relationship between the suspect, Caroline Beckert, and the victim, Joann Cullinan, wasn't immediately clear; both lived in Old Bridge Autopsy results are pending, prosecutors said; Beckert was being held pending an initial court appearance scheduled for Friday A 40-year-old New Jersey woman has been arrested on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault in the death of a 70-year-old woman, authorities say. Caroline Beckert, of Old Bridge, was arrested Thursday in the killing of Joann Cullinan, also of Old Bridge. Cops responded to the Glenwood Apartments after someone tipped them off that Cullinan had been found dead in her home. It's not clear who alerted police, but Cullinan was pronounced dead at the scene. The relationship between Beckert and Cullinan wasn't immediately clear, apart from them living in the same township. Autopsy results are pending, prosecutors said. Beckert is being held pending an initial court appearance in New Brunswick scheduled for Friday. It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call Old Bridge police at 732-721-5600. What to Know A retired Vice detective in the NYPD and his wife have pleaded guilty to running a prostitution and gambling ring that involved current cops The pair allegedly operated a string of brothels and ran illegal gambling rings in beauty salons and other businesses The detective faces 12 years in prison, while his wife has already started serving her one-year sentence A retired vice detective in the NYPD and his wife have pleaded guilty to running a prostitution and gambling ring that also ensnared seven current officers within the department, the Queens district attorney announced Wednesday. Former detective Ludwig Paz used his knowledge of inner workings of the NYPD to operate a string of brothels in Queens, Brooklyn and Hempstead, according to Acting District Attorney John Ryan, and ran illegal gambling rings in beauty salons and other locations throughout the city. Paz, 51, and his wife Arelis Peralta, 43, both pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Paz faced three charges including promoting prostitution and attempted enterprise corruption, while Peralta only faced two counts of the latter charge. The vast majority of police officers are honest, hardworking professionals who have sworn an oath to enforce and uphold the law. Regrettably, there are a few members of service who are willing to tarnish the badge they wear for the chance to make a few easy bucks, Ryan said. According to the charges, Paz worked with his wife to head up the illegal enterprises and aided in the day-to-day operations at seven of eight brothels. The duo used information from current Brooklyn South Vice Detective Rene Samaniego including intel on scheduled raids, where undercover officers were and what they looked like, along with other vital information to keep the brothels running. Samaniego pleaded guilty on May 8 for his involvement in the illicit acts, and faces up to six years in prison at his June 25 sentencing. Paz set up protocols to help weed out undercovers as well. Knowing that police officers could not expose their genitals when interacting with prostitutes, new clients were required to undress and allow themselves to be fondled before getting past security, according to the release. The prostitution ring alone brought in more than $2 million in just over a years time, after using online advertising to attract more customers. After the screening process, clients paid up to $40 for 15 minutes of sex with a prostitute of their choice, or up to $160 for a full hour, according to the full indictment. Paz and Peralta also profited from illegal lotteries set up at several legitimate businesses, and included managers, runners and agents with offices where bets could be placed on legal lotteries. Paz is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27 and faces up to 12 years in prison. Peralta was sentenced after pleading guilty, and will serve one year behind bars. Six other members of the NYPD were named in the initial indictment. Sgt. Carlos Cruz, 41, and detective Giovanny Rojas Acosta, 40, face enterprise corruption charges after allegedly giving Paz information on law enforcement activities related to prostitution to help him avoid detection, according to the indictment. Two brothers who are NYPD sergeants Cliff Nieves, 37, and Steven Nieves, 32 are accused of promoting prostitution and operating an invite-only "pop-up brothel" within another established brothel, the indictment says. Another cop, Giancarlo Raspanti, allegedly gave Paz confidential police information in exchange for discounted sex at a brothel. And yet another sergeant, Louis Failla, allegedly helped Paz get out of a jam following a brothel ride. Prosecutors say a tip from an officer about gambling and prostitution issues within the department to the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau in 2015 launched the investigation. Investigators used wiretaps and surveillance, among other techniques, to piece together who was involved in the complicated enterprise and their roles, according to the Queens DA. The Chabad of Poway congregation gathered Wednesday night to honor Lori Gilbert Kaye, the 60-year-old woman who sacrificed her own life to spare others when a shooter opened fire in their synagogue. The touching tribute to Kaye came in the form of a dedicated Torah scroll. The Torah scroll is Judaisms most sacred object. Wednesday marked the end of the traditional mourning period. Friends and survivors of last month's mass shooting gathered for the dedication and a celebration of Kaye's life. The scroll, carried by Kaye's husband, was paraded up Chabad Way under a canopy, which is tradition. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who credited Kayes bravery for the preservation of his own life, spoke at the ceremony. He described Kaye as a kind and loving soul who was beloved among the congregation. We are going to take this Torah out every Shabbat. Its going to be marched all around the shul, we are all going to touch the Torah and blow Lori a kiss, shes going to feel our love, shes going to feel our connection to the Torah and our connection to her, Rabbi Goldstein said. The scribe inked the Torah scroll in the same tradition in which it's been done for 3,300 years. The ceremony ended with street dancing to celebrate Kaye's life. Shooting survivors were also honored with an inscribed letter in the Torah scroll, and first responders were also given a special mention. President Donald Trump, in a lengthy interview on Fox News, made several statements that were false, misleading or not supported by the evidence: --Trump claimed Joe Biden, as vice president, pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was after his son, Hunter Biden. Theres no evidence that Biden was under investigation, although he was a board member for a company whose owner was under investigation. --Trump said of North Korea: They havent had any tests over the last two years zero. Its true that they havent had any nuclear tests or long-range missile tests, but North Korea has tested short-range missiles twice this month. --The president said he will provide $15 billion in assistance to U.S. farmers hurt by the trade war, because thats the most money that China has ever paid for U.S. agricultural goods. But federal data show that China purchased nearly $27.2 billion in U.S. agricultural goods in 2012. --Trump boasted that Honda is coming in [to the U.S.] with $14.5 billion in investments. A Michigan-based automotive research group says that Honda has announced $1.7 billion in U.S. vehicle manufacturing investments over the last five years. --The president said he has tremendous poll numbers now. Trumps average approval rating is currently below 43 percent. In a wide-ranging interview that aired May 19 on The Next Revolution, Trump and the shows host, Steve Hilton, discussed foreign policy, international trade, the economy, politics and more. Hunter Biden and Ukraine At one point, Hilton raised Trumps campaign promise to drain the swamp, asking the president whether former White House aides should be allowed to lobby for foreign companies. The president pivoted to 2020 implying that a potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden, intervened while he was vice president to halt an investigation in Ukraine of his son, Hunter. Trump twisted the facts when he said that the then-vice president threatened to withhold $2 billion in U.S. loan guarantees unless Ukraine dropped its investigation into Hunter and fired the prosecutor. Theres no evidence that Hunter was under investigation. -- Trump: Biden, he calls them and says, Dont you dare prosecute, if you dont fire this prosecutor the prosecutor was after his son. Then he said, If you fire the prosecutor, youll be OK. And if you dont fire the prosecutor, were not giving you $2 billion in loan guarantees, or whatever he was supposed to give. Can you imagine if I did that? -- Lets review what we know and dont know about the Bidens and Ukraine. In March 2016, Biden went to Ukraine and told the government that the U.S. would withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees if Ukraine failed to address corruption and remove its prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin. We know this because Biden boasted about it last year during an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations. The former vice president, who is now running for president, said the incident occurred during a visit to Kiev. -- Biden, Jan. 23, 2018: I was supposed to announce that there was another billion-dollar loan guarantee. And I had gotten a commitment from [then-Ukraine President Petro] Poroshenko and from [then-Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy] Yatsenyuk that they would take action against the state prosecutor. And they didnt. So they said they had they were walking out to a press conference. I said, nah, Im not going to or, were not going to give you the billion dollars. They said, you have no authority. Youre not the president. The president said I said, call him. I said, Im telling you, youre not getting the billion dollars. I said, youre not getting the billion. Im going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: Im leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, youre not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch. He got fired. -- The U.S. wasnt the only one critical of Ukraines anti-corruption efforts. A month earlier, the International Monetary Fund threatened to withhold $40 billion unless Ukraine undertook a substantial new effort to fight corruption. At the time, Hunter Biden was a board member for the Burisma Group, one of the biggest private gas companies in Ukraine. He joined the board in May 2014, instantly raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest. An Associated Press article called Bidens hiring politically awkward. Hunter Bidens employment means he will be working as a director and top lawyer for a Ukrainian energy company during the period when his father and others in the Obama administration attempt to influence the policies of Ukraines new government, especially on energy issues, the AP wrote. However, there is no evidence that Hunter Biden was under investigation or that his father pressured Ukraine on his behalf. A few days before Fox News aired the Trump interview, Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraines current prosecutor general, gave his own interview to Bloomberg News and said: Hunter Biden did not violate any Ukrainian laws at least as of now, we do not see any wrongdoing. Lutsenko told Bloomberg that the prosecutor generals office in 2014 before Shokin took office opened a corruption investigation against Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Burisma, and numerous others. He said the probes focus was Serghi Kurchenko, who owned a number of gas companies, and a transaction that occurred in November 2013, months before Biden joined Burisma. -- Bloomberg News, May 16: As part of the 5-year-old inquiry, the prosecutor generals office has been looking at whether Kurchenkos purchase of an oil storage terminal in southern Ukraine from Zlochevksy in November 2013 helped Kurchenko launder money. Lutsenko said the transaction under scrutiny came months before Hunter Biden joined the Burisma board. Biden was definitely not involved, Lutsenko said. We do not have any grounds to think that there was any wrongdoing starting from 2014. The investigation is still active, he said. -- Talks between the leaders of the United States and North Korea broke down on day two of their second summit. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were not able to reach a consensus on denuclearization and sanctions, Trump said. North Korea and Nuclear Tests The president also spoke about North Korea and its nuclear weapons program. Trump met with North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un in June of last year, and the two leaders agreed to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. During Kims reign, North Korea has conducted numerous nuclear tests and missile launches including four nuclear weapons tests and three test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. -- Trump: But, they havent had any tests over the last two years zero. Theres a chart and it shows 24 tests, 22 tests, 18 tests. Then I come, and once Im there for a little while you know, we went through a pretty rough rhetorical period. Once Im there for a little while, no tests, no tests, no tests. -- Its true that North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test since Sept. 3, 2017, and it hasnt launched an ICBM since Nov. 29, 2017. (See details in the Arms Control Association timeline.) But North Korea has conducted short-range missile tests twice this month, and it continues to actively pursue a nuclear weapons program. The U.S. intelligence community released a threat assessment report in January that said, We continue to observe activity inconsistent with full denuclearization. The report didnt detail what kind of activity. But a week earlier, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington issued a report that said it found approximately 20 undeclared missile operating bases, including one that serves as a missile headquarters. A month later, three Stanford University researchers issued a report that said North Korea continued to operate and, in some cases, expand the nuclear weapons complex infrastructure. It continued to operate its nuclear facilities to produce plutonium and highly enriched uranium that may allow it to increase the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal from roughly 30 in 2017 to 35-37. China and Trade Another subject that the president addressed was the ongoing trade war with China. The Trump administration last year imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, and China responded with tariffs on $110 billion of U.S. goods. The trade dispute escalated this month. First, the Trump administration on May 10 raised tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on about $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China responded three days later when it announced that it would increase tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on roughly $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, beginning June 1. The dispute has hurt U.S. agricultural exports in particular, and the administration responded by authorizing up to $12 billion in aid to U.S. farmers. Trump said he would increase financial assistance to $15 billion and explained how he arrived at that number. -- Trump: I said to Sonny Perdue, Department of Agriculture secretary of Agriculture Sonny, whats the most money that China has ever paid toward agriculture, toward buying food product? He said $15 billion a number of years ago. I said Is that the most? He said Yes. Some people will say close to (inaudible) but $15 billion was about the most. I said Good. Im going to take $15 billion out of the $100 billion, and Im going to give that to our farmers. -- Trump told a similar story in a recent speech to the National Association of Realtors. -- Trump, May 17: So I called Sonny Perdue, our great Secretary of Agriculture, and I said, Sonny (applause) I said, Sonny, whats the biggest amount theyve ever spent in this country? He said, About $15 billion. People could say 18, 19. But basically $15 billion. And I said, So lets take $15 billion, set it aside out of the 100 or 125 billion [in annual tariffs imposed on all imports]. -- We asked the White House and the Department of Agriculture about this conversation. Neither responded. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative referred us to the White House. But this much we know based on available data and emails from two federal agencies: $15 billion isnt the biggest amount that China has spent on U.S. agricultural exports. In its annual reports on shifts in U.S. merchandise trade, the United States International Trade Commission reported that China purchased $27.2 billion in U.S. agricultural products in 2012 the most in one year from 2010 to 2017. The most recent USITC report covers 2013 to 2017, and a commission spokeswoman told us a new report covering 2018 would not be released until November. However, according to the Department of Agriculture, agricultural exports to China fell dramatically to $9.2 billion in 2018. That was almost all due to retaliatory tariffs imposed by China, Wallace E. Tyner, who teaches agricultural economics at Purdue University, told us in an email. We also know that, as of the morning of May 20, the U.S. has paid $8.54 billion to farmers through three aid programs, a USDA spokesperson said. The Market Facilitation Program the largest of the three programs can provide up to $10 billion to producers of corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, wheat, dairy, hogs, almonds and sweet cherries, according to a December report by the Congressional Research Service on the trade aid programs. The top five commodities that received assistance through the program were soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton and sorghum, the USDA spokesperson told us. We found that, from 2009 through 2018, the most that China imported of those five commodities in any one year totaled nearly $20 billion, according to Census Bureau export data. That occurred in 2012, when Chinas agricultural purchases included nearly $14.9 billion in soybeans, $3.4 billion in raw cotton and $1.3 billion in corn, according to Census data. As we said, we dont know what the president meant when he said that $15 billion was the biggest amount theyve ever spent in this country. We will update this item if the White House responds. Honda and U.S. Investments In talking about the U.S. economy, Trump boasted about companies coming to the United States singling out one car company in particular. -- Trump: Well, really very simply, we have companies coming in here, as you know, by the dozens and by the hundreds and big ones, car companies, Hondas coming in with $14.5 billion. -- We dont know how many companies have relocated to the U.S. or have left the U.S. But the president overestimates Hondas future investment in the U.S. On its website, Honda said that its total capital investment in the U.S. (not just auto manufacturing) has been $21 billion over the last 60 years, including $5.6 billion in the last five years. We could not find any new automotive investments that would equal $14.5 billion, so we reached out to the Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research Group, which tracks new investments in the United States. Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics, told us that she, too, could not match the $14.5 billion figure cited by Trump, and we try to keep very close tabs on these things. She said Honda has announced auto manufacturing investments totaling $1.7 billion over the last five years. In February, Honda announced that it would close a manufacturing plant in Swindon, England, in 2121, when it stops production of its current Civic model. Honda Chief Executive Officer Takahiro Hachigo told Automotive News that the next generation Civic will be manufactured in North America, but the company has yet to say where the plant or plants will be located. Honda currently has five vehicle manufacturing plants in the United States, including one in Indiana that builds the current Civic models. It also manufactures Civic models in Ontario, Canada. We reached out to Honda, but did not hear back. We will update this article if we do. Trumps Approval Rating The president also boasted that he has tremendous poll numbers now. Its subjective, of course, to describe ones poll numbers as tremendous. But Trumps average job approval rating based on polling data assembled from dozens of polls by Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight is currently below 43 percent. As of May 22, Trumps average job approval rating on Real Clear Politics was 42.5 percent, and FiveThirtyEight put it at 41.1 percent. By contrast, those who disapproved of Trumps job performance averaged 53.7 percent, according to Real Clear Politics, and 53.8 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight. As for individual polls taken this month, Trumps job approval rating reached a peak of 51 percent in the Zogby Poll, which was conducted May 2 to May 9 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent. The low point was a Morning Consult poll, which showed the president at 37 percent. That poll was taken May 17 to 19, and had an error margin of plus or minus 2 percent. Trump Repeats As we often find, the president also repeated some false claims that we have previously debunked: China Trade Deficit: The president said, We have a trade deficit with China of $500 billion. Thats false. As we have written before, the U.S. trade deficit with China in goods and services was a record $378.7 billion in 2018, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (see table 3). The U.S. had a $419.3 billion deficit with China in goods (table 6) and a $40.5 billion surplus in services (table 9). Tariff Revenue: Trump said that, as a result of tariffs he has placed on Chinese goods, we are going to be taking in possibly $100 billion, possibly more than that in tariffs. We never took in 10 cents from China. Its not true, as we have previously said, that the U.S. has never collected tariffs on Chinese goods. The amount of tariff revenue has increased, but the U.S. did collect billions of dollars each year since at least 2000. For example, the U.S. collected about $13.4 billion in 2016, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission database. As we also wrote, tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. importers in the form of customs duties, not by the Chinese government or its companies. Liquefied Natural Gas Exporting. The president said, I was in Louisiana opening up a $10 billion LNG plant that wouldve never been approved under another type of administration, never, and, Theyve been trying for years to get it built, but we got approvals very quickly for the big LNG. Thats false. As we wrote before, the plant in question, Sempra Energys Cameron LNG plant, was approved in 2014 by the Obama administration, a fact Sempra Energy confirmed. McDonald's Corp. says it's enhancing training and offering a new hotline for workers in response to escalating allegations of sexual harassment. On Tuesday, the labor group Fight for $15 filed 25 sexual harassment charges against McDonald's with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund are providing legal support. Among those filing complaints is Jamelia Fairley, who works at a company-owned store in Sanford, Florida. In a conference call with media, Fairley said she was harassed by two male employees who would rub up against her, pinch her and make explicit comments. "I stood up for myself and will not let anyone bully me," Fairley said. She said she never received training about harassment or how to report it. It's the third time in three years that Fight for $15 has filed harassment charges on behalf of McDonald's workers. In all, around 50 cases have been filed. In addition to the charges filed with the government, civil lawsuits have been filed in Michigan, Georgia, California and North Carolina. McDonald's says it has been working with the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network since last year to develop new training materials. It has also rewritten its employee policy to more clearly define sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. The fast food chain says it sent posters with the new policy to its 14,000 U.S. restaurants. The posters also make clear that employees can call a third-party hotline to report abuse. The company said it will begin training store workers about harassment and bias this August. "We are committed to creating and sustaining a culture of trust where employees feel safe, valued and respected," McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook wrote in a letter sent this week to author and actress Padma Lakshmi, who participated in a Fight for $15 rally Tuesday outside McDonald's Chicago headquarters. Sex assault resources are available at the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. Since it was first created in 1994, the National Sexual Assault Hotline has helped more than two million people, according to its website. Armed robberies have gotten so common aboard buses in Mexico City that commuters have come up with a clever if disheartening solution: Many are buying fake cellphones, to hand over to thieves instead of their real smartphones. Costing 300 to 500 pesos apiece the equivalent of $15 to $25 the "dummies" are sophisticated fakes: They have a startup screen and bodies that are dead ringers for the originals, and inside there is a piece of metal to give the phone the heft of the real article. That comes in handy when trying to fool trigger-happy bandits who regularly attack the buses, big and small, that ferry people from the poorer outlying suburbs to jobs in the city center. The scene is repeated over and over again, courtesy of the cameras that many buses now carry that record the assaults, often late at night or in the early morning: Sleepy passengers are seen bouncing along in the jitneys when one or two of the men aboard suddenly pull masks over their faces. One will pull out a gun while his accomplice passes down the aisle, often with his own gun, demanding valuables. "You're all screwed now! Don't move or you're dead! Cellphones and wallets!" barks a thief in one recent video. Time and again, those who resist or refuse are hit in the head with a pistol, or simply shot and left to bleed on the floor of the bus. Martha Patricia Rociles Estrada, a schoolteacher from the low-income suburb of Nezahualcoyotl, was robbed herself. Now, she says, most city residents make their daily commutes in fear. "Getting on public transportation is now a risk," Rociles Estrada said. "You get on, but you never know if you're going to return." "Now you have to be careful to carry money, because if you don't, the thieves get angry and you run the risk that they'll shoot you if you're not carrying money." There were an average of 70 reported violent muggings every day in Mexico City in the first four months of 2019. About two-thirds were committed against pedestrians, with the rest split almost evenly between bus passengers and assaults on motorists stopped at lights or caught in traffic jams. Between 2017 and 2018, such assaults rose by about 22 percent. But when Rociles Estrada was robbed at gunpoint several years ago, most people weren't carrying costly smartphones around with them. "They just took whatever I had of value, my change purse, that was all," she recalled The advent of smartphones changed all that. Now, many people carry a device worth hundreds of dollars in their pocket, and one that may also hold their bank or credit card information. That's where "dummy" vendors like Axel come in. Axel says he sells three or four dummy phones a week out of his stall in a downtown electronics marketplace, next door to a colonial college building that dates to 1767. Axel, who asked his full name not be used for fear police would accuse him of selling fake merchandise, said all of his customers know they are buying fakes. "It's useful for robberies, the large number of muggings happening in Mexico City," said Axel. "They say 'hand over your cellphone, give me everything', and people know now they have to hand over the phone quick, in a matter of seconds, so they hand over these phones and often the thieves don't realize it." But Axel admits the victim would be in trouble if a thief caught them handing over a "dummy" phone. "Obviously there are problems, because if the criminals search it or find out ... there is going to be a problem." Because of that, some try a different strategy, spending a little more to buy a cheap but real second phone. Gloria, who works at her own stall at another market across the street in a converted art-deco movie house, said the dummy trade started about 14 years ago, but for different reasons: Phone shops would buy dummies for their exhibition cases to protect against another type of crime, the so-called "sledgehammer crews" who can clear out a jewelry or electronics store in seconds by breaking windows. "Generally, the dummy is for a showcase, for people who sell real cellphones," Gloria explained. "Dummies have been sold here for about 14 years, for use in showcases, but nowadays people are buying them to protect their own cellphones." Gloria sells an iPhone dummy for 300 pesos ($15), that would save a victim the 18,000 pesos ($900) a real iPhone would cost here. "In most cases, people want to avoid getting their cellphone stolen, but also their data," says Gloria, who also asked her last name not be used. The paranoia about assaults and muggings has been amplified by the fact that so many of the robberies are now videotaped by surveillance cameras on public buses. The tapes are often shown on news programs, instilling terror in people. The government of the eastern borough of Ixtapalpa one of the city's biggest and poorest precincts launched a program this week to have police ride the buses to prevent robberies. But even as the program started up with fanfare and media photo ops, some residents were skeptical. Oscar Armenda, a transportation worker who was riding a bus in Iztapalapa around midday as police started climbing aboard, said, "This is good in a way, but in a way it's not." "They should do this at the time of day when it's needed, at night, not now," Armenda said. Silvia C. has a job cleaning houses, but she still relies on government assistance to help keep her two daughters safe and healthy. Her 8-year-old has asthma and, without benefits, Silvia is not sure she could afford her child's medication. When Silvia, a Washington resident, noticed Spanish-language news reports about the Department of Homeland Security's proposed changes for immigrants participating in some government programs, her initial reaction was one of fear. The revisions, which would apply to visitors and immigrants from abroad as well as those petitioning for green cards or trying to extend their stays on nonimmigrant visas from within the United States, would not affect most lawful permanent residents such as Silvia. But so much confusion has surrounded the proposal that immigrants across the country have still questioned whether their families should access government benefits intended to cater to the most vulnerable. For some, the answer has been "no," even before changes to the so-called public charge rule have gone into effect and when the policy would not directly apply to them. "A lot of these families that rely on these different public programs to meet their basic needs may not be accessing the services that they need," said Hamutal Bernstein, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute and the lead author of a new report on the first national data that captures the scope of "chilling effects" connected to the so-called "public charge" policy debate last year. Immigrants have long had to prove they will be self-sufficient in the United States by demonstrating that they will not become a public charge. But a proposed policy change under the Trump administration would dramatically expand the definition of a public charge to include people who access noncash benefits such as food stamps (SNAP), most of Medicaid and public or Section 8 Housing. Proposed last fall, the possible rule change marks one of a number of policies related to legal immigration that President Donald Trump has rolled out as most of America concentrates on migration at the border. "This proposed rule will implement a law passed by Congress intended to promote immigrant self-sufficiency and protect finite resources by ensuring that they are not likely to become burdens on American taxpayers," former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said at the time. Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said the revised public charge rule will likely rank among the administration's policies with the broadest impacts on immigration in this country, as tens of millions of people could be affected if it is implemented. Already, there have been ramifications from the policy debate. During a nationally representative survey last December, roughly one in seven adults in immigrant families reported that they or a family member forwent noncash public benefit programs because they feared they or their family might be disqualified from obtaining a green card as a consequence. Among low-income immigrant families, that number jumped to about one in five, according to new research from the Urban Institute released on May 22. Adults in families with children under 19 years old were also disproportionately affected. Even in households where the proposed public charge ground of inadmissability shouldn't apply, families were on high alert. 9.3% of adults where all foreign-born family members were naturalized citizens also experienced or witnessed chilling effects on their family's use of benefits in 2018, as did 14.7% of adults where all foreign-born family members had green cards. Meanwhile, refugees and asylees have been among those concerned about taking advantage of government programs, advocates say, even though they're explicitly exempt from the proposal. "I think people are just trying to be as safe as possible," said Connie Choi, NILC's Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign field manager and strategist. The most common program that adults in immigrant families said someone in their family stopped participating in or did not apply to was SNAP, followed closely by Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. Nearly 17% of adults who reported that their family had not accessed a form of assistance "indicated that the implicated program was specifically Medicaid or CHIP benefits for a child in their family," according to the Urban Institute report. When Bernstein followed up with survey respondents who had experienced or witnessed these chilling effects, she met a natural born citizen married to a green card holder who was worried about accessing SNAP, even as they were expecting a child; an international doctoral student avoiding assistance to ensure his green card process went smoothly; and a naturalized citizen whose sister had stopped using SNAP, even though she had a green card, because she feared it might affect her citizenship claim. Silvia worried at first that her 3-year-old U.S.-citizen daughter's benefits might impact her husband's green card petition as he tries to come to the U.S. (the implicated program, WIC, is not among those targeted in the proposed public charge changes, and her concerns represent how misinformation on the topic spread among the immigrant community). She also expressed concerns that accessing benefits for her family might cloud her own citizenship claim, even though the website for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says "lawful permanent residents who subsequently apply for naturalization would not be subject to inadmissibility determinations." Adults who reported hearing a lot about the public charge rule were far more likely to have family forgo government assistance because of fears about green card disqualifications, according to the Urban Institute report. Bernstein said the data suggests that if the revised rule is actually implemented, increased awareness could lead to even more hesitation from mixed status families around using benefits. Veronica Hernandez's team at Mary's Center a community health center that serves the D.C. metro area fields questions on a daily basis about the proposed changes to the public charge ground of inadmissability, she said. She has watched as parents decide to take themselves or their entire families off of benefits, denying themselves medical care because of fear. When there's a story in the news, she starts getting calls and visits from people asking what they should do. "We just try to calm them down," she said, "and educate them." Tess Engelhardt first met seminarian student Robert Dreisbach when she was a sophomore in college. They started dating one year later and, shortly after, Dreisbach became an ordained Roman Catholic priest in Allentown, Pennsylvania. But that didnt end their relationship. In fact, the two remained intimate for 15 years until Engelhardt became pregnant with a son. Their was never made public until now. Hed come over once or twice in a week, watch TV, have sex, be romantic, Engelhardt said. We would do things in the house, but didnt go out publicly. Engelhardts revelation comes more than one year after a Pennsylvania grand jury report unveiled hundreds of instances of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church. Lurid details revealed throughout more than 1,300 pages included rape, abortions, confessions and cover-ups. It took the grand jury more than two years to fully investigate the claims contained in the sometimes explicit report. Despite the report and subsequent fall out, including payments to victims of sex abuse, Engelhardt always hoped her relationship with Dreisbach would work out. I just felt if I had Christ as my center point, if I had good intentions and he had good intentions, we could see where it panned out, she said. About six months into her pregnancy, Engelhardt confided in a close friend who was also a local monsignor. He urged her to attend a meeting with bishops and other church leaders in Allentown. Engelhardt hoped she would find support and comfort, but instead she was given an ultimatum: adopt the baby to another family, sign a confidentiality agreement and receive financial assistance for her silence. She could never have contact with her son or lover again. He told me I was being selfish for wanting to raise my child, Engelhardt said of the bishop at the time. Dreisbach was removed from ministry 26 years ago after the church learned about his son, according to the Diocese of Allentown. The process of defrocking Dreisbach, which requires approval from the Vatican in Rome, is still pending. The actions of Robert Dreisbach in the 1980s and 1990s have caused great pain for all those affected. We pray for everyone who has suffered as the result of this situation, the Diocese of Allentown said in a statement. We pray for everyone who has suffered as the result of this situation. Robert Dreisbach still lives in Pennsylvania and, through his son, declined to comment. Despite the consensual nature of Engelhardts relationship with Dreisbach, she frequently referred to those days as hell. She didnt reveal to her son the true identity of his father until he was 8 years old. John Dreisbach, now 28, still remembers questioning his life as a result of his parents relationship. He often felt like a problem the church needed to resolve, he said. I know that there were many times that Id lay awake at night as a kid thinking to myself Should I even be here? he said. It was hard. Currently Im dealing with a lot of depression, been diagnosed. I was diagnosed with depression and having to deal with those questions in my mind at that age certainly didnt help. Lingering trauma is just one of the many repercussions from the clergy sex abuse scandal. Vincent Doyle, a psychotherapist from Ireland and the son of a priest, started a support group for victims like himself and John Dreisbach. His group, Coping International, has cases from more than 175 countries. He estimates there are at least 10,000 children of clergy across the globe. The presence of secrecy in the domestic environment of a child will absolutely and categorically destroy that child, he said. What to Know Jennifer Gock, 40, of Morton, Pennsylvania, is accused of selling cocaine to an undercover officer in Delaware County on four occasions. Gock allegedly told police she was a special education teacher in the Philadelphia school district. A district spokesperson confirmed Gock was an employee and had been suspended but did not reveal which school she worked at. A special education teacher in the Philadelphia School District was arrested after she allegedly sold cocaine to an undercover police officer in Delaware County four different times. Jennifer Gock, 40, of Morton, Pennsylvania, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and other related offenses. The investigation began in February when police learned Gock was distributing cocaine in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, and throughout Delaware County, officials said. An undercover officer with Delaware Countys Criminal Investigation Division Drug Task Force then contacted Gock on Feb. 19 to buy $80 worth of cocaine, according to the criminal complaint. Gock then met the undercover officer at the Wawa store on the 1500 block of Chester Pike in Folcroft where she sold him the drugs, police said. Gock allegedly met and sold cocaine to the same officer on Feb. 21 at the back of the Buc Tavern in Glenolden, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 25 at the Home Depot in Folsom, and on March 4 at the Delcroft Shopping Center in Folcroft, about a block away from Delcroft Elementary School. After Gock left the shopping center on March 4, she was pulled over by police on Glenolden and Sharp avenues and taken into custody, investigators said. Police found a brown purse in Gocks vehicle which contained cocaine, THC oil, edibles and marijuana, according to the criminal complaint. Gock allegedly told police she taught special education at a school in the Philadelphia School District. Police also said she may have had the cocaine in her possession while in the classroom. She said she was coming straight from work, Folcroft Police Chief William Bair said. So that would mean it was either on her person or in her car or she picked it up on the way to meet the undercover officer to sell it. A spokesperson with the Philadelphia School District confirmed Gock was an employee with the district though the spokesperson did not reveal which school she taught at. The employee will be suspended until the issue is resolved, the spokesperson wrote. Gocks neighbors told NBC10 she has a daughter and they were stunned to learn about the allegations. Both sides have rested in the McStay family murder trial, San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office confirmed Thursday. Closing arguments in the case against Charles Merritt are expected to begin on Tuesday, May 28. Merritt is charged with killing Joseph and Summer McStay along with their 3- and 4-year-old sons. The family's disappearance in 2010 perplexed investigators for years. Alerted by relatives of the Fallbrook family, investigators began looking into their whereabouts and discovered the familys SUV had been towed from a parking lot in San Ysidro. Surveillance footage in the area showed who officials believed to be the McStays walking into Mexico. However, the disappearance stumped investigators for years. .large div.leadMediaRegion {border:none} .large .leadMediaRegion.city_module iframe {height:650px;} It wasn't until November 2013 that the family was found dead, buried more than 100 miles away in a remote area of San Bernardino County, along with a 3-pound sledgehammer and a child's pants and diaper. Joseph McStay's business partner, Merritt, was arrested the following year. Supervising deputy district attorney for San Bernardino County accused Merritt of "desperately [trying] to cover his tracks after the murders. Prosecutors also accused Merritt of stealing thousands of dollars from Josephs custom fountain business by hacking his electronic bank account. Merritt pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, Merritt could face the death penalty. Police in Virginia say a 17-month-old girl has died after being assaulted at a Richmond hotel. The girl's mother, Aija Brown, tells news outlets that Nariah Ivy Brown died Friday after being sexually assaulted two days earlier. She says she left her daughter in a motel room with a man she trusted and returned to find her daughter wounded. She says Nariah was then hospitalized. City police have only said the girl was assaulted. Authorities haven't released Nariah's official cause of death or expanded on the type of assault she suffered. No charges were filed in the girl's death as of Tuesday. A vigil was held for the toddler Tuesday night. An American man has died on a climb of Mount Everest and his family thinks that he had a heart attack while descending from the peak of the worlds tallest mountain, NBC News reported. Don Cash, 55, was a Utah resident whose children told NBC affiliate KSL-TV in Salt Lake City that he died just after completing his goal of reaching the summit on the highest mountain on every continent. His family told KSL that sherpas, mountain guides on Everest, tried to perform CPR and give him oxygen, but he died on the way back to camp. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Don Cashs family during this difficult time, BMC Software, Cashs former employer, told NBC News. North Carolina's most infamous political story lines of recent years are merging into a congressional race this summer that pits the architect of the state's "bathroom bill" against a Democrat who was granted an electoral do-over after evidence of ballot fraud tainted his prior opponent's campaign. State Sen. Dan Bishop topped nine other Republican candidates seeking the 9th Congressional District nomination on Tuesday, winning almost half of the ballots cast in an extremely low turnout election that drew less than 10% of the eligible voters. He will face Democrat Dan McCready, as well as Libertarian and Green candidates, on Sept. 10. Bishop's role as sponsor of a headline-grabbing "bathroom bill" that voided anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people is likely to be a focal point in this repeat race, ordered by election officials who deemed last year's contest too tainted to stand. And despite the low turnout on Tuesday, the general election could draw a heavy infusion of political cash on both sides because it's virtually alone on the political calendar this year. The vote count last November showed McCready, a former Marine and Harvard MBA, narrowly losing to Republican Mark Harris. But then, an investigation found Harris ignored warnings and paid a political operative who collected mail-in ballots. Harris opted not to run again. In 2016, Bishop sponsored House Bill 2, the law that voided a Charlotte ordinance expanding LGBT rights and prevented similar anti-discrimination rules anywhere else in the state. HB2 was nicknamed the "bathroom bill" because it also directed transgender people to use public bathrooms and showers that matched their birth sex. The measure made waves nationally and prompted boycotts by entertainers, governments and some businesses thinking about moving jobs to North Carolina. Bishop said while voters knew HB2 had his whole-hearted backing, the law was partially repealed in 2017 and is no longer as important as other issues. "People are astonished and amazed and dismayed at what they see coming out of Washington these days from liberal crazy clowns. Socialism. Open borders. Infanticide. 90% tax rates. Having prison inmates vote. It goes on and on," Bishop told supporters Tuesday night. "And of course, most of all, an incessant drive to impeach the president." With conflict between President Donald Trump and Washington Democrats heating up after the investigation into Russian support for the president's 2016 campaign, the four-month contest between Bishop and McCready is expected to serve as a measure of political tides and an open vault for donors. McCready ran a solar-energy financing fund before starting his run for Congress two years ago. He's built up his name recognition over the extended campaign and had almost $1.6 million in cash on hand as of May 2, according to Federal Election Commission reports. But McCready will be swimming upstream in a congressional district that has been in GOP hands since 1963 and which Trump won by 12 percentage points in 2016. The district stretches from suburban Charlotte to suburban Fayetteville along the South Carolina border. Bishop accused McCready of refusing to clearly state his positions on public issues during last year's primary and general elections. McCready "went through two elections without telling anyone where he stood on anything. That ends tomorrow," Bishop said Tuesday night. McCready last year said he would not support Nancy Pelosi for her top leadership role in the U.S. House. She was elected speaker in January after Democrats took over the House majority. McCready refused during an October debate to rule in or out whether he supported impeaching Trump. But the GOP's brand also has suffered in the wake of the much-publicized investigation into Harris's campaign, followed last month by federal charges accusing the state party's chairman of working with a big-money donor to try bribing North Carolina's top insurance regulator. Congress will consider new protections for commercial airline passengers to better prevent sex assaults on the planes after a grand jury indicted a Massachusetts man for allegedly groping a 19-year-old woman on a flight bound for Dulles International Airport last summer. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., and a Republican congressman from Arkansas introduced a new bill requiring federal authorities keep formal track of the number of sex assaults on planes. Within a year of passage into law, the feds also would have to publicly list the number of sex assault incidents. An FBI affidavit reviewed by the News4 I-Team says George Seryogin assaulted a woman he met in row 26 of a United Airlines flight from Tokyo to Dulles. Seryogin allegedly began by touching her knee, then began sexually groping her, the affidavit says. He placed a blanket over her leg, making it difficult for other passengers to see him. The affidavit said "the victim was also quietly crying, with tears streaming down her face" and pushed his hands off her. "My client firmly denies the allegations against him," said Seryogin's attorney, Mary M. Nerino. She offered no additional comments. United Airlines said in a statement it banned Seryogin from flying with them. "The safety and well-being of our customers is our top priority. Our customer was immediately moved to a different seat when the flight attendant was made aware of the issue and we requested law enforcement meet the aircraft on arrival," the statement said. "We will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcements investigation and the perpetrator has been banned from flying United. Sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior, intimidation or predation have absolutely no place anywhere in our society including in our industry and on our aircraft." A grand jury indicted Seryogin on a federal criminal charge. He faces one count of abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft in flight. He was set to appear in court Friday for arraignment. Seryogin's case will be prosecuted at the federal court in Alexandria. Seryogin is a dual citizen of Russia and the U.S. This is not the first such allegation on a local flight. An I-Team review of federal court records revealed at least four other sex assault cases aboard flights to Dulles or Reagan Washington National Airport since 2013. The FBI has posted warning signs on TV monitors at Dulles International, which say sex assaults aboard flights are federal crimes. The FBI's DC field office has an airport liaison team assigned to handle airborne crimes. The popularity of CBD products is on the rise, with an increasing number of state legislatures following a federal move to legalize marijuanas hemp cousin. But the News4 I-Team has learned the field tests commonly used by law enforcement to detect drugs havent kept pace, resulting in legal headaches for some CBD users whose products test positive for pot. Whats more, many government-run forensic labs arent yet capable of measuring the exact amount of THC the chemical that can produce a high in most CBD or marijuana products, a necessary tool to help distinguish between the two. While marijuana is high in THC, its usually found in only trace amounts in hemp-derived CBD, which many claim has health benefits. Federal law passed last year allows for hemp-derived CBD products with THC no greater than 0.3 percent, prompting many state legislatures to follow suit. But the testing technology is woefully behind the where it needs to be, said James Moody, an attorney who specializes in cannabis law. I don't think anyone anticipated the rise in the use of CBD. Hes among those sounding the alarm over drug field tests designed to help police quickly identify the possible presence of illicit drugs. Law enforcement have historically used the kits to detect the presence of cannabis, which could indicate marijuana. But because hemp and marijuana are both cannabinoids derived from the cannabis sativa plant, police dont have an easy way to tell the difference. Judges are being told that [a] product is being field tested and is coming back positive for THC, and that's factually incorrect, Moody said. They very well could be possessing nothing other than CBD, which is completely legal. Legal Trouble Michael, a Virginia man who asked News4 not to use his last name, is a CBD vendor who knows firsthand the limitations of the field tests. He was detained last year during a police raid of a Washington, D.C., party where others were selling marijuana. While D.C. legalized marijuana possession in small amounts, its illegal to sell it. But Michael said he wasnt worried about being arrested for selling CBD because I was confident in our products, which he said had been vetted by a private lab to determine its low THC content. That confidence was tested, however, when a D.C. police officer placed samples of his product in a disposable field test and it turned purple the color traditionally indicating marijuana. "I was shocked, Michael said. I literally was like: Is this really happening right now?" He said police seized his inventory but he was able to avoid arrest after showing the officer the lab results detailing the products content. The I-Team found another case this time out of Virginia in which a store owner was arrested and charged with felony distribution of marijuana in March. A spokeswoman for the Fredericksburg Police Department told News4 an undercover agent was acting on a tip when he first purchased what appeared to be marijuana in a CBD canister from Kyle Traughs store. Its always a concern to us that there may be an illegal substance, [whether] someone's selling it on the streets or if they're selling it in a store, spokeswoman Sarah Kirkpatrick said. Traugh declined a formal interview, citing his pending legal case, but allowed News4 into his shop and showed the product in question a bright black and green canister of CBD hemp flowers. It looks and smells similar to pot, though the packaging claims the product contains less than 0.3 percent THC. Traugh told the I-Team he discussed its legality with the distributor prior to stocking it in his store. Kirkpatrick said when police sent the material to a state lab, it came back as positive for the presence of THC. She acknowledged the exact amount of THC was not determined. Police soon raided and seized many of Traughs products, which included stash cans and other paraphernalia, and field tests for what Traugh said were CBD came back positive for cannabis, Kirkpatrick said. That raid came in late March, just days after the Virginia General Assembly changed the definition of marijuana to mirror federal law. Now, Virginia allows for finished hemp-derived products, such as CBD, as long as they contain no more than 0.3 percent THC. Marijuana remains illegal. Police and even state prosecutors in Virginia have not been widely alerted to the new law, the I-Team has found, which was signed into law on March 21. Bill sponsors passed it with an emergency clause, making it effective immediately. Kirkpatrick said her agencys goal is to enforce state law. Everything is going to have to change and keep up with the laws, Kirkpatrick told News4. I think they may have to come out with a new field test. Its unclear whether major law enforcement supply manufacturers are working to develop a test that can distinguish between CBD and marijuana. Multiple requests for comment with representatives of Sirchie and Safariland, which both manufacture popular field tests, have gone unanswered. The issue comes amid reports of arrests across the country as states grapple with ever-evolving marijuana and CBD laws. Experts say its particularly concerning in Virginia, where a person can be convicted of simple marijuana possession based on an officer's field test. In Texas, where state legislators are contemplating legislation to legalize CBD, federal officers have reportedly detained travelers at DFW Airport if their CBD oil fails a marijuana field test. In April, a North Carolina woman was arrested at Disney World in Florida and charged with possession of hashish after her CBD oil tested positive for marijuana. Those charges were later dropped. Virginia to Halt Some Testing At least one state lab has announced plans to halt the testing of many CBD products in order to avoid risking false positives. Linda Jackson, director of Virginias Department of Forensic Science, said her lab is now developing a test that can do quantitative testing to measure THC levels in marijuana and CBD. Her lab can quantify THC levels in oils, for instance, but not other CBD products. Virginia like D.C.s Department of Forensic Science lab can do a qualitative analysis that gives a general sense of whether a product contains more CBD than THC but not an exact amount. The forensic lab for Maryland State Police doesnt perform quantitative analysis, documents show, but can send its samples to the Drug Enforcement Administration if needed. Jackson said she is seeking clarity on the new law to better understand what constitutes hemp products and whether that includes products that look like plant material versus processed oils or food. This is really an evolving type of process, she said. We are still working to make sure that we understand all of the definitions so that we are providing the appropriate types of tests. Shes also expected to issue a letter to law enforcement and prosecutors this week to warn about the limitations of common drug field tests. We are notifying so that everyone knows what the limitations of that test are so that hopefully it can be used appropriately, she said. "I definitely don't want anyone to go to jail if they were not breaking some law." Reported by Jodie Fleischer, produced by Katie Leslie, shot by Steve Jones and Jeff Piper, and edited by Steve Jones. Stepping up pressure on Cuba, the Trump administration will allow lawsuits against foreign companies doing business in properties seized from Americans after the island's 1959 revolution, a senior administration official said. The move marks a change in more than two decades of U.S. policy on Cuba. President Donald Trump has been taking steps to isolate embattled Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, who is holding power with help from other countries, including Cuba, China and Russia. The new policy against Havana could deal a severe blow to Cuba's efforts to draw foreign investment, and spawn international trade disputes between the U.S. and Europe. The administration official who provided details of the shift spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement Wednesday by the State Department. After that announcement, national security adviser John Bolton is expected to discuss the new policy during a midday speech Wednesday in Miami, which is home to thousands of exiles and immigrants from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The speech at the Bay of Pigs Veterans Association is to be delivered on the 58th anniversary of the United States' failed 1961 invasion of the island, an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government. Johana Tablada, Cuba's deputy director of U.S. affairs, said on Twitter: "Before they try to euphorically ride a wave of wickedness and lies, they should take a dose of reality. The world has told John Bolton and the U.S. government to eliminate the criminal blockade against Cuba and the Helms-Burton Act." The 1996 act gave Americans the right to sue the mostly European companies that operate out of hotels, tobacco factories, distilleries and other properties that Cuba nationalized after Fidel Castro took power. The act even allows lawsuits by Cubans who became U.S. citizens years after their properties were taken. Canada, France, Spain, Great Britain and other countries with large investments in Cuba have ferociously protested the law and threatened to sue in the World Trade Organization if Washington tries to interfere with the business ties between Cuba and another sovereign nation. "The extraterritorial application of the U.S. embargo is illegal and violates international law," said Alberto Navarro, the European Union ambassador to Cuba. "I personally consider it immoral. For 60 years the only thing that's resulted from the embargo is the suffering of the Cuban people." U.S. airlines and cruise lines that bring hundreds of thousands of travelers to Cuba each year appear to be exempt from the key provision of the Helms-Burton Act. Every U.S. president since Bill Clinton has suspended the key clause to avoid those trade clashes and a potential mass of lawsuits that would prevent any future settlement with Cuba over nationalized properties. Cuba has said it is willing to reimburse the owners of confiscated properties, but only if the communist government is also reimbursed for billions of dollars in damages generated by the six-decade U.S. trade embargo. The announcement comes at a moment of severe economic weakness for Cuba, which is struggling to find enough cash to import basic food and other supplies following a drop in aid from Venezuela, and a string of bad years in other key economic sectors. Foreign investment in Cuba increased slightly in recent years, but it remains far below the levels needed to recapitalize the island's dilapidated, often collapsing infrastructure. The Trump administration's decision is not expected to drive out major foreign players like Pernod-Ricard of France, which makes Havana Club rum, or Spanish hotel chains Melia or Iberostar, but it could prove a major obstacle to new investment from foreign companies. "It will harm prospective investment in Cuba. It will not cause people who are invested in Cuba already to pull out now," said Phil Peters, director of the Arlington, Virginia-based Cuba Research Center, who advocated for closer relations with Cuba and has consulted for U.S. companies looking to invest. Peters said he also believed the new measure could hurt the Trump administration's effort to force Maduro from power with help from allies like Spain. "There are plenty of countries that are interested in helping Venezuela find a soft landing after Maduro, but they are not interested in waging an economic war on Cuba," Peters said. The U.S. official said the administration also plans to start enforcing the section of the act that allows the U.S. to deny entry visas to Cubans and citizens of other countries involved in trafficking in the confiscated property. Associated Press writer Andrea Rodriguez contributed to this report. Parents in Peabody, Massachusetts are on edge after police say a man snuck up behind a boy and tried to drag him away in an attempted abduction this week. The attempted kidnapper remains on the loose as police search for the man responsible for the frightening Tuesday encounter. The incident happened as the 9-year-old boy was walking with his Razor scooter in the area of Swampscott Avenue and Washington Street near William A. Welch Elementary School. Authorities said the man covered the boy's mouth from behind and dragged him toward some woods near the school. The boy broke free and ran home. "I hope they find the person," said neighbor Melanie Mason. "We want our kids to be safe on a daily basis. And we dont want to have to worry about our kids going outdoors." "It could be my kid," said Marissa Euell. "It's scary." The man is described as being about 5' 9" tall, according to authorities. He was wearing a red hat or hoodie at the time. Police suggested that parents teach their children to yell in their loudest voice "stranger" when they are approached and to set up a family code word. Anyone with information on the attempted kidnapping or who knows of the suspect's whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Peabody Police Department at 978-531-1212. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign on Wednesday released information on dozens of bankruptcy cases the former law professor was involved in, a disclosure that is unlikely to quiet GOP attempts to tie her to the corporate clients she represented. The disclosure includes cases in which Warren served as a consultant, mediator or expert witness in addition to those in which she served as counsel. Previously, during her successful 2012 Senate run against Republican incumbent Scott Brown in Massachusetts, she had released a list of cases in which she served as counsel. As Warren and multiple Democratic presidential rivals release their past tax returns a step toward transparency that President Donald Trump has not taken the lengthy self-reporting allows her to explain her activity on her own terms while running for president on a platform of taking on wealthy interests. Among the clients for whom Warren consulted, according to her campaign's list, were the attorneys for Rabobank, a Dutch financial institution that became a creditor in the Enron bankruptcy; former directors of Getty Oil, who were involved in Texaco's bankruptcy; and women whose allegations of harm from silicone breast implants produced by Dow Corning were imperiled when the company filed for bankruptcy. A half-dozen of the cases on the Warren campaign's list deal with asbestos, a fibrous substance once frequently used in construction that was later linked to cancer and lung disease in individuals with prolonged exposure. As the health risks of asbestos exposure became more widely known in the 1990s, multiple asbestos companies filed for bankruptcy amid mounting legal liabilities. In a summary of Warren's past cases, her campaign wrote that "the core challenge of bankruptcy is that it attempts to resolve a situation that involves suffering for everyone involved." The campaign added that Warren "worked to help set up trusts and other mechanisms to return $27 billion to victims and their families." One of Warren's clients, according to the campaign's list, was "a well-known Massachusetts environmental lawyer trying to hold on to some of his earnings after he went broke fighting companies that were dumping toxic waste in Woburn." That lawyer appears to be Jan Schlichtmann, whose advocacy in toxic waste litigation was dramatized by the actor John Travolta in the 1998 film "A Civil Action." The disclosure comes as the Republican Party continues to try to tie Warren to the moneyed clients she represented, a tactic unsuccessfully employed by Brown in 2012. As Warren climbs in the polls of the 2020 presidential field on a platform of challenging big business, her past work on behalf of some major businesses involved in bankruptcy proceedings could become newly attractive to Republicans seeking to undercut her momentum. The list posted online by Warren's campaign includes a dozen cases in which the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate served as a counsel, as well as more than a dozen others in which she played roles such as consulting with parties to a settlement or submitting a brief supporting one party's claim in a case. The cases date from 1985 to 2009, though those dates do not necessarily align with her involvement in them. The campaign compiled its list based on in-depth records searches for all cases in which she represented a party in a legal matter. A New Hampshire man charged in connection with arson and attempted murder at a Hudson home last month faced a judge on Thursday after being taken into custody in Boston earlier in the day. Gerald Gutekunst, 73, of Hudson, used a walker and struggled to stand at his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court as a fugitive from justice. Officials were working to get Gutekunst back to New Hampshire to face charges of Class A felony arson and one count of attempted murder in connection with the April 29 fire at a three-family home on Route 111. Police said Gutekunst was rescued from the burning building before being taken to a hospital in Nashua and then Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for treatment of his injuries. Prosecutors said he intentionally set the fire hoping to kill himself and other tenants. They said they found evidence he planned to ambush first responders who showed up to rescue him. His attorney, Stephen Gomes, said Gutekunst has trouble hearing, seeing and talking. The fire displaced six residents. The judge ordered Gutekunst be held without bail. He's due back in court June 21 for a status hearing. A man was arrested after he allegedly shot a firework at a pedestrian's head as he was driving and shooting fireworks from his car in Vermont. Police in Brattleboro said they responded to a report on May 14 of a driver who was shooting fireworks from his car while driving on Main Street. The call came in at 8:45 p.m. and the caller reported the vehicle's license plate. About 15 minutes later, police received a second report of the same incident, but this time on Canal Street. At that scene, they came across a person walking on Canal and later learned he was a victim of the suspect. The pedestrian said the car passed by him and shot a firework in his direction, striking him the head. The victim did not seek any medical attention and his exact condition is unclear. At 10:51 p.m., a police officer found the suspect vehicle and later arrested 21-year-old Ayble Ford of Brattleboro. Ford was charged with simple assault and possession of fireworks. He was released on a citation and is scheduled to appear at Vermont Superior Court -- Windham on July 2. Celebrity chef Mario Batali will face a criminal assault charge in Massachusetts. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Batali was expected to be arraigned Friday in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery. The charge stems from an incident at a restaurant in Boston's Back Bay on March 31, 2017, the DA's office said. Batali was publicly accused of inappropriate touching in December 2017. In an apology that month, he included a recipe for cinnamon rolls. Wednesday, prosecutors did not name the victim or the restaurant where the alleged assault occurred. But a Massachusetts woman filed a lawsuit last August alleging Batali sexually assaulted her at Towne Stove and Spirits, a Back Bay restaurant. In the lawsuit, Natali Tene said she tried to take a photograph of Batali from across the restaurant. The chef then allegedly offered to take a selfie with her. According to the lawsuit, he "grabbed and kissed Ms. Tene's face, rubbed her breasts, grabbed her buttocks, put his hands between her legs and groped her groin area, and kept forcefully squeezing her face into his as he kissed her repeatedly." An attorney speaking on Batali's behalf appeared to suggest the criminal charge was from the same case described in the lawsuit. "Mr. Batali denies the allegations in both this criminal complaint and the civil complaint filed last August," attorney Anthony Fuller said in a statement Wednesday night. "The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit. He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali." On Thursday, attorneys representing the victim released a statement saying they were grateful that the DA's office was going forward with the case. "The DA's Office has taken a strong stance in advocating on behalf of our client. Mario Batali abused his celebrity status and enticed Natali to take a "selfie" photograph with him in a Boston restaurant. While taking the photograph, Mario Batali groped her breasts, buttocks, and genitals, and kissed her repeatedly without her consent. The criminal charges brought against him are independent of the ongoing civil lawsuit. Mr. Batali must be held accountable criminally and civilly for his despicable acts." Batali surrendered his stakes in all his restaurants earlier this year, including Eataly and Babbo in Boston. Authorities are investigating after a pedestrian was struck by a Commuter Rail train Thursday afternoon in Concord, Massachusetts. The incident happened at 12:50 p.m. at the MBTA Concord Station on Sudbury Road. Transit Police said the 70-year-old female victim who was struck by an inbound train on the Fitchburg line sustained serious injuries. The victim, who has not been identified, was taken by medical helicopter to a Boston area hospital for treatment. No other injuries were reported. Transit Police detectives are investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident. Police are investigating the attempted abduction of a child in Peabody, Massachusetts. A 9-year-old boy was on Swampscott Avenue near William A. Welch Elementary School, Tuesday evening. He was walking with his Razor scooter when a man approached him from behind, according to police. Authorities said the man covered the boy's mouth and dragged him to the parking lot of the school. The boy broke free and ran home, police said. He was not injured. The man is described as being about 5'9, according to authorities. He was wearing a red hoodie at the time. Neighbors were on edge Wednesday. "It could be my kid," said Marissa Euell. "It's scary." "I hope they find the person. We want our kids to be safe on a daily basis," said Melanie Mason. "We don't want to have to worry about our kids going outdoors. Police said they were monitoring school areas in the city. Anyone with information is asked to call 978-531-1212. An armed bank robbery suspect who prompted a massive "active shooter" response in Somerville, Massachusetts, earlier this month has been arrested in Rhode Island, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Daniel Rosado, 32, of Providence, Rhode Island, was charged with armed bank robbery, brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was arrested by the FBI Boston's Violent Crimes Task Force and Somerville and Providence police at 6:25 a.m. Thursday. Rosado was arrested outside an apartment complex on Salmon Street. The FBI raid was conducted on Leah Street. U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said DNA from a backpack Rosado dropped when he was tackled by a bystander as he fled the crime scene led to his arrest. "Todays arrest and charges put an end to a three week search for a dangerous and reckless individual," Lelling said in a statement. "No one should feel afraid to do the everyday, basic American errands we all need to do. But on May 1, its alleged that one man callously threatened the lives of dozens of innocent people who were doing just that. By not just brandishing, but actually discharging his weapon - twice - the alleged defendant instilled fear and endangered the lives of members of our community for his own greed and selfishness." Dozens of officers from state and local agencies responded to the Middlesex Federal Savings Bank in Davis Square around 10 a.m. on May 1 after receiving a report of an active shooter. The FBI said a suspect, later identified as Rosado, entered the bank holding a gun and fired a round into the ceiling. According to court documents, Rosado pointed a handgun at customers and bank employees, yelling, "Get down!", "Everybody on the ground!", "Second drawer, hurry up!", and "Give me money or I'll shoot." Customers and bank employees laid on the floor while Rosado approached a teller window, threw a backpack at the teller and demanded money. A Somerville police officer near the scene responded to the bank robbery, entered the bank, pointed his gun at Rosado and ordered him to freeze. In response, prosecutors allege that Rosado pointed his gun at the officer and fired one shot, missing him. The officer shot back. Rosado then fled the bank on foot and the officer gave chase. Court documents said as Rosado fled, a bystander, noticing the pursuit, attempted to tackle the suspect, which caused him to drop his backpack. Rosado kept running and witnesses eventually lost sight of him. The incident prompted an extensive search in Somerville that led to school lockdowns, orders for residents to stay indoors and a temporary closure of the MBTA's Davis Station. Further investigation, including forensic analysis of the backpack, lined the DNA profile found on the backpack to Rosado. A subsequent review of Rosado's driver's license photo matched the images of the robber captured by the bank's surveillance video. Prosecutors said Rosado had prior felony convictions for negligent driving, larceny from a person, witness intimidation and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. Due to those prior convictions, Rosado was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. The FBI and Somerville police had offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the "armed and dangerous" man. Rosado is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Thursday. It is unclear if he has an attorney. For the second time in less than a year, the Dorchester Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Boston has been vandalized. Massachusetts State Police said shrubs and flowers were torn out of the ground and numerous flags were ripped down and thrown into a wooded area. Hate-related graffitiincluding a swastika was also written on the stone memorial, which sits on property owned by the University of Massachusetts Boston. Authorities said the vandalism took place sometime Thursday afternoon and are reviewing surveillance video as part of their investigation. "It's absolutely disgusting. It's demoralizing. I don't understand," said Dorchester resident Thomas Cunningham. "Both of my brothers served in Vietnam. One of them came back disabled, one of them came back in a box, and my family had come here ever since this was dedicated." The memorial's president says he was at the site around noon. About an hour later, the vandalism happened. "They just happened to come right after my wife and I put the flags out and decided to do the damage," said Joe Zinck. "They were here for a while." In October, landscaping around the memorial was damaged extensively. An American flag was cut and a Massachusetts flag was taken off the flagpole and found nearby with trash dumped on top. Bricks were also thrown at the memorial which left marks on the stone. UMass Boston Interim Chancellor Katherine Newman released a statement Thursday saying cameras were recently installed and that the University was committing $15,000 toward the full restoration of the memorial. "I am horrified at this callous act of vandalism, and saddened for those veterans who are listed on the monument and their families who are still here with us. We recently installed a camera at the site after a previous vandalism incident," Newman said. "We're reviewing the footage and will help the investigation in any way we can." "I couldn't tell you who does this," said Dorchester resident Steve Regan. "Obviously someone who hasn't suffered the loss that a lot of families have suffered." "Somebody has no respect," said Zinck. "Somebody with very little respect for anything." Anyone with information about the vandalism is urged to contact Massachusetts State Police at 617-740-7710 or UMass Boston Police at 617-287-6084. President Donald Trump is spreading misleading rhetoric about illegal immigration. At a Wisconsin rally , he suggested he's launched his plan to transport immigrants in the U.S. illegally to sanctuary cities in mass numbers "my sick idea," as he proudly called it. There's no evidence that's happening. He's also giving a confused outlook on the U.S. population growth, alternating between assertions that the country is too full to accept any more migrants and that it needs more migrants to fill jobs. In the meantime, Russia kept reverberating over the past week, even with special counsel Robert Mueller's report now part of history. As much as Trump says he wants the United States to move on, he's found it hard to turn away himself, as seen in a torrent of tweets and remarks railing against Democrats, trashing Mueller and painting his own actions in a saintly light. A review of rhetoric from Trump and his team, also touching on health care, the economy and the census: IMMIGRATION TRUMP: "Last month alone, 100,000 illegal immigrants arrived in our borders, placing a massive strain on communities and schools and hospitals and public resources, like nobody's ever seen before. Now we're sending many of them to sanctuary cities. Thank you very much. ... I'm proud to tell you that was my sick idea." Green Bay, Wisconsin, rally Saturday. THE FACTS: A mass transfer to sanctuary cities is not underway. He proposed the idea in part to punish Democratic congressional foes for inaction on the border, but his Homeland Security officials rejected the plan as unworkable. Trump said this month he was "strongly considering" the proposal, hours after White House and Homeland Security officials had insisted the idea had been eschewed twice. "We're in the process of figuring out all the details on how that would work," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday. Sanctuary cities are places where local authorities do not cooperate with immigration officials, denying information or resources that would help them round up for deportation people living in the country illegally. By all signs, federal officials considered the president's words little more than bluster. His comments to the Wisconsin crowd appeared to be bluster, too. People with knowledge of the discussions say White House staff discussed the idea with the Department of Homeland Security in November and February, but it was judged too costly and a misuse of money. The people were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. ___ TRUMP on U.S. population: "We need people to come in." rally. TRUMP: "We have companies pouring in. The problem is we need workers." Fox Business interview Sunday. THE FACTS: His position is a flip from earlier this month, when he declared the U.S. to be "full" in light of the overwhelmed southern border. In an April 7 tweet, he threatened to shut down the border unless Mexico apprehended all immigrants who crossed illegally. But it turns out the U.S. is only "full" in terms of the people Trump doesn't want. Immigrants as a whole make up a greater percentage of the total U.S. population than they did back in 1970, having grown from less than 5 percent of the population to more than 13 percent now. In 2030, it's projected that immigrants will become the primary driver for U.S. population growth, overtaking U.S. births. ___ HEALTH CARE TRUMP: "The Republicans are always going to protect pre-existing conditions." Wisconsin rally. THE FACTS: He's not protecting health coverage for patients with pre-existing medical conditions. The Trump administration instead is pressing in court for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act including provisions that protect people with pre-existing conditions from health insurance discrimination. Trump and other Republicans say they'll have a plan to preserve those safeguards, but the White House has provided no details. Former President Barack Obama's health care law requires insurers to take all applicants, regardless of medical history, and patients with health problems pay the same standard premiums as healthy ones. Bills supported in 2017 by Trump and congressional Republicans to repeal the law could undermine protections by pushing up costs for people with pre-existing conditions. ___ RUSSIA TRUMP, calling Mueller's probe a "witchhunt": It's "the greatest political hoax in American history." Wisconsin rally. THE FACTS: A two-year investigation that produced guilty pleas, convictions and criminal charges against Russian intelligence officers and others with ties to the Kremlin, as well as Trump associates, is demonstrably not a hoax. All told, Mueller charged 34 people, including the president's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and three Russian companies. Twenty-five Russians were indicted on charges related to election interference, accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts during the campaign or of orchestrating a social media campaign that spread disinformation on the internet. Five Trump aides pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller, and a sixth, longtime confidant Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges he lied to Congress and engaged in witness tampering. Mueller's report concluded that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was "sweeping and systematic." Ultimately, Mueller did not find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign. But the special counsel didn't render judgment on whether Trump obstructed justice, saying his investigators found evidence on both sides. ___ TRUMP: "No Collusion, No Obstruction - there has NEVER been a President who has been more transparent. Millions of pages of documents were given to the Mueller Angry Dems, plus I allowed everyone to testify, including W.H. counsel." tweet Wednesday. ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: "The White House fully cooperated with the special counsel's investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims." remarks at the Justice Department on April 18. THE FACTS: It's a huge stretch for them to cast the White House as being "fully" cooperative and open in the investigation into Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. election and the Trump campaign's relationship with Russian figures. Trump declined to sit for an interview with Mueller's team, gave written answers that investigators described as "inadequate" and "incomplete," said more than 30 times that he could not remember something he was asked about in writing, and according to the report tried to get aides to fire Mueller or otherwise shut or limit the inquiry. In the end, the Mueller report found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice. Also on the matter of transparency, Trump is an outlier among presidents in refusing to release his tax returns . Providing tax information as a candidate in 2016 and as president is something party nominees have traditionally done for half a century. ___ TRUMP: "In the 'old days' if you were President and you had a good economy, you were basically immune from criticism. Remember, 'It's the economy stupid.' Today I have, as President, perhaps the greatest economy in history." tweet Tuesday. THE FACTS: You can assume many previous presidents would beg to disagree that a good economy shielded them from criticism. Under President Bill Clinton, whose top campaign staffer James Carville coined the phrase "the economy, stupid," to underscore what the campaign should be about, the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% and the nation's economy grew 4% or more for four straight years. Yet Clinton was under independent counsel investigation for all but one year of his presidency, 1993. The House impeached him in December 1998, at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, though the Senate acquitted him in February 1999. In January 1998, Hillary Clinton alleged a "vast right-wing conspiracy" to take down her husband, a widely mocked complaint about the relentless criticism the Clintons faced from the right (which extended to ridicule over the title of Hillary Clinton's 1996 book, "It Takes a Village.") Under President Ronald Reagan, the economy expanded 3.5% or more for six years in a row, with growth rocketing to 7.2% in 1984. Yet Reagan was dogged in his second term by the Iran-Contra investigation, which focused on covert arm sales to Iran that financed aid to Nicaraguan rebels. Both presidents saw much faster growth than Trump has presided over, despite Trump's faulty claim to have "perhaps the greatest economy in history." Growth reached 2.9% last year, the best in four years, but far below the levels achieved under Clinton or Reagan. The unemployment rate touched 3.7% last September and November, the lowest in five decades, but just one-tenth of a percentage point below the 3.8% in April 2000 under Clinton. ___ TRUMP: "Mueller was NOT fired and was respectfully allowed to finish his work on what I, and many others, say was an illegal investigation (there was no crime), headed by a Trump hater who was highly conflicted." tweet Thursday. THE FACTS: Trump is wrong to suggest that the FBI acted illegally by investigating him. The FBI does not need to know if or have evidence that a crime occurred before it begins an investigation. Many investigations that are properly conducted ultimately don't find evidence of any crime. The FBI is empowered to open an investigation if there's information it has received or uncovered that leads the bureau to think it might encounter a crime. Apart from that, the investigation into the Trump campaign was initially a counterintelligence investigation rather than a strictly criminal one, as agents sought to understand whether and why Russia was meddling in the 2016 election. Trump also makes a baseless charge that Mueller was "highly conflicted." Mueller, a longtime Republican, was cleared by the Justice Department's ethics experts to lead the Russia investigation. Nothing in the public record makes him a "Trump hater." According to the special counsel's report, when Trump complained privately to aides that Mueller would not be objective, the advisers, including then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, then-White House counsel Don McGahn and then-chief of staff Reince Priebus, rejected those complaints as not representing "true conflicts." Bannon also called the claims "ridiculous." ___ TRUMP: "I DID NOTHING WRONG. If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court." tweet Wednesday. THE FACTS: He'd have a tough hearing at the Supreme Court. Justices ruled 9-0 in 1993 that the Constitution grants sole power of impeachment to the House and Senate, not the judiciary. Under the principle of separation of powers, Congress is a co-equal branch of government to the executive branch and judiciary. The House is afforded power to impeach a president by bringing formal charges, and the Senate convenes the trial, with two-thirds of senators needed to convict and remove a president from office. The Constitution does not provide a role for the judiciary in the impeachment process, other than the chief justice of the United States presiding over the Senate trial. In its 1993 ruling, the Supreme Court said framers of the Constitution didn't intend for the court to have the power to review impeachment proceedings because they involve political questions that shouldn't be resolved in the courts. ___ KELLYANNE CONWAY, White House counselor, saying there's no need for Congress to continue investigating with the Mueller probe concluded: "We all know if Director Mueller and his investigators wanted to or felt that it was right to indict they would have done that. He had every opportunity to indict and declined to indict. Investigators investigate and they decide to indict, they refer indictment or they decline indictment. That's the way the process works." remarks Wednesday to reporters. THE FACTS: That's not how Mueller's process worked. According to the report, Mueller's team declined to "make a traditional prosecutorial judgment" on whether to indict that is, do what prosecutors typically do, as Conway describes it because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents shouldn't be indicted. "Fairness concerns counseled against potentially reaching that judgment when no charges can be brought," the report states. As a result, the report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, leaving it open for Congress to take up the matter or for prosecutors to do so once Trump leaves office. Mueller's team wrote that its investigation was conducted "in order to preserve the evidence when memories were fresh" and documentary material available. "Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him," the report states. ___ HOGAN GIDLEY, White House deputy press secretary: "He's already denounced, multiple times, Russian involvement." remarks Tuesday to reporters. THE FACTS: Trump has had it both ways, at times criticizing that involvement but more often equivocating, and long after U.S. intelligence agencies and other parts of his administration became convinced of Russian meddling. "Every time he sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that,'" Trump said of Putin in November 2017. "I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it." In February 2018, he tweeted: "I never said Russia did not meddle in the election, I said 'it may be Russia, or China or another country or group, or it may be a 400 pound genius sitting in bed and playing with his computer.'" Now he has assailed the report by Mueller, whose investigation fleshed out the audacious Russian effort to shape the election in favor of Trump and resulted in indictments against 25 Russians accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts or sowing discord in America through social media, as well as Trump associates. ___ TRUMP: "Isn't it amazing that the people who were closest to me, by far, and knew the Campaign better than anyone, were never even called to testify before Mueller. The reason is that the 18 Angry Democrats knew they would all say 'NO COLLUSION' and only very good things!" tweet on April 22. THE FACTS: Trump's wrong to suggest that the people "closest" to him weren't called to testify before Mueller's team. Plenty of people close to him, including in his own family, interviewed with the special counsel's investigators or were at least asked to appear. And of those who did, some said not very good things about their interactions with the president. Among the advisers and aides who spoke with Mueller was McGahn, who extensively detailed Trump's outrage at the investigation and his efforts to curtail it. McGahn told Mueller's team how Trump called him at home and urged him to press the Justice Department to fire the special counsel, then told him to deny that the entire episode had taken place once it became public. Mueller also interviewed Priebus, Bannon, former White House chief of staff John Kelly, former White House communications director Hope Hicks and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer who once said he was so close to the president that he'd "take a bullet" for him, also cooperated with Mueller and delivered unflattering details. Mueller certainly wanted to hear from Trump's family, too, even if not all relatives were eager to cooperate. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., declined to be voluntarily interviewed by investigators, according to Mueller's report. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, spoke multiple times to Mueller's team. One of the president's daughters, Ivanka Trump, provided information through an attorney. ___ GIDLEY: "It was Barack Obama who leaned over to Dmitry Medvedev in the Oval Office and said, 'Listen, we'll have more flexibility when the election's over.'" remarks Tuesday. THE FACTS: First, the conversation was in South Korea, not the Oval Office. Gidley accurately recounted the gist of what Obama was heard telling the Russian president on a microphone they didn't know was on. But Gidley did not explain the context of the remark. Obama was suggesting he would have more flexibility postelection to address Russia's concerns about a NATO missile defense system in Europe. The conversation with Medvedev, who was soon succeeded by Vladimir Putin, had nothing to do with Russian meddling that would be exposed in the U.S. election four years away. ___ CENSUS TRUMP: "The American people deserve to know who is in this Country. Yesterday, the Supreme Court took up the Census Citizenship question, a really big deal." tweet Wednesday. GIDLEY, when asked whether Trump believes an accurate census count isn't necessary: "He wants to know who's in this country. I think as a sovereign nation we have that right. It's been a question that's been on the census for decades." remarks Tuesday. THE FACTS: Not since 1950 has the census collected citizenship data from the whole population. Moreover, Trump's position that asking a citizenship question in the census is needed to "know who is in this country" ignores the judgment of the Census Bureau's own researchers, who say that it would not result in the most accurate possible count of the U.S. population. The question is already asked in other government surveys. According to January 2018 calculations by the Census Bureau, adding the question to the once-a-decade survey form would cause lower response rates among Hispanics and noncitizens. The government would have to spend at least $27.5 million for additional phone calls, home visits and other follow-up efforts to reach them. Federal judges in California, Maryland and New York have blocked the administration from going forward with a citizenship question after crediting the analysis of agency experts. The experts said millions would go uncounted because Hispanics and immigrants might be reluctant to say if they or others in their households are not citizens. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has argued that a citizenship question is needed to help the government better comply with the Voting Rights Act. But the Justice Department has been enforcing the 1965 law, which was passed to help protect minority groups' political rights, with citizenship data already available from other government surveys. The count goes to the heart of the U.S. political system, determining the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House and how the electoral votes that decide presidential elections are distributed. It also shapes how 300 federal programs distribute more than $800 billion a year to local communities. Photographic flair to corporate work Victoria Tappers love of photography was ignited after she stole her sisters camera as a schoolgirl. She hasnt stopped snapping ever since. No-one in my family was interested in photography, but I developed a love for it at school, she remembers. My sister had an instamatic camera and I stole it and started photographing my school friends. But I soon realised that I didnt just want a record of events, I wanted the photos to say something, to tell a story. I used to lurk behind pillars at school and capture what was happening But although she had a clear love of photography early on, Victoria chose a very different career path initially. After studying at University of London, she became an investment banker in The City. It was as far away from creative as you could get, she laughs. Her stint in banking lasted 15 years, but then Victoria fell ill and with a husband and young daughter now in her life, the family relocated to Cornwall. The move gave Victoria the opportunity to pick up her camera again. To be a photographer you need time, a lot of it, and as my daughter grew up, I started to do more and more photography for friends and family, she adds. My camera was with me all the time and I was buzzing with ideas of people I wanted to photograph." She studied at Truro College and in 2008 set up her own business and made a living out of photography for the first time. It was incredibly tough to start with, she adds. Family and wedding photography was where I started and its very competitive. I needed to carve out my own, recognisable style. It was after photographing a wedding that the first seeds of a new direction were sown. The uncle of the bride got in touch, Victoria explains. He said: You know the way you photographed the wedding? I want you to photograph my business like that. So I did. I captured happy and fulfilled staff, pride in delivering a great service to satisfied customers, even an intense debate in a meeting. The old photos of the factory, boring head shots and unimaginative product photography were all ditched. The client and, more importantly, the staff, were thrilled. Three years ago the family moved to Marlborough and Victoria (pictured above) realised it was the perfect opportunity to expand the business photography. I found a wealth of small and medium-sized companies, talented entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, who wanted what I offered, she explains. I created a business photo package called 10 Great Photos of Your Business, for a fixed, affordable price. And it really took off. Now around 25 per cent of what Victoria does is family photography, and 75 per cent business photography. More and more business owners recognise the need for compelling photography, she said. But she does still meet people who think their profession is not exciting enough to be photographed. People come to me and say Im a lawyer, an accountant or a will writer, its impossible to photograph what I do in an engaging way, she says. Then I get them to tell me about their fabulous team, how they help their clients and the problems they solve for them. I visualise these things and together we create the shot list. These are the images that people want to see and will connect with. But there are times when even the best photographic minds go blank. So what does Victoria do when that happens? Then I ask my husband, Hugh, for ideas, she admits. He is really creative and I couldnt do my job without him. He worked for a great advertising agency and is very visual and a great communicator, so if I get stuck for an idea, hes my man. Victoria, who won the Muddy Stilettoes Photographer of the Year award in 2018, credits a number of other people with helping her during her career too. These include the late film director Ray Rathborne, who was a neighbour in Cornwall and gave her six huge movie lights to set up in her garage before telling her not to come back to him until she had something decent to show and documentary photographer Kevin Mullins, who taught Victoria the most valuable lesson of all in candid photography watch, wait and listen' before pressing the shutter. Its the key, especially for natural family photography, she says. Victoria also works with the charity Butterfly Wishes Network, offering free photography shoots to families with children with life-limiting illnesses. And just to prove how deep her passion for photography runs, when I ask Victoria what interests she has outside her work, her immediate answer is photography along with her family and springer spaniel Charlie. Newbury-based company will not use Chinese company based on risk VODAFONE has said it will not be using Huawei technology in its 5G core network. National cybersecurity concerns have been raised after leaks from the National Security Council revealed that Chinese company Huawei would have a limited role in creating Britains 5G network. This is despite risks that the UK network could become susceptible to sabotage or espionage, owing to Huaweis perceived links to the Chinese government. Vodafone, which announced that it had switched on 5G testing in Newbury last month, told this newspaper that it would not be using Huawei or any Chinese supplier. Spokesman Simon Gordon said: We dont use Huawei in the core network, which is the brain of the system and, in actual fact, all the kit we use is Ericsson in Newbury for 5G. The company also reassured customers over the safety of 5G technology. 5G, the fifth generation of mobile networks, offers faster connectivity and response times than the current 4G network. It operates under a core network, which manages voice, data and internet connections and a radio access network, involving towers and masts. The technology has already been used to make the UKs first 3D holographic call in Newbury. Mr Gordon said that Vodafone would not be using Huawei or any other Chinese vendor access to its core network, but would be utilising its technology in other areas. He said: Thats always been the case. We do a risk assessment on potential risk, theres no evidence that anything untoward has happened. We conducted a risk assessment and chose not to use Huawei or other Chinese vendors in the core network. Thats based on conversations with the Government and our own risk assessment already in place before it became a matter of media interest. Theres no evidence produced by anyone to suggest they have done anything wrong. Huawei has strongly denied that it is controlled by the Chinese government and any risks of espionage. CCS Insight mobile and wireless industry analyst Ben Wood, who lives in Newbury, said: Like other networks in the UK, Vodafone has decided not to use Huaweis equipment in its core network. This is the most sensitive part of the network from a security perspective because it is where calls and data are controlled. Although Vodafone has been trialling equipment from Chinese manufacturer Huawei for other parts of the network, such as the antennae, it appears that the company has now taken the decision to stick with Ericsson equipment for the launch in Newbury. Vodafones decision to use Ericsson equipment for its 5G network in Newbury is a safe bet, given the current controversy around Huaweis network solutions, however Vodafones CTO [chief technology officer], Scott Petty had repeatedly stated that Huawei is an important player when it comes to 5G, so I expect Vodafone to use Huawei in many places. However, you certainly wont see it in the sensitive core network. It is tremedously exciting that Newbury is going to be one of the first towns in the UK to have 5G coverage. Its rare that youd get the chance to try cutting-edge technology like this without going to a major city and I cant wait for Vodafone to provide public access to the network. Mr Gordon added that 5G frequencies were covered by existing international and national exposure guidelines and regulations for radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF). "These international guidelines are based on extensive reviews of published scientific research, and apply in the same way to 5G as they do to existing 2G, 3G and 4G technologies and other radio-frequencies such as radio and TV transmissions," he said. New facility will be used for art, cookery and music classes Hermitage Primary School has hosted a community May Fayre to mark the opening of a new classroom. The event featured stalls and activities for parents, staff and pupils to enjoy. These included an army assault course, barbecue, ice cream van and raffle (the latter featuring prizes donated by friends of the school). An upbeat soundtrack for the day was provided by local music supplier DJkit. The event was opened by the schools former headteacher, Peta Collicott. The construction of the Woodland Lodge which will be used for art, cookery and music classes was funded by West Berkshire Council. The facility boasts a kitchenette, disabled access toilet and two large storage spaces. Headteacher Gill Turner said that she was delighted with the development. She said: It [the classroom] will not only free up much-needed space within the main building to allow dedicated intervention and support space, but will enable us to offer an even broader curriculum for our pupils. West Berkshire Council head of education Ian Pearson said of the facility: We are very pleased to have been able to fund this great multi-purpose building. The benefits are clear and I hope that everyone at the school will enjoy their new learning space. Meet the NWN's new villages reporter MEET the Newbury Weekly News new villages correspondent Charlie Masters. Charlie joined the paper this week as its dedicated reporter for the rural communities and villages of West Berkshire. He grew up in a village and has been the NWNs film reviewer for the past three years. Charlie is employed as part of the Community News Project (CNP) involving the UKs local media, Facebook and the National Council for the Training of Journalists. The NWN was one of only three independent publishers to successfully apply for one of the 80 Facebook-funded CNP positions and will use it to report the news and champion the causes of our rural communities. In the coming weeks we will introduce a dedicated villages community news page to the NWN, alongside our Hungerford, Thatcham and North Hampshire pages. We will also launch a villages news section on Newburytoday.co.uk We are determined to ensure that the villages in our district have their voices heard and their news communicated to as wide an audience as possible. So tell Charlie about the news, events and issues in your village by calling (01635) 886639, email Charlie.masters@newburynews.co.uk or via Twitter at @charliem_newburytoday Free online guide has information, advice and support Kamal Bahia WEST Berkshire a great place to live with great amenities. Do you know whats on offer for you and your family? Are you a parent worried about your child and needing someone to talk to? Or maybe youre caring for a friend or relative, feeling isolated and want to know what sort of support is available in your community. The answers to all these questions, and more, are now available at the touch of a button in the newly-formed West Berkshire Directory, which brings together details of the Adult Social Care Information Point, the Family Information Service and SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities). The directory is free, online, and gives details of the wide range of the information, advice and support thats available across West Berkshire for adults, families and children. It includes lists of useful phone numbers, email addresses and websites. So, for adults, theres information about a range of resources in your community that can help you remain independent or feel less isolated. This includes information about leisure activities and local support groups which run events that could help you get out more and make new friends. The other two sections of the directory contain details of the Family Information and the SEND service, which supports families with children and young people aged from 0-25. These sections provide a wealth of information on childcare, Early Years funding, leisure activities, support services and much more, including a phoneline offering free help and advice for parents, parents-to-be, carers and professionals. You can email directory@westberks.gov.uk or phone (01635) 503100 for more help. The directory has been redesigned by Mary Blackett from adult social care and Wendy Neighbour from the Family Information Service and the local officer. Kamal Bahia, who chairs the Patient and Public Engagement Group for the West Berkshire Health and Wellbeing Board, has been working closely with her colleagues and is championing the launch of the directory. Mrs Bahia said: We know from talking to people, especially those caring for children or adults, that they often dont know where to go for help, or they are pushed from pillar to post when they start making phone calls. All this can be very frustrating and upsetting when you are sometimes at your wits end and need support. The directory is easy to use and gives people that important first point of contact in the health and social care system. Theres a huge amount of advice and support out there along with so many organisations and community groups running events and activities in our area. I hope the directory gives people the first step towards accessing all this knowledge and all these networks. Councillor Graham Bridgman, from West Berkshire Council, said: The West Berkshire Directory is a free, online, one-stop shop that provides information, advice and support on a wide range of topics and services for adults, families and children across the district. The directory provides support for all of our residents who might need assistance, including those who sometimes dont know where to turn to for help. As well as signposting a wide range of services for adults (local groups and leisure activities, assistance in staying in your own home, care home and supported living advice etc) the range of information provided regarding education, health and social care for children and young people, in particular those who have special educational needs or disabilities, is excellent. The directory brings together a lot of information and Im sure residents throughout West Berkshire will find it very useful. You can find the directory at https://directory.westberks.gov.uk If you are a local organisation or community group providing a service or activities for anyone living in West Berkshire, you can submit your own entry into the directory and will be responsible for maintaining its accuracy. All GP practices in the local area are working towards signposting patients towards the directory and have a dedicated section on their website. Where can you buy LEGO Braille bricks? Production of the LEGO Braille brick The colours of LEGO Braille bricks The LEGO Foundation own 25% of The LEGO Group (TLG), and that means that when TLG are doing well, The LEGO Foundation have money for exciting projects like LEGO Braille bricks, announced earlier this year. The sets will be given to blind and visually impaired children for free, with the first round of markets launching in late 2020. The LEGO Foundation will work with a blindness association in each country to administrate this. Therefore the sets will be owned by individuals rather than schools or organisations. The Foundation hope the sets will be passed from child to child as each progresses from the bricks to regular Braille.There aren't many existing materials for teaching Braille to young children and those that do exist are clunky and often archaic. Teachers often find themselves creating their own materials, like using a box of half a dozen eggs and moving the eggs around to create the permutations for each letter.Although there are only six dots used in standard Braille i.e. a 2x3 grid, LEGO Braille bricks are a modified 2x4 brick so that there is additional space for printing the corresponding letter/ number/ symbol. They wanted to include the printing so that sighted and partially sighted people can learn Braille too.The set has been tested in workshops in Brazil, Denmark, Norway and the UK. They've realised because of regional differences, they will need to test the bricks more widely in many countries before releasing. Different languages not only use different letters but the Braille representations vary, especially when it comes to numbers and symbols. The sets come with bricks for the mathematical operators plus, minus and equals but no multiplication or division symbols as the Braille for these two simply varies too widely from country to country.Feedback was remarkably positive, with people in each workshop developing games with the bricks such as crosswords and anagrams. The public launch of this project was an overwhelming media success too however the public reaction hasn't been 100% positive. We asked The LEGO Foundation about concerns that having Braille which is larger than a child's finger encourages an up/down motion rather than teaching them to solely read left to right, known as 'scrubbing'. Braille is of course read as the fingers pass over the letters rather than stopping at each letter to determine it.The LEGO Foundation responded by stressing that this is a product for those initially learning Braille and is not considered a standalone product. Obviously it's not intended for long tracts of text either. These days with improvements to technology like tablets and apps, children are less interested in learning Braille, and the Foundation consider the involvement of the LEGO brand as a positive and a creative way to get children interested and then more deeply engaged.Another criticism is orientation; that there may be confusion if the brick is rotated 180. They initially considered adding an orientation device like a groove or making the letter embossed (see presentation slide below) but given that the Braille bricks are already a change to the classic LEGO 2x4 brick an important icon of the LEGO brand they didn't want to muck about with it more than necessary. Orientation is important, but so is the LEGO brand in this context. Furthermore, orientation is part of the learning process; for example all letters in Braille have dots in their top row and LEGO Braille bricks have no dots in their bottom row; so children will quickly learn when a brick is incorrectly placed.Being tangible objects that can be rearranged provide LEGO Braille bricks with a distinct advantage over many teaching methods such as a Braille typewriter where, if a child makes a mistake, they cannot correct it. These individual letter bricks open many creative doors for the children using them, and I can attest that at the end of the session when us sighted adults all got to have a play, they were really addictive! Our host had to eventually demand we stop so he could start the next session.Nowhere as yet - and possibly never. As stated earlier, LEGO Braille bricks will be provided for free by the Foundation to blind and visually impaired children but clearly there is a massive public demand for them too. Certainly us adult LEGO fans are desperate for them, if not for their fun or collectability then for the helpful building options that elements with ' reduced knobs ' provide!So will these be made available commercially to the many who wish to pay for them? It was hinted that some of those internal discussions around the fundamental changes Braille bricks have made to the classic LEGO 2x4 may mean they may need to remain a non-commercial product forever.However it doesn't seem to have been ruled out altogether as yet. If it happens it would need to be anchored to another department, i.e. one in The LEGO Group rather than The LEGO Foundation who are non-commercial.Will these bricks ever appear in regular LEGO sets, and therefore unprinted? This feels very unlikely given the concerns around the LEGO brand. However, given they need to create the moulds, perhaps they'll want to get good use out of them!The grid of six dots used for Braille allows for 64 possible permutations, one of which has zero dots and is therefore not required in LEGO form. That meant it was necessary to produce 63 new LEGO moulds for this project! Now, these do not come cheap, although there is a range of quality available in mould production. Cheap moulds are used for elements with a short lifespan, such as a BIONICLE helmet, or where the detailing on the element does not need to be too crisp. Expensive moulds are used for universal parts that will need to be moulded for years or decades to come and need the highest quality standards. After some discussion, it was decided the Braille bricks would use a mould quality somewhere in the middle ground.We asked if LEGO could have used one special mould where the number of dots could be adjusted in between runs, but apparently this had been raised and quickly discarded. It is important the Braille project fits into TLG's existing production processes and doesn't introduce new risks - so 63 new moulds it is, courtesy of The LEGO Foundation.Clutch between bricks is obviously weaker than a classic 2x4 so they're not as good for building, or more importantly, they don't match the user's expectation of how strong the clutch is with normal bricks.The only marking we could see inside the bricks was '57705', the same in every brick we examined, so perhaps this is the Design ID of the prototype. Presumably the 63 moulds will each have their own Design ID.For people who are visually impaired rather than blind it is essential to have good colour contrast between the printing and the bricks. The colours chosen are white, yellow, red, blue and green. The first prototypes used some darker shades of blue and green from the LEGO palette but the contrast was insufficient, so they are going with Dark Azure and Bright Yellowish Green [TLG]/Lime [BL] instead. Pink was included in the user workshops but reactions were so 'love it or hate it' that LEGO played it safe and decided against including that colour.You'll have noted that different letters have different colours; this is to provide some visual interest for sighted users. There is no logic to which letters share the same colour; it was decided that it would be better to avoid any particular pattern here. Each set will have roughly 250 bricks (depending on the number of letters in the local alphabet) meaning about 50 of each colour. Even uncommon letters will have five bricks present if there was only one and you lost that brick, the set may quickly become unusable. Neither did they want too many bricks in the set overall, as it becomes harder to locate letters. Common letters will be present in quantities of around 12 to 15 bricks.Sets also come with with two grey baseplates, a brick separator and a card showing all available letter bricks. The prototype packaging shown here is not the actual final packaging. There will also be an accessible website including the instructions as audio tracks. BOUQUETS>> To the Greater Cleveland Peace Officers Memorial Society on its 34th annual Police Memorial Commemoration. The week of events honors those killed in the line of service. The memorial was originally installed in 1993. Its ongoing growth is a bittersweet reminder of the growing number of officers who have been killed in the line of service. Four new names were added this year. Among the four was Mentor Police Officer Mathew Mazany who was killed June 24 after being struck by a vehicle on Route 2. This is about officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. Recognizing their service really keeps their memory alive and keeps the memory of their recognition of service alive as well. We agree and hope that events like this continue to serve as a powerful reminder to all of us about the dangers law enforcement officers face every day and the sacrifice all-too-many of them have made. Nine-year-old Olivia Gresko, daughter of the late Willoughby Police Officer Jason Gresko, put it best: He didnt put on his badge to be a hero, he did it because he knew he could make a difference. BOUQUETS>> To Lifeline, Inc. on a successful tax prep season. The community action agencys Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program prepared taxes for 221 residents 79 of whom received the Earned Income Tax Credit. Were really excited about the number of people that we served with free tax preparation services this season, said Lifeline Executive Director Carrie Dotson. While we fell a dozen or so short of last year, we had many more of our participants qualify for the EITC, and the amount of tax returns was actually much higher. Were really pleased to bring that kind of revenue back into the Lake County community. We have to thank our partners at the United Way of Lake County. They provide funding for our VITA Program so that we can really take it to the next level and assist additional residents at multiple sites. And none of that would happen without the 13 volunteers who devoted their time to helping their neighbors. Throughout the 2019 tax season, volunteers donated 589 hours to Lifelines VITA Program the most ever accumulated in one tax season. We salute these dedicated volunteers. BRICKBATS>> To those who are pretending to be health department inspectors to defraud local businesses. Lake County General Health District reported it has received information that individuals have been posing as state or local health department inspectors in Mentor. The imposters have been contacting restaurants or food-related businesses by telephone to obtain inspection fees using credit card information and/or other personal information, according to a news release. The information is intended to be used to establish accounts to conduct fraudulent activity. The Health District advises that business should always ask for identification before allowing anyone to inspect their facility. They also should never give personal or other information to anyone without first confirming their identity. Shame on those who would try to scam hard-working folks. The law will catch up to you. BRICKBATS>> To the Ohio middle schoolers alleged to have put bodily fluids into food that was then served to teachers. The Delaware County Sheriffs Office is investigating reports of students putting urine and semen into crepes eaten by teachers at Hyatts Middle School in Powell. Any students found to have put fluids in the food could face felony assault charges. There is no excuse for this behavior. If students are found to done this, they should be expelled immediately and charged to the fullest extent. Disgusting. Genetic variation in heart valve cells of the developing fetus create the blueprint for the later development of mitral valve prolapse, according to the cover story of today's Science Translational Medicine. The mutations cause defects in antenna-like cellular structures called primary cilia that previously had no known function in the heart valves. These findings were made possible by an international research collaborative that included scientists, geneticists, cardiologists, echocardiographers and surgeons. "These tiny structures are really important in establishing how the heart valve develops in utero," says Russell A. Norris, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Norris, who has been studying heart valve disease for more than 20 years, is senior author on the Science Translational Medicine article. What made Norris and the rest of the research collaborative suspect these tiny culprits of playing a role in the development of mitral valve prolapse? In mitral valve prolapse, the mitral valve, whose job is to keep blood flowing in one direction from the left atrium to the left ventricle of the heart, becomes enlarged and no longer closes securely, allowing blood to flow in both directions. Many of the one in forty Americans who have mitral valve prolapse experience minimal symptoms. In some, however, this valve defect can cause damage to the heart muscle itself. This can result in congestive heart failure, scarring of the heart tissue, and in serious cases, sudden cardiac death. The research collaborative had initially assembled for a Leducq Foundation-funded project that culminated in 2015 Nature and Nature Genetics articles announcing identification of genetic variants that cause mitral valve prolapse. The researchers, who have continued their collaboration, have since noticed that each of the genes they had identified could be linked to a pathway involving primary cilia. This led them to test whether removing cilia in mice would cause something like mitral valve prolapse. We have ways of removing cilia genetically in animal models. We thought that if we took out the cilia in heart valve cells, then the mice should develop the same disease. And that turned out to be the case." Russell A. Norris, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology the Medical University of South Carolina Next, the team looked at a multigenerational family with a history of mitral valve prolapse to see if there was additional evidence for a causative role for cilia in the disease. "Through our existing, long-term collaborations with geneticist Dr. Susan Slaugenhaupt, cardiologist Dr. David Milan and echocardiographer Dr. Robert Levine at Mass General Hospital, genetic analyses of this family were performed," says Norris. "Through many years of study we were able to identify a causative gene in this family, which ended up being a cilia gene." To further support that finding, Norris developed a mouse model of mitral valve prolapse. "A problem in the field today is that there are no really good animal models to study non-syndromic mitral valve prolapse," says Norris. "Now that we had a novel mutation, we felt obligated to develop a genetically accurate mouse model, which would enhance our understanding of disease initiation and progression." Instead of knocking out whole genes, as others had done, Norris and his collaborators at MUSC used CRISPR CAS-9 technology to "knock in" the genetic mutation identified in the large family. "We knocked in the mutation, and it fully recapitulated the phenotypic spectrum of the disease and impaired formation of primary cilia during development," says Norris. "These mice were quite beneficial in that they confirmed that mitral valve prolapse could be caused by a defect in cilia formation during embryonic development." Finally, the research team used an existing dataset from a previously conducted genome-wide association study, in which they looked at 300 known cilia genes to see if there was an association between the variants and mitral valve prolapse. "We found that there was an increased prevalence of cilia gene variants in the mitral valve prolapse population," says Norris. "Whether it's relevant to ten, 40, or 70 percent of the broader population, we don't know yet." Norris now hopes to use the unique mouse model the team has developed to better understand the temporal progression of the disease. "Mitral valve disease is most commonly seen when somebody in their fifties or sixties," explains Norris. "Yet, all of these genes that we've identified that cause mitral valve prolapse do not appear to be expressed in the adult. So how can a developmental error result in an adult pathology?" The research collaborative's data indicate that mitral valve prolapse can be present early but is clinically benign and not likely to present with any symptoms. The disease can take decades to become clinically relevant and represents a slow degeneration of the tissue. Possibly contributing to that degeneration are changes in the geometry of heart tissues and valve anatomy that cause secondary defects. "So we think that the geometry change, combined with altered biomechanics plus additional secondary responses that have yet to be discovered, result over time in the tissue being destroyed," says Norris. Norris will use his unique mouse model to test that theory. "We're the only group in the world that has this particular model," states Norris. "We want to use this model as our test bed to look at the mechanisms and timing by which the disease progresses." Norris also hopes to begin to identify biomarkers of disease severity that could inform treatment. He will work with cardiothoracic surgeons in Leipzig, Germany and echocardiographers in Boston, who are collecting biopsy specimens from patients with mitral valve prolapse. He will compare those specimens with tissue biopsies from his animal model. "Once we have the biopsies, we can then correlate changes in protein profiles in valve and heart tissues in humans with those in our animal models to look for markers of disease severity and/or progression," explains Norris. "Is there something predictive in the patients that will allow us to know that they are at a particular stage of fibrosis or heart failure or let us know what sort of outcomes they are likely to have?" The findings of a developmental cause for some forms of the disease by Norris and other members of the collaborative team could signal the importance of early intervention and lead to rethinking of current treatment guidelines. "If you have mitral valve prolapse, our findings suggest that you may not want to wait for intervention," says Norris. "There's a good chance that your heart is already being stressed and that changes in the heart muscle have already begun, which may be difficult to reverse. So earlier intervention is likely better. We're hopeful that, with the help of additional funding, some of our discoveries will help change guidelines for the timing of surgical intervention as well as lead to non-surgical therapies to treat the disease." This research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content of the article summarized in this release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Patrick T. Ellinor, one of the authors of the Science Translational Medicine article, is supported by a grant from Bayer AG to the Broad Institute focused on the genetics and therapeutics of cardiovascular diseases. He has also served on advisory boards or consulted for Quest Diagnostics and Novartis. Source: Medical University of South Carolina Journal reference: Toomer, K.A. et al. (2019) Primary cilia defects causing mitral valve prolapse. Science Translational Medicine. doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aax0290. Analytik reports on how the School of Biological & Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary University, London (QMUL) has been using a LM20 Microfluidizer for cell disruption of a broad range of cell types including E. coli, Yeasts and Diatom. LM20 Microfluidizer in use at QMUL The School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at QMUL (https://www.qmul.ac.uk/) is one of the UKs leading life science research departments, with a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and research. QMUL research staff are actively engaged in a wide range of projects across the broad sweep of biological, chemical and psychological sciences. Petra Ungerer, Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratories Manager at QMUL commented: We approached Analytik to find a replacement for a high-pressure homogenizer, from another manufacturer, which had been unreliable and failed to achieve sufficient lysis of our tough yeast cells even after very many passes. We selected the LM20 Microfluidizer not only because it efficiently lysed a broad range of cell types but also was incredibly simple and easy to use which is very important as many different people need to use the machine regularly. We also much appreciate the knowledgeable technical and applications support provided by Analytik which has enabled us to fully exploit the considerable capabilities of the LM20 Microfluidizer. The LM20 Microfluidizer is a digitally controlled high pressure homogenizer performance optimized for small volumes. It maintains identical sample processing conditions, reliably producing the desired results, including uniform particle and droplet size reduction (often submicron), deagglomeration and high-yield cell disruption. Ian Laidlaw, Managing Director of Analytik commented: The production of artificial organs is a hot research topic. In the near future, artificial organs will compensate for the lack of organ donations and replace animal experiments. Although there are already promising experiments with 3D printers that use a "bio-ink" containing living cells, a functional organ has never been created in this way. A European consortium coordinated by Dr Elena Martinez (IBEC, Barcelona, Spain) and involving the Goethe University Frankfurt is now breaking new ground. The consortium is developing a lithography method that relies on light sheet illumination and on special photosensitive hydrogels that are mixed with living cells. Bio-printing systems that build up structures layer by layer (bottom-up approach) have considerable disadvantages. On the one hand, the printing process takes far too long, so that the survival chances of the cells in the bio-ink and in the polymerised layers considerably decrease. Furthermore, the extrusion pressure leads to a considerable cell death rate, especially for stem cells. In addition, the resolution of the method, around 300 micrometers, is far too low to reproduce the delicate structures of natural tissue. Finally, it is particularly difficult to integrate complex hollow structures, e.g. blood vessels, into the cell tissue. With our project, we want to go the other way round by developing a top-down lithography method." Dr. Francesco Pampaloni from the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS) at Goethe University The process works in a similar way to lithography in semiconductor technology. Instead of the semiconductor and the photosensitive layer, which is illuminated by a mask, a hydrogel with photosensitive molecules is used. This is exposed to a thin laser light sheet using the technique invented by Prof. Ernst Stelzer for light sheet microscopy. This leads to the formation of branched chain structures (polymers) that serve as a matrix for colonization by living cells. The remaining, still liquid hydrogel is washed out. "This method will enable us to adjust the spatial structure and the stiffness with an unprecedented resolution so that we can create the same heterogeneous microstructures that cells find in natural tissues," explains Pampaloni. Pampaloni expects that completely new possibilities will emerge for the bio-fabrication of complex tissues and their anatomical microstructures. In addition, the specific properties of the matrix can be used to introduce stem cells into well-defined compartments or to enable the formation of vessels. Further advantages over conventional 3D printing systems are high speed and cost-effective production. BRIGHTER stands for "Bioprinting by light sheet lithography: engineering complex tissues with high resolution at high speed". Starting in July 2019, the project will be funded for three years as part of the European Union's renowned and highly selective "Future and Emerging Technologies" (FET) Open Horizon 2020 Programme. BRIGHTER will be financed with a total of 3,450,000, of which 700,000 will go to a team led by Dr. Pampaloni in Prof. Stelzer's Physical Biology Group in the Biosciences Department of the Goethe University. Further partners are the IBEC (Barcelona, Spain, coordination), Technion (Haifa, Israel) and the companies Cellendes (Reutlingen, Germany) and Mycronic (Taby, Sweden). The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has announced two awards for the study of influenza immunity in children. The awards, which may total more than $64 million over seven years, will support studies led by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, examining how young children's immune systems respond over multiple years to their initial influenza infection and their first vaccination. Studies suggest that a person's first encounter with an influenza virus or vaccine, which usually occurs in early childhood, influences how their immune system reacts to subsequent influenza virus or vaccine exposures. This phenomenon, called "immunologic imprinting," may help protect against future infections with similar influenza subtypes. It may also impact--and, in some cases, negatively influence--how a person's immune system responds to a seasonal influenza vaccination. However, the specific effects of imprinting are still poorly understood. By studying children's immune responses to early influenza infection and subsequent exposures as they mature, researchers hope to understand the factors underlying immune memory and a person's ability to mount an immune response to different influenza subtypes. Such insights could help scientists design more effective influenza vaccines. The research will also address a knowledge gap identified in NIAID's strategic plan for developing a universal influenza vaccine--a vaccine that can provide durable protection for all age groups against multiple influenza strains, including those that might cause a pandemic. NIAID is pleased to support these important observational studies of infants to broaden our understanding of how immunity to influenza develops and evolves over time. A comprehensive understanding of immunological imprinting will help inform the development of more broadly and durably protective influenza vaccines." Anthony S. Fauci, M.D, NIAID Director Principal investigators Paul Thomas, Ph.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Aubree Gordon, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, will lead studies designed to follow more than 3,000 infants and young children in Los Angeles; Managua, Nicaragua; and Wellington, New Zealand for seven years. This grant may provide up to $34.3 million in support over seven years. Another grant will fund principal investigator Mary A. Staat, M.D., of Cincinnati Children's to follow more than 2,000 infants and their mothers from sites in Cincinnati and in Mexico City for at least three years, using weekly clinical visits to gather valuable data about the changes in their immune systems. This award may total as much as $29.9 million over seven years. Both research teams will regularly collect nasal swabs and blood samples from participating infants and young children to understand immune B-cell and T-cell responses and function, the antibodies produced, and other changes as the children's immune systems develop and encounter the influenza virus and influenza vaccines for the first time. Parents or caregivers will be asked to provide informed consent for their children to participate in the studies. Investigators hope that their findings may provide insight into how imprinting may be used to boost the effectiveness of influenza vaccines, or how a new vaccine may provide broader immunity against influenza early in a child's life. While these two long-term studies will focus on children, their results may eventually benefit people of all ages, as researchers use the findings to investigate vaccines that provide improved lifelong influenza immunity against different strains of the influenza virus. The Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology last week revealed the findings of a 2016 pilot study that measured pregnant women's exposure to environmental contaminants in northeastern British Columbia, an area of intensive natural-gas production through hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The study, directed by Marc-Andre Verner, a professor at the School of Public Health (ESPUM) of Universite de Montreal (UdeM), showed that the women had higher concentrations of some metals, especially barium, aluminum, strontium and manganese, in their hair and urine compared to the general population. These results are of concern because a previous study showed that relatively high concentrations of barium, aluminum, strontium and manganese are found in rock samples from B.C.'s Montney Formation, where natural gas is extracted via fracking. In addition, recent studies analyzing wastewater from fracking generally have shown higher concentrations of the same metals. It's impossible to say with certainty whether fracking caused the women's exposure to these metals, but our study does provide further evidence that this could be the case." elyse Caron-Beaudoin, post-doctoral researcher at EPSUM and the study's lead author Community-initiated studies Initially requested by people living near the natural-gas production areas, the study was jointly launched by UdeM researchers and the region's First Nations and public-health authorities. These communities wanted clear answers about how living near natural-gas developments was affecting their health. "We used data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) to compare trace metal concentrations in the urine and hair of the 29 pregnant women we studied versus the general population," said Caron-Beaudoin. "However, for some metals we had to use exposure data collected in France, because similar data has never been collected in sufficient quantity in Canada." The researchers found that concentrations of manganese in the women's urine were 10 times higher than in the reference populations. As well, the women's hair had greater concentrations of aluminium (16 times higher), barium (three times higher) and strontium (six times higher) than in the reference populations in France. Furthermore, barium and strontium concentrations were higher in hair samples from indigenous participants than in those from non-indigenous participants. Is there a health risk? At this stage of their investigations, researchers cannot comment on the presence or absence of a risk to human health. Many essential data for this type of toxicological evaluation are still lacking, including epidemiological studies assessing the association between exposure of pregnant women to these trace metals and the adverse effects on children's health: "We are aware that people would like to have answers right away, but we are only at the beginning of a long process of scientific inquiry," said Caron-Beaudoin. "Other studies are already underway or being planned to clarify this legitimate issue." Pending questions Data on water quality in the study areas's Peace River Valley remains scarce and the data that has been collected to date is highly variable. In addition, there's no systematic water-monitoring program in the region. A previous study on exposure to volatile organic compounds such as benzene in the same group of pregnant women was published in 2018 in Environment International. Its findings suggested benzene exposure is also potentially higher among study participants, especially indigenous women, than in the general Canadian population. To learn more, Caron-Beaudoin has returned to the Peace River Valley to recruit a second group of pregnant women so the researchers can measure their exposure to different contaminants. She and her team will also measure concentrations of these contaminants in water and indoor air. In addition, years as part of an epidemiological study, they are assessing the overall health of babies born in the region over the last 10 years. Source: University of Montreal Journal reference: Caron-Beaudoin, E. et al. (2019) Urinary and hair concentrations of trace metals in pregnant women from Northeastern British Columbia, Canada: a pilot study. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-019-0144-3 In a study published online May 21, 2019 in the journal Environmental Research, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found higher blood pressure and pesticide exposures in children associated with a heightened pesticide spraying period around the Mother's Day flower harvest. This study involved boys and girls living near flower crops in Ecuador. Mother's Day is celebrated in May in most of the world and is a holiday with one of the highest sales of flowers. Ecuador is among the largest commercial flower growers in the world, with significant rose exports to North America, Europe and Asia. Commercial rose production relies on the use of insecticides, fungicides and other pest controls, but little is known about their human health effects. "These findings are noteworthy in that this is the first study to describe that pesticide spray seasons not only can increase the exposure to pesticides of children living near agriculture, but can increase their blood pressures and overall risk for hypertension," said first author Jose R. Suarez, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Researchers assessed 313 boys and girls, ages 4 to 9, residing in floricultural communities in Ecuador. The children were examined up to 100 days after the Mother's Day harvest. The analyses are part of a long-term study of environmental pollutants and child development in Ecuador, directed by Suarez. "We observed that children examined sooner after the Mother's Day harvest had higher pesticide exposures and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared to children examined later. In addition, children who were examined within 81 days after the harvest were three times more likely to have hypertension than children examined between 91 and 100 days." Research regarding the effects of pesticides on the cardiovascular system is limited, but Suarez said there is some evidence that insecticides, such as organophosphates, can increase blood pressure. Organophosphates and several other classes of insecticides and fungicides are commonly used to treat flowers for pests before export. In a previous study, Suarez and colleagues had reported that children examined sooner after the harvest displayed lower performances in tasks of attention, self-control, visuospatial processing and sensorimotor than children examined later. These new findings build upon a growing number of studies describing that pesticide spray seasons may be affecting the development of children living near agricultural spray sites," said Suarez. "They highlight the importance of reducing the exposures to pesticides of children and families living near agriculture." Jose R. Suarez, MD, PhD, first author, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine Source: University of California - San Diego Journal reference: Suarez-Lopez, J.R. et al. (2019) Blood pressure after a heightened pesticide spray period among children living in agricultural communities in Ecuador. Environmental Research. doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.05.030. The re-introduction of measles, mumps and other previously eradicated diseases to the United States is nothing short of a public health crisis. Since Jan. 1, a staggering 880 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 24 states -- the greatest number of cases since 1994. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. The outbreaks have been attributed to an increasing number of Americans who choose not to vaccinate themselves or their children. Overcoming this "vaccine hesitancy" is a major concern for government and health agencies, which have tried a variety of approaches to convince anti-vaxers to change their minds, including mandating vaccinations in some communities. New research from Brigham Young University professors Brian Poole, Jamie Jensen and their students finds there is a better way to help increase support for vaccinations: Expose people to the pain and suffering caused by vaccine-preventable diseases instead of trying to combat people with vaccine facts. Vaccines are victims of their own success. They're so effective that most people have no experience with vaccine preventable diseases. We need to reacquaint people with the dangers of those diseases." Brian Poole, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Biology Poole and his team designed an intervention for college students in Provo, Utah -- a city which ranks sixth nationally for under-vaccinated kindergartners -- with the hope to improve vaccine attitudes and uptake among future parents. The experiment was carried out with 574 students, 491 of which were pro-vaccine and 83 being vaccine hesitant, according to a pre-study survey. For the study, half the students were asked to interview someone who experienced a vaccine-preventable disease such as polio, while the other half (serving as the control group) interviewed someone with an auto-immune disease. Meanwhile some students were also enrolled in courses that contained intense immune and vaccine-related curriculum while others were enrolled in a course with no vaccine curriculum. One student interviewed a member of their church congregation who had shingles, recalling, "The pain was so bad that she ended up at a pain management clinic where they did steroid shots into her spine. The pain meds didn't even touch her pain, even the heavy ones. For months, she couldn't leave the house." Another student interviewed her grandmother, who suffered from tuberculosis. The student said of the experience: "I dislike the idea of physical suffering, so hearing about someone getting a disease made the idea of getting a disease if I don't get vaccinated seem more real." Researchers found nearly 70 percent of the students who interviewed someone with a vaccine-preventable disease moved from vaccine hesitant to pro-vaccine by the end of the study -- even when they had NO vaccine curriculum. Overall, 75 percent of vaccine-hesitant students increased their vaccine attitude scores, with 50 percent of those students moving fully into pro-vaccine attitudes. The researchers also found all vaccine-hesitant students enrolled in a course with intensive vaccine curriculum significantly increased their vaccine attitude scores, with the majority of them moving into the pro-vaccine category. "If your goal is to affect people's decisions about vaccines, this process works much better than trying to combat anti-vaccine information," Poole said. "It shows people that these diseases really are serious diseases, with painful and financial costs, and people need to take them seriously." Poole and coauthors hope other universities and government agencies will see their findings and consider using similar methods to improve vaccine attitudes. Graduate student Deborah K. Johnson served as lead author on the paper, which published this last week in the journal Vaccines. Source: Brigham Young University Journal reference: Poole, B. et al. (2019) Combating Vaccine Hesitancy with Vaccine-Preventable Disease Familiarization: An Interview and Curriculum Intervention for College Students. Vaccines. doi.org/10.3390/vaccines7020039. The United Nation's goal of ending AIDS around the world by 2030 is undeniably ambitious, but within tantalizing reach. Thanks to medications that suppress the once-fatal human immunodeficiency virus and prevent its transmission, new infections have dropped by nearly 50 percent over the past two decades. Yet in 2017, Miami held the dubious distinction of being No. 1 in the nation for new HIV cases, with a rate nearly four times the national average. Why is not a big mystery to behavioral and social scientists at the University of Miami, who were recently awarded a four-year $3.32 million grant by the National Institute of Mental Health to establish a developmental AIDS Research Center to promote research aimed at curbing the local epidemic. As Steven Safren, principal investigator on the grant and director of the new Center for HIV and Research in Mental Health, or CHARM, notes, controlling Greater Miami's HIV/AIDS epidemic will not happen without addressing the mental and minority health disparities that help perpetuate the disease today--disparities that most affect the poor and marginalized, and the racial, sexual, gender, and ethnic minorities who live in view of the area's gleaming new condos and sun-splashed beaches. "HIV is different today than it was when it first started, largely among gay men," said Safren, a professor of psychology who also heads CHARM's administrative core. "Although men who have sex with men still comprise the majority of individuals living with HIV, it is now largely a disease of big-city poor and intertwined with behavioral health issues, like depression, problematic substance abuse, traumatic stress, stigmas, discrimination--all the things that make it very hard for a lot of people to access treatment, to stay in treatment, and to get the best benefit from treatment." Under ideal circumstances, every person infected with HIV would be promptly diagnosed and immediately start taking the antiretroviral therapy (ART) that would reduce their viral load to an undetectable level. That would not only keep them healthy, but would eliminate their risk of passing on the disease, either through sexual contact or sharing used needles, that has killed more than 34 million people around the world since the first U.S. cases were diagnosed in 1981. But adhering to a daily drug regimen often isn't a priority or even possible for people living with HIV who worry about their next meal or a place to sleep, who have no way to get to the lone pharmacy that provides free medications, who battle unrelenting depression or struggle with substance use, who are traumatized by violence or sexual abuse, or who are cast aside because they are gay, transgender, dark-skinned, or from another culture and speak another language. When effective medication was discovered for HIV, the assumption was, OK, people are going to get it and take it, and we're going to be done. But there was no attention being paid to the mental and psychosocial factors that would impact people gaining access to treatment, getting their meds, and staying on them. And we scientists didn't do a very good job of engaging with the community experts on the ground." Sannisha Dale, Assistant Professor of Psychology and CHARM's Scientific Director for Community Engagement Though administered through the College of Arts and Sciences, CHARM is a cross-campus collaboration, encompassing faculty from multiple schools and complementing the Miller School of Medicine's Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), which the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases first funded as a developmental center in 2007. Transitioning to a full-fledged center in 2012, the CFAR has been refunded through 2022, and focuses primarily on biomedical research aimed at ending HIV/AIDS. Safren, who joined UM in 2015 after founding and leading the behavioral and social sciences core at Harvard University's CFAR, and his CHARM co-directors, the Miller School's Daniel Feaster, professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences,and Deborah Jones Weiss, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, hope CHARM will follow suit. By creating a research infrastructure that will not only help curb Miami's epidemic but be applicable to other under-resourced settings coping with uncontrolled epidemics, they believe CHARM will earn full-fledged center status after its four-year developmental period. Although CHARM is the NIMH's seventh AIDS Research Center, it is the first in the South, the U.S. region hardest hit by HIV/AIDS. Like Miami, the South has many pockets that lack sufficient resources or face significant barriers to fight the epidemic with the existing tools that could, in theory, eliminate AIDS by 2030. That's the goal the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS adopted in 2014, and that President Donald Trump embraced in his last State of the Union address. As it stands today, Miami in particular, and South Florida in general, will not meet even the U.N.'s interim goal for 2020. Known as the 90-90-90 goal, it calls for 90 percent of all people living with HIV to know their status; 90 percent of those who know their status to be on ART; and 90 percent of those on ART to have suppressed viral loads, making their disease noncommunicable. As of 2017, of the 87 percent of the people living with HIV in Miami-Dade County who knew their diagnosis, only 64 percent of them were on treatment, and only 58 percent of them were virally suppressed. Yet, as Safren noted, "the Miami-Dade County Health Department has far fewer resources dedicated specifically to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment than health departments in cities like Boston, New York, and San Francisco, which have seen significant reductions in their rates of new HIV infections." The lack of such resources are among the structural barriers that, by working with state and community partners, CHARM investigators hope to resolve. They're also gearing up to support and catalyze the high-impact research needed to develop prevention and care programs for the most challenging and vulnerable populations. In addition to the administrative core, which will be the hub for community engagement activities that are central to the center's mission, CHARM has three other cores: a developmental core, and two unique research cores. The Developmental Core, which will award funding for pilot studies to early-career investigators, is designed to support and mentor UM's growing cadre of behavioral health-related HIV/AIDS researchers. Led by Adam Carrico, associate professor of public health sciences and psychology who has conducted significant research on people living with HIV and substance use disorders, and the Department of Medicine's Allan Rodriguez and Maria Alcaide, the core aims to award at least two grants a year to UM investigators engaging in research with community collaborations. The Methods Core, led by Feaster, who has more than 30 years' experience as a biobehaviorial statistician, and the Department of Public Health Sciences' Raymond Balise, will help researchers design, implement, and analyze their studies. Led by Jones Weiss and the School of Nursing and Health Studies' Victoria Mitrani, the Mental Health Disparities Core will train researchers to pursue the kind of culturally competent, theory-driven approaches, tools, and interventions that address the mental health disparities among the diverse populations living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS in South Florida. "The fact is one size does not fit all," said Jones Weiss, who has been conducting AIDS-related research around the world for more than three decades. "We have to be sensitive, knowledgeable, and respectful of racial and ethnic perspectives. Otherwise we will not connect to the people we want to help. But if we're successful, we can put ourselves out of this job and that would be a true success." Amaravati: The YSR Congress Party cruised to an overwhelming majority in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Thursday, dealing a knockout blow to the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party. At the time of publishing this report, as per official Election Commission data, the Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRCP won three seats and was leading in 145 others in the 175-seat House. The TDP was leading in 26 seats and actor-politician's Jana Sena party in one, according to the latest Election Commission data. YSRC sources said the party's Legislature Party will meet here on May 25 to formally elect Jaganmohan Reddy as its leader. Reddy, the son of the late YS Rajashekara Reddy, is likely to take oath as Chief Minister in the temple-town of Tirupati on May 30. Terming it as people's victory, Reddy said the outcome was expected. "I sincerely thank the people who overwhelmingly voted for YSRC and blessed it. I also thank them for exercising their franchise in large numbers and enhanced the value of democracy," Jaganmohan Reddy said in a Facebook post. "I will live up to the expectations of the people," he promised. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao called Reddy over phone and congratulated him over the YSRC's thumping win in the general elections. Reddys massive win has now put a question mark on Naidus political future and Delhi ambitions. The TDP chief had in the run-up to the elections, rivalled Telangana CM K Chandrashekars efforts to forge an anti-BJP alliance. THE JAGAN JOLT From a small-time businessman to a formidable political leader, YSR Congress president Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy, popularly known as Jagan, has had a rollercoaster ride in the last two decades of his career. While the first decade of his career was spent in building a business in a hassle-free manner, the second decade had been tumultuous for Reddy as he set on the political path. But his single-minded focus of becoming Chief Minister paid off as his YSR Congress Party is poised to secure a landslide win in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls. It was virtually a 10-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming Chief Minister soon after his father's death in September 2009. The only son of former Chief Minister of (united) Andhra Pradesh, late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy began his business career in 1999-2000 by establishing a power company Sandur in neighbouring Karnataka and then expanding it to the north-eastern states. His business graph rose meteorically once his father became the state Chief Minister in 2004 and Jagan started venturing into many other businesses including cement plants, infrastructure and media. Jagan's political ambitions were first revealed in late 2004 when he aspired to become an MP from his home turf Kadapa but the Congress high command nipped that in the bud. He had to wait till 2009 to fulfil his dream and make a formal political debut by winning the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat as Congress nominee. His father's tragic death in a helicopter crash in September 2009, literally changed everything for Jagan. He wanted to succeed his late father to the Chief Minister's throne but the Congress high command was unwilling to grant him the wish despite a majority of legislators rallying behind him. Disillusioned, Jagan gradually began defying the Congress bosses and, by early 2010 was meticulously charting his own course. He took the 'Odarpu Yatra' route to build his political career independently, much to the Congress' discomfiture. Jagan's emergence as "leader" began with the Odarpu Yatra as he went round villages and districts to console families whose kin allegedly committed suicide following YSR's sudden demise. In no time, his popularity graph shot upwards steadily while that of the ruling Congress' dipped gradually. As the Congress objected to his yatra and rejected "permission," Jagan decided to snap his association with the party. The flashpoint came in November 2010 when the Congress made N Kiran Kumar Reddy the Chief Minister of AP in place of ageing K Rosaiah in an ostensible bid to effectively counter Jagan. On November 29, 2010, Jagan called it quits and walked out of the Congress, which his father loyally served for three decades, and also resigned from his Lok Sabha membership. In March 2011, Jagan announced the setting up of his own Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress YSR Congress throwing a challenge primarily at Congress and also Telugu Desam Party. He won the by-election to Kadapa Lok Sabha seat with a record margin of over five lakh votes in May 2011 while his mother YS Vijayamma won the Pulivendula Assembly seat in an emphatic fashion. There was no looking back thereafter as the fledgling YSRC won successive by-elections in the then united state and emerged as the favourite to caputre power. But, the bifurcation of AP put paid to Jagan's ambitions as the voters preferred an experienced Chandrababu Naidu over the upcoming politician to rule the truncated state. Jagan was charged by the CBI in several cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Money Laundering Act and also IPC in alleged quid pro quo deals that were struck during his father's tenure as Chief Minister. He was arrested on May 27, 2012 and had to spend 16-odd months in jail as an "un-convicted criminal prisoner" in the spate of corruption cases. He is still attending trial in these cases in the special CBI court in Hyderabad. File photo of BJP president Amit Shah.) The results are a resounding endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security and nationalism. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana appeared untouched. In Odisha, the BJP was ahead in nine of the 21 seats and Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 11. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. In Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti was leading in nine seats, the BJP in four and Congress in three. In Bihar, the RJD and the Congress have been decimated as both Janata Dal (United) and the BJP were ahead in 16 seats. Another NDA ally, Ram Vilas Paswans LJP is winning six seats. As votes for the seven-phase Parliamentary polls were counted on Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 25 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 15, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. The DMK was ahead in 20 seats in Tamil Nadu. As the trends came in, pointing to another tenure of Modi as prime minister, celebrations broke out in the BJP's party offices across the country with people dancing to the sounds of drums. The trends of the ruling party's leads were in sync with the exit polls, most of which predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would be on course to retain power for a second term. In 2014, the BJP won 282 seats, leaving the Congress with an all-time low of 44 seats against the 206 it won in 2009. The counting exercise is on in over 4,000 counting centres amid concerns raised by opposition parties over alleged tampering of EVMs. They have asked the Election Commission to ensure transparency in counting. Election Commission officials said results are expected only by late evening. The voting was staggered between April 11 and May 19 in which around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million eligible people exercised their franchise to elect 542 members of the Lok Sabha from a total of 8,049 contestants. For the first time in Lok Sabha polls, the EC is tallying the vote count on Electronic Voting Machines with voter verified paper audit trail slips in five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency. For E.C. Glass High School alumna Angelena Garland, the schools Air Force JROTC program has had a lasting impact on her life. Garland said she thought she would graduate in 2009 and run track in college until one day during her senior year when she was in uniform at school, and the U.S. Army had recruiters on campus. Days later, she was enlisting. Me going back into the program definitely led me to what I was supposed to be and where I needed to go, Garland said, explaining that she had to drop the program her sophomore year and finally rejoined as a senior. Now as a second lieutenant working in human resources for the Army, Garland will share her story with dozens of people at E.C. Glass Friday afternoon as the school celebrates the completion of the JROTCs 50th academic year. E.C. Glass Air Force JROTC was one of the nations first to be established in 1968 and is now one of 900 units around the world. Besides the program at E.C. Glass, the only JROTC programs in the area are in Bedford County and the U.S. Marine Corps JROTC program at Heritage High School. Its just really special to be a part of something thats endured for so long and has such a legacy of excellence and tradition of helping young men and women succeed, instructor Lt. Col. Les Pratt said. Pratt said the program is run for cadets, by the cadets, and trains cadets to become better citizens. No matter what the students aspirations are, regardless if its college or vocation or anything else, you can help prepare them for success no matter what they do, Pratt said. Although the program will celebrate decades of trying to instill more responsibility, self discipline, motivation and drive in cadets Friday, the program could meet a bittersweet end next year if more people dont join, Pratt said. This year, the program has 88 cadets, but it needs to reach 100 cadets to remain open. The Air Force requires an enrollment of 10% of the schools population or 100, whichever is less. Pratt said 10 cadets are graduating this year. Pratt said to increase enrollment, the group has a pretty intense effort to get more visibility at the middle schools as well as new literature, an information campaign, recruitment during lunch and more. No matter the number of cadets, junior Thomas Stokes said the corps is a family in a way. You get very close to people. I feel like you meet people with greater integrity here, maybe integrity is built here. You just feel like youre making more earnest friends in this corps, Thomas, 17, said. Thomas said being a part of a 50-year legacy feels larger than life, especially with the several hours of community service the corps completes each year. Pratt said they have probably breached 700 hours of service this school year. Its like being part of something greater than yourself and getting to give back to the community thats given you so much in a meaningful way, Thomas said. Junior Avion Tucker said he joined as a freshman because his sister was in the corps before he reached middle school. He said sibling competition made him strive to get better and better, but after he learned more about the program and the opportunities it offered such as going on trips to Air Force and Marine bases, it wasnt even about competition. I did it because I loved it. So, you know, it really got me into it, and I havent stopped since, Avion, 17, said. Avion said his time in JROTC has helped him really develop a good character for himself. The neighborhood where I live at its more like when kids grow up there, they really become what they see, and its not really a good neighborhood to be around as a teenager. With me taking JROTC it basically opens up my vision to the world because you see the jobs that people do, where they come from and how they say its impacted themselves, Avion said. Jordan Moshkowski graduated from E.C. Glass in 2011 and was a part of JROTC for three years. She now works for an organization that works with injured veterans. The sergeant and colonel were really open and receptive to people wanting to grow and have the opportunity to learn basic leadership skills and camaraderie with students and well-being outside the education setting. They wanted us to really thrive, which is why I stayed for all three years, Moshkowski said. The Region 2000 Services Authority discussed accepting out-of-service-area waste from Bedford County a move that would potentially lower landfill costs, but shorten the lifespan of the Livestock Road Regional Landfill in Campbell County. Though no decisions were made at the Wednesday meeting, it opened a conversation that could change the shape of the authority in the future. Current policy dictates the authority made up of Campbell, Appomattox and Nelson counties, and the city of Lynchburg does not accept waste from anyone but authority members, with a few special exceptions, said Region 2000 Executive Director Gary Christie. Bedford approached the authority after learning its current landfill faced space limitations. Theyre running into the situation where they either build a new cell, or they have to transfer it out, to us or somewhere else, Christie said. Bedford supervisors learned in April the landfill only has about two years of storage capacity left. A recent survey conducted by Blacksburg-based design and planning firm Draper Aden Associates to assess the waste capacity at the landfill found previous estimates were not accurate. Bedford County did not give any tonnage specifics for the proposed four- to five-year contract with Region 2000, said Authority Director Clarke Gibson. It is asking if the authority would be willing to negotiate at all. Christie said a deal with Bedford would have two effects on the authoritys landfill. Cost of service would go down about $3.50 per ton to $26.75 per ton due to the extra volume, said Christie. But the additional waste is projected to shorten the landfills lifespan by a year. As of right now, the landfill is slated to reach capacity by 2030. With the potential of a waste transfer station opening in Concord by the end of the 2019, the landfill anticipates losing about 50,000 tons of trash annually to the new transfer station from County Waste of Southwest Virginia. This would extend the Livestock Road landfill lifespan to about 2034. If that happens and the authority accepts Bedford County refuse, the landfill would close by 2033. The county has offered to pay the additional $10 charged to commercial haulers as a part of its contract with Region 2000 $40.25 per ton versus members rate of $30.25 per ton so the contract would generate an additional excess revenue of monies by whatever quantity it brings. If that is 25,000 tons, for example, it would generate $250,000 more in excess revenue for the authority, Christie said. Bedford County takes in 50,000 tons annually, while the authoritys landfill takes in 180,000 tons. Thats the trade-off. You lower your costs, but you shorten your landfill life if you take Bedford trash, Christie said. Aggregating this trash, we can get a lower rate, because we dont have to add more people to take 50,000 tons of trash. But with a limited life, the group has to decide which is better. The authority scheduled a work session for June 12 to discuss long-range planning including the potential deal with Bedford and the future of Appomattox Countys relationship with Region 2000. If Appomattox wanted to leave the authority, it would have to receive approval from the other three members. Region 2000 would lose $500,000 in revenue annually and service costs for localities would increase by more than $8 per ton, officials have said. Lynchburg City Manager Bonnie Svrcek said the meeting could cover a host of issues relating to the authoritys future. Including anything that Susan [Adams, Appomattox County Administrator] can share regarding Appomattoxs intention longer term, have more of a conversation regarding the impact of Bedford possibly bringing their waste to us under some sort of scenario, and a conversation about excess revenue, Svrcek said. The board also approved the $7 million fiscal year 2020 budget at its Wednesday meeting. The budget reflects no change in cost for waste disposal rates. Current waste disposal rates are $30.25 per ton for members and $40.25 per ton for commercial haulers. The last time Region 2000 had an increase in the waste disposal rate was in 2017, when rates increased for everyone by $1.50. Since the January meeting, Gibson said the authority has increased the tonnage projection for fiscal 2020 by about 2.6%, which will increase revenue. Campbell County Administrator Frank Rogers asked if authority staff still was projecting increased tonnage, even with the transfer station coming on. That is still speculative as far as when County Waste will have that completed and up-and-running. Were looking at three to five years out, Gibson said. As I understand, the reason theyre building that is to transfer waste to their Cumberland County landfill. Until that landfill is open, Im not sure what their options will be. The opening day for County Wastes Cumberland County Landfill is still unknown. The authority will hold its next regular meeting on July 31. Christie hopes it will come to an agreement regarding out-of-service- area waste at the work session. Theyve got to figure out whether they want to bring others additionally, like Amherst, Pittsylvania or whatever, and use up the resource they have more quickly, in exchange for a lower price, Christie said. Because after 2034, they still have to throw the trash away. Sarah Honosky covers Appomattox and Campbell counties for The News & Advance. Reach her at (434) 385-5556. Shannon Keith contributed. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After 17 years of leading the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, Vicki Gardner is stepping away from her role as executive director in late August. For me its not retirement, Gardner said Wednesday. Im still going to be working with the community, just in a different way. Gardner, who grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York, moved to the lake with her husband, Tim, in the mid-1980s after spending 10 years in Houston. Ending up at Smith Mountain Lake was no accident at all, Gardner said in an interview with Smith Mountain Laker magazine in 2011. After conducting extensive research, they purchased a lakefront home in Goodview in 1986 where they still live. Its just the most amazing place to live, Gardner said in 2011. We could have gone anywhere, and Im so grateful we chose Smith Mountain Lake. When Gardner took over as the chambers executive director in 2002, she described its state as very fragile. Her first years there were spent putting together policies and procedures and working solely with volunteers. We operated more as a visitor center, she recalled. The idea was to connect businesses and have an organization to bring them together. The chamber grew from just over 180 members to 625 in the first three years of her tenure. Today, there are more than 750 members. Gardner also helped raise the regions profile through marketing initiatives, developed member networking and educational opportunities, as well as spearheaded a remodeling and expansion of the state-certified Visitor Center at Bridgewater Plaza. Gardner, 66, is a graduate of the U.S. Chambers Institute for Organizational Management, a four-year program for leaders of chambers and other nonprofits, and has served as president of the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Vickis accomplishments are truly too long to list, Lindsey Coley, chairman of the chambers board of directors, said in a news release. Her energy, enthusiasm and love for the people, businesses and organizations that make up the Smith Mountain Lake community are boundless. Hers will be big shoes to fill, for sure. On Aug. 26 2015, Smith Mountain Lake made international headlines when Gardner and WDBJ-TV (Channel 7) journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot during a live broadcast at Bridgewater Plaza just outside Gardners office. Parker and Ward died from their injuries, and Gardner was seriously wounded. The shooting happened as Gardner was being interviewed about plans for the lakes 50th anniversary celebration. That was the sole purpose for why we were out here, Gardner told The (Lynchburg) News & Advance in 2017. It was very happy and very upbeat, and then of course this tragic thing happened. Gardner underwent her latest surgery in January to fuse several vertebrae in her lower back to relieve intense pain that stemmed from the shooting. In an interview with Laker Weekly in January, Gardners husband said the pain made it difficult for his wife to get out of bed most mornings. She had massive back pain, Tim Gardner said. She just never let anyone know. Now a grandmother of six, Gardner said shes looking forward to having more time to spend with family and for hobbies such as painting, fishing and relaxing at the lake. She said she also plans to assist her husband with his lake-based home inspection business and continue lobbying for a rail stop in Bedford. You will see me around this community more than ever, Gardner said. Coley said a search for Gardners replacement will begin immediately. Kat Finn Bale Breaker Brewing Company, is making a big push in Oregon with the hiring of former Sierra Nevada Oregon sales manager Kat Finn to lead the sales here. Bale Breaker is a Yakima, Washington-based brewery known for their hop forward beers and their position as hop growers themselves. In the announcement, Bale Breaker says Finn's hiring "will help the brewery expand distribution and availability of its hop-forward IPAs in the southern region of the Pacific Northwest." More from a press release: With twelve years of experience in both the domestic and craft beverage industries, specifically in the Portland-area, Finn will bring hyperlocal Oregon knowledge to help bridge the gap between the Oregon and Washington craft beer scenes. Bale Breaker Brewing Co. represents everything that made me fall in love with craft beer; friends, family, great beer and hard work. Im so grateful to be a part of this amazing team, Finn said. Named #1 Commitment Closer for the entire region of Oregon and Southwest Washington by former employer Sierra Nevada, Bale Breaker co-owner Kevin Quinn is confident in Finns ability to grow relationships with distributors as well as cultivate relationships with retail accounts in the market. Adding another person to our sales team is exciting but having someone as talented and knowledgeable as Kat to blaze the trail for us in Oregon is the cherry on top, said Quinn. The new addition to the brewerys sales team will help Bale Breaker continue its mission to craft the choice hop-forward and aromatic beers in the Pacific Northwest. AboutKat Finn Kat Finn launched her career in the beverage industry from the ground up, starting as a bartender at the Eastburn in Portland circa 2007, then achieving the highest positive trend curve within Maletis Beverage by increasing their sales by 18%, to establishing herself as the Area Manager & Sales Representative for Sierra Nevada Brewing by 2013. After six years with Sierra Nevada and helping the brewery grow its buying accounts by 26% in under three fiscal years, Finn decided to embark on her next challenge by helping oversee another brewery to succeed its goals. About Bale Breaker Crafting fresh-off-the-farm brews from the middle of a hop field, Bale Breaker Brewing Company is a family-owned brewery located in the beautiful Yakima Valley. Backed by four generations of hop farming experience, Bale Breaker started in 2013, and has grown to become the fourth largest independent craft brewery in Washington. With a 30-barrel brewhouse and a 27,000 square foot facility, we craft five year-round canned beers, including the widely celebrated Topcutter IPA. We also have a 5-barrel pilot brewhouse, the Imagination Station, where we test and develop new recipes. We currently distribute statewide in Washington as well as in northern Idaho and western Oregon. For more information, visit www.balebreaker.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram. (Newser) Giddy-up, you're going to Marsor your name is, if you're up for it. NASA is offering to take a huge list of names on board the Mars 2020 rover's life-hunting trip, Space.com reports. The space agency will let anyone sign up and "share in this journey of exploration," which is slated to land inside the planet's Jezero Crater in February 2021 and analyze the geology, seek underground water-ice, and look for signs of long-extinct life. The names will be etched onto a microchip in lines of text thinner than 0.1% of a human hair. story continues below The chip can fit roughly a million names, so another one may be needed if Mars 2020 matches the NASA Insight trip to Mars in 2018, which carried over two million names. Those who join for 2020 will also receive a souvenir Mars "boarding pass" and NASA "frequent flyer" points based on the number of miles flown; signers on Insight got about 300 million frequent flyer miles. Apropos names, NASA is asking students to come up with one for the rover itself. The last rover, "Curiosity," was named by a Kansas sixth-grader. Here's the Mars 2020 sign-up form. (Read more NASA stories.) (Newser) Have a bad online dating experience? At least you didn't go out with John Martin Hill. The alleged scammer was caught Tuesday after police say he met a woman on Match.com and swindled her out of $80,000, NBC News reports. Hill, 35, apparently convinced the woman from Alpharetta, Georgia, that he was a millionaire and they were in loveand within a week they agreed to get married. Then police say he got her to give him more than $80,000 to buy a house and furniture. "Following the exchange of money, the suspect ceased all contact," per a police report. But after police released a photo of Hill, several women said they were having a relationship with him or knew women who were having one. story continues below That led police in Franklin, Tennessee, to track Hill to a Marriott hotel, where he apparently ran into a hotel conference room and ducked under a table. Officers ordered him to come out and arrested him, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police say Hill actually lives in Duluth, Georgia, with a woman and child, and recently purchased a 2014 BMW that he painted black. Seems he was previously known as "Gregory Hill," a name that turns up articles, websites, and a Facebook page that describe him as a swindler of women. He was even arrested in New Jersey in 2011 for allegedly scamming money out of prospective female employees, per Patch.com. He's now facing a charge of theft by deception and is behind bars on a $500,000 bond. (In April, a GoFundMe scammer pleaded guilty.) (Newser) A Wisconsin teen's violent kidnapping last year drew media attention and a nation-wide sigh of relief when she turned up safe. But California teen Karlie Guse, who vanished around the same time, may be nearly forgotten. "It has been seven months," her mother Lindsay Fairley tells Fox News. "At 9.35am on Saturday, October 13, I was notified by her fathermy ex-husbandthat she was gone. Gone to me is a huge red flag and it has never sat easily with me." The night before, Karlie smoked up with her boyfriend and others and began acting strangely near their home along the Nevada border. Stepmother Melissa Guse picked up the scared, paranoid 16-year-old, and later recorded her incoherent rambles at home, apparently to show her how she sounded high. But the next morning, Karlie was gone. story continues below Witnesses say they saw her behaving oddly that day and walking off toward California 6, which weaves from California all the way to Massachusetts. Yet official and unofficial searches have found no hard evidence, and while a March Dr. Phil appearance by Melissa and Karlie's father, Zac, triggered nearly 70 calls to the Mono County Sheriff's Department, MyNews4 reported that none were credible. Fairley has stirred controversy by questioning Melissa and Zac's version of events, but the sheriff's office dismissed those as "hurtful comments," per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. And while the Facebook group "Bring Karlie Home!" has over 12,000 members, Karlie isn't home. Anyone with information is urged to contact the sheriff's department at 760-932-7549, option 7. (See how an accused Closs kidnapper explained his actions.) (Newser) House lawmakers grilled acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan Wednesday about the deaths of five migrant children in US custody in recent monthsbut it later emerged that the real number was six. In a previously unreported case, a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador with a history of heart defects died in US custody on Sept. 29 last year, NBC reports. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Mark Weber confirmed that the girl, who was taken into custody in Texas in March of 2018, died of fever and respiratory distress at a hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Weber said the girl was in a "medically fragile" state when she arrived at a facility in San Antonio and ended up in a "comatose state" after complications from a surgery. story continues below Weber said the girl was sent to a palliative care facility in Phoenix then moved to the Nebraska facility three days before her death to be closer to relatives. US Rep, Joaquin Castro accuses the administration of covering up the death. "I have not seen any indication that the Trump administration disclosed the death of this young girl to the public or even to Congress," the Democrat tells CBS. "And if that's the case, they covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the question about whether any child had died or been seriously injured. We began asking that question last fall." Officials say the girl was the first migrant child to die in US custody since 2010. (On Monday, a 16-year-old from Guatemala died at a Border Patrol station in Texas.) (Newser) John Walker Lindh, the federal prisoner dubbed the "American Taliban," is due to be released Thursdaybut federal authorities believe he could still be very dangerous, sources tell NBC. Lindh, who grew up in California and was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, said joining the Taliban was a "mistake" during a sentencing hearing in 2002, but he changed his tune in later years, telling NBC Los Angeles in a 2014 letter that he was proud to have been "part of the Afghan jihad." In a 2015 letter to a producer at the station, he praised ISIS, saying: "The Islamic State is clearly very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle, which is the only correct method." He said the group was doing "a spectacular job." story continues below A leaked 2017 report from the National Counterterrorism Center says that as of 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts," the New York Times reports. "From all Im hearing inside of government, he is still as radical as he went in," says Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington Universitys program on extremism. The 38-year-old Lindh, who is being released from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, will face strict probation conditions including monitoring of his Internet usage and a ban on foreign travel. The father of Mike Spann, the CIA operative killed in an Afghanistan prison riot a few hours after questioning Lindh, says he is a "traitor" who should have been sentenced to life, not 20 years. (Read more John Walker Lindh stories.) (Newser) A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New York, has seven arrest warrants and is being sought as a fugitive after failing to appear in court on charges that range from breach of peace to risk of injury to a child, the AP reports. Torrington police Lt. Brett Johnson posted on the department's Facebook page Wednesday that Sims had contacted him through the social media site and agreed to turn himself in if the post containing his poster gets 15,000 likes. Johnson said he negotiated Simms down from 20,000 likes. "It will be difficult but is doable," Johnson wrote. story continues below Johnson also suggested that if anyone knows where Simms is hiding, they could let police know and save the department some suspense. But Maki Haberfeld, an expert in police ethics and procedure at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says Simms is using social media to manipulate both the news media and police, who she said have no business negotiating a deal with a suspect, never mind one that involves likes on Facebook. "It turns this into a joke," she says. Simms, contacted by the AP through Facebook, said he is prepared to live up to his end of the agreement, insisting he is a "man of my word." As of early Tuesday, the post had around 20,000 likes, though police said Simms hadn't turned himself in yet. (Read more Facebook stories.) (Newser) By the time Chloe Ricard arrived at a Lawrence, Mass., emergency room, medical staff said there was nothing they could do. The 13-year-old from Amesbury was pronounced dead "shortly after arrival" at Lawrence General Hospital at 4:47pm Monday, according to the Essex District Attorney's Office. But what led to the death, and who dropped her off, is still unclear. Her family says Chloe had been with friends, and one called saying she was at the hospital. But "she didn't even have a pulse when they pushed her out of the car," stepfather Brian Dolan tells Boston 25. "They threw her out of the car like a bag of trash." He describes the unidentified driver as a man in his 40s. More: Chloe's mother, Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan, says her daughter asked to stay over at a friend's house Sunday via text from a friend's phone, because she didn't have her own. Goldsmith-Dolan said no, but she didn't get a response. As she filed a missing-persons report Monday, she says "one girl told me she is safe and someone dropped her off." Foul play is a possibility, a rep for the DA's office tells ABC News. She says "the people who brought her made her identity known to the hospital." "Our hearts go out to this family, and we are cooperating fully with the police investigation," Lawrence General said in a statement, per WCVB. story continues below An autopsy was conducted Tuesday, though "it will take some time before there is a ruling on the cause and manner of death," the DA's rep tells CBS Boston. "It was awful," Goldsmith-Dolan tells Boston 25. "They asked me how to identify her. My husband had to identify her by the scars." Chloe, whose father died five years ago, had previously run away and spent time at a home for troubled youth. Her caseworker noticed indications on Snapchat that she might run away again, per Boston 25, though Goldsmith-Dolan doesn't think that's what happened. At this point, no arrests have been made. "We have interviewed a number of people regarding the incident and we will continue to do so until we get all the answers," Lawrence Police Chief Roy Vasque tells the Eagle-Tribune. Chloe was an eighth-grade student at the private Solstice Day School in Rowley. The superintendent of Amesbury Middle School, which she previously attended, describes her as a talented artist who "found that she could sometimes best express herself through her artwork," per the Tribune. "[It's] like someone just yanked one of my best friends in the whole world out of my life way before it ever should have been taken," brother Kyle Ricard tells CBS Boston. "I hope it was worth it," he adds. "If something foul went on, you guys are going to go to jail for it." (Read more mysterious death stories.) (Newser) A fatherand the Mountiesare trying to find witnesses to a suspected "ski rage" attack that left a teenager with a bullet-sized hole in his skull. Father David Keir says his son Max, 13, swerved to avoid a man in a yellow ski jacket while at Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 30, the CBC reports. Keir believes the man was angered by the near-collision and says he rammed his ski pole toward Max "with such significant force that it went all the way through his skull and into his brain." Max received a few stitches afterward, but his family didn't realize the extent of the injury until that evening, when he was rushed to a hospital after becoming dazed and vomiting. Doctors performed emergency surgery after discovering the ski pole had gone more than an inch into his brain. story continues below "There were bone fragments and a pool of blood in his brain," Keir said at an RCMP news conference Wednesday. "When doctors showed me that image, you freak out as a parent." He says Max is slowly recovering and can now attend school for an hour a day. The Mounties say that with "all available investigational avenues" exhausted, they don't have enough evidence to say whether the incident was deliberate or accidental, though Keir believes it is definitely the former, the Vancouver Sun reports. "Someone is out there with big time anger issues," he says. "Maybe that person will do the right thing and come forward or, at the very least, get some help." (Read more Canada stories.) (Newser) The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, US officials said Wednesday. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested forces. The officials, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran but is aimed at reinforcing security in the region. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships, and increased efforts to monitor Iran. story continues below Last week, there were reports that the Pentagon had prepared plans to send up to 120,000 troops to the region if US forces were attacked. Thursday morning's meeting comes as tensions with Iran continue to simmer, and it wasn't clear if a decision would be made during the session. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for President Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. US officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats, but indicated they initially involved missiles loaded onto small Iranian boats. This week, officials said the missiles have been taken off the boats near Iran's shore, but other maritime threats continue. (On Monday, Trump warned that war would be the "official end of Iran.") (Newser) Geoffrey Rush won his defamation case last month against an Australian newspaper and journalist, and he just found out how much he'll get for it: $1.9 million. CNN reports $1.35 million of that was handed down Thursday to the 67-year-old Aussie actor by Justice Michael Wigney to compensate Rush for the financial losses he suffered as a result of the allegations. Rush had already been awarded nearly $600,000 in damages in April. The complaint revolved around allegations by actress Eryn Jean Norvill of inappropriate behavior toward her by Rush while they were performing together in a 2015-16 production of King Lear. story continues below Rush contends the newspaper defamed him by publishing Norvill's accusations, including in one article titled "King Leer." The Guardian notes this is the largest payout in an Australian defamation case awarded to an individual, and it looks like it could have been avoided: The paper notes Rush's lawyer said in court Thursday that Rush had offered early last year to settle with the Telegraph for $35,000 and a simple "we're sorry," but the publisher never got back to Rush's legal team. Norvill continues to contend her claims are true. A rep for News Corp Australia, the owner of the Telegraph, tells 9News the paper has filed an appeal. (Rebel Wilson initially saw a much higher defamation award in her own Australian case, but the amount was subsequently slashed.) Hong Kong: KS Wong views green facilities Secretary for the Environment KS Wong today visited a number of renewable energy and waste treatment facilities in Singapore. Mr Wong first inspected the Floating Solar Systems at Tengeh Reservoir. He then departed for the School of Design & Environment of the National University of Singapore to see the first new-build Net-Zero Energy Building in Singapore, which was unveiled early this year. In the afternoon, Mr Wong visited Semakau Landfill to learn about Singapore's solid waste management policies and the landfill's operation. Located about 8km south of Singapore, Semakau Landfill is the only landfill in the city-state. It handles all of its incineration ash in addition to around 200,000 tonnes of solid waste annually. Mr Wong also went to Marina Barrage to tour its Green Roof and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery. He met young Hong Kong people studying and working in Singapore in the evening. This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. (CNN) Mobile networks in Asia and Europe are suspending orders for Huawei smartphones following the US decision last week to restrict the company's access to American technology. The inclusion of Huawei on an export blacklist means the Chinese company can no longer source software or components from US suppliers without a license. Existing devices are unaffected but the restrictions threaten future Huawei products and its leading position in building super-fast next generation 5G networks. Vodafone, the world's second largest mobile operator, said Wednesday that it had paused pre-orders in the United Kingdom for the Huawei Mate 20X (5G) smartphone. "This is a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices," a company spokesperson told CNN Business. The United Kingdom's biggest carrier, EE, is also delaying the introduction of Huawei's new smartphones. The company had touted the Mate 20X in a preview of its 5G network last week. Japan's top mobile operators took similar steps against another device, the Huawei P30 Lite, earlier on Wednesday. The phone was scheduled to launch in the country later this month. Leading Japanese telecoms firm NTT Docomo announced that it has stopped taking reservations for the phone, and is "looking into the impact of the US restrictions," Docomo spokesperson Yoshikumi Kuroda said. Rival carriers KDDI and SoftBank Corp. said they will delay the release of the new Huawei phone. The suspension of orders is the first tangible evidence that the Trump administration's latest escalation of its campaign against Huawei on grounds of national security is hurting the company's business. Huawei overtook Apple last year to become the world's No. 2 smartphone brand behind Samsung, and it relies on markets outside of China for half of its sales. The US export ban has forced Google to cut Huawei's new devices off from its Android ecosystem. A temporary reprieve by the US Commerce Department allows Google to service existing Huawei devices for the next 90 days. "We are looking into how big the impact is and decided to postpone the sales," KDDI spokeswoman Reiko Nakamura said. SoftBank is assessing "whether we can sell the products to our customers with no worries," spokesperson Yusuke Abe said. "Given the situation ... we have decided to delay the sales," Abe added. The EE spokesperson said the company was working with Huawei and Google and added that the company would provide updates on future smartphones in due course. "We value our close relationships with our partners, but recognize the pressure some of them are under, as a result of politically motivated decisions," a Huawei spokesperson told CNN Business. "We are confident this regrettable situation can be resolved and our priority remains to continue to deliver world-class technology and products to our customers around the world." Like 85% of the world's smartphones, Huawei devices run on the Android operating system and access popular apps and services like Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps. The loss of the Google ecosystem makes Huawei devices a lot less attractive to international consumers. They would lose the Android operating system and access to the Google Play app store. Moreover, third party apps like ride hailing and food delivery platforms rely on services like Google maps. Those apps would not function on a phone cutoff from Google services. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Mobile networks are suspending orders for Huawei smartphones." (Newser) After a dispute that involved a lot of trash talking from President Rodrigo Duterte, Canada has finally agreed to take back scores of containers of trash sent to the country more than five years ago. The 100-plus containers shipped to the Philippines in 2013 and 2014 by a private company based in Canada were labeled as containing "high quality" recyclable materials but in fact contained ordinary household trash. After a threat from Duterte to hire a shipping company to dump the trash in Canadian waters, Canadian Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said the government had awarded a company a contract to repatriate the tons of garbage, the New York Times reports. Dutertewho threatened war over the issue last monthpulled his country's ambassador from Canada last week. story continues below The thousands of tons of trash rotted in a port for years while the dispute dragged on. "The Filipino people are gravely insulted about Canadas treating this country as a dump site," a Duterte spokesman said before Wednesday's announcement. McKenna says Canada, which is covering all the costs of bringing the trash back, is changing its laws to make sure there is no repeat of the situation. Analysts say the move is a big victory for Duterte, though Jay Batongbacal, a maritime law expert at University of the Philippines, accuses him of "grandstanding" in disputes with the West while backing down from territorial disputes with China. "The presidential policy is to curry favor with China regardless of state of relations with others," he tells the Washington Post. (Read more Philippines stories.) (Newser) The nation that's home to roughly a third of Africa's 415,000 elephants has delivered a harsh but unsurprising blow to conservationists in lifting a five-year ban on hunting the animals. "The number and high levels of human-elephant conflict and the consequent impact on livelihoods was increasing," Botswana's Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation, and Tourism said in a Wednesday statement. It came after President Mokgweetsi Masisi ordered a review of the hunting ban imposed by his predecessor, prompting recommendations of "regular but limited elephant culling" and the "establishment of elephant meat canning" for pet food in February. The ministry says it will "ensure that re-instatement of hunting is done in an orderly and ethical manner." story continues below Since then, the ministry says it has consulted with communities, local authorities, tourism operators, NGOs, and conservationists and "the general consensus was that the hunting ban should be lifted." Some communities complained elephants were expanding into new territory, destroying crops, and sometimes killing people. But conservationists argue this is a result of climate change, one of several factors causing elephant populations to decline. They say the lifting of the ban won't help a population already at risk of extinction, per CNN. In fact, they say it could make elephants more aggressive, per the Guardian, while some fear legal ivory sales are next on the horizon. The BBC notes the move may be seen as a way to raise Masisi's standing with rural voters ahead of an October election. (Read more elephants stories.) (Newser) The final results are not in, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on track for what amounts to a landslide re-election win. The scope of the victory is a surprise, per the New York Times, with Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, leading in 300 of parliament's 543 districts, up from the 282 seats it won five years ago. Modi, then, will have a strong mandate for his second five-year term to push his pro-business and national security themes. "Together we will build a strong and inclusive India, a triumphant Modi declared on Twitter, but it's the "inclusive" part that is already drawing concerns. Four takes: story continues below Guardian: "The emphatic victory will be greeted with dismay among some members of religious minority groups, who have voiced fears that a returned BJP government would be further emboldened to prosecute its Hindu nationalist agenda, including controversial citizenship-status checks to root out unauthorized migrants in border states." "The emphatic victory will be greeted with dismay among some members of religious minority groups, who have voiced fears that a returned BJP government would be further emboldened to prosecute its Hindu nationalist agenda, including controversial citizenship-status checks to root out unauthorized migrants in border states." Wall Street Journal: "Some expect Mr. Modi to double down on his populist and Hindu nationalist tendencies," per the main story. "The BJP seemed to take a hard right turn this year. During this campaign its candidates spoke less about development, jobs, and reform and more about the issues that resonate with Hindu nationalists, such as banning the slaughter of cows and ending special treatment for the countrys huge Muslim population, which makes up about 14% of the country." "Some expect Mr. Modi to double down on his populist and Hindu nationalist tendencies," per the main story. "The BJP seemed to take a hard right turn this year. During this campaign its candidates spoke less about development, jobs, and reform and more about the issues that resonate with Hindu nationalists, such as banning the slaughter of cows and ending special treatment for the countrys huge Muslim population, which makes up about 14% of the country." Reuters: "Making good on his promise of unity will be difficult as the BJP campaign was often divisive, and members of the minority Muslim community expressed fears that they were being treated as second-class citizens." "Making good on his promise of unity will be difficult as the BJP campaign was often divisive, and members of the minority Muslim community expressed fears that they were being treated as second-class citizens." BBC: "Many also see this election as a battle for India's identity and the protection of minorities. A stridentand at times violentHindu nationalism has become mainstream in the past five years, with increased attacks against minorities, including the lynching of dozens of Muslims accused of smuggling cows." (Read more India stories.) (Newser) John Walker Lindh, better known as the "American Taliban," left federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., on Thursday to restart his life as a free man. The native of Marin County, California, however, won't be returning to his home state, at least not immediately. CNN reports Lindh will live somewhere in Virginiathe state where he was sentencedas he begins a three-year period of supervised release. He won't be able to have a passport or even use the internet unsupervised during that period. However, Lindh will apparently be able to leave the country after that. Prosecutors initially wanted to put a lifetime ban on foreign travel in place, but Lindh, a Muslim convert, wouldn't agree to it because that would have prevented him from making a pilgrimage to Mecca, reports the Washington Post. The Irish Times notes Lindh has Irish citizenship because his grandmother was born in Ireland. story continues below Lindh served 17 years of a 20-year sentence and was released early for good behavior. Critics say he has voiced support for the Islamic State and should have stayed behind bars. At the Atlantic, Graeme Wood shares his correspondence with Lindh from prison and notes that Lindh indeed seems to have gone from being al-Qaeda supporter to an ISIS supporter while behind bars. "The chances that he will leave prison and immediately start gathering bomb-making materials seem exceedingly slim to me," writes Wood, who eventually expects Lindh to move back to California. "But the chances that Marin County will someday have an unrepentant jihadist praying in its mosques, and soaking in its (woman-free) hot tubs, seem very high." (Read more John Walker Lindh stories.) (Newser) A murderer who spent more than 35 years in solitary confinementthought to be the longest period in federal prison historyhas died. Thomas Silverstein, 67, died May 11, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. He was put in solitary in 1983 after killing a prison guard, and had little interaction with other people since then, per CNN. Silverstein first went to prison in 1978 on an armed robbery conviction, then was convicted of killing two inmates and a prison guard. He was moved among prisons, including Leavenworth in Kansas and San Quentin in California. In an Atlanta prison, Silverstein was held in a 6'-by-7' underground, windowless cell in which the overhead light was never turned off and surveillance cameras monitored him continuously. Eventually, he was sent to Supermax in Colorado; he died in a nearby hospital after undergoing surgery in February, the Denver Post reports. story continues below Pete Earley, a writer who was helping Silverstein write an autobiography, said the killing of the prison guard "really set the stage for Supermax." The inmate had joined the Aryan Brotherhood while at Leavenworth. He became a mythical figure in the Bureau of Prisons," Earley said. "He was seen by inmates as a superhero, a hero of the Aryan Brotherhood, refusing to bend" to prison officials. Silverstein filed a civil rights lawsuit in 2007 seeking to end his isolation, per the Post. In 2014, the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit decided that being kept in solitary confinement for three decades did not violate his constitutional rights. (How Silverstein and another inmate changed the nation's prisons.) (Newser) A judge in Chicago ordered the file in Jussie Smollett's criminal case unsealed Thursday, saying the actor's actions did not appear to be those of someone seeking to maintain his privacy, the AP reports. The order by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Steven Watkins follows requests by the AP, the New York Times, and other media organizations to make the file public. Watkins said that while there are good arguments for keeping the file sealed, Smollett forfeited his right to protect his privacy by talking to the media before and after prosecutors dismissed the charges against him. The file wasn't immediately released. The Empire actor had been charged with 16 counts alleging he lied to police when reporting he'd been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in January. Police insist Smollett, who is black and gay, staged the incident because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted publicity. Prosecutors dismissed all charges, though, with little explanation on March 26. story continues below Smollett's lawyers had argued that since the case was dropped, Smollett had "the right to be left alone." The judge disagreed. Smollett "voluntarily appeared on national television for an interview speaking about the incident in detail," the judge wrote. "After the March 26 dismissal, he voluntarily stood in front of cameras from numerous news organizations in the courthouse lobby and spoke about the case. On several occasions, attorneys for defendant, presumably with his authorization, appeared on various media outlets speaking about the case." The judge added, "These are not the actions of a person seeking to maintain his privacy or simply to be let alone." Fox News reports that when state attorneys asked if their office could have more time to redact personal information, Watkins told them to "act as if the documents were never sealed in the first place." The Times says the documents will be released by June 3. (Read more Jussie Smollett stories.) (Newser) A man who posted a Facebook message threatening to kill "as many girls as I see" in retaliation for years of romantic rejection was sentenced Thursday to up to five years in prison, the AP reports. Judge Christine Johnson's decision to keep Christopher W. Cleary, 27, of Denver, behind bars in Utah went against a recommendation from Cleary's attorney and prosecutors to sentence him to probation so he could be returned to Colorado to serve prison time there for probation violations. Johnson said the incident clearly warranted prison time and that she didn't feel comfortable relying on Colorado to keep Cleary locked up. She said Utah's board of pardons can decide if Cleary should be transferred to Colorado. story continues below Cleary's Facebook threat came hours before women marched through many US cities in January, stoking fears of another deadly rampage by a man blaming women for his problems. Cleary called himself a virgin who never had a girlfriend. When police tracked his cellphone and arrested him at a McDonald's restaurant in Provo, Utah, Cleary said he had been upset and wasn't thinking clearly. Cleary spoke only briefly at the sentencing, saying quietly, "I'm just sorry for what happened." His actions fit a pattern of behavior for a troubled man with a history of terrorizing women he met over the internet. At least eight people since 2012 have contacted authorities to accuse Cleary of stalking or harassing them, according to an AP review of police and court records. (Much more on Cleary's history here.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region New Delhi: South Korean auto major Hyundai forayed into high selling compact SUV segment in India with its new model Venue, with introductory price range of Rs 6.5-11.1 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Hyundai Venue, which made its global debut here, will take on the likes of market leader Maruti Suzukis Vitara Brezza, Tata Motors Nexon, Fords EcoSport and Mahindras XUV300, that are priced between Rs 6.48-11.99 lakh. Identifying India as a key centre in its strategy to gain leadership in global mobility leadership, Hyundai has invested USD 100 million (over Rs 690 crore) in four years to develop Venue. The new model has been positioned as Indias first connected car based on the companys BlueLink technology equipped with 33 artificial intelligence and connected features, of which 10 have been specially designed for the Indian market. It comes with three engine options -- 1 litre turbo and 1.2 litre petrol besides a 1.4 litre dieseland sits below the companys popular SUV Creta in terms of price and positioning. The petrol variants are priced between Rs 6.5 -11.1 lakh, while the diesel trims are tagged between Rs 7.75-10.84 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Indian market is at the centre of Hyundais global growth plan and the launch of Venue will strengthen our commitment to this market, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) MD and CEO S S Kim told reporters here. The compact SUV segment has remained one of the few segments which has continued to grow in India even as the overall passenger vehicles market has slowed since the past 10 months. We wanted to give some confidence to customers. At the moment the overall economic sentiment in India is low and customers here are price sensitive, Kim said when asked if the companys pricing of the model was constrained by the prevailing market situation. Hyundai will also launch Venue in various international markets including the US, Canada and Australia after its debut in India. Asked about the expectations from Venue, HMIL Assistant Vice-President and National Sales Head Vikas Jain said it was early to predict under the current circumstances. So far, we have received 15,000 bookings and these will be delivered by June, he said. When asked about overall sales outlook for 2019, Jain said, when we started the year we had set a target of doing 5.8 lakh units in the domestic market. At present we are holding on to it. Last year, HMIL posted its highest ever domestic sales at 5,45,243 units. Commenting on the companys preparation for BS-VI emission norms, Kim said it is on track and the companys models will be ready when the transition takes place on April 1, 2020. Unlike Maruti Suzuki, which has decided to stop selling diesel models due to cost escalation in the wake of BS-VI emission norms, Hyundai said it will continue to bring diesel vehicles in India. Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) President, Head of R&D Division Albert Biermann said, we are aware that Indian customers like fuel efficient yet fun to drive vehicles at the same time. We will continue to bring diesel engine which meets BS-VI norms. HMC has also announced that by 2025 it will have 44 eco-friendly new technology vehicles including electric and fuel cell in its global portfolio. Kim, however, said launching those in India would largely depend on the development of charging infrastructure and customer demand here. The company is slated to launch full electric version of SUV Kona in July this year. New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has written to Delhi University to align their admission process with the preponed result schedule of the class 12 board examination. CBSE had announced results of class 12 examination on May 2, in record 28 days. Usually, the class 12 results are announced by third week of May. "As per the directives of the Delhi High Court, CBSE has preponed all its activities of conduct of examination, declaration of result and process of verification and re-evaluation. "We have also written a letter to the Registrar of Delhi University to align the admission process as per the schedule fixed by the CBSE," a board official said. The official said now, Delhi University has to fix the last date of submission of application form for admission in Delhi University in such a manner that the work of re-evaluation is over prior to the last date of Delhi University admission process. The Delhi University is yet to announce the admission schedule while St Stephen's college which is not part of the centralised admission process has announced the schedule. The admissions will begin at the prestigious college on May 22. New Delhi: The University of Delhi (DU) will release the application forms for DU Admission by May 27, 2019. Talking to indianexpress.com, in charge, the standing committee on DU Admissions, Rajeev Gupta said, ''We are deciding the date of release of the application form. It can be on May 24, 25 or 27 (Friday, Saturday or Sunday).'' Aspirants willing to take admissions in undergraduate courses at DU will have to log-in to the official website, register themselves. Once successfully registered, students can choose the college and programs they wish to apply for. Earlier it was reported that the DU will start its applications from April 29 which was delayed to May 15 and then again postponed to May 21. Students can fill the application form by visiting the official website of the Delhi University i.e. du.ac.in. Students need to keep all the documents in hand in order to fill the application form. Last year, the university conducted an open day to inform students about the registration and admission process. A similar process is expected to be followed this year as well.If the students do not submit the form before the deadline, their application form would be rejected. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump was among dozens of world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his impressive victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 as he vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties. "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" Trump tweeted. Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together! a Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 Besides Trump, Chinese President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Modi on his victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height. "I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi wrote in a letter to Modi. As important neighbours to each other, China and India are two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides, according to the letter. Xi's message congratulating Modi even before the official announcement of results came as a surprise as normally, by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of other countries after the official results are declared. Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years and had their first informal summit at Wuhan last year, officials said that Xi did not wait for an official declaration of the polls due to the strong showing of the NDA. Imran Khan congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party wins the elections. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan was committed to resolve all issues with India through dialogue irrespective of the outcome of the elections. highlights The 2019 Lok Sabha Elections were held in seven stages. The BJP has bettered it's tally of 2014, according to trends. Narendra Modi is all set for a second term as Prime Minister. New Delhi: Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has secured a massive mandate in the Lok Sabha 2019 elections, improving on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Currently, according to the trends at 2 PM, the BJP is currently ahead in close to 350 seats while the opposition has been decimated. The results are a resounding endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centered around national security and nationalism. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes. Following the massive mandate secured by BJP and Modi, world leaders have offered their congratulations to Modi as he is all set for a second five-year term as the Prime Minister of India. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered his congratulations over a telephonic conversation with Modi while Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Modi over his leadership. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is been counted on a strong ally, also congratulated Modi for his achievement. Russian president Vladimir Putin has also congratulated Modi via telegram over his decisive mandate. Bhutan's kingA Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli congratulated Modi. RELATED The first world leader to congratulate Modi was Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as he expressed hope of close co-operation between the two countries. Modi is set to assume the prime ministeras office again when the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be announced later today. As per early trends, the Narendra Modi-lead NDA in leading in 148 seats, while UPA on 74. Rahul Gandhi is trailing from Amethi. In early trends, BJP is looking to breach Mamata Banerjee's fortress and is leading in 19 seats in West Bengal. Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you. a Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) May 23, 2019 News Nation had predicted that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win anything between 282 and 290 seats, while the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) may garner a maximum of 126 seats. Interestingly, Others will perform better than the UPA with a maximum of 138 seats. The NDA won 336 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while the UPA, which had been in power for two straight terms, was reduced to 59. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates PM @narendramodi on the electoral victory under his leadership pic.twitter.com/uFFlc5GHTC a Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 23, 2019 The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 were held in seven phases, starting April 11. A total of 91 constituencies went to the polls in the first phase on April 11, followed by 97 constituencies in the second phase on April 18. The third phase was held on April 23 and fourth on April 29, fifth on May 6, sixth on May 12 and seventh phase on May 19. 115 constituencies went to the polls in the third phase, 71 in the fourth phase, 51 in the fifth phase, 59 in the sixth phase and 59 in the seventh phase. New Delhi: With Lok Sabha Elections 2019 Results spelling doom for the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi reached her brother and Grand Old Party chief Rahul Gandhis residence in New Delhi on Thursday. News agency ANI tweeted out a photo of Priyanka leaving in her car. The meeting comes amid disastrous outlook for the Congress that showed the United Progressive Alliance leading on just 87 seats. The current leads show the BJP winning around 300 seats on its own. As of 12:42 pm: the NDA is leading on 343 seats. The 2019 Lok Sabha Elections showed BJP breaking record and bettering its 2014 tally of 282. The verdict is also particularly gloomy for Priyanka, who officially began her political career this year. In what was called the trump card of the Congress, Priyanka was roped in at last moment for the 2019 General Elections. She was given the crucial Uttar Pradesh (East) division that have BJP stalwarts including Narendra Modi himself. From roadshows to mega rallies, Priyanka left no stone unturned. But the early trends that trickled down in morning were not music for the Congress. Despite the intense campaigning by the brother-sister duo, the Congress has not been able to garner enough votes. On the day her brother Congress president Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had said the constituency was her father's "karmabhoomi" and its land was sacred for her family. Gandhi filed his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections from this constituency with his entire family looking on. His mother Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and brother-in-law Robert Vadra were with him in the Collectorate when he filed his papers. "Some relationships are from the heart. Today, the whole family was present for my brother's nomination. This was my father's 'karmabhoomi', it is sacred land for us," Priyanka Gandhi, who is Congress' general secretary in-charge Uttar Pradesh East, tweeted. In a direct contest, Rahul Gandhi, a three-term MP, took on Union minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani with the SP-BSP-RLD alliance taking the decision to not field any candidate from the constituency, seen as a Congress bastion. However, as per the current trends, Irani is maintaining her leads. New Delhi: The fate of the ruling TRS, along with a beleaguered Congress and the BJP, would be decided today as counting of votes is being taken up in 17 Lok Sabha constituencies of Telangana. Exit polls have predicted that the TRS would win majority of seats. It is also a major test for the Congress, which had seen 11 of its total 19 MLAs shifting loyalty to the TRS since the beginning of March. And no less for the BJP, which won a mere one seat in the December Assembly polls, in which it forfeited deposit in more than 100 of the 119 segments. TRS had returned to power with 88 seats. Here are the LIVE updates on the counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections in Telangana: 17:27 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Owaisi was leading by 2.72 lakh votes over his BJP rival Bhagavanth Rao. 15:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP candidate B Sanjay was leading by 74,198 votes against his nearest rival and sitting TRS MP B Vinod Kumar in Karimnagar after the second round. 11:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP is leading on four seats in Telangana, early trends suggest. 11:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chhattisgarh: Total Lok Sabha seats: 11, Trends available: 11, BJP 09, Congress 02 10:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Telangana Lok Sabha Election Results (16/17 seats): TRS leading on 11 seats. 09:56 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Telangana Lok Sabha Election Results (15/17 seats): TRS - 12, BJP - 1, Congress - 1, Others - 1 09:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi was leading in Hyderabad. TRS nominee BB Patil was leading in Zaheerabad by 680 votes over his Congress nominee Madan Mohan, official sources said. 09:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Telangana Lok Sabha Election Results (9/17 seats): TRS - 6, BJP - 1, Congress - 1, Others - 1 08:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The TRS is leading on two seats, as per early trends. 08:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The early trends show the NDA leading on 18 seats while the Congress is leading on five seats. These are the counts based on postal ballot counting. 08:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In First trends are expected anytime soon. Over 16 lakh postal ballots which the Election Commission has called a "sheer count" are being counted first. 07:51 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The exit polls have also predicted that the TRS may win 15-17 seats in Telangana while both the BJP and the Congress will not be able to open their accounts in the state. 07:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Election Commission is sticking to its plan of counting the paper trail machines slips at the end of counts and not in the beginning as demanded by opposition parties. The Commission is also learnt to have decided to count postal ballots simultaneously with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count due to the "sheer size" of the ballots received this time from service voters. 07:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Election Commission is learnt to have stuck to its plan of counting the paper trail machines slips at the end of counts and not in the beginning as demanded by opposition parties. The Commission is also learnt to have decided to count postal ballots simultaneously with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count due to the "sheer size" of the ballots received this time from service voters. 06:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In At 8.20 AM, EVMs will be brought to the counting tables for counting. Each hall will have 14 tables. 06:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The polls, which saw 443 candidates in the fray, were held in a single phase in 34,603 polling stations and 18,526 polling locations. New Delhi: The counting of votes for the high-stakes Lok Sabha elections is currently underway, bringing the performance of the ruling Congress in the two states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh under close scrutiny. The counting of votes will begin at 8 am and the first trends are expected by around 10 am. While the Congress is buoyed by the victories in assembly polls in the last year last year, exit polls have predicted a dominance of the saffron party in both the states. According to News Nation exit poll, the BJP is expected to win 23 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh and seven of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh. The Congress is likely to win the remaining six and four states in the two states respectively. Here are the LIVE updates on the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections 2019 in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh: 20:41 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Constituency Winnner/Leading Party Balaghat Dr Dhal Singh Bisen BJP Betul Durga Das Uikey BJP Bhind Sandhya Ray BJP Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur BJP Chhindwara Nakul Kamal Nath INC Damoh Prahlad Singh Patel BJP Dewas Mahendra Singh Solanky BJP Dhar Chattarsingh Darbar BJP Guna K P Yadav BJP Gwalior Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar BJP Hoshangabad Uday Pratap Singh BJP Indore Shankar Lalwani BJP Jabalpur Rakesh Singh BJP Khajuraho V D Sharma BJP Khandwa Nandkumar Singh Chouhan BJP Khargone Gajendra Umrao Singh Patel BJP Mandla Faggan Singh Kulaste BJP Mandsour Sudheer Gupta BJP Morena Narendra Singh Tomar BJP Rajgarh Rodmal Nagar BJP Ratlam Guman Singh Damor BJP Rewa Janardan Mishra BJP Sagar Rajbahadur Singh BJP Satna Ganesh Singh BJP Shahdol Himadri Singh BJP Sidhi Riti Pathak BJP Tikamgarh Dr Virendra Kumar BJP Ujjain Anil Firojiya BJP Vidisha Ramakant Bhargava BJP 19:07 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP's Anil Firojiya defeats Congress candidate Babulal Malviya in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain by 3,65,637 votes. 19:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP's Gajendra Patel defeats Congress candidate Govind Muzaalda in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone by 2,02,510 votes. 18:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress candidate and Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath defeats BJP's Nathan Shah in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara by 37,536 votes. 16:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP's Vishnu Dutt Sharma was leading by 4,29,857 votes over Congress' Kavita Singh in Khajuraho. 16:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In Morena, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was leading by 27,849 votes over Congress' Ramniwas Rawat. 16:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In Rajgarh, Congress' Mona Sustani was trailing by 3,97,395 votes against sitting BJP MP Rodmal Nagar. 16:16 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Adding to the series of setbacks the Congress faced in the Lok Sabha election results, its prominent candidate Jyotiraditya Scindia is set to lose in his traditional Parliamentary constituency Guna against BJP's K P Yadav. As per the latest updates by the Election Commission, Scindia had managed to garner 4,11,396 votes against Yadav who got 5,34,438 votes. 10:09 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Early trends show BJP is leading on 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh. Congress is leading on 1 seat. 09:44 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sadhvi Pragya Thakur is still leading against Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal. 09:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Congress candidate Nakul Nath, son of CM Kamal Nath, is ahead of BJP's Nathanshah Kawreti in Chhindwara seat by a margin of 1,520 votes. 09:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP's Krishna Pal Singh Yadav is leading by a margin of 1165 votes against Congress' Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna. 09:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur is leading against Congress' Digvijay Singh by a margin of 3,105 votes in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat of Madhya Pradesh, as per initial trends. 09:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chhattisgarh Lok Sabha Election Results (11 seats): BJP - 6 seats, Congress - 5 seats 09:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Madhya Pradesh Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 (25/29 seats): BJP+: 22 seats, Congress+: 3 seats 09:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Madhya Pradesh (25/29 seats): Early trends show BJP ahead on 21 seats, Congress on four 08:48 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chhattisgarh (8/11 seats): BJP leading on four seats, Congress leading on four seats. 08:45 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Madhya Pradesh: Early trends show BJP leading on 11 of the 29 seats while Congress is leading on four seats. 08:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP candidate Sadhvi Pragya is leading from Bhopal against COngress leader Digvijaya Singh. 08:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The early trends show the NDA leading on 18 seats while the Congress is leading on five seats. These are the counts based on postal ballot counting. 08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In First trends are expected anytime soon. Over 16 lakh postal ballots which the Election Commission has called a "sheer count" are being counted first. 07:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Election Commission is sticking to its plan of counting the paper trail machines slips at the end of counts and not in the beginning as demanded by opposition parties. The Commission is also learnt to have decided to count postal ballots simultaneously with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count due to the "sheer size" of the ballots received this time from service voters. 07:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Election Commission is learnt to have stuck to its plan of counting the paper trail machines slips at the end of counts and not in the beginning as demanded by opposition parties. The Commission is also learnt to have decided to count postal ballots simultaneously with Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) count due to the "sheer size" of the ballots received this time from service voters. 07:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In the last three Lok Sabha polls since 2004, the BJP won 10 out of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh. 06:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In If exit polls are anything to go by, the Congress will fail to capitalise on the gains it made in the 2018 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. 06:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The Bhopal Lok Sabha seat saw one of the most keenly watched contest between Congress veteran Digvijay Singh and Hindutva activist and 2008 Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur. 06:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The counting of votes for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held from 8 am on Thursday in 292 halls across 51 district headquarters. Given the number of candidates and counting rounds, the first result may start coming in by 10 am. 06:20 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In EVMs will be brought to the counting tables for counting after the ballot votes. New Delhi: Lok Sabha Elections results 2019: As BJP heads to massive victory in the Lok Sabha Elections with latest trends putting the NDA tally at 350 seats, Narendra Modi took to Twitter and expressed his happiness over the mega mandate. aTogether we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat,a Modi said in a tweet, which was retweeted for record 22K times in just 10 minutes! The tweet garnered 54K aLikesa. The incumbent Modi government defied conventional norm with stellar leads in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat. A aaaa aaa + aaaa aaaaa + aaaa aaaaaaa = aaaaa aaaa Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat a Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 With the election trends suggesting the NDA making huge gains, the BJP leaders Thursday said it unambiguously indicated that the "grammar of politics is under transformation" and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work has defeated the "negative" politics of opposition. BJP's vice president Vinay Sahasrabudhe said: "Once again people have reposed their confidence in BJP and Modi in a big way. The trends indicate unambiguously that grammar of politics is under transformation"Party's spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain described the party's excellent performance as "the victory of the developmental work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defeat of negative politics." He further said those who thought that by forming coalition based on caste politics they can defeat development, "this is the new era...Modi era...an era of development politics. Whoever will bring development, will win." The BJP, on its own, was leading in 291 seats much as against its main rival Congress which was ahead in 52 seats in the 543 seat Lok Sabha. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana appeared untouched. In Odisha, the BJP was ahead in nine of the 21 seats and Biju Janata Dal was ahead in 11. In 2014, the BJD had won 20 seats and BJP took one. In Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti was leading in nine seats, the BJP in four and Congress in three. BJP ally, Janata Dal (United) was ahead in 16 seats. As votes for the seven-phase Parliamentary polls were counted on Thursday, the Trinamool Congress Party was leading in 25 of 42 seats of West Bengal while BJP was ahead in 15, up from two it held in 2014. The Left was wiped out in the state, once its citadel. New Delhi: Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi registered a thumping victory in temple town of Varanasi on Thursday. News Nation has learnt that Modi won Kashi by record margin of over 4.50 lakh votes. Modi was leading right from the beginning and as the day progressed he got an unassailable lead. The BJP and its ally Apna Dal (S) surged ahead of their rivals in 58 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading in Varanasi by a margin of 1.22 lakh votes, according to Election Commission trends. The BJP was ahead in 57 seats and Apna Dal (S) in one seat. The opposition alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party appeared to be performing well in 20 seats. Modi was leading by more than 1.22 lakh votes in Varanasi over his nearest SP rival Shalini Yadav. Congress president Rahul Gandhi was trailing in Amethi seat where Union minister and BJP's strong contender Smriti Irani marched ahead by over 5,000 votes. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was leading by over 13,000 votes in Azamgarh, while his father and SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav was ahead by nearly 12,000 votes. While Mayawati's BSP was ahead in 12 seats, Akhilesh's SP was leading in eight seats. The Congress, on the other hand, was leading on only one seat - Rae Bareli, where UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was ahead of Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP by over 20,000 votes. SP stalwart Azam Khan was leading in Rampur by over 18,000 votes over BJP contender Jaya Prada, who switched sides from the SP to join the saffron party just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Kunwar Danish Ali, who joined the BSP after leaving the JD(S) was leading by a handsome margin of over 22,000 votes in Amroha. BJP state unit chief Mahendra Nath Pandey was leading by more than 12,000 votes in Chadauli from where he is seeking re-election. On the other hand, state Congress chief Raj Babbar was trailing behind his nearest BJP rival Rajkumar Chahar in Fatehpur Sikri. While Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Santosh Gangwar were leading in their respective seats Lucknow and Bareily, another Union minister Manoj Sinha was trailing in Ghazipur where mafia-turned-politician Afzal Ansari of the BSP was leading by over 3,000 votes. After leading initially in Sultanpur, Union minister Maneka Gandhi suffered reverses and was trailing by 900 votes as counting progressed. In Gorakhpur and Phulpur, where the opposition had unseated the BJP in bypolls, the saffron party appeared to be taking a sweet revenge by leading at both the places. Kairana was, however, an exception where sitting Samajwadi Party MP Tabassum Begum was maintaining a lead over the BJP, which had lost in a bypoll to Begum, who was then fielded jointly by the opposition. Sitting MP and BJP candidate Hema Malini leading by 22,893 votes against nearest rival and SP-BSP-RLD alliance candidate Kunwar Narendra Singh in Mathura. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP swept the Lok Sabah elections in the desert state of Rajasthan by winning all the 25 seats. Although officials results were yet to be announced, the saffron party was leading in all the 25 parliamentary constituencies with a massive margin with most votes already counted. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot conceded the defeat. In a statement, the Rajasthan cheif minister thanked people and party workers, saying that people's mandate was above everything and that he accepts it with humility. "Thanks to the people and the Congress workers for peaceful voting. In a democracy, the mandate is honoured above everything and we accept it with humility," Gehlot said. The Rajasthan chief minister, however, didn't take the responsibilty for the party's poor show in the state. Former Rajasthan chief minister and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje termed the victory an outcome of the development works done by Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi and the BJP government in the last five years. "I congratulate the Central & State party leadership, voters & our hardworking karyakartas, who are our strength. BJP is, was and will always retain the trust, faith and love of people across India," Raje tweeted. The Congress, which has a wafer-thin majority in the state Assembly, has failed to breach the BJP fortress of Bikaner, Churu, Jhalawar and Jalore where lotus has bloomed in the last three parliamentary elections. In the Bakiner seat, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is leading by more than 2.60 lakh votes over his cousin and former IPS officer Madan Gopal Meghwal. Arjun Ram Meghwal had won the seat in 2009 and 2014 and before him, it was veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra won the seat for BJP in 2004. The Jat-dominated Churu parliamentary seat has been a BJP bastion for over a decade now. Former MP Ram Singh Kaswan's son Rahul is leading in the seat by 3.29 lakh votes over Congress' Rafiq Mandelia. Dushyant Singh, the son of former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, is leading by over 4.30 lakh votes and is all set to get elected for the fourth time from Jhalawar seat. The Congress had fielded Pramod Sharma, who had joined the party from the BJP. (Official results will be updated once they are declared by the Election Commission of India.) New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti congratulated PM Modi for a land slide victory. Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power as it led in 292 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls. Taking to micro-blogging website Twitter, Mehbooba wrote, Congratulations to Narendra Modi ji for a historic mandate. Today surely belongs to BJP and its allies. Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah. Ive been fortunate to get the love & affection of my people. They have every right to express their anger for my failings. Accept their verdict with humility. Congratulations to winning candidates from NC. Im grateful to my party workers & colleagues (sic), she tweeted. If the trends stay until final results, the BJP would have improved on its 2014 performance when it had won 282 seats on its own in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Adding the seats won by its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats, up from 336 in 2014. Markets cheered the trends, as the benchmark BSE Sensex touched 40,000 for the first time and NSE Nifty breached the 12,000 level. The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 69.51 against the US dollar trade. Prime Minister Narendra ModiMany Congratulations for securing such a big victory for the BJP. I am thankful to the people, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. New Delhi: UP Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 Live Updates: Counting has begun for the votes of teh Lok Sabha Elections. With 80 Lok Sabha seats, Uttar Pradesh has the most parliamentary seats and is also the largest state of India by population. The BJP has been ruling the state since 2017 under Yogi Adityanath and made a comeback in Uttar Pradesh after 15 long years. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with its ally Apna Dal swept the state and won 73 seats together. The BJP completely routed the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Congress and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state. Both the BSP and the Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) were not able to open their accounts in the Lok Sabha polls. With all exit polls predicting thumping victory for the NDA, UP holds the key to power equations in the National Capital. Here are highlights from Uttar Pradesh: 19:59 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Mayawati's first reaction after Mahagathbandhan performance in UP Today's result is against the expectations and sentiments of people. Anyway, when all the institutions of the country start bending their knees before the government, the public has to take a stand, says Mayawati. 19:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Nagina results out BSP candidate Girish Chandra defeats BJP's Yashwant Singh in Uttar Pradesh's Nagina by 1,66,832 votes. 18:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Robertsganj results BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) candidate Pakauri Lal Kol defeats SP candidate Bhai Lal in Uttar Pradesh's Robertsganj by 54,336 votes. 18:28 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Ravi Kishan wins Gorakhpur seat BJP's Ravi Kishan defeats Samajwadi Party's Rambhual Nishad in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur by 3,01,664 votes. 18:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Smriti Iranias first reaction on winning Amethi aaa aaaa aa aaaaa aaa aaaaa aaaa aa aaaa ..., tweets Irani. 18:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Priyanka Gandhi on poll debacle 'We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers,' says Congress General Secretary for UP east Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. 18:00 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Amethi chooses BJP Smriti Irani wins Amethi. Rahul Gandhi has also congratulated the Union Minister. 17:56 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP's Akshaibar Lal defeats SP's Shabbir Ahmad Balmiki in Bahraich BJP's Akshaibar Lal defeats Samajwadi Party candidate Shabbir Ahmad Balmiki in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich by 1,28,752 votes. Congress candidate and BJP's rebel sitting MP Savitri Bai Phule bags just 34,454 votes. 16:04 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Vote share arithmetic With present leads, BJP vote share in UP is 49%, which is 6% more than 2014. 15:40 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Modi retains Varanasi Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by a record margin. He defeated his nearest rival Samajwadi Party's Shalini Yadav by over 3,80,000 votes. 15:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Rahul Gandhi trails in Amethi by 11,000 votes Smriti Irani is maintaining her steady lead in the Congress bastion. 11:55 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Looks like Modi wave couldn't save this minister Union Minister Manoj Sinha trailing from Ghazipur 11:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Current trends @ 11:49 am Senion Congress leader Jitin Prasada is trailing in Dhaurahra. 11:21 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Counting underway Counting is underway for all seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi to decide the fate of 164 candidates, who contested the Lok Sabha elections here on May 12. 10:55 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Sakshi Maharaj sweeps Unnao Current trends @ 10:54 am shows that Sakshi Maharaj is leading by more than 1 lakh votes in Unnao 10:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Current trends @ 10:51 am Narendra Modi is leading by 70,000 votes in Varanasi. 09:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Current leads @ 9:51 am: Ravi Kishan gets massive lead in Gorakhpur with staggering 16,000 votes 09:47 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Bad, bad news for Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, early trends spell doom 09:42 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Bua-Babua alliance fails to stop NDA juggernaut in early trends @9:43 am BJP: 49 BSP: 10 SP: 3 Congress 1 09:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Official Numbers @ 9:30 The official Election Commission tally of early trends shows that Bahujan Samaj Party is leading on 10 seats, whereas the Samajwadi Party is leading on just 3 seats. 09:24 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Status @ 9:25 am Maneka Gandhi leads from Sultanpur. Rita Bahuguna Joshi leads from Allahabad. 09:15 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Varanasi: Round 1 counting completed: Figures @ 9:16 am In Varanasi, the first round of counting has been completed. Narendra Modi has massive lead of 11,000 votes. Official figures are: Narendra Modi: 21236 Ajai Rai: 9984 Shalini Yadav: 9261 09:07 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Smriti Irani maintains early trends, leads in Amethi by 2,000 votes 09:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Good news for BJP in Noida Mahesh Sharma leads from Gautam Buddha Nagar. 09:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Raj Babbar trails Early trends spell trouble for Congress, Raj Babbar trails in Fatehpur Sikri. 08:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Ravi Kishan is leading in Gorakhpur Actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan is leading in Gorakhpur. Some media reports had said that the popular actor with cult following in UP and Bihar was chosen to quell resentment among local leaders. 08:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In NDA's mega surge in UP Out of early morning trends of 16 seats, Modi-led NDA is leading on 14 seats! 08:31 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party is leading from Aonla, shows early trends. 08:27 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Blessings from Maa Ganga! Narendra Modi leads from Varanasi 08:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Lucknow, the heart of UP, is in saffron mode, Rajnath Singh leads in early trends 08:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Early trends show VK Singh is leading from Ghaziabad 08:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In What happens when postal ballots are counted in morning? The exercise of counting postal ballots manually will itself take a couple of hours at least, an Election Commission official said. 08:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Early start It seems the NDA has got edge in intial counting. The incumbent alliance is leading on one seat in Uttar Pradesh. 08:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Counting begins, nation awaits for mega mandate In first round, the polling officers will count around 16 lakh postal ballots. 07:50 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Where will Lucknow go? Poonam Sinha, the Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow, has reached the counting centre. Talking to media persons, Mrs Sinha said slammed the exit polls and said that she is sure of her victory. 07:22 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In It's prayer time for Ravi Kishan, who is contesting from BJP bastion Gorakhpur. (Pic courtesy: ANI) 06:18 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Ghaziabad to Agra, constituencies that voted in first two phases Polling was held in 8 Lok Sabha seats namely Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Baghpat, Kairana, Meerut, Bijnor, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar in the first phase. Aligarh, Nagina, Hathras, Mathura, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri went for polls in the second phase on April 18. A Bahraini was among winners of a prestigious middle east wide photography competition Hani Badr, who is an employee at the fisheries department of the Ministry of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning, was honored by the organizers of the World Organisation for Animal Health photo-competition 2019 by World Organisation for Animal Health. Badr won the award for a stunning picture he captured of a fisherman catching fish while being underwater. "I am extremely pleased for winning this award. I am happy to have represented Bahrain on a high level" Badr said. "The winning image is one that i captured of a man catching fish, i was able to get a shot of this happening partially underwater. The picture shows fish being caught by the net." he said. "I use special equipment designed to be used underwater. These were were quite expensive to buy but i am happy to have made the investment." Undersecretary of Agricultural and Marine Wealth of the Ministry of Works, Municipality Affairs, Urban Planning, Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa praised Badr's accomplishment. "This achievement is a source of pride and pride for us. This shows again how Bahrainis are able to compete and win in international competitions" "Encouraging creativity is something important to us and we want to see talented Bahrainis shine." he said. The 171st Hypermarket of the LuLu Group was inaugurated yesterday in Muharraq Central by Deputy Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa. The opening followed the official inauguration of the newly revamped Muharraq Central Market by HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain. The new LuLu Hypermarket, globally 171st and 8th in Bahrain, spans around 90,000 sq. feet in area. Speaking to Tribune, Yousif Ali M.A, the Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group said, Our motto is to provide people with good service and good quality. We offer products that are sugar-free, gluten-free, and organic. We also have webstores that are currently active. We evolve according to the international market standards, Yousif Ali told Tribune. On Bahrainisation, the LuLu Group Chairman said the new branch employs 1,200 Bahrainis including 450 females. There are plans to employ another 500 Bahrainis within the next year, revealed Yousif Ali adding: We will continue to support Bahranisation plan by employing more Bahrainis. With eight hypermarkets and one mall, the total investment of the LuLu group in Bahrain has exceeded BD130 million with plans of further expansion elevating the total investment. Five years ago, I stated that I will invest BD100 million in Bahrain, now our current investment has crossed BD130 million, Yousif Ali told Tribune. Looking ahead, the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi-based LuLu Group further revealed that the group plans to open hypermarkets in the upcoming months. We plan to open three more hypermarkets in eight to 10 months, he said. The outlet, Yousif Ali said, will highlight the local produce of Bahrain as well as support the cottage industry by promoting products made by Bahrainis. The new LuLu outlet is on the first floor of the Muharraq Central Market which underwent a BD1.45 million renovation. The LuLu brand is expected to revitalise this historic trading hub which will provide a platform for small and medium traders (SMEs) to develop their business. LuLu is on an expansion drive and is all set to open another 32 Hypermarkets and Shopping Malls in GCC, Far East and India by 2020. Also present on the occasion, Saifee Rupawala, CEO of LuLu Group, Ashraf Ali MA, Executive Director, Juzer Rupawala, LuLu Bahrain Director and other senior LuLu officials. Officers from the General Directorate of Traffic along with Bahraini youths recently intensified their street patrolling, not in search of violations, this time for finding law-abiding residents. Good drivers, who followed traffic rules properly, were spotted and showered with gifts including vouchers, electronic gadgets and other gifts as a token of appreciation. The effort was part of a Thank You initiative launched by the General Directorate of Traffics Ramadan traffic which continues throughout Ramadan. Hamad Atiq and Kalil alMutawa are the Bahraini youngsters who are part of the initiative. The campaign is being carried out in partnership with Bahrain National Insurance, as well as Sadeem Cards, Credimax, Lulu Hypermarket, Sofitel Bahrain and Qadooa Sweets. Until When The campaign titled Until When will educate drivers and road-users on the wrong traffic practices common during Ramadan, said Salah Shihab, the Director of Traffic Culture. The initiatives, he said, will help spread the vision of traffic safety among the people of Bahrain. He also appreciated the sponsors role in honouring ideal drivers. More motorists will be awarded gifts this month as the initiative will continue throughout Ramadan. The government has also devised a special traffic plan for Ramadan, the Director-General of Traffic Brigadier Shaikh Abdulrahman bin Abdulwahab Al Khalifa revealed. Patrols intensified The directorate will intensify patrols on major highways, intersections, as well as near-commercial avenues and shopping complexes. The police will also monitor traffic on King Fahad Causeway, the terrestrial link between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. This will be done mainly in the evening to ensure smooth flow of vehicles and full adherence to the rules by all drivers, he added. The Ministry of Interior has been urging citizens and residents to be careful on roads and avoid violations. The General Directorate considers traffic violations as an uncivilised practice, he said while calling on all to follow traffic rules and regulations during the holy month of Ramadan. He also warned against a lack of attention while driving. Care should be taken to drive on the right lane and not to change lanes without a flashing signal. The use of mobile phones during driving is strictly prohibited, added Shaikh Abdulrahman. The Fourth High Criminal Court adjourned the trial of nine men accused of receiving military and explosives manufacturing training at Hezbollah camps in Iraq back in 2017. The Court will hear the case on June 11. Only one of the 9 defendants is in police custody. Rest of them are tried in absentia, as they all escaped to a foreign country. Court files show the suspects travelled to Iraq to receive military training on different firearms and explosives for carrying out terrorist attacks in Bahrain. Four of the suspects coordinated the training programme. The training focused on handling RPG launchers, using and manufacturing explosive devices, the use of firearms such as AK-47 rifles, PK machine guns and sniper rifles. Suspect, in custody, travelled to Bahrain from Iraq and to Holland. Police arrested him on his way back to Bahrain. In 2017, the Public Prosecution accused the defendants of joining a terrorist group, practising terrorist activities and recruiting men to join their group, serving terrorist purposes, in addition to receiving military training abroad and facilitating it for others. More than 200 people paid an eye-watering $173,000 (150,000 euros) to attend a dinner thrown by Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, to raise funds to beautify the capital Addis Ababa, state media reported Monday. The state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate published pictures of diners, some wearing tuxedos, seated at a long rose-covered banquet table. A seat at the event is valued at 5 million birr, the report said, adding that over 200 individuals, representatives from local and international organizations took part in the event. The dinner was held to raise funds for a three-year project by Abiy to lift the image of the capital, a bustling, fast-changing city where modern buildings have shot up, construction is everywhere and greenery scarce. The rapid growth and expansion of the city over the past few years has not adequately utilised the natural resources and beautiful topography that the city is endowed with, according to a video of the project posted on Abiys website. The video said that currently green cover is only 0.3 square metres per capita in Addis Ababa, and the project hopes to raise this to seven square metres per capita -- in line with average green coverage in Africa. The project along an area of 56 square kilometres (21 square miles) envisions parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the rivers of the capital, the planting of trees and the development of urban farms. It is estimated to cost $ 1 billion, according to Fana. Abiys website said that those present at the dinner would have a plaque with their name on it placed along the project route, and would have a private photo-op with the prime minister. The pictures would be compiled into an album of individuals who changed the face of Addis Ababa. Abiy has won praise for his reformist agenda since taking office in April last year. Beginning Saturday, June 22, Greenwichs Bruce Museum is hosting From Butterflies to Battleships, an exhibit drawn from its Photography Collection that features a selection of work by four singular American photographers: Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans, Patrick Nagatani and Brett Weston. The exhibition will showcase the diversity of artistic and documentary approaches taken by photographers in the 20th century and demonstrate how they expanded on earlier experiments in portraiture, scientific record, and photomontage, the museum said in a news release. Click here for more information. Although renowned for her photo essays for Fortune and LIFE magazines, in which she captured the glories of the industrial age, Bourke-White (1904-1971) had a lifelong interest in the natural world. Selected for this exhibition is a collection of small insect portraits made in the 1930s in which butterflies, moths, and praying mantises are hazily depicted in various stages of metamorphosis. A far cry from the epic scale of her images like that of the construction of Montanas Fort Peck Dam, these photographs show a surprisingly intimate and experimental side of Bourke-Whites oeuvre. First trained as a reporter, acclaimed photojournalist Mydans (1906-2004) captured landmark events in the United States, Europe, and Asia over the course of 36 years as a staff photographer for LIFE magazine. There he skillfully honed what would become his trademark, the ability to capture the enormous gravity of an event with a single image. The exhibition includes two iconic photographs taken in 1945 while on assignment during World War II with General Douglas MacArthur and his regiment. Sign up to get events, interviews with artists and more delivered to your inbox for free. By the time photographer Nagatani (1945-2017) moved from California to New Mexico in 1987, he had already demonstrated a remarkable talent for a clever layering of imagery to construct surreal photographic satires. He found an ideal subject for his particular brand of politicized artistic intervention in the discordant Southwest landscape, where Native American ancestral grounds rest alongside nuclear weapons test sites. On view in the exhibition are a number of works from the resulting series, Nuclear Enchantment (1989-1993), in which Nagatani makes a powerful statement about the environmental and spiritual consequences of nuclear technology. The son of the pioneering photographer Edward Weston, Brett Weston (1911-1993) began taking pictures as a teenager while living in Mexico with his father. The young Weston displayed an extraordinary eye for subject and form from the start. Over time, Brett would reach beyond the modernist aesthetic championed by his father, to the brink of abstraction, as shown in a series of stunning photographs taken around 1970, in which natural elements such as sand, trees, and water are transformed into expressionistic compositions. According to the shows curator, Stephanie Guyet, Zvi Grunberg Resident Fellow 2018-19: Its been fascinating to spend the past nine months working at a Museum that functions as a space for both scientific and aesthetic inquiry. This is a first for me, having worked previously at museums and galleries that are exclusively dedicated to fine art. I wanted therefore to develop an exhibition that would reflect the multifaceted, idiosyncratic, and extremely generative space of the Museum itself. Given that the Bruce has a wide and varied photography collection, and that photography lies at the intersection of art and science, this seemed like the perfect subject to explore. I hope that Museum visitors will be as excited and inspired as I am by the beautiful and provocative work on view. From Butterflies to Battleships: Selections from the Bruce Museum Photography Collection will be on view in the Museums Arcade Gallery through September 1. The Museum is grateful for exhibition support from The Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund and the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Bruce Museum, One Museum Drive, Greenwich. 203-869-0376 Memorial Day has become the unofficial start of summera long weekend to go to the beach, go boating and have barbecues. But the day was acctually created to remember those who died serving the U.S. in the military. So, if you want to spend Memorial Day weekend the way it was meant to be spent, head to New York City for Fleet Week. This weekend, thousands will gather to remember and honor those who protected and served the country and gave the ultimate sacrifice. Heres a look at the Memorial Day events in the Danbury area: BRIDGEWATER Bridgewaters parade will begin at 8:20 a.m. Monday at the firehouse. BROOKFIELD The annual Brookfield Strawberry Festival will be held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday outside the Brookfield Museum. The Memorial Day parade, which begins at Brookfield High School and ends at Center Elementary School, will begin at 2 p.m., according to the towns website. Strawberry shortcake and soft drinks will be sold to support the historical societys future public programs, while Billy Michaels Jazz for Juniors band will perform. Inside the museum will be an exhibit honoring the 44 Brookfield residents killed in combat since the Revolutionary War. DANBURY The citys Memorial Day events begin Monday with a memorial service at 6:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Church, 370 Main St. A wreath placing ceremony will follow at 7:10 a.m. The parade will begin down Main Street at 9:30 a.m. from the intersection of Rose Street. A bus will be leaving the parking lot behind the War Memorial Building in Rogers Park at 6 a.m. It will provide shuttle service for individuals to the memorial service and placing of the wreaths. Following the parade, a ceremony will be held at the Rose Memorial to honor deceased veterans. All awards will be presented after the services. On Monday morning, L.L. Bean staff will be at Wooster Cemetery to clear and clean the flush-to-the-ground grave markers of veterans. The public is invited to help and should register at www.LLBean.com/danbury. KENT The Kent Memorial parade will organize at the Kent Center School on Judd Avenue at 9 a.m. Monday for a 9:30 a.m. start. In case of rain, the parade will be canceled. A ceremony will be held at the entrance of the school. NEW FAIRFIELD The New Fairfield Veterans Association is hosting a Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday at the Town Park. A brief re-dedication ceremony will be held afterward at the New Fairfield Cemetery across from the Town Hall. There are 19 veterans buried there. NEW MILFORD The third annual Who are You Carrying? event will be at Harrybrooke Park at 10 a.m. on Sunday to benefit the park and Help Our Military Heroes. The workout will include 500 push-ups, 500 sit-ups, 500 mountain climbers, 500 flutter kicks and 500 air squats. Participants will wear a T-shirt with the name of a fallen hero on their back, that they carry with them every day, and will do their workout in that persons honor. Event T-shirts will be available for the first 100 registrants. The event honors fallen heroes, with one specific military hero as the event honoree, the late Petty Officer First Class Jason D. Lewis of Brookfield. Lewis, a 30-year-old Navy SEAL, was killed 11 years ago by an improvised explosive device during a combat mission in Baghdad. His mother, Jean Mariano of New Milford, will attend the event. People can raise money by selling bracelets or becoming a sponsor. For more information, call the park at 860-799-6520. There will also be two parades on Monday. The first will be held in Gaylordsville at 8 a.m. The New Milford parade starts at 10 a.m. in front of New Milford Public Library on the Village Green. In case of rain, the ceremony will be held at the VFW hall on Avery Road at 10 a.m. NEWTOWN A ceremony will be held at VFW Post 308, 18 Tinkerfield Road (Freedom Defenders Way) at 11 a.m. Monday. The ceremony honors men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. REDDING The annual parade and ceremony will be held on Saturday rain or shine. Participants will gather at 11:30 a.m. at the Redding Elementary School auditorium and the ceremony will start at noon. Parade step-off is at 12:15 p.m. and proceed to the Redding Green, for flag-raising and flower-placing ceremonies at the Memorial Stone. It is expected to end by 1 p.m. RIDGEFIELD Ridgefield's American Legion Post 78 is organizing the Memorial Day parade, carrying on the tradition that dates back to 1921. The parade begins at 11:30 a.m. with opening remarks and a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument in front of Jesse Lee Church, including a military honors gun salute and the playing of taps. It ends at Ballard Park with a closing ceremony that includes short speeches by honored guests with patriotic music throughout the program. King Lane will be a one-way street from 9:30 a.m. until the end of the parade. ROXBURY The parade will begin at 10 a.m. in front of the Roxbury Congregational Church, at 24 Church St. SHERMAN The parade in Sherman is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday. It starts at the intersection of Spring Lake Road and Route 39 North, traveling through the center of Sherman and ending at Veterans Field. WASHINGTON There are two parades scheduled for Monday. New Prestons Memorial Day parade starts at 1:30 p.m. in New Preston village. The parade in Washington will form at Washington Primary School at 2:15 p.m. NEW MILFORD Both elementary schools will have new leaders going into the next school year. Eric Williams, of Danbury, got a head start about a month ago, when he began his new job as principal at Hill & Plain Elementary School. And recently the district announced that Gwen Gallagher, of Brookfield, will be the next principal at Northville Elementary School. Gallagher served as a classroom teacher for Danbury Public Schools for sixteen years before being named assistant principal at the King Street Campus, where she has been a leader for the past five years. She earned her bachelors degree in elementary education from Plymouth State College and her masters degree in early childhood education from Central Connecticut State University. She was selected from 29 applicants and is expected to start July 2. I feel my 21 years of experience in the classroom and in leadership have given me a solid foundation to support teaching and learning at Northville Elementary School, Gallagher said in a statement. I look forward to working alongside the staff and getting to know the students and their families. Williams has served as an assistant principal at New Milford High School since 2015. Prior to that, he was a social studies teacher at Bethel High School and Danbury High School, where he was also the head of the social studies department. He earned his bachelors degree in education from Western Connecticut State University and his masters degree in literacy education from the University of New England. He also holds a certificate of advanced studies in educational leadership from Sacred Heart University. Williams said he was grateful for the opportunities and support hes received so far in New Milford. He was selected from 21 candidates. Eric Williams brings an engaging spirit and a deep commitment to student success to his new leadership role, Superintendent Stephen Tracy said in a statement. He knows what quality instruction looks like and he is committed to supporting teachers in their daily efforts on behalf of our children. Tracy also praised Gallagher. We are fortunate to be able to welcome a leader of Mrs. Gallaghers caliber into our New Milford school family, Tracy said in a press release. Her colleagues in Danbury had nothing but high praise for her skill as a teacher and the quality of her leadership at the King Street School. Matthew Busch, For The San Antonio Express-News / For The San Antonio Express-News If you earn a bachelor's degree, you have a better chance of being employed at a better-paying job. But which college majors lead to the highest salaries? A recent study from HeyTutor attempted to find out using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Research. HoustonChronicle.com reveals Texas unemployment numbers and jobs added across the state for the month of April The information says that full-time workers with a bachelor's degree have a median annual salary of $60,996. Meanwhile, high school graduates that didn't go to college earn $37,024 per year The data collected by the National Center for Education Research shows that the cost of college tuition is on the upswing, and student loan debts are increasing. Those who have received a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent. However, individuals who have earned a bachelor's degree or above have unemployment rates below 2.5 percent The most-recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data comes from the 201617 academic year. During that time period Colleges awarded a record 1.96 million bachelor's degrees. The most popular majors were associated with business (381,000 degrees), health professions (238,000 degrees), social sciences and history (159,000 degrees), psychology (117,000 degrees), biological and biomedical sciences (117,000 degrees), and engineering (116,000 degrees). However, even college professors argue that one's college major is not the be-all end-all. While field of study is important, it does not control one's financial destinythere is great variation in earnings within majors," Georgetown University by Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale and Dr. Ban Cheah said in a recent study. Above, you can click through and see the top 25 majors with the highest-paying salaries according to that study from HeyTutor. The company analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. HeyTutor looked at the median early career wage, median mid-career wage, unemployment rate, and underemployment rate of the most common undergraduate majors. You can see the HeyTutor.com's full report and methodology here. All of the quotes and information in the slides above is also from that study, which can be found on HeyTutor.com. 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. LONDON, ON, May 22, 2019 /CNW/ - One of the greatest opportunities for Canada is the shift toward clean growth. To combat climate change, Canada needs new and innovative approaches to electricity generation and distribution. Supporting smart micro-grid projects at the community level is a key component of the Government of Canada's approach to a clean energy future. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Science and Sport and to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility and Member of Parliament for London West, Kate Young, together with Member of Parliament for London North Centre, Peter Fragiskatos, on behalf of Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, today announced a $4.8-million investment to retrofit a London, Ontario, high school to meet its energy needs with clean, renewable energy and support the local electricity grid. Ameresco Canada Inc, a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, and the London District Catholic School Board will install a micro-grid at London's John Paul II Catholic Secondary School. The energy system not only will enable the school to generate and store its own energy but also will be resilient to grid outages and feed surplus energy back to the grid. Ultimately, energy consumption will be reduced as part of the project, and almost all on-site emissions will be eliminated through the installation of a state-of-the-art geothermal system. The school board will also develop a curriculum to educate students about this type of emerging energy system. Energy-efficient buildings and smart grids are part of Canada's Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, through which our government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes and Canada's rural and northern communities. The global shift toward a cleaner, greener economy is the opportunity of a lifetime. From May 27 to 29, 2019, Canada will welcome over 25 countries to this year's Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation Ministerial to discuss a future that is cleaner, brighter and more prosperous for generations to come. Canada will showcase its leadership in cleantech innovation, champion the issue of gender equality, youth and Indigenous peoples in clean energy and promote Canada as an investment destination. Learn more at: http://cem-mi-vancouver2019.ca/. Quotes "Our government is proud to invest in new technologies that will create smarter, more resilient and cleaner energy systems. This investment is a great example of how we can meet our climate change goals and transform our economy by creating a new mindset about how we generate and use energy." Kate Young Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Science and Sport and to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility (Accessibility) "We commend the London District Catholic School Board for pursuing this project and for working to both reduce energy consumption and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions for John Paul II Catholic Secondary School. The deep-energy retrofits of this secondary school play a critical role in reducing our societal carbon emissions. This project is a model for others because it not only prioritizes building energy efficiency but also showcases the importance of transitioning to a microgrid that not only allows for energy resiliency but also renewable energy sources. The School Board is setting a terrific example for its students, and for the community, by championing this project." Bob McCullough President, Ameresco Canada Inc. "This project is an amazing opportunity for the London District Catholic School Board and our students. We hope that John Paul II Catholic Secondary School will become a model for other projects throughout Canada. We also look forward to integrating the project into the classroom curriculum so that our students can take a leadership role in environmental stewardship to care for Creation and our planet for future generations. Jacquie Davison Superintendent of Business, London District Catholic School Board Related Information Smart Grid Program Energy Innovation Program Simply Science Investing in Canada: Canada's Long-Term Infrastructure Plan Investing in Canada Plan Project Map Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada For further information: Contacts, Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Vanessa Adams, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 343-543-7645, [email protected] Related Links www.nrcan.gc.ca LAVAL, QC and CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, May 22, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Prometic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI) (OTCQX: PFSCF) (Prometic) today announced the presentation of three scientific posters on the Company's lead small molecule and plasma-derived drug product candidates, respectively PBI-4050 and Ryplazim (plasminogen), on lung fibrosis indications, at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2019 International Conference taking place in Dallas, Texas, from May 17 22, 2019. "These pre-clinical results provide additional evidence demonstrating the anti-fibrotic activity of PBI-4050, and its potential as a novel therapy for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Importantly, PBI-4050 has now been demonstrated to reduce fibrosis in two models of pulmonary fibrosis, commented Dr. Lyne Gagnon, Vice President of Preclinical R&D at Prometic. "Furthermore, the results in the acute lung injury (ALI) models suggest that supplementation with plasminogen may be of benefit in acute exacerbations of IPF as well as in treatment of ALI", added Dr. Gagnon. Dr. John Moran, Prometic's Chief Medical Officer, commented: "PBI-4050 has repeatedly performed well in multiple, pre-clinical fibrosis-related animal models as well as in early, exploratory clinical trials. We are very pleased to see these results, which provide additional support in our decision to proceed with further clinical development of PBI-4050 in patients with IPF. We are planning a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical study of PBI-4050 in patients with IPF to be initiated later in the year. Key data and observations presented by in the two PBI-4050 related poster presentations entitled "PBI-4050 Attenuates Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis by Reducing Fibrosis, Inflammation and ER Stress" and "Antifibrotic Effect of PBI-4050 in Human Normal and IPF Lung Fibroblasts, and in AdTGF-1-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis Rat Model", included: PBI-4050 protected mice from bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, with reduced fibroblast activation and collagen deposition, reduced expression of profibrotic and inflammatory markers and of markers of ER stress. In another IPF model, the TGF-1- induced pulmonary fibrosis rat model, performed under the supervision of Dr. Martin Kolb at McMaster University , PBI-PBI-4050 reduced collagen deposition and fibrosis, improved lung function and was at least as efficacious as pirfenidone or nintedanib. at , PBI-PBI-4050 reduced collagen deposition and fibrosis, improved lung function and was at least as efficacious as pirfenidone or nintedanib. In lung fibroblasts cultured from IPF patients, PBI-4050 inhibited myofibroblast activation and returned mRNA expression of profibrotic and extracellular matrix markers to control levels. Key data and observations presented in the RyplazimTM (plasminogen) related poster presentation entitled "Plasminogen Supplementation Therapy May Be a Good Add-On for the Treatment of IPF Exacerbations", included: In the bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model plasminogen administration led to reduced collagen deposition and fibrosis and mRNA expression of profibrotic and inflammatory markers. In two established models of ALI (sepsis-induced and L-arginine-induced) plasminogen administration reduced fibrin deposition and inflammation, congestion and hemorrhage in the lungs. Most importantly, blood plasminogen activity was found to be reduced in ALI models. In a post-hoc analysis of Prometic's open-label Phase 2 IPF clinical study, blood plasminogen activity was found to be lower in subjects defined as non-responders based on the changes in forced vital capacity (FVC). About PBI-4050 PBI-4050 is an orally active lead drug candidate with excellent safety and efficacy profiles confirmed in several in vivo experiments targeting fibrosis, and which has been studied in over 250 patients to date in healthy volunteers and patients with fibrosis. Fibrosis is a very complex process by which continuing inflammation causes vital organs to lose their function as normal tissue is replaced by fibrotic scar tissue. The proof of concept data generated to date demonstrates our lead drug candidates' anti-fibrotic activity in several key organs including the kidneys, lungs, liver and the heart. About Plasminogen Plasminogen is a naturally occurring protein that is synthesized by the liver and circulates in the blood. Activated plasminogen, plasmin, is a fundamental component of the fibrinolytic system and is the main enzyme involved in the lysis of blood clots and clearance of extravasated fibrin. Plasminogen is therefore vital in wound healing, cell migration, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis and embryogenesis. Ryplazim (plasminogen) is Prometic's lead biopharmaceutical product with a submission of the Biologic License Application (BLA), expected to be submitted to the FDA before the end of 2019, seeking approval for the treatment of congenital plasminogen deficiency. About Prometic Prometic (www.prometic.com) is an innovative biopharmaceutical corporation with a broad pipeline of small molecule therapeutics under development to treat unmet needs in patients with liver, respiratory and kidney disease, including rare diseases. Prometic's differentiated research involves the study of two G-protein-coupled-receptors, GPR40 and GPR84. These drug candidates have a dual mode-of-action as agonists ("stimulators") of GPR40 and antagonists ("inhibitors") of GPR84. Our lead drug candidate, PBI-4050, is expected to enter Phase 3 clinical studies for the treatment of Alstrom Syndrome in 2019. A second drug candidate, PBI-4547, is expected to enter Phase 1 clinical studies in 2019. Prometic also has leveraged its experience in bioseparation technologies to isolate and purify biopharmaceuticals from human plasma. The lead plasma-derived therapeutic product is RyplazimTM (plasminogen) which the Company expects to file a BLA with the US FDA in 2019 seeking approval to treat patients with congenital plasminogen deficiency. The Corporation also operates a contract development and manufacturing operation in the United Kingdom, deriving revenue through sales of affinity chromatography media. Prometic has active business operations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements about Prometic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, Prometic's ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of Prometic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations in Prometic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2018, under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties related to Prometic's business". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. SOURCE ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. For further information: Bruce Pritchard, [email protected], 450.781.0115; Patrick Sartore, [email protected], 450-781-0115 Related Links http://www.prometic.com Russia is making their usual big claims that there newest S-500 Anti-missile system can shoot down hypersonic weapons. They also claim it will be 5-7 years before China and the USA will have offensive hypersonic weapons. Israeli aircraft were able to defeat Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-missile systems in Syria. Israel has had hundreds of successful air strikes in Syria and lost one plane and this is despite Russia installing some S-300 systems. Russia claims to have a few operational and deployed offensive hypersonic missiles. The S-500 is an upgrade of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system. It is designed for intercepting and destroying intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as hypersonic cruise missiles and aircraft, for air defense against Airborne Early Warning and Control and for jamming aircraft. It has a planned range of 600 km (370 mi) for anti-ballistic missile (ABM) and 400 km (250 mi) for the air defense. It has been claimed it will detect and simultaneously engage up to 10 ballistic hypersonic targets flying at a speed of 5 kilometres per second (3.1 mi/s; 18,000 km/h; 11,000 mph) to a limit of 7 km/s (4.3 mi/s; 25,000 km/h; 16,000 mph). It also aims at destroying hypersonic cruise missiles and other aerial targets at speeds of higher than Mach 5, as well as spacecraft. The altitude of a target engaged can be as high as 180200 km (110120 mi). It is effective against ballistic missiles with a launch range of 3,500 km (2,200 mi), the radar reaches a radius of 3,000 km (1,300 km for the EPR 0,1 square meter). Other targets it has been announced to defend against include: unmanned aerial vehicles, low Earth orbit- satellites, and space weapons launched from hypersonic aircraft, drones, and hypersonic orbital platforms. The system will be highly mobile and will have rapid deployability. Experts believe that the systems capabilities can affect enemy intercontinental ballistic missiles at the middle and end portions of flight, but reports by Almaz-Antey say that the external target-designation system (RLS Voronezh-DM and missile defense system A-135 radar Don-2N) will be capable of mid-early flight portion interceptions of enemy ballistic missiles, which is one of the final stages of the S-500 project. Russia plans to buy ten S-500 battalions for the defense of Moscow. The main components of the S-500 will be: * launch vehicle 77P6, based on the BAZ-69096 1010 truck * command posts 55K6MA and 85Zh6-2 on BAZ-69092-12 66 acquisition and battle management radar 91N6A(M), a modification of the 91N6 (Big Bird) towed by the BAZ-6403.01 88 tractor * 96L6-TsP acquisition radar, an upgraded version of the 96L6 (Cheese Board) on BAZ-69096 1010 * multimode engagement radar 76T6 on BAZ-6909-022 88 * ABM engagement radar 77T6 on BAZ-69096 1010 The system is planned to have a response time of less than 4 seconds (Compared to the S-400s less than 10) Ken Holland is looking for wingers who can score goals and he has begun his search in a country he is very familiar with, as the Oilers have signed Joakim Nygard from Sweden.The fast-skating Swede is being compared to Carl Hagelin with more finish as speed is his greatest asset. The Oilers are looking to build a team built on speed and skill and Nygard is a gamble worth taking.Nygard scored the second most goals of any player in the Swedish Elite League last year and will be given a look throughout the Oilers lineup. Connecticut economists frequently talk about how residents are leaving the state in droves, but apparently not every demographic feels that way, if a new National Association of Realtors study is to be believed. An analysis of the U.S. Census Bureaus 2017 American Community Survey, which tracks households in the nations 100 largest metro areas, found that the New Haven-Milford metropolitan area and Madison, Wis., topped a list of areas to which millennials moved. Millennials are defined as those individuals born between between 1980 and 1998. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the national real state trade group said millennials look for robust employment opportunities and affordability of housing. Millennials represented 22 percent of the entire population in the New Haven-Milford area in 2017, according to the study. They represented 75 percent of the recent movers into to the area from any age group. Median income for all millennials living in the New Haven-Milford metropolitan area in 2017 was $54,800. The median income for millennials who recently moved into the area was $53,600 two years ago. The NAR study doesnt come as any surprise to David Salinas, one of Connecticuts leading technology entrepreneurs. Salinas founded Digital Surgeons, a New Haven-based technology company, and is the driving force behind The District, a sprawling co-working space for start-up companies that opened about a year ago built on the site of the former CT Transit bus garage at the intersection of James and State streets. Salinas said the general public has a vision of millennials as people who ride around on bicycles, who dont want to own a car or own a house. But growing number of that group is their 30s wants to have a family, buy a house and live in Milford, said Salinas, who lives in that city. Both Salinas and Josh Geballe, the state commissioner of Administrative Services, participated in a panel discussion at a Connecticut Business & Industry Association on innovation. They said what makes Connecticut attractive enough to millennials that they want to move here is the quality of public schools and the cost of living here compared to Boston, New York and other bigger cities. Before Geballe took a job in administration of Gov. Ned Lamont, he was vice president and general manager of digital service for Thermo Fisher Scientific, which makes analytical instruments, equipment, software and and performs for research, analysis and diagnostics. The Walthan, Mass., company acquired Geballes biotechnology start-up, Branford-based Core Infomatics, in May 2017. Geballe said Branford is a perfect example of the appeal that the New Haven area has to millennials. Its a town of less than 30,000 people and its home to 20 bio-tech companies,he said. We have great jobs and a great quality of life to offer. Salinas said the states technology sector and Connecticut officials need to do a better job of marketing the state. We need to have a little moxie, a little pride, a little swagger that says were all in with this, he said. But others are skeptical of the real estate trade associations findings. Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners, said millennialls are burdened with heavy levels of college debt that must be paid back. Twelve percent of all student loans are 90 days past due right now and that isnt taking into account consumer debt like car loans and credit cards, Klepper-Smith said. Millennials have a lot of that debt and this impacts their ability to buy a home. Going forward, I think were going to see increased demand for flexible housing arrangement and transit oriented development. Lauren Sardi is an associate professor in sociology at Quinnipiac University and is part of the millennial generation. Sardi said millennials are recognizing that that its really not feasible to afford what our parents are able or were able to afford. Our parents had easier access to succeed than we do now, she said. Some millennials are worried about job security and a lot of that has to do with economic stability. Thats what makes her skeptical of the findings of the real estate trade groups report, Sardi said. Technology jobs that seek individuals with very specific skills sets may attract certain types of millennials to the New Haven area, she said. That leads to more economic inequality for those that dont have those skills, Sardi said. In some ways, she said, millennials are no different than any other age group when it comes to whether they find Connecticut and the New Haven area an attractive place. The state needs to get its budget under control, Sardi said. And they have to offer affordable places to live, not just when viewed in comparison to other cities. The NAR study found that share of homes that all millennials could afford to buy the New Haven area in 2017 was 29 percent. Millennials who had just moved to the area didnt fare any better: They could only afford 28 percent of the available housing. NAR defines affordable housing as that which taks less than 30 percent of an individuals income. Sardi said millennials are also looking for areas where employers are family friendly and offer paid maternity leave and paid family leave. In comparison to other areas, Madison offers one of the highest wages for millennials, Yun, NARs chief economist, said in a statement. This income level combined with the robust employment opportunities and the affordability, make Madison among one of the most appealing locations for millennials who are looking to stay longer and raise families. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com On May 9, 2017, 15-year-old Jayson Negron was fatally shot by Bridgeport Police Officer James Boulay on Fairfield Avenue. More than two years later, family, friends and activists continue to protest what happened and gather in honor of Negron. What happened on May 9, 2017? Jayson Negron was driving a stolen 2012 Subaru Forester in Bridgeport accompanied by Julian Fyffe, then 21, when an undercover Bridgeport Police Gang Task Force Officer spotted the vehicle, according to Waterbury States Attorney Maureen Platts report. Negron led the officers on a brief pursuit before turning the wrong way on Fairfield Avenue a one-way road near the Walgreens at 1000 Park Avenue. Bridgeport Police Officer James Boulay was in a Bridgeport police cruiser that responded to the area after the task force officer called out the stolen vehicle. Boulay got out of the cruiser after Negron turned the wrong way on Fairfield Avenue. Boulay pulled open the drivers side door and reached into the vehicle, trying to pull Negron from the vehicle, the report said. Negron ended up putting the vehicle in reverse, hitting Boulay with the drivers side door. Thats when Boulay fired his department-issue gun, according to Platts report, fatally injuried Negron and wounding Fyffe. Officer James Boulay reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to defend himself from the use of deadly force that being the Subaru operated by Jayson Negron, the report from Platt said. The report includes statements from Boulay, Fyffe, police officers on the scene and other witnesses. Platt, who oversaw the Connecticut State Police investigation into the fatal shooting, also included videos, photos, medical records and Negrons autopsy results, which show he was shot four times. Why did the Waterbury States Attorney investigate it? In order to have a fair and thorough investigation. Platt was appointed to oversee the Connecticut State Police investigation into the fatal police-involved shooting. State police stepped in to investigate, as is protocol across Connecticut. What happened to Boulay? He was initially on administrative duty after the shooting before transitioning to paid leave to deal with what happened, Police Chief Armando Perez said at the time. While Boulay was on leave, there were various threats against him and his family, state police confirmed after Platts report was released. Boulay has since returned to active duty. Was Boulay criminally charged? No. The report from Platt cleared Boulay of any criminal wrongdoing, claiming that he was justified in pulling the trigger that day. Did Bridgeport PD have an Internal Affairs investigation into Boulays actions? Yes. The purpose of this investigation compared with the States Attorneys investigation is that the IA one is meant to figure out if Boulay violated any department policies or procedures. Hearst Connecticut Media has twice requested the IA investigation into Boulays actions on May 9, 2017. The initial request was denied last summer, with the city attorneys office claiming it was still an open investigation several months after Platts report was released. A second request, submitted in early March, is still pending. What happened to Fyffe? Fyffe was the passenger in the vehicle being driven by Negron that day. Initially, he disputed what police were saying in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media. But when Platts report came out, Fyffe state was released and it appeared to support statements given to state police investigators by officers on scene that day. He filed a lawsuit against the city on May 16, 2017. According to court documents, an order to withdraw the lawsuit was granted and the case was dismissed on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. How often are there protests related to Negrons death? The exact number is unclear. Family, friends and activists typically gather in Bridgeport on the anniversary of Negrons death. Theyve gathered at various other points of the year not just for Negron, for all people hurt or killed by police across Connecticut. Many activists and family involved in protests in Bridgeport have also been vocal following police-involved shootings in New Haven (involving a Hamden police officer and a Yale officer) and Wethersfield. What happened on May 9, 2019? On the two-year anniversary of Negrons death, family, friends and activists gathered for a protest and memorial. Although the protest was initially peaceful, it turned hectic later in the evening and 11 protesters were arrested and charged. A Hearst Connecticut Media reporter covering the protest as it turned chaotic was handcuffed, taken to booking and nearly charged before being released without charges. The 11 protesters dubbed the Bridgeport 11 have July court dates. Whos covering this topic? Tara ONeill This reporter can be reached at toneill@hearstmediact.com. Daniel Tepfer This reporter can be reached at dtepfer@ctpost.com Brian Lockhart This reporter can be reached at blockhart@scni.com What else should I read to understand this story? The States Attorney report that cleared Boulay Not necessarily every story here is needed to comprehend what happened on May 9, 2017, and what has happened since. But for an idea of the scope of this fatal police-involved shooting, weve provided nearly every story written by Hearst Connecticut Media over the last two years related to it. More details emerge in fatal Bridgeport police shooting Shooting of teen roils city Sorrow and demands at rally for teen shot by police A sister mourns her brother, shot and killed at 15 in Bridgeport Bridgeport cop who shot teen identified Teen may have been alive shortly after being shot by police Calls for cop cams after Bridgeport teen shot Bridgeport police chief: Leaving body in view wont happen again Slain teens cousin says family was misinformed about shooting Bridgeport officer on leave and in limbo Father disputes police version of sons death Amid conflicting accounts of police-involved shooting, teens death the only certainty Man shot by Bridgeport police says officer overreacted Private company report says vehicle in police-involved shooting was stolen Church leaders demand cop reforms after Negron shooting After fatal shooting of teen, Bridgeport Police shop for fatality shield Father of Bridgeport teen shot by cop files to sue city Rally concludes with delivery of demands to Bridgeport police Video shows tension between protesters, Bridgeport police Protesters demand evidence, charges in Negron case Family, friends, activists remember Bridgeports Jayson Negron, others killed by police Bridgeport mayor seeks better cop, community relations Peaceful protests follow Jayson Negron decision Autopsy doctor: Negron needed immediate surgery to survive Police probe threats against Bridgeport cop Family, friends remember Jayson Negron, others killed, hurt by police Bridgeport chief says he regrets video response to questions about teens deaths Family, friends gather on 2-year anniversary of Jayson Negrons death Hearst reporter detained by Bridgeport cops while covering protest Arrests at Bridgeport fatal police shooting protest create social media stir Crackdown on protest brings more heat to Bridgeport cops Questions remain after arrests at Bridgeport protest Bridgeport 11 have July court date Since 1931, Tweed New Haven Airport has sat on a spit of what was once salt marsh and wetlands straddling the East Haven border. It is wedged between New Haven Harbor where the Quinnipiac River empties, the Farm River mouth separating East Haven and Branford, and Long Island Sound. It is transected by other waterways Tuttle Brook and Morris Creek. And it floods. Recent morning thunderstorms left water rimming the runways and pooling in adjacent residential roads. It will only get worse. No matter what predictive model you use, this piece of Connecticut is destined for inundation from sea level rise. Throw in a tropical storm like Irene in 2011 or Sandy in 2012, nevermind a replay of the Hurricane of 1938, and its all under water. Yet as the legislature wrestles with a bill designed to allow expansion at Tweed including, most critically, an extension of its main runway, the dispute has largely landed on the well-worn arguments about the airport. Opponents argue against expansion for all the predictable reasons: the airport is in a residential area, traffic will be a nightmare, noise and pollution will increase. Fans of expansion say these factors are outweighed by the need for the airport to serve as an economic driver for the region. But theres been almost no mention that the land itself may well be underwater by 2050. Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Jim ODonnell, executive director of Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), whose new interactive modeling system use it here shows risk to the site even now, points out that many U.S. airports are built along vulnerable coasts JFK in New York, LAX in Los Angeles. In Connecticut, in addition to Tweed, Groton and Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford both experience flooding. Theyre all built on marshes and if we want to continue using them, theres got to be some kind of protection strategy, ODonnell said. But the idea of expanding an airport in an area which is intrinsically vulnerable doesnt seem to me to make a lot of sense. Alex Felson, a landscape architect and ecologist, recently joined CIRCA as deputy executive director and director of resilience design after years at Yale University. He has worked on resilience planning with many Connecticut shoreline communities, including East Haven, and points out that the airport is in the lowest lying area with pockets of housing around it that are also at risk. But also it functions as a flood management zone. The airport itself actually collects water during flood events and holds water, he said. I think the main thing is, you cant see the airport in isolation. Its tied in with the surrounding context. Giovanni Zinn, the city engineer in New Haven, absolutely agrees with that assessment. And aside from being an engineer, he ought to know he lives just feet from the north end of Tweeds main runway. From a purely hydrologic point of view, the fact that we have an airport there as the lowest piece of property that can detain water is really what keeps the neighborhood from flooding, he said. Even before the airport existed, two tide gates were installed on Morris Creek to help control flooding - and mosquitoes. Theyve been rebuilt over the years but are still in place. But with much of the naturally water-soaking salt marsh replaced by homes, roads and an airport, the gates cant do the job alone. As soon as theres any storm surge at high tide, no water is getting out of the neighborhood back into the water (of Long Island Sound), Zinn said. So water has to go somewhere. In this case it goes into the airport. He says the airport can handle about four inches a decent amount by normal standards, but a Hurricane Harvey scenario like Houston experienced in 2017? No way. And if the airport footprint especially the impervious surface of a runway is altered and/or increased, what will that mean for the flood control capability of the airport? Good question. File photo Putting good money after bad? The legislation being considered now would remove the cap set by lawmakers in 2009 on how long the main runway can be 5,600 feet. At the time it was set, New Haven which owns the airport and East Haven also signed an agreement with the state that set out stipulations from each side.But at the beginning of this year, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp threw out the agreement, arguing that the state had not met its obligations and therefore the cap should be eliminated. In her termination letter, Harp stated that while the agreement anticipated 30 commercial departures a day and 180,000 enplanements a year, departures had never topped five daily and enplanements barely cracked 36,000 annually. Harp laid the blame for this, as she has since 2015, on the length of the runway, which she said should be extended at each end to either 6,600 or 6,100 feet, depending on aircraft direction, thereby making it suitable for more carriers. The airport receives about $1.5 million annually from the state and about $325,000 from the city of New Haven, down from $500,000. There is also an active federal lawsuit in which New Haven is arguing that only the FAA has jurisdiction over the airport, which means the state has no right to set runway length. New Haven lost in an initial court ruling, but has appealed that decision. Airport expansion has been talked about for decades, but its taken on a new robustness, with Harp leading the charge and enlisting Gov. Ned Lamonts support. The governor himself filed comments in support of the bill. The more than 125 comments reads like a whos who of officials from Yale University, the city, and business, all arguing a better functioning airport is needed to keep the university and other New Haven-area businesses competitive by having more convenient long distance transportation options. Among them was Michael Piscitelli, interim economic development administrator for New Haven. He calls the plans for expansion modest - to two or three hub cities, plus Florida, and additional terminal and parking space. Our business community is very concerned that our competitive edge has been lost to other areas, he said in an interview. Tweed Airport Authority Interim Executive Director Matthew Hoey did not respond to emails. The authority runs the airport for New Haven. File photo Supporters of expansion are pitted against arguably the two most powerful people in the Connecticut senate: Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney - whose district covers the New Haven portion of the airport and who lives in the area and Len Fasano, the Senate Minority leader whose district covers the East Haven portion and who owns a home and beach club there. Their arguments have also been more economic, with Fasano angered that Harp is reneging on a deal. Looney is more focused on community impact and said hes informed Lamont the bill, as it emerged from committee, will not clear the legislature. But both are mindful of the environmental component as well. Fasano represents East Havens Cosey Beach decimated by Tropical Storm Irene only to be re-damaged 14 months later by Sandy including his own club. He said the flooding around Tweed and the neighborhood has to be considered. Its surrounded by wetlands, he said. There are some concerns there. And. Fasano wondered whether it would be putting good money after bad. Looney pointed to a detailed list compiled by the neighborhood opponents of expanding Tweed. The list contains numerous environmental issues, including increased greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft and increased motor vehicle traffic, asthma and lead hazards due to additional pollution, more noise, endangered and protected species that live in the area (see recent map here) as well as the flooding problems from sea level rise, stormwater runoff and extreme weather. I think its a very significant concern that has to get factored in wholly apart from the economic issue of getting more flights coming in and out of Tweed, Looney said of the flooding concern. It has to be seen equally, if not more of an urgent concern. In the neighborhood Expansion opponent Rachel Heerema wrote most of the list. She got an instant dose of environmental reality when she moved to the neighborhood just days before Sandy in 2012 and almost immediately wound up in a mandatory evacuation. In an age of climate disorder - more storms, more violent storms - what the heck are we doing? To pave even one more foot is ludicrous, she said. Everywhere we can in Connecticut we need to preserve the wetlands. Wetlands are our answer to climate disorder. Sean OBrien, whose family has been in the area for nearly 100 years, cites additional paving from a runway expansion as one of many factors. If that happens, whats left of the salt marsh barrier is going to be completely gone, he said. If plans in the current master plan are carried out - then theyll have to go right through the creek and re-route it again. Re-routing the creek or not, any expansion will likely face more daunting environmental scrutiny than it might have in years past. Aside from the usual reviews by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection - especially the tidal and inland wetlands last year the legislature enacted climate change legislation that will require any project in a shoreline flood zone that uses state funding or federal funding funneled through the state to face a flood management review. Flood management would have to consider the sea level rise calculation by CIRCA, as required by law. The most recent calculation is that seas could rise as much as 20 inches by 2050. Structures could face a requirement of an additional two feet of elevation. If Tweed falls under that, it could mean the runways overall would need to be elevated. And even if thats not needed now, theres a high likelihood it would in the future. Either way, the cascade effect on the ability of the airport to continue as a water detention basin would likely change and there would almost certainly be more water to deal with. Thats a concern, said Brian Thompson, director of DEEPs Land and Water Resources Division, which would have to issue permits and environmental approval for such projects. Certainly the change in the hydrologic regime of those wetlands and the hydrology around the drainage of those areas is something that would need to be considered, he said. Zinn, New Havens city engineer, doesnt see flooding getting prohibitively bad for another 30 to 50 years. If its bad enough to change the elevation of the runway, its bad enough to change the elevation of houses, he said. Certainly we want to be able to preserve the airport to use as a detention basin. Any plan that would alter that would be concerning to us. I dont see that for quite sometime. Its not like this legislation happens and then poof, theres a runway. But at CIRCA, ODonnell and Felson caution that the cascade of effects from elevating the runway would also add to maintenance, costs and factors yet unknown. I think the tradeoffs are fairly large, Felson said. I think its a totally political decision about how much you need this development - not if its right or wrong, ODonnell said. Whats the cost of doing nothing here? As a celebration of the impact Gateway Community College has had on the lives of many in Greater New Haven, President Paul Broadie asked alumni present at the community colleges 27th commencement exercises Thursday to stand to be recognized. Nearly all of the friends and family in attendance in Bridgeports Webster Bank Arena stayed seated. Seemingly unintentionally, Broadie had proven the veracity of one of his earlier statements to the graduates. You have blazed a trail for others to follow, he said to the class of 2019. In total, 809 students were eligible candidates to graduate this year. Commencement speaker Maria Praeli, an alumna from 2014, spoke about the ways she believes the college enabled her to become a trailblazer. Praeli, who now works as a lobbyist for FWD.us a group co-founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and funded largely by tech investors, primarily focused on prison and immigration reforms said much of her high school experience was defined by feeling disempowered because of her undocumented status. Growing up, I knew something was different, she said, after her family made the decision to leave Peru in 1999 to seek better medical care for her sister, whose leg was amputated in a vehicle collision. I would never tell anyone about my status. Praeli said she made weak excuses for why she could not drive or get a job, and on a day when her classmates wore the school colors of the institutions they would attend graduation, she wore a white T-shirt. Nothing has prepared me for the hopelessness I felt as my high school graduation day approached, she said. When the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which defers deportation actions for undocumented residents who arrived to the country as minors, passed in 2012, Praeli suddenly found an opportunity to pursue higher education at GCC that fall. Nearly seven years later, with the future of DACA appearing tenuous, Praeli said she is now empowered to fight for policies to improve her own life and the lives of nearly one million undocumented residents like her, for which she thanks GCC. Each day I wake up and fight to change the system that caused so many hardships in my life, she said. I look forward to seeing what the class of 2019 goes on to achieve. Several other speakers acknowledged the difficulties many GCC students face to earn their associate degree. Connecticut Board of Regents member Aviva Budd said many of the graduates battled financial, familial and occupational struggles to receive their diploma. William Ginsberg, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, received an honorary degree and Jerry Franklin, retired president and CEO of Connecticut Public Broadcasting, received the Presidents Award for Community Leadership. Both Ginsberg and Franklin were lauded for their contributions to the college, either financially or through partnerships, giving students resources to attend the school and to receive internships and job training. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) A song supposedly promoting the use of marijuana is now in the crosshairs of the governments war against drugs. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) wants 18-year-old rapper Shanti Dopes song Amatz banned from the airwaves nationwide. The agency said in a statement that PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino has written last May 20 to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit and ABS-CBN Corporation to stop airing and promoting Amatz. "When I heard Amatz, alam ko 'yan eh that is referring to drugs, 'yung tama ng drugs," Aquino told CNN Philippines. "Nung tiningnan ko 'yung lyrics, it was indeed something na pino-promote nila, 'yung kagandahan ng marijuana and other illegal drugs." [Translation: When I heard Amatz, I know that is referring to drugs, the high caused by drugs ... When I looked at the lyrics, it was indeed something they were promoting, the joy of using marijuana and other illegal drugs.] Aquino said he first heard of the song while watching ABS-CBN's Sunday noontime variety show ASAP. The PDEA particularly took offense at two lines in the song which went, Lakas ng amats ko, sobrang natural, walang halong kemikal, and Ito hinangad ko lipadin ay mataas pa, sa kaya ipadama sa'yo ng gramo, 'di bale nang musika ikamatay. [Translation: I am so high, its all natural, there are no chemicals I want to soar even higher than where a gram can take you, regardless if music kills me.] "Parang ipino-promote nila na marijuana can be used recreationally. So 'yun ang mali. 'Yung mga bata ngayon, kapag narinig 'yung kantang iyan, somehow may epekto 'yan eh, especially siguro 'yung mga nakagamit na, the more na gagamit sila at 'yung iba naman magiging curious na most likely they will also use," Aquino said. [Translation: It's like they're promoting that marijuana can be used recreationally. So that's wrong. If kids get to hear this song, somehow it has an effect on them, especially on those who have already used drugs, the more that they will use, while others would be curious and they would also most likely use.] Taken out of context? Shanti Dopes management, however, said authorities may have taken the lyrics out of context. His camp stressed the song does not promote marijuana use, and encouraged Aquino to listen to the whole record. In fact it clearly shows the persona taking a stand against illegal drugs, while at the same time pointing out that what has made him fly (so to speak) is not drugs, but music. By the time we reach the songs chorus, 'amatz' already refers to precisely the music through which the persona found his identity - not any form of drugs, but the natural high of creativity and knowing he is the only one who knows to do what he does, his team said in a statement. While anyone is welcome to interpret a song or any cultural text, it is also clear that for an interpretation to be valid, it needs to have basis, and must be within the context of the cultural text as a whole. To take apart a song and judge it based on certain lyrics that offend us is unfair to the songwriter; to presume that our reading of a song is the only valid one is offensive to an audience that might be more mature than we think, the statement further read. Shanti Dopes camp added the ban will only set a dangerous precedent for artistic freedom. Aside from Amatz, the anti-drug agency also recommended that similar songs be banned from airing. Aquino said artists, radio stations and TV networks should me more responsible. "Hindi dapat eere ito sa any form of social media. Hindi pwede sa TV, hindi pwede sa radyo. Hindi pwede 'yung mga ganitong kind of music na ito at dapat hindi natin tinatangkilik itong mga klaseng artists," he said [Translation: This should not air in any form of social media. It should not be on TV, it should not be on radio. This kind of music should not be allowed and we should not be patronizing these kinds of artists.] Aquino earlier said he is willing to have a dialogue with Shanti Dope, Sean Patrick Ramos in real life, to educate him on the ill effects of illegal drugs. This is not the first time that a government official criticized an artist over a song which supposedly alludes to drug use. In 1995, Senator Vicente Tito Sotto III called out the Eraserheads over their hit song Alapaap, which he said referred to the use of drugs. CNN Philippines Correspondent Paolo Barcelon contributed to this report. 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for restoring voting rights to those currently in the prison system. Hes the only candidate to do so, and hes right. In Michelle Alexanders seminal work, The New Jim Crow, she tells the story of Jarvious Cotton, a black man disenfranchised by our criminal justice system: Cottons family tree tells the story of several generations of black men who were denied the most basic freedom that democracy promises ... Cottons great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Ku Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting by Klan intimidation. His father was barred from voting by poll taxes and literacy tests. Today, Jarvious Cotton cannot vote because he, like many black men in the United States, has been labeled a felon and is currently on parole. ANSONIA Listen up delinquent taxpayers: the city is about to give you the boot if you dont pay your motor vehicle taxes. The city recently approved an agreement with TaxServ Capital Services LLC and VioAlert Systems LLC that will take effect June 1. That means if you owe back taxes on your motor vehicle, you risk having your car immobilized with a wheel-locking device known as the boot. According to Tax Collector Johanna Figueroa, demand notices for payment were mailed earlier this year to residents who owe back taxes, notifying them of their open balances, and any delinquent accounts have been turned over to TaxServ Capital Services. Those taxes are due by May 31. Figueroa asked those who owe to step up and make good on their accounts sooner than later. I am asking for taxpayers to make payment in full to avoid the additional penalties that will come with the immobilization program, said Figueroa. Figueroa said to date there is $300,654.32 in uncollected taxes for the 2017 motor vehicle list, with a collection rate of 91.65 percent, and $88,284.92 in uncollected motor vehicle supplemental taxes, with a collection rate of 83.78 percent. Figueroa said since the tax notices were mailed out, some people did pay up, about $30,680 in back taxes. Mayor David Cassetti earlier this year said the city wanted to be more aggressive in boosting its annual collection rate for motor vehicles. Partnering with the two agencies wont cost the city a dime, either, he said, as fees and program costs will be paid for by the scofflaws. Economic Development Director Sheila OMalley had said the boot program has proven to be successful in several area towns and cities, including Bridgeport, Danbury, Waterbury and West Haven. The way the program works is this: vans mounted with license plate recognition devices drive around the city, scanning for plates listed in the citys delinquent tax database. A metal, claw-like boot is then placed on the wheels of the vehicles owned by delinquent taxpayers, immobilizing the vehicles. Notices are placed on the vehicles with instructions on how to pay the outstanding taxes and have the boot removed. Once the taxes are paid, the boot typically is removed within an hour. More information about the immobilization program can be found online at the citys website. jean.sos@snet.net Disgraced former Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino -- who resigned after being caught on tape making racist and homophobic remarks -- has changed his political affiliation back to Republican. Saudino appeared at a meeting of the Bergen County Republican Organization this week and was greeted with enthusiastic applause, according to the New Jersey Globe. BCRO Chairman Jack Zisa said in a statement obtained Thursday that Saudinos decision to register as a Republican was his personal decision and his alone. Saudino, Zisa said, has not been promised anything in return for any help he may offer the organization. The former sheriff did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Saudino went back to his Republican roots because he has strong disagreements with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration over how they approach law enforcement and particularly how they address the issue of illegal aliens and their impact on the community, Zisa said. Saudino was first elected Bergen County Sheriff in 2010 as a Republican. He was reelected under the same party in 2013. But in 2014, he appeared at a union rally where he told members to vote for James Tedesco, the opponent of then-Bergen County Clerk and his former Republican running mate Kathleen Donovan. Saudino and Donovans relationship soured over PBA contract negotiations and the merger of the Bergen County Police and the Bergen County Sheriffs Department. Saudino later apologized but in Jan. 2016, ahead of his November bid for a third term, Saudino joined the Democratic party. He resigned from office in September of 2018 after a tape surfaced of a candid conversation about Murphys inauguration where Saudino can be heard saying, under Murphys policies, the blacks will do whatever the f--k they want. He also says Attorney General Gurbir Grewal only got appointed to his position because he wears a turban, and asked if Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver is gay. Saudino apologized but did not immediately step down despite Murphy, Tedesco, Grewal, the Bergen County Freeholder Board, and others calling on him to resign. Zisa said this week that he is disturbed by what he heard on the tapes. I do not condone Mr. Saudinos remarks and those remarks do not reflect the policies or attitudes of Bergen County Republicans, he said. Not everyone in the party was happy with its newest member. Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac -- whose town was involved in its own racist rant scandal over remarks make by its former Police Chief, Michael Cioffi -- was one. There is no place in the Bergen County GOP for someone who spews racist hatred as Mr. Saudino clearly did while Bergen County Sheriff," Kranjac said. The mayor also took the opportunity to make a jab at the Englewood Cliffs Democrats, who he says, recently protected and financially rewarded disgraced Police Chief Cioffi and other officers in their racist anti-Asian rants and actions. "The Englewood Cliffs GOP will never tolerate racism or sweep it under the rug, he said. Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Two gamblers filed a lawsuit against SugarHouse Casino in federal court Wednesday claiming broken card shuffling machines and illegitimate decks of cards caused them to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars while playing at the Philadelphia casino. William Vespe, of Cherry Hill, and Anthony Mattia, of Philadelphia, say that over an eight-month period of gambling at SugarHouse, they lost about $250,000 because of faulty decks and machines. SugarHouse breached their duty" to provide both a fair wagering environment and a level playing field for wagering, according to the lawsuit The suit references that SugarHouse was fined $100,000 in July 2018 for using illegitimate decks" decks with too many cards or missing cards. At hearings by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Sugarhouse also admitted that employees failed to properly address warning lights on automated shufflers used at blackjack, poker and mimi-baccarat tables in seven incidents between May 2017 and January 2018. During this period, Mattia claims Sugarhouse was at fault for his losing $147,026 while gambling. Vespe claims that during this period, he lost $103,844. Mattia and Vespes claims include negligence, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of good faith and fair dealing, fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. The thrill in playing table games at SugarHouse is knowing that while the odds are against them, they can still beat the house, Steven Feinstein, an attorney for the men, said. But that all goes out the window when a casino uses broken equipment or illegitimate decks as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board previously found SugarHouse to have done. Both men are seeking damages from SugarHouse and its parent company, Rush Street Gaming. The integrity of our gaming operations is of the utmost importance. We have disciplined or terminated the employees responsible, and revised procedures to help prevent recurrence," a spokesperson for the casino said Thursday. "We deny the claims made by the individuals in this lawsuit, and cannot comment further on pending litigation. Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips. A well-known Jersey Shore bar that closed nearly two years ago is no longer standing. According to the Seven Mile Times, construction crews began the demolition of the building that formerly housed Jacks Bar in Avalon Wednesday. The bar, which was located on at 3601 Ocean Dr., ceased operations in 2017. On May 20, 2017 they broke the seal for the last time at Jacks Place in Avalon. On May 22, 2019 at 10AM they broke the... Posted by Seven Mile Times on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 Avalon Business Administrator Scott Wahl said the demolition permit for the property was issued Monday, with Jacks Place completely demolished Wednesday. Jacks was a long time hang out for people who lived in the town as well as those who came to the shore town to visit. The establishment was not always known as Jacks. According to the Avalon History Center, it was previously known as Gallaghers Pub and the Black Eagle before taking the name Jacks Bar. Wahl added there currently are no applications or permits submitted to the towns Planning and Zoning Board for future use of the property. Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews or on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips Lakewood Townships exploding demand for busing private school students has crossed into neighboring Toms Rivers, where the school district is expected to pay more than $1 million next year in transportation expenses for private school students. The districts 2020 budget includes $1.1 million in stipends it expects pay to families of students the district is supposed to transport to private schools, business administrator William Doering said. The stipends, which the district is allowed to pay in lieu of actually busing the students, are only partially reimbursed by the state, leaving Toms River to absorb the cost" of several hundred dollars per student, Doering said. The rising transportation budget in Toms River is the latest sign of Lakewoods booming Orthodox Jewish community stretching into neighboring areas. The majority of Toms Rivers private school students are Orthodox children who attend yeshivas in neighboring Lakewood, according to the district. And while Toms River paid transportation stipends for just 150 students five years ago, it budgeted for 1,100 stipends next year, Doering said. The district has few options for how to handle the increased demand for private school transportation. Thousands of private school students across New Jersey get bused to school or receive stipends, and the Orthodox families in Lakewood and Toms River are tax paying residents who are entitled to busing to private schools under state law. But whats made the situation in Lakewood so controversial and expensive is the size and intricacy of the busing demands. The township has about 6,000 public school students compared to more than 30,000 students in private schools, by the far the most disproportionate rate in the state. And strict requirements in the Orthodox community lead to girls and boys in the same family riding on different buses to more than 100 different private schools scattered throughout the 25-square-mile township. An Asbury Park Press analysis in 2018 found that during one hour on a single residential block 35 school buses picked up 177 students, all part of 1,300 routes and 13,600 miles a day to get private school students to school. Though the demand for private school transportation isnt anywhere near that much in Toms River, the district has said it may consider running bus routes in the future instead of paying the stipends an approach thats been taken by nearby Jackson Township. The Lakewood Neighbors coalition, a group dedicated to solving civic problems and sharing positive stories about Lakewood, said the problem is the states school funding formula, which gives districts no funding for private school students. "While the Orthodox families in Toms River and Lakewood pay the public school taxes (on top of their private school tuition), their children are not counted in the public school funding formula, even though the school districts must subsidize the busing and cover other services for these children, Norris Clark, a spokesman for the group, said in a statement. Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Q. We are divorced and we pre-approved a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). How does one actually get the court order for it? Not married anymore A. This shouldnt be a tough task. A QDRO is a court order that grants one spouse a portion of the other spouses employer-sponsored retirement account. Generally, getting the QDRO drafted and pre-approved is the more difficult part of the process, said Thomas Roberto, a family law attorney with Adinolfi, Molotsky, Burick & Falkenstein in Haddonfield. He said if you have already cleared these hurdles, getting the QDRO signed and certified should be simple. Once a QDRO has been pre-approved by a plan administrator, it can be sent to the court to be signed by a New Jersey Superior Court judge, Roberto said. The pre-approved QDRO can be mailed to the judges chambers, with a copy provided to the other party, with a request that the Court execute the QDRO and return it to the fling party with a `gold seal, which is generally required to confirm the QDRO has been certified, he said. Once it is signed by the judge and filed with the court, the QDRO becomes a court order. The court will mail the signed QDRO back to the requesting party, and it can then be submitted to the financial institution for implementation, Roberto said. Roberto said if both parties are in agreement with the terms of the QDRO, it may be best for both of them to sign the QDRO themselves before submitting it to the court. This can help avoid claims that one party did not have notice of the QDRO, or that the QDRO was submitted without their consent, which could potentially lead to litigation down the road, he said. Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com. Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter. UPDATE: New footage shows tense traffic stop that led now-indicted cop to fatally open fire on car The attorney for the Newark police officer who killed a driver in January said his clients decision to jump out of his cruiser three times during the pursuit to shoot at the car was a heroic act of bravery and courage. But grand jurors had another name for it: aggravated manslaughter. They indicted Jovanny Crespo, 26, on that charge and several others related to the Jan. 28 shooting of Gregory C. Griffin, 46, and Andrew Dixon, 35. Griffin died from a gunshot wound to the head. Crespo maintains one of the two men in the car pointed a gun at him multiple times during the chase. Griffin fled a traffic stop that night after another officer reported seeing a gun in the car, and the cruiser in which Crespo was a passenger was one of several that gave chase. Video from Crespos body camera shows the excited officer jumping out of the moving cruiser to fire at the vehicle whenever it slowed or stopped, and urging the driver of the cruiser, Officer Hector Ortiz, to cut off the vehicle. Ortiz repeatedly tells Crespo to relax and stay in the car, the video shows. A still image from a police dashboard camera shows Newark Officer Jovanny Crespo, also pictured in a mug shot at left, fire into a vehicle Jan. 28, killing the driver and seriously injuring the passenger.Essex Co. Jail & Prosecutor Griffin had no pulse when police pulled him from the car and the semi-conscious Dixon, who was shot in the face, was initially in critical condition, according to authorities. Dixon was later charged with possessing a gun loaded with hollow-point bullets. "Our client remains wholly perplexed as to why the state has opted to charge him criminally here, as do I, as his actions on the night in question were absolutely justified and in full accordance with the... Attorney General Guidelines dealing with high speed pursuits, Crespos attorney, Patrick Toscano, said Wednesday. That said, he remains resolute, valiant and confident. All police shootings are investigated by the county prosecutor, but the Essex County Prosecutor and Newark police took the unusual step in this case of announcing Feb. 26 that Crespo was suspended without pay and his actions would be reviewed by a grand jury to see if he should be indicted. Part of our ongoing improvement strategies are to increase our transparency and accountability," Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said in a statement Wednesday. "In that respect, we immediately turned over all the video camera recordings on the shooting incident to Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens and cooperated fully with the county investigation. As I have stated previously, the Officer Crespos actions immediately raised concerns for us and were inconsistent with our training and protocols. It should be noted that there were more than a dozen officers on the scene who acted professionally and appropriately and were not involved in the prosecutorial investigation. I think that is evidence that most of our officers understand the correct procedures, even in a high-adrenaline situation like this case, involving a car chase where police know a weapon is present. The unbiased and impartial evidence we turned over to the prosecutor were presented to the grand jury, which believed the evidence warranted further action. The citizens should have faith that the system is working. Immediately after indictments were handed down, Crespo was taken to the Essex County jail, authorities said. He has since been transferred to the Bergen County jail, where a sheriffs office spokesman said Crespo was appropriately housed in protective custody. He will spend at least a week in jail. The hearing on whether he should be jailed pending trial is scheduled for Tuesday, court officials said. The New Jersey Attorney Generals use-of-force guidelines discourages firing at a moving vehicle because of the risk to bystanders and passengers. The guidelines say officers should only fire on moving vehicles if there are no other options and there is an imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or another person. The video released Tuesday shows Crespo repeatedly telling other officers that one of the men pointed a gun at him and that Griffin tried to run him over. The video shows that no one from that vehicle fired any shots, and the windows are heavily tinted. Gregory Griffin, 46, of Newark, was shot and killed while fleeing a traffic stop Jan. 28, 2019.Family photo Griffins father, Alphonso Whitaker, said the officer overreacted and deserved to be charged. [Griffin] didnt deserve what that officer did to him, Whitaker said. Toscano said Crespo has lived in Newark his whole life and has family in law enforcement and lives for his job. A former first assistant Essex County prosecutor, Toscano said his client should never have been prosecuted. To all of those who have already vilified and convicted my client, might I state that a good law enforcement officer fights not because he or she hates what is in front of them, but because they love who stands behind them, Toscano said. So lets withhold judgment herein until a petit jury has heard the evidence and rendered a verdict, a verdict that assuredly will allow him to get back to work. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The Newark man killed in a police shooting in January repeatedly ignored police commands during a traffic stop before driving away, initiating the police pursuit that would end in his death, and four months later, the indictment of the officer who shot him. Footage of the initial police stop was made public Thursday by the Essex County Prosecutors Office. And while a gun in the vehicle isnt visible on the video, Police Officer Valerie Sanchez, who stopped the car for speeding Jan. 28, said that she spotted a handgun tucked between or under the legs of the driver before he took off. A gun was recovered from the car, authorities said. Grand jurors on Tuesday indicted Newark Officer Jovanny Crespo, 26, of Newark, on charges including aggravated manslaughter after reviewing body camera evidence and hearing from Crespo himself. Crespo and his partner were among the bevy of officers who joined the pursuit. His attorney maintains the shooting was justified because Crespo says one of the men in the vehicle repeatedly pointed the gun at him. That isnt visible in the video, and police noted that the car had tinted windows. Crespos body camera footage (below) shows him jumping out of a moving cruiser three times to run at the car and fire at it. After the first shooting, his partner driving the cruiser, Hector Ortiz, repeatedly tells him to relax and stay in the car. The new video (at the top of this story) shows Lopez stop the car around 11:15 p.m. at Clinton Avenue and Thomas Street. She tells the driver, Greg C. Griffin, 46, of Newark, to turn off the car. He only responds, Why? Then he rolls up the tinted window, which Sanchez pounds on. After he rolls it back down, she tells him to open the door, the video shows. Then she radios that she sees a gun, pulls her own gun and repeatedly orders the men to show their hands. Passenger Andrew Dixon complies, but Griffin keeps his right hand down near the gear shifter for approximately 20 seconds before placing it on the wheel, the video shows. When a second cruiser arrives, Sanchez reaches in to try to unlock the door and the car takes off, the video shows. At least four cruisers are actively pursuing the car, whizzing by one another at times. The final shooting took place at 54 Irvine Turner Boulevard, where video captured Crespo dragging the disoriented Dixon, who was shot in the face, out of the car. The video shows a chaotic scene as roughly 20 officers surround the car, some with guns drawn, some ordering the driver, who is clearly unresponsive, to get out of the car. After Dixon is handcuffed and on the ground, the officer who cuffed him knees him in the back while yelling, You f---ing bi---! according to Crespos body camera. The video shows two other officers grab that officer by his vest to pull him off the injured passenger. Another officers body camera later captured Dixon, lying on the ground asking, Why you shot me bro? Newark Officer Jovanny Crespo, left, is charged with aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of Gregory Griffin, right. (Essex Co. Prosecutor/Family photo)Essex Co. Prosecutor/Family photo Dashboard video also shows officers began chest compressions on Griffin about four minutes after the shooting, and both men were loaded onto stretchers at approximately the six-minute mark. In the aftermath of the shooting, the body camera video shows Crespo telling others that a man in the car pointed a gun at him and tried to run him over. Dixon was later charged with possessing a gun loaded with hollow-point bullets. Sanchez body camera captures her at the scene, alternately calm and upset and even fighting back tears at one point. It also shows another officer telling her in Spanish to not say anything. In a statement to NJ Advance Media Wednesday, Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said Crespos actions immediately raised concerns and properly resulted in the grand jury presentation. It should be noted that there were more than a dozen officers on the scene who acted professionally and appropriately and were not involved in the prosecutorial investigation, Ambrose said. Crespo is being held in protective custody in the Bergen County jail until a hearing Tuesday where the state will argue he should be detained pending trial. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. With Memorial Day weekend almost here, veterans and families and patriotic Americans will be paying their respects to those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation in wars past. Here are some events scheduled to commemorate the holiday: Bayonne May 26-27: Memorial Day services will take place at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church on Sunday at 9:15 a.m. and Monday at 8 a.m. The church is located at 39 East 22nd St. May 26: Ceremonies will be held at the Marine Corps Monument at Mayor James Donovan Memorial Park at 10:45 a.m. May 26: Starting at 11 a.m., ceremonies will be held at the memorial to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Stephen R. Gregg at the Stephen R. Gregg Bayonne County Park, followed by ceremonies at the Doug Lee ONeil tree, the Hiker monument (Spanish-American War), and the Grand Army of the Republic (Civil War) monument at 39th Street and Kennedy Boulevard, and the Monument to Living Veterans at Veterans Stadium Denis Christian Miranda Monument at 23rd and Avenue A. May 26: After the noon Mass at St. Henrys Roman Catholic Church, ceremonies will be held at the Marine Corps memorial in front of the church. May 27: Memorial services will be held at the Vietnam Veterans monument, at First Street (Veterans Way) and Trask Avenue, and the Monument to Living Veterans at Veterans Stadium Denis Christian Miranda Monument 23rd and Ave A at 8:30 a.m. May 27: The Memorial Day Parade will step off at 10:30 a.m. at Fifth and Dodge streets. The parade will go up Broadway and end at 32nd Street. Jersey City May 24: The Korean War Veterans of Hudson County will host a ceremony for all veterans at the Korean War Monument at Washington and Dudley streets at 10 a.m. May 24: The Friends of Triangle Park will host a Memorial Day event from 2 to 6 p.m. at the park. The event will included including taps and children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at the newly refurbished memorial called The Lost Boys of Greenville, dedicated to the 48 young men from the Greenville neighborhood who lost their lives in World War I. There will also be activities for children and pizza donated by Carmines Pizza Factory. May 27: The Lafayette Amvets Post 33 will meet at 10 a.m. at St. Marys Church atPacific and Bramhall avenues. A march will take place throughout the Lafayette area and return to the church for a 10:30 a.m. Mass. After the Mass, a memorial service will take place at Lafayette Park. A luncheon will then be held for all members, family, and friends at the Broadway Diner in Bayonne. May 27: The Holy Name Cemetery will host a Memorial Day Mass at 11 a.m., rain or shine. Holy Name Cemetery is located at 823 West Side Ave. May 27: The Jersey City Vietnam Veterans Committee will hostits 23rd annual Memorial Day Ceremony from 3 to 5 p.m. at the community center at Pershing Field, 201 Central Ave. May 27: The Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery invites the community to its annual Honoring Our Heroes Memorial Day Tribute & Concert, featuring The American Bombshells & friends at 1 p.m. This is a free public event and all are welcome. The Historic JC Cemetery is located at 435 Newark Ave. Weehawken May 27: The township will host its Memorial Day Parade and Wreath Ceremony, starting with the parade at 9:30 a.m. The parade starts at Highpoint and Hudson avenues and finishes at the Soldier and Sailor Monument on Boulevard East In case of rain, program and ceremony will be held at Weehawken High School gym, Liberty Place, at 11 a.m. Union City May 27: The city will commemorate Memorial Day with a ceremony at 9 a.m. at War Memorial Plaza, Park Avenue and 46th Street. Kearny May 23: The towns Memorial Day Parade is tonight at 6:30 p.m. The parade starts at the Kearny Post Office and ends at Veterans Row on Belgrove Drive. Guttenberg May 27: A Memorial Day service will be held at Monument Park and 70th Street and Boulevard East at 1 p.m. A barbecue event will follow at Waterfront Park, 7100 River Rd., North Bergen. Transportation will be provided. JERSEY CITY Dozens of local students, parents and teachers marched on City Hall Wednesday evening, demanding more transparency from the school district as the board works to close a budget gap while teachers brace for layoffs. The march, which was organized by Innovation High School senior Semon Makar-Zekry, High Tech High School senior Ariana Ortiz, and McNair graduate and Rutgers University student Jai Patel, started at the Grove Street PATH station and concluded at City Hall prior to the city council meeting. Were here to say that we dont have enough information; we dont understand what is going on, Makar-Zekry said. Were not putting the blame on anyone, we just need more information. The demonstration comes after about 600 teachers and staff in the citys school district were under threat of losing their jobs in March when the district adopted its preliminary budget for the 2019-20 school year and faced down a $120 million budget gap, including a $27 million cut in state funding. Then, during teacher appreciation week, the district sent more than 270 layoff notices. As of this week approximately 100 teachers are set to be laid off. The district has about 5,200 employees, including part-timers. Its tense, said Eddie Gass, a teacher at Dickinson High School. When you dedicate years of your life to the district you would hope instead of riffing everybody and then going back and rescinding (the layoffs) you would have thought they would have come up with a plan instead so they wouldnt have had to do that, Mark Azzarello, a teacher at School 3, said. But last week, a last ditch plan to save hundreds of jobs from the chopping block was passed after a nearly seven-hour meeting that drew hundreds of worried community members. The $638 million budget passed May 13 includes a mixture of cash from the citys new payroll tax and a portion of the expected revenue from the sale of the districts Claremont Avenue headquarters. Officials said at the time the plan would generate enough money to save all but about 100 of the threatened jobs. Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas in a statement said the district has been able to decrease the number of layoffs through several sources, including the $27 million certification of payroll tax on the evening of (May 13) by the city; $6 million projected first year revenues from the sale, lease or ground lease of the Claremont avenue office... (and) the release of $7 million of the projected $10 million in planned unemployment payments. Thomas said that officials estimate about 100 to 150 positions may still be affected. "Student/teacher ratios will remain consistent and the large scale layoffs that were planned are behind us now," he added. "The district administration is currently engaged with our operations efficiency auditors in finalizing the staffing model for the 2019-2020 which may result in the elimination of redundant positions or titles, consolidation and elimination of waste where possible among others to maximize efficiency." "Our job is to provide resources to the administration to ensure there are no layoffs, that's what we're working on," Thomas said. The budget increases the school tax levy by 10 percent to $136.5 million, which the district says that amounts to a $320 increase for the owner of a home with an average, $439,000 assessment. Local activist group Jersey City Together, however, said that number is really about $155. The group notes that the districts budget presentation on the tax hike cites the citys rateable base as $16.7 billion, when its actually $34.3 billion. Advocates have pushed the City Hall to start allocating revenue from numerous tax abatements to the district. Downtown Councilman James Solomon, who spoke at the demonstration, said if the city properly shared the abatement revenue with the schools, we would transfer, each year, an additional $30 million to the schools. Think about what could be done with that amount of money, he said. Meanwhile, the school board is suing New Jersey, alleging the state owes Jersey City hundreds of millions in school funding. The uncertainty brings this unnecessary chaos and makes it harder for the classroom to work, Ortiz said, a High Tech student and Jersey City resident. Enough is enough. Teachers have been through enough. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @cwmcdonald_. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. Theyre calling it the #TrevorEffect. When the Hoboken Middle School Community Book Club picked up Trevor Noahs Born a Crime the comedians memoir about growing as a biracial South African during and after apartheid students were immediately drawn to The Daily Show hosts story. Formed this winter, the HMS Community Book Club has some 110 members, including students, parents, and school staff. The group reads a book, discusses it online, and then meets at the school for a larger discussion, the schools first-year principal Harold Abraham said. "We started to pick books that we thought the community would be interested in and would foster conversation, Abraham said. And books that they would be able to relate to. Perhaps no book achieved that goal more than Noahs memoir. Now, the book club is appealing to The Daily Show host to come to the school to speak about his journey from apartheid repression to comedy fame. Noah, 35, was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother. His birth was a crime in and of itself, punishable by up to five years in prison under apartheid law. Im also mixed. I never had to go through this and seeing how some people have to face adversity like that, its very inspiring, Madison Gray, a Hoboken Middle School student, says in a two-minute video the school hopes will reach Noah. "He came out of this experience funnier than ever. Dozens of flags were retired at a flag-retirement ceremony hosted by Boy Scout Troop 200. The ceremony took place at Holjes-Sheppard Memorial Park in Lebanon Borough on May 20. The park is named in honor of two local, fallen heroes and members of Troop 200, Lt. Frederick Y. Holjes and Warrant Officer and helicopter pilot, Robert P. Sheppard who were killed during Vietnam. Local vexillologist and former Troop 200 Scoutmaster Larry Friend shared his extensive knowledge about the American flag and its history and explained the role of the Color Guard, the proper way to retire flags and flag etiquette. Mike Marosy, Troop 200 Scoutmaster joined Friend to retire the first flag. Troop 200 Historian Owen Maslanka introduced Ethan Lutz and Aidan Berson, who helped tell the story of Holjes and Sheppard, their journeys through scouts, the military and untimely deaths. As the flags were retired and members of the Lebanon Borough Fire Company looked on, attendees were invited to join in the ceremony. Federal drug investigators put a GPS tracking device on a Trenton mans vehicle so they could show how he traveled to Philadelphia where they watched him purchase heroin by the shopping bag and drive it back to Trenton, court papers allege. Robert M. Gbanapolor, of Trenton, and the man he was allegedly buying from, Duane Paulino-Escalera, were arrested last Friday sitting in Gbanapolors white Jeep near a home in northeast Philadelphia where theyd met before. Officers converged on the vehicle and found a box with individually-wrapped units of heroin stamped Hitman" in the backseat, and cash on the center console and in Paulino-Escaleras lap - he was in the passenger seat, federal charges against both men allege. The heroin weighed about 100 grams. Gbanapolor and Paulino-Escalera are each charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin in a case investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Both appeared in federal court in Trenton Monday, and Gbanapolor was detained pending trial, while Paulino-Escalera was released on $100,000 bond, court papers show. Federal authorities did not publicize the charges against the men. Gbanapolor, 32, is a convicted felon known to police in Trenton for his past drug and gun crimes. For one, in 2005 in which Trenton police caught him with a gun in his hand, he served nearly five years in federal prison. The charges against the men describe authorities investigating their alleged dealings since at least April, and document three prior transactions in late April and earlier this month that have similar allegations: Each time, Gbanapolor drives from his Trenton home to the same Philadelphia neighborhood, on Barbary Road, and meets with Paulino-Escalera, who gets into Gbanapolors Jeep holding a bag. When he exits, Paulino-Escalera is without the bag but has a bulge in his pants, in the shape of a large amount of cash, the charges state. Gbanapolor then drives back to Trenton and carries the bag onto the porch of his home. The court papers do not say how they got the court-ordered GPS device onto the vehicle. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. State authorities have handed down more than $700,000 in fines to two Newark-based trucking companies for illegal dumping. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday that Sinai Trucking and Keila Transport were both busted for setting up illegal solid waste transfer stations in Sussex County, then using those stations to pass off solid waste as clean dirt and sell it to unsuspecting customers. Sinai Trucking, its owner Angel Bravo-Gomez and president Anthony Gomez are on the hook for $527,500 according to the NJDEPs order. Keila Transport and its owner Gabriel Campoverde were fined $185,000 by the NJDEP in a separate order. Besides the fines, the two companies are ordered to clean up the contaminated fill and provide refunds to customers, according to NJDEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe. These firms benefitted financially by being paid to accept construction materials and other solid waste then deliberately misled customers by claiming it was clean fill, McCabe said. Both Sinai Trucking and Keila Transport ran illegal transfer stations at the same location on Houses Corner Road in Sparta. A NJDEP investigation found that Sinai Trucking accepted more than 50,000 cubic yards of waste at the site, while Keila Transport took in more than 50,000 cubic yards of waste as well. Between the two companies, the waste included plastic sheeting wastes, asphalt, wallboard, roofing materials, plastic scrap, and carpets among other debris. After taking that waste in at the Sparta site, the two companies then sold it as clean fill to customers across Sussex County. Sinai Trucking sold material to at least five residential properties in Fredon, Montague and Lafayette, according to the NJDEP, and possibly to other properties as well. Keila Transport, meanwhile, sold its waste as clean fill to a residential property in Fredon and possibly other locations, according to the NJDEP. The NJDEP also said that it worked with the Kearny Police Department as part of the dumping investigation. The Kearny police arrested Bravo-Gomez on April 4; he was charged with second-degree theft for passing bad checks. Due to recent crackdowns in illegal dumping in the New York City area and the economic advantages of fraudulently selling off waste material as clean fill, the DEP has stepped up its vigilance to ensure waste materials, often containing low-level contaminants, are not marketed and used as legitimate fill, said Richelle Wormley, the NJDEPs acting assistant commissioner for compliance and enforcement. The announcement comes after McCabe was in Vernon on Monday night to speak with residents who have been voicing concerns about a massive, 75-feet-tall pile of dirt and debris that the state has determined to be an illegal solid waste facility. It was a tense meeting, in which McCabe and the NJDEP were accused of not doing enough to address the site despite years of complaints by neighbors. It is unclear if Sinai Trucking and Keila Transport are connected to the Vernon dirt pile. Last May, a truck registered to Sinai Trucking flipped on Route 515 in Vernon, according to the New Jersey Herald, and the driver was charged with reckless driving, among other offenses. When NJ Advance Media contacted Sinai Trucking in January, the company denied doing any business in Vernon. In 2016, Sinai Trucking was found by the Port Authority to have 712 outstanding toll violations, totaling more than $74,000. Also last May, the Vernon Township Police Department received a complaint of a Keila Transport truck dumping at the dirt pile, according to records obtained by NJ Advance Media through a public records request. Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A former Middletown fire chief and investment manager who raked in $10 million from his own family, friends and fellow firefighters in a Ponzi scheme was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison. Vincent P. Falci, 59, of Middletown was convicted on Dec. 13, 2018 of three counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud, federal prosecutors said. Falci created and controlled investment funds under the names Saber Funds and Vicor Tax Receivables LLP in the early 2000s, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a release Early on, he targeted friends, family, policemen, firefighters and retirement funds for first responders and eventually Saber Funds grew to have more than 200 investors who poured more than $10 million into it, officials said. He told his investors that the Saber Funds were conservatively invested in tax liens which generated high returns with little risk, but he was actually diverting the money to himself, his family and other companies he controlled, Carpenito said. He also used the money for day trading and real estate investments, he said. Falci concealed losses from investors, so they kept trusting him with additional money as Saber Funds continued to grow. In early 2012, he started the Vicor Fund, and began targeting wealthier investors including financial industry professionals, and Falci ultimately raised $20 million from them, federal prosecutors said. In order to support his own lifestyle and repay investors the gains he had promised, Falci stole more than $10 million from the Vicor Fund between 2012 and 2016, Carpenito said. "At the same time, he reported fake investment gains to his investors on every monthly statement." Falci was able to hide his theft by moving funds to a fake company that he created to steal from investors and also forged emails and reports, and created fake assets for the fund, authorities said. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release by a federal judge and the restitution and forfeiture of the money he stole in the scheme will be determined later, the release stated. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. All lanes on the southbound New Jersey Turnpike in Middlesex County have re-opened nearly 12 hours after a tanker truck overturned and spilled fuel across the busy toll road. The tanker flipped near milepost 88.5 around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday night, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Lawrence Peele said Friday. The resulting diesel spill across the outer lanes of the Turnpike forced officials to close the southbound lanes until 11:12 a.m. Thursday while crews uprighted the tanker and cleaned the road. The tanker driver, a 33-year-old Jersey City man, was hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening. A tractor-trailer and a passenger van struck the tanker after it overturned, though the drivers of those vehicles were not seriously hurt, Peele said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Troopers began re-opening the southbound lanes around 11:12 a.m and had all lanes back open by about 11:30 a.m. The Turnpike was jammed for hours Thursday morning as all traffic was forced to use the inner lanes. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips The chief justice of New Jerseys Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the states judges to enforce tight controls over federal immigration officials seeking to arrest undocumented immigrants during routine court appearances. The top judge also ordered court staff to scale back the collection of information on the immigration status of people who appear in New Jersey courtrooms. In a directive sent to officials at state superior and municipal courts, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner noted that controversial courthouse arrests happen only on rare occasions in New Jersey and that ICE officials in the state have agreed to limit arrests at courthouses. Rabner said the directive brings courthouse policies in line with guidelines from state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who earlier this year issued his own directive curtailing law enforcement cooperation with ICE. The new rules come more than two years after Rabner complained to federal officials about the arrests of undocumented immigrants at courthouses in Passaic and Middlesex counties. Critics of the practice say targeting immigrants for arrest during routine court appearances discourages undocumented victims from reporting crimes and witnesses from testifying in cases over concerns that taking the stand could lead to their deportation. To ensure the effectiveness of the justice system, courthouses must be viewed by he public, all parties, victims, and witnesses as a neutral and safe forum to resolve disputes," Rabner wrote in his directive. Immigration officials counter they only use the practice sparingly when other attempts to locate the targets of their investigations fail. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, declined requests from Rabner and other top judges around the country to classify courthouses sensitive locations a designation currently applied to places like schools and churches, where ICE arrests are prohibited or severely limited. Rabners directive notes the director of ICEs Newark field office, John Tsoukaris, confirmed that ICE will minimize arrests in courthouses during a recent meeting. A spokesman for Tsoukaris said ICE has always sought to minimize arrests in courthouses. Arrest location determinations are based on case specific circumstances, said the spokesman, Emilio Dabul, in an email. The directive spells out new guidelines directing ICE officials to notify court staff in advance if they plan to conduct an arrest and to identify themselves and state the purpose of their visit when they arrive at New Jersey courthouses. It directs court security to request to see warrants when ICE does appear at courthouses, and to notify assignment judges and other officials when they become aware of ICEs presence. The directive also scales back the circumstances under which people are asked to disclose their immigration status in court paperwork. It removes questions about immigration status from certain court paperwork, noting that such information should only be collected when it is relevant to the case, such as during criminal matters or adoption proceedings. S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. By Abed Awad The near-complete ban of abortion in Alabama coupled with the proposed anti-abortion legislation spreading around the country bring into focus the destructive consequences visited upon womens rights by literalist religious doctrine justified by science cum legislating morality. This position on abortion is rigid allowing no room for grey areas. No room for disagreement. Sharia has a contribution to make to the debate on this very personal and emotive issue. Without an ecclesiastical hierarchy in Sunni Islam, there was no institutional monopoly over divine intent. For this reason, codification of the law a hallmark of Western law - was not a feature of the Sharia. This environment fostered and actually encouraged different interpretations of the law that in turn developed into full-fledged legal schools. Like every religious tradition, Islam considers life to be sacred. With the sacredness of life as a starting point, the scholarly opinions on termination of pregnancy depended on whether a fetus was aborted before being en-souled or after being en-souled. The majority of scholars prohibited termination once a fetus had been en-souled but differed on the issue of termination before a fetus was en-souled. To identify the moment a fetus is endowed with a soul, the scholars turned to the Quran and the Sunna for guidance. From a sperm in a well-guarded cavity, the Quran explained, it turns into a blood clot, the blood clot into a morsel that then turns into bones that later are clothed with flesh. (Q. 23:12) The Prophet Muhammed elaborated on the timeline of this process: Each one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of 40 days) and turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of 40 days) and then the angel is sent to breathe a soul into him. Guided by the Quran and the words of the prophet, the majority of scholars concluded that a fetus is en-souled at 10 days after the fourth month of pregnancy. A group of scholars concluded that terminating a pregnancy was either permitted without conditions or permitted with conditions before 120 days of pregnancy. Other scholars said before 80 days, while yet another group of scholars said before 40 days. Many of these scholars concluded that termination before a fetus is en-souled was simply disliked, that is, better not to do it but if you do there is no punishment. Ibn Aqil, a prominent 12th-century Hanbali scholar, for example, held that a Muslim woman is permitted to take medicine to abort a fetus before 120 days. The pluralism of the Sharia gave a Muslim individual discretion to choose which legal opinion to follow from a variety of different equally valid opinions. In the pre-modern Sharia setting, a Muslim woman would consult with one or more religious scholars and select among the opinions. Whether permitted, prohibited or disliked, all of these legal conclusions are valid. In the pre-modern period, no state or executive authority could dictate the opinion that a Muslim woman must follow. Terminating before a fetus was en-souled, therefore, was not automatically a sin. Violating the termination guidelines, furthermore, was not a crime. The scholars disagreed on the punishment for terminating a pregnancy after 120 days. Some held the punishment for the mother would be the paying of blood money for the fetuss legal heirs. Others also required the mother to pay expiation a charity assessed as a penalty for violating Gods rights. Some said the expiation is recommended, while others, determined it is obligatory. The Sharias flexibility was that it anchored the development of the law upon social, cultural, economic and familial circumstances. This provided grey area, wiggle room and nuance. Anchoring it in science - viewed as actual truth - leaves the faithful with almost no discretion. The Alabama and Missouri anti-abortion legislation seeks to legislate the religious beliefs of one group of Americans as the law of the land. For the majority of Americans, they do not want abortion to be outlawed whether on religious or secular grounds. These radical anti-abortion laws are inconsistent with Americas pluralistic society, which is adverse to legislating morality. The Alabama and Missouri laws would prohibit, for example, a Muslim woman that believes that terminating her pregnancy before 120 days would not violate her religious beliefs. I am sure this is surprising to most Americans but the Sharia rulings with respect to termination of pregnancy only applied to Muslims. Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims living in Islamic territories were subject to their own religious law. Turns out that the medieval Sharia was ahead of the times by being more flexible and accepting of different opinions on this issue than the modern militant pro-life crowd. Abed Awad is a New Jersey attorney, a national expert in Islamic law and an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. George Norcross, as expected, has declared war on the task force investigating corporate tax breaks, hiring a dream team of hot-shot lawyers to destroy it, and if that fails, to yank every tooth and claw so that it is rendered harmless. Why do you suppose Norcross, the political boss of South Jersey, would do that? He claims the task force is conducting a political hit job against him, and that he wants only fair play. But the more likely answer is that Norcross has something to hide, that he is afraid this task force will uncover wrongdoing in the award of $126 million in credits to two firms he controls. By choosing to go nuclear like this, he is fortifying suspicions that this task force is onto his scent, like hounds chasing a suspect. Gov. Phil Murphy obviously cannot back down now. The task force, along with an earlier report by the state comptroller, has established that the Economic Development Authority was a captive agency that seemed to measure its success by how easily it handed out $11 billion in subsidy awards, $1 billion of which will be doled out this year. For perspective, this years $1 billion amounts to about twice the revenue that would be produced by increasing the millionaires tax, the central debate in this years budget fight. The comptrollers report found that in 20 percent of the cases it sampled, the EDA could not show that the promised jobs were even created. The governors task force, in its first two public hearings, has presented evidence suggesting that companies made bogus threats to move jobs to other states in order to win subsidies, or to increase their size. If proven true, that would amount to criminal corruption on a staggering scale. Norcross claims that the task force has conducted a one-sided investigation, and there is unfortunately some merit to that claim. In its two public hearings, it presented testimony from critics of the program without calling any supporters. It heard complaints against several firms without offering those firms a chance to testify in response. It has relied on subpoenas in some cases before first trying to establish voluntary cooperation. It confirmed that it has referred at least one case to law enforcement, a move that raises suspicions about all the targets. But the task force chairman, Rutgers Law Professor Ron Chen, has listened to that critique and responded. He has invited the firms under scrutiny to testify at the next public hearing, having already invited them to submit affidavits. He is planning to hear testimony from supporters of the program, who argue convincingly that businesses would never have invested in cities like Camden without these subsidies. And hes said he will no longer announce criminal referrals in public. Norcross wants much more. His legal team wants the right to cross examine all witnesses, to present its own witnesses, and to bring in new evidence, claiming that state law gives them that right. We just want the due process rights were entitled to, said Michael Critchley, one of the dream team. Norcross is known for his scorched-earth tactics in all things. He seems now to be demanding a seat next to Chen, where he could serve as co-chairman of the task force. His team says they are open to settlement talks, but Murphy should not, and will not, agree to such extreme terms. Better to meet Norcross in court, with defiance. The real pity is that this dispute is paralyzing New Jersey government. This is a blood feud between the two most powerful men in the state, and they are both to blame for it. Murphy started the feud before he took office, picking a fight with South Jersey Democrats by tacitly supporting the teachers unions failed attempt to beat Senate President Steve Sweeney in the 2017 election. Given that Murphy needs Sweeney to pass any legislation, or confirm any appointment, that was the stupidest political move since Bridgegate. The governor added to the offense by failing to ensure a balanced inquiry of this program from the start. If he has a political end game in mind, it is a well-kept secret. But the arrogance of Norcross is breathtaking. He says the governor acts like the King of England. But Norcross is a power broker who has never won a single vote, while Murphy won 1.2 million in his 2017 landslide. So which man is acting like a king? The task force inquiry is essential, whether Norcross likes it or not. In the meantime, heres hoping that both men find a cure for their testosterone poisoning before our state government grinds to a halt. 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. Last week, Gov. Phil Murphy outraged many members of his own party when he conditionally vetoed a bill that would have required the recipients of so-called dark money to reveal their sources. That was bad enough. But then this week a new think tank named the Sunlight Policy Center began operations. Its first act was to haul $2.5 million of formerly dark money into the sunlight. The policy centers Mike Lilley spent some time looking through the minutes of the governors most prominent political ally the New Jersey Education Association and found out that the NJEA paid $2.5 million to support a group called New Direction New Jersey. That group just happens to support Murphys pet cause a hike in the so-called millionaires tax and it runs ads showing Murphys smiling face as he advocates that tax hike. They also support other aspects of his agenda. That was bad timing. But it got worse. For some reason known only to himself, the governor has begun a jihad against his fellow Democrat, South Jersey political boss George Norcross. Murphy set up a task force to probe economic development grants that went to various Norcross allies in Camden and two firms he controls. Such task forces meet all the time and put out reports that no one reads. But the head of this task force recently went so far as to suggest there could be a criminal referral coming out of the groups work. They now say they will no longer pursue such referrals. But the original statement outraged many members of Murphys Democratic Party. One was Ray Lesniak, a former state senator from Elizabeth who wrote the original legislation creating the Economic Development Authority. Lesniak sent out a press release yesterday stating that he supports the idea of examining the programs, but instead of the announced intent, the Task Force has been used as a vehicle to publicly cast criminal intent upon George Norcrosss long established and productive mission to transform Camden City from the poorest, most crime ridden municipality in the nation, into an attractive location for business development. When I called Lesniak, who is a lawyer, he said the gubernatorial task force overstepped its bounds The fact that the governors task force is bringing law enforcement into a political battle to score political points thats scary, he said. George Norcross is a fighter. Hes being attacked and hell fight back. Hell be accompanied in that battle by a key ally, Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat from Gloucester County. The governor has until the end of next month to enact a budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Sweeney told me the governors actions are not conducive to successful budget negotiations. The timing of this is so awkward, Sweeney said. If this was well thought out, he would have waited for the budget to get done. Then when the Legislature goes out of session you do the hearings. Instead Murphy seems to be using both the ads funded by the NJEA as well as the Norcross investigation to get another increase in the millionaires tax. Hes obsessed with it, said Sweeney. But again this is a question of timing. Sweeney said he originally supported that increase as well. But then the Trump tax reform limited the deductibility of SALT (state and local taxes) against federal taxes to $10,000 a year. Sweeney said that a recent report by Moodys Investor Services said New Jersey is the second most vulnerable state in the event of an economic meltdown. Thats why hes seeking spending reforms, Sweeney said. Im setting us up for the long term, he said. The answer from the administration is we need to raise more taxes. Sweeney suggested Murphy might be better off abandoning the hardball tactics and simply negotiating with his fellow Democrats. The biggest problem is that he worked at Goldman Sachs and I didnt, he said. Im a legislator; Im not an employee. Were more than willing to work with the governor, but were not going to be told what to do. It was for that reason, said Lesniak, that he titled his press release, Murphy Crossing the Rubicon v. Norcross. The reference is of course to Julius Caesar, who famously led his legions south across that river in Italy to take on his political enemies. Caesar won the initial battle. But eventually he ended up getting a knife in the back during a visit to the Senate. Murphys move southward could have the same end, said Lesniak. It was a mixed metaphor, said Lesniak. I also said hed meet his Waterloo. Either way, the die is cast. And it looks its going to come up snake eyes for the governor. Editors Note: This article, first published here, was produced as part of a partnership between WNYC and ProPublica. WNYC is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. A company that won the second-largest tax break in New Jersey history gave a false answer about being prohibited from working with a federal agency in sworn statements made to win $260 million in taxpayer assistance for a new plant in Camden. A review by WNYC and ProPublica found that Holtec International CEO Kris Singh responded no on certified forms submitted to the state in 2014 that asked if the applicant had ever been barred from doing business with a state or federal agency. The forms were submitted to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority as part of its successful application for tax breaks. In fact, the international nuclear parts manufacturer was caught up in a contracting investigation at the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority. In 2010, Holtec was barred for 60 days from doing any federal business and paid a $2 million administrative fine to the TVA, according to an agency report. Holtecs debarment marked the first time the agency had taken such action against a contractor. A TVA official pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alabama for knowingly and willfully making a false statement on a financial disclosure form, according to a Department of Justice press release from 2007. The official failed to disclose a payment from a contractor that originated with Holtec, the court documents said. Holtec later went on to rebuild its relationship with the TVA, and it secured additional contracts to supply casks that store spent nuclear fuel. Five days after WNYC and ProPublica contacted Holtec seeking comment about its incorrect answer on the application, an attorney representing the firm sent a letter asking the EDA to correct Singhs answer in the 2014 application. Kevin Sheehan, an attorney with the Parker McCay law firm, which represented Holtec in its application for tax breaks, wrote to the agency that the mistake was inadvertent. Joy Russell, Holtecs senior vice president of business development and communications, in an emailed statement called the incorrect answer an oversight by Singh. Holtecs company ethics policy, which is included in a court filing, warns employees to use great care in signing documents filed with government officials that could subject the company or the employee to legal problems. The application process for state tax breaks is supposed to include a rigorous review by EDA officials of all statements submitted by a company. In Holtecs case, emails recently released to WNYC and ProPublica show that the staff went back to the company to clarify questions about the companys financial calculations and raised concern that Singh was late in filing required certifications as the date approached for review of the EDA application. In a statement, an agency spokeswoman said the EDA does not comment on matters related to pending litigation. The board approved Holtecs application in July 2014 in a 10-0 vote, with two board members abstaining. It is unclear what steps the agency would have taken if Singh had answered truthfully or if Singhs false answer had been discovered during the staff review. In a statement, the EDA said the tax break law gave it the authority to take back tax credits, but stopped short of saying how it might proceed against Holtec. In the case of a representation in an application that is false, misleading or inaccurate in any material respectthe NJEDA could declare a default, potentially resulting in termination of the agreement and/or recapture of the tax credit, EDA spokeswoman Virginia Pellerin said in the statement. Singhs sworn statements were part of a checklist in which the company must attest that it has faced no criminal convictions or other legal issues. Singh checked no to all of the questions. Holtecs new factory in Camden is part of a resurgence for the poverty-stricken city pushed by South Jersey Democratic boss George E. Norcross III, who is an unpaid member of Holtecs board. Norcross brother Philip is managing partner at the law firm that represented the company in its EDA application, Parker McCay. Sheehan worked closely with Philip Norcross on the Holtec matter, according to the emails obtained by WNYC and ProPublica. The law firms work on behalf of several Camden projects is now under scrutiny, Tim Lizura, the former president and chief operating officer of the EDA, declined to be interviewed. The emails show Lizura closely monitored the Holtec application, presiding over meetings and phone calls between the agency and company representatives. Gov. Phil Murphy has appointed a task force to investigate the state tax break program. Its lead lawyer said a misrepresentation on an application could result in the cancelation of the tax break. First of all, the EDA can suspend the grant pending the investigation, said Jim Walden, special counsel to the task force. He declined to comment on the Holtec application specifically but agreed to discuss how the task force is handling problems with applications in general. If the relevant authority determined there was a misrepresentation, they can terminate the grant, they can seek fines and penalties and in circumstances where there is information about a willful failure to disclose, obviously theres a possibility of criminal penalties as well, Walden said. At a hearing this month, Walden said misrepresentations on tax incentive applications involving other companies have resulted in federal mail and wire fraud charges elsewhere in the country. The TVA case dates to 2001, when Holtec contracted with the TVA to design and build a storage system for spent nuclear fuel. A criminal investigation by the TVA inspector general led to the creation of a formal process to debar Holtec. It was the first debarment in the federal agencys 77-year history. In addition to being barred for two months and paying a $2 million fine, Holtec agreed to independent monitoring, according to the TVA inspector generals report. Holtec also was required to install a corporate governance office, the inspector general said in a report, to gauge what progress in business ethics the company was making, if any. Once those corrective actions were completed to the satisfaction to TVA, then the debarment was lifted, said Jim Hopson, a spokesman for the TVA. The case appears to have been a minor bump in the road for Holtec, which is one of three companies in the world that makes dry storage casks for nuclear waste. We currently have a great majority of the plants in the United States and more than 50 overseas that utilize our spent fuel technology, Singh, the Holtec CEO, said at a press conference in 2017. Holtec said in its explanation to the EDA that the company now holds a $300 million contract at the TVA and currently remains a valued client. Holtecs tax break in New Jersey has recently come under scrutiny. George and Philip Norcross are closely tied to the company and were involved in the 2013 legislation that helped Holtec obtain a tax break that was equal to its capital investment in Camden. Democratic power broker George Norcross addresses a conference in Jersey City in 2012. (Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/NJAM)Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com George Norcross has sway over the largest voting bloc in the state Legislature, and he is particularly close to Senate President Stephen Sweeney. The Economic Opportunity Act of 2013 removed the cap on the size of the awards and gave special advantages to companies moving to Camden. As a result, at least 12 companies with connections to Norcross received $1.1 billion in tax breaks. Camden is experiencing a tremendous buzz in the region, Norcross told WNYC and ProPublica in March. Theres a lot of enthusiasm going on in the city, and people, at least in our neck of the woods, are feeling pretty good about a place that is formally, embarrassingly, known as America's most dangerous city. George Norcross insurance company, Conner Strong & Buckelew, was the broker for construction insurance at the Holtec site, according to an invoice that was part of a lawsuit between Holtec and Joseph Jingoli & Son Inc., the construction contractor. Norcross has hired a team of well-known lawyers in New Jersey, and they filed a lawsuit this week trying to block the investigation by the task force appointed by Murphy into the tax break program. Another of Norcross brothers, U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, has received $18,750 in campaign contributions from Singh, the CEO, according to federal election records. Singh also loaned $250,000 to General Majority, a political action committee for which George Norcross raises money. This report, originally published by WNYC and ProPublica, was produced with support from the McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism, City University of New York. Its deja vu all over again in New Jersey politics. A year ago at this time, the leaders of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature blasted a pro-Gov. Phil Murphy groups TV ad campaign that aimed to put pressure on lawmakers as they headed into tense state budget negotiations. Not much has changed since then except an increased possibility of a state government shutdown. Both state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin have condemned a new marketing push by New Direction New Jersey meant to rally support for the governors insistence the next budget include a bump on the tax rate for people earning more than $1 million a year. Like last year, the lawmakers argue the campaign will scuttle budget talks that need to run smooth to avoid a shutdown ahead of the July 1 deadline for a deal. And Coughlin, D-Middlesex, refers to how the pro-Murphy group running the ads, New Direction New Jersey, refuses to disclose its donors. I am disappointed that allies of the governor continue to spend money from undisclosed donors, for the purpose of dividing legislators," the Assembly speaker said in a statement. It is especially concerning when there are legitimate policy differences in the most highly taxed state in the Union." For my part, I will continue to advance fiscally responsible legislation and to work with my colleagues to craft a state budget, without being distracted by negative political ads, especially when funded by outside special interest groups, Coughlin added. Coughlins statement came less than a day after Sweeney said the ad campaign wont force him to support the millionaires tax which he did under previous budgets under former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican. Running commercials is not gonna change my position," Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said on Wednesday. His comment came shortly after New Direction, which is run by Murphy confidants, announced its latest TV and digital push. This time, the group said it will spend more than $1 million between now and the end of June to lobby New Jerseyans on the governors proposal. A New Direction New Jersey spokesman, Phil Swibinski, argued a majority of the public supports a millionaires tax in the state. This initiative is about building public support for a movement to change the status quo that has failed the middle class for far too long, and going directly to who matters most in that discussion the people, Swibinski said in a statement. Tax fairness is supported by New Jerseyans across the political spectrum, and only in the back rooms of Trenton could advocating for a popular, much-needed policy be considered negative, he said. "This is a clear choice between protecting the connected and those at the very top or delivering tax fairness and property tax relief for the middle class and all those working to get there. The group has been at the center of another controversy: the use of so-called dark money in the state. New Direction New Jersey is hardly the only group in the state that uses anonymously funded entities to push positions or political agendas. But it stirred controversy when it went back on a pledge to reveal its donors, even though Murphy and Sweeney have called on them to do so. The group still hasnt made its contributors public though a report from Politico New Jersey showed the New Jersey Education Association, the states largest teachers union, donated $2.5 million to the pro-Murphy group. Murphy, a Democrat, wants to a state budget with a new millionaires tax to pump more money into education, transportation, and public-worker pensions. But leaders of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature oppose the measure. The stage is being set for a possible state government shutdown over the issue if the governor and lawmakers dont find agreement. New Direction New Jersey sparked turmoil a year ago after it ran similar pro-Murphy messages despite warnings from top lawmakers that the campaign would scuttle budget negotiations. Legislative leaders viewed it as an effort to push them during already tense talks. The state narrowly avoided a shutdown. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Gov. Phil Murphy all but said Thursday he wont sign another state budget unless it includes a tax hike on those who earn more than $1 million a year in New Jersey. Murphy declared hes done stumbling from one budget agreement to another each year as he put his foot down for a tax increase on the states top earners to help pump more money into education, transportation public-worker pensions and property taxes. If he sticks to his position, the Democratic governor sets the stage for a state government shutdown if the top leaders of the Democratic-controlled state Legislature continue to oppose the millionaires tax by the July 1 budget deadline. The bigger point is that Im not managing the state from May to June or the typical, you know, stumbling to June 30 to barely get over the goal line just so the we can do it again next year, Murphy said at an event in Burlington County about free community college tuition for poorer New Jerseyans. "Weve got to get to a higher and better place in this state and manage ourselves with a fiscal discipline and responsibility that we have not done in the past couple of decades," Murphy said. Asked if that meant a millionaires tax is a line in the sand and that hed refused to sign a budget by the end of next month without one, Murphy responded: "The line in the sand is without question: Enough of the old stumbling ways of putting Band-Aids on our fiscal house, so there is a line in the sand for that. Murphy then pointed out how Democrats sent former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, a millionaires tax five times in the eight years he served as governor prior to his tenure. Christie vetoed them each time. The only thing that has changed is the governor, Murphy said. If it was a good idea then its hard for me to see why its not a good idea now. His comments come after both state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, condemned a new marketing push by a pro-Murphy group meant to rally support for the governors insistence the next budget include a millionaires tax. Both men still oppose Murphys push for the hike. The state narrowly avoided a shutdown over the issue last year after the leaders struck a deal to increase taxes on people who earn more than $5 million a year, as well as on corporations. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. WASHINGTON Here is one issue that transcends an increasingly partisan Congress: Those annoying robocalls. So annoying in fact, that 97 senators of both parties overwhelmingly voted Thursday to go after them. Only one senator, Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, voted no. There are no red robocalls, said U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the bills chief Democratic sponsor. There are no blue robocalls. There are just robocalls that drive every family in America crazy. The bill would require phone companies to adopt technology to detect and block calls where a fake phone number is displayed, give law enforcement authorities three years to investigate and prosecute violations, and fine those convicted of breaking the law as much as $10,000 per call. The federal Do Not Call Registry has failed to solve the problem. There were 5.2 billion illegal calls in March alone, including more than 134 million in New Jersey, an average of 13 per person, according to YouMails Robocall Index. For too long, robocallers have been scamming the American public and getting away scot-free," said bill co-sponsor U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. "Its clear that our current laws are outdated and are unable to adequately protect consumers. Its about time we close the loopholes in our telemarketing laws and give law enforcement the authority to hold scammers accountable. The problem was so prevasive that when Menendez held a press conference in Newark last month to highlight the bill, he was interrupted by a robocall. The bill now goes to the House, where Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has introduced his own legislation to give the Federal Communications Commission new tools to address such calls. Pallone said robocall scams cost 22 million Americans some $9.5 billion in 2016. This is definitely bipartisan, said Pallone, D-6th Dist. "Both Democrats and Republicans want to address the issue. Both Pallone and Markey said they expected the House to pass its own version and have both chambers agree on a bill to send to President Donald Trump for his signature. This is something that has captured the American peoples interest, said the bills chief sponsor, U.S. John Thune, R-S.D. They will be the beneficiaries when its signed into law. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps treasury secretary acknowledged Wednesday that the Republican tax laws limit on deducting state and local taxes was having an impact and the administration would look at it. We are monitoring the impact on these economies and watching it carefully, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the House Financial Services Committee. He offered no additional details, but Trump said in February that hed be open to talking about making changes to the tax law, which capped the federal deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000. Mnuchin responded to a question from New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., whose home state was disproportionately affected by the Trumps tax law. The cap targeted high-tax states, most of which send billions of dollars more to Washington than they receive in services. New Jersey is challenging the measure in court. Mnuchin said that the impact was offset in many cases by raising the income level at which taxpayers would have to pay the alternative minimum tax, which had prevented them from claiming the deduction in the first place. The average deduction for state and local taxes exceeded the $10,000 limit in 20 of New Jerseys 21 counties, and more than four in 10 households in the state had taken advantage of the tax break. While the administration sought to portray the state and local tax deduction as a giveaway for upper-income taxpayers, 86 percent of those who took the deduction nationwide reported income of $200,000 or less, according to the Government Finance Officers Association. Meanwhile, no one making $200,000 or less benefitted from the tax laws reduction of the top tax rate or its reduction of the estate tax that falls on 1 of every 1,000 inheritances, those with a minimum value of $11 million. Also in response to Gottheimer, Mnuchin said the Internal Revenue Service would issue its final rule shortly on whether municipalities can use charitable funds to get around the deduction cap. Its a priority of ours, Mnuchin said. We want to make sure the legitimate use of charitable contributions is supported." The IRS, which has allowed such funds to provide taxpayer subsidies to private schools, proposed in August to disallow most of the tax benefits of accounts designed to get around the deduction cap. No New Jersey municipality has yet set up an account. The agencys ruling came only after top Trump administration officials intervened in the decision, according to the Treasury inspector general for tax administration. I really believe that Congress didnt give you or the IRS permission to interpret the new tax law as they see fit, Gottheimer said. Mnuchin said that his involvement in crafting the rule was not out of the ordinary. State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said last year that the state would go to court to block any ruling disallowing the charitable funds. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The Port Authority took a major step Thursday toward replacing the aging Port Authority bus terminal in Midtown Manhattan. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials said at a meeting Thursday afternoon they released a preliminary environmental scoping document for the bus terminal, which will start the process to evaluate three alternative plans to build a new one in its place. Kevin OToole, board chairman of the Port Authority, called it a momentous step for the agency and commuters. The bus terminal is a priority," OToole said of the authoritys commitment. The process, coupled with issues brought up by the public during a 120-day comment period, will help evaluate and determine which bus terminal option is best, said Rick Cotton, Port Authority executive director. One option is a build in place plan where two new floors would be added to the existing terminal, and renovations made to bus facilities that need concrete work. That plan would not require condemning property in the neighborhood and would be less costly than the earlier estimated $10 billion price tag. Two other options could use available space around the Jacob Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan, Cotton said. State Senate Majority leader Loretta Weinberg talks to the Port Authority board of commissioners on Thursday about building a new midtown Manhattan bus terminal. It represents the tip-off of the environmental review process, he said. Based on everything in the analysis, we will decide which alternative proceeds to the next stepdoes an alternative have the potential to provide the needed capacity for the bus terminal? Studies forecast an 30,000 additional bus commuters will use the terminal by the years 2025-2026. The document also is the culmination of meeting with neighbors around the bus terminal, elected officials and commuter groups and a working group to refine options. Well look at every alternative to provide capacity and avoid the taking of private property, Cotton said. Even though a bus terminal has been on the site since 1950, federal environmental approval of the replacement plans was needed to proceed. State Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, whos lobbied for a new bus terminal since 2014, called it an important step in the process to replace the terminal. We have gotten over the next hurdle with the scoping document and move on to the approval process, Weinberg said. She credited improved relations with the new CEO and OToole," that lead to the end of bi-state bickering that stalled the project. "We started fresh, to the advantage of New Jersey and New York, Weinberg said. Im very excited to hear about the scoping document. This has been a long road, just to get peoples attention on a bus terminal that 300,000 go in and out of in a day. Work needs to continue to move both the bus terminal and Gateway Rail tunnel projects, said State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union. Lets continue to work together on a bipartisan, bi-state basis to get these projects done, said Kean, who with Weinberg, is a member of the Port Authority Bus Terminal Bi-State Elected Officials Working Group. Its the right and essential thing to do for the tens of thousands of commuters who rely on the terminal to get to and from work safely. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney credited Weinbergs effort to keep the issue on the Port Authoritys agenda. Were thrilled. We need to see this as quickly as possible, Sweeney, D-Gloucester said. Both states deserve first class service. Public hearings will be held in early July and in early September in New Jersey and New York, and there will be a 120-day comment period by email, on the authoritys website and in addition to a drop-in office in the bus terminal, Cotton said. This is a major step toward creating additional capacity at the bus terminal to meet demand, said Janna Chernetz, Tri-State Transportation Campaign deputy director. With the lack of momentum in Washington D.C. on the Gateway project, this will be a critical piece of infrastructure for the region. Gov. Phil Murphy also praised the release, saying, it means that we can begin real stakeholder engagement hearing from commuters and advocates, from elected officials, and from our partners in labor. In 2014, Weinberg took then Authority chairman John Degnan on a tour of the terminal and the problems commuters endured on a daily basis. Degnan started a $90 million quality of commute program to correct some of the terminals more immediate problems, while pursuing construction of a replacement. The Port Authority just added another $10 million for more work to keep the terminal functioning until it is replaced. Planning what type of facility would replace the bus terminal has been a long process, fraught with political gridlock between New York and New Jersey officials and concerns about condemning property of residents and businesses in the neighborhood around the terminal for a new building. The Port Authority held a worldwide design competition for a new bus terminal, but none of the concepts were deemed a winner. Meanwhile Weinberg and bus terminal backers were left disappointed when the current Port Authority 10-year capital plan included funding to design a new bus terminal and begin construction, but not enough to complete construction. Actual construction wont be funded until 2026, when the Authority drafts the next capital plan, although Weinberg and other New Jersey officials believe some construction could start before that plan is adopted. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison for grabbing a young girl off an Elizabeth street and sexually assaulting her before a teacher intervened to stop the attack. Jair Ramirez must also register as a sex offender under Megans Law and be under parole supervision for life after being sentenced to the maximum prison term by Superior Court Judge Daniel R. Lindemann. Society needs to be free of the risk of this happening, the judge said at sentencing. The terrifying assault unfolded Sept. 30, 2016 around 8 a.m. as the then-10-year-old girl was walking to school, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor, supervisor of the Special Victims Unit who handled the case. Ramirez approached the child in the 200 block of Orchard Street with pants unzipped and exposed himself. The 43-year-old attacker grabbed the girl and tried to drag her down an alley when an alert Elizabeth Public Schools spanish teacher, who lived in the area, saw what was happening and yelled to stop him while alerting others, Lawlor said. Ramirez threatened the teacher and fled. The teacher happened to need to move her car at same time of the attack. Were lucky that she was there, Lawlor added. City police and county SVU detectives identified Ramirez as the assailant and arrested him soon after the assault. The girl, who needed months of therapy and remains fearful of walking in public, returned to face Ramirez at Wednesdays sentencing hearing, according to prosecutors. The girl didnt know if she would ever see [her mother] again, Lawlor said in a statement. And mom thought this was a safe place to allow her 10-year-old daughter to walk to school. Ramirez, who prosecutors described as having an extensive criminal record spanning two decades, was convicted in February of second-degree sexual assault, second-degree luring, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree lewdness. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters A week after arresting a teenage murder suspect, investigators have arrested two more people and are searching for another in an Upper 9th Ward shooting that killed a 17-year-old girl. Police this week arrested Joshua Augillard, 20, on suspicion of second-degree murder and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Terrica Moss, on a charge of accessory to murder, Orleans Parish court records show. The NOPD is looking for Reginald Blanton, 18, accused of conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder in the March 29 shooting death of high-school student Tyneisha Muse. The accusations against Augillard, Moss and Blanton follow last weeks arrest of 19-year-old Corey L. Harris, who confessed to the killing and identified Augillard and Blanton as his accomplices, according to an affidavit for Augillards arrest warrant. NOPD arrests man in Upper 9th Ward shooting that killed 17-year-old Tyneisha Muse The killing occurred about 7 p.m. March 29, as Muse and an 18-year-old man, said to be her boyfriend, were in the 3500 block of North Prieur Street. Responding officers found Muse fatally shot in the back and lying prone at the scene, roughly a block from Bunny Friend Park. The teen girl was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. Muse does not appear to be the intended target of the shooting; instead, Harris told police that he, Augillard and Blanton had sought out the 18-year-old man who was with Muse at the time of the shooting. The 18-year-old, who was struck in the shooting, had made death threats against Harris on social media, according to Harris statement to police. The 18-year-old suffered two gunshot woundsone of them a graze woundto his upper body, the arrest documents show. A third person at the scene was not injured but was sitting in a vehicle that got struck by gunfire, police said, leading to additional charges for Harris and Augillard, the suspected gunmen. Harris and Augillard are each accused of two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage to property. NOPD arrests man in Upper 9th Ward shooting that killed 17-year-old Tyneisha Muse Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Augillards arrest documents did not indicate how police developed Harris as a suspect but said that Harris was found with guns linked via ballistic testing to casings found at the murder scene. Following his May 15 arrest, Harris named Augillard and Blanton as his accomplices. According to arrest documents for Augillard, sworn by NOPD Homicide Detective Eric Illarmo, Harris told police that Augillard also fired a gun during the deadly shooting. A warrant for Augillards arrest was obtained May 15and he was captured several days later, after police found him in a New Orleans East home with his girlfriend, Moss. Moss is accused of acting as an accessory to murder after police say she told a homicide detective on Sunday that she did not know Augillards location. On Monday, when police officers checked the home on Avalon Way, Moss answered the door and denied that Augillard was present. Officers then spotted Augillard leaving through the homes back entrance and took him into custody, according to his arrest documents. Moss told police that she knew Augillard was wanted on a murder charge but that she did not know he was in the home when officers arrived at the door. Both Augillard and Moss were arrested Monday and booked into the Orleans Justice Center jail. Augillard was additionally booked with simple burglary in a separate crime, as well as warrants out of Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, court records show. He remained in jail Thursday with his bond set at $815,000. Harris also remained in jail, his bond set at $660,000. Moss, whose bond was set at $2,000, was not in jail as of Thursday afternoon, according to jail records. A booking photo of Moss was not immediately available. Blanton remained at large. He has open charges of illegal possession of stolen things and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in connection with an April crime, according to Orleans Parish court records. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest May 15, after he failed to appear for a hearing on those charges. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Reginald Blanton is asked to call NOPD Homicide Detective Eric Illarmo at 504-658-5300 or submit an anonymous tip to Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP. Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. A former landlady to Chris Roberts, the indicted ex-member of the Jefferson Parish Council, pleaded guilty Thursday (May 23) to lying on her income tax return. Patricia Hargis, 70, admitted in federal court that she told the Internal Revenue Service her adjusted gross income in 2015 was $113,574 even though she knew it was higher, and that she had similarly under-reported her income for the preceding four years. Hargis is a collateral defendant in a lengthy investigation that produced a 29-count indictment against Roberts on May 9. Roberts resigned from the council after 20 years in political office and pleaded not guilty Monday to tax evasion and wire fraud charges. Neither is named in the others indictment, suggesting prosecutors have no evidence that Roberts performed illegal political favors for Hargis. Feds Chris Roberts probe alleges his former landlady lied on her tax return U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon ordered a pre-sentence investigation of Hargis and scheduled her sentencing for Aug. 22. By law, Hargis faces as long as three years in prison and a fine that could reach $250,000, but maximum penalties in federal court are rare for first-time offenders. The defense is hoping for no more than 18 months in prison, perhaps just probation, if she pays her back taxes and penalties. Chris Roberts, hustler - not Chris Roberts, politician - is the new defendant in federal court Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Hargis manages a Gretna condominium building where Roberts lived until he moved out in November. She told Lemmon she also is a real estate developer and owns rental property. She admitted she did not report to the IRS some business income and payments to her from a company called Bingo Things Inc. Hargis once operated a Terrytown bingo hall, The New Orleans Advocate has reported. Although charged with under-reporting income only for 2015, she admitted it was part of a course of conduct of concealing Bingo Things income for 2011 through 2014. For all five years, she collectively avoided paying $110,810 in taxes, according to court records. . . . . . . . Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education plus other odds and ends. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Two men killed Tuesday (May 21) in separate shootings in Algiers and Central City have been identified by the Orleans Parish Coroners Office. Jeremy Sanders, 23, was killed in an apparent drive-by shooting near the busy Algiers intersection of General Meyer and Ogden avenues, the coroner said. Two others were wounded in the shooting, New Orleans police said. Derrell Washington, 31, was killed in a shooting in the 2100 block of Willow Street, in Central City, the coroner said. In the Algiers triple shooting that resulted in Sanders death, NOPD said two occupants of two cars on General Meyer Avenue engaged in a shootout that began at West Homestead Drive and ended near Flanders Street. The driver of a gray Acura sedan pushed one of his passengers out of the vehicle near a New Orleans Fire Department station and then struck a black Mercedes SUV near Horace Street. Another passenger fled the scene, police said. The driver -- now identified as Sanders -- was killed, and the two passengers were injured, police said The Acura TL, damaged in the front and riddled with more than 20 bullet holes on the drivers side, was in the middle of General Meyer westbound. Blood could be seen on the drivers door. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Little information about the Central City shooting was released by authorities, other than that Washington was shot more than once to his upper body and officers found him outside. He was taken by EMS to a hospital, where he died. The shootings occurred about eight and a half hours apart. Police responded about 2:50 p.m. to the General Meyer scene, where traffic was blocked as they investigated. Officers were called to the Central City fatal shooting about 11:15 p.m. Anyone with information about either homicide is asked to contact NOPDs Homicide Division at 504-658-5300 or provide information anonymously through Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. Staff writer Hanna Krueger contributed to this report. A New Orleans judge on Thursday (May 23) sentenced Tyrance Chancellor to 80 years in prison for manslaughter in connection with a 2016 shooting at a New Orleans East apartment that left a 24-year-old dead. Chancellor, 37, was convicted in January in a shooting that killed Hasahn Shawl. Chancellor was acquitted after trial of obstruction of justice, a charge that stemmed from prosecutors contention that he tried to hide the murder weapon. Authorities said Chancellor and his nephew, Jaquin Thomas, forced their way into a womans apartment at the Chateau dOrleans complex on Chef Menteur Highway around 3:30 a.m. on July 21, 2016. The two were texting the woman and her friend hours before the shooting, and were angry because the women stopped responding, prosecutors said. Shawl was at the apartment getting his hair done by one of the women, according to testimony. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Thomas, who died by suicide inside the Orleans Parish jail three months after his arrest, fired the shot that killed Shawl, authorities said. Prosecutors said at Chancellors trial even though he didnt pull the trigger, he was guilty of at least manslaughter. At least twice before his trial began, Chancellor turned down an offer to plead guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a 20-year sentence. He faced a maximum of 40 years in prison for manslaughter, but court records show prosecutors introduced evidence Thursday that showed Chancellor had a previous felony conviction. Criminal District Judge Karen Herman sentenced Chancellor to 80 years in prison as a multiple offender. Court records show Chancellor was restrained due to his physical resistance in court. New Orleans Police have arrested a suspect in connection to the fatal shooting of a 44-year-old man visiting the city from Denmark. Brandy Myles, 36, is currently in custody in Jefferson Parish on unrelated charges and has been re-booked in the death of Poul Hansen, according to NOPD. Myles faces a charge of second-degree murder. NOPD 7th District officers were called to a shooting in the 4200 block of America Street at about 6:05 a.m. on May 18. They found a man lying in the street with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, NOPD stated. Man shot dead in New Orleans Saturday IDd as Danish motorcycle tourist The Orleans Parish Coroners Office has identified Hansen as the man who was killed. WKRG News 5 in Mobile reported Monday that a biker club from Denmark, Blood of Heroes, reached out to a local biker blog with concerns about Hansens whereabouts. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Henrick Larsen, from the club, told WKRG Hansen was last seen by his fellow members Friday on Bourbon Street and had apparently planned to go to a jazz concert. The Blood of Heroes group was in New Orleans as part of a coast-to-coast tour of the United States. According to WKRG, the club indicated Hansen was married and had two children. NOPD did not elaborate on how detectives determined Myles was a suspect in the case. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact NOPD Homicide Unit Detective Eric Illarmo at 504-658-5300, or to call anonymously to Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP. Man fatally shot in the head and back in New Orleans: NOPD More Louisiana students are entering college after high school, according to results released Wednesday (May 22) by the states Department of Education. A record 25,083 public high school graduates from the class of 2018 enrolled into college in the fall immediately following graduation. The newest data shows an increase of 1,566 first-time freshmen over the class of 2017 and an increase of 4,626 over the class of 2012, the department stated. The number of graduates in higher education after graduating from high school has increased by 23% since 2012. Louisiana Education Superintendent John White in a statement said Louisiana is one of four states nationwide that has matched requirements to receive a high school diploma with admissions eligibility for the state public university system. Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed in a statement praised the news, saying a high school diploma is no longer enough in todays rapidly changing economy. More Louisiana public high schoolers are graduating than ever before More than half of the growth seen is due to black students pursuing education and training after high school, the department stated. Nearly 2,500 more black graduates from the class of 2018 enrolled in higher education than did from the class of 2012. Additionally, nearly 5,000 more economically disadvantaged students and 400 more students with disabilities enrolled in college in 2018 than did in 2012. The percent of college-going graduates in two- and four-year colleges in 2018 has remained steady from the previous year, the department stated. In 2018, 29% of college-bound graduates enrolled in two-year colleges, and 71% enrolled in four-year colleges. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up In 2018, 88% of high school graduates enrolled in an in-state college, while 12% enrolled in an out-of-state college, the department stated. Thats a slight change from 2017, when the percentages were 89% and 11%, respectively. Twenty-two school systems exceeded the states average graduation rate and college enrollment rate in 2018. The top three school systems to do this with the highest college enrollment rates are Zachary, West Feliciana, and St. James parishes all of which topped 68%. The results announced Wednesday follow the release of the statewide graduation results for the class of 2018, the highest achieving cohort in the states history. Last year, the department also announced Louisiana was first in the nation in the number of high school seniors completing the free application for federal student aid. New Orleans to halt use of school zone cameras beginning Friday Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles. State health officials are now requiring labs to report all test results for three chronic conditions impacting Louisiana HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis C with the aim of improving monitoring of potential new cases. The reporting change, which took effect Monday (May 20) requires all test results, whether negative or positive, of these conditions. Louisiana has very high rates of all three of these infections. The state ranked third in the country for syphilis, with 679 cases reported in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana ranked 4th for the rate of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2017 and fifth for the rate of new hepatitis C infections in 2016. All three infections have to be monitored through multiple lab tests, which can sometimes show up as a negative result even after the person is infected. A negative test result can sometimes mean the person is still in the early stage of their infection, is being effectively treated or has been cured. If we have a negative test result in the past, closely followed by a positive test result, we will be able to know its a new infection, said Dr. Alex Billioux, assistant secretary of the Louisiana Department of Healths Office of Public Health. We would be able to move even faster to get them into care get their viral load under control. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The new reporting guidelines were first announced in February and met with some resistance from patient advocacy groups who feared it might create privacy concerns for people who want to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Billioux explained that the main concern voiced by advocates was the fear that the new requirements might push people away from getting tested if their results are shared with the states department of health. Negative test results that arent linked to a known or suspected case of one these three types of infections will not be reviewed or followed up on, and personally identifiable information will be removed from them after 18 months, state health officials said. Like other lab results, including positive test results for these conditions, personally identifiable information is stored securely and managed to ensure privacy is protected in compliance with HIPAA regulations, officials said. If a test result comes in positive we want to make sure that the person has follow-up care available, said Billioux. We are trying to change the narrative surrounding these three conditions in the state and take a much more proactive approach to reduce the rates. Correction: This story was updated to reflect that Louisiana ranks 4th in the U.S. for the rate of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2017. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a news conference on Thursday (May 23) that the opening of the Morganza Spillway could happen as early as June 2. It would be only the third time the structure west of Baton Rouge has ever been opened. A decision to open the spillway will be made on Tuesday. Water levels are already elevated in Assumption, St. Martin, St. Mary parish. Its already causing significant issues with transportation, Edwards said noting that a half mile section of Highway 70 in St. Martin Parish is under water. The governor said his office will ask for a federal emergency declaration to help with the cost of employing dams along Highway 70, sandbagging, and employing pumps in the affected area, which includes up to 25,000 acres of farmland. Another Mississippi Rise Threatens to Trigger Morganza Spillway Opening More than 5 inches of rain is expected over parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa over the next week, according to the National Weather Services Weather Prediction Center. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The river will crest at 62 feet on June 6 at Red River Landing, only a foot and a half below that locations all-time high crest, according to Wednesdays forecast by the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center, based in Slidell. Red River Landing is only about 16 miles above the Morganza Spillway. The Morganza Spillway was previously opened in 1973 and 2011. Edwards encouraged residents to check 511LA.org for up to date, real time information on road closures. This water is going to be with us for a while at elevated levels, Edwards said. The city of New Orleans has been directing school tax dollars toward the citys retirement funds since 2007, according to a Times-Picayune report Wednesday (May 22). Millions of dollars that were supposed to be used for our childrens education were used for pensions instead. The city is being sued for this practice by the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and Downtown Development District (DDD). Our schools need these funds. The mayors office put out a statement recently about the need for more great schools in New Orleans. Though the majority of families received one of their top three choices on the OneApp, some were understandably frustrated by their placements. There are simply not enough spaces in the citys highest-demand schools for all the students who want to attend. As a city, we need to expand our best schools and improve existing ones. To provide more spots, we need more funding. We must make a choice to either stand behind our schools or simply critique from afar. We can provide the money our schools need to thrive, or rest content with the status quo. I have been representing New Orleans since 2011, and I believe our city can do better, and be better, for our children. We have made incredible progress before; our graduation rate, for instance, rose from 54 percent in 2004 to 78 percent in 2018. Our students eligibility for state TOPS scholarships nearly doubled. A recent report out of Stanford University found our students grew more than the state in reading for every year studied, between 2014-17. We can continue to make such progress if we invest in our schools with funding and strategic action. Put simply, OPSB cannot afford to have money taken away. State funding for New Orleans schools has remained flat for a decade. Schools struggle to pay for everything from classroom materials, to counselors, to school buses. Such resources help high-demand schools expand and improving schools to become truly great and we need local and regional support more than ever. For years, our school system has depended on millions of dollars from federal and philanthropic grants to support citywide priorities, such as teacher recruitment, retention, training and curricular investments. These grants are set to expire in the coming years, leaving the system without sustainable revenue to continue funding these critical system-wide needs. That is why we must stop Senate Bill 110, which is scheduled to have its final vote in the House Thursday (May 23). The bill would allow the very practice that OPSB and the DDD are suing the city for. Each year, a certain portion of local tax revenues is directed to OPSB for our public schools. The city itself is authorized to take a small portion of this money for tax collection expenses. Unfortunately, they have been taking more than the authorized amount and using some of that amount for city retirement funds instead. SB110 would double the amount they are allowed to take overall. If this bill passes, OPSB stands to lose an additional $3.2 million in revenue each year, or roughly $75 less per student for all our citys public schools. Our students deserve better. If we want more great schools, and more great options on OneApp, we must preserve school funding and fight to stop SB110. If we can prevent its passage, we will lessen the frustration Mayor LaToya Cantrell has rightly reported from our citys families. There is no time to waste. Our system is stronger than ever, but we are not finished. We are at a point in New Orleans where more families want their children to attend public schools, but find themselves disappointed when they are not placed at the school they had hoped for. We should be proud, as a city, that our system is designed around equity; neither influence nor connections provide special access to high-demand schools. What we need are more great schools, now. We need legislative action to prevent more funds being taken away from our system of schools. If our represenatives truly want to give their constituents more great educational options, they must put their votes behind it. Kira Orange Jones is an educator and the New Orleans representative on Louisianas Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. As a scientist at LSU, Dr. Catherine O'Neal knew the COVID-19 vaccines had undergone rigorous safety testing before they were made available for children. But when the time came to sign her own kids up for the jab, the mother of three experienced May 21, 2019 Christie Anastasia , 207 288-8806 BAR HARBOR, MAINE The Acadia National Park Advisory Commission will meet at park headquarters (20 McFarland Hill Drive) in Bar Harbor at 1 3 p.m. on Monday June 3, 2019. The meeting is open to the public and will include an opportunity for public comments. Superintendent Kevin Schneider will provide reports on the overall park status including the Acadia National Park Transportation Plan, Bass Harbor Head Light acquisition, and the Acadia Workforce Housing Initiative. Select park staff will present on climate change and partnership initiatives. Congress created the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission in 1986 to consult with the National Park Service on matters relating to the management and development of the park, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of lands and interests in lands. The Commission is comprised of 16 members with three members appointed by the Secretary of Interior, three members appointed by the Governor of Maine, and one member appointed by each of the following towns: Bar Harbor, Cranberry Isles, Frenchboro, Gouldsboro, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, Swans Island, Tremont, Trenton, and Winter Harbor. The next meetings of the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission, published to the Federal Register, is planned for September 9, 2019 (Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, Winter Harbor). May 21, 2019For Media Inquiries, 406-888-5838For Visitor Inquiries, 406-888-7800 West Glacier, MT The National Park Service (NPS) today announced the award of a $4.73 million dollar contract to Dick Anderson Construction of Great Falls, MT, to complete rebuilding the historic Sperry Chalet Dormitory in Glacier National Park. The chalet was badly damaged in August 2017 during the Sprague Fire, which burned thousands of acres in the park. This is the second of two phases of construction that began in 2018. The NPS expects that work this year will begin in early July and continue through September 30, weather permitting. The Denver Service Center, the NPSs central planning, design, and construction management office, awarded the contract for phase two and will oversee the upcoming project. The second and final phase of the project will include masonry repairs, the permanent roof, and all other interior finishes to complete the building and ready it for visitor use. Its anticipated that the chalet will be ready for public overnight stays in 2020. The first phase of the project, completed in 2018, also by Dick Anderson Construction, included building stabilization, interior seismic walls, and temporary roofing. That award was for $4.08 million. Rebuilding of the Sperry Chalet on its original site was made possible because of the quick response and financial support of the Glacier National Park Conservancy in the amount of $396,148 to date. Immediately after the fire, the Conservancy raised significant funds for a Phase Zero emergency stabilization and preservation of the chalets stone masonry walls before winter set in. The Conservancy then provided subsequent philanthropic funding for Phase 1 construction and monitoring overflights to check on the status of the half-completed chalet as it weathered the winter. The Conservancy will contribute an additional $236,400 towards Phase 2. I am incredibly pleased to announce the second and final phase of the Sperry Chalet rebuilding project, said Park Superintendent Jeff Mow. We look forward to working with Dick Anderson again. They provided exceptional service to the National Park Service and the public last year. We stand at the threshold of an historic accomplishment, said Doug Mitchell, Glacier National Park Conservancy Executive Director. This remarkable achievement shows the power of a public private partnership where all of us are pulling together to write the next chapter of Sperry Chalet and Glacier National Park history. Belton Chalets, Inc. will operate the Sperry Chalet Dining Room again this summer, serving work crews and the public. Lunch and a la carte services will be available 11 am - 5 pm. Breakfast and dinner will be available to the public via reservation with Belton Chalets, Inc. by calling (888) 345-2649. Park concessioner Swan Mountain Outfitters will offer horseback rides to the Sperry area on weekends. The NPS is rebuilding the Sperry Chalet Dormitory at its original site within the original stone masonry walls. The design rehabilitates the chalet dormitory reflecting its period of significance (1914-1949). The visitor experience will be very similar to what it has been for decades by using as much of the remaining historic fabric, and replicating historic finishes where practicable. For more information, please visit the Sperry Chalet planning webpage. About the Denver Service Center: The Denver Service Center is located in Lakewood, Colorado, and collaborates with national parks and NPS regional staff on large-scale planning, design, and construction services. May 16, 2019 Susan Cook , 402-223-3514 Learn the star lore of Native Americans and explore the night skies through telescopes on Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25 from 9-11 p.m. at Homestead National Monument of Americas Heritage Center. Brenda and John Nejedlo of GeoAstroRV will be onsite with their telescopes to assist visitors in exploring the night sky. Brenda and John travel the country in their RV sharing their astronomy skills with various National Park Service sites. They are visiting Homestead National Monument of America through May 28. On May 24 and May 25, Brenda and John are teaming up with local Native American star lore storyteller Ryan Paul. Visitors will not only explore the sky through the GeoAstroRV telescopes but also through the constellation origin stories of Native Americans. The Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival takes place on May 25 starting at noon. Come a day early and enjoy the night program or stay overnight after the Festival to enjoy the night skies. The Homestead Heritage Center is a great place to view the night skies especially when you can combine the Native American constellation origin stories. Homestead National Monument of America is excited to be able to offer this program over the Memorial Day weekend in addition to the Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival happening on Saturday, May 25, said Superintendent Mark Engler. To learn more about John and Brenda Nejedlo of GeoAstroRV, you can visit their website at geoastrorv.com. Remember, Homestead National Monument of America has an exciting schedule of events planned for 2019. Keep up with the latest information by following us on Twitter (HomesteadNM) and Facebook (HomesteadNM). Homestead National Monument of America is a unit of the National Park Service located four miles west of Beatrice, Nebraska and 45 miles south of Lincoln. Beginning May 25, hours of operation are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is free of charge. For additional information, please call 402-223-3514 or visit http://www.nps.gov/home/ . EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. May 16, 2019 Territorial Arkansas: The Wild Western Frontier, a traveling exhibit that tells the story of Arkansas Territory, will be displayed at Hot Springs National Park in the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center on May 17 through June 19, 2019, from 9 am until 5 pm daily. The traveling exhibit consists of 15 panels that explore the history of Arkansas Territory though the collections of the Arkansas State Archives and their branch archives, the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives in Washington. On March 2, 1819, President James Monroe signed a congressional act that established Arkansas Territory from the southern portion of Missouri Territory. The new territory was a wild frontier on the western edge of the United States, where politicians settled debates by deadly duels. Formerly a colony of France and Spain, the land had only become part of the United States 16 years prior as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. After its creation, Arkansas Territory had an influx of settlers who established small communities and isolated homesteads. Territorial and county governments were set up, businesses opened, and workers of various trades moved to the territory to help it flourish. Initially Arkansas Territory included what is now Oklahoma, but through changes in boundary lines and the relocation of Native Americans further and further west, the territorys land was reduced to its present size in 1828. After 17 years as a territory, Arkansas was admitted to the Union on June 15, 1836, as the 25th state. "I am very pleased that Hot Springs National Park is sharing Territorial Arkansas: The Wild Western Frontier with their visitors and community, stated Dr. Wendy Richter, the Arkansas State Archives Director. She continued, Created to commemorate the Bicentennial of Arkansas Territory, this exhibit allows us to bring the incredible Arkansas Territory resources of the Arkansas State Archives to local communities throughout the state. For more information about the exhibit at the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center, call (501) 620- 6715, email hosp_park_information@nps.gov, or visit www.nps.gov/hosp. The Arkansas State Archives offers several traveling exhibits that are displayed at museums, libraries, archives, schools, historical societies, and other educational or cultural institutions around the state at no cost. To schedule an exhibit at your institution, call the Arkansas State Archives at 501-682-6900 or email state.archives@arkansas.gov. To learn more about the Arkansas State Archives and its collections visit http://archives.arkansas.gov. This exhibit was produced in part by a grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, funded by the Arkansas Real Estate Transfer Tax. About the Arkansas State Archives Arkansas State Archives is a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and is responsible for collecting and maintaining the largest collection of historical materials on Arkansas in the world. The State Archives has two branch locations at Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives in Washington. Other divisions of the Department of Arkansas Heritage are the Arkansas Arts Council, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. The honor guard presents the colors. NPS Photo/Mekow May 18, 2019 On Monday, May 27, at 11:00am, Shiloh National Military Park will host its annual Memorial Day observance ceremony in the Shiloh National Cemetery. This time honored service, one of the oldest in West Tennessee, will include music, reflective readings, patriotic salutes, and the laying of a wreath on the grave of an unknown soldier.Memorial Day is a day for remembering all the people who have died while serving in our country's armed forces, said Superintendent Dale Wilkerson. This day was originally known as Decoration Day, and began after the Civil War to commemorate the soldiers who died in the war. We are honored to care for Shiloh National Cemetery, and we invite everyone to come help us remember those buried here, who have died for our freedom.The key note speaker will be Captain Robert B. Johns, commander of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG-67), forward-deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. Captain Johns is a career surface warfare officer and has served on the USS Fitzgerald, USS John Paul Jones, USS Enterprise, and the USS Nimitz. Prior to assuming command of the USS Shiloh, he served as the reactor officer on the USS Ronald Reagan.The public is invited to meet Captain Johns at a come-and-go reception on Sunday, May 26, from 3:00pm until 5:00pm, at the Shiloh Education Center. The Center is located between Hagy Lane and the main park entrance on TN Highway 22.Ranger led programs and demonstrations will take place Monday afternoon on the battlefield. A complete schedule will be available at the front desk of the Visitor Center beginning that morning. For more information on Shiloh National Military Parks events, call the visitor center at (731) 689-5696. You can also find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShilohNMP, on Twitter at twitter.com/ShilohNPS, and on Instagram @ShilohNPS. LINCOLN University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni impacted by spring flooding can replace lost or damaged diplomas at no cost through a partnership between the Nebraska Alumni Association and the Office of the University Registrar. Through Aug. 31, the alumni association will pay the costs of a replacement diploma for alumni who request one through the registrar. Graduates can request a replacement diploma by filling out a form at go.unl.edu/98di and indicating the original diploma was damaged by flooding in the box labeled Reason for Duplicate Diploma. The form must then be printed, signed and returned to the Office of the University Registrar by mail at the address listed on the document, faxed to 402-472-8220, or scanned and emailed to registrar@unl.edu. The Mid-Plains Community College Board of Governors unanimously approved a three-year contract for President Ryan Purdy at Wednesdays regular meeting. The contract adds the 2021-22 year to the existing three-year contract. The contract calls for a salary of $239,200 for the 2019-20 school year and increases 4 percent each year with an additional 1 percent contribution to the Presidents retirement fund. Purdy has been president of Mid-Plains since 2012. He was installed as interim president in January 2012 and then hired permanently in May 2012. Board member Kent Miller thanked Purdy for his work, not only with Mid-Plains but also with the things he does at the state level as well. In other action the board: Approved the Associate Degree Nursing Program Review as presented and the forwarding of the program report to the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. Approved the Licensed Practical Nurse Program as presented and the forwarding of the program report to the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. Approved the creation of a full time electrical lab assistant position. Steven Wier-Santos, assistant director of Ft. McPherson National Cemetery, left, dedicated a plaque near the main entrance of the cemetery at noon on Wednesday. He is pictured here with his staff. The plaque honors those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country, and their families that they left behind. Wier-Santos said a similar plaque is being installed at all 136 national cemeteries of the Veterans Administration. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the arrival of a Carry the Load team at the Omaha National Cemetery. The team is hiking 3,900 miles from Minneapolis to Dallas to honor military members and first responders who were killed in the line of duty, and their families. You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person. Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else. Merrillville-based DirectBuy is selling its longtime Merrillville headquarters building as it looks to downsize. The membership buying club that dates back to 1971 once had more than a million members nationwide and 167 showrooms across North America. It has since shifted to e-commerce, closing most of its showrooms and instead selling furniture, flooring and home improvement products to members online. Its parent company, CSC Generation Holdings, which bought the membership club after it filed for bankruptcy in 2016, also operates Carson's and other former Bon-Ton department store brands as online retailers out of DirectBuy's Merrillville headquarters. "We used to have 600 employees here many, many years ago," DirectBuy Chief Operating Officer Dylan Astle said. "It's way too big for us. We now have offices all over the country and no longer need the space." Adam Driver was home alone doing the dishes when his agent called with the news that he'd just received a Tony Award nomination. But since his wife was out of town, there was no one to share the news. So he just finished the dishes. Driver got the nod for his work in a new revival of Lanford Wilson's play "Burn This." It's Driver's first Tony nod and his third show on Broadway. Over the past decade, Driver has amassed an impressive acting career, with accolades ranging from his work on the HBO series "Girls" to his more recent Oscar nomination for "BlacKkKlansman." And coming up, it's his last turn as Kylo Ren as the "Star Wars" saga comes to an end. While the roles are diverse, the foundation for Driver's success centers on his military service. Born in San Diego but raised in the small town of Mishawaka, Indiana, Driver joined the Marines shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks and credits his time in the service for providing him the courage he needed to become an actor. "It didn't seem like a realistic job where I was from, and there wasn't really a lot of opportunities. But the military kind of stripped you away from I think, even if it is an illusion being scared of the civilian world," Driver said. GRIFFITH Between seven and 10 teacher positions in Griffith Public Schools were eliminated this week in a move the district's superintendent attributes to declining enrollment and an expected $800,000 deficit next school year. Four classified staff positions were also cut late last week. News of the staff reductions spread early this week, around the same time remaining teachers in the district learned of their class schedules for the 2019-2020 school year. Affected teachers were informed of the staff reductions in person last week, Superintendent Michele Riise said. All teachers were notified in person by the end of the day Friday. Cuts affect all levels in the Griffith district, K-12, she said. As word of the reductions spread on social media, so did rumors about changes in the district, Riise said. Some expressed fears that classes such as yearbook, AP chemistry or robotics would be cut. Riise said in an email sent to staff and later to parents Tuesday evening that extracurricular programs are not being cut. She said courses in the art and foreign language departments may be consolidated based on shrinking class sizes due to declining enrollment. Purdue University Northwest Provost Ralph Mueller has resigned, the university has confirmed. PNW Chancellor Thomas Keon announced Mueller's immediate resignation on Monday, university spokesman Douglas Clark said. Clark said he was not given an indication why Mueller resigned. Keon will assume Mueller's roles as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, including the university's "Imagine PNW" curriculum planning, while officials search for an interim replacement. Clark said an interim will be selected on or before July 1. Mueller's resignation comes about a month after students and faculty spoke out against program eliminations recommended in a Strategic Resource Allocation report emailed to students on April 12. The strategic report, which drew controversy for its ranking of academic programs, called into question the future of popular areas of study like criminal justice and sociology. Mueller joined PNW in July 2016, assuming the role of PNW provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs during the first year of the reunification of the formerly separate Purdue University Calumet and Purdue University North Central campuses. Love 4 Funny 5 Wow 2 Sad 4 Angry 2 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CALUMET CITY A local man has been charged in a federal drug and gun investigation that included a mother and her two sons. Rachad Baller Lucas, 38, of Calumet City, is accused of manufacturing, storing and distributing controlled substances, namely a mixture containing marijuana, in a storage unit in Calumet City, according to the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office. Lucas has also been charged with possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, possessing a handgun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and illegally possessing a handgun as a felon. A total of 11 people were charged, including a mother, Harriette McPherson, 46, of Chicago, and her two sons, 19-year-old Sincere Brannon and 26-year-old Rakim Asad. Brannon is charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Authorities seized 29 firearms, ammunition, a machete, a kilogram of cocaine, 78 pounds of marijuana and $190,000 in suspected illicit cash. In addition, diamond jewelry, Rolex watches and designer clothing appraised at more than $300,000 was also collected. Police also seized two necklaces with the initials, LAFA written in diamonds, referring to a Chicago street gang, from Asad. GARY Police asked for tips from the community Thursday, a day after a 16-year-old boy was critically wounded in a shooting in the citys Glen Park section. Gary police responded about 7:35 p.m. Wednesday to the 300 block of East 49th Avenue for a report of a gunshot victim, Cmdr. Jack Hamady said. Officers found the teen lying wounded at the door to his home. The boy was shot in the neck and hip, police said. He was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to a Chicago-area hospital for treatment. A witness told police several gunshots were heard and a car sped off just before the boy was found, Hamady said. Police were canvassing the neighborhood Thursday for information and possible video of the shooting. Gary police have logged 44 gunshot wound victims and 22 homicides so far this year, Hamady said. VALPARAISO Extending Indiana sheriffs' terms from four to six years was a popular idea Thursday at a gathering of sheriffs, state lawmakers and local officials. Steve Luce, executive director of the Indiana Sheriffs' Association, pitched the proposal during a roundtable discussion hosted by the ISA and Porter County Sheriff's Department. Sheriffs from around the state face the same challenge when taking office, according to Luce. They spend the first year or so learning the job and then just when they become comfortable, have to refocus on seeking a second four-year term, he said. Having longer terms would provide "more continuity," Luce said. Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said he favored increasing from two to three the number of elected terms that can be sought by sheriffs. Martinez said his own time in office has gone quickly and he has had to learn so much with the operation of the jail alone. Martinez first was elected in 2017 by Democratic party officials to complete the 15 months left in the unfinished term of former Sheriff John Buncich, who was convicted of bribery and removed from office. CROWN POINT A Chicago man led police on a high-speed pursuit Saturday, stopped suddenly and caused police to crash, and was caught by a K-9 as he tried to run through a parking lot, court records say. Samuel Kelly, 41, smelled of alcohol as he told police he fled a traffic stop at 850 W. U.S. 30 in Merrillville because he was wanted on warrants out of Ohio and Minnesota, according to court records. A Merrillville police officer attempted to pull over a black Nissan after Kelly disregarded a red light while turning onto the frontage road in the 700 block of U.S. 30, Lake Criminal Court records say. Kelly pulled into the parking lot at a cigar shop in the 800 block of U.S. 30, but then drove through a grass parkway and sped off west on U.S. 30, records allege. At one point, police clocked Kelly going 108 mph in a 45 mph zone. Schererville police successfully deployed a tire-deflating device on U.S. 30 near Cline Avenue, but Kelly continued driving west in the eastbound lanes, records say. Kelly sped through the parking lot at the BP gas station at U.S. 30 and U.S. 41, headed north on U.S. 41 and suddenly stopped, records say. HAMMOND A scrap metal dealer seeking a new trial after his conviction last year for stealing a historic bridge says a U.S. District judge denied him a fair trial. Kenneth Morrison, owner of T&K Metals in Whiting, was convicted in December by a U.S. District Court jury of interstate theft for cutting up a disused bridge built in 1910 and selling it to Illinois scrapyards for more than $14,000. Morrison's attorney filed a motion Dec. 27 seeking a judgment of acquittal or new trial. Morrison argued the U.S. attorney's office failed to meet its burden of proof, because prosecutors "wrongfully implied" they didn't need to prove who owned the bridge. In Morrison's latest court filing, his attorneys say Judge Philip Simon denied Morrison a fair trial by refusing to include proposed jury instructions about Morrison's "theory of defense." The proposed instructions centered on ownership of the bridge. During Morrison's trial in December, defense attorney Sheldon Nagelberg told jurors Morrison believed the Monon Bridge to be abandoned property, since Hammond city officials couldn't give him a straight answer on who owned it. Please register or log in to keep reading Stay logged in to skip the surveys. MERRILLVILLE In racing, the goal is to be at the front of the line. That's exactly where racing legend Tony Stewart sat Wednesday morning inside the new Ollie's Bargain Outlet location in Merrillville. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was there to help celebrate the grand opening of the store by signing autographs and meeting with devoted fans. It's still humbling, Stewart said of the support he received from his fans on Wednesday. Starting at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Ollie's handed out 275 free tickets to meet Stewart at the store. Stan Nichols, of Lowell, took no chances for the opportunity. He said he showed up early to be the first in line. I can think of about two or three people that I would ever wait that long to go see ... to have people to think that much of me to want to do that is pretty humbling, Stewart said. Fans brought in miniature cars, shirts, jackets and photos to have signed. There were also a few unique items to go before him. HAMMOND A man was sentenced Wednesday to more than five years in prison for selling cocaine, marijuana, a 30-round drum magazine, a stolen firearm and ammunition between December 2017 and February 2018. Terry Brown, 33, of Gary was sentenced after pleading guilty to distribution of cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas Kirsch. Brown was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Starting December 2017 through February 2018, Brown sold cocaine and marijuana to a confidential informant, according to court records. On one occasion, he sold cocaine, marijuana, a 30-round drum magazine, a stolen .45 caliber firearm and ammunition to a confidential informant. NIPSCO is making progress restoring power to the 35,000 customers who were left in the dark by the strong storms that moved through the area early Thursday, but said it will be Friday before the problems in hardest hit areas are addressed. The areas were identified by the company as Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange and Newton counties. Whiting still had 2,218 customers without power as of 1 p.m. Thursday, according to NIPSCO's online outage map. The path of the outages appear to start to the south of the Region and then head northeast toward Michigan, according to NIPSCO Public Affairs Manager Dana Berkes. The company blamed the widespread damage and outages on a strong line of winds and storms that moved through the area after 1 a.m. Thursday. NIPSCO crews and contracted help have restored power to all but just under 20,000 customers by early Thursday afternoon, according to an update from the company. The crews have 580 individual repairs to address, including 60 broken poles, and downed trees and power lines. According to a Sept. 19 study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, one in five American households goes without food or medicine at least once a year to stay warm in the winter or cool in the summer. Seven million households face this decision nearly every month. The elephant in the room is high-priced renewable power. Americas energy-production revolution has cut the cost of natural gas by more than 50 percent since 2009. Natural gas is now the largest source of American electricity, accounting for 35% of generation. Plummeting natural gas prices and new natural gas power plants have put tremendous downward pricing pressure on coal and nuclear facilities, which have slashed their prices due to market forces. Yet, despite large federal and state subsidies, renewable power, not including long-established hydro-power, today accounts for just 10 percent of Americas electricity generation. In many places, wind and solar simply cannot survive without vast direct and indirect subsidies paid for by energy consumers and taxpayers. Those subsidies include the following. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The party-list allied with President Rodrigo Duterte which topped the polls vowed that it would be independent in the House of Representatives. ACT-CIS Rep.-elect Nina Taduran told CNN Philippines The Source that while they may support the Duterte administration, especially its hardline stance against crime, it also differs from it on certain issues. Siyempre anti-drug campaign, anti-crime campaign, of course we are in support of the administration. Pero there are issues like, mayroon naman kaming independence like issues sa TRAIN Law, West Philippine Sea May mga issues na medyo hindi kami sasangayon, Taduran said Thursday. [Translation: Of course we are in support of the administration on the anti-drug campaign and the anti-crime campaign. But there are issues where we maintain our independence, like on issues on the TRAIN Law and the West Philippine Sea There are issues that we do not quite agree with.] READ: Jinggoy Estrada wants plunder to be punishable by death penalty Among the administration measures ACT-CIS supports is the revival of the death penalty for heinous crimes, including terrorism and plunder. Taduran said this is one of their priorities in Congress. Tulfo magic Taduran is one of three ACT-CIS nominees who will be heading to the House in the next Congress after the party-list clinched three seats in the elections. The two other nominees are Eric Go Yap and Jocelyn Tulfo, the sister-in-law of Ramon Tulfo, Dutertes special envoy to China. READ: Special envoy to China Tulfo defends Chinese workers in PH, says they're better than Filipinos Jocelyn is the wife of broadcaster Raffy Tulfo, who, along with his brother Erwin, heavily endorsed ACT-CIS. Taduran admitted that ACT-CIS benefitted from Tulfo Magic. She added that her radio show with Raffy, Wanted sa Radyo, also contributed to their performance in the polls. Erwin and Ben Tulfo were embroiled in a controversy over a 60-million ad placement of the Department of Tourism (DOT) on their show Kilos Pronto, which is a blocktimer on state-run PTV-4. The DOT was then-headed by their sister, Wanda Teo. After Teos lawyer saying that Erwin and Ben will return the money, Ramon said in a column on the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the two would not be giving back what the DOT paid Bens production company Bitag Media Unlimited Inc., which produces Kilos Pronto. Were inside a Venezuelan prison with the minister for the prison service, Iris Varela. She is a close confidante of President Nicolas Maduro. And today, she is escorting a delegation from the Red Cross on a visit that will air on state television. Ms. Varelas press office had invited us here. But it appears she didnt want us to take the full tour. We tag along anyway, curious to see what the system supporting Maduro looks like. The government had closed this building down after a deadly riot. Then they reopened it and named it the Center for the Formation of the New Man. None of the men here are Venezuelan. We learned that theyre mostly Colombians held for crimes like murder and drug trafficking. Ms. Varela tries to show that the state treats people with dignity. The reality we see tells a different story, starting here on this staged tour, where theres no real mention of the one issue consuming the prison and the country: a nationwide blackout. Venezuela has been in crisis for years, but this power failure that lasted about a week is unprecedented. Even in the capital, it practically paralyzed life and showed that things could still get worse. We visit Alberto Diaz and his wife, Miriam. Alberto runs a small watch repair shop with his sons. Its the familys main source of income, and they use most of it just to put food on the table. They also depend on government handouts. Its clear to us theyre frustrated. But theyre careful when it comes to criticizing the government. Without electricity, the family also has no access to running water. So Miriam stores what she can and rations it. During the day, we see Venezuelans scramble to get water. Some are so desperate, they try and collect it from dirty drain pipes. We cant shoot freely on the streets. Security is everywhere, restricting access to places where hardship is most visible, like here at this public childrens hospital. Doctors are outside, speaking about the dire conditions on the inside. Were not allowed in the hospital, so we meet with Andrea Verde in the car. Andrea is the mother of a 7-year-old cancer patient. She tells us she sold her apartment and her car to cover a fraction of the treatment. Now shes living at the hospital with her daughter. We cant say that its the blackout that sent her into intensive care. But whats certain is that people are feeling the compounding effects of one crisis after another. And thats pushed some to take the risk and speak out. But not everybody blames Maduro. We head to the 23 de Enero slum, where the government still enjoys widespread support. Murals of Hugo Chavez, Venezuelas former leader, are everywhere. Hes seen as a hero here for pouring money into social programs to lift the poor. And before he died, he picked Maduro as his successor. Jesus Arellano is 25, and hes unemployed, and so he relies almost exclusively on government benefits. Benefits like access to food baskets, medicine and pensions, but these perks are not doled out purely based on need. Fatherland cards carry personal information voting records, social media activity, political affiliation. So government benefits favor pro-government behavior. Its why this show of support for Maduro doesnt feel entirely genuine. Thousands gathered when the government called for a protest during the blackout. But are they here out of choice or need? We asked them why they came out. We hear it over and over, people repeating what the government claims that the United States is responsible for the most recent disaster. There is no evidence of direct sabotage. But that claim fits into a popular narrative here: that U.S. sanctions against Maduro are generally making peoples lives worse. Jesus is referring to Juan Guaido. In January, Guaido declared himself interim president and used U.S. support to mobilize the opposition and try to force Maduro out of power. At this Guaido rally were attending, he appears strong and defiant inspiring thousands of supporters. Guaido continues to provoke, but so far Maduro has withstood the challenge. And for now, he still sits in the presidential palace. A federal judge overseeing about 900 lawsuits that allege Bayers Roundup weed killer caused cancer has appointed Kenneth R. Feinberg, a lawyer known for helping to resolve high-stakes litigation, to mediate settlement talks. Mr. Feinberg has been instructed to meet with lawyers for Bayer and plaintiffs within 14 days, Judge Vince Chhabria of United States District Court in San Francisco said at a hearing on Wednesday. Judge Chhabria, who ordered confidential mediation on April 11, appointed Mr. Feinberg after the parties failed to agree on a mediator. Mr. Feinberg has led mediation talks over the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Volkswagens diesel emissions scandal and General Motors ignition switch litigation. More than 13,400 plaintiffs allege that Roundup, which contains glyphosate, causes non-Hodgkins lymphoma and that the manufacturer failed to warn about that risk. Most of the lawsuits are pending in state courts. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] For four decades, Keith Bush insisted he had been convicted as a teenager of a murder he did not commit: strangling a 14-year-old girl in Bellport, N.Y. The police, he said, had beaten him and forced him to sign a confession that he had never read. While imprisoned, he had enlisted the help of a lawyer at Pace Law School, who sued to obtain records and unearthed evidence showing Mr. Bush had not gotten a fair trial. Even after he was released from state prison on parole, Mr. Bush continued to fight to clear his name. On Wednesday morning, 44 years after his arrest, Mr. Bush was exonerated in Suffolk County District Court in Riverhead, Long Island. The Suffolk County district attorney, Timothy D. Sini, asked a judge to throw out the conviction, saying prosecutors never told the defense the police had interviewed another possible culprit. I cannot give you that which was taken from you in the 1970s, but what I can restore to you today is your presumption of innocence, Judge Anthony Senft Jr. told Mr. Bush. It was one of the worst police corruption scandals in New York City in recent years: a multilayered criminal operation that included brothels in Brooklyn and a numbers racket run out of beauty salons and a deli in Queens. It took in millions of dollars. And it was all masterminded, investigators said, by a retired police detective who recruited at least seven police officers. One was his former partner. Two others were brothers who have been accused of holding a bachelor party in a brothel. On Tuesday , the former detective, Ludwig Paz, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted enterprise corruption and one count of promoting prostitution. He also agreed to forfeit $20,840 in illegal profits. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27 by Justice Ronald D. Hollie in State Supreme Court in Queens. He could face up to 12 years in prison. Lets be blunt: China is accumulating a record of Orwellian savagery toward religious people. At times under Communist Party rule, repression of faith has eased, but now it is unmistakably worsening. China is engaging in internment, monitoring or persecution of Muslims, Christians and Buddhists on a scale almost unparalleled by a major nation in three-quarters of a century. Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch argues that China under Xi Jinping poses a threat to global freedoms unseen since the end of World War II. To its credit, China has overseen extraordinary progress against poverty, illiteracy and sickness. The bittersweet result is that Chinese people of faith are more likely than several decades ago to see their children survive and go to university but also to be detained. Chinas roundup of Muslims in internment camps which a Pentagon official called concentration camps appears to be the largest such internment of people on the basis of religion since the collection of Jews for the Holocaust. Most estimates are that about one million Muslims have been detained in Chinas Xinjiang region, although the Pentagon official suggested that the actual number may be closer to three million. T he Trump administration says it has a peace plan for the Middle East. Those behind it claim that they are offering a new approach to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one focused on an economic vision, and that it deserves a chance. Yet none of what has been revealed so far has addressed the real issues: the end of the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and the preservation of the internationally recognized inalienable rights of the people of Palestine. Unless the Trump administrations plan addresses these issues head-on, it is a non-starter for the Palestinians. It should be for the rest of the world, as well. Judging from the statements and actions that have emerged from the administration so far, there is no reason to believe that President Trumps supposed peace plan will present a departure point for peace. On Sunday, the administration announced it will hold a meeting next month in Bahrain called Peace to Prosperity, replacing the historic concept of land for peace. Let us be clear: There will be no economic prosperity in Palestine without the end of the occupation. Notably, the Palestinian leadership was not consulted by any party on this meeting. Perhaps none of this should come as a surprise. Palestinians including me engaged with the Trump administration for months. Shockingly, the Americans then decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 and the United States own avowed commitments to the peace process. The Trump administration in effect claims it is reinventing international mediation. While the concept of a biased mediator has in some negotiations been used to obtain concessions from the party closer to the mediator, that is not what is happening here. The concessions that the Trump administration will ask of Israel are marginal. Above all they do not require Israel to end its military control over the land and people of Palestine. What the Trump administration is seeking is not a peace agreement but a Palestinian declaration of surrender. The man who helped invent scratch-off lottery tickets now has his sights set on a bigger prize: overhauling the way the United States elects presidents. On Tuesday, Nevada became the latest state to pass a bill that would grant its electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote across the country, not just in Nevada. The movement is the brainchild of John Koza, a co-founder of National Popular Vote, an organization that is working to eliminate the influence of the Electoral College. If Nevadas governor signs the bill, the state will become the 15th plus the District of Columbia to join an interstate pact of states promising to switch to the new system. Those states, including Nevada, have a total of 195 electoral votes. The pact would take effect once enough states have joined to guarantee the national winner 270 electoral votes, ensuring election. Enforcement, however, could be very difficult without congressional approval, according to constitutional law experts. And the pact would be highly vulnerable to legal challenges, they say. It was no accident, for instance, that Ohios leading anti-abortion group, Ohio Right to Life, invoked the term heartbeat eight times in 300 words in a news release welcoming the A.C.L.U.s legal challenge, said the groups president, Mike Gonidakis. The idea that life begins at conception, an axiom for many anti-abortion activists, Mr. Gonidakis said, does not have the same capacity to mobilize the average person on the street as the symbolism of a heart. When we say, Protect babies with a beating heart, weve found a way to overcome that tsunami of messaging from Planned Parenthood, Mr. Gonidakis said of the prominent abortion rights group. The power of words and repeating those words over and over again helps steer the debate and move the needle in your favor. As abortion opponents push the term fetal heartbeat, abortion rights activists are trying to galvanize support by focusing on the impact the recently passed bans can have on peoples lives. On a culture-war battleground where many Americans have already chosen a side, experts say, effective messaging can be the catalyst that mobilizes people on either one in addition to reaching the undecided. Heartbeat bills are obviously supposed to pull at your heartstrings, and the left is coming back with terms like punishing women and forced pregnancy, said Mary Ziegler, a legal historian at Florida State University and the author of After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate. The rhetoric seems to be getting more and more extreme on both sides, she added. Abortion rights advocates say their own polling and analysis has shown that their messaging has been overly focused on concepts like the right to choose and protecting womens privacy, which were the foundation of 1970s and 1980s-era activism aimed at right-leaning voters opposed to government intervention in peoples lives. Even the term abortion, they say, was stigmatized in the late 1990s with the safe, legal and rare tagline, used by President Bill Clinton to describe the Democrats policy outlook on abortion. Describing abortion as needing to be rare implied incorrectly, in the eyes of advocates, that there was something inherently wrong with having an abortion. During the hearing, Mr. Mnuchin said that he was now focused on enhancing the anti-counterfeiting security features of the currency, focusing first on the $10 and $50 bills. Designing new imagery is on the back burner. It is my responsibility now to focus on what is the issue of counterfeiting and the security features, Mr. Mnuchin said. The ultimate decision on the redesign will most likely be another secretary down the road. Replacing Jackson with Tubman was both filled with symbolism and marred by controversy. Tubman was born into slavery, escaped and then returned to the South, where she led other slaves to freedom. She was a Union scout during the Civil War and later advocated womens voting rights. Jackson orchestrated the removal of Native Americans from lands to the east of the Mississippi River and sent them marching west on the so-called Trail of Tears. In 2017, speculation began that Mr. Trump might scrap Mr. Lews plan for the $20 bill when mentions of it were scrubbed from the Treasury Departments website during a redesign. Then, that August, Mr. Mnuchin made clear that Tubmans future on the bill was in doubt. People have been on the bills for a long period of time, he told CNBC. This is something well consider. Right now, weve got a lot more important issues to focus on. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, recently introduced the Harriet Tubman Tribute Act and called on the Treasury Department to offer clarity on the status of the $20 bill. The legislation, if passed, would direct the department to place the likeness of Tubman on $20 Federal Reserve notes printed after Dec. 31, 2020. There is no excuse for the administrations failure to make this redesign a priority, Ms. Shaheen said. Sadly, this delay sends an unmistakable message to women and girls, and communities of color, who were promised theyd see Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. The National Rifle Association sued its most prominent contractor on Wednesday, even as the gun group declared that it was now moving forward from an ugly power struggle that had consumed its leadership at the highest levels. In the lawsuit, the group accused Ackerman McQueen, its longtime advertising firm, of breaching its contract by orchestrating a smear campaign against the N.R.A. and its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre. The legal action came about a month after the N.R.A. filed a separate suit against Ackerman, asserting that the company had concealed details about how it spent the roughly $40 million that it and its affiliates receive annually from the association. The previous suit touched off a power struggle that pitted Oliver L. North, an employee of Ackerman who also served as the N.R.A.s president, against Mr. LaPierre. The dispute unfolded at the N.R.A.s annual convention last month in Indianapolis where President Trump addressed the group and culminated in the ouster of Mr. North. The schism has been a shock, given how close the two organizations have been. Ackerman, based in Oklahoma, continues to operate NRATV, the N.R.A.s hard-edged online streaming service, and has defined the groups voice, going back to the Im the N.R.A. campaign in the 1980s. Mr. LaPierres wife, Susan, once worked for the company, and Tony Makris, Ackermans top executive in the Washington area, is a former business associate of Mr. LaPierres. Andrew Yang, a businessman from New York with a sizable online following, said on Twitter last month that his focus is on beating Mr. Trump at the ballot box and solving the problems that got him elected in the first place. Marianne Williamson, a self-help author who is calling for a moral and spiritual awakening in the country, has said that Mr. Trump is goading us to impeach him. Most are taking a wait-and-see approach Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has said it is premature to discuss impeachment, since lawmakers still do not have an unredacted version of the Mueller report and Mr. Mueller has not testified on Capitol Hill since its release. Theres a lot more investigation that should go on before Congress comes to any conclusions like that, he said during a campaign event in Nevada last month. John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, also said last month that the decision to move forward with impeachment proceedings shouldnt be made until Democrats receive an unredacted version of the report. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told Politico this month that impeachment should be left on the table, but she also said that Speaker Nancy Pelosis efforts to slow the rush to impeach are smart. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the former vice president, said in an interview with Good Morning America on April 30 that for now, Congress should continue its own investigations. But if the administration tries to block those inquiries, Congress would have no alternative but to go to the only other constitutional resort they have, which is impeachment, Mr. Biden said. WASHINGTON The Pentagon said on Wednesday that it would build temporary housing along the southwestern border for 7,500 migrant adults facing deportation, the latest step in the administrations efforts to respond to a surge of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers trying to enter the United States. The Defense Department will loan military-style tents to the Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon officials said. In a statement emailed to reporters, Maj. Chris Miller, a Pentagon spokesman, said that military personnel would only set up the tents and that the operation of the facilities would rest with homeland security. The cost for putting up the tents to be constructed near Tucson, as well as near Tornillo, Donna, Laredo and Del Rio, Tex. will be determined after the Pentagon conducts on-site assessments over the next two weeks. Detention centers at the border have been pushed to overcapacity as an increase of migrants, most of them from Central America, have crossed into the United States. Officials recently said they would spend millions on the construction of tent cities in Texas, and they also began flying migrants to facilities with more space in Del Rio, Tex., and in California. The United Nations General Assembly dealt Britain an embarrassing defeat on Wednesday in a protracted dispute over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, demanding that the British surrender the archipelago home to an important American military base to Mauritius, a former British colony. In a diplomatic showdown that underscored challenges to Britains influence in parts of the world where, in a bygone era, it had commanded enormous power and territorial reach, the General Assembly voted 116 to 6 for the resolution, which said the British should withdraw their colonial administration from the Chagos Islands within six months. The United States was among the opponents of the resolution, which is nonbinding and cannot be enforced. But it carries important weight as a barometer of world opinion. Britains ambassador to the world body, Karen Pierce, who had implored General Assembly members to defeat the resolution, said her country had no plan to abandon the islands but that it was disappointed by the results. Modi declares his win a victory for ordinary Indians. In a thundering speech to party workers outside the B.J.P.s headquarters in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck a humble tone. I bow to the 1.3 billion people of India, he said. If someone is victorious, it is India, he said. If someone is victorious, it is democracy. If someone is victorious, it is the electorate. Striking a populist tone and evoking mythical Hindu figures engaged in war, Mr. Modi framed the elections as a victory by and for ordinary Indians, over those who write off the poor and downtrodden. At the end of the battle, he said, was the guarantee of a bright future for India. This is the scene of an airstrike in 2016 in Yemen, on a busy hospital in a small city called Abs. Nineteen people were killed and dozens were injured. The pilot missed clear warning signs and ignored safety measures, like a no-strike list of protected buildings. Found in the debris, the remains of a U.S.-made weapon. America isnt officially involved here. The fight is between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebel group. But its very much a U.S.-supported war. The fighter jets, the bombs, the training and intelligence much of it is supplied to the Saudis by the U.S. Its a brutal war. The Houthis have killed hundreds of Yemenis. The Saudi air campaign has been even more lethal. Over four years, coalition airstrikes have killed thousands of civilians and bombed well over 100 medical facilities, a Times assessment found. If U.S. fighter pilots were doing this directly with U.S. bombs, would there be a change in behavior? If we were hitting hospitals, over and over, like what were seeing? Absolutely, there would be a change. Which begs the question: What obligation does the U.S. have when it sells weapons to foreign militaries? U.S. officials claim their ally is doing everything possible to protect civilians. But this is simply not true, according to Larry Lewis, a former State Department official, who saw firsthand how the Saudi coalition failed to protect civilians and how the U.S. chose to look the other way. Yemen has exposed a fundamental problem in the way we provide arms and the way we support partners. So we need to change the way we do business. Lewis spent years working with the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan to try to reduce civilian casualties. He wrote a book on protecting civilians thats issued to every U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. And in 2015, the Obama administration sent him to work with the Saudi coalition in Riyadh. There were some fundamental problems with how some of the targeting was being done that really needed to be fixed. During his time there, he reviewed the Abs hospital strike with an investigations team he helped the Saudi coalition to create. What did you learn from reviewing that airstrike with the Saudis? You look at the level of destruction in the nearby buildings and go, the pilot got it way wrong. Lets take a look at what happened there. Coalition warplanes attacked a Houthi checkpoint a few miles north of Abs. Medics say that a car transported casualties to the Abs hospital from the strike. The Saudi coalition tracked the car, believing a Houthi leader was inside. For some reason, they didnt strike it on the open road. Instead, they waited until the car pulled into the hospital. It parked by the emergency room and was hit without warning. Three major failings were evident in the Abs strike, Lewis says, and these were repeated throughout the Saudi-led air campaign. Doctors Without Borders say that they provided the hospital coordinates to the Saudi coalition. Thats right. So why did they still hit it? That information didnt get to the cockpit. The Saudi coalition is often praised by the U.S. for creating a no-strike list, a map of protected sites like schools, refugee camps and hospitals. The list is used to vet targets when airstrikes are preplanned. But that doesnt happen for the vast majority of strikes, which are on-the-fly bombings or so-called dynamic strikes. What can be done to limit the number of dynamic strikes, or at least force them to check the no-strike list? Mhm. This is not rocket science. Its not hard to make a requirement for pilots to call back to higher headquarters and say, check the no-strike list and tell me if this object is on the no-strike list, or if theres something thats close by. It would take a minute or two. Another problem? Over and over, Lewis says, pilots seem to ignore large roof signs that identified hospitals, including the one in Abs. We can see six of them in this satellite image taken before the strike. So the pilot could have seen this marking and recognized, hey, this is a protected facility. On top of all this, a major issue is a lack of common sense among pilots and spotters on the ground. You have a pilot thats not really so experienced, and then you have a person, whos not even a military person, agreeing on what they think is a valid target, and then engaging that target. So, its really fraught with peril. In Abs, a teacher named Hamza Ahmed Absi saw that peril firsthand. He rushed to the hospital from a nearby school. Muhammad Darm was badly injured in the attack. Hes an X-ray technician, who was helping patients near the hospitals entrance when the bomb exploded. Muhammad was lucky to survive. He recently returned to work in the hospital. Once a sanctuary in a time of war, he says it no longer feels safe. For years, officials in both the Obama and Trump administrations have said theyre working directly with the Saudis to stem civilian casualties. I think every Yemeni that is killed any innocent person is killed it affects all of us. And there are many steps that are being taken, and have been taken, to try to minimize that. The training that we have given them, we know has paid off. We are co-located with them in their operation centers to help them develop the techniques and tactics that will allow them to conduct strikes while mitigating civilian casualties. But one problem with U.S. oversight, Lewis says: The U.S. wasnt tracking how the American weapons it sold were being used by a Saudi military with little experience in war. In 2018, three years into the conflict, the head of U.S. Central Command said as much. Is CENTCOM able to tell whether U.S. fuel or U.S. munitions were used as part of that strike? Senator, I dont believe we are. Lewis says they did have access to that information. They just werent using it. Every flight by the Saudi-led coalition where they were doing airstrikes, that pilot would then make a report that talked about what target was it, what kind of weapons did they use and just information about the strike. They would file it and then that would go to populate this Excel spreadsheet that had every single strike in the campaign. And the U.S. and U.K. had access to that database? They did. So if the U.S. wanted to know if American bombs were bombing hospitals, they could have done so? Yes. A year later, after reporters disclosed the database, General Votel changed his tune. Today, we do have that. We do have a database that does have that information and we have the ability to see that. Lewis says the database could be a tool to increase U.S. oversight in reviewing foreign weapons sales. A State Department official told us this kind of data could be incorporated into its monitoring, but vetting it can be onerous, and it may be of little use to policymakers. After a Saudi coalition airstrike on a funeral home killed over 150 people in late 2016, the Obama administration, having brokered $100 billion in weapons sales, now sought to distance the U.S. from the coalition. And their response was, clearly, the Saudis arent learning. It paused sales of precision weapons, and pulled the plug on Lewiss advising mission. The U.S. said this is up to the Saudis to do their thing and investigate themselves. When President Trump took office, the U.S. doubled down on weapons sales. So we make the best equipment in the world. Theres nobody even close. And Saudi Arabias buying a lot of this equipment. In Yemen, things for civilians continue to get worse. In 2018, the rate of civilian casualties caused by the Saudi-led coalition soared, Lewis says, to almost 50 per week. And in Abs, history repeated itself. Yet another medical facility was attacked in June of that year. The airstrike destroyed a vital cholera treatment center built by Doctors Without Borders to handle the worst outbreak of the disease in modern history. The Saudi coalition tried to shift blame to Doctors Without Borders, saying its buildings werent marked. But again, satellite images from before the strike show large red crescents were visible, even from space. And Doctors Without Borders say they shared the centers coordinates at least 12 times. The Saudis deny this. The U.S. sells weapons to over 100 countries, but in Yemen, the scale of the devastation has become the story. And for the people living there, its the new normal. WASHINGTON The United States has found no evidence so far that President Bashar al-Assads forces have begun again using chemical weapons in Syrias continuing civil war, the top American diplomat for Syria said on Wednesday, a day after the State Department warned of an alleged chlorine attack in the countrys northwest. The diplomat, James F. Jeffrey, the special representative for Syria and a veteran Foreign Service officer, said during a congressional hearing that the Syrian military had been carrying out bombings in the area around Idlib, the last rebel stronghold, that have been indiscriminate and very vicious. Were watching this very closely also the reports of chemical weapons use, he said. So far we cannot confirm it, but we are watching it. Mr. Jeffreys testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee appeared to be a carefully worded recalibration of a State Department announcement the previous day on Mr. Assads suspected use of chemical weapons. Lately, Abdel R. Salaam has had a place on his mind: Rwanda. As the artistic director of DanceAfrica, his mission is to create programming that is the right mix of contemporary and tradition. Its the kind of purpose that raises big questions: How do you take an art form and a cultural experience and preserve the best of what it was, he said in a recent interview, and at the same time give voice to what its attempting to become? In remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi, he has dedicated the performance portion of this years DanceAfrica festival, which runs Friday through Monday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, to that African country. The two-act program will feature a premiere by Mr. Salaam, Rwanda Reborn: The Remix, and a performance by Inganzo Ngari, a traditional Rwandan company making its United States debut. Our guide to dance performances happening this weekend and in the week ahead. HADAR AHUVIA at Danspace Project (May 30-June 1, 8 p.m.). When Israel became a state in 1948, creating fresh folk dances was one way it forged a sense of unified national identity. Ahuvia, who was raised both there and in the United States, has used Israeli folk dance as an entry point to examine and critique that process and its impact on Palestinians. She continues this inquiry in The Dances Are for Us alongside other dancers with varying relationships to Israel. Here, she also expands her scope to look more broadly at the role folk traditions play in constructing nation building. 866-811-4111, danspaceproject.org AMERICAN BALLET THEATER at the Metropolitan Opera (through July 6). After a week of showcasing the more serious, probing side of its resident choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky, Ballet Theater serves up one of his more frothy and whimsical creations: Whipped Cream, a 2017 work inspired by a 1924 ballet that is literally about a kid in a candy store. In the tradition of The Nutcracker, the tasty treats dance. Beginning on Thursday, the company takes a stylistic about-face with the start of its Twyla Tharp program, comprising The Brahms-Haydn Variations, the virtuoso In the Upper Room and the Beach Boys escapade Deuce Coupe. 212-362-6000, abt.org DANCEAFRICA at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (May 24, 7:30 p.m.; May 25, 2 and 7 p.m.; May 26-27, 3 p.m.). Twenty-five years ago, hundreds of thousands were murdered during the Rwandan genocide, devastating a country and a culture. In 2006, the Inganzo Ngari dance company was founded to pass down Rwandan folk dance traditions, partly as an act of rebuilding. The troupe will headline the 42nd annual DanceAfrica festival, which this year spotlights Rwanda and its remarkable rejuvenation. In addition to indigenous dances, like the intore warrior dance, Inganzo Ngari will perform with the BAM/Restoration Dance Youth Ensemble. To show off the countrys more contemporary side, the actor and poet Malaika Uwamahoro will deliver a spoken-word component. 718-636-4100, bam.org Alex Israel Through June 15. Greene Naftali, 508 West 26th Street, Manhattan; 212-463-7770, greenenaftaligallery.com. Reena Spaulings Fine Art, 165 East Broadway, Manhattan; 212-477-5006, reenaspaulings.com. The comedians Zach Galifianakis and Sacha Baron Cohen have both used obnoxious-interviewer characters to uncover surprising sides of well-known people. For Mr. Galifianakis, the joke is often that a famous interviewee actually has a sense of humor; for Mr. Cohen, its usually the opposite, that his unsuspecting subjects seem to have no humor at all . Either way, the viewers in on it, because there are clear cues in the interviewers performances that a joke is happening. The character Alex Israel plays in his web-series-cum-gallery-show As It Lays 2, which takes up most of the Chelsea half of a joint show at Greene-Naftali and Reena Spaulings Fine Art, isnt as demonstrative. In black sunglasses and white dinner jacket, he reads a series of deadpan questions lifted from what sounds like a computer-generated personality quiz. (To Cindy Crawford: Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?) Some celebrities squirm and some guilelessly roll with it. A rare few can even paper over Mr. Israels disciplined blankness with what feels like real conversation. But because we never know who were supposed to be laughing at, or with, or rooting for, we end up feeling just as exposed as Demi Moore or Billy Idol: They are craven, afraid of death, and banal, and so are we. WILL HEINRICH Not every enduring literary masterpiece inspires a thousand years of often great art. The Tale of Genji, written in early-11th-century Japan and possibly the worlds first novel, is an exception. A n arratively rich saga of life and love at the Japanese imperial court, it spurred innovation and was in many ways foundational to Japanese art itself. Similarly, only a few museums can do justice to such a long span of creativity. Prominent among them is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, whose The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated, is glorious, as sumptuous and sprawling as the book itself, full of rare loans from Japanese institutions. Genji, the book, is one of the monuments of Japans Heian period (794-1185), widely considered its golden age. It was then that the kingdom decisively freed itself from Chinese influence, developing, for example, its own syllabic writing, called kana, in which Genji was executed, and which shortly became the basis for a new Japanese calligraphy. At the same time, the Japanese emperors were becoming largely ceremonial, if not decadent; in reality, Japan was ruled by a succession of aristocratic clans, headed by a shogun, starting with the Fujiwara family. ATLANTA In the last decade, Hollywood, lured by hefty tax breaks, has embraced Georgia with fervor, and Georgia has hugged it right back. From the former stay-at-home mom who now has a steady job as a zombie to the farm boy who was a paid extra on Stranger Things and now leads movie tours, to the once sleepy, postcard-perfect town of Senoia, which has served as a giant set for The Walking Dead, so many Georgia workers, property owners and service industries rely on film and television income that the region has adopted a cutesy nickname: Yallywood. But Georgias recent passage of a highly restrictive abortion law has turned its once cozy relationship with Tinsel Town into a fraught one, and put Hollywoods liberal politics on a collision course with its own economic interests in the state. Some notable actors and directors, including Jason Bateman of Ozark and Alyssa Milano of Insatiable, both filming in the state for Netflix, have said they will stop working there if the law goes into effect in January. This week, two productions that had been looking at places to shoot in Georgia said they would go elsewhere instead. PARIS What does it take for a woman to be labeled mad? Onstage, not much at all. The trope of female hysteria might seem like a hang-up from different times, but it still pervades our cultural landscape and often resists reinvention, as a string of new theater productions suggest in Paris. In a matter of weeks, audiences here have been treated to classic examples of women teetering on the edge. Opening Night, at the Theatre des Bouffes du Nord, gives us Isabelle Adjani as an actress on the verge of a nervous breakdown, lost between fiction and reality. In Marie Remonds Cataract Valley, sisters grapple with the social constraints felt by mid-20th-century American women. The characters in both productions are a type of role actors dream about, at once multifaceted and unsettling. In the director Cyril Testes Opening Night, an adaptation of John Cassevetess 1977 film, Ms. Adjani takes over the role of Myrtle, a middle-age performer who goes into an alcohol-fueled tailspin. Unable to connect with her role in a play, shes haunted by the death of a teenage fan in a car accident just outside the theater where she works. On paper, Opening Night is an ideal vehicle for Ms. Adjani, the French star whose filmography is full of unstable women. Her characters in Francois Truffauts The Story of Adene H. and Bruno Nuyttens Camille Claudel, to name just two, are ultimately committed to mental institutions. A popular TV sketch by the French comedian Florence Foresti even depicted Ms. Adjani as trapped in the role of a mad queen, all the while repeating: Im not crazy, you know! Howard Sterns encyclopedic new collection, Howard Stern Comes Again, which Janet Maslin called a hefty all-star tutorial on the art of the interview, enters the list at No. 1. Its much more nuanced than Sterns first book, Private Parts (1993), which led The Timess reviewer to all but throw up his hands: Sorry, but I am not able to do that voice justice in this newspapers closely policed pages. Stern recently talked about how much hes mellowed since those days: I feel less pressure now not because of my age but because of therapy. Ive realized I dont have to hit you with a sledgehammer. It can just be a hammer. Fired Up Hafsah Faizal says her buzzed-about fantasy novel, We Hunt the Flame No. 5 on the Y.A. list is not meant to make a political statement. Theres this automatic assumption that when an author of color creates a piece of art, it must be an allegory, which is one of the two reasons why We Hunt the Flame isnt connected to my faith the other being that I didnt feel comfortable mixing elements of Islam with fantasy, she told Publishers Weekly. I did, however, want to create a world that displayed the Middle East as it is: home to thousands and thousands of people not the demonized and exoticized region that fiction and the media portray it as in the hopes that someone will think, Hey, were not so different from them after all. Pitch Perfect From the time I was 9, being on a mound was where I needed to be, the pitching great David Cone writes in his memoir, Full Count, which debuts this week at No. 13. I wanted to be the most important player on the field, I wanted every pair of eyes staring at me, and I wanted to be in control. The book billed as lessons from the World Series and beyond comes out 16 years after Cones retirement. 2. The recent wave of extreme weather in the Midwest turned deadly overnight. At least three people died as storms hit Missouri, and 34 tornadoes were reported across the region. Heavy rains are increasing the threat of flooding, and the extreme weather is likely to continue for another day. Heres the latest news, photos of the damage and tips on how and where to shelter. Some good news: Government forecasters said the hurricane season that begins June 1 should be near normal, with the likelihood of nine to 15 named storms, and two to four major Category 3 hurricanes. And Congress reached a deal on an emergency relief bill, ending a monthslong impasse over billions of dollars in aid for those hit by natural disasters. The minerals wind up in everything from iPhones to wind turbines and missiles. They are used to polish camera lenses and to refine crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The appetite in the United States for products that include rare earths is enormous. But while the country still imports large quantities of cheap rare-earth catalysts for use in oil refineries, American demand for raw rare-earth metals to be used in factories has almost disappeared. Chinese customs data show that the United States bought only 3.8 percent of Chinas exports of rare-earth metals last year, far less than Japan, and also less than India, Italy or Spain. In large part, that is because so much manufacturing has shifted out of the United States. Nearly a decade ago, Beijing began putting heavy pressure on manufacturers of products like electric motor magnets and light-emitting diodes to move factories to China if they wanted reliable access to rare-earth metal supplies. Remaining American industries like automaking and aerospace manufacturing now import entire systems from China, like car starters and aircraft wing flaps. Beijing could still block exports of Chinese-made motors, magnets and other gear to the United States and industry experts noted that Mr. Xis visit was to a magnet factory, not to a mine. The message was, this is a supply chain and we control your supply chain, said Clint Cox, president of the Anchor House, a rare-earths consulting firm in Evanston, Ill. The dilemma for Beijing lies in whether to jeopardize its central role in global supply chains by halting exports of crucial components to the West. Trade hawks in the Trump administration have been quietly expressing hope that China will do just that. They see such an interruption as the best way to persuade global companies to shift manufacturing permanently out of China to the United States or to American allies, a long-term goal known as decoupling in trade circles. A Chinese export embargo would have other drawbacks. For example, American oil refineries depend on lanthanum, which is the cheapest and most easily produced of the 17 rare-earth elements, as a catalyst to refine crude oil. But lanthanum is mined in bulk in Australia and in the United States as well as in China. Good Thursday. (Want this by email? Sign up here.) The U.S.-China tech fight spreads More companies around the world are realizing that they have little choice but to turn their backs on Huawei, as the tech rift between the U.S. and China widens. Huaweis blacklisting doesnt just affect U.S. companies. Under Washingtons export control guidelines, third-country suppliers to blacklisted entities need to apply for licenses if U.S. content exceeds 25 percent of the value of their products or services, the FT explains. That has left companies scrambling to work out if they need to limit their sales to the Chinese company. The British semiconductor designer ARM said it would stop licensing technology to Huaweis chip unit, because some of its designs contain technology from the U.S. And the FT reported that Panasonic had halted shipments of some components to Huawei for similar reasons. The company later denied the FT report. Mobile carriers in Britain have stopped offering Huawei phones to some customers, Amie Tsang of the NYT reports. Cellphone companies in Japan are considering similar moves. Theyre concerned about Google pulling support for the phones; it has said it will no longer offer Huawei the full version of its Android operating system. Get the DealBook newsletter to make sense of major business and policy headlines and the power-brokers who shape them. __________ American chip makers have found themselves at the center of the trade war between the United States and China. It hasnt been pleasant. The Philadelphia semiconductor index, the closely watched index of 30 semiconductor companies, has fallen about 16 percent in May, its worst monthly showing since the financial crisis, as the growing dispute takes a toll on companies reliant on China for business. Shares of Qualcomm, Micron, Nvidia and Broadcom are all down by even more. By comparison, the S&P 500 is down about 4 percent. Mr. Rossman is head of a unit at Lazard that helps companies fend off attacks on management by hedge funds and other activist investors. He told reporters this month that the activist funds, often with the quiet support of big mutual funds, had lately been targeting European companies, demanding changes that they think will deliver a bigger payoff for shareholders. The possibility of a no-confidence vote rose after shareholder advisory firms urged investors to send a message. We believe it is time for shareholders to hold the boards accountable for the many years of substantial monetary and reputational costs to the bank borne by shareholders, one of the firms, Institutional Shareholder Services, said in a report this month that advised clients to vote against ratifying Deutsche Banks management and supervisory boards. ISS and Glass, Lewis & Company, another influential advisory firm advocating a vote of no confidence, cited the damage inflicted on the banks finances and reputation by persistent money-laundering scandals. On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank acknowledged that it had used faulty software to screen customer transactions for suspicious activity. The bank said it had alerted regulators and was working to fix the problem as soon as possible. Mr. Sewing, the chief executive, promised Thursday to improve the banks internal controls. But he also suggested that the bank was unfairly targeted when German prosecutors raided company offices in Frankfurt in November as part of a money-laundering investigation. The negative media coverage hit us hard, Mr. Sewing told shareholders. It is, of course, a criminal investigators duty to conduct a thorough examination of any suspicious circumstance, he said. However, its possible to have diverging views on the manner in which it happened in November. OAKHURST, Calif. Pacific Gas & Electric has a big problem. Its equipment keeps coming into contact with dry trees and shrubs and starting devastating wildfires. So the company is scrambling to trim or cut down hundreds of thousands of trees across its vast Northern California territory. But it has another problem: finding people to do that work. Beyond the tight labor market, there is the challenge of enlisting a certain kind of worker for the difficult and dangerous job. To trim trees well, especially the 200-footers in the Sierra Nevada forests, contractors must be strong and agile, and able to handle fear and adrenaline surges. When all goes well, its like Cirque du Soleil up in the trees, said Jose Mercado, founder of the Hispanic Arborist Association, who climbed trees professionally for more than two decades near Los Angeles. Youre in the best physical condition of your life. When things go wrong, the consequences can be deadly. Since 2017, the Labor Department has tracked 127 deaths related to tree work nationally, including 20 in California. Among the top causes of injury or death are strikes by branches, electrocution and falls. Investors hunkered down Thursday, as signals from China and the United States suggested that both nations were girding for a long-term trade fight. In Washington, the Trump administration announced a substantial aid package for farmers, in an effort to cushion the blow as China buys fewer American agricultural products in retaliation for tariffs. In Beijing, President Xi Jinping has tried to rally the nation by invoking key moments in Chinese Communist Party history to signal hardship ahead. For stock investors, that has meant adjusting expectations to a conflict with no end in sight. Already, existing tariffs on each countrys exports have been raised, and the White House is weighing whether to expand the tariffs to include consumer products from shoes to electronics that currently dont face levies. Worries about the cost of this battle, to global growth, corporate profits and American consumers, sent stocks down across the globe on Thursday. Who can argue with this logic? Nobody should be made to feel anxious about wine. The comfort that comes from spotting a pinot grigio or Sancerre on the list is exactly why these wines are so despised in some quarters, namely by the sommeliers who have worked so hard to put together exquisite bottles that will both flatter the food on the menu and reflect the ethos of the restaurant. Regardless, they know that Sancerre by the glass or bottle will become the most-ordered wine on the list. [Learn how to read a wine list.] Thats an understandable reaction, too. More than anything, hospitable sommeliers want their guests to enjoy themselves, and to come back again and again. Sommeliers can achieve this goal by giving guests what they want. Maybe they can do even better, they think, by helping guests achieve an unexpected, heightened experience. Whatever contempt wine professionals may feel toward the wines is partly deserved. I have searched high and wide for decent, reasonably priced pinot grigios, with scant results. Similarly, the sommelier class antipathy toward Prosecco is matched only by the cynicism of the producers who make this often-insipid wine. Chardonnay occupies a middle ground. While mass-produced chardonnays richly earn the eye rolls they receive, we are still talking about the grape of white Burgundy, which makes the sort of coveted, cherished bottles that might saturate a sommeliers dream Instagram account. That leaves Sancerre, a special case because the wines cannot be so easily dismissed, even though they are rarely objects of desire. While C. auris is not the first drug-resistant germ to take hold, it is so dangerous and easily spread that it is putting new kinds of pressures on the health care system. One hallmark of C. auris is that it can be very difficult to clean from equipment or clothing, and it may spread through the air. Officials suspect that the spores can be shaken loose from bedding and they have been known to cling to walls and ceiling tiles. One of our guiding objectives is to stop the geographic spread, said Brad Hutton, the states deputy commissioner of public health. He said the states efforts to contain the spread have required significant resources including sending individual infection specialists to investigate more than 150 cases and that New York now needs help from individual institutions. Were at a point where our response strategy needs to change, he said. He added that he hoped the guidelines would be finalized by the end of the year, but said the state is still determining whether to apply them statewide or just to New York City and surrounding areas. It has yet to be decided whether the guidelines would be recommendations or regulatory requirements, he said. Zeynep Sumer King, a vice president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group that represents hospitals in the metropolitan region, described the meeting as very productive and very collaborative. But she said hospitals raised concerns about such matters as whether hospitals have lab capacity and expertise to handle on-site testing. For the moment, she said, hospitals are pre-screening many patients who appear to be at risk. But it can take a week to get skin-swab results back from the state laboratory, posing challenges for housing patients in isolation during the interim. Further, she said, regular testing is likely to turn up patients who are carriers but not infected, increasing the number of patients who require isolation, appropriately or not. Are you the kind of student who speaks often in class, and feels confident when you do? Or are you quiet, hoping not to be called on perhaps someone who would rather write than speak aloud? Or, are you somewhere in the middle, speaking up in classes and during activities that you like, and staying quiet otherwise? In general, how do you feel about your level of participation at school? Have you changed over the years? In Breaking My Own Silence, part of a series of essays on the question What is Power?, the novelist Min Jin Lee reflects on how she came to learn that power is the confidence to speak for yourself. Her essay begins: It makes sense that Im a writer, which allows me to draft, hesitate, then rewrite many times before I say anything that I can live with for good. In 1976, my mother, father and two sisters and I immigrated to the United States. I was 7. We moved from Seoul to New York, and Dad enrolled my sisters and me at P.S. 102 in Elmhurst, Queens. None of us girls knew how to speak English. Even back in Seoul, I was a quiet child who fidgeted and had attention issues. I found school and friendships difficult, and it got worse when I moved to a new country. The first few weeks in America were tough. There was one other Korean girl in the class. Like me, she had small eyes. Unlike me, she knew English and had friends. She wanted me to stay away She continues: At Junior High School 73 in Maspeth, N.Y., I had a wonderful teacher named Mr. Sosis, who taught law, and he selected me as a classroom monitor. He allowed his monitors to eat lunch in his classroom, and I dont know if he knew this, but he rescued me from the terror of the middle school lunchroom and from the reality that I did not know how to act around children my age. I had other fine teachers there, and I started to talk a little more. I did production work for the school play, and when an actor dropped out, I was given her role because Id already memorized all the lines. For my law class, I did a mock trial, and I was not awful. I got into the Bronx High School of Science, where my older sister went, and I made up my mind that I had to learn how to talk well. As a child immigrant, I had read straight through Lois Lenski, Maud Hart Lovelace, Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume then through Dickens, Hemingway, Austen, Sinclair Lewis and Dostoyevsky books recommended by good-hearted librarians and teachers. In Western books, heroes spoke well and could handle any social situation, not just through action, but also through argument. In Korea, a girl was virtuous if she sacrificed for her family or nation, but in the West, a girl was worthy if she had pluck and if she could speak up even when afraid. As a kid, Id watched Koreans criticizing a man for being all talk and no work. In America, a man was considered stupid or weak if he couldnt stand up for himself. Both things were true: I didnt want to talk, and I didnt want anyone to think I was stupid. Students, read the entire article, then tell us: Can you relate to anything in this essay? Have you ever felt the way Ms. Lee did? If you havent, do you know others who have? When are you most confident speaking up in school? When are you the least? Are you different at home or with your friends than you are in the classroom, in terms of speaking your mind, asking questions or participating in activities? If so, what do you think accounts for that difference? Ms. Lee notes the different standards around talk in America and in Korea. Do you come from a culture that prizes different things than those that seem to be prized in the school you attend? How so? How do you speak up for yourself, and how did you learn to do that? This essay describes many steps Ms. Lee took to begin to learn how to speak up. She also describes teachers and others who helped her along the way. What are the key events in your life story that have helped you learn to claim your voice whether through speaking, writing, artistic expression or in any other way? Before reading the article: Did you hear about the billionaire investor who shocked and delighted the 396 graduates of Morehouse College when he pledged to repay their student loans? Watch the video above to see what he says. Then, make some guesses before reading further: What percentage of students at four-year colleges do you think has at least some student loan debt? What do you think is the average amount of debt each student owes? Do you think recent black graduates of four-year colleges owe more, or less, than their white peers? Why? To find the answers to these questions, check out this Q&A. What, if anything, surprises you? Now, read the article, A Pledge to Pay Morehouse College Students Debt Prompts Elation, Envy and a Host of Questions, and answer the following questions: 1. What questions has Robert F. Smiths announcement raised? 2. Myles Washington, a graduating senior whose debts are expected to be paid, says, I felt a level of survivors guilt. Why? The following report compiles all significant security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters throughout Afghanistan from the past seven days. It is necessarily incomplete as many local officials refuse to confirm casualty information. The report includes government claims of insurgent casualty figures, but in most cases these cannot be independently verified by The Times. Similarly, the reports do not include Taliban claims for their attacks on the government unless they can be verified. Both sides routinely inflate casualty totals for their opponents. At least 16 pro-government forces and 14 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the past week. There was a notable decrease in attacks compared to the near-constant violence breaking out across the country in recent months, possibly because of Ramadan. Heavy rains in various parts of the country have also limited insurgents mobility. On Wednesday, a massive Taliban attack was thwarted by security forces in Ghazni Province. Afghan forces stopped a Humvee that was laden with explosives and heading toward government buildings in the provincial capital. The explosion that resulted from security forces striking the Humvee with a rocket killed two civilians and two police officers. [Read the Afghan War Casualty Report from previous weeks.] May 22 Ghazni Province: two security forces and two civilians killed Two children and two members of the security forces were killed and 12 people, seven civilians and five members of the security forces, were wounded, when a Humvee laden with explosives was hit by a rocket before reaching its target in Ghazni City. Four suicide attackers inside the Humvee were also killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. May 20 Kapisa Province: four civilians killed A motorcycle was hit by a roadside bomb in the Dar-e-Afghani area of Nejrab District, killing one child, two women and a man. The bomb was planted by the Taliban to target security forces. A push by Mr. Byford to improve the system has shown results. The on-time rate for trains jumped to nearly 80 percent last month up from about 68 percent a year earlier. Officials have focused on making physical repairs to the aging infrastructure and speeding up the trains. While the brake puller is unlikely to have affected the on-time rate, he has made more than a few New Yorkers late, and now joins an infamous list of people who have deliberately interfered with the citys train operations, either because of an obsessive interest in trains or out of simple malevolence. Perhaps the best known is Darius McCollum, known as the train bandit, who has been arrested 32 times for impersonating transit employees, stealing trains and buses and driving their routes. He has a passion for trains and his exploits were turned into a documentary, Off The Rails. The offenders apparent use of a key to enter the train cab raised questions over whether he knew someone at the transit agency. How the offender obtained the key is one factor being investigated by transit officials. Brake cords are also located inside train cars so passengers can use them in an emergency. Officials said that they were analyzing dozens of incidents since the start of the year that involve factors like brake activations or surfer sightings to determine the actual scope of the brake-pulling spree. They are also reviewing security footage and requested photos and videos from riders. Each time, it was the same method, officials said. A man surfs on the back of the train, then gains access to an operating cabin. He goes inside, pulls the emergency brake and then escapes onto the track . The 2 and 4 lines were the most frequent targets. The result, Mr. Byford said, is a double whammy. The person not only stops the train, but when he flees onto the tracks workers have to cut the power to look for him, delaying even more trains. Barbara Brancaccio, a spokeswoman for Nycha, said the plan has not been finalized, but that it would eventually generate at least $168 million that would be used for repairs at the Fulton Houses. This means that if they want new residential buildings built near or at the location where there is currently a playground, and they want the playground relocated, then we will work with the developer to incorporate this vision into the design, she said. She added that the playground renovations were underway before the most recent plan to build at the Fulton Houses was even conceived. Sean Campion, a senior research associate at the Citizens Budget Commission, a watchdog group, said the about-face spoke to the states historical lack of coordination with Nycha over how the states resources should be invested in Nychas greatest needs. The funding for the playground stems from a $100 million public housing package that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo approved in 2015, but was wary of handing over directly to Nycha because of its reputation of mismanagement. The $100 million is going to be controlled by the state because the state has a better track record at construction, Mr. Cuomo said at the time. Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat, tried to convince the governor to entrust the $100 million to the housing agency to fix leaky roofs, one of the main causes of mold. Instead, the governor divided the money among members of the Assembly to fund smaller projects, like upgrades to security cameras, outside lighting and playground repairs. Sol Yaged was 12 and living in Coney Island when he first heard Benny Goodman and his band on the radio in 1935. It was an experience that would guide him for more than 80 years. They were so hot I still get goose pimples talking about this band 60 years ago, 65 years ago, Mr. Yaged said in an interview in 2000 for the Fillius Jazz Archive at Hamilton College in upstate New York. I says, Ive got to buy a clarinet. I didnt know if I was going to be a professional or not. Mr. Yaged (pronounced YAY-ged) never held any job but clarinetist. And he was so fixated on Goodman and his artistry as a teenager, Mr. Yaged started building a friendship with him by attending many of his performances and talking to him outside stage doors that he could easily conjure his mentors lyricism and creamy, elegant tone. If it hadnt been for Benny Goodman, Mr. Yaged often said, Id have been a juvenile delinquent. Mr. Yaged, who continued to perform until about a year ago, died on May 11 in an assisted living facility in Coconut Creek, Fla., his grandson, Jon Yaged, said. He was 96. I know many women yearn for an apology like that. Eve Ensler, the renowned feminist playwright, just published a powerful book, The Apology, that lays out in wrenching detail what she wished her father had said to her after years of brutal violence and sexual abuse. What I experienced in my dorm room was far less horrific but I still couldnt accept his apology. I didnt even think I wanted one. I told myself that I wanted nothing from him. I refused his offer to pay for the abortion. I refused to allow him to drive me to the clinic or to care for me upon my release. I refused to allow him to believe that there was anything he could do to make up for what he had done. And yet, years later, I realized that I was free. I no longer felt fear, anger or resentment toward the man who raped me. Without even realizing it, I had forgiven him. Its difficult to imagine that I would feel the same if he had shown me no care or concern, or if I had been forced to endure a fresh wave of trauma in our court system, or if I had been forced to give birth to a child that I did not choose. My daughter listened to my story with wide, frightened eyes. She did not want to hear that something like this had happened to me or that it could happen to her. Eventually she asked whether I thought my rapists apology was truly sincere. Her skepticism was well founded. After all, many abusive partners apologize over and over again for the harm theyve done even as they continue to do it. I would never tell my daughter or any woman to accept an apology or to forgive a man who abuses her. Nor would I tell any woman whether she should or should not terminate a pregnancy. Those are not my choices to make. What I did say to my daughter, as she sat perched on our kitchen stool, is that I am filled with gratitude for the women who came before us women who fought for the right to choose, who dared to imagine that we had the right to control our bodies and who said loudly and proudly that we should not be forced to bear children against our will. Roe v. Wade is rooted in a basic understanding that womens lives matter and that we have rights, needs and interests that dont vanish when we become pregnant. Pregnancy and childbirth can be extremely difficult emotionally and physically painful and bringing a child into the world is an enormous responsibility. Deciding whether or not to give birth may be the most important decision a woman will ever make, potentially changing the course of her life forever or ending it. Black women, in particular, have high mortality rates during pregnancy. In some areas of Mississippi, black and Latina women are more likely than women in some of the poorest countries in the world to experience a pregnancy-related death. Forcing any woman to see a pregnancy to term may be risking her life as well as her physical and emotional health. I said to my daughter, as a young woman, you will be faced with many difficult choices in your life and I cannot protect you from all that may come your way. You will have to decide for yourself what you think about abortion and everything else. I will always respect the careful decisions you make. But since you asked me, I will tell you: If we want to continue to have the rights and freedoms that were won in the generations that came before us, if we want gender and racial equality, and if we want the right to control our own bodies and destinies, we are going to have to stand up, speak out and fight for our right to choose. Justice Stevens, alone, disagreed. The preamble was an unequivocal endorsement of a religious tenet of some but by no means all Christian faiths, he wrote in his separate opinion. It serves no identifiable secular purpose, he continued, adding, That fact alone compels a conclusion that the statute violates the Establishment Clause. Each side attracted supporting briefs from religious organizations, a total of 67 friend-of-the-court briefs in all. In words that are perhaps even more relevant today than they were 30 years ago, Justice Stevens explained: Bolstering my conclusion that the preamble violates the First Amendment is the fact that the intensely divisive character of much of the national debate over the abortion issue reflects the deeply held religious convictions of many participants in the debate. He concluded, the Missouri legislature may not inject its endorsement of a particular religious tradition into this debate. There was once a robust Establishment Clause conversation surrounding restrictions on abortion. In 1976, just three years after the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, Congress enacted the Hyde Amendment, cutting off abortion coverage for poor women under the Medicaid program. The legislative debate was replete with references to the immortal soul of a fetus and even to Herods slaughter of the innocents. A representative of the United States Catholic Conference was highly visible as an adviser to the members of the House of Representatives who were negotiating with senators on the amendments final form. The lawsuit that abortion-rights groups filed immediately after the laws passage prominently included the Establishment Clause in contending that the amendment was unconstitutional. But the Establishment Clause argument never got traction, either with the federal district judge who declared the Hyde Amendment unconstitutional or with the Supreme Court, which reversed that decision and upheld the amendment in 1980. The court will face another Establishment Clause test, which it will predictably fail, in a year or so when it confronts the Trump administrations Religious Exemption Rule. This rule grants employers who have religious objections to birth control an opt-out from the Affordable Care Acts mandate to cover contraception in the employee health plan. The rule represents a metastasis from the Supreme Courts Hobby Lobby decision in 2014, which granted an exemption on the understanding that female employees would get their birth-control coverage directly from the employers insurance carrier. But the Trump rule offers no such workaround. Women with the misfortune to work for anti-contraception employers will become second-class citizens, their statutory right to full health care benefits sacrificed to protect the boss from complicity in the sin of birth control. Two Federal District Courts have issued injunctions to bar the rule from taking effect, based on faulty administrative procedure rather than on constitutional grounds. The cases are now at the Court of Appeals level. In the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 14 leading scholars of the Constitutions religion clauses have filed a brief arguing that the rule manifests unconstitutional religious favoritism, an unyielding preference for religious interests over any conceivable secular interest, while shifting serious burdens to third parties. This month, the administration issued an expanded conscience rule to permit health care workers, down to the level of receptionist, to opt out of involvement with procedures to which they have moral or religious objections. Another new rule to be issued shortly would limit protections for transgender patients seeking even ordinary health care by expanding opt-outs for providers who have religious objections to treating them. These new measures, carrying out the presidents pledge to serve the interests of his allies on the religious right, will undoubtedly be the subject of lawsuits. As I said earlier, Im a realist. There is no chance the Supreme Court will be receptive to Establishment Clause arguments. Thats all the more reason not to lose the Establishment Clause from our working civic vocabulary. While FARC has disarmed and many of its soldiers have returned to civilian life, the government has largely ignored its promises of rural aid and development that were pivotal to the agreement universal education from preschool through secondary school, access to drinking water and development of electricity, roads, bridges and jobs. As many as 3,000 militants have resumed fighting. The army has stepped up attacks against militants and alleged criminals, leading even some officers to fear that such aggressive tactics will lead to civilian deaths. At the same time, paramilitary gangs have reportedly killed at least 500 activists and community leaders since the peace agreement was reached. More than 210,000 people have been displaced from their homes since 2016 by the renewed fighting. The current president, Ivan Duque, and his right-wing allies have sabotaged peaceful progress under the pact, in which the government was to work with the rebels to replace coca production with other crops. It has cut funding for that initiative, and last year land used for coca production reached a new high, while paramilitaries and criminal gangs, also lured by cocaine profits, dominate regions where FARC once held sway. A crucial, and most controversial, element of the deal involved creating a reconciliation process in which rebels and government soldiers would testify under broad immunity before tribunals about the horrors of the long war. Blame would be assigned, with no one facing jail time, except for a few specific crimes. Now Mr. Duque is pushing to overhaul the tribunals so that former rebels could face harsher punishment. This article is part of David Leonhardts newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday. Being left of Obama doesnt make you extremely progressive, Pete Buttigieg told me last week, when we met in Chicago to record a conversation for the new episode of The Argument podcast. My question to Buttigieg the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate had been about tax policy. Specifically, I wanted to know whether he supported an annual wealth tax and how high he thought the top marginal income tax rate should be. He said he did support a wealth tax, arguing that it was not so different from a property tax. On income taxes, he said something I hadnt heard him, or anyone else, say before: He is intrigued by a top rate of 49.9999 percent. Theres something about paying the majority of a dollar that comes your way to Uncle Sam that I think people have more trouble with, he explained. He also said he would favor a financial transaction tax. Four of the most magnificent bronze statues that have survived from ancient Greece most likely buried to hide them from the Romans were discovered in central Piraeus in 1959 by workers for the local water and sewage company. Since then, construction on metro and tramline extensions has revealed much about the citys past; archaeologists and construction crews have worked closely to preserve artifacts. In fact, contracts for major projects provide a strict framework, with construction firms paying for excavations. The Piraeus Port Authority has expressed willingness to respect the past and to conserve antiquities, in accordance with the concession agreement ratified by the Greek Parliament which includes paying 2.5 million for the ancient walls restoration. So what would be the point in declaring so much of Piraeus an archaeological site? And if this is so important to archaeologists, why wasnt it done earlier? Culture Ministry officials say that if the Central Archaeological Councils proposal is accepted, development will not stop. All we are saying is that under this city lies the ancient city, one of them told me. But this was never in question. Greek cities will hold mayoral elections on Sunday. Nikos Belavilas, the candidate in Piraeus from Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprass left-wing Syriza party, is behind in the polls. Presenting himself as a critic of the Chinese construction project would make him appear a guardian of the citys past and would appeal to the left-wing voters, who are skeptical of the Chinese development project. Mr. Belavilas has been careful: He says he supports Chinese investment, but he also welcomed the proposal as the application of the law. He told a Greek news site, When investors do not have the mentality of conquerors or colonialists, everything can be achieved. The main opposition party, the center-right New Democracy, on the other hand, attributed the Councils intervention to the governments ideological obsessions, saying that these undermine building activity in the countrys largest port. The incumbent mayor, Yannis Moralis, said that no one knows how applying the proposal would affect life and business in the city. Mr. Tsipras was in Beijing last month for the Belt and Road Forum, where Piraeuss port was presented as one of the projects enhancing Chinas connection to the global economy. But the prime minister is a convert to this position. When Syriza came to power, in early 2015, it opposed privatization in principle, but Greeces creditors forced it to adapt, leading to the sale of the majority stake in the port in August 2016. The Chinese company, which has run a container terminal there for nearly 10 years, says its investments have already generated jobs for more than 3,000 people and, indirectly, for another 10,000. Nearly two months after the councils proposal, the culture minister is yet to make a decision conveniently tying the drama around Piraeuss development to Sundays mayoral and European Parliament elections. It allows Syriza to tell its voters that it fights big interests, even as it signs deals with them. Nikos Konstandaras is a columnist at the Greek newspaper Kathimerini and a contributing opinion writer. Over the years, thousands of cadets at the United States Military Academy, myself included, have memorized and recited West Points Cadet Prayer. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, the prayer goes, and never to be content with a half-truth when the whole can be won. Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice, and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy. The prayer describes the value of acting for good, and how moral authority is itself the deepest source of power. Cadets are taught that ones values ought to be the primary reason to seek power, and its only justification for use. This is the essence of the courage described in the prayer, the courage that should be a part of every leaders core. But we as a nation and as leaders have not always demonstrated this courage. Two major events in my career illustrate when we acted for good with our values in mind, and when we did not. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, the Hutu presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, was shot down over Kigali, the Rwandan capital. Their assassinations sparked a campaign of ethnic cleansing whose scope and brutality would shock the world. Early in the crisis, the American government expressed concern and called on Hutu authorities in Rwanda to halt the unfolding genocide. Washington pleaded for the United Nations to reinforce its small peacekeeping force in Rwanda to end the slaughter. But that was the extent of it. If President Trump is looking for ways to strengthen Americas economic competitiveness without the toxic fallout of his trade conflicts, there is a simple move he could make that would improve the trade balance, create tens of thousands of jobs, win him bipartisan praise and, as a side benefit, help save the planet. Its time for Mr. Trump to embrace the Kigali agreement. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol of 1987 is, technically, a climate-change deal possibly the most important climate-change deal that most people have never heard of. Agreed to in October 2016 by delegates from 197 nations at a conference in Kigali, Rwanda, the accord sets hard targets for the global phaseout of chemical coolants called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. HFCs lack the ozone-destroying potency of their chlorofluorocarbon predecessors, which were banned by the original 1987 treaty. But, as greenhouse gases go, they are devastating, packing 1,000 times the heat-trapping punch of carbon dioxide. Scientists estimate that the Kigali Amendment could prevent a warming of up to 0.44 degrees Celsius by centurys end, meaningful progress in the quest to hold temperature increases to under two degrees above preindustrial levels. When the accord was announced in 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry proclaimed it the biggest thing we can do in one giant swoop to combat climate change. The agreement took effect this January. So far, 72 countries have ratified it. The United States is not among them, and Mr. Trump shows no sign of submitting the deal for Senate approval. Weve also seen it throughout his presidency, as he demands cruel, brutal treatment of migrants. When Customs and Border Protection agents used tear gas against asylum seekers near Tijuana, Mexico, Trump defended them: Heres the bottom line: Nobodys coming into our country unless they come legally. Pardoning accused war criminals is, in a sense, just more of the same. If Trump goes through with these Memorial Day pardons, it wouldnt be the first time he has used his pardon power to affirm the virtue of racialized brutality. Recall how in 2017 he pardoned Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff convicted of contempt of court for refusing to end his racial profiling of the states Latino residents. In addition to his racist, anti-immigrant practices, Arpaio was notorious for his dehumanizing treatment of prisoners in his care. He operated an open-air jail where inmates were exposed to the elements (including scorching Arizona summers) and fed meager meals. All of this clearly impressed Trump, who praised Arpaio as an outstanding sheriff and a great American patriot. Trump wants law enforcement to act that way he has encouraged the police to assault suspects (When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough, I said, please dont be too nice) and so he pardoned a cruel sheriff. He wants soldiers to behave brutally, so he plans to pardon men accused of war crimes. Just last month, he complained that our military, dont forget, cant act like a military would act when facing asylum seekers. Trump wants to dominate the targets of his hatred with arbitrary violence. With these pardons, he has made a promise to those who might engage in the violence he admires: If you do these things, I will protect you. Theres a reason the president has nearly unlimited power to pardon. The criminal code of every country partakes so much of necessary severity, that without an easy access to exceptions in the favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 74. The pardon power was meant to correct wrongs, to forgive offenders and show mercy, to promote virtue and affirm the best values of our society. But in Trumps hands it has become, like so much of our constitutional system, a tool for vice. Its yet another way he can realize the harsh vision of his campaign another way he can fulfill his promise to target the disfavored and disdained with the power of the state. On Wednesday, Donald Trump stormed out of a meeting on infrastructure with Democratic leaders and held a tantrum of a news conference. He was indignant that the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, had said earlier in the day that he was engaged in a cover-up, and insisted he wouldnt work with Congress unless it stops investigating him. You cant do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over with, he said. Shortly afterward, Pelosi was interviewed onstage at a conference of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. The fact is, in plain sight, in the public domain, this president is obstructing justice and hes engaged in a cover-up, and that could be an impeachable offense, she said, to applause from a crowd full of Democratic operatives and donors. She pointed out that the third article of impeachment against Richard Nixon involved his refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas, which, of course, Trump has done as well. A few moments later she described Trump as an existential threat to our democracy. Yet even as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers are calling for an impeachment inquiry, Pelosi insists that the time has not yet come for such a serious step. The House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment, she told reporters on Thursday. This position is increasingly incoherent. If Trumps outrageous misdeeds are visible for all to see and they are you dont need further investigation to justify beginning an inquiry into whether impeachment is justified. Pelosi has suggested that impeachment will distract from the affirmative Democratic agenda, but the Republican-controlled Senate is no more going to pass progressive legislation than it will vote to remove Trump. And now the president has ruled out action on bipartisan initiatives like infrastructure investment, essentially refusing to fulfill his constitutional responsibilities whether hes impeached or not. President Trumps feckless trade war is bludgeoning the bottom line of the Republican Partys reliable rural base. But the partys disregard for the economic interests of its own constituents goes well beyond barriers to Chinese markets. Small towns and rural areas, along with some Rust Belt metros, are falling ever further behind booming urban dynamos leaving many heavily Republican regions in a deepening morass of economic deterioration, joblessness, substance abuse and declining life expectancy. The lower-density places most Republicans call home produce barely half as much wealth as our biggest cities and its showing. Yet the travails of Americas struggling red regions, and practical ideas about might be done to alleviate them, are barely mentioned in right-leaning policy circles. For example, The Once and Future Worker, a widely discussed book by Oren Cass, a former economic policy adviser to Mitt Romney now at the Manhattan Institute, focuses on initiatives to expand employment and wages for American workers but largely neglects the changing geography of economic output and opportunity behind the woes of heartland workers. Worse, the Republican Party under Mr. Trump has blundered into a positively anti-rural economic agenda, leaving the soybean fields littered with $20 bills for enterprising Democratic presidential hopefuls to pick up. The presidents nativist immigration agenda deprives farms and small factories of workers local economies cant otherwise supply, while the administrations latest budget proposal continues the Republican assault on the health care and social insurance programs rural populations increasingly rely on to survive. SAN FRANCISCO Facebook, facing withering criticism from governments around the world, said Thursday that it had been more aggressive in recent months about scrubbing its platform of hate speech. In a report the company releases biannually, Facebook also said its automated detection software that scrubs illicit content was improving: It now automatically detects and removes more than half of the hate speech on the platform. Regulators have expressed renewed interest in cracking down on Facebook after a gunman in Christchurch, New Zealand, live-streamed his mass killings on his Facebook account. The video was viewed just 4,000 times before Facebook removed it, but it spread rapidly across the internet and was reposted millions of times. The quick distribution of the video and the apparent inability of Facebook and other tech companies to stop it from spreading led to calls from regulators who said the company must do a better job of policing the content posted on its platform. A good musical need only be good the first time you see it. An excellent one must remain excellent through many visits and incarnations. By that standard, Dear Evan Hansen, which won six Tony Awards in 2017, is both good and excellent. Halfway through its third year at the Music Box Theater on Broadway, with just two of its original cast members still on board, it keeps revealing new charm, new sadness, new truth. New talent, too: Four of the actors now playing its five teenage characters are making Broadway debuts; two of them are actual teenagers. Though this changes the weight and balance of the story, making it more hopeful while tipping its center of gravity toward the parents, Dear Evan Hansen works beautifully regardless. The most significant change comes with the recasting of Evan himself, a role that requires ridiculous emotional and physical stamina. Following in the tortured footsteps of Ben Platt, Noah Galvin and Taylor Trensch is Andrew Barth Feldman, who at 17 is the youngest Evan yet. When he took over the role, in January, he was even younger than the character. Mary-Louise Parker will return to Broadway this fall to star in The Sound Inside, a two-character play about a professor with a difficult diagnosis and a creative writing student with a lot to say. The play, by Adam Rapp, was first staged last summer by the Williamstown Theater Festival in Massachusetts. Jesse Green, the co-chief theater critic for The New York Times, called the 90-minute, two-character drama astonishing and praised Ms. Parker for a sensationally controlled performance. Ms. Parker, in an interview, called the show probably the most daunting thing Ive ever done, and said she looked forward to continuing to develop her character through further rehearsals and performances. I like that shes an academic, and more of an intellectual, because I havent often gotten to enlist that part of myself, she said. [Read the review of the Williamstown production of The Sound Inside here.] The Broadway production, like that at Williamstown, will be directed by David Cromer, who won a Tony Award last year for his direction of The Bands Visit, and will feature Will Hochman, making his Broadway debut, as the student. Except, it turns out that a lot of the things that get attention in these optimize your baby strategies do not actually seem to boost child outcomes. Ive done a lot of research on this recently, and the overwhelming sense you get is that much of these investments do not matter. [The topics new parents are talking about. Evidence-based guidance. Personal stories that matter. Visit NYT Parenting for everything you need to raise thriving babies and kids.] Take the Teach Your Baby to Read system, which promises that you can do just that, starting around 3 months. It uses an expensive system of flash cards and DVDs to (ostensibly) teach very young children (under 2) to read. This system relies heavily on video. But studies show that babies do not learn well from video in general. Given this, it is perhaps not surprising that randomized evaluation showed that the system did not confer reading abilities on babies age 9 months to 18 months. The researchers noted that this poor result was measured despite claims by parents that the system was very successful, suggesting that it is easy to trick yourself into thinking your child can read. We see, similarly, no evidence that Baby Einstein-style videos can teach children to have a larger vocabulary. Playing Mozart in the womb doesnt confer any benefits either. And when it comes to the age-old (by which I mean, decade-old) upper-middle-class debate over preschool philosophies? There is no evidence that Montessori is better than play-based, or vice versa. How do we understand these contrasts where, on the one hand, the first few years are the crucible of success and, on the other, the kind of investments that many of us obsess about do not seem to matter much? The answer is that we tend to ignore the big picture. The differences we see by demographic groups in the United States the inequality of outcomes for children from poor and rich backgrounds are driven by a combination of vast differences in experiences. Over the years, the hunt for the remains of the last ship known to have brought enslaved people into the United States has been fraught with a mix of tumult and hope. There was a discovery last year of wreckage that, after much excitement and international headlines, was determined a false alarm. Hopes were raised, then dashed, then raised again not only among marine archaeologists, but also among the descendants of the ships human cargo, many of whom make their homes in a tiny South Alabama community called Africatown. Then, on Wednesday, came an announcement from the Alabama Historical Commission: Another shipwreck, one of many marooned under a muddy stretch of the Mobile River, was almost certainly the Clotilda, a wooden vessel of horrors that carried 110 Africans to the United States in 1860, more than a half-century after the importation of slaves was declared illegal. The find, historians said, revives a story of unspeakable cruelty, but also the story of a people who somehow survived this indignity and many others like it. President Trump said Thursday that he had tried to stop the release of John Walker Lindh, known widely as the American Taliban, from an Indiana prison, but that there was no legal way to do so. Mr. Lindh was freed on probation after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence for providing support to the Taliban, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was captured during the invasion of Afghanistan in the fall of 2001 and returned to the United States the next year. Mr. Trump said at an afternoon news conference that he was unhappy about Mr. Lindhs release, but that the best lawyers in our country that work for government had told him there was no way to legally stop it. The lawyers have gone through it with a fine tooth comb, Mr. Trump said. If there was a way to break that, I would have broken it in two seconds. Mr. Batali had observed her taking a photo of him with her phone, and told her to come here right now, the complaint said. She went over to apologize and to tell him she would erase it, she told the police, but instead, he offered to take a selfie with her and grabbed her as they posed. The complaint matched an allegation made by Natali Tene, who filed a lawsuit against Mr. Batali in August. In a statement on Thursday, Ms. Tenes lawyers said that she was grateful that the charge had been filed. The lawyers, Eric M. Baum and Matthew J. Fogelman, said that Mr. Batali should be held accountable criminally and civilly for his actions. A lawyer for Mr. Batali, Anthony E. Fuller, disputed Ms. Tenes account. Mr. Batali denies the allegations in both this criminal complaint and the civil complaint filed last August, Mr. Fuller said in a statement to The New York Times on Wednesday. The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit. He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali. Last year, three other women also told the police in New York that Mr. Batali had sexually assaulted them years earlier at two Manhattan restaurants where he was an owner or an investor. But a New York Police Department official confirmed in January that it had closed those investigations because of a lack of evidence and limits imposed by the statute of limitations. For days, she had been worried about the swollen Missouri River, which snakes through the city only blocks from her house. All we could think was flooding, flooding, flooding, she said. Then the sirens go, and its, Get to your basement. The whole neighborhoods destroyed. Not long after the storm had roared through town, parts of the capital were cloaked in darkness, with the only illumination coming from police lights and cellphones. Wayne Weldon, who is 75 and a double amputee, rode out the storm at home. When it was over, there was a hole in the roof in his guest bedroom, not far from where he took shelter. I could see the sky, he said. Sharp-eyed observers noted that the storm that hit Jefferson City lacked the familiar ropy vortex shape associated with tornadoes. Instead, the tornado was a thick wide band, a shape that informal tornado watchers call a wedge tornado. The shape, according to Michael Tippett, a professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University, suggests that the tornado was likely a large one. The tornadoes that caused the most damage and are the most dangerous are the ones which are large and long-lived, and they have a long track, Dr. Tippett said. These storms can last for tens of miles instead of hundreds of yards. Meteorologists also said they could detect by radar that debris had lofted to nearly 14,000 feet. That sort of signature happens when we get bad tornadoes, said Mr. Franks, the National Weather Service meteorologist. These types of tornadoes are pretty rare. For most of American history, it was rare for the government to treat the leaking of its secrets to the news media as a crime. But starting in the second half of the George W. Bush administration and accelerating during the Obama administration, the Justice Department began making much more routine use of the Espionage Act to go after officials who provided information to the public through reporters, as opposed to actual spies. The World War I-era law criminalizes the disclosure of potentially damaging national security secrets to someone not authorized to receive them. On its face, the Espionage Act could also be used to prosecute reporters who publish government secrets. But many legal scholars believe that prosecuting people for acts related to receiving and publishing information would violate the First Amendment. That notion has never been tested in court, however, because until now the government has never brought such charges. The closest it came was indicting two lobbyists for a pro-Israel group in 2005 who received classified information about American policy toward Iran and passed it on. But that case fell apart after several skeptical pretrial rulings by a judge, and the charges were dropped. Though he is not a conventional journalist, much of what Mr. Assange does at WikiLeaks is difficult to distinguish in a legally meaningful way from what traditional news organizations like The Times do: seek and publish information that officials want to be secret, including classified national security matters, and take steps to protect the confidentiality of sources. The Obama administration had also weighed charging Mr. Assange, but rejected that step out of fears that it would chill investigative journalism and could be struck down as unconstitutional. A Justice Department official declined to address whether there was any new evidence that had come to light recently or whether the Trump administration had simply decided to take a step the Obama administration had shied away from. The three charges that squarely addressed Mr. Assanges publication of government secrets were focused on a handful of files that contained the names of people who had provided information to the United States in dangerous places like the Afghanistan and Iraq war zones, and authoritarian states like China, Iran and Syria. The evidence laid out in the indictment against Mr. Assange mapped onto information presented by military prosecutors in the 2013 court-martial trial of Ms. Manning. Prosecutors in her case also alleged that her actions endangered the people whose names were revealed in the documents when Mr. Assange published them, though they presented no evidence that anyone was killed as a result. When Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a wide-ranging speech on education Saturday, he became the first major Democratic candidate to propose a detailed plan to racially integrate schools, calling for $1 billion in funding to support local integration efforts, such as magnet schools and busing. It was the type of robust agenda that integration advocates say they have waited decades for. But for some, those ideas were overshadowed by more divisive elements of the proposal: Mr. Sanderss plan to freeze federal funding for all new charter schools, and the link his plan made between charter schools and segregation. Many Democrats, most notably Barack Obama, support charters as a way to provide more options to families, especially those that are too poor to move to a higher-quality school district or pay for private school. The impact of charters on school segregation is hotly disputed in education circles, and by linking these elements, Mr. Sanders touched a nerve in a highly charged debate within the party. Blaming charters for school segregation is galling, said Amy Wilkins, a vice president at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and a longtime advocate in Washington for racial equity in education. What Brown v. Board of Education did was say that government cant tell black parents which public schools they can and cant send their kids to. What Senator Sanders is saying with his attempt to limit charter schools is telling black parents, who overwhelmingly support charters, that they cant send their kids to charters anymore. WASHINGTON The Senate on Thursday passed a long-delayed disaster relief package, a step toward ending a monthslong impasse that had prevented the release of billions of dollars in aid for farmers and communities struggling to recover from an onslaught of natural disasters over the last two years. Minutes after a tornado warning blared through the Capitol chambers, the Senate voted 85 to 8 to allocate $19.1 billion for recovery efforts across the country. While the package included $900 million for Puerto Rico that President Trump had objected to, it did not include funds for the southwestern border that the White House had pressed for. We took it all out. Were going to try to push that separately when we come back, Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama and the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters, referring to the administrations request for additional aid for the border. Its a good deal. This disaster issue has played on for months and months. Although most representatives have left Washington for a weeklong Memorial Day recess, House leaders hope to pass the emergency spending bill as soon as Friday using unanimous consent. But some House Republicans are likely to be discontent with the measure, and any lawmaker could block the motion and delay final passage until the full chamber returns. Now, the preliminary findings of an interesting study by two political scientists at the University of Denver are shedding some light on how the political past may influence the way Democratic primary voters think about the future. The researchers, Pavielle Haines and Seth Masket, surveyed 845 white voters who generally consider themselves Democrats. Half were shown a fictitious article from The New York Times (actual fake news!) that said Democrats had lost the 2016 election and failed to take back control of the Senate in 2018 because the party focused too much on identity politics. Participants then assessed the profiles of 20 generic candidates, who varied by gender, race, ideology and top policy issues. The idea was to assess the impact of a dominant narrative about electability that emerged in the months following the 2016 race: that Democrats lost because they overemphasized issues of gender, race and sexual politics. The studys conclusions echo an idea Ive heard from voters in early primary states: Introducing a postelection theory of electability even if the current contest bears little resemblance to the previous election can prompt voters to reassess their candidate preferences. That is particularly true when it comes to female candidates and voters, the study suggests. Women who were shown the fake article were more than twice as likely to blame identity politics for the Democrats losses. They were nearly 50 percent less likely to pick a female candidate in 2020 and more likely to prefer an economically oriented candidate over one focused on goals like reducing racial discrimination in criminal sentencing, ensuring fairer prison sentences for nonviolent criminals or addressing discrimination in the workplace. Benchmark indexes in China, Germany and France all dropped, with the S&P 500 falling 1.2 percent. American crude oil prices were down more than 5 percent, amid growing concern that the trade war would start to drag on global economic demand. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.29 percent at 3 p.m., according to Bloomberg data. That was its lowest closing level this year and a sign that investors were expecting lower levels of growth and inflation. Hopes for a quick resolution to the China trade fight have faded, with both countries hardening their positions after a trade deal collapsed this month. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that no additional meetings with Beijing were scheduled and that he was encouraging American firms to reorient their supply chains and source their products elsewhere. Progress toward a trade agreement between the United States and China collapsed after American negotiators accused Beijing of reneging on terms it had previously committed to. Significant differences remain over how tariffs should be rolled back between the countries, and whether the negotiated provisions must be enshrined in Chinese law. While both sides initially suggested they would continue talking, Beijing has also begun bracing for a long trade fight. In a defiant statement this week, Chinas president, Xi Jinping, called for the Chinese people to begin a modern long march, invoking a time of hardship from the countrys history, which many China watchers viewed as a hardening of Beijings trade stance. I am growing more and more skeptical that there is a place where the two sides can come to a deal, said Edward Alden, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. If I look at the positions the two sides have taken at the moment, I do not see a path to a deal. After the DNA match, Detective Goddard promised to obtain DNA samples from the other two suspects. He said the motel rooms had been cleaned before he had a chance to collect evidence and that the motels security footage had been lost. Six weeks later, he called to say that the assistant district attorney, Ms. Montford, had declined to pursue the case. He referred to the strangulation mark on Ms. Borchardts neck as a hickey and said she had been flirting with the men in the car. Last fall, Ms. Montford told her former sister-in-law, who was also a family friend of the Borchardts, that she did not believe Ms. Borchardts story. The former sister-in-law recorded the conversation, in which Ms. Montford repeatedly describes the encounter with the third man as consensual, according to a transcript included in court filings. She said that the detective had seen video footage from the motel, but that by the time they went back and got it, the hotel had already recorded over it. She also said the reason the detective did not collect evidence was that once both parties say its consensual theyre not going to take any evidence out of that, other than his DNA. Ms. Borchardts lawyers are exploring a potential defamation claim. Finally, after repeated requests, Detective Goddard conducted a formal interview with Ms. Borchardt. He asked her to try to put herself in the minds of her assailants, the lawsuit said, repeatedly told her that her account was not what a jury would want to hear, and asked whether, when the older man was fingering her in the shower, he might have been trying to wash her. Among the shifting explanations for why the case would not be prosecuted, according to the lawsuit: Ms. Borchardts head contusion did not have bone splintering or fracturing and the bruising on her neck was not big enough. It is not clear whether DNA from the other two suspects was ever collected or tested. Strong storms sweeping across the Plains and Midwest over the past two weeks have spawned a wave of destructive tornadoes, including a cluster that touched down in Kansas and Missouri Tuesday evening and at least 10 in Ohio the previous night, wrecking houses and causing at least one death. Tuesday was the 12th consecutive day when at least eight tornadoes were recorded in the continental United States, breaking a record. Hundreds of the storms have struck since mid-April. On Tuesday, tornado watches were also posted in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. And forecasters said severe storms with the potential to generate tornadoes were possible in several regions of the country later in the week. Heres what you can do to stay safe when tornadoes are threatening your area, based on recommendations from the National Weather Service and other experts. CAPE TOWN Elephant hunting will resume in Botswana after a five-year prohibition, the government of that southern African nation said, despite intense lobbying by some conservation advocates to continue the ban. The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism announced the decision on Wednesday, saying that after extensive consultations with all stakeholders, the government had lifted the ban based on the general consensus from those consulted. The policy has long been hotly debated, both within Botswana and in the broader international conservation community, as part of the effort to find the best way to balance the economic needs of the countrys people and demands of conservationists. In recent months, Botswana has come under immense international pressure to preserve the ban, including multiple petitions and threats of tourism boycotts. The Humane Society International, an animal welfare group based in Washington, warned in March that reinstating trophy hunting and starting elephant culls could hurt the countrys economy. The reward for climbers who ascend Mount Everest is a view like none other, an expansive vista of the Himalayas from the highest point on the planet. On Wednesday, those who made it to the top saw something else: Hundreds of other climbers. The final leg of their journey to the summit was a traffic jam of trekkers enticed by good weather, the route clogged by a single-file march of 250 to 300 people along a precarious cliff that caused delays of about three hours. I have had bottlenecks on mountains before but not this many people at such high altitude, Nirmal Purja, a climber who photographed the scene, said in a message. If the weather had turned, he said, it couldve been a real disaster. [Update: Three more climbers died on Mount Everest in a crowded climbing season.] The long, winding line to the peak added risk to what is already one of the most dangerous mountains, raising the possibility of frostbite and oxygen depletion. At least two climbers died after having reached the summit on Wednesday, and their deaths may have been related to the delays. Five years ago, when Mr. Modi made formal his longtime ambition of leading India, he chose as his stage and constituency Varanasi, a city of temples and gods. On Thursday, Mr. Modi was re-elected to that seat, with a victory margin of nearly half a million votes. His partys resounding nationwide victory means the powerful and divisive prime minister will lead India for another five years. Mr. Modi is a self-made man, rising from modest beginnings through his partys Hindu nationalist wing to become the longest-serving chief minister of Gujarat, one of Indias largest states. There, he was known for a blend of business-friendly policies that sped development and the promotion of Hindu nationalist ideology. Varanasi, an ancient city on the banks of the sacred Ganges River, offered the perfect backdrop to take that mix to the national level. Millions of visitors arrive every year for pilgrimages, tourism or Moksha, a Hindu belief that the souls of those who are cremated on a funeral pyre by the sacred river will be free from the cycle of reincarnation. To bathe in the river is to wash away ones sins. Mr. Modi framed his decision to run from Varanasi as a religious calling, intertwining his name with the holy place. If he made progress in modernizing the city, the word of mouth from visitors would become a 24/7 image campaign. The Congress party was eviscerated. Results for the opposition Indian National Congress party, once an unbeatable political force it led India to independence, counted Gandhi as a member and governed for most of the decades since were dismal. By Thursday evening, the party had won or was leading in just 51 seats, a small improvement from 2014 but still one of its worst showings ever. As reality set in on Thursday evening, Congress leaders said they needed to revamp their approach to elections. They admitted that the B.J.P. had raised more money and run a superior campaign. Rahul Gandhi, the head of Congress and the great-grandson of Indias first prime minister, conceded defeat in a brief news conference in New Delhi. Looking heartbroken, he told supporters to prepare for a long battle ahead. I said during the campaign that the people were the masters, and today they have given their verdict, he said. Mr. Gandhi, 48, is seen by many voters as a lightweight compared with Mr. Modi, and has struggled to compete with his much more assertive and intense rival. Of the two Parliament seats Mr. Gandhi contested, he lost one in northern India that the Gandhi family had held for many years. In just one sign of how dire things have become for the party, Mr. Gandhi offered to resign as party leader, according to India Today, a major news outlet. The markets like Modi. Many investors are confident that another Modi government will be good for business, and his victory was seen as a vote for stability. During his first term, Mr. Modi simplified a byzantine tax system, cracked down on corruption and overhauled Indias corporate bankruptcy system. After it became clear that Mr. Modis government was returning to power, Indias stock market shot up 2 percent, to a record high. Im trying to get to Sabarimala Temple, one of Indias holiest Hindu shrines. Youre going to Sabarimala? Were going to the top. But its not easy. We go talk to him? That man. O.K. Lets go. There are police everywhere. Hello, sir. They seem to be on high alert. Times? New York Times. American. American. New York Times. The New York Times, over. Thanks for your help, yeah? Thank you, sir. In the end, I get through, and I walk among thousands of pilgrims who are here to worship the god Ayyappa. Oh, cool. There it is. There it is. This is it. Its like a whole little town here. One group I dont see? Women, between the ages of 10 and 50. The devout believe Ayyappa is a celibate god and those women could tempt him. But I do meet the vigilantes who are here to stop any young women from entering. Right here, what are you looking for? Right here, well be asking: How old are you? Traditionally, women of childbearing age have been banned from coming here. But last year, the Indian Supreme Court said it was illegal to block them. The decision erupted into a religious crisis that lasted for months. [chanting] The devout were furious. They said it was an assault on their religion. And the political right wing seized an opportunity. They rushed in, calling themselves the defenders of tradition, and helped fuel violent protests. So, I came here to feel the reverberations. How much can a controversy over one temple shape politics in the worlds largest democracy? Im Jeffrey Gettleman. Its election time, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely win another five-year term. [cheering and applause] This is the first time Ive actually seen Modi in person. And wow, to rouse his base, he knows exactly what to say and how to say it. Hes trying to leverage the controversy over Sabarimala Temple into votes for his party, the B.J.P. Reporter: Hello, maam. So, you like Modi? Yeah, definitely. Why? I think Reporter: Some people say B.J.P. divides India between Hindus and Muslims. What do you say? Reporter: Even the Muslims? Yeah. Reporter: So, you think of it as Hindus or Indians? Among many Modi supporters, this is a core belief, that India is a Hindu nation, despite the fact that people of many religions live here. And I wonder what this means for minorities, and for the future of this democracy. See, since Modi came to power five years ago, hate crimes against Muslims have shot up. Lynch mobs have killed dozens of people suspected of slaughtering cows, which are sacred to Hindus. To be clear, Modi doesnt encourage the violence, but critics say he hasnt forcefully condemned it, either. Now, his party is riding this wave of Hindu nationalism into the most secular parts of the country. Thats another reason why I came here, to Kerala. Its a progressive state. Modis party has never won a single Parliament seat from here. This is the party that hold the most seats in Kerala, the Indian National Congress. It stands for a pluralist, secular India. So this is the last place Id expect the Hindu right to succeed. But the state has turned into a real battleground, all because of Sabarimala. Not far from the temple, I meet up with K. Surendran on the campaign trail. Hes a B.J.P. candidate for Parliament, and he was one of the thousands arrested for rioting at Sabarimala and physically blocking women from entering. It made him a hero of the Hindu right. Its impressive to see him work the crowd. He doesnt even have to say much. [singing] People here know exactly where he stands on Sabarimala, and thats what matters. Modis party has another advantage a strong ground game. These men are volunteers with the R.S.S. The hardline Hindu organization known for churning out leaders. Theyre basically Modis foot soldiers. There are thousands of branches like this one. Modi, himself, actually rose up through their ranks. Hari Mohan joined this group when he was 9, and now he helps recruit some of the younger guys. As soon as their workout ends, he and his R.S.S. friends fan out to door-knock for Modi and the B.J.P. Whats interesting is Hari doesnt talk about jobs, farms or the broader economy Modi isnt doing so well on those. Instead, Sabarimala Temple is really the issue. I realize that for most people here, even women, the controversy isnt about gender equality. Its about traditions, and who will protect them at all costs. India is a deeply religious country. India is also a secular democracy. These two things are becoming harder to square as religion, and one religion in particular, comes to dominate politics. This moment feels like a battle over very different visions for Indias future. And what happens here in Kerala could predict the direction of the entire country. MANILA The Canadian government said on Wednesday that it would take back tons of garbage sent to the Philippines several years ago, after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered that it be returned immediately. In a statement, Catherine McKenna, the Canadian minister of environment and climate change, said a Canadian company had been awarded a contract to repatriate the trash. Canada values its deep and longstanding relationship with the Philippines and has been working closely with Filipino authorities to find a solution that is mutually acceptable, she said. The company, Bollore Logistics Canada, is to begin preparations for shipping in the coming days, with the removal expected to be completed by the end of June, the Canadian government said. Canada is paying all the costs. MELBOURNE, Australia The Oscar-winning Australian actor Geoffrey Rush will be awarded 2.9 million Australian dollars in his defamation case against Rupert Murdochs Nationwide News, a court said on Thursday, the largest such payout to a single person in Australias history. Mr. Rush was awarded 850,000 dollars, or about $600,000, in initial damages in April after winning his defamation case, in which he accused a tabloid newspaper of wrongly portraying him as having behaved inappropriately toward a female co-star. On Thursday, he was awarded an additional 1.98 million Australian dollars for past and future economic losses and 42,000 dollars in interest. That brought the total award to 2.9 million Australian dollars, or nearly $2 million. Geoffrey Rush obviously has won the battle he is a spectacular winner in the context of litigation, said Matt Collins, an Australian lawyer who is an expert in defamation law. But you would query whether he has ultimately won the war. You would query whether any sum of money would be sufficient to restore his reputation. BARCELONA, Spain When he was prime minister of France, Manuel Valls was seen as a possible heir to the presidency. His ambitions ran aground when he lost the primary election of the Socialist Party, which imploded under pressure from the insurgent candidacy of Emmanuel Macron, who now inhabits the Elysee Palace. Now, Mr. Valls, 56, is looking for a political comeback, this time as a mayoral candidate in Barcelona, which votes on Sunday along with the rest of Spain in local elections that could influence the negotiations over a national government. Mr. Vallss circuitous route to candidacy in Barcelona, where he was born, has opened him to charges from opponents of being an opportunistic carpetbagger, a political shape-shifter looking for a second life. Unusually for a politician, Mr. Valls has not entirely run from the characterization. While he has emphasized his connection to Barcelona, the capital of the region of Catalonia, he has embraced his outsider status. About eight million farmed salmon have suffocated in northern Norway over the past week as a result of persistent algae bloom, an industry body estimated on Thursday, a blight that some experts suggest has been aggravated by climate change. Norway is a dominant producer of farmed salmon, and the economic impact of the bloom is significant. A statement from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries estimated the amount of salmon lost at 11,600 metric tons, worth about 720 million kroner, or more than $82 million. An industry group, the Norwegian Seafood Council, suggested the total could be much higher. Preliminary numbers point to eight million dead fish corresponding to 40,000 metric tons of salmon that wont reach markets, Dag Sorli, a spokesman for the council, said in an email on Thursday. He put the value of the losses at 2.2 billion kroner. LONDON There was an odd feeling in the air Thursday, almost one of suspended animation, as Britons voted in elections for a European Parliament that Britain was supposed to have quit by now and lawmakers took a day off from their back-room machinations to oust Prime Minister Theresa May. At polling stations around the country, people lined up to take a thwack at the main parties, Conservative and Labour, with Leavers streaming to a Brexit Party that did not exist four months ago and Remainers to the Liberal Democrats, previously seen wandering in the political wilderness. Outside polling stations on the eastern edge of London, among the very few parts of the capital that voted for Brexit in 2016, people poured out their frustrations, fed up with the ineptitude, indecision and chicanery that they said had knotted up British politics for three years. Jane Sykes, a supporter of Nigel Farages upstart, single-issue Brexit Party, said simply: The main parties have lost it. Spring and summer cookbooks are different from their fall and winter siblings, the big-name ones who get all the airtime. The authors names might be new, but their voices are strong and independent. They remind me of how the legendary cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey, speaking at the recent womens food conference Cherry Bombe Jubilee, described her childhood: Because she was a girl, and since her sister was prettier, her parents let her run wild to satisfy her creative curiosity, thereby allowing her to become the significant person she is today. And so, as I read and cooked through this seasons assortment of outliers, I was thrilled to get to know so many bright minds and brilliant palates, to be introduced to cultures and techniques that hadnt been front-burnered in my kitchen. Israeli food has been celebrated since Yotam Ottolenghi came on the scene over a decade ago. The culinary traditions of Palestine? Not so much. While working on a human rights campaign in Israels West Bank in 2009, Yasmin Khan found that the difficulty of the days spent in refugee camps relented at night when she was welcomed to local tables to sample bowls of thick hummus and smoky eggplant spiked with peppery olive oil, vibrant herb salads and fresh, sharply flavorful dishes so flavorful that they lured Khan from her home in London back to Israel and the West Bank to learn more about the recipes and realities of life for the millions of Palestinians living there, not to mention the millions who make up the worlds largest refugee population. ZAITOUN: Recipes From the Palestinian Kitchen (Norton, $29.95) is valuable not just for the dishes Khan learned from local women and translated from restaurant meals be they a warm salad of maftoul (a plump kind of couscous) with zaatar chicken, Gazan lentils with Swiss chard and tahini, or turnovers made from a very forgiving yogurt-enriched dough and stuffed with spinach, feta, pine nuts and sumac but for the heartfelt portrait she so deftly paints of this shattered but resilient region. Auburn is mourning the loss of fallen officer William Buechner, who served in the Auburn Police Division for 13 years, and leaders continue to attest of his exemplary attitude and sacrifice to protect city residents. It's (a) profession where you may be required to give your life, Ward 8 councilman Tommy Dawson said. He gave his life Sunday night so this town could be a safer place. Nothing we can do can bring him back. We can honor his memory. Before his retirement from the division as police chief, Dawson worked closely with Buechner, who tragically lost his life while responding to a domestic disturbance Sunday night in the 3000 block of Wire Road, with two of his colleagues injured. I heard sirens go by my house, and Ive been doing it long enough to know a police car from an ambulance, Dawson said. I turned my scanner on to see what was going on, and what I heard sent chills down my spine. I heard that they were performing CPR on an officer. Auburn police Chief Paul Register shared the sorrow and profound loss of William Buechner experienced by division members and the community at a press conference on Monday. An east Alabama man is facing up to 20 years in prison after being convicted Wednesday on a sexual abuse charge. Brandon Scott Gilmore, 34, was found guilty by a Lee County jury for sex abuse of a child under 12 years old. Gilmore is said to have sexually abused a child under the age of 12 on March 16, 2017, according to court records. Gilmore was arrested in June 2017 in relation to the charge and was indicted by a Lee County grand jury on Jan. 1, 2018, according to court records. The trial began Tuesday afternoon and concluded Wednesday. The jury only deliberated for 40 minutes, the Lee County District Attorneys Office said in a statement. This child predator is facing up to 20 years in prison and will have to serve every minute of his sentence, the office said. No parole and no good time for this child molester. The Opelika Police Department led the investigation and Assistant District Attorney Clay Thomas secured the conviction, the office said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Did you know you have dozens of tiny eight-legged arachnids living inside the pores of your face, feeding on the sebum secreted by the skin and mating on your face as you sleep? Dont freak out, though, we all have them, and theres nothing we can do to get rid of them. Demodex folliculorum, or face mites as theyre commonly known, are tiny, tick-like arachnids that can only survive on the skin of humans, particularly their face. They measure around 0.3 millimeters and spend most of their lives buried head-down inside the hair follicles around those very fine, peach fuzz-like hairs that grow on our faces. They feed on sebum, that greasy, oil-like substance that our skin constantly produces to protect itself from drying out, so the highest density of face mites can be found on the oiliest parts of your face around the eyes, nose and mouth. Photo: Pixabay We all have face mites, and no matter how hard we scrub our faces, its impossible to get rid of all of them. But dont worry, even though our faces cannot become mite-free, scientists have found that our immune system usually keep their number in check. That isnt always the case though, and some individuals can develop an overload of face mites, which results in a condition called demodicosis. There is a very particular look to people suffering from demodicosis. We call it the Demodex frost, Kanade Shinkai, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Francisco, recently told NPR. Its sort of a white sheen on the skin. And if you look really closely, you can see [it] coming out of every pore. If you scrape those pores, you can see it frothing with little Demodex face mites. Although we all end up contaminated with face mites, were not actually born with them. Research has shown that newborns have mite-free faces, but they eventually become hosts as well, most likely due to maternal contact. Interestingly, the concentration of face mites increases as we get older. According to Wikipedia, children under 10 have very few face mites, while elderly peoples faces are virtually crawling with them. Its not clear why that is; it may be that the colonies simply grow over long periods of time, or it may be because our skin secrets larger quantities of sebum the face mites food as we get older. Face mites are generally considered harmless, but their mating habits can be considered a bit creepy. While these tick-like creatures spend most of their time buried in our hair follicles, when we sleep they crawl out and mate right on our faces. They then crawl back into the skin follicles to lay their eggs. Theyre not dangerous in a broad sense because we all have them and most of us seem to be cohabiting quite well with them, Michelle Trautwein, an entomologist at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, said. Face mites are definitely the species of animal that we have the closest connection with as humans, even though most of us dont know about them or ever see one in our lifetime. Trautwein adds that face mites are probably as old as our species, as old as homo sapiens, and because of this scientists like her can tell a lot about a persons geographical ancestry what part of the world your ancestors came from just by looking at the mites on their faces. Laura Ling Laura Ling, a crusading human rights journalist who was imprisoned in North Korea, will keynote PRSAs International Conference slated for San Diego from Oct. 20-22. While reporting on the trafficking of women for Current TV in 2009, Ling and colleague Euna Lee were captured by North Korean soldiers along their country's border with China and sentenced to a dozen years of hard labor. After 140 days, president Clinton traveled as a special envoy to North Korea and negotiated their freedom. Ling documented her ordeal in a memoir, Somewhere Inside: One Sisters Captivity in North Korea and the Others Fight to Bring Her Home, which she wrote with her sister, Lisa. Shes also reported on slave labor in the Amazon, womens rights in the Middle East and the energy crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. Laura Lings career has been, and continues to be, marked by poise in the face of adversity and a fierce determination to bring truth to light, said Debra Peterson, PRSA Chair. Her stories are remarkable and captivating, and we are looking forward to hearing and learning from her inspiring journey. Ling has hosted Conquered on Z Living, a series about people who have broken boundaries to overcome obstacles and reach their goals; and two documentaries on E!, E! Investigates and Society X with Laura Ling, She has produced for Channel One News and co-created the MTV documentary Breaking it Down. Lings work has aired on ABC's Nightline, NBC and PBS. PRSA previously announced Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward and Microsofts VP-corporate communications Frank Shaw as speakers at the San Diego conference. The canvassing is over and now it's over to you the voting public. From 7am to 10pm on Friday, May 24, Irish residents registered to vote are asked to have their say on three, and in the cases of Limerick, Waterford and Cork, four different votes. These will be the Local Elections, European Elections, Referendum on the Regulation of Divorce and in the case of Waterford, Cork and Limerick, a plebiscite to decide on a proposal to have a directly elected mayor for the respective cities and counties. You can follow all the counting, news and views with our rolling live blog on www.offalyexpress.ie. Local Elections Firstly, you are asked to vote in the local elections with the votes deciding the make-up of your local county council. Each county council is split into different electoral areas with three or four comprising most local authorities. A total of 1,977 candidates are vying for 949 seats across the 31 local authorities of Ireland. On the local election ballot paper, you will see the names of the candidates standing for election in your electoral area. On this paper, you mark the number '1' beside the name and picture of your preferred candidate. You can continue in order of preference and corresponding numbers for as many candidates as you like. The numbering system works in counting terms by way of elections and eliminations. If your preferred candidate is elected on the first count, your No. 2 preference will get a knock-on vote in the next count. Similarly, your second preference vote will be counted if your first preference has been eliminated. The counts in the local elections will commence on Saturday, May 25 with most seats filled before the end of the weekend. European Elections The second ballot paper you will receive in your local polling station on Friday, May 24 is the European election candidates. Ireland has three constituencies for the European elections, which elect MEPs to represent the country in the European Parliament in Brussels. The three constituencies are Dublin, Ireland South and Midlands North West. A breakdown of which counties vote in which constituencies is printed below: PICTURED: A map of the Irish European election constituencies Ireland will elect 11 MEPs but that number will increase to 13 if and when the UK leaves the European Union. Those two candidates (one in Ireland South and one in Dublin) will be on hold following this election until that time. There will not be a separate election to choose those candidates following Britain's exit. Preference voting in your European election constituency works similarly to the local election with your second preference coming into play once your first preference has been elected or eliminated. Regulation of Divorce Referendum You will also receive a ballot paper to vote in the 2019 Regulation of Divorce Referendum where you will be asked to vote 'Yes' or 'No' to a proposal to change the Constitution of Ireland in relation to divorce. The proposal is about two issues relating to divorce, namely how long people must be living apart before applying for a divorce, and the recognition of foreign divorces. There will be one question on the ballot paper and voters can either vote Yes to allow both changes, or No to reject both changes. Voters cannot accept one change and reject the other. By voting 'Yes' who will give the Oireachtas the powers to legislate on both issues. By voting 'No,' no such legislative action will be permitted and the Constitution will remain unchanged in relation to divorce. Find out more about this vote on www.refcom.ie. Directly Elected Mayor Plebiscites - Waterford, Cork and Limerick Voters in the cities of Waterford, Cork and Limerick will be handed a fourth ballot paper on Friday. This paper will allow them to vote on a proposal to have directly elected mayors in their cities. In this plebiscite, voters will be asked if they approve of the proposal that would allow the people of Waterford, Cork or Limerick to directly elect a mayor with executive functions for a five-year term. At present, the mayor is elected for a one-year term by other councillors in these cities. Under the Governments proposal, the directly elected mayor would have significantly more functions (duties) than a mayor currently has, including some or all of the functions now performed by the chief executive of the City and County Council, and such other functions as may be provided by or under statute. If the proposal is approved by a majority of voters in these cities, the minister will submit a report to the Oireachtas with legislative proposals for an election of a mayor by the people in the respective cities and counties. The Oireachtas will then consider the legislation. If the law is passed, a direct election for mayor will take place. If the proposal is not approved by a majority of voters in Waterford City and County, the current balance of powers and functions in Waterford City and County Council will not be changed without legislation. By voting 'Yes', you will be agreeing with the concept of your city and county directly electing a mayor, thus allowing subsequent legislation. By voting 'No', you will be disagreeing with the concept and the local authority structure in your city and county remaining unchanged. Other information on the plebiscites is available at www.mayors.gov.ie. Round-Up Polling stations around the country will open at 7am and close at 10pm on Friday, May 24. You will be handed three ballot papers (four in the case of Waterford, Cork and Limerick). The first list will comprise the candidates for your local county council; the second will be the list of candidates in your European election constituency; the third will be the proposal on the regulation of divorce. In the case of Waterford, Cork and Limerick, the fourth will be a ballot asking you to vote 'Yes' or 'No' to the proposal to have a directly elected mayor in your city and county. Only those on the register of electors in each county are permitted to vote. You are required to bring your polling card (received by post prior to polling day) or some form of photo ID in order to vote. ARC Offaly (Abortion Rights Campaign) have said they will be continuing their campaign for free, safe, legal and local abortion care on the anniversary of the repeal of the 8th amendment. On May 25, last year, the people of Ireland voted yes to repeal the eighth amendment which placed a constitutional ban on abortion. There are still many issues with the legislation. The mandatory three day waiting period is completely medically unnecessary and has no basis in medical best practice. It creates barriers to care particularly for those in rural areas, vulnerable and marginalised people. People deserve timely abortion care that reflects evidence-based clinical practice, where they live, in a non-stigmatised environment, Charlene Delaney, member of ARC Offaly said. Providers are still being criminalised which results in conservative interpretations of the law. People are still travelling to access legal healthcare. In Offaly, we have no healthcare providers signed up to the MyOptions helpline. All healthcare should be patient-centred and based on medical best practice and the current legislation falls short of this, she continued. They also raised concerns about the restrictive abortion laws in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, abortion is illegal in all cases, including rape or incest. People in Northern Ireland need access to abortion at home. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the people of Northern Ireland have the right to be seen as Irish citizens. The state must adhere to its legal and constitutional obligations for all citizens of Ireland. The restrictive laws in NI violate the basic human rights of every pregnant person in the North. The ability to access free, safe, legal and local abortion is a fundamental human right which all people are entitled to, regardless of their ability, ethnicity, income level, migrations status or geographic location," Ms Delaney said. Just last week Minister Simon Harris confirmed that the Attorney General was finalising new regulations to introduce legislation for safe access zones to prevent anti-abortion protests. We welcome the Minister for Health's commitment to legislate for safe access zones, Ms Delaney added. Abortion is a private matter between a patient, their GP and whomever else they choose to tell. If you are experiencing a crisis pregnancy you can contact the HSEs MyOptions helpline on 1800 828 010. Australia has proven to be a hugely popular destination for Irish people with over 100,000 emigrating there in the last decade. The Irish desire to pack up everything and head to Oz seems to be stronger than ever before with 9,000 Irish people going on the Australia Working Holiday visa this past year, a massive increase of 11% since the year before. However, its still not enough for the Aussies! They want more of us to head Down Under. Tourism Australia has launched a new campaign called Australia Inc. This new initiative seeks to fill thousands of jobs available right now in Australia in a wide range of industries. To help answer their call for Irish backpackers, Tourism Australia have partnered with USIT the work and travel visa experts. USIT can get you to Australia for less than a grand! For only 999 you can get a flight to Oz, a visa, travel insurance and other includes to help you get set up. Check out USITs website for more details. Also check @australia on Instagram for some serious motivation to make the move! Tourism Australia Managing Director, John OSullivan said, Australia Inc. will target a new generation of young Irish traveller and show them that a working holiday in Australia not only offers incredible fun and a life changing experience, but also the environment and opportunity to improve their life skills and employability after they return home. Working holiday makers are crucial to Australias tourism industry, especially the Irish, who have been coming Down Under in large numbers for many years. Dont forget the rules recently changed for Irish passport holders so you can now head to Australia on a one year visa up until the age of 35 (it was previously 30). If youve any questions USIT are on hand so head to their website for more information. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) Peter Advincula, known as Bikoy, the hooded figure who made rounds on social media for claiming that some of the Presidents family members and close allies were linked to an illegal drug trade, has retracted his allegations, saying he was hired by the opposition to spread lies against the administration. Advincula on Thursday said the Ang Totoong Narcolist videos were orchestrated by the Liberal Party under the supervision of Senator Antonio Trillanes. Walang katotohanan, lahat-lahat ng iyon. Iyon ay orchestrated ng kabilang party which is the Liberal Party under the handling of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, he said in a press briefing at the Philippine National Police Headquarters. Advincula, who is facing estafa and large-scale recruitment cases and two warrants of arrest, turned himself to the police on Wednesday, PNP Chief P/Gen. Oscar Albayalde said. Advincula explained that the videos were created to discredit President Rodrigo Duterte so Vice President and opposition leader Leni Robredo could take his place while Trillanes would take over as Vice President. Trillanes maintained his innocence, adding that he will coordinate with his lawyers to file appropriate charges against Advincula. I deny the allegations made by this Bikoy character. This could be another ploy of the administration to harass the opposition, the senators said in a statement. Liberal Party President Senator Kiko Pangilinan also denied his partys involvement in the videos. Wala kaming ugnayan sa video at kay Bikoy. Kasinungalingan lahat ang mga paratang na yan. Gawa-gawa lang ng Administrasyon, Pangilinan said. [Translation: We have nothing to do with the video and Bikoy. Those are all lies. They were made up by the administration.] Advincula said his statements including the supposed dragon tattoo on the back of Senator and former presidential aide Bong Go that would link him to a drug syndicate were fabricated. He also retracted his allegations of drug involvement against former President Benigno Aquino III in 2016. Advincula also claimed his press conference in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on May 6 was planned, saying he had a meeting with Trillanes, the Magdalo Group, and religious groups on May 5. In the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" episodes, Advincula claimed that the Presidents young daughter, his son former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, senatorial candidate and former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Bong Go, and Davao City Mayor Sara Dutertes husband Manases Carpio were participants in a drug syndicate. He revealed his identity to the public at the IBP headquarters due to alleged threats he had been receiving. IBP later denied Advincula's request for legal assistance on May 8 after "thorough evaluation of his application." Trillanes had earlier denied his hand on the "Ang Totoong Narco list" videos after he was accused by Paolo Duterte of masterminding them. The Man Responsible for Getting a Brooklyn Street Named After The Notorious B.I.G. is Trying to Do the Same for The Roots in Philly [Exclusive] Ivie Ani Ivie is a Nigerian-American, native New Yorker, and journalist covering We sat down with LeRoy McCarthy to discuss the obstacles and triumphs of honoring hip-hop icons in cities across America. The Notorious B.I.G. has left an indelible mark on the fabric of New York Citys cultural legacy. Now, theres a street being named after him, on the Brooklyn block where the prolific rapper spent his formative years. St. James Place, between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street, will now be called Christopher Wallace Way. Last week (May 15), the Brooklyn Community Board 2 voted to approve the petition for the re-naming of the boroughs street, 33 to one, with four abstentions. The dedication is expected to be approved by the City Council and Mayor Bill De Blasio as well. The movement has been helped by hip-hop fan and Brooklynite LeRoy McCarthy, a man who has been fighting to find a way to honor the late legends legacy and impact for years. McCarthys proposal for a Biggie street was a struggle. Hed launched the initiative for the intersection in 2013. That year, Committee members objected the proposal because of his criminal record, lyrics, and, amazingly enough, because of his physical appearance. CB2 committee member Lucy Koteen told DNAinfo at the time: [The Notorious B.I.G.] started selling drugs at 12. He was a school dropout at 17. He was arrested for drugs and weapons charge. He was arrested for parole violations. He was arrested in North Carolina for crack cocaine. In 1996 he was again arrested for assaultHe had a violent death and physically the man is not exactly a role model for youth. I dont see how this guy was a role model and frankly it offends me. But after those initial barricades, McCarthy was able to galvanize a wave of support in the form of letters from local churches, a mosque, a block association, local businesses, and thousands of comments and signatures from people all over the world in an online petition advocating for the street name change. We sat down with LeRoy McCarthy to discuss his next efforts and the obstacles and triumphs of honoring hip-hop icons in cities across America. View this post on Instagram HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG POPPA!! Love you always and FOREVER! #BadBoy4Life A post shared by Diddy (@diddy) on May 21, 2019 at 10:15am PDT What do you think The Notorious B.I.G. symbolizes for Brooklyn? Well, Biggie embodied Brooklyn. He represented Brooklyn to the fullest, as he says. But he actually did. You know, Brooklyn moxie. Brooklyn swagger. Brooklyn dialogue. He embodied that within his persona and also in his music. The city has undergone gentrification. Brooklyn has been hit really hard. With that immense cultural shift, what do you think Biggie means to the people of Brooklyn now? Well, thats part of the reason why I did it, in terms of trying to get the recognition for Biggie and for hip-hop in every borough of New York City. To get some of that Brooklyn moxie back what I grew up with. I grew up in Flatbush and Biggie grew up in Bed-Stuy area, and I know how Brooklyn used to be. It might never go back to that. But while Im here, I wanted to at least just share this representation of the history of Brooklyn. The worlds smaller now because of the internet and social media. and back in the day, when you see somebody with a Brooklyn shirt on, before the [NBA team] Nets came to Brooklyn, you just automatically assumed that theyre from where youre from. But Brooklyn is around the world now. Its popular and part of that is because of Biggie and JAY-Z and Mike Tyson. Brooklyn has some very strong international personalities that contributed to its popularity. That popularity contributed to some of the gentrification; people want to move to this famous place that Biggie and JAY-Z were talking about. So that factored into Brooklyn and [its] worldwide popularity. But at the same time, I wanted to just share the Brooklyn that I knew, and Biggie represents that. So, Im glad that the city allowed it to let it pass at the city council. One of the Brooklyn community members was against this getting approved. They didnt believe that Biggie was a good role model for the youth of Brooklyn because of his past. What would you say to that person? This same person and her objections to Biggie she not only said he wasnt a good role model. She said that he did not have the physical characteristics to be a role model. Now, Biggie wasnt running for a beauty pageant. Biggie was a dope MC, a dope storyteller. I say thats ignorant. I just kept on pressing on and eventually, the community board, the city council and the powers that be approved it and its moving forward. So I cant really put too much energy into negativity, especially when they dont know what he talking about. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LeRoy McCarthy (@leroylive) on Sep 26, 2017 at 7:32am PDT And that was the only objection? Well, eventually. That comment was made from the community board meeting in October 2013. It got postponed and then we eventually got support from the city council representative for this district. Then, from there, we went on to get it passed. But its like that in certain ways because I was also responsible for the street name for the Wu-Tang Clan District in Staten Island, which passed and was dedicated on the 4th of May. And Im working on some others as well, but for the most part, its not easy to get hip-hop honored. Im doing this because I think that it will empower the hip-hop community and give recognition to an art form that hasnt received too much support from the powers that be. Are you able to talk about any of the other ones that youre working on? My first success was to honor Sylvia Robinson in Englewood, New Jersey the woman who founded Sugar Hill Records and assembled the Sugar Hill Gang. That was dope. Everythings been a process but everything else has been lethargic. Im trying to honor hip-hop in every borough. Moving forward, Im trying to honor Beastie Boys in Manhattan. Thats pending. Biggie was successful in Brooklyn, Wu-Tang is successful in Staten Island. I initiated the honoring of Phife Dawg in Queens, and that was successful but Im also really trying to get them to add to that same street pole, A Tribe Called Quest Boulevard. So thats hopefully in the works. Im trying to assist the family of Big Pun to have a street named for him in the Bronx. Thats all exciting. Right. So with that and Big Pun, theres no recognition for any Latino hip-hop artists, city-wide. Latinos were there, at the foundation of this whole hip-hop movement. And you cant have the Bronx without Latinos. They were an integral part so its very important to have the cultural representation of Latinos in hip-hop. Youve got African-Americans, you have immigrants, you have Caucasians. A lot of these people were students in the New York City Public School system and they went on to worldwide fame using vocabulary as their form of expression. Also, Im working on honoring the Roots in Philadelphia and Tupac in Oakland. Im trying to get a dog park named for Snoop Dogg and Tha Dog Pound in Long Beach, California. The street naming has been a work in progress and I do have support for it; its just a matter of timing for it to move forward. Mississippi Police Officer Charged With Killing Woman He Was Romantically Involved With Elijah C. Watson Elijah Watson serves as Okayplayer's News & Culture Editor. When The victims sister believes the cop killed her because he was trying hide their affair. A Mississippi cop has been fired after being charged with the murder of a black woman he was romantically involved with. Matthew Kinne was fired from the Oxford Police Department according to NBC News. The 38-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 32-year-old Dominique Clayton in the back of her head. Clayton, a mother of four, was found dead by her 8-year-old son. JUST IN: Matthew Kinne has been fired from the @OxfordPolice. Im told the decision was made Tuesday night during an executive session by the Board of Alderman. It was a unanimous vote @WMCActionNews5 pic.twitter.com/jp3qNiNPDq Allie Herrera (@AHerreraReports) May 23, 2019 Claytons relatives claim that she and Kinne, a white man, were in a relationship. In a separate report from Blavity, Claytons sister, Shyjuan, claimed that Kinne didnt want his wife to find out about his relationship with Clayton. She was having an affair with Matt, the police officer with OPD, Shyjuan said. (He was) real possessive and stalking her kept sneaking in her house I guess he did this so he wouldnt have to tell the wife. You might get your heart shattered on OkCupid. You might get stood up on Tinder, or mismatched on Match, or maybe even fall helplessly for a country fella who looks sexy in Wranglers on FarmersOnly.com. It is hard to say what will happen when you subscribe to an online dating website, because both dating websites and love are notoriously fickle. But there is one certainty when you use a dating service here. You do not pay a cent in sales tax to the State of Nebraska to look for online love. Which raises a sexy question, if you are the sort of person who gets turned on by tax policy. That question is: Why? The issue of sales tax when we pay it, when we dont and why has been thrust into the limelight in the Nebraska Legislature during an ongoing debate about how to lower Nebraskas sky-high property taxes. In fact, theres new movement in the Legislature toward a relatively simple plan to end $100 million in sales tax exemptions and roll that money into property tax relief. Ready for a road trip this weekend? Sargent will be hopping as it holds the Nebraska Junkathon flea market this weekend for the fifth straight year. Vendors from across Nebraska and neighboring states will be gathering in this small town on the edge of the sandhills. Several local antique and gift stores will also be open. Sales open at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday. Dont worry about the rain. Theres plenty of places to shop inside. The historic Livery Stable, the oldest building in Sargent, has been converted into an antique store, with stalls full of primitives. Its straightforward, its effective and its simple, Briese said. With the death of LB 183, the main property tax relief measure of 2019 is a $51 million increase in the property tax credit program that was proposed by Gov. Pete Ricketts. It would translate into an extra $20 for the owner of a $100,000 home, and $24 more for every $100,000 worth of farmland. There is also a citizen-led petition drive to get an initiative on the 2020 ballot to give Nebraska landowners a 35% refund on property taxes paid, a change many legislators have branded as too drastic. Senators also pledged to keep working on LB 289 for passage next year. Meanwhile, debate on the business incentive bill is scheduled to resume later this week, likely on Friday. During debate Wednesday, a package of amendments was attached to the ImagiNE Act to address some of its critics. One amendment ensures that only full-time jobs are used to qualify for tax credits and another creates a $2 million fund to grant to high impact businesses in small towns that dont qualify for the act. We have a few fun visuals in our office, Habitat Omaha development officer Emily Prauner said. A leader board up and running, 500-piece puzzle that were building throughout the day as donors come through, so thats been a lot of fun. Prauner said the donations will help Habitat Omaha achieve its 2019 plans. Were renovating more houses than ever in addition to critical home repair ... so we have a lot of work to do in our community, Prauner said. Omaha Gives is a wonderful opportunity for us to engage with the donor community to help us reach those big, bold goals. Engaging with the community was also the strategy of Eric Ewing, executive director of the Great Plains Black History Museum. The museum raised about $5,000 . During the day, community members had stopped by for food and to check out the exhibits. This years Omaha Gives fund drive included flood relief in the searchable categories for people wanting to make a donation to a charity helping with recovery. The program includes a variety of incentives to make giving fun and collaborative, organizers said. The city also needs to wait a few months to learn more about the traffic impact of additional development at the former Steel Castings plant on Farnam at Saddle Creek Road, she said. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents is deciding what to do with the property. I am certainly open to the idea of changing it to a permanent two-way street, Stothert said. We need to do it right. Neighbors want Stothert to make Farnam a two-way street from Saddle Creek Road to Happy Hollow Boulevard all the time, instead of having different rules depending on the day and time. That stretch of Farnam carries only eastbound traffic from 7 to 9 a.m. on weekdays, toward downtown. And it carries only westbound traffic from 4 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The rest of the time it allows two-way traffic, a situation that has led to confusion for delivery trucks and infrequent visitors, putting them face-to-face with oncoming traffic, neighborhood leaders say. WASHINGTON Nebraska military installations would see additional funding under legislation advanced Thursday by the Senate Armed Services Committee. That panel assembles and approves its annual defense policy bill behind closed doors, but Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said in a Thursday press release that this years $750 billion legislation includes pots of money to benefit Nebraska facilities. According to Fischer, the bill includes authorizations for: $340 million for the Air Force to recover from natural disasters at facilities such as Offutt Air Force Base, which was swamped by this years flooding. $7.2 million for the Army National Guard to help clean up and rebuild the Nebraska National Guards Camp Ashland training site, which also flooded. $247 million to help the Air Force plan the Offutt rebuilding effort. $29 million for construction of a Nebraska National Guard Bellevue Readiness Center. Fischer said she also was able to include language raising the cap on military construction projects that can start without direct congressional appropriation. That will provide flexibility to accelerate the recovery process, she said. Record rains have led to road closures in Cherry and Holt Counties. Ranch and county roads are closed, as is Nebraska Highway 97 south of Merritt Reservoir. Standing water covers some meadows and has ranchers worried about their ability to harvest hay. Three to five inches of rain have fallen since Sunday, according to local rain gauges and National Weather Service records. In Valentine, 3.15 inches of rain fell from Sunday through Wednesday. While thats not a lot of rain over three days on the more humid eastern side of Nebraska, it is for semiarid western Nebraska. In the midst of that was a record 2.17 inches of rain on Tuesday. The old record of 1.75 inches was set in 1977. Precipitation records for Valentine date to 1889. In the Ainsworth area, more rain fell from Friday through Tuesday than typically falls in the entire month of May. Gerry Osborn, a volunteer weather observer for the National Weather Service for more than 70 years, said his records show 4.3 inches of rain over those five days. Typically, about 3.4 inches of rain falls at his home near Ainsworth in May. But Americans, and Chinese too, should think carefully about whats ahead. Analysts this past week have talked of a technological decoupling and a digital Iron Curtain descending on the global economy. That sounds like a description of a world in which everyone would be worse off a mobilization for a conflict like World War I, which historians now judge was unwise and unnecessary. This is the kind of blunt and risky instrument one might employ as the last step on the escalatory ladder, said former Deputy Secretary of State William Burns in an interview. I worry that weve leaped over other, more targeted tools that could have addressed or mitigated specific concerns with less collateral damage. As so often with Trump, the real question is what end-state he seeks with his campaign of maximum pressure. What does success look like? Is it the destruction of Huawei as a 5G competitor or simply a reduction of its market reach? Does Trump want technology coexistence or a restoration of American dominance? Trump is about building walls. But he should be especially careful about this digital barrier, behind which the U.S. might stand while the rest of the world races forward. Between 1993 and 2016, NAFTA helped quadruple U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico from $8.9 billion to $38 billion. USMCA allows us to keep these gains for agriculture, while modernizing our trading relationship. In fact, every $1 billion of U.S. agricultural exports supports approximately 7,550 American jobs, meaning roughly 286,900 agricultural jobs already rely on trade with Canada and Mexico. Those numbers have significant meaning in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. How can we help put our farmers and ranchers in a position to succeed? Through smart trade policies that put the interests of our workers, family farms and ranchers first. The USMCA expands access to the Canadian and Mexican markets for American dairy, poultry and eggs after years of unfair treatment an expected export boost of more than $314 million for American agriculture. This 21st century trade agreement establishes rules of the road for agricultural biotechnology to encourage innovation for our industry. The United States, Mexico and Canada have agreed to continue working together on improvements to transparency as we work through issues that affect trade between our nations. Bruce E. Johansen, Omaha Angling for fishing courtesy I am 65 years old and thankful that I can still scramble down and up the dam face at one of Nebraskas treasures Lake McConaughy, affectionately known as Big Mac. Each year for the past many years, my friend Doug and his sportsmen buddies have celebrated his birthday by fishing the natural wonder that is the spawning sequence of the walleye on the face of Big Mac. There has always been tension in the securing of ones spot on the dam face, where you will stand for hours on a rock, casting endlessly for the reward of a strike. The churning, spawning fish are beautiful beyond belief, but those competing for space to fish are often less courteous than the sportsmen I have the good fortune of knowing. This year those in boats, patrolling as close to shore as they apparently think will be the best for their chances, trammeled the onshore fishermans experience. Some ventured so close you could touch the boat with your fishing pole from shore, running over lures and (in a case I witnessed) a hooked fish being retrieved. Considering the stakes, the response of the Trump administration has been remarkably muted. President Donald Trump has said nothing about the new crisis. When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the subject during his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week, he was told that Moscows objectives were limited and included expanding a buffer zone to protect a Russian air base that has come under attack. U.S. officials say there has been a lull in the fighting since then. But the history of the Syrian conflict offers two clear lessons: The Assad regime will relentlessly seek to restore its control over the country by force, regardless of the cost; and Russian assurances to U.S. envoys have repeatedly proved worthless. As it is, the attack violates a deal Putin struck with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year to prevent an all-out battle over Idlib. The two agreed to establish a buffer zone from which rebel Islamist militant groups would be excluded. Turkey duly set up military outposts in the area, but it has failed to disarm or expel the militants. Wampsville, N.Y. Students looked on in shock Thursday as a 30-foot column of black smoke rose over the Otto Shortell Middle School in less than a minute, spreading ash as it went. I didnt really expect it to go up that quick, said Makayla Chesebro, an eighth-grade student at OSMS. Youd think with the couch being as thick as it is, it would take longer to burn. The couch in question was one of two set up in identical pods by the Oneida Fire Department to demonstrate the ferocity of a house fire. One of the pods had a sprinkler system, but the other did not, and it was that second pod that ignited and was consumed in less than a minute. Chesebro would have been right 20 to 30 years ago when she said she didnt think it would catch fire that fast. She and the other sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students at OSMS have been learning fire prevention through the week and for the final day, the Oneida Fire Department came out to demonstrate a live burn. Joining students and faculty were Ward 5 Councilor Jim Chamberlain, Ward 3 Councilor James Coulthart and Assemblyman John Salka, R-121. Todays household furnishings are totally different, Deputy Chief Timothy Cowan said. We call it solidified gasoline. All the plastics and synthetics burn at such an extreme rate. In years past, there was this belief that theres a lot of time to escape the house. Now, were talking about literally seconds. Chamberlain said this is the third fire demo at OSMS hes been to and it never gets old. Its amazing, Chamberlain said. Its a real eye-opener. Getting to see the fire up close, eighth-grade student Natalie King was shocked and thought what was left of the room was a complete mess. She couldnt believe a fire could spread that fast. After setting up the pods, members of the OFD carefully lit the contents of a wastebasket on fire and Cowan narrated the progression of the fire. The students visibly flinched when the fire reached an inferno, feeling the heat from around 30 to 40 feet away and staring on in shock. Firefighters quickly put the fire out and then demonstrated the same scenario with the room outfitted with sprinklers. Instead of the fire engulfing the whole room, the sprinkler system kicked on shortly after the fire detector sounded and doused the flames, leaving firefighters to extinguish the embers. Salka said he remembers when he had his basic firefighter training in 1994 and knew people didnt have long to get out of the house. You have this new synthetic furniture and it all just goes so quick, Salka said. All-in-all, it took 47 seconds for the room to reach flashover or when everything gets so hot it all ignites at once. Getting a look at the room with the sprinkler system before the demo, Coulthart asked Cowan if smoke detectors just arent enough anymore. If you can have suppression and fire alarms at the same time, that increases survivability, Cowan said. You dont have much time anymore. You have, at best, a minute. Cowan said while some homes can be retrofitted, some people cant afford it and instead, sprinkler systems should come standard with a home. We need to pass [laws] for new construction, Cowan said. You cant build a house without a smoke detector. Sprinklers are going to be the same way. Once they become a residential feature, the price is going to drop, Salka said. Its not a law in New York, so the prices for a sprinkler system are way up there, Cowan said. You look at a place like Scottsdale, Ariz., where sprinklers have been in the codes for 30 years, it costs $1.35 a square foot to install. Thats it. You spend more on your refrigerator. The difference between the two rooms was obvious after the demo. Students were allowed to walk by and inspect the damage of both fires before returning to class. And while the sprinkler room was missing the curtains, a couch was a little scorched and the entire room was soaked, it didnt even come close to the amount of damage done to the non-sprinkler room. Cowan said a home sprinkler system isnt designed to put out a fire, but instead give residents a chance to escape a fire before its too late. When the smoke detector goes off, you dont have time to figure out whats happening, Cowan said. To learn more about home sprinkler systems, visit the National Fire Protection Association at https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Campaigns/Fire-Sprinkler-Initiative Official EC trend shows BJP crossing halfway mark on its own India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, May 23: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed the 279 seats mark needed to form the government in terms of leads, as of latest updates. As per lates updates the NDA is about to touch the 300 seats mark, while UPA is around 100 as of 10 am on May 23. As of the Election Commission official result website, the BJP was leading in 279 seats while the Congress was leading in 51 seats (As of 10.15 am, May 23). The counting of votes for the elections held in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies is being held today. The massive seven phase elections were held between April 11 and May 19. The BJP's main election plank was nationalism and a hard stand on terrorism which seems to have struck a chord with the voters. BJP stormed to power in 2014 by winning 282 seats and formed a full majority government after three decades. Explainer: All you need to know about vote counting The Congress could win just 44 seats in 2014, their worst ever performance in general elections. Congress criticised the Modi regime and accused the BJP led government of manipulating the central agencies. Majority of exit polls which were released on May 19 predicted ouright win for the NDA and some polls predicted that the BJP may get majority on its own. BJP may create history in West Bengal, leading in around 15 seats India oi-Vikas SV Kolkata, May 23: The BJP which did not have a major presence in West Bengal, considered a TMC bastion, is leading in over 15 Lok Sabha seats, as per latest updates. The TMC is also leading in around 15-16 seats, as of 10 am on May 23. The significance of this development is that in 2014, the TMC had won 34 of the 42 seats in West Bengal and the BJP could win just 2 seats - Asansol and Darjeeling. The BJP's better than before performance was expected as the saffron party had gained almost 10 per cent in terms of vote share in 2014, as compared to 2009. Explainer: All you need to know about vote counting During the campaign phase, West Bengal saw a spate of violence between the BJP and the TMC workers. Almost in every phase, there were reports of violence which reached a cresendo on May 15 when Amit Shah took out a road show in West Bengal. Clashes broke out and a statue of social reformed Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar was damaged for which both the parties blamed each other. TMC chief and WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were involved in a bitter war of words throughout the campaign phase. The BJP had vowed to win at least 23 seats in West Bengal which would be quite an acheivement in a state where the party thus far had a weak presence. Elections in West Bengal were held across all the seven phases and violence was witnessed in most of the phases. Every phase has had its own share of violence that was unleashed on and around the polling day. Murders, clashes, stonepelting, lathicharge, firing, arson, West Bengal witnessed all during Lok Sabha elections 2019. Why it may not be a bad outing for the BJP in UP after all West Bengal, a state in East India, has 42 Lok Sabha seats. In the previous Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the Mamata Banerjee-led All Indian Trinamoool Congreess had won 34 seats with a vote share of 39.8 per cent. The Indian National Congress (INC), with 9.7 per cent votes, had won 4 seats, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 2 seats each with vote shares of 23 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. Agree with Indian govt on need to safeguard citizens' privacy: WhatsApp State vs national issues: Key lessons for the BJP to learn in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Haryana Explainer: All you need to know about vote counting India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, May 23: India completed its seven-phased Lok Sabha elections on Sunday. The counting of votes is scheduled to begin on Thursday at 8 AM. Whenever elections come then voters often observe that the opposition political parties give thrust to matching the results of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with that of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system. The VVPAT system generates a printed paper slip bearing the name and election symbol of the candidate whom the voter voted. The Supreme Court on April 08, 2019 instructed the ECI that printed VVPAT slips from randomly selected five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency should be matched with EVMs. Amidst a hue and cry, how EC secured India's EVMs The apex court had issued directions on a plea filed by 21 Opposition parties led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. On May 7, the apex court had dismissed a review plea by the 21 Opposition parties to review its April judgment. The plea demanded matching of 50% EVM results with the VVPAT results. On May 21, the Supreme Court again dismissed a writ petition seeking 100% random physical counting of EVM-VVPAT on May 23. How is EVM-VVPAT Matching Done? The VVPAT system was added to EVMs in 2013 to increase transparency and improve voter confidence in the system. As per the directions of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will match printed VVPAT slips from randomly selected five polling stations in each assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency with EVMs. The verification of VVPAT paper slips is conducted inside a secured VVPAT Counting Booth in the counting hall with access to authorised personnel only. Any counting table in the hall can be converted into VVPAT Counting Booth after completing EVM vote counting. The matching process will be done under the personal supervision of the Returning Officer (RO) and Assistant Returning Officer (ARO). The ECI has decided that the counting of five VVPATs will be done sequentially. The RO can declare the final result for the constituency after the VVPAT matching process has been completed. Should VVPATs be counted before EVM votes? If there is a discrepancy between the VVPAT count and the EVM results then the VVPAT count will be taken as final. However, the ECI has not clarified whether there would be any further action if there is a discrepancy in the counts of one of the five VVPATs. Here are other important points of vote counting process: In the era of EVMs, the ballot votes still have an upper hand as the counting of votes begins with Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots (ETPB) and Postal Ballots (PB). Counting of EVMs can start 30 minutes after the commencement of PB counting, even if all PBs have not been counted. Ideally counting of votes for a constituency should be done at one place. However, each Parliamentary Constituency has multiple assembly segments. Therefore, counting takes place at different locations for various assembly segments under the direct supervision of an ARO. In each round of counting, votes from 14 EVMs are counted. At the end of each round of counting, the results from those 14 EVMs are declared. In case of simultaneous parliamentary and assembly elections, the first seven tables are used for counting votes for assembly elections, and the rest seven for parliamentary elections. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 6:34 [IST] From just two seats to second term: A look at BJP's journey since 1984 Lok Sabha polls India oi-PTI New Delhi, May 23: From just two seats in Lok Sabha in 1984 to winning two back-to-back majority in general elections, the BJP has displaced Congress under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the early 90s, BJP's influence was restricted to the Hindi heartland. By 1996, BJP was elected as the single largest party, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as PM. However, the UPA-I and UPA-II were formed in 2004 and 2009. In the following Lok Sabha polls in 2014, Modi merged on the national scene and the party won a clear majority on its own, extending its footprint to the North-East. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Dynasts biting the dust today Few had imagined the BJP would be able to travel this far when it was founded on 6 April, 1980. The party originated from Jan Sangh, which had merged with the Janata Party in 1977 but three years later splintered. When the saffron party contested its first election in 1984, it won only two Lok Sabha seats. Following which, then party president LK Advani made Hindutva as the core ideology of the party. The hardline Hindutva politics paid rich electoral dividends in the next general elections in 1989 when the BJP won 85 Lok Sabha seats. Following Advani's 'Ram Rath Yatra' in 1990, the party grew in strength and in the 1991 general elections, it increased its strength to 120. The party's vote share went up to 20.1 per cent in 1991 from 7.4 per cent in 1984. In the 1996 general elections, the BJP for the first time became the single largest party in Lok Sabha by winning 161 seats and staked claim to form the government. The first ever BJP-led government, formed under the leadership of Vajpayee, lasted for only 13 days as it failed to attract allies to muster a majority. In the 1998 general polls, the BJP's tally increased and it got 182 seats in the Lok Sabha and formed a coalition government called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which lasted 13 months, losing a no-confidence motion by a single vote. Following the BJP's massive victory and splendid performance in Uttar Pradesh, Amit Shah, who was in charge of the state, was rewarded with party's top post. With this change of ranks in the party's leadership, a new era of Modi-Shah duo started which led to the party's victory in various state assembly elections and the BJP was ruling the 18 states at one time. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 22:06 [IST] High alert declared as counting of votes takes place today India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 23: A high alert has been declared across the nation as counting of votes takes place today. The Home Ministry has asked all states to step security and remain alert as there could be violence. Home Ministry sources tell OneIndia that the chief secretaries and director generals of police of all states and union territories have been asked to be on very high alert during the counting process. The Intelligence Bureau has warned that some outfits are likely to create trouble as counting progresses. The states and UTs have been advised to deploy additional security, especially at those areas where counting is in progress. Explainer: All you need to know about vote counting he Home Ministry is monitoring the situation and has advised the DGPs to personally look into the security arrangements. The ministry has advised that there should be fool-proof security. In addition to the security provided by the state, central para-military forces to have been deployed. The central forces will assist the police personnel of the state. The central forces would be rushed to the spot on short notice in case there is violence, the Home Ministry official also informed. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 6:43 [IST] How Modi's strong leadership paved way for BJP's win India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, May 23: Narendra Modi is set to return as the Prime Minister for the second as the BJP routed the opposition in Lok Sabha elections 2019. The BJP is set to get absolute majority on its own for the second consecutive time after 2014 when it was the first time in 3 decades that a single party commanded majority in Lok Sabha. Also, it is the first time in independent India's history that a non-Congress prime minister has returned to power with a full majority for a second term. What went wrong for Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh? BJP's performance to a large extent depends on winning the perception and narrative battles. Till about December 2018, the Congress and the opposition seemed to be gaining momentum on the narrative front amid Rafale allegations and talks on a pan-India 'anti-BJP' firming up.Then in January, Priyanka Gandhi entered politics and many thought that the Congress unleashed its trump card. The real changes in the perception began after the Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy on February 14 and the response of India's forces as well as the government. 12 days after Pulwama attack, Indian Air Force carried out Balkot air strike inside Pakistan territory. It was then the first time in three decades that Indian fightres entered Pakistan's air-space. The Balakot strike took a Centre stage in BJP's campaign. There was no rallies by PM Modi or Amit Shah in which the Balakot strike was not mentioned. The national security, strong anti-terrorism stand and in-the face response to Pakistan became part of BJP's narrative and somehow unemployment, economy and effects of demonetisation took a back seat. According to a data, India hit an 40-year low in unemployment data, but that made little impact, no matter how hard the opposition tried. Modi went on a rampage, accusing the Congress led UPA govenment of being weak and indecisive on the response to terrorism front. 26/11 Mumbai attack was raked up, and the BJP blamed the Manmohan Singh regime for not acting sternly after that. Amit Shah dubs win as "victory for the whole of India" Slowing economy, lynchings, and rising attacks by the cow-vigilantes all got overshadowed by Modi government's stong stand on terror. Modi left no stone unturned to project his government as being a 'strong one' that can give a fitting reply to Pakistan. The narrative turned into propaganda, and gripped the nation. And today, the BJP is looking like bettering its 2014 performance, riding on its win in the battle of narrative and perception. Vaccination for children in Karnataka: We'll organise drives at schools, says CM Bommai Night Curfew in Karnataka from Today: Timings, Rules, What is Open, What is Closed Interesting trend in Karnataka, same party leading in assembly, Centre for first time in 2 decades India oi-Vikas SV Bengaluru, May 23: Karnataka seems to be defying a trend. For around two decades, the party which emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka in the assembly elections, has not been able form government at the Centre. In 1999, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka assembly elections, but at the Centre it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA which formed the government. In 2004 assembly elections in Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party with 79 seats. But, at the Centre it was Congress-led UPA government with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. Amit Shah dubs win as "victory for the whole of India" In 2008, the BJP again emerged as the largest party in assembly elections while at the Centre there was UPA government. From 2013-2018, it was Siddaramaiah led Congress government in Karnataka, while at the Centre it was BJP-led NDA rule from 2014 to 2019. Now, after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is set to form the government at the Centre while in state elections also the BJP is largest party with 104 seats. The government in the state is of Congress-JD (S) coalition, but then the BJP, in 2018 assembly elections, had emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats. This is the first time in two decades that the BJP is at the Centre as well as the largest party in state assembly. As of 3 pm, the BJP is leading in 24 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. If this translates to victory, then it would be record number of seats that the BJP has ever won in the state. Their previous best was 18 seats. Security review in J&K is message to Pak not to use Taliban win in Kashmir 11 civilians gunned down by security forces in Nagaland; CM Neiphiu Rio orders SIT probe, appeals for peace Day after Category A terrorist was killed, 2 more gunned down today in J&K Kashmirs top terrorist Zakir Musa killed in Tral encounter India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 23: In a major victory to the Armed Forces, Zakir Musa, Kashmir's top terrorist has been killed in an encounter. A gun fight broke out between terrorists and security forces at Dadsara village in Tral at South Kashmir's Pulwama on Thursday. Sources said that the cordon had been laid following inputs about the presence of Musa, the head of the Ansar Ghazwatul Hind chief. He was persuaded to surrender, but he is said to have retaliated and fired back at the forces. A joint team of the Army's 42 RR, SOG and CRPF cordoned off the area. Internet services have been snapped. Schools and colleges will remain closed as a precautionary measure tomorrow. Left, Right, Left Right India oi-Madhuri Adnal By Ekta Kumar Left, right, left, right...the BJP marches into Bengal. The mighty 'left', once a formidable force in the state has been reduced to zero. Is Bengal going to swing to the 'right' next? The BJP won 19 (?) seats vs 22 (?) by the TMC. Who would have thought this was possible a few years ago. Things take time in Bengal, but then change happens. After 34 years of uninterrupted Left rule, Mamata stormed into the red bastion promising 'poriborton' in 2011. Almost single handedly she ended the communist stranglehold on the state - most thought it was an impossibility back then. Red splashes of colour on buildings, offices, posters and flags made way for blue and white of the TMC. Nobody thought there would be space for saffron. But then like I said, it takes time, but Bengal might be readying itself for change once again. Explained: BJP's impressive show in Mamata's Bengal Bengal was once one of our richest provinces, with tremendous geo-political, cultural and historical influence, but then began its fall a few decades ago. It's decline was hastened by years of debilitating misrule and violence the stamped the communist era. After years of stagnation and despair, when the people voted for Mamata, they voted for hope, they voted for change. She rode to power with tremendous swell of support, but the fact is that 'poriborton' is still elusive. A few years ago the BJP was non existent in Bengal. Riding the Modi wave in 2014, they won two seats - Asansol and Darjeeling, after which Bengal was placed firmly at the top of Amit Shah's agenda. Modi himself addressed 17 rallies, marking its importance. The past few years have seen the BJP make a concerted effort to make a place for itself in the state. They began with targeting the government on corruption - the Saradha chit fund scam being in the spotlight. But soon realised that corruption did not seem to really matter to the voters. It was considered as a part and parcel of politics and not too many cared as long as their needs were being met. So then the BJP found another agenda - Hindutva. And that struck a chord. For perhaps the first time ever, religion found a place in the recent electoral contest of Bengal. Playing on 'minority appeasement' fears, the BJP consolidated the anti-Mamata votes. India has endorsed Narendra Modi yet again: Amit Malviya It has been eight years since didi took over. Bengal is still looking for catch up with the rest of India. It's about time it did. Industry needs to revive, the youth need jobs, not as party workers but real jobs in a real economy. Capital needs to be rebuilt, decaying educational institutes need to reinvent themselves, and the state needs to inspire confidence both internally and in investors outside. Mamata Banerjee needs to be careful. Bengal takes time, but then change happens. Red made way for a tidal wave of blue and white. Assembly elections are due in 2021. Will it be saffron this time? (Ekta is a columnist and a writer. She represents India on multiple forums in the European Union on human right campaigns, gender related issues and is working closely with the EU to strengthen ties between the two countries. She is also a Chartered Accountant and an MBA from IIM Calcutta) Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. Media wonders who spread word about Amit Shah's PC ! India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, May 23: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was heading for a record victory in the Lok Sabha elections, all of a sudden at around 4:30 PM few journalists queued in front of the Press Conference Hall at the BJP Headquarters. The security personnel were seen allowing journalists after security check. Soon the word spread among media that BJP President Amit Shah will address a press conference at 5:30 P.M. As the BJP was set to win a clear cut majority on its own in the ongoing vote counting process for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the word about Shah addressing a press conference was enough for the enitre national, regional and international media to flock to the PC Hall. Modi won't stake claim to form government today By 5 PM, the entire media hall was so jam packed that even senior journalists and female journalists were seen sitting on the stairs. In the meantime, BJP leader Sudesh Verma, Former Congress leader Tom Vadakkan also came to the PC hall and were overheard confirming about the Shah's PC. Vadakkan even occupied a seat among the journalists and waited. Soon after, a BJP functionary informed video and photo journalists about the expected arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They all hurried for the photo opportunity. A security personnel asked remaining journalists to wait. By 5:45 PM Vadakkan left the PC Hall. The surprising part was that there was no as usual SMS invitation from the BJP media cell for the said press conference. However, journalists ignored and camped at the PC hall. For, they didn't want to take a chance of missing the PC of a party president, who has led the BJP in a row to achieve majority. By 6 PM, journalists started to become restless but still waited as they were not sure whether they should stay or leave. At 28, Tejashvi Surya is youngest candidate to win 2019 LS polls By 6: 15 PM, someone entered the PC hall and shouted: "PC cancel ho gaya (PC has been cancelled)" and rushed out of the PC hall. Journalists were scratching their heads wondering who spread fake word about Shah's PC and why? For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 19:12 [IST] Modi-Shah strike rate way ahead of Rahul-Priyanka India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 23: The strike rate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, has been much higher when compared to Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Out of the 145 rallies that Modi addressed, the BJP candidates are leading in over 90 of them. In comparrison, Rahul Gandhi addressed 115 rallies and the Congress candidates are leading only in 28 of those seats. Priyanka Gandhi on the other hand addressed 37 and candidates from these seats are leading only 8. BJP surges ahead, snatches Hindi Heartland back BJP President Shah addressed 137 rallies and candidates are leading on 83 of these seats. This means Modi and Shah had a strike rate of 57 per cent. On the other hand Rahul and Priyanka together had a strike rate of 21 per cent. Current trends show that the BJP is comfortably ahead of the half way mark. The party has made a strong comeback in the Hindi heartland, where it had lost the assembly elections in 2018. The Congress on the other hand has done well in Kerala, Punjab and Chhattisgarh. Register for Parishka Pe Charcha 2022: Here are the steps to apply We don't have even 2 minutes to waste, must strive religiously for self-reliant nation: PM Modi Modi calls win blessings of the people to a beggar India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, May 23: Terming the BJP's win as a historic day in the history of democracy, Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was "Fakir" (Beggar) whom the people of India have blessed. PM Modi arrived at the BJP's Headquarters amid loud chants of "Modi, Modi" where Amit Shah welcomed him with a bouquet. Modi, in his address to party workers, said it was not his won but the victory of honesty. He urged people to keep him on his toes and brong it to his notice if he errs. "People are chanting Modi, Modi. But this is not a victory of Modi, it is the victory of people who are desperate for honesty in the system," Modi said. This is the victory of toiling farmers who struggle to feed the nation, this is the victory of those who now live in proper houses, this is the victory of the middle class which follows the rules, pays taxes, but wondered if his taxes were being used for the benefit of the country, he said. "Since the country got independence, so many elections took place, but the maximum voting took place in this election, and that too in 40-42 degree temperature," he said. NDA's victory miraculous win; people rejected royalties, dynasties: Arun Jaitley If someone has won, it is Hindustan that has won, it is democracy that has won, it is public that has won, he said. "India has united to elect us. It is a mandate from New India," he added. "We have stayed true to BJP's vision," PM Modi said, adding that the people have voted for empowerment. He congratulated the voters, Election Commission and security personnel for contributing towards smooth and fair conduct of the Lok Sabha polls 2019. In a veiled attack on the opposition, PM Modi said 'pseudo seculars' have been exposed. [Gandhi bastion falls to BJP's Smriti Irani] "Brigade of pseudo secularists who were calling for the secular forces to unite have been exposed and have fallen silent over the past five years," Modi said. "Today there are only two castes in India- the poor and the other are those who want to help the poor come out of poverty," Modi added. Modi said that the Constitution of India is supreme for the BJP and tha party is ready to take along the opponents for its sake. He also thanked the NDA allies for steering the alliance to a landslide victory. Earlier, Amit Shah addressed the party workers and said it was PM Modi's "Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas" policy over the past five years which helped the party win again. Hailing the Lok Sabha election results as a "victory of true nationalism over tukde-tukde gang", BJP president Amit Shah said that the people have buried politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement with the mandate. Addressing party workers, he said it is a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "sabka saath, sabka vikas" (with all, development for all) and described Modi as the "superhero" of this victory. "This victory is a win of true nationalism over the parties supporting the ideology of the tukde-tukde gang. The politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement politics has been buried in this massive mandate to BJP," Shah said in the presence of Modi. The BJP chief said the next five years of the Modi government will be a period of the party's further expansion. Training his guns of the Congress, he said it has drawn a "big zero" in 17 states and Union Territories while the BJP got more than 50 per cent votes in 17 states. "It is victory of people, it is a victory of PM Modi's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas policy. Modi is the superhero of BJP's super victory," he said amid cheers from the party workers. Bird flu confirmed in dead crows in MP's Agar Malwa; govt asks bordering districts to be vigilant Madhya Pradesh: Ruckus in school over 'religious conversion' of eight students in Vidisha; rioting case filed MP Congress leader Ratan Singh dies of heart attack at counting centre India oi-Madhuri Adnal Bhopal, May 23: In a tragic incident, the Congress chief of Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh died of a heart attack at a vote counting centre. Reports say that he was taking stock of the votes at the counting centre when he suddenly complained of chest pain and collapsed. His party members rushed him to the nearest hospital but his failing condition, eventually led to his demise. Ratan Singh Thakur, chief of Congress in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh, was reportedly collecting information on the latest trends when he complained of chest pain and collapsed. India has endorsed Narendra Modi yet again: Amit Malviya Ratan Singh was rushed to the district hospital but he died at the hospital. Congress is heading towards another defeat in Lok Sabha elections in Bhopal. Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party's Sadhvi Pragya has established a lead of over one lakh votes over her Congress rival Digvijay Singh in Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, with the saffron party is leading in 28 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 15:35 [IST] Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media Rahul concedes defeat, congratulates Modi; says 'janta maalik hai' India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, May 23: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday conceded defeat and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the BJP for an astounding win in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi refused to comment on the reasons for the loss and said today is not the day for it. "I had said that during the campaign 'janta maalik hai' and today people have clearly given their decision. I congratulate the PM and BJP," he said. What went wrong for Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh? He further termed the battle between the Congress and the BJP as an ideological fight whcih would go on. He asked the Congress workers to not lose hope. He asked Smriti Irani, who defeated him in Amethi, to take care of the constituency from where he has been winning since 2004. "I respect the decision and congratulate Smriti Irani ji," he added. Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi said, "We accept people's verdict and congratulate PM Modi and BJP workers." Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a resounding victory for a second term in office as the BJP has touched the 300 mark on its own while the NDA is at 350 seats, crossing the humongous tally of 2014. Centre should help in finding out truth in SUV-Waze case: Raj Thackeray Are the migrants responsible for spread of coronavirus in Maharashtra? Here's what Raj Thackeray has to say Results beyond rationale says Raj Thackeray India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Mumbai, May 23: MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who had vociferously campaigned against the BJP, on Thursday termed the Lok Sabha poll trends suggesting a landslide victory for the ruling party as "beyond rationale" and "incomprehensible". "Beyond rationale! #Verdict2019," the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief tweeted. In another post on the micro-blogging site, he said the results were "anakalniya" (incomprehensible). What went wrong for Congress in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh? The BJP-led NDA on Thursday appeared to retain power at the Centre. According to the trends made available by the Election Commission, the BJP had won six seats and was leading in 292 others. The BJP's ally, Shiv Sena, too was leading in 18 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. Thackeray, whose party did not contest the general election, had vehemently canvassed against the BJP, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pakistan poll 2018: The tale of Pakistan Peoples Party has been like Indias Congress The night Osama was killed, this is what Obama told Zardari Asif Ali Zardari gets interim bail in corruption case International oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Islamabad, May 23: A Pakistani court has granted interim bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari in a case related to alleged award of illegal contracts, a media report said. The Islamabad high court (IHC) divisional bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani granted bail till June 13 to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman against Rs 200,000 surety bonds on Tuesday. Zardari's counsel Farook H Naek told the court the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had summoned Zardari on May 23 in an inquiry related to award of allegedly illegal contracts to a private firm in Sindh, The Express Tribune reported. Zardari's close aide detained in money laundering case According to the NAB, the Harish and Company was awarded a contract for water supply by the Sindh government but failed to complete the projects and the public funds were allegedly misused to meet the expense of Naudero House, residence of the PPP leader. The NAB officials claim that Harish and Company was the front company to Park Lane Estate which led to a loss of Rs 60 million to the national exchequer. Naek said it was possible that Zardari would be arrested upon his arrival in the NAB's office and requested the court to grant a pre-arrest bail to him. The bench accepted Zardari's pre-arrest bail plea and served notices to the NAB. Pak SC seeks asset details of Musharraf, Zardari The IHC has already granted pre-arrest bail to Zardari in seven other cases related to alleged money laundering through fake accounts. Born in 1955, Zardari served as the 11th President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, the first president born after Partition. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Thursday, May 23, 2019, 6:50 [IST] Imran Khan congratulates Modi on BJP's overwhelming win International pti-PTI Islamabad, May 23: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan was committed to resolve all issues with India through dialogue irrespective of the outcome of the elections. "Pakistan has consistently maintained that the only way to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Jammu & Kashmir dispute is through implementation of the UNSC resolutions. Dialogue is hence essential. We remain committed to the same, irrespective of whoever forms the new Government in India," Faisal said at his weekly media briefing here. [How Modi's strong leadership paved way for BJP's win] He was responding to a question about the outcome of Indian elections and Pakistan's expectations from the new government in New Delhi. Faisal also said that India should "stop misleading the international community" and accept the ground realities and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. Just a day before the announcement of results, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through dialogue. Addressing the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting, Qureshi said that his country has delivered a "message of peace" by opening the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India as he underlined the importance of "conflict resolution" for peace and stability in South Asia. He also said enduring peace and prosperity in South Asia will remain elusive without good-faith diplomacy and result-oriented dialogue. Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. PTI Biography Akhilesh Yadav is an active politician serving the Samajwadi Party. He is the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He completed his schooling from the St. Mary's School in Etawah. After that, he enrolled at Dholpur Military School in Dholpur, Rajasthan. He did Bachelor's degrees in Civil Environmental Engineering at Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore and then went to Australia to study for a master's degree in environmental engineering at the University of Sydney. He got married to Dimple Yadav on 24 November 1999. In 2012, Akhilesh Yadav leads the election campaign of Samajwadi Party and got huge success against BSP supremo Mayawati. In March 2012, at the age of 38, he was sworn in as the youngest chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He resigned as CM on 11 March 2017 after his party got defeated by BJP. Biography If you are a full-fledged Indian with an affinity towards the cinema, you are well acquainted with the Indian acting legend Kamal Haasan and his 2017's resolution to dive into politics. Tamil Nadu has churned out a spate of successful actors turned politicians--MGR the country's first actor-turned-Chief Minister, NTR, Jayalalithaa and a few more who failed to establish their reign as well as the aforementioned actors. However, it remains to be seen if Kamal Hasaan can elicit a similar success in his political endeavor. To achieve this feat he established his own political party in Makkal Needhi Mariam (MNM) in February 2018, which will reportedly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls independently. He ruled out an alliance with DMK and AIADMK. However, he stated that he is open to a dialogue with Congress if they sever ties with the DMK. Kamal Haasan has won several Indian film awards, including National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards. He is also known as the only actor to have the most number of films starring him submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. As an artist, he's delved into the arena of directing, screenwriting and is also lyricist and choreographer. He made his debut as a 4-year-old child artiste, in the 1960 film Kalathur Kannamma. The film won him Rashtrapathi Award (President's Gold Medal) and since then he's morphed into a force to be reckoned with in the cinematic world. He's starred in the copious award-winning movies, directed a few and now has decided to throw his hat in the political ring. Biography Kanhaiya Kumar was a relatively obscure entity as president of JNU students union, who was capitulated to national infamy stature in 2015, due to an incident where he was accused of riling the crowd by shouting anti-national slogans. He was charged with sedition for protesting the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, following complaints by Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Maheish Girri and the ABVP in 2016. He was labelled a terrorist for expressing his views on an event that he didn't particularly endorse. He was vilified in the media and harangued by the government for exercising his right to free speech. He vehemently denied all the charges. An ardent supporter of CPI, Kumar was born Begusarai in Bihar. He became entrenched in student politics during his graduate days. He joined the All India Student Federation (AISF) and after completing his MA in Nalanda University in Patna, he moved on to secure a Ph.D. in African Studies at Jawaharlal University in 2011. He ranked first in the JNU entrance exam. On 2018 he was inducted into CPI and he will be contesting in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Begusarai in Bihar with a CPI ticket. 2021 Mamata Banerjee successfully led TMC to a tremendous victory, 3rd time in a row in West Bengal assembly election but she herself lost the election from Nandigram constituency to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, once a close aide of theTMC chief. 2016 Became Chief Minister of West Bengal for a second term, as the TMC alone won 211 seats against a Left-Congress alliance. 2012 Mamata withdrew support from the UPA. 2011 Became the 8th Chief Minister of West Bengal, as a TMC-Congress alliance won 227 of the 294 seats, bringing down a 34 year Left Front rule in the state. 2009 Just before Loksabha elections, she joined Congress led UPA and won. Mamata registered her fifth consecutive victory from Kolkata Dakshin and was inducted in cabinet as Railway Minister. This was her second term as Railway Minister. 2006 After losing Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections, Mamata started giving more focus to her party. 2006 On 4 August 2006, During the Loksabha proceedings, Mamata hurled her resignation papers at the deputy speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal. 2006 Mamata called Banerjee major strike against proposed Tata Motors car project. Trinamool Congress MLAs protested inside the assembly by damaging furniture and microphones. 2005 Mamata protested against the forceful land acquisition by West Bengal government. More than lakh farmers were with Mamata. 2004 Mamata defeated Rabin Deb and retain her seat. 1999 Mamata again won from Kolkata Dakshin. This time she defeated Subhankar Chakraborty for CPI(M). 1999 Mamata's TMC joined National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and she became the Union Railway Minister. She presented her first Railway Budget. She introduced 19 new trains for the FY 20002001. 1998 In 1998 General Election Mamata's vote share increased to 59%. She won by 224,081 votes against Prasanta Kumar Sur of CPI (M) from same seat. 1997 Mamata left the Congress Party and established All India Trinamool Congress, commonly known as TMC or Trinamool Congress. Soon her party became the primary opposition party in the eastern state. 1996 Mamata retained her Kolkata Dakshin seat. This time she won by 103,261 votes. She defeated Bharti Mukherjee of CPI (M). 1991 Mamata re-elected to Loksabha. This time she won from Kolkata Dakshin. She got 3,67,896 votes which was around 52 per cent of total votes. 1991 Mamata was made the Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Women and Child Development during PV Narshimha Rao's government. Later she was discharged of her portfolios in 1993 1989 During 1989 Loksabha Election, Mamata lost Jadhavpur seat because of anti-Congress wave in West Bengal. 1984 Won her first ever Lok Sabha election defeating Communist stalwart Somnath Chatterjee from Jadavpur Loksabha Constituency. Mamata became one of youngest parliamentarians. 1984 In mid of the year 1984 she was appointed as the general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress. 1976 She became General Secretary of the Mahila Congress in West Bengal. She served this post for around four years. Biography An Actor turned Politician started his political career by being a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party but in 2019 he joined Congress. He entered politics by contesting in a by-election opposite Rajesh Khanna. Sinha quoted in an interview that his biggest regret in his life was contesting election against his friend Khanna. Khanna won the elections by beating Sinha by the good number of votes but however, he was hurt and never spoke to Sinha thereafter. Sinha did try to rebuild his friendship with Khanna, however that never happened till Khanna's death in 2012. He won the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar during the Indian general elections, 2009. Apart from being a member of Lok Sabha (2009-2014, 2014-2019) and Rajya Sabha twice, he became the cabinet minister in the Third Vajpayee ministry from the 13th Lok Sabha, holding two portfolios, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, and the department of shipping. As of May 2006, he was appointed as the head of the BJP Culture and Arts Department. Later, he defeated a Cinema Celebrity Shekhar Suman. He won the seat in the subsequent Indian general elections, 2014, as well. During 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he left BJP and joined Congress Party. Biography Sonia Gandhi is a former president of the Indian National Congress. She is the Chairperson of the Coordinating Committee of the ruling coalition, the United Progressive Alliance. Mrs. Gandhi was born in Italy on December 9, 1946. After her early education, she attended a foreign language school where she studied English, French and Russian. She met Rajiv Gandhi in Cambridge where she was doing an English language course. They were married in New Delhi in 1968. She has a son, Rahul, a daughter, Priyanka, and two grandchildren. Mrs. Gandhi spent most of her married life largely as a private citizen looking after her family. She was a companion to her mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, during many of her official duties and frequently acted as her hostess. During the years 1984 to 1991 when her husband was Prime Minister and then briefly leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, she assumed a limited public role, mostly accompanying him on his tours in the country and abroad. At the same time, she looked after his parliamentary constituency, Amethi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, concentrating on health-care camps and other welfare activities. After the assassination of her husband in May 1991, she set up the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, a non-governmental organization, and its associated think-tank, the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies. As Chairperson of these, she kept herself occupied in their activities which commemorate her husbands legacy. She also heads a number of other NGOs. Shortly before the Lok Sabha elections in 1998, in response to widespread demands from Congress Party rank and file, she entered public life. She campaigned vigorously on behalf of the party and became the President of the Indian National Congress Party in April 1998. Mrs. Gandhi was first elected a Member of Parliament from the Amethi parliamentary constituency in 1999, following which she became Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. In the 2004 General Elections, she led the electoral campaign of her Party which secured the largest number of seats. This enabled the Congress Party to form a coalition government [UPA]. In this election, she was elected as a Member of Parliament from Rae Bareily in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress Party unanimously elected her as its leader in Parliament, and she was therefore expected to be sworn in as Prime Minister. However, she declined to accept the position and nominated Dr. Manmohan Singh to lead the coalition government. Apart from being the Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, she is the leader of the Congress Party in Parliament. She was also the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) till May 2006, a forum that made periodic recommendations to the government in areas of socio-economic importance. Among the initiatives that have resulted in official action were NAC's recommendations relating to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Right to Information Act, the National Rural Health Mission, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission and the National Rehabilitation Policy. Following the resignation of Rahul Ghandhi as the Congress party preseident after INC suffered a huge blow in the 2019 general elections, Sonia Gandhi stepped in as the interim president. Disclaimer: The information relating to the candidate is an archive based on the self-declared affidavit filed at the time of elections. The current status may be different. For the latest on the candidate kindly refer to the affidavit filed by the candidate with the Election Commission of India in the recent election. Telecom API Market Technology Growth and Demand 2024 , Applications, Regional Analysis, Top Key Players are Vodafone Group, TWILIO, INC., Alcatel-Lucent S.A., AT&T, Telefonica, Apigee Corp., Orange, Verizon, Nexmo, Fortumo Global Telecom API Market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-telecom-api-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-telecom-api-market https://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-telecom-api-market/ Application Programming Interface Industry (API) is a set of standard software functions an application can use. The API forms the interface between the application and the resources in the device. An API is also known as middleware.Free Sample Copy of Global Telecom API Market Report:The Global Telecom API Market accounted for USD 94.12 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 20.12% during the forecast by 2024. The upcoming market report contains data for historic year 2014, 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast by 2024.The Global Telecom API Market report is based on the market type, organization size, availability on-premises and the end-users organization type, and the availability in areas such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The report also aids in prioritizing market goals and attain profitable business.Major Market Competitors:Vodafone Group, TWILIO, INC., Alcatel-Lucent S.A., AT&T, Telefonica, Apigee Corp., Orange, Verizon, Nexmo, Fortumo, LocationSmart, Tropo, Aspect, Comverse Inc.Major Market Drivers & Restraints:Improving telecom API user experienceRising demand for advanced telecom services over the internetIncreasing adoption of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devicesMajor Topics Covered in this Report: Chapter 1 Study Coverage Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Market Size by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Production by Regions Chapter 5 Consumption by Regions Chapter 6 Market Size by Type Chapter 7 Market Size by Application Chapter 8 Manufacturers Profiles Chapter 9 Production Forecasts Chapter 10 Consumption Forecast Chapter 11 Upstream, Industry Chain and Downstream Customers Analysis Chapter 12 Opportunities & Challenges, Threat and Affecting Factors Chapter 13 Key Findings Chapter 14 AppendixTo know more detailed information about Global Telecom Api Market report with TOC:Market Segmentation: Global Telecom API MarketThe global telecom API market is segmented on the basis of typeSMS, MMS, and RCS API, webRTC API, payment API, content delivery API, ID/SSO and subscriber API, IVR/voice store and voice control API, M2M and IoT API, location API.On the basis of user, the global telecom API market is segmented into enterprise developer, internal developer, partner developer, and long tail developer.On the basis of geography, the global telecom API market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil among others. In 2017, North America is expected to dominate the market.In-depth analysis of the market1. Comprehensive quantitative analysis of the industry is provided for the period of 2018-2025 to assist stakeholders to capitalize on the prevailing market opportunities.2. Comprehensive analysis of the factors that drive and restrict the market growth is provided in the report.3. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Telecom API Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies4. To analyze opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments of the Telecom API Market5. The various opportunities in the market.Company Share Analysis: Global Telecom API MarketThe report for telecom API market include detailed vendor level analysis for market shares in 2016 for Global, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and South America specifically. Also impact and development analysis of key vendors is registered in the market and factored on the basis of Vendor Positioning Grid Analysis which measures the vendors strengths and opportunities against present market challenges, measure providers ability to identify or satisfy present market needs, map providers market vision to current and upcoming market dynamics among others. The report also measures technology life line curve and market time line to analyze and do more affective investments.Key insights of Global Telecom Api Market Report: The in-depth study on objectives of the report, market definition, and scope Detailed analysis of market segmentation by types, applications, and regions Future projection of the market in terms of production value and growth rate (2019-2024) Analysis of top key participants and their cost structure analysis, production process analysis, and raw material cost Careful inspection of market drivers, opportunities, and limitations affecting the market over the forecast periodTo know More Details about Global Telecom Api Market Report Please Click on the below Link:About Us:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com Blockchain Distributed Ledger Market Size, Share, Development by 2025 Top Key Players Chain Inc., IBM Corporation, Accenture PLC, Eris Industries, Intel Corporation, Deloitte, Blockchain Tech Ltd Blockchain Distributed Ledger https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1181313?utm_source=SBL-OPR https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-for-discount/1181313?utm_source=SBL-OPR https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/blockchain-distributed-ledger-market/?utm_source=OPR&utm_medium=SBL https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/global-automotive-filters-market-research-report-2012-2025-market Progressive Markets added a report, Blockchain Distributed Ledger Market - Size, Trend, Share, Opportunity Analysis, and Forecast, 2014-2025, which says that the global blockchain distributed ledger market is likely to grow at a CAGR of 55.69% from 2018 to 2025.Digital technology is shaping our world today. It is influencing nearly every aspect of our lives including shopping, education, entertainment, business, and communication. The technology has further developed to revolutionize the way of conducting financial transactions. Online payment methods have become hugely popular in today's age. Simultaneously, cryptocurrency or digital money is gaining popularity. Distributed ledgers support the payment method for digital currency to run in a decentralized model. This removes the need for intermediaries such as banks or middlemen. Distributed ledger technology also supports financial transactions tracking. It fosters an environment for secure sharing of data in real-time. One of the types of distributed ledger system is blockchain. Comprising of blocks of digitally recorded data to create a distributed ledger, it offers greater security to the process.Request for a sample copy of this report @Market Drivers and Restraints:The report identifies the drivers and restraints impacting the blockchain distributed ledger market. The market is seeing moderate growth in recent years due to factors such as fewer transaction costs due to the elimination of intermediaries and enhanced security levels for carrying out transactions. Furthermore, an insignificant effect of inflation on blockchain distributed ledger is expected to provide opportunities for growth of the market. On the other hand, limited acceptance and risk of unknown technical flaws are likely to impede the growth of the market.Blockchain Distributed Ledger Market Key Segmentation:The report divides the global blockchain distributed ledger market into three main segments - type, end use, and geography. Based on the type, the market is divided into private blockchain and public blockchain. Based on end use, the market is categorized into government, BFSI, automotive, retail & e-commerce, media & entertainment, and others. Geographically, the report provides the market analysis covering the regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. In North America, the market analysis study covers the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. In Europe, the market analysis covers Germany, UK, Russia, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, and others. In Asia-Pacific, the blockchain distributed ledger market analysis covers China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. In LAMEA, the study covers Latin America, Middle East, and Africa.Get a discount on this research report @Key Market Players:The report includes a mention of the key players that are active in the blockchain distributed ledger market. They adopt several strategies such as partnerships, launches, and more in order to stay ahead in the market and expand their presence worldwide. The key market players include Chain Inc., IBM Corporation, Accenture PLC, Eris Industries, Intel Corporation, Deloitte, Blockchain Tech Ltd., Microsoft Corporation, Digital Asset Holdings, and Earthport.Key Benefits of the Report:The blockchain distributed ledger market report offers an in-depth analysis of the industry with the help of blockchain distributed ledger market size, blockchain distributed ledger market share, blockchain distributed ledger market outlook, blockchain distributed ledger market forecast, blockchain distributed ledger market trends, market dynamics, Porters analysis, blockchain distributed ledger industry statistics, and major competitors. The study provides the market size to assist to understand the current and future potential of the market. The market dynamics is explained by offering details on aspects such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities. The blockchain distributed ledger industry statistics help determine the market share and potential. The market share analysis determines the level of competition within the market. An analysis of the various aspects of the key industry players such as their financial strategies, recent developments, and an overview of their products and services are offered in the study. The current trends and estimations help identify the profitable investment pockets. The Porters analysis helps determine the level of competition in the market.Blockchain Distributed Ledger Market Key Segments:By Type: Public Blockchain and Private BlockchainBy End-User: Government, BFSI, Automotive, Retail & e-commerce, Media & Entertainment, OthersBy Geography: U.S., Canada, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Spain, Romania, China, Japan, India, Lamea, Latin America, Middle East, Africa.Access Full Summery @Table of content:CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 2: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYCHAPTER 3: MARKET OVERVIEWCHAPTER 4: BLOCKCHAIN DISTRIBUTED LEDGER MARKET, BY FILTER TYPECHAPTER 5: BLOCKCHAIN DISTRIBUTED LEDGERMARKET, BY APPLICATIONCHAPTER 6: BLOCKCHAIN DISTRIBUTED LEDGERMARKET, BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNELCHAPTER 7: BLOCKCHAIN DISTRIBUTED LEDGER MARKET, BY REGIONCHAPTER 8: COMPANY PROFILESSimilar Related report:Global Blockchain Distributed Ledgers Market Research Report 2012-2025More summary:About Us:Big Market Research has a range of research reports from various publishers across the world. Our database of reports of various market categories and sub-categories would help to find the exact report you may be looking for.We are instrumental in providing quantitative and qualitative insights on your area of interest by bringing reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. A lot of organizations across the world are gaining profits and great benefits from information gained through reports sourced by us.Contact us:Mr. Abhishek Paliwal5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205, Portland,OR 97220 United StatesDirect: +1-971-202-1575Toll Free: +1-800-910-6452E-mail help@bigmarketresearch.com APAC Material Handling Equipment Market 2019-25 | KUKA AG, Toyota Industries Corporation, TGW Logistics Group GmbH, Caterpillar, Inc., Kion Group AG, Jungheinrich AG, Daikufu Co. Ltd APAC Material Handling Equipment Market https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/3107 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/3107 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/asia-pacific-material-handling-equipment-market https://www.gminsights.com/ The APAC material handling equipment market is witnessing increased adoption of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in several application sectors, such as warehouses, third-party logistics, and e-commerce, allowing these businesses to perform heavy loading operations with the help of remote monitoring technologies. The movement of these machinery is directed with the combination of sensor-based guidance system and software tools. It offers safe movement of the loads due to controlled acceleration and deceleration with the help of automatic obstacle detection bumpers. Such advantages are encouraging the industrial segments to install these automated technologies in their facilities, thereby accelerating the APAC material handling equipment market.Request for a sample copy of this report @APAC Material Handling Equipment Market is expected to exceed USD 80 billion by 2025. Increasing adoption of automated technologies in the industries for handling and transporting industrial goods from one department to other is driving the efficiency of business operations. These industries are investing highly to transform their manual industrial operations to automated processes. With the rapid increase in demand for industrial goods by customers, the industries are engaged in speeding up their production capabilities, which is encouraging them to install robotic technologies, thereby accelerating the APAC material handling equipment market growth.APAC Material Handling Equipment Market, By Product Storage & Handling Equipmento Rackso Stacking Frameso Shelves, Bins & Drawerso Mezzanines Industrial Truckso Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)o Hand, Platform & Pallet Truckso Order Pickerso Pallet Jackso Side-Loaderso Walkie Stackers Bulk Material Handling Equipmento Conveyor beltso Stackerso Reclaimerso Elevatorso Others Robotics Automated Storage & Retrieval System (AS/RS)o Unit-Load AS/RSo Mini-Load AS/RSMake an inquiry for purchasing this report @The online retail channel segment is witnessing high growth in the APAC material handling equipment market due to a rise in the number of players offering diversified product categories in different price ranges. With an increase in the number of online options, customers have a wide range of alternatives to select the products specific to industrial requirement and within their budget. Moreover, these online channels also offer several discounts, warranties, and additional benefits attracting the interests of industrial customers for online purchases. The region is witnessing an increased competition in the online retail channel segment to cater to the widespread demand of the industrial customers, thereby propelling the Asia Pacific material handling equipment market growth.Increasing adoption of modern technologies in the e-commerce sector is expected to drive the Asia Pacific material handling equipment market. Countries including India and China are witnessing a rise in the number of customers moving toward online shopping due to increased flexibility and customization. The e-commerce industry is flourishing at a rapid pace in India due to the strong presence of the global as well as the domestic players operating such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra, and others. With such an increase in the number of online orders, the e-commerce sector is engaged in modifying its industrial processes with the adoption of automated technologies to enhance the production and distribution rate.Rapid industrialization and urbanization trends in this region are the major factors contributing to the growth of the Asia Pacific material handling equipment market. Several economies, such as Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and Japan, are among the major countries that have a high industrialization intensity index. The rising interest of the global companies to establish their manufacturing base in the region due to the availability of cheap labor and abundance of resources is accelerating the Asia Pacific material handling equipment market growth. These industrial segments are installing modern & automated technologies in their facilities to simplify the business operations and enhance the efficiency in their processes.Browse report summery @The major players participating in the APAC material handling equipment market are: Clark Material Handling Company, Bastian Solutions, LLC, Dematic GmbH & Co., BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. Kg, Crown Equipment Corporation, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., KION Group AG, JBT Corporation, Liebherr Group, Toyota Industries Corporation, Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America, Inc., KUKA AG, Honeywell Intelligrated, Inc., Siemens AG, and Kardex AG. The players in the APAC material handling equipment market are engaged in partnering with industrial customers to develop a long-term relationship, thereby enhancing their sales & profitability. For instance, in October 2017, KUKA AG signed a supply agreement with Gebo Cermex to offer its robotic technologies to Gebo Cermex's packaging line.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb: Organic Milk Market - Insights On Scope 2025 | Arla Food, Horizon Organic, Organic Valley, Emmi, Yeo Valley, Aurora Organic Dairy, Andechser Dairy Organic Milk Market https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/65113 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/65113 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/65113 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/request_for_discount/65113 www.upmarketresearch.com A new business intelligence report released by Up Market Research on Global Organic Milk Market. Report provides a comprehensive market analysis with future prospects to 2025. Report focuses on the major drivers and restraints providing analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market.Get Exclusive Free Sample Copy Of This Report @The report highly exhibit on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Organic Milk Market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Organic Milk Market global status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 20192025.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.For More Information On This Report, Please VisitThe generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for Organic Milk Market analysis & forecast 2019-2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Global Organic Milk Market Segmentation Includes:Region-wise Analysis covers: North America Europe China Japan India Southeast Asia Other regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)The Major players include: Arla Food Horizon Organic Organic Valley Emmi Yeo Valley Aurora Organic Dairy Andechser Dairy Organic Dairy Farmers Avalon Dairy Bruton Dairy Shengmu Organic Milk Yili Mengniu Wholly CowProduct Type Analysis: Organic Whole Milk Organic 2% Milk Organic 1% Milk Organic Fat-free Milk OthersApplication Analysis: Children Adult The AgedGet Exclusive Free Sample Copy Of This Report @Organic Milk Market Analysis and Forecast 2019-2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market- driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real- time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real- time scenario.Key Reasons to Purchase:- To gain insightful analysis of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Global Organic Milk Market and its commercial landscape.- Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations.- To understand the future outlook and prospects for Organic Milk Market analysis and forecast 2019-2025.Avail Discount On This Report @Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:The UpMarketResearch () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well- defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States. Global Conveyor Scales Market Growing Demand to Impact Revenue Share during 2018 2028 // Shanxi Litry Automated Technology Co., Ltd, FLSmidth, Saimo, Schenck Process India Private Ltd. Thayer Scale-Hyer Industries, Inc https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2348 https://www.factmr.com/report/2348/conveyor-scales-market https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2348 https://www.factmr.com/ https://insiderstribune.com Increasing automation in chemicals and coal industries is anticipated to be a prime factor driving the growth of the global conveyor scales market over the forecast period. Moreover, conveyor scales reduce the required number of laborers in various end-use industries. This is another important factor expected to create traction in the Conveyor Scales Market in near future. That apart, all growing end-use industries, such as chemical, cement, steel, coal, etc., both in developed and developing economies, are anticipated to further boost the demand for conveyor scales over the forecast period.Request TOC of this Report-In fast growing economies and developing markets, chemicals and coal industries are expected to witness strong traction in the coming years. Advancements in technology have led to higher acceptance for products, such as conveyor scales, which are used to weigh the material being carried on conveyor belts. In process automation, weighing and controlling the rate of materials on a conveyor belt is one of the most common procedures. Conveyor scales have been considered effective for decades now and are built with specifications for a variety of environments. Different types of conveyor scales, ranging from single idlers to multi idlers, are being offered by market players.Installation and alignment process of conveyor scales is complex, which is anticipated to act as a restraining factor for the growth of the global conveyor scales market over the forecast period.Market players in the conveyor scales market, these days, are offering customized conveyor scales based on consumer demand to expand their consumer base and market share in the global conveyor scales market. Moreover, manufacturers of conveyor scales are directing their focus towards determining the exact amount of material processed in a shift.To know more about the Conveyor Scales Market Visit the link-Conveyor Scales Market: Regional OutlookThe global conveyor scales market is totally dependent on the growing demand from end-use industries across geographies. Over the forecast period, Asia Pacific will be closely followed by North America. Both of these markets are expected to dominate in terms of sales and are estimated to remain dominant in terms of demand for conveyor scales owing to the well-established manufacturers and high labor cost in these regions. Western Europe is expected to witness significant demand for conveyor scales owing to growth in the food & beverage and chemical industries in the region. Latin America is anticipated to witness remarkable growth in the conveyor scales market over the forecast period. Middle East & Africa is anticipated to grow at a significant pace during the forecast period owing to increasing demand for conveyor scales from the growing end-use industries in the region.Conveyor Scales Market: Market ParticipantsThe global conveyor scales market is consolidated with presence of a few global as well as regional players. Key manufacturers in the global conveyor scales market are estimated to hold dominant share in global market. Examples of some of the players identified across the value chain of the global conveyor scales market are: Siemens AG, SSS Electronics, Yamato-Scale GmbH, Control Systems Technology (CST), Merrick Industries, ConveyWeigh, LLC, Shanxi Litry Automated Technology Co., Ltd, FLSmidth, Saimo, Schenck Process India Private Ltd. Thayer Scale-Hyer Industries, Inc.Request Brochure of this Report-About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market insights reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Read Industry News at - Global Inverter Welding Equipment Market Expected to Witness a Sustainable Growth over 2024 Top Key players like Top Key players like Panasonic,Lincoln,Esab,Inc. https://www.marketresearchreportstore.com/reports/811811/global-inverter-welding-equipment-market-insights https://www.marketresearchreportstore.com/reports/811811/global-inverter-welding-equipment-market-insights https://www.marketresearchreportstore.com Market Research Report Store offers a latest published report on Inverter Welding Equipment Market Analysis and Forecast 2019-2025 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 91 pages which highly exhibit on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Click to view the full report TOC, figure and tables:This report presents the worldwide Inverter Welding Equipment market size (value, production and consumption), splits the breakdown (data status 2013-2018 and forecast to 2025), by manufacturers, region, type and application.This study also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.Inverter arc welding power source, also known as arc welding inverter, is a new type of welding power source.Asia-Pacific region is the largest and fastest-growing market during the forecast period.The Inverter Welding Equipment market was valued at xx Million US$ in 2017 and is projected to reach xx Million US$ by 2025, at a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. In this study, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Inverter Welding Equipment.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversPanasonicLincolnEsabFroniusOTCMillerMigatronicGYSSansha ElectricAuweldCEADecaSohalArcraft plasmaRilandJasicTime GroupHYLKendeMarket Segment by Type, coversMMA Inverter WelderMIG/MAG Inverter WelderTIG Inverter WelderMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoMechanicalVehicleShipOtherFor More Information On This Report, Please Visit @Related Information:North America Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024United States Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024Asia-Pacific Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024Europe Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024EMEA Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024Global Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024China Inverter Welding Equipment Market Growth 2019-2024Customization Service of the Report :Market Research Report Store provides customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About Us:Market Research Report Store (MRRS) is a professional organization related to market research reports in all directions .To provide customers with a variety of market research reports, MRRS cooperates with a large of famous market report publishers all over the world. Owing to our good service and the professional market reports in the wide range, MRRS enjoys a good reputation in the market. In pace with the development of MRRS, more and more customers and market report publishers choose to cooperate with us. As a specialized platform, MRRS upholds the supremacy of customers and aims to provide customers with better service and richer select.Contact USMarket Research Report StoreE-mail: info@marketresearchreportstore.comTel: +86-15521064060 00852-58197708(HK)Add: 17890 Castleton Street Suite 218 City of Industry CA 91748 United StatesWebsite: Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market Key Growth Analysis DELIVERY HERO HOLDING GMBH, FOODPANDA GMBH, JUST EAT HOLDING LTD., TAKEAWAY.COM N.V., GRUBHUB INC., DOMINOS PIZZA INC Online Food Delivery & Takeaway https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2866210/?utm_source=OPR&utm_medium=SBL https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-for-discount/2866210/?utm_source=OPR&utm_medium=SBL https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2866210/?utm_source=OPR&utm_medium=SBL Global Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market to reach USD XX billion by 2025. Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market Anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 16.20% over the forecast period 2018-2025. The Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market is continuously growing across the world over the coming years. The major driving factor of global Online Food Delivery & Takeaway market are access to variety of food at one virtual marketplace & option to pay online and growing demand for hygiene fast foods. Moreover, increasing hectic work schedule, congested metropolitan cities, easy access to internet and increasing smartphone penetration are some other major factor that impelling the market growth in online food delivery & takeaway. The major restraining factor of global online food delivery & takeaway are barrier to entry because of high logistical complexities and tedious development and implementation of systems that accept order online. Online food delivery is the process of food delivery or takeout from a local restaurant or food cooperative through a webpage or app. There are many key benefit of online food delivery & takeaway such as makes the order processing easier, keeping the cost transparent, it reduces the human errors which ca be checked before ordering, you can monitor your expenses incurred in real time, it also establishes low cost marketing and it makes order processing simply using their mobile from their homes or workplace very easily.Request a sample of this report at:The regional analysis of Global Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market is considered for the key regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and Rest of the World. North America is the leading/significant region across the world in terms of market share owing to presence of large numbers of online food service companies and high consumer interest towards fast food. Europe also contributes a satisfactory growth in the global Online Food Delivery & Takeaway market. Asia-Pacific is also anticipated to exhibit higher growth rate / CAGR over the forecast period 2018-2025 due to rising application of E-commerce, growing convenience meal consumption and increasing disposable income.The major market player included in this report are: DELIVERY HERO HOLDING GMBH, FOODPANDA GMBH, JUST EAT HOLDING LTD., TAKEAWAY.COM N.V., GRUBHUB INC., DOMINOS PIZZA INC., SNAPFINGER INC., PIZZA HUT INC., FOODLER INC., MABO SYSTEM INC.The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players. The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:By Order Type:DeliveryTakeoutRequest a discount of this report at:Table of ContentsChapter 1.Executive SummaryChapter 2.Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market Definition and ScopeChapter 3.Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market DynamicsChapter 4.Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market Industry AnalysisChapter 5.Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market, by ApplicationChapter 6.Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market, by Deployment ModeChapter 7.Online Food Delivery & Takeaway Market, by Regional AnalysisChapter 8.Competitive IntelligenceChapter 9.Research ProcessEnquire about this report @About Us:Big Market Research has a range of research reports from various publishers across the world. Our database of reports of various market categories and sub-categories would help to find the exact report you may be looking for.We are instrumental in providing quantitative and qualitative insights on your area of interest by bringing reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. A lot of organizations across the world are gaining profits and great benefits from information gained through reports sourced by us.Contact us:Mr. Abhishek Paliwal5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205, Portland,OR 97220 United StatesDirect: +1-971-202-1575Toll Free: +1-800-910-6452E-mail help@bigmarketresearch.com Metal Matrix Composite Bearing Market Size Detail Analysis focusing on Key Players like AST Bearings LLC, CIP Composites, VNC Bearing,Technoslide (Ptv) Ltd and More https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/3009269?utm_source=WA&utm_medium=Shifali https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-for-discount/3009269?utm_source=WA&utm_medium=Shifali Scope of the Report:The worldwide market for Metal Matrix Composite Bearing is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly over the next five years, according to a new GIR (Global Info Research) study.This report focuses on the Metal Matrix Composite Bearing in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa.Get Sample:This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers:Franklin Fiber LamitexAST Bearings LLCCIP CompositesVNC BearingTechnoslide (Ptv) LtdGGB Bearing TechnologyFederal-Mogul CorporationJiashan LHBMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, covers:Radial BearingThrust BearingOthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Construction & MiningAutomotiveAerospaceOthersThe content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:Chapter 1, to describe Metal Matrix Composite Bearing product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market driving force and market risks.Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Metal Matrix Composite Bearing, with price, sales, revenue and global market share of Metal Matrix Composite Bearing in 2017 and 2018.Chapter 3, the Metal Matrix Composite Bearing competitive situation, sales, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.Chapter 4, the Metal Matrix Composite Bearing breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions, from 2014 to 2019.Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales, revenue and market share for key countries in the world, from 2014 to 2019.Chapter 10 and 11, to segment the sales by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2014 to 2019.Chapter 12, Metal Matrix Composite Bearing market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2019 to 2024.Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Metal Matrix Composite Bearing sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion, appendix and data source.Get Discount:About Us:Big Market Research has a range of research reports from various publishers across the world. Our database of reports of various market categories and sub-categories would help to find the exact report you may be looking for.We are instrumental in providing quantitative and qualitative insights on your area of interest by bringing reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. A lot of organizations across the world are gaining profits and great benefits from information gained through reports sourced by us.Contact Us:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive, #205, Portland,OR 97220 United StatesDirect: +1-971-202-1575Toll Free: +1-800-910-6452Email help@bigmarketresearch.com Computed Tomography Market A Boon in Medical Imaging by Major Key Players: GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Hitachi Medical Corporation, NeuroLogica Corporation, Philips Healthcare Computed Tomography www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/495 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/computed-tomography-market-495 The players in the computed tomography market are collaborating with innovative solutions providers to drive growth. For instance, in November 2017, the Sectra Corporation (Sectra), an international medical imaging information technology company signed a distribution agreement with El Seif Development Company (El Seif). According to the agreement El Seif will distribute Sectras enterprise image management solutions, which comprise of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for image sensitive procedures such as breast imaging, orthopedic and cardiovascular procedures. With this healthcare providers (2,300 primary care centers and 470 hospitals) in Saudi Arabia, will gain access to the Sectras in proprietary imaging solutions.For Sample Copy of this Report @In January 2017, Bruker microCT (Bruker), subsidiary of Bruker Corporation and iTomography Corporation (iTomo) entered into a multiyear license agreement for the software technology developed by iTomo. This provided Bruker with non-exclusive rights to the software developed through iTomos image reconstruction algorithm.North America accounted for the largest share in the global computed tomography market, followed by Europe in 2016. This is attributed to increasing prevalence of cancer in the region and a large number of skilled healthcare professionals. For instance, according to American Cancer Society, in 2015, approximately 1.7 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the U.S.Additionally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 17.7 million people across the globe died due to cardiovascular disorders. Early detection with diagnostic systems such as the CT scans could aid in reducing the incidence of these disorders. Thus, increasing adoption of computed tomography for providing better diagnostic solutions and to detect abnormalities and fractures in the body is a factor expected to drive growth of the market over the forecast period.Manufacturers in the healthcare industry are focusing on developing new diagnostic products integrated with advanced technology to deliver better results. Key manufacturers are also collaborating to strengthen their product portfolio related to medical imaging. For instance, in last few months of 2017 prominent players such as Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, and GE Healthcare entered into collaboration with HeartFlow Inc. a personalized medical technology company.The companys HeartFlow FFRct Analysis is the first non-invasive technology that enables surgeons to diagnose coronary artery disease based on physiology and anatomy. The collaboration with HeartFlow Inc. is expected to enable Philips Healthcare to co-develop iFR or cathlab X-ray angiography image derived FFR solution to enhance workflow. The collaboration agreement with Siemens Healthineers and GE Healthcare is expected to aid in developing CT scanners based on HeartFlow Inc.s FFRct Analysis platform.For More Information On This Report, Please Visit @Major players operating in the global computed tomography market include GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Hitachi Medical Corporation, NeuroLogica Corporation, Philips Healthcare, Toshiba Medical Systems, Neusoft Medical System, and Shenzen Anke High-Tech Co. Ltd.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Immunomodulators Market Scope Assessment 2025 | F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Amgen, Inc., Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Merck & Co., Inc., and Biogen TMR Research https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1265 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1265 Global Immunomodulators Market: SnapshotThe demand in the global immunomodulators market is expected to increment at a potent CAGR during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025, which can be attributed to a number of key factors, such as increasing adoption of monoclonal antibodies, presence of strong pipeline portfolio, strong adoption of TNF-alpha inhibitors and B-cell inhibitors, advancements in the diagnostic tools, and the development of novel therapies using innovative technologies. On the other hand, the immunomodulators market is facing challenges from high number patent expiration, growing competition from generic and biosimilars, adverse effects of drugs, and discontinuation of drugs under development, which is expected to lead to substantial loss of revenue. Nevertheless, the vendors operating in the global immunomodulators market are expected to gain new opportunities from the emergence of oral agents and focusing on regenerative medicines.Get Sample Copy of the Report @Product-wise, the global immunomodulators market can be segmented into immunosuppressants including calcineurin inhibitors, antibodies, antimetabolites, glucocorticoids, and others, and Immunostimulants such as vaccines and antibodies. Application-wise, the market for immunomodulators can be classified into oncology, HIV, respiratory, and others.This report on the global immunomodulators market has been developed by professional market research analyst and aspires to represent the current scenario as well as the future prospects of the market, figuratively and analytically. The report takes stock of the potential of immunomodulators market in every important geographical region as well as profiles a number of leading companies in order to represent the existing competitive landscape.Global Immunomodulators Market: SnapshotImmunomodulators are referred to as the medications that are used for the regulation or for normalizing the immune system. They are the active agents used in immunotherapy. Immunotherapy refers to treating a disease by suppressing, enhancing, or inducing an immune response. Immunomodulatory regimens at times have few side effects that the existing drugs that have less potential for a resistance cover while treating a microbial disease. Immunomodulators are assorted arrays of natural, synthetic, and recombinant preparations. Applications of immunomodulators include rheumatoid arthritis, Crohns disease, and multiple sclerosis, among others. Substantial untapped opportunities along with development of new drugs to meet the unmet the needs and anticipated product launches are likely to create pave way for future growth prospects.Request TOC of the Report @The report is an investigation in the growth of the global immunomodulatory market over the last couple of years and in the coming years. The market research publication further reasons out the causes of the changes in the market across the globe. It does this so by presenting an evaluation of the dynamics and the trends prevalent from the last few years and the ones that are likely to retain an impact during the forecast period. The Porters five forces analysis is being taken into consideration for the analysts to provide a clear view of the vendor landscape to the readers. Mergers, agreements, acquisitions, and other partnerships have also been highlighted in the report. The study further delves into the working of the various leading companies along with the information on the products, strategies, and shares of the companies in question.Global Immunomodulators Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global market for immunomodualtors is expected to grow exponentially over the forecast period owing to the rising cases of chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, allergic conditions, cancer, and asthma. Additionally, the growing employment of early immunomodulatory therapy for treating Crohns disease is further expected to bode well for the growth of the market in the coming years. High remission rate and less organ rejection incidents render immunomodulator therapy as a promising alternative. The generation of advanced biological response modifiers is growing significantly owing to the rising incidences of multiple sclerosis across the globe, thus benefitting the immunomodulators market in return. With immunomodualtors posing the risk of less side effects as compared to existing drugs, its market is expected to expand extensively over the coming years. The global market for immunomodulators is also expected to expand over the years owing to the presence of unfulfilled clinical needs and need the alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.Global Immunomodulators Market: Regional AnalysisThe global market for immunomodulators can be segmented on the basis region into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. North America is a potential region vendors can look forward to and capitalize on the opportunities arising from the region. The presence of numerous people suffering from various chronic ailments is the primary factor propelling the demand for immunomodulators in the region. High awareness level among patients and favorable government initiatives are further expected to bode well for the markets growth in North America.Global Immunomodulators Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportSome of the key companies in the market are F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Amgen, Inc., Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Merck & Co., Inc., and Biogen.About TMR Research:TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050 Organ-on-a-chip: Technological Advancements Show Explosive Growth By 2026 with Emerging Players such as Organovo, Hepregen, Hurel Corporation, Nortis, TissUse, Tara Biosystems, AxoSim https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/49 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/49 Organ-on-a-chip is gaining prominence on the backdrop of regulatory measures on animal testing and growing complexity in therapeutic applications. Various players are trying to capitalize on lucrative growth opportunities in the organ-on-a-chip devices market. It is a unique cell culture process, wherein biomimetic microsystem is used as a platform.Get Sample Copy of Organ-on-a-chip Research Report @These devices are built on silicone, which can be used to grow internal organs. This finds application in organ transplantation and also therapeutics. Harvards Wyss Institute is engaged in lung-on-chip production, commercialization of which would help in exponential growth of the organ-on-a-chip market. Moreover, partnerships of biotech and pharmaceutical companies with universities is expected to scale up the commercialization process in the near future. This billion dollar industry is expected to create significant market opportunities for players. Some companies such as Mimetas are currently engaged in development of kidney-on-a-chip. This technology is gaining traction as this unique technology greatly reduces the amount of testing carried out on animals, while providing highly accurate results.Organ-on-a-chip Market DynamicsOrgan-on-a-chip is expected to cater to wide range of applications ranging from disease modelling to patient stratification and phenotypic screening. Most of the demand is expected to be generated from lung-based organ culture, followed by kidney application. The technology offers better clinical examinations compared to petri dishes and animal testing helping scientists and companies to better understand the functioning of internal organs such as the brain and lungs.Funding and government initiatives are projected to further boost market growth in the near future. Though the market is expected to create substantial opportunities, high cost and early stage in R&D are some of the factors leading to slow growth of the market. Market is expected to witness rampant commercialization post-2020.Organ-on-a-chip Market - Regional AnalysisNorth America and Europe are expected to dominate the overall organ-on-a-chip market throughout the forecast period. The regions are early adopters of newly developed technology. Moreover, demand is expected to be further propelled by large consumer base in these regions. North America spends over 16% of its GDP on healthcare. Moreover, various research activities are carried out in the region, which is home to some of the leading players in the market. Also, organ transplant rate is high in the region. Growth of the Europe market is expected to be primarily driven by rising demand for organ-on-chip in Germany, U.K., and France.Asia Pacific is a lucrative market for companies engaged in organ-on-a-chip industry. However, commercialization is not expected to take place in early years. As market is still in its early stage, it would take a few years before companies can expect return on profit. Japan and China are key markets in Asia Pacific. These countries account for over half of the pharmaceutical market in Asia Pacific. Also, these countries are well equipped with technologically advanced medical devices and research centers.Organ-on-a-chip Market - Competitive LandscapeOrganovo, Hepregen, Hurel Corporation, Nortis, TissUse, Tara Biosystems, and AxoSim are some of the players engaged in organ-on-a-chip market. These companies are located in North America, with most being start-ups albeit with major funding and are expected to attain major commercial success in the near future.Purchase a copy of Organ-on-a-chip Market Report:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The row concerning trash shipped from Canada to the country may be ending soon. A statement from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Wednesday, said, "The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced that the Government of Canada awarded a contract to Bollore Logistics Canada to safely bring the waste back to Canada as soon as possible." ECCC is a Canadian government agency which gives information on how to protect and conserve the country's natural heritage. The statement said preparation for the re-shipment would begin "in the coming days," and removal would be complete "by the end of June." It went on to say, "The costs associated with the preparation, transfer, shipment, and disposal of the waste will be assumed by the Government of Canada." Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, said, "Canada is pleased to announce that it has awarded a contract to bring the waste back promptly and to ensure its safe and environmentally sound disposal. Canada has amended its regulations to prevent this from happening again and is looking at ways to hold the responsible parties to account. Chrystia Freeland, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, also met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr. last week and assured him to Canada's commitment to resolve the issue "as quickly as possible." This ECCC statement came as President Rodrigo Duterte gave an order to immediately return the trash from the country of origin Wednesday. At a media briefing Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said they did not agree with the timetable set by Canada. "Hindi papayag si Presidente doon," he said. [Translation: The President will not agree to that.] "Hindi natin alam kung ano yung soonest, it could be this week or the week after. Definitely, hindi end of June. Ayaw natin, tagal tagal na masyado. Definitely (we will reject the proposal)," Panelo added. [Translation: We do not know when it will happen, it could be this week or the week after. Definitely not the end of June. We don't like it, it's been too long. Definitely (we will reject the proposal.)] Meanwhile, Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the country will no longer accept delaying tactics from Canada, adding setting June as a deadline is too late. "Dapat nga natapos to last year pa, e. It should have been done many years ago, di ba. I don't think na pwedeng sabihin nila sila magdidikta kelan matatapos ito. They need to act on it now... they want us to bend our laws here in our country just to facilitate pagbalik sa kanila, maybe they can bend their own laws para ibalik ang kasalanan nila na nakalusot, sa kanila ito, e. Pinapasok nila sa bansa natin," he said. [Translation: This should have been finished last year. it should have been done many years ago, right? I don't think that they can dictate when this will be done. They need to act on it now... they was us to bend our lawshere in our country so they can facilitate the return... maybe they can bend their own laws so they fix the problem, this is theirs. They sent it here.] READ: Duterte threatens war vs. Canada for dumping trash in PH YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy hugs party MP Vijaya Sai Reddy as they celebrate the partys landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections at his camp office at Tadepalli on Thursday. Hyderabad: He has stood like a pillar with YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in good and bad times and is considered as the backbone of the party. Known as the master strategist, Mr V. Vijaya Sai Reddy is considered as Mr Jagan Mohan Reddys man Friday something that reminds many of the YSRC chiefs father late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and his most trusted lieutenant and friend K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao and is the man who is considered as one of the key architects who led the party to success in Andhra Pradesh. Not only is Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy considered the most powerful man in the party after Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, he is someone who enjoys immense trust of the YSRC president and will be the leader who will be play a key role in the functioning of the government. If you ask Jagan Mohan Reddy, he will give the first credit (for the victory) to his padayatra and second will be to the tireless efforts and strategies of Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy, both at the state and at the Centre, said YSRC MP P.V. Midhun Reddy, who won from Rajampet. But what makes Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy the YSRC chiefs man Friday? All through, Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy has stood by Mr Jagan and even went to jail with him (in the alleged disproportionate assets case). He worked very hard for the party and has never shown any frustration or anger. He has been with Mr Jagan throughout without any demands. For the party, he prepared strategies both at state and New Delhi which ensured victory, said Midhur Reddy, who was quick to add that comparisons cannot be drawn between Dr Ramachan-dra Rao and Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy. In the day to day functioning of our government, Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy will be playing a key role, said Mr Midhun Reddy. Sources close to Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy said that the Rajya Sabha MP has over a period of time developed a rapport with several Union ministers with whom he would discuss issues of Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh a topic both he and Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy were very vocal about. Once when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the TD was quick to politicise it saying that Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy fell at the feet of Mr Modi during the 15-minute adjournment in the Rajya Sabha. He also moved the Private Members Bill in the Rajya Sabha on special category status. We will not step back until the special status for the state is achieved, he had said then. Even when Mr Rajasekhar Reddy was alive, Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy was the key man when it came to the financial matters of Mr Jagans firms. Ever since the death of Mr Rajasekhar Reddy, Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy became very close to Mr Jagan and his family who trust him like a family member. He has been with Jagan through the most difficult times, especially when he was facing the CBI heat in the disproportionate assets case. He told Mr Jagan that together they would fight it out legally, sources said. On many occasions, he has slammed Chief Minister N. Chandra-babu Naidu on a host of issues, including his governments failure to press for special category status for AP. He is the face of the YSR Congress in Delhi. Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy, who is also financial adviser for the Sakshi group and other businesses, was arrested by the CBI on January 2, 2012, after several rounds of questioning. He was the first accused to be arrested in relation to the disproportionate assets cases on charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, falsification of accounts and criminal misconduct. On October 8, 2013, the special CBI Court granted him bail. When it was clear that his arrest was imminent, he started practicing Yoga and meditation to keep his mind in control by which he thought he could easily adjust to the environment inside jail. Besides, all his financial advices fared well for Mr Jagans companies. Even in the run up to elections, Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy was the man who was in-charge of every aspect of electioneering, sources said. Born in Tallapudi in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Vijaya Sai Reddy completed his chartered accountancy in Chennai and later set up his own firm with offices in Chennai, Bengalore and Hyderabad. He also serverd a stint as director of Oriental Bank of Commerce. Digital Out of Home Market Global Forecast upto 2018-2028 | BroadSign International, LLC, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc., JCDecaux, Lamar Advertising Company, Daktronics, Inc. TMR Research https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=5366 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=5366 Digital Out of Home Market IntroductionDigital out of home (DOOH), also referred to as digital signage is a modern form of advertising that has effectively replaced traditional forms of advertising and marketing. Digital out of home advertising enables local vendors and advertisers to engage customers in real time, and track and monitor the effectiveness of their marketing messages. DOOH is a rapidly growing and dynamically-served visual mode of advertising directed towards target audience when they are outdoors, in-transit, or are waiting at commercial venues.Get Sample Copy of the Report @Digital out of home advertising creates a deep level of engagement with on-the-go customers while they perform their everyday activities. There has been a substantial growth in the adoption of DOOH as a dynamic media that is distributed across place based networks at various locations, including restaurants, gas stations, and colleges. DOOH products encompass a wide range of screen shapes, sizes, and levels of interactivity. Growing customer mobility is boosting the visibility of outdoor media, thereby contributing significantly to the growth of DOOH market.Digital Out of Home Market Competitive LandscapeIn May 2019, Life Fitness launched an innovative digital out-of-home advertising platform named Life Fitness Media, which is the companys first venture in creating an innovative digital advertising platform. Life Fitness Media leverages the companys large installed base of cardio equipment to effectively deliver unique forms of content to fitness- and wellness-minded consumers who work out on Life Fitness equipment.In April 2019, the leading digital out-of-home marketing platform, Broadsign announced that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire an advertising technology and operations software company, Ayuda Media Systems. The transaction is likely to close in the second quarter of 2019.BroadSign International, LLCFounded in 2004 and established in Montreal, Canada, the company develops cloud-based software for digital out-of-home (DOOH) & digital signage industries. The company offerings include BroadSign Core CMS, BroadSign Serv SSP, and BroadSign Serv Direct. BroadSign International, LLC serves various verticals, such as gas stations, retail, transit, banking, healthcare, and hospitality.JCDecauxFounded in 1964, and headquartered in France, the company provides wide range of advertising solutions and outdoor communication services, including transport system displays, digital panels, billboards, media planning, and street furniture.Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.Incorporated in 1995 & based in San Antonio, Texas, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. is an outdoor advertising company that owns and operates advertising display faces in the United States and beyond. The company operates across two segments, Americas Outdoor Advertising and International Outdoor Advertising.Request TOC of the Report @Lamar Advertising CompanyEstablished in 1902, and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lamar Advertising Company is an outdoor advertising company which operates through transit displays, billboards, and logo signs in the United States and Canada.Daktronics, Inc.Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Brookings, South Dakota, the company manufactures, designs, and sells a wide range of electronic display systems & related products worldwide. The company operates through various segments, including transportation, commercial, and live events.Digital Out of Home Market DynamicsDOOH as an Advertising Medium Gaining Traction, Stakeholders Expect GrowthAs an advertising medium, digital out of home products are giving advertisers a lucrative opportunity to reach wider audiences and implement high-impact campaigns. Unlike other kinds of digital advertising, digital out of home advertising suffers from no ad blockers and no click fraud, which is helping it gain traction. Furthermore, rapidly advancing technology is allowing digital out of home companies to offer precise audience measurement and impression analytics in their offerings. These factors are likely to drive the growth in digital out of home market in the forthcoming years.Rapid Digitization & Falling Traction for Traditional Billboard Fueling Growth in DOOH MarketRapid digitization is accelerating the growth of DOOH market by offering increased freedom to companies to reach wider audiences and by enabling display of numerous ads of different brands on a single display screen. As a result, digitization has driven the adoption of digital out of home in commercial, infrastructural, and institutional verticals.Fragmented Media Making Effectiveness of DOOH Advertising Crucial for Brand MarketersWith companies struggling to reach todays consumer in the fragmented media landscape, the effectiveness of digital out of home advertising has become more important to brand marketers. Marketing companies are increasingly considering a variety of digital marketing avenues that can be used alongside a digital out of home campaign to extend the reach and impact of their campaign. This in turn is propelling market players to incorporate innovation to deliver high-precision digital out of home advertising and marketing offerings that enable brands to build powerful interactions with target audience.Digital Out of Home Market SegmentationBased on product, the DOOH market is segmented into:BillboardTransitStreet FurnitureBased on application, the DOOH market is segmented into:IndoorOutdoorBased on vertical, the DOOH market is segmented into:CommercialRetailHospitalityHealthcareCorporate and GovernmentInfrastructuralTransportationEntertainmentInstitutionalBanking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI)EducationOthersAbout TMR Research:TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050 Controlled-release Fertilizers Market Analysis by 2025 | ICL, Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Ekompany, Agrium, AgroBridge, ATS Group, Compo GMBH & Co. KG, Greenfeed Agro Sdn. Bhd, and Haifa Chemicals ltd. https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1583 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1583 Global Controlled-release Fertilizers Market: OverviewControlled-release fertilizers are fertilizers that are capable of releasing nutrients in the soil in a controlled manner over an extended time frame. This technique, as compared to the fast-release technique of several conventional fertilizer varieties, is made possible with the help of encapsulating nutrient granules in polymeric coatings. Studies have demonstrated that controlled release of nutrients is more effective in providing nutrients to crops as compared to the fast-release technique as the availability of nutrients coincides with crops nutrient requirement - enhancing the efficiency of crop nutrition, improving crop quality, and increasing yield.Controlled-release fertilizers are also known to exert lesser impact on the environment as compared to fast-release fertilizers as they are not washed through or off farmlands, diminishing the possibility of chemicals in fertilizers leaching into water bodies or causing pollution. Earlier used mostly for nursery container crops, the rising awareness about these benefits of controlled-release fertilizers has extended their usage to conventional farming these days.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Controlled-release Fertilizers Market: Key TrendsThe vast rise in global population and urban settlements and the resultant reduction in arable land are leading to a scenario wherein the demand for food products is rising and agricultural yield is failing to sustain these demands. Attempts to solve these issues are leading to an increased focus on sustainable agriculture practices, driving the demand for fertilizers with enhanced efficiency, such as controlled-release ones. In the next few years as well, the mounting demand for food products and limited arable lands will be key to the overall development of the global controlled-release fertilizers.Global Controlled-release Fertilizers Market: Market PotentialMergers, acquisitions, and expansion of knowledge base to be able to develop innovative products are some of the key strategies adopted by players operating in the global controlled-release fertilizers. Recently, ICL Innovation, a subsidiary of ICL (Israel Chemicals Ltd.), has recently entered into a multi-year research and development collaboration with Evogene Ltd., a company operating in the field of research and development related to crop production improvement. The collaboration will work towards the discovery of novel crop enhancers for the enhancement of nutrient uptake efficiency of selected crops.Under the collaboration, Evogene will work towards utilizing its computational discovery platform for identifying the potential of some compounds to improve the efficiency of nutrient use by crops. Successful candidates identified from the research activities could be used in ICL's future products.Request TOC of the Report @Global Controlled-release Fertilizers Market: Regional AnalysisFrom a geographical perspective, the global market for controlled-release fertilizers is dominated by the Asia Pacific market. The region single-handedly accounts for over half of the overall revenue generated by the global market and is both a high-production as well as high-consumption region. Rising government support for improvement of the agriculture industry in most agro-based economies and high population base in the region play a key role in encouraging the adoption of a variety of fertilizers that are capable of boosting food production. In the Asia Pacific controlled-fertilizer market, China accounts for a dominant share, in terms of production as well as consumption.The region features the presence of some of the worlds leading controlled-fertilizer manufacturers and low manufacturing costs owing to cheap labor and sustained supply of raw materials are bringing in more companies in the region. In the next few years, Asia Pacific is expected to retain its dominant position in the global controlled-release fertilizers market.Global Controlled-release Fertilizers Market: Competitive DynamicsThe market features a largely fragmented vendor landscape with a large number of companies operating in emerging economies such as India, Malaysia, and China. Cheap labor and steady availability of raw materials allow companies operating in such areas to economically expand their production capacities and supply products in the domestic markets with high-growth potential at low costs.Some of the leading companies operating in the global controlled release fertilizers market are Shandong Shikefeng Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., Chisso Corporation, ICL, Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Ekompany, Agrium, AgroBridge, ATS Group, Compo GMBH & Co. KG, Greenfeed Agro Sdn. Bhd, and Haifa Chemicals ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050 Printing Machine Market To Register a Hugh Growth In Healthcare Industry by 2026 Printing Machine Market https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/2156 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/2156 Printing Machine are devices used for reproducing text and images using a template. Printing Machines are used by the publishing companies to print various documents in large and commercial volumes. These machines use the simple mechanism of applying pressure to a thoroughly inked moulded surface resting on the designated cloth of paper.Request For Customization of Research Report @The development of printing machines has made for printing of books, newspapers, magazines, and other such reading materials in huge numbers. Printing plays an important role in the promotion of literature. For instance, according to World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) 2017 facts report, it is estimated that daily 2.7 billion of the worlds population around the world reads a newspaper in printed format. Growing packaging industry and increasing demand for advance graphics in packaging industry are major driving factors for growth of the printing machine market, globally.Offset printing process used in majority of the printing applications is driving the printing machine market growthThe offset printing process is the most common form of printing method used for many applications such as book notes, packaging, marketing material etc. If anything needs to be printed it can be done with the help Offset Printing. This printing technique is used for newspapers, books, legal forms, and documents, magazines, brochures, business cards, letterhead, catalogues, booklets, business forms, flyers, brochures, calendars, invitations, packaging industry, and much more. Offset printing process is often used in combination with lithographic printing. In offset-lithography, the paper does not come into direct contact with the printing plate. Instead, the image is transferred to a rubber roller. The process produces prints with rich, smooth solids without the streaking found in lesser quality prints. This printing method is very suitable for print media. Thus, offset printing is more widely used for printing purpose and hence it is expected that market for offset lithography printers will be majorly driven by growth in the printed media sector.Majority of the population worldwide is indulging in reading activities on a daily basis such as newspaper, magazines, books or comics. Although these forms of reading materials are widely used by many people, the growth of digitalization is likely to impact the growth of print machine market. For instance, according to World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) 2017 facts report, digital advertising revenue reached to US$ 9588 million in 2016, up from US$ 9110 million in 2015, observing an increase of 32 percent in past five years. This increases the challenges faced by publishers. Increasing penetration of digital data or reading materials such as subscribing to online news websites, e-books etc. is likely to hamper growth of the printing market.Printing Machine Market: Regional InsightOn the basis of region, the printing machine market is segmented in to North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, The Middle East, and Africa.Asia Pacific is the major contributor in the Printing machine market growth, owing to growing print markets in this region. In 2016, daily print newspaper circulation in Asia increased by 8.80 percent over one year and 40.10 percent over five years time span. Moreover, according to the March 2017, updates by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in India print media contributes to a significant portion of the total advertising revenue, accounting for almost 41.2%. Thus, increasing adoption of printed media in Asia Pacific region is propelling demand for printing machine market, which in turn is expected to account for considerable market share throughout the forecast period.Download PDF Brochure Of This Research Report @Printing Machine Market: Competitive InsightSome of the key players operating in the printing machine market are Advanced Vision Technology Ltd., Agfa Graphics, Bobst, Dover Corp., Eastman Kodak Company Goss International Americas, LLC. MITSUBISHI Heavy Industries LTD., MINO Group Co. LTD., MISHIMA Co. LTD., and Sakurai Graphics Systems Corporation.Printing Machine Market: TaxonomyBy Product Type: Offset Lithography Flexography Digital Printing Gravure Screen PrintingBy End User: Commercial Publication PackagingAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Bottled Tea Market Inclinations Exhibit Growing Demand during the Period until 2027 | Key Players are Suntory Holdings Ltd, Nestle S.A, The Coca-Cola Company, etc. https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2371 https://www.factmr.com/report/2371/bottled-tea-market https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=2371 https://www.factmr.com/ The purpose of this rich study presented by FactMR is to elaborate the various market projections impacting the global bottled tea market during the period until 2027. This assessment delivers high-end statistics concerning market size, Y-o-Y growth in trends and revenue share (US& Mn) linked to different geographies and segmentation types. Readers can acquire precise insights about growth trends along with opportunities that are expected to reshape the overall structure of the bottled tea market during the forecast period.Request for Sample Report -The bottled tea market place has remained dynamic majorly due to altering consumer preference and beverage manufacturers efforts to meet the evolving demand. New releases in terms of flavor, authenticity and packaging in the tea market has become a pervasive strategy among bottled tea brands, small or big.Organic kombucha, a fermented bottled tea by Uncle Matts Organic brand was introduced in 2017. Available in a number of flavors, kombucha combines benefits of a green tea and natural prebiotics and organic acids.In the first quarter of 2018, DanonWave-owned Brand Stok has launched a new range of cold brew beverages including Stok Yerba Mate Cold Brew Teas which are ready-to-drink bottled tea ranges.Arcadia Beverage, in May 2018 launched Zumora, a new clean label beverage line including bottled tea.In November 2017, Unilever Food Solution introduced the Pure Leaf Tea House Collection of hot and iced teas that are organic and flavored with fruit and herbs.In October 2017, Argo Tea, a Chicago-based premium tea brand, launched a line of Single Estate Cold Brew Bottled Teas.Bottled Tea Supply through HORECA on the RiseThe hospitality industry or HORECA (Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe) has gained significant momentum in the past decade against the backdrop of increasing propensity of consumers for food offerings prepared outside the home. Growing interest of consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry in the HORECA to boost revenues has, in turn increased market revenues of bottled tea manufacturers.Although bottled tea has successfully entered the online sales channel, in an attempt to explore new modes of distribution beyond conventional supply chain, online retailers are also entering HORECA to favor revenue generation. Further, new trends in the hospitality industry such as pop up restaurants, fast casual dining experiences, here-to-stay cafe and all-day breakfast are advocating the supply chain penetration of bottled tea market in HORECA.Browse Full Report on Market with TOC -Bullish Tea Industry Outlook Fuelling Bottled Tea MarketAs the most widely consumed beverage after water, the appetite for tea continues to expand across the globe. After Asian countries, greater affection for tea is observed among U.S. households. In addition, millennials liking for tea is set to propel the tea industry growth in future. Increasing demand for discrete flavors of tea and the availability of premium tea brands have exposed consumers to wider tea offerings including bottled tea. These industry dynamics are likely to maintain the bottled tea market sustainability in the future.Competitive LandscapeThe competitive landscape section of the bottled tea market report provides a dashboard view of the market players operating in the global marketplace of bottled tea. In addition, company profiles of key market players with a detailed information on product offerings, company share, regional presence and notable developments are included in the competitive landscape section.Few of the profiled players in the bottled tea market include Suntory Holdings Ltd, Nestle S.A, The Coca-Cola Company, Tsing Hsin International Group, PepsiCo Inc, Monster Beverage Company, Uni-President Enterprises, JDP Group, Arizona Beverage Company and OISHI GROUP.Key manufacturers in the bottled tea market are leveraging strategies such as the expansion of production capacity as well as market presence as well as new product launch.Suntory Products Ltd. has announced at the beginning of 2018 that it will strengthen the PET bottle production facility of Haruna plant. The PET bottle products will be produced using aseptic packaging to stay ahead of the consumer trends such as health-consciousness and changing work style.Have Any Question? Ask Our Industry Experts -About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400, Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb: Gram-Negative Bacterial Infection Market to Record Ascending Growth by 2025 | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Nektar Therapeutics, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=94 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=94 Global Gram-Negative Bacterial Infection Market: SnapshotWorldwide, antimicrobial resistance is a soaring concern for a range of diseases, especially for enteric fever, respiratory tract infections, and various infections related with gram-negative bacilli (GNB). An upsurge in antibiotic resistance is mainly due to indiscriminate and inappropriate use of antibiotics and a marked decline in the development of efficacious antimicrobial agents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading federal agency focused on public health in the United States, over two million infections are caused by the antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens per year in the country, resulting in around 23,000 deaths.Get Sample Copy of the Report @The burden is more alarming and critical in case of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria. Patients with MDR Gram-negative bacterial are known to have a higher mortality rate of about 3070%. Unarguably, they cause higher mortality rates, prolonged hospital stays, and escalated cost of treatment, particularly for patients in intensive care units.According to the list made public by the WHO, among the various MDR Gram-negative bacterial organisms, few that pose significant reemerging threats and are of high priority include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus faecium, Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter pylori, Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Most of these are associated with causing urinary tract infections, nosocomial infections, and pneumonia. The mounting burden of these infections on public health, especially in emerging nations, is attributed to the rate of antibiotic resistance growing at a faster pace than the pace at which new drugs are being developed Hence, it becomes all the more mandatory that pharmaceutical companies and drug makers to actively focus on expanding the armory of novel therapeutics and accelerate clinical researches in the coming years.Global Gram-negative Bacterial Infection: OverviewThe emergence and proliferation of highly resistant gram-negative bacteria is a major concern given the limited number of antimicrobial agents that are currently available to combat these organisms. The abundant and often inappropriate use of antibiotics is further contributing to the emergence of these organisms. This is creating a pressing need for reliable and effective therapeutics for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infection. Therefore, the rising research and development activities coupled with increasing investments are driving the global gram-negative bacterial infection market.The research report offers insights into both existing and therapeutics under development for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infection market. It explores the investments in the pipeline, existing practices, and the latest clinical developments pertaining to the global gram-negative bacterial infection market. It also presents a detailed description of the competitive landscape of the gram-negative bacterial infection market.Global Gram-negative Bacterial Infection: Infection-type SegmentationOn the basis of type of infection, the global gram-negative bacterial infection market can be segmented into wound or surgical site infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and meningitis. Pneumonia is the most common disease caused gram-negative bacteria followed by urinary tract infections. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), this disease killed 920 136 children under the age of 5 in 2015. Meningitis is also a common disease caused by these organisms.A study conducted by one of the key players in the market, Merck & Co. Inc., indicates that about 25% of the newborns who suffer from gram-negative bacteria induced meningitis die and 15% to 20% of the infants develop serious brain and nerve problems such as enlargement of ventricles, deafness, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. The alarming rate of mortality and morbidity due to these organisms is escalating the growth of the market.Global Gram-negative Bacterial Infection: Analysis of Treatment OptionsIn terms of treatment, the global gram-negative bacterial infection market can be divided into Carbapenems, Colistin, Tigecyclin, Sulbactam, Doxycycline, and Rifampin. The demand for carbapenes is high for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections, particularly pneumonia. Some of the most commonly used carbapenes for the treatment of pneumonia are meropenem, imipenem, and doripenem. Sulbactam is majorly used for treatment of meningititis. However, colistin, tigecyclin, doxycycline, and rifampin are used for treating every type of gram-negative bacterial infection and are, therefore, likely to be adopted more in the long run.Request TOC of the Report @Global Gram-negative Bacterial Infection: Competitive LandscapePlayers in the global gram-negative bacterial infection market are primarily focusing on development of more effective drugs. To put this in perspective, Prokarium Ltd. has developed Typhetec for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections. Currently, the drug is under phase II clinical trials and on the basis of phase I results, gram-negative bacterial infection market experts predict that this drug will be beneficial for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections in future and will encourage the growth of the market.Some of the key players in the gram-negative bacterial infection market are Baxter International Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Nektar Therapeutics, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Targeted Genetics Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050 Smart Cooling Systems Market Outlook (2019-2025): Electrolux, Fujitsu Global, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. Smart Cooling Systems https://www.researchformarkets.com/sample/global-smart-cooling-systems-market-481387 https://www.researchformarkets.com/inquiry/global-smart-cooling-systems-market-481387 https://www.researchformarkets.com/reports/global-smart-cooling-systems-market-481387 The Smart Cooling Systems Market report is a window to the industry which talks about what market definition, classifications, applications, engagements and market trends are. The report gives CAGR value fluctuation during the forecast period of 2019-2025 for the market. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. The Smart Cooling Systems Market study also evaluates the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.The Smart Cooling Systems Market research report is a complete overview of the market, covering various aspects like product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, and the prevailing vendor landscape. This report contains historic data, present market trends, environment, technological innovation, upcoming technologies and the technical progress in the related industry. Important industry trends, market size, market share estimates are analysed and mentioned in the report. This global Smart Cooling Systems Market report includes all the company profiles of the top market players and brands. ABC industry is anticipated to witness higher growth during the forecast period due to growing demand at the end user level.Some of the key players in Smart Cooling Systems Market include: Electrolux Friedrich Air Conditioning Fujitsu Global LG Electronics Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. Samsung Electronics Daikin Industries, Ltd. BlueStar Voltas Limited - A TATA EnterpriseGet Sample PDF Illustration Here at:Our team of innovative analysts, research experts, statisticians, forecasters and economists work strictly to present you with this advanced and all-inclusive market research report. The report makes you knowledgeable about the market and competitive landscape which supports you with enhanced decision making, better manage marketing of goods and decide market goals for better profitability. This market research report also covers strategic profiling of major players in the market, meticulously analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market. When the report goes along with right tools and technology, it also helps tackle the uncertain challenges for your business.Segment by Type: Smart Cooling Systems Market Smart Split ACs Smart Chillers Smart AHU (Air Handling Unit) Smart Windows ACs OthersSegment by Application: Smart Cooling Systems Market Household Industrial OthersMake an Enquiry Before Buying at:Table of Content1 Smart Cooling Systems Market Overview2 Global Smart Cooling Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Smart Cooling Systems Production Market Share by Regions4 Global Smart Cooling Systems Consumption by Regions5 Global Smart Cooling Systems Production, Revenue, Price Trend by Type6 Global Smart Cooling Systems Market Analysis by Applications7 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Smart Cooling Systems Business8 Smart Cooling Systems Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Marketing Channel, Distributors and Customers10 Market Dynamics11 Global Smart Cooling Systems Market Forecast12 Research Findings and Conclusion13 Methodology and Data SourceBrowse Complete Report Here at:Reasons To Buy This Report:1. To get a comprehensive overview of the Smart Cooling Systems market.2. To gain information about the top players in this industry, their product portfolios, and their key strategies.3. To gain insights about the major regional insights in which the Smart Cooling Systems is flourishing.4. Recent industry trends and developments5. Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthNote: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Us:Research For Markets indulge in detailed and diligent research on different markets, trends and emerging opportunities in the successive direction to cater to your business needs. We have established the pillars of our flourishing institute on the grounds of Credibility and Reliability. RFM delve into the markets across Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, Middle East And Africa.Contact:Mr. A NaiduResearch for MarketsTel: +44 8000-4182-37 (UK)Email: alan.naidu@researchformarkets.com One Component Foam Market Progress & Manufacturer Contribution Highlighted until 2027 | Key Players are Aerosol-Service A.S., Akkim Construction Chemicals, Castelein Sealants, etc. https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2797 https://www.factmr.com/report/2797/one-component-foam-market https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=2797 https://www.factmr.com/ The purpose of this rich study presented by FactMR is to elaborate the various market projections impacting the global one component foam market during the period until 202-78. This assessment delivers high-end statistics concerning market size, Y-o-Y growth in trends and revenue share (US& Mn) linked to different geographies and segmentation types. Readers can acquire precise insights about growth trends along with opportunities that are expected to reshape the overall structure of the one component foam market during the forecast period.Request for Sample Report -Notable Developments in the One Component Foam MarketPolypag AG, Switzerland-based manufacturer of one component foam, recently announced that Sika AG, a specialty chemical company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, has agreed to acquire the company. With this acquisition, Sika AG aims to expand its product portfolio and expertise in the area of polyurethane foam development, which can improve the market penetration of its polyurethane foam-based products. On completing this acquisition, Sika may emerge as one of the leading players in the one component foam market in the upcoming years.The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), a U.S.-based leading manufacturer in the one component foam market, has declared its plans to expand its production facility for polyurethane foam to be in-line with its strategies to invest more in polyurethanes market in the Asia Pacific region. The company recently opened a world-class polyol plant in Rayong, Thailand, to increase the companys manufacturing capacities to deliver high-quality rigid polyurethane foam.Another manufacturing company with a significant share in the one component foam market revenue, Henkel Ag & Co. is focusing on expanding its product portfolio of a wide range of adhesives targeted at the healthcare industry. The company aims to deliver new LED curing adhesives manufactured using thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) for flexible medical devices to capitalize on the recent developments in next-gen smart health devices for the profitable growth of its adhesives business.The report conducts a thorough research on the recent activities of several one component foam market players including Aerosol-Service A.S., Akkim Construction Chemicals, Castelein Sealants, Dap Products, Den Braven Sealants, Dow Chemical Company, Foshan Gunuo Silicone Co., Hanno-Werk Austria, Henkel Ag & Co., Krimelte OU, Larsen Building Products, Matadorfix Bohemia, Mccoy Soudal Sealants Adhesives & Foams, Polypag, and Profflex Mounting Foams.Browse Full Report on Market with TOC -Tier I companies in the one component foam market hold the revenue share of around 35-40% and Tier II & III stakeholders account for 25-30% and 30-35% revenue shares, respectively. The one component foam market is expected to remain highly fragmented with the presence of a large number of stakeholders in the market in several regions.Frontrunners have adopted strategies to grow inorganically in the one component foam market, by acquiring local market players and through partnerships and joint ventures. The presence of top-tiered market players and needs for high initial investments create barriers to entry for Tier II & III stakeholders. However, they are paving their way in the market by introducing application-specific features of one component foams to target a wide range of end-users.Growth Remains Upheld by Resurgent Construction Activities in Line with Infrastructure Development ProjectsOne component foam is commonly used as an insulation material in the construction industry, especially as a construction sealant. Extraordinary characteristics of one component foam as adhesives and sealants are leading to creating more sales opportunities for market players in the global construction industry. According to the new residential construction statistics for May 2018, jointly announced by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the privately?owned housing starts authorized in May 2018 were around 20.3% higher than the May 2017 rate. In Europe, the building construction and civil engineering increased by 1.5% and 2.7%, respectively, in October 2018 over October 2017.Furthermore, in developing countries, such as China and India, increasing discretionary income and urbanization are providing a fillip to the residential construction activities. Thereby, leading manufacturers in the one component foam market are eyeing lucrative opportunities in the residential construction sectors to witness profitable growth in the upcoming years.DefinitionOne component formulations of polyurethane foam, which is manufactured by reacting polyols and diisocyanates, are referred as one component foam. One component foam is commonly used as insulator, sealant, filler, or adhesives, especially in the construction industry. Outdoor vents, door & window jams, walls & ceilings, and water pipes are among the leading end-uses of one component foam.Have Any Question? Ask Our Industry Experts -About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400, Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb: Drone Simulator Market 2019 | Worldwide Forecast 2025 | Major Players - Israel Aerospace Industries, L3 Link Simulation & Training, Havelsan A.S. Drone Simulator Market https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/102699 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/enquiry_before_buying/102699 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/requested_sample/102699 https://www.upmarketresearch.com/home/request_for_discount/102699 www.upmarketresearch.com As per the latest research study published by Up Market Research, Global Drone Simulator Market is estimated to grow at a healthy CAGR % in the coming years. The research report showcases qualitative and quantitative estimations by the industry analysts. The report documents first-hand data, post verification from the industry experts along with each industry manufacturers by the market valuation.Request Free Sample Copy Of this Report @Drone Simulator Market report also gives an extensive analysis of market share, latest industry trends and forecast data analysis with respect to sales revenue, market growth, and demand and supply scenario.Furthermore, the report also evaluates the key opportunities available in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the expansion of the industry. Growth of the Global Drone Simulator Market has been forecasted for the time period 2019-2025, taking into consideration the previous sales patterns, the market growth drivers, current and future trends specific to particular regions and globally.This research study also presents the market competition landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the major vendor/manufacturers in the market.The key manufacturers covered in this report: CAE Inc. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (Ga-ASI) Aegis Technologies Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. L3 Link Simulation & Training Havelsan A.S. Silkan Simlat Uas & ISR Training Solutions Leonardo S.P.A. Zen Technologies Limited Singapore Technologies Electronics LimitedThis report provides the details about the global as well as regional volume, market share, size and gross margin of the competitor companies. It also analyzes noteworthy trends, emerging value of CAGR and present as well as future developments in the industry.Drone Simulator Market report also provides a realistic valuation of the region specific market and offers a place for key contributors to find potential regional growth opportunities.Region wise analyses of the top producers and consumers, focus on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in below mentioned key regions; North America - U.S., Canada, Mexico Europe - U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Spain etc. Asia-Pacific - China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia etc. South America - Brazil, Argentina etc. Middle East & Africa - Saudi Arabia, African countries etc.For More Information On This Report, Please Visit @By product type Segmentation: data from 2014 to 2019; and forecast to 2025 Virtual Reality Augmented RealityBy application Segmentation: data from 2014 to 2019; and forecast to 2025 Commercial MilitaryRequest Free Sample Copy Of this Report @Research objectives and Reason to procure this report: To study and analyze the global consumption (value & volume) by key regions/countries, product type and application, history data from 2014 to 2018, and forecast to 2025. To understand the structure of Drone Simulator Market by identifying its various subsegments. To better understand the industry leaders/manufacturers, by outlining and analyzing their sales volume, value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in the near future. To receive comprehensive information about the key factors influencing the market growth (opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks). To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions, mergers in the market. To strategically outline the key players in the market and extensively analyze their growth strategies.Avail Discount On this Report @All possible factors that can influence the market are already included in this research study and have been accounted for, evaluated in detail, verified through extensive primary/secondary research, and investigated to get the concluding quantitative and qualitative data. The market size for key players and sub-segments is normalized, and the effect of inflation, economic downturns, along with regulatory & policy changes or other factors are accounted for in the market forecast. This data is collated and added with detailed inputs and analysis from Up Market Research and presented in this exclusive report.About UpMarketResearch:The UpMarketResearch () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well- defined we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States. By 2024, APAC On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket to witness 20%+ gains| by key players Vector Informatik, AVL Ditest, Autel, Azuga, Verizone, Geotab https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2839 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2839 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/on-board-diagnostics-obd-aftermarket https://www.gminsights.com http://solutionrocket.com Asia Pacific On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. due to the rapid growth in the automobile industry, particularly in China, India, and Japan. With huge investments by domestic and global auto players in the region, the market is projected to grow swiftly during the forecast timeline. For instance, in April 2018, the Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland (ALL) in India made an announcement to invest Rs 1,000 crore to revamp its capacity and launch 20 new vehicles by the end of 2018. Similarly, in July 2018, Tesla planned to open a new electric car production plant in Shanghai to produce 500,000 cars a year. Due to a speedy growth in the automobile sector, the demand for OBD devices to tackle and diagnose the faulty emission-control systems is projected to increase during the forecast period.Request for a sample of this research report @North America is estimated to account for the largest share of over 40% in the global On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket by 2024. The market growth in this region is attributed to technological advancements in the transportation infrastructure and the high penetration of the smartphones and cloud technology in the region. The extensive presence of some of the leading global auto manufacturers and suppliers is also contributing to the growing automobile industry in the region. These players have made significant investments in their manufacturing facilities and R&D departments to develop new and advanced vehicle models. For instance, in January 2018, Ford Motor Company announced that it is planning to increase investments in electric vehicles to USD 11 billion by 2022 with 40 electric and fully-hybrid vehicles in its portfolio.The automotive industry uses two types of OBD hardware devices, viz., OBD scanners and OBD dongles. The scanners are more like code readers or scan tools that read codes from any vehicle equipped with OBD II. The OBD dongles are gaining more popularity among fleet managers. The dongle is a visible accessory that can be connected to the drivers smartphone, plugged directly into the OBD II port, and can also be connected in an effortless way to a network. As these devices can be independently used and do not require any wired connection, the demand for dongles is projected to grow swiftly over the forecast timeline.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @The On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket is projected to register a lucrative growth at a CAGR of over 17% between 2018 and 2024. The growth can be attributed to the factors such as an increase in vehicle production and the growing need to implement emission control norms and regulations to tackle air pollution. The significant investments made by the automotive manufacturers and the aftermarket service providers around the globe are contributing to an increasing demand for the development of connected vehicles. The rapid growth of the automobile industry has forced the manufacturers to offer more robust OBD devices, particularly for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket is projected to surpass USD 1.5 billion by 2024. Onboard diagnostics refers to a vehicles self-diagnostics and reporting capabilities. The technology facilitates the monitoring and evaluation of the vehicle?s engine and its sub-components to ensure that all components are functioning properly. Vehicle owners and the car technicians use OBD devices to gain access to a real-time status of the vehicle subsystems. A simple OBD system consists of various sensors that collect the data from various vehicle components, refine, and process this data to gain valuable insights, that further aid in the diagnosis and repair of faulty components. These systems are currently being used with telematics that enables vehicle owners to detect issues such as low performance, and heavy emissions along with the real-time driver behavior.Browse Full Report @Another factor driving the growth of the On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket is the increasing shift toward Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) to promote safer driving practices among the drivers. OBD devices help auto companies and insurance providers to set the premium amount depending on the driver?s driving habits, distance traveled, and the status of the vehicle. Based on these considerations, the insurance companies can decide whether to reward or penalize the customer.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog: New Delhi: A galaxy of top world leaders could be invited to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modis swearing-in ceremony. The leaders to be invited include those from P-5 countries (US, Russia, UK, France and China), Japan, Germany, Israel, prominent Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE as well as several Saarc countries. While speculation is rife in this regard, government sources, however, said any invites would only be issued after the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) takes a decision in this regard. It also remains to be seen whether Pakistan PM Imran Khan is invited. Government sources said it was still too premature to talk about any invitations to foreign leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony that could take place in the next few days. Speculation is rife that US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping could be among the leaders invited. Attendance of some of the worlds top leaders is bound to further boost Modis image as a strong leader under whose leadership India is realising its potential in the world. This will also come at a time when India is pushing for permanent membership of the UN Security Council. It may be recalled that during his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, Mr. Modi had invited leaders of all Saarc nations including then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. E-pharmacy Market Revenue Opportunies By Key Vendors: The Kroger Co., The Walgreen Company, Express Scripts Holding Company, CVS Health, Zur Rose Group AG, Giant Eagle, Inc., https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1544 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/e-pharmacy-market-1544 E-pharmacy refers to online platforms that provide pharmacy products to consumers at their doorstep. Consumers have to order their requirement by mobile application or website, and the online pharmacy company delivers their products at the given address. E-pharmacy is also called as internet pharmacy or mail-order pharmacy. E-pharmacy companies provide both over-the-counter (OTC) dugs and prescription drugs. For ordering prescription drugs, one has to upload its prescription online. Increasing internet penetration has supported growth of E-pharmacy market in the recent past and is expected to witness high growth in the near future.Request to Sample Report @For instance, according to the data published by The World Bank, around 34.3% of total population were using internet in China in 2010 which has increased to 53.2% in 2016. E-pharmacy market in developed economies such as North America and Europe is well developed, however, the market in emerging economies such as India is at nascent stage, and growing rapidly.Key players in the market are majorly investing to scale-up online pharmacy business, which is projected to drive growth of the global e-pharmacy market in the near future. For instance, in 2017, Zur Rose AG, a Switzerland-based online pharmacy company, invested US$ 237 million to expand its business in Germany. Furthermore, initiatives taken by government to establish well developed online infrastructure and provide high speed internet connection is driving growth of the market. For instance, in 2015, Indian government launched Digital India program with the motto 'Power to Empower'. Under this program, government aims to digitalize India by providing high-speed internet networks in rural areas. Such initiatives by Indian government is expected to positively affect the E-pharmacy market over the forecast period.Offers and discounts on E-pharmacy channel is a major factor attracting consumers towards it. For instance, as on April 2018, 1mg, an E-pharmacy company in India, is providing a discount of 12% on over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Free home delivery, and free returns are other two important and attractive features of E-pharmacy channel. Thus, evolution of E-pharmacy channel has resulted in availability of products at every doorstep and also, at significantly lower price. Moreover, increasing internet penetration across the globe has expanded the customer base for these E-Pharmacy companies. For instance, according to data published by World Bank, only 12.58% of total population were using internet in 2012 in India, which has increased to 29.5% in 2016. The growth rate of internet coverage is similar in developing economies such as China, Brazil, and Mexico.Selling of illegal drugs online is a major concern for regulatory bodies across the globe. Hence, various governments are working on formulating policies to regulate the E-pharmacy business. In U.S., Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ruled that importing prescription drugs is illegal. All the online pharmacies that are supplying medication in the U.S. must be physically present in the U.S. Furthermore, all the online pharmacy companies need to be licensed at the state-level.However, it does not need require physical presence in state, it just needs to get licensed if it wants to deliver its products in a particular state. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the regulator for pharmaceuticals and medical devices in India, and the health ministry are also working on framing some policies to encouraged online pharmacy companies to sell quality medicines.For More Information On This Report, Please Visit @E-pharmacy companies have gained significant market share in urban, however, these companies have not been able to effectively target rural areas. Low literacy rate, lack of internet facilities, weak supply channel, and lack of awareness about these channels are the prime reasons for this scenario. Moreover, rural population still accounts for significant share in total population. According to the World Bank data, about 2 in 3 people in India, and 2 in 5 in China lives in rural area in 2016. High percentage of population living in rural areas with low or no access to online pharmacy has inhibited the growth of E-pharmacy market.Key players operating in the E-Pharmacy Market includes The Kroger Co., The Walgreen Company, Express Scripts Holding Company, CVS Health, Zur Rose Group AG, Giant Eagle, Inc., Walmart Stores, Inc., OptumRx Inc., 1mg, and Netmeds.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Insights into the Blood Processing Devices and Consumables Market with Top Players Abbott Laboratories, Becton, Dickinson, Roche Holdings AG, Bio-Rad, Biomerieux SA, Immucor Blood Processing Devices https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/83 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/83 Blood collected from donors can be stored and transfused in an unmodified state, referred to as whole blood transfusion. However, if processed, the collected blood can be of use to more than one patient. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 estimates, only 43% of the blood collected in low-income countries are separated into different components such as plasma, red cell concentrates, and platelet concentrates. The rate is much higher (96%) in high income countries such as Argentina, Canada, U.S., Germany, Singapore, U.K., and France. Lack of adequate test kits, blood processing devices and infrastructure are some of the factors responsible for low rate of blood processing in low-income countries.The global blood processing devices and consumables market was valued at US$ 27,845.1 million in 2015 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period: 2016 2024.Blood transfusion is a process required to make up for the lost blood during a surgery or due to an injury or a disease. According to the American National Red Cross, a humanitarian organization, around 21 million blood components are transfused every year in the U.S. Blood transfusion is a frequent process in sickle cell patients. The sickle cell disease affects 90,000 to 100,000 people in the U.S., as per the American National Red Cross. Demand for blood processing devices and consumables is growing rapidly with establishment of new hospitals and blood banks, and increasing number of blood transfusion procedures. Asia Pacific is one of the most lucrative markets for blood processing devices and consumables. According to the Friends2support organization, a non-profit organization allowing patient access to blood donors, nearly 30 million blood components are transfused every year in India.Request A Sample Copy:Lack of blood processing infrastructure in low-income countriesAccording to WHO, 16 countries across the globe are unable to screen the donated blood for one or more than one infections. WHO identified irregular supply of test kits is the factor attributed to this shortage. The Blood and Transfusion Safety program of WHO supports countries in developing national blood systems to ensure quality blood processing and transfusion practices.High capital investment and steep operational costs are the factors restraining emerging economies such as India, Brazil, China, and Indonesia to adopt the new blood processing technology.Development of national blood policy recommended by WHOAccording to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, around 112.5 million units of blood donations are collected every year globally. However, only a few get access to blood on time. Several patients in need of blood transfusion are deprived of blood for their treatment. The WHO therefore recommend having a national blood policy to have centralized control for blood collection, testing, storage, processing, and distribution. According to the WHO, in 2013, 73% of 167 countries worldwide had a national blood policy. Low blood donation rate impacts the demand for blood processing and consumables market negatively. Therefore, improved storage and processing facilities of the donated blood coupled with increase in access to blood and its components will generate demand for blood processing and consumables.Blood processing devices are an integral part of blood banks and diagnostic laboratories in order to maintain blood components in their actual form for storing and blood transfusion process. Alteration in the blood components may make it unusable. As blood is an integral requisite in stem cell therapy and organ transplant, demand for blood processing devices and consumables is directly proportional to number of surgical procedures, which is increasing rapidly.Market DynamicsNeed for blood processing devices and consumables is projected to continue along an upward growth trajectory, owing to increasing number of blood banks and growing incidence of blood infection and blood disorders. Moreover, number of blood transfusion surgical procedures is increasing due to increasing incidence of immunodeficiency diseases. According to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, around 112.5 million units of donated blood are collected every year globally. WHO recommends implementation of a national blood policy to ensure maintaining quality (free from infection) of the blood collected. This in turn ensures consistent demand for blood processing devices and consumables globally.Market TaxonomyThis report segments the blood processing devices and consumables market on the basis of devices and consumables. On the basis of device type, the global blood processing devices and consumables market is analyzed for plasma freezers, blood bank refrigerators, lab refrigerators, lab freezers, ultra-low temperatures, shock freezers, grouping analyzers, warmers, hematocrit centrifuges and cell processors. Consumables include blood administration sets, blood bags, blood collection needles, blood collection tubes, slides, sedimentation tubes, slide stainer and blood grouping reagents among others.Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Insulating Paints And Coatings Market Analysis of Investments by Top Companies Are AKZO NOBEL The Sherwin Willams Asian Paints Kansai Paints Co Ltd https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3718 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3718 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Increasing energy consumption is a severe issue for the governments of various regions -- energy used in commercial and residential buildings makes about thirty percent of total national consumption. Moreover, this energy is responsible for more than twenty five percent of the total carbon dioxide emission in the environment which cause a severe issue for greenhouse effect and add to the rise in temperature globally. To reduce the carbon emission, manufacturers are inventing materials which can reduce energy consumption these materials are called insulating paint and coatings. These are the additives added to paints or coatings to minimize the heat load on buildings or roofs. They also protect constructions against ultraviolet radiations. Insulating paints & coatings are water based and hence, they are non-toxic as well as environment friendly. Various properties of insulating paint and coatings including high tensile strength, shear and compressive strength and resistance against acid, alkali and solvents make them extremely popular.Request For Report Sample @Insulating paints & coatings have unique characteristics. For instance, they offer high thermal coefficient and low thermal conductivity which prevents the insulation, reflects infrared rays and provide personnel protection.Market Dynamics: Insulating Paints & Coatings MarketRising number of commercial buildings, rocketing construction of skyscrapers and the need to minimize energy costs are some of the factors expected to increase the demand for insulating paints & coatings in near future and create significant opportunities for global manufacturers of insulating paints & coatings. However, fluctuating oil prices might restrict the growth of the insulating paints & coatings market in near future. Introduction of new products is a key trend in this segment this ensures that all key players are incorporating new technology into their manufacturing process. On the basis of geographical region, Asia Pacific is expected to gain prominent market share in the global market, followed by North America and Western Europe. The use of insulating paints and coatings products in the consumer goods segment is becoming easier and economical owing to the new inventions and advances being made in this technology. Given such favourable conditions, it is expected that the insulating paints and coatings market will see rapid growth in all the developed and developing countries in future.From the application point of view, marine industry is expected to propel the growth of the market during the forecast period due to the increasing need for protection of PCB which functions in harsh chemical environments.Market Segmentation: Insulating Paints & Coatings MarketOn the basis of product types, the insulating paints & coatings market is segmented as follows:AcrylicsEpoxyPolyurethaneOthersOn the basis of end use industries, the insulating paints & coatings market is segmented as follows:IndustrialMarineTransportationAutomotiveOthersOn the basis of application, the insulating paints & coatings market is segmented as follows:InteriorExteriorOn the basis of sales channel, the insulating paints & coatings market is segmented as follows:OfflineDistributorsRetailersOnlineRegional Outlook: Insulating Paints & Coatings MarketGlobally, the market is moving towards consolidation. Various mergers have been seen during the recent past in the Asia Pacific region. Manufactures are planning on shifting their operation location to China to maximize revenue.Economies in the Asia pacific region, especially India and China, will play a significant role in the growth of the insulating paints & coatings market over the forecast period. Globally, the Indian insulating paints & coatings market is expected to witness double digit growth during the forecast period.Owing to the increasing adoption of sustainable technology in production globally, the insulating paints & coatings market is projected to grow at a significantly high CAGR over the forecast period. Furthermore, new technologies and inventions in insulating paints & coatings market will foster growth in the global market.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Market Participants: Insulating Paints & Coatings MarketExamples of some of the prominent market participants in the insulating paints & coatings market are as follows: AKZO NOBEL, The Sherwin Willams,Asian Paints, Kansai Paints Co Ltd, PPG Industries IncAbout UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: Europe Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Market Revenue by 2024 | Johnson & Johnson Inc. and Stryker Corporation, https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-eu-1599 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-eu-1599 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/europe-platelet-rich-plasma-market https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ The market for platelet rich plasma (PRP) Europe is expected to reach US$ 37.5 Mn in 2016, up from US$ 35.3 Mn in 2015. Adoption of platelet rich plasma in treating musculoskeletal injuries, including tennis elbow, Achilles tendinopathy, and plantar fasciitis, will continue to drive revenues. PRP therapy is also gaining traction in treating sports-related and geriatric injuries, owing to its minimally invasive procedure and quicker recovery time.Request to Download a Sample Copy of Research Report @By product type, PRP kits will continue to outsell instruments, accounting for over 75% revenue share of the market in 2016. Among the various platelet rich plasma kits, autologous kits will account for the highest demand on the basis of blood type, representing a market value worth US$ 24.2 Mn. P-PRF kitsvalued at US$ 10 Mn in 2015will witness the highest growth by end-product type, increasing at 8.6% in 2016.By application, adoption of PRP therapy will continue to remain highest in the treatment of knee and elbow injuries. While knee application segment revenues will grow by 7.2%, elbow application segment revenues are projected to grow by 6.3%. Use of PRP therapy in the treatment of ever-increasing incidences of osteoarthritis and tennis elbow will gain further traction in 2016 and beyond.PRP revenues in the UKthe largest market in Europewill grow by 7.3% in 2016, an increase of 0.20% from the 7.1% growth in 2015. High prevalence of sports-related incidents in the U.K., combined with high awareness about the benefits of PRP therapy among healthcare community and patients, will continue to fuel the growth of the market in the country.France will maintain its position as the second largest market for PRP in Europe, growing by 6.5% in terms of revenues in 2016. France is home to subsidiaries and distributors of several PRP players, such as Biomet, Inc., DePuy Synthes, Inc., and Stryker Corporation and a range of highly innovative products are available in the market.For More Detailed Information about Methodology @Johnson & Johnson Inc. and Stryker Corporation are the established players in the Europe PRP market. Johnson & Johnsons PEAK Platelet Rich Plasma System and Stryker Corporations RegenKit THT Autologous Platelet-rich Plasma (A-PRP) will continue to witness sizeable sales in 2016. Arthrex Arthrex Angel System from Arthrex Inc. and GPS III Platelet Separation System by Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. will also account for substantial revenue share of the Europe PRP market.Visit for Full Report Overview:About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb: Wireless Healthcare Market to Register an Impressive CAGR of 27.30% During 2019 2023 | Global Key Players AT&T, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, PHILIPS HEALTHCARE, QUALCOMM, SAMSUNG GROUP, APPLE, AEROHIVE NETWORKS https://marketprognosis.com/sample-request/16350 https://marketprognosis.com/discount-request/16350 https://marketprognosis.com/enquiry/16350 The global wireless healthcare market was valued at USD 73.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach a market value of USD 311.9 billion by 2023, registering a CAGR of 27.30% during the forecast period (2018-2023). The increase in the aging population across the globe is leading to a rise in the number of patients visiting the hospitals. This, in turn, is pressurizing the systems and hospital administrators, pushing them to the extent of committing mistakes leading to dire consequences. This has been the root cause of the demand for the adoption of the integrated and connected hospital concepts in the healthcare industry.Detailed Sample Copy of Updated Analysis @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.Penetration of Internet and Wireless Communication Technology in the Healthcare Industry is the Major Market DriverHospitals are exceptionally dynamic and complex establishments, where there is a lot of movement of staff, patients, and doctors. There always exists a certain amount of restlessness in the environment, as there is a continuous stream of emergency cases rushing in the ER. This constant pressure on the hospital administration for patient care has created a dire need for automated and technology-based solutions in the healthcare industry, which eases the pressure on the administration considerably.The penetration of the internet and wireless communication technology in the industry has been augmented by the regulations set by the governing agencies to adopt the electronic health record (EHRs) to pass the accurate patient information and streamline the communication between the patients and the hospitals. The regulatory norms, the outbreak of new diseases, and emphasis on the population health management are some major factors driving the growth of the wireless healthcare market across the globe.Key Developments in the Market:March 2018: GE Healthcare launched a new visual analytics solution built on Microsoft Power BI. With this, the data collected from wireless devices can be better analyzed and used to help the patients.March 2018: Nihon Kohden launched NK-HIQ Wireless Patient Monitoring System. This system provides a secure data acquisition and management platform that uses Wi-Fi technology to provide safe continuous patient monitoring in the hospital setting.The major players include AT&T INC., CISCO SYSTEMS INC., MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC., PHILIPS HEALTHCARE, QUALCOMM, SAMSUNG GROUP, VERIZON COMMUNICATION INC., APPLE INC., AEROHIVE NETWORKS INC., and ALLSCRIPTS HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS INC., amongst other.Request Discount on this repots @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.Hospitals and Nursing Homes have a Major Market ShareThe inception of IoT has raised the bar for the services being provided to the general population. Moreover, the establishment of the connection and communication between the remote locations and the ease of analyzing the collected data to provide a sensible conclusion without any human interference has become a reality in the healthcare industry through the combination of wearable sensors and connecting it to a private network to relay the data to the concerned authorities. Hospitals and nursing homes witness the highest volume of registrations in the healthcare industry and are the most common place where the patients go for healthcare. They handle huge loads of data and equipment to cater to the enormous volume of healthcare needs.There is an evolution of technology and devices which are used to maintain a track of the equipment within the hospital premises, and with research indicating that there could be huge splurge in the number of wearable devices to the order of 80 million by the end of 2017, there will be a huge need for data centers as well as critical high importance for the cloud storage techniques to handle the huge volumes of data being generated. The experimental implementation of the connected hospitals has observed that the number of hospital readmissions for the patients undergoing remote monitoring had witnessed a drastic reduction with a staggering drop of 64% during the research period.Europe to Hold Significant Market ShareWireless healthcare devices are well placed in the market to drive the next phase of the digital healthcare revolution in Europe. They are already being deployed for non-intrusive patient monitoring and for keeping track of the vital metrics. This information can be relayed back to caregivers and doctors in order to increase the efficiency of the medical treatment. Miniaturized versions of such devices present an attractive proposition for a wider adoption in the healthcare sector. The wireless data obtained from such devices can be used judiciously for patient monitoring, research activities, and for providing health services in remote areas.For instance, the UK government has been welcoming the technology revolution in the country and has been willing to allow the implementation of the automation solutions. Technology has been penetrating the countrys market at a rapid pace, with smartphone penetration reaching more than 70% of the population in the country. The pharmaceutical industry has also entered the technology domain with 63% of the major companies investing in developing mobile applications for automatically resetting the prescription deadlines and automatically reminding the patients regarding refilling the prescriptions. The National Health Service (NHS) is the primary provider of healthcare services in the United Kingdom. The public system offers u2018free-of-cost (paid from taxation) services to all residents through NHS. The national government has placed renewed emphasis on the healthcare sector, allocating around 8.5% of the countrys GDP to the healthcare sector.Enquiry Before Buying @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.About Market PrognosisWe at Market Prognosis believe in giving a crystal clear view of market dynamics for achieving success in todays complex and competitive marketplace through our quantitative & qualitative research methods.We help our clients identify the best market insights and analysis required for their business thus enabling them to take strategic and intelligent decision.We believe in delivering actionable insights for your business growth and success.Contact us:ProgMark Pvt Ltd,Thane - 421501India.Contact No: +1 973 241 5193Email: sales@marketprognosis.com WiGig Market 2019 is growing rapidly over 103.78% of CAGR forecast period to-2023 | Global Key Vendors by NEC CORPORATION, QUALCOMM ATHEROS, INTEL CORPORATION, BROADCOM CORPORATION, AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, SILICON IMAGE https://marketprognosis.com/sample-request/16347 https://marketprognosis.com/discount-request/16347 https://marketprognosis.com/enquiry/16347 The global WiGig market was valued at USD 1.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 93.09 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 103.78% over the forecast period (2018-2023). WiGig is one of the latest and emerging technologies (IEEE 802.11ad) that works in the bandwidth of 60GHz and delivers up to 7 Gbit/s (20 times faster than IEEE 802.11n standard connection). The widespread availability of digital multimedia content and its increased usage is driving the need for faster wireless connectivity. The increased penetration of computers and smart devices, coupled with the ability of WiGig to transfer data at higher speeds is opening various options, apart from just moving files. WiGig technology uses the standards and mechanisms of IEEE 802.11 and security based on Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). These standards help in the safe implementation of the technology in any compatible hardware, enabling higher efficiency and performance. However, shorter operating range, higher loss on chip, and cost-effectiveness of the product remain as challenges for the growth of this market. An immense amount of research is being conducted by many technology giants like Intel and Cisco in this field and their efforts are expected to overcome these challenges in the coming future.Detailed Sample Copy of Updated Analysis @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.Healthcare is Expected to Witness a Significant Growth RateThe demand for faster wireless network in the healthcare sector is driven by factors like the increase in data inflow with the deployment of electronic health records and the rising use of connected equipment. Hospital staff and doctors are increasingly using mobile devices to communicate with and engage patients. The increasing need for wireless access by visitors, patients, and support staff is also expected to drive the market for WiGig. This increasing demand and promising growth is driving hospitals to adopt better wireless technologies to cater to the data needs, without any downtime or disruption.Key Developments in the MarketNovember 2017 - Cisco and INTERPOL announced an agreement to share threat intelligence as the first step in jointly fighting cybercrime. Through this alliance, the two organizations are expected to develop a coordinated and focused approach to data sharing.March 2017 - NEC Corporation provided government agencies in Malaysia with hands-on cyber defense training. This was aimed at enhancing the abilities of system administrators in government agencies to effectively handle the increasing threat of cyber-attacks.The major players include CISCO SYSTEMS INC., NEC CORPORATION, PANASONIC CORPORATION, QUALCOMM ATHEROS, INTEL CORPORATION, BROADCOM CORPORATION, AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, SILICON IMAGE INC., ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. (NITERO), and BLU WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY, amongst other.Request Discount on this repots @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.Increasing Penetration of Portable and Handheld Devices is Driving Market GrowthThere has been an increase in the penetration of internet and mobile devices among the masses. This can be supported by the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa has 420 million unique mobile subscribers as of 2016, which equals to a penetration rate of 43%. It is observed that the mobile ecosystem contributed to 4.5% of the overall global GDP in 2017. In 2017, the mobile ecosystem also observed a large amount of activity with regard to the venture capital fueling the rapid pace of technological innovation and service. The above-mentioned trends are expected to increase the penetration of mobile or portable devices. As WiGig market growth is directly linked to the increased penetration of handheld devices, the market for WiGig is expected to grow at a rapid rate during the forecast period.North America holds the Largest Market ShareNorth America holds the major share in the WiGig market. In North America, the United States dominated the WiGig market, followed by Canada. North America is the hub for all major enterprises in the world. The increasing network speed and growth in IoT (Internet of Things) are driving the demand for WiGig connectivity in the region.Enquiry Before Buying @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.About Market PrognosisWe at Market Prognosis believe in giving a crystal clear view of market dynamics for achieving success in todays complex and competitive marketplace through our quantitative & qualitative research methods.We help our clients identify the best market insights and analysis required for their business thus enabling them to take strategic and intelligent decision.We believe in delivering actionable insights for your business growth and success.Contact us:ProgMark Pvt Ltd,Thane - 421501India.Contact No: +1 973 241 5193Email: sales@marketprognosis.com Paper Hand Bag Market: Understand the Competitive Outlook Of Leading Players & Leading Regions For 2025 | The Mondi Group plc, Smurfit Kappa Group, International Paper Company, Novolex Holdings, Ronpak Paper Hand Bag Market https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1860919-global-paper-hand-bag-market-8 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1860919-global-paper-hand-bag-market-8 https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1860919 HTF MI newly added the Global Paper Hand Bag Market Study that gives meticulous investigation of current scenario of the Market size, share, demand, growth, trends, and forecast in the coming years.The report firstly introduced the Paper Hand Bag Market basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc.Companies Profiled in this report includes: Smurfit Kappa Group, International Paper Company, Novolex Holdings, RonpakGet the inside scoop of the Sample report @:The research study gives a complete list of all the leading players working in the Global Paper Hand Bag Market. Moreover, the financial status, company profiles, business strategies and policies, along with latest expansions in the worldwide market have been mentioned in the research study.Research objectives To study and analyze the Global Paper Hand Bag Market size by key regions/countries, product type and application, history data from 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2025. To understand the structure of Paper Hand Bag Market by identifying its various sub segments. Focuses on the key Global Paper Hand Bag Market players, to define, describe and analyze the value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years. To analyze the Paper Hand Bag Market with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market. To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks). To project the size of Paper Hand Bag Market, with respect to key regions, type [, Brown Kraft, White Kraft & Others] and applications [Food and Beverages, Retail & Others]. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches and acquisitions in the market.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @In this report you will also find additional deals into key geographical segments of Global Paper Hand Bag Market and deliver details about their current and former share. Ongoing trends, upcoming Challenges, future better regional investments and many other influencing factors have been considered and presented.The regions North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.) & Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) have been studied in depth to gain better market penetration and assure exact analysis. Top manufacturers have been given prime importance to make sure their strategies are understood and their position in this particular market can be elucidated.Acquire Single User PDF license of this research report @In the end, the report includes Global Paper Hand Bag Market new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, investment return analysis, and development analysis. The report also presents a round-up of vulnerabilities which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period.Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia (China, India, Japan etc) or Oceania [Australia and New Zealand].Fundamentals of Table of Content:1 Report Overview1.1 Study Scope1.2 Key Market Segments1.3 Players Covered1.4 Market Analysis by Type1.5 Market by Application1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Global Growth Trends2.1 Global Paper Hand Bag Market Size2.2 Paper Hand Bag Growth Trends by Regions2.3 Industry Trends3 Market Share by Key Players3.1 Global Paper Hand Bag Market Size by Manufacturers3.2 Global Paper Hand Bag Key Players Head office and Area Served3.3 Key Players Product/Solution/Service3.4 Enter barriers in Paper Hand Bag Market3.5 Mergers, Acquisitions, Expansion Plans4 Paper Hand Bag Market by Product4.1 Global Paper Hand Bag Sales by Product4.2 Global Paper Hand Bag Revenue by Product4.3 Global Paper Hand Bag Price by Product5 Paper Hand Bag Market by End User5.1 Overview5.2 Paper Hand Bag by End UserAbout Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com "No of course not, but Robotic Process Automation (R.P.A) is one of the latest trends to drop out of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) craze, Robotic Process Automation is effectively using technology to replace processes that are currently being undertaken on computers by humans, or as I like to refer to them as Big macros. A number of research and media companies have published some significant numbers in relation to the spending May 10, 2019 Commission to reopen back pain guidelines, continue considerations on chronic pain proposal May 16 The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced today that the Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC), will reopen discussions on the coverage guidelines related to neck and back pain implemented in 2016, beginning this winter. OHA and HERC leadership said that new evidence regarding opioid therapy and opioid tapering that have emerged over the past year warranted another look at the back pain guidelines. At its May 16 meeting HERC will continue its deliberations on the chronic pain proposal currently under consideration, lifting a pause requested by OHA leadership while a third-party review was underway. "The evidence on the effectiveness of opioid therapy for chronic pain and opioid tapering are limited, but rapidly growing," said Dana Hargunani, M.D., chief medical officer at OHA. "We are grateful to the HERC for facilitating thoughtful, methodical deliberations in the face of limited evidence." In 2016 the HERC expanded Oregon Health Plan coverage for neck and back pain, newly approving non-pharmacological services such as physical and occupational therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, acupuncture and yoga. The benefit package also included a one-year timeline to taper neck and back pain patients from long-term opioid therapy. In 2017 OHA convened the Chronic Pain Task Force to explore whether a similar expansion of services should be offered for OHP patients with five other chronic pain conditions: chronic pain due to trauma, post-procedural chronic pain, chronic pain syndrome, other chronic pain, and fibromyalgia. Currently, these conditions are not intended to be covered by OHP. The proposal that was informed by the task force garnered considerable concern and attention from advocates, providers and experts across the country, prompting deeper dives into the evidence. Most recently OHA commissioned a third-party review by Washington-based Aggregate Analytics Inc. (AAI) to evaluate how closely the proposal aligned with available evidence. "The past year has been a valuable learning experience for OHA and the HERC," said Kevin Olson, M.D., HERC chairman. "Not only will we apply what we learned to the chronic pain proposal currently under consideration, we feel there is enough new evidence to reopen the 2016 back pain guidelines to ensure our policies align with our best understanding of clinical evidence. I want to thank the advocates and experts who have voiced concerns and directed our attention to new information." On May 16 the HERC will be presented with findings from AAIs report alongside their options to consider regarding coverage for the five chronic pain conditions. The key findings of the report include: The evidence review conducted by HERC staff was limited to adults, but children and adolescents with these conditions may be included in the coverage under consideration. In some cases, effectiveness of an intervention was extrapolated from literature regarding other chronic pain conditions (e.g., back pain or osteoarthritis) due to limited evidence across the range of diagnoses that could be studied as "chronic pain." The overall evidence to support many of the interventions for chronic pain is sparse. The cited evidence is inadequate to support the exclusion of fibromyalgia for the use of opioids either in the short or long term. There is very low evidence on opioid tapering. An expanded search for high-quality systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical guidelines may be of benefit. "We want to thank AAI for their rapid and thorough review," Dr. Hargunani said. "Many of the key findings from the AAI report have previously been discussed at HERC meetings or represent challenges that the HERC must frequently consider in face of limited evidence. The AAI report and its key findings will need to be considered closely by the HERC during their final consideration of the proposal." The three options OHA staff will present for HERCs consideration include: Option 1 : Make no changes to the coverage for five chronic pain conditions and their treatments due to insufficient evidence of effectiveness. : Make no changes to the coverage for five chronic pain conditions and their treatments due to insufficient evidence of effectiveness. Option 2 : Adopt the modified Chronic Pain Task Force proposal for reprioritization of the five conditions and their treatments, as presented at the March 2019 Value-based Benefits Subcommittee (VbBS)/HERC meetings : Adopt the modified Chronic Pain Task Force proposal for reprioritization of the five conditions and their treatments, as presented at the March 2019 Value-based Benefits Subcommittee (VbBS)/HERC meetings Adds coverage for various non-pharmacologic therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy, physical therapy and acupuncture. Adds coverage for non-opioid pharmacologic therapies such as gabapentin, pregabalin and duloxetine. Adds coverage for opioid therapy for four of the five conditions for appropriate patients. Option 3 : Adopt a further revised proposal for reprioritization, informed by the recent AAI evidence appraisal and public input, as modified by OHA staff. : Adopt a further revised proposal for reprioritization, informed by the recent AAI evidence appraisal and public input, as modified by OHA staff. Adds all benefits from option 2. Additional options for consideration related to long-term opioid therapy coverage, including for fibromyalgia. The HERC will meet from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Clackamas Community College Wilsonville Training Center, Rooms 111-112, 29353 SW Town Center Loop E in Wilsonville. The full meeting materials, including the AAI report, can be found on the OHA website. # # # Recently, Jill Biden was getting a manicure when a woman approached her and started to cry. Biden knew what the stranger was going to say before she uttered a word. "I'm a Gold Star mom," she told Biden, "and I just wanted to show you a picture of my son." Biden describes what happened next: "She pulled a worn memorial card from her purse with his photo on it, and as she cried, people nearby asked uncomfortably, 'What's the matter? Is everything okay?' But there's no good way to announce to a nail salon, Isn't it clear? Our sons are gone and we are shattered. " Jill Biden is a former second lady of the United States and the wife of former vice president Joe Biden, now a presidential candidate. But her role as mother to Beau Biden, who died four years ago this month of brain cancer, is the undulating theme of her new book, "Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself" (Flatiron, 210 pages, $27). Who she is now, in the wake of this loss, permeates this slender, often bold memoir. "I am definitely shattered," she writes. "I feel like a piece of china that's been glued back together again. The cracks may be imperceptible - but they're there." In some ways, this is not the typical memoir of a so-called political wife, which was also true of Becoming, the blockbuster memoir by former first lady Michelle Obama. Such memoirs are good news for those of us who've always known that women married to politicians are more complex than the stereotypes of political coverage and bad fiction. As the wife of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, I am not a disinterested party. Biden's book was released within days of her husband's announcement that he is again running for the presidency. This is unfortunate timing, as it makes it too easy for cynics to dismiss the memoir as just another campaign tract. Granted, she has included passages obvious in their advocacy for candidate Joe Biden, but he is her husband, and she loves him. She makes clear that she has repeatedly thought he should be president. Jill Tracy Jacobs was born in 1951, the first of five girls, and grew up in small-town Pennsylvania. She describes herself as a "rebellious kid" who, as a teen, sneaked out with a friend to run across the Pennsylvania Turnpike to enjoy the pool at a private swim club. In four pages, she chronicles her first marriage, when she was an 18-year-old college student. By the time she graduated, the marriage was over - but not before he took her to a victory party for Delaware's new senator-elect, Joe Biden. She never met the candidate, but she shook hands with his wife, Neilia Biden. "I thought about how picturesque their family was." Barely a month later, Neilia and the Bidens infant daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident; their sons, Hunter and Beau, were injured. The beginnings of Jill and Joe Biden's now 42-year marriage are well-known, as he has often talked about how she gave him back his life by agreeing to marry him and raising Beau and Hunter as her own. Jill Biden's version is more nuanced. Her divorce had left her bitter, she writes. At times, she prayed that she would never marry again. Other times, she prayed for a marriage like the one her parents had: "Give me a love like theirs. Give me a family of my own. "Marrying Joe wasn't just about him. It was about Hunter and Beau as well. They had endured the loss of one mother already." When the boys gave her their mother's engagement ring - Beau was 8, Hunter was 7 - she joyfully accepted. In 1980, when she thought she might be pregnant, she took the boys, ages 10 and 11, with her to buy the pregnancy test (they waited in the car). When the result was positive, she told them, "You should be the ones to tell your dad." Ashley was born in June 1981. Biden returned to teaching, and over the next 15 years she earned two master's degrees and a doctorate. She prefers to be called "Dr. Biden" rather than "Mrs. Biden" and is proud that she took a teaching job at Northern Virginia Community College. "I relished the tension of my life, caught between State receptions and midterm exams. Having dinner with the most powerful people on earth, and study sessions with single moms just hoping to find their way to better jobs." Her book closes with more reflections of a grieving mother. She no longer attends church. "Where I once felt that peace that surpasses understanding, I now feel hollow silence," she writes. "One day, I hope I can salvage my faith." It seems unlikely that Jill Biden will find much comfort in the soul-sucking pace of a presidential primary. She never mentions her husbands decision to run for president this time. Perhaps the book went to press before she sorted out her thoughts. In the wake of her sons death, she is a different mother, a different political spouse. Perhaps there is no explaining this time. Heeraben came out of her home to greet the media on Thursday morning. (Photo: Screengrab) New Delhi: As India prepares to welcome Narendra Modi as Prime Minister a second time, proud mother Heeraben came out of her home to greet the media on Thursday morning. Before casting her vote in Ahmedabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the blessing of his nearly 99-year-old mother at her house in Gujarats Gandhinagar. PM Modi's mother Heeraben lives with his younger son Pankaj Modi in the village. Watch the video: Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. Oregons two U.S. senators sent a sternly worded letter to Union Pacific on Wednesday, decrying nearly 200 layoffs at the railroads facilities near Hermiston. We are deeply concerned about rural Oregon economies and your companys actions as it appears to risk destabilizing already fragile communities, senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley wrote. While the company has substantial resources to reinvest and modify operations over time, many of these workers and their families are not so fortunate. Union Pacific announced the layoffs Tuesday, attributing the job cuts to efforts to run an efficient railroad. The layoffs are part of a broader series of cuts the Nebraska company is making over a two-year period in hopes of boosting profits. With Tuesdays layoffs the region has now lost 250 Union Pacific jobs over the past year, according to Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann. He wrote on Twitter Tuesday that the city is working on support projects for those who lost their jobs. Wyden and Merkley, both Democrats, said the Hermiston layoffs create potential safety risks for the remaining employees given hazardous materials that move through rural Oregon, often during difficult weather. They said closure of Union Pacifics mechanical shop would reduce oversight and inspection. Union Pacific did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the senators letter. There are just 36,400 workers altogether in Umatilla County, where this weeks layoffs took place. The countys jobless rate was 5.3 percent last month. The senators said prior Union Pacific layoffs hurt rural farmers and shippers by making it more difficult to transport goods to market. Wyden and Merkley said shippers have told them it is difficult to reach the railroads customer service to address problems. Laid-off employees have the right to transfer to other Union Pacific sites, according to the senators, but they said the potential outmigration of much needed family-wage jobs in rural Eastern Oregon will do serious long-term damage to the local economy and local tax base. -- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699 A 69-year-old Eugene man was sentenced Wednesday to one year and three months in federal prison for making a series of threats last year to St. Mary Catholic Church in the citys downtown. Benjamin Jaramillo Hernandez in February pleaded guilty to a hate crime -- obstructing people in the free exercise of religious rights -- and possessing ammunition as a felon. The church had removed Hernandez from a service after an angry outburst on Sept. 9. He returned several days later and pumped pepper spray through a mail slot in the parishs front door and left a threatening note beside seven hollow point bullets at the church office in September, according to an FBI agent. "You have turned me into the embodiment of evil ferocity!'' read the note written in black marker. "Sunday ... you devils from hell will pay for what you have done to ME! 2 MP5s w/50 rounds each! Eugene is going on the (expletive) MAP!'' "It has become all too common that places of worship are targeted for threats and acts of violence a fact that parishioners and staff at St. Mary were and are well aware of. And while Hernandez may not have had the current ability to carry through with this threats, his actions have left a community in fear, a fear that continues to reverberate through St. Marys chapel,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin Bruce and Civil Rights Division trial attorney Cameron A. Bell told U.S. District Judge Ann L. Aiken in a sentencing memo. Multiple members of the St. Mary community reported that the church experienced a drop in attendance and in weekly collections after Hernandezs conduct, the prosecutors said. "As one victim put it, we have heard from parishioners that they wouldnt be coming back to St. Mary. Even more likely left without saying anything,' ' the prosecutors noted. Investigators identified Hernandez through church surveillance images and arrested him at the Eugene Library across the street from the church on Sept. 21, initially accusing him of intimidation, criminal mischief and criminal trespass, according to court records. Hernandez was released from custody soon after but was picked up later on a federal warrant. When he was first arrested, Hernandez was found with two black Sharpie markers, a 3.1-ounce can of partially empty pepper spray, an Exacto knife, three .410 shotgun shells and 13 10 mm Sig hollow-point bullets, according to court records. The bullets matched the brand and caliber of those left with the threatening note at the church office, FBI agent Timothy Suttles wrote in a federal affidavit. The Rev. Ronald Nelson, pastor at the church, told The Oregonian/OregonLive after Hernandezs arrest that it was unsettling when a strange orange substance suddenly wafted into the building, causing staff to start coughing. "It definitely put us on guard,'' he said. Mr. Hernandez used intimidation and threats of violence to terrorize a single congregation, but the harm from hate crimes like this extends beyond the specific individuals or group targeted," Oregons U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said in a prepared statement. These crimes threaten the security, freedom and well-being of entire communities, Williams said. "No conviction can reverse the harm caused by Mr. Hernandez, but we hope it provides some measure of justice to St. Mary parishioners and the entire Eugene community. Hernandez has a prior conviction in 1991 for possession of false identification documents. He was sentenced to two years in prison in that case. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A veteran Portland police commander who was accused of driving drunk off duty and crashing a police SUV into a light pole has resigned. Steven James Jones, who was head of the bureaus Professional Standards Division at the time of the crash last year, chose to resign in the face of potential discipline, which could have included termination, according to his lawyer. Jones resignation went into effect May 3, according to state records. He served just under 25 years with the Police Bureau. "It was fairly apparent he would be facing discipline,'' said Steven Myers, Jones lawyer. "He is an honorable man that, given his position within the Bureau and the bar he set as the commander of the Professional Standards Unit, chose to resign.'' The state Department of Public Safety Standards & Training also is reviewing Jones police certification, according to Rebecca Hannon of the state police licensing agency. Jones, 47, pleaded no contest to reckless driving and driving under the influence of intoxicants last year in Multnomah County Circuit Court . He was placed on paid administrative leave after the June 2018 crash. The citys Independent Police Review Division conducted an internal inquiry into Jones actions, and the bureaus Police Review Board examined the investigation and recommended discipline. A spokeswoman for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner, and Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Brad Yakots declined comment on any proposed discipline, calling it a "personnel matter.'' The Oregonian/OregonLive has submitted a public records request to the city to obtain the information. In December, Jones received a three-month suspended drivers license and also agreed to pay the city $38,239.95 in restitution within 60 days to cover damage to the police SUV and the pole, according to court records. Jones was alone in the SUV and not injured. Oregon State Police cited Jones for alleged drunken driving and reckless driving at 3:26 a.m. June 28 near Southwest Third Avenue and Arthur Street, according to court records. A witness told police he saw the police SUV speeding when it traveled onto a median and crashed into the pole and a tree, according to the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office. The witness stopped to check on the driver "but the driver initially held his door shut from the inside and said that he was a police officer and that police were already responding,'' according to the investigation. Officers described Jones, who smelled of alcohol, as swaying. A state trooper found Jones' blood-alcohol content was at a level of .10 percent, over the states .08 percent legal limit. Jones has completed a court diversion program and remains on probation for a year. If he abides by the conditions of his probation for one year, his pleas will be withdrawn and the charges dismissed. If not, he could face up to a year in jail. The police policy committee of the state Department of Public Safety Standards & Training was set to review Jones certification on May 16 based on his pleas in criminal court, but the matter was pulled from its agenda after the agency learned of Jones resignation from the police bureau. The agency will continue to review his police certification in light of the citys Independent Police Review inquiry into his crash, Hannon said. Jones will be eligible to start collecting his pension when he turns 55, but it will be calculated slightly below the full payout as he hadnt reached 25 years of service when he resigned. He would have marked 25 years of service in September. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian As the Portland area prepares for the federal holiday on Monday, May 27, here is a list of office and services that are closed or on holiday schedules in honor of those who have died while serving in the armed forces. Following the closures is a list of area memorial events. Public transportation: TriMet buses and MAX will run on Sunday schedules on Monday, May 27. WES will have no service. C-Tran will run on Sunday/Holiday schedules on Monday, May 27. Portland Aerial Tram is closed. The 67th Annual Memorial Day Observance was held May 29, 2017, at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Benjamin Brink/Special to The OregonianLC- Government offices: Federal courts and offices are closed. Oregon and Washington state offices and courts are closed. Portland parking meters are free on Monday, May 27 only. Pay during regular Sunday hours. Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Clark county offices, city of Portland and Vancouver offices, Metro regional center are closed. Postal mail (USPS) will not be delivered Monday, May 27, and post offices will be closed. Flags at grave markers in honor of Memorial Day at Willamette National Cemetery, May 29, 2016. Mike Zacchino/Oregonian file photo.LC- Staff Destinations: The Oregon Zoo is open. OMSI is open with regular hours. Events: Beaverton hosts the annual Memorial Day Event 11 a.m. Monday, at Beaverton Veterans Memorial Park, at Seventh Avenue and Watson Streets, Beaverton. Organized by American Legion Beaverton Post #124. Free admission. Visit the website for details. Forest Groves annual Memorial Day event is 11 a.m. Monday, at Forest View Cemetery, 1611 W. Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove. Organized by American Legion Post 205. Free admission. The 67th Annual Memorial Day Observance was held May 29, 2017, at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Benjamin Brink/Special to The OregonianLC- Hillsboro honors veterans with an event 1 p.m. Monday at Veterans Memorial Gateway, 34th Avenue and Veterans Drive, Hillsboro. Organized by Washington County Disability, Aging and Veteran Services. Free admission. Visit the website for details. Portland will host a Memorial Day event at Lone Fir Cemetery 10 a.m. Monday, Southeast 26th Ave. and Washington Street. Visit the website for details. Mt. Calvary and Gethsemani Catholic Funeral Services will hold a Memorial Day mass on the grounds of the funeral home and cemetery locations in Portland and Happy Valley. Are all welcome. Visit the website for details. Salem hosts the state-wide Memorial Day Celebration 3 p.m. Monday at the Afghan-Iraqi Freedom Memorial, 700 Summer St. NE, Salem. Organized by Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs. Free admission. Vancouver offers the Vancouver/Clark County Memorial Day Observance 11 a.m. Monday, at Fort Vancouver Gazebo, 1501 Evergreen Boulevard, Vancouver. Organized by Community Military Appreciation Committee. Free admission. Wilsonville hosts an annual Memorial Day 11 a.m. Saturday, May 25, at Oregon Korean War Memorial, 29600 SW Park Pl - Town Center Park, Wilsonville. Organized by KWVA - Oregon Trail Chapter. Free admission After disagreements so contentious that Mayor Ted Wheeler later repeatedly apologized, the Portland City Council postponed the vote on its $5.5 billion annual budget Wednesday afternoon. The delay allowed them to honor residents demands that their testimony be heard before the mayor and commissioners cast their votes. The council had been set to approve the budget for the coming fiscal year on Wednesday. That plan includes vast infrastructure projects in the water, sewer and transportation bureaus and trims to parks bureau offerings. Officials agreed to postpone the vote, however, because Commissioner Nick Fish had to leave for a pre-scheduled treatment for his stomach cancer and it was unclear whether there would be agreement on the appropriations vote. The vote is rescheduled for Thursday afternoon. The mayor and commissioners aired contentious disagreements Wednesday over whether to fund the Portland Police Bureaus Gun Violence Reduction Team and how to plug a multimillion-dollar funding gap at Portland Parks & Recreation. The gun violence unit, formerly known as the Gang Enforcement Team, came under scrutiny by city auditors in 2018 for its disproportionate stops of African Americans and its failure to collect accurate data about the stops and to justify them. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, a first-year commissioner and longtime police reform advocate, moved to defund the gun violence unit and reassign its 28 officers to patrol duty. She said that should be done because the city desperately needs patrol officers and because of the reasons identified by auditors, calling the disproportionate stops totally inexcusable. Hardesty noted that the team changed several of its practices since the audits publication as well as its name though she called it the gun reduction whatever but an additional audit report found police officials had not reformed some of its practices. The Police Bureau has shown they have no interest in being held accountable by the people they are sworn to protect and serve, Hardesty said. Police Bureau leaders, including Chief Danielle Outlaw and two police captains, testified that the Gun Violence Reduction Team had improved its practices, pulled many guns off of Portland streets and solved many shooting cases. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly also criticized the team, saying she found it difficult to justify funding it when the Police Bureau could not explain its techniques and when the bureaus traffic enforcement operations were grossly underfunded. When Eudaly also misstated the teams name, Wheeler interjected, saying, I find it hard to understand how my colleagues could understand the substance of the program when they dont even know the name. He said auditors had raised some very valid concerns but not necessarily concerns I agree with. Hardesty shot back: I just want to sanction you for being disrespectful to Commissioner Eudaly and myself. After Wheeler turned to Eudaly and apologized for his tone, Hardesty admonished him for not apologizing to her as well. Im turning to you and if youd stop interrupting me commissioner, I can get to it, Wheeler said to Hardesty. The mayor apologized again later on, saying his emotions had gotten the better of him. Im not proud of my behavior earlier, he said, adding, I dont even recognize myself sometimes. Cuts to Portland Parks & Recreation made up the other sticking point at Wednesdays hearing. A deficit at the bureau has long been simmering and came to a head this year as an estimated $6.3 million shortfall. It exists because fee collections for park services are not keeping pace with rising personnel and facilities costs. As written, the budget would plug the hole with staffing cuts and reduced services. The Sellwood Community Center and Hillside Community Center, for example, would close after this summer. The Laurelhurst Dance Studio would no longer be run by the city but would be available to arts organizations for rent. Its unclear how many employees could face layoffs. -- Gordon R. Friedman GFriedman@Oregonian.com I am a big fan of differing opinions. The world is interesting mostly because we like and believe different things. Liberal, conservative, libertarian, progressive, Green, even white supremacist all should have a place in the big conversation that builds our culture. But Republicans no longer hail from a conservative framework, and Democrats are a spectrum ranging from the complicit compromising to the radical reforming. Todays GOP, because of (solely, it seems) its uncompromising hatred for all things left, has lined up behind a person so incompetent and categorically unfit he should not lead a hike in the woods, much less arguably the most powerful (and dangerous) country on the planet. Trump is not really in charge. He is a cardboard cutout posing as president but directed by a cabal of the richest and most powerful old white men in America. The left is little better, calling Trump supporters non-college educated a liberal dog whistle for ignorant rubes, which they are not. The classroom isnt the only place we become educated. My greatest observed irony from working in schools for 10 years is that some of the most ignorant people I ever dealt with had advanced degrees in education. I dont know how we can get back to just arguing and compromising you know, governing, so we can recreate the society where opportunity again exists for most of us. But I fear if we keep playing out this trolling, us vs. them Greek tragedy, our next act might involve armed conflict. That would be bad. Marshal Read, Portland Subscribe to get the Morning Briefing newsletter delivered to your email inbox weekdays at 7 a.m. Todays stories CRANE CRISIS: A man in crisis scales a construction crane in Southeast Portland, police say. Read more. CITY BUDGET: Portland delays a budget vote after disagreeing over police and parks funding. Read more. DAY CARE: Oregon lawmakers approve a bill to beef up day care investigations. Read more. SCHOOL SAFETY: Portlands mayor plans to set aside $1.6 million to fund school resource officers. Read more. BIG SCREENS: Cinetopia shutters all three Portland-area movie theaters. Read more. TRAIL BLAZERS: Enes Kanter says signing with the Trail Blazers was probably the best thing that ever happened to my career. Read more. HEALTH RISK: A health advisory is issued for a Lincoln City beach, just days before Memorial Day weekend. Read more. NIKE SCANDAL: A litigation expert gives the skinny on Oregon, Nike and Michael Avenattis legal challenges. Read more. WHATS NEXT? Marcus Mariotas future is THE topic this season with the Tennessee Titans. Read more. PORTLAND SECURITY: Portland City Council approves $10 million for City Hall security over protesters shouts and jeers. Read more. DEADLY CRASH: Two people are killed in a North Portland crash, police say. Read more. ROAD RAGE: A Portland man involved in a road rage shooting is sentenced to five years in prison. Read more. SPY GAMES: How the CIA tried to train cats to spy on the Russians: the strange, true story of Acoustic Kitty. Read more. More news Game on? Portland software developer unveils retro handheld Dear Abby: Boyfriend flirts online, insists hes just having a little fun Ask Amy: Greedy houseguest figures out where she went wrong Carolyn Hax: As a young widow, not sure I want clingy in-laws on vacations Our 6-year-old suddenly has nighttime anxiety, wont sleep alone: Dear Annie Find more at oregonlive.com Only in Oregon ROSE FESTIVAL: 2019 Portland Rose Festival: Your guide to parades, fireworks and fun. Read more. Todays comics Click here to see today's comics Today's obituaries Click here to find area deaths reported recently Today in history AROUND THE WORLD: On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. SEATTLE Washington has become the latest West Coast state to enact broad sanctuary protections that restrict all local authorities from asking about peoples immigration status. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure Tuesday implementing the new rules, which rank among the strongest statewide mandates in the nation. California and Oregon have similar laws. The move comes as President Donald Trump's administration has cracked down on immigration by increasing migrant detentions and attempting to cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Under the new Washington state law, local law enforcement agencies are broadly prohibited from asking about immigration status or place of birth unless directly connected to a criminal investigation, and both local jails and state prisons are prohibited from complying with voluntary "immigration holds" requested by federal authorities, or from notifying federal authorities when an immigrant is about to be released from their custody. "Our state agencies are not immigration enforcement agencies," said Inslee, a Democrat who is also running for president. "We will not be complicit in the Trump administration's depraved efforts to break up hard-working immigrant and refugee families." Critics say sanctuary laws hamper the ability of police to do their job. Republican state Sen. Phil Fortunato, who voted against the Washington law when it was before the Legislature, said he thought it would hamper the ability of police to take action against subjects they suspect to be illegal immigrants. "This not only puts law enforcement at risk, it puts private citizens at risk," Fortunato said. Jorge Baron, head of the Seattle-based Northwest Immigrants' Rights Project, said the rules would increase public safety by making migrants and their families less afraid to report crimes or come forward as witnesses. Immigrants, shouldn't have to worry that police might demand "papers" at any moment, said Democratic state Sen. Lisa Wellman, the daughter of Jewish immigrants and the bill's sponsor. "We have 30% of Microsoft here on visas," Wellman said earlier this year when the bill was being debated. Under the law, police officers in Washington won't be able to inquire about immigration status except in limited circumstances, and the state attorney general will draw up rules for courthouses, hospitals and other state government facilities aimed at limiting their use as places where federal immigration agents look for people in the country illegally. Local and state authorities are also broadly prohibited from sharing immigration information about people in custody with immigration authorities, except under a valid court order or where required by law. A 2017 executive order from Inslee imposed similar requirements but only on state agencies, a move advocates said fell short of full sanctuary state status. Tuesday's measure expands the rules to include all local law enforcement. That's significant because most police interactions tend to occur at the city and county level, rather than with state troopers, and because local police have long been targets for cooperation requests from federal immigration authorities, generating the majority of deportations, said Lena Graber, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a national non-profit that tracks sanctuary policies. The law, Graber said, gives Washington, "the strongest and most comprehensive state law on sanctuary in the country." While the exact definition of "sanctuary state" is flexible, Graber said, five other states have seen state laws or executive orders or rules used to create statewide protections against coordination between local and federal law enforcement on non-criminal immigration investigations: Illinois, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Vermont. Oregon was the first state to adopt a statewide sanctuary policy, in 1987, a straightforward restriction on police spending any resources - including paid staff time - going after people who are in the country illegally but haven't committed other crimes. California passed more robust protections in 2017, including yearly reporting requirements and a rule that authorities must get written consent from people they arrest before allowing them to be interviewed by immigration officers. The Associated Press Mayor Ted Wheeler repeatedly apologized at Wednesdays Portland City Council meeting after losing his temper at two colleagues during a budget debate. The mayor had been arguing with Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly over funding for the Police Bureaus Gun Violence Reduction Team. Hardesty and Eudaly criticized the unit, formerly known as the Gang Enforcement Team, for stopping African Americans more frequently than people of other races. They noted city audits also found many stops were unjustified. Police practices cause people of color to be fearful of law enforcement, Hardesty said. Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner, defended the team. It has morphed into a unit that responds to shootings citywide, not just gang violence, the mayor said. And it has stopped labeling people as gang members, he said, even though some police officials view that as a stumbling block to fighting crime. The exchanges that Wheeler later apologized for began after Hardesty and Eudaly misstated the units name several times, prompting him to accuse the women of not knowing much about the team they were critiquing. Here is a condensed version of the dialogue: Wheeler: I fault myself that my colleagues dont know more about this program. Thats on me. Its my job to inform them about the program. I find it hard to understand how my colleagues could understand the substance of a program when they dont even know the name of the program. Eudaly: Oh, wow. Wheeler: I think its entirely fair. I think its entirely fair. Eudaly: Its called the Gang Enforcement Team. Wheeler: Well, heres the deal. Its not. Its the Gun Violence Reduction Team. And in September of 2017, Portland Police Bureau and this has been reported to the council formally rescinded the gang designation policy. And that was done out of a request out of the community. It was due to identification of that as being a problem by the auditor and it was done. During the last year, significant changes were implemented in response to the audit. The auditor raised, I think, some very valid concerns, but not necessarily concerns I agree with. Hardesty: I just want to sanction you on being disrespectful to Commissioner Eudaly and myself. When black and brown people are confronted by people with weapons they do not think they are free to turn around and walk away. We know what the repercussions of that behavior is, and it is not pretty. I do want to have a real conversation about having accountability measures from our police. The fact that the police changes the name of units they change how they collect data because they do not want to be held accountable to the same standards we set for every other bureau in the city of Portland. So, I am really disappointed, mayor, that you would take the opportunity to take a pot shot at your colleagues. Wheeler: I want to keep this to the budget discussion. But, Commissioner Eudaly, I do apologize. I do apologize. Hardesty: To her but not to me? Wheeler: Im turning to you, and if youd stop interrupting me commissioner, I could get to it. I apologize to you too. But heres the deal. I have listened while we cast aspersions on the employees of the city and not give them the opportunity to defend themselves. Lets hear them out. Eudaly: I am sorry. Once again, questioning staffing levels, allocation of resources, policies and procedures of the Police Bureau is not disparaging individual officers. Ive stated time and time again that I respect the hard work of many of our officers. I recognize the work is stressful, it is dangerous, and I just refuse to allow this narrative to continue from the union, the bureau or the mayor that I cant have differing opinions without dismissing and disparaging the entire bureau. Thats not what this is about. This is about the smart allocation of our limited resources based on data not on fear. Wheeler: Fair enough. Thank you. Commissioner, I apologize. Lets get to the budget. The mayor later apologized for how he spoke to Hardesty and Eudaly. Wheeler: Im not proud of my behavior earlier, Commissioner Eudaly or Commissioner Hardesty. I dont even recognize myself sometimes. This is a very emotional issue. Its an important issue. At the end of the day its a budget conversation. And I let me emotion on this issue get the better of me." He turned to Hardesty and then to Eudaly: You deserve better. Commissioner Eudaly, you deserve better and I apologize. That is not the way I choose to comport myself and Im disappointed and Im embarrassed and Im sorry. -- Gordon R. Friedman GFriedman@Oregonian.com Oregon child care regulators will soon have the power to conduct more thorough investigations under legislation approved by the Senate on Wednesday. Lawmakers gave the Office of Child Care new authority to issue subpoenas, take depositions, compel witness statements and require the disclosure of records during investigations. House Bill 2027 also prohibits providers who are facing a suspension from being able to provide child care of any kind, for a period of five years, except to children who are relatives. This bill will give the Office of Child Care the tools to gather information, inspect facilities and hold providers accountable for meeting the highest standards for safety and quality care for children, Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, said in a statement. The legislation was introduced at the request of Gov. Kate Brown. It now heads to Brown for her signature to become law. This marks the second consecutive session where lawmakers and officials for the Office of Child Care have pushed to strengthen day care oversight in the wake of reporting from 2017 by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Another proposal, Senate Bill 490, is now under consideration by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. It would prohibit anyone from providing child care if that person is required to report as a sex offender in any state. It also would block anyone from child care if the person has been convicted of a crime that caused serious harm or led to the death of a child. -- Brad Schmidt bschmidt@oregonian.com 503-294-7628 @_brad_schmidt Srinagar: National Conference (NC) has won all the three Lok Sabha seats in Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley whereas the BJP has retained the two seats of predominantly Hindu Jammu region and the lone seat of Ladakh. With this, the regional and religious divide has once again become evident in Jammu and Kashmir. Among the winners is NC president and J&Ks three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah who retained the prestigious Srinagar Lok Sabha seat by a comfortable margin of seventy thousand votes. He bagged 106,731 votes while his nearest rival PDP candidate Aga Syed Mohsin secured 36,705 votes. The PDP faced a rout also in two remaining constituencies of the Valley including its once stronghold Anantnag where the party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti finished third by bagging mere 30, 223 votes. The NCs greenhorn Justice (retired) Husnain Masoodi defeated her and J&K Pradesh Congress president Ghulam Ahmad Mir by securing 40,032 votes while Mir got 32,879 votes. It is for the first time that Ms Mufti has lost an election on her home turf. She while commenting on her defeat said, Ive been fortunate to get the love and affection of my people. They have every right to express their anger for my failings and I accept their verdict with humility. In Baramulla, NC candidate Mohammad Akbar Lone secured 131,869 votes while Peoples Conference candidate Raja Ajaz Ali got 102, 212. Awami Itehad Party (AIP) leader and former MLA Engineer Rasheed polled over one lakh votes. The PDP had won all the three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley in 2014. However, Mr. Abdullah managed to win the Srinagar seat in the 2017 bye-election. The seat had been fallen vacant after the PDPs MP Tariq Hameed Karra quit the party over differences with Mufti. The NC president while seeking to set agenda for himself and his party for next five years said in a statement, We have to fight for the protection of the secular visage of the country. Moreover, the mammoth task before us to put up a strong front against such forces as is inimical to the special status of the state. We will spare no effort towards protecting Article 370 and Article 35A. He said that the other enormous task ahead of them was to protect the ideals of the Constitution of India. Union Minister in PMO Jitendra Singh won for the second time in a row in home constituency Udhampur by securing 711,199 votes over his Congress rival Vikramaditya Singh who got 365, 443 votes. The BJPs Jugal Kishore also romped home for the second time after securing 830,861 votes in Jammu. His Congress rival Raman Bhalla got 546, 403 votes. The party retained also the lone seat of Ladakh where its candidate Jamyang Tsering Namgyal secured 38338 votes against 29,004 of independent candidate Sajjad Hussain Kargali. The Oregon Senate suspended its rules on Thursday to rush a vote on Democratic leaders plan to rein in public employers rapidly increasing pension costs. Senate Bill 1049, sponsored by Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek, passed 16 to 12. Republican lawmakers made the difference. Three of them voted in favor of the bill, while two potential Republican no votes were absent. Five Democrats voted against the bill. A House vote has not yet been scheduled. The bill does not have any substantial impact on the pension systems $27 billion deficit. And three quarters of the bills projected cost savings -- $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion in the 2021-23 budget cycle -- come from extending the minimum payment schedule on the deficit by eight to 10 years. Almost all of Thursdays floor debate, however, focused on the bills provision to cut employee retirement benefits. The plan would redirect a portion of the retirement contributions employees currently make to a supplemental 401(k)-like savings plan. Instead, some of those contributions -- 2.5 percent of pay for employees hired before August 28, 2003, and 0.75 percent for employees hired after -- would go into an account that would support pension benefits. Today, Oregon is one of only two states that doesnt require employee contributions to its pension plan. The average pension contribution in states where employees are also eligible for Social Security, as in Oregon, is 6 percent of pay. A business-backed group has filed ballot measures that would require a 6 percent employee contribution to the pension fund. By reducing the money going into the supplemental retirement accounts, the plan would reduce career employees overall retirement benefits by 1 to 2 percent of pay. That might not sound like a big hit, but employees contend they are already underpaid today. They also argue the new plan could create the precedent for coming back and demanding more from employees if the pension funds financial status deteriorates. Public employee unions have condemned the plan as unfair and unbalanced, and criticized lawmakers after the vote. The Oregon Senate has voted to reduce the retirement security and compensation for educators, firefighters and all public employees," said John Larson, President of the Oregon Education Association. "These unfair and illegal reductions are a betrayal of Oregon values. The Oregon House should vote no to avoid another expensive and lengthy PERS lawsuit. Many senators seemed to agree. Mindful that benefit cuts are political kryptonite in Oregon, lawmakers spent a good deal of time Thursday either apologizing for their support or explaining why they were voting no -- generally so they could keep a promise with public employees. Several lawmakers claimed it was the hardest vote of their career and made fervent arguments against cutting employee compensation, then voted in favor saying the state cannot afford keep kicking the can on the pension issues. But in effect, thats exactly what the Senate voted to do: Punt on the pension problem. Legislators voted to shortchange contributions to the system for a decade in order to generate cost savings now. Its risky. If the systems investment returns hit another rough patch, or the economy hits a downturn, the retirement systems funded status could take a major hit, which will put more upward pressure on costs. The only lawmaker who mentioned the potential downside of that strategy was Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis. She said previous legislatures had kicked the can on PERS, and what SB 1049 does is the same thing. That doesnt make any sense to me, she said. Thats how we got here in the first place. Correction: Three Republicans voted for SB 1049, not two, as an earlier version of this story said. State historic preservation officials once again have nominated Portlands Eastmoreland to the National Register of Historic Places, this time with the states stamp of approval. The Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association first spearheaded the nomination in 2016 as a way to spare the neighborhood from home demolitions at the height of a construction boom in Portland but became mired in controversy. The latest nomination notes Eastmorelands eclectic collection of colonial, Tudor and English cottage revival homes, along with American-style bungalows and craftsman designs. It claims historical significance from 1910 to 1961, a span that covers 1,030 of its 1,277 buildings. If the historic district is recognized, Portland would require a formal hearing process before any historically significant building could be demolished. The original nomination split the neighborhood, with more than half of respondents in a neighborhood poll opposing the effort. The organized opposition said the historic designation could lead to new restrictions on renovations and repairs. It also raised concerns among housing and land-use activists about whether a well-to-do enclave in the central city can use the costly nomination process to exempt itself from the citys growing pains and subvert the citys density goals. The controversy in part led the city government to draft rules that would reduce Portlands reliance on the National Register as a primary arbiter of what to protect from demolition or radical renovation. Opponents launched a campaign attempting to collect notarized objections to the nomination from the majority of property owners in the proposed district, which would preclude its listing on the National Register. But the state couldnt provide an accurate count of how many property owners live in the proposed district and declined to give its stamp of approval. So, the National Parks Service rejected the first nomination on that basis. The discrepancy took a turn last year when a handful of homeowners opposed to the district split their ownership stake into thousands of trusts, swaying the count in their favor. The Oregon Court of Appeals weighed in last month, ruling that trusts dont count as property owners. As a result, opponents of the district havent reached the majority threshold required to stop the nomination. The National Park Service, which maintains the National Register, will decide whether to accept the nomination. The federal agencys timeline is uncertain. If the nomination is approved, non-contributing properties -- in Eastmorelands case, any home built after 1961, for example -- would initially have no constraints. And new buildings would not have to fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. Rules for all properties aimed at preserving the architectural character of the neighborhood could come later, though, drafted through a land-use process that would require City Council approval. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; @enjus Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. WCMU Public Television has been nominated for three regional Emmy awards for local productions, announced The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Michigan Chapter. "Destination Michigan" was nominated in the Magazine Show category. Staff members who contribute to the program include Stefanie Mills, Adam Miedema, Chris Ogozaly, Matthew Ozanich and Steven Smith. "Destination Michigan" is an original series produced by WCMU Public Television highlighting the people and places that make Michigan a special place to live. The nominated episode includes stories on the historic S.S. Badger in Ludington, the Inland Waterway, Little Bay Boards of Petoskey, the Bay De Noc Lure Company in Gladstone and the Mermaid Megafest in South Haven. "The popularity of 'Destination Michigan' has grown exponentially over the years as it introduces viewers to the vibrancy of the people, places and events in the Great Lakes State," said Jim Rademaker, interim general manager of WCMU Public Media. "We want to thank the viewers of 'Destination Michigan' and the hundreds of people whose stories we have shared with our WCMU viewers during the last 10 years for making the show so popular." "Destination Michigan" is currently aired on seven PBS affiliates in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. The show won an Emmy Award last year. Mills, Ozanich and Smith also were nominated in the Community/Public Service category for a series on Native American stories, and Ozanich was nominate in the Talent/Program Host category for "Destination Michigan." The Emmy awards ceremony will be held Saturday, June 15 in Detroit. NEW YORK - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a request by President Donald Trump to block congressional subpoenas for his banking records, dealing the latest blow to the president in his bid to battle Democratic investigations into his personal finances. The decision in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York could clear the way for Deutsche Bank and Capital One to hand over the president's financial records to Democrats in the House. Trump's attorneys could appeal the decision. Attorneys for Trump, his family and the Trump Organization filed for a preliminary injunction earlier this month as part of a lawsuit seeking to block the two institutions from handing over documents to the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees. "There will be no way to unring the bell once the Banks give Congress the requested information," William Consovoy, Patrick Strawbridge and Marc Mukasey wrote. "The Committees will have reviewed confidential documents that this Court may later determine were illegally subpoenaed." But U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said Wednesday that Trump's lawsuit was unlikely to succeed. Deutsche Bank and Capital One did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The ruling comes two days after a federal judge in Washington rejected the Trump legal team's argument in a separate case seeking to block the House Oversight Committee's demands for records from Trump's accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trump's attorneys notified the judge on Tuesday that they have appealed "all aspects" of that ruling. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., welcomed Wednesday's ruling, saying she was "very excited" by the news. "Two in one week: Mazar Monday, Deutsche Bank today," she said. "Another Day, another very important ruling," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said. "Different judge, same opinion: the Trump legal arguments are without merit." Deutsche Bank has been a major lender to both the Trump Organization and Kushner Companies, which previously was run by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who now is a presidential adviser. Deutsche Bank has loaned or been a co-lender of at least $2.5 billion to Trump's business, much of it at a time when other banks declined providing money to him, according to a Wall Street Journal report. At one point, when Trump had trouble paying back a loan for a Chicago tower, Trump sued the bank, saying it had played a role in a broader financial crisis that hurt the project. Trump and the bank eventually settled the case. Shortly before Election Day in 2016, Deutsche Bank finalized a $285 million loan to Kushner's real estate company, The Washington Post has previously reported. At the time, the bank was negotiating settlements with federal and New York regulators. Congressional Democrats have long said they want to examine the bank's loans to the Trump and Kushner businesses, particularly to see if there is any connection to money-laundering in Russia. During Wednesday's hearing, protesters holding signs stating "Congress has a right to know" and "You can sue but you can't hide" were admonished by the judge after they stood up in the courtroom. Strawbridge argued during the hearing that the committee subpoenas were overly broad and claimed that House Democrats were acting as law enforcement rather than legislators. "They are looking for records about minors, about in-laws," said Strawbridge, claiming that even information about Trump's grandchildren could be swept up in the subpoenas. An attorney for the House Democrats, Douglas Neal Letter, said the committees have issued "a whole batch of subpoenas . . . having nothing to do with Trump or his family." "This is not an investigation just about Trump and his family," Letter said. In his ruling from the bench, Ramos said he would not halt enforcement of the subpoena. Ramos said his ruling rejecting a preliminary injunction was of "little consequence" because Trump and his family "are unlikely to succeed on merits of their claims." --- Kranish and Sonmez reported from Washington. Reis Thebault and Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report. Amit Shah took over as the BJP president soon after NDA emerged victorious in 2014 general elections. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: "It is time for Congress to get an Amit Shah," former Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister and once an ally of BJP, Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet as the trends showed BJP, led by Amit Shah, headed for yet another stellar victory in the Lok Sabha polls. Indeed, as the captain of the winning team, Shah deserves credit for turning the party into an election-winning machine. With one Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls of Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, his record as the BJP president has been unmatchable. Shah took over as the BJP president soon after NDA emerged victorious in 2014 general elections. A trusted lieutenant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he was appointed party in-charge of Uttar Pradesh just ahead of the 2014 national elections. With his sharp organisational skill and political acumen, Shah helped the party and its allies win 73 out of 80 seats in the stat,e leading PM Modi to proclaim him as "man-of-the-match" of BJP's victory. But his journey has not been as smooth as it seems. Shah was born in Mumbai in 1964. He was brought up at his paternal village in Maansa, Gujarat till the age of 16. According to his website, as a young boy, he was always inspired by the stories of the great patriots of the nation and dreamt of working for the progress of the motherland. He was especially inspired and influenced by the nationalist spirit and vision of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and became its active member in Ahmedabad, it says. Shah worked for Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of RSS for some time before he joined BJP in 1984-85. There, Shah was noted for his organisational skills and was appointed the national treasurer of Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha and subsequently the state secretary and state vice-president of the party in Gujarat. With his excellent election management expertise, Shah managed the election campaign of BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani's election from Ahmedabad constituency in 1989. During these years, Shah came in contact with Narendra Modi- then a rising star in the BJP. He and Narendra Modi, who was then an organisational secretary of the party in Gujarat, helped BJP mobilise its workers, which bore fruitful results for the BJP in subsequent elections. BJP came into power in Gujarat in 1995. However, its government fell in 1997. According to the BJP president's website, Shah successfully contested the Assembly Elections from Sarkhej that followed the BJP government's fall. BJP returned to power in the state with Narendra Modi as its Chief Minister in 2002. Shah handled several key portfolios in the state government including the Home Ministry. However, challenges grew for Shah in 2010 when he was jailed in Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Later, a special CBI court dismissed the case. It is 2019 now and the BJP led by Shah is on its way to scripting history by becoming the first party in India, since 1971, to return with full majority. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. American Legion Post 165 is inviting the public to its many Memorial Day events on Monday, May 27, in Midland. Activities for the remembrance of Memorial Day are scheduled to commence at 8 a.m. at the veteran's section of Midland Cemetery. Immediately following, there will be a Naval Ceremony for deceased Navy personnel at Emerson Park, at the walking bridge that crosses Stoney Creek (where it meets the Tittabawassee River). At 9 a.m., there will be the presentation of wreaths at the Midland County Veterans Memorial in the front of the Midland County Courthouse. The Rotary Club of Midland-Morning hosted its third annual Claire's Day celebration on May 14 at the Midland Community Center. The Club honored second-grade students who demonstrated significant improvement in their reading skills over the course of the school year with a Claire's Award for Reading Excellence (C.A.R.E.) Second-grade teachers in all public and private schools in Midland County were asked to nominate students from their classrooms to receive the award. C.A.R.E recipients were: Owen English of Saint Brigid Catholic School, Molly Fox of Chestnut Hills Elementary School, Lauren Geeck of Coleman Elementary School, Kaidan Holman of Siebert Elementary School, Ayceten Leach of The Midland Academy, Serenity Lown of Bullock Creek Elementary School, Grace Pung of Plymouth Elementary School, Sam Pung of Plymouth Elementary School, Rylin Richardson of Plymouth Elementary School, Ainsley Rokosz of Plymouth Elementary School, Aleigh Sanders of Central Park Elementary School, Alaina Schulz of Siebert Elementary School, Gabrielle Shellnut of Central Park Elementary School, Abigail (Abby) Skedel of Adams Elementary School, Gavin Terrill Adams of Elementary School, and Adeline Trombley of Central Park Elementary. Every student went home with a certificate of achievement, a coupon for free ice cream donated by Great Lakes Ice Cream, and a book donated by Professor Watermelon, a nationally known children's author and edu-tainer who inspires children through writing workshops and other activities. Recognizing that students don't improve their reading skills or develop a passion for reading without the benefit of extraordinary teachers, the Club also honored elementary school teachers with the Inspirational Teacher Award. The recipients were nominated by their building principals for inspiring students to improve their reading skills and imparting a passion for reading. The Inspirational Teachers for 2019 were: Carolyn Brown of Floyd Elementary School, Rachel Brownlee of Coleman Elementary School, Justin Doughty of Central Park Elementary, Susie Hollingshead of Saint Brigid Catholic School, and Molly Kim of Bullock Creek Elementary. Teachers received a bouquet of flowers donated by Sandy's Design Studio in vases engraved by Wellington Limited. "These awards, which encourage blossoming young readers and their educators, relate to two of Rotary's key areas of focus: supporting education and growing local economies," said Rotary District Gov. Michael Elliot of the Rotary Club of Saginaw Valley and District 6310. "We all know that reading success is fundamental to school success and later to job success and advancement within our economy, so we are happy to support literacy efforts in our local communities." The Rev. Wallace H. Mayton III of the Rotary Club of Midland-Morning was the event's master of ceremonies. Special guests included Rotary District Gov. Michael Elliot of the Rotary Club of Saginaw Valley, Club President Victor Atiemo-Obeng and Cheryl Levy, who engaged the audience with interactive storytelling. The club thanked event sponsors, including the Greater Midland Community Center for providing the venue, Professor Watermelon for donating the children's books, Great Lakes Ice Cream for donating ice cream coupons, Wellington Limited for engraving and Sandy's Design Studio for providing floral arrangements for the winning teachers. In the past, presidents have gone to almost any length to assure the public that there wouldn't be even the barest suggestion of impropriety regarding their personal finances. Jimmy Carter put his peanut farm in a trusteeship. Barack Obama refused to refinance his mortgage when rates fell, saying that "When you're president you have to be a little careful about these transactions." President Donald Trump would no doubt say that they were suckers. Not only has he continued to seek every opportunity he can to make money while president, but also he has essentially declared that where he gets his money from and what he does with it are nobody's business. The obvious reason - the voluminous evidence that he is spectacularly corrupt, in some ways that are simply appalling and in others that bear directly on the presidency - is precisely why it's so important that we see what he's hiding. So far, Trump has been successful in erecting walls of concealment around his finances. But those walls are beginning to crack. Look at what happened to Trump just in the past few days: --On Wednesday, a federal judge in New York rejected Trump's attempt to block Deutsche Bank and Capital One from complying with a congressional subpoena for records relating to his dealings with the banks, and Deutsche Bank said that it would abide by the court order and supply the requested documents. Deutsche Bank might be the real mother lode here, since for years it was the only major bank that would lend to Trump, under circumstances that appear shady at best. It was recently reported that officers in the bank flagged transactions by legal entities controlled by both Trump and Jared Kushner as suspicious, saying they should be reported to the government as potentially involving money laundering, but more senior bank officials overruled them. --NBC reports that Wells Fargo and TD Bank have already turned over records to the House Financial Services Committee regarding their dealings with Trump. --Also on Wednesday, the New York state legislature passed a bill to turn over Trump's state tax returns to congressional committees upon request. --On Monday, another federal judge rejected Trump's suit attempting to block his accounting firm, Mazars USA, from complying with a congressional subpoena for his financial records. In both the federal cases, Trump's attorneys attempted to argue that Congress has no right to demand these kinds of records or even investigate the president at all, claims the judges found almost laughable. "The court concludes that the plaintiffs have not raised any serious questions," the judge in one case wrote. "It is simply not fathomable," the judge in the other case said, "that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a President for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct - past or present." The legal problem Trump and his attorneys face is that there is a long line of jurisprudence establishing that Congress' oversight powers are extremely broad. And one must acknowledge their spectacular chutzpah, to claim that Congress has no legitimate reason to investigate the finances of a president with a long history of not only scams and cons such as Trump University but also a series of sketchy overseas business deals that have the potential to influence the way he conducts foreign policy. That's not to mention the fact that he was trying to negotiate a deal to build a project in Moscow while running for president and proposing more Kremlin-friendly policies (and denying he had any business interests there). If there was ever a president who demonstrated the danger of having his financial interests affect the national interest, it's this one. But if there's about to be an avalanche of Trump financial documents heading to Congress and ultimately to the public, we should understand that it's going to take some time to sort out. Trump has lots of experience in making his business dealings as convoluted and opaque as possible, in large part to avoid paying taxes; you'll recall the New York Times investigation last year that revealed that in the 1980s and 1990s he and his family engaged in a massive tax fraud scheme worth hundreds of millions of dollars, one that involved the creation of shell companies and other means of obscuring the fraud. And the Trump Organization itself is actually made up of approximately 500 separate entities and partnerships, most of which probably have vague-sounding names that make it difficult to understand what they do without some digging. So unraveling it all to find out what was legitimate, lawful, ethical and presented no conflict of interest with Trump's job as president - and what wasn't - is an enormous task. It won't be easy or quick. But that task is an absolutely critical one, as one of Trump's predecessors explained. "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook," Richard M. Nixon said in November 1973, insisting that he welcomed an examination into his personal finances. What he said next - "I am not a crook" - might not have been true, but at the very least he paid lip service to the idea that if the president was in fact a crook, the American public ought to know about it. Trump believes no such thing and has done everything in his power to keep the public from knowing. But he might not be able to hide for much longer. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Hyderabad: A massive shake up of the bureaucracy awaits Andhra Pradesh as YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is all set to take oath as the Chief Minister on May 30. YSRC leaders say that a clean and efficient administration with special attention to law and order will be the top focus of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. While senior IAS officer L.V. Subrahmanyam, who was appointed Chief Secretary by the Election Commission, is likely to continue on the post, several heads will roll in the police department. DGP R.P. Thakur and DG, Anti Corruption Bureau, A.B. Venkateswara Rao will almost certainly be moved out. Mr Thakurs 1986 batchmate Mr D. Gautam Sawang is said to be the top most contender for the post of the DGP. During the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government, Mr Subrahmanyam was vice chairman and managing director of APIIC and is known to be an upright officer. Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy is expected to take Mr Subrahm-anyam suggestions before he reshuffles the bureaucracy. Among other IAS officers there is all likelihood of moving out Special Chief Secretary Satish Chandra, who was considered close to the Naidu government. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Endowments Officer A.K. Singhal could be shifted. In fact, Mr Subrahmanyam had suggested that Mr Singhal be pulled up for his callous attitude in handling the transportation of 1381 kg of gold, which was seized by the Election Commission and was later released. But more than the IAS officers, it is the IPS fraternity that will feel the heat. Speculation is rife that Mr Thakur and Mr Rao will be the first to be transferred. The YSRC leaders led by Mr V. Vijaya Sai Reddy had complained to the EC that the two officials were partisan, and sought their removal. While Mr Rao was shifted and later posted as DG, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mr Thakur continued in the post. It is not clear if Vijayawada police commissioner Ch. Dwarka Tirumala Rao will be shifted. The coterie of IPS officers considered close to the police top brass will all be shifted, informed a senior YSRC leader. The state Intelligence wing, whose former chief Venkateswara Rao has always been on the radar of Mr Reddy and his party leaders, especially after the defections of 23 YSRC MLAs to the Telugu Desam, will be completely shaken up and it is likely that senior IPS officer P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, who has just returned from deputation to the BSF, may head the Intelligence wing. With regard to the DGP, though the name of Mr Sawang is doing the rounds, IPS circles are discussing the possibility of K.R.M. Kishore Kumar. But for him to occupy the post, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government will have to overlook seniority. While Mr Sawang is of the 1986 batch, Kishore Kumar is from the 1989 batch. Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The international human rights organization, Amnesty International (AI), Wednesday called on the Mauritanian authorities "to immediately and unconditionally release two prominent bloggers detained for two months in Nouakchott for denouncing alleged corruption on social networks," a statement issued here and received by PANA said Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) Canadian miner Barick Gold Corporation is to force a takeover of its subsidiary in Tanzania, Acacia Mining, to rescue the arrangement it has negotiated with the government, according to local media reports Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - Progressive Institute Botswana will host its 6th strategic human resource conference which will look into solving issues that pertain to the workplace Abidjan, Cote d' Ivoire (PANA) - Cote d'Ivoire is in negotiations for signing production sharing contracts (PSCs) on four offshore oil blocks with Total E&P and Eni, an official statement said Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) Ambassadors of the European Union (EU) and all its member countries accredited to Mauritania have begun a series of meetings in Nouakchott with the six candidates for the Mauritanian 22 June presidential election, the EU representation said on Thursday Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The chairman of the presidential council of the Libyan government of national accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, Thursday held a series of talks in Algiers on the consequences of the attack against the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the latest developments of the crisis, a statement issued by the press office of the presidential council said Vijayawada: Power Star Pawan Kalyan flopped badly in the AP elections, losing both his Gajuwaka and Bhimaravam seats while his party could muster only one. In comparison, the Praja Rajyam started by his brother Chiranjeevi won 18 seats in AP in 2009 but later merged with the Congress. It was expected that the Jana Sena would get at least 30 seats with the support of Kapu votes. North Andhra, Visakhapatnam and East and West Godavari districts traditionally support the TD and were the focus of the YSRC. According to reports, Kapus and BCs are majority voters in these areas and the Jana Sena expected to reach a rich harvest. However, only one JS candidate, Rapaka Vara Prasad Rao, was close to winning, from Razole. IN all the other seats, the Jana Sena stood third. A senior JS leader admitted, JS failed to split the votes and lost their conventional support among Kapu and BC votes. These traditional voters moved to the YSRC. Mr Kalyan spoke to the media and thanked the people for supporting the JS. I came with the concept of new age politics to serve the public. I will continue in politics, he said. Conakry, Guinea (PANA) - The National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC) in Guinea Wednesday said here it was ready and determined to face all consequences relating to an amendment or revision of the countrys constitution New York, US (PANA) - Despite Somalias persistent security threats, recurrent political crises, capacity constraints and the difficulties in navigating political obstacles to its reform agenda, the Horn of Africa country remains on a positive trajectory, the UN Security Council was told on Wednesday Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) A Tanzanian Member of Parliament (MP) on Thursday asked the government to allow citizens living abroad to take part in national elections, including voting NORMAL Diversity, college costs and keeping students in the state are among the issues of concern for two new trustees appointed to the Illinois State University board of trustees earlier this month by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Dr. Kathy Bohn, a Bloomington physician, and Robert Navarro of Plainfield were among seven people appointed by Pritzker but the only two who had not previously served on the board. Bohn and Navarro are both ISU alumni. Bohn said cost, enrollment and diversity are key issues facing higher education in general and ISU in particular. Cost is a big issue, she said. Students are getting out and they're in debt. Bohn also said, Diversity is important. I think ISU is on the right road, but there's room for improvement. Navarro also cited diversity as one of the issues facing ISU. A founding member of ISU's Latino Alumni Network, Navarro said the campus still has issues with racial diversity and inclusivity not only while students are on campus but after they graduate. Navarro said it is important for the university to keep in contact with its alumni. He noted that ISU was able to weather the storm during the state budget impasse by being fiscally responsible. Bohn said, Keeping enrollment up is very important and ISU is fortunate that its enrollment has been strong and steady. Navarro said the state needs to take a closer look at how students decide where to go to college. Illinois is losing residents, and that includes students. Other schools have been hit harder with that than ISU, but we need to do what we can do to stop that loss, he said. Bohn, a partner at Vein Specialists in Bloomington, received bachelor's and master's degrees from ISU before receiving her medical degree from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. A member of the ISU Alumni Association board of directors, Bohn said she is very honored to have been chosen for the board of trustees. I love ISU. I've been a supporter of ISU for a long time, she said. They do a good job of educating students. Navarro, CEO of the Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he is looking forward to serving on the board. He received his doctoral degree in educational administration and foundations from ISU in 2002. He formerly was an assistant director of housing and a director of housing services at U.S. Equities Realty, where he worked to open 18-story University Center, which houses college students from three institutions in downtown Chicago. The five trustees re-appointed by Pritzker are Bob Dobski, Rocky Donahue, Julie Jones, Mary Ann Louderback and Sharon Rossmark. Contact Lenore Sobota at (309) 820-3240. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Sobota Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 4 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD Two Democratic state lawmakers joined a group of immigration rights advocates Wednesday in calling for passage of a bill that would effectively make Illinois a sanctuary state. State Rep. Celina Villanueva, of Chicago, and State Sen. Don Harmon, of Oak Park, said they are pushing for passage of a bill that would limit how much cooperation public agencies in Illinois can provide to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in its efforts to enforce federal immigration laws. In a time when separating families has become synonymous with the U.S.-Mexico border, families in Illinois are also under the threat of separation due to ruthless, harmful and lawless immigration enforcement, Villanueva said during a Statehouse news conference. She specifically pointed to a program called the 287(g) program named after a 1996 addition to the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes ICE to contract with state and local law enforcement agencies, allowing designated officers to perform limited immigration law enforcement functions. What theyre trying to do is scare our families, our immigrant families, into not being able to report crimes that are happening in their communities, living in fear of going to work every day, taking their kids to school, just living lives, Villanueva said. Lucia Wrooman, a Mexico City native now living in the Chicago area, said through a translator that many immigrants like her are already afraid to have any dealings with law enforcement, even when they are victims of crimes. She said allowing law enforcement to work as ICE agents would make that situation worse. At this moment, we live in fear because it seems that any contact we do with police could mean being arrested and deported, she said. House Bill 1637, known as the Keep Illinois Families Together Act, would prohibit local law enforcement agencies in Illinois from entering into agreements to enforce federal immigration laws. It would also prohibit law enforcement officials from asking anyone who has been arrested or detained about their citizenship or immigration status, or their place of birth. That prohibition also would apply to people who submit to questioning, crime victims, witnesses and any person who contacts law enforcement seeking assistance. Additionally, it would call on the state attorney general to propose rules limiting how much assistance certain public agencies could provide to immigration officials. Those rules would apply specifically to public schools and higher education institutions, state-funded health care facilities, public libraries, facilities operated by the secretary of state and courthouses. Soon after coming into office in 2017, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at cutting off federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities that refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Later that year, the Justice Department announced that cities applying for certain public safety grants would have to comply with federal immigration enforcement. Chicago, which has declared itself a sanctuary city, was one of several states and cities around the country to challenge those orders in court. The city won the case in U.S. District Court, and in April 2018, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a nationwide injunction against the policy. That policy from the White House, and specifically from the Justice Department, has been challenged in court by a number of jurisdictions, including the city of Chicago, said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. All of those challenges have prevailed to date, so were pretty confident that this could withstand some further challenge from this administration. House Republican leaders did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the bill. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 HIGHLAND PARK Two offensive quotes, including one tied to Nazi leaders, selected by Highland Park High School students that appeared underneath their senior photos have forced the suburban Chicago school to temporarily stop distribution of its yearbooks, officials announced. The decision to halt yearbook distribution came after students brought the quotations to the attention of school administrators. Principal Deborah Finn said in a statement this week to students, parents and staff that officials won't tolerate the use of the quotes, which were viewed as anti-Semitic hate speech, and apologized for the mistake of having them published in yearbooks. "These quotations do not align with our mission and values and have no place in our learning community," Principal Deborah Finn said. "We actively work to eliminate hate speech and anti-Semitism in all of our learning spaces." Highland Park seniors are allowed to select quotes that accompany their senior photos in the school's yearbooks. One of the quotes was attributed by a student as "anonymous," but it is commonly associated with Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, who was Hitler's minister of propaganda. "If you tell a big enough lie, and you tell it often enough, it will be believed," read the quote. Finn said officials halted publication of school yearbooks and will not distribute additional copies until they can rectify the situation. School administrators have not identified the possible remedies that they are considering. Highland Park High School seniors are set to graduate May 29. "Senior quotations are reviewed and approved by a team, and we take full responsibility for having missed the quotations that should have never been published in the yearbook," Township High School District 113 officials said in a statement. "Any act that disrupts the learning environment or makes our students feel unsafe is unacceptable and will not be tolerated." The statement added how officials will continue to work with students on "being thoughtful and responsible in the ways they express themselves." Similar controversies involving quotes in yearbooks have happened recently in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. A Wisconsin high school in Green Bay announced earlier this month that it would no longer allow students to submit quotations to run with their photos after a version of the same Nazi quotation found its way into the school's yearbook. Board members in Oak Park-River Forest School District 200 also voted earlier this week to reprint high school yearbooks after the original version was found to contain 18 photos of students "of various races, ethnicities, genders and grades" making an offensive hand gesture an upside-down OK sign, OPRF officials have said. The hand gesture, known as the "circle game," started as a "made-you-look" game by kids but has morphed into an authentic hate symbol that has been appropriated by white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The decision to reprint the yearbooks will cost Oak Park-River Forest High School $53,794, officials said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Thanks to Alabama, abortion is back on the national stage again. It was already becoming a hot political topic when Alabama's legislature shocked the country with its super-strict anti-abortion law. The Alabama Human Life Protection Act prohibits virtually any abortion to be performed in the state, not even for rape and incest, and severely punishes doctors that perform them. Like the so-called "heartbeat bills" passed by other states that prohibit abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, it will never be enforced because lower courts will rule against it. But many think the politically provocative Alabama law which was passed by the votes of 25 white Christian state senators and signed by a white Christian female governor is ultimately headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. Pro-life people are hoping and praying that the court will declare the Alabama law constitutional and effectively overrule Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protects a pregnant woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. But Alabama's law is so strict, I'm afraid it might end up doing the opposite of what its backers want and result in upholding Roe v. Wade. Despite the headlines and the chorus of outrage from celebrities like Lady Gaga, it's going to take a long time for this new abortion fight to play out in the courts. Meanwhile, we're back to the same old tough question: What can we do about abortion? The good news is that abortions in the United States have been dropping slowly each year since 1996, when the number was 1.36 million. The bad news is that the death toll today is still nearly 900,000. According to government statistics, unmarried women account for 86 percent of all abortions. About 58 percent of abortions are women between the ages of 20 and 29 and almost 10 percent are between 15 and 19. How do we reduce that terrible 900,000 number? What can we do to ensure that fewer unmarried pregnant women the youngest ones, especially have to resort to abortion? I have one simple idea I like to share with people around the country that can begin the process of lowering the abortions in their state, their county, their town one baby at a time. When I speak to pro-life Christian groups, I always point out that the preponderance of young girls who get abortions believe in God and come from Christian homes. How can this be? One reason is that too many young girls are getting abortions because they are being raised in good Christian homes by fathers who warn them over and over to never disgrace their family by getting pregnant. Because they know if they get pregnant they will be shunned by their family and friends, or in some cases no longer even welcome in their own homes, the girls find a way to secretly have an abortion. When I speak to these pro-life groups, I ask the audience, "How many of you know John 3:16?" "'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'" A hundred percent of the people in the room will raise their hands and say, "Yes, I know John 3:16." "Yes, you do," I say. "And how many of you really live it and understand it?" What I ask next is, "As God gave his son to die on the cross for our sins, how many fathers are willing to get on that cross to die for their own daughter's sins?" It's not complicated: Fathers need to have a loving, forgiving heart, as God had a loving, forgiving heart. When fathers become the loving, forgiving God in their home who embraces their child even though she has made mistakes, I tell the audience, their daughters will no longer feel they have to run to the government or Planned Parenthood to get a secret abortion. Instead, I say, they'll be able to feel they can come home, be loved and embraced by their father as we are all loved and embraced by God and have their baby. Contact Reagan at Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 UPDATE: Sierra Nevada has now released a statement, which you can read below. With almost 1,500 U.S. craft breweries joining Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in an effort to both brew Resilience IPA and raise funds for the survivors of the devastating wildfires that rocked California in 2018, it was inevitable that some aspects of this massive plan were going to go askew. This is a beer industry charity project on a massive, truly unprecedented scale, with dollar totals that were routinely reported as being upward of $15 million raised for relief purposes. Like the fires themselves, the idea of Resilience IPA spread rapidly and had considerable momentum as a force for good. In order to do that good, however, it turns out the participating breweries really need to live up to their side of the agreement. And unfortunately, evidence has emerged this week suggesting that hundreds of breweries are apparently dragging their feet on doing so. On Tuesday, participating breweries in the Resilience IPA project received an email from Sierra Grossman, the co-owner and Vice President of Sierra Nevada, and daughter of iconic company founder Ken Grossman. Although said email goes on to detail much of the good that the fund has already accomplished, Grossman notes that there are still more than 10,000 people in temporary housing because of the fires, and reveals something shocking: More than half of the funding from Resilience IPA sales apparently hasnt yet been received by Sierra. The deadline for those donations was supposed to be May 14, 2019. Shout out to the guys over at Worst Beer Blog, who got hold of the email and shared it with the beer community via Twitter, amplifying the message. The bad news pic.twitter.com/VH7a6kxEUb Worst Beer Blog (@WorstBeerBlog) May 21, 2019 Grossman goes on to write Id prefer not to have to call those of you left and ask for your donation (which might be the next step, and after hundreds of calls, who knows what delirious version of me youll get). It suggests not only the vexed nature of working to collect these promised donations, but also the very real possibility that there are HUNDREDS of breweries that brewed Resilience IPA but havent yet donated the proceeds from it. How else would Sierra Nevada still have not even half of the overall pledges that were promised? The good news is that the fund has still raised millions of dollars regardless, and is continuing to help those displaced by the fires to rebuild their lives, but to promise these donations and then withhold the funds is a pretty serious level of charlatanism that we never want to see within the world of craft beer. Unsurprisingly, beer industry figures were quick to cast their blanket condemnation on any breweries holding back on sending in their donations, even though no specific breweries have been named. We join them in calling for the promised donations to find their way to Sierra Nevadas charity. If youre a brewery out there who pledged to donate to a natural disaster and got free PR to sell this beer, THEN YOU DONATE TO THE NATURAL DISASTER. https://t.co/rzCpEQ7Vla Jemma Wilson (@JemWilson84) May 21, 2019 With all this said, it seems likely that the failure of some breweries to pay up is more likely than not a failure of planning and execution than one of willful neglectsmall breweries with tight operating budgets, which didnt make concessions in their budgets for the donation, or found themselves strapped for cash when the time came to pay up. Were in the midst of a challenging business climate for breweries of all sizes, not that this excuses anyone of reneging on promises of charitable donations. Who knowsperhaps some breweries simply hoped that in a field of almost 1,500 breweries, their lack of contribution wouldnt be noted. But that doesnt work, when its hundreds of breweries not sending in their checks. We hope that with time, a majority of these funds finally reach the people they were initially intended to help. Update: Sierra Nevada makes the following statement about the Resilience funds, acknowledging the fact that more than half the total funding has not yet arrived, but also saying that many breweries simply need more time. We hope theyre right. The full statement is below. We are so proud to report that millions in Resilience fundraising has already come in. Those donations have been put to work funding projects including temporary housing, offsetting the cost of permits to rebuild, hiring a city planner who specializes in disaster recovery, funding child trauma reduction efforts, providing bus passes for students, and more. However, it is true that more than half of the pledges have not yet been received. It is important to note that the beer was in market until April 30, so many breweries and retailers have just recently seen those funds come in. Breweries of all sizes stepped forward in this Herculean effort and we are hearing from more of them each day. We deeply understand the challenges of operating a brewery and are actively working with our friends to establish realistic timelines for donations. We are however hopeful that those funds will be received as soon as possible so we can continue funding this essential work. We remain eternally grateful to our suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and our incredible brewing community who have made Resilience possible. BJP could also polarise a large part of the Hindu voters in Bengal and central India irrespective of castes either on local issues against the chief ministers or on issues of nationalism and Modis leadership. (Photo: PTI/File) It is a decisive win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and the NDA. And Modi government 2.0 is on the anvil. We need to explore the reasons too. On the Congress-led UPA side, the situation by 12 noon has shown that it did not gain much from last time. And regional parties are on the decline except for YSR Congress in Andhra, BJD in Odisha, TRS in Telengana and DMK in Tamil Nadu (largely in South India). The Left is totally left out of the ensuing Lok Sabha. What explains the opposition campaign fizzling out? The critical strong points of the Congress challenge were all mistimed. The manifesto and its core proposal of NYAY (Basic Minimum Income for the marginalised) were late in the day, and could not be communicated well to the grassroots by the party which had little in the form of organised grassroots apparatus and always dependent on mass media to do its talking, which the media in this election was not willing to, being heavily influenced by those in power. Second, Priyanka Gandhi coming late did not very much help beyond enthusing UP Congress cadre, she not contesting and not even campaigning in states where Congress just came into power (MP, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan). This was a crucial mistake. Even MP strongman Jyotiraditya Scindia being engaged largely in Western UP campaign due to Kamal Naths antagonism towards him was a poor strategy. Third, the collective opposition to communal politics and polarisation of BJP could not be forged by the opposition forces. Congress floundered badly in forging an alliance in Bengal (with Left or TMC), Haryana (with JJP and AAP), Delhi (with AAP) and UP (with SP-BSP). The need was for all to combat BJP and not restrict each others sphere of influence. Fourth, absence of a single face of the opposition and lack of a coherent national strategy of all anti-BJP forces are so telling in the total tally today. Leaving the three critical newly won states of Rajasthan, MP and Chattisgarh purely to the local satraps and away from a national strategy of joint opposition, was a crucial mistake of Rahul Gandhi. Congress did not work to consolidate its strong points, and was wobbling to fight in the weaker pockets, except for Kerala. What explains the clear win for BJP-led NDA? Surely, a new set of social coalitions has evolved by the Sangh parivar which also involves the Dalits and OBCs contrary to their expectations before the elections. The UP fiasco of the opposition shows that transfer of votes between SP and BSP did not happen and BJP could garner a large part of the votes of non Jatav Dalits and non Yadav OBCs. BJP could also polarise a large part of the Hindu voters in Bengal and central India irrespective of castes either on local issues against the chief ministers or on issues of nationalism and Modis leadership. Second, there reportedly controversial issues the use of Election Commission, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, Pulwama and Balakot episodes etc also paid off for BJP to ensure the final results. For the record, Indira Congress did manipulate elections during its heyday in the past, too. Needless to say, no single opposition face for the PM position, no coherent opposition national strategy, coupled with mobilisation of the entire Sangh parivar nationally and religious polarisation on majoritarian identity grounds helped BJP ride the tide of a critical economic situation and failure on macro-economic fronts with joblessness, farm crisis, lower GDP and per capita growth than pre 2014 times, negative impact of demonetisation and GST etc. What lies ahead hereafter? While the de jure constitutional system of Indian polity is parliamentary a la British type, in effect and de facto India is turning into a presidential form of a policy (if still not so in governance) a la American type. This may further be consolidated. We may find constitutional amendments a galore, with regards to Articles 370, 35A, form of government, the goals of socialism and secularism in the preamble of the Constitution, etc. There can be newer laws regarding triple talaq, mandir construction, national citizens registry and citizenship, sedition et al. These may further divide the society as well. As for the opposition, regional parties shall have a setback and consolidation of the forces behind and around Congress. Though the lead of Congress is still limited to South India by and large, but a caste and region divided Opposition can never challenge BJP on its own, is obvious. Even within the NDA, the BJP will usurp the politics of Shiv Sena both hinging on Hindutva, and of JD(U) as Nitish Kumars personal pull and effectiveness have come down drastically and it is BJP which is raring to go and be the leading partner in Bihar and Maharashtra by a long shot. Now that political consolidation of power is almost complete across most of India for BJP, the theatre of political high drama shall be south of India next, where BJP is expected to replace the Left as the main opposition in Kerala, work in tandem with YSR Congress in Andhra and TRS in Telengana, and aim to oust the Cong-JDS government in Karnataka by fair or foul means. Also in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK will further degenerate and will play second fiddle to BJP going ahead for its limited relevance. Even BJD in Odisha will come to a broad understanding with BJP in the interests of the state, for now. Further, Delhi and Bengal will be theatre of high drama too with state elections round the corner within a year or so in each. Expect a bigger round of violence in Bengal ahead with competitive violence and communalism of both the incumbent TMC and challenger BJP not willing to give an inch to each other. Expect AAP to go for a pitched battle for the mind of Delhi electorate with its governance track-record vis-a-vis BJP pledging Central support if elected to power. Also, it is expected that the Modi Government 2.0 will have a much different composition of its council of ministers. And it will be interesting to note the new set of ministers who are expected to be younger on one side, and more pliant to Modi-Shah leadership on the other. The writer is a leading media academic, a columnist and a political analyst in television news debates. Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Thats because today is 143 Day in Pennsylvania in honor of the states favorite neighbor, Mister Rogers. The day honors Rogers and his legacy with a statewide day of kindness. Rogers considered the number 143 to be special because it was his special code for I Love You, based on the number of letters in each word. He even tried to maintain his weight at 143 pounds by swimming at a local pool every day. From today forward, the 143rd day of the year is #143DayinPA, a day when we encourage our residents to share the acts of kindness and good deeds they do for each other, a Pennsylvania state government press release explains. This way, we can all reflect on how grateful we are to have each other. So lets get out and make someone feel the love. Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf announced 143 Day, tweeting that he has met countless Pennsylvanians as governor. And I know were genuinely nice people, he tweeted. Join me in spreading love today and seeing just how far a little kindness can go. Ive proclaimed today to be 1-4-3 Day, Pennsylvanias first statewide day of kindness.As governor, Ive met countless Pennsylvanians. And I know were genuinely nice people. Join me in spreading love today and seeing just how far a little kindness can go. #143DayInPAhttps://t.co/zb2PFUSUGG Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) May 23, 2019 A Kindness Tracker on the Pennsylvania government website encourages Pennsylvanians to do something nice and then tell them by loading it onto the tracker. Starting on May 23, well see just how far a little kindness can spread, the website explains. Just imagine the change we would see in the real world if all 12.8 million Pa. residents participated. A Kindness Generator offers suggestions of small acts of kindness Pennsylvanians can do to help someone, including donating to local childrens funds because, as Mr. Rogers once said, There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind. The childrens TV iconwho was the focus of acclaimed 2018 documentary Wont You Be My Neighbor? and will be portrayed by Tom Hanks in forthcoming biopic You Are My Frienddied in 2003, 37 years after his PBS classic Mister Rogers Neighborhood launched from a Pittsburgh studio in 1966. Rogers is also a Latrobe, Pa., native. Patna: In an attempt to quell the increasing chatter of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar probably once again plotting to dump his ally, an act he has pulled many times in the past, senior Janata Dal U leader and a Rajya Sabha member R C P Singh on Wednesday ruled out in no uncertain terms of any chance of JD-U once again joining hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) saying it was just not going to happen. "There is no question of going back to the RJD. Nitish Kumar has always had low tolerance for corruption so do you really think that he will join hand with a party whose chief is doing time in a jail? This is unthinkable," said Singh. With the 2019 Lok Sabha elections approaching fast, leaders from the RJD and Congress have been sending feelers to the JD-U president, despite his image as an unreliable political partner, to ditch NDA and come back into the Grand Alliance fold. The Chief Minister has been roundly criticized for not putting enough pressure on the Narendra Modi government at the center on the issue of special category status to Bihar. "We will support Nitish Kumar on his demand for special status if he decides to join Mahagathbandhan before the next election," both Congress and RJD leaders have said. RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was taking Kumar for a ride by refusing to ignore the demands of Bihar. "They have no intention of giving special category status to Bihar nor have they acceded Bihar's demand for granting central university status to Patna University," Yadav said. Kumar's unexpected turn-around on his stand on demonetization, an idea he was vehemently supportive of even when he was in the Grand Alliance, has only given leg to the rumor that he was searching for an exit plan from the NDA. "There is no truth to these rumors and one must not read too much into Nitish Kumar's comment on demonetization," Singh said. Patna: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA easily skating to victory with a landslide margin of 340+ seats out of the 542 seats nationwide while destroying the Rahul Gandhi-led Grand Alliance opposition in the process, the situation in Bihar was no different as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance was headed towards victory at a minimum of 38 out of 40 seats in the state completely wiping off the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan opposition in a manner never seen before. At the time of reporting All 17 candidates of the BJP were leading by substantial margin, in many places leading by over a lakh votes, over their Mahagathbandhan alliance that failed to open at any seat except two (Jehanabad and Kishanganj) where the table could turn at any time due to very narrow leads. Similarly, all Janata Dal U candidates except two had won at their respective seats and six out of six Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) candidate were declared victorious from their constituencies in what is being seen as the biggest humiliation ever served to an opposition coalition. As the nation kept its eye on the prestigious Patna Saheb seat where Shatrughan Sinha, after switching party from BJP to Congress just days before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, was pitched against a prestige battle against his former colleague and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the former was leading by over 1.5 lakh votes spelling certain doom on the political future of the former Bollywood superstar. All marquee names like Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti, former JD-U president Sharad Yadav, Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) chief Pappu Yadav, Communist Party of India candidate Kanhaiya Kumar, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) president and former NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha who contested from two seats, senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, RJD candidate and father-in-law of RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav Chandrika Rai, Meira Kumar, Mukesh Sahni and many others failed to gain the support of their constituents casting serious doubts on the leadership of Tejaswi Yadav, the former Deputy Chief Minister and the son of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, who was leading the Mahagathbandhan to the 'promised land' in the absence of his father who remains incarcerated in a Ranchi Jail in connection with fodder scam. Ravi Shankar Prasad, who fought his first election of his life and who is now poised to defeat his former colleague Shatrughan Sinha, also known as 'Bihari Babu', in a press conference, said that he always believed voters in Patna Saheb constituency wanted to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term "I have always said that the people of Patna Sahib wanted the second term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. My agenda had always been that of hope versus opportunism. While the Mahagathbandhan was an example of extreme opportunism, people see hope in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is what led to this thumping victory for the NDA," the new MP from Patna Saheb said. Poll results clearly indicate the slow but inevitable death of smaller parties in Bihar like RLSP, HAM, RLSP, and JAP while also spelling doom for the leadership of Tejaswi Yadav. Pennsylvania is celebrating 1-4-3 Day on May 23 in honor of one of our states most beloved citizens. Fred Rogers, famed across the nation for his soothing and welcoming Mister Rogers Neighborhood childrens program, said that the number 143 represented love in his mind, with each digit corresponding to the number of letters in the words I love you. That is why Governor Tom Wolf selected May 23 - the 143rd day of the year - as a day to not only remember Rogers legacy of love, acceptance and education, but to encourage all Pennsylvanians to pursue their own acts of kindness. If you are celebrating 1-4-3 Day today in the Pittsburgh area, near where Fred Rogers lived and worked, there are several places you can go to commemorate his contributions - and even a chance to literally visit Mister Rogers Neighborhood. The Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh 10 Childrens Way, Pittsburgh As you might expect, the Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh has quite a lot of space dedicated to the work of Fred Rogers. Rogers was a collaborator while he was alive, and the museum is now home to many exhibits featuring things from his life and Mister Rogers Neighborhood program, as well as installations inspired by his example. Visitors can see candid photos of Rogers while at work on the show or with his wife Joanne, see a display of several characters from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, or see Rogers own shoes and sweater, which he famously donned at the start of each episode. More: Take in Mister Rogers legacy at Childrens Museum of Pittsburgh: Cool Spaces The Heinz History Center 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh The Heinz History Center is dedicated to the history of western Pennsylvania, and thus feature many displays focused on the work of Fred Rogers. Features include a re-creation of the Mister Rogers Neighborhood set and the original King Fridays castle and X the Owls tree, as well as an exhibit where you can watch an episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood or hear Rogers famous testimony before Congress to protect the funding of public television. More: Five things you didnt know about Heinz: celebrating Pittsburghs 150 year history of 57 varieties The Heinz History Center tells the story of Pittsburgh, and features a special gallery highlighting Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. In fact, the museum is home to the largest collection of props from the show on public display. Visitors can see parts of the original set, King Friday XIIIs Castle, McFeelys Speedy Delivery tricycle, and much more. The Fred Rogers Center Monastery Road, Latrobe Outside of Pittsburgh near Rogers childhood home of Latrobe is the Fred Rogers Center, located on the grounds of St. Vincent College. The center is dedicated to Rogers mission of early learning and childrens media, with a focus on allowing children to grow in confidence and compassion for others. The Fred Rogers Center has many props from Mister Rogers Neighborhood, as well as the Fred Rogers archive with over 18,000 items from Rogers life. Many are hand-written letters to friends and family members, as well as planning documents for his television program and speeches he wrote for public events. Idlewild Park 2574 US Route 30, Ligonier About an hour from Pittsburgh is Idlewild Park, which features several rides and attractions for children. Notably among them is Daniel Tigers Neighborhood, a trolley ride inspired by the spin-off PBS program of the same name inspired by the Mister Rogers Neighborhood characters. As well as being the only amusement park inspired by the works of Fred Rogers, the park also includes over two dozen rides, a Soak Zone area with water rides and attractions, and several other themed areas such as the Story Book Forest and the illusion-filled Confusion Hill. Mister Rogers Memorial Statue North Shore Drive between Heinz Field and PNC Park, Pittsburgh After the death of Fred Rogers, longtime friend Cordelia May wished to commemorate his life and his dedication to bettering childrens lives with a work of art. Commissioned through the Colcom Foundation, the $3,000,000 statue became the focal point for an entire memorial on Pittsburghs North Shore. The memorial, officially titled Tribute to Children, features speakers that broadcast songs from Mister Rogers Neighborhood, along with the 3.5 ton statue, located near a scenic overlook of downtown Pittsburgh. The Mister Rogers Tyrannosaurus 2100 Wharton Street, Pittsburgh Perhaps the most whimsical of all of the regions tributes to Fred Rogers is the statue of a Tyrannosaurus rex, decorated and costumed in a manner reminiscent of Rogers appearance on his PBS program. The statue was commissioned in 2003, as part of a greater project by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The DinoMite Days event included numerous statues that were erected across the city, and among the 100 or so dinosaur statues was Fredosaurus Rex Friday XIII, designed by Karen Howell. Originally located outside of the WQED offices where Mister Rogers Neighborhood was produced, the statue includes references to the trolley, Henrietta Pussycat and King Friday XIII from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. More on Fred Rogers: Memorial Day 2019 originally called Decoration Day - is on Monday, May 27. The holiday to remember those who died while in military service is observed annually on the last Monday of May. An Aldi storefront. Aldi: Will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Banks: Will be closed. BJs Wholesale Club: Open regular hours. BJs Optical departments will be closed and BJs Tire Centers will close at 7 p.m. Capital Area Transit: No service. Costco: Will be closed. County government: Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York county offices and courts will be closed. Federal government: The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Harrisburg will be closed. Giant Food Stores at 5005 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Twp., 2016.HAR Giant Food Stores: Open regular hours. Karns Quality Foods: Open regular hours. Libraries: Dauphin County Library System will be closed May 26-27. Cumberland County Library System libraries are closed May 27, Simpson also is closed May 25-26. Middletown Public Library and Hershey Public Library are closed May 26-27. Liquor stores: According to the PLCB, many stores will be open beginning at their normal Monday opening hours, through 5 p.m. Check, www.finewineandgoodspirits.com for individual store hours. Municipal government: Closed. PA Media Group: Closed. Parking in Harrisburg: Metered parking is free on Memorial Day. PennDOT: Driver license and photo license centers will be closed May 25 and May 27. Post Office: Closed. Public schools: Closed. Rabbittransit: No York fixed route, paratransit or rabbitEXPRESS service and offices are closed. The fixed route system in Gettysburg will operate. Retail stores: Most open. Sams Club: Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sharp Shopper: Open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Pa. Capitol is lit in orange and green to honor victims of the Sri Lanka bombings, Monday, April 22, 2019. Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLiveVicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive State government: Closed. Trash collection: Waste Management will operate on a normal schedule. Republic services - will run one day behind throughout the holiday week, beginning with services scheduled for the holiday. Penn Waste, collection days that fall after the holiday will be delayed by one day. Wegmans: Open regular hours. Weis Markets: Open regular hours. At least 20 people were hurt when a tornado ripped through Missouris capital city late Wednesday, as part of a violent storm system that hammered different parts of the state causing widespread damage in Jefferson City and killing three people more than 170 miles away, in tiny Golden City. We were very fortunate last night that we didnt have more injuries than what we had, and that we didnt have more fatalities across the state, Gov. Mike Parson, R, said at an early morning news conference Thursday. The National Weather Service confirmed that it received word of damage in Jefferson City from the wedge tornado - wider in its funnel than it is tall - at 11:47 p.m. local time, urging residents to shelter now! The tornado moved at 40 mph through the city in central Missouri and shot debris about 13,000 feet into the air. This tornado was filmed tearing up trees in Carl Junction, Missouri (close to Joplin, MO) by @theryanstewart earlier tonight. Continued updates on the tornadoes all night at https://t.co/1ffiopeeDP pic.twitter.com/WzV5IKDXK5 AccuWeather (@accuweather) May 23, 2019 Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said that a three-square-mile area received the brunt of the damage from the storm and that authorities would be going door to door as the sun rose to ensure residents were safe. "At this point, it's too early to tell how large the scale of damage will be," Williams said just hours after the tornado struck. "It's a chaotic situation right now. We are trying to identify the people that need our help the most." He said police had received calls from people saying they were trapped in their homes; by daybreak, those people had been rescued, officials said. "It sounds as if the injuries have been few, which is truly amazing considering the extent of the damage," Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told CNN. Residents seemed to have heeded the warning sirens, Tergin said, which may have prevented mass casualties. Overnight, a violent tornado ripped through Missouris capital. At least 29 tornadoes have been reported over the past 24 hours, mostly in Missouri and Oklahoma, the National Weather Service says. A total of 171 have been reported since Friday. https://t.co/roACKfRfau pic.twitter.com/x6uo8xzRru CNN (@CNN) May 23, 2019 Thousands in the area were without power Thursday morning, authorities said, and police said utilities in damaged homes and businesses would "present a hazard as power is restored." Police warned residents to resist the urge to begin cleanup before authorities had been able to assess the structural integrity of their homes and businesses. A separate tornado in the southwestern part of the state touched down in the small town of Golden City, about 45 miles from Joplin, officials said, killing three people. (c) 2019, The Washington Post Timothy Bella, Katie Mettler A Dauphin County district judge is on leave while the attorney generals office investigates whether she was justified in shooting her estranged husband. Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said Wednesday that while Magisterial District Judge Sonya McKnight is on paid leave, judicial matters coming before her court have been assigned to another district judge. Sonya McKnight had a protection from abuse order in place when police say she shot and wounded Enoch McKnight when he visited her Harrisburg home May 10 to move some furniture. Enoch McKnight received non-life-threatening injuries. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo had received police reports and evidence about the shooting, citing a conflict of interest, referred the investigation to the state Attorney Generals Office to determine whether it was justified shooting or whether criminal charges should be filed. Weve received this case on a conflict referral from the Dauphin County District Attorneys Office, and well investigate it thoroughly, Attorney General spokesman Joe Grace said today. Grace would not comment further on the investigation. While police did not release details about what prompted the shooting, investigators interviewed both McKnights and say they gave differing accounts of what happened at the home on the 2700 block of Lexington Street. Sonya McKnight had filed for a protection from abuse order in October after reporting to the police that Enoch McKnight assaulted her as she tried to drive away from the home. She told police she was trying to go to the store when he attempted to pull her from the car, causing her to crash into a fire hydrant. He has since pleaded guilty to simple assault and was sentenced to time served for the 15 days he spent in jail last year. There PFA has been amended since it was first issued, first being changed to allow peaceful contact, then reverting back to its original no-contact restrictions, and then reverting back once again to allowing peaceful contact, according to civil records filed at the prothonotarys office. During that time, Enoch was arrested once more for a PFA violation after Sonya reported that he made threatening phone calls. He was allowed peaceful contact again in April, meaning it was not a violation for Enoch McKnight to be at Sonya McKnights home the day of the shooting, but it could be a violation if he took some overt action inside the home, which is part of the current investigation. Alshaqah Powell was pulled over by a state trooper on Interstate 81 in Dauphin County in November 2015 because he was driving while wearing stereo headphones. That, however, is not why Powell is in federal prison. Hes jailed because, while he was getting into the beat, Powell also was transporting several bricks of heroin. The cops found them in the trunk of the car, which the unlicensed and visibly nervous Powell didnt own. A federal appeals court panel has decided, despite Powells objections, that his 15 -year prison sentence in well deserved. The rejection of the 46-year-old North Carolina mans appeal by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit came in an opinion by Judge D. Michael Fisher. Powells challenge to his drug possession conviction and prison sentence hinged on an argument that U.S. Middle District Judge Yvette Kane should have tossed out the evidence Trooper David Long amassed against him. Powell claimed Long had no justification for pulling him over. He contended the officer violated the law by unnecessarily prolonging the traffic stop and making him involuntarily consent to a search of the car. None of those arguments impressed Fisher. As Fisher noted, it is illegal to drive on a public road in Pennsylvania while wearing headphones over even one ear. So, he found, Long had justification for the stop after seeing Powell doing just that. Although state law bars police from unnecessarily extending traffic stops, Long had reasonable cause to do so after discovering Powell lacked a drivers license, Fisher found. He also cited Longs claim that he smelled marijuana coming from Powells car. Trooper Long promptly investigated his suspicions; he did not unreasonably prolong the stop or detain Powell until he had no choice but to consent to a search, the judge wrote. Powell didnt have any luck, either, in his bid to convince Fishers court that his sentence is too severe. He claimed Kane shouldnt have sentenced him as a career criminal offender, which significantly upped his jail time. Fisher concluded Kane got it right when she determined Powell is a career criminal based on his two prior heroin possession convictions in New Jersey. It is a clear and emphatic verdict for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. The supporters of Mr Modi, most of whom are adulators, are sure to attribute this to the charismatic leadership of their hero. It will be futile to argue with them that this isnt the case. But it is necessary to underline the fact that people have voted for a stable government and nothing more. Mr Modi, the BJP and right-wing analysts will argue this is a vote for mail-fisted nationalism as seen in rhetorical flourishes by Mr Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on the campaign trail. This should naturally lead to nationalist adventurism with regard to Pakistan. This remains an unlikely scenario. However, there could be a move to remove Article 370 of the Constitution and to amend Section 35A that will modify the status and the rules of domicile in Jammu and Kashmir. The Modi government post-victory is unlikely to show application of mind in handling the brittle economic situation, besides making some populist announcements. Team Modi will have no gameplan to deal with the exigencies of the economic situation as it would believe the favourable electoral outcome gives it the leeway to be lackadaisical. There will be drift in economic policy. The trends, which is all that we have as of now, present an interesting picture. The BJPs share of the percentage of votes has gone up sharply, its seat share has moved up only modestly. The same trend is reflected in a slightly different way in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is leading in about 55 seats 18 seats less than its tally of 73 in 2014 its voteshare percentage has jumped up. The Bahujan Samaj Party is leading in 12 seats while it had none in 2014, but compared to 2014, its vote percentage has slipped a few points. The details of the verdict point to a more complicated picture while the big picture is that of the overwhelming victory of one man and one party, Mr Modi and the BJP. The easy way to describe the 2019 election result is to call it a Modi victory, that its the PMs untiring campaign and his nationalist rhetoric that led to his win and that of his party, and he has emerged as a popular leader in the league of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. And it appears to be true as well. Its not a Modi election because Mr Modi is contending with a far more complex polity than did his Nehru-Gandhi predecessors. And he coped with the challenge through meticulous groundwork by the party network and through relentless propaganda. There were also other advantages like a national media that amplified his message more than that of other parties and leaders. But this alone would not have ensured his victory. It is the people who have given their preference for his through their votes. Though he has become a popular politician with a pan-Indian image, and has overshadowed the party and candidates, its not true that people are idolising him. The reason the majority vote went to Mr Modi is due to the fact that the Opposition parties, including the Congress, were feckless. The Opposition did not have a positive narrative. There was no substance to their promises. Mr Modi enjoyed the advantage of being in the government and to have announced schemes and implemented them partially, if ineffectively. It is not Mr Modis fault that he had this advantage, but he made full use of it. Its a fact that in an election what matters is victory and not so much what you said or what you did to win. On this, Mr Modi didnt hesitate to paint his opponents as anti-national, and party colleagues joined the chorus. They raised the false spectre of the nation in danger it is an old trick that goes back to the early years of the 1789 French Revolution, and the slogan then used was la patrie en danger (fatherland in danger) projecting themselves as patriots and saviours. That was stooping low, but victory might seem worth the shameful gesture. Similarly, fielding a Hindu fanatic like Pragya Thakur, with her admiration for Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse, does not reflect well on the political maturity of the party. Similarly, targeting illegal immigrants on the basis of religion in Assam is not creditable either. Mr Modi has a habit of speaking in a pacifist tone after diabolical election speeches without realising that what lumpen right-wingers will remember is his vicious campaign rhetoric than his mellow post-election words. The Hindutva foot-soldiers will go on a rampage with impunity though Mr Modi might believe he has left the viciousness behind. Mr Modi will be hard put to manage this contradiction, which he has spawned. The Opposition parties on their part will have to accept their foolhardy and equally vicious anti-Modi rhetoric. The liberals and secularists forgot all decency of public discourse in pouring contempt on Mr Modi, who clearly did not belong to the same social class. The vote for Mr Modi and the BJP is a retribution of the people on the old political elite. Mr Modi leads a new political elite of right-wingers and it is but a natural transition from the old to the new. The old liberal-left-secular order is surely less diabolical than the incoming right-wingers, but its immoral superciliousness has been shown the door in this election. In one of his interviews, Mr Modi remarked this was not an election for class monitor but for the countrys Prime Minister, indirectly justifying the vituperative language of the elections. Mr Modi will have to realise that being a Prime Minister requires him to respect his opponents and critics. He cannot govern the country simply with his fan following. One fatality has been confirmed in a house fire in Hershey this morning. Hershey Fire Chief Patrick Leonard spoke to reporters at the scene of the fire, an investigation of which will soon be turned over to the police department. The fire broke out just before 7 a.m. Thursday on the 500 block of West Chocolate Avenue and it was quickly upgraded to a fire with entrapment, he said. Firefighters aggressively fought the blaze, which was shooting out of a side door, and conducted a search-and-rescue operation, looking for people trapped inside. Two police officers and an off-duty firefighter who happened to be passing by are being treated for smoke inhalation. There is no indications at this time of how many people were inside the structure, which contains multiple apartments. The Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal and Derry Township Police Department are investigating what Leonard said is still a fluid situation. Detectives are putting up crime-scene tape at the scene. A portion of Chocolate Avenue, which is Route 422, is closed. Five Pennsylvania congressmen joined in a letter Thursday asking Gov. Tom Wolf to send Pennsylvania National Guard troops to the Mexican border to help deal with a renewed surge in illegal crossings. The group - including Central Pennsylvanians John Joyce, R-Blair County, Scott Perry, R-York County, and Lloyd Smucker, R-Lancaster County - said they were motivated by a Congressional hearing this week in which Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan said state guardsmen have been absolutely essential in helping maintain the DHS border security mission. The lawmakers also said they were motivated to write to Wolf in light of a Tweet on the governors account from last summer in which Wolf stated that he had no interest in aiding the Trump Administration while children were being separated from parents. While PA proudly sent troops to TX, FL and Puerto Rico for disaster relief and I believe we need to protect our borders from real threats, I oppose state resources being used to further Pres. Trump's policy of separating young children from their parents. https://t.co/2SmqPMgnwz Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) June 20, 2018 The Congressmen, who shared their letter with a news release, said they wanted to see, in light of what they see as a renewed crisis on the border, what Wolfs position is now and to learn whether Wolf has refused any Trump Administration requests to date to send Pennsylvania National Guard troops there. Finally, they said, if Wolf has not yet fielded such a request from the Trump administration, he should proactively offer those resources. It is our position that Pennsylvania should lend to the president as many National Guard troops as possible until the crisis is resolved, the congressmen wrote. The three midstaters were joined by two other GOP colleagues from the Pennsylvania delegation in their letter, Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Allegheny County, and Mike Kelly, R-Butler County. Joyce, a House freshman who recently travelled to the southern border, said one of his major takeaways was that law enforcement officials face a lack of manpower, with Border Patrol agents in particular consumed by humanitarian and administrative work. Federal border authorities reported detaining 109,144 migrants at the southwest border in April. That is the highest monthly total since 2007. Many experts believe if there an immediate crisis at the border it is a humanitarian one with resources needed to care for the sick, housing children, holding families in temporary detention facilities and paying for extra asylum screeners. Border Patrol agents are spending far too much time on humanitarian and administrative tasks, which is hindering their ability to apprehend dangerous individuals such as drug smugglers and cartel members, Joyce said. Pennsylvanias National Guard could provide Border Patrol agents with the support necessary to free them up to spend more time catching persons of interest. Wolf, according to his press secretary J.J. Abbott, was unmoved. There is no crisis at the border that the federal government cannot handle, Abbott said Thursday. "This is hyperbole to further a political agenda that seeks to demonize peaceful asylum seekers, many of whom are children, elderly and women. "Further, ahead of the worst storm and flooding season for the commonwealth, it would be irresponsible to preemptively send Pennsylvania troops to the border when so many federal resources are already available. This is especially true given the lack of federal resources readily available to states for storm and flooding recovery. We are surprised these congressmen seem more concerned about a border thousands of miles away than keeping Pennsylvania guardsman close to home where they could be needed. Abbott, in response to a question from PennLive, said Wolf has not turned down any specific requests for guard assistance to date. If one came, he added, Governor Wolf would evaluate it like any other request for assistance. But Governor Wolf has no plans to send troops away from their homes and families just to further a political goal. Pennsylvania Guard troops will be prioritized for needs at home or states facing real natural disasters or emergencies. The governors discretion matters here because to date, President Donald J. Trump has only asked for guard deployments to the southwest border under a part of the federal code called Title 32. Unlike a straight federalization of Guard units, which the president can also do, under Title 32 the federally-funded troops remain under state control and are sent only at the determination of a participating states governor. The advantage of a Title 32 proclamation, however, is that the deployed troops have a little broader authority to act. Gov. Tom Wolf carefully checked the area to ensure he was safe before approaching Manny, the prone figure in front of him. The governor removed a dose of Narcan from its plastic packaging and positioned the vial near Mannys nostrils. Leaning over him, Wolf depressed the plunger and administered the drug. With that, the mannequin or Manny, as he is called by Elvis Rosado, a trainer from Prevention Point Philadelphia was saved from an overdose. Rosado uses Manny every day to show people how to administer Narcan, a lifesaving drug that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose. On Wednesday, Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman were two of those people. Rosados demonstration described what an overdose looks like and how bystanders can help a person who is overdosing. In Pennsylvania, the opioid epidemic has hit hard in recent years, with 5,456 drug-related overdose deaths reported by coroners and medical examiners for 2017 a rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 people. Government officials have taken steps to try to curb the overdoses, including establishing a help hotline for addicts and their family members and implementing a standing order last year that allows pharmacies to dispense Narcan without requiring a medical prescription. According to Wolf, since the standing order was established, the survival rate for opioid users receiving Narcan has risen to approximately 85 percent. A prescription monitoring program implemented in August 2016 led to a drop in addicts doctor shopping, a term that refers to when addicts obtain prescriptions from multiple doctors and pharmacies to gain access to opioids. Nevertheless, Wolf said theres still a long way to go in combating the opioid crisis. Early signs are were making progress, but we have a lot of work to do, Wolf said. During the demonstration, Rosado said anyone who sees an individual who appears to be overdosing should determine if they are responsive. If not, they should call 911 immediately. After checking that the immediate area around the person is safe, they can administer a dose of Narcan. According to Rosado, carrying the drug can help save lives. Its important to have because you never know when youll come across someone who is overdosing, Rosado said. Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman were trained in how to use the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone on Wednesday. Here, Wolf administers the drug to Manny the Mannequin. Administering Narcan, even if a person is not overdosing, will not harm them. Rosado said that after dispensing the drug, it might be necessary to give the overdosing individual rescue breaths if they cannot breathe on their own. Wolf said addiction is a disease and needs to be treated as such. The main way to work toward solving the opioid crisis is to get people help. People suffering from this disease deserve to be rescued and connected to high quality treatment toward recovery, he said. We cannot get someone into treatment if they are not alive. A Harrisburg School District employee has filed a formal complaint with the school system over a heated exchange that took place on a Facebook community page between her and a school board member. Tisha Barber said she was harassed on the "Citizens Concerned about Harrisburg Facebook page for five hours by board member Carrie Fowler. During the districts regularly scheduled school board meeting on Monday, Barber expressed her disapproval of Fowlers conduct. Barber handed out Xeroxed copies of screenshots of the online quarrel to the eight school board members who were at the meeting. Board member Lola Lawson was absent. In the screenshots, both women lobbed sly innuendos at each other. The exchange has since been deleted by the pages administrator. I would like to see her removed, Barber said. I am also seeking legal action. The allegations were malicious. Harrisburg School District doesnt have the authority to remove a school board member, said Chuck Pascal, Fowlers attorney. Fowler is a natural target because she is an elected official, he said, adding that the personal attacks Fowler engaged in went too far. Carrie regrets responding in kind, in the heat of social media debates, these kinds of debates on personal matters shouldnt be conducted on social media, Pascal said. This is an attempt to discredit Carries legitimate critiques of mismanagement of the district. Every minute talking about this in a school board meeting is time not used to discuss continued mismanagement and complete lack of oversight by the school board majority. While the Harrisburg School District doesnt have the authority to remove a school board member, the school system has adopted rules of conduct for elected officials to follow. One of them is "leading with respect and taking full responsibility for board activity and behavior. Pascal: The school board has absolutely no legal authority to remove a member. Thats according to the law and the constitution. Theres only a limited number of ways to be removed from office in Pennsylvania. And for specific reasons, and none of which apply here. A school board member can be removed by a district attorney or through an impeachment proceeding with the Legislature. Barber, who has been working in the district for more than 10 years, said the online postings have made her uncomfortable. "The allegations are false, she said, adding that if the roles were reversed she would be fired. She said she wanted to make her complaint public at the board meeting. I think the incident shes referring to is a one-time thing, Pascal said. With regard to the statements made by others about Carrie to Carrie, they are never ending, but Carrie is an elected official and she certainly understands that shes going to be a target. Shes trying to bring accountability to the school board. Pascal said this was simply two people arguing on social media. They may or may not have private actions against one another, but I dont think the school district should be involved," he said. "Obviously, if the school board had the ability to remove one of its own members, what would always happen is people in the minority would always be removed. Thats why you cant do it. People should move on from this nonsense of talk to remove Carrie and get on with the business of running the school district. The exchange between the two was sparked by Barber saying she was never asked by the union if she was OK with the district allowing the state Department of Educations request to let a third-party auditor review its finances using its eFinance system, which could expose employees personal information. Union leaders consented to the request on April 26 when the employees said they had no concerns about sharing any of that information, ending a several-weeks-long dispute with the state. Fowler told Barber she was emailed; Barber said the email never reached her inbox. A judges order banning a college fraternity from operating in Pennsylvania for 10 years because a freshman pledge was killed during a violent hazing ritual is illegal, a split state Superior Court panel ruled Thursday. Still, in the majority opinion by Judge Deborah A. Kunselman the state court upheld the $112,500 fine and most elements of a 10-year probation sentence imposed on the Pi Delta Psi for the death of 19-year-old Baruch College student Chun Michael Deng during a December 2013 fraternity retreat in the Poconos. Investigators said Deng died after being tackled and body-slammed during the crossing ritual where he was blindfolded and made to carry a heavy backpack through a gauntlet of frat members from the New York college. Deng suffered a traumatic brain injury. The probation sentence, fine and operating ban were imposed against the frat after a Monroe County jury in 2017 convicted its corporation on charges including hazing, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and conspiracy. While the probation and fine county Judge Margherita Patti Worthington levied are legally solid, Kunselman wrote that her court can find nothing in our statutes or at common law that affords a trial court authority to outlaw a corporation from an entire state. So, she sent the case back to Monroe County Court for resentencing. Kunselman noted the Penn State University chapter of Pi Delta Psi is the frats only active branch in Pennsylvania. The Penn State chapters members werent involved in the fatal hazing rite and didnt even know about it, she wrote. Pi Delta Psis national president initially participated in a cover-up of the cause of Dengs death and the frats connection to it, Kunselman wrote, and instructed members to remove all of the frats heraldry before police came to the rented house where Deng died. Eventually, faced with homicide charges, frat members decided to cooperate with investigators and implicate the fraternity, she noted. On appeal to the Superior Court, the frat challenged multiple rulings by Worthington that it claimed hamstrung its defense during the criminal trial. It even contested the jury slip because the word guilty preceded the words not guilty on that paper. It also objected to Worthington referring to it as the defendant rather than the accused in front of the jury. None of (the frats) claims have merit, Kunselman found. The 10-year operating ban Worthington ordered as part of the probation is another matter, she concluded. Kunselman noted Pennsylvania law is vague regarding the punishment of corporations convicted of crimes, noting, for example, that it is impossible to send them to prison. Yet, she found state law contains no provision allowing a judge to discontinue a business entitys commerce within this commonwealth. Also, she wrote that the ban unjustly punishes the Penn State Chapter of Pi Delta Psi, students who had absolutely nothing to do with the hazing death in this caseand unduly restricts the corporations liberty by completely cutting it off from the Pennsylvania marketplace. Worthington, she said, must craft a new sentence to monitor how (Pi Delta Psi) conducts its business throughout this commonwealth and whether it is taking steps nationally to reform its corporate culture of hazing. Senior Judge James Gardner Colins issued a one-page dissenting opinion, saying he would vacate the frats criminal convictions and order a new trial because Worthington barred a key defense witness from testifying before the jury. That witness, David Westol, an expert on collegiate fraternities, would have testified that the frats national organization met the national standard of care by promulgating and enforcing an anti-hazing policy. Preventing Weston from testifying constituted a manifest abuse of discretion, Colins contended. Four fraternity members also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with Dengs death. They received prison terms ranging from less than a year to up to 2 years. On Tuesday, some of Pennsylvanias voters will participate in our electoral process by casting their vote in the 2019 Primary Election. These voters will decide which candidates names will appear on the ballot in the November General Election. But 1.2 million of Pennsylvanias tax-paying voters will have to sit this one out, just as they have for every primary election in Pennsylvania. Why? Pennsylvania is one of nine states that have closed primaries, meaning that only Republicans and Democrats can cast a primary ballot. Non-affiliated voters, who make up more than nine percent of Pennsylvanias electorate, are left out of this supposedly democratic process. In a state where primary election voter turnout hovers around 18 percent, clearly something is amiss. To make matters worse, many people dont realize that ballot measures, for which all voters can vote, may appear on primary ballots. Since 1996, sixteen ballot measures have been certified, four of which appeared on primary ballots. How many eligible voters stayed home on Primary Election Day in 2016 without realizing that their voices could have been heard? As Pennsylvania works on much needed election reforms that include amendments to its constitution, some measures may appear on primary ballots. If we want to live up to the promises of a fair and just society, we need to ensure that all qualified voters are able to cast their ballots in all elections. The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania applauds State Senate Pro Tempore Joe Scarnatis (R-25) proposal to make Pennsylvanias elections fairer, and we encourage his fellow Senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, to support SB 300. We are also pleased to see that Representative Christopher Quinn (R-168) has proposed an identical bill in the Pennsylvania House, HB 192, and extend the same sentiment to Pennsylvanias Representatives. These bi-partisan bills will bring a much-needed and long overdue change to Pennsylvanias elections. All voters deserve the chance to have their voices heard in every election. Granting some voters privileges that are denied to other voters is unfair, un-democratic, and un-American. We call on Pennsylvanias voters to contact your legislators and voice your support of SB 300 and HB 192. Whether youre a Republican, a Libertarian, a Democrat, a Green, or non-affiliated, if you value fair play and you believe that every vote should count, lend your voice to this effort. Jill Greene is Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania The low turnout was disappointing, considering what was at stake in Harrisburg, but the voters who headed to the polls Tuesday got the job done. They ushered in a new era for the Harrisburg School District Their message was clear serious change is needed in the citys schools. Voters concluded the incumbents on the ballot had failed in their most basic duty to be accountable to the people and transparent in carrying out their duties. The Harrisburg School District Board director Lionel Gonzalez, superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, and acting business manager Bilal Hasan during a special meeting to vote on hiring in-house solicitor James Ellison, Monday, April 22, 2019. Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLiveVicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive Uptown resident Kim Hughes put it well: The board is dysfunctional. You watch a board meeting, and its out of control. It wasnt just the chaotic board meetings. It was the backroom dealings, the poor financial oversight, the mismanagement of faculty and staff and the poor academic achievement of most of the districts students. Jayne Buchwach celebrates during an election party held for the new Democratic nominees for the Harrisburg School Board at Crawdaddy's. May 21, 2019 Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COM So while the voters have spoken, it will take a long time to solve the chronic problems in the Harrisburg School District. The same dysfunctional school board will remain in place for at least until the end of the year. And its lame duck members can do a lot of damage before they leave office. The current directors can continue to act the same way that cause voters to kick them out. They can continue to enter into contracts with dealing done behind closed doors. They can continue to hire questionable employees at eye-popping salaries. And they can continue to thumb their noses at parents, teachers and students as they have done repeatedly over the past months. The Harrisburg School District Board held a special meeting to vote on hiring in-house solicitor James Ellison, Monday, April 22, 2019. Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLiveVicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive And now, they have nothing to lose. Why would we expect their behavior to change? Therefore, we continue our calls for the state to take over as soon as possible, despite the promise of a better board next year. The people of Harrisburg are crying for help. They have sent a clear rebuke of business as usual in their schools. What they really need is change now. The state should show some courage and take decisive action now to save Harrisburgs schools or be prepared to watch the chaos continue for many months to come. Adapt and Rediscover the Charm of Vintage Lenses Exploring the creative possibilities opened by legacy glass By Fenwoodian in Articles and Tips on May 23, 2019 Welcome to the exciting world of adapted lenses: this is where old, manual focus, modestly priced, prime lenses are rediscovered and given a new life on modern digital cameras! Adapted lenses are being used more and more for producing fine art images, especially when exceptional bokeh, color, and 3D-like depth are required. There are two ways to adapt a lens. Attach a temporary/removable mount to the rear of the lens. These temporary adapters can be dumb (having no electrical communications with the camera) or smart (having full electrical communications with the camera). The dumb temporary rear mount adapters are usually inexpensive and of low quality. The smart temporary rear mount adapters are expensive and do enable auto focus. Both varieties are fast and easy to attach and remove from a lens; but they are not as tight and secure as a permanent mount is. Temporary mounts by design are loose and bit sloppy. They can wobble/rotate/shift. Attach a new permanent mount to the rear of the lens. These permanent adapters are usually dumb. Their prices fall in between the two types of temporary adapters mentioned above. These permanent adapters at a minimum will require removal of the original lens mount, and will often require significant modification to the lens. Various lens adapters I prefer the permanent adapter option. Permanent adapters offer a more secure attachment to the camera. Premium permanent adapters, if installed properly, will result in no loss of image quality when used. The same cannot be said of the temporary/removable types of adapters. Editorial note: the genuine Pentax M42 to K-mount adapter is by far the most popular adapter for Pentax users looking to get started with adapting lenses, since M42 lenses are abundant, easy to adapt, and work without any optical limitations. 7 Reasons to Adapt Lenses There are dozens of reasons why theres a resurgence in using old adapted lenses. Below are the seven reasons why I sold my auto focus, modern zoom lenses and replaced them with vintage prime, manual focus glass: They dont make lenses like they used to. In the old days, they used toxic compounds in their optical glass (toxic lead, radioactive thorium oxide). Due to environmental regulations this type of glass can no longer be made. Also, older lenses did not use exotic ED glass and aspherical molded elements in their designs. Modern computer designed lenses put a premium on sharpness at the expense of color fidelity, micro contrast, 3D-like depth and bokeh. Older manual focus lenses with metal construction last longer than modern lightweight plastic auto-focus zoom lenses. Vintage lenses use a simpler optical design. Most of my favorite lenses have optical elements numbering in the single digits. I dont care the rendering produced by high element count lenses. Older lenses often have defects that are designed out of modern lenses. Defects like vignetting and field curvature that create depth in photos. Many individual old lenses produce images that have their own look, personality, soul, character, and signature. While images produced by modern lenses look mostly the same. Manual focus prime lenses are easy to repair and clean. Vintage lenses are cheaper than modern lenses. I often buy cheap older lenses that are defective (fungus, dust, scratches, oil on blades, stuck aperture, stiff focus) or being sold for parts. Often they are quickly repaired and good as new. 4 Reasons Not to Adapt Lenses Adapting many lens lens types will require many adapters Of course there are equally valid reasons that lead some photographers to choose not to use adapted lenses. Below are some of the main arguments for not using adapted lenses: You must specify the focal length for in-camera Shake Reduction to work optimally (and of course, in-lens stabilization, if any, will not work) The aperture must be set using the rotating aperture ring on the lens. It cannot be set using the camera's dials. You lose all electronic communication between the lens and the camera. The lens name and aperture will not be recorded in the EXIF data of the image. Auto focus will not work, the lens must be manually focused. Not all lenses can be adapted; some might require an adapter that compromises image quality or prevents the use of infinity focus Adapted Lenses - Not for Everyone Each photographer must determine for him or herself if adapted lens advantages outweigh their disadvantages. Its an individual decision whose answer will vary depending upon your style of photography. I primarily shoot still (or slow) moving subjects and have found that adapted lenses work great for me. A friend only shoots fast moving birds and wildlife. He needs fast, auto focus lenses for his type of photography - adapted lenses do not work for him. Favorite Cameras Mirrorless and K-mount cameras are well-suited for adapted lenses Most lenses that are adapted are fast, prime, full frame lenses. I prefer to use my full frame adapted lenses on a full frame digital cameras. While adapted full frame lenses can certainly be used on cameras with smaller sensors, you will lose some of the goodness of the full frame lens and underutilize its capabilities by using it on an APS-C or a Micro 4/3rds camera. My favorite camera for adapted lenses is the Pentax K-1 (original or mark mark II) DSLR camera. It costs $1,799 and there are 40 adapters available for it currently at B&H Photo. In addition to these adapters, Leitax sells high-quality permanent Pentax adapters that will enable the following lenses to be used on K-1 cameras: Leica-R, Contax, Nikkor, Carl Zeiss, and Olympus Zuiko-OM. The K-1 has IBIS (in body image stabilization) which counters the loss of stabilization in an adapted lens. It also has a high resolution pixel shift shooting mode. Pixel shift greatly improves an images sharpness (typically the greatest weakness of vintage lenses). Finally, all Sony full frame mirrorless cameras are pretty good at accepting adapted lenses because they have a shorter sensor to lens (a.k.a registration) distance than DSLR cameras have. Favorite Adapters Its important to use only the highest quality adapters. Cheap, generic adapters, made in China are sometimes poorly made. They sometimes have jagged metal burrs on them that can break off and fall inside your lens (or camera). A manufacturing company located near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain called Leitax sells the best permanent adapters in the world! Given a choice, I will always choose a Leitax adapter over any other type of adapter. Leitax adapters are better made than the original OEM lens mounts that come on premium lenses. Currently, Leitax offers lens adapters for the following cameras: Nikon, Sony, Fuji X, Sigma, Pentax, and Canon. My second favorite adapters are made by a German company called Novoflex. They too are of extremely high quality. Favorite Lenses Pentax K-3 with Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 58mm f/1.9 Primoplan The most popular lenses to adapt are prime lenses that are manually focused. Most are fast (generally f/2 or faster) and have a rotatable aperture ring. The following are my all-time favorite adapted lenses: Olympus Zuiko-OM (100mm f/2, 50mm f/1.2) Contax Carl Zeiss for CY (85mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4) Meyer-Optik Gorlitz (MOG) M42 (58mm f/1.9 Primoplan, 100mm f/2.8 Trioplan) Fujinon (50mm f/1.4, 55mm f/1.6) Leica R (80mm f/1.4 Summilux, 50mm f/2 Summicron, 135mm f2.8 Elmarit, 180mm f/2.8 Elmarit II non-APO) Zeiss ZF Classic lenses (135mm f/2, 100mm f/2, 35mm f/1.4) Bronica SQ Medium Format (150mm f/3.5) MOG Diaplan 80mm f/2.8 Projector Lens Some of the lenses are listed in the Pentax Forums lens database. Troublesome Lenses Some lenses are difficult (or nearly impossible) to adapt. For example, certain lenses will require two different adapters. Using two adapters is not a good idea because youll have twice the number of mounting surfaces that can misalign. Two adapters also tend to make the lens unbalanced and front heavy. Certain Nikkor F mount and Zeiss ZF mount lenses need their aperture rings ground down during adaption. While not difficult to do, Im always hesitant about making such a permanent and highly visible modification knowing that it will reduce the resale value of the lens. Many Olympus OM Zuiko lenses require custom plastic inserts and/or little springs be fabricated and installed in order to operate the aperture after adaption. These added steps are time consuming and tedious. Some auto focus lenses require that the auto focus mechanism inside the lens be either removed or disabled. Doing so often permanently eliminates that lens ability to auto focus. Topcor and Exacta lenses have mounts that are extremely difficult to adapt. I will never again purchase a lens with one of these mounts. Finally, some lenses cannot be adapted to due differences in the registration distance, which prevents infinity focus or necessitates the use of an adapter with a "corrective optical element" which in turns degrades the image quality and defeats the purpose of adapting the lens to begin with. A good example of this would be Canon EOS or autofocus Nikon F-mount lenses, which generally aren't compatible with the Pentax K-mount. Unconventional Lenses Back in the mid 1900s, years before the invention of digital cameras, optical lenses were made for many different non-photographic purposes. They were used in: slide projectors, movie projectors, enlargers, X-ray machines, projection TVs, and even oscilloscopes. Many of these vintage unconventional lenses have unique optical characteristics and unusual aberrations that cannot be matched by modern lenses. Its these rare and special optical characteristics that make creative photographers want to experiment with these seemingly useless old lenses. There are two ways that I use these atypical lenses. I adapt them for use on my digital cameras. Also, Ill take them out and lens whack with them. Most of these unconventional specialty lenses are difficult to adapt. By using creative engineering, Ive been able to successfully adapt a number of TV, projector, X-ray and oscilloscope lenses. Nine times out of ten, the image quality produced by these home-built Frankenlenses disappoint. But every once in a while a happy accident occurs and the images they create are out of this world! Join Our Club If you like to capture photographs with personality and exceptional bokeh/color/depth, consider using adapted vintage lenses on your digital camera. The images you capture will be unlike those produced by your modern lenses. Share your photos on the forum or in one of the many lens clubs! If you need assistance adapting a lens, post in the lens forum, or send me an e-mail or private message. I might be able to help. In the comments section below, please share your experiences with adapted lenses. Also, let us know if youd like to see more articles on adapted lenses (maybe on how to adapt lenses?). Dave Weber (https://www.flickr.com/photos/f2guru/) known as Fenwoodian on the forum is a photographer who lives in Northern Wisconsin, USA. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska will pay armed Canadian police to provide protection to U.S. personnel at a ferry terminal in British Columbia, state transportation officials said. The Alaska Marine Highway System was notified in March that unarmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents checking ferries leaving Prince Rupert, British Columbia, will require assistance from Royal Canadian Mounted Police, CoastAlaska reported Friday. Without armed police at inspections, the port faces closure, officials said. The Canadian officers will be contracted through the ferry service, which is facing... A beautiful memory: Longtime friendship lives on with Christmas centerpiece Longtime friends and former coworkers Cindy Jurewicz and Carol Santti exchanged the same holiday centerpiece for nearly 30 years. Now is your chance to challenge your friends for the title of G.O.A.T. In what may be a sneakerheads dream come true, Jordan brand has partnered with Fortnite to deliver exclusive content to one of the worlds most popular games. As a part of the team-up, there will be a new game mode along with some additional Jordan gear for players to use. The new in-game gear features as part of the new Hang Time bundle and it also includes two skins that sport Jordan gear. Epic games state that you can score big when you cop the Hang Time Bundle. Get the Grind Outfit, Clutch Outfit, and a challenge pack unique to the set. All players will have the chance to jump into The Downtown Drop LTM and complete free challenges to unlock the Back Board Back Bling and its additional nine style variants as well as four unique Sprays. If you own the Hang Time set, youll have access to more challenges to unlock additional rewards including styles for the Grind and Clutch outfits. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. To Whom It May Concern. Thats how Robert Brights letter began a few years ago from his home in North Richland Hills, Texas. He was 16. I was adopted from foster care along with three of my biological sisters, his letter continued. In his mind, the note was not just a long shot. It was also a blind one. He didnt know if the hope in his heart contained a beat strong enough to be heard through his words. He wasnt even sure the letter would be read. Our story is long and pretty sad, Robert wrote. I could go into the details of our past, but I have made a decision not to dwell on the past, but rather focus on the future and all things positive. Adding what felt like insult to injury, Robert and two of his biological sisters, Angel and Alyson, were in dire need of dental work. With the cost of necessary treatment, including braces, beyond his adopted familys means, Robert learned of the Brighter Smiles Initiative. Rewind 16 years to Texas native and four-time PGA TOUR winner Ryan Palmer. In 2003, he and his wife, Jennifer, started the Ryan Palmer Foundation. With Jennifer a licensed dentist, now non-practicing, the couple decided to place their primary focus on arguably the strongest indicator of confidence in children smiles. We read stories of kids wearing hoodies to school and being embarrassed, made fun of and bullied, Palmer said Tuesday from this weeks Charles Schwab Challenge. Kathryn Brunner (center right) and company in "Legally Blonde," through July 14 at the Walnut Street Theatre. Read more The 2001 film Legally Blonde, based on Amanda Browns novel and starring an engaging Reese Witherspoon as the unlikeliest of Harvard Law School students, couldnt quite decide whether it wanted to exploit or explode the dumb-blonde, sorority-queen stereotype. The musical adaptation, which hit Broadway in 2007 and is now playing the Walnut Street Theatres main stage, has much the same problem. Legally Blonde: The Musical isnt clear on whether academic smarts, a dopily seductive move called the bend-and-snap, or wide-eyed flirtatiousness is the surest route to a mans heart. Nor, for that matter, whether a young woman should be aiming mainly for that heart in the first place as opposed to acing a murder trial, becoming class valedictorian, and plotting a legal career. But in the end, this being a musical comedy and a particularly frothy one at that no hard choice is really necessary for its heroine. Southern California fashion merchandising major Elle Woods (a supremely likable Kathryn Brunner) gets to have it all: marriage, career, the confidence to be herself, the thrill of transforming herself into something more. If Heather Hachs book battles incoherence and some of Laurence OKeefe and Nell Benjamins lyrics are equally baffling (Chip on My Shoulder as an inspirational anthem?), the Walnuts brassy, lively production goes a long way toward anesthetizing the pain. Director-choreographer Richard Stafford (who also helmed last seasons cartoonish Mamma Mia! for the Walnut) excels at comic choreography: a prison jump-rope number (Whipped into Shape), a Riverdance parody, a Greek chorus of sorority girls. Stafford has assembled a first-rate cast of Broadway and national tour veterans (and two well-trained dogs) to support Brunners star turn. Paul Schoeffler, as Professor Callahan, and Rebecca Robbins, as the salon stylist Paulette, are standouts, making the most of their character-defining numbers. Callahans credo is Blood in the Water, a Hobbesian (and Socratic) hymn to legal ruthlessness. Paulettes is Ireland, a ballad about the Irish love she was hoping to find. (Costume designer Kurt Alger gives her a series of snazzy jeans-based looks that are just right.) Elles love interests are Warner Huntington III, played by the vocally talented Sean Thompson, less prepster than lizard, and the scruffy, dorky but good-hearted Emmett Forrest (Elliott Styles). A law school graduate, Emmett is somewhat mysteriously still hanging around Harvard Law (as evoked by scenic designer Peter Barbieris redbrick walls, emblazoned with the Veritas emblem). Emmett helps Elle discard some of the trappings of sorority life and find her law books. She, in turn, buys him a good suit because not only men have money, and not only women need to keep up appearances. THEATER REVIEW Legally Blonde: The Musical Through July 14 at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. Tickets: $25-$97, with premium tickets $175. Information: 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787, walnutstreettheatre.org Chondrial Therapeutics of Bala Cynwyd has raised $25.7 million to research an investigational drug to treat Friedreichs Ataxia. Illustration depicts the structure of the FXN protein, frataxin. Read more Chondrial Therapeutics Inc., the Bala Cynwyd-based biopharmaceutical company, has raised $25.8 million to develop treatment for mitochondrial disorders. The firm is targeting Freidreichs Ataxia (FA), a genetic disorder that affects about 5,000 people in the United States and 10,000 in Europe. FA attacks multiple body systems, particularly the brain and heart, and is caused by a deficiency of a key protein, frataxin, which is normally in the mitochondria of all tissues. Mitochondria convert nutrients into energy within cells. Affected children and young adults gradually lose their coordination, along with the ability to speak and walk. Their hearts become thick and weak, and can fail. There is no cure for FA, according to the company. Chondrials premise is that by replacing the deficient protein, the mitochondria will resume normal energy-making functions, patients symptoms may be minimized, and disease progression may be curtailed. The treatment will administered by subcutaneous injection, said CEO Carole Ben-Maimon. We dont know how frequently it will be, but it will be lifetime therapy. Thats to be seen in clinical trials. Chondrias FA therapy has the much-coveted orphan drug designation from the FDA. Chondrial will file an Investigational New Drug application in the next couple of months and go into trials almost immediately, she said. There is really no other company doing what were doing, Ben-Maimon said. There are a bunch of trials going on, but there is no one replacing the frataxin molecule. Some work around the problem. There are some doing gene therapy for FA. Ben-Maimon said that in addition to Chondrials FA research project, the company has a technology that allows it to carry various types of proteins across intracellular organelles. She said the 11-employee company soon will look for a second round of financing. Most of Chondrias money is from Deerfield Management, which invests broadly in public health-care securities. The company has no revenues yet. Ben-Maimon said she hopes that Chondrial follows the success of other biotechs launched in University City. We love to end up like Spark Therapeutics, the Philadelphia native said, referring to the gene-therapy developer that was acquired by Roche in a deal valued at $4.8 billion. They started like us. Someday, maybe itll be like that. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The Environment Department said shipments from Australia intercepted in Misamis Oriental were not garbage as it is a source of fuel. According to documents shared by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) to CNN Philippines Thursday, the shipments from Australia are processed engineered fuel (PEF) used in cement production. A document addressed to John Simon, Port Collector-Mindanao International Container Terminal, said the EMB has "no objection to its importation and to be used as an alternative fuel in cement production." The port is under the Bureau of Customs (BOC). A separate letter from Geronimo Sanez, DENR-EMB hazardous waste management section chief, addressed to Metodio Turbella, EMB director, states the products have undergone processing in Australia. The EMB said PEF "is comprised mainly of industrial and commercial recyclable materials such as plastics, cardboard, paper, textile, waste timber and other inert materials." Holcim Philippines Inc. (HPI) imported the materials for use in its plants. Despite the EMB posing no objection to the shipments, the BOC was alerted to and an inspection was made and showed that it contained "shredded municipal wastes" such as scrap plastic, cellophane, wrappers, textile, stones, and soil among others. Apart from stones and soil, the EMB said the shipments "conformed with the acceptable waste" for PEF and "meets the waste acceptance criteria of HPI." "In addition, the source of the imported PEF was found to be Resource Co., which is a market leader in alternative fuels manufacturing such as the production of PEF," it said. Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the shipments apprehended by customs officials in Misamis Oriental are safe and meet standards under environmental laws on imported goods. In a statement released Thursday afternoon, HPI said the EMB cleared the materials in the shipment from Australia in line with Section 4 of DENR Administrative Order 2010-06: Guidelines on the Use of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials in Cement Kiln. HPI said the materials in the shipment were "accurately and truthfully declared" as PEF. "Holcim Philippines importation and use of PEF as alternative fuel for its cement kilns is pursuant to its objective of contributing to the ongoing efforts to address the global waste problem," it added. BOC: Declaration was different However, Simon said there was a difference in what was indicated in the shipment's declaration. "Nakita namin sa kanyang deklarasyon meron siyang pagkakaiba iba. Sa deklarasyon sa Customs hindi pwedeng iba-iba, isang uri lang ang dapat dinedeclare. Sa kanilang deklarasyon, dala-dalawa ang nilagay nila: fuel or Processed Engineered Fuel pero pag nilagay mo ang tariff which is classification ng anumang kargamento, ang lumalabas ay municipal waste," he said. [Translation: We saw in the declaration that there was a difference. In the Customs declaration, that shouldn't happen, there should only be one. In their declaration, they put in two: fuel or processed engineered fuel but when you put in the tariff, which is the classification of any shipment, what appears is municipal waste.] The discrepancy in the declaration is a violation of the law, said Simon "Kaya may [That's why there is an] apparent violation as far as Customs law is concerned," he added. "Ang tanong, pareho ba yang dalawang yan? Ang pinagpipilitan nila, pareho lang yan [The question is, are they the same? They insist it is]. But I beg to disagree because Garbage is garbage, fuel is fuel." At a media briefing Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said, "We will not allow ourselves to be dumping ground of trash." "That is our stance. It will be offensive to this government, to be recepient of trash or basura. We are offended by that, we will not allow it. We will send them back. In the first place, bakit ba nakakapasok yan [how did that even get in]?" CNN Philippines correspondent Carolyn Bonquin and senior digital producer Pia Garcia contributed to this report. With the iPhone 11, Apple will be finally moving away from the dual camera setup to a triple camera configuration on the rear. (Designed by DBHK-Hasan Kaymak Innovations in Kassel, Germany) With Apple set to debut the iPhone 11 sometime in September, the final design of the handset has been leaked in concept renders. One thing thats a commonality among all the leaks is that the brand will be adding a Huawei-style square camera bump on the rear. This new design trait has polarizing opinions with half of the tech community voicing their displeasure at this new design. One graphic designer has taken it into his own hands to give us a glimpse of what the iPhone 11 would look like without the camera bump. Jonas Daehnert has shown off a beautiful iPhone 11 render without the camera hump and subtle flash and we have to commend his work as this new design looks not just modern but completely clean as well. With the iPhone 11, Apple will be finally moving away from the dual camera setup to a triple camera configuration on the rear. These leaks are based on schematics that were stolen from a Foxconn factory where the aforementioned handset will be assembled. This in itself gives us definite proof that we should come to expect this as the final design. The glass on the rear could look a bit different from the leaked renders as it is said to be frosted and not glossy. This information was shared by well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who has a stellar track record when it comes to Apple leaks. As per a report by BGR, people on Reddit and Twitter who have seen this leaked image claim that the new square camera bump is ugly but then again when leaks of every Apple device surfaced, the initial reactions were the same. Only once the handset launches do people forget about all these style choices and embrace the new design with open arms no matter what their first reactions had been. With that being said, we can expect Apple to have a sizable camera bump as it is no easy task to fit all the camera components in the device and keep the rear flush. Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this website. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania William McSwain speaks during a press conference in Philadelphia. Read more As she grew more frail, elderly Philadelphia retiree Sarah Fauntleroy signed over power-of-attorney rights to a local lawyer John Conner. Conner, 63, was a well-known criminal defense lawyer but he also had a gambling problem. On Thursday, Conner was sentenced in federal court for stealing more than $100,000 from the 88-year-old woman, whose caretaker and neighbor uncovered Conners crimes in 2017. Conner will serve 46 months in prison; his lawyer Arnold Joseph requested that Conner be sent to the Fairton, N.J., correctional institute. Fauntleroy wanted to attend, according to prosecutors, but she died Sunday. Whats so unusual about Conner isnt just that he stole from an elderly client, but that the Temple Law graduate worked as a high-profile lawyer with Cozen and OConner, and for many years as a federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. He started his own practice in 1995. Prosecutors said the Conner case is part of a national sweep of financial elder abuse crimes that U.S. Attorney William Bill McSwain is pursuing under U.S. Attorney General William Barrs initiative. The defendants conduct in this case was egregious, said McSwain. Stealing an elderly womans life savings, gambling it away at casinos, and then lying about it to federal agents all as an officer of the court, an attorney who took an oath to act in the best interest of his clients and with a high moral standard. Although she had suffered a stroke, Fauntleroys past testimony against Conner was part of the trial. Conner used her ATM card at casinos to withdraw money from Fauntleroys bank accounts in the amount of $105,632.01, according to court filings. She was left with $15.07. Homer Hills, a close friend and neighbor in Brewerytown, alerted the authorities after Fauntleroys phone and electricity were shut off. Hills and Fauntleroys caretaker suspected Conner of stealing her assets. Conner subsequently lied to FBI agents and said Fauntleroy had given him permission to borrow nearly all of her money so that he could gamble at Parx and Sugarhouse casinos in Philadelphia and Tropicana and Borgata in Atlantic City, according to prosecutor Mark Dubnoff. Elder fraud is a pernicious crime, preying on the most vulnerable in society. She trusted him and he betrayed that trust, Dubnoff said during the hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 2016, Fauntleroy asked her brother for help handling her affairs and health care, and he introduced her to Conner. Fauntleroy was impressed and signed a power-of-attorney agreement that granted Conner authority to manage her finances and pay her bills. As part of the agreement, Conner promised to keep his assets separate from hers. Shortly after executing the POA, however, Conner added himself as a signatory to a checking account that she maintained at Wells Fargo Bank and obtained an ATM card to withdraw funds. Conner also opened a joint savings account at Wells Fargo in his and Fauntleroys names. He then liquidated an annuity she had set up for her niece and deposited the proceeds, which exceeded $110,000, into that account. Over eight months, Conner used the POA agreement to drain nearly all of Fauntleroys money from her bank accounts. From Aug. 16, 2016, until April 22, 2017, Conner used the ATM card to make 176 cash withdrawals at casinos. Checks to her caregivers bounced. Fauntleroy revoked Conners POA in April 2017 and the U.S. Attorney charged him in 2018. He was convicted in February 2019, and in addition to prison time, Conner received three years supervised release, an order to forfeit $14,923 to the government and to pay an additional $14,923 in restitution to Fauntleroys estate. Im very happy with the sentence, said Hills, who attended the hearing. He just stepped in and preyed on her. He didnt have an epiphany about a gambling addiction. He got caught. Conner testified that the pressure and loneliness of caring for his 95-year-old father seven days a week and running a law practice prompted him to turn to gambling -- in particular, slot machines. Im not a perfect man, he told the judge. Im a gambling addict. I gambled my own money until I ran out. Then I used her card. Ive learned that a compulsive gamblers judgment is flawed. Conner has used this fall from grace to begin his road to recovery, his lawyer wrote in court filings, by enrolling in the Livengrin Center and participating in Gamblers Anonymous. Conner also voluntarily placed himself on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Self-Exclusion from Gaming Activities list. Two frequent gamblers sued SugarHouse Casino on Wednesday claiming they collectively lost $250,000 while the casino used malfunctioning card shufflers and decks that had too many or too few cards. TOM GRALISH / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Read more Two frequent gamblers sued SugarHouse Casino on Wednesday, claiming they collectively lost $250,000 while the casino used malfunctioning card shufflers and decks that had too few or too many cards. The suit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, comes seven months after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board fined the casino $100,000 for dealing cards from illegitimate decks. In October, the board said casino employees failed to address warning lights on automated shufflers used at blackjack, poker, and mini-baccarat tables in seven incidents from May 2017 through Jan. 1, 2018. In one May 2017 incident, a casino employee found 16 cards left in an automatic shuffler that had been removed from service, according to the complaint. Investigators who retraced the cards found the cards were missing from six decks that were used in 46 rounds of blackjack the previous day, involving 122 hands. During a poker tournament in September 2017, a dealer mistakenly set the automatic shuffler to sort cards in sequential order by suit instead of randomly shuffling the deck, the complaint says. Anthony Mattia of Philadelphia and William Vespe, a Cherry Hill resident, filed the complaint Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mattia claims he lost roughly $147,000 at SugarHouse during the period the incidents occurred, while Vespe claims he lost more than $103,000. They argue that the Philadelphia casino failed to provide a level playing field in card games and caused them to suffer significant losses in those games. Their complaint accuses SugarHouse and its parent company, Rush Street Gaming, of negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment, among other claims. They seek unspecified damages, attorneys fees, and costs of suit. Based on the fact that SugarHouse apparently had been using broken equipment and illegitimate decks for at least seven months, we think it is fair to question the integrity of the thousands of card games that were played at SugarHouse at tables using that equipment and those decks, Conrad J. Benedetto, one attorney for the two plaintiffs, said in a statement. Steven Feinstein of Optimum Law Group is also representing Mattia and Vespe. In a statement, a SugarHouse spokesperson said the company denied the claims in the lawsuit. The integrity of our gaming operations is of the utmost importance," the spokesperson said. "We have disciplined or terminated the employees responsible, and revised procedures to help prevent recurrence. We deny the claims made by the individuals in this lawsuit, and cannot comment further on pending litigation. In another incident cited in the lawsuit, SugarHouse dealers deployed decks with too many cards in a game of Spanish 21, a version of blackjack in which 10s are normally removed. But casino employees found that 10s had not been removed from several decks after 27 hands had been dealt, including 18 hands that contained 10s, the complaint says. That violation resulted in a $12,500 fine, while other infractions separately cost SugarHouse $87,500 in penalties, according to the complaint. Theres an old saying in rock 'n' roll that only 5,000 people bought the Velvet Undergrounds epic 1967 debut album but every single one of them started a band. In a weird way, that reminds me of Washington state Gov. Jay Inslees 2020 presidential campaign thats largely based on the issue of global warming and is only getting a composite of about 0.8 percent in the early polls and yet it feels like every one of that 0.8 percent is a well-known climate scientist. Michael E. Mann, the prominent Penn State climatologist who runs the universitys Earth System Science Center, told me this week that Inslee has certainly put forward the boldest, most ambitious and aggressive climate change plan among all of the current candidates vying to be the Democratic nominee for president. Mann hasnt endorsed a candidate but he sees Inslee as the one right now who really seems to understand the urgency of the crisis right at the moment that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the earths atmosphere have hit an all-time record. He (Inslee) really gets climate change and doesnt want millions to die, Genevieve Guenther, founder and head of EndClimateSilence.org, said by phone from New York, praising Inslee as that rarest of presidential candidates whos running not because of ego but because of his long-time passion for the idea of beating back climate change. OK, I know what everyone is asking at this point. Who the hell is this Inslee youre writing about? I totally get that. At this very early stage of the most over-populated presidential primary in American history, even an avid Democratic super-voter would be hard-pressed to pick the 68-year-old Inslee out of a police lineup that also included 2020 White House hopefuls John Hickenlooper, Tim Ryan, John Delaney, Seth Moulton, Michael Bennet, and Eric Swalwell (and dont even ask me who they are.) Inslee, the fairly popular governor of his tech-booming Pacific Northwest state since 2013 and a former congressman, has the resume and the gravitas that a presidential candidate would die for back in the 20th Century, when governing a mid-sized state propelled Democrats like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to the White House. In the 21st Century, Inslees biggest seeming deficit lack of charisma, or star power is exactly the thing that many Democrats are demanding to be considered as a serious challenger on a debate stage with President Trump. And so for now Inslees campaign is struggling for oxygen in a Milky Way of not-well-known and not-very-dynamic white dudes. Just this month, I wrote a column mocking this rising white tide of mediocrity, but heres the thing: If you want to jump into a field of nearly two dozen candidates, you better show us something. And unlike some of his rivals, Jay Inslee is showing us something. Were the first generation to feel the sting of climate change. And were the last that can do something about it, Inslee said in March as he announced his campaign with the goal of making a war to stop planetary warming Americas No. 1 priority. We can do this. Join our movement. This is our moment. Just this month, a poll conducted by CNN found that for the first time ever likely Democratic voters are naming climate change as their top issue, ahead of even health care or the economy. Much of that surge is fueled by the under-30 generation, which overwhelmingly sees rising temperatures caused by human pollution and the floods, droughts, and other catastrophic impacts that result as our biggest crisis. Pretty much every Democratic candidate is at least paying lip service. Last weekend, I watched the frontrunner, Joe Biden, formally kick off his campaign in Philadelphia. The former vice president made sure voters knew hed reverse Trumps environmental policies to get America back in the Paris climate accords and invest more in solar and wind power, but theres no specific blueprint yet. Biden said "the first, most important plank in my climate proposal is, beat Trump. Jay Inslee has an actual, detailed plan and theres more to come. So far, hes outlined proposals for getting America out of the coal business over the next 11 years (with a GI Bill for retraining coal workers), part of a move to an energy grid that relies on renewable energy and zero carbon emissions by 2035. Theres a ReBuild America initiative that aims to make all of our residential and commercial buildings energy-efficient over 25 years (and creating millions of construction jobs in the process), aided by a $90 billion Green Bank for clean energy projects. A President Inslee would look to dramatically boost funding for public transit (this daily SEPTA rider can only say, 'Whoo hoo!"), a Clean Water for All initiative (because Flint, like many other towns, still doesnt have clean water), a slew of investments in clean-energy manufacturing that would hopefully help America catch up to rivals like China, and of course, moving to all zero-emission vehicles by 2030 with an updated Cars for Clunkers to get polluting 4-wheelers off the streets. Id call this a Green New Deal with some meat, except meat is bad for climate change. Maybe better, a Mueller report for the environment, because (like the Mueller report) you shouldnt rely on a short summary but read the entire thing. Did I hear you say that there must be a catch? Yes, its expensive a $9 trillion proposal that heavily leverages private investment but would still cost taxpayers an estimated $300 billion a year. And Inslee has been less specific so far about the, ahem, funding mechanism. Mann, the Penn State climate expert, told me he believes there needs to be a price on carbon but that Inslee may be a little gun shy after a proposed carbon tax failed in his home state. Jared Leopold, who grew up in Phillys western suburbs and is now communications chief for the Inslee campaign, told me that the candidate wants to roll back the Trump tax cuts weighted toward big corporations and billionaires, which by itself is about $150 billion a year, and end government subsidies for Big Oil and Gas. And a big part of this is the investment in the future, Leopold added, citing the added revenue from creating jobs in clean energy and construction. Defeating Trump isnt enough, as a climate policy, Mann said. It isnt enough to just get back to where we were two years ago. In the meantime there has been too much water under the bridgeor, rather, carbon pollution added to the atmospherefor that to be adequate. Inslee wont be the one defeating Trump, though, if he stays below 1 percent in the Democratic polls. That could change after next months free-for-all initial debates in Miami assuming that the Washington governor makes the cut. Young voters seeing Inslee for the first time might decide that charisma is trivial when compared to a detailed plan for making sure that, in Guenthers words, millions of people dont die in floods, drought and the ensuing upheavals. That campaign lift-off probably wont happen, but Inslee has already produced an open-source document that any 2021 president whos not named Donald Trump can crib from. Im sure Inslee wouldnt mind that, nor would he likely object with his term in Olympia set to expire at the end of 2020 to a call to become climate czar in any Democratic administration. There may be 23 candidates in the Democratic field, but Inslees the only one who can make a case that hes already won. This months action: No, really, cut out meat! In 2019, Ive pledged to write at least one column on climate change every month (five for five!) and also propose small changes in our daily routine that could make a big difference toward saving the planet if a lot of us actually did them. I know it seems early in the process for a repeat tip but since I wrote in January about curbing meat consumption, the world of not-eating-beef got a whole lot better. Ive been eating Beyond Meats plant-based burgers at home and ... believe the hype. This week, my Inquirer colleague Allison Steele wrote about the growing number of restaurants in the Philadelphia serving this incredible new generation of meat substitutes to make not only burgers but quesadillas, wraps, tacos, etc., etc. Chow down while doing something about the problem that animal agriculture is the source of at least a sixth and maybe a half of all greenhouse gas pollution. For her first shot at directing, in the funny, charming Booksmart, Olivia Wilde chose a movie about characters she could relate to young women who chose to succeed where success can be quantified and who dont waste time worrying about being liked. The comedy follows two Ivy League-bound high school seniors (Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein) who decide after four nose-to-the-grindstone years to go on a deferred party spree. Theyre very driven young women, and Wilde had that in common with them, but she admits she didnt live up to their standard as straight-A high achievers. My history as a student isnt as spotless, said Wilde, laughing. Now 36, she attended some private prep schools and was admitted to Bard College but put off attending, permanently, when she was able to find regular work as an actress (she made a memorable splash in The OC). But within my career, I do have a kind of relentless curiosity and intensity, and I do love to learn from the best, said Wilde, who over the years has picked the brains of Spike Jonze (Her) and Martin Scorsese (Vinyl). Also, I dont have much patience for people around me who arent taking their work seriously. What she noticed was that men like Scorsese and Jonze dont waste time on the set wondering whether everybody likes them. Scorsese in particular (I completely stole from him) likes actors to show up fully prepared and on point so the serious work can begin. That lack of concern over likability is a skill many women have to learn, Wilde said, and its partly why she connected with the characters of Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) in Booksmart. They see school as being about proficiency, not popularity. I have a bit of Molly and Amy in me. And [Booksmart] was just a nice opportunity to explore the kind of multidimensionality that women contend with. Sometimes, women struggle to be understood, specifically on the issue of likability. Its a constant female struggle. You see it high school, and you see it in politics, said Wilde, whose parents are in the news business mother Leslie Cockburn was a producer at 60 Minutes, father Alexander Cockburn is a columnist and essayist who writes about politics and economics. She was about to digress into an analysis of female popularity as it relates to the Democratic field of candidates, but time was short, so we moved on with Booksmart, These are undoubtedly really intense people, Molly and Amy. They are relentlessly articulate and ambitious and curious, and they have very high standards for everyone around them, Wilde said. What they are struggling with is how their peers are seeing them. They are self-confident and supportive of each other, but the insularity of their friendship, and the lonely-at-the-top landscape of their achievements, has them on the cusp of graduation wondering whether theyve missed something. Early scenes in Booksmart show them trying to figure out how to be more socially adept. They tackle the subject with problem-solving brains, heading to a party with the detachment of anthropologists studying an exotic population to see what can be learned. The process is especially fraught for Amy, Devers character, who is gay. This is known to the school and to her parents (Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte), but studious Amy has never had a date and sees the party as a chance to maybe meet someone, setting in motion one of the movies durable teen-comedy mechanisms. One of Wildes goals was to deliver a teen comedy with some familiar structure and beats but to update it in a way that would accommodate modern culture. She researched teen attitudes toward sex formally and informally, talking to as many high school students as possible to gauge attitudes. Wilde found what she saw as a significant generational difference in the way people look at gender and sexuality, which informed the way she presented Amy. First of all, what could be more universal to a teenager? You have feelings for someone who doesnt know how you feel about them. And we were really eager to tell a story that reflected that. Whether you are straight or queer or anything in between, the experience of having a high school crush is known to everyone, said Wilde. At the party, Amy is just another kid having mixed-signal misadventures. I think [Booksmart] reflects how fluid young people are today, and I was inspired by them. Theyve rejected the binary terms we use, and theyve just said, Look, were going to think about it differently, she said. And, by the way, no one is saying, Give us credit for this. Look at our wokeness. Its effortless. When I speak to these people, I realize we [older generations] are dinosaurs. As are, increasingly, folks in Hollywood who have rigidly defined roles for people like Wilde and other actresses, like Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) and Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 3, the forthcoming Charlies Angels reboot), whove turned to directing, taking charge of sets and their careers. Shes not ruling out acting work, but she has nothing scheduled at the moment, and shes hard at work on another script with Booksmart cowriter Katie Silberman that shed like to direct. Im writing another two-hander comedy, said Wilde, and why not? Shes good at them. FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2014 file photo, Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice, from the television show "Real Housewives of New Jersey", stands during a hearing in the Passaic County Courthouse in Paterson, N.J. A federal court ruled this week that Giudice can stay in the U.S. as his appeal progresses. Giudice and his wife, Teresa, pleaded guilty in 2014 to financial fraud. Teresa Giudice served her sentence first and was released in December 2015. In an order published Wednesday, May 22, 2019, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia delayed Giudices deportation. (William Perlman/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool) Read more NEWARK, N.J. (AP) The husband of a "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast member has won a reprieve in his deportation battle. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled in an order published Wednesday that Joe Giudice (joo-DEE'-chay) can stay in the U.S. as his appeal progresses. Giudice and his wife, Teresa, pleaded guilty in 2014 to financial fraud. Teresa Giudice served her sentence first and was released in December 2015. A judge ruled in October that Joe Giudice would be deported to his native Italy upon completion of his prison sentence. A group of more than two dozen former immigration judges had filed a brief in support of his appeal. The court is expected to issue a decision within a few months. Giudice has said he came to the U.S. as an infant and wasnt aware he wasnt an American citizen. Philly Beer Week XII is upon us, and its coming in heavy with about 2,000 events at 200 venues across the region from May 31 to June 9. Start prepping your itinerary (and your liver) now. From drink-heavy events like tap takeovers and bar crawls, to more educational fare like museum tours, to full-blown street festivals and block parties, Philly Loves Beers annual sudsy celebration has more than enough to keep us drinking for its 10-day run. That type of event diversity, says Philly Loves Beer executive director Christina Dowd, is at the top of their minds when planning each year in order to attract beer obsessives and casual drinkers alike. There are always eccentric beer-nerd events. For the general public, there are a lot of good parties and general drinking, Dowd says. They should not be intimidated by beer people. Our goal is to get everyone drinking beer. Well raise a glass to that, probably more than a few times through June 9. Here, weve rounded up 20 Philly Beer Week events two a day throughout its run to please just about any palate. After all, beer is for everyone (as long as youre over 21, of course). Theres only one way to kick off Philly Beer Week, and thats with the traditional Hammer of Glory Relay, which trots the HOG around to two dozen Philly bars and restaurants ahead of Opening Tap to signal the start of the citys sudsiest 10 days every year. 10 a.m. May 31, Hop Angel Brauhaus, 7980 Oxford Ave., Tickets: $10 for bus access (free to follow along independently), pay as you go for drinks. hopangel.com Philly Beer Weeks launch party moves to South Phillys 2300 Arena, where more than 60 breweries will link up to pour more brews than is reasonable, or at least enough to get you onstage for some live band karaoke in front of the citys most beer-loving inhabitants. 6:30 p.m. May 31, 2300 Arena, 2300 S. Swanson St., Tickets: $46-$66, 2300arena.com This is MilkBoys first year at Philly Beer Week, and theyre starting it off with a block-party tribute to the O.G. brewers who built the local craft-beer scene, like Yards, Dock Street, Dogfish Head, Victory, Troegs, and Philadelphia Brewing Company, who will have can and draft releases alike. Noon June 1, MilkBoy South Street, 401 South St., Pay-as-you-go, milkboyphilly.com Evil Genius shop pup and Chief Goodest Boy Officer Dougal is turning 2, and his humans are celebrating with a Big Lebowski-themed beer release The Doog Abides, a White Russian amber ale plus a block party to which your own furry friend is also invited. Noon June 1, Evil Genius Beer Company, 1727 N. Front St., Pay-as-you-go, evilgeniusbeer.com Monks Cafe and Jose Pistolas join forces to re-create a late-night bar crawl in their favorite beer town, Brussels, with the regions Brasserie De La Senne and Maine mainstays Liquid Riot Bottling Company and Oxbow Brewing Company that culminates in a night-ending dance party. 9 p.m. on June 2, Monks Cafe, 264 S. 16th St., Pay-as-you-go, monkscafe.com; 11 p.m. on June 2, Jose Pistolas, 263 S. 15th St., Pay-as-you-go, josepistolas.com 16 bars and restaurants on East Passyunk Avenue come together for a day celebrating craft beer with specials and events that run the gamut from tap takeovers to full-blown events and it all coincides with the hoods annual La Festa Italian Street Festival in honor of Italian National Day. 9 a.m. June 2, Various locations, East Passyunk Avenue, Pay-as-you-go, visiteastpassyunk.com Prohibition Taprooms Chopped-style contest pits four local bartenders against one another in a three-round challenge to create the best suds-based cocktail with secret Free Will Brewing beers and Boardroom Spirits liquor, as well as a surprise local ingredient. 2 p.m. June 3, Prohibition Taproom, 501 N. 13th St., Tickets: $30 at the door, prohibitiontaproom.com Drinking beers from the pros is great and all, but this popular annual event pits Phillys best amateur beer makers against one another via unlimited samples for guests who vote to determine the citys highest quality homebrewer. The prize? A trip to brew at Dogfish Head. 7 p.m. June 3, Jose Pistolas, 263 S. 15th St., Tickets: $25, josepistolas.com Pour contests are typically low-stakes, but this one between brewers from Wissahickon Brewing Company, Evil Genius, Love City, and Neshaminy Creek Brewing requires the loser to get tattooed, while the winner gets a tap handle at both Luckys Last Chance locations. 5 p.m. June 4, Luckys Last Chance Queen Village, 848 S. Second St., Pay-as-you-go, luckyslastchance.com Among the many annual tap takeovers at Philly Beer Week, this one stands out as the highly coveted Maine Beer Companys lone PBW event, and the only place that Philly locals can get the companys Wolfes Neck IPA, which typically is only offered at their New England brewery. 4 p.m. June 4, Monks Cafe, 264 S. 16th St., Pay-as-you-go, monkscafe.com This one ought to leave you tipsy and educated specifically about ancient beer through the work of Dr. Pat McGovern, the Penn biomolecular archaeologist who worked with Dogfish Head to create Midas Touch, which you can sample at the end of a tour of the Penn Museum. 6:30 p.m. June 5, Penn Museum, 3260 South St., Tickets: $15-$25, penn.museum La Cabra went to Belgium to create a beer for Philly Beer Week known as Duveldelphia (a hoppy blonde ale) with legendary 148-year-old brewery Duvel Moortgat, and now, reps from the two companies are joining back up for a tasting event showing off the fruits of their labor. 9 p.m. June 5, Memphis Taproom, 2331 E. Cumberland St., Pay-as-you-go, memphistaproom.com There will be beers from six local craft beer companies and Philly-favorite treats like soft pretzels and water ice, but the real draw at Local Love are celebrity guest bartenders Rhys Hoskins, Zach Eflin, and Andrew Knapp of the Phillies. Plus, it all benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 4 p.m. June 6, Tradesmans Philadelphia, 1322 Chestnut St., Tickets: $20 at the door for access to bar area, $10 for autograph coupon, $5 for picture ticket tradesmansphl.com Pizzeria Stella heads to the Historic Headhouse Shambles for a four-course family style dinner with Delcos 2SP Brewing Company, who will bring along collaborative brews theyve made with the likes of Forest & Main, Crime & Punishment, Hidden River, The Futurist, and Industrial Arts. 6:30 p.m. on June 6, Historic Headhouse Shambles, 2nd and Pine Streets, Tickets: $75 at Pizzeria Stella (or call 215-320-8000), pizzeriastella.net Beer and pizza is usually the standard combo, but we prefer beer and wrestling. Philly-based pro wrestling outfit Chikara Pro obliges with this event, which features a night at the squared circle paired with some stellar Love City Brewing suds to benefit local charity the Valley Youth House. 8 p.m. June 7, Love City Brewing Company, 1023 Hamilton St., Tickets: $10, lovecitybrewing.com There are tons of releases during Philly Beer Week, but Urban Villages Weird Science is a special one. Brewed with USciences Brewing Science students using local malts from Deer Creek Malthouse, this imperial session IPA celebrates local brewers, maltsters, and future brewers. 5 p.m. June 7, Urban Village Brewing Company, 1001 N. 2nd St., Pay-as-you-go, urbanvillagebrewing.com What the heck is a beer blendery? Blume, Craft Concepts Groups latest endeavor, rounds up expert sour beer blenders The Referend Bier Blendery (Jersey), Fermentary Form (Philly), and The Rare Barrel (California, but fronted by a Philadelphian) to show you in a dozen examples. Noon June 8, Blume, 1500 Locust St., Pay-as-you-go, blumephilly.com This deep into Philly Beer Week youll probably be experiencing some event fatigue, so Grey Lodge is holding an anti-event beer event targeted at Philly folks just looking to kick back a few brews on the stoop with the likes of Broken Goblet Brewing, Platform Beer Co. and others. 7 p.m. June 8, Grey Lodge Pub, 6235 Frankford Ave., Pay-as-you-go, greylodge.com The end of Philly Beer Week coincides with Philly Pride Fest, and MilkBoy is celebrating with a dance party and can release from Washingtons DC Brau Brewing Company known as Pride Pils that will benefit the LGBT journalism-focused Blade Foundation. Noon June 9, MilkBoy, 1100 Chestnut St., Pay-as-you-go, milkboyphilly.com Finish out your Philly Beer Week with a trip to the burbs, where Berwyn-based La Cabra Brewing will gather 10 craft-beer cohorts like Levante Brewing, Hidden River Brewing Company, and Rebel Hill Brewing for an outdoor day of brews, food, and live music. 1 p.m. June 9, La Cabra Brewing, 642 Lancaster Ave., Berwyn, Pay-as-you-go, lacabrabrewing.com In hindsight, Alicia Vitarelli wishes she had slowed down and, as the saying goes, listened to her body. But the newscaster at 6ABC does not do slowly. Hates to lounge, never gets sick, does three things at once, sees problems and fixes them fast, sunny outlook intact. So when her husband and daughter were asleep in their room on a pre-Christmas cruise, naturally Vitarelli popped out of bed at 7 a.m. to do laundry and get coffee. She slipped quietly through the darkened room, looking down to follow the light from her smartphone, and BAM! Vitarelli hit her head on the bathroom door. What followed was a frustrating trip through the health-care system, eventually leading to a two-month medical leave. Except at first, she did not think anything was truly wrong. Back on the air since May 14, the native New Yorker described her medical saga in a Facebook post and shared additional details in an interview. She saw stars briefly that morning on the cruise ship, but felt as if she could power through. She set off in search of ice to keep down any swelling. I was thinking more about the aesthetics, she said. Once back in Philadelphia, Vitarelli returned to work, rejecting her mothers suggestion that she see a doctor. Whats a doctor going to do? she asked. But a few weeks later, three-quarters of the way through her 4 p.m. newscast on Jan. 16, Vitarelli started to feel dizzy. She saw black spots before her eyes and had trouble reading the teleprompter. When the director cut to a video feed, she stepped off the set and grabbed the arm of her stage manager. She went to the emergency room at Pennsylvania Hospital. She told medical staff about the blow to her head on the cruise ship, and physicians determined she was suffering the lingering effects of a concussion. They also saw that her hemoglobin levels were unusually low, and prescribed iron infusions. There was a third clue: Her head felt as if it was underwater, so she asked whether someone could look in her ears. The physician saw lots of fluid, but said the ear was not infected. She went home with a prescription for antibiotics just in case. After a month, her hemoglobin levels rose, and she felt more energetic. But her other symptoms the dizziness and stuffy-head feeling became worse. And she started to have crushing headaches. During a trip to Target for paper towels, she felt off-balance and had to sit down. On other errands, she sometimes worried that it was unsafe to drive and called an Uber. The symptoms did not seem to be stress-related, occurring even when she knew she would otherwise feel completely happy and at ease at her daughters birthday party, or in the 6ABC studio. All of this was just weird, she said. She saw more doctors, who counseled her that recovery from a concussion can take months. She tried therapy to improve her vision and balance, which seemed to help a little. But then her ears got worse. In addition to feeling full, they started to ring. I was trying to push through at work, and I just couldnt do it, she said. She went on medical leave March 11, and went to New York to see ear doctor Stefan Kieserman, whom she had seen years before for another issue. Diagnosis: Her ears and sinuses remained full of fluid, somehow unable to drain properly through vessels called the eustachian tubes. And the fluid had led to an infection. Kieserman prescribed antibiotics along with steroids to shrink the swelling and open the tubes, but that helped only a bit. On a subsequent visit, he proposed inserting drainage tubes in her eardrums the procedure often performed on small children with chronic ear infections. He did the left one on April 17, then she came back a few weeks later for the right. Soon she felt a dramatic improvement. Vitarelli and Kieserman both stressed that the physicians who saw her previously were asking all the right questions. The tricky part seemed to be that she had suffered a concussion followed by an ear infection two conditions that can have some of the same symptoms, such as the dizziness and ear-ringing (tinnitus) that Vitarelli experienced. I dont have any sense that there was a missed diagnosis," Vitarelli said. I just think it was evolving, two major conditions that were evolving. She wasnt getting relief, so we tried some things that hadnt been done, Kieserman said in an interview. It doesnt invalidate what had been done to her first. But was it simply bad luck that the ear infection came on top of the concussion? At the same time she was trekking back and forth to Kiesermans New York office, Vitarelli also consulted Philadelphia chiropractor Casey DArcy, who thought the two conditions could be related. X-rays revealed that Vitarellis neck vertebrae were out of alignment from the head injury, which could have interfered with proper eustachian tube drainage and also contributed to headaches by putting pressure on nerves in the spinal cord, DArcy said. She performed a series of chiropractic adjustments and also prescribed stretching exercises. Asked whether the two issues were related, Kieserman was doubtful, though he said the head impact could have led to muscle tension, potentially leading to a feeling of ear fullness. The ear tubes and the neck treatments both helped, Vitarelli said. She also tried Pilates, and otherwise just gave herself time to slow down and heal. By May 14, she felt well enough to go back on the air. She was heartened by the warm welcome from her colleagues, and she got a boost from another source: enthusiastic messages of support from viewers. It is fueling me, she said. It is putting something back in the tank. She realizes that the severity of her ordeal may seem puzzling. A few have asked whether she was in a car accident. No, she explained she just hit her head on a door. But what seems like a bonk on the head can have grave consequences, she tells people. A head injury is nothing to take lightly especially when an ear infection comes on top of it. Meet Cappy. A onetime stray, she was rescued outside the Capitol and is now the Capitol Police's new community service dog. Read more HARRISBURG As Cappy wandered the streets of Harrisburg, a grand building caught her eye: the Pennsylvania Capitol, where important-looking people in sharp suits came in and out each day. In a real rags-to-riches chain of events, Cappy joined them. This month, the pitbull mix pup with soulful brown eyes was named a community-service officer for the Capitol Police. She was found huddled near a warm-air vent in the shadow of the Capitol early on the chilly morning of April 29, state officials said. After a Capitol Police officer rescued her, the department searched for an owner on social media but couldnt find one. Her laid-back and affectionate personality won over the departments officers. So they adopted her. This started out with a pup that didnt have a home, that was found by a building cold, just trying to stay warm, said Troy Thompson, spokesperson for the Department of General Services. It oversees the Capitol Police, who secure all state buildings in Harrisburg and Scranton, and also assists Harrisburg police when necessary. Now, shes found one of the best homes that she could have, Thompson said. Cappy, short for Capitol, got her name after a Facebook contest run by the Capitol Police. She chose her name herself, by deciding to eat out of a bowl labeled Cappy rather than identical ones labeled Blue and Hanna. As a community-service dog for the police, Cappy will attend public events, and welcome Capitol visitors and employees and support victims of crime and those in emotional distress. Thompson said she will also help to create a pathway to better relations between the police and the public. She allows officers to engage the public and engage children in a way that isnt something in their normal duties, like investigating a crime or issuing a ticket, he said. Its a great way for people to get to know the Capitol Police and, hopefully, theyll learn about some of the things they do. When shes not on duty, Cappy lives with her guardian officer, Sgt. Mike Schmidt, and his three kids on a farm near Harrisburg. Schmidt was the first officer to meet Cappy, and said her personality is what made her a good candidate for a full-time job. She ended up having a real good demeanor about her, he said. She loves attention. She loves to play. When I bring her in every morning to work, she wants to play with one of our K-9s right away. Schmidt admitted that its taking Cappy a while to get used to working 9 to 5. She has a lazy side to her as well, he said. Yesterday, she was here in the office and just going to sleep on the couches. Contact Alyssa Biederman at alyssab@temple.edu. Passage of a liquor referendum means a Giant supermarket in Marple Township may potentially compete better with a new Whole Foods, above, that opened in January in Newtown Square, one town over in Delaware County. Read more The vote count on election day was so small that you could be forgiven for thinking this was a small-potatoes story. But what happened Tuesday in Marple Township a 2,357-to-1,303-vote rejection of its dry-town status was so much more than a suburban Philly town doing away with the old-timey prohibition of alcohol sales in restaurants or supermarkets. It was, in fact, yet another in a string of victories in a war being fought in Pennsylvania over the last dozen or so years. Its a campaign being waged largely by supermarkets. An effort that has helped turn one of the nations most historically reactionary states in terms of alcohol into an East Coast leader in making it easier for residents buy booze. I can barely believe I just wrote that last sentence. But its true and we can thank supermarket companies for making it happen, if only out of their determination to remain competitive against one another. In Marple, and with the muscle of the Giant supermarket chain behind the effort, residents this week approved a ballot question eliminating a nearly century-old ban on most retail alcohol sales in the Delaware County township. (So did voters in Lansdowne, and Aldan in Delaware County, and West Marlborough and Franklin Townships in Chester County.) This is part of a strategy that supermarkets have been pushing to chip away at Pennsylvanias notoriously forbidding liquor regulations and prohibitions. It used to be that the only place people could buy bottles of wine were in Liquor Control Board-run State Stores or what have been rebranded as kinder, gentler Fine Wine & Good Spirits" stores. But grocers began eating away at that status quo by setting aside enough in-store dining space to qualify for licenses as though they were restaurants. Then, they pushed for passage of a law that went into effect in 2016 one allowing licensed grocery stores to sell up to four bottles of wine at once. In a battle also waged by convenience stores, six-packs of beer also made their way into supermarkets, a selling privilege formerly reserved almost exclusively for bars and taverns. Just how huge a shift are we talking about? A decade ago you couldnt buy a bottle of burgundy in the same store as your broccoli. Or a six-pack. That huge. Pennsylvania now is a leader in this regard compared with Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Delaware, which have remained far more restrictive about whether grocery stores can sell alcohol, said Jeff Metzger, publisher of Food Trade News. These other states, Metzger told me Wednesday, havent moved. It all began about 12 years ago. Thats when Inquirer colleague Harold Brubaker reported that Wegmans and Acme were gunning for the ability to sell beer, wine, and spirits at their Pennsylvania stores. Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans planned to buy liquor licenses for the 11 stores it ran at the time in the Keystone State; Acme declared it a top regulatory issue for its company that year. One by one, supermarkets began managing to sell alcohol in some form or another. A decade later, a bureaucratic chastity belt has been blown to bits: Today, even Target is selling alcohol after a recent renovation of its Plymouth Meeting store. In Marple this week, it was the Giant supermarket chain, based in Carlisle, Pa., that pushed to secure the thousands of petition signatures needed just to allow the Delaware County townships antiquated booze prohibitions to be voted on. Allows beer & wine sales in your GIANT," a flyer being distributed by a Giant employee at a polling place I visited on Tuesday afternoon proclaimed. Increases customer convenience. Joe Rufo, a township commissioner for eight years now, said Giants involvement was key, considering that 3,000 signatures were required to allow the ballot question in his town of 24,000 people. Its a major effort, Rufo told me on election day. The voters havent had a chance to decide this for 50 years. The stakes for these stores are high. Giant operates a supermarket on West Chester Pike in Marple that cannot sell alcohol. Competitor Whole Foods just opened a store two miles up the Pike that does and all because that store is in neighboring Newtown Township. The reason for the race to sell booze: It is no longer enough to just be a supermarket to stay in business. With online competition, dollar stores, warehouse stores, and niche chains that specialize in new grocery formats, such as cut-rate Aldi, grocers have turned to alcohol to differentiate themselves from the others. From a purely convenience standpoint, this is a case where competition clearly produced a win for many consumers. Daoud Steele, 35, holds up a sign while listening to speeches during the global climate strike at City Hall in Philadelphia on March 15. Students from around the Philadelphia region along with people of all ages came together for the global movement. Read more WASHINGTON When Jordan Lawson went to see Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke, he didnt hesitate when a reporter asked his top concern: climate change. Thats pretty much the deciding factor in terms of the future of the planet, said Lawson, 22, a Penn State graduate student who saw ORourke speak at State College in March. Young people like Lawson have helped drive climate change from a piece of the Democratic discussion to the top tier of issues driving the 2020 presidential primary, with nearly every candidate trying to show they are taking the issue seriously and one, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, basing his entire campaign around it. For many on the left the environment has become a litmus test, with vocal factions urging candidates to embrace the Green New Deal, a sweeping statement of goals to combat climate change and tackle other liberal priorities, though it lacks details about how to achieve them. The Democratic Partys future and also its current electoral prospects hinge in large part on turnout of millennials and Gen Z, and its become very clear that climate is a top issue for young people, said Julian Brave NoiseCat, director of Green New Deal strategy at the liberal think tank Data for Progress. If you want to get their votes, I think at this point you have to show that you really are taking climate change seriously. The issue has been building for years, said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. It moved from a secondary issue, an add-on ... Oh, by the way, whats your position on the environment? to becoming one of the primary ways that Democratic voters are using to sort out the candidates, Murray said. Its an influence of younger voters, but it has spread throughout the party. How climate change rose as an issue Environmental advocates cite several factors, including how young people looking decades ahead worry about the consequences for them and their families, along with concerns about the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, hurricanes, and other extreme events. The longer youre planning to be here, the more you stand to lose if we fail to tackle climate change, said South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old presidential candidate. This is no longer a theoretical issue thats happening in some other place like the Arctic, or some other time like the distant future. Its happening here. Its happening around us. At a campaign stop in Marshalltown, Iowa, in April, Buttigieg took a question on the environment from 17-year-old Nathan Wegner, a member of Kids for Boundary Waters, which aims to protect the environmental treasure on Minnesotas northern border. Its going to be our world in the future, so if all of this climate change keeps going, we wont have this world that we have today, Wegner, of Omaha, Neb., said in an interview. This is no longer a theoretical issue thats happening in some other place. ... Its happening here, its happening around us. Pete Buttigieg The Sunrise Movement, a group made up of young activists, has forcefully pushed Democrats to support the Green New Deal, and in March, more than one million students in more than 100 countries skipped school in a climate strike to demand action. Activists also said the media focus has been sharpened by a 2018 U.N. report that warned of drastic consequences, including for crops, coral reefs, and coastal populations, unless carbon emissions are dramatically reduced, fast. For a very long time there was a very sterile way of communicating about climate change that never really brought home to people the threat, the scale of the threat that were facing, NoiseCat said. Political risks in the Midwest Yet the urge to take drastic action may also run up against efforts to reach swing voters in industry-reliant parts of the Rust Belt, including Western Pennsylvania and Michigan, where some people are wary of environmental restrictions that might affect their livelihoods. The Green New Deal is an issue, said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny County Labor Council, an umbrella group for more than 130 unions in the Pittsburgh area. We cant just abandon hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers that work in the energy industry. We cant just abandon hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers that work in the energy industry Darrin Kelly, Western Pennsylvania labor leader The resolution, a nonbinding statement without specific policies or costs attached, calls for reducing net carbon emissions in the United States to zero within a decade. It urges an overhaul of the economy, with massive investments in renewable energy, a revamp of transportation systems to focus on rail and electric vehicles, and guarantees of good-paying jobs and health care, and would likely cost trillions of dollars. It has been cosponsored by many of the top Democratic candidates for president, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), though some say it is an aspiration, not policy. Trump: An economic assault The plan has also been embraced by the GOP, as a punching bag. Republicans have pilloried it as part of a socialist agenda of government intrusion. President Donald Trump has cast doubt on climate change and the science behind it, even saying that noise from wind turbines causes cancer. In central Pennsylvania on Monday he railed against Democratic efforts to rejoin the international Paris Climate Accord, which aimed to reduce greenhouse gases, and which he pulled out of. Every Democrat running for president wants to reopen the economic assault on Pennsylvania by crippling the coal and shale industries and by crippling your now, once again, great steel industry, Trump said. If you want American energy, you have to go Republican. A more pragmatic `revolution'? Some Democrats see political risks in going too far. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has dismissively referred to the Green New Deal as the green dream, or whatever they call it. Instead, she has advanced ideas with broader support, such as keeping the U.S. in the Paris agreement. Joe Biden has called for a green energy revolution but has faced attacks from his rivals and some liberal groups for not going far enough. He has pledged to lay out his climate plans soon, but at a rally in Philadelphia on Saturday argued that nothing can happen to address the environment unless Democrats win. The first and most important plan in my climate proposal is: Beat Trump, Biden said. NoiseCat argued that Republicans have more to fear politically, saying their dismissive stance gives Democrats an unprecedented opportunity to be "the party that takes climate change seriously. Ryan Costello, a former Republican congressman from Chester County, doubted that Democrats will pay much of a political price for a proposal that hasnt been enacted, but said the Green New Deal could be part of GOP attacks on a laundry list of big government priorities. At the same time, Costello, who now works with a group urging a carbon tax to address emissions, said Republicans risk losing more ground with suburban voters if they refuse to address the issue. More people are being educated about climate change as they feel the impacts, and as the topic gets more media attention, he said. Theres a visceral human experience." The Prime Minister's office has said that May was 'disappointed' that Leadsom had resigned. (Photo:AP) London: In yet another blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is struggling hard to get a Brexit deal cleared through both houses, one of her key minister, House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom resigned on Wednesday. Leadsom, a Brexit supporter, has supported May's Brexit deal in the Parliament. This comes amid the calls of May's resignation have gone louder. However, the embattled leader is making all effort to convince the opposition to go with her deal. Also Read: May may not be able to rescue Brexit deal In her resignation letter, Leadsom said she no longer believed May's approach to Brexit could "deliver on the referendum result" or ensure "a truly sovereign United Kingdom." Leadsom said a second Brexit referendum would be "dangerously divisive." May, too, has opposed a second referendum, but on Tuesday she offered Parliament a chance to vote on whether there should be a second public vote. Leadsom added that tolerance for those in May's leadership team "who advocate policies contrary to the government's position had led to a complete breakdown of collective responsibility." The Prime Minister's office has said that May was "disappointed" that Leadsom had resigned but she "remains focused on delivering the Brexit people voted for." Recently, as a last-ditch effort by the PM to gather support for the deal, May gave a chance to those in the Parliament asking for a second referendum on Brexit to have their way by introducing a new Brexit deal, even as she maintained her stand against the move. Anti Brexit campaigners hold banners near Parliament in London, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure Wednesday to scrap a planned vote on her tattered Brexit blueprint and to call an end to her embattled premiership after her attempt at compromise got the thumbs-down from both her own Conservative Party and opposition lawmakers. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) The MPs supporting a second referendum would still need to pass the new deal in order to have their way, as per the British leader. This comes after the talks between and the opposition-led Labour Party which have lasted nearly two months have been collapsed. The Brexit deal has already been defeated three times by the British Parliamentarians and the chances of it being passed at the fourth time look slim. It was confirmed on Thursday that May would outline a timetable for her departure after the June vote is held, regardless of the outcome. In other words, the Conservative Party would hold an election to choose a new Prime Minister, this summer, likely bringing with it a new round of political uncertainty. May's attempt to reach an agreement has angered the hardline pro-Brexit faction in her party. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D., N.J.), seen here in 2013, is set to play a leading role in debates on climate change and health care after becoming the chairman of the House energy and commerce committee. Read more WASHINGTON Frank Pallone has waited a long time for this moment. The Democratic congressman from the Jersey Shore passed on a chance to seize a Senate vacancy in 2002. He tried in 2013 but lost a primary race to Sen. Cory Booker. Now, more than 30 years after joining the U.S. House, he has landed one of the chambers most powerful positions, leading the Committee on Energy and Commerce. With a sprawling mandate that ranges from the environment to health care to interstate commerce, the committee handles around 6 in 10 House bills, Pallone said. The post will make the Monmouth County resident one of the regions most influential Democrats, with the power to shape debates on some of the most contentious issues of the day. Instead of being a minority Democrat in the Senate, now hes banging a gavel, said Bill Castner, a longtime Democratic lawyer who once interned for Pallone. Pallone laid out his agenda as Democrats took control of the House last week, saying he would call a hearing on climate change by the end of the month, followed by hearings on the Trump administrations sabotage of the Affordable Care Act and the presidents family separation policy at the southern border. Net neutrality regulations and gaming laws could also be priorities. Each will give Pallone, 67, a platform on national issues that have captivated progressives, but could also challenge him to balance the preferences of mainstream Democrats and a restive liberal base urging aggressive action. His new role has already invited pressure from liberal groups. The environment and health care have been signature issues for Pallone since he joined Congress in 1988. Being the chair of the committee that handles those issues is really the pinnacle of success for him, said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, based in the congressmans home county. Most Democratic bills, of course, have little chance of becoming law, with Republicans holding the Senate and President Donald Trump in the White House. But the bills that emerge from the committee could set the foundations for future legislation. It becomes a benchmark, said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. Pallone, who graduated from high school in 1969 and headed to Middlebury College in Vermont, has long been known as one of the most liberal lawmakers in a liberal state, beloved by environmentalists and labor unions. He made his name pushing to protect New Jersey beaches and to clean polluted Superfund sites, helped write portions of the Affordable Care Act, and then played a visible role defending it from GOP repeal attempts. His campaign logo features an ocean wave curling inside the "O" in his name. Yet a push from a new wave of liberals could undercut Pallones voice on the environmental issues that have long driven him. Their approach and unwillingness to bow to party seniority has already put Pallone at odds with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), a new champion of the left. The different approaches reflect the broader potential for tension between pragmatic veteran Democrats, newcomers who represent moderate districts, and a bloc of freshmen pushing for a more radical style. Ocasio-Cortez threw her voice and following behind a proposal, the Green New Deal, calling for aggressive goals on climate change, including massive federal investments to push the United States to rely entirely on renewable energy within a decade. Pallone and Ocasio-Cortez reportedly clashed over the push internally, as the New Jerseyan and other senior Democrats sought to retain their jurisdiction on the issue and raised questions about whether the plan is realistic. In November, a group of young activists from the environmentally focused Sunrise Movement protested at Pallones office. If he wants to prove that he cares about young voters who just delivered the House to Democrats, he must back Ocasio-Cortezs plan, a spokesperson for the group said at the time. While party leaders refused to embrace the Green New Deal, which critics say lacks specific plans to reach its ambitious goals, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did create a special committee to hold hearings on climate change. It didnt go as far as activists wanted, and wont have subpoena power or the ability to call votes, but could still compete with Pallones panel when it comes to setting the Democratic agenda. Hes been working on these issues since day one in Congress and some of these issues have now been taken away from him, Murray said. Pallone has criticized the new committee as unnecessary, and indicated that he doesnt plan to take a backseat. He said chairing Energy and Commerce gives him a chance to raise the climate issues that Republicans have long buried, to help make health care more affordable, and to provide oversight of the Trump administration. He can subpoena witnesses and push legislation. While the New Jersey Republican chairman, Doug Steinhardt, said Pallone should "dig into the hard work of making New Jersey more affordable and business-friendly, the congressman said the environment and health care directly affect peoples livelihoods. When you talk about climate change, many people think of it just like an environmental issue, but its not just that. Its a health issue, and its an economic issue, Pallone said, worrying that the United States is falling behind other countries that have sped up investments in renewable energy. You cant ignore the burgeoning markets for things like solar panels and wind turbines and the economic impact that these things have. He said the Green New Deal is something we will look into, Im not dismissing it, its just that some aspects of it, Im not sure if theyre technologically feasible. He pointed to the goal of ending a reliance on fossil fuels in 10 years, instead noting the 20- to 30-year timelines adopted in other Western countries. We have to have consensus within our Democratic caucus to move ahead, and then ultimately we have to get the support of Republicans if were going to accomplish things, Pallone said. Tittel, whose group supports the more aggressive goals but also hailed Pallone as an environmental leader, said the differences between the congressman and the new wave of activists is not in ideology, but approach. Pallone, who has been in public office since 1982 as a city councilman, state legislator, and congressman, is more methodical, Tittel said. Its not about substance, its more about style, he said. Some people rush forward. He kind of builds step-by-step. Said fellow U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D., N.J.): He does his homework before he opens his mouth. Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell blamed her loss in Tuesdays Democratic primary election on the pro-development political action committee that backed her opponent, Jamie Gauthier, and the groups funders, who, she said, bought control of the district. Several people have come to me and said it wasnt about me," she said after the City Council session, in her first public remarks about losing reelection. "It was over my head. It was about my area that all those who have the money, the 3.0 and others, came after my district big time, that was the issue. Blackwell, 74, who has represented West Philadelphias 3rd District since 1992, and worked for her husband, Lucien, who held the seat before her, called the loss kind of unbelievable." She described the PAC Philadelphia 3.0 as coming after me, backed by developers eager to make money in the district, which includes the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the University of the Sciences, and the Philadelphia Zoo. Ive got quite an area. I represent a great deal of institutions, universities, and many monied interests and companies, she said. They decided it was time that they took over, and so they decided. It wasnt about me; it was about them taking control of my district, and thats what happened. Gauthier, who beat Blackwell by about 3,000 votes challenged that narrative. Tuesdays election wasnt about me, Councilwoman Blackwell, or any third-party groups that supported me or her. The election was about the voters and their desire for new ideas and new leadership to help make housing more affordable, tackle poverty, and improve public education, said Jamie Gauthier. Philadelphia 3.0s role in the race Philadelphia 3.0 spent at least $300,000 advocating for Gauthier in the final two weeks, sending out mailers attacking Blackwell as too cozy with developers, as well as funding digital advertising and field teams to get supporters to the polls. The group has supported challengers since its founding, noting that its incredibly difficult to beat incumbents in Philadelphia. Blackwell is the first district Council member to lose reelection since 1995. Philadelphia 3.0s primary funders this cycle were venture capitalists Richard Vague and Josh Kopelman (who is chairman of the board of Philadelphia Media Network, the parent company of The Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com). Philadelphia 3.0 has not had to report all donations because it has an affiliated nonprofit that does not have to disclose its backers. The group was started by parking magnates and is considered pro-development. But a look at campaign finance reports shows Blackwell also had support from various real estate developers during her campaign, though her biggest donations came from unions. And while Philadelphia 3.0 played a key role, Gauthier also raised more money than Blackwell early. She benefited from higher turnout in neighborhoods that have become wealthier and whiter in recent years. She also secured votes in older black neighborhoods that were considered Blackwells base. Gauthier had said throughout the race that while she is grateful for the support of the 3.0 organization, she isnt beholden to it or its donors. I dont think I lost touch with voters Blackwell was asked Thursday if shed failed to connect with newer residents in the district and whether she thought she campaigned hard enough. She referenced her record. I work seven days a week, all my legislation comes from the people. I go to meetings all the time, she said. "No, I dont think I lost touch. I dont think it was about me. The mood surrounding her Thursday was somber. Before the meeting started, colleagues approached Blackwell, bending to kiss her on the cheek or give her a hug and condolences. Blackwell dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and signed resolutions for the upcoming meeting. One Council staffer, watching the parade of people going to greet her, commented that it felt like a funeral, only shes sitting right here. Her colleagues on Thursday described her as a tireless advocate for the homeless and a dedicated public servant. She is one of the great ones," Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. said. What Ive learned is, your public policy passion has nothing to do with your political reelection. So whatever you do for the public, you should do from your heart, and then you also have to have your political stuff, because people dont care what you did for them yesterday. Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown said Blackwell "opened up her heart, sometimes to her own detriment. She was one of the examples of what a public official is all about," said Councilman William K. Greenlee. All you had to do is walk by her office and see people waiting every day in those chairs. I think its a loss. And no disrespect to Jamie Gauthier the people chose but I think theres a loss when you lose someone like Jannie Blackwell. This was her life. Blackwell said she wished Gauthier all the best, though she has yet to talk to her and shrugged when asked if shed act as an adviser to her. She said she doesnt know whats next but has seven months remaining as a Council member. Shell spend that time sitting in the same seat her husband used from 1974 to 1992. When I took this seat, when I came here, you couldnt sit in the front row unless you were a senior member," she said. "They allowed me to take this seat because I was Lus wife, so Ive been in my chair for a long time. Im honored to be here, my first seat and my last seat. FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2002, file photo, John Walker Lindh leaves the Alexandria Detention Center in Alexandria, Va., before dawn, on the way to his first appearance in a nearby federal court. Lindh, the young Californian who became known as the American Taliban after he was captured by U.S. forces in the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, was freed Thursday, May 23, 2019, after nearly two decades in prison. Read more John Walker Lindh, the Californian who took up arms for the Taliban and was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, got out of prison Thursday after more than 17 years, released under tight restrictions that reflected government fears he still harbors radical views. President Donald Trump reacted by saying, "I don't like it at all." "Here's a man who has not given up his proclamation of terror," he said. Lindh, 38, left a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., after getting time off for good behavior from the 20-year sentence he received when he pleaded guilty to providing support to the Taliban. It was not immediately clear where the man known as the "American Taliban" will live or what he will do. He turned down an interview request last week, and his attorney declined to comment Thursday. In a Fox News interview, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decried his early release as "unexplainable and unconscionable" and called for a review of prison system policies. The president said he asked lawyers whether there was anything that could be done to block Lindh from getting out but was told no. Trump said the U.S. will closely monitor him. Under restrictions imposed by a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., Lindhs internet devices must have monitoring software; his online communications must be conducted in English; he must undergo mental health counseling; he is forbidden to possess or view extremist material; and he cannot hold a passport or leave the U.S. FBI counterterrorism officials work with federal prison authorities to determine what risk a soon-to-be-released inmate might pose. Probation officers never explained why they sought the restrictions against Lindh. But in 2017, Foreign Policy magazine cited a National Counterterrorism Center report that said Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." On Wednesday, NBC reported that Lindh, in a letter to a producer from Los Angeles-based affiliate KNBC, wrote in 2015 that the Islamic State group was "doing a spectacular job." Lindh converted to Islam as a teenager after seeing the movie Malcolm X and eventually made his way to Pakistan and Afghanistan and joined the Taliban. He met Osama bin Laden and was with the Taliban on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Lindh was captured on the battlefield after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11 and was initially charged with conspiring to kill Mike Spann, a CIA operative who died during an uprising of Taliban prisoners shortly after interrogating Lindh. Lindh denied any role in Spann's death. But he admitted carrying an assault rifle and two grenades. Spann's daughter Alison Spann, now a journalist in Mississippi, posted a letter on Twitter that she said she had sent to Trump. In it, she called Lindh's early release "a slap in the face" to everyone killed on 9/11 and in the war on terror since then, along with "the millions of Muslims worldwide who don't support radical extremists." Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan also expressed concern about Lindh's release in a letter last week to the federal Bureau of Prisons. "We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence," they wrote. The bureau defended itself Thursday in a statement that said Lindh's release followed federal laws and guidelines. It said it works closely with outside agencies "to reduce the risk terrorist offenders pose inside and outside of prisons," and added that no radicalized inmate has returned to federal prison on terrorism-related charges. Moazzam Begg, a former detainee at Guantanamo who now serves as director of outreach for London-based CAGE, which supports the rights of those accused of terror-related crimes, said the criticism over Lindh's early release is misguided. If anything, Begg said, Lindh was imprisoned too long. He noted that many of the other Taliban fighters who were sent to Guantanamo as enemy combatants were released much earlier. As for Lindh's letter in support of the Islamic State, Begg noted that it was written four years ago and that Lindh might not have had full knowledge of the group's atrocities from behind bars. "Nobody really knows what his views are right now in 2019," he said. In a statement, Begg said: "It is now time for him to be allowed to restart his life in peace and freedom." Associated Press writers Ben Finley and Kimberly Chandler contributed to this article. FILE - In this June 23, 2018, file photo, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent walks between vehicles outside the Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas. U.S. border agents have temporarily closed their primary facility for processing migrants in South Texas one day after authorities say a 16-year-old died after being diagnosed with the flu at the facility. In a statement released late Tuesday, May 21, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would stop detaining migrants at the processing center in McAllen, Texas. CBP says "a large number" of people in custody were found Tuesday to have high fevers. Read more SAN DIEGO More than 30 migrants have tested positive for influenza at a major processing center where a flu-stricken teenage boy died, the latest evidence of growing public health threats posed by inadequate facilities to deal with a surge of families and children reaching the U.S. border. It was unclear if anyone ill came in contact with a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy who was held at the facility in McAllen, Texas, and died Monday, a day after he was diagnosed and transferred to a smaller station. Carlos Hernandez Vasquez was detained for six days, twice as long as generally allowed by U.S. law. The processing center is a converted warehouse that holds hundreds of parents and children in large, fenced-in pens that gained international attention last year when it held children separated from their parents. The government closed the facility after the flu outbreak, sent in cleaning crews to disinfect the building and plans to reopen it soon. The 32 sick children and adults have been quarantined at a smaller processing center, according to a U.S. Border Patrol official who spoke with reporters on condition of anonymity because there is an ongoing investigation. Their ages were unknown. Since December, five children have died after being apprehended by border agents, putting authorities under growing pressure and scrutiny to care for migrant children. Kevin McAleenan, the acting Homeland Security secretary, came under withering criticism Wednesday from a Democratic lawmaker who called the administration's actions with children "inhumane." The Department of Health and Human Services, which cares for unaccompanied migrant children, said Wednesday that a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died last year after being detained by border authorities in a previously unreported case. The girl died Sept. 29 at an Omaha, Neb., hospital of fever and respiratory distress, officials said. The department began caring for the unidentified girl in March 2018, said spokesman Mark Weber, who described her as "medically fragile," with a history of congenital heart defects. With the government running out of space to hold migrants, the Trump administration has been taking dramatic steps to keep up with the influx. The Defense Department said Wednesday that it will provide temporary housing for at least 7,500 men and women who are taken into custody by immigration officials along the border. It will loan tents to the Department of Homeland Security, which will manage the camps. The Defense Department will evaluate six potential sites over the next two weeks: Tucson and Yuma in Arizona and Tornillo, Donna, Laredo and Del Rio in Texas. Tornillo, near El Paso, is where unaccompanied children were housed last year. The Pentagon said military personnel will only erect the tents and won't be involved in operations. The 77,000-square foot processing center in McAllen is modeled after a similar facility in Nogales, Ariz., built for an influx of Central Americans in 2014. It has separate pods for boys and girls who came alone and parents with their young children. Some older children are split from their parents to avoid having them mix with much younger children. Texas's Rio Grande Valley, which includes McAllen, is the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. The Border Patrol made 36,681 arrests in the area in April, nearly three of every four coming in family units or as children traveling alone. Border Patrol agents have averaged 69 trips to the hospital a day since Dec. 22 and about 153,000 hours monitoring detained population at hospitals, the official said. Authorities have also cleaned other holding facilities in South Texas, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Kingsville, and highway checkpoints. Migrants are not being vaccinated at Border Patrol stations, but they may be when hospitalized, the official said. The Border Patrol is offering vaccines to agents working. Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this article. FILE - In this May 1, 2019, file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange puts his fist up as he is taken from court in London. The Justice Department has charged Assange with receiving and publishing classified information. The charges are contained in a new, 18-count indictment announced May 23, 2019. Read more WASHINGTON The U.S. filed new charges Thursday against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, accusing him of placing the United States at risk of serious harm by publishing thousands of secret and classified documents, including the names of confidential sources for American armed forces. In an 18-count, superseding indictment, Justice Department prosecutors allege that Assange directed former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. The case presents immediate questions about media freedom, including whether the Justice Department is charging Assange for actions such as soliciting and publishing classified information that ordinarily journalists do as a matter of course. Department officials said Thursday they believe Assange strayed far outside First Amendment protections. The new Espionage Act charges go far beyond an initial indictment against Assange made public last month that accused him of conspiring with Manning to crack a defense computer password. WikiLeaks caused particular harm by publishing the names of people who helped American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. diplomats around the world. The new indictment says Assange conspired with Manning to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents, including State Department cables and reports on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prosecutors say his actions "risked serious harm" to the United States. Assange, 47, is in custody in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorean Embassy in April. The U.S. is seeking his extradition. San Francisco Police Chief William Scott answers questions during a news conference, Tuesday, May 21, 2019, in San Francisco. Police agreed Tuesday to return property seized from a San Francisco journalist in a raid, but the decision did little to ease tensions in the case, which has alarmed journalism advocates and put pressure on city leaders. Authorities have said the May 10 raids on freelancer Bryan Carmody's home and office were part of an investigation into what police called the illegal leak of a report on the death of former Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who died unexpectedly in February. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Read more SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A battle between the press and police is playing out in politically liberal San Francisco after police raided a freelance reporter's home and office seeking to uncover the source of a leaked police report into the unexpected death of the city's former elected public defender. A journalist who participated in unlawfully acquiring information could be successfully prosecuted for a crime, First Amendment expert David Snyder says, but contends a police report is "not a confidential, legally protected document" and its disclosure and publication is lawful. Journalist Bryan Carmody said he received the report from a source and did not pay for it, though legal experts argue doing so would not have been a crime. Still, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said the journalist "crossed the line," motivated by profit or animosity toward the late public defender, Jeff Adachi. An autopsy found Adachi died Feb. 22 of a mixture of cocaine and alcohol, compromising an already bad heart. Attorney Duffy Carolan, who represents several media organizations siding with Carmody, agrees that the public has constitutional rights to public records. "The impact of trying to criminalize disclosure of public records, whether or not it violated internal policy or practice, will have a profound effect on public employees' willingness to disclose public records," she said. "It would have a chilling effect." San Francisco Sgt. Michael Andraychak said Wednesday that the report was not a public record and that state law protects crime reports when "disclosure would endanger the successful completion of the investigation or a related investigation." Media experts counter that although the law allows police to keep reports secret, nothing in the law stops them from releasing the information. They note police did not raid the office of San Francisco Chronicle reporter who obtained the same information independently of Carmody. The newspaper has said it did not pay for the report. Police used a sledgehammer to try to get into Carmody's home and handcuffed him for hours as they searched and subsequently removed dozens of cameras, cellphones, computers and other equipment. "We believe that that contact, and that interaction went across the line," the police chief said Tuesday in his first remarks since the May 10 raids. The department said the same day at a court hearing that Carmody's property would be returned while the legal wrangling proceeds. Reporters and other First Amendment organizations want a judge to revoke search warrants that authorized the raids and to unseal the materials submitted in support of them. Because the warrants are under seal, it's not known what information police provided to support the search, or whether they disclosed that Carmody is a journalist. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that journalists are free to report on newsworthy information contained in stolen documents or illegally intercepted telephone communications obtained from a third party who violated the law, said Carolan. The justices may have ruled differently had the journalists encouraged or aided in the unlawful interception of the call, she said. But that is not the same as a reporter encouraging a public official or public employee to provide a public record. "That is what reporters do every day," Carolan said. California's shield law specifically protects journalists from search warrants. The Associated Press is among dozens of news organizations siding with Carmody and seeking to submit a friend-of-the-court brief. Snyder, of the First Amendment Coalition, said the chief's comments seemed to suggest a police employee may have accessed an unauthorized system to obtain confidential information, which the report is not. "Would an offer by the journalist to pay the source to break the law be enough? Maybe. It would depend on the circumstances," he said. "I don't think it matters what Carmody's motivations were. The question is: Was his conduct protected by the First Amendment? And all the facts I've seen thus far show it was," he said. Scott has not provided details of the leak investigation other than to say that Carmody was an active participant in acquiring a police record, which the reporter then sold to three television news outlets as part of a news package that included information obtained from interviews and video footage from the scene of Adachi's death. Carmody has not responded to requests for comment, although he posted on Twitter on Wednesday the hashtag #journalismisnotacrime. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $16,000 for him. In this Tuesday, May 21, 2019 photo, provided by the U.S. Air Force, a U.S. B-52H Stratofortress, prepares to join up with Qatari Air Force Mirage 2000s and U.S. F-35A Lightning IIs to fly in formation over Southwest Asia to build military-to-military relationships, in an undisclosed location. The B-52H is part of the Bomber Task Force deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to defend American forces and interests in the region. (Senior Airman Keifer Bowes/U.S. Air Force via AP) Read more BERLIN (AP) A senior German diplomat headed Thursday to Tehran to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. and increasing pressure from Washington. Tensions have soared in the Mideast recently as the White House earlier this month sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceived from Iran. Germany's Foreign Ministry sent its political director, Jens Ploetner, to Iran to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to try to salvage the nuclear deal signed in 2015 in Vienna. The accord has steadily unraveled since the Trump administration pulled America out of the deal, re-imposed and escalated U.S. sanctions on Tehran last year. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that Arghchi demanded that European signatories follow through on their commitments under the deal. According to the report, Ploetner said the European side will continue to work to meet Iran's demands and save the deal. The report did not elaborate. The German envoy's visit follows Iran's declaration earlier this month that the remaining signatories to the deal Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia have two months to develop a plan to shield Iran from American sanctions. "The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation surrounding the Vienna nuclear agreement, is extremely serious," the German Foreign Ministry said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "There is a real risk of escalation including due to misunderstandings or an incident. In this situation, dialogue is very important." With Iran's 60-day deadline, the ministry said there is still a "window for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue its full compliance" and said Germany remains in close contact with the other nations that have been struggling to keep the deal alive. The accord, intended to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, promised economic incentives in exchange for restrictions on Tehran's nuclear activities. Despite efforts so far by the others to keep the deal from collapsing, Iran's economy has been struggling and its currency has plummeted after the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions. Iran continued abiding by the stipulations of the deal, according to a February report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, though it expressed increasing frustration with the inability of the Europeans to provide economic relief. A new IAEA report is due out soon. Then on Monday, Iran announced it had quadrupled its production capacity of low-enriched uranium. Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the nuclear deal, making it usable for a power plant but far below what's needed for an atomic weapon. But by increasing production, Iran will likely soon exceed the stockpile limitations set by the nuclear accord, which would escalate the situation further. Several incidents have added to the crisis, including the sabotage of the oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, as well as a rocket that landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The U.S. has blamed Iran for both incidents without publicly offering evidence. America also has evacuated nonessential diplomatic staff from Iraq amid the tensions. Saudi Arabia said Thursday Yemen's Houthi rebels again targeted an airport in Najran near its southern border with a bomb-carrying drone. The Saudi military said it intercepted the drone, while the Houthis said it struck a Patriot missile battery at the airport. The Houthis have claimed three times in recent days to have targeted the airport, which also hosts a military base. It comes after the Houthis last week targeted a Saudi oil pipeline in a coordinated drone attack. The Pentagon was to present plans to the White House on Thursday to send up to 10,000 more American troops to the Middle East, to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, U.S. officials said. Iran has watched warily as the USS Abraham Lincoln heads toward the Strait of Hormuz and B-52 bombers began flying missions in the region. Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, said Thursday the military will remain watchful about "deceptions by the U.S. government and its adventurous" president. "With the finger on the trigger, Iran is ready to respond to any invader strongly and with unbelievable speed," Bagheri said in a statement. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was expected to arrive later Thursday in Islamabad as Pakistan seeks to calm regional tensions. He was to hold talks with Pakistani officials on Friday. "We believe the situation in the region is serious and needs to be addressed through dialogue by all parties," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement. "We expect all sides to show restraint, as any miscalculated move, can transmute into a large-scale conflict." ___ Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report. This aerial image shows severe storm damage in Jefferson City, Mo., Thursday, May 23, 2019, after a tornado hit overnight. A tornado tore apart buildings in Missouri's capital city as part of an overnight outbreak of severe weather across the state. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Read more JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) An outbreak of nasty storms spawned tornadoes that razed homes, flattened trees and tossed cars across a dealership lot, injuring about two dozen people in Missouri's capital city and killing at least three others elsewhere in the state. The National Weather Service confirmed that a large and destructive twister moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight Wednesday. The tornado cut a path about 3 miles long and a mile wide from the south end of Jefferson City north toward the Missouri River, said police Lt. David Williams. Emergency workers reported about two dozen injuries, Williams said, and around 100 of people went to shelters. Hospitals reported treating injuries such as cuts and bruises. There were no immediate reports of any deaths or missing people in the capital city of about 40,000, but door-to-door checks were being done Thursday. Many in Jefferson City considered themselves fortunate to survive. David Surprenant watched the storm approach then rushed to join the rest of his family in the basement. By then, the windows had started shattering and the pressure dropped. "It was just the eeriest sound ever, and it felt like it was taking your breath right out of you," Surprenant, 34, said. He and his family were unharmed. Kevin Riley operates a car dealership next to Surprenant's home, where he sells Chevys and Toyotas. He figured that 98 percent of the approximately 750 vehicles on the lot were damaged. Lincoln University President Jerald Woolfolk rode out the tornado in the basement of his official residence, and it may have saved his life. University spokeswoman Misty Young told the Jefferson City News-Tribune that the home, built 103 years ago, was so badly damaged it appeared to be uninhabitable. Weather forecasters had been tracking the storm before it arrived in the capital city, and sirens first sounded in Jefferson City at 11:10 p.m. about 30 minutes before the first property damage. Gov. Mike Parson credited the warning system in central Missouri for saving lives. The three deaths happened more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) away near Golden City in Missouri's southwestern corner. Kenneth Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found dead about 200 yards (180 meters) from their home, and Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed, authorities said. The National Weather Service said preliminary information indicates the tornado at Jefferson City was an EF-3, which typically carry winds up to 160 mph (260kph). The severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. This week has seen several days of twisters and torrential rains in the Southern Plains and Midwest. Kerry Ann Demetrius locked herself in the bathroom of her Jefferson City apartment as the storm approached. "It sounded like stuff was being thrown around, everything was just banging together, and then it just went dead silent," she said. She emerged to find the roof had been blown off her apartment building. Another natural disaster could be imminent in Jefferson City. Most of the city, including the tornado-ravaged section, sits on a bluff overlooking the south side of the Missouri River. But the swollen river is projected to top a levee on the north side of the river by Friday, potentially flooding the city's airport, which already has been evacuated. The Missouri Office of Administration said several state office buildings sustained damage, mostly roof damage. A tornado also skipped through the town of Eldon, population 4,900, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) outside Jefferson City, where it damaged the business district and "tore up several neighborhoods," Miller County Emergency Management Director Mike Rayhart said. But Mayor Larry Henderson said people in Eldon were counting their blessings: Despite all the damage, just one man was hurt, when the wind flipped his truck. Henderson did not have any details about the man's injuries. A twister also caused damage and several injuries in the town of Carl Junction, not far from Joplin, on the eighth anniversary of the catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in that city. Police Chief Delmar Haase said nearly three dozen homes had significant damage and several people sustained minor injuries. He estimated total damage in Carl Junction was "in the millions." The National Weather Service was trying to determine whether a single or multiple tornadoes hit the area Wednesday night along a path of 50 miles (80 kilometers). The severe weather was expected to push eastward Thursday, with forecasters saying parts of the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic including Baltimore and Pittsburgh could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, in the past few days. Two barges carrying a total of about 3,800 pounds (1,700 kilograms) of fertilizer broke loose Thursday and floated down the swollen Arkansas River in Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they hit a dam and sank. On Facebook, Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, warned the town's 600 residents: "If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!" The barges had been floating out of control, on and off again, since Wednesday night near the town of 600, which was under a mandatory evacuation order due to flooding concerns. Aerial footage from the Oklahoma City television station KFOR showed the moment of impact shortly before noon Thursday. The Army Corps of Engineers was checking the dam for damage. Near Tulsa, about a dozen homes were evacuated as the Arkansas River continued to swell. The potential for further flooding also prompted the HolleyFrontier Tulsa Refinery to temporarily shut down. Officials in Tulsa said additional residents may be asked to evacuate as the Army Corps of Engineers increases the flow rate at a dam northwest of the city to help drain a watershed flooded by severe storms. The National Weather Service was trying to determine whether a single or multiple tornadoes hit the area Wednesday night along a path of 50 miles. Missouri's three tornado fatalities bring to seven the number of deaths from storms this week. ___ Associated Press writers Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City; Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Jim Salter in St. Louis; and Ken Miller and Tim Talley in Oklahoma City contributed to this report. WASHINGTON One soldier is represented on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial three times. Thirteen others are etched there twice. Scores of names have been misspelled and corrected. Others have been misspelled and not corrected. And the names of at least 25 others who survived the war were mistakenly etched on the hallowed black monument to the Vietnam dead in Washington. These and other errors made over 37 years turned up in an exhaustive, four-year study of the Wall recently completed by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which oversees the Wall, its officials said Wednesday. And the review concluded that while the Wall bears 58,390 names, those names represent 58,276 people. Jim Knotts, president of the fund, said the organization wanted to know exactly how each name was inscribed on the Wall and compare that with the various databases of information on those killed in the war. The memorial, dedicated in 1982, commemorates the more than 50,000 Americans who perished in Vietnam during the conflict. Knotts said the fund wanted to develop a state-of-the-art digital database of the Wall's dead to create a new traveling replica of the Wall. The replica traverses the country to be seen by those who cannot visit the memorial. The old metal replica has now been replaced by one made of synthetic granite. "We needed to know exactly what's on the Wall warts, errors and all," he said. Tim Tetz, the fund's director of outreach who headed the review, said, "We literally had to be down there looking at it nose-to-nose with the Wall." Many names have been added over the years. Some names were marked with a small cross to denote people who were missing in action. If their remains are recovered, the crosses are changed to a diamond. The names of nine missing men whose remains have been recently recovered will be unveiled and read at the Wall on Memorial Day. After checking and rechecking available databases, fund officials took a master list to the memorial and checked it against the names on the Wall. They then built an accurate database of what was on the Wall, Tetz said. They knew the longest name on the Wall was Rodrigo Velazquez-Feliciano Jr., an Army staff sergeant from Penuelas, Puerto Rico, who died March 3, 1968. They knew the shortest names on the Wall were those of Ben Coy, an Army specialist from Houston who was 19 when he was killed June 20, 1967, and Pfc. Ned Lee, 24, of Flagstaff, Arizona, who was killed Feb. 8, 1968. They noted the case of Army Cpl. Rodney Helsel, who was killed March 11, 1970. His name was carved on the new Wall in 1982, Tetz said. But nearby, the name Rodney Heisel was also etched. In 1989, the Memorial Fund was directed to add a Rodney Helsel, reasoning that the name had been misspelled Heisel. Tetz said no one had noticed that it was already there correctly, a few inches away. Thus did the 21-year-old soldier from St. Joseph, Mo., become the only person represented on Wall three times, fund officials said. There are more than 60 names that were misspelled and later reinscribed. One was that of Chester Ovnand, who is believed to be among the first American service members killed in Vietnam. He and fellow Army adviser Dale Buis were killed July 8, 1959. Ovnand's name was originally misspelled Ovnard on the Wall. The error was noticed and the name was reinscribed later at another spot on the Wall. But the reinscription was wrong, too. We messed up his middle initial, Tetz said. So he is on the Wall twice both times incorrectly. The name of Elisha St. Clair was originally inscribed Elisha Saint Clair, and reinscribed correctly at the request of the family later, Tetz said. The 22-year-old Army staff sergeant from Newport News, Va., who was killed less than a month after reaching Vietnam, is one of those on the Wall twice. Other misspellings have gone uncorrected, for various reasons, Tetz said. One misspelled name Alfredo Ostolaza-Maldonado is so long that there is no space on the Wall where the correction will fit. A native of Santurce, Puerto Rico, Pfc. Ostolaza-Maldonado was a 27-year-old medic when he was killed Aug. 8, 1966, in a ferocious battle that also claimed the lives of 24 of his comrades. One soldier whose name is on the Wall, Mateo Sabog, showed up years after the war to claim Social Security benefits and was told he was dead, Tetz said. Sabog had left the Army at the end of his Vietnam tour, disappeared, and was presumed killed, Tetz said. His name went up on the Wall in 1993, at the urging of his family. He reappeared in 1996 in Chattanooga to claim benefits. He was then 73. He had last been seen by the Army in Ho Chi Minh City, then Saigon, in February 1970 as he prepared to return to Fort Bragg, N.C. But he never showed up. Another man, William Joyce, of Hyde Park, Mass., had tried to enlist and been rejected for unknown reasons, Tetz said. So he went to an adjacent town and enlisted in the Marines under the name of a neighbor, Richard Preskenis. After he was killed in battle, officials went to the Preskenis home to announce that Richard had been killed, Tetz said. The family answered that Richard was not in the service. But that information had not caught up with the official military records by the time the Wall was built, Tetz said. The names William Joyce and his nom de guerre, Richard Preskenis, are both on the Wall. What you see over and over in this is an abundance of care to try to recognize people, even though there were errors, Knotts said. It was better to add [names] than leave someone off. Clockwise from top left: U.S. Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon, Chrissy Houlahan, Madeleine Dean and Susan Wild, all Pennsylvania Democrats, have split on whether to begin an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. (YONG KIM / Staff Photographer; ANDREW HARNIK / AP; ED HILLE / Staff Photographer; JACQUELINE LARMA / AP). Read more WASHINGTON Theyre known as The Fab Four, a group of freshman Democratic women who broke into Pennsylvanias all-male delegation together and forged a quick bond. But when it comes to the most consequential debate now confronting Democrats, the four are split. Two, from deep-blue districts, have called for an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Two from swing districts say that theyre not ready and that the party is better off focusing on kitchen-table issues, like health care. The different stands within the group of friends mirror the wider party split among House Democrats as they wrestle with Trumps stonewalling of Congress. The debate gained new energy this week as Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon, of Delaware County, and Madeleine Dean, of Montgomery County, joined a growing chorus of more than two dozen Democrats urging their party to launch an impeachment inquiry, arguing that Trump and his administration have defied Congress constitutional authority with his blanket refusals to answer subpoenas. Their close colleagues, Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, of Chester County, and Susan Wild, of Lehigh County, said it was too soon. So did New Jersey Reps. Jeff Van Drew, of Cape May County, and Andy Kim, of Burlington County. All four Democrats won moderate House districts that had been held by Republicans for decades, and three of them are prime targets in 2020. "Im not at that place at this point in time, Houlahan said. "I dont think weve exhausted all of the abilities that we have as a Congress through subpoena, through the courts, through the pressures of our leadership. When I look at the list of things that our constituents have called us about sixth or seventh on the list is issues of impeachment, and its equal on both sides. Constituents are much more focused on concerns such as gun laws and womens reproductive rights, she said. Wild said she would rather focus on lowering community college costs. I have tremendous respect for my Pennsylvania colleagues who have come out and said that its time to proceed, Wild said. Im not there yet. Where local Democrats stand Supporting an Impeachment Inquiry Rep. Madeleine Dean, Montgomery County Rep. Dwight Evans, Philadelphia Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Delaware County Opposing Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Chester County Rep. Andy Kim, Burlington County Rep. Jeff Van Drew, Cape May County Rep. Susan Wild, Lehigh County Unclear/No comment Rep. Brendan Boyle, Philadelphia Rep. Donald Norcross, Camden County Why the debate matters The debate has left Democrats weighing what they see as their constitutional oversight duty against fears of political backlash. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has urged her caucus to focus on the issues that brought them the House majority, and has worried that an impeachment inquiry will give Trump exactly the political cudgel he wants. She argues the normal investigative process can work, if given time, noting that federal courts twice sided with Democrats this week over subpoenas seeking Trump financial documents and tax records. And with the GOP-controlled Senate all but certain to block an attempt to remove the president, some Democrats worry that impeachment would damage their chance to oust Trump in next years election. A national poll released by Monmouth University this week found that only 37 percent of registered voters said Trump should be reelected, but 56 percent oppose impeachment. Yet a growing chorus of Democrats is raising the pressure on Pelosi to relent. Trump has issued a blanket refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas as Democrats attempt to investigate his finances, evidence that he tried to derail the Russia investigation, and his administrations policies. The final straw for many came on Tuesday, when former White House counsel Don McGahn defied a subpoena to testify. Its really highlighting the fact that this is a rogue presidency, Scanlon said, pointing to the court rulings against Trump. She dismissed concerns about fallout. I dont think everyday Americans in our community who cant ignore a subpoena for a parking ticket are going to look favorably upon an administration that ignores subpoenas from Congress or defies court orders," Scanlon said. Democrats believe special counsel Robert Mueller left it to Congress to act when he declined to either recommend charges or clear Trump of obstruction. They want to air the evidence showing interactions between Trump associates and Russia and Trumps attempt to have Mueller fired. This president has tried to obstruct justice. Any other person on this planet, in this country, would have been charged, Dean said. She also stressed the difference between support for an impeachment inquiry an investigation of the presidents conduct and impeachment charges, which would attempt to remove him from office. Trump has derided the investigation as a witch hunt and an attempted do-over. Why some Democrats wont go there For some Democrats, the last two elections show how to combat Trump. When Hillary Clinton focused on Trumps character in 2016, the thinking goes, she lost. When candidates talked about health care, guns, or the environment in 2018, they won the House. Lots of those who flipped swing seats, including Kim, Van Drew, and Wild, are urging their party to stick to the second approach. Kim has tried to turn attention to his bipartisan bill to help states establish health insurance exchanges. It passed the House last week. I dont support opening impeachment proceedings right now, Kim said in a statement, adding that Trumps intransigence "has brought the business of lowering health-care costs and creating jobs to a grinding halt. Van Drew, who put out a news release on rural broadband access while colleagues were talking impeachment, told Fox Business the point now is we want to get some work done. Not every Democrat from a moderate district is resisting. Rep. Tom Malinowski, who won a central New Jersey district long held by Republicans, said he is prepared to support an inquiry. We are seeing an all-out across-the-board challenge to the rule of law on the part of the president, Malinowski said. I want it to be said that we met the test in the right way. Wild hinted that she may eventually join him. We werent sent here to set out to impeach the president," she said, but if thats where the evidence leads us, then thats a different issue. Brian Kennedy, the man accused of fatally shooting his ex-wife in a Radnor Wawa in March, arrives for court to a preliminary hearing in Radnor, PA, on May 16, 2019. Read more The man who authorities say walked into a Radnor Wawa store in late March and gunned down his ex-wife pleaded not guilty Thursday. Brian Kennedy, 34, of Devon, who has been charged with first- and third-degree-murder, criminal homicide, reckless endangerment, and related crimes, will face trial. Police said he shot Stephanie Miller, 37, at the Wawa where they had for years picked up and dropped off their young son as part of a child-custody agreement. Miller, an occupational therapist, had been at the Wawa on the night of her death believing her ex was going to drop off their 6-year-old son, authorities said. In court for his arraignment Thursday, Kennedy said nothing when brought before Delaware County Judge Richard M. Cappelli. His lawyer, Michael S. Dugan, agreed to a June 24 pretrial conference with prosecutor Michael J. Mattson. A trial date has not been set. Around 8:20 p.m. March 28, a surveillance camera captured Kennedy as he backed his black BMW into a parking spot in front of the Wawa on Sugartown Road, where employees said he was a regular customer. From the trunk, he took out a DTI AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that he had legally purchased 12 days earlier, then walked into the store looking angry and determined, said an employee who witnessed the attack. Kennedy was three feet from Miller in the store when he shot her up to six times in less than a minute, authorities said. Miller, whom friends and family called a loving and attentive mother to her son, was pronounced dead at the scene around 8:30 p.m. Two hours later, Pennsylvania state troopers found Kennedy suffering from an overdose in his car at a park in Glen Mills. He was hospitalized for several days before he recovered and was transferred to the Delaware County prison. For years, Kennedy had maintained a hostile relationship with Miller. He was bitter about not being able to spend more time with his son, court records show he had custody of the child only three days a week and he was incensed that she rebuffed his repeated attempts to reconcile. Miller filed for a temporary protection-from-abuse order in February 2013 after Kennedy threatened her in her car, pushed her out of the drivers seat while the vehicle was stopped, and drove off, leaving her without her belongings, according to the county court records. Three years later, in 2016, Kennedy stood behind her in the line at Wawa and whispered in her ear a chilling threat. "Get that [expletive] life insurance policy before I kill you, he said, according to a protection-from-abuse order Miller was later granted. The order lapsed last September. The Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice, at 1301 Filbert St. in Philadelphia. Read more Websites and computer programs linked to Philadelphias court system have been shut down since Tuesday afternoon, according to sources. The First Judicial District has experienced a virus intrusion on a limited number of computers," city spokesperson Mike Dunn said in a statement Thursday. To safeguard other systems, the district and the citys Office of Innovation and Technology shut down certain court IT functions to fully review and clean the operating systems, Dunn said. This is a necessary step to contain the virus. Added Dunn: This was not a data breach nor a ransomware attack. All court proceedings are taking place as scheduled. Because of the precautions, certain computer operating systems and websites the First Judicial Districts website and the online civil docket search have been inoperable. Online criminal dockets, which are on a statewide portal system, are still accessible. The cautionary shutdown also affected electronic programs, including the eFiling system for civil and criminal cases, used by attorneys to file pleadings, motions, and petitions. And the public Criminal Document Management System, which allows people to access court filings at public computers in the Stout Center for Criminal Justice, also has been inaccessible. People can still look at paper files. During the shutdown, court staffers have not been able to access their work email. It was not known Thursday when the computer programs and websites would be running again. Defense attorney Fortunato Perri Jr. said Thursday that his office uses the eFiling system regularly. With the system down, weve simply had our couriers delivering motions to the court, he said. Dunn said city government computers have not been impacted by the virus. The First Judicial District tweeted Wednesday: We are currently experiencing network issues with our website. We are working to restore connectivity. We apologize for the inconvenience." On Thursday, the court system tweeted notices asking people who want to file documents to be patient, saying that emergency civil filings can be made in person in Room 296 at City Hall and criminal filings can be made in person at the Office of Judicial Records in the Stout Center. Suzette Crawford holds a photo of her brother, Robert Crawford, fatally shot in 2003 by Lavar Brown, who remains on death row despite the DAs push for him to get resentenced to life. She wants Brown to stay on death row. Read more In August 2014, Tam Minh Le took three men captive in his Southwest Philadelphia garage. He and four masked associates tied up, blindfolded, and beat Vu Kevin Huynh and his brother Viet Huynh, who owed a $100,000 drug debt, and their friend Tan Voong. Le and his conspirators then drove their targets to the Schuylkill, stabbed them multiple times, and dumped them into the river. Both Huynh brothers were weighted down with tar buckets. Voong clambered out of the river and told police what happened. In December 2016, a Philadelphia jury convicted Le of the brothers murders, and declared he should be put to death. Like most death-row inmates, Le appealed his sentence. He claimed, among other issues, that the states death penalty was unconstitutional. Philadelphia prosecutors had fought his appeal until last September. Nine months into the tenure of new District Attorney Larry Krasner, the office made an about-face in the case. In a clarifying position letter to the state Supreme Court, one of Krasners new deputies wrote that prosecutors after close consideration, determined that it could not continue to argue for affirmance of the capital sentence in this case, at this time. Les case, still pending, is not an outlier. A review by The Inquirer shows that Krasner has taken steps or signaled a willingness to overturn more than one-third of the death sentences for the 45 Philadelphia convicted murderers currently on death row, often by effectively abandoning any challenge to the appeals. In court filings, Krasners office has cited varying reasons, at times agreeing that defendants had ineffective lawyers or should have been found intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty. The issue is not guilt or innocence, but whether the killer deserves to die. Among those who the DAs Office agreed should be removed from death row is Ronald Gibson, who fatally shot off-duty Philadelphia Police Officer Frederick Dukes and another bar patron during a botched robbery on Christmas Eve 1990. Gibsons arguments include that he was a victim of racial discrimination during jury selection and that then-Supreme Court Justice Ronald Castille should have been precluded from considering his appeal because Castille was the citys district attorney when prosecutors decided to seek the death penalty. Krasner, a Democrat and former criminal defense attorney, had made clear while running for office his opposition to capital punishment. I will never seek the death penalty ever, he said in a 2017 campaign video. The DAs Office is not required to do it and theres no good reason to do it. It costs a fortune. We dont execute anyone anyway, and Philadelphia does not have to remain the only city in the Northeast that still has the death penalty. But his efforts to reverse death sentences in years-old convictions have raised concerns among law enforcement officials and victims advocates about whether his office has been transparent with victims families. They also have brought pushback from those who say Krasner is attempting to impose his agenda by asking courts to undo punishments decided by juries. In one filing last year, a former ranking Philadelphia prosecutor now working for the state Attorney Generals Office said letting new district attorneys invoke prosecutorial discretion to overturn past verdicts and decisions could lead to chaos in the courts. Each new prosecutor could quickly work to reverse every legal precedent of predecessors with whom he disagreed, said the brief from Ronald Eisenberg, senior appellate counsel in the AGs Office. Thousands of convictions would be in jeopardy every four years; the law would be a seesaw. Nullifying the jurys verdict Asked to elaborate on the offices stance on death-row appeals, Krasners spokesperson Ben Waxman said all post-trial decisions about whether or not to pursue the death penalty are considered by a committee within the District Attorneys Office, which then makes a recommendation. "Each post-trial death penalty matter is considered individually and carefully on many different criteria, depending on the claims raised, Waxman said in an email Wednesday. Other so-called progressive district attorneys in the 30 states where the death penalty still exists have taken similar stances on capital cases. In Missouri, newly elected St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who vowed never to seek the death penalty, has agreed to halt his offices opposition in the handful of death-row appeals that have arisen this year. In Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston and once was considered the capital of capital punishment, District Attorney Kim Ogg, who took office before Krasner, has declared she would seek the death penalty only in rare cases, such as killings of police officers. And public sentiment appears to be swinging in their direction. In a national Gallup Poll last year, just 49 percent of the respondents said they believed the death penalty was applied fairly, the lowest percentage since Gallup first asked the question in 2000. Despite having 139 men on death row, Pennsylvania hasnt executed an inmate since Philadelphia serial killer Gary Heidnik in 1999. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has said that his 2015 moratorium should continue in light of a Joint State Government Commission report last summer that found cause for grave concern in the status of the death penalty. State Sen. Sharif Street and State Rep. Chris Rabb, both Philadelphia Democrats, are among lawmakers who in April announced a plan to introduce legislation to end the states death penalty, saying it is unsuccessful as a crime deterrent, incredibly costly, and flawed. There are, however, no signs the bill will gain traction in the Republican-controlled legislature. Asked about their proposal, State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) replied: I do not take the issue of the death penalty lightly. However, in the most cold-blooded cases, the death penalty is an appropriate punishment when the evidence is clear." The Philadelphia killers now on death row arrived there over decades, from Henry Fahy, sentenced in 1983 for the rape and murder two years earlier of a 12-year-old girl, to Le, sent there after his conviction in 2016. (Fahy does not have an active appeal.) In Les case, the district attorneys Sept. 26 letter to the state Supreme Court clarifying its position was written by Paul George, whom Krasner had hired in February 2018 to be assistant supervisor in the Law Division. During his practice as a defense attorney, George had advocated against the death penalty for clients including Linda Ann Weston, ringleader of a decade-long scheme to enslave and exploit mentally disabled people. George noted that the DAs Office in the month prior had taken the position that Les capital sentence should be affirmed but that because of ensuing events, the office now was taking a change in position. (In his statement, Waxman said prosecutors have not agreed that Tam Minh Le should be sentenced to life in prison but rather have not settled on a stance.) In his filing, George wrote that he could not argue for Le to be executed until the state Supreme Court resolved the appeals of two other Philadelphia death-row inmates. One is Jermont Cox, convicted of three separate drug-related murders in 1992 and ordered to die for one of them. Federal public defenders representing Cox and another death-row inmate from Northumberland County are asking the high court to end capital punishment, citing last summers commission report and arguing that the death penalty violates the state constitutions ban on cruel punishment. In his September letter, George praised Coxs petition, writing that it brought into sharp focus serious issues regarding the administration of capital punishment and also caused the Commonwealth to reassess Les case. George also referenced Coxs petition in a May 3 response to an appeal by Borgela Philistin, sentenced to die for fatally shooting Police Officer Robert Hayes and wounding his partner, Officer John Marynowitz, during a June 1993 traffic stop. He said he wants to wait until after his office responds to Coxs petition before replying to Philistins appeal. The DAs position regarding this grave constitutional question has not yet been fully formulated, he wrote in the Philistin matter. Three other inmates are also on death row for killing Philadelphia law enforcement officers: John Jordan Lewis, who shot Police Officer Chuck Cassidy; Darien Houser, who killed First Judicial District Sgt. Joseph LeClaire Jr.; and Christopher Roney, who shot Police Officer Lauretha Vaird. Krasners office, as in other death-row cases, has not said whether it still seeks the death penalty for the three. But Krasner signaled last year that he wont push for the death penalty even for cop-killers when he agreed to let Carlton Hipps and Ramone Williams plead guilty and receive life sentences for fatally shooting Sgt. Robert Wilson III during a 2015 GameStop robbery. Signs of pushback against the offices new stance began to emerge months after Krasners arrival, during the appeal of Lavar Brown. Brown had been sentenced to die for fatally shooting Robert Crawford in December 2003 in North Philadelphia. It was his second murder that year. In April 2018, George filed a joint motion with Browns federal public defender, agreeing that Brown should get off death row and be sentenced to life in prison. In a subsequent brief, George called his offices move to abandon the death penalty a policy-based decision and wrote that the office saw no reason for [the high court] to expend judicial resources reviewing the case. He contended that Brown had ineffective counsel during the penalty phase of his trial. In a bid to bolster the argument, 43 current and former prosecutors nationwide filed an amicus brief supporting the Philadelphia DAs position and arguing that prosecutorial discretion extends beyond a conviction. One signer was Miriam Krinsky, executive director of the group Fair and Just Prosecution. In an email to The Inquirer, she contended the practice of prosecutors in reviewing past death sentences is increasing and is entirely consistent with the ethical obligation of prosecutors to address past miscarriages of justice. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court invited the state Attorney Generals Office to weigh in. Thats when Eisenberg, who had led the Philadelphia DAs Law Division but left before Krasner arrived, argued that the justices must still conduct review of Browns appeal or they would be acting as rubber stamps. He also noted the potential precedent of letting Krasners office, without an evidentiary cause, reconsider past convictions: After trial and on appeal, prosecutors are without authority to undo the jurys verdict, even for policy-based reasons. The high court agreed. In the majority opinion in October that denied Browns appeal, Justice Christine Donohue wrote that the DAs Office, after having previously sought and obtained the death sentence for Brown, cannot now seek to implement a different result based upon the differing views of the current office holder. A similar judicial challenge has emerged in another case. Krasners office in February had asked U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg to vacate the death-penalty sentences of Robert Wharton, convicted of the 1984 strangulation and drowning deaths of a pastors son and daughter-in-law in their East Mount Airy home. City prosecutors said that after reexamining the case and communicating with the victims family, they were conceding Whartons claim that his trial lawyer was ineffective and that Wharton deserved life in prison instead of lethal injection. The turnabout perplexed the judge. The DAs Office previously had zealously opposed Whartons appeal and suddenly had a complete reversal of course, Goldberg wrote in a March opinion. He denied the petition and asked the office to explain its position. In response, prosecutors wrote that their responsibility includes changing course, if a prosecutor determines that the facts and law require a position different from that previously taken. Goldberg wasnt swayed. On May 7, he asked the state Attorney Generals Office to weigh in. [I]t appears as though the District Attorneys Office has accepted the additional evidence offered by [Wharton] at face value, without exploring whether contrary views may be viable and worth considering, he wrote. Former Philadelphia district attorneys Lynne Abraham and Castille, who had once served as the Supreme Court chief justice, said the courts invitations to the AGs Office were unusual. As a general proposition, when the case was dismissed, when the verdict was upheld on appeal we didnt try to nullify the jurys verdict, Abraham told The Inquirer. Thats what hes [Krasners] doing. Hes nullifying the jurys verdict. Beyond the legal challenges are questions about whether the DAs Office has been notifying victims families when it changes position on sentences, as required under the state Crime Victims Act. The mother and sisters of Lavar Browns victim, Robert Crawford, said they had not been informed by the DAs Office that it agreed to a life sentence for Brown. Suzette Crawford, 51, one of the sisters, said the family learned from investigators in the Attorney Generals Office about the DAs new stance. Waxman, Krasners spokesperson, disputed that in a March email, contending that a victim-services supervisor had told the victims mother of the DAs motion. Tram Huynh, 41, sister of the brothers tortured and killed by Le, said in a phone interview last month that nobody informed me that the DAs Office had said it would not continue to fight to keep Le on death row. He deserved it," she said. At West Chester University, a statue of the mascot is near the library. ( CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer ) Read more Pennsylvanias state university system and its faculty union have agreed on a voluntary retirement program that could help the cash-strapped system as it faces its ninth straight year of projected enrollment decline. Nearly one-fifth of the unions 5,150 full-time faculty members would be eligible under the plan, which allows faculty to retire in phases over a three-year period. Their workload and pay would be gradually reduced, while they maintain full benefits. Those who qualify generally must be at least 60 and have worked at least 15 years in the system. Its a great opportunity for our faculty, said Kenneth M. Mash, president of the statewide faculty union, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. Im happy we were able to get it done, and we were able to work together relatively quickly to get it done. Just how much money the universities could save is uncertain. System officials have not released savings projections. Mash estimated that a total of a couple hundred faculty members may opt in over the next few years. In a routine year, a couple hundred faculty members retire, he said. Under the phaseout plan, an additional 60 or 70 per year may choose to leave, he speculated. Thats a total guess, he said. I do know there are a lot of people who have asked me about it, who are excited about it. Interested faculty must notify the system of their interest by June 12; the phaseout would begin in the fall. Faculty members typically teach eight classes per year. The idea is not new. Pennsylvania State University, which is not part of the state system, has offered phased-out retirements, as have other schools. At the state system, the plan comes as another 2 percent enrollment decline is projected for the fall and some universities are struggling to close projected budget gaps. The 14-university system dipped below 100,000 students last school year for the first time since 2001. The universities are: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Slippery Rock, Shippensburg, and West Chester. Daniel Greenstein, system chancellor, was not available for comment, a system spokesperson said. In announcing the agreement last week, Cynthia Shapira, chairwoman of the board of governors, said the program is an example of system leadership and faculty working together. Mash said he understands that the college systems administrators see the plan as an opportunity to save money by replacing senior professors with cheaper faculty or not replacing them at all, depending on their subject and if it has been hit by a decline in enrollment. Were concerned about that, he said, noting that the union will monitor the plans implementation. The system is likely to face another cash crunch for 2019-20. But just how much cutting will be necessary wont be known until the legislature passes its budget. Administrators asked for a $38 million funding increase, and Gov. Tom Wolf proposed $7 million. They also have begun negotiations on a new contract with the faculty union; the current pact expires June 30. Faculty agreed to a one-year contract last time, following a three-day strike in 2016. President Donald Trump reacts to the crowd after speaking to a campaign rally in Montoursville, Pa. Read more A traveling Trump merchandise seller in a camouflage Make America Great Again hat was charged with assaulting and robbing another vendor shortly after the presidents visit to Lycoming County on Monday. According to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, Willie Edward Singleton, 29, of South Carolina, is accused of stealing about $500 from another vendor who had dropped a large amount of bills on Jordan Road in Mountoursville. The men were leaving President Donald Trumps hour-long rally at Williamsport Regional Airport. A struggle ensued, the paper reported, and Singleton allegedly punched the man unconscious and watched him fall into the street. Singleton also allegedly stole the mans chain and a silver watch. The victim fled to a nearby store and called police, telling them that his assailant wore a red MAGA hat. When police caught up with Singleton, they found hed switched out the red hat for a camouflage one, and police discovered folded $20 bills in his pockets, according to Pennlive.com. Singleton, according to the Sun-Gazette, is on probation in South Carolina for burglary, firearms and domestic violence charges. In Montoursville, he was charged with two counts of robbery, simple assault, harassment, and theft. He remains in the Lycoming County prison on $300,000 bail. Pennlive.com reported that Singleton told a district judge that he traveled to Montoursville to sell Trump memorabilia, wasnt employed, and had used drugs in the past 24 hours. The victim was treated for cuts to his legs and face. . Share Icon Link copied to clipboard The UpShot: Want to dance on water? Youll have to practice The Trisha Brown Dance Company will perform in unexpected places in September - including the Discovery Center's reservoir. John Harkins seen at his desk at Germantown Friends School. Read more John Harkins, 82, formerly of Philadelphia, the Lower School principal for two decades at Germantown Friends School, died Tuesday, May 7, of congestive heart failure in Seattle, where he had moved in 2018 to be near family. Dr. Harkins was a Quaker and longtime member of the Germantown Monthly Meeting. He believed in kindness, helping those who needed him, and the power of education to transform lives, he told his family. Born in Philadelphia, he graduated from George School, a Quaker day and boarding school near Newtown, Bucks County. He loved his high school experience, daughter Kate said he told her. He earned a bachelors degree from Haverford College, also a Quaker school; a masters degree from Harvard University; and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Harkins began his career as a teacher in 1967 and 1968. He joined the faculty at Germantown Friends in 1969 as principal of the Lower School. He encouraged Lower School teachers to experiment with new methods, his daughter said, and was a personable but unconventional leader. He was always a relaxed presence, known by the students and trusted by the faculty, often popping into classrooms or reading to students, the school said in an online remembrance. He did not hesitate as principal to come to Germantown Friends Lower Schools Halloween celebration as the Tooth Fairy, nor to open the window and blow his trumpet outside, she said. As a principal, he was kind, so students didnt mind being sent to the principals office. When Fred Calder left his job in 1986 as principal of Germantown Friends, Dr. Harkins volunteered to become acting headmaster for a year while the school searched for a new head. When the post was filled, he reverted to his old job in the Lower School. Although he left Germantown Friends in 1989 to head the Friends school in Mullica Hill, the lively spirit and educational innovation he brought to Germantown Friends endured, the school said. Dr. Harkins served as headmaster at Mullica Hill from 1989 to 2000. He was the fifth and longest-serving head of the school. He believed that the arts, care for the environment, and related themes that could be taught to different grades at the same time were important to a good curriculum. Perhaps his greatest assets were his visions of a quality education in which the ultimate test was the character of the learners, and his capacity to help people achieve together more than they had dreamed of accomplishing apart, the school posted on its website May 17. In 1999, he helped establish Orchard Friends School in Riverton. The school is designed for students with learning differences, its website says. He enjoyed being a leader at Camp Dark Waters in Medford and Camp Onas in Ottsville, Pa. He built or sewed whatever he needed and was ready to repair anything from a door hinge to a bicycle, his daughter said. He made beer, poetry and friends. In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Meg, and two grandsons. A son, Andrew, died earlier. A meeting for worship will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at Germantown Friends Meeting, 47 W. Coulter St. Burial is private. Donations may be made to Germantown Friends School, 31 W. Coulter St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144. Marcus Hutchins, a British cybersecurity expert, during an interview in Ilfracombe, England in May 2017. The British cybersecurity researcher credited with stopping a worldwide computer virus in 2017 has pleaded guilty to developing malware to steal banking information. Federal prosecutors in Wisconsin and Hutchins attorneys said in an April 19, 2019 filing that the 24-year-old is pleading guilty to developing the malware and conspiring to distribute it from 2012 to 2015. Read more Michaela Gabriella King faces a maximum of 14 years in prison on computer felony charges. Her crime? In 2016, the Franklin Regional High School computer nerd from Murrysville, about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh, uploaded a virus that flooded her school network and other school districts and agencies with data, causing them to crash a few times for 10 to 45 minutes. She apparently did it for fun. Prosecutors and her lawyer are still working on a plea deal; they, or a sentencing judge, will determine her future. And thats too bad. Cases like Kings reveal a problem with computer-related prosecutions. Lawyers and judges are, for the most part, uneducated about technology and cybersecurity. Some federal judges have never touched a computer; in 2010 about 12 percent were age 80 or over. How do you mount an effective defense or preside over a case without speaking the language? Most dont know how young hackers like King like to best each other by showing off their skills. Legal practitioners often dont realize that young defendants may have more tech smarts than common sense, and are often interested in online experimentation, even if it violates the law. That should mitigate their sentence. A wired world needs Tech Courts. As crime increasingly occurs in the virtual realm, outdated laws and policies dont differentiate between curious programmers and criminals. U.S. computer-crime laws are harsh, prompting cries of unfairness when citizens of other countries are arrested here. Specialized technology courts would bring justice to cases confounding the legal system. Tech Courts might work like this: Persons charged with computer crimes appear before a panel of computer experts, a tech-proficient lawyer, and a community service placement counselor who supervises offenders for a set period of time. The panel assesses intent. Was the motivation to defraud? I was curious how NASA security systems work is worlds apart from I needed to sell credit-card data for money. Individuals who acted to hurt someone, to profit, or spread malware proceed to criminal court. If they acted out of curiosity, to challenge their skills, or to search for system vulnerabilities, they remain under Tech Court jurisdiction and perform computer-related community service. Tech-savvy judges make sentencing decisions. In tech court, public service assignments might include teaching computer security, conducting penetration testing, and testing software. This model could inspire other hackers to pursue cybersecurity careers. The nation needs those with innate skills to help fill the fields enormous job shortage. A high-profile case is that of British cybersecurity researcher Marcus Hutchins, who slowed a 2017 worldwide malware contagion. Soon after, authorities arrested him for writing and selling malware. He recently pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to two counts of hacking for the earlier infraction. Facing up to 10 years in prison and fines of half a million dollars, the 24-year-olds fate is in a judges hands. Tech Courts could weigh mitigating evidence in each case. Hutchins was young when he wrote the malware, and he went on to devote himself to cybersecurity. Given his public pledge to devote time to protecting others from malware attacks, his sentence should be community service. King, too, has likely learned her lesson by staring down potential years in prison, and would be better suited for service. Specialized courts focusing on one type of offense, such as drugs or domestic abuse, are gaining popularity. The National Institute of Justice reports over 13,000 such courts as of 2015. A judge supervises collaborative interventions. Following that model, tech courts could reduce practices of pushing defendants to take plea deals or become confidential informants and encourage them to make more substantive contributions to cybersecurity issues instead. In 2000 Jonathan James hacked into NASA and the Department of Defense. In doing so, he exposed system vulnerabilities. Twenty years later, the Defense Department remains insufficiently protected. In 2018, the watchdog Government Accountability Office called for urgent action to address cybersecurity challenges, deeming government information security a high-risk area. Meanwhile, curious computer experimenters keep finding ways to break into top systems. Instead of enlisting their help, prosecutors lock them up. Tech Courts, in the tradition of other successful community alternatives to incarceration courts, present a practical and cost-effective way to safeguard our wired world. Not all hackers have to be public enemies. Lets not treat them that way. Heidi Boghosian is an attorney and the author of Spying on Democracy (2013). Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Mayors Jim Kenney and Bill Peduto recently coauthored an op-ed explaining why they oppose Pennsylvania Senate Bill 531 (SB 531), which prohibits local governments from regulating firearms. SB 531 shouldnt be necessary. It largely reiterates the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act, which itself reiterates Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which in turn, reiterates the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. How many times and in how many forms does a law have to be enacted to be accepted by the political class? Mayors Kenney and Peduto call for commonsense gun laws, but what they want is nothing of the kind. Many gun owners would and do welcome commonsense legislation. A recent Pew poll found that almost 90 percent of both Republicans and Democrats agree that people with mental illnesses should be prevented from buying guns. More than 80 percent of both Republicans and Democrats agree that people on no-fly or watch lists should be barred from buying guns. And these opinions arent driven by people who have no experience with firearms. More than 70 percent of polled Americans have fired a gun at some point, and almost half grew up in a household with guns. There is actually tremendous agreement on what reasonable people would call commonsense regulations. That politicians like Mayors Kenney and Peduto see things differently is telling. The mayors cast themselves as protectors of the people, saying that Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have no choice but to pass and enforce laws that protect our residents. But common sense would admit that guns can be used defensively as well as offensively, and when police are minutes away, making it harder for citizens to use guns defensively achieves the exact opposite outcome the mayors claim to seek. A 2013 report on gun violence commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that defensive gun use by victims ranges from 100,000 to 3 million instances per year. By comparison, there were around 11,000 murders by firearm in the U.S. in 2017. Even if the studys most conservative estimate overestimated the defensive use of firearms by a factor of 10, its still the case that defensive gun uses equal or outnumber murders. By the numbers, making it harder for law-abiding citizens to obtain guns could easily result in more deaths, not fewer. Common sense would not ignore this possibility. Common sense would also require that proposed gun laws have some meaningful effect. And this is where so many efforts at gun control lose the support of reasonable people. In response to the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, Mayor Peduto recently signed a gun-control ordinance that bans a variety of weapons in Pittsburgh. But, had it been in place at the time, this ordinance would have done precisely nothing to prevent that shooting. Without checkpoints and searches at the citys limits, anyone who wants to bring a banned gun into Pittsburgh need merely do so. The new regulation makes for great public relations, but for improving safety, it makes no sense at all. One might argue that doing something anything at least makes a statement. If anything could be done without cost, and if anything did not make people less safe, one might have a point. But laws are costly to pass. Drumming up support for new legislation costs political capital. Researching, writing, and communicating proposed laws costs financial capital. And theres the opportunity cost of diverting the machine of government away from other important concerns. If, as data on defensive gun use suggest, the anything actually makes people less safe, then doing nothing might be far better than doing anything. Common sense says that the mayors are wasting our time and resources railing against a proposed law that reiterates an established law, which reiterates the Pennsylvania Constitution, which reiterates the United States Constitution. If the mayors truly want a solution that reflects common sense, they should begin by treating gun violence as the mental-health issue common sense says it is, rather than the gun issue political sense says plays to their partys base. But abandoning political sense for common sense is foreign to most politicians even in the best of times. And now, with election season on the horizon, we can expect politicians to be talking about whats good for the voters while peddling whats good for themselves. To expect better from them is simply not common sense. Antony Davies is associate professor of economics at Duquesne University. James R. Harrigan teaches in the department of Political Economy and Moral Science at the University of Arizona. They host the weekly podcast, Words & Numbers. A memorial of flowers, balloons, a cross and photo of victim Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, are displayed on the lawn, Friday, May 17, 2019 in Chicago, outside the home where Ochoa-Lopez was murdered last month. Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy says a pregnant Ochoa-Lopez, who was killed and whose baby was cut from her womb, was strangled while being shown a photo album of the late son and brother of her attackers. Read more Fifty years ago this summer, Charles Manson went on a killing spree that shocked the nation and was the ghoulish gold standard for heinous crimes. While some killers have been more prolific (like the Rev. Jim Jones) and some have been more photogenic (like Ted Bundy), and some have been more controversial (like Phillys own Kermit Gosnell), no one has captured the imagination of the nation like the man who led a cult and convinced young women to murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate, four others in her home, and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in 1969. Manson was originally sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to life with the possibility of parole after California invalidated the states death penalty statute in 1972. Manson died a natural death after living a wholly unnatural life. Most of his accomplices are alive, and still in prison. I believe that all involved in these crimes should have been put to death decades ago. Regular readers of this column may raise an eyebrow, since Ive recently written about the right to life and the dignity of unborn human life. I believe we have an obligation as a society to protect that life. I do not believe that it is hypocritical to be pro-life and support the death penalty. A society that does not have the death penalty is a society that doesnt honor human life. If we refuse to invoke the ultimate penalty against those who commit the ultimate forms of violence, we are saying that the life of the criminal matters more than the life of innocent victims. We are making a choice between honoring the dignity of those who did nothing wrong, and feeling compassion for those who abused the social contract in so visceral and violent a way that they have lost all right to its protection. I was reminded of this recently when reading about another crime that makes decent people wonder how the human mind is capable of planning and executing such horrors. Last month, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, a young pregnant teenager in Chicago, was strangled to death, and her 9 month old unborn child was cut out of her dead body. The mother was then thrown into a trash can, and the child was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Three people have been charged in the murder a mother, her daughter, and the daughters boyfriend. The details of the murder are as gruesome as the events in Los Angeles 50 years ago. It is a situation that screams out for the most drastic penalty. People who can commit this type of crime are not capable of rehabilitation. There is no spark of humanity in them that can be ignited, because that light was extinguished well before they committed the crime. This is why the death penalty is necessary, if only to remind ourselves that decent people can be honored by dealing an equally gruesome fate to the monsters who hurt them. The death penalty gives us a mechanism to balance out the evil in the universe with some measure of justice. That was a lesson 50 years in the making. Phillies' catcher J.T. Realmuto consoles pitcher Vince Velasquez after throwing a two-run homer the Tigers' Niko Goodrum during the 3rd inning at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Read more CHICAGO -- Vince Velasquez returned Wednesday afternoon to the visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field covered in sweat after throwing off a mound for the first time since a strained forearm sent him to the injured list 11 days earlier. There was no pain, Velasquez said, and the bullpen session provided a good test. Whats next? Not sure, Velasquez said. But hes confident that the role hes working toward is in the starting rotation. I know theres a lot of talk, but thats my spot, Velasquez said. I believe that 100 percent. Velasquez was replaced in the rotation by Cole Irvin, who started Wednesday night after pitching well in his first two starts. The demoted Nick Pivetta was replaced by Jerad Eickhoff, who has also pitched well. Despite Velasquezs confidence, there is not an obvious rotation spot waiting for him. I dont see it as a right, manager Gabe Kapler said. I see it as if its whats best for the Phillies that he come back and rejoin the rotation, then he will. "And if whats best for the Phillies is for Jerad Eickhoff and Cole Irvin to continue to take down starts and utilize Vinny in some other fashion, thats what well do. Well always put the best interests of the organization first, and because we dont have all the information, its very difficult to make the decision right now. Velasquez, Kapler said, will be moved to the bullpen if he is unable to rejoin the starting rotation. The Phillies bullpen has been thinned by injuries. The unit could benefit from a pitcher like Velasquez, who would have the ability to be used either as a multiple-inning reliever or a three-out weapon. I think that arm could do all of those things. But theres more nuance to it than just the arm and the talent, Kapler said. Theres how resilient would he be in that role? How comfortable would he be getting ready quickly? How comfortable would he be expending all of his emotional energy then coming back and doing it again two days later? Envisioning Velasquez in the bullpen, Kapler said, is similar to how the team dreamed a year ago about Seranthony Dominguez. The Phillies transitioned Dominguez in the minors from a starter to a reliever. A month later, he was Kaplers No. 1 reliever. A season later, the Phillies could try a similar move. The move, Kapler said, has been on the table for a while. I think it requires more discussion. I dont think were there to make that assessment yet, Kapler said. I think that those conversations are ongoing and they take some time to crystallize and they havent quite crystallized yet. "Theyre more in the discussion stages and not in the clear action step stage. But the potential that he fills that role is real, meaning he has the physical capability and tools to make that work. Extra bases Aaron Nola will start the series finale Thursday afternoon against Cubs lefthander Jon Lester. ... Jerad Eickhoff will start Friday in Milwaukee followed by Jake Arrieta and Zach Eflin. The Brewers will start right-handers Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, and Brandon Woodruff. I am deeply concerned about the rumors that the administration plans to bypass Congress and sell weapons to foreign governments, including the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, Senator Bob Menendez said in a statement Thursday. Read more (Bloomberg) The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned the Trump administration not to bypass a congressional hold to sell billions of dollars worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. I am deeply concerned about the rumors that the administration plans to bypass Congress and sell weapons to foreign governments, including the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, Senator Bob Menendez said in a statement Thursday. The possible consequences of this will ultimately jeopardize the ability of the U.S. defense industry to export arms in a manner both expeditious and responsible, he said. I will pursue all appropriate legislative and other means to nullify these and any planned ongoing sales should the administration move forward in this manner. Its been more than a year since Menendez blocked $2 billion worth of precision-guided munitions kits to Saudi Arabia and another $1 billion worth of the same kits to the United Arab Emirates. On Wednesday, the New Jersey Democrat said in an interview he heard rumblings that the administration planned to use an emergency declaration to circumvent the hold, and he warned that that such action would set a dangerous precedent and unlock a whole host of other actions. His remarks followed a tweet from Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, saying President Donald Trump may use a loophole in the Arms Control Act in a way that will prevent Congress from objecting. Menendezs hold on the sale has lasted much longer than it usually takes Congress to review arms deals. Both Democrats and Republicans have urged the U.S. to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the October killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi and for its role in Yemens civil war. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie Asseo 2019 Bloomberg L.P. This summer, keep an eye out for the magic school bus tricked out with peace signs and plenty of flower power: the Old School Shave Ice bus. Owned by longtime Encinitas resident Jeff Anshel and his partner Ginnie Mathews, the Woodstock-themed bus serves up authentic Hawaiian shave ice, tasty treat combinations with a hint of rock n roll like Kiwi Hendrix and Sergeant Peppermint, a blend of cotton candy, candy cane and cherry. Anshel, an optometrist at E Street Eyes in Encinitas likes to say that with his new adventure, he has gone from eyes to ice. A happy Old School Shave Ice customer. Courtesy There is a difference between what most of us thought was just an ordinary snow cone and true Hawaiian shave ice, Anshel said. Snow cones are made by simply crushing ordinary ice cubes. The shave ice is a very fine and fluffy ice that looks more like snow and the ice holds the flavor syrup better. The couple got the idea to bring a bit of Hawaii to the mainland from their regular visits to Kauai where Anshels son who has lived for several years. They looked into it and didnt find much true Hawaiian shaved ice offerings on the market in San Diego. We tossed around the idea and Ginnie made it very clear that if we were going to do it, she wanted to do it right, Anshel said, which meant no artificial dyes, no corn syrup and maintaining a sense of environmental responsibility by using eco-friendly materials such as compostable cups, recycled paper napkins, cornstarch spoons and bamboo paper straws. She wanted to do it old school. Building on that old school theme, Anshel came up with the idea of using an old school bus. He found a 20-foot-long, vintage 1982 school bus from a Northern California high school district and submitted the winning bid on a government auction site. Friends helped him customize the bus to include on-board freezers that will hold up to 50 blocks of ice and they had it renovated to take it back to the Woodstock days to play on that old school nostalgia. Perhaps the hardest part of the process was jumping through all the hoops required for a food truck, acquiring a license to operate and ensuring that all state, local and health requirements are met. It was an adventure, Anshel said. Were excited about it and looking forward to getting it out there more. Music from the Woodstock era plays while you wait for your treat and the Woodstock theme was carried on in the names of the custom flavor combos like Grateful Red, Joplin Jubilee, Pink Froid, Three POG Night and Ba-Nah-Nah which pairs peanut butter, chocolate and banana. Im an old hippie so it kind of worked out, Anshel said. Guests to the bus can choose between 31 natural and organic flavors, ordering a four-ounce short board or the eight-ounce long board cup. The offerings they have include pitaya, which is made from dragon fruit and is similar to Acai in that it has a dose of antioxidants. They also offer the choice of adding a snow capa creamy, sweet topper of condensed milk. Its a great treat and we make em pretty big too, Anshel said of their generous servings. Old School Shave Ice owners Jeff Anshel and Ginnie Mathews. Courtesy When Old School does catering for private events, they can also offer adult versions like margaritas, daiquiris or a tequila sunrise. The bus debuted at an MS Society event in Mission Bay in October 2018 and made an appearance at the Encinitas Street Fair in November. It was 80 degrees that day and we kicked butt, we did great, Anshel said, adding they have gone on to be included in events with Encinitas Little League and the North Park Art Fest. As they are a fairweather business, it has been a challenge with all of the rain this year but Anshel said they are being patient and looking forward to their first summer. They will be at the Amanda Post Charity Run on June 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at La Costa Canyon High School, the end of the year bash at Paul Ecke School on June 1 from 1-5 p.m., and at Concept Surf Shop for the entire week of June 3 during its summer surf camps, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. When they have been out, Anshel said the response has been great, he loves to see people posing for photos with the colorful bus and enjoying an authentic icy treat. Its really been fun, thats the good part of it, Anshel said. BENTON, KY. Nine volunteers left Pennsylvania for Kentucky the day after Christmas to volunteer as Good Samaritans in a region of the country still devastated from the remnants of an EF4 tornado that killed 88 people. Many of the volunteers are members of the Brandywine Baptist Church in Downingtown. Departing the day after Christmas [] The line of Sense retorn - No turning back up Pared de Catalunya at Mont Rebei in Spain first ascended by Siebe Vanhee, Roger Molina, Jorge Solorzano and dedicated to Hansjorg Auer Photo by David Lopez Campe Siebe Vanhee and Jorge Solorzano making the first ascent of Sense retorn - No turning back up Pared de Catalunya at Mont Rebei in Spain Photo by David Lopez Campe Siebe Vanhee making the first ascent of Sense retorn - No turning back up Pared de Catalunya at Mont Rebei in Spain. The rock climb has been dedicated to Hansjorg Auer Photo by David Lopez Campe Sense retorn, new climb up Mont-Rebei in Spain in memory of Hansjorg Auer 23.05.2019 by by Planetmountain On Pared de Catalunya at Mont Rebei in Spain Siebe Vanhee, Roger Molina and Jorge Solorzano have made the first ascent of Sense retorn - No turning back, a new rock climb dedicated to Hansjorg Auer. Over 10 days in April 2019 Belgiums Siebe Vanhee teamed up with Spains Roger Molina and Jorge Solorzano to make the first ascent of a demanding new rock climb up the Pared de Catalunya rock face on the immense Mont-Rebei on the border between Cataluna and Aragon. Navigating past difficulties up to 7c+ and often through sections of loose rock, the trio forged the route ground-up using cams, pitons, skyhooks, stoppers and, when left with no other choice, here and there an obligatory bolt. Vanhee returned on 5 May with Miguel Mas to make the first free ascent of what has now been called Sense retorn - No turning back, in memory of their friend Hansjorg Auer who perished along with David Lama and Jess Roskelley while climbing Howse Peak in Canada in April 2019. After the ascent Vanhee explained the following: "I cant think of a way more beautiful to remember Hansjorg climbing. "If climbing is the thing that makes you happy in life, well do it and live that life" (Hansjorg would state). Sense Retorn is the new route on "Pared de Catalunya" in Mont Rebei, Spain, opened ground-up in 4 days (27/04 30/04) together with Spanish maquinas Roger Molina and Jorge Solorzano. I managed to freeclimb the 9 pitches in one day (05/05) with a minimum of bolts and a maximum of removable protection and pitons. For the whole free ascent I was supported by Catalan climber Miquel Mas. Two 7c+ pitches on adventurous terrain (read: loose and sometimes hard to protect) make this climb a big challenge! Also the mid 7th grade pitches provide a pure mental challenge. Some of the pitches are entirely clean (of protection) and climb exposed pieces of rock! Some poor rock quality alternate with magical pieces of solid rock. Its the line we had hoped for, respecting the pure ethics and culture of Montrebei. Which is ground-up climbing using removable protection like friends, nuts and slings as well as the use of a hammer and pitons while opening the route. Some pitches have bolts for when it was really impossible to climb on removable protection. Free climbing and onsighting on virgin terrain in this style is what I dreamed off! The importance this route holds for all three climbers can only be underlined. Vanhee stated "Because of the pure character of the climb, the intense moment in my life with the loss of a good friend and climbing partner, we (Roger, Jorge and myself) dedicate this climb to Hansjorg Auer. "Sense Retorn" is the Catalan expression for "Without Return", a free translation of Hansjorgs latest movie No Turning Back. His movie is pure, true and sincere, all the things the new route requires to be climbed. Freeclimbing Sense Retorn gives no option to return, the only way is up! This is also the message I want to give to all fellow climbers who lost a friend. Sit still, mourn and climb on with your friend in your heart." Sense Retorn starts 40 meters left of Manolo Primera El Grande (365m A3+/6b), established in 1995 by Manuel Lopez. On its 5th pitch Sense Retorn crosses the 6th pitch of the Manolo route and the new climb shares 15 meters, protected by the original bolts placed by Lopez. No new bolts were added to this section in order to respect Lopezs route and those who wish to repeat it. Links: FB Siebe Vanhee, www.siebevanhee.be, www.petzl.com Romain Lewis Talks GPI, Online Success and Team Pro Seminars May 22, 2019 Will Shillibier Romain Lewis had a stellar 2018, with a top-10 ranking in the WSOP Player of the Year leaderboard after three top-10 finishes in bracelet events. PokerNews caught up with the Winamax Team Pro to see how he has started 2019. "Rozvadov seems like a world ago to be honest," he said. "I've been playing quite a lot of live tournaments." Chasing GPI Points From the Caribbean to Australia, Lewis has kept up his passion for poker, and he now sits as the fourth-ranked Frenchman in the GPI Rankings. That's something he said motivates him. "I had real objectives with the GPI for last year, because I started really well. So, I just wanted to play the maximum amount of tournaments that I could. And that live focus has continued into 2019 with the Aussie Millions, which was just by far the best experience of my life. "Every day we'd wake up, have an amazing coffee, play in an amazing tournament, bust but then still have the greatest day. Because how can you not?" Romain Lewis' 2019 hasn't start off ideally in terms of results. Keeping up a positive attitude has been key for Lewis, as he admitted the results haven't been there thus far. He's only cashed for around $80,000, putting him far behind his 2018 pace, when he won nearly $1 million. Lewis called it "disappointing." "I've had a lot of bad results but that's how it goes and I'm definitely going to keep playing, studying and working, but I've still got a lot of objectives for the year and a lot of live tournaments to play." Grinding Online With the year barely halfway through, Lewis has recently turned his attention to the online felt with Winamax's online series, during which he played every single tournament on the schedule, all 173 tournaments. "I've never done that before," he said. "It was an objective of mine to get back online and to play a lot. I won two tournaments and I think I came third in the Series leaderboard." Lewis did indeed come in third, ahead of fellow Winamax Team Pro Davidi Kitai who finished sixth. That means in addition to extra currency, he has bragging rights among his fellow Team Pros. The two events gave him a total of three wins in the recurring series, something he been using as ammo to needle others on Winamax's expanding roster. Team Pro Camaraderie This is Lewis' third year as a Winamax Team Pro, and he recently took part in his third seminar where all the Team Pros gather together to discuss everything to do with poker. "We get together for three days in the south of France, and it's period where the whole team spends most of the day getting to know each other, but three or four hours of the day there are organized chats about strategy, mental game and high-performance excellence," Lewis said. "This year we had Stephane Diagana who is a former French hurdle World Champion come speak to us, and he had a whole presentation about how he kept his motivation and belief up in his career. And when we compare our sport to another sport we can see some parallels and we learn so much from these opportunities." Each year, the Winamax Team Pros appear to get a real boost out of the seminar last year, Adrian Mateos took down the SISMIX in Marrakech and this year, Sylvain Loosli won a 10,000 High Roller in Monte Carlo. "It definitely boosts us because we're always talking about performance and how to get better." "With so many different people, we all get a lot out of it," Lewis said. "Say Joao [Vieira] is presenting a tournament, and there's a disagreement on a certain hand. There are going to be some people who are going to be experts in that situation. And we're always going to try and get the best out of those different situations. "It definitely boosts us because we're always talking about performance and how to get better." After Monte Carlo, the Winamax Team Pros are back together here in northern Spain for the SISMIX, and Lewis says it's great to have some more time spent with the team. "This is a really fun week. It might be low buy-ins for all of the Team Pros but we're also here to be together, and if we bust and go to the pool we'll find at least four of five pros and friends there. It's half seminar and half a poker stop for us." Will Givens Bags Lead Day 1b of the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America May 23, 2019 Adam Lamers It was another long day of poker at the Playground Poker Club for Day 1b of the CA$10,000 Main Event in the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America. After a hard-fought 10 levels, just 107 players survived to move on to Thursday's Day 2. The remaining 258 players will gather in the same for the first time when the action resumes. Leading the way among those survivors is American poker pro Will Givens. He will head into Day 2 with 6,285,000 chips, far and away the chip leader from Day 1b. Things got started in the right direction for Givens when he made aces up against Elliot Smith just before the dinner break. Givens nearly doubled his stack and he kept the momentum rolling into the latter stages of the day. With over $2 million in career tournament winnings, Givens will be looking to add another trophy to his collection along with a nice payday. Some other big names near the top of the leaderboard at the end of the day include Canadians Jonathan Dwek (4,330,000) and Michael Farrow (4,315,000) along with Spanish high-roller Sergio Aido (4,195,000). Aido is recently coming off a Super High Roller win at EPT Monte Carlo and is showing no signs of slowing down. This is Aido's second bullet for the tournament but he got things started right today when he jumped out to an early chip lead. Forced to move tables a couple of times, Aido eventually found himself on the same table as other notable names such as Sam Greenwood, Orpen Kisacikoglu, and Paul Michaelis. One of the largest pots of the day came when Aido and Michaelis both flopped a pair of aces but Aido's king-kicker eliminated Michaelis who had a queen-kicker. Sergio Aido After a larger than expected field turned out for Day 1a, today was a bit slower since 151 players had already booked their spot in Day 2. When late registration closed after four levels, there were a total of 217 entries for the day. That brought the total number of entries to 521 for this event, surpassing the CA$5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. The day turned out much better than the previous one for the partypoker team members in the field. Ludovic Geilich (3,855,000), Anatoly Filatov (2,900,000), Bertrand Grospellier (2,655,000), Kristen Bicknell (1,865,000), and Mike Sexton (1,200,000) all made it through the day unscathed. Joni Jouhkimainen, Philipp Gruissem, and Jeff Gross were among those that were eliminated. A few other players to keep an eye on include Antonio Esfandiari who quietly went about his business to bag an impressive 3,255,000 chips. Esfandiari hasn't played much poker since last year's World Series of Poker but is looking to get back into the swing of things before the summer series. Ari Engel (3,235,000) is always dangerous when playing in his home country and Kisacikoglu also bagged over three million chips with 3,125,000. Sandy Lam Heads Into Day 2 with the Chip Lead The opening flight of the 2019 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America Main Event drew to an end on Tuesday, May 21 after 10 levels of play. A total of 151 players have made their way to Day 2 and it was Sandy Lam bagging up the Day 1a chip lead with an impressive stack of 6,840,000 chips. This surpasses the 6,285,000 bagged by Givens on Day 1b to give her the chip lead heading into Thursday's Day 2. Sandy Lam in the chip lead heading into Day 2 of the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America Main Event. While Lam is a recreational poker player hailing from the United States, she managed to find her way through one of the toughest fields in this CA$10,000 Main Event. Lam has just one recorded cash in her poker career of under $1,000. Lam is looking to change that this week with at least a five-figure score and she is well on her way to accomplishing that feat. A couple of notable names are sitting within striking distance of Lam including German high-roller Manig Loeser. Coming off a recent victory worth over $670,000, Loeser bagged up 6,620,000 chips and is looking to keep the momentum rolling in Montreal. Armin Rezaei (5,790,000), Jonathan Concepcion (5,320,000), and Georgiy Filippovich (5,305,000) round out the top five chip counts. Manig Loeser heads into Day 2 in second place. The day got started with around 150 players in their seats but that number continued to escalate quickly through the four levels of late registration. With no re-entry option available on the same day, the action started off rather slow. When registration closed after four levels, there were a total of 304 entries, surpassing the halfway mark of the CA$5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool. Some of the big names to be eliminated throughout the day include Patrick Serda, Sergio Aido, Scott Seiver, Ema Zajmovic, Alex Lynskey, Jeff Gross, Taylor Black, Anatoly Filatov, Ludovic Geilich, and Darryll Fish. None of the partypoker team members were able to find a bag, however, some of the online qualifiers found better success. Leo Liberal (1,790,000), Daniel Dubeau (730,000), Matthew Urban (255,000), and Samuel Gagnon (235,000) will all return for Day 2 with a shot at turning their rags into riches. The action will resume on Thursday, May 23 at 12 p.m. EST with the blinds resuming at 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante. Another ten 60-minute levels are on the schedule and the players are not expected to reach the money until early on Day 3. Continue to follow along with the PokerNews live reporting team for all of the action throughout the entire event. 1.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard On the same day that Trump claimed that Democrats couldnt legislate and investigation, the House Judiciary Committee passed permanent protections for Dreamers. Chairman Nadler tweeted: Just now, @HouseJudiciary voted to pass HR 2820, the #DreamAct. This vital legislation will finally provide permanent protections for Dreamers. A historic day for so many and I proudly recommend it to the House for final passage. pic.twitter.com/zjGQBi5txH (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) May 22, 2019 Rep. Nadler also said, This legislation creates a program to allow Dreamers who came to the United States before the age of 18, and who meet other, very specific, eligibility requirements, to earn permanent residence. It is undeniable that Dreamers enrich our nation. They are an essential part of our communities, where they contribute to our thriving economy and make America a stronger, more united, and more diverse nation. Dreamers come from many different backgrounds and all walks of life, but they are connected by one common threadtheir commitment to this country. If we do nothing to protect Dreamers, hundreds of thousands of these young people will remain at risk of imminent removal from their homes and separation from their families. They will be sent to countries where they likely have minimal tiesand, in many cases, no ties at all. House Democrats, Unlike Trump, Can Do Two Things At Once On the same day that Trump broke out what is the lamest argument against investigating him, Democrats immediately proved the president wrong. Just because Donald Trump and his really big brain cant do two things at once doesnt mean that the House of Representatives is like him. The House has been passing legislation on gun violence, healthcare, and lower drug prices among other issues. The accomplishments of House Democrats get buried in the Trump drama, but it is a certainty that if Democrats keep the House and win back the Senate and White House, the Dream Act will become law. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard The House Oversight Committee reached an agreement with Trumps lawyers to expedite the appeal hearing for his financial records. Democrats could have Trumps financial records shortly The House Oversight Democrats announced that arguments would begin on July 12 with everything completed by the end of July. House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said in a statement, I was very encouraged earlier this week when the District Court issued its strong ruling supporting Congress right to conduct investigations, and I am encouraged that we have now been able to reach this agreement to seek an expedited appeal. I hope the Court approves our request so we can move forward and effectively discharge our responsibilities under the Constitution. Trumps stall tactics are failing in the courts Trump has quickly seen his legal strategy go up in smoke. The courts are blowing his arguments out of the water because it turns out that I dont want to is not a valid constitutional defense to deny congressional oversight. Trump thought that he could do the same thing as president that he has done in business. He assumed that he could use the presidency to drag out legal cases and wear down his opponents, but it turns out that his strategy only works if the Executive Branch has a legal leg to stand on. Trump does not, which is why his bad days are only going to worse in the weeks to come. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 3.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Speaker Pelosi drove Trump bonkers, and then followed it up by owning Kellyanne Conway when she tried to get in the way. Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post reported: After Trump abruptly left legislative leaders meeting today, Kellyanne Conway asked Pelosi if she wanted to respond to what Trump had said. "I'll respond to the president, not staff," Pelosi said. "Wow, that's really pro-woman of you," Kellyanne Conway said back, per aides. Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) May 22, 2019 Kellyanne Conway pulled her usual stunt of pretending like she is more important than she really is, and Nancy Pelosi smacked her down. Pelosi isnt just the highest-ranking elected Democrat in the entire country, she is also a political force of nature who gets to Trump like no one else. People have no idea what Kellyanne Conway does in the Trump administration, but she decided to get in Nancy Pelosis way, and she got steamrolled. Just like Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway is no match for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 988 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard NEW YORK (Reuters) New York states legislature on Wednesday passed a bill that would make it easier for U.S. congressional committees investigating President Donald Trump to get access to his state tax returns. The Democratic-controlled state Assembly and Senate voted along party lines on the measure, which would circumvent his refusal to hand over his federal tax returns to Congress. New York Republicans who opposed the bill called it an abuse of power that fed into the political designs of Democrats in Washington, the Albany Times-Union reported. It now goes to Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo for final approval. Trump has refused to release any of his tax returns, breaking a decades-long tradition of U.S. presidents making their personal finances public to demonstrate that they have no conflicts of interest. Although the bill does not name Trump, it allows the state Department of Taxation and Finance to share state tax return information with a congressional committee that requests it. Much of the information submitted in New York state tax returns is similar to that on federal forms. Trump and Democrats who control the U.S. House of Representatives are locked in a battle over their ability to investigate him. The president is stonewalling multiple congressional investigations by ignoring subpoenas, refusing to allow current and former advisers to testify, and not handing over documents. For example the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee requested Trumps federal tax returns by subpoena but the request was denied by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trumps personal home and the headquarters for his business are in New York, requiring him to file state tax returns in addition to his federal returns. New York has a unique role to help head off the constitutional crisis brewing between Congress and the White House over refusal to comply with the request for Donald Trumps tax returns, said the bills sponsor, Senator Brad Hoylman, according to the Times-Union. We are affirming Congress role as a co-equal branch of government and the sacred constitutional principle that nobody is above the law, not even the highest elected official in the land. In comments to reporters on Wednesday, Trump criticized Democrats for continuing their wide-ranging follow-up to Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe. I dont do cover-ups, Trump said, responding to a charge made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just moments ago. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the New York legislation. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing by Jonathan Oatis) A majority of Del Mar City Council members agreed this week to support state legislation that would allow San Diego-area coastal cities to establish limits on short-term vacation rentals of residences. Encinitas Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath wrote AB 1731, which was expected to be voted on by the Assembly in Sacramento as soon as Wednesday, May 22 (after press time for this newspaper). If passed, the bill would then advance to the Senate floor. The proposed law would allow year-round short-term rentals of homes where the owner lives on the premises. Residences owned by absentee landlords would be limited to short-term rentals for 30 days out of the year. The bill also would permit cities to adopt stricter regulations. In part, AB 1731 is similar to an ordinance approved by the Del Mar council that limited short-term rentals in residential areas to 28 days per year and required a minimum of seven-day stays per rental. Del Mar is among popular destinations throughout the state that are attempting to limit short-term rentals made available through websites such as Airbnb. Jurisdictions often receive complaints from residents about noise, rowdiness and reduced parking resulting from the rentals. The California Coastal Commission, however, blocked Del Mars ordinance and the city is challenging the commissions action in court. Boerner Horvaths bill would presumably override the commissions stance against Del Mars restrictions. Councilmembers Ellie Haviland, Dwight Worden and Sherryl Parks voted Monday, May 20, to send a letter of support in favor of the bill, while Councilwoman Terry Gaasterland opposed the letter. Mayor Dave Druker, who wanted the letter to be revised, abstained from the vote. By Lauren Tara LaCapra (Reuters) The U.S. census should include questions about criminal records to help policymakers get former convicts back into the workforce, a Republican lawmaker said on Wednesday. Senator Mike Lee of Utah suggested the idea at a hearing about the economic impact of the Census. It may add a new layer to a political battle over what questions the U.S. Census Bureau should include on its decennial survey of U.S. residents. How many people are out of the labor force because of their criminal records? Lee asked at a hearing in Washington by the Joint Economic Committee, which he chairs. Finding the answer might help policymakers identify what impact our laws might be having on them that we didnt intend, he added. Lees suggestion was supported by testimony from American Enterprise Institute (AEI) economist Nicholas Eberstadt, who argued that U.S. economic statistics have a gaping hole when it comes to people with criminal records. Eberstadt, who wrote a book about male underemployment, noted that men with arrest records are more likely to be unemployed than those who have had no trouble with the law. Although it is too late to include a question on this issue on the 2020 Census, doing so on future surveys could help the federal government formulate policies to get ex-convicts back into the labor force, Eberstadt said. It is an enormous blind spot and, given the realities of life in our country today, a critical and inexplicable statistical oversight, he said. The Trump administration wants to ask respondents to next years survey whether they are citizens. Most Republicans support the proposal, while Democrats, immigrant advocates and demographers oppose it, saying it will discourage participation which could result in undercounts that in turn could deprive some communities of funds and political representation. The Census determines how the federal government distributes some $900 billion in aid, as well as seats in Congress. Harvard researchers predict the citizenship question would lead to an undercount of more than 4 million Hispanic residents. The citizenship question has been tied up in litigation since U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross first announced plans to include it in March 2018. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision soon. Adding a new question to the Census usually requires extensive testing and consultation with lawmakers because the Census Bureau tries to balance a desire to obtain as much useful information as possible with the reality that fewer questions lead to better response rates. Adding controversial questions means people are less likely to participate. Eberstadt also suggested asking about secular or religious affiliation, saying this could affect how lonely or happy or connected people feel toward their communities. A 1976 law governing the Census prevents compelling people to disclose information about their religious beliefs or membership. Democrats dismissed the idea. U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York who is vice chair of the committee and active on census issues, said it is a nonstarter. Proposing the citizenship question has taken us down a troubling path, she said in a statement provided to Reuters. The idea of adding questions to the census on criminal history would take us further and further away from our goal, which is 100 percent participation in the census. Eberstadt was one of four panelists speaking at Wednesdays hearing. Others include Andrew Reamer, a professor at George Washington University; Howard Fienberg, a lobbyist with the Insights Association; and Mallory Bateman, coordinator of the State Data Center at The University of Utah. Other panelists emphasized the importance of Census data for businesses and the economy. Some highlighted the risk of a significant undercount in 2020. The Census Bureaus own research has shown theres a climate of fear, said Reamer, noting that some participants in test surveys had run out of the room when asked about citizenship. (Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall, David Gregorio and Richard Chang) 854 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard WASHINGTON (Reuters) As the U.S. government prepares to defend the 2020 presidential election from cyber threats, the federal agency charged with helping administer elections, the Election Assistance Commission, says it is strained to the breaking point, according to Chairwoman Christy McCormick. Obviously were a very small agency and quite under funded, McCormick said on Wednesday during a House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing. Were stretched very thin. McCormick told lawmakers the agency is seeking additional funding from Congress. That funding is part of a sweeping election reform package, known as H.R. 1, which passed the House earlier this year but has yet to be voted on in the Senate. Multiple federal agencies, including the Justice Department, Homeland Security Department and intelligence community, play a role in protecting U.S. elections from foreign interference. The Election Assistance Commission is responsible for setting standards and guidelines for election officials and voting equipment makers. But since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the agency has also taken on additional responsibilities related to cybersecurity, McCormick said. Were asking for more money so we can hire more staff to meet the demands. The EACs mission has expanded since it was created, said McCormick. We didnt have the cybersecurity needs at the time. We always worried about election security but since 2016, this is an additional mission for our agency. And weve stepped up in every way we can given the resources we have. Those comments follow a prediction in late April by FBI Director Christopher Wray that the Russian government and others will likely attempt to meddle in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Lawmakers expressed concern on Wednesday about the EACs ability to perform its responsibilities because of a lack of resources. The pressure on you and the work that needs to be done has risen exponentially and youre trying to do this with less resources and less people, said Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Stephen Lynch. I am worried. McCormick told lawmakers last week that the agencys budget had been cut by 50 percent since 2010, when it had 49 staffers. If theres going to be any practical impact on what happens in 2020 given the threats that have been discussed here today, urgent action is needed, said Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin, who also testified during the same hearing on Wednesday. Particularly at the level of the EAC. (Reporting by Christopher Bing; Editing by Alistair Bell) 1.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Frank Figliuzzi said that Donald Trump came close to violating federal bribery laws when he refused to do his job if Democrats wont stop investigating him. Trump cant go a week without committing a crime Figliuzzi said on MSNBCs Deadline: White House, Heres the other neat thing I see through my law enforcement he cant go a week without committing or coming close to committing another crime. What no one is seeing yesterday is that he came close to violating the bribery statute, it says whoever offers or promises a thing of value to an official to induce or stop them from taking an official act is committing a crime. What did Trump do yesterday, he said if you stop investigating me, I will get your legislation done. A thing of value if you stop doing something of value for me. And no one is talking about that. But in plain sight once again the president is coming close to violating the law. Video: Frank Figliuzzi said that Donald Trump came close to violating federal bribery laws when he refused to do his job if Democrats wont stop investigating him. https://t.co/TYHP36DkQM pic.twitter.com/zmtShgblFG PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) May 23, 2019 Crime comes so naturally to Trump. He easily slides into crime in the same way that people put a jacket on before they go out on a chilly day. Crime has been Trumps constant companion, and he doesnt seem to know what to do with himself if he cant commit crimes. Trumps criminal attitude is why impeachment doesnt matter. If Trump gets impeached, he wont stop committing crimes. If Trump were removed from office tomorrow, he would be back in Trump Tower committing crimes the day after. Nancy Pelosi triggered Trump into potentially violating bribery laws because no matter what the situation, Trumps go-to move is to commit a crime. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Pete Buttigieg slammed Trump for being a rich kid who faked a disability to avoid serving in Vietnam. Here was the exchange: Q: You believe he faked a disability? Buttigieg: Do you believe he has a disability? At least not that one. This is somebody who, I think its fairly obvious to most of us, took advantage of the fact that he was a child of a multimillionaire in order to pretend to be disabled so somebody could go to war in his place. Video: Pete Buttigieg Is A Veteran. Donald Trump Is A Fraud. Trump has never released the medical records of his bone spur that kept him out of the Vietnam War. Pete Buttigieg served his nation in Afghanistan. Donald Trump has mocked war heroes and attacked Gold Star families as he dodged serving his country. The big difference between 2016 and 2020 is that Democrats are coming after Trump on everything. They arent taken by surprise by Trump. Democrats have four years and counting worth of material to use on this president, and in 2020, they have a roster of candidates like Pete Buttigieg who are qualified to call out this president for his cowardice and lack of service to his country. Someone lost a son, a brother, a boyfriend, father, or friend because Donald Trumps daddy bought him out of going to Vietnam. Trump was born a child of privilege who has lived an insulated life of privilege. Trump has no clue what it is like to be an American who has to worry about paying their bills or dying in a war. Trumps a fake. A man who would fake a disability to avoid serving his country would have no problem with committing crimes to win and keep the presidency. America has learned the hard way that character matters in a president. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Charleston, SC (29403) Today Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 74F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 60F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Iowa Democrats called on Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst to tell President Donald Trump his trade war with China is producing more casualties than victories in rural America. "When President Donald Trump campaigned here in 2016, he promised to fight for farmers and for working Iowans," former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge said last week. However, his trade policies have produced retaliatory tariffs by China and are "driving down income and creating uncertainty for producers." Iowans need leaders who will "stand up for Iowas agricultural economy and hold this president accountable," said Judge, who ran against Grassley in 2016. Grassley, who is third in line to the presidency, and Ernst "have the clout to speak to the president and have effect on his policies," she said. Since they "dont seem to be able to do that, we need to hold them accountable," Judge said during a conference call hosted by the Iowa Democratic Party. ADVERTISEMENT Republicans pushed back, standing by the presidents policies. "Iowa farmers know that America needs to stand up to China for its abusive trade practices, including the theft of American intellectual property and anticompetitive subsidies of Chinese industries," Grassley spokesman Michael Zona said. Ernsts office also pointed to action she has taken as vice chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee as well as in meetings with the president "to be extremely clear and transparent with the administration in the urgent need to get a fair trade deal done," her spokesman Brenda Conley said Ernst, who grew up on a southwest Iowa farm, focuses is on supporting Iowa farmers, including co-sponsoring a farm debt relief legislation with Grassley. Iowans believed the president when he said the trade war with China would be short and produce results quickly, said Tim Gannon, a farmer who was the Democratic nominee for Iowa agriculture secretary. As it has continued, especially in light of new tariffs imposed by both the United States and China in the past week, "its starting to shake that confidence." Gannon and Judge also called on the field of Democratic presidential candidates visiting Iowa to talk about the impact the trade policies are having on Iowa and rural America. "Its incumbent on the candidates who are traversing Iowa to talk about what they would do differently and lay out that vision for an economy that doesnt leave agriculture and rural America behind," Gannon said. Judge cited an Iowa State University report that found the Trump tariffs last crop year cost the state economy $2 billion. Lower commodity prices the grain market is at a 42-year low, according to Bloomberg resulted in $110 million less in Iowa tax revenue, she said. ADVERTISEMENT "Take the tariffs off so we can start moving products back into Canada and Mexico," Gannon said. "That would help Iowans, our dairy producers, cheese, pork, corn, soybeans back into markets weve built over time." DES MOINES, Iowa Iowa farmers will have the option of growing industrial hemp next year under a law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Iowa Hemp Act passed the Legislature with overwhelming support last month with just one no vote in the Senate and three in the House. The bill allows licensed growers to cultivate the crop on up to 40 acres. Before that can begin, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship must develop a plan and submit it for approval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA must still release its own regulations this fall and hopes to have things in place for farmers to begin growing hemp during the 2020 planting season. "Were excited for growers in Iowa to have the same opportunities to compete as their peers in other states," Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a statement. "Weve collaborated with other state agencies as well as law enforcement officials to prepare for the deregulation of hemp in Iowa. We advise growers to do their research to be sure there is a viable, profitable market for commercial hemp before they make the investment." Industrial hemp can be used in food, fiber, paper, beauty products and other products and the industry estimates it could grow nationally to be a $1.9 billion market by 2022. ADVERTISEMENT "Its an exciting time to be riding this watershed moment in the agriculture community," said Dr. Christopher Disbro, a medical doctor who founded the Iowa Hemp Association, a nonprofit organization working to reintroduce hemp as an agricultural crop. He said those who may benefit most from a rapidly expanding hemp market are rural communities and family farmers who incorporate it into their soybean and corn rotations as a third crop. He said its difficult to estimate how many farmers will decide to grow hemp. "If its any indicator my phone has not stopped ringing since it cleared the House this year," he said. "Farmers all over the state want to get involved in varying degrees. Some want to process, some want to get into small organic production, others want the larger fiber crops." Iowa State University field agronomist Angie Rieck-Hinz said she too has received lots of calls from interested farmers. "Its very crucial to farmers to tell them that its great youre excited about a new opportunity, but you need to figure out what youre growing it for, where the market is and the best piece of advice is to get a signed contract that guarantees you the payment," she said. Rieck-Hinz said research must go into how to cultivate hemp, how it will fit into a rotation of crops and how to harvest it. She said shes learning from neighboring states. Minnesota is in the third year of a pilot program and Wisconsin just completed its first year. The number of states moving toward legalized hemp production has accelerated since the federal government eased restrictions in the 2018 Farm Bill removing industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances and allowing states to regulate industrial hemp production. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa A fifth farmer involved in nearly $140 million scheme to sell fake organic grain was convicted last week in federal court. John Burton, 52, of Clarksdale, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 10 in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of the scheme, which started in January 2010 and continued through 2017, he admitted that grain grown on non-organic fields was marketed and sold as organic. Burton sold non-organic grain to Randy Constant, of Chillicothe, Mo., who would sell the grain through his brokerage, Jericho Solutions, in Ossian, Iowa. Constant and the three other farmers, Tom Brennan, James Brennan and Mike Potter will be sentenced Aug. 16. Burtons sentencing hasnt been set. SIOUX CITY, Iowa Arkansas-based meat processor Tyson Foods is suing a federal agency for $2.4 million, saying it had to destroy 8,000 carcasses because a federal meat inspector lied about checking hogs at a plant in Iowa. Yolanda Thompson, who works for the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety Inspection Service, signed certificates suggesting she had checked slaughtered hogs at the Storm Lake plant in March 2018, Tyson said. The company noted that video footage indicated Thompson never entered the plant and actually approved the inspections while sitting in her automobile. Tyson filed suit on May 14 in the U.S. District Court in Sioux City alleging the USDA and Food Safety Inspection Service knew of Thompsons inadequate inspection practices and physical difficulties walking around the plant, the Sioux City Journal reported. "The United States should have recognized Thompsons unfitness to perform the inspections that were necessary for the protection of Tysons property. However, the United States failed to so recognize, resulting in the destruction of approximately 8,000 hog carcasses, causing injury to Tyson," the company said in the lawsuit. Inspectors are mandated to visually examine all hogs slaughtered at the plant to decide whether they have health conditions that could make them unsuitable for human consumption. ADVERTISEMENT On March 26, 2018, Tyson killed about 4,622 hogs at the Storm Lake plant, and Thompson gave signed inspection cards to plant supervisors. The lawsuit states that plant administrators were told by Food Safety staffers the next day that Thompson had not executed the inspections. On March 30, 2018, the USDA declared that it was not feasible to determine whether the hogs that had not been checked were subject to any health conditions that would have led to disapproval of the carcasses. Tyson had no choice but to destroy about 8,000 carcasses, which included the inspected and uninspected, the lawsuit says. Most Minnesota farmers took advantage last week of the few days that were suitable for fieldwork to get crops in the ground. Farmers across the state were able to spread fertilizer, haul manure and, most importantly, plant crops. On May 13, only 20 percent of the states corn acres had been planted. By Monday, most corn was in, according to University of Minnesota Extension crops educator Brad Carlson. One asterisk to the planting report relates to farmers with low ground that remains too wet. Those spots, Carlson said, will probably not get planted. Scott Winslow grows corn and soybeans near Fountain, where he farms with his son, Colin. Winslow, whos also the vice chairman of the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council, said he planting corn in about two-thirds of his acres and soybeans in the remainder. His son switches his acres year-to-year between corn and soybeans. ADVERTISEMENT Winslow said they finished planting all of their corn and soybean crops by May 16. He had about 70 acres left to plant in the 700 acres of custom work he was doing, but morning rain had delayed his planting homestretch. The father and son were left waiting for the ground to dry out. "In a normal year whatever that is, we should be done before the 15th of May," said Winslow of planting. "On a good day you can get 100 acres planted. But thats an awful good day." Although he said theyre ahead of last years pace, Winslow isnt pleased with how the weather has panned out. He said farmers learn quickly they dont work with but around Mother Nature. "If you could pull the rain chain yourself, youd have rain in July and August and shut it off at the end of September," said Winslow. "Then make sure October and November are dry enough to get your crop, and have the wind blow gently so it dries it down." Delays can come on days with the right conditions too, said Winslow. Hed spent about two hours on a day with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s dealing with an equipment breaks. With the low crop prices, Winslow said its very important for farmers to have good relationships with their bankers. But he said the financial stress doesnt throw off or change the way he plants. "You dont just sit in the house and pout because the markets arent good," he said. "You have to get out there and get it planted, raise a good crop and hope that next years better." It helps to be optimistic, he said, that the next crop will be good and prices will get better. ADVERTISEMENT The Winslow family has farmed the land since 1854, four years before Minnesota became the 32nd state. "So I come from a long line of optimistic farmers," said Winslow. "Im fifth-generation, and my son will be sixth, and hes buying into it. He likes to get up in the morning at six, and work until nine, to be able to get something done with the day." If prices dont come up, at least for soybeans, Winslow said hes unsure if that will change the crop plans for other farmers. Hes not sure about his own plan, either. "Ask me next spring," he said. Carlson said the asterisk to most farmers being totally planted by now, was that many of them had spots of low ground that were flooded when they went to plant. He said that those spots will probably not get planted. The fact that most corn is in the ground makes future rain forecasts not as dire of a situation, said Carlson. "At this point, I dont anticipate there being a huge issue," he said. "In southeastern Minnesota, water moves through the profile fairly well, I dont anticipate there being issue with germination. And in south-central Minnesota, where theres so much drain tile, fields arent going to stay waterlogged long enough to cause problems." Carlson said the unseasonably cool temperatures means there shouldnt be significant issues with nitrogen loss. ADVERTISEMENT "Obviously most corn crop got planted later than most farmers wouldve liked," said Carlson. "But its not necessarily a given that yields are going to be poor." The keys now, he said, are whether it gets really hot when the corn is pollinating, because that can cause yield issues, and fields are susceptible to an early frost because of the late planting. CROPS PLANTED IN MINNESOTA (As of May 12) 54 percent of sugarbeets 44 percent of oats 35 percent of spring wheat 33 percent of potatoes 30 percent of barley 21 percent of corn 3 percent of soybeans 2 percent of dry edible beans 2 percent of sunflowers CROPS PLANTED IN IOWA (As of May 12) 91 percent of oats 48 percent of corn 13 percent of soybeans CANNON FALLS Few occupations require more patience than farming, but a more than yearlong trade dispute between the United States and China has more soybean farmers losing theirs. "Theres a lot of frustration in rural Minnesota right now from not having that market availability," said Brad Hovel, who grows corn and soybeans and raises hogs and cattle near Cannon Falls. "Its taken a few dollars off the price of beans, and its been a real challenge trying to lock-in any type of profitable margin." China announced on May 13 that it was imposing higher tariffs on $60 billion of American exports. That was in retaliation to President Trumps decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. American soybean farmers had been hopeful for months that the export market to China would eventually reopen to them, but the latest tariffs caused soybean prices to plunge to a 10-year low. The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association saw the latest tariffs as another step backwards. ADVERTISEMENT "MSGA is very disappointed by the breakdown in negotiations with China on a bilateral trade deal," said Joseph Smentek, executive director of MSGA. "Soybean farmers and their checkoff have built the markets in China with their own dollars and sweat." Smentek is referring to the federally mandated checkoff program that soybean farmers have paid into for more than a decade. According to MSGAs website, every time a Minnesota soybean farmer sells soybeans, the farmer contributes one-half of 1 percent of the market price of each bushel. "Weve worked on building a good trade relationship with China," said Hovel of the checkoff program. "Theres a lot of guys involved in the (checkoff) program whove spent a lot of their lives working on establishing the market in China." The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council uses checkoff funds to improve the profitability of the states soybean farmers by growing the international market and developing new uses for soybeans. Before the trade dispute began last year, farmers relied heavily on the revenue they made from exports to China. According to numbers from the USDA, farm exports from the U.S. to China reached $26 billion in 2012 and 2013, and equaled $19.5 billion in 2017. On the farm, the rule of thumb was that of every 10 rows of soybeans, three of them were going to China. Smentek said the toll taken on farmers from the trade dispute is "too large to measure." He said low price points have resulted in extra pressure from banks giving loans, which has ramped up the stress level for farmers. ADVERTISEMENT "This trade war is extremely detrimental to Minnesotas soybean farmers," said Smentek. "If something is not done and done soon, to help address these pressures, there will be many farmers that will not be farming next year." The loss of business to China has resulted in American farmers stockpiling nearly 1 billion bushels of soybeans, a record, according to Todd Hultman, an Omaha-based grain market analyst with agriculture market data provider DTN. Hovel said time is running out for the farmers storing soybeans, holding out for a better price. "We need to move the crop and market it, in order to pay the bills," he said. Trump has said that a program to relieve U.S. farmers pain is being devised and predicted that they will be "very happy" with it. The administration gave $11 billion to farmers last year to make up for low profits from trade conflicts. Hovel said the trade relief funds that farmers received through the $11 billion package were basically flow-through funds. "They came in and went right back out as either property taxes or health insurance some of the fixed costs associated with working in agriculture," said Hovel. "Farm families need help with paying for some of those things, and then it flows back into the rural economy." Despite the tit-for-tat tariffs, Hovel believes there is a chance that the U.S. and China will resolve the issue. ADVERTISEMENT "We still have the highest quality soybeans in the world," said Hovel. But time is running out as farmers enter a second growing season with the farm economy falling. "We need to have workable margins in order for us to feed our families and make a living," said Hovel. "No trade deal is going to be perfect, and theres always going to be someone that needs to sacrifice a little bit. It just seems like agriculture has been the sacrifice for a while now." The American Soybean Association released this statement early this week about the continuing tariffs: "The sentiment out in farm country is getting grimmer by the day," said John Heisdorffer, chairman of the ASA and soybean farmer in Keota, Iowa. "Our patience is waning, our finances are suffering and the stress from months of living with the consequences of these tariffs is mounting." TOKYO U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has picked up his barbeque tongs to convey his message to Japan: Buy more American beef. Perdue said last week that as a top consumer of U.S. beef, Japan should treat the U.S. fairly. He said he hoped President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will strike a trade deal during his bosss visit to Japan later this month, but acknowledged more time might be needed. "Were saying treat us as a prime customer the way we treated Japanese products for many years," Perdue told reporters after cooking some beef and pork on a Tokyo shopping mall rooftop, using his familys barbecue sauce recipe. Perdue also expressed impatience with the progress of trade talks that have been going on for more than two years. "From my perspective and our farmers in America, Id have preferred it done yesterday, but the reality is these things take time," he said. ADVERTISEMENT "Nothing has happened," he said. "Its time to get going." Japans limits on imports of meat and other farm products have been a recurring issue with the U.S. The Trump administration is worried that Japan will buy more from other nations that have signed trade deals with Japan in recent years, such as Australia and Europe. Japan, a country of 126 million, is the fourth largest market for U.S. agricultural products. Perdue, who visited Japan for a weekend meeting of farm officials of the Group of 20 industrial nations, did not give specifics on timing, proposed tariff reductions or product sectors, saying those were up to trade negotiators. "We should be treated as fairly as any other country with whom Japan has an agreement," he said. Japan logged a $70 billion surplus with the U.S. last year, and the trade imbalance has long been a sore spot with its most important ally. But Trumps withdrawal from a Pacific Rim trade arrangement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, meant the loss of hard-won concessions from Japan that its leaders have said are their bottom line on trade. ADVERTISEMENT Perdue reiterated Trumps stance that TPP was not fair. Alluding to U.S. moves to penalize China for in a dispute with Beijing over trade and technology, Perdue said the actions came about because China had not responded fairly in the negotiations. He said he would send "a similar message to Japan." Rep. Jim Hagedorn deserves thanks for supporting farmers in Minnesotas 1st Congressional District by sponsoring the Biodiesel Tax Credit Extension Act of 2019. This bipartisan legislation would provide a two-year extension of the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive. Cleary, Rep. Hagedorn understands and appreciates that agriculture is the economic backbone of southern Minnesota. As a soybean farmer in his district, I applaud the congressman for standing up for producers as we continue enduring low commodity prices amid a prolonged trade war with our largest trading partner. Many industries from farmers and biofuel producers, to fuel blenders and truckers rely on the value of the tax incentive. If biodiesel production slows down, it would impact all of these sectors. Biodiesel production supports more than 60,000 jobs throughout the United States and nearly 5,400 jobs in Minnesota alone. The two biodiesel plants in the 1st District produce more than 80 million gallons of biodiesel each year. Biodiesel, the only advanced fuel recognized by the EPA, contributes approximately $1.7 billion in economic activities in Minnesota. As the national leader in biodiesel, Minnesota needs to continue promoting the biodiesel industry and supporting jobs across the country. ADVERTISEMENT Congress has traditionally renewed the tax credit for one or two years at a time, but allowed it to expire in 2017. We have now waited 15 months for Congress to take action. A predictable, long-term tax incentive would be best for everyone. This two-year extension is desperately needed and I hope Rep. Hagedorn will convince his congressional colleagues to follow his lead by supporting this vital piece of legislation. Michael Petefish, Claremont, Minnesota Soybean Growers Association president If youre yearning "to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free," then the annual Bob Dylan Birthday Tribute Concert will tickle your toes and fingertips. More than twenty local performers will be "tangled up in blue," paying homage to one of Minnesotas most majestic musicians this Friday at the Castle as he turns 78. This is the fourth year area music makers have celebrated Bob Dylans birthday by performing his music. Jeremy Jewell and his band mate from Hair of the Dog, Tracy Sonnier, chose the now-closed Doggery as the initial venue for the celebration. "I just think its cool to have a bunch of Minnesotan musicians get together for a night and pay tribute to what I consider our states biggest treasure," Jewell says. Jewells love of Dylan stems from a family history with the legend. When Dylan happened into a club Jewells father was playing, the two performed the "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol" together. Later, Jewell won a Bob Dylan sound-alike contest at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis playing the same song. Last year, at the third annual tribute concert, Jewells 2-year-old son Wayne got up on stage strumming his ukulele along with his Dad during the song to make a third Dylan-inspired generation of Jewells. This year, in addition to Jewell, the tribute concert will include performances by a whos-who of the local music scene including Cole Allen, Brandon Sampson, Holy Hannah, Mark Waldoch, Audrey Robinson, Hair of the Dog, My Grandmas Cardigan, Fires of Denmark, Tony Cuchetti, J. T. Thompson, Becca Dyer Tesch, Tat Thompson, Jessica Sund & Crist Dahl, Mackie & Roy, Robert John Baune, and Gabe Holmes. This is Teschs third year performing at the tribute. Despite misgivings on the potential success of the first Tuesday tribute four years ago, she remembers the wide appeal Dylans music had at the show. "I saw all kinds of different people, old and young, wandering down the steps in to the Doggery to hear the music," she says. ADVERTISEMENT Gabe Holmes played the tribute for the first time last year, but now hes hooked, in part because of the power of Dylans words. "His lyrics are always unraveling a new experience every single time you listen to them," he reflects. Other musicians, like Mike Terrill and the electronic sound of his Fires of Denmark project, will be bringing music to the tribute for the first time this year, but are just as moved by Dylans contributions. "As a kid, I had his greatest hits memorized, but it wasnt until college that I purchased his Freewheelin album," he says. "It was my chance to hear the other songs. The ones that the radio wouldnt dare play." Audrey Robinson moved to Rochester recently, but shes ready to be part of the local tradition and sees it as a way to integrate with the local scene. "Im excited to meet more local musicians, and hear their take on the music," she says. Besides celebrating one of Minnesotas most revered musical icons, the tribute shines a spotlight on local talent. "Rochester is so thick with talent," says Tony Cuchetti. "I think a lot of people dont realize that from outside the city. Promoting the night of Dylan tunes brings the attention to the scene and exposes folks to artists that they may have never had the chance to cross paths with." As Dylan sings in "Shes Your Lover Now," "everybody that cares is goin up the castle stairs," so dont find yourself blowin in the wind this Friday night. Instead, check out a local tradition steeped in Minnesotan music. What 4th Annual Bob Dylan Birthday Tribute Concert When ADVERTISEMENT 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 24. Doors at 7 p.m. Where Les Fields Hall at the Castle Community, 121 N Broadway Ave., Rochester Cost $10 in advance or $15 day-of, castlecommunity.org The current tour of Steve Martin and Martin Short, which arrives tonight at Mayo Civic Center , is called "Now You See Them, Soon You Wont." Its a tongue-in-cheek nod to the age of the two performers, who, while their comedy seems eternally young, are now gentleman of a certain age. Martin (Steve) is 73, and Martin (Short) is 69. Theyve been good friends since 1985 when they teamed up with fellow comic Chevy Chase in a film, "Three Amigos." Both were well-known in comedy circles years in advance of that, though. Steve Martin, of course, was the "wild and crazy guy" of the 1970s, who sold out major arenas for his comedy tours and hosted "Saturday Night Live" 15 times starting in 1976. Remember when he would come on stage with an arrow through his head? ADVERTISEMENT More on Martin: His first movie was "The Jerk" in 1976, launching a string of comedy hits, including the touching holiday feature with John Candy, "Trains, Planes and Automobiles." Martin is also a world-class banjo player. He won a Grammy Award for his album "The Crow" in 2009. He also branched out into writing, publishing a well-received memoir, "Born Standing Up," in 2007, and to Broadway, where his play "Meteor Shower" starred Amy Schumer in a Tony-nominated role. As for Martin Short, he was born in Hamilton, Ontario, which, yes, makes him Canadian. He attended McMaster University, and after graduation was in the cast of "Godspell" with a whos-who of Canadian talent: Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin and Paul Shaffer. Levy and Thomas encouraged Short, who had intended to become a social worker, to give comedy a try. He ended up joining the same Second City comedy troupe in Toronto as Levy, Thomas, Martin, and Radner. More on Short: When the "SCTV" television program launched, Short was part of the cast. It was there that he developed his Ed Grimley character. A year later, he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" for the 1984-85 season. ADVERTISEMENT Another of Shorts popular characters is Jiminy Glick, an over-the-top talk show host who conducts clueless interviews of guest stars. In 1999, Short won a Tony Award for his role in Broadways "Little Me." Like Martin, Short has written a memoir, "I Must Say," which deals in part with the death of his wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, in 2010. What: Steve Martin and Martin Short When: 7:30 p.m. today Where: Mayo Civic Center Arena, 30 Civic Center Drive SE Tickets: $49.50 to $179.50, at the box office (no service charge) and through Ticketmaster online and at 800-745-3000. ADVERTISEMENT Train wrecks are bad. I think we can all agree on that, right? Well, so if someone sees a train wreck coming, that person, I would argue, has a moral responsibility to say, "Um, hey, folks, that train over there, I think it might wreck." Maybe someone listens and stops the catastrophe. Maybe no one listens. Either way, the person who sees the problem but, unfortunately, is not in a position to fix the situation has done his or her part. Why am I talking about train wrecks? Hmm. I dont know. But heres some observations Ive noticed. There are no actual trains involved. ADVERTISEMENT Tie Goes to ... Nobody So, Tuesday I drove to Red Wing to sit in on the Goodhue County Board meeting. For the second time in a couple of weeks , the board voted on whether to fill the District 1 seat made vacant by the death of Ron Allen. And, for the second time in a couple of weeks, the boards 2-2 tie vote to fill that seat meant no interim commissioner will be seated on the county board. That leaves four commissioners: Barney Nesseth, Jason Majerus, Brad Anderson and Paul Drotos. And, therein lies the problem. Those four individuals often see themselves split on issues. The county property tax levy: Nesseth and Majerus have often called for a zero-increase levy. The long-coming county solid waste consolidation plan: Nesseth and Majerus have reservations about a plan that would mean hauling trash across the county to Red Wing. Look, Im not here to call Nesseth or Majerus positions into question. Hauling trash to Red Wing will drive up the cost of solid waste removal in, say, Wanamingo. I get their concern. Spending should be kept in check. Im all for that in principle. But negotiations with union employees will likely see an increase in costs. Health care costs with the state no longer funding reinsurance are likely to jump as well. All this needs to be paid for with a levy increase or there will be some serious cuts to services in the county. Do you see the train wreck yet? Well, if the four commissioners cant come up with a solution, the countys 2020 preliminary levy will be set at the levy amount for 2019. So, theyll be using the funding level of 2019 to pay for higher 2020 costs. ADVERTISEMENT Here a Cow, There a Cow Not all train wrecks are as easy to see. Winona County has a cap on animal units for feedlots. No feedlot can have more than 1,500 AU without getting a waiver from the countys Board of Adjustments. OK. The argument for keeping the animal unit cap is that cows often poop, that poop gets spread as fertilizer in fields, and if theres too much fertilizer in the fields it can get into the water supply. Thats a real problem because it puts nitrates (not to mention a few other bad things) into the water. Yeah, but (and heres where you should be hearing the grinding squeal of brakes and steel wheels on railroad tracks) the dairy industry is a vital economic engine for Winona County. If you limit the growth of dairies, youre possibly limiting the countys economy. Thats where the Census of Agriculture comes in. The census shows, rather definitively, that in Minnesota small dairies are disappearing and the number of cows on small dairies is diminishing. It also shows that large dairies the kind that would be stopped from growing by an animal unit cap across Minnesota are becoming more prevalent, and the number of cows on those dairies has doubled in 15 years. Why is this happening? Well, its not the county boards fault. Its doing whatever is can to support small dairies. Theyre still disappearing because the dairy industry due to forces way beyond the control of the Winona County Board is geared toward large dairies. Dont believe me? Commissioner Steve Jacob said the census numbers reflect the impact of the global dairy market, and by not allowing large dairies in Winona County, that animal unit cap will drive dairies out of the county. ADVERTISEMENT Well know for certain if thats happening on May 30, when the Census of Agriculture releases its 2017 county-level numbers. In the meantime, Wednesday night I drove to St. Charles to hear the plans the facilities task force has made to deal with building issues in the St. Charles school district. The plan looks good. Now, taxpayers in the district have to decide whether they can afford it or not. With the district growing and an old building in need of renovation and expansion, I certainly hope this is the right plan to avoid any potential train wrecks. Abortion rights advocates held a rally in Rochesters downtown Peace Plaza Wednesday, calling for a political mobilization defending a womans right to choose an abortion at a time when that right is under threat like never before. "This is an important time in American history," said Dr. Beth Elliott, a pro-choice advocate and one of the speakers. "I am the face of pro-choice America. Thats not good enough anymore. Even more importantly, we need to be the voice of pro-choice America." The rally in Rochester, which drew more than 100 people, was timed to coincide with similar demonstrations in cities across the U.S. The message: The time of complacency is over. A return to a time before Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that gave women the right to choose, would mean a return to back-alley abortions and represent for women a loss of control over their own bodies. The rallies come as eight states have passed bills to limit abortions this year. Missouri was the latest state to pass a so-called fetal heartbeat bill that effectively prohibits abortions after six to eight weeks of pregnancy. Earlier this month, Alabama legislators voted to ban abortions in nearly all cases. The law mandates a lifetime prison term for a physician found guilty of providing an abortion. ADVERTISEMENT Bills restricting access to the procedure have also been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature this session. These challenges to Roe v. Wade are occurring after the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court last year, an event that abortion opponents see as tilting the balance of the court in their favor. "This is not a drill or coincidence. Whats going on is an attempt to ban abortion outright," said Vicki VanDeCreek, Planned Parenthoods education and outreach manager for southeast Minnesota. "Its not just an attack in Alabama or Georgia or Missouri. This is an attack on everyone in our nation who can or might get pregnant." Wednesdays rally at the Peace Plaza was a political call-to-arms and a sign-waving spectacle. Women and some men held up signs that said, "Trust Women," "Dont Take Away Our Care," and "Childbearing should be a choice, not a sentence." One pro-choice advocate pointed out that polls show a majority of people supporting a womans right to choose, but that pro-life advocates have been more committed and organized about achieving their goal of repealing Roe v. Wade. Organizers of the rallies included the ACLU, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Pro-Choice America. More than 400 events were planned on Tuesday for a national day of action, under the "StoptheBans" hashtag. Dr. Ariela Marshall, a physician, said the heartbeat bills, which prohibit abortions at about six weeks into a pregnancy, amount to outright abortion bans, because many women dont know theyre pregnant until after that period. Marshall said a pregnancy is "significantly more dangerous" to a woman from a medical perspective than an abortion. When a woman gets pregnant and chooses to have a child, she accepts that risk. By removing the option for a woman to choose an abortion, they are being forced to take on risk they did not intend. ADVERTISEMENT "These bills lead to excess risk for people in our state from a physical, emotional and socio-economic health standpoint," Marshall said. "As such, they are medically and morally wrong." Gale Julius, an organizer who led the crowd in chants between speeches, called on the audience to "stand up" against the Rochester areas pro-life contingent of GOP state legislators, including Reps. Duane Quam and Nels Pierson and Sens. Carla Nelson and Dave Senjem. "To all those folks, I say, youre on notice," Julius said. "Women are marching in 2019 and 2020 to doors and phones and the polls. Enough is enough. I wont play the Handmaids Tale out." Monty Flinsch, a Rochester human rights advocate, told the crowd that men need to fight for womens freedom like it was their own. "Anything less is a complicity in an egregious violation of fundamental human rights," Flinsch said. The path to a potential warming center remained unclear Tuesday, even if the purpose for the center was clearly expressed. "When it gets real cold out, we dont want people outside," Olmsted County Board Chairman Jim Bier said. "I think everyone agrees with that." However, commissioners seemed to find little consensus beyond that point as they discussed possible steps to create a five-month warming center, which would offer nightly shelter November through March. Meeting at the countys Housing and Redevelopment Authority board, the commissioners acknowledged more discussion is needed. "Its a whole community problem, and we dont have an easy answer to it," board member Ken Brown said. ADVERTISEMENT HRA Director Dave Dunn said some potential options are starting to emerge and county and city officials continue to meet with local business leaders and Mayo Clinic representatives. He said creating a new warming center will require three things: a location, a service provider and funding. Since the Salvation Army has determined its facility to inadequate to meet the demands for sheltering a growing homeless community, the city and county have been considering other potential locations. One such location is the Silver Lake Station, a former fire station that has been eyed for various uses in recent years. "That is by no stretch of the imagination a done deal," Dunn said, noting renovations could cost $200,000 to $600,000 based on previous estimates. Rochester Mayor Kim Norton has supported looking into the option, noting it has potential to be used for a variety of activities in the summer and serving as a warming shelter in the winter. She said study of potential costs continues. Dunn said other locations also remain under consideration. ADVERTISEMENT Beyond locations, Dunn said a potential facility operator has also emerged as part of ongoing discussions. Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota has stepped forward with a willingness to operate a local warming center. "Theres no formal agreement or anything like that," Dunn said. However, he said finding a group to oversee efforts is needed to get a potential center ready before cold weather returns. "The sooner we can get that provider, the better, because they can figure all this out as it becomes their No. 1 priority," he said. One of those priorities would be fundraising. With an estimated $200,000 to $250,000 operating cost for five months, Dunn said community support will be needed. "This is just for the awareness of the community," he said while discussing the potential cost. "This isnt saying anyone is going to cover all that." ADVERTISEMENT Commissioners, however, indicated they arent ready to commit to the proposed project without more details, with some saying theyd prefer a center opened only on the coldest nights and others questioning potential costs. "We need to do a deeper dive into how we are going to solve this," Commissioner Sheila Kiscaden said, indicating she favored creating a nightly warming center for five months of the year. Kazakhtelecom is buying Swedish group Tele2 out of their joint venture for a net $169 million. This total constitutes Tele2s fee for the sale minus a previous liability related to its holding. The Kazakh unit will also repay a $210 million loan to the Swedish firm. Kazakhstans Anti-monopoly Agency has given the green light to the deal, which is expected to close by the end of June. Tele2 and Kazakhtelecom set up their joint venture which operates using both the Antel and Tele2 branding in 2016, and at the end of last year it was the countrys third largest operator, behind Kcell and Beeline (operated by Veon). In December last year, Kazakhtelecom acquired Telias stake in Kcell, which prompted Tele2 to exercise its right to withdraw from the joint venture. The operator has stated that its shareholders will receive the proceeds from the divestment. Charges have been filed against the Rochester man accused of a crash that closed a local market. Justin Kelley, 32, is charged with two felony counts of criminal vehicular operation-substantial bodily harm and two gross misdemeanor counts of criminal vehicular operation-substantial bodily harm. All the charges include elements that Kelley had an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. His first appearance in Olmsted County District Court on the charges is scheduled for July 11. The Rochester Police and Fire departments were called to Saigon-Far East Oriental Market, 3918 18th Ave. NW, shortly before 1:15 a.m. Feb. 16 for a report of a minivan that crashed into the building and was on fire. Rochester Police Capt. Casey Moilanen said a week after the incident that passengers in the vehicle told police the car had been westbound on 40th Street at a very high rate of speed, hit a snowbank and went airborne before hitting the building. Court records indicate that Kelley may have been driving as fast as 80 mph. ADVERTISEMENT Rochester police and an Olmsted County Sheriffs Office deputy were the first to arrive. They found Kelley unconscious in the backseat passenger area on the vans floorboard. The van was engulfed in flames and a deputy reported that he could hear a loud hissing sound that he recognized as a broken gas line. "Without regard for their own personal safety, Deputy Kotajarvi and Officer Ziemann rushed into the burning minivan and extracted the unconscious man from the vehicle, pulling him to safety," the criminal complaint read. Law enforcement noted that Kelleys breath smelled strongly of alcohol. A blood test later determined Kelley had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.241. The legal limit is 0.08, according to court records. Kelley and his two passengers, a 20-year-old Byron man and a 32-year-old Rochester woman, were all taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash. The woman suffered multiple fractured ribs as well as two loose teeth. The man suffered cuts to his face and lower legs as well as a "complex nasal fracture," according to court records. In addition to the van, the back of the market also caught on fire, causing more than $200,000 in damage. Sodara Lam, who took over ownership of the business from his parents, Sesey and Den Lam, in 2008, said at the end of February they were still considering whether they will reopen the store. A Rochester man was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail for a crash that injured his passenger. Michael Alan Bunnell, 25, was sentenced in Olmsted County District Court by Judge Christina Stevens to 356 days in jail, with credit for 237 days already served. Bunnell pleaded guilty in May to a gross misdemeanor charge of criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm. A felony charge of criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm and a gross misdemeanor of driving while under the influence of any amount of a schedule I/II drug were dismissed as part of the plea. The Olmsted County Sheriffs Office responded about 5:45 a.m. Sept. 3 to the 2900 block of 50th Avenue Southeast for a report of a car that had driven off the road and into a ditch, Capt. Scott Behrns said. Behrns said the 2016 Hyundai Sonata driven by Bunnell struck a culvert and a utility pole before stopping in the ditch. Both Bunnell and his passenger, Jamie Moreno, who was 32 at the time, of Rochester, were taken by Gold Cross Ambulance to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys. ADVERTISEMENT Moreno suffered a number of injuries including fractured ribs, according to court documents. A search warrant was obtained for Bunnells blood. Testing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension found both amphetamine and methamphetamine in his blood, according to records. Bunnells jail sentence is concurrent with an 84-month prison sentence. In that case, Bunnell pleaded guilty to a felony second-degree drug sales charge. He was sentenced to the prison term in October by Judge Lisa Hayne. MINNEAPOLIS A Hennepin County judge on Wednesday ruled that all evidence from the trial of former Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor, except five graphic videos, should be released to the public this week. The five videos were recorded by officer body cameras, including one worn by Noor, who last month became the first police officer in Minnesota to be found guilty of killing someone while on duty. The graphic footage depicts the victim, Justine Ruszczyk, receiving emergency medical treatment in her final moments of life. In her order, Judge Kathryn Quaintance ruled that those five exhibits would be edited to blur Ruszczyks face and exposed body, as well as mute some noises she made. Noor was convicted last month of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Ruszczyk in July 2017. Ruszczyk had called 911 to report what she thought was an assault in the alley behind her home. Noor shot and killed Ruszczyk after she approached the squad he was in. The judges ruling comes after a coalition of journalism organizations, including MPR News and the Star Tribune, asked the court to be permitted to copy trial exhibits in the case. The Hennepin County Attorneys Office opposed allowing the exhibits to be copied, citing concerns about Noors appeal and the "misuse" of graphic evidence. ADVERTISEMENT Quaintance said in her ruling that theres a legal presumption in favor of copying exhibits from a criminal trial. She dismissed the prosecutions concern that copying evidence could affect Noors appeals. "Any post-trial motions or appellate issues will be decided by judges who will have access to the original exhibits," Quaintance wrote. "The possibility of a new trial on remand remains hypothetical." But Quaintance did find that some of the body camera videos could be exploited "for improper purposes should it be released." She wrote that Ruszczyks exposed body, distressed face and sounds of her gasping for breath, moaning and vomiting have limited value for reporting purposes. She ordered the prosecution to submit redacted versions of those five videos. Noors sentencing is set for June 7 in Hennepin County District Court. ST. PAUL Minnesota legislators started today without a special session scheduled but with many more details in hand about the bills they must pass. Although leaders had hoped to schedule their session for Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz has not yet announced when he will call lawmakers back to pass the budget measures that were unfinished when the regular session ended. In an email to legislators and staff on Wednesday, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman said the earliest the special session could start would be Friday. In preparation for the special session, lawmakers held a series of informational hearings Wednesday on most of the unresolved budget bills. The House and Senate held separate hearings. The public safety and judiciary bill includes money for the Department of Corrections to hire about 70 new prison guards. It was a priority issue after last years on-duty deaths of two officers. ADVERTISEMENT "The investment in properly staffing our facilities, our state prisons, is a big change in my opinion from the lack of attention to that issue that weve had over many years," said Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, the chairman of the House public safety finance committee. Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, the chair of the Senate judiciary committee, said the bill moves the state in the right direction on corrections staffing. Limmer also highlighted the bills changes in the way law enforcement handles sexual assaults. "Weve noticed over recent years that that has been pretty sloppy and theres no uniformity on law enforcement. This begins to open the door on that, sheds some light even further on that, and we will want answers as we go forward," said Limmer. The bill does not include two gun control measures passed by the House earlier in the session. Lawmakers were also getting details on other bills. The tax bill trims the second-tier income tax rate by a quarter of a percent, reduces the statewide business property tax and increases state aid to cities and counties. The environment and natural resources bill includes money to combat chronic wasting disease and aquatic invasive species. The education bill spends an additional $543 million on public schools, including a 2 percent basic funding formula increase each of the next two years. ADVERTISEMENT Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, the chair of the Senate education committee, was pleased with the final product. "We have a great bill thats a compromise in many ways. But one way it did not compromise is its very much focused on students. Its funding what works. We know well be back here in subsequent years to do more." Sen. Chuck Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, also praised the bill. "Its an improved bill than what you had before with the significant, record investment. I applaud that, for the formula, two and two. The special ed cross-subsidy freeze, again a high priority." The Legislature ended its regular session at midnight Monday after passing only a higher education budget bill. A last-minute attempt to pass an agriculture budget bill fell short that night in the House. The time crunch was due to the governor and legislative leaders not reaching their global budget agreement until late Sunday. During the agriculture bill discussion Wednesday in the House, Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, complained that the Legislature too frequently fails to finish its work on time. Pelowski, who chairs a subcommittee on legislative reform, said he intends to hold hearings on ways to improve the process. "This is the 17th special session in the last 21 years. So, we have had failure after failure after failure," he said. "And when attempts are made to reform this process, nobody is interested at the beginning of session, and apparently everybody is interested at the end of session." Memorial Day 2019 falls just 10 days shy of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944, the allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II. This is a landmark anniversary of a significant event in world history. Had the invasion failed, its possible Adolf Hitlers Germany could have fought on for years, terrorizing and killing millions more innocent people. By 1944, Europe had been embroiled in war for nearly five years. The Russians were steadily advancing against Germany on the Eastern Front, while in the West, an allied bombing campaign had done serious damage to Germanys industrial capacity. England, Canada, the United States and their allies waited for the opportune time to strike the European mainland. That strike came in the early morning of June 6, when 156,000 troops landed on five invasion beaches on the Normandy coast. Across America, people had been waiting for the news they knew had to come any day. American troops and materiel had been building up in Great Britain in preparation for the invasion for nearly two years. ADVERTISEMENT For the most part, though, life in Rochester continued as normal as possible. On June 5, the Bud Anderson Circus, with 25 acts performing under the big top, was set up at North Broadway and 12th Street. There were two performances that day to help distract those on the home front from the war. Unbeknownst to the circus-goers, the invasion was supposed to have taken place on June 5, but poor weather over the English Channel forced a delay of one day. Registration was also underway June 5 for summer swimming lessons at the Soldiers Field pool, despite an overnight frost warning and high temperatures only in the 50s. In the chilly, early morning hours of June 6, Rochester awoke to the news of the invasion. A special edition of the Post-Bulletin was soon on the streets. One thousand free papers were delivered to hospital rooms and Mayo Clinic. On the streets, in shops and offices, people asked each other "Have you heard the news?" For the most part, the Post-Bulletin reported, the news was received calmly, and perhaps with a sense of relief that the invasion had finally taken place. Churches were open and in the evening of June 6, several local churches held special prayer services. A long way from the horror of the war, where their sons, brothers and husbands were fighting, the citizens of Rochester gathered to pray that peace come quickly, that God watch over "our boys" and to give thanks. On this Memorial Day 2019, we wish to emulate their practice of 1944. ADVERTISEMENT As they did 75 years ago, we give thanks for the sacrifices of those who have made our peaceful lives possible. The Work Zone The new year is just days away. If youve had thoughts of pushing forward and advancing your interests in 2022, hopefully, we can help. Read more Brazils Federal Court of Accounts (Tribunal de Contas da Uniao, or TCU) has approved a contract between the countrys state-controlled telco Telebras and Viasat. The ruling gives Viasat and Telebras the ability to provide internet service across all of Brazil. In October 2018, the TCU requested certain modifications to the Telebras-Viasat contract in order to fully commercialise broadband services on Telebrass SGDC (Geostationary Satellite for Defence and Strategic Communications) Ka-band satellite. Todays TCU ruling approved all modifications, enabling the two companies to continue bringing high-speed, affordable internet service to unserved and underserved communities, health clinics, schools and hospitals across all of Brazil. The agreement also enables the companies to leverage the SGDC satellite for enterprise and aviation markets, as well as provide satellite-enabled Community Wi-Fi hotspot and residential services across Brazil. Lisa Scalpone, vice president and general manager of Viasat Brasil, said: We expect to connect thousands of additional sites in the coming months, bringing important social and economic benefits to the people that need it most in the region. Since October 2018, Telebras and Viasat have installed more than 4,500 broadband access sites, mostly schools. Telebras and Viasat combined the capacity of Telebras SGDC satellite with Viasat's innovative satellite platform to bring affordable and scalable broadband services to Brazil. The arrangement is founded on a success-based revenue-share model. Helcio Vieira, commercial director of Telebras, said: In working on a partnership model, we can take full advantage of the synergies between the partners to enable the commercial viability of the SGDC satellite Brazils only high-capacity Ka-band satellite covering 100% of the countrys territory. Our goal is to connect the unconnected across the country and meet our obligations to provide internet services to Brazil's citizens. The importance of todays TCU decisionis that it will enable Brazil to leverage the benefits of the investments made in its satellite communications infrastructure, bring broadband connectivity to key government points of interest, provide communications assistance during major catastrophes, and help connect millions of Brazilians, promoting digital and social inclusion. In the first few months of the new Federal administration, we were able to make satellite connectivity available over the SGDC satellite, connecting over 4,500 sites, with more than 1,200,000 students now connected at around 3,700 schools, reinforced the president of Telebras, Waldemar Goncalves. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The Philippine National Police (PNP) will oversee training of police recruits under a new law signed by President Rodrigo Duterte. Republic Act 11279 , signed last month and a copy released Thursday, placed the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and the National Police Training Institute (NPTI) under PNP jurisdiction. The PNPA provides police education and is the primary source of police lieutenants for commissioning. It was previously under the Philippine Public Safety College, a bureau under the Department of Interior and Local Government. Meanwhile, the NPTI handles mandatory and leadership trainings of all police non-commissioned officers. This comes after an incident of sexual harassment was reported the previous year in the PNPA. In October 2018, then PNPA director, P/BGen. Joseph Adnol, was sacked over alleged hazing and oral sex punishments imposed by senior cadets on younger students. Following the incident, P/Gen. Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, insisted that they move the jurisdiction of police training to the PNP. Albayalde welcomed the transfer of jurisdiction. We would like to thank the Congress for the passed of the law and the President for signing it," Albayalde said. "And as I have said wala na kami rason or reason -- kapag mayroon hindi magandang nangyari o mayroon pang-aabuso sa mga ano o whatever outcome the standard officer that we will produce from that academy -- wala na kami pwedeng sisihan kung hindi kami." [Translation: We would like to thank the Congress for the passed of the law and the President for signing it. And as I have said we no longer have reason -- if something bad happens or there is abuse among the ranks or whatever outcome the standard outcome we will produce from that academy -- we cannot blame anyone else but ourselves.] NORRISTOWN A Philadelphia man who suffered a gunshot wound during a shooting incident in Pottstown is in jail awaiting his fate from a judge after he admitted to illegally carrying a gun in the borough at the time he was shot. Aaron Jaquan Scott, 23, of the 300 block of Erie Avenue, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of firearms not to be carried without a license in connection with a September 2018 incident in Pottstown. Judge Steven T. ONeill deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Scott. The judge remanded Scott to the county jail without bail to await his sentencing hearing. Scott faces a possible maximum sentence of 31/2-to-7-years in prison on the charge. An investigation began about 8:39 p.m. Sept. 19 when Pottstown police responded to the area of North Charlotte and Chestnut streets for a report of shots fired and several males with guns in the area, according to the criminal complaint filed by Pottstown Police Officer David Mull. Arriving officers found six .380-caliber shell casings in the area of the 300 block of Chestnut Street, according to court papers. A short time later, police received information that a man was at Pottstown Hospital being treated for a gunshot wound to his left hip. That man was identified as Scott, according to the criminal complaint. When police interviewed Scott he claimed he was in the 300 block of Chestnut Street when he heard gunshots and ran and suddenly realized he had been shot. Scott claimed that he did not see who shot him and does not know why anyone would be shooting at him, Mull alleged in the arrest affidavit. Scott said that he ran north between some houses and stopped someone at Beech and Evans streets to give him a ride to the hospital. Scott was evasive and not specific about how he came to be in the 300 block of Chestnut Street, police alleged. During the investigation, multiple witnesses were interviewed and police obtained video surveillance from multiple cameras in the area. The video footage showed Scott parking a vehicle on Evans Street, north of Chestnut Street, exiting the vehicle and then walking to the southwest corner of Evans and Chestnut streets, according to the criminal complaint. He was only there for a couple of seconds before he clearly pulled a handgun out of his right pants pocket and walked westbound onto Chestnut Street, Mull alleged in the arrest affidavit. Once on Chestnut Street, Scott is seen putting the handgun into the inside of the front waistband of his pants. Less than two minutes later, police alleged, Scott could be seen running eastbound on Chestnut Street and then north on Evans Street. Prior to and after the shooting, there were multiple people and children outside in the area, including a woman walking with her infant in a stroller and church van full of children driving on Chestnut Street, Mull alleged. Voting in the European Parliament elections begins today. It will continue into the weekend. As I understand it, different countries vote on different days. The populist parties are expected to make their best-ever showing. I wrote about this development here. In that post, I suggested that if the populists make the gains they are expected to, they will fall far short of making up a majority in Parliament, but will be positioned to gum up the works, so to speak. In todays post, I want to expand on the point. The European Parliament isnt like the U.S. Congress. It doesnt legislate. That would be way too democratic for the EU. The European Parliament doesnt elect the EUs leader, either. Its not like, say, the British Parliament. What, then, does the European Parliament do? In essence, it rubber stamps that which European leaders and bureaucrats want to impose. As the Washington Post puts it: The bodys powers are not sexy. It cant directly propose legislation, only approve reforms. . . Still, the European Parliament needs to sign off on senior E.U. leaders and the E.U. budget. (Emphasis added) Because the Parliament is a sign off body, the big question in any election isnt how the the center-right and the center-left parties will fare in competition between the two (as in Britain). Nor is it whether one of these parties will be able to form a governing coalition with smaller parties (as in Israel). The question, instead, is whether the center-right and center-left parties will, together, win enough seats to keep signing off on the EU agenda, which both parties basically favor the Brussels consensus as it is called. The answer has always been yes. This time, however, it looks like the answer might be no. According to the Washington Post, the latest projections show [the center-right and center-left parties] falling from 53 percent of the vote to 42. The consequence would be dramatic. As Almut Moller, co-head of the European Council on Foreign Relations, expresses it: Brussels is used to operating according to the Brussels consensus. Now the picture will be different. How will Brussels respond? I dont know enough about EU politics to answer this question with confidence. However, logic suggests it will need to find additional backing for whatever new measures associated with its consensus come up for a vote. European populists are divided on many issues. Perhaps some populist members of parliament can be persuaded to support certain measures. The so-called right-wing European parties arent conservative. They dont reliably oppose heavy-handed government regulation, a core element of the Brussels consensus. The Greens are expected to gain seats. Thats another possible source of support on at least some matters. There are also what the Post describes as pro-business parties. Maybe they will gain influence if the consensus parties fall short of a majority. This possibility is perhaps the most interesting one. Im guessing that an influential pro-business party wouldnt do much to alter EU pro-immigrant policy. However, it might be able check Brussels penchant for over-regulation. That would be quite a positive development. Factmr PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 14:19:30 Press Information FactMR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Abhishek Manager +353-1-4434-232 email https://www.factmr.com/report/888/automotive-powertrain-components-market # 553 Words 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United StatesManager+353-1-4434-232 The urge to enhance fuel economy and reduce emissions have made every powertrain and engine system component a catalyst to enhance efficiency, integrate function, and reduce cost and weight. Accordingly, demand placed on suppliers are witnessing a change at a fundamental level. As such, suppliers are vying close developmental partnerships with the automotive manufacturers. Vehicle manufacturers are heavily focusing on providing differentiated powertrain features which help to address the demands of consumers and counter environmental challenges.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request here -The robustly globalizing world has opened up new avenues for the automotive powertrain components, especially when it make a transition towards electronic, electric and hybrid cars. These cars are dubbed more efficient, reliable and safe for passengers. In the next decade, it will lead to newer opportunities and verticals for automotive powertrain components manufacturers, who are expected to embrace systematic research and development to adapt to change. Electric powertrain components are set to rule the roost given Silicon Valley based Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. acquired by Cummins Inc. is seen by many as the secret sauce for the robust growth.It has become indispensable for any vehicles to use the best powertrain components to help in converting the engines power into actual movement efficiently. Consequently, automotive powertrain components manufacturers are engaged in new product developments.Read Complete Market Report from HereRigorous government regulations imposed by concerned agencies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions have compelled manufacturers to propel the efficiency of the powertrain systems. However, the underlying problem with the powertrain components is the initial cash outflow in terms of high investment which is anticipated to impede the growth of the automotive powertrain components market. Nevertheless, prevalence of charade automotive powertrain components have made the life difficult for OEMs to involuntarily reduce price.All-wheel drive vehicles have grabbed eyeballs in North America and the trend for posh vehicles have underpinned the manufacturing of sophisticated automotive powertrain in the region. Europe is reaping dividend from the expanding footprints of pertinent manufacturers, though imminent Brexit has left many perplexed. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is buoyed by the amiable response from governments across countriesChinese government has rolled out initiatives to promote manufacturing of the vehicles and India is one of leading automotive hub.Automotive Powertrain Components Market: SynopsisQuantitative and qualitative analysis accentuate the in-depth and robust report on the automotive powertrain components market. In addition, the report delves on dynamics in the market that are anticipated to have the influence on the growth of the automotive powertrain components market, comprising drivers, trends, restraints, and opportunities. Additionally, the report also focuses on segmentation of the market to offer a deep-dive analysis on automotive powertrain components.The report sheds light on executive summary and overview section, which is aimed at providing a thorough assessment on the automotive powertrain components market. Further, the overview section delves into value chain analysis, PESTLE analysis, supply chain analysis, and pricing analysis to delineate automotive powertrain components market exhaustively.Furthermore, the report elucidates benchmarking to assess the performance of the products and business processes and compare the performances of competitor companies both inside and outside the industry in search for optimal performance. PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 17:21:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 285 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 CAMBRIDGE, MA and ROSTOCK, GERMANY / May 23, 2019 / CENTOGENE today welcomed Germany's Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel to its headquarters together with Manuela Schwesig, Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The visit focused on explaining CENTOGENE's capabilities in the field of genetics, and in particular demonstrating the Company's advancing artificial intelligence program.Dr. Arndt Rolfs, CEO CENTOGENE commented: "We are extremely honored to have welcomed Dr. Angela Merkel and Manuela Schwesig to CENTOGNE. In Germany today and in particular across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, there is a strategic agenda that prioritizes the digitization of the economy. Today we demonstrated to our esteemed guests CENTOGENE's work in rare genetic diseases and our digital strategy with leading-edge artificial intelligence programs." "Artificial intelligence is enabling the integration of patient-focused metabolomics, proteomics, genetic data in our diagnostic business, while for our pharmaceutical solutions AI is enabling the rapid discovery of biomarkers, cohort identification, and other patterns in our genomic, proteomic and phenotype datasets. Ultimately however, all our work at CENTOGENE is underpinned with a priority on bringing hope to patients and their families by shortening the diagnostic odyssey." About CENTOGENECENTOGENE is a rare disease company focused on transforming clinical, genetic, and biochemical data into medical solutions for patients. We are focused on bringing rationality to treatment decisions and accelerating the development of new orphan drugs by using our knowledge of the global rare disease market, including our epidemiological and clinical heterogeneity, and our innovative biomarkers.As one of the largest rare disease companies worldwide, CENTOGENE is dedicated to transforming the science of genetic information into solutions and creating hope for patients with rare diseases and their families. www.centogene.com CENTOGENERoss BethellDirector, Corporate CommunicationsSOURCE: CENTOGENE AG PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 09:02:01 New Solutions Offered Through Alliance Help Clients Better Serve the Needs of Customers LONDON, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vlocity, Inc. , a leading provider of industry-specific cloud software and Forbes Cloud 100 company, and Deloitte, signed a new strategic agreement to accelerate organizations enterprise digital transformation. Announced today at Salesforce World Tour in London, Deloitte and Vlocity plan to jointly coordinate and deliver new solutions built on Salesforce, the worlds #1 CRM. The alliance will help clients deliver enhanced digital experiences across the enterprise, improve workflows and improve productivity. We have been working with Vlocity for several years and are excited to take our relationship to the next level, said Nidal Haddad, principal and U.S. ecosystems and alliances leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. By formalizing our collaboration with Vlocity, the combined depth of our industry knowledge in cloud apps and cloud deployments will bring powerful, game-changing digital strategies and solutions to our clients. The best customer experiences are industry-specific, and Deloitte has the expertise to make these experiences memorable and lasting. With this new agreement, we continue to help enterprises realize digital transformation on the worlds leading customer platform, Salesforce, said David Schmaier, Vlocity founder and CEO. Together, Deloitte and Vlocity will enable organizations to completely transform their relationships with their customers, drive growth, and improve customer service with modern omnichannel cloud software that embeds the best practices and business processes of our target industries. By jointly developing new industry cloud offerings and implementation approaches, together, Deloitte and Vlocity will offer their mutual customers greater access to industry tools and resources that improve business processes, revenue, retention and productivity, all on Salesforce. The industry sectors include the communications and media, insurance and financial services, health, energy and utilities, and government and non-profit sectors. This joint agreement builds upon a strong foundation of customer success we have developed with Vlocity over the years, said Paul Clemmons, principal and global Salesforce alliance leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. We are delighted to formalize our already successful relationship and continue to deliver leading accelerators for our clients. Visit our website for more information on Deloittes relationship with Vlocity. Salesforce and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. About Deloitte Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the worlds most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 and more than 5,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across the industry sectors that drive and shape todays marketplace delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Our network of member firms in more than 150 countries and territories serves four out of five Fortune Global 500 companies. Learn how Deloittes approximately 286,000 people make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com. About Vlocity, Inc. Vlocity is a leader in industry-specific cloud and mobile software, driving digital transformation for the worlds largest companies. A Forbes Cloud 100 company, Vlocity is an industry cloud pioneer built in partnership with Salesforce, the global leader in CRM. Vlocitys cloud and mobile applications transform customer processes and experiences in the Communications & Media, Insurance & Financial Services, Health, Energy & Utilities, and Government & Non-Profit industries. Vlocity is a values-led company committed to customer, partner and employee success. Learn more at www.vlocity.com . Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (DTTL), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as Deloitte Global) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the Deloitte name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms. PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 15:05:58 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1008 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / PJX Resources Inc. ("PJX") is pleased to announce that interpretation of down-hole Electromagnetic survey data combined with Magnetotelluric (MT) geophysics suggests that the source of a large MT anomaly may offset approximately 100 metres from the recently completed hole drilled to test the anomaly. The drill hole intersected a fault-controlled block of rock at target depth that appears to have displaced the source of the MT anomaly which could be a massive sulphide body. (see MT cross sections http://pjxresources.com/mt-sections.jpg) The core of the MT anomaly is also coincident with the most highly susceptible magnetic area in the survey according to Quantec Geoscience's interpretation. This supports the potential for magnetic massive iron sulphides, such as pyrrhotite, that are commonly associated with zinc, lead and other sulphides at the Sullivan and other massive sulphide deposits. (see MT-Mag cross section http://pjxresources.com/mt-mag-sections.jpg) Recent field evaluation of surface mapping and drill core by geologists Dave Pighin, Dr. Trygve Hoy, and John Keating, in consultation with Dr. George Hudak, has concluded that the shape and orientation of the MT anomalies are consistent with the orientation of folding and shearing within a 100 to 300m thick deformation zone. This zone locally hosts disseminated and bands of sphalerite (zinc), galena (lead) and pyrrhotite-pyrite (iron) mineralization."This new geological understanding will be used to guide exploration to discover potential folded and sheared massive sulphide bodies within the MT anomalies," states John Keating. "Deformation hosted deposits, such as Broken Hill, Geco, Lyon Lake and others, are often controlled by the pattern of folding and shearing. The ability to correlate the MT anomalies to these fold and shear patterns will help define the shape and orientation of potential massive sulphide ore shoots. In addition, the target horizon defined by MT geophysics and the thick deformation zone appears large enough to host a potential deformed deposit the size of the Sullivan or Broken Hill deposits. Additional drilling is planned over the coming months." BackgroundIn late 2018, MT geophysics by Quantec Geoscience detected both shallow and large, deeper conductive MT targets that could be identifying multiple massive sulphide bodies.Drilling the shallow MT target intersected a narrow massive sulphide vein in early 2019. The vein is conductive and considered to be proof of concept that MT is identifying massive sulphide mineralization and not another source of conductivity, such as graphite.The massive sulphide vein hosts zinc, lead, silver with anomalous gold and copper mineralization and may represent remobilized sulphide from a deposit at depth.The large MT target identified at depth has an 800 metre strike length and can be traced down dip for over 2,000 metres.The recent hole to test this MT target intersected a fault-controlled block of geology hosting localized tourmaline alteration at target depth. Tourmaline is an alteration found in and proximal to the Sullivan Deposit.This block of geology appears to have displaced the source of the MT anomaly, and a potential massive sulphide body, by approximately 100 metres from the drill hole. This assessment is based on Quantec Geoscience's interpretation of down-hole and MT geophysical survey data.The road-accessible Vine Property is located approximately 140 km east of the Trail Metallurgical Complex and about 35 km south of the historical Sullivan Mine, which operated for over 90 years before being closed in 2001. The property is at an elevation with terrain amenable to drill at any time of the year. It is crossed by two power lines as well as a rail line and is only a 20-minute drive south along Highway 3 from Cranbrook, British Columbia.Dave Pighin (P.Geo) discovered the Fors massive sulphide body and Vine massive sulphide vein for Cominco. Dr. Trygve Hoy (P.Eng) is an economic and structural geologist who has studied and written papers on the controls and setting of the Sullivan and other mineral deposits. (Dr. Hoy worked with the British Columbia Geological Survey and currently serves as a Director on the Board of PJX). Dr. George Hudak (P.Geo) is with the University of Minnesota and is an expert on volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit formation in structurally deformed Precambrian terrains.The foregoing geological disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Dave Pighin P.Geo. and John Keating P.Geo. (qualified persons for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Mr. Pighin is the consulting geologist for PJX on the Vine Property. Mr. Keating is the President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of PJX.About PJX Resources Inc.PJX is a mineral exploration company focused on building shareholder value and community opportunity through the exploration and development of mineral resources with a focus on gold and base metals. PJX's properties are located in the historical mining area of Cranbrook and Kimberley, British Columbia. Please refer to our web site http://www.pjxresources.com for additional information.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:Linda Brennan, Chief Financial Officer(416) 799-9205info@ pjxresources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward-Looking InformationThis News Release contains forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements which relate to future events. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to exploration results, the success of exploration activities, mine development prospects, completion of economic assessments, and future gold production. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "appears to", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking-statement PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 09:35:09 Press Information FactMR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Abhsihek Manager +353-1-4434-232 email https://www.factmr.com/report/355/industrial-motor-market # 838 Words 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United StatesManager+353-1-4434-232 According to the report compiled by Fact.MR , the industrial motor market is expected to witness sluggish growth. The market is estimated to increase to 3.4% CAGR during the forecast period 2017-2026. By the end of 2026, the global industrial motor market is estimated to reach US$ 14,959.1 million revenue. Converting electrical energy into mechanical energy, industrial motor is used in manufacturing units. Improving standards in design and efficiency are driving manufacturers to develop and design new industrial motor that can reduce energy consumption and offer efficiency. Following are the insights on how the global industrial motor market will perform during the forecast period.With the energy cost galloping solidly, industry is focused on cost-effective and energy efficient industrial motor. As such, manufacturers are concentrating on developing industrial motor with a novel design to make it easy to use across industries. Manufacturers have built an uncanny knack for offering a myriad of utilities on the go. Accordingly, smart sensors have grown in popularity in the wake of propelling the lifespan and lessening the downtime.The rising electricity cost in pumps and fans sector has led to adoption of industrial motor in the sector. The accuracy with which a motor requires to be controlled hinges upon the system requirements. The accuracy requirements are high in applications such as industrial robotics or in bottling. For instance, a welding robot is known to operate with high precision and high speed. Similarly, manufacturers are eying to control the motors in a bottling factory accurately which will facilitate the stoppage of bottles at the right position for capping, filing and labeling. In order to monitor this, the use of analog sensors such as synchros, resolvers, RVDTS or rotary potentiometers.For More Details - A sample of this report is available upon request here -According to the study, pumps and fans are anticipated to be the largest application in the industrial motors market, with an absolute dollar opportunity of over USD 2,300 million between 2017 and 2026. Given motors have significant impact in the pumps and fans with the amount of mechanical power needed by entire system and overall energy consumption, its use in the pumps and fans has surged.Industrial Motor Market: OverviewThe report provides a robust analysis on the industrial motor market for the assessment period 2017-2026. The report sheds light on the segregation of the market to provide an in-depth view of the market. Further, the report delineates the dynamics of the market which have significant impact on the development of the lithography market: drivers, restraints, trends and opportunities.Industrial Motors to Find Largest Application in Pumps and FansIndustrial motors are likely to find the largest application in pumps and fans. Towards 2026 end, pumps and fans are projected to create an absolute dollar opportunity of over US$ 2,300 million between 2017 and 2026. Energy efficient motors are being used on a large scale in the pumps and fans as it affects both the amount of mechanical power required by entire system and overall energy consumption.DC Brushless Motor to be the Highly Preferred Motor TypeCompared to the various types of industrial motors, DC brushless are likely to emerge as the highly preferred motor type. DC brushless is projected to exceed US$ 6,900 million revenue by 2026 end. Brushless motor help in alleviating various issues related to the more common brushed motors. Moreover, these motors have much simple design. Brushless motors also offer various advantages such as high efficiency, minimum maintenance, and long life. These motors are finding high application in compressors, pumps and fans, where ruggedness and reliability are required.Browse Full Report with ToC Here:The report includes preface and executive summary to offer an actionable insights on the industrial motor market. Furthermore, the report in the market overview section elucidates market indicators, key players. The overview section subsequently delineates Porters Five Force analysis that succors in showcasing the competitive landscape with respect to industrial motor market. The report also shed light on the market outlook section which elucidates reimbursement scenario with respect to region and peruses on technological development.Primary research and secondary research offer a deep dive analysis on industrial motor market. Primary research focuses on veracious review from experts, telephonic interview, unbiased and honest views from surveys and seasoned analyst. On the other hand, the secondary research sheds light on Factiva, trade journals, EC filing, and resourceful database. The report also features absolute dollar opportunity analysis and Y-o-Y projections.Industrial Motor Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report focuses on the coherent assessment of competitive landscape of the industrial motor market propelled by the inclusion of Porters Five Force Analysis. As such, the Porters Five Force Analysis focuses on strategies deployed by pertinent companies in the industrial motor market. Additionally, the report is underpinned by the incorporation of company profile, recent development, SWOT analysis, company profile, annual revenue, key differentiation and strategic overview.Have Any Query?? Ask Our Industry Expert PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 13:31:05 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 929 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / MPX International Corporation ("MPX International", "MPXI" or the "Company") (CSE: MPXI; OTC PINK: MPXOF) is pleased to announce that its Swiss subsidiary, HolyWorld SA ("HolyWeed") is one of the first companies to have received the Belgian government authorisation to commercialise CBD products with THC below 0.2% across the country, and is the only company currently authorized to sell high CBD pre-rolls.The approval allows for the sale of smokable CBD products with THC content below 0.2% in thousands of retail locations across the country, giving HolyWeed a first mover advantage to build a strong brand presence among the 11 million Belgian population.Belgium serves as an ideal entry point into the European Union free-market and demonstrates HolyWeed's agility in pursuing new and promising growth opportunities. Robust CBD markets like the UK, Italy and Germany will now be more accessible and viable allowing HolyWeed to further position itself as a leader in the European CBD market.HolyWeed is fully verticalized from seed to sale and its product range consists of 100% certified organic, Swiss grown high CBD hemp, and includes the following:Pre-Rolled Joints: Each quality-preserving package contains 5 joints filled with organic high CBD flowers.CBD Flowers: High-CBD content flower produced as 4 mood-specific strains with the option of 3.5g or 7g containers.CBD Oil: Swiss made and using exclusively HolyWeed best selection of its high CBD Swiss grown organic certified flowers in order to produce the optimal whole plant full spectrum "RSO" CBD oil (tincture).Chocolate CBD Cookies: Each packet contains 3g of CBD spread over 6 cookies. The cookies are made with Swiss-sourced ingredients including, chocolate chips from a well-known Swiss Chocolatier.Through guidance and support from MPXI, HolyWeed will be able to foster brand and product line growth across Europe at a significantly accelerated pace. Brand growth and strengthening come at a pivotal time, when quality and recognition are the major drivers setting apart strong companies from their relatively new counterparts. In the coming months, HolyWeed and MPXI will work to broaden HolyWeed's product lines to include new cannabis extracts, CBD vaporizers, and cosmetics in order to offer the optimal quality for its loyal and rapidly expanding customer base.CBD is widely regarded as a leading health & wellness supplement to improve quality of life on multiple levels. Its benefits have been recorded when used both topically and when ingested allowing for a variety of consumption methods.According to a report released by the Brightfield Group, a research firm that provides data on legal CBD and Cannabis industries, the European CBD market is expected to hit $416 million in 2019 and expected to grow 400% to $1.7 billion in 2023.HolyWeed has begun cultivation of certified organic, high-CBD strains of hemp across Switzerland with an expected harvest of over 25,000 kg of dry flower later this year.MPXI and HolyWeed will continue in their European expansion efforts - as they continue to develop a portfolio of leading cannabis assets internationally - and expect to take full advantage of the strong growth of the CBD industry in Europe over the coming years.About MPX International CorporationMPX International Corporation is focused on developing and operating assets across the global cannabis industry with an emphasis on cultivating, manufacturing and marketing products which include cannabinoids as their primary active ingredient.About HolyWeedCo-founded in 2017 by celebrity Swiss cannabis pioneer Bernard Rappaz, HolyWeed is the only Swiss CBD brand officially 'Swiss Certified Organic'. HolyWeed has built one of the most professional management teams in the Swiss CBD sector and has demonstrated a strong branding expertise while continuously focusing on innovative product development. Fully verticalized, from seed to sale, HolyWeed is one of the largest outdoor CBD cultivators in Western Europe with a highly competitive cost of production. For more information about HolyWeed, please visit www.holyweed.ch Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking InformationThis news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, MPX International's objectives and intentions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; those additional risks set out in MPX International's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and other matters discussed in this news release. Although MPX International believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, MPX International disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.CONTACT:For further information, please contact:MPX International CorporationW. Scott Boyes, Chairman, President and CEOT: +1-416-840-3725info@ mpxinternationalcorp.com SOURCE: MPX International Corporation PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 14:17:43 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 982 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2019 / Rockcliff Metals Corporation ("Rockcliff" or the "Company") (CSE: RCLF) (FRANKFURT: RO0, WKN: A2H60G) is very pleased to announce the appointment of Alistair Ross as the Company's new President and Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. In addition to his new executive management role, Alistair has also been appointed to the Board of Directors of Rockcliff. The strengthening of Rockcliff's senior management team is a major component of the Company's strategic initiative to become a producing mining company.Alistair brings to Rockcliff a broad spectrum of in-depth mining experience and mining innovation in both small to large-scale projects as he prepares to lead the Company in its next phase of growth. His career has spanned three continents beginning with Rio Tinto in Zimbabwe, Phelps Dodge in New Mexico as well President of Lonmin's South African operations, the world's third largest platinum producing company from 2005 through 2008. Alistair also spent a combined seven years with Inco/Vale most recently directing a team responsible for the re-build of Vale's Sudbury mining operations which consisted of six mines and approximately 2,000 employees. In 2017 and 2018, in addition to the Sudbury mining operations, Alistair was also responsible for Vale's Thompson, Manitoba and Voisey's Bay operations. During his tenure at Vale he was successful in fast tracking the introduction of new mining technology into the underground operations, including the autonomous use of scoops and the tele-remote use of production drills. Alistair holds a BSc. Metallurgical Engineering, ARSM and a MSc. Mineral Process Design, DIC from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London University, England.Alistair had the following comments upon accepting his appointment, "I am excited by the opportunity to work with Rockcliff's Board and to assemble a management team to exploit the opportunities that Rockcliff offers to its shareholders. The Company has amassed a great tract of land, already developed several near-term production opportunities, and has many more prospective targets that are worthy of rapid and intensive exploration. I look forward to implementing state-of-the-art mining technology in our development projects with current industry numbers indicating at least a 15% improvement in bottom line performance over conventional mechanized mining methods. Rockcliff offers investors the rare combination of early production potential and significant exploration upside in a jurisdiction that is highly conducive for mining investment. The assay results announced in Rockcliff's May 21, 2019 news release from the winter drill program on the Bur high-grade zinc project are an excellent example of our significant exploration upside. I am pleased to announce that Ken Lapierre will be continuing his role in directing Rockcliff's substantial and well funded exploration program as Vice President of Exploration." Ken Lapierre stated, "I am delighted to take on the role of VP of Exploration and to be part of the management team that will be responsible for taking Rockcliff to the next level in its life cycle. With over 100,000 metres of exploration drilling to be completed over the next 20 months, the Company is poised for tremendous growth through the drill bit as we transition Rockcliff into a mining company. Alistair's appointment brings with it broad based experience and a track record of taking projects like ours from exploration into production. I look forward to working closely with Alistair and the management team to make Rockcliff a Canadian mining success!"Don Christie, Director, had the following comments on behalf of the Board of Rockcliff, "With Alistair's vision and energy, I am anticipating that Rockcliff will be built from the bottom up as a 21st century company, outstanding in the mining field in terms of safety, employee engagement and ability to attract talent. Alistair's collaborative leadership style when combined with rapid decision making capabilities, will position Rockcliff to be agile, opportunistic and market responsive. The Board looks forward to working with Alistair as he builds his new team and accelerates Rockcliff's advancement to becoming a producing mining company as well as establishing a strategic plan for the Company that demonstrates growth beyond what is currently identifiable." Mr. Ross's appointment is subject to approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange.About Rockcliff Metals CorporationRockcliff is a well funded Canadian resource development and exploration company with approximately $30 million in funding, a fully functional +1000 tpd permitted leased processing and tailings facility as well as several advanced stage high-grade copper and zinc dominant VMS deposits in the Snow Lake area of Manitoba, Canada. The Company is continuing the permitting process for its 100% owned Tower copper project which it expects to be completed by Q4 of this year. Rockcliff is a major landholder in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake greenstone belt which is home to the largest Paleoproterozoic VMS district in the world hosting mines and deposits containing copper, zinc, gold and silver. The Company's extensive portfolio of properties totals over 4,200 square kilometres and includes eight of the highest-grade, undeveloped VMS deposits and five lode-gold properties held by Goldpath Resources Corp., a Rockcliff wholly-owned subsidiary, including the historic Rex-Laguna gold mine, Manitoba's first and highest-grade gold mine.For further information, please contact:Rockcliff Metals CorporationKen Lapierre, P.GeoVice President of ExplorationCell: (647) 678-3879Off: (416) 644-1752Ken@ rockcliffmetals.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward-looking. Although Rockcliff believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility f PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 14:45:46 Press Information Published by ACN Newswire +65 6304 8926 e-mail https://www.acnnewswire.com/ # 1023 Words ACN Newswire+65 6304 8926 SINGAPORE, May 23, 2019 - (ACN Newswire) - Sanli Environmental Limited ("Sanli" and together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"), one of Singapore's leading environmental engineering companies, today announced that it achieved revenue of S$71.4 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2019 ("FY2019"). This was slightly lower than the S$75.6 million revenue recorded a year ago ("FY2018").Commenting on the results, Mr Sim Hock Heng, Chief Executive Officer of Sanli said, "The operating environment has been challenging, with increased competition and labour costs. The team will press on, and leverage on our established track record and expertise to secure more contracts, whilst monitoring our operations at the same time, to ensure we maintain our competitive edge. The progress that the team has made in Myanmar is very encouraging. Sanli will continue its efforts to grow the business in the region." Performance ReviewFY2019 revenue was 5.6% lower year-on-year at S$71.4 million, mainly due to lower contribution from its Operations and Maintenance ("O&M") segment, which decreased 30.6% year-on-year. This was partially offset by slightly higher revenue from the Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") segment. In line with the decrease in revenue, the Group's cost of contract works decreased 4.9% to S$61.6 million in FY2019. As a result, gross profit decreased 10.2% to S$9.8 million, while gross profit margin decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 13.7% in FY2019, in tandem with the decrease in revenue from the higher-margin O&M segment.Administrative expenses increased by 16.9% in FY2019 to S$6.1 million, mainly due to higher employees' remuneration resulting from an increase in salaries and headcount for the Group's business development department. The Group also incurred additional professional fees, advertising, exhibition, travelling and office expenses in relation to the expansion into Myanmar.Consequently, the Group recorded a 26.4% decrease in profit before tax to S$2.8 million in FY2019. The Group's net profit attributable to shareholders was S$2.2 million in FY2019.Proposed DividendSanli is proposing to reward shareholders with a final dividend of 0.25 cent per share for FY2019. This translates into a payout of 30.3% of its net profit attributable to shareholders. The proposed dividend is subject to shareholders' approval at the upcoming FY2019 Annual General Meeting.Financial PositionThe Group's balance sheet remains healthy, with a net cash position of S$6.1 million. Net assets increased to S$26.7 million as at 31 March 2019, from S$24.9 million as at 31 March 2018. This translates into a higher net asset value per share of 9.9 cents as at 31 March 2019.Total assets increased by 5.5% to S$52.0 million as at 31 March 2019, mainly due to higher trade receivables arising from increased billings made in the month of March 2019, as well as increased contract assets due to work done for execution of various on-going projects.Total liabilities increased by 3.8% to S$25.3 million as at 31 March 2019, mainly due to an increase in trade and other payables, which was partially offset by decreases in contract liabilities and income tax payable.Business OutlookCreating a sustainable water supply in Singapore will remain an important focus and it will be an on-going effort for the Singapore government. The public sector water and waste management industry is expected to remain stable, supported by ongoing and upcoming projects. Large scale projects such as the NEWater, desalinated water and Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS), offer potential business opportunities for Sanli. While competition is expected to be keen, the Group will continue to leverage on its established track record, as well as its strong capabilities and expertise, to secure more water and waste management projects.The Group will also rigorously monitor its operations to ensure that its service quality and competitive edge in public sector projects is maintained and continuously enhanced.As part of the Group's business strategy and implementation, the Group has invested in a business development department that will take into account potential opportunities arising from the growing demand for water management solutions by industrial players in Singapore. Managing industrial water use will become a priority for many water-intensive businesses operating in Singapore such as petrochemicals, electronics and pharmaceuticals companies.The Group will also continue to undertake careful and comprehensive evaluation of areas for potential future growth. This can be seen in the Group's expansion into Myanmar and its recent EPC contract wins (as announced on 2 April 2019). The Group will continue to capitalise on its expertise, to secure more contracts in Myanmar, to grow its footprint regionally, particularly in ASEAN.About Sanli Environmental LimitedSanli is an environmental engineering company in the field of water and waste management.The Group's expertise is in the design, supply, delivery, installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair and overhaul of mechanical and electrical equipment as well as process, instrumentation and control systems in wastewater treatment plants, water reclamation plants, NEWater plants, waterworks, service reservoirs, pumping stations and incineration plants.The Group has two main business segments: Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") and Operations and Maintenance ("O&M"). Under its EPC segment, Sanli provides services within the field of water and waste management, including process upgrading of existing water treatment plants, upgrading of pumping station capacities, replacement of aged equipment, and design and build of various treatment process systems. Through its O&M segment, the Group provides corrective and preventive maintenance services to ensure reliability and minimal disruptions to customers' operations. For more information, please visit the company website at www.sanli.com.sg Issued on behalf of Sanli Environmental Limited by:Waterbrooks Consultants Pte LtdTel: +65 6100 2228Lynette Tan, (M): +65 9687 2023, lynette@ waterbrooks.com.sg Angeline Cheong, (M): +65 9666 0977, angeline@ waterbrooks.com.sg This media release has been prepared by Sanli Environmental Limited (the "Company") and its contents have been reviewed by the Company's sponsor, SAC Capital Private Limited (the "Sponsor").This media release has not been examined or approved by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (the "SGX-ST") and the SGX-ST assumes no responsibility for the contents of this media release, including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made, or reports contained in this media release.The contact person for the Sponsor is Mr David Yeong (Tel: +65 6232 3210) at 1 Robinson Road, #21-00 AIA Tower, Singapore 048542. PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 22:07:01 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sharc International Systems Inc. (CSE: SHRC) (FSE: IWIA) (OTCQB: INTWF) ("SHARC" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that SHARC Energy and Borders College are celebrating the delivery of 2 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable heat delivery from their pioneering SHARC wastewater heat recovery plant installed at the Galashiels Campus to generate low carbon, green heating for the college. With 223 tonnes of carbon savings achieved since the system was commissioned, the project has provided SHARC Energy a significant opportunity to test and learn the limits of the system in a live environment and has become a powerful demonstration of how wastewater heat recovery can support the decarbonisation of heat in the UK. Commenting on the milestone achievement, SHARCs UK Managing Director Russ Burton said, As a pioneer in this space, the early adoption by the Borders College team, alongside the support of Scottish Water Horizons, provided us with a great opportunity to learn some valuable lessons across the whole process, including the use of a town sewer resource through to retrofitting heat pumps to an aging gas heated building. We have widened our capability and gained confidence in managing the sensitivities of sewer facilities so we can develop this major energy resource that exists in every urban centre across the world. Wastewater heat recovery represents a significant opportunity to replace natural gas consumption, especially in the developing heat network sector, and we would like to thank both Borders College and Scottish Water Horizons for having the vision to appreciate the potential of the technology. The 2GWh is a significant achievement and reaffirms low-carbon wastewater heat recovery as an important weapon in the fight against climate change. The award-winning installation at Borders College that was completed in December 2015 and is SHARC Energys first installation of their ground-breaking wastewater heat recovery system outside North America and at the time the largest SHARC installation anywhere in the world. By constructing a central energy hub and retrofitting the colleges five buildings on campus, ranging from a Victorian mill to modern workshops, and distributing the heat through a buried heat network, the project has provided significant opportunities to test the capabilities of the technology as well as demonstrate how wastewater heat recovery can support the UK Governments quest to decarbonize heat. SHARC Energy used the project as a research & development opportunity to show that wastewater heat recovery is commercially and technically viable concept for the UK, using commercial finance to cover the cost of installation, supported by long term heat supply agreements to recover the construction cost over time. In engineering terms, the SHARC system is a thermo-mechanical solution, filtering solids from wastewater before recovering energy through heat exchange and heat pump processes and circulating through an insulated pipe network. A second phase of the project, including the installation of on-site solar and battery technologies to reduce the systems dependency on grid electricity to run the heat pumps, will see further growth in heat and carbon-reduction benefits. More than 200 open house visits have taken place since launch, energy managers from across the UK keen to see how they can use recovered wastewater heat in their own operations, including water companies, district energy utilities and local authorities, creating a pipeline of new projects and installations from around the UK, allowing SHARC Energy to explore new partnerships and business models to accelerate deployment and expand into Europe. Adding to Burtons comments, Robert Hewitt, Facilities Manager at Borders College, said, Borders College are delighted the SHARC system has now generated 2GWh of heat since installation and thrilled to be part of this exciting project to help pioneer innovative technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. The system has played a crucial role in the College reducing our CO2 emissions by over 30% in the same period, we look forward to completing phase 2 which will provide additional carbon benefits and continuing our successful relationship with SHARC. About SHARC International Systems SHARC International Systems Inc. is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. SHARC technology systems recycle thermal energy from wastewater, generating one of the most energy efficient and economical systems for heating, cooling & hot water preheating for commercial, residential and industrial buildings. SHARC is publicly traded in Canada (CSE: SHRC), the United States (OTCQB: INTWF) and Germany (Frankfurt: IWIA). About SHARC Energy Ltd. (UK) SHARC Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of SHARC International Inc. a world leader in wastewater heat recovery, based in Vancouver British Columbia. Located in Glasgow and Nottinghamshire, the UK operation delivers sewage heat recovery technology and support services across the wider UK and EU. SHARC Energy facilitates the recovery of a vast global resource the 25% of a buildings energy usage that exits through the sewer. Wastewater heat recovery using the SHARC thermo-mechanical technology represents a significant opportunity to decarbonize energy; across the EU and North America, 330 billion litres of wastewater are discharged through the sewer system every day, giving us the potential to replace 1.5 billion MWh of natural gas consumption. SHARC Energys stated mission is to save 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2025. Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.sharcenergy.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Lynn Mueller Chairman and Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact: Investor Relations Jeff Walker The Howard Group Phone: (888) 221-0915 or (403) 221-0915 Email: jeff@howardgroupinc.com Jamie Hyland SHARC International Systems Inc. Telephone: (604) 442-2425 Email: jamie.hyland@sharcenergy.com Martin Hardwidge SHARC Energy Systems Ltd. Telephone: +44 07870 243804 Email: martin.hardwidge@sharcenergy.com Milli Burton SHARC Energy Systems Ltd. Telephone: +44 0141 404 0670 Email: milli.burton@sharcenergy.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. SHARC's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. SHARC believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation. PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-23 09:03:02 New YPO Global Pulse Survey Finds That Customers Are the Primary Inspiration for Business Innovation Around the World NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- YPO, the premier global leadership organization for more than 27,000 chief executives, conducted a survey of its members in over 130 countries to get their latest thoughts on innovation and its implications for the future of their businesses. YPOs 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey , conducted between 29 April through 6 May 2019 with more than 1,600 chief executive respondents, confirmed that the majority of global business leaders (57 percent) feel an urgent need to innovate now. Where do they look to find inspiration to innovate? Their customers. Nearly half of global business leaders cited customers as their top source of innovation inspiration (48 percent) with employees (36 percent) ranking second. Consultants (10 percent) and think tanks (7 percent) lag far behind in the minds of respondents. The importance of keeping this key constituency happy is a focal point with nearly one in five respondents citing customer experience as their primary business area most needing innovation now. This ranks ahead of products, data/business intelligence and technology. According to additional YPO Global Pulse findings, location, geographic location, industry, company size and length of job tenure greatly inform business leaders opinions and go-forward innovation action plans: While the need to innovate is a top priority for global business leaders, only 4 in 10 strongly believe they have the appetite for experimentation. While 57 percent of chief executives strongly believe there is an urgent need for their business to be innovative, more than one-third of this group (37 percent) however indicated they are not likely to invest in innovation over the next 12 months . Industry plays a significant role in business leaders attitudes toward risk in business with those executives in the IT & Software, Health Care and Advertising & Marketing industries embracing risk (more than 55 percent have an appetite for experimentation and risk) while leaders in the Distribution, Automotive and Apparel industries are more risk adverse (only 35 percent have an appetite for experimentation and risk). Over the next 12 months, global business leaders who are extremely likely to invest will be doing so in products (45 percent), internal processes (44 percent) and technology (42 percent) to help them win customers. Respondents in Africa (45 percent) cited their spending will be focused on product innovation. Business leaders in Latin America (26 percent) and Asia (19 percent) are more likely to invest in business model innovation compared to their peers in the United States (16 percent) and Canada (13 percent). U.S.-based business leaders (34 percent) are slightly more likely to invest in talent compared to all others (29 percent). Leaders who have been at the helm three years or less are less likely to invest in talent (26 percent) compared to those who have been at the helm longer (32 percent). Leaders of larger organizations (USD250 million+) indicate that innovation investment in the next 12 months will be targeted toward data/business intelligence (47 percent), while leaders of USD25-250 million businesses plan to invest in technology (42 percent). Leaders of smaller organizations (USD25 million or less) reported they will be focusing their spending in the next 12 months on product innovation (45 percent). More leaders strongly agree that changing market conditions are redefining their business (36 percent) than technology (24 percent) and new competitors (20 percent). U.K. respondents (43 percent) were much more likely than their European peers (31 percent) to strongly agree that changing market conditions are redefining their business. Business leaders in Latin America (19 percent) and Asia (15 percent) are more concerned that technology changes are making their business model obsolete, especially when compared to their peers in Europe (9 percent) and the United States (7 percent). Leaders of large organizations (USD250 million+) cited new competitors threatening their traditional business model as a strong concern, well more than chief executives of smaller businesses (27 percent for large companies compared to 19 percent for all others). Chief executives who have been at the helm of their business one year or less believe their competitors are innovating faster than they are (18 percent), especially when compared to all executives (6 percent). Regionally, chief executives in Middle East/North Africa (10 percent) and Asia (9 percent) are more likely to strongly believe their competitors are innovating faster compared to leaders across all regions (6 percent). (36 percent) than technology (24 percent) and new competitors (20 percent). The YPO 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey follows on the heels of YPO Innovation Week. Occurring last week, YPO Innovation Week connected influential entrepreneurs, innovators and thought leaders to exchange ideas about inspiration, breakthroughs and transformation through signature and digital events around the world. YPO 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey Methodology: The YPO 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey of its members was conducted by YPO from 29 April 6 May via an online questionnaire with a representative probability sample of 1,661 YPO members. The sample included members in 105 countries and representing 34 industry sectors. The questionnaire was in English. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. About YPO: YPO is the premier global leadership organization for more than 27,000 chief executives in over 130 countries and the global platform for them to engage, learn and grow. YPO members harness the knowledge, influence and trust of the worlds most influential and innovative business leaders to inspire business, personal, family and community impact. Today, YPO member-run companies, diversified among industries and types of businesses, employ more than 22 million people globally and generate USD9 trillion in annual revenues. For more information, visit ypo.org. YPO Media Contacts: Amy Reid, areid@ypo.org , +1 646 678 0575 (United States) Natalie Naude, nnaude@ypo.org , +27 83 641 0429 (Africa/MENA) Vickie Tikam, vtikam@ypo.org, +60 012 331 7411 (Asia) Angela Mers, amers@ypo.org, +1 415 298 8534 (Canada) Serena Marchionni, smarchionni@ypo.org, +34 699 903 472 (Europe) An exhibition of 20 photographs by the social activist photographer, Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko, which captures the complexity of life that Persons with Albinism (PWAs) face daily will open to the public on May 25. The exhibition, presented by SMO Contemporary Art and Temple Muse, is held to commemorate the International Albinism Awareness Day, which comes up on June 13 every year. It will be showcased at Temple Muse in Victoria Island, Lagos, for the next six weeks to support the recognition and protection of people with albinism. White Ebony challenges preconceived notions on albinism with powerful images which reflect a Renaissance beauty through sensitive lighting, composition, and layered stylistic interpretations, the organisers said. It takes the viewer on an emotional journey that is filled with nuance as well as controversial in its stark positioning and challenging suggestions. Each work reflects both internal struggles while working through layers of identity and self-actualisation, and points to the urgent need to stop the stigmatisation of persons with albinism. According to the United Nations, people with albinism face multiple forms of discrimination worldwide. Albinism is still profoundly misunderstood, socially and medically. The physical appearance of persons with albinism is often the object of erroneous beliefs and myths influenced by superstition, which foster their marginalization and social exclusion. Ayeni-Babeko worked closely with members of The Albino Foundation in Lagos and after in-depth interviews and insightful group discussions, began interpreting their reality through photographs which explore both the alienation and struggles experienced by persons with albinism, as well as celebrates their lives and achievements. As in her previous exhibitions, which have tackled issues such as the challenges survivors of breast cancer face, or photographing dancers performing within slums to highlight the needs of populations living in shantytowns, Ayeni-Babaekos amazing artistry is heightened by her commitment to social change and supporting marginalized communities, said Sandra Mbanefo-Obiago, the exhibition curator and expert in development communications, who has worked on three previous shows with the photographer. Ayeni-Babaeko, while presenting White Ebony, said it was easy to create a striking image of a person with albinism because of how unique they are. But these models were not just put in front of my camera for me to photograph, said the photographer, who is of Nigerian-German parentage. I was able to really connect with them through long conversations about their daily struggles, sharing with me what their life is like and all this knowledge translated into this new body Mr f work. My work is not there to make you feel good, its purpose is to trigger you to think and expand your knowledge. Jake Epelle, the Founder and President of the Albino Foundation, said working with a photographer like Ayeni-Babaeko had been a great creative approach to raising awareness about the challenges people with albinism face every day. Much more needs to be done to advocate for the recognition and respect of the rights and socio-economic inclusion of people living with albinism, he said. The Foundation works with governments and development institutions to improve the health and social wellbeing of PWAs in Nigeria. Andrew Skipper, Board Member of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington D.C., said Hogan Lovells, an international law firm, is committed to supporting important social causes. We believe that art is a beautiful way of raising awareness and celebrating diversity and inclusion. An exhibition like White Ebony by Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko is testament to the way art helps to strengthen society, said Mr Skipper, Partner & Head of Africa Practice at Hogan Lovells, which sponsored the exhibition. Avinash Wadhwani, CEO of Temple Muse, a design luxury concept store, described Ayeni-Babaekos works as a powerful example of art for social change. White Ebony runs from May 25 until July 19, and a portion of the income from sales will go towards supporting people with albinism. Nollywood actress, Ibinabo Fiberesima, has said it is worrisome that Nigerian entertainers give little or no attention to their health. Fiberesima, a former Miss Earth Nigeria, in an exclusive interview with Pulse on the death and health scare in the industry said she that many of her colleagues do not care much about their health until it becomes too late. I dare to take a leap by asserting that research into a percentage of those who have gone for check-ups this 2019 will yield shocking results. They simply do not care until it is too late; so imagine your average entertainer who indulges in alcohol, substance abuse and a frequent want on sexual activity. Sometimes they backed it with enhancers and caps it off with daily late and sleepless night than the required hours only to rush off the very next day as soon he or she gets the call to work. On location, he or she eats whatever he sees and drinks whatever he finds, napping in between cuts. They decide to forget the damage such a lifestyle does to their bodies They decide to ignore the danger of their steadily rising Blood Pressure, which by the way is now one of the foremost killers, she said. Fiberesima noted that though she would not condemn her colleagues for relaxing when it was done with moderation, a situation where such becomes a daily way of life which in the long run is absolutely unacceptable. The only issues they worry about is malaria and typhoid and even then, they resort to self-medication till it gets too late. The harsh truth is the same colleagues who drink and indulge with you will never bail out their buddies when they are down. I mean, they all knew what they were getting into ab initio, so once youre down it is your bad luck. Everyone awaits your candlelight procession and an opportunity to drink further in honour of the fallen, she added. The mother of three stressed the need for entertainers to take their health seriously. She urged her colleagues not to indulge in unhealthy activities that might pose danger to their well-being. My candid advice to my colleagues is that, you only have one life. Once its gone, its gone. Its irreplaceable. So you owe it to yourself at least for the sake of the family youll leave behind to take care of yourself. No one else will do it for you. Without apologies, there are a few of debilitating indulgences entertainers and other people cannot do without. But like I always say, your health first and all these indulgences pale into insignificance when you hit the red zone, she said. The 46-year-old actress and pageant organiser said that entertainers should always remember their health before indulging in various activities that affect their health. Fiberesima, an ex-president of AGN, has contributed immensely to helping colleagues in order for them to stay healthy. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Nollywood has lost 15 of its members in the first five months of 2019. (NAN) An Egyptian court on Thursday ordered the release of Al Jazeera journalist, Mahmoud Hussein, after being detained for more than two years, legal sources said. Mr Hussein, an Egyptian national, was arrested in December 2016 when he was on a holiday in Egypt. At the time, Egyptian authorities accused him of spreading false news and belonging to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood. On Thursday, the Cairo Criminal Court ordered his release under precautionary measures that include placing him on probation, the sources said without details. Egypt has repeatedly accused Al Jazeera of biased coverage and being a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, charges that the Qatari television network has denied. Egyptian authorities have arrested hundreds of Islamists and secular activists since the armys 2013 overthrow of democratically elected-but-divisive President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood official, following mass protests against him. (dpa/NAN) The U.S. Federal Government on Thursday announced a 16-billion-dollar aid package for farmers whose businesses have been badly affected by the ongoing trade war with China. The U.S. and China have been in a tit-for-tat tariff escalation for a year, with Washington accusing Beijing of unfair practices, including barriers to trade and intellectual property theft. The sum of the aid package is in line with the estimated impacts of unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and other trade disruptions, the Department of Agriculture said. In 2018, President Donald Trumps aid package for farmers, which he announced as he kicked off the trade war, was worth up to 12 billion dollars. China hasnt played by the rules for a long time and President Trump is standing up to them, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said. The secretary had told the Fox Business network that the government would help farmers find new markets for their products, outside China. Soybean growers have been especially hard hit. (dpa/NAN) The main opposition candidate in the February presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has explained his decision to request that the President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, withdraws from the presidential election petition tribunal. Mr Abubakar and his party, PDP, are challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the election. They asked Mrs Bulkachuwa to withdraw from the five-member panel she headed. They based their demand on Mrs Bulkachuwas relationship with an APC leader. Her husband is a Bauchi senator-elect on the APC platform. On Wednesday, the tribunal ruled against Mr Abubakar and the PDP. It said both parties could not prove the possibility of bias against the judge and that Mrs Bulkachuwas husband was not a party to the suit. Despite the ruling of the tribunal, however, Mrs Bulkachuwa refused herself from the panel on personal grounds. In his statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES early on Thursday, Mr Abubakar said his legal teams objection was not a reflection on Justice Bulkachuwas character or competence. As a matter of fact, I have great respect for her, being a pioneer and advocate for gender equality and female empowerment, he said. Read Mr Abubakars full statement below. One of the principal maxims of the Common Law is nemo judex in causa sua (no man shall be a judge in his own case). The call by my legal team for Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa to recuse herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was predicated on this principle, being that her husband, Alhaji Mohammed Bulkachuwa, is an All Progressives Congress Senator-elect and the case she was expected to adjudicate upon had a bearing on that party. My legal teams objection was not a reflection on Justice Bulkachuwas character or competence. As a matter of fact, I have great respect for her, being a pioneer and advocate for gender equality and female empowerment. It is with this in mind that I commend Justice Bulkachuwa for recusing herself from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Panel hearing my petition against the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, President Muhammadu Buhari. Her action showed courage and is an act of patriotism. She has, by this action, increased the confidence the public have for the judiciary. Not only do I commend her, I also pray, especially in this holy month of Ramadan, that Justice will be done by the tribunal according to the fear of God and not in keeping with respect for the powers that be. May God bless the judiciary and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received another batch of 195 stranded Nigerians from Libya. Idris Muhammed, Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office, NEMA, who confirmed the development to journalists on Thursday in Ikeja, said this was the largest batch of voluntary returnees since the exercise began in April 2017. Mr Muhammed said the Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja at 8.20 p.m. on Wednesday aboard a chartered Al Buraq Air aircraft with registration number 5A-DMG SEB. He disclosed that they were the 69th batch of returnees brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees (AVR) Programme. According to him, after profiling, the breakdown of the new returnees shows that they comprise of 71 female adults, 25 female children and 17 female infants. They also include 60 male adults, 12 male children and 10 male infants. Among them were three male returnees with minor medical issues and seven pregnant women, Mr Muhammed said. Welcoming the returnees, he advised Nigerian youth to look inwards and utilise the money they had set aside for embarking on perilous journeys, to set up good businesses in the country. Since the EU closed their borders for irregular migrants, the journeys through irregular means have become wasteful and dangerous. If you had used the huge amounts of money spent on these fruitless efforts in Nigeria to start a business, you would have been very successful in your endeavours. Therefore, you need to strive and embrace the federal governments enabling initiatives to empower the youths, Mr Muhammed said. One of the returnees, Kehinde Obala from Badagry, Lagos, regretted his sojourn in the volatile North African country. The 66 years old man said he was a successful mechanic and pastor in Libya until the war broke out and he lost everything. I had a church over there but everything I worked for were destroyed. Ordinarily, I never thought of coming back to Nigeria but when I was assured and promised that I will be resettled when I return home that was why I came back. I have wasted my life except IOM and government are magnanimous enough to help me start from the scratch, he said. NAN reports that NEMA said as at March 15, 12,574 Nigerians have so far returned from Libya under the Assisted Voluntary Returnees Programme, which began in April 2017. NAN reports that NEMA said over 4,900 of the returnees have also been trained on various skill acquisition and empowerment training by IOM through special funding facilitated by the EU. (NAN) The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has dismissed the suit seeking to stop the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The suit was filed by Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and Ambrose Oworu, its presidential candidate. In the lead judgment delivered by Joseph Ikyechi, the tribunal dismissed the application for lacking merit. HDP and its presidential candidate in the suit sought an order from the tribunal to restrain the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, from administering the oath of office on Mr Buhari on May 29. A restraining order by this court is appropriate to preserve the subject matter of this petition and prevent the first respondent foisting a fiat and state of helplessness on the court and render the petition nugatory, the motion had read. The law is settled that once the question of the validity of election of any person is challenged as to whether he is validly elected or not, the person is not competent to take office or assume the seat of power until the matter is dealt with. Respondents in the suit, which include Mr Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), faulted the application and asked the tribunal to dismiss it for lacking merit. Arguing the application, counsel representing Mr Owuru and the HDP backed their suit with Sections 1 (2), 6 (6), 139 and 239 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. But Mr Buharis counsel, Wole Olanipekun, INEC counsel, Ustaz Usman, and the counsel for APC, Akin Olujimi, all urged the tribunal to dismiss the application for being incompetent. Meanwhile, following the decision of the president of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa, to recuse herself from the election tribunal, lawyers hope the panel would be reconstituted on time to continue the hearing on the main petitions. Other petitions before the tribunal include those of Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, Geff Ojinka of the Coalition for Change (CC) and Aminchi Habu of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM). The House of Representatives has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sanction 16 commercial banks for under-remitting stamp duty revenue to the tune of N1.6 billion. It also asked the CBN to ensure the banks pay the outstanding revenue with interests. The House reached the decision after adopting the report of the ad-hoc committee which investigated the non-remittance of the stamp duties on Thursday. Leaks.ng, a collation of media houses, had reported that the agencies refused to disclose details of the stamp duty revenue whose status has been shrouded in secrecy over the years. Following the report, the House set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the matter and report its findings. CBN officials had told the committee the total stamp duty revenue since January 2016 stands at N35.2 billion. The committees report, as presented by its chairman, Abubakar Ahmad, listed the indicted banks with highest under-remitted stamp duty revenues as Diamond Bank, with N545.87 million; Zenith Bank, with N265.63 million, and Stanbic IBTC, with N231 million. The other banks indicted include Guaranteed Trust Bank (N196.3 million); Standard Chartered Bank (N3.65 million); Citi Bank (N1.86 million); and Providus Bank (N646,650). Others are Fidelity Bank (N32.88 million), Keystone Bank (N24.47 million), United Bank of Africa (N81 million), and ECOBANK (N78.52 million) Also indicted are Unity Bank (N40 million), Jaiz Bank (N2.43 million), Access Bank (N66 million), Skye Bank (N11 million), and Polaris Bank (N2.9 million). The House, however, called for further investigation into four banks which it said failed to honour their invitations. The banks include First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank, Wema Bank and Suntrust Bank. Recommendations Apart from penalising the 16 banks, the lawmakers also asked CBN to strengthen its supervisory role over the stamp duty revenue to ensure they are collected promptly. It also called for a machinery to allow for the recovery of under -remittances after further reconciliation is carried out with the banks concerned. Other recommendations include: That all banks that were found not to have made full disclosure on stamp duties collections and remittances should be further investigated. That financial institutions, especially the deposit money banks (DMBs) should remit all collections with respect to government revenues promptly and correctly, and where remittances are not promptly done, the DMBs should be sanctioned. That the relevant agencies should give maximum cooperation to the School of Banking Honours (SBH) to enable it realise the goal of the assignment given to it. That other forms of stamp duty should be explored to increase the revenue base of various tiers of government in accordance with the provisions of the Stamp Duty Act, 2004. President Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed the appointment of Mohammed Adamu as Nigerias Inspector General of Police. The confirmation was made Thursday during the meeting of the Nigeria Police Council, headed by Mr Buhari, at the Presidential Villa Abuja. The newly elected chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi, announced the decision while addressing State House correspondents. Police Council met this afternoon, presided by the chairman President Muhammadu Buhari. The Council looked at the records of the acting IGP who has been in the saddle since 15 of January 2019. A cross-section of members felt that given his passionate commitment, professionalism and extensive experience, locally and internationally, his interim appointment as acting Inspector General of Police was approved and confirmed as permanent appointment by the Police Council, in accordance with the provision of the constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Mr Fayemi said. Mr Mohammed took over from ex-IG, Ibrahim Idris, who retired on age grounds, in January. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the government of being reluctant to implement the agreement between the two parties and said it should not be held responsible if there is any disruption in the university system. The union recalled that it issued a caveat before suspending its three months old strike in February that the suspension was conditional. Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES in a phone interview Thursday evening, the national president of the union, Biodun Ogunyemi, said the government had not shown commitment to carrying out the 2019 Memorandum of Action. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, on Tuesday said the federal government had approved an additional N25 billion allowance for members of ASUU. But Mr Ogunyemi said the money should have been released in February as agreed by the parties. He said it was meant to be a part-payment of the earned academic allowances of the teachers. As at now, the universities have not received the said N25 billion. The fund was expected to be used for part-payment of the arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) as agreed with the Federal Government in February this year, he said. According to him, ASUU was told that approval had been given as far back as February. However, the fund has not been released to the universities for paying part of the outstanding EAA of those qualified to take it. Our members are seriously worried about this and other aspects of the Memorandum of Action ASUU signed with the FGN on 7th February 2019, he said. Mr Ogunyemi said the union will be having a meeting soon to take decisions on the situation. Reaching an agreement with the Federal Government has often been a frustrating journey for our union. It is often marked with protests, strikes and requires a conscious and focused engagement. The 2001 agreement, which gave birth to the 2009 agreement, was not an exemption. The exception here is the personality leading the government negotiation team. Our members enjoy their work and hate to see any disruption in the smooth running of our universities. However, the level of frustration occasioned by the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards meeting the terms of the 2019 Memorandum of Action that was freely signed with our union is increasingly becoming unbearable, he said. Background In the 20 years since Nigeria returned to civil rule under the Fourth Republic, university teachers in the country have embarked on strike 14 times and stayed away from work for about 40 months. The last strike by the teachers under ASUU began last year November. After several rounds of meetings between leaders of the union and the federal government, the union suspended the strike in February. ASUU has been locked in a protracted dispute with the Nigerian government over issues connected to poor funding of public universities. Every time the dispute boiled over to strike by the teachers, negotiations between the two parties always produced agreements. However, the governments failure to meet the teachers expectations within the context of the agreements had been a primary reason ASUU has been on strike almost every year since 1999. A confidential agreement PREMIUM TIMES reported how the government and the union resumed talks on the 2009 agreement in March. The 2009 agreement was reached after two years of negotiation between the lecturers and a government team appointed by the then Education Minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili. The government team was led by the then Pro-chancellor, University of Ibadan, Gamaliel Onosode, while ASUUs team was led by its then president, Abdullahi Sule-Kano. Details of that agreement were made confidential by both ASUU and the government, thus leaving the public to feed on sparse information thrown out at negotiation meetings. PREMIUM TIMES obtained a copy of the agreement and made it public in 2013. In the last round of negotiation, ASUU said it was not comfortable with Mr Babalakin being the chairman, alleging that Mr Babalakin did not relate with the union as a negotiator but as a judge. He was always trying to overrule, Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU national president alleged. According to Mr Ogunyemi, Mr Babalakin dismissed ASUUs report. Advertisements That kind of person cannot be a negotiator because he believes that his opinion should be superior. Thats not a good trait of a good negotiator, and thats unbecoming of him. Dr Wale Babalakin has an ideological position in terms of how to fund Nigerian education. But the federal government through the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, said the union cannot decide for the government. Dr Babalakin will still lead the negotiation committee, he said. An estimated 7,000 Nigerians died between 2015 and 2019 in the persistent violence between farmers and pastoralists in the middle belt states of Benue and Nasarawa, a report funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has said. Titled Engaging Communities for Peace in Nigeria (ECPN), the report also said the violence has cost the Nigerian economy $13 billion a year over the past five years. An international non-governmental organisation, Mercy Corps, conducted the study across the states and wrote the report. The group said the study was aimed at preventing violent conflict between farmer and herders in the middle belt states. The report was presented at Bon Elvis Hotels On Thursday in Abuja. The presentation was witnessed by the paramount ruler of the Tiv, Tor Tiv James Ayatse; the Country Director, Mercy Corps, Darius Radcliffe; USAID Mission Director, Stephen Haykin, represented by USAID country Democracy Officer, Beatrice Reaud , and other community leaders from Benue and Nasarawa states. The report said a programme of interventions in the middle belt states by Mercy Corps had helped to reduce conflict in the area by 13 per cent. The report said trained participants in the programme succeeded in resolving1932 inter and the intra-community disputes. According to the report, over 600 disputes over grazing routes, seasonal access to water points, crop damage, cutting down of economic trees, water pollution by animals, and commerce were addressed peacefully in the communities where ECPN worked. Event snippet Peace and reconciliation lie at the heart of USAIDs global approach to promoting stability and security in conflict-affected areas, Mrs Reaud, said at the closing event. The United States and Nigeria share the objective of reducing violence in the Middle Belt states by peacefully preventing and resolving farmer-pastoralist conflicts. We must look beyond the help that Mercy Corps through USAID has given us, she said. We are grateful for the assistance, but [its ideas] must be repackaged an implemented under another name. If we dont change our ways, these problems will continue to hurt us, and it is the poor and downtrodden who suffer most. If you engage in fighting, even if you win, you lose something. The Madakin of Lafia in Nasarawa State, Ishaku Dauda, said the USAID Mercy corp initiative had brought peace into their communities. We appreciate what they have done. They did not just help face the problem, they helped solve it. For instance, if it was a stream that was the cause of the conflict, they dug a borehole as a surplus for water usage for both the herders and farmers. We thank God for Mercy Corp and USAID for what they have done. Some of us never had the idea of coming together, but through their initiative, I began to understand we need to come together to stop the surge, a member of Zango community in Benue State, Zaki Timbee, said. In his remarks, the country director of Mercy Corp, Darius Radcliffe, said: There has been a tremendous amount of learning as a result of the research that has been embedded into the findings. We were able to look at the causes and address the causes of the conflicts without scratching the surface. Also in the engagement with the communities we also decided to choose only Nasarawa and Benue states because they were the states that were most affected by the farmer/herders clashes. They were the likely choices four years ago as they were the states with the most critical cases of violence, in terms of farmer/herders clashes. The newly appointed Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC), Shuaibu Ibrahim, has said he is prepared to ensure that no corps member dies during his or her service year. Mr Ibrahim, a Brigadier General, who spoke on Wednesday at the NYSC Zonal Office in Akure, Ondo State, said arrangements had been concluded to make credit available to corps members who engage in entrepreneurial ventures and skills acquisition. He said in his effort to protect the lives of corps members, he was prepared to sacrifice his own life. The official, who was on a visit to the staff and corps members in the state, said he was happy to be in the state. He urged members to keep themselves abreast of what was is happening in their environment and be security conscious. Mr Ibrahim also urged the corps members to take the opportunity of the entrepreneurial programmes put in place by the scheme rather than embarking on frivolous travels. I will prefer to die than losing a corps member, he said. Keep yourself abreast of what is happening in your country, and make a difference as a corps member. I want to re-jig our skills acquisition programme. If you take it seriously, we have partners that are ready to lend you money. I am very passionate about the scheme and my corps members. I came for a youth programme, so I decided to visit you as my children. What will you be remembered for when you leave this place? Try as much as possible to keep your records clean. Mr Ibrahim later told journalists that the visit was unofficial. He said he would look for a way to ensure that the scheme would not depend solely on government funds. Earlier, the Ondo State Coordinator of the scheme, Grace Akpabio, described the visit of the official as homecoming. Mrs Akpabio also said the Ondo State Government had been helping to improve the scheme in the state, especially with the building of perimeter fence at the Ikare Akoko Permanent Orientation Camp. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, says scanners at some Nigerian Airports are not working optimally. The official made this known before the ad-hoc committee set up by the Senate to look into circumstances that led to the arrest of Zainab Aliyu in Saudi Arabia in December 2018, over planting of a banned drug, Tramadol, in her luggage . The committee was headed by Kabiru Gaya (APC-Kano). Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, who is also Chairman designate of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission (NDC), alleged that some foreign airlines were running drug cartels in connivance with some Nigerians at international airports across the country. They operate alongside local collaborators. It is not Air Peace, not Arik Air, she said . Meanwhile, the Airport Chief of Security of the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), El-Yakub Lamir, disclosed that scanners at the Aminu Kano International Airport in particular, were not configured to detect drugs. He said that there were 15 security agents involved in checking luggages at the point of entry and exit but that they had been reduced in number due to public complaints. In his remarks, Mr Gaya, charged the officials of NDLEA to increase the number of sniffer dogs in all the international airports across the country to a significant figure to help detect drugs. He further called on officials of FAAN to upgrade the scanner at the airports to detect drugs. He commended Ms Aliyus father for providing information on her arrest. He assured that, as soon as the committee was done with its investigations, it would submit a report to the Senate before the end of the 8th National Assembly. The Senate had mandated the adhoc committee to investigate alleged planting of banned drug in Ms Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakars bags, which led to their arrests in Saudi Arabia, for which she was detained for four months. They were both let off when the Nigerian Government was able to establish that the drugs were planted in their bags by a drug cartel at the Aminu Kano International Airport where they boarded for Saudi Arabia. Ms Aliyu, a student of Maitama Sule University, Kano, and Ibrahim Abubakar, were arrested in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking. Ms Aliyu was arrested in December 2018 at the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina.(NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigerias diversity would remain a source of strength for the development of the country. President Buhari spoke on Thursday in Abuja while receiving Letters of Credence from the Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria, Shimon Ben-Shosan. The President said Nigeria and Israel have enjoyed cordial bilateral relations, highlighting that many Nigerian Christians look forward to performing pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel. I congratulate you on your appointment as Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria. Enjoy your stay in Nigeria and take time to go round to see the beauty and diversity of the country, the President told the Israeli ambassador. The ambassador congratulated President Buhari on his re-election, thanking the Nigerian government for extending an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister to attend the Democracy Day celebrations on June 12. Next year will be 60 years of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Israel, and the last time a Prime Minister of Israel visited Nigeria was in 1958. My dream is to bring my Prime Minister and President to visit Nigeria and for President Buhari to visit Israel. That will be historic for us, Ben-Shoshan said. Receiving the Letters of Credence of the Sierra Leonean High Commissioner to Nigeria, Solomon Gembeh, President Buhari said both countries have a strong and stable relationship borne out of shared history and decades of cooperation. President Buhari said he looked forward to continue working with President Julius Maada Bio to further strengthen the relations between both countries, emphasising that both of them shared a common historical background as former military Heads of State who later became civilian President. The President lauded the resilience of the Sierra Leonean people in overcoming the tragedy of the 2017 mudslide in the West African country. The Sierra Leonean High Commissioner thanked Nigeria for its steadfast brotherly support to his country, saying during ECOMOG, Nigerian soldiers bled and died for us. During the Ebola crisis, the mudslide, you have always been there for us. Nigeria has always been a big brother to us, he said. Mr Gembeh extended President Bios good wishes to President Buhari on his second-term in office, adding that his President is looking forward to attending the Democracy Day Celebrations in Abuja on June 12. Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have called for a review of the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme of the scheme. The programme was established in 2012 to coordinate efforts towards empowering corp members nationwide to become thriving entrepreneurs and value-adding employees after their service year. Before the initiative became compulsory for corps members, there had been a growing concern among fresh graduates over the gradual disappearance of white collar jobs in the country. In response to the concern, the federal government introduced the vocational and entrepreneurship development programme to train corps members in cosmetology, construction, agro-allied, ICT, film and photography, power and energy, automobile, education, culture and tourism, among others. Despite the success stories recorded by some corp members through the NYSC SAED initiative, many corps members have tagged the initiative as a scam and time-consuming and called on the government to review its implementation. Chukwuyem Divine, a corps member in Abuja, describe NYSC SAED as a great initiative with poor implementation. The idea of the NYSC SAED programme is great but the implementation is poor, he stated in an interview with our reporter. I will not blame my fellow corps members who called the initiative a scam due to so many irregularities I can attest to. I boycotted the training not because I am certain of white collar job after my youth service, but because of the clear exploitation, lack of professionalism of the trainers and the wrong timing, Mr Chukwuyem said. Most of our SAED lectures usually hold for three hours or more after intense morning parade when corps members must have been tired. Another corps member in Edo State said he and some colleagues did not participate in the programme because they could not afford the fees they were told to pay. The corps member, David Ojumoola, said: I was very disappointed when the coordinator sent me out because I could not afford the #1000 they asked us to pay outside the money the Federal Government set aside for the SAED training. This reporter made several attempts to reach the spokesperson of the NYSC in Abuja, Adenike Adeyemi, for her comment for this story but she did not pick calls to her telephone or respond to text messages. On how to improve the programme, Mr Ojumoola urged the NYSC to set aside a day in the week for practical SAED classes, just as in the Community Development Service (CDS). On his part, Mr Chukwuyem called for a total review of the programme implementation so as to protect coming corp members against exploitation by administrators of the programme. A former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ndutimi Alaibe, has asked the incoming National Assembly to come up with appropriate legislation that will reduce direct human involvement in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. The eight assembly is expected to end in June after which new and returning lawmakers will be inaugurated. Mr Alaibe said with the development of appropriate technology used in other parts of the world, election rigging and election violence would be reduced because such technology will reduce or at best eliminate human errors. According to a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Alaibe made the call at a workshop on Credible Governorship Election and Good Governance in Bayelsa State. The ex-NDDC boss spoke strongly against election violence in Nigeria with emphasis on Bayelsa State. He also explained why he had withdrawn from political contest in the state on several occasions. You will recall that since 2002 when I stepped into the political arena in Bayelsa State, I have had to pull back a few times in the middle of the contest not out of timidity, weakness or lack of support base to win elections. Far from it! I have always taken such a decision when it became clear that for me to achieve my goal, I will have to swim in the blood of fellow citizens by matching violence with violence. Instead of this, I have always chosen the path of peace at the risk of my political career. Why should I create orphans and widows just because I want political power? In the words of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan: is my personal ambition worth the blood of a fellow Ijaw man? The answer is no, he said. He said one way to stop election violence is to conceive an appropriate technology to support the human effort. Our lawmakers must come up with required legislations to ensure that voters buy into modern methods of electoral activities devoid of human errors. When this happens, rigging will be eliminated. Undue human involvement in electoral processes will be reduced. Violence will be minimised. Why should a true Ijaw man murder a fellow Ijaw man just because he wants to win an election? Why should anyone procure arms and train people to kill their fellow human beings so as to pave way for their rise to power? Why would anyone desire to swim in the blood of fellow Ijaw men and women so as to attain exalted political offices? This is not just an abomination but an aberration. According to him, several factors contribute to the credibility of any election anywhere, the principal among them is non-violence during the electioneering process. He said the bloodshed and killings in the last election were other examples of disgraceful act of violence which must never happen again. He urged all political actors to decide to be decent in their campaigns, voting and reactions to final election results. Election to public offices must be based on acceptability by the electorate. That acceptability is a product of popularity of ideas. Election must not be contested and won based on superiority of violence but on superiority of ideas. Ideas speak to the heart of the people. Ideas generate transformation. Violence brings about torture and death. The result of violence is bloodshed and tears. Election must not be contested and won based on the much-touted federal might. It must be contested and won based on the freewill of the voters. Every politics is local. Voters must not be intimidated by threat of violence. We must resolve today to depart from this path. Every democratic society is tailored after the ideological concept of freedom, welfare, equality, solidarity and progress, he explained. The conference was organised to prepare the minds of the people against violence, particularly those seeking election as governor of Bayelsa State during the election scheduled for November 16. Mr Alaibe is one of many observers who say the general elections were marred by violence and rigging in several states. There were reports of violence, ballot snatching and thuggery in states like Rivers, Kano, Lagos and Imo. A study has revealed that most men in Nigeria do not have knowledge of prostate cancer and have not been screened of the disease. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men but screening for the disease is not yet a common practice in the country. The true burden of the disease is not known, but the study shows that one in four Nigerian men faces the risk of developing prostate cancer. The study was carried out by Project PinkBlue in collaboration with ACT Foundation. Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Executive Director, Project Pink Blue, Runcie Chidebe, lamented that most men in Nigeria die from prostate cancer because of the low awareness about the disease. He said this can be averted if the government makes prostate screening mandatory for every man above 40. Mr Chidebe said the research was carried out in Lagos, Enugu and Abuja. He said research tagged Men on Blue is a health intervention focused on closing the gaps of awareness, education, research and screenings for prostate cancer in rural communities in Nigeria. The research had 3,000 men for the study. In Nigeria, there is no organised screening or a national screening programme. What is currently available is sporadic screenings, driven by non-profit and non-governmental organisations hosting medical missions in diverse communities, Mr Chidebe said. Many people do not have knowledge about prostate cancer. Knowing family health history is extremely important in prostate cancer prevention and early detection of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer seems to runs in some families, which suggests that in some cases there may be an inherited or genetic factor, he said Research report About 82.1 per cent of Nigerian men who participated in the study said they had never been screened for prostate cancer and most of them are 40 years and above. Only 13.8 per cent reported having been screened for prostate cancer. The low screening level of screening explains the late detection of prostate cancer in Nigeria and the increasing cancer death. Expert reacts An urologist, Ajibola Hafees, said the burden of prostate cancer is high in Nigeria because many people present their ailment to the hospital late. He said this can be averted if more people have the awareness of the disease and the screening test that can help with early detection. Mr Hafees recommended a regular Prostate Specific Antigen test can for men. He said the cost of screen is a bit high, but it is not as high as the cost of diagnosis and treatments. Having a PSA test cost about N6, 000 to N10, 000 or more, depending on where the test is being done. This is by far cheaper than the cost of treating prostate cancer. The cost of treating prostate cancer is low relatively or comparatively to breast cancer. About 1.3 million to 3.3 million treat prostate cancer yearly in Nigeria, he said. Giving a breakdown of the treatment cost, Mr Hafees said a diagnosis for prostate cancer could cost N147,000 to N152, 000, surgery could cost between N350, 000 and N950, 000; while 25 to 30 sessions of chemotherapy could cost N150, 000 to N360, 000. How many Nigerian men can pay out this kind of money from their pocket to get treated? Many of these indigent men would just decide to stay back home and die. With the poor health insurance, it has become more financially stressful to cope with the financial burden of cancer in Nigeria. Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. The prostate is a walnut size gland that is part of the male reproductive system. It is located below the unitary bladder and in front of the rectum. Advertisements Prostate cancer has the potential to grow and spread quickly, but for most men it is a relatively slow growing disease. Prostate cancer is 100 per cent treatable if detected early, unfortunately, it has no symptom. According to researches, a black man is 70 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer than a while man and is nearly 2.3 times more likely to die from the disease. As men increase in age, the risk of developing prostate cancer increases. It is also hereditary. If a relative has a history of prostate cancer then there is twice likelihood to develop the disease. This is why it is advisable for men age 40 and above to begin early screening for the detection of the disease. Screening for the disease may include Prostate Specific Antigen, PSA and other tests. The Court of Appeal President, Zainab Bulkachuwa, has recused herself from presiding over and being a member of the presidential election petition tribunal. She mentioned personal ground as a reason for her decision. Mrs Bulkachuwa announced the decision after a five-member panel of the court ruled against the application brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The opposition party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had challenged her membership of the tribunal on account of her relationships with two members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP and Mr Abubakar are challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in the February presidential election. The PDP had approached the court after the inaugural sitting of the tribunal on May 8, accusing Mrs Bulkachuwa of having the likelihood of bias, on the grounds that her husband, Adamu Bulkachuwa, and her son, Aliyu Bulkachuwa, are both members of the APC. Mrs Bulkachuwas husband was controversially picked by the APC to represent the party ahead of the 2019 senatorial elections. He won the eventual senatorial election. The PDP also asked Mrs Bulkachuwa to recuse herself from further presiding or participating as a member of the tribunal after the party cited some of her comments during the tribunals inaugural seating. Part of the comments included Mrs Bulkachuwas submissions that, no matter how well elections are conducted, there were bound to be complains. Arguments Of Counsel According to the PDP and Mr Abubakar, Mrs Bulkachuwas comments implied that she had already prejudged the elections to have been well conducted. The lawyer who spoke on behalf of the PDP, Levy Uzoukwu, said the inferred predisposition of Mrs Bulkachuwa rendered it difficult to prove a major point of their petition before the court. He further requested Mrs Bulkachuwa to recuse herself on the grounds that, justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. Mr Uzoukwu also cited sections of their application which, according to him, amounted to the real likelihood of bias against Mrs Bulkachuwa. The question is not whether she will be biased. But whether there were credible evidence to prove that she has a likelihood of bias, Mr Uzoukwu argued He added that Mrs Bulkachuwa herself had asked that judges in the tribunal should be divested from all forms of bias, hence the need for her to recuse herself in the given circumstances. After making his submission, the lawyer representing the Independent National Electoral Commission, Yunus Usman, said the fact that Mrs Bulkachuwa is related to politicians cannot be the yardstick for the request that she should recuse herself. He added that the constitution does not allow for such discrimination and that the provisions of the constitution are wide enough to ensure justice prevails for all parties. According to Mr Usman, Mrs Bulkachuwas relationship with members of the APC cannot serve as a yardstick for judging her. Mr Usman added that if relationships are to be considered in deciding the membership of judicial panels, then it will be practically difficult for any jurist to seat in judgement since most of them are related to one politician or the other. Wole Olanipekun, who represented President Buhari, noted that by virtue of Section 239 of the constitution, only the Court of Appeal has exclusive jurisdiction to determine if a person has been validly elected into the office of the president of Nigeria or not. He said the president of the court is empowered to either seat on the tribunals panel or select members who will sit on the panel. He added that only the president of the court had the final say on whether or not she should sit as a member of the panel. In his arguments, the lawyer who represented the APC, Lateef Fagbemi, also said the cases cited by the petitioners in support of their arguments were inapplicable to their request and can therefore not be relied upon in the instant case. He noted that Mrs Bulkachuwa had conducted herself with utmost decorum in the years when she served as a member of the bench. Advertisements According to Mr Fagbemi, the conduct of Mrs Bulkachuwa has made it practically impossible for her to be accused of bias in the discharge of her duties. He, however, encouraged Mrs Bulkachuwa to recuse herself to avoid any perceived dent on her person. The Judgement After reading through the arguments of counsel, a member of the panel, Peter Ige, who read the judgement, said the submissions made by the applicants showed that Mrs Bulkachuwa was only being accused of the likelihood of bias. As can be seen from the prayers and the grounds, the President of the Court is not being accused of bias. However, she is being accused of the likelihood of bias. That fear is born out of the relationship she shares with prominent card-carrying members of this panel. I am of the sole view that no such inference can be reached from the above statement. I am of the firm view that enough materials have not been placed to show that the Honourable president has the likelihood of bias. The fact that she is the mother and wife of the APC members is not enough to require that she recuse herself. Her family members are not parties in the instant suit, Mr Ige said. The judge then ruled that the application had failed and was subsequently dismissed. The Withdrawal After the ruling, Mrs Bulkachuwa said that she insisted that the trial to be heard in full so that the place of the law would be noted. She, however, added that she was recusing herself on personal grounds. I will, however, recuse myself on personal ground, Mrs Bulkachuwa said. She added that her decision was taken to ensure that no female jurist is discriminated against in Nigerias future. The Nigeria Governors Forum on Wednesday elected Kayode Fayemi as its new chairman for a term of two years. The Ekiti State governor was chosen at a gathering of the 36 governors in Abuja Wednesday night, following his nomination by Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State. Some governors, including Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, were not in attendance, but they were said to have sent representatives. Mr El-Rufai was believed to be a contender for the top position in the forum, which is a congregation of all the countrys 36 governors towards a common front. But hours ahead of the meeting, Mr Fayemi rocketed into the lead for the influential position, with governors from the south expressing sentiments about a rotational chairmanship of the forum. Mr Fayemi was unanimously elected, according to a statement from the forum. Mr Fayemi succeeded Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, who served two terms over the past four years. Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto was also elected as vice-chairman to Mr Fayemi during the meeting at the forums headquarters in Maitama District. Their tenure will expire in 2021, but they can seek a re-election for another two years. First battle The forum was established in 1999 to coordinate the activities of governors in matters of national interest, which sometimes clash with the interest of the central government. The forum has clashed with presidents on matters like the sovereign wealth fund and excess crude accounts. In 2017, the governors sparred with President Buhari after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission opened investigation into how states were spending their Paris Club windfall. Mr Fayemis first official confrontation with the Buhari administration could be over the recent guideline of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which sought to restrict governors access to local government funds. The governors have been protesting the regulation, which was announced earlier this month ahead of its implementation from June 1. The restrictions would be detrimental to Basic Universal Education Programme, primary health care, as well as payment of primary school teachers, Mr Yari said in a statement Wednesday night. They said Mr Fayemi would lead other governors to see Mr Buhari over the matter, and other issues of national concern, especially the growing insecurity. In his acceptance comments, Mr Fayemi said he would pursue a policy of mutual cooperation with the centre, even though that may not necessarily be at the detriment of states autonomy. We are committed to a strong partnership with the federal government, Mr Fayemi said. Only 11 of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria are free from the practice of open defecation, the United Nation Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has said. A Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist, Bioye Ogunjobi, said this in Kano on Wednesday. He spoke at the opening sesion of a two-day media dialogue organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture in collaboration with UNICEF. The dialogue, entitled: Clean Nigeria, looked at the implications of open defecation and WASH-related issues. Mr Ogunjobi said the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, with support from UNICEF and United Purposes,helped the 11 LGAs to achieve the feat. The LGAs are Daas, Warji in Bauchi State; Birnin Kudu and Buji in Jigawa State; Ikom, Yala, Obanliku, Yakur, Boki and Berkwara in Cross River State and Logo in Benue State. They are 11 in number but we are likely to have two more in Jigawa within the next one month, he said. Mr Ogunjobi said this was achieved with the implementation of a programme called Community Led Total Sanitation (CLT). He described CLT is an approach which helps communities realise the dangers of open defecation and to take collective decision to stop the act. This has happened in a total number of 17 communities in Nigeria but this is a drop in the ocean. Because we are talking about 774 LGAs and we have been able to address Open Defecation in only 11 LGAS, that is 764 LGAs left, he said He said taking WASH to disadvantaged communities in the rural areas, improving access to safe water and sanitation in schools and health care facilities as well as hygiene promotion and advocacy were the priority of WASH. He called for increased investment on sanitation in the country. In November 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari declared a state of emergency in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector. He reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to eliminating open defecation by the 2025. However, despite the declaration by the president, 47 million people still defecate in the open while 33 million use unimproved toilets. In his remark at the dialogue, the Deputy Director, Head of Child Rights Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of Information, Olumide Osanyinpeju, said the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet campaign is one of the most ambitious behaviour change campaigns in Nigeria. He said the campaign mode will create a national movement with elements of policy advocacy, public advocacy, grassroots mobilization and private sector engagement by leveraging on already existing structures in states. Mr Osanyinpeju said sanitation is essential to the survival and development of children Proper sanitation facilities promote health because it allows people dispose off their waste appropriately. Open defecation is incredibly dangerous, as contact with human waste can cause diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, diarrhoea, worm infestation and under nutrition. We must double our current efforts in order to end open defecation by 2030, he said. The UNICEF Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, urged the media to step up reportage of issues around sanitation and to sensitise the people on the need to shun open defecation and imbibe the use of toilet. Mr Njoku urged media practitioners to use their tools to raise awareness on the benefits of cleanliness and the dangers of open defecation to health and wellbeing. The Nigerian Senate on Thursday passed a bill to convert the Yaba College of Technology (YABATCH) to City University of Technology. The bill seeking the conversion was sponsored by Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos-APC). It was read the first time on November 16, 2016. In his lead debate, Mr Ashafa argued that Nigerias march towards providing education for all in the shortest possible time informed his introduction of the bill. He said the new university will encourage the advancement of learning among other benefits. The institution will Provide courses of instruction and other facilities for the pursuit of learning in all its branches, and to make those facilities available on proper terms to such persons as are equipped to benefit from them; Encourage and promote scholarship and conduct research in all fields of learning with an emphasis on technical education; Relate its activities to the social, cultural and economic needs of the people of Nigeria; and undertake any other activities appropriate for a university of the highest standards, he stated. Mr Ashafa said the country should be ready to adjust its educational institutions in line with its aim of becoming one of the worlds leading economies as currently being pursued by the government. He added that the institution will help bridge technological challenges inherent in such projections. When the bill is enacted into law, he said the institution will have the power to establish campuses, institute professorships and readerships, award fellowships and scholarships, grant degrees, diplomas, certificates as well as honorary degrees. He stated that section 8 of the bill has provided that all property held by or on behalf of YABATECH shall be vested in the university and be held by it for the purposes of the university. Notably, all the staff hereby transferred to the university and previous service shall count as service for the purposes of any pension payable by the university, he added. The bill was passed in a unanimous vote by the lawmakers. New Polytechnic in Lagos Similarly, the Senate passed a bill for the establishment of The Federal Polytechnic, Iwerekun, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State. Mr Ashafa said the polytechnic will provide full-time courses in technology, applied science management and other fields of studies. He added that the institution will provide knowledge In such other fields of applied learning relevant to the needs of the development of Nigeria in the area of industrial and agricultural production and distribution and for research in the development and adaptation of techniques as the Council may from time to time determine. The Polytechnic, he said, will grant National Diplomas (ND) and Higher National Diplomas (HND) in Technology, Applied Science Management and other related fields. The bill was also passed by the lawmakers. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday asked law enforcement authorities to arrest the minister of information, Lai Mohammed. Mr Abubakar said Mr Mohammed raised a false alarm about purported plots to sabotage the Buhari administration, an allegation that he had failed to provide any evidence to substantiate. The opposition leader said Mr Mohammed should also apologise to him and his Peoples Democratic Party to deter a repeat of such unfounded claim that could damage national security. With the conclusion reached by PREMIUM TIMES investigative reporting that there is no evidentiary proof to back the claim by Lai Mohammed that the opposition was planning to upstage the government, we demand that the information minister should be arrested for raising false alarm and an apology rendered to Atiku Abubakar and the PDP, Mr Abubakar said in a Thursday afternoon statement by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe. The demand came two days after PREMIUM TIMES revealed that a document the government and security agencies had claimed were in circulation calling for the overthrow of Mr Buhari could not be found in the public domain. Multiple security and diplomatic sources also could not confirm ever seeing the document. The elusive nature of the so-called document prompted allegations from both Mr Abubakar and civic groups that security agencies might be toeing the path of Sani Abacha, who led a brutal military junta that jailed dozens of opposition voices on allegations of a phantom coup plot in the 1990s. After PREMIUM TIMES reported the wariness of national security experts about the purported documents and other allegations of subversion levelled against the opposition, Mr Mohammed quickly dismissed the skeptics, saying the government had credible evidence to support its claim of opposition sabotage. But when PREMIUM TIMES asked him for evidence of the purported coup document, Mr Mohammed declined comments repeatedly. Mr Abubakar criticised Mr Buhari for not calling Mr Mohammed to order in his dangerous anti-opposition rhetoric. Atiku Abubakar It is very unsettling that senior administration officials, especially those who are the mouthpiece of government, will make reckless but calculated comments to tarnish the image of Atiku Abubakar and government will sit idly on it, he said. The information minister did not return PREMIUM TIMES request for comments about Mr Abubakars demands on Thursday afternoon. A budding smear Although Mr Abubakar welcomed the PREMIUM TIMES report as the latest evidence of a vast conspiracy against him, he feared that more more plans are afoot by unscrupulous and anti-democratic elements to smear his personality. The opposition leader, who has been contesting the outcome of the presidential elections at the tribunal, said he had been tipped off of plots by some agents of evil to stage-manage pockets of upset across the country and then blame it on him as the instigator. Mr Abubakar said some purported arrests would be made in connection to the staged attacks and the suspects would mention his name and some other PDP leaders as the masterminds. It, therefore, becomes preponderant that we alert the public of this demonic plan and to say that it will be imprudent to compromise the peace and security of Nigerians in order to score a cheap political goal, Mr Abubakar said. Towards this end, and for the umpteenth time, we call on the federal government to be awake to its responsibilities of providing security and ensuring peace, and to desist from actions and utterances that are capable of exposing our fault lines, he added. The Minna Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday issued bench warrants for the arrest of former Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and his former Chief of Staff, Umar Nasko. The judge, Aminu Aliyu, also revoked the earlier bail granted Messrs Aliyu and Nasko by Justice Yellim Bogoro for failure to respect hearing notices served on them to appear in court. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Messrs Aliyu and Nasko were ordered to appear in court on Thursday for re-arraignment after their alleged N1.9 billion fraud case was re-assigned to Justice Aliyu. Their counsel did not show up. Olajide Ayodele, Counsel to the former governor, however, sent a letter praying for an adjournment. The case was adjourned until May 27. (NAN) The Police Command in Borno State said operatives of Operation Puff Adder had arrested five soldiers and 83 other suspects over alleged armed robbery and other offences in the state. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Aliyu, made the disclosure in Maiduguri, the state capital on Thursday, while briefing journalists. Mr Aliyu said the soldiers were arrested at different times for various acts of armed robbery in Maiduguri between May 3 and 23. He explained that Hilary Oziama, a corporal, with Force number 09NA/63/3117, was arrested on May 13 after he allegedly conspired with Kolawale Samuel, a lance corporal, still at large and robbed one Ibrahim Mohammed of his tricycle worth N600, 000. Mr Aliyu added that two other soldiers, Mohammed Abubakar with force number 17NA/76/15521 and Ibrahim Musa, 17NA/76/4381, conspired with Mohammed Mustapha and Sani Abdullahi to rob one Sani Musa of his cell phone worth N5,000. He said the soldiers and their accomplices were arrested by personnel of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Maiduguri. Mr Aliyu also said a soldier, Tgwe Sylvester (15NA/73/0510), conspired with one Nnamani Micheal and stole a car from its owner at Bayo in Bayo Local Government Area of the state. He added that two locally-made pistols were recovered from the suspects. The commissioner said that a Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) official, Rapheal Akintola, was arrested with 60 rounds of live ammunition at Maiduguri Motor Park. He disclosed that 237 live ammunition were also recovered by the police under the Customs Bridge in Maiduguri metropolis. He said that six persons Modu Ali, Kaka Ali, Wakil Baa, Abba Babagana and Tijjani Bukar were arrested in connection with the ammunition recovered under the bridge. According to Mr Aliyu, the command also burst a kidnap syndicate at Askira Uba after they abducted and extorted N1.6 million from their victim, Sale Hamman. The suspects are Ibrahim Usman, Ahmadu Hammsn, Sule Hamman and Hamman Abdulrahaman. A drug peddler, Charles Noah, was arrested by the police in Maiduguri in possession of narcotic substances worth N2 million, while a large quantity of drugs were seized and many suspects arrested. The police also arrested two lovers, Shettima Bukar and Saude Saleh, over the murder of their new born child in Maiduguri. While reiterating the commands commitment to achieving crime-free society, the commissioner called on criminals to surrender. He assured that they would be assisted and rehabilitated to be reintegrated into the society. (NAN) The Chief Judge of Zamfara State, Kulu Mohamed, on Thursday freed 33 inmates from Gusau Medium Security Prison as part of effort to decongest prisons in the state. Mr Mohamed freed the inmates while on tour of prisons in Gusau, the state capital. Addressing the affected inmates, the chief judge advised them to shun any act capable of returning them to the prison. The state government has pardoned you, therefore, if you go back to your houses, make sure you desist from any bad act and dont associate with bad people for your community to be proud of you, she said The State Comptroller of Prisons, Sani Adamu, commended the cordial relationship with the state judiciary, police and other security agencies in the state. He urged the affected inmates to find better means of livelihood rather than engage in bad habit that would land them in prison. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the affected inmates include those awaiting trial and others being tried. The tour of the prisons will end on May 24. (NAN) The Kano State Tourism Management Board has closed another recreation centre, Piccolo Lounge, located along Tukur Road, Nasarawa GRA in the state capital metropolis. Speaking to journalists shortly after the operation on Wednesday, the managing director of the board, Abdullahi Gwarzo, said it had shut down two recreation centres in the last three months in the state. He said the board shut down the joint following complaints by residents of the area over indecent activities at the centre. According to him, the board investigated the complaints and found that the centre was being operated without being licensed by the board. He said the centre was also located in a residential area. Mr Gwarzo said he went to the joint disguised as a customer during the investigation. During our investigations on the centre, following a series of complaints by the residents of the area, I once disguised and patronised the centre. I was there until 1 a.m. What I saw was unfortunate because I saw many teenage girls with their boyfriends patronising the place and taking Shisha. So many teenage boys and girls were seen swimming almost naked. Therefore, the centre had to be closed pending the correction of all the defects, he said. Some of the residents of the area commended the board for its action, pleading that the centre was a nuisance to them. Bids for the concession of the Asaba International Airport were opened Thursday with two consortia, FIDMA/MA and AIMS, becoming the favourite bidders. At the opening of the bids by the transaction adviser on the concessioning of the airport, HALCROW Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, in a brief but interesting ceremony which saw representatives of the consortia in attendance, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa stated that his desire is to have an airport that is of international standards running effectively in Delta State. According to Governor Okowa who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Festus Agas, We are happy with the interest of various consortia for the Asaba Airport concession and want to reassure you that the bids will be diligently analysed by the transaction advisers. As a government, we are committed to building an effective and efficient airport and to make the Asaba Airport a hub with support and cooperation of the private sector; I want to assure you that Delta State is ready and open for business, the governor said. FIDC/MA Consortium and AIMS Consortium, led by Adanwimo Ezeife and Onome Onokpasa respectively, commended the transparency and fairness of the bidding process, stating that they look forward to the announcement of the results of the technical evaluation. A Senior Policy Adviser to Governor Okowa, Sylvester Monye, had said the Delta State Government has built a world-class airport and is interested in its effective operation. While disclosing the modalities involved in the bidding process, Mr Monye asserted, building an airport is one thing running it effectively is another; what we have done is coming up with the idea of concessioning the airport to take it to the level we want it to be; we want it to be a win-win situation and decided to do a fast track by considering a model that will believe will work with a master concessionary and sub concessionary. The death toll in the building collapse which occurred in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State, has risen to five. The police had earlier on Wednesday confirmed the death of two persons when the three-storey building collapsed. But on Thursday, the police spokesperson in the state, Haruna Mohammed, said three more persons have died. Update on collapsed three-storey building in Onitsha. Five Persons confirmed dead and two victims survived, he said. On May 22 at about 3 p.m, a building under construction located at No 9 Ezenwa Street, Onitsha belonging to one Barr. Ikebu Aso collapsed. Police patrol teams and other sister agencies rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area to checkmate miscreants and criminal elements from taking advantage of the situation to loot, he said. He said the two survivors were receiving treatment at the General hospital Onitsha where they were taken to by the Red Cross He said the corpses of the dead had been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy, while rescue operations were ongoing. Mr Mohammed said the police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. An Enugu East Magistrates Court presided by Magistrate A. N. Chioke has remanded 140 members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) over an alleged treason. The defendants, who were brought to the court in three 608 buses and one 18-seater bus, were said to have conspired to commit treasonable felony. They were however, arraigned outside the court for about two hours as the court room could not accommodate them. The offence was said to be punishable under Sect. 516 (A) of the Criminal Code CAP C38, Laws of Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 as applicable in Enugu State. When the charge was read, the defendants pleaded not guilty. One of the defense counsels, Osita Abalu, applied for their bail on the grounds that there was no evidence to back up the charge. Mr Abalu said the prosecution had failed to provide probable cause why the defendants should be remanded in court in line with Sect. 234 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws (ACJL) of Enugu State, 2017. He urged the court to exercise its powers under Section 225 of the same law and grant bail to the defendants. Mr Abalu said though the offence for which the defendants were charged was punishable with life imprisonment, Section 88 of the ACJL, the Magistrates Court was qualified to grant bail. He also urged the court to order the release of the four buses conveying the defendants to the venue of the burial. Counsel to the 107 defendants, F.C. Okeke, told the court that it was ridiculous for the prosecution to claim that the defendants attempted to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Okeke said the defendants were arrested on their way to a burial and wondered how that could translate to over throwing the government. President Muhammadu Buhari is in Abuja, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is in Enugu while the defendants were arrested in Nsukka, he said. The counsel described the charge as trumped-up and meant to deny the defendants of their fundamental rights. Mr Okeke said the prosecution deliberately brought the matter to the Magistrates Court just to punish them. An accused person cannot be brought to a court when such court has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter just to punish them. That is the essence of the ACJL of Enugu State. The law does not want an innocent soul to suffer. The defendants were arrested with no evidence; not even a razor blade. They were going to a burial, he said. Mr Okeke urged the court to grant them bail in the most lenient means. However, the prosecution counsel, Paschal Nwachukwu, urged the court to discountenance the bail application. Mr Nwachukwu said the law empowered prosecutors to bring defendants to a magistrate for remand. He said a court could not grant bail in a matter it had no jurisdiction. In her ruling, Mrs Chioke declined jurisdiction in the case and remanded the defendants in Enugu Prisons and urged the defense team to make application in the appropriate court. The magistrate ordered the release of the four vehicles to their owners on bond and on the provision of proof of ownership and particulars. Advertisements The charge the defendants are remanded for is treasonable but the prosecution did not list any exhibit of weapon of warfare against them. The only document against them before the court is the charge sheet. This looks to me like a trumped up charge, Mrs Chioke said. (NAN) Charles Igwe, a professor, has emerged as the new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the university, Okwun Omeaku, disclosed this to the News Agency (NAN) in a telephone interview in Nsukka on Thursday. He said the appointment was announced by the university senate. Mr Igwe until his appointment was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration in the university and a former Dean of Faculty of Agriculture. According to the PRO, Mr Igwe scored highest in the selection process to beat other shortlisted candidates for the job. Today the senate council of the university has announced Igwe as the new VC of UNN, having scored the highest marks during interview of candidates, he said. NAN gathered that the tenure of the outgoing VC, Benjamin Ozumba, would end on June 14. (NAN) Three travellers abducted last Friday in Akoko Northeast local government of Ondo State have been released by their kidnappers. Gbalaja Mayowa and Arifayan Ayolekan were kidnapped while traveling to Ikare Akoko for a wedding in a Toyota Corolla car. Ibrahim Lawal, another victim and a staff of Dangote group, was reportedly coming from Ibese in Ogun state to Obajana in Ekiti when he was kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded N2 million ransom for the release of Messrs Mayowa and Ayolekan while N30 million was demanded for the release of Mr Lawal. PREMIUM TIMES could not confirm the amount paid for the release of the victims. The spokesman of the community where the kidnap occurred, Ibrahim Kilani, confirmed the release of the trio. Also, the states police spokesperson, Femi Joseph, confirmed the release of the victims. He said investigations are ongoing to reveal and arrest the perpetrators. PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday reported how two kidnapped officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps regained freedom in Osun. About N1.8 million was reportedly paid for their freedom. Also, one of three Kidnapped in Ekiti last weekend, Ayo Oladele, was also released after the kidnappers reportedly got N5 million ransom. Kidnapping for ransom is rampant in many parts of Nigeria. Some persons have blamed the insecurity on the high rate of unemployment. The Police in Ondo State have arrested two mortuary attendants at the Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Akure, over the missing corpse of a baby and its placenta from the hospitals morgue. The baby and its mother had died at the Police Hospital in Akure last week Wednesday, and their corpses deposited at the morgue of the specialist hospital. But, when the family of the deceased came for the corpses last Saturday morning, only that of the mother was seen. The babys corpse and placenta were not found. An alarm was raised by the family members, and the police were called in. Police Public Relations Officer, Femi Joseph, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, that the baby and the placenta were still missing and no trace of them had been found. He said two mortuary attendants were assisting the police in the ongoing investigations. Although there were reports early in yesterday that the babys corpse and the placenta had been found, the police and government officials have dismissed these. Broken father Femi Owonidahun, a policeman who is the father of the dead child, narrated his experience. After the death of my wife, I took the corpse, baby and placenta to the State Specialist Hospital. They took the record of the deceased at the mortuary. When we came to the mortuary to pick the corpses for burial, the mortuary attendant could not produce corpse of the baby and the placenta. After washing the corpse of my wife, they put her in the casket, without the baby and the placenta. We now asked the mortuary attendant where the corpse of the baby and the placenta is? They asked me in turn if I want to see the corpses of my wife, baby, and placenta. They said I am not afraid of the ghost of the deaths? We insisted that we want to see remains of the baby because we cannot just leave him like that. We want to wrap it with a white cloth and give it a decent burial like its mother. When we insisted, we now opened the casket only to find my wife only. It was at this point we raised alarm and staged a protest that they must produce both babys corpse and placenta. The State Commissioner of Health came here, checked the records and confirmed that we brought the woman, her son, and placenta. Government on the matter Official Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, confirmed that the dead newborn baby and the placenta had not been found yet. He disclosed that the matter was being handled by the police. Mr Adegbenro said two mortuary attendants, who were on duty when the corpses were brought in, had been arrested. He also said they had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation. He also spoke on the false reports of the dead babys return. He said, medically, it is not possible for a foetus that had been removed to return to the uterus without anybody bringing it back. It is not possible for the foetus to come back to the uterus on its own. The police are investigating it; they will tell us the outcome of their investigation. Maybe they will subject the woman (corpse) to autopsy. These are issues that will come up, along the line, he said. Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of a Federal High Court in Lagos, Thursday, convicted Calistus Obi, a former acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Mr Obi was charged with N136 million fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The court has, however, deferred sentencing to a later date. Mr Obi was appointed the acting head of NIMASA two months after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015. Mr Buhari earlier fired Patrick Akpobolokemi as the Chief Executive Officer of the agency. Mr Akpobolokemi is being prosecuted separately for corruption while in office. In the charge filed against Mr Obi, he was alleged to have committed the offences on August 5, 2014. According to the EFCC, he and a former staff of NIMASA allegedly conspired to convert money from NIMASA, with the knowledge that same were proceeds of stealing. The offences contravene the provisions of Sections 15 and 18(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibitions (Amendment) Act, 2012. More details later The head of hunters in Ibokun, Obokun Local Government of Osun State, Amusa Dunsin, and one other, Tayo George, who were kidnapped on Monday have been released. PREMIUM TIMES learnt from one of the chiefs in Obokun that they were released after their abductors collected N1.5 million as ransom. The source said the money was contributed by residents of Otan Ile, Esa Odo, Imesi Ile, Ibokun, and Esa Oke in Osun. They dropped them in one forest at Esa-Oke after they got paid, the source said. Also, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a member of Osun State Assembly representing Obokun State Constituency, confirmed the victims release. When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Folashade Odoro, told our correspondent that she was in a meeting. Ms Odoro promised to get back to our correspondent later in the day. PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how abductors received N1.8 million to free two Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) they seized in the same state. The immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, on Thursday said his successor, Kayode Fayemi, deserved to be chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, (NGF). This is contained in a congratulatory message he sent to the Ekiti State governor. Mr Fayose, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) by his Media Aide, Lere Olayinka, said Mr Fayemis emergence as NGF Chairman was well deserved of him and the people of Ekiti. He said: I congratulate Governor Kayode Fayemi on his appointment and elevation as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) It is well deserved for you and the entire people of Ekiti. Politics will come and go, but Ekiti State will remain eternal Once again, you have my best wishes, he said. Both Mr Fayose and Mr Fayemi are members of different political parties with the former belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the latter belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Fayemi was defeated by Mr Fayose in the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti. Mr Fayemi, however, won the 2018 election to return as governor. He was inaugurated last October. Meanwhile, prominent indigenes of state have asked Mr Fayemi to use the new office to advance the development of the nation and particularly Ekiti. A former commissioner and current Chairman, Board for Technical and Vocational Education, Kayode Babade, who congratulated the new NGF chairman, described his emergence as a blessing to the state and the Yoruba race. Mr Fayemi on Wednesday emerged the new NGF chairman through consensus, thus becoming the first in the history of the South West to attain such position. Mr Babade advised him to use the new office to attract development and global support for Ekiti and to fight on the side of Nigerians by ensuring that there is equity and justice in the distribution of the nations wealth. Mr Fayemi takes over from Zamfara Governor, Abdulaziz Yari for the next two years. Mr Babade, who is also a former Leader of the State House of Assembly, said he was not surprised at the victory of Mr Fayemi based on his outstanding track records and leadership skills. Fayemi is a rare leader, he has displayed this uniqueness in all the offices that he has occupied. I want to congratulate the people of the state and the Southwest in general on this feat. I urge him to use the new office to reshape the politics of our state with this new position. The image of Ekiti has again been launched to a higher pedestal, being the first time a governor from our state and region will occupy this position. In another statement, Sunday Adebomi, a retired army captian, congratulated the governor, describing his emergence as a welcome development, which according to him, is a manifestation of the confidence his fellow governors have in him. Mr Adebomi stated that he had no doubt that Mr Fayemi would live up to expectation in the new assignment as a purposeful leader, fully committed to the advancement of APC and sustenance of democracy. I am confident that the governor will still surpass his predecessor, who used the position to negotiate for the disbursement of the Paris Club Refund and other intervention funds to states amid difficulties in the payment of salaries. (NAN) The Nigerian Union of Pensioners in the South West zone rose from a meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Thursday, with a threat to drag state governors to court for failing to pay gratuities and pensions. The union said they are left with no other option than to use the courts to compel the governors to pay their entitlements. The union said they were giving the governors between now and July to pay up or face litigations. The Southwest Zonal Chairman of NUP, Ayo Kumapayi, and the spokesperson of the union, Olusegun Abatan, while jointly addressing journalists, said legal action became imperative in view of the manner pensioners were dying due to lack of care. Mr Abatan specifically mentioned the case of Ogun State, where pensioners were falling sick and dying, adding that similar situations had been recorded in rising cases in Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun and Ondo states as a result of unpaid pensions and gratuities. Mr Kumapayi on his part said the union discovered that the governors had failed to pay pensioners due to reckless spending on salaries and allowances of political office holders. Humongous salaries and allowances of public office holders especially senators and House Representatives members who take home N13million and N14million monthly need to be reviewed. How can those people be collecting such huge money in a country where 80 per cent are battling to meet daily meal? Mr Kumapayi said. NUP also recommended that the Revenue Mobilisations, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) should be empowered to place all the political office holders, including the president, governors, ministers, federal and state lawmakers on the same salary scale with civil servants from Grade Level-18 to Grade Level-25 in the country. The step, the pensioners said, would save the countrys economy from collapse and enable the government to have more money to take care of the needs of the less privileged Nigerians who are in abject poverty and deprivation. President Buhari should use his second term in office to do something about such take home by our federal lawmakers, he further said. They should be placed on same salary scale with the civil servants to reduce pressure on the nations economy. Those who want to genuinely serve will take it, political offices have been turned into money making venture and no longer for service to humanity. Mr Kumapayi suggested that the president should be on GL 25, Vice President, on GL 24, governors on GL 23, and so on, wh I would save the nation from unnecessary financial burden. The union also commended the President for approving financial autonomy for local governments. It said the move would prevent many state governors from spending local governments funds recklessly. Also speaking, the National Deputy General Secretary of NUP, Joseph Okunade, said the national leadership of the NUP was in full support of the legal action against the state governors. We at the nation like our south west zones call for the inclusion of retirees in the new N30,000 minimum wage to be known as the National Minimum Pension, he said. We advise governors who are grumbling over the payment of the new wage to shun frivolous spending to enable them meet workers and pensioners needs. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP In 2015 Joseph C. Shaner kindergarten teacher Suzanne Burnetta was notified that she was one of 21 instructors from the United States, and 34 teachers worldwide, to be accepted into the Space Foundations 31st Space Symposium which was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her acceptance provided an opportunity for her to become a liaison between that organization and the Hamilton Township School District. There is no doubt that she has made the most of that opportunity. On Friday, May 17 the school, under her guidance, hosted the fourth annual Space Night, an event that attracted more than 400 children and family members. The evening featured numerous interactive activities, demonstrations and industry speakers who shared their knowledge and professional experiences. It seems my vision for bringing space education to the children of our district is coming together, Burnetta said. Our Space Night has grown in the past 4 years and is so well liked by our community. This year we had over 400 attendees and we added two more missions run by ROTC students. The amazing part of adding those missions is that they had heard about our event and contacted me. ATLANTIC CITY Two months ago, students at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School diligently assembled a 3-D printed hand for a stranger halfway across the world. Last month, their worlds became a little closer when the Filipino woman sent a video and email to the students thanking them and letting them know she received the hand. I would also like to extend my thanks to the sweetest kids who helped you assemble the hand :) Thank you so much! Kind regards, Jenny, the email read. +12 Atlantic City students assemble 3-D printed hand for woman in Philippines ATLANTIC CITY First we have to put the fingers together, so we put a pin through these tw Pretty cool, extremely honored. Cant wait to show the kids tomorrow. The world just got a little smaller, STEM teacher Jason Holmstrom wrote in an email, sharing the correspondence with his administrators. Holmstrom, a STEM teacher at the MLK School, connected with the 26-year-old woman in the Philippines, who was born without a right hand, through e-NABLE, an international online community of volunteers working to help those missing appendages gain access to prostheses. Over several weeks, the students printed practice 3-D hands to assemble before assembling the real one, which was printed by another volunteer from Washington state. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP When school lets out for the summer, children across the state are at risk of going hungry without access to free or reduced-price meals. But officials and agencies are working to increase the number of nutritious meals served to food-insecure children. A new report, Food for Thought: The State of Summer Meals in New Jersey, showed the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Southern Branch, increased its average daily participation in the summer meals program from 906 children on an average day in July 2017 to 1,077 in 2018, a difference of 19%. Our concentration, moving forward, is not just about meal distribution, but healthy meal distribution and education, said Renate Taylor, development officer at the food bank in Egg Harbor Township. It is going to be a more pronged approach to feeding hungry children, not just filling them with food, but filling them with the right food with a concentration on fresh food and vegetables, and also education. Across the state, the number of children who received meals during the summer through the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program increased 38% from 2015 to 2018, according to the report. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. WILDWOOD It was July 22, 1996, and Moreys Piers had overextended itself. The owners had spent years pouring money into buying the tallest, fastest coasters, but in the process strayed from what made the company great to begin with: its carefully crafted kitschiness. So Jack Morey, who now oversees the second-generation business with his brother Will, sought guidance from Steven Izenour, a world-renowned designer behind the Philadelphia Zoo who was studying the Wildwoods and its disappearing doo-wop architecture. His advice? Embrace the beauty in tackiness. What Wildwood really is is one of the last really down-and-dirty, TACKY with a capital T, beach resorts, Izenour wrote to Morey in a 1996 letter. What you need to do is take Tacky to new heights. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Wildwood amusement parks first pier, Surfside Pier. Its a boardwalk staple that has continuously evolved and attracted millions of guests each year. And it all started with the goal of creating a world away from reality. Randolph and the other five lieutenants on the patrol are certified emergency medical technicians. CPR and rescue breathing are among the requirements for lifeguards, as well as the physical tests that must be passed. Veteran guards must complete a 500-meter swim in less than 10 minutes and a half-mile run in three minutes, 45 seconds. Potential newcomers take part in tryouts this year on June 8. Those who are selected will undergo an intensive rookie school from June 17-21 in which they will learn rescue techniques. No rookies will be permitted on the beach until June 22. Finding qualified lifeguards has become an increasing problem, as with other patrols in South Jersey this year, Cape May is expected to have 12 to 15 openings on its 90-person crew. Theres two reasons for that, Rife said. Kids who do not live here full time have a lot of trouble finding affordable places to stay for the summer. We also lose some college kids who are required to do internships as juniors and seniors. Those who guard Cape Mays beaches this summer will be thoroughly qualified and focused on one goal: to keep that streak alive for one more year. At the end of each year, we do hold a little celebration amongst ourselves, Randolph said. But during the year, we dont talk about the streak because we dont want to jinx it. Personally, I just try every day to make sure everyone is safe, while also realizing that some of it is in Gods hands. Other takeaways from the Wildwood Crest study included the need for updated outfall pipes with new valve systems and more uniform bulkhead heights. Of 400 bulkhead points analyzed, DeBlasio said only 25% meet the boroughs requirement of being at least 6.7 feet in elevation. Two of 18 borough-owned, street-end bulkheads are in compliance. He suggested a new borough ordinance requiring private and borough-owned bulkheads to be eight feet in elevation. The tidal water will enter through the lowest access point along the bay side of the barrier island, DeBlasio said as he read from the report. Residents in the packed meeting expressed frustration with flooding that has plagued Wildwood Crest, and other barrier islands at the Jersey Shore, for decades, and said new bulkheads wouldnt fix the problem. Gary Angus, who lives on low-lying Lake Road, pointed to clogged outfall pipes and storm drains as the culprit. Outfall pipes discharge flood water back into the bay. Weve been down here for 50 years. ... We understand what were up against, Angus said. Its not going over the bulkhead. Its going through the storm drains. Flood gates possible at Great Egg Harbor, Absecon Inlets, Army Corps says The Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday released the preliminary report for its study on New In between a mostly dry Thursday will be two areas of rain. Then, the forecast remains on track for a mostly dry and warm Memorial Day weekend. +15 National weather observer award presented to Lower Township man LOWER TOWNSHIP Each night around midnight, Wayne Roop goes out to the weather station in h A weak system that will continue to diminish as it moves closer will bring isolated showers between 6 a.m and noon Thursday. I would not cancel any outdoor plans, though, as this will be few and far between. A wait-and-see approach would work out just fine on this otherwise OK spring day. As we go into the afternoon, the showers roll offshore, and well have a partly sunny sky. The ground will heat up nicely, and well top out in the upper 70s for much of the mainland. For the shore, well be cooler, but still nice. The main story of the forecast will be the risk for severe weather at night. While the threats look to be on track, the timing has been pushed up slightly. It now looks like 7 p.m. to midnight will be the time to be weather aware. Ranking it in order of what is possible, it would be hail, then damaging winds and roadway flooding. Again, it is just possible and not a definite. There will be some line of storms, though. 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. NEW YORK, May 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A global leader in online multi-asset trading services and currency data and analytics, OANDA has partnered with the prestigious Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences to identify ways to reduce the cost of trading during periods of high market volatility. The partnership aims to provide more accurate foreign exchange volatility predictions, enabling OANDA to better hedge their positions and manage risk, resulting in tighter spreads for clients, especially during critical market events. Conducted at a recent Fields-China Industrial Problem-Solving Workshop in Shanghai, phase one of this partnership examined the relationship between volatility regimes, market events, and changes in volume. In particular, the study aimed to provide insights into the dynamics of FX volatility and the reaction to known market events, because knowledge of both the emergent patterns and future state of volatility can improve hedge effectiveness, adding value to client offerings. Neil McDonald, OANDA's Head of Trading, said, "While OANDA has long been committed to tight spreads and transparent pricing, the markets can experience extreme volatility at times, which obviously impacts the prices we quote. As a result, we're pleased to work with The Fields Institute to identify ways we can better predict market volatility, with a view to enabling us to offer the tightest spreads possible and reduce the cost of trading on our institutional-grade platform, even during major events." In the coming months, OANDA will further build on their relationship with the Fields Institute, partnering with Matheus Grasselli and Thomas Hurd of McMaster University, and Sebastian Jaimungal of the University of Toronto to establish a new Systemic Risk Analytics lab as part of the Institute's Centre for Quantitative Analysis and Modelling (Fields-CQAM). Director of CQAM, Huaxiong Huang, said, "Fields-CQAM collaborates with innovative companies to utilize mathematical research to benefit the private and public sectors. As such, we are pleased that OANDA will join the Fields family and play a significant role in promoting advanced research and training at CQAM." About OANDA Founded in 1996, OANDA was the first company to share exchange rate data free of charge on the Internet, launching an FX trading platform that helped pioneer the development of web-based currency trading five years later. Today, the firm provides online multi-asset trading, currency data and analytics to retail and corporate clients, demonstrating an unrivalled expertise in foreign exchange. With regulated entities in six of the world's most active financial markets, OANDA remains dedicated to transforming the business of foreign exchange. For more information, please visit oanda.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. About the Fields Institute The Fields Institute is a non-profit center for mathematical activity, based at the University of Toronto. As a hub that provides a supportive and stimulating environment for mathematics innovation and education, the Institute's mission is to bring together mathematicians from across the globe to develop the mathematics that will shape the future. To learn more about the Institute's programs, please visit www.fields.utoronto.ca About Fields-CQAM Fields-CQAM is a network of academic-industry laboratories, their international collaborators, student trainees, and the industrial partners able to efficiently commercialize applied mathematical research for the benefit of the broader economy. These province wide innovation clusters address the expanding need for data analytics in modern industry, and transfer talent, challenges, and solutions between Fields-CQAM and its broader receptor community. Their vision? To make Ontario the international leader in developing and deploying advanced mathematical methodologies for the emerging knowledge economy. For more information, including funding opportunities, please visit www.cqam.ca or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. Related Links http://www.oanda.com SOURCE OANDA New study examines regional and global cannabis and hemp opportunities for Africa WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- New Frontier Data, the authority in data analytics and business intelligence on the global cannabis industry, announces its latest report the Africa Regional Hemp and Cannabis Report: 2019 Industry Outlook, estimating Africa's total addressable cannabis market at $37.3 billion USD; more than 11% of the total global cannabis market. The report will be released at the InterCannAlliance Africa Symposium, Africa's premier hemp and cannabis event, on May 24-25 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and made public for free download shortly thereafter. Since Lesotho became the first African nation to legalize medical cannabis in 2017, Africa's annual cannabis use rate has been nearly twice the global average use rate of 6%. "Demand for CBD products continues to surge across Europe, and many including Canada, which now imports from Colombia to help meet this growing demand, are looking to capitalize on it. It will be interesting to see if Africa's proximity to the old continent and its many agro-based economies may be better positioned to provide a more cost-effective supply," noted New Frontier Data Founder and CEO Giadha Aguirre de Carcer. "Not only is hemp a potential low tech, high profit margin, new crop to invigorate African economies; it could also support United Nations' current Sustainable Development Goals such as fostering regional inclusive economic growth and creating sustainable jobs." Key takeaways from the report include: This report covers 13 African nations which encompass more than 565.4 million people, and across which nearly 42.8 million are estimated to use cannabis at least annually. By 2050 Africa's population is expected to double; representing 58% of total global population growth over this time. Africa's largest cannabis markets are those with the largest populations with Nigeria ( $15.3 billion USD ) and Ethiopia ( $9.8 billion USD ) leading the way. To request an advance copy of the Africa Regional Hemp and Cannabis Report: 2019 Industry Outlook or to download the complimentary report once it is available, visit https://newfrontierdata.com/africa2019. About New Frontier Data: New Frontier Data is an independent, technology-driven analytics company specializing in the cannabis industry. It offers vetted data, actionable business intelligence and risk management solutions for investors, operators, researchers and policymakers. New Frontier Data's reports and data have been cited in over 80 countries to inform industry leaders. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with additional offices in Denver, CO, and London, UK. New Frontier Data does not take a position on the merits of cannabis legalization. For more information about New Frontier Data, please visit: https://www.NewFrontierData.com. Related Links https://www.newfrontierdata.com SOURCE New Frontier Data "That Appomattox was safely brought online ahead of schedule and far under budget is a testament to our ongoing commitment to drive down costs through efficiency improvements during execution," said Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell. "Appomattox creates a core long-term hub for Shell in the Norphlet through which we can tie back several already discovered fields as well as future discoveries." Appomattox is a story of efficiency through innovation. By way of optimised development planning, better designs and fabrication, and expert drilling execution, Appomattox has realised cost reductions of more than 40% since taking final investment decision in 2015. The start of production at Appomattox is only just the beginning of further maximising the flow of resources in the prolific Norphlet surrounding Appomattox. Shell's global deep-water business has a strong funnel of development and exploration opportunities in Brazil, the US, Mexico, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mauritania, and the Western Black Sea. Production worldwide is on track to reach more than 900,000 boe/d by 2020 from already discovered, established reservoirs. The company continues to be one of the largest leaseholders in the US deep water and remains one of the most prolific offshore producers of oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell designs and operates its deep-water projects to be competitive and, since 2014, has reduced its unit development costs and unit operating costs by about 45%. Cautionary Note The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this release refer to entities over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations", respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest. This release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "aim", "ambition', ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', "schedule", ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, May 23, 2019. Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this release that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/891691/Appomattox_Platform.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/449079/shell_oil_company_logo.jpg Related Links http://www.shell.com SOURCE Shell Offshore Inc. Amidst rapid changes in the business landscape, the world needs people who can innovate, create and disrupt. INSEAD has always been at the forefront of innovation in management education, responding to market needs and developing business leaders who can navigate the dynamic landscape. As global business evolves, INSEAD will continue to innovate to transform business and society. The accelerated 10-month full-time MIM programme will empower the next generation of well-rounded and agile-thinking individuals to make a positive impact in today's society and deliver value in the digital age. Urs Peyer, Dean of Degree Programmes at INSEAD, says, "By engaging talented young people, the MIM will contribute to the INSEAD mission to develop responsible business leaders who transform business and society. Our current master programmes are designed for experienced global professionals -- from MBAs and participants in our Executive Master in Finance to senior executives in our Executive MBA and Executive Master in Change. The MIM will make the INSEAD educational offering complete by equipping a new group of post-graduate, pre-experience learners with the most relevant knowledge and skills to succeed in today's complex world and move it in new and exciting directions." The INSEAD MIM Advantage: Top-ranked Business School The MIM programme is backed by proven teaching and research methods at INSEAD. As one of the world's leading and largest graduate business schools, the school's master programmes are consistently ranked amongst the top by business publications such as the Financial Times. Practical Applications Students will experience classes that deliver cutting-edge knowledge and learn to apply theory to real-life business situations. Core courses will provide a robust foundation of key management disciplines while experiential practical blocks in the form of company visits, business treks in Asia and Europe will create actionable learning opportunities. Digital electives such as social media analytics, fintech and blockchain will empower students for success in the digital age. In-Demand Skills Students will acquire relevant skills that currently see high demand by employers, including integrated problem solving, effective communications and project management as well as coding. International Exposure Unique from other programmes, students will study on INSEAD campuses in France and Singapore to learn from international classmates and faculty. Field trips to Abu Dhabi, China or the United States will inform a cross-cultural capstone experience that further enhances the learning journey. Access to top employers Throughout the MIM journey, the INSEAD Career Development Centre will support students in efforts to achieve their career ambitions and successfully navigate today's job market. Katy Montgomery, Associate Dean of Degree Programmes at INSEAD, says, "The INSEAD MIM students will be immersed in a truly global experience alongside international classmates and faculty, travel across continents and gain access to top recruiters and diverse roles in a broad range of industries. Our graduates will be part of an unparalleled alumni network of more than 58,000 influential alumni working in 176 countries across the world." Thibault Seguret, Programme Director of the INSEAD Master in Management Programme, says, "Making an impact on the world can be daunting. The INSEAD MIM will provide our students with the right tools and experience to go where they want to go and do what they want to do. It will be a challenging, enriching and confidence-building experience academically, personally and culturally." The first class of around 80 students will enter the programme in September 2020. Applicants are required to take the GMAT/GRE to apply for the programme. Applicants should expect an official answer 4 to 5 weeks after they submit their online application. INSEAD Scholarships are available in the forms of Financial Fellowship, Achievement Scholarship and Diversity Scholarship. To find out more about the INSEAD Master in Management programme, visit the website and download the brochure here. SOURCE INSEAD SIMI VALLEY, Calif., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Search marketing agency and tools developer Bruce Clay Inc. has unveiled a new website design that reflects its innovation and stature in the search marketing industry. A respected industry leader since 1996, Bruce Clay Inc. serves midsize to enterprise-level businesses with consulting and services in search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), content development and social media marketing. The company is also a pioneer in the field of software tools for SEO and for many years has conducted the Bruce Clay SEO Training class. The new website's outside-the-box design incorporates oversized graphics, moving elements, and a dynamic color palette. Gone are the conservative blue, black and white tones of the old site. "The new design is a big departure from the past," said founder and president, Bruce Clay. "It was specifically intended to show our creative, forward-thinking approach in helping clients through software innovation and sets us up for future growth." The release coincides with the company's launch of Bruce Clay SEO for WP, a new type of WordPress SEO plugin. Many high-impact features not offered by other plugins increase a writer's ability to see important SEO features at the time of content creation. These features empower writers to make their content more competitive in search engines. Unlike other SEO plugins, Bruce Clay SEO for WP can perform a real-time competitive analysis powered by the company's SEOToolSet SaaS tools. Writers see customized on-page SEO recommendations per keyword based upon the characteristics of the top-ranked Google results. In addition, integrated analytics let writers watch how webpages, blog posts and individual authors are performing in search, right within WordPress. Free trial is available. "We wanted BruceClay.com to stand out from other agency websites, and I think we've achieved that," Clay commented. "Our new website serves a wide range of people, from business executives and people interested in SEO to publishers and content creators alike." About Bruce Clay Inc. Founded in 1996, Bruce Clay Inc. is a respected provider of search marketing consulting, services, training and tools. Headquartered in Simi Valley, California, the company also has international offices in Australia, India, Japan and the UAE. For more information, visit BruceClay.com Media Contact: Paula Allen 1-805-517-1900 [email protected] SOURCE Bruce Clay, Inc. Related Links https://www.bruceclay.com MIAMI, May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- This Sunday, May 26, will feature the prime time U.S. premiere on MegaTV of "CalaMundos," Ismael Cala's travel and adventure program. In Puerto Rico, the show will air on Saturday, May 25, at 9:00 p.m. In this first episode, viewers will discover the natural and monumental beauty of the exotic destinations of Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, as well as their legends, beliefs and daily life. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring to the screen the experience of traveling around the world, which enables us to expand our global vision and become richer in terms of diversity and acceptance. 'CalaMundos' is a practical guide for travel to exotic places. We will provide a vehicle for discovering new worlds from a different point of view," says Cala. "CalaMundos" will air on Sunday, May 26 on MegaTV at the following times: Miami and U.S. national signal 9:00 p.m. Houston 8:00 p.m. California 5:00 p.m. In Puerto Rico, the broadcast will air on Saturday, May 25, at 9:00 p.m. "We're thrilled about this series of special programs of 'CalaMundos', which will allow our viewers to visit amazing destinations that Ismael and his crew of globetrotters visit on their famous theme journeys. Being a tourist in exotic places is something lots of people dream of, but very few of us actually get around to making it happen. This is one grand opportunity to let your imagination take flight," notes Jose R. Perez, MegaTV's Vice President for Programming. "CalaMundos" is a show produced by Cala Enterprises, which will soon be distributed in other countries in the Americas. Currently, Ismael Cala is also presenting on MegaTV the first season of his show, Cara a Cala ('Face to face with Cala'), Monday to Friday at 6:00 p.m. in Miami, and 9:00 p.m. in Puerto Rico. Sundays there will be a special prime time broadcast. The distribution agreement with MegaTV for the U.S. and Puerto Rico comprises part of a larger project to broadcast the shows in various countries in the Americas. In Paraguay, Cara a Cala airs on Mondays at 8:00 p.m., on Nanduti TV (channel 17 of Tigo Star), which reaches some 400,000 households all over the country by cable. ABOUT ISMAEL CALA A life and business strategist, for five and a half years Ismael Cala was the prime time host of CALA on CNN en Espanol. A businessman and social entrepreneur. Author of eight bestsellers on themes of leadership, entrepreneurship and personal development, including El poder de escuchar ('The power of listening'), and Despierta con Cala ('Wake up with Cala'). Cala was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1969, and holds a degree in Art History from Oriente University. He is the co-author of the book "Beat the Curve," with Brian Tracy. He graduated from the School of Communication at York University in Toronto. He is President and founder of the Cala Enterprises Corporation and the Ismael Cala Foundation SOURCE Cala Enterprises SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico , May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The first Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) deal in Puerto Rico since the governor enacted new legislation has just been announced at a time when thousands of investors are flocking to the Island to capitalize on the new tax incentives intended to revitalize the economy post Hurricane Maria. The deal involves a property in Old San Juan purchased by serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Brock Pierce, who has been credited with pioneering the market for digital currency and now devotes himself to supporting the advancement of Puerto Rico's entrepreneurs and efforts to building a self-sustainable economy. Plans for the property remain to be determined, although the vision is to create a community space that fosters education, collaboration, and empowerment for the Puerto Rican people. The Island's rich heritage, resilience, and newly vibrant economy have positioned it as an ideal destination for the blending of cultures, a movement which has captured the attention of foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and internationally acclaimed artists seeking new opportunities for creative expansion and economic development. The deal comes just a day after Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed Senate Bill 1147, which establishes the regulatory framework for the development of Opportunity Zones on the island under the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Aside from promoting multi-million dollar investments, and creating thousands of new jobs, this new measure strives to significantly impact the recovery of Puerto Rico. Opportunity Zones were created by federal law to provide tax benefits to low-income communities with the aim of achieving their economic development. Ninety-seven percent of Puerto Rico has been designated as an Opportunity Zone. Investments made through Opportunity Zone funds allow for the deferral of taxes on capital gains on the sale of an asset before Jan. 1, 2027 if the amount invested is equal to the profit earned. The incentive framework is applicable for 15 years. This new law facilitates U.S. citizens' access to Puerto Rico's largely bilingual and highly qualified workforce across various industries, which is another advantage to those looking to open up shop on the Island. Brock Pierce is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist with an extensive track record of founding, advising and investing in disruptive businesses. He's raised more than $5B for companies he has founded and is the Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation. Pierce is a frequent lecturer at Singularity University and has spoken at the Milken Global Conference, Mobile World Congress, Wired, INK, Stanford University, USC, and UCLA. He has been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, Wired, and Rolling Stone. For more information about this project or QOZs in Puerto Rico, contact [email protected] . SOURCE Brock Pierce DURHAM, N.C., May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Engel & Volkers Big Sky Country announces that it is partnering with the Adwerx Enterprise Automated Listing Advertising Program to create local marketing campaigns for selected properties listed by the firm. Properties listed with Engel & Volkers Big Sky Country will receive automated marketing campaigns that are generated by Adwerx Enterprise as soon as a property is publicly offered. These marketing campaigns contain a property photo, agent contact details, brokerage branding and a link to the offered property. Advertisements are shown on popular websites, mobile apps, and social media. By combining these campaigns with traditional exposure, Advisors are able to ensure the maximum exposure of each property offering. "Adwerx marketing campaigns help us spread the word about our spectacular Montana properties for sale," said PollyAnna Snyder, Partner/ Private Office/ Managing Broker. "These campaigns are automatically personalized for our Advisors so that they can concentrate on serving their clients." The Adwerx Enterprise Automated Listing Advertising Program has seen widespread adoption in the U.S. and Canada, providing Advisors with localized campaigns that appear on the sites that clients and potential Buyers visit daily. Advisors using the program report a high level of client satisfaction and say that the program is a key advantage in helping them obtain new listings. About Engel & Volkers Big Sky Country Engel & Volkers Big Sky Country is part of a global company and lifestyle brand providing high-quality services for those seeking to buy and sell real property. We distinguish ourselves by providing our clients with exceptional service and support for those in and around the Bozeman, Big Sky, and Livingston and Paradise Valley areas. Since 1977, the Engel & Volkers brand has been the select provider of premium real estate service throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Engel & Volkers maintains the same global standards of quality and service in everything we do while representing iconic Montana friendliness. Learn more at https:// bozeman.evrealestate.com . About Adwerx Adwerx provides Brilliantly Simple Digital Advertising for real estate, mortgage, insurance, financial services, and other businesses. Campaigns powered by Adwerx have received billions of impressions on social media, mobile platforms, and the most widely read news sites. Adwerx has served over 150,000 customers across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies for two years in a row. To see how Adwerx can work for you, please visit www.adwerx.com . Plus, NAR members receive 15% additional impressions on Adwerx campaigns , which can be combined with other eligible discounts. This exclusive benefit is available through the National Association of REALTORS' REALTOR Benefits Program. SOURCE Adwerx Related Links http://www.adwerx.com ATLANTA, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mary Alice Rachel, 83, passed away on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at Grady Memorial Hospital after being involved in a deadly car accident while being transported in a Metro Atlanta Ambulance. Mary Alice Rachel According to police reports, on Tuesday, May 7th, 2019, at approximately 9:38 pm officers were dispatched to a traffic accident with injuries at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr Drive and Adamsville Place. Upon arrival, they discovered a Metro Atlanta Ambulance was hit while making a left turn by a high-speeding Maserati Quattroporte. The Maserati driver was picked up and fled the scene of the crime. The family has retained Kaine Law and co-counsel the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine to uncover the negligence they believe that resulted in the death of their loved one. Plaintiff attorney Evan L. Kaine of Kaine Law shared, "As we await access to video of the Metro Atlanta ambulance to ensure Mary Alice Rachel was properly secured, and gain access to the electronic data recorders for both cars to ensure all safety precautions were taken, we believe only then will the facts of what truly happened to Mary Alice Rachel come to light." "We are working hard to uncover the truth for the family," added co-counsel, Marc Anidjar of the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. "Our clients deserve to have closure, and those at fault should take full responsibility." Mary Alice Rachel was born in Troup County, the daughter of the late Wilson and Eula Mae Rachel. She was a member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church on Fairburn Road in Atlanta, Georgia. She leaves to cherish her memory: three sons; Alexander and Eddie E. Rachel of Atlanta, GA., Pernell Rachel of Fort Lauderdale, FL., and one daughter Jarvis Annette Rachel of Atlanta, GA. The family held a celebration of life on May 15, 2019, where friends and family gathered together to remember the beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, friend, and member of the community. ABOUT KAINE LAW: Kaine Law is a highly experienced group of auto and motorcycle accident attorneys that understand the physical, financial, and emotional impact an injury can have on those injured and the ones they love. That is why Kaine Law has dedicated its legal practice to assisting victims of injuries caused by the negligence of others. Founded by Evan L. Kaine, the firm has offices in Atlanta, Conyers, Lawrenceville, and Stockbridge. For more information, please visit https://www.atlantaautoaccidentlaw.com. ABOUT THE LAW OFFICES OF ANIDJAR & LEVINE: The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, P.A. brings years of experience successfully representing Florida clients in personal injury and criminal defense law. With offices in Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach, their team consists of experienced lawyers, investigators, and medical/legal support experts to achieve the optimal results for their clients. Founded by Marc Anidjar and Glen B. Levine, the company stands by its mission to help those in their community and defend their rights. For more information, please visit www.anidjarlevine.com. Media contact: Lais Pontes Greene (954) 960-6083 [email protected] SOURCE Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine Related Links http://www.anidjarlevine.com BOCA RATON, Fla., May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. President Donald Trump and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden hold commanding leads in the race for their parties' nominations for president in 2020, and are in a dead heat in a possible head-to-head matchup, according to a statewide survey of Florida voters by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI). In a crowded field of Democratic candidates, Biden polled at 39 percent, followed by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who are tied at 12 percent, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 9 percent, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris at 7 percent and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke at 5 percent. The survey polled how each of the top five Democratic candidates would do in a matchup with Trump. Biden fared the best in a 50-50 tie with Trump. Sanders polled at 49 percent to Trump's 51 percent. Trump won matchups with Warren and Buttigieg, both 52-48 percent, while Harris polled six points behind the president, 53-47 percent. Trump's approval rating among Florida voters rose to 47 percent (up from 44 percent in the FAU BEPI's March poll), with 44 percent disapproval. With former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld the only announced GOP opponent to Trump, the survey also included three hypothetical Republican challengers: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and current Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. Trump won 85 percent support in the poll, with Rubio polling at 5 percent, Kasich at 2 percent and Weld at 1 percent. A plurality of voters, 48 percent, supports legislation recently approved by the Florida legislature requiring repayment of financial obligations before a felon's voting rights are restored, while 34 percent oppose and 19 percent are undecided. In 2018, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment automatically restoring the right to vote to nearly 1.5 million people who had committed a felony in the past. The survey was conducted May 16-19 and polled 1,007 Florida registered voters. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.0 percentage points. Data was collected using both an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines and an online panel provided by Dynata. The polling results and full cross-tabulations are available at www.business.fau.edu/bepi. SOURCE FAU Business and Economics Polling Initiative Related Links http://www.fau.edu NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Janish, the ex-Wall Street investment banker and hedge fund manager, announced today the release of his first novel, Vindication. Janish, who found himself on the wrong side of the law in 2006, writes a gripping fictional legal thriller that takes place in New York City. Janish was granted a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities from New York State in 2018, and is currently the CEO of Legal-Bay Lawsuit Funding in New Jersey, an internet marketing and funding business. http://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com He is now looking to make his mark as an author with the upcoming release of his new novel, which already has Book World buzzing. https://amzn.to/2W0oQ7T Janish is excited to finally get this book out after nine years from its original incarnation. He commented on the release, "I wrote this book based on the experiences that I went through during my time in the criminal justice system. I know that the story will connect with countless inmates who may feel as though there is no hope, but are looking for some just the same. This fictional story is truly unique, and could not have been told without the passion I have for writing. So, I'm hoping to continue this creative journey by penning many more engaging novels while also expanding into gripping non-fiction stories as well." When asked about his supporters, Janish said, "My family and friends have been unbelievably encouraging throughout this experience. But if it weren't for my co-author, Christina Hart, this book would never have seen the light of day! She's an amazing writer, and words can't express how grateful I am for her involvement." There is a planned book signing event next Thursday to officially consummate the years-long publishing process. The book is being released just in time for the prime summer reading season, and is geared toward readers who enjoy legal thrillers, courtroom drama, romance, and for anyone who's ever dealt with the criminal justice system. To find out more about Chris Janish's writing, please visit https://www.chrisjanish.com Vindication is available in paperback and e-book at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2W0oQ7T Contact: Tina Torrest Author Liaison Ph. 877.571.0405 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC Related Links https://www.chrisjanish.com "The rebels systematically took over the country," Collins said in an interview on Brad Show Live. The rebel invasion - which spiralled into a 14-year, bloody Civil War - forced him and his family to leave the capital city of Monrovia and board a refugee ship with 10,000 other Liberians. "My family and I ran out of food, and I lost two brothers. The war got so bloody that other West African countries sent peacekeepers and ships," Collins recalled. Upon escaping and arriving in Ghana, he saw a 92 pound man, dying from starvation, staring back at him in the mirror. Immediately admitted to a hospital where he stayed seven days for treatment, Collins slowly recovered, and worked to establish a new life for him and his wife. "My wife was in medical school," he said, "and after a few months, my wife said she wanted to come to America." After enrolling in the nursing program at Carroll College in Montana, she packed her bags and left, he remembered. Wanting to join her, Collins registered as a refugee with the United Nations. And "the process took two years and seven months before I was able to meet her," he described of the drawn-out immigration process. Finally arriving in Montana with a green card, Collins reunited with his wife, and obtained a janitorial job at the local elementary school. With dedication, hard work, and giving back to the community, he transitioned from a janitor to a teacher before being elected mayor. Collins said, "America is the great equalizer. If you work hard, there is no way you won't make it. I encourage other immigrants to work hard, stay clean and do the right thing. Because if you can do those things, there are brighter days ahead." Catch the full interview on YouTube and Facebook with host Brad Bernstein! Brad Show Live is a 2019 webby honoree that airs Monday-Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET! https://www.youtube.com/user/sparandbernstein/featured https://www.facebook.com/SparBernstein/ Contact: Jill Gould, [email protected] SOURCE Brad Show Live DUBLIN, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Fuel Additives Market by Type (Deposit Control, Cetane Improvers, Lubricity Improvers, Cold Flow Improvers, Stability Improvers, Octane Improvers, Corrosion Inhibitors), Application (Diesel, Gasoline, Aviation Fuel) Global Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Fuel Additives Market is Projected to Reach USD 8.7 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 3.1% Between 2018 and 2023 Stringent governmental regulations are expected to drive the fuel additives market. The fuel additives market is largely driven by stringent government regulations in developed countries. Governments all over the world are imposing stringent environmental regulations to address growing concerns about the harmful effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. On the other hand, the rise in demand for alternate fuels is restraining the market. The lubricity improvers segment is expected to be the fastest-growing type of fuel additives, in terms of value, between 2018 and 2023. The lubricity improvers segment is expected to witness the highest growth, in terms of value, during the forecast period. The increasing government regulations regarding fuel emissions are mandating manufacturers to reduce sulfur levels in fuel. Due to the reduced sulfur content, the lubricity of fuel decreases. This, in turn, is driving the consumption of lubricity improvers. Moreover, there is an increase in the use of lubricity improvers for the longevity of engine life and better fuel efficiency. Diesel is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall fuel additives market, in terms of value, between 2018 and 2023. The market for diesel fuel additives has been driven by the developing economies of APAC. North America, and Europe that are now focusing on the use of ULSD, which has higher dosing of additives than normal diesel. The global diesel consumption is expected to increase during the forecast period, and the quantity of additives used is likely to increase to meet stringent environmental norms. This is expected to drive the market between 2018 and 2023. APAC is expected to be the fastest-growing fuel additives market during the forecast period. The APAC fuel additives market is estimated to witness considerable growth during the forecast period. The fuel additives market in APAC is projected to register the highest CAGR, in terms of volume, during the forecast period. The rising awareness regarding the advantages of fuel additives plays a key role in the growth of the market in the region. The increasing emission norms in developing countries, including China and India are expected to drive the fuel additives market during the forecast period. The key players profiled in the report include Afton Chemical Corporation (US), Innospec Inc. (US), The Lubrizol Corporation (US), BASF SE (Germany), Infinieum Limited (UK), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Chevron Oronite Company LLC (US), Lanxess (Germany), Dorf Ketal Chemicals (India), Cummins Inc. (US), and Cerion LLC (US). Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Market Dynamics 5.2.1 Drivers 5.2.1.1 Stringent Governmental Regulations 5.2.1.2 Growing Automotive Industry 5.2.1.3 Degrading Quality of Crude Oil 5.2.2 Restraints 5.2.2.1 Rise in Demand for Alternate Fuels 5.2.2.2 Huge Investment in R&D 5.2.3 Opportunities 5.2.3.1 Increase in Demand for Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (Ulsd) 5.3 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 5.3.1 Threat of New Entrants 5.3.2 Threat of Substitutes 5.3.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 5.3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers 5.3.5 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry 5.4 Industry Outlook 5.4.1 Automotive Industry 6 Fuel Additives Market, By Type 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Deposit Control 6.2.1 Deposit Control Additive to Dominate Overall Fuel Additives Market 6.3 Cetane Improvers 6.3.1 Increasing Demand From Diesel Application Drives the Cetane Improvers Market 6.4 Lubricity Improvers 6.4.1 Necessity to Reduce Sulfur Content in Fuels is Expected to Drive the Market 6.5 Cold Flow Improvers 6.5.1 Increased Demand From Manufacturing Industry Driving the Market for Cold Flow Improvers 6.6 Stability Improvers 6.6.1 High Demand From APAC is Driving the Stability Improver Additives Market 6.7 Octane Improvers 6.7.1 Rising Emission Control Regulations is Driving the Octane Improvers Market 6.8 Corrosion Inhibitors 6.8.1 Strong Awareness Regarding the Advantages of Corrosion Inhibitors Driving the Market 6.9 Anti-Icing Additives 6.9.1 Growing Aviation Industry is Driving the Anti-Icing Additives Market 6.1 Dyes & Markers 6.10.1 Demand for Pure And Quality Fuel to Drive the Dyes & Markers Market 6.11 Others 7 Fuel Additives Market, By Application 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Diesel 7.2.1 High Consumption in APAC And Europe to Drive the Market 7.3 Gasoline 7.3.1 Demand From North America is Expected to Drive the Market in Gasoline Application 7.4 Aviation Fuel 7.4.1 High Consumption of Aviation Fuel in Developed Nations is Driving the Market 7.5 Others 8 Fuel Additives Market, By Region 9 Competitive Landscape 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Competitive Leadership Mapping, Tier 1 Companies 9.3 Strength of Product Portfolio 9.4 Business Strategy Excellence 9.5 Competitive Leadership Mapping (Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises) 9.6 Strength of Product Portfolio 9.7 Business Strategy Excellence 9.8 Market Share Analysis 9.8.1 Afton Chemical Corporation 9.8.2 Innospec Inc. 9.8.3 The Lubrizol Corporation 9.9 Competitive Scenario 9.9.1 New Product Launch 9.9.2 Acquisition 9.9.3 Expansion 10 Company Profiles 10.1 Innospec Inc. 10.2 Chevron Oronite Company Llc 10.3 The Lubrizol Corporation 10.4 Afton Chemical Corporation 10.5 Evonik Industries AG 10.6 BASF SE 10.7 Lanxess 10.8 Dorf Ketal Chemicals 10.9 Infineum International Limited 10.10 Cummins Inc. 10.11 Cerion Llc 10.12 Other Key Market Players 10.12.1 Total Sa 10.12.2 Baker Hughes, A Ge Company Llc. 10.12.3 Clariant AG 10.12.4 Croda International Plc 10.12.5 Eni Spa 10.12.6 Qatar Fuel Additives Company (Qafac) 10.12.7 Solvay 10.12.8 Huntsman Corporation 10.12.9 The Dow Chemical Company 10.12.10 Eastman Chemical Corporation 10.12.11 The Armor All/Stp Products Company, A Spectrum Brands Company 10.12.12 Iftex Oil & Chemicals Ltd 10.12.13 Eastern Petroleum 10.12.14 Lucas Oil Products, Inc. 10.12.15 The Chemours Company For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/474kyo Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com CHONGQING, China, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global automotive supplier Hanon Systems (KS:018880) is today announcing the formal opening of Chongqing Hanon Jianshe Automotive Thermal Systems Co., Ltd. Establishment of this joint venture was announced by the company in October 2017, and involves a direct partnership with Chongqing Jianshe Motorcycle Co. Ltd. and Chongqing Jianshe Mechanical & Electrical Equipment Co., which are two subsidiary companies of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC). A formal inauguration ceremony was held at the site to celebrate the opening. More than 60 people were in attendance including company officials, local dignitaries and plant leadership. "We are proud to stand alongside our partners to witness the official opening of our latest operation in Chongqing," said Min Sung, representative executive officer of Hanon Systems, in his remarks during the event. "This event underscores the start of a bright future and demonstrates the company's commitment to support Chinese automakers and global vehicle manufacturers operating in China with locally supplied solutions." Located in the Banan district, the 38,000 square meter facility will initially supply variable swashplate compressors and heat pump systems to Changan Automobile, a subsidiary of CSGC and one of the top automotive groups in China. Future plans for the operation include the manufacture of heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) modules and powertrain cooling components. Hanon Systems currently operates 15 manufacturing sites across China, which includes non-consolidated joint ventures. About Hanon Systems Hanon Systems is a full-line supplier of automotive thermal and energy management solutions for electrified and conventional vehicles. Its offering includes a wide range of solutions in the areas of heating ventilation and air conditioning; powertrain cooling; compressor; fluid transport; and electronics and fluid pressure. The company currently employs more than 22,000 people across 21 countries at its 51 manufacturing and 23 engineering sites. To learn more, visit hanonsystems.com. Follow Hanon Systems: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hanonsystems YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6bSZ7NMg7LPhXDyTOMwebQ/feed SOURCE Hanon Systems Related Links http://www.hvccglobal.com DALLAS, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Heartland Dental, the largest dental support organization in the country, kicked off its 14th annual Aesthetic Continuum event on Friday, May 17th. The Aesthetic Continuum is the largest cosmetic, live-patient program in the country, which brings both experienced, mentor dentists and new dentists together to learn and experience the process of completing ideal, state-of-the-art smile designs. This year's Aesthetic Continuum was led by three of the most successful cosmetic dentists in the country Dr. Craig Goldin, Dr. Marvin Berlin, and PAC Live Founder, Dr. Michael Koczarski. "For participating dentists, having the ability to partner with an experienced mentor during the event is invaluable. This gives participants the baseline knowledge and confidence to start creating smile designs on their own," said Dr. Rick Workman, Founder & Executive Chairman of Heartland Dental. "On the other side, this is a great opportunity for patients as well. Once their cases are completed through the program, they get the beautiful, healthy new smile they've always wanted." Clinical mentors use their experience and knowledge to help attendees learn the principles of cosmetic dentistry, including diagnosis and case selection, materials, preparation design, impression technique, temporization, cementation, occlusion, and photography. Since 2005, over 700 attending dentists have completed the program and provided over 7,000 restorations to patients. To watch a quick recap of the Aesthetic Continuum event, please click here. About Heartland Dental Heartland Dental was founded in 1997 by Rick Workman, DMD in Effingham, IL. Today, it is the nation's largest dental support organization with 12,000 employees providing non-clinical administrative support services to over 1,500 supported dentists in more than 900 supported dental offices in 37 states. Its non-clinical administrative services include staffing, employee relations, procurement, administration, financial, marketing assistance, and information technology. Heartland Dental is majority owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm. Heartland Dental remains headquartered in Effingham and offers supported dentists and team members continuing professional education and leadership training. For more information, visit www.Heartland.com. Follow Heartland Dental on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Adam Lueken, Corporate Communications (217) 540-5664 or [email protected] SOURCE Heartland Dental Related Links https://www.Heartland.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) Would the Philippines operate better under authoritarian rule, similar to the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos? His daughter believes it's now passe. "I think the time has passed--I mean, even in the President's declaration of martial law in the entire island of Mindanao, hindi naman pareho 'yung martial law ngayon at 'yung martial law noon [martial law then is different from martial law now]," Senator-elect Imee Marcos told CNN Philippines Thursday. "The Constitution is different, the people are different. Everything-- the context is different. I don't think it's comparable." Martial law was declared in 1972 by former President Marcos supposedly to quell a communist insurgency, though his critics said it was a pretext to prolong his hold on power. Previous versions of the Constitutions did not impose limits on the declaration of martial law, but after the two-decade regime of Ferdinand Marcos which was marred by human rights violations, threats to press freedom and an economic decline, the 1987 Constitution was enacted a year after his ouster. This version imposed a sixty-day period to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus -- a legal recourse against unlawful detention in which the custodian of a prisoner is ordered to produce the detainee in court. Congress was also given the power to revoke and extend the proclamation of martial law. On May 23, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the island of Mindanao following attacks from Maute-ISIS rebels in Marawi City. Martial law in Mindanao has been extended thrice by Congress dominated by Duterte's allies as government insists that the problem of rebellion persists there. The administration's critics said the situation in the south did not merit such extension of martial law. But the younger Marcos touted her father's accomplishments during his time as president, such as infrastructure and agriculture. "Clearly we need some--for lack of a better word--inspiration. I don't know what it's called but we need something to look forward to. And there are certain basic things we simply can't let go of," she said. Marcos, who is often celebrated by supporters due to his administration's infrastructure spending spree, led the country into a foreign debt crisis. The government borrowed outside extensively from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s to fund a number of projects. From $4.1 billion in 1975, external debt ballooned to $24.4 billion in 1982. Held together with a retail show, cleaning show and franchise show under the flag of Hotel Plus, HDE was praised by exhibitors for providing diversified media promotion opportunities and maintaining the quality of buyers. Welcoming a record number of over 3,000 exhibitors, Hotel Plus 2019 attracted 147,166 trade professionals from 131 countries and regions, with an increase of 8.5% in visitors over the last show in 2018. "The show provided many new supplier options, bringing our resorts innovative ideas and potential partners," says Siyu Pu from Engineering Department of Club Med, "We had a deep conversation with industrial experts onsite regarding to industrial development, especially the consumption concepts and trends of resort guests in China market." According to the post-show survey did by the organizer, 74% of exhibitors gave a positive feedback on the overall satisfaction. "We have got the contacts of hundreds of potential clients during the exhibition and we are very satisfied with the quantity and quality of buyers," says Wenjun Zou, Director of Strategic Engineering, Mati Ceramics. The ever-popular event program, Mockup Room Show, demonstrated hotels' brand concept and looking for partners interested in investment. Newly established sino-foreign joint venture, Shimao Star Hotel Group, was selected as Most Popular Mockup Room among over 20 participants this year by trade visitors and juries from organizing committee. "We are old friends of Hotel Plus but this was our first time to attend the show after cooperating with Starwood Capital. This year we launched a new hotel brand Ethos and received a lot enquires and high attention. This was also a good opportunity for us to connect with trade visitors and promote cooperation in a deep-going way," says Li Wen, Marketing and Brand Planning Director of Shimao Star Hotel Group. Another key highlight of HDE was China International Building and Interior Design Forum. The forum is a stage for designers to communicate the latest market trends and design ideas in hospitality and commercial space industry. Italian architect Roberto Baciocchi shared his experience on luxury retail projects across the world with delegates. Other speakers included directors and founders of multinational design firms CallisonRTKL, HOK, Gensler, Chapman Taylor, RSAA GmbH, PIA Interior, PLAT ASIA, PANORAMA Hong Kong, AK+ Archipedia, and Studio MVW. Over 800 delegates attended the design forum and took an active part in a Q&A session. Design Week Shanghai, Charm of Light exhibition area, Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner, Hotel Uniform Show and many other exciting activities took place in the 3-day event, providing an overview of hotels and commercial space industry in China. About Hotel Plus - HDE Hotel Plus - HDE is a one-stop purchasing platform offering building materials and operational supplies for Hotels, Restaurants, Clubs, Retail Shops, and Shopping Malls. It is derived from Expo Build China, and emerged with Hotelex, the hospitality trade fair which has more than 20 years history. Exhibit ranges from building & decoration, engineering & design, interior design, lighting & intelligence, smart hotel, fitness & leisure, hotel furnishing, hotel supplies, hotel investment & franchise. For more information please go to www.hdeexpo.com. SOURCE UBM Sinoexpo "I've been emphasizing the need to bring the focus back to customers," said EVC Chung. "Customers have always been our priority, but I question whether we are really thinking of our customers in our services and products. I want everyone at our company to think about how they can make the customer happy." He reflected on the impact made by his grandfather Ju-Yung Chung, who founded the mother company of Hyundai Motor Group in 1947 and led South Korea's industrialization. "During my grandfather's times, the whole company got together and thought of ways to make customers happy. I think it is time for us to bring the spirit back. Rather than looking at our competitors, we need to focus on what our customers want." EVC Chung said fostering a flexible corporate culture is key to bringing change and innovation to the company. "We will give more autonomy to our employees so they can make their own decisions. We are making our utmost effort to improve communication within the organization." On leadership style, he drew comparison with his grandfather once again. "My grandfather was a strong leader, with the whole company following a single direction. But today, I try to provide a general direction and discuss ideas altogether. It may take longer, but I think we can find better answers when we work together." EVC Chung reiterated the Group's commitment to quality, explaining that new technologies can only enrich customers' lives when quality is guaranteed. "Technology can make driving more convenient, but malfunctions must be minimized. A car cannot reset every time, like a phone or a PC." He also stressed the need to boost investment and efficiency in R&D, referring to the task as one of his biggest challenges. Under the Group's open innovation spirit, EVC Chung said the key to the Group's future success is "building firm partnerships." Hyundai Motor Group has been partnering with mobility companies like Grab and Ola to accelerate its transition into a smart mobility solutions provider. He said, "Younger generations are not as keen on the idea of buying cars or even getting a driving license, so we have to shift our business to service." Discussing plans for the Global Business Center (GBC), the Group's new headquarters, EVC Chung said, "The location was chosen because it has great future value. We are considering joint development with investors through a special-purpose company. It's important to work with investors and develop that land so that we can invest back into our core businesses." On the future of the Group's governance, he said, "We are considering many options with the aim of pleasing our investors. I try to listen to our investors as much as possible. Investors and the company ultimately share the same goal: to maximize profit." About Hyundai Motor Group Hyundai Motor Group is a global corporation that has created a value chain based on automobiles, steel, and construction and includes logistics, finance, IT and service. With about 250,000 employees worldwide, the group's automobile brands include Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. Armed with creative thinking, cooperative communication and the will to take on all challenges, we are working to create a better future for all. For more information on Hyundai Motor Group, please see: https://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com SOURCE Hyundai Motor Group Related Links http://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com SINGAPORE, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenon Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KEN) (TASE: KEN) ("Kenon") announced today that it will be releasing its first quarter 2019 results on Thursday, May 30, 2019. Kenon will also host a conference call the same day, starting at 9:00 am Eastern Time. Kenon's and OPC's management will host the call and will be available to answer questions after presenting the results. To participate, please call one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin placing your calls at least 10 minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free numbers, try the international dial-in number. Singapore: 3158-3851 US: 1-866-652-8972 Israel: 03- 9180687 UK: 0-800-051-8913 International: +65-3158-3851 At: 9:00 am Eastern Time, 6:00 am Pacific Time, 2:00 pm UK Time, 4:00 pm Israel Time and 9:00 pm Singapore Time. For those unable to participate, the teleconference will be available for replay on Kenon's website at http://www.kenon-holdings.com beginning 24 hours after the call. About Kenon Kenon is a holding company that operates dynamic, primarily growth-oriented businesses. The companies it owns, in whole or in part, are at various stages of development, ranging from established, cash-generating businesses to early stage development companies. Kenon's businesses consist of: OPC Energy (76% interest) a leading owner, developer and operator of power generation facilities in the Israeli power market; Qoros (24% interest 1 ) a China -based automotive company; ) a -based automotive company; ZIM (32% interest) an international shipping company; and Primus Green Energy, Inc. (91% interest) an early stage developer of alternative fuel technology. Kenon remains committed to its strategy to realize the value of its businesses for its shareholders. In connection with this strategy, Kenon may provide its shareholders with direct access to its businesses, which may include spin-offs, listings, offerings, distributions or monetization of its businesses. Kenon is actively exploring various ways to materialize this strategy in a rational and expeditious manner. For further information on Kenon's businesses and strategy, see Kenon's publicly available filings, which can be found on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Please also see http://www.kenon-holdings.com for additional information. 1 Kenon has agreed to sell half of its 24% interest to the majority shareholder in Qoros; upon completion of this sale, Kenon will hold a 12% interest in Qoros. Contact Info Kenon Holdings Ltd. Jonathan Fisch Director, Investor Relations [email protected] Tel: +65-6351-1780 SOURCE Kenon Holdings Ltd. Related Links http://www.kenon-holdings.com Each year, DevDays Asia serves as the pivot to bring in advanced technologies and latest industry trends from around the world. In his opening remarks, Ken Sun, General Manager of Microsoft Taiwan, highlighted how edge computing and AI together have changed world's business models and our daily lives. He also shared key ideas on technology deployment from Microsoft Build 2019, "This year Microsoft has launched several solutions. They all revolved around the same theme, which is the cross-disciplinary integration of cloud, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to accelerate collaboration. AIoT is an excellent example of that integration which has accelerated the realization of smart IoT." Mr. Sun asserted that Taiwan is a technology powerhouse with valuable potentials not to be overlooked. He congratulated the seven Taiwanese companies dominating the latest Azure IoT PnP (Plug and Play) partner list. The list, as announced in Microsoft Build 2019, consists of seventeen corporate partners, and out of which seven are from Taiwan, including Compal, Aaeon, Wistron, VIA, Sharp, Askey and Delta. Microsoft Taiwan is committed to the 'AI 100' project, which aims to support local partners and clients in developing customized AI solutions by offering technical resources and expert teams. In DevDays Asia 2019, more than 30 industry experts from home and abroad will represent highlights from Microsoft Build in six themes, namely Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Office 365 Development and Industry Solutions, Productivity, Security, and Technology Development. In addition, they will share the latest developments in Microsoft technologies. In over 50 hands-on workshops, new advancements in Azure and Microsoft 365 will be introduced with demos, delivering fresh ideas to local developers. Aligning with Ministry of Economic Affairs' policies and projects, Microsoft Taiwan has placed great emphasis on developing AI talent for different verticals. "AI readiness has been viewed as the most important pillar for enterprise digital transformation," remarked Mr. Sun. "We aim at building an AI talent hub in Taiwan for Asia-Pacific to facilitate transformation, attract international businesses and create more opportunities." Microsoft creates user experience-centered agile services across platforms and systems According to Senior Product Marketing Manager of Office Ecosystem Daniel Canning, the first keynote speaker, Teams is the fastest growing business application in Microsoft's history, currently adopted by over 500,000 businesses. Teams optimizes organizations' internal communication from messaging, online conferences to video calls. Integrated with Office 365, Teams can run PowerApps, Flow, and Microsoft Graph, and improves work efficiency significantly. Asad Khan, Director of Program Management in Azure Data Engineering Group, explained the evolution of SQL Server and how we are solving the new data needs through innovations, both in the cloud and on-premises. He is thrilled to show the innovations in SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Database Edge. SQL Server has evolved to provide a complete, secure, high performance platform from ground to cloud, offering multiple features, capabilities, and new levels of immense scale. Together, SQL Server and Microsoft Azure provide a complete infrastructure and platform for every data task. In recent years, Office 365 has been more than an office productivity tool. It is now capable of discovering insightful information from behavioral data. Kamal Janardhan, Partner Director of Program Management for Microsoft, commented that Workplace Analytics and MyAnalytics could analyze data from everyday work in Office 365 to identify patterns and optimize workflow. For example, Workplace Analytics can group messages in emails and conclude that low efficiency may result from too many meetings back to back. The AI technology of MyAnalytics will remind users of unread emails from important clients. Microsoft Taiwan is devoted to synchronize Taiwan with the latest technologies revealed at Microsoft Build. It is committed to putting forward visionary solutions across industries and fulfilling its mission to help Taiwan businesses to complete digital transformation. SOURCE Microsoft Taiwan GURUGRAM, India, May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Increasing digital trends are expected to revolutionize the mobile financial services in the country through virtual currencies, wearable technologies and biometrics. Growth in financial inclusion and banked population in Philippines is envisaged to create opportunities for banks to further increase their penetration in future. is envisaged to create opportunities for banks to further increase their penetration in future. Advent of digital currency and blockchain technology will make companies adaptable for new currencies such as bitcoin to enable remittance services in the country. Growing Acceptability of Banks: Formal account penetration in the Philippines, however, improved by 3.2 percentage points compared to the 31.3% registered in 2014. Of those who owned formal accounts, 11.5% said these were held with banks, lower than the 14.1% reported two years ago. Increased accessibility of banks is expected to raise the rate of remittances channeled through banks. Moreover, as financial inclusion leads to more Filipinos with bank accounts, remittances coursed through banks will further witness an increase in the coming years. The US is likely to be the largest country of origin of overseas remittances owing to the relatively high average amount of money sent by a Filipino residing and working in the US. High Remittance Charges: High remittance costs are also a factor that adversely impacts the remittance market of the country. The major restraints that impact the control over remittance costs are de-risking by banks and exclusive partnerships between national post office systems and money transfer operators. These factors are expected to constrain the introduction of more efficient technologies in the market such as internet and smartphone apps and the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain in remittance services. Improving Partnerships between Entities: The growing remittance partnerships in the country between banks, pawnshops and money transfer organizations are also expected to strengthen the market in the coming five years. However, stricter immigration regulations in the remittance source countries can be posed as a challenge for remittance growth in the future. Remittances may also be impacted by the de-risking followed by banks and increased regulation of money transfer operators, both aimed at reducing financial crime will continue to constrain the growth of formal remittances. Evolution of Digital Money Transfer Solutions: Major digital trends are expected to revolutionize the mobile financial services in the country majorly through virtual currencies, wearable technologies and biometrics. In future, bitcoin is expected to have a large impact on the global remittance market, particularly in developing countries such as the Philippines. On the other hand, the growing popularity of bitcoin in Philippines has even prompted the BSP to draft new regulations on bitcoin remittances market to promote the use of digital transactions in the country which will augment the growth of Philippines International Remittance market. In 2015 Samsung has unveiled SamsungPay, a mobile payment service that enables the MasterCard holders to make every day in-store purchase payments. It enables secure mobile payments at NFC enabled point of sale terminals. NFC payment system is gradually gaining attention among the customers in recent times. Peer to Peer payment space is still emerging in the Philippines remittance and payments market. It is yet to capture the attention of the customers and to reach the significant level of confidence. Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication "Philippines Remittance and Payments Market Outlook to 2024 Growth Backed by Sustained Internal Migration, Rise in Overseas Filipino Workers and Surge in BPO Sector" believe that the companies can benefit from an expansive reach and greater accessibility of pawnshops. Smaller companies will be required to adapt to rapid changes in technology and market conditions. A failure to do so will lead to their eventual disappearance as bigger companies and new service models continue to emerge in the Philippines. This will help the sector to register positive CAGR of 5.4% during the period 2019-2024 in terms of transaction volume. Key Segments Covered: Domestic Remittance By Remittance Channels Banks Non Banks By Types of Services Branch Pick-Up Online Door to Door Prepaid Cards Direct Credit to Bank Account By Major Flow Corridors Bill Payment Market By Channel of Payment Banks Non Banks By Type of Payments Water Electricity and Fuel Bills Insurance Premium Communication Education By Mode of Payment Offline Online Method of Payment Convenience Stores Online/Mobile Payments Biller's Business Offices Remittance Companies Banks and Others Offline International Remittance Market By Major Flow Corridors US UAE KSA UK By Remittance Channels Banks Non Banks By Payout Mode Cash Non-Cash/Electronic Transfer Door to Door Delivery Method of Payment Key Target Audience: Money Transfer Operators Banks Pawnshops Bill Payment Companies M-Wallets Mobile Money Companies Central Bank Investors and PE Firms Convenience Stores Time Period Captured in the Report: Historical Period 2013-2018 Forecast Period 2019-2024 Companies Covered: International Remittance Companies: Banco de Oro The Bank of Philippine Islands Metropolitan Bank Cebuana Lhuiliher M Lhuillier Palawan Pawnshop Western Union LBC iRemit Wells Fargo Xoom Domestic Remittance Companies: Palawan Pawnshop Cebuana Lhuillier Smart Padala M Lhuillier LBC Express BDO BPI Western Union For more information on the market research report please refer to the link below: https://www.kenresearch.com/banking-financial-services-and-insurance/financial-services/philippines-remittance-payments-market/204157-93.html Related Reports: Europe International Remittance Market Outlook to 2023 - By Inbound & Outbound Remittance, By Channels (Banks, MTOs, M-wallets and Others), By Inflow & Outflow Remittance Corridors, By Point of Contact (Branch Pick-up, Mobile Payment & Online Transactions, Prepaid Cards) The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Europe international remittance market including market evolution, overview, genesis, market size and market segmentations. Extensive focus has been placed in quantifying the transaction value and volume over the period, 2013-2023. The report covers aspects such as market segmentation (by channels used, by sending and receiving countries, by inbound remittance point of contact and by top flow corridors) and a brief snapshot on the major sending countries in Europe Competitive landscape of major players including Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria Money Transfer, Transferwise, UAE Exchange, HSBC Bank, BNP Paribas, Lloyds Bank, Barclays Bank and XOOM by Paypal have been covered including company overview, major business strategies, USP, distribution network, remittance services offered, transfer speed and various other parameters. The report is useful for existing remittance companies, potential entrants, investors and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in the future. South Africa Domestic and International Remittance Market Outlook to 2023 - By Channels Used (Banking Channels, Retailers, ADLAs & MTOs and Others), Remittance Corridors (Inbound-Outbound and Rural-Urban) The report provides a comprehensive analysis of South Africa's Remittance Market including market evolution, overview, genesis, market size and market segmentation. Extensive focus has been placed in quantifying the transaction value and volume over the period, 2013-2023. The report covers aspects such as market segmentation (by channels used, by corridors and by income level) and an extensive snapshot on the bill payment market in South Africa. The report has covered the international and domestic space exclusively focusing on over the year's computation & interpretation of change in volume, value and average ticket size of transactions in the country. Income earned & change in commission charged has been scrutinized well followed by explicit analyst explanations. Competitive landscape of major players including ABSA Bank, Capitec Bank, Bidvest Bank, Standard Bank, Western Union, MoneyGram, Hello Paisa, Mama Money, Mukuru, Shoprite, SPAR, PEP Stores and Pick n Pay have been covered including company overview, major business strategies, USP, distribution network, remittance services offered, financials and various other parameters. The report also covers future industry analysis (by value, volume and average transaction size), future market segmentation, SWOT analysis, growth opportunities, upcoming trends & analyst recommendations. The report is useful for existing remittance companies, potential entrants, investors and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in the future. UAE Remittance and Bill Payments Market Outlook to 2021 - Rising Expatriate Population, Growing Business Activities and Increasing Demand for Utilities to Foster Growth The report provides a comprehensive analysis of remittance and bill payments market in UAE. The report covers market size, segmentation on the basis of remittance channel, mode of transfer, type of service and remittance corridor for international remittance market. For domestic remittance market it covers market size, segmentation on the basis of remittance channel and type of services. It also includes the bill payments market in the country covering the market size and segmentation by type of bills. The report also covers government regulations in the market, competitive landscape and company profiles for major players in the remittance and bill payments market. The report provides detailed overview on future outlook & projections with analyst recommendations for the industry. The report facilitate the readers with an identification and in-depth analysis of the existing and future trends, issues and challenges prevalent in the industry and anticipated growth in the future depending upon changing industry dynamics in coming years. The report is useful for exchange houses, banks, bill payment portals and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to ongoing and expected trends in the future. Egypt Remittance Market Outlook to 2023 - By Inbound and Outbound Remittance, By Transfer Mode (Bank Transfer, Through Friends or Relatives, Through Agent or Courier, Carried Money on Their Visits, and Others), By Banking and Non-Banking Transfer, By Bill Payment Type (Mobile Services, Internet Services, Utilities, and Others), By Bill Payment Mode (Cash Payments, Card Payments, and Fund Transfers) The report provides a comprehensive analysis of International Remittance, Domestic Remittance, and Bill Payment Market in Egypt. It includes the transactions occurring in Egypt by major flow corridors, mode of transfer, inbound and outbound transactions, channel of transfer, and bill payment details such as type of bill payments and mode of bill payments. The report also covers the overall competitive landscape and company profiles of major Money Transfer Organizations in Egypt. The report concludes with market projection for future and analyst recommendations highlighting the major opportunities and cautions for the Egypt Remittance Market. Egypt has been one of the top Arabian countries in terms of labour supply. This results into high international inbound remittance in the country. The domestic remittance transactions are high which is due to growth in internal migration and rising urban population. Increasing nuclear families in the country has resulted into increased bill payment activities as number of subscribers for utilities, mobile telephone services and internet are on rise. Even though the international remittance market has slowed down since 2016, it is expected to recover as Middle Eastern economies invest to diversify. Contact Us : Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing Ken Research Private Limited [email protected] +91-9015378249 SOURCE Ken Research HELENA, Mont., May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- While the mountains and big sky tend to take center stage, there are over 145,000 square miles in Montana that are home to more than just high peaks and incredible hiking trails. Meet our abundant waterways. From glacial-fed lakes to the last free-flowing river in the continental United States, Montana's bodies of water offer a variety of activities for experiencing the best of summer. Soak in the rays of summer from Montana's crystal-clear waters. (Photo Courtesy: Visit Montana) Anchoring the state's water recreation in the north is Flathead Lake. The largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, Flathead is more than 200 square miles in size and has 185 miles of shoreline, which are home to state parks, public access sites and some of the cutest towns in western Montana. On-the-water offerings include sailing, kayaking, fishing and boat tours, as well as easy access to lakeside dining. In the summer months, this region is also home to Flathead cherries, which grow in orchards along the lake and can be picked up at roadside fruit stands. Travel south to Montana's Bitterroot Valley and splash around Lake Como near Hamilton. Enjoy the beauty of the surrounding mountains while recreating on the waters and complete your adventure with a trip to Darby to taste some delicious chocolate at Old West Candy & Antiques Gallery. Rounding out the region's water adventure offerings are a few incredible riversincluding the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers. The currents are ideal for fly-fishing, scenic floats, stand-up paddleboarding (or SUP), whitewater rafting and kayaking. Nestled among the vast landscapes of northeastern Montana are rivers and lakes, with the largest water playground being the Fort Peck Lake Reservoir and Recreation Area. Sitting at 134 miles long with over 1,500 miles of shoreline, Fort Peck Lake is home to some of the best fishing in Montana, with fish that include walleye, northern pike, Chinook salmon, lake trout and smallmouth bass. And while fishing takes center stage on the lake, its size provides plenty of opportunities for summer relaxation. Cruise the lake on a boat, or spend an afternoon paddling the shoreline in a kayak or canoe. More local fishing opportunities can be found on the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, as well as the Nelson Reservoir between Saco and Malta. Anchoring the water recreation offerings in Southeast Montana is one of the state's best-kept secrets, Bighorn Canyon. Sitting at 60 miles long and spanning both Montana and Wyoming, Bighorn Lakeand the accompanying Bighorn Canyonis a place you have to see to believe. The cliffs rise at least 1,000 feet above the lake, creating spectacular on-the-water views. You can bring your own boat, canoe or kayak, or rent a pontoon boat from Ok-A-Beh Marina near Fort Smith to cruise the lake on a summer afternoon. As an added bonus, there are a handful of campgrounds on Bighorn Lake that are only accessible by boat. Spend the night and experience the clear sky and incredible stargazing this area is known for. And while lakes in the southeast are abundant, this part of Montana is also home to the Yellowstone Riverthe last free-flowing river in the lower 48 states. From its starting point in Yellowstone National Park, the Yellowstone River travels about 670 miles until it meets the Missouri River in North Dakota. Fishing enthusiasts flock to its blue-ribbon waters to cast for big, beautiful trout. The river is also ideal for scenic floats, running rapids or floating on kayaks while taking in the views of rolling plains and limestone bluffs. Find more information on Montana's water recreation and start planning your trip at WWW.VISITMT.COM. About The Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development (MOTBD) MOTBD markets Montana's spectacular unspoiled nature, vibrant and charming small towns, breathtaking experiences, relaxing hospitality and competitive business climate to promote the state as a place to visit and do business. For more information, go to VISITMT.COM . SOURCE Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development Related Links http://www.visitmt.com The CCPA regulates how companies handle personal information, granting California consumers new rights to access and delete their data while placing restrictions on entities that collect, store, and sell personal information. According to estimates from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), more than 500,000 businesses in the United States, including over 100,000 businesses in California, could be affected by the new regulation, which will go into effect January 1, 2020. To help companies comply in time, SixFifty Privacy automates the four key components of the CCPA including: collecting, managing and fulfilling consumer requests; mapping the flow of data through a business; generating policies and other compliance documents; and training employees who handle consumer information on the new law, all in one place. Within 15 minutes, SixFifty Privacy can lay the foundation for most companies to comply with the CCPA, saving them time and money and granting them peace of mind. "The CCPA will affect more businesses in the United States in a more profound way than any preceding privacy statute, and compliance will come at considerable time and expense, in terms of evaluating documents and data, reengineering business processes, IT systems and marketing strategies, employee training and legal costs," said Kimball Dean Parker, president of SixFifty and the director of LawX, the legal design lab at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School. "SixFifty Privacy is the fastest, easiest and most affordable way to address CCPA compliance, combining the power of machine automation with the expertise of the country's top privacy experts and attorneys." Businesses that use SixFifty Privacy will benefit from the expertise of WSGR's Privacy and Data Protection practice, which includes Lydia Parnes, the former director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, and Chris Olsen, the former assistant director of the FTC's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. WSGR attorneys worked closely with SixFifty to develop the legal guidelines and content used by the automation software. "On January 1, hundreds of thousands of businesses will have to adjust to the new realities brought about by the CCPA including changing their data management practices and policies or face significant consequences," said Doug Clark, managing partner of WSGR. "The CCPA is only the tip of the iceberg for regulations around consumer data privacy as multiple states are expecting to rollout data privacy legislations including New York, Massachusetts and Texas." SixFifty Privacy has already found success in the market with both start-ups and established companies. The product, which was released to select clients within Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, will now be available to any company across the nation. For more information about SixFifty and to take a free assessment to see how the CCPA will impact your business, visit https://www.sixfifty.com/solutions/ccpa/applicabilit y . About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati For more than 50 years, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offered a broad range of services and legal disciplines focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leader in the fields of corporate governance and finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities litigation, employment law, intellectual property, and antitrust, among many other areas of law. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offices in Austin; Beijing; Boston; Brussels; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Shanghai; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com . About SixFifty Headquartered in the Silicon Slopes area of Utah, SixFift y is a subsidiary of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and combines the expertise of the world's leading technology law firm, made accessible through thoughtful technology. SixFifty streamlines complex areas of the law by providing actionable, efficient and affordable solutions for individuals and businesses. For more information, please visit www.sixfifty.com . SOURCE SixFifty; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Related Links https://www.sixfifty.com/ "American consumers and businesses rely on transportation every day for jobs, schools, and commerce. We need advanced energy technologies that enable affordable, reliable transportation options, strengthen energy security, and grow our economy," said Daniel Simmons, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. "Students in the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge are our future innovators and technology leaders that will keep America's transportation sector moving forward." The Buckeye's have taken the early lead in the competition earning 887 out of 1000 overall points. For jumping to the top of the leaderboard, Ohio State will take home an extra $10,000 to further support the university's advanced vehicle technology program. EcoCAR the latest U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition sponsored by General Motors and MathWorks challenges 12 North American universities to apply advanced propulsion systems, electrification, SAE Level 2 automation and vehicle connectivity to improve the energy efficiency of a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, all while balancing factors such as emissions, safety and consumer acceptability. Teams have four years (2018-2022) to transform their vehicles from design concept into reality, building an energy efficient, connected and semi-automated vehicle for the car sharing market. Year One is for the big thinkers. Throughout the year, the students strived to conceptualize and build the framework for their redesigned Chevrolet Blazers. There are no vehicles yet, so it's up to the teams to engineer solutions from scratch, research user-interface components, powertrains and sensors to build around, as well as write and validate new code. "The knowledge and skills these students developed during a year of vehicle architecture planning and design are highly coveted in industry," said Dan Nicholson, vice president, Global Electrification, Controls, Software and Electronics. "Our GM mentors enjoy working with each team and seeing the creativity and passion competitors have for creating advanced, efficient, connected vehicles. We congratulate Ohio State on their win, and we're already looking forward to year two." "It's always impressive to see the success students realize when tasked with solving real world engineering problems with industry-standard hardware and software," said Lauren Tabolinsky, academic program manager, MathWorks. "Student competitions like EcoCAR Mobility Challenge help to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers by providing hands-on technical experience, building collaboration skills and offering a project-based learning opportunity." Additional sponsors joining the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors and MathWorks, include NXP, National Science Foundation, Intel, American Axle & Manufacturing, Bosch, PACCAR, dSPACE, Siemens, Denso, Horiba, AVL, Delphi Technologies, California Air Resources Board, tesa tape, Vector, Electric Power Research Institute and Proterra. For more information about The EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, please visit www.avtcseries.org. About The EcoCAR Mobility Challenge EcoCAR Mobility Challenge is a four-year collegiate engineering program that builds on the successful 30-year history of Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC) by giving engineering students the chance to design and build advanced vehicle technologies that explore affordable and highly efficient vehicle solutions. General Motors provides each of the 12 competing teams with a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, as well as vehicle components, seed money, technical mentoring and operational support. MathWorks provides teams with a full suite of software tools, simulation models, training, technical mentoring and operational support. The U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory, provide competition management, team evaluation and logistical support. Other sponsors provide hardware, software and training. Through this important public/private partnership, EcoCAR provides invaluable hands-on skills to promising, young minds ready to enter the workforce. SOURCE EcoCAR Mobility Challenge PALM BEACH, Florida, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cannabis beauty and wellness products have gone mainstream. As products laced with CBD find their way onto the shelves of Sephora, Barney's, Estee Lauder, and Ulta Beauty, analysts believe the trend could be a significant catalyst. "We have seen a high level of interest in cannabis beauty from retailers over the past month based on our store checks and incremental launches. We expect further retailer developments in the coming months," noted analysts at Piper Jaffray, as quoted by CNBC. Given sizable interest, Piper Jaffray believes the CBD market could be worth up to $100 billion. Some of the top companies in the industry include The Yield Growth Corp. (CSE:BOSS) (OTC:BOSQF), Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX-V:ALEF) (OTC:ALEAF), The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX:TGOD)(OTC:TGODF), Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE:CURA)(OTC:CURLF), and Liberty Health Sciences Inc. (CSE:LHS)(OTC:LHSIF). The Yield Growth Corp. (CSE:BOSS)(OTCQB:BOSQF) BREAKING NEWS: The Yield Growth Corp. just secured one of five Platinum Partner positions for the influential, three-day (June 7-9) landmark Lift & Co. Cannabis Expo Toronto 2019, hosted by Lift & Co. Corp. (CSE:LIFT)(OTCQB:LFCOF). Yield's Growth's Senior Research Scientist and Director of Product Development, Bhavna Solecki, will be presenting on the panel Looking Good and Feeling Great: Cannabis Beauty Products on Saturday, June 8: 11:35 am - 12:15 pm. With more than 20,000 delegates and visitors, The Lift & Co. Expo offers substantial exposure for The Yield Growth Corp. In addition, Yield Growth will make its Urban Juve Body Bio skincare kits available for purchase at a special conference price. Invitations will be available to Urban Juve consumers at an exclusive Yield Growth VIP afterparty featuring a special musical guest performance. "We want to stand out among our fellow 250 B2B and B2C exhibitors," says Penny Green, Yield Growth President & CEO. "Creating a magnetic and engaging space for attendees at this exciting and busy forum requires more than creativity, great design and informed ambassadors. We have an engaging story with true substance. Whether it's the Ayurvedic influence and patent pending hemp root extraction technology that are the hallmarks of our Urban Juve brand, The Lift & Co. event will strengthen consumer and trade appreciation for our products, brands, services and technologies. We are excited to meet delegates and shed light, whether it's an investor seeking insight into the financial potential of cannabis or a consumer seeking an alternative to traditional skincare and medicine, our legal, product development and executive sales team will be present." For more news for BOSS, please visit: https://yieldgrowth.com/news/ Other cannabis-related developments from around the markets include: Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX-V:ALEF)(OTCQX:ALEAF) just completed the largest adult-use cannabis order in the company's history. The Order is scheduled to depart from the Company's facility with delivery to a Canadian provincial government for distribution to online and retail consumers. It will contain the company's branded Symbl oils, oral sprays and dried flower products. The value of the Order is expected to generate proceeds from the sale of cannabis exceeding $0.7 million. In the first 38 days of Q2 2019, including the revenue to be obtained from the Order, the Company has received adult-use cannabis product orders from three Canadian provincial governments of over $1.2 million in gross revenue, representing significant growth when compared to the sale of cannabis revenues generated during 2018. "We are extremely pleased to report the largest ever cannabis sale in our Company's history," said Aleafia Health CEO Geoffrey Benic. "Furthermore, with our Niagara Greenhouse and Outdoor Grow expansion in a plant-ready state, the assets are now in place to scale our cannabis health and wellness vision exponentially and build on today's results." The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX:TGOD)(OTCQX:TGODF) just obtained approval from Health Canada, under the Cannabis Regulations, to expand operations into its new state-of-the-art building located in Hamilton, Ontario. The 20,000 square feet indoor facility is going to be used for cannabis cultivation; planting will start in the coming weeks. "This is yet another important milestone for our team as we continue to ramp up production with a focus on executional excellence," commented Brian Athaide, CEO of TGOD. "We have pioneered the concept of sustainably growing all-natural, certified organic cannabis at scale. The product we are able to offer Canadians is clean, pesticide-free and undeniably premium." The newly built facility is the second of three buildings at TGOD's Hamilton site, which will have a total size of 166,000 square feet when all are completed later this summer, and an annual production capacity of 17,500 kgs. Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE:CURA)(OTCQX:CURLF) just announced the launch of Bido, hemp-based CBD products for pets. CBD is a non-intoxicating, non-psychoactive compound from the cannabis sativa plant. CBD has been shown in initial third-party studies to support a pet's overall wellness including the potential to help manage pain and anxiety. Bido pet drops come in three varieties, bacon, salmon and unflavored "pure," and Bido soft-baked bites are available in apple chicken, peanut butter bacon, and honey sweet potato. Bido's products were developed using 100% natural and U.S. grown hemp that was tested and extracted to the highest industry standards. Curaleaf's team of scientists transformed the hemp-based CBD oil into a product with a precise dosage and flavor for pets. Liberty Health Sciences Inc. (CSE:LHS)(OTCQX:LHSIF) announced it would open its 14th Florida dispensary in Cape Coral's South Cape business district subject to Florida Department of Health approval. This is the first medical facility to open in Cape Coral and Liberty's second dispensary to open in Lee County. The 3,380 square-foot facility includes innovative shopping displays that engage and educate patients, two private consultation rooms and a large waiting room where patients, physicians and community members can learn about the benefits of medical cannabis. The dispensary is also equipped to offer drive-through services for its patients. "We anticipate strong patient demand in the Cape Coral area, which is supported by a large population of potential patients living in Southwest Florida who can take advantage of our exceptional customer service and educational resources," said Victor E. Mancebo, interim CEO of Liberty. "There are many retirees living in our service area who can benefit from our products and Cape Coral is also one of the fastest growing cities in Florida. Already patients and the city of Cape Coral are embracing our presence and we are excited to provide the community with our premium medical marijuana products." DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates Financialnewsmedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third- party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM expects to be compensated twenty-five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press release issued by The Yield Growth Corp. by a non-affiliated third party. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE. 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Contact Information: Media Contact email: [email protected] +1(561)325-8757 SOURCE FinancialNewsMedia.com VANCOUVER, Wash., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Adair Homes, Inc., a leading on-your-lot builder that specializes in affordable custom homes in the Northwest and Arizona, today announced the release of its 2019 Adair Homes Floor Plan Catalog. This resource, which features new designs to fit every lifestyle, illustrates Adair's commitment to its customers by responding to requests for more modern floor plans, sustainable options, and trendy rustic farmhouse exteriors. Every family has different needs and preferences, which is why every home Adair Homes builds is unique. Its homebuilding process provides homebuyers with the opportunity to design around their lifestyles by offering a multitude of layouts, features, and options that suit a variety of different needs while staying within budget. For 2019, Adair has added new exterior options, sustainable features, and floor plans with a modern vibe. The custom homebuilder also recently expanded into Arizona in order to serve more happy homeowners. "At Adair Homes, we are constantly working to provide more floor plans, features, and options so that buyers can build a new home that truly matches their sense of style, lifestyle, and budget," says Adair's Vice President of Sales and Marketing Joshua Biggs. "Whether you are a young couple buying your first home, a growing family that needs more adaptable spaces, or a multigenerational family that needs to accommodate more family members, our floor plan catalog can help you find the right solution." Highlighting options to make custom homes greener and a classic farmhouse exterior design, the 2019 Adair Homes Floor Plan Catalog showcases all of the homebuilder's existing plans and introduces four new ones: The Everett: The largest of the modern floor plans, the Everett offers a spacious 2,830 square feet over two floors. A mid-century modern roofline and elegant window details on the garage and front doors make this chic home stand out on any block. All four bedrooms are located on the second floor, offering maximum privacy, and a spacious open kitchen is connected to both the great room and the dining room, providing convenience for meals and a strong sense of connection. Additional features include: a large covered porch for protective shade, an optional covered patio off the kitchen for summertime entertaining; and an optional third car bay off the two-car garage. The largest of the modern floor plans, offers a spacious 2,830 square feet over two floors. A mid-century modern roofline and elegant window details on the garage and front doors make this chic home stand out on any block. All four bedrooms are located on the second floor, offering maximum privacy, and a spacious open kitchen is connected to both the great room and the dining room, providing convenience for meals and a strong sense of connection. Additional features include: a large covered porch for protective shade, an optional covered patio off the kitchen for summertime entertaining; and an optional third car bay off the two-car garage. The Bannock: Single-level living has never looked more stylish or felt more spacious. With 2,449 square feet and the option to create a dramatic raised entry, the Bannock has plenty of space for a larger family. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms ensure everybody has their own space, and a master suite separated from the other bedrooms provides just the right amount of privacy. An optional bonus room can be used for a home office, game room, or yoga studio. For growing families, the front den can be converted into an optional fifth bedroom. This plan has flexible options for any lifestyle, including: a covered entry for convenience and comfort, an optional walk-in pantry for food and small appliance storage, an optional third car bay on the two-car garage, a spacious walk-through utility and laundry room, and an optional covered patio for outdoor entertaining. Single-level living has never looked more stylish or felt more spacious. With 2,449 square feet and the option to create a dramatic raised entry, has plenty of space for a larger family. Four bedrooms and three bathrooms ensure everybody has their own space, and a master suite separated from the other bedrooms provides just the right amount of privacy. An optional bonus room can be used for a home office, game room, or yoga studio. For growing families, the front den can be converted into an optional fifth bedroom. This plan has flexible options for any lifestyle, including: a covered entry for convenience and comfort, an optional walk-in pantry for food and small appliance storage, an optional third car bay on the two-car garage, a spacious walk-through utility and laundry room, and an optional covered patio for outdoor entertaining. The Vaughn: Properties that require a small footprint don't have to compromise on style with the Vaughn plan. With 2,226 square feet of space over two floors, this home has a modern facade with clean, sleek lines. The flexible floor plan offers the option to have three, four, or five bedrooms to fit any family's needs. A two-car garage in the rear of the home maximizes curb appeal and helps keep the front entry clean and tidy. The upstairs loft can be used as a game room, a yoga studio, a media area, or another creative space. On the first floor, an enclosed den provides a more private space for a home office, writing room, or library. Other options to consider with this floor plan include: a covered patio on the side off of the dining room and a gourmet kitchen upgrade for avid home chefs. Properties that require a small footprint don't have to compromise on style with plan. With 2,226 square feet of space over two floors, this home has a modern facade with clean, sleek lines. The flexible floor plan offers the option to have three, four, or five bedrooms to fit any family's needs. A two-car garage in the rear of the home maximizes curb appeal and helps keep the front entry clean and tidy. The upstairs loft can be used as a game room, a yoga studio, a media area, or another creative space. On the first floor, an enclosed den provides a more private space for a home office, writing room, or library. Other options to consider with this floor plan include: a covered patio on the side off of the dining room and a gourmet kitchen upgrade for avid home chefs. The Taylor: The unique roofline on the Taylor is the most notable exterior feature, but the pleasant surprises don't stop there. This unassuming single-level home has three bedrooms and two baths in 1,842 square feet of space. The master suite, tucked away in the back corner, provides optimal privacy, while the combined kitchen/dining room/great room brings everybody together. The open-concept layout makes this ranch feel roomy and warm, especially with the optional fireplace in the great room. Additional features of this highly customizable home include: optional stone exterior accents, a protected and covered porch, and an optional patio that can be accessed from the master bedroom. In addition, Adair understands that everything that goes into a home can have an impact on its environmental footprint. The company is conscientious when choosing its supplier partners. Some of the eco-friendly material choices Adair now offers include: Wayne Dalton thermally efficient garage doors thermally efficient garage doors LP TechShield Radiant Barrier Sheathing to lower the attic temperature Therma-Tru doors to maintain the desired indoor air temperature JELD-WEN Low-E windows to reduce heat transfer PARR SFI certified lumber for framing Eco-friendly appliances to keep energy use low Pacific Crest cabinets finished with water-based, low-VOC stains and finishes Moen Eco-Performance faucets that use up to 30 percent less water R-21 Kraft-Faced Batt Insulation with precut widths to reduce waste 100 percent LED lighting to reduce energy consumption Engineered wood flooring systems that utilize wood waste Sherwin-Williams paint that meets or exceeds strict VOC guidelines These efficient building materials will help Adair homeowners benefit from a lifetime of lower utility bills and home comfort. The 2019 Adair Homes Floor Plan Catalog is now available and can be downloaded for free at https://info.adairhomes.com/adair-floorplan-catalog . Prospective homebuyers can browse the new catalog to see which floor plans and features fit their lifestyles and which options should be prioritized to fit their budget. About Adair Homes, Inc. Adair Homes is a premier homebuilder in Arizona and the Northwest. The company was founded in 1969 in Oregon and takes pride in offering better homes for less. Adair continues to invest in its business by providing new home plans for customers. For more information, visit adairhomes.com . SOURCE Adair Homes, Inc. Related Links http://www.adairhomes.com NEW YORK and SAN DIEGO, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Artivest, the leading independent digital platform for alternative funds, today announces the appointment of Paul Nobile as Chief Marketing Officer, a new position for the company. Nobile has more than 25 years of experience as an award-winning marketing and communications leader for asset and wealth managers. He is based in New York City and reports directly to James Waldinger, Founder and CEO of Artivest. Paul Nobile, Chief Marketing Officer, Artivest At Artivest, Nobile takes responsibility for marketing and communications strategy and execution across a broad range of owned, earned and paid disciplines. As a senior leader, he will partner with teams across the business to position the firm's value proposition and engage a growing ecosystem of alternative investment managers, financial advisors and qualified high-net-worth investors on the Artivest platform. "Paul is widely recognized as a founding architect of one of the investment industry's most admired brands, iShares. The integrated, data-driven and advisor-focused campaigns he led from the inception of iShares through to the acquisition of that business by Blackrock represent one of the most innovative, disruptive and transformational marketing efforts in a generation," said James Waldinger, Founder and CEO of Artivest. "Together with his product management, distribution strategy and global leadership experience, Paul is well-suited to our mission of transforming the way financial advisors access alternatives. Mr. Nobile was previously Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, as well as Chief Marketing Officer and Managing Director for BNY Mellon Investment Management, where he worked closely with that firm's investment management CEO, institutional investment boutiques and distribution heads to lead enterprise marketing and communications across intermediary segments globally. Mr. Nobile also served as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and Senior Vice President at Boston MA-based Eaton Vance, where he led global marketing, product management, and communications in partnership with the heads of the institutional and intermediary distribution teams. He spent 12 years prior to that in San Francisco CA with Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock), as Managing Director and Head of Global Brand Marketing, where he helped launch and build the iShares brand of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). By the end of his tenure there in 2009, his efforts contributed to iShares becoming the largest ETF fund family globally by AUM and the third fastest-growing fund family globally by annual net inflows. "Artivest sits at the intersection of arguably the two most compelling areas in investing today fintech and alternatives and is igniting a chain reaction at exactly the right time given the global secular shift away from traditional actively managed mutual funds and the growing demand among advisors and high-net-worth investors for alternatives," said Paul Nobile, Chief Marketing Officer of Artivest. The firm's commitment to open architecture and a frictionless user experience has attracted a rapidly expanding client base, and I am delighted to be joining the firm at this exciting inflection point." "Artivest is eliminating the hassle factor that can discourage advisors from adding private alternatives into their clients' portfolios, despite the potential of these products for building better portfolios," said Martin Beaulieu, Executive Chairman of Artivest. "Paul brings exactly the right blend of industry experience, data fluency and bold strategic thinking to the table, which is essential as we look to educate advisors on the ease with which they can transact with a growing lineup of world-class alternative managers on the Artivest Open Network." Mr. Nobile graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations and Political Science. He holds Series 7 and Series 24 licenses from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). About Artivest Since 2011, Artivest has been helping financial advisors and high-net-worth investors build better portfolios by transforming how they identify, access, and invest in institutional private alternative strategies. As the leading independent digital platform for hedge funds, private equity and real assets, the Artivest Open Network delivers simplicity through proprietary technology, accessibility through robust product structuring, and efficiency through data-driven insights and bespoke distribution. Run by accomplished fintech and investment industry executives in New York City and San Diego, Artivest is proudly independent and privately held by its employees and outside investors, led by Aquiline Capital Partners, Genstar Capital, KKR, and Thiel Capital. For more information, please visit us on artivest.co, LinkedIn and Twitter. Media Contact Dana Taormina JConnelly for Artivest Tel: (973) 850-7305 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Artivest Related Links https://artivest.co ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC) is pleased to announce that it will officially host the 10th World Adhesive and Sealant Conference (WAC) scheduled for April 20-22, 2020 in Chicago. The theme will be "Securing the Future." Serving as co-hosts are the Asia Regional Adhesive Council and FEICA, the Association of the European Adhesive and Sealant Industry. This global conference is held once every four years and rotates between Asia, Europe, and North America. "Because the World Adhesive and Sealant Conference brings together the worldwide industrymanufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service providers, and academiain one place over the course of three days, it is truly unique and impactful," said Bill Allmond, ASC's President. "There is no other conference like it." WAC 2020 will take the place of ASC's Annual Spring Convention and EXPO, and will be held at the Hilton Chicago, near Chicago's most famous attractions. "Over the last decade, our industry has seen significant growth both here in the U.S. and around the world," said Brian McSwigan, Vice President of Pressure Sensitive Adhesives at Henkel Corporation and Chair of the ASC. "Business opportunities across our industry's markets have been driven by innovation, efficiency improvements and strong leadership. While the future outlook is favorable, there continue to be concerns about international trade, raw material costs, skilled labor, and government regulation. These challenges are felt globally and require increased focus within our industry," he said. WAC 2020 will feature keynotes from the industry's leading companies and a full two-day program with more than 80 speakers presenting on sustainability, adhesives and raw materials development, key feedstocks, global regulatory developments, market disruptors, end user business needs, mergers and acquisitions, among others. Each regionAsia, Europe, and North Americawill provide their unique viewpoint, providing attendees with a valuable opportunity to learn more about the latest developments taking place across the globe. Additionally, the WAC EXPO will be held on April 21 and will feature more than 130 exhibitors. "On behalf of The Adhesive and Sealant Council, our co-hosts and co-promoters, and the U.S. adhesive and sealant industry, we are honored to welcome the global community to WAC 2020 and look forward to seeing you in Chicago," Allmond said. For more information about WAC 2020, visit www.WAC2020.org. SOURCE The Adhesive and Sealant Council ATLANTA, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Commissioners of Atlanta Housing (AH) today voted unanimously to name Joy Fitzgerald Interim President and CEO. Fitzgerald previously filled this role at the organization from 2013 to 2016. Before retiring in 2016, Fitzgerald spent close to four decades working in affordable housing. She was Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development for Atlanta Housing from February 2005 to August 2013 and served for 20 years at the Houston Housing Authority in various leadership roles, including General Counsel and, for nine years, President and CEO. After relocating to Atlanta in 1999, Fitzgerald was the Director of the Office of Affordable Housing at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, where she administered the state and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. "We are thankful Joy came out of retirement to help stabilize our organization at such a critical time," says Dr. Christopher Edwards, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. "Joy was brought in as a consultant in March to chair a transition committee. Her excellent management skills and passion for affordable housing have already made an impact," Edwards continues. "We know that we have a strong and capable leader in Joy Fitzgerald. We are grateful to have her back." Fitzgerald, who holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctorate from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, was welcomed back by the Board and the AH staff with resounding applause. "My passion for affordable housing made it hard not to accept this opportunity," says Fitzgerald, who will postpone her retirement to lead the agency while the Board continues its national search for a permanent President and CEO. "Our staff is also very important to me," Fitzgerald asserts. "The work that they do here is important to the health and vitality of our city. I am honored to have their trust and the confidence of our Board." ABOUT ATLANTA HOUSING About Atlanta Housing The Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, Georgia (AH), is the largest housing authority in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation. AH provides and facilitates affordable housing resources for more than 24,000 low-income households comprised of approximately 50,000 people. These affordable housing resources include AH-owned residential communities, AH-sponsored mixed-income, mixed-finance residential communities, tenant-based vouchers, project-based rental assistance, supportive housing arrangements and homeownership opportunities. AH's programs are funded and regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Visit Atlanta Housing at http://www.atlantahousing.org or follow on Twitter at @housingatlanta. SOURCE Atlanta Housing Related Links http://www.atlantahousing.org With over 14 years of experience as a commercial banker, Mr. Nobles brings more than eight years focused specifically on the Northern Virginia and Loudoun County market. Prior to joining BCT, Mr. Nobles most recently served as Senior Vice President with First Virginia Community Bank, cultivating relationships with loans up to $20 million. Prior to that he served as Senior Vice President at Chain Bridge Bank in McLean, Virginia, and held similar positions at other area banks. "Lance brings not only a high level of expertise in commercial real estate but also strong community connections that will help us continue to grow in the Loudoun County and Northern Virginia markets," stated Alice Frazier, President and CEO of BCT. "We are excited to have Lance join our experienced community banking team in Loudoun." Mr. Nobles added, "I'm excited for the opportunity to join this great team of bankers to further expand our footprint into the Northern Virginia market. I'm fortunate to be a part of such a great organization that prides itself as a true community bank." In addition to being an active member of the Ashburn Rotary, Mr. Nobles is involved in several civic and community events and service projects in the local area. Mr. Nobles is an alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He also attended LSU prior to the Banking school, where he earned an Executive MBA as well as an undergraduate degree in Marketing. Additionally, he earned his CCIM designation in 2014, which recognizes individuals as an expert in the commercial and investment real estate industry. Making his home with his wife and two children in Loudoun County, Virginia, Mr. Nobles and his family are members of St. Joseph Catholic Church. They enjoy spending time exploring the beautiful areas in and around Loudoun County. About BCT-The Community's Bank Founded in 1871, BCT - Bank of Charles Town, also known as The Community's Bank, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Potomac Bancshares, Inc. (OTC:PTBS). With approximately $496 million in assets as of March 31, 2019, the Company conducts operations through its main office, eight branch office facilities, and one loan production office in Jefferson and Berkeley Counties (WV), Washington County (MD), and Loudoun County (VA). The Bank provides various banking products and services including free access to over 55,000 ATMs and online and mobile banking for individuals, businesses, and local governments. The Bank also offers commercial lines and term loans, residential and commercial construction, commercial real estate loans and agricultural loans. The Residential Lending division offers secondary market and portfolio mortgage loans, one-time close construction to perm loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit. For over 60 years, BCT Wealth Advisors has provided financial management, investment, trust, and estate services to its clients. The Company's shares are quoted on the OTC Pink Sheet marketplace under the symbol "PTBS." For more information about Potomac Bancshares, Inc. and the Bank, please visit our website at https://www.mybct.com. SOURCE BCT - The Community's Bank Related Links http://www.mybct.com DALLAS, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BenefitMall, the leading provider of employee benefits and payroll services, today proudly announces that the company is the recipient of the Silver Stevie American Business Award for New Products in the Insurance Solution category. The American Business Awards are the premier business awards in the US for public, private, profit and nonprofit organizations. BenefitMall's Client Ready Quote System (CRQS) was the product awarded with this industry distinction. CRQS is a tool which allows brokers and agents to easily configure complex quoting and proposals for small group benefits. CRQS offers leading technology and robust carrier content while cutting through various complexities. The application improves efficiency and streamlines proposals, allowing brokers to compare plan options, provide rates and collect clients' census data quickly and accurately. CRQS provides quoting for multiple lines of coverage including medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans. "Our Client Ready Quote System has grown significantly since its inception, adding key tools like the Offline Plan Analyzer, proposal branding options and enhanced renewal quote features," said Michelle Sheffield, BenefitMall's CIO. "This award only pushes us to continue to improve our CRQS and provide better, more efficient technology for our brokers. I congratulate our team and look forward to witnessing the continued growth of CRQS and other BenefitMall technologies." Since BenefitMall launched the Client Ready Quote System, numerous enhancements have released to modernize proposal features that make client presentations easier and faster, while also introducing a fresh design. With these enhancements, brokers gained more control of proposal branding with multi-color selection tools and were given the opportunity to include logos and themes. In addition, Brokers received access to the Offline Plan Analyzer, allowing them to make plan adjustments within the proposal without logging into CRQS. This tool enhanced the pre-existing side-by-side comparison tool. The second round of enhancements, introduced in December 2018, focused on simplifying brokers' quoting and proposal creation process by including PDF and Excel outputs, custom content, plan recommendations, plan change indicators and an HSA/HRA Analyzer. The Business Technology Insurance Solution award acknowledges the best solutions for managing any aspect of the insurance industry, from billing and policy operations to solutions for agents, underwriters, shoppers and insureds. BenefitMall will accept the award at the 2019 American Business Awards at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on June 11. BenefitMall is also eligible for the People's Choice Award in the Insurance Solution category. Vote for BenefitMall here by May 31. About BenefitMall Headquartered in Dallas, BenefitMall partners with a network of 20,000 Brokers and CPAs to deliver employee benefits and payroll services to more than 200,000 small and medium-sized businesses. By combining payroll and benefits, BenefitMall empowers Trusted Advisors to develop the best employee programs while maintaining compliance with government regulations and health care reform. Owned by Management and The Carlyle Group, BenefitMall also operates HealthCareExchange.com, the leading online community for information regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. More information is available at www.benefitmall.com. SOURCE BenefitMall Related Links http://www.benefitmall.com STOCKHOLM, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Some countries make gambling forbidden, some legalise it. What is the right approach to online gambling? One could say there are three ways of relating to online gambling as a gambling authority. Make online gambling forbidden and leave gamblers to illegal operators Let it be a grey market where abroad online casino facilities are legal to use Legalise and regulate the market to be able to set the rules that can more realitically limit the harm of gambling. The site BestBonus posted a couple of interesting pros why New Zealand should regulate the market for gambling and betting. "It seems to exist a standpoint where there are a kind of nobility in not legalising gambling, and that it's a way to protect people from being addicted. Since some people want and will be gambling online regardless of the legality of it, the best way to protect people from fraudulent operators and unsound gambling habits is likely to regulate a market. Markets where gambling are totally forbidden the law pushes gamblers into illegal operators violence." Benefits of regulation Less gamblers that suffers from addiction Tax income from the licensed operators Increased control over money laundering through online casinos Less advertising from online casinos and betting houses Keys and tools Digital identification Self exclusion on national level Only one welcome bonus per operator license Play pause option Player budgets with maximum loss No advertising that appeal to underaged No advertising presenting gambling as a way to get rich. Limited direct marketing Sweden has been a success " Sweden got regulated the 1st of January 2019 after a long period of being a market without regulations. In many ways the market worked very much like New Zealand does today. By the 1st of april 2019 over 30 000 people had self excluded them from casinos with the Swedish License." Read the full article! This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/bestbonus/r/why-gambling-legislation-is-good-,c2823465 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/17608/2823465/1050590.pdf Press release ( PDF) SOURCE BestBonus "During their buying cycles, top-tier businesses thoroughly evaluate every vendor to ensure their investment delivers maximum value throughout their organization," said Sean Stinson, VP Sales and Product Management at Blackline Safety . "Having won our client's business for a second time, we demonstrated again how G7 products and services deliver superior value compared to competitor offerings." Blackline's G7x connected safety system includes the G7x wearable and the G7 Bridge portable satellite base station. Employees wearing G7x devices are remotely monitored by the Blackline Safety Cloud via the vehicle-mounted G7 Bridge satellite base station. Offering up to 2 km (1.2 miles) of wireless coverage from the nearest G7 Bridge, employees can work confidently knowing their safety is being monitored by a live team. "The energy landscape is changing where businesses are undergoing a digital transformation to stay competitive," said Mr. Stinson. "For over a decade, Blackline has innovated at the forefront of industrial connected safety, delivering enterprise-ready solutions that work out-of-the-box." He added, "Every G7x wearable generates large volumes of location-enabled data. While an employee may not notice a low-level of gas while walking through a facility, G7x will capture that reading and report it to the Blackline Safety Cloud, ensuring that maintenance teams receive this data." Blackline's data analytics software is the first of its kind, helping businesses visualize and interact with their data. Armed with over ten automated reports, Blackline Analytics, businesses new insights into their operations such as viewing 'heat maps' of low-level gas exposures that can be used to drive corrective actions. In addition to Blackline Analytics software, clients receive wireless connectivity, data storage, a cloud-hosted user portal, device configuration management, automated G7 firmware updates and a lifetime gas sensor and pump warranty. Blackline is the only gas detection vendor in the world that offers clients the option of employee monitoring by an in-house 24/7 live Safety Operations Center. Every alert is managed from onset to resolution according to the customer's exact response protocol. A team of highly-trained agents receive each alert in real-time, along with the alert type, the employee's identity, location and whether atmospheric gas hazards are present. Empowered with full situational awareness, agents dispatch responders, delivering help in the shortest period of time. To learn more about Blackline Safety's connected portfolio, visit www.BlacklineSafety.com and follow Blackline Safety on Twitter @BlacklineSafety. About Blackline Safety: Blackline Safety is a global connected safety technology leader. Providing comprehensive live-monitoring and wireless gas detection, we help teams working in hazardous environments respond to emergencies in real-time and manage efficient evacuations, accounting for everyone's safety along the way. With millions invested in technology research and development, Blackline Safety is recognized for quality and innovation. Our talented team of designers and engineers create and manufacture in-house from wearable technology and personal gas detectors to cloud-hosted infrastructure and web-based interfaces for global industry. We deliver the world's first turn-key, work-anywhere, connected safety monitoring solution with gas detection, 3G wireless, satellite communications, two-way speakerphone, push-to-talk, location-enabled data analytics and live monitoring to meet the demanding safety challenges and increase productivity of organizations in over 100 countries. For more information, visit www.BlacklineSafety.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Blackline Safety Corp. Related Links https://www.blacklinesafety.com/ CHICAGO, May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Broome + Greene, a modern furniture, lighting & decor brand for town & country home has announced that it is terminating its lease with the troubled Empire Outlets development. Talking about the decision, Chief Executive Officer, Richard Eib said: "We are unable to plan our opening because of a number of delays on the part of the developer." "There have been issues surrounding fit out of our space, delivery date and more importantly the proposed grand opening, which finally happened on May 15th with an alleged 11,000+ visitors. It was a shame we could not be there; sadly, our space was not a priority." Commenting further, Richard said: "Broome + Greene has been a champion of Empire Outlets. We recognize that problems happen when you are building on public land, but we do not appreciate continued delays. We're a small company with ambitious plans and we need a partner that delivers projects in line with our expectations and with the professionalism that we have come to experience." Addressing additional issues, Richard said: "I wish Empire Outlets well. In my 25 years of retail openings, this has been interesting. I am hopeful that the team at BFC will deliver a development that realizes their investors' expectations, and more importantly, their retailers' expectations. Based on recent data that they have shared with the media; they're doing great guns with 165,000 visitors in just a few days. Remarkable." Despite the issues with Empire Outlet, Richard is confident that Broome + Greene will strike a deal for space on Staten Island and commented: "We always keep our options open and look forward to negotiating a deal with an established landlord in the coming weeks to deliver a store on Staten Island." In the meantime, Richard said: "You can experience outlet pricing without paying for parking and encountering those crowds that Empire Outlets are having from the comfort of your own home. Simply use code 'OUTLET' for 20% off your purchase with Broome + Greene and enjoy free shipping on purchases of $500 or more." About Broome + Greene Founded in 2018 at the intersection of Broome St. and Greene St. in SoHo's historic iron district, Broome + Greene is an online destination for quality modern furniture, lighting and decor for town & country homes. Broome + Greene works with industry leading designers to present seasonal edits of the latest looks that help clients choose products that reflect their personalities and create spaces that they love. SOURCE Broome + Greene WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) today announced the results of its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which was held this morning in New York City. Election of Directors: Shareholders elected the ten directors named in the proxy statement to the Board of Directors: Vinita Bali, Carol M. Browner, Andrew Ferrier, Paul Fribourg, J. Erik Fyrwald, Gregory A. Heckman, Kathleen Hyle, John E. McGlade, Henry W. (Jay) Winship and Mark Zenuk. Appointment of Independent Auditors: Shareholders approved the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019, and authorized the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors to determine the independent auditors' fees. Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation: Shareholders approved this proposal. The final vote results will be reported in a Form 8-K to be filed by Bunge with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About Bunge Limited Bunge (www.bunge.com,NYSE: BG) is a world leader in sourcing, processing and supplying oilseed and grain products and ingredients. Founded in 1818, Bunge's expansive network feeds and fuels a growing world, creating sustainable products and opportunities for more than 70,000 farmers and the consumers they serve in over 60 countries. The company is headquartered in New York and has 31,000 employees worldwide who stand behind more than 360 port terminals, oilseed processing plants, grain silos, and food and ingredient production and packaging facilities around the world. Website Information We routinely post important information for investors on our website, www.bunge.com , in the "Investors" section. We may use this website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investors section of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document. Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words including "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "continue" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The following important factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements: the outcome and effects of the Board's strategic review; our ability to attract and retain executive management and key personnel; industry conditions, including fluctuations in supply, demand and prices for agricultural commodities and other raw materials and products used in our business; fluctuations in energy and freight costs and competitive developments in our industries; the effects of weather conditions and the outbreak of crop and animal disease on our business; global and regional agricultural, economic, financial and commodities market, political, social and health conditions; the outcome of pending regulatory and legal proceedings; our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and strategic alliances; our ability to achieve the efficiencies, savings and other benefits anticipated from our cost reduction, margin improvement and other business optimization initiatives; changes in government policies, laws and regulations affecting our business, including agricultural and trade policies, tax regulations and biofuels legislation; and other factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. SOURCE Bunge Limited Related Links http://www.bunge.com Canopy Growth's brands, technology and know-how is anticipated to provide Acreage with a significant and immediate advantage in an increasingly competitive U.S. market and fuel Acreage's growth. Acreage shareholders to receive immediate upfront cash consideration, on an as-converted to Subordinate Voting Share basis, of approximately US$2.51 - $2.63 per share upon the initial implementation of the Transaction. On completion of the Transaction, each Acreage share will be converted into 0.5818 of a common share of Canopy Growth, subject to any required adjustments. This represents a premium of approximately 40% over the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of the Subordinate Voting Shares on the CSE ended April 17, 2019 (based on estimated cash option premium of US$2.55 per Subordinate Voting Share on an as-converted basis, as at the time the Arrangement Agreement was entered into). Acreage shareholders will benefit from Acreage's ability to achieve its growth strategy with reduced cost of capital based on Canopy Growth affiliation. Canopy Growth shareholders will benefit from accelerated and turnkey access to the U.S. cannabis market upon the closing, following the Triggering Event. Management of both firms believe they will create greater shareholder value together than as competitors in the U.S. SMITHS FALLS, ON and NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy Growth") (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) and Acreage Holdings, Inc. ("Acreage") (CSE: ACRG.U) (OTC: ACRGF) (FSE: 0ZV) (together, the "Companies") are pleased to announce that they have filed their respective management information circulars and related voting materials in relation to the previously announced proposed acquisition of Acreage by Canopy Growth (the "Transaction"), pursuant to a court approved arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "Arrangement"). Completion of the Transaction is contingent on the occurrence or waiver of changes in U.S federal law to permit the general cultivation, distribution, and possession of marijuana or to remove the regulation of such activities from the federal Laws of the United States (the "Triggering Event"). Canopy Growth is permitted to waive the Triggering Event and intends to do so as soon as the policies of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and/or the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") permit completion of the acquisition, provided that completion would not violate any third-party agreements, including those entered into by Canopy Growth with Constellation Brands, Inc. The respective special meetings of shareholders of Canopy Growth and Acreage to approve various resolutions in connection with the Transaction are each scheduled to be held on June 19, 2019. The resolution adopting the Arrangement (the "Arrangement Resolution") must be approved by at least 66% of the votes cast by the holders of Acreage shares, voting together as a single class. In addition, the Arrangement Resolution is subject to approval by a simple majority (the "Minority Approval") of the votes cast by the holders of Class A subordinate voting shares (the "Subordinate Voting Shares") and Class B proportionate voting shares (the "Proportionate Voting Shares"), voting together as a single class, excluding the votes in respect of Acreage Shares which are owned, held, controlled or directed by Kevin Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Acreage. The Companies believe that the Transaction will deliver significant benefits that will help accelerate the growth of Acreage across the United States powered by the expertise of the world's leading cannabis company. In turn, Canopy Growth shareholders will benefit from a national turnkey platform in the U.S. The aggregate consideration payable pursuant to the Arrangement will vary depending upon the trading price of the common shares of Canopy Growth. A range of potential transaction values is set out in the following table: Trading Price of Canopy Growth Shares Exchange Ratio Component Option Premium Component(1) Implied Price per Subordinate Voting Share Transaction Value(1) US$45.00 US$26.18 US$2.51 US$28.69 US$3.7121B US$26.18 US$2.63 US$28.81 US$3.7276B US$50.00 US$29.09 US$2.51 US$31.60 US$4.0885B US$29.09 US$2.63 US$31.72 US$4.1040B US$55.00 US$32.00 US$2.51 US$34.51 US$4.4648B US$32.00 US$2.63 US$34.63 US$4.4804B US$60.00 US$34.91 US$2.51 US$37.42 US$4.8412B US$34.91 US$2.63 US$37.54 US$4.8567B US$65.00 US$37.82 US$2.51 US$40.33 US$5.2176B US$37.82 US$2.63 US$40.45 US$5.2331B _____________________ (1) Based on the number of issued and outstanding securities of Acreage, including securities convertible, exchangeable or redeemable for Subordinate Voting Shares on May 16, 2019. For Canopy Growth, the transaction presents a clear path to enter the U.S. market with a company that already delivers national scale, as well as a management and operations team led by a group of seasoned executives that deliver expertise and has driven the vision and execution of Acreage's impressive national footprint of licensed and managed assets. The boards of directors of both Canopy Growth and Acreage unanimously support the Transaction and, other than directors who abstained from voting on the Transaction, each recommend that their respective shareholders vote FOR the various resolutions at the respective special meetings of shareholders of Canopy Growth and Acreage. The Canopy Growth and Acreage management information circulars outline the benefits for each set of respective shareholders and the risks related thereto and provide details about the Transaction, including details on how shareholders can vote their Canopy Growth and Acreage Shares, as applicable. The management information circulars will be mailed to shareholders and are available on Canopy Growth's and Acreage's respective issuer profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Benefits to Acreage Shareholders If the Arrangement is implemented, Acreage shareholders will receive a significant upfront cash payment of approximately US$2.51 - US$2.63 per Subordinate Voting Share (with holders of other classes of Acreage Shares being entitled to an amount determined on an as-converted to Subordinate Voting Share basis) and are expected to benefit from accelerated expansion, improved scale, and a stronger market position in the U.S. In an industry poised for rapid growth, Acreage believes benefits will accrue to those who are prepared to move first. The opportunity to combine efforts with the industry's largest and best-capitalized global player enables Acreage to deliver both immediate value to shareholders as well as long-term benefits alongside Canopy Growth. Upon completion of the Transaction, all outstanding Acreage shares will be converted to Subordinate Voting Shares and Acreage shareholders will receive 0.5818 of a common share of Canopy Growth for every Subordinate Voting Share held, subject to adjustment in certain circumstances as detailed in Acreage's management information circular. This is anticipated to enable Acreage shareholders to participate in the future growth of Canopy Growth both during the interim period prior to the completion of the Transaction as well as following the completion of the Transaction. Reasons to vote in favor of the Arrangement Resolution include: 1 + 1 = Global leadership: Joining forces today provides for a strategic advantage greater than either company could build alone . If completed, the Transaction is expected to result in the integration of Acreage, a premier U.S. cannabis company, with Canopy Growth, a leading international cannabis company with a global portfolio. Acreage and Canopy Growth's aligned strategic vision and operating philosophy, as well as complementary assets, distribution networks, products and capabilities, is anticipated to create a pre-eminent cannabis company across all significant regulated jurisdictions. If completed, the Transaction is expected to result in the integration of Acreage, a premier U.S. cannabis company, with Canopy Growth, a leading international cannabis company with a global portfolio. Acreage and Canopy Growth's aligned strategic vision and operating philosophy, as well as complementary assets, distribution networks, products and capabilities, is anticipated to create a pre-eminent cannabis company across all significant regulated jurisdictions. Provides an attractive premium to shareholders. Acreage shareholders are expected to receive cash consideration, on an as-converted to Subordinate Voting Share basis, of approximately US$2.51 - $2.63 per Subordinate Voting Share upon the initial implementation of the Transaction. On completion of the Transaction, each Acreage share will be exchanged for 0.5818 of a common share of Canopy Growth, subject to any required adjustments. This represents a premium of approximately 40% over the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of the Subordinate Voting Shares on the CSE ended April 17, 2019 based on the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of the Canopy Growth shares on the NYSE on April 17, 2019 (based on cash consideration of US$2.55 per Subordinate Voting Share on an as-converted basis, as at the time the Arrangement Agreement was entered into). Acreage shareholders are expected to receive cash consideration, on an as-converted to Subordinate Voting Share basis, of approximately - per Subordinate Voting Share upon the initial implementation of the Transaction. On completion of the Transaction, each Acreage share will be exchanged for 0.5818 of a common share of Canopy Growth, subject to any required adjustments. This represents a premium of approximately 40% over the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of the Subordinate Voting Shares on the CSE ended based on the 30-day volume weighted average trading price of the Canopy Growth shares on the NYSE on (based on cash consideration of per Subordinate Voting Share on an as-converted basis, as at the time the Arrangement Agreement was entered into). Access to industry-leading brand and intellectual property. Acreage and its affiliates will benefit from a license agreement that provides access to Canopy Growth's operational expertise, trademarks, logos, and intellectual property. Acreage and its affiliates will benefit from a license agreement that provides access to Canopy Growth's operational expertise, trademarks, logos, and intellectual property. Minimizes Acreage's execution risk and crystallizes value . Shareholders will be entitled to receive a specified number of Canopy Growth shares for each Acreage share held at the time of the acquisition, minimizing Acreage execution risk going forward and linking the value of Acreage shares to Canopy Growth shares. Given the increasingly competitive nature of the U.S. cannabis market, as well as the inherent uncertainty of a fast growing and evolving industry, this substantially mitigates these uncertainties and risks resulting therefrom. Shareholders will be entitled to receive a specified number of Canopy Growth shares for each Acreage share held at the time of the acquisition, minimizing Acreage execution risk going forward and linking the value of Acreage shares to Canopy Growth shares. Given the increasingly competitive nature of the U.S. cannabis market, as well as the inherent uncertainty of a fast growing and evolving industry, this substantially mitigates these uncertainties and risks resulting therefrom. Bolsters Acreage's ability to continue to aggressively pursue growth plans. Acreage can issue up to 58 million Subordinate Voting Shares, that, if the Canopy Growth Call Option (as defined in the Acreage management information circular) is exercised, will become future Canopy Growth shares, which is expected to further accelerate Acreage's ability to fund organic and rapid expansion using Acreage shares . Acreage can issue up to 58 million Subordinate Voting Shares, that, if the Canopy Growth Call Option (as defined in the Acreage management information circular) is exercised, will become future Canopy Growth shares, which is expected to further accelerate Acreage's ability to fund organic and rapid expansion using Acreage shares Increased liquidity for shareholders. Upon completion of the Transaction, Acreage shareholders will receive Canopy Growth shares, which are currently listed for trading on the TSX and the NYSE, which is anticipated to provide greater liquidity given the higher daily trading volumes. Shareholders of Acreage are encouraged to visit http://investors.acreageholdings.com/Acreage-Canopy-Deal for additional resources and voting information. Benefits to Canopy Growth Shareholders For Canopy Growth shareholders, the Transaction represents a clear path for Canopy Growth to enter the U.S. cannabis market, when federally-permissible, will introduce its brands and consumer products in the United States. Reasons to vote in favor of the Transaction include: 1 + 1 = Global leadership : Proven management with access to Canopy's existing recipe for success will build an unmatched position into the key US market. Upon completion of the Transaction, the addition of Acreage's U.S. operations including their cannabis cultivation, processing, and retail infrastructure to Canopy Growth's current operations in over a dozen countries on five continents, is expected to create a preeminent global cannabis company. Upon completion of the Transaction, the addition of Acreage's U.S. operations including their cannabis cultivation, processing, and retail infrastructure to Canopy Growth's current operations in over a dozen countries on five continents, is expected to create a preeminent global cannabis company. Accelerating access to the U.S. cannabis market. Acreage's growing footprint in the U.S. will give Canopy Growth a tremendous opportunity to secure significant market share. Acreage's growing footprint in the U.S. will give Canopy Growth a tremendous opportunity to secure significant market share. Generating awareness of Canopy Growth's brands in the U.S. The Transaction is expected to introduce Canopy Growth's diversified portfolio of cannabis brands, including Tweed and Tokyo Smoke TM across the United States . Select retail locations under the Tweed and Tokyo Smoke TM monikers are expected to build Canopy Growth's brand recognition in the U.S. market. The Transaction is expected to introduce Canopy Growth's diversified portfolio of cannabis brands, including Tweed and Tokyo Smoke across . Select retail locations under the Tweed and Tokyo Smoke monikers are expected to build Canopy Growth's brand recognition in the U.S. market. Developing U.S. demand for Canopy Growth's cannabis-based consumer products. Acreage will gain access to Canopy Growth's intellectual property enabling it to distribute proprietary cannabis-based consumer products in the U.S. including vape-filing and beverage products. Shareholders of Canopy Growth are encouraged to visit https://www.canopygrowth.com/canopy-acreage-deal/ for additional resources and voting information. Becoming a Voter is Fast and Easy Even if you have never voted before, every vote will count no matter how many shares you own. Shareholders of both Companies must vote their proxies before 10:00 a.m. (EST) on June 17, 2019. For Acreage Shareholders with Questions or Requiring Help Voting: Contact Kingsdale Advisors at 1-866-229-8651 toll-free (within North America) or 1-416-867-2272 (for collect calls outside North America), or by email at [email protected]. For Canopy Growth Shareholders with Questions or Requiring Help Voting: Contact Kingsdale Advisors at 1-866-581-1392 toll-free (within North America) or 1-416-867-2272 (for collect calls outside North America) or by email at [email protected]. Advisors Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Paul Hastings LLP acted as legal counsel to Canopy Growth. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Canada) acted as finance advisor to Canopy Growth. Ernst & Young LLP (EY) acted as tax advisors to Canopy Growth. Greenhill & Co. Canada Ltd. provided an independent fairness opinion to the board of directors of Canopy Growth. DLA Piper (Canada) LLP and Cozen O'Connor acted as legal counsel to Acreage. Canaccord Genuity Corp. acted as financial advisor to Acreage and provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Acreage. Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as legal counsel and INFOR Financial Inc. provided an independent fairness opinion to a special committee of independent directors of Acreage. Kingsdale Advisors is acting as strategic shareholder and communications advisor and proxy solicitation agent to both Canopy Growth and Acreage. Additional Details For a more detailed description of the Transaction, readers should review the Canopy Growth and Acreage management information circulars. About Canopy Growth Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms. Canopy Growth offers medically approved vaporizers through its subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. Canopy Growth has operations in over a dozen countries across five continents. Canopy Growth is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding of cannabis, and through its wholly owned subsidiary, Canopy Health Innovations, has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Canopy Growth works with the Beckley Foundation and has launched Beckley Canopy Therapeutics to research and develop clinically validated cannabis-based medicines, with a strong focus on intellectual property protection. Canopy Growth acquired assets of leading hemp research company, ebbu, Inc. ("ebbu"). Intellectual Property ("IP") and R&D advancements achieved by ebbu's team apply directly to Canopy Growth's hemp and THC-rich cannabis genetic breeding program and its cannabis-infused beverage capabilities. Through partly owned subsidiary Canopy Rivers Inc., Canopy Growth is providing resources and investment to new market entrants and building a portfolio of stable investments in the sector. From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icon Snoop Dogg, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House seeds, Battelle, the world's largest nonprofit research and development organization, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates ten licensed cannabis production sites with over 4.4 million square feet of production capacity, including over 500,000 square feet of GMP certified production space. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com. About Acreage Headquartered in New York City, Acreage is the largest vertically integrated, multi-state owner of cannabis licenses and assets in the U.S. with respect to the number of states with cannabis related licenses, according to publicly available information. Acreage owns licenses to operate or has management services or consulting agreements in place with license holders to assist in operations in 20 states (including pending acquisitions) with a population of approximately 180 million Americans, and an estimated 2022 total addressable market of more than $17 billion in legal cannabis sales, according to Arcview Market Research. Acreage is dedicated to building and scaling operations to create a seamless, consumer-focused branded cannabis experience. Acreage's national retail store brand, The Botanist, debuted in 2018. Forward-Looking Statement This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth, Acreage or their respective subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Companies' expectations with respect to: the timing and outcome of the Transaction; the intention of Canopy Growth to waive the Triggering Event as soon as the policies of the NYSE and/or the TSX permit completion of the acquisition; the anticipated benefits of the Transaction to the Companies and their respective securityholders; and the impact of the Transaction and anticipated growth of the Companies. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including assumptions as to the ability of the parties to receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary regulatory, court and shareholder approvals; the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions; the occurrence or waiver of the Triggering Event; the ability of the Companies to satisfy, in a timely manner, the conditions to closing following the occurrence or waiver of the Triggering Event; other expectations and assumptions concerning the Transaction; and such risks contained in the management information circulars of Canopy Growth and Acreage dated May 17, 2019, in Canopy Growth's annual information form dated June 28, 2018 and in Acreage's annual information form dated April 24, 2019 and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on Canopy Growth and Acreage's respective issuer profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. In respect of the forward-looking statements and information concerning the anticipated benefits and completion of the Transaction and the anticipated timing for completion of the Transaction, Canopy Growth and Acreage have provided such statements and information in reliance on certain assumptions that they believe are reasonable at this time. Although Canopy Growth and Acreage believe that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and Canopy Growth and Acreage do not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information or forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that the Transaction, including the Triggering Event, will occur, or that it will occur on the terms and conditions contemplated in this news release. The Transaction could be modified, restructured or terminated. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. The Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder, court and regulatory approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circulars to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release. SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation Related Links canopygrowth.com BETHLEHEM, Pa., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Amidst a deeper awareness of the health and environmental impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ( PFAS ), CETCO is pleased to announce the launch of FLUORO-SORB adsorbent, a proprietary, NSF-certified product that effectively treats multiple variants of PFAS. Unlike other sorbent products that are selective and unpredictable in adsorbing PFAS, FLUORO-SORB adsorbent binds the entire spectrum of PFAS including PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS and PFNA efficiently and in a wide variety of removal and remediation processes. FLUORO-SORB also controls the source of contamination and can be deployed easily as a flow through treatment media, as a passive in situ treatment (permeable reactive barrier and in-situ stabilization and solidification - ISS), or used in a CETCO REACTIVE CORE MAT composite geotextile mat for sediment capping. Efficient and effective CETCO's proprietary product, FLUORO-SORB adsorbent, resists competitive adsorption from other water and sediment contaminants. Because of its higher adsorption properties and higher density, it requires fewer change outs than granular activated carbon (GAC), resulting in a substantially reduced total cost of ownership. FLUORO-SORB adsorbent can serve as a pre- or post-treatment media in connection with other technologies including GAC or ion exchange resin (IER) water treatment trains. This compatibility and seamless integration maximizes the removal of PFAS contaminants while improving efficiency and extending the life of existing GAC systems. Additionally, when combined with in-situ treatment (ISS or PRB) of the PFAS source, FLUORO-SORB adsorbent will significantly reduce the reliance on "pump and treat" alone for achieving hydraulic control of a contaminated site. About PFAS PFAS were (and continue to be) integrated into dozens of industry and consumer products over the past 60 years. PFAS have been used in common, daily products, including non-stick cookware, clothing materials, carpets, firefighting foams and various other products designed to resist grease, water and oil. During the production and use of products that contain PFAS, the chemical has seeped into soil and water and even migrated into the air. The strong carbon-fluorine chemical bond prevents their breakdown in nature, eventually allowing it to enter the food chain. As a result, scientists have been closely studying the health impact of PFAS, concluding that exposure may cause numerous health effects. To address these concerns, states have begun enacting regulations that address PFAS remediation, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is actively studying its impact while considering adoption of standards to address clean-up levels. In advance of these and future regulations, FLUORO-SORB adsorbent is an effective treatment made for the remediation and removal of PFAS. FLUORO-SORB adsorbent is commercially available in four granule sizes. For more information or to obtain a sample for your laboratory treatability study, visit http://www.cetco.com or contact [email protected]. About CETCO: A subsidiary of Minerals Technologies Inc., CETCO is a construction technologies company based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Offering solutions for commercial, industrial and infrastructure construction challenges worldwide, CETCO provides expertise in transforming minerals and polymers into technologies that improve productivity and performance. This includes leading the industry in environmental solutions for containment and remediation of pollutants, including groundwater treatment, solidification and stabilization, and sediment remediation. About Minerals Technologies Inc.: New York-based Minerals Technologies Inc. (MTI) is a resource- and technology-based growth company that develops, produces and markets worldwide a broad range of specialty mineral, mineral-based and synthetic mineral products and related systems and services. MTI serves the paper, foundry, steel, construction, environmental, energy, polymer and consumer products industries. The company reported sales of $1.8 billion in 2018. For more information visit www.mineralstech.com. Product Link: https://www.mineralstech.com/business-segments/performance-materials/cetco/products/environmental-products/organoclays/fluoro-sorb Website: http://www.cetco.com Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/cetco.mti https://www.twitter.com/cetco_mti https://www.linkedin.com/company/cetco https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-OnI2B8IURYI3aMJchHTyw CONTACT: David Saba, (646) 300-0779, [email protected] SOURCE CETCO Related Links http://www.cetco.com CHENGDU, China, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The CPAFF, which ran from May 15 through May 22 in the capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan province, presented 45 sub-events and sideshows, including an opening ceremony, forums on cuisine culture, food experiences, as well as exchanges among chefs. As the official website for the Festival, https://foodfestival.gochengdu.cn provides the latest updates and information about the event and the city of Chengdu. Food is a universal language, and food festivals of various types are ways people frequently use to promote their food culture. Running alongside the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing, the Chengdu Panda Asian Food Festival (CPAFF) proved a tasty side dish, impressing guests from around the globe. According to statistics from the site, the PV of the website reached nearly one million. At the opening ceremony of the Festival, the Chengdu Catering Profession Association announced the establishment of the Asian Food Culture Alliance (AFCA), in hopes of giving the people across the world a better understanding of the diverse food cultures in Asia. During the CPAFF, Thailand, Israel, Pakistan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions held their theme events, offering the experiences of their unique cuisines and cultures. In the perspectives of many participants of the event, the Festival is not just about food, but about culture and people-to-people exchange. "I like Chengdu people's lifestyle and their attitude toward life," said Mr. Ran Peleg, Consul General of Israel in Chengdu, making no effort to conceal his love for the city. Mr. Peleg has a strong and special feeling for Sichuan food, in particular, spicy Sichuan dishes. "Twice Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, Dan Dan Noodles and hotpot are my favorites," he said. Mr. Vithit Powattanasuk, Consul General of the Royal Thai Consulate General in Chengdu, is also a fan of Chengdu food. "Food is the easiest and most effective way for cultural exchanges," he said, believing that food is key to cultural exchanges between Asia and the rest of the world. As the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy in Asia, Chengdu has the largest number of restaurants among all cities in China and showcases great inclusiveness and diversity in its food culture. Based on big data, in the first quarter of this year, the number of Asian restaurants in Chengdu increased by 56%, exceeding that in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, second only to Shenzhen. SOURCE gochengdu.cn MCLEAN, Va., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearsight Advisors, Inc. ("Clearsight") is pleased to announce another successful transaction in its market-leading Healthcare Consulting Practice. Clearsight served as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Putnam Associates in its acquisition by UDG Healthcare plc's Ashfield Communications and Advisory business (LON: UDG) ("UDG"). This transaction further emphasizes Clearsight's position as the leader in advising high-end consulting firms serving the life sciences and broader healthcare industries. Based in Boston, Putnam Associates is a consultancy focused on product commercialization strategy exclusively for the life sciences industry. Founded in 1988, Putnam Associates has served global biopharmaceutical, diagnostics, and medical device clients, along with private equity and venture capital clients, providing world-class strategic advice based on sophisticated, robust analytics. With 120 employees between Boston and San Francisco, Putnam Associates attracts top talent from leading US universities and has become a respected advisory brand for biopharmaceutical companies. Remco op den Kelder, Partner at Putman Associates, commented, "We chose Clearsight because of their deep focus on consulting and their experience in the life sciences domain. We soon realized that the team had taken the time to learn our business inside and out and understood it as well as, if not better than, we did. Most importantly, while the Clearsight senior team provided fantastic advice and counsel throughout the process, it was the junior team that truly distinguished itself with 24/7 availability and willingness to constantly go the extra mile and explain, in detail, the various steps to me and my partners. It's not every day that you get to sell a business, but if we were to do so again, I would definitely want the Clearsight team on our side." UDG is a leading provider of commercial, clinical, communications, and packaging services to the healthcare industry. UDG's Ashfield division is a global leader in commercialization services for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, operating across three areas of activity: advisory, communication, commercial & clinical services. Putnam adds significant capabilities to Ashfield's existing advisory pillar in the US as well as complements Ashfield's existing advisory offering, including STEM, Vynamic, and SmartAnalyst, which were acquired between 2016 and 2018. Greg Treger, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Clearsight Advisors, said of the transaction, "We are delighted to have represented Putnam Associates throughout the acquisition process: from corporate strategy to pricing, reimbursement, and market access, the Putnam Associates team exemplifies relentless problem-solving in the life sciences industry. Clearsight Advisors is very pleased to have supported Putnam Associates' strategic and financial goals and we look forward to watching them grow." About Clearsight Advisors Clearsight Advisors is an independent merchant banking firm dedicated to providing world-class M&A and capital raising solutions exclusively to growth-oriented Business Services and Technology companies. Clearsight combines deep market insights across software, services and data. Clearsight Capital Advisors, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, is a registered member of FINRA & SIPC. Contact Cortney McCoy, Clearsight Advisors 703-672-3390 [email protected] SOURCE Clearsight Advisors, Inc. Related Links https://clearsightadvisors.com/ NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Declare, a community-driven leadership platform transforming how women learn, work and lead officially launches today. Previously, the organization operated as "Parity Partners." Declare is composed of two core components, Declare Lead and Declare Search. Declare Lead now offers an expanded array of immersive leadership training programs and resources aimed at empowering women to take control of their career and help their companies close the gender gap. Declare Search is the only executive recruitment firm focused exclusively on placing powerful, diverse talent into high-impact roles at top companies. "Declare is committed to advancing female leaders and gender equality in the workforce," said Beth Haggerty, co-founder and CEO, Declare. "Since inception, we've built an unparalleled community of successful women who, through networking and strong curriculum, will achieve greater career heights. Our firm envisions a society where diversity and inclusion are not agenda items for a corporation, but a part of the DNA of every organization." Since beginning to build a grassroots community in 2016, the company has focused on advocacy, awareness and recruitment to close the gender and minority leadership gap in a variety of industries, such as technology, asset management and other financial services. Now in 2019, Declare Lead has grown to nearly 1,000 highly ambitious and successful women in six markets and has secured 35 high-profile corporate partners, such as Goldman Sachs, Point72, KKR, General Atlantic, TPG, NEA, and Comcast Ventures. Additionally, Declare members represent 320+ companies, spanning media, technology, consulting, healthcare, and consumer brands. "Goldman Sachs, under the Launch With GS umbrella, is delighted to align with Declare," said Jemma Wolfe, Head of Launch With GS. "Goldman Sachs has committed $500 million to support women founders and investment managers. Our sponsorship of Declare helps further that mission by connecting us to a vibrant network of investors while boosting the skills of women across our firm." Declare's professional development offering includes: Broader leadership curriculum focused on helping women take charge of their leadership path, the curriculum covers topics such as personal branding, radical candor, negotiations strategy, and presentation and communications skills training. Robust digital platform enables members to access its digital content, find each other through a global directory, communicate directly and privately, post events and connect in a variety of other ways. Intimate group collaboration by way of "pods" curated groups of women based on seniority, industry and other factors create deep connections as Declare believes one woman's success will ignite another's. Declare Lead has established close to 100 pods with 130 seasoned pod leaders. Premium event programming includes a two-day Declare Summit, November 6-8, 2019 with high-profile speakers and the Declare community to generate action to affect exponential change. Declare Search has guided its clients through landmark diversity initiatives. Over 85% of its completed searches resulted in positioning women and diverse talent in significant leadership roles. Using its proprietary database of 15,000 diverse candidate profiles, Declare Search is committed to assisting its clients develop and retain successful teams. Declare Search specializes in conducting searches at senior levels across a broad span of functional roles and industries. About Declare Declare is a pioneer in leadership training and career advancement for professional women, specializing in helping companies build high-performing diverse teams. Declare members represent top technology, financial services, asset management, media, consulting, healthcare, and consumer companies. Founded in 2016 in New York, the Declare Lead platform is composed of thriving communities in San Francisco, London, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The platform equips members with both in-person and online leadership training, mentorship, curated networking groups and unmatched community resources. Declare Search guarantees a diverse slate of candidates for every retained mandate it receives. It has developed an exceptional track record of advancing diversity for its corporate clients. For more information, please visit https://declare.co/ and follow @declare.co on Instagram. Media Contact: BAM Communications for Declare [email protected] SOURCE Declare Related Links https://declare.co TEL AVIV, Israel, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Delek Group (TASE: DLEKG) (US ADR: DGRLY) ("the Company") is pleased to announce the signing of a binding agreement for the sale of its holdings in the Phoenix insurance company (Phoenix Holdings Ltd). Details of the agreement are as follows: 1. Further to the Company's Immediate Reports dated February 19, 2019 (ref. No. 2019-01-014719) and February 27, 2019 (ref. No. 2019-01-017209) and further to section 1.10 of the Company's Periodic Report of December 31, 2018 that was published on March 31, 2019 (ref. no. 2019-01-029344), the Company announces that on May 23, 2019 it signed a binding agreement with companies controlled by Centerbridge Partners LP and Gallatin Point Capital LLC ("the Purchasers") for the sale of 32.5% of the shares in The Phoenix Holdings Ltd ("The Phoenix") for a total consideration of approximately NIS 1.72 billion ("the Agreement") as detailed hereinafter. 2. Under the Agreement, on the closing date, the Purchasers will acquire approximately 30% of the issued and paid up share capital of The Phoenix, which represents the control stake in The Phoenix ("the Shares to be Sold") for an overall amount of NIS 1.6 billion calculated at NIS 20.6 per share multiplied by the number of shares that will be purchased, and subject to adjustments that will be stipulated in the agreement including, inter alia, taking interest and the dividend until the date of closing into account. 3. The Company has committed in the Agreement to arrange for the Purchasers to purchase additional shares equivalent to approximately 2.5% of the issued and paid up share capital of The Phoenix by the end of 2019, which will be acquired by the Purchasers under the same conditions of sale as the Shares to be Sold ("the Additional Shares") for an additional consideration of NIS 120 million. The Company intends to arrange this through shares that have been used in the swap transactions (see the Company's Immediate Reports dated August 30, 2018 ref. no. 2018-01-082650; September 2, 2018 ref. no. 2018-01-083754; September 5, 2018 ref. no. 2018-01-085113). 4. The Agreement stipulates adjustments to the price related to future profits that are derived from an increase in the value of The Phoenix's share price, and to yield indices of the Purchasers during their investment period that might lead the Company to receive an addition to the total consideration of up to NIS 860 million or a reduction in the total consideration of up to NIS 200 million. 5. The Agreement contains the Company's usual representations and commitments in respect of the period from the date of signature until the closing date. In addition, the Agreement includes an undertaking of indemnification limited in amount and period in respect of breach of the representations and undertakings. 6. The Agreement includes a commitment by the Purchasers to submit a request to receive an ownership permit from the Commissioner for Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings at Israel's Finance Ministry ("the Ownership Permit") in conjunction with the signing of the Agreement. 7. The completion of the Agreement is subject to the realization of contingent conditions, including inter alia receiving approvals from additional regulatory bodies for the transfer of control, non-occurrence of a material adverse event (MAE) in the Phoenix's business, and completion of financing arrangements as detailed below. Soon after complete fulfillment of all the contingent terms the Agreement will be completed, and in any event the period set for its closing is at the latest half a year from date of signature, and is conditional on the progress made in receiving the required permits. 8. In parallel with signing of the Agreement, binding memorandums of understanding have been signed with financial institutions whereby the financial institutions will make available a senior loan of NIS 575 million to the Purchasers which will be part of the cash consideration that will be paid at the time of closing. In addition, the Company will make available a subordinate loan to the Purchasers (together, "the Loans"), such that the total amount of the Loans will be equal to half the consideration for the Shares to be Sold and the Additional Shares. The loans will be made available for a period of 5 years (with options for an extension for two additional years under certain conditions). In addition, the Company has signed a Credit Support document with the financial institutions to support the senior loan that will be made available to the Purchasers by the financial institutions in certain events specified in the agreement. These include payment of certain fees linked to the senior loan; partial support for the amount of money the Purchasers will distribute as a dividend to their shareholders in parallel with repayment of the senior loan; subordination of cash deposits with an initial value of NIS 75 million to ensure the aforementioned support; and support in other instances as detailed in the agreement. 9. The Company is assessing the accounting implications of the Agreement and the transaction on its financial statements, should the transaction be completed. At this point, the Company estimates that the investment balance in The Phoenix proximate to the date of this report is not materially different from the fair value evaluation of the of components of the consideration and future adjustments as detailed above. 10. There can be no certainty that the transaction will be completed and the Company will report on this in accordance with the law. This is a convenience translation of the original HEBREW immediate report issued to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange by the Company on May 23, 2019. About The Delek Group Delek Group is an independent E&P and the pioneering visionary behind the development of the East Med. With major finds in the Levant Basin, including the Leviathan (21.4 TCF) and Tamar (11.2 TCF) reservoirs and others, Delek is leading the region's development into a major natural gas export hub. In addition, Delek has embarked on an international expansion with a focus on high-potential opportunities in the North Sea and North America. Delek Group is one of Israel's largest and most prominent companies with a consistent track record of growth. Its shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: DLEKG) and are part of the TA 35 Index. For more information on Delek Group please visit www.delek-group.com Contact Investors Yonah Weisz Head of Investor Relations Delek Group Ltd. Tel: +972 9 863 8443 [email protected] SOURCE Delek Group Ltd JACKSON, Miss., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.72 per share payable on July 15, 2019 to shareholders of record of Common Stock on June 28, 2019. This dividend is the 158th consecutive quarterly distribution to EastGroup's shareholders and represents an annualized dividend rate of $2.88 per share. EastGroup has increased or maintained its dividend for 26 consecutive years. The Company has increased it 23 years over that period, including increases in each of the last seven years. EastGroup Properties, Inc. is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 15,000 to 70,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 42.8 million square feet. EastGroup Properties, Inc. press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net. SOURCE EastGroup Properties Related Links http://www.eastgroup.net HOBOKEN, N.J., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- eMazzanti Technologies, a NYC area small business IT managed services provider (MSP), today announced that representatives of the firm will meet with entrepreneurs and future business owners at the New York International Franchise Expo. The three-day event is scheduled for May 30 to June 1 at the Javits Center, 11th Avenue and 37th Street in New York City. Business owners and franchisees pursuing revenue and productivity-enhancing small business technology should meet with eMazzanti Technologies small business technology experts during exhibit hours in booth 372. Or, they can call Carl Mazzanti at 201-360-4410 to arrange a meeting. eMazzanti's retail and small business technology experts will be available throughout the show to answer questions and assess technology needs. Exhibit hours are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday, June 1, 2019. Expansive International Franchise Expo The International Franchise Expo (IFE) is the premier annual event for the franchise industry with a wide variety of franchise opportunities on display. IFE also offers the industry's most comprehensive conference and educational program to gain the ins and outs and behind the scenes information needed for success from the start. IFE attendees come to learn how to own their own franchise and be their own boss. At the show, they meet with proven franchise brands at every investment level from every industry starting under $10,000. Those looking to invest in a franchise or franchise their existing business will also find multiple educational seminars on relevant topics. The expansive show brings together thousands of entrepreneurs and future business owners with over 400 proven franchise opportunities, business services, and technology providers such as eMazzanti. It's billed as the largest franchise expo in the country. Small Business Technology Experts eMazzanti Technologies brings 18 years of hands-on experience helping small businesses survive difficult challenges and prosper during good times and bad. The company's productivity-enhancing small business cloud solutions, retail technology and defense-in-depth cyber-security offerings, available for a monthly fee, are tailored to the needs of small and mid-size businesses. Call 1-866-362-9926 today to learn more. Related resource information: Visuals for the Win: Essential Website Design Tips Essential Wireless Network Security Tips for Small Business About eMazzanti Technologies eMazzanti's team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver increased revenue growth, data security and productivity for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers, expertly providing advanced retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 247 outsourced network management, remote monitoring and support. eMazzanti has made the Inc. 5000 list eight consecutive years, is a 3X Microsoft Partner of the Year, the #1 Ranked NYC Managed Service Provider, NJ Business of the Year, and 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, [email protected] or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies. SOURCE eMazzanti Technologies STOCKHOLM, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Essity, the global hygiene and health company, is holding its Investor Day today in Stockholm, Sweden. Presentations will be held by the President and CEO as well as members of Executive Management Team and representatives of Essity's subsidiary Vinda, one of China's largest hygiene companies. The company's strategy and financial targets are unchanged. The business units' and Vinda's share of the Group's net sales in 2018 will be presented in this press release and during the day. Essity's vision is: Dedicated to improving well-being through leading hygiene and health solutions. During its Investor Day, Essity will describe its strategy for achieving its vision and continuing to deliver profitable growth. The global hygiene and health market is expected to grow by approximately 3% annually during the 20182023 period. "Essity's ambition is to improve the well-being of 2 billion people every day by 2030. We have leading market positions in an attractive and growing hygiene and health market and a strategy to continue to deliver profitable growth and sustainable value creation," says Magnus Groth, Essity's President and CEO. Essity's net sales in 2018 were distributed between the business units and Vinda as follows: Consumer Goods 32%, Professional Hygiene 21%, Health and Medical Solutions 21%, Vinda 14%, Latin America 12%. Essity's Investor Day starts at 10:00 a.m. and will be webcast live at www.essity.com, where you can also find the agenda. For further information, please contact: Per Lorentz, Vice President Corporate Communications, +46-8-788-52-51, [email protected] Johan Karlsson, Vice President Investor Relations, +46-8-788-51-30, [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/essity/r/essity-s-investor-day-2019,c2822899 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/15798/2822899/1050136.pdf Essityas Investor Day 2019 SOURCE Essity ROCKVILLE, Md., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert System announced plans to accelerate its expansion in the United States, after raising $7.8 Million in new capital. The funds were raised by means of a capital increase offered up for subscription to a pool of private investors including Claudio Costamagna, Diego Piacentini, and Francesco Caio. With its EBIDTA growing more than 300% over the past year, and recurring licenses now representing 72% of the total licenses, Expert System confirmed the solid positioning of its Artificial Intelligence platform, Cogito, in the intelligent process automation and knowledge discovery markets. Now, with strong commitments to Publishing & Media and Intelligence & Law Enforcement, and a growing focus on Insurance and Banking, Expert System is positioning itself for further growth by strengthening its sales & marketing operations, and consolidating strategic alliances with Robotic Process Automation players and other AI-related platforms. "Momentum in the Artificial Intelligence market may help companies gain market share, but success depends on proven experience, skills, product quality and fit," said Stefano Spaggiari, CEO of Expert System Group. "Further improvements to the Cogito Artificial Intelligence platform and the consolidation of our positioning in the market are our priorities to support future plans and expansion in the US. We are honored to have new shareholders that can help us speed up our growth." The Expert System capital increase was subscribed by a newco (ERGO) controlled by a pool of private investors including: Claudio Costamagna, who spent more than 18 years at Goldman Sachs before becoming the chairman of Cassa Depositio e Prestiti, the Italian National Promotional Institution; Francesco Caio, former CEO of Poste Italiane, the largest infrastructure in Italy active in the areas of postal services and logistics as well as in financial and insurance services, and currently chairman of Saipem, a leading company in engineering, drilling and construction of major projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors; Diego Piacentini, who, after 13 years at Apple, joined Amazon's senior executive team, reporting directly to Jeff Bezos, and led the company's International business for 16 years. On leave from Amazon since 2016, Mr Piacentini led for two years the Digital Transformation initiative of the Italian government. As part of its acceleration plans, Expert System added new hires in the US, starting from experienced sales talents for the Insurance and Banking industries, strengthened the certification program for partners to guarantee an even more profitable AI training path, and has been bringing advanced uses cases to the RPA market to help organizations extend their automation initiatives to more complex, valuable and expensive tasks. About Expert System Expert System (EXSY:MIL) is a leader in Artificial Intelligence applied to text. Its flagship Cogito platform, based on a unique blend of semantic technology and machine learning, helps organizations deploy cognitive automation to accelerate business processes, improve information management and make smarter decisions. Expert System's solutions have been deployed in media, customer care, compliance, third party risk mitigation and intelligence applications by leading organizations such as AXA XL, Bayer, Bloomberg BNA, BNP Paribas, Clarivate, Eli Lilly, Gannett, Generali, IMF, Lloyd's of London, Sanofi, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Justice and Zurich Insurance Group. For more information visit www.expertsystem.com, follow us on Twitter at @Expert_System SOURCE Expert System Related Links http://www.expertsystem.com LEMOYNE, Pa., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fine Wine & Good Spirits Premium Collection at West Shore Plaza Shopping Center, 1200 Market St., Lemoyne, will host a special Crown Royal Purple Bag Project care packaging event from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM on Saturday, May 25, to benefit American troops overseas. Crown Royal, in conjunction with charity partner Packages From Home, invites consumers to "give the gift that gives back" through participation in the Purple Bag Project. Stop by to drop empty Crown Royal purple bags into the Purple Bag donation mailbox available onsite, then join the Crown Royal team for their bag-stuffing event as they fill those purple bags with snacks, personal items, and handwritten postcards to send as thanks to our deployed servicemen and servicewomen. As part of the event, guests 21 years of age and older will be invited to sample the following whiskies: Crown Royal Canadian Whisky (Code 5186), $25.99 Crown Royal Vanilla Canadian Whisky (Code 1545), $25.99 Crown Royal Regal Apple Canadian Whisky (Code 8327), $25.99 The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates more than 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits totaling $16.5 billion since the agency's inception are returned to Pennsylvania's General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania's schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit lcb.pa.gov. MEDIA CONTACT: Shawn M. Kelly, 717.783.8864 SOURCE Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Related Links http://www.lcb.state.pa.us The CRISPR-induced DNA lesions are intended to mimic genetic damage caused by cosmic radiation, a serious risk facing space travelers. Though cells have means of correcting DNA damage, errors in the repair process can lead to negative health consequences including cancer. Understanding how DNA repair mechanisms function in space will support the development of better safeguards for space explorers. This Genes in Space study is the fruit of a multi-center collaboration between scientists and engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, miniPCR Bio, and Boeing. The study was designed by David Li, Aarthi Vijayakumar, Rebecca Li, and Michelle Sung, the team of students that won the 2018 Genes in Space contest while attending Mounds View High School and Woodbury High School in Minnesota. NASA microbiologists Sarah Wallace and Sarah Stahl helped the team develop their idea and ready their experiment for spaceflight, and astronauts Christina Koch and Nick Hague executed the experiment aboard the ISS. CRISPR/Cas9 joins a growing portfolio of molecular biology techniques available on the ISS National Lab, an expansion due in part to the multi-year collaboration between NASA's Johnson Space Center and the Genes in Space program. This study represents the first demonstration of genetic modification of living organisms in space, a crucial milestone in the development of complete molecular biology workflows on orbit. About Genes in Space Genes in Space is a national STEM contest that challenges students in grades 7 through 12 to design DNA analysis experiments using the ISS National Lab. The contest is a collaboration between miniPCR Bio and Boeing, with generous support from CASIS (manager of the ISS National Lab), Math for America, and New England Biolabs. www.GenesInSpace.org Media contacts: miniPCR Bio: Katy Martin, [email protected], +1 781-990-8727 Boeing: Carrie Arnold, [email protected], +1 281-244-4257 SOURCE Genes in Space THOMASVILLE, Ga., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO), producer of Nature's Own, Wonder, Tastykake, Dave's Killer Bread, and other bakery foods, today announced several key appointments consistent with the company's management succession plan. Effective May 23, 2019, Bradley K. Alexander, president of Flowers' Fresh Packaged Bread Business Unit, has been named chief operating officer of Flowers Foods. He now oversees the company's Fresh Packaged Bread and Snacking/Specialty Business Units, Supply Chain, and Sales, and is responsible for driving the execution of Flowers' strategic initiatives. Also effective May 23, 2019, H. Mark Courtney, senior vice president of retail accounts, has been named president of the Fresh Packaged Bread Business Unit. He is now responsible for driving innovation, growth, and profitability across the company's key core and growth brands, which include Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread and Canyon Bakehouse. The company also announced that Stephen R. Avera, chief legal counsel, will retire at the end of the year after 33 years of service. Stephanie B. Tillman, the company's vice president, chief compliance officer, and deputy general counsel, will succeed him on January 1, 2020. Ryals McMullian, Flowers Foods' president and chief executive officer, said, "We are fortunate to have an executive of Brad's experience, who has served as COO in the past, return to this important position. When we put our new organizational structure in place in 2017, we asked him to lead the formation and development of our new Fresh Packaged Bread Business Unit as president. Brad built a best-in-class team, integrated that team into our new organizational structure, and developed an atmosphere of creativity, accountability, and execution. With the new structure firmly in place, I am delighted to have him back in this role as a key strategic advisor. Brad will continue to build on the work we've already done to make Flowers a more agile, efficient, and profitable company. "As leader of our Fresh Packaged Bread Business Unit, Mark's understanding of marketplace dynamics and retail partners will guide our key core and growth brands in today's rapidly changing retail environment," McMullian continued. "He has more than 35 years' experience in retail sales, category management, and the baking industry, and I expect Mark to continue to drive innovation and profitable brand growth." In commenting on Steve Avera's upcoming retirement, McMullian said, "I want to express our deep appreciation to Steve for his service to our company. Steve has been an integral part of our legal team since joining the company in 1986, and I consider it a privilege to have been able to work with him as part of that team. His thoughtful counsel has helped guide Flowers through many significant events and transactions. We wish him the very best in his retirement." McMullian continued, "It's a testament to Flowers' succession planning that we have someone of such high caliber as Stephanie to transition to the role of chief legal counsel. Since joining Flowers' legal team in 1995, Stephanie has handled a broad range of legal matters, modernized our compliance capabilities, and consistently provided outstanding counsel and sound judgment to senior leadership. We look forward to her future contributions." Alexander, 60, joined the company in 1981, and has held positions in sales, operations, and marketing, including bakery president, regional vice president, and president of Flowers Bakeries. He was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Flowers Foods in 2014 and president of the company's Fresh Packaged Bread Business Unit in 2017. Courtney, 58, joined the company in 1983 and has held positions in sales and marketing, including executive vice president of Flowers' specialty snack business. He was named senior vice president of sales in 2008 and senior vice president of retail accounts in 2017. Tillman, 48, joined the company as a corporate attorney in 1995 and was promoted to vice president and associate general counsel; vice president of compliance and assistant general counsel; and vice president, chief compliance officer and deputy general counsel. About Flowers Foods Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of fresh packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2018 sales of $4 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding long-term strategic and other objectives of management and the expected benefits of the management transition and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained in this release and that may affect the company's prospects in general include, but are not limited to, (a) general economic and business conditions and the competitive conditions in the baked foods industry, including promotional and price competition, (b) changes in consumer demand for our products, including changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends, and the movement toward more inexpensive store-branded products, (c) the success of productivity improvements and new product introductions, (d) a significant reduction in business with any of our major customers including a reduction from adverse developments in any of our customer's business, including as a result of product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, (e) fluctuations in commodity pricing, (f) energy and raw material costs and availability and hedging and counterparty risk, (g) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business, (h) our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build shareholder value, (i) our ability to successfully implement our business strategies, including those strategies the company has initiated under Project Centennial, which may involve, among other things, the integration of recent acquisitions or the acquisition or disposition of assets at presently targeted values, the deployment of new systems and technology and an enhanced organizational structure, (j) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries, (k) disruptions in our direct-store delivery system, including litigation or an adverse ruling from a court or regulatory or government body that could affect the independent contractor classification of our independent distributors, (l) increasing legal complexity and legal proceedings that we are or may become subject to, (m) product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, and (n) the failure of our information technology systems to perform adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions or security breaches of such systems. The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other public disclosures made by the company, including the risk factors included in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and disclosures made in other filings with the SEC and company press releases, for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law. SOURCE Flowers Foods, Inc. Related Links http://www.flowersfoods.com "I really am excited to help make reliable, 100 percent biodegradable paper straws available to everybody," says Christine Figgener. "Footprint creates great products. The paper straws are durable and you can use them like you would any plastic straw--but I will never have to pull one out of a turtle's nose." Jeff Bassett, vice president of marketing at Footprint, coordinates the award program and explains that the selection is strategic and thoughtful. "We want to make sure we are highlighting a tremendous achievement in reducing the amount of plastic making its way into our environment. In Christine's case, her efforts have dramatically stunted the use of plastic straws and her video created a meaningful tipping point where cities, schools, parks and businesses really started to think about not using, and even banning, plastic straws." Figgener's viral video posted in August of 2015 documented the removal of a plastic straw from an olive ridley turtle's nose. Viewed over 35 million times, the video provided a heart wrenching springboard for the global anti-plastic straw movementleading to several high-profile plastic straw bans and pledges to end plastic straw use. It has also given her a powerful voice in the conversation about single-use plastics and other environmental issues affecting marine life. She has made such an impact that she was recently named a Next Generation Leader by TIME Magazine and was a finalist of the feature Texan of the Year by the Dallas Morning News. Media Details WHO: Marine conservation biologist and ocean advocate Christine Figgener receives a Footprint Ocean Hero at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium on World Turtle Day, May 23, 2019. WHAT: The award recognizes her tireless and impactful work studying environmental issues affecting marine life. Christine Figgener will be available for interviews and will be joined by Marsailidh Ryan, aquarium director, and Sheila McSherry, associate director of grants and foundations. WHEN: 12:30 p.m. at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium 1600 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica, CA 90401 WHERE: The award will be presented in front of the pier tank. About Footprint Footprint has a clear vision: eliminate single-use and short-term use plastics. Footprint designs, develops and manufactures shaped fiber and paper into bio-degradable, compostable products. We make it easy for companies to switch out of plastic to preserve our future. We love our oceans and our planet, that's why we are revolutionizing industries to eliminate plastic pollution. The company was founded by former Intel engineers Troy Swope and Yoke Chung and employs more than 800 people. In 2019, Footprint was announced a winner of the prestigious NextGen Cup Challenge for its fiber-based alternative manufacturing process for making cups and lids. It has already helped eliminate over 50 million pounds of plastic. The company is based in Gilbert, Ariz. For more information and a complete portfolio of Footprint solutions visit www.footprintus.com Media Contact Christine Pietryla Wetzler [email protected] 312-612-0283 x700 SOURCE Footprint Related Links https://footprintus.com CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Virginia Darden School of Business today announced the largest gift in its 64-year history. Sands Capital Management Founder Frank M. Sands Sr.'s (MBA '63) new gift of $68 million will move the top-ranked business school forward in several key areas. The new Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning will enable innovation in the degree, non-degree and online spaces. It will help retain and develop Darden's world-class faculty. The gift will transform Darden's educational facilities in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sands Capital Management founder and family transform Darden through a new institute for lifelong learning, unprecedented faculty support and world-class facilities in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area. Sands' investment also honors his late wife, Marjorie R. Sands, a lifelong educator. "The Darden School was a transformational experience for me, and I am an ardent supporter of its mission and values," said Sands. "I am a big believer in lifelong learning and that learning is enabled by great faculty. I hope this gift will inspire others to give and hope that the School will continue to be a true force for good in the free markets and broader world." Combined with University matching funds, Sands' gift delivers $82 million in total impact. That includes the $68 million new gift and $14 million in matching funds from UVA's Bicentennial Professors Fund, which was launched by the Board of Visitors in 2017 to help the University attract and retain top faculty and scholars. Sands' historic generosity comes as Darden and the University of Virginia prepare for the public launch of Honor the Future, UVA's $5 billion campaign. "Frank M. Sands Sr. and his family are helping propel Darden forward as we enter our third century," said UVA President Jim Ryan. "This historically generous gift will allow Darden to reach even more students and continue to lead the way in global business education. I am incredibly grateful to Frank and the entire Sands family for their vision and generosity." "We are humbled and grateful for the Sands' longstanding support and this incredible new gift," said Darden Dean Scott Beardsley. "Frank and his family continue the legacy of the School's founders to propel the Darden School toward reaching the full potential of its mission to improve the world by inspiring responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences." New Institute Catalyzes Business Education Innovation, Establishes Professorships and Revitalizes Darden Facilities Sands' gift, combined with matching funds from UVA, fortifies Darden's strengths. The $82 million in funding will transform Darden in various ways: A $20 million endowment for the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning will determine best practices for teaching lifelong learners and working executives in both degree and non-degree programs, whether face-to-face in the classroom, online or through novel delivery methods. The gift includes an investment in Darden's portfolio of online courses that will extend Darden's reach and impact globally. A resource for the UVA community and beyond, the Sands Institute will empower School faculty to redesign and innovate learning courses, curricula and programs designed to meet leaders at all stages of their careers. A $35 million Sands Professorship Fund, comprised of a $21 million donation from Sands plus $14 million in matching funds from the Bicentennial Professors Fund, will support the School's faculty who deliver degree programs. The fund will support 12 new faculty chairs to bolster excellence and innovation in pedagogy and engagement with practice, including case writing and course and program development. Four distinguished professorship chairs will be created in honor of Darden professors with a legacy of exceptional teaching and commitment to the School: John Forbes , the Darden School's first professor, who died in 2018 at age 107 , the Darden School's first professor, who died in 2018 at age 107 Bob Landel , who teaches operations and retired this year after nearly 50 years of teaching , who teaches operations and retired this year after nearly 50 years of teaching Yiorgos Allayannis , a finance professor and master teacher of the case method , a finance professor and master teacher of the case method Dean Emeritus and University Professor Bob Bruner , who served as dean from 2005 to 2015 An additional eight emerging scholar chairs, called the Sands Professorships, will enable Darden to recruit and develop top faculty as the next generation of master teachers and scholars. A $20 million fund for the construction of the new UVA Inn at Darden and Conference Center for Lifelong Learning in Charlottesville will jumpstart the estimated $90 million project, which the School announced in April. Upon completion and pending Board of Visitors approval, the inn will be named the Frank M. Sands Sr. (MBA '63) UVA Inn at Darden and Conference Center for Lifelong Learning. Construction of the projected 199-room hotel and conference center, which will feature a five-acre arboretum and will connect Darden and UVA's School of Law, is expected to begin in 2020. A $7 million fund for the C. Ray Smith Alumni Hall will enable the renovation of the building, which is adjacent to today's Inn at Darden and named in honor of Dean Emeritus C. Ray Smith (MBA '58), who mentored Sands. Sands' gift builds on the joint donation of $5 million that he and his son, Frank Sands (MBA '94), recently made to build Darden's new campus in the Rosslyn district of Arlington, Virginia the UVA Darden Sands Family Grounds which opened in March 2018. The revitalized academic buildings on Darden's North Grounds in Charlottesville, combined with the UVA Darden Sands Family Grounds in Rosslyn and the School's growing capability to reach global audiences through online courses, give the School a powerful platform to meet the needs of learners worldwide. To announce and celebrate the gift, a ceremony in Sands' honor was held at the Darden School on Thursday, 23 May. "Frank sets an incredible example for all Darden alumni," said Elizabeth Weymouth (MBA '94), chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees. "We are inspired by his generosity and beyond grateful." About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business The University of Virginia Darden School of Business delivers the world's best business education experience to prepare entrepreneurial, global and responsible leaders through its MBA, MSBA, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs. Darden's top-ranked faculty is renowned for teaching excellence and advances practical business knowledge through research. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia. SOURCE University of Virginia Darden School of Business Related Links http://www.darden.virginia.edu MILL VALLEY, Calif., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Glassdoor, one of the world's largest job and recruiting sites, today announced plans to relocate its global headquarters from Mill Valley, Calif., to San Francisco during Fall 2020. Glassdoor plans to create 300 additional Bay Area jobs over the next five years. "We are thrilled to make San Francisco our new global headquarters," said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor President & Chief Operating Officer. "As we continue our rapid global growth, San Francisco is the ideal setting for our next chapter, as it offers even more access to top talent and cutting-edge office space to expand and achieve our mission of helping people everywhere find a job and company they love." Glassdoor's new global headquarters will be located at 300 Mission Street, currently known as 50 Beale Street. Glassdoor will initially lease four full floors with a capacity of up to 800 employees across its executive leadership, operations, engineering, product, sales, customer success, marketing, administrative and other teams. The space will feature San Francisco Bay views with design and layout to support creativity, collaboration and productivity. 300 Mission's building has also achieved a LEED Gold certification, one of the highest sustainability ratings for a U.S. building. As part of the move, Glassdoor will incorporate its current San Francisco-based teams at 353 Sacramento Street into its new headquarters in Fall 2020. Glassdoor will also continue to maintain an office in Marin County. "Glassdoor was founded in Marin County more than a decade ago and the area has been a central part of who we are as a company and an employer," said Sutherland-Wong. "We are thankful to the greater Marin community for its ongoing support and partnership over the years. We look forward to continuing to maintain a presence in Marin to accommodate employees who call the area home." Glassdoor launched in 2008 and offers the latest jobs paired with more than 49 million reviews and insights from employees for approximately 900,000 companies in 190 countries. Glassdoor welcomes over 67 million unique users, on average, to its desktop and mobile platforms each month. Glassdoor has localized sites and mobile apps in 18 markets around the world and recently expanded into Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Glassdoor employs nearly 900 people around the world and has offices in San Francisco, Mill Valley, Calif., Chicago, Canton, Ohio, London, Dublin, Sao Paulo and recently opened a Paris office. Glassdoor is hiring across all offices. 1 Glassdoor Internal Data, March 2019 2 Google Analytics, Unique users represents peak monthly unique users in CQ1'19 About Glassdoor Glassdoor combines all the latest jobs with millions of reviews and insights to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. The company is on a mission to help people everywhere find a job and company they love. In pursuit of the mission, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for approximately 900,000 companies located in more than 190 countries. For more information, visit glassdoor.com. Glassdoor is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc. SOURCE Glassdoor Related Links http://www.glassdoor.com Mr. Appleton, a former U.S. Department of Justice and United Nations prosecutor, has led, supervised or managed more than 1000 corruption and compliance cases in over 150 countries in his more than 25-year career in many leading roles in U.S. government and international organizations. He has served in leading enforcement, chief compliance, and legal roles in a number of international organizations, including the United Nations where he served for three years as Chief of the first ever UN Anti-Corruption Unit. He is the ninth former DOJ lawyer to join Murphy & McGonigle's growing White Collar Defense, Investigations & Compliance Counseling Practice. "We are very excited to welcome Bob to our firm," said Thomas J. McGonigle, Co-Founder and Executive Committee member of Murphy & McGonigle. "He brings tremendous credentials in government investigations and white collar matters that will further strengthen our growing White-Collar team." Mr. Appleton has most recently led Government Investigations and White-Collar practice groups at two large law firms. Prior to that, he served as Director of Financial Investigations and Forensic Audit Deputy Inspector General at the Global Fund to Fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2009-2014. He was appointed in 2006 by the UN Secretary General to serve as Chairman and Chief of Unit for the United Nations Procurement Task Force, the UN's first ever organization-wide anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and anti-fraud task force that was charged with addressing allegations of financial impropriety in the global UN system. While serving as Special Counsel for former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcker's Independent Inquiry Committee Investigation into the Iraqi Oil for Food Investigation, Mr. Appleton served as lead counsel of the Procurement Forensics Team responsible for investigating all bribe payments to the Iraqi regime providing advice and assisting the Committee chairs on recovering assets and losses in foreign jurisdictions. "I am thrilled to be joining Murphy & McGonigle and its talented White-Collar practice," said Mr. Appleton. "The firm's combination of financial services and government regulatory strengths provide an ideal platform for the type of clients I have served, and I look forward to working with this group of former DOJ lawyers." Mr. Appleton spent 15 years with the Department of Justice in the District of Connecticut, first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division before being promoted to Branch Chief, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney. The addition of Mr. Appleton further bolsters the growing reputation of Murphy & McGonigle's White Collar group. In the past 18 months, seven former DOJ prosecutors have joined the firm, including the former Senior Litigation and Health Care Fraud Coordinator in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who successfully prosecuted the largest healthcare fraud case in District of Columbia history and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Murphy & McGonigle serves the litigation, enforcement defense, and regulatory counseling needs across the full spectrum of the financial services industry from national banks, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and hedge funds, to national and international securities markets and exchanges. Many of the firm's partners formerly served in senior positions in the US Department of Justice, SEC, FINRA, CFTC, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, and several served in senior executive positions in major financial institutions on Wall Street. Media Contact Mark Curran 212.880.3989 [email protected] SOURCE Murphy & McGonigle WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Golding Farms Foods, Inc. ("Golding Farms"), a leading national manufacturer of private label and branded sauce and condiment products, today announced that it has acquired Arcobasso Foods, Inc. ("Arcobasso"), a leading manufacturer of refrigerated dressings, sauces and beverage mixers. The acquisition enhances Golding Farms' product offerings and capabilities in numerous high-growth categories, and establishes a national manufacturing footprint to supply the Company's regional and national customers with sauce and condiment private brand programs and branded products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1987 and based in Hazelwood, Missouri, Arcobasso offers its customers private label, branded and co-packed sauce and condiment products including salad dressings, hot sauces, wing sauces, BBQ sauces and drink mixers. The company has a long-standing reputation for providing excellent service and customized, innovative products to its valued customers. "Arcobasso Foods is a special company with long-standing relationships and commitments to customers, suppliers, employees and the St. Louis community," stated John Frostad, CEO of Golding Farms. "The addition of Arcobasso will meaningfully expand Golding Farms' manufacturing footprint, creating a specialty sauce and condiment platform capable of serving customers in almost every geography and trade channel. We are pleased to welcome the Arcobasso team to Golding Farms." "I am very proud of our success and the growth we have experienced since my brother founded Arcobasso in 1987," added Pat Newsham, President of Arcobasso Foods. "Our combination with Golding Farms will allow us to be a better strategic partner for our customers. I look forward to partnering with John Frostad and the rest of the Golding Farms team to help accelerate the continued growth of our combined business." About Golding Farms Foods Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Golding Farms Foods is leading manufacturer of private label, branded, and co-manufactured sauces and condiments. Golding Farms maintains best-in-class innovation and new product development capabilities and operates a highly automated manufacturing facility providing customers with retail-format products in a wide range of product categories. For more information, please visit www.goldingfarms.com. About Arcobasso Foods Headquartered in Hazelwood, Missouri, Arcobasso has been creating custom dressings and sauces for the food industry since 1987. Arcobasso has a 30+ year history of producing high quality products on behalf of retail, foodservice and branded customers. Arcobasso operates a 60,000 square foot facility in Hazelwood, Missouri with shelf stable and refrigerated temperature state capabilities and packaging formats including retail, single-serve and multi-use for foodservice customers, and bulk products. Contact: Mark Semer Kekst CNC (212) 521-4800 SOURCE Golding Farms Foods VANCOUVER, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - GoldMining Inc. (the "Company" or "GoldMining") (TSX: GOLD;OTCQX: GLDLF) is pleased to announce that at its annual general and special meeting held on May 23, 2019 (the "Meeting"), all nominees listed in its management information circular dated April 5, 2019 were elected as directors of the Company. Each of the following six nominees proposed by management was elected as a director on a vote by show of hands. The proxies received by management with respect to the election of directors were as follows: Director Percentage of Votes For Percentage of Votes Withheld Amir Adnani 97.83% 2.17% Garnet Dawson 98.12% 1.88% Mario Bernardo Garnero 97.93% 2.07% David Kong 98.06% 1.94% Gloria Ballesta 97.47% 2.53% Hon. Herb Dhaliwal 97.69% 2.31% In addition, at the Meeting, shareholders approved: (i) the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, as the Company's auditor for the ensuing year and the authorization of the board to fix the auditor's remuneration; (ii) the amendment to the Stock Option Plan of the Company; and (iii) the adoption of the Restricted Share Plan of the Company and the prior grant of 140,000 Restricted Share Rights under the Restricted Share Plan. A total of 65,421,421 common shares of the Company were voted at the Meeting, representing 47.62% of the votes attached to all outstanding common shares. Detailed voting results for the Meeting are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About GoldMining Inc. GoldMining is a public mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of gold assets in the Americas. Through its disciplined acquisition strategy, GoldMining now controls a diversified portfolio of resource-stage gold and gold-copper projects in Canada, U.S.A., Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Additionally, GoldMining owns a 75% interest in the Rea Uranium Project, located in the Western Athabasca Basin of Alberta, Canada. SOURCE GoldMining Inc. Related Links www.goldmining.com LOS ANGELES, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Haven Tower Group, LLC ("Haven Tower"), a strategic public relations and marketing agency focused on retail financial services, today announced the appointment of Larry Roth as Chairman of the firm's Board of Advisors. In this position, Mr. Roth will serve as a strategic counselor to Haven Tower's leadership with respect to the firm's continued growth plans, while also helping to build out and oversee a Board of Advisors comprised of seasoned executives and influencers from across the retail financial services sector. With more than 30 years of senior leadership experience, Mr. Roth is Managing Partner of RLR Strategic Partners, a strategic consultancy and M&A advisory firm affiliated with Berkshire Global Advisors, the leading international investment bank. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Clark Capital Management Group as well as Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. Previously, Mr. Roth served as CEO of AIG Advisor Group as well as CEO of Cetera Financial Group, two of the largest networks of independent financial advisors in the nation. Joseph Kuo, President & Managing Partner of Haven Tower, said, "I'm delighted to welcome Larry Roth, a longstanding friend and trusted counselor, as the new Chairman of Haven Tower's Advisory Board. Larry's appointment to our Advisory Board underscores Haven Tower's commitment to driving growth that is thoughtful, long-term and prioritizes exceptional client service above all else. I look forward to working closely with Larry as we build out our Board to reinforce Haven Tower's position as the leading PR and marketing solutions agency for the retail wealth management space." Larry Roth said, "I'm excited to serve as Chairman of the Advisory Board of Haven Tower, which has become, over the past eight years, the top strategic PR and marketing firm for the retail wealth management space. Haven Tower distinguishes itself by consistently delivering an exceptional client service experience that integrates intellectual horsepower and flawless execution with extensive and relevant media and influencer relationships. It's been a pleasure working closely with Joe Kuo and his seasoned team of professionals on some of the most complex and high stakes situations that our industry faces, and I look forward to supporting the firm's ongoing success in my new Board role." About Haven Tower Group LLC Haven Tower Group LLC is a strategic public relations and marketing agency focused on the retail wealth management space. Headquartered in the Los Angeles area, with a satellite presence in San Diego and Seattle, Haven Tower delivers comprehensive PR, corporate communications, digital marketing and brand strategy solutions to businesses across the country. While the agency's clients range from some of the largest retail financial services organizations to smaller and mid-sized firms, they all recognize the importance of effective reputation management, strategic communications and public visibility to business growth and success. Haven Tower's clients include independent broker-dealers, registered investment adviser (RIA) and other wealth management firms, as well as industry associations, asset managers, third-party consultancies, boutique investment banks, succession planning lenders, fintech enterprises and other businesses that serve the retail wealth management space. For more information, please visit www.haventower.com. Media Contacts: Michael Dugan or Mitch Manning Haven Tower Group LLC 424 317 4852 or 424 317 4858 [email protected] or [email protected] SOURCE Haven Tower Group Related Links http://www.haventower.com/ AUSTIN, Minn., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a leading global branded food company, today reported results for the second quarter of fiscal 2019. All comparisons are to the second quarter of fiscal 2018 unless otherwise noted. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Volume of 1.2 billion lbs., up 1% Record net sales of $2.3 billion , up 1% , up 1% Pretax earnings of $318 million , up 7% , up 7% Diluted earnings per share of $0.52 Excluding one-time gain on the divestiture of CytoSport, adjusted diluted EPS 1 of $0.46 per share of per share Effective tax rate of 11.1% compared to 20.0% last year Operating margin of 13.3% compared to 12.9% last year Year-to-date cash flow from operations of $366 million , down 18% due to higher working capital , down 18% due to higher working capital Fiscal 2019 earnings guidance decreased to $1.71 to $1.85 per share from $1.77 to $1.91 per share COMMENTARY "We achieved record sales this quarter as three of our four segments delivered volume and sales growth," said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer. "Many of our innovative product lines such as Hormel Bacon 1TM cooked bacon, Hormel Fire BraisedTM products, Hormel Natural Choice snacks and Herdez salsa delivered double-digit sales growth. We also grew core product lines such as Hormel pepperoni, Dinty Moore stew and Austin Blues authentic barbeque products." "In spite of record sales, second quarter earnings did not meet our expectations," Snee said. "African swine fever in China started to impact global hog and pork markets this quarter, which led to rapidly increasing input costs. In response, we have announced pricing action across our branded value-added portfolio in the Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods and International segments." "Jennie-O Turkey Store profits declined due to a combination of plant startup costs and lower retail sales," Snee said. "We made a large investment to automate our whole-bird facility in Melrose, Minn., and the startup was more difficult than anticipated. We made excellent progress through the quarter and are now on track to deliver the production efficiencies we expected. Retail sales declined for the quarter, but we are reactivating promotional activity and advertising in order to regain distribution." "We finalized the sale of CytoSport this quarter and used the proceeds to pay down the remaining debt from the Columbus Craft Meats acquisition and build our cash position," Snee said. "We will use our strong balance sheet to continue to grow our company through disciplined and strategic investments, including acquisitions and capacity expansion projects." SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS SECOND QUARTER Refrigerated Foods Volume flat Net sales up 1% Segment profit down 5% Volume and sales growth was led by foodservice products such as Hormel Bacon 1 cooked bacon, Hormel Fire Braised products and Austin Blues authentic barbeque products. Retail products such as Hormel Black Label bacon, Hormel Natural Choice products, Hormel pepperoni and Hormel prepared foods products for the deli also showed excellent growth. Branded value-added sales growth was offset by a double-digit decline in commodity sales. Segment profit declined as growth in value-added profits did not fully offset a 65% decline in commodity profits. Higher operational expenses related to capacity expansion projects also impacted profitability. Grocery Products Volume up 3% Net sales up 2% Segment profit up 12% Sales increases were led by Herdez salsas and sauces, Wholly guacamole dips and Skippy peanut butter, offset by lower sales of CytoSport products. Segment profit increased primarily due to higher volume and margins across many categories, such as the SPAM family of products and Dinty Moore stew, and lower expenses for CytoSport. The divestiture of CytoSport was completed on April 15, 2019. Jennie-O Turkey Store Volume up 2% Net sales flat Segment profit down 45% Sales for the quarter were flat as improved results in foodservice and whole-bird sales were offset by declines in retail sales due to the lingering impact of two voluntary product recalls. Foodservice sales growth was led by many categories, including Jennie-O sliced products. Segment profit was impacted by higher-than-expected plant startup expenses, higher feed costs and lower retail sales. International & Other Volume down 7% Net sales down 9% Segment profit down 31% International volume, sales and segment profit decreased primarily due to the continued impact of tariffs on fresh pork exports along with higher freight costs. Growth in our China business was driven by increased sales of branded value-added products such as SPAM luncheon meat and Skippy peanut butter. SELECTED FINANCIAL DETAILS Income Statement Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to a one-time gain resulting from the CytoSport divestiture and lower selling expenses. Advertising investments were $35 million compared to $37 million last year. Advertising investments for the full year are expected to be modestly lower compared to the prior year due to the CytoSport divestiture. compared to last year. Advertising investments for the full year are expected to be modestly lower compared to the prior year due to the CytoSport divestiture. Operating margin was 13.3% compared to 12.9% last year. The effective tax rate was 11.1% compared to 20.0% last year. The decrease was due to the impact of the tax gain from the CytoSport divestiture. The full-year effective tax rate for fiscal 2019 is expected to be between 17.5% and 19.5%. Cash Flow Statement Capital expenditures in the second quarter were $48 million compared to $87 million last year. The full-year outlook for capital expenditures decreased to approximately $310 million , primarily due to weather delays and project timing. Key projects for the full year include an expansion of our Burke Corporation pizza-toppings facility in Nevada , Iowa , an expansion at our Fontanini facility in McCook, Ill. , and multiple other projects designed to increase value-added capacity. compared to last year. The full-year outlook for capital expenditures decreased to approximately , primarily due to weather delays and project timing. Key projects for the full year include an expansion of our Burke Corporation pizza-toppings facility in , , an expansion at our Fontanini facility in , and multiple other projects designed to increase value-added capacity. Depreciation and amortization expense in the second quarter was $41 million , flat to last year. The full-year expense is expected to be approximately $160 million . , flat to last year. The full-year expense is expected to be approximately . Share repurchases for the quarter totaled $23 million , representing 0.6 million shares purchased. , representing 0.6 million shares purchased. The company repaid the remaining $375 million in debt related to the Columbus Craft Meats acquisition. in debt related to the Columbus Craft Meats acquisition. The company paid its 363rd consecutive quarterly dividend on May 15, 2019 , at the annual rate of $0.84 per share, a 12% increase over the prior year. Balance Sheet Working capital increased to $1,199 million from $911 million at the beginning of the year, primarily related to the proceeds received from the CytoSport divestiture. from at the beginning of the year, primarily related to the proceeds received from the CytoSport divestiture. Cash on hand increased to $639 million from $459 million at the beginning of the year. from at the beginning of the year. The company remains in a strong financial position to fund additional capital needs. OUTLOOK "Over the past three years, the intentional actions we have taken as part of Our Path Forward, which include evolving to a broader global branded food company, accelerating our foodservice business, modernizing our supply chain and divesting nonstrategic assets, has made our company stronger," Snee said. "Our experienced management team, leading brands, focus on innovation, strong balance sheet and diversified businesses allow us to manage through times of uncertainty and volatility, as we are currently experiencing with African swine fever." The company's revised fiscal 2019 earnings guidance range is based on the input cost increases experienced in the second quarter and a forecast for volatile domestic pork prices in the second half of fiscal 2019. The company has a proven ability to operate in elevated market conditions but expects short-term margin compression as branded value-added pricing actions lag input cost increases. Additionally, expectations for Jennie-O Turkey Store have been lowered as the company reinvests in the Jennie-O brand in order to regain retail distribution. Revised Fiscal 2019 Outlook Prior Fiscal 2019 Outlook Net Sales Guidance (in billions) $9.50 - $10.0 $9.70 - $10.20 Earnings Per Share Guidance $1.71 - $1.85 $1.77 - $1.91 PRESENTATION A conference call will be webcast at 8:00 a.m. CT on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Access is available at www.hormelfoods.com by clicking on "Investors." The call will also be available via telephone by dialing 800-263-0877 and providing the access code 5051059. An audio replay is available by going to www.hormelfoods.com. The webcast replay will be available at 11:00 a.m. CT, Thursday, May 23, 2019, and will remain on the website for one year. ABOUT HORMEL FOODS - Inspired People. Inspired Food. Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a leading global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Skippy, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Columbus, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the 11th year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food. - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/. REPORTING SEGMENTS At the beginning of fiscal 2019, the Hormel Deli Solutions division combined all deli businesses, including the Jennie-O Turkey Store deli division, into one division within the Refrigerated Foods segment. In addition, the ingredients business was realigned from the Grocery Products segment to the Refrigerated Foods segment. Fiscal 2018 second quarter and year-to-date segment net sales and segment profit reflect the new operating segments. These segment changes have no effect on previously reported consolidated net sales, operating profit, net earnings or earnings per share. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains forward-looking information based on management's current views and assumptions. Actual events may differ materially. Please refer to the cautionary statement regarding "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" that appears on pages 31-36 in the company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Jan. 27, 2019, which can be accessed at hormelfoods.com in the "Investors" section. 1 COMPARISON OF U.S. GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASUREMENTS The non-GAAP adjusted financial measurement of adjusted earnings per share is presented to provide investors additional information to facilitate the comparison of past and present operations. The company believes this non-GAAP financial measurement provides useful information to investors because it is a measurement used to evaluate performance on a comparable year-over-year basis. This non-GAAP measurement is not intended to be a substitute for a U.S. GAAP measurement in analyzing financial performance. This non-GAAP measurement is not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. Adjusted earnings per share excludes the one-time gain associated with the divestiture of the CytoSport business, which was recognized in Net Unallocated Expense and Provision for Income Taxes. The tax benefit was driven by the sale of shares of the CytoSport legal entity. The table below shows the calculations to reconcile from the non-GAAP adjusted measure to the GAAP measure in the second quarter. Second Quarter 2019 2019 Non-GAAP Adjusted Earnings Gain on CytoSport Sale 2019 GAAP Earnings Grocery Products $ 104,499 $ $ 104,499 Refrigerated Foods 158,088 158,088 Jennie-O Turkey Store 17,749 17,749 International & Other 14,325 14,325 Total segment profit $ 294,661 $ $ 294,661 Net Unallocated Expense (6,709) (16,469) (23,178) Noncontrolling interest 207 207 Earnings Before Income Taxes $ 301,577 $ 16,469 $ 318,046 Provision for income taxes 52,382 (16,972) 35,410 Net Earnings $ 249,195 $ 33,441 $ 282,636 Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest 207 207 Net Earnings attributable to Hormel Foods Corporation $ 248,988 $ 33,441 $ 282,429 Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 0.46 $ 0.06 $ 0.52 HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION SEGMENT DATA (Unaudited) (In thousands) Thirteen Weeks Ended April 28, 2019 April 29, 2018* % Change NET SALES Grocery Products $ 635,319 $ 621,492 2.2 Refrigerated Foods 1,257,884 1,245,066 1.0 Jennie-O Turkey Store 305,256 303,875 0.5 International & Other 146,285 160,135 (8.6) TOTAL $ 2,344,744 $ 2,330,568 0.6 SEGMENT PROFIT Grocery Products $ 104,499 $ 93,206 12.1 Refrigerated Foods 158,088 166,920 (5.3) Jennie-O Turkey Store 17,749 32,073 (44.7) International & Other 14,325 20,850 (31.3) TOTAL SEGMENT PROFIT 294,661 313,049 (5.9) Net unallocated expense (23,178) 16,304 (242.2) Noncontrolling interest 207 138 50.0 EARNINGS BEFORE INCOME TAX $ 318,046 $ 296,883 7.1 * FY18 segment results have been adjusted to reflect the changes in the Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store segments. Twenty-Six Weeks Ended April 28, 2019 April 29, 2018* % Change NET SALES Grocery Products $ 1,242,144 $ 1,225,069 1.4 Refrigerated Foods 2,536,631 2,499,703 1.5 Jennie-O Turkey Store 626,490 626,635 International & Other 299,834 310,454 (3.4) TOTAL $ 4,705,099 $ 4,661,861 0.9 SEGMENT PROFIT Grocery Products $ 199,796 $ 190,751 4.7 Refrigerated Foods 320,681 324,451 (1.2) Jennie-O Turkey Store 55,653 69,797 (20.3) International & Other 39,303 45,505 (13.6) TOTAL SEGMENT PROFIT 615,433 630,504 (2.4) Net unallocated expense (9,287) 28,698 (132.4) Noncontrolling interest 301 242 24.4 EARNINGS BEFORE INCOME TAX $ 625,021 $ 602,048 3.8 * FY18 segment results have been adjusted to reflect the changes in the Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store segments. HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) (In thousands, except per share amounts) Thirteen Weeks Ended Twenty-Six Weeks Ended April 28, 2019 April 29, 2018* April 28, 2019 April 29, 2018* Net sales $ 2,344,744 $ 2,330,568 $ 4,705,099 $ 4,661,861 Cost of products sold 1,875,595 1,837,765 3,747,616 3,670,762 GROSS PROFIT 469,149 492,803 957,483 991,099 Selling, general and administrative 170,076 204,549 363,620 424,421 Equity in earnings of affiliates 13,291 13,486 24,749 37,017 OPERATING INCOME 312,364 301,740 618,612 603,695 Interest & investment income (expense) 11,297 2,144 18,171 10,083 Interest expense (5,615) (7,001) (11,762) (11,730) EARNINGS BEFORE INCOME TAXES 318,046 296,883 625,021 602,048 Provision for income taxes 35,410 59,361 100,866 61,315 (effective tax rate) 11.1 % 20.0 % 16.1 % 10.2 % NET EARNINGS 282,636 237,522 524,155 540,733 Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest 207 138 301 242 NET EARNINGS ATTRIBUTABLE TO HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION $ 282,429 $ 237,384 $ 523,854 $ 540,491 NET EARNINGS PER SHARE Basic $ 0.53 $ 0.45 $ 0.98 $ 1.02 Diluted $ 0.52 $ 0.44 $ 0.96 $ 1.00 WEIGHTED-AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING Basic 535,480 529,799 534,988 529,626 Diluted 546,330 542,811 546,724 543,146 Dividends declared per share $ 0.2100 $ 0.1875 $ 0.4200 $ 0.3750 *Restated per ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits: Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost (Topic 715). HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (Unaudited) (In thousands) April 28, 2019 October 28, 2018 ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 639,327 $ 459,136 Short-term marketable securities 6,675 Accounts receivable 537,447 600,438 Inventories 1,030,574 963,527 Income taxes receivable 293 3,995 Prepaid expenses 24,219 16,342 Other current assets 12,132 6,662 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 2,250,667 2,050,100 Goodwill 2,486,635 2,714,116 Other intangibles 1,040,392 1,207,219 Pension assets 205,229 195,153 Investments in and receivables from affiliates 276,478 273,153 Other assets 181,777 189,951 Property, plant & equipment, net 1,494,567 1,512,600 TOTAL ASSETS $ 7,935,745 $ 8,142,292 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' INVESTMENT Accounts payable $ 523,673 $ 618,830 Accrued expenses 59,144 48,298 Accrued worker's compensation 24,935 24,594 Accrued marketing 126,252 118,887 Employee-related expenses 182,720 224,736 Taxes payable 22,154 2,490 Interest and dividends payable 112,798 101,079 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 1,051,676 1,138,914 Long-term debt, less current maturities 250,000 624,840 Pension and post-retirement benefits 488,479 477,557 Other long-term liabilities 101,378 99,070 Deferred income taxes 142,428 197,093 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (278,135) (243,498) Other shareholder's investment 6,179,919 5,848,316 TOTAL LIABILITIES & SHAREHOLDERS' INVESTMENT $ 7,935,745 $ 8,142,292 HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) (In thousands) Twenty-Six Weeks Ended April 28, 2019 April 29, 2018 OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net earnings $ 524,155 $ 540,733 Depreciation and amortization of intangibles 80,743 80,316 (Increase) decrease in working capital (166,487) (77,785) Other (72,818) (99,923) NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES 365,593 443,341 INVESTING ACTIVITIES Net (purchase) sale of securities (6,664) Proceeds from sale of business 473,885 Acquisitions of businesses/intangibles (857,673) Net purchases of property/equipment (56,454) (134,721) Decrease in investments, equity in affiliates, and other assets 14,060 5,934 NET CASH PROVIDED BY (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES 424,827 (986,460) FINANCING ACTIVITIES Net proceeds (payments) from short-term debt 185,000 Net (payments) proceeds from long-term debt (374,840) 374,763 Dividends paid on common stock (212,287) (189,139) Share repurchase (67,622) (44,741) Other 44,277 29,978 NET CASH (USED IN) PROVIDED BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES (610,472) 355,861 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 243 4,707 INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 180,191 (182,551) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 459,136 444,122 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF QUARTER $ 639,327 $ 261,571 SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation Related Links http://www.hormel.com LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnia Strategy LLP, a part of the legal team representing Marsha Lazareva, a prominent member of the international business community, today filed a petition of complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), requesting an investigation into the detention and treatment of the executive, who has been imprisoned in Kuwait for over a year on false charges. Lazareva's case is drawing international concern about the treatment of foreign investors in Kuwait and has been raised with Kuwait by prominent political figures in the UK, the US and Russia. Ms. Lazareva is one of the Gulf's leading corporate figures. She is a Russian citizen and mother to a young son who is a US citizen. The complaint was filed by an international legal team, led by prominent human rights attorney Cherie Blair CBE, QC, on behalf of Marsha Lazareva, vice chair and managing director of KGL Investments. It cites Kuwait's violations of fair trial protections and of protections against arbitrary detention under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The UN working group will await correspondence from Kuwait before rendering an opinion, but the group could recommend Ms. Lazareva's release and that Kuwait award compensation to her. Ms. Lazareva was detained in November 2017 and faced false allegations of embezzlement in the course of her work. She was initially released in February 2018 as part of a record-setting $30 million bail arrangement, only to be convicted in May 2018 without being allowed to present a defense, and based on evidence since found to have been fabricated. She was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving a year in jail, on May 5, the Kuwait Appeals Court recognized that Ms. Lazareva was unlawfully convicted in violation of due process and voided her conviction and sentence. However, rather than releasing her from her wrongful confinement, Ms. Lazareva continues to be arbitrarily detained pending the conclusion of her appeal because the court, without explanation or justification, is requiring a further USD $65 million in bail. The UN complaint is filed as international concern grows about the ongoing imprisonment of Ms Lazareva and how this reflects on the foreign investment climate in Kuwait. Ms. Lazareva has filed a separate investment arbitration complaint against Kuwait in connection with her imprisonment and arbitrary treatment by Kuwait. The complaint comes at a time when Kuwait is poised to take over as President of the UN Security Council and as the Amir is honored by the World Bank in recognition for his support for global economic and social development causes. Marsha's case has also been raised by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and separately by Tatyana Yumasheva, daughter of former President Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Platonov, President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "This is another example of a dangerous trend of criminalizing people who are conducting legitimate business activities," said Blair. The imprisonment of a prominent businesswoman, who is an important example of women's leadership in business in the Middle East, is a great concern." "As a member of the family that helped liberate Kuwait, I would hate to see U.S.-Kuwaiti relations damaged by this incident. But there are forces within and outside the government that are creating this horrible situation," said Neil Bush, son of former US President George Bush, who is also part of the team working on Lazareva's behalf. The complaint was filed by Cherie Blair of Omnia Strategy LLP and Jennifer Robinson of Doughty Street Chambers in London, working as part of an international legal team assembled by Crowell & Moring in Washington DC. SOURCE Omnia Strategy LLP ORRVILLE, Ohio, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Jarrett is thrilled to announce its 20th Anniversary. The 20th Anniversary celebration kickoff launched in tandem with the new Jarrett website. The website showcases Jarrett's 3 business segments Logistics Systems, Warehousing, and Fleet Services. Jarrett's two core business practices of providing innovative technology and hiring people of character have been entwined in its fabric for 20 years. Jarrett's propriety TMS, jShip, empowers clients to take control of their supply chain. The JLS Advanced Analytics portion of jShip provides robust industry insights customized to each client's business. Over the past 20 years, Jarrett has emphasized hiring the right people for the right positions. This means hiring character, not experience. "You can train someone with character to do a job but you cannot train character. It is imperative to hire people who have skills that are unique. Hire people who can perform a job better than you can. It creates a collaborative corporate culture of diversified skillsets elevating the entire organization." W Michael Jarrett, President and CEO It gives Jarrett team members the opportunity to grow personally and professionally progressing their individual career. Technology cannot replace the human element. Even with staying on the forefront on technology, Jarrett will always be a people driven company. "People of character have values that reflect what is truly important they work hard, are honest and have integrity. When you combine those traits with superior technology, our clients receive the very best 3PL services in the industry. When people care about their clients and have cutting edge technology as a tool to meet and exceed the clients' expectations, it creates a competitive advantage." W. Michael Jarrett, President and CEO The core values held by Jarrett encourages dedication and service to the community, employees and clients. In 1999, Mike and Diane began with the end in mind as self-made entrepreneurs. The Jarrett organization has been built from the ground up and shows no sign of slowing down. The goal is to continue sustainable growth and edify Jarrett's foundation forging into the future of the supply chain industry. Jarrett's goal is to maintain high client service standards and stay on the cutting edge of transportation technology for the next 20 years. About Jarrett As a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions, Jarrett aims to create continuous improvements throughout your entire supply chain. High-touch, personalized service is integral to the business and a reason Jarrett remains one of the nation's top logistics companies. The hands-on, customized services: Enhance operational efficiencies Lower transportation-related costs Execute seamless, end-to-end supply chain solutions Reduce supply chain risk by gaining control over all of your shipments Provide visibility into key performance indicators within organization's supply chain They are a privately held, family-owned company with a vision to be the best logistics company in the industryproviding excellent customer service, state-of-the-art technology and premier services to clients with ongoing or as-needed requests. They believe in innovation, and support employees in doing great things for clients every day, so they can help their clients be innovators within their industries. Jarrett is headquartered in Orrville, OH with additional locations in Indianapolis, IN, Dallas, TX and Los Angeles, CA. For more information about Jarrett, visit www.gojarrett.com, email [email protected], or call 877.392.9811. Contact: Gabe Ellis Company: Jarrett Tel: (800) 872-1622 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Jarrett Related Links https://www.gojarrett.com JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- JAX LNG, a liquefied natural gas facility located at Dames Point in Jacksonville, Florida, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 16 to signify the official start-up of the newly constructed plant. JAX LNG is the first small-scale LNG facility in the United States with both marine and truck-loading capabilities. The state-of-the-art facility was constructed through a joint venture between Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream ("NorthStar"). Aerial view of the JAX LNG facility located near Dames Point, Jacksonville, Fla. "Pivotal is committed to transforming the nation's energy landscape by leading the way in how we supply liquefied natural gas to our customers," said Tim Hermann, president of Pivotal LNG. "One way we are doing this is through the development of the JAX LNG facility. With our partners NorthStar, we've implemented innovative solutions to make clean, safe, reliable and affordable LNG available to marine and inland customers that can be served from the port of Jacksonville. " Liquefied natural gas is a clean, domestically produced alternative fuel serving multiple industries to reduce emissions and energy costs. When using LNG as a marine fuel on a well-to-wake basis, greenhouse emissions are reduced up to 21 percent. In addition to marine and trucking companies, the JAX LNG plant is positioned to serve other industries, including rail, drilling, mining, power generation, commercial and industrial. Currently, the JAX LNG facility has the capacity to produce 120,000 gallons of LNG per day and store more than 2 million gallons of LNG. There is room at the site to expand the facility and add two liquefaction trains and a second storage tank which would increase LNG production capacity to 600,000 gallons per day and store up to 4 million gallons. JAX LNG can use its advantaged location on the water to service its maritime customers via LNG transport vessels. NorthStar is owned by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. ("Oaktree"). Jared Parker, co-portfolio manager of Oaktree's Infrastructure Investing strategy stated, "We believe LNG is the logical fuel choice for ships calling on ports in the United States. We are excited to be developing the infrastructure necessary to make this option available for the transportation needs of companies focused on emission reductions and meeting IMO 2020 requirements." Tim Casey, senior vice president of LNG, commented, "NorthStar and our owners are excited about the partnership we have with Pivotal LNG and Southern Companies in JAX LNG. We look forward to expanding our ability to bring environmentally-friendly LNG as a next generation fuel to the market". Construction of the JAX LNG facility began in late 2016. Its achievements thus far include the first-of-its-kind, ship-to-ship bunkering operations in the U.S. and loading of TOTE Maritime's Clean Jacksonville, the first LNG bunker barge built in the U.S. JAX LNG is also the long-term supplier of LNG to the world's first LNG dual-fuel container ships, the Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe, operated by TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico. For more information about JAX LNG and LNG solutions, please visit jaxlng.com. About Pivotal LNG Pivotal LNG is part of Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). Pivotal LNG provides liquefied natural gas to companies and industries throughout the United States through reliable, flexible and cost-effective solutions. For more information, visit www.pivotallng.com . About Southern Company Gas Southern Company Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Southern Company Gas serves approximately 4.2 million natural gas utility customers through its regulated distribution companies in four states with 774,000 retail customers through its companies that market natural gas and related home services. Other nonutility businesses include investments in interstate pipelines, asset management for natural gas wholesale customers and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. For more information, visit Southern Company Gas at southerncompanygas.com. About NorthStar Midstream NorthStar is a diversified logistics company providing flexible crude oil, sand, LNG and refined product logistics services, including storage and transportation solutions, to the North American energy industry. NorthStar's assets include a 375-acre crude oil and sand logistics transloading and transportation terminal with 500,000 barrels of crude storage located in East Fairview, ND, a crude oil terminal with 160,000 barrels of crude storage located in Alexander, ND, a 23-mile, FERC-regulated crude oil pipeline located in McKenzie County, ND providing access to the Dakota Access Pipeline via the terminals in East Fairview and Alexander, a marine terminal located in Port Comfort, TX and an LNG production facility, marine loading dock and LNG barging operations in Jacksonville, FL. For more information, visit http://www.northstarmidstream.com/ About Oaktree Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $119 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2019. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 950 employees and offices in 18 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree's website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/ . SOURCE JAX LNG Related Links http://www.jaxlng.com CLEVELAND, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) held its annual meeting today in Cleveland, OH, where it highlighted 2018 as a strong year for the nearly 200-year-old institution. Shareholders heard about how Key's distinctive relationship-based business model helps clients and communities thrive and delivers on commitments to create shareholder value. "This past year, Key delivered strong financial results, including meaningful improvement in both profitability and returns. We achieved our sixth consecutive year of positive operating leverage and reached record full-year revenue of $6.4 billion. I am proud of our accomplishments in 2018, and believe we are well positioned for the future, as we focus on improving efficiency, managing risk, and increasing returns for our shareholders," said Beth Mooney, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, KeyCorp. During the annual meeting, shareholders elected 14 nominees to KeyCorp's Board of Directors, each with executive leadership experience across a number of industries. Board elections were one of six proposals put before shareholders at the company's annual meeting, held at One Cleveland Center in Cleveland, OH. Other proposals presented and approved by shareholders included the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent auditor for the 2019 fiscal year; an advisory proposal on the compensation of KeyCorp's named executive officers; approval of KeyCorp's 2019 Equity Compensation Plan; approval of an increase in the number of authorized common shares; and approval of an amendment to KeyCorp's Regulations. About KeyCorp KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $141.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2019. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of over 1,100 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "outlook," "goal," "objective," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "project," "believe," "estimate" and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements represent management's current expectations and forecasts regarding future events. If underlying assumptions prove to be inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties arise, actual results could vary materially from these projections or expectations. Factors that could cause Key's actual results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in KeyCorp's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as well as in KeyCorp's subsequent SEC filings, all of which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on Key's website (www.key.com/ir) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website (www.sec.gov). Forward looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and Key does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events. SOURCE KeyCorp Related Links http://www.key.com All figures in Canadian dollars. VANCOUVER, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - KORE Mining Ltd. (TSXV: KORE) ("KORE" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced investment ("Investment") by Macquarie Bank Ltd. and its affiliates (collectively "Macquarie") and has increased total proceeds to the Company to $4,300,000. The Company will issue an additional 1,200,000 common shares for a total issuance of 7,200,000 common shares at a price of $0.25 per common share (the "Financing"). Investment Highlights As part of the Investment, Macquarie will subscribe for 6,000,000 common shares of Kore and acquire a 1% NSR royalty (the " Macquarie Royalty ") on the Imperial Project. ") on the Imperial Project. Provides funding for KORE to advance permitting of the Imperial Project, generating a compelling investment opportunity with proximity to existing operations. Includes provisions for certain rights for Macquarie to provide project development financing. Kore maintains a right to buy back the Macquarie Royalty on the following terms: i) within 6 months of the closing date for the Macquarie Royalty, if the Company is acquired at a price of no less than $0.75 per share, the Company may buy back the Macquarie Royalty for $4,750,000; or ii) within greater than 6 months but less than 12 months of the closing date for the Macquarie Royalty, if the Company is acquired at a price of no less than $1.00 per share, the Company may buy back the Macquarie Royalty for $6,750,000. The common shares issued under the Financing will be subject to a hold period that will restrict transfer of such shares until September 23, 2019, other than transfers permitted under applicable securities laws. A fee of $80,000 was paid to PI Financial Corp. who acted as financial advisor in connection with the transaction. About Macquarie Macquarie is a global leader in providing financing to the resources sector. Macquarie Bank Limited is part of Macquarie Group, a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs over 15,700 people and has assets under management of AUD$551.3 billion (as of March 31, 2019). About KORE KORE is a development stage company that offers exposure to precious metals exploration and development in North America, with a corporate strategy focused on advancing its California development and British Columbia advanced exploration stage projects. KORE owns a 100% interest in the Imperial gold development project ("Imperial"), located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered land in a current mining district of Imperial County, California, USA. Imperial is approximately 17km SSE of the operating Mesquite Mine recently acquired by Equinox Gold (TSXV: EQX) for US$158 million. Imperial boasts excellent access and infrastructure. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any KORE common shares in the United States. The KORE common shares to be issued in connection with the Financing have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Adjacent Properties and Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related exploration and development; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in input costs; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration activities; and labor relations matters. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations also include risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law. SOURCE Kore Mining Related Links http://www.koremining.com/ NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. ("Oppenheimer") a leading investment bank, wealth manager, and a subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE: OPY) will host its first MedTech Day on May 29, 2019 at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, CA. The event will bring together 15 leading companies in the medical technology (MedTech) space and feature 1-on-1 meetings between investors and industry leaders. "MedTech Day creates a collaborative space for companies to meet with Oppenheimer's institutional clients, thus creating synergies between the two," said Michael Margolis, R.Ph., Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking. Oppenheimer analysts, Steven Lichtman, Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering Medical Devices, and Kevin DeGeeter, Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering Biotechnology, will be attending to offer valuable industry insights to clients based on the current landscape. "MedTech is the next frontier in healthcare; state-of-the-art technologies and emerging therapies have the potential to fundamentally alter how the industry operates, creating new opportunities for patients, doctors and healthcare professionals alike and we are pleased to offer this one-day session for the companies," added Margolis. The lunch panel session titled, Current Trends and Future Outlook in Diabetes Devices, features prominent speakers including Dr. Saleh Adi, an independent consultant in the field of diabetes technology and the Founding Director of the Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes at University of California, San Francisco, and Dr. Linda Glaser, MD, PhD, Medical Director of Coastal Biomedical Research and an Endocrinologist in a solo private practice. "Our goal with this first MedTech Day in San Francisco is to create a collective space for investors to interact with innovative, industry-leading companies and professionals, because our clients recognize the tremendous opportunities these organizations present," said Erica L. Moffett, Managing Director and Associate Director of Equity Research at Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer's upcoming conferences include the inaugural Montauk Summit for Emerging Life Science Companies. The event will feature approximately 25 emerging Life Sciences companies as well as the 2018 Nobel Prize winner for Medicine, Dr. Jim Allison, as a member of the Checkmates, a band comprised of leading scientists, researchers and executives at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Oppenheimer is also hosting the 19th Annual Consumer Growth & E-Commerce Conference on June 18-19 and the 22nd Annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference on August 6-7, both of which will be held in Boston, Massachusetts. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer), a principal subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (OPY on the New York Stock Exchange), and its affiliates provide a full range of wealth management, securities brokerage and investment banking services to high-net-worth individuals, families, corporate executives, local governments, businesses and institutions. SOURCE Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Related Links http://www.opco.com PITTSBURGH, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Local firm SMA Law Group is announcing that they are actively involved, as a local law firm, in litigation against Bayer, the makers of RoundUp weed killer. RoundUp, originally manufactured by a large Northern California company called Monsanto, contains a chemical compound called glyphosate. This chemical has been linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2015, the World Health Organization labeled glyphosate as a "probable carcinogen." We have seen major verdicts against the manufacturer of RoundUp over the last few months. Just recently, a court awarded $2 billion to a California couple who both contracted non-Hodgkins lymphoma after years of using RoundUp. Since these major verdicts have been handed down, Bayer's stock price has slid nearly 30%. Despite several large verdicts against the manufacturer, the company continues to ignore the devastating effects these products have had on many of their consumers. Those who have the most exposure to these products include: Groundskeepers Farmers Parks and recreation staff Public works department employees Anyone who works in these jobs or in similar fields has the highest risk factors of becoming ill due to glyphosate in RoundUp. The team at SMA Law Group is determined to help the people in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas if they have been harmed due to the use of this product. The SMA Law Group is ready to help Pennsylvania citizens because they know they will be able to bring a personal connection to their clients, not like so many out-of-state firms that a client may never meet in person. Since the SMA Law Group is already active in these cases, they have the knowledge and experience you need to move forward and secure the compensation you deserve. They want you to know that: "Too often our local residents want to pursue justice against large corporations and have to look for a lawyer outside of their locality. We know how important it is for our clients, and prospective clients, to work with a team of lawyers that are close to home. Our clients know that they always have an open door to personally meet with us, talk with us, and even stop by the office to say "hello." Why sacrifice having a personal experience with your lawyers in order to hire an out-of-town lawyer with great results? You can have both if you hire us." If you or a loved one have been harmed due to the use of RoundUp, please call the SMA Law Group at 1-888-976-2529 or visit their website at www.smalawgroup.com. SOURCE SMA Law Group Related Links http://www.smalawgroup.com LOT is currently executing its ambitious 2020 profitable growth strategy with the objective of becoming the leading airline in Central Europe. The airline is taking advantage of the dynamic air travel market in the region that is growing at a significantly quicker pace than in other European countries, taking targeted actions to develop a strong network of connections, offset competition, boost effectiveness and strengthen its team. Sabre's technology will facilitate LOT's progress on this successful path. The distribution agreement will ensure continued access to Sabre's global travel marketplace, allowing the airline to distribute its fares and offers to more than 425,000 travel agents and thousands of corporations worldwide. The new, industry-leading version of Sabre AirCentre Flight Plan Manager will continue to help reduce operational costs with highly optimized flight plans and a sophisticated 4-D cost optimization approach. The technology solution will improve operational efficiency with simplified workflows, electronic flight-plan distribution, quicker communication and the ability to automatically issue flight plans adhering to all legal regulations and company policies. "We've embarked on an aggressive growth journey and the right technology plays a pivotal role in making our vision a reality," said Rafa Milczarski, LOT's CEO. "We are excited that we have found a committed, congenial partner in Sabre, with whom we are working hand-in-hand to increase our technological capabilities and deliver an even better travel experience to our customers." LOT's 2020 strategy, which was launched in 2016, is already paying off. Since then, the carrier has added over 65 new routes, including flights to Miami, Los Angeles, Seoul and Singapore. Named the fastest-growing airline in Europe by Flight Global, it carried over 8.9 million passengers in 2018, which is more than double the number carried just four years before. The Polish carrier is consistently increasing the frequency of its flights and is improving its offering to those destinations, thus strengthening its position as the aviation industry leader in Central Europe. It operates long haul flights with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the most advanced wide body planes in the world. The Polish carrier celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2019. The leadership teams of LOT and Sabre met this week to sign the renewed agreements and discuss further areas of collaboration. The occasion coincided with Sabre's announcement that the technology company would move its global development center in Krakow to a new, larger, upgraded facility that underscores its commitment to Poland and broader Europe. "We are very proud to partner with one of the most ambitious, forward-thinking airlines in Europe," said Sabre's CEO, Sean Menke. "Thanks to a laser-focused strategy and strong commitment throughout the organization, LOT has achieved phenomenal success over the past three years. We are looking forward to continuing our rewarding partnership and exploring new ways to help LOT succeed further through the power of technology." About Sabre Corporation Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabre's software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more than US$120 billion of global travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world. SABR-F Media Contact: Peter Melcher [email protected] SOURCE Sabre Corporation Related Links http://www.sabre.com BUTLER COUNTY, Pa., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Borough of Mars, Pennsylvania, will host a free weekend-long Mars Exploration Celebration, May 31-June 2, 2019, featuring NASA speakers, exhibits, STEAM education activities, food, music and more. Mars Exploration Celebration aims to inspire our youth via fun and interactive hands-on activities, to pursue an education and career in a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) discipline. At the same time, the celebration provides an exciting and engaging event for the community. Mars Exploration Celebration The outdoor celebration, the third time to be offered in the small town of Mars, and the Red Planet namesake, will be even bigger than in past years, spanning over three days. Friday, May 31 is a celebratory night and includes a live video chat with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, a sci-fi costume contest with prizes, an Earth, Wind & Fire tribute band, and a custom drone show in the night sky to be provided by Firefly Drone Shows. Saturday, June 1st (11:00 am 7:00 pm) and Sunday, June 2nd (11:00 am 4:00 pm) will be filled with NASA speakers on the main stage, NASA interactive exhibits, robotics competitions, drone races, an escape room, makers build, 3D printing, rocket launch, kids zone games plus hands-on STEAM activities, and a judged science fair called Meet the Mars Challenge. Also, on Saturday the Mars Post Office is offering a one-of-a-kind cancelled stamp and the headlined music group is The Gothees Band. On Sunday, Meet the Mars Challenge winners will be announced and prizes awarded. Additionally, the headlined music group is The Sarah James Project. Food vendors and STEAM activities will be available throughout the entire event along with collectors Mars memorabilia for purchase. "The Borough of Mars is excited to host and collaborate with NASA a third time, on a celebration event for the planet Mars," said Mars Borough Mayor Gregg Hartung. "We explore the many aspects of living on the planet Mars through the participation of students from a variety of schools, higher education institutions, community organizations, and businesses. Our volunteers, sponsors, community supports, and partners make it all possible. Why not visit the only Mars on Earth?" "NASA's involvement is such an honor and an integral part of what we're trying to accomplish with this event. We want our students and community to be inspired by the possibilities of space," said Missy Gralish, Communications Chairperson. "The Mars Exploration Celebration brings two planets together, as we celebrate the new frontier of the planet Mars right in the heart of Butler County, Mars, Pennsylvania." For more information on scheduled events and speakers, STEAM activities, exhibits, parking, shuttles, an interactive map, and more visit www.marsnewyear.com . Contact: Missy Gralish Communications Chairperson Email: [email protected] Phone: 412.996.9350 SOURCE The Borough of Mars, Pennsylvania HOUSTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) today announced that it has been awarded a sizeable* technology contract by MOL Petrochemicals for the basic engineering, technology license, catalyst and Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for an Olefins Conversion Technology (OCT) unit at MOL's petrochemicals complex in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary. Once complete, this unit will have a production capacity of 100,000 MTA of polymer grade propylene from steam cracker and refinery feedstocks, utilizing Lummus' proprietary OCT, and CDHydro Deisobutenizer. The unit will also produce an isobutene-rich stream. Lummus Technology's OCT is the most economical and commercially proven route to on-purpose propylene production, with very low energy consumption due to its energy-neutral chemistry, and low feedstock consumption due to high selectivity. "We are honored by MOL's selection to use OCT for integration into their petrochemicals business," said Leon de Bruyn, Senior Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "OCT is recognized as the most economical route for utilizing C 4 and C 5 feeds from a steam cracker or refinery to increase propylene production in a petrochemicals complex." McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector. This award will be reflected in McDermott's second quarter 2019 backlog. *McDermott defines a sizeable contract as between USD $1 million and USD $50 million. About McDermott McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. For more than a century, customers have trusted McDermott to design and build end-to-end infrastructure and technology solutions to transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. Our proprietary technologies, integrated expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. Customers rely on McDermott to deliver certainty to the most complex projects, from concept to commissioning. It is called the "One McDermott Way." Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally focused and globally-integrated resources include approximately 32,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com. Forward-Looking Statements In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about backlog, to the extent backlog may be viewed as an indicator of future revenues or profitability, and the expected value and scope of the award discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit markets, our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog, changes in project design or schedules, the availability of qualified personnel, changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties, changes in industry norms and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. This press release reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Contacts: Investor Relations Scott Lamb Vice President, Investor Relations +1 832 513 1068 [email protected] Global Media Relations Gentry Brann Senior Vice President, Communications, Marketing and Administration +1 281 870 5269 [email protected] SOURCE McDermott International, Inc. Related Links https://www.mcdermott.com/ WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mexican Tomato Growers submitted a new proposal Wednesday to the U.S. Department of Commerce for a new agreement covering imports of tomatoes from Mexico. Because Commerce terminated the prior agreement on May 7, the Mexican growers were required by Commerce Department regulations to make a formal proposal on May 22. This proposal builds on the strongest provisions of the prior agreement and the April 2 proposal of the Mexican growers to bring an unprecedented level of enforcement. The proposal includes the following: New reference prices with increases of up to 180 percent for expanded categories of tomatoes. Expansion of the USDA marketing order on tomatoes to cover all categories of tomatoes, which would bring enforcement to the border for the first time, with tomatoes that fail the marketing order being denied entry into the United States . . Removal of 100 percent of defective product from the U.S. market through return to Mexico over a certain threshold and destruction supervised by USDA for the remainder. over a certain threshold and destruction supervised by USDA for the remainder. New penalties for shipments containing above a certain level of defective product. Expansion of the formal process for considering alleged agreement violations. Elimination of sales under another company's signatory number to deter circumvention. Submission of voluminous amounts of sales, volume, customer and contract data, all subject to Commerce Department verification. Linkage of the suspension agreement provisions to PACA penalties. Submission of certified statements that could lead to civil penalties if false. The only area the Mexican growers have not considered is the request by the Florida Tomato Exchange to restrict the rights of U.S. buyers to liquidated damages for breach of warranty. While breaches of warranty do not occur often, the Mexican growers do not have the legal right to deny damages. In order to even consider such a proposal, the Mexican growers asked for formal opinions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the rights of U.S. buyers can be restricted; from the Commerce Department that it has the jurisdiction based on record evidence to request this; and, from the U.S. Department of Justice that there are no antitrust violations. "We submitted a very strong proposal to Commerce in April. Since then, we have made limited progress in the negotiations. We hope that Commerce looks closely at this proposal to see how powerful it is," said Rosario Antonio Beltran, President of the growers' association in the state of Sinaloa. Benjamin Esquer of the Sonora state growers' association added "Our growers are eager to get back to work and we hope that this proposal finally ends this long process that has affected so many people in both countries." "This is an even stronger proposal than we submitted in April. It is time to reach a new agreement," said Salvador Garcia, the President of the Baja growers' association. Added Oscar Woltman, president of the largest grower association in Mexico, "there are 1.4 million direct and indirect jobs at stake in Mexico and tens of thousands in the United States. It is time for common sense to rule so we can get back to work." SOURCE Mexican Tomato Growers MIAMI, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Miami Fashion Week (MIAFW), recognized as the second largest fashion event in the United States, is proud to announce PORCELANOSA, a world benchmark in interior design and construction materials as a sponsor for MIAFW 2019. This year, the 4th Annual MIAFW is kicking off on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 through Sunday, June 2, 2019, with dates officially recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) alongside New York, London, Paris and Milan, to an audience of A-list celebrities, global influencers and fashion leaders. "It is a great honor to have this remarkable company as sponsor of our 2019 Miami Fashion Week," said Antonio Banderas, Honorary President of MIAFW. "In addition to sponsoring, they will contribute their exquisite design and innovation to the creation of this year's Miami Fashion Week." PORCELANOSA is number one in the use of innovative materials like KRION, used in the interior design and building industry. The brand is highly committed to environmental issues and uses a sustainable approach within their creation of new materials, always looking for an eco-friendly approach to design. "PORCELANOSA is proud to participate in this world-class event and to be a part of the entire design and decor of this iconic fashion event," said a spokesperson for PORCELANOSA. "Design is the core of our company and we are excited to mark our footprint on the world of American fashion." PORCELANOSA has a strong presence of more than 30 retail shops in the US, including its flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue, and more than 1,000 points of sale worldwide. In addition to being an official sponsor of Miami Fashion Week 2019, PORCELANOSA will be celebrating the re-opening of its Doral store on May 30, 2019. In excitement of this 2019 sponsorship, Miami Fashion Week runway show's will return to Ice Palace Studios with never-before-seen Resort/Cruise collections by acclaimed designers from around the globe, while the second annual Miami Fashion Week Summit will take place at Miami Dade College. This year's summit will welcome top rated keynote speakers who will focus their discussions on the ethical and sustainable issues facing the fashion industry. Additional events during the week will include several parties including Miami Fashion Week's Benefit Gala hosted by Antonio Banderas benefiting Nicklaus Children's Hospital as well as Mr. Banderas' own foundation Lagrimas y Favores. ABOUT MIAMI FASHION WEEK Relaunched in 2016 under new management, Miami Fashion Week (MIAFW) is the second largest fashion event in the U.S. debuting resort collections of established and emerging international designers. With dates officially recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) alongside New York, London, Paris and Milan, MIAFW plays an integral role in the industry by continuing to be the first international platform for the resort season to an audience of A-list celebrities, global influencers and fashion leaders. Led by Honorary President, Antonio Banderas, the fourth annual fashion week will return to South Florida Wednesday, May 29, 2019 through Sunday, June 2, 2019 and will deliver high-caliber runway shows, a beneficiary gala, after parties and exclusive talks in the eco-friendly and sustainable during the Miami Fashion Week Summit. For more information, please visit www.miamifashionweek.com . ABOUT PORCELANOSA PORCELANOSA Group is a major reference in both the Spanish and the International market. Its consolidated position has been built up on values such as innovation and quality, but especially the trust placed in its large human capital, made up of almost 5,000 skilled professionals, and its concern for its stakeholders and the environment. Today, the Group's eight firms offer a vast selection of products ranging from kitchen and bathroom equipment to high-tech materials and state-of-the-art building solutions for contemporary architecture. With over 45 years of experience, PORCELANOSA Group is present in almost 150 countries worldwide. This success is the result of a unique business model based on a strong corporate strategy. According to a study published by the consultancy Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the Financial Times, PORCELANOSA is one of Spain's most reputable companies in the international scene, and is also considered by consumers to be a strong and solid company, as reflected in a study carried out by the Reputation Institute. With more than 1,000 establishments located throughout the world and a distribution network that keeps growing every day in cities such as New York, London, Miami, Paris and Milan, PORCELANOSA stores ensure the presence of our firm on all five continents to show the final consumer the continuous progress in innovation and design of each of our products. SOURCE Miami Fashion Week Related Links http://www.miamifashionweek.com DUBLIN, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Middle East Electronic Security Market Outlook to 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Electronic security industry in Middle East region is still in the growth stage and has registered positive a five year CAGR of during 2012-2017. The market size increased to almost USD 1 Billion. The growth was mainly driven by implementation and amendments of regulatory compliance to use the electronic security by the government due to increasing security concerns. Technological innovations and increased focus on infrastructure development has also resulted in increase in demand of electronic security equipments. Digitization of manual work by use of artificial intelligence, better scanning, reduced interference of manpower, remote access and surveillance, and reducing price with advancement and adoption of technology has helped the market in achieving positive growth. Market Segmentation By Region: Central region of Middle East is the biggest market for electronic security products accounting for the highest market share in 2017. Saudi Arabia witnessed the highest sales of electronic security equipments by value. It was swiftly followed by Northern where Turkey leads the market and Western part where Israel is the largest market. Heavy investments in infrastructure projects for diversification of economy and government regulations are the major reason behind the growth in the region. Long term plans for development of the economy is adopted by many Middle Eastern countries including UAE Vision 2021, Saudi Arabia 2030, Kuwait 2035 and similar programs which are key drivers for demand of electronic security in their respective countries. is the biggest market for electronic security products accounting for the highest market share in 2017. witnessed the highest sales of electronic security equipments by value. It was swiftly followed by Northern where leads the market and Western part where is the largest market. Heavy investments in infrastructure projects for diversification of economy and government regulations are the major reason behind the growth in the region. Long term plans for development of the economy is adopted by many Middle Eastern countries including UAE Vision 2021, 2030, 2035 and similar programs which are key drivers for demand of electronic security in their respective countries. By Type: The market is dominated by monitoring and video surveillance systems as it acquire highest sales value of the total share in the electronic security market. The market is further categorized into video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection systems. Video surveillance has majority share and is largely dominated by high definition IP cameras. Recording facility from 24 hours to 6 months service and recording of other attributes for video analytics are sold at premium. Restricted entry systems which constitutes significant share in the electronic security market are mostly installed by manned guarding companies and the technological advancement and adoption is slow as compared to monitoring surveillance systems. The restricted entry system was further segmented into various constituents, which includes traffic barriers and accessories, Walk through metal detectors and baggage detectors, Turnstiles and electronic gates, automated doors, gates, garage doors and shutters, and automated retractable traffic bollards Competition Scenario The manufacturers of electronic security in Middle East sell their products to end users through distributors and system integrators. The report focuses on discussing the competitiveness of both major manufacturers as well as system integrators present in the market. The market is dominated by major global players although entrance of some other players especially from China has resulted in change in market dynamics. Different countries have different leading players in each segment of technology. Major multinational companies are among the top players in each country and the demand for their technologically advanced and latest products is the key source for their revenue. Commoditized products see a large competition with presence of many leading and small players from across the globe. Future Outlook The market for electronic security in the region is estimated to grow with rising demand from end users in both commercial and retail sector. This market is primarily driven by video monitoring surveillance which will acquire majority of market share. The market will primarily grow due to requirements of surveillance cameras which have been made necessary by the government in various countries. Among the regions, central and northern region will drive majority of demand from the market in the future. Usage of analytics in surveillance and monitoring and remote or wireless access control and intrusion detection will key value add that is expected drive the market in future. Key Segments Covered By Type Monitoring and Surveillance Restricted Entry System By Monitoring and Surveillance CCTV Access Control Intrusion detection By Restricted Entry System Traffic Barriers & Accessories Walk through Metal And Passenger Baggage Detectors Turnstiles and E-Gates Automation Systems for Gates, Doors, Garage Doors And Shutters Automatic Retractable Traffic Bollards Key Target Audience Electronic Security Companies Restricted Entry System Equipment Manufacturers System Integrators Venture Capitalists Startups in Electronic Security Research and Development Firms Software Companies Security Analytics Companies Time Period Captured in the Report: 2012-2017 - Historical Period 2017-2022 - Future Forecast Key Topics Covered Overview of Electronic Security Market in Middle East . . Value chain analysis. Electronic Security Market Size by Revenue. Major Players in the Middle East Electronic Security Ecosystem. Market Segmentation by Region (North, Central, West, East and South), by Type (Video and Monitoring Systems and Restricted Entry Systems) Restraints Growth Drivers Competitive Benchmarking of Major Manufacturers Company profile of Major Manufacturers (Bosch, HIK vision, Samsung Techwin, Pelco, Axis Communication) Company profile of Major System Integrators (Group 5, G4S, SSS, SeedIS) Industry Scenario by Region Vendor Selection Process Key Regulations Future Outlook Analyst Recommendation Companies Covered: Electronic Security Equipment Manufacturers: Bosch Honeywell Axis Pelco Hanwha Techwin Hikvision Avigilon FLIR System IndigoVision Panasonic Arecont Vision Restricted Entry System Manufacturers Building Defense System Gallagher Security Cochrane ASEC Rapiscan Systems Fast lane Harris Cam Kaba Doors System Integrators: Group 5 G4S SeedIS SSS Co. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9jc5xq Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com "We're excited to provide consumers with our all-natural poultry in more sustainable packaging," said Nick Beste , Mighty Spark Founder and CEO. "Our consumers are the spark behind the more than 3 million meals we've donated worldwide. Our minimal packaging design will allow for more people to discover just how easy it is to give back. For each purchase of our all-natural, premium poultry, we donate a meal to someone in need locally or internationally , so we thank our consumers for making a big impact." A Modern Look For Lean, Flavorful Poultry Mighty Spark spoke with hundreds of shoppers about what they wanted most when storing and cooking premium poultry. Consumers' preferred packaging elements are reflected in Mighty Spark's transparent film packaging with clear callouts of trusted product attributes, playful illustrations of each protein type and bold-meets-modern typography. The brand's values of giving back through its amazingly delicious food are called out to inform consumers that their purchase makes an impact on food insecurity through a donated meal. Additionally, Mighty Spark is delivering a more sustainable packaging design compared to other poultry brands in the meat aisle. As a growing number of consumers make sustainable packaging one of their top priorities when making purchase decisions, Mighty Spark's new minimal design eliminates excessive plastic packaging. Mighty Spark's vacuum-sealed film has approximately 90 percent less plastic compared to most modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) trays. Mighty Spark's all-natural premium poultry, including patties, blended ground chicken and turkey, are packaged in leak-proof, space-saving and freezer-ready brick form. Modern Meat For Millennials In addition to more sustainable packaging, Mighty Spark's lean, flavorful poultry caters to consumers seeking healthy, authentic proteins. As reported in the FMI's 2019 Power of Meat Study*, two-thirds of consumers seek better-for-me protein products. Retailers nationwide are launching Mighty Spark's all-natural premium, poultry patties and ground blends as a solution to these consumers. products. Retailers nationwide are launching Mighty Spark's all-natural premium, poultry patties and ground blends as a solution to these consumers. Three-quarters of shoppers are interested in blended items, which are a mix plant and meat items, with millennials showing the greatest interest*. One of Mighty Spark's top-selling blended products are the Southwest Chicken Patty, which is a blend of jasmine brown rice, all-natural chicken, roasted corn, black beans and fire roasted Poblano peppers and is popular among flexitarians. Value-added products, such as pre-seasoned meat, is driving growth in the meat department. Mighty Spark's Sweet Thai Ground Chicken, pre-seasoned with ginger, shallots and honey, is a best-selling item and convenient meal solution, perfect for lettuce wraps and Thai dishes. A growing proportion of consumers want to purchase products "with a cause." * Mighty Spark Meal Donations What started as an idea from Mighty Spark Founder and CEO Nick Beste to use his business to help feed those in need has grown into a movement with more than 3 million meals donated. Mighty Spark believes that together we can be the spark that makes an impact, and that's why every purchase of Mighty Spark provides a meal to someone in need. In just two years, the company has donated 3,493,728 meals worldwide. Committed to be a force for good by helping feed those in need, Mighty Spark projects to donate 2,360,000 meals in 2019 that's one meal every 13 seconds. Mighty Spark donates to non-profit partners Kids Against Hunger and Children's Hunger Fund to sponsor meal packing events for its donated meals. "Kids Against Hunger is proud be one of Mighty Spark's partners for their Give Back meal donations, which has provided more than 2 million meals to those in need throughout the U.S. and internationally," said Chris Leader, President, Kids Against Hunger. "Because of Mighty Spark's donations, we've been able to host volunteer events nationwide to make an impact on communities and help those in need through the meals provided." "Children's Hunger Fund is thrilled to be partnering with Mighty Spark to serve suffering families throughout the world," said Anthony Kasper, Director, Relationship Development, Children's Hunger Fund. "Throughout this partnership, it's been clear that they care deeply about those benefitting from the meal donations and align perfectly with our mission to deliver hope through transformative relationships." Mighty Spark product is available at select retailers nationwide, including Publix, Safeway, Stop & Shop, Target, Fresh Thyme, Hannaford, Cub Foods, Lunds & Byerlys and more. Mighty Spark's full assortment, and the impact consumers are making through the meal donations can be found at Mightysparkfood.com. *2019 Power of Meat Study About Mighty Spark Minneapolis-based Mighty Spark empowers shoppers to give back by donating a meal to those in need through each purchase of its all-natural, premium poultry. Together, with its consumers, Mighty Spark is making an impact on hunger in communities around the world with meal donations exceeding more than 3 million meals, and millions to come. Available at select grocery stores nationwide, Mighty Spark uses premium cuts for its all-natural poultry to deliver unparalleled taste and quality. From Queso Fresco and Jalapeno Turkey Patties, to Bruschetta Ground Chicken to Honey and Jalapeno Low-Calorie Chicken Snack Sticks, Mighty Spark's lean poultry not only delivers remarkable flavor, it's also a small but powerful act that makes an impact on hunger each day. Join the movement by visiting Mightysparkfood.com, and follow Mighty Spark on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. SOURCE Mighty Spark MARIETTA, Ga., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MiMedx Group, Inc. (OTC PINK: MDXG) ("MiMedx" or "the Company"), an industry leader in advanced wound care and an emerging therapeutic biologics company, today announced that the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has concluded its independent investigation ("the Investigation") into matters relating to, among other things, allegations regarding certain sales and distribution practices at the Company. As announced on February 20, 2018, the Audit Committee retained King & Spalding LLP as counsel to assist the Audit Committee in conducting its Investigation. Once engaged, King & Spalding retained KPMG LLP to assist with the Investigation, which focused primarily on five key areas: the Company's revenue recognition practices, revenue management activities, actions taken against whistleblowers, tone set by former senior management and Anti-Kickback Statute and related allegations. The Investigation was conducted over the course of approximately 15 months during which the Audit Committee met 84 times. King & Spalding and KPMG reviewed over 1.5 million documents, including emails, text exchanges and other electronic and hard-copy records, and interviewed over 85 witnesses, many of them multiple times. In addition, the independent investigators reviewed significant amounts of data housed in the Company's accounting, customer relationship management, inventory and other systems. They also reviewed over 2,750 hours of video derived from a secret video surveillance system installed at the direction of Parker H. "Pete" Petit, the Company's former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, as well as telephonic recordings captured without the consent of all conversation participants. "The Audit Committee, with the assistance of outside independent counsel and advisors, has conducted a thorough investigation. The completion of this investigation is a significant milestone in our concerted efforts to position MiMedx for future success," said Charles R. Evans, Chairman of the MiMedx Board of Directors. "The investigation uncovered evidence of material wrongdoing on the part of the Company's prior senior management team. The Board continues to partner with management to ensure that MiMedx operates at the highest levels of ethics, transparency and compliance." The findings of the Investigation include: As previously announced, previously issued financial statements for the years 2012 through 2016, along with the previously issued unaudited financial statements included in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2017 , June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017 , would need to be restated; , and , would need to be restated; Mr. Petit, the Company's former Chief Operating Officer, William C. Taylor , the Company's former Chief Financial Officer, Michael J. Senken , and the Company's former Controller, John Cranston , were aware of the Company's course of dealing with its largest distributor, that this course of dealing was inconsistent with the explicit terms of the contract, and that, by at least early 2016, this course of dealing impacted the way in which the Company was recognizing revenue from this distributor, which was a key fact in the determination that the Company's revenue recognition was improper under GAAP; , the Company's former Chief Financial Officer, , and the Company's former Controller, , were aware of the Company's course of dealing with its largest distributor, that this course of dealing was inconsistent with the explicit terms of the contract, and that, by at least early 2016, this course of dealing impacted the way in which the Company was recognizing revenue from this distributor, which was a key fact in the determination that the Company's revenue recognition was improper under GAAP; Conduct that appears to have been designed to manipulate timing and recognition of revenue, including instances of shipping types and volumes of product not needed by the customer and recording revenue, typically near the end of a reporting period, and facilitating such sales through "side deals" that changed payment terms or permitted returns and exchanges in subsequent accounting periods; Messrs. Petit, Taylor, Senken and Cranston made material misstatements and omissions to key stakeholders, such as the Board, the Company's external auditors, and the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). At one point, Mr. Petit falsely testified under oath during a deposition when discussing the Company's largest distributor; Messrs. Petit and Taylor engaged in a pattern of taking action against employees who raised concerns about the Company's practices. Mr. Petit directed an internal investigation dubbed "Project Snow White" that sought to uncover wrongdoing committed by such employees, rather than the merits of their allegations. As part of this, a secret video surveillance system was installed to record interviews and employee discussions without their knowledge or consent. All this was done in an effort to discredit whistleblowers or find some wrongdoing to justify re-assignment, discipline or even termination; and Messrs. Petit and Taylor set an inappropriate "tone at the top" at MiMedx and emphasized short-term business goals over compliance and ethics, purposely took action to disregard revenue recognition rules under GAAP and manipulate the timing and recognition of revenue, acted against employees who raised concerns about the Company's practices and marginalized the Company's legal and accounting departments and advisors. The Investigation is now complete, subject to concluding one final interview related to the Company's course of dealing with a distributor and the Company's new independent auditor, when selected, confirming its satisfaction with the adequacy of the Investigation. In addition, since September 2018, the Audit Committee has devoted significant time to investigating, with the assistance of King & Spalding and KPMG, allegations that the Anti-Kickback Statute may have been violated by the Company in its relationships with various physicians, customers and distributors. Through this process, the Investigation has identified certain customer accounts that present potential compliance risks and warrant additional review. This additional work will be undertaken by Company counsel in consultation with management to determine the Company's legal risk, including whether any loss contingencies should be recognized or disclosed under GAAP. Based on the findings of the Investigation, the Board has taken decisive action on behalf of all MiMedx stakeholders over the past year. The Company has made substantial progress improving the overall business culture and has implemented plans to address internal control weaknesses, including: Dismissing members of the prior senior management team, including Messrs. Petit, Taylor, Senken, and Cranston, and ultimately determining their departures as terminations for cause; Appointing a new Interim Chief Financial Officer; Hiring a Chief Compliance Officer; Creating an Ethics and Compliance Committee at the Board level; Establishing a compliance department reporting to the Ethics and Compliance Committee; Hiring a Vice President of Internal Audit to develop an internal audit function; and Appointing a new Interim Chief Executive Officer and then appointing Timothy R. Wright as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Evans continued, "As a leader in the advanced wound care sector and an emerging therapeutic biologics company, the Company is focused on executing our long-range strategic plan and achieving ethical and sustainable growth in a renewed culture of compliance." A summary of the findings of the Investigation will be filed with the SEC today on a Form 8-K. About MiMedx MiMedx is an industry leader in advanced wound care and an emerging therapeutic biologics company developing and distributing human placental tissue allografts with patent-protected processes for multiple sectors of healthcare. The Company processes the human placental tissue utilizing its proprietary PURION process methodology, among other processes, to produce allografts by employing aseptic processing techniques in addition to terminal sterilization. MiMedx has supplied over 1.5 million allografts to date. For additional information, please visit www.mimedx.com. Contacts: Investors: Hilary Dixon Corporate & Investor Communications 770.651.9383 [email protected] Media: Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher Andy Brimmer / Jed Repko / Annabelle Rinehart 212.355.4449 SOURCE MiMedx Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.mimedx.com NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Moore Kuehn, PLLC, a securities law firm located on Wall Street in downtown New York City, is investigating potential claims for breach of fiduciary duty involving the directors and officers of HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). On March 19, 2019, HFF announced a proposed acquisition of the company by Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated ("JLL"). Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, HFF shareholders will receive 0.1505 shares of JLL stock and $24.63 in cash for every share of HFF they own. To convince HFF shareholders to vote in favor of the proposed merger, on April 29, 2019, HFF's Board issued a registration statement. According to a complaint filed in federal court the registration statement is materially misleading and/or materially incomplete concerning: (1) HFF's financial projections; (2) the financial analyses performed by HFF's financial advisor, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, in connection with its fairness opinion; and (3) the sales process leading up to the proposed transaction. As a result, HFF shareholders must be provided with this information in order to adequately assess and value the merger consideration. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin the shareholder vote on the proposed transaction until such information is disclosed. Moore Kuehn encourages shareholders of HFF to contact Justin Kuehn, Esq. by email at [email protected] or telephone at (212) 709-8245. There is no cost or obligation to you. Moore Kuehn is a New York-based law firm with attorneys representing investors and consumers in class action litigation involving securities law violations, financial fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties, and other claims. For additional information about Moore Kuehn, please go to http://www.moorekuehn.com/practice/new-york-securities-litigation/. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contacts: Moore Kuehn, PLLC Justin Kuehn, Esq. 30 Wall Street, 8th Floor New York, New York 10005 [email protected] (212) 709-8245 SOURCE Moore Kuehn, PLLC Related Links http://www.moorekuehn.com MIRI, Malaysia, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Community leaders from the Mulu area in Sarawak have questioned the anti-palm oil tour being led by the Swiss NGO, Bruno Manser Funds. The community leaders, including Pastor Lian Malang whose congregation is made up of villagers from the Mulu area, Philip Ube and Ayub Ngang who represent the Tering and Berawan tribes development committees, met with the Resident of Miri, Mastapha Julaihi to voice their grievances over the continued bad press for development in the area. From L to R: Ayub Ngang, Pastor Lian Malang, Datuk Gerawat Gala, Philip Ube Pastor Lian Malang had filed a police report against the NGO earlier in March and stated to local media that: "I lodged the report against the NGOs because they are allegedly stirring up trouble by instigating the protests against the plantation company. These NGOs do not represent the natives of Mulu. We community leaders represent the Mulu folk who want to see socio-economic development in Mulu that can benefit the people." The Bruno Manser Fund has paid the expenses for a few villagers from the Mulu area to travel around Europe to present an anti palm oil message that allege the Mulu National Park, a UNESCO heritage site, was being destroyed. The Sarawak Assistant Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, Datuk Len Taliff Salleh responded to the allegations in a press statement on Feb. 22, 2019, and said that the area licensed to the plantation, Radiant Lagoon, was not a threat to Mulu National Park. The Assistant Minister issued a follow-up statement on May 2, 2019, to declare that the areas approved for oil palm company, Radiant Lagoon Sdn Bhd did not encroach onto land gazetted for the Mulu National Park. Despite those assurances, the Bruno Manser Fund published a video on YouTube on May 7, 2019, declaring that the "Mulu National Park is heading towards an ecological disaster." Other community members have also questioned the information being distributed by the Bruno Manser Fund. In a press conference on March 22, 2019, Penghulu ( Village Chief ) Herbert Lawai stated: "We are representatives of the villages, taking our own initiative to explain to all parties to clear our name as the residents of the area. We, the original inhabitants of the Mulu and Long Terawan areas, have been embarrassed by the protest actions of Ukau Lupung's brother, which are beyond the customs of the villagers and the people on the ground. We ourselves gave advice to Ukau Lupung and Willie Kajan, and explained the effort and social responsibility of the company after the plantation is open such as giving oil palm seedling, cooperating with the company, taking employees from among villagers and so on." In frustration with the continued bad press from the Bruno Manser Fund campaign, the community leaders met for the third time with the Resident of Miri on May 16, 2019 and requested for action to be taken against the campaign. Pastor Lian Malang said at the meeting with the Resident, that the campaign was bringing shame to Malaysia in the eyes of the world. Together with Philip Ube and Ayub Ngang, Pastor Lian had a meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the state and Mulu Assemblyman, Datuk Gerawat Gala on May 20, 2019 where the bad press being created by the Bruno Manser Funds campaign was discussed. Following that meeting, Datuk Gerawat reiterated that there was no unlawful development in Mulu and that the Bruno Manser Fund did not represent the majority of the villagers. For more information, please contact Pastor Lian Malang through Whatsapp or call: +60178059991 Related Images mulu-community-leaders-with-datuk.jpg Mulu Community Leaders with Datuk Gerawat Gala From L to R: Ayub Ngang, Pastor Lian Malang, Datuk Gerawat Gala, Philip Ube Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVrC67wfts0 SOURCE Pastor Lian Malang WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Realtors is pleased to announce a new bilateral agreement with the Syndicat National des Professionnels Immobiliers (SNPI) (Real Estate Professionals Trade Union), a French institution with over 8,000 members, expanding its network of business partnerships around the world This signing is particularly important, marking a milestone for NAR Global and its partners as the 100th bilateral partnership in 85 countries. Bilateral agreements provide for the reciprocal exchange of education and training and a commitment to high standards of ethics and best practices. "It is important for NAR to expand outreach across the world and continue to render the global real estate markets accessible, profitable and ethical for Realtors everywhere. The announcement of the 100th bilateral partnership symbolizes the success of NAR's global programs and showcases how these alliances help Realtors establish worldwide business partnerships and referral opportunities," said NAR President John Smaby, a second-generation Realtor from Edina, Minnesota and broker at Edina Realty. NAR has maintained formal bilateral partnerships since the 1930s, with Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the Philippines as its original partners. Between 1970 and 2015, NAR established 78 new partnerships throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, creating the largest professional real estate network on earth. An additional 22 partnerships have been signed since 2015, thus maintaining the largest network for global bilateral partners and international Realtor members. Foreign investment in the U.S. continues to remain high, with $250B in assets accounting for close to 10% of the total U.S. market, helping NAR's members become more successful in the lucrative global real estate markets. Providing educational opportunities and best practices to NAR's bilateral partners through individual membership opportunities raises the level of professionalism in the real estate field throughout the world. By helping implement leading practices and strategies into global markets, including basic advocacy, licensing standardization, MLS and property platforms, among other initiatives, enables real estate markets around the world become stronger and create more transparency for consumers. The National Association of Realtors is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Information about NAR is available at www.nar.realtor. This and other news releases are posted in the newsroom under the "About NAR" tab. SOURCE National Association of Realtors Related Links http://www.realtor.org WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA returns to Mars, Pennsylvania Friday, May 31 to celebrate Mars exploration and share the agency's excitement about landing astronauts on the Moon in five years. Returning to the Moon with NASA's Artemis program will play an important role in preparing for future crewed missions to the Red Planet. At the invitation of the borough of Mars, NASA will provide exhibits, activities and speakers Friday through Sunday, June 2. To kick off the Martian extravaganza, media are invited to join NASA and local officials for opening remarks and a question-and-answer session at 5 p.m. EDT Friday in front of the town's flying saucer sculpture, located at 100 Pittsburgh Street. Participants include: Honorable Gregg Hartung , mayor of Mars , mayor of Douglas Terrier, NASA chief technologist Missy Gralish , spokesperson for Mars Exploration Celebration event Terrier will be available for interviews from 11:30 a.m. to noon Saturday to talk about NASA's Moon to Mars plans, as well as how technology developed for space exploration often finds other purposes here on Earth including in Mars, Pennsylvania. Media should contact Clare Skelly at 202-358-4273 or [email protected] to attend the media availability on Friday and reserve a one-on-one interview with Terrier on Saturday. This is NASA's third time participating in the Mars celebration with science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) activities. Through events like this, the agency aims to inspire the next generation of explorers to pursue careers in these fields and join NASA's mission to the Moon and Mars. Highlights this year include: A half-scale model of NASA's InSight lander, the most recent mission to land on Mars A mini robotic rover named ROV-E, used to engage students in STEAM An augmented reality experience of Gale Crater , created with real data from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover , created with real data from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover A model of NASA's Mars Helicopter, a vehicle that will accompany the next rover when it lands on the Red Planet in 2020 A "make your own quake" jump station For a complete list of activities planned for the Mars Exploration Celebration in Pennsylvania, visit: http://www.marsnewyear.com For more information about NASA's Artemis program, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/moon2mars/#artemis SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov WASHINGTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) is promoting the economic viability of the hemp industry, providing leadership consistent with sustainable agriculture and stewardship of natural resources, and creating and furthering market opportunities for the North American hemp industry. NIHC is also focusing on the consumers' right-to-know through truth in labelling and on their right to be safe. The nationally recognized law firm of Beveridge and Diamond is a founding corporate sponsor. NIHC is organized as a business association under IRS tax law 501(c)(6). Its goal is to provide quality networking and information-sharing meetings along with digital resources for members from farmers to consumers. NIHC will be the global advocate for North American industrial hemp, promoting trade in hemp and its products, improving the regulatory framework, and smoothing the path for hemp to be the newest agricultural commodity. NIHC's main goal is to create partnerships amongst individuals, associations, companies and affiliated businesses to foster seamless networks throughout the supply chain to provide: Increased hemp market-share Strategies for improved hemp product performance Sales-building expertise to CBD producers, mills, manufacturers and retailers globally A regulatory framework domestically and internationally that provides the seamless and legal commerce of industrial hemp Safe and sustainable consumer products The NIHC membership is comprised of farmers, manufacturers, financers, supply chain logistics and retailers. NIHC is currently accepting membership applications from those interested in or those already active in the hemp business, including but not limited to financial institutions, startups and affiliated groups such as law firms and insurance companies. NIHC is the only national level representative focused exclusively on hemp. It does not represent marijuana interests. An inaugural meeting, the 2019 Hemp Business Summit, will be held August 12-13, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NIHC is excited to have Kate Greenberg, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture as keynote speaker. Bill Hawks, former U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs and current NIHC board member, said, "I am excited to be with an organization that will be the tip of the spear in Washington, D.C. to create a more cooperative and collaborative environment atmosphere with regulators and legislators for the hemp industry and all who have a financial interest in an environmentally sustainable industry." The founding members of the NIHC are: (see hempindustrial.com) SOURCE National Industrial Hemp Council TAMPA, Fla., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a year of new records for the 2019 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) with attendance of nearly 13,000 for a non-demonstration year and the most-ever number of exhibitors at 440, said officials of the four-day, Tampa, Florida-based event. There were 12,888 attendees from 39 countries registered for SOFIC, the annual conference of businesses and government that work with Special Operations Forces. U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and the National Defense Industrial Association of Arlington, Virginia, cohosted the event. The attendee record is noteworthy as this year did not include the Capabilities Exercise, which usually features special operators from about 75 countries demonstrating the military might that goes into their every-day work. "2019 SOFIC was a great year for setting the bar for innovation, small business and connecting USSOCOM industry and the entire SOF community," said Christine Klein, senior vice president of meetings and business partnerships for the National Defense Industrial Association. The record 440 exhibitors brought to the show a worldwide range of offerings, from the largest of defense contractors and aerospace companies to upstarts and small businesses to nonprofit groups that support these unique warfighters. Exhibitors, high-level USSOCOM speakers and many events geared specifically for networking and presentation to government buyers gave attendees the best atmosphere to meet and seek to do business with each other and new partners. "SOFIC 2019 was an important opportunity for U.K. companies to promote their capabilities," said Adam Thomas, spokesman for the United Kingdom's Department for International Trade's Defence and Security Organisation. "It was also an excellent opportunity for business-to-business engagement and to understand the future requirements of USSOCOM." The 2019 SOFIC was May 20-23 at the Tampa Convention Center. The next SOFIC features the return of the Capabilities Exercise and is set for May 11-14, 2020, in Tampa. SOFIC: www.SOFIC.org USSOCOM: www.socom.mil National Defense Industrial Association: www.NDIA.org SOURCE National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Related Links http://www.ndia.org Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally, affecting 64.3 million people worldwide. This disease is associated with aging, and so global numbers are rising rapidly as populations grow older. Highly effective treatments, including eye drops, laser and incisional surgery are proven to greatly reduce the risk of blindness. However, treatment must be administered early, and only around 10 per cent of those needing such treatment receive it in middle-income countries such as China. Dr Jianjun Tang from the Centre of Public Health at Queen's University Belfast, explains: "The research findings suggest that a national glaucoma screening programme in China could save the government money in the long-term, as it would reduce the demands on resources for the large population who would otherwise suffer completely avoidable loss of sight." Glaucoma is nearly always asymptomatic in its early stages, meaning that few patients present early when treatment is most effective, especially in low-resource areas, unless screening programs are carried out. But such screening has not been considered cost effective, until now, partly because of the greater expense of outreach efforts and lower risk of eventual blindness in rich countries, where nearly all previous studies have been done. Given the disproportionate number of people affected by glaucoma in China - one third of those with glaucoma blindness worldwide - researchers at Queen's University Belfast set out to assess the cost-effectiveness of glaucoma screening programmes there. The research, published in Lancet Global Health, provides a clear evidence that glaucoma screening in both rural and urban settings in China can save money while preventing blindness. The study found that nearly three million years of blindness could be avoided across China's population of 434 million people aged 50 and over through the implementation of a screening programme in both rural and urban settings. The research also highlighted the improved quality of life expected among those who received an early diagnosis. Professor Nathan Congdon from Queen's University Belfast and Director of Research at Orbis International, said: "This paper has the potential to be a game-changer for Orbis and our partners and beneficiaries world-wide. It fundamentally alters the way we all think about this disease, from a passive approach of waiting for patients to seek care, often too late, to actively reaching out into the community, catching glaucoma before blindness occurs." Dr Tang added: "Our research illustrates that a national screening programme in China is a win-win scenario for both patients and the government, and we hope that this research will inform future healthcare policies." This novel study, with its unexpected result, is a potential game-changer for management of glaucoma in low-resource areas globally. The research was a collaboration between Queen's University Belfast, Wenzhou Medical University, Renmin University of China and Orbis International. 1. Media enquiries to [email protected] or +44 28 9097 5292.or to [email protected] +1 917 238 2322 2. Professor Nathan Congdon and Dr Jianjun Tang are available for interview. Interview bids to [email protected] or +44 28 9097 5292 or [email protected] or +1 917 238 2322. 3. Full paper available at http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(19)30201-3/fulltext . Full pdf of paper available upon request. SOURCE Orbis International Related Links https://www.orbis.org/en BOSTON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SilverCloud Health, the global leader in digital health/therapeutics for mental, emotional, and behavioral health, announced today that they are partnering with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences to roll out SilverCloud's digital therapeutic programs for anxiety and depression. Ontario Shores will offer patients access to SilverCloud's evidence-based digital mental health programs as an outpatient treatment option for adolescent, adult, and geriatric populations with mild to moderate anxiety and mood disorders. Ontario Shores provides specialized assessment and treatment services to those living with complex and serious mental illness. Adding SilverCloud's electronic cognitive behavioral therapy (eCBT) programs is part of the organization's strategic stepped care model, enabling the institution to expand the breadth and reach of patient services. "Today's resource demands on the mental health system are massive, which is why Ontario Shores is always seeking opportunities to leverage digital health solutions to augment our in-person services and extend our hospital's treatment capabilities," said Karim Mamdani, president and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Services. "SilverCloud Health enables our organization to deliver the highest standards of eCBT through a safe and evidence-based approach where successful outcomes are achieved using best clinical practices and the latest advances in research." Through this partnership, the two organizations demonstrate a commitment to providing access to high-quality mental healthcare resources. SilverCloud is an ideal partner for Ontario Shores as its platform and services enable providers to deliver an effective and scalable healthcare model. The company offers the world's largest content library of 30+ clinically validated online programs, and 65% of SilverCloud users show a clinically significant reduction in symptom scores. "Ontario Shores is renowned for taking a forward-thinking approach to leveraging technology tools to enhance access to services for those struggling with mental health issues," said Ken Cahill, CEO of SilverCloud Health. "We are thrilled to enter a strategic collaboration with the hospital, increasing access and opportunities by bringing SilverCloud Health's anxiety and depression treatment programs to their patient population when and where care is needed most." SilverCloud's programs remove the barriers that prevent patients from accessing mental health services, such as a cost, lack of access to clinicians and stigma concerns. By offering innovative digital health programs, SilverCloud is positioned to reduce cost and improve patient outcomes for Ontario Shores, as it has done for more than 250 organizations globally. About Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) is a leader in mental health care, providing a range of specialized assessment and treatment services for people living with complex mental illness. Patients benefit from a recovery-oriented environment of care, built on compassion, inspiration and hope. Ontario Shores engages in research, education and advocacy initiatives to advance the mental health care system. About SilverCloud Health SilverCloud Health is the world's leading digital mental health company, enabling healthcare organizations to deliver clinically validated digital health/therapeutic care that improves outcomes, increases access and scale while reducing costs. The company's multi-award-winning digital mental health platform is a result of over 16 years of clinical research with leading academic institutions. Today, SilverCloud is being used by over 250 organizations globally to meet their populations' mental health needs. Global experts have deeply validated the platform through full randomized control trials and real-world data from over 250,000 SilverCloud end users. The platform continues to lead the industry with its effectiveness, engagement, and range of clinical programs that encompass the spectrum of mental health needs. SOURCE SilverCloud Health Related Links http://silvercloudhealth.com NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Amex Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: AMX ;OTCQX: AMXEF), a junior mining exploration company, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Amex Exploration begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "AMXEF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com. "We are pleased to welcome Amex Exploration to the OTCQX Best Market," said Jason Paltrowitz, EVP of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. "OTCQX companies must meet high financial standards, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction. We look forward to supporting Amex Exploration as the company seeks to build visibility among U.S. investors." "Trading on the OTCQX Market is an important milestone as it provides US investors with a pathway to invest and participate in the Amex Exploration story," commented Victor Cantore, President and CEO of Amex Exploration. "We recently made an important super high-grade gold discovery in the Quebec, Canada, reporting gold values rarely seen in Quebec. Our project is located just 1 hour north of Rouyn, a major mining camp and is year-round accessible. Exploration drilling is expected to continue throughout the year providing for ample news flow on this important new gold discovery." J.P. Galda & Co. acted as the company's OTCQX sponsor. About Amex Exploration Inc. Amex Exploration Inc. is a junior mining exploration company, the primary objective of which is to acquire, explore, and develop viable gold projects in the mining-friendly jurisdictions on Quebec and Ontario. Amex has multiple highly prospective projects: the 100% owned Perron gold project located 110 kilometres north of Rouyn Noranda, Quebec, consisting of 116 adjacent claims covering 4,518 hectares. Perron is the flag ship asset of the Company and a 25,000 metre drill program was recently announced for the 2019 year. In addition, the Company holds the 100% owned Eastmain River gold properties consisting of 135 claims covering 7,102 hectares and the 100% owned Cameron project located in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec, comprising 263 claims covering 14,743 hectares. In addition, Amex has an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Gowan Property located near the Kidd Creek Mine. For further information please contact: Victor Cantore President and Chief Executive Officer Amex Exploration: 514-866-8209 About OTC Markets Group Inc. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com. OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed Media Contact: OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected] SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc. Related Links http://www.otcmarkets.com Whether guests enjoy their Famous Italian Beef dry, with extra gravy or dipped; as a regular Italian Beef or Big Beef; with sweet peppers or hot peppers; take it cheesy on a flakey, buttery croissant; or as a combo with char-grilled sausage, Portillo's is celebrating all flavors, sizes and combinations. "Every year, we look forward to celebrating two major food holidays and one of those is National Italian Beef Week," said Michael Osanloo, CEO of Portillo's. "Famously known for being slow-roasted for four hours, thinly sliced and served on freshly baked French bread, there is no better way to commemorate Chicago's favorite, homemade Italian Beef." As a limited time offer, guests in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Champaign, Normal and Peoria can purchase two regular Italian Beef sandwiches for $10 from May 25 June 2 available in-restaurant or for online ordering at portillos.com. This offer is not available or valid at all other Illinois restaurant locations. Peppers and cheese not included but can be added for an additional charge. Valid on regular Italian beef sandwiches only. Not valid on Big Beef, Beef-N-Cheddar Croissant, Combo Sandwiches, or Fast Packs. While supplies last. Not valid on catering orders. No substitutions. Valid only 5/25/19 through 6/02/19. Additional restrictions may apply. Delivery is available online at portillos.com and via the Portillo's app that is available for download on iTunes or Android. For more information on Portillo's, please visit www.portillos.com. ABOUT PORTILLO'S: In 1963, Dick Portillo invested $1,100 into a small trailer to open the first Portillo's hot dog stand in Villa Park, IL, which he called "The Dog House." Years later, Portillo's has grown to include restaurants in more than 50 locations across several states. Portillo's is best known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, fresh salads and famous chocolate cake. The Portillo's brand also includes Barnelli's restaurants that serve award-winning ribs, pastas with homemade sauces, and fresh sandwiches, soups, and salads. Portillo's ships food to all 50 states via Portillos.com. SOURCE Portillo's Hot Dogs, LLC Related Links https://www.portillos.com NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate, Eric Swalwell is launching a crypto donations campaign. This is particularly important as nearly 40% of millenials have owned Bitcoin Eric Swallwell for President 2020 Expert Oversight and Groundbreaking Blockchain Technology by the White Company "Blockchain can change the world, if we let it. So much of our public life now exists online, and there's no reason to believe we can't extend this further into our democracy and our economy from exercising our right to vote, to how we look at cryptocurrency," Swalwell said. "The White Company, founded by female entrepreneur Elizabeth White, is helping lead the way into that new, better, secure future. Our government and politics must keep up with the times, and the times have changed; we must study but ultimately embrace these new frontiers so that our nation never grows obsolete." Obama' fundraising benefited heavily from social media technology and Swalwell will benefit from blockchain technology. "Politicians embraced social media and crowdfunding after Obama's success, we expect most if not all candidates will start using blockchain solutions soon." White said, "By enabling crypto donations, Swalwell not only makes it easier for them to support his campaign but also shows how he values the democratization of financial services to everyone, not just the wealthy." "The powerfully transformative potential of blockchain is something that most voters under the age of 35 recognize," says political consultant Ron Baldwin, of Baldwin Strategies. "That cohort expects candidates and government officials to understand that fact." Donate here: www.ericswalwell.com/Blockchain About Rep Swalwell: Eric Swalwell, 38, announced his candidacy for President of the United States on April 8. He is a fourth-term Member of Congress from California's Bay Area who serves on the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees; co-chairs the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee; and is founder and chairman emeritus of Future Forum, a group of House Democrats that listens to and acts upon the needs of millennial Americans. He has been tech savvy from the start, from proposing the Members Operating to Be Innovative and Link Everyone (MOBILE) Resolution to let House Members participate virtually in committee hearings and vote remotely on suspension bills, to The Hill crowning him as "The Snapchat King of Congress" in 2016. About The White Company:Founded in 2017, The White Company is using blockchain technology to connect the world of global payments and financial transactions. It is unique in the industry as it offers a complete solutions package combing stablecoins, a fiat on/off ramp, a cryptocurrency exchange, wallet, merchant processing product and a Visa or MasterCard prepaid option in 10 currencies. The White Company has exchanged over $300 million USD of cryptocurrency into real world goods with over 100,000 clients across the globe. Media contact: Rodney Goedhart [email protected] 1-619-940-1412 SOURCE The White Company and Swalwell for America SEATTLE, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Propeller Airports is pleased to announce its recognition in Monocle's annual Travel Top 50 Awards, which this month named Paine Field's Passenger Terminal the World's Best Regional Airport. Paine Field is recognized alongside leading global travel brands like Cathay Pacific, Park Hyatt, Lufthansa, and boutique travel experiences from every corner of the world. Paine Field is entering its third month of service and represents a new concept for American air travel: it was privately financed, designed and built, and operates under a public-private partnership between Propeller and Snohomish County, Washington. This type of partnership model has seen tremendous success for airports abroad, and Paine Field is demonstrating that the model can be successfully replicated here in the United States. "With Paine Field, we've proven that privately financed airports can yield revenue for governments, save valuable taxpayer dollars and provide meaningful economic impact while delivering a high quality and enjoyable experience to travelers," said Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller Airports. "We're proud to offer an unparalleled airport experience for Seattle-area residents and to provide a level of service and comfort that is winning over passengers and leading travel and design influencers like Monocle." The innovative model and size of Paine Field allows for a higher quality of comfort and service than the business-as-usual approach at larger airports. Paine Field focuses on the customer experience with unique amenities and services like full-time concierge services and valet parking and a more relaxing experience for passengers with higher quality finishes and detailing, spacious and comfortable lounge areas, high-speed internet, accessible power outlets at every seat and intuitive wayfinding. Over one hundred and fifty thousand passengers have passed through Paine Field since Alaska and United Airlines began commercial service from the terminal in March, with 24 daily flights to nine destinations. About Propeller Airports Based in Everett, WA, Propeller identifies untapped potential for commercial air travel by working with local communities and government to maximize airport assets. Propeller Airports is focused on opportunities to invest, develop and manage both general aviation and commercial service airports through-out the U.S. For more information please visit: www.flypainefield.com. About MONOCLE Launched in 2007, MONOCLE is a premium media brand offering high-quality editorial content across its magazine, web and broadcast divisions. Led by editor in chief Tyler Brule, it is the leading edit on global affairs, business, culture and design. The magazine is published 10 times a year and distributed in more than 65 markets. For more information please visit: www.monocle.com. SOURCE Propeller Airports HERON ISLAND, Australia, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- From 27 May - 18 June, riders can experience this incredible underwater world exclusively through the Uber app. scUber will showcase the world's largest living structure as a biodiverse playground, rich in marine life and offering remarkable underwater experiences. The launch will support the ongoing protection and conservation of the world's largest coral reef system through Uber's partnership with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef . Queensland, Australia, in partnership with Uber, today announces the launch of scUber( http://www.scuberqueensland.com/), the world's first rideshare submarine experience, coming to the Great Barrier Reef on Monday 27 May. This once-in-a-lifetime experience will offer riders an unfiltered lens to Australia's underwater icon. From 27 May, scUber will be available for a limited number of riders to request through the Uber app and riders will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the exquisite beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. Tourism and Events Queensland's Chief Executive Officer, Leanne Coddington, commented: "In late 2018, consumer research identified that exploring the Great Barrier Reef in a submarine was the most desired future travel experience sought by visitors. scUber makes this wish a reality and reaffirms Queensland tourism's commitment to providing locals and visitors alike with truly remarkable ways to explore nature's wonderland. "We're thrilled to partner with Uber to showcase the beauty of the reef through this innovative experience. The scUber experience will be available starting on Heron Island, off the coast of Gladstone in the Southern Great Barrier Reef region from May 27, before moving to the coast of Port Douglas in Cairns & the Great Barrier Reef region from June 9. The scUber experience will cost $3,000AUD for two riders and includes: Pickup and drop off from your location with the Uber app; Scenic helicopter ride to either Heron Island (for riders requesting from Gladstone) or the Quicksilver Cruises pontoon off the coast of Port Douglas (for riders requesting from Cairns, Port Douglas and Palm Cove); One hour ride in a scUber submarine; A half day snorkel and tour of the Great Barrier Reef . Please see here(https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6ff8zdshk2prcwh/AACxP4IFhLIAJzR5R6Xq_7h9a?dl=0) a suite of assets for usage, along with details of spokespeople. For more information on scUber, the consumer competition and partnership between Queensland and Uber, visit: www.scUberQueensland.com. SOURCE Tourism Events Queensland & Uber CHICAGO, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of financial literacy month, Rapunzl Investments, a social investing platform for iOS and Android that tackles financial education in underserved communities across the country, hosted in April 2019 a simulated investment competition at 11 New England Small Colleges. The competition offered $10,000 in prizes, sponsored by Fidelity Investments. This commitment is part of a broader initiative by Fidelity to promote financial literacy and represents Rapunzl's first collegiate competition. One-hundred-twenty-four students from Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University and Williams College participated in a simulated investment competition where each student received $10,000 in simulated funds and the ability to trade in real time against their peers. Hamilton College won $2,500 for having a school performance of 4.62 percent, which was determined by aggregating all of Hamilton's students' portfolios. The top overall student, Stuart Read, Class of 2021, from Williams College received $2,500 for a portfolio which earned 13.5 percent by primarily investing in oil and natural gas ETFs. The first-place winners at the other nine participating colleges won $500. GAMIFICATION ON FREE MOBILE APP PROVIDES EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Rapunzl gamifies the stock market with simulated stock competitions on a free mobile app which offers students a chance to learn by doing. Students simulate $10,000 portfolios and learn by following their peers' trades in real time in order to win scholarships by having the top-performing portfolio. Rapunzl also provides teacher training, curriculum consulting and scholarship competitions in a constant effort to combat our nation's financial illiteracy crisis. Stephanie Hockman, program director for careers in business and finance and the Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning at Amherst College, stated, "The Rapunzl platform is a fantastic opportunity for students to broaden their understanding of the financial markets and gain necessary experiential learning that will enhance their professional and personal lives. As liberal arts students are increasing their presence in financial institutions, these competitions are a great way for students to apply what they are learning in and out of the classroom to better understand how their knowledge can apply in a 'real world' application." "Our collaboration with Rapunzl furthers Fidelity's commitment to financial literacy and engages and exposes liberal arts students to the possibility of a career in financial services either as an intern or after they graduate," said Kurt Heissenbuttel, head of university talent at Fidelity. "Rapunzl uses the stock market as a portal to view the world," explained Rapunzl co-founder Myles Gage. "It allows students to adopt a financial lens and to think critically about the world around them. These opportunities are critical as students prepare to apply their education in the real world. Understanding the stock market is more important than knowing how to invest: it connects us to current events and empowers individuals to live more informed lives and achieve success in their careers." In 2018, Rapunzl offered similar simulated investment competitions for Chicago high school students. They attracted over 6,500 students from 60 high schools across the city. Of the students who participated, 85 percent were low-income and 81 percent African American or Hispanic. "Despite a majority of the students having little to no prior investing experience, the program was a huge success as students gravitated to the platform," added Gage. This engagement attracted the attention of Arne Duncan, the former U.S. Secretary of Education, who stated: "Our country needs more innovative approaches like Rapunzl that aim to tackle financial illiteracy and close the achievement gap." ABOUT RAPUNZL INVESTMENTS Rapunzl Investments hosts a free, social investing platform for iOS and Android that tackles financial education in underserved communities across the country. After an inaugural investment competition in April 2018 with the support of Ariel Investments and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Rapunzl has grown their impact to over 7,000 students in Chicago, Los Angeles and the NESCAC colleges. Rapunzl distributed over $75,000 in scholarship prizes and has trained over a dozen Chicago teachers to increase financial efficacy. The company was founded by Myles Gage and Brian Curcio, Chicago natives who met in high school on the Southside of Chicago and recognized the disparity of opportunity in their own city. To request additional quotes or specific media collateral, contact [email protected] or visit www.rapunzlinvestments.com/press. MEDIA CONTACT: Impact Communications Inc. [email protected] 913-649-5009 Related Images rapunzl-hosts-college-investment.png Rapunzl Hosts College Investment Competition Sponsored By Fidelity Investments Simulated Stock Competition was Hosted at 11 New England Colleges for $10,000 in Prizes SOURCE Rapunzl Investments Related Links http://www.rapunzlinvestments.com "As our client base continues to grow, we are fortunate to attract talented attorneys like Beth to ensure that we consistently deliver the outstanding service our clients expect. Her depth and breadth of experience will lend critical support to our robust and growing Private Funds Practice," Scott Museles , chair of Shulman Rogers' Business and Financial Services Department, said. For more than 20 years, Beth has been providing superior legal guidance to the financial services industry, advising clients with respect to a wide range of transactions, including fund formation, partnerships, joint ventures, contract negotiation, financing and merger and acquisition activity, as well as with regulatory compliance issues. She will use her significant experience serving large institutional clients at an international law firm to support a middle market audience of investors. "I am inspired by the entrepreneurship and innovative spirit of the private funds, startup clients and emerging growth companies that Shulman Rogers attracts. I look forward to helping these clients maximize their opportunities while mitigating risk," Beth said. About Shulman Rogers Shulman Rogers is one of the largest law firms in the Washington Metropolitan area, offering clients a full range of business and personal legal services. The firm's experienced attorneys provide sophisticated, comprehensive counsel for clients, including real estate, corporate, intellectual property, startup, regulatory, immigration and employment law services. Additional information on Shulman Rogers and its practice areas is available at ShulmanRogers.com. SOURCE Shulman Rogers Related Links http://www.shulmanrogers.com Mt. San Jacinto Natural History Association has kicked off their 2019 Summer Season with free classes and field education series in partnership with Mt. San Jacinto State Park & Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Classes run June 16 October 19, 2019 and include activities such as hikes, talks and workshops. Reservations are required three days prior to the event. Weekend tram service begins at 8:00 am. After the sun sets, take a red-jeep tour with Desert Adventures. Star gaze on their Night Watch Tour of the San Andreas Fault or see the magical colors of the desert on a Sunset Tour. For a closer look at the stars through a state-of-the-art telescope, take a Sky Watcher Star Tour and experience the wonders of the night sky. Experienced guides weave together the myths and legends behind each constellation, combining breathtaking views and awe-inspiring astronomy with the heroes, lovers, and tragic figures from cultures around the world. For some cool museums, visit the Air Museum holding the largest collection of working WWII planes in the U.S. For art and design, the Art Museum's summer exhibit showcases perspectives of the California desert while the Architecture and Design Museum highlights those who have turned Palm Springs into an architectural paradise, currently featuring local architect Hugh Kaptur. Cool down in the afternoon with a gourmet shake or malt. Try the splurge worthy delights of Great Shakes, Kreem, Lappert's Ice Cream, or Gelato Granucci all offering choices, choices, choices. Then take a splash in the pool and get those feet wet. Now doesn't that feel good! About Palm Springs, California Palm Springs is welcoming visitors to its dynamic downtown with stylish hotels, creative cuisine and chic shops combined with welcoming public spaces. With year round sunny weather and stunning scenery, Palm Springs exudes a welcoming vibe to visitors from around the globe. www.VisitPalmSprings.com. SOURCE Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism Related Links https://www.visitpalmsprings.com "We are so grateful for the generous support of the Investors Bank Foundation, and we are amazed that our program was so honored," says John W. Kennedy, Ph.D., CEO of NJMEP and Co-Founder of the Team Eagle Foundation. "The Investors Foundation grant will have a direct impact on mentoring young adults and will afford an additional 10 individuals an opportunity to discover and consider career possibilities while developing leadership skills." John W. Kennedy and Dennis Kohl, Scout Executive, Patriots Path Council, BSA have long worked together on various youth programs and events. Approximately a decade ago, it became apparent to them that there were many young adults they met with who had not been exposed to various educational or vocational career pathways and were making life choices based on social trends and current family situations rather than potential opportunities. The Team Eagle Foundation was established so that young adults could be afforded a chance to explore and discuss life and educational options that they were not currently being exposed to. The goal was, and is, to lend a hand to these young adults as they develop themselves through different career options and public service while building new friendships and experiencing adventures of a lifetime. The participants of the LEDR Program are exposed to key values including integrity and ethics, leadership modules, the opportunity to evaluate their individual self (confidence, assurance and awareness), the role of 'community' in everyday life, and cultural and educational diversity. The overall goal of the Team Eagle Foundation is to provide these learning opportunities and programs at 'no cost' to the participants and their families. Completing its eighth year of operation, the program focuses on Post-Secondary Education, Government, Service, Business & STEM. The program accepts statewide nominations for those NJ Residents between 15 to 20 years of age, male & female that attend at no-cost and now has 301 Alumni from 19 out of 21 NJ Counties. All Alumni, Staff, Boy & Girl Scouts that have supported the program can apply annually for Scholarships that honor Bob Beaman a long-time Boy Scout Volunteer and a LEDR Founding Board Member -and Tony DeSantis, SVP at NJMEP and a leading advocate for Military Veterans (both) who passed away in 2015. NJMEP supports this endeavor through its Manufacturing Cares initiative, which is a charitable platform for NJ Manufacturers to give back to the communities they serve. About NJMEP: NJMEP is a private, notfor-profit organization that improves the profitability and competitiveness of New Jersey's manufacturers. Backed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NJMEP enables organizations to enhance their productivity and efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve employee performance. For more than 20 years, NJMEP has used its extensive network of connections and proven track record of success to help manufacturers adapt to the latest innovative technologies and best practices to realize more than $3.8 billion in value. Our services are categorized into the following three areas: Operational Excellence, Innovation and Growth Strategies, and Workforce Development. NJMEP also has a signature philanthropic program, Manufacturing Cares, which is designed to provide a platform for manufacturers to give back to the community by pooling efforts to increase our impact. For more information, please visit https://www.njmep.org or http://www.tef-ledr.org/. About Investors Bank: Investors Bank, headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, is a full-service community bank that has been serving customers since 1926. With over $25 billion in assets and a network of more than 150 retail branches, Investors Bank delivers personalized services and products tailored to the needs of its customers. Investors Bank's services include complete deposit, loan and cash management products for consumers and businesses. Investors Bank. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. About the Investors Foundation: Investors Bank created the Investors Foundation in 2005 to support the communities Investors Bank serves. Investors Foundation supports initiatives in the arts, youth development, health and human services, education and affordable housing. Investors Foundation works to improve the lives of its customers and neighbors. For more information, please visit https://www.myinvestorsbank.com/Community/Investors-Foundation SOURCE New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program Related Links https://www.njmep.org At the 23rd GILF, 8 venues saw 295,000 visits from buyers from 91 countries and regions around the world. The main venue, Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, saw 54,134 professional visitors, including 2,736 overseas buyers. According to a survey, 96% of the visitors expressed satisfaction and said they would visit the fair again. This year, GILF has six highlights for the 24th edition. Highlight 1: 100 billion yuan industry + 2,000 exhibitors -- Based on a 100 billion yuan industrial cluster, over 2,000 exhibitors cover the mark chain of the entire lighting industry. After over 30 years of development, Guzhen is now accounting for over 70% of the domestic lighting market. GILF creates a favorable place for original design, relying on a 100 billion yuan lighting production in Guzhen. Over 2,000 high-quality suppliers participate in the fair. Highlight 2: 8 venues + 1.5 million square meters -- Innovative linkage between exhibition and megastores is deepened. Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center brings together 800 well-known companies to display industrial trends, smart residential lighting, and different design styles covering the entire lighting industry. Joining hands with 7 megastores, the overall exhibition space is over 1.5 million sqm. Highlight 3: 38,000 exhibitors + 130 countries -- GILF relies on Guzhen - original source of lighting to create Hosted Buyer Program. At present, Guzhen has 38,000 industrial and commercial lighting enterprises, 7,739 lighting merchants, and dozens of professional malls with a 3,000,000+ sqm sales area. This year's fair will select excellent overseas buyers from over 100 countries and regions to participate in Hosted Buyer Program, which covers buyer matching meetings, cocktail party, and guided tours, allowing for accurate and efficient matchmaking. Highlight 4: Main Venue's 5 halls + over 800 exhibitors -- Trendsetting smart lighting opens a new sector in the industry Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center covers eleven exhibition sections in 5 halls. This fair scales up the "Smart Lighting" section at Hall A, aiding companies in speeding up innovation in the Intelligence Era. A special lamp exhibition area is added, providing targeted engineering lamps with a wide variety of functionality. The manufacturing area covers machines & processing, material, accessories and parts, pushing forward automation and customization. Highlight 5: 20 sessions + free 100 yuan ticket -- 20+ high-end forums and a free 100 yuan ticket for pre-registration This year's fair will host 20+ high-end events and forums, enabling industry personnel to better understand the lighting industry. The pre-registration system is already live. Buyers can pre-register through the official website, WeChat official account and other means for a free 100 yuan ticket. Pre-registered venue-goers will also gain access to the exclusive VIP channel. Highlight 6: 365 days + over 20,000 pieces -- Further improving the integration of exhibition networks for online and offline procurement GILF's B2B official website "Denggle.com" hosts a 365-day-a-year online lighting fair, gathering over 2,800 well-known lighting companies at home and abroad to provide 30,000+ quality products. Buyers can use the online exhibitor inquiry system to easily find matching exhibitors. GILF continues to create more business opportunities for the lighting sector. From October 22-26, 2019, meet at the 24th GILF (autumn) in Guzhen! Contact: Karmen.Wu Tel: +760-2235 3188 Website: www.denggle.com Facebook: @guzhenlightingfair E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair Related Links http://www.denggle.com NEW YORK, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-disciplinary organizations roadblocked by confirmation bias in their decision-making may consider a more scientific method of finding clarity. FischerJordan, a cross-functional management consulting firm, is bringing a field-tested approach to client problem-solving through a framework inspired by the scientific process. FischerJordan is the post-merger identity of Khiron Advisors and Fischer Jordan LLC, representing the fusion of two specific and developed perspectives in Strategy, Analytics, and Technology. This merger brought a single source of expertise to companies seeking a more comprehensive approach to their growth, profitability and technology strategy. The emergence of a more general problem-solving framework is their latest step toward attaining uncommon clarity for their clients. "Now that we have three powerful practice areas available to deploy, we have focused on creating a unified framework that ties these areas together into one consistent cross-functional approach," comments Partner Boaz Salik. "We are excited to offer a more standardized approach to our process of client value delivery." This approach began with FischerJordan's observation of confirmation bias entering and skewing the organizational decision-making process. "The scientific method, properly applied, helps to reduce confirmation bias due to the emphasis on decisions reached by experiment in response to a falsifiable hypothesis," adds Partner Neet Shah. More than just an intellectual abstraction, the framework has been rigorously field-tested with consistent positive results in numerous client situations. It draws from the problem-solving approaches utilized in other domains, most predominantly science and engineering. The approach is detailed further in their latest white paper, "A Scientific Approach to Cross-Functional Problem Solving." With a primary focus on making complex systems more manageable, the firm tailors its engagement model to the client's needs and priorities. "In most cases, we leverage a combination of all three practice areas in order to maximize the reliability, impact, and implementability of the work," concludes Salik. Headquartered in New York with locations in Denver and Mumbai, FischerJordan draws on an international network of consulting talent. This allows the firm to provide advisory services, as well as implementation and interim operational expert leadership where necessary. FischerJordan is a cross-disciplinary consulting firm that helps businesses achieve uncommon clarity, gain control and win in the marketplace. We combine Strategy, Analytics and Technology to generate maximum value for our clients. We believe that our work should improve the lives of people and be connected to meaning beyond profit. Contact Information Boaz Salik 800.970.4197 [email protected] Website: www.fischerjordan.com SOURCE FischerJordan, LLC Related Links http://www.fischerjordan.com WALTHAM, Mass., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per common share, payable on July 16, 2019, to shareholders of record as of June 14, 2019. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of more than $24 billion and approximately 70,000 employees globally. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics, deliver medicines to market and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive support. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com. Media Contact Information: Ron O'Brien 781-622-1242 [email protected] www.thermofisher.com Investor Contact Information: Ken Apicerno 781-622-1294 [email protected] SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific Related Links http://www.thermofisher.com LOS ANGELES, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott + Bull, the go-to executive search partner to empower change, hosted its 4th Annual CEO/Private Equity Summit at The Luxe Hotel in Bel Air last month. The yearly event brought together top CEOs and private equity executives from throughout Southern California for an evening of deep insights into best practices around working with private equity firms. Several premier private equity firms attended the summit, including Brentwood Associates, ClearLight Partners, Gores Group, L Squared Capital, Nolan Capital, Oaktree Capital and St. Cloud Capital. Also in attendance were top CEOs from established and emerging companies, including 5.11 Tactical, Adastra Pharmaceuticals, Bal Seal Engineering, Dunn-Edwards Corporation, HUF Worldwide, HydraFacial, Incipio, Kellstrom Defense Aerospace, Pedego and Van Law Food Products. This year's keynote speaker, Adam Coffey, CEO of CoolSys and author of "The Private Equity Playbook, Management's Guide to Working with Private Equity," is known as having the "Midas touch" with billions of dollars in transactional experience working with multiple private equity firms. He shared his philosophy in working with private equity sponsors and boards to recognize increased bottom line results, which ultimately leads to better financial outcomes for stakeholders. "Since our first Summit four years ago, this event has evolved into an engaging and educational networking experience. Each year, we are proud of the valuable insight that our speakers provide and the caliber of attendees that they attract," said Chris Bull, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of McDermott + Bull. The CEO/Private Equity Summit began four years ago with just under 50 executives and has grown to more than 120 in attendance. Previous speakers include Dave Camp, former Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and Ned Colletti, former General Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Author of "The Big Chair: The Smooth Hops and Bad Bounces from the Inside World of the Acclaimed Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager." "McDermott + Bull is well-respected in the local business community. Events like this showcase their range and creativity," said Greg Guard, CEO of JWC Environmental. Sponsors of the event included Price Waterhouse Coopers, Marsh & McLennan Agency, Savills, Commercial Bank of California, Artemis Search Partners and Chief Outsiders. About McDermott + Bull McDermott + Bull is leading the way in transforming executive search services worldwide, one relationship at a time. With experienced principals in the United States, Canada, and Europe, McDermott + Bull has become the trusted search advisor for empowering change on behalf of private and public companies, private equity firms, and their operating companies. Known for being thorough and balancing the need for urgency, McDermott + Bull provides personalized solutions to those who value contribution over pedigree. Leveraging deep vertical experience, innovative thinking and proven time-saving methodologies the company challenges the norm and thrives in the recruitment of difficult-to-find, culture critical VP to C-Suite executive talent. Contact: Bianca Rodas Phone: 949.529.2715 Email: [email protected] SOURCE McDermott + Bull Related Links http://www.mbsearch.com WALTHAM, Mass., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new health economic analysis published in the journal PLOS One, compared the cost impact of using BRAHMS PCT (Procalcitonin) assays to support antibiotic stewardship decisions versus the standard of care for patients with suspected sepsis or lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in the United States. Procalcitonin is a biomarker that aids clinical decision-making about when to initiate and discontinue antibiotic therapy for inpatients or patients in the emergency department with suspected or confirmed LRTI. The biomarker also aids in decision making on antibiotic discontinuation for patients with suspected or confirmed sepsis. Several cost analyses have been conducted on Procalcitonin aiding in antibiotic stewardship, but none using data primarily from the United States. More than 1.7 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with sepsis each year1,2,3 and it is the number one cost of hospitalization in the U.S. consuming more than $27 billion each year4,5,6,7. LRTIs are among the most common reasons for antibiotic prescription8 and an estimated 30 to 85 percent of these prescriptions are unnecessary or inappropriate9-17. Even when indicated, antibiotic treatment courses often exceed recommended durations17. A previously published health economic decision model was used to compare the costs and effects of BRAHMS PCT assay in supporting antibiotic stewardship decisions. The analysis considered the societal and hospital perspective with a time horizon covering the length of hospital stay. The main endpoints were total costs per patient, including treatment costs and productivity losses, the number of patients with antibiotic resistance or C.difficile infections, and costs per antibiotic day avoided. "My clinical experience is consistent with the scientific data, demonstrating how the monitoring of bacterial infections with BRAHMS PCT assay can reduce the costs associated with the management of LRTI and sepsis patients through reductions in length of stay and antibiotic usage," said H. Bryant Nguyen, MD, John E. Peterson Professor of Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California. Based on the results, the authors concluded that using BRAHMS PCT assay to aid in decisions about antibiotic use for hospitalized patients with suspected sepsis and LRTI is associated with a reduction in antibiotic days, a shorter length of stay on the regular ward and the intensive care unit, shorter duration of mechanical ventilation, and fewer patients at risk for antibiotic resistance or C.difficile infection. Total costs in the BRAHMS PCT assay group compared to standard care were reduced by 26.0percent in sepsis and 17.7percent in lower respiratory tract infection (total incremental costs of $11,311 per patient and $2,867 per patient respectively). Availability of product in each country depends on local regulatory marketing authorization status. About BRAHMS PCT BRAHMS PCT assay provides information on the presence and severity of bacterial infection, helping physicians in emergency departments, intensive care and other hospital units decide whether to initiate antibiotic therapy in patients with suspected or confirmed lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and when to safely discontinue antibiotics in patients with LRTI and sepsis. In clinical studies, BRAHMS PCT assay has been shown to reduce the antibiotic prescription rate and duration in patients with LRTI, defined as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), acute bronchitis, and acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Evaluating the decline in BRAHMS PCT assay levels over time aids clinicians in determining whether to discontinue antibiotic therapy for patients with LRTI or sepsis, without compromising patient safety. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of more than $24 billion and approximately 70,000 employees globally. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics, deliver medicines to market and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive support. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com. Reference http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2654187 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa022139 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db62.pdf https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb204-Most-Expensive-Hospital-Conditions.pdf https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb225-Inpatient-US-Stays-Trends.jsp https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-14/america-has-a-27-billion-sepsis-crisis http://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(16)30288-2/fulltext Grijalva CG, Nuorti JP, Griffin MR. Antibiotic prescription rates for acute respiratory tract infections in US ambulatory settings. JAMA 2009; 302:758. Fleming-Dutra KE, Hersh AL, Shapiro DJ, et al. Prevalence of Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescriptions Among US Ambulatory Care Visits, 2010-2011. JAMA 2016; 315:1864. Shapiro DJ, Hicks LA, Pavia AT, Hersh AL. Antibiotic prescribing for adults in ambulatory care in the USA , 2007-09. J Antimicrob Chemother 2014; 69:234. Fridkin S, Baggs J, Fagan R, et al. Vital signs: improving antibiotic use among hospitalized patients. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2014; 63:194. McKay R, Mah A, Law MR, et al. Systematic Review of Factors Associated with Antibiotic Prescribing for Respiratory Tract Infections. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2016; 60:4106. Kraus EM, Pelzl S, Szecsenyi J, Laux G. Antibiotic prescribing for acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) - guideline adherence in the German primary care setting: An analysis of routine data. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0174584. Silverman M, Povitz M, Sontrop JM, et al. Antibiotic Prescribing for Nonbacterial Acute Upper Respiratory Infections in Elderly Persons. Ann Intern Med 2017; 166:765. McCullough AR, Pollack AJ, Plejdrup Hansen M, et al. Antibiotics for acute respiratory infections in general practice: comparison of prescribing rates with guideline recommendations. Med J Aust 2017; 207:65. Ebell MH, Radke T. Antibiotic use for viral acute respiratory tract infections remains common. Am J Manag Care 2015; 21:e567. Hecker MT, Aron DC, Patel NP, et al. Unnecessary use of antimicrobials in hospitalized patients: current patterns of misuse with an emphasis on the antianaerobic spectrum of activity. Arch Intern Med 2003; 163:972. Media Contact Information: Amy Crosby Marketing Communications Manager Phone: 978-387-5712 Email: [email protected] Secondary Contact Information: Dr. Rita Baxmann Phone: +49 3302 883 303 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific Related Links http://www.thermofisher.com AKRON, Ohio, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Valmark Advisers, Inc, a leading provider of ETF-based portfolio management, is pleased to announce a deepened partnership with Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE: LNC) to offer TOPS ETF Portfolios, managed by Valmark Advisers, within Variable Universal Life (VUL) and Variable Annuity (VA) products offered by Lincoln. "TOPS is a leading independent manager of ETF-based portfolios in the VUL and VA spaces, and Lincoln is a top provider of both VUL and VA products, creating a powerful combination to help meet the growing demand for ETFs in the marketplace," said Michael McClary, Chief Investment Officer of Valmark Advisers. Along with being one of the longest running and largest managers of ETF portfolios, leading the ETF movement since 2002 and managing approximately $5B in ETF assets, the aggregate Valmark Financial Group entity continues to grow as a top provider of diversified financial services and life insurance. "Since my father founded Valmark in 1963, combining life insurance planning with goals-based, client-centric financial planning, we have been recognized as a thought leader in the industry," said Larry J. Rybka, Chairman and CEO of Valmark Financial Group. "Incorporating ETFs into separate account products like Lincoln's VUL and VA products really marries Michael's work with ETFs through TOPS with our passion for enhancing life insurance and annuity products." TOPS was the first of its kind all ETF platform and was launched in 2002. In 2011 it was among the first to incorporate ETFs into sub-accounts via its partnership with Northern Lights Trust." Valmark and Lincoln have maintained a strong partnership on the distribution side of life insurance and annuities for over 20 years. In fact, in 2018 Lincoln earned the number one selling spots for their VUL and VA products with the independent registered representatives of Valmark Securities. Lincoln's innovative VUL products have been Valmark's top seller for nine consecutive years and its VA products earned the top spot for the first time in 2018. "Our long-standing partnership with Valmark combines Lincoln's recognized leadership in variable product solutions with Valmark's distribution capabilities within one of the fastest-growing advisor markets the registered investment advisor (RIA) space," said Will Fuller, executive vice president and president of Annuities, Lincoln Financial Distributors and Lincoln Financial Network. "This expansion of our relationship furthers our commitment to helping advisors and their clients find more options to plan for and protect their financial future." "Valmark's Broker-dealer was originally formed to offer independent firms both a wide choice of separate account and general account products from quality companies like Lincoln," said Rybka. "Likewise, with such a wide range of companies and products to choose from, it is a tribute to the product design teams at Lincoln to continue to earn the number one slot in both the VUL and VA categories. Lincoln VULOne, Lincoln AssetEdge VUL, i4LIFE Advantage and now Lincoln InvestmentSolutionsSM RIA all represent great value for clients and demonstrate true innovation in an often-commoditized industry." The funds now offered by Lincoln include the TOPS Balanced ETF Portfolio and the TOPS Moderate Growth ETF Portfolio. Both funds are available for investment now. "We believe our funds are a perfect fit for Lincoln's products," said McClary. "Going forward, advisors will be able to consider TOPS funds as a choice within their contracts." According to Tiburon Research, there has been nearly a $1 trillion swing in assets in 2018 alone from active management to indexing and ETFs. For information on TOPS ETF Portfolios, visit www.topsfunds.com. About Valmark Financial Group, LLC Valmark Financial Group is holding company of several subsidiaries, including: Executive Insurance Agency, Inc., a national producer group; Valmark Securities, Inc., a broker-dealer and member of both FINRA and SIPC; Valmark Advisers, Inc., a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment adviser; and the Valmark Policy Management Company, LLC, which provides ongoing policy management and monitoring services for life insurance policyholders. With a proud history of working with independently owned financial services firms committed to high ethical standards in over 30 states throughout the United States, Valmark offers a wide range of insurance and investment solutions for high net-worth clients. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio with operations in St. Paul, Minnesota, Valmark, through its affiliated entities, has helped its Member Firms place over $60 billion of life insurance death benefits and manage insurance policies with a cumulative cash value of over $8 billion dollars. Valmark's affiliated RIA, Valmark Advisers, has over $6 billion in assets under management, including approximately $3 billion in variable sub-account assets within its TOPS funds. To learn more about Valmark Financial Group, visit www.valmarkfg.com Securities offered through Valmark Securities, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Lincoln VULONE (2014) policy form LN696/LR668, with optional rider form ICC18ABR-7052; Lincoln AssetEdge VUL (2015) policy form LN683, with optional rider form ICC14ABR, and Lincoln InvestmentSolutions SM RIA The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company does not solicit business in the state of New York, nor is it authorized to do so.and state variations are issued by The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, Fort Wayne, IN, and distributed by Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc., a broker-dealer. Valmark and Lincoln Financial Distributors are separate and not affiliated. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company does not solicit business in the state of New York, nor is it authorized to do so. All guarantees and benefits of the insurance policy are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not backed by the broker-dealer and/or insurance agency selling the policy, or any affiliates of those entities other than the issuing company affiliates, and none makes any representations or guarantees regarding the claims-paying ability of the issuer. Lincoln variable universal life insurance is sold by prospectuses. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the policy and its underlying investment options. This and other important information can be found in the prospectus for the variable universal life policy and the prospectus for the underlying investment options. Prospectuses are available upon request and should be read carefully before investing or sending money. For current prospectuses, please call 800-444-2363 or go to www.LincolnFinancial.com. With variable products, policy values will fluctuate and are subject to market risk and to possible loss of principal. Contact: Jamie Summerville VP, Communications Valmark Financial Group 130 Springside Drive Akron, OH 44333 P: 330.576.1234 x3609 E: [email protected] www.valmarkfg.com SOURCE Valmark Financial Group Related Links http://www.valmarkfg.com CHICAGO, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number of real estate appraisers has decreased in recent years, rewarding career opportunities have opened for recent graduates, according to the nation's largest professional association of real estate appraisers. "There are all sorts of benefits to a real estate valuation career," said Appraisal Institute President Stephen S. Wagner, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS. "There's a demand for your services, you control your work schedule, you can own a business, there's solid earning potential, and you'll find a variety of complex and unusual assignments." The number of active real estate appraisers in the U.S. (as of Dec. 31, 2018) stood at 78,015, a decrease of 5% from year-end 2017. The average rate of decrease for the past five years has been approximately 2.6% annually. Declines are expected to continue due to retirements, fewer new people entering the valuation profession, economic factors, government regulation and greater use of data analysis technologies. That trend creates opportunities for the next generation of appraisers. Appraisers play an essential role in the economy and the real estate industry by developing reliable and credible opinions of value for their clients. Appraisers offer risk mitigation to help ensure safety and soundness of the lending system. In addition to residential and commercial lending work, appraisers provide valuable services such as client counseling, litigation support, right-of-way and eminent domain work, taxation-related valuation and many other areas of specialization. "It's essential for the valuation profession's future that we attract new and energized professionals to help meet client demand," Wagner said. "As the nation's largest professional association of real estate appraisers, the Appraisal Institute is dedicated to helping potential appraisers develop the skills they need to succeed in an ever-evolving and challenging field." Appraisal Institute research shows that more than one-fifth of appraisers earn at least $150,000 annually; another nearly one-fourth make at least $100,000. AI research also shows that appraisers who have an Appraisal Institute designation earn an average of 26 percent more than their professional counterparts. The Appraisal Institute has a master's degree program for graduate students pursuing an MSRE, MRED, or MBA with a concentration in real estate. The program provides an opportunity to obtain an Appraisal Institute MAI designation on an accelerated path. The Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation offers scholarships for undergraduates, graduates and minorities and women. "The Appraisal Institute consistently and proactively pursues ways to increase enrollment in qualifying education and designation education courses," Wagner said. "By marketing our courses to colleges, we try to make our education more widely available and to increase the number of young professionals who want to become appraisers." The Careers Building Communities website allows visitors to navigate through the scores of career paths across all sectors of real estate. The Appraisal Institute's section of the website outlines why students and others should consider a career as an appraiser. The website is a collaboration of 29 real estate industry organizations, representing more than 10 million jobs, that focuses on raising awareness and attracting diverse talent to the industry. Learn more about starting a real estate valuation career on the Appraisal Institute's website. See statistics about the U.S. valuation profession. Stay connected with the latest news from the Appraisal Institute on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube and our blog, Opinions of Value . The Appraisal Institute is a global professional association of real estate appraisers, with nearly 18,000 professionals in almost 50 countries throughout the world. Its mission is to advance professionalism and ethics, global standards, methodologies, and practices through the professional development of property economics worldwide. Organized in 1932, the Appraisal Institute advocates equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in the appraisal profession and conducts its activities in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Individuals of the Appraisal Institute benefit from an array of professional education and advocacy programs, and may hold the prestigious MAI, SRPA, SRA, AI-GRS and AI-RRS designations. Learn more at www.appraisalinstitute.org. SOURCE Appraisal Institute Related Links http://www.appraisalinstitute.org ZEPHYR COVE, Nev., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- VirnetX Holding Corporation (NYSE AMERICAN: VHC), an Internet security software and technology company, and IP Dream, a Japanese based strategic technology developer and service provider, announced today that on April 18, 2019, they signed a non-exclusive Distribution and Service Agreement for IP Dream to sell VirnetX's Gabriel Collaboration Suite as well as VirnetX's Secure Domain Name technology to its clients in Japan and greater Asia. "We look forward to presenting VirnetX's secure communication technology to our major partners," said Jiro Shimoyama Representative Director, President of IP Dreams, Inc. "This secure communication technology is needed, and we feel that our partners will embrace it. We already have a Memo of Understanding from a leading Japanese office/home security company expressing that they imminently plan to use Gabriel for their services involving surveillance cameras and their company's own security needs. This company has the largest market share in Japan and has global presence fulfilling similar needs outside of Japan." "IP Dream is an excellent company and a perfect partner to represent us in Japan and the rest of Asia," said Kendall Larsen, VirnetX CEO and President. "IP Dream is a recognized Japanese leader in technology development and services with an impressive, tier one client list that we look forward to introducing and implementing Gabriel." About IP Dream We, the Unprecedented Dream (IP Dream), provide the IT services needed in the world market with the slogan, "First from the world." In order to provide services to companies worldwide, we modularize the necessary services and technologies and provide what is needed in each market in a way that suits the market. In addition, since its inception, we operate as a leading-edge technology company that consistently provides R & D to technology and service provision, and contributes to the service construction of many global market partners. We provide services in Japan, the United States, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, etc. In addition, service provision to East Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, etc., and preparation for South American markets such as Brazil, Mexico etc. are also ready, and our technology and service provision area is expanding steadily. For more information about IP Dream please visit our website: www.ip-dream.co.jp/ja/ About VirnetX VirnetX Holding Corporation is an Internet security software and technology company with patented technology for secure communications including 4G LTE and 5G security. The Company's software and technology solutions, including its secure domain name registry and Gabriel Connection Technology, are designed to facilitate secure communications and to create a secure environment for real-time communication applications such as instant messaging, VoIP, smart phones, eReaders and video conferencing. The Company's patent portfolio includes over 115 U.S. and international patents and over 50 pending applications. For more information, please visit www.virnetx.com Forward Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact, including statements regarding the strength of VirnetX's intellectual property, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections about the markets in which the Company operates, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by management and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to (1) the outcome of any legal proceedings that have been or may be initiated by the Company or that may be initiated against the Company, including pending and future inter partes review proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office; (2) the ability to capitalize on the Company's patent portfolio and generate licensing fees and revenues; (3) the ability of the Company to be successful in entering into licensing relationships with its targeted customers on commercially acceptable terms; (4) potential challenges to the validity of the Company's patents underlying its licensing opportunities; (5) the ability of the Company to achieve widespread customer adoption of the Company's Gabriel Communication Technology and its secure domain name registry; (6) the level of adoption of the 3GPP Series 33 security specifications; (7) whether or not the Company's patents or patent applications may be determined to be or become essential to any standards or specifications in the 3GPP LTE, SAE project or otherwise; (8) the extent to which specifications relating to any of the Company's patents or patent applications may be adopted as a final standard, if at all; and (9) the possibility that Company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. In addition to statements which explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those under the heading "Risk Factors" in Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 19, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 10, 2019. Many of the factors that will determine the outcome of the subject matter of this press release are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Except as required by law, the Company is under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results. Contact: Investor Relations VirnetX Holding Corporation 775.548.1785 [email protected] SOURCE VirnetX Related Links http://www.virnetx.com LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2018, the global translational regenerative medicine is estimated at $28bn. The global translational regenerative medicine market is highly competitive and fragmented with the presence of several vendors. The competition is likely to increase with advances in R&D and technological innovations. The market is characterized by the presence of well-diversified international and local vendors that provide cost-effective products with limited features and functionalities. How this report will benefit you Read on to discover how you can exploit the future business opportunities emerging in this sector. In this brand new Visiongain report you will find 230-page report and you will receive 120 tables and 70 figures all unavailable elsewhere. The 230-page report provides clear detailed insight into the Top 25 Translational Regenerative Medicine Manufacturers 2019. Discover the key drivers and challenges affecting the market. By ordering and reading our brand new report today you stay better informed and ready to act. To request sample pages from this report please contact Sara Peerun at [email protected] or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/top-25-translational-regenerative-medicine-manufacturers-2019/#download_sampe_div Report Scope This report discusses the global translational regenerative medicine market and provides revenue forecast to 2028 for this market and its leading submarkets: Stem Cells Tissue Engineering Gene Therapy This report discusses several translational regenerative medicine products and provides revenue forecast to 2028 for: Osteocel Plus Apligraf Grafix/Stravix ReCell Assessment of the 25 leading manufacturers in the global translational regenerative medicine market: Acelity Alphatec Spine Anika Therapeutics Arthesys Avita Medical Integra Lifesciences Medipost Medtronic Mesoblast NuVasive Organogenesis Orthofix International TiGenix UniQure Vericel Corporation Other companies This report discusses product portfolio, key developments, financial information, performance analysis, revenue forecast and pipeline analysis. Of the top 25 translational regenerative medicine manufacturers, the report provides revenue forecast for 22 of these companies for the period of 2018 to 2028. Qualitative analysis of the translational regenerative medicine market: PESTEL analysis, Porter's Five Forces analysis, factors that drive and restrain the market, opportunity and trends in the market. This report discusses the regulation of regenerative medicine in the US, Japan, China, Australia, India and Ireland. Key questions answered by this report: Who are the leading Translational Regenerative Medicine (TRM) manufacturers? What factors are driving and restraining the growth of these leading TRM manufacturers? How have the leading TRM manufacturers performed financially in recent years? Which TRM manufacturer will experience revenue growth over the coming years? What strategies have TRM manufacturers been implementing for sales growth in recent years? Which technologies will be crucial to TRM manufacturers from 2018 to 2028? To request a report overview of this report please contact Sara Peerun at [email protected] or refer to our website: https://www.visiongain.com/report/top-25-translational-regenerative-medicine-manufacturers-2019/ Did you know that we also offer a report add-on service? Email [email protected] to discuss any customized research needs you may have. Companies covered in the report include: Aastrom Biosciences Inc. Alphatec Spine Anika Therapeutics Anterogen Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. Athersys Avita Medical AxoGen, Inc. Azaya Therapeutics, Inc. Benda Pharmaceutical BioTime Inc BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. Cell Therapy Cellerix Cephalon Chiesi Farmaceutici Clinical Cell Culture (C3) Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. Dow Agro Sciences ES Cell International Pte. Ltd. Gamida Cell Ltd. Healios K.K. Humacyte InoCard Instratek Integra LifeSciences Japan Tissue Engineering Co., Ltd. JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Johnson & Johnson LifeMap Sciences, Inc. LifeMap Sciences, Ltd. Macropore Biosurgery Inc. Medipost Medline Industries, Inc. Medtronic Mesoblast Inc. Mesoblast International Sarl Mesoblast Ltd. Nikon CeLL innovation Co., Ltd. (NCLi) NuTech Medical NuVasive OncoCyte Corporation Organogenesis Inc. OrthoCyte Corporation Orthofix International Osiris Therapeutics Oxford BioMedica Pfizer Pharmicell Co., Ltd. ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. Regenerys Ltd. Renova Therapeutics Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. Sanofi Shanghai Sunway Biotech Shenzhen SiBiono GeneTech Shire Spark Therapeutics, Inc. StemSource Inc. Stryker Corporation Sun Pharma Takeda TiGenix NV UniQure Vericel Corp. Visiomed Xcellerex List of Organizations Mentioned in the Report Brown University Cleveland Clinic European Commission European Medicines Agency (EMA) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) Sinai Hospital of Baltimore SwissMedic Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children The University of Michigan The University of Texas Health Science Center University of Massachusetts University of Pittsburgh's Medical Center To see a report overview please e-mail Sara Peerun on [email protected] Related reports: Translational Regenerative Medicine Market Forecast 2019-2029 Global Stem Cell Technologies and Applications Market 2018-2028 Gene Therapy R&D and Revenue Forecasts 2018-2028 Global Genomics Market Report 2018-2028 Global Cancer Immunotherapy Market Forecast 2019-2029 Drug Delivery Technologies Market Forecast 2019-2029 Global Biosimilars and Follow-On Biologics Market 2019-2029 SOURCE Visiongain ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Volunteers of America has launched a significant moral injury initiative by establishing the Shay Moral Injury Center. The center, run by Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph.D., is named for Jonathan Shay, a medical doctor and clinical psychiatrist who is best known for his work with post-traumatic stress disorder and introducing the concept of moral injury. Moral injury is a relatively new term used to describe a crisis that soldiers and others have faced for centuries, the internal suffering that results from doing something against your moral code. In essence, it is a wound to the conscience. The effects of moral injury are pervasive on our society and contribute to homelessness, self-harm including suicide, rage, addiction, compulsive overwork and/or depression. Unlike some causes of distress, moral injury is not a mental illness. It is an existential crisis in identity and meaning because of devastating life circumstances. It can happen at any age and recovery is possible. On May 29 to 31, the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health will host a conference in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California on moral injury. The conference, Moral Injury and Pathways to Recovery, will feature speakers who are experts on the various aspects of moral injury. "It's not just members of the military that experience moral injury," explained Brock, senior vice president of Volunteers of America moral injury programs. Brock leads Volunteers of America's efforts to identify and treat moral injury as part of its service programs. "Some think that moral injury is the same thing as PTSD," added Brock. "While they can share some symptoms, they're very different conditions and treating moral injury the same can actually add to the emotional trauma." Post-traumatic stress disorder is fear-based, moral injury is not. PTSD protocols can involve talking about and reliving the traumatic incident in a safe environment to defuse the fear. The same therapy used for moral injury can actually aggravate the problem. Anyone who works with marginalized, at-risk populations have probably seen the empty stare that can be a symptom of moral injury. Moral injury can result in carrying unprocessed grief and guilt through life. "Moral injury is a broken spirit, not a disorder or psychiatric condition, though it profoundly effects mental health," Brock continued. A noted theologian, Brock was the founding director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University where she was also a research professor of theology and culture. She is co-author of "Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War;" and "Proverbs and Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering and the Search for What Saves Us." She is a leading national expert on moral injury in combat veterans and has offered trainings for Veterans Affairs mental health providers; professional chaplains and for veterans and their families. Under the direction of Brock, Volunteers of America launched a book last year, "The Momentum of Hope." The book is a compilation of VOA stories from the organization's contacts, clients and employees who have suffered moral injury. Contributors include the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners; Meryl Comer, co-founder of Women Against Alzheimer's; Rev. Starsky D. Wilson, chair of the Ferguson Commission; and Kim Campbell, widow of Glen Campbell. There are also stories from veterans and Volunteers of America clients, employees and caregivers. "Our hope is that people will read 'The Momentum of Hope', learn about moral injury and those who have so generously shared their stories in dealing with the condition. The most important message of the book is the resilience of the human spirt," said Brock. For more information on Volunteers of America's Shay Moral Injury Center and the organization's work, visit https://www.voa.org/moral-injury-center. About Volunteers of America Volunteers of America is a national, nonprofit, faith-based organization dedicated to helping those in need live healthy, safe and productive lives. Since 1896, our ministry of service has supported and empowered America's most vulnerable groups, including veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, at-risk youth, men and women returning from prison, homeless individuals and families, those recovering from addictions and many others. Through hundreds of human service programs, including housing and health care, Volunteers of America helps 1.5 million people annually in more than 400 communities. We offer a variety of services for older Americans, in particular, that allow them to maintain their independence and quality of life everything from an occasional helping hand to full-time care. Our work touches the mind, body, heart and ultimately the spirit of those we serve, integrating our deep compassion with highly effective programs and services. For more information about Volunteers of America, visit www.VolunteersofAmerica.org. SOURCE Volunteers of America Related Links https://www.voa.org LONDON, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Wahl, the category leader in professional and consumer grooming, has appointed MWWPR to drive a year-long campaign to mark the brand's 100-year anniversary. The campaign will bring Wahl's story to life, celebrating the impact the brand has had on male grooming over the last century, and delving into the impressive history of innovation and design. The campaign called 'Man's Best Friend' will take two routes. The first will showcase how important hair and grooming is to a man's life, exploring how grooming builds confidence and helps to create a lifelong psyche. The second will celebrate Wahl's role in the changing face of male grooming, from the famous pompadour cut worn by the Teddy Boys in the 50s, through to the sleek fade of the noughties. Wahl has been at the centre of every grooming trend over the past century. "Since it launched the first electric hair clipper way back in 1919, Wahl has been at the forefront of male grooming and fashion," explained Gareth Davies, VP Digital Strategy, MWWPR. "It has helped shape some of the most important and impactful hair styles and trends that have not just informed men's style, they have also informed male culture and male psychology. By leaning into the emotional drivers behind men's haircuts we want to elevate the category in the minds of consumers to help Wahl cut through the noise and continue to stand out from the competition." "We selected MWWPR to work on our anniversary campaign because the team totally understood the story and personality at the heart of our brand and how to best communicate that message to our customers, both old and new," explained Christopher Barleycorn, Marketing Manager, Wahl UK. "The clipper sits at the heart of the Wahl brand and was where the company started one hundred years ago. MWWPR really understood the important role it has played men's lives over the last century and the role it can play over the next 100 years." About MWWPR MWWPR is one of the top mid-sized independent public relations agencies. We are recognised for our work in consumer lifestyle marketing, digital marketing and social media, corporate communications, public affairs and government relations, consumer technology, healthcare and visual branding. MWWPR's approach to building and accelerating relevance for clients has been recognised with top industry awards, including the 2017 "PR Agency of the Year," by the ICCO Global Awards, 2016 "Independent Consultancy of the Year" by the Sabre Awards, 2016 "Top Places to Work" by the American Business Awards and 2016 "Organisation of the Year for diversity/PR" by the International Business Awards. For more information on the firm's capabilities and "Matter More" commitment, visit www.mwwuk.com . Connect with MWWPR on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , Pinterest , Google Plus and Instagram . SOURCE MWWPR WAUPUN, Wis., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Waupun Wastewater Utilities will host an open house at its facility in Waupun, Wisconsin, on May 30, 2019. The facility, located at 501 Fond du Lac Street incorporates the CLEARAS Advanced Biological Nutrient Recovery (ABNR) system, a chemical-free and biologically-based water treatment technology used to effectively recover excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. The open house will showcase an ABNR solution that treats up to 15,000-gallons per day and was implemented with the intent to validate and optimize water quality and biomass characterization prior to full scale installation. The full-scale system, scheduled to begin installation in 2021, will have a capacity of 2.0 MGD with an expected feed of 3.6 mg/L total phosphorus. "The ABNR solution gives our plant the ability to significantly reduce the use of chemicals and sand filters for phosphorus removal as well as the potential to reduce aeration," said Steve Schramm, water & sewer maintenance/treatment supervisor. "All of these combined, with the system's ability to integrate easily into our facility, make it a very viable solution for addressing future regulations." "The Waupun Utilities team and their board have a strong vision to integrate technology focused on sustainable, resource recovery while meeting current and future water quality discharge requirements. The ABNR solution aligns tightly with their vision and we are excited to work with Steve and the utility to demonstrate a more sustainable and economical approach to phosphorus and nitrogen recovery," said Jordan Lind, CEO of CLEARAS Water Recovery. The open house will consist of two hosted tours. The first tour will begin at 10:00 am CDT followed by a second tour at 1:00 pm CDT on Thursday, May 30th with lunch provided by Mulcahy Shaw Water. If you are interested in attending, please contact Autumn Fisher at [email protected]. About Waupun Wastewater Utilities Waupun's current wastewater treatment facility was constructed in 1951. Since that time, the facility has received three upgrades with the most recent occurring in 2002. Recently, the city of Waupun recently received more than $37 million in grants and loans from the USDA Rural Development division to make improvements to its water infrastructure. The infrastructure improvements are a requirement of the Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Natural Resources to meet strict limits on the phosphorus that is released into local waterways. About CLEARAS Water Recovery CLEARAS Water Recovery is the leading provider of advanced, chemical-free and biologically-based water treatment technologies for municipal and industrial point source dischargers. Our proprietary technology leverages a zero-waste process to effectively remove nitrogen, phosphorus and other harmful nutrients - converting these assets to maximize cost recovery for our customers. SOURCE CLEARAS Water Recovery These prestigious International Awards are presented annually to organizations and individuals engaged in the development and delivery of distance learning programs. They were created to acknowledge major accomplishments in distance learning and to highlight those distance learning instructors, programs, and professionals who have achieved and demonstrated extraordinary results through the use of online, videoconferencing, satellite and blended learning delivery technologies. "As a premier organization for the entire distance learning profession, we are honoring Western Governors University as a leader in the industry," said Dr. Reggie Smith III, Executive Director of USDLA. "WGU has raised the bar of excellence, and we are truly honored by WGU's contributions within all distance learning constituencies." WGU has won the 21st Century Distance Learning Award nine times, and USDLA has previously recognized four WGU leaders with awards as well. This year's Non-Profit Innovation Award adds to the university's slate of USDLA recognitions. Take a Break was designed to give students taking secure, proctored assessments online from their home or other sites the option to take one 10-minute break per assessment hour, without compromising security. When a student needs to pause their exam, they click a button that alerts the proctor. The student then agrees to a series of conditions for the break and a timer begins. The exam screen is greyed out and blocks any access to the exam during the break. In addition, when a student returns, any questions that have been previously viewed or answered are inaccessible. All other questions remain open and can be completed. Take a Break is one of a number of innovations WGU has implemented that combines the university's obsession with students' experience, their success, and the quality and integrity of their education. "This year's USDLA Award recipient WGU represents the finest examples of online courses, best practices, and leadership in our field. The depth and breadth of the USDLA membership allows us to engage with leaders from higher education, K12, industry, military, and government who daily demonstrate the power of distance learning. We are so very proud and excited to be able to recognize this level of excellence," said Janet Major, President of USDLA. Pat Cassella, Chair of USDLA Board of Directors, said, "This year's award winners represent many of the most innovative leaders in the field of distance learning." About WGU Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves more than 115,000 students nationwide and has more than 141,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 22 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today's rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu. About USDLA The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit association formed in 1987 and is located in Boston, Massachusetts. The association reaches 20,000 people globally with sponsors and members operating in and influencing 46% of the $913 billion-dollar U.S. education and training market. USDLA promotes the development and application of distance learning for education and training and serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity. Distance learning and training constituencies served include pre-K12 education, higher and continuing education, home schooling as well as business, corporate, military, government and telehealth markets. The USDLA trademarked logo is the recognized worldwide symbol of dedicated professionals committed to the distance learning industry. www.usdla.org Follow WGU: http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university http://twitter.com/wgu http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml Contact for media inquiries: Contact for enrollment information: Doug Smeath Senior Manager, Public Relations 866-225-5948 801-924-4533 wgu.edu [email protected] SOURCE Western Governors University Related Links http://www.wgu.edu TEL AVIV, Israel, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WhiteSource, the leader in open source security and license compliance management, announced today a partnership with GitHub, the leading software development platform, to help developers more easily detect open source vulnerabilities in their GitHub repositories. GitHub launched security alerts in late 2017 to notify developers about vulnerable dependencies in their public and private repositories and identify relevant fixes for JavaScript, Ruby, Java, .NET, and Python. GitHub is now expanding the offering by partnering with WhiteSource to help broaden the coverage of potential security vulnerabilities in open source projects. WhiteSource's vulnerability data aggregates information from the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), security advisories and open source projects' issue trackers. "We are thrilled to announce this partnership with GitHub, making it easier than ever for developers to detect open source components with known vulnerabilities in their products," says WhiteSource's CEO Rami Sass. "Together we will continue to empower developers to harness the power of open source without compromising on security or agility by simplifying the process of finding and fixing open source vulnerabilities." "Over the past year alone, we've sent nearly 27 million security vulnerability alerts to our users," said Shanku Niyogi, GitHub's Senior Vice President of Product. "Through our data partnership with WhiteSource, we'll be able to further enhance our security vulnerability alerts, providing our customers with the continued security features they need to build secure software." About WhiteSource WhiteSource is the leader in continuous open source security and license compliance management. Its vision is to empower businesses to develop better software by harnessing the power of open source. Industry leaders like Microsoft, IBM, and hundreds more trust WhiteSource to secure and manage the open source components in their software. For more information, please visit www.whitesourcesoftware.com Contact: Gabriel Avner Head of Communications [email protected] https://www.whitesourcesoftware.com/ SOURCE WhiteSource Related Links https://www.whitesourcesoftware.com/ CHICAGO, May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919 giving women the right to vote. On May 30, 2019, at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, 720 S. Michigan Avenue, WBAI, led by President and local attorney Corinne Heggie will commemorate this auspicious occasion, as part of the organization's Annual Event. The WBAI is the largest statewide bar association dedicated to promoting and advancing the rights of women lawyers in Illinois. The event is being made possible by the support of local firms, spearheaded by member Elizabeth Kaveny and her newly formed Kaveny & Kroll ( www.kavenykroll.com ), a team of nationally renowned trial attorneys, dedicated to the Plaintiff side of Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury law. Kaveny and her partner Jeffrey Kroll, both of whom have practiced for more than 25 years, have been recognized as leaders in their fields of expertise and often share their knowledge as guest lecturers in the area of Trial Advocacy for universities, associations, and organizations. Corinne Heggie will be installed as President at the May 30th event. At that time, Heggie will also bestow Stephanie Scharf, Chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, with the Myra Bradwell Women of Achievement Award. Maggie Hickey, partner at Schiff Hardin in Chicago, will provide the Key Note address. Ms. Hickey was recently appointed by Judge Robert Dow Jr. to monitor the changes ordered by a consent decree aimed at repairing the Chicago Police Department's long record of misconduct and excessive force. Ms. Hickey has a long and distinguished career in public service that is national in scope. During Heggie's tenure as president, WBAI will pay tribute to the power of partnering that suffragettes practiced securing women the currency of the country's democracy: the vote. In Chicago, suffragettes organized parades to raise awareness as early as June of 1916 during the Republican National Convention. The push in Chicago and beyond continued to get women the right to vote. Suffragettes had to garner support from stakeholders and lobby lawmakers in Washington. Their efforts were coordinated, indefatigable and ultimately successful. "We are thrilled to be a part of this momentous celebration," says Elizabeth Kaveny. "I can't think of a better place to celebrate a woman's right to vote than here in Chicago and a better leader in the charge than Corinne Heggie." Contact: Corinne Heggie [email protected] (773) 593-5936 SOURCE Womens Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) YORK, Pa., May 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of York Traditions Bank (OTC Pink: YRKB) has declared a special 10% stock dividend payable on June 21, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 7, 2019. Cash will be issued in lieu of any fractional shares. "With a steady stock price appreciation over the past several years, this stock dividend acknowledges our shareholders' loyalty and support as we continue our focus on the creation of long-term shareholder value," stated Eugene J. Draganosky, President and Chief Executive Officer. About York Traditions Bank York Traditions Bank, founded in 2002, is a state-chartered commercial bank with six branch offices located in York County, PA and a loan production office in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, PA. York Traditions Bank serves the retail banking, commercial banking, and residential lending needs of customers located throughout South Central Pennsylvania. Since its inception, the Bank has consistently grown with record net earnings of $4.1 million in 2018 and reported total assets of $489 million at March 31, 2019. For more information, visit ir.yorktraditionsbank.com. Safe Harbor Statement: Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Because of these risks and uncertainties, our actual future results may be materially different from the results indicated by these forward looking statements. In addition, our past results of operations do not necessarily indicate our future results. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE York Traditions Bank Related Links www.yorktraditionsbank.com Called "A better overall offer than almost any credit card," by The New York Times, Zero is banking built for today's consumer needs. It's a replacement for your old-school bank, built by combining a rewards credit card called Zerocard and an FDIC-insured checking account called Zero Checking. Unlike any other product before it, Zero finally lets you "bank like debit and earn like credit." The Debit-style Experience, unique to Zero, displays transactions from Zerocard and Zero Checking together in the Zero app, with one net number to spend from. Customers also get the benefit of a system that prevents unplanned or unwanted overspend. Transactions are enhanced with logos and maps, making it easy to recognize purchases. For customers who still have questions, Zero's support team is always available, with 24/7 support from its operations center in California. "Few people understand how complex it is to launch a credit card or a checking account program," said Rick Yang, Partner at NEA. "Zero is the first US startup to launch a fully integrated and elegantly designed product with both from scratch. Importantly, Zero gives consumers the ability to fully control and understand their own spend, without compromising on rewards something that traditional account options have failed to provide." Zerocard is a World Mastercard, so it earns credit card cash back. Customers start out with a Quartz level card, earning 1% cash back on purchases. They tell their friends. When a friend joins and qualifies, the customer gets a higher-level card called Graphite. Two friends to get a solid-metal Magnesium level card, and four to get a Carbon level card, also solid metal. Graphite earns 1.5%, Magnesium earns 2% and Carbon earns 3% cash back, on all spending categories. To receive the full cash back rate at the Graphite, Magnesium, and Carbon levels, the Zerocard full statement balance must be paid by the due date from the customer's Zero Checking account. Learn more at zero.app/rewards-agreement. "Apple recently made headlines by saying they're launching the first credit card that encourages you to pay less interest," said Bryce Galen, Founder & CEO of Zero. "I think we've done one better and launched the first credit card that encourages you to pay no interest." "If you're someone who spends $30,000 a year and maintains an average of $30,000 in deposits, you'll earn $0 in cash back and interest with a typical debit card and non-interest bearing checking account, and $1,425 a year with your Zerocard Carbon1," said Joel Washington, Founder & COO of Zero. "And it takes just a few minutes to sign up." An experienced executive team comes from Affirm, Apple, Capital One, Dropbox, Google, Postmates, Shift, Silicon Valley Bank, Upgrade, Wells Fargo, and Zynga. Zero has partnered with WebBank, a Salt Lake City-based bank, to issue Zerocard. Deposits are held at Evolve Bank & Trust (a Memphis-based bank and Member FDIC) and insured up to FDIC limits. About Zero Zero, headquartered in San Francisco, California, is a financial technology company that enables consumers to experience the things they like about debit cards -- such as having a clear idea of how much money they have to spend -- with the cash back and flexibility of a credit card. Zero doesn't charge annual fees, ATM fees beyond what the ATM owner charges, foreign transaction fees, minimum balance fees, overdraft fees or many of the other fees that you've come to expect from typical bank accounts. At the Carbon level, all ATM fees charged by the ATM owner are refunded. To keep up with Zero, get in touch on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , or visit zero.app, or view the cardholder agreement at zero.app/zca. About WebBank WebBank, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah and organized in 1997, is an FDIC-insured, state-chartered industrial bank that extends credit to borrowers throughout the U.S. and operates under federal banking law. WebBank is the bank behind many of today's growing, customer-centric brands. It is a national issuer of online consumer and small business loans through brand partners which include retailers, OEMs, and financial technology companies. In addition, WebBank is a leader in digital lending and driving innovation in financial products through strategic partner relationships. Providing customized credit products and solutions to both SMBs and consumers, WebBank is dedicated to being a best-in-class provider of compliance, capital, and oversight management for strategic partner platforms. For more information about WebBank, visit webbank.com . About Evolve Bank & Trust Evolve Bank & Trust, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is an FDIC-insured, state-chartered bank that operates loan production offices and full-service retail branches in Arkansas and Tennessee as well as mortgage production offices across the country. Evolve's dedicated Payment Processing Division offers ACH, Debit Sponsorship, Remote Deposit Capture and other processing solutions to clients around the country. In addition to banking, mortgage banking, and payment processing services, Evolve is a nationwide Preferred SBA Lender and also offers trust and fiduciary services, equipment finance and leasing, and physicians lending to its customers throughout the U.S. For more information about Evolve, visit getevolved.com . For more information, contact: Matt Lattman, Chief Marketing Officer [email protected] 1 Zerocard is subject to creditworthiness. Our highest level card, Zerocard Carbon, offers 3% cash back on qualified spend and 1.75% annually on average current position (Zero Checking balance minus Zerocard balance), requires 4 qualified referrals or $100k in annual spending. To receive the advertised cash back rate and avoid interest and late fees, you must pay your full statement balance by the due date and from your Zero Checking account. See Zerocard Agreement for more details. SOURCE Zero Related Links http://www.zerofinancial.com "It's an honor to host such a wide array of innovators - longtime customers, companies evaluating Zilliant technology, strategic partners, industry experts in our hometown," said Zilliant CEO Greg Peters. "The steep challenges faced by B2B organizations every day are being met head on by our customers, who have harnessed the power of their data and are using Zilliant's intelligent technology to their advantage." MindShare focused on distributors, manufacturers and service providers dealing with a rapidly changing business landscape across various industries, with topics such as: B2B eCommerce disruption Adopting a Pricing Center of Excellence Digitization and optimization Pricing modes and methods Distributor / manufacturer partnerships Omnichannel pricing "When disruptors, like Amazon, are duplicating parts of your value proposition, you need to duplicate parts of theirs," said Ian Heller, President & COO of Modern Distribution Management in his message to attendees. "Traditional B2B companies must scale with technology and become more comfortable doing business online, while offering services that are hard for disruptors to digitize." A common theme was Zilliant's comprehensive ability to solve pricing and sales problems big and small, from price list management to advanced, actionable AI-driven pricing and sales guidance. "We wanted to create a data-driven culture as part of our digital transformation journey," said Mike Eppes, Managing VP of Parts at Rush Enterprises. "Zilliant has become our data science backbone for our parts operations, serving as the nexus for many of our IT systems, from CRM to eCommerce. As a result of using Zilliant's solutions, we are achieving higher revenue and profits and are better able to anticipate our customers' needs." MindShare featured interactive deep dive sessions led by veteran Zilliant customers. A&O Johansen, a major distributor of technical installation materials and tools in northern Europe, spoke about the real business results they achieved with Zilliant. "We have a very complex environment as both a B2B and B2C provider. The ripple effect of eCommerce down the buyer chain caused inconsistent pricing across channels," said A&O Johansen CRM Consultant Nadia V. Nielsen. "Zilliant's Price IQTM solution allowed us to align our prices and roll them out with an optimized, omnichannel B2B2C approach." IDC's Research Director for Digital Business Models and Monetization, Mark Thomason, delivered the keynote on business model issues, trends and the challenge of managing pricing in an increasingly global and digitized world. "Using automated pricing technology, such as from Zilliant, is critical to addressing these challenges at scale. Zilliant was named a Leader in the 2018 IDC MarketScape for B2B Price Optimization Applications, and Zilliant customers rated Zilliant very highly in value delivered," said Thomason. His 2018 report awarded Zilliant with the following plaudits: Shortest time-to-value Highest return on investment Best customer satisfaction If you are interested in the key learnings from the conference content, here are our five takeaways from MindShare 2019. For more information please contact [email protected]. Links: Zilliant Price Manager Zilliant Deal Manager Online Pricing Assessment About Zilliant: Zilliant offers flexible end-to-end pricing and sales growth solutions, from price list management to advanced, AI-driven pricing and sales guidance to maximize the immediate value of every transaction, and the lifetime value of every customer. Powered by the most advanced technologies, Zilliant's SaaS solutions enable B2B companies to transform data into actionable intelligence, empowering them to achieve revenue and profitability goals. With over 15,000 users in 90 countries receiving pricing and sales insights across 40 vertical B2B industries, Zilliant's platform is the most advanced and broadly deployed use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics in B2B enterprise markets. Learn more at www.zilliant.com or follow @Zilliant. SOURCE Zilliant Related Links http://www.zilliant.com BISHKEK, May 23, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishke Image Source: IANS News BISHKEK, May 23, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 2 Image Source: IANS News Bishkek, May 23 : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of SCO meeting here on Wednesday and were seated next to each other during an interaction with Kyrgyz President amid strain in ties between the two countries following the Pulwama terror attack . MEA sources said that there was no meeting and only exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders. Both the leaders attended the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). Pakistan media outlet the Dawn, however, said that Qureshi and Swaraj held "an informal dialogue" on the sidelines of ASCO meeting. "Today [I] met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Foreign Office, according to the Dawn. "We made it clear to her that we want all the matters resolved through dialogue, and that Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward. Even today we are ready for a dialogue," he was quoted as saying. Tensions between India and Pakistan increased after the Pulwama terror attack in February in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) had taken responsibility for the attack. India had later carried out air strikes at a terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan. The exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders took place at a time when India is awaiting results of its general elections. Both countries are expected to look for a thaw in bilateral relationship after a new government assumes office in Delhi. Abuja, May 23 : An Indian sailor and 17 others have been nabbed by the Nigerian Navy over an attempt to illegally export stolen crude oil to Ghana, the navy said on Wednesday. The suspects and vessels have been handed over to the police at the naval base in Nigeria's oil hub Port Harcourt, to enable further investigations on the suspects, said Capt. Adegoke Ebo, Executive Officer of the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, the Xinhua news agency reported. According to him, the suspects were on the verge of moving the crude oil to Ghana before they were arrested by naval forces. One of the suspects, a Nigerian, had been actively involved in sourcing crude oil from Nigerian creeks and shipping it to Platon Gas Oil Refinery in Ghana's Tema, without clearance and approval, the military officer said. "Additionally, the evidence available to us suggests that the illicit crime had been going on for a while," Ebo said. One of the suspects has disclosed names of his accomplices and facilitators as well as presented evidence and proof to the illicit trading. Hong Kong, May 23 : Mobile networks in Asia and Europe have issued suspending orders for Huawei smartphones following the US decision last week to restrict the company's access to American technology, the media reported. The inclusion of Huawei on an export blacklist means the Chinese company can no longer source software or components from US suppliers without a license. Existing devices are unaffected but the restrictions threaten future Huawei products and its leading position in building super-fast next generation 5G networks, CNN reported. Vodafone, the world's second largest mobile operator, said on Wednesday that it had paused pre-orders in the UK for the Huawei Mate 20X (5G) smartphone. "This is a temporary measure while uncertainty exists regarding new Huawei 5G devices," a company spokesperson told CNN Business. The UK's biggest carrier, EE, is also delaying the introduction of Huawei's new smartphones. The company had touted the Mate 20X in a preview of its 5G network last week. Japan's top mobile operators took similar steps against another device, the Huawei P30 Lite, earlier on Wednesday. The phone was scheduled to launch in the country later this month. Leading Japanese telecoms firm NTT Docomo announced that it has stopped taking reservations for the phone, and is "looking into the impact of the US restrictions", Docomo spokesperson Yoshikumi Kuroda said. Rival carriers KDDI and SoftBank Corp. said they will delay the release of the new Huawei phone. The suspension of orders is the first tangible evidence that US President Donald Trump's administration's latest escalation of its campaign against Huawei on grounds of national security is hurting the company's business, CNN reported. Huawei overtook Apple last year to become the world's No. 2 smartphone brand behind Samsung, and it relies on markets outside of China for half of its sales. The US export ban has forced Google to cut Huawei's new devices off from its Android ecosystem. A temporary reprieve by the US Commerce Department allows Google to service existing Huawei devices for the next 90 days. Rome, 22 May : Italian hostage Alessandro Sandrini has been freed from captivity "after a complex operation in foreign territory", Premier Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday after a jihadist group in northwest Syria announced Sandrini had been freed. "Compatriot Alessandro Sandrini has been released after a complex operation in foreign territory," Conte said in a statement. The operation "was carried out in a coordinated manner involving synergies by Italy's intelligence services, judicial police and the Foreign Ministry's crisis unit," the statement said. Earlier, hardline militant rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, r while making the referral to NCLT non-compulsory, sources told IANS. "After the court judgement, the RBI is extra careful to issue any other circular without proper consultation and vetting. This could result in some delays, but ultimately better regulations would flow," said the official source. The Supreme Court on April 2 struck down the February 12, 2018 circular of the RBI that asked banks to initiate insolvency process against companies if there was even a day's delay in payment of dues. As per the circular, banks were told to start the resolution process as soon as a borrower defaulted on a term loan and were given 180 days to cure it, failing which the account would have to be referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). While the new circular on debt resolution is still being discussed and debated, it is expected that the RBI is likely to adopt a more accommodative approach towards resolution of stressed assets in the new circular. It may, however, be guided by suggestions earlier given by the Indian Banking Association (IBA) for debt resolution for classification of Non-Performing Assets and resolution of bad assets. Bankers had suggested qualifying a loan as bad debt if the default was for a period of at least 90 days and not one day as was the case in the February 12 circular. A bank-led resolution should start only after that, according to bankers. Moreover, it had suggested a 60-day incubation period post this time for identifying the default. After this, banks would resolve a case within 180 days and consider referring the case to NCLT post that period, if the majority of the lenders agreed. The revised circular on NPAs, however, is unlikely to include the pre-IBC restructuring tools like Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR), Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR), Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets or S4A that were phased out by RBI earlier. In the previous circular, the RBI had withdrawn all existing debt restructuring schemes - S4A, CDR, JLF, and SDR - and asked banks to draw up resolution plans for all assets where the banking sector's exposure was more than Rs 2,000 crore. San Francisco, May 23 : Just days after US President Donald Trump said he used Twitter as a "typewriter", the Co-founder of the micro-blogging site, Ev Williams has called Trump "master" of the platform. In an interview, Williams said "What Trump has done with Twitter is pretty genius, frankly. He's a master of the platform like few others," CNN Business reported on Wednesday. Trump, who is infamous for making controversial statements, war threats and spelling errors on his Twitter handle, recently admitted that the micro-blogging site to him is a "typewriter" and "a modern way to communicate" in order to get things noticed distinctly. But Williams argued the potential negative effects of the President's tweets on the country's political discourse are "trivial compared to the effect of the broader media", the report said. The statements come in compliance with a view popular in the Silicon Valley that believes that traditional media outlets have extensively covered the destructive effects of big tech companies while not examining their own role in creating a more polarised society. Williams said Twitter was not as destructive of a platform as Fox News is. "The vast majority of the electorate is not on Twitter reading Trump's tweets and being convinced by that. What they're convinced much more by is the destructive power of Fox News, which is much, much more powerful and much more destructive than Twitter," Williams was quoted as saying. Williams co-founded Twitter in 2007 with Jack Dorsey. Later, in 2008, he became the CEO of Twitter, replacing Dorsey. After 12 years of being associated with the company, in February 2019, Williams stepped down from Twitter's board to "focus his time on other projects". Williams now runs online publishing platform Medium -- a site he describes as a network for longer-form, more in-depth content, the report noted. Jakarta, May 23 : At least 257 people were arrested following deadly protests in the Indonesian capital against the re-election of President Joko Widodo for a second five-year term, police said on Thursday. At least six people were killed died and more than 200 have been wounded since the riots started on Tuesday night, reports Efe news. The clashes between police and hundreds of followers of the losing candidate, former army general Prabowo Subianto, have paralysed central Jakarta for two days. On Wednesday night, protesters threw flares, stones and other objects at the riot police, who responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and selective arrests outside the headquarters of the Elections Supervisory Agency and the surrounding areas. Jakarta Police spokesperson Prabowo Argo Yuwono told the media that the arrests were made in connection to the destruction of public property and inciting violence. The fatalities resulted from bullet wounds and blunt objects, according to the police, who denied the use of live ammunition and accused the rioters of using firearms. The official number of those wounded is 200, although sources from several hospitals told the official Indonesian news agency Antara that that figure exceeds 350, many of whom have already been discharged. Security Minister, Wiranto, on Wednesday announced certain restrictions of social media, such as distributing pictures and videos on Whatsapp in certain areas to prevent the spread of rumours, false information and the escalation of violence. The Elections Commission of Indonesia on Tuesday announced the victory of Joko with 55.5 per cent of the votes as against 44.5 per cent secured by his rival Prabowo in the April 17 polls. Ahmedabad, May 23 : The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat appeared way ahead of its rival, the Congress in all the 26 Lok Sabha seats after five rounds of counting of votes, with party President Amit Shah was leading in Gandhinagar with a margin of over 1 lakh votes. Among the key trends, Shah and the BJP's Chhotaudepur tribal constituency candidate Geeta Rathwa were leading with 1 lakh votes each. In Jamnagar in Saurashtra, the BJP's Poonam Madam was leading by more than 50,000 votes. The counting began at 8 a.m. amid tight three-layered security across the state, with personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force guarding the centres closely inside, while state police were deployed in two layers outside. The BJP was confident of victory, while the Congress hoped for a better performance. The home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah gave their party all the 26 seats in 2014 when 64.7 per cent voters had exercised their franchise. This time voter turmout was at a record high of 64.11 per cent. Gujarat BJP Spokesperson Bharat Pandya told IANS: "The initial trends from everywhere are sending out signals of a sureshot victory of the BJP, as we always knew would happen. By evening, this will be visible." The BJP bagged all the 26 seats in the state in 2014 and is hoping for a repeat, while the Congress expects to get at least six seats this time. Senior Congress leader and legislator Virji Thummar from Amreli district, where Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani is contesting, stated: "These are early trends. Overall Gujarat, we hope to do quite well." "There is palpable anger in the rural areas against the BJP and I am sure they voted on real issues and not drawn towards imaginary nationalistic rhetoric," he added. Besides Lok Sabha seats, votes are also being counted in four Assembly constituencies where by-elections were conducted simultaneously on April 23 in the third phase of the seven-phase parliamentary elections. There are 28 counting centres for these seats. Sources at the Chief Electoral Officer's office said the results were likely to be delayed since there was a provision this time of matching of VVPAT slips of five EVMs in every Assembly segment of all the parliamentary seats. Fate of as many as 371 Lok Sabha candidates, including BJP President Shah, four former Union Ministers, an incumbent Minister of Gujarat and eight sitting MLAs of Gujarat including the leader of Opposition, would be decided. Jaipur, May 23 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading on 24 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan, while its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) was ahead on one seat and the Congress was trailing on all the seats, vote count trends showed on Thursday. The BJP was leading in Jodhpur, one of the most crucial seats, where Union Minister of State Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was ahead by 68,261 votes, leaving behind Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav. Union Minister of State Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore from Jaipur Rural was leading by 91,493 votes against Congress candidate Krishna Punia. Rathore told the media: "In Rajasthan, we are leading on all seats and credit for the same goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the last five years, we all worked hard under his leadership and voters hence trusted us. "Congress in all these years had shown a bad picture of politics due to which people lost their trust in its working. However, after seeing Modi's work, they have instilled a huge trust in his working." In Barmer, the BJP's Kailash Chaudhary was leading by 47,750 votes leaving behind Congress candidate Manvendra Singh, who is son of BJP veteran Jaswant Singh. Manvendra had joined the Congress ahead of the 2018 state Assembly elections. The trend was similar in all the remaining seats. While speaking to the media, Bikaner MP Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the people have trusted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi in these elections. "I pay gratitude to all for giving a winning status to BJP. This election was meant for giving strong government and voters helped us in attaining our objective," he said. BJP State president Madanlal Saini gave credit to booth workers who according to him ensured that party wins on all seats. Congress Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Archana Sharma said that these are initial rounds. "Lets wait till all rounds of counting are over." Counting of votes for the 25 seats began at 8 a.m. The parliamentary elections in the state were held in two phases on April 29 and May 6. Los Angeles, May 23 : Hollywood star Daniel Craig will undergo an ankle surgery for an injury he sustained earlier this month while filming "Bond 25". "Daniel Craig will be undergoing a minor ankle surgery resulting from an injury sustained during filming in Jamaica. The production will continue whilst Craig is rehabilitating for two weeks post-surgery. "The film remains on track for the same release date in April 2020," announced the franchise's official Twitter account. The 51-year-old actor fell during an action sequence on the set of the latest James Bond film, reported variety.com. "He was sprinting when he slipped and fell quite awkwardly. He was in quite a lot of pain and was complaining about his ankle," a source told thesun.co.uk. The news does not appear to be a major setback for the yet-to-be-titled "Bond 25." Original director Danny Boyle exited the project last August over creative differences, which led to its release being delayed nearly six months from October 2019 to April 2020. "Bond 25" will now be directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and co-stars Oscar-winner Rami Malek, Ana De Armas, Lashana Lynch, David Dencik, Billy Magnussen, Dali Benssalah, Lea Seydoux, Jeffrey Wright, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Naomie Harris and Ralph Fiennes. Other than Jamaica, the movie will be shot in London, Italy and Norway. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) Amid accusations of historical revisionism, Senator-elect Imee Marcos says it is the duty of her family now to tell "their side of the story" on her father's controversial strongman rule. "We just never told our side of the story. Not to revise history, but because we had no access to media. We had one side of the story. Nobody was interested and we were all just a bit frightened of what we knew, but I think it's our duty now to say what we know and our side of the story," Marcos told CNN Philippines Thursday. Marcos ranked eighth among 12 senators-elect who won after getting the largest number of votes in the 2019 midterm polls. While she attributed her win to votes in the "Solid North" Marcos bailiwick as well as overseas absentee votes in Hong Kong and Moscow, Marcos also said opinions of younger generations about their family have changed. "Siguro ang isyu [Maybe the issue] may have something to do with the millennial's tremendous access to information. It's a different time. They're able to research, they're able to look up stuff. They're also listening to their lolas perhaps, having heard so much propaganda," she said. Marcos also lauded her feat in vote-rich Cebu City and Cebu province, as well as the National Capital Region where she thought there would be great opposition and "all kinds of anti-Marcos baiting." "It probably shows the new temper of the times," she said. The Marcos family, accused of plundering billions of dollars from government coffers through dummy foundations in Swiss bank accounts, has also been hounded by the human rights violations surrounding former President Marcos' rule. Of the estimated $10 billion or nearly P530 billion the Marcoses and their cronies supposedly stole from government coffers, the Presidential Commission on Good Government has only recovered 171.359 billion from 1986 to 2017. The PCGG, as of 2017, had over 200 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 the Marcos family amassed. "I have tremendous respect for everybody's opinion, but I think they should also allow us to speak and we should also be allowed to have our breathing space," Marcos said. For her plans in office in the 18th Congress, Marcos said she hopes to join the committees on agriculture, local government, social welfare, and energy. Still no degree? Imee Marcos herself made headlines during her campaign as senator for her questionable academic credentials -- degrees from Princeton University in New Jersey, as well as University of the Philippines -- for which she had failed to produce diplomas. When asked about these, she said, "Paulit-ulit na 'yang na-answer, paulit-ulit na ring tinatanong [It has been repeatedly answered, it has been repeatedly asked]. I don't know what answer they'll be happy with. For me, ang importante [what's important is] I ran on my track record." Both Princeton and the University of the Philippines have denied Marcos graduated from their university. "All this rancor, all this blame-saying, it's time to put it aside--let's focus on legislation," she said. As these accusations resurfaced during what she deems a "bruising campaign," Marcos pins it all on a "demolition job" by her detractors. "Sabi ko nga sa kanila, wag na matakot sa akin, kung sino man, 'yung mga bashers, haters, 'yung mga galit sa Marcos, okay lang. Tiis-tiis na lang kasi hindi naman mapaghiganti ang pamilya ko. We're not really vindictive. We've put up with it for a long time too," she said. [Translation: As I was telling them, don't be afraid of me, whoever they are, the bashers, the haters, those who are furious towards the Marcoses, it's okay. Deal with it since our family is not vengeful. We're not really vindictive. We've put up with it for a long time too.] Imee has been linked to 1977 death of Archimedes Trajano, a 21-year-old student activist of the Mapua Institute of Technology, after he questioned her at a public forum -- at a time when her father was president. San Francisco, May 23 : Amid Amazon's annual shareholders conference where dozens of people joined to discuss issues like renewable energy use and equal pay, a woman called out to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos trying to return a product that was purchased from the e-commerce platform. Taking advantage of the open question-and-answer round with Bezos, the woman, who is also an Amazon shareholder, tried to return a purchase directly to the CEO. "Amazon shareholder attempts to return item at annual meeting, saying she had tried without luck four times," GeekWire reporter Todd Bishop tweeted on Wednesday. Bezos, although surprised, handled the situation with ease and satirical humour. "My apologies that you had to use this unusual venue to accomplish what should have been a routine task. Anybody else have anything they need to return?" Bishop quoted Bezos as saying. Usually, customers willing to return products use the Amazon app or resort to helpline and customer care numbers. The meeting was held in Seattle where shareholders and employees demanded the company to take action on climate change and work on pay parity. Bhopal, May 23 : In a major setback to the Congress, the BJP has taken a massive lead in 28 out of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, with Malegaon blast accused and BJP candidate from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, on Thursday thanking voters for their support. Speaking to the media outside the BJP office here, she said: "Dharm ki jeet hogi, adharm ka nash hoga (it will be victory of faith and defeat of those who are against it)." She also thanked the party workers and people of Bhopal for supporting her in the entire election campaign. The counting of ballots started at 8 a.m. in 51 district headquarters of the state's 29 parliamentary constituencies. Sadhvi Pragya took a big lead against her nearest rival former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh by over 70,000 votes. Besides Digvijaya Singh, Congress senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia was also trailing from his Guna Lok Sabha seat by over 53,000 votes. The only good news for the Congress came from Chhindwara where Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Kamal Nath was leading by over 34,000 votes. The Congress came to power in the state last December after it won the state Assembly elections against the Bharatiya Janata Party. -- With inputs from IANS New Delhi, May 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reach the BJP headquarters and address a gathering of party workers on Thursday evening as the party was set to return to power. Although the counting was in progress, the trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to the polls indicated the BJP was leading on 290 seats while the Congress on only 52 seats. The party has planned a huge gathering for a grand welcome for Narendra Modi as it has invited people to reach its headquarters in large numbers. "You are invited to join BJP's victory celebrations at BJP headquarters at 6/A Deendayal Upadhyay Marg," the message read. BJP chief Amit Shah is also likely to reach the party headquarters around 2 p.m. Parliamentary Borad, the BJP's highest decision making body, is also to meet late in the evening or on Friday, a party official said. Thiruvananthapuram, May 23 : With 35 per cent counting of votes done in Kerala, the Congress-led UDF showed lead in 19 seats while the ruling CPI-M-led LDF was all but washed out as it was ahead in just one seat. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is leading the pack with a margin of over 1.60 lakh votes. E.P. Jayarajan, senior CPI-M cabinet minister and number two in the Pinarayi Vijayan government said what has happened in Kerala is due to religious grouping in voting patterns and it favoured the Congress-led UDF. "This is a setback and we will look into what happened. This is not against the state government. Just look, nationally the Congress has been wiped out," said Jayarajan. In the 2014 polls, the CPI-M led Left won eight seats. At present the CPI-M is leading in just one seat -- Alappuzha, where sitting party legislator A.M. Arif is ahead of Congress candidate Shanimol Usman by around 4,000 votes. While at Kasargode, Congress spokesperson Rajmohan is fighting a cliff- hanger against former CPI-M party legislator K.P. Satish Chandran, where the lead is shifting from one to the other, as each round passes and after close to 40 per cent votes was counted, Unnithan after trailing is now ahead by over 10,000 votes. While the BJP was expecting to perform well and even win at least one seat, if not two, things at the moment do not look rosy for them as in Thiruvananthapuram, sitting Congress member Shashi Tharoor is ahead by over 16,000 votes, with BJP leader Kummanem Rajasekheran in second place. Likewise at Pathanamthitta, where Sabarimala temple is located, after showing initial promise, BJP candidate K. Surendran, after leading for a while, slipped to third position. Congress candidate Anto Antony at Pathanamthitta said that signs are very positive as the lead has crossed 25,000 and we are extremely confident about the outcome. For the CPI-M the biggest shocker has come in three constituencies Palakkad, Alalathur and Attingal, all of which they have held for the past several terms. In all these three constituencies, Congress candidates at present are sitting comfortable. CPI's M.B. Rajesh, aiming for a hat-trick of wins from Palakkad after his 2014 win with a margin of over one lakh votes, was seen trailing by over 23,000 votes. All exit polls and pre-poll survey had predicted an easy victory for Rajesh. Reacting to it, Rajesh told the media: "Not just exit polls can go wrong. But its also too early to come to any conclusion and one thing what is happening is , there is a definite trend is emerging." Congress spokesperson Joseph Vazhakan, however is confident that it will be a clean sweep. "It will be 20-20 for us. We are confident, we will win at both Kasargode and Alappuzha," said Vazhakan. At present three Congress-led UDF candidates Gandhi, P.K.Kunahlikutty of the IUML and Young Congress candidate Dean Kuriakose at the Idukki seat have leads in excess of one lakh votes. "It was a huge support from my electorate and we are really excited that we have regained Idukki seat," said Kuriakose. Places where UDF candidates were leading with over 50,000 margin include Ponnani, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Alathur, Kottayam, Thrissur and Kollam constituencies. -- With inputs from IANS Mumbai, May 23 : Reliance Capital Ltd (RCAP) on Thursday said it has signed binding definitive agreements with Nippon Life Insurance of Japan to exit its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd (RNAM). In a statement here, Reliance Capital said it will receive approximately Rs 6,000 crore as sale consideration for its stakes in RNAM. Both partners currently hold 42.88 per cent each in the company, while the rest is held by public shareholders. Reliance Capital said that pursuant to the agreements, Nippon Life will also make an open offer of RNAM to the public shareholders at Rs 230 per share, as required under market regulator regulations, and reach the maximum permissible promoter shareholding of 75 per cent for listed companies. The transaction price represents a premium of 15.5 per cent to the minimum 60-day price as specified under the Sebi Takeover Regulations. Reliance Capital will receive proceeds of approximately Rs 6,000 crore ($860 million) through sale of its shareholding to Nippon Life Insurance at Rs 230 a share, and the simultaneous Offer For Sale (OFS) to other financial investors. The entire proceeds of approximately Rs 6,000 crore will be utilised to reduce Reliance Capital's outstanding debt by 33 per cent, the company said. "I am delighted that our longstanding and most valued partner, Nippon Life Insurance, is increasing its stake in RNAM to 75 per cent. The monetisation of the RNAM stake is part of our value unlocking strategy," Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani said in a statement. "We expect this transaction, together with other deals underway, to substantially reduce RCAP's debt by over 50 per cent in the current financial year," he added. Sharjah, May 23 : A Sharjah-based Indian boy is encouraging his neighbours and the rest of the community to use the small library at his home, which he has put together from book donation drives, the media reported on Thursday. Kashinadh Pranesh, a nine-year-old student at GEMS Millennium School in Sharjah, is on a mission to inspire people to know more about the world and instil the love of reading in the youth, reports the Khaleej Times. He has previously been recognised in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for his academic and philanthropic achievements. Last year, he donated the funds he won in a spelling bee contest to the victims of the Kerala floods. Earlier this month, he won the Distinguished Student Award of the Hamdan Foundation. His efforts and achievements were also mentioned by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Twitter. "In 2016, the Year of Reading in the UAE, I came to know the importance of reading, so I have started collecting books through book drives and charity drives and started my own small library," the student told the Khaleej Times. "Through this library, I wish to encourage my friends and neighbours to read more." Pranesh is also an active member of various eco-groups in the UAE. He has been involved in activities such as planting trees and has collected and recycled more than 1.5 tonnes of newspaper, 50 mobile phones, and 50 kg of plastic. London, May 23 : Voters in Britain were heading to the polling stations on Thursday for the European Parliament elections, as the political deadlock over the UK's withdrawal from the bloc continues. Britain is split into 12 regions for the elections, including 9 in England and one each in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A total of 73 members, known as members of the European Parliament (MEPs), will be elected in the constituencies, the BBC reported. Polling stations in Britain will be open till 10 p.m. BST. The Netherlands was also voting on Thursday while voting in other EU nations will take place at various times over the next three days. The results will be announced once all EU nations have voted, with the voting process expected to be completed by 10 p.m. BST on Sunday. Initially, the elections were not planned as Britain prepared to leave the EU on March 29. However, at the European summit in April, the British government and the European Council agreed to delay Brexit until October 31. It is uncertain for how long British MEPs will sit because of the uncertainties over Brexit. The elections are the 9th time Britain has elected MEPs to the European Parliament. British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives in the European Parliament have 18 seats, the same as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, followed by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party with 14 seats, which earlier belonged to the UK Independence Party. The rest of the seats are held by other parties, including two of Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party and one of Vince Cable's Liberal Democrats. Bengaluru, May 23 : Buoyed by the initial trends indicating a landslide victory for the BJP in Karnataka, its senior leader R. Ashoka on Thursday sought the resignation of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy for his Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) facing a rout in the Lok Sabha elections with its pre-poll ally Congress. "Accepting defeat gracefully, Kumaraswamy should resign as his party lost the moral right to continue along with the Congress, which are trailing behind in 24 of the 28 parliamentary seats across the state," Ashoka told reporters at the party's state unit office.. According to the latest counting trends, an upbeat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 23 seats, the Congress in three and the JD-S in one. An Independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh), backed by the BJP, is also leading in Mandya over JD-S contestant Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of H.D. Kumaraswamy and grandson of JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. "JD-U's Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde had set an example by resigning when his party suffered defeat in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, owning moral responsibility," Ashoka recalled. In the 2014 general elections, the BJP won 17 seats, Congress nine and JD-S two. Islamabad, May 23 : Pakistan on Thursday announced training launch of Shaheen-II surface-to-surface ballistic missile, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear war-heads up to 1,500 km. "The training launch was aimed at ensuring (the) operational readiness of (the) Army Strategic Forces Command. (The) Shaheen-II missile is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear war-heads up to a range of 1,500 km," the Pakistan military's media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The test came a day after India conducted second test of air-launch version of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile. It described Shaheen-II as a "highly capable missile, which fully meets Pakistan's strategic needs towards maintenance of desired deterrence stability in the region". The launch had its impact point in the Arabian Sea, Dawn newspaper reported citing ISPR. The launch was witnessed by the Director General of the Strategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command Lt. Gen. Qazi Muhammad Ikram Ahmad and senior officers from the Army Strategic Forces Command, scientists and engineers of the strategic organisations. President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan extended their congratulations to scientists upon their achievement, the statement said. Patna, May 23 : Supporters of Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh clashed with rival supporters of former JNU student leader and Communist Party of India candidate Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai on Thursday, police said. Upbeat and happy over Singh leading by more than 2 lakh votes, his supporters burst fire crackers near the CPI office in Begusarai that was objected to by CPI workers that resulted in a clash between them. According to district police officials, the rival groups pelted stones and attacked each other. Taking the development seriously, the district administration has deployed additional security forces. However, tensions are running high in Begusarai as BJP supporters took to the streets to celebrate the likely victory of the party and defeat of former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union chief Kumar. New Delhi, May 23 : As the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) surged to power, a section of Twitteratti on Thursday created a new acronym for the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) -- "Everyone Voted Modi" -- and made it go viral. "EVM = Everyone Voted Modi for Central and for YS Jagan in Andhra Pradesh," tweeted one user. Another user tweeted: "Yes Narendra Modi Won Because Of EVM (Everyone Voted Modi)." The Election Commission had earlier dismissed claims by Opposition parties that EVMs were being moved around in the days ahead of the counting of votes. It also rejected allegations of discrepancies at the strong rooms where the EVMs have been kept prior to the election results. A delegation of 22 opposition parties met the Election Commission earlier this week, demanding that VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) slips should be counted before the commencement of counting of votes polled in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). They had also demanded matching of all VVPAT slips with the EVMs in an Assembly segment in case of a discrepancy in random matching. New Delhi, May 23 : UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi at his residence here as the trends showed that the party was doing badly in the Lok Sabha polls. Sonia Gandhi was at the 12 Tuglak Lane residence of her son for almost an hour. Rahul Gandhi's sister and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited him earlier in the day. According to latest trends, Rahul Gandhi is trailing in Amethi from about 15,000 votes. The trends also showed that the party was leading in 50 seats, a bare improvement from its tally of 44 in 2014 elections. It was the first election fought by the party with Rahul Gandhi as party President. In his campaign, he had repeatedly said that the opposition will oust the Modi government. Rahul Gandhi was elected Congress chief in December 2017 at the culmination of party's organisational elections. Sonia Gandhi had helmed the Congress for almost 19 years of which the party led a government at the Centre with its allies for 10 years. Mumbai, May 23 : Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has started shooting for the second season of "TED Talks" here. "TED Talks India: Nayi Soch", the first season, was a Hindi TV talk show created in partnership with TED, a non-profit organisation devoted to "ideas worth spreading". It featured speakers from various fields sharing ideas in TED's signature format of short, powerful talks. It marked the first time TED was collaborating with a major network to produce a TV series, featuring original "TED Talks" in Hindi. As for the new season of the STAR Plus show, Shah Rukh shot the first episode for it on Monday. The first season was shot at the Yash Raj Films Studio. But this time, the shoot is taking place at the Filmistan Studios, a source told IANS. Some of the names likely to feature in the second season are acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, whose life has inspired Deepika Padukone's next film "Chhapaak", and actress Tanushree Dutta, who opened the floodgates of India's #MeToo movement, the source told IANS. "TED Talks 2" may go on air in the second half of 2019. "The Hundred-Foot Journey" producer Juliet Blake, head of Television for TED Talks, is currently in India to curate the speakers and themes for the new season. Kolkata, May 23 : Amidst loud 'Jai Shree Ram' cheers, BJP's West Bengal headquarters located in a narrow central Kolkata lane on Thursday buzzed in a celebratory mood as its workers were euphoric over the party's brilliant performance in the state. As the vote count progressed and gained momentum, the party's impressive show brought out its members on the streets outside their 6, Muralidhar Sen Lane office. Donning saffron attires or flaunting other party paraphernalia, they were seen smearing 'abeer' (the dry colour used in Holi celebration) and distributing sweets to the passers-by. At around noon they halted the buses and autos to share their unfathomable joy. Youth activist Sonu Shah greeted everyone wearing a Modi cut-out mask while others echoed 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. An enthusiastic biker gave a 'thumbs-up' and rode away shouting "this is what we needed". However, senior members alerted the youth activists to stay away from the traffic and let ambulances and all other vehicles pass by. "In 2014 elections, CPI-M's vote share was close to 30 per cent but now the BJP's poll percentage is nearly 40 per cent, which has brought down the CPI-M's vote share. It shows that Bengal is whole-heartedly voting for development and wanting Narendra Modi as their Prime Minister," Prashant Gupta, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth leader, told IANS. Gupta, who led other workers in cheering, waving party flags, hinted at further 'saffronisation of Bengal'. "More than a lakh workers will join BJP after the declaration of final results, forgetting all communal differences," he said. Taking a dig at Trinamool Congress's aunt-nephew duo Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, one of them cheered "Didi bole Jai Shree Ram, Bhaipo bole Jai Shree Ram" (Sister and Nephew also say Jai Shree Ram). After some time, the workers left the road and celebrated with earthen tea cups, savoured sweets and exchanged greetings among themselves. When asked about their take on the celebrations and BJP's prospects, Manoj Mandal, a 25-year-old passer-by, said: "As expected, BJP will get around 15-16 seats here and nationally it will cross 300. This victory definitely calls for celebrations." BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly beamed with happiness when she reached the venue. "I still cannot talk about the prediction of 23 seats but at least Didi's prediction of us getting Rosogolla has been proved wrong," she said. Ganguly mentioned that Mamata Banerjee who is a "Chief Minister should behave like one". "Mamata Banerjee was loved by the people of West Bengal. So she became the Chief Minister. She should sit and think why she is losing that love," she added. Jerusalem, May 23 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared set to retain power for a second term and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Well done, my friend! Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 23, 2019 "Heartfelt congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive victory in the elections," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew. "The election results are more validation of your leadership and the way you lead the largest democracy in the world. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us, and between India and Israel and take it to new heights," he said. Modi in 2017 became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. Netanyahu reciprocated with a visit to India in January 2018. -- With inputs from IANS New Delhi, May 23 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on the way to bust caste code of the Mahagathbandhan (MGB) in Uttar Pradesh as it maintains lead in most of the constituencies, demolishing the poll arithmetic myth of the Bahajuan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). This is the first time when the SP and the BSP -- relying on Yadav, Muslim, and Jatav votes -- are ending on losing side even after fighting together. Till last reports came in, the BJP candidates were leading in at least 30 seats perceived to be MGB strongholds. The only constituencies where the MGB is seen to be wresting seats from the BJP are mainly Muslim-dominated pockets like Nagina, Amroha, Ghazipur, Rampur and Moradabad. Among other MGB stronghold seats, BJP is trailing in Ballia, Sambhal, Kairana (the SP is leading on all three), Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Machlishahar, and Bhadohi (the BSP is leading on all). The BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in the state in 2014. Defying all the arithmetic, the party is leading on 59 seats as per the trends at 2.40 p.m. The SP seems to be holding on family bastions Kannauj from where Dimple Yadav is leading, Mulayam Singh Yadav's Mainpuri and Akhilesh Yadav's Azamgarh. However, there is setback for Yadav clan as SP is trailing in Firozabad (from where Akshay Yadav is contesting) and Badaun (the seat represented by Dharmendra Yadav). A combination of SP and BSP votes in 2014 (when the two parties had contested separately) had shown that MGB was strong on over 40 seats in the state. But in 2019, it is clear that the two parties were not able to get their vote base transferred to each other. For instance in Chandauli, BJP's state unit president Mahendra Nath Pandey is leading when all the caste arithmetic on the seat favoured the MGB. Within the MGB, it is a major gain for BSP which is leading on 12, a major stride forward from nil scored by Mayawati in 2014 elections. Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the third constituent of MGB, is trailing on all three seats (Muzaffarnagar, Mathura and Baghpat) it is contesting including his son Jayant Chaudhary from Baghpat. Bhopal, May 23 : With an improved performance over 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has tossed up quite a few questions about the Congress' strategy and its execution in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress owes its supporters a lot more by way of explanation because it came to power after 15 years and squandered the advantage in less than six months. Kamal Nath has shown a lot of restraint to turn an unruly organisation into a fighting unit. But he has apparently fallen short of expectations in an election that was fought on emotive issues rather than political logic and public issues. The complete failure of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to make an impact in the state may surprise even the BJP supporters. Rahul Gandhi had made seven trips to the state and Priyanka one over the past two months. The Congress had many chinks in its armour. It was said the Congress had won the assembly elections in spite of itself because factionalism was rampant when it squared up against a considerably weakened BJP -- thanks to Shivraj Singh's inept third stint. The BJP's lead on 28 of the 29 seats means the Congress was not able to event retain the assembly segments it had gained in the stronghold of the former in NImar and Malwa. Kamal Nath who retained the PCC chief's post even after becoming the chief minister is now being accused of focusing on personal interest. The only seat that the Congress might retain is Chhindwara where Kamal Nath's son is in fray. Kamal is to make a debut in the assembly. Even the worst of Congress critics did not anticipate such annihilation. Congress' sole excuse was that it was left with little time to consolidate its gains due to the model code of conduct. But the 70-odd days it had for the implementation of its promises since December when it ascended to power were apparently not enough with the strong BJP-oriented bureaucracy. Some areas where benefits of rural schemes had not reached had already started turning against the Kamal Nath government. The promises were too good to be fulfilled in such short time without a backlash in the event of failures. To set up Digvijay Singh from Bhopal was a ploy to chasten him. He was seeking to become another power centre by questioning Kamal Nath. However, to Digvijaya Singh's credit, he ensured exceptional circumspection in ensuring a very mature response to the BJP's challenge. But his 'Hinduar than thou' response to Pragya did not go down well with his secular supporters. Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other loser, was projected as a popular choice and as a youthful chief ministerial candidate, but failed to justify that tag. Kantilal Bhuria, the former Union minister who had won a by-election in 2015, seems to have lost hold on the Contituency. This would be Bhuria's second defeat of the career. Los Angeles, May 23 : American TV host Wendy Williams' son Kevin Hunter Jr. has been arrested over an alleged physical fight with his father Kevin Hunter. A spokeswoman from the Ethics County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey said the incident took place on Tuesday here. William's son was charged with simple assault, reported people.com. "I love my son very much and I will not be pursuing this matter legally. Things are not always how they appear," the senior Hunter, who is now estranged from Williams, told TMZ. Williams had dropped the 18-year-old off at her house, not knowing her ex husband was there. Though she planned to return shortly, Kevin Jr. and Hunter reportedly ended up making a quick trip to a nearby store in the meantime. While standing in the parking lot of the store, the two got into a verbal altercation about his divorce from Williams. Hunter claimed Williams was attempting to "brainwash" their son. It is reported that in the fight, Kevin Jr. punched Hunter's nose. Mumbai, May 23 : Actress Kriti Sanon, who completed her five-year-journey in Bollywood on Friday, says her first co-star Tiger Shroff will always have a super soft corner in her heart. Kriti made her Bollywood debut in 2014 with the romantic thriller "Heropanti" alongside Tiger Shroff, who made his acting debut with the film. "I saw his hard work, his discipline and passion and I knew he is going to blow people's minds away. You'll always have this super soft corner in my heart Tigy! Tiger Shroff, I feel so happy seeing you fly higher and higher (literally too)," Kriti tweeted. The 28-year-old actress wished Tiger for the five-year anniversary. "Time for 'Heropanti 2'," she added. The film revolves around a girl Renu, who elopes with her lover. Her father, Chowdhary, kidnaps Bablu who knows Renu's whereabouts, along with two of his friends. But Bablu falls in love with Dimpy, Chaudhary's younger daughter. Kriti is currently shooting for "Panipat" and Tiger will next be seen sharing screen space with actor Hrithik Roshan. Bhopal, May 23 : With an improved performance over the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tossed up quite a few questions about the Congress strategy and its execution in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress owes its supporters a lot more by way of explanation because it came to power after 15 years and squandered the advantage in less than six months. Kamal Nath has shown a lot of restraint to turn an unruly organisation into a fighting unit. But he has apparently fallen short of expectations in an election that was fought on emotive issues rather than political logic and public issues. The Congress had many chinks in its armour. It was said the Congress won the Assembly elections in spite of itself because factionalism was rampant when it squared up against a considerably weakened BJP, thanks to Shivraj Singh's inept third stint. The BJP's lead in 28 of the 29 seats means the Congress was not able to event retain the Assembly segments it had gained in the BJP stronghold in Nimar and Malwa. Kamal Nath who retained the PCC chief's post even after becoming the Chief Minister is now being accused of focusing on personal interest. The only seat that the Congress might retain is Chhindwara where Kamal Nath's son is in fray. Kamal is to make a debut in the Assembly. Even the worst of Congress critics did not anticipate such an annihilation. The sole excuse of the Congress was it was left with little time to consolidate gains due to the model code of conduct. But the 70-odd days it had for implementation of its promises since December when it ascended to power were apparently not enough with the strong BJP-oriented bureaucracy. Some areas where benefits of rural schemes didn't reach had started turning against the Kamal Nath government. The promises were too good to be fulfilled in such short time without a backlash in the event of failures. To set up Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal was a ploy to chasten him. He was seeking to become another power centre by questioning Kamal Nath. But to Digvijaya Singh's credit it must be said he ensured exceptional circumspection in ensuring a mature response to the BJP's challenge. But his holier-than-thou response to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur didn't go down well with his secular supporters. Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other loser, was projected as a popular, youthful chief ministerial candidate. But he failed justify that tag. Kantilal Bhuria, the former Union Minister who had won the 2015 by-election to raise the Congress tally to 3 of the 29, seems to have lost the mojo. In the absence of a visible wave this election provided a lot of fodder to the rumour mill as also to pollsters. This election will be talked about for a long time to come. New Delhi, May 23 : A court here on Thursday reserved order on the plea of former INX Media director Indrani Mukerjea seeking to become approver in the INX Media case. The order will be delivered on May 29. Mukerjea, who is in Mumbai's Byculla Jail as she faces trial for murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, appeared before special judge Anurag Sain. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are probing how former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram managed to get clearance for INX Media from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in 2007 when his father was Minister. The probe so far showed that for the FIPB approval, INX Media directors Peter and Indrani Mukerjea met P. Chidambaram so that there was no hold-up or delay in their application. The agency has supported Mukherjea's plea. New York, May 23 : If you want to avoid adding extra kilos during holidays, engaging in daily self-weighing may help, according to a new research. Previous research has shown the holiday season can lead to weight gain and that persists after end of holidays and could contribute to annual weight gain. While overweight or obese individuals are susceptible to gaining the most weight, people who regularly exercise are not protected from weight gain either during holidays. According to the study, people who weighed themselves on a daily basis and received graphical feedback of their weight changes either maintained or lost weight during the holiday season, while those who didn't perform daily self-weighing gained weight. "Maybe they exercise a little bit more the next day (after seeing a weight increase) or they watch what they are eating carefully," said study author Jamie Cooper, Associate Professor at the University of Georgia in the US. The study involved 100 adults in the 18-65 age group. Participants in the intervention group were instructed to try to maintain baseline weight throughout the holiday season. But no additional instructions on how to achieve that goal were provided. This allowed each participant to self-select how they would modify their behaviour. For instance, an individual could become more physically active or decide to eat less if a weight increase was noticed. Participants in the control group were given no instructions. Researchers then engaged in a 14-week follow-up period after the intervention and found that daily self-weighing helped people change behaviour. "People are really sensitive to discrepancies or differences between their current selves and their standard or goal," said Michelle vanDellen from the University of Georgia. "When they see that discrepancy, it tends to lead to behavioural change. Daily self-weighing ends up doing that for people in a clear way," she said. The study is scheduled to be published in the journal Obesity. Hyderabad, May 23 : Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy, the man of the moment in Andhra Pradesh, has had a meteoric rise in politics. He has now reached his goal, nearly a decade after he aspired for the top post in the state following death of his father and then Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, in a helicopter crash. With his YSR Congress Party on course for a landslide victory in the 2019 Assembly elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy has repeated what his father had achieved in 2004 -- logging Telugu Desam Party's N. Chandrababu Naidu out of power. What the young leader could not achieve in the Congress, he has done it by floating a new party and slogging for eight years, banking on the legacy of YSR, as his late father was popularly known. Jagan, as the businessman-politician is popularly known, made the YSRCP replace Congress as the second major political force in the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 and in 2019, led it to power. As he gears up to take over as the second Chief Minister of new state of Andhra Pradesh, the focus is on the 46-year-old who proved his political acumen by defeating much experienced 69-year-old Chandrababu Naidu. When YSR led the Congress to power in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004, Jagan was running his businesses, mostly from Bengaluru. YSR was in a hurry to groom his son as his political successor. He tried to make his brother Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy resign from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat in 2005 to pave way for Jagan's election. While Vivekananda agreed, then Congress President Sonia Gandhi scuttled the move and asked YSR to wait till 2009. Making an impressive electoral debut, Jagan was elected to Lok Sabha from Kadapa in 2009 elections, when his father retained power in the state. Barely six months later the death of YSR in a chopper crash plunged the state into political chaos. Even before Jagan's burial, YSR loyalists started "Jagan as CM" campaign, much to the dislike of Congress leadership, which choose veteran leader K. Rosaiah as YSR's successor. Seen as rebellious and a man in hurry to take over the mantle, Jagan defied the party leadership to embark on "odarpu yatra" to console the family members of those who died of shock or committed suicide following YSR's death. As Jagan's rebellion continued to pose a challenge, the Congress leadership replaced Rosaiah with Kiran Kumar Reddy to deal firmly with dissidence. When Vivekananda Reddy was inducted into state cabinet, Jagan accused the Congress of dividing his family and quit the party along with his mother Y.S. Vijayamma, who was earlier elected unopposed from Pulivendula Assembly seat, which fell vacant following YSR's death. Jagan, with a handful of loyalists, floated the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSCRP) in March. By winning by-elections from Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula with huge margins, the son-mother duo proved their popularity in the faction-ridden Rayalaseema region. However, the alleged dramatic increase in Jagan's wealth when his father was the Chief Minister had already triggered demands from his rivals in Congress and also the TDP for a thorough probe. Following a Central Bureau of Investigation probe ordered by Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2011, a series of cases were registered against him and his aides. In what is called the 'quid-pro-quo' cases, Jagan was accused of getting investments into his businesses by firms and individuals in return for the shown undue favours shown to them by the government headed by his father in the form of approvals, leases, contracts and government land. However, the YSRCP leader denied all the charges as "witch-hunting". Jagan's rivals also targeted his media ventures, alleging that the ill-gotten wealth of YSR had gone into a Telugu newspaper and a channel owned by him. The CBI arrested Jagan and sent him to jail on May 27, 2012. After 16 months in jail, he was granted bail. In the affidavit filed along with his nomination from Pulivendula last month, Jagan mentioned 31 criminal cases pending against him including cases booked by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate under Prevention of Corruption and Act Money Laundering Act among others. He, however, was not convicted in any case. After the release from jail in 2013, Jagan started building the party and undertook 'padyatras' or foot marches like his late father to know people's problems. With striking similarities to YSR, Jagan became known for making an instant emotional chord with the masses, mingling with them, shaking hands and cupping everyone's chin in a commiserative gesture. Though deprived of a win in 2014 mainly due to the TDP's alliance with the BJP, Jagan continued his struggle. Unfazed by defection of nearly two dozen MLAs to the TDP, he focused on strengthening the party. He set a new record through 14-month-long 'padyatra' , which ended in January this year. Covering a distance of 3,640 km on foot, he promised to usher in 'Rajanna Rajyam', a reference to his father's rule during which welfare schemes were implemented for various sections of the society. Unlike typical Indian politicians, Jagan is usually clad in a formal striped shirt and trousers. Fit and smartly dressed, he enjoys huge following among youth. Jagan, who had his schooling at Hyderabad Public School, holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. His wife Y.S. Bharathi is a business woman while his daughter Y.S. Harshini Reddy and Y.S. Varsha Reddy are pursuing higher education. In his election affidavit, Jagan declared family assets of over Rs 500 crore. Kolkata, May 23 : The saffron surge in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls has put the political legitimacy of the state' ruling Trinamool Congress at stake, analysts said on Thursday. They also said that the BJP could come to power in the 2021 Assembly polls, or even earlier, by ousting the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government in the state. "The BJP's rise is all set to bring structural changes in the state politics. Prevailing political narratives like secularism and welfare of poor were developed by the Left Front, while the Congress and Trinamool mostly followed the same," political analyst Bimal Shankar Nanda told IANS. "If the BJP manages to win more than 15 seats, political legitimacy of the Trinamool government would be at stake." He said there "could be repetition" of what happened in the last two years of the erstwhile Left Front regime after most their candidates lost in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Eventually, Trinamool swept to power in the state in 2011. Amid apprehensions of losing seats in the cow belt, the BJP made a strong pitch to woo voters in West Bengal and increased its vote share on the back of the rising popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, polarisation, and exploiting issues like nationalism. Moreover, the BJP also got the help of leaders that the party poached from the Trinamool Congress, analysts said. According to one, the BJP's new narratives of nationalism and its campaign of "no appeasementa to any particular community have clearly paid dividend to the saffron party in the eastern state." "There has been a massive polarisation in West Bengal and it would not be surprising if the BJP comes to power in 2021 or even before, ousting Trinamool government," political analyst Udayan Bandyopadhyay told IANS. According to analysts, the BJP's relentless attacks on the Trinamool supremo, accusing her of appeasement politics, helped polarisation in the state and the consolidation of Hindu votes. "Trinamool Congress introduced a model of development in the state although it was widely criticised. In spite of the development work undertaken by the Mamata government, Hindus, who comprise over 70 per cent of electorate, felt let down in the state and believed that they were deprived of the fruits of development," Nanda said. The latest trends suggest that Trinamool Congress is leading in 21 seats while the saffron party was ahead in 20 seats. Trinamool had won 34 Lok Sabha seats and the BJP bagged only two seats in 2014. Some policies of the Trinamool, like offering stipends to Muslim clerics and special arrangements for the minorities in areas like education, have been given a "thumbs down" by the voters. "Such appeasement politics created doubts among Hindus on whether the state government is favouring Muslims more. Banerjee too acknowledged indirectly of her party's appeasement policy towards the minority community as she started chanting mantras during campaigns to woo Hindus. But it was too late," Nanda said. The shift of the Left vote in the state to the Right, which has been debated intensely, is largely the result of "Mamata's suicidal strategy" to ruin the Left parties in the state. The party-wise vote share clearly shows that the Trinamool Congress suffered from the sharp drop in the Left Front's vote's share to below 10 per cent. The Left Front vote share was over 29 per cent in 2014 and fell to about 22 per cent in 2016. In 2014, the BJP, despite its weak organisational strength in the state, managed to increase its vote share to 17 per cent, which came down to around 10 per cent in 2016. Analysts, however, said the BJP's challenge would be to project a leader to match Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections. According to them, Modi may have done it for the party in this election, but for the state polls the BJP needs to find a good chief ministerial candidate. Lucknow, May 23 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath received a tumultuous welcome when he reached the BJP state headquarters here on Thursday evening. With 'gulal' flying in the air and the beating of drums, Adityanath was swathed with garlands of all shapes and sizes. Flanked by two Deputy Chief Ministers, Keshav Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, Adityanath thanked party workers for the victory and said that it was the collective efforts of all and the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that ensured a huge win for the party in the general elections. He asked party workers to start preparing for the 2022 Assembly elections and ensure a second term for the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh which he said would be a befitting reply to the rivals. Enthusiastic party workers distributed 'laddos' and lotus shaped sweets at the party workers and danced with gay abandon to celebrate their victory. New Delhi, May 23 : The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday dubbed BJP's victory in the Lok Sabha polls as a triumph of national forces and hoped that the opposition parties would welcome mandate with humility. "Crores of people of Bharat are fortunate to have once again a stable government. This is the triumph of the national forces. Many compliments to each and everyone who have contributed to this victory of democracy. The spirit and ideal of democracy have once again been established for the world to witness," Bhayyaji Joshi, RSS General Secretary, said in a statement. The saffron organisation expected that the new government would endeavour and succeed in fulfilling the aspirations and ambitions of the common people while the opposition parties accept the defeat with all humility. "We wish that with the completion of polling process all bitterness will end and the verdict of the masses is welcomed with humility," Joshi said. Mumbai, May 23 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar said the Congress-led Mahagathbandhan in the state "respects" the peoples' verdict in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "The results that have come out are unexpected. We accept the verdict. We shall analyse the outcome, increase our people-to-people contacts, and hope to do better next time. We thank the people for their support," Pawar told the media. He pointed out that while the NCP has won at least four seats, the constituencies where it has lost are with "narrow margins", compared to the 2014 elections, "but a win is a win". "Whether elections were fought under Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh, there were no apprehensions expressed about the polls. But this time, role of the Election Commission and the ruling party has been under a cloud of doubts. The outcome was very unexpected," Pawar said. He admitted that the NCP was confident of bagging at least 11 seats, but after the defeat, the party has now started work for the upcoming (Assembly) elections. The NCP has bagged four seats so far -- Supriya Sule-Pawar in Baramati, Marathi filmstar Amol Kolhe in Shirur, descendent of the Chhatrapati Shivaji's royal family, Chhatrapati Udayanraje P. Bhosale from Satara and Sunil Tatkare from Raigad, who defeated Shiv Sena's sole Union Cabinet Minister Anant Geete by a large margin. Islamabad, May 23 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the Lok Sabha elections. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," tweeted Khan. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters in India exercised their franchise in the seven-phased elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. -- With inputs from IANS New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah joins victory celebrations at the party's headquarters after the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to retain power for another five years after making a sweep of the Lok Sabha battle and mauling the opposi Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah joins victory celebrations at the party's headquarters after the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to retain power for another five years after making a sweep of the Lok Sabha battle and mauling the opposi Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, May 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be the man of the moment for winning the historic second term but it is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah who is being hailed, even by the rivals, as the man behind the moment. "Time for Congress to get an Amit Shah," tweeted People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and BJP's friend turned foe. Omar Abdullah, another former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and a bitter critic of the BJP, congratulated Modi and Shah for putting together a winning alliance and running a "very professional campaign". Shah's election management has become part of India's political folklore -- an image that has been resurrected after the BJP's loss in three north Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh less than six months ago. The BJP now has swept the Lok Sabha polls in all these three states staging an emphatic comeback restoring Amit Shah's winning streak and reconfirming the title of master strategist. If 2014 mandate for Modi was eye-opening, the verdict in 2019 is jaw dropping. Amit Shah was more than a backroom strategist in this election as he contested the Lok Sabha seat from Gandhinagar and his public appeal was next only to the Prime Minister. Speculations are already rife in New Delhi's political circles that he will play a bigger role in Modi 2.0 instead of only handling the party affairs. If he gets a cabinet berth, it will be one of the four top portfolios of Foreign, Home, Finance and Defence. With Foreign, Home and Finance being held by BJP's senior leaders Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley -- all three have handled their tasks well -- the fourth slot of Defence Ministry, currently held by Nirmala Sitharaman, make Amit Shah a serious contender. At Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first appearance in a press conference at the end of campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, Amit Shah took all the questions, a clear indication of command and control set up in the BJP. Even the Prime Minister chose to let Amit Shah hold the stage in his presence. The BJP had planned for the 2019 much ahead of its rivals. Shah ordered a scientific evaluation of 120 seats the party had lost in 2014. Special focus was made on seven states (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal) where the party was weak along with the Northeastern states. The results in West Bengal, Odisha and the Northeast show that the BJP's strategy worked perfectly as the party made impressive gains in these new territories. Under his leadership, the BJP registered emphatic victories in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Tripura. The party also lost in Bihar, Delhi and Punjab apart from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. A glimpse of Amit Shah's tenure as the party president is given on his home page where a detailed report card is given about his programmes, plans, travels and strategy signalling the emphasis on details. The strict dos and don't for the party functionaries include restrictions on the use of private jets other than election campaigns and stays in expensive five star hotels with the preference for state guest houses only. Hyderabad, May 23 : The crushing defeat of non-NDA parties in Lok Sabha elections shattered the dreams of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who was looking to play a key role at the Centre. The results came as a huge blow to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief who was working to cobble up a "Federal Front" to form a non-BJP, non-Congress government at the Centre. KCR, as Rao is popularly known, was even being seen as the potential prime ministerial candidate by his party in the event of regional parties emerging as a major bloc in the Lok Sabha. What is more shocking for KCR is that his party could not achieve the goal of making a clean sweep in Telangana. KCR's party was aiming to win 16 seats leaving Hyderabad for its ally All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Both the BJP and the Congress dealt a blow to the TRS' plans as they were together ahead in seven constituencies. KCR's daughter K. Kavitha failed to retain her Nizamabad seat. She was one of the 11 MPs of the TRS in previous Lok Sabha. The outcome is shocking for the TRS as it came barely six months after it retained power in Telangana with a landslide victory, winning 88 seats in 119-member Assembly. It was after this huge win that KCR had revived his plans for Federal Front by meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who head the Trinamool Congress and the Biju Janata Dal, respectively. A few days ago, the TRS chief stepped up his efforts by holding talks with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, and DMK leader M.K. Stalin. It was in March last year KCR had who proposed the Federal Front to bring what he called a qualitative change in national politics. He had held series of meetings with leaders of various non-NDA parties. After the massive victory in Assembly elections, KCR had appointed his son K. T. Rama Rao as the Working President of the TRS so that he can focus on national politics. This was also seen as an attempt to pave way for Rama Rao to take over as Chief Minister in the event of KCR moving to Delhi. In 2014, the TRS had won 11 Lok Sabha seats while Congress had bagged two. The BJP, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the AIMIM had won a seat each. The MPs of the YSRCP and the TDP and one of the two MPs of Congress had later switched loyalties to the TRS. Mumbai, May 23 : Before his official tour in India, comedian Aziz Ansari was happy to spread cheer and laughter with his surprise gig, in which he touched upon issues like US politics, racism and the #MeToo movement, at a restaurant here. Ansari surprised his fans on Wednesday by doing a set at Todi Mill Social in Lower Parel, as a part of Indian comedian Varun Thakur's show. He performed for nearly an hour, right after Varun. He opened the act by talking about his apprehensions of doing a comedy gig in India. The Indian-American star, who was accused of sexual misconduct last year, also opened up abut the allegations during the set. Last year, a 24-year-old New York photographer accused the comedian of repeatedly pressuring her to have sex when they went on a date in 2017. Opening up about the allegations, he said that he felt scared, humiliated and terrible. He called it an "intense experience". The comedian is happy to bring his comedy tour 'Road to Nowhere' to India in collaboration with BookMyShow. Ansari said he has not prepared differently for his tour in India. The award winning stand-up comic will perform at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) and Liberty Cinema in Mumbai on May 24 and 25. He will then perform at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Delhi on May 26. Mumbai, May 23 : The BSE Sensex jump-started to cross the 40,000 mark for the first time ever on Thursday with the ruling NDA leading the Lok Sabha vote count from early in the day. In an unexpected turn, however, the markets witnessed a sharp fall in the second half owing to profit booking that washed away all the early gains. From the historic peak of 40,124.96, reached within an hour of market opening, the Sensex ended trade on counting day at 38,811.39, which was over 1,300 points lower than the highs reached earlier. With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leading the vote count from the beginning, the markets saw a massive gap-up opening. The morning gains went up to the magical figure of 12,000 (Nifty50) but then saw a sudden fall, said Sameet Chavan, Chief Analyst-Technical and Derivatives, Angel Broking. "In fact, the profit taking was so immense, we not only wiped off all gains but also went on to sneak into well inside negative territory," Chavan added. As political uncertainty went out of the picture, the volatility index or the India 'VIX' dropped by nearly 30 per cent during the trade session. The Sensex closed in the red, 298.82 points lower, or by 0.76 per cent, at 38,811.39. It hit an intra-day high of 40,124.96, and a low of 38,651.61. The Nifty also declined on Thursday by 80.85 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 11,657.05 after it had touched a lifetime high of 12,041.15 Globally, major Asian markets have closed on a negative note. European indices like FTSE, DAX and CAC are also trading in the red. "World shares have fallen four consecutive days on Thursday as concerns grew that the China-US trade tiff was fast turning into a technology war between them," said Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities. "Any credit implications of the outcome of India's general election will be determined by the policies adopted by the government in the next few years. These policies have yet to be formulated," US rating multinational Moody's Investors Service Vice President (Sovereign Risk Group) William Foster said in a statement. "At this stage, we expect the broad push towards fiscal consolidation to remain, although with greater policy emphasis on supporting low incomes," he said. "Unlike in 2014, NDA-II has to deal with a much weaker economy. Rural distress and slowing investment in the country are two major issues that need to be addressed in an urgent manner," said Deepthi Mathew, Economist at Geojit Financial Services. "The developments in the global economy are also not favourable, especially with regard to the rising crude oil prices. The low crude oil prices benefited NDA-I in a bigger way," she added. Chandigarh, May 23 : The Modi wave could not have shaken Captain Amarinder Singh's ship in Punjab. After thwarting foes within, Congress stalwart and two-time Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, 77, on Thursday is set to lead his party to victory in eight out of 13 Lok Sabha seats in his state. His wife Preneet Kaur also managed to win the Patiala seat again and that too with a record margin. This is her fourth victory. For the party's handsome victory in the northern border state, Amarinder expressed gratitude to the voters and party activists. Political observers say Amarinder's tactical advance into the opponent's political territory by associating fellow 'Faujis' (ex-servicemen) seems unparalleled against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message of nationalism and national security that struck a chord among voters across India. Secondly, they say, his shrewd move to put the previous Akali Dal-BJP combine government on the mat by announcing a memorial in Bargari area for those who lost their lives or were injured in the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing incidents has enabled him to counter Modi's wave. Two people were killed and many others injured when police resorted to unprovoked firing on hundreds of people protesting the alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village in Faridkot. Without missing an opportunity, the Chief Minister kept on reminding voters that sacrilege was another thing altogether in Punjab than the Balakot airstrikes on Pakistani terror camps. The people of Punjab, or anywhere else for that matter, can never forget an incident of desecration of their holy scriptures. Punjab, in particular, has suffered a great deal at the hands of divisive forces, he told IANS in an interview ahead of polling on May 19. They do not want communal disharmony, they want to live in peace. Religion is not something they can tolerate anyone playing with or exploiting for political or electoral gains, which the sacrilege cases here were all about, he said. At election meetings, he struck a cord by saying from the dais: "I am seeing too many 'faujis' here. How many of you participated in the 1965 India-Pakistan war?" Keeping his humorous side alive, Amarinder, who had served as an army captain during the war and often greets his contemporaries by saluting them, did not miss an opportunity to remind the gathering that BJP candidate from Gurdaspur and actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol was a "filmy fauji while I am a real fauji." Without mincing words, he often addressed Modi as a self-obsessed man. The Chief Minister drew a sharp contrast between Modi's handling of the Balakot strikes and Indira Gandhi's achievement in splitting Pakistan to create Bangladesh during the 1971 war. "In Punjab, which has a large number of its sons in the armed forces, this attempt by Modi to take credit for the strikes and invoke the Pulwama martyrs for votes has not gone down well at all with the people," he said. "They know Modi and the BJP had no role to play in the courageous act -- which was the work of the Indian Air Force. What did Modi do? Just give the orders sitting in a conference room at PMO (Prime Minister's Office)? Any PM would have done the same, as I have maintained all along." For Amarinder, who resigned as a Congress MP and left the party in 1984 to protest against Operation Bluestar and returned to the party in 1997, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were a national tragedy and Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remarks that "what happened just happened (in 1984)" were "shameful and unpardonable". Describing the 1984 riots a national tragedy, he told the electorate that it cannot be wished or washed away by Pitroda or anyone else. "And as Rahul Gandhi has also said, those who perpetrated the violence should and will be punished. But if Modi thinks the remarks of Pitroda are enough to make the people of Punjab make this an election issue, forgetting their suffering at the hands of his government, he is totally mistaken." The way Amarinder handled the issue of the 1984 riots, which was close to the hearts of all Sikhs, with his sharp acumen and also responded to Modi by condemning it publically and vocally, helped counter of polarisation of votes, an observer told IANS. At the same time, local concerns remained in the limelight in the election meetings of Amarinder who fought the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Amritsar and drubbed senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley by a margin of more than one lakh votes. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the Akali Dal-BJP combine won five seats (four to Akali Dal, one to BJP), while the Congress and the AAP won four seats each. (Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in) New Delhi, May 23 : World leaders, including the Chinese and Russian Presidents on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the Lok Sabha elections. In his congratulatory message, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his wish to strengthen ties between the two countries. Vladimir Putin congratulated Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on the victory of his Bharatiya Janata Party in the general election https://t.co/2KSK9SicJX President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) May 23, 2019 "From a long standing friend! Russian President Putin has sent a congratulatory message to PM and has confirmed his readiness to work together to build the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet. Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter to Modi noted the "great importance" he attached to the development of Sino-India relations and his desire to work with the Indian leader to take the development partnership between the two countries to a new height. Image Source: Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng/IANS Chinese President Xi Jinping with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Xi said under the leadership of the two leaders, Sino-India ties have "shown strong momentum of development". Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena tweeted: "Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India." The island country's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also congratulated the Indian Prime Minister for his "magnificent victory". Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India in the future.@narendramodi Maithripala Sirisena (@MaithripalaS) May 23, 2019 Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli wished Modi "all success ahead" and said, "I look forward to working closely with you." I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you. #PMOIndia K P Sharma Oli (@kpsharmaoli) May 23, 2019 Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani tweeted: "The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia." Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia. Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) May 23, 2019 Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wished "peace, happiness and prosperity for the people of India". Image Source: IANS Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Modi and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties. "Heartfelt congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive victory in the elections," he tweeted in Hebrew. Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India & Israel. Well done, my friend! Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 23, 2019 "The election results are more validation of your leadership and the way you lead the largest democracy in the world. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us, and between India and Israel and take it to new heights," the Israeli leader said. Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said it was "a strong affirmation of the Indian people's confidence in the BJP-led government. I look forward to closer and enhanced ties". Congratulations to PM @narendramodi on his historic victory in the Indian general elections. It is a strong affirmation of the Indian people's confidence in the BJP/led government. I look forward to closer and enhanced ties of Maldives-India cooperation. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (@ibusolih) May 23, 2019 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Modi and both leaders reiterated their commitment towards strengthening the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership, said the Ministry spokesperson. Image Source: Xinhua/IANS Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi Bhutan, Vietnam and Portugal Prime Ministers Lotay Tshering, Nguyen Xuan Phuc and AntAnio Costa, respectively, as well as Tanzanian President John Magufuli extended their congratulations to the Indian leader and sought to boost bilateral relations. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters in India exercised their franchise in the seven-phased elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. -- With inputs from IANS Dehradun, May 23 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will remain heavily indebted to the people of India for giving the party an unprecedented victory in the general elections. "We will remain heavily indebted to the people for giving us the full blessings in the elections," an elated Rawat said, amid rapturous celebrations at the party headquarters here. Rawat also cautioned the opposition about questioning the credibility of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) in their defeat and, instead, accept the verdict with all humility and grace. "This will amount to insulting the verdict of the people," he said. Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement, Rawat said that he had called for more than 300 seats and people, in turn, have responded with their full mandate. Referring to Modi's recent visit to Kedarnath, Rawat said that Lord Shiva had given the Prime Minister his full blessings. "I also pray to Baba Kedar to fulfill the dream of Modi in his efforts to make a new India by 2022," the Chief Minister said. He said that this was the first time in the country that there was no anti-incumbency factor operating against the ruling dispensation at the Centre. Rawat also noted that the ruling BJP has got between 51 to 67 per cent of the votes in all the five Lok Sabha seats of the state, which is also unprecedented. Jaipur, May 23 : As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) approaches towards a clean sweep in Rajasthan, the increasing vote margins on many crucial seats prove the slogan "Modi tujhse bair nahin", which once echoed in 2018 in Jhunjhunu. A huge gathering in the town during a "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" event had raised the slogan: "Modi tujhse bair nahin, Vasundhara teri khair nahin". By the end of the year, half of the slogan proved its worth when the BJP lost the Assembly elections. Soon after, all eyes were set to see if voters would prove that they had no issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Six months after the Assembly elections, voters have proved their slogan right by making the BJP win with record margins. BJP candidate Subhash Chandra Baheria from Bhilwara is ready to smash all records of victory by leading with a margin of 6,10,920 votes. In 2014, BJP's Subhash Baharia won the seat by 2,46,264 votes. Ajmer's Bhagirath Choudhary is leading by 4,13,671 votes against the victory margin of 1,71,983 votes in 2014. In Alwar, Baba Balaknath is leading by 3,23,786 votes over Congress candidate Jitendra Bhanwar Singh. This winning margin was 2,83,285 votes in 2014. In Banswara, Kanakmal Katara leads by 3,04,810 votes against the margin of 91,916 votes in 2014 attained by the BJP's Mansharkar Ninama. In Barmer, the BJP's Kailash Chaudhary is leading by 3,23,808, leaving Manvendra Singh of the Congress far behind. This difference of votes in 2014 was 87,461. Ranjita Koli from Bharatpur is ahead by 3,13,440 votes. In 2014, this difference was 2,45,468 when Bahadur Singh Koli won. C.P. Joshi from Chittaurgarh is leading by 5,76,242 votes and the margin in 2014 was 3,16,857 votes on this seat. Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's son Dushyant Singh is leading by 4,54,066 votes, which in 2014 was 2,81,546. Karauli Dholpur seat, considered a Congress stronghold, also saw BJP candidate Manoj Rajauriya leading by 95,954. The difference in 2014 was 27,216 when Manoj Rajauriya won the seat. In Rajsamand, Jaipur princess Diya Kumari is 5,48,952 votes ahead of her nearest rival. Hari Om Singh Rathore in 2014 had won the seat by 3,95,705 votes. Meanwhile, former BJP President Ashok Parnami said the party would have won the Assembly elections too had the Congress not made fake promises to farmers and unemployed youths about farm loan waivers and unemployment allowance. "The Congress lied to farmers that their loans will be waived. Also they trapped unemployed youths by promising them unemployment allowance of Rs 3,500, which is yet to be released. Hence, these two sections had voted for the Congress," he told the media. Parnami was removed from the post after the BJP lost the by-elections in Alwar, Ajmer and Mandalgarh in February 2018. (Archana Sharma can be contacted at arachana.g@gmail.com) New Delhi, May 23 : As Congress President Rahul Gandhi lost the prestigious Amethi seat to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Smriti Irani, one of the biggest setbacks of the Lok Sabha polls, the chorus grew on Twitter for resignation of Pubjan Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu. In April, Sidhu had announced he would quit politics if Rahul Gandhi lost elections from Amethi. "Navjot Sidhu come to laughter show again, that's your real place," said one user. "I know he is man of his words...now leave," tweeted another. Sidhu in April had out-rightly rejected the claim that Irani was giving a tough fight to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, the Congress bastion for years. Known for his controversial remarks, he has also been criticised by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for damaging the Congress prospects with his ill-timed comments against him and the party leadership in the state. "@sherryontopp stand true to your word..." tweeted one user. "Politics will now be that much less entertaining as @sherryontopp prepares to keep his vow of quitting politics were @RahulGandhi to lose #Amethi. I am afraid he may already have tendered his resignation as Minister to @capt_amarinder," tweeted another user. Amethi, May 23 : Amethi, on Thursday, snapped its 39 years long relationship with the Gandhi family -- a relationship that was filled with emotions and nurtured with emotions. The victory of BJP's Smriti Irani and defeat of Rahul Gandhi is not just the result of an electoral battle -- it is much more than that. Bechu Khan, a businessman in Jagdishpur, aptly summed up the result when he said: "Amethi is witnessing a generational shift. The new generation has little room for emotions and is more concerned about its future which they saw in Smriti Irani and the BJP. "This new generation has not seen Rajiv Gandhi connect with the local people. They have not seen how Sanjay Gandhi made Amethi important so they do not have an emotional relationship with the Gandhi family." For the people of Amethi, development has rarely been an issue. "For us, the identity was more important. Wherever we went across the country and said that we were from Amethi, we would get respect and local Congressmen would reach out to help us. This mattered more for the local people," said Shiv Nath Shukla, a lawyer from Gauriganj. Then what made Amethi ditch the Gandhis this time? The local people say that it is the young voters who are responsible for electing Smriti Irani. "She reached out to them, helped them get scholarships, jobs etc. In her, they saw a hope for their future. The local BJP leaders acted as a bridge between Smriti Irani and the people. This time, Amethi has voted for its own interest," said Ram Sevak, a Congress worker from Musafirkhana. Moreover, Irani kept campaigning in Amethi even after she lost the seat in 2014 by a margin of over one lakh votes. She would regularly visit the constituency and point out Rahul Gandhi's absence. People from Amethi had easy access to her in Delhi, too. It may be recalled that Amethi was first won by the Congress in 1980 and has remained with the Congress, barring one year when the BJP won the seat. In 1980, Sanjay Gandhi had won the seat but after his death, Rajiv Gandhi won the seat in a by-election in 1981. Rajiv Gandhi retained the seat in 1984, 1989 and in 1991. In 1991 and 1996, Captain Satish Sharma, a friend of the Gandhi family won the seat but in 1998, the BJP wrest the seat when Sanjay Singh was elected. A year later, Sonia Gandhi entered politics and won the Amethi seat which she retained till 2004. Rahul Gandhi won the seat in 2004, 2009 and 2014. New Delhi, May 23 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for their victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said the party respects the mandate given by the people of the country. Speaking to reporters here at the party headquarters, she said: "We respect the mandate of the people and I congratulate Modiji and BJP for the victory." Priyanka Gandhi had arrived at the party headquarters along with her brother and party President Rahul Gandhi to address a press conference. Her remarks came after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in over 300 of the 542 parliamentary seats. While Rahul Gandhi lost home turf Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani, he won from Kerala's Wayanad. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi also won from Rae Bareli. Islamabad, May 23 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the Lok Sabha poll victory and said that he looks forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," tweeted Khan as the Modi-led BJP headed for a landslide victory in the general elections. Khan's congratulatory message came a day before Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek They were seated next to each other during an interaction with Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov amid strain in ties between the two neighbours following the Pulwama terror attack which killed over 40 CRPF personnel that resulted in heightened military tensions. But according to MEA sources, there was no meeting and only exchange of pleasantries between the two leaders. Pakistan media outlet Dawn however, said that Qureshi and Sushma Swaraj held "an informal dialogue" on the sidelines of the SCO meeting. "Today (I) met Sushma Ji. She had a complaint that we sometimes talk in a bitter manner. She brought sweets today so we could also speak sweetly," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Foreign Office, according to the Dawn. "We made it clear to her that we want all the matters resolved through dialogue, and that Prime Minister Imran Khan had said in his very first speech that if India takes one step forward, we would take two steps forward. Even today we are ready for a dialogue," he was quoted as saying. Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad were triggered after the February 14 attack which was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). India had later carried out air strikes at a terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26. A day after, the Air Forces of both the countries engaged in an aerial combat in which Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman shot down one of the Pakistani Air Force jets. He was then captured by Pakistan but was released later by Islamabad as a "peace gesture". Both countries are now expected to look for a thaw in bilateral ties after a new government assumes office in Delhi. Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi Thackeray celebrate as the BJP-led NDA is set to retain power for another five years after making a sweep of the 2019 Lok Sabha battle and maul Image Source: IANS News Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Vinod Tawde and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray celebrate as the BJP-led NDA is set to retain power for another five years after ma Image Source: IANS News Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Vinod Tawde, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi Thackeray and son Aditya Thackeray celebrate as the BJP-led NDA is se Image Source: IANS News Mumbai, May 23 : The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine marched to a spectacular victory in Maharashtra, leading in or bagging (as of 6 p.m.) 41 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the success by saying: "Its not just a 'Modi-wave', it's a tsunami." "There are no differences between us (BJP-Sena)... The people have given us a clear verdict. We shall go among the people and work for development and other issues," he said. Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, who warmly welcomed Fadnavis at his home in the evening, attributed the results to the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies. "Our alliance will continue further, even after the upcoming Assembly elections in October," Thackeray said. When questioned about his estranged cousin Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray's famous campaign "Laav re te video" (Play that video), Thackeray declined comment, but said mockingly: "Laav re te fataakde" (Burst the crackers). As per latest trends, the BJP was on way to winning 22 seats and the Shiv Sena 20 seats, of the 25 and 23 seats they contested respectively, which Fadnavis termed as well within their expectations and which "increased the responsibility thrust by the people on the saffron alliance". The electoral bloodbath in Maharashtra claimed at least two Union Ministers - one from the BJP and one from Sena - falling to the Congress and NCP candidates respectively. There are two former chief ministers - Ashok Chavan in Nanded and Sushilkumar Shinde in Solapur - both from Congress who were felled by the BJP surge. However, the Congress is still pinning hopes of winning one seat - Chandrapur - while its ally Nationalist Congress Party has bagged four seats so far - Baramati, Raigad, Shirur and Satara. Opposition-supported Independent, south Indian film actress Navnit Kaur R. Rana (Amravati) also won. In Aurangabad, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen candidate Imtiyaz Jaleel Syed who was leading with significant margins since morning, suddenly trailed in the evening behind his Shiv Sena rival Chandrakant Ahire, and the see-saw battle between them continued in each round. NCP President Sharad Pawar said he humbly accepts the peoples' verdict, while a bewildered MNS chief Raj Thackeray termed the outcome "as beyond rationale". For the state's numero uno political clan, the shocking defeat of NCP's Parth Ajit Pawar in Maval was the first-ever tasted by any family member in any elections in the past over five decades. Another former Chief Minister and President of Maharashtra Swabhimani Party Narayan Rane's son and former MP Nilesh Rane was trounced by the Sena candidate Vinayak Raut in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, with the Congress controversial nominee Navinchandra B. Bandivadekar faring a poor third. The country's commercial capital saw the Congress-NCP dreams crumble once again after 2014 when they lost all the six seats in Mumbai, stunning the recently-appointed city party chief Milind M. Deora. Similarly, the much-anticipated Dalit-Muslim unity experiment of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) was totally rejected by the people, with VBA President Prakash Ambedkar - grandson of Architect of Indian Constitution B.R. Ambedkar - losing in both Akola and Solapur seats which he contested, though the AIMIM candidate in Aurangabad held out hopes of a victory. Buoyed by the outcome, a confident BJP Minister Chandrakant Patil announced that in the upcoming state Assembly elections, the BJP-Sena alliance would again rule Maharashtra. New Delhi, May 23 : Narendra Modi has achieved the distinction of becoming only the third Indian Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Manmohan Singh to return to office after completing a full term with the results of the 2019 general election being announced on Thursday. Nehru, independent India's first prime minister, had led the Congress to victory in the 1951, 1957 and 1962 Lok Sabha elections. Nehru died in office in May 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri became the Prime Minister. He never faced a general election as he too died in office in January 1966 after signing the Tashkent Accord on restoring subcontinental peace after the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi, who was then the Information and Broadcasting Minister, became the Prime Minister and led the Congress to victory in the 1967 general election, albeit with reduced numbers. Gandhi called elections a year early in 1971 and won a decisive mandate and saw the country win its biggest military victory the same year that saw the decimation of the Pakistani Army and the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh. Four years later, fighting off an opposition onslaught for her resignation after an adverse court verdict holding her guilty of electoral malpractices, Gandhi declared Emergency in 1975, due to which the elections which were due in 1976, were not held. Indira Gandhi lifted the emergency in 1977 and called general election that saw a conglomeration of disparate parties under the Janata Party umbrella being swept to power. That experiment lasted a little over two years and Indira Gandhi led the Congress to a resounding victory in the 1980 general election. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in October 1984 and her son Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister. He called early elections the same year that saw the Congress being returned with a thumping majority, winning 414 of the 533 seats where polling was held. The Congress, however, lost power in the 1989 elections largely due to the taint of the Bofors gun purchase deal. V.P. Singh became the prime minister of a Janata Dal government that had outside support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left. However, the tensions generated over a 'Rath Yatra' undertaken by BJP leader L.K. Advani saw the party pulling out its support, which led to the government's collapse. The Congress then propped up a dispensation headed by Chandra Shekhar but pulled out after a little over 100 days, accusing the government of spying on Rajiv Gandhi. Elections were called early in 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while on the campaign trail and the Congress rode to power on a huge sympathy wave. P.V. Narasimha Rao became the prime minister and served a full term but the corruption taint again saw the Congress losing power in the 1996 elections. The BJP emerged as the single largest party and Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the prime minister, but the government lasted only 13 days as it could not cobble together the required numbers in the Lok Sabha. A United Front coalition then assumed office, first with H.D. Deve Gowda and then I.K. Gujral as the Prime Minister. Not unexpectedly, the coalition experiment lasted just two years and elections were called in 1998. Atal Bihari Vajpayee returned as Prime Minister to head a BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition that collapsed a year later. The BJP, however, retained power in the 1999 elections. Riding what it believed was a popularity wave prompted by its "India Shining" campaign, the BJP called elections a few months early in 2004 but faced the mortification of being voted out. Manmohan Singh then became the Prime Minister for the first time - and returned to power on May 16, 2009. Riding a Narendra Modi wave, the BJP achieved majority of 282 of the 543 LOk Sabha seats (NDA 336) for which elections were held in 2014 and Narendra Modi was sworn in as India's 14th Prime Minister on May 26. The NDA-BJP is set to replicate the effort in 2019 and Narendra Modi is al set to be sworn in for a second term. (Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in) New Delhi, May 23 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said that he looks forward to work together with him for the city's people. "I congratulate Narendra Modi for this historic win and look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Delhi," the Aam Aadmi Party chief said in a tweet. The BJP is leading on 303 seats, including all seven seats in Delhi. Earlier in the day, the AAP congratulated the saffron party for its victory and said it hopes that Modi would do good work in his future tenure. Meanwhile, as terror accused BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur led the contest in Bhopal, the AAP said it is time for the people to introspect. "The one who called Mahatma Gandhi's assassin a 'patriot' has reached the Parliament and we all remain mute spectator. This is the time for the people to introspect," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a tweet. Bengaluru, May 23 : Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for winning the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with absolute majority. "This is an unexpected result for me personally. But I congratulate Modi and BJP for the absolute mandate they got from the people," tweeted Kumaraswamy in Kannada, hours after the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and its ally Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the southern state where the saffron party won 25 of the 28 parliamentary seats. Congratulating all the winners in the state irrespective of party affiliations, Kumaraswamy said that though the JD-S had won and lost many elections in the past, it would continue to work for the welfare of the people. "We will discuss the results with our party leaders and legislators and also our ally Congress to strengthen our coalition government to serve the people," the Chief Minister tweeted. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 17 seats and is leading in eight more out of 27 seats the party had contested, while the JD-S and the Congress won only one each. Independent Sumalatha Ambareesh, who was supported by the BJP, won from Mandya against Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of the Chief Minister and grandson of JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. Of the seven seats JD-S contested in the two-phase poll held on April 18 and April 23, six of its candidates, including Deve Gowda lost from Tumkur to the BJP. Of the 21 seats Congress contested in a pre-poll seat arrangement with JD-S, it lost in 20 and could retain only one - Bangalore Rural. In the 2014 general elections, BJP won 17, Congress nine and JD-S two. New Delhi, May 23 : BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the world's "most popular" leader and credited him for party's spectacular victory in Lok Sabha polls. Addressing party workers here at the BJP headquarters, Shah also hit out at opposition parties, saying the mandate has buried the politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement. "Modiji is the 'mahanayak' of the BJP's grand victory. BJP's victory is most historical after Independence. This is victory of every workers of the party. This is victory of BJP government's policy of the 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' and ofcourse, it is victory of popularity of Modiji," Shah said amid chants of "Modi-Modi" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". Hitting out at opposition parties for forming alliances to defeat Modi, he said that BJP was fighting for 50 per cent votes and today the party has garnered over 50 per cent vote share in 17 states including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "The Congress faced a crushing defeat and it could not even open its account in 17 states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha," he said. Ranchi, May 23 : After 15 years, Jharkhand elected two women parliamentarians in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. Both women defeated stalwarts of Jharkhand politics. BJP candidate Annapurna Devi defeated former Chief Minister and JVM-P president Babulal Marandi and Congress candidate Geeta Koda defeated BJP state president Lakashman Giluwa. Annapurna Devi won the Koderma seat by a margin of 4,47,099 votes over Marandi. Of the total 12,08,254 votes polled she secured 7,51,996 votes. Marandi managed to get 2,97,232 votes. She was state RJD president and joined the BJP after announcement of the Lok Sabha polls. Geeta Koda secured 4,30,900 votes of the total 8,76,613 votes polled. Her rival BJP state president managed to get 3,58,055 votes. She had joined Congress last year. She is a sitting legislator. Jharkhand had last elected any woman MP in 2004 from Khuti. Sushila Kerketa of Congress was elected in 2004. New Delhi, May 23 : As he retained power with a resounding electoral victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday received congratulatory messages and phone calls from a host of foreign leaders, including his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Among other foreign leaders to congratulate Modi were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. Imran Khan tweeted his message on Twitter. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," he posted. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: "From a long standing friend! Russian President Putin has sent a congratulatory message to PM and has confirmed his readiness to work together to build the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs." The Chinese President wrote a letter to Modi, saying he attached "great importance" to the development of Sino-India relations and expressed his desire to work with the Indian leader to take the development partnership between the two countries to a new height. Xi said under the leadership of the two leaders, Sino-India ties have "shown strong momentum of development". Netanyahu tweeted: "Congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive election victory! The election results further reaffirm your leadership of the world's largest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between India and Israel." "Well done, my friend!" Macron called up Modi to congratulate him and the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together towards further strengthening of the strategic partnership between India and France. Modi thanked France for its steadfast support to India on critical issues, the MEA spokesperson said. Describing Modi as "one of the foremost leaders of the democratic world", the French President reiterated his invitation to him to visit the country in August for a bilateral meeting and to attend the G7 Summit at Biarritz. Shinzo Abe also called up Modi and the two leaders reiterated their commitment towards strengthening the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership, according to the MEA spokesperson. Sirisena tweeted: "Congratulations on your victory and the peoples re-endorsement of your leadership. Sri Lanka looks forward to continuing the warm and constructive relationship with India." The island country's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also congratulated the Indian Prime Minister for his "magnificent victory". Oli wished Modi "all success ahead" and said, "I look forward to working closely with you." Ghani tweeted: "The government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia." Hasina wished "peace, happiness and prosperity for the people of India". Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said it was "a strong affirmation of the Indian people's confidence in the BJP-led government. I look forward to closer and enhanced ties". Bhutan, Australia, Vietnam and Portugal Prime Ministers Lotay Tshering, Scott Morrison, Nguyen Xuan Phuc and AntAnio Costa, respectively, as well as Tanzanian President John Magufuli extended their congratulations to the Indian leader and sought to boost bilateral relations. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong "welcomed India's deepening engagement in the region". Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan also congratulated Modi. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters in India exercised their franchise in the seven-phased elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. IANS pgs/akk/soni/ Amaravati, May 23 : Popular Telugu actor and Jana Sena Party (JSP) chief Pawan Kalyan had a disastrous electoral debut in Andhra Pradesh as he lost from both the Assembly seats he contested. In Gajuwaka constituency in Visakhapatnam district, Pawan lost to YSR Congress Party's (YSRCP) T. Nagireddy by over 16,000 votes. The actor also tasted defeat in Bhimavaram constituency in West Godavari district where Grandhi Srinivas of YSRCP emerged victorious with over 8,000 votes. JSP, which was expected to be a X factor in the event of a close fight between Telugu Desam Party and YSRCP, came a cropper. It was leading in one constituency in 175-member Assembly and drew a blank in 25 Lok Sabha seats. The debut of Kalyan's party was worst than Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) floated by his elder brother and superstar K. Chiranjeevi in 2009. PRP had bagged 18 seats in 294-member Assembly of then undivided Andhra Pradesh. JSP had contested the polls in alliance with Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist but none of them could win a single Assembly or Lok Sabha seat. Bhubaneswar: Workers of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) celebrate as the party in Odisha has taken a massive lead in Assembly constituencies while it is dominating in Lok Sabha seats from the state, in Bhubaneswar on May 23, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Kolkata: BJP workers wearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's accompanide masks celebrate after the party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to retain power for another five years after making a sweep of the 2019 Lok Sabha battle and mauling t Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, May 23 : In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) surprised many by making deep inroads into West Bengal and Odisha, considered bastions of the Trinamool Congress and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), respectively. The BJP was leading in 18 of the 42 seats in West Bengal, and 9 out of 21 parliamentary constituencies in Odisha. In the 2014, the BJP had won only two parliamentary seats -- Asansol and Darjeeling -- in West Bengal. On the other hand, the ruling Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress was heading for a major setback by leading in only 23 seats. In 2014, it had won 34 seats. The Communist Party of India-Marxist, which had won two seats in 2014, was staring at a wipe-out. The Congress, which had won four seats in 2014, was leading in one seat. In Odisha, where the BJP had won one seat in 2014, was leading in nine out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats. The BJD may suffer a setback of eight seats as it was leading in 12 seats. However, the BJP was unable to make any inroad into Kerala despite riding the Sabarimala temple issue. The Congress-led UDF was leading in 15 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Paris, May 23 : A diamond worth 45 million euros ($50 million) has allegedly been stolen from a luxury hotel in Paris by two men who posed as precious stones experts, authorities said on Thursday. The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office told Efe news that it has launched a preliminary investigation into an alleged organized heist that took place in a hotel located in the VIII district, a short distance from the Avenue des Champs Elysees in central Paris. The investigation has been handed over to the police of the Brigade de RApression du Banditisme (Banditry Repression Brigade), a special unit that supervises armed robbery, serious thefts and scam probes and operates within the Ministry of the Interior. The victim, a Guinean national, had made an afternoon appointment for May 13 at the Warwick hotel for a valuation of her 43.5-carat diamond. The two men and woman spent some time talking at the hotel's bar during which one of the suspects examined the precious stone before returning it to its owner. But two days later, the woman went to a police station to report her diamond had been stolen after she discovered it had been replaced by an imitation. It is still early days for investigators who will first verify the woman's account of events and retrace her activity in a bid to identify the suspects. Srinagar, May 23 : Zakir Musa, Jammu and Kashmir's most wanted militant, was shot dead on Thursday by security forces in Pulwama district, informed sources said. Musa, who headed the Anzar Ghazwat-ul Hind, the Al Qaeda affiliate, was killed in Dadsara village in Tral area, the sources said. Ahmedabad, May 23 : The Bharatiya Janata Party in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat once again captured all 26 Lok Sabha seats on Thursday while decimating the opposition Congress with BJP candidates improving their voteshare with dreamlike numbers, the highest margin being 6.78 lakh votes and the lowest at 1.25 lakh. If the Modi wave swept all the seats with a vote share of 31 per cent in 2014, the 2019 tsunami was set to send it skyrocketing with all BJP candidates, except one, improving their winning margins drastically. Seeking re-election from Navsari constituency in South Gujarat, BJP's C.R. Patil defeated his nearest rival by a whopping 6,78,545 votes, while party chief Amit Shah registered an emphatic victory margin of 5,55,843 votes, surpassing party patriarch L.K. Advani's winning lead of 4.83 lakh. There is more. Surat BJP candidate Darshana Jardosh won with a margin of 5,47,155 votes, improving her margin of 5,33,190 in 2014. Another woman candidate, Ranjan Bhatt won by 5,63,951 votes almost matching Modi's 5,70,128 in 2014. Modi subsequently preferred to retain the Varanasi seat in UP. As many as 10 others posted victory margins of more than three lakh votes over their Congress rivals. Only four candidates' victory margins only marginally fell - in Porbandar, Mehsana and Ahmedabad West. The only seat where the margin fell from 2.30 lakh votes in 2014 to 1,25,559 was Dahod in central Gujarat, which was contested for the second time by Jashwant Bhabhor. This seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Srinagar, May 23 : The Kashmir Valley's most wanted militant commander, Zakir Musa, who headed the Al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwatul Hind, was killed on Thursday by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. Informed sources said the security forces started a cordon and search operation in Dadsara village of Tral area following information about the presence of two militants there. "The trapped militants were persuaded to surrender. Instead they hurled grenades and started a gunfight, triggering an encounter," a source said. One of the dead was identified as Zakir Musa. Zakir Musa, a close associate of Burhan Wani who was killed in 2017, was a militant of Hizbul Mujahideen who succeeded Burhan and later headed the Al Qaeda affiliate. He had taken to militancy in 2013. Zakir Rashid Bhat, his real name, was an engineering student in Chandigarh who abandoned education and joined militancy. He was born in Noorpora village of Tral area. His father, Abdul Rashid Bhat, is a senior engineer working for the Jammu and Kashmir government. The killing of Zakir Musa is seen as a big success for the security forces in their anti-militancy operations in Kashmir. After Burhan Wani's death, Zakir Musa threatened to behead Kashmiri separatist leaders of the Hurriyat Conference for calling Kashmir a political dispute instead of a religious struggle to establish an Islamic state. Authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in Awantipora area of Pulwama as a precaution. Authorities have ordered closure of all schools and colleges in the Kashmir Valley on Friday. Kolkata, May 23 : Jumping parties has augured well for most of BJP candidates, who defected either from state's ruling Trinamool Congress or the Left parties, as they were in the lead in the Lok Sabha polls, according to the Election Commission data on Thursday. The BJP candidates in at least 10 of the state's 42 constituencies have been imported from other parties, or are fresh recruits into the saffron fold. Arjun Singh, a Trinamool 'strongman' and former MLA from Bhatpara, was leading over his nearest candidate for Trinamool and former Union Minister Dinesh Trivedi by a slender margin in the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat. Singh crossed over to the BJP days after the party leadership turned down his plea for being nominated as a candidate from Barrackpore. Former Trinamool MP Saumitra Khan who was expelled for "anti-party activity, and secured the saffron party's nomination from his old constituency Bishnupur, was leading over Shyamal Santra of Trinamool. Khan is barred from entering the district for six weeks by the Calcutta High Court due to ongoing criminal cases against him. He was, however, allowed to file his nomination by the court, but the bar on his entry into most areas of the constituency remained, forcing his wife to do the campaigning on his behalf. In North Bengal's Cooch Behar, the saffron party's Nisith Pramanik, a former Trinamool youth leader against whom, at one time, BJP workers had a litany of complaints, was ahead of state's ruling party candidate Paresh Chandra Adhikari. Incidentally, Adhikari is also a turncoat, having switched his allegiance from the Forward Bloc to the Trinamool. In another battle between two turncoats, three-term CPI-M MLA, Khagen Murmu, who had joined the BJP ahead of the general elections, was leading in Malda North against Trinamool's Mausam Noor who won the seat last time on a Congress ticket. Two other party switchers, who fought on BJP tickets, however, were trailing. After crossing over to the BJP following his expulsion from the Trinamool for "anti-party activities", Visva Bharati University Assistant Professor Anupam Hazra, a member of the outgoing Lok Sabha from Bolpur, was trailing against Bengali actress and ruling party nominee Mimi Chakraborty in Jadavpur constituency. Formerly a two-time CPI-M lawmaker, Mafuja Khatun - the only Muslim woman candidate nominated by the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections - was in the second place in Jangipur of Murshidabad district. Trinamool's Khalilur Rahaman was in the lead from the constituency. Trinamool seems headed for mixed results by roping in political leaders from the Congress. Abu Taher Khan, a former Congress MLA, was leading from Murshidabad over his nearest rival Abu Hena of the Congress. However, Apurba Sarkar, another ex Congress lawmaker, was trailing against Congress veteran Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency. New Delhi, May 23 : BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the world's "most popular" leader and credited him for party's spectacular victory in Lok Sabha polls. Addressing party workers here at the BJP headquarters, Shah also hit out at opposition, saying the 2019 mandate has buried the politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement and is "a victory of nationalism". "Modiji is the 'mahanayak' of the BJP's grand victory. BJP's victory is most historical after Independence. This is victory of every workers of the party. This is victory of BJP government's policy of the 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' and ofcourse, it is victory of popularity of Modiji," Shah said amid chants of "Modi-Modi" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". "The opposition's defeat and BJP's emphatic victory is also against those parties promoting the ideology of 'tukde-tukde' gang. It is victory of nationalism," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several union ministers and senior leaders were also present on the occasion. Hitting out at the opposition parties for forming alliances to defeat Modi, Shah said that BJP was fighting for 50 per cent votes and today the party has garnered over 50 per cent vote share in 17 states including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "I had told party workers that they will have to get on the field to fight the battle of 50 per cent. I can proudly say that in 17 states, people blessed us with more than 50 per cent votes. On the other hand, the Congress faced a crushing defeat and it could not even open its account in 17 states," he said. He said that the BJP's tremendous victory reflects that there will be no significance of of the parties promoting politics of casteism, appeasement and dynasty in the days to come. "In last 30 years, the Congress and other opposition parties did the politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement but with hard work of party workers and the Prime Minister, this election has buried these ills in politics. "In Uttar Pradesh, we won 60 seats. The mandate is a befitting reply on those parties promoting politics of dynasty, casteism and appeasement," he said. Taking a swipe at former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who was in the forefront of uniting the opposition parties against the BJP, he said if he would have spent that much of time in his state, he could have succeeded in opening his account. Shah also congratulated the victors of the Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim Assembly bypolls. Hitting out at West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, Shah said despite so many atrocities, the BJP won 18 seats in the state and also bagged four of the five Assembly constituencies which went to bypolls. "It shows that in the coming days, the BJP is going to establish its domination in Bengal," he said. Thiruvananthapuram, May 23 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi won Kerala's Wayanad seat - the second seat he contested in the 2019 polls - with a record margin of 431,770 votes. Gandhi defeated his nearest rival P.P. Suneer of the Communist Party of India who secured 274,597 votes, while Gandhi got 706,367 votes. This margin of victory is the highest in the state for any Lok Sabha constituency. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who was the first person to announce the candidature of Gandhi expressed happiness at the huge victory . "This result was a foregone conclusion , as right from the day his name was announced, we could sense that the people in Wayanad had accepted him. His visits to the constituency... first when he came to file his nomination and then for a day's campaign, really made every Congress worker excited," said Chandy. "His presence as a candidate boosted the confidence of all the candidates and that's one reason, why we could register such a huge victory in Kerala," added Chandy. In the 2014 polls, Congress candidate M.I. Shanawas won the seat with a margin of 20,970 votes. He passed away last year and since then the seat was lying vacant. Gandhi, however, lost his traditional Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh, to Union Minister Smriti Irani, by over 50,000 votes. New Delhi, May 23 : A meeting of Congress Working Committee is expected to be held early next week to look into reasons for the partys debacle in the Lok Sabha elections with party chief Rahul Gandhi expected to give his assessment of what went wrong and the remedial steps that need to be taken. It is the second successive debacle of Congress in Lok Sabha elections and Rahul Gandhi had been a prominent face in both the elections. Gandhi lost from the party's pocket borough of Amethi in a shocking defeat that will have implications for the party's revival plans in Uttar Pradesh and his own political standing as a leader. He won from Wayanad. There was speculation that Gandhi had offered to resign following the results but the party officially denied it. Asked at a press conference if he would resign, Gandhi said: "We will have a meeting of the working committee. That you can leave between me and the working committee." In the run-up to the meeting of CWC, the party's highest constitutional body, the party has to decide on its course of action including whether Gandhi should step down. Even as Gandhi has taken responsibility for the defeat, party leaders have said that no individual can be blamed for the outcome. The party finished at its second lowest tally in its history and is only marginally better than the 44 seats in 2014. The results show that Gandhi, who became party chief in 2017, has not been able to galvanise the party enough to make it a fighting unit against the BJP which has been turned into an election winning machine by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah. Congress suffered in most states and failed to dent the BJP in the Hindi heartland states. The party's poor electoral strategy has allowed BJP to become a dominant force in West Bengal and strengthen itself in Karnataka where it was relatively weak. Gandhi indicated that the road for the party is long and tough and asked party workers and leaders not to lose heart. "It is a battle of ideology. There are two ways of thought, one is of Narendra Modi and BJP and the other of Congress. But we have to accept that in this election, we have to accept that Modi ji and BJP have won," Gandhi said. He did not go into reasons for the party's debacle. "Today is the day of the mandate and I don't want to colour the decision of the people of India by getting into a long conversation with you about what I think went wrong. Today it doesn't matter what I think went wrong. People of India have decided that Narendra Modi is going to be Prime Minister and as an Indian, I fully respect people's verdict," he said. Gandhi did not elaborate how Congress, which had focused on issues like unemployment and problems of farmers, will strategise its battles ahead. "This is the battle of ideology. I want to tell Congress workers, the leaders who have lost and won, that do not be afraid. We will together fight and ensure victory of our ideology. You do not have to lose faith at all. We know that there are a lot of people in the country who subscribe to Congress ideology, who have faith in Congress and we want to tell them, do not feel scared," he said. Gandhi said it was a long campaign. "I insisted that whatever language is used against me, I will answer that with love. I want to say whatever happens, I will speak with love. This is my philosophy. Love never gets defeated". Gandhi was the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, but he had said that a decision on the leadership will be taken after the elections in consultation with opposition parties. The issues raised by the party included the Rafale fighter jet deal, its promise of a loan waiver and its pitch for providing Rs 72,000 crore to the poorest 20 per cent families in the country. Chandigarh, May 23 : Hours after blaming Navjot Singh Sidhu's inept handling of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the poor performance of the Congress in the urban areas, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday evening said he intended to change the minister's portfolio. In an interview with a news channel, the Chief Minister said the urban vote bank had been the backbone of the Congress in Punjab but Sidhu's failure to do any development work had impacted the party, which had performed well this time in the rural areas. Asked if the party leadership would agree to the change in Sidhu's portfolio, Amarinder Singh said he had raised the issue some months ago, but it had been agreed that a decision should be taken after the Lok Sabha elections. The Chief Minister said he was confident that not just party President Rahul Gandhi but even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, would agree in the interest of the state, and to strengthen the party. The Chief Minister had earlier in the day pointed out that the Congress in Punjab had performed poorly in urban areas, and Sidhu was the minister for urban development. Asserting that Sidhu had not been able to handle his department, the Chief Minister had made it clear that he intended to take up the issue with the party leadership once things have settled down in the party, post the election results. Amarinder Singh had also said that Sidhu's remarks ahead of polling in Punjab might have affected the party's performance in Bathinda. He had further said he would soon be taking up with the Congress high command the issue of Sidhu's controversial remarks on sacrilege issue as well as blaming the Chief Minister for denial of Congress ticket to his wife from Chandigarh. Referring to Sidhu's remarks on the investigation into the sacrilege cases, the Chief Minister had said the minister evidently did not understand that the SIT had been set up by the Assembly. The Chief Minister had also reiterated that Sidhu's 'yari and jhappi' (friendship and hugs) with the Pakistani Army Chief would not be tolerated, especially by Army personnel, who were being killed by ISI-backed terrorists while he was going hugging their leaders. Kolkata, May 24 : West Bengal Congress President Somen Mitra on Thursday termed Bharatiya Janata Party's unprecedented rise in the state in the 2019 elections as an "ominous sign" and held the ruling Trinamool Congress "solely responsible" for the situation. "We never expected that the BJP will make inroads in Bengal to this extent. It is unprecedented in our political career. The saddest part is that it is an ominous sign for Bengal. The ruling Trinamool Congress is solely responsible for this situation," Mitra told IANS at the state Congress headquarters here. "Those who once strengthened the hands of BJP to weaken Congress will now find it difficult to protect their own existence. Also, BJP's rise in Bengal means communal polarisation and religious intolerance will increase manifold in Bengal which is harmful for the state," he added. The BJP made stunning inroads in Bengal with the trends of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday showing that the party was leading nearly half the state's 42 seats in the state, up from only two in 2014. The Trinamool was ahead in 23 seats, 11 down from 34 which it had won in the last Lok Sabha elections while Congress, that had four seats last time, was only leading in two seats -- Baharampur and Malda South. Asked whether the failure to forge a seat adjustment between Congress and the Left in the state led to the massive decline for both the parties, Mitra said it certainly was a major reason. "Yes. It is a major reason for the decline of both parties because we failed to win people's confidence on our own. When the decision over an alliance was going on, I told them (Left) clearly that even if we are able to retain our seats, the Left would not be able to win a single seat in Bengal without an alliance," the veteran leader said. Mitra accused the Left of a "big-brotherly attitude" towards Congress and claimed their decision to unilaterally announce the candidates for 25 seats brought down the curtains on the swat adjustment talks. "They had pride that their party got 23-24 percent votes in the last general elections while we got 11 percent. So they had a big-brotherly attitude towards Congress. "I told them it was baseless because none of us had the majority. If both fail in an examination, it is irrelevant to think who got more marks. Failure is a failure. But they still announced 25 seats unilaterally. So the alliance was not possible. Hope they would understand from their mistake," he added. This Page Is Under Construction - Coming Soon! Why am I seeing this 'Under Construction' page? Guwahati, May 24 : The saffron surge which swept across Assam on Thursday along with the rest of the country seems to have made it clear that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 made only little impact in the state and the other parts of the northeast even as the ruling BJP in Assam reaped the benefits of a "rainbow like alliance" it had forged in 2016. While the final results were yet to be declared, the BJP was leading in nine out of the 14 seats in Assam, while the Congress was ahead in three seats. The Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) was leading in one seat while a sitting Independent MP was leading in Kokrajhat. Assam and the other states in the northeast have witnessed a series of protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, popularly known as CAB, which is a controversial Bill that sought to grant citizenship to non-Muslim communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who had entered India due to religious persecution. There is no denying the fact that the CAB played a major role in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls -- while the BJP reiterated its stand to introduce the controversial Bill once the party returned to power, the Congress assured to scrap it permanently if it got the people's mandate. However, after Thursday's results, political observers in the northeast feel that while the Congress failed to cash in over the growing opposition to the CAB, the ruling BJP gained subsequently not only due to it, but also from the multi-party alliance that the party forged ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections in Assam. While the support to CAB polarised the Bengali Hindu votes towards the BJP, the opposition Congress failed to take the opposition to the Bill to the grassroots level. The BJP has also gained from its alliance partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF). It may be mentioned here that as part of the three-party alliance, the ruling party had contested 10 Lok Sabha seats, leaving three seats to the AGP and one to the BPF. Though the AGP and the BPF failed to open their tally on Thursday, the joint campaigns of the BJP-AGP-BPF alliance in the 10 seats seemed to have immensely benefited the BJP candidates. While the Congress failed to take the protests against the CAB to the grassroots level in the Brahmaputra valley, its stand on the Bill also cost the party its forte -- the Silchar Lok Sabha seat -- which has large number of Bengali Hindu voters. The CAB also constrained the BJP's ties with the regional parties in the northeast with some outfits like the National Peoples Party (NPP) of Meghalaya and the Mizo National Front (MNF) threatening to quit the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). In Assam, the AGP also snapped its ties with the ruling party in January over the opposition to the CAB. However, the BJP played a masterstroke when it revived the alliance with the AGP just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and said that the ruling party will bring the CAB albeit with some modifications -- thereby ensuring the conversion of AGP votes in at least nine constituencies to the BJP candidates. New Delhi, May 24 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led the BJP to a stunning and historic victory in the Lok Sabha battle, with the ruling party itself set to win 303 seats in a marked improvement over its 2014 showing that left the opposition dazed and demoralized. The BJP-led NDA is poised to get 348 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats where polling took place in a seven-phase election. The development sent the Sensex breaching the 40,000-mark as India Inc celebrated. Late night Election Commission figures showed that the BJP had won 251 seats and was leading in 51. The Congress won 40 and was leading in 12, while Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has won 15 and was leading in seven. Congress' ally DMK has won 16 seats and was leading in seven. A large number of BJP's alliance partners appeared to put up a good show with JD(U) having already won 16 seats and leading in one, all in Bihar. The Shiv Sena won 10 seats and was leading in 8, all in Maharashtra. Modi came to the BJP headquarters in the evening to celebrate the party's victory with the workers and sought to brush aside the bitterness of the poll campaign, saying "who said what during the campaign is past for me", and that "we have to look to the future." Accepting the mandate with humility, Modi promised that he will not work with "ill intentions." "The people have filled the bag of this ascetic. I bow my head to 130 crore people of the country," he said, adding he will take his critics along with humility as the Constitution is supreme. The Prime Minister also said that the importance of the booth-level party workers has been understood by all the parties. He said the mandate won by the BJP-led coalition was the biggest development in the democratic world and reflected the strength of democracy. The BJP routed the Congress, which could barely improve beyond its 2014 tally of 44 seats. Party chief Rahul Gandhi suffered a shock defeat in Amethi, but won from Wayanad in Kerala. Nine of party's former chief ministers lost or were on the verge of losing. Gandhi accepted responsibility for the party's defeat and congratulated Modi and the BJP. "India wins yet again!" Modi said in his tweet soon after it became clear that BJP would get a majority on its own. Congratulations poured in for Modi, who was re-elected by over 4.75 lakh votes from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. BJP President Amit Shah also won with an equally thumping margin from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Shah, who also addressed the function at BJP headquarters, described Modi as the world's "most popular" leader and credited him for party's spectacular victory in Lok Sabha polls. Hitting out at opposition, he said the 2019 mandate has buried the politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement and is "a victory of nationalism". "Modiji is the 'mahanayak' of the BJP's grand victory. BJP's victory is most historical after Independencei," Shah said amid chants of "Modi-Modi" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". He said the BJP was fighting for 50 per cent votes and today the party has garnered over 50 per cent vote share in 17 states, including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept state after state, including those ruled by the Congress. Its most spectacular results came in Uttar Pradesh where it was set to win 60 of the 80 seats, puncturing the SP-BSP alliance, while making major inroads in West Bengal by taking the victory lap in an unprecedented 18 of the 42 seats. In repeat of 2014, the saffron party was set to bag all 26 seats in Modi's home state Gujarat. It won all seven in Delhi, all five in Uttarakhand, all four in Himachal Pradesh and 25 in Rajasthan. The party won both seats in Tripura as well as Arunachal Pradesh and the single seats of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Manipur. In Madhya Pradesh, it improved its 2014 tally and is poised to win 28 out of 29 seats. It also improved its 2014 tally in Karanataka winning 25 out 28 seats and in Bihar where it won 39 out of 40 in Bihar in alliance with the JD-U and LJP. Congress had formed governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after assembly polls last year and was stunned by the results. In Maharashtra, the BJP is poised to win 41 out of 48 in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena, 11 out of 14 in Jharkhand and 9 out of 14 in Assam. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who had planned a meeting of opposition parties here on Thursday in the hope of dislodging Modi, was the sole Congress winner for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh (Rae Bareli). The SP-BSP alliance, which was confident of tripping the BJP's road to victory, suffered a blow in the country's politically most critical state. The BSP was poised to win just 10 seats and the Samajwadi Party 6 as their caste formula got drowned by Modi's election campaigning based mainly on aggressive nationalism. The BJP's years of efforts in West Bengal finally bore fruits as its candidates were set to emerge victorious in 18 places, washing out the once formidable Left and leaving the Congress punctured. The BJP won only two seats in 2014. The Congress had something to cheer in Punjab, where it was set to win 8 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats, and Kerala, where it decimated the Left by winning 15 seats on its own while four seats went to its allies. The DMK-led alliance made a clean sweep of Tamil Nadu and was set to take 36 of the 38 seats, leaving only 2 to the ruling AIADMK. The Congress, a DMK ally, won 8 seats. Just Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu accounted for 31 of the Congress party's expected 52 Lok Sabha seats. In many states, the Congress failed to open its account or won just one seat. The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was poised to win 13 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and also the Assembly elections. The YSR Congress Party stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh, dislodging the TDP, and was poised to bag 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats. The TRS performed relatively poorly in Telangana, with victory sighted in 9 of the 17 seats. While former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference was set to win in Srinagar, PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti conceded defeat in Anantnag, once her stronghold. Around 67 per cent of the nearly 900 million voters exercised their franchise in the seven-phase elections that began on April 11 and ended on May 19. Election in Vellore in Tamil Nadu was countermanded by the Election Commission. Washington, May 24 : The US Justice Department has filed 17 new charges against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange, who is facing extradition from the UK. The latest charges accuse him of receiving and unlawfully publishing the names of classified sources, the BBC reported. He was previously charged last month on one count of conspiring with ex-intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to the Pentagon network. Assange is serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail conditions. The 47-year-old was found guilty last month after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had sought refuge since 2012 over sexual assault allegations in Sweden. He denies any wrongdoing. The new indictment says Assange conspired with Manning in order to obtain and disclose secret US files and also exposed and endangered confidential sources in the Middle East and China. Wikileaks hit back after the announcement, tweeting: "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment." Manning was found guilty in 2013 of charges including espionage for leaking secret military files to Wikileaks, but her sentence was commuted. She is currently back in jail after refusing to testify. off-the-plan apartment sales on the Gold Coast jumped in the recent quarter to be some 45 per cent higher than the prior quarter, according to property consultant company Urbis latest figures. The Gold Coast has five of the top 10 best-selling projects nationwide. Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell said it had definitely been a good start to the year. The report, released today, found new apartment activity in the first quarter of 2019 was up by more than 70 sales from the December 2018 quarter. Most of the developers on the Gold Coast are meeting the market, Ms Campbell told The Gold Coast Bulletin. The top-selling projects have been boutique and targeted at owner-occupiers and thats what the market is looking for at the moment. There were 231 new apartment sales recorded from January to March. Two-bedroom, two-bathroom pads made up 65 per cent of sales. There are 2800 apartments under construction on the Glitter Strip, of which 62 percent are earmarked for completion this year. The report found interstate investors have held back in 2019, claiming 25 per ent of sales, down from 42 per cent in the final quarter of 2018. Foreign investors secured almost a quarter. The southern beaches precinct, which stretched from Mermaid Beach to Tweed Heads, had more than 60 per cent of sales for the quarter the highest level recorded for the area in the past five years. In the first quarter last year the stretch only accounted for 25 per cent of sales. It was also home to all of the four new projects launched across the Gold Coast. Mali, the new 55 apartment block developed by Dankav has six of its levels having only three apartments per floor. The curved BDA Architecture-designed building is set to be completed in mid 2020. It has a residents swimming pool on level nine, half way up the 17 level tower, located right on the border of Broadbeach and Mermaid Beach. Knight Frank director and Queensland head of project marketing Chris Litfin, noted many developers had bought land between Mermaid Beach and Tweed Heads because it offered better value compared to other blocks closer to existing infrastructure. They can provide a product near the beach at a low price point, he said. The majority of those developments were considered boutique, which Mr Litfin said included between 60 and 120 apartments. The report noted an average sales price of $788,312. The number of cranes from apartment projects on the Gold Coast skyline has surged. There are 30 cranes on the Glitter Strip seven more than six months ago - according to the latest Rider Levett Bucknall Crane Index. The director of RLBs Gold Coast office, Jim Krebs, said the Gold Coast has the fifth highest number of cranes in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Krebs noted there had been a fall in the value of residential construction projects starting and underway, with a shift towards smaller mid-rise towers. The newly installed cranes included Vue Apartments and Elysian in Broadbeach while cranes were removed from the 40-level Qube in Broadbeach. Every light in the Qube was switched on for half an hour on one night in January earlier this year to celebrate the finished product. An earlier Urbis report found the average sale price for the new boutique offerings had jumped $100,000 to more than $700,000 since 2017. In part it is because developers have been offering a bigger apartment size, blocks no longer modelled on a hotel, where apartments are squeezed in to every level. Nowadays developers often design four apartments per floor which allows each to occupy a corner of the building which offers two different viewpoints. The other trend is whole floor. 31BB, named after its address at 31 Broadbeach Boulevard, has committed to this grander scale, the whole floor offering. The $65 million Woods Bagot-designed project has 22 apartments across its 20 levels. There are just eight remaining. Selling agent Andrew Bampton says the buyers are typically aged 45 and over who are either downsizing or rightsizing as they say now, but still want size, luxury, quality interiors and an oceanside location. "They are not retiring from life but are looking for a lock and leave lifestyle with no maintenance, in proximity to dining and entertaining options," Bampton says. Bampton says the other key buyer group is a similar age, however are setting the apartment up as their second residence. "People from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne have taken a keen interest in 31 Broadbeach," Bampton suggested, adding it was owner occupier only. 31BB is slated for completion next year by Optimus Developments which is headed by Andrew Karpati. Broadbeach already has a strong sense of community," Karpati noted. A 305 sqm, three bedroom, three bathroom beach house takes up the ground floor, while the top floor is occupied by a four bedroom penthouse. Both have their own pools. The beach house is still for sale. The residents communal amenities sit on level 20, where there's a 15 metre heated lap pool. On launch the full-floor 280 sqm residences featuring three bedrooms and three bathrooms started from $3.05 million. In recent years Broadbeach has seen billions proposed in investment, led by the upgrade to The Star Gold Coast Casino. More than $2 billion will be spent with up to seven towers rise on the site. It follows the $670 million expansion and renovation of Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. Broadbeach was in the second stage of the Gold Coast Light Rail. There's around 6500 apartments at Broadbeach which is set for the imminent launch of its highest beachfront residential tower, the 54 floor, 170 metre CLASS Broadbeach. It will sit next to the area's current tallest building, the eastern Oracle tower. CLASS Broadbeach will have 46 apartments, including 34 full-floor three bedroom apartments. There will be five two-level sky homes and a three-level penthouse. It might not be the tallest as veteran developer John Potter has plans for a 68-storey twin super tower fo 2022 completion. Vue Broadbeach by Andrews Projects, is nearing completion and nearing a sellout. The $75-million First Avenue tower Vue, due to completed later this year, has achieved a 90 per cent sales rate. Its penthouse fetched $5 million The elliptical-shaped building has 71 apartments over 25 levels with a typical four apartments per floor. The remaining apartments are two and three bedrooms, with open planned living spaces and ocean views. "We are seeing a trend of local over 50s looking to downsize, and Brisbane buyers looking for quality lock up weekenders," sales executive Kyle Robertson said. Proximity to the Broadbeach Bowls Club was a major factor for one retired couple who will be downsizing from their large Clear Island Waters home. Its the sixth highrise project for the local family developer Andrews Projects, and their first in Broadbeach, which will be followed by Encore, a $78 million apartment building on Britannia Avenue which will have 86 residences across 25 storeys expected to be completed by late 2020. Elysian, the $79 million Spyre Group project, will also a typical four per floor configuration across the 21 level luxury tower, set on the beachfront reserve Old Burleigh Road opposite Pratten Park. Elysian will have 61 apartments including two half-floor sub-penthouses starting at $3.4 million and two full-floor four bedroom, four bathroom penthouses priced at $4.7 million. Sprye has installed new technology My Butler, a 24/7 virtual concierge which can book Elysian facilities, transport, cleaners and a car-wash among other services. My Butler also has a building events calendar, along with the Elysian community portal which will have up to date notices on the building and its management. Its basement car parking also features innovative technology, the Gold Coasts first residential hi-tech automated vehicle storage system. There have been amalgamations by some off the plan buyers, including Sydney couple who had not visited the Gold Coast in more than a decade, but will soon be able to visit whenever they want having amalgamated two apartments giving them a four-bedroom, three-bathroom holiday residence. Elysian Broadbeach is now 80 percent sold with construction by Hutchinson Builders expected to be completed in early 2020. CBRE director of residential projects Nicholas Clydsdale sold 25 apartments in the first three months of marketing in early 2018. Its three bedrooms are priced from $1,340,000. Koko at Broadbeach will have four apartments per floor throughout its 31 level tower by Morris Property Group. The 100 apartment boutique development at 12-14 Elizabeth Avenue included five, three-bedroom half-floor sub-penthouses. The level five, resident-only floor features Koko's resort-style amenities such as a pool, spa and a yoga lawn. Half of the 94 two bedroom apartments are sold. Chris Litfin is handling the marketing for the developer Barry Morris. Litfin said owner-occupiers had been spurring the top end of the Gold Coast market. While once luxury would have been totally categorised as penthouses and sub-penthouses, now luxury is wrapped in the location and the amenity of the offering." Since 2002 there have been around 125 sales above $2 million in Broadbeach, topping out in 2015 at $8 million in Oracle, which accounts for around a quarter of the luxury sales. A three bedroom two bathroom Dandenong North, Vic mortgagee home has been sold for $570,000. Built in 1975 it sold a notch above the price guide of $500,000 - $550,000. Chris Zhang of Harcourts held the listing. Situated at 41 First Avenue, the property sold in 21 days just over half the median for the Dandenong North which is 37 days, according to Corelogic. Set on 532 sqm, the home features ducted heating and a double garage. It last sold in 2013 trading for $450,000. The median price for a home in Dandenong North is $621,000, according to CoreLogic, which calculate its annual change in median price over the past 10 years as 7.1%. GUEST OBSERVATION Parking is a fiery issue in Australian cities. Thats because cars dominate our cities, supported by decades of unbalanced planning decisions favouring space for cars over other land uses or forms of transport. Parking is even an issue in the federal election, with both the Coalition and Labor promising to fund more spaces for commuters. The issue of parking flared up again recently in Melbournes inner north. Moreland City Council wants to scrap minimum parking requirements for new apartments around its increasingly dense activity centres. Victorias planning minister, Richard Wynne, gets the final say on this plan and it might be a no. He said last month the practicalities need more thought and that Moreland must strike a balance. Wynne is right, but not in the way he implies. Australian cities are generous to cars Minimum parking requirements were introduced across Australia alongside the rise of cars in the 1950s. These set rigid ratios for parking spaces in different types of new developments. For example, the Western Australia State Planning Policy requires at least at least 0.751 parking bay for every one-bedroom dwelling in an apartment building, plus at least one visitor parking space per four dwellings. A review of parking policy in Western Australia found these requirements are largely based on small, outdated surveys in the United States and do not reflect actual demand for parking in Australia. A result of these policies is a glut of parking in Australian cities. The local council area of the City of Melbourne has over 215,000 parking spaces. However, 40-60% of households in the area do not own a car and around a third of apartment parking spaces are not used. Removing minimum requirements is an effort by local governments to allow the varying needs of local communities to determine parking outcomes. But what about tradies, emergency workers, the disabled? Often proposed changes to parking are criticised for being unfair to people who may rely on cars. It is great that these questions of equity are raised (including by the planning minister), but some of the common concerns are misplaced. Firstly, developers are sensitive to market demands and will continue to provide apartments with parking for those who need it. When London removed minimum parking requirements in 2004, new developments still provided car parks just at half the previous required rate. Closer to home, the inner-city councils of Sydney and Melbourne have already removed some minimum parking requirements and many new apartments still provide parking spaces. Secondly, while apartment dwellers with insufficient off-street parking are often blamed for clogging up on-street parking in residential areas, they are rarely to blame. A recent study in Melbourne found residents of detached houses use 77-84% of on-street parking. Many of them have garages, but choose to use them for storage or living space. Apartment dwellers were less likely to use on-street parking and more likely to have unused spaces. And more parking in apartment blocks isnt helping people access our cities, even by car. Finally, providing more housing options without rigidly attached parking spaces will encourage people who dont actually need to drive to choose to drive less or switch to other forms of transport. Removing minimum parking requirements will not mean that people who need to drive for work, medical or other reasons cant find homes with parking spaces. Indeed, if we make it easier for those who dont need to drive to get around in other ways, congestion could be eased for those workers who do need a car. Pro-car planning policies are unfair to those who cant drive Policies that encourage dependence on cars marginalise people who cant or dont drive. These groups are often disadvantaged in other ways. For example, people with disabilities tend to rely on public transport, not cars, to participate in society. In Australia, households in the most disadvantaged areas are the most likely not to have a car. Older Australians are also less likely to drive. Rates of driver licence ownership decrease from around the age of 60. Providing quality public transport and walkable streets not an oversupply of car parking is critical to ensure children, young and older people and those with disabilities can get around independently. Minimum parking requirements prioritise cars as the default transport option. The results include increased congestion, urban sprawl and air pollution. Parking requirements also make apartments less affordable. Land construction costs per parking space average between A$50,000 and $80,000, as well as using valuable space at an average of 21 square metres. A parking space is bigger than a bedroom and nearly half the size of a typical new Melbourne apartment!. Design cities around people, not cars Australian planning policy has favoured cars over other forms of transport for too long. This needs to change if we want our cities to be healthy, liveable and easy to get around for everyone. Morelands plan to scrap minimum parking requirements may sound extreme, but it isnt going to take existing parking spaces away, or mean all new developments will have zero parking. The practicalities of on-street parking policy are important, but mandating the supply of more off-street parking isnt even the best way to meet parking demand. If we continue to plan our urban areas as if everyone needs a car (or multiple cars) to get around, we will rapidly run out of space. And the space we have left will be unpleasant to spend time in. This means more time spent in traffic for drivers and ugly, hazardous and polluted streets for locals. Sidestepping this difficult issue in the name of balance isnt fair or practical. Improving public transport in these corridors is in the states power and would be a much more constructive response. Elizabeth Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning & Design, Monash University Julianna Rozek, Research Officer, Healthy Liveable Cities Group, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University Rebecca Clements, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne Thami Croeser, Research Officer, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Christopher Pyne and his wife Carolyn, who are heading to the Adelaide Hills given his retirement from Federal Parliament, have had a $1.1 million quick offer on their Adelaide home. The Wattle Park home has been the family home for nine years. They had been seeking $1 million to $1.1 million offers for the 1970s property listed through Klemich Real Estate. The couple have about an acre in the Hills, plus an old town cottage at Robe, the fishing port located in the Limestone Coast of South Australia, which was bought in early 2016 for $520,000. Two of the five bedrooms were added by the Pynes after their $800,000 purchase in 2010. Pyne has drawn the curtain on a 26 year political career. He was still living at home in Burnside on gaining his pre-selection in 1992. This article was first published in the Weekend Australian. GUEST OBSERVATION According to the United Nations, more people live in a country other than their place of birth today than ever before. The 2017 migration statistics show that about 34 people out of every 1,000 lived away from their place of birth. This number was over 31 in 2010, and 28 in 2000. Although the number of migrants is expected to grow, a clear understanding of contemporary migration remains a challenge. Defining who is a migrant This challenge was on display at a recent meeting where a group of South Asian journalists, academics and activists gathered to address the core issue of migration. Officially, the number of migrants globally reached 258 million in 2017, compared to about 173 million in 2000, which represents an increase of 49%. But it remains difficult to determine with reasonable clarity who is a migrant and who is not. The multiple identities of people on the move complicate migration statistics and generate controversy. One of the speakers, Chris Lowenstein-Lom from the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), presented an overview of migration scenarios in South Asia to highlight the sheer number of migrants in the region, both internally and internationally. Many participants questioned the validity of the figures. Journalists raised questions about the migration data gathered by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and IOM. The figures either contradicted their lived experience (for example, the number of Indian-origin people living in Pakistan, and vice versa) or overlooked the historical context of certain migrants (for example those of Bangladeshi-origin in India). The IOM representatives insistence on his organisations goal of safe, regular and orderly movement of people across borders resonated with other participants. They emphasised that improving data quality is important for achieving safe passage of migrants. Difficulties with migration data Concerns about accuracy and clarity of migration statistics were raised concerning both data collection methods and interpretation. For example, the ranking of countries by the number of migrants shifts dramatically with a change in definition. The highest number of immigrants (over 48 million) live in the United States, which constitutes 15% of the countrys population. However, the highest proportion of immigrants to a population (87%) live in the United Arab Emirates, which is only eight million in number. The highest number of migrants (nearly 16 million) originate from India, which is only 1.2% of the countrys population. But the highest proportion of migrants to a countrys population (45.6%) is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is only two million. Any statistical generalisation about migrants requires significant qualification. Political perspectives on who is or is not a bona fide migrant vary significantly between countries. As a result, the figures produced to represent certain sections of the migrant population can become cloudy or even opaque. For example, many Indian politicians label the Bangla-speaking Muslim population in northeast India as migrants from Bangladesh. But from the Bangladeshi perspective, most of these people can hardly be considered as such because they had lived in their current location since well before the state of Bangladesh was created in 1971. Similarly, in the early stage of the 2017 influx of Rohingya people to Bangladesh, this definitional opacity created confusion about their status. Were they returnees, refugees or infiltrators? This lack of clarity in legal status has the potential to render a vast number of people stateless. On the other hand, the refugee status of the Afghani people in Pakistan has been relatively clear to many sides, even though the identity of a specific individual can still be problematic. Challenge to report on migration These differences create a challenge for South Asian journalists to report accurately on migration issues. Consider the following figures: According to the UN DESA 2017 estimate, 33.5 million people moved out of five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) while 11.7 million people lived in these countries as migrants. The largest number of migrants in South Asia were from neighbouring countries, such as from Myanmar to Bangladesh (42% of the total 2.2 million immigrants in the country), from Afghanistan to Pakistan (1.4 million out of the total 3.4 million), and from Pakistan and Bangladesh to India (together, 81% of the total 5.2 million immigrants). According to this estimate, about 60% of the 5.2 million migrants in India were from Bangladesh. But this estimate was based mainly on population data produced by India. Bangladeshi officials and experts had reservations about this figure because, they claimed, the historical dimension mentioned above had been overlooked in its calculation. Consequences of data opacity One can easily imagine the difficulties faced by journalists in busy newsrooms with limited resources. They need to report on complex migration issues and are expected to report them accurately, without a clear definition about who is and is not a migrant. Would you label Rohingya people in Bangladesh as returnees, following the Myanmar authorities? Or would you use the infiltrator description, as Bangladeshi officials initially identified them? Some of this confusion may be clarified over time, but others continue to bug journalists and other commentators. The lack of a clear definition exists not only in South Asia. Despite the well-founded criticisms levelled against the UN data on migration, they remain the most widely used set of figures globally. Other organisations and mechanisms of data distribution, such as IOM or the Migration Data Portal also use them. An important characteristic of the data set is its origin. They are mainly produced through official population censuses by the respective member states, using public money. Everyone has a stake in improving the quality of these data for a better understanding of the complexity of South Asian and global migration. Akhteruz Zaman, Lecturer, Massey University Jahnnabi Das, , University of Technology Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Governments have seeded many key infrastructure projects throughout Australia, and the growing list of transport projects is painting a positive picture for the nations ability to absorb population growth, according to Urbis' latest report. Across the national apartment market, Urbis found that 7% of available stock surveyed sold in the first quarter of 2019, continuing the downward trend from 2018. Urbis Group Director, Clinton Ostwald, said It is likely that we will see the floor of the sales valley in 2019 with a potential increase in sales activity in 2020. The nation is investing heavily in transport infrastructure to improve amenity in our cities, which will help support demand along corridors such as Sydneys North West Metro and Eastern Suburbs Light Rail. While buyers await delivery of new infrastructure, Sydney recorded the lowest sales rate with only 4% of available stock surveyed selling during the quarter. Melbourne and Brisbane both recorded a sales rate of 7% down on rates seen in the past 12 months. The Gold Coast outperformed the major cities recording 230 sales, equating to 9% of available stock. Stock Urbis research shows approvals numbers decreasing each quarter over the past 12 months. The number of developments achieving minimum presale levels has also declined, resulting in a large pipeline of approved projects they feel are unlikely to move to construction in the near future. They believe that given ongoing population growth from natural increase and migration, we are likely to see a shortage of new housing emerge over the next 12 to 18 months. Melbournes Westgate Tunnel will uplift the Inner West and Western Corridor with approximately 7,500 apartments approved in these precincts. Brisbanes Cross River Rail in the Inner South will see a similar pattern where there are over 8,000 approved apartments. In the longer term, Urbis expect that areas around West Metro in Sydney, Metronet in Perth and Metro Rail Tunnel in Melbourne will see increased apartment activity. Buyer Profile Owner occupiers have continued to be the most active buyers in the Australian apartment market, accounting for 51% of buyers in Q1 2019. Foreign investors have been pushing sales in Sydney, Perth and the Gold Coast, accounting for over a quarter of buyers, but have dropped in Brisbane. Interstate investors were interested in the Gold Coast (25%) and Melbourne (11%) whereas Sydney, Brisbane and Perth appealed more to local investors. URBIS CITY SNAPSHOT 6.7 % of the surveyed available stock was sold in the January quarter across the five markets: Sydney (4% of available surveyed stock sold, 485 new apartments launched) Melbourne (7% of available surveyed stock sold, 295 new apartments launched) Brisbane (8% of available surveyed stock sold, no new apartments launched) Perth (6% of available surveyed stock sold, 161 new apartments launched) Gold Coast (9% of available surveyed stock sold, 164 new apartments launched) National weighted average sale price recorded at $726,329 for Q1 2019 Sydney $1,091,935 Melbourne $621,246 Brisbane $638,409 Perth $604,212 Gold Coast $787,608 The most popular product type was two-bedroom, two-bathroom product at 46% of total sales. Across the cities the highest selling product types were: Comparably, a leading employee feedback website recognizes APS as a Top 25 Best Sales Department and APS CRO, Christian Valiulis, as a Best Sales Department Leader for 2019. Comparably, a leading employee feedback website recognizes APS as a Top 25 Best Sales Department and APS CRO, Christian Valiulis, as a Best Sales Department Leader for 2019. Out of 1,083 employee ratings, APS emerges with two new recognitions that highlight our commitment to creating a positive company culture and fostering a healthy work-life balance. APS is named a Top 25 Best Sales Department along with well-known corporations like T-Mobile, Costco, and Chick-fil-A. Comparably awards are provided annually to top performing company cultures based on feedback from employees. APS earned an overall culture score of 86 out of 100 or an "A-" which is comprised of employee ratings based on feedback about the work environment and executive team leadership. APS sales department's current 2019 Comparably rankings are the following: Top 15% of similarly sized companies in the United States. Top 5% of nearby companies in Shreveport, LA. Christian Valiulis Named 2019 Best Sales Department Leader APS Chief Revenue Officer, Christian Valiulis, was named a 2019 Best Sales Department Leader. From 53 ratings, APS Payroll's employees noted they were very satisfied with their Executive Team and gave them an "A+" or 89 out of 100. "Christian has been an integral part of the development and success of the sales department," said Aaron Johnson, President at APS. "His leadership is shown through his positive interactions with the team and his commitment to helping make payroll and HR easier for each of our customers." With 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development, Valiulis plays a vital role in overseeing marketing, sales, strategic product and service alliances, and channel partnerships for the past ten years at APS Payroll. About APS APS brings innovation and scalability to modern workforce management. Our clients, their employees, and our partners deserve the best, easy-to-use technology delivered with personalized service and support. We build our unified platform with our customers in mind, focusing on usability, efficiency, and adoption. APS understands the challenges organizations of all sizes face, which is why we design a full spectrum of cloud solutions that address all aspects of the employee lifecycle. About Comparably Comparably is an employee-driven review company displays cultures and market compensation contributed by real employees and showcases the fairest and most accurate display of employer brands for future and current employees. Gain insight into important company factors like company culture, executive team leadership, and compensation by visiting their website. In a globally-connected world, data breaches are inevitable. A business falls victim to a ransomware attack every 13 seconds. Thirty-one percent of organizations have experienced cyber-attacks on operational infrastructure. In fact, the global cost of online crime is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2021. In light of these startling facts, Surviving a Data Breach will be presented at the 2019 ARMA New Jersey INFORM Conference on June 13 at the Friend Center, Princeton University. Gina Rubel, CEO of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., Kathryn Rattigan, data privacy and cybersecurity attorney at Robinson + Cole, and Brett Yeager, Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI Newark Division's Cyber Task Force will discuss what companies need to know to survive a data breach. The privacy, data security, public relations and reputation management experts will address: How to protect your company from a data breach The different industry reporting/notification requires How to work with the FBI Managing your reputation internally and externally Evidence preservation and maintaining logs for internal use and law enforcement How to handle requests from regulators, credit monitoring companies, and others Moving past a data breach An attorney and crisis communications expert, Rubel leads Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., an agency supporting company growth and reputation management through integrated marketing, public relations, crisis communications, and content marketing. She regularly is called upon by corporate and law firm leaders for high-stakes public relations, media training, crisis planning, and incident-response support, including high profile litigation media relations. In addition, Rubel is listed among Lawdragons top 100 consultants and strategists to the legal profession, worldwide. About Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. is an integrated and strategic law firm marketing, public relations and crisis management agency in the Philadelphia market. The certified woman-owned agency provides strategic planning, marketing, public relations, crisis management, trial publicity, business development, content marketing, and social media services to law firms nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.furiarubel.com. About ARMA-NJ ARMA New Jersey (ARMA NJ) is a chapter of ARMA International a not-for-profit professional association and the authority on governing information as a strategic asset. The ARMA NJ Chapter supports the "Vision and Mission" of ARMA International while ensuring its local members are provided with training and education that meets current day industry requirements. ARMA International was established in 1955 and the New Jersey Chapter followed shortly thereafter. From its inception, ARMA NJ has established broad goals that enable the chapter to remain firmly rooted in its values while adapting to the future outlook of information and technology. For more information, visit https://armannj.org/about.php Adele Bitton Four years after losing her daughter to injuries sustained during an stone-throwing attack in the West Bank, Israeli mother Adva Bitton has given birth to a new baby girl at Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer. The baby was born on the same birth date of her late sister, Adele Bitton, and marks a new chapter in the familys life. Just as we live with our loss 24/7, we are choosing life and continue to bring life into the world, said Bitton. In 2013, Bitton was traveling through the West Bank when her vehicle was assaulted by Palestinian teenagers pelting her vehicle with rocks. Bitton lost control of the car, and the resulting accident caused her daughter Adele to suffer a traumatic and ultimately fatal brain injury. After this senseless tragedy, there is reason for hope again. The new baby arrived on May 20 and was delivered naturally at Israels Sheba Medical Center. Sheba Medical Center has a long and documented history of fostering peace through medicine. The hospital provides cutting-edge treatment and life-saving operations for all children, regardless of their religion, race or nationality. Sheba Medical Center is the largest and most comprehensive hospital in the Middle East, and was recently named one of the 10 Best Hospitals in the World by Newsweek Magazine. About Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer Born together with Israel in 1948, Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer is the largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East. Sheba is the only medical center in Israel that combines an acute care hospital and a rehabilitation hospital on one campus, and it is at the forefront of medical treatments, patient care, research and education. As a university teaching hospital affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University, it welcomes people from all over the world indiscriminately. In 2019, Newsweek magazine named Sheba one of the top ten hospitals in the world. To learn more, visit: eng.sheba.co.il. Richard Pineda, President & CEO Richard Pineda brings substantial experience to CALIBRE and a commitment to serve in the interests of the companys clients and employee-owners. CALIBRE Systems, Inc. (CALIBRE) has announced that Richard Y. Pineda has been promoted to President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Pineda, who was named President in November 2018, succeeds Joe Martore, who will retire on May 31, 2019 after 15 years with the company. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Joe Martore for the enormous contribution he has made as CEO of this company. His vision, energy, and determination have forged the successful record of performance the company has achieved. Looking forward, Richard Pineda is a highly effective manager and leader. His depth of knowledge and vast management experience will be an invaluable asset to the company. We are confident that he is the dynamic leader who will guide us successfully into the future, said Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Joseph Reynolds. Joe Martore said, CALIBREs strength has always been its people. We have selected a proven leader to be our new President & CEO. Richard Pineda brings substantial experience to CALIBRE and a commitment to serve in the interests of the companys clients and employee-owners. His talents will position CALIBRE to continue successfully executing its vision and mission. I have worked closely with Richard and the Board to implement a careful, deliberate, and effective transition, one that ensures the continued success of this wonderful company we have all worked so hard to build. In response to his promotion, Richard Pineda stated, It is a distinct privilege to succeed Joe Martore as CEO of CALIBRE. As we embark on our 31st year in operation, I am thrilled to lead our great company of engaged employee-owners to the next level of success. Over several months, we have spent countless hours integrating acquired companies and contract vehicles, transitioning new key leaders, and strategically architecting the many ways in which we will service our clients with innovative management consulting and digital transformation solutions. Mr. Pineda joined CALIBRE in November 2018, as part of the acquisition of SPEAR, Inc. where he served as the Co-Founder and CEO. Earlier in his career, he was President of Dell Services Federal Government. Mr. Pineda received his B.S. in Finance from Virginia Tech, and M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance and Management Information Systems from George Washington University. Mr. Pineda serves on the Board of Directors for the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF), Laurel Grove Museum Association; is a member of the Virginia Tech Presidents Leadership Council; and is the co-chair for the Northern Virginia Complete Count Committee in support of the 2020 Decennial Census. About CALIBRE CALIBRE is an employee-owned management consulting and digital transformation company supporting government and industry. CALIBRE delivers enduring solutions that solve management, technology, and program challenges in the areas of financial performance and logistics; health and information management; human capital training and management; and infrastructure, engineering, and environment. For more information about CALIBRE, please visit http://www.calibresys.com. Contact: Craig College, Executive Vice President & CFO Telephone: 703.797.8500 E-mail: Craig.College(at)calibresys.com Joe Martore, Chairman of the Board Joe joins a strong and highly collaborative board with diverse backgrounds in government, technology, and financial services, and we look forward to his continued contributions. CALIBRE Systems, Inc. (CALIBRE) has announced that Joseph A. Martore has been elected Chairman of CALIBREs Board of Directors, effective May 23, 2019, succeeding Lieutenant General (USA-Ret.) James Terry Scott, who served as Chairman since February 2017. Mr. Martore previously served as a member of the board and as CALIBREs CEO. We are delighted that Joe Martore will continue to serve CALIBRE as Chair of the Board after a successful term as Chief Executive Officer. His extensive experience will provide an immeasurable asset to the company as it moves forward in this dynamic world of digital transformation and change management, said Vice Chair Joseph H. Reynolds. Joe joins a strong and highly collaborative board with diverse backgrounds in government, technology, and financial services, and we look forward to his continued contributions. In reference to his new role, Joe Martore stated, It is an honor to assume the position of Chair of CALIBRE, and to follow in the footsteps of our most recent past Chair, LTG Terry Scott, who so skillfully oversaw the execution of CALIBREs purpose to enable our clients success by providing innovative management consulting and digital transformation solutions. Mr. Martore received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and an M.B.A. from the George Washington University. He serves on the Board of Directors for Easter Seals DC MD VA, the Professional Services Council (PSC), and the Laurel Grove School Museum Association; is a member of External Advisory Board of the MIT Institute for Data, Systems, and Society; and is a member of the George Mason University School of Business Deans Advisory Council. About CALIBRE CALIBRE is an employee-owned management consulting and digital transformation company supporting government and industry. CALIBRE delivers enduring solutions that solve management, technology, and program challenges in the areas of financial performance and logistics; health and information management; human capital training and management; and infrastructure, engineering, and environment. For more information about CALIBRE, please visit http://www.calibresys.com. Contact: Craig College, Executive Vice President & CFO Telephone: 703.797.8500 E-mail: Craig.College(at)calibresys.com Cambridge Semantics, the leading provider of modern data discovery, and integration software for enterprise data fabrics, today announced that it has been named to the 16th edition of KMWorld 2019 list of 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management. The list has been compiled by editors, analysts and experts, and recognizes the most important companies addressing the challenges for data management and analytics technologies. We are honored that Cambridge Semantics was recognized by KMWorlds 100 companies that matter in knowledge management in 2019, said Chuck Pieper, Chairman, and CEO of Cambridge Semantics. Companies today realize that exploiting the full value of their enterprise data enables expanded use of analytics, and marks an essential competitive battleground of the future. Its our mission to help companies harness and utilize their data in transformative ways, to enable their success. This special list recognizes the contributions of solution providers like Cambridge Semantics who are uniquely innovative and effective in helping customers address the evolving challenges and opportunities of digital transformation. Cambridge Semantics Anzo provides a modern data discovery and integration layer to connect and bring meaning to all enterprise data and enables virtually anyone in an organization from skilled data scientists to novice business users to develop analytics ready data sets that combine any data from any system across the enterprise. The 2019 KMWorld 100 list spans a wide variety of companies that are each addressing the evolving demands of knowledge management, said Tom Hogan, Group Publisher of KMWorld. Some are long-standing companies with well-established offerings that have evolved over time, while others are much more recent entrants to the field. In selecting organizations to be included on the list, we consider insights gleaned from our own interactions with companies during interviews and events, how they have succeeded in helping customers solve business problems, and we review product updates to make sure that capabilities are advancing to address evolving requirements. For more information on data management, visit http://www.cambridgesemantics.com About KMWorld KMWorld (http://www.kmworld.com) is the leading publisher, conference organizer, and information provider serving the knowledge management, content management, and document management markets. It informs more than 11,000 print subscribers about the components and processesand related success stories that together offer solutions for improving business performance. KMWorld is a publishing unit of Information Today, Inc. (http://www.infotoday.com) About Cambridge Semantics Cambridge Semantics Inc., The Smart Data Company, is a modern data management and enterprise analytics software company that enables seamless access, integration and analysis of all enterprise data via a graph-driven data fabric architecture. The company delivers products and solutions that enable IT departments and business users across Life Sciences, Financial Services, Government, Manufacturing, and other industries to accelerate data delivery and to provide meaningful insights across the organization at hyper-speed and scale. Visit http://www.cambridgesemantics.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter: @CamSemantics. Media Contact: Lora Wilson/Valerie Christopherson Global Results Communications for Cambridge Semantics cambridge(at)globalresultspr(dot)com +1 (949) 608-0276s We are delighted that Freeport LNG has achieved this important milestone, which gives CH-IV further reason to celebrate our 10-year relationship, which we are excited to continue. A key client of CH-IV since 2009, Freeport LNG is already marching towards producing and exporting LNG from its three-train facility located in Freeport, Texas. During this time, CH-IV has provided Pre-FEED, regulatory and Owners engineering services to Freeport LNG and is proud to have been a part of the Freeport LNG team who recently received an Order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granting authorization to site, construct and operate Train 4 and its associated facilities to supplement to the next wave of LNG in the Gulf Coast. We are delighted that Freeport LNG has achieved this important milestone, which gives CH-IV further reason to celebrate our 10-year relationship, which we are excited to continue. said CH-IV President, Michael Diemert. From its early days, CH-IV has expanded its skill set and geographic reach to now provide engineering and consulting services to global LNG clients from its two locations in the U.S and the worldwide offices of its parent company: Clough. Cloughs recent acquisition of the Gulf Coast EPC assets of Saulsbury Industries further supports CH-IVs growth. From its Houston offices, Clough now provides North American clients a comprehensive range of project delivery solutions from fully integrated EPC to design and construct, and construct/commissioning-only. We are pleased to welcome our new colleagues and we will jointly leverage the complementary skills and synergies to deliver safe and smart solutions to our clients throughout the entire lifecycle of a project, from concept to operation. says Diemert. After its completion in 2019, the three-train facility of Freeport LNG will produce and export some 15 mtpa of LNG, with production units starting sequentially between Q4 2018 (Train 1) and Q3 2019 (Train 3). The fourth liquefaction unit will allow for the export of an additional five million tons of LNG per year, increasing the total export capability of the project to over 20 mtpa of LNG. About CH-IV International Established in 2001, CH-IV International (CHIV) provides consulting services to LNG asset developers, regulators, facility owners, operators and lenders to ensure assets are designed, developed, constructed and operated safely and in accordance with codes, regulations, and the project's technical and commercial specifications. CH-IV specializes in the provision of engineering and consulting services to the global LNG sector in North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific Rim and South America. CH-IV.com has provided services to most US LNG export projects that sit before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and is a technical leader in the design of bunkering systems for ships using LNG for engine fuel. In 2014, CH-IV was acquired by Australian engineering and construction company Clough. CH-IV.com About Clough Clough is a pioneering engineering and construction company established in 1919 in Perth, Western Australia. Clough delivers challenging projects for the energy, mining and infrastructure industries underpinned by a dedication to problem solving and getting the job done safely and efficiently. Today, Clough manages a global workforce of almost 2000 people from operating centres across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Asia, Africa, UK, and North America that continuously strive for the best results for their clients, setting new safety and performance benchmarks every single day. Clough is a wholly owned subsidiary of Murray & Roberts. cloughgroup.com It is a dream come true to see the CG brand on the street level of this prestigious New York Design Center. The CG brand has seen many innovations over the years and this fabulous showplace reflects those achievements. - Christopher Guy Harrison Luxury lifestyle brand Christopher Guy (CG) inaugurated its flagship showroom in New Yorks Design District on the evening of May 21, 2019. Christopher Guy Harrison, the brands founder and chief designer, launched the bespoke, 7,500 square foot, street-level showroom with a ribbon cutting ceremony. It was followed by an elegant champagne reception, attended by influencers and New York design icon, Fern Mallis. The showroom was an ambitious project for the brand, and it is hoped that this new space will transform the future of luxury lifestyle retail spaces. One of the most talked-about pieces of the evening was the Cosmopolitan headboard (referred to by many people the Game of Thrones bed, which was created long before the HBO series began). It is hand-carved and extremely detailed, and takes months of work, which is why this design is only available by special order. It is a dream come true to see the CG brand on the street level of this prestigious New York Design Center, said Mr. Harrison. The CG brand has seen many innovations over the years and this fabulous showplace reflects those achievements. On the morning of May 22, Casa Vogue editor Paula Jacob interviewed Mr. Harrison and CG creative director Jon Spurlock at the new showroom, to discuss the evolution of CG, its creative process and inspirations, and what signifies as a success to Mr. Harrison. The trio also discussed the luxury retail market and recent changes in the industry. The CG New York showroom is now open to the public. For more information, please visit http://www.ChristopherGuy.com. Photos of the evenings event are available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3z283r5cjoqdx4v/AAARJPvXPMzM4qcdkbIAju-da?dl=0. Please credit Shutterstock / Christopher Guy in any usage. For more information or additional photos of CG designs, please contact: Michelle Rico, Brand Ambassador for Christopher Guy, michelle(at)brandamb.com, 1(818)298-3055. ### With data at the heart of practically every strategic decision, it is a critical asset and a key to competitive advantage in todays economy. DecisivEdge, LLC, a leading business consulting and technology services company has expanded its executive leadership team by hiring Alan Estes to lead the companys Data Science Practice. For over three decades, Alan has been leveraging data to solve business problems, improve customer experiences, and automate complex tasks. A leader in the Data Science domain, he has successfully developed and deployed numerous machine learning solutions in an open source analytical tech stack. Alan has lead enterprise projects in a variety of business functions across the financial services product life-cycle. In his new role at DecisivEdge, Alan is responsible for setting the agenda and driving the sustainable growth of the Data Science practice, ensuring that the companys data science professionals are devising efficient solutions for our clients and deepening client partner relationships. Prior to joining DecisivEdge, Alan lead the Data Science team for the Small Business Banking business at Capital One. He has also worked at Sallie Mae, K2 Financial (a consumer lending start up), Bank of New York, FirstUSA/Chase and has served as an economist on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Alan graduated from the University of Redlands with a BS in Economics and holds an MA in Economics from Virginia Tech. With data at the heart of practically every strategic decision, it is a critical asset and a key to competitive advantage in todays economy. At DecisivEdge we are focused on helping our clients develop and expand their market advantage Alans considerable experience gives our Data Science practice the leadership necessary to do just that, said Navroze Eduljee, CEO of DecisivEdge. Alan is a tremendous addition to our team and I look forward to his contributions to our clients success. About DecisivEdge: DecisivEdge is a business consulting and technology services firm. We use industry insight, technology, and analytics to solve our clients critical business challenges. With offices in North America and Asia, our global team helps clients across the world find, develop, and sustain the competitive advantage. We offer a tightly knit suite of solutions and services designed to optimize processes, mitigate risk, and increase the value of your business. When you need a powerful advantage in your market, let DecisivEdge drive you to distinction. We welcome the opportunity to learn about your unique business challenges. The fact that our home-buying clients are willing to take the time to grade our service and write a review ... indicates they appreciate our 100 percent loyalty to homebuyers. Buyers Brokers Only, LLC again has earned the home service industry's coveted Angie's List Super Service Award, reflecting an exemplary year of customer service to home-buying members of the local services marketplace and consumer review website in 2018. "Service pros that receive our Angie's List Super Service Award represent the best in our network, who are consistently making great customer service their mission," Angie's List Founder Angie Hicks said. "These pros have provided exceptional service to our members and absolutely deserve recognition for the exemplary customer service they exhibited in the past year." Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, an exclusive buyer agent real estate brokerage, earned the Angie's' List Super Service Award for the eighth time in 2018 for its service to homebuyers in the Greater Boston area real estate market. Only a handful of the hundreds of real estate companies in the Greater Boston market earned the award. Buyers Brokers Only, LLC also is a top-rated real estate company on Yelp, Google, and Facebook. Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, which is headquartered in Haverhill, Massachusetts and serves Greater Boston and Southern New Hampshire homebuyers, has previously won the Angie's' List Super Service Award in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. It's exclusive buyer agents are located throughout Eastern Massachusetts. "The fact that our home-buying clients are willing to take the time to grade our service and write a review on Angie's list indicates they appreciate our 100 percent loyalty to homebuyers," Richard Rosa, co-founder of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, said. "Our eighth Super Service Award is evidence of the service we have provided in the past; however, we are committed to continuous improvement. Doing what is in the best interests of our clients, even if it means more work and less money, is in our company's DNA." Angie's List Super Service Award 2018 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include maintaining an "A" rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade. Super Service Award winners must be in good standing with Angie's List, pass a background check, record a current trade license attestation, and abide by Angie's List operational guidelines. "We are grateful beyond words to the more than 100 clients who graded us and wrote reviews over the years," David Kres, co-founder of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, said. "The Super Service Award lets the world know our clients appreciate our exclusive buyer agent service." Service company ratings are updated continually on Angie's List as new, verified consumer reviews are submitted. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in areas ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality. Buyers Brokers Only, LLC always has maintained an "A" rating on Angie's List. ABOUT BUYERS BROKERS ONLY, LLC: Buyers Brokers Only, LLC is an exclusive buyer agent real estate firm, which means it's buyer brokers are 100 percent loyal to homebuyers 100 percent of the time. Buyers Brokers Only, LLC never represents home sellers, thus avoiding conflicts of interest that are common in traditional real estate firms. With more than 20 exclusive buyer agents, Haverhill, MA-based Buyers Brokers Only is one of the largest exclusive buyer agent real estate brokerages in the United States. The exclusive buyer agents at Buyers Brokers Only have helped consumers purchase hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate since 2005. ABOUT ANGIE'S LIST: For more than 20 years, Angie's List has been a trusted name for connecting consumers to top-rated service professionals. Angie's List provides unique tools and support designed to improve the local service experience for both consumers and service professionals. Angie's List has provided trusted reviews (more than 10 million verified reviews), and information to help millions of consumers make smart hiring decisions, earning a reputation as a credible resource for researching and comparing local service providers. Accelerate Your Learning With FPSOnline FPSOnline continues to be the fastest growing service of its kind in the government contracting industry and enables individuals and entire organizations to stay current on foundational and emerging topics of interest within the government contracting community at a price point everyone can afford. Federal Publications Seminars, the leading provider of government contracts training and professional development for more than 60 years, is pleased to announce the release of FPSOnline 2.0, an updated version of its FPSOnline platform. Attendees of one of the highly anticipated premier weeklong conferences, La Jolla Government Contracts Week, were given a sneak peek of FPSOnline 2.0 during the conference and response from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. FPSOnline 2.0 takes the original version introduced in 2017 to a whole new level. The newly enhanced user experience provides robust administrative tools to manage the learning experience at both individual and group levels. The update provides more robust functionality with a sample of the following enhancements: Updated feature-rich, mobile-ready functionality for training anywhere you have a connection; Enhanced search capabilities for finding the content users value most quickly and easily, A new repository for maintaining all online course certificates of completion, A user-friendly calendar for tracking and managing upcoming enrolled courses and all available programs, and New feature-rich administrative tools to manage team learning and track progress. We have been very active over the last two-years listening to feedback from customers regarding what theyd like to see in our new FPSOnline platform from a content and functionality standpoint, said Andy King, President of Federal Publications Seminars. This feedback has been instrumental in guiding the enhancements we have made to the service, as well as supporting the unprecedented growth we have experienced. FPSOnline was introduced in early 2017 and has since become the government contracting industrys most comprehensive online training library, containing thousands of hours of both live and on-demand programs. In just two years, the subscriber base has grown to over 3,000 subscribers who utilize the training resources in the portal. The FPSOnline library currently contains more than 400 programs with thousands of hours of programming both live and on-demand. Many live programs are CLE and CPE accredited, offering an even better value for those needing accreditation. FPSOnline continues to be the fastest growing service of its kind in the government contracting industry and enables individuals and entire organizations to stay current on foundational and emerging topics of interest within the government contracting community at a price point everyone can afford, said King. When you combine our extensive public classroom offerings and weeklong events, customized in-house delivered programs and the emerging FPSOnline service and capabilities, we believe government contracting organizations and government agencies will benefit from having these well-rounded training options available to their employees when and where they need them, said King. Subjects range from trending hot topics in the industry to premier webinar series which provide in-depth guidance and expertise in areas that are critical to government contract compliance. The knowledge-base is expansive and FPSOnline adds over 100 new webinars annually to its online library. In celebration of FPSOnline 2.0, NEW users can get $400 off an FPSOnline Subscription (retail $795/person). Reference promo code 400FPS20NEW. Valid through May 31, 2019. To learn more about whats included in an FPSOnline Subscription and to purchase using the promo code, visit fedpubseminars.com/fpsonline. About Federal Publication Seminars Federal Publications Seminars (FPS) has been the leading provider of government contracts training and education for more than 60 years. FPS offers hundreds of courses designed to provide clients with solid, comprehensive opportunities to stay current on critical issues throughout the government contracting market. FPS instructors are nationally recognized leaders in the government contracting industry. For more information on Federal Publications Seminars, please visit fedpubseminars.com or call 1+ 888 494-3696. Be sure to follow us on social channels for the latest updates, class notifications, and promotions @fedpubseminars Florida Polytechnic University assistant professor Dr. Muhammad R. Abid and recent graduate Charles Soini 19 discuss their research on citrus greening detection. Their paper was presented at the Inte As a student, I never expected to produce research worthy of publication without beginning to pursue a masters degree or higher, said Soini. Florida Polytechnic University researchers have developed a new cutting-edge technology that aims to simplify and make more affordable the detection of citrus greening in groves throughout Florida and beyond. Citrus greening has posed a terrible threat to crops locally and worldwide as it has no cure, said Dr. Muhammad R. Abid, assistant professor of computer science and lead researcher. The method consists of a Citrus Greening Detection (CiGID) algorithm performed via computer vision techniques to extract sub-images of fruit from a tree to determine if they show signs of citrus greening infection. A sub-image works by converting images to true-color for display purposes. The CiGID algorithm would be incorporated into camera systems installed on general vehicles used for tree monitoring in groves. The cameras would capture images that the algorithm would use to automatically identify if the fruit is infected. Normally an expert needs to come to the groves to check every tree identified as possibly infected, said Charles Soini 19, a computer science graduate whos been working on the research for the last six months. This new system does that work, so the expert only needs to check the ones already identified as sick and confirm it. Soini explained that the method was tested using a Google script that produced around 93 percent validation accuracy by sampling around 60 test images of both infected and non-infected fruit and checking if the correct result was produced. The system was also tested manually using a different set of 50 images of citrus trees, with an accuracy of 80 percent. This method is unique and novel due to its simplicity, added Abid. Our intention is to use less expensive hardware to reduce costs. We dont use any infrared device, 3D cameras, or any sophisticated costly technology. We rely on simple, affordable cameras to get video or pictures to feed the algorithm. Citrus greening is one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Infected trees produce fruits that are green, bitter, and unsuitable for sale as fresh fruit or juice. A 2018 report from the Florida Department of Citrus states that there were 750,000 acres of citrus groves in 2004. By last year, those numbers had dropped to 455,000 acres. Thats a decrease of 40 percent. The research, which also included the collaboration of computer science graduate Sofianne Fellah 18, was presented at the International Conference on Information System and Data Mining held at University of Houston in Texas in April. It will also be published in the International Conference Proceedings Series by the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM). Soini said the research has provided him with an invaluable learning experience at Florida Poly. As a student, I never expected to produce research worthy of publication without beginning to pursue a masters degree or higher, said Soini. Being able to not only research a topic so relevant, but also to reach the point where my research is published feels incredible. For the most recent university news, visit Florida Poly News. ABOUT FLORIDA POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY: Florida Polytechnic University is an accredited member of the State University System of Florida, dedicated exclusively to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The University is a powerful economic engine within the state of Florida, blending applied research with industry partnerships to give students an academically rigorous education with real-world relevance. The campus is located in Lakeland, Florida along the I-4 High Tech Corridor. Connect with Florida Poly at http://www.floridapoly.edu. The Roadshow furthers our mission to help improve the quality of life by getting the worlds leading medical experts into one room to discuss the importance of high-quality medical devices. Greenlight Guru, the only medical device quality management system (MD QMS) software platform, is bringing their 2019 True Quality Roadshow, a seven-city, countrywide gathering of medical device professionals and industry stakeholders, to Minneapolis on June 13 at the Watson Block Event Center & Venue. The True Quality Roadshow will comprise of a networking event and panel discussion consisting of seasoned industry professionals including Milton Yarberry, Director of Project Management at Integrated Computer Solutions. The evening event also consists of a fireside chat with Jon Speer, founder and VP of QA/RA at Greenlight Guru, and George Zack, Principal and Co-founder at Two Harbors Consulting, on the current state of the medical device industry. The panel will discuss regulatory updates and best practices to attaining medical device True Quality, including the current state of the new European Union Medical Device Regulations (EU MDR). The True Quality Roadshow is an opportunity for industry professionals to come together to network, exchange best practices and prepare for upcoming regulatory changes, said Speer. The Roadshow furthers our mission to help improve the quality of life by getting the worlds leading medical experts into one room to discuss the importance of high-quality medical devices. With the FDAs Case for Quality program, the True Quality Roadshow works with key stakeholders manufacturers, healthcare providers, patients, payers, and investors to shift focus from a compliance stance, to a focus on quality maturity. High-performance medical device manufacturers view quality as a product feature, not a regulatory hurdle, said Zack. The True Quality Roadshow furthers the mission of the FDAs Case for Quality by providing medical device professionals with real-world business cases of quality systems yielding quality devices. Greenlight Guru and Two Harbors Consulting share a core mission improving the quality of life through safe and effective medical devices, said Zack. Improved device quality, true quality, is central to that mission. The True Quality Roadshow will be hosted at Watson Block located at 256 North 1st Ave in Minneapolis, Minn. with additional events throughout the year in leading medical device hubs across the country. San Francisco, Calif. July 11th Houston, Texas August 29th Orange County, Calif. Oct San Diego, Calif. Nov The Minneapolis True Quality Roadshow follows the announcement of Greenlight Guru being named the sole leader in the Quality Management Software category by G2 Crowd as well as the launch of their MedTech True Quality Stories podcast. To learn more about attending the roadshow in a city near you and partnership opportunities, please visit http://www.greenlight.guru/events/true-quality-roadshow-2019. ### About Greenlight Guru Greenlight Guru is the only quality management software platform designed specifically for medical device companies. The platform helps companies bring safer products to market faster, simplifies FDA and ISO regulatory compliance and provides a single source of truth by connecting the management of all quality processes like CAPAs, risk, audits and more. Greenlight Gurus platform is used by thousands of users across the globe to push beyond baseline compliance and achieve True Quality for their medical devices. For more information, visit http://www.greenlight.guru. About ICS At the intersection of custom software development, engineering and UX design, Integrated Computer Solutions (ICS) has been helping Fortune 1000 companies create transformational products for over 30 years. It has developed countless modern user interfaces, connected products and touchscreen-enabled applications for global companies like Boston Engineering, Boeing and Intel; everything from agriculture equipment, defibrillators and commercial kitchen appliances, to air traffic control, self-driving autos and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. About Two Harbors Consulting The Two Harbors Consulting Team holds over 50 years combined experience in process and performance improvement, and organizational change management and nearly 100 years of combined experience in software development and services delivery. Two Harbors Consulting staff are certified to perform appraisals and training for CMMI for Development, Services, as well as High Maturity appraisals. The problem of not having enough water is going to be a growing problem going forward. GroGuru president and CEO, Patrick Henry, will be on a panel about AgWater Utilization & Efficiency at the California Agriculture Summit to be held on May 23, 2019 at the University of California Riverside. Larta Institute's Global Ag Innovation Network (GAIN), is proud to present an event focused on Californias agricultural sector. The California Agriculture Summit will bring diverse agricultural stakeholders together to spur a dialogue on resource challenges faced by growers and ways that research and technology can be part of the solution. "GroGuru is excited to participate in what should be a lively and informative panel discussion about one of the worlds biggest environmental challenges: the amount of water needed in coming decades to feed an increasing global population," said Patrick Henry, president and CEO of GroGuru. "70 percent of the world's freshwater supply is already used for agriculture irrigation, and despite the recent wet winter in California and the Western US, the problem of not having enough water is going to be a growing problem going forward. While we face massive challenges, this is also an opportunity for innovation." California is a world leader in agriculture; this economic sector is known for its ability to provide food, fiber, and fuel for the world, as well as being at the forefront of leadership to address climate change, environmental issues, and efficient sustainable use of resources & inputs. Challenges create opportunity, and ideas evolve from sharing perspectives and knowledge among those who are committed to the ag sectors success: growers, researchers, policymakers, technology innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors. This GAIN event will also spotlight and feature innovative companies developing groundbreaking solutions for today's agriculture challenges. The panel on AgWater Utilization & Efficiency will focus on current challenges in ag irrigation, trends, and insights about innovative opportunities for growers to improve measurement and efficiency. To learn more about the California Agriculture Summit or to register for the event, please go to https://mailchi.mp/larta/ca-ag-summit. About GroGuru GroGuru is a privately held company based in San Diego, CA that provides precision soil and irrigation monitoring systems to the commercial agriculture industry. GroGuru is focused on enabling farmers to increase crop yields while optimally use water and fertilizer. GroGuru sells an innovative hardware-enabled subscription-based solution to farmers that enables optimal irrigation. GroGurus 100 percent wireless underground technology enables a permanent installation of soil sensors, even in annual field crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and sorghum, that have a destructive harvest. GroGurus WUGS-based systems can be buried below the till depth and communicate through several feet of soil wirelessly, thus eliminating the need for the sensors to be annually installed and removed for seeding and harvesting, respectively, for these annual crops. GroGuru is a portfolio company at the EvoNexus technology incubator, the premier technology incubator in Southern California. Love Your Summer Old Town, Alexandria does Summer like no other city with gorgeous waterfront views, rich history and sightseeing for all members of the family. Hilton Alexandria Old Town's Love Your Summer Package provides visitors and locals alike an unforgettable Old Town, Alexandria experience and the opportunity to soak up the sun in this sought-out travel destination. Named #1 Best Value U.S. Travel Destination 2018 by Money magazine and one of the Souths Prettiest Cities 2018 by Southern Living, Alexandrias neighborhoods are rich in history and modern culture. Visitors can make the most of a trip to Alexandria with a value-packed hotel package, which includes two adult, two-day, unlimited ride water taxi passes (a $78 value), complimentary hotel parking and two Key to the City museum passes, providing access to nine historic sites as well as other unique features. These benefits add over $200 in value to every stay of two days or more. Love Your Summer package is available May 22 to September 2, with rates starting as low as $149 plus tax. To find more information or reserve accommodations, guests may visit The Hilton Alexandria Old Town website. About Hilton Alexandria Old Town: The reinvented Hilton Alexandria Old Town recently completed a top-to-bottom modern renovation of guest rooms, restaurant, lobby and meeting space. Located in the historic, vibrant King Street neighborhood, Hilton Alexandria Old Town is one of the most convenient hotels in Alexandria, VA for business and leisure travelers visiting Washington, DC. Guests enjoy on-site amenities, dining and tours of the historic city. About Hilton Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 17 world-class brands comprising more than 5,700 properties with more than 923,000 rooms, in 113 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its mission to be the worlds most hospitable company, Hilton earned a spot on the 2018 worlds best workplaces list, and has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its 100-year history. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, more than 89 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money cant buy, plus enjoy instant benefits, including digital check-in with room selection, Digital Key, and Connected Room. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Hemp is Legal Billboard in Times Square It is essential to help educate the public about the most sweeping cannabis reform policy that has ever occurred in the United States, surrounding hemp. What better place to do so than Times Square, said Hoban Law Group Founder & President Bob Hoban. Hoban Law Group is proud to be partnering with Hemp Industries Association (HIA) to launch the first nationwide Hemp Is Legal Campaign. It is essential to help educate the public about the most sweeping cannabis reform policy that has ever occurred in the United States, surrounding hemp. What better place to do so than Times Square, said Hoban Law Group Founder & President Bob Hoban. When the President signed the 2018 Farm Bill in December, which legalized industrial hemp for all intents and purposes, the federal government permanently removed industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), resolving any lingering doubts. However, this sweeping law has caused a great deal of confusion among government agencies who, as a general rule, struggle with change. Federal agencies, such as FDA and USDA, are undergoing reviews and rulemaking with respect to hemp and hemp-derived products. A flurry of state legislatures are enacting new or amended state laws concerning hemp and more are expected to do so in early 2020. Yet, there remain instances of isolated state and/or local enforcement activity towards lawful hemp. We are in the midst of a very important, but steep, learning curve for both industry and regulators alike. We expect even greater clarity in the remainder of 2019 and in 2020, upon agencies and legislatures implementing more detailed regulations, providing even greater certainty for all, noted Garrett Graff, Managing Attorney of Hoban Law Group. In the meantime, there is a lot of confusion in the marketplace about whether hemp is legal, whether it is a controlled substance, whether it is the same as marijuana, and/or whether it could be sold and produced across the United States. This confusion has reached local and state law enforcement as well as the commercial marketplace. This campaign is intended to set the record straight about hemp in the United States, said Director of Business Development Halston Puchek. It is necessary for people to understand that hemp is not a controlled substance and that it is no longer considered an illegal plant. In part, this education works to ensure hemp operators are availed of customary ancillary business services banking, financing, payment processing, insurance, and web marketing. Consumer demand for hemp products has reached an all-time high and continues to grow. As such, it is critical that people understand that hemp is not marijuana. And that manufacturers, retailers, law enforcement, and consumer product outlets understand that hemp is a legal and viable commercial product simply another agricultural commodity. As a result, it is our intention, our burden, our duty to inform the American public that it is now legally part of the new globalized hemp economy. Please visit HempIsLegal.org to learn more. About Hoban Law Group Hoban Law Group is the first U.S. based law firm to expand its cannabis industry services across the globe, with attorneys in the European Union, Latin America, and beyond. Since 2009 HLG has been providing professional services to the cannabis industry, which is comprised of the international hemp and regulated marijuana marketplace. For more information please visit Hoban.law. For interviews with Hoban Law Group leadership, contact Halston Puchek at halston@hoban.law. Corrective Deed Mistakes on recorded deeds are corrected by either re-recording the deed, preparing a new corrective deed or a corrective affidavit. One cannot assume because a deed for California real property has been recorded and accepted by the recorders office that it is error free. If the deed meets the formatting and content requirements it may still contain errors. This Tip Sheet explains how mistakes on recorded deeds are corrected by either re-recording the deed, preparing a new corrective deed or preparing a corrective affidavit. A correction deed or re-recording of a deed requires the original grantors signature. Any instrument presented for recordation which corrects or is re-recorded to modify the provisions of a previously recorded document becomes part of the chain of title. All corrections require the following on the first or cover page; corrective statement, error identification, clear reference to the previously recorded document. A re-recording of the original document with corrections is made in the body of the original document, re-signed and re-acknowledged. There are two problems with this method. The first is the need for the original deed. Often the original deed is not available. The second problem is the original deed must have the corrections made on the original deed and resigned. This could create a messy and hard to understand document, . A better method is a correction deed. A cover page is used to meet the information requires of California law. A new deed is prepared, signed, acknowledged and attached to the cover page. Either party can make minor corrections with a corrective affidavit, certified under penalty of perjury by the party submitting the affidavit. Corrections made with this affidavit are limited to: an incorrect or missing address of the party to which the instrument, paper, or notice is to be returned following recording; a clarification of illegible text; an incorrect or missing printed or typed name of an individual or entity near the signature; or an incorrect or missing documentary transfer tax amount due. Mistakes on recorded deeds can be corrected by either re-recording the deed, preparing a new corrective deed or preparing a corrective affidavit. A re-recording of the original document with corrections is made in the body of the original document, re-signed and re-acknowledged. A correction deed is a new deed signed and acknowledged by the grantor. A correction affidavit can be signed by either party but is used in limited situations. This press release was authorized by Mark W. Bidwell, an attorney licensed in California. Office is located at 4952 Warner Avenue, Suite 235, Huntington Beach, CA 92649. Telephone is 714-846-2888. More information is available at http://www.DeedAndRecord.com. A submarine veteran salutes as he drops a tribute reef at the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef site, honoring the 65 lost US submarines and 4,000+ crew. Today we recognized the heroes of The Silent Service that were lost on those 65 boats with well-deserved respect and honor. Appropriately, these memorials will continue to replenish the marine environment in which these submariners served, said George Frankel, CEO of Eternal Reefs. Today, Eternal Reefs and submarine veterans, veterans of other military branches, Sarasota officials and members of the public created the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef, the first ever undersea memorial to the 65 American submarines lost since 1900, along with 4,000+ officers and crew. The new marine memorial is nine miles off the coast of Sarasota, Fla. and is the first and only memorial honoring the sacrifice of these submariners in the environment in which they served, the ocean. Today is significant because it is the 51st anniversary of the loss of the U.S. nuclear sub the USS Scorpion (SSN 589), the last submarine to go On Eternal Patrol with all 99 officers and crew on 22 May 1968. This reef project is a beautiful thing and a good remembrance, said Phil Orapallo from Lakewood Ranch, Fla., who served aboard the Scorpion as a quarter master and navigation expert in 1962, 1963 and 1964. I was just a kid when she went down and the first thing I did was look on the list of missing for Mazzuchi and Bishop (chiefs of the boat) because they were like fathers to me. It just brings back so many memories and made me think of their horrible death, Orapallo said as he dropped a small tribute reef over the The Flying Fishs stern in honor of the Scorpion, the final boat called in the Tolling of the Boats ceremony today. In all, a group of 90 people in eight water craft gathered to dedicate the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef. Aboard The Flying Fish, 58 veterans and other representatives dropped 65 tribute reefs decorated with red, white and blue flowers, one for each lost sub. The small, cement tribute reefs sunk to the bottom, while the flowers made a beautiful floating mosaic in the ocean. With plenty of salutes, tears, respect and comradery, the hour-long ceremony included a site dedication and invocation by Rod Dimon (Chaplain American Legion Post 159), remarks by William Andrea (founding member US Submarine Veterans, Inc. USSVI), and the deployment of six giant memorial reefs via crane to the ocean floor: the pinnacle reef; a USSVI reef and memorials to the four boats lost after WWII: the USS Cochino (SS-345), USS Stickleback (SS-415), USS Thresher (SSN-593) and the USS Scorpion (SSN-589). A Tolling of the Boats ceremony occurred, in which each of the 65 lost boats was announced, the ships bell sounded, and a tribute reef was dropped. Finally, all the boats circled the flower-laden reef site blowing horns and sirens to honor the ultimate sacrifice of those in The Silent Service honored at the site. Its all about honor for me, said James Jordan who served aboard on the USS Parche (SSN-683), the USS Daniel Webster (SSBN- 626), and the USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635); he dropped the tribute reef honoring the USS Pompano. I looked out at all those floating flowers and imagined they were all the souls that had been lost coming up to the surface to let us know theyre all right now. When you see a veteran, just smile or say hi, because you dont know what someone is going through and you never know how a small act like this can make a big difference, said Jordan who moderates a closed Facebook group called OTS at Crush Depth with a mission to support the mental health of all submariners. Each memorial is an individual reef ball, a designed artificial reef specifically engineered to mimic Mother Nature, which quickly assimilates into the ocean fostering significant new marine growth within 90 days. Each of the reef balls in the On Eternal Patrol collection weighs 1,300 pounds, stands three feet tall and includes an individual plaque identifying the lost submarine, its best-known last location and the number of officers and crew lost. Creating the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef is literally a dream come true, said George Frankel, CEO of Eternal Reefs. Today we recognized the heroes of The Silent Service that were lost on those 65 boats with well-deserved respect and honor. Appropriately, these memorials will continue to replenish the marine environment in which these submariners served. As the summer months progress, the remaining 61 reefs in the entire 67-strong On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef will be deployed with assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). Two USCG vessels are planned to facilitate the deployments: the Joshua Appleby, an offshore buoy tender, and the Vice, an inshore buoy tender. Eternal Reefs executives will coordinate closely with USCG personnel to deploy the final reef balls as weather permits. The On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef site is in public waters nine miles off Big Pass in 45 of water. GPS coordinates are: 27 15.795N 82 45.505W. See video of the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef project on YouTube and find a complete list of the boats On Eternal Patrol and those lost in non-sinking events, visit http://www.OnEternalPatrol.com. A Sarasota-based 501c3 memorial organization, Eternal Reefs, Inc., planned the ambitious project, in partnership with Reef Innovations and The Reef Ball Foundation and dedicated it in a land side ceremony last Memorial Day weekend (27 May 2018). At that time each lost boat received full military honors, for many the first time to have received recognition. The project has garnered gubernatorial recognition from 25 states including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin. About Eternal Reefs The Genesis Reef Project dba Eternal Reefs, Inc. is a Sarasota-based non-profit organization that provides a creative, environmentally-enhancing way to memorialize the cremated remains of a loved one. Eternal Reefs incorporates cremains into a proprietary concrete mixture used to cast artificial reef formations which are then dedicated as permanent memorials which bolster natural coastal reef formations. Eternal Reefs pioneered the concept of reef memorialization and, since 1998, the organization has placed nearly 2,000 Memorial Reefs in 25 locations off the coasts of Florida (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Gulf Coast and Panhandle), Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, substantially increasing the oceans diminishing reef systems. Memorial reefs can only go in properly permitted locations by the U.S. Government. Eternal Reefs has strategic partnerships with the Reef Ball Foundation and Reef Innovations. Learn more at http://www.EternalReefs.com or on the companys Facebook page. # # # Internationally-Renowned Turquoise Museum Reopens in Downtown Albuquerque The reopening of the Turquoise Museum is a celebration of the vision and determination of local entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, advancing economic development and investing in downtown Albuquerque. The popular Turquoise Museum has relocated to downtown Albuquerque. The Lowry family, owners and founders of the Turquoise Museum, joined City of Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, New Mexico Tourism Cabinet Secretary Jen Schroer, Visit Albuquerque and city and state leaders last month to cut the ribbon of the new "Turquoise Castle, Home of the Turquoise Museum." Since reopening to the public on April 6, the Museum has welcomed over 1,000 visitors, far outpacing visitation over April 2018 at its former location in Old Town Albuquerque. The Turquoise Museum celebrates its 26th anniversary this year, and our family had been searching for the perfect location for the future of the Museum, said Jacob Lowry, Executive Director of the Turquoise Museum. The minute we walked into the castle, we knew it would be the perfect home for our world-class turquoise collection, our library and our educational initiatives. The reopening of the Turquoise Museum is a celebration of the vision and determination of local entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, advancing economic development and investing in downtown Albuquerque, said New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Millions of tourists visit Albuquerque every year, and this terrific attraction is another star in the constellation of high-quality Albuquerque experiences. The Lowry family is to be commended for their commitment to boosting the city's economy and tourism industry, not to mention community programs." The addition of this international visitor attraction continues the ongoing revitalization of downtown Albuquerque, and the Turquoise Museum mixed with the castlewhich is really a phenomenal attraction in its own rightis a winning and special combination, said Tania Armenta, President & CEO of Visit Albuquerque. The prestigious nature of the Museum and its unique new location strengthens the catalogue of the citys wealth of world-class museums and cultural centers and will increase Albuquerques reputation of being known as a city rich in arts and culture. The Museum was opened in 1993 by the Lowrysa New Mexican family with five generations of turquoise experience and expertise. The Museum houses what is believed to be the worlds largest collection of turquoise including the George Washington stone, named for its resemblance to the profile of the first president of the United States. The 11.5 inches by 9.5 inches cabochon weighs 6,888 carats. The Museum features exhibits including: the science and geology of turquoise, turquoise mining, turquoise around the world, and features hundreds of examples of turquoise jewelry as well as education on imitation turquoise. The Museum is open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and tickets start at $16. Tourism continues to be a critical piece of the economy of Albuquerque and New Mexico. According to Visit Albuquerques most recent numbers, Albuquerque sees an average of 6.2 million visitors each year, which generate more than $2 billion annually. Our family is pleased to play a role in the vital tourism economy of our beloved Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico, said Jacob Lowry. Were excited to welcome visitors to our new location and continue to show the world what turquoise is all about. About the Turquoise Museum The Turquoise Museum and its collection of turquoise have been used as a source of information and pictures for over 40 years. Uncover the mystery of turquoise, delve into its rich history, learn about the different mines, specimens, and stories of colorful characters at The Turquoise Museum. For more information, go to http://www.turquoisemuseum.com. About Visit Albuquerque The mission of Visit Albuquerque is to stimulate economic growth by marketing Albuquerque as a visitor and convention destination. For more information, go to http://www.VisitABQ.org, http://www.Facebook.com/VisitABQ or http://www.Twitter.com/VisitABQ. Intuiface: Digital Engagement for Physical Spaces, Reinvented We are very excited to accelerate the success of Intuifaces powerful and unique platform in the Asian digital signage market and beyond. Intuiface developer of the market-leading software for creating, delivering, and measuring location-based digital engagement without writing code is pleased to announce the opening of a Sales and Support office in the city of Taipei. With this central presence in Asia, Intuiface can offer global support coverage as well as regional signage expertise to grow software sales and build relationships with locally-based hardware manufacturers. Intuifaces expansion into Asia was made possible by Series A funding received in 2018 and furthers the companys goal to continue its upward trajectory of aggressive revenue growth. Heading up the Taipei office will be Raphael Languebien, a 10-year signage veteran and local resident for the past decade. Most recently serving as Regional Sales and Operations Director for Scala, Languebien has held technical, sales, and business development roles throughout South East and East Asia. He is fluent in Mandarin, English, and French, and will supply a variety of language-specific nicknames upon request. With an East Asia presence, Intuiface can deepen its regional market penetration, enlisting both the agencies and integrators targeting their own clients and the organizations who wish to create modern and engaging interactive digital content using in-house skills. In addition, with so many hardware manufacturers located in the region, Intuifaces on the ground presence permits the creation of productive business partnerships. We have ambitiously wanted to gain a foothold within Asia to accelerate Intuifaces development in a region that loves innovation, says Jacques Soumeillan, Executive President. It is thrilling to have found such a qualified signage veteran in Raphael Languebien to help us make this ambition a reality. We have great things planned for the coming years. Languebien, in his new role as Business Development Director - Asia, says, I am very excited to accelerate the success of Intuifaces powerful and unique platform in the Asian digital signage market and beyond. It is a privilege to play a role in such a dedicated and passionate growing community. The Taipei office is open and currently manages relationships with existing regional customers and partners. Local inquiries can be submitted via http://www.intuiface.com/contact. About Intuiface Intuiface is the worlds premier platform for creating, deploying, measuring, and managing deeply interactive digital experiences without writing code. Over 1500 companies across 70+ countries are connecting people to place using interactive options such as touch, RFID/NFC, beacons, Web APIs, Internet of Things, and much more. For any industry including retail, manufacturing, hospitality, real estate, tourism, education and for any intent from digital signs to self-service kiosks and sales presentations. New Orleans is the site of the Marijuana Business Conference and Expo June 12-14. What's next for the cannabis industry? Companies involved in product marketing and growing cannabis businesses will want to be in New Orleans June 12-14 for MJBizConNEXT. There, representatives from Lightning Labels will be on hand to answer questions about cannabis product labels and much more. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is the site of the two-day conference, organized by Marijuana Business Daily. The event will bring together corporate leaders, innovators and decision-makers from all over the U.S., including professionals responsible for retail operations, sales, technology and data, business investment and development, extraction and cultivation. Attendees will be able to learn about the groundbreaking innovations and technology that lie ahead for the cannabis industry, thanks to the dynamic combination of speakers, exhibits and networking with industry peers. Keynote Speaker Is The Force Behind Mike's Hard Lemonade Anat Baron, founder and CEO of StashWall, is this year's keynote speaker for MJBizConNEXT and the Hemp Industry Daily Conference being held in conjunction with the cannabis event. Baron has been described as the "wunderkind" who helped grow Mike's Hard Lemonade into a $200 million business in only three years. Her efforts provided the impetus for development of a new category in the hyper-competitive alcoholic beverage market. She and dozens of other speakers will be on hand to share their inspiring ideas and insights at MJBizConNEXT New Orleans. Here's just a small sample of the many topics attendees will hear about: Future-proofing a cannabis business Emergent trends and markets Upcoming innovations in technology Label It Successful In addition, when it's time to ready cannabis products for market, packaging and labeling will be a critical concern. Conference-goers who stop by the Lightning Labels exhibit at Booth 822 will be able to see examples of custom-printed digital labels that can give products an edge in the marketplace. Company representatives will be on hand to talk about how best to produce attention-getting labels that stand out from the crowd, including labels for cannabis oils, medical cannabis, custom edibles, cannabis topicals, cannabis warning labels and a variety of other products. Lightning Labels' years of experience and familiarity with the cannabis industry can help its clients stake out a place within this constantly-evolving market. With quick turnaround, small minimum order sizes and versatile digital printing capabilities, Lightning Labels is uniquely equipped to help launch new products or rebrand existing ones successfully. About Lightning Labels: Lightning Labels uses state-of-the-art printing technology to provide affordable, full-color custom labels and custom stickers of all shapes and sizes. From small orders for individuals to the bulk needs of big businesses, Lightning Labels is equipped to handle and fulfill custom label and sticker projects of all types. Best of all, like the name implies, Lightning Labels provides a quick turnaround for every customer's labeling needs. Uses for Lightning Labels' custom product labels and custom stickers include food packaging and organic food labels, wine and beverage labels, bath and body labels, and nutraceutical products, such as vitamins, essentials oils, and herbal remedies, as well as event stickers, adhesive window stickers and more. Lightning Labels strongly supports the development of environmentally friendly printing materials and carries Biostone, a green label material made from stone paper that is water resistant and inherently strong and durable. While operating as a high-tech printer, Lightning Labels prides itself on its personalized customer service. Lightning Labels provides one stop shopping for all custom label needs. For more information and to place orders online, visit LightningLabels.com. For the latest in packaging news and labeling promotional offers, find Lightning Labels on Twitter (@LightningLabels), Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn. PolicyAdvisor.com, the simple, quick, online brokerage for Canadians searching for life insurance and related products launched their online disability insurance quoting product today at the InsurTech North 2019 conference the annual meeting of Canadas insurance leaders and innovators. The online tool, the first-of-its-kind in Canada, enables working professionals, senior executives, and self-employed individuals to obtain a quote and start an application for disability insurance in minutes on their phone, tablet, or computer from the comfort of their home or any location they choose. According to StatsCan, 1 in 5 Canadians above the age of 15 identify as living with a disability, and 33% of Canadians will experience a disability greater than 90 days. PolicyAdvisors instant disability insurance quoting tool allows working Canadians to safeguard their most valuable asset i.e. their ability to earn. The site offers easy access to best-in-class disability insurance products from some of the leading insurance companies in Canada. Users can visit PolicyAdvisor.com and enter a few basic details about their occupation and financial situation to see how much coverage they're potentially eligible for; by adjusting parameters like the benefit amount and waiting period, they can find coverage at a price point thats right for them. The easy-to-use online interface has been developed based on discussions with hundreds of insurance customers, insurance companies, financial advisors, and other market participants. The company supplements its technology-first approach with real-world advice from experienced licensed brokers working behind the scenes, who clients can request to speak to online, on the phone, or through video. Traditionally, Canadians could not research the basics of disability insurance and its different price points on their own, said Jiten Puri, PolicyAdvisors CEO and Founder. Our tools break down the barriers from a once-opaque process and empower Canadians to make important protection decisions that are right for them, on their own time, without having to pay for such advice. Moving the Canadian insurance industry forward through innovation and technology has been PolicyAdvisors mantra since its launch. By pushing different categories of insurance into the forefront like disability insurance in an honest and transparent manner, PolicyAdvisor fulfills its mission of making insurance more accessible for Canadians by offering straight-forward protection products that fit their specific needs, online, in less time, for less money. About PolicyAdvisor PolicyAdvisor is transforming the way Canadians buy the financial protection they need. We are poised to disrupt a massive global industry by making insurance purchase simpler, transparent, and more human. With life insurance ownership at a multi-decade low and nearly 40 percent of Canadians lacking any life insurance coverage at all, its clear that the old insurance model isnt working. Thats why were building quick, intuitive tools to help more Canadians get coverage. Visit https://www.policyadvisor.com to learn more about PolicyAdvisor. Visit https://www.policyadvisor.com/disability to try out PolicyAdvisor's first-of-its-kind online disability insurance tools. Media contact Mark Cluett - markcluett@policyadvisor.com 647-839-1060 Rolyn Companies, Inc. is pleased to announce the promotions of several employees into leadership roles (http://www.rolyncompanies.com/meet-the-team.html): Aaron Main to Senior Project Manager Daniel Bedregal to Director of Healthcare Joseph Melvin to Operations Manager Martin Ross to Senior Project Manager Nathalie Donis to Senior Environmental Project Manager Ross Miller to National Accounts Manager Congratulations to Aaron, Dan, Joe, Martin, Nathalie, and Ross, each of whom has shown exceptional personal and professional growth and excellence in providing restoration, remediation, and decontamination services to our clients. These individuals have played key roles in Rolyns continued growth. Each have built on their wealth of experience and knowledge, and we are excited about their new roles at Rolyn, commented Mark Futrovsky, President of Rolyn Companies, Inc. We look forward to this group continuing to excel in their new roles. These promotions recognize the contribution these employees have made in helping Rolyn continue to provide the quality of dedication and customer satisfaction that we expect to continue to be a leader in the restoration and remediation business, and their professional growth and leadership are in tandem with the Rolyns long-term success. Headquartered in Maryland, Rolyn Companies, Inc. is a National disaster recovery, restoration, remediation, and decontamination company. Rolyn has the skills and experience required to handle any type of disaster. With a network of over 2,000 skilled responders, multiple strategic partners nationwide, and thousands of Rolyn-owned equipment and vehicles, Rolyn's response efforts are completely scalable to meet any facility needs. "Security Compass recognizes the nontechnical issues and challenges faced by professionals in the security industry," said Nish Bhalla of Security Compass. "We encourage everyone in our company to nurture their minds as well as their careers. Security Compass, a software security company that provides organizations with the knowledge, training, and technology to make software secure, is proud to announce that they have been named on the 2019 list of Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness. Security Compass received this honor after a thorough and independent analysis conducted by Great Place to Work, which is based on direct feedback from employees of the hundreds of organizations surveyed. To be eligible for this list, organizations must have been Great Place to Work Certified in the past year and at least 80% of employees must agree that their workplace is psychologically and emotionally healthy. The best companies were determined based on the overall Mental Wellness Index score from employees as well as the range and quality of programs which encourage mental wellness. The industry-wide skills shortage puts pressure on security professionals who can often suffer job fatigue due to long hours, high stress, and ever-expanding workloads as threats become more complex and as advanced attackers are increasingly capable of breaching basic defenses. To eliminate these common stress factors that contribute negatively to a person's mental well-being, Security Compass ensures that employees are given the flexibility to design their own schedules and working hours so that they can healthily balance their personal lives with their work lives. "Security Compass recognizes the nontechnical issues and challenges faced by professionals in the security industry," said Nish Bhalla of Security Compass. "We encourage everyone in our company to nurture their minds as well as their careers. In addition to being named on the 2019 list of Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness, Security Compass has also been recognized by Great Place to Work for their outstanding commitment to the advancement of women, being named to the 2019 List of Best Workplaces for Women and the 2019 List of Best Workplaces for Inclusion, and ranked 14 on the overall Best Workplaces in Canada list. About Security Compass Security Compass is a leader in helping customers proactively manage cybersecurity risk, without slowing down business. Offering SD Elements, Just-in-Time Training, and Enterprise Delivery Services, as well as Verification Services, Security Compass helps organizations efficiently deliver technology thats secure by design. At the core of the company's solution is its policy-to-execution software platform, SD Elements, which translates policies into actionable tasks for technical teams. Security Compass services some of the worlds largest enterprises, as well as four of the largest tech companies in the world. The company is headquartered in Toronto with global offices in the United States and India. Follow Security Compass on Twitter @securitycompass or visit https://www.securitycompass.com/ About Great Place to Work: Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Conducting the worlds largest workplace study, surveying over 8,000 organizations representing more than 10 million employees in more than 50 countries, GPTW provides tremendous understanding of effective business cultures and the increasingly complex marketplace. Through proprietary assessment tools and services, GPTW recognizes the world's Best Workplaces in a series of national lists including those published by The Globe & Mail (Canada) and Fortune magazine (USA). GPTW provides the benchmarks and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplaces, and it supports clients as this accelerating pace of change compels organizations to continuously adapt, innovate and thrive. Mature security operations are the linchpin of any successful infosec program Siemplify, the leading independent provider of security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) solutions, announced today that Siemplify customers, along with CEO and co-founder Amos Stern, will deliver a presentation on Security Orchestration, Automation and Response Tales from the Trenches during Junes Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit 2019. The talk, scheduled for 10:45 a.m. EDT on June 18, will separate hype from reality by demonstrating how organizations leverage SOAR in the real world as a force multiplier for their security operations. Stern will be joined by Ariel Litvin, CISO of First Quality Enterprises, a multibillion-dollar manufacturing firm, and Glen Combs, security consulting partner at Crowe LLP, a top 10 global accounting firm. This practical session will provide attendees with a better understanding of how to make SOAR work for their security needs. As defined by Gartner, SOAR refers to technologies that enable organizations to collect inputs monitored by the security operations team. For example, alerts from its SIEM and other security technologies, where incident analysis and triage can be performed leveraging a combination of human and machine power to help define, prioritize and drive standardized incident response activities according to a standard workflow. SOAR tools allow an organization to define incident analysis and response procedures in a digital workflow format. (Gartner, Hype Cycle for Threat-Facing Technologies, 2018, Pete Shoard, 13 July 2018) Mature security operations are the linchpin of any successful infosec program, Stern said. To achieve this, both enterprises and managed security services providers, including First Quality and Crowe, are embracing SOAR to overcome alert fatigue and skills shortages, drive efficiency, and respond to security threats at scale. Gartner predicts that [b]y year-end 2020, 15% of organizations with a security team larger than five people will leverage SOAR tools for orchestration and automation reasons, up from less than 1% today. (Gartner, Innovation Insight for Security Orchestration, Automation and Response, Claudio Neiva, et al., 30 November 2017) The Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit will take place June 17 to 20 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. About the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2019 The Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit 2019 features programs focusing on key topics such as business continuity management, cloud security, privacy, securing the Internet of Things (IoT), and the chief information security officer (CISO) role. Gartner analysts will explain the latest information on new threats to enable digital business in a world of escalating risk. About Siemplify Siemplify, the leading independent security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) provider, is redefining security operations for enterprises and MSSPs worldwide. The Siemplify platform is an intuitive workbench that enables security teams to manage their operations from end to end, respond to cyberthreats with speed and precision, and get smarter with every analyst interaction. Founded in 2015 by Israeli Intelligence experts with extensive experience running and training security operations centers worldwide, Siemplify has raised $58 million in funding to date and is headquartered in New York, with offices in Tel Aviv. Visit us at siempify.co or follow us on Twitter at @Siemplify. Products, service names, and company logos mentioned herein may be the registered trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved. SIU School of Dental Medicine emeritus faculty Dr. Dennis Savoca. Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) emeritus faculty and SIUE alumnus Dr. Dennis Denny Savoca will address 58 SDM students receiving their doctor of dental medicine degrees at the SDMs commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Sat., June 1, in the SIUE Morris University Center Meridian Ballroom. The commencement ceremony can be viewed live on siue.edu/tv. In 1976, the SDM hired Savoca as an assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry. While serving as a faculty member at the SDM, Savoca also earned a masters in educational administration from SIUE. Savoca later served the SDM as section head of operative dentistry and assistant dean for clinical affairs, before retiring in 2006 as an associate professor and associate dean for clinical affairs. In his retirement, he continued to serve the SDM as a part-time faculty member for a number of years. He continues to serve as a member of the SDM deans advisory board. Savoca began his career at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, earning a DDS in 1969. Shortly thereafter, he joined the U.S. Army as a Captain in the Dental Corps and was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia for two years. After serving his country, Savoca joined a group dental practice in Cincinnati and subsequently started a solo private practice in Edgerton, Ohio before arriving at the SDM. Savoca continues to enjoy an active membership in the American Dental Association, the Illinois State Dental Society and the Madison District Dental Society. He continues to serve the local chapter of the national dental fraternity Omicron Kappa Upsilon, Nu Xi Chapter. A reception for students, faculty and family members will follow in the Goshen Lounge. The SIU School of Dental Medicine students manage approximately 35,000 patient visits each year at its patient clinics in Alton and East St. Louis. In addition, students offer oral health treatment, screenings and education to more than 10,000 people annually through a wide variety of off-campus community outreach events. These opportunities provide students the training they need to graduate and become highly skilled dentists. The School of Dental Medicine is a vital oral health care provider for residents of southern and central Illinois, and the St. Louis metropolitan region. Smartling, the premier software and translation services company that established the Enterprise Translation Cloud category, today announces Move the World with Words, a campaign dedicated to understanding the stories of human translators that compliment Smartlings technology, at its Global Ready Conference at the Sofitel St. James in London. Move the World with Words started with the idea that words move people and influence global business. They move people to action: to buy, connect and understand. Move the World with Words spotlights the passion for language that connects people across the globe. With this idea, Smartling partnered with storyteller and photographer Elisabeth Brentano to create a photo series about its translators all over the world, which is published online at smartling.com/translators. Later this summer, the company will release a book with stories and photographs. The human element of our work is overlooked in todays digital age, said Smartling Director of Brand Strategy and Communications Adrian Cohn. Our translators play a vital role in our customers localisation efforts, and Move the World with Words helps to forge a deeper connection between our customers and translators. Without our translators extensive cultural knowledge, expertise and passion for translation, our customers wouldnt be able to reach consumers anywhere today. One of the translators highlighted in the campaign is Daniel. Nestled in a village in Asturias, Spain with a population ranging from 15 to 50 people, high speed internet allows him to work from his home with a view of the Aramo mountains. Without Smartling technology, Id be spending a lot more time asking questions and looking things up than I would actually be translating, Daniel said. Not only does Smartling's translation platform have brand-specific style guides and glossaries, but it also has visual context and an option for translators to direct message the source content owners. At Global Ready Conference London, Smartling is also recognising customers for their excellence in managing translation. 2019 honorees include SumUp, The BMJ, Eurail, Perform/DANZ and Atlassian. In addition to Move the World with Words, Smartling released a new platform experience at Global Ready Conference San Francisco, with new features including Dynamic Workflows, Smartling Draft and a feature that automatically selects the best machine translation option from leading engines based on the source and target languages. We translated 382 million words last year with more than 2,000 daily users of the Smartling platform, said Smartling CEO, Jack Welde. While were helping our customers reach more of their users than ever before, the next frontier for internet adoption provides the opportunity to further extend our reach. Countries like India, China and Africa are ripe for tech disruption, and we plan to bring the world closer by enabling our customers to reach their users around the globe. As a cloud-based translation management platform and language service provider, Smartling enables its customers to localise content across devices and platforms. Smartlings Global Ready Conference is held 23 May at Sofitel St James in London. This years annual translation conference brings together more than 300 leaders in localisation, technology, and marketing, with speakers from OpenTable, Lyft, FedEx Express and Wix. For more information about Smartling, please visit Smartling.com. ### About Smartling Smartling is a translation management platform and language services provider that enables customers to localise content across devices and platforms. The company is recognised by Common Sense Advisory as the #1 Leader of the 2019 MarketFlex for Language-Oriented TMS, and by G2 Crowd as the Leader of the 2019 G2 Grid for Translation Management. Smartling established Enterprise Translation Cloud, a data-driven approach to localisation, which enables its customers to achieve higher quality translation at a lower total cost. Smartling is the platform of choice for hundreds of B2B and B2C brands, including InterContinental Hotels Group, GoPro, Shopify, Slack and SurveyMonkey. Smartling is headquartered in New York, with offices in Dublin and London. For more information, please visit smartling.com. Media Contact Kelsey Koralewski BLASTmedia for Smartling smartling(at)blastmedia.com 317-806-1900 x 123 Smartling Media Contact Adrian K. Cohn Director of Communications acohn(at)smartling.com / 646/645-0338 We expect the adoption of VITA 17.3 to accelerate over the next few years and we're actively working on new enhancements and features. It's an exciting time to be in the communications IP business! StreamDSP announces immediate availability of version 1.8 of the VITA 17.3 (sFPDP Gen 3) IP core. The latest v1.8 release contains support for most of the popular FPGA device families from Intel, Altera, and Xilinx. In addition to the new FPGA family support, the IP is now capable of supporting 25G line rates in the Intel Stratix-10 H-Tile and Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ GTY families. The v1.8 release contains a timing closed example design featuring a 25G single-lane link and a 100G (4@25G) link for those two families. "We're excited to support 100G links using only 4 physical lanes," said Greg Schueller, Director of Business Development, StreamDSP. "The industry continues to demand higher bandwidth for applications such as radar and signal processing, and the new VITA 17.3 standard is performing a key role here," said Greg. "We expect the adoption of VITA 17.3 to accelerate over the next few years and we're actively working on new enhancements and features. It's an exciting time to be in the communications IP business," added Greg. The recently approved VITA 17.3 specification, also known as Serial Front Panel Data Port (sFPDP) Gen 3, is a next-generation communications protocol designed as the successor to VITA 17.1. VITA 17.3 improves link efficiency and bandwidth by using the same 64B/67B encoding technology found in newer protocols such as Interlaken and Serial RapidIO Gen 3, and also supports multi-lane channel bonding to allow for maximum bandwidth scalability. Like VITA 17.1, VITA 17.3 supports both framed and unframed data types and is designed to easily interface to existing systems. VITA 17.3 is ideal for low-latency remote sensor applications, FPGA chip-to-chip interfaces, FPGA optical interfaces, and backplane interconnect. The VITA 17.3 specification allows operation at any line rate and number of channels, making it a highly scalable solution. The StreamDSP sFPDP Gen 3 IP core is a fully-compliant implementation of the VITA 17.3-2018 standard. To allow for system upgrades, StreamDSP was able to keep the user interface to the sFPDP Gen 3 IP core virtually the same as their current (and very popular) 17.1 IP core. With the v1.8 release, the StreamDSP sFPDP Gen 3 IP Core now supports the following FPGA devices: Altera Stratix-IV GX Altera Stratix-V GX Intel Cyclone-10 Intel Arria-10 Intel Stratix-10 (L-Tile and H-Tile) Xilinx Virtex-6 LXT Xilinx Artix-7 Xilinx Kintex-7 Xilinx Virtex-7 GTX Xilinx Virtex-7 GTH Xilinx Kintex UltraScale Xilinx Virtex UltraScale Xilinx Zynq UltraScale Plus Xilinx Kintex UltraScale Plus Xilinx Virtex UltraScale Plus In addition to the devices listed above, StreamDSP is committed to adding support for ANY transceiver based FPGA family with a valid request. StreamDSP provides "ready-to-run" simulations and reference designs targeted to popular development boards for each of the supported FPGA families. Unlike many other vendors, StreamDSP offers free time-limited evaluations with full technical support. This allows StreamDSP's customers to quickly and easily verify proper operation both in simulation and also with their chosen device family to minimize integration time and reduce risk. The wide range of FPGA device support also allows StreamDSP to do extensive compatibility testing between different FPGA families to ensure error-free communications between all FPGA families. The sFPDP Gen 3 IP core from StreamDSP makes it simple for customers to connect Intel/Altera and Xilinx devices together with very high bandwidth connections. More Information Greg Schueller, Director of Business Development Tel. +1 (855) DSP-FPGA Fax. +1 (855) 377-3742 Web: http://www.streamdsp.com StreamDSP LLC, 20 S Third St, Suite 210, Columbus, OH, 43215, USA More information about the Serial FPDP VITA 17.3 Standard can be found at http://www.vita.com. For more specific information about StreamDSP's IP products, please visit: http://www.streamdsp.com, or call (855) 377-3742. About StreamDSP LLC StreamDSP is an intellectual property (IP) company specializing in video, serial communications, and data storage solutions for Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices. Headquartered in Columbus, OH, StreamDSP has over 50 years of combined experience serving the military and commercial markets, and is focused on developing IP and providing custom design services for FPGAs. Get into stamp collecting! No matter what your interests are -- history, geography, art, animals, sports, and the list goes on -- there is something for everyone. Your collection is unique to you. It is the hobby for a lifetime! Mark your calendar! The American Stamp Dealers Association, Inc. is hosting its 2019 New York Spring Postage Stamp Show, May 31June 2, 2019, in New York City. The show will be held at The Watson Hotel, 440 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. The doors open daily at 10 a.m. and admission is free. Friday and Saturday the show runs until 6 p.m.; Sunday until 3 p.m. There is something for everyone from the experienced to the non-collector dealers, specialty collecting groups, and much more. Admission is Free. Be part of the celebration! It is the 70th show the dealers association has sponsored in the Big Apple! Get into stamp collecting! No matter what your interests are -- history, geography, art, animals, sports, and the list goes on -- there is something for everyone. Your collection is unique to you. It is the hobby for a lifetime! What To Do at the Show Shop Til You Drop Dealers from across the nation and around the world will be buying and selling stamps, historic envelopes, postcards, hobby accessories, and other postage stamp and hobby-related material. Collectors can purchase with confidence with ASDA Member Dealers, the hobby builders. Be Present at a First Day of Issue Ceremony Plan to Attend the First Day of Issue Ceremony The United Nations Postal Administration will host a First Day of Issue Ceremony celebrating the new Kofi Annan stamp at Noon on Friday, May 31. Kofi Annan. Kofi Annan was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Secretary-General of the United Nations between 1997 and 2006. During his distinguished career and leadership of the United Nations, he was an ardent champion of peace, sustainable development, human rights, and the rule of law. Annan passed away August 18 2018. Buy Stamps from Postal Agencies The United States Postal Service will have a stamp counter, First Day cancels, and a cancellation area. Visit the United Nations Postal Agency Booth to purchase their newest stamps and other issues. Get the Special Daily Show Cancel and Cachets Be sure to visit the ASDA Table to purchase show souvenirs. Kids, Get Into Collecting Each child ages 610, who is accompanied by an adult, will receive a free gift. Got Stamps and Dont Know What To Do with Them? Take Advantage of the Free Appraisal Service Bring in those stamps/collections that you have inherited or been storing for years. This free service will put a value on your material and advise you on what to do. The appraisal service will be open for business from 10 a.m.3 p.m. Friday and Saturday and on Sunday, 10 a.m.2 p.m. To participate in this service, check in at the ASDA Booth located at the show entrance. Discover the Wonderful World of Stamp Collecting -- Come to the show, May 31June 2 at The Watson Hotel, 440 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. Explore the wide, wonderful world of collecting the hobby for a lifetime! We look forward to seeing you. Visit the ASDA online http://www.americanstampdealer.com all show information schedule of events, dealers in attendance, and more. The American Stamp Dealers Association, Inc., is a professional organization serving stamp collecting and its dealers since 1914. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi We are pleased to help open doors to expanded global knowledge and meaningful engagement with different cultures through our study abroad grants, said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd. The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nations oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society, today announced the recipients of a 2019 Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant. The $1,000 grants were awarded to 75 students across the nation. The grants are designed to support undergraduates, both members and nonmembers from campuses that have Phi Kappa Phi chapters, as they seek expanded knowledge and experience in their academic fields by studying abroad. Studying abroad provides students with an important opportunity to experience learning in a culture other than their own, said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd. We are pleased to help open doors to expanded global knowledge and meaningful engagement with different cultures through our study abroad grants. The selection process for a study abroad grant is based on the applicants academic achievement, campus and community service, relation of travel to academic preparation and career goals, a personal statement, letters of recommendation and acceptance into a study abroad program. Established in 2001, the Study Abroad Grant Program has awarded more than $875,000 to undergraduate students. The grants are part of the Societys robust portfolio of award programs, which gives nearly $1 million each year to outstanding students and members through graduate and dissertation fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives. For the complete list of recipients from the program, please visit http://www.phikappaphi.org/studyabroad. The application process for 2020 will open on December 15, 2019. About Phi Kappa Phi Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni annually. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society's mission is "To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others." For more information, visit http://www.phikappaphi.org. For the past eight years, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology math professor Travis Kowalski has turned his daughters daily squiggles into napkin art. Like Superman wears the big S on his chest, Dr. Kowalski deserves a big I for Innovator," Donald Teets, Ph.D. professor at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Travis Kowalski starts most days with a squiggle. For the past eight years, the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology math professor has carried on a family tradition started by his father, who would ask the young Travis to make a squiggle on a piece of paper. From that squiggle, his father would create a drawing. Often, Kowalskis father would give him a squiggle and the two would sit together drawing. Nowadays, Kowalski uses a napkin and markers in his squiggle game, and the recipients are his two daughters Liliana, 13, and Maia, 9. Kowalski says he started the tradition when Liliana was entering kindergarten, hoping the lunch napkin art would make her transition to school easier. Each evening or early in the morning, Kowalski encouraged his oldest to draw a squiggle on a napkin. The next morning, he turned the squiggle into colorful drawings and slipped it into her lunch box. Once Maia arrived, Kowalski began doing the same for her. She expected it, he says. Its not exactly what most people expect from a math professor at an engineering and science university. But Kowalski, a Ph.D. who currently serves as the interim head of the Department of Mathematics at SD Mines, says math and art co-mingle perfectly. His drawings range from a buffalo against a bright pink sky (drawn May 6, 2019) to an astronaut in space (Jan. 24, 2019), to Kermit the Frog (Dec. 7, 2018), to the composer Bach at his harpsichord (May 14, 2018). Kowalski posts both the starting squiggle and the finished product on his Facebook and Instagram pages - @travis.at.komplexify on Instagram and @TravisKowalski on Facebook. The two social media platforms are filled with vibrant, colorful drawings often accompanied by clever taglines a bear holding up a paw and asking, I would like some salmon, please and a praying mantis playing a video game under the title, Playing Mantis. Known on campus for his colorful Hawaiian shirts and clever math-related ties, Kowalski is the professor whose office walls are covered with unique visual art. Hes the kind of professor who sneaks his labradoodle Cauchy, named after French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy, into class the last day of the semester to play out an obscure (to the general audience at least) mathematics joke. Hes the math teacher who so passionately talks about the subject that even the least math-minded people cant help but get excited. And hes good at what he does in the classroom. So good that Kowalski was recently awarded the 2019 Burton W. Jones Award by the Mathematical Association of America. The award recognizes post-secondary level math instructors nationally who foster student excitement about mathematics. Its cool and humbling to be part of that group, he admits. Donald Teets, a Ph.D. professor in the SD Mines math department, is a previous winner of the award and the person who nominated Kowalski. In his nomination, Teets writes, He is, (in this writers opinion) the best teacher in a department devoted to teaching excellence. This is hardly the first recognition for Kowalski, Teets says. In 2014, Kowalski was awarded the Benard Ennenga Award, which honors one SD Mines faculty member each year for teaching excellence; and in 2017, he won the George Polya Award from the Math Association of America for his College Mathematics Journal article, The Sine of a Single Degree. His lecture based on The Sine of a Single Degree is as good a mathematics lecture as you will ever see! Teets wrote in his nomination. Teets says the thing that makes Kowalski so good at this job is his enthusiasm, noting that students consistently rate him on classroom surveys as the best math teacher Ive ever had. Hes innovative, constantly striving to engage his students and utilize technology into his teaching, Teets says. Like Superman wears the big S on his chest, Dr. Kowalski deserves a big I for Innovator. As for Kowalskis artistic talents, Teets is equally as effusive. As a person who can barely draw recognizable stick figures, I am in awe of Traviss artistic abilities. Its a great complement to his extraordinary skills in mathematics! he says. Kowalski grew up in California, raised by a draftsman father and a crafty stepmother. My dad drew all of the time, Kowalski says. That was the home I grew up in. You drew. In college at University of California, Riverside, Kowalski majored in art. To finish off an academic requirement, he enrolled in Calculus 2. A good student in high school, he had already taken an advanced placement Calculus 1 class. He was class valedictorian, but I worked hard at it. I was not a prodigy, he says with a laugh. He still remembers the Riverside professors name who taught his first college math course Albert Stralka. He taught in a way I hadnt seen before, Kowalski says. There were ideas behind the math. When he got an A in that class, the professor convinced him to take Calculus 3. Next, the professor suggested he take topology, which is the study of geometric properties and spatial relations which are unaffected by the change of shape or size of figures. Its the geometry of shapes under change, Kolwaski says. That class blew my mind. The rest is history after topology Kolwaski changed his major and embraced a love of mathematics. But he never left his art behind, and its important to understand that the two subjects go hand-in-hand, he says. Half of mathematicians do what they do because they think its pretty, he says of the geometry of math. As a math professor at SD Mines, Kolwaski admits that I still like to sit and draw things, but I dont have as much time anymore, he says. Thats where his morning squiggle drawings come in. Each one of Kowalskis squiggles for his daughters takes about 15 to 30 minutes from start to finish. The first part is to see something, he says. He spins the napkin around, looking at the squiggle until he sees the picture that will emerge. Mia tends to draw extremely elaborate squiggles, sometimes lobbying for a specific outcome for instance a unicorn. Other times, his daughters will bring home requests from friends for specific drawings. Liliana has saved all her napkins over the years, storing them in a plastic container in her room. That made it a little easier for Kowalski when she came to him recently to say, What with my school schedule being so busy and my lunch break so short and closet so full of the ones youve already made me which I love, thank you I just dont think you need to make me lunch napkins anymore. Kowalski playfully posted her words on social media with an image from Boromirs death from Fellowship of the Rings with arrows sticking from his heart. Kowalski says his older daughter relented, most likely after an intervention from his wife, and is continuing to play the squiggle game. Hes glad, hoping that both of his daughters will always remember the squiggle game and maybe even carry it on with their own families one day. Its definitely a great memory about my dad, he says. Hopefully it will be the same for them. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Jay Velasco confirmed his speakership bid Thursday, claiming he has the support of President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, who was supposedly responsible for the ouster of the previous House Speaker. Velasco, who has been elusive to the media, claimed he has the trust of the President. He said he also earned Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's trust while they were campaigning under Hugpong ng Pagbabago, the presidential daughter's regional political alliance. "I think I have their trust and confidence. I think the president will announce soon. Hopefully. Or if not, I think Mayor Inday has been vocal about it na," Velasco told reporters. At least three are eyeing the speakership within the ruling party, PDP-Laban: Velasco, Pampanga 3rd District Representative Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales and Former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. Alvarez was ousted on the day of President Rodrigo Duterte's third State of the Nation Address in 2018, and was replaced by Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The President had said Duterte-Carpio had a hand in Alvarez' ouster. Velasco met with the Party-list Coalition Foundation -- a House bloc of lawmakers -- to court their support for his speakership bid. He said the group is a force to reckon with since its more than 50 members representing party-list groups will vote as a bloc. Others eyeing the speakership are Leyte Representative-elect Martin Romualdez and Taguig Representative-elect Alan Peter Cayetano. The Women of Global Change (WGC) Announces Corporate Team Leadership Expansion "The connection to WGC has been a life changing experience for me as a person and as a business owner. The opportunity to do good is at the heart of this organization. Im very excited to bring my experience to WGC Corporate in this new role", stated Dannella Burnett. The Women of Global Change is honored to announce its newest addition to the WGC Corporate team. Dannella Burnett will be serving as the WGC Corporate Event Producer. Dannella Burnett is the owner and CEO of Oakwood Occasions & Encore Elite a full production and event company. Women of Global Change (WGC) is a multiple White House award-winning 501(c) 3 organization. The main focus of the WGC is to expand collaboration amongst. like-minded leaders. The Women of Global Change impacts communities with educational training, networks, and local community social impact activism, to create a better world for ourselves, other women, children, and all humankind. The Women of Global Change was founded by Dame Shellie Hunt, and the WGC has had a powerful impact on the lives of people all over the world. "The connection to WGC has been a life changing experience for me as a person and as a business owner. We all want to do well, but the opportunity to do good also is at the heart of the movement started by Shellie Hunt. Im very excited to bring my experience to WGC Corporate in this new role and as Shellie says 'play a bigger game,'" stated Dannella Burnett. We are excited to have Dannella joining our corporate WGC leadership team. She is a true master in her field of expertise and her heart for service is an incredible addition to the WGC headquarters, stated Dame Shellie Hunt, founder of Women of Global Change. The Women of Global Change currently has national US Chapters in Atlanta, GA, Denver, CO, Las Vegas, NV, Orlando, FL, & Atlanta Perimeter, GA, Austin TX, Chicago & Springfield Ill, Vancouver BC, Toronto, & Seattle WA. Les Brown, one of the WGC Ambassadors stated, "The Women of Global Change organization has managed over the years to create an environment where people can find the tools, the nurturing, the support and the encouragement to make a difference on this planet." One of the organizations most important events is the WGC International Summit, where men and women gather for a once in a lifetime opportunity. This event includes a five-star experience, global business networking opportunities, and humanitarian service projects. The world's leaders in their field gather to help the movement expand its network and make a bigger difference. People from United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Canada, Germany are just a few of the places our members come from in order to celebrate the spirit of what Women of Global Change stand for: Igniting positive progress and change for ourselves, our communities, and the future generations. For more information on the impact of the Women of Global http://www.womenofglobalchange.com. SANY brings world-class manufacturing expertise and fully updated products to the market." - Bob Bond, CEO of Tri-Lift NC, Inc. SANY America is pleased to announce that Tri-Lift NC, Inc. has agreed to represent the SANY material handling line of products, including high-capacity lift trucks and container handling equipment. This strategic agreement expands the SANY dealership network dramatically, increasing SANYs availability in the Atlantic region while expanding both companies ability to support customer equipment in the field. Based in Greensboro, N.C., Tri-Lift NC, Inc. has been a provider of high-quality warehouse equipment and superior customer support since 1968. By adding SANYs port and material handling equipment to its already impressive inventory, Tri-Lift NC, Inc. will now be able to reach customers requiring higher capacity moves. With the recent completion of its new full-service material handling facility in Garner, N.C., the company has reduced response times for servicing customers in Eastern North Carolina. This large capacity forklift and port equipment market segment has been dominated by just a few manufacturers. As a result of this lack of competition, customers have endured products that have not been updated with the latest technology, said Bob Bond, CEO of Tri-Lift NC. Service support has slipped because vendors did not feel the pressure of competitors to improve their services, and I feel that will all change with the SANY product. Tri-Lift NC carries accessories and replacement components for SANY equipment, and offers rapid on-site repair service for customers, with response times of less than four hours in many areas. In addition to the Garner location, the company also has existing locations in Charlotte and Raleigh, as well as Greenville, S.C. SANY brings world-class manufacturing expertise and fully updated products to the market, added Bond. SANY will support our efforts with its U.S.-based parts and service headquarters in Peachtree City, Ga. Were excited to have such a quality dealer in Tri-Lift to represent the SANY brand, said Doug Friesen, CEO of SANY America. They truly represent the passion and drive that embodies SANY. I have no doubt they are going to help us elevate the brand and reach our goals of delivering top quality equipment, parts and service to our customers. For more information on the new SANY models available from Tri-Lift NC, visit tri-lift.com or call 866.393.9833. About Tri-Lift NC Since 1968, Tri-Lift NC has offered materials handling equipment and warehousing machines for customers in Virginia and the Carolinas. The company offers forklifts, aerial lifts, commercial utility vehicles, sweepers, scrubbers, excavators, cranes and more. Its mission statement is To deliver proven industry leading products and services to enhance our customers business. Learn more by visiting tri-lift.com. About SANY SANY manufactures, sells and supports construction and material handling equipment, including crawler cranes, rough terrain cranes, excavators, container reach stackers and empty container handlers. The company handles SANY brand equipment sales and support in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. SANY America's headquarters in Peachtree City, Ga., includes 340,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 60,000 square feet of office space. Excavators are assembled at the facility, which has the capacity to produce more than 2,000 units per year. In addition to assembly, the Peachtree City facility performs machine testing, touch up painting and distribution. In 2018, SANY reported sales of $8.3 billion worth of equipment. We are finding that our relationships with other cities that we have MOUs with, and relationships with, are more and more a guiding light in how we do the business of this city." Mayor Steve Adler of Austin, Texas US China Innovation and Investment Summit, which has helped forge a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city of Austin and Changsha in the Hunan Province of China, recently drew some 300 tech and business leaders to Houston. Before the summit got underway, parties from Austin and Changsha signed the MOU at the Austin-Changsha Connection Forum. The forum was co-hosted by the China Public Policy Center in the University of Texas at Austin and the US China Innovation Alliance. Austin Mayor Steve Adler said MOUs serve an important economic driver between cities, especially two made famous as innovation hubs. We are finding that our relationships with other cities that we have MOUs with, and relationships with, are more and more a guiding light in how we do the business of this city, Adler said. Jian Zhu, a senior official of Changsha, agreed saying he sees great potential in the burgeoning relationship with Austin, based on principles of mutual trust and respect, we can develop a win-win situation in scientific and cultural cooperation. Following the MOU signing, the US China Innovation Alliance and the China Science and Technology Center co-hosted two days of collaborations at the US China Innovation and Investment Summit drawing small and medium-sized enterprises from the United States and China. Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin said science and technology cooperation between the countries remains crucial for market relations. The (US China and Innovation and Investment) Summit has a special meaning of solving the problem for US small businesses to enter the Chinese market, as well as assisting the Chinese innovative companies to access the international market, Qiangmin said. In addition to 3,000 B2B matchmaking projects and over 300 cooperative intentions, the Summit facilitated the Houston InnoSTARS preliminary competition attracting entrepreneurs in four tracks related to science, health and technological innovations. InnoSTARS judges selected the top three companies in each track and all 12 companies won a trip to China to meet with investors and partners this fall: Track 1 - Advanced Manufacturing & Materials, & Environmental Technology: First Prize, Ecosweet, Inc.; Second Prize, LinkDyn Robotics, Inc.; and Third Prize, Molecular Rebar Design, LLC. Track 2 Biopharma & Medical Device Digital Health and Diagnosis: First Prize, Vitanova Biomedical, Inc.; Second Prize, Dynamic Light, Inc.; and Third Prize, Clyra Medical Technologies, Inc. Track 3 Information and Communication Technology: First Prize, Smartenius, Inc.; Second Prize, Swytch Solutions; and Third Prize, Emerging Technology Ventures, Inc. Track 4 Energy: First Prize, V3 Technologies, LLC.; Second Prize, Elite Power Solutions; and Third Prize, Gas Activated System, Inc. Congratulations to all our Houston InnoSTARS winners, said CEO Stella Liu of US China Innovation Alliance. We draw the best and brightest to our pitch competitions around the country this year has been no exception. Final InnoSTARS preliminary rounds in the United States will take place in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Maryland. Entrepreneurs and judging candidates can apply at https://innostars.uschinainnovation.org. College of Health Sciences Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies graduates recite the Physician Assistants Oath during WesternUs 38th Annual Commencement Exercises May 22, 2019. (Jeff Mal A leading global health expert urged new Western University of Health Sciences graduates to embrace an optimistic view of the future that celebrates past health care successes and builds on them to make better lives for all the people of the world. Christopher J.L. Murray, MD, DPhil, a professor of global health at the University of Washington and Institute Director of the Institute for Health Metrics, told WesternU College of Health Sciences and Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences graduates that they had picked the right profession to make a difference. Health sciences is that incredible blend of dynamic discovery theres always new things were discovering and a commitment to individual patients and individuals in communities to make their lives better, he said. So youre in the right place. Murray widely known for founding the Global Burden of Disease, a systemic effort to quantify the comparative magnitude of health loss due to diseases, injuries, and risk factors by age, sex, and geography over time was the keynote speaker for the first of five WesternU Commencement ceremonies that will take place over three days (May 22-24) at the Pasadena Civic Center in Pasadena, California. In all, 1,071 graduates in nine health sciences colleges will receive their diplomas during the universitys 38th annual commencement exercises. Murray reminded the graduates that the story of modern health care is one of resounding success, as death rates have dropped precipitously over the past 50 years, and illnesses that once ravaged the globe including diphtheria, smallpox and polio have largely been eliminated. There is success after success that we forget to celebrate, and we should remember just how powerful the community of both research and practice has been in improving peoples lives around the world, he said. As we think about the future and your future, lets remember the success of the past. Still, challenges remain. Obesity, and the diabetes linked to it, remains a pressing concern, as do Ebola and other new diseases that defy ready solution. In the face of such new challenges, it might be easy to embrace the pessimistic view that things will only get worse, Murray said, but he prefers an optimistic viewpoint based on past success. The optimists view is that were surrounded by a culture of innovation, discovery, new technology, he said. Despite an abundance of new problems, Im quite sure that the future is not predestined. Where we go as a country and as a world is very much driven by what you do, what we all do, in that balance between the pessimism and seizing the optimistic pathway. The charge for you as a community starting your careers is to be on the side of optimism and to find ways that we can harness discovery and enhance sense of care to really overcome as we have in the past obstacles, and therefore tip the balance of the future trajectory of health toward that better future for us all. Murray closed with a family motto passed down to him by his parents: Do good work that matters. Gary M. Gugelchuk, PhD, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony for his service to WesternU and impact on health professions education. He has served WesternU in a variety of roles since joining the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in 1986, including assistant professor, program director, associate professor, dean of the College of Allied Health Professions (now the College of Health Sciences), and vice president of academic affairs. He is retiring June 30, 2019 as WesternUs provost and chief operating officer. He will remain with the University as Professor and Provost Emeritus as well as Special Advisor to the President. But it is not the dizzying array of titles and roles he has held at WesternU that distinguishes his service, said College of Health Sciences Dean Stephanie Bowlin, EdD, PA. Rather it is his intellectual and scholarly rigor, his dedication to student welfare, the breadth and depth of his knowledge of our University and its communities and his stewardship of WesternUs mission and principles that distinguish him as one of the most effective and influential leaders in graduate health sciences education, she said. College of Health Sciences graduate Yaseen Kady, MSPA 19, said Commencement is the culmination of all the hard work he and his classmates put in not just in PA school, but all the effort it took to get into PA school. He worked in his fathers primary care clinic in San Diego as a youth, and his goal is to provide care to the underserved communities in that area. I will miss our cohesive team and the positive environment that encouraged others to succeed, Kady said. I will miss the academic intensity that you can only get in a group setting. I will do my best to apply lifelong learning as a practitioner. Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences graduate Thalia Fabian, MSMS 19, will enter the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in the fall. The goal of the MSMS program is to help students from diverse backgrounds to gain acceptance to professional schools while increasing the number of health professionals in underserved areas. Fabian plans to frame her MSMS degree and give it to her parents. She is the first in her family to graduate from undergraduate and graduate programs. Theyve seen how much I struggled. I wanted to give up so many times. Theyve been behind me saying, You can do it, Fabian said. This is the biggest gift I can give them as a token of all they have done for me. Their hard work was not in vain. Rioja Railway Wine Experience Logo I am so honored these wineries chose me to help present their flagship wines, said Ballesteros. I am so proud of the quality and depth these wineries have brought to the table, showing how Rioja, Haro specifically, has been at the forefront of winemaking and continues to be a dominate figure. Historic wineries from the famed Haro Station District in Spain came to together on Wednesday, May 22 at the High Line in New York City to celebrate the Rioja Railway Wine Experience. The wineries in attendance included: Bodegas Gomez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta, S.A., Bodegas Bilbainas Vina Pomal, Bodegas Muga and Bodegas RODA. This is the first time these five wineries have come together in an international showcase with their most prestigious wines. The Rioja Railway Wine Experience is a milestone for these wineries as they have participated in La Cata del Barrio de la Estacion in Haro in previous years, yet the wineries decided to come to one of the most important, global markets for an iconic event. With over 275 attendees at the Grand Tasting, this has been one of the largest focused wine and food events for trade on the High Line. The Masterclasses, The Rioja Railway: Past, Present and Future of Rioja Winemaking, moderated by the first Spanish Master of Wine, Pedro Ballesteros, demonstrated how Haro was at the epicenter of winemaking and turned Rioja into one of the top wine regions of the world. Over 100 attendees tasted Riojan wines from each decade, beginning in the 1970s up to today. I am so honored these wineries chose me to help present their flagship wines, said Ballesteros. I am so proud of the quality and depth these wineries have brought to the table, showing how Rioja, Haro specifically, has been at the forefront of winemaking and continues to be a dominate figure. Consumers also enjoyed the Rioja Railway Wine Experience - close to 400 guests were able to taste Spanish creations from top U.S. chefs paired specifically with the wines, including such chefs as: Nicole Gajadhar from Saxon + Parole; Ginger Pierce from Jams Restaurant; Preston Madson from il Buco Alimentari & Vineria; Francis Derby from Tessa; Cedric Durand from GAUDir. Proceeds from the consumer event benefited the James Beard Foundation, a national culinary non-profit organization working toward a more delicious, diverse, and sustainable food world for everyone. To learn more about the Foundation's good food for good mission, visit: http://www.jamesbeard.org. Guests were transported back to the mid-nineteenth century. The High Line in New York City played host to the tastings, representing the Haro District train station. With projections of historic imagery in Rioja and steam from the imaginary trains, the city park was transformed for a moment back into the former elevated freight train line. This has been an honor to bring La Cata del Barrio de la Estacion to New York City, said Manu Muga, vice president of The Train Station District Association in Spain. The U.S. is a major market for wines from Rioja and the Rioja Railway Wine Experience allows us to share these historic wineries and our know-how to American wine connoisseurs. And we hope to see some Americans visit us in Haro for La Cata in 2020! Haro was one of the first cities in Spain to have the modern, new technology of the railway. While winemaking had been prevalent throughout Spain, it was in the 1860s that several wineries set up near the railway station in Haro, bringing wealth to the city and the country. For years, La Cata del Barrio de la Estacion has taken place in Haro, bringing international focus to the Station District wineries, promoting the area as one of the top wine tourism destinations in the world. The wineries that participated in the Rioja Railway Wine Experience understand that their past helps to direct the future of their winemaking; they look to their roots to create wine that will resonate with the world and continue to bring recognition to Rioja and the Haro Station District for years to come. For more information about the Rioja Railway Wine Experience, please visit http://www.riojarailwaywineexperience.com. Find us on Facebook at Rioja Railway Wine Experience, or on Twitter and Instagram @RiojaRailway. About La Cata del Barrio de la Estacion The Station District (Barrio de la Estacion) is a landmark in the city of Haro, located in the Rioja wine region. It boasts the highest concentration of centuries-old wineries in the world, which were built around a central point the railway station, known as the golden mile of Rioja wine. A visit to the Haro Station District becomes a journey in time, where you can follow the evolution of wine and architecture during the last century. For more information, please visit: http://www.lacatadelbarriodelaestacion.com. A slew of promotions have been made in the Hachette Book Group's sales department. A spokesperson said the promotions are part of a department restructure "that also was informed by the departure of some sales employees." In wholesale sales, Julie Hernandez has been promoted to senior director of wholesale sales from director of wholesale sales. Heidi Kanter and Laura Shepherd have been promoted to senior national accounts manager, from national accounts manager. In mass merchant sales, Tracy Dowd has been promoted to senior director of club and airport sales, from director of club sales. Tishana Knight has been promoted to sales manager of mass merchants, from sales manager of national accounts. John Lefler has been promoted to national account manager from telephone sales representative. In field sales, John Leary has been promoted to regional director of field sales. He was previously senior sales representative. In account marketing, John Byron III has been promoted to sales promotion manager, from senior promotions coordinator. In children's sales, Katie Tucker has been promoted to senior national accounts manager. She was previously childrens national accounts manager. In Nashville/CBA sales, David Chaudhry has been promoted to national accounts manager, from regional sales manager. Linda Pearles has been promoted to national accounts manager. She was previously senior sales representative. In sales operations, Jill Reschop-Gonzalez has been promoted to associate director of sales operations, from senior sales analyst. At HBG Canada, Leah Collins Lipsett has been promoted to marketing coordinator, from marketing assistant. In special markets, Frankie Johnson has been promoted to manager of specialty retail, from special sales manager. Previously announced but relevant to the restructuring are the promotions of Ali Cutrone to senior director of online sales and sales liaison for Grand CentraI Publishing, from director of online sales and sales liaison; Mary Urban to senior digital account manager from digital account manager; and Claire Gamble to national account manager from associate national account manager. Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. OK Reflecting what it says is the rising importance of its providers, IPTV is gaining subscribers in Western Europe at the expense of the other pay-TV platforms according to a study from Digital TV Research. In the companys Western Europe Pay-TV Forecasts report found that Western Europe will have 101.59 million pay-TV subscribers by 2024. Germany will contribute a quarter of the total, followed by the UK (15%) and France (14%). Half of the 18 countries covered in the report are projected to lose pay-TV subscribers between 2018 and 2024. Italy will decline the most (down by 728,000 subs) from the 1,229,000 overall losses, followed by the UK (down by 621,000).Looking at platforms, the report found that cable TV will have 40.28 million subs by 2024, down by seven million on 2010. Digital cable TV is set to gain 1 million subscribers between 2018 and 2024, but analogue cable is forecast to shed more than two million customers. Pay satellite TV will lose 4 million subscribers between 2018 and 2024 - usually as homes convert to platforms with bundles and reaching 20.33 million. IPTV overtook satellite TV in 2015 and will be approaching cable by 2024, adding 5.5 million subscribers between 2018 and 2024.This marks a sea change for Western Europes pay-TV sector said Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray. IPTV operations are owned by telcos. Some telcos also have assets on other platforms. If all of the current proposed deals receive regulatory approval, then telcos will have 18.61 million non-IPTV subscribers by 2024, Murray said. Adding the 38.72 million IPTV subscribers, telcos will control 56% of Western Europes pay-TV subscribers by 2024. Pay-TV is not the priority for telcos broadband and mobile provision are at the forefront.Despite the number of Western European pay-TV subscribers falling by just 1.2% between 2018 and 2024, the Western Europe Pay-TV Forecasts report warned that revenues will decline by 13.1%. Pay-TV revenues will dip by $3.84 billion between 2018 and 2024 to $25.44 billion. The UK will lose $1 billion over this period but will remain the most lucrative pay-TV market. Italy will fall by $823 million or 24% - due mainly to Mediasets conversion from pay DTT to online. Highlights European leaders saw their shows of force turn into war in 1914, and then their promises of easy victory turn into a four-year slaughter. World War I presents those willing to learn with many lessons, starting with the fact that wars rarely go as planned. A small British force invaded Iran in 1918 a "mad enterprise," one British commander called it. It was a risky action, and any similar action today would be just as risky. When farmers in this part of Northern France plow their fields, they unearth relics of the war that ended here just over a century ago: shell casings, gas masks, skulls. The tranquil landscape, as flat as the plains of Kansas, belies the memory of the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, when 21,000 British soldiers died charging across a few hundred yards of shell craters, weeds and barbed wire into German machine guns. That futile offensive raged until the following November, when death had claimed 1.5 million lives on both sides of the trenches. The war's architects had not envisioned such slaughter when they mobilized young recruits in August 1914 on promises of an easy victory. The historian Christopher Clark depicted the statesmen who led Europe into the Great War as men walking blind in their sleep through an open window. In his magnificent book, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, Clark wrote, "The conflict that began that summer mobilized 65 million troops, claimed three empires, 20 million military and civilian deaths, and 21 million wounded." That had not been the intention, any more than the treaty ending the war was supposed to produce another cataclysm 20 years later that would claim a further 60 million lives. Trudging along mud pathways near the River Somme recently, I passed remnants of shell holes and trenches barely camouflaged by fresh spring grass. Thousands of youngsters lie buried where they fell in a landscape resplendent in monuments and cemeteries. A plaque in one graveyard reminds visitors, "The Devonshires held this trench, the Devonshires hold it still." The lads of the Devonshire Regiment, like their comrades from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, Canada and the rest of England, left behind young widows, children and inconsolable parents. Was it worth it? Shows of Force, Preludes to War Wars rarely turn out as their authors predict. For the United States, this has been true of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. The same may be said one day of Iran if U.S. President Donald Trump's deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with a strike group of warships and bombers to the Persian Gulf leads to violent confrontations. The objective of the exercise, in the words of national security adviser John Bolton, is to "send a message" to Iran. Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who happened to be cousins, sent similar messages to each other in the summer of 1914 through the mobilization of their armies. That show of force did not prevent war. It started it. Wars rarely turn out as their authors predict. For the United States, this has been true of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. The same may be said one day of Iran. The First World War presents those willing to learn with many lessons. As well as the stupidity of the static war of attrition on the Western Front, there were examples of destructive sideshows in Africa, the Balkans, the Arab world and, yes, Iran. Iranians remember, if Westerners do not, that allies Russia and Britain occupied their neutral country in 1914. (They would do so again in 1941.) The British sent what today would be called a "special operations" detachment across Iran to rally tribesmen to prevent the Ottoman Turks and their German allies from seizing the oil of the Caspian Sea. In December 1917, the War Office assigned Maj. Gen. Lionel Dunsterville to lead a "Dunsterforce" of 450 men. Dunsterville's friend Rudyard Kipling had already immortalized him as an imperial hero of British India named "Stalky." The colorful Dunsterville was fluent in nine languages including Farsi and Chinese good if insufficient preparation for the task in Iran. The Dunsterforce crossed the Shatt-al-Arab waterway from British-occupied Iraq into Iran in early 1918 en route to Baku, the oil capital of Azerbaijan, which the Russians had abandoned following the revolution that took Russia out of the war. The going in Iran was harsh: snow blocked mountain passes, and local militias attacked. The nationalist Jangali Movement mauled the Dunsters before they reached Baku, reducing their strength and slowing their movement. Dunsterville attempted to win popular approval by preventing grain merchants from hoarding wheat, but this move backfired when the Jangalis accused him of poisoning the people's flour. Rival claims for leadership by the Jangalis, local Communists, Islamists and Christians complicated matters for Dunsterville. Many of them changed sides more than once, depending on whether the Ottomans or the British looked likely to win. Part of the Dunsterforce reached Urmia in Iranian Azerbaijan, but its presence exacerbated the mistreatment of local Christians who had identified with the Allied cause. By war's end, the Christian population of Urmia had been reduced from 40 percent of the city to almost zero. In Baku, Dunsterville organized defenses against an Ottoman assault. The battle began on Aug. 26, 1918. Artillery devastated much of the city, forcing Dunsterville to evacuate his force aboard two ships across the Caspian on the night of Sept. 14. Azeri gangs in the city then massacred about 8,000 Armenians. Lt. Gen. Lionel Marshall, the British commander in Mesopotamia who had called Dunsterville's campaign a "mad enterprise," disbanded it two days later. Same Risk Now as Then Invading Iran was a risk in 1918, and it remains a risk today. Ships in any part of the Persian Gulf are within range of Iranian coastal defenses. Any mistake or exchange of fire may result in the deployment of, as The New York Times reported, 120,000 U.S. troops. Trump's response to the Times' report sounded more like confirmation than refutation: "If we did that, we'd send a hell of a lot more troops than that." The United States, like the Kaiser, the czar and the King of England in 1914, insists it does not want war. "The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime," Bolton said, "but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian units." The nature of the American response to any perceived infraction by Iran will determine the future of the United States, Iran, the Mideast and all the countries that import Persian Gulf oil for years to come. Will it be worth it? Siegfried Sassoon, who won Britain's Military Cross for rescuing a wounded comrade under fire on the eve of the Somme battle, concluded his poem, "Suicide in the Trenches": You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you'll never know The hell where youth and laughter go. Charles Glass has written many books on the Middle East, World War II and contemporary wars in the third world, including Tribes With Flags, Money for Old Rope, The Tribes Triumphant, The Northern Front, Americans in Paris, Deserter, The State of Syria and Syria Burning. He was ABC News' Chief Middle East Correspondent from 1983 to 1993. This article appeared originally at Stratfor Worldview. Are new particles materializing right under physicists' noses and going unnoticed? The world's great atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), could be making long-lived particles that slip through its detectors, some researchers say. Next week, they will gather at the LHC's home, CERN, the European particle physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss how to capture them. How We Solved the Mystery of Libyan Desert Glass In the remote desert of western Egypt, near the Libyan border, lie clues to an ancient cosmic cataclysm. Libyan desert glass is the name given to fragments of canary-yellow glass found scattered over hundreds of kilometres, between giant shifting sand dunes. Interest in Libyan desert glass goes back more than 3,000 years. Among items recovered from King Tuts burial chamber is a gold and jewel-encrusted breastplate. In the centre sits a beautiful scarab beetle, carved from Libyan desert glass. Libyan desert glass raw and carved is easily available today, but how the glass formed has long puzzled scientists. Our research has found the answer. The heat is on Studies show the Libyan desert glass formed about 29 million years ago. The glass is nearly pure silica, which requires temperatures above 1,600 to form, and that is hotter than any igneous rock on Earth. Aaron J Cavosie But few mineral relics survived from whatever caused the melting. Within the glass are rare occurrences of high-temperature minerals, including a form of quartz called cristobalite. There are also grains of the mineral zircon, although most have reacted to form a higher-temperature mineral called zirconia. Ideas about how the glass formed include melting during meteorite impact, or melting caused by an airburst from an asteroid or other object burning up high in Earths atmosphere. Despite many studies, definitive proof about which origin is correct has been elusive, until now. One problem is that no impact crater from any object hitting the ground in the area has been identified as the source of the glass. Another was the lack of evidence of damage from high-pressure shock waves caused by any impact. Evidence of impact Our research, published in the journal Geology, reports the first evidence of high-pressure damage, showing the glass formed during a meteorite impact. Meteorite impacts and airbursts are both catastrophic events. Large meteorite impacts, such as the one that killed the dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago, are rare. But airbursts occur more frequently. An airburst over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 caused extensive property damage and injured people. The Chelyabinsk airburst deposited 0.5 megatons of energy into the sky. Despite the damage, that event did not cause melting or shock damage. In contrast, Libyan desert glass is thought by some to have been caused by a 100-megaton airburst, an event 200 times larger than the Russian airburst. The airburst idea arose from modelling atmospheric nuclear explosions. Like a nuclear bomb, a large airburst deposits energy into the atmosphere that can melt surface materials. And an airburst does not leave a crater. Read more: Target Earth: how asteroids made an impact on Australia The smoking gun The new smoking gun for understanding the origin of the Libyan desert glass is evidence of an unusual mineral called reidite. Reidite only forms during a meteorite impact, when atoms in the mineral zircon are forced into a tighter arrangement. Such high-pressure minerals are a hallmark of a meteorite impact, and do not form during airbursts. Zircon is a common mineral in granite, sandstone and other rock types. It is known from Earth, the Moon, Mars, and various meteorites. It is widely used for dating when rocks formed. Zircon is also useful when searching for evidence of shock deformation caused by a meteorite impact. At low shock intensity, zircon deforms by bending of the crystal. It is like bending a plastic spoon to the point where it deforms but does not break. As the shock intensity increases, zircon further responds in several unique ways and at extreme pressures, reidite forms. If the rocks then get hot, zircon will recrystallise. This results in the formation of a network of new, tiny interlocking grains. Above 1,700 zircon ultimately breaks down to zirconia. Libyan desert glass contains many zircon grains, all smaller than the width of a human hair. While most reacted to zirconia due to the heat, about 10% preserve evidence of former reidite. But the thing is, reidite is no longer present. Reidite is not stable when hot, and reverts back to zircon above 1,200. It only gets preserved if shocked rocks do not melt. So it takes a specialised technique called electron backscatter diffraction to nut out whether reidite once existed in shocked zircons that got hot. The key to finding evidence of former reidite lies in analysing the crystal orientations of the tiny interlocking grains in reverted zircon. Similar to turning a Rubiks cube, the initial transformation to reidite occurs along specific directions in a zircon crystal. When reidite changes back to zircon, it leaves a fingerprint of its existence that can be detected through orientation analysis. And we found the reidite fingerprint in samples of the Libyan desert glass. We examined zircon grains from seven samples and the critical crystal orientation evidence of former reidite was present in each sample. Aaron J Cavosie , Author provided A meteor impact Reidite is rare and only reported from meteorite impact sites. It is found in material ejected from craters and in shocked rocks at craters. Read more: A disappointing earring, and the world's hottest rock: zirconia Prior studies have found evidence of former reidite within zircon from impact melt, similar to how it was identified in Libyan desert glass. A 100 megaton airburst should occur every 10,000 years. If this size event is supposed to have caused Libyan desert glass to form, the geological record does not support the idea. The reidite fingerprint points to a meteor impact as the only option. Outstanding mysteries about Libyan desert glass still remain, such as the location of the source crater, its size, and determining if it has eroded away. Aaron J. Cavosie, Senior research fellow, Curtin University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Earlier this month, I spent a day visiting Marseilles to videotape a documentary about recent American military history, specifically the ongoing wars that most of us prefer not to think about. Lest there be any confusion, let me be more specific. I am not referring to Marseilles (mar-SAY), France, that nations largest port and second largest city with a population approaching 900,000. No, my destination was Marseilles (mar-SAYLZ), Illinois, a small prairie town with a population hovering around 5,000. Our own lesser Marseilles nestles alongside the Illinois River, more or less equidistant between Chicago and Peoria, smack dab in the middle of flyover country. I have some personal familiarity with this part of America. More than half a century ago, the school I attended in nearby Peru used to play the Panthers of Marseilles High. Unfortunately, their school closed three decades ago. Back then, the town had achieved minor distinction for manufacturing corrugated boxes for Nabisco. But that factory was shuttered in 2002 and only the abandoned building remains, its eight-story hulk still looming above Main Street. Today, downtown Marseilles, running a few short blocks toward the river, consists of tired-looking commercial structures dating from early in the previous century. Many of the storefronts are empty. By all appearances, the rest may suffer a similar fate in the not-too-distant future. Although the U.S. economy has bounced back from the Great Recession, recovery bypassed Marseilles. Here, the good times ended long ago and never came back. The feel of the place is weary and forlorn. Hedge-fund managers keen to turn a quick profit should look elsewhere. Perhaps not too surprisingly, this is Trump country. Marseilles is located in LaSalle County, which in 2016 voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton by a hefty 14% margin. Its easy to imagine residents of Marseilles, which is more than 96% white, taking umbrage at Clintons disparaging reference to The Donalds supporters as so many deplorables. They had reason to do so. A Midwestern Memorial to Americas Wars in the Greater Middle East Today, Marseilles retains one modest claim to fame. Its the site of the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial, dedicated in June 2004 and situated on an open plot of ground between the river and the old Nabisco plant. The memorial, created and supported by a conglomeration of civic-minded Illinois bikers, many of them Vietnam veterans, is the only one in the nation that commemorates those who have died during the course of the various campaigns, skirmishes, protracted wars, and nasty mishaps that have involved U.S. forces in various quarters of the Greater Middle East over the past several decades. Think about it: Any American wanting to pay personal tribute to those who fought and died for our country in World War II or Korea or Vietnam knows where to go -- to the Mall in Washington D.C., that long stretch of lawn and reflecting pools connecting the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Any American wanting to honor the sacrifice of those who fought and died in a series of more recent conflicts that have lasted longer than World War II, Korea, and Vietnam combined must travel to a place where the nearest public transportation is a Greyhound bus station down the road in Ottawa and the top restaurant is Bobaluks Beef and Pizza. Nowhere else in this vast nation of ours has anyone invested the money and the effort to remember more than a generations worth of less-than-triumphant American war making. Marseilles has a lock on the franchise. Critics might quibble with the aesthetics of the memorial, dismissing it as an unpretentious knock-off of the far more famous Vietnam Wall. Yet if the design doesnt qualify as cutting edge, it is palpably honest and heartfelt. It consists chiefly of a series of polished granite panels listing the names of those killed during the various phases of this countrys forever wars going all the way back to the sailors gunned down in the June 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty. Those panels now contain more than 8,000 names. Each June, in conjunction with the annual Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run, which ends at the memorial, more are added. Along with flags and plaques, there is also text affirming that all those commemorated there are heroes who died for freedom and will never be forgotten. On that point, allow me to register my own quibble. Although my sons name is halfway down near the left margin of Panel 5B, I find myself uneasy with any reference to American soldiers having died for freedom in the Greater Middle East. Our pronounced penchant for using that term in connection with virtually any American military action strikes me as a dodge. It serves as an excuse for not thinking too deeply about the commitments, policies, and decisions that led to all those names being etched in stone, with more to come next month and probably for many years thereafter. In Ernest Hemingways famed novel about World War I, A Farewell to Arms, his protagonist is embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. I feel something similar when it comes to the use of freedom in this context. Well, not embarrassed exactly, but deeply uncomfortable. Freedom, used in this fashion, conceals truth behind a veil of patriotic sentiment. Those whose names are engraved on the wall in Marseilles died in service to their country. Of that there is no doubt. Whether they died to advance the cause of freedom or even the wellbeing of the United States is another matter entirely. Terms that might more accurately convey why these wars began and why they have persisted for so long include oil, dominion, hubris, a continuing and stubborn refusal among policymakers to own up to their own stupendous folly, and the collective negligence of citizens who have become oblivious to where American troops happen to be fighting at any given moment and why. Some might add to the above list an inability to distinguish between our own interests and those of putative allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel. Candidates at the Wall During the several hours I spent there, virtually no one else visited the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial. A single elderly couple stopped by briefly and that was that. If this was understandable, it was also telling. After all, Marseilles, Illinois, is an out-of-the-way, isolated little burg. Touristy its not. Theres no buzz and no vibe and its a long way from the places that set the tone in present-day America. To compare Marseilles with New York, Washington, Hollywood, Las Vegas, or Silicon Valley is like comparing a Dollar General with Saks Fifth Avenue. Marseilles has the former. The closest Saks outlet is about a two-hour drive to Chicagos Loop. On the other hand, when you think about it, Marseilles is exactly the right place to situate the nations only existing memorial to its Middle Eastern wars. Where better, after all, to commemorate conflicts that Americans would like to ignore or forget than in a hollowing-out Midwestern town they never knew existed in the first place? So, with the campaign for the 2020 presidential election now heating up, allow me to offer a modest proposal of my own -- one that might, briefly at least, make Marseilles a destination of sorts. Just as there are all-but-mandatory venues in Iowa and New Hampshirewhere candidates are expected to appear, why not make Marseilles, Illinois, one as well. Let all of the candidates competing to oust Donald Trump from the White House (their ranks now approaching two dozen) schedule at least one campaign stop at the Middle East Conflicts Wall, press entourage suitably in tow. Let them take a page from presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan at the Berlin Wall and use the site as a backdrop to reflect on the historical significance of this particular place. They should explain in concrete terms what the conflicts memorialized there signify; describe their relationship to the post-Cold War narrative of America as the planets indispensable nation or sole superpower; assess the disastrous costs and consequences of those never-ending wars; fix accountability; lay out to the American people how to avoid repeating the mistakes made by previous administrations, including the present one that seems to be itching for yet another conflict in the Middle East; and help us understand how, under the guise of promoting liberty and democracy, Washington has sown chaos through much of the region. And, just to make it interesting, bonus points for anyone who can get through their remarks without referring to freedom or supreme sacrifice, citing the Gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 13 (Greater love hath no man than this...), or offering some fatuous reference to GIs as agents of the Lord called upon to smite evildoers. On the other hand, apt comparisons to Vietnam are not just permitted but encouraged. Im betting that the good bikers of Illinois who long ago served in Vietnam will happily provide a mic and a podium. If they wont, I will. Reprinted with permission from TomDispatch. Andrew Bacevich is a TomDispatch regular. His most recent book is Twilight of the American Century. His previous book was Americas War for the Greater Middle East. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Porterville, CA (93257) Today Considerable cloudiness. High 46F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening then becoming cloudy with periods of light rain after midnight. Low 38F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. The American Red Cross is providing comfort and support to people across multiple states as severe weather continues to devastate communities. More than 900 trained Red Cross disaster workers are helping across seven states providing safe shelter, food, relief supplies and other support to people in need. More than 415 people spent Thursday night in 26 Red Cross and community shelters. In the last 105 days, nearly 3,500 Red Crossers have provided nearly 11,000 shelter overnight stays, more than 97,000 relief items, and more than 290,000 meals and snacks delivered in part by 86 emergency response vehicles. Several major rivers are above flood stage, including the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas rivers. Reports indicate the threat of flooding along the Arkansas River will continue for several days and could impact large communities along the river, forcing people to leave their homes. The Red Cross is monitoring the situation and prepared to respond if necessary. IF YOU NEED TO FIND A SHELTER Call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767), visit redcross.org or download the free Red Cross Emergency App. You can also check with your local officials for information on where to find a shelter. The Emergency App provides emergency alerts and information about what to do in case of emergencies such as tornadoes and flooding. Users can find it in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps. HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Call, click, or text to give: visit redcross.org, call 1-800 RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. To donate by check or to a specific cause, please complete this donation form by printing and mailing to your local Red Cross chapter. CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process. ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; The Clorox Company; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; The Home Depot Foundation; LDS Charities; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; State Farm; Verizon; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and The Walt Disney Company. ADGP $500,000 members are: 21st Century Fox; Altria Group; AmazonSmile; Aon; BMW of North America; Capital One; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental Community Care Foundation; Discover; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Grainger; Humble Bundle; IBM Corporation; International Paper; Johnson Controls Foundation; LHC Group; Merck Foundation; Mondelez International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Nissan; Procter & Gamble Company; PwC Charitable Foundation; Sands Cares; Southwest Airlines; Target; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; UPS; The USAA Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; and Wells Fargo. Disaster Responder Program members are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; AdvoCare International L.P.; Alliance Data; American Express; Assurant; AstraZeneca; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; The Ball Foundation; Barclays; CarMax; Choice Hotels International; Cox Enterprises; DICKS Sporting Goods; Duke Energy; Edison International; Entergy Corporation; GE Foundation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; John Deere Foundation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; Land OLakes, Inc.; Mastercard; Medtronic Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Old Dominion Freight Line; Prudential Financial; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; SC Johnson; Security Finances Lending Hand Foundation; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; The Starbucks Foundation; Tata Consultancy Services; Toyota; U-Haul International; United Technologies Corporation; U.S. Bank; and Visa. While the interest from Hinduja is a positive sign for the grounded airline, executives of banks cautioned that there is no certainty that the deal will fructify. The cost of recapitalising Jet Airways is increasing every day. Banks might agree to acquire up to a 20 per cent stake in Jet Airways as the Hinduja group is not keen to exceed its shareholding beyond 30 per cent in the grounded airline, sources close to the development said a day ahead of a crucial meeting at the Etihad headquarters in Abu Dhabi. According to the plan discussed by the lenders consortium, led by State Bank of India (SBI), banks will hold the stake for up to two years. Subsequently, they can sell it and cash out. The Hindujas are unwilling to invest a bulk amount. "In that scenario, banks will propose to hold the remaining 20 per cent stake for a certain period with terms and conditions, which will allow them to cash out after two years, said a person in the know. Around 26 per cent of ousted Jet chairman Naresh Goyals stake is already pledged with Punjab National Bank, which has the second highest exposure to the airline after SBI. The Hinduja group is set to meet top Etihad executives on Thursday in Abu Dhabi to discuss the deal. Top executives of SBI will also be present at the meeting to be held at the Etihad headquarters. While the interest from Hinduja is a positive sign for the grounded airline, executives of banks cautioned that there is no certainty that the deal will fructify. The situation looks to be extremely difficult. The cost of recapitalising Jet Airways is increasing every day. "Despite grounding operations, the airline has an expenditure of at least Rs 120-130 crore per month while it is not earning anything. "While NCLT is not a favoured route, there will be no other option left, the bank executive said. He mentioned that simultaneous discussions are underway with government-owned wealth fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Jet Airways has a liability of around Rs 15,000 crore, including bank debt of over Rs 8,500 crore. As part of the resolution process, lenders had invited bids to buy up to 76 per cent in Jet Airways. Etihad Airways submitted a conditional bid for a minority stake, forcing the lenders to look for a majority partner. Etihad, in its conditions, asked for a write off of 80 per cent of the bank debt. As part of the process, SBI Caps, the investment banking subsidiary of SBI, has reached out to various Indian conglomerates and NIIF. It has also started a discussion with unsolicited bidders like London-based Adi Partners and Darwin Platform Group, which has investments across various sectors including oil and gas, hospitality and realty. But sources said that neither the lenders nor Etihad is comfortable with these entities holding stake in Jet as they have no proven credentials in running a big business. Sources pegged the total investment required by Jet Airways to restart operations at Rs 5,950 crore. Etihad, in its offer, said it would be able to invest only Rs 1,700 crore and acquire only 24 per cent stake. Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters 'In constituency after constituency, it was a vote for Modi, not the candidate,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy. IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party workers celebrate in Varanasi. Photograph: PTI When Narendra Damodardas Modi takes oath as prime minister for the second time, he will have made history, of the kind that was denied to even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, considered the tallest non-Congress prime minister of India. In 2004, Vajpayee, contrary to most expectations, lost his re-election bid. If he had won, he would have been the first non-Congress prime minister to be re-elected after completing a five-year term in office. It seemed then that the Opposition would never ever break that jinx. Till a certain Narendra Damodardas Modi came on the scene. His election in 2014 was itself nothing short of overcoming immense odds. The Delhi's entrenched power structure hated him. The media suspected him. The Opposition scorned him. Even within the BJP he faced strong opposition from the central leadership. But in 2019 the challenges were different. The Opposition was getting its act together. Reversal in some key assembly elections showed that the BJP was vulnerable to bread and butter issues, and anti-incumbency could be a factor, it was felt. But between December 2018, when not many even in the saffron fold gave the National Democratic Alliance much of a chance to come back to power, and April-May, when the 7-phase election meandered through India, Modi and his Man Friday Amit Anilchandra Shah have wrought the near-impossible. And cemented Modi's place in history. The story of how Modi won a re-election in the face of severe agrarian crisis, mounting unemployment, looming economic crisis, is the story of how the power of the message can be put to devastating effect in the hands of a strong leader. If Modi's 2014 campaign was designed to catch the imagination of a public that barely knew him beyond Gujarat, this time round he eschewed repeating the same catchphrases and campaign style. So we did not see any reference to Vikas or Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, phrases from five years earlier he knew had outlived their utility. Nor was there any tech blitzkrieg like holograms, or common man ideas like Chai ka Charcha. A marketing whiz could not have drawn up a better campaign than what Modi-Shah came up with. In 2014 Modi was an unknown entity and needed the hardsell. In 2019 Modi had his prime ministerial record to fall back on. Initiatives like demonetisation, or the hasty GST rollout may have invited derision from PLUs as hare-brained and ill-prepared, but then we all miss the point. These were not aimed at people like us, but the ordinary mass of voters who are willing to put their faith in Modi and buy the yojanas as a ticket for a better life. But elections are not won on economics -- good, or bad -- but by leaders with a vision and promise. Why the voter bought into Modi's vision and promise and not Rahul Gandhi's, who too in a total makeover presented himself as a decisive leader with a vision for the nation, is where brand equity comes in. Not only did Modi's brand equity outstrip Rahul's by far, but the BJP also had a strong delivery mechanism that did a much superior job of reaching the brand to the corners where it mattered. It's an axiom that no amount of marketing can sell a bad product; conversely, a good product by itself also cannot hope to succeed without a smart marketing strategy and execution. BJP President Amit Anilchandra Shah in fact summed it up best he said that in this election, Modi was contesting from every constituency. And the results bear him out. In constituency after constituency, it was a vote for Modi, not the candidate. But this election was not only about Modi Brand, it was equally about the Modi Messaging. Even as the Opposition trained its guns on oft-repeated charges against Modi -- Rafale, crony capitalism, anti-minorityism, etc -- the prime minister was tweaking and finetuning his campaign through the election phases. Thus, he swung through emotive issues like nationalism and the honour of defence forces, personal integrity and corruption, dynasty and democracy, even as the Opposition scrambled from one issue to the issue, always reacting to the agenda set by him and not being able to set the agenda themselves. Issues that the Opposition sought to put him on the backfoot over -- be it Rafale or farm crisis -- were simply not joined. Even in areas where the Opposition may have scored a lead over him, like in the case of media interactions, Modi quickly opened the door to journalists of all hues, even talking to them while on the campaign trail and answering seemingly non-vetted questions. Overall, Modi pitched himself as a doer who needs another five years to finish the job that he had started. Layering it all was the Hindutva line which, even if not made openly, is always an undercurrent in the BJP's campaign. It could be snuck up on the traditional voter through comments about Wayanad's voter composition. Or could be rammed home through the nomination of someone like Pragya Singh Thakur. Or with the Jai Shri Ram greeting in Ayodhya. Or even questioning why the Bengal government doesn't allow Saraswati Puja and Durga Puja. If there is one learning from this election, it is that Hindutva doesn't always ride on the shoulders of gau rakshaks. Brand association can also have a downside. It is because of the BJP and Modi's strong identification with Hindutva that Tamil Nadu and Kerala have refused to let the party gain a foothold. Kerala has a strong Communist influence (never mind the LDF has fared badly in the state), while Tamil Nadu is steeped in Dravidian culture. Both societies thus have an innate aversion to overt religiosity, or even covert like the BJP's. Till recently another state too fit into this category, but which now has opened up to the BJP in a big way. West Bengal is another indication that with a persistent and aggressive campaign, even hitherto no-go areas can open up, so who knows how things will shape in the two southern states. Which course is what the Modi-Shah combine must already be charting in what is their finest moment, when anyone else would pause to celebrate. In the final analysis, it is this 24x7 politicking that is the diffentiator between the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership and the others. They are unrelenting, untiring and, so far at least, unstoppable. 'The unprecedented bitterness and rancour that marked this election campaign need not spill over into government and governance,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy. IMAGE: Celebrations outside the Bharatiya Janata Party's national headquarters in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters To say that the current political discourse in India is fragmented would be a grave understatement. Indeed, coming after the salubrious years of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who went out of his way to overcome the tag of pariah party conferred on a united Opposition in the 1990s, which saw his first government cut short to 13 days in power, and the apolitical Dr Manmohan Singh who rarely if ever uttered a harsh word in public, the last five years have been like a rollercoaster ride on steroids. Not a week passed without the establishment and the Opposition indulging in parry and thrust politics of the worst kind. But it would be unfair to pin it all on the Narendra Damodardas Modi era beginning with the no-holds-barred election campaign of 2014. The relatively calm years between 1998 and 2014 may make you believe otherwise, but the broken political compact between the government and the Opposition, which has spilled over into other pillars of the democracy like the legislature, judiciary, even the media, not to leave out the armed forces, actually goes way back, to the time of Indira Gandhi. When you look back to her time, you realise how similar the incumbent and the former prime minister really are. Both are domineering personalities, authoritarian even, brooked no dissent, and their politics and appeal was centred on the I, Me, Myself mantra. If Indira was also a divisive and polarising figure, the incumbent prime minister is no balak in the Dandakaranya forest. That the Rashtriya Swamayamsevak Sangh -- in which the young pracharak Narendra Damodardas Modi would have been learning the ropes when Indira was on the ascendant -- was soft on the Congress, especially the Gandhi-Nehru family, till she broke the democratic compact by imposing the Emergency, was an open secret. The absence of a political force to call their own -- the Bharatiya Jana Sangh was anything but -- made the Parivar throw in its lot with the next best bet -- and Indira represented continuity. The option, anyway, was the Left and chaos, which was anathema to the RSS. So did her politics of the take-no-prisoners variety make an impression, even subliminally, on the young pracharak? Alas, we will never know, for the prime minister prefers to talk of everything but his life. If he was not even remotely influenced by Indira Gandhi, it is eerie how Modi seems to have replicated her brand of politics. He may idolise P V Narasimha Rao, he may revere Vajpayee, even hold a grudging admiration for Dr Singh, treat Rajiv Gandhi like a frenemy, but it is Indira whose mirror image he is the closest to, even if he may see no resemblance. Two other features marked Indira Gandhi's reign. She was hypercritical of the Opposition as it existed, even scorned them as a bunch of old men. Plus, she was a master of the message, and a consummate communicator who could seize the idiom of the day to her advantage. In that she was matchless. Do these things remind you of someone closer to our timeline? BJP leaders, when asked about exploiting the Balakot airstrikes in the election season, harked back to, not the Kargil skirmish of their own Vajpayee who too fought an election with the triumph as the backdrop, but Indira Gandhi's 1971 Bangladesh war. So, even their own point of comparison was not one of their own but a prime minister from the party who their leader vowed to deracinate from India! Indira's rule was marked her party lying supine before her. It was the time of unforeseen adulation, with one party president even proclaiming 'Indira is India, India is Indira'. Senior Supreme Court judges may not have held a press conference to share their angst, but the problems in the judiciary could be traced back to her time. The media was sharply divided over her style of functioning; those critical were not called 'presstitutes', but lumped together with the 'foreign hand' that was never named. It may not have been the worst of times, but it certainly was not the best of times. A bout in exile may not have been what the doctor ordered for her, but it was what the voters prescribed in 1977. And when they voted her back in 1980, after a dalliance gone wrong with the Opposition, it was a mellowed Indira Gandhi who assumed office. This is where the present breaks with the past. The voters, it seems, are now in the mood to reward, not rebuke. Narendra Modi is back for a second term as prime minister. So it is a good time to hit the pause button and ask: What now? With his re-election, Modi has proved a point, and made history. Being gracious in victory is not a sign of weakness, nor will it make one less than 56 inches around the chest. The unprecedented bitterness and rancour that marked this election campaign need not spill over into government and governance. Political rivals need not be considered as lifelong foes. Being co-players on a common stage, perhaps politicians are able to playing a double role, one onstage and another off. But the common man, who gets his cues from their words and deeds, carry the storm they set off into their personal lives. The acrimony on social media, and the hatred off it, is a direct consequence of the omissions and commissions by the political establishment. The broken compact of statecraft is at the centre of the crisis afflicting our institutions. And as the man who mainstreamed it in his five years in office, it is Modi's duty, and responsibility, to roll it back in the next five years. 'When real issues hit everybody, the frenzy of Hindutva will start fading.' IMAGE: Bharatiya Janata Party workers celebrate the sweep for the party across the nation. Photograph: ANI On Sunday, May 19, most exit polls predicted another term for Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi. However, few predicted that the victory margin for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance would be so convincing. "The idea of Mahatma Gandhi is on the decline now and the idea of Nathuram Godse is on the rise," Kumar Ketkar, Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress and a former journalist, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com. The results show that the BJP has swept the elections. Where do you think the Congress failed? In terms of being an electoral machine, the Congress is absolutely very weak. It was not prepared to kill the juggernaut of the BJP-RSS (Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) combine. It is not as if the Congress doesn't have loyalists and activists. Even other Opposition regional parties have that, but I think in terms of organisational juggernaut, the BJP was much ahead. And they showed that the organisation matters and also ideology related to organisation matters. They weren't using the ideology of Hindutva upfront, but, of course, it was an undercurrent and the message reached across the Hindus. Terrorism was synonymous with Muslims and an anti-Muslim sentiment was sweeping in the country. The BJP's victory is more restricted to the north and west of India, but not so much in the south. Why? They have done well primarily in north India. Even in West Bengal, they have performed well. In Maharashtra, too, they have done well. They have done well everywhere except in the south. Will you not call it a vote for the Modi government's last mile delivery, considering he has done so much development for the poor? A leading columnist wrote that Modi created touch-points for the people. The touch-points were Rs 2,000 which the poor people received, the insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat or housing projects of the prime minister. Not that these schemes were successful, as nothing fundamentally has changed in their lives, but they found the confidence that something will change. I don't think Opposition parties took notice of those touch-points that Modi created. But.. (Interrupts) I think the Opposition completely underestimated Modi's campaign through the media. The media was completely under Modi's command. And the media entered everybody's house and through that Modi too entered the people's minds. We, as Congressmen, and the Opposition did not imagine that it will have such a massive impact. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: BJP supporters chant slogans and play music outside the party's Maharashtra headquarters in Mumbai. You come from Maharashtra where the BJP and Shiv Sena have swept the election. What went wrong for the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party? We expected the BJP to win substantially, but we did not expect the BJP to make this kind of sweeping victory. I thinking sweeping of elections by the BJP has happened because of the Congress's organisational weakness. Can we say the age of dynasty is over as somewhere? The people of India think that Opposition parties are dynastic parties. Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party is winning from Azamgarh. Rahul Gandhi is winning in Wayanad. (Shiv Sena leaders) Aditya Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray are dynasts and their party too is winning. If you say dynasties are losing, then how is it that Varun Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi are also winning as they too are from the Nehru-Gandhi clan from Sanjay Gandhi's side? Sanjay Gandhi was a dynast, so is Varun Gandhi. I don't believe in the dynast terminology. Some question the future of secularism in India now. Secularism will survive, but secularism will have to fight back. Secularism does not come naturally and Hindutva comes rather naturally for traditional societies. Secularism is an acquired thought and is a futurist thought. It is a human and global thought, which has to be inculcated -- it is a major challenge. Secularism will not vanish. Has nationalism become Hindutva under Modi? Modi and the BJP are successful in integrating the idea of nationalism with the idea of Hindutva. It is a very dangerous mix, but if you see globally in Turkey, the United States of America or Hungary, the same trend is going on everywhere. And this trend has arrived in India too. Terror accused Pragya Thakur is winning by more than one lakh votes. What does it say about today's India, since she called Nathuram Godse a patriot? It only says that the idea of Mahatma Gandhi is on the decline now and the idea of Nathuram Godse is on the rise. The RSS-BJP were never part of the freedom movement. They had no respect for Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. They have been attacking Nehru, but it was a proxy attack,/strong> on Mahatma Gandhi himself. So I think that kind of poisonous attack of Hindutva which actually campaigned against Gandhiji has won. Hindutva has won over Gandhiji's ideology today to a certain extent, and that is a very dangerous trend. Do you think secular forces can win back the secular ground in the future? Hindutva will not last because the idea of sanity, tolerance, sensitivity and civilisation are being challenged. How can that survive? It is frenzy and the whole nation has been driven into some kind of frenzy, but frenzy disappears after some time. When real issues hit everybody, the frenzy of Hindutva will start fading. From a small-time businessman to a formidable political leader, YSR Congress president Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy popularly known as Jagan has had a rather smooth and bumpy ride in the last two decades of his career. IMAGE: YSR Congress president Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy being greeted after he led his party to victory in the state elections. Photograph: SnapsIndia While the first decade of his career was spent in building a business in a hassle-free manner, the second decade had been tumultuous for Reddy as he set out on the political path. But his single-minded focus of becoming chief minister paid off as his YSR Congress Party is poised to secure a landslide win in the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls. It was virtually a ten-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming chief minister soon after his father's death in September 2009. The only son of former Chief Minister of (united) Andhra Pradesh, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Jaganmohan Reddy began his business career in 1999-2000 by establishing a power company Sandur in neighbouring Karnataka and then expanding it to the north-eastern states. His business graph rose meteorically once his father became the state chief minister in 2004 and Jagan started venturing into many other businesses including cement plants, infrastructure and media. Jagan's political ambitions were first revealed in late 2004 when he aspired to become an MP from his home turf Kadapa but the Congress high command nipped that in the bud. He had to wait till 2009 to fulfil his dream and make a formal political debut by winning the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat as Congress nominee. His father's tragic death in a helicopter crash in September 2009, literally changed everything for Jagan. He wanted to succeed his late father to the chief minister's throne but the Congress high command was unwilling to grant him the wish despite a majority of legislators rallying behind him. Disillusioned, Jagan gradually began defying the Congress bosses and, by early 2010 was meticulously charting his own course. He took the 'Odarpu Yatra' route to build his political career independently, much to the Congress' discomfiture. IMAGE: Jagan's single-minded focus of becoming chief minister has paid off as his YSR Congress Party is poised to secure a landslide win in the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls. Photograph: SnapsIndia Jagan's emergence as "leader" began with the Odarpu Yatra as he went round villages and districts to console families whose kin allegedly committed suicide following YSR's sudden demise. In no time, his popularity graph shot upwards steadily while that of the ruling Congress's dipped gradually. He succeeded in striking a positive chord with common people largely based on the goodwill that his late father earned for himself through a slew of "welfare" programmes. As the Congress objected to his yatra and rejected "permission," Jagan decided to snap his association with the party. The flashpoint came in November 2010 when the Congress made N Kiran Kumar Reddy the chief minister of AP in place of ageing K Rosaiah in an ostensible bid to effectively counter Jagan. On November 29, 2010, Jagan called it quits and walked out of the Congress, which his father loyally served for three decades, and also resigned from his Lok Sabha membership. In March 2011, Jagan announced the setting up of his own Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress YSR Congress throwing a challenge primarily at Congress and also Telugu Desam Party. He won the by-election to Kadapa Lok Sabha seat with a record margin of over five lakh votes in May 2011 while his mother Y S Vijayamma won the Pulivendula Assembly seat in an emphatic fashion. There was no looking back thereafter as the fledgling YSRC won successive by-elections in the then united state and emerged as the favourite to caputre power. But, the bifurcation of AP put paid to Jagan's ambitions as the voters preferred an experienced Chandrababu Naidu over the upcoming politician to rule the truncated state. Jagan was charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in several cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Money Laundering Act and also IPC in alleged quid pro quo deals that were struck during his father's tenure as chief minister. He was arrested on May 27, 2012 and had to spend 16-odd months in jail as an "un-convicted criminal prisoner" in the spate of corruption cases. He is still attending trial in these cases in the special CBI court in Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday resigned from his post following the Telugu Desam Party's loss in the assembly elections. He submitted his resignation to the Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan who accepted it, a Raj Bhavan press communique said. "Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh submitted his resignation to the Governor. "The Hon'ble Governor while accepting the resignation with effect from the afternoon today, requested Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu to continue in office till the formation of a new government," it said. IMAGE: DMK president M K Stalin addresses party workers at his party office at Anna Arivalayam Chennai, on Thursday. Photograph: PTI Photo In a much needed morale booster for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the party swept the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu, while arch rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam managed to pull off wins in nine of the 22 assembly seats that went for bypolls, ensuring its continuance in power till 2021. Another key feature of the outcome is the relegation of Kamal Haasan's fledgling Makkal Needhi Maiam and AIADMK rival T T V Dinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam to the status of spoilers. The DMK-led front, which faced the Lok Sabha polls under a new nomenclature 'Secular Progressive Alliance', appears set to win in 36 of the 38 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. In Chidambaram LS seat, the prospects of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan (DMK ally) and ruling AIADMK's nominee P Chandrasekar is on a swing as they alternate to lead with slender margins round after round. For the AIADMK, its candidate (son of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam) P Raveendranathkumar in Theni is set to post victory. The M K Stalin-led party had eight allies, including the Congress, which won the lone Parliamentary seat in Puducherry as well. IMAGE: DMK cadres celebrate the party's victory in the Lok Sabha elections in Chennai. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo The DMK chief said it was a 'resounding victory' given to his party led alliance by the people of Tamil Nadu. "In the next five years, we will work hard to fulfil the promises made and protect the interest of our state," he said. Though trends point to a DMK win in as many as 13 assembly seats, a clear cut possibility of victory in nine seats for AIADMK's has cemented its position in the Tamil Nadu assembly, where it was previously in a precarious situation. The official declaration of the results are awaited. Three AIADMK MLAs had sided with Dinakaran and the stand of two other allies who had won in 2016 on the ruling party's Two Leaves symbol had been a question mark. Officially, though the AIADMK has 114 MLAs, including the Speaker, the stand of these five legislators had virtually brought down the strength of the ruling party to 109. Now that the party has won nine seats, the ruling party sources indicated that the five dissident legislators would prefer to sail with the government. With or without the support of these five MLAs, the AIADMK has a simple majority of 118 legislators. Still, the outcome of a case pending in the Supreme Court over 11 AIADMK MLAs, including O Panneerselvam voting against the government in 2017 may have a bearing on the stability of the incumbent regime in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK garnered a vote share of 18.53 and 38.54 per cent in the Lok Sabha and Assembly by elections respectively. Its principal rival, the DMK posted an impressive 32.81 per cent and 44.87 per cent in Parliamentary and assembly by polls. Dinakaran's party caused a significant split in votes in several Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, eroding the victory prospects of AIADMK. For instance, in Periyakulam Assembly constituency, while DMK was leading by bagging about 44.83 per cent votes, AIADMK and Dinakaran's candidate K Kathirkamu had scored 34.48 and 13.84 per cent votes respectively. Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam also has cut into the vote share of the Dravidian majors. Its nominee had a 11.95 per cent votes at Perambur Assembly seat in Chennai. At Aravakkurichi, where Haasan had made the controversial 'Hindu extremist' remark, could garner only about 0.8 per cent votes and 2.12 per cent in Sivaganga Lok Sabha poll, as per EC data at 10.45 pm. Besides being a shot in the arm for AIADMK, the bypoll win in nine seats is seen by party workers as an endorsement of the leadership of Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam in the post-J Jayalalithaa era. The debacle in Lok Sabha polls, however, has made the overall outcome bittersweet for the ruling party. Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy Panneerselvam said the bypoll 'results' showed that only the AIADMK had the locus standi to govern Tamil Nadu and invited party workers yet again who had switched to the Dhinakaran camp, to return to the parent outfit. "We will continue to provide good governance in tune with the expectations of the people," they said. The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security, nationalism and Hindutva. >> VERDICT 2019: LEADS/RESULTS IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate the party's victory, at BJP office in Bengaluru, on Thursday. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo The BJP got an absolute majority bagging 286 of the 458 seats, results of which were declared past midnight and was on course to cross the 300-seat mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha, leading in another 17 seats. It surpassed its 2014 performance when it won 282 seats. With the elections establishing the 68-year-old Modi as the most popular leader in decades, the BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance are poised to clinch over 350 seats as against their previous 336. Such was the force of the BJP wave that even Congress president Rahul Gandhi lost in his bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to Smriti Irani, but in consolation prize won the Wayanad seat in Kerala. Former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secualr supremo H D Deve Gowda also bit the dust when he lost the Tumkur seat in Karnataka where the BJP bagged 25 of the 28 seats. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Modi is the third prime minister of the country and the first non-Congress one -- who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha. The victory margin left the combined opposition in the dust, with the Congress party topping the group winning or leading in 52 seats, according to the partial results. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: BJP supporters dance the Bhangra outside the Mumbai party headquarters. Much like the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, the lower house of the Parliament may be again bereft of the Leader of Opposition since going by the available trends, the Congress will fall short of the 54-mark needed for the LoP status but marginally improve its all time low tally of 44 in 2014. The euphoria of the victory was capped by a sombre speech by Modi in which he promised to devote every moment of my life and every fibre of my body to the welfare of the nation. He also vowed that he will never do anything with ill-intention, nor will he do anything to enrich himself. Whenever you judge me, judge me on these three parameters. If I fall short on these, curse me. But I assure my countrymen that what I have said in public I will do my best to fulfil," he said. "We had gone to people seeking mandate to build a new India. People have given us their blessings for it." Striking a conciliatory political tone, he also reached out to his rivals, urging everyone to put the rancour of the bitter and often nasty campaign behind them. What's past is past, he said. We have to move ahead. We have to take everyone with us, even our opponents. We have to work for the benefit of the country," he said. "You have filled this fakir's bag with a lot of hope. All your hopes, dreams, ambitions are dependent on it," he told cheering partymen at BJP headquarters in the national capital. Modi easily won his seat in Varanasi with a margin of over 4.5 lakh votes while party president Amit Shah took Gandhinagar in their home state of Gujarat by over 5.5 lakh votes. IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate party's big win. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters With all+ development for all+ everybody's confidence = victorious India, Modi tweeted in his first reaction to BJP's landslide win. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again," he said. Modi and Shah arrived at the party headquarters to a rapturous welcome by supporters. Modi waved victory signs with both arms in the air as rose petals were showered on the duo, the two most powerful men in the country. He then proceeded to garland the statues of BJP idealogue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Minutes later, a gigantic garland in BJP colours of saffron and green was held around Modi by other dignitaries. In the end, Modi's proclamation of Ab ki baar 300 paar just a few days ago looks set to come true as Gandhi's campaign slogan of chowkidar chor hai and promises of annual income guarantee were soundly rejected by voters. In almost all the states where BJP won, its vote share was more than 50 per cent while the Congress failed to open the account in 15 states. The results have raised questions about Gandhi's leadership and his party's future. At a press conference, Gandhi refused to address that issue, saying the party will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the future. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com IMAGE: People feed laddoos to a Modi lookalike. "The people of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect it," Gandhi said. He also congratulated Modi and BJP, adding that today is not the day to into the cause of the defeat but to respect the will of the people. The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security following the Balakot air strikes, nationalism and Hindutva. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy, and blamed it for the country's woes, including endemic corruption. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising. IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate at party headquarters in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Still, the results show that the Modi wave and the party's brilliant election management swept across geographies, caste lines, age, gender and economic status. "The politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement politics has been buried in this massive mandate to BJP," Shah said in the presence of Modi. In the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh, where the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine had posed a stiff challenge, the BJP is expected to win 62 of the 80 seats at stake. Although the BJP had won 71 seats in the last elections, the performance is far better than the 30-40 seats many exit polls had forecast. The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also bulldozed through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, where it was expected to fare poorly, the BJP won four seats, while the Telangana Rashtra Samiti got nine. IMAGE: BJP supporters celebrate. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters However, Andhra Pradesh threw up a shock in the assembly polls, which were held simultaneously, voting out of power the Telugu Desam Party of Chandrababu Naidu, and electing Jagan Mohan Reddy's Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress. The results were staggering for BJP in the Hindi-speaking states, including those where Congress had won in the recent assembly elections: it swept all but one of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 24 out of 25 in Rajasthan and nine out of 11 in Chattisgarh. Similar was the story in Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and Delhi. Among the big-name casualties were Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge who lost his Kalburgi seat in Karnataka and Jyotiraditya Scindia in Guna Madhya Pradesh. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh lost the Bhopal seat to Sadhvi Pragya Sharma. The BJP also made huge gains in Odisha, West Bengal and Telangana. In Odisha, the BJP was ahead in eight of the 21 seats, up from one last time. In West Bengal, it won 18 seats, up from two in 2014, all at the expense of the Left while the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congresss tally came down to 22 from 34. In Telangana, the BJP won four. Congress ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won 22 seats and was ahead in one of the 38 seats in Tamil Nadu while in Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front won 18 out of 20 seats. The absence of its charismatic leader late J Jayalalithaa appeared to have cost the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam dear as it is staring at a virtual rout with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam staging a spectacular electoral comeback in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. -- INDIA DECIDES From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha with 37 seats, the AIADMK has to now contend with single digit tally, pushed to the third spot behind arch rival DMK and Congress despite fighting the polls as part of a "mega alliance" with parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party. Trends in the counting of votes polled in the April 18 elections indicate a possibility of victory in only two of the 20 Parliamentary constituencies AIADMK contested, of the total 38 in the state. The AIADMK fought the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on its own and Jayalaalithaa had famously said then "this lady is better than BJP's Modi" as she led the party to the landslide victory. In a total reversal, DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance is ahead in 36 seats, leaving AIADMK far behind with leads in just two seats as Tamil Nadu remained untouched by the "Modi wave". Ousted leader TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam damaged the prospects of the AIADMK in several constituencies though the new party is not in a position to win seats. The downslide of AIADMK saw heavyweights including Deputy Speaker in outgoing Lok Sabha M Thambidurai trailing by huge margins. Its ally BJP's nominee and union minister Pon Radhakrishan is also facing defeat in Kanyakumari seat. Striking an alliance with the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls, AIADMK top guns Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam had bet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership to steer the nation. The ruling party campaign by Palaniswami took pride that the AIADMK-led combine is a "mega coalition" and would win the polls hands down. In all campaign meetings, Palaniswami did not miss an opportunity to mention about how the country was safe in the hands of Modi -- a reference to the Balakot air strikes -- and why such a secure ambience was essential for development. Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah addressed rallies in Tamil Nadu, highlighting how the Central government had facilitated several schemes, including setting up of an AIIMS Hospital near Madurai. The DMK targeted the AIADMK regime as being 'subservient' to the BJP-led government 'compromising' interests of Tamil Nadu on a host of issues, including on the National Eligbility cum Entrance Test. The NEET, over a period of time emerged as an emotive issue, especially among the youth. The only saving grace for AIADMK was that Panneerselvam's son P Raveendranathkumar was ahead of his nearest Congress rival E V K S Elangovan in Theni and P Chandrasekar leading in Chidambaram by a slender margin. AIADMK candidates too are trailing in all the three seats in Chennai and in the party's traditional strongholds, including Pollachi in western Tamil Nadu. Riding on the crest of the Modi wave, Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday dished out a grand performance in Uttar Pradesh, halting the efforts of the fledgling 'mahagathbandhan' to challenge the saffron brigade in the crucial Hindi heartland state. IMAGE: BJP party workers celebrate after their party marched to a landslide victory. Photograph: Atul Loke/Getty Images As counting progressed past midnight, the BJP and the Apna Dal-Sonelal consolidated their position, winning 64 seats together out of the 80 seats at stake. The Bahujan Samaj Party won 10, while its alliance partner the Samajwadi Party won five. Congress won the lone Raebareli seat of Sonia Gandhi. In 2014 polls, BJP had won 71 seats and its ally Apna Dal-S two, while Samajwadi Party bagged five seats and Congress two. In three bypolls, the opposition had wrested Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana from the BJP. This time, the Modi wave not only smashed the SP-BSP alliance, but also uprooted Congress president Rahul Gandhi from the party bastion of Amethi, where Union minister Smriti Irani was leading comfortably to avenge her defeat in 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won from Varanasi seat defeating his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of SP by a margin of 4,79,505 votes, bettering his previous margin of 3,71,784 votes in 2014. Sonia Gandhi retained Rae Bareli seat, defeating her nearest rival by 1,67,178 votes, the EC website said. SP-BSP had supported Sonia Gandhi on this seat in Uttar Pradesh, once its favourite hunting ground. Samajawadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav won Mainpuri seat, while his son and SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who contested from Azamgarh, won by 2.59 lakh votes. But the scene was not so rosy for other members of the Yadav clan as Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple and his cousin Dharmendra lost in Kannuaj and Badaun, respectively. His another cousin Akshay lost from Firozabad, where Akhilesh's feuding uncle's presence as Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia candidate queered the pitch of the SP. A notable SP victory was that of party veteran Azam Khan, known for making controversial remarks, from Rampur where he was fighting against actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada. He defeated his nearest rival Jaya Prada by over one lakh votes. Mayawati's BSP had drawn a blank last time, but this time her alliance with the SP appeared to have paid her dividends as her party won 10 seats. Just ahead of the election, the SP and the BSP had cobbled together an alliance. The BSP contested 38 seats, the SP 37, leaving three for the Rashtriya Lok Dal. The alliance did not put up any candidate in Amethi and Raebareli. But, despite the alliance, the RLD could not open its account with all the three candidates losing to the BJP. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has retained Lucknow seat by defeating his nearest rival Poonam Sinha by over 3.4 lakh votes. Union minister Maneka Gandhi won from Sultanpur seat, defeating her nearest rival BSP candidate Chandra Bhadra Singh Sonu by over 14,000 votes. She won by a margin of 14,526 votes, the EC said. Union Minister Mahesh Sharma retained his Gautam Buddh Nagar Lok Sabha seat, bagging 8.30 lakh votes and BJP leader Hema Malini retained her Mathura seat by defeating RLD candidate Kunwar Narendra Singh. The actor-politician defeated Singh by a margin of 2,93,471 votes. Union minister and leader of Apna Dal-Sonelal Anupriya Patel won from Mirzapur by 2,32,008 votes. Reacting to poll results and party's poor performance, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet said, "Janmat sweekaar. Uttar Pradesh ki sammanit janta va karyakartaon ko dhanyawaad (Mandate accepted. Thanks to the honourable voters of Uttar Pradesh and party workers)." Mayawati termed the Lok Sabha poll results unprecedented and raised doubts over EVMs. "Several shortcomings of conducting elections through EVMs have come to our notice and there is opposition to EVMs all over the country," she said. Union minister Smriti Irani, who was poised to wrest Amethi seat from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, quoted a line from a famous poem to assert that nothing was impossible. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attributed the impressive show by his party to the "alert voters" who he said have rejected the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) of opposition parties. "It is high time for the opposition to introspect and shun politics of negativity," Adityanath said, giving full credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for the "historic victory". Meanwhile, as the polls results declared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been re-elected, people in Varanasi claimed that Modi has once again got the blessings of Baba Kashi Vishwanath and Kal Bhairav -- Kashi ke Kotwaal (the guardian of Kashi). Last updated on: May 24, 2019 00:43 IST As counting of the ballot for 542 Lok Sabha seats for the world's largest democracy is underway, the Bharatiya Janata Party is surging ahead of all its rivals. With early trends in favour of the BJP, party workers and supporters burst into celebrations at various party offices as well as its headquarters in New Delhi. Workers distributed sweets, raised slogans and were seen dancing on the beats of drums at various places. -- INDIA VOTES This little boy is wearing his love for the PM literally on his sleeve. Swarm of party workers wore T-shirts bearing messages like 'NaMo Again', 'Chowkidar Phir Se' and 'Phir ek baar Modi Sarkar'. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters BJP supporters play the dhol as the party celebrates its victory in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo BJP workers celebrate party's lead in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, in Varanasi. Photograph: PTI Photo Modi cutouts featured everywhere as supporters came out on to the streets to cheer the party's triumph. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo Pana Devi, wife of Union Minister and BJP candidate Arjun Ram Meghwal, and party workers celebrate BJP's lead in the Lok Sabha elections, in Bikaner. Photograph: PTI Photo BJP supporters smear saffron coloured powder on each other as they celebrate the party's performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Supporters burst firecrackers to celebrate the BJP's impending victory. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters The BJP flag flies high as followers can't contain their happiness. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters WATCH: Supporters celebrate outside BJP's Jaipur office Here's to a MoDified India! Fans celebrate the BJP's victory in many innovative ways. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com BJP supporters dance the Bhangra outside the Mumbai party headquarters. BJP supporters celebrate after learning the initial election results outside the party headquarters in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters BJP flags flew high in Ahmedabad as early trends show the party sweeping the national elections. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Photograph:Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com With the trends showing a BJP sweep, celebrations broke out in the morning at the party headquarter in Mumbai's Nariman Point. Striking a conciliatory political tone, he also reached out to his rivals, urging everyone to put the rancour of the bitter and often nasty campaign behind them. -- INDIA DECIDES Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised to devote "every moment" of his time and "every fibre" of his being for the people of India and said the country will now have only two castes -- the poor and those who want to alleviate poverty. In a rousing speech at the party headquarters to celebrate the Bharatiya Janata Party's spectacular victory, Modi told cheering supporters that the election has thrown up a mandate to build a new India. "People are chanting Modi, Modi. But this is not a victory of Modi, it is the victory of people who are desperate for honesty in the system. "It is not Modi's victory, but a win of people's hope and aspirations," Modi said. Striking a conciliatory political tone, he also reached out to his rivals, urging everyone to put the rancour of the bitter and often nasty campaign behind them. What's past is past, he said. "We have to move ahead. We have to take everyone with us, even our opponents. We have to work for the benefit of the country," he said. "You have filled this fakir's bag with a lot of hope. All your hopes, dreams, ambitions are dependent on it," he said. This is the victory of toiling farmers who struggle to feed the nation, this is the victory of those who now live in proper houses, this is the victory of the middle class which follows the rules, pays taxes, but wondered if his taxes were being used for the benefit of the country, he said. In the last five years, people have realised that the money they are contributing in taxes has been put to nation-building, he said. Addressing the countrymen directly, Modi said he will not do anything with bad intention, even though, he added, he may at times commit a mistake on job. "I will not do anything for myself," he said, signalling the noisy crowd to keep quiet and then added, "I will devote every moment of my time and every fibre of my being for my countrymen." "Whenever you judge me, judge me on these three parameters. If I fall short on these, curse me. But I assure my countrymen that what I have said in public I will do my best to fulfil," he said. Values and spirit of democracy and the Constitution enjoin his government to take everyone along as the country is run with consensus, he said. In a jibe at BJP's rivals, who are seen as the secular counter to the saffron party's Hindutva agenda, he said people who used to proudly wear a "fake tag" of secularism did not talk about it at all. "The opposition did not dare to mislead the country while wearing the false mask of secularism. The opposition did not accuse us of raising prices. All previous elections were fought on corruption issues. This was the first one in which any political party could not level even one charge of corruption," he said People in the 2019 elections have put forth a new narrative, he said, adding that only two "castes" will remain in the country; the poor and those contributing to alleviating poverty. Voters have dealt a huge blow to the parties doing politics in the names of castes, he said. The prime minister said the verdict has vindicated his view that it was not parties but people who fought this election. Modi also drew a Mahabharat war parallel with the elections. Krishna was asked after the war which side he supported and he answered that he stood for Hastinapur, and people have spoken in the elections that they stood for India, the prime minister said. "We were not disappointed when we won only two seats (in 1984). We will not leave our humility, ideals and values when we have come back to power," Modi said. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photos, Vijay Verma/PTI Photos He lost his bastion Amethi, failed as party president, handing the Bharatiya Janata Party an unprecedented victory, and left many with this question -- is it time to write Rahul Gandhi's political epitaph? IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi greets a supporter after his press conference in which he admitted defeat and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his victory. Photograph: ANI Photo In a classic case of win some and lose plenty, Gandhi was poised to enter the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala with trends showing he might win with more than 7 lakh votes, amongst the highest totals in this Lok Sabha election. Dismissed as Pappu by some and crown prince by others, Gandhi appeared to take the poll debacle on the chin, congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for their win and also expressing the hope that the BJP's Smriti Irani takes care of Amethi "with love". "I accept 100 per cent responsibility," Gandhi said at a press conference after it became evident the party was headed for a rout. He sidestepped a question on whether he will resign, saying it was for the CWC to take a call on this. Gandhi singularly led the 2019 campaign, holding 150 rallies, 10 press conferences and many road shows during the poll campaign starting February. But it came to nought. -- INDIA DECIDES As the grand old party prepared for five years in the pale shadows of its glorious past, it seemed the party may not get the Leader of Opposition status in the Lok Sabha for the second time in a row. The shock verdict will be fully attributable to the 48-year-old and his sister and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The brother and sister were the star campaigners for the Congress in this election and together steered the party narrative and line. This was the first Lok Sabha election where their mother, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, did not campaign and neither did former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Many in the party questioned the strategy of keeping Singh away from the campaign circuit. That the Congress managed a measly gain of around 10 per cent since it won 44 MPs, its lowest ever in the 2014 LS polls, makes matters worse for Gandhi who took over as party president in December 2017 and promised a revival. Until late last year, when Gandhi successfully captained the party to victory in the three Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it seemed he was in some position to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. IMAGE: Members of the media sit at the Congress party headquarters in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Gandhi has grown in confidence over the years, addressing press conferences, answering questions and tackling the BJP government on a host of issues. He often challenged Modi to a debate. But the gains were soon squandered as the Congress dithered on strategy for national elections jumping from issue to issue and never quite understanding what would work. The party and its president, it seemed, were also unable to articulate their views effectively enough. The Rafale fighter jet deal was one such example, turning a cropper in the electoral battlefield, party leaders said. Although Gandhi addressed over 10 press conferences on the issue in the hope that it would stick, results show people were not even listening. Party insiders privately speak of having flagged the futility of Rafale to Gandhi but to no avail. What's worse was the "chowkidar chor hai" slogan Gandhi coined for Modi and used it relentlessly during the campaign. Modi turned it around with his counter "Main bhi chowkidar" to great effect. Results show Modi's counter was accepted by the people -- something a section of Congress leaders had a hunch about. Veteran Congress people were therefore never heard raising the "chowkidar" slogan which many thought was needless and negative. Gandhi's flagship minimum income guarantee scheme "Nyay", which he personally steered, also came rather late in the day and eventually did not resonate on the ground. "It seems the 'Chowkidaar' proved heavy over the 'Nyay' scheme and the Rs 72,000 per year dole to wipe out poverty from the country did not work," a party veteran said. Party leaders also said the top leadership would have to sit and deliberate on why their narrative failed to resonate on the ground. Gandhi's personal decision to not strike potential alliances with the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and Bahujan Samaj Party-Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and to field his own candidates against anti-BJP fronts also proved dear. That the Congress, once led by titans like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, has come to look like regional players is a matter of huge concern to Congress veterans who feel Gandhi would need to undertake brutal and honest personal and organisational dissection to keep the party afloat. Last updated on: May 23, 2019 11:59 IST The Congress on Wednesday slammed the Modi government over what it called "foreign minister-level talks" with Pakistan, alleging with the end of electoral politics pro-Pakistan policy has begun. Photograph: @rssurjewala/Twitter The sharp attack came after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi exchanged pleasantries during a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Bishkek on Wednesday and sat next to each other during a joint call on Kyrgyz president. Reacting to the development, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, "Election Over, Votes Garnered, Pulwama Martyrs Forgotten!" "Foreign Minister-level talks with Pakistan begin, business as usual!" he added. Electoral politics over, pro-Pakistan policy begins, he said, posting a photograph of the two leaders sitting next to each other. Swaraj and Qureshi attended the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO, which was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Pakistani media reported that the two leaders sat next to each other during a multilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the SCO. According to the photos published by the Pakistani media, Swaraj and Qureshi were seen seated next to each other. On being asked about the Swaraj-Qureshi meeting, the MEA sources said the two leaders only exchanged pleasantries. "There was no meeting between them," they said. The picture of the two leaders is from a joint call on on Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, they said. Swaraj arrived in Bishkek in the Kyrgyz capital on Tuesday to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting. India was granted the membership of the SCO along with Pakistan in 2017. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the February 14 Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group which killed 40 CRPF personnel. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an Indian pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1. Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday he takes "100 per cent" responsibility for the defeat in Lok Sabha polls and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party on their spectacular victory, but asserted his party will continue to fight the ideological battle with the saffron party. IMAGE: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi addresses a press conference on Thursday. Photograph: @INCIndia/Twitter Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said the Congress Working Committee will meet soon and decide whether he should resign as the party chief following the electoral debacle. "I congratulate Narendra Modiji and BJP for their electoral victory. People of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect that," Gandhi said. He said he accepts the people's verdict and congratulated the winners. "I take 100 per cent responsibility for this defeat," he told reporters. "Our candidates fought with whole of heart and courage. I want to thank them from my heart. Our fight is that of an ideology. There are two different set of thinkings -- one is that of Narendra Modi and BJP, and the other one is Congress... We would have to accept that in this election, BJP and Narendra Modi have won," he added. The Congress could manage to add only a few seats to its 2014 tally of 44 seats. Gandhi has conceded defeat in Amethi, a traditional bastion of his family, to BJP's Smriti Irani but won from the second seat he contested in Kerala's Wayanad. "I accept the verdict of the people of India. Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi and the NDA. Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP. Thank you also to the people of Amethi. Thank you Congress workers and leaders for your hard work in this campaign," Gandhi tweeted later. Asked if he would step down as the Congress president, Gandhi said, "We will have a meeting of the Working Committee. And they will decide that there." Asked again whether he would offer to resign, he replied, "That you can leave between me and the Working Committee." "Frankly today, with all due respect, is the day of the mandate and I don't want to colour the decision of the people of India by getting into a long conversation with you about what I think, went wrong. "Frankly today, it doesn't matter what I think went wrong, what matter is that the people of India have decided that Shri Narendra Modi is going to be prime minister and as an Indian, I fully respect people's verdict," he said. "I want to say that today is not the day for me to go into the details of this mandate. Today is the day that a new prime minister has been elected and today is the day to wish him all the best and, hopefully, he will look after the interests of this country," he said. Gandhi said Congress will continue to fight the ideological battle with BJP and asked his party workers and leaders to not be afraid. Gandhi also congratulated Irani, his rival in Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, on her victory. The Congress president had won three consecutive terms since 2004. "On Amethi results, I would like to say that Smriti Irani has won... Amethi's people have taken a decision and I respect it. This is democracy. I would like that Smriti Iraniji would take care of Amethi with love and I hope that she will reward the trust that Amethi's people have placed in her," he said. Gandhi said there are a lot of people who believe in the Congress's ideology and he would like to assure them there is nothing to worry. "I had said during the campaign that whatever you say to me or whatever you say to abuse me, I will be responding with love. And I would like to say that whatever may happen now, I will be responding with love only. This is my philosophy," he added. IMAGE: BJP candidate for Bhopal seat Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur flashes the victory sign as she arrives at old Central Jail where counting of votes in progress for Lok Sabha election results, in Bhopal, on Thursday. Photograph: PTI Photo As many as 28 out of 41 sitting women MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Hema Malini and Kirron Kher, retained their seats in Lok Sabha polls, but the likes of Smriti Irani and Pragya Thakur stole the show with the extent of their victories over their more renowned rivals. Among prominent faces who were re-elected to Lok Sabha are Rae Bareli Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Sultanpur candidate Maneka Gandhi who is a sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Pilibhit, Mathura BJP MP Malini, Chandigarh BJP candidate Kher and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi. Irani emerged as a giant-killer -- this time scripting a historic win by dethroning Rahul Gandhi in the Congress's home turf Amethi. Controversial BJP candidate from Bhopal and terror-accused Thakur won against Congress's bigwig Digvijay Singh. Other prominent names who will enter Parliament are Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Thoothukkudi Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and BJP's Rita Bahuguna, who is leading from Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad constituency. Locket Chatterjee, Bengali actress-turned-politician from the BJP, is also leading with over 46 per cent votes in the Hoogly constituency. IMAGE: Union minister and BJP candidate from Amethi seat Smriti Irani at a counting centre in Amethi, on Thursday. Irani has emerged victorious against Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Photograph: PTI Photo 16 women MPs re-contesting from their seat and are set to be re-elected from the BJP, while Sonia Gandhi is the only sitting MP from the Congress who has won. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led the BJP towards what is certain to be a spectacular victory for a second term in office, as his message of nationalism, security, Hindu pride and a New India was wholeheartedly embraced by voters across large swathes of the country. The Congress had fielded 54 women candidates. It was closely followed by the ruling BJP, which had fielded 53 women. Among the other national parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party fielded 24 women candidates, the Trinamool Congress 23, the Communist Party of India-Marxist 10, the Communist Party of India four, while the Nationalist Congress Party fielded one woman candidate. As many as 222 women contested the polls independently. A total of 8,049 candidates were in the fray in the parliamentary polls. Four transgender candidates contested the elections independently, while the Aam Aadmi Party was the only party to field a transgender nominee. But all transgender candidates lost in the polls. The highest number of candidates were fielded from Uttar Pradesh at 104, followed by Maharashtra. Sixty-four women candidates have been fielded from Tamil Nadu, 55 from Bihar and 54 from West Bengal. A total of 724 women candidates were in the fray for the Lok Sabha election. Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said he would not blame the electronic voting machines for the defeat of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party parties in the Lok Sabha polls and added he has gracefully accepted the people's mandate. The NCP, along with other opposition parties, had repeatedly raised concerns over the possibility of EVM tampering. Pawar said the opposition parties had anticipated the BJP would do well in certain states, but did not expect "such a big victory" across the country. "Doubts were indeed raised (about EVMs functioning)," Pawar told reporters in Mumbai. "But I don't want to blame the machines now since the result is out. Once the verdict is out, it has to be accepted gracefully and I am accepting it gracefully," he said. Pawar said the "spectre of suspicion" indeed prevailed in the minds of people in the run up to the polls. He added that such a suspicion was never raised in the past elections and cited some instances including the Congress getting around 400 seats under Rajiv Gandhi's leadership in 1984 to drive home his point. The NCP chief said his party would introspect the result and toil to better its prospects in the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year. Pawar had recently raised concerns over the use of EVMs in polls, claiming he himself had once seen during a presentation that a vote cast for his party went in the BJP's favour. Pawar, however, had said he did not claim that all EVMs function in such a way. "I am also concerned about the machine. In Hyderabad and Gujarat, some people kept an EVM before me and asked me to press a button. "I pressed the button against 'watch' (the NCP's symbol) and the vote got cast in favour of 'lotus' (the BJP's symbol). I saw it happening myself," Pawar had said. -- INDIA DECIDES As the results show the Bharatiya Janata Party leading with a huge margin, world leaders are congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his thumping victory. -- INDIA DECIDES IMAGE: A boy dresses like Prime Minister Narendra Modi as BJP supporters carry him during the celebration of the party's victory in General Election at party headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. Photograph: R Raveendran/ANI Photo "Congratulations to Prime Minister @NarendraModi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory! Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together." -- Donald Trump, US president "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia" -- Imran Khan, Pakistani prime minister "I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India." -- Vladimir Putin, Russian president President Xi noted the great importance he attached to the development of India-China relations and his desire to work with Prime Minister Modi to take the closer development partnership between the two countries to a new height. President Xi also expressed satisfaction at the strong momentum of development in India-China relations in recent years with the joint efforts of both the sides -- Xi Jinping, Chinese president "Sincerely greetings to you, my friend @Narendramodi, for your impressive victory in the elections! The election results are another confirmation of your leadership and the way you lead the world's greatest democracy. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights." -- Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister "Congratulations to @narendramodi on a magnificent victory! We look forward to working closely with you." -- Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan prime minister "Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a strong mandate from the people of India. The government & the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between our two democracies" -- Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan president "I extend warmest congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi ji for landslide election victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019. I wish all success ahead. I look forward to working closely with you. #PMOIndia" -- K P Sharma Oli, Nepalese prime minister "I, on behalf of the people of Bhutan, offer heartiest congratulations to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi @PMOIndia and his team on the election victory. As we look forward to working closely in years to come, we pray India achieves greater success under your leadership. -- Lotay Tshering, Bhutanese prime minister HARTFORD Democratic legislative leaders, Gov. Ned Lamont, and state Comptroller Kevin Lembo unveiled a sweeping new bill Thursday that would change how health insurance is sold to individuals and small businesses in Connecticut. The new legislation ditches the idea of allowing small businesses to join the state employee health insurance pool. Instead, the bill would require health insurance companies bidding for an unknown group of businesses and individuals in a new pool managed by Lembos office to lower premiums by 20 percent. Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, said the plans offered to individuals and businesses through this new pool would come with a guaranteed reduction in costs. The premiums in 2022, the first year the plans would be offered, would be 20 percent lower than the average premiums for individuals and small group plans offered on the exchange in 2020, rates for which are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. If the insurance companies offering plans through the new Connecticut Option dont meet that benchmark, then the General Assembly could come back and decide to create a true government-run public option. Its unknown how many insurance companies would seek to bid to provide insurance for the Connecticut Option, but the plans will be offered both on and off AccessHealthCT, the states health insurance exchange. The new legislation, according to a press release, would also reinstitute the individual mandate on individuals who choose not to purchase insurance. The federal mandate was eliminated a year ago, but Connecticuts legislation would bring it back to the level it was at when it expired. The mandate was $695 per adult or 2.5 percent of annual income, whichever is greater. Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, said they expect the individual mandate to generate $25 million. It would also require the state to apply to the federal government for a reinsurance waiver to help reduce the costs of the program. In addition the proposal places a small tax on prescription opioids. The revenue collected from that tax will help restore Medicaid coverage to several thousand of the Husky A parents who lost access to the program under the states last budget. It also requires the state to petition the federal government for permission to import prescription drugs from Canada at greatly reduced prices. Lembo described the legislation as Historic for Connecticut. Historic for the nation. He said what they are doing with the legislation is the most important thing they can do as policymakers to help small businesses grow and prosper. The bill has the potential to change the trend on medical costs, Lembo said. It has the potential to change the trend on increased deductibles and pushing people further and further away from care while theyre simultaneously paying more for the underlying policy. It also has the power to disrupt the market, which is failing, Lembo said. The plan increases competition in the market by requiring insurance companies that serve state employees to also provide cost-effective plans through the exchange, according to a press release. There are only two insurance companies currently offering plans to individuals on the exchange, ConnectiCare and Anthem. When Connecticuts exchange first opened in 2013 there were four insurance companies participating. Susan Halpin, head of the Association of CT Health Plans that represents the insurance industry in Connecticut, said they cant support the legislation. We believe the current legislation, as drafted, continues down the path toward government-run health insurance and we principally cannot support its passage. As the Insurance Capitol of the World, we should be embracing the growth of the health plan jobs here. If the aim is to reduce rates, we should be looking at all the cost drivers in our excellent but expensive health system. As health plans, we stand ready to meet that challenge and work with anyone that wants to advance true market-based solutions. We appreciate the Governors offices effort to mediate the bill. Lamont said hes been speaking with the insurance industry about the legislation. I wanted them at the table and I want them at the table moving forward, Lamont said. Scanlon said the insurance industry might not embrace this, but they are having a constructive dialogue with them. Lesser said a lot of whats in the bill are ideas that came from the insurance industry. A number of advocates have been pushing for this type of legislation for a decade. We have heard too many stories from small employers and families across the state that they cannot access the health care they need because insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs are out of control, said Frances G. Padilla, president of Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut. Our state must step up and help those left behind in the current health care market. This bill could make a real difference for thousands of small businesses and individuals. But not everyone was impressed with the proposal. An insurance industry lobbyist is the one who handed a copy of the bill to Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, and Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano late Wednesday night. How do you have a press conference on one of the most significant changes on health care law from an insurance mandate, to prescription drugs, to private insurance without ever having at the very least any conversation with the minority party of this building, Fasano said. Fasano said there was no public hearing on any part of the draft legislation introduced by Democrats with eight session days left. I just believe the whole process to be deceitful, Kelly said. Kelly said many of the problems with the health insurance industry are related to the failures of the Affordable Care Act. Weve been trying to work with them on it, Kelly said. We put forward ideas and now were shut out of the room. Setting aside the 11th-hour threat of a gubernatorial veto, the state Senate voted 21-15 Wednesday night to pass a Democratic bill that would create a paid family and medical leave insurance policy, a step toward a long-sought goal of labor progressives. Passage ignited a celebration in the Senate chamber and gallery, but its final path to becoming law requires a victory in the House and the passage of a separate bill addressing Gov. Ned Lamonts demand that the measure must be revised to encourage private insurers to bid on the new line of business. The disagreement with the governor was largely ignored during the debate of six-plus hours, a tactical decision by Democrats who focused on their common ground with the governor, leaving for another day what separates them. The really good news here is that we agree with the governor, with the House on the fundamental elements of this bill, Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, said before the debate began. This bill will provide working families with time off to take care of their kids with wage replacement, so that they dont have to pick between their family members and a paycheck. Kushner, a former UAW leader who unseated a conservative Republican last year and is now co-chair of the legislatures Labor and Public Employee Committee, pumped her first in towards allies in the gallery upon passage, then accepted the hugs of colleagues. The debate in the Senate explored a deeper clash of philosophies in the legislature, pitting a Democratic commitment to replicating a new social benefit available in neighboring states and most industrialized nations against a Republican call to trust in the free markets and goodwill of private employers. Sen. Joan V. Hartley, D-Waterbury, was the only Democrat to vote with the Republican minority. The result was dictated by the 2018 elections in which Democrats made their first state legislative gains since 2008, regaining solid control of the General Assembly. After two years of a closely divided legislature, the Democrats now have majorities of 22-14 in the Senate and 91-50 in the House. The Democratic plan would provide 12 weeks of wage replacement to nearly every private-sector worker who falls ill or needs to care for a family member, including the poorest of the working poor, the men and women who juggle minimum-wage jobs that often provide no benefits. But Republicans note those workers would have no choice in purchasing that coverage at a annual cost of $156 for minimum-wage workers and a maximum of $664.50 for those with six-figure incomes. Those premiums would be paid by a payroll tax on workers of one-half of one-percent. Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said the Democrats message is Let us control your life. If the bill becomes law, benefits would become payable on July 1, 2021. Payroll subjected to the new tax would be based on the amount of annual earnings subject to Social Security taxes, currently $132,900. Benefits would be calculated on a sliding scale, according to income. A worker earning $600 a week would receive benefits equal to 95 percent of wages, or $570. The rationale is that someone working close to minimum wage could not afford to take leave without getting close to current wages. According to calculations by Senate Democrats, the replacement wages at other weekly income levels would go lower for higher eaners: 80 percent for someone making $1,040; 70 percent for $1,280; 61 percent for $1,480; and 56 percent for $1,600. Total weekly compensation could not exceed 60 times the minimum wage. With a $15 minimum wage expected to take effect in 2023, that would yield a maximum weekly benefit of $3,600. CentralSquare, a Lake Mary, Fla.-based provider of public safety and public administration software in North America, acquired Tellus Safety Solutions, LLC, the leader in connecting multiple computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems used by emergency responders. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Following the deal, CentralSquare will continue to support and upgrade all Tellus products for current customers. Formed by the merger of Superion, TriTech along with Zuercher, and the public sector and healthcare business of Aptean, and led by Simon Angove, CEO, CentralSquare is a provider of public safety and public administration software, serving over 7,650 organizations from the largest metropolitan city to counties and towns of every size across North America. Its technology platform provides solutions for public safety, including 911, computer aided dispatch, records management, mobile, citations, evidence management and corrections. For public administration agencies, the company provides software for finance, human capital management, payroll, utility billing, citizen engagement, asset management, regulatory compliance and community development. For hospitals and clinicians, it provides patient information, compliance and analytics software. Led by President Jonathan Mitchell, Tellus is a standards-based information-sharing technology that connects and integrates with most independent CAD systems. By joining CAD systems together, dispatchers can correctly identify closest-available resources and coordinate emergency response across many agencies and jurisdictions. FinSMEs 23/05/2019 Cvent, a meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, acquired Wedding Spot, a San Francisco, Calif.-based wedding venue sourcing platform. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. The acquisition of Wedding Spot enables Cvent to bring additional group business opportunities to the more than 260,000 hotels and venues that currently utilize its Cvent Supplier Network, further accelerating its product roadmap and global growth in the hospitality sector. Founded in 2013, Wedding Spot offers its more than 12,000 venues across the U.S. direct access to couples looking for their wedding venue. Within the Wedding Spot platform, couples can quickly source and compare their preferred locale. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of HoneyBook, a business and financial management platform for solopreneurs and freelancers. Founded in 2013, HoneyBook is based in San Francisco and funded by Citi Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Aleph, Vintage Investment Partners, Hillsven Capital and UpWest Labs. Led by Reggie Aggarwal, CEO and founder, Cvent is a meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider with more than 4,000 employees, 25,000 customers, and 300,000 users worldwide. The Cvent Event Cloud offers software solutions to event planners and marketers for online event registration, venue selection, event management and marketing, onsite solutions, and attendee engagement. FinSMEs 23/05/2019 Authorities in Cambodia are cracking down on noodle dinners attended by supporters of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), in what analysts and rights groups say signals political paranoia on the part of Prime Minister and his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP). On Thursday, some 30 police officers descended on a noodle dinner in Treal communes Prey village, in Banteay Meanchey provinces Svay Chek district, as around 100 people gathered as part of a ceremony to honor their ancestors, according to former Svay Chek CNRP official Yath Pirum. Diners were compelled to finish their meals, he told RFAs Khmer Service, noting that around 10 of the attendees were formerly elected CNRP commune councilors who were forced to give up their seats after the Supreme Court banned the party in November 2017 for its role in an alleged plot to topple the government. We were eating when the police came in by force, causing some of our people to become terrified and try to leave, he said. I strongly condemn such acts by the police. This kind of intimidation is absolutely unacceptable. Are we criminals or terrorists, that we be treated like that? Our people gathered to hold a ritual and traditional ceremony, and its sad that we were treated this way. Chhay Kim Khoeun, a spokesman for the National Police, told RFA there is no policy in place ordering local authorities to prevent people from gathering for noodles in their villages or their homes, and insisted that the police in Prey village were on a routine patrol to provide security and maintain public order. Police are at work 24 hours a day, and my forces are deployed to protect the people at all times, he said. We carry out regular patrols in the villagesthis is something we call business as usual. We didnt single out the noodle dinner as something that required special attention. I think those people were simply frightened by the police presence. Thursdays incident came just two days after another group of around 100 CNRP activists in Poipet were also harassed and questioned by police while gathering for a noodle dinner. In recent weeks, 35 former CNRP officials and activists have been summoned by the Battambang Provincial Court over violating the ban on the party. To date, 26 have appeared at the courtseveral of whom told RFA they were questioned over being seen in public eating together last year at a noodle shop run by the former CNRP chief of OCha commune, Sin Rozeth, or had met for noodles at the home of CNRP executive director for Battambang, Chea Chiv. At least 35 others have been summoned for questioning in Kampong Thom province after they expressed support in social media posts for CNRP President Kem Sokha, who is under de facto house arrest while being investigated for treason, and acting CNRP President Sam Rainsy, who lives in self-imposed exile in France. Government paranoia On Thursday, Sam Chankea, an official with local rights group Adhoc in Banteay Meanchey, told RFA that while gathering for noodles is not illegal, police harassment is. Under the constitution, he added, Cambodians are entitled to freedom of expression and assembly, and are provided with the right to engage in political activities. Their rights are protected by the constitutionany kind of peaceful gathering or socializing is healthy, he said. The people shall enjoy these rights without any restriction. Political analyst Kim Sok said the government is afraid that the public will form an opposition movement in response to worsening human rights conditions and democratic rollbacks. But the government is not too paranoid that they will refrain from crushing any movement they view as a threat, he warned. They will do anything to stop people from challenging their unpopular power. Brad Adams, New York-based Human Rights Watchs Asia director, told RFA that authorities might think they can get away with harassing activists in more remote parts of Cambodia because they are not people that diplomats usually know personally. The fact that theyre doing this at the provincial level is probably an attempt to avoid doing it too openly in Phnom Penh, where diplomats and the media [are watching], but Cambodia now has Facebook and a lot of internet connectivity, so they cant hide this very well, he said. This is a very, very clumsy attempt to try to scare people into ending their opposition to the government. Adams said that when the government reverts to these kinds of scare tactics, its because Hun Sen is feeling very insecure and paranoid. I guess he realizes that hes failed in his normal divide-and-rule policy, he said. Hes been trying for almost two years to divide Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha and all of their followers into competing camps, but hes failed because theyvefor the most partstuck together. I guess this is an attempt to try to divide them at the grassroots level. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Chinese officials have hauled Hong Kong-based foreign journalists in for a lecture over their reporting on legislation to allow renditions of criminal suspects from the city to mainland China, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing thinks should be less negative, according to an official website. The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had held a briefing with reporters and senior editors from Reuters, Kyodo News, the Financial Times, CNN and CNBC to address their reporting of a bitter political row over planned amendments to the city's Fugitive Offenders Ordinance. Deputy commissioner Song Ru'an told the journalists to be "fair, balanced and objective", and to "inject some positive energy" into their reporting of the issue, the commission said in a statement on its website. "The central government in Beijing fully supports the [Hong Kong] government's plan to amend these two laws," Song told the journalists, in a reference to a twin amendment that would allow the Hong Kong authorities to confiscate the assets of anyone deemed a criminal suspect by the mainland Chinese authorities. "I hope that the foreign journalists based in Hong Kong will report on these amendments in a fair, objective and balanced manner," he said, repeating previous comments from Chinese officials that the amendments are urgently required. One of the journalists who attended the session, James Pomfret from Reuters, quoted Song as saying that it was "highly deplorable" that foreign governments and "external forces" had weighed in on the matter, according to Hong Kong government broadcaster RTHK. The move comes after widespread criticism of the amendments both in Hong Kong and overseas, as it would potentially expose anyone in Hong Kong to targeting by officials in China, which lacks human rights protections, legal due process, and judicial independence. The Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned on that the planned changes, which are highly likely to get through a Legislative Council (LegCo) packed with pro-Beijing lawmakers, would "allow Beijing to legally prey on residents and visitors, including journalists and their sources." "The news has generated extreme concern in the Hong Kong media community, considering that more than 65 journalists are currently jailed in China in life threatening conditions," RSF said in a statement. "While on paper the bill would exclude political and economic crimes as well as cases where human rights are at risk, many fear that the Hong Kong authorities would not have the ability to reject Beijings requests," it said. Legalizing cross-border abductions RSF's East Asia bureau chief Cedric Alviani said the amendments would effective legalize cross-border abductions such as that of Swedish national and Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai from Thailand and that of U.K. national Lee Bo, also known as Lee Po, from Hong Kong in 2015. "If such a regulation was adopted, Beijing would no longer have to resort to abduction, and would simply be able to seize whoever they wish to silence under a false accusation," Alviani warned. RSF said Hong Kongs ranking in its Press Freedom Index had plummeted from 18th in 2002 to 73rd this year, while China ranked 177th out of 180 in the 2019 index. A review by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission earlier this month warned that the amended law could increase Hong Kong's political vulnerability and further erode the city's promised autonomy. The report found that the bill would remove independent legislative oversight in the extradition process and undermine strong legal protections guaranteed in Hong Kong, leaving the city and its residents exposed to Beijings "weak legal system and politically motivated charges." It said renditions under the proposed amendments could create "serious risks" to U.S. national security and economic interests. The Hong Kong Bar Association has warned that the law will place all decision-making power over renditions to mainland China into the hands of Hong Kong's chief executive, who is currently elected by a committee hand-picked by Beijing. It said the new law will remove a layer of approval by LegCo, meaning that there is no way to hold the government accountable, and no provision allowing Hong Kong courts to refuse an extradition request on human rights grounds, nor to decide that evidence submitted by the mainland authorities is inadmissible. Rights groups have also called on the Hong Kong government to scrap the legal changes, saying they could place people at risk of torture and unfair trials. Reported by RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. North Korean employees work at a factory of a South Korean-owned company at the Joint Industrial Park in Kaesong, Dec. 19, 2013. North Korean trade companies are selling South Korean-owned production equipment in the Kaesong Industrial Complex during its prolonged closure as a means to generate foreign cash, sources familiar with the transactions told RFAs Korean Service. Pyongyang could lose face if the equipment is found missing when South Korean businesses revisit the complex to check in on their investment, a proposal recently approved by the government in Seoul in an effort to keep inter-Korean reconciliation on track amid tensions over the Norths nuclear program. The complex, an inter-Korean special economic zone that when open, matches South Korean companies with cheaper North Korean labor, was shut down by the South in the wake of a nuclear test in early 2016. In the recent era of engagement between the two Koreas under the Souths President Moon Jae-in, both parties have talked of reopening the complex. After rejecting four previous pleas by South Korean businessmen, Seoul last week gave its approval for them to visit the area in what the Souths Ministry of Unification said was an effort to protect our citizens property rights. Its nice to see South Korean businessmen coming to Kaesong again, but Im really worried about it because the North Korean trade companies have moved their equipment to other areas, without consultation, so they could continue to make clothes, said a North Korean trade worker in China on Tuesday in an interview with RFAs Korean Service. The companies that use equipment that should still be in Kaesong are located in several other places, including in Tongrim county in North Pyongan province, said the trade worker. The trade worker said that North Korean companies are still able to use the equipment to make goods for export through China and earn foreign cash. If South Korea decides to come to Kaesong to inspect their facilities, the [North Korean] companies are going to have to return their equipment to the complex. I dont know what the companies headquarters in Pyongyang are going to do if they have their businesses suspended, the trade worker said. The trade worker said that the equipment was moved under the direction of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers Party, because the party didnt want an interruption in the income that the complex was generating. Companies are able to hide the origin of the products they make by funneling them first through China, the worker said. [The products] are being smuggled to China on ships and then they are exported to Japan and Europe, said the trade worker. A different source, from North Pyongan province, said that economic sanctions put in place by the U.S. have put pressure on the regime to keep things going somehow. The sanctions are designed to deprive Pyongyang of resources or capital that could be used in its nuclear program. As the U.S. sanctions continue, North Korean companies are seeing a decreased volume of export. This is increasing the deficit in foreign currency, so theres strong economic pressure on the whole country. North Koreas economic difficulties have been severely aggravated since the Kaesong Industrial Complex stopped running a few years ago, said the source. The source said that Pyongyang has less room to negotiate the reopening of the complex because it already showed its hand by offering to reopen it without preconditions in the Central Committees New Years message. This is like admitting that the foreign currency that they earned from the complex was very important to [them], said the source. The source said that by smuggling clothes and selling electronics to firms in China at half price, the North Korean side is in for a rude awakening once South Korea realizes the extent of what happened. If South Korean companies enter the complex soon, it will be revealed that the equipment is missing and it will be a huge disgrace. For this reason, I dont think the authorities can allow South Koreans to visit Kaesong just yet, the source said. In October 2017, RFA reported that North Korea was secretly running 19 factories to produce domestic clothing and orders from China. After the report, North Koreas state-controlled media outlet Uriminzokkiri said, No one should care what we do in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The factories in the industrial Complex will run harder, they added, indirectly admitting that factories in the complex are running illegally. In August 2018, RFA reported that North Korea was smuggling electric rice cookers left behind by South Korean companies to China. Following the release of the Korean-language version of this report, South Koreas Unification Ministry Thursday reaffirmed its position that the Kaesong Industrial Complex facility belongs to South Korean citizens. A ministry official said the ministry would not accept North Koreas infringement of property rights, and that the purpose of allowing South Korean businessmen to visit Kaesong was to confirm and protect the property rights of South Korean citizens. When asked by South Korean media about RFAs report, the official could not confirm its exact details, saying, South Korean personnel are at the South-North joint liaison office 24 hours a day, 365 days [a year], but we have not been able to grasp the movement [of equipment] as has been stated in [RFAs] report. The joint liaison office was established in September 2018, less than a year ago. But in saying 365 days, the official was echoing language used by South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon during the offices opening ceremony, that it would allow for direct discussion of issues 24 hours, 365 days. The official noted that when the complex was shut down in 2016, North Korea said they would confiscate assets, but the ministry maintained its stance that North Korea has no right to South Korean-owned property in the complex. The South Korean governments position is that it can never accept any violations of the property rights of South Korean citizens. [North Koreas] argument is inconsistent with the agreement between the two Koreas, he said. Reported by Hyemin Son and Yong Jae Mok for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Political prisoners held in Vietnams An Diem prison have gone on hunger strike to demand the release from solitary confinement of RFA blogger Nguyen Van Hoa, who is being held in isolation after being beaten and choked by prison guards earlier this month, sources say. Speaking on Thursday to RFAs Vietnamese Service, Hoang Nguyen--the younger brother of another An Diem prisoner Hoang Binh--said that his brother, political prisoner Nguyen Bac Truyen, and several others held at An Diem have refused to eat for almost two weeks. According to prison rules, when someone is placed in solitary confinement, the prison authorities must notify that persons cellmates, but in this case they didnt do that, Nguyen said. And that led them to go on hunger strike to protest and try to get Nguyen Van Hoa released. As of today, they have been on strike for 11 days, he said. Speaking to RFA by phone, Nguyen confirmed that his brother had witnessed the guards assault on Hoa in early May. Nguyen Van Hoa was beaten because he refused to sign a document prepared by a prison guard, he said, adding, He refused because some parts of the document werent clear, and because of this he received a lot of bruises on his body. Informed by Binh of the attack on her brother, Hoas sister went to An Diem on May 14 to see him but was not allowed by prison guards to visit, Binh told RFA in an earlier report. Calls seeking comment from prison authorities rang unanswered Thursday. 'Abusing democratic freedoms' Hoa, who had blogged and produced videos for RFA, was handed a seven-year jail term on Nov. 27, 2017 by a court in Nghe An province after using a drone to film protests outside a Taiwan-owned steel plant, whose spill of toxic waste the year before had left fishermen and tourism workers jobless in four coastal provinces. Arrested on Jan. 11, 2017 for abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state under Article 258 of the Penal Code, Hoa was later charged with conducting propaganda against the state, a more serious charge, under Article 88. Vietnam now holds an estimated 128 prisoners of conscience, according to a May 13, 2019 report by rights group Amnesty International. The Vietnamese authorities portray individuals who are peacefully exercising their human rights as criminals, Amnesty International (AI) said in its report, Prisoners of Conscience in Vietnam. However, it is the government that flagrantly contravenes international human rights law and its own constitution, AI said. Nguyen Kim Binh of Vietnam Human Rights Network said in December that the one-party communist state is currently detaining more than 200 political prisoners. Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Channhu Hoang. Written in English by Richard Finney. An activist in southern Russia says she has been charged with belonging to an "undesirable organization" as the state continues its crackdown against people associated with a rights group backed by a former oil tycoon. Yana Antonova is one of several former members of Open Russia -- a civil rights organization connected to Mikhail Khodorkovsky -- that have come under investigation since January. Investigators raided her apartment earlier this year. There was no immediate confirmation of the charges on the Investigative Committee's website. In a Facebook post on May 21, Antonova denied committing any crimes, saying the law on "undesirable" organizations violates the Russian Constitution. She said her trial is scheduled to start soon. The undesirable organization law, adopted in May 2015, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that squeezed many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations who received funding from foreign sources. The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office declared Open Russia "undesirable in 2017. Those who support the group have come under increasing pressure from the authorities, Human Rights Watch said in March. On January 21, law enforcement agents in Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, and Ulyanovsk raided the homes of nine activists, including Anastasia Shevchenko, affiliated with Open Russia. Shevchenko, a single mother of three, was placed under house arrest but allowed at the last minute to see her ill daughter shortly before she died. Open Russia was launched by Khodorkovsky, who was Russia's richest man until he was arrested in 2003 on charges of tax evasion that he and his supporters called politically motivated. Khodorkovsky was released from prison in 2013 and resides abroad. The Pentagon is analyzing a U.S. military request to send 5,000 more troops to the Middle East amid growing tensions with Iran, Reuters is reporting, quoting two U.S. officials. The officials, who spoke to Reuters on May 22 on condition of anonymity, said U.S. Central Command made the request, but added that it was unclear whether the Defense Department would approve it. Relations between Iran and the United States have plummeted since last year when President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran that curbed Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions. Since then, Washington has stepped up its rhetoric and reimposed sanctions. The United States this month beefed up its military presence in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, citing "imminent threats" from Iran, prompting growing concerns of a possible military conflict with Iran. The Pentagon regularly receives -- and declines -- requests for additional troops and equipment from U.S. commands across the world. One of the officials said the requested troops would be defensive. The Pentagon declined to comment. "As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential future plans and requests for forces," Pentagon spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich said on May 22. It is unclear if any specific request will ultimately be presented to the White House. The request for 5,000 additional troops was first reported by Reuters. U.S. officials have said there are credible threats from Iran against U.S. forces and American interests in the Middle East. The United States has not publicly provided evidence to back the claims. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on May 21 told the media that the Trump administration seeks to prevent further escalation. "This is about deterrence, not about war. We are not about going to war," Shanahan told reporters after briefing U.S. lawmakers together with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Shanahan said that while threats from Iran in the Middle East remain high, deterrence measures taken by the Pentagon had "put on hold" the potential for attacks on Americans. The U.S. military has sped up the deployment of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East, and sent bombers and Patriot missiles to the region earlier this month. U.S. government sources said last week they believe Iran encouraged Huthi militants in Yemen or Iraq-based Shi'ite militias to carry out attacks on tanker ships off the United Arab Emirates. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said on May 22 that Iran's youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization. "You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel," Khamenei said in a meeting with students, without giving further details. Trump has warned that Iran would be met with "great force" if it attacked U.S. interests in the Middle East. Good fellows: 2019 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellows announced How can the neuroscience behind emotion lead to new concepts of artificial intelligence? How does the human brain make fast decisions in real-world scenarios--and what impact does this have on human-to-human and human-machine interactions? These are just some of the questions being pondered by the 10 scientists and engineers recently announced as members of the 2019 Class of Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellows (VBFF). The VBFF is the Department of Defense's most prestigious single-investigator award, and supports basic research with the potential for transformative impact. Each Fellow receives up to $3 million over a five-year term to pursue their research. The fellowship is funded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering--and administered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The VBFF is named for Dr. Vannevar Bush, director of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development after World War II. "Dr. Vannevar Bush was an ardent advocate for basic research and made creative and innovative contributions to the nation's security," said Dr. Ellen Livingston, the program officer who oversees the VBFF on behalf of ONR. "In line with his vision, the VBFF reflects the DoD's commitment to unfettered research and the exchange of scientific knowledge between the Fellows and the government to benefit our country." The 2019 winners will join a group of 55 current Fellows, who conduct basic research in areas of importance to the DoD. They collaborate with DoD laboratories and share insights with leadership and the broader national security community. The 2019 Fellows are: Dr. Andrea Alu, City University of New York: Meta-Materials Dr. Dmitri N. Basov, Columbia University: Dynamic Quantum Matters Dr. Jian Cao, Northwestern University: Manufacturing Process Compiler Dr. Winrich Freiwald, The Rockefeller University: Neuroscience of Emotions Dr. Jack Harris, Yale University: Quantum Optomechanics Dr. Richard D. James, University of Minnesota: Mathematical Design of Materials Dr. Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University: Large Social and Information Networks Dr. Siddharth Ramachandran, Boston University: Light-Matter Interactions Dr. Paul Sajda, Columbia University: Cognitive Neuroscience Dr. Martin Zwierlein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Quantum Emulation "This fellowship supports new, out-of-the box ideas where researcher creativity intersects with the unknown," said Livingston. "The Fellows represent a cadre of experts that provide invaluable direction to the DoD in its scientific efforts--and also train the next generation of scientists and engineers." Learn more about the Fellows and their research. ### This story has been published on: 2019-05-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program should be revived at the tertiary or college level instead of senior high school, experts said Thursday. Guido Delgado, national commander of the U.P. Vanguard, the ROTC alumni association of the University of the Philippines, said reimposing the program for high school students will violate international laws on child protection. "Whether we should be trained militarily to defend the country or not is beyond question because that is a constitutional requirement. Really the question is at what age should you be trained militarily and our opinion is it should be when you are going to finish it at the age of majority," Delgado told CNN Philippines 'On The Record.' The House of Representatives on Monday passed on third and final reading House Bill 8961, revivinf the basic ROTC program as a prerequisite to graduation of grades 11 and 12 students in public and private schools. Grades 11 and 12 students are mostly 16 or 17 years old. The bill has gained support from the Defense and Education departments. Counterpart bills in the Senate are still pending at the committee level. Meanwhile, Domingo Cayosa of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines said reviving the ROTC for senior high students is against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Philippines is a signatory of. "Kasama sa convention na 'yan na bawal ang mga menor de edad hindi lamang sa gyera kundi sa training sa military o war duties, so kung ang ia-adopt natin na version ng ROTC ay gagawin sa basic education eh alam naman natin na ang mga senior high talaga namang menor de edad 'yan," Cayosa said during the program. "If there are other ways by which we can restore a better ROTC without violating our international commitments, then that should be the better approach, and that should be training the tertiary level who are ready of age.." he added. Cayosa said the country lacks fund to implement the ROTC program to a huge number of students. "We are a developing country, we don't have so much funds to do this. Why don't we focus on later age para magawa nating better than the ROTC in the past," he said. "Why do we insist on training so many in high school, there are 11,000 high school [students] in this country, eh kokonti naman 'yung staff seargent nila para maging tactical officers? Instead of doing that... bakit hindi na lang sa college para 'yung skills nila hindi lamang military training kundi rescue operatipon, disaster eh mai-focus," he added. Global growth equity firm General Atlantic appointed Pedro Parente as Chairman of Brazil, as of June 18, 2019. In this newly created advisory role, Mr. Parente will work closely with General Atlantics Latin American investment team to support its portfolio companies in the country to scale and grow both regionally and internationally. Led by Martin Escobari, Managing Director and Head of business in Latin America, General Atlantic has made 18 investments in Latin America in 12 years in companies in its core sectors of technology, consumer, healthcare and financial services. Mr. Parente is currently the Chairman and CEO of food company BRF. From June 18 on, he will leave the CEO position. Prior to his tenure at BRF, Mr. Parente served as CEO or in other leadership roles at organizations including Petrobras, PRADA Financial Advisory Group, Bunge Brasil and Group RBS. Before his business career, he held several leadership roles in the Brazilian government, including Minister of Planning, Energy and Mining, and Chief of Staff during President Fernando Henrique Cardosos term. Mr. Parente has served on several boards, including B3, ABC Groups, and SBR-Global and is a fellow of George Washington Universitys Center for Latin American Studies. He graduated from the University of Brasilia and has been honored with both civil and military national decorations from Brazil. FinSMEs 24/05/2019 Britain has shared information on Russian cyberactivities with 16 NATO allies, helping them counter malicious threats against their countries over the past year and a half, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will announce on May 23, AFP and other media outlets reported. In a May 23 speech at the NATO Cyber Defense Pledge Conference in London, Hunt accused Russian intelligence services of mounting a "global campaign" to "compromise central government networks." The event was attended by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who warned that the Western military alliance was ready to use all means at its disposal to respond to cyberattacks. The remarks by Hunt and Stoltenberg reflect persistent tension between Russia and the West, where governments have accused Moscow of using cyberattacks and social-media activity to sow discord abroad and increase its global clout. London's relations with Moscow have deteriorated considerably since the poisoning last year of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the southern British city of Salisbury. "I can disclose that in the last 18 months, the National Cyber Security Center has shared information and assessments with 16 NATO allies -- and even more nations outside the alliance -- of Russian cyberactivity in their countries," Hunt told the London gathering, which was also attended by NATOs ambassadors. Britains National Cyber Security Center was set up in October 2016. "Together, we possess options for responding to any attacks. We should be prepared to use them," the British foreign secretary warned. Hunt said that attempts to influence elections in the United States and Ukraine "breach international law -- and justify a proportionate response." In his speech, Stoltenberg said that NATO was beefing up its resources to tackle cyberthreats. "Hybrid threats, including cyberthreats, need a whole of a government response," the NATO chief said, adding: It takes just one click to send a cybervirus spreading across the globe, but it takes a global effort to stop it from inflicting chaos. A meeting of national security advisers from all of NATO's 29 member states is scheduled at the alliances headquarters in Brussels next week. NATO pledged to build up national cyberdefenses at a summit in Warsaw in 2016. At the same summit, the alliance also agreed that there be an annual Cyber Defense Pledge Conference. With reporting by AFP, dailymail.co.uk, and itv.com A California man who was captured fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in November 2001 has been released from prison. The federal Bureau of Prisons said that John Walker Lindh, known as the American Taliban, was released on May 23 from a high-security prison in Indiana. Lindh, 38, was set to be freed three years early for good behavior in a 20-year sentence. His early release sparked criticism, amid concerns that he may still harbor extremist views. "There is something deeply troubling and wrong about this," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Fox News. President Donald Trump told reporters the authorities will be closely watching Lindh, adding that nothing could be done to prevent his release. Lindh converted to Islam at 16 and joined the Taliban in mid-2001. After the United States invaded Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks, he was one of hundreds of Taliban fighters captured on November 25, 2001. On the eve of Lindh's release, U.S. television station KNBC said it had received letters from him during his imprisonment in which he allegedly praised the Islamic State extremist group and called himself a political prisoner. It was unclear why the letters, dating back to 2014-15, only came to light now. Lindh, who gained Irish citizenship while in prison, cannot obtain a passport or travel abroad. His lawyer Bill Cummings told CNN Lindh will now move to Virginia and live under the direction of his probation officer. Lindh's release underscores the fact that, almost two decades later, the U.S. war against the Taliban continues. Veteran U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad has been conducting several rounds of peace talks with the militants. But the Taliban refuses to speak to the government in Kabul and has not renounced violence. Khalilzad on May 22 briefed U.S. lawmakers in Washington on the progress of the talks. The meeting was classified, but media reports suggested that the results of Khalilzad's efforts were met with skepticism on Capitol Hill. Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters NUR-SULTAN -- A Kazakh opposition activist said authorities have sent him a conscription notification in a move that he says is punishment for his political activities. Alimzhan Izbasarov told RFE/RL he received the notification after completing a 15-day jail sentence on charges of taking part in an unsanctioned May 1 political rally in Nur-Sultan. The notification orders Izbasarov to report to the Almaty District's Defense Department Directorate on May 30 for a medical examination and serve for one year in Kazakhstan's armed forces. In a May 23 interview, Izbasarov told RFE/RL he thinks he has been drafted because government officials want "to make sure that active youth are not around" as the country prepares for an early presidential election scheduled for June 9. The 23-year-old activist says he thinks the timing of the draft notice was "politically motivated," adding that he has been using social media since his release from jail to call on other Kazakh citizens to become more politically active and to defend their rights. Although he said he does not plan to evade military service, he said he will try to postpone his conscription so that he can support the political activities of other young Kazakhs and help defend their civil rights ahead of the election. Izbasarov's case is the latest in a growing number involving political activists who appear to have been singled for conscription by authorities. It was not immediately clear whether more activists have received conscription notifications. Kazakh authorities have refused to comment on accusations that they are using the draft to target opposition political activists. Under Kazakh law, all men between the ages of 18 and 27 are required to serve one year in the armed forces. However, there are many exemptions, including for higher education and health reasons. Wealthy or politically connected people also routinely bribe recruiting officials, or find ways to avoid service. There has been an increase in protests in Kazakhstan in recent months amid discontent with the political system that has been dominated by the former president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, since the Soviet era. Nazarbaev announced his resignation from the presidency in March, but said he would retain broad powers as head of a national security council, leading many to believe he still retains ultimate authority. Nazarbaev's influential daughter, Darigha Nazarbaeva was appointed head of the upper chamber of Kazakhstan's parliament on the same day . Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, a close ally of Nazarbaev, was named as interim president, and has been nominated by Nazarbaev's ruling Nur-Otan party as its candidate in the June 9 election. He is expected to easily win the vote. YEREVAN -- Armenian prosecutors have lodged appeals against court decisions to suspend the trial of former President Robert Kocharian and release him from pretrial detention. The Prosecutor-General's Office told RFE/RL on May 23 that it had appealed "two rulings by a first-instance court, one on terminating the proceedings in the criminal case in relation to Kocharian and other high-ranking officials, and the other on freeing Kocharian from arrest." Kocharian went on trial earlier this month on charges of overthrowing the constitutional order during the final weeks of his decade-long rule that ended in April 2008. On May 18, a Yerevan court said the 64-year-old, who had been in pretrial detention since his arrest in December, could be released after leaders from Nagorno-Karabakh said they would vouch for him and guaranteed that he would appear in court when the trial resumes. Two days later, the court suspended the criminal proceedings, saying it was sending the case to the Constitutional Court over Kocharians status as either a private person or a president. The rulings pushed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to call for a radical reform of the country's judiciary -- contending that many courts have lost their legitimacy and too many judges are beholden to the country's former authorities. Kocharian is accused of illegally ordering army soldiers to use force against opposition supporters who were protesting against alleged fraud in the February 2008 presidential election. He has dismissed the charges against him as politically motivated. During the protests that erupted on March 1, 2008, eight protesters and two police officers were killed when security forces cracked down. The order came after Kocharian declared a three-week state of emergency. Before serving as Armenia's president from 1998 to 2008, Kocharian was the leader of Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. The region, which is populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan amid a 1988-94 war that killed some 30,000 people and displaced as many as 1 million. Deadly fighting breaks out intermittently. Since 1994, when a cease-fire agreement was reached, it has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces that Baku says include troops supplied by Armenia. No country has recognized it as an independent state. The Kremlin says the BBC never requested permission to use the image of Vladimir Putin in a new program featuring a 3D animation of the Russian president. No, [the authors of the program] have not asked us for this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS on May 23. The BBC has described Tonight With Vladimir Putin as a television first with technology making it possible for a 3D digital cartoon of Putin to walk around and sit behind the desk, interviewing real human guests in front of a studio audience, all in real time. The show has yet to air, but two 12-minute pilots have been recorded. In a short preview for the show, the Putin character appears outside Buckingham Palace talking about the forbidden delights of the West, including blue jeans and rock and roll. Relations between Moscow and London have worsened since the poisoning last year of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the British city of Salisbury. Based on reporting by TASS, The Guardian, and The Independent MOSCOW -- After the entire politics department of Russia's prestigious Kommersant newspaper resigned on May 20 in solidarity with two colleagues fired by its management over alleged censorship, Artem Galustyan says he saw it coming. In a telephone interview, the paper's former features editor recalled a tense atmosphere during his own four-year stint at the publication, which ended in 2016 with his resignation. "Everything that's happening now at Kommersant started a long time ago," he said. "With the start of a period I call its half-decay." In February 2016, Galustyan quit following the dismissal a few months earlier of chief web editor Andrei Kornyakhin, officially part of a broader shake-up of the digital team. Kornyakhin's dismissal came shortly after he had authorized publication of an interview with opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. "While this was taking place with my colleagues, I couldn't sit by and watch how they treated my boss and the team I was part of," Galustyan said. "So I left." Galustyan alleges that for the past three to four years, articles slated for publication in Kommersant would be read regularly by the paper's shareholders, many of whom were close to the Kremlin. "Often there was a reaction before the article went to press," Galustyan said. Several years later, a reaction to another article has rocked the paper and provoked claims of censorship. On April 17, a Kommersant piece jointly authored by five journalists quoted anonymous sources in the Russian government as saying that Federation Council Chairwoman and staunch Kremlin ally Valentina Matviyenko would be demoted. On May 20, news emerged that political reporters Ivan Safronov and Maksim Ivanov, two of the article's authors, had been fired. Both had worked at the paper for around a decade. In the aftermath, 11 journalists -- three editors and eight reporters -- publicly announced their resignations from the newspaper, and issued a joint statement with almost 200 of their colleagues denouncing Safronov and Ivanov's dismissals. They called them "entirely groundless and disastrous for our newsroom" and "an open attempt to repress free speech in Russia." The demand for Safronov and Ivanov's firings was made personally by Alisher Usmanov, the billionaire owner of the publishing house, they alleged. But on May 20, a spokesman for Usmanov denied the claim, telling Vedomosti that the tycoon "does not interfere in editorial policy and does not make decisions regarding the firing or hiring of journalists." The oligarch "had played no role" in the firing and "he learned of [it] from media reports," the statement said. Kommersant Editor In Chief Vladimir Zhelonkin did not immediately respond to calls and e-mail requests for comment from RFE/RL. He told Vedomosti on May 20 that "editorial standards were violated" in the April 17 article about Matviyenko, though he reportedly declined to elaborate or comment on the possible involvement of the paper's shareholders. The journalists who came out in support of their colleagues allege that Safronov and Ivanov were pressured to reveal the names of sources quoted anonymously in the April 2019 article. Deputy Editor Gleb Cherkasov, who was one of those who quit, told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on May 22 that he believed his colleagues' firing was "a decision of a political character." "Representatives of the administration [of the publishing house] allege mistakes in professional conduct, but I think there's more involved here," he said. He declined to comment on Zhelonkin's statement or his conduct, saying only that he didn't agree with it. "I wouldn't want there to be problems at my former place of work," he said. "I care about Kommersant too much." "The general situation for the media is miserable," he added. "Producing propaganda is simple, but acquiring and confirming information is getting more and more difficult." Kommersant is a long-running business newspaper and one of Russia's most respected publications, regularly producing in-depth reports and occasionally investigating issues sensitive to the Kremlin. But it appears the mass resignations may significantly affect its work, at least for the time being. "Kommersant's staff feels an obligation to notify our readers that Kommersant will, for an indefinite period, be unable to inform them about Russian politics," the daily's staffers said in their public statement. "The publication's readers, partners, and advertisers will be deprived of high-quality, unbiased coverage of numerous domestic political events, and we do not know for how long this situation will persist." Galustyan believes it marks the end of the paper's famed political department. "Kommersant is a syndicate, including a radio station and a website," the paper's former features editor said. "And the departure of the politics department is a huge blow to the entire publishing house." "I'm sure there will never again be a politics department at Kommersant." Written by Matthew Luxmoore, with additional reporting by Aleksandr Gostev of RFE/RL's Russian Service A former Russian government minister arrested on charges of embezzling $62 million faced possible new drug charges after authorities announced that they found narcotics in his Moscow apartment. An investigator in the case against Mikhail Abyzov said at a Moscow court hearing on May 23 that tests have confirmed a substance found in Abyzovs apartment was an illegal narcotic. An investigator in the case against Abyzov, the former Minister for Open Government Affairs, said at a Moscow court hearing on May 23 that tests have confirmed a substance found in Abyzovs apartment was an illegal narcotic. The investigator did not elaborate about the type of substance or the amount that police from Russia's Investigative Committee say they found. Abyzov's attorney Aleksandr Asnis said the investigators did not mention that Abyzov's fingerprints were not found on a plastic bag containing the substance or that Abyzov was not present when his apartment was searched. "The investigation's statement that drugs were found in Abyzov's apartment is an attempt to damage our clients reputation," Asnis said. "This finding doesn't prove anything." Abyzovs arrest in late March came as a surprise to Russian political observers. Some view his case as a warning by Russian security and intelligence agencies to reformist politicians who are linked to former President Dmitry Medvedev. Abyzov, the former Minister for Open Government Affairs who had been a minister in Medvedev's cabinet from 2012 to 2018, pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. His May 23 court hearing was considering his appeal against his pretrial detention on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and creating an organized criminal group. The court has yet to announce its ruling on Abyzov's appeal. The Investigative Committee charged earlier that Abyzov set up a criminal group in 2011 that eventually embezzled 4 billion rubles (about $62 million) from the Siberian Energy Company and Regional Electric Grid in Novosibirsk. It has charged that Abyzov and five accomplices stole the money and transferred the funds abroad. Abyzov served as a cabinet minister between 2012 and 2018. Medvedev served as Russian president between 2008 and 2012 and returned to become prime minister after Putin resumed the presidency in 2012. As the Minister for Open Government Affairs, Abyzov was responsible for ensuring that the Russian government is transparent and accountable. Abyzov has also held several executive positions at Russian energy firms since the mid-1990s, including a role on the board of directors at the electric power holding company RAO UES. In 2017, anticorruption activist Aleksei Navalny reported that Abyzov owned a mansion in Italy worth about $11.7 million. Navalny also reported that Abyzov had amassed his wealth through his energy sector connections in Novosibirsk. Abyzov is one of several liberal-leaning former or current Russian government officials who have been targeted by criminal investigations in recent years. The 2016 arrest of the economy minister, Aleksei Ulyukayev, was also interpreted as a move by hard-line factions in Russian political circles -- specifically, the head of the state-oil company Rosneft Igor Sechin -- against liberal factions. Ulyukayev was sentenced in 2017 to eight years in prison. With reporting by RIA Novosti, TASS, and Interfax Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has proposed opening talks with Kazakhstan on possible oil shipments to Belarus, the state-run Belta news agency reported on May 23. Russia halted oil flows through the Russian Druzhba pipeline in April after contaminated oil was discovered, sending shock waves through global oil markets. Speaking at a meeting with Kazakhstan's ambassador in Belarus, Lukashenka said Minsk would like to diversify oil deliveries for its refineries, Belta reported. Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, the Kazakh ambassador to Belarus, told Lukashenka that Kazakhstan was ready to supply Belarus with oil but that agreement with Russia was needed first, according to Belta. Meanwhile, pipeline operator Transpetrol announced on May 23 that Russian crude oil flows into Slovakia via Druzhba had resumed a day earlier. The pipeline carries oil from Russia and Kazakhstan through Belarus to refineries in Poland, Germany, and Slovakia. Earlier this week, the Belarusian state energy company Belneftekhim said it would take two months to resume oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline after the contamination by Russian oil. The company added there were currently 1.2 million tons of tainted oil in Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the contamination of Russian oil supplies had caused very serious damage to his country's reputation as an oil exporter, and to Russias oil infrastructure. The Russian oil giant Transneft has accused a small private company of being responsible for the contamination that caused the shutdown. Based on reporting by Belta and Reuters MOSCOW A senior aide to Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has been sentenced to 20 days in jail on charges related to an unsanctioned rally in Moscow last September. A court in Moscow late on May 22 found Leonid Volkov guilty of inciting demonstrators to violence by broadcasting the September 9 rally on social media. It said demonstrators had scratched a parked vehicle and slightly injured two police officers. Volkov was arrested in Moscow on May 21 and was originally charged with organizing an unsanctioned rally. It was unclear why the charges were changed. Volkov is a project manager at Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and led his campaign in the March 2018 presidential election. Navalny was barred from taking part in that election because of past convictions that he and his supporters say were fabricated to keep him out of electoral politics. On September 9, Navalny and his supporters organized mass rallies against the government's decision to raise the retirement age. Police detained more than 1,000 demonstrators across the country. Parents in the Russian city of Perm are protesting a decision by a secondary school to lower the admission standards for boys and to require higher marks for girls to join classes. Svetlana Denisova, the Perm region's ombudswoman for children, is also raising concerns about the decision, calling it "discrimination by gender" and telling parents they should file complaints with the regional prosecutor's office. Parents raised the complaints on May 22 through a Perm-based online news portal called 59.ru They say 6-year-old girls trying to enter the first grade of Gymnasium No. 4 were required to accumulate 69.1 points during their preparatory classes, while boys were only required to have 65.7 points for admission. Denisova on May 22 demanded that city's Department of Education explain why young girls were being held to a higher standard for admission than boys. The 59.ru website quotes the school's principal, Tatyana Dyakova, as saying the decision was made because girls "usually study more diligently than boys," but "boys become leaders and rule the nation later." Dyakova was also quoted as saying the approach helped the gender balance of the school, where there were applications from 92 girls and 67 boys this year. Perm's Department of Education says Gymnasium No. 4 is considered to be one the best secondary schools in Perm. In 2018, the school was embroiled in a scandal after teachers banned a teenage girl, Zina Agisheva, from attending her classes because she had dyed her hair pink. In October 2018, a court in Perm ruled that the school violated Agisheva's rights. The court fined the school 50,000 rubles ($780) and fined Dyakova 30,000 rubles ($465). With reporting by 59.ru Idera, Inc., a Houston-based parent company of global B2B software productivity brands, received a new minority investment from Partners Group. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Partners Group will join existing investors HGGC, TA Associates, and Company management. The company will use the funds to expand its M&A vision and drive its DevOps leadership. Led by Randy Jacops, CEO, Idera develops software that enables database professionals to design, monitor and manage data systems and provides application development tools to allow software engineers to build, test, deploy, and manage a wide range of applications faster and efficiently. The company serves more than 50,000 customers spanning multiple industries, including education, energy, financial, government, healthcare, manufacturing, media, retail and technology. FinSMEs 23/05/2019 Rulers and leading Islamic clerics in Central Asia have lived in complicated symbiosis for more than 1,000 years. Both sides have often sought to increase their influence by using the other. Two recent events -- one in Kyrgyzstan, the other in Turkmenistan -- show how little some things have changed in the region. In Kyrgyzstan, the matter at hand was the separation of mosque and state. According to RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Azattyk, a parliamentary committee on May 21 reviewed proposed amendments to legislation on presidential and parliamentary elections. One of the amendments would tighten restrictions prohibiting religious figures from participating in election campaigning. Kyrgyzstan is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in 2020. During presidential campaigning in 2017, several respected religious figures took part in political rallies. For example, less than one month before the presidential election, former chief mufti Chubak aji Jalilov appeared at a rally for the man who eventually won the presidential election, Sooronbai Jeenbekov. Jalilov said at the time, "I came here not as the former mufti, not as a member of the international council of the Ulema, nor as a member of the Ulema Council of Kyrgyzstan, but as a son of the Kyrgyz people, as a citizen of this country." But he continued, "Standing here, on our soil, in front of our people...we say...we will also give our support [to Jeenbekov]." People pointed out at the time that Jalilov's campaigning for a political candidate appeared to violate Article 22 of the Electoral Code, but Jeenbekov's campaign team replied that Jalilov had been invited to the rally and that members of a workers' group had asked him to speak. The proposed amendments would seek to close such purported loopholes. Clerics such as Jalilov command a great amount of respect among some segments of society and their endorsements almost surely convince some people to cast their votes for recommended candidates. No one in Kyrgyzstan is suggesting limiting the role of Islam in the country, but some in government seem intent on ensuring mosque and state remain separate. In Turkmenistan, meanwhile, the state seems to have enlisted the clergy to boost domestic support for President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. According to RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, the May 17 Friday Prayers at a mosque in the capital, Ashgabat, included the imam asking Allah to grant Berdymukhammedov "good health and a long life, and keep him from all troubles and misfortunes." That is nothing new in Central Asian mosques. Similar appeals for emirs and khans have been made in the region's mosques for centuries. In modern-day Tajikistan, imams are praising President Emomali Rahmon during Friday Prayers. But in Berdymukhammedov's case, the imam also called for The Almighty "to punish all [Berdymukhammedov's] enemies and foes" so that such enemies would "grovel at his feet." The comment speaks volumes about how the situation has seemingly deteriorated in Turkmenistan. For years, the country's policy of "positive neutrality" was supposed to ensure it would have no enemies and that revenues from its vast natural-gas reserves would ensure that the Golden Age declared by the government would endure for decades to come. But apparently someone thinks Turkmenistan's president now has enemies. The use of the clergy is especially striking, since the Turkmen government has succeeded for years in keeping the influence of religion at a bare minimum in the country. Islam is, at best, tolerated by Berdymukhammedov's government; it is far from being embraced by his regime, which makes resorting to the mosque as an instrument to gain popular support all the more curious. The events in Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan in the last week may be familiar, and perhaps comforting, to students of Central Asian history. This is a new age and there are new faces, but the interplay between mosque and state seem to have hardly changed at all. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is "appalled" by the withdrawal of state advertising from Pakistans oldest newspaper Dawn for the past month, saying that this "crude intimidatory tactic" is jeopardizing the newspapers editorial independence. The English-language daily has been deprived of any income from federal government advertising since April 24, the Paris-based media freedom watchdog said in a statement on May 23. The paper's sister media outlet, DawnNews TV, was subjected to the same method of "pressure and intimidation" two days later, it added. "As Pakistan is a country where almost no advertising revenue is available from a fledgling private sector independent of the government, this advertising ban poses a grave threat to the media groups economic viability," according to RSF. The watchdog said that Dawn, which it described as "one of the last bastions of press freedom in Pakistan," has been in the "deep states sights" since October 2016, when the newspaper published an article on the way the powerful military and intelligence agencies defy the civilian government. In May 2018, distribution of the paper was blocked after it published an interview in which former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made comments critical of the military. The latest move against Dawn came after it published comments made by Prime Minister Imran Khan during a visit to Tehran in which he said Pakistan-based militants had been involved in attacks inside Iran. The story was based on quotes from the official transcript of the press conference, RSF said. "It is unacceptable that a newspaper that just reports undisputed facts in the public interest should be punished with such a drastic form of economic strangulation," said Daniel Bastard, the head of RSFs Asia-Pacific desk. Bastard added that the ad ban "bears the military establishments hallmark" and "harks back to the worst moments of military dictatorship in Pakistan. Pakistan ranks 142nd out of 180 countries listed on RSFs World Press Freedom Index. A court in Russia on May 23 ruled to uphold a six-year prison sentence for a Danish adherent of the banned Jehovahs Witnesses, a decision condemned by Amnesty International. Dennis Christensen was detained in May 2017 in Oryol, some 320 kilometers south of Moscow. A Russian court in February sentenced him to six years in prison in a case condemned both in Russia and abroad. Russia banned the Jehovahs Witnesses in 2017, declaring the group an extremist organization. A court in Oryol on May 23 ruled on his appeal. "The three-judge panel denied the appeal and upheld the six-year sentence he received in February," Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Jarrod Lopes said in a statement. Lopes said 197 Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia are facing criminal charges. Twenty-eight 28 men and women among them are being held in pretrial detention and 24 are under house arrest, Lopes said. Amnesty International slammed the court action in Oryol as an affront to the rights to freedom of religion and association. The authorities missed an opportunity to overturn the grim injustice done to Dennis Christensen, who was thrown behind bars solely for exercising his right to freedom of religion and peacefully held belief. Dennis Christensen should be immediately and unconditionally released, said Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty Internationals Russia researcher. With reporting by Reuters Serbian authorities said two migrants died and two others were in serious condition after hiding in a tanker truck near the border with Hungary. The men were discovered on May 21 in northern Serbia when the truck driver opened the tank and saw them lying unconscious. Hospital officials in Novi Sad told RFE/RLs Balkan Service that the migrants suffered heatstroke and suffocation. One died on May 22 and the other died overnight. The two others are in intensive care. According to the Serbian Interior Ministry, at least two of the migrants were from Afghanistan. Thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty have been moving through the Balkans in a bid to reach wealthy nations in the West. But up to 4,000 remain stranded in Serbia after the EU closed the so-called Balkan route in 2016. With reporting by AP Tyson Foods, the largest U.S. meat producer, says it is eyeing expansion into Kazakhstan as it seeks growth overseas. "We've visited Kazakhstan and have interest in the nation's future food-production efforts. However, we have not formalized plans for a project there," company spokeswoman Liz Croston said in a statement on May 23. The Arkansas-based company produces beef, pork, chicken, and processed foods, including goods for export. Its poultry subsidiary, Cobb-Vantress, has a presence in Russia. "One of our growth strategies is to expand our global business, so it's not unusual for us to consider various international opportunities," she said in a statement e-mailed to RFE/RL. The Financial Times reported on May 23 that Tyson was negotiating a multibillion-dollar investment in beef production in Kazakhstan for potential export to China. The two countries share a nearly 1,800-kilometer border. Kazakhstan is one of the world's largest wheat producers, and has millions of hectares of arable lands suitable for livestock grazing. But the country's agriculture sector has for years been hobbled by a lack of major investment to increase exports for either livestock or grain or other produce. In July 2018, Beijing imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on U.S. beef imports in retaliation for U.S. levies on Chinese goods. As a result, U.S. beef exports to China "have dropped off precipitously," the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an August report. Kodit.io, a Finnish proptech company that gives homeowners a way to quickly sell their homes, closed a 12M ($13.4M) funding round. Backers included FJ Labs, Speedinvest, All Iron Ventures, and Adevinta (formerly Schibsted Marketplaces). The company intends to use the funds for expansion in Europe, first in Paris, Barcelona and Warsaw. Led by Kalle Salmi, CEO & Founder, Kodit.io is an iBuyer that uses machine learning and automation to offer home sellers fair cash offers for their properties within 24 hours. After purchase, the company renovates the properties to offer home buyers move-in ready and risk-free homes to buy. In the market for less than two years, Kodit.io recently launched in Madrid, beyond Tallinn and six cities in Finland. The startup previously raised 2M in seed funding. FinSMEs 23/05/2019 A three-day spring weekend in Richmond typically means a weekend getaway, a dip in the community pool or a weekend hangout at the river. You can also catch a concert on Browns Island, a free Big Tent festival in Chesterfield County and a Memorial Day parade. Happy Memorial Day, everybody! Hozier Thursday Irish musician known for his mega-hit Take Me to Church stops in Richmond on his Wasteland, Baby! tour. 8 p.m. at Altria Theater, 6 N. Laurel St. etix.com or (800) 514-3849. Sold out. Pocahontas Premieres Friday The state park concert series returns with The Embers, known for their beach music hits, such as I Love Beach Music and Far Away Places. 7 p.m. (gates open at 6 p.m.) at Pocahontas State Park, 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield. $10-$12; $5 parking. www.ticketstobuy.com. Friday Cheers: RVA Night Friday Friday Cheers returns with RVA Night featuring the psychelic sounds of Tinnarose, jazz funkmeisters Calvin Presents and indie rockers Illiterate Light. 6-9:30 p.m. on Browns Island, Fifth and Tredegar streets. $5. venturerichmond.com. When asked who is in the photograph, Governor Northam told us that he did not know, and he did not want to speculate on who it might be. He was concerned that anyone in the photograph may be a physician with an ongoing medical practice, and Governor Northam stated that he did not want to put anyone through what he and his family have been through. Governor Northam was surprised the photograph had never surfaced before, as in six campaigns for political office it had not been released. Governor Northam did not recall much about the yearbook process. Governor Northam confirmed that he did submit the other photographs that appear on his personal page in the 1984 yearbook and that he submitted the quotation that appears on that page. Governor Northam does not believe the photograph was a prank. Chaotic environment Our impression from the staffers to whom we spoke generally echoed the governors account that the environment on February 1 was chaotic and there was a great deal of pressure, with one staffer describing it as a crisis situation, and another stating there was an overwhelming sentiment that a statement had to be made. . , "" - . . 11. 8-10. 1 - 2 . , 24 .. 3... Coming to Virginia is like coming home for alt-rock band Cracker. The act started in Richmond, with core members David Lowery and Johnny Hickman. Both have moved on since then Lowery down south, where he is a music business professor at the University of Georgia, and Hickman out to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he has built a niche for his solo career. Cracker returns to Rocky Mounts Harvester Performance Center for a Sunday night show. Hickman, in a recent phone call, recalled the bands formation in 1990. Lowery called him soon after his band, Camper Van Beethoven, imploded while on tour in Europe. They had known each other growing up as punk rockers in Californias Inland Empire region, and bonded over a shared affinity for country music, real country music, as we call it, the Merle Haggards and the Willie Nelsons and the Johnny Cashes. Thats always been sort of an element to Cracker, and you can hear it on just about every record. When Lowery reached out, Hickman was living in a country mecca, Bakersfield, California. They started writing immediately. From the get-go, it was just really easy for us to write songs together, Hickman said. I brought some songs in. He brought some songs in. We wrote some together. We thought, this could work. Lowery had fallen in love with a woman from Richmond, and Hickman was fancy-free enough to make a cross-country move. Relationships came and went, but the songwriting partnership remained firm. Hes one of the best songwriters out there, and I love writing songs with him, said Hickman, who plays lead guitar. Ill come in with a big, bonehead guitar riff, and hell create something masterful around it. Some songs Lowery writes on his own, or outside the band, and same for Hickman. Theres no set way, he said. I like it that way. That loose structure has brought them such radio hits as Teen Angst, Low, Euro-Trash Girl, Get Off This and Big Dipper. The bands most recent album, from 2014, was a double-CD set, Berkeley to Bakersfield, on which it celebrated both its rock and country roots. That disc was new when Cracker played the Harvester in 2015. As that cycle is ending, the set lists are leaning more toward rock, Hickman said, with a couple of songs from each record, plus the hits. David and I agreed on that really early on, he said. Teen Angst was our first radio hit. ... When that was on the radio, we used to talk about bands that thought they were too cool to play their hits. We made a clear decision: Lets never be those guys; lets never be uber, ultra hipsters and think were too cool for our own good. Visit music.roanoke.com to read more from this interview. Web Extras Cracker has a reputation for writing from some down-and-out dudes' perspectives. Hickman wrote one of the band's earliest, "Mr. Wrong." That one appeared on the group's debut, self-titled album. Its chorus: "Well no, I'd rather not go and meet your family / They'd probably send me back where I belong / Don't want to hear about your Mr. Right / Cause he's out of town tonight / Baby come and spend some time with Mr. Wrong." That one came to Hickman in Bakerfield, and it has a good old honky-tonk shuffle beat behind it. "Euro-Trash Girl" was a full-band effort from EP "Tuscon" and subsequent album "Kerosene Hat," with bassist Davey Faragher and drummer Joey Peters getting co-writing credits. "It was a very fun song to write," he said. "Sort of culled from experience. We sort of created this character in a song, this hapless guy ... he has to bathe in a fountain. He loses his passport. He phones home for help and doesnt get much. "These hapless characters sort of people our songs. Theyre kind of lovable bad guys, sort of like the Mr. Wrong guy. who might be the same guy that popped up in "How Can I Live Without You (if it means Ive gotta get a job). A lovable rascal." But they're not the guys in Cracker, Hickman said. He and Lowery will tear the occasional page from a diary, but they prefer to create characters and let them speak, in the vein of Randy Newman and Lou Reed, Hickman said. "We as songwriters should be able to have the same sort of freedoms as a novelist or a poet or a screenwriter," he said. "But people tend to expect you to be the protagonist in your song. "If you say something thats kind of outrageous, sometimes people will take offense to it. I think its kind of comical. We just do it anyway. Its just more fun to be able to write songs and have a bad guy, or be a bad guy." The music a rock-drenched, sometimes twangy, sometimes psychedelic melange has always been a good match for the lyrics. Expect the band to lean toward its more rocking material at the Harvester, Hickman said. He wouldn't give away much more than that. "Were working up a lot of songs we havent done in a long time, so the fans will be really happy about that, Im sure." Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. For one cold moment after he stumbled across an injured, bleeding woman last year in northeast Roanoke, a man cutting grass feared he might have accidentally hurt her himself, prosecutors said Thursday. The man was using a heavy Bush Hog mower on a patch of land near a dead end at 11th Street and Gregory Avenue, a mostly industrial section just off Orange Avenue, around mid-afternoon on March 29, 2018. That was when he came upon Pamela Gorham lying in the weeds, unconscious and bleeding from a large gash on the side of her head, a wound that exposed a portion of her skull, according to Roanoke prosecutor John McNeil. Also found at the scene was the object that police determined had been used to inflict her injuries: a blood-smeared wooden table leg. Early the following month, police arrested Jesse Patrick Lloyd, 31, of Roanoke and charged him with aggravated malicious wounding, an offense that could have brought him up to life in prison. Lloyd was scheduled to go to trial on that charge Thursday, but instead he pleaded no contest to a reduced count of straight malicious wounding. In Virginia, that charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars, but in exchange for his plea, prosecutors have agreed not to ask for a sentence of more than a decade. Lloyds punishment is set to be determined by a judge on Aug. 8, after a pre-sentence report is conducted and Gorhams injuries are more thoroughly evaluated. In a presentation of the prosecutions evidence, McNeil described how the investigation led police to Lloyd. He said Gorham told detectives that just before the attack, a man at a nearby convenience store had propositioned her for sex and had given her $20 when she got into his vehicle. Witnesses reported seeing a maroon Hyundai Santa Fe SUV driving erratically near the spot where Gorham was found that day, and McNeil said investigators watched hours and hours of surveillance video at the convenience store before spotting footage of Gorham and a maroon Hyundai, driven by a heavily tattooed white man with closely cropped hair. McNeil said police canvassed the area looking for an SUV of that make with the same distinguishing features from the video, including specific body damage and a hanging tag for handicapped parking. On April 9, 2018, officers pulled over a vehicle matching that description. Lloyd was a passenger and his girlfriend was driving. Police searched Lloyds home and found a pair of white sneakers, stained with what proved to be blood. A DNA profile of the substance indicated a statistically high probability that it was Gorhams. The injuries suggest a ferocious attack, Judge William Broadhurst said Thursday, and he accepted the plea agreement. Public defender Drew Givens acknowledged the prosecutions summary but said he intends to present evidence in Lloyds defense at the sentencing. Lloyd also has a little over three years in time suspended against him from a 2014 conviction for arson, but its not clear whether any of that will be revoked due to the new offense. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It took Brian Wishneff five days to figure out why he was barred May 12 from an American Airlines flight. And why he couldnt buy a ticket on a later Delta flight the same day. And why, as a final indignity, a police officer ordered him out of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport terminal that Sunday evening. By then, hed spent seven fruitless hours trying to get to Miami. Wishneff, 67, has lived in the Roanoke Valley for 40 years. He and his wife, Andee, have three grown children and four grandchildren. From 1979 to 1995, Wishneff was chief of Roanokes Department of Economic Development. He later served on both the Roanoke School Board and Roanoke City Council. Wishneff suffers from Huntingtons disease, an inherited degenerative neurological disorder for which theres no cure. This newspaper published a story about that in 2017, when Wishneff met with Pope Francis in Rome about Huntingtons. For the past 24 years, Wishneff has worked for himself. Brian Wishneff & Associates is a boutique economic development consulting company with four employees in Roanoke and four in Arlington. Its niche is tax credits and creative ways those can be used in redevelopment projects. Wishneffs clients operate as far away as Los Angeles, which means he travels for work. He estimated he flies out of Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport as often as twice a month. May 12 was supposed to be one of those occasions. Wishneff was on his way to an annual conference hes been attending for years. He had spent the past year arranging face-to-face meetings there, he told me. From those he hoped to ink consulting contracts worth potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said. Wishneff said he missed the noon flight hed booked on American Airlines because of natures call. By the time he got out of the mens room, no more passengers could get on the plane. An American employee (well call her gate attendant No. 1) was sympathetic, Wishneff said. She told Wishneff there was another American flight leaving at 4 p.m. Though it was fully booked, she listed him as a standby passenger. Wishneff said she told him he was the first standby passenger listed for the later flight. Gate attendant No. 1 told Wishneff that to increase his chances of making that flight, he should stay by the gate and interact with her frequently, especially in the half-hour or so leading up to boarding, he added. By the time that happened, there were four other standby passengers listed for the flight, and the womans shift was over. She was replaced by gate attendant No. 2, a man. Wishneff said he engaged with attendant No. 2 about his standby status, noting he was the first listed for the 4 p.m. flight. But those interactions did Wishneff little good. He said he watched as other standby passengers were seated on the plane. He said he grew a bit more anxious as that happened, and reminded gate attendant No. 2 he was first on the standby list. Gate attendant No. 2 said, I really dont care, Wishneff said. And Im in charge of who gets a seat on the plane, and youre not getting on that plane. Attendant No. 2 ultimately assigned seats to everyone on standby except Wishneff. The man would not explain why, Wishneff said. By then, Wishneff acknowledged, he was unhappy. I dont remember using any curse words, Wishneff told me. But he was sarcastic. I just said, Youve got to be kidding. And Thanks a lot. Youve cost me a lot of money. Still, there remained a chance Wishneff could get to Miami that night via Delta, which had a later flight. Wishneff went to the Delta ticket desk near the American Airlines ticket counter on the terminals first floor. Before Wishneff could buy a ticket, gate attendant No. 2 showed up at the ticketing-desk area, too, and pulled the Delta agent aside for a brief conversation, Wishneff said. After that conversation, the Delta agent didnt return to the Delta ticket desk. Unable to buy a Delta ticket, Wishneff called his wife for a ride home. As he waited inside near the terminals front door he observed two pilots walk past him. I said, I hope youre not American Airline pilots, Wishneff said. They said, No. I said, Good for you. A short time later, an airport police officer approached Wishneff and ordered him out of the terminal for harassing pilots, Wishneff said. He went home and on his computer booked a Delta flight for early the next morning. By the time he got to Miami, he missed half the meetings hed arranged for that day. Wishneff flew home Thursday on Delta. Friday, Wishneff went back to the airport to get the names of the people he felt had mistreated him. That day, he spoke to the Delta ticket agent and asked why the agent wouldnt sell him a ticket the previous Sunday. You were that drunk guy, Wishneff said the Delta agent replied. That was the first clue Wishneff had that airport personnel might have mistaken his Huntingtons symptoms for inebriation. He said he replied to the Delta agent, I havent had a drink in 50 years. Tuesday morning, he told this story to the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport Commission. Somehow, the airline system has gotten upside down, Wishneff told the commission. They dont care about passengers. Chairman William Gust encouraged Wishneff to make your complaint known to the airlines. We are very concerned about the experience passengers have when they come through this airport, Gust said. Tuesday afternoon, I contacted American Airlines seeking comment. Wishneff said he got a call from a woman in American Airlines customer service department shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday. She was very, very apologetic, Wishneff said. She said, Weve opened up a file to look into this. Wednesday morning, I heard back from American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein. We are concerned about these allegations, and our customers relations team in coordination with the Roanoke team is reviewing this situation to better understand what may have transpired, Feinstein wrote in an email. Stay tuned. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Virginia State Police again have 30 days to release a redacted copy of its Aug. 12, 2017, operational plan to a freelance journalist after a Charlottesville judge decided some of the information would not be a risk to the police or the public. Reporters Natalie Jacobsen and Jackson Landers represented pro bono by attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sued the city of Charlottesville, state police and the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security in October 2017 for access to city and state police plans from the Unite the Right rally. The police had been criticized for their response to the white supremacist rally, which ended with the deaths of counter-protester Heather Heyer and two VSP officers. In the complaint, Jacobsen and Landers said they were told their Freedom of Information Act requests were denied because the records contained tactical plans and could endanger law enforcement personnel if they were made public. In March 2018, the city agreed to give Landers and Jacobsen a redacted copy of the city police plan, but state authorities fought to keep their plan under wraps in a hearing to dismiss the case that month. At an April 2018 hearing, Judge Richard Moore ordered VSP to provide a redacted copy of the plan within 30 days, but he issued a stay on the order. VSP appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Virginia a few days prior to the orders issuance. Because the order was not final when the appeal was filed, the Supreme Court of Virginia declined to hear the states case. On Wednesday, Moore removed his stay, ordering VSP to again provide a redacted version of the plan, but some confusion arose regarding the redaction methodology. Moore said that redaction via deletion of material believed by the VSP to be exempt could be done, rather than the more common black-out line redaction. This could be appropriate, Moore said, so that the length of redacted materials could not be revealed to the public by Jacobsen, and thus perhaps create a public safety risk. Caitlin Vogus, an attorney for Jacobsen, disagreed with this plan and argued that redaction by deletion could make it more difficult for her client to challenge the redactions. As a compromise, Moore suggested allowing Jacobsen a blacked-out redacted copy so long as she not release it publicly. When Vogus objected, pointing to Jacobsens role as a journalist and right as a member of the public, Moore suggested not giving the plaintiff a copy of the report. I dont want it released prematurely, Moore said. I dont want her saying they blacked out 20 pages, which could cause problems. Deputy Attorney General Victoria Pearson again argued that the report should not be released before VSPs appeal can be heard and claimed that releasing even a redacted report beforehand would be self-defeating. We do agree that you cannot put a genie back into a bottle, she said. To put [the report] out and try to put it back defeats the purpose. As Moore ruled in April 2018, much of the information has already been released publicly, Vogus said, and VSP could release what it deems to be innocuous. Though some of VSPs plan was purportedly revealed in a December 2017 report from former federal prosecutor Tim Heaphy whom the city hired to dissect the Unite the Right rally Pearson claimed that not all of what was revealed was necessarily accurate, saying that confirming some details could pose a public danger. In the end, Moore ordered the report released, but he will allow redaction by deletion. A copy of the redacted report will be given to both the court and Jacobsen within 30 days. More hearings over the legality of redacted materials are expected. Following the hearing, Jacobsen said VSPs refusal to release portions of the plan because they had purportedly been leaked in the Heaphy report set a dangerous precedent. If discrepancies exist, such as the state claimed, then the public had a right to know, she said. Nevertheless, Jacobsen said Wednesdays hearing was a victory in the fight for access to public information. Its a right for the public to see it, and I hope they will comply with the 30-day ruling and that we see it, she said. By Lisa Angle Angle taught in both Franklin County and Henry County. She lives in Rocky Mount. Yesterday I was stunned when I drove into the parking lot of our LifeWay Christian bookstore in Roanoke, Virginia, only to be greeted by huge banners announcing a going out of business sale. I tried to collect my thoughts and my tears as I walked into the store as a flood of both were pouring in at the same time. My immediate reaction was what a great loss to our entire community that we would lose another Christian bookstore, and then I felt a great personal loss, as the store has been such a huge part of my spiritual life. It has provided resources like amazing praise and worship CDs everybody from Israel Houghton, Cece Winans, Natalie Grant, Hi111song, The Martins, Janet Paschal and The Gaithers who have ridden with me (if BeBe Rexa and Florida Georgia will allow) and have been there at moments which we will call divine, if you understand, more times than this article allows time to recount. Next, books by spiritual mentors, such as Joyce Meyer, Beth Moore, T.D. Jakes, Juanita Bynum, Max Lucado, Sheri Rose Shepherd, Women of Faith, John and Lisa Bevere, Jentzen Franklin, and Rod Parsley, just to name a very few, who have forever changed me. If I do not have the chance to sit with these men and women of God on this side of Heaven to discuss how their writings, Bible studies, and music have made me better; I look forward to doing so at my table in eternity. The loss of Lifeway and having the chance to actually peruse their books/studies in person in a poignant loss. In addition to these aforesaid life-changing books and CDs, the Bible itself, the undeniable Word of God, has been, and is, not only a mainstay for me, but has also been a gift to many people I know. For this reason alone, being able to stand and hold a Bible to look at the text itself, as well as the study features, is one that cannot be duplicated with a computer no matter how great the virtual features are. I am not ignorant of the wonders of our online society and appreciate all that technology can do for us, but sometimes you just want to hold something in your hands and look through it before you purchase it a BIBLE especially. This makes Lifeway store (including the ones in Richmond and the Carolinas, also my dear friends), and all Christian bookstores so important. They are not just stores; they are a presence in our communities spreading the immutable Word of God. Not only the Bible, but also other items, such as gorgeous paintings, jewelry and clothing which put scripture right in front of not only my eyes, but also in front of the eyes of my friends and family, who have received them from me over the years, have helped make learning the Word of God easy and beautiful. In addition, the loss of Christian teaching resources readily available and the ability to spend hours sitting and tacitly searching for just the right materials for a Sunday School class, Bible study/L.O.R.D .group, Womens group, Choir, or church cannot be measured. I truly am the least of these, and ask you not to reflect this back on my husband, the Mayor of Rocky Mount, or on the mayors office, in any way, as I am speaking on my own behalf, and not for any political reason, or gain. My heart; however, was so broken over seeing another business close, I could not remain silent. This has happened too many times when wonderful businesses of all types have been lost to us because of a lack of traffic, and we need our brick and mortar enterprises in this country. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to remain silent. Although I do not think, in this particular case, anyone is evil; sometimes we must speak up for what is good and for God. Many would say I am the last one who should, or would, do so, as I said, but if not me and you, then who? We now have in hand Virginias version of the Mueller Report the investigation that Eastern Virginia Medical School ordered into the racist photo on Gov. Ralph Northams yearbook page, and its culture in general. The headline you already know: Inconclusive. The investigators can neither prove nor disprove thats Northam in either blackface or the Klan robes on his yearbook page. However, our reading of the 55-page report available online at https://bit.ly/2M5TSHQ leads us to the conclusion that its probably not Northam in that photo. Before we get to that, lets provide some context: n This investigation was led by former U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen. His reputation is sterling. We can think of no one in Virginia better qualified to conduct such an investigation. Cullen, it should be noted, is also a Republican, so he has no reason to protect a Democratic governor unless youre a conspiracy theorist who believes that an establishment Republican is going to cover for an establishment Democrat, in which case theres nothing that will satisfy you short of a full conviction. n The report seems very thorough. One telling detail: Investigators even talked to Northams girlfriend at the time. Keep in mind, though, this was a private investigation, not a criminal inquiry. We can only speculate what Cullen might have turned up if this had been a government investigation armed with the power to subpoena witnesses. The report notes that some people couldnt be located or wouldnt be interviewed. n Unfortunately, the report generally does not identify whom it interviewed beyond general descriptions. That confidentiality might have elicited more information, but it also makes it impossible for anyone else to question the people interviewed. n Technology did not help. Northams personal law firm hired what Cullen called a reputable vendor to conduct forensic facial recognition of the person in blackface. That technology, though, found the image of the Photograph was not of sufficient quality to conduct a comparison with other photographs. (A grammatical curiosity: The report consistently calls the photo in question the Photograph.) n No one interviewed said that was Northam in the photo. That seems significant exculpatory evidence, unless you believe that everyone interviewed had a reason to cover up for their classmate. There is, though, discussion that the person in blackface doesnt seem to look like Northam, citing the shape of his teeth, the size of his legs, and his height. Theres also discussion that the person in the Klan robes might be a woman, due partly to the persons size relative to the person in blackface. n The best thing for Northam would have been if the report had identified who was in the photo. It did not. Instead, the report says no one interviewed could positively state who was in the photo. The choice of words seems telling. There are suggestions that some people interviewed did offer some names: Throughout our investigation, we considered a number of possibilities regarding who might be in the Photograph. In each case, we conducted further investigation. Our investigative efforts, however, did not result in any positive identification. The individuals we were able to speak to all denied being in the Photograph, and other individuals either did not return our calls or refused to speak with us. Heres where the lack of subpoena power hurt. Realistically, nobody is going to admit being in that photo given what the report rightly says are the potential professional and social repercussions of doing so. But someone out there knows. n Why did Northam initially apologize for being in the photo and then later deny it was him? The report describes in painful detail how Northams statement was crafted. Basically, when Northam said he couldnt remember being in the photo, his staff wrote an apology. Northam said he signed off on the wording, but even though it was tantamount to a confession. This is not a pretty picture of decison-making. Virginians should be thankful this was only a political crisis, not a matter of life and death. n Even if thats not Northam in the yearbook photo, he still admitted to wearing blackface to imitate Michael Jackson in a dance contest at an age when he should have known better. If you want to judge Northam on something certain, thats certain. n The medical school of years past does not come out looking good in this. The report found 10 blackface photos in six different yearbooks 1984, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 2004. Three students brandishing guns posed in Confederate uniforms before a Confederate flag in the 2013 yearbook. Plus, the yearbooks with some frequency display photographs and content containing sexual innuendo, depictions of students drinking alcohol, and other conduct that may not be considered professional and which could be perceived as offensive. What were these students thinking? Historically speaking, these are all recent dates; not years from the Jim Crow past. These were also not juveniles; these are adults about to embark on a serious-minded career in medicine. The depiction of the culture at the school is profoundly troubling. To his credit, the current president, Richard Homan, shut down the yearbook when he found out about it in 2013. Still, theres the question of how this kind of behavior went on at such a recent date and whether it was unique to that school. n The report says that the medical schools staff knew about Northams yearbook photo before the news broke in February. At some unspecified point in the past, the alumni affairs director found it while preparing for a reunion, and chose not to display it at the event. At least twice, staff alerted the schools president both the current one and his predecessor about the photo. Both times coincided with Northam running for office. Both times, each sitting president chose to do nothing. That seems a tough call, because disclosing the information would have been seen as a state-funded school trying to influence an election. They chose to let nature take its course, which some now consider a benign cover-up. That also means that researchers for neither Northams Democratic nor Republicans opponents bothered to check the yearbook. Nor did any journalist. Thats a collective failure, which raises the question of how well vetted any statewide candidate is. In a way, everyone comes out looking bad here. For an inconclusive report, that seems pretty conclusive. CITY region mayor Dan Jarvis office has defended employing a media advisor on 700 a day. It emerged this week that the Sheffield City Regions new interim head of communications Simon Hope is on the huge daily rate equivalent to 182,000 a year. The head of communications will report directly to Mr Jarvis (pictured) and managing director Dave Smith, the Advertiser understands, and will earn more than the mayor, who does not receive a salary for the role. SCR said Mr Hope had been hired on a temporary basis, adding in a statement: We are committed to ensuring best value for money. Indeed, a recent survey found that the Sheffield City Region has the lowest staffing budget of all the combined authorities in the UK, despite serving a significantly larger population than regions such as the West of England, Tees Valley, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. But we also have a duty to best serve the people of the Sheffield City Region. Therefore, on occasion, it is necessary to recruit experts in the field to support the organisation. This is why we have recruited a head of communications, on an interim basis, to support our own staff in engaging with communities within our region and beyond. This overturns a ban introduced in 2014 by then-president Ian Khama, a keen environmentalist. Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, Botswanas minister of environment, said Wednesday the aim was to manage rather than reduce elephant numbers, of no more than a few hundred per year. He said the four year blanket suspension on elephant hunting had led to an increase in human-elephant conflict and adversely affected rural communities. Elephants can kill people. Advocates for limited trophy hunting say that it can generate income for communities, which could in turn support conservation efforts. On the other part, conservationists blamed this decision. Dan Bucknell, the executive director of Tusk, the Duke of Cambridges conservation charity, called the move sad and disappointing. The whole world is turning away from hunting. It is increasingly seen as an archaic practice. This is very, very damaging to the image of Botswana as a global leader in elephant conservation, said Dr Paula Kahumbu, an expert and activist based in Kenya. Even a political approach to obtain rural votes for the ruling Botswana Democratic party (BDP)is suspected, in the run-up to elections in October. Botswana is a founder member of the Elephant Protection Initiative, a group of African countries that have agreed to ban the ivory trade. Botswana is a luxury safari destination. Celebrities like the talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres and the actress Kristin Davis have called for a boycott of tourism to Botswana unless the hunting ban was maintained. Many of Botswanas elephants roam across borders into Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Worried that Los Angeles was losing crucial housing, the City Council decided to stiffen rules that can require developers to build affordable units when they tear down rent-stabilized apartments. Less than two years later, the council is weighing whether to carve out a new exemption to those stricter requirements. Councilman Mitch OFarrell proposed the move, saying the city should grandfather in projects that had already gotten city approval when the rules were changed and had a high percentage of affordable units. Housing department officials say only one project is expected to qualify: a new development that will rise on Hollywood Boulevard west of Barnsdall Park. Advertisement The firm pursuing the project, LaTerra Development LLC, has lobbied the council over the rules and made political contributions to OFarrell and Councilman Gil Cedillo, who heads a council committee that backed the proposal Wednesday. OFarrell planning director Craig Bullock said that spending did not affect their decision. This is about the city changing the rules during the process, Bullock said, pointing out that the Hollywood Boulevard project had been approved before the new requirements went into effect. If it could not get the exemption, he said, the project would not pencil out and we wouldnt get 150 units of housing, including 24 affordable units. The plan, which now goes to the full council for approval, has troubled critics who argue that L.A. should not be providing such exemptions, even for just one project. As L.A. faces a housing crisis, letting private developers off the hook from their obligations to set aside affordable housing units will only further exacerbate the problem, North Hollywood resident Yuisa Gimeno wrote in a letter. If they allow this one, this opens up the door for other developers to claim the same thing, Gimeno later added. Los Angeles has a long list of rules surrounding its Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which limits annual rent hikes for tenants in older buildings. If landlords tear down such apartments and replace them with new rentals within five years, all of the new apartments are supposed to fall under rent stabilization. However, if builders want to avoid doing that, they have an alternative: They can enshrine some of the new units as affordable housing, which must be affordable to renters with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income. The question is exactly how many. In the past, builders could either make sure at least 20% of their new units were affordable or create at least as many affordable units as the number of rent-stabilized apartments they had torn down whichever number was lower. Under the stiffer rules passed two years ago, the minimum requirement is whichever of those two numbers is higher. When those tighter rules were passed, business groups complained that they could be onerous for big projects, especially if a real estate developer is tearing down a small, rent-stabilized building and replacing it with a complex that is far bigger. Tenant activists countered that the city needed to push for more affordable units amid a housing crisis. OFarrell proposed the new exemption for applicants who meet two specific criteria: They had to have gotten discretionary approval from the city for their projects before the new rules went into effect on June 4, 2017, and they had to set aside at least 15% of the units in their buildings for very low income households. Planning officials found that only one project located at 4900 Hollywood Blvd. would meet those criteria, according to housing department spokeswoman Sandra Mendoza. Two years ago, L.A. officials approved that project, which was expected to give rise to 150 new residences, including 24 very low income units more than enough to replace the rent-stabilized units that were torn down. Under the stricter requirements, however, housing officials say it would have to provide at least 30 units of affordable housing. Tina Choi, a consultant representing LaTerra, told council members Wednesday that if the proposed amendment were not approved, we would not be able to build the residential project. Bullock added that even if the exemption is created, the company would still have to apply and demonstrate that it has a financial hardship. LaTerra remains committed to providing affordable housing in Los Angeles, the company said in a statement. LaTerra, which is planning another housing complex next to the Hollywood Boulevard project, purchased the site after the city granted approval for the development. The firm spent at least $13,000 on lobbying the city over the proposed exemption in the last year, city records indicate. The Times also identified more than $100,000 in additional lobbying payments to Chois firm involving the Hollywood Boulevard project in the last year, but it was not immediately clear how much of those costs were related to the exemption. A LaTerra spokeswoman said the proposed change was a small component of Chois work for the firm. Council members got a flurry of letters criticizing the plan in February, when the committee was first scheduled to consider it. After L.A. officials said the proposed exemption would apply only to one project, some of those critics said their concerns had shifted. We just want to make sure that this proposed change doesnt become a precedent, said Rene Moya, director of Housing Is A Human Right, a division of the nonprofit AIDS Healthcare Foundation. emily.alpert@latimes.com Twitter: @AlpertReyes Increasingly isolated, Prime Minister Theresa May backed down Thursday from plans to seek Parliaments support for a Brexit bill already rejected by much of her Conservative Party, as expectations rose that she would cave in to demands that she resign and let a new leader try to complete the U.K.'s stalled withdrawal from the European Union. Conservative lawmakers have given May until Friday to announce a departure date or face a likely leadership challenge. Several British media outlets reported that she would agree to give up the prime ministers post June 10, sparking a Conservative leadership contest. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the committee that oversees Conservative leadership races, said that if May did not agree to leave, there would be overwhelming pressure for a no-confidence vote in her. If May does name an exit date, she will likely remain prime minister for several more weeks while Conservative lawmakers and members vote to choose a successor. Advertisement Mays spokesman, James Slack, said she would still be in office when U.S. President Donald Trump comes to Britain for a June 3-5 state visit. She looks forward to welcoming the president, he said. Conservative lawmakers increasingly see May as an obstacle to Britains EU exit, although her replacement will face the same dilemma: a Parliament deeply divided over whether to leave the EU, and how close a relationship to seek with the bloc after it does. Few doubt this is the endgame for Mays term, which has been consumed by Britains decision to leave the EU. Senior Conservatives, including former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and several members of her Cabinet, are already jockeying for position in the coming leadership race. With her authority draining away by the hour, May on Thursday delayed plans to publish the EU withdrawal bill her fourth and likely final attempt to secure Parliaments backing for her Brexit blueprint. House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom another likely contender helped seal Mays fate when she resigned late Wednesday, saying she could not support Mays withdrawal bill. The draft contains measures aimed at winning support from the opposition, including a promise to let Parliament vote on whether to hold a new EU membership referendum. That concession, which could ultimately lead to Brexit being halted, was the final straw for many Conservative lawmakers and ministers, who also balked at Mays offer of a close customs relationship with the EU, which would limit Britains trade autonomy. Leadsom said Mays Brexit plan did not deliver on the referendum result that saw voters in 2016 opt to leave the EU. No one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this government and our party, Leadsom wrote in a resignation letter to May. May moved quickly Thursday to replace Leadsom with former Treasury minister Mel Stride. But she also delayed the bill, which May previously said would be published Friday and put to a vote during the week of June 3. On Thursday, the government only promised an update on the bill during that week. The political turmoil weighed on the pound, which fell to $1.2601 on Thursday, its lowest point against the dollar since early January. May met Thursday with two of her most senior ministers, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who underscored Cabinet concerns about her bill. Slack said May was listening to colleagues views and still hoped to secure backing for her Brexit deal. But he said delivering Brexit had proved more challenging even than she had imagined. May became prime minister soon after the June 2016 EU membership referendum and has spent her entire tenure trying to deliver on that decision. She seemed close to success when she struck a divorce agreement with the EU late last year. But lawmakers have rejected it three times, and Britains long-scheduled departure date of March 29 passed with the country still in the bloc. Many Conservatives blame May for the delay, and want her replaced with a more ardent Brexiteer such as Johnson or former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab. May says another leader wont be able to strike a better deal with the EU, which insists it will not renegotiate Britains departure terms. Digital Minister Margot James stood up for May, saying the prime minister was being hounded out of office because Parliament will not make a decision and the parties just have an inability to compromise. If May stays on until next week, pressure is likely to increase when results come in from this weeks elections for the European Parliament, with Conservatives expecting to receive a drubbing. Many British voters on both sides of the Brexit debate look set to use the election to the EU legislature to express displeasure over the political gridlock. Opinion polls show strong support for the single-issue Brexit Party largely from angry former Conservative voters and for pro-EU parties including the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. The election is being held on Thursday in Britain, but results wont be announced until all 28 EU countries have finished voting late Sunday. British newspapers were unanimous Thursday in declaring that the end was nigh for May. The Conservative-backing Daily Telegraph said in an editorial that either Mrs. May must go as soon as humanly possible, or the Conservative Party must finally remove her. The Daily Mail, which has been supportive of May, said that despite her valiant efforts to deliver an honorable Brexit, she has finally run out of road. ___ Associated Press writer Carlo Piovano contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Serbian authorities say two migrants are dead and two others are in serious condition after hiding in a truck tank in a bid to reach Western Europe. The men were discovered two days ago in northern Serbia when the truck driver opened the tank for washing and saw them lying unconscious. The Clinical Center of Vojvodina on Thursday said the migrants suffered from hyperthermia and hypoxia. One died on Wednesday and the other died overnight. The two others are in intensive care. Police say at least two of the migrants are from Afghanistan. Advertisement Thousands of migrants fleeing war and poverty have been moving through the Balkans in a bid to reach wealthy nations in the West. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A judge has sentenced a southern Illinois man to life in prison for the death of a mother and her unborn child. WSIL-TV reports a judge sentenced 60-year-old Rodney Black on Tuesday. Black was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the 2015 killing of Latisha Reidelberger and the child she was carrying. Black was scheduled to be sentenced last week but his attorneys had asked for more time to consider a motion for a new trial and a pre-sentence investigation. The judge on Tuesday denied those motions. The TV station reports Black will serve the life sentence concurrent to a 20-year sentence he was given for attacking a jail guard in September 2015. Advertisement Reidelbergers family members say the life sentence was the outcome they were looking for and they are glad the case is over. ___ Information from: WSIL-TV, https://www.wsiltv.com Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. More than 5,000 Cubans have visited Nicaragua so far this year, a 900% increase over the total for all of 2018, Nicaraguan officials said Wednesday. It lends evidence to anecdotal accounts from Cuban migrants who say they passed through Nicaragua en route to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they are requesting asylum. Others come to buy hard-to-find goods for resale in Cuba, and Nicaraguan officials say still others are drawn by the countrys volcanoes and lakes. We have has a very significant arrival from Cuban tourists, Ana Carolina Garcia, Nicaragua National Tourism Institute promotion director, said on the pro-government Channel 4. Last year we had 556 Cubans and today weve already had more than 5,000. Advertisement Nicaragua has made it easier for Cubans to obtain visas. They need just a passport, photos and a $30 fee. Garcia said the visits increased after Venezuelan airline Conviasa started a Havana-Managua-Caracas route three times a week in December. The deteriorating economic situation for many Cubans and the loosening of visa restrictions helped make Nicaragua a favored destination. While some come to shop, others embark on an overland trek to the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2017, the U.S. government ended the so-called wet foot, dry foot policy, which essentially had allowed Cubans who reached U.S. soil to stay. Rather than attempting to cross to the Florida coast on rickety boats, Cubans began moving through Central America and Mexico to the border. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, 10,910 Cubans crossed in a six-month period, more than the 7,079 in the prior 12 months. Garcia, the tourism official, said the influx of Cubans had softened the blow to Nicaraguas tourism industry since anti-government protests were violently repressed beginning more than a year ago. Nicaraguas private sector has estimated the tourism industry lost $500 million during the year of unrest. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Motorists in Massachusetts would be barred from using hand-held cellphones while behind the wheel under legislation approved by the state House on Wednesday. The proposal passed on a 155-2 vote would also ramp up the collection of data on traffic stops around the state, after concerns were raised by minority legislators and civil libertarians that a cellphone law could lead to more racial profiling by police officers. House passage of the bill marked a milestone for supporters, as similar legislation has cleared the state Senate in previous years without surfacing for a final vote in the House. Many drivers from Massachusetts are already familiar with prohibitions on use of hand-held cellphones as they are in effect in the neighboring states of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Advertisement In all, 18 states and the District of Columbia have such laws, according to the Governors Highway Safety Bureau. Massachusetts currently bars texting while driving and all cellphone use by junior drivers under age 18. The measure approved Wednesday would allow drivers a single tap or swipe to activate a hands-free device, such as one that uses Bluetooth. Backers say it will reduce injuries and deaths resulting from distracted driving. Police have complained the ban on texting is difficult to enforce because officers cannot always distinguish whether a driver is using a phone to text or for some other purpose, such as punching in a phone number or accessing an app. The principal author of the House bill, Democratic Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett, said drivers should be directing their attention to the road, not their phones. Reading texts, reading information, reading emails, engaging in social media conversations are prohibited, under the bill, said Straus, co-chair of the Legislatures transportation committee. The phone doesnt need to be and shouldnt be in your hands. Relatives of several people who died in accidents caused by distracted drivers watched the debate from the House gallery. The measure calls for fines of $100 for the first offense, increasing to $500 if a driver is caught three times or more. Language in the bill would provide a grace period of sorts, as police would be allowed to issue only warnings until Jan. 1, 2020, after which fines could be levied. House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, said the racial profiling provisions were added to the bill after discussions with members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus. The provisions build on a state law in place since 2000 that asks police officers to record the race of drivers who are stopped and issued citations or written warnings for traffic infractions, Straus said. The goal was to determine if blacks or other minorities were being pulled over at rates significantly higher than whites. The problem, however, is that collection of race data has been spotty and rarely analyzed, he added. The bill would require the Registry of Motor Vehicles to collect the data from police departments and submit it annually to state public safety officials. The data would then be studied and made public. The bill also calls for the state to study the feasibility of expanding the data collection to include the race and gender of each individual subject to traffic stops, searches resulting from a traffic stop or frisks resulting from a traffic stop whether or not a citation is issued. The problem with racial profiling is that it impacts all drivers whether or not they receive a citation or a ticket and without getting that information we dont have a full picture, said Rahsaan Hall, director of racial justice for the Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Under the legislation, if the data collected indicates possible racial profiling by a police department, that agency will then be required to record racial information on all traffic stops, including those that do not result in a warning or citation, for one year. Officers would be asked to use their best judgment and life experience if they are uncertain of a drivers race, Straus said. The debate now moves to the Senate, which is scheduled to consider a similar bill June 6. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker also proposed banning the use of hand-held cellphones. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Senate leaders reached agreement Thursday on a $19.1-billion package to help states recover from natural disasters, including the California wildfires. The deal came after the White House agreed to give up on its demand for $4.5 billion in humanitarian border aid to be included in the disaster bill. Congressional Democrats who blame the border crisis on President Trumps policies said they wouldnt support the funding without new protections for asylum seekers. The Senate approved the bill 85-8 Thursday afternoon after all 100 senators agreed to fast-track the legislation. The House could approve the legislation as soon as Friday if GOP and Democratic leaders agree to pass it, even though most members of the House left Washington on Thursday for a weeklong recess. The legislative breakthrough between top Republicans and Democrats in Congress came just a day after Trump suggested that he would not approve any legislation unless Democrats stop their investigations into his administration. Advertisement The bills funding can be used by states to address the consequences of last years wildfires and hurricanes, including those in California and along the East Coast, respectively, as well as tornadoes and floods in the Midwest this year. California will be eligible for up to $12.6 billion of the new spending, according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The bill will also make people who suffered losses from the Paradise fire eligible for rural development funds from the Department of Agriculture, money that would not have otherwise been available to them, according to Feinstein. Such bills to respond to natural disasters were once relatively perfunctory in the Senate. But this package has been under debate for months, bogged down by political disputes. The bill appeared unlikely to pass as recently as Wednesday. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) blamed lawmakers for being unwilling to compromise. We got into this paradigm or game where its a zero-sum operation, where somebody has to win and somebody has to lose, and thats not conducive to compromise, Cornyn said. Republicans had earlier relented in a spat over safeguarding funding for Puerto Rico. The president had threatened to restrict future disaster aid to the island and Democrats included protections for Puerto Rico in the bill. The bill will provide about $1.4 billion in aid to the island. Trump assured GOP Sens. David Perdue of Georgia and Richard Shelby of Alabama in a phone call Thursday afternoon that he would support the disaster package without the border funding. Shelby, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, credited Trump for enabling the breakthrough. I want to thank President Trump for breaking the gridlock and getting this disaster relief to Americans who so desperately need it, Shelby said. We have been working on this package for several months, and I am pleased to say that help is finally on the way. It was just six months ago that the government was partially shut down over Trumps demands for border security funding as part of a larger government spending bill. But the latest Trump request, rather than for a border wall, was intended to handle the surge of people arriving and being held at the border. Vice President Mike Pence had been pressing lawmakers to approve the humanitarian aid. Im frankly a little bit surprised [Trumps] willing to leave that off, Cornyn said of the disaster bill. Lawmakers said Thursday that they would continue to consider Trumps border funding request. Eight senators, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), voted against the disaster bill. The former GOP presidential candidate said the bill was loaded with billions of dollars in unrelated pet projects. Instead of rushing through billion-dollar spending bills at the eleventh hour without sufficient input or debate, Congress needs to start budgeting for natural disasters, Romney said. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. Keith Koster of Saratoga Springs was inducted to the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame during ceremonies Tuesday in Albany. A three-time cancer survivor, Koster recently completed the Centennial Challenge, hiking and summiting all 46 Adirondack High Peaks while carrying an American Legion flag to celebrate the Legions 100th anniversary. In March, the Legions national magazine featured Koster on its cover in recognition of his incredible accomplishment. Serving my nation, community and fellow veterans continues to be part of my lifes work, he said. This challenge demonstrated the value of hard work, dedication, discipline and being part of a cause thats greater than yourself. These are all life lessons that I learned in the United States Navy and through my ongoing service in the American Legion. Koster was nominated to the Hall of Fame by state Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, who is in her first term in office. From this years 75th anniversary of D-Day during World War II, when the Greatest Generation saved the world from evil and tyranny, to the ongoing commitment to protecting America and fighting the war on terror, the men and women of our armed forces are the best, brightest and bravest that our nation has to offer, Jordan said. They protect our freedom, achieve the impossible, move mountains and, in the case of Keith Koster, they even climb them, all 46 of New Yorks high peaks, multiple times. Keith Koster is an inspirational three-time cancer survivor who continues finding new challenges to conquer as he serves his fellow Capital Region veterans through his work and leadership in the American Legion, she said. Keith has served our nation with valor and distinction and I am proud to name him as my first inductee to the Senate Veterans Hall of Fame. The 43rd Senate District includes all of Columbia County, and parts of Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Washington counties. Launched in 2005, the Senate Veterans Hall of Fame honors New York states outstanding veterans. During a patriotic ceremony held in Albany, the heroic service of each distinguished veteran was celebrated and honored. A 1980 Shenendehowa High School graduate, Koster enlisted in the Navy and served from May 1982 to April 1988. He went to boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill., and trained as an electronic warfare technician in Pensacola, Fla., being named Sailor of the Month before joining his ship the USS Suribachi (AE-21) at Naval Weapon Station, Earle, N.J. Koster was honorably discharged as a Petty Officer 1st Class (EW1). In recognition of his exemplary military service, Koster received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. An American Legion paid-up-for-life member, Koster has served in various positions in the Legion up to and including 3rd and 4th District Department vice commander. He is currently judge advocate for the 4th District American Legion, finance officer for Saratoga American Legion, chaplain for Adirondack Post 70 in Saratoga Springs, and is a 2015 graduate of the American Legion College. Koster graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2009 with a bachelor of science degree and enjoys mountaineering and ballroom dancing in his spare time. This is a fantastic honor and one that my family and I genuinely appreciate, Koster said. Kosters military service biography in the Senate Veterans Hall of Fame is available at https://www.nysenate.gov/profiles/2019/daphne-jordan/keith-koster. Brain power Biomedical Science student awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Second-year Ph.D. candidate Katy Pilarzyk was one of three University of South Carolina students awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship this year. Second-year Ph.D. candidate Katy Pilarzyk developed a passion for studying the brain while taking Psychology 101 during her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. I liked that there is so much that isnt known and that its so complicated and complex, says Pilarzyk. I knew I liked the brain, but I wasnt sure if I wanted to go the medical school route or the research route. After spending a year as a phlebotomist, Pilarzyk decided the clinical world wasnt the right fit. In 2016, after never even visiting South Carolina, she accepted a position as a research technician in Michy Kellys lab in the University of South Carolinas School of Medicine in Columbia. The following year she applied to be a Ph.D. candidate in schools Biomedical Sciences Program. This spring her decision to pursue a career in research was validated when she was named one of only three University of South Carolina students to be awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. NSF Graduate Research Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, and opportunities for international research and professional development. Abigail Herschman and Noemi Glaeser, both students in the universitys College of Engineering and Computing, where the other two UofSC recipients. Six South Carolina alumni also were named fellows. Pilarzyk will use her funding to continue her work in Kellys lab. Kelly, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, studies the inner workings of the brain to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying social and cognitive deficits. Specifically, her team is investigating phosphodiesterase 11 (PDE11A), an enzyme found in a brain region key to the circuitry of social behaviors. Previously, the lab has found too much or too little PDE11 can result in increased deficits. Pilarzyk has been involved in studying the effects of social isolation on PDE11. Social isolation is known to negatively impact an individuals mental and physical health and even increase the risk of suicide, but little is understood about how social isolation affects the brain on a molecular level. I love what I do because sometimes we have a few pieces of information that dont seem like a big deal, but then once we put the puzzle together and see the big picture, everything starts to make more sense and actually changes how we see the world around us. Katy Pilarzyk Using animal modeling, the team has discovered subjects who experience the stress of social isolation tend to show decreased PDE11, which in turn affects their social memories and behaviors. The team hopes their findings can eventually help lead to more effective treatments for the social and behavioral deficits often seen in neuropsychiatric diseases, as well as age-related diseases. Social isolation is devastating for both physical and mental health, but it also is debilitating for society because people who feel isolated tend to drop out of society and we need everyone to contribute to have a functional society, Pilarzyk says. Pilarzyk plans to use her NSF funding to compare the effects of chronic social isolation versus acute social isolation, as well as the differences in how adolescents respond to social isolation compared to adults. I love what I do because sometimes we have a few pieces of information that dont seem like a big deal, but then once we put the puzzle together and see the big picture, everything starts to make more sense and actually changes how we see the world around us," Pilarzyk says. Students seeking national fellowships can be assisted by the Office of Fellowships & Scholar Programs. For more information about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship program or other national competitions, contact the Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs. Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The government willl not protest the detention of former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales at the Hong Kong airport last Tuesday as it is a country's right to decide who can enter its territory. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Thursday that the government was unlikely to intervene with another nation's processes as he responded to calls for Malacanang to issue a formal protest regarding the case. Wala tayong magagawa doon (holding her) kasi it's their right. Pareho rin tayo diba, pag meron tayong hinihintong mga foreigners, nilalagay din natin sa kwarto. Tinatanong natin, he told reporters in a media briefing. In the same way that we don't want to be subjected to interference with respect to how we treat people coming in, di rin tayo makikialam sa kanila (we wont interfere). [Translation: We cant do anything about that because its their right. Just like what we do here, we stop foreigners. We question them in a room.] Morales, who flew to Hong Kong with family members Tuesday for a vacation, was denied entry by airport officials for supposed immigration reasons. The feisty former Supreme Court justice was shuffled into a room, and asked to sign documents which she refused to touch. A commander of the airport later in the day allowed her to enter the country, but Morales and her family opted to fly back to Manila following the ordeal. Panelo said the government would definitely protest if Morales was harassed, but he noted that Morales was only annoyed by the disruption of her vacation plans with her family. Kasi kung binastos siya, kung ministreat siya, hindi pwede sa atin 'yun. We will definitely protest. Pero hindi naman, the spokesperson said, recalling his conversation with Morales. [Translation: If she was harassed or mistreated, thats not okay. We will definitely protest. But she was not.] Related to ICC complaint? A Hong Kong legislator, speaking to CNN Philippines Wednesday, called his countrys move against Morales as unreasonable and a departure from the rule of law. READ: Hong Kong lawmaker: Denial of PH Ombudsmans entry unreasonable, barbaric Morales earlier said she believed her detention was linked to the complaint she and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario filed to with the International Criminal Court against Chinese President Xi Jinping. The complaint was over crimes against humanity resulting from Beijings activities in the West Philippine Sea. Panelo, however, stressed he does not want to speculate until an official statement from China comes in. Wala naman silang statement, di ba? There is no official statement. Tinanong ni former Ombudsman kung bakit, wala namang sinasabi sa kanya, he noted. [Translation: Theres no statement, right? The former Ombudsman asked, but she received no answer.] She is entitled to her opinion, she exercises her right to freedom of expression and we respect that, all of us. CNN Philippines' Alyssa Rola and Chad de Guzman contributed to this report. Dealing with dementia New center to focus on Alzheimers disease and minority research Social work and public health researchers Sue Levkoff and Daniela Friedman are teaming up to open a new front line in the battle against Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia, particularly among the African American population, which has a greater incidence of the disease and related dementias. Their goal is to create a pipeline of researchers, predominantly African American, to find new approaches to addressing the socio-economic and cultural influences that might contribute to this health disparity. Levkoff and Friedman have been awarded a $4 million research training grant from the National Institute on Aging to establish the Carolina Center on Alzheimers Disease and Minority Research. The center will work with the states other research institutions Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina as well as several historically black colleges and universities around the state, including Allen University in Columbia and Claflin and South Carolina State universities in Orangeburg, to identify and train a cohort of researchers. The collaboration was key for Levkoff, a native of South Carolina, who established a National Institute on Aging-funded center at Harvard University that focused on dementia caregiving interventions. Alzheimers research has been a passion of mine for a very long time, says Levkoff, who holds an endowed chair in the College of Social Work. The fact that the work will be done in South Carolina is particularly relevant because we have such great needs. The university also has great resources, especially in the Arnold School of Public Healths Office for the Study of Aging, which Friedman co-directs and which has the oldest and most comprehensive Alzheimers disease registry in the country. South Carolina has about 93,000 people currently living with Alzheimers disease. Collectively, we have expertise in cognitive aging, Alzheimers disease and related dementias, minority health, population health, faculty mentoring and career development, Friedman says. We were extremely well-poised to establish this center at the University of South Carolina. Faculty members from the center will work with three new researchers each year and mentor them in Alzheimers research. The center also will provide training and seminars focused on minority health and aging research to a broader group of faculty members whom they hope to inspire to apply for funding through the center. Each scientist will receive up to $30,000 for a project. After five years, there will be 15 well-trained researchers in the field. This funding provides an opportunity for us to engage HBCU faculty in research on aging and Alzheimers disease so they can excite their students in this field, hopefully building an important pipeline, Levkoff says. The center has its first cohort of three researchers who have received funding to conduct population-based research on Alzheimers disease and related dementias one each from South Carolina, Clemson and S.C. State. The first projects will make use of existing data to look at the impact of location, other health issues and religion on cognitive functioning in patients with Alzheimers disease and related dementias. Miriam Evans, assistant professor of health education at S.C. State, is using data from the S.C. Alzheimers Disease Registry and Medicaid claims to look at mortality in Alzheimers disease and related dementia patients who also have chronic health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. We are just getting started, Evans says. This is a learning process for me as well especially learning more about the different dementia types. This funding provides an opportunity for us to engage HBCU faculty in research on aging and Alzheimers disease so they can excite their students in this field, hopefully building an important pipeline. Sue Levkoff, College of Social Work Nicole Davis, nursing professor and nurse practitioner at Clemson, is working with the Alzheimers Registry, the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office and the Clemson Center for Geospatial Technologies to map Alzheimers disease and related dementia prevalence across the state to determine relationships between factors such as race and ethnicity, geographic location and health care utilization. As a geriatric nurse practitioner for the past 16 years, I have worked closely with these patients and their families and have witnessed firsthand the impacts of the disease as well as the benefits and challenges of delivering quality health care, Davis says. These experiences drive me as a researcher to find ways to address these challenges by developing supportive systems to improve health outcomes. Davis says African Americans with Alzheimers disease and related dementias tend to fare worse than their white counterparts. Minority populations are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease missing the benefits of early treatment and are less likely to seek help from a health care provider and have poorer outcomes once diagnosed, she says. One bright spot for African Americans in this arena has been seen in the research of Andrea K. Henderson, an assistant professor in sociology. Henderson is using data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of aging adults in America sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, to look at the impact of religion and faith on cognitive functioning. Her study is wrapping up and she is planning a presentation on her findings that faith tends to be more of a help for black women in protecting their cognitive functioning. Religion and faith are least effective at helping white men avoid cognitive decline. Its this private, personal dimension of religion religiosity thats most protective for black women, not the social aspects of regular attendance, Henderson says. I wish I had a really profound reason for why. Our findings bring up a lot of questions that are unanswerable in the data we have, but we are hoping that it encourages other lines of research. It is that diversity of study ideas that is a primary goal of the Carolina Center on Alzheimers Disease and Minority Research. I think the center is a great way to establish a new research agenda that has implications for our state and our nation, Henderson says. Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about A visit to the doctor's office typically begins with a series of questions, including one about medications. An Iowa State University researcher recommends doctors ask a follow up to that question to make sure patients are taking their medications as prescribed. Alison Phillips, an associate professor of psychology, says medication adherence is vital to patient health and outcomes. However, research shows 20 to 50 percent of patients forget or do not take their meds for various reasons. While doctors know adherence is a problem, Phillips says they avoid asking about it, because patients struggle to recall missed pills or give an answer they think doctors want to hear rather than admit the truth. Understanding these challenges, Phillips and co-author Elise A. G. Duwe, former postdoctoral researcher in Phillips' lab and resident physician at Northeast Iowa Family Medicine Education Foundation, tested whether doctors could effectively estimate adherence by reading transcripts of patients' descriptions of their medication routine. The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, is one of the first to find doctors were as accurate in estimating patients' adherence as patients were in reporting the medications they had taken. "Most doctors do not discuss adherence with their patients, but they should," Phillips said. "If it's too uncomfortable to ask if they're taking their medications, doctors should ask patients about their habits. It can offer insight on adherence or at the very least be a conversation starter for a topic normally not addressed." Routines are revealing Patients in the study were asked to describe their daily routine for taking medication and to recall how many days during the last week they missed a pill. Researchers used a medication monitoring system to track compliance for the following month. The system attaches to a pill bottle and records the date and time when the bottle is opened. Of the 156 patients, 75 took a pill for hypertension, the other 81 were on medication for type-2 diabetes. Phillips and Duwe shared examples of how patients described their medication-taking routines. A patient with high adherence: "Get up, take it very first thing because must be time lag between taking it and eating. Then shower and shave then eat." A patient with low adherence: "I take it twice a day with food. I try to take it at lunch and dinner. But sometimes I slip up and end up taking at different times." Researchers shared this data with doctors and asked them to estimate adherence (for percentage of prescribed doses taken and percentage of doses taken on time) based on patient descriptions and recall. The estimates were compared to adherence rates calculated by the monitoring system. Phillips says the doctors were just as good at estimating patients' adherence from the patients' routine descriptions as they were when estimating from patients' direct reports of missed pills. Helping patients develop a routine If patients do not have a medication routine or habit, developing one will lessen their risk of forgetting, Phillips said. She plans to build upon the research by designing and testing interventions for doctors to share with patients they identify as less likely to adhere. Phillips says there are several reasons why patients do not take their medications. For some, cost and access is a barrier. Others do not trust medications and would rather make lifestyle changes than take a pill. Even those who accept they need the medication may think they can take a break or only take half of what is prescribed, she said. "With many medications, you need at least 80 percent adherence for the drug to work properly and some medications are even higher than that," Phillips said. "Habit-focused interventions would target those who forget to regularly take their pills versus those who consciously decide not to take their pills. Still, if doctors ask about routines it may reveal other barriers they need to consider when prescribing medication." Researchers may be able to improve corn yields and nutritional value after discovering genetic regulators that synthesize starch and protein in the widely eaten grain, according to a Rutgers-led study. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could benefit millions of people who rely on corn for nutrition in South America, Africa and elsewhere. The world's corn supply depends on improving its yield and quality, which relies on the accumulation of starch and proteins in the grain's endosperm, the study says. Endosperm, an important source of human nutrition that contains starch, oils and proteins, is the seed tissue that surrounds embryos. "We found a novel approach to discover new regulators in the synthesis of starch and protein, which determine grain yield and quality," said study lead author Zhiyong Zhang, a post-doctoral fellow at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The scientists discovered how corn starch and protein are simultaneously synthesized in the endosperm, which could allow them to find a good balance between nutrient quality and yield, Zhang said. Corn domestication and modern breeding have gradually increased starch content but decreased protein accumulation in endosperms. The researchers looked at key proteins in corn kernels known as zeins, which are devoid of lysine, an essential amino acid (a building block of proteins), resulting in poor nutrient quality. During corn breeding over decades, people increased lysine content by cultivating corn with lower levels of zeins. Still, today's lysine levels are too low to meet the needs of the world's rapidly growing population. So, molecular geneticists and corn breeders are trying to dramatically reduce zein levels to improve corn nutrient quality by focusing on blocking them and so-called transcription factors. Transcription is when the information in a gene's DNA is transferred to RNA, resulting in proteins that play key roles in the body's tissues, organs, structure and functions. The research team found that two transcription factors play key roles in regulating the synthesis of starch and protein, paving the way for further research to fully understand the balance between nutrient quality and yield at a molecular level. Rutgers co-authors include post-doctoral fellow Jiaqiang Dong and senior author Joachim Messing, director of the Waksman Institute. Scientists at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences contributed to the study. We know that the environment in which children and young adults are raised influences healthy brain development. Now, a psychologist at Yale is taking a stance against the negative effects of a particularly harrowing environment in her own backyard: the U.S. prison system. In a paper published May 22 in the journal Neuron, the author declares that everybody, including young offenders, deserves healthy brain development -- a right she says U.S. jails often infringe upon. "Healthy psychological brain development is not a privilege for the elite, but is a right for all," says B.J. Casey, a Professor of Psychology and member of the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program and Justice Collaboratory at Yale University. She believes that this right is often infringed upon by the U.S. legal system because the U.S. jails more adolescents than any other country, yet doesn't provide opportunities for them to build the skills necessary to become a person who functions well in society. To that end, more protections are needed for young people who ultimately wind up in the legal system to ensure they can have healthy psychological development. Specifically, Casey believes bail reform is essential. In fact, 80% of detainees at Rikers, a notoriously harsh correctional facility in New York, have not been convicted of a crime, and many of them remain in custody simply because they cannot afford bail. Of those detainees, nearly 15% are teens. Casey argues that "reforms need to be implemented to prevent as many of these kids from landing in jail in the first place." Additionally, she recommends reforming the transfer system. She points out that many U.S. states have no minimum age for transfer to adult courts. Lastly, closing facilities that are strictly disciplinary and lack rehabilitation components is critical as well. Casey says these monumental failings of the justice system are exemplified in the case of Kalief Browder, a 16-year-old who was never convicted of a crime but was detained at Rikers for three years because his family could not post bail, with two of those years spent in solitary confinement. Two years later, Browder would take his own life. "Typically, when we think of young offenders, we think of teenagers," Casey says, "but research is emerging that suggests significant changes in brain function extends into the early 20s that are relevant to justice policy." She reports that policy-makers are beginning to recognize the life stage of young adulthood as markedly different from other life stages. The creation of young adult courts popping up throughout the country, as well as pilot programs that require more rehabilitation rather than strictly punitive measures for individuals up to the age of 25, demonstrate this slow shift. But more work is needed, she says. "None of this addresses the white elephant in the room. When we talk about young people who come into contact with the law or who are transferred to adult courts, a disproportionate number of them are youths of color," she says. Casey notes that her future research involves looking at how encounters with individuals of color can impact actions and perceptions. "As developmental scientists, we need to continue to do objective, empirical research that responsibly informs policy," she says. "I feel very compelled to try to answer these difficult questions." What kind of beer did the Pharaohs drink? In ancient times, beer was an important ingredient in people's daily diet. Great powers were attributed to beer in the ancient world, particularly for religious worship and healing properties. The pottery used to produce beer in antiquity served as the basis for this new research. The research was led by Dr. Ronen Hazan and Dr. Michael Klutstein, microbiologists from the School of Dental Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). They examined the colonies of yeast that formed and settled in the pottery's nano-pores. Ultimately, they were able to resurrect this yeast to create a high-quality beer...that's approximately 5,000 years old. Many cooks were invited into this'beer kitchen to isolate the yeast specimens from the ancient debris and to create a beer with it. First the scientists reached out to vintners at Kadma Winery. This winery still produces wine in clay vessels, proving that yeast may be safely removed from pottery, even if it had lain dormant in the sun for years. The yeast was then photographed by Dr. Tziona Ben-Gedalya at Ariel University's Eastern R&D Center. Following her initial examination, the team reached out to archaeologists Dr. Yitzhak Paz from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAI), Professor Aren Maeir at Bar Ilan University and Professors Yuval Gadot and Oded Lipschits from Tel Aviv University. These archaeologists gave them shards of pottery that had been used as beer and mead (honey wine) jugs back in ancient times -- and miraculously, still had yeast specimens stuck inside. These jars date back to the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh Narmer (roughly 3000 BCE), to Aramean King Hazael (800 BCE) and to Prophet Nehemiah (400 BCE) who, according to the bible, governed Judea under Persian rule. The researchers, with the help of HUJI student Tzemach Aouizerat, cleaned and sequenced the full genome of each yeast specimen and turned them over to Dr. Amir Szitenberg at the Dead Sea-Arava Science Center for analysis. Szitenberg found that these 5,000-year yeast cultures are similar to those used in traditional African brews, such as the Ethiopian honey wine tej, and to modern beer yeast. Now it was time to recreate the ancient brew. Local Israeli beer expert Itai Gutman helped the scientists make the beer and the brew was sampled by Ariel University's Dr. Elyashiv Drori, as well as by certified tasters from the International Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), under the direction of brewer and Biratenu owner Shmuel Nakai. The testers gave the beer a thumbs up, deeming it high-quality and safe for consumption. Dr. Ronen Hazan, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine: "The greatest wonder here is that the yeast colonies survived within the vessel for thousands of years -- just waiting to be excavated and grown. This ancient yeast allowed us to create beer that lets us know what ancient Philistine and Egyptian beer tasted like. By the way, the beer isn't bad. Aside from the gimmick of drinking beer from the time of King Pharaoh, this research is extremely important to the field of experimental archaeology -- a field that seeks to reconstruct the past. Our research offers new tools to examine ancient methods, and enables us to taste the flavors of the past." Dr. Yitzchak Paz, Israel Antiquities Authority: "We are talking about a real breakthrough here. This is the first time we succeeded in producing ancient alcohol from ancient yeast. In other words, from the original substances from which alcohol was produced. This has never been done before." Prof. Yuval Gadot, Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures: "We dug at Ramat Rachel, the largest Persian site in the Judaean kingdom, and found a large concentration of jugs with the letters J, H, D -- Yahud -- written on them. In a royal site like Ramat Rachel it makes sense that alcohol would be consumed at the home of the Persian governor." Prof. Aren Maeir, Bar-Ilan University's Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology: "These findings paint a portrait that supports the biblical image of drunken Philistines." Chemists from the University of Bonn and their US colleagues at Columbia University in New York have discovered a novel mechanism in catalysis. It allows the synthesis of certain alcohols more cheaply and environmentally friendly than before. The reaction follows a previously unknown pattern in which hydrogen is split into three components in a time-coordinated manner. More than five years passed between the idea and its practical realization. The results are published in the journal Science. Alcohols are common chemical compounds which, in addition to carbon and hydrogen, contain at least one OH group. They serve as starting materials for a whole series of chemical syntheses and are often produced directly from olefins by addition of water (chemical formula: H 2 O). Olefins are hydrocarbons with a double bond available from oil. The water molecule serves as a "donor" of the OH-group characteristic of alcohols. This synthesis is simple and efficient, but it has a decisive disadvantage: It can only be used to produce certain alcohols, the so-called "Markovnikov alcohols." The OH group cannot simply be attached to any position of the olefin -- one of two positions is excluded. "We have now found a new catalytic method that can produce exactly these 'impossible' alcohols," explains Prof. Dr. Andreas Gansauer. Gansauer works at the Kekule Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Bonn. The idea for the new synthesis emerged in 2013 in a collaboration with the group of Prof. Dr. Jack Norton of Columbia University in New York. However, it took almost five years until the synthesis of the so-called "anti-Markovnikov alcohol" using the new catalytic system worked well enough to be published. Acceleration and slowing down by the catalysts' ligands The fact that the two groups succeeded in making it into the journal Science is due to the unusual reaction mechanism. Epoxides, common and valuable intermediate products of the chemical industry, serve as starting materials. Epoxides can be produced by adding an oxygen atom (chemical symbol: O) to olefins. If they are allowed to react with hydrogen molecules (H2), the oxygen becomes an OH group. Normally, with this approach only Markovnikov alcohols are produced. "In our reaction, however, we successively transfer the hydrogen in three parts," explains Gansauer. "First a negatively charged electron, then a neutral hydrogen atom and finally a positively charged hydrogen ion, a proton. We use two catalysts, one of which contains titanium and the other chromium. "This allows us to convert epoxides into anti-Markovnikov alcohols." The timing of the entire process must be strictly coordinated -- like in juggling, where each ball has to maintain a specified flight duration. To achieve this, the chemists had to synchronize the speed of three catalytic reactions. To this end, they attached the 'right' ligands, molecules that control the metals' reactivity, to the titanium and chromium atoms. Until now, anti-Markovnikov alcohols have been produced through a so-called hydroboration followed by an oxidation. However, this reaction is relatively complex and not particularly sustainable. The new mechanism, on the other hand, does not produce any by-products and is thus practically waste-free. "Titanium and chromium are also very common metals, unlike many other noble metals that are often used in catalysis," Gansauer emphasizes. In 2013, Norton and Gansauer submitted their idea to a call for proposals on sustainable catalysis by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), winning first place. The project was largely financed with the grant money. "But the good cooperation within my institute has certainly also contributed to the success," emphasizes Gansauer. "For instance, I had access not only to the institute's resources, but also to equipment of the other groups from Bonn." When it comes to royal luxury such as jewelry, Egypt does not come short in the running. One of its most eye-catching and mysterious treasures is the yellow glass used on the pendant of King Tutankhamun himself. The yellow glass is not unique but can be found scattered in the Egyptian desert of Sahara. It is also called the Libyan desert glass which researchers believe to have been created by a meteorite impact about 29 million years ago. When molten material cools too quickly, the molecules are not able to settle into order and structure, much like a crystal. This naturally forms glass. The yellow glass was used in many ancient pieces of jewelry which includes a scarab that his carved from the said material. The said piece of pectoral jewelry was buried beside Tutankhamun. The material has tiny greenish-yellow fragments that were said to have been caused by an atmospheric airburst when the asteroid exploded, shooting particles through the atmosphere of the Earth. The theory states that the air blast has washed over the Egyptian desert which dumped vast amounts of heat into the sand which rapidly cooled and formed glass. The tiny grains of the mineral Zircon in the samples of the yellow glass was examined by the researchers from Curtin University in Australia. The researchers found the samples from over several thousand square kilometers in Egypt's Western area. Zircon is evidence that a high-pressure mineral, reidite, which forms only during meteorite impact, is present in the yellow glass. Aaron Cavosie, The lead author of the study, pointed out that it has been a topic of ongoing debate as to whether the glass was formed during the meteorite impact or it could have been during an airburst which can both cause melting. However, Cavosie explained that only a meteorite impact can create shockwaves that would be able to produce high-pressure minerals. The lead author explains that there are previous models that suggested that Libyan desert glass represented a large glass airburst, amounting to 100 Megatonnes (Mt). However, the results from the research done by Cavosie's group does not support the previous models. Cavosie also pointed out that meteorite impacts are not common catastrophic events. On the other hand, airbursts happen more frequently. Recent samples of yellow glass obtained by geologists were not reidite free as well. The scientist explained that their findings could help in understanding the possible threats that are posed by potential meteorite impacts. Editors note: An earlier version of this article by Max Falkowitz ran in 2010. It has since been updated with additional copy by Elazar Sontag. Cumin Flavor profile: Earthy, pungent, musky, and peppery. Goes well with: Gamey meats such as lamb or venison. Try it in: Indian, Chinese, Mexican, North African, and more cuisines. What to cook: Beef chili, spiced Bangladeshi eggplant, pork chile verde. Storage: Stored in an airtight container in a dark cabinet, ground cumin remains fresh up to three months, whole cumin up to one year. Discard and replace when fragrance is difficult to detect. For best results: Toast whole seeds over medium-high heat in a dry skillet until just fragrant, then grind. Bloom ground or whole cumin in hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds, before adding the rest of your ingredients to the infused oil. Cumin has an unmistakable flavor, at once earthy, musky, gamey, and slightly spicy. And for more than 5,000 years, humans have been grinding it, toasting it, and adding it to their food. On ancient Greek dinner tables, it was commonplace to find cumin positioned right next to salt. It was the other seasoning cooks and diners couldnt live without. And not much has changed since thenall these years later, we still add the spice to many of our favorite dishes. In the 7th century, traders spread cumin from Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean across North Africa, and eastward on their trade routes to Iran, India, China, and Indonesia. Hundreds of years later, Spanish conquistadors brought cumin to the Americas, where it became essential to Mexican cooking, and where the spice is still heavily cultivatedits a crucial spice in our tacos al pastor and carne asada recipes. Wherever the spice traveled, it became crucial to the cuisine it was introduced to: In Morocco, cumin features prominently in ras el hanout spice blends, used to season all sorts of marinades, stews, and tagines. In India, it was added to the garam masala that flavors curries, chickpeas, and countless other Indian dishes. The near-worldwide use of cumin is a testament to just how easily the spice mixes with and complements an endless array of vegetables, meats, and other spices. How to Buy and Store Cumin Aromatic cumin seeds come from a bushy, flowering plant, native to the Eastern Mediterranean, though India now produces and consumes the largest portion of the spice. Its wispy fronds are similar to those of its cousins, anise, carrot, and parsley. The seeds are harvested after the plants stalks have dried, and the fruit pods containing the seeds crack open. From this point, the cumin seeds are cleaned of any remaining dirt, and dried further before theyre packaged. When youre shopping for spices like cumin, its ideal to find a grocery store where the spice is selling out and being restocked frequently. Look for stores catering to cultures where the spice is in high demand. If you have an Indian grocery store in your neighborhood, go there. Since its hard to know when a grocery store last restocked their spices, this gives you the best chance of getting a fresh batch. Online retailers like Snuk and The Spice House are also reliable sources of fresh spices like cumin. Buying whole cumin seeds is a great call, even if you intend to grind them before cooking. The whole spice keeps much longer in a cool, dark cupboard, and its flavor will be more pronounced if you grind it moments before cooking. That said, theres plenty of good quality ground cumin on the market, too, if you dont have the time or patience for the whole spice. If you opt for the pre-ground spice, buy less of it, so you dont end up with a pound of stale, flavorless cumin on your hands. Spend some time taking inventory of and organizing your spices so you dont forget about the cumin you bought three months ago, finding it again only after it has lost its magic. Kept in an airtight container, the whole seeds will last for about a year, while the ground spice loses fragrance and flavor after about three months. If your whole cumin doesnt smell like much when you crush a bit between your fingers, youll know it has started to lose its oomph. A sniff test will also give you a good sense when ground cumin is ready to be tossed, or is on its last legs. The spice wont go bad, exactly, but after it has lost its intensity, its worth replacing. Buying whole seeds offers an additional advantage in that some recipes specifically call for them, both because the whole seeds offer up some textural pleasures while also contributing the spice's unique musk and bitterness to the dish. In addition, when you bite down on a seed, those unique qualities are all the more discernible. That said, we do also use the ground seed in plenty of spice mixtures and dishes, so we keep a good spice grinder and a mortar and pestle on hand. How to Cook With Cumin When cooking with whole cumin seeds there are two critical choices: how to heat them (to extract their oils) and when to add them to a dish. How you initially cook the spice determines how it will flavor the end result. To keep the flavor more confined to the seeds, toast them over medium-high heat in a dry skillet until fragrant, then remove them to a plate or bowl so they don't keep cooking. To infuse the entire dish with cumins flavor, bloom the seeds in hot oil until they begin crackling and popping, before adding additional ingredients. Watch them carefully as they cook, as small spices burn easily. If you do burn cumin seeds, toss them out and start again; there's no rescuing bitter cumin, and its powerful flavor will ruin a dish. Cumin added at the start of a disha common method when making a curry or rice pilafforms an earthy, spicy backdrop, but long cooking kills cumins subtleties. When tossed in at the end, it works more like an herbal garnish. Try adding the toasted seeds to roasted potatoes or vegetables along with some coarse salt. Or drizzle cumin-infused oil into a bowl of carrot soup in lieu of olive oil, along with a dollop of yogurt. To really make this spice the star of a dish, start with some toasted or fried cumin and finish with more of the same. One of our favorite quick weeknight meals revolves around this fragrant, punchy spice. We start by browning fresh sausages like merguez or chorizoboth of which usually contain cuminin a skillet with a little oil. Once the sausages have taken on some color and rendered some of their fat, we remove them from the pan, and bloom whole cumin seeds in the flavorful oil. When the seeds begin to snap and pop, we add green lentils, crushed tomatoes, and chicken stock. We simmer the lentils, uncovered, until they are nearly tender all the way through, and the cumin has been given a chance to flavor the tomato-and-chicken-stock cooking liquid. A generous bunch of slightly bitter dandelion greens get stirred into the mix, where they wilt before we nestle the sausages back into the pan to finish cooking. Garnished with a handful of cilantro, its a comforting and perfectly balanced dinner which comes together in minutes, and reminds us exactly why we always have a full jar of cumin seeds in our spice cabinet. Family and friends saw John Walker Lindh as an impressionable Marin County kid who bumbled his way onto the battlefields of Afghanistan at the height of Americas post-9/11 invasion there. To the rest of the world, he was the wild-haired jihadi dubbed The American Taliban. That was in 2001. Lindhs name may draw a blank for many today, but his nearly forgotten tale now has a new chapter: Lindh, 38, was released Thursday from federal prison after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, his lawyer told multiple media outlets. Lindh plans to live in Virginia, his lawyer, Bill Cummings, told CNN. In the end, most of the 10 terrorism-related charges against Lindh were dropped at trial, and he was convicted of one count of aiding the Taliban, a violation of U.S. economic sanctions, and one count of carrying a gun for them. But the public remained enraged by an American fighting alongside the countrys enemies and by the death of a CIA officer who had questioned Lindh just before his capture. After his capture in December 2001, when the horror of the 9/11 terror attacks was fresh and U.S. forces were raining hellfire on Afghanistan, Lindh was a pariah. President George W. Bush and then-Sen. Hillary Clinton both called him a terrorist, and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani suggested he be executed for treason. The first American of the era captured as a jihadi soldier, Newsweek labeled him American Taliban on its cover. The National Enquirer ran a story headlined Americas Traitor Tells All. Lindh, who professed when arrested that he considered himself a warrior for Islam, later tearfully denounced terrorism and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden whom he met while training as a Taliban soldier in Afghanistan at his sentencing in 2002. But some remain unconvinced that hes changed his views. In March, two U.S. senators asked President Trump to look into continuing Lindhs sentence, saying they think he is a terrorist and may pose a public threat if freed. The White House did not respond to requests for comment, and the senators referred The Chronicle to news releases and an April 1 tweet from one, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, saying Trump supports my call for Lindh to serve his full sentence. The father of Mike Spann, a CIA operative killed in a prisoner revolt at the mud-walled Afghan fort where the fighter was snared, also says Lindh should never leave prison and that he was at least partially responsible for Spanns death because Lindh was part of the uprising. Lindh, however, was not convicted of any charges related to Spanns death. A Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman said by email that prison regulations mandate that Lindh be freed Thursday, nearly three years early, taking into account good conduct behind bars and time served prior to his sentence. As for who this man is now, and what he will do after he gets out thats unknown. Who knows what hell do? said Mitch Silber, former terrorism analyst for the New York Police Department and founder of Parallel Networks, a nonprofit that works to reform former terrorists. The trouble is that there really arent programs in federal prison, or for those coming out, that help them acclimate to a better life in the real world. We reached out to him over the past couple of years, but he never answered back. I do know, though, from a colleague who was in prison with him that he still holds extremist views. He can certainly express them if he wants, under the First Amendment, but he cant act on them. That view is backed up by government documents leaked to Foreign Policy magazine in 2017, contending that in 2016 Lindh continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts, and had made pro-ISIS statements. His friends, and his father, have said he is simply studying his religion. Whatever his views, Lindh likely wont become a threat, Silber argued. There is a low probability hell turn to violence, he said. Hell be on a tight leash. Under terms of his release, he will be monitored for three years and wont be able to go onto social media, leave the country without permission. And he will be monitored to some extent for the rest of his life. Lindhs family and friends dispute that he has terrorist sympathies. His father, Frank Lindh, a lawyer who teaches part time at the University of San Francisco, has been the only family member to speak out over the years. From the beginning, hes insisted his son was misguided and never meant to harm anyone. When the young man was positioning to fight for the Taliban, a few months prior to 9/11, the U.S. was still sending financial aid to the group. After American officials learned that the Taliban was harboring bin Laden, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan but by then the younger Lindh was already deep into his spiritual journey overseas, his father said. John is a very sweet kid, devoted, religious, devoted to his religious conversion ... a good boy, Lindh said in 2001. Five years later, he argued that his son never fought against America. ... He was absolutely not a traitor. 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. Lindhs family and the lawyers who defended him at trial, led by James Brosnahan of San Francisco, declined to comment about his release. Friends said Lindh was scapegoated, and the family just wants the attention to blow over. Everyone still believes John was just caught up in something he didnt understand, and because the government didnt have bin Laden at the time they pointed all their rage at John, one close friend said several months ago, before the family asked that no acquaintances speak publicly. He was just a scared kid who wound up half-dead in a fortress, then got dragged into that whole mess. He is still a good person. When he was captured, Lindh seemed like an unlikely candidate for a jihadi. A young man raised in privilege in Marin by a corporate lawyer father and a peace-loving Buddhist mom, he had wanted to become a professional flutist before reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X at 16. He then joined a local mosque and eventually wound up studying the Koran in Afghanistan, where he picked up a rifle, which he never fired in battle, according to court testimony. Lindh reportedly wants to immigrate to Ireland. He was granted Irish citizenship because a grandparent was born there, but he lacks an Irish passport, which he would need to move there. The Irish Embassy and CAGE, the British nonprofit that has advised him on immigration matters, would not comment on Lindhs post-prison plans. Whether Lindh can melt quietly back into American life is anyones guess, said Silber and other experts. They worry that he wont get enough help despite probation requirements that he undergo mental health counseling. He could have a rocky re-entry into civilian life, Silber said. Weve gotten pretty good now at deterrence and apprehending these types of guys before they go overseas, but there is no national strategy for what to do after that, said Patrick James, a researcher at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism in Maryland. We do nothing real in the way of rehabilitation, or for creating off-ramps for people either coming out of prison like Lindh, or kids who are getting pulled into terrorism philosophies online. And that is worrisome. As for Lindhs spot in history? James says he may momentarily be in the spotlight, but that will fade. He was a big story back then, but if you talk to a younger person today they probably dont know who he is. And was he just an impressionable, misguided youth or a real jihadi? It depends on who you ask, James said. Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron BART has narrowed its options for more secure gates to four, including the Iron Maiden turnstiles of the New York subway thick, prison-style bars that come together like interlocking teeth from floor to ceiling. Though the barred portals would significantly change the transit systems open, roomy aesthetic, they found favor with at least one director during a board presentation on Thursday. The agency is considering four options for new gates, which range from a slightly modified version of the current pie wedges, to the highly secure New York model. Things arent getting any better, so lets just go with the thing that gives us the most protection, said Director Debora Allen, who is pressuring BART to crack down on fare evasion, a problem that siphons $25 million a year from the agency revenues. But the iron gates present complications for a system thats struggling to move passengers through its entries and exits. They only allow 15 people to move through each minute, half of what the existing gates can manage. The revolving barred doors are also bigger than other concepts, meaning fewer exits could fit in each aisleway. That could spell chaos during rush hour, Board President Bevan Dufty told The Chronicle. On top of that, the Iron Maiden is not accessible to wheelchairs, which means BART would have to come up with a different innovation for disabled passengers. Allen said she still supports the concept, so long as BART can alter it to allow wheelchairs through and double the rate of entries and exits. Foley suggested trying a blended design. It would be difficult to achieve, said Tamar Allen, assistant general manager of operations. Director Mark Foley also touted the Iron Maiden, saying he thought it might work for some stations. He and Allen also praised two options for plexiglass barriers. One would swing out to let people through; the other would retract into the consoles. Others, including Director Robert Raburn, recoiled. Im not very enamored of the look and feel of the New York system, he said. BART engineers are toiling away at new turnstile designs in a laboratory on the second floor of the agencys downtown Oakland headquarters. Theyve rolled out one modification already a cinched gate with higher air pressure to prevent cheats from prying the wedges open. Also on the table: a double-decker version with two gates stacked vertically, so that one opens at waist level, the other at chest level. The stacked gates will appear at Richmond Station this summer, while a pop-up barrier concept plates shaped like shark fins that spring up when the gates close will debut at Fruitvale. The shark fins provide more security, engineers say, because its difficult to vault over them. Most board directors, including Allen and Foley, encouraged transit officials to continue these tweaks as they assess new designs. The agency has long been dogged by fare evasion and the perception of lawlessness it creates. Many riders associate cheating with the uptick of crime, drug use, and transients on BART, although nobody has proved that connection, Director Janice Li noted. So far, officials have tackled the problem by hiring inspectors to stand at entry points and cruise through trains, demanding proof of payment. Yet some board directors question the efficacy of that program, and urging BART to harden its stations to block cheats. 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. Modifying the existing gates would be the least expensive option, at an estimated $15 to $20 million. Replacing them with any of the other options could cost as much as $135 million. BART has yet to identify funds to replace about 600 gates throughout the system, but the lack of money hasnt deterred the board. Theres whole lot of other things we dont have funding for, Allen said, alluding to big, necessary infrastructure projects like the second transbay tube. She said the new gates are essential, and the agency would find a way to buy them. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will build underground electric distribution power lines in Paradise, Magalia and other areas in rural Butte County to prevent wildfires like the deadly Camp Fire, utility officials said Wednesday. Aaron Johnson, PG&E vice president of electric operations, announced the decision at a Paradise council meeting. We decided to rebuild in this way after a careful review of factors, town planning and safety considerations, Johnson said in a statement. This is just one of many ways we are trying to assist communities in their recovery. The Camp Fire, the most destructive and deadly wildfire in state history, decimated the town of Paradise and killed 85 people. Last week, investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that PG&E power equipment caused the Camp Fire. Officials said Paradises urban design proved to be well suited for the undergounding project, which will include replacing 74 miles of damaged natural gas lines and burying electric and gas infrastructure in the same trench. Paradises transmission lines will not be part of the project, because they were not damaged by the blaze, officials said. Only the distribution lines will go underground. Transmission lines are supported by tall metal towers and carry electricity across the state. Distribution lines are supported by shorter wooden poles and deliver electricity to neighborhoods and communities over a shorter distance. Distribution lines are the final stage of electricity delivery to homes and businesses in communities, according to PG&E. The undergrounding process which will come at no additional cost to area residents is expected to take more than five years to complete because of the amount of engineering, design and construction required, PG&E officials said. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California Crews plan to install temporary overhead service in neighborhoods where residents are actively rebuilding as they begin the underground work, officials said. Engineering an underground system requires designing the system around existing water, natural gas and drainage systems, as well as planning for future road widening and the possibility of a sewer system for Paradise, officials said. Security was tight at Sen. Kamala Harris presidential campaign kickoff rally in Oakland: More than 200 city police officers worked overtime for the January event. That doesnt come cheap, it turns out. Paying police alone racked up a bill of more than $187,000, according to an invoice the city sent to the California Democrats campaign. Some of the bills that the campaign has already repaid: $5,000 to the Oakland Fire Department and $8,000 to the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Harris campaign has so far paid $65,000 on the city police tab and has until next month to send the more than $122,000 remaining, according to the city. Such bills are common the city doesnt help out candidates for free. In terms of paying for events, for overtime for police or city services, I have to do that when I have my events, said City Councilman Noel Gallo, chair of the Public Safety Committee. The money it cost Oakland was only the start for the Harris campaign it paid the Sacramento events production company Legion AVS received about $485,000 to put on the rally. The Jan. 27 campaign kickoff was widely seen as a success. Organizers estimated a crowd of 20,000 turned out, making the event one of the largest campaign roll-outs among the Democratic primary field. 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. Harris also had one the biggest post-announcement polling bumps, according to the news site FiveThirtyEight. The rally had a distinctly patriotic theme. Organizers were adamant about draping American flags from Oakland City Hall and got approval only hours before the event, thanks to help from Mayor Libby Schaaf. Kimberly Veklerov and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov @sarravani A bill that would have made California the first state in the country to ban flavored tobacco has been withdrawn by its authors, who say that amendments added to the measure would have weakened it significantly. State Sens. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, said Thursday that they pulled their bill, SB38, after the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to advance the measure but attached amendments that would have exempted flavored hookah and any flavored tobacco products patented before 2000 from the ban. Even with the amendments, the bill would still have banned flavored e-cigarettes, like the fruit and dessert-flavored vapes popularized by the San Francisco company Juul. E-cigarettes have become controversial because theyve been known to help some adult cigarette smokers wean off cigarettes though they are not approved smoking cessation products yet at the same time they have attracted many teens to start vaping an addictive nicotine product. The amendments would have allowed a number of other flavored tobacco products that also appeal to youth, such as sweet-flavored cigarillos and tobacco chew, to continue being sold, according to a spokeswoman for Hill. I introduced Senate Bill 38 to protect young people from the dangerous health risks of tobacco products in any form and to prevent another generation from becoming addicted to nicotine, Hill said in a statement. The aim was to prohibit tobacco products with fruit, candy and other flavors that entice young people from being sold in stores. The amendments imposed on the bill erode those protections by creating unnecessary, harmful exemptions. The hookah exemption was supported by the Hookah Chamber of Commerce, which represents 400 hookah lounges and retailers in California, according to a letter to Hill written by a lobbyist on the groups behalf. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes At least 26 California cities and counties ban or restrict the sale of flavored tobacco, including Hayward, Berkeley and San Francisco. A spokeswoman for state Sen. Anthony Portantino, chairman of the appropriations committee, said he strongly supports legislation to get flavored e-cigarettes out of the hands of teens, but did not want hookah, a very small part of the youth vaping problem, to be collateral damage since some ethnic communities use it for cultural reasons. The chair is very disappointed that this effort to ban vaping and e-cigarettes has been shelved, she said. Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat_Ho Glassdoor, an internet company that lets workers rate employers, may get a thumbs-up from its own employees who found the commute to Marin challenging. The firm is moving its headquarters from Mill Valley to a San Francisco office tower and plans to add 300 jobs. Glassdoor had long been an anomaly in Mill Valley, a high-profile tech company in a small city where the biggest employers include retailers, restaurants and the local retirement community. Its future home, a 24-story office tower in the southern Financial District, is the former headquarters of Bechtel Corp., the engineering giant that built BART and left San Francisco for Northern Virginia last year. Glassdoor will maintain an office in Mill Valley to accommodate employees who live in Marin and the North Bay. As non-tech companies have departed San Francisco for more affordable cities, tech companies and related firms have grown further. Pinterest and DoorDash moved from Palo Alto to San Francisco, as did scooter company Lime from San Mateo, seeking to be closer to potential employees and gain more room to expand. Sitecore, which makes customer experience software, used to have its U.S. headquarters in Mill Valley but moved to San Francisco a year ago after an interim stop in Sausalito. Glassdoor CEO Robert Hohman said the move is a culmination of the companys growth in San Francisco in the past few years and in response to employees preference for the city. Glassdoor has an office at 353 Sacramento St., and employees there will move to the new headquarters at 50 Beale St. Theres a variety of reasons that people want to be in the city. Theres an energy being able to walk out of the building and being surrounded by shops and places to eat, he said. The building is a block from the Embarcadero BART and Muni station and near Transbay bus service, which was also attractive, he said. The San Francisco Business Times first reported Glassdoor was in talks for a lease at 50 Beale St. Were a little isolated here in Mill Valley, said Hohman. If you were in the East Bay or the South Bay, it was a very challenging commute. Paramount Group, the owner of 50 Beale St., is giving the building a new entrance and renaming it 300 Mission St. The change of name is likely a nod to the southward shift of the citys economic center of gravity to Mission Street and the nearby Salesforce Tower. Glassdoor has leased four floors and will move 500 of its current employees in by fall of 2020. Blue Shield, currently a major tenant, will move its headquarters this year to a new Oakland tower. Its departure, coming shortly after Bechtels, will free up room for Glassdoor amid a tight office market. Hohman declined to disclose how much rent Glassdoor will pay, but said the San Francisco lease is more expensive than its current location. Mill Valleys average office asking rent is under $50 a square foot per year, compared to San Franciscos average rent of more than $80 per square foot, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Asked how big Glassdoors Mill Valley office will be in the future, a company spokeswoman said by email: We expect a majority of our Bay Area employees to be based in the new San Francisco headquarters location. Meanwhile, we will continue to operate in Marin for the foreseeable future and we will maintain enough space to accommodate Marin and North Bay residents. While Mill Valley has dozens of small, 5-10 person tech companies, Im not aware of any other large employer tech firms here, Jim Welte, director of Membership and Community Engagement at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, said by email. The recent opening of a WeWork co-working space in Mill Valley has been a boon to many locals working in tech, according to Welte. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes As for Glassdoor, we support their growth and appreciate that theyre going to maintain a sizable footprint here for the foreseeable future, he said. Glassdoor started in Novato in 2007 and soon moved to Sausalito, before moving again, in 2014, to Mill Valley. It allows employees to review their companies and provide salary data. It also has job listings, and Hohman said much of the companys growth will focus on recruiting services. Glassdoor said it has 49 million reviews spanning around 900,000 companies in 160 countries. It has 67 million unique users and 900 employees worldwide. Last year, Japanese company Recruit Holdings bought Glassdoor for $1.2 billion, which has enabled the company to focus on long-term growth, said Hohman. Hohman said Glassdoor is expanding around the country, in places like Chicago, as well as in the Bay Area. San Francisco is a fascinating market. The talent here is so good, said Hohman. Its so expensive and its so constrained, though. Chronicle staff writer Kate Galbraith contributed to this report. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that, if signed into law, would represent the first major change to retirement plans since 2006. The bill, HR1994, passed 417-3. A similar bill in the Senate also has bipartisan support. Both are designed to get more employees covered by retirement plans, especially at smaller companies that dont offer one. But experts are divided on how big a dent they can put in the huge gap in retirement savings. Among its many provisions, the House bill would increase the tax credit employers can get when they start a plan, and make it easier for small employers to participate in a plan with other employers. It also would allow more long-term, part-time workers into 401(k) plans, but they wouldnt necessarily be entitled to the employer contributions that full-timers may get. For individuals, it would delay by 1 years the age at which people must begin taking taxable withdrawals from regular i ndividual r etirement a ccounts and 401(k)-type plans, and let people still working past age 70 contribute to a regular IRA. To help pay for the bill, it would require many people who inherit IRAs, and 401(k)-type accounts to withdraw the money over 10 years and pay any tax due. Today, any heir named as the accounts beneficiary can withdraw the money over their life expectancy a benefit called the stretch IRA. The new 10-year deadline wouldnt apply to some heirs, including the account owners surviving spouse or minor children. This will probably be the most controversial provision, even though many heirs deplete their accounts in fewer than 10 years. The bills authors never took into account how many beneficiaries take it out on the way to the funeral, quipped IRA expert Ed Slott. At any moment in time, about half of American workers are in jobs that dont have a retirement plan. At retirement, two-thirds of households have some source of income other than Social Security and one-third dont, said Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The last time Congress tried to narrow this gap was in the 2006 Pension Protection Act, which ushered in auto-enrollment in retirement plans. Munnell said shes happy to see Congress working together on any retirement legislation, but is not sure how effective this bill would be. My view is, this is a big bill that will have a relatively small, but positive impact, she said. The bills centerpiece would make it easier for employers to form or join multiple-employer defined-contribution plans. Under current law, employers in the same industry or geographic area can band together and offer a single 401(k) plan that potentially has more choices and lower fees than what they could offer individually. However, each employer has a fiduciary duty to the plan and its participants. If one employer violated its fiduciary duty, then all employers violated it, said Will Hansen, chief government affairs officer with the American Retirement Association, a trade group. That is a huge barrier to the creation of plans, he said. The bill would eliminate it. The bill also would remove the commonality requirement, so financial institutions that run 401(k) plans could offer a nationwide, cost-effective plan to small employers. Whether they would is the make-or-break question. Hansen said these changes would drastically increase the number of small employers that provide a plan to employees. Munnell is not so sure. Small business has a lot to worry about, she said, and in some cases their employees might even prefer cash to benefits. The bill also would increase the tax credit employers can claim when they start up a retirement plan from $500 to as much as $5,000 a year for three years. They would get an extra $500 a year for three years if they automatically enroll employees, unless they opt out. Its unclear whether theyd get the credit for joining a multiple-employer plan, Hansen said. The bill would encourage plans to offer lifetime-income options, such as insurance annuities that guarantee a certain monthly income in exchange for an up-front cost. It essentially says that if the annuity provider goes bust, the employer wont be held liable if it properly vetted the provider. This provision would reduce the risk of outliving your savings and help people who have saved enough but are afraid to touch it. The annuity gives them permission to spend some of it on a monthly basis, Munnell said. The whole part of saving up over your lifetime it to draw it down in retirement and live decently, she added. Many people forget that, which is why so many people complain when they have to start taking mandatory withdrawals from their regular IRAs and 401(k) plans at age 70. The bill would delay these required minimum distributions to 72. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Slott said the change would delay taxable withdrawals for a bit, and get rid of the half-year, which is an unnecessary complication that causes errors. The bill, nicknamed the Secure Act, also lets seniors who are still working past age 70 contribute to a regular IRA. Today they cant, although they can contribute to a Roth IRA as long as theyre working. I think the biggest potential for real impact in the legislation is the development of multiple-employer retirement plans, though theres a lot of messiness in how exactly theyre created and rolled out, said Michael Kitces, a partner with Pinnacle Advisory Group. He said the most overblown provision is the delay in required minimum distributions. Most retirees need their IRAs to live on, he said. The number who can leave them untouched in their 70s is not likely very large. And even then, the (distributions) in the first two years (age 70 and 71) amount to barely more than 3.6% (of the account balance) per year. In an unrelated move, the bill would eliminate a provision of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that took effect last year. This provision raised taxes on many dependent children and college students who had unearned income from sources including military survivor benefits and scholarships used for non-tuition purposes. The act was intended to simplify what is known as the kiddie tax, and it lowered the tax for some families but raised it for others. The House bill would reverse the kiddie tax provision for tax years starting in 2019. For 2018, families could compute their tax under either rate structure and use whichever is most beneficial. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., one of the bills authors, said in a statement that he was proud to incorporate a much-needed fix to reverse unfair and unexpected high taxes on Gold Star families, low-income scholarship recipients, and children of fallen first responders, among others. I encourage the Senate to follow our lead and swiftly pass this important bill that goes a long way in helping American families prepare for a financially secure retirement. Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender Amid growing outrage over the police raid of a journalist, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott and his boss, Mayor London Breed, have delivered similar, carefully crafted messages. Both have said the officers who brought a sledgehammer to the home of freelancer Bryan Carmody an effort to find out who leaked a police report on the February death of Public Defender Jeff Adachi had legal grounds to do so. At the same time, Scott and Breed have been far more hesitant and circumspect when it comes to whether the action was right. Neither has apologized, nor said the May 10 search was wrong, even though Californias shield law protects journalists from being forced to reveal sources, and specifically bars police from using a search warrant as a workaround. But theyve openly wavered. Scott, at a news conference Tuesday, said his department raided Carmody because he was suspected of conspiring in a theft of the report, but spoke of lessons to be learned and stressed he was not trying to defend our position. Breed, in a prepared statement three days earlier, defended the search as legal and warranted but added, I am not OK with police raids on reporters. We need to do better. ` ` To some critics, the stances of the two officials which have shifted in the face of scrutiny from freedom-of-the-press advocates and some supervisors reflect an unwillingness to simply admit a mistake. At the end of the day, the police chief reports to the mayor, David Campos, a former San Francisco supervisor and police commissioner, said Wednesday. Instead of getting into the technicalities, you have to approach it as: The buck stops here. If youre the mayor, its probably better to say, This was a mistake. I agree something needs to be done, but this was not the right way of doing it. Geoffrey King, a constitutional lawyer and media studies professor at UC Berkeley, said it appeared Scott was defending the indefensible. ... Hes trying to explain, showing the department acted in good faith, but its kind of too late for that. On Wednesday, Breed reiterated her position on the raid without addressing Scotts news conference. She said it would be inappropriate to intervene in an active investigation. The chief updated the public on the course of this investigation yesterday, and like everyone else, I am eager to see how the legal process plays out, she said. She repeated her statement from last weekend that she was considering changes to local laws or city policies that could restrict police investigations that collide with press freedoms. Scott said at his news conference that his department sought a search warrant because it believed Carmody was part of the effort to illegally obtain the report on Adachis death. Carmody, who sold the report to three television stations, said he did not conspire with anyone and simply received a secret report from a source a common practice in journalism. He has not been arrested or charged. Scott was appointed chief in late 2016 by then-Mayor Ed Lee to oversee reforms recommended by the Justice Department after several controversial police shootings. After being elected mayor following Lees death in December 2017, Breed has worked closely with Scott in a variety of areas, from pushing reforms to battling problems associated with homelessness to increasing the number of cops walking neighborhood beats. Last year, Scott was passed over for the top job at the Los Angeles Police Department. Afterward, he said he was committed to leading the force in San Francisco. Some political observers said it would be extraordinary for Breed to publicly rebuke her police chief before all the details of the investigation are revealed. Meanwhile, some city supervisors have condemned the raid, while others have barely spoken about it. I would like to see strong, unambivalent condemnations of the actions that took place by every elected official in San Francisco, Supervisor Aaron Peskin said Wednesday. Supervisor Hillary Ronen said, I do believe the more all of us learn about this situation, the more we understand the threat that this action has caused to the free press. Even in his death, Jeff is forcing the city to confront hard truths and have tough dialogues around our most deeply held values. Carmody said he obtained the report from his source shortly after Adachis death at age 59 on Feb. 22 before selling it. When television stations aired portions of the report which said Adachi had been with a woman who was not his wife when he died many city officials and attorneys in the public defenders office were outraged, believing the reports release was an effort to smear Adachi, a fierce police watchdog. 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. Police visited Carmodys Outer Richmond District home two months later, asking him to reveal who gave him the report, he said. When he refused, they showed up with a sledgehammer, battering ram and pry bar before handcuffing Carmody and seizing computers, cameras and phones at his home and office. His attorney, Thomas Burke, argued in court this week that police violated federal and state law including Californias broad shield law that protects journalists not only from being forced to reveal confidential sources but from giving up unpublished information like notes, recordings and pictures. Scott on Tuesday said the search was not in violation of the shield law because Carmody was and continues to be viewed by investigators as a possible co-conspirator in this theft. Police officials returned Carmodys property on Tuesday but it is unclear whether they downloaded evidence or how they will use it. Burke, who has represented The Chronicle and its parent company, Hearst Corp., in other cases, hopes to win a motion to quash the search warrants. The warrants, signed by two judges, were filed under seal, so its unclear what police wrote in the affidavits explaining their justification for the search. An attorney representing the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for free speech and government accountability, filed a motion to unseal the warrants. Evan Sernoffsky and Dominic Fracassa are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @DominicFracassa John Walker Lindh, the Marin County man excoriated nationwide as The American Taliban after being caught fighting for the extremist group in Afghanistan in 2001, walked out of federal prison in Indiana on Thursday after 17 years behind bars. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed that he was released from the lockup in Terre Haute, Ind., before 7:30 a.m. Under a three-year probation, he will not be allowed to use the internet without supervision, communicate with known extremists or leave the country without permission. He was sent under court guidelines to live in Virginia, where he was sentenced. Two U.S. senators from Alabama and New Hampshire wrote to President Trump and the federal prison bureau over the past two months to ask that Lindh, now 38, serve out the remaining three years on his full sentence, rather than be released early for good behavior and time served. Calling him a terrorist, they said they feared he could still pose a threat. Their concerns about Lindhs lack of rehabilitation were echoed by Mitch Silber, founder of Parallel Networks, a nonprofit that helps reform former terrorists. He noted that inmates like Lindh receive little rehab in federal prison or after their release. Silber added that a colleague who was in prison with Lindh said that the former jihadist still holds extremist views and government documents leaked to Foreign Policy Magazine in 2017 appear to back that up. But Silber added that because Lindh will be monitored closely for the rest of his life, theres not much chance he could be that much of a threat. The senators also said Lindh deserves more prison time because of persistent accusations that he was involved in the death of CIA operative Mike Spann, killed in a prisoner revolt at the bullet-riddled Afghan fort where Lindh was captured. Spanns father, Johnny Spann of Alabama, joined the senators complaint, reiterating the contention hes made since 2001 that Lindh is a traitor who should have been executed. Lindh was not convicted of involvement in Spanns death. He was, however, convicted in 2002 of non-terrorism counts of aiding the Taliban in violation of U.S. sanctions and a weapons charge. At his sentencing, Lindh denounced terrorism and apologized for fighting with the Taliban, but he hasnt been heard from publicly since then. Linds family and lawyers refused to comment on his release. Back when TV footage from Afghanistan showed Lindh grubby and wounded from the prison revolt hed just barely survived, Marin County residents and officials were mortified. Deriding Lindh as a terrorist, President George W. Bush added that he was some misguided Marin County hot-tubber and seemingly everyone from the schools superintendent to cafe-goers in Sausalito took umbrage. They said they were sad or angry that Lindh had gone so wrong, but insisted that he didnt reflect Marin. But on Thursday, it was hard to find anyone who even remembered the man. Ever heard of some guy called American something, uh, Taliban? a barista who gave her name only as Sarah at the Java Hut cafe in Fairfax the town where Lindh lived before heading overseas called out to her friends after hearing a report of his release. Nope, said one. 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. Who? said another. Youre kidding, chimed in a third. All through town, at hardware stores and on the street, Lindhs name also rang no bells. Nobodys really talking about it around here, said Joanne Webster, president of the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce. I do remember it happening back then, and it was surprising to all of us. But that whole story really had nothing to do with what Marin is about. Hopefully, hes a rehabilitated person now, and maybe hell live a productive life, she said. Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron Antioch Police Department A 30-year-old woman whose boyfriend allegedly stabbed her to death at a home in Antioch was identified by authorities Thursday. Officers responded at 2:48 a.m. Sunday to a report of a disturbance on the 4500 block of Bighorn Court. Investigators found the woman identified in court documents as Mei Juan Tang suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Sixty-one fugitives and people suspected of violating their parole and probation terms were arrested in San Franciscos Tenderloin district on Wednesday, police said. The arrests were part of a targeted, major operation undertaken by police officers as part of San Francisco Police Departments ongoing strategy as we continue to serve as guardians of this community, police said in a statement. In all of the attacks, a woman was alone at night in San Franciscos Bayview neighborhood. Sometimes she was walking down the street. Another time she was withdrawing cash from an ATM. But in every incident, out of nowhere, a man blindsided each of the women with a punch. Most of them woke up wondering what happened, and where their belongings went. Others fought back and suffered prolonged beatings before the man ran away. On Thursday, San Francisco police announced the May 15 arrest of Donnell Guidry, a 52-year-old city resident accused of targeting Bayview women in a string of robberies that spanned four months. Police suspect he was involved in at least eight robberies in total. This happened from January through May, and the suspect was out here terrorizing citizens and stealing their property, said Officer Joseph Tomlinson, a Police Department spokesman. The good work from the SFPD robbery detail through their investigation were able to determine that this guy was the suspect involved in each incident. On the evening of Jan. 15, police responded to reports of a robbery near the intersection of Third Street and Paul Avenue. A 24-year-old woman said a man approached her and punched her, knocking her out. The man stole the womans belongings and fled the scene, authorities said. Two months later, on March 14, police were called to the 1900 block of Keith Street after a robbery. This time, Guidry allegedly punched a 52-year-old woman a few times, kicked her while she was on the ground and demanded her money. He took the womans property and fled, police said. Around 10 p.m. on March 19, a woman again reported her belongings missing after being approached by a man near the intersection of Third Street and Paul Avenue. The woman, 62, only remembered that she lost consciousness, police said. Guidry allegedly struck three times in April. On April 17, around 9:30 p.m., a 24-year-old woman said a man repeatedly punched her before fleeing with her property. A week later, Guidry allegedly robbed a 45-year-old woman on the 3800 block of Third Street. She had just withdrawn money from an ATM when the suspect approached her and demanded the cash. When she refused, he punched her twice, took her money and ran to her car, which had the keys in the ignition. The woman fought to get her keys back, but not before the suspect bit her on the hand and ran away from the scene, police said. The next day, April 25, a 20-year-old woman said a man approached near Hollister Avenue and Ingalls Street, grabbed her arm and punched her in the face. While she was unconscious, police said, Guidry stole her belongings. Guidry allegedly struck again the night of May 3, a block away from the last incident, police said. Near the 1200 block of Hollister Avenue, a 30-year-old woman reported being knocked out by a mans punch. After she came to, she noticed her personal items missing. 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. Five hours later, around 2:05 a.m. on May 4, Guidry allegedly approached a woman, threw two jabs and tried to take her purse, police said. Guidry struggled with the 40-year-old woman before pushing her to the ground, causing her to hit her head. When she regained consciousness, the woman said she saw him running away with her purse. The Police Departments robbery detail investigated the string of crimes and arrested Guidry on May 15. Hes in jail on suspicion of numerous charges, including robbery, mayhem, attempted carjacking, assault, criminal threats and committing a felony on bail. Police also recovered evidence that they believe could belong to another victim who has yet to come forward. Anyone with information about a stolen key chain with a picture of Korean currency, or the other alleged crimes, can contact the Police Department tip line at 415-575-4444. Ashley McBride is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ashley.mcbride@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Ashleynmcb A man accused of kidnapping a 74-year-old woman off an Excelsior neighborhood street in broad daylight before repeatedly raping her and leaving her semi-conscious on the sidewalk pleaded not guilty Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court. Manuel Jesus Amador, 47, wore orange jail garb and his hands were cuffed behind his back during a brief arraignment, where he addressed the judge through an interpreter and waived his right to a preliminary hearing before being escorted back to jail. Judge Christine Van Aken did not rule on the prosecutors motion to have Amador held without bail, giving his attorney, Tal Klement, more time to respond to the motion. Court documents allege that Amador kidnapped the woman the morning of May 10 as she was walking along Prague Street near McLaren Park. At around 8 a.m., Amador dragged her into a home, locked her in a room and repeatedly raped her for four to five hours, prosecutors wrote. As he forced her into the home, a pit bull that belonged to his roommate bit the victims ankle, left hip and feet, police said. The victim remains in the hospital with serious injuries. The Chronicle is withholding the victims name because of the nature of the crime. Amador admitted to raping the woman after being advised of his rights, prosecutors said. Were going to take this time to carefully look at the evidence in this case rather than rush to judgment, Klement said after the hearing. Were going to evaluate all the evidence, including looking at the circumstances and context of any statements he made during police interrogations. Klement emphasized that his client has no criminal record and has lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years. Max Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco district attorneys office, said that Amador should not be offered bail regardless of whether he had committed any previous crimes. Sex offenses are generally crimes in which offenders tend to be repeat offenders in nature, but its not to say that he has any criminal history, he said. The nature of sex offenses is such that we want to err on the side of public safety and to protect the victim in this case as well. Ingleside police Capt. Jack Hart attended Amadors arraignment hearing and thanked the victim, her family and community members for their willingness to come forward. 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 severity of this case demanded that we acted quickly and be thorough we were in the neighborhood scouring, he said. Were continuing to offer the family and community the support it needs not only to survive this, but to thrive moving forward as a healthy community. The brutal crime has alarmed senior residents of the neighborhood, who are still reeling from Januarys attack on an 88-year-old grandmother near a Visitacion Valley Playground. These things happen when the seniors think theyre doing their daily exercise, said Marlene Tran, a public safety advocate and community member who attended Amadors hearing. Now we have two grandmothers in the hospital and another gory case of someone being cut up. Its very scary. San Francisco police and the FBI are investigating dismembered human remains discovered Monday at a home on the 100 block of Del Monte Street, one day after 73-year-old Benedict Ching was reported missing earlier this week. Amador, who is scheduled to return to court June 12, is charged with rape and kidnapping with a special enhancement for elder abuse. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Ashley McBride is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ashley.mcbride@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Ashleynmcb Hundreds of students on board a California State University Maritime Academy ship for a two-month training cruise got the lesson of their lives as the vessel glided toward a Barbados port and smashed into a crane that sent a mast careening onto the ships top deck. No one was hurt in the Tuesday morning crash. But the 270 students who had left the Cal Maritime campus in Vallejo May 5 watched in horror as their ship slid, unstoppable, toward the colossal orange crane that bent over the water in their direction. They gasped as the two metal behemoths collided with a crunch that snapped the ships mast like a chopped-down tree. Instead of enjoying their island port of call, the students spent two days repairing the mast with help from the 58 faculty and staff and handful of experienced mariners on board the Golden Bear training ship. They never set foot on Barbados. Follow along Track the Golden Bear and its students on their two-month voyage: http://voyage.csum.edu/2019/ See More Collapse I give you my assurance that the vessel is not severely damaged and will be perfectly capable of finishing the cruise safely, Capt. Sam Pecota, the campus former academic dean, said Wednesday in a statement. The Golden Bear was not under Pecotas control at the time of the collision, said Bobby King, Cal Maritimes spokesman. As happens when a ship prepares to dock, a local pilot boards the ship and guides it to port behind a tugboat. King said an investigation into the incident by multiple agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Maritime Administration and the school has already begun. We arent looking for blame, said Thomas Cropper, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral who is Cal Maritimes president. We try to understand causes so that we can eliminate future problems. The ship is a 500-foot former research vessel, launched in 1987, that the Navy used to map the ocean floor. The Navy still owns the ship that Cal Maritime began using in 1996 for training runs that used to be twice a year. Lately, they are an annual event. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. Most of the students on board will graduate not only with a bachelors degree, but a Coast Guard license. Many hope to become ship captains or maritime engineers, among other seafaring careers. Meanwhile, the training trip will go on. The students will sail to Lisbon, Portugal, the Azores and the Everglades before ending the cruise on July 1 in Galveston, Texas. Ive never remotely had anything like this happen, King, the campus spokesman, said of the crash. It could have been much worse. But its part of the learning its not ideal. But things do happen at sea. Things that are beyond your control. There certainly is an opportunity to learn something as a result of this. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov The crowd-pleasing exhibition Andy Warhol From A to B and Back Again is at SFMOMA through Sept. 2, and its presence there has at least one art lover a bit wistful. Native New Yorker and longtime San Franciscan Maurice Kanbar used to live on the fifth floor of a building he owned on East 77th Street in Manhattan, the very elegant Upper East Side. I had a tenant in my building in New York by the name of Leo Castelli, he recalls. Castelli, of course, was one of the most prominent New York art dealers, and his gallery was on the second floor of Kanbars building. I took the elevator up, he said, and always walked down, and casually looked at what Leo Castelli had. I didnt understand modern art. One day his tenant called me down and said, Look at this, and he showed me a Warhol picture, about 20 by 40 inches, an oil, of Campbells soup cans. He said, I will give you this painting for two months rent. At that time, the rent was $1,200 a month. Kanbar told Castelli, I dont understand this. My mother in her entire life never opened a can of soup. Forget it. The work was an original painting, not one of the silkscreens of the images that Warhol started making in 1962. Rejecting it, says Kanbar, was one of the stupidest things I ever did, because a $2,400 painting today would be worth at least $50 million. Kanbar says he never took any art for the rent because I didnt understand it all. They all became very famous artists. ... There it is, another one of my blunders. Word has arrived of a Yes magazine story: How to Talk to Kids About Climate Change (and Have Fun, Too). According to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as early as 2030, rising global temperatures will bring risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people. Maybe better to show than to tell: Munchs The Scream? Wouldnt it be fair, asks Tony Reveaux, if the man should share punishment for abortion? A 27-minute-long infomercial, apparently made about a year ago, in which Cindy Crawford touts the benefits of skin cream, has been running on many of what Mike Lano notes are cash-starved TV channels. Making a cameo appearance in the ads is actress Lori Loughlin, who testifies, Ever since I started using them, Ive saved more money with XXX products than I can count. The recently uncovered scam seemed to indicate that Loughlin, who has pleaded not guilty, may have needed that money to help get her daughter into college. Save Titus Andronicus for the elevator. At St. Pancras rail station in London, reports Ed Rose, theres a sign by the escalator advising that lifts (elevators) be used in a variety of circumstances not appropriate for the escalator: No pushchairs (strollers), no running, no performing the works of Shakespeare, no heavy luggage. Everybodys a comedian. Chugging through Nevada aboard Amtraks California Zephyr en route from San Francisco to Chicago, Thomas Yaussy shares a (possibly apocryphal) tale told by the trains announcer. When a train was behind schedule, hed been confronted by a very pregnant woman, who said, If you dont get this train on schedule, Ill have this baby right here in the observation car. 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. If your baby is due soon, he asked her, why did you pick a three-day train trip? When I got on this train, she said, I wasnt pregnant. Having won a best book-in-progress award in 2018, oral historian Alison Owings, whose latest project is a biography of Tenderloin powerhouse Del Seymour (The Book of Del: Scenes From a Life Before, During and After Homelessness) was invited to New York last week to attend the 2019 conference of the Biographers International Organization. Taxis in Manhattan are incredibly expensive, she reports, ... also I got in a cab with a driver who never heard of Bethune Street, couldnt spell or type, had me put address in his GPS, apologized, and said that it is Ramadan and he hadnt had anything to eat or drink all day, was a little off. When he told her his fasting would end at 8 p.m., she asked what hed be eating. Bagels, he said. Oh, I love bagels. (Whole wheat especially.) Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said security and intelligence officials in Australia cleared the two Rwandan men of involvement in the 1999 tourist massacre in Uganda and other atrocities or war crimes. | Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images U.S. judges rulings break with Australian explanation on Rwandan migrants By JOSH GERSTEIN 05/17/2019 11:35 AM EDT Australian officials explanation for why they accepted a U.S. request to take in two Rwandan men formerly charged with massacring tourists points to a contrast in the way the U.S. and its close ally resolved the question of whether the men may have committed atrocities or other abuses while guerrilla fighters in Africa two decades ago. In the wake of an exclusive POLITICO Magazine reportrevealing the men had been sent to Australia for resettlement after more than 15 years in U.S. jails, Australian officials faced a firestorm of criticism and pointed questions about why they accepted the men and whether it was part of a multipart deal cut with the Obama administration in 2016 to empty offshore detention centers home to refugees seeking homes in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday that security and intelligence officials in Australia cleared the two Rwandan men of involvement in a 1999 massacre of tourists in Uganda and other atrocities or war crimes. I can confirm that the two individuals that were the subject of this reporting were subject to the security and character assessments and the work that must be done in terms of assessing whether there are any war crimes that are associated with persons who are coming as a refugee, and that security process cleared those individuals, Morrison told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Asked where the men are, the prime minister said: They're in Australia, and they were cleared of those particular matters in terms of Australia's assessment of those particular matters, and I can confirm that. Speaking to reporters before an Australian national election Saturday, Morrison seemed to dismiss the death-penalty terrorism charges filed against the men by U.S. prosecutors in 2002 and 2003 as mere claims. I know what the claims are. But the claims and facts are different, Morrison said Thursday during a stop in Queensland, according to The Associated Press. These specific allegations were reviewed by our security agencies and by our immigration authorities and they were not found to be upheld. As a result, they were allowed to come to Australia. A judge in the criminal case threw out the confessions of the two Rwandans, Leonidas Bimenyimana and Gregoire Nyaminani, as well as third Rwandan, Francois Karake, concluding that their statements were the product of torture at the hands of Rwandan authorities. Justice Department officials later dropped the prosecution but indicated they remained convinced of the three's guilt and would reopen the case if other evidence became available. The legal battle turned to U.S. immigration courts after the three men claimed asylum and asserted they faced renewed torture if returned to their home country. Although the Australians say they determined the men were cleared of involvement in a 1999 attack that killed eight Westerners and at least one Ugandan and Morrison has suggested the review of the Rwandans background absolved them of partaking in any abuses, immigration court rulings obtained by POLITICO show that the three men were denied asylum in the U.S. based in part on the persecutor bar a provision in immigration law that refuses asylum to individuals deemed to have persecuted others. Arlington, Va.,-based immigration Judge Wayne Iskra issued three separate decisions in late 2007 finding that the fact that the three men admitted to having been fighters for the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda amounted to evidence that they engaged in persecution of others on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Iskra concluded that he was bound to ignore the three mens confessions in the 1999 massacre because of the judges ruling in the murder case that the defendants were tortured. However, Iskra said other evidence and admissions from the men in other settings pointed to their involvement in the militias targeted attacks. Nyaminani stated he was a section leader in [the Army for the Liberation of Rwandas] Irondelle company, and that he accompanied his section to the Bwindi park in Uganda once between January and March 1999, Iskra wrote, citing testimony Nyaminani gave in immigration court. Respondent indicated that he saw white people speaking with the company head, and while returning through the bush, he saw soldiers with white people in one place. There is considerable evidence in the record that ALIR committed terrorist acts while Respondent was a member. The decision in Bimenyimanas case was complicated by his refusal to testify in the immigration court about his actions related to the March 1, 1999, attack that led to the criminal case. Iskra said Bimenyimana, who has more education than the other men and had worked as a police officer in Rwanda, cited his Fifth Amendment rights in declining to answer a series of questions about his role as a second lieutenant in the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda. Iskra found that, because Bimenyimana refused to answer those questions, the court could presume he was involved in the 1999 attack and others. It is proper for the Court to draw an unfavorable inference from his refusal to answer pertinent questions where such refusal is based upon a permissible claim of privilege, such as his Fifth Amendment Rights, the judge wrote. Based on the adverse inference, the Court finds that Respondent participated in the persecution of others based on race or nationality and that there are reasonable grounds for regarding him a danger to the security of the United States. Iskras decision on Karakes claims contains similar language. Based on the rulings, the immigration judge turned down all three mens asylum claims but found they could not be returned to Rwanda because of the likelihood theyd be tortured again there. The U.S. is party to an international convention pledging not to send individuals into situations in which they are likely to face torture. U.S. immigration officials later sought to override that part of the judges decision by getting assurances from Rwandan officials that the men would not be tortured. Bimenyimana and Nyaminani abandoned their court challenges on that issue when they agreed to be resettled in Australia on humanitarian grounds. Karakes court challenge is still pending after Australian officials apparently declined to grant him permission to live in Australia. Normally, immigration court rulings in asylum cases are not public, but the decisions for the three were filed publicly by their attorneys in connection with the legal challenges. Immigration appeals panels took issue with aspects of Iskras rulings in Bimenyimana's and Karakes cases but he reaffirmed them in 2008. While Bimenyimana and Nyaminani were permitted to migrate to Australia in November, Karake remains in immigration detention in Florida. When the Affordable Care Act in 2012 offered states the option of expanding Medicaid coverage to additional working families that couldnt afford their own health insurance, then-Gov. John Kasich was determined to take advantage of the offer to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Ohioans. Just as determined to pass on the option were many of Ohios legislators in the General Assembly, who warned that the expansion would add millions of dollars to Ohios hard-pressed budget once the federal governments three-year grace period ended in 2015. Realizing that the legislature would never approve any bill he might propose for Medicaid expansion, Kasich used a rare executive power in Ohio that permitted him to bypass the General Assembly. He turned to the states Controlling Board, a seven-member panel of six legislators and one of his own appointees that oversees state spending on Medicaid and certain other expenditures. Kasich was able to pressure the board to approve by a 52 vote the expansion of Medicaid for the next three years, making Ohio one of 37 states to adopt the Obamacare option. Ohios government, like the federal government, includes separation of powers and checks and balances designed to keep any single branch of government executive, legislative, or judicial from gaining too much power and threatening our freedoms as citizens. The Ohio General Assembly (the legislative branch) makes the laws and controls state taxation and spending. The Governor (the executive branch) administers and enforces the laws. The Ohio Supreme Court (the judicial branch) is the final authority in the state on interpreting the laws and how they should work. But each branch also has certain powers to constrain or bypass the power of the other branches. Ohios checks and balances differ from those at the federal level and, law experts say, avoid many of the pitfalls at the federal level, including government shutdowns. A few examples: Ohios governor has a line item veto that allows the office to delete parts of the budget passed by the legislature that the governor doesnt agree with. The President does not have that power over Congress. Ohios governor can cut funding to specific state programs if needed to balance the state budget, which by law cant run a deficit. The federal government can and does run a budget deficit because it has the power to borrow money or print additional money to fill the gap. Ohios General Assembly comprised of both a Senate and House of Representatives, the same as the U.S. Congress can override the governors veto of a law or new spending measure with a three-fifths majority vote. Thats fewer votes than the two-thirds majority required of Congress to overturn a presidential veto at the federal level. Unlike the U.S. Congress, Ohio lawmakers have the power to decide if a state agency is exceeding the bounds of its authority and can restrict its actions. The Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), consisting of members from both the Ohio Senate and House, can curtail the powers of executive agencies without the approval of the governor. Ohios executive positions Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Auditor are elected directly by voters. At the federal level, those are cabinet-level positions appointed by the President with approval by the Senate. Unlike the U.S. Congress, the Ohio legislature must adhere to a single subject law for passing bills. The law is meant to prevent last-minute riders and pork barrel insertions that have nothing to do with the original intent of the bill but are sought by special interest groups and lobbyists. The Ohio Supreme Court has the power to determine whether a bill meets the single subject requirement. Because of the governors line-item veto, Ohio can avoid the kind of government shutdowns that occur at the federal level. Under the U.S. Constitution, the President and Congress must agree on the entire budget before it can become law. The most recent federal shutdown in 20182019 lasted 35 days because President Trump and Congress disagreed over funding of a border wall with Mexico. In Ohio, however, the governor has more power in negotiating spending measures with lawmakers because of the line item veto, sometimes called the governors blue pencil. If the governor strikes an item from the budget, the remainder of the spending measures can still be funded. Congress tried in 1996 to give the President a similar line-item veto but the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional. The governor (of Ohio) doesnt have to swallow a lot of things he cant stand just to avoid a government shutdown, says A. Christopher Bryant, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati Law School. Last month, Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio lawmakers disagreed on how much the states gas tax should be raised in order to pay for repairing and maintaining Ohios crumbling roads and bridges. DeWine asked legislators for an 18 cents-per-gallon tax increase. Legislators said that was too much for consumers to bear. Ohio lawmakers argued for days over the right rate before approving a 10.5 cents-per-gallon increase on motor fuel and 19 cents-per-gallon increase on diesel. On April 2, lawmakers sent the two-year transportation budget to DeWine with a 7027 vote in the Ohio House of Representatives and a 2210 vote in the Ohio Senate. The increase was less than the bare minimum DeWine had sought but it was clear the legislature had the votes to override his line-item veto. He signed the bill. We faced a crisis. We had to fix the crisis. We are fixing the crisis today by the action taken by the Senate and the House, DeWine announced before signing the bill. The compromise will bring in $865 million more each year in gas tax money $524 million for state projects and $381 million for local governments projects. Other compromises have not been so simple between the executive and legislative branches in Ohio. Ohio lawmakers have tried twice in two years to pass a Heartbeat Bill that would criminalize abortions once a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus. Former Gov. John Kasich twice vetoed that measure, arguing that the law would be declared unconstitutional after saddling the state with a costly court battle In December of last year, Republican lawmakers in Ohio came up a single vote shy of reversing the governors veto and imposing one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Ohio Senators voted 1913 to override Kasichs veto, but needed 20 votes for a three-fifths majority. The bill would have prohibited the procedure at the first detectable heartbeat, as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The direct election of Ohios top executives including the Ohio Attorney General and Ohio Auditor gives them more independence to oppose the governors policies or investigate wrongdoing in the governors office, says Peter M. Shane, a professor of law at Ohio State Universitys Moritz College of Law. Since the governor didnt appoint them, they will have their own set of priorities and their own set of political ambitions, he says. Thats obviously different from the federal level where [top executives] are appointed by the President. Shane believes that, overall, Ohios checks and balances are working better than those at the federal level, in part because Ohio citizens demand more efficiency from state government than federal. The public, he explains, has much less tolerance for political grandstanding and much greater insistence on problem solving at the state level. TAKE THE 90 SECOND QUIZ NOW. Support for Ohio Civics Essential is provided by a strategic grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation to improve civics knowledge of Ohio adults. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Just when it looked as if Washington polarization could not get any worse ... it did. President Trump declared Wednesday that Democrats must get these phony investigations over with before he would deal with them on legislation. Trump was supposed to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to talk infrastructure. But the president abruptly cut off the White House meeting before it started. The president was said to be enraged that Pelosi had accused him of engaging in a cover up earlier in the morning. Pelosi has been trying to tamp down growing calls for impeachment within her Democratic caucus. Say this for Nancy Pelosi: No one is better than her at keeping her troops in line and absolutely no one is more skilled at getting under the presidents skin. Constitutional crisis: Are we there yet? Some top Democrats say yes. So do some respected constitutional scholars. But what, exactly, is the definition or is there one? My column last Sunday explored those questions. What were saying Last call? Its baaack. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is once again pushing a proposal that would allow bars in San Francisco, Oakland and eight other cities to move closing time from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. Last year, the ever-sensible Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the bill. Wiener is hoping for better luck with new Gov. Gavin Newsom. As our editorial notes, its hard to argue that this ranks with the many serious issues facing the state. Reckless saber rattling: Americans have seen this movie before, and it doesnt end well. Rhetorical bravado, dubious claims of a crisis and military manuevers bring the nation to the brink of war. Our editorial suggests the Trump administration is playing a dangerous game with Iran. Help for homelessness: Our editorial explains why San Francisco should expand the role of conservatorships for homeless people who are suffering from serious mental illnesses. Chief keeps digging, deeper and deeper: SFPD Chief Bill Scott has yet to give a satisfactory answer for a raid on a freelance journalists home that would appear on its face to be a blatant violation of the state shield law. His Tuesday news conference was a textbook example of deflection and obfuscation. As our editorial notes, his approval and stubborn defense of this raid raises questions about his commitment to this citys values. Whos afraid of Fox News? Jessica Hill / Associated Press Not Mayor Pete: Kudos to Pete Buttigieg for his willingness to go on Fox News for a town hall. The payoff was great for a longshot Democratic presidential candidate: He called out Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham by name, handled questions with aplomb and received a standing ovation at the end of a program watched by more than 1 million viewers. Sen. Bernie Sanders had earlier participated in a Fox News town hall, with no apparent damage to his campaign and an ever larger audience (2.5 million!) to hear his message. My Sunday column explores whether Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris should have seized the opportunity to go on the network and whether the Democratic Party was right to snub Fox as a potential primary debate host. Sign up for the newsletter Want to get the latest San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board opinions in your inbox? Subscribe to Opinion Central. See More Collapse Letter of the Week Use words! I certainly share Gregory Smithsons disdain for emojis. Heres what Smithson, a reader from San Carlos, had to say about their intrusion on a special treat: My reaction to the news that Hershey is redesigning its chocolate bars for the first time in 125 years (Daily Briefing, May 19) with of all things emojis engraved in each square is: Why? Emojis are already overused in texts and emails, and there was even The Emoji Movie in 2017. Do these trite symbols now have to be on candy bars, too? I think that if chocolatier Milton Hershey learned of this news in the Great Beyond, the emoji hed send would be a big thumb pointing downward. And please check out our other letters of the day responding to this and other matters. You can send us a letter via this form. Where to follow us We have a new Twitter channel, Opinion Central (@sfc_opinions). Please add it to your stream. Youll catch our editorials and opinion pieces, as well as our drive-by comments on assorted subjects in the news. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnDiazChron Just a reminder The Chronicles editorials represent the collective judgment of our Editorial Board, which includes the publisher as well as the writers and editors from the opinion team. Our editors and reporters on the news side are not involved in those decisions (including election endorsements). They are charged with reporting fairly and objectively without regard to our editorial positions. It is one of the core values here at Fifth and Mission streets. Opinion Central is a thrice-weekly newsletter from John Diaz, The Chronicles editorial page editor, and the rest of the Editorial Board. Follow along on Twitter: @sfc_opinions In George Orwells 1984, he imagines a world in which citizens are scrutinized everywhere they go, with screens observing every action, and where the smallest thing could give you away. That future is now. Not on Oceana or even the Eastasia of Orwells novel, but in Chinas surveillance state. Mindful of the same domestic unrest and undercurrents that prompted the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, China is on a mission to control its population, and to develop the digital tools necessary to do so. Chinese citizens are the targets of ubiquitous surveillance and pervasive influence operations all in the service of the Chinese Communist Partys desire to retain political control. Leveraging advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and facial-recognition software, the Chinese Communist Party is well on the way to optimizing the social control of its population. What was once a patchwork of surveillance is now set to become a matrix. By 2020, China is working to create a social credit system that will tie together ubiquitous video surveillance, economic activity, and expansive government databases. This system will track citizens activities and score them on their behavior. (Points are deducted for breaking the law or, in some cases, minor offenses.) According to a recent report, in 2018 alone, Chinese authorities blocked the purchase of plane tickets 17.5 million times and the purchase of rail tickets 5.5 million times because of social credit score blacklists. Nowhere is Chinas modern surveillance state more evident than in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwest China that is home to a sizable population of Uighurs, a Muslim minority. In Xinjiang, the Chinese government has built an extensive network of camps where it is holding more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities without due process or even suspicion of wrongdoing. The purpose of these camps is officially counterterrorism, but in fact the detentions are based on religious and ethnic affiliations. News reporting from within Xinjiang is nearly nonexistent as authorities block access to the remote province by reporters and human rights groups, but what has been disclosed is deeply disturbing. A recent report from Human Rights Watch documented the sweeping extent of surveillance in Xinjiang, noting that Chinese authorities are collecting everything from the color of an individuals car, to the apps on their phone, their height, and donations to religious organizations. It has also been reported that the state is surveilling communications at an enormous scale, particularly communications with those outside of China. By applying advanced artificial intelligence to the mass of data they have collected, Chinese authorities are sweeping up people on the barest suspicion of wrongdoing. Individuals targeted by the authorities have little recourse. Many have been ordered to cut off all communication with family and friends living abroad, prevented from practicing their faith, and compelled to attend extensive political indoctrination sessions extolling the Communist Party. Chinas mass repression of its own population is disturbing in its own right, but it is also a model it is actively seeking to export. The leading Chinese technology firm Huawei, which is closely tied to the Chinese state, is marketing a safe city product to developing countries as a tool for crime prevention. Already, 46 countries have purchased a suite of technologies that may have application to crime prevention and public safety, but can easily be used to target political dissidents. And with the application of artificial intelligence, these tools can be used to surveil and repress entire populations. For current or aspiring autocrats, the lure of these technologies may be too much to resist. China makes these technologies available by providing highly beneficial financing, and by making it clear that unlike the United States or other countries, they are not concerned with how another state uses these capabilities. All told, advances in ubiquitous surveillance, and the creation of huge state-owned databases cataloging individuals relationships and behavior, have the potential to fundamentally change global conceptions of privacy. For decades, the United States has helped set global privacy and civil liberties norms, but as more nations turn to the China for new ways to control their own domestic populations, protections for political dissidents, independent media, and others are at greater risk. On May 16, the House Intelligence Committee held a hearing on the threat of digital autocracy and how as the leader of the free world, the United States must rise to meet the challenge, in Xinjiang and around the globe. The Trump administration should consider applying targeted sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act to Chinese officials responsible for the repressive policies, restricting their travel and freezing assets. The United States must demonstrate leadership to counter the rising tide of digital autocracy, making the case for limits on the intrusion of surveillance into ordinary peoples lives. A good place to start making that stand is Xinjiang, where the United States should work with the community of democratic nations to challenge this affront to human rights. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, is chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters. This has been a year of floods, and theyre not over. It started with the Russian River surging through Guerneville (Sonoma County) and other towns of the north Bay Area. Then blizzards pummeled the Great Plains, followed by rain, all making a sea out of the Missouri River and slicing 62 levees into soggy shreds. Then with all dams full the Mississippi River spilled over the heartland of America. The damage occurs in spite of our best efforts to stop it. In California and all across our country, governments have spent billions of dollars to avoid the flooding weve seen daily in the news. We built levees and dams, and repeatedly paid for relief as anyone but the heartless must do to victims whose houses become smothered in mud. Aiming to get ahead of this problem, Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program in 1968 to insure property owners rather than to dole out relief. The strategy coupled incentives for subsidized insurance with zoning requirements to prevent new flood-prone structures from being built. But real estate interests pushed to water down the regulations, and the insurance subsidy too often incentivizes development on floodplains rather than prevents it. The program is now $20 billion in debt. Flood losses increase because development in the path of harm keeps growing. Building has continued on land that historically flooded, such as Sacramentos Natomas Basin, where 42 miles of levees must be maintained to keep floodwaters out. Sacramento is the riskiest area in the country for river flooding. Peter Fimrite / The Chronicle The most alarming dispatches are about floods yet to come, and the most shocking of those in America are in California. Not even recognized by meteorologists until 20 years ago, atmospheric rivers of saturated air have historically produced storms making Guernevilles February dousing look like a minor April shower. An 1862 flood inundated Sacramento and a 300-mile length of the Central Valley for months; the governor rowed through the streets of Sacramento to his inauguration. Then the Legislature moved to San Francisco while the floodwaters subsided. Dozens of todays dams and hundreds of miles of costly levees from the redwood coast to San Diego will do little to curtail the damage of a comparable 43-day storm when it comes again. Evidence hidden in San Francisco Bay sediments going back 2,000 years reveals that floods of the 1862 scale or greater reoccurred every 150 years or so, and theres no reason to expect they wont continue, according to paleoclimatologist B. Lynn Ingram of UC Berkeley. Analysts at the U.S. Geological Survey and UCLA calculated that the expected mega-flood will cause more damage than Californias apocalyptic big-one earthquake. None of this factors in uncertainties like what we saw at Oroville Dam in 2017 when 180,000 people were ordered to flee their homes just the first in a greater wave of evacuations that might have been needed. Meanwhile the climate is changing. Flood levels are increasing because of warming temperatures, intensified storms and amplified atmospheric rivers. The Sierra Nevadas snowfall is transforming into rain that washes off the mountains with savage immediacy. Scripps Institution researchers warned that the Sierras snowpack could be reduced by up to 80% this century not because of less precipitation, but because it will come as rain instead of snow. In retrospect, its clear: Weve misunderstood how rivers work. They dont follow wishful parameters of the Army Corps of Engineers 100-year flood guidelines, or the routes weve penciled in between levees, or even the climatic expectations of the past. A national program that presumes we can choreograph today the floods of tomorrow is fundamentally flawed. Its time to recognize that the rivers will have their way. Therefore we need to get out of the way. This is a bitter pill for cities built on waterfronts, so theyll reinforce their levees where possible. But federal and state programs that have poured a deluge of subsidies into doomed efforts to control all floods need, instead, to entice and reimburse our movement away from danger zones. Efforts have started, thanks to nationwide reforms after the Great Flood of 1993 along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers combined with efforts of Californias Central Valley Flood Protection Board and others, but what has been accomplished needs to be expanded. Its high water not us that belongs on the bottomlands, which owe their existence to soil harmlessly delivered by floods through the millennia in a process that we challenge at our peril. That process will continue; its up to us to decide if we want to suffer the damage or not. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle 2017 Relocation is not for everyone, but national, state and local policies can support it rather than enticing us to develop floodplains more. We can avoid the cycle of mud-stained houses, daily misery and permanent entrapment in poverty. Instead, we can restore riverfronts made magnificent with life and recreational opportunities for all. Floodplains need not be places of danger, but rather green and beautiful waterfronts if only we would get out of the way. We will not stop the floods of the future. Now is the time to prepare by seeking higher ground. Tim Palmer is a former land-use planner and the author of Rivers of California, Field Guide to California Rivers, and 22 other books. President Trumps decision to increase tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese exports, and the threat to impose new tariffs on another $300 billion, raises the stakes in the U.S.-China trade standoff. Retaliatory tariffs imposed by China ensure that the pain is felt on both sides. This adds pressure for a resolution, but also increases the risk that import restrictions on both sides will become permanent a costly new normal. Understanding how we got to this point is important to an appreciation of why the trade talks are so difficult and how they could succeed. While the United States took the first shot, this low point in U.S.-China relations can be traced more deeply to internal changes inside China. Under Deng Xiaoping, who led the opening of Chinas economy four decades ago, China embarked on an agenda of reforms that opened China to trade and investment and spurred its private sector. This was a spectacular success, and those policies were continued by Dengs successors. Internationally, China was low-key, preferring a cloak of modesty to assertiveness, while growing in economic strength. Trade and investment flowed, China prospered, and the United States encouraged it to be an active stakeholder in the global system. China, of course, was pursuing a form of state capitalism, aspects of which were inconsistent with global norms and agreements. But the promise of alignment and reform led the United States to stay its hand until now. What changed? One factor is the sheer size of Chinas economy and the impact of what happens there. More important, however, is its internal system. Under President Xi Jinping, the rotation of leadership within the Communist Party, which was a source of stability and balance, has been jettisoned through a change to Chinas constitution that effectively makes Xi president for life. With the centralization of power, a new ideological orthodoxy has emerged extending beyond party cadres to embrace universities as well as private companies. State-owned enterprises, which were losing ground to private ones and were once the target of reform, are receiving new government support and are now seen as national champions. New policies aim to achieve global technology supremacy, and the operations of Chinese and foreign companies are increasingly subject to government scrutiny. Outside China, the Chinese government is spreading resources and with them its brand of governance. Lets be clear, this isnt entirely new. Even under Deng Xiaoping, China had a state capitalist agenda, and many of todays trade disputes are rooted in policies and patterns that go back decades. What is new, however, is the perception by the United States and others that China has turned a corner toward a more worrisome model of governance that challenges important U.S. interests and global economic norms. Every nation, of course, wants respect and can be expected to advance its economic interests; the concern in Chinas case is with its deeper goals and the means by which theyre pursued. As a result, trust has declined, together with the expectation that internal reforms, whatever their fits and starts, will one day lead to closer economic alignment. This makes the current issues in the U.S.-China relationship harder to resolve. Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press 2018 Where do we go from here? All is not lost at least not yet. There are many voices in China that still debate the wisdom of Chinas more assertive, state-centered approach. While U.S. businesses generally agree with the Trump administration that a strong U.S. stance is needed, many question the wisdom of relying so heavily on tariffs. Many in the Bay Area and California are heavily invested in China and benefit from being part of the worlds second-largest economy, just as many Chinese companies are invested here in the United States. Most China-invested businesses believe that the United States, China and the world will be better off if the two economies grow together and not apart. Dialogues and exchanges at the business and sub-national level are active. Which brings us to the trade negotiations. More than the trade imbalance, the differences over technology policy are difficult to resolve because they go to the heart of Chinas industrial policy. While there are many issues, the big sticking points surround proposed changes to Chinese law impacting trade and technology policy, and U.S. insistence that its tariffs remain in place as a way to assure that China follows through. But these arent impossible to resolve. Elaine Thompson / Associated Press 2018 The United States does need a monitoring and enforcement mechanism where results are measurable. But it doesnt need to keep the tariffs in place to do that a snap-back provision (where tariffs are removed but could be re-imposed if commitments arent met) should be equally effective. We should also give Chinas leaders internal running room an upside so they can avoid the appearance of caving to U.S. pressure. For Chinese leaders, the best strategy would be to recommit to an invigorated, transparent agenda of reform. This would help address concerns in the United States regarding Chinas economic and political trajectory. More importantly, it would benefit China. At the end of the day, centralized economic systems are inflexible and discourage innovation. Open competition is the ultimate stimulus, pushing economies and countries to meet higher standards. / Associated Press China is a great nation with the skills and resources to compete with anyone on a level field. An economy with fewer restrictions on trade and investment, that respects and protects intellectual property and empowers the private sector can further unleash Chinas enormous reservoirs of entrepreneurial energy and talent. If this happens, then China and the United States both win. Sean Randolph is senior director at the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (www.bayareaeconomy.org). Palm trees were planted in the Mission District in early 1971 a clear attempt by city leaders to give the struggling working-class neighborhood more of a Santa Barbara vibe. But the locals had their own makeover planned; one that didnt involve pretending to be something that they were not. The first high-profile murals covered by the local media appeared that same year, beginning a history of public art that has defined the district. The Chronicles first article about Mission District murals was a Thomas Albright art review on Nov. 18, 1971, celebrating new storefront murals by San Francisco artists Robert Crumb and Spain Rodriguez. Albright returned in 1974 to cover the introduction of three even more epic pieces, all panoramic public art created by teams of Latino artists. The most impressive work was designed by Jesus Campusano an L-shape mural filled with subversive imagery built in a very unexpected place. Chronicle file By far the most extraordinary of these works is a 90-foot-long mural executed by a team of eight artists, Albright wrote. No less extraordinary is the fact that it was commissioned by, and hangs above the teller windows of, the 23rd and Mission branch of the Bank of America. The Bank of America mural featured a melting pot of Latino figures, including Native Americans in traditional dress, Mission High students, BART construction workers, street gang members and a doctor cutting the umbilical cord of a baby. The other 1974 murals were equally ambitious. Michael Rios designed a mural with Aztec jungle themes at a mini-park near 24th and Bryant streets. And four Latina women, calling themselves the Mujeres Muralistas, painted a surreal scene with horses, gods and cartoonish figures on a parking-lot wall near Mission and 26th streets. Chronicle file / San Francisco Chronicle Walk in the triangle between those three mural locations in 2019, and youll pass by more than 100 murals as well as the Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitors Center. No one is taking pictures of the palm trees on a Monday early afternoon, but there are several tourists shooting photos in Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley in the Mission District, two of the most concentrated collections of murals in the city. The parking-lot mural by the Mujeres Muralistas is gone; now its a dull military green rectangle except for a few words advertising the Laundromat on the other side of the wall. But the minipark mural still exists in 2019 as it did in 1974, with a lot of chipped paint, but still enough left to see the most dominant figure a green feathered serpent that has been protecting the Mission for two generations. Trees that were saplings in 1974 cast shadows over nearby businesses, hiding the fact that the Panadaria Mexican Bakery sign next to the park is still there, looking unchanged after 45 years. More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond. Chronicle file The biggest surprise is in the Bank of America on 23rd and Mission. The branch has built glass cubicles and waiting rooms, and made other changes for increased security. But everything seems to have been designed to continue showcasing the murals, which havent aged a day. Large figures of the revolutionary Emiliano Zapata and poet Ruben Dario looking stoic behind bars are vivid, as if they might jump off the wall and start a new political movement at any moment. Political sentiments on the wall (Our sweat and our blood have fallen on this land to make the other men rich) carry, if anything, even more meaning today. The beginnings of a public art movement, looking as relevant as the day the paint touched the blank canvas. Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicle pop culture critic. Email: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub SACRAMENTO Almost 30 years ago, California lawmakers passed a landmark charter-school law that helped give momentum to the national school choice movement. The law has dramatically reshaped education in the state: About 11 percent of Californias 6 million public-school students are now enrolled, and billions of taxpayer dollars flow to charters every year. But some Democratic lawmakers say its time for a do-over. Theyre pushing a package of legislation, with support from the California Teachers Association, to overhaul the law. The bills aim to slow the growth of charters, whose enrollment totals have increased as those of traditional public schools in some districts have declined. They would give school districts more leverage to deny applications to open new charter schools and cap the number of such schools statewide. Charter opponents say the schools growth has created numerous unintended consequences: draining funding from public school districts, promoting racial resegregation with admissions criteria, and creating millionaire charter operators. Proponents of the schools counter that the teachers union has made charters a scapegoat for the failures of public schools, in places where families abandonment of traditional schools is leading to declining enrollment and shrinking revenue for districts. The California Charter Schools Association has labeled the package of bills a threat to the existence of public charter schools. Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Wednesday turned into a day of high drama in the state capital surrounding the issue. As thousands of teachers and their supporters marched through the streets to urge support for the legislation, the author of one of the bills struggled before finding the votes for it in the Assembly to keep it alive and send it to the state Senate. Tammy Carr, a third-grade teacher in the Pittsburg Unified School District, was among the sea of demonstrators. She said charters have contributed to declining enrollment. There needs to be some transparency and accountability for these charter schools, but Im also here because we need full funding of public education, Carr said. It is an immediate need. The charter schools association organized a much smaller counterprotest that it dubbed, Black parents go on strike. People at that rally said the state legislation would disproportionately harm African American families whose children would have no alternative to troubled public schools. We are standing up and telling legislators and the (teachers union) that they cannot take away the rights of our most vulnerable communities well by closing down the charter schools that are helping them learn and thrive, Myrna Castrejon, president of the charter association, said in a statement. Neither side has a monopoly on racial arguments: The national NAACP has called for a moratorium on charter-school expansion, though a few local California chapters have rebelled against that stance. Under California law, charter schools operate separately from the school districts that authorize them. Their teachers do not have to be unionized, and they are not bound by laws about such things as class sizes. They are required to meet certain academic targets. Proposals to overhaul the Charter Schools Act of 1992 been raised in the Legislature before. Some were blocked by former Gov. Jerry Brown, who founded two charters in Oakland. Advocates of change think Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose 2018 campaign was strongly backed by the teachers union, could make a difference. It should have happened a long time ago, but its happening now, said Eric Heins, president of the California Teachers Association. I think that Gov. Newsom thinks differently about this than Gov. Brown. Charter-affiliated groups spent more than $20 million against Newsom in last years election and backed former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in the primary. The growth of charter schools became a central issue in teachers strikes this year in Oakland and Los Angeles. Newsom has already signed into law a bill that requires charters to adhere to the same transparency and public records laws as district schools. His budget also includes proposals that would prohibit charters from discouraging students from enrolling because they have a disability or havent performed well academically. But the fight to cap charter expansion and give districts more power to reject the schools has become the most divisive education-policy battle in Sacramento this legislative session. Two bills are at the center of the fight: AB1505 would allow school districts to consider the potential negative financial impact of a charter school on its budget when evaluating petitions to open new schools or expand existing schools. In other words, districts that conclude a charter would harm their bottom line would have more leverage to reject it. The Assembly debated the bill Wednesday as teachers marched outside. The bills sponsor, Assemblyman Patrick ODonnell, D-Long Beach, delayed consideration after it appeared he might fall just short of the support needed. In the end, the Assembly voted 42-19, one more than the necessary majority, to approve the measure after ODonnell assured lawmakers it would be amended to ensure due process for charters to appeal authorization denials. AB1505 would also prohibit charters from appealing to the state Board of Education if their petitions are denied by their local school district or county office of education. AB1506 would create a statewide cap on the number of charter schools. It would prohibit districts, counties or the state from authorizing any additional charters beyond the number in operation as of Jan. 1, 2020. New charters could open only if an existing charter closes within the same school district. ODonnell and Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, introduced the bill. Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, a co-sponsor of AB1505, said opposition to the package of bills is driven by a false impression that they target existing charter schools, which would be grandfathered in. He said its past time for lawmakers to look at the impact of the 1992 law, adding that the Legislature back then didnt foresee how the law could hurt public districts. I think kids deserve a healthy school district, financially healthy, Bonta said. Im pretty sure when we passed the charter law 30 years ago, we didnt get it exactly right. The debate has left many parents with students in charters on edge. They said the Legislature should be focused on quality funding for all, not fighting over the type of schools they offer. Lakisha Young, executive director of Oakland REACH, a parents organization that pushes for better funding for all schools, said her group opposes the bills because they could remove quality choices. Weve got a bigger problem than just district versus charter, she said. And that bigger problem isnt even at the table. Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner WASHINGTON The Senate passed a long-delayed disaster relief package Thursday that includes billions of dollars for victims of wildfires in California, after senators agreed to leave out money for the southern-border crisis and President Trump dropped his resistance to more funding for Puerto Rico. The Senate voted 85-8 for the legislation. It will now go to the House for approval before being sent to Trump for his signature. Trump said Thursday he backed the deal even though it omitted money to deal with issues related to an influx of migrants along the U.S.-Mexican border. Were going to get the immigration money later, according to everybody, Trump said at an event for trade relief to farmers. I have to take care of my farmers with the disaster relief. If I didnt do that really its a long time in coming. I didnt want to hold that up any longer, so the answer is I totally support it. All eight votes against the bill were cast by Republicans. California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris voted for it. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told reporters that the GOP and Democrats had negotiated a disaster relief-only package worth $19.1 billion after days of delicate negotiations and phone calls with Trump. Negotiations over the relief for several states and U.S. territories have been dragging on for months. The Democratic-controlled House passed a bill in January and another earlier this month that includes billions of dollars for Californians recovering from wildfires in 2017 and 2018. The holdup had been in the Senate over Trumps refusal to consider additional money to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria, which killed an estimated 3,000 people in 2017. In the end, after failed attempts to pass a bill without it in the Senate, Trump relented and allowed more money for Puerto Rico. The deal struck Thursday included nearly $1 billion for the U.S. territory and access to billions more that had been held up. According to Feinsteins office, individuals and entities affected by California wildfires in 2017 and 2018 could be eligible for up to $12.6 billion in the bill. The state has requested $9 billion from the federal government to help with relief and rebuilding. Even though it may be five months late, today is a good day for the United States Congress, for the American people and for the nation, said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. The deal is similar to a $19 billion package passed by the House earlier this month, but different enough that the House would have to pass the Senate version if it wants a quick deal. The alternative route of reconciling differences in a conference committee and returning to each chamber for new votes could take weeks. A Democratic leadership aide who was not authorized to speak for attribution said the House could use unanimous agreement to try to pass the bill Friday, if there are no objectionable items in the Senate-negotiated agreement. Since the House has already left town, that would be the only way to pass it before lawmakers return in June. A spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, Evan Hollander, said in a statement that if the Senate passes the legislation today, House Democrats support clearing it through the House as soon as possible. It remained unclear Thursday if Republicans would consent as well. Democrats had opened the door to attaching money to deal with the humanitarian crisis at the border to strive for an agreement, but that offer ended up being controversial. As other sticking points such as the amount of money for Puerto Rico were worked out, Democrats and the White House disagreed over the border piece. Shelby and Leahy said the president and both parties agreed to focus exclusively on disaster relief. Sen. (David) Perdue (R-Ga.) and I had a nice conversation with the president, Shelby told reporters earlier Thursday. The president said OK. ... Were sticking with disaster now. Thats the way to pass a bill. Its been months. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) Former National Youth Commission (NYC) chair Ronald Cardema said fear of debating leftist party-lists pushed five original nominees of Duterte Youth to quit which led to his last-minute substitution. During the campaign trail, napagitgit na tayo, nadikit tayo nang todo with the leftist groups. Kahit yung wife ko natatakot na. Natatakot sila sa leftist party-list groups at gusto nila kayang ipagtanggol ang side natin lagi sa debate, sa plenary hall, Cardema told CNN Philippines New Day on Thursday. [Translation: During the campaign trail, we went head to head with the leftist groups. Even my wife got scared. They got scared of leftist party-list groups and they want to be able to defend our side in the debate, in the plenary hall.] Cardema said his wife and other nominees decided that he take their place because he is more experienced in debating with leftists. However, documents obtained by youth group Youth Act Now Against Tyranny show that the nominees did not cite fear of debating left-leaning party-lists as reason for their withdrawal. Cardema's wife, Ducielle Marie Suarez, said she withdrew her nomination because she wants to pass the group's leadership to someone more fitting. Another nominee, Joseph de Guzman, said he would rather work unnoticed and support Duterte Youth away from public opinion. Benilda de Guzman, the party-list's third nominee, cited her passion for teaching. Meanwhile, Arnaldo Villafranca and Elizabeth Anne Cardema cited family obligations and employment opportunities abroad, respectively. "Hindi pa man nauupo sa pwesto ay hindi na nagsasabi nang totoo," Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago said. [Translation: He's not yet even seated, yet he's already lying.] But Rep. Carlos Zarate of the progressive Bayan Muna party-list, which is among the groups tagged by Cardema as communist supporters, called the former NYC chairs statement a poor excuse to cover up his subversion of the party-list system. Bakit sila matatakot sa left? Bakit takot silang makipag-debate, eh kami nga ang subject to relentless attacks and vilification from them, from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and their minions, Zarate told CNN Philippines in a text message. [Translation: Why would they be scared of the left? Why are they afraid to debate, when we are the ones who are subject to relentless attacks and vilification from them, from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and their minions.] Under the Party-list System Act, no changes in the order of nominees are allowed unless a nominee dies, withdraws their nomination in writing or becomes incapacitated. In that case, the substitute will be placed last in the list. However, with all Duterte Youth nominees opting out, Cardema becomes its first nominee and may get to sit in the next Congress if the Commission on Elections rules that he is eligible to represent the youth sector, despite being 33 years old. The party-list law mandates that representatives of the youth sector must be aged 25 to 30. READ: COMELEC OKs Cardemas party-list substitution bid, clarifies eligibility issue not yet tackled The poll body has ruled that Cardemas petition to substitute as a Duterte Youth nominee was filed within the deadline, but it is yet to tackle whether he is qualified. Cardema said he is qualified as Duterte Youth represents both the youth and professional sectors. But COMELEC Commissioner Rowena Guanzon told CNN Philippines' Balitaan that Cardema should not be speaking about his case in media interviews pending a resoution by the poll body. "He is already creating in the mind in the public that he is qualified. Nasaan siya? Pagalitan ko siya [Where is he? I will scold him,]" Guanzon said. COMELEC chair Sheriff Abas said Wednesday that this issue may also be tackled by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, where poll protests may take years to be resolved. A congressman only sits for three years. Critics have assailed Cardemas substitution as abusing and railroading the party-list system. But Cardema just laughed off these criticisms, while evading from answering them directly. Diyos ko. Alam niyo sa Pilipinas sangkatutak ang kurakot ng pulitiko, sangkatutak ang gumagamit sa party-list system na wala namang nangyayari sa party-list nila, he said. [Translation: My God. You know there are a lot of politicians in the Philippines who are corrupt, there are a lot of people who are using the party-list system even if nothing happens to their party-list.] READ: Group: Political dynasties taking advantage of party-list system He said Duterte Youth is the only party-list fighting leftist rebels, adding that they are ready to die and be killed by members of the communist New Peoples Army. Makabayan vindicated Cardema kept his position as Duterte Youth national chair even while at the helm of the NYC. He also sent out press releases promoting his group during the elections, with his last statement saying that Duterte Youth will neutralize the recruitment of communists in schools and communities. READ: Cardema may face possible charges over questionable youth meeting DOJ Cardema also joined other government officials in accusing left-leaning party-lists as communist sympathizers. These accusations against the Makabayan bloc hurt them in the elections, Zarate said, with Anakpawis party-list losing its seat. However, with Bayan Muna getting three seats and Gabriela, ACT Teachers and Kabataan getting one seat each, Zarate said they were vindicated. I think people, naniniwala pa rin doon sa ating legislative agenda at yung ginawa natin for nearly two decades in Congress na nagdadala ng politics of change sa loob ng Kongreso, he told CNN Philippines The Source. [Translation: I think people still believe in our legislative agenda and what we have done in Congress for nearly two decades, bringing the politics of change in Congress.] CNN Philippines Senior Digital Producer Lara Tan contributed to this report. WASHINGTON Sen. Kamala Harris spoke out Thursday against the San Francisco police raid on a journalists home in the investigation into a leaked police report on the death of Public Defender Jeff Adachi, saying she was very troubled by what happened. Apparently, they had a search warrant, Harris told The Chronicle at the Capitol. But the reality is that weve got shield laws for a reason. And especially in this time, where we have these full-on attacks against the press, and leaders calling the press all kinds of names Im very troubled by what happened. Harris wasnt the only statewide officeholder to weigh in Gov. Gavin Newsom said journalists should be free to do their jobs without becoming targets. The May 10 raid on freelance journalist Bryan Carmodys home and office has generated national headlines, as several politicians and legal experts have criticized the search as a violation of freedom of the press. Police were investigating the leak of information about the February death of Adachi, including salacious details from a police report. Police Chief Bill Scott said Tuesday that police suspect Carmody was involved in a criminal conspiracy to steal the report. Carmody has denied any role in a conspiracy. He says he simply received information from a source the leaked report and sold it to three television stations as a freelance journalist. ` ` The Chronicle obtained the same report but not from Carmody. Carmody has refused to say who gave him the report. Californias shield law is clear that journalists cannot be forced to reveal sources and explicitly prohibits police from obtaining a search warrant as a way around the protections. Newsom, who was mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010, said in a statement that the city prides itself as a place that defends civil liberties. Freedom of the press is an essential part of our democracy. Journalists should be able to do their jobs including working with confidential sources without becoming targets themselves. Harris and Newsom are the most prominent politicians to raise concerns about the raid. Harris is running for president in a tough primary featuring many top-tier Democratic politicians. Before election to the Senate, she was California attorney general for five years and San Francisco district attorney for seven years before that. She also knew Adachi well, saying the whole episode troubled her on a personal level as well. I knew Jeff since we were in law school, Harris said. So from a personal perspective, on a personal level, just in terms of feeling a sense of empathy and sympathy for his family as they grieve, I hate to see them have to witness or go through this when theyre grieving the loss of their husband and their father. Other politicians representing San Francisco in Washington did not comment directly on the Police Departments actions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ignored questions about the raid after two Capitol Hill news conferences Thursday, then tweeted late in the day, The First Amendments freedom of the press is the cornerstone of our democracy. Ive long been a supporter of a federal media shield law to enable journalists to protect their sources. There currently is no such law on the federal level. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she did not know enough about the police raid to comment. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan WASHINGTON For Rep. Jackie Speier, much of politics is personal. Its not necessarily by design. The San Mateo Democrat has often drawn on her own wrenching, even tragic experiences to protect the rights of women and marginalized populations. Those have included the very public Jonestown massacre, as well as private abuse that she has revealed only in adulthood. In many ways, Speier was a vanguard of the #MeToo movement before it had a name, having spent years going back to the California Legislature fighting sexual harassment, violence against women and sexual assault in the military. The latest example of Speier being unafraid to draw from her own experiences came last week, when she revealed her own second-trimester abortion in protest of several states recent passage of measures that all but ban abortions. It was a painful procedure that became necessary after the fetus I was carrying moved from my uterus to my vagina, Speier said in a tweet. I am not ashamed. Neither should anyone else be. Those who treat women like chattel should be ashamed. Speier believes its important to speak out in her position to show that she and women like her did nothing wrong in exercising their legal rights and she would encourage any other member of Congress who would be comfortable to do the same. Twenty-five percent of the women in this country have had abortions, under what have to have been traumatic times and experiences, Speier said. Theres over 100 women in the House, and in all likelihood theres maybe as many as 25 that have had abortions. Its always a painful and complicated experience, its not anything anyone wants to do, but its a right that we have and its not going to be taken away. Speier recently spoke with The Chronicles Its All Political podcast to discuss her efforts to advocate for women and why the issue matters so much to her. She said she wasnt able to identify the source of her drive to protect others until she wrote her autobiography, Undaunted, which came out last year, and revealed that she had been sexually abused by her grandfather. I never really came to grips with it until then, Speier said. I was trying to understand: Why do I have such a passion for these issues? Why? Why is it they create this outrage in me? Speier said she was really good at compartmentalizing the abuse but realized in writing her memoir that it was at the root of much of her work to help the vulnerable, to protect others from what I had endured. But the congresswoman wasnt sure at first whether to include it. There was a point when I was writing the book that I wasnt even going to put it in, Speier said. And I thought, you know, thats the problem. We dont talk about these issues. We dont talk about, you know, the sexual abuse that happens to family members. And so, it goes on and we dont, we dont heal from it. Podcast Hear Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, on "It's All Political": www.sfchronicle.com/political See More Collapse Beyond the abortion story and her grandfathers abuse, Speier has also spoken about how she experienced a sexual assault as a political staffer herself. She has also drawn from her survival of the Jonestown massacre as a staffer for Peninsula Rep. Leo Ryan. Speier was shot five times on the airstrip in Guyana where Ryan and four others were killed in November 1978 and waited there for 22 hours before she was rescued fearing the whole time that gunmen with Jim Jones Peoples Temple would return to kill her and the other survivors. It was the basis of my carrying legislation in the state Legislature on assault weapon bans and being chastised because I hadnt shot an assault weapon, Speier said. I turned it on my colleague, who was chastising me on the Assembly floor, by saying, You know what, let me ask you a question. Have you ever been shot by an assault weapon? It was very effective in getting him to shut up and sit down. She went from Ryans office to being a San Mateo County supervisor, state assemblywoman and state senator, and in 2008 was elected to Congress. Speier said she could hold my own in a male-dominated political sphere, but that staffers who lacked her power a single mother, for example, living paycheck to paycheck might not be able to resist a supervisors sexual advances. She carried a measure in Sacramento that mandated sexual harassment training in the Legislature and repeated the effort in getting a series of sexual harassment reforms passed in Congress last year. She said she also stood up for women in other ways, including once when she embarrassed then-Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, now a Chronicle columnist. He would do his end-of-the-year bash, and there was always a poster in one year it was a womans calf in a high heel and black stocking on it, and it was just another example of objectifying a woman, Speier said. So I signed it. Lots of staff women signed it. We took the poster down to his office and I said, You know, dont do this anymore. ... He was mortified, as he should have been. While Speier said she doesnt believe in legislating anecdotally, she sees value in having members of Congress who bring their life stories to bear. I think we do bring our personal experiences to our work, Speier said. It does help us form opinions on issues. And thats why I think its so important for us to also walk in peoples shoes, so we can have a better sense of what it is were dealing with. Now that Democrats are in control of the House, Speier has her sights set on decades-old unfinished business: the Equal Rights Amendment. The amendment to ban discrimination on the basis of sex was passed by Congress in 1972, but only 35 states voted to ratify it by the deadline that lawmakers included in the bill preamble three short of the total needed to attach it to the Constitution. States have continued to ratify it, and the count stands at 37, including California. Speier hopes Congress will pass a bill that has been introduced to extend the deadline, which would enable the ERA to become part of the Constitution if a 38th state ratifies. Although there are laws protecting women from discrimination based on gender, a constitutional amendment would make those protections much stronger. As Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, now deceased, had said, Theres nothing in the Constitution that prohibits discrimination based on sex, Speier said. Every time I say that, I almost have a shiver that goes down my back. How can we be in the 21st century, with all of the advances ostensibly that have been made, and still be looking at a Constitution ... that doesnt have a prohibition against sex discrimination? Although the bill extending the deadline could pass the Democratic-controlled House, it would be a long shot in the GOP-run Senate. But Speier believes the pressure could be too great for Republicans to ignore. Women are a key factor in the 2020 presidential election, Speier said. I think 2018 underscored very clearly that women make a difference. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan Matt Morrison has spent a lot of time over the past two years talking to working-class voters in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and hes got a message for those who dont get out of the West Coast blue bubble much: President Trump could easily win re-election. If nothing were to change from today, I would give him a better-than-likely probability of being re-elected and winning pretty clear majorities in places like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, said Morrison. He leads the labor-funded Working America, a group that advocates for and has done deep research on working-class voters, including interviewing 5,000 people in focus groups in those states and elsewhere. Morrison believes that despite Trumps tough-talking rhetoric, he hasnt been good for working-class voters. While the stock market gains have benefited wealthier Americans, wage growth for most workers hasnt kept pace with the rise in the economy. Yet Trump remains popular among white voters in Rust Belt states. We have to be clear-eyed about what were up against, Morrison said. What Democrats are up against is that many in the industrial Midwest the region that abandoned Democrats in 2016 and gave Trump his Electoral College margin of victory still feel that no one is fighting for them. No one, Morrison said. Working-class people just dont see themselves reflected in the political process, he told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast. Democrats may protest that theyve got working-class voters interests at heart, but they dont see it, Morrison said. And if you dont see it you dont believe it, in politics. Working America, a 16-year-old organization that is funded in part by the AFL-CIO, is focused on establishing long-term relationships with voters that extend beyond the boundaries of a political campaign. That kind of connection can pay off. The organization said 38% of the 2016 Trump voters it connected with during the 2018 midterms voted for Democrats. What Morrison says Working America is finding is contrary to recent polling that shows Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, either running ahead of or even with Trump in Rust Belt states. I dont want to make it seem like (Trump) is a shoo-in, but I think theres a little bit of happy talk that this isnt going to be the fight of our lives, Morrison said. Since Trump was elected, Working America canvassers have had more than 700,000 conversations with voters in working-class neighborhoods, mostly in the Midwest, Morrison said. The group found that some Democratic base voters are skeptical of whether Trump can be defeated. According to a December survey the organization did in working-class neighborhoods in eastern Iowa, only 49% of Democratic voters thought someone in their party would win in 2020. Forty-one percent said they were unsure, and 10% thought Trump would return to the White House. Thats kind of what the community zeitgeist is like, Morrison said. One reason Hillary Clinton lost Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016 is because African Americans who helped Barack Obama get elected twice didnt turn out for her as strongly. Recently, Morrison was talking to African Americans in Columbus, Ohio, trying to figure out why some had stopped voting. One regular voter, a woman in her late 50s who had just lost her job, told him: It doesnt matter. No one is going to make a difference around here. In many ways, Trump should be a favorite to win re-election. The national unemployment rate (3.6 percent) is at its lowest point in 50 years, he will have no problem raising money, and 2016 shows that he doesnt need to win the popular vote to win the election. One of the 24 Democrats running for president agreed, in part. The top-line numbers for our economy are pretty good, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton told The Chronicles Its All Political podcast during a recent campaign swing through San Francisco. And, historically, presidents tend to be re-elected when the economy is doing well. Moulton told an audience at a San Francisco fundraiser this month: Id say its 60 percent that Trump will be re-elected. He has spent a lot of time in the same places Morrison has visited, where not a lot of Democrats tend to go. What hes found: People who felt left behind by Washington and voted for hope and change in Obama but they didnt see enough hope and change, so they voted for someone who was just going to blow up the system. And they still back Trump. They dont care much about the Russia investigation or impeachment or whether he paid hush money to cover up affairs with a porn star the stories that dominate cable news and Beltway chatter. They still see him as someone who is willing to challenge the system and they know that the system has failed them. That Washington has left them behind, Moulton said. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat and presidential candidate who represents eastern Ohio, said recently that part of Trumps appeal is that he sounds like he cares for working-class voters. Trump is punching China in the face with tariffs, while Biden is saying China is not even an issue, Ryan said. If we go into the election with that as our message, well get beat again. Moulton has heard the same thing during his travels. These voters are going to be hard to win back, and we have to if were going to win this election, Moulton said. Democrats, he said, need a strong-sounding leader to take on a president who is quietly popular in a lot of parts in the country. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli For more stories like this, check out The Chronicles weekly Travel newsletter! Sign up here. Open the app for BlackBird, an on-demand aviation marketplace thats been called the Uber of air travel, and you can book flights from the Bay Area to cities like Burbank, Palm Springs and Las Vegas. The interface operates like any trip-booking app until youve selected your date and destination. Then, BlackBird prompts you to either join an existing flight or create your own by choosing an aircraft and departure time. For $408, you can fly a three-seater, single-engine Cirrus SR22 from Oakland to Tahoe City on May 24, leaving roughly whenever youd like and arriving an hour later. For decades, businesses have rented planes and hired pilots to fly them, says BlackBird CEO and founder Rudd Davis. BlackBird uses technology to make this capability accessible to everyone. Prices for that privilege vary tremendously. Right now through the app, you can fly from Oakland to Burbank in June for $89. If you want to go to Palm Springs, a one-way seat starts at $4,141. This week the San Francisco company announced a new partnership that may lower that rate. BlackBird has agreed to purchase more than 100 electric airplanes from Bye Aerospace that will join its network of more than 600 aircraft and 1,000 commercial pilots. The Denver-based manufacturer is developing all-electric airplanes as well as drones powered by solar-electric propulsion. BlackBird is on a mission to make flying the next step in personal transportation, and to do this, flying needs to be as affordable as driving, Davis says. Electrification reduces the cost of flying below that of driving a gas-powered car. Thats because electric motors are extremely efficient. As engineer and entrepreneur Paul Touw told the Chronicle last year, based on data from the U.S. Department of Energy and Uber, an electric airplane could make a 50-mile trip at a 10 percent lower price per passenger than a standard bus and in a third of the time. This partnership will provide more flight options for cheaper, Davis said of the Bye Aerospace deal. If you could be in Tahoe in 45 minutes for $25, why would you ever choose to drive? Bye is hardly the only player in the electric aircraft market. More than 100 companies are working to design battery-powered planes - including Boeing, Airbus, Google and Uber. Rewrites to the FAAs Part 23 regulations, which govern small planes, have paved the way for approval of electric aircraft, and Byes two-seat eFlyer 2s have started the FAA certification process. The companys four-seat eFlyer 4s are expected to follow. Davis estimates that the planes may be certified and ready to start carrying BlackBird passengers in Q4 of 2020. The forecast for Memorial Day weekend across national forests in California is for temperatures in the 60s and 70s, mostly sunny, with lots of water and trout. The Department of Fish and Wildlife crowned a program this week at eight lakes where trout grown to large sizes over winter in submerged pens were released. In most cases, DFW is adding supplemental stocks to jump-start the weekend. Some mountain areas have a chance of sporadic showers. Ten lakes have pens, south to north: New Melones near Sonora, Lake Berryessa east of Napa, Englebright Lake in Yuba County, Collins Lake near Marysville, Lake Almanor in Lassen County, Shasta Lake north of Redding, Lake Siskiyou in Mount Shasta, and Lewiston and Trinity lakes in Trinity County. Of these, Shasta had the most pens, 10, including a successful experiment with brown trout at Sugarloaf Marina near Lakehead, and a bonus plant of 87,000 kokanee salmon last week. All the lakes have camping, boat rentals and vacation facilities for holiday visitors, and are either full or nearing peak levels for the year. Two of the locations became inoperative: at Berryessa, where otters broke into the pen in Markley Cove and wiped out the fish, and at Trinity Lake, where the program was suspended until a reliable volunteer organization emerges to partner with DFW. At Lake Siskiyou, Mt. Shasta Rotary released fish from three pens, and the DFW is stocking the lake twice. The DFW, with support from Mt. Shasta Rotary and many other organizations, will hold a free Youth Fishing Day on Saturday staged at the North Shore, with free loaner rods, bait and help. Registration starts at 8:45 a.m. Youth under 16 and old enough to hold a fishing rod can participate, with a 2-fish limit. The trout average about 3 pounds, with some ranging to 2 feet and 5 pounds, and a sprinkling even bigger. By being raised in pens, not hatchery raceways, the giant trout look and act like wild trout, in some cases similar to the giant trout of Alaskas rivers. The goal is to inspire increased outdoor participation with parents and their children, said Monty Currier, an environmentalist scientist with a specialty in fisheries for the DFW. The organization Kokanee Power often buys and provides the food for free for the operations. We do it to allow people, especially parents and their children, to catch a fish of a lifetime that otherwise would be near impossible, said Gary Coe, president of Kokanee Power. The trout are triploids; that is, they cannot breed, and in turn, eliminates the possibility of the pen fish crossbreeding with natives and creating hybrids. Local volunteers often build the pens. The DFW provides oversight, and when the pens are approved, the fish in late fall or early winter. Tom Stienstra/Tom Stienstra / The Chronicle Here is a lake-by-lake synopsis for the weekend: Mountains Lake Siskiyou, Mt. Shasta: Siskiyou is a jewel nestled at the foot of the Trinity-Divide and 9,025-foot Mount Eddy to the west, with 14-179-foot Mount Shasta looming overhead to the northeast. Camp Sis has a new manger this season that hopes to make this the best family camping experience in California. Youth Fishing Day is Saturday at North Shore. For boats, 10-mph speed limit. Contact: Lake Siskiyou Resort & Camp, 530-926-2610, www.lakesiskiyouresort.com. Lake Almanor, Lassen County: Lake Almanor is giant, gorgeous lake where Lassen Peak looms in the distance, and huge trout, both rainbows and brown, loom in the water. A special pen program released 70,000 brown trout. At 4,500 feet, summer arrives in July, and the fishing is best on cold mornings. Troll the ledges of the original river channel and underwater ledges, and near the springs. The Forest Service runs a series of campgrounds near the lake. Contact: Lassen National Forest, Almanor Ranger District, 530-258-2141, www.fs.usda.gov/lassen. Lewiston Lake, Trinity County: Lewiston has some humongous trout in trout pens ready for release in mid-June, said Louise Bigham at Pine Cove Marina. Lewiston has gorgeous lakeside tent cabins at Mary Smith Campground, other Forest Service sites and marina operations at Pine Cove and Lakeview Terrace. In such a big year for rain and snow, Lewiston has been unsettled, where water enters from Trinity Dam, flows through the lake, and then is sent into the Trinity River or piped over to Whiskeytown. For boats, 10-mph speed limit. Contact: Pine Cove Marina, 530-778-3878; www.pine-cove-marina.com. Tom Stienstra / Tom Stienstra / The Chronicle Foothills Shasta Lake: Giant Shasta, by the book, topped 95 percent full this week. Yet when you gaze across the lake, it looks right to the brim. The water is clear, surface temperature in the low 60s and is producing some of the best fishing in California. Out of Sugarloaf, a trout derby confirmed with numbers: A two-person team, with an 8-fish total for two days, had trout that weighed 27 pounds. Contact: Shasta-Trinity National Forest, 530-275-1587, www.fs.usda.gov/stnf. Collins Lake: Some of the prettiest limits youve ever seen come out of Collins, set in the foothills above Marysville on the Yuba River. A small marina and store rents boats, sells tackle and provides the latest. Family camping span from tent sites to lakefront RV sites with full hookups; RV-style cabins are available for rent. The trout seem line-shy here, so be sure to use no heavier than 6-pount test, in Vanish or ultragreen, with 4-pound test fluorocarbon leaders. Contact: Collins Lake Recreation Area, 800-286-0576, www.collinslake.com. Tom Stienstra / Tom Stienstra Englebright Lake, Yuba County: Englebright is tucked deep in canyon, long and narrow, in the foothills of the gold country near Smartville. The prize is 100 boat-in campsites and a water level that is kept high. Bring a portable chemical toilet. Its ideal for kayak-in camping. The pen project out of Skipper Cove has given Englebright a boost of big trout. A full marina with boat rentals is available. Contact: Skippers Cove, 530-432-6302, www.englebrightlake.com. New Melones Res., Sonora: At times, New Melones can be a spectacular destination for camping, fishing and water sports. With the lake about 85 percent full this week, and yet to reach peak from snowmelt, this summer looks like one of those times. Its a big lake, yet has but one marina, New Melones Lake Marina, with boat rentals. Several campgrounds on the lake are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. Contact: New Melones Lake Marina, 442-999-8768, www.newmeloneslakemarina.com. Tom Stienstra is The San Francisco Chronicles outdoors writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom Im grateful to Robert Parker. The recent announcement that wine critic Parker would retire from the Wine Advocate, the publication he founded in Maryland in 1978, came as little surprise. Parker had stepped down from his editor-in-chief role seven years ago and sold a large interest in the company to investors in Singapore; Michelin, the empire of tires and restaurant guides, now owns at least 40 percent. Its been clear over the last few years that Parkers voice has taken a backseat to those of his successors, especially current editor-in-chief Lisa Perotti-Brown. Still, Parkers formal retirement seems like a fitting occasion to reflect on his legacy. Its a legacy so enormous and complicated that its been turned into its own noun: Parkerization, used by the critics critics pejoratively. Parker was so powerful, the cliche goes, that he singlehandedly homogenized the world of wine, as wineries learned to pander to his palate in order to earn favorable reviews. Because Parker loved wines that were opulent, rich, high in alcohol and big in fruit flavor, wineries around the world began to make wines in that profile, and eventually wines from Bordeaux to the Barossa all began to taste the same. Parkerization is a simplistic narrative that doesnt do justice to the full story of Parker, or of wine over the last four decades. When I had my first entry-level job at a wine magazine, I read Elin McCoys biography of Parker, The Emperor of Wine, and felt inspired by the idealism that led to the Wine Advocates founding. I loved that Parkers hero wasnt any of the old-guard wine critics, many of whom wrote about wine in a register unintelligible to the average American. Instead, Parkers hero was Ralph Nader, the great consumer advocate. That was why the Wine Advocate didnt accept advertising. He would always pay his own way. He would write about wine in a language that people could understand and what a vivid, sensual language it was! (Wine explodes, it bursts, it lingers, observed W. Blake Gray of Parkers tasting-note style in his recent tribute.) The 100-point scale was envisioned as the ultimate equalizer: Here was a system we all know intuitively, having been graded on it ourselves since kindergarten. If you didnt know what fine-grained tannins or a tawny rim meant, surely you understood 95. Todays Wine Advocate may not follow Parkers original ethical guidelines exactly (wines are no longer tasted blind, for example). The 100-point scale, despite its initial appeal, has developed its own set of problems, though many other publications, including Wine Spectator and Vinous, continue to use it. And even if Parkerization is an unhelpful cliche, theres no question in my mind that theres some truth in it that Parkers preference for richer wines did exert undue influence on an era of winemaking. But I think I probably wouldnt have a job if it werent for Parker: if he hadnt turned the masses into wine drinkers. If he hadnt championed wines from California alongside the established greats from France. The wild pleasure he conveys in his tasting notes is contagious. I dont score wines, and I dont always share Parkers taste in wine, but I can only hope to evoke some of that energy in my own writing. More and more, I see Parker as having existed perfectly for his time and place. He emerged at a time when the wine industry needed an advocate, and in a pre-Internet age when it was still possible for a single critic to have so much influence. He helped wine; wine helped him. If his stylistic preferences, which first became prominent with the ripe, indulgent wines of Bordeauxs 1982 vintage, eventually grew tiresome, that doesnt mean they werent a meaningful response to wines in a different moment. So thank you, Mr. Parker, and I hope you enjoy retirement. What Im drinking Gabrielle Lurie / Special to The Chronicle 2016 Im a sucker for delicious Chardonnay, but Im frequently frustrated by how difficult it can be to find well-made California versions that are affordable. My new target is around $30 still a lot for a weeknight wine for many folks, I know, but this seems to be California Chardonnays value sweet spot. One such wine is the 2017 Bouchaine Estate Carneros Chardonnay, which sells for under $30 at most retailers. Its a great study in acidity that resists richness, with a piercing line of crunchy apple and pear flavors cutting through the round, creamy enveloping mouthfeel. The best of both Chardonnay worlds. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. What Im reading The wines from Southold Farm & Cellar, in Texas Hill County, have been gaining a lot of fans from outside their region. (Theyre distributed locally in the Bay Area, too.) I enjoyed Eric Asimovs story about this promising Texas winery in the New York Times. What is the link between the proliferation of new, experimental wine styles and climate change? Jason Wilson dives into some of the many complicated questions here, in a piece for Heated, the new project from Medium and Mark Bittman. Private labels arent just for mainstream wineries anymore. Eaters Stefanie Tuder looks at the New York restaurants that are creating custom blends with natural wine producers. Drinking with Esther is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicles wine critic. Follow along on Twitter: @Esther_Mobley and Instagram: @esthermob Washington Post writer Karen Heller's story "How San Francisco broke America's heart" is not the first attempt to eulogize San Francisco. In fact, it is just the latest of many. It contains all the hallmarks of the classic "death of San Francisco" piece: framing the story with the closure of a beloved local business, imagery contrasting abject poverty with an overpriced food item, nostalgic quotes, and disgust at the long list of tech companies that inhabit the city. Just last week, The New Yorker published "In San Francisco, Tech Money Doesn't Buy Happiness," a bleak look at the "loss of the city's soul" due to tech wealth by a writer who moved to the city for a tech job. These pieces are becoming so common an A.I. bot could write them (for a hilarious look at what that would look like, see this Hmm Daily story: "In a Constantly Changing San Francisco, Change is Constant"). But the poignant, heart-wrenching, "battle for the soul" of a city story loses its punch when it's been done too many times especially when it fails to explore the complexity of the issues at hand. "This is unregulated capitalism, unbridled capitalism, capitalism run amok. There are no guardrails," Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff is quoted as saying in the article. On social media, some people took issue with this oversimplified take on San Francisco's income inequality and housing crisis. "Everything is getting worse and it's unstoppable because it's capitalism's fault and we can't do anything, says city that steadfastly refuses to build housing," quipped Scott Feeney on Twitter. "This article misdiagnoses the problem," wrote Zack Subin, another Twitter user. "This is not only about wealth flooding a progressive city, but one clinging to a 1960s view of land use that prohibits new apartments in 86% of its residential land #yimby." Others were rubbed the wrong way by choosing the Salesforce CEO as the sole person to give an explanation for "what went wrong" in San Francisco. "Don't write one more goddamn story lamenting change without interrogating the politicians who voted one way or another on how your city or the state that your city is in is supposed to be," wrote Washington, D.C. housing organizer Alex Baca. Regardless, many San Franciscans still found a lot to relate to in the "Too homogenous. Too expensive. Too tech. Too millennial. Too white. Too elite. Too bro" portrait Heller paints of the city. "Born in China to Russian Jewish parents in 1941, I came to SF in 1947, grew up in a modest 2-bedroom rental in the city's Sunset District, went to neighborhood public schools, and came of age in a thriving middle-class community. You can't go home again," Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe commented on the article. Click through the slideshow above to see people's thoughts on the Washington Post's take on San Francisco. Redwood Hill Townhomes sits on a 0.71-acre lot on a stretch of Calaveras Avenue near Oakland's Redwood Heights neighborhood. The apartment building is close to public transit, shops and restaurants, and includes covetable amenities like parking spaces, on-site laundry and a courtyard with a playground and gathering areas. In other words, the recently completed project is a Bay Area renter's dream. But if all goes as planned, 4868 Calaveras Ave. will be a haven a shelter from the spiraling Bay Area rental market for the lucky few who land spot in the affordable housing community. Applications to live at Redwood Hill opened recently, but the waitlist is already closed. More than 4,000 people applied for the chance to rent one of the 28 units, according to Susan Friedland, the executive director of Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, which spearheaded the housing development. Tenants will be selected by lottery. The 28 two- and three-bedroom units at Redwood Hill Townhomes are reserved for residents earning between 30% and 50% of the area median income (currently $73,100 for a single earner), as well as formerly homeless people and survivors of domestic abuse. Rents will be set at 30% of the renter's monthly income. Currently, the average rent for an Oakland apartment is $2,624 an 8.73% increase over last year, according to RentCafe. Friedland says the ratio of applicants to available units is a symbol of the Bay Area affordable housing crisis. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf agrees. "Our work is far, far from complete," she tweeted after attending the opening of Redwood Hill on May 14, imploring her city to "keep at it." This is hardly the first time the number of applicants for an affordable housing project in the Bay Area far outweighed available stock. In 2018, 6,580 people applied for 95 units at Natalie Gubb Commons in San Francisco. The Redwood Hill project took about six years to complete, from conception to completion, Friedland said. But the use of the property had been debated for years before that. Before designating the land for affordable housing, the property was planned as a homeownership project, Friedland said, though the idea collapsed in 2008 when the housing market crashed. Curbed San Francisco reported notes from a city council meeting indicate the city had sought funds for an affordable housing project at the same site as early as 2003, hence Schaaf tweeting that Redwood Hill "took two decades to complete." Friedland said it's typical for affordable housing projects to take between five to six years to complete. "But once a project is built, it becomes an asset for the community for decades and decades," she said. SFGATE SAHA's biggest challenge in erecting Redwood Hills was "cobbling together funding," Friedland said. Resources are limited, and financing must be sourced from myriad entities. The Redwood Hills project cost about $26 million, with financial support from the City of Oakland, Alameda County, a handful of state agencies and two international banks. Though there was some public opposition to the project, Friedland said she could hardly characterize neighborhood sentiment as a hindrance to getting the project built. If anything, she's seen public perception toward affordable housing change in the recent years a paradigm shift that makes sense in a region where a six-figure salary is considered "low-income." "With the housing crisis as dramatic as it's become. you're hard-pressed to find people directly opposed to building affordable housing," Friedland said. The elegance of Redwood Hills might help change minds, too. The design and feel of the residences are hardly what one would think of when they hear "affordable housing." Besides its position in a sought-after location with a good school district, Redwood Hills is designed to be livable and attractive. The apartments splayed in a U-formation around a central courtyard are painted a modern gray hue with white trim. Their interiors are spacious and constructed of durable materials, like granite countertops. This, Friedland stresses, is what affordable housing can be. "We want to build a quality that will last over time and look really good in the community so when neighbors see it, they go, 'Wow, that's affordable housing? What an asset to the neighborhood." Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE producer. Email: michelle.robertson@sfgate.com | Twitter: @mrobertsonsf Facebook, facing withering criticism from governments around the world, said Thursday it has been more aggressive in recent months about getting rid of hate speech removing 4 million posts during the first three months of this year. In a report the company releases biannually, Facebook also said its automated detection software that eliminates illicit content is improving: It now automatically detects and removes more than half of the hate speech. Regulators have expressed renewed interest in cracking down on Facebook after a mass shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, live-streamed the killings on his Facebook account. The video was viewed just 4,000 times before Facebook removed it, but it spread rapidly across the internet and was reposted millions of times. The quick distribution of the video and the apparent inability of Facebook and other tech companies to stop it from spreading led to calls from regulators who said the company must do a better job of policing the content posted on its platform. The video prompted government leaders from around the world to sign on to the Christchurch Call, an agreement to limit violent and extremist content online. Facebook said it would introduce stricter policies for live-streamed videos. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call with reporters that he had recently discussed regulation with President Emmanuel Macron of France and that governments around the world should take a more proactive role in the regulation of online speech. If the rules for the internet were being written from scratch today, I dont think people would want private companies to be making so many decisions about speech themselves, Zuckerberg said. Facebook said that of the 4 million it removed, 65% were detected with artificial intelligence, up from just 24% the previous year. Its automated systems for detecting violence also improved, Facebook said. It caught 98% of the violent content posted on its service before users reported it. We estimated for every 10,000 times people viewed content on Facebook, 25 views contained content that violated our violence and graphic content policy, Guy Rosen, Facebooks vice president of integrity, wrote in a blog post. Facebook is also beginning to use AI to detect and remove the sale of guns and drugs from its platform. Gun sales have thrived on Facebook for years, and the company has struggled to prevent them. In the first quarter of 2019, Facebook removed 670,000 posts about firearm sales from its platform and detected almost 70% of them without relying on user reports, the company said. By catching more violating posts proactively, this technology lets our team focus on spotting the next trends in how bad actors try to skirt our detection, Rosen said. But Facebooks automated detection systems are not foolproof. Rosen said its numbers for monitoring child exploitation posts were lower this quarter, due in part to a bug that prevented new videos from being added to a database of content that Facebook blocks from being posted. And Facebook sometimes mistakenly removes content that does not violate its policies. Zuckerberg said Facebook would establish an independent review board that would double-check its removal decisions. This independent oversight board will look at some of our hardest cases, and the decisions it makes will be binding, Zuckerberg said, adding that he and other Facebook executives would not have the power to overrule the oversight board. The Menlo Park company also reported a drastic spike in the number of fake accounts, which it said was caused by large groups of bad actors attempting to register for accounts. The company disabled 2.19 billion fake accounts in the first quarter of 2019, up from 1.2 billion accounts in the final quarter of 2018. Kate Conger is a New York Times writer. MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital, in Long Beach, continued a years-long tradition this week of wrapping infants born on or right before Christmas in red stockings. It's a peculiar, droning sound, heard primarily in sci-fi television and counterculture music genres of yesteryear. Covered with multicolored buttons, blinking lights and patched up cords, this strange object appears to be straight out of an episode of the "Twilight Zone." The source? A vintage instrument. It's a trip back to the past at least, it was for one repairman. KPIX Television broadcast operations manager Eliot Curtis told CBS San Francisco he recently volunteered to repair a custom "analog music modular instrument" for the music department at Cal State University East Bay. More commonly known today as a synthesizer, the instrument reportedly "fell out of favor" after Cal State acquired it in the 1960s. There, it sat in a storage closet for decades. That is, until Curtis recently examined the synthesizer's inner mechanics at home in his workshop. During the process, he told CBS he noticed a "crust or crystalline residue" stuck under one of the knobs. He sprayed a cleaning solvent on it and thought nothing of it. About 45 minutes later, he began to feel a "strange, tingling sensation." "It felt like I was tripping on LSD," Curtis said. Chemical testing identified the substance to be just that. Curtis' trip lasted for nine hours. Luckily, his wife was there to supervise. Here's where things get even more interesting: CBS revealed the synthesizer had stronger ties to west coast counterculture than previously speculated. The instrument is actually called a "Buchla Model 100," developed by Berkeley resident Don Buchla in the 1960s. Buchla was an experimental electronic music composer and a friend to Owsley Stanley, the Grateful Dead's sound engineer. CBS reports Stanley was also known for making "the purest LSD to ever hit the street." Was someone hiding their stash in the synthesizer and forgot all about it? Were they using the substance for creative purposes while tinkering with the instrument? We can only speculate. The device has since been cleaned and is back at Cal State for music students to study. Read the full story and interview with Curtis at CBS San Francisco here. Amanda Bartlett is an SFGate editorial assistant. Read more of her stories or send her tips at amanda.bartlett@sfchronicle.com. CANNES, France Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio said they forged a cinematic bond making Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, while Tarantino bristled at the suggestion at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday that Margot Robbies Sharon Tate isnt primary enough in the film. Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood made its splashy premiere Tuesday evening at Cannes, 25 years after Tarantinos Pulp Fiction debuted at the French Riviera festival, where it went on to win the Palme dOr. Tarantinos latest is about an actor (DiCaprio) in TV Westerns and his stunt double (Pitt) in 1960s Los Angeles, set against the backdrop of the Manson family murders. Its the first time DiCaprio and Pitt have made a feature together, though the two co-starred in a 2015 short directed by Martin Scorsese. They both suggested it might not be the last. There was an incredible ease and comfort getting to work alongside Brad. We kind of grew up in the same generation, got our start around the same time, said DiCaprio. We together forged, hopefully, a great cinematic bond in a film about our industry together. Pitt concurred. Its that thing of knowing youve got the best-of-the-best on the opposite side of the table holding up the scene with you, he said. I hope we get to do it again. The anticipation and glamour of Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood brought a frenzy unlike anything else has to this years Cannes. Festival artistic director Thierry Fremaux had desperately sought its inclusion. The film was a late addition after Tarantino was able to finish post-production work in time. The stakes have been high for Sony Pictures, which gave Tarantino a $95 million budget to make what DiCaprio called his love letter to the industry. On Wednesday, Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman sat front row as Tarantino and his cast spoke to reporters. Tarantino was made a free agent in Hollywood after the downfall of his regular producer, Harvey Weinstein. The director has previously acknowledged knowing about some of the accusations against Weinstein for years, saying: I knew enough to do more than I did. Tarantino made no mention on Wednesday of Weinstein or the controversy last year involving Uma Thurman. The actress said an unsafe stunt on Kill Bill left her neck and knees permanently damaged. Tarantino later apologized, calling the incident the biggest regret of my life. He was, though, asked about his feelings toward director Roman Polanski, who was Tates husband at the time of the Manson family murders. Played by Rafal Zawierucha, Polanski is seen only sparingly in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood. Tarantino previously defended Polanski for having sexing with a 13-year-old girl, telling Howard Stern in 2003 that she wanted to have it. On Wednesday, Tarantino said only that hes a deep admirer of Polanskis Rosemarys Baby. He said he didnt consult Polanski on the new film. The tensest moment for Tarantino came when a New York Times reporter asked why an actress as talented as Robbie had relatively few lines in the film. Robbies Tate is largely a side narrative in the movie, which focuses on her fictional neighbors (DiCaprio and Pitt). I just reject your hypotheses, Tarantino retorted curtly. Robbie gave a fuller defense, calling her Tate a ray of light. She said Tarantino referred to her character as the heartbeat of the story. The moments that I got gave the opportunity to honor Sharon, she said. I did feel like I got a lot of time to explore the character even without dialogue, specifically. When another reporter asked Tarantino if he ever had any hesitation about turning a real-life tragedy into a movie, he replied, simply: Um, no. Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood, which opens in U.S. theaters on July 26, has been met with largely good reviews in Cannes, with critics calling it a nostalgic ode to a bygone Hollywood. Asked if he would have rather made movies in 1969 than now, Tarantino said: I prefer any time before cell phones. Whoever has the job of creating and testing new products for Trader Joe's has the best job. And if the most recent batch of new items is any indication, they're also very on trend. Take the mochi cake mix, for example. Mochi desserts, while they're nothing new, are having a moment right now. Third Culture Bakery in Berkeley often sees lines out the door on weekends as people are eager to try the classic mochi muffin or the many flavors of mochi donuts. (For the uninitiated, mochi is a textural dream. The secret is mochiko, flour made from sticky rice, which makes for a chewy texture that's hard to find in other desserts.) Besides a fresh coat of ceiling paint and a flashy new sign, not much has changed at the former home of Elbo Room, the longtime Mission District bar and music venue that closed at the start of the new year. The Valencia Room, which took over the Elbo Room space, opened this week. On a recent visit, it felt very much like the bar at 647 Valencia St. San Franciscans had come to know and love. Around a dozen people crowded around the venue's bar and pinball tables, sipping well drinks served by hip bartenders and striking up conversation over a string of disco and funk hits on the sound system. Raids in Bonn and Siegburg : Bonner alleged to have manipulated language tests Bonn/Siegburg In the NRW-wide raid against the "Al-Salam 313" group, traces also lead to Bonn and Siegburg. A 63-year-old man used rooms of the DRK in the district town for language tests, which are said to have been manipulated. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Criminal family clans, wedding celebrations on motorways, mafia organisations officers of the special task forces and hundreds of police officers in North Rhine-Westphalia cannot complain about excessively boring working days during these weeks. Twelve cities on the Rhine and Ruhr were the destinations for the team vans this Wednesday. The mission: Securing evidence against a gang that is known in the country for smuggling, drug and arms trafficking. 49 apartments and business premises were searched in the course of the nation-wide raid. "Al-Salam 313" is the name given to the Iraqi-dominated group, whose outward appearance resembles a mixture of muscle-bound rockers, striking gold chains and Middle Eastern masculinity rituals. It seems that the very man whom the police are targeting in the course of the action on Wednesday morning in Bonn does not really fit into such pictures. His home is an inconspicuous apartment building not far from Clemens-August-Platz in Poppelsdorf. The 63-year-old's regular activity in Siegburg, however, has obviously aroused more than just the investigators' interest. They accuse him of nothing less than "smuggling in foreigners" and "forgery offences", as Niclas von Hobe, spokesperson for the leading public prosecutor's office in Essen, confirms at the request of this newspaper. Manipulations during language tests If the accusations of the criminal prosecution authorities are true, the "business model" of the Bonner, a native German, would obviously have worked for quite a while: As managing director and examination officer, he runs a language school that offers language tests for foreigners and where the possibilities for manipulation were apparently fully exploited. The language tests that the 63-year-old conducted at his school are intended to serve foreigners as an extension of their residence permit, naturalisation and proof of German language skills. The latter are necessary, for example, to take up employment. "There is the suspicion that language courses were taken in the language school which are necessary for a procedure under foreigner law and that manipulations took place", says Niclas von Hobe. And this is how it seemed to have happened: According to the spokesperson, the manipulations went so far that "the examinee was given the tasks in advance or was given other assistance for the test. Targeted smuggling to the language school? But that's not all: As was to be learned from investigators, sometimes completely different people are said to have mastered the tasks instead of the "real" test candidates whereby the head of the language school is said to have turned a generous blind eye. Another accusation is that in other cases, the solutions to the tasks were also transmitted to the participants via technical devices such as telephones or via a "dead mailbox" in the toilet. The prosecuting authorities are convinced that the 63-year-old had at least one accomplice in all these cases. The man from Cologne is said to have arranged the language test for the foreigner from Bonn, guaranteed that the candidates would pass the test and received money from the test participants in return. His price per "passed" language test was between 1000 and 1500 Euro. Von Hobe: "There is a suspicion that people have been smuggled to the language school in a targeted manner". How often the example was worked is unclear. But the masterminds must have drawn the suspicion of the authorities to themselves to such an extent that these undercover investigators would eventually be assigned to work on them. Cooperation lasted five years The centre of Siegburg on Wednesday morning. The language school is located in the pedestrian zone. That it was also one of the targets of the raid in the morning is something an employee does not try to conceal a few hours later. When asked, he confines himself to the words: "The matter is being handled by the lawyer, now we'll wait and see". Lars Nottelmann, head of the Siegburger Ortsverein des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes (Siegburg local association of the German Red Cross), is more willing to provide information. The investigators also searched its rooms, a stone's throw away from the language school, in the morning, but unlike in the language school and private apartment, no computers, telephones and data material were seized. "The gentleman in question rented our rooms once a month and carried out language tests here on his own responsibility," Nottelmann told the General-Anzeiger. The cooperation has lasted five years, says the DRK chief. Since this morning it is finished for the time being: Nottelmann: "Until the investigations shed light on the situation, we have imposed a house ban. Trace to the "rocker-like group" The suspicion of Community fraud, forgery of documents and infringement of the naturalisation law against the two main suspects is one thing. The fact is that the case could increase in size is not so much due to the 63-year-old man who was not arrested but remained at large for the time being on Wednesday. Special attention of the police is paid to his alleged Cologne accomplice. His trail leads straight into the ranks of the group "Al-Salam 313" founded in Essen. The speaker of the public prosecutor's office in Essen describes them as a "rocker-like group". As a symbol on their uniforms, the members have agreed on the dove of peace. Pictures of them circulating on the Internet, however, are less like messages of reconciliation and peace. And the public prosecutor's office also assumes a "hierarchically organized structure" that instills fear in its victims. The fact that it wasn't just the joy of the airstream on two wheels that brought the companions together speaks for its origins: After all, the 313 refers in its name to the 313 companions of Iman Al-Mahdi, who according to Shiite ideas was revered as a saviour. The logo of the white dove connects them with the paramilitary unit "Jaish al-Mahdi", which is also said to have provided death squads in Iraq. These are militarily trained and were involved in the attacks against the IS in Mossul. The investigators now have some work to do, including the question of whether Iraqi paramilitaries are being smuggled into Germany. The evaluation of the evidence will take some time. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Google denied allegations by local comedians and San Francisco city officials that it will acquire the venue of the Punch Line comedy club, saying it has leased the space next door. Supervisor Aaron Peskin said Tuesday at a rally on the steps of City Hall to save the Punch Line, attended by local comics and world-renowned comedian Dave Chappelle, that the club will have to relocate when its lease expires in August and hinted that it will be replaced by Google. The company said it does not want to jeopardize the future of the comedy club, which is located in the city's Financial District. "As a neighbor, Google is committed to trying to find a way for the Punch Line to remain a vibrant part of the Bay Area community for years to come," a spokesperson for the search giant said Wednesday. However, Peskin maintained that he was talking with Google as part of his three-fold plan to save the Punch Line. "I have been in direct communication with Google specifically about the Punch Line site, and I am cautiously optimistic," Peskin said Wednesday. "Regardless, the clock is ticking on the Punch Line's future, so I am pushing forward with my Punch Line Preservation legislation." Peskin talked Tuesday about his three-fold plan to save the business -- proposing an "interim zoning moratorium" to the board, beginning talks with the new lessee, and nominating the club as a legacy business, which would make it eligible for financial assistance from the city. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who died suddenly earlier this year, has been posthumously awarded a prestigious national racial justice award, the Public Defender's Office announced Monday. During this past weekend's National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts 2019 conference, which was held in Miami, Adachi was awarded the Equity Award. Miami-Dade County Public Defender Carlos Martinez accepted the award on Adachi's behalf. "Jeff Adachi spoke up for the least, the lost, the left out," Martinez said in a statement. "When he passed away, a powerful voice fell silent. Jeff exposed and attacked pervasive racial injustice. He has inspired legions of public defenders -- justice warriors -- to fight, to speak out and speak up, and in the process he transformed our country." The Equity Award was created in 2017 to recognize individuals who work to advance equality. Adachi was nominated for the Equity Award by the National Association for Public Defense for leading his office in its work to transform the criminal justice system. Adachi was a founding member of the NAPD, an association made up of more than 20,000 public defenders and public defense professionals throughout the U.S. The state's only elected public defender, Adachi was first elected to the position in 2002. He was credited with advocating for the reform of the state's cash-bail system and with calling out alleged injustices happening within San Francisco's police and sheriff's departments, including allegations of abuse at the city's jails and racist text messages sent between police officers. Adachi successor, recently appointed Public Defender Manohar Raju said, "Jeff has been a leader in the area of addressing implicit bias and it is gratifying that he is receiving this acknowledgement." 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A man accused of forcing an elderly woman into his home and sexually assaulting her for hours earlier this month in San Francisco's Crocker-Amazon neighborhood pleaded not guilty to his charges Thursday in court. Manuel Amador, 47, has been charged with rape, kidnapping, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object, and sodomy for the May 10 assault that left the 74-year-old victim with serious injuries. The victim underwent surgery and she's currently recovering at a hospital, San Francisco District Attorney's Office spokesman Max Szabo said following Amador's arraignment. If convicted of all charges, Amador faces life in prison, Szabo said. "These are incredibly serious charges, some of the most serious in the criminal justice system and this is one of the most heinous cases we've ever seen," he said. Amador, who is being represented by the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, remains in custody and is being held without bail. According to court documents, the victim went for her morning walk at about 8 a.m. and as she walked down the 1000 block of Prague Street, Amador grabbed her and dragged her toward his home's driveway. Although the victim tried to pull away, Amador allegedly continued to drag her into a side door near the home's garage. Once inside, a pit bull belonging to Amador's roommate bit the victim several times on her feet, ankle and hip, according to court documents. Although she continued to fight back, Amador was allegedly able to drag her into a room, lock the door and push her onto a bed. He then pulled off her clothes, held her down and repeatedly raped her, court documents allege. Amador allegedly kept the victim in the room for four to five hours. At one point he also choked her, causing her to lose consciousness for 30 minutes. After the ordeal, Amador allegedly dressed the victim and dragged her back onto the streets, leaving her without her cellphone, keys, underwear and shoes, according to the court documents. A passerby saw the injured victim on the sidewalk and called 911. She was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. After officers arrested Amador at his home last Friday, he allegedly admitted to raping the victim during a Mirandized interview, court documents said. Amador, a Honduran citizen, has no previous convictions, according to court documents. He's due back in court on June 12. 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. John Walker Lindh, a Marin County man who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, was released Thursday from a federal prison in Indiana, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Lindh, 38, was released after serving 17 years of his 20-year sentence for supplying services to the Taliban and carrying explosive devices -- a rifle and two grenades -- while doing so. The release after 17 years resulted from credit for good behavior. He pleaded guilty to the two charges in a plea bargain in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2002. Lindh, the son of former California Public Utilities General Counsel Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker, grew up in Fairfax. He converted to Islam at age 16 and went to Yemen to study Arabic. Lindh joined the Taliban in Afghanistan in the summer of 2001 to fight the Northern Alliance in a civil war. He was captured by Northern Alliance troops and turned over to the U.S. military in Afghanistan in late 2001, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. He will spend three years on supervised release. Under conditions set by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, any Internet use by Lindh will be monitored continuously by his probation officer. He is not allowed to possess or view material reflecting extremist or terrorist views or to communicate with any known extremist. Lindh is also required to undergo mental health counseling. U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, and Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, wrote to the Bureau of Prisons last week to express concerns about whether the bureau provides behavioral programming for prisoners with extremist views and whether it assesses possible risks to the public when such prisoners are released. Lindh was the first person to be charged in a U.S. court in the nation's post-Sept. 11 war on terrorism. He was originally accused in a 10-count indictment that included a charge of conspiring to kill Americans, but that charge and others were dropped by federal prosecutors as part of the plea agreement. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Police arrested a man connected to a stabbing earlier this month in San Francisco's Park Merced area, which left the victim with life-threatening injuries, police announced Wednesday. The stabbing happened May 9 in the 400 block of Arballo Drive, according to police. Officers had responded to a stabbing there and when officers arrived, they found a 48-year-old man bleeding uncontrollably from the neck. He was taken to a hospital, police said. Officers learned the victim had been stabbed after he had gotten into an argument with another man, identified as 65-year-old Mitchell Graham of San Francisco. During the argument, Graham allegedly pulled out a knife, swung it and then stabbed the victim in the neck. Graham then dropped the knife and fled on foot, according to police. Later that day, officers were able to locate Graham in the 4100 block of Clement Street, where they arrested him on suspicion of attempted homicide with a knife and an outstanding warrant, police said. Graham remains in custody without bail, according to jail records. The victim has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering from his injuries, police said. 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. San Francisco's community campfire returned last week to the Presidio and will happen again this week, National Park Service officials said. The campfire called Presidio Twilight begins at 5 p.m. Thursday and lasts until 9 p.m. with food trucks from Off the Grid at the Presidio's historic Main Parade Ground. Additionally, there will be live music, communal fire pits and lawn games. New on the lawn this year are lantern-lit communal domes that visitors can use to get out of the weather and eat. Police in San Francisco announced Wednesday they arrested a man last week after he allegedly kidnapped a 74-year-old woman and held her at a house where he sexually assaulted her for hours. The kidnapping and assault happened on May 10, in the city's Crocker-Amazon neighborhood, according to police. The victim was walking to friend's house when a male suspect forced her into a home and kept her there for hours while he sexually assaulted her, police said. After the ordeal, the man forced the woman out of the house and left her on the sidewalk a few doors down, according to police. A good Samaritan called 911 and medical personnel transported her to the hospital, police said. Following an investigation into the assault, officers were able to serve a search warrant Friday at a home in the 1000 block of Prague Street. There, they arrested 47-year-old San Francisco resident Manuel Amador. The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating an at-risk, missing elderly woman who was last seen Wednesday afternoon. Gail Susan Oetiker, 77, of San Carlos, hasn't been located since 4 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff's officials said, and suffers from a medical condition that may cause her to become disoriented, according to the California Highway Patrol. Oetiker is described as being 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing around 130 pounds with red hair, green eyes, wearing a brown/red sweater with brown pants. Anyone who sees her is asked to call 911 or call the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office at (650) 363-4911. A lawyer for Ghost Ship warehouse creative director Max Harris aggressively cross-examined a former top Oakland Fire Department official on Wednesday about her testimony that investigators didn't find any evidence of explosive materials at a deadly fire there in 2016. The presence of explosive materials is a key issue in the trial of Harris, 29, and Ghost Ship master tenant Derick Almena, 49, because their attorneys have said that the fire during a music party at the artists' collective in the 1300 block of 31st Avenue the night of Dec. 2, 2016, was an act of arson and witnesses heard sounds of glass breaking, such as from Molotov cocktails. Defense lawyers say Almena and Harris, who face 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each of the 36 people who died in the blaze, shouldn't be held criminally liable for an act of arson they couldn't have prevented. But Alameda County prosecutors allege that Almena and Harris are criminally responsible for the fire because there was no time and no way for the people at the party to escape since the two-story, 10,000-square-foot warehouse didn't have important safeguards, such as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms and exit signs. They also say Almena and Harris violated the terms of the warehouse's lease by turning it into a living space where up to 25 people stayed and hosting underground music parties. The Contra Costa County District Attorney has charged Hang Lin, 32, with fatally stabbing a woman early Sunday morning in Antioch. Mei Jaun Tang, 30, was found dead in a house on Big Horn Court around 3 a.m. with "suspicious injuries that appeared to be the cause of her death," according to police. Lin was detained for questioning in connection with her death. Although the specific nature of the relationship between Lin and the victim was not immediately clear, he was charged with murdering Tang with a knife Tuesday morning, according to prosecutors. He is scheduled for arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the courtroom of Judge Mary Anne O'Malley at the Arnason Justice Center, 1000 Center Drive in Pittsburg. Investigators have called it an isolated incident, and police say there is no outstanding threat to the public. The case does, however, remain under investigation. Anyone with additional information is asked to call (925) 778-2441. A bankruptcy judge is allowing PG&E to make $105 million available to victims of the Camp Fire and 2017 North Bay wildfires, officials with the San Francisco-based company said Wednesday. The money is meant to help people who were uninsured or need help with alternative living expenses or other urgent needs. Company officials said the money will come from cash reserves and will not be passed on to customers. A third party will be selected to oversee the disbursement of the money. Eligibility requirements have not been determined, but victims who are most in need will get priority, including people currently without adequate shelter. The cost of the administrator's services and other fees will be capped at $5 million, so most of the money will go to survivors. Mountain View city officials completed the last leg of their priority-setting meetings on Tuesday with support from anti-displacement activists who want to increase affordable housing options in the city. The City Council's top two priorities for the next two years will address housing, including implementation of safe parking programs, declaring a housing emergency and increasing the stock of affordable units. The priorities are listed as the following: "Promote a Community for All with a focus on Strategies to Protect Vulnerable Populations and Preserve Mountain View's Socioeconomic and Cultural Diversity" and "Improve the Quantity, Diversity, and Affordability of Housing by Providing Opportunities for Subsidized, Middle-Income, and Ownership Housing." The city has grappled with a severe housing shortage and increasing homelessness in the last few years, along with many major cities in the Bay Area. It received immense pushback in December after it authorized the demolition of rent-controlled, naturally occurring affordable units to make way for market-priced townhomes and row houses. Alex Nunez organized a rally against displacement outside the City Council meeting on Tuesday, and said Wednesday that city councilmembers proved to be considerate and thoughtful in listening to the concerns of vulnerable residents. He said activists will be watching closely to see if the priority-setting translates into action and resources after initial study sessions. The Richmond City Council moved to oppose a railroad company's plans to reactivate a length of track that runs through a popular waterfront park Tuesday evening at their regularly scheduled meeting in City Hall. The Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline Park was established in the 1970s, according to Mayor Tom Butt's Chief of Staff Alex Knox. Over the decades it spread out around a right of way that served Ferry Point and Terminal 1. BNSF Railroad Company maintains that the tracks are active, and that their easement through the park still allows for train traffic, but city officials have joined the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and the East Bay Parks and Recreation District in opposing the reintroduction of rail traffic. The railroad has offered to move the tracks to a different path through the park, but parks and county officials have stated publicly that it wouldn't make much of a difference. District 1 Supervisor John Gioia was applauded by the crowd during public comment when he announced that the Board of Supervisors had passed a resolution opposing the railroad's plans earlier that day. "This proposal is unsafe, it's unhealthy and it's unfair," Gioia said, citing air quality impacts for nearby residents. "Whether this rail is on the coast, on the bay shoreline or in the middle, it's harmful from a health standpoint," Gioia said. Residents in unincorporated areas of Sonoma County are eligible for a free roadside chipper program that helps them create a defensible space around their homes, reduce vegetation along access routes and reduce the risk of wildfires. The county will provide three hours of free chipping - enough to chip a pile of vegetation 50 feet long, four feet high and eight feet wide. The program is offered May through November weather permitting, and is on a first-come, first-served basis. The program served more than 450 properties last year, and since May 1 of this year, 123 applications for free chipping have been received. Thursday will be partly cloudy in the morning, then becoming sunny. Highs will be in the 50s to upper 60s. West winds will be 10 to 20 mph. Thursday night will be partly cloudy. Lows will be in the mid 50s. Southwest winds will be 10 to 20 mph. Friday will be cloudy in the morning, then becoming partly cloudy. Highs will be in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Southwest winds will be 10 to 20 mph. 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. University of California regents last week approved the addition of a new research station at Point Reyes National Seashore for use by UC Berkeley students and faculty, according to the school. UC Berkeley began using the Point Reyes Field Station, a historic ranch house in the Olema Valley, in June 2017. The regents' vote last week approved adding it to the UC Natural Reserve System, which includes 40 other sites in parks like Yosemite National Park. Of the 41, 15 are administered by UC Berkeley. UC Berkeley's David Ackerly, dean of the College of Natural Resources, spearheaded the effort to create the station at the National Park Service site in west Marin County. "Point Reyes offers so many opportunities for our students and faculty to pursue their research and contribute to the conservation of park resources," Ackerly said. "We're very excited to partner with the park service on this new project." The 3,000-square-foot ranch house belongs to the National Park Service and was leased for five years by the university. Historically, the ranch supplied over 3,000 pounds of butter per year to San Francisco. Students across disciples are encouraged to visit the station but the site is particularly suited for biological and ecological research. Equipped with bunk beds, Wi-Fi and other amenities, it allows students and faculty to stay for longer than a day at a time and gives them a chance to do field research. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco Zoo officials are mourning the recent death of their male African lion Jahari, who was the patriarch of his group. The zoo announced Wednesday that 16-year-old lion Jahari died two days earlier. "Jahari was a favorite among guests and staff alike and truly was a magnificent ambassador of his species," said Tanya Peterson, the San Francisco Zoological Society's CEO and executive director. Jahari was born at the zoo in 2003 to his lion parents, who were originally from South Africa. "After he was born, his mother passed away, and he was lovingly hand-reared alongside his sibling. Throughout the years we watched him grow, mature and have family of his own. We will always remember his bellowing roar, heard from every corner of the zoo. It's a tremendous loss and we are heartbroken," Peterson said. Jahari was raised in the zoo's Cat Kingdom, and eventually he and his mate Sukari had a male cub, Jasiri. Throughout the years, as Jahari aged, zoo staff had to make an effort to accommodate his increasingly limited mobility. Zoo officials said they pride themselves on providing preventative and aged animal care, which they say is proved by the longevity of some of their oldest animal residents, many of which have surpassed the life-expectancy of their wildlife counterparts. 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) The biggest group of labor federations in the country is in praise of the Senate for approving a bill seeking to strengthen workers' security of tenure and prohibit the practice of labor-only contracting. But the group expressed its "fear" over Finance Secretary Carlos "Sonny" Dominguez's supposed opposition, which it said may hinder the measure from hurdling the bicameral committee. The Senate, voting 15-0, on Wednesday passed on third and final reading Senate Bill 1826 or the "Security of Tenure and End of Endo Act of 2018." A similar bill had been passed at the House of Representatives in 2017. A bicameral committee will iron out differences in the two versions to come up with the measure that will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature. READ: Senate OKs 'end endo' bill "Endo" or "end of contract" is a highly contested form of contractualization widely practiced in the countryworkers are hired for not more than five months, so employers don't need to regularize them on the sixth month as mandated by the Labor Code. It strips millions of workers of all the benefits granted to regular employees by law. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said there are currently 15 million endo workers employed in the services sector, as well as agriculture and manufacturing industries. The group said the measure "will incentivize workers to higher labor productivity" and will benefit employers by cutting down production and training costs. "It means having an experienced and loyal workforce for employers treating their workers fairly. After all, our labor market model should not be sweatshop countries like Bangladesh. By equipping our workers with world-class labor standards, we help our workers make world-class products," its president Raymond Mendoza was quoted as saying in a statement. TUCP slammed Dominguez for supposedly opposing the House's version of the proposal, saying the budget chief is "openly hinting that the Department of Finance actually looks on the Security of Tenure initiative with hostility." "We still fear that DOF Secretary Dominguez will move to kill the worker's bill as it goes to the Bicameral Conference Committee next week," TUCP Vice President and Nagkaisa co-convenor Luis Corral was also quoted a s saying. Corral, however, said the TUCP trusts that Congress will "keep the faith and uphold the workers' interest" in ending contractualization, which the group said is a "modern form of slave labor." Asked for his reaction on the statement, Dominguez said the DOF supports key legislation that will benefit Filipino workers. "We support the President's priority programs that will aim to protect the rights and welfare of our workers while allowing businesses to flourish in our fast-growing economy," the secretary told CNN Philippines in a text message. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier certified the bill as urgent as labor groups called on him to fulfill his campaign promise of ending all forms of illegal contractualization. Chinese (Simplified) English BOSTON, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anaqua, the leading provider of innovation and intellectual property management solutions, is pleased to announce its strategic partnership with top ten global law firm Hogan Lovells. Hogan Lovells is one of the worlds most innovative law firms and was recently named Managing Intellectual Property's " Global IP Firm of the Year ," for a second year running. The firms intellectual property practice has close to 400 dedicated professionals spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia; and boasts a client base which includes over 50% of the world's largest brand owners. Through the new partnership, ANAQUA will provide the trademark team at Hogan Lovells with a unified platform to further drive process standardization and automation across their offices worldwide. The platforms multi-language functionality will support the firms international operations and diverse client base. Constanze Schulte, trademark partner at Hogan Lovells leading the transition to Anaqua, said: "Partnering with Anaqua makes a lot of sense for our global practice, which relies on close and efficient collaboration on a daily basis." Teaming up with Anaqua is a further example of the firm's focus on innovation and ongoing investment in state-of-the-art technologies to increase automation and enhance its service offerings to clients. Transitioning to Anaqua demonstrates our commitment to leverage leading technology to streamline processes and reduce costs for our clients, said Burkhart Goebel, Global Head of the Intellectual Property, Media and Technology practice at Hogan Lovells. It complements our Total Brand Care program; an initiative that leverages leading edge technology by implementing intelligent analytics within our trademark services to speed up the launch of new brands, and create greater efficiency for our clients brand protection. Bob Romeo, CEO of Anaqua, added: Hogan Lovells recognizes the need for law firms to maximize efficiency and enhance collaboration between offices in order to increase their competitive edge and better support global clients. Their decision to strategically partner with Anaqua for IP management underlines the strength and capabilities of our IP software and services, as well as the added value we are able to bring to global law firms. About Anaqua Anaqua is a premium provider of integrated, end-to-end innovation and intellectual property (IP) management solutions, serving more than 50% of the top 25 U.S. patent filers, more than 50% of the top 25 global brands, and a growing number of the most prestigious, forward-looking law firms. The companys global operations are headquartered in Boston, with offices across Europe and Asia. Anaquas IP platform is used by nearly one million IP executives, attorneys, paralegals, administrators, and innovators globally. Its solution suite merges best practice workflows with big data analytics and tech-enabled services to create one intelligent environment designed to inform IP strategy, enable IP decision-making, and streamline IP operations. For additional information, please visit anaqua.com . About Hogan Lovells To find out more about Hogan Lovells, please visit hoganlovells.com . For more detailed information on Hogan Lovells intellectual property, media & technology practice, please visit: www.hoganlovells.com/ip NEW YORK, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- YPO, the premier global leadership organization for more than 27,000 chief executives, conducted a survey of its members in over 130 countries to get their latest thoughts on innovation and its implications for the future of their businesses. YPOs 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey , conducted between 29 April through 6 May 2019 with more than 1,600 chief executive respondents, confirmed that the majority of global business leaders (57 percent) feel an urgent need to innovate now. Where do they look to find inspiration to innovate? Their customers. Nearly half of global business leaders cited customers as their top source of innovation inspiration (48 percent) with employees (36 percent) ranking second. Consultants (10 percent) and think tanks (7 percent) lag far behind in the minds of respondents. The importance of keeping this key constituency happy is a focal point with nearly one in five respondents citing customer experience as their primary business area most needing innovation now. This ranks ahead of products, data/business intelligence and technology. According to additional YPO Global Pulse findings, location, geographic location, industry, company size and length of job tenure greatly inform business leaders opinions and go-forward innovation action plans: While the need to innovate is a top priority for global business leaders, only 4 in 10 strongly believe they have the appetite for experimentation. While 57 percent of chief executives strongly believe there is an urgent need for their business to be innovative, more than one-third of this group (37 percent) however indicated they are not likely to invest in innovation over the next 12 months . Industry plays a significant role in business leaders attitudes toward risk in business with those executives in the IT & Software, Health Care and Advertising & Marketing industries embracing risk (more than 55 percent have an appetite for experimentation and risk) while leaders in the Distribution, Automotive and Apparel industries are more risk adverse (only 35 percent have an appetite for experimentation and risk). Over the next 12 months, global business leaders who are extremely likely to invest will be doing so in products (45 percent), internal processes (44 percent) and technology (42 percent) to help them win customers. Respondents in Africa (45 percent) cited their spending will be focused on product innovation. Business leaders in Latin America (26 percent) and Asia (19 percent) are more likely to invest in business model innovation compared to their peers in the United States (16 percent) and Canada (13 percent). U.S.-based business leaders (34 percent) are slightly more likely to invest in talent compared to all others (29 percent). Leaders who have been at the helm three years or less are less likely to invest in talent (26 percent) compared to those who have been at the helm longer (32 percent). Leaders of larger organizations (USD250 million+) indicate that innovation investment in the next 12 months will be targeted toward data/business intelligence (47 percent), while leaders of USD25-250 million businesses plan to invest in technology (42 percent). Leaders of smaller organizations (USD25 million or less) reported they will be focusing their spending in the next 12 months on product innovation (45 percent). More leaders strongly agree that changing market conditions are redefining their business (36 percent) than technology (24 percent) and new competitors (20 percent). U.K. respondents (43 percent) were much more likely than their European peers (31 percent) to strongly agree that changing market conditions are redefining their business. Business leaders in Latin America (19 percent) and Asia (15 percent) are more concerned that technology changes are making their business model obsolete, especially when compared to their peers in Europe (9 percent) and the United States (7 percent). Leaders of large organizations (USD250 million+) cited new competitors threatening their traditional business model as a strong concern, well more than chief executives of smaller businesses (27 percent for large companies compared to 19 percent for all others). Chief executives who have been at the helm of their business one year or less believe their competitors are innovating faster than they are (18 percent), especially when compared to all executives (6 percent). Regionally, chief executives in Middle East/North Africa (10 percent) and Asia (9 percent) are more likely to strongly believe their competitors are innovating faster compared to leaders across all regions (6 percent). (36 percent) than technology (24 percent) and new competitors (20 percent). The YPO 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey follows on the heels of YPO Innovation Week. Occurring last week, YPO Innovation Week connected influential entrepreneurs, innovators and thought leaders to exchange ideas about inspiration, breakthroughs and transformation through signature and digital events around the world. YPO 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey Methodology: The YPO 2019 Global Pulse Innovation Survey of its members was conducted by YPO from 29 April 6 May via an online questionnaire with a representative probability sample of 1,661 YPO members. The sample included members in 105 countries and representing 34 industry sectors. The questionnaire was in English. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level. About YPO: YPO is the premier global leadership organization for more than 27,000 chief executives in over 130 countries and the global platform for them to engage, learn and grow. YPO members harness the knowledge, influence and trust of the worlds most influential and innovative business leaders to inspire business, personal, family and community impact. Today, YPO member-run companies, diversified among industries and types of businesses, employ more than 22 million people globally and generate USD9 trillion in annual revenues. For more information, visit ypo.org . YPO Media Contacts: Amy Reid, areid@ypo.org , +1 646 678 0575 (United States) Natalie Naude, nnaude@ypo.org , +27 83 641 0429 (Africa/MENA) Vickie Tikam, vtikam@ypo.org, +60 012 331 7411 (Asia) Angela Mers, amers@ypo.org, +1 415 298 8534 (Canada) Serena Marchionni, smarchionni@ypo.org, +34 699 903 472 (Europe) Washington, D.C., May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recall Release CLASS I RECALL HEALTH RISK: HIGH Congressional and Public Affairs Buck McKay (202) 720-9113 Press@fsis.usda.gov FSIS-RC-057-2019 AURORA PACKING COMPANY, INC. RECALLS BEEF PRODUCTS DUE TO POSSIBLE E. COLI O157:H7 CONTAMINATION WASHINGTON, May 22, 2019 Aurora Packing Company, Inc., a North Aurora, Ill. establishment, is recalling approximately 62,112 pounds of raw beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The raw beef products were packaged on April 19, 2019. This spreadsheet contains a list of the products subject to recall. The products subject to recall bear establishment number EST. 788 inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped for nationwide for further distribution and processing. The problem was discovered during traceback activities in response to random sample testing by FSIS. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 28 days (34 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately. FSIS is concerned that some product may be in institutional facility freezers. Institutions who have purchased these products are urged not to use them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls. FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume product that has been cooked to a temperature of 165F. The only way to confirm that beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart . Consumers and members of the media with questions about the recall can contact David Stewart, Director of Sales and Marketing for Aurora Packing Company, Inc., at (630) 897-0551. Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem. A former Texas A&M Transportation Services employee is facing a felony charge after he was arrested for allegedly hiding a small camera in the women's restroom on the A&M campus. Peter David Baty, 54, of College Station, was arrested May 16 and charged with invasive video recording. Baty allegedly hid a camera inside a phone charger device underneath the sink of a women's restroom at the Transit Building on Agronomy Road, according to a release from the university. "We will not tolerate invasions of privacy against members of our campus community," TAMU President Michael K. Young said in the release. "Not only is this behavior a criminal act but it is also deeply counter to the values we hold dear at Texas A&M University. We are fully cooperating with authorities." Texas A&M Police Lieutenant Bobby Richardson said a female employee found the camera, which had been recording nonstop for at least a few weeks. Richardson said investigators are still unsure how long the camera had been there and how far back video footage went. 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. Officials said the single-use restroom is not accessible to the public and is mainly used by campus employees. Richardson said 42 victims have been identified so far and police suspect there could be more. Investigators found an external hard drive with even more footage at Baty's home after executing a search warrant. Richardson said authorities have only begun to analyze the footage and suspect there could be countless more videos and possible victims. "We are talking a lot of footage," Richardson said. "We had about a weeks worth [of footage] that we were able to find on the memory card but we expect the hard drive to [have] more [footage] and we are trying to figure out how far back it goes." Baty resigned the day before he was arrested, according to the release. He made his $25,000 bond the next day, according to jail records. PASADENA: H-E-B employee arrested for allegedly filming unsuspecting shopper in bathroom Women who work in the building were informed of the investigation. "We realize that in cases like this family members and friends want to do their own investigations or confront the accused," Richardson said. "We hope all involved allow us to investigate the case so that justice can be served for every victim. It would be unfortunate if someone tried to take matters into their own hands, and then got in trouble themselves." Anyone who thinks they might have been recorded and have not yet been contacted by authorities are asked to email their name and phone number to Det. Rogers at rrogers@tamu.edu. Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Authorities have identified a man wanted in a fatal shooting last week at Keith-Weiss park in north Houston. Martin Vela, 26, has been charged with murder in the shooting, Houston police said Wednesday. Vela has not been arrested. Vela is accused of killing Arnoldo Moreno, also 26, who was found dead next to a pickup about 7:10 p.m. May 14 at the park at 12300 Aldine Westfield Road. A witness told police the gunman fled into a nearby field. Anyone with information on the case should contact the Houston Police Department's Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. English French The production of adenosine via CD39 and CD73 enzymes participates in an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Perrot et al. generated two antibodies, IPH5201 and IPH5301, targeting human CD39 and CD73, respectively. In vitro and in vivo data support the use of anti-CD39 and anti-CD73 mAbs in combination cancer therapies. Marseille, France, May 23, 2019, 7:00 AM CEST Innate Pharma SA (the Company - Euronext Paris: FR0010331421 IPH) today announced a publication in Cell Reports describing two new monoclonal antibodies, IPH5201 and IPH5301, that target CD39 and CD73, respectively, to inhibit the adenosine pathway and promote activation of the immune system against cancer. The full manuscript, titled Blocking antibodies targeting the CD39/CD73 immunosuppressive pathway unleash immune responses in combination cancer therapies appeared in the online issue of Cell Reports on May 21st, 2019. Cancer immune evasion largely involves the generation of high amounts of immunosuppressive adenosine (Ado) within the tumor environment. An increase in CD39 and CD73 at the tumor bed signals an immunosuppressive environment inhibiting anti-tumor immune responses and favoring tumor spreading. The impact of blocking CD39 and CD73 ectoenzymes to overcome Ado-mediated immunosuppression and to reinforce anti-tumor immunity has been investigated by combining genetic and antibody-mediated approaches. The work published by Innate Pharma and collaborators shows that CD39 deficiency enhances the benefits from combined cancer therapies in preclinical mouse solid tumor models. We report the generation and characterization of two blocking antibodies against human CD39 and CD73, referred to as IPH5201 and IPH5301, respectively. The anti-CD39 antibody IPH5201 blocked ATP hydrolysis by both membrane and soluble CD39, thereby promoting DC maturation and macrophage activation, whereas the anti-CD73 antibody IPH5301 blocked the degradation of AMP into immunosuppressive Ado and displays different functional characteristics over currently used antibodies. Both IPH5201 and IPH5301 prevented the Ado-mediated inhibition of T cells purified from patients with breast cancer or melanoma. We also observed that IPH5201 efficiently increased the anti-tumor activity of the ATP-inducing chemotherapeutic drug oxaliplatin in a mouse tumor model. These data provide the scientific rationale for the clinical development of IPH5201 and IPH5301 and their use in cancer immunotherapy. The published data continue to support our rationale to evaluate IPH5201 and IPH5301 in cancer, particularly if these antibodies are used in combination with each other, with immune checkpoint inhibitors or with chemotherapies, commented Pr. Eric Vivier, Innate Pharma CSO. We are excited to further explore the potential of these antibodies as an innovative and differentiated approach to reverse immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment and expect INDs to be filed for IPH5201 in the second half of 2019 and for IPH5301 in the first half of 2020. In October 2018, Innate Pharma and AstraZeneca entered into a development collaboration and option agreement for further co-development and co-commercialization for IPH5201. Reference Ivan Perrot, Henri-Alexandre Michaud, Marc Giraudon-Paoli, Severine Augier, Aurelie Docquier, Laurent Gros, Rachel Courtois, Cecile Dejou, Diana Jecko, Ondine Becquart, Helene Rispaud-Blanc, Laurent Gauthier, Benjamin Rossi, Stephanie Chanteux, Nicolas Gourdin, Beatrice Amigues, Alain Roussel, Armand Bensussan, Jean-Francois Eliaou, Jeremy Bastid, Francois Romagne, Yannis Morel, Emilie Narni-Mancinelli, Eric Vivier, Carine Paturel, and Nathalie Bonnefoy. Blocking Antibodies Targeting the CD39/CD73 Immunosuppressive Pathway Unleash Immune Responses in Combination Cancer Therapies. Cell Reports, May 21, 2019. About Innate Pharma: Innate Pharma S.A. is a commercial stage oncology-focused biotech company dedicated to improving treatment and clinical outcomes for patients through therapeutic antibodies that harness the immune system to fight cancer. Innate Pharmas commercial-stage product, Lumoxiti, in-licensed from AstraZeneca, was approved by the FDA in September 2018. Lumoxiti is a first-in class specialty oncology product for hairy cell leukemia (HCL). Innate Pharmas broad pipeline of antibodies includes several potentially first-in-class clinical and preclinical candidates in cancers with high unmet medical need. Pioneer in the biology of NK cell, Innate Pharma has expanded its expertise in the tumor microenvironment and tumor-antigens, as well as antibody engineering. This innovative approach has resulted in a diversified proprietary portfolio and major alliances with leaders in the biopharmaceutical industry including Bristol-Myers Squibb Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi, and a multi-products collaboration with AstraZeneca. Based in Marseille, France, Innate Pharma is listed on Euronext Paris. Learn more about Innate Pharma at www.innate-pharma.com Information about Innate Pharma shares: ISIN code Ticker code LEI FR0010331421 IPH 9695002Y8420ZB8HJE29 Disclaimer: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Although the company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause the company's actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors (Facteurs de Risque") section of the Document de Reference prospectus filed with the AMF, which is available on the AMF website (http://www.amf-france.org) or on Innate Pharmas website. This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to shares in Innate Pharma in any country. For additional information, please contact: Investors Innate Pharma Dr. Markus Metzger/ Danielle Spangler Jerome Marino Tel.: +33 (0)4 30 30 30 30 investors@innate-pharma.com International Media Consilium Strategic Communications Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson Tel.: +44 (0)20 3709 5700 InnatePharma@consilium-comms.com French Media ATCG Press Solene Moulin / Marie Puvieux Tel.: +33 (0)9 81 87 46 72 innate-pharma@atcg-partners.com Attachment Highlights: Establishing BW Energy as a separate E&P company with a diversified portfolio of production and development assets Substantial growth potential with unique low-risk development strategy supported by BW Offshore's (BWO) existing FPSOs, track-record and experience In advanced negotiations for USD 200m Reserve Based Lending facility based on Dussafu reserves, expected to close in 2019 External investors will be invited into BW Energy, while current shareholders will maintain a majority shareholding Planned listing of BW Energy on Oslo Stock Exchange in 2019 Strategic rationale: Unlocking value that traditional oil & gas companies are not addressing BW Offshore plans to establish BW Energy as a separate E&P company and will invite external investors into the company to finance development of the recently acquired Maromba field offshore Brazil and value-enhancing investments at the Dussafu Marin Permit offshore Gabon. BW Energy will have a diversified portfolio of production and development assets, positioned for growth based on its unique low-risk development strategy supported by BWO's existing FPSOs, track-record and experience. BW Energy was established in late 2016 and has since developed a portfolio of attractive upstream oil and gas assets in West Africa and Brazil. "With BW Energy, we have demonstrated our unique ability to move the threshold for commercial development of discovered resources through use of existing FPSOs, fast-track project execution and properly scaled development concepts," said Carl K. Arnet, the CEO of BW Offshore. "We will continue to target robust business opportunities based on proven reserves with sequential growth potential and unlock significant value that traditional oil & gas companies are not addressing." "We have proven the attractiveness of our field development strategy with the Dussafu development. Our E&P activities now have a scale where it is natural to invite external investors to add to BW Energy's project execution capacity and growth potential," Carl K. Arnet added. Attractive assets, rich inventory of exploration opportunities and experienced organisation BW Energy will consist of: 73.5% working interest (WI) in the Dussafu Marin Permit offshore Gabon (owned by the current partnership) 56% WI in the Kudu license offshore Namibia (owned by a subsidiary of BWO) 100% WI in the Maromba field offshore Brazil (owned by a subsidiary of BWO, subject to regulatory approval) BW Energy has as operator of the Dussafu license generated significant value by moving the project from acquisition, through field development sanctioning and to successful production in only 18 months at substantially reduced cost. Current gross production from the Dussafu field is around 12,000 barrels of oil per day, expected to achieve approximately 20,000 barrels of oil per day in 2020 as the 4 new production wells of the phase 2 development are hooked up to the FPSO. The internal estimated recoverable reserves now stands at 80 MMboe gross including both Tortue and the Ruche discoveries, up more than 5 times from the sanctioning of the first phase. In addition, a rich inventory of exploration and appraisal opportunities represents further material upside potential. BW Energy has assembled an experienced E&P organisation, with strong technical and operational capabilities. Following several operational achievements at Dussafu, BWO plans to expand BW Energy's portfolio by transferring its rights to interests in the Maromba field offshore Brazil. Following the transfer, BW Energy will start preparations for the phased development of the Maromba heavy oil discovery which is expected to yield between 100 and 150 MMboe. BWO will also transfer its interest in the Kudu license in Namibia to BW Energy. All of BWO's and BW Group's upstream oil & gas assets will be held through BW Energy following these transfers. BW Energy will be led by a management team consisting of CEO Carl K. Arnet, COO Lin G. Espey and CFO Knut R. Sthre with effect from 1 July 2019. Planned equity raise and listing on Oslo Stock Exchange BWO and BW Group will invite external investors to invest directly in the new entity. BW Energy targets a listing on Oslo Stock Exchange in 2019 and has retained DNB Markets and Pareto Securities as financial advisers in this respect. To introduce BW Energy, the company's management will host investor presentations in due course. The company will provide further updates as appropriate. For further information, please contact: Knut R. Sthre, CFO, +47 911 17 876 IR@bwoffshore.com or www.bwoffshore.com About BW Offshore: BW Offshore is a leading provider of floating production services to the oil and gas industry. The company also participates in developing proven offshore hydrocarbon reservoirs. BW Offshore is represented in all major oil and gas regions world-wide with a fleet of 15 owned FPSOs. The company has more than 30 years of production track record, having executed 40 FPSO and FSO projects. BW Offshore is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. To live in California at this time is to experience every day the cryptic phrase that George W. Bush once used to describe the invasion of Iraq: Catastrophic success. The economy here is booming, but no one feels especially good about it. When the cost of living is taken into account, billionaire-brimming California ranks as the most poverty-stricken state, with a fifth of the population struggling to get by. Since 2010, migration out of California has surged. The basic problem is the steady collapse of livability. Across my home state, traffic and transportation is a developing-world nightmare. Child care and education seem impossible for all but the wealthiest. The problems of affordable housing and homelessness have surpassed all superlatives what was a crisis is now an emergency that feels like a dystopian showcase of American inequality. Just look at San Francisco, Nancy Pelosis city. One of every 11,600 residents is a billionaire, and the annual household income necessary to buy a median-priced home now tops $320,000. Yet the streets there are a plague of garbage and needles and feces, and every morning brings fresh horror stories from a Black Mirror hellscape: Homeless veterans are surviving on an economy of trash from billionaires mansions. Wealthy homeowners are crowdfunding a legal effort arguing that a proposed homeless shelter is an environmental hazard. A public-school teacher suffering from cancer is forced to pay for her own substitute. And there is no end in sight to such crushing success. At every level of government, our representatives, nearly all of them Democrats, prove inadequate and unresponsive to the challenges at hand. Witness last weeks embarrassment, when California lawmakers used a sketchy parliamentary maneuver to knife Senate Bill 50, an ambitious effort to undo restrictive local zoning rules and increase the supply of housing. It was another chapter in a dismal saga of NIMBYist urban mismanagement that is crushing American cities. Not-in-my-backyardism is a bipartisan sentiment, but because the largest American cities are populated and run by Democrats many in states under complete Democratic control this sort of nakedly exclusionary urban restrictionism is a particular shame of the left. There are many threads in the story of Americas increasingly unlivable cities. One continuing tragedy is the decimation of local media and the rise of nationalized politics in its place. In America the local problems plaguing cities are systematically sidelined by the structure of the national media and government, in which the presidency, the Senate and the Supreme Court are all constitutionally tilted in favor of places where no one lives. (There are more than twice as many people in my midsize suburban county, Santa Clara, as there are in the entire state of North Dakota, with its two U.S. senators.) Thats why, aside from Elizabeth Warren who has a plan for housing, as she has a plan for everything Democrats on the 2020 presidential trail rarely mention their ideas for housing affordability, an issue eating American cities alive. I watched Joe Bidens campaign kick off the other day; the only house he mentioned was the White House. Then there is the refusal on the part of wealthy progressives to live by the values they profess to support at the national level. Creating dense, economically and socially diverse urban environments ought to be a paramount goal of progressivism. Cities are the standard geographical unit of the global economy. Dense urban areas are quite literally the real America the cities are where two-thirds of Americans live, and they account for almost all national economic output. Urban areas are the most environmentally friendly way we know of housing lots of people. We cant solve the climate crisis without vastly improving public transportation and increasing urban density. More than that, metropolises are good for the psyche and the soul; density fosters tolerance, diversity, creativity and progress. Yet where progressives argue for openness and inclusion as a cudgel against President Donald Trump, they abandon it on Nob Hill and in Beverly Hills. This explains the opposition to SB 50, which aimed to address the housing shortage in a very straightforward way: by building more housing. The bill would have erased single-family zoning in populous areas near transit locations. Areas zoned for homes housing a handful of people could have been redeveloped to include duplexes and apartment buildings that housed hundreds. The bill had garnered support from a diverse coalition of business and advocacy groups, and its sponsor, state Sen. Scott Wiener, had negotiated a series of compromises with some of its fiercest opponents. Polls showed the measure to be widely popular. For the first time, something extraordinary looked possible: Californias wealthy homeowners would abandon their restrictionist attitudes and let us build some new housing. Nope. Instead, Anthony Portantino, a Democratic state senator whose district includes the posh city of La Canada Flintridge and who heads the appropriations committee, announced that hed be shelving the bill until next year. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, he worried that the law would spur lots of people to move near residential bus routes, which he suggested would alter the character of enclaves like his. And? Why is that so bad? Reading opposition to SB 50 and other efforts at increasing density, Im struck by an unsettling thought: What Republicans want to do with ICE and border walls, wealthy progressive Democrats are doing with zoning and NIMBYism. Preserving local character, maintaining local control, keeping housing scarce and inaccessible the goals of both sides are really the same: to keep people out. Were saying we welcome immigration, we welcome refugees, we welcome outsiders but youve got to have a $2 million entrance fee to live here, otherwise you can use this part of a sidewalk for a tent, said Brian Hanlon, president of the pro-density group California Yimby. That to me is not being very welcoming. Its not being very neighborly. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BOUGAINVILLE VENTURES INC. ("Bougainville" or the "Company") (CSE: BOG) (8BV-FF:Frankfurt Stock Exchange) is pleased to announce that further to the letter of intent (LOI) with Worm Castings Farms Inc. (Worm Castings) announced in the Company news release dated October 29, 2018 the Company signed a definitive agreement to complete the acquisition of Worm Castings (the Worm Castings Transaction). Worm Castings is the sole owner of an Oregon State Hemp production and processing license, issued by the Oregon State Regulatory approval board, for total consideration consisting of 10 million common shares of Bougainville at a deemed price of CAD$0.12 per share and a cash payment of USD$350,000. TERMS OF THE TRANSACTION Under the terms of the Worm Castings Transaction, Bougainville will provide total consideration of 10 million common shares of Bougainville at a deemed price of CAD$0.12 and a cash payment of USD$350,000 in return for 70% of Worm Castings profits. Subject to completion of the Worm Castings Transaction the board of directors of Bougainville Directors will approve the Company to deliver the final outstanding payment of $USD120,000 to Worm Castings which will complete the USD$350,000 deposit, which will satisfy Bougainvilles obligation under the Worm Castings Transaction. Bougainville plans to invest up to USD$1,000,000 to expand the capacity of Worm Castings in agriculture, associated infrastructure, and working capital. Bougainville has secured the services of the Worm Castings founders for a period of a minimum of five years to aid with the anticipated expansion of the business in Oregon and the rest of the United States. President & CEO, Andy Jagpal Comments: This acquisition of Worm Casting is a means to further our strategy of providing large quantities of high-quality CBD extracts. The Worm Casting Transaction provides Bougainville with a vertically-integrated and licensed cultivator. In addition to having 10 acres worth of industrial hemp ready for processing, they possess a premium high quality cloned feminized hemp plants with 10-15% CBD and 0.3% THC resulting in maximized CBD oil content within each plant. PRIVATE PLACEMENT FINANCING Bougainville is also pleased to announce that it has arranged a private placement (the Private Placement) of units (each a Unit) at a price of $0.12 per Unit basis for gross proceeds of up to $500,000. Each unit is comprised of one common shares (each a Share) of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (each a Warrant). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share (each Warrant Share) of the Company at an exercise price of $0.25 per Warrant Share for a term that is 24 months from the date of closing of the Private Placement. The Company wishes to correct an error in its news release dated May 1, 2019 in which the Company announced the closing of an oversubscribed private placement for which 3,166,666 Units were issued at a price of $0.06 per Unit for $190,000 in gross proceeds (the Closed Private Placement). The Closed Private Placement resulted in the issuance of 3,316,666 Units of the Company at a price of $0.06 per Unit for $199,000 in gross proceeds About Bougainville Ventures, Inc. Bougainville provides cannabis infrastructure and seed-to-sale services to I-502 tenant-growers leasing greenhouse facilities space and providing fully built-out, turnkey solutions and ancillary services including processing, cannabis expertise and marketing and sales resources. Greenhouse canopies provide a 50% saving in cultivation cost. Bougainville has 10,000 square feet of space being prepared for production in Oroville, Washington state. Bougainville possesses sufficient land for two more pods of the same size. For more information please visit: http://bougainvilleinc.com/ On behalf of the Board of Directors BOUGAINVILLE VENTURES INC. _____________________ Andy Jagpal, CEO and Director For further information, please contact the IR department at info@bougainvilleinc.com or by phone at 1-888-395-6399. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Companys management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this news release. Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the peak summer travel season as vacationers take to the skies in large numbers. And this year, according to new forecasts, those numbers are likely to be larger than ever before. What's more, the crowded skies could be complicated this summer by safety and labor issues that weren't a factor in last year's peak season. The Transportation Security Administration said this week it is gearing up to handle screenings of 263 million passengers and crew at U.S. airports from Memorial Day through Labor Day an increase of 4 percent, or 10 million more screenings than last summer. The agency is calling it the "busiest summer travel season ever." That's in line with the projection issued this week by Airlines for America (A4A), the airlines' trade organization. The A4A projection covers a slightly shorter period from June 1 through August 31 and it predicts a record 257.4 million travelers will take to the skies, or 3.4 percent more than last summer. That will be a record number for peak season air travel, A4A said, and the tenth consecutive summer in which numbers have increased. "Airlines are adding 111,000 seats per day to accommodate the additional 93,000 daily passengers expected during the summer travel period," the airline group said. TSA said it is gearing up for the crunch by deploying an extra 2,000 officers to the nation's airports, boosting overtime funding by 20 percent, and putting more canine teams on duty. Still, "Passengers are encouraged to enroll in TSA PreCheck or another DHS trusted traveler program such as Global Entry," TSA said. It noted that during April, 93 percent of PreCheck travelers waited less than five minutes in line for their screening. Mineta San Jose International Airport "is expecting the highest number of departing passengers today, Friday May 24, in our 70-year history," according to spokesperson Rosemary Barnes. This summer, travelers could be impacted by some complicating factors that weren't there last year. Among them: The Boeing 737 MAX groundings. Southwest, American and United had to take dozens of new 737 MAX aircraft out of their active fleets after the FAA grounded the planes, leading to thousands of flight cancellations and throwing a monkey wrench into their summer schedules. The airlines' forward planning anticipates a return of the airplanes to service by August, but this is by no means certain. Daniel Ellway, the acting chief of the FAA, said in a CNBC interview this week that U.S. airlines "don't need to make any changes to their plans" for resuming 737 MAX service. "It could be a month, two months" before the agency approves Boeing's proposed fix to the aircraft's automatic anti-stall system, which is currently being evaluated, he said. But he also said the FAA has no predetermined timetable for approving the fix. And even if it is deemed safe, the agency still has to determine whether airlines must put 737 MAX pilots through new simulator training before putting the planes back into service. "If it takes a year to find everything we need to give us the confidence to lift the [grounding] order, so be it," Ellway said. Don't miss a shred of important travel news! Sign up for our FREE bi-weekly email alerts Labor problems. Southwest Airlines in recent months blamed its mechanics union for job slowdowns that it claimed led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights as the two parties wrangled over a new labor contract. That problem was resolved this week as the airline's mechanics overwhelmingly approved a new five-year contract giving them a 20 percent pay bump. But a similar situation is now facing the nation's largest carrier, American Airlines, which is involved in a similar dispute with its mechanics unions. The airline this week filed a lawsuit against the mechanics, charging them with an unlawful work slowdown that American said has caused 1,500 flight delays and 644 cancellations since February, and is continuing even now. If the alleged slowdown continues through the summer, American said, it means another 2,200 flights will likely face cancellation or delays of more than two hours. Customs delays. We've reported previously on the long lines likely to be faced by returning international travelers this summer due to a shortage of Customs and Border Protections officers as CBP responds to Trump Administration demands to shift more personnel from airports to the southwest border. Airlines for America reiterated that warning in its summer travel projection this week. "If this is permitted to continue, it will lead to excessive lines and wait times for passengers and cargo entering the country from overseas," A4A said. "This would discourage leisure and business travel to the U.S. and jeopardize the economic benefits that come with it." The airline group is calling on Congress to approve supplemental appropriations for CBP staffing and overtime. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis. Another gray whale carcass washed up on Bay Area shores, The Marine Mammal Center confirmed Thursday. This time, the dead whale was found in Point Reyes National Seashore near Limantour Beach. More than a dozen whales have washed up dead or dying around the Bay Area so far this year, from Ocean Beach in San Francisco to Pacifica and near the Carquinez Bridge. The Marine Mammal Center confirmed this would mark the 13th dead whale found in the Bay Area since March, plus one other that washed up near Mendocino. Since early March, more whales have been spotted hanging out in the San Francisco Bay, and scientists fear it's a sign of trouble with the species. They suspect it's because the whales are starving. READ MORE: More whales are hanging out in San Francisco Bay. It may be a bad sign. Because they're very hungry, they aren't able to complete the full northern migration, from Baja California to Alaska, where they spend the summer. They stop longer mid-migration in hopes of finding food that will fuel the rest of their journey. A few of the whales that have washed up dead have been visibly emaciated. Others were killed by ship strikes, which could be an indirect result of them staying in the highly trafficked San Francisco Bay for longer periods than they normally would. So if more whales are coming to the bay because of starvation, what's causing the starvation? John Calambokidis, research biologist with Cascadia Research in Olympia, Wash., told SFGate in March it may have to do with a growth in the overall gray whale population. With more whales, there might not be enough food to support them all. As for climate change, Calambokidis said "we cannot rule out" changes in the Arctic, including changes in water temperature and ice cover, which could be making the whales' food supply more sparse. However, more research is needed. The Marine Mammal Center is planning to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death in this latest whale stranding, but hasn't been able to make it out to the scene yet. The whale is still in the surfline and moving in the water, so it's not yet clear if the carcass will remain in that location or drift away. Alix Martichoux is an SFGATE supervising producer. Read her latest stories and send her news tips at alix.martichoux@sfgate.com. BERLIN A senior German diplomat headed Thursday to Tehran to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. and increasing pressure from Washington. Tensions have soared in the Mideast recently as the White House earlier this month sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceived from Iran. And the Pentagon on Thursday presented proposals to the White House to send military reinforcements to the Middle East to beef up defenses against Iran, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said. Shanahan told reporters the Defense Department has not yet determined how many troops might be sent to reinforce the existing U.S. military presence in the region. Germanys Foreign Ministry sent its political director, Jens Ploetner, to Iran to meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to try to salvage the nuclear deal signed in 2015 in Vienna. The accord has steadily unraveled since the Trump administration pulled America out of the deal, re-imposed and escalated U.S. sanctions on Tehran last year. Irans official IRNA news agency reported that Araghchi demanded that European signatories follow through on their commitments under the deal. According to the report, Ploetner said the European side will continue to work to meet Irans demands and save the deal. The report did not elaborate. The German envoys visit follows Irans declaration earlier this month that the remaining signatories to the deal Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia have two months to develop a plan to shield Iran from American sanctions. The situation in the Persian Gulf and the region, and the situation surrounding the Vienna nuclear agreement, is extremely serious, the German Foreign Ministry said in an email message. There is a real risk of escalation including due to misunderstandings or an incident. In this situation, dialogue is very important. With Irans 60-day deadline, the ministry said there is still a window for diplomacy to persuade Iran to continue its full compliance and said Germany remains in close contact with the other nations that have been struggling to keep the deal alive. The accord, intended to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, promised economic incentives in exchange for restrictions on nuclear activities. David Rising is an Associated Press writer. A French tourist was caught by angry locals after this audacious theft when he tried to steal the new Huawei P30. Meriem Laurent, 40, walked into the store in Pattaya, Thailand, last night at 7.30pm posing as a customer and asked to see the Chinese handset. But moments later he ripped the smartphone from its holder and fled - only to be set upon by furious shopkeepers. Several passers-by helped to restrain the man before police arrived and arrested him for theft at night. He was later charged with visa-related offenses. Lieutenant General Jaropwan Thongsang, Deputy Governor of Pattaya City, said officers arrived at the scene after being told a foreigner had tried to steal a phone. He said: 'At the scene, we found shopkeepers and many Good Samaritans controlling the suspect. He was later identified as Meriem Laurent, 40, of French nationality. ''Surveillance cameras showed the suspect stealing a Huawei brand, model P30, blue color, number 1, worth 31,900 baht. ''He was also found to be staying in the Kingdom without permission. He will be prosecuted according to the legal process.'' Page Content Employers frequently wonder when to pay bonuses to employees on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Do employees who do not meet certain goals due to leave qualify for such bonuses? The FMLA regulations provide: [I]f a bonus or other payment is based on the achievement of a specified goal such as hours worked, products sold or perfect attendance, and the employee has not met the goal due to FMLA leave, then the payment may be denied, unless otherwise paid to employees on an equivalent leave status for a reason that does not qualify as FMLA leave. The key, as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently confirmed, is treating FMLA absences and non-FMLA absences the same for goal-based bonus purposes. In Clemens v. Moody's Analytics, Inc., No. 18-1283-cv (May 3, 2019), the Second Circuit held that an employer did not unlawfully interfere with an employee's rights by prorating the employee's bonus payment. The decision reaffirmed employers' authority to prorate bonus payments under the FMLA and serves as reminder of when employers are permitted to prorate bonuses. The Case Moody's Analytics, Inc. employee Gregory Clemons brought a suit in the Southern District of New York, alleging retaliation for and interference with the exercise of his rights under the FMLA. The district court dismissed his claims. On appeal, Clemons argued that Moody's unlawfully prorated bonus payments owed to him under the company's incentive program. Under this incentive program, Clemons was eligible to receive incentive payments for completing certain enumerated tasks throughout the year. The Second Circuit rejected Clemons's argument that the prorated bonus payment interfered with his rights under the FMLA. The court recognized that Moody's prorates payments under the incentive bonus program based on the length of an employee's leave, regardless of the reason for the leave. Because Moody's neutrally applied its policy of prorating bonus payments under the program to all types of leave, the court determined that Moody's did not violate the FMLA. Consequently, the court upheld the circuit court's dismissal of this issue. Bonus Payments Under the FMLA The Second Circuit's decision serves as a good reminder of employers' rights and responsibilities under the FMLA. The FMLA requires employers to treat FMLA absences the same way they treat non-FMLA absences. However, this means employers can prorate certain bonus payments to employees on FMLA leave, so long as they limit such payments to employees on similar non-FMLA leaves types of leaves. If an employee uses paid time off for non-FMLA leave and qualifies for a bonus, then those who use paid time off for FMLA leave must also qualify for the bonus. Generally, these goal-orientated or production-based bonus programs include bonus programs based on attendance, production, or sales, such as the incentive program facilitated by Moody's. Employers should remember that goal-oriented bonuses do not include bonuses awarded to all employees, such as holiday or company-wide bonuses. [SHRM members-only toolkit: Managing Family and Medical Leave] Key Takeaways for Employers Employers seeking to prorate bonus payments to employees on FMLA leave, or other leave, may want to consider the following: Making bonus structures goal or production based and tied to specific goals, such as sales, hours worked, or production. Clearly identifying the requirements for obtaining bonuses. Ensuring that bonuses distributed to employees on leave are prorated and calculated in the same fashion as employees who are utilizing other types of unpaid leave. Accurately prorating the bonus payment so that the employee is paid for the work he or she put toward the goal (e.g., if the bonus is tied to hours worked, prorating the payment for every hour worked toward the goal, before and after the employee went on leave). Paying company-wide bonuses to employees on FMLA leave when bonuses are tied to company results, rather than individual results, or neutrally distributed to all employees. Kayla A. McCann and Christine Bestor Townsend are attorneys in the Milwaukee office of Ogletree Deakins. 2019 Ogletree Deakins. All rights reserved. Republished with permission. [Visit SHRM's resource page for the Family and Medical Leave Act.] Page Content Classifying workersas independent contractors or employeeswas already a contentious issue in the workplace before the rise of the freelance, or gig, economy and recent developments have only muddied the waters more. A new federal opinion letter made it easier for employers to classify a worker as an independent contractor, while a court ruling handed down days later in California doubled down on the state's more-restrictive standard, making it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors. "There's an ongoing conflict in how to classify workers under federal and state law," said Mark Terman, a partner at Drinker Biddle and Reath in Los Angeles and national vice chair of the firm's labor and employment practice group. "Some state laws more closely follow federal law and are more willing to allow independent contractor classification. Many states, like California, continue to be hostile to independent contractor classification and I wouldn't expect them to follow or adopt the emerging federal trend on classification of gig-economy service providers as independent contractors." The distinction matters: Employees are entitled to minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections that are not afforded to independent contractors, who may work for themselves or for several employers. "Misclassification [occurs] when a business engages an individual as an independent contractor when the individual should be classified as an employee," said Sheryl Jaffee Halpern, an attorney in the Chicago office of Much Shelist and chair of the firm's labor and employment group. "The challenge for businesses is that various courts and government agencies apply different tests to determine whether an individual is a contractor." Halpern said that the risks of misclassifying workers as independent contractors include violation of wage and hour laws; unpaid income tax withholdings and Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance contributions; and gaps in workers' compensation insurance coverage. [SHRM members-only toolkit Employing Independent Contractors] DOL Suggests Gig Workers Are Independent Contractors The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter Apr. 29 saying the gig workers who use an unnamed "virtual marketplace" platform to connect with consumers are independent contractors rather than employees of the platform provider. The virtual-marketplace company provides a referral service. "Employers, however, should not assume they are home free in light of the DOL letter," Halpern said. "The DOL repeatedly mentioned that its opinion was based on the particular facts and circumstances before it. In other words, the opinion should not be construed to be binding, generally, but rather is applicable only to the business that requested the DOL's opinion." The agency's guidance reversed a narrower 2015 interpretation from the Obama administration and offers a range of factors for companies to choose from, making it much easier to reach an independent contractor classification. "This is consistent with what I see as a trend at the federal level to recognize the realities of gig companies providing the platform for service providers and not employing the service providers," Terman said. "The National Labor Relations Board made a similar ruling May 14 that classified service providers as independent contractors unable to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act." The DOL opinion letter can be used by companies as a "persuasive authority for classification purposes" and in litigation, he said. But it's not binding and has no effect on state laws with stricter standards. California Law Differs California is the most prominent of those states with a higher bar and particularly important in the gig work context, because many of the largest gig platform companies, such as Uber Technologies and Lyft, are based there. "The most onerous [worker classification] test is the one made famous in April 2018 in the California Supreme Court's decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. vs. Superior Court of Los Angeles," Halpern said. She explained the court's application of the "ABC" test, which presumes a worker to be an employee unless the employer proves each of the following: A. The worker is free from the employer's control and direction in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in actual reality. B. The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business. C. The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed. "Each of these requirements must be satisfied in order to rebut the presumption that a worker is an employee, as opposed to misclassified as an independent contractor," she said. "Notably, this is even more stringent than the test utilized by the IRS, where control is the most important factor." The "B" factor of the test is the most difficult for many companies to overcome, Terman said. He gave the example of a company without an IT department outsourcing that function to a third-party providerthose workers would likely be independent contractors assuming the employer is not in the IT business. "But if the employer is in the IT business and hires someone or a company that provides IT services, a contractor classification will be difficult under Dynamex," he said. "Dynamex has been a tough pill to swallow for many companies, particularly those who have relied on independent contractor classification for flexibility and cost." On May 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit strengthened the Dynamex decision when it decided that the ABC worker classification should apply retroactively. "The retroactivity decision is not binding in California state courts, but it's just a matter of time before the issue is addressed in state appellate courts and the state's supreme court," Terman said. Complying with State and Federal Classification Regulations Most states still operate under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, but as a general rule, the law of the state where the companies' services are performed will govern employee status, Terman said. Companies will have to re-evaluate their business models and account for "applicable state law first, since state law will likely be more onerous for compliance purposes, and then secondarily federal law," he added. "At the outset of the relationship, businesses should assess very carefullyideally in consultation with a competent labor and employment attorneywhether an individual is properly classified as an independent contractor or is actually an employee," Halpern said. "Just because an individual wants to be a contractor, or just because the operative agreement between the parties says that the individual is a contractor, doesn't make it so." She advised companies "dead set on engaging an individual as a contractor despite the risks" to consider requiring the contractor to form an LLC or a corporation. "The business should contract with and pay that LLC or corporation instead of the individual," she said. "While this approach is not 100 percent bullet-proof in every industry, it is far less likely to come under scrutiny." That's because only individuals are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, and only individuals are protected by federal and state wage and hour laws and regulations. "Before classifying an individual as a contractor, a business should consider the factors considered by each government agencynot only the DOL, but also the IRS and the applicable state's unemployment agencyas well as court decisions in the venue where the worker is located," Halpern said. Page Content A recent agreement between Ireland and the United Kingdom (U.K.) will allow citizens of both countries to retain the right to live and work in either country after the U.K.'s departure from the European Union (EU). There had been concerns that the U.K.'s withdrawal from the EU could affect the rights of Irish and U.K. citizens within the Common Travel Area (CTA). Free movement, including the right to live, work and access public services in the CTA, however, will now be protected, regardless of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. A memorandum of understanding, the "Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019," guarantees the reciprocal rights of Irish and British citizens under the CTA. The agreement also ensures Irish and U.K. citizens' ongoing access to social security, health and education, with the continuation of the CTA scheme. The CTA, in existence for nearly 100 years, includes several pieces of legislation and bilateral administrative agreements. The U.K. and Ireland agreed that existing arrangements on social insurance, child benefit and pensions should continue, while new arrangements also should be made to ensure that British and Irish citizens continue to have uninterrupted and equal access to public health and education services in in their respective countries. The Common Travel Area The CTA allows Irish and British citizens to move freely between the two countries and reside in either jurisdiction. Irish and British citizens have access to employment, health care, education, social benefits, and the right to vote in certain elections. The CTA pre-dates Irish and U.K. membership in the EU and is not dependent on it. The governments of Ireland and the U.K. have expressed their commitment to maintaining the CTA. The CTA arrangement was implemented in 1922, but it initially was not contained in any specific legislation. Instead, it was an understanding between the two countries based on their common history and the challenges related to immigration controls due to a shared border. Many of the rights were gradually incorporated into different pieces of legislation in Ireland and the U.K. The CTA does not apply to goods or customs. Both countries' membership in the EU allows for the movement of goods and does not require customs posts on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland or customs duties between the U.K. and Ireland. CTA Rights Only citizens of Ireland and the U.K. can exercise CTA rights and have the right to live, travel, work and study within the CTA. The U.K., for the purposes of the Common Travel Area, covers England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Irish and U.K. citizens may reside in either country and have certain rights and privileges. In addition to access to social benefits, health care and the right to vote in certain elections, citizens have social housing supports. As the CTA relates to immigration, a third country national, for example, could be denied permission to enter Ireland if he or she also intended to travel to the U.K. and would not be able to qualify for admission to the U.K. under the Aliens (Amendment) Order 1975. Irish immigration officers routinely carry out checks on individuals arriving in Ireland from the U.K. and may refuse them entry on the same grounds that apply to individuals who arrive from outside the CTA. Since December 2011, the Irish and U.K. governments have secured the external CTA border and regularly exchange biographic and biometric visa data and information regarding failed asylum seekers. A CTA Forum overseen by both countries implements these measures. British Citizens in Ireland British citizens may move to Ireland to live, work or retire. Unlike other EU citizens, British citizens do not have to demonstrate that they have sufficient resources or private health insurance to retire. This is because British citizens may use Irish public services in the same way that Irish citizens in Ireland can. British citizens, including Manx people and Channel Islanders are not entitled to the EU's freedom-of-movement provisions, but are exempt from immigration control and cannot be deported. They may live in Ireland without any restrictions or conditions and have, except for certain exceptions, never been treated as foreigners under Irish law and are not subject to the Aliens Act 1935 or to the orders made under the act. Irish Citizens in the U.K. Unlike citizens in the U.K., Irish citizens have generally not been subject to entry control in the U.K. and, if they move to the U.K., are considered to have "settled status" (a status that goes beyond indefinite leave to remain). They may be subject to deportation from the U.K. upon the same basis as other European Economic Area nationals. But the British government implemented a more lenient procedure to apply to the deportation of Irish citizens compared to that of other European Economic Area nationals in February 2007. Today, Irish citizens are not routinely considered for deportation from the U.K. when they are released from prison, for example. All Irish citizens were considered to be British subjects under British law prior to 1949. After Ireland was declared a republic the same year, a British law granted Irish citizens a similar status to Commonwealth citizens in the U.K., even though they had ceased to be such. Thus, similar to U.K. citizens in Ireland, Irish citizens in the U.K. have not ever been treated as foreigners. Irish citizens have, howeversimilar to Commonwealth citizens been subject to immigration laws in U.K. since the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 went into effect. EU citizens other than British and Irish nationals can freely enter and live in the U.K. and Ireland under EU law, but are required to carry valid travel documents. Residents of both the U.K. and Ireland are no doubt celebrating this deal between the U.K. and Ireland that will allow citizens of both countries to retain the right to live and work in either country after the U.K.'s departure from the EU. Barry Crushell is an attorney with Tully Rinckey in Dublin. 2019 Tully Rinckey. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology. The Annual General Meeting in Saga Tankers ASA was held today at the premises of the Company in Oslo, Norway. All items on the agenda were approved. Please find the attached minutes from the meeting in Norwegian, accompanied by an English office translation. Oslo, 23 May 2019 For further information please contact: CEO Espen Lundaas, +47 92 43 14 17 Page Content Even though a truck driver had an agreement with his employer to arbitrate all employment-related claims, he could not be forced to arbitrate his claim for unpaid wages, a California appellate court ruled. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) did not apply to the driver's claim because his job fell within the law's exemption for transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce even though he did not transport goods across state lines, the court found. Because the FAA did not apply, the issue was governed by California law, and a provision of the California Labor Code authorizes lawsuits for unpaid wages even if the parties agreed to arbitrate those claims, the court concluded. RMFL is a licensed motor-carrier company that employs truck drivers at its six California terminals to transfer freight to and from various destinations. More than 99 percent of the cargo RMFL transports originates outside California, but RMFL transports the cargo within California only. The plaintiff worked as an RMFL truck driver for less than a year. Like other RMFL drivers, all of his trips were entirely within California; he never transported freight across state lines. According to RMFL's records, the plaintiff's deliveries typically involved driving from RMFL's Fresno terminal to locations such as San Jose or Sacramento, and then back to Fresno. At RMFL's request, the plaintiff signed a two-page written agreement requiring him to "utilize binding arbitration to resolve all disputes that may arise out of the employment context." The plaintiff's employment with RMFL ended in September 2014. Two years later, he filed a class-action complaint against RMFL, asserting a claim for unpaid wages, among other claims. RMFL moved to compel individual arbitration, and the trial court denied the motion as it applied to the wage claim. RMFL appealed. Federal Arbitration Act Doesn't Apply The court first noted that Congress enacted the FAA in 1925 to compel judicial enforcement of a wide range of written arbitration agreements, notwithstanding any state laws or policies to the contrary. When the FAA applies, the court said, it pre-empts any state-law rule that limits arbitration. Section 1 of the FAA, the court added, provides a limited exemption from FAA coverage to contracts of employment of "workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce." The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that the phrase "workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce" does not refer to all workers involved in such commerce but rather only to transportation workers. However, the court noted, federal courts are divided on whether and when truck drivers and delivery drivers qualify as transportation workers. If a truck driver physically transports goods across state lines, he or she undoubtedly qualifies as a transportation worker under Section 1, the court said. But what about when the truck driver never crosses state lines in performing his or her duties? The court noted that courts are split on the answer to this question, but "taking into account the circumstances as a whole," it concluded that the plaintiff was actually engaged in the movement of goods in interstate commerce and qualifies as a transportation worker under Section 1. The court noted that the employer, RMFL, is a licensed motor-carrier company in the business of transporting freight and therefore is part of the transportation industry. And the vast majority of the goods the plaintiff transported originated across state lines. So even though the plaintiff was not personally transporting goods from state to state, he played an integral role in transporting those goods through interstate commerce. Thus, the court concluded that the plaintiff was exempt from FAA coverage. Because the FAA was inapplicable, the court found that its analysis was exclusively guided by California law and, more specifically, by Section 229 of the California Labor Code, which authorizes lawsuits for unpaid wages even if the parties agreed to arbitrate those claims. [SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What are the California rules regarding mandatory arbitration agreements?] The court concluded that under Section 229, the parties' arbitration agreement didn't apply to the worker's claim for unpaid wages, and it ruled that the trial court correctly refused to order arbitration. Muller v. Roy Miller Freight Lines LLC, Calif. Ct. App., No. G055053 (May 1, 2019). Professional Pointer: Section 229 of the California Labor Code is limited to claims for unpaid wages. The trial court in this case did order arbitration for several of the plaintiff's claims, including claims for unpaid rest breaks, missed meal periods and incomplete wage statements. Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is a freelance writer in Annapolis, Md. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Todays archive page is from Dec. 7, 1970. After an explosion at the Bayway refinery in Linden, N.J., causes havoc on Staten Island, minimal looting is reported on the North Shore. Store windows are shattered after the blast blast, but only five incidents of theft are reported to police. Shop owners praise police and the borough president for their quick thinking and work after the explosion. Losses are reported by Rosetta Studios, Food Farm store, Sav-on Drugs, Mister Franks Hair Stylist, along with Madelines Bridal and Alteration shop. If you have trouble viewing the page below, click here to enlarge it. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Growing up in the Todt Hill projects, Renee Rockefeller, 36, dreamed of being successful. But we were poor, she said, noting her grandmother and her great-grandmother were hairstylists. And although Rockefeller never met them, she wanted to emulate them. With no money for beauty school, she ended up in the cosmetology program at McKee Technical High School, St. George. My mom said, Youre going to McKee even though that may not be your plan, because I cant afford to send you to [beauty] school,' recalled Rockefeller. Good thing I listened to her, or I wouldnt be where I am today, she added. She is the proud owner of the Grant City-based Rockefellers Haute Spot, which opened in February 2018. The 1,000-square-foot salon that uses all Paul Mitchell and vegan products features artwork and decor to make you feel at home. But she didnt get there overnight. The single mother of two children, she worked hard to hone her craft. Living in Florida for a period of time, she owned a salon there, before coming back to Staten Island to start over." It took me 11 years to get to where I am now, she said. After graduating from McKee, she trained under Beth Minardi in high-end salons in Manhattan -- all the while specializing in color. Rockefeller was also quoted in a book, Going Grey, Looking Great!: The Modern Womans Guide to Unfaded Glory. INCORPORATING ARTWORK After finding a space in Grant City, Rockefellers fiance, who is a carpenter, helped gut the storefront and redesign it in a way that suited her style. We renovated the whole place. We put the floors in ourselves. After work, I would come and put the ceiling up, she said. One of the girls who works with me, Serena Vazquez, is a local artist as well. She helped me design the salon. I wanted something rustic and chic, she said. I want to help local artists get noticed and would like them to be able to showcase their work here, said Rockefeller. HAIR PAINTING CLASSES In addition to displaying artwork, she encourages her patrons to create some themselves. We have parties where you get your hair colored then we paint [on canvass], said Rockefeller, noting Vazquez runs the classes. The hair painting parties are held once per month on Sundays. It brings people together, and people love it, she said. ROCKEFELLERS HAUTE SPOT AT A GLANCE Address: 1148 South Railroad, Grant City Website: https://rockefellershautespot.com/ Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/rockefellershautespot/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockefellershautespot/?hl=en New Businesses in Focus is a weekly column that relates the stories of new Staten Island businesses owners. If you have a new business on Staten Island, e-mailporpora@siadvance.com. MORE NEW BUSINESSES IN FOCUS COLUMNS: FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Repeat burglar Frank Mandella was free on parole for less than a month after serving a prison sentence when he returned to his criminal ways, a prosecutor told a justice on Thursday. Over the course of two days last month, Mandella, 39, wreaked havoc on small businesses on the East Shore of Staten Island, breaking into three establishments before being caught red-handed by police, Assistant District Attorney Michael Tannousis said at the defendants arraignment on burglary and other charges. Mandella went on a two-day rampage on Hylan Boulevard damaging property and stealing cash, said Tannousis, who asked that the defendants bail be doubled to $150,000. Specifically, the defendant broke through the back door into Flowers by Bernard at 1439 Hylan in Dongan Hills at 5:45 a.m. on April 2, and swiped cash, according to Tannousis and police. That burglary was captured on videotape surveillance, which shows Mandella kicking in the rear door, authorities allege. Mandella struck again sometime between 5 p.m. that day and 8 a.m. on April 3, said an indictment. He broke into Century 21 Zaloom Realty at 1186 Hylan in Grasmere, snatching cash and damaging property in the process, the indictment said. Cops ended Mandellas spree on the night of April 3. Police nabbed him inside Bocellis Ristorante, at 1250 Hylan in Grasmere, said authorities. Prior to the heist, cops identified Mandella as a person of interest in the burglary pattern, said police. Through the work of the neighborhood coordination officers (NCOs) assigned to the South Beach city Housing Authority complex, police determined he was staying there. The NCOs are part of the NYPDs push to improve neighborhood policing strategies. Deputy Inspector Melissa Eger, commanding officer of the 122nd Precinct, said the precinct NCOs close ties with people in the area were a major part of why Mandella was nabbed so quickly. They apprehended him on a live burglary, Eger said. Within 48 hours, we solved this three-burglary crime pattern. Mandella was charged under a 14-count indictment with third-degree burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, petit larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance. His last name also appears in court papers as Mandela. In seeking increased bail, Tannousis said Mandella had been paroled weeks before the burglaries. Online records of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision show the defendant was released on parole on March 4 after serving a burglary sentence of two to four years. Tannousis also pointed to Mandellas 19 prior convictions four felonies and 15 misdemeanors. Defense lawyer Richard Terrazas countered that increased bail wasnt necessary. The defendant didnt even have the funds to post the existing bail - $75,000 bond or $50,000 cash he said. Any more bail is purely excessive and serves no purpose, said Terrazas. The lawyer also said Mandella has a number of health-related issues. He allegedly had a crack pipe in his possession when arrested and was on psychiatric medication for a borderline personality disorder, said Terrazas. Citing Mandellas criminal and bench-warrant history, Justice Marina Cora Mundy boosted the defendants bail to $125,000 bond or $75,000 cash. His next appearance date is June 24 in state Supreme Court, St. George. CITY HALL -- As Mayor Bill de Blasio mounts a presidential campaign, supporters of Eric Garner say his failure to fire Officer Daniel Pantaleo or move the officers disciplinary trial forward earlier prove he is not presidential material. Just as the mayor entered a crowded field of Democrats vying for the White House last week, Pantaleos long-awaited disciplinary trial began May 13. But over the last five days of the trial, Garner supporters have doubled down their frustration directed at the mayor. Theres another thing we have to call other than the firing of Pantaleo and others who may be involved, we ought to call into account the Mayor of the City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, said Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts, of the Abyssinian Baptist Church Tuesday outside of One Police Plaza after the fifth day of Pantaleos trial. Those who represent the political term the left should recognize that this man is not one who truly believes in justice, but will garter justice to his own political gain. Butts said supporters asked the mayor after Garners July 2014 death to direct his police commissioner to fire Pantaleo, a request he refused. [The mayor] said absolutely not, he would not take a personnel action and moreover he said that whatever we had to do that we thought we had to do, we ought to go out and do it, Butts continued. It was totally disrespectful, it was absolutely racist, and no matter what he says this ought to be a lesson to our entire nation who is now watching him mount a campaign for the presidency, that he cannot be trusted. Asked to respond to critics, Blasio said they needed to be real about the circumstances around on why Pantaleos disciplinary trial took nearly five years to begin. I know the Garner family and I feel for them, everything theyve been through, my heart goes out to them, its been extraordinarily painful loss and everything thats happened since, but I need people to be real about this, de Blasio said Wednesday morning at a City Hall roundtable with journalists from community and ethnic media outlets. We had the federal Justice Department tell us not to proceed because they were dealing with much higher level charges that could ever be brought through departmental charges the federal Justice Department was looking at much different and greater charge, I need people to be honest with the community and with the family about this fact rather than just stoking controversy for the sake of it, de Blasio said. The mayor said his administration would have moved forward with departmental charges against Pantaleo immediately had it not been told by the DOJ not to, but once the department said it had no problem, the city moved forward with the disciplinary trial. But the mayor avoided saying whether he would direct his Police Commissioner James ONeill to fire Pantaleo if NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado who is overseeing the trial, ruled against the officer and recommended his termination, only saying a resolution would happen this year. There will be a resolution, Im not going to pre-judge the resolution because I do believe in due process, there will be a resolution this year once and for all via the City of New York and the Police Department, but you should be asking the same question of the Justice Department, still they still have not made a decision of whether theyre proceeding and what theyre doing, and I think that demand has to be put on the table where it belongs. After a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo on criminal charges, the U.S. Department of Justice moved forward with a civil rights investigation into the incident. Because of that investigation, the NYPD chose to delay its own internal disciplinary proceedings against the officers involved to not influence the DOJ investigation. But over the summer, the NYPD changed course and said it would proceed with departmental charges against Pantaleo that could result in his termination. Both de Blasio and the Garner family say they have yet to hear from the DOJ about the status of its investigation, but Garner supporters say they blame the mayor for the letting the disciplinary process drag out. Mayor de Blasio has been blocking this case for five years, for five years everytime I turn around Im running into a brick wall with you Mayor de Blasio, Garners mother, Gwen Carr said at a recent press conference. She said she attempted to get Pantaleos disciplinary records and that a judge said yes but the de Blasio administration said no. Pantaleos trial was supposed to span 10 day and end before Memorial Day weekend, however, the next court date got pushed to June 5 because the medical examiner Pantaleos defense asked to testify is not available until that week. The Civilian Complaint Review Board, which is prosecuting the case, will have to not only prove Pantaleo violated department rules for allegedly using a banned chokehold, but also show that his actions fit the criteria for criminal charges of assault and strangulation. He could face penalties ranging from the loss of vacation days to firing if he is found to have violated department rules. Police Commissioner James Oneill will have the final say in determining how Pantaleo should be punished, but has also declined to say what he plans to do in the event the NYPD judge rules against the officer. Following Garners death, the de Blasio administration moved forward with a number of police accountability reforms including the expansion of body worn cameras and use of force training for all NYPD officers. But critics the reforms are not enough. This kangaroo court is proof positive why the people of the City of New York need to rise up and demand that the legislature and our do nothing failure mayor come together on real police accountability and reform, activist Kirsten Foy said at a rally Wednesday. What they have given us in the name of reform is trash, what they are feeding us in the name of accountability is garbage. COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE TRIAL FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A bill that would require New Yorks public schools to mark each Sept. 11 with a day of remembrance and a brief moment of silence is appearing more likely. Queens state Sen. Joseph Addabbos bill to make Sept. 11 a special day in city schools has been approved in the state Senate, Queens-based publication QNS.com reported Thursday morning. The legislation calls for a moment of silence and a conversation about the tragic events that unfolded, locally and nationally. Its hard to imagine that almost 18 years have passed since the horrific [Sept. 11] terrorist attacks that stole the lives of thousands of innocent people in New York that day and even today, as the illnesses and related deaths continue in the lingering aftermath of this devastating assault on our country, said Addabbo, a member of the Senate Education Committee, according to a release from his office. He noted that its significant to realize many children in city schools werent born when the attacks occurred. Thousands of people died in the 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pa. Nearly 18 years later, hundreds of local first responders who assisted rescue efforts have reportedly succumbed to illnesses caused by their immediate presence at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center after the attacks. Even while our children are being taught about the almost 3,000 lives lost, and the more than 6,000 people injured on Sept. 11, they will also have the opportunity to learn how people of diverse backgrounds immediately came together following the attacks to begin efforts aimed at healing our country, said Addabbo. Nearly 300 Staten Islanders died in the attacks. The Annual General Meeting of Grieg Seafood ASA will be held in the company's premises at Grieg Gaarden, C. Sundts gate 17/19 in Bergen, Norway, on Thursday 13 June 2019 at 10:00 am (CEST). The notice is attached both in Norwegian and English. This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A bus driver and aide together evacuated seven intermediate school children from a school bus before it burst into flames, a Pioneer Transportation spokeswoman told the Advance. The bus caught fire at around 2:15 p.m., the Advance previously reported, near the Todt Hill Road/Slosson Avenue exit, and caused a large traffic jam as FDNY units responded to the scene. The spokeswoman said the driver of the bus pulled over as soon as there was a hint of trouble with the vehicle and the two heroically escorted all of the children off of the bus. The Pioneer spokeswoman said the seven children are from the intermediate school within South Richmond High School in Pleasant Plains. South Richmond High School did not answer a request for comment regarding the incident. All seven children were removed from the bus by the driver and aide present on board, and were then transported safely home, the spokeswoman said. 7 Bus fire on Staten Island Expressway On scene, the entire yellow bus was charred with significant damage visible near the front. All of the windows appeared to be blown out, and the vehicle was removed from the scene after the blaze was put out. Firefighters were seen assessing the damage while police vehicles helped direct traffic around the scene. An FDNY spokesman said the cause of the fire is currently unknown, and the Pioneer spokeswoman said the FDNY and Pioneer Transportation are investigating the incident. CITY HALL -- Starting next year, all city agencies will have to spend at least 50 percent of their annual print and digital advertising revenue advertising in community and ethnic media outlets under an executive order Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Wednesday. "We cant be the fairest big city in America if only some people know how to receive city services," de Blasio said. "Community and ethnic media outlets are critical for delivering news across the city. This Executive Order will help us reach more New Yorkers, ensuring that more people can benefit from all the City has to offer. The new directive will take effect in fiscal year 2020 and agency representatives responsible for buying print and digital advertisements will be required to attend annual trainings held by the Mayors Office of Operations and Immigrant Affairs. Agencies will also be required to submit a year-end data report to the Mayors Office of Operations on their annual print and digital advertising spending. Those agencies annual print and digital advertising will then be made available to the public through the citys Open Data portal at the beginning of each fiscal year starting in fiscal year 2021. The City is further enshrining our commitment to reaching all New Yorkersincluding through the media they readno matter the languages they speak, said Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner of the Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs. A healthy democracy cannot exist without a thriving press, and community and ethnic media are trusted sources of valuable information for the communities they serve. I am proud to join the Mayor today in further demonstrating through this Executive Order the Citys commitment to being a welcoming and inclusive city for all. Under the de Blasio administration, the city has increased advertisement spending in community and ethnic media by over 220 percent from $850,000 in Fiscal year 2013 to $2.74 million in FY18. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Hundreds of future Florida Men and Women had their post-prom plans turned upside-down last month when local police busted up arrangements for an alcohol- and weed-fueled romp, according to a report. According to a Martin County Sheriffs Office police report, several hundred West Boca Community High School students were supposed to party hard after their April prom in a three-story house that had everything from stripper poles and oodles of Smirnoff vodka, to a bowl of marijuana joints and garbage pails stocked with ice. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported on the authorities findings Wednesday. Three buses were booked to transport the students to the party; attendees had paid $80 a person to attend, the publication reported. They were almost on the buses, said Lt. Ryan Grimsdale of the sheriffs office, according to the Sun-Sentinel. But they never got on the buses and the buses never left Palm Beach County. A bowl full of pre-rolled marijuana joints was discovered at the post-prom party that never happened. Grimsdale added the partys inventory included Jello shots, every mixer, high-end liquor and beer. This would have rivaled any bar in Martin County that day," he said. As for the stripper poles, Grimsdale told the Sun-Sentinel: My understanding was that they intended to have a Jello/bikini dancing contest." A school security guard reportedly alerted authorities to the event. Although a 19-year-old had been named as the person who rented the house for the party, no arrests were made. Police said they couldnt tie alcohol or drug possession to anybody involved: We couldnt prove it," Grimsdale said. STATEN ISLAND, N. Y. -- By all accounts, accolades are never Frank Sillers motivation as he tirelessly works to improve the lives of first responders and veterans through the foundation his family founded in his late brothers name. But thats just what the Westerleigh resident will get Thursday, when the founder of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation is presented with the Christopher Leadership Award by The Christophers, in Manhattan. Siller, along with his siblings, founded the nonprofit organization in honor of their late brother, Stephen, an off-duty New York City firefighter who was killed while responding to the World Trade Center on 9/11 after running through the Battery Tunnel with 60 pounds of gear on his back. Stephens six siblings, determined to not only keep his memory alive, but to do it in a way that would help others, created the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation in 2002, initially as a New York City-based charity run that re-traced Stephens steps on 9/11. Since its inception, the foundation has raised more $125 million. The Christophers, a nonprofit organization, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. Previous winners of the award include Captain Scotty Smiley, the U.S. Armys first blind active-duty officer, and Patti Ann McDonald, widow of heroic NYPD Detective Steven McDonald. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation handed over the keys to a brand new, mortgage-free, handicapped-accessible home to the family of John Hudson Dilgen, a South Shore teen living with a rare skin disease. (Staten Island Advance/Erik Bascome) Staten Island Advance HES HUMBLE The Siller family, led by Frank, isnt about the publicity, said Faye Dilgen, whose teenage son lives with a rare skin condition that causes his skin to blister and tear at the slightest touch. Her family received a new handicapped-accessible home from the foundation last fall. "Hes humble,'' Dilgen said. "He and his family are the most humble people you will ever meet.'' Dilgen said her familys life has changed completely, now that her son, John Hudson, can finally sleep in his bed alone and their Tottenville homes climate is now completely controllable, as his condition requires. "Most people, they do a good deed and they want to tell you all about it. Thats not them. Its not about them. Given the choice, they would do things privately,'' she said. Watch the video above to learn more about the Dilgens new home. The award is being presented to Siller in recognition of the "invaluable aid he brings to catastrophically injured veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families as chairman and CEO of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation,'' said the announcement from The Christophers. Under the leadership of Chairman/CEO Frank Siller, Stephens brother, the foundation has grown into a national force for good that builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured members of the military who have lost arms and legs, pays off mortgages for families of first responders who have been killed in the line of duty, pays off mortgages for Gold Star families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country, and supports a variety of community programs around the country.'' Purple Heart and Bronze Star veteran Sgt. Michael Sulsona will receive a new wheelchair-accessible home in New Dorp, courtesy of Frank Siller and his foundation. (Staten Island Advance) FOCUS ON FIRST RESPONDERS, VETERANS Purple Heart and Bronze Star veteran Sgt. Michael Sulsona, who had both legs amputated above the knee after being injured during combat service in Vietnam, has been an ambassador for Tunnel to Towers for many years. In July, he will receive a new wheelchair-accessible home in New Dorp, courtesy of Frank Siller and his foundation, equipped with smart technology that will change his life by making many routine daily activities possible. "I work with Frank and I watch him and he really holds true to his personal mission statement: While there is time, let us do good,'' Sulsona said. "His focus is on the first responders and our veterans. How do we repay them?'' Sulsona, 67, saw Sillers diligence firsthand in his role as a service officer in the Marine Corps League. "Hes incredible,'' Sulsona said, remarking about the Siller familys work ethic and lack of arrogance or pridefulness. "The family is middle of the road, down to earth,'' he added. "They just feed their family and live to do good for others.'' The Christopher Leadership Award recognizes individuals whose work, actions, and example serve as a guiding light to others, according to the organization. Sulsona said thats just what Siller does, recalling a speech Siller made to potential supporters at UPS. "He wasnt selling his foundation,'' Sulsona recalled. "He was selling the reason to be good to your brother. The reason we are here is to take care of other people.'' Siller said the award is humbling. "My greatest reward comes from the satisfaction of knowing that through the foundation my brother Stephens legacy has changed so many lives for the better,'' he said. "The Christopher Award affirms the highest values of the human spirit. Every time we are able to give a smart home to a catastrophically injured veteran or a home to a fallen first responder or Gold Star family who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, we are honoring those values.'' The families who have given so much and have suffered loss are his biggest inspiration, Siller said. "They are an inspiration to me, and everyone at the foundation,'' he said. Their pain and their need is a direct result of a life of selflessness and sacrifice. I am in awe of their faith, perseverance and resilience. Siller said his late brother would be proud of the foundations accomplishments, yet amused. "He would be laughing at how busy he is keeping all of his family,'' Siller said, noting that Stephen would be "proud to see the values of St. Francis, instilled in us by our parents, living on through his foundation.'' STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Former New York State Assemblyman Lou Tobacco has been selected as the president and CEO of Monsignor Farrell High School, following the departure of Msgr. Edmund J. Whalen, who left his post as principal in January when Timothy Cardinal Dolan named him the vicar for clergy of the Archdiocese of New York. Tobacco, an alumnus of the Monsignor Farrell graduating Class of 1990, joins Lawrence Musanti, who was named principal earlier this year, in filling out the schools new leadership team. He is a lifelong Staten Islander who served three terms in the New York State Assembly, from 2007 to 2012. Im so honored and excited that the Board of Trustees at Monsignor Farrell High School, with Cardinal Timothy Dolans approval, have chosen me to be the first president and CEO of Monsignor Farrell High School, said Tobacco. This institution is steep in tradition and culture based on its core values and mission, Vir Fidelis, the faithful man, Tobacco added. Dolan said: As an alumnus, Lou exemplifies what we hope our students become: good men who make a difference in the community because of a firm commitment to our Faith. I expect that Lou will do great things to continue the Farrell tradition. After benefiting immensely from Msgr. Ed Whalens outstanding leadership, our Board is truly blessed to have Lou Tobacco and Larry Musanti to continue his legacy, and to ensure that Farrell remains Staten Islands premier Catholic, college preparatory school for young men," said the Msgr. Thomas J. Bergin, chair of the Board of Trustees of Monsignor Farrell High School. In his new role, Tobacco will be tasked with providing visionary leadership that enhances the schools Catholic mission and educational program, while ensuring continued economic viability. In my new role as president of Monsignor Farrell High School I will be here to augment the faculty of this school, to provide them the resources that they need for all of us, working together as one team, to bring this school, in an exciting way, to new heights, said Tobacco, who has long-demonstrated his love for the school and his ability to lead, both in the school and in the community. I remember Lou as a freshman, recalled Musanti. He was president of his homeroom class, then he evolved into president of the student council. Now look how far he has come. If he goes at this job with the same energy that he did when he was in high school, he is going to be a terrific president." Tobacco said: As an alumnus, Im so excited to be back in these hallways. I cannot wait to get started to work with our faculty and administration. I will be standing on the shoulders of the giants who have gone before me, such as Monsignor Bergin, Monsignor Finn, Monsignor Nevin, and Monsignor Whalen." Lou Tobacco at Monsignor Farrell homecoming in October 1989, when he was student council president. Hes with then-Borough President Ralph Lamberti. (Photo courtesy of Lou Tobacco)Lou Tobacco A STORIED BACKGROUND Prior to being named president and CEO of Monsignor Farrell High School, Tobacco had been serving as the associate executive director of community and government affairs for Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health. Before his work with the hospital, Tobacco was elected to serve three consecutive terms representing the 62nd District of the New York State Assembly. During his time in office, Tobacco served as ranking member of the Assemblys Health Committee, also serving on the committees of higher education, codes, transportation, cities, corporations, authorities and commissions. Prior to winning elected office, Tobacco spent 13 years in pharmaceutical sales between Novartis and Pfizer Inc. Tobaccos first venture into public service was back in 1994, when he served as assistant director of contract oversight for the Staten Island borough presidents office, later serving as the director of community relations for the borough president from 1996 to 1997. In addition to his extensive work in the worlds of public service and business, Tobacco is a dedicated member of the Staten Island community, serving on the boards of various local institutions, including the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, the Seton Foundation for Learning, the Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance, the Joseph Maffeo Foundation and the Staten Island Not-for-Profit Association. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are currently searching for a white male in connection to a robbery that occurred Wednesday afternoon at a Northfield bank branch in Port Richmond Center. The incident occurred at around 2:14 p.m. at the branch, located at 1481 Forest Ave., an NYPD spokesman said. Police said the person sought in the robbery is described as a white male, and was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and blue jeans. The height and weight of the male were not available, the NYPD spokesman said. According to the spokesman, the male entered the bank and passed a note to a teller, demanding money. Police did not have any information indicating that the man brandished a weapon during the robbery. The teller passed approximately $1,400 to the man, who then fled on Forest Avenue in an unknown direction, police said. According to emergency radio transmissions, the person was wearing a wig. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! TORONTO, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Governments in Canada restrict or prevent foreign competition in 30.6 per cent of Canadas economy, including key sectors such as air transportation and telecommunications, which means almost one of every three dollars of the total value of all goods and services produced in Canada is shielded from competition, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. When governments in Canada protect industries, Canadian consumers pay higher prices, have less choice and/or less innovations compared to consumers in other countries, said Vincent Geloso, Fraser Institute senior fellow and author of Walled from Competition . The study measures Canadian protectionismbarring foreign companies from operating in Canada, restricting foreign ownership, requiring key employees to be Canadian citizens, etc.and protectionism in other developed countries, with a spotlight on specific industries. For example, Canada ranks 54th out of 62 countries (and well below the United States and United Kingdom) in air transportation competition, which helps explain the comparatively high price of Canadian airline travel. And Canada ranks 59th out of 62 countries in telecommunications competition, which results in Canadians paying comparatively higher prices for cellphone and other telecom services. If provincial and federal policymakers want to help improve living standards for Canadian families, they should remove barriers to competition and allow companies to freely compete for our business, Geloso said. MEDIA CONTACTS: Vincent Geloso, Senior Fellow Fraser Institute To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Mark Hasiuk, (604) 688-0221 ext. 517, mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook Industry super fund UniSuper has taken out the top category of Super Fund of the Year at researcher Chant West's awards, as funds pledged to rebuild trust and "do what is best for members" after an erosion of public confidence resulting from the Banking Royal Commission. It is the second major win this year for the $70-billion not-for-profit fund, which has more than 400,000 members working in the higher education and research sector. It was also named fund of the year by rival researcher SuperRatings last October. Chant West head of research Ian Fryer said the fund investment model is working well "but, in other areas, we know we must do better." Chant West chief executive Brendan Burwood said super funds were embracing the lessons learned from the Royal Commission, which exposed misconduct at a number of financial institutions offering retail superannuation funds, including cases of fees for no service. "The Royal Commission raised many important questions for our industry," he said. 'Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its borders. There is therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce." Those were the terse words of China's Qianlong Emperor in a letter to King George III before a 1793 British diplomatic mission, which, it is fair to say, was not a startling success. Apple chief Tim Cook has strongly opposed Donald Trump's aggressive actions against China on trade. Credit:Bloomberg Circumstances may have changed and it is the US, not Britain, that is furrowing brows in Beijing these days. But very similar sentiments were expressed this week by the founder of China's biggest private company, Huawei, in a response to Donald Trump's latest gambit - to blacklist the company in an escalating US-China trade war. Ren Zhengfei said the US government's actions to stop American companies from doing business with Huawei "underestimate our capabilities" to go it alone and would have "no impact". As Donald Trump, the US President, ratchets up the pressure, many things are in flux. Some are wondering whether the world may be stumbling into a new Cold War over access to emerging new technologies. Others are asking how Huawei, the world's biggest manufacturer of telecoms equipment and second largest producer of smartphones, will be able to source crucial components and software - from advanced US chipsets produced by Qualcomm and Intel to licences for Google's Android operating system installed on its devices. The rising popularity of "free-to-play" online casino games is boosting the fortunes of Australia's largest poker machine manufacturer, Aristocrat, which recorded a 15 per cent jump in half-year profits on Thursday. Aristocrat's share price soared by 7 per cent on Thursday after the company told shareholders its after-tax profit had risen to $356 million for the six months ending in March, on the back of a 29.8 per cent rise in revenue to $2.1 billion. Aristocrat Leisure has upped its bet on the booming social gaming market. Credit:Peter Braig The stock closed $1.88 higher at $28.40. The company's chief executive, Trevor Croker, highlighted continued sales growth into United States gaming market and the performance of Aristocrat's fast-expanding digital games business as the key drivers of the double-digit profit improvement. Clare Dorey was so impressed by her own teenage experience in the Duke of Edinburghs award program, she vowed that when she became a teacher, she would do everything in her power to make the program accessible to all students. Designed for 14 to 24-year-olds, the youth achievement awards give participants the opportunity to push personal boundaries, gain skills and enhance their CVs with a range of outdoors activities, community service and talent development. Clare Dorey says the Duke of Edinburgh award program offers many rewards for teachers and students. Credit: Today, Dorey is the Duke of Ed co-ordinator at Mercy College, where she also teaches history and religious education. The school currently has 100 girls in years 9 to 12 undertaking the three levels bronze, silver and gold of the program. Dorey says participation ensures her students keep fit, pursue a passion and have empathy for others. They also gain skills in time management, confidence and leadership potential. For many, activities undertaken during the program lead to ongoing volunteering or even paid jobs. IT skills are also improved, as students are required to complete the awards through the Online Record Book (ORB). The international search for the next leader of Carriageworks has ended with the appointment of the Museum of Contemporary Art's Blair French as the inner city arts precinct's new chief executive officer. French will take up the revamped position in August, replacing former director Lisa Havilah, who left Carriageworks in December to lead the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. The New Zealand-born arts administrator and curator previously held roles at the Australian Centre for Photography as program manager, Performance Space as associate director and Artspace as executive director. Blair French has been named head of Carriageworks. At the MCA French has been responsible for the development and delivery of the museum's artistic and digital programs as well as management of its collection. He curated the MCA's component of The National 2017: New Australian Art exhibition. A thick mass of starlings 10,000-strong hovers overhead like a dark storm cloud, the beating of each birds wings suspended mid-flight and distilled in time. This stunning aerial installation at NGV International was created by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang especially for this years Winter Masterpieces exhibition. And it coincides with the return of the world-famous, ancient Terracotta Warriors, a few of which first visited the NGV in 1982 their first destination outside China after their surprise discovery in 1974. Cai Guo-Qiang with his installation of 10,000 porcelain birds. Credit:Chris Hopkins Handmade out of white porcelain in the village where Cai grew up, each of these birds is unique as are the estimated 8000 warriors, 2000 of which have been excavated in China to date. Like so many children born in the 1990s, Mena Massoud grew up in a home where there was a worn video cassette of Disneys hugely popular 1992 animated hit Aladdin. It was on before I could walk or talk, remembers the 27-year-old actor, who was born in Egypt and moved to Canada with his family at the age of three. With two older sisters constantly hitting play, Massoud heard the signature songs One Jump Ahead and A Whole New World and took in the freewheeling voice performance of Robin Williams as Genie, the wish-granting spirit who unites street thief Aladdin and the princess Jasmine. The movie helped make Massoud want to be an actor, and now he finds himself playing Aladdin in Disneys live action remake, which opens tomorrow. Mena Massoud as the title character in Disneys live-action Aladdin. Credit: We understood the responsibilities that we had in what we were creating, and at the end of the day we just wanted to put our hearts and souls into it and do the best job we could do, says Massoud, speaking from Los Angeles as he, Will Smith (Genie), and Naomi Scott (Jasmine) launch into the promotional campaign. In between interviews hes arranging a stylist for the same sisters who indoctrinated him, so they can walk the red carpet at the films premiere, and Massouds family has been his barometer throughout the project. When he got the role of Aladdin after a six-month audition process he arrived home to his parents in Ontario at three in the morning: his father leapt out of bed to hug him, while his mother cried. (CNN) An Italian man launched into an angry tirade when his Ryanair flight landed in Bari, southern Italy, instead of his destination hundreds of miles away on the island of Sardinia. The man, who had a plane ticket for Cagliari, the capital of the Italian island, railed against flight assistants claiming it was their responsibility to stop him during boarding at Pisa Airport. "I went to the wrong gate? And how did you manage to get me through ticket checks?" he can be heard in a viral video shared by fellow passenger Vito Scotella on Twitter. "I have to meet a friend who is sick in Cagliari. I spent 400 euros. I have no money left." Scotella told CNN the passenger said he only noticed he was on the wrong flight when the plane started its descent into Bari. "He said the landscape was different from Cagliari. Then he started insulting the flight assistants arguing they let him pass through the gates," he said. It is unclear how the mishap happened. Scotella believes the man got on the wrong plane after passing through the gate, since at Pisa Airport passengers walk across the tarmac to the aircraft. "The flight to Cagliari was late so the two boardings were really close to each other. The man got confused. Also, they probably didn't check his ticket when he got on the plane," he said. Ryanair told La Repubblica news site they are investigating the incident. "We have asked the operator in charge of ground assistance services for Ryanair planes and passengers at the Pisa airport to shed light on this case and make sure it does not happen again," it said in a statement. CNN reached out to Ryanair for comment. This story was first published on CNN.com "Ryanair passenger rails against cabin crew after landing in wrong Italian city" Dublin, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Military Wearables Market by End User (Land, Airborne, and Naval), Technology (Communication and Computing, Connectivity, Navigation, Vision & Surveillance, Exoskeleton, Power & Energy Management), Wearable Type, Region - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Military Wearables Market is Projected to Grow from USD 4.2 Billion in 2019 to USD 6.4 Billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 7.17% from 2019 to 2025 Increasing defense spending and ongoing soldier modernization programs are key factors fueling the growth of the military wearables market across the globe. Growing adoption of military wearables due to the rising instances of asymmetric warfare and increasing demand for improved and efficient military wearables to reduce troop casualties across the globe are expected to fuel the growth of the military wearables market. Decline in defense spending and procurement of conventional warfare systems rather than advanced military wearables by emerging economies are expected to restrain the growth of the market during the forecast period. Based on end user, the airborne forces segment of the military wearables market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Based on end user, the military wearables market has been segmented into land forces, naval forces, and airborne forces. The airborne forces segment of the military wearables market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Military forces of different countries across the globe have increased the use of military wearables to enhance the warfighting capabilities of their soldiers. Based on wearable type, the bodywear segment is projected to lead the military wearables market from 2019 to 2025. Based on wearable type, the military wearables market has been segmented into headwear, eyewear, wristwear, hearables, and bodywear. The eyewear segment of the market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The demand for different types of wearables is increasing across the globe depending on their use and adoption in various military missions. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) based eyewear products are expected to witness increased demand from defense forces worldwide for warfare and training activities. The North America military wearables market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The North America military wearables market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2019 to 2025. The growth of the market in this region can be attributed to the rising demand for military wearables from defense forces of different countries of the region. The North American region has the presence of countries such as the US and Canada, which are investing in the development of modern integrated wearable technologies. Moreover, increasing product developments and investments in the military wearables ecosystem by defense research agencies, large Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and start-ups are leading to the growth of the military wearables market in North America. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 4.1 Attractive Growth Opportunities in Military Wearables Market 4.2 Military Wearables Market, By Wearable Type 4.3 Communication & Computing Military Wearables Market, By Product 4.4 Vision & Surveillance Military Wearables Market, By System 4.5 Military Wearables Market, By Technology 4.6 Military Wearables Market, By End User 5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Market Dynamics 5.2.1 Drivers 5.2.1.1 Increasing Focus on Development of Lightweight and Rugged Military Wearables 5.2.1.2 Increasing Adoption of Military Wearables Due to Increasing Asymmetric Warfare 5.2.1.3 Soldier Modernization Programs Across the World 5.2.2 Restraints 5.2.2.1 Preference for Conventional Warfare Systems Over Advanced Systems in Developing Countries 5.2.2.2 Declining Defense Budgets 5.2.3 Opportunities 5.2.3.1 Development and Incorporation of Advanced Technologies to Overcome Deficiencies of Existing Military Wearables 5.2.3.2 Incorporation of Nanotechnology in Subsystems of Military Wearables 5.2.3.3 Increased Demand for Improved and Efficient Military Wearables to Reduce Troop Casualties 5.2.4 Challenges 5.2.4.1 Lack of Strategy Clarity and Technology Readiness 5.2.4.2 Reduction in Weight of Military Wearables Without Compromising on Protection and Combat Performance 6 Industry Trends 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Technology Trends 6.2.1 Individual Situational Awareness: Delivering Decisions at All Levels of Command 6.2.2 Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Training and Simulation 6.2.3 Multiband Tactical Communication Amplifiers 6.2.4 Mobile User Objective System (MUOS): Cell Phone-Like Capability for Software Defined Radios 6.2.5 Near Field Communication 6.2.6 Smart Clothing 6.2.7 Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nano Technology 6.2.8 Next-Generation Sensor Systems 6.2.9 IoT-Based Wearables 6.2.10 Smart Batteries 6.3 Use Cases 6.3.1 Smart Clothing 6.3.2 Situation Awareness 6.3.3 Training & Simulation 6.3.4 Exoskeleton 6.3.5 Wearable Batteries & Energy Harvesters 6.4 Innovation & Patent Registrations 7 Military Wearables Market, By End User 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Land Forces 7.2.1 Increasing Adoption of Wearables to Enhance Night Combat and Load-Carrying Capabilities of Land Soldiers 7.3 Naval Forces 7.3.1 Increasing Focus on Use of Health Monitoring Wearable Devices for Naval Forces 7.4 Airborne Forces 7.4.1 Use of Augmented Reality-Based Helmets By Fighter Pilots for Better Situational Awareness 8 Military Wearables Market, By Technology 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Communication & Computing 8.2.1 Tactical Multiband Radios 8.2.2 Tactical Headsets 8.2.3 Wearable Computers 8.2.4 Embedded Antennas 8.3 Connectivity 8.3.1 Wearable Personal Area Networks 8.3.2 Compact Connectors 8.3.3 Wires & Cables 8.4 Navigation 8.4.1 Dismounted PNT (Positioning, Navigation, and Timing 8.4.2 Personnel Recovery Devices (PRD 8.4.3 Dismounted IFF 8.5 Vision & Surveillance 8.5.1 Imaging 8.5.1.1 EO/IR & Thermal Cameras 8.5.1.2 Sights & Scopes 8.5.1.3 Night Vision Goggles (NVG 8.5.2 Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR 8.5.2.1 Smart Glasses 8.5.2.2 Smart Helmets 8.5.2.3 Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs 8.6 Exoskeleton 8.6.1 Passive Exoskeletons 8.6.2 Powered Exoskeletons 8.7 Monitoring 8.7.1 Body Diagnostic Sensors 8.7.2 Wearable Patches 8.7.3 Smart Bands and Activity Trackers 8.8 Power & Energy Management 8.8.1 Batteries 8.8.2 Energy Harvesters 8.8.3 Wireless Chargers 8.8.3.1 Inductive Technology 8.8.3.2 Magnetic Resonance Technology 8.8.3.3 Capacitive Coupling/Conductive 8.9 Smart Textiles 9 Military Wearables Market, By Wearable Type 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Headwear 9.2.1 Integration of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Headwear 9.3 Eyewear 9.3.1 Advancements and Miniaturization of Night Vision Technologies in Eyewear 9.4 Wristwear 9.4.1 Adoption of Fitbit, Smartwatches, and Wearable Patches for Health Monitoring 9.5 Hearables 9.5.1 Increasing Use of Tactical Headsets By Land Forces 9.6 Bodywear 9.6.1 Advancements in Smart Textiles, Exoskeleton, and Monitoring Sensors 10 Regional Analysis 11 Competitive Landscape 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Competitive Leadership Mapping 11.2.1 Visionary Leaders 11.2.2 Innovators 11.2.3 Dynamic Differentiators 11.2.4 Emerging Companies 11.3 Major Players, 2019 11.4 Competitive Situations and Trends 11.4.1 Contracts 11.4.2 New Product Launches 11.4.3 Collaboration, Acquisitions & Partnerships 12 Company Profiles 12.1 Aselsan A.S. 12.2 BAE Systems PLC 12.3 Bionic Power 12.4 Elbit Systems Ltd. 12.5 Flir Systems 12.6 General Dynamics Corporation 12.7 Harris Corporation 12.8 L3 Technologies, Inc 12.9 Leonardo 12.10 Lockheed Martin Corporation 12.11 Northrop Grumman 12.12 Rheinmetall 12.13 Saab 12.14 Safran 12.15 Thales 12.16 Ultra Electronics 12.17 Interactive Wear 12.18 TT Electronics 12.19 TE Connectivity 12.20 ST Engineering For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jlipr3 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. She begins by getting back behind the wheel of the couples old Mercedes. Their neighbour, Pituca (Maria Martins), an elderly extrovert whose arthritis fails to inhibit the vivacity of her performance, asks or rather demands that Chela drive her to her weekly poker game, insisting that her new chauffeur accept a wad of notes in return. Even better, she becomes her de facto manager. Pretty soon, the other girls around the card table are also patronising Chelas taxi service. Political undercurrents help to drive the storyline, but you may not detect them unless youre faintly familiar with the military dictatorships and coups that have shaped Paraguayan politics for the past 65 years. Its Martinessis contention that these authoritarian regimes would not have flourished without the implicit support of the bourgeoisie. In other words, hes seeing the unchanging nature of the womens lives as a reflection of the oppressiveness of the country as a whole. Chela and Chiquita may be broke but they have kept the Mercedes and they have a maid an indigenous woman who has been trained to give a foot massage, but not to read or write her name. Paradoxically, Chiquitas jail term proves to be an entree to a wider society that she would never have known, while Chela, too, is introduced to a volatile agent of change. Angy (Ana Ivanova), another of her passengers, is a younger woman whose unabashed sensuality sets the tone for her every scene. Shes never without a boyfriend but she wastes little time in letting Chela know that shes also attracted to women. Now its up to Chela to decide if shes going to do something about it. Bruns performance is an expertly modulated exercise in inner turmoil. Bubbly Chiquita and the hawk-like Angy are the attention-getters. The earthquake that Chela is experiencing is under the skin. She raises her voice only once. Then shes so shocked by the sound that she makes amends as soon as she can. Yet she has a tremulous courage that makes you fear for her whenever she gets into the car. In creating the claustrophobic atmosphere that hes after, Martinessi resorts to the usual ploys keeping the lights low and the palette muted, filming through doorways and laying on the close-ups. Its all very deliberate but its effective, adding to the air of intimacy that he needs to make the film work. One of Australia's leading pollsters, Ipsos director Jessica Elgood, has suggested Australia needs a national polling standards body and said Ipsos would likely be willing to publish its raw data in the wake of an election that every major poll incorrectly predicted the Coalition would lose. "I know that at the moment within the industry theres moves for an industry-wide review to be set up and Im pretty confident thats going to come to pass," Ms Elgood, who conducted polls for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age during the election, said on the Please Explain podcast. Scott Morrison celebrates his win on election night, a result the polls did not predict. Credit:AAP The last Ipsos poll before the election predicted Labor would take 51 per cent of the national two-party preferred vote and the Coalition 49 per cent, almost a reverse of the actual election. Ipsoss biggest competitor NewsPoll also consistently called it for Labor, with a greater margin of 51.5 to 48.5. The military capabilities being discussed include sending additional ballistic missile defence systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles on submarines, and surface ships with land attack capabilities for striking at a long range," CNN has reported. The Associated Press added that the Pentagon will present the White House with a plan to send 10,000 additional troops to the region. On May 5 Donald Trumps National Security Adviser, John Bolton, announced that due to troubling and escalatory indications and warnings the US had dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber taskforce to the Persian Gulf to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force. While Australians weathered the end days of an election campaign that focused almost exclusively on domestic affairs, global attention centred upon dangerously rising tension between Iran and the US. The deployment comes a year after the US unilaterally abandoned the landmark deal it had signed with six other nations and Iran to limit its nuclear program, and six months after the US reimposed economic sanctions upon Iran. In April the US designated Irans elite Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation. The Guard is not only Irans most powerful military force, controlling both the nations ballistic missiles and its nuclear program, but it holds significant business interests ranging from oil and gas projects to construction and telecommunication. After the designation four oil tankers were attacked by explosive-laden drone boats in an operation that was believed to have been conducted by Yemeni Houthi militia, but instigated by the IRCG. As is his habit, Mr Trump accompanied his official announcement of the US deployments with threats via social media. If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again! he tweeted this week. The Iranian foreign minister responded in kind, boasting that neither Alexander the Great nor Genghis Khan had succeeded in defeating his nation. According to the White House its military deployments were made in response to intelligence that suggested Iran or its proxies were planning attacks on US interests in the region, but this intelligence - or its interpretation - is now being contested. I'm listening to Republicans twist the Iran intel to make it sound like Iran is taking unprovoked, offensive measures against the US and our allies. Like it just came out of nowhere, the Democratic senator Chris Murphy said this week. Ive read the intel too. And let me be clear: Thats not what the intel says. Their Majesties the King and Queen have sent a message of congratulation. It is expected that Miss Johnson will leave Darwin, via Brisbane, for Sydney today. THE FLIGHT The story of the flight is the story of the joyous self confidence of a girl of 26, with only 90 hours solo flying to her credit, and her determination to justify her belief in her equality with man. Setting off from Croydon aerodrome [London] on May 5 for Australia, Miss Johnson was provided with a few sandwiches, some chocolate, and the abundant faith in herself of a girl just out of her university. The first stages of the venture were unmarked by especial incident until Constantinople was reached. There she discovered a leak in the petrol tank. This remedied, Miss Johnson passed on, crossing in transit the Tauurus Mountains, which stretched darkly ahead, barring her passage to Aleppo. Nothing daunted Miss Johnson, who previously had seen nothing more terrifying than the smiling English countryside, conquered the mists and darkness of the range, which towered 8000 feet above. She reached Aleppo in safety, and set off for Bagdad in high spirits; but flying over the desert she was forced down by a dreadful sandstorm. No more amazing adventure than this occurred on the flight. Landing in an unknown spot, she kept a lonely vigil in the shadow of her 'plane until the storm passed over. English aviatrix Amy Johnson with a man working on her Gipsy Moth plane "Jason", Sydney, circa 30 May 1930. Credit:Sydney Morning Herald Archives The distant barking of dogs reminded her of the possibility of attack by marauding Arabs, and she sat, revolver in hand, ready to give a warm welcome to raiders. So fierce had been the storm that the staff of the Imperial Airways at Bagdad had given up hope of seeing Miss Johnson that night. Imagine their surprise when a speck in the northern sky materialised into Miss Johnson and her Gypsy Moth. The staff, which has seen the principals In many famous world flights, votes Miss Johnson's the most wonderful. The hop to Karachi was uneventful, and on May 11 she left Calcutta, and was forced to land at Jhansi for petrol. Allahabad was reached in the morning of May 12, and in landing Miss Johnson grazed the wing of her 'plane on an iron post. An Indian carpenter, however, soon made good the damage, and Calcutta was reached two days ahead of Hinkler's time. DOGGED BY MISFORTUNE. The record seemed in Miss Johnson's grasp. The world was breathless from the speed of her achievement. Then Miss Johnson came to grief near Rangoon. Mistaking a playing field for the racecourse, she made a perfect landing, but the wheel of the Moth ran into a hidden ditch, and the 'plane crashed. Miss Johnson escaped unhurt, but the damage to the 'plane was extensive, the wheels, wing, and propeller being damaged. The two days which were occupied in making good the damage upset the attempt on the record; but, undaunted, Miss Johnson proceeded to Bangkok, and, in spite of bad weather, landed there after six and a quarter hours flying. Over the last portion of the route, regarded by all flying men as the most hazardous of all, owing to unreliable weather conditions, monsoons, and large areas of water and jungle, the eyes of the world were upon her. It is safe to say that there was no one who did not wish that the luck which to this stage had favoured Miss Johnson might continue. Each step was watched with the keenest interest, and sighs of relief accompanied her each successful landing. Amy Johnson holding a teddy bear, at Mascot, Sydney with her Gipsy Moth plane "Jason" ca 1930. Credit:Sydney Morning Herald Archive In these last stages, however, her luck which had been so good, changed, and misfortune after misfortune dogged the plucky girl, urging her each with greater insistence to give up and acknowledge defeat. Her challenge to fate and her domination of circumstance is an epic of history. Miss Johnson left Bangkok on May 17 for Singapore, and was obliged to land at Singapore that afternoon for fuel. She stayed there over-night, and proceeded to Singapore on the following day. A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE. "It was dreadful, dreadful, dreadful I thought 1 would never make it. I really thought that it was the end." In these words Miss Johnson described her terrifying experience on the trip from Singapore to Tjomal. Between Singkep and Banka heavy squalls and dense rainstorms obliged her to change her course towards Sumatra. She flew over stretches of dense jungle, and the wind bumped the machine within a few feet of the tree-tops. She was ready to jump with her parachute at any moment. Then, when crossing the Java Sea, the monsoon compelled her to fly just above the water. She expected to crash into the water at any moment. "I was terrified of the sharks waiting for me to fall," she said of this experience. It was a great relief to her when she saw the outline of the Java coast. Following this she eventually reached Tjomal. She discovered that she was running short of fuel, but she was unperturbed. She kept a sharp watch for an emergency landing field, and presently espied a clear area. It was small, but Miss Johnson made a perfect landing, her machine coming to a standstill a few yards from the door of the office of the manager of the Tjomal sugar estate, in the centre of Java. She received a warm welcome from the employees on the estate, and spent the night at the home of Amy Johnson waves to crowd at Town Hall in Sydney on 4 June 1930 Credit:Sydney Morning Herald Archives the manager and his wife. In the morning it was discovered that a number of stakes had peirced and torn the wings of the Moth, and some delay occurred while temporary repairs were made. She left late in the morning for Sourabaya. Miss Johnson was tired out when she reached Sourabaya. "I want so much to rest," she said upon landing. The engine had functioned irregularly at times during that day, she said, but attributed this to a leak in the petrol pipe. ENGINE TIRED. When Miss Johnson reached the field to resume the flight she was informed that the mechanics, who had been working on the 'plane all night, had been unable to repair it completely. The plucky girl could scarce restrain her tears at this further delay, and admitted that the 'plane was the worse for wear. A magneto connecting rod had become worn, and the engine was losing compression. A sporting aviator on the island, who had lent her a propeller to replace the one she had damaged, heard of her plight and lent her his magneto. Repairs having been satisfactorily made on May 22 Miss Johnson piloted the now protesting Jason to Atamboea, landing at Haliloelik en route. On Saturday morning she decided to commence the last stage of the long journey to Darwin. She had stated her intention of making an early start, but, acting on the advice of the civil aviation authorities and the Shell Company, who stated that prevailing south-east winds would render the flight dangerous before 10 a.m., she postponed her departure. Before Miss Johnson commenced the 480 miles hop the Shell Company notified her that the oil tanker Phorus, which Is bound from Sydney to Balik Papan, had been instructed to heave-to midway between Atamboea and Darwin, to give the aviatrix her bearings. LORD WAKEFIELD'S HELP Mr. Cyril L Westcott, representing Lord Wakefield in Australia, stated last night that Lord Wakefield backed Miss Johnson's flight and gave her support when all other support had been refused. The Australian racing industry has been rocked by the dramatic arrest of Damion Flower, one of the country's biggest thoroughbred owners. Mr Flower, a former baggage handler, appeared in court on Thursday over his involvement in an alleged cocaine syndicate that used a Sydney airport baggage handler to import more than 50 kilograms of cocaine into Australia. Mr Mafiti, left, with Mr Flower and Phil "Gus" Gould. This year the big-spending Mr Flower has splashed more than $4 million on yearlings, including paying $1.2 million for a colt by I Am Invincible. In recent years he and his wife Camilla have amassed about $10 million of real estate including four properties on the Gold Coast. In 2015, Mr Flower outlaid $4.5 million for Platinum Park at Hawkesbury, which he has turned into a state-of-the-art horse training facility. The alleged complainant gave evidence during the trial, but during her evidence she admitted telling some lies. The prosecution case was heavily dependent on her credibility. At the end of the trial the Judge directed members of the jury "not follow a process of reasoning" that just because the complainant was shown to have told a lie, that all of her evidence was dishonest and could not be relied upon. The man was found guilty of one charge and not guilty of one other. The two other charges had earlier been withdrawn from the jury. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and served 15, spending most of his time in Acacia prison. "I was sour, I was angry," the man said. "When you get in there, you are not human in that place. "I found it very strange and degrading." The man spent 15 months in prison. Credit:File/iStock The man and his new lawyers Sam Vandongen and Shash Nigam appealed his conviction in the WA Court of Appeal largely on the basis there was no established legal basis for the "impugned direction" to be given by the trial Judge. But the appeal was dismissed. They then took the appeal all the way to the High Court in Canberra, which set aside the Court of Appeal's decision, quashed the man's conviction and ordered a new trial. However, there will be no need for a new trial after the DPP filed a discontinuance notice in the District Court. The High Court ruled it was open to the jury to find the complainant's lies "precluded acceptance of her evidence of the commission of the offences beyond reasonable doubt". "It was that process of reasoning which the impugned direction took away," the ruling said, adding: "The misdirection cannot therefore have been one which had no effect upon the jury, acting reasonably, in its verdict. Conviction was not inevitable." The man's partner said the High Court ruling made them feel "wonderful". "We didn't need a plane to get back here (to WA) we flew back ourselves, that's how high we were feeling," she said. "It was just wonderful. "He was that determined to prove his innocence he said 'if I have to spend every last cent I will, and I will go back to work'. "(But) he hasn't been able to work, because he has had this hanging over his head." Mr Nigam said the High Court judgment was very important to his client, and also a very important legal precedent. "You need a huge amount of heart together with the financial resources to go all the way to the High Court. Thankfully for him, he had both," Mr Nigam said. Actors Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts and technology billionaire Scott Farquhar are among the former Sydney public school students that members of Toffee, a private school-only dating app that arrived in Australia last week, would be unable to meet. Naomi Watts attended a public school in Sydney. Credit:AAP Toffee, which launched in Britain last year, bills itself as the "worlds first dating app for people who were privately educated". Like Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Crowe attended Sydney Boys High School. Kidman and Watts attended North Sydney Girls High while Mr Farquhar graduated from the selective James Ruse Agricultural High School. French English Paris, May 23, 2019 - As part of the second phase of Project Artemis1, Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has been selected, alongside its strategic partners Capgemini and the CEA to deliver a prototype of a Big Data platform to the French Defense Procurement Agency (Direction Generale de lArmement, DGA)2. Project Artemis aims to provide the French Ministry of the Armed Forces with a sovereign infostructure for massive data storage and management. The exploitation of more and more numerous and diverse data is a major challenge to maintain operational control of the French armed forces. Project Artemis, launched in November 2017 by the DGA, aims to meet operational needs through use cases that will facilitate the management and decision-making process of the Armys various services. Project Artemis aims to provide France with a bulk data processing capability to enable it to act independently in the fields of military intelligence, operational command, and in the digital space. To address the industrial, sovereignty and innovation challenges of the project, the consortium led by Atos already selected by DGA for the phase I was selected to take part in the second phase of Project Artemis: Atos, leader of the consortium, will design the sovereign platform. It will include the physical High-Performance Computing (HPC) infrastructure with its BullSequana servers, the infostructure, i.e. a collaborative application development environment or software forge; as well as the various security aspects. Atos will also provide its expertise in data science and will develop three use cases focused on intelligence and information processing. Capgemini brings its ability to develop and implement artificial intelligence at scale by integrating innovative partners. Capgemini will develop three use cases in the fields of cybersecurity, health services and predictive maintenance. The group will also be in charge of the creation of the "software factory" which will allow Artemis users to develop their own products. The CEA is involved in several use cases and in securing the infostructure. The CEA brings its scientific expertise and competencies, particularly in the fields of high-performance computing, cybersecurity, and semantic analysis of text and images. The consortium also relies on a set of academic partners (ENS Paris-Saclay and UTC Compiegne), medium-sized enterprises (Bertin Technologies) and startups. At the end of the second development phase3 of Project Artemis, six use cases4 will enable the different entities of the Ministry of the Armed Forces to take advantage of new capabilities resulting from digital technologies for knowledge-sharing, better monitoring of soldiers health, predictive maintenance of equipment, treatment and visualization of strategic and tactical information. The approach relies heavily on agile and incremental methodologies to stay as close as possible to innovations and user needs. Our consortium is now at the heart of a program which will enable the Ministry of the Armed Forces to maintain its information system at the highest technological level. We are answering Artemis needs with powerful and secure technologies, resulting from Atos R&D approach, unique in Europe, with the association of the two biggest computer services companies in Europe, together with the CEA, and the ability to capture French innovation through a sovereign ecosystem. This positioning and sovereign infostructure will prove decisive in anchoring the strategic autonomy of France et will contribute to a long-term European vision and ambition in AI for defense. says Daniel le Coguic, Senior Vice-President for Big Data & Security at Atos France. Atos is a trusted partner of many ministries and private companies in the defense sector around the world. *** 1 ARTEMIS : Architecture for Processing and Massive Exploitation of Multi-Source Information (in French : Architecture de Traitement et dExploitation Massive de lInformation multi-Sources) 2 The French Defense Procurement Agency is the French Government Defense procurement and technology agency responsible for the program management, development and purchase of weapon systems for the French military 3The second phase of the Artemis project aims to: design a sovereign architecture for massive data processing and exploitation; develop the infostructure (a multi-level security software platform that will support the new data processing system); shorten development cycles and accelerate the implementation of new uses; foster innovation within a sovereign ecosystem 4 Planning and predictive maintenance, knowledge sharing and synthesis, carrier mobility, staff health status, processing and cross-referencing of heterogeneous data, network analysis About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with over 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of over 11 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information technology space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education as well as multicultural and pluralistic approaches to research that contribute to scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the group enables its customers, employees and collaborators, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably and confidently in the information technology space. More information: atos.net Press contact Lucie Duchateau | lucie.duchateau@atos.net | +33 7 62 85 35 10 Attachment Record flight for woman Miss Jean Batten, the 24-year-old New Zealand airwoman, who left England on May 8 in her Gipsy moth plane on a solo flight to Australia, reached Darwin, establishing a record for a woman's solo flight from England to Australia. She covered the distance in less than 16 days, her actual logged time was 14 days 22 hours. Miss Batten's first words upon landing were: "It's nice to be in the southern hemisphere again." Tea-tree oil In a letter to the editor of The Herald, a Bachelor of Science wrote of his concern about a bacteriologists statement in the paper that tea-tree oil was only three to four times stronger than carbolic acid, when a recent reading of a dilution equivalent to one part tea-tree oil to 600 parts water clearly showed the oil to be at least six times stronger than carbolic, and capable of killing typhoid germs within two-and-half minutes. Sly-grog selling A Wollongong man has been sentenced to almost 20 years behind bars over the "degrading and cruel" manslaughter of a former teacher and conspiring to kill a woman who helped him dispose of the victim's body. Mark Kenneth Jenkin, 47, sat quietly in the dock of the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Thursday morning but was seen shaking his head repeatedly as Justice Peter Hamill delivered the sentence. Jailed: Mark Kenneth Jenkin. Last June, Jenkin was found guilty of the manslaughter of Mark Dower, 56, who was staying in Jenkin's housing commission unit for a number of days before his death in March 2015. Jenkin was also found guilty of conspiring to murder a witness who had seen Mr Dower's body lying in the bathtub and who helped him move the body. A 77-year-old Wellington Point man reported missing after he failed to return from his afternoon walk is a survivor and champion sportsman, according to his friend. An overnight search was sparked when Keith Arnold Newton left his Fernbourne Road home about 3pm on Thursday for his regular walk but has not been seen since. Keith Newton, 77, has been missing since Thursday afternoon when he went on his afternoon walk at Wellington Point. Police urged residents to check their properties about 1pm on Friday after the extensive search failed to find him. Concerns are held for his safety and wellbeing. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size From Monday, you can pick up your phone and book a rideshare submarine on the Great Barrier Reef. Sound fun? In a world-first, visitors to one of Australias most famous locations can do just that, after Uber and Queensland joined forces to create a rideshare submarine based on the reef. In the south of the reef, scUber a two-person submarine will be at Heron Island from May 27, at a mere cost of $3000 for two passengers or $1500 for one. Bookable from Heron Island or from Gladstone, the submarine experience takes users under water to experience the beauty of the reef while learning more about the huge ecosystem. The ride-share submarine scUber, seen submerging near the shipwreck of HMAS Protector in the Great Barrier Reef. After the first two weeks, scUber will move north to Port Douglas, until June 18. Advertisement The battery-powered submarine travels to depths of about 20 metres, offering the kind of experience usually limited to experienced divers. On Heron Island an 800-square-metre coral cay 70 kilometres west of Gladstone on Queenslands central coast the first ride on scUber was taken by two of the reefs biggest champions. Heron Island is a tiny part of the 2300-kilometre Great Barrier Reef, but showcases in concentrated form why the reef is so beloved and shows that contrary to public assumption, the reef isnt dead, although it is still in danger. The reef surrounding the cay is full of wildlife, its pristine waters clear and warm in the shallows. Sharks and mantas and countless rays are spotted daily by snorkellers and divers, who can listen to whale song while watching turtles glide calmly by. Heron Island is home to more than 100 permanent residents who share the tiny island with thousands of birds. A University of Queensland research centre in the centre of the island is neighbours with a tourist resort beloved of swimmers and divers. On Thursday morning, Andy Ridley, chief executive of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authoritys chief scientist Dr David Wachenfeld both experienced divers went below the surface for the first time in the small submersible. The experience, they said, was remarkable not just for being able to talk to each other while underwater about what they were seeing, but also for how close they could get to the coral reef. Advertisement The Great Barrier Reef is the world's biggest coral reef system, bearing more than 1000 islands, and home to 600 different types of coral. In the year ending December 2018, a record 2.2 million domestic visitors made their way to the southern Great Barrier Reef region. Internationally 146,000 visitors toured the area, a 2.2 per cent increase on the year before the majority on holidays. Its really a mind-blowing experience, I have to tell you, Mr Ridley said. Both of us do a lot of diving and its a very different way of looking at the Great Barrier Reef. Quite speechless, actually. Dr Wachenfeld said he saw countless fish, a black-tip shark, stingrays and more during his submarine experience. Youre really up close to stuff you get to see the big stuff, but you get to see the little stuff, he said. Advertisement Its really is like a bizarre cross between Finding Nemo and a Bond movie. What a different way to see the reef. Heron Island is a national and international drawcard for scuba diving, snorkelling and swimming. Credit:TEQ For Mr Ridley, as chief executive of a community-focused effort to raise awareness and contribute practically to the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, the partnership with Uber goes further. Were actually announcing a big partnership with Uber, he said. Theres three parts to it theres access to some of the tech knowledge and know-how for Citizens theres some serious funding as well, and theres the reach, so reaching millions more people with reef stuff. Speaking from the launch event at Heron Island, Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones said the world-first submarine experience was a remarkable partnership. Advertisement We all know you can see the Great Barrier Reef from space, but from today youll be able to see the Great Barrier Reef from the worlds very first ridesharing submarine, she said. ScUber is a great initiative, well be able to showcase the beautiful Great Barrier Reef to the world. This partnership between the Queensland government, through Tourism Events Queensland and Uber, means well be able to tap into Ubers 50 million-strong customer base worldwide. Ms Jones said the state government expected more than 1.4 million people would come to the reef due to the partnership with Uber, injecting nearly $2 billion into the local economy. Ubers regional general manager for Australia and New Zealand Susan Anderson said raising awareness and supporting the preservation of the reef was incredibly important. When we were asked to partner with Tourism and Events Queensland to help put the spotlight back on this global icon, we couldnt have felt more proud to support this initiative, she said. When people come and experience the Great Barrier Reef, then they care. Advertisement Emergency workers have freed a man who had been trapped in the cabin of a tipped shipping container forklift at Melbourne's docks. Metropolitan Fire Brigade crews were called to Dock Link Road in West Melbourne just after 3.50pm on Thursday after the 75-tonne forklift flipped on its end, trapping the operator inside. A man trapped after a crane flipped over is freed. Credit:Joe Armao The man was freed about 6pm and transported to hospital. He is believed to be conscious. The MFBs specialist High Angle Rescue Technicians, or HART, attended the incident. Part of the protesting crowd in Melbourne's CBD. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Thousands of climate activists took over the streets of Melbourne and staged a "die-in" in the middle of Bourke Street on Friday in a bid to pressure the federal government to take stronger action on the environment. Chants of "stand up, fight back" were heard as a mass of people organised by Extinction Rebellion the same global network which protested for more than a week in London, leading to 1065 arrests rallied in the heart of Melbourne. Organisers were expecting up to 5000 demonstrators to take part in the rally, which caused major disruptions to commuters across the city from about 12pm. The protesters marched from Parliament House to the intersection of Bourke and Swanston streets, where they laid down as if "dead" to represent extinction. The mass of protesters on their backs and on wet bitumen stretched about 100 metres towards Russell Street. An elderly man has died after a car crash in Malaga. At about 4.15pm on Wednesday a Holden Commodore and Toyota Hilux collided at the intersection of Beringarra Avenue and Victoria Road. The driver of the Commodore, a 91-year-old man, was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital but died. The driver of the Hilux, 30, received minor injuries. Major Crash are investigating and witnesses are urged to call police on 131444 A Perth man who sought out online sex shows of young girls in the Philippines was on the verge of flying out to the country just 16 hours before his arrest, it can be revealed for the first time. Hugh Cameron, 58, was due to stand trial in the WA District Court earlier this year but the married father of one pleaded guilty to seven charges of intending to procure a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia. Cameron's offending was made known to the AFP by the FBI. Credit:AAP Last month he was was jailed for six years. Now, for the first time, the investigators who eventually tracked Cameron down have revealed how he was arrested just in time before he was due to leave Australia. A Perth foster carer accused of abusing six children under his care has told a jury the allegations against him are "rubbish". "It's just lies, that's all it is, complete and utter lies," Desmond Gore said. "It's all about money, nothing else, nothing else." Mr Gore is accused of sexually abusing seven children, six of whom were his foster children. Credit:John Donegan Mr Gore, 73, is on trial in the Perth District Court, facing 21 charges of child sexual abuse against seven children, including the rape of three eight-year-old girls, between 2007 and 2010. HOUSTON, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orion Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ORN) (the "Company") a leading specialty construction company, today announced a contract award of approximately $9 million. The Companys Marine segment has been awarded a contract from Refineria Texaco de Honduras S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, for repairs and life extension work for a marine terminal in Puerto Cortes, Honduras. The Companys scope on the project calls for installing new piles and stiffening elements to reinforce the existing structure, as well as concrete work. The project is expected to begin in the second quarter with a duration of approximately six months. While Orion has completed a number of projects for Chevron in the US, to entrust us with the repair and life extension of their critical Honduras infrastructure, is a true testament to Orions safety and quality culture in the performance of marine construction work, said Mark Stauffer, Orions President and Chief Executive Officer. About Orion Group Holdings Orion Group Holdings, Inc., a leading specialty construction company, provides services in the Infrastructure, Industrial, and Building sectors through its marine construction segment and its concrete construction in the continental United States, Alaska, Canada and the Caribbean Basin. The Companys marine construction segment services includes marine transportation facility construction, marine pipeline construction, marine environmental structures, dredging of waterways, channels and ports, environmental dredging, design, and specialty services. Its commercial concrete segment provides turnkey concrete construction services including pour and finish, dirt work, layout, forming, rebar, and mesh across the light commercial, structural and other associated business areas. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas with regional offices throughout its operating areas. Forward-Looking Statements The matters discussed in this press release may constitute or include projections or other forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the provisions of which the Company is availing itself. Certain forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as 'believes', 'expects', 'may', 'will', 'could', 'should', 'seeks', 'approximately', 'intends', 'plans', 'estimates', or 'anticipates', or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, intentions, estimates, forecasts, outlook, assumptions, or goals. In particular, statements regarding future operations or results, including those set forth in this press release and any other statement, express or implied, concerning future operating results or the future generation of or ability to generate revenues, income, net income, profit, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, or cash flow, including to service debt, and including any estimates, forecasts or assumptions regarding future revenues or revenue growth, are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements also include estimated project start date, anticipated revenues, and contract options which may or may not be awarded in the future. Forward looking statements involve risks, including those associated with the Company's fixed price contracts that impacts profits, unforeseen productivity delays that may alter the final profitability of the contract, cancellation of the contract by the customer for unforeseen reasons, delays or decreases in funding by the customer, levels and predictability of government funding or other governmental budgetary constraints and any potential contract options which may or may not be awarded in the future, and are the sole discretion of award by the customer. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results. In light of these and other uncertainties, the inclusion of forward-looking statements in this press release should not be regarded as a representation by the Company that the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, goals, intentions, or objectives will be achieved or realized. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release whether as a result of new developments or otherwise. Please refer to the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on March 27, 2019, which is available on its website at www.oriongroupholdingsinc.com or at the SECs website at www.sec.gov , for additional and more detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations, estimates or forecasts. Orion Group Holdings Inc. Shane Martin, Investor Relations Manager (972) 850-2001 The owners of Five Bar have revealed the reasons why it was decided to shut up shop this week, blaming a raft of changes in Perth's bar and high street scene that helped turn "a decaying strip into a ghost town". The bar became a local haunt for Beaufort Street regulars after opening almost a decade ago, with lines of people waiting to get inside common after it opened. But the owners said it was no longer viable. May hasn't been kind to Beaufort Street businesses. Across the road furniture retailer Baker & Shuhandler announced it would not be renewing its lease when its up in mid-June. These two decisions are the most recent in a long line of high-profile closures. In February breakfast spot Cantina 663 and Red Cray in the 2nd Avenue IGA complex closed. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will fly to Japan within weeks to join a global effort to calm the conflict over trade between the United States and China amid growing concerns it could curb Australian economic growth. Mr Frydenberg spoke with US President Donald Trump's top economic adviser on Thursday morning ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Japan, after the US raised tariffs on Chinese imports worth about $US200 billion a year. The conversation with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin set up a meeting between the two at the gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Fukuoka on June 8 and 9. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is concerned about escalating trade tensions between the US and China. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen American companies have been warning of higher prices for consumers as a result of the trade war with China and the cost increases for supplies that are now subject to higher tariffs. A senior union official says he does "not have confidence" in NSW Labor leadership candidate Chris Minns who launched his bid for the job on Thursday trying to convince members he is the best hope of rebuilding the party. The Kogarah MP outlined his plans on Thursday, promising a "fresh and new approach" and warned that if the party did not embrace change "we are not going to survive as a political movement". Kogarah MP Chris Minns promised generational change and a "fresh approach" as he announced his nomination for the leadership of the NSW Labor Party. Credit:John Veage "I believe we should turn to a new generation of leadership," Mr Minns said. "We should have new ideas and a fresh approach. "We have to provide answers to the pressing problems facing NSW and, if we don't do that, we are going to continue to fail at the ballot box." Move over Brexit, angry regional Queenslanders are talking 'Quexit' as they feel the state Labor government has taken too long to make a decision on the proposed Adani coal mine in the Galilee Basin. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is touring regional Queensland after demanding a timeframe be set by Friday for vetting two outstanding management plans for the job creating Carmichael project. Annastacia Palaszczuk at Hay Point terminal in Queensland on Wednesday. But many locals say they feel it is too little, too late and preparations are under way for a day of action in the region to call for more development and approval for the mine. Mackay mayor Greg Williamson said regional communities were still angry at the Bob Brown Convoy and felt frustrated and "cut off" from the state government. More than $40 million will be spent on programs to curb Victorias soaring prison population, including women and Aboriginal prisoners, by helping them find work and escape the cycle of repeat incarceration. The funding, to be announced in Monday's state budget, follows a big jump in the number of prisoners denied bail prior to sentencing, which is partly why more people are now behind bars. Fifty per cent of Victorias prisoners have been to jail at least once before, according figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last month. A cell block inside the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Victoria's main women's prison. Credit:Ari Hatzis Victorian Corrections Minister Ben Carroll admitted the rate was too high and said the state had to find ways to stop the prison gatehouse being a turnstile. Guwahati: About 500 masked men carrying guns and machetes attacked Indian election officials in a remote northeastern state and made off with computerised voting machines, officials said on Wednesday. A supporter of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a face mask of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit:AP India's mammoth election staggered over nearly six weeks ended on Sunday and were largely peaceful. But political parties opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alliance have alleged tampering of voting machines and intimidation of election officials in isolated areas. On Sunday, a team of officials was travelling through dense jungle to a polling station in Arunachal Pradesh when it was ambushed, district magistrate Rido Tarek said. Jakarta: Seven people have died in election violence in the Indonesian capital, police said on Thursday, as calm returned to the city and the losing presidential candidate prepared to challenge the result in court. Police revealed that at least two of the people detained during the riots belongs to a group that pledged support to Islamic State. A police officer fires his tear gas launcher. Credit:AP The apparently orchestrated chaos that turned central Jakarta into a battleground started Tuesday night during peaceful protests over official results that confirmed President Joko Widodo had won the April 17 election, securing him a second term. National police spokesman Muhammad Iqbal said several hundred have been arrested and seven deaths were confirmed. Police, who responded to the rioting with water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas, deny using live ammunition. Excellency, With this letter we Foundation We Want Bonaire Back, civil society NGO, established on the island of Bonaire, situated in southern Caribbean, herewith denounces the Netherlands serious breach of the values of the European Union and as such to suspend the Netherlands voting rights in the Council. The Netherlands is in violation of the Treaty of the European Union( Treaty of Lisbon), The Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union, The European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of the United Nations. The people, citizens of our island of Bonaire, with a total electorate of about 14thd are invited to vote for the Dutch members of the European Parliament on May 23, 2019. This for us is another democratic trap where for a seat for the Netherlands in the EU parliament is needed over 180thd votes based on last elections of 2014 with a voters turnout of ca 37%. Contrary to EU that was founded on representative democracy, that decisions must be taken as closely as possible to citizens, this election a facade, another mockery to democracy, adds on to our local government , island council representatives, which have no responsibilities or power to decide and govern the Bonerian peoples as the powers are held by the 2nd chamber , the Parliament of the Netherlands consisting of 175 members and the Dutch Senate consisting of 75 members situated in the Hague , Netherlands. The values on which the EU is founded, Article 2 of the EU Treaty, respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities and banning eugenics are grossly violated: On October 10, 2010 (10-10-10). with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles the in-defensive smaller islands Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba were annexed , re-colonized, embedded and integrated under unequal rights in the Dutch constitution against the wishes of the peoples and maintained up today the peoples in this imposed colonial status despite legal democratic rejection of the peoples through referenda in 2010, 2014 and 2015. Our autonomy was reversed on 10-10-10 instead of assisting us enhancing and developing us towards more autonomy. This constitutes of grave violations of the Charter of the United Nations causing a setback in the governing of our islands which has led to a re-colonization that infringes the Charter of the UN especially Article 73 Chapter XI, Article 103 Chapter XVI, and resolutions 742, 747, 945, 1514 and 1541, all of which address the sacred rights of our peoples. Abusive undemocratic actions by the Dutch government of their unilateral legislative powers and military and police powers which deposed the legitimate elected government of Sint Eustatius February 2018 and appointed a non-elected colonial ruler to govern and depriving the citizens of St Eustatius of their democratic rights by blocking the scheduled free election last March. Open immigration policy: increase as high as 400% in immigration of non-Bonerians mostly European-Dutch settlers with the power to vote within 3 months in our local elections. At the moment our population doubled since these eugenics-policies were enforced and the Bonerians became a minority on our own island, and are on the path of a systematic eradication, ethnic cleansing institutionalized. Camouflaged euthanasia and abortion practices in the healthcare sector exploding the crude death rate on the Bonerian population to over 60%. Imposing of cultural imperialism through amoral and abusive tax-legislation's on the humble Bonerian peoples Imposing of all possible policies practices that sub-duct the economic strength and aspiration and self-reliance of indigenous Bonerians. Our land and natural resources has been repossessed by the colonizing administrative power. Dutch-i-fication and reversal by deprivation of education in mother native language demoting and segregating the native Bonerian children to the lower levels Our sister islands of Curacao, Aruba and St Maarten are on the same path to be recolonized administratively by the Hague, that meanwhile remain ultimate powers over them, and has taken over their internal matters and appointing a non-democratic supervisory financial board deciding over the islands budget, parliaments and governments. Same is the case with the judiciary system which is under control of the Hague deciding who will be politically targeted and prosecuted if not collaborating with the Dutch agenda. Contrary to developing good peaceful relationships with neighboring countries the Netherlands forced the Curacao government into provocation with neighboring Venezuela with high risk of escalation towards an armed conflict of global catastrophic consequences that will drag also the European Union member countries into it. We are urging the European Union to action to condemn and reject continuation of Dutch colonialism in the Caribbean region as it will implicate all other EU members as accomplice towards these crimes against humanity. Sincerely Yours, James Finies, President Foundation We Want Bonaire Back C.c The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Rutte The Minister of Kingdom Relations, Mrs Ollongren The Parliament of the Netherlands Parliament of Aruba Parliament of Curacao Parliament of Sint Maarten Le Gosier, Guadeloupe:---Every two years, BirdsCaribbean holds its international conference. The meeting is the largest of its kind, attracting hundreds of guests from the region and beyond. This year, it will be held on the island of Guadeloupe from July 25-29, partnering with local host, Parc national de la Guadeloupe. BirdsCaribbean is the largest conservation group in the region. Its members come from nonprofits, forestry departments and universities all over the region. They do research, save wild spaces and share the magic of birds and nature all over the Caribbean. At the conference, over 200 members will gather in one place to share the latest in research and more. Delegates from St. Martin will include Jenn Yerkes, William Allanic and Mark Yokoyama from Les Fruits de Mer and Binkie van Es from the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. The conference is important because it is the one time when people working all over the Caribbean come together to learn and share. Training workshops teach skills like how to do a bird survey. New research and techniques for helping birds are shared. This know-how is brought back to dozens of islands where it can be used to save rare birds or protect valuable habitats. This years conference is Keeping Caribbean Birds Aloft (or An nou pote mannev pou zozio karayib vole in Creole). In keeping with the theme, the conference will feature many ways to help birds in the Caribbean. Our birds face many challenges, and we want to address them, noted Lisa Sorensen, the Executive Director of BirdsCaribbean. We will work on how to protect birds from threats like plastic pollution or habitat destruction. We are also working to promote birds for their value as a tourism attraction and the benefits they provide to people. You can learn more about the conference at http://birdscaribbean.org/bc2019/, including keynote speakers, workshop themes and field field trips. Registration is open now. BirdsCaribbean is also seeking sponsors to help delegates attend that would not be able to otherwise. Sponsorship donations are tax-deductible for US donors. BirdsCaribbean acknowledges the help and funding support of many companies and organizations to make this conference a success, including Parc national de la Guadeloupe, Karibea Beach Hotel, US Forest Service International Programs, Benjamin Olewine IV, American Bird Conservancy, Caribbean Initiative, Wildside Nature Tours, Carefree Birding, Holbrook Travel, Optics for the Tropics, Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, Bermuda Audubon Society, Levesque Birding Enterprise, AMAZONA, and The Friendship Association. New drill intersections suggest a new mineralized structure exists in the Grey Fox Area. Key intercepts include: 10.33 g/t Au over 4.36 m (0.33 opt* Au over 14.30 ft) including 14.33 g/t Au over 1.45 m (0.46 opt Au over 4.76 ft), and 9.02 g/t Au over 1.45 m (0.29 opt Au over 4.76 ft) (0.33 opt* Au over 14.30 ft) (0.46 opt Au over 4.76 ft), (0.29 opt Au over 4.76 ft) 4.32 g/t Au over 7.27 m (0.14 opt Au over 23.85 ft) including 14.45 g/t Au over 0.73 m (0.46 opt Au over 2.40 ft) Wide spaced high-grade drill intersections generated at a second target in the Grey Fox Area. Key intercepts include: 16.9 g/t Au over 3 m (0.54 opt Au over 9.84 ft) (0.54 opt Au over 9.84 ft) 519 g/t Au over 0.4 m (16.69 opt Au over 1.31 ft) TORONTO, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) is pleased to report new positive exploration drill results from surface drilling in the Grey Fox Area within the Black Fox Property near Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Assay results have been received for seven holes (see Table 1), with assays pending for an additional 13 holes. The drill results reported today show positive results from two targets in the Grey Fox Area (see Figure 1). The Grey Fox Area is comprised of three deposits: 147, Contact and South, and two targets: 147NE and Gibson, which cumulatively hosts estimated Indicated resources of 465,000 ounces of gold (2.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 6.64 g/t). Sylvain Guerard, Senior Vice President Exploration, commented: The reported drill intersections at the 147NE and Gibson Targets are highly encouraging. The potential of the Grey Fox Area to host additional mineralization is improving rapidly." 147NE Target New results from the 147NE Target (see Figure 2) are defining a mineralized structure that measures approximately 300 m in strike length and 200 m vertically from surface. It is composed of quartz-carbonate veins and breccia hosting visible gold. Drilling is in progress to further define and extend the mineralization. An initial resource estimate for the 147NE mineralized target will be completed in Q3 2019. Highlights from the surface drill programs include (widths are estimated true widths unless otherwise stated): Hole 19GF-1109: 10.33 g/t Au over 4.36 m including 14.33 g/t Au over 1.45 m, and 9.02 g/t Au over 1.45 m Hole 19GF-1108: 4.32 g/t Au over 7.27 m including 14.45 g/t Au over 0.73 m Hole 19GF-1113: 8.24 g/t Au over 2.28 m, and 21.00 g/t Au over 0.81 m Hole 19GF-1114: 48.80 g/t Au over 0.49 m Gibson Target The Gibson Target was initially tested in 2018 with hole 18GF-1079, which intersected a broad interval of alteration and brecciation within an intrusive rock unit returning a grade of 3.1 g/t Au over 34 m, including 9.7 g/t Au over 7 m at a vertical depth of 450 m (McEwen Mining press release from July 25, 2018). Recent drilling 250 m down dip was completed to test the extension of this mineralization (see Figures 3). A higher-grade interval of 16.9 g/t Au over 3 m (core length), within a 60 m wide envelope of alteration and anomalous mineralization was encountered in hole 19GF-1106. An upper wedge hole was drilled between these two holes and cut a similar style of mineralization with partial results from a 20 m interval returning a high-grade assay result of 519 g/t Au over 0.4 m (core length). McEwen geologists are highly encouraged by the occurrence of these potentially minable gold grades and widths in a geologic environment where a significant volume of mineralization could be defined. Table 1 147NE and Gibson Intrusion Assays Results HOLE-ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) True Width (m) Gold (g/t) Area 19GF-1106 793.00 796.00 3.00 ND 16.90 Gibson And 806.00 807.80 1.80 ND 6.80 Gibson 19GF-1106W1* 741.60 742.00 0.40 ND 519.00 Gibson 19GF-1108 69.00 71.00 2.00 1.45 6.91 147 And 146.00 156.00 10.00 7.27 4.32 Including 155.00 156.00 1.00 0.73 14.45 19GF-1109 67.00 68.00 1.00 0.73 14.50 147 And 75.00 76.00 1.00 0.73 9.88 And 130.00 136.00 6.00 4.36 10.33 Including 130.00 132.00 2.00 1.45 14.33 Including 134.00 135.00 1.00 0.73 18.40 And 144.00 146.00 2.00 1.45 9.02 Including 145.00 146.00 1.00 0.73 14.10 19GF-1113 163.20 166.00 2.80 2.28 8.24 147 And 232.00 233.00 1.00 0.81 21.00 147 19GF-1114 60.00 65.00 5.00 4.07 3.09 147 And 145.50 146.10 0.60 0.49 48.80 147 19GF-1117 Significant hits but below the criteria of the composites Criteria: Cut off grade 3g/t Au, minimum length 3m, and maximum consecutive interval waste 3m. If grade x length > 9 the composite will be added * Assays pending for the remainder of the hole ND = True width not determined NC = Not calculated Figure 1: Black Fox Property Map http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20190523_gf/figure_1_black_fox_property.pdf Figure 2: 147NE Cross-section View Looking North East http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20190523_gf/figure_2_147ne-cross-section.pdf Figure 3: Gibson - Cross-section View Looking North West http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20190523_bf/figure_3_gibson-Cross-section-west.pdf ABOUT MCEWEN MINING McEwen Mining is a diversified gold and silver producer with operating mines in Nevada, Canada, Mexico and Argentina. It also owns a large copper deposit in Argentina. McEwens goal is to qualify for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index by creating a profitable gold and silver producer focused in the Americas. McEwen has approximately 360 million shares outstanding. Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner, owns 22% of the shares. QUALIFIED PERSON Technical information pertaining to geology and exploration contained in this news release has been prepared under the supervision of Ken Tylee, P.Geo. Mr. Tylee is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. TECHNICAL INFORMATION *Grams per tonne (g/t) converted to Troy ounces per tonne (opt) at ratio 31.1035 to 1. All intercept widths are true widths unless otherwise specified. All exploration drill core samples at the Black Fox Complex were submitted as 1/2 core. Analyses reported herein were performed by the independent laboratories: ALS Laboratories, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, Activation Labs, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, and SGS Canada Laboratories, which is ISO9001/IEC17025 certified. McEwens quality control program includes systematic insertion of blanks, standard reference material and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy. To determine the lengths of significant mineralized intervals, the following composite criteria was established: a minimum reportable interval length of 3 m was determined by establishing a cut-off grade of 3g/t gold for underground (1 g/t gold for near surface). A consecutive maximum length of 3 m of internal waste, including sub cut-off grade material, is allowed and incorporated into the reported composites. Where an interval of less than 3 m is considered, if the grade x length calculation is greater than 9 (3 for surface), it may be reported. There is no top cutting or capping of assays. For further details about the Black Fox Complex project including Tamarack, please see our NI 43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report for the Black Fox Complex, Canada" dated April 6th, 2018 with an effective date of October 31st, 2017 available on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) under our issuer profile. CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US INVESTORS REGARDING RESOURCE ESTIMATION McEwen Mining Inc. is required to prepare reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43101), under the Canadian securities laws because we are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and subject to Canadian securities laws. Standards under NI 43-101 are materially different than the standards generally permitted in reports filed with the United States (U.S.) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under NI 43101, we report measured, indicated and inferred resources, which are measurements that are generally not permitted in filings made with the SEC. The estimation of measured resources and indicated resources involve greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves under Industry Guide 7. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part of measured or indicated resources will ever be converted into economically mineable reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. Therefore, U.S. investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of inferred resources exist, or that they can be legally or economically mined. Canadian regulations permit the disclosure of resources in terms of contained ounces provided that the tonnes and grade for each resource are also disclosed; however, the SEC only permits issuers to report mineralized material in tonnage and average grade without reference to contained ounces. Under U.S. regulations, the tonnage and average grade described herein disseminated by us would be characterized as mineralized material. We provide such disclosure about our properties to allow a means of comparing our projects to those of other companies in the mining industry, many of which are Canadian and report pursuant to NI 43101, and to comply with applicable disclosure requirements. CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves, and other risks. The Companys dividend policy will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors and is subject to change based on certain factors such as the capital needs of the Company and its future operating results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement. The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by management of McEwen Mining Inc. CONTACT INFORMATION: Mihaela Iancu Investor Relations (647)-258-0395 ext 320 info@mcewenmining.com Website: www.mcewenmining.com Facebook: facebook.com/mcewenrob Twitter: twitter.com/mcewenmining Instagram: instagram.com/mcewenmining 150 King Street West Suite 2800, P.O. Box 24 Toronto, ON, Canada M5H 1J9 Endeavour Silver Reports High Grade Silver-Gold Drill Intersections from 2019 Exploration Program at the Bolanitos Mine, Guanajuato, Mexico Posted by Publisher Internet Endeavour Silver Corp. (NYSE: EXK; TSX: EDR http://www.commodity-tv.net/c/search_adv/?v=298293) reports multiple high-grade silver-gold intersections in the Plateros and San Miguel veins from the 2019 drill program at the Bolanitos mine in Guanajuato, Mexico.? A total of 19 holes were drilled to mid-April, of which 12 holes intersected high grades over mineable widths and an additional 4 holes intersected old mine workings (view longitudinal sections for Plateros and San Miguel here). Drilling highlights in the San Miguel vein just north of the Bolanitos plant include 58 grams per tonne (gpt) silver and 22.1 gpt gold for 1827 gpt silver equivalent (Ag Eq calculated at an 80:1 Au:Ag ratio) over a 3.5 metre (m) true width (53.3 oz per short ton (opT) AgEq over 11.5 feet (ft) in hole MG-10).? New high-grade vein mineralization has now been delineated over a 250 m length by 130 m depth below and northwest of the old San Miguel mine workings, still open to the northwest.? Drilling highlights in the Plateros vein just west of the Bolanitos plant include 108 gpt silver and 4.25 gpt gold for 448 gpt Ag Eq over a 2.3 m true width (13.1 opT AgEq over 7.5 feet (ft) in hole PLU-20).? New high-grade vein mineralization has now been delineated over a 250 m length by 120 m depth below the Plateros mine workings where Endeavour is currently mining, still open at depth and to the southeast.? Bradford Cooke, Endeavour Director and CEO, commented, ?We continue to be encouraged by our positive exploration results at Bolanitos.? Recent drilling has extended high grade silver-gold mineralization in both the Plateros and San Miguel veins, which should help to replace reserves, increase resources and extend the mine life at Bolanitos.? ?Our operations group are nearing resolutions to the elevated arsenic in certain ores and reduced equipment availabilities, both of which put mine development and production behind schedule in Q1, 2019.? We plan to provide a full operational review for shareholders late this month.? Drilling highlights are summarized in the following table of drill results. Silver equivalents are calculated at a ratio of 80:1 silver: gold.? All widths are estimated true widths. Qualified Person and QA/ QC Godfrey Walton, M.Sc., P.Geo., Endeavour?s President and COO, is the Qualified Person who reviewed and approved this news release and supervised the drilling programs in Mexico. A Quality Control sampling program of reference standards, blanks and duplicates is used to monitor the integrity of all assay results. All samples are split at the local field office and shipped to ALS-Chemex Labs, where they are dried, crushed, split and 50 gram pulp samples are prepared for analysis. Gold is determined by fire assay with an atomic absorption (AA) finish and silver by aqua regia digestion and ICP finish, over-limits by fire assay and gravimetric finish. About Endeavour ? Endeavour Silver Corp. is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that owns and operates four high-grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Endeavour is currently advancing the Terronera mine project towards a development decision and exploring its portfolio of exploration and development projects in Mexico and Chile to facilitate its goal to become a premier senior silver producer. Our philosophy of corporate social integrity creates value for all stakeholders.? SOURCE Endeavour Silver Corp.? Contact Information For more information, please contact: Galina Meleger, Director, Investor Relations Toll free: (877) 685-9775 Tel: (604) 640-4804 Fax: (604) 685-9744 Email: gmeleger@edrsilver.com Website: www.edrsilver.com In Europe: Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch Follow Endeavour Silver on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains ?forward-looking statements? within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and ?forward-looking information? within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward?looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding Endeavour?s anticipated performance in 2019 including changes in mining and operations and the timing and results of various activities. The Company does not intend to, and does not assume any obligation to, update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Endeavour and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, changes in national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and Mexico; financial risks due to precious metals prices, operating or technical difficulties in mineral exploration, development and mining activities; risks and hazards of mineral exploration, development and mining; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company?s title to properties; as well as those factors described in the section ?risk factors? contained in the Company?s most recent form 40F/Annual Information Form filed with the S.E.C. and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the continued operation of the Company?s mining operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, mines will operate and the mining products will be completed in accordance with management?s expectations and achieve their stated production outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Infinity Lithium: \The projected battery demand from EVs produced in Europe is more than five times the volume of currently confirmed projects in Europe\ Posted by Publisher Internet Infinity Lithium Corporation Limited (ASX:INF) (https://www.commodity-tv.net/c/search_adv/?v=298931) In recent times we have seen a number of developments in the lithium space, all of which continue to support a strong investment case for Infinity Lithium Corporation. ?Infinity?s San Jose project is geographically and strategically well positioned to take advantage of long term shortfall in lithium supply required for European car manufacturers commitments to EV?s. The San Jose Lithium Hydroxide PFS is due for completion late June/early July which we expect to further validate San Jose as a commercial project. We thought this to be an opportune time to highlight some key points from McKinsey & Co and Rodney Hooper (Featured in Seeking Alpha). If we can take away one point: ?The projected battery demand from EVs produced in Europe is more than five times the volume of currently confirmed projects in Europe?. Therefore supply issues are expected and prices may rise. McKinsey & Co ? May 2019: Recharging Economics, The EV-Battery Manufacturing Outlook For Europe:? ?If this enormous opportunity is to be captured, stakeholders must act now, before EV manufacturers close decades-long supplier agreements?and leave latecomers to the EV-battery industry in the dust.? https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/recharging-economies-the-ev-battery-manufacturing-outlook-for-europe+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au Establishing battery manufacturing in Europe, however, could not only secure EV-production and other manufacturing jobs but also create new jobs in area. The projected battery demand from EV?s produced in Europe is more than five times the volume of currently confirmed projects in Europe. To minimize this risk, EV manufacturers may be well advised to integrate more closely with cell manufacturers that have strong control over their own supply chains. Rodney Hooper ? May 2019: European Battery Plant Expansion And Their Implied Lithium Demands VW released a \manifesto\ acknowledging lithium as the \irreplaceable element in the electric era\ https://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4265367-european-battery-plant-expansion-implied-lithium-demands A range of companies have recently committed to constructing or expanding battery cell plants in the EU by 2023/2024, the expected effective capacity is 147 GWh. The EU has no meaningful lithium chemical production facilities; VW has announced plans to support mining projects in Central and Southern Europe to feed its German production base. There are very few economically viable projects in the region, leaving investors with a short list of listed equities to choose from. Northvolt: The company has just secured a EUR350m loan from the EIB to build a plant planned to produce a total of 32 GWh, by 2023 in Sweden. This is the start of efforts by the EU to create local battery suppliers to compete with the established Asian players like CATL and LG Chem.? Based on these estimates for 2023, there will be a ~80,000T supply shortfall ? note San Jose to come into production end of 2022/ ramp up 2023 The projected demand for Electric Vehicles and their lithium-ion batteries is very strong with supply shortfalls for lithium-ion expected by 2023. As such, Infinity is well placed for the future. Regards, Ryan Parkin Managing Director and CEO +61 (8) 6461 6350 E: rparkin@infinitylithium.com Swiss Resource Capital AG Jochen Staiger info@resource-capital.ch www.resource-capital.ch About Infinity Lithium Infinity Lithium is an Australian listed minerals company who is seeking to develop its 75% owned San Jose Lithium Project and produce battery grade lithium hydroxide.? Supply response is needed to satisfy Europe?s burgeoning energy storage needs through feeding the large-scale battery plants currently under construction. The San Jose deposit is a highly advanced, previously mined brownfields development opportunity representing one of Europe?s largest lithium deposits.? Infinity Lithium will mine the hard rock Mica resource and develop processing facilities to provide what would currently be the sole European mine-to-end-product lithium hydroxide operation. BOGOTA, Colombia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medcolcanna Organics Inc. (TSX-V: MCCN) (Medcolcanna or the Company), a medical cannabis company operating in Colombia, is pleased to announce that its shares will begin trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) under the symbol MCCN today. This listing represents a significant step forward for us and demonstrates our ability to execute on our business plan designed to make Medcolcanna a global leader in the cultivation, production and distribution of quality medical cannabis and cannabis related products, stated Felipe de la Vega, Medcolcannas CEO. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement for the purchase of Innovative CBD Products B.V. (ICP), a Netherlands-based company, from Harm Hids, a Dutch citizen and resident (Seller). ICP is the owner of various CBD formulations and related intellectual property with respect to the development of cannabis and cannabis by-products as it pertains to Crohns disease, insomnia and rectal inflammation. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur by June 18, 2019. TRANSACTION OVERVIEW The Company has agreed to pay Mr. Hids US$900,000, payable in Medcolcanna shares at a deemed price of $0.25 per share, plus a royalty of 10% gross margin of products developed by ICP and sold by Medcolcanna, as more particularly described below. The foregoing is subject to approval by the Exchange. The Seller will be paid the royalty for 10 years on the following formulations and does not include other current or future formulations: Crohns formulation Insomnia formulation Oral Fast Crohns Disease formulation Rectum Inflammation formulation Super Endocannabinoid formulation Systemic Cannabidiol formulation In addition, Mr. Hids has agreed to join Medcolcanna and will be appointed Head of Product Development and European Business Development. Mr. Hids formed ICP after his son was diagnosed with Crohns disease and traditional medicines were ineffective. Through research and experimentation, a protocol was developed that successfully treated his sons condition allowing him to lead a normal and active life. Mr. Hids continues to develop cannabis-based treatments for other diseases and conditions. OPTION GRANT Medcolcanna also announces that it has granted a total of 7,400,000 stock options to various directors, officers, consultants and employees at an exercise price of $0.40 per share, subject to adjustment and approval in accordance with Exchange policies. These options vest as to one third immediately and one third on the first and second anniversary of the date of grant, respectively. ABOUT MEDCOLCANNA Medcolcanna is a fully-licensed, integrated medical cannabis company based in Colombia. Led by a proven and successful management team, Medcolcanna has facilities in prime, optimal growing locations which strategically positions the Company to become a global leader in the medical cannabis market. Medcolcanna employs state of the art organic agricultural technology and innovative pharmaceutical processes to produce high-quality products with the goal of enhancing customer well-being. The Companys scalable production model ensures that they remain at the forefront of the medical cannabis industry. If you would like to receive News Releases via e-mail as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: https://medcolcanna.com/contact-us/ . Additional information about Medcolcanna can be found on its web site at www.medcolcanna.com . Investor Relations Contact: Carrera 49b # 93-62 Bogota, Colombia Phone: +571 642-9113 Email: info@medcolcanna.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the terms and conditions of the purchase of ICP, the grant of stock options and anticipated regulatory approval thereof; as well as the receipt of all regulatory licenses required for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and international export of cannabis and cannabis-related products; and the business and operations of Medcolcanna after the consummation of the purchase of ICP. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Medcolcanna assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release and neither of these entities has in any manner passed upon the merits of the transaction or any associated transactions. 2021s most popular expert panel roundtable discussions Topics that dominated our websites Expert Panel Roundtable articles in 2021 included the effects of COVID-19, the benefits of mobile access, the upcoming potential of deep learning, and the future of access control cards. Our websites Expert Panel Roundtable discussions in 2021 reflected some of the most timely and important topics in the industry. The very most clicked-on Expert Panel Roundtable discussion in 2021 considered the positive and negative effects of COVID-19. The second most popular was trends in perimeter security technology. Smart video solutions Here is a roundup of the Top 10 Expert Panel Roundtable discussions posted in 2021, along with a sound bite from each discussion and links back to the full articles. Thanks to everyone who contributed to Expert Panel Roundtable in 2021 (including the quotable panelists named and linked below). The pandemic has impacted security in many ways, some we are just now realising" What are the positive and negative effects of COVID-19 to security? The pandemic has impacted security in many ways, some we are just now realising. On the negative side, integrators were limited in their ability to access customer locations, posing significant challenges to supporting customers. Innovation was also halted in many sectors such as AI and edge computing in healthcare. However, the pandemic increased awareness regarding the need for smart solutions that can aid in these types of crises. Smart video solutions have been identified repeatedly in the media as a potential pathway to better customer experience and increased safety. Alexander Harlass. Reducing false alarms What are the latest trends in perimeter security technology? Whats really important in perimeter security is the minimisation of false alarms, not simply the potential detection of what might be an unauthorised person or object. In light of that, many systems now include alarm validation that can confirm an alarm event using a camera. The utilisation of AI-based technologies can further validate the accuracy of the alarm, making it as accurate and precise as possible. I anticipate seeing more cross-technological integrations to reduce false alarms, so that personnel in an alarm center spend as little time as possible in validating an alarm. Leo Levit. What will be the biggest security trends in 2021? 2021 will see artificial intelligence (AI) become more mainstream. There will be increased deployment in edge devices, including cameras, thermographic cameras, radar and LIDAR sensors, entry point readers, etc. Additional algorithms will be developed, greatly expanding the use and function as video surveillance transitions from a forensic tool to real-time analytics. This increases the value of these systems and helps create ROI cases for their deployment. Tim Brooks. Access control solutions Investments in tools and platforms to drive digital interactions have accelerated" What will be the security industrys biggest challenge in 2021? The security industry is traditional in the sense that it relies heavily on face-to-face interaction to do business with customers and partners alike. COVID-19 has put a hold on in-person meetings, trade shows, etc., and this trend is likely to extend throughout 2021. Virtually recreating these personal touchpoints, while cultivating and strengthening internal and external relationships, will continue to be both a challenge and opportunity for the security industry. Investments in tools and platforms to drive digital interactions have accelerated. Robert Moore. What are the challenges and benefits of mobile access control? Mobile access control solutions are an exciting innovation in a market where the day-to-day user experience hasnt changed much in the last 20 years. One area that has clear benefits and challenges is in improving the user experience. On one hand, physical credentials are expensive and a hassle to administer; however, they work reliably, quickly, and predictably. Mobile credentials are convenient in that everyone already has a smartphone, and you dont have to admin or carry cards; however, when youre actually standing at the door they need to work as well or better than physical credentials, or the benefits are lost. Brian Lohse. Attacking critical infrastructure What are the security challenges of protecting critical infrastructure? It seems so often we hear about a new threat or cyber-attack in the news. Because of the rapid growth in technology over the last few years, cybercriminals are getting bolder and discovering new ways to attack critical infrastructure. One of the biggest challenges boils down to the capabilities of the operating security system and whether the organisation is aware of the current risks they face. Because there are so many points of entry for cybercriminals to target within critical infrastructure, it is vital that the security solution be prepared for attacks at every level. Charles (Chuck) OLeary. They are more aware when they make physical contact with doors and interfaces" Which security technologies will be useful in a post-pandemic world? People have become more sensitised to crowds and personal space. They are more aware when they make physical contact with doors and interfaces. As the pandemic subsides, these habits will likely remain for a majority of people." "Utilising AI-based cameras to accurately monitor the number of people in a room or in a queue will enable staff to take action to improve the customer experience. For example, AI-based analytics can quickly notify security or operations when people are waiting at a door and initiate 2-way audio for touchless access. Aaron Saks. Central monitoring station What is the potential of deep learning in physical security and surveillance? Deep learning, a subset of artificial intelligence, enables networks to train themselves to perform speech, voice, and image recognition tasks." In video surveillance, these networks learn to make predictions through highly repetitive exposure" "In video surveillance, these networks learn to make predictions through highly repetitive exposure to images of humans and vehicles from a camera feed. That ability is ideal for use with drones patrolling perimeters seeking anomalies or in software that significantly reduces the number of false alarms reported to central monitoring station operators. Through use, the software continues improving its accuracy. Brian Baker. Valuable audit trail How soon will access control cards become extinct and why? Access control cards will go the way of the dinosaur, but they still have some life left in them. For the short term, they have plenty of utility in minimum security use cases and leave a valuable audit trail. But for companies that are more technology-centric, particularly those with high value assets, were seeing demand for next-generation access control, which includes increased integration with video surveillance systems and professional monitoring services. Sean Foley. Which security markets are embracing touchless and contactless systems? Touchless technology is not a new trend, but contactless systems and transactions have surged since the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the pandemic is over, it is likely public perception of what is hygienic and acceptable in public spaces will have changed. [We are] seeing an uptick in touchless access control systems in the education and flexible office space markets. Brooke Grigsby. Oslo, Norway, 23 May 2019: At the annual general meeting held on 9 May 2019 the company's name was changed from IDEX ASA to IDEX Biometrics ASA. The name change has now been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. For further information contact: Stuart Hunt, Head of Investor Relations & Communications +44 (0)1276 534 632 About IDEX Biometrics IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX) is the leading provider of fingerprint identification technologies offering simple, secure and personal authentication for all. We help people make payments, prove their identity, gain access to information, unlock devices or gain admittance to buildings with the touch of a finger. We invent, engineer and commercialize these secure, yet incredibly user-friendly solutions. Our total addressable market represents a fast-growing multi-billion-unit opportunity. For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com and follow @IDEXBiometrics This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel is President and CEO of Draper , a MIT spinoff engineering solutions company, famed for developing the Apollo guidance computer. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights . A golden era of space exploration has begun. NASA will send astronauts to space in American rockets this summer. The famous Opportunity Mars rover's extended tour of duty just came to a heart-tugging close, yet at the same time eight newer craft continue to explore the Red Planet's surface. China landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, and private companies like Virgin Galactic are on the verge of launching tourist flights to space. Apollo showed us we could get to, land, walk and drive on the moon's surface. We left footprints, flags and scientific instruments, and then departed for nearly 50 years. This coming age of space exploration will see humans return to the moon for good. We will see an era of sustained exploration where people live and work on the moon for extended periods of time. And this exploration will be a search for good, resulting in capabilities that improve life on Earth just as the Apollo missions did. Related: Lunar Legacy: 45 Apollo Moon Mission Photos This isn't wishful thinking. Technology in the intervening decades has advanced by orders of magnitude, amplifying and augmenting human ability to explore and reach new frontiers in space. Autonomous vehicles, big data, greater computing power and machine learning make it easier and less risky not only to land on the moon or Mars but also to stay there. Bold missions like Apollo focused, drove and accelerated technological innovations on Earth for decades after the moon landing. Our lives are more intertwined with space than many may realize. We interact with everyday items that depend on satellites, such as GPS, or inventions born from space programs, which are as wide-ranging as CAT scans, insulation for buildings and controllers for video games. The coming age of space exploration will also deliver countless new capabilities, some foreseeable, some not including advances in remote medicine and sustainable energy. Privatization also makes this space age a reality. Today, governments aren't the only ones leading the charge. NASA's advances are dependent on collaboration with the private sector, such as upcoming launches of crewed systems to the International Space Station in partnership with Boeing and SpaceX. There is money to be made in moon exploration, whether it be in the quest for resources, new inventions or even $200,000 flight tickets. A Space Foundation study estimated that every dollar NASA spends on space yields $10 in economic benefit. More significantly, concerns around climate change and population growth are creating a shared urgency between the public and private sectors to expand our reach in space to preserve and protect life on Earth. Perhaps most importantly, we'll continue to explore space because it's in our nature. The original space age and the ages of discovery that preceded it show us that, innately, we are explorers. Humanity is driven to see what's over the next horizon and not be satisfied until we see it. Most people are familiar with the first part of what President John F. Kennedy said in his inspirational moon speech more than 50 years ago: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." The quote often ends there. The rest of the sentence is equally important and is even more relevant now: "Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win." Could Mars have little microbes living in its dust? It seems difficult to imagine, with radiation bathing the planet's surface and no water running in at least most Red Planet regions. But NASA's Office of Planetary Protection is making plans for what to do if Martian microorganisms turn up. At The Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, D.C., last week, on May 16, NASA Planetary Protection Officer Lisa Pratt briefly brought up the possibility of Mars microbes in a panel discussion . She said that future explorers should be concerned about possible biological agents in the dust, but she clarified that nobody knows that life exists for sure anywhere on the Red Planet let alone on the Martian surface. Life as we know it probably would do poorly in the radiation-filled Red Planet environment, which is exacerbated by the lack of a magnetic field that would have reduced exposure levels on the surface, said Jim Rice, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. Related: Could There Be Life on Mars Today? But yet, "It's hard to say there's no life [on Mars]," he told Space.com. "You can't search every square millimeter on the surface." Rice should know about that search, as his Mars Exploration rovers better known to the public as Spirit and Opportunity spent years trekking the Martian surface and discovered extensive evidence of past water in their landing zones. One piece of evidence they found was hematite, a mineral that tends to form in water. Water is an essential component of life as we know it, although the presence of water doesn't mean there's definitely life. Also, the prevailing scientific wisdom suggests that most (if not all) of the Martian water evaporated eons ago , when the planet's atmosphere thinned due to continuing solar erosion of the atmosphere's molecules. The planet had no magnetic field to protect it from the sun's flow of charged particles. Since Spirit's and Opportunity's finds after landing in 2004, other Mars missions continued the search for Red Planet life. The Mars Curiosity rover (which arrived in 2012) not only found signs of ancient water, but also discovered organic molecules or molecules that can in some cases be associated with life. Forthcoming rovers called Mars 2020 (from NASA) and Rosalind Franklin (previously known as ExoMars , from the European Space Agency) aim to better characterize organic materials and Martian habitability after their launches in 2020. And this doesn't even mention the many orbiting missions that have scoured the surface for waterborne minerals or water-shaped features from their perches above the Red Planet. One find from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter remains controversial; the spacecraft saw streaks on some crater walls that were initially explained as salty water. Further analysis suggested that they may be dust streaks or contain small amounts of water that came from the atmosphere . Lessons from Apollo Rice cautioned that his field of expertise isn't biology, but his interdisciplinary research teams have put him in contact with people studying the possibility of life on other worlds. One example the public knows well is the quarantine that Apollo astronauts faced after coming back from the moon, he said. In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA instituted quarantine protocols for the Apollo 11, 12 and 14 crews on the moon. (Apollo 13 never made it to the surface.) The agency lifted the quarantine requirement for the remaining Apollo missions, after no evidence of microbes was found. No person has walked on the surface of any extraterrestrial world since 1972, with the final moon mission, Apollo 17. But we may be dealing with containment protocols on Mars sooner than we think, Rice said. NASA's Mars 2020 mission is supposed to cache promising samples for a possible sample-return mission in the near future . There's a wrinkle, Rice said: "There's nowhere to bring them back to Earth. Nowhere exists for Martian sample return." A facility to contain the sample and safely examine it needs to be built, but design let alone construction is not something he's heard about yet. Then, there's the question of how much a single sample-return mission would prove, he added. There's no way to sample every part of the Martian surface for life, so Rice said it's unclear if a sample-return mission or even multiple sample-return missions would be enough to satisfy concerns about astronaut health. Future suit design While NASA doesn't know for sure about microbes in Mars' dust, the agency is designing spacesuits for the moon, and for Mars, that are supposed to keep the dust away from humans as much as possible, said Lindsay Aitchison, a space technologist with NASA's Human Landing System program. NASA aims to send astronauts back to the moon in 2024 , and those astronauts will not use the Apollo-era spacesuits. While Apollo's suits worked well for short excursions of a few days, dust ended up being a limiting factor on those missions. The material ground into areas like wrist cuffs, making them hard to take on and off. It eroded soft surfaces and clogged zippers. Tools and rovers also experienced dust-related issues; on Apollo 17, for example, astronauts were forced to tape up an eroded rover fender with an unneeded map . The alternative was driving and getting showered with dust all through the journey. In both locations, keeping dust away from astronauts will be critical. On Earth, we're used to dust that is soft. But on the moon, which gets little erosion compared to our own planet, dust has very sharp sides and quickly eats into everything around it. On Mars, the issue is more that the dust is chemically reactive and contains a potentially toxic compound called perchlorate not in huge quantities, but in large enough concentrations that it could pose a concern for astronaut health, Aitchison told Space.com. Either way, NASA is designing suits that will keep as much dust as possible away from the astronauts and the equipment inside their habitats. There are many ways to contain dust, Aitchison explained. NASA could use a sort of "suit port" that permanently docks the astronaut suits outside the habitat, perhaps to the habitat itself or perhaps to a lunar or Martian rover. While this would keep the suits safely outside of living quarters, one limitation is figuring out how to repair the suits as they wear down. Astronauts doing the repair job would need to use backup suits, which offer more-limited mobility than just working in shirtsleeves. Another option is using innovative technology to keep dust away from the suit in the first place. One idea would use electrostatic charges to repel moon dust (which is itself electrically charged). Dust-repelling possibilities have been studied at places such as the University of North Dakota or the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When asked if a lunar spacesuit could be used for Mars, or vice-versa, Aitchison explained there could be more similarities than we think. The moon and Mars have different gravity and pressure environments, to be sure, as well as different forms of dust. But Aitchison said the "same core architecture" could be used for items such as life support or pressure garments. While the specific spacesuit design would vary depending on the destination astronauts visit, some parts of the system could stay the same reducing complexity and cost for future space missions. DAVENPORT, Iowa, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NYSE: LEE), a trusted local news provider and leading platform for advertising in 50 markets, announced today that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been selected as a participating publisher in the GNI Data Lab. The program is a partnership between the Google News Initiative, the Local Media Association and Deloitte Consulting and is designed help publishers build sustainable and thriving digital businesses through improved use of audience data. This is an outstanding opportunity for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lee and the other participating publishers, said James Green, Lee vice president of digital. This project will allow us to share and develop best practices with leading experts inside and outside of our industry. Our company has a long history of strong digital growth, and the discoveries from participating in the GNI Data Lab should contribute greatly to sustaining and accelerating that growth in the future. According to information released by the partnership, the GNI Data Lab will help publishers further establish a data-driven culture, develop employee skillsets, define key technologies and refine the data they gather. The project will also review opportunities for digital advertising revenue growth, including enhanced audience-based advertising, improved pricing strategies and better management of digital inventories. A recent study by Deloitte Consulting found that less than 10% of news and media companies maximize the use of data to operate and grow their business. Building a data-informed culture requires a real commitment from multiple stakeholders across a company, said Director of Google Global News and Publishing Partnership Solutions Ben Monnie. We're excited to continue our partnership with LMA and Deloitte Consulting to launch the GNI Data Lab, so that publishers of all sizes can learn how to transform their advertising businesses through responsible data use. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Publisher and Lee Vice President Ray Farris said better use of data is fundamental to the future of the industry. As a leading local digital advertising provider, were very excited to participate in the GNI Data Lab, Farris said. The digital media landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace, which makes this opportunity to share successes and learn from others a great benefit to our industry as a whole. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was one of six participants selected for the program. Others selected were: The Seattle Times; Meredith Corporations WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut; The Philadelphia Inquirer; Graham Media Groups KPRC-TV in Houston; and the Tampa Bay Times. We invited a select group of media companies with respected digital abilities to apply for this transformative opportunity, said Local Media Association President Nancy Lane. The companies chosen represent highly engaged, talented teams, all backed by strong executive leaders excited about the project and the opportunity that smart data strategy and execution provides. Findings from the study will be completed later this summer and will include recommendations and tactics to spark both near-term and long-term improvements to the digital publishing industry. ABOUT LEE Lee Enterprises is a leading provider of local news and information, and a major platform for advertising, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and nearly 300 weekly and specialty publications serving 50 markets in 20 states. Year to date, Lee's newspapers have average circulation of 0.7 million daily and 1.0 million Sunday, and are estimated to reach almost three million readers in print alone. Lee's markets include St. Louis, MO; Lincoln, NE; Madison, WI; Davenport, IA; Billings, MT; Bloomington, IL; and Tucson, AZ. Lee Common Stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LEE. For more information about Lee, please visit www.lee.net. Contact: Charles Arms Charles.Arms@lee.net NASA wants to land humans on the moon in just five years and the agency has chosen its first company to help the Artemis program build a lunar outpost for those astronauts: Maxar. Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that decision today (May 23) during a speech that outlined how NASA plans to land humans on the moon by 2024. "The goal here is speed," he said during his speech. "2024 is right around the corner." Maxar will build the power and propulsion element of the Gateway, the lunar orbital station NASA is designing as a staging facility for future human exploration of the moon. The Colorado-based company's current experience with space technology includes a fleet of Earth-imaging satellites. Related: Can NASA Really Put Astronauts on the Moon in 2024? Maxar's power and propulsion element will be a solar electric propulsion unit. Such a unit would be maneuverable around the moon and could be adapted for a Mars journey as well, according to NASA . This particular design will be three times more powerful than current designs, the agency added in announcing the purchase. The agency is hoping to launch the power and propulsion element in late 2022, just over three years from now, and has said that unit would ride on a commercial rocket and be the first major component of the Gateway, allowing astronauts to easily access all regions of the surface. (Without such a facility, the Apollo astronauts were all limited to the equatorial regions.) Gateway itself has been in NASA's moon plans for a while, but the project gained urgency in March, when Vice President Mike Pence announced that President Donald Trump wanted to speed up the timeline for returning humans to the moon, now targeting 2024 for the first crewed landing. Earlier this month, the effort was dubbed the Artemis program, a nod to Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology. What will it take for NASA to put humans back on the moon? Aside from a still-undetermined sum of cash , the agency will need to launch about 37 moon missions between now and 2028, according to a launch manifest presented at a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council on Tuesday (May 21). The preliminary timeline, which was presented with an infographic labeled as "predecisional," is not yet set in stone. But it represents what some agency officials see as the best path to return astronauts to the moon in 2024 and build a sustainable presence on the moon via the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway by 2028. Of the 37 missions included in the launch manifest, 15 would take place before astronauts get to the moon in 2024. That 16th mission, titled Artemis 3 (formerly called Exploration Mission-3, or EM-3), will be the second crewed flight of NASA's newly named Artemis program . Related: NASA Chooses Maxar as Key Artemis Moon Plan Partner A NASA infographic shows the proposed timeline for landing astronauts on the moon in 2024 and building a sustained human presence on the lunar surface and in orbit by 2028. (Image credit: NASA) NASA's Orion crew capsule, set to be launched atop NASA's new Space Launch System megarocket, will bring astronauts to lunar orbit, where they will dock with the lunar gateway before descending to the surface in a commercial landing vehicle. Exactly who will build that lunar lander and how much it will cost remain mysteries, but NASA recently awarded $45.5 million to 11 U.S. companies to help fund the development of several different proposed landers. Artemis 1, or EM-1, will be an uncrewed test flight of Orion and SLS and is scheduled to launch in June of 2020. Then, in 2022, Orion will carry astronauts to the moon for a flyby mission, but they won't attempt a lunar landing. Before any of those Artemis missions take place, however, NASA must first complete the Ascent Abort-2 test of the Orion spacecraft, which is currently scheduled for July 2, 2019. An artist's concept shows the Lunar Gateway orbiting the moon with the Orion crew vehicle docked (to the right). (Image credit: ESA/NASA/ATG Medialab) And before NASA sends astronauts to the moon in 2024, the agency will first have to launch five aspects of the Lunar Gateway, all of which will be commercial vehicles that launch separately and join each other in lunar orbit. First, a power and propulsion element will launch in 2022. Then, the crew module will launch (without a crew) in 2023. In 2024, during the months leading up to the crewed landing, NASA will launch the last critical components: a transfer vehicle that will ferry landers from the Gateway to a lower lunar orbit, a descent module that will bring the astronauts to the lunar surface, and an ascent module that will bring them back up to the transfer vehicle, which will then return them to the Gateway. Although the graphic shows those three Gateway elements launching in 2024, NASA may be able to kill three birds with two stones and achieve that same goal by launching only two elements, Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said at the meeting of the NASA Advisory Council. "We envision that as three elements ... an ascent piece, a transfer vehicle that moves the ascent and descent vehicle down to low lunar orbit [and] a descent stage to go down to the actual surface. We're not sure 100 percent that it needs to be three elements, so we've asked the industry, because we've seen some proposals where they do it with two pieces, maybe two and a half there's a couple different considerations they've given us," Gerstenmaier said. Related: Can NASA Really Put Astronauts on the Moon in 2024? Along with those two or three Gateway elements, NASA plans to launch up to seven robotic missions to the lunar surface through the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Those missions would involve rovers and landers that would conduct science investigations and explore ways that future missions could exploit the moon's natural resources . After Artemis 3, NASA would launch four additional crewed missions to the lunar surface between 2025 and 2028. Meanwhile, the agency would work to expand the Gateway by launching additional components and crew vehicles and laying the foundation for an eventual moon base . Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include the latest date for Orion's Ascent Abort-2 test, as of May 23. Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. May 22nd, 2019 The growing simple supplement company Swft Stims, which now has a handful of more complex products, is now available in Australia. Since the start of the year, the brand has introduced a bunch of new supplements including basic items like S7 and Infinergy, as well as more advanced formulas such as Lipostage and Swft Pump. Swft Stims has partnered with the major distributor PhD, who is responsible for a lot of other big name brands in Australia including Redcon1 and Bang Energy. The brand is promoting its entire line of supplements for the launch down under with news of a UK distributor also said to be in the works and coming soon. Whenever the annual TED Conference rolls around, I always make sure to budget time and money to attend. Youre probably familiar with TED Talks from streaming them online, but TEDs main conference takes the learning we get from one other to an even higher level. This past Aprils event in Vancouver featured five full days packed with bold and exciting lectures from some of the most brilliant and inspiring people on Earth, touching on everything from relationships to astronomy. Related: The Top TED Talks of 2019 So Far -- and What You Can Learn From Them Here are a few key points that I found extremely insightful and motivating, and I hope you do, too. 1. "Your company should have an unwavering purpose you never lose sight of, no matter how big you get." Speaker: Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya As the founderof a mission-driven start-up, this statement wasnt news to me, but it was still powerful to see Ulukaya speak about the importance he saw in maintaining a sense of purpose as he built his multibillion-dollar company. One-third of Chobanis employees are immigrants or refugees. And their CEO pays these factory workers an average of twice the federal minimum wage, as well as gives a portion of profits to charitable causes. Ulukaya also believes that in this politically charged era, real social change will come from the business world, not from government. I found his words inspiring, and a reminder of the responsibility that I have to my customers and to the planet overall. 2. "Speak the hard truth, even when its terrifying." Speaker: British journalist Carole Cadwalladr This was the TED talk heard round the world: Cadwalladr -- a Pulitzer Prize finalist -- revealed how she broke the news that political data firm Cambridge Analytica had gained access to 50 million Facebook users information as a way to identify the personalities of American voters and influence their behavior. She called out the executives at tech companies for being asleep at the wheel (at best) and willfully negligent (at worst). Many of those same executives were sitting in the audience right in front of her; the energy in the room was palpable. This was not just an investigative journalist explaining her process, but oine standing up for what she believes in, even when the people on the other side of the debate were, and are, some of the most powerful in the world. Now, I know senior executives at major companies, like Facebook and Google, and there are a lot of good people working at those companies. But Cadwalladrs talk showed us just how bad things can get when a company loses its sense of purpose. Related: 10 TED Talks That Will Change How Entrepreneurs Think About the World 3. To truly expand ones mind and change their way of living, people need to experience the benefits first, then understand the how and why later. Speaker(s): Various One of my favorite aspects of TED is that you can roam around the convention floor and encounter everything from robots that follow you to VR experiences that let you see what the view is going to be like when viewed from the top of Mt. Everest. The Future of Food Lab, a showcase of innovative independent food and beverage brands, was particularly inspiring. From Beyond Meats vegan lab-grown protein to Miyokos cashew-based cheese, companies introduced us attendees to new and innovative ideas, and showed us how those ideas can fit into our real lives. Each product was presented in an appetizing and alluring form that people would actually want to eat, from vegan buffalo chicken nuggets to a dairy-free charcuterie plate. It was eye-opening to watch fellow attendees instantly shift their perspective on food and nutrition just by taking a bite or sip of a new product. I felt as though I was watching someones mind open up to new possibilities in real time. Sometimes, experiencing something first-hand is exactly what drives actual, meaningful transformation. 4. Sometimes, its all about how you tell your story. Speaker: Marine microbiologist Karen Lloyd Every year at TED, there are talks that I fear will go way over my head as well as talks I believe will bear ittle relevance to my life and/or my business. This year, for example, there were talks from astrophysicists, soil scientists and plant geneticists. The entire TED experience can be so overstimulating, in fact, that sometimes its tempting to duck out of the crazy science talks and chill over a cup of coffee. But, often, these are the very speakers that can be the most mind-blowing because, if they are doing their "talk" right, you can tell just how passionate they are about the often incredibly narrow field of research they are involved in. For example: Lloyd, the marine microbiologist, described her research exploring tiny life forms at the bottom of the ocean and in volcanoes, and how the findings are completely changing scientists idea of what constitutes life. This is pretty far from my area of interest or expertise, but Lloyds fervor for her work as well as her great effort to ensure that audience members with likely no knowledge of, or inherent interest in, her field would be able to both grasp and enjoy what she had to say. Related: Fried? 9 Hyper-Motivating TED Talks from Women on the Top. She clearly cared not just about the story, but the audience. And thats a lesson for all of us who have a story to tell. Related: My Top 4 Takeaways From This Year's Annual TED Conference The Top TED Talks of 2019 So Far -- and What You Can Learn From Them 5 Ted Talks que nos ensenan el valor de lo inesperado Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved "Strength forged through sacrifice. Never forget." That's the motto of the USS New York, one of three U.S. Navy assault ships dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But the words are more than a tribute -- they're also a history of the ship itself, built with close to eight tons of steel salvaged from World Trade Center wreckage. That strength and sacrifice likely inspired the more than 1,000 shipyard workers who opted to keep working on the USS New York even after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. "No matter how many times you attack us, we always come back," Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said at the USS New York's commissioning in 2009. "America always comes back. That's what this ship represents." Almost 10 years later, the vessel has docked in its namesake city for the 31st annual Fleet Week. From May 22 to 28, active military ships deployed overseas will dock in New York, setting off a robust schedule of events -- from outdoor concerts to fun runs -- in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. Starting Thursday, you can line up at Pier 88 to tour the USS New York from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (excluding Sunday, May 26). While aboard, take note of the ship's crest, which denotes the Statue of Liberty's crown, the signature colors of first responders in the area, drops of blood representing victims and, of course, the Twin Towers. Related: Ship Built With World Trade Center Steel Docks in Manhattan for 31st Annual Fleet Week Making Smart Cities Effective, Cleaner and Safer This Week in Weed: Bodegas Want Bud! Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved One of the most shocking aspects of the stunning downfall of Elizabeth Holmes and her blood-testing company Theranos was the sheer brazenness of it all -- how could Holmes so blatantly and purposefully scam so many for so long, from shareholders to employees to the public? Related: Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos and the Myth of the Glamorous Entrepreneur It's a story that continues to fascinate us. Already, we've had an HBO documentary on the subject. Still to come is a movie, Bad Blood, based on John Carreyou's best-selling book, starring A-lister Jennifer Lawrence. Hulu, meanwhile, is adapting ABC Nightline's investigative series, The Dropout, as a series starring Kate Mackinnon. Why all the attention to the Theranos story? One reason might be the millions of us still trying to understand how a company valued at $9 billion from some of the most prominent investors out there could be such a complete sham. As somone who started her career at another "downfall" company -- Enron -- I think I can offer some perspective on the Theranos saga. Specifically, while appalling and even tragic, that rise and fall is not especially surprising. In fact, a perfect storm of external and internal factors built the right climate at Theranos to allow a culture of scam to grow and thrive. What I mean is that on one hand, Silicon Valley today is synonymous with innovation -- a world where ingenuity is rewarded and growth is the penultimate goal. From Elon Musks rules of productivity to the IPO race between Lyft and Uber, innovate, innovate, innovate has become the mantra as companies continuously push to do more: deliver more earnings, please shareholders and expand into new markets. Related: 8 Tips Entrepreneurs Can Take Away From the Theranos Scam and Its Aftermath But in the growth-centered environment that the Valley boasts, despite the wonderful innovations that result, and despite the companies genuinely developing outstanding, world-changing products, it becomes easy for bad actors to behave badly in the name of innovation. On the other side of the spectrum, companies are being pushed to go further than ever, at the same time that there is also increased pressure on business leaders to show upstanding character and take a stand on global issues. The result is that today's demands for ethical leadership are unprecedented. And employees are paying attention: From Googles diversity walkouts to Amazon employees' speaking out for climate change policies, leaders today are expected to no longer just be the head, or even the face of a company -- but also its heart and soul. This leaves company leaders teetering on a tightrope between innovation and ethics. So, if you're a leader, how do you balance these demands and ensure your culture of growth doesnt become one of scam? Here are three guidelines based on my experience at Enron and what I witnessed of the Theranos spiral: Watch out for those little decisions. In reality, most criminals in business -- Holmes likely included -- dont wake up one day and say, I think Im going to architect a large fraud today. A scam doesnt come about in one single moment. Rather, its creation is more like a slow trail of breadcrumbs, the end result of many little, seemingly innocuous decisions made along the way. As Bad Blood tells it, there was a moment early on when the team in Europe realized a demo of the technology wasnt working but chose to pretend otherwise. This may have seemed a small part of the wider narrative, but that one decision to fudge the results created a precedent: the implication that it was acceptable to lie. And the second this type of thinking became institutionalized, it served as the foundation and thread across the business. As a business leader, you must realize the importance of each little decision you make in the long haul of your companys integrity. It can seem easy to convince yourself that those small flubs were okay or done for the greater good, but one small decision inevitably leads to another, and suddenly youve moved from white or gray territory to territory that is definitely black. Today, the stakes have never been higher. According to a recent PwC study, 39 percent of 2018 CEO turnover was due to ethical lapses, the highest in the report's 18-year history and the first time ethics took over financial performance as the largest cause of dismissal. Ask your grandmother and 5-year-old. Now that we know just how big little decisions can be, how can you make sure youre making the right ones? I recommend what I call the grandmother and 5-year-old" approach. With every decision you make, first examine it through the lens of both these personas. Start by asking yourself, "Can I explain this decision to my grandmother in understandable terms?" You should be able to clearly break down the decisions value and impact in a way your grandmother could grasp. Then, when it comes to the 5-year-old, his or her first question will likely be, But why? You must be able to describe the why behind each decision in terms that 5-year-old understands. You need to determine whether the decision is right or wrong, kind or unkind, fair or unfair. Consider the legacy of Uber founder Travis Kalanick. Had he run any of his uber bad decisions -- from evading the authorities, to price-fixing, to yelling at drivers, to sexual misconduct -- past the lens of that grandmother or 5-year-old, he probably would have gotten a hard "no" for each. Give employees a voice. The importance of culture when it comes to corporate ethics cannot be understated. Because of this, its absolutely critical to give employees a voice. At Theranos, we saw Holmes and company president Sunny Balwani take the reins, clouding their moves in secrecy and rarely letting outsiders into their circle. Nobody asked questions because nobody was given the power to do so. Typically, the higher up you move within an organization, the more curated -- and potentially clouded -- your view becomes. If as leader, you encourage other voices, that action not only empowers employees to speak up and flag bad behavior, but also helps you garner enough perspectives to take smart, ethical actions. Related: Theranos: The House of Cards That Elizabeth Holmes Built Nike likely could have avoided a New York Times investigation about alleged gender discrimination, a lawsuit and a drop in public perception had its leaders listened to employee complaints and gotten rid of the bad apples that tainted their culture. Innovation and risk-taking are what make companies great -- but there is a fine line between grow and grow at all costs. As you work to push the envelope before you and to change your industry and the world for the better, keep these three lessons top of mind. Make sure your cover story is something your grandmother and 5-year-old can not only understand -- but be proud of. If not, consider that Elizabeth Warren may get her way. If that happens, you may not just lose your legacy and your job -- you'll also go to jail. Related: Theranos: When a Culture of Growth Becomes a Culture of Scam Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos and the Myth of the Glamorous Entrepreneur Jennifer Lawrence protagonizara una pelicula sobre la estafa de Theranos. Estas son 8 lecciones que puedes sacar del caso Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Cannabis is flourishing. Even without federal legalization, its become the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. job market. ZipRecruiters labor economist Julia Pollak recently told The New York Times that the companys data suggests there is at least 200,000 -- and perhaps as many as 300,000 -- cannabis jobs nationwide. While most of those listings are for entry-level jobs, there is an increasing demand for more experienced professionals to fill leadership roles. As the industry matures and grows more competitive, so does the demand for top talent. How candidates can stand out. While you dont have to be a cannabis expert to land a job in cannabis, you should have a passion for the industry and a general knowledge of the space. Candidates interested in joining the industry should be able to speak the language and possess a general understanding of the cannabis lifestyle, some of its history, the regulations, and more. Cannabis is complex. Awareness of its different components, like the versatility of the plant and how it relates to health and well-being, helps candidates build credibility. Understanding the nuances of the changing market is also key to standing out among the competition. For example, in California, the largest cannabis market in the world, the industry has been developing since medical marijuana was legalized in 1996. In New York, which has yet to legalize adult-use cannabis, the following is more recently developed. Theres a lot of enthusiasm among venture capitalists and an excitement to launch new brands. Related: These Cannabis Jobs Are Most In-Demand Right Now The skills required to succeed. Beyond education and understanding, comes skills. Creativity and innovation go far in an industry thats just getting underway. Cannabis is actively pushing boundaries and promoting lifestyles reflective of its culture. Candidates with proven track records of launching new initiatives or finding innovative ways to grow a business beyond the norm will be valuable assets in cannabis, especially if they have high growth experience and a familiarity of startup environments. Those with a supercharged work ethic and a hunger to build an industry, in the same way theyve built brands from the ground up, are sought after among cannabis companies. Whether its a classically trained C-suite executive from a large CPG corporation, or an entrepreneurial leader at a vibrant emerging brand, leveraging past successes and identifying how those achievements translate into the cannabis space will help show how you can add value. Related: Cannabis Is Emerging As an Entirely New CPG Category Perks of the job. While many people are excited to explore potential career opportunities in cannabis, the reward has to be high to move into an industry that still presents a lot of risks. Cannabis employers are taking note. According to ForceBrands 2019 Talent Market Report, which surveyed 500 full-time hiring and decision makers across CPG, cannabis offers competitive benefits and compensation packages. Cannabis offers more time for leave, the most popular employee benefit offered across CPG, than any other sector. Emerging companies are also enticing candidates with competitive salaries and 14 percent annual raises, the highest percent annual increase across CPG. To put that in perspective, the national average for annual raise percentages hovers around 3 percent. But those looking to move into cannabis want more than compensation and benefits -- they want ownership. This ownership mentality is reflected in generous stock options, equity and profit sharing offerings from cannabis employers. Related: Canadian Company Imports Foreign Workers To Fill Marijuana Jobs Where to find the jobs. With traditional compensation and benefits packages that rival more established industries, cannabis presents an exciting opportunity -- both for those investing in the industry and for those looking to grow their careers. Although its an unconventional sector, similar best practices for traditional job searches can be directly applied to cannabis. Digitally, LinkedIn is a good place to start and tap into your online network. More proactive job seekers may benefit from working with a specialized recruiting firm that has already built credible cannabis teams. Be mindful that the cannabis industry is very much based on relationships and trust (especially considering the legalities that surround it)., Attend popular industry trade shows and local meet-ups to meet people, network and become more aware of career opportunities. Cultivating meaningful relationships early on and being engaged at the grassroots is key to finding success in an industry thats just growing roots. Related: Cannabis Industry Likely to Employ More Than 400,000 By 2021, Study Projects A collaborative spirit. It takes a driven, entrepreneurial spirit to enter and succeed in an industry as adventurous and groundbreaking as cannabis. Unlike other more established industries, the groundswell of competition is just starting to ripple across cannabis -- candidates should embrace its collaborative spirit. Industry insiders are tapping into each other to gain insights and ideas as they are writing the playbook together. In its earliest stages, some of the industrys emerging leaders are working together and rooting for others to succeed so that ultimately, the industry too will thrive. Related: You Can Land a Better Job in Cannabis Than the Job You Have Now Whatever Business You're In, You Can Pivot to the Cannabis Business 8 Truly Unique Jobs in Cannabis Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved STAMFORD OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma used the World Health Organization to help deceptively market its opioids worldwide, according to a report released Wednesday by two U.S. Congress members. Key WHO documents from 2011 and 2012 propagated unfounded claims, supported by Purdue, about opioids safety, while also parroting pharmaceutical-industry talking points about physicians supposedly irrational fear of prescribing such pain drugs, said the report by Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts, and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky. The study also asserts that the WHO endorsed unlimited dosages, for children, of pain drugs like OxyContin. We are disturbed that the WHO, a trusted international agency, appears to be lending the opioid industry its voice and credibility, Clark and Rogers wrote in the report. Based on the course of events that has taken place in the U.S. over the past 20 years, if the recommendations in these WHO guidelines are followed, there is a significant risk of sparking a worldwide public health crisis. Purdue officials denied the reports allegations, saying that the Stamford-headquartered company is solely based in the United States with no international operations. The company has never violated any applicable rules or guidelines and no formal complaint or enforcement activity has resulted from Purdues financial support or relationship with any third party, the statement added. These relationships are transparent and any potential conflicts of interest are fully disclosed. A message left for the Geneva, Switzerland-based WHO was not immediately returned. The report stems from a 2017 letter that several Congress members, including Clark and Rogers, sent to WHO expressing concerns that Purdue was using the same allegedly deceptive marketing tactics to expand international sales that it had deployed in the U.S. More than 1,000 local and state governments, including Connecticut and more than other 40 states, have sued Purdue, based on similar accusations of the firm fraudulently promoting its opioids, namely OxyContin. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centenera Mining Corporation. ("Centenera" or the "Company") - (TSXV:CT) (OTCQB:CTMIF) announces that, further to a news release dated April 30, 2019 and subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), its board of directors has approved the consolidation (the "Consolidation") of its issued and outstanding common shares (each, a "Share") on the basis of (1) post-Consolidation Share for every four (4) pre-Consolidation Shares. In conjunction with the Consolidation, the Company also announces its intention to change its corporate name from "Centenera Mining Corporation" to "Latin Metals Inc." The Company anticipates that the Shares will begin trading on a post-Consolidation basis under its new name and trading symbol "LMS" at market open on May 27, 2019. The Consolidation will reduce the Company's issued and outstanding Shares from 82,626,964 Shares to approximately 20,656,744 Shares. The Company's new CUSIP number and ISIN for the Shares will be 51829X109 and CA51829X1096, respectively. The Company's board of directors believes that the Consolidation will provide the Company with greater flexibility for the continued development of its business and the growth of the Company, including possible financing arrangements. Registered shareholders will receive a letter of transmittal from Computershare Investor Services Inc., the transfer agent for the Shares, describing the process by which shareholders may obtain new certificates representing their post-Consolidation Shares. Shares held in uncertificated form by non-registered shareholders through brokerage accounts will be converted through each shareholder's brokerage accounts. Non-registered shareholders should consult their broker for further information. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of CENTENERA MINING CORPORATION Keith Henderson President & CEO For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company's web site ( www.centeneramining.com ) and its Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . For further information, please contact: Keith Henderson Phone: 604-638-3456 E-mail: info@centeneramining.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, the change of the Company's corporate name, the expected effective date of the Consolidation and the expected outstanding Shares after the completion of the Consolidation and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled", or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, actual results of exploration activities, the fact that the Company's interests in its mineral properties are only options and there is no guarantee that the interests, if earned, will be certain, requirements for additional capital, future prices of precious metals, copper-gold and lithium, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, other risks of the mining industry, the inability to obtain any necessary governmental and regulatory approvals (including TSXV approval of the name change and the Consolidation), changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices and currency fluctuations, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recent management's discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release or incorporated by reference herein. NEW CANAAN Three baby raccoons have a new lease on life thanks to a concerned resident, Animal Control and New Canaan firefighters. We try to help anything we can, Animal Control Officer Allyson Haim said. A resident called Animal Control late Tuesday, May 21, after finding three baby raccoons at the base of a tree near the corner of Main Street and Oak Street. We werent on duty, so we went the next day, Haim said. Wednesday the resident found only one raccoon on the ground. That animal was taken to Wildlife in Crisis in Weston. Haim and her high school intern, Sean ONeill, responded to the scene, and noticed the other two were about 25 feet up the tree, in a hollow. Haim called the New Canaan Fire Department. They were great, Haim said. Capt. Michael Baker climbed a ladder carrying a bucket, and retrieved the two raccoons. Also on the call were firefighters Tiani, Dave DiPanni and John Aniello, and Will Hetherington, the departments high school intern. Baker carried the raccoons safely to the ground. Haim said they are about four weeks old. Theyre like an 8-week old kitten, she said of their size. They fit in the palm of your hand. The siblings have been reunited at Wildlife in Crisis, Haim said. They all got a fairly clean bill of health, Haim said. The original one is a little weak, dehydrated, but I got an email from (Wildlife in Crisis CEO) Dara (Reid), she said all three appear to be doing well. The fate of the mother is unknown, but Haim suspects she was somehow killed. They get in the trash, end up in the truck. She likely was hit by a car, she said. The babies would stay in a hole in the tree, until they got hungry and ventured out. Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media STAMFORD A former city employee had his guns seized and is prohibited from showing up at the Government Center unannounced after being charged with breach of peace. Sgt. Paul Guzda said concerns about Samuel Magliaris behavior toward city employees at the Government Center hit a crescendo after Magliari reportedly showed up at the citys Engineering Department on May 10 and began pounding on a counter top while shouting someones name before standing atop a chair. A staff member took a picture of Magliari on the chair. STAMFORD Police said they have a suspect in custody following Wednesday nights deadly stabbing on the citys East Side, which may have involved a love triangle. I think we can say that we have a person in custody on unrelated charges and the community can rest safe that there is no one out there on the loose, Lt. Michael Noto said. Police are still trying to positively identify Wednesday nights 54-year-old victim who bled out on a Frederick Street sidewalk near Cove Road after stumbling out of a nearby home where he had been stabbed. Capt. Richard Conklin said there was a trail of blood from the home where the man was stabbed to where he collapsed. There was so much blood on the sidewalk the police department called for a fire engine to wash the blood away before people had to see it on their way to work in the morning, he said. Noto said the motive appeared to be jealousy. Right now the motive is still open, the lieutenant said. We are exploring the idea that this may have been a jealousy, love-triangle-type incident. Some of the people who they were friends with in common said that could have been the motive. Noto said police should have a positive identity on the victim following his autopsy that will be conducted at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington on Friday. At that point, he said, police officers will reach out to the mans relatives, who are believed to be living in a foreign country. Police were dispatched to Frederick Street and Cove Road at 9:54 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a man who had been stabbed and had collapsed. The 54-year-old man was pronounced dead at Stamford Hospital, said Sgt. Sean Boeger, the lead investigator on the case. For the sake of the integrity of the case, I cannot answer specific questions, but we will at a later date, said Boeger, who added that the death will be ruled a homicide. Evidence points to the assault taking place inside a residence on Frederick Street, he said. We have a person we are speaking to, Boeger said on Thursday. The patrol division and major crimes unit have been working on this case since last evening and we are continuing to work on it at the present time. The death marks the second homicide in Stamford this year. On March 30, Stephon Walthrust of Queens was shot and killed in Stamfords South End. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Mario Batali, the celebrity chef accused by several women of sexual harassment and assault, will be charged Friday in connection with an alleged assault in a Back Bay restaurant in 2017. Batali faces arraignment in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery in connection with the alleged incident at Towne Stove and Spirits on Boylston Street on March 31, 2017. We've published three fact checks about former vice president Joe Biden in the month since he joined the presidential race. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. In recent days, President Trump has targeted Biden with accusations large and small, including a head-scratching claim that Biden, as a young child, "deserted" his native state of Pennsylvania and a more serious accusation that Biden, as vice president, improperly pressured the Ukrainian government to oust the country's top prosecutor to benefit his son, Hunter Biden. Here's a look at four Trump claims about Biden and the Obama administration, all of them misleading. - - - Trump bashed Biden in a May 19 interview on Fox News and in a May 20 campaign rally in swing-state Pennsylvania, where the Obama-Biden ticket won in 2008 and 2012 and where the Trump-Pence ticket won in 2016. "Look at Joe Biden . . . he calls them [Ukrainian government leaders] and says, 'Don't you dare prosecute. If you don't fire this prosecutor' - the prosecutor was after his son - then he said, 'If you fire the prosecutor, you'll be okay. And if you don't fire the prosecutor, we're not giving you $2 billion in loan guarantees,' or whatever he was supposed to give. Can you imagine if I did that?" ( Fox News interview ) Trump and his allies - especially his lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani - have been suggesting for weeks that Biden improperly used his influence as vice president to get Ukraine to sack its top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in 2016. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office had opened an investigation into Burisma Holdings, a natural gas company owned by an Ukrainian oligarch, Mykola Zlochevsky. Hunter Biden, a lawyer, was appointed to Burisma's board in April 2014 and left last month. The New York Times reported May 1 that the younger Biden was "paid as much as $50,000 per month in some months for his work for the company." Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine in March 2016 (it was not a phone call, as Trump claimed) and said the United States would withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees (not $2 billion, as Trump claimed) unless Shokin was removed (it was not a demand to stop the Burisma prosecution, as Trump claimed, and there's no evidence Shokin "was after" Hunter Biden). The vice president's trip was part of a longer push by the United States, Western allies and nongovernmental organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The goal was to promote reform in Ukraine and remove a prosecutor who allegedly was turning a blind eye to corruption. Bloomberg News reported May 7 that "at the time Biden made his ultimatum, the probe into the company - Burisma Holdings, owned by Mykola Zlochevsky - had been long dormant, according to the former official, Vitaliy Kasko." "There was no pressure from anyone from the U.S. to close cases against Zlochevsky," Kasko, a former official in the prosecutor general's office, told Bloomberg News. "It was shelved by Ukrainian prosecutors in 2014 and through 2015." There's a dispute going on between Bloomberg and the Times over some aspects of this complex story. One area of dispute is whether the Burisma probe was ongoing while Biden was pushing for Shokin's ouster. For the purposes of this fact check, though, the two news organizations seem to agree that Biden did not push to oust Shokin to get his son out of a jam. Bloomberg reported that "the U.S. plan to push for Shokin's dismissal didn't initially come from Biden, but rather filtered up from officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation" and that, in the same month Biden traveled to Ukraine, "hundreds of Ukrainians demonstrated outside President Petro Poroshenko's office demanding Shokin's resignation, and he was dismissed." The current prosecutor general of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko, was quoted in a May 16 report, also by Bloomberg, saying "he had no evidence of wrongdoing by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden or his son." "Hunter Biden did not violate any Ukrainian laws - at least as of now, we do not see any wrongdoing," Lutsenko told Bloomberg. "A company can pay however much it wants to its board." "No evidence has surfaced that the former vice president intentionally tried to help his son by pressing for the prosecutor general's dismissal," the Times reported. "Some of his former associates, moreover, said Mr. Biden never did anything to deter other Obama administration officials who were pushing for the United States to support criminal investigations by Ukrainian and British authorities - and potentially to start its own investigation - into Burisma and its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, for possible money laundering and abuse of office." A lawyer for Hunter Biden told The Fact Checker that Hunter Biden never discussed Burisma or related investigations with Joe Biden. That's consistent with previous statements from the Biden camp. The Biden campaign sent us an editorial published by Ukraine's Kyiv Post on May 17. It says: "The Biden narrative is too complicated to rehash here. But suffice it to say, it has been refuted by countless experts and anti-corruption activists. In 2016, Biden indeed pressured Ukraine to fire Viktor Shokin, its ineffective, weak prosecutor general. In doing so, he called for a decision supported both by Ukrainian reformers and Kyiv's Western partners. No conspiracy here." However, there is a separate question of whether Biden created the appearance of a conflict of interest with his Shokin-must-go campaign. "Joe Biden has publicly stated that he pressured Ukraine's president to fire the state prosecutor, or possibly lose a billion dollar U.S. loan guarantee," a Trump campaign spokesman said. "Biden's pressure on Ukraine's leadership came while his son, Hunter Biden, was on the board of Burisma." Referring to the Times article, the spokesman added: "There is reporting showing that an investigation by Ukraine's prosecutor into Burisma was ongoing while Joe Biden was engaged in his pressure campaign." - - - Interviewer: "Don't you think that should be investigated, that financial connection, the Chinese government putting billions of dollars into Biden's family business?" Trump: "100 percent. It's a disgrace." ( Fox News interview ) Once again, we have Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, big sums of money and a foreign country. Except this time it's China, not Ukraine. What happened here? In December 2013, Hunter Biden and one of his daughters traveled to China with Joe Biden on Air Force Two. The vice president had diplomacy on his agenda. Days after the trip, Hunter Biden and a business partner announced a new investment fund with Chinese backing. As the New York Times reported May 20: "The conservative author Peter Schweizer has suggested that Hunter Biden used the trip to secure a deal with the Bank of China - a suggestion that has been echoed by Mr. Trump's allies in the conservative news media. "But a lawyer for Hunter Biden said he did not conduct any business related to the China investment fund on that trip, and was not an equity owner in the fund while his father was vice president. He later acquired a 10 percent interest in the entity that oversees the fund, but to date has not received any money from the arrangement, according to the lawyer." A lawyer for Hunter Biden told us the same: Hunter Biden did not conduct business related to the China investment fund during this 2013 trip, was not an equity owner in the fund while Joe Biden was vice president, later acquired a 10 percent interest in the entity overseeing the fund, and has not received money from the arrangement. We asked Trump campaign officials what U.S. authorities could investigate if Hunter Biden did not conduct business related to the investment fund on this 2013 trip, did not have equity until after Joe Biden left office and has not made money from the deal. We didn't get an answer to that, but a Trump campaign spokesman told us: "There is nothing to fact check here. The president was asked if Biden family-Chinese financial connections should be investigated, and the president said yes. As has been reported elsewhere, Hunter Biden has engaged in business dealings in China that raise some serious questions." Trump says this China trip and the ensuing investment in Hunter Biden's fund was a "disgrace" worth investigation, so he's clearly insinuating wrongdoing. Looking at the facts publicly available, it looks more like smoke than fire to us. It's similar to how Ivanka Trump was granted Chinese trademarks days before and after President Trump vowed to save jobs at ZTE, a major Chinese telecom, in 2018. Or how Ivanka Trump was granted Chinese trademarks in 2017, on the same day she sat next to Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner. - - - "In the eight years before my election, the United States lost a quarter of a million manufacturing jobs, but the great betrayal of the American worker ended on Day One - the day I took office - and you know that better than anyone." ( Pennsylvania rally ) This Trump claim about manufacturing job losses suffers from multiple diseases. Although it isn't Biden-specific, "the eight years before my election" is a clear reference to the Obama administration in which Biden served. (Trump later added that Biden "didn't take care of your jobs.") In the eight years before Trump's election in November 2016, the United States actually lost a net 693,000 manufacturing jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not "a quarter of a million." But, as often happens with data, the picture can change drastically depending on where you set the baseline. In this case, Trump's baseline is November 2008, smack-dab in the middle of the longest U.S. recession since World War II. A close look at the numbers shows that most of the manufacturing job losses happened during the first year of Obama's administration, coinciding with the Great Recession that ended in June 2009. The bleeding did not extend throughout Obama's eight years in office. In fact, the manufacturing sector began a slow but steady recovery in April 2010, during Obama's second year in office. That steady rate of growth has continued and accelerated under Trump. The Trump campaign spokesman pointed out that 470,000 manufacturing jobs have been added during Trump's first 27 months in office, compared with 109,000 during Obama's last 25 months. During the course of the Obama administration, manufacturing job growth was basically flat - but there was a gain of more than 900,000 manufacturing jobs under Obama counting from April 2010. "No matter how you measure it, there is no disputing the U.S. economy lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs under President Obama," the spokesman said. That's not what we're disputing. Trump's statement was false because it understated manufacturing job losses by more than 400,000. It was also misleading in two ways: It failed to mention the seismic effects of the Great Recession, which Obama inherited, and also left out that manufacturing jobs increased for 6 1/2 of the eight years he mentioned. - - - "And don't forget Biden deserted you. He's not from Pennsylvania. I guess he was born here, but he left you, folks. He left you for another state. Remember that, please. I meant to say that. This guy talks about, 'I know Scranton,' 'I know' - well I know the places better. He left you for another state and he didn't take care of you because he didn't take care of your jobs. He let other countries come in and rip off America." ( Pennsylvania rally ) How many fourth-graders are in charge of their family's destiny? Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and speaks fondly of his family's ties to the area, which stretch to 1851. "Scranton is where my grandfather Ambrose Finnegan met and in 1909 married my grandmother Geraldine Blewitt. It's where my mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan, was born, and where she met and in 1941 married my father, Joseph Biden, Sr.," he told Ancestry.com in 2016. "I lived in Scranton until I was in the fourth grade, but for the next 10-12 years, I spent most of my summers and holidays with the Finnegan family back in Scranton." Trump said Biden "deserted" Pennsylvania - an outlandish claim, considering that Biden was 10 or 11 years old in 1953, when his father moved the family to Wilmington, Delaware, out of financial necessity. Here's a New York Times article from 2008 describing the circumstances of the move: "While Mr. Biden has described his early youth as stable and relatively carefree, his father suffered a number of business reversals, and for several years when Joe Jr. was young the Bidens were forced to move in with his mother's parents, the Finnegans, in their modest home on North Washington Avenue in Scranton. "Though Scranton was sharing in the postwar economic boom, Joe Sr. had trouble finding steady work, and nothing that measured up to his previous success. For a time, he commuted to Wilmington to clean boilers for a heating and cooling company. In 1953, he moved the family there." "There's nothing here that's factually incorrect," the Trump campaign spokesman said. "As everyone has pointed out (including Joe Biden) he and his family left the state. He subsequently built a life and entire career in Delaware, despite routinely calling himself 'Scranton Joe.'" Trump twisted a bunch of facts and left out a mountain of context in his remarks about the Burisma investigation and its connection to the Bidens. Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine in March 2016 (it was not a phone call, as Trump claimed) and said the United States would withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees (not $2 billion, as Trump claimed) unless Ukraine's prosecutor general was removed (it was not a demand to stop the Burisma prosecution, as Trump claimed, and there's no evidence the prosecutor "was after" Hunter Biden). The president made these comments days after the current prosecutor general in Ukraine said he had no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden. The other three remarks are also misleading. Trump seems to be blaming the Obama administration - not a historic recession - for copious job losses in the manufacturing sector (and his statistics were off by more than 400,000 job losses to boot). Trump has shown no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden regarding the China trip in 2013, yet still calls it a disgrace worth investigation, implying there was wrongdoing. His claim that Biden, as a wee lad beholden to his family's fortunes, "deserted" Pennsylvania is nonsense. Trump got just enough right in each case to save himself from the maximum Four Pinocchios, but he still gets Three Pinocchios. WASHINGTON - Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin out-prepared President Donald Trump during a key meeting in Germany, putting the U.S. leader at a disadvantage during their first series of tete-a-tetes. The U.S. side anticipated a shorter meeting for exchanging courtesies, but it ballooned into a globe-spanning two-hour-plus session involving deliberations on a variety of geopolitical issues, said committee aides, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Tillerson's seven-hour closed meeting with the committee. "We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted," a committee aide said. "There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing." Tillerson, whose public remarks about the president have been sparse since his dramatic firing in March 2018, spoke to a bipartisan group of lawmakers and staffers Tuesday at the request of the chairman of the committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. In response to Tillerson's remarks, Trump countered his former aide, saying in a statement that he "was perfectly prepared for my meetings with Vladimir Putin. We did very well at those meetings." Committee aides peppered the former oilman with questions about the 2017 session in Hamburg. Unlike in Helsinki last summer, when Trump met with Putin without advisers present, Tillerson attended the Hamburg meeting, giving him rare insight into the two leaders' interactions. Experts said the disparity in preparation was unsurprising but risky given Putin's depth of experience and savvy. "Putin is a very nimble adversary who's been at this for 20 years now," said Andrew Weiss, a Russia scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "The Hamburg meeting sounds like it was one of Putin's wildest dreams: a freewheeling backroom-style conversation with a U.S. president." In the past, Trump has downplayed the importance of preparation, saying his gut instinct and ability to read a room are paramount for a successful summit. More News Unsealed court filings reveal how Mueller quickly zeroed in on Michael Cohen "I don't think I have to prepare very much," Trump said ahead of his historic first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year. "It's about attitude, it's about willingness to get things done. So this isn't a question of preparation, it's a question of whether or not people want it to happen, and we'll know that very quickly." Tillerson told the committee that he believed there was more the United States needed to do to counter Russia on the global stage, said a person who was in the room. When asked about the former secretary's remarks, a Republican committee aide said that "we believe Tillerson's testimony best speaks for itself, and are hopeful that our Democrat Chairman will release the full transcript of the meeting to the public soon." Committee aides said that Tillerson refrained from openly disparaging the president but that his inability to answer certain questions was revealing. In one exchange, Tillerson said he and the president "shared a common goal: to secure and advance America's place in the world and to promote and protect American values." "Those American values - freedom, democracy, individual liberty and human dignity - are the North Star that guided every action I took at the State Department," Tillerson said, according to a person in the room. Upon questioning, Tillerson clarified that although he and the president shared the same goal, they did not share the same "value system." When asked to describe Trump's values, Tillerson said, "I cannot," the person said. "Just as matter of fact, he stated that he couldn't or wouldn't unpack the president's values for us," a committee aide said. In another rebuttal to Tillerson, Trump noted that his replacement Mike Pompeo is "doing a great job" and "agrees with my values." "Such a positive difference!" Trump added. It was not the first time Tillerson declined to defend the president's values. In 2017, Fox News host Chris Wallace spoke to Tillerson about the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, after Trump said "both sides" - white supremacists and the people protesting them - were responsible. "I don't believe anyone doubts the American people's values," Tillerson said. "And the president's values?" Wallace asked. "The president speaks for himself," Tillerson said, a response that reportedly infuriated Trump. Tillerson, who tangled repeatedly with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, did not question the motives of the president's familial adviser, but said Kushner should've consulted more often with State Department colleagues and that his lack of knowledge of history exposed him to being outmaneuvered, said a person who was in the room. He also said Kushner did not follow traditional diplomatic protocols, which made it difficult to understand what he was doing with world leaders. A senior administration official contested that assertion, saying that "Jared, the White House, and the NSC [National Security Council] did coordinate with the State Department. The problem was Rex Tillerson couldn't figure out how to coordinate with the State Department." Committee staffers were interested in how Middle East foreign policy was made, asking detailed questions about Kushner and Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser and ally of Trump whose office was raided by federal investigators last year in a search for records about his dealings with Trump administration associates. Broidy has ties with the United Arab Emirates, a Persian Gulf ally that has worked closely with Kushner and has aligned itself with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump and Tillerson sparred behind the scenes for months before Trump fired him in a tweet. But their public rapport took a dramatic turn in December when Tillerson told CBS that Trump did not read much and had issued directives that were against the law. Trump responded in a tweet that Tillerson was "dumb as a rock" and "lazy as hell." AUSTIN, Texas, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarWinds Corporation (NYSE: SWI), a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT management software, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 15,000,000 shares of its common stock by certain selling stockholders of SolarWinds at a public offering price of $18.00 per share. Such selling stockholders have also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional shares of SolarWinds common stock. SolarWinds will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares being offered, but will bear the costs associated with the sale of the shares, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on May 28, 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as joint lead book-running managers for the offering. BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Evercore Group L.L.C., Jefferies LLC, Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., Nomura Securities International, Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as joint book-running managers. JMP Securities LLC, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Mischler Financial Group, Inc., Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, Inc. and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. are acting as co-managers. The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the final prospectus, when available, may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, telephone: 866-803-9204; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, telephone: 866-471-2526, facsimile: 212-902-9316, e-mail: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014; or Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, by mail: Attn: Prospectus Department, Eleven Madison Avenue, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010, by phone: 1-800-221-1037, by e-mail: usa.prospectus@credit-suisse.com. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. #SWIfinancials About SolarWinds SolarWinds is a leading provider of powerful and affordable IT infrastructure management software. Our products give organizations worldwide, regardless of type, size or IT infrastructure complexity, the power to monitor and manage the performance of their IT environments, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid models. We continuously engage with all types of technology professionalsIT operations professionals, DevOps professionals, and managed service providers (MSPs)to understand the challenges they face maintaining high-performing and highly available IT infrastructures. The insights we gain from engaging with them, in places like our THWACK online community, allow us to build products designed to solve well-understood IT management challenges in ways that technology professionals want them solved. This focus on the user and commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT performance management has established SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in network management software and MSP solutions. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding SolarWinds current expectations. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements concerning the completion of the offering of common stock. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to completion of the public offering. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the prospectus, and in particular in the section captioned Risk Factors, related to the public offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and SolarWinds undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law. 2019 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved. CONTACTS: WASHINGTON - Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are urging President Donald Trump not to go over Congress' head to complete controversial arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries, amid concerns that he may soon use his emergency powers to sidestep the legislature's power to check such deals. Lawmakers and humanitarian advocates are anticipating that the administration may exploit a legal loophole that permits the president to circumvent congressional roadblocks, or "holds," on proposed arms sales. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has placed such a hold on a planned sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, over concerns that they may be used against civilian targets in war-torn Yemen. Such holds are common, and Republicans and Democrats have placed them on arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Persian Gulf countries in recent years. Presidents have seldom exploited their emergency powers to work around them - and the prospect that Trump may attempt to blow through several objections to such arms sales has alarmed lawmakers who are anxious to protect their authority to have a say on the executive branch's ability to export deadly weapons to foreign actors. "The congressional review process exists so that the Senate can ask questions about whether a particular arms sale serves our national interests and supports our values, including human rights and civilian protections," Menendez said in a statement Thursday, warning defense contractors that they, too, should be concerned that "the possible consequences of this will ultimately jeopardize the ability of the U.S. defense industry to export arms in a manner both expeditious and responsible." "In addition to suffering the reputational problems of delivering deadly weapons to governments that clearly misuse them, U.S. defense firms should exercise extreme caution that they are not opening themselves, their officers, and their employees to criminal and civil liability by exporting weapons pursuant to potentially invalid licenses," Menendez said. Earlier this year, the House and the Senate voted to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition operating against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen's civil war, citing concerns that American involvement was worsening a humanitarian crisis that has been declared the world's worst. More than 20 million Yemenis are at risk of starvation, while hundreds of thousands could be affected by a cholera epidemic in the impoverished country. Trump vetoed the legislation, and lawmakers could not muster the numbers to overcome that veto. But even some Republicans who opposed the measure have cautioned the president against transferring nondefensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, opposition that gained bipartisan traction after intelligence officials informed lawmakers that the Saudi crown prince had ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist. It is not yet entirely clear to lawmakers whether Trump is considering using his emergency powers only to push through the proposed arms sales to Saudi Arabia - contracts about which the president has frequently boasted while exaggerating the expected cash windfall they will bring to the United States - or to others. But according to one Yemen advocate, the announcement could cover as many as 20 arms sales - and be justified by pointing to the recent escalation of tensions with Iran. "Maybe Trump will say that 'Iran' is the emergency, but that's a loophole that would allow any President to claim any number of Middle East crises as an 'emergency' and then Congress will never ever be able to object to an arms sale again," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., tweeted Wednesday, warning that Trump might exploit the "obscure loophole" in the Arms Control Act that gives presidents emergency authority. "To state the obvious, there is no new emergency reason to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia to drop in Yemen," Murphy wrote. "The Saudis been dropping the bombs on civilians, so if there is an emergency, it's a humanitarian emergency caused by the bombs we sell the Saudis." Earlier this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and a representative of the intelligence community briefed all House members and senators on the standoff with Iran, defending the administration's recent moves to respond to what they said was clear evidence of increased Iranian threat. Republicans largely endorsed their actions as prudent and a welcome change in the U.S. posture toward Tehran. But Democrats emerged from those briefings accusing the Trump administration of spinning the intelligence to make it appear more dire than necessary and taking steps to goad Iran into taking any moderately provocative step that could justify a declaration of war. Democrats also expressed concern that the Trump administration will not consult Congress before taking such a step. President Donald Trump has ordered his former White House counsel, Donald McGahn, to defy a congressional subpoena. In support of this maneuver, the president's lawyers have marshaled what looks like a bipartisan legal consensus that a president's senior advisers are absolutely immune from Congress' subpoena power- even after they leave government. The appearance is highly misleading. Congress' power to conduct investigations and to compel witnesses and evidence through subpoena is well-established. Executive privilege has a much more dubious pedigree. The Supreme Court first accepted executive privilege as a legitimate constitutional concept just 45 years ago.In that case, the court rejected President Richard M. Nixon's claim that executive privilege is absolute and ordered him to comply with a subpoena for the Watergate tapes. The court held that executive privilege is qualified and that a president's interest in confidentiality must be balanced against the interest of the branch issuing the subpoena. Nothing in the current case or any other case decided by any court has ever held that presidential advisers - let alone former advisers - are absolutely privileged from complying with a congressional subpoena. The White House on Monday released an opinion it received from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The opinion notes that, since the Watergate investigation, it has been the consistent position of the executive branch that senior presidential advisers, including the White House counsel, are absolutely privileged from complying with any congressional subpoena for testimony. This position has been asserted by every president since Nixon, regardless of political party, though the immunity of a former adviser has been asserted only by President George W. Bush. This casts the president's position as representing a principled and nonpartisan consensus. The subtext is that Congress' position is partisan and unprincipled. This narrative ignores a countervailing truth: Since Watergate, Congress has asserted - without regard to which party is in the majority - its power to compel the testimony of senior White House aides against every president. In other words, the disagreement is principled and nonpartisan. Not surprisingly, the issue has been litigated. In 2007, Bushasserted a categorical "immunity" to prevent his former White House counsel, Harriet Miers, from testifying as part of a congressional inquiry into whether a group of U.S. attorneys had been fired for political reasons. The House Judiciary Committee went to court to enforce its subpoena and U.S. District Judge John D. Bates, who had been appointed by Bush, ruled emphatically in favor of the House of Representatives. The lead rationale for the Justice Department's position is that the president is independent of and equal to Congress. According to the opinion released Monday, "subjecting a senior presidential advisor to the congressional subpoena power would be akin to requiring the President himself to appear before Congress. . . . Yet Congress may no more summon the President to a congressional committee room than the President may command members of Congress to appear at the White House." This argument has rhetorical appeal, but it fails on the merits. Yes, Congress and the president are equals. They are not, however, identical. In other words, they have different powers. Congress has the subpoena power; the president does not. True, the president may not command anyone to appear at the White House. The Senate and House, by contrast, may subpoena anyone to appear before its committees. As the Supreme Court put it, "It is unquestionably the duty of all citizens to . . . respond to subpoenas, to respect the dignity of the Congress and its committees and to testify fully with respect to matters within the province of proper investigation." Trump's assertion of privilege, then, is not a claim for equal treatment. It is a claim that he enjoys an unusual exemption from the basic duty that every other citizen must observe. The redacted Mueller reportdocuments the extensive efforts the president undertook to obstruct Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and elaborates the central role the president assigned to McGahn in carrying out the obstruction. Congress' interest in protecting our election system from foreign interference is of the highest constitutional order, as is Congress' interest in responding to the president's blatant misconduct. McGahn's testimony is clearly relevant to vindicating both interests. Where Congress' interest is concrete and compelling, the president's interest in confidentiality is not. McGahn testified to the special counsel at great length and the president did not object to the attorney general's public disclosure of the substance of that testimony in the Mueller report. While that does not represent a waiver of privilege with respect to matters going beyond what appears in the report (because both McGahn and Mueller were within the executive branch), it does all but eviscerate Trump's claimed need for his conversations with McGahn to be kept secret. Indeed, Trump himself has spoken publicly about his conversations with McGahn (disputing two notions: that he had ordered McGahn to fire Mueller, and that he had instructed McGahn to draft a memo falsely asserting that the president had never ordered Mueller's firing). The president's assertion of an absolute executive privilege is part of a broad strategy to stonewall Congress and prevent it from exercising its core constitutional functions of oversight and investigation. Trump has said thatit is his intention to fight "all the subpoenas." Rather than showing respect for Congress' role, the president has shown that he holds Congress in contempt. The question now is whether Congress will reciprocate. --- Kinkopf teaches constitutional law at Georgia State University College of Law and served in the Office of Legal Counsel from 1993 to 1997. T he Financial Reporting Council produced a Stewardship Code a series of principles for institutional investors to follow on issues from monitoring their companies to explaining their voting record five years ago. But it has not had much traction, so the watchdog has been consulting on how to give it more teeth. Investing institutions are routinely approached by stakeholders in the hope they will put pressure on companies for whichever issue matters to them. But by and large the institutions react with warm words, then do nothing. There are exceptions though. Legal & General Investment Management, one of the largest UK fund managers, is one. It was in the fray this week at the Metro Bank AGM trying to oust the chairman. But it does much more than that and recently brought out its governance annual report to say what it has achieved, where it has failed and what its next steps are. It is 60 pages long. No one else in the UK produces anything like as comprehensive. Many do nothing. If more shareholders could muster a tenth of the engagement of LGIM, the FRC would have no worry. Active ownership means working to bring about real, positive change and create sustainable value, says Sacha Sadan, LGIMs director of corporate governance. Last year was a turning point for those who care about environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, he argues. Following the failures of corporate stewardship in Carillion, Tesla, BHS and GE, to name a few, clients, regulators and governments are much more concerned about getting firms to take these things seriously. Companies asked how they could embrace ESG without hitting their bottom lines. Sadan replied that the board ought to highlight the risks of not doing ESG because many issues are financially material. Responsible investment strategies can help mitigate risks and should not require a trade-off in performance, he says. ESG enhances performance in the long term; it does not detract from it. Institutional investors dont always get this either. LGIMs report makes the point that it supported more key US resolutions on climate change than any of the other 10 largest American asset managers and by a long way. One of them did not do anything. The climate crisis carries significant financial risks, so protecting the planet and protecting our clients investments should go hand in hand, says Sadan. Unfortunately this has still to sink in with most money managers in the US. LGIM also lobbied and voted against Whitbread, which then owned Costa Coffee, because only one in 400 plastic cups were recycled. As a result Costa agreed by 2020 to recycle the same volume of cups that its takeaway customers used and in addition agreed a cash supplement for waste collectors for every tonne of cups collected. This should result in half a billion cups a year being recycled. Separately it voted against the utility companies Enea and Energa, which announced joint plans to build a large coal power station in Poland, even as their main competitors move towards renewables. LGIM also spoke up about the issue though it did not win. An environmental group has launched a lawsuit against Enea and it looks like the project will not be financed. Shell had an ambition to reduce its carbon emissions but was opposed to any binding targets. LGIM coordinated an open letter signed by 60 investors calling on the oil and gas industry to take responsibility for its emissions and met and coordinated with other activists eight times to see the company. In December 2018 Shell announced comprehensive emission targets linked to executive pay. There is much else. LGIM for example tackled companies on pensions, arguing everyone should pay the same percentage contributions, rather than, as now, with the executives getting much more. It had some success. It also challenged the right of directors to issue non-voting shares, regardless of shareholder concerns, though here it did not have so much success. Non-voting shares in issue have gone from 2% in 1997 to about 10% now, thanks largely to US technology firms going public. But shareholders do not seem to care as long as the shares keep going up. T he Ocado co-founder going into business against his former company faced fraud allegations over a failed oil and gas tech venture, the Standard can reveal. Jonathan Faiman, who left Ocado a decade ago, has set up Today Development Partners to work with Waitrose to drive online growth. The move follows Ocados planned 750 million sale of half its retail business to Marks & Spencer, leaving supply partner Waitrose out in the cold. But recent court filings reveal action against Faiman by co-investors in his post-Ocado venture Neos Geosolutions, a since-failed tech firm focused on using data to find oil and gas underground. A New York court filing from last Novemberfrom an investor trading through a British Virgin Islands-entity called Denjoy and a Delaware company Bamboo, labelled Neos a sham and claimed $1.75 million in damages. The filing details Faimans lavish lifestyle including an $11 million superyacht Akula and expensive school fees, funded in part by Denjoy, Bamboo and other investors. A second filing was made by another claimant, Russian oligarch Rashid Sardarov, in January. Faiman is still an investor in the natural gas sector through another branch of the Neos business, a more conventional exploration and production business since renamed Energicon. This has assets in Argentinas Neuquen Basin gas field. Faiman owns 65% of this company, with the remainder held by other original investors in the tech arm. Faiman put the emergence of the filings down to a possible smear attempt by rivals. He stressed he had repaid both shareholders in full, returning almost $10 million to the two claimants, leading to the dropping of both cases before they reached court. Denjoy-Bamboo stopped its case in December, while Sardarov ended his action in January. Tech ventures and start-ups are risky things and Neos didnt work. But both investors were happy because they got all their money back, he said. T he atmosphere in Downing Street today will feel like that of a funeral wake, with one important difference: the dearly departed is still walking around the building. On outward appearances, little will be different. The front of house staff will deliver the coffee; the custodians will still ask visitors to leave their mobiles by the door. The private office will have filled the Prime Ministers diary card with meetings a catch-up on the seating plan for Trumps State dinner; a progress meeting with the policy unit on the burning injustices agenda; a call, perhaps, to a foreign leader polite enough to take it. But everyone knows its over. And in remote parts of the building, far away from Theresa May and her dwindling political team, meetings will have started on arranging the succession. Will the flat need to be refurbished? When is the Queen available over the next month? Where have they filed away the plans for an estuary airport? The one place where power, and the absence of power, is felt most acutely is Number 10. When youre in charge there, you know it. Eager ministers from across the Government drop everything and come at a moments notice. Now they dont dare let the ministers through the front door, for fear that they have come to tell her she must go. Anxious MPs used to stand by the phones when a place became available on the front bench. Today, the business statement in the Commons is being read out by a whip because they cant risk appointing a new Leader of the House, or even a deputy the Commons is literally leaderless, and Downing Street has become the most powerless address in Westminster. All thats left is the manner of the final departure. Mrs May could have set a date on which she would leave office after the failed election, and earned quiet respect. She could have resigned with some honour after her Brexit deal was rejected by all sides in Parliament in January, challenging others to do better. But the stubbornness and inability to see the world as others see it, which was once (bizarrely) regarded her strength, has ensured this humiliation. She should now spare herself and her party the final embarrassment of the 1922 Committee changing its constitution to oust her, and the Cabinet resigning en masse, by today standing in front of the famous black door and telling the country: I did my best, but I failed and so Im off. But we doubt she will. For to misquote Macbeth: Nothing in her political life became her like the leaving it. Evening Standard cartoonist Christian Adams' view of what today's European election means for Theresa May / Christian Adams In Hampsteads ponds Hampsteads three swimming ponds for women, men and mixed bathing are a miraculous survival, a piece of countryside in the city, fed by the waters of the River Fleet. Like London, they are also always changing, outlasting attempts to close them 15 years ago and the introduction of (affordable) charges. They will surely splash serenely through the latest dispute, the decision by the City of London, which runs the Heath, to allow transgender people to use a service that they identify with. The decision was taken after a consultation, which found a majority in favour of the new rules for the councils services. Choices such as these can be difficult. But this change is appropriate we have no doubt that this summer the ponds will remain as magnificent as ever. Queen visits the firm Yesterday it was Sainsburys at 150 and today it is British Airways at 100 two visits to two national champions by the Queen. At 93, she is still hardworking, engaged and backing British business successes. Who else, at her age, faces such duties and does it so well, still seeming interested in what she sees? O ne of the best dates Ive ever been on was at Pizza Express Spitalfields. The company was pleasant but reader, I did not marry him the reason our evening was so memorable has everything to do with my love of good chain restaurants. If Jamies Italian had been more like Pizza Express it wouldnt have lost so many millions of pounds and collapsed. The date did not have an auspicious start. I was going through a phase where the innocuous question where will we meet? induced high angst my suitor later admitted he felt the same and deferring to me was a deft move. This was a third date and I was overanalysing the minutiae if I picked the wrong restaurant hed never want to kiss me again. Too expensive and Id literally be investing too much in the relationship; too zeitgeist would be try-hard and I didnt want to risk having to queue. So I tried humour: Theres a great little Italian I know, its a gem called Pizza Express. It started as a joke but the mention of the restaurant had a relaxing effect and we went anyway. My suggestion established that this wasnt about showing off. Like other successful chains Wagamama and Nandos, Pizza Express is a safe space. Whether you are in Kirklees or Kentish Town, Pizza Express will be the same. That doesnt mean its soulless care has still been taken over ingredients, service and design of the space. The food is reassuringly nice but not intimidatingly so or prohibitively expensive most people are familiar with the menus so you can quickly order, say, the Fiorentina (Romana base) and a bottle of house red, secure in the knowledge of what it will taste like, then move on to the more compelling business of conversation. The menu is largely unchanged since Pizza Express started and the biggest decision youll have to make is whether to start with doughballs (obvs do). As with all good chains, you can take anyone to Pizza Express your toddler, your grandma (shell like the bargain Campari), vegans (the founder was vegetarian: hes never tried the American Hot), even Andy Murray (when he started out a Pollo ad Astra was part of his pre-Wimbledon ritual). When Jamies Italian opened in 2011 it ticked a similar box. I liked the haddock, service was fast and friendly and there was always a table for large groups after the pub. Then the haddock was taken off the menu. This fairly priced, unpretentious dish had to make way for overcomplicated confections with embarrassing names that Id blush ordering. My Favourite Humble Green Salad (not that humble at 4) and The Most Beautiful Carbonara (using a superlative gives the impression that youre trying too hard to sell a dish and builds it up for a fall, especially when it arrives claggy. "Like other successful chains Wagamama and Nandos, Pizza Express is a safe space. Thats not to say its soulless" Admittedly, beauty is subjective but its a stretch to see how this could merit its adjective). As Jamies expanded it felt cynical, like they were trying to get one up on diners you had to order wisely not to be caught out. The cause of failure is yet to be determined was it trouble at the top with Olivers brother-in-law, the restaurants director? What matters is that less care was taken, staff looked harried and it was no longer a relaxing place to be. And dont call me mate then charge me over the odds for a tomato salad. When he opened his restaurant, Jamie Oliver wanted to disrupt mid-market dining. Someone took that disruption too far. If a chain doesnt pass the test of whether you can go there for an awkward date, its doomed. Distress of The Dress is driving me dotty The black and white polka dot dress from Zara every woman in London is wearing / Zara Are you brave enough to wear The Dress? I thought Id sorted my summer wardrobe when I bought a 39.99 black and white polka dot dress from Zara. But within five minutes of leaving the shop I saw three other women in it. Since then, London has gone dotty for this look. Ive clocked The Dress I cant call it my dress when so many people have it on TV, on the Victoria line (where wearers give each other knowing looks), and on my friends two of them wore it to the park on Sunday. One took this, and the jokes about whats black and white and seen all over, better than the other. So Ive retired it to the back of my wardrobe. Luckily, The Dress has long sleeves, so Im thinking long-term by winter, everyone elses will be tatty and tired. Then I can whip it out and maybe people have forgotten that once it was the uniform of London. *Theres a particularly enervating type of idealist who will readily sacrifice the feelings of the people they love in the name of a loftier goal, usually communist revolution, sometimes Brexit. T odays European elections are a challenge to me and to many others. I am familiar with elections in which a traditional two-party system decides the outcome. Contests in which most people back the Conservatives or Labour or just decide to opt out. But in these crucial elections there is no Conservative or Labour policy on Europe for us to choose between. Both parties are hopelessly divided. Both leaders are in trouble, the Prime Minister surviving in Downing Street hour by hour as even once loyal ministers lose faith and any publication of legislation on Brexit is promised and then put off because Cabinet ministers cannot support it. So lets recognise this election today for what it is. A European election about our place in Europe. Realistically, there is only one question that matters today: are we in, or are we out? That is the question you must answer with your vote. I have already made my decision. I shall vote Liberal Democrat for the first time, five decades after I first stood as a Conservative candidate for Parliament in 1959. Why? Because the strongest possible showing for the Liberal Democrats, in the face of the Brexit Party s toxic populism, is the best way of maintaining the UKs power and influence in Europe and beyond. It may be, in other parts of the UK, that other parties have a better prospect of defending the pro-European cause. But the vital question remains the same. What will happen in the next few days? No one can be sure not even, I suspect, the Prime Minister. Many people, of course, know what they want to see happen. I believe a second referendum is necessary and that a strong showing for parties which want to remain in the European Union will be a step towards one. But no one, on either side of the choice facing our country, is certain about how to achieve their ambitions. We are in deadlock. That is the problem. When the results come in from these elections on Sunday night they are going to be a disaster for the Conservative Party. That will be the fault of zealots on the Right who would not compromise and a leader who did not stand up to them, as she could and should have done. By voicing my support in these elections for the Liberal Democrats I have had the Conservative Party whip in the House of Lords taken away, although I remain a member and I intend to stay as one. So be it. But why, I wonder, have Brexiteers who have shown sustained disloyalty to this leader and ones before her been treated differently? Michael Heseltine / Rex Features The most likely consequence of this election will be a long period of bloodletting and recriminations. Indeed, it has already begun. I dont know how long it will take the Conservatives to recognise this disaster and rediscover its traditional route to power either through the aftermath from a catastrophic period of Labour government or through the appeal of the policies of One Nation Conservatism. Or perhaps both. I have been a One Nation Conservative all my life, and unlike some of those who now claim to be one in the leadership contest which is now under way in all but name, I have fought for those values. Indeed, I challenged a Prime Minister in their name. They involve a respect for our place in the world and for the role business plays in ensuring all parts of our society can succeed. They are Conservative values, which is why I am still a Conservative and some of those who are now attempting to take control of our party are not real Conservatives at all but a destructive force, damaging to both my party and our country. "I have seen Europe fought over for decades inside the Conservative Party and truce after truce fall apart" What is the right response to this? Some say leave the party the battle is lost. I say stay and fight. The battleground is the old and predictable one of Europe. I have seen it fought over for decades inside the Conservative Party, and have seen truce after truce fall apart. But Europe is not the battleground I would choose. Obsessives who believe that if only we can leave the European Union, voters would thank us, are entirely wrong. A recent poll showed that the Conservatives have the support of only five per cent of voters aged 18-25. The same poll showed the party had majority support only among voters aged over 51. Results from the European elections, fought by a Prime Minister who says she is desperate to deliver Brexit, whatever that means, will be even more catastrophic. That is where the future points if we do not change. And that is why I intend to remain a Conservative, to fight for change. We cannot, as a party, talk to ourselves. We need to speak to the people. And we should not dismiss them or be afraid of what they tell us which is that the narrow appeal of a relentless obsession about exiting the European Union is the route to self-destruction. So many of the things that conservatism stands for matter today: a powerful economy, strong defence, a respect for the rule of law and for business. Such things are being forgotten amid the crazed roar from the Brexiteers. The current Prime Minister tried to silence this and has now failed. Her successor must be someone who can do it. Review at a glance T hornton Wilders 1938 play was shaped by his experience observing the rise of fascism in Europe. Its a tribute to the power of community, introducing us to Grovers Corners, a small town in New Hampshire that seems idyllic yet is clouded by sadness. The key figure is the Stage Manager, a commentator on the routines of every day existence whos prone to doling out homespun wisdom. Laura Rogers brings an air of measured mischief to the role: as she highlights the need to appreciate the fleeting nature of all thats most precious, shes wry rather than earnest. Francesca Henry and Arthur Hughes are touching as Emily and George, the lovers caught up in the storys darker moments Henry is particularly good at suggesting Emilys precocious intelligence and theres jaunty support from Tom Edden as the editor of the local paper. Though ultimately poignant, Ellen McDougalls revival is short on energy. Its faithful to Wilders stipulation that his work should be performed simply, dryly and sincerely. Yet in striving for an understated style, it slips into a rather sluggish vagueness. VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. , May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Future Market Insights (FMI), recently published a study on skin perfusion pressure testing devices market , according to which, the global market value for skin perfusion pressure testing devices approached US$ 30 Mn in 2018. The market will observe gradual growth over the years to come and the report opines that increasing application of laser dopplers will be a key factor sustaining growth of skin perfusion pressure testing devices market. Functional Advantages over Conventional PPG Before the invention of laser dopplers, skin perfusion pressure testing devices, such as photoplethysmography (PPG), were used for SPP measurement. While laser Dopplers have been among the commonly used devices for the assessment of skin perfusion pressure (SPP), they are perceived as the standard instrument for detection of peripheral artery diseases and assessment of wound healing potential in limb ischemia patients. Ease of operability, non-invasiveness, and high accuracy will continue to advocate application of laser dopplers among physicians, driving the growth of skin perfusion pressure testing devices market. Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents and Figures: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-9263 In addition to accuracy in blood flow microcirculation, laser dopplers provide higher sensitivity, accuracy in reduction in signal noise ration with respect to PPG signals, stable readings, and minimal motion artifacts, unlike PPG. Such advantages of laser dopplers are likely to push their usage as an efficient skin perfusion pressure testing device over PPG in the future. Integrating Tech-based Control Features: An Emerging Trend in Skin Perfusion Pressure Testing Devices Market Manufacturers are currently focusing on developing new and innovative equipment for skin perfusion pressure testing devices. For example, the new generation free flap monitoring devices provide web-based capability, whereby, recordings from a laser doppler can be transmitted directly to a smartphone. However, Vasamed SensiLase PAD-IQ, which is a third-generation skin perfusion pressure testing device, has gained much popularity in the market since it supports non-invasive vascular assessment in both upper and lower extremities. With advancements in technologies, the skin perfusion pressure testing devices market is likely to witness significant growth in the next few years. Skin Perfusion Pressure Testing Devices Market: Sustained Trend of Non-invasive Clinical Procedures to Boost Adoption among Physicians: Global Industry Analysis 2013-2017 and Opportunity Assessment 2018-2028 : https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/skin-perfusion-pressure-testing-devices-market Skin Perfusion Pressure Testing Devices Market to Witness Substantial Revenue Growth in North America FMI predicts that the skin perfusion pressure testing devices market will create incremental $ opportunity worth US$ 5.3 Mn between 2018 and 2028. North America will hold significant revenue share in skin perfusion pressure testing devices market, according to FMI. Increasing cases of peripheral artery diseases have led to increased usage of skin perfusion pressure testing devices. With advancements in technology, laser doppler skin perfusion pressure testing devices are being introduced into the market that have high ease of operability and non-invasive features and thus, the high adoption rate of these devices will stimulate the growth of the skin perfusion pressure testing devices market in the region. Vasamed Incorporated launched SensiLase PAD-IQ, which is a third-generation skin perfusion pressure testing device, in 2003 and it has gain much popularity in the region since it supports non-invasive vascular assessment in both upper and lower extremities. Buy Full Report Now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/9263 Skin Perfusion Pressure Testing Devices Market: Segmental Insights Adoption of skin perfusion pressure testing devices in North America and Europe to account for almost 3/4th of the estimated market value at the end of forecast period. More than 2/5th of the global sales of skin perfusion pressure testing devices are accounted by laser dopplers, followed by consumables. Portable skin perfusion pressure testing devices will remain preferred over cart-based variants. Demand for skin perfusion pressure testing devices will be maximum in hospitals, followed by ambulatory surgical units. Skin Perfusion Pressure Testing Devices Market: Key Companies The report profiles some of the key companies operating in the skin perfusion pressure testing devices market, such as ELCAT GmbH, Spark Therapeutics, Inc., Perimed AB, Vasamed Incorporated, Moor Instruments, Biopac Systems Inc, ADInstruments, and Transonic Systems Inc. Our advisory services are aimed at helping you with specific, customized insights that are relevant to your specific challenges. Let us know about your challenges and our trusted advisors will connect with you: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-9263 More from FMIs Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Medical devices Market Intelligence: About Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends. Browse More Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Medical devices Market Insights Contact Us V asily Grossman, the great Ukrainian journalist and writer, made his name as a war correspondent for the Soviet army newspaper Red Star. His dispatches from the Russian front line between 1941 and 1945 radiate a fierce moral candour. A deep-dyed anti-totalitarian, Grossman set out always to document truthfully what he had seen and heard. His 1944 report on the vile workings of Hitlers extermination camp, The Hell of Treblinka, is a masterpiece of controlled rage and unsparing lucidity. The industrialised annihilation of European Jewry was a unique instance of human infamy, Grossman believed, and different in kind from the horrors of the Stalinist Gulag. Grossman was aghast when the man who had prevented Hitlers wholesale destruction of the Jewish people Joseph Stalin was himself suddenly set on their extinction. In early 1953 the Soviet dictator publicly announced that a plot to murder Kremlin officials had been unmasked among Jewish doctors and Jewish intellectuals. Jews such as Grossman were condemned as a self-regarding, supranational sect inimical to the interests of the socialist state. To Stalin it made no difference that Grossman had endured 100 days in Stalingrad during the most intense fighting against Hitler he was now a cosmopolitan traitor to Mother Russia and a vaporised non-person. Fortunately, Stalin died before Grossman could be purged (Soviet speak for judicially murdered), but his worries were not at an end. In 1960, Grossmans now-classic novel of the Soviet Union during the Second World War, Life and Fate, was confiscated in typescript by the KGB and placed under embargo. This was done at the height of the so-called Khrushchev thaw, when a new political tolerance was supposedly in the air. Grossmans crime had been to draw parallels in the novel between National Socialism and Soviet Communism. The Nazi and Stalinist regimes (as Trotsky had pointed out as long ago as 1936) were totalitarian twins that bore a deadly similarity. Life and Fate was not published in the Soviet Union until 1988, by which time Grossman had been dead for a quarter of a century. It is now acknowledged as one of the great novels of the last century. Yet, as Alexandra Popoffs excellent biography reminds us, Grossman was unaware that his novel would ever see light when he died of cancer in a Moscow hospital in 1964. Life and Fate is the sequel to Stalingrad, which is now published for the first time in English. Grossman had begun his earlier novel in late 1943, when Stalin was looking for a Red Tolstoy to memorialise Russias Great Patriotic War against Germany. Grossman, apart from the fact that he was Jewish, seemed the ideal man. Outnumbered by three to one, the Red Army had held back heroically at Stalingrad and in February 1943 defeated the mighty Wehrmacht. Had it not been for the five-month battle on the banks of the Volga, Hitler might have won the Second World War and all Europe been transformed into a vast German colony. One needs time and patience to read Stalingrad, but it is worth it. Moving majestically from Berlin to Moscow to the boundless Kazakh steppe, the novel attempts to replicate for the USSR what War and Peace had done for 19th-century Russian society and Napoleons retreat from Moscow in 1812. A multitude of lives and fates are played out against a vast panoramic history. Grossman wanted a conspicuously Jewish theme for his novel, says Popoff: his mother had been murdered in Ukraine by the Nazis. The central character is Viktor Shtrum, a Jewish physicist whose family are fatally caught in the Nazi dragnets. Around Shtrum orbit the three Shaposhnikov sisters, their husbands and children. In grand Tolstoyan fashion, the novel opens with the Hitler-Mussolini reunion in Salzburg in April 1942. Unappealingly rat-like and furtive beside the grandly uniformed Duce, the Fuhrer has by now advanced rapidly across the Stalin Line. Will Stalingrad hold out? Grossman accords a proper humanity to his subsidiary cast of steelworkers, factory chemists and Red Army soldiers, who battle against the odds from their ice-bound dugouts and foxholes. For good or ill, no definitive version of Stalingrad exists. The official version published in Moscow in 1954, one year after Stalin died, was heavily cut by the Central Committee and contained drearily propagandist overtures to collective farm output. Thanks to the editorial endeavours of Grossmans superb translators, Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Stalingrad has now been restored to the version that Grossman himself might have wanted. It is only a shame that, as Popoff writes, Grossman is not much read today in Putins Russia. To the legion of modern-day Stalinists, he is once more an anti-egalitarian Zionist sympathiser (for Zionist read Jewish). It is a fine way to treat a Russian hero. Stalingrad: A Novel by Vasily Grossman trans by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler (Harvill Secker, 25) F eel-good swim Introducing Econyl, a sustainable, closed-loop fabric made from landfill and ocean nylon waste and the big buzz of the swimwear biz right now. Many brands are jumping on board; dive in with Cornwall-based Finisterre, Arket, Australian brand Peony or A-list favourite Mara Hoffman. MARA HOFFMAN bikini, 249 (marahoffman.com) Hot, hot, hot London designer Henry Holland has joined forces with Speedo on a collection that is extra with a capital E. Rainbow stripes? Check. Tie-dye? Check. The man has even got us considering a unitard swimsuit (yes really). Wallflowers, look away now. HOUSE OF HOLLAND X SPEEDO tie-dye bikini, 65; leg swimsuit, 110; long-sleeve swimsuit, 100 (speedo.co.uk) Fit club Saggy swimsuits, begone. John Lewis & Partners has utilised the know-how of its womens lingerie department for its totally revamped swimwear line. This means new shapes, cuts and fabrics that aim to flatter and actually fit. Happily, sizes range from 8 to 20, too. JOHN LEWIS & PARTNERS, 39 (johnlewis.com) Taking Liberties Swimwear shouldnt be for just one summer, or so says the team behind Libertys first ever holiday range, which has had the bees knees of luxury fabrics from fine silks to chiffon cottons poured into it. Decked with bursting flowers and hiding tigers, the collection includes swimwear, kaftans and short shorts every piece utter sunshine. A re all internet trolls called Steve? Its a thinker. This week, we had @Steve96438935, who really doubted Stacey Solomon could have got into university because well, he didnt say. Presumably because shes blonde, from Essex and a woman, but who knows what goes on in the mind of a Steve? Your opinion demonstrates a lack of ability to see past stereotypical traits in a human that society deems unintelligent, Solomon clapped back, like the intelligent human she is. For why wouldnt she be? It beggars belief that anyone should need further reminding that the best public school education + the best university degree do not produce the keenest minds, but for those still in doubt: look at the numpties running our country. Its worth assuaging the more than half a million anxious teenagers taking their GCSEs this month that intelligence comes in many forms, not all of it quantifiable by a certificate. I know people with PhDs who forget to fill out their tax returns, p***ing away their hard-earned cash in fines. University is great, but a rich life is still achievable without a degree. When I first heard that Kim Kardashian was studying for the bar exam, I laughed which makes me just as bad as Steve. Nobody manages to amass a $350-million fortune by being stupid. Even if you think youre without prejudice, its worth remembering the following: 1) Scousers, Geordies and Weegies are no less intelligent than those from the plummy-voiced South. New to London? Do not be intimidated by strangulated vowels, or assume that everyone with a cut-glass accent is some sort of genius. 2) People who listen more than they talk tend to be pretty smart. 3) The most highly qualified people are often (though not always) the most boring. 4) You can be clever and 80 per cent acrylic. 5) A big salary doesnt equal a big intellect. You dont need to live in London long to learn that some of the wealthiest people are also the most unhappy. And since the most important thing in life is to be happy, then if youre happy with your life, youre probably as clever as you need to be. You are enough. Distressing dress-dissing Daisy May Cooper at the 2019 BAFTAs / Getty Images The reality of it is, it is chip paper. People dont care as much as you think they do, said The Goddess That Is Vicky McClure, speaking about how it feels to find yourself on a worst-dressed list. Its a sentiment with which This Countrys Daisy May Cooper would agree, lampooning as she did the whole best-dressed trope by wearing a gown made of black bin bags to the Baftas (the money shed saved on a dress had been donated to her local food bank). Im fully behind 2019s zero tolerance approach to wantonly cruel sports that arent in the best interests of peoples mental health. Now that ITV has finally axed The Jeremy Kyle Show, lets hope the death of the worst-dressed list isnt far behind. A grape big mistake Fingers crossed for the 1000 bottle / Alamy Stock Photo A man has been taken to hospital after being stabbed in the chest in north London. The victim, thought to be in his early 20s, was discovered by police in Queen's Park. Images shared on social media showed a man surrounded by police and paramedics beside wooden tables and benches. Scotland Yard said the victim had been taken to hospital and the extent of his injuries was not immediately clear. A statement from the Met Police said: Police are dealing after a man was stabbed in Kensal Rise. Officers were called to reports of a stabbing at 12:58hr on Thursday, 23 May, to Queen's Park, London, NW6. Officers, LAS and Londons Air Ambulance attended the scene. A man, believed to be in his early 20s, was found at the scene with stab wounds to his chest. He has been taken to a central London hospital; his condition awaits. Police in Barnet thanked London Air Ambulance and the London Ambulance Service for responding to the situation quickly. No arrests have been made and police are making enquiries into the incident. A police spokesman said the man's injuries are not life-threatening. An air ambulance spokeswoman said a crew attended the scene but did not airlift the man to hospital. He said: Our advanced trauma team was dispatched via aircraft by London Ambulance Service at 13.12 today to reports of a stabbing in the Queens Park area. A man has been charged in an investigation into the firing of a gun outside an east London mosque. Jermaine Wright, 28, was arrested on Wednesday following the incident at Seven Kings Mosque in Ilford on May 9. The charges against him include possession of a prohibited weapon and two counts of assaulting a police officer. Wright, of Tottenham, north London, will appear at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Friday after being charged today. He was also charged with possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate. W hitehall was on lock down this afternoon as police investigated a "suspect item". Officers were called to the scene just after noon, with a bomb disposal unit following shortly afterwards. A large cordon was put in place around the road in Westminster while specialist officers assessed the item. The package was ultimately deemed non-suspicious, Westminster Police said. The cordon in Whitehall/Parliament Street / @999London/Twitter The force tweeted at 1pm: "Happy to update the item concerned has now been fully assessed and deemed non-suspicious. "Roads will be reopened shortly. Thanks again for your patience and cooperation." The Cabinet Office had been closed off, with no one allowed to enter or leave. A spokesman did not comment when approached by the Standard. Whitehall is the home of numerous government departments. W ikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing 17 new criminal charges in the US, including receiving and publishing classified information. The Justice Department made an initial indictment against Assange last month, which accused him of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to a government computer as part of a 2010 leak by Wikileaks. The string of new charges, brought under the Espionage Act, also accuse Assange of conspiring with Manning to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents, including State Department cables and reports on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It says his actions "risked serious harm" to the United States. The 47-year-old is in prison in London for skipping bail after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April, where he had been since 2012. The US is seeking his extradition and only had a 60-day window from the date of Assange's arrest in London to add more charges. After that, under extradition rules, foreign governments do not generally accept superseding charges. The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced the 18-count indictment on Thursday. It said: "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange charged in 18-count superseding indictment for alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. "Superseding indictment alleges Julian Assange published classified documents on WikiLeaks containing the unredacted names of human sources, including journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political dissidents from repressive regimes." Wikileaks hit back after the announcement, tweeting: "This is madness. It is the end of national security journalism and the first amendment." Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor in chief of WikiLeaks, said: "I find no satisfaction in saying 'I told you so' to those who for 9 years have scorned us for warning this moment would come. I care for journalism. If you share my feeling you take a stand NOW. Either you are a worthless coward or you defend Assange, WikiLeaks and Journalism." Assange's lawyer Barry Pollack also said the "unprecedented charges" against his client threaten all journalists. He said the indictment charges Assange with "encouraging sources to provide him truthful information and for publishing that information." Manning was found guilty in 2013 of charges including espionage for leaking secret military files to Wikileaks, but her sentence was commuted. F ormer London black cabbie John Worboys appeared in court today accused of drugging four female passengers so that they could be sexually abused. The 62-year-old, now known as John Radford, allegedly targeted them between 2000 and 2008 when he was driving a cab, offering them a drink laced with drugs to knock them out. It is said he told the four women he had won money, and offered them champagne to help celebrate, Westminster magistrates court heard. Worboys appeared via video link this morning for a preliminary hearing, when he did not offer a plea to any of the four charges. Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay told the court that Worboys is accused of administering a substance with intent to rape and indecently assault. He said the case against Worboys is similar for all four alleged victims; that he picked them up in a taxi, said he had won money, and provided women with alcohol laced with a sedative. He added that one alleged victim says she was picked up by a black cab after leaving a bar and offered a drink by the driver, saying: He told her he had won on the horses and was celebrating. He also claimed he had been a stripper with the Chippendales. He offered her champagne and invited her to celebrate with him, she agreed, and he pulled over into a side road off the A40. The prosecutor added that she claims the driver offered her a drink in a plastic cup, she drank it, and it was the last memory she has of the evening. District Judge Michael Snow adjourned the case until a hearing at the Old Bailey on June 20. A machine that enables donated livers to be kept alive is being used by London transplant surgeons. The device has been employed in six transplants at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead and doctors believe it will allow more patients to undergo life-saving treatment. The OrganOx metra enables the liver to be kept at body temperature rather than being put on ice, maintaining its condition for an extra 24 hours. The device also pumps the organ with oxygenated blood, medications and nutrients, which better preserves the liver and enables surgeons to assess it prior to transplantation. More than 500 donor livers a year cannot be transplanted in the UK, often because the organ ends up in a poor condition after being stored on ice. Former NHS chef Trevor Williams, 69, from Waterlooville, Hampshire, was the first NHS patient to receive a liver transplant using the metra at the Royal Free. He was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer in November last year and told the only treatment was a transplant. He was about to undergo the transplant in March but it had to be cancelled at the last minute when the donated liver was deemed unsuitable. A week later he was matched with a new donor liver, which was first assessed on the OrganOx device. This time the transplant went ahead and was a success. Satheesh Iype, the consultant surgeon who carried out the transplant, said: It is appropriate to use in cases where donor liver quality might be difficult to assess because it simulates the conditions in the body, so you can assess functionality before making a decision to transplant. This means that we can potentially accept more donor livers that before might not have been judged to be suitable and that means we are likely to perform many more transplants. Mr Williams said: I didnt hesitate to say yes when I was told about the possibility of harnessing this new technology for my transplant and it is incredible to think about it. Professor Joerg-Matthias Pollok, clinical lead for hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery and liver transplantation at the Royal Free, was instrumental in bringing the OrganOx machine to the trust. He said: When you get offered a donor liver we make decisions on the information provided and sometimes we have to decline an offer based on that information. This new technology has given us an objective way of assessing the liver because we can measure how it is performing. (CNN) When Chinese gay rights activist Peng Yanhui heard that Taiwan had approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage on May 17 as he boarded a flight, he burst into tears of joy. "I was crying so hard on the plane that flight attendants wanted to find out what had happened," said the director of the China Rainbow Media Awards, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group. Peng wasn't alone. The ruling provoked strong emotion among China's LGBTQ community. On Friday, as the first same-sex weddings take place in Taiwan, that group -- some of whom are just 100 kilometers away in mainland China -- will be watching with mixed feelings. In one way, the moment could be a turning point for the whole of Asia, where countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have recently become more conservative towards LGBTQ rights. Taiwan is the first place in the region which is home to about 60% of the world's population to legalize same-sex marriage. That decision holds special significance for China's LGBTQ community given the cultural and historical connections between Taiwan and the mainland. Originally one population, the two sides have been separated since the end of a bloody civil war in 1949, but still share a language and many traditions. Activists say the ruling proves that same-sex marriage is not incompatible with Chinese culture. "We know it's marriage equality in Taiwan, not in mainland China, but we still feel so happy," said Peng. "For us, the right to marry isn't just a political argument but (it's about) our everyday life -- we want to see our relationships recognized." But the moment is also bittersweet for the LGBTQ community in China, where same-sex marriage is still illegal -- a situation that shows no sign of changing. A bright spot While Chinese citizens might celebrate Taiwan's legalization of same-sex marriage, they won't be able to take advantage of it. The law says that citizens of governments without marriage equality won't be allowed to get legally married in Taiwan. Cecilia Yang, who is from Wuhan in Central China, wants to marry her Taiwanese partner but without same-sex marriage on the mainland, that won't be possible. "When my partner told me the news, she was so excited. Then we looked at each other and had more mixed feelings," she said. Homosexuality is not illegal in China and, in 2001, the authorities removed it from the official list of mental disorders. But LGBTQ people in China still face persistent discrimination and prejudices from both the government and public -- let alone enjoying rights, such as the ability to jointly adopt children, inherit property and marry their partners. In 2016, Chinese censors even banned the portrayal of "abnormal sexual behavior" in TV and online shows, including gay and lesbian relationships. Not only that, but the space for LGBTQ activism has shrunk in recent years. Since he came to power in late 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has increasingly stressed the ruling Communist Party's absolute control over all aspects of society, resulting in a push for more rigid moral codes. In a landscape where freedom of speech and protests against the government are rarely tolerated, Human Rights Watch China researcher Maya Wang said LGBTQ activism had been a "relatively bright spot" in Chinese civil society. China's young people have been increasingly supporting of same-sex relationships, Wang added, with some draping themselves in the rainbow flag at their graduations or supporting inclusion on university campuses. She warned, however, that harassment and restrictions on their activities had increased in recent years. LGBT-themed books have been restricted in the country's libraries. Last November, an author of same-sex erotic fiction was sent to jail for ten years. Wang said the fickle Chinese government could implement a crackdown on LGBT rights supporters at a moment's notice. "You have to be very careful being an activist in China," she said. A message to the world The Chinese leadership has never shown any indication of support for LGBTQ rights, but a strange thing happened on Sunday after the Taiwanese legislation passed. It tried to take credit for it. "Local lawmakers in Taiwan, China, have legalized same-sex marriage in a first for Asia," tweeted the Communist Party's official newspaper, People's Daily, on Friday, along with a rainbow color-infused animated image that said "love is love" underneath. The post was disingenuous given the fact that Taiwan and China have been governed separately for seven decades, although Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and part of its territory. The tweet provoked fury in Taiwan's government, but it wasn't the only LGBTQ-friendly opinion published in English by Chinese state media. Global Times, a state-run tabloid known for its nationalistic rhetoric, posted a video Saturday showcasing and praising gay social life in Beijing. It isn't clear if this celebration of Taiwan's decision in Chinese state media represented real momentum in a change in Beijing's position or if it was just cynical opportunism. Wang said she was skeptical. "The Chinese government is often quite adaptive to making use of popular incidents and transforming it into issues that bolster their power," she said. In the unlikely scenario that the Chinese government did embrace homosexuality, it wouldn't be unprecedented, according to Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the University of London. "If you go back in history, there were times when same-sex relationships were widely practiced and accepted in China," he said. "After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, and before reunification under the Shu Dynasty, you have several hundred years when it was widely accepted." You can't erase them It isn't just China that is playing politics on this issue. Tsang said the ruling could boost Taiwan's reputation internationally among Western nations. For decades, Taipei has been losing an international battle as Beijing forces diplomatic allies to choose between Taiwan and China, leaving the island relatively isolated. Lagging Beijing in economic and political power, Taipei is only formally recognized by 17 countries. The landmark LGBTQ ruling might not be enough to turn that diplomatic tide, Tsang said, it will burnish Taiwan's reputation as a liberal bastion in Asia. There was even hope before the same-sex marriage law was passed in Taiwan that such a move could spark a wave of support for LGBTQ rights across the region -- including in China. But Yang, the Wuhan native, said she didn't believe marriage equality in Taiwan would inspire support for same-sex marriage inside the Chinese government. "We have a very different political environment here. It's going to be very difficult to achieve it -- my partner and I don't feel very hopeful," she said. For LGBTQ rights activist Peng, a better future is still on the horizon for his cause in China. "I'm seeing more and more gay Chinese come out of the closet and live the lives they want," he said. "You can't erase all these living, breathing human beings no matter how much Chinese civil society is being squeezed. We just need more time." This story was first published on CNN.com, "For China's LGBTQ people, Taiwan's rainbow victory is a moment of joy and pain." 107 shareholders were registered as attending at the Annual General Meeting, who owned 540,057,134 shares (the amount of represented share capital 291,630,852.36 EUR), forming 80.62% of AS Tallink Grupp share capital. Resolutions adopted at the meeting: 1. Approval of the annual report of the financial year 2018 To approve the annual report of the financial year 2018 of AS Tallink Grupp presented by the management board. The resolution was adopted with 99.86% votes in favour (539,302,424 votes). 2. Proposal on distribution of profits To approve the following profit allocation proposal of AS Tallink Grupp prepared by the management board: 1) To approve the net profit of the financial year of 2018 in the sum of 40,049,000 euros; 2) To allocate 2,003,000 euros from the net profit to the mandatory legal reserve; 3) To pay dividends to the shareholders 0.05 euros per share, in the total amount of 33,494,000 euros. 4) 4,552,000 euros to be transferred to the retained earnings. The list of the shareholders entitled to the dividend shall be fixed as at 20.06.2019 at the end of the working day of the settlement system. The dividend shall be paid to the shareholders by transfer to the bank account of the shareholders on 3.07.2019. The resolution was adopted with 100.00% votes in favour (540,033,608 votes). 3. Amendment of the Articles of Association 3.1. To amend Article 2.1. of the Articles of Association and word it as follows: The amount of the minimum share capital of the company shall be 310,000,000 euros. The maximum capital of the company shall be 1,240,000,000 euros. 3.2. To amend the second sentence of Article 2.1. of the Articles of Association and word it as follows: Supervisory board shall be authorised within 3 years as from 1 July 2019 to increase the share capital by 25,000,000 euros, increasing the share capital up to 339,844,558.80 euros. The resolution was adopted with 99.99% votes in favour (539,986,105 votes). 4. Reduction of share capital 4.1 The reason for reducing the share capital is improving the capital structure and favouring the return on equity. Company has no need to own share capital within the registered amount and the requirements that legislation imposes on share capital will also be fulfilled in the case of the reduced share capital. 4.2. The share capital shall be reduced as follows: 4.2.1. the share capital shall be reduced by the reduction of the book value of the shares by 0.07 euros per share, as a result of which the book value of one share shall be reduced from 0.54 euros to 0.47 euros, whereas the total number of the shares shall remain the same (i.e. 669,882,040 shares) and the book value of shares shall be reduced proportionately to the reduction of the share capital. Based on the foregoing, the share capital of the public limited company shall decrease from 361,736,301.60 euros by 46,891,742.80 euros, and the new share capital shall be 314,844,558.80 euros; 4.2.2. in connection with the reduction of the share capital the shareholders will be made monetary payments in the amount of 0.07 euros per share, in the total amount of 46 891 742,80 euros, within the term provided by law, but not earlier than 3 (three) months after the entry of the reduction of the share capital in the commercial register; 4.2.3. the list of shareholders entitled to receive the payments arising from the reduction of the book values of the shares shall be fixed at 20 June 2019 at the end of the working day of the settlement system. The resolution was adopted with 99.97% votes in favour (539,913,541 votes). 5. Extension of authority of the members of the supervisory board Due to the expiry of the term of authority of the members of the supervisory board Ain Hanschmidt, Colin Douglas Clark, Eve Pant and Toivo Ninnas on 17.09.2019: 5.1. To extend the authorities of Ain Hanschmidt, Colin Douglas Clark, Eve Pant and Toivo Ninnas as the supervisory board members for the next 3-year term of office from 18.09.2019. 5.2. The term of office of the supervisory board member Lauri Kustaa Aima shall not be extended and shall terminate on 17.09.2019. The resolution was adopted with 85.49% votes in favour (461,679,970 votes). 6. Election of the member of the supervisory board. 6.1. To elect Raino Paron as the new member of the supervisory board of AS Tallink Grupp from 18.09.2019. The resolution was adopted with 54.86% votes in favour (296,296,917 votes). 7. Remuneration for work of the members of supervisory board 7.1 To remunerate the work of the members of the supervisory board pursuant to the resolution no 5 of 07.06.2012 of the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of AS Tallink Grupp. The resolution was adopted with 99.98% votes in favour (539,958,195 votes). 8. Appointment of an auditor for the financial year 2019 and the determination of the procedure of remuneration of an auditor 8.1. To appoint the company of auditors KPMG Baltics OU to conduct the audit of the financial year 2019. 8.2. The auditor shall be remunerated according to the audit contract that shall be concluded with the auditor. The resolution was adopted with 99.58% votes in favour (537,798,315 votes). Dividend and reduction of share capital payment ex-date: Both the list of the shareholders entitled to the dividend and the list of the shareholders entitled to receive the payments arising from the reduction of the book values of the shares shall be fixed as at 20.06.2019 at the end of the working day of the settlement system. Proceeding from the above, the ex-date is 19.06.2019. From that date the new owner of the shares (ISIN: EE3100004466) or Finnish Depository Receipts (FDRs; ISIN FI4000349378) is not entitled to receive dividends for the year 2018 and to receive the payments arising from the reduction of the book values of the shares decided on the 23.05.2019 shareholders general meeting. Brief overview of Raino Paron career Raino Paron joined Ellex Raidla in 1995 and is a partner of the firm since 1998. In addition he holds the positions of Chairman of the Arbitration Court of the Tallinn Stock Exchange since 1996, Member of the Management Board of Finance Estonia since 2011 and Member of the Supervisory Board of Inbank AS since 2016. Raino Paron graduated from Georgetown University, USA in 1993 with a LL.M degree (Master of Laws) with honours and from the University of Tartu, Estonia in 1990 with a degree equivalent to Masters degree in law (cum laude). Raino Paron owns 100% holding in OU PPG-Invest, which owns 3,294 AS Tallink Grupp shares. Joonas Joost Advisor to the Management Board Head of Investor Relations AS Tallink Grupp Sadama 5/7 10111 Tallinn, Estonia E-mail joonas.joost@tallink.ee Attachment A three-year-old boy has died after being struck by a car in north London. Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene in East End Road, East Finchley, on Wednesday evening. The child was rushed to hospital after suffering injuries in the crash but he later died. His next of kin have been informed. Officers launched an appeal for witnesses or those with dash cam footage of the fatal collision to come forward. The driver of the car, a Toyota Rav4, stopped at the scene and has not been arrested. Enquiries are underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the collision, the Met said in statement. Officers are keen to hear from anyone who has dashcam footage or who witnessed the incident first hand. A school in south London was evacuated while students were taking exams due to a "chemical incident". Emergency services were called to Langley Park Girls School in Beckenham on Thursday afternoon. Students and teachers were told to evacuate the building, before emergency services carried out a controlled explosion. The school said that an "issue was identified during a routine check in the science storage area." In a post on the website, the school headteacher said emergency services had carried out a controlled explosion in the middle of a field. The statement added: "I would like to thank all the staff who stayed behind to help supervise the students who could not go home. I would also like to thank the emergency services for acting so swiftly. "It is testament to the inquisitive nature of LPGS students that they wanted to watch the controlled explosion and interview the emergency services about aspects of their job.; and testament to their good manners that they were thanking teachers before going home." It added: "I want to give particular mention to the students who were in the middle of public examinations. We were in contact with the examination boards throughout and took their advice to safeguard the students results." A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said they were called at 3.34pm and that a Hazmat team had also been on the scene. He added: "We sent a number of resources to the scene including an incident response officer and a medic in a car. We also dispatched our hazardous area response team (HART). "We are working closely with other members of the emergency services and remain at the scene." Police also said officers had been called to the scene. A Met Spokesman said: "Police were called at 14:26hrs on Thursday, 23 May to reports of a chemical incident at a school in Hawskbrook Lane, Bromley. "A controlled explosion was carried out in a field of a volatile chemicals from one of the science labs. K ing's College London has launched an investigation after a senior lecturer in mental health was filmed at a Brexit Party rally apparently hurling verbal abuse at a Remain campaigner and poking a Union Jack flagpole at his face. Niall McCrae, a lecturer at King's Mental Health Nursing department since 2002, was queueing for the rally in west London on Tuesday. In a widely-shared video on Twitter he appeared to be seen calling Femi Oluwole a "f***ing traitor" while another man throws water on the activist. The university said in a statement on Wednesday that it was "aware of complaints regarding the conducting of member of staff and are looking into this". Dr McCrae campaigned for Brexit in Sutton, a London borough which voted to leave the EU. He writes about Brexit online for right-wing think tank the Bruges Group. In the footage posted earlier this week Dr McCrae can be heard shouting "you're a f***ing traitor" and "f*** off you traitor" at Mr Oluwole. He then pokes the Remain campaigner with a large Union Jack flagpole. Mr Oluwole was carrying a desk with a sign reading: "A no-deal Brexit would be disastrous for the UK. Change my mind." The campaigner shared footage of the incident on Twitter, writing: "I don't mind Right-Wing thugs chucking their drinks on me. "I don't mind them poking me in the face with a flagpole. "I do mind that Nigel Farage is set to WIN the European Elections on Thursday, by calling anyone who opposes a form of Brexit he said would never happen, 'traitors'." Mr Oluwole told the Standard he was at the Brexit Party rally with his table for around an hour on Tuesday. "Some people were constructive and polite and even grateful to me for being an engaging Remainer but some were just truly aggressive and angry," he said. "I was called delusional... treacherous scum." He added: "The ironic thing is that I condemned the idea of throwing things at people on Good Morning Britain just that morning and then it happened to me hours later." Mr Oluwole had appeared on the show with Piers Morgan after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was doused in milkshake earlier this week. He warned against such action, saying "it will escalate quickly". A spokesman for King's said: "We are aware of complaints regarding the conduct of a member of staff and are looking into this. We do not condone inappropriate or abusive behaviour. K ingston University was partially evacuated after a suspected unexploded World War Two bomb was found on a nearby construction site. Students and staff were told to leave Penrhyn Road and Knights Park campuses as the Met Police investigated the item in south-west London. Polling stations were also closed after the discovery, with those voting in the European elections being directed to other sites. Kingston Council have set up a rest centre on Eden Street and are providing help for anyone in need of accommodation overnight. Students and staff were told to leave buildings / @union_kingston Surbiton High School was also evacuated. One parent said Year 10 exams were postponed, with one Latin exam abandoned mid-way through when the alarm was raised. Specialist police officers examined the bomb and called in experts from the Ministry of Defence, the Met said. A cordon was expected to remain in place until at least 4pm on Friday, police said, adding that the fire brigade was also involved in the operation. The bomb is said to have been found at a building works on the site of the old Hotel Antoinette. The bomb was found at a building site / Chris Reynolds/@historyreynolds Kingston University said all staff and students at evacuated campuses were "advised to go home". A statement said some student halls and houses were also evacuated. One evacuee, student Ana De Liz, told the Standard those asked to leave campus were confused at first but the atmosphere thereafter was calm. A number of police vehicles attended the scene in Kingston / @claire_notclare "There was a general consensus to let the authorities do their work and of trust in them," she said. A member of staff told the Standard people appeared to be "relaxed" despite the incident. Kingston Video Police Army Escort Kingston Students Union said it appeared "unlikely" students would return to the evacuated areas on Thursday. A statement from police in Kingston said: "Police were called around 0915 on Thurs, 23rd May, to suspected World War Two ordnance found on a construction site on Fassett Road, A cordon was put in place near a polling station in Kingston / @kingstonskyline "Officers are at the scene and cordons in place. The item has been examined by specialist officers. We have sought the assistance of MoD." A statement from Kingston Council said: "We're working closely with emergency services who are evacuating the area." Police were called this morning / Kingston Police Two polling stations were closed, St John the Evangelist church in Grove Lane and St Raphael's Catholic church in Portsmouth Road. Penryhn Road, Beaufort Road, Beaufort Place, Fassett Road, Grove Lane, Grove Crescent, Bloomfield Road and Linkford Avenue have all been affected. T housands of residents were told not to return home on Thursday night after an unexploded World War Two bomb was found in Kingston. Kingston University, schools and residents were evacuated from the area after police were alerted to the ordnance at ;a construction site on Fassett Road on Thursday morning. A cordon was put in place around the area, which will stay in place until 4pm on Friday. Kingston Council said around 1,500 households had been evacuated, meaning up to 3,000 people could be unable to return home. Chris Reynolds/@historyreynolds University students are also reportedly unable to access their halls until Friday. Students and staff were told to leave the Penrhyn Road and Knights Park campuses after the discovery. Kingston students union said there would be no access to halls until the cordon is lifted. The council has set up a rest centre at The Richard Mayo Centre on Eden Street for those who were unable to return to their homes. It said people with pets at home or who need to get medication from their properties will be escorted into the cordoned area by police. Aisha Hussain, 25, who lives on Linkford Avenue inside the cordoned zone said she was allowed to go home and pick up her cat. "If you down into the area barred off it is eerily quiet. But outside it is chaos," she explained. "People are now being allowed back into their own home, and have been told they can stay there but police are not recommending it." In a statement, Commander Mark McEwan said: "Police are on the scene. We are working alongside military specialists, other emergency services and our partners including the London Borough of Kingston. "We are working to resolve the situation." Kingston update WW2 Bomb confirmed by police "Rest centres and assistance are being provided by our partners. Police patrols will continue in order to ensure the area's safety," he added. "The operation is likely to continue throughout the night." Ms Hussain told the Standard she was able to stay with a friend, who lives just outside the cordoned area but that "lots of people were just booking hotels". Crowds gather outside Kingston University / @union_kingston "The level of communications have not been great. Most people don't know there is an evacuation centre." St John's Church of England Primary School and Bedelsford School will also not be opening on Friday, the council announced. A spokesman said: "There is a cordon in place around Penryhn Road, Beaufort Road, Beaufort Place, Fassett Road, Grove Lane, Grove Crescent, Bloomfield Road and Linkford Avenue. "The cordon will continue to be in place until at least the afternoon of Friday 24 May. "Staywell are offering breakfast and refreshments from 7am on Friday 24 May at the Bradbury Centre, Grange Road." "People who have pets at home or medication they need can report to the police liaison point in the car park at County Hall, Penrhyn Road and they will be escorted into the cordoned area." The bomb is said to have been found at a building works on the site of the old Hotel Antoinette around 9am on Thursday. Specialist police officers examined the bomb and called in experts from the Ministry of Defence, the Met said. Polling stations were also closed after the discovery, with those voting in the European elections being directed to other sites. B osses of a Bloomsbury pub have been forced to apologise after member of staff allegedly told woman with multiple sclerosis that we dont serve disableds. Andy Smart said his sister Ros, who needs a wheelchair, was turned away from The Plough pub which is yards from the British Museum. Mr Smart, 59, a professional comedian, wrote on Twitter: "This afternoon, my sister Ros, who has MS, was turned away from the The Plough, a pub on Museum Street, London WC1. "The phrase they used was "We don't do disableds." The manager then told her they dont serve disabled people. The pub issued a statement on Facebook blaming the refusal on a miscommunication. Mr Smarts post has received hundreds of comments including one from Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh who said he would no longer use the bar. A spokesman for Greene King said: The Plough are extremely saddened by what has happened and have apologised. We have investigated the incident, including reviewing the CCTV footage of the visit and speaking to the team members on duty yesterday, as well as the pub manager, who was not working at the time. A student has told how he was left scarred for life after being hit by 25,000 volts while trespassing on the railway. Inigo Sweeney-Lynch, 17, suffered horrific burns to a third of his body when his clothes caught fire and melted. He then had to learn to walk again and spent two months in a specialist hospital burns unit. The teenager has now joined forces with Network Rail to spearhead a campaign warning other young people of the dangers. Mr Sweeney-Lynch, of Forest Hill, was climbing an electricity sub-station wall in Hackbridge with a friend when the huge current arced into his body in May 2017. The pair, then 15, claimed they were playing a game of Danger of Death after watching free-running videos on YouTube. Mr Sweeney-Lynch said: One minute I was climbing, then it all went black. I woke up and I was dangling over a wall unconscious and my clothes were on fire. Its hard to describe the shock I didnt know what had happened. I fell about 8ft off the wall into brambles and used my right arm to put out the flames. There were holes all over my clothes and my tracksuit bottoms had melted into my skin. I was aware of this incredible pain. A video clip from the Network Rail campaign / Network Rail Network Rails You vs Train campaign raises awareness of hidden dangers, especially the third rail which carries enough electricity to kill or cause life-changing injuries. After being electrocuted, Mr Sweeney-Lynch was wrapped head-to-toe in cling film and bandages and transferred to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. He said: I had four operations to graft skin on to the worst burns, including a chunk of my leg which they used to patch up my elbow where the flesh and muscle had completely burnt down to the bone. The physios had to help me learn to walk again and that was really tough. Even sitting up in bed was painful. I needed 8,000 calories a day because my body was using so much energy keeping itself alive and healing. My scars are pretty bad but its not my face and Im lucky to be alive. He added: I havent lost my sense of adventure and I wouldnt say dont be adventurous to anyone, but I would say learn from my mistakes. The You vs Train campaign, run by Network Rail and British Transport Police, says the only way to prevent electrocution, being hit by a train or injured by trackside facilities is to never stray onto the railway. T ransgender swimmers have been granted full access to Hampstead Heaths ladies pond under new gender identity rules from the City of London Corporation. People who identify as female after being assigned male at birth now have the right to bathe unimpeded in the swimming pond used by the likes of Kate Moss and Helena Bonham-Carter. Transgender women are already allowed to use the ladies pond but the change means their right of access is now enshrined in formal rules. The new robust and consistent policy from the Corporation, which manages the Heath, follows a major public consultation. Edward Lord, who heads the Corporation committee that approved the change, said it will ensure our public services do not discriminate against trans people. The Corporation said an overwhelming majority of the 21,000 valid responses to its consultation favoured ensuring trans people did not suffer discrimination. Almost two-thirds said people should not have to provide proof of their gender identity before being allowed entry to single-gender services such as the swimming ponds. However, the decision is likely to restart the row over whether transgender women should be allowed access to the ladies pond, a single-sex haven since 1926. Last year, female activists demonstrated against the right of trans women to use it by gatecrashing the mens pond. But the Kenwood Ladies Pond Association today welcomed the move and said it was in talks with the Corporation about providing additional privacy for changing and showering for pond users who had concerns. The policy had a mixed reaction among swimmers at the pond yesterday. Roosje Watson, 32, said: I think if someone identifies as a woman they should be allowed to swim here. As long as they help to keep the space as special as it is now, I think thats the most important thing. Tessa Havers-Strong, of charity Camden LGBT Forum, said: Its a good thing People thought there would be men who would pretend to be trans and would go into the female space and do great harm. But I dont think this is the case, the ponds will still be the same. But Penny Chislett, 76, who uses the pond several times a week, said: I do think unless youve had the operation you should be swimming in the mens pool. This should be for women only. Rosa Freedman, a professor of law at Reading University, suggested transgender swimmers should use the nearby mixed pond instead. P olitical leaders have condemned an alleged milkshake attack on an elderly Brexit Party supporter during polling for the European elections. The man, named locally as 81-year-old armed forces veteran Don MacNaughton, was said to have been sitting outside a polling station in Aldershot when a youth in his early 20s drenched him with a milkshake. Nigel Farage and Heidi Allen, leaders of the Brexit Party and Change UK, both criticised the alleged attacker on Thursday. It comes after Mr Farage himself was attacked with the dairy drink while campaigning in Newcastle on Monday. It is part of a recent trend of milkshake being thrown over right-wing political figures. Mr MacNaughton told SurreyLive: Basically a youth in his early 20s gave me the middle finger, then went into a shop, obviously bought a milkshake and threw it over me. It wasnt comically funny, but I just found it hilariously funny. It is a shame we could not have debated political issues. Hampshire Police is investigating the incident. Nigel Farage milkshaked in Newcastle Mr Farage led the condemnation, tweeting: Yet more disgusting behaviour. When democracy fails, civility ends. Let's get Brexit done and finish this. He later added: Ive just phoned Dons home to commiserate. Nigel Farage hit by milkshake in Newcastle 1 /20 Nigel Farage hit by milkshake in Newcastle Nigel Farage was doused with a milkshake on a walkabout in Newcastle REUTERS The Brexit Party leader was immediately led away by security REUTERS Mr Farage blamed 'radicalised' remainers REUTERS A man was dragged away and detained at the scene REUTERS A number of onlookers burst into laughter as Farage was led away REUTERS Other European election candidates, such as Ukip's Carl Benjamin and ex-English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson have had milkshakes poured on them REUTERS Farage was covered in milkshake by a Remain protester REUTERS Farage said it was a "complete failure" of his security REUTERS A man was detained at the scene REUTERS Farage was covered in a 5.25 Five Guys banana and salted caramel milkshake PA He was led away from the scene by his team PA Brexit Party leader Nigel looks on as he leaves his campaign walkabout after being doused with milkshake REUTERS Mr Farage tweeted: "Sadly some remainers have become radicalised, to the extent that normal campaigning is becoming impossible." Getty Images A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of common assault, Northumbria Police said. Getty Images Shortly after the incident, Mr Farage could be heard saying "how did you not stop that?" to his staff Getty Images His son said he is undeterred, still on the polling station and will now be there until 10pm tonight. Well done that man. Heidi Allen, the interim leader of Change UK, also criticised the attacker. Please breathe deeply and count to ten, she tweeted. Loading.... This is not who we are. Courtesy, respect and tolerance are at the core of our values, lets all show them. Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan added: This elderly gentleman served in the British armed forces for 22 years. Today he was manning a Brexit Party polling station when he was attacked & had milkshake thrown all over him. All because he wants the result of a democratic referendum to be honoured. Disgusting. Several opportunities to watch Dr. MacKay present throughout Concentration 2019 Alameda, CA, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- NewBridge Global Ventures, Inc., (OTCQB: NBGV), a vertically integrated processing company focused on the legal and regulated cannabis and hemp industries, will participate in Concentration 2019, May 30-31, 2019 in Pala, CA. Dr. John MacKay, NewBridges CTO and a widely recognized scientific expert in sub and supercritical fluid for chromatography and extraction within the botanical space, is presenting as Concentration 2019s keynote speaker. There will be several opportunities to see Dr. MacKay present throughout the cannabis extraction-focused event. As Concentration 2019s keynote speaker, Dr. MacKay will present his vision on the future of extraction as well as where the extraction and processing industry is taking us, the types of technologies coming online and what extraction labs need to do to survive. Dr. MacKay will present his speech on Concentration 2019s second day, May 31, 2019 at 9:15 AM PT. Dr. MacKay gives us a preview of his keynote speech, Scale has already transitioned from five pounds in 2013 to todays five thousand pounds per day of material that needs to be extracted to fulfill the publics need for products such as CBD. This will not only involve just larger vessels but rather faster rates of extraction through hybrid modes such as microwave, ultrasonic and electro-pulsed assisted extractions. On Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 10:30 AM PT, Dr. MacKay will give an extraction demo where attendees will receive an overview of the principles and practices of extraction. With many hands-on demonstrations attendees will leave with an understanding of how coffee, cannabis and clothes are similar and how to increase productivity with hemp and cannabis. At 3:30 PM PT, Dr. MacKay will speak as a panelist on the topic of Biotechnology In The Manufacturing & Production Of Extracts. Dr. MacKay is one of the industry experts teaching an Extraction Business Certification Course; a live certification program on May 29, 2019 hosted by CBD Training Academy. The eight-hour in-depth training is taught by top experts and professionals in the extraction industry and is held at the same location and one day prior to Concentration 2019. Upon completion, participants can expect a Certificate of Completion. For more information please visit CBDTrainingAcademy.com Those who have attended Dr. MacKays presentations in the past describe his talks as innovative and entertaining. He gives listeners creative analogies and examples to help with the understandings of his topics. We invite you to meet him at the conclusion of each of his events during Concentration 2019. About Dr. John MacKay Dr. MacKay is a widely recognized scientific expert in sub and supercritical fluid for chromatography and extraction within the botanical space and his career has included many roles in innovative product development. Dr. MacKay is currently a contributing journalist of Extraction Magazine, a cannabis extraction publication, and Terpenes and Testing Magazine, a publication serving the cannabis industry with cannabis news and science on horticulture, extraction and testing labs. Dr. MacKay earned his B.A. in Chemistry from St. Lawrence University and his Ph.D. from the University of Vermont in Inorganic Chemistry focused on the synthesis of cancer fighting compounds. www.linkedin.com/in/johnamackay3 About Concentration 2019 Concentration 2019 is a conference focused on the cannabis and hemp extraction industry organized by Mace Media and Terpenes and Testing Magazine. The two-day conference will take place May 30-31, 2019 at the Pala Casino Spa & Resort in Pala, CA. concentration2019.com About NewBridge Global Ventures (OTCQB: NBGV) NewBridge Global Ventures is a vertically integrated processing company serving the cannabis and hemp industries. Our portfolio of companies supports our mission and technology to become a leading, international cannabis and hemp processor. Led by our patented Shockwave Power Technology and proprietary separation techniques, NewBridge solves a costly bottleneck by eliminating the need for drying, curing and storing biomass prior to processing. The technology accomplishes this without the use of any solvents; instead using water and low-pressure energy waves to gently separate the oil from the plant. For more information go to: newbridgegv.com Forward-Looking Statements Statements about the expected timing, and all other statements in this press release, other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. A number of the matters discussed herein that are not historical or current facts deal with potential future circumstances and developments that may or may not materialize. This press release speaks only as of its date, and except as required by law, we disclaim any duty to update. E U citizens living in the UK today claimed they were turned away from polling stations and unable to vote in the European elections. Within hours of the polling booths opening, the hashtag #deniedmyvote was trending on Twitter. Administrative errors, a lack of correct forms being sent out to voters and late registration were blamed for the inability of people to cast their ballot. Agata Patnya, an immigration and human rights barrister, tweeted: Turned away from polling station this morning. Told I should vote in my EU member state. I registered before the deadline. Have been here since 2005. Voted many times before. This is my member state. Marcella Finazzi wrote on Twitter: Just went to vote this morning with my orange poll card and I was told I cannot vote because I figure as Italian citizen not British Italian. Another user showed photos of her registration with a London borough council but claimed she was still turned away. As an EU citizen I was denied my right to vote in the hostile UK, she wrote on Twitter. Jeremy Corbyn votes in the European elections Lewisham Council were among the boroughs helping voters this morning after they found themselves unexpectedly unable to vote. They asked people listed as ineligible to vote when they turned up to their polling station to call them and they would try and investigate. EU citizens needed to fill out two forms to vote in the European election in the UK. The first was a register-to-vote form and the second was a declaration to vote in the UK form which needed to be returned to local authorities by May 7. The Electoral Commission advised councils to tell their EU citizens about the second form but did not have a legal duty to do so. There appears to have been a difference in how local councils have informed EU citizens about this two stage process. Lisette Slegers Tweeted: Was turned away at the polling station in Thanet this morning. Am on the electoral roll but never received the form. Felicidad Martinez Tweeted: My name was on the list at the polling station but crossed with a G next to it, which apparently means I can't vote. Did the form but never received polling card. However some think that EU citizens needed to be better prepared. Twitter user @Arwenstar, who is French and living in the UK, wrote: I find this #DeniedMyVote hashtag extraordinary. "You denied yourself your vote by not being prepared. How funny that this is happening to EU nationals who are of course diehard Remainersyou live in this country, enquire about the procedure over here. The Electoral Commission said it was aware of some EU citizens living in the UK being unable to vote. It said the "very short notice" from the Government about the UK taking part in the election had hampered efforts to raise awareness of the process for EU citizens transferring their vote from their home country. A spokesman said: "If an EU citizen instead chooses to vote in the EU election in the UK, there is a process for them to complete to essentially transfer their right to vote, from their home member state to the UK. "This is a requirement of EU law, which specifies that this has to be done 'sufficiently in advance of polling day'. UK law sets this as 12 working days in advance of the poll." The Electoral Commission spokesman said the legal process "could be made easier for citizens, and the Commission made the case for doing so following the last EU elections in 2014". They added: "However, improvements to the process are reliant on changes to electoral law, which can only be taken forward by Government and Parliament. "The very short notice from the Government of the UK's participation in these elections impacted on the time available for awareness of this process amongst citizens, and for citizens to complete the process. P olls have closed in European elections as parties await their fate with the Tories bracing for a damaging blow. Nigel Farage issued a warning to Westminster's politicians that his Brexit Party would be coming for their jobs ahead of his expected success. Results of the European contests will not start being announced until Sunday night but opinion polls suggest Mr Farage's party is on course for victory in the elections, which are only taking place because of the delay to Brexit. Meanwhile the election watchdog said it was aware of reports that EU citizens had been unable to vote in the UK and blamed the late notice from Theresa May's Government that the poll would be going ahead. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage tells politicians: we're coming for your jobs / PA Results will be announced after 10pm on Sunday, when the final polls have closed across Europe. Both Mrs May and Jeremy Corbyn are braced for a backlash from voters, with Mr Farage's party and the Liberal Democrats expected to pick up votes. Seventy-three MEPs will be elected to represent the UK, with England, Scotland and Wales using a form of proportional representation called the D'Hondt system and Northern Ireland using the single transferable vote method. Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his vote in the European elections / Getty Images Mr Farage, who is standing in the South East constituency, said: "If you want Brexit, you've got to vote Brexit. "We did it once, they ignored us, so we're going to tell them again. "This time they will realise it isn't just the votes we get today, it's what we might get at a general election that would cost them all their jobs. "So they better listen to what people have to say today or they'll all be unemployed." In a polling day video message, Mr Corbyn warned that "the far right is on the rise" and Britain was "at a crossroads". Theresa May arrives to cast her vote alongside her husband / AP "The actions we take now will have huge consequences for our future," he said. On a campaign visit to Worthing, he added: "This Government can't last very long. "And so, get ready for a general election." Farage smiles as he poses for photographs outside a polling station / REUTERS Mrs May smiled as she arrived to cast her ballot alongside husband Philip in her Maidenhead constituency, but she knows the Tories are in for a difficult set of results after a distinctly lacklustre campaign. The European elections took place almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU because of Mrs May's failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. The late confirmation on May 7 that voters would go to the polls was highlighted by the Electoral Commission as a factor in the difficulties faced by some EU citizens in casting their ballots An Electoral Commission spokesman said: "We understand the frustration of some citizens of other EU member states, resident in the UK, who have been finding they are unable to vote today when they wish to do so. "All eligible EU citizens have the right to vote in the EU elections in their home member state. "If an EU citizen instead chooses to vote in the EU election in the UK, there is a process for them to complete to essentially transfer their right to vote, from their home member state to the UK. "This is a requirement of EU law, which specifies that this has to be done 'sufficiently in advance of polling day'. UK law sets this as 12 working days in advance of the poll." M ichael Heseltine today hit out at hardline Brexit-backing Tories for the partys European election disaster and branded them a destructive force. The Tory peer and former deputy prime minister had the Conservative whip suspended this week after saying he would back the Liberal Democrats in todays vote. However, he today insisted the would not quit the party and instead pledged to stay and fight. Writing for the Standard, Lord Heseltine, 86, said: Some of those who are now attempting to take control of our party are not real Conservatives at all but a destructive force damaging to both my party and our country. He added: When the results come in from these elections on Sunday night they are going to be a disaster for the Conservative Party. That will be the fault of the zealots on the Right who would not compromise and a leader who did not stand up to them as she could and should have done. On his decision to vote Lib Dem, he lamented losing the whip but questioned why Brexiteers who have shown sustained disloyalty to the Prime Minister have been treated differently. He said: The most likely consequence of this election will be a long period of bloodletting and recriminations. Indeed, it has already begun. T reasury minister Mel Stride has been promoted to Leader of the House of Commons after Andrea Leadsoms shock resignation on Wednesday. Mrs Leadsom quit over Theresa May's new Brexit proposal, saying she "no longer believed" that the government's Brexit approach "could deliver on the referendum result." Who is Mel Stride? The Remain supporting MP for Central Devon was President of the Oxford Union while studying at university before setting up his own business specialising in trade exhibitions. File photo: Mel Stride was promoted from Treasury minister on Thursday / PA Wire/PA Images He joined Parliament in 2010, winning over 50 per cent of the vote in his constituency, after being added to David Camerons A-List of candidates. Which jobs has he held in Parliament? He has held a series of Parliamentary roles, being made PPS to Skills Minister John Hayes in 2012. Mr Stride later moved to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, working on the Energy Bill, before another promotion to become Minister of State in the Cabinet Office. File photo: Mr Stride has been made Commons Leader following Andrea Leadsom's resignation / PA After serving as the Prime Ministers Senior Parliamentary Advisor, he was promoted again to the Government Whips Office. Who has replaced him? T reasury minister Mel Stride has been appointed Commons Leader following Andrea Leadsom's resignation, Downing Street has announced. Mrs Leadsom announced her resignation from the government yesterday evening over Theresa May's new Brexit proposal. She said she "no longer believed" that the government's Brexit approach "could deliver on the referendum result". In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mrs Leadsom said she did not believe that the UK will be "truly sovereign" through the deal proposed, and said a second referendum would be "dangerously divisive". Mr Stride is the MP for Central Devon and former Financial Secretary to the Treasury. Jesse Norman, who was a transport minister, has been made Financial Secretary to the Treasury, replacing Mr Stride. Michael Ellis, previously the arts minister, has been appointed as a Transport minister. T heresa May was today clinging to power after Andrea Leadsom quit the Cabinet over her Brexit plans, as the Tory party braces for a total wipeout in the European elections. Pressure has been intensifying on the Prime Minister to resign after Commons leader Mrs Leadsom quit and other ministers suggested they could not back her EU divorce plans. The backlash over Mrs May's last-ditch effort to get the plans through the Commons continued to heighten as it appeared her time as leader was coming to an end. It emerged last night that the Prime Minister will meet Sir Graham Brady, the representative of Tory backbench MPs as 1992 Committee chairman, on Friday for a meeting which could seal her fate. The 1922 Committee's executive had been expected to consider a rule change to allow another attempt to force Mrs May out last night. Clinging to power: Theresa May / Reuters However no such rule change appeared to have been discussed. The meeting lasted only a few minutes, during which Sir Graham confirmed Mrs May would meet him on Friday. The Huffington Post reported that after last night's 1922 Committee meeting, one senior MP is reported to have said: "Weve got to change the rules tonight to get her out. Who does she think she is? Imelda Marcos?" Another former minister said: I thought I was coming to a lynching. Iain Duncan Smith, told ITV News: The sofa is up against the door, shes not leaving. Andrea Leadsom has resigned as Leader of the House of Commons / PA Theresa May was intending to vote in the European elections before meeting Sir Graham Brady on Friday to discuss the timetable of her departure. She has previously agreed to set out the timetable for the contest to replace her after a crunch vote on her Brexit deal, widely expected on June 7. That deadline appears to have been brought forward with the announcement she will meet Sir Graham the day after polling day for the European elections, which are expected to be disastrous for the Conservatives. Sir Graham told reporters: "I will be meeting with the Prime Minister on Friday following her campaigning in the European elections tomorrow and following that meeting I will be consulting with the 1922 executive." He said the executive discussed "all sorts of things" in a meeting last night. The beleaguered Prime Minister is facing growing calls to resign / EPA Following the failed bid to oust her in 2018, under the existing rules Mrs May would be safe from another confidence motion until December. In a sign of unrest at the highest levels of the Tory Party, a series of Cabinet ministers asked for meetings with Mrs May to raise their concerns about the WAB which would put the Prime Minister's Brexit plan into law. Downing Street sources said it was possible that the PM could meet Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Thursday, but there was no confirmation that an audience would be granted for other ministers with reservations about the plan. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has asked for a meeting to discuss his concerns about the prospect of a second referendum, after Mrs May revealed she would grant MPs a vote on whether the Brexit deal should be put to the public. Scottish Secretary David Mundell also has particular concerns because he fears the prospect of another referendum could be "exploited" by the SNP to call for a fresh independence vote. Mrs Leadsom said she resigned on Wednesday with a "heavy heart", saying she no longer believes the Government's approach will deliver on the referendum result to leave the European Union. The PM, writing in reply, disagreed with the ex-minister's assessment, but said she was sorry to lose someone of Mrs Leadsom's "passion, drive and sincerity". "I do not agree with you that the deal which we have negotiated with the European Union means that the United Kingdom will not become a sovereign country," Mrs May said. She went on to say she agreed a second referendum would be divisive, but said the Government was not proposing to hold one. Mrs Leadsom acknowledged her resignation came on the eve of the European elections, but said she felt she could not announce the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) in Thursday's Business Statement containing "new elements that I fundamentally oppose". "I fully respect the integrity, resolution and determination that you have shown during your time as Prime Minister," she wrote in a letter to the PM. "No one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions in the interests of the country, this Government and our party." Listing her reasons for resigning, Mrs Leadsom said she did not believe that the UK will be "truly sovereign" through the deal proposed, and said a second referendum would be "dangerously divisive". She added that there had been "such a breakdown of government processes" that recent Brexit-related legislative proposals have not been "properly scrutinised or approved by Cabinet members". B BC newsreader Jane Hill has told of her battle with breast cancer after returning to work. Ms Hill had been absent from TV screens for six months, but she presented the News at One programme and afterwards revealed she had been undergoing treatment. She thanked the NHS and joked at having her BBC pass cancelled. Overwhelmed by so many lovely back-to-work messages, she tweeted. Colleagues and actors offered messages of support to her online. Sanjeev Bhaskar wrote: "Great to have you back Jane and that you're feeling better. You haven't missed much, nothing's changed." While Author Emma Kennedy shared: "Oh Jane! I had no idea. I'm so sorry. But very glad you're on the mend." I just want to say that my return wouldn't have been possible without our NHS," Ms Hill said. Jane Hill on presenting duties outside Parliament in 2016 / Nick Ansell/PA Sending love & thanks to the numerous @NHSuk staff who spotted my breast cancer, treated it, and continue to look after me. Thank you all. It was her first appearance on air since November last year. Jane Hill presenting the BBC News at One programme / BBC Ms Hill also joked that her time away should have been plenty of time for the Brexit impasse to be resolved. Her return was also hailed by BBC colleagues including Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Hussain and political correspondent Chris Mason. Ms Hill has been a lunchtime news presenter with the BBC since 2003, after joining at the end of 1991. US president will bring his children and their spouses on UK state visit next month, according to reports William and Kate will meet young Trumps and their partners Camilla to hold tea for Mr Trump and his wife at Clarence House T he Queen happily recalled her millions of miles of travels on behalf of the country as she celebrated the centenary of British Airways today but laughingly admitted: "Having travelled so much they tend to get a bit muddled." The 93-year-old, who does not possess a passport, is the most travelled monarch in British history, having visited 116 countries during 265 official visits. As part of her morning visit to the national airline headquarters in Hardmondsworth, Middlesex, she toured the Speedbird Centre, BAs heritage museum, and reminisced with volunteer Jim Davies. "Very nice....lots of different travels to different places," she said as she perused the displays featuring some of her iconic trips around the globe. The Queen recalled trips with BA in her younger days as she visited the HQ / EPA She added: "Having travelled so much they tend of get a bit muddle." Mr Davies, who worked for the firm for almost 36 years starting in the booking office and then moving to customer services before his retirement, showed the sovereign a model of one of their older planes, named The Elizabethan. "You dont do that any more. You dont name them?" The Queen remarked. The Queen recalled trips on Concorde in her younger days / EPA She was also shown a picture of her "christening" an Avro Tudor plane at London airport in 1947. "On the day I believe you did it with cider," said Mr Davies. "Cider?" asked the Queen, "not champagne?" Her host explained that in light of wartime austerity champagne would have looked too profligate. She was also shown the ticket for her first British Airways flight as Queen, six months after her Coronation in 1953. The Queen visits British Airways to mark centenary year It was for a flight for herself and the Duke of Edinburgh to Monetgo Bay in Jamaica. "This is something that might amuse and interest you," said Mr Davies. "Oh yes, I remember!" she said brightly. She also admiringly membered the smooth lines of Concord from her first flight on it, returning from Barbados in 1977, and her most recent BA journey, flying back from Perth without stopping in October 2011 on board a Boeing 777, with a journey time of 17 hours. Mr Davies said: "I heard a story that you know exactly how much fuel was left when you got off." "Yes," the Queen said, "the pilot told me there was enough left to get to Glasgow." V oters are heading to the polls in their thousands today to elect European Parliament representatives. Polling opened at 7am this morning with a total of 73 MEPs to be elected from nine constituencies up and down the UK. Results will be announced on Sunday evening once voting in the other EU nations is completed over the course of the weekend. With voting in the European Parliament elections underway, here's everything you need to know. What time do polling stations open for the European elections? Polling stations opened at 7am on Thursday, May 23. Loading.... What time do polling stations close today? Polling stations will close at 10pm. If you are in the queue at 10pm, you will still be able to vote. Do I need a polling card to vote in the European elections? If you're voting by post, then you will need to have sent your form in time for it to arrive at your local polling station by 10pm. It is recommended that you take your polling card with you to vote, however it is not essential. It is advised that you bring some form of ID with you. How to find your nearest polling station for the elections The address of your nearest polling station should be printed on your polling card, which should also have a map directing you to it. Polling stations are usually in public buildings in the local area, such as a school or town hall. If you don't have your polling card to hand, head over to wheredoivote.co.uk to find the address, distance and how long it will take to walk. MONTREAL, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Metals Inc. (CME or the Company) (CSE: CME) is pleased to announce that it has received the first payment of $500,000 from Les Mineraux Industriels du Quebec Inc ( MIQ ) in relation to the closing of the May 2, 2019 agreement. This payment represents the first installment of a total of staged cash payments of $ 2,250,000 to be made by MIQ in accordance with the agreement (see press release of May 2, 2019). The second installment of $150,000 will be payable on or before December 31, 2019. Stephane Leblanc, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We believe this agreement bolds well with CMEs strategic plan and allows us to focus on the development of our industrial project to transform quartz and leave the quarry operation to an experienced entity. The long-term supply agreement at a locked-in price and the other silica properties owned by CME should provide security to the raw material requirement and meanwhile, the cash generated from this agreement helps support CMEs activities. We are also on track to complete our feasibility study in Q2 2019. About Canadian Metals Inc. Canadian Metals is a diversified resource company focused on creating shareholder value through the development of large-scale industrial mineral portfolios in specific commodities and jurisdictions that will fuel the new energy economy. The company is uniquely positioned to pursue this strategy in silicon, precious and base metal assets. For more information, please contact: Stephane Leblanc Chief Executive Officer Email: sleblanc@canadianmetalsinc.com (418) 717-2553 Patsie Ducharme Chief Financial Officer Email: pducharme@canadianmetalsinc.com (514) 895-5556 Website: www.canadianmetalsinc.com About Les Mineraux Industriels du Quebec Inc. Les Mineraux Industriels du Quebec (MIQ) is a joint-venture between Groupe Bauval Inc. and Rockebec Inc. MIQ's mission is to operate, produce and sell chemical-grade minerals to industrial customers. The company develops geochemical management methods to optimize the mining plans and to sustain the long-term exploitation of their deposits. For more information please contact: Sophie Huygens Operations director MIQ Email: shuygens@miq-ca.com (514) 603 1826 Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements included herein may constitute forward-looking statements. All statements included in this press release that address future events, conditions, or results, including in connection with the prefeasibility study, its financing, job creation, the investments to complete the project and the potential performance, production, and environmental footprint of the ferrosilicon plant, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as may, must, plan, believe, expect, estimate, think, continue, should, will, could, intend, anticipate, or future, or the negative forms thereof or similar variations. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by management in light of their experiences and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments, as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including those mentioned in the Corporations continuous disclosure documents, which can be found under its profile on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ). Many of such risks and uncertainties are outside the control of the Corporation and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In making such forward-looking statements, management has relied upon a number of material factors and assumptions, on the basis of currently available information, for which there is no insurance that such information will prove accurate. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements set forth above. The Corporation is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. I ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked voters for giving him a "historic mandate" after his Hindu nationalist party was expected to clinch a landslide election victory. Votes are still being counted, but the main opposition alliance, headed up by Rahul Gandhi's Congress party, has conceded defeat. Election Commission data on Thursday afternoon showed Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 299 out of 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The final tally was expected by Friday morning. Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of people cheered and shouted party slogans, lifting cardboard cut-outs of Mr Modi and party president Amit Shah as other people played drums. In a victory address to supporters, Mr Modi said: "We all want a new India. I want to bow down my head and say thank you. Narendra Modi speaks to the victorious party workers at the BJP party head quarters in New Delhi, India. / Getty Images Mr Modi also urged the world to "recognise India's democratic power." He attributed the party's showing to his pro-poor policies, including free medical insurance and relief for distressed farmers. He also tweeted: "India wins yet again." President Donald Trump also congratulated the prime minister on Twitter saying: "Congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi and his BJP party on their BIG election victory. "Great things are in store for the US-India partnership with the return of PM Modi at the helm. I look forward to continuing our important work together!" The election has been seen as a referendum on Mr Modi, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog in India's highly stratified society has endured. Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks exacerbating social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people. On the campaign trail, he presented himself as a self-made man with the confidence to cut red tape and unleash India's economic potential, and labelled Mr Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that lost power in 2014, as an out-of-touch elite. Mr Gandhi conceded defeat for his own parliamentary seat to his BJP rival in Amethi, a constituency in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh that had for decades been a Congress party bastion. Getty Images But Indian election rules allow candidates to run in more than one constituency, and Gandhi was ahead in the race for another seat he contested in the southern state of Kerala. Asked if he would quit the party's top post to take responsibility for its dubbing, Gandhi replied: "That's something between me and my party's policy-making body which is going to meet soon." Congress, the party of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and peace activist Mahatma Gandhi, ruled India for nearly half a century after it achieved independence from Britain in 1947. Rahul Gandhi conceded the defeat in the Indian General elections 2019. / EPA In 2014, it won only 44 seats, and was projected to win only slightly more this time. Political commentator Arti Jerath said the BJP's performance was "absolutely stunning". He said: Modi is the predominant leader in India today. He has pushed everybody else aside. Nobody in the opposition is a match for him." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah greet supporters on arrival at the party headquarters in New Delhi. / AP A party or coalition needs a simple majority of 272 seats, or just over half the seats in Parliament's lower house, to govern. "Mr. Modi's going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that," said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. Shortly after officials began tabulating the votes, India's Sensex jumped 2.3 per cent to an all-time high over 40,000, though it closed Thursday off 0.76 per cent at 38,811. If BJP's lead holds, it won't need a coalition partner to stay in power and could even improve its position compared to 2014, when it won 282 seats. This election may mark the first time in the party's history that it has won two consecutive elections on its own. World leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, also congratulated Modi on Twitter. "I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted. Modi celebrating his victory in New Dehli. / AP T he Pentagon has admitted it is still investigating reports of UFOs, announcing the revelation after years of "ambiguous" official statements. The US Department of Defense confirmed that a secret government initiative called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program investigated "unidentified aerial phenomena". In an exclusive statement to the New York Post, spokesman Christopher Sherwood said investigations into claimed alien aircraft sightings still continue, even after the Department of Defense shut down the AATIP in 2012. He said: "The Department of Defense is always concerned about maintaining positive identification of all aircraft in our operating environment, as well as identifying any foreign capability that may be a threat to the homeland. "The department will continue to investigate, through normal procedures, reports of unidentified aircraft encountered by US military aviators in order to ensure defense of the homeland and protection against strategic surprise by our nations adversaries. Nick Pope, who covertly investigated UFOs for the British government during the 1990s, told the newspaper that Mr Sherwood's comments were a bombshell revelation. Pope, a former UK defence official, said: Previous official statements were ambiguous and left the door open to the possibility that AATIP was simply concerned with next-generation aviation threats from aircraft, missiles and drones as skeptics claimed. This new admission makes it clear that they really did study what the public would call UFOs, he said. S unnier days may be finally upon us, but chances are well be staying inside this summer to binge watch the hugely anticipated third season of Stranger Things. The sci-fi horror, starring breakout star Millie Bobby Brown and Winona Ryder, has proved itself a smash hit since it debuted in 2016 and the latest season is expected to be the best yet. So, to get you ready for the new season, which drops on Netflix UK on 4th July, we've rounded up the best Stranger Things-themed products around. Perfect for fans of the show, or just to keep for yourself, there are some amazing retro and limited edition products that will get you as excited as we are for the return of Mike, Justin, Lucas, Eleven et al. Here are the best Stranger Things products you can buy right now. Polaroid Originals Stranger Things Special Edition OneStep 2 What happens when you bring together a popular 80s-set show and an iconic brand from the same era? A delightful mash-up you'll be itching to get your hands on. Ahead of ST3, Polaroid has released a Stranger Things Special Edition OneStep 2 camera as well as Polaroid film in 16 sci fi-inspired designs. The camera, which naturally has some elements positioned upside down, is in Stranger Things signature shades of steel blue and red and has a super bright flash that means you get perfectly lit pictures every time. Its best used with the Color i-Type Film Stranger Things Edition (15.99), which replaces the standard white Polaroid border with colourful Hawkins-inspired designs, but it's compatible with 600 film too. Cast aside your device and get set to take your summer snaps to a whole new dimension. Things Polaroid OneStep 2 119.99 | Polaroid Originals | Buy it now Also available from Very. Stranger Things season three: brand new teaser images released 1 /6 Stranger Things season three: brand new teaser images released Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) enjoys an ice cream on a bus with Maxine (Sadie Sink) Netflix Things don't stay quiet in Hawkins for long... Netflix Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) hangs out at the pool Netflix The gang are pictured outside a hospital emergency room Netflix Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) look puzzled Netflix Steve (Joe Keery) appears to have a new summer job Netflix H&M x Stranger Things Its no secret that Swedish fashion giant H&M loves a collab the store has worked with everyone from Metallica to Disney to bring licenced merch to the masses. Now its jumping on the Stranger bandwagon by bringing a capsule collection of Hawkins-inspired clothes and accessories to our summer wardrobes. Our top picks include the bright red one piece swimsuit and branded pool sliders, but the range is much bigger than what weve featured here so head over to H&M to find more. Out in stores and online May 23. Stranger Things x Pull&Bear H&M isn't the only high street retailer to launch a collection in honour of Stranger Things 3 - now Pull&Bear has released a 20-piece apparel and accessories collection too. There are simple tees and hoodies emblazoned with the Netflix Original show's distinctive logo as well as fashion featuring eerie artwork and scenes from the series. Prices start from 7.99 and sizes run from XS to XL. Hasbro Gaming Monopoly Stranger Things Edition You know something's on a roll when Hasbro makes a Monopoly version out of it. Yes that's right; you can now get your hands on a Stranger Things edition of everyone's favourite board game. Based on the events of the first series, players will get a kick out of the 80s aesthetic as they travel around the board through Hawkins trying to find Will Byers. Game tokens are 80s-inspired and include Upside Down counterparts. We loved the box and board artwork most; the details are exceptional. 25.99 | Amazon | Buy it now Netflix releases dark new trailer for Stranger Things season three Steve Harrington Stranger Things Popsocket Pop Grip Steve Harrington went from slimy teenage creep to dad-like babysitting hero in a matter of episodes. We love Steve now. His performances were gripping, so it's only fitting that you use his face to get a better hold on your device with a Pop Grip. They're sticky-backed handles that you attach to the back of your device to make them easier to carry, as well as watch your favourite Netflix shows while you're on the move. Pop to hold or prop on a flat surface, and simply push back in when not in use. Available with a black or white base. 9.99 | Pop Grips | Buy it now LEGO Stranger Things: The Upside Down DIY your own Upside Down with LEGO, who has released a 2,000+ piece special building set based on the popular Netflix show. The playset, which launched at Legos flagship Leicester Square store on 14th May, will delight the big kids amongst you. It's made up of two parts; Will Byers home and the Upside Down counterpart, which can be built separately or together. The level of detail is outstanding expect to find original elements from the show such as a Mind Flayer Poster, a Wheres Barb Poster (sob) in Will's bedroom. There are eight Stranger Things LEGO mini figures included in the kit, including the child heroes, Wills mum Joyce Byers, Chief Hopper and a Demogorgon. At just shy of 180, it's not the kind of thing that you can buy with pocket money, but it will be treasured by fans of both Stranger Things and LEGO - we're imagining there's a significant crossover. Measures over 32cm x 44cm x 21cm, not suitable for infants. 179.99 | LEGO | Buy it now Stranger Things Lego - In pictures 1 /10 Stranger Things Lego - In pictures Tom Nicholson/PinPep Tom Nicholson/PinPep PA PA PA PA Tom Nicholson/PinPep Tom Nicholson/PinPep Tom Nicholson/PinPep PA Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down If youre the kind of die-hard fan who needs more answers than the show can offer, you need to download this Amazon Kindle book. Its the official companion book that offers a behind-the-scenes take into the first two seasons of Stranger Things with commentary from the creators as well as exclusive interviews with the cast. Theres also a fold-out map of Hawkins, explanations of certain references and a preview of what ST3 holds, plus so much more, all designed to enrich your viewing experience. For those who revel in the details and love diving into the ST world, it really doesnt get better than this. 12.99 for Kindle, 75 for hardcover | Amazon | Buy it now Etsy Stranger Things x Starry Night Poster Looking for something truly unique? You'll find it in the online treasure trove that is Etsy. There are tons of ST-themed posters on the handmade and crafts site, but we love this mash-up of Starry Night with the ST cast the most. Van Gogh's legendary work perfectly fits the otherworldly mood of the show, and the poster is available in three sizes; A4, A3, and A2. Hang it in a frame and delight as friends and family do a double take as they pass it by. It's not official show merchandise, but it is something that lovers of all kinds of culture will adore. From 7.90 | Etsy | Buy it now UO Urban Renewal Remnants Eggo T-Shirt While not strictly merch, who can forget El's love of Eggo Waffles? Wear this t-shirt with pride, as it not only showcases your supreme knowledge of the show, but also because the tee is made from sustainably up-cycled garments by UO's Urban Renewal team. Sweet. Available in S, M, L. L ego is taking Stranger Things fans to the Upside Down with the launch of a building set inspired by the hit Netflix show starring Winona Ryder and Millie Bobby Brown. Earlier this week, Lego unveiled first-look photos of the playset, which includes some of the shows most iconic characters, including a sinister Demorgorgon. There set has two sections: the iconic Byers house and its evil counterpart, the Upside Down, which can be assembled separately or together. The set, aptly called Upside Down, is Legos latest creative endeavour following its collaborations with other popular franchises such as Harry Potter, Star Wars and Marvel. Stranger Things Lego - In pictures 1 /10 Stranger Things Lego - In pictures Tom Nicholson/PinPep Tom Nicholson/PinPep PA PA PA PA Tom Nicholson/PinPep Tom Nicholson/PinPep Tom Nicholson/PinPep PA When does the Stranger Things Lego set go on sale? The Stranger Things Lego set hit stores on May 14. At an exclusive late-night launch at Legos flagship store in Leicester Square, fans queued for hours to get their hands on the set. You can buy the set online from Lego on June 1st. How much does it cost? The 2,287 piece set is priced at 179, but for many Stranger Things fans, the hefty price tag will be worth it. Stranger Things season three: brand new teaser images released 1 /6 Stranger Things season three: brand new teaser images released Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) enjoys an ice cream on a bus with Maxine (Sadie Sink) Netflix Things don't stay quiet in Hawkins for long... Netflix Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) hangs out at the pool Netflix The gang are pictured outside a hospital emergency room Netflix Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) look puzzled Netflix Steve (Joe Keery) appears to have a new summer job Netflix Where to buy it The set is exclusive to Lego stores and the Lego website. G eri Horner has returned to her red locks ahead of the Spice Girls reunion tour which kicks off this week. Horner and her bandmates Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Emma Bunton start their short tour on Friday when they play Croke Park in Dublin. To mark the occasion, Horner decided it was time to go back to her Ginger Spice, telling fans she was scared. I havent had ginger hair for over 20 years I think, Horner said in an Instagram video as she sat waiting for the colour to take. Im a bit scared! she added. New look: Geri Horner / David Venni for LOreal Paris Preference Hair Colour. Geri wears shade 74 Mango Horner then shared two images of her newly-coloured hair, showing off her luxurious locks to rave reviews before revealing the exact shade she picked. Alongside the snaps, she wrote: #ad Ginger is back! Thanks to @lorealhair. Preference shade 74 Mango. #Spiceworld2019 #girlpower #worthit #HouseofGinger. Fans were beside themselves with excitement at Horners dramatic makeover, calling her more gorgeous than ever. One wrote: OMG! THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. Im crying... OH MY GINGER! Thank u sooooo much for this. Another posted: OMG!! You look gorgeous than ever!!! So happy that #GingerIsBack!!!!. Back in the day: Ginger Spice Geri Horner - then Halliwell - in her famous Union Jack dress / Rex Features Omgggg!! This makes me so happy, added somebody else, while others hailed Horner a queen. On Sunday, Horner rubbished claims of a rift within the band in the aftermath of Brown claiming to have shared a night of passion with her decades ago. No one is perfect but its all fine. Were having a blast. Its an absolute laugh, she told The Sun. Our relationship is really good. Weve all been really positive, so its nice. Its natural. Im really happy, everyones happy. Mel B revealed she slept with bandmate Geri Horner It read: It has been very disappointing to read about all these rumours again, especially on Mothers Day of all days. Geri loves the Spice Girls: Emma, Melanie, Melanie and Victoria [Beckham]. She would like [the fans] to know that what has been reported recently is simply not true and has been very hurtful to her family. Moving forward, Geri cant wait to see the girls and all the fans on the tour, have an amazing time with everyone, and make some new memories. G eri Horner shared a snap with her children as they prepared to jet to Dublin to kick off the Spice Girls tour. Horner will reunite with bandmates Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm on stage at Croke Park on Friday night to mark the first date on their short reunion tour. On Thursday, Horner shared a series of snaps with daughter Bluebell, 13, and two-year-old son Monty as they boarded a plane to take the short flight. She captioned the post: Dublin were coming!! #Spiceworld2019 #HouseofGinger. Horners latest post comes the morning after she returned to her Ginger Spice persona by dyeing her hair. I havent had ginger hair for over 20 years I think, Horner told fans in an Instagram video before adding that she was a bit scared. Geri Halliwell dies hair ginger for reunion tour Horner later shared two shots of her new look, revealing she had opted for a shade called 74 Mango. Fans were excited by the stars makeover, calling her queen and hailing her as more gorgeous than ever. Ready to go: The Spice Girls tour kicks off this week / PA The Spice Girls are set to embark on a short stadium tour of the UK and Ireland minus fifth member Victoria Beckham. After Dublin, the Spice World tour heads to cities including Cardiff, Manchester and Edinburgh before wrapping up in London with three dates at Londons Wembley Stadium. Spice Girls - In pictures 1 /64 Spice Girls - In pictures Spice Girls at Wembley in 2019 Andrew Timms Best looks Sporty, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Posh sing as The Spice Girls PA The Spice Girls reunite for tour rehearsals Spice Girls Instagram Spice Up Your Life The Spice Girls officially launch Channel Five at Marble Arch in 1997 Rex Viva Forever The Spice Girls - Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham AT 'Viva Forever!' Spice Girls musical launch in 2012 The Spice Girls reunite for the first time since 2012 Victoria Beckham/Instagram Prince Harry meets The Spice Girls PA Reuniting Victoria Beckham, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown pose for a photocall at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich ahead of their news conference on June 28, 2007 in London Getty Images Doppelgangers The Spice Girls with their wax doubles at The Rock Circus In The West End, London in 1999 Jeremy Selwyn Book launch The Spice Girls launch their book 'Forever Spice' PA Summer ball The Spice Girls at Capital Radio Summer Jam, Clapham Common in 1996 Rex Patriotic Geri Halliwell at The Brit Awards in 1997 wearing her famous Union Jack dress Rex Features Movie stars Spice Girls 'Spice World' Los Angeles Premiere in 1998 Rex Going for gold The Spice Girls performing at The 2012 London Olympic Games, Closing Ceremony Rex Charitable Spice Girls pose for Comic Relief Red Nose Day Launch in 1997 Alex Lentati Iconic Auction of outfits owned by Geri Halliwell. Her Spice Girls memorabilia auctioned at Sotheby's. All proceed's for The Sargent Cancer Care For Children in 1998 David Crump/Daily Mail Onset The girls filming Spice Girls: Spice World Spice Productions Undercover Ginger and Baby Spice star in Spice Girls: Spice World Spice Productions On tour British pop band, The Spice Girls, perform the first concert of the UK leg of their world tour at the O2 Arena, 15 December 2007 Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images Flying high The Spice Girls pose after naming a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 plane "Spice One" in their honor at Los Angeles International Airport, 12 December 2007 AFP/Getty Images Jet setters The Spice Girls unveiling the new name, Spice One, of a Virgin Atlantic Jet at the Flight Path Museum at Los Angeles Airport PA Model looks The Spice Girls, Emma Burton, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham (L to R) perform during the Victoria's Secret fashion show at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, 15 November 2007 AFP/Getty Images West End debut Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown attend the press night of 'Viva Forever', a musical based on the music of The Spice Girls at Piccadilly Theatre on December 11, 2012 in London Stuart Wilson/Getty Images Selfie stick The Spice Girls: Victoria Bekcham, Melanie Chisholm, Emman Bunton, Melanie Brown and Geri Halliwell Stage stars Spice Girls - Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham during 'Viva Forever!' musical press night at The Piccadilly Theatre, London, Britain MTV Europe Music Awards Spice Girls at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. PA Throwback The Spice Girls: Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) Victoria Adams (Posh Spice) Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) and Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) Girl power The Spice Girls in Spice World (1997) London calling Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls performs during the first date of their 17-date residency, part of their reunion world tour Getty Images Raising money The Spice Girls raise money for Children in Need First reunion The Spice Girls reunited in 2007 Jeremy Selwyn Fashionable flare The Spice Girls at 12th Annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles in 2007 Spice and Vinegar Gary Lineker with the Spice Girls promote Walkers Crisps with limited edition Spice Girls range Mini me's The Spice Girls Dolls hit the market in 1997 Rex Risque Victoria Beckham (Adams) and Geri Halliwell perform with The Spice Girls in Dublin in 1999 Rex One down British pop band The Spice Girls. Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham), Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm), Baby Spice (Emma Bunton) and Scary Spice (Melanie Brown) Virgin Records BRIT Awards The Spice Girls perform at The Brit Awards in 2000 and win an award for thier outstanding contribution to British music Back stage snaps The Spice Girls take a twitter snap at Olympic Games London 2012 Closing Ceremony. Charming the royals Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls greets Prince Charles at the Prince's Trust Charity Concert Gala at the Manchester Opera House Rex The Spice Girls meet Prince Charles Prince of Wales with the Spice Girls at the Royal Gala celebrating the Princes Trust 21st Anniversary PA The Spice Girls World Tour Melanie Chisholm, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown perform The Spice Girls World Tour in 2008 Rex The Spice Girls at The MTV Europe Awards The Spice Girls at The MTV Europe Awards in Sweden IN 2000 Rex Award winners The Spice Girls at The Brit Awards in 1998 Rex Collecting gongs The Spice Girls at The Brit Awards in 1997 Rex With her majesty Queen Elizabeth II meeting Emma Bunton, Victoria Adams, Mel C, Geri Halliwell, Mel B of The Spice Girls at The Royal Variety Performance in 1997 Rex Film debut The Spice Girls take center stage in their feature film debut, the Columbia Pictures Presentation of 'Spice World' in 1997 Getty Images Meeting Mandela Spice Girls Mel B and Geri Halliwell meet Nelson Mandela in 1997 as part of the British Royal tour in 1997 Rex Pepsi promotions The Spice Girls promote Pepsi in 1997 Rex Horner last week hit back at reports of a rift within the group after Brown claimed to have slept with her at the height of the bands fame. W e've got some good news for fans of all the creepy goings-ons in Hawkins, India - the third season of Stranger Things has landed on Netflix. Yep, that's right - we're going to be re-introduced to Elle and the gang as they battle the strange and mysterious forces that have plagued them over the past few seasons. After a near two-year hiatus, the much-anticipated Stranger Things 3 drops us right back into the thick of the action to summer 1985, and it is set to be a sure-fire hit. So with the third season out now, here's everything you need to know about Stranger Things 3. Stranger Things 3: Final Trailer - In pictures 1 /18 Stranger Things 3: Final Trailer - In pictures Netflix released the final trailer for the upcoming season three of Stranger Things before the new season debuts next month Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix When is Stranger Things season 3 being released in the UK? Stranger Things is out now! For UK viewers, it dropped on Netflix around 8am on Thusday, July 4 - which also happens to be American Independence Day. Coincidence? We'll have to wait and see. Who will be starring? Much to the delight of Stranger Things fans, all of the original cast will be back for the new episodes, including Millie Bobbie Brown as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Winona Ryder (Joyce), Noah Schnapp (Will), Caleb Mclaughlin (Lucas), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), Joe Keery (Steve) and David Harbour (Jim Hopper). Max (Sadie Sink) and Billy (Dacre Montogomery) from season two are also making a comeback. Are there any new characters? A new season means new faces! Maya Thurman-Hawke, who recently starred in the BBC adaption of Little Women, will be joining the cast as Robin. We don't know much about her character, but the official description reveals that she uncovers a dark secret in Hawkins. Also lined up is Jake Busey (Storm Troopers) and Bruce Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), who will play Bruce and Mayor Kline respectively, as well as Francesca Reale (Haters Back Off) whose character will be a lifeguard called Heather. Do we know the episode titles? Although the execs are keeping tight-lipped on the plotline, we do know the names of each of the eight episodes: Suzie, Do You Copy? The Mall Rats The Case of the Missing Lifeguard The Sauna Test The Source The Birthday The Bite The Battle of Starcourt Stranger Things series 3 trailer What will happen in Stranger Things season 3? Again, no hints on the official plot line but what we do know is that the series will be set in summer 1985 - less than a year after the events of season 2. In the book, Ross Duffer says: Its really the final summer of their childhood. Theyre dealing with growing up, with these complicated new relationships. Theyre starting to fall apart a little bit, and maybe they dont love playing Dungeons & Dragons as much as they used to. Naturally, thats going to generate conflict. And, as the eerie final scene of season 2 implied, the Mind Flayer could be making a troublesome return. Theyve shut the door on the Mind Flayer, but not only is it still there in the Upside Down, its very much aware of the kids, and particularly Eleven, Ross told The Hollywood Reporter. It had not encountered her and her powers until that final episode. Now, it knows that shes out there. We wanted to end on a little bit of an ominous note. Producer and director Shawn Levy has also hinted that the Mind Flayer will return to wreak havoc after being expelled from Will last season, while also confirming that the evil Dr Brenner is alive in the world somewhere. Levy also dropped another hint that we may see some of Elle's other siblings appear in the new season - after all, we've only met Eight and Eleven so far. F or years, American executives and politicians expressed their fears of China quietly. They feared angering its leaders and losing access to its market. Donald Trump has no such qualms. Encouraged by his hawkish advisers, he has decided to confront China aggressively on issues from trade to spying. Huawei, the worlds largest maker of telecommunications equipment and an emblem of Chinas emergence as an economic superpower, is just the latest victim of an escalating conflict between the US and its increasingly potent and strident challenger. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has compared his firm of 180,000 employees, 1,400 of them in the UK, to a small sesame seed, stuck in the middle of conflict between two great powers. This week, the sesame seed was squeezed further as Washington decided Huawei will need US government approval to buy American-made components and software for its devices. The Trump administration suspects the company is an arm of the Chinese state and that its tech will be used for espionage. The decision has had immediate and far-reaching effects in markets all over the world. Huawei will have only limited access to Googles Android operating system, which runs on its phones. It will also struggle to buy essential components such as microchips from British and American firms. The UK-based chip designer ARM Holdings has said it will suspend business with Huawei. EE and Vodafone have both said they will be holding off offering new Huawei handsets until the US dispute with China is resolved. Americas actions will be felt well beyond China, as Huawei recently passed Apple to become the worlds second-biggest maker of smartphones, and it is a leading player in the development of 5G networks. 5G will offer download speeds up to 40 times faster than the current 4G systems, and enable the flourishing of everything from the smart home and driverless cars to delivery drones. For countries trying to get these networks running, Huawei has offered the most efficient, affordable choice. Cutting out the company would delay the implementation of 5G in many countries. But for Trump, that would be a small price to pay for winning the trade war he has picked with China and for asserting US primacy for at least another generation. Beating up Huawei is about far more than phones for the President and his trade and foreign policy team. It is about the US putting China in its place and finding points of leverage in what is likely to be a decades-long struggle for political, economic, military and technological leadership. From the very beginning of his run for the White House, Trump spoke of China as an existential threat to the US, the country responsible for the hollowing out of US manufacturing and the loss of millions of jobs. Chinas gain, he believes, has come at Americas expense. Initially, Trumps attacks on Beijing seemed destabilising to all but his core supporters. But in recent months, a consensus has emerged in Americas business, political and military circles that he has done them a service by calling China out. His attacks have drawn attention to its trade practices, its military expansionism in the South China Sea, and treatment of its minority Uyghur Muslim population, up to a million of whom are being held in detention camps, with human rights groups reporting torture, disappearances and mass surveillance of the population. Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist and voice of this establishment, wrote this week that Trumps instinct that America needs to rebalance its relationship with Beijing before China gets too big to compromise is correct. It took a human wrecking ball like Trump to get Chinas attention. In Washington there are many who consider Huawei far more than a simple technology rival. They regard it as a key element in Chinas efforts to destabilise the West and assert its own power. They believe Huawei is nothing more than a front for the Chinese state and that its devices and network infrastructure will be used to spy on the US and its allies. Those allies are divided on the issue. Australia, New Zealand and Japan have placed restrictions on the use of Huawei in their technology infrastructure because of security concerns. France and Germany, however, have said they will not bar it from their markets as this would delay the 5G rollout. Theresa May overrode Americas warnings about Huawei, and provisionally approved the use of the companys products in the UKs 5G networks after a meeting of the National Security Council. British intelligence is said to have tested the firms tech to the point where it is confident it contains no spying threat. Different views at the highest level of Government, though, became apparent when the PM sacked defence secretary Gavin Williamson, accusing him of leaking details of the NSC, a charge Williamson denied. Former defense secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked over allegations he leaked NSC discussions over Huawei to the media / PA Huawei has repeatedly and vigorously rejected the allegation that it is a tool of the Chinese state. To include spyware would jeopardise its entire business. There is also the broader context of Beijings challenge to the US. China has plenty of other cards to play in this war to control next-gen technology, from 5G to artificial intelligence. On Monday, President Xi Jinping visited a facility for mining rare earths, essential components in low-carbon technologies such as hybrid cars and wind turbines. If China decided to restrict the export of rare earths, it could cripple key sectors of the US and European economies. Americas tech giants have made a lot of money selling products and services in China and are now at growing risk of losing access to those markets. Many Chinese executives and political leaders were educated in America and fight to send their own children to US schools. But now, Washington is restricting Chinese investment in US companies and making it harder for Chinese academics to get visas to study in America. The battle took on a personal dimension last year when Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huaweis chief financial officer and the daughter of the firms founder, at Washingtons request. The US alleges she stole industrial secrets and violated sanctions against Iran. She is fighting extradition to the US. There is talk now of a digital Iron Curtain falling. For years US firms have been restricted from offering their full services in China. Many Chinese have only limited access to Google and Facebook. In this highly protected market, major local tech players have emerged, such as Alibaba, which are now making rapid strides in the West. Their success has stirred enormous resentment and many in the US tech sector felt retaliation was long overdue. If there are more moves like the restriction on Huawei, we could see the divisions between US and Chinese tech widening. This week Ren Zhengfei told Chinese media the current practice of US politicians underestimates our strength. To establish its lead in 5G technologies, he said, We have sacrificed ourselves and our families and sooner or later, there will be conflict with the US. M ary Portas is the original multi-hyphenate. As founder and chief creative officer of retail consultancy Portas, shes busy helping the UK high street. She runs boutique charity shops with Save the Children, appears on TV, has published four books, and can now add podcaster to her list of jobs. This week, she launched her new podcast, Work Like a Woman, to complement her successful book of the same title, born out of her experiences at the company she founded 21 years ago. That manifesto for change was full of advice and tips on how to embrace soft skills in the workforce and move away from the dominant alpha culture that permeates offices. Portas says she was inundated with responses after the books release last year and wanted to continue the conversation. A podcast felt like the right way. There are so many things we wanted to talk about and break down key chapters, she explains on the phone in the midst of her UK book tour. I wanted to open it up to other women so listeners are not only hearing my voice but hearing other great women who have succeeded but have changed the way they work. Picking guests was a job in itself: I was very clear I didnt want to ram the whole podcast with famous women. I wanted the best stories; I wanted people to learn from it. Among those who made the cut is author Elizabeth Day, who hosts podcast How to Fail; Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside, who talks about supporting women at work; and activist Caroline Criado-Perez, author of Invisible Women, who discusses how to shift systemic gender bias. I learned something every single time, says Portas. I thought Id written a pretty decent book but then someone will come in with a magical insight and you think: I can really use that in the way I work. So what insights will we gain? The chat with Day was particularly enlightening, says its host. She asked me, what did I learn from having children and how did it affect who I was? No one had ever asked me that before. I realised that actually it made me a strong individual, because through caring for my children I was putting myself to one side. And the power youre able to generate from being caring and kind is greater than putting yourself first. Elizabeth Day is one of the guests on Work Like a Woman / Rex Features This gets to the crux of what Portas wants listeners and readers to understand that kindness and caring should be at the core of the workplace. Kindness is the new commerciality. The best thing you can do as a leader is influence someones life for the good. Theres been so much research that if employees feel safe in their workspace they perform much better. We need to think of a new way that uses the female values of caring and kindness. Are our workplaces ready for this approach? Portas cites the toxicity that led to the #MeToo movement and new transparency about the gender pay gap. Were seeing a world where a door is open, and that is a kindness door. Its about women taking power in a new way for a new world. Its not just about women feeling empowered but also about getting men to understand it too. She notes that lots of men are coming up to her on her current book tour and saying they need her in their business. The book could be called How Not to Work Like an Arsehole, or How to Be a Decent Human Being in Work, says Portas. But I called it Work Like a Woman because I wanted those tenets, the ones seen as softer and fuzzier, to be the codes of the future, and move away from the alpha male. Portas isnt the only one placing an emphasis on soft skills. Last year Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, made waves by saying the most in-demand skill isnt coding but communication. This, he argued, is what the workplace needs in the growing world of artificial intelligence. Creativity is the future. We need to do stuff the robots and computers arent able to. We need the soft skills, creative skills, the arts, adds Portas. In her next podcast season she hopes to look at bullying in the workplace and interview author Deborah Levy. Her book The Cost of Living talks about a woman starting again in her fifties. Whats the one thing she hopes listeners take from the show? This is about setting new codes that are intrinsic to us. Giving power to kindness, collaboration, vulnerability. The more we talk about these new codes, the more we will be able to push the old toxic alpha codes out the door. QUEEN CREEK, AZ, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE No Borders, Inc. (Ticker: NBDR) The Company is proud to announce that No Borders Labs has selected Coinbase Payments as No Borders "Exclusive Crypto Payments Partner" and has completed the technical and financial integrations for No Borders Naturals and MediDent Supplies to accept cryptocurrency payments. The implementation of the Coinbase Payment integration allows the Companys subsidiaries to accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin & USD Coin effective immediately. No Borders, Inc. has continually made a case for blockchain technologies and digital currencies. Real world adoption of these technologies and currencies requires market participation by consumers, suppliers and retailers. By successfully working with Coinbase to provide both business and consumer clients with cryptocurrency payment options in the CBD and Dental industries, No Borders continues to demonstrate the Companys commitment to this vision. Visit www.NoBordersNaturals.com or www.MediDentSupplies.com today and you can complete your purchase with Bitcoin , Bitcoin Cash , Ethereum , Litecoin or USD Coin . Joseph Snyder, our CEO and Director stated, I am proud to be announcing our integration of Coinbase and also to now have our amazing products available for purchase in crypto! Taking this step to participate in the cryptocurrency economy with our CBD and Dental Equipment product lines allows No Borders, Inc. (Ticker: NBDR ) to begin accumulating and holding various crypto assets on the books as product sell through in crypto gains traction. While we may use cryptocurrencies for liquid purposes just like cash, we do believe that certain cryptocurrencies have additional hedging and arbitrage characteristics which potentially makes accumulating a store of these crypto assets an attractive idea moving forward. #HODL About No Borders Naturals, Inc. No Borders Naturals, Inc. a subsidiary of No Borders, Inc. (OTC: NBDR) is a purveyor of health and wellness product for active consumers and their pets. With a discerning eye on quality, bio-availability and natural wellness, No Borders Naturals aims to be an industry leader in alternative wellness product offerings. Now Accepting Cryptocurrencies Via Coinbase! About No Borders Dental Resources, Inc. No Borders Dental Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of No Borders, Inc. (OTC: NBDR), provides equipment and supplies to medical and dental professionals across the US through the trade name MediDent Supplies. MediDent has a strategic focus on expanding product portfolios and optimizing Lifetime Customer Value (LCV) while minimizing Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) in the medical, dental and veterinary spaces. Now Accepting Cryptocurrencies Via Coinbase! About No Borders Labs, Inc. No Borders Labs, Inc. provides leading-edge tech tools to our internal companies while also offering consulting, architecture, and software development services to external businesses looking to update their technology infrastructure for greater efficiency, security, and transparency. No Borders Labs, Inc. is headquartered in Arizona with resources in the USA, South America, Asia, and Europe. About No Borders, Inc. No Borders, Inc. (OTC: NBDR) is a multifaceted corporation specializing in the acquisition, creation and scaling of commercial and consumer products by utilizing cutting edge technologies to reduce costs while increasing revenues and shareholder value through technological superiority across its portfolio of assets. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Read more about the No Borders, Inc. and its subsidiaries, on our official website, as well as further information about the Company and its latest news releases at http:// www.NBDR.co ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Joseph Snyder Chief Executive Officer and Director This press release may include certain statements that are forward-looking in nature and that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on No Borders, Inc., current expectations and projections regarding future events, which are based on currently available information. The forward-looking statements in this press release may also include statements relating to No Borders, Inc.'s anticipated new developments, business prospects, financial performance, strategies and similar matters. No Borders, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Pune, India, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An assessment published by Market Research Future (MRFR) suggests that that Global Vulcanized Fiber Market is expected to mark a CAGR of 4.62% during the forecast period 2016 to 2023. The market has been projected in the report to scale a valuation of USD 1795.9 Mn by the close of 2023. The key advantages offered by the fiber such as electrical insulation, high mechanical strength, resistance to heat & cold, etc. are expected to unleash developmental opportunities to the market in the upcoming years. Proliferating applications across different domains is anticipated to expedite the growth pace of the market in the upcoming years. Vulcanized Fiber is extensively used in the production of electronics and gadgets such as laptops, home appliances, smartphones, etc. due to its resilience, lightweight, and strength. The increasing demand being observed in the consumer electronics industry is likely to motivate the growth trajectory of the Vulcanized Fiber Market over the next couple of years. Similarly, the production of textile power looms leverages Vulcanized Fiber for meeting standard quality. The advancements in the textile industry are expected to have a positive influence on the expansion of the market. To illustrate, the state government of Telangana, India, has sanctioned INR 500 Cr for the modernization of power looms to give a fillip to the textile industry. Receive Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/7713 The wide scope of application of fiber discs, which uses Vulcanized Fiber as a backing material, is anticipated to catapult the market on an upward trajectory in the years to come. One of the key areas of application signified by fiber discs is the production of steel auto components. The strong value maintained by the automotive industry is projected to accelerate revenue creation in the Vulcanized Fiber Market over the assessment period. However, the availability of a range of substitutes is likely to undermine market growth across the review period. Summary: Vulcanized Fiber is extensively used in the production of electronics due to its high resistance, resilience, etc. It also exhibits advantages such as electrical insulation, high mechanical strength, etc. which are expected to increase application across industry verticals. Thus, the future trajectory of the market is projected to remain highly lucrative over the next few years. The growth of the end-user industries such as consumer electronics, textile, etc. is projected to accelerate revenue creation for market players. Also, the increasing use of fiber discs, made of Vulcanized Fiber, is finding applications across major industries such as the automotive industry. These factors are anticipated to provide impetus to the market growth in the forthcoming years. Market Research Future (MRFR) recently conducted a study which has found out that the Global Vulcanized Fiber Market is projected to touch a valuation of USD 1795.9 Mn by 2023-end reflecting a CAGR of 4.62% over the assessment period 2016 to 2023. Key Players: The noted players operating in the Global Vulcanized Fiber Market are Oliner Fibre Co., Inc (US), Emco Industrial Plastics (US), Iten Industries, Inc (US), Dynos GmbH (Germany), ESPE Manufacturing Co., Inc (US), Sachsenroder (Germany), Hokuetsu Toyo Fibre Co., Ltd. (Japan), Franklin Fibre Lamitex Corporation (US), Thrust Industries (US), and Dante Bertoni Srl (Italy). Browse the market data and information spread across 155 pages with 191 data tables and 25 figures of the report Vulcanized Fiber Market Report - Forecast 2018-2023 in-depth alongside table of content (TOC) at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/vulcanized-fiber-market-7713 Latest Industry News: JSW Steel, one of Indias largest integrated steel producers, has unveiled its plan of introducing value-added products linked to sectors and segments that are witnessing booms, such as automobile and consumer appliances. India-based Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) is tapping on the increasing demand for steel from the automotive industry. It has successfully deployed stainless steel fuel tanks for commercial vehicles and supplies 60 percent of the demand generated in the domestic market. Market Segmentation: This MRFR report offers an exhaustive segmental analysis of the Global Vulcanized Fiber Market based on Type and Application. By Type, the market has been segmented into commercial, electrical, trunk, bone, abrasive, and flexible. The commercial segment accounted for the maximum market share of 29.2% in 2017. The segment is expected to exhibit considerable growth at a CAGR of 5.4% over the forecast period and is anticipated to reach a valuation of USD 550 Mn by the end of 2023. The Vulcanized Fiber Market, by Application, has been segmented into electrical, abrasive, textile, automotive. Among these, the electrical segment is projected to grow substantially over the next couple of years and scale a valuation of around USD 745 Mn by 2023-end. The growth is attributed to the extensive use of Vulcanized Fiber in the insulation of electrical hardware, appliances, capacitors, fuse tubes, transformers, and other electrical instruments. Asia Pacific expected to expand at 5.1% CAGR over 2023 The regional analysis of the Global Vulcanized Fiber Market encompasses five major regions, namely Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). Asia Pacific, which stood at the pole position in 2017, is expected to maintain its prominence over the next couple of years. It has been projected to strike a CAGR of 5.1% during the assessment period. China is anticipated to hold the major share of the regional Vulcanized Fiber Market. Meanwhile, India also resonates strong opportunities for growth and is estimated to reach USD 177 Mn mark by the end of 2023. Europe is another major revenue pocket of the global market. The developments in the automotive industry witnessed in the region are likely to drive the expansion of the regional market in the nearby future. Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/7713 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. A Maryland man has been charged with assault and battery of a family member following a reported incident early Sunday morning in Culpeper County. The arrest, according to the local sheriff, is another example of why Congress needs to fix the immigration system. At 3:10 a.m. on May 19, deputies from the Culpeper County Sheriffs responded to the 12000 block of Horseshoe Road, near Raccoon Ford, for a report of a domestic assault, according to a CCSO new release. Sgt. Shawn Walters arrived and met the suspects wife and two young daughters in the front yard of the residence, all visibly upset, the release stated. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The wife reportedly told authorities Orlando Manuel Ventura, 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland had been drunk and out of control. She reported he had pushed her around, pinned her against the wall, and punched her in the mouth, knocking her front teeth loose. The girls tried to get Ventura to stop hitting their mother, but he spun around and frightened them away. The wife and young daughters fled, according to the CCSO. Walters took Ventura into custody without incident. Oligmueller stated in her nomination letter, Our unit recently transitioned from transportation to military police. Since we have had to reclass and be away for a month, not to mention additional training such as 6-8 MUTA drills and annual training, I am away a lot. Our whole office feels the effects when one person is away because we wear many hats. From human resources to running elections, but no one ever complains and they all go above and beyond to not only take care of my duties but to offer help wherever its needed. They ask if I need help picking up my children from school or daycare and even offer to pick them up and take them in the morning. I cannot say enough to describe what it means to me to have everyone in this office support me, especially when Im called away. Judy even uses her own personal funds to give me small thank you cards throughout the year just to show her personal appreciation for all that I do. She often tells customer that Im in the military to recognize my service during casual conversation. Or, she will say, You can ask Raquel shes in the service! Ive had some great employers in the past but never anyone like this. HARRISBURG On Memorial Day, the Hull community will once again gather to remember the veterans who once lived there and to learn about the history of the area. Hull, which lies on the Scotts Bluff-Banner County line is home to the Pleasant Hill Cemetery where the community has observed Memorial Day since May 30, 1889. Hull was originally known as Pleasant Valley and was a rural settlement which was known as a civil war community due to the number of veterans listed on the Federal Veterans Census in 1890. The cemetery is all that is left of Hull, but area residents return each year to remember the veterans who once lived here and to enjoy a picnic afterward where they reminisce and listed to a different history program each year. Everyone is welcome to attend the days event, regardless of whether or not they are former Hull residents. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following is a statement from Canada Carbon Inc. (the Company) (TSX-V:CCB), (FF:U7N1): On Thursday May 16, 2019, Canada Carbon was notified that Ugo Lapointe of Mining Watch Canada, Jacqueline Richer, an organizer of protest group SOSGSLR and others entered onto the private property on which the Miller Project is located without getting consent of all the landowners. Furthermore, the Company is in possession of video evidence that appears to show these same parties tampering with Canada Carbons packaged graphite. Given the on-going legal proceedings involving Canada Carbon and GSLR, the presence of these individuals on the Miller property is highly inappropriate and suspect. A Company representative visited the site yesterday to do a preliminary assessment of whether any damage had been caused to the property, the drill cores and the packaged graphite. Some of the core boxes sustained damage. The Company will need to sample test the packaged graphite to ensure that it has not been contaminated. The Company will be filing a formal complaint with the appropriate authorities. Executive Chairman and CEO R. Bruce Duncan stated, This is yet another example of how these parties continue to act in bad faith and without regard to the rule of law. CANADA CARBON INC. R. Bruce Duncan CEO and Director Contact Information E-mail inquiries: info@canadacarbon.com P: (604) 685-6375 F: (604) 909-1163 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. As the result of the collaboration between the Star-Herald, monument personnel and seven business sponsors, the publication honors and compiles important history of the area. We think this is a special publication that has been created and were very excited about it, said Hod Kosman, president and CEO of Platte Valley Companies. What were really honoring here is a very special monument in our community. You cant help but think about the pre-Europeans and Indians here and them scaling those ridges without a trail like we all do. Kosman added the importance of preserving special places and landmarks in the country and the daily presence the monument has in his life. Every morning it welcomes me as I go to work and every afternoon and evening, it ushers me as I go home, he said. It changes with every season. It interprets every sunrise and sunset and its a very special place because occasionally it gives us an outrageous light show, which is really awesome. One of those light shows is showcased on the front cover of the book. Brent Holliday, of Holliday Family of Companies in Gering, echoed Kosman about the pictures the monument paints every day and its importance. SCOTTSBLUFF During a class reunion last year, several members of the Scottsbluff Class of 1963 decided a monument was needed to honor members of the Chicano/Mexican American community who served in the military. America has a long history of honoring those who answered the call the serve, said Marty Ramirez, Vietnam veteran and one of the project organizers. Sadly, Mexican Americans are often overlooked during those honors. We were among the most decorated of those who served during World War II. He said many of those veterans came from humble beginnings, but were raised in families where patriotism and love of country was strong. They were willing to serve and were proud of their military service, even when it demanded the ultimate sacrifice. During our reunion, we found out that 60% of the Mexican American graduates from the Class of 1963 were sent to Vietnam, Ramirez said. Two women even joined the Navy. So we decided to place a monument to honor those from our community who served, not just in Vietnam but all service members. The monument will include the names of all the local Mexican American communitys service members and those who were killed in action. SCOTTSBLUFF A 12-year-old boy found to be in possession of a firearm at a Scottsbluff elementary school faces several charges, including attempted murder in the second-degree. The child has been charged in a petition filed in Scotts Bluff County Court on charges of attempted second-degree murder; two counts of terroristic threats; two counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony; possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm on school grounds. According to the complaint, the boy had engaged in contact which, under the circumstance as he believed them to be, constituted a substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate in his commission of a crime of causing the death of another child intentionally but without premeditation. Two others were threatened by the child and the child allegedly had stolen the firearm, a 9mm Glock handgun, from his mother, according to the complaint. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A Connecticut police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New York, has seven arrest warrants and is being sought as a fugitive after failing to appear in court on charges that range from breach of peace to risk of injury to a child. Torrington police Lt. Brett Johnson posted on the departments Facebook page Wednesday that Sims had contacted him through the social media site and agreed to turn himself in if the post containing his poster gets 15,000 likes. Johnson said he negotiated Simms down from 20,000 likes. It will be difficult but is doable, Johnson wrote. He also suggested that if anyone knows where Simms is hiding they could let police know and save the department some suspense. A registered sex offender living in Hiddenite was recently arrested for not complying with guidelines of the sex offender registry, Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said. On Monday the sheriffs office charged, Jamie Clifton Jarvis, 34, with charged with felony failure to notify address change. He also faces felony post release and probation violations from the North Carolina Probation and Parole and felony failing to register with the Alexander County Sheriffs Office, a news release stated. The sheriffs office received a report Friday concerning a registered sex offender not following policies of the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registration Program, Campbell said. The release stated deputies were told by an N.C. Probation officer about a monitoring device indicating Jarvis was staying at a home in Hiddenite in the jurisdiction of Alexander County. The sheriffs office confirmed Jarvis hadnt submitted a change-of-address for to authorities in Iredell County; nor had he registered with Alexander County law enforcement, Campbell said. The One Good Thing could be shared by writing it down on a big piece of paper, there is then an opportunity to get your photo taken with your One Good Thing to be shared on Facebook. The event included an estimate of 900 community participants, host and volunteers to keep the event moving smoothly. Each table has a host which encouraged organic conversation between strangers but before diving into deep conversations and a meal, there were a few speakers who all talked of how important it is to have an event like this. President of Cheney Brothers Inc. in Statesville, Rick Stapleton, expressed how happy the company is to be a part of something like this, [It is great to] come together to have a meal with your neighbors no matter your economic situation, religion, sexual orientation we can change our community. The theme of everyone being welcomed spilled over from the speeches to the prayers as there were three prayers given by Rev. Reginald Keitt, Rev. Nelson Granade and Caity Gordon each representing different denominations. 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The scope of the agreement provides SinglePoint, guaranteed access to $50 Million USD of industrial hemp derived CBD isolate each month. SinglePoint will then in turn offer for sale CBD Distillate, CBD Isolate, and Hemp Biomass to fortune 500 and B2B companies to be used in the manufacturing of retail products. According to President Wil Ralston, "Theres a lot of confusion among the CBD marketplace, specifically companies that are actively endeavoring to purchase Hemp and CBD raw materials necessary to formulate/fabricate retail products. We dove into this intricacy and quickly saw an opportunity for SinglePoint to step in and streamline the exchange between buyers and sellers. Our agreement with JMSJ Holdings gives us access to a consistent supply of products and a direct co-selling relationship. We are confident that customers will respond favorably and SinglePoint's revenues attributed to the CBD market segment will grow exponentially as a result." Meghan Rodriguez, co-founder of JMSJ Holdings, "We are excited to partner with SinglePoint on this bold initiative. Our experience to date has been that in which the demand consistently outgrows the supply. Yet, the continued demand for hemp derivatives remains prevalent, in accordance with third-party analyst supporting expectations of consistent market growth well into 2030. In large, our success in the hemp market has been a byproduct of the longitudinal approach taken to construct a robust supply chain rooted in operational 'know-how'. However, frequently the rate at which additional market share can be acquired is directly impacted by Buyer misinformation. Resulting in the necessity to ask the Buyer to participate in a time-intensive process focused on qualifying prospective clients. SinglePoint, being a fully reporting public company brings a certain transparency to much of the aforementioned vetting process. Our expectation is that in tandem with SinglePoint, buyers will become aware of our premium offering; now able to purchase goods in a condensed time frame at a meaningful internal cost reduction. Earned efficiencies in combination with SinglePoint's willingness to co-invest authoring a truly consistent supply are likely to result in significant revenue." SinglePoint has set up a new sales hotline to facilitate inquiries and sales. Interested parties can call 855-203-3318 or send email to sales@singlepoint.com About SinglePoint, Inc. SinglePoint, Inc (SING) is a technology and investment vehicle focused on acquiring companies that will immediately benefit from the injection of technology integration and growth capital. Through acquisitions into horizontal markets, SinglePoint has been successful in building its portfolio by acquiring an interest in undervalued equities, thereby developing a rich, diversified portfolio base. The company holdings currently include mobile payments, ancillary cannabis products/services via SingleSeed, and blockchain solutions. For Inquiries Please Call - 855-203-3318 Email - Sales@SinglePoint.com Connect on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/SinglePointMobile https://twitter.com/_SinglePoint https://www.linkedin.com/company/singlepoint For more information visit: www.SinglePoint.com About JMSJ Holding, LLC. At its core JMSJ Holdings is a full spectrum supply chain company, initiating at the time of cultivation. Genetics, cultivation techniques, and extraction processes play a significant role in the resulting hemp-based derivatives JMSJ Holdings specialize in. JMSJ Holdings expects to plant and successfully extract the resulting biomass attributed to roughly 60,000 acres this year with the expectation of doubling that footprint in 2020. Today JMSJ Holdings oversees hemp extraction taking place in several laboratories spread across a number of states to service significant regional based distribution efforts. Corporate Communication JMSJ Holdings LLC. Info@jmsjholdings.com Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Technical complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. A book should be written or a film should be made about the Romanian treasure that was transferred to Moscow for safekeeping and send it to Viasat History channel, as this is about the history of no less than 92 tons of gold, governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) Mugur Isarescu this Thursday told the "Cristian Popisteanu" Symposium themed "The BNR Treasure Evacuated to Moscow - a Historiographic Report and a Case Study". "I think we should put out a simple book with clear, beautiful pictures, or make a film and send it to Viasat History. This is about the history of 92 tons of gold in coin. Until World War I the gold standard was in effect, not bullions, gold coins and reserves were kept in coins. So, besides the 3 billion euro worth of gold, there is one billion more worth of numismatic value," said Isarescu.The BNR governor mentioned that the Moscow II file was undoubtedly put together at the National Bank and does not bring any new elements, but only completes the information in the Moscow I file.Mugur Isarescu said that a series of questions arise in connection with the two files. About 'Moscow I', the question arises about it having been completely preserved with the original documents, given that at the time of the Soviet occupation the Soviet councilors had free access to the building. As for the Moscow II file, Isarescu said that it might have been taken out of the National Bank in an attempt to save it."We can only assume how it disappeared, it has been probably considered that it needs to be saved or that it isn't advisable for it to further stay at the National Bank, but we know that in 1955, when the reorganization of the BNR archive resources began under the State Archives formula, the Moscow II file was no longer in the Bank. So it probably left the building in the late 50's because the label with the new name of the institution - Bank of the Romanian People's Republic, the State Bank - only appears on the cover of the Moscow I file," said Mugur Isarescu.He also stated that it is not known how the file ended up in the double panel highboy (to be recovered in the end by the Romanian special intelligence service), but one can assume that it was put together at the National Bank of Romania between 1933 and 1942. Isarescu congratulated the officers of the Bucharest Brigade for the Combat of Organized Crime who helped recover the Moscow II file.In March this year BNR announced in a release having come into the possession of documents from 1941, mainly a inventory of the treasure sent to Moscow in 1916-1917, drawn up for the state leadership by National Bank representatives from that period. The commander of the fishing boat under Turkey's flag, caught poaching in the Black Sea two days ago by the Border Police speedboats, was placed in preventive custody for 30 days by the Constanta Court for the continuation of the investigation, informed the Coast Guard. According to the cited source, the Coast Guard police, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Constanta Court, continued their investigation into the eight Turkish citizens who were caught on board the fishing boat, which was fishing illegally in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Romania, on 20 May, at over 50 nautical miles from Costinesti.Thus, the crew members of the Turkish fishing boat and the evidence were presented on Wednesday to the Constanta Court, which ordered the 30-day preventive arrest of the Turkish commander, a Turkish citizen. More than 18 million voters are expected on Sunday to designate 33 representatives of Romania to the European Parliament and to vote in a national consultative referendum convened by President Klaus Iohannis on justice matters. The voters will receive three ballot papers - one for the European elections and two for the referendum. The insertion of a ballot paper in a ballot box other than the intended one does not invalidate it. The voters cast their ballots at the same polling stations, at the same time, between 07:00hrs and 21:00hrs, with the same stamps reading "VOTAT" (VOTED) on separate papers - one for the European elections and one for each question in the referendum. In this referendum, citizens have to choose between "Yes" and "No" on the following questions: 1. "Do you agree with banning amnesty and pardon for corruption offences?" 2. Do you agree with the ban on the government's adoption of emergency ordinances in the field of criminal offences, punishments and judicial organisation, and the extension of the right to challenge orders directly with the Constitutional Court?" Three ballot boxes will be set up at each polling station, one for each ballot paper. The voter may vote in one election or both. They have to produce an identity card to the computer operator and specify in what plebiscite they want to vote. Voter turnout will be recorded on separate electoral rolls for the two types of ballot. To the ID document, the "VOTAT" stamp will be stamped along with the date of the ballot, or, just one "VOTAT" sticker and the date of the ballot, according to the case. *** 13 political formations and 3 independents are vying for a seat in the European Parliament. Joining the electoral race are candidates endorsed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD); the Save Romania Union PLUS 2020 Alliance (Alianta 2020 USR PLUS); the Pro Democracy Party; the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR); the National Liberal Party (PNL); the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE); the PRODEMO Party; the People's Movement Party (PMP); the Romanian Socialist Party; the Independent Social Democratic Party; the United Romania Party; the National Union for Romania's Progress (UNPR); the National Unity Bloc (BUN). Also running are three independent candidates - Gregorian-Carmen Tudoran; George Nicolae Simion, and Peter Costea. *** 18,949,141 enfranchised Romanians expected for the polls According to the latest information from the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP), the total number of citizens enabled to vote recorded in the electoral register as of March 3, 2019 is 18,949,141. For the two elections on Sunday, 18,730 polling stations will be set up in Romania, while the Romanian nationals abroad will be able to vote at 441 stations. For the 441 polling stations set up for Romanian voters abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent 4,000,500 ballot papers, both for the European elections and for the national referendum. There have been 1,333,500 ballot papers distributed for the election of Romania's candidates to the European Parliament, for question no. 1 in the national referendum, and for question no. 2 in the same referendum. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also sent 1,301,230 "VOTAT"stickers and 2,147 "VOTAT" stamps. In Bucharest, there will be 1,269 polling stations: 166 in District 1; 202 in District 2; 287 in District 3; 183 in District 4; 197 in District 5, and 234 in District 6. The Romanian citizens who are 18 years or turn 18 on the election day have the right to elect Romania's representatives to the European Parliament. Voters who on election day are in their domicile or residence area will vote at the polling stations to which they are assigned. Those who are in a different location on election day (small town, city, municipality) than their own will have the right to vote at any polling station and will be registered on an additional electoral list. Allowed to vote in the election to the European Parliament held in Romania are also the European Community citizens who have been entered on special lists. A European Community voter is understood to mean any citizen of a member state of the European Union other than Romania who has the right to vote in Romania in the elections to the European Parliament having a domicile or residence in Romania in accordance with the provisions of the relevant law. They may not vote in the referendum. No mentally incapacitated persons under restrains and who, on election day, are serving a final court decision entailing disenfranchisement are entitled to vote. Also, Romanian citizens who are recorded in the electoral rolls of other member states are not entitled vote in the European elections in Romania. They can only vote for the lists/candidates in that state. *** Voting starts at 07.00hrs and ends at 21:00hrs The polling stations have to make sure that the voting hours are posted in a visible place. Voters may vote at the section where they have been entered in the copy of the permanent electoral roll or in the copy of the special electoral roll at any other polling station. Voters' access to the voting room takes place in series matching the number of the polling booths. The national voter and the community voter produce an ID document to the electoral bureau at the polling station. The chair of the electoral bureau of the polling stations or the member appointed by the chair will check whether the voter is on the copy of the permanent electoral roll or on the special electoral list, after which the voter signs the list at the position carrying his or her name. Based on the signature on the copy of the permanent electoral roll or on the special electoral list, the chair or the member of the electoral bureau of the polling station appointed by him/her shall hand the voter the ballot paper(s) and the "VOTAT" stamp. The voters cast their ballots in separated, closed booths, by stamping "VOTAT" the quadrilateral containing the list of candidates or the first name and the name of the independent candidate they vote for. The "VOTAT" stamp must be sized to be smaller than the quadrilateral. The presence of any person in the voting booth other than the one who votes is forbidden. The voter who, for good reasons indicated by the chair of the electoral bureau of the polling station, cannot vote alone has the right to call in the polling booth a chaperon chosen for help. Such chaperon may not be from among the observers or members of the polling station's electoral bureau. After voting, the voters will bend the ballot papers so that the unprinted page bearing the control stamp stays out and put them in the box, making sure they do not open. Erroneously bending the paper does not invalidate it. At the request of the voter, if he or she has misapplied the "VOTAT" stamp but has not introduced the ballot paper in the ballot box, the chair of the polling station's electoral office may issue one and only one new ballot paper, preserving the original ballot paper for cancellation. The stamp handed for voting will be returned to the chair or members of the polling station's electoral bureau designated by him, after which the chair or the member stamps the ID documents "VOTAT" and writes down the the date of the ballot or apply a "VOTAT" sticker and writes down the date of the ballot. Chairs are allowed to take measures to make sure that the stationing of a voter in the voting booth does not unduly prolong. They may suspend voting for good reasons. The total length of suspensions may not exceed one hour. Suspension is announced by displaying it at the door to the polling station as soon as the event that triggered it occurs. During the suspension, the ballot boxes, stamps, ballot papers and other documents and materials of the polling station's electoral bureau will remain under permanent guard. During the suspension, more than half of the members of the district electoral bureau cannot leave the polling station at the same time. Candidates and observers helping with the vote may not be made to leave the voting room during that time. *** Special ballot boxes Requests from voters who cannot travel due to illness or disability demanding the displacement of a special ballot will be submitted by the eve of the elections, at the latest, according to a decision of the Central Electoral Bureau. Written requests made by voters unable to travel due to illness or disability, accompanied by copies of medical records or other official documents attesting to the persons concerned being unable to travel and requesting the dispatch of the special box, shall be submitted by the eve of the election, at the latest. According to BEC, the request for the special ballot paper made by the voter has to be dated and signed, and include the name, surname, date of birth, personal identification number, address, serial number and number of a valid identity document, as well as current address. At the same time, persons remanded in custody who have not lost their electoral rights may also vote using the special ballot box. *** Instances leading to the vote being considered void, valid or blank The ballot papers on which the polling station's control stamp is missing, the papers of a model other than the legally approved one, the papers on which the "VOTAT" stamp is missing or the stamp is affixed to more than one square of the quadrilateral will be deemed invalid; the vote is valid when the stamp exceeds the limits of the quadrilateral but the voter's option is obvious; invalid ballot papers do not count for the count of valid ones. Also the votes cast in any of the following instances will be valid: the"VOTAT" stamp is applied in a single quadrilateral; the stamp exceeds the limits of the quadrilateral but the voter's option is obvious (including the situation where the stamp is only at a tangent to one quadrilateral, but not touching another); the stamp is confined to one quadrilateral, but the voter's ballot paper contains various statements of the voter (the vote is considered valid irrespective of what is written on the paper); the stamp marked is confined to one quadrilateral, but the voter stamps the paper more than once, provided that any other quadrilateral is not touched. The ballot papers not stamped "VOTAT" are considered blank votes and they do not count for the valid votes. *** PSD - topping the ballot paper PSD is topping the ballot papers for the May 26 elections to the European Parliament, followed by the Alianta 2020 USR PLUS and the Pro Romania Party. Next are UDMR, PNL, ALDE, PRODEMO Party, PMP, Romanian Socialist Party, Independent Social Democratic Party, United Romania Party, UNPR, and BUN in that order. Last on the ballot papers are independent candidates - Gregorian-Carmen Tudoran, George Nicolae Simion and Peter Costea. ***Exit polls The Central Electoral Bureau has accredited CURS and AVANGARDE for nationwide exit polls in the May 26 European elections. At the same time, BEC has also accredited SC Megatronic World Productions SRL to conduct exit polls in the European elections in Mures County, and the Pro Democratia Association to do the same in Cluj County. *** Public release of counts BEC, the county electoral bureaus, the electoral bureaus of the Bucharest City, and the electoral bureau for the polling stations abroad will deliver partial daily results, starting at 09:00hrs, EEST, on May 27. The hours when information is available and released are 11:00hrs, 15:00hrs, 17:00hrs, and 20:00hrs for reference hours 09:00hrs, 13:00hrs, 15:00hrs, and 18:00hrs. Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, major at rule, ed.n.) Liviu Dragnea said on Wednesday that his party has not boycotted any referendum and he was not convicted of referendum frauds, arguing that President Klaus Iohannis "bathes in ridicule and embarrassment." "This person has been bathing in ridicule and embarrassment for a very long time. You said it was a tense campaign end, for us it is not, it is for all those who spat hate and venom because this is what they know how to do. Firstly: PSD did not boycott any referendum. No referendum was boycotted by the PSD, on the contrary, those who boycotted a referendum were USR [Save Romania Union, PLUS [Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity], PNL [the National Liberal Party]. (...) I was not convicted for referendum fraud. I have to say to Iohannis: these are his dreams, that the majority will change after the elections. What is the relation of the elections to the European Parliament and the referendum with the parliamentary majority? Let's see what the Romanians decide, I assure Iohannis that PSD will be here on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday and it will be in December, too, when he is driven out of Cotroceni [Presidential Palace, ed.n.]. This is what he must know. This man has got to dreaming me day and night. I think he has no thought but Liviu Dragnea, how I should die, how to condemn me, he has no another concern, he has an obsession," said Dragnea at private broadcaster Romania TV.He specified he did not say that on Sunday he announces his candidacy for presidential elections."I have said what I have been saying for a few months: that after the European Parliament elections we will make the announcement. I did not say I am announcing my candidacy, I said nothing new, but of course, these people, desperate not to weaken the pressure on the court panel, because there are unimaginable pressures," Dragnea said, adding that pressures are being made by "the whole system, at Iohannis's command."Asked if he had any evidence in this respect, Dragnea replied: "Look, I dreamed of it."President Klaus Iohannis stated on Wednesday that PSD is also trying from an institutional standpoint "to boycott the referendum", with the head of state mentioning that Liviu Dragnea "ordered the CNA [the National Audiovisual Council of Romania]" to ignore the referendum of 26 May. The president said on Wednesday about the statements by the PSD leader that they will announce on Sunday the Social-Democrat candidate to the presidential elections, that all that will be announced that day will be that PSD has lost the elections. President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca blamed the emergence of "Europhobic parties" on politicians "guilty of their own failures" that blame the European Union, singling out the Social Democratic Party (PSD), major at rule PSD, for a "catastrophic government" that "works for the thief at the top of the party." "Many people ask why this Euroscepticism in the first place, as it is a worrying phenomenon, quite widespread, we have to acknowledge, why did Eurosceptic parties, Europhobic parties, appear? The explanations are mainly two, plus a lot more secondary explanations. The European Union is a successful project, but we forget to talk about its success and I am very pleased to talk about this great success," Iohannis told the launch of his book "EU.RO-Un dialog deschis despre Europa" (EU.RO - An open dialogue on Europe) in the northwestern city of Cluj Napoca. He said that the European Union is denigrated by national politicians who are guilty of their own failures. "The second biggest reason for Euroscepticism is politicians themselves, politicians who when they go to Brussels are Europeans through and through discussing only European funds, directives, regulations and all of them are proponents. Then, they come home, where things do not work that easy, as we have seen for two years a disastrous party, called PSD, with a catastrophic government. Someone must be guilty of these things. How can a PSD member say that it is incapable because they have no concept and they work for the thief at the top of the party? No, he or she cannot. So, we are looking for another enemy, another person to blame, and they have found all sorts of people to blame, but now that it's electioneering for MEP seats, PSD obviously found the European Union to be the main culprit. It is embarrassing, but it shows how the European Union is denigrated, even denigrated by national politicians seeking someone to blame for their own failures," said Iohannis. He showed that Europhobic parties are not restricted to Romania. "So, unfortunately, that is not happening at us only (...) I hope things will be seen differently on Sunday evening, but others have their own failures as well. So it is us with our failures, them with their failures, and Eurosceptic and Europhobic have mushroomed all over Europe. In fact, it is a sad form of populism, because these politicians have seen that there is fear among Europeans, fear of what will come, some dissatisfaction with the way the European Union works. And what did they come up with? Some anti-European slogans and chanelling those grievances," Iohannis said. He added that another issue of the anti-European wave is migration-related. Iohannis on Thursday attended the launch of his book at the Auditorium Maximum of the Babes-Bolyai University, his alma mater. President Klaus Iohannis stated on Thursday in Cluj, on the occasion of his book release called "EU.RO - An open dialogue about Europe," that on Sunday evening, after the elections to the European Parliament we will know whether the "European Romania or the anti-European Romania" won. "I don't like making predictions, but I like to promote my political approach, this is why I tour the country and encourage Romanians to vote both in the European elections and the referendum. It's important. The referendum will clearly give me an answer, too. On Sunday evening, we will know whether the Romanians believed what I told them and what the parties that endorsed this referendum told them. Not everybody endorses it. Some of them are boycotting it, on the side. I would keep away any predictions, but, in reality, the stake in these elections is a huge one and on Sunday evening we will know whether the European Romania or the anti-European Romania won," President Klaus Iohannis stated, when responding to the host's question regarding the President's prediction related to the voting turnout. President Klaus Iohannis participated on Thursday in a meeting with approximately 750 members of the local authorities in the North-West Region and, afterwards, he met with Mayor Emil Boc, whom he toured with the city, alongside other Liberals and then he released his book called "EU.RO - An open dialogue about Europe." The Environment Ministry launched on Thursday the 2nd edition of the Rabla programme for household appliances, a scrapping programme for which the Government has earmarked 40 million lei this year, twice compared to last year, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated. "Today [Thursday] Mrs Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Gratiela Gavrilescu, launched the 2nd edition of the Rabla programme for household appliances, which was initiated last year by the PSD-ALDE [the Social Democratic Party - the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats] Government, out of concern for the people and the environment. In 2018, the funds were exhausted in the first week since launching, which is why we have earmarked 40 million lei this year, twice the amount compared to last year. We want more and more Romanians to benefit from vouchers in order to purchase home appliances. Thus, Romanians who want to buy a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, a dishwasher or a TV can do it as of tomorrow [Friday] through the IT application," PM Dancila stated in the beginning of the Government meeting. The PM also mentioned that another Government programme was successful, namely the cinema industry support programme. "I also want to point out the success of cinema industry support programme. So far, 70 national and international cinematographic productions requested funding for this programme. The funding for 31 projects, worth 120 million lei, has already been approved. We expect an increase in the number of projects, taking into account that Romania is participating, for the first time, in the Cinema Fair organised in Cannes, during the film festival, with the offer of Romania's Government to support the cinema production," PM Dancila mentioned. AGERPRES Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, major at rule, ed.n.) Liviu Dragnea said on Wednesday that the Social-Democrats do not intend to change the prime minister, saying that Viorica Dancila may remain in office until 2020 "if she does her job." "We are not going to change the prime minister. (...) Mrs. Dancila may stay there until 2020 if she does her job, neither me nor anyone else has any business with her." They [The Opposition] are inventing topics as they have nothing to say. They cannot say: we have done this for Romania. They either swear at us, they swear at me and press all the institutions against me, or come with lies," Dragnea told Romania TV private broadcaster, in connection with the statements of President Klaus Iohannis.Liviu Dragnea also said that the PSD will not initiate and vote on the suspension of President Klaus Iohannis."The PSD in no way will initiate or vote for the suspension of Iohannis. What Rares Bogdan did shows their despair, they want to announce this thing so as to trigger another negative emotion for Sunday. We will not do anything to hi, we leave him there, to draw total ridicule upon himself, until the presidential elections," Dragnea said.President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that if PSD withdraws political support for Viorica Dancila, he will no longer appoint a prime minister from this party. Romania's cereal exports in the first two months of 2019 amounted to 373.4 million euro, 33.3 pct up YoY, shows data centralized by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Corn exports totaled 190.863 million euro, accounting for 1.7 pct of total exports, while grain exports stood at 175.185 million euro (1.5 pct of Romania's total exports). Imports in the reporting period amounted to 76.8 million euro (plus 84.9 pct), resulting in a surplus of 296.6 million euro. Of the total cereal exports, around 36 pct or 134.3 million euro worth of shipments were bound for EU states, mainly for Italy (25.2 million euro), Germany (22 million euro) and Hungary (21.7 million euro). The overwhelming majority of imports, specifically about 94 pct (72 million euro) came from the EU countries, especially from Hungary (cereal imports worth 29.2 million euro), Bulgaria (23 million euro) and France (12.8 million euro). AGERPRES Prime Minister Viorica Dancila announced on Thursday that the Development and Investment Fund (FDI) will be extended in order to complete and arrange the storage and preservation spaces of agricultural products and the procedure for requesting the fund through this programme will be simplified by eliminating the construction permit from the list of necessary documents when lodging the file. "In today's Government meeting we are improving the functioning of the Development and Investment Fund by taking over proposals coming from the territory. I am mentioning that this instrument is quite appreciated. In just 20 days, approximately 1,000 funding requests have been lodged. We are extending this programme in order to fund the construction and arrangement of the storage and preservation spaces of agricultural products, a measure awaited by the farmers who need support to capitalise on their products. Because Romania needs modern infrastructure, we are also including the funding of investments for the construction of airports in the main priority area of the Fund," Dancila stated in the beginning of the Gov't meeting. She also mentioned that through the decision which will be made by the Executive, the procedure for requesting funding will be simplified. "In this regard, we are eliminating the construction permit from the list of necessary documents when filing the application for funding. In order to avoid confusion, I would point out that this document will continue to be mandatory for starting construction works. In view of financing as many projects as possible, other expenditures such as utilities, design, feasibility studies or technical expertise will be eligible," the Prime Minister mentioned. Viorica Dancila mentioned that another measure to be adopted by the Gov't is aimed at regulating the involvement of investment funds or companies, including the privately managed Pension Fund, which want to participate in a public-private partnership in achieving the strategic projects. "I carried out talks with the international investment funds, that have a great interest to fund such projects. We are setting up a simple mechanism through which the investment funds or companies will submit to the National Strategy and Prognosis Commission letters of intent regarding the funding of some projects until the substantiation study is approved. Based on these requests, the funding structure of each project included in the substantiation study will be established. Through these changes, we will ensure additional funding to complete the public-private partnership projects," the Prime Minister showed. AGERPRES OrgHarvest Inc. is the First Cannabis Cultivation Company To Complete Qualification Process for Reg A+; First Reg A+ Campaign Launched on a TruCrowd Portal Chicago, IL, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- TruCrowd, Inc. (TruCrowd), a crowdfunding-based investment platform and one of only a few FINRA-registered crowdfunding portals in the U.S., announced today that its cannabis-focused equity crowdfunding portal, Fundanna (Fundanna.com), is hosting its first Reg A+, for what appears to also be, according to a statement made by Mr. Adesso of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, the first cannabis cultivation company to complete the Reg A+ qualification process OrgHarvest, Inc. (OTC ORGH); qualifying for a REG A Tier 1 for $20M. While this is not an equity crowdfunding offering, nor a campaign directly launched or supported by TruCrowd, Inc., it is still exciting to see one of our industry-specific portals leveraged for a Reg A+ offering, stated Vincent Petrescu, President of TruCrowd, Inc. Especially when this offering is reported by OrgHarvest to be, the first such offering made by a cannabis cultivation company. TruCrowd does not launch, run, organize or otherwise offer Reg A+ directly. The OrgHarvest Reg A+ offering has been facilitated by TruCrowd Services LLC., a third-party Marketing Services Firm, co-founded by Digital Asset Monetary Network, Inc. (DigitalAMN (OTCMKTS: DATI)). TruCrowd Services, LLC., focuses on marketing Regulation A (Reg. A+) and Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg. CF) for startup and development-stage issuers listed on funding portals operated by companies such as StartEngine, Republic, TruCrowd and WeFunder, etc. Marketing firms like TruCrowd Services, LLC., are engaged by issuers such as OrgHarvest, who then turn to portal operators such as TruCrowd for access to the crowd. Mr. Petrescu concluded, As the first and currently only cannabis-focused equity crowdfunding portal operating, opportunities like this continue to increase the overall visibility of Fundanna.com. While I may not know what the future of Reg A+ holds for TruCrowd, with new listings continually onboarded for Reg. CF offerings, I am excited about the future of TruCrowd and our family of equity crowdfunding portals. ABOUT TruCrowd, Inc. (owner and operator of truCrowd.com) Located in the heart of the financial district of downtown Chicago, TruCrowd is a FINRA member equity crowdfunding portal operating under Regulation Crowdfunding (Title III of JOBS ACT); connecting startups and emerging businesses with non-accredited and accredited investors. Built on the belief that not all businesses and investors are alike, we pride ourselves on delivering a personalized and professional funding experience through industry-leading technology. Website: www.truCrowd.com ABOUT Fundanna (Fundanna.com) Fundanna.com (www.Fundanna.com), is a cannabis-focused, FINRA member equity crowdfunding portal that is owned and operated by TruCrowd, Inc, under Regulation Crowdfunding (Title III of JOBS ACT). Fundanna.com is one of several industry-specific equity crowdfunding portals within TruCrowds family of funding portals. Website: https://www.fundanna.com/ Forward Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. The Government on Thursday is set to discuss, for the first time, the project "A Family, A House," which is a version of the "First Home" programme closer to the citizens' needs, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated. "We are discussing today [Thursday - editor's note], for the first time, "A Family, A House" project, which is a version of the "First Home" programme closer to the citizens' needs. We are proposing new measures to cut down financing costs for the Romanians who want to buy a place to live. Basically, we are proposing to increase the level of the government guarantee from 50 per cent now up to 80 per cent of the value of the credit, while the state will also take over the management fee and it will substantially cut down the interest for the families with children or persons with disabilities," the PM said in the beginning of the Government meeting. She added that another programme to be launched on Thursday will be "Ana Aslan - Elder-in-Residence." "We approve a memorandum by which we support the building, setting up and arrangement of the residential centers for elders, by granting up to 500,000 euros to each investor or non-governmental organisation that wants to apply this programme. The programme will run until 2020, with financing of 4 billion euros available for commitment appropriations," she said. Moreover, the PM mentioned the Government will promote very soon a project already in the decision-making transparency phase related to the the government's programme "Development of the North-East Region." "We want to improve the life standards of Romanians, to help those who do not benefit of the necessary utilities for a decent living. In this respect, we will grant a non-reimbursable aid of 20,000 lei to each household, for the thermal and energy insulation of the houses, heaters, hot water through solar systems, sanitary groups inside the houses and for these houses to be linked to the water and gas networks and the sewerage," said Dancila. AGERPRES The Romanian capital market needs a broader participation of the population for listed entrepreneurs to benefit from this mass of investors, Bucharest Stock Exchange CEO Adrian Tanase told a specialist conference on Thursday. "We want an efficient capital market that accurately assesses traded shares and those that will be traded. To achieve this efficiency in the capital market, we need to work in several directions. First, we need to achieve a broader participation of the population so that we have more investors in the capital market for listed entrepreneurs or those who will get listed to benefit from this mass of investors and hope for a fair assessment. Secondly, we need an efficient secondary market with stock exchange products, where investors should be able to implement all their investment strategies. We are not there yet, and as far as this is concerned we have an important project that was launched in January, the Central Counterparty, its implementation entered the home stretch, as the institution's licensing has been initiated," said Tanase.According to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) official, an important aspect for the local capital market is how companies directly communicate with investors, as well as the implementation of best practices."It's not enough to have many stock market investors or the complete set of stock exchange products available to investors, the companies also need to communicate correctly with investors for the sake of capital market efficiency that translates into a fair value of the company on the stock market. This is where the Romanian Investor Relations Association (ARIR) steps in, to improve this dimension. It is very important that we implement best practices, that the issuers know these practices and what investors want," said the BVB CEO.The Romanian Investor Relations Association organised on Thursday the first edition of the Forum for Investor and Analyst Liaison (AR&IR), an annual conference devoted to best practices in relations with investors and corporate governance. Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A small house that played a big role in civil rights spent Friday in the spotlight. The "Shelley House" at 4600 Labadie Avenue in St. Louis was dedicated by the National Park Service as Missouris first official site on the new U.S. Civil Rights Trail. U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-University City, and Aurelia Skipwith, deputy assistant Secretary of Interior, headlined the event. The new civil rights trail, created by legislation written by Clay, aims to preserve significant places that had critical roles in the civil rights movement in the United States. The Shelley House, located in the Greater Ville neighborhood, was at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court decision (Shelley vs. Kramer) which struck down restrictive racial covenants in housing in 1948. The nationally significant decision pitted J.D. and Ethel Shelley, a black couple who bought the house, against Louis and Fern Kraemer, white neighbors who tried to keep them out. After more than two and a half years of courtroom maneuvers and delays, two Missouri lawmakers who sued each other over an alleged sexual assault have dismissed their lawsuits. Attorneys for Steven Roberts Jr. and Cora Faith Walker, both Democratic state representatives, dropped their legal actions Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court. The parties have resolved this matter to their mutual satisfaction, a joint statement said. They will be dismissing their respective claims. No money was paid in exchange for the dismissal of the parties claims. ... The parties will have no further comment at this time. The actions leading to the suits began in September 2016 when Walker, in a letter to Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson and other legislators, accused Roberts of sexually assaulting her in his apartment in St. Louis. Walker said that she went there in August 2016 to discuss political matters, passed out, then woke up the next morning and could not recall what had happened. ZHEJIANG, China, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SORL Auto Parts, Inc. (SORL) (SORL or the Company), a leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive brake systems as well as other key safety-related auto parts in China, today announced that, in response to a preliminary non-binding proposal letter (the Proposal), dated April 25, 2019, from Mr. Xiaoping Zhang, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Ms. Shuping Chi and Mr. Xiaofeng Zhang, directors of the Company, and Ruili Group Co., Ltd. to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company not owned by them or their affiliates, the Company has increased the size of its board of directors (the Board) from seven (7) to nine (9) and appointed Mr. Xiao Lin and Mr. Binhua Feng as independent directors to fill newly created vacancies. Thereafter, the Board formed a special committee of independent directors (the Special Committee) consisting of Mr. Xiao Lin and Mr. Binghua Feng to review, evaluate and negotiate the Proposal and any alternative thereto and to make a recommendation with respect to the Proposal and any alternative thereto. The Special Committee is in the process of retaining its independent financial advisor and independent legal counsel to assist it in its review, evaluation and negotiation of the Proposal and any alternative thereto. The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that neither the Special Committee nor the Board has set a definitive timetable for the completion of its evaluation of the Proposal or to make any decision with respect to the Companys response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that the Proposal or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. About SORL Auto Parts, Inc. As a global tier one supplier of brake and control systems to the commercial vehicle industry, SORL Auto Parts, Inc. is the market leader for commercial vehicles brake systems, such as trucks and buses in China. The Company distributes products both within China and internationally under the SORL trademark. SORL is listed among the top 100 auto component suppliers in China, with a product range that includes 65 categories with over 2000 specifications in brake systems and others. The Company has four authorized international sales centers in UAE, India, the United States and Europe. SORL is working to establish a broader global sales network. For more information, please visit http://www.sorl.cn. Safe Harbor Statement This press release may include certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, but are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as expects, anticipates, believes, targets, goals, projects, intends, plans, seeks, estimates, may, will, should or similar expressions. For example, when the Company describes the evaluation of the preliminary non-binding proposal letter, it is using forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may also include statements about the Companys proposed discussions related to its business or growth strategy, which are subject to change. Such information is based upon expectations of the Companys management that were reasonable when made, but may prove to be incorrect. All of such assumptions are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies beyond the Companys control and upon assumptions with respect to future business decisions, which are subject to change. The Company does not undertake to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to general political, economic and business conditions which may impact the demand for commercial vehicles or passenger vehicles in China and the other significant markets where the Companys products are sold, uncertainty regarding such political, economic and business conditions, trends in consumer debt levels and bad debt write-offs, general uncertainty related to possible recessions, natural disasters, the political stability of China and the impact of any of those events on demand for commercial or passenger vehicles, changes in consumer confidence, new product development and introduction, competitive products and pricing, seasonality, availability of alternative sources of supply in the case of the loss of any significant supplier or any suppliers inability to fulfill the Companys orders, cost of labor and raw materials, the loss of or curtailed sales to significant customers, the Companys dependence on key employees and officers, the ability to secure and protect trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights, potential effects of competition in the Companys business, the dependency of the Company upon the normal operation of its sole manufacturing facility, potential effect of the economic and currency instability in China and countries to which the Company sold its products, the ability of the Company to successfully manage its expenses on a continuing basis, the continued availability to the Company of financing and credit on favorable terms, business disruptions, disease, general risks associated with doing business in China or other countries including, without limitation, foreign trade policies, import duties, tariffs, quotas, political and economic stability, and the other factors discussed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For additional information regarding known material factors that could cause the Companys results to differ from its projected results, please see its filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SECs electronic data gathering analysis retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov. EAST ST. LOUIS A Cahokia man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter following the shooting death of another Cahokia man in East St. Louis on May 14. Stetson T. Culpepper, 28 was charged Thursday by the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office with involuntary manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a firearm. East St. Louis police responded to the Samuel Gompers Housing Complex at 450 North 6th Street at about 10:40 p.m. on May 14 and discovered Eric R. Roby, 30 suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. The East St. Louis Police Department requested the assistance of the Illinois State Police with the investigation. The investigation pointed to Culpepper, an acquaintance of Roby's. Culpepper allegedly acted "in a reckless manner," according to an Illinois State Police statement, and "performed acts likely to cause the death or great bodily harm to some individual in that he pointed a loaded firearm in the direction" of the victim when he knew it was loaded and then fired it, hitting Roby in the chest. Culpepper is being held in the St. Clair County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This entire situation is troubling to me, Bell said about the Shy case. But we have to stay within our lane as to whether this rises to the level of a crime. And so when I refer to the entire timeline and the totality of the situation, there were a lot of hands involved, and to be able to narrow it down, therein lies the problem. At the end of the day, this is more of a civil situation that should be fleshed out in the civil courts. And Bell said there was not enough evidence to charge the nurse who accused Catchings of faking and disregarded a request to get him on a list to see a doctor. In an interview, members of his staff explained that it would be a leap to say those omissions caused his death. Even if Catchings had been sent to a doctor at that point, they said, he might still have died. Catchings mother, Tashonda Troupe, said in a text: Im not shocked! I prepared myself for this day. Even though charges should have been filed, I never expected it to happen. Its sad but inmates lives hold no value to our government. The deacon told police he was in a dispute with a parishioner over a reserved parking spot and the man tackled the deacon, causing him to fall and hit his head, Paulino said. He was unconscious for a few seconds when the cadet, who is also a parishioner, came outside and saw the deacon on the ground and thought the deacon had been shot or stabbed, Paulino said. After the third time of calling to him, the deacon responded and said, Hey, stop that car! The cadet pulled a gun and ordered the driver to stop. The driver did stop and got out, but a passenger the man accused of tackling the deacon got in the drivers seat and tried to leave. Thats when the cadet aimed at the back tire (and fired) to prevent him from fleeing, Paulino said. The man who allegedly assaulted the deacon fled in the car, Paulino said. The driver remains at large and its not clear whether he or the vehicle were hit. Trice had proper documentation for the gun, which was his personal weapon, Paulino said. ST. LOUIS The second of two men who tried to carjack an Audi sedan from a garage near Busch Stadium in 2016 was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison. Christopher Don White, 32, pointed a small revolver at the Audi's driver in the Stadium West garage on June 25, 2016, and ordered him out of the car while his co-defendant, Michael Corey Williams Jr., took the passenger's purse, prosecutors said. But White was unable to operate the Audi, and both men fled in a Ford F-150 truck they'd used to get to the garage, prosecutors said. Police later found the truck by tracing the victims' phones, and found fingerprints and DNA in the truck, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The truck had been stolen five days earlier in Arkansas. Both men pleaded guilty to carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a federal crime of violence. Williams, 32, was sentenced in March to 10 years and three months in prison. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BEL-RIDGE The Housing Authority of St. Louis County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to go forward with a plan to get rid of all public housing in Wellston despite last minute requests from speakers to delay. The demolition and disposition plan, which could cut the beleaguered municipalitys population by a fifth, still has to be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but St. Louis County officials expect the federal government will do so. It wasnt an easy decision, said Commissioner Frances Kuhlmann, one of four board members who voted in favor of the plan. Weve gone over it a long time. I feel it had to be done. Commissioner Calvin Scott provided the lone no vote. I am concerned about the residents, he said. The fate of the 201 housing units and about 500 people who live inside them has become a rallying cry over the shortage of affordable housing in the St. Louis region. It has also opened the curtain on poor government oversight of the properties amid a national trend to do away with traditional public housing stock. "Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Gov. Mike Parson said Thursday morning, as the extent of damage was becoming clear. The three dead were on the outskirts of a town called Golden City, in Barton County, Mo., about 50 miles west of Springfield. Sgt. John Lueckenhoff of the Missouri Highway Patrol identified the victims as Kenneth Harris, 86; his wife, Opal Harris, 83; and Betty Berg, 56. Kenneth and Opal Harris lived in a frame home on 80th Lane near Golden City. "They were found about 200 yards from where their residence once stood," Lueckenhoff told the Post-Dispatch. Berg lived nearby, in a mobile home on Highway 126. Her husband, Mark Berg, 56, survived. The Bergs were found among debris from the mobile home, Lueckenhoff said. National Weather Service meteorologist Cory Rothstein said it's possible the tornado had a 50-mile path and could have been on the ground for 80 minutes. Teams were surveying the path Thursday and trying to determine whether one or multiple tornadoes had touched down. Pune, India, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Market Research Future (MRFR) in the latest report published on the Arrhythmia monitoring devices market, predicts that the global Arrhythmia monitoring devices market to worth the market size of USD 8,087.4 Million by 2024, garnering a CAGR of 6.44% in the forecast period of 2019-2024, whilst, enhancements in medical infrastructure backs the credit. Irregularities in the heartbeat rhythm, which alters the blood distribution in the body, is diagnosed as a typical case of arrythmia. The usual number of heartbeats per minute depends on several factors, like the physical state of the body, age, and others. The standard heart rate in a resting adult person is 60-100 beats per minute. The clinical condition in which the heartbeat per minute is above the regular rate is termed as tachycardia, and the reverse condition is called bradycardia. The commonly used method for the diagnosis of arrhythmia is an electrocardiogram (ECG). However, owing to technological advancements, the arrhythmia monitoring devices market is expected to experience a robust market acclivity. Request Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6714 Cardiomyopathy, chronic liver disorders, thyroid issues, sleep apnea, malfunctioning kidney, and diabetes are certain health malaises capable of inducing cardiac arrhythmia. The increase in cases of ailments causing cardiac morbidity demands for better arrhythmia diagnosis. The arrhythmia monitoring devices helps in tracking fluctuations in the heartbeat rhythm for a prolonged period in arrhythmia patients. It assists medical professionals in early detection of critical complications, that aids in enhanced arrhythmia treatment. Owing to better cardiac care in the catheterization laboratories and atrial fibrillation treatment integrated care clinics, an increase in the number of patients visiting these healthcare organizations is triggering the adoption of the arrhythmia monitoring devices, thereby, increasing its sales. These are anticipated to amplify the global arrhythmia monitoring devices market in the oncoming years. Technological advancements are providing a firm base for medical innovations like designing wireless devices, dedicated to providing excellent arrhythmia treatment to remote patients. In 2016, the Technological Institute of Morelia, Mexico, researchers had devised a portable device, that when placed on the chest of an arrhythmia patient, alerts the concerned medical personnel of any irregularities in the heartbeat rhythm, over a distance. Other advancements, such as cardiac telemetry monitors and electronic medical record (EMR) systems, are augmenting the ubiquity of ECG data management solutions in healthcare systems. Such product launches are expected to fuel the global arrhythmia monitoring devices market. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is encouraging researchers to develop more efficient methods for arrhythmia treatment. Furthermore, governments worldwide are taking initiatives on the same. Hence, creating immense scope for research and developmental activities in the field of arrhythmia diagnosis and treatment, which is likely to bolster investments from several influential market key players which can impel the global arrhythmia monitoring devices market. The emerging arrhythmia monitoring devices market might faces challenges like risk and data efficacy problems associated with the devices. Another constrain expected to influence the arrhythmia monitoring devices market is the high manufacturing cost, and owing to the use of rechargeable batteries, the maintenance cost. No reimbursement policies can also impede the global arrhythmia monitoring devices market. Market Players MRFR listed, NUUBO Smart Solutions Technologies, Koninklijke Philips, Medtronic, Abbott, GE Healthcare, Welch Allyn, Aurora Resurgence, Spacelabs Healthcare, Cardiac Science Corporation, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Fukuda Denshi, Medi-Lynx Cardiac Monitoring, BioTelemetry, Inc, AliveCor, Inc, Biotronik, Applied Cardiac Systems, iRhythm Technologies, Inc, Preventive Solutions, Inc. as significant companies operating in the Arrhythmia monitoring devices market. Market Segmentation MRFRs segmental analysis provides a comprehensive insight into the global Arrhythmia monitoring devices market that helps clients to identify and prepare market growth opportunities for business proliferation. The market has been divided into device type, application, and end user. Increase Sales of Holter Monitor Expected to Escalate the Global Arrhythmia Monitoring Devices Market by 2024 Based on the device type, the market has been studied in the following segments: event monitor, Holter monitor, resting ECG, implantable cardiac monitor (ICM), mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) devices, others. By the virtues of the effectiveness and convenience to use, the Holter monitor and mobile cardiac telemetry segments of the global Arrhythmia monitoring market are expected to expand at an accelerating rate in the nearing years. Based on the application, the Arrythmia Monitoring Devices Market has been studied by the following segments: tachycardia, atrial fibrillation (A-fib), premature ventricular contractions (PVC), bradycardia, ventricular fibrillation (V-fib), conduction disorders, and others. High prevalence and severe complications of atrial fibrillation require intense medical attention. Consequentially, an increase in the adoption of the arrhythmia monitoring devices is expected to gain traction for revenue generation. MRFR asserts, a surge in the atrial fibrillation segment during the forecast period. In 2018, the UNC AFib Care Network launched a new atrial fibrillation clinic. Based on the end user, the arrythmia monitoring devices market has been studied by the following segments: into hospitals & clinics, home care settings, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC), diagnostic centers, and others. The ambulatory surgery centers segment is anticipated to generated substantial revenues for the global arrhythmia monitoring devices market. Browse the market data and information spread across 134 pages with 104 data tables and 32 figures of the report Arrhythmia Monitoring Devices Market- Forecast 2019-2024 in-depth alongside table of content (TOC) at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/arrhythmia-monitoring-devices-market-6714 MRFRs Demographic Insights Forecast the North American Arrhythmia Monitoring Devices Market to Dominate in the Upcoming Years Based on the region, the global arrhythmia monitoring devices market is segmented into North Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The increase in the cases of cardiovascular disorders in North America, the regional arrhythmia monitoring devices market is expected to be at the forefront. The collaborations between various research labs and institutions and growing awareness about the arrhythmia monitoring devices are factors that can push the regional market. The European region is predicted to grasp the second largest market size in the nearing future. The Asia Pacific region, due to its developing medical infrastructure and increase in disposable incomes, is estimated to exhibit the fastest growing market. The difficulty in healthcare affordability, in the Middle East and Africa, is a possible cause for the steady growth of the MEA and African Arrhythmia monitoring devices market. Industry Buzz In February 2019, CardioComm received its FDA clearance for its ECG device innovation named HeartCheck Cardi Beat. Make an Enquiry Before Buying this Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6714 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. With area rivers rising again, residents of flood-prone areas in Lincoln County about 45 miles northwest of St. Louis were urged to evacuate Wednesday. Lincoln County Emergency Management officials said properties near the Mississippi River particularly in areas east of Highway 79, between the towns of Foley and Winfield would be threatened by floodwater, as river levels build toward a crest expected Saturday. The areas are vulnerable since recent flooding of nearly identical severity overtopped the Winfield Main Levee and created a breach in the structure that is approximately 300 feet wide and about eight feet deep. If you live or work in these areas, you are urged in the strongest possible terms to evacuate, the countys warning said. The breach in the levee means you will experience the rise of the Mississippi River as it happens, with little or no lag time. The warning specified that it does not pertain to the town of Winfield itself. The notice was issued the morning after severe thunderstorms swept through the area, and with some additional rain expected Thursday. The Mississippi River downtown may climb to its fourth- or fifth-highest level ever recorded, according to the latest government forecast. In fact, black newspapers railed against it as meaningless and hypocritical. By 1886, Reconstruction had been crushed, the Supreme Court had rolled back civil rights protections, and Jim Crow laws were tightening their grip. In his book, Berenson quotes an 1886 editorial in the black newspaper the Cleveland Gazette: Shove the Bartholdi statue, torch and all, into the ocean until the liberty of this country is such as to make it possible for an industrious and inoffensive colored man in the South to earn a respectable living for himself and family. The idea of the liberty of this country enlightening the world, or even Patagonia, is ridiculous in the extreme. W.E.B. Du Bois also mentioned this in his autobiography, recalling seeing the statue upon arriving back in the United States in 1894 after two years in Europe: I know not what multitude of emotions surged in the others, but I had to recall [a] mischievous little French girl whose eyes twinkled as she said: Oh, yes, the Statue of Liberty! With its back toward America, and its face toward France! There were immigrants on board that ship with Du Bois, but he didnt talk to any of them. The ship was segregated. Gillian Brockell is a staff writer for The Washington Posts history blog, Retropolis. She has been at The Post since 2013 and previously worked as a video editor. WASHINGTON Over the past few decades tornadoes have been shifting decreasing in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas but spinning up more in states along the Mississippi River and farther east, a new study shows. Scientists aren't quite certain why. Tornado activity is increasing most in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and parts of Ohio and Michigan, according to a study in Wednesday's journal Climate and Atmospheric Science. There has been a slight decrease in the Great Plains, with the biggest drop in central and eastern Texas. Even with the decline, Texas still gets the most tornadoes of any state. The shift could be deadly because the area with increasing tornado activity is bigger and home to more people, said study lead author Victor Gensini, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University. Also more people live in vulnerable mobile homes and tornadoes are more likely to happen at night in those places, he said. Even though Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma get many more tornadoes, the four deadliest states for tornadoes are Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee and Arkansas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "More folks are generally at risk because of that eastward shift," Gensini said. Because tornadoes sometimes go undercounted, especially in the past and in less populous areas, scientists don't like to study trends by using counts of tornadoes. Gensini and tornado scientist Harold Brooks of the National Severe Storms Lab looked at "significant tornado parameters," a measurement of the key ingredients of tornado conditions. It looks at differences between wind speed and direction at different altitudes, how unstable the air is and humidity. The more of those three ingredients, the more likely tornadoes will form. The increases in this measurement mirrored slightly smaller increases found in number of twisters. The study looked at changes since 1979. Everywhere east of the Mississippi, except the west coast of Florida, is seeing some increase in tornado activity. The biggest increase occurred in states bordering the Mississippi River. Overall there is a slight increase in tornado activity, but it's not too much and not nearly like what's happening in the east, Gensini said. Why is this happening? "We don't know," Gensini said. "This is super consistent with climate change." As the Great Plains dry out, there's less moisture to have the type of storms that spawn tornadoes, Gensini said. Tornadoes form along the "dry line" where there are more thunderstorms because there's dry air to the west and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico to the east. That dry line is moving east. "This is what you would expect in a climate change scenario, we just have no way of confirming it at the moment," Gensini said. Gensini said unless there are specific detailed studies, he and others cannot say this is caused by global warming, just that it looks like what is expected. Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor Paul Markowski, who wasn't part of the research, praised the study as careful and well done. ___ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Eric Greitens might need the Navy, but the Navy certainly doesnt need him. The disgraced former governor reportedly has sought and received permission to return to active duty, most likely in a bid to repair his tattered image and possibly rebuild a career. The Navy should unceremoniously decline the offer to be used for his latest self-promotion tour. The Kansas City Star reports that Greitens, a 45-year-old former Navy SEAL lieutenant commander who has been on inactive reserve status, has told friends and supporters that he plans to deploy with the Navy to the Middle East in the fall. Sounds impressive. Conveniently, it would coincide with the anticipated publication of his fourth book. What better way to promote a book than to present its author as a hard-charging, active-duty service member struggling to get back into the fight for his country? It should be clear to Missourians by now that nothing Greitens does comes without the taint of selfishness and self-aggrandizement. He represents none of the values that U.S. military service stands for. Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has come out with what might be the most aggressive proposal yet from a major national figure to force pay equity for women in the private sector. It builds on the Obama-era rule of requiring major employers to report to the government the makeup of their workforce by race and gender. But Harris plan would take the further step of fining those businesses for any glass ceilings revealed by that data. Moderates and even some progressives might conclude the proposal goes too far. Their skepticism would be well placed. The plan would be unworkable in its current form and would be unlikely to survive a court challenge. Its punitive approach could worsen the Democrats reputation for hostility toward employers. But whether its with this or some better idea, addressing pay inequity is the right conversation to have when women are earning only 80 percent as much as men for the same value of work. The bills passed in Georgia, Alabama and Missouri are anathema to the majority of Americans. These bills seek not to protect lives, but to subjugate women by criminalizing our health care decisions. These draconian laws are in direct violation of our basic human and constitutional rights. Whether to terminate a pregnancy or not is a personal, private decision into which no government has the right to interfere. In the United States, every woman has the unalienable right to her own life, liberty and the pursuit of her own happiness. These regressive measures are also racist and classist, denying poor women and women of color the freedoms that wealthy white women will continue to exercise. They will have a disastrous impact on our economy and result in the deaths of many women. I demand that Gov. Mike Parson vetoes these misogynist attacks on womens rights. Kathleen Corbett-Otto Overland (CNN) Plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds will be banned in England from April 2020 as part of plans designed to drastically reduce plastic waste. The UK government confirmed the ban Wednesday after an open consultation with the public, according to a statement from environment officials. Officials estimate that 4.7 billion plastic straws, 316 million plastic stirrers and 1.8 billion plastic-stemmed cotton buds are used in England each year, with 10% of cotton buds disposed of down the toilet. "Urgent and decisive action is needed to tackle plastic pollution and protect our environment," said Environment Secretary Michael Gove. "These items are often used for just a few minutes but take hundreds of years to break down, ending up in our seas and oceans and harming precious marine life." The ban will include exemptions for those who require plastic straws due to medical needs or disabilities, with registered pharmacies allowed to sell them and restaurants, pubs and bars keeping a stock they will be able to provide to customers on request. It is hoped the measures will be able to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans, which kills more than 100,000 sea mammals and one million birds each year. There are 150 million metric tons of plastic in our oceans, and that figure will treble by 2025, according to the statement. "Stopping the production and distribution of these single-use plastic menaces will prevent them from polluting beaches nationwide," said Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage. "It's a really positive and bold step in the right direction in the battle against plastic pollution." Further steps include a proposed UK tax on plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled content, which is currently in a consultation period. And global action to tackle the plastic waste crisis is increasing. Earlier in May the governments of 187 countries agreed to control the movement of plastic waste between national borders, although the United States was not among them. The move will prevent developed countries sending their plastic waste to developing nations for disposal, which activists argue has turned the latter into "dumping grounds." The new international move is "a highly welcome step towards redressing this imbalance and restoring a measure of accountability to the global plastic waste management system," said the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The (devolved) governments of Scotland and Wales are also considering similar measures. This story was first published on CNN.com "The final straw: England bans plastic items from April 2020" Louisville, KY, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Genscape Energy Management, the source of truth and insight for energy markets, released their Customer Pricing Model (CPM), a dynamic tool that helps customers make informed retail power pricing decisions. The energy landscape is fiercely competitive, impacted by overlapping regional market rules, state-level policy, and utility and pipeline procedures. These factors influence cost structures across ISOs, states, utilities, and between power and gas. Aggregating market price data, while staying on top of policy decisions that can quickly impact pricing, is a cumbersome task for retail power and gas operators. In late fall 2018, operators suffered direct financial impacts from one of these decisions when Federal Energy Regulatory Council (FERC) and the Pennsylvania, Jersey, Maryland (PJM) power market added two new charges for retailers designed to recoup losses from a prior credit default. The unforeseen price increase, slated through June 2019, with a possible extension through 2025, had an immediate impact, and over time, will have a net impact of up to $10 megawatts per hour. This increase is on top of all the other taxes and fees paid, which is typically more than half of an operators cost. The new CPM allows for agility when situations like the FERC/PJM price increases trickle down. Customers can quickly adapt and run scenarios so that decisions are less reactive and more strategic. Our model identified and incorporated these policy changes so our customers were not surprised with eroded margins, said Alex Baldassano, Genscape Managing Director. Instead, they were able to adjust prices proactively to achieve their financial goals. The CPM runs on a web-based platform so it is easily accessible when needed. The data can also be tailored to specific needs, whether to complement an existing model or serve as a stand-alone tool. For more information, visit the Genscape website. About Genscape Founded in 1999, Genscape is the leading global provider of real-time data and intelligence for commodity and energy markets. Today, Genscape operates the worlds largest private network of in-the-field monitors and added satellite reconnaissance, artificial intelligence, and maritime freight tracking to its data acquisition capabilities. Genscape delivers its unique brand of unsurpassed market intelligence across the commodity and energy spectrum including power, oil, natural gas, NGL, agriculture, biofuels, and maritime freight. Egypt is under pressure to accept several hundred ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) captives held in Syria by the U.S. backed SDF (Kurdish led Syrian Defense Forces rebels). There are also over a thousand women and children related to the captive ISIL men or widows of dead Egyptian ISIL members under guard in SDF refugee camps. Egyptian counterterrorism experts and veterans of the 1990s Islamic terrorist campaign are convinced that most of these ISIL captives, especially the men and many of the women, cannot be rehabilitated. In the late 1980s and early 1990s over a thousand Egyptian veterans of the Afghan war (or Jihad against the heathen Russian communists) returned and formed the core of the Islamic terrorist force that caused several years of mayhem (and wrecked the tourism industry) along with over a decade of expensive counter-terrorism operations. Tourism is big business in Egypt and deliberately attacking foreign tourists, as Islamic terrorists tend to do, cost the Egyptian Islamic terrorists a lot of popular support and contributed to the defeat of the 1990s uprising. ISIL has been active in Egypt for the last five years but the ISIL violence has been restricted to northern Sinai, where ISIL has some support from Hamas-run Gaza. Unlike the 1990s, this time around the Egyptians know how this plays out and what has to be done. There has been some Islamic terrorist activity in the more populated areas of Egypt, but the most extreme group (ISIL) has been isolated in Sinai and is being slowly exterminated in an area where there are relatively few Egyptian civilians and most of these have become hostile to ISIL. Then there is Israel, whose counterterrorism forces are just across the border, where there has been no detectable ISIL activity and the Israelis are willing to discreetly work with the Egyptians to track and attack any Egyptian ISIL forces that operate near the border or try to cross it. In the northeast, Syria SDF is holding 9,000 ISIL fighters and 60,000 family members. The SDF is having a hard time getting the many nations these prisoners come from to take them back. Some 90 percent of these prisoners are Iraqi or Syrian while ten percent are from about 50 other countries. Iraq is willing to screen and prosecute about 31,000 returnees and Syria is preparing to do the same. But other foreign, especially Western, nations are refusing to take their citizens back. Thats because the legal systems in the West demand a higher degree of proof and Western authorities realize the ISIL family returnees, especially the mothers, are often still true believers and are teaching their children to think the same way. Most of these returnees would be turned loose by the courts for lack of sufficient evidence of past terrorist crimes or current attitudes. The Western nations do not want to raise another generation of Islamic terrorists within their borders. Meanwhile, the SDF is stuck with thousands of these women and children and has not got the resources to maintain them indefinitely. Most Moslem majority nations with citizens among the adult ISIL members held captive are, like Egypt, reluctant to take back their citizens. These countries have even fewer resources to gather evidence of specific crimes their citizens committed while ISIL members. The wives and widows are an even more difficult problem. Many of these women are disillusioned with ISIL and want nothing to do with it anymore. But a significant percentage are still ISIL fanatics who openly harass and threaten women in the camps who no longer believe in ISIL. Most of these women have young children fathered by ISIL men (most of them deceased or missing) and previous experience with such situations indicates that many of the mothers, and children, will continue to support Islamic terrorism wherever they end up. Egypt fears, based on past experience, that putting the ISIL captives from Syria in Egyptian jails will lead to the ISIL men radicalizing and recruiting other prisoners. Egypt could get around this by establishing a high-security prison just for ISIL and other hardcore Islamic terrorist prisoners. In this prison, the prisoners would be largely isolated from each other to prevent escape or uprising conspiracies. This approach is expensive and such a prison would be a permanent target for Islamic terrorist groups seeking to liberate their fellow terrorists. Then there are the wives, widows and children of Egyptian ISIL men. Many of these show up within a decade or two as a new generation of Islamic terrorists. Some Egyptian counterterrorism professionals believe the returned ISIL men could be a source of information, especially if many were quickly convicted and executed for their crimes. This would encourage others to cooperate with the security forces. But to make that work you still have to imprison a lot of these ISIL captives for a long time and past experience has shown that many of them, even if cooperative at one time, often revert to advocates of extreme violence. The SDF and the Americans have a major problem on their hands because interrogations so far have indicated that so many of these ISIL men surrendered rather than fight to the death because some were told by their leaders that in doing that they could eventually return home and establish ISIL new groups. Many of the ISIL men who surrendered want nothing to do with Islamic terrorism because of their experience with ISIL. Again, past experience has shown that while the disillusionment of these ISIL veterans is often real, in many cases it does not last and is even faked in a few cases. Then there is the example of what is happening to the Syrian and Iraqi ISIL captives who have been handed over to their homeland governments. Many of the Syrian ISIL prisoners simply disappear. The Assads have a reputation for just murdering prison populations they find troublesome, inconvenient or whatever. The Iraqis are not as bad but tend to see the benefits of the Assad approach. Most other Moslem majority nations face similar grim choices and do not like to deal with it. Meanwhile, the SDF is negotiating a peace deal with the Assads and any agreement will probably not end well for the remaining ISIL prisoners that no nation is willing to accept. The military does not like how the recent elections turned out. Two-thirds of the votes were for pro-democracy candidates although the pro-military PPP (Palang Pracharath Party) ended up with the largest share of the votes for a single party. PPP was the one created to perpetuate military influence in the government. This status as the single largest bloc of parliament members in one party gave the PPP a good chance of forming a new government in coalition with some of the smaller parties. The PPP was aided by changes the military made to government institutions during their five years in power. For example, the Election Commission is supposed to be independent and able to deal fairly with disputes over election procedures and accusations of corruption. The current EC has shown itself to be corrupted by the military and actively supporting efforts by the military to rig the vote and suppress criticism. For the military and royalists, this is considered a success but historians and most Thais see it as proof the Thai democracy is in trouble and the military was the cause, not the solution. The military prepared for the possibility of pro-democracy parties getting a majority in parliament and, in theory, control of the government. The military changed the constitution to make it more difficult for a government to form without at least a military faction. Thats because to form a government you need a majority of the combined 500 member parliament and the new 250 member senate whose members are not elected but appointed by the current government, which for the first five-year term of the new senate means all members will be selected by the generals. After that, if the military can maintain control over those appointed Senate seats they have a lock on controlling or having a decisive role in any future government. The only sure way a non-military government can be formed is by gaining control of 376 seats (76 percent) in parliament. Before the military changed the rules a majority in parliament was sufficient to form a government. But now those 250 appointed senators have a decisive vote on forming new governments. The majority of Thais oppose this new system but the current military government is seeking to maintain power indefinitely while pretending to be a democracy. While this makes the military leadership feel more secure it is an inherently unstable situation with the pro-democracy Thais perpetually angry at the rigged system the generals have created. Another source of popular anger is the degree of censorship the military has sought to impose on the Internet. In addition to the traditional lese majeste (criticizing the monarchy) laws, the military government criticism of the military or spreading information the military decides is fake. The generals feel their prospects are good because they now have the resources to rig the election and prosecute any pro-democracy leaders who complain. The military will stress that because the economy is doing well it is unwise to switch governments. Thailand does have the fastest growing economy in the region and is in the best economic shape in six years. But the rate of growth is declining and economists point out that since the military took over in 2014 the economic fundamentals have changed for the worse. The economic angle appears to be less of a factor than the military hoped. It turns out that there was no way to make the pro-military politicians attractive to voters. The exit polls after the March elections showed that the democrats had won in a big way. But after the military-appointed election bureaucrats got finished that democratic majority had been reduced to a more manageable size. Another major source of aggravation is that as long as the military has a lot of control over the government there will be higher defense spending (usually on expensive weapons Thailand does not need) and closer links with China (a nation most Thais do not trust, or at least trust less than any other major power active in the area, especially India, America, or Japan. The military didnt need true election results or exit polls to show them how unpopular they are. A pre-election opinion poll asked Thais what the worst things were about Thailand. A majority (52 percent) said politics (the corruption and bad behavior of those in power). Another 26 percent cited the lack of democracy and 19 percent choose a lack of unity. Economic Woes Economic growth rates are declining. GDP grew 2.8 percent in the first three months of 2019 compared to 3.6 percent during the same period in 2018. The government has reduced its GDP growth rate predictions to a little under 4 percent for 2019 from a little over 4 percent that was expected in late 2018. The decline became acute in mid-2018. In the third quarter of 2018 GDP growth was only 3.3 percent. Earlier in the year, 2018 GDP growth was expected to hit 4.1 percent for the year but the reality was worse with 2018 GDP growth certain to be less than four percent. Economic prospects declined right after the military coup, with a drop in labor productivity in 2014 that persisted. Five years of military rule have not fixed that and five years of lower productivity have reduced exports in areas like electronics and other manufactured goods that depend on foreign markets. Thailand was becoming less competitive while the political unrest and uncertainty of a military government and efforts by royalists and supporters of the military to make greater military political power permanent, discouraged foreign investment. The one exception was China, which is the one major economic power that most Thais do not want closer ties with. Paying attention to what people want wins elections, not just ordering people to do what some generals and their cronies think is best. Eventually, military domination must end or face the risk of a nationwide insurrection. As with past periods of military interference, there will be elections and the generals want to ensure that a vindictive elected government doesnt get power and seek revenge. The most obvious potential error the generals made was changing the constitution to give the military more power permanently. The other damaging policy was depending on China (for weapons and investment) despite the knowledge that such an approach drives away traditional (Western) business partners. The continuing decline in their ratings indicates a failure to deal with these problems. Moslem Violence In The South While most people in the three southern majority provinces favored democratic candidates they are apparently prepared to deal with the new pro-military elected government. The southerners want peace and will deal with what appears to be long-term rule by a military dominated national government. The 2014 peace talks with southern separatist groups are still stalled because the separatists refuse to agree on what they can all get behind. The key problem remains refusal by the largest separatist group, BRN, to negotiate unless there are international mediators. The Thai military government refused to allow foreigners to play a role and has never expressed any interest in autonomy. That is not expected to change with the new government and the BRN finds itself with fewer supporters after the recent elections. The continued (and still slowly declining) violence down there is the only meaningful measure of progress. Military and police commanders agreed with local officials that what counted most for the population (especially the Buddhist minority) was peace and reduced threats to life and property. That meant more economic activity and more jobs. The army is confident that they are winning this law and order aspect of the war down there. A recent example of this is a new program in which the army selected 218 soldiers for special training and assignments that would station small groups of them in remote villages down south. There the soldiers would literally live with the villagers and provide local protection against any form of lawlessness. At the same time, these troops would keep the local military and police commanders informed about whatever the troops discovered about Islamic terrorists or separatists operating in the area, or who had been doing so in the past. This is a risky experiment because the BRN has found that it has factions of fighters who believe attacks on civilians are not counter-productive because they embarrass the military, whether the military runs the government or not. These radical factions seem unconcerned that killing civilians turns more southern Moslems against BRN and the goal of a separatist state. These radical factions would consider small groups of soldiers living in rural villages as ideal targets. This was taken into account and the rural village teams are being assigned to areas that are not in the vicinity of any of these radical factions. Still, the risk is there. Meanwhile, the recently elected leader of southern neighbor Malaysia will continue seeking ways to get the peace talks going, if only because those three provinces are becoming a sanctuary for Malaysian Islamic terrorists. The Malaysian terrorists are fairly secure in those three Thai provinces as long as they stay out of sight and cause no trouble. From their Thai hideouts, they can organize fatal mayhem in Malaysia. The only good news down south is that the separatist and Islamic terrorist violence continues to decline. In 2017 there were 140 violent (often non-fatal) incidents in the three Moslem provinces. Thats a 90 percent reduction from the peak year (2007) and the decline continued into 2018 and early 2019. While the violence continues to fade it shows no signs of going away completely. The violence has waned mainly because the government (elected or military) sent more troops and more economic development cash to the south. That, plus the fact that most southerners lost faith in the violence after a few years. There are still diehard separatists down south, as well as a criminal underground (mainly smugglers) to sustain the separatists. There was a brief upsurge in violence at the end of 2018 and in early 2019 but nothing dramatic and was apparently an effort by more extreme separatist factions to trigger military intervention by Malaysia. That was never likely but the separatists are running out of options. May 19, 2019: Thailand is still having problems with Burmese Moslems trying to use Thailand as a way station on their journey to a country that will provide them with asylum, rather than refugee status and confinement to a refugee camp. Most of this people smuggling is taking place up north in Bangladesh where police are still encountering people smuggling operations that offer to get Burmese Rohingya refugees an opportunity to get out of Bangladesh and to more refugee-friendly countries like Malaysia, where, if the Rohingya can pay for it, the people smugglers will get them to Indonesia or Western countries. Australia used to be a favorite (and expensive) destination but the Australians have cracked down on the people smugglers and their clients in a big way over the last decade. Thailand has also become very hostile to Rohingya refugees and their gangster guides. Bangladesh and Thai police now pay more attention to local fishing boats and catch many of the people smugglers who buy or rent fishing boats and then put fifty or more Rohingya on them and make for Malaysia (after passing Thailand). The Rohingya often spend their life savings and just about all the cash they have to the people smugglers and there are no refunds if the police interfere. The people smuggling gangs lose a boat and some low-level employees but still make money and there are more and more Rohingya willing to pay the price for a chance of escaping long-term stays in Bangladesh refugee camps. May 14, 2019: The army announced it is buying 60 American Stryker 8x8 wheeled armored combat vehicles. Thailand will pay $2.55 million each for 37 of the vehicles but the other 23 will be provided free as part of American military assistance. The first of these vehicles will arrive by the end of 2019. The Thai military is seeking to maintain its relationships with its long-time military ally while also developing similar relationships with China. Most Thais prefer the Americans to the Chinese but the military needs an alternative source of equipment and military cooperation in case its plans for long-term military dominated rule in Thailand lead to an anti-military revolution. Moreover, many Thai generals dont trust the Chinese as much as they do the Americans. May 2, 2019: In the south (Pattani province), police seeking Islamic terrorists in a rural village found one, who fired on the police and was killed by gunfire before he could escape into the forest. One policeman was wounded. The dead man was later identified as a known terrorist who, like most of his fellow terrorists, was much less active and seeking long-term sanctuary inside Thailand until it was safer to carry out more attacks. Police operations like this one are more common throughout the three provinces and most civilians welcome them. Off the coast of southern China, several navy ships began a week of joint training with the Chinese navy. China is seeking to become the main supplier of warships and naval weapons for Thailand, which has previously obtained these items from Western suppliers. TICKERS: FCC; FTSSF, GLEN Source: Peter Epstein for Streetwise Reports (5/23/19) If the agreement to get the North American cobalt refinery up and running is finalized, sector expert Peter Epstein believes it could be transformative for the Canadian company and its investors. This is big, really big. I can't say it's a surprise that Glencore AG might want to partner with First Cobalt Corp. (FCC:TSX.V; FTSSF:OTCQX; FCC:ASX), but it would be by far the best possible outcome for management's strategic review of its 100%-owned refinery in Ontario. Shareholders and prospective investors were understandably growing nervous about First Cobalt's ability to deliver the restart funding with little or no additional equity issuance. Not because of management, because the battery metals sector is a complete disaster. Everyone knows that the cobalt price is down a lot, did you know that vanadium is down 73.5% in six months? This news alone, if this agreement is consummated, it could mark a turning point for select cobalt juniors. [See full press release.] Glencore adds tremendous credibility to First Cobalt's refinery In addition to the potential for significant revenue (CA$100 million+ at US$20/pound cobalt) and good, very good or great EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins (depending on the cobalt price), this would open a lotof doors for the company. It would instantly become the premier pure-play, North American cobalt junior, not that there are many left to choose from. First Cobalt could solidify its leading position by acquiring other companies end assets. Might eCobalt Solutions Inc. (ECS:TSX; ECSIF:OTCQX; ECO:FSE) be first on the list !?! eCobalt might now prefer the embrace of First Cobalt over a takeover by Australian-listed Jervois Mining Ltd. (JVR:ASX). I have no insight on this, I'm just reflecting on the recent acquisition of ECS shares. At the risk of getting ahead of myself, this is a memorandum of understanding (MOU), not a signed, sealed and delivered deal. I continue with the benefits of an agreement between First Cobalt and Glencore. Glencore adds increased credibility to First Cobalt, the management team and the refinery. It would be a supreme vote of confidence. Outside of North America, First Cobalt might not be a very well-known name. That would change overnightin fact it might be changing as I write this sentence. . .First Cobalt would attract additional world-class executives. The company could pay a dividend! My quick math suggests that a 5% dividend yield would be possible from 50% of the cash flow on 2,0002,500 tonnes of production at US$20/pound cobalt. Glencore would greatly derisk refinery restart and attract attention to First Cobalt It's amazing what Glencore would bring to the table that no one else possibly could. It appears from the press release that Glencore might provide a loan for up to US$30 million, all of the capital needed to restart the refinery. In addition, Glencore would provide technical assistance in bringing the refinery back into production. For instance, they would "collaborate on final flow sheet design." Glencore would source up to 100% of the feedstock. The refinery is a hydro-metallurgical cobalt facility in the Canadian Cobalt Camp of Ontario. It has the potential to produce either a cobalt sulfate for lithium-ion batteries, or cobalt metal for the North American aerospace industry and other industrial and military applications. Taking this news a step further, if the restart were to be a success, guess who would be there to help (if feasible) ramp up operations from 2,0002,500 to perhaps 4,0005,000 tonnes per year? Glencore is to cobalt what Albemarle Corp. (ALB:NYSE) and SQM (SQM:NYSE) are to lithium. Yes, closing on this agreement would be really, really good for shareholders. Assuming that Glencore is on board, the refinery would likely be up and running sooner than otherwise would be the case. And, once the world realizes that a cobalt refinery is coming online in Canada in 2021, and that produced cobalt would to be ethically sourced from mine to finished product, end users would be very interested in speaking with First Cobalt. First on the list of visitors to see CEO Trent Mell would likely be execs from the automakers. The company has already signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with a number of them. Next to visit? Lithium-ion battery makers. Both automakers and battery companies need ethically sourced cobalt for genuine moral considerations, for public relations and for security of supply. As per the press release, "With no cobalt sulfate production in North America today, the First Cobalt Refinery has the potential to become the first such producer for the American electric vehicle market. The Company has signed confidentiality agreements with several automotive companies interested in securing cobalt for the North American market." I have to remind myself that this is a MOU, not a done deal, but I think the chances of it getting done are pretty high. First Cobalt and Glencore have likely been talking about the refinery for months now, if not longer. And, although I've outlined the many benefits for First Cobalt shareholders, Glencore benefits as well. Over time, if the refinery could produce 5,000 tonnes of cobalt products, and Glencore controls that offtake, that's a meaningful amount, probably >10% of the battery-grade cobalt processed, refined and sold outside of Africa and China. Speaking of China, recent news shows that geopolitical risks are alive and well, with China hinting at restricting the free trade of rare earth metals from China to the U.S. It doesn't matter who's to blame or how the U.S. and China got here, all that matters are the potential consequences. Today it's rare earth metals; will China threaten to stop exporting lithium and cobalt next? I doubt that China would sell to Canada or Mexico if there was an embargo against the U.S. for rare earth metals, lithium, cobalt, vanadium, graphite, etc. But now I've veered off course. This isn't about China. . .the news today is about Glencore signing a MOU with First Cobalt Corp. to help design, reengineer, refurbish and commission the companys cobalt refinery in Ontario, Canada. Glencore could deliver up 100% of the feedstock needed to produce 2,0002,500 tonnes of finished cobalt. And, Glencore is considering paying the entire US$30 million cost (in the form of a loan to First Cobalt Corp.) to get it up and running again. This is the biggest news of the year for the company. This is important news for the cobalt sector. Let's see if this marks a change in sentiment for cobalt juniors. Peter Epstein is the founder of Epstein Research. His background is in company and financial analysis. He holds an MBA degree in financial analysis from New York University's Stern School of Business. [NLINSERT] Disclosures: The content of this article is for information only. Readers fully understand and agree that nothing contained herein, written by Peter Epstein of Epstein Research [ER], (together, [ER]) about First Cobalt Corp., including but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts, calculations, etc. is not to be considered implicit or explicit investment advice. Nothing contained herein is a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. [ER] is not responsible under any circumstances for investment actions taken by the reader. [ER] has never been, and is not currently, a registered or licensed financial advisor or broker/dealer, investment advisor, stockbroker, trader, money manager, compliance or legal officer, and does not perform market making activities. [ER] is not directly employed by any company, group, organization, party or person. The shares of First Cobalt Corp. are highly speculative, not suitable for all investors. Readers understand and agree that investments in small cap stocks can result in a 100% loss of invested funds. It is assumed and agreed upon by readers that they will consult with their own licensed or registered financial advisors before making any investment decisions. At the time this article was posted, Peter Epstein owned shares of First Cobalt Corp. and the Company was an advertiser on [ER]. Readers should consider me biased in favor of the Company and understand & agree that they must conduct their own due diligence above and beyond reading this article. While the author believes hes diligent in screening out companies that, for any reasons whatsoever, are unattractive investment opportunities, he cannot guarantee that his efforts will (or have been) successful. [ER] is not responsible for any perceived, or actual, errors including, but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts & financial calculations, or for the completeness of this article or future content. [ER] is not expected or required to subsequently follow or cover events & news, or write about any particular company or topic. [ER] is not an expert in any company, industry sector or investment topic. Streetwise Reports Disclosure: 1) Peter Epstein's disclosures are listed above. 2) The following companies mentioned in the article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: None. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 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. 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The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. Graphics provided by the author. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. CALGARY, Alberta, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canoe EIT Income Fund (the Fund) (TSX: EIT.UN) (TSX: EIT.PR.A) (TSX: EIT.PR.B) is pleased to announce it has completed the overnight offering of 6,930,000 Units of the Fund (the Units). Total proceeds of the offering were approximately $78.3 million. The Units will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the existing symbol of EIT.UN. The Units were offered at a price of $11.30 per Unit to yield 10.62%. The offering was co-led by National Bank Financial Inc., CIBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank, and RBC Capital Markets and also included TD Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, Industrial Alliance Securities Inc., Raymond James Ltd., Canaccord Genuity Corp., GMP Securities L.P., Haywood Securities Inc., Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., Mackie Research Capital Corporation and Manulife Securities Incorporated. The net proceeds of the offering will be used by the Fund in accordance with its investment objectives and investment strategies, subject to the investment restrictions of the Fund. The Funds regular monthly distribution of $0.10 per unit for unitholders of EIT.UN units remains unchanged. The Fund has maintained the $0.10 per unit monthly distribution since August 2009, through varying market conditions. The Funds annual voluntary redemption feature for unitholders of EIT.UN units remains unchanged. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of the Fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange. If the units are purchased or sold on the Toronto Stock Exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying Units of the Fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them. There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning units of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the fund. You can find more detailed information about the fund in these documents. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The Units have not been, nor will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirement of such Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About the Fund The Fund is one of Canada's largest, diversified closed-end investment funds and is listed on the TSX under the symbol EIT.UN. The Fund is actively managed and invests in a diversified portfolio of income-generating and capital growth-oriented securities listed primarily on the TSX. The Fund is designed to maximize distributions and net asset value for the benefit of its unitholders. The Fund is managed by Robert Taylor, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager of Canoe Financial LP. About Canoe Financial LP Canoe Financial LP (Canoe) is one of Canadas fastest growing independent mutual fund companies managing over $5.6 billion in assets across a diversified range of award-winning mutual funds and private energy equity products. Founded in 2008, Canoe is an employee-owned investment management firm focused on building financial wealth for Canadians. Canoe has offices in Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Montreal. Further Information Investor Relations Canoe Financial LP 18774342796 www.canoefinancial.com info@canoefinancial.com Forward Looking Statement: Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward looking statements which reflect Canoe Financial LPs current expectations regarding future results or events. Words such as may, will, should, could, anticipate, believe, expect, intend, plan, potential, continue and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. In addition, any statement regarding future performance, strategies, prospects, action or plans is also a forward looking statement. Market predictions and forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, events, activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and a number of factors could cause actual results to materially differ from expectations discussed in the forward looking statements including, but not limited to, changes in general economic and market conditions and other risk factors. Although the forward-looking statements are based on what Canoe Financial LP believes to be reasonable assumptions, we cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the current date and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. The Fund makes monthly distributions of an amount comprised in whole or in part of return of capital (ROC) of the net asset value per unit. A ROC reduces the amount of your original investment and may result in the return to you of the entire amount of your original investment. ROC that is not reinvested will reduce the net asset value of the Fund, which could reduce the Funds ability to generate future income. You should not draw any conclusions about the Funds investment performance from the amount of this distribution. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investment funds. Please read the information filed about the Fund on www.sedar.com before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical and annual compounded total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution, or optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed and past performance may not be repeated. The weather pattern takes a dramatic turn next week as high pressure clears away and large windy lows move in. The first day of winter on the meteorological calendar looks wintry with perhaps the first real nationwide southerly of the year coming in, says WeatherWatch.co.nz "While we can't lock in precisely the conditions for June 1, the models we trust most certainly suggest there is a moderate to high chance of a low deepening around NZ and a much colder surge of southerlies at the end of next week and going into next weekend. "The large high that is over New Zealand right now will remain early next week for the North Island but it slips off the South Island on Sunday allowing windy westerlies to move in. The North Island becomes a little windier on Sunday too (mainly in the south) but it's not until Monday that the high properly slips away to the east." Tuesday sees another surge of strong winds over the South Island while the North Island has a brief breather. By Wednesday next week, severe weather is possible in the South Island with heavy rain continuing and strong to gale force nor'westers moving up to Cook Strait, says the weather organisation. "Over Thursday and Friday low pressure deepens over New Zealand and this will suck up a likely wintry southerly with cold weather, heavy rain, snow on the mountains and strong to gale force winds in some places. "There are quite a few moving parts, especially towards the end of next week, so expect some changes - but either way next week is looking very different to this week due to a big uptick in low pressure." June 1 is the first day of winter on the meteorological calendar. June 22 is the date this year for the astronomical start to winter (the shortest day of the year). Bay of Plenty Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of qualified or experienced carpenters for an... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Pictured from left, Sarah Sinnett, Tim O'Keeffe and Chuck Hoffman cut the ribbon to the Sidney office of the G.L. Huyett company Tuesday. The name Guy Lamson Huyett came to the small town of Minneapolis, Kan., in the late 1800s. He opened a hardware store that would be known as G.L. Huyett. The company has recently expanded to Sidney. The company has opened the G.L. Huyett Tech Center at 1041 9th Ave. in Sidney. An open house and ribbon cutting was held Tuesday morning. G.L. Huyett came to Sidney by way of a contact within the Cabela's community. G.L. Huyett Chief Executive Officer Tim O'Keeffe said he was asked if his company would be represented at a job fair earlier this year. O'Keefe said he was unaware of the event, but... The Fort Sidney chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recently installed officers for the 2019-2020 year. The installation ceremony was held in the Virginia Smith room at the Sidney Public Library with Past Regent Sharon Fehringer president. Officers are: Rebecca Spiller (Regent), Carol Mason (Vice-Regent), Dawn Erb (Secretary), Susan Spiller (Treasurer), Jacqueline Hess (Chaplain), Linda Morgan (Registrar) and Kathleen Edwards (Historian). Three members recently attended the State DAR Conference in Kearney where the chapter was presented with three special membership awards... Kicking off the launches was S/Y Lurigna of the semi-custom Baltic 67 Performance Cruiser line. This stylish, maneuverable and speedy sailer is eminently family friendly, with a great light to moderate downwind sailing performance. Designed by Judel/Volijk & Co., the Baltic 67 is a highly versatile yacht offering multiple options within the same hull design. Lurignas owner wanted her optimised for offshore racing, and plans to put her to the test at the 608-mile Rolex Fastnet Race this August. Therefore, this 20.52m features a closed transom, fixed keel and a single rudder, as well as luxuriously finished accommodations to boot. Next to hit the water was the Baltic 112 Liara, who also has her eye firmed trained on competition. Despite being designed primarily as a family cruising yacht, she possesses the ability to sail long distances at speed, and her owner is planning to be at the Americas Cup in New Zealand in 2021. In a layout imagined by Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design, Liara features a removable solid bimini in the deck saloon and cockpit and touch button three-dimensional headsail sheeting. The third and final launch during this extraordinary 10 days was the Baltic 142 Canova, on which Baltic Yachts worked closely with naval architects Farr Yacht Design and interior and exterior designer Lucio Micheletti to create a yacht of numerous innovations. She features a diesel electric propulsion and power generating system, and a world first in Canovas sliding foil, designed to reduce heel, increase speed and reduce pitching. These features will allow Canovas owner to take her on long distance passages all over the world. The dedication, skill and experience of the Baltic shipyard workers has been praised by Baltic Yachts owner Professor Hans Georg Nader, who was in attendance during an event celebrating the launches: These attributes lie at the heart of this achievement, he commented, This is one of the companys greatest assets. Also among the 250 attendees was Henry Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer, who had the following to say about the projects: Thousands of hours of intense work has resulted in these three world class yachts we see before us today. Although it is almost unprecedented to launch three large yachts in such a short time period, an intense two and half year build schedule made such as feat possible. Next on the agenda: the build of the third largest yacht by volume the yard has ever built. Watch this space! Fringed by the emerald waters of the Adriatic Sea and hunched under a bold expanse of mountains, Porto Montenegros sprawling blend of Baroque, Venetian and Austrian architecture has something for everyone. It is located just 30 miles from Dubrovnik across the border, not far from the bustling nightlife of nearby Budva on the one hand, or the tranquility of Europes national parks and its last virgin black pine forest on the other. But Porto Montenegro was not always the luxurious superyacht destination it is today. From humble beginnings as a former Communist-era naval base, the late Canadian entrepreneur and yacht owner Peter Munk saw the potential in the village, pouring investment and new life into a project that opened as recently as 2009. Shedding light on Porto Montenegros growing popularity, Senior PR & Marketing Manager of the marina Danilo Kalezic explained that, The Adriatic Sea is the hottest yachting destination now and were situated in the epicentre of that. With its ability to accommodate the largest superyachts in the world up to 800 feet, 24/7 service and its own cosy sandy beach, it is easy to see how this marina earned its Platinum rating. For those wondering what to do upon arrival, we would suggest a dip in Porto Montenegro Yacht Clubs 64 metre infinity pool, after a bite to eat at its Italian poolside restaurant or perhaps a refreshing cocktail on the rooftop bar. Be sure to pay a trip to the private Platinum Nightclub just downstairs, and walk off the hangover through the winding medieval streets of the Old Town the next day. If the multitude of high-end fashion boutiques and chic bars and cafes arent enough, make sure you attend some of the Ports hottest events this season including the 7th edition of the Superwine Festival on June 29th, dubbed the best wine festival in the region and attended by the best producers from Montenegro to Serbia. Among other highly anticipated events in the area, Polo in The Port is one of the most celebrated annually, taking place this 1st-3rd August and offering a fantastic day out for the whole family whether you are there for the sport or the champagne. If youre searching for a place to stay, look no further than the Regent Porto Montenegro. Discover your inner zen at this 5-storey (and 5-star) hotel, boasting indoor and outdoor pools that has, since its opening in 2014, fast become the villages ultimate place to stay. The Regent, which boasts gleaming views of the Marina and a plethora of dining choices for even the fussiest of eaters, is the perfect stopover for yachtsmen of all kind. As Kalezic reminded us, the areas surrounding Porto Montenegro each offer their own particular delights from the turquoise bays of Albania to the Southern Croatian islands of Mljet and Korcula and so should not be missed by anyone who wishes to fully absorb the pleasures of the East Med. Porto Montenegro though, with its abundance of activities, shops, sights and cultural hotspots, is sure to tempt a return trip. Albuquerque, New Mexico, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TriCore Reference Laboratories, New Mexicos leading clinical laboratory provider of healthcare information, is pleased to announce and welcome Douglas P. Clark, MD, as TriCores new chief medical officer effective September 2019. A graduate of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Clark completed a pathology residency, cytopathology fellowship, and postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He brings to TriCore a wealth of knowledge garnered from his years of leadership at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions as Director of the Division of Cytopathology and his most recent position as Pathology Department Chairman and Professor at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Clark is an expert in the fields of cytopathology and molecular diagnostics, and has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications, several books and book chapters, and has given dozens of invited lectures nationally and internationally. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Clark holds several patents and is a scientific founder of a cancer diagnostics company that has developed a novel biomarker testing system. Says Michael J. Crossey, MD, PhD, TriCore CEO, Following an extensive search, we found the right person for the CMO position, right here in New Mexico. Dr. Clark brings tremendous experience to us with his impressive record of accomplishments. Additionally, Dr. Clarks in-depth knowledge of TriCore enables him to begin at full speed as a significant contributor to TriCores increasing role in improving the health of our communities. Serving on various committees of TriCores board of directors since 2013, and as current board chair, Dr. Clark has intimate knowledge of TriCores role in healthcare. As TriCores chief medical officer, Dr. Clark will work to fully integrate laboratory medicine into clinical care and population health initiatives through TriCores clinical laboratory, Clinical Lab 2.0 initiatives, and the TriCore Research Institute. He will also consult with clinicians in the community and support TriCores teaching mission for pathology residents, fellows and other trainees. _________________________________________ About TriCore Reference Laboratories TriCore Reference Laboratories is an independent, not-for-profit, clinical reference laboratory founded and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, co-sponsored by Presbyterian Healthcare Services and University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. TriCore provides over 2,900, full-service, state-of-the-art laboratory tests to healthcare professionals and their patients. TriCore also provides analytics and research services, supporting healthcare and scientific organizations worldwide. TriCores Rhodes Group offers laboratory software and consulting services to optimize clinical laboratory operations, including empowering population health management and targeted intervention strategies. For more information, visit tricore.org. Attachment Syracuse, N.Y. -- A subsidized apartment building for people with low incomes and those with mental health disorders has opened in a Northside neighborhood once plagued by crime. State and local officials held a ribbon-cutting for Catherine Street Apartments on Wednesday. Located at 501 Catherine Street, the four-story building contains 50 furnished apartments (40 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom units). Twenty apartments are reserved for households earning at or below 50 percent of the area median income, and 30 apartments are for households earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income. In addition, 30 of the apartments are reserved for individuals who have mental health disorders but are able to take care of themselves. Trinity Woodall, program supervisor at the building, said residents pay a maximum of 30 percent of their monthly income for rent. On average, residents pay a little more than $200 a month, she said. Noting that many recent apartment projects in the city have featured high-end housing in the downtown area, Mayor Ben Walsh praised the Catherine Street project for providing affordable housing to residents. We need to make sure were investing in projects that benefit everyone in our community, regardless of ability, of income levels or anything else that may differentiate them." Walsh also praised the improvement the project is making to the neighborhood. This was desperately needed, he said. I remember seeing open-air drug dealing. There were a lot of issues. To have this brand new, beautiful building anchoring this block and this neighborhood is really a significant step forward. The new building replaces two run-down apartment buildings that were demolished for the project. F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, briefly lived in one of the buildings as a young boy, but the connection was not historically significant enough to save the structure. Construction was finished in the fall, and all but one of the units are occupied, Woodall said. State financing for the $17.6 million project included $8.6 million in permanent tax-exempt bonds, federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that generated $5.7 million in equity and an additional $2.7 million in subsidy from New York State Homes and Community Renewal. The New York State Office of Mental Health provided $8.5 million in capital funding and will also will provide funding for onsite supportive services. The project was developed by CSD Housing in partnership with Central New York Services Inc. and is being managed by Christopher Community Inc. Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 UPDATE: Casting is now closed; producers have selected a dog for the film. * * * * * Do you think your dog should be famous? A Hollywood movie filming in Syracuse is looking for a picture dog. Producers for The Night House have announced an open casting call for canines. The film, currently shooting in Central New York is looking for a local dog to appear on camera as the pet of one of the cast members. According to a press release, producers are looking for a medium/large breed thats older/elderly and well-groomed. The dog also needs to be house-trained, friendly, even-tempered, and experienced with social gatherings. Pet owners also need to be eager to work, patient, and have a flexible schedule. If interested, contact producers with photos of your dog, plus breed, age, weight and contact info. The Night House, produced by David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight") and directed by David Bruckner (V/H/S, The Ritual), is a horror-thriller about a widow who begins to uncover her recently deceased husbands disturbing secrets. A cast has not been officially announced, but Deadline and Variety reported in February that Golden Globe nominated actress Rebecca Hall (The Town, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) would star. The Night House filmed scenes at Maxwells in Hanover Square on Wednesday. The production will also use the Greater Syracuse Soundstage (formerly known as the nano film hub in DeWitt) and be eligible for the NY State Film Tax Credit program. Production is expected to continue through June. Syracuse, NY -- When Jay Ford left work Christmas Eve 2017, a mysterious 2006 Ford Taurus followed him two miles back to his residence on Temple Street, surveillance video shows. There, a gunman emerged from the Taurus, armed with an infamous weapon, and shot Ford dead. That particular 9mm handgun has been used in at least four shootings, a lawyer indicated today. Together, the car and the weapon, helped lead police to two suspects: Rafael Jackson and Deyontay Smith. Today, both defendants appeared in court as they prepare for a two-week trial in early June. The gun in question is the same one used by Jackson in an earlier attempted robbery, committed two months before the murder, County Court Judge Stephen Dougherty noted. Jackson went to trial on that earlier case and was convicted of possessing the gun. Now, prosecutor Robert Moran is seeking to tie Jackson to the homicide through the weapon common to both crimes. But defense lawyer Graeme Spicer objected today, calling it a community gun used in at least two other shootings. Typically, prior crimes are not allowed to be described again in future trials: the crime at hand has to be proven based on evidence from that investigation. Proof that the defendant has a criminal past is considered too prejudicial. Moran noted there was other evidence against Jackson: the suspect Ford Taurus was registered to Jacksons girlfriend, according to the indictment. As for Smith, that defendant gave police a statement in which he admitted flagging down a car fitting the description of the suspect vehicle. He said he didnt know who the other occupant was and says he got out again before anything criminal happened. Smith maintains he didnt even know Jackson before their arrests. The indictment accuses Smith of being the shooter and Jackson the driver who followed Ford for two miles. No motivation for the crime has been made public in court, though there have been indications of gang involvement. Security will be enhanced during trial: the public wont be able to bring cell phones into the courtroom at all, preventing illicit recording or photographing of witnesses. Both Jackson and Smith are going to trial together because neither blamed the other for the murder, so theres no conflict of interest in trying both at the same time. Dougherty, the judge, ordered everyone back to court Tuesday to iron out more details before the Jun. 3 trial. They each face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of participating in Fords murder. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The mans body was pulled from the trunk of his own car late on a March night and moved to the basement of an abandoned Syracuse home. A Syracuse man proceeded to cut off the mans hands, head, feet and tattoos in the basement at 110 Dearborn Place, according to police and court records. The head and other parts were put in a bag, police said. It was all part of a plot to try to cover up the murder of Maximillian Cook, who had been killed March 23 in Rochester, police said. Those details emerged this week after the Syracuse man, Aziz S. Adams, 19, was arrested Tuesday by the New York State Police in Syracuse. He has been accused of dismembering Cooks body in an attempt to help the accused murderer destroy evidence of the crime. Adams was working with Aries Ash - the man accused of killing Cook - to hide the victims body from police, troopers said in a felony complaint filed this week in Syracuse City Court. After dismembering the body on the night of March 25, The body parts were all put into a bag to be taken back to Rochester, where they were later recovered, according to court records and Trooper Jack Keller, a New York State Police spokesman. Adams is one of the two Syracuse men accused of trying to help cover up Cooks murder. The investigation started March 25 when the Rochester Police Department got a tip that Cook had been the victim of a serious crime. Working with the New York State Police, investigators found the missing mans vehicle parked outside of 110 Dearborn Place in Syracuse -- a vacant house over 80 miles away from Rochester. Cook, 43, of the town of Greece, was found dead inside the empty house. Aries Ash, 30, and Charisse N. Walton, 36, were arrested March 26 and charged with robbing and murdering cook. Police arrested the Wayne County pair after they fled from a traffic stop in Rochester and crashed into a dump truck, reported News 8 WROC. Lamor Britton, 24, of Syracuse, was arrested by troopers one day later and charged with hiding a body. Close to two months after the homicide, investigators watched Adams walk into a Syracuse market. The Syracuse Police Gang Task Force was tasked Tuesday with helping the state police find Adams, who was wanted for hindering prosecution and hiding Cooks body, said a trooper in a deposition filed in Syracuse City Court. Investigators found Adams on the citys South Side, the trooper said, and followed him when he walked into the Middle East Market on South State Street. When Adams spotted police, he ran into a room in the back of the store, the trooper said. He was stopped and handcuffed after a short chase, the trooper said. Adams has been charged with concealment of a human corpse, tampering with physical evidence, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest. He remains in the Onondaga County Justice Center. With the aid of modern-day social media and the coming together of the community, a forgotten Syracuse soldier will finally be remembered properly. Thomas F. Butler was born in Ridgeway, Ontario in 1888 before settling in Syracuse with his family as a boy., moving into a home at 411 Seymour Street. As a young man, Butler was adventurous and wanted to see the world. At the age of 21, he left Syracuse and worked on Mississippi riverboats. When he tired of that, he joined the army in St. Louis. He became a member of the 13th Calvary Regiment. He wrote home enthusiastically about military life but grew weary of the service after his unit was sent south, to protect the border from raids by Mexican revolutionary, Pancho Villa. In early 1916, Butler was stationed at Columbus, New Mexico. He was bored and, in letters home, wrote that he looked forward to returning to Syracuse in July, when his enlistment time expired. Images from the March 17, 1916 Syracuse Herald showing the funeral of Thomas Butler.1H24rCuFdw/A0QksLujzdSgGXtbAYHeE On March 9, 1916, Villa, with 600, attacked the town, defended by roughly 350 Americans. The defenders were surprised but prepared, and drove the Villistas back. It was the last time the United States was attacked by a foreign power with boots on the ground. Eighteen Americans died in the fighting, 10 civilians and eight soldiers, including Thomas Butler, whose body returned to Syracuse. He was 28 years old. He died like a man, his father said, after the casket carrying his son was delivered to the family home. Thats what they go for the boys that go to be soldiers. They expect it and theyre not afraid. Butlers funeral was held on March 17, 1916, first at his parents home on Seymour Street, then at St. Lucys Church and finally at St. Agnes Cemetery. Hundreds of people attended. Seldom has there been in Syracuse a funeral service so impressive as that of Private Butler, the Syracuse Herald said. In his eulogy Father Sheridan said: We are assembled today to honor this American soldier who died in defense of his country. We are here to offer our tenderest sympathy to the bereaved, the saddened and sorrowful parents, brothers and sisters. We are here to tell them of our great appreciation of what he did individually in the performance of his duty, he died that others might live. Newspaper accounts say that the snow lay deep on the ground that morning, which may explain why Butler was not buried until the following July. But for some unknown reason, Thomas Butler was not given a tombstone or marker. Now, 103 years later, that slight will be remedied forever. Butlers story was unearthed by David Haas, owner of the @SyracuseHistory Instagram account. He began a campaign which encouraged the community to properly remember the forgotten soldier. This marker has been purchased to honor Syracuse soldier Thomas Butler. A ceremony will be held at St. Agnes Cemetery on June 1, 2019. He worked with St. Agnes to find Butlers grave site and began a GoFundMe campaign to raise the necessary funds for a marker. Lutz Memorial provided a marker at a discounted price and the cemetery waived their setting fee. The money needed was raised within two hours after being posted on Instagram. And now the public can join in the honoring of this Syracuse hero. On Saturday, June 1, 2019, a memorial event will be held at St. Agnes Cemetery, organized by Hollis Funeral Home, to celebrate the installation of the marker and remember Thomas Butler. It begins at 10 a.m. The service will be led by Father Jim Matthews of Saint Lucys Church, the church that Butler attended. The service is open to the public. For more details, visit https://www.gofundme.com/thomasfbutler and instagram.com/syracusehistory. THE DETAILS What: A memorial for Syracuse soldier Thomas Butler When: Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 10 a.m. Where: St. Agnes Cemetery, 2315 South Avenue, Syracuse Who: Open to the public. HOUSTON, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riviera Resources, Inc. (OTCQX: RVRA) (Riviera or the Company) announces it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its interest in properties located in Michigan to an undisclosed buyer for a contract price of $44.5 million, subject to closing adjustments. The Company expects the transaction will close in the second quarter of 2019 and estimates net proceeds of approximately $41 million. This transaction is subject to satisfactory completion due diligence, as well as the satisfaction of closing conditions. The properties to be sold consist of approximately 1,400 net wells located in Michigan with proved developed reserves of approximately 193 BCFE1 and proved developed PV-10 of approximately $38 million1. The Company will retain all of its properties located in Illinois. The estimated net proceeds from the sale are expected to be added to cash on the Companys balance sheet. The Board and management will determine the use of proceeds, which may include share repurchases under the Companys previously announced share repurchase program, share tenders, dividends, and/or reinvestment in higher return projects at Blue Mountain or in the upstream business. ABOUT RIVIERA RESOURCES Riviera Resources, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas company with a strategic focus on efficiently operating its mature low-decline assets, developing its growth-oriented assets, and returning capital to its stockholders. Rivieras properties are located in the Hugoton Basin, East Texas, North Louisiana, Michigan/Illinois, the Uinta Basin and Mid-Continent regions. Riviera also owns Blue Mountain Midstream LLC. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations made by the Company which reflect managements experience, estimates and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and anticipated future developments. These statements include, among others, statements regarding our 2019 guidance, planned capital expenditures, increases in oil and gas production, the number of anticipated wells to be drilled or completed after the date hereof, future cash flows and borrowings, our strategic objectives with respect to Blue Mountain Midstream, our financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. These include risks relating to the Companys financial and operational performance and results, low or declining commodity prices and demand for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, ability to hedge future production, ability to replace reserves and efficiently develop current reserves, the capacity and utilization of midstream facilities and the regulatory environment. These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Please read Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events. CONTACT: Riviera Resources, Inc. Investor Relations (281) 840-4168 IR@RVRAresources.com 1 Proved developed reserves are as of year-end 2018, updated to reflect current strip pricing and basis differentials as of May 21, 2019. PV-10 represents the present value, discounted at 10% per year, of estimated future net cash flows. The Companys calculation of PV-10 herein differs from the standardized measure of discounted future net cash flows determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC in that it is calculated before income taxes with the pricing assumptions noted. DEWITT, NY -- Two cleaning crew workers at ShoppingTown mall received the same threatening text this morning, kicking off a search for an explosive in the shopping center, according to DeWitt Police. The workers notified mall security who contacted police at 9:13 a.m. Thursday, DeWitt Police Chief John Anton said at a news conference outside the mall. People in the building were evacuated and police blocked the entrances to the property. Fewer than 25 people had to be evacuated, Anton said. Most of the few businesses still operating in the mall had not opened yet. Police used dogs to sweep the mall for explosives, Anton said. No explosives were found. The mall is expected to reopen around noon today, he said. Police are working to identify the person who sent the text messages, Anton said. Democracy works. It works slowly sometimes, but it works. Case in point: Voters in the West Genesee school district on Tuesday resoundingly defeated the school board president and an incumbent school board member. Well take an educated guess that it had something to do with the boards handling of a scandal involving former district superintendent Christopher Brown. Browns wife accused him of having an extramarital affair with an employee, high school executive principal Shannon Coholan. He denied it. District lawyers were in the midst of investigating when Brown announced he was leaving. The board sent him on his way with a $120,000 golden parachute and a glowing letter of recommendation. It did not explain why it agreed to pay off Brown, or how it reached that number. Coholan, meanwhile, got fired. Why did the supervisor get a check and the subordinate get a pink slip? The board didnt explain that, either. Transparency in decision-making matters. Secrecy prevents the public from judging if government is truly working for them. Voters in West Genesee sent a message Tuesday. Elected officials at every level, from school board to the White House, ignore it at their peril. WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. John Katko said Thursday that President Donald Trumps administration has no legitimate excuse for a delay in making Harriet Tubman the face of the $20 bill. Katko, R-Camillus, said Congress should force the issue by passing his legislation that would require Tubman to be featured in place of Andrew Jackson on $20 notes printed after Dec. 31, 2020. Katko made his comments to Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Congress that any redesigned bills featuring Tubman would be delayed until at least 2026. The congressman said he met privately with Mnuchin several weeks ago to discuss the lack of progress on the new Tubman currency, set in motion by Barack Obamas administration in 2016. He couldnt give a good explanation of why it couldnt be done, Katko said of Mnuchin. He didnt seem to be swayed by my arguments that its high past time to have a woman and a person of color on U.S. currency. I didnt think he had any ill intent, but it wasnt his priority. Katko said Mnuchin told him that he was focused on security issues with new currency. Mnuchin repeated the same concern when he testified Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee. It is my responsibility now to focus on what is the issue of counterfeiting and the security features, Mnuchin said. The ultimate decision on the redesign will most likely be another secretarys down the road. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump criticized plans to place Tubman on the $20 bill. Trump called the move pure political correctness. Trump has said that Jackson, a former slave owner, should remain on the face of the bill. The president has described Jackson as an American hero who defied an arrogant elite. Mnuchin and Treasury Department officials would not say Wednesday whether Trump played a role in the decision to delay the change. Mnuchin did not bring up Trump during their private meeting, Katko said, nor give any indication that he was being pressured to delay the Tubman bills. Katko has been one of the leading voices in Congress pushing for the change, motivated by the story of the former slave who helped lead the abolitionist movement after settling in Auburn, part of his congressional district. Karen Hill, president and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home, said Mnuchins comments on Wednesday helped re-energize the movement to honor Tubman. Hill said her phone rang throughout the evening with callers asking how they could help push for the change. I believe that the Tubman on the $20 bill is a force thats so great that its time will come, Hill told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. I dont think Mnuchins testimony is the end of the story, Hill said. It just elevated it. People are not happy about it. The group Women on 20s, which has advocated for Tubmans portrait to be placed on the $20 bill, encouraged its supporters in a statement Wednesday to rally behind Katkos bill. The group also had a message for the Trump administration, tweeting: They may think change wont be coming, but it is sure gonna come. The $20 isnt safe, and folks want and need to honor the heroes that healed our country, not tore it apart. In February, Katko reintroduced a bipartisan bill with Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., that would direct the Treasury Department to place the likeness of Tubman on $20 bills printed after Dec. 31, 2020. The Harriet Tubman Tribute Act has 15 Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, but it has not moved out of the House Financial Services Committee. Katko said Thursday that hes optimistic that members of Congress will rally around his bill and force the Treasury Departments hand. Im not going to give up, Katko said. As long as Im in Congress going to keep pushing this issue. Before Trump took office, Congress passed a bill in 2014 authorizing the creation of national historical parks in Auburn and along the Eastern Shore of Maryland where Tubman was born and escaped from slavery. Tubmans former home and related historical properties in Auburn and the adjacent town of Fleming in Cayuga County will be part of the historical park. Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 Rochester, N.Y. Robert Morgan, a prominent developer and property owner across Upstate New York, was charged Wednesday in a massive fraud scheme involving more than half a billion dollars in fraudulently obtained loans. At least three of the properties used as part of the scheme are in the Syracuse area. Losses to lenders from the fraudulent loans in the scam totaled about $25 million, prosecutors said. Insurers lost about $3 million from alleged insurance fraud. Morgans business, based in the Rochester area, has been under investigation for some time and other individuals, including some of his family members, were already facing charges. Morgan himself was implicated in the crimes for the first time earlier this month. The new 114-count indictment filed Wednesday charges Morgan, Morgan's son Todd, former Morgan financial director Michael Tremiti and broker Frank Giacobbe with multiple crimes. Todd Morgan and Giacobbe had been charged previously The indictment alleges bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and insurance fraud. The crimes carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and millions in fines. The scheme included properties across Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois and Texas, prosecutors said. The Syracuse-area properties allegedly used in the fraud included the Brookwood on the Green apartment complex in Liverpool, Rivers Pointe luxury apartments in Clay and Rugby Square apartments on Dorchester Avenue in Syracuse. In addition to the criminal charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against Morgan accusing him of a running a Ponzi scheme-like effort, according to MarketWatch. Morgan allegedly raised over $110 million from over 200 mainly small investors starting in 2013, promising a return of 11 percent, MarketWatch said. He allegedly used the cash as a fraudulent slush fund to pay off previous investors. The SEC is looking to freeze Morgans assets, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. The alleged fraud dates back to 2007 and continued until January, the D&C said. Morgan and the others involved misused the mortgage lending process to steal money, prosecutors said. They allegedly provided falsified contracts and other documents to inflate purchase prices, property values and other matters to secure outsize mortgages, the D&C said. Three others, including Morgans nephew Kevin, a vice president at the company, have already pleaded guilty to crimes as a result of the investigation. The former chief operating officer of Morgan's business pleaded guilty earlier this month and agreed to cooperate with authorities. Morgan has been involved in a number of apartment complexes and other developments in the Syracuse area over the years, including Madison Row in Manlius and the apartments at Township 5 in Camillus. Morgan had also been planning a combined retail and apartment complex at the former OBrien & Gere manufacturing site in Fayetteville, but the village slowed its review of the proposal after news of the federal investigation broke. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) John Walker Lindh, the young Californian who became known as the American Taliban after he was captured by U.S. forces in the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, is set to go free after nearly two decades in prison. But conditions imposed recently on Lindh's release, slated for Thursday, make clear that authorities remain concerned about the threat he could pose once free. Lindh, now 38, converted to Islam as a teenager after seeing the film "Malcolm X" and went overseas to study Arabic and the Quran. In November 2000, he went to Pakistan and from there made his way to Afghanistan. He joined the Taliban and was with them on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The U.S. attacked Afghanistan after the country failed to turn over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Lindh was captured in a battle with Northern Alliance fighters in late 2001. He was present when a group of Taliban prisoners launched an attack that killed Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann, a CIA officer who had been interrogating Lindh and other Taliban prisoners. Television footage of a bearded, wounded Lindh captured among Taliban fighters created an international sensation, and he was brought to the U.S. to face charges of conspiring to kill Spann and providing support to terrorists. Eventually, he struck a plea bargain in which he admitted illegally providing support to the Taliban but denied a role in Spann's death. Lindh received a 20-year prison sentence. He served roughly 17 years and five months, including two months when he was in military detention. Federal inmates who exhibit good behavior typically serve 85 percent of their sentence. His probation officer asked the court to impose additional restrictions on Lindh while he remains on supervised release for the next three years. Lindh initially opposed but eventually acquiesced to the restrictions, which include monitoring software on his internet devices; requiring that his online communications be conducted in English and that he undergo mental health counseling; and forbidding him from possessing or viewing extremist material, holding a passport of any kind or leaving the U.S. Authorities never specified their rationale for seeking such restrictions. A hearing on the issue was canceled after Lindh agreed to them. The Bureau of Prisons said Lindh rejected an interview request submitted by The Associated Press, and his lawyer declined to comment. But there have been reports that Lindh's behavior in prison has created cause for concern. Foreign Policy magazine reported in 2017 that an investigation by the National Counterterrorism Center found that Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." A former inmate who knew Lindh from the time they spent at the same federal prison said he never heard Lindh espouse support for al-Qaida or indicate a risk for violence, but he found Lindh to be anti-social and awkward around others, with an unyielding, black-and-white view of religion. The inmate spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wanted to avoid further stigmatization from his time in Lindh's prison unit. Michael Jensen, a terrorism researcher at the University of Maryland's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, said it's clear the government has concerns about Lindh's mindset. "For three years he's going to be watched like a hawk," Jensen said. He said Lindh represents an interesting test case, as he is on the leading edge of dozens of inmates who were convicted on terror-related offenses in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and are eligible for release in the next five years. He said there's little research to indicate the efficacy of de-radicalizing inmates with connections to radical Islam, but he said the research shows that recidivism rates for those connected to white supremacy and other forms of extremism are high. Lindh has been housed in Terre Haute, Indiana, with other Muslim inmates convicted on terror-related charges. The rationale was to keep those inmates from radicalizing others in the general prison population, Jensen said. Those inside the unit were supposed to be limited in their ability to communicate with each other. "But the reality is these guys still talk to each other," he said. Lindh, for his part, admitted his role and his wrongdoing in supporting the Taliban, but he and his family have bristled at any notion that he should be considered a terrorist. When he was sentenced, Lindh said he never would have joined the Taliban if he fully understood what they were about. He also issued a short essay condemning acts of violence in the name of Islam that kill or harm innocent civilians. Lindh's time in prison has provided only a few clues about his current outlook. He filed multiple lawsuits, which were largely successful, challenging prison rules he found discriminatory against Muslims. In the more recent lawsuits, he used the name Yahya Lindh. One lawsuit won the right to pray in groups at the prison in Terre Haute. A second lawsuit reversed a policy requiring strip searches for inmates receiving visitors, and a third won the right to wear prison pants above the ankle, which Lindh said is in accordance with Islamic principles. In the strip-search lawsuit, Lindh offered a discussion of Islamic rules prohibiting exposure of the body. If he's compelled to reveal himself, he said, he's also compelled under his religion to fight the rules requiring him to sin. Some have criticized Lindh's pending release. In March, the legislature in Alabama, where Spann grew up, adopted a resolution calling it "an insult" to Spann's "heroic legacy and his remaining family members." In addition, Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan wrote a letter last week to the Bureau of Prisons expressing concern. "We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence," they wrote. On Monday, Spanns father, Johnny Spann, wrote a letter requesting that Lindh be investigated before hes released, citing the National Counterterrorism Centers investigation as his rationale for concern. WASHINGTON (AP) In a case with significant First Amendment implications, the U.S. filed new charges Thursday against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that accuse him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing thousands of secret and classified documents, including the identities of confidential sources for American armed forces and diplomats. The Justice Department's 18-count superseding indictment alleges that Assange directed former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. It says the WikiLeaks founder damaged national security by publishing documents that harmed the U.S. and its allies and aided its adversaries. The case comes amid a Justice Department crackdown on national security leaks and raises immediate media freedom questions, including whether Assange's actions such as soliciting and publishing classified information are distinguishable from what traditional journalists do as a matter of course. Those same concerns led the Obama administration Justice Department to balk at bringing charges for similar conduct. Assange's lawyer, Barry Pollack, said Thursday that the "unprecedented charges" against his client imperil "all journalists in their endeavor to inform the public about actions that have been taken by the U.S. government." The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said the case was a "dire threat" to media freedom. But Justice Department officials sought to make clear that they did not view Assange's actions as protected by the First Amendment. "Julian Assange is no journalist," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department's top national security official. "No responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential sources, exposing them to the gravest of dangers." Prosecutors sought throughout the document to make a distinction between what Assange did as the founder and "public face" of WikiLeaks and the work of journalists. They noted, for example, that he promoted his site to a convention of European hackers and published a list of the classified information he sought as "The Most Wanted Leaks of 2009." They described how Assange worked with Manning to improperly access Department of Defense computers to gain access to thousands of pages of material and encouraged her as she delved through databases for information. Prosecutors also say the danger wasn't just to the U.S. government, but to people who worked with it. Reports from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq published by Assange included the names of Afghans and Iraqis who provided information to American and coalition forces, while the diplomatic cables he released exposed journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and dissidents in repressive countries. "Assange created a grave and imminent risk that the innocent people he named would suffer serious physical harm and/or arbitrary detention." Assange in an August 2010 interview called it "regrettable" that sources disclosed by WikiLeaks could be harmed, but said WikiLeaks was "not obligated to protect other people's sources," according to the indictment. The new Espionage Act charges go far beyond an initial indictment against Assange made public last month that accused him of conspiring with Manning to crack a defense computer password. First Amendment aside, the indictment poses a secondary ethical question for journalists. News organizations around the world widely used the Manning material, which provided previously unavailable information about the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and international diplomacy. Assange is now being prosecuted for releasing documents that many reporters found inherently newsworthy. Assange, 47, is in custody in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The U.S. is seeking his extradition. Manning, who was convicted in military court for providing a trove of classified documents to WikiLeaks, is currently in a northern Virginia jail on a civil contempt charge. Manning spent two months in the Alexandria Detention Center beginning in March after she refused to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. That grand jury is sitting in Alexandria, where Assange is charged. She could remain in jail for up to 18 months, the length of the current grand jury's term. Manning has said she believes prosecutors want to question her about the same conduct for which she was convicted at her court-martial. She served seven years of a 35-year military sentence before receiving a commutation from then-President Barack Obama. CALGARY, Alberta, May 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Calgary chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) is celebrating its 60th anniversary by donating 60 hours of member volunteer time on May 25 and May 26 to Calgary Reads. The 60 for 60 event will bring together public relations and communications professionals of all levels in a two-day workshop to strategically address Calgary Reads communications needs. For 60 years our members have been leading professional communication and public engagement in our community. We feel that in this milestone year it is important to give back, says CPRS Calgary President, Tom Ormsby. Calgary Reads works with words, literacy and expression, which aligns seamlessly with the day-to-day activities of our members. On Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26, CPRS Calgary members will gather in teams for shifts at Calgary Reads Childrens Reading Place in Inglewood to develop initiatives identified by Calgary Reads as literacy and organizational priorities Developing a love of reading in children is crucial. Literacy has the potential to strengthen family and community bonds; it develops empathy in growing brains, and it encourages a sense of curiosity and wonder which is needed to be a successful learner, says Steacy Collyer, CEO at Calgary Reads. We know that children who have access to reading at an early age have higher literacy rates and perform better as adults. Calgary Reads is grateful to CPRSs charity of choice. Both organizations share a love for words the fit is obvious. Because of that, Im really looking forward to the synergies we can form together to build awareness around the need for children to have access to books. For more information on CPRS Calgary, please visit: https://cprscalgary.com/about/ . For more information about Calgary Reads, please visit: https://calgaryreads.com/. CPRS is a national organization of men and women who practice Public Relations, with sister associations in other countries. The Calgary chapter represents those in the Calgary and surrounding area at every career stage. The organization strives to promote the highest standards in the PR field, sharing skills and knowledge that promote best practices. CPRS works to advance the professional stature of public relations and regulates its practice for the benefit and protection of the public interest. Calgary Reads believes all children should read with confidence and joy, which would positively change literary outcomes in children. Calgary Reads and the Alberta Reads Networks work and impact are made possible through an integrated ONE TEAM approach. This is a mix of talented staff, Board members, volunteers, consultants, Champions and other contributors all committed to meaningful community engagement in support of childrens literacy. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/098ace11-2792-4837-a55a-1043fcd648ee Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more Google showed off its chops in artificial intelligence and machine learning, renewed its commitment to giving users greater control over their data, and introduced a new economically priced smartphone during a keynote presentation at its annual I/O conference held in Mountain View, California, on Tuesday. They were there to hammer home the point that when it comes to AI, they are ahead of their peers, said Paul Erickson, a senior analyst at IHS Markit, a research, analysis, and advisory firm based in London. Whether it be translation for the disabled or some of the other things they showcased, they wanted to put a different face on what theyre doing with their AI outside the tech industrys typical use cases, he told TechNewsWorld. During its presentation Google announced Live Caption, an addition to its Live Transcribe app, which is designed for the hearing impaired. It transcribes phone calls in real time. Live Caption will display captions for the speech content in any app with little or no lag, because it runs entirely on the device its installed on. Google also profiled Project Euphonia, which provides translations for the speech-impaired. When the person speaks, the translator will display speech as conventional text. Focus on Privacy Google also focused on privacy and user control of data during its keynote. Privacy is a strategic and competitive necessity for them, Erickson said. Theres much more scrutiny now about whats being done with user data. That scrutiny is not only coming from government, but from buyers. Apple has used privacy to its competitive advantage in the consumer, government and enterprise markets, he noted. If Google wants to navigate in this political and social mood that is more concerned with privacy, it has to be more proactive in functionally protecting privacy and giving users greater control over their data, Erickson suggested. Googles presentation shows its continuing to push toward giving people more control over the information collected about them, noted Stephen Baker, an analyst with the NPD Group, a market research firm based in Port Washington, New York. Theyre pushing hard to create an ecosystem where people have management tools to understand whats happening with their data and fix what they dont like, he told TechNewsWorld. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Easier Access to Security Settings During Googles keynote, CEO Sundar Pichai noted that privacy and security is for everyone, not just a few. This is why powerful privacy features and controls have always been built into Google services, he said. The company launched Incognito Mode in Chrome more than a decade ago and has added Google Takeout, which is an easy way to export data from a Google account, Pichai pointed out. Other privacy enhancements announced in the address: Easier access to privacy and security settings through a users profile photo; While in search, tapping the accounts photo displays its security settings. A new auto-delete feature in those settings allows a user to determine how long search data will be stored. Google also is adding an Incognito Mode for its maps app. When its activated, locations searched and visited during a session will not be linked a users account. In addition, there are almost 50 security and privacy features in the latest version of Android, said Stephanie Cuthbertson, Googles senior director for Android, during the keynote. One of those features keeps users aware of the apps using their phones location services. Premium Phone at Lovable Price Google also announced two new Pixel smartphone models, the 3A and 3A XL. The US$399 3A and $479 XL are targeted at consumers tired of ever-rising prices for a quality smartphone. Theres been a really troubling trend in the smartphone industry, said Rick Osterloh, Googles senior vice president for hardware, during the keynote. To support the latest technologies, everyones high-end phones are getting more and more expensive. The 3A and 3A XL are designed to deliver premium features at a price people will love, he added. The phones, which will be available from all the major carriers, are offered in three colors: black, white and purplish. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Both models have OLED displays. The 3As 5.6-inch screen has a resolution of 2220 x 1080 pixels, and the XLs 6-inch display is 2160 x 1080 pixels. The units have the same camera found in Googles more expensive models. Google says the battery life can be as long as 30 hours, and 15 minutes of charging can last seven hours. Apple in Rear-View Mirror? The Pixel 3A, coupled with the advancements in Google Assistant announced at I/O, will put real pressure on Apple, maintained Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Oregon. The advancements to Google Assistant are massive, he told TechNewsWorld. Having the ability to have a two-way conversation with Assistant, to know who you are, and to share data across devices is a generation in front of Apples Siri, Enderle observed. Whats more, the Pixel phones are priced below Apples offerings and have capabilities well above Apples offerings. Thats not a great combination for Apple if it wants to capture new customers, he added. When you start talking about devices that outperfrom and sell at about half the price, the wallet dictates where the user will move, Enderle remarked. More Than Search Google also announced the expansion of a Google News feature called full coverage to general search. The feature creates context around news stories by displaying information from a wide variety of sources. In addition, Google is going to start indexing podcasts not only by title but by their content. Searchers will be given the option of listening to the podcast immediately or saving it for later listening. During the keynote, Jeff Dean, Googles AI lead, maintained the company was moving from one that helps people find answers to one that also helps them get things done. Thats a great tagline, NPDs Baker said. It makes a lot of sense. They cant be a search company forever. If they want to keep growing, theyve got to expand their vision. In brief: While it looks as if Huawei could face huge losses due to the tension between the US and China, Apple could also see its bottom line take a hit if the Asian nation decides to ban its products in the country. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall wrote that the Chinese market made up 17 percent of Apples sales in its fiscal second quarter and represents 29 percent of the companys profits. Should the escalating trade war, which has seen President Trump raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports, result in China retaliating by banning Apple products from the mainland, Cupertino's net income would fall by more than $15 billion annually. In addition to the ongoing trade dispute that could see tariffs hiked on an additional $325 billion of Chinese goods, the US essentially banned companies from doing business with Huawei over perceived security threats. This has so far seen Microsoft remove Huawei laptops from its online store and Arm cut ties with the firm. There has been a 90-day reprieve allowing Google to continue providing security patches and software updates to Huawei devices, but it's unclear what will happen once it expires. Apple has another concern beyond a Chinese sales ban. Most of its iPhone manufacturing process takes place in Chinese factories, most notably at the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen that produces the majority of its handsets. Should restrictions be put in place, Hall believes Apple would be unable to move much of its iPhone manufacturing outside of China at short notice. It was previously reported, however, that Apple has already been considering moving away from the country due to rising tariffs on US imports. Hall added that Chinas willingness to stop iPhone production in the country would likely be tempered by the effect such action would have on the local economy and tech ecosystem. Why it matters: Although minor in the grand scheme of things, the move helps to further legitimize Bitcoin as a viable alternative to fiat currencies, both in terms of trust and increasing adoption. It may also appeal to those who prefer to reduce the paper trail of their financial transactions. AT&T has become the first major wireless provider in the US to accept cryptocurrency as a way to pay your monthly bill online. The nations second largest wireless provider is partnering with cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay on the initiative. BitPay, based out of Atlanta, Georgia, has been around since 2011, assisting thousands of merchants looking to accept Bitcoin as a form of online payment. Kevin McDorman, vice president of AT&T Communications Finance Business Operations, said they have customers that use cryptocurrency and they are happy they can offer them a way to pay their bills with the method they prefer. Im not sure how much itll help with the perception that some have of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as long-term investments rather than assets meant for daily trade but eh, it is what it is. AT&T in announcing the partnership said customers will be able to select BitPay as a payment option when logging online or when using the myAT&T app. Image credit: Smartphone with Bitcoin symbol by Wit Olszewski What just happened? On Thursday the US Senate made the first move toward combating robocallers. A bill, which proposes harsher penalties on automated calls, passed with nearly unanimous bipartisan support 97-1. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or S 151 (aka the TRACED Act) looks to force telecoms to authenticate and block robocall and would impose higher fines and penalties on those who spam out calls using automated equipment. Penalties can go as high as $10,000 per call. The proposal also extends the statute of limitations from two years to three. Roll Call notes, TRACED will give law enforcement the tools to pursue such scammers. If passed it would task the FCC, FTC, the departments of Justice, Commerce, State, Homeland Security, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other agencies with providing feedback to Congress on deterrence and prosecutorial measures that can be taken at the state and federal levels. The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Republican John Thune from South Dakota and Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey. "When a New England Patriots fan and a Green Bay Packers fan can work together, there's some hope for the country," Thune quipped after the vote. Markey responded in kind saying, There are no blue robocalls. There are no red robocalls. There are only robocalls that drive every family in America crazy every single day. The legislation looks to address a problem that has been getting increasing attention from the FCC of late. Although it has approval from the Senate, the House of Representative still needs to vote on it before it can be passed on to the White House to be signed into law. It is unclear how the bill will address robocallers outside the jurisdiction of the United States. Image credit: CBS News Sea levels around the world are expected to rise by more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) by the end of the century, experts warned. In a study featured in the journal Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Jonathan Bamber, an expert on physical geography from the University of Bristol, and his colleagues examined the effects of climate change on global sea levels over the next few decades. If nothing is done about current carbon emission levels, world temperatures would rise by as much as 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit). This global warming will cause ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland to melt at an alarmingly fast rate, resulting in sea levels that will far exceed the upper limit set in the United Nation's climate science report. All of these are expected to occur by 2100. The researchers described such a scenario as "catastrophic" for the planet. "It really is pretty grim," Bamber said. "Two meters is not a good scenario." Melting Of Ice Sheets In the UN's 2013 report, the climate panel predicted that global sea levels would increase by about 52 cm. to 98 cm. (20.4 inches to 38.5 inches) by the end of the century following the current trajectory. However, scientists argue that these estimations are still quite conservative. Some believe that the current models used to determine the melting of the ice sheets were flawed, and that they were not able to factor in all of the uncertainties. To solve this problem, Bamber and his team consulted 22 experts on ice sheets to find out how the sheets in Antarctica and Greenland would be affected by climate change in the future. They made use of newly developed process-based models capable of predicting scenarios on a regional and continental scale. Mass Displacements The researchers also looked at the potential impact such an increase in seal levels would have on human populations. Bamber said people living in low-lying coastal areas would be the ones affected the most, with mass displacements likely to occur as a result of higher water levels. Those living in small island countries in the Pacific Ocean also face an "existential threat" since their lands would become largely uninhabitable. The study identified an extreme-case scenario where as much as 1.79 million square kilometers (691,120 sq miles) of land would be swamped by the sea. Such an increase in the world's sea levels threatens the lives of about 187 million people, or at least 2.5 percent of global populations. The chances of this worst-case scenario happening is about 5 percent, according to the researchers. However, it should still be taken seriously. Their findings point to a plausible threat that global sea levels could rise substantially as a result of both Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melting. Bamber said mankind only has a narrow window of opportunity to prevent some of the worst consequences, including a significant increase in sea levels. "What we decide to do collectively as a species politically, globally, over the next decade is going to determine the future of the next generations in terms of the habitability of the planet and what sort of environment they live in," Bamber noted. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Moon's lopsided appearance may finally be explained by a cosmic collision between the Earth's satellite and an errant dwarf planet. For years, scientists have tried to find an explanation as to why the Moon looks asymmetrical compared to other natural satellites in space. Several theories have come up, including one where the Earth once had two moons that collided with each other, and another where a tiny planet or asteroid smashed into the surface of the satellite. This second theory is what an international team of scientists focused on its search for a plausible answer. The Moon's Lopsidedness Explained Meng Hua Zhu, an astrophysicist from Macau University of Science and Technology in China, led a team in studying measurements of the Moon taken during NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission in 2012. Data from GRAIL has revealed that the far side of the moon has an additional layer of material on its crust and is filled with craters. Meanwhile, the satellite's nearside is littered with open basins. Meng and his team used the measurements from the mission to run 360 computer simulations of various cosmic collisions that may have caused the damage on the moon. They tried hitting the Earth's satellite with a number of space objects of different sizes and at different speeds. Lunar Black Eye Caused By Asteroid Or Dwarf Planet For an object to produce such damaging to the moon, the researchers found that it should be at least 480 miles in diameter. This places it slightly smaller compared to the Ceres dwarf planet, according to the team. In this scenario, the space object would have smashed into the Moon's near side at speeds of about 14,000 miles per hour. This would have caused lunar material to rise and fall back into the satellite's far side. The researchers believe this additional layer of debris would have been between 3 and 6 miles (5-10 km) thick. This is consistent with the layer of lunar material the GRAIL mission found on the m's far side. Another plausible scenario is a 450-mile in diameter object colliding with the moon at about 15,000 mph. Meng said the culprit in both scenarios would likely have been either an asteroid or a dwarf planet, not a second Earth moon. These theories might also help explain why the Earth has different isotopes compared to the moon. The natural satellite has vastly different isotopes of potassium, phosphorus, and other rare elements compared to its host planet. This last point has been a major question in the scientific world, given that the Moon most likely would have been an offshoot of the Earth. While the new study offers a viable explanation for the moon's lopsidedness, some scientists remain skeptical of such scenarios. Steve Hauck, a researcher from Case Western Reserve University and editor-in-chief of the journal that features the study, called the findings "very provocative." "Understanding the origin of the differences between the nearside and the far side of the Moon is a fundamental issue in lunar science," Hauck said. "Indeed, several planets have hemispherical dichotomies, yet for the Moon we have a lot of data to be able to test models and hypotheses with, so the implications of the work could likely be broader than just the Moon." The findings of the international study are featured in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. With mosquito-borne diseases becoming more and more of a problem in the United States, pest control company Orkin releases its annual Top 50 Mosquito Cities list. The industry leader ranked the metro areas based on the number of the mosquito clients served from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. Orkin's Top Mosquito Cities For the sixth consecutive year, Atlanta is on top of the list, followed by New York and Washington D.C. Rounding out the top five mosquito cities are Chicago and Houston, which moved up one and two spots respectively. Some of the cities that rose significantly on this year's list are Phoenix, which moved up 14 spots to number 11, Boston, which moved up 20 spots to number 13, and Baltimore, which moved up 27 spots to number 15. Meanwhile, new cities that made the cut include Burlington in New York, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Greensboro, Savannah, Jacksonville, Baton Rouge, Amarillo, Madison, and Charleston. Mosquito-Borne Diseases According to CDC, vector-borne disease incidents in the United States tripled from 2004 to 2016. "Mosquitoes are more than annoying; they can be a major health threat," said Orkin entomologist Dr. Mark Beavers in a news release from the company. "Mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, encephalitides, dengue, chikungunya and for those who may remember, Zika, threaten the safety of humans and pets." More than 17 percent of all infectious diseases worldwide are vector-borne, which are illnesses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, or fleas, according to WHO. More than 700,000 deaths occur annually from these types of diseases, especially from mosquitoes, which is the best known disease vector. Tips To Protect Yourself Against Mosquitoes Mosquitoes typically breed in water, so residents who live in mosquito-heavy places need to remove objects in their property that can hold at least an inch of standing water. Shrubbery should also be trimmed, since mosquitoes tend to the shaded, high-humidity spots under the leaves. It's also important to keep them from entering the house by sealing openings in doors, windows, and even air-conditioning units. Doors should be kept shut at all times, since leaving them open attracts mosquitoes in the living space. Mosquito repellent and protective clothing can also prevent bites. "Reducing items that attract mosquitoes, actively working to prevent them from breeding in their required water habitats, wearing insect repellent, or moving inside the home during peak biting times are ways to protect one's self from mosquito bites," Beavers said. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A rare Black Eastern baby rhinoceros is the latest addition to Lincoln Park Zoo's family of endangered rhinos. Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo announced the birth of the still unnamed baby rhino on Twitter last May 19. The rhino's mother named Kapuki, 15, gave birth after more than a year of pregnancy. The zoo did not announce the sex of the newborn rhino. The rhino's father is 33-year old male rhino named Maku. Kapuki and Maku had another baby rhino calf in 2013, King, who is now living at Brookfield Zoo also known as Chicago's Zoological Park. The zoo is keeping watch of the critically endangered baby rhino and its mother, and posts updates on social media using the hashtag #RhinoWatch. The first 48 hours of the baby rhino is critical, prompting the zoo's animal care experts to constantly monitor the calf and mother via a camera. "Kapuki's maternal instincts kicked right in and she has been seen tending to the calf," Lincoln Park Zoo announced on Twitter. The baby calf was seen nursing several times from its mother and reportedly stood on its own at 53 minutes of age. Black rhino calves usually start to wean at about 2 months of age. Endangered Black Rhinos Black rhinos are smaller than the white rhinos, although both have a dark gray skin color. Adult male rhinos can weigh up to 1,350 kilograms (2,976 lbs.) while females can reach up to 900 kilograms (1,984 lbs.) Black rhinos often originate from southern and eastern Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The eastern black rhinoceros or the Diceros bicornis michaeli is among the four subspecies of the black rhinoceros. Eastern black rhinos are classified by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as critically endangered as their numbers have declined by over 90 percent over the last three generations. The western black rhino was officially declared extinct in 2013, while only two female northern white rhinos remain as of 2018. Females black rhinos reach sexual maturity at 4 to 5 years of age and do not have their first calf until they are between 6 and a half to 7 years old. Males wait until they are aged 10 to 12 before they can claim territory and mate. Black rhinos have a lifespan of 40 to 50 years of age. However, they are constantly under threat due to rhino poaching that has escalated in recent years. Poachers often target the horns of black rhinos, which are in demand in Asian countries, particularly Vietnam. Rhino Horns According to Save The Rhino, rhino horns are similar in structure to hooves of horses, turtle beaks, and cockatoo bills. The horns are made of thousands of hair-like strands of keratin. It also has large quantities of sulphur-containing amino acids, particularly cysteine, as well as tyrosine, histidine, lysine, and arginine, and the salts calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate. Black rhinos have two horns which can grow continuously from the base of their skin throughout their lifespan. Males have thicker horns while the females often have longer and thinner horns. The size and shape of rhino horns differ depending on their area of origin. The near extinction of black and white rhinoceros is due to decades of rampant poaching for rhino horn. Rhino horns are poached for their alleged medicinal uses. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Description GIS 23 May, 2019: Mauritius has won the votes of 116 countries to have the Draft Resolution A/73/L84/Rev1 pertaining to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Six countries, including the United Kingdom, have voted against while 56 have abstained from the vote. The Chagos Archipelago was excised by the UK from Mauritius without the consent of the Mauritian people. The Draft Resolution was tabled, yesterday at the UN General Assembly, by the Permanent Representative of Senegal on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of African States. It calls for the termination of the unlawful colonial administration as rapidly as possible, and for Member States, UN agencies and international organisations to cooperate with the General Assembly in bringing about the full decolonisation of Mauritius as well as refraining from acts that would impede the performance of that obligation. In his statement, yesterday, at the UN Headquarters, in New York, the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, emphasised that the forcible eviction of the inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago which accompanied its unlawful excision from Mauritius remains a very dark episode of human history akin to a crime against humanity. These Mauritian nationals who are now mostly in their seventies and eighties have systematically been prevented from returning to their birthplace, he stated. The Advisory Opinion, the Prime Minister indicated, has given to these persons a glimmer of hope and has tasked the General Assembly to address the question of their resettlement and the protection of their human rights during the completion of the decolonisation of Mauritius. He also spoke of Governments commitment to implement a programme of resettlement in a manner consistent with respect for their dignity and human rights, unlike the UK Governments proposal of monetary support to improve their livelihoods outside their birthplace, which has been rejected by them. For Mr Jugnauth, the Advisory Opinion is clear, unambiguous and decisive and leaves no room for any doubt or other interpretation. In addition to these express conclusions, he pointed out, the Court has made some pertinent findings which show the gravity and extent of the wrongful act under international law that the colonial power has committed in carrying out the excision of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 and maintaining the Chagos Archipelago as a colony ever since. The Prime Minister also said that any country found to be engaged in an ongoing wrongful act by the highest Court of the World would have hastened to make amends and commit itself to terminate its unlawful conduct. In fact, during a high-level meeting with the UK, Mauritius offered to work closely with the UK in order to present a joint resolution which would be mutually beneficial, taking into account both the security concerns of the UK and the conclusions of the ICJs Advisory Opinion. For him, the offer was made in the spirit of great friendship between Mauritius and the UK, and the high respect and regard that Mauritius has for the UK as a champion of respect for the rule of law. In the circumstances, Mauritius is extremely disappointed with the stance taken by the UK, the Prime Minister highlighted. Moreover, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to all the Member States that participated in the various stages of the ICJ process, as well as countries from all regions of the world and the African Union which contributed to the process that has allowed the Court to hear and consider the views from all perspectives on the matter. The draft resolution tabled by the African Group reflects the confidence which Africa and many other States have in the principles and values of the United Nations, he added. The ICJ has clearly established that the right of self-determination has been violated and the decolonization of Mauritius has not been completed; that the colonial power must end its unlawful administration of the Chagos Archipelago and that all Member States are under an obligation to cooperate with the UN to complete the decolonization of Mauritius, the Prime Minister stated. The UN General Assembly had, in June 2017, adopted by an overwhelming majority the Resolution 71/292 which pertained to request for an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The ICJ consequently gave a landmark Advisory Opinion in favour of Mauritius on 25 February 2019. This Opinion confirmed the longstanding position of Mauritius and Africa that the decolonisation of Mauritius has not yet been completed and will not be completed until Mauritius is able to exercise sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, which the ICJ found with no dissenting voice - to be an integral part of the territory of Mauritius. An unprecedented HIV outbreak has hit Pakistan, infecting hundreds of children and adults in the town of Ratodero. In total, 494 children and 113 adults have been found HIV positive in the district of Larkana in Pakistan's Sindh province. Rising HIV Cases Among Pakistan's Youth Back in February, a number of children in Ratodero were brought to the attention of doctors due to their fever that refused to go down. At the time, they were diagnosed and treated in a clinic run by pediatrician Dr. Muzaffar Ghanghar. However, the treatments were ineffective. By April, Dr. Imran Arbani, who was from another medical center in the province, ordered blood tests on the youngsters who were showing no signs of recovery from the fever. Devastatingly, 15 of the children were found positive with HIV after the tests, according to a report by Larkana deputy commissioner Muhammad Nauman Siddique on Monday, May 20. All of the infected children are between the ages of 2 and 8 years. More than 10,000 individuals have already been screened by the Pakistani government after the first diagnosis of the virus in the province. So far, 607 cases of HIV have been identified with about 75 percent of these consisting of children. The question is, why are they sick? Finding The Source Of The Outbreak A number of experts believe that negligent medical practices are likely to be the source of the outbreak. "There are three ways a child may be infected," Dr. Fatima Mir, a doctor at the Aga Khan University Hospital currently volunteering in Ratodero, told BBC. "It's either through a lactating mother who carries the virus, through blood transfusion, or through an infected surgical instrument or a syringe." In Mir's experience, most of the mothers are not HIV-positive and most of the sick children had undergone blood transfusions, which leaves the use of infected medical instruments as the likely explanation for the children's illness. Additionally, Ghangharo, who was the original doctor who treated the sick children involved in the current outbreak, tested positive for HIV. Masood Bangash, a district police officer, told NPR that Ghangharo's positive diagnosis for the virus led people to suspect that the doctor was the source of the children's HIV. He is currently being held in jail after being arrested on April 30 for "first information report." Dr. Minhaj Kidwai, the CEO of the Sindh Health Care Commission, believes that unsafe medical practices are the source of the outbreak, but since there has been hundreds of cases, it's unlikely to be blamed entirely on a single individual. Unqualified doctors or "quacks" are common in Pakistan, many of whom practice unsafe injections and blood transfusions. Roughly 500 facilities in the Sindh province have been identified for unsafe practices, while 147 have been shut down pending investigation, and 600 have received government warnings. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A genus of yeast commonly found in grapes has lost a variety of genes known to keep cell division in line without any apparent consequences. A team of researchers from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee analyzed 25 Hanseniaspora species genomes and identified two lineages, one of which evolved more rapidly. While both lineages lost a significant number of genes that are responsible for regulating the cell cycle and preserving genome, the one that evolved more rapidly lost most. The findings published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology is surprising because, in humans, the same changes would lead to cancer. Yeasts Evolving Fast "It appears that, in genomic terms, Hanseniaspora are the yeast with the least," said Jacob L. Steenwyk, a graduate student at Vanderbilt and one of the authors of the study. "They have very small genomes and among the smallest numbers of genes of any species in the lineage." Steenwyk's analysis estimated that the genomes of Hanseniaspora, which is also closely related to the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, might have lost hundreds of genes. Antonis Rokas, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences, commented that the speed of the mutations is "unprecedented" and also "somewhat erratic." Due to the loss of the genes that regulate cell division and repair mutated DNA, the yeasts have experienced more changes in their DNA than other yeasts and have numerous genomic scars. What Yeasts Can Teach About Cancer In Humans The researchers noted that loss of these genes in humans can be the "hallmark of cancer." "Some of the most commonly detected mutations in cancer-causing genes, or oncogenes, belong to the DNA repair pathway and cell cycle checkpoint pathways," explained Simon Conn of Flinders University in Australia who was not involved in the study. The researchers added that the loss of hundreds of critical genes of the Hanseniaspora, an ancient lineage, could hold clues that can aid in the fight against cancer. Despite the absence of genes responsible for policing the rate at which genomes change, the yeasts have thrived for millions of years. Conn suggested that the findings could lead to new therapies that target the DNA repair pathways. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Starbucks is facing two lawsuits alleging that it exposed customers and employees of its selected New York City stores to poisonous pesticide toxin called Dichlorvos or DDVP. Class Action Suits Against Starbucks A former Starbucks employee and two pest control workers filed a lawsuit on May 21, claiming that the coffee company has, for years, allowed the use of toxic chemicals in its stores, which infused not only the food products and fixtures but also the air circulated throughout its retail locations in the city. "Starbucks stores located throughout Manhattan from Battery Park to upper Manhattan continuously failed to take necessary or adequate measures to ensure their cleanliness and instead recklessly hid hazardous pesticides throughout their stores, including in close proximity to food and food preparation areas," the lawsuit filed by Rafael Fox, Jill Shwiner, and Paul D'Auria claimed. Fox was an employee of Starbucks for 16 years, while Shwiner and D'Auria work for a pest control company that regularly inspected Starbucks' branches. The charges specifically identified Starbucks' use of the Hot Shot No-Pest 2 strips, which, according to the Hot Shot website, should not be used in kitchens, restaurants, or areas where food is prepared or served. The lawsuit claimed that the pest strip is meant to be used only in unoccupied structures to get rid of vermin, bugs, and insects. However, Starbucks still used the pest strips in several of its Manhattan stores with the knowledge of its regional and district managers. "New Yorkers deserve to know what they are putting in their bodies and we call upon Starbucks to explain, as we allege in the complaint, its failure to take appropriate care for its customers' well-being," said Atty. Douglas H. Wigdor. In the case filed by Starbucks customers and New York residents, namely, Christopher George, Jessica Chandra, Lisa Jame, Chelsea Maley, April Boddie, Mickael Louis, Eduardo Leach, Josh Folan, Logan Vairo, and Basma Attieh, they claimed that in order to address the plague of insects that have resulted from the disgusting conditions in its Manhattan stores, many of Starbucks' employees used insecticides with active ingredient DDVP, which kills insect but is harmful to humans. In the said case filed at a state court in Manhattan, the customers claimed that they were exposed to the toxic DDVP chemical after making purchases in multiple Starbucks stores over the last three years. The lawsuit also alleged that instead of addressing the infestation and unsanitary condition in its stores, Starbucks has allowed its employees to use a toxic pesticide in its stores. How Harmful Is DDVS? Dichlorvos or 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate is a class of insecticide referred to as organophosphate. It is widely used to control household, public health, and stored product insects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that DDVP should only be used in an enclosed space when any humans present are given a respirator or other breathing apparatus. This supports the lawsuits claiming that DDVP, particularly the No-Pest Strips, do not belong to places where food preparation or consumption activities occur. "The toxic effects of DDVP on humans is significantly exacerbated when the chemical is ingested orally, such as when consumed through food or water. DDVP symptoms through oral exposure are much more pronounced and appear at a significantly higher rate," the lawsuit further stated. Among the symptoms linked to exposure to DDVP include loss of bladder control, muscle tremors, labored breathing, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea, muscle weakness, convulsions, and paralysis. More severe exposure to this toxin can result in coma, inability to breathe, and even death. The Environmental Protection Agency has previously identified DDVP as a potential carcinogen, while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has also found that DDVP may be anticipated to be a substance that causes cancer. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Space enthusiasts and even the public now have an opportunity to be on the Red Planet symbolically via the Mars 2020 rover. Sending Humanity To Mars In A Symbolic Way NASA is inviting everyone to join the "Send Your Name" campaign that will bring names of at least a million people on Earth to Mars. The names will be stenciled very, very small just the size smaller than one-thousandth the width of a human hair onto a silicon chip that will be affixed to the rover. The Microdevices Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will use an electron beam to stencil the submitted names. The chip with names will be placed under a glass cover on the rover. This public engagement activity will represent humanity's first round trip to a neighboring planet. The Mars 2020 spacecraft, with a mission to probe microbial life on the Red Planet, will leave Earth on July 2020 and is expected to reach Mars in Feb. 18, 2021. "As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. A Million Names To Mars To participate in the project, the public can add their names to the list on the dedicated website until Sept. 30. Information such as first name, last name, country, and postal code are required. A valid email address is also needed to give the sender "Frequent Flyer" points. NASA is recording data information, and users can check their Frequent Flyer Club membership and points on the agency's website. As proof of their participation, name senders will get a souvenir boarding pass. The launch site indicated on the pass is at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and the arrival site will be at Jezero Crater on Mars. Flight miles will be awarded for each flight with corresponding digital mission patches for download. Almost 1.5 million names were submitted since NASA released the invitation. NASA will still screen the names for inclusion to avoid pranksters and spammers from getting their names on the rover. Sending names to Mars is a symbolic way to have humanity's presence on the planet and NASA's way to hype up public interest and support to its space missions. The last time NASA did this kind of promotion was for the Mars InSight lander, which traveled some 301 million miles on the Red Planet. Mars 2020 Rover Coming Together According to its update, NASA tested the Mars 2020 spacecraft early this month in a chamber with the same configurations that the rover will be in while flying through interplanetary space. The 2020 rover will be carrying a new suite of instruments that features sample-caching system for collecting samples on Mars. NASA engineers and technicians also prepared for installation a high-gain antenna on the rover's equipment deck. The antenna can point directly at Earth to uplink or downlink data, allowing the rover to phone home. JPL is building the spacecraft, and it will also manage operations of the rover for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Historians in Alabama have located the wreckage of the last known slave ship in the United States in the Gulf Coast. After several months of assessment, the Alabama Historical Commission said the wrecked schooner found near Mobile was indeed Clotilda, the only remaining vessel known to have transported slaves from Africa to the continental United States. Researchers believe the Clotilda's crew scuttled the wooden ship right before the start of the U.S. Civil War to prevent officials from finding out their illegal activities. No one knew where they hid the schooner until today. Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, the AHC's executive director, called the Clotilda's discovery as an "extraordinary" archaeological find. She said the schooner's journey represented one of the darkest periods in modern history, and that the wreck serves as tangible proof that slavery existed. The Slave Ship Clotilda Slavers used the Clotilda to forcibly transport 110 people from West Africa to Mobile from February to July 1860. They then took the wooden schooner into delta waters located north of the port to burn it down to keep officials from discovering their illegal trade. The U.S. government had already banned slavery in the country in 1808. The African slaves were eventually set free and they settled in a community that later became Africatown. However, no one ever found out where exactly the slavers scuttled the Clotilda. After confirming the identity of the wreck in Mobile as that of the Clotilda, the researchers unveiled the remains of the infamous slave ship to the descendants of the 1860 voyage. "They had been waiting for this for a long time," AHC Chairman Walter Givhan told news website NPR. "They were jubilant." Joycelyn Davis, a descendant of one of the Africans who was transported by the Clotilda to the United States, claimed to have gotten chills after finding out that the wreck of the slave ship had been located. She said she was wowed by the schooner's discovery after believing that people may have already given up locating the slave ship. Mistaken Identity In March 2018, a local Mobile news reporter claimed to have found the wreck of the Clotilda. Ben Raines, a journalist for AL.com, said he had come across the wooden remains of what could be the infamous slave ship. The wreckage was believed to have been buried in mud near an island in the lower Mobile-Tensaw Delta, just outside Mobile. Raines had apparently been researching on the long-missing schooner, collecting data from historical articles and records, including notes from the Clotilda's captain himself. He also interviewed locals who had centuries-old connections to the area for additional information. Raines came across a source that claimed to know where the wreckage was located, so he decided to check it out. He said the wreck he found was old and burned down, and it was exactly where his source said the Clotilda's crew scuttled the ship. However, the AHC later determined that the wreck that Raines found was not the Clotilda's but from another ship. The Commission said Raines' ship was about 158 feet and 5 inches long, while the Clotilda's was only about 86 feet long. It also originally had three masts on it, while the historical slave ship had two. The sizes of the timbers on each ship also did not match one another. The AHC said the most compelling evidence against the Raines' ship was that it did not have any signs of fire damage, which would be present in the Clotilda since it was burned down before it sunk. It was likely that the damage on Raines' ship was caused by small marine organisms eating away the vessel's wooden parts. While Raines' discovery may not have turned out to be the Clotilda, it did spark people's renewed interest on the historical ship. This helped fuel the search for the slave ship until it was eventually found. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Apparently, Google is using human aid to power its automatic-calling service Duplex, as a new report by The New York Times just revealed. Duplex is an artificial intelligence-powered assistant that makes life-like calls for reservations on users' behalf. Google demonstrated how it works not too long ago, itself an impressive act of showmanship that put the company squarely at the forefront of AI innovation. That's not to say there were ever any doubts over Google's expertise in the field. Most, if not all, agreed that Duplex calls sounded eerily human. But that's only because, as it turns out, 25 percent of all Duplex calls actually had humans behind them, as Google confirmed to The New York Times. Google Duplex Uses Humans According to Google, a quarter of Duplex calls begin with humans calls, and 15 percent start with AI and are later intervened by a person from the Duplex call center. Google told the publication that it uses a variety of signals to decide whether a call should be made by a human or AI. If the company is unsure of whether the business takes reservations, Google might decide to let a human make the call. Same goes if the user of the assistant might be a spammer. Humans Are Temporary Duplex works by attempting to make reservations with establishments that offer online booking tools, including Resy, Yelp, or OpenTable. If those aren't available, Duplex will take matters into its own hands and invoke AI. Google said it's still using human callers because the technology is young and uses that data to train its AI and eventually erase humans from the process altogether. During a demo last year, Google said humans would be monitoring the system, so this news should perhaps come as no surprise. These humans, the company said at the time, would be ready in case something goes wrong. Duplex is now available on compatible iOS and Android devices, and this kind of testing should be expected for such a new technology. Still, as TechCrunch notes, 25 percent of calls being aided by actual humans seems a little too high for the advanced AI system. Right now, it's clear Google has a lot of work to do, and a lot of data to collect, for that matter. Duplex has impressed a lot of folks with what it can do, but the underlying neural network must be fed tons of data to improve. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Description GIS - 23 May, 2019: The winners of the Energy Efficiency Competition 2019 organised by the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency Management Office (EEMO) were rewarded, today, during a prize giving ceremony held at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower, Ebene in presence of the Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Public Utilities , Mr Ivan Collendavelloo. At the outset, Mr Collendavelloo expressed his satisfaction with regard to the 116 countries that have voted for Mauritius, yesterday, at the UN Assembly on the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago and highlighted that it is a victory for both Mauritius and the African countries in this decolonisation process. Speaking on the importance of renewable energy, Mr Ivan Collendavelloo pointed out that every year a huge amount of money is spent for the importation of petroleum products and emphasised the need to rely less on fossil fuels and use more renewable sources of energy. On this score, he stated that several measures are being implemented with a view to increase energy efficiency in the country. He indicated that 1 000 households have benefitted from the installation of solar photovoltaic systems on rooftops while adding that 10 000 households, under the Social Register of Mauritius will benefit from the solar photovoltaic systems as part of Governments efforts to alleviate poverty and thus contribute to achieving renewable electricity. Referring to the energy efficiency competitions, the Acting Prime Minister highlighted that the aim is to promote the use of energy efficient appliances as well as raise awareness of energy users to avoid energy wastage so as to combat climate change through the mitigation of greenhouse gas emission. He appealed to the youth to become more informed about energy efficiency and encouraged them to act as ambassadors for conveying the useful message to their parents so that there is a behavioural change with regard to protecting the environment. He expressed confidence that the youth will be able to set the example and change the mindset of the population. For his part, the Chairman of the Energy Efficiency Management Office (EEMO), Mr Kendall Tang, stated that energy is an indispensable factor for the economic growth of a country and highlighted that the EEMO has as objectives to create and maintain an energy efficient culture in the country. He added that electrical cars and energy efficient lightings are some of the factors in line to improving energy efficiency. The competitions T he two competitions provided students with an opportunity to showcase their understanding of energy efficiency and energy saving, investigate related issues and propose solutions. Primary School students of Grade 1 to 6 from both public and private schools, took part in the competition based on the theme Energy Efficient Lighting. The first prize winner was from the St Jean-Baptiste de la Salle R.C.A who received a cash prize of Rs 10,000, a trophy and a certificate. Secondary School students of Group 1 (Grades 7 to 10) and Group 2 (Grades 11 to 13) took part in the Energy Champion Competition. The students of Grade 8 from the Hamilton College Boys were the first prize winner of Group 1, receiving a cash prize of Rs 20,000, a trophy and a certificate. The first prize winner for Group 2 were the boys from Sir Leckraz Teelock State Secondary School who were awarded a cash prize of Rs 25 000, a trophy and a certificate. Description GIS - 23 May, 2019: A briefing session on gender mainstreaming in the Civil Service targeting Senior Chief Executives and Permanent Secretaries, aiming to impart practical gender mainstreaming skills so as to act as catalysts for change and scale up interventions regarding gender mainstreaming, was held, yesterday, at the Henessy Park Hotel in Ebene. Speaking on behalf of the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Outer Islands, Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs J. Jaunbocus, said that the meeting will allow policy makers to reflect on means to effectively address gender gaps in the public service. She recalled that in 2015 Mauritius adopted the Sustainable Development Goals and that the Minister Mentor, Minister of Defence, Minister for Rodrigues, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, pledged at the United Nations General Assembly to sustain Government efforts to mainstream gender in all its policies and programs, thereby enabling women to enjoy their fundamental rights whilst addressing gender gaps. Gender mainstreaming, she said, remains high on the Governments agenda adding that Mauritius in terms of achievements has come a long way from a women development approach to that of a gender and development approach. The change of appellation of the Ministry of Womens Rights, Child Development and Family Welfare to that of Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development is a strong signal that the Government wants to achieve gender equality by addressing prevailing gender gaps, she added. She also emphasised on the need for the country to accelerate its policy interventions to address barriers that continue to impede on the achievement of the commitment taken at various gender mainstreaming forums. Her Ministry, she mentioned, through the Gender Unit as the National Gender Machinery has the mandate to ensure that all Ministries are successfully integrating a gender perspective in their respective policies. To that end, Gender Cells have been set up as an institutional mechanism, whose primary task is to have permanent line of communication with members of the Gender Cells of all Ministries.The overall purpose, thereof, is to identify challenges, being encountered at Ministries level in so far, as mainstreaming gender is concerned, she added. Mrs J. Jaunbocus appealed to the higher officials to act as catalysts for change at the institutional, operational and programmatic levels. Together we must consolidate our interventions regarding gender equality so that each Ministry becomes a solid institution which recommits itself to complete the Beijing Platform for Action and the gender implications of the Sustainable Development Goals, she said. Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco reprised an old Mark Twain line following a Facebook post with untimely news. Reports of my early demise are greatly exaggerated, Blanco joked Thursday in a phone call to an Advocate reporter to dispel the Internet report. Its the first time that the Internet has killed me, she also joked. One of Blanco's daughters provided a screen shot of a Facebook post on Tuesday that contained a photo of the former governor along with a notice that she had died. The woman's Facebook page identifies her as living in Crowley. The Facebook post was no longer on her page on Thursday. Blanco, 78, is gravely ill with incurable melanoma. She was diagnosed and treated for a rare eye cancer in 2011. It returned and spread to her liver in 2017. She has been undergoing chemotherapy at various times in recent years but is doing well enough now that she is no longer receiving hospice care at her Lafayette home, as had been reported a month ago. Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Blanco said she was traveling to Baton Rouge on Thursday for a grandchilds school graduation. Blanco was Louisianas first female governor, from 2004-08. Gov. John Bel Edwards and St. Landry Parish leaders announced a $150 million investment at a Krotz Springs-based refinery Thursday that will create nearly 100 jobs. State economic development officials announced a series of projects and investments at Delek US, a 74,000 barrels-per-day refinery at 324 S. Levee Road, according to state economic development officials. The projects are expected to create 1,500-1,600 construction jobs during the three-year building phase, at least 30 full-time jobs that will pay $90,000 plus benefits and an additional 48-56 indirect jobs, according to Louisiana Economic Development. "This is exciting... This will take place over the next five years and this is just a huge deal for the state of Louisiana, but also Krotz Springs and St. Landry Parish. This is about moving Louisiana forward," Edwards said. These projects will allow Delek to retain the 200 people it currently employs. The investment comes after the company completed a $138 million alkylation project in April. Delek will also be investing an additional $7.5 million to reinforce the banks of the Atchafalaya River and improve Dock 3 at the Port of Krotz Springs, which is the dock Delek uses to bring in about 40 percent of the crude oil for the refinery. Inside info on doing business in Acadiana We'll keep you posted on the Acadiana economy. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The state will then reimburse Dalek $1.5 million over the next five years for the repair and reinforcement work, which officials say will allow the docks and refinery to stay operational during high water periods and stop the dock from collapsing, which was a possibility in the next few years if left in disrepair. Delek, which acquired the refinery from Alon in 2017, specializes in gasoline, diesel fuels, petrochemicals and heavy products. It currently has other refineries in Tyler, Texas; Big Spring, Texas; and El Dorado, Arkansas. Edwards said Delek could have made this investment in their Texas or Arkansas facilities, but decided to invest in the Krotz Springs refinery because they believe in the future of Louisiana. "As the governor said, Delek has operations in many, many states, but we feel very happy to be in Louisiana. We feel we have a tremendous amount of friends and allies in the area and we thank you for being such good friends," said Delek CEO Ezra Uzi Yemin. "These projects will enhance the refinery's safety, reliability and resilience." The investment is a series of project investments by the refinery owner after successful negotiations completed by Edwards with the Delek US chairman and CEO in Israel. Delek US is based in the Nashville area but is historically connected to the Israel-based Delek Group and spun off from the company in 2006, LED officials said. "This new $150 million investment in their Krotz Springs production facility further reinforces Delek as an anchor employer for our area economy," said Bill Rodier, executive director of St. Landry Economic Development. "We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of more than 30-area elected leaders that came together to solidify the incentives necessary for us to be competitive on this project investment and the great opportunities that will come with it." Edwards and state officials met with Delek's leaders in Israel during a trip there in October. Edwards said the turnaround from initial talks to investment was extremely quick and shows Delek's commitment to the people of Krotz Springs and Louisiana. An accused Baton Rouge cop shooter will be examined by two doctors to determine whether he was sane when he allegedly fired on relatives, a family friend and the officer last year, a state judge decided Thursday. District Judge Mike Erwin made that decision at the request of Eugene Thomas Jr.'s attorney, Bruce Unangst. Prosecutors did not object. The judge scheduled a sanity hearing for Aug. 13. Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Shane Totty, who was hit in the face by a bullet, shrapnel and glass when Thomas allegedly fired shots at his police car in February 2018, died this February when he was struck while escorting a funeral procession on his motorcycle along Jones Creek Road. +26 Shane Totty dies after BR officer's motorcycle hit in funeral procession -- a year after he was shot A Baton Rouge police officer has died from injuries sustained when a pickup truck plowed into his motorcycle during a funeral procession late Thomas, 35, of Baton Rouge, has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to one count of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and four counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shootings. Unangst said after court Thursday that if the doctors appointed by Erwin find that Thomas was not sane at the time of the shootings, prosecutors could choose to forego a trial and agree to have Thomas confined to a state mental facility. "We will wait to see what the doctors say before making any decisions," East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said. Erwin last fall found Thomas, who has a long history of mental illness, competent to stand trial. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up +3 Baton Rouge man found competent to stand trial in February shooting that injured police officer A Baton Rouge man accused of shooting at his family and a police officer in February, seriously wounding the officer, was found competent to s "We certainly believe he was not sane at the time of the offense based on his history," Unangst said Thursday, adding that Thomas was not taking his medication at the time of the shootings. Thomas allegedly used a stolen handgun to shoot at three family members and a family friend on Thomas H. Delpit Drive. He then drove off and later fired shots at Totty on Lettsworth Street, authorities have said. The shooting left three bullet holes in the windshield of Totty's police car. Erwin sent Thomas back to a state psychiatric hospital in August after two doctors who examined him determined he wasnt competent to go forward in his criminal case. He was returned to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison in October after doctors at the state mental hospital found his competency had been restored. It was then that Thomas entered a dual plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Thomas fatally shot a man in 2002 because, he claimed, the victim was wearing his shorts. He was charged with murder but found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered to be treated at the state hospital in Jackson. He spent about five years there. Then-state District Judge Tony Marabella terminated Thomas' probation in October 2017, and he was released completely from state supervision for the first time since his 2002 arrest. Voting along racial lines, a Louisiana House committee approved legislation to set up a transition should St. George elect to become its own city. The House Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs voted 11-5 to advance Senate Bill 229 despite pleas from East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Broome that last minute amendments attached to the measure not only blew up the agreement both sides had cut but also would leave the remaining Baton Rouge residents holding the tab for bonds, pensions and other costs that St. George residents still owe. If nothing changes, the bill is one-step away from final approval. We agreed in committee to make sure that the potential of a newly formed city would pay its fair share of debt incurred by all of the citizens of the parish and not simply be allowed to walk away from their financial obligations, Broome said. She thought they had a deal but changes slipped onto the legislation during Senate floor debate changed those dynamics. Thats why were here today, she added. Republican Central Sen. Bodi White said the measure agreed to in Senate committee was too general. He felt the legislation should set some parameters that would help guide city-parish officials on one side and St. George proponents on the other when they sit down to negotiate. Its just a mechanism, its not personal, said White, who ran against Broome for mayor-president in 2017. Some people have classified this as a divorce, said Sen. Dan Claitor, the Baton Rouge Republican whose SB229 details how to transition from unincorporated neighborhoods to a city, if the voters agree. But this is really more of son or daughter graduating and going out on their own. +2 All in East Baton Rouge won't get to vote on St. George effort after bill fails in legislature A bid to allow all voters in East Baton Rouge Parish to decide whether St. George becomes a city not just those in neighborhoods that make u Predominantly white neighborhoods in the southeastern portion of East Baton Rouge Parish, with roughly 80,000 residents, will be voting this fall on whether to incorporate into their own city. The 400,000 or so parish residents living outside what would be St. George will not be allowed to vote. Should the voters approve a new city, the city-parish government would have to reduce services and expenditures for everyone else or raise taxes and fees to cover the lost revenues, according to a September 2018 analysis by Richard CPAs of Metairie. Broome has ordered department leaders to prepare two spending plans for the next fiscal year one with the same amount of revenues as this year and the other with 20% less. Study: St. George incorporation could cost city-parish budget $48.3 million annually The City-Parish said Wednesday it would lose $48.3 million annually if residents in the southeastern part of East Baton Rouge Parish form a se The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Issues of how to handle loans and a bond that is paying for parish roads maintenance as well as pensions for fire fighters, law enforcement and school teachers who are paid partially by the parish but work in the unincorporated areas is still up in the air. Supporters say those issues would be negotiated. But what really concerns Broome is the black-and-white wording of the new language added to the legislation that says St. George would be freed of debt secured by parish taxes that relates to immovable property not located within the municipality In particular, the parish used sales tax proceeds, including collections from the St. George neighborhoods, to secure a $15 million bond to pay for refurbishing the old Womans Hospital on Airline Highway into offices and a command center for local law enforcement, including the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff and the District Attorney. The city-parish still owes about $11.2 million on that loan. East Baton Rouge collects about $194.5 million in sales taxes, which accounts for about 60% of the revenues, according to testimony. If the residents of St. George leave, the budget for the consolidated city-parish will take a 20% hit. In second round of St. George fight, schools downplayed but nevertheless a driving force During its first go-round, leaders of the petition drive to create a City of St. George vigorously and repeatedly attacked the East Baton Roug Mary Olive Pierson, the city-parishs lawyer on this issue, pointed out that in a consolidated form of government the city and the parish share revenues and expenditures. Now they want to build a wall around it, she said. Since the sheriffs office would provide police protection in St. George, the use of the old Womans Hospital building would benefit the citizens of the new city, White said, St. George should pay a pro rate share for the service. Everybody knows this is heading for litigation, Claitor said, and thats where its going to be worked out. The legislation was sent to the House floor without amendments. If approved with 53 votes by the House without any more changes, SB229 would go to the governor. The session adjourns on June 6. Voting in favor of creating a transition should voters elect to become a new city (11): Chairman Johnny Berthelot, R-Gonzales; and Reps. Robert Billiot, D-Westwego; Paula Davis, R-Baton Rouge; Mary DuBuisson, R-Slidell; Stephen Dwight, R-Lake Charles; Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge; Stephanie Hilferty, R-New Orleans; Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge; Stephen Pugh, R-Ponchatoula; Joseph Stagni, R-Kenner; and Mark Wright, R-Covington. Voting against SB229 (5): Reps Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport; Rodney Lyons, D-Harvey; C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge; Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport; and Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge. Legislation to pave the way for a new lane in each direction on Interstate 12 between the I-10/12 split and Walker, and ease daily traffic backups, won final legislative approval Thursday when the House passed it 82-2. The measure, Senate Bill 84, will allow the state Department of Transportation and Development to designate high occupancy lanes on the 15-mile stretch, and plans are underway to do just that. Traffic relief on I-12? Shoulders might become HOV lanes with a modest price tag State transportation leaders said Thursday they are considering converting roughly 15 miles of shoulder paths on Interstate 12 between the I-1 The new travel lanes would be crafted from what are now unusually wide shoulder spaces. On the same day, a bid to fast-track a major road project in West Baton Rouge Parish the La. Highway 415 connector using some of the proceeds from the 2010 Gulf oil spill cleared a major hurdle Thursday when the Senate Finance Committee approved it. The measure, House Bill 578, has already won approval in the House and next faces action in the full Senate. Both bills are aimed at providing relief to the traffic-weary Baton Rouge area, where backups and delays plague motorists seven days a week, especially on I-12 and I-10. The HOV measure, whose chief sponsor is Sen. Dale Erdey, R-Livingston, sailed through the Legislature with little debate. "This is a huge victory for people who travel I-12 along Livingston and East Baton Rouge parishes," Erdey said after the vote. He said striping and other work could begin this fall. Additional lane each direction for 15 mile stretch on I-12 now one step away from approval A Senate-passed bill that would allow the state to create a new lane in each direction on Interstate 12 between the I-10/12 split and Walker m State Rep. J. Rogers Pope, R-Denham Springs, House sponsor, noted that the plan has been studied since 2015. "It would be very efficient," Pope told the House. "Those of you who travel east and west on I-12 know that it is necessary." DOTD officials, who backed the legislation, are waiting for the results of a study by the Denver-based engineering firm Arcadis, possibly in July. "They are confident it would come back reflecting a positive recommendation for the HOV lane," Erdey said of state officials. The HOV sections would require cars and trucks to carry at least one passenger aside from the driver. Signs and stripes would cost about $750,000, officials said. Meanwhile, the La. 415 connector bill was heavily revamped in the state Senate committee. It now includes a wide range of other highway work with settlement dollars, including $150 million for Interstate 49 South; $50 million for La. 3241 between I-12 and Bush in St. Tammany Parish and $100 million to widen and upgrade the Jimmie Davis bridge in Bossier City. What was a $275 million measure for two projects now totals $689 million for 10 projects. The La. 415 connector would provide a three-mile flyover between the La. 415/Lobdell exit and a point on La. 1 between Port Allen and Plaquemine. Doing so, backers say, will ease traffic on the "new" Mississippi River bridge, the Intracoastal Bridge and La. 1. The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "This is probably a once in a 50-year opportunity," said state Sen. Rick Ward III, R-Port Allen and Senate sponsor of the bill. +2 Major Baton Rouge road 50 years in the making might be built -- if plans make it to governor Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday he would be inclined to sign legislation to finance a major road project in West Baton Rouge Parish if it "We have struggled with infrastructure, we have struggled with bridges," Ward told the committee. "We finally have the opportunity to try and address those needs," he said. Louisiana has a $14 billion backlog of road and bridge needs. The work would be financed by reshuffling how dollars from the Deepwater Horizon disaster are allocated. La. 415 connector project gets House approval to use Deepwater Horizon settlement funds After a lengthy debate, the state House on Wednesday approved a bill that would use some proceeds from the 2010 Gulf oil spill to build the Lo The state is set to get about $700 million from the settlement over the next 13 years. Under the plan, the La. 415 project would get $25 million per year for five years. Another $150 million over five years would go for construction of an 8-mile stretch of elevated highway between Golden Meadow and Leeville. Those allocations, as well as possible federal dollars, are supposed to be enough to finish the projects. The La. 415 work is set to cost about $145 million. Under current rules, settlement dollars are divided between the state's Rainy Day fund, Medicaid Trust Fund and Health Trust Fund. Gov. John Bel Edwards, in something of a surprise, said last week he would be inclined to sign the legislation if it reaches his desk. The Edwards administration had previously taken a wait-and-see approach to the measure. The revamped legislation would aid the long-delayed construction of La. 3241. That work was one of 16 projects voters approved in 1989 when they endorsed a four-cent increase in the state gas tax called TIMED. However, the highway is one of two projects that have not been done. Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, a member of the committee who offered the amendment, said the lack of work is embarrassing and the Deepwater bill could provide assistance. "It is constitutionally required that the state build this road," Donahue told colleagues. Other projects added to the legislation are $20 million for a new ferry in Cameron Parish; the purchase of two cranes for the Port of New Orleans, $20 million and $15 million to widen Hooper Road from La. 3034 to La. 37. Backers of the bill earlier planned to allow DOTD to allocate about $400 million of settlement dollars after the La. 415 and La. 1 projects in deep south Louisiana were funded. GIS - 23 May, 2019: A consultative meeting, between representatives of boat builders and importers, boating associations, and the Tourism Authority, was held on 22 May 2019 at Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel in Port Louis, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Tourism, Mr Anil Gayan. The issues raised by some 30 stakeholders present include, among others: the carrying capacity of the lagoon; the possibility of assisting boat builders in becoming ISO certified; finding a win-win situation both for boat importers and builders; adequate boat ramp as well as proper mooring facilities to be developed in several areas on the coast of the island; building of marinas for boat owners; embarkation points and assigned base of operation for boaters; and the development of a scheme to offer incentives to upgrade the know-how of boat builders. In a statement to the press, the Tourism Minister underlined that the aim of the meeting was to take stock of difficulties encountered by boat builders and importers and vis-a-vis the Tourism Authority, to see how Government can assist in finding solutions to issues raised. He stated that boat builders find it very difficult to get the ISO certificate and are asking the help of Government and the Tourism Authority to be ISO certified. This, he added, will enable them to meet international standards and offer high quality products to customers. Minister Gayan also dwelt on the marinas systems to be offered to boat operators, the importance of respecting specific standards in the manufacture of boats and ensuring that large boats operating in the lagoon meet required standards so as to prevent marine pollution. Before President Donald Trump, working families suffered. Years of slow growth, wage increases only for those already well off, and high taxes suffocated families. Overregulation impeded Louisiana businesses and jobs. South Louisiana never quite recovered from the previous administrations offshore oil moratorium. Two years into Trumps presidency, we have the lowest unemployment rate in 60 years record low unemployment for veterans, women, high school dropouts, African Americans, and Hispanics. We have more job openings in this country than workers to fill them. Wages are growing for working families. Businesses are once again investing billions in South Louisiana natural gas. Report: President Trump tried to convince Steve Scalise to run for Louisiana governor this week President Donald Trump encouraged U.S. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise to run for governor this week during a flight aboard Air Force One en The presidents economic agenda has given more jobs to more Louisiana workers, and tax cuts have put more money in more families wallets. Prioritizing American workers has been Trumps focus, and we are succeeding. My focus is working with Trump to bring more of that success to Louisiana. Last week, Trump came to our state and visited the liquid natural gas export facility in Cameron Parish. Thanks to his pro-U.S. energy policies, natural gas exports to Europe are up nearly 300% since he took office. This is creating jobs for Louisiana workers from the wellhead, to the pipeline, to the export facility. The construction and service industries, which support this energy network, have also benefited. While on Air Force One, I spoke to President Trump about the importance of unleashing American natural gas for Louisianas economy and our nations security. We still have to continue rebuilding our offshore oil industry, which has brought so much prosperity to South Louisiana, so that it can be as strong as it was before the moratorium. We need to build the pipelines that bring gas down from Northwest Louisiana and down to the export facilities in Cameron and Calcasieu. I have fought to expedite permitting for pipelines and energy infrastructure projects that will create jobs and contribute to our states economy. We need to have an emphasis on building industry in our state and keeping energy prices low. I have been a consistent advocate for the power of natural gas to create American jobs and decrease the cost of doing business, which helps bring businesses and jobs back to the United States. I will continue to work with the president to get this done and bring more success to our state. +2 Louisiana officers injured in Trump motorcade crash honored with cufflinks, challenge coin The local motorcycle officers injured while escorting President Donald Trumps motorcade Tuesday were honored with a set of cuff links and a p Together, President Trump and I are committed to helping Louisiana workers. Recently there were calls to waive the Jones Act. This would have replaced American ships and workers with foreign substitutes. After I met with Trump, along with U.S. Sen. John Kennedy and Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, the president committed to preserving the law, protecting American shipbuilders and maritime workers. He understands the importance of this law to protect American workers and our national security by preventing a foreign takeover of our shipping industry. So-called experts claimed this explosive economic growth would be impossible. Not only is it wholly possible, but we are witnessing an economic renaissance the likes of which we have never seen before. Washington Democrats are looking for ways to distract Americans from this success or roll it back entirely. Serious voices in Washington are calling to increase taxes on American families by taking away their tax cuts, take away Louisiana energy jobs by enforcing the Green New Deal, and escape the outcome of an election by pushing conspiracy theories to impeach the president. My focus is on helping Louisiana families. I am looking for more ways to work with Trump, build on our successes, and ensure even more Louisiana families benefit from our leadership. Bill Cassidy is a U.S. senator from Louisiana. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Flight Director and Orion Program manager Mark Kirasich speaks next to the Orion Space Capsule, right, that is to be used to carry four astronauts to a low earth orbit with the Space Launch System, an American Space Shuttle-derived heavy-lift launch vehicle, at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility where the SLS is being constructed in New Orleans, La. Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Also present are astronauts Nicole Mann, left, astronaut Stan Love, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and Mike Hawes with the Lockheed Martin Orion Program. Australians should prepare to pay higher international airfares, as airlines struggling with rising fuel costs cut their capacity on routes here for the first time in more than a decade. Airline flight schedules used by airlines and airports show the total number of seats being flown out of Australia are set to fall by about 1 per cent from late October to late March. Travellers have been warned that international airfares will rise as airlines cut back on flights to and from Australia. Credit:Nick Moir It will be the first time international summer capacity has fallen since 2005, and is a dramatic turnaround following years of rapid growth from overseas carriers. International capacity has grown about 5 per cent a year on average over the past decade, with the total number of seats available on services to and from Australia ballooning from 31 million in 2008 to 54 million last year, government data shows. Indian mining giant Adani says it will take at least two years until coal is shipped from its Carmichael mine in Queensland, even if the final approvals for the controversial project are granted by the state's government on Friday. The ramp-up and construction of the Carmichael coal mine will take approximately two years once we receive approval on the outstanding environmental management plans, an Adani spokeswoman said late on Thursday. Adani Australia boss Lucas Dow says his company won't be 'pigheaded' in its push for the end of the Carmichael mine's approval. Credit:Attila Csaszar Adani emerged from the tense talks with the Queensland government confident a resolution to the deadlock over the $2 billion mine could be in sight. Lucas Dow, the head of Adani's Australian operations, said the meeting was "constructive and a positive step". We are not being pig-headed about finalising these plans and will work with state government officials as quickly as possible in order to move forward," he said. Wesfarmers' $776 million foray into the battery metals sector was a step closer on Thursday after it announced it had completed its due diligence in a bid to acquire WA lithium miner Kidman Resources. The WA-based chemicals behemoth first announced its intention to acquire 100 per cent of Kidman's remaining shares at $1.90 on May 2. Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott. Credit:Richard Wainwright It has now entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed with Kidman, which confirms the terms of its bid. The company also announced it had the backing of the Kidman board and had entered into an agreement with Kidman's Mt Holland lithium project joint venture partner, Chilean lithium producer Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile. My favourite series as a kid was The Jetsons, not so much because it was funny but because it was aspirational, particularly Rosie the robot who took care of all domestic chores: the cooking, the cleaning, the serving, everything. Youd be forgiven, then, based on an endless queue of media articles, for thinking Rosies are our future and that youll someday lose your job to one. Theyll be delivering your groceries and serving your coffee, and theyll be cleaning your house and driving your bus. Theyll even be giving you advice and keeping you company. But one thing they wont be doing is taking your job. Will the future Rosies of the world be taking our jobs? So if youve been worried, you can relax. Because much like many of the technologies of the past that were accompanied by specific prognostications such as computers making work unnecessary, email saving us from overwork (ha!) and e-readers killing the printed book this, too, is unlikely to happen. In the early years, it was thought robots would put only manual jobs at risk since it was presumed they could more-easily replicate labour-intensive tasks, but now its cognitive jobs as well that are supposedly in peril since the latest evolution isnt just about how robots act but also how they can be made to think. One of the fashion industry's most iconic designers is turning her back on fur. Miuccia Prada, the creative director and controlling shareholder of Milan-based Prada, said in a statement that her company also the maker of Miu Miu apparel and Church's shoes would no longer feature fur starting with her next runway show in September. A model wears a coat with a fur trim from Prada's Fall-Winter 2010/2011 collection. Credit:AP The brand joins the ranks of labels such as Burberry, Gucci and Versace in giving up the material's use, which has drawn ire from animal rights and environmental groups for decades. As consumers become increasingly concerned about the social and environmental impact of fashion, banning fur has become a way for brands to show they are serious about curbing the industry's most harmful excesses. David Speers will depart Sky News to replace Barrie Cassidy as host of the ABC's political panel show Insiders in a blow to the Rupert Murdoch-owned cable network. Speers, Sky's political editor, is respected across the political spectrum in contrast to several of Sky's "after dark" hosts who are perceived to lean heavily towards the conservative side of politics. David Speers with Liz Taggart-Speers at Parliament House, where he has served as president of the press gallery. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Insiders has been a ratings success for the ABC under Cassidy's stewardship with hundreds of thousands of viewers. It is competitive with commercial TV breakfast shows including Weekend Sunrise on Seven and Weekend Today on Nine, the owner of this masthead. Sky, by contrast, has an average daytime audience a fraction of the size of Insiders with average numbers in the tens of thousands. A Queensland man has been charged with grievous bodily harm after allegedly beating his partner's daughter at a holiday rental home in northern NSW, causing the toddler to suffer a "catastrophic brain injury", while the mother has been charged with neglect. Police launched an investigation after being notified on March 12 that a 23-month-old girl had presented at Maclean District Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The toddler remains in hospital in a serious condition. A police source quoted doctors as saying she had permanent brain damage that would "significantly impact her for the rest of her life". Police allege the child's brain injury was the result of an assault by her mother's partner at a holiday rental home in Grafton. The couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, took three days to seek medical attention for her, police allege. Jane Morris, Malvern Palliative care, our first choice of 'dying pathway' I am disappointed by Natasha Michael's view that assisted dying threatens the practice of palliative care. Firstly, relatively few sufferers will pass the stringent restrictions on who may be given access to life-ending medication. But more importantly, palliative care must surely be everyone's first choice of dying pathway. Who does not want to be kept calm, comfortable and pain-free until slipping away? Only when pain and existential suffering prevail does suicide become the choice a choice we all deserve. It is wrong to set up a false conflict between these two medical movements, which should walk hand-in-hand. I am a strong supporter of both. Anne Riddell, Mount Martha Physicians must not put their private wishes first Natasha Michael correctly positions palliative care as the first-line way to manage the suffering associated with dying. However, she sidesteps two important questions: what to do when the physician cannot alleviate suffering in a dying patient, and what to do when that patient requests assistance in dying to end such suffering. The tools of "eyes, ears, hands and a chair" do not make a dent in the pain from terminal bone cancer. And if the physician denies a legal request for assisted dying in this case, then it becomes evident that his or her wishes have superseded those of the patient. Government-funded, Catholic-operated hospitals have signalled their intention to take this approach, imposing their (very tarnished) morality on their patients. Janine Truter, The Basin THE FORUM Our right to decide Palliative care is a wonderful thing and in many, perhaps most, cases it is the most appropriate option for the terminal patient. However, to suggest that there is no place for accelerated dying, no right to self-determination, is to deny us our right to make our own decisions as to how our lives should end. Palliative care is successful in the majority of cases, but not all. No informed practitioner will claim 100per cent success rate and always there are those who will prefer to end their suffering on their own terms rather than endure the final agony of a protracted death. Denying us that opportunity is selfish, short-sighted and paternalistic. Providing options is the least we should offer the dying, and these should not exclude alternatives which might be unpalatable to some people. Forcing someone to die slowly is not a compassionate alternative, and imposing our own views upon their decision-making process is unacceptable. Bob Thomas, Blackburn South The good old Aussie way What's this? Japan's foreign minister has asked the English-speaking world to call its prime minister Abe Shinzo, not Shinzo Abe (World, 23/5). Not likely. Mate, this is Australia and, by crikey, we'll call people by whatever name we reckon. Mark Morrison, Kew What makes a 'real' man? The National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey Youth Report has found high numbers of young Australians hold dangerous beliefs about sexual consent and controlling behaviour in relationships (The Age, 22/5). This mirrors the results of Jesuit Social Services' Man Box report last year. It asked 1000 men aged 18 to 30 about how a man should behave. It found that 37per cent believed men had a right to know where their female partner was at all times and one in five believed men should use violence to get respect, if necessary. Controlling and aggressive attitudes like these are a significant risk factor for domestic and family violence. Our report found negative outcomes among men "inside the man box" eg, those who exercised control in relationships held rigid views regarding gender roles and believed a "real man" should have as many sexual partners as possible. They were over six times more likely to self-report perpetration of physical violence and sexual harassment of women. They also reported lower levels of wellbeing themselves, including poorer mental health, more frequent thoughts of suicide and greater likelihood of experiencing physical violence. We need a renewed focus from governments, philanthropy, business and community groups to develop programs to support young men to understand and critique harmful stereotypes and beliefs. Failure to do so risks dangerous consequences for their partners, children and families. Julie Edwards, Jesuit Social Services, Richmond AFL's degrees of 'insults' The AFL's counsel, Jeff Gleeson QC, told the tribunal there was "no graver insult or action to accuse an umpire of cheating". Well, based on tribunal penalties, I beg to differ. Carlton's Dale Thomas was fined $7500 on this charge. However, Sydney co-captain Dane Rampe was fined $10,000 with $5000 suspended for telling a field umpire that he sounded "like a little girl". Paddy Lyons, Melbourne To paraphrase ScoMo So the balance of power in the Senate may mean the repeal of the "medevac" bill will be blocked. How good is the Senate? Joel Oakley, Lower Templestowe Towards a modern ALP The leader is dead. Long live the leader. The unseemly rush by some Labor politicians to trumpet their leadership credentials exposed the myth of party unity. I would have been more impressed if the party had quickly closed ranks, supported the vanquished, dealt with the recriminations and moved on to a deeper analysis of the factors that led to its defeat. Then, decisions about who was best to lead a modern Labor Party in a rapidly changing and increasingly challenging political environment should have been carefully taken to avoid yet another term in opposition. Old style, committed Labor warriors should not assume they are the answer. Gary Pollard, Mount Waverley Seeking fresh leaders No wonder the ALP lost. Once again the factions and unions are pulling the strings. The overwhelming proportion of the electorate are not union members and many do not trust them, especially the very militant ones. If the ALP does not want to spend another long period in opposition, it must present some fresh faces, not recycle the old losing ones. Graham Carew, Briar Hill Labor's winning formula In 1969, the anti-Vietnam War movement was blamed by many as one reason (to some the main reason) for Labor failing to win, against expectation, after 19years of Liberal-Country Party rule. Over the next three years, that anti-war movement built up and became mainstream, led by a prominent ALP MP. And it became one of the things that swept Labor to power in 1972. This is not the time for the ALP to retreat from a strong stance on the climate emergency. It needs to embrace it as the crucial point of difference, and develop and communicate a broad policy for rebuilding the economy, communities and job creation around renewables. It requires boldness for a non-conservative party to win from opposition. Beth Spencer, Terrigal Impossible ask for many Eveline Clarke says, "To those who did not get their wish: We live in a democracy, get over it" (Letters, 22/5). How are the homeless to get over it? The people who are going under on Newstart? The families who are separated by pointless, cruel deportations? The people who are trapped in Manus and Nauru? Suicide? The Great Barrier Reef? How will the young "get over" living on a dying planet? Penelope Buckley, Kew East Protect our environment Eveline Clarke, I am sorry but I will not "get over" the fact we have a dying Great Barrier Reef and inland river system, yet we have chosen to return a government that promotes coal and an environment minister who has no interest in the environment. Leigh Fitzpatrick, Daylesford Bipartisan, not left-right Regardless of your views of Labor's policies on mining, housing or climate change, a day of reckoning is fast approaching. No amount of spin will change the fact that we must rapidly develop new industries and jobs. An economy based on digging up fossil fuels and flipping houses to each other at inflated prices is not a sustainable path to prosperity. The changing global market will make sure of that. Bipartisan recognition and support is the only way we will get out of the left-right quagmire we are now so firmly trapped in. The technology-dominated working future, which is hurtling towards us, will not care about our left-right leanings. Kicking the can down the road will also not make it go away. Dr Roan Plotz, lecturer in environmental science, Victoria University Revive Indigenous treaty Election flim flam and so on it goes. (Yawn.) But so far, no mention for the kick-start and recognition of the treaty (thanks Hawkie, initially), for our Indigenous sisters and brothers. Who is brave enough to start the debate? Maggie Browne, Kyneton It's so easy in hindsight There are so many incisive analyses by now clear-eyed pundits of Labor's election mistakes. Why were there scales on their eyes in previous weeks as the shrewd salesman, Scott Morrison, shepherded us along the narrow road to the deep north? Frank Hurley, Alfredton Explaining those polls It has been interesting looking at how the polls "got the election wrong". My interpretation indicates that the actual figures were not that far from the election results, perhaps with the exception of Queensland where the discrepancies were significant. However, no one seems to have discussed the possibility/probability of people not telling the truth when they were polled. We are exposed to polls incessantly. I am sure that most people take little notice of the latest one, partly because it is no different from last week's poll, or the poll the week before or even five weeks before that. If someone contacts you and asks you to take part in one, it is possible that you are not interested, or you are annoyed at getting another useless phone call, or you have not made up your mind about who you will vote for. Or you may be mischievous and give a misleading answer. Shaun Quinn, Yarrawonga Premier, just build that link Ross Hudson (Letters, 23/5) is wrong about the East West Link. I have travelled on the Doncaster Freeway for the past 20 years on a daily commute from Surrey Hills to Kensington. I constantly see the same vehicles, day in and day out, stuck in traffic. It takes me over an hour to complete the trip. Daniel Andrews told us that it would cost nothing to cancel the contract but it cost more than a billion dollars in total. Now he has been offered $4billion in federal funding and he declares that it does not stack up. Obviously he has never spent two hours a day in traffic, on top of an eight-hour working day. Mr Andrews, how about working for all Victorians? David Potter, Surrey Hills Unfair attack on Andrews Ongoing criticism of the Premier over the abandoned East West Link is misguided. His detractors need to be reminded that the former Napthine government signed up for the project with obscene haste, within weeks of a looming electoral wipe-out, and in full knowledge that Daniel Andrews was campaigning on a policy of tearing up the contract and that financial penalties would apply. Like the Christmas Island debacle, this is just another example of the Coalition playing political games with our money. Peter Knight, St Arnaud AND ANOTHER THING Tony Abbott Make him special envoy to Tuvalu so he can see the water rising to such levels that he can't live there. He'll have to seek asylum here. Jenny Callaghan, Hawthorn Envoy to the Vatican? Perfect. An irrelevant job for an irrelevant human. Pete Cruttenden, Kyneton He always was the Vatican's man in Canberra. Send him to his natural home. Kath McKay, Upwey Wouldn't he be too right-wing for the Pope? Fred Gough, South Yarra Politics Albo vows to end class war. Does this mean the rich will go back to screwing over the poor with impunity? Elizabeth Long, Collingwood Is it possible to impeach the Prime Minister? Perry Becker, Leopold A worrying time we've been Trumped. Margaret Ward, Eltham Aspirational: what's yours is mine and what's mine is my own. John Kellett, Bundoora I'm 74. I don't want to be seen as one of the "over 65s" who helped the regressives to a win. Barry Hughes, Albion For those who've come across the seas, offshore detention awaits. Wendy Knight, Little River The aspirational voter: "I'm poor, but if I vote Liberal I might be rich one day." John Marks, Werribee Labor erred when it ignored the rank and file and elected Shorten. Woe betide it if it ignores party members again. Andrew Fawcett, Warrnambool Shock. PM inherits budget black hole from previous government. Services slashed. Ian Coles, Anglesea Miracle man, kindly go back to the Bible. Those poor souls on Manus are also your neighbours. The Campbellfield factory fire was brought under control in 44 minutes. A factory blaze has sent smoke billowing over Melbourne's north, as firefighters stop the flames from spreading to a chemical storage facility next door. Six employees of a mechanic's workshop in Campbellfield were safely evacuated on Thursday morning after the Metropolitan Fire Brigade were called to the Malcolm Place factory at 8.52am. Nearby residents told 3AW radio of hearing an explosion, and smoke is moving in a southerly direction across Melbourne's north. A statement issued by the MFB at 9.35am confirmed the fire had been brought under control. John Setka at an early court appearance. Credit:Joe Armao Prominent Victorian union leader John Setka will plead guilty to harassing a woman, but a charge of recklessly causing injury has been withdrawn by police prosecutors, along with 30 other charges. Setka, 54, the Victorian secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday as his lawyer indicated his client would plead guilty to two charges at a hearing next month. He is to plead guilty to one count that on October 29 last year he used a carriage service to harass, and one of persistently breaching a court order, over offending earlier this year. Among the 30 charges withdrawn by police prosecutors was one count of recklessly causing injury to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons. A teenage boy has been charged after a school went into lockdown over a toy gun in Melbourne's south-east on Wednesday afternoon. The 15-year-old boy from Narre Warren South was charged for possession of a prohibited weapon, a Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday. He was bailed to appear at a children's court at a later date. Police on Wednesday had described the item as an imitation gun. Officers descended on the school on Beaconsfield Avenue after it went into lockdown and arrested the boy. Victoria's top cop has thrown his support behind officers involved in a bungled pre-dawn raid which left an innocent man mistakenly arrested and suffering a shattered arm. Police Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed audio of the arrest existed, and was being probed by the corruption watchdog, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission. Police were looking for an armed 'Lebanese' carjacker about 2am on May 11 when they stormed the unit above the Hares & Hyenas gay community bookshop in Fitzroy. Friends say resident Nik Dimopoulos, 47, feared he was being targeted in a hate crime and fled, before he was tackled by police and arrested on the footpath. By the time this blog post goes live Ill be in Fez, Morocco, to experience the new Namaste yoga package at Hotel Sahrai. Its definitely one of the most exciting press trips Ive been invited on, over the course of my 13 year blogging career, as I love yoga and it will be my first time in Morocco (and Africa!). Ill be sharing lots about the trip next week. But, in case youre curious, heres a look at some of the pieces Ive packed for 72 hours in Morocco DAYTIME Lilac wrap dress by Next // Printed jumpsuit by Monsoon The temperature in Morocco is currently sitting at around 34 degrees celsius, during the daytime. So I packed a small edit of breezy, cotton pieces for the rare moments when Im not dressed in activewear or lounging by the pool. Nexts lilac wrap dress will also work for dinners at the hotel, as I can easily dress it up with heels and a clutch bag. YOGA CLASSES Foil bra and foil leggings by Sweaty Betty / Jersey jumpsuit by Sweaty Betty The purpose of our visit is to experience the new Namaste yoga package launching at Hotel Sahrai, so I packed a handful of leggings and an assortment of bra tops. Im doing some work with Sweaty Betty this season, and they kindly sent over a few pieces for the trip. The jersey gratitude jumpsuit will be ideal for meditation sessions with our teacher, Yogidille. ACCESSORIES Macrame tassel bag by Monsoon / Leopard print sandals by Joules I didnt pack many shoes or accessories, as for the majority of our time in Fez well be doing yoga. But I slipped Monsoons statement macrame bag into my suitcase for our evening events, which will be a bit more formal. And during the day Ill just be switching between Nike sneakers (for our walking tour of Fez) and Joules leopard print sandals. PLUS The Leavers by Lisa Ko / Sol de Janeiro My Sol SPF 50 Stick As this is just a short break, I only packed one book (which will mostly be read on the outgoing and return flights, as our itinerary doesnt leave much room for reading). The Leavers by Lisa Ko had been on my want to read Goodreads list for months, and I waited until our flight to start it. I packed a large bottle of Avene SPF 50 to apply each morning, and top up throughout the days. But, when were out and about, I have the Sol de Janeiro My Sol Stick SPF 50 on hand for touch-ups. Ill be posting about my time in Fez next week on the blog, but in the meantime you can see what Ive been getting up to over on Instagram. Im @cocosteaparty. Lead image by Lydia Collins Francis Lam has been the host of the Splendid Table since 2017. Photo: Christian Rodriguez When the brisket lands on the table, Francis Lam doesnt hold back: That is an absolute fuck ton of meat. Were sitting at one of New York Citys many illustrious barbecue restaurants and, as with most of Lams food-related observations, this is absolutely accurate. Since hitting the food-writing scene more than a decade ago at the Financial Times and as one of Gourmet magazines most thoughtful, consistently engaging young writers, Lam has only seen his profile, and fan base, grow. Now, the James Beard Awardwinning writer is an editor-at-large for Clarkson Potter (you can thank him, at least in part, for convincing Chrissy Teigen to write cookbooks) and the host of the Splendid Table, a role he took over from Lynne Rosetto Kasper in 2017. When examined in hindsight, the course his life took leading to that hosts chair seems at once perfectly random yet oddly unavoidable. Food was going to be at the center of his world, simple as that. Lam, after all, is a person who can regale a dining companion with a ten-minute story about a conversation he had regarding French omelettes. (Not a ten-minute story about omelettes; a ten-minute story about a story about omelettes.) But even as one of the food-journalism worlds leading voices, Lam himself is surprisingly chilled out about all-matters-culinary, and it sounds like hed like other people to mellow out a bit, too. When did food begin to play a major role in your life? My fathers father, who had grown up super poor in rural China, eventually made money in the last third of his life, and he actually became quite comfortable. I just remember him taking people out to fabulous dinners, throwing elaborate parties where food was incredibly important. I remember being in Hong Kong with my family once, at one of these meals, and I always insisted on sitting with the grown-ups, never at the kids table, because I wanted to eat the grown-up food, and I remember the fish came out, like a whole steamed fish, and this was very rude of me like this was not an okay thing to do, because you were supposed to defer to the elders at the table, you know, they get the best bites but I asked for, and got, the bite of fish cheek. And I remember my grandfather looking at me, and saying to my parents, This one knows how to eat. It was a huge thing. Finally, my parents had something they could brag on. Like they couldnt talk about my grades, because Id occasionally get a 97 instead of 100, my piano playing was terrible, but I got food, and they understood that. There was probably some level of emotional validation from that moment. You host a food-related audio show, which means people cant see what everyones eating. What is it about food that allows people to talk about it or listen to people talk about it for hours at a time. Well, Id like to think its because of the charm and intelligence of the host, but honestly, its like Well, for a lot of people, it purely is like food porn. And why do you look at porn? Its pretty self-evident. It turns you on, it gets you excited for the next time you go do this thing. What keeps me interested in food, though and this is the best way maybe for me to answer, not to assume I know whats in the audiences mind is that it never gets boring. There is no limit to the kind, the varieties, and the depths of stories you can get into with food as a starting point. Now, if food is your end point, then I think you probably will run into a limit. Theres only so much of that you can listen to. I make this by doing this and this and this. Okay, cool, great, Im psyched for that because I love cooking, but I dont know if I could sit there for 20 years of my life just talking about recipes. Whats an example of a conversation that you wish would end? Im tired of hearing people shit on other people. Im tired of hearing people shit on avocado toast. I mean Ill joke about that too or whatever, but who cares? I have this friend, Kat Kinsman, I dont know if she invented this, or coined this phrase, and its kind of goofy, but she says, Dont yuck on someones yum. If someone likes it, likes a food, sure maybe theyre three months late to it, four years late, who cares? Im tired of people feeling like the thing they want to do in food isnt okay. Its like when you were 16 and more people started to get into your favorite band and youre like, I was here first! Fuck you! Its a pretty normal impulse, Im not mystified about why its there, but there are better, more fun, more interesting things to talk about than how much you hate someone for liking avocado toast. Alternatively, whats the next big thing you see coming? Its funny: People are always trying to talk about the big new thing. Like, people talk about how the cuisine of the Philippines has been the next new cuisine for a couple years, but, people, like, Filipino people have been eating food from the Philippines for a pretty fuckin long time. Its not new. At the same time, no cuisine is old, either all cuisines are constantly in a state of evolution. Right now, people are getting so much more interested in black cooking. And thats great. Were seeing more black chefs get awards, more articles about black cooking being published in the media. But the more I think about this the more I learn about this black cooking is truly the foundation of American cooking. And we have not thought that black cooking was worth talking about as a culture, as a society, in the mainstream, for a really long time. And thats fucked up. How do you approach those kinds of topics on the Splendid Table? Has the move from traditional broadcasting to podcasting changed things at all? I personally dont think of the show as being so different than what it was in terms of the format. Our sort of thinking, internally, is, Does this story, or this episode help us see small things in the world as bigger? Does it make big things in the world feel smaller and more intimate? When youre doing radio, you have six minutes or whatever, and then you have to change topics, because people are tuning in. We try to respect that its still a big part of the audience but with the podcasts, people are choosing to listen just to that, so you can go much deeper, you can focus just on one thing. Can you give me an example of what you mean? Theres a chef and author named Edna Lewis, who was honestly to my mind one of the most important people in American food. It sort of depends on how you read her, how you understand her, but in some ways she helped define or redefine what southern food is. She was an amazing writer, and someone who really reined in the expectations and stereotypes of what southern food, and specifically what black southern food was about. We had the opportunity to do an entire episode all about her, about who she was as a chef, as an author, as a spokesperson for black food culture in America, as an aunt to her niece who literally sat with her and type wrote so much of what Edna would say. So we get to touch on all these different things, on all these different issues in the world, that we could get to from one person. Do you still get excited about restaurants? Does New York, where we live, still stand apart? What I love about New York is the fact that you might not find the absolute best version of any single food in the world here, but you will find a version of almost any single thing in the world here. Like the other day I was having a conversation with a friend and he was explaining to me who the Uighur people were. Theyre an ethnic minority who are essentially being targeted by the Chinese government, theyre a mostly Muslim people, and ethnically I think theyre more related to Turkmen. Its a small population in Western China, but like, theres a Uighur restaurant in New York City. In fact, I think there are two. Is New York the best food city in America? I dont want to get into is it the best restaurant city in the country or whatever, but for high-flying, chef-y food, I think San Francisco and Chicago, probably win. For incredible variety of immigrant cuisines, Houston, or, I mean, so many places. Obviously L.A. is sort of categorized as its own special place, because the thing in L.A. is weve always known there is this extraordinary diversity of communities there, and an extraordinary diversity of cuisines there, and overlaid on top of that now is a really exciting chef-restaurant scene, so its just like, almost a cliche to say that L.A. is the city, its the place, but you put it all on paper, you kind of cant argue against it. Its funny because I say shit is the best all the time, thats the best-ever-whatever, but I guess Im a bit allergic to it when you have to commit, because really, big picture, what do I mean by best? What does it mean, best? So its safe to assume you dont have something like a guilty-pleasure food? No. Whatever Im eating, Im all about it. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Business and welfare groups say they fear tax increases and service cuts while unions are worried about job security for public servants as the Andrews Labor government prepares to hand down its budget on Monday. Plummeting revenue from stamp duty, the state government tax on property sales, has led to fears that Treasurer Tim Pallas might impose a horror budget on Monday, making cuts and raising taxes to replace the money he is losing through the cooling real estate market. The property sectors peak body has warned Mr Pallas that imposing new taxes or levies in next weeks budget to fill the gap left by dwindling stamp duty revenue would only lead to more long-term pain. Treasurer Tim Pallas Credit:Alex Murray The Property Council says the sector is braced to be hit with new taxes or levies on Monday after the government refused to be drawn on industry speculation that a massive increase to the congestion levy, charged to inner-city car park owners, is on the way. Anthony Albanese is not mucking around. Labor has just suffered a disorienting election loss, but Albanese has been out every day this week pressing his case for leadership of the party. Indeed, the election result was barely 12 hours old when the senior Labor frontbencher officially launched his leadership bid on Sunday. So far, he has seen off about five potential challengers - who have been variously spooked by his popular and caucus support - and now looks set to be elected unopposed. Anthony Albanese has a second chance at the Labor leadership and he's not letting it go. Credit:Wolter Peeters There have been some eyebrows raised within Labor about how quickly Albanese got out of the blocks. But bear in mind, this is a man who kept his leadership ambitions dutifully on ice for six long years. After Bill Shorten pipped him to the post in 2013, Albanese retreated to the infrastructure and tourism portfolios with barely a peep. He did not do a Kevin Rudd or a Tony Abbott and make trouble from within. Queensland's Labor government denies it is trying to save itself by finally stepping in to resolve approval processes that have delayed the Adani coal mine. Regional Queensland voters thumped Labor at last weekend's federal election and the state party could suffer the same fault when voters go to the polls next year. Deputy Premier Jackie Trad insists Labor's position on the Adani mine has not changed, despite Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's (right) decision on Wednesday to step in. Credit:AAP Political commentators argue a key factor in the federal whitewash was the way the state Labor government has handled Adani's project. Deputy Premier Jackie Trad insists Labor's position on the mine has not changed, despite the premier's decision on Wednesday to step in. Jakarta: Two suspects affiliated with a radical Islamist group who were "intending to perform jihad" were arrested during protests in Indonesia that killed up to eight people and injured hundreds, police have said. Three of the protesters were also arrested carrying guns to the rally, held by supporters of failed presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, according to police. Supporters of the losing presidential candidate stand near a fire during clashes with police on Wednesday night. Credit:AP Downtown areas of the capital became a battlefield on Tuesday and Wednesday nights with tear gas, rubber bullets, rocks and firecrackers overnight. Protesters tore up slabs of pavement to turn into projectiles, destroyed street signs and set fire to food stalls and a security post. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size At least seven people have died and hundreds have been arrested in violent street protests over the result of the Indonesian election. It is the worst political violence in Indonesia in decades. To try to minimise the number of people inciting or advertising the protests, Indonesia has slowed down the sharing of videos, photographs and memes across all social media sites. The winner of the election, incumbent Joko Widodo, is a former furniture salesman and local mayor who grew up in a poor family in central Java. He won an overwhelming, 55 per cent victory against his opponent Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo is a millionaire businessman, a former military general and son-in-law of former president and dictator Suharto. His military service was controversial in East Timor, West Papua and during the anti-Suharto riots in Jakarta in 1998 with allegations of human rights atrocities dogging him for decades. Prabowo Subianto during the election campaign. Credit:AP Advertisement What started the unrest in Jakarta? The election was held on April 17 but, after painstaking counting, the result was announced only this week. Warned ahead of time about street protests and potential violence, the Elections Commission brought forward the results announcement and held it in the dead of night: midnight on Monday. Loading Prabowo also lost the 2014 election against Jokowi, after which he likewise challenged the result (unsuccessfully) in the Constitutional Court, citing widespread fraud. Street protests were held then too, though they were muted. This time, Prabowo had flagged mass rallies and another Constitutional Court challenge well ahead of time if he lost. Once again, he has claimed vote-rigging and fraud, including irregularities on the electoral roll. The Elections Commission denies this, and there is no hard evidence of fraud. Advertisement Joko Widodo, left, and his Vice-President Maruf Amin. Credit:AP Is Indonesia a functioning democracy? Twenty-one years after the downfall of the dictator Suharto, Indonesia has grown into a vibrant, fully-fledged democracy a transition that has largely been successful and peaceful. About 193 million people were eligible to vote, and, according to the Elections Commission, 153 million did lodge valid votes, even though it's not compulsory. But the country is still wracked by problems old and new, including endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure and insufficient environmental protections, a huge gulf between the rich few and the poor multitudes and the economy growing at 5 per cent, which is strong but not quite enough to lift large numbers of people out of poverty. Cars burnt during protests. Credit:Bloomberg Islam, too, is playing an increasing role in defining political identity and intolerance is on the rise in a nation that has for decades prided itself on its commitment to "unity in diversity". Advertisement A large number of Indonesians swore allegiance to Islamic State, and some travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight, returning radicalised and unbowed. Sharia law (Islamic religious law) is already in place in the conservative, formerly restive province of Aceh. Both presidential candidates appealed to Islamic sentiments but those with harder-line fundamentalist sympathies tended to support Prabowo. The police alleged involvement in the riots by a radical group called Garis, which is tied to Syrian terror suspects. Protesters threw rocks at police and army on the streets of Jakarta. Credit:AP Why did these protests turn violent? In the lead-up to the election, Prabowo's supporters had vowed a "people power" movement to protest against the result, and tens of thousands of police had been called in from Friday to guard the street outside key institutions, including the Elections Commission. Police say that when the protests began in the early evening on Tuesday they were peaceful. Advertisement But after 9pm, the peaceful protesters were replaced by people intent on violence who started burning infrastructure including a police dormitory, destroying cars and throwing stones, molotov cocktails and fireworks. Police have suggested, without naming parties or offering evidence, that the protests were not spontaneous but were organised and paid for by unnamed people. They say they found an ambulance with the logo of a political party on it and, inside, envelopes full of money as well as rocks ready to be thrown. They claim that people who were arrested were found carrying envelopes of cash equivalent to several days' average pay in Indonesia. It is likely that, along with the alleged involvement of the radical Islamist group Garis, one of a number of radical street gangs such as the thuggish Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), have helped organise the protesters. Some of the protesters were heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) as they threw objects. Its Ramadan, a holy month in the Islamic calendar, which is typically a time of renewed militancy among extremists and many of those on the streets. But protesters have claimed that it was the police themselves who provoked violence in the crowd by planting people who threw stones and firecrackers. The Indonesian state called out the army on Wednesday to help quell the situation. A police officer fires his tear gas launcher. Credit:AP Advertisement The head of a Chicago-based bank was charged in an indictment unsealed on Thursday with bribery and accused of corruptly approving high-risk loans to President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort in a scheme to land a top Trump administration post such as secretary of the US Army. Stephen Calk, who was chairman and chief executive of Federal Savings Bank though is now on a leave of absence, was charged by federal prosecutors in New York with one count of financial institution bribery, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years. Stephen Calk, pictured in 2012, is charged with bribing a Trump campaign official while he was chairman and chief executive of the Federal Savings Bank. Credit:AP Calk's name repeatedly came up during Manafort's 2018 financial fraud trial in Virginia, with prosecutors saying he approved $US16 million ($23.3 million) in loans for Manafort in exchange for help securing a senior federal post under Trump. Calk, 54, was named to a Trump campaign economic advisory committee and interviewed for the job of Army under secretary but did not land that job. Jeremy Margolis, Calk's lawyer, said his client would fight the charges, which he called "a travesty". Calk is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday. Washington: Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin out-prepared President Donald Trump during a key meeting in Germany, putting the US leader at a disadvantage during their first series of tete-a-tetes. The US side anticipated a shorter meeting for exchanging courtesies, but it ballooned into a globe-spanning two-hour-plus session involving deliberations on a variety of geopolitical issues, said committee aides, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Tillerson's seven-hour closed meeting with the committee. "We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted," a committee aide said. "There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing." Tillerson, whose public remarks about the President have been sparse since his dramatic firing in March 2018, spoke to a bipartisan group of politicians and staffers on Tuesday at the request of the chairman of the committee, Democrat Eliot Engel. Moving the Detroit Auto Show From January to June - A Good Idea or A Dud? +VIDEO Automotive Journalists Sound Off On New Show Dates AUTO CENTRAL - May 23, 2019: Beginning in 2020, the North American International Auto Show (commonly known as the Detroit Auto Show) will be moving their exposition dates to June from January. This represents a radical change in the consumer auto show schedule. The Auto Channel's Steve Purdy and video producer Mark Ducker spoke with several auto journalists about this. Here's their report: The following is the Detroit 2020 promotional video: Marc Rauch, Exec. Vice President/Co-Publisher of The Auto Channel, had this to say about the move: "When I first heard about this, a few months ago, I thought it was a bone head move. But the more I think about it, the more I believe the move can re-establish the Detroit Show as the preeminent American show. It comes during a generally slow news cycle (the Summer months), consequently more attention will be focused on the show; it has a better lead-in as a forward looking show (Hey folks, look at what's coming our way...), which could help to position the show as a technology news leader rather than just presenting sloppy seconds of tech news that was just made a week or two before in Las Vegas; and the better weather of June will attract far more consumers and media reporters. If the city of Detroit can ever rebound as a significant tourist and industrial hub, this may be the first real shot at making it happen. "For years, I thought that the LA Auto Show made a great mistake by dating their November/December show with the out-going year. I felt they should project forward. So, for example, the LA exposition that was held in November 2018 should have been called the '2019 Los Angeles Auto Show,' not the 2018 Auto Show - it wasn't debuting the previous year's models, it was premiering the coming year's models. The Detroit Show may officially call itself the '31st NAIAS,' and try to stay away from a year-date stamp, but ultimately people will refer to it as the 20?? Detroit Auto Show. They might as well call the June 2020 show the '2021 Detroit Auto Show' to be on the leading edge. And I hope it causes the LA show producers to re-date their shows with the coming year (so this November's show will be the 2020 LA Auto Show, not the 2019 Auto Show). I think the Chicago Show should continue with their dating, and then it doesn't really matter what New York does because it's too early for the next year's models, and too late for the last year's models, and they should stop holding the show during Passover. What do you think? Let us know on our social media pages by clicking the links below. Hyundai Motor Group Develops Intelligent Air Purification System Smart Air Purification monitors and improves in car air quality Passengers can check real-time information of interior air quality through vehicles Audio, Video, and Navigation (AVN) system Innovative laser-based fine particulate sensors ensure systems durability and reliability SEOUL, May 15, 2019 Hyundai Motor Group developed an intelligent Smart Air Purification system that monitors interior air quality to automatically filter the air inside a car. The innovation builds on the Groups prior work to enhance in-car air quality by introducing a new automated monitoring system, which continually checks interior air quality until it achieves an Excellent status. Combined with advanced filtering innovations, the technology can remove fine particulates before passengers enter the car, and purification of cabin air throughout a journey. The new development, already under consideration for future Hyundai and Kia vehicles, responds to growing concerns about the health impact of fine particulates, especially in highly-congested urban areas. Conventional air purification systems only operate for a set period when activated, turning off after a designated time regardless of current cabin air quality. However, the new Smart Air Purification system constantly monitors the cars air quality, activating the purification function if the air quality decreases to Fair level. It then maintains the cleaning process until the air quality improves to an Excellent level. Even if the exterior air quality is at Poor level, the system can purify air inside to Excellent quality in almost instantaneously. Passengers can monitor interior air quality levels via the cars audio-video navigation (AVN) screen, with a visual 16-bar digital display of air quality that fluctuates in real-time. This is categorized according to Korea Environmental Corporation Standards, which categorizes four levels of air quality based on the presence of fine particulate matter: Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor. Enabling our customers to breathe the cleanest air, even in highly-polluted areas, is a demonstration of how Hyundai Motor Group strives to care for its customers, said YongSuk Shin, head of FR Interior & Exterior System Engineering Design Team. This innovation is just one of many projects we are working on to provide our customers with the best in-car environments. Hyundai Motor Group designed an integrated, laser-based sensor to ensure the systems durability and reliability. Typical sensors are prone to reliability issues as fine particulates can gradually build up on the measurement lens. A laser-based design sidesteps this problem, giving room for innovation by the Hyundai Motor Group R&D team. Furthermore, rigorous testing guarantees that the purifiers fan motors and sensors will maintain full functionality at environments of both extreme heat and cold. The new interior purification system is paired with advanced high-performance air filters which enhance the collection rate of fine particulates from 94% to 99%. Moreover, the new filtration system features a charcoal-based deodorization function and can automatically close car windows to assist the purification process. Mario Batali at the Boston Eataly. Photo: Lane Turner/Boston Globe via Getty Images A year and a half since first facing sexual harassment allegations, Mario Batali now faces criminal charges for indecent assault and battery in Boston. The criminal complaint was filed on April 4, and the Boston Globe reports that the former celebrity chef will appear in Boston Municipal Court tomorrow morning. The accusers name was redacted from court records, but the Globe reports that details from the charges match those from a civil lawsuit filed last August. The alleged incident occurred on March 31, 2017 at Towne Stove and Spirits, located near Bostons Eataly, and involved a fan rather than an employee of Batalis. According to court records, the woman says that Batali saw her taking a photo of him, invited her to take a selfie with him, and then allegedly started groping her, kissing her against her will, and touching her groin. When she pulled away from the chef, she alleges he continued pulling on her face and invited her back to his hotel room. In the civil complaint, the womans lawyers wrote that Batali did all this without asking her permission or giving her any warning, that she showed no sign of interest in him, and that Batali sexually assaulted her. In response, Batalis lawyer Anthony Fuller tells the Globe that the charges are without merit and that the chef intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate himself. If Batali is convicted, he could spend up to two and a half years in jail and would need to register as a sex offender. This is the first criminal charge Batali has faced as result of the various accusations against him. Last year, the NYPD confirmed it was investigating the chef for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting women. In March, the chef gave up his ownership stake in his restaurant group. Eat like the experts. Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. AUTO LAB RADIO LIVE FROM NYC, Saturday May 25, 2019; WNYM Radio AM 970 7-9 AM Auto Lab Talk Radio on New York City's WNYM Radio AM 970 Is Streamed Worldwide On TheAutoChannel.Com Car Question or Concern? Automotive Career Opportunity, Call Toll Free 888-692-7234 To Speak With An Auto Lab Expert Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format. Listeners can find audio recordings of the past 20 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on The Auto Channel; The Auto Lab Index Page includes; Audio-on-Demand Archives, Community College Auto Program Database, Guests Pictures This Weeks Show: May 25, 2019 In Studio Expert Automotive Panel Harold Bendell - Major Auto David Goldsmith-Urban Classics Joseph Guarino- Joe Guarino's Auto Jerry Pastore- D & J Diagnostics Johanna Pastore- D & J Diagnostics Joanne Porcelli, Esq. Michael Porcelli - Bronx Community College, City University of New York Nicholas Prague - MTA Interviews Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent & BBC "EV SCOOTERS FOR ALL" John Russell, Sharon Sudol, Senior Correspondents "HYUNDAI SANTE FE ULTIMATE 2" Dr. William Sharfman Automotive Journalist FORD'S "JOB CUTS" Robert Sinclair AAA Northeast "REAR SEAT BELTS" Jeremy McCool, Founder & CEO, HEVOPOWER.COM "CREATING THE GLOBAL EV WIRELESS CHARGING STANDARD" Job Archive July 2021 (524) June 2021 (681) May 2021 (698) April 2021 (659) March 2021 (688) February 2021 (615) January 2021 (700) December 2020 (714) November 2020 (671) October 2020 (631) September 2020 (690) August 2020 (713) July 2020 (713) June 2020 (690) May 2020 (713) April 2020 (690) March 2020 (713) February 2020 (667) January 2020 (713) December 2019 (713) November 2019 (687) October 2019 (711) September 2019 (689) August 2019 (711) July 2019 (707) June 2019 (688) May 2019 (2002) April 2019 (1979) March 2019 (2039) February 2019 (1689) January 2019 (2259) December 2018 (2111) November 2018 (1935) October 2018 (1993) September 2018 (1918) August 2018 (39) July 2018 (72) June 2018 (44) May 2018 (76) April 2018 (65) March 2018 (16) February 2018 (32) January 2018 (201) December 2017 (352) November 2017 (381) October 2017 (600) September 2017 (1211) August 2017 (1655) July 2017 (1590) June 2017 (1506) May 2017 (1903) April 2017 (1965) March 2017 (1417) February 2017 (1808) January 2017 (1807) December 2016 (1593) November 2016 (1377) October 2016 (1408) September 2016 (1317) August 2016 (1499) July 2016 (1505) June 2016 (1421) May 2016 (1392) April 2016 (1340) March 2016 (1476) February 2016 (1396) January 2016 (1474) December 2015 (1409) November 2015 (1367) October 2015 (1478) September 2015 (1443) August 2015 (1468) July 2015 (1465) June 2015 (1410) May 2015 (1058) April 2015 (1269) March 2015 (1133) February 2015 (1155) January 2015 (1154) December 2014 (1156) November 2014 (1268) October 2014 (81) Photo: Getty Images Recent media coverage of Georgias six-week abortion ban, a new law which would make termination illegal before many women even know theyre pregnant, has painted a picture of abrupt, immediate reproductive dystopia. Abortions after six weeks will now be illegal in Georgia, reads a representative CNN headline from last Wednesday. By Saturday, some celebrities were going so far as to call for sex strike, ostensibly to pressure straight men into caring about their partners bodily autonomy. (Women just cannot risk pregnancy, Alyssa Milano wrote in a call to action on Twitter, as long as our reproductive rights are being erased.) Georgia is one of three states to have passed a six-week ban in the past three months Ohio and Mississippi came first. This trend is obviously a huge cause for concern: It shows that conservative lawmakers are more confident than ever that they can successfully overturn Roe v. Wade, and it lays bare the astonishing contempt they feel for women. What it does not mean, however, is that women whove been pregnant for longer than six weeks in the affected states can no longer get abortions. Amid the media coverage of what the bill might mean for women, one crucial fact has been repeatedly overlooked or downplayed: Georgias bill isnt set to take effect until January 1, 2020, and the two other states with similar laws are set to take effect in July. I say are set to because theres a slim chance any of them will actually be enforced. They all face legal challenges from reproductive-rights groups, and will most likely be blocked by a judge. This is because, in the words of Jennifer Dalven of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, banning abortion so early on in a pregnancy is flatly unconstitutional. (The first-ever six-week ban, which was signed into law in North Dakota in 2013, never took effect and was permanently blocked two years later.) Abortion is legal everywhere, Dalven told the Cut. These bans have not yet outlawed abortion, and we expect that we will block them before they do. In the meantime, the well-intentioned outrage over these laws may be doing more harm than good, misleading women out of exercising their constitutional right to choice. A 2018 survey of people searching online for information about self-terminating found that a full third either didnt know whether abortion was still legal in their home state, or they thought it had already been banned. It seems this misinformation is now proliferating in Georgia, Ohio, and Mississippi: Providers in all three states say theyve had patients contact them in a panic, unsure of whether its still legal to get an abortion or whether their appointments still stood. We had a patient call today in tears because she just passed the six-week mark, an employee at a Georgia clinic told Vice. Shes just terrified. There is a real danger here: By circulating inaccurate information about abortion, we may push desperate women to result to illegal alternatives. But the right to end an unwanted pregnancy is still protected on paper, at least in every state. At least for now. This is not to say that these laws dont pose a legitimate threat. They do, as part of a larger, coordinated strategy to challenge Roe v. Wade. Abortion opponents hope that one of these bills will eventually make its way to the Supreme Court, where theyre confident the new conservative majority will rule in their favor. Like the 400-plus anti-choice restrictions passed in the last eight years, the recent rash of six-week bans is an unequivocal attack on the right to choose. But this is not an isolated or momentary crisis; its part of a larger, more insidious strategy. Anti-abortion lawmakers have already done everything in their power to make abortion inaccessible to large swaths of the population, forcing women to travel further, wait longer, and shoulder increasingly prohibitive costs in order to obtain essential medical care. All of this is already a reality. The six-week bans are not. But by treating them as a foregone conclusion something that has or will become law well-intentioned pro-choicers may be helping the conservative cause, preventing those who can still get safe and legal abortion services from seeking them out. Chef and grilling expert Elizabeth Karmel recently joined The Washington Post Food section staff in answering questions about all things edible. Here are edited excerpts from that chat. Q: Lately I've seen some great coffee cake recipes but my coworkers will be more likely to eat it if I make muffins instead. Is there any reason why I could not pour the batter into muffin tins and bake for less time? Should I adjust the temperature? A: I love mini coffee cakes! You should be able to bake your coffee cake recipe in a muffin tin or mini bundt pan. Don't adjust the temperature, but do adjust the time. It will take much less time to bake. And remember not to overfill the muffin tin - no more than two-thirds full is my rule. - Elizabeth Karmel Q: A friend just gifted me a bottle of cucumber and lemon white balsamic vinegar. I tasted it straight and wow is it good! I would love to make a simple salad dressing with it but whenever I make salad dressing they're usually hearty and heavy on spices - garlic, mustard, onion, etc. Any recommendations for making one that would be lighter so those wonderful flavors shine through? And would light olive oil be a better choice than extra virgin olive oil, or is there a better oil to use? College Station Medical Center will soon become part of CHI St. Joseph Health, officials announced Thursday. The transfer is expected to be complete by this fall. Theron Park, president and CEO of CHI St. Joseph Health, said in an email that the organizations intent is to hire substantially all members of the College Station Medical Center staff who are in good standing. As a part of CHI St. Joseph Health, The Med will become a Catholic hospital, according to a press release announcing the acquisition. CHI St. Joseph Health operates four hospitals across the Brazos Valley, including a 236-bed regional hospital with a Level II trauma center in Bryan. College Station Medical Center is a 167-bed community hospital with a Level III trauma center. Medical staff privileges of the physicians at The Med are expected to be unaffected by the transfer. Community Health Systems Inc., the Med's current parent company, announced plans to sell two of its Florida hospitals Wednesday. 102-Year-Old Woman Accused of Murdering 92-Year-Old Neighbor An elderly woman is a suspect in the murder of her 92-year-old neighbor in a care home in France, according to reports. Prosecutors said the 102-year-old woman, who has not been identified, allegedly confessed to one of her carers that she had killed someone at a home in Chezy-sur-Marne, northern France, reported BBC. Woman of 102 suspected of care home murder in France https://t.co/dKEgWIAgbn BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 23, 2019 The suspect appeared to be in a very agitated state, confused, according to the AFP news agency. The female victim was found dead in a bed on May 18 and her face was covered with bruises. According to a post-mortem examination, the cause of death was strangulation and blows to the head, the BBC reported. The suspect is now being examined at a psychiatric hospital to determine whether she should be held criminally responsible for the alleged killing. Woman aged 102 confesses to murdering 92-year-old at a care home in France https://t.co/Hjz7TvUS84 Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 23, 2019 In another case, a 92-year-old woman from Arizona allegedly murdered her 72-year-old son in 2018 because he was going to put her in a nursing home. Anna Mae Blessing was living with her son and his girlfriend in Fountain Hills, a suburb northeast of Phoenix at the time of the incident. According to AZCentral, the couple wanted to move Blessing to an assisted living facility because the 92-year-old had become difficult to live with. According to a Maricopa County Sheriffs Office report (pdf), the 92-year-old was thinking about what to do for several days after she learned about her sons intentions. Her decision was to confront her son about it. Blessing hid two pistols in the pockets of her robe and proceeded into the master bedroom where her son and his girlfriend were resting, according to court records (pdf). 92-Year-Old Woman Kills Son to Avoid Moving to Assisted Living https://t.co/INCgdllqkP The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) July 6, 2018 You took my life, so Im taking yours, Blessing reportedly said as she shot her son twice, which struck his neck and jaw. Her sons girlfriend struggled with Blessing knocking the pistols from her hand. She then called authorities to report the crime. Blessing was subsequently taken into custody. She told police she wanted to kill herself, but didnt have another gun. She was charged with one count of murder in the first degree, one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of kidnapping. According to Mental Health America, depression among adults aged 65 and over are quite prevalent with 2 million out of the 34 million Americans in the age group suffering from the mental health condition. There is a strong likelihood that an elderly person has depression when other health problems are present such as Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. Holidays can bring on #depression. Family #caregivers should know about older relatives mental health. https://t.co/1U56SlOx5U CDCChronic (@CDCChronic) December 24, 2015 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that depression is not a normal part of aging and that older adults are at a higher risk of experiencing it. It is not clear whether either of the elderly women has depression. Epoch Times reporter Chris Jurasek contributed to this report. 6 Die in Indonesia Riots, President Widodo Says He Wont Allow Unrest JAKARTA, IndonesiaIndonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the countrys capital under control after six people died on May 22 in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last months presidential election. The clashes began Tuesday night when supporters of former Gen. Prabowo Subianto tried to force their way into the downtown offices of the election supervisory agency and continued unabated until ebbing on Wednesday evening. More than two dozen vehicles were burned as rioters took over neighborhoods in central Jakarta, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at police who responded with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. Flanked by the military chief and other top leaders, a grim-looking Widodo said, I will work together with anyone to advance this country, but I will not tolerate anyone who disrupts the security, democratic processes, and unity of our beloved nation. Subianto, an ultra-nationalist politician, has refused to accept the official results of the April 17 election and instead declared himself the winner. The Election Commission on Tuesday said Widodo, the first Indonesian president from outside the Jakarta elite, had won 55.5 percent of the vote, securing the moderate technocrat a second term as leader of the worlds most populous Muslim-majority nation. Subianto, an elite figure from a wealthy family connected to former dictator Suharto, also lost to Widodo in 2014. He has made four unsuccessful bids for the presidency since Suharto was ousted in 1998. The bottom line is the people who are protesting and rioting in the past 24 hours represent a small minority of Indonesian voters and a small minority of Indonesian Muslims, said Alexander Arifanto, an Indonesian politics expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. The vast majority of both clearly accepted the election results. By tacitly backing the protesters, Prabowo has lost any remaining legitimacy he had left and clearly shows his true colors as a narcissistic New Order-era relic, Arifanto said, referring to the Suharto era. Rudiantara, the communications and information technology minister, said social media including Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp will be restricted on a temporary basis to prevent the spread of hoaxes and inflammatory content. He said messaging systems will still work for text and audio but photos and videos will be blocked or slowed. National police chief Tito Karnavian said the people who died in the rioting were hit by gunshots or blunt devices. Authorities are still investigating the causes of death and are not ruling out the involvement of third parties acting as provocateurs. There are attempts to create martyrs, blaming security officials for building public anger, he said. The rioting in the capital was planned and not spontaneous and many of those arrested had come from outside Jakarta, according to police. Officers found an ambulance filled with stones, and some of more than 250 people arrested had envelopes containing 250,000-500,000 rupiah ($17-$34), said Jakarta police chief Argo Yuwono. The minimum wage in Jakarta is about $9 a day. The government had deployed some 50,000 police and soldiers in Jakarta in anticipation of protests following the official election results. Many residents have left the city and parts of the downtown are closed to traffic, with the election supervisory agency and Election Commission barricaded with razor wire. In the past week, authorities have arrested three pro-Subianto activists on suspicion of treason. They included Sunarko, a retired general and former commander of Indonesias special forces who uses a single name. Police allege there was a plot to seize crucial government buildings in Jakarta. Subiantos campaign plans to challenge the election result in the Constitutional Court. They allege massive fraud in the worlds third-largest democracy but have provided no credible evidence. The former special forces general and members of his campaign team had said they would mobilize people power for days of street protests. Subianto on Wednesday called on supporters and security forces to exercise restraint. Like weve said many times before, we support all moral and constitutional means that are peaceful and nonviolent in this political fight for our nation, he said. And so I plead to all elements of the people exercising their aspirations: the police, the armed forces, and everyone else to refrain from acts of physical harm. Subianto ran a fear-based election campaign, emphasizing what he sees as Indonesias weakness and the risk of exploitation by foreign powers or disintegration. He aligned himself with hard-line Muslim groups and won massive majorities in conservative provinces such as Aceh, which follows Islamic Shariah law, but was defeated by Widodo in the presidents populous East Java and Central Java strongholds. Widodos campaign highlighted his progress in poverty reduction and improving Indonesias inadequate infrastructure with new ports, toll roads, airports, and mass rapid transit. By Stephen Wright And Fadlan Syam American John Walker Lindh is seen in this undated file photo obtained on Jan. 22, 2002. (AP Photo) American Taliban Terrorist Freed After 17 Years in Prison ALEXANDRIA, Va.The California man who became known as the American Taliban after his capture on an Afghanistan battlefield in late 2001 has been released from prison. John Walker Lindh, 38, was released on May 23 from the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. Lindh spent more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing support to the Taliban. The plea deal called for a 20-year sentence, but Lindh is getting out a few years early for good behavior. His release was opposed by the family of Mike Spann, who was killed during an uprising of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan shortly after interrogating Lindh. A judge recently imposed additional restrictions on Lindhs post-release supervision, amid concerns that Lindh still harbors radical ideology. Lindh initially opposed but eventually acquiesced to the restrictions, which include monitoring software on his internet devices; requiring that his online communications be conducted in English and that he undergo mental health counseling; and forbidding him from possessing or viewing extremist material, holding a passport of any kind or leaving the U.S. Probation officers never explained why they sought the restrictions but it is clear that authorities retain misgivings about Lindh. In 2017, Foreign Policy magazine cited a National Counterterrorism Center report that Lindh continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts. On Wednesday, NBC reported that Lindh, in a letter to a producer from Los Angeles-based affiliate KNBC, wrote in 2015 that the ISIS terrorist group is doing a spectacular job and is clearly very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle. Lindh, now 38, converted to Islam as a teenager after seeing the film Malcolm X and went overseas to study Arabic and the Quran. In November 2000, he went to Pakistan and from there made his way to Afghanistan. He joined the Taliban and was with them on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Lindh was captured in a battle with U.S.-allied Northern Alliance fighters in late 2001. He was present when a group of Taliban prisoners launched an attack that killed Johnny Micheal Mike Spann, a CIA officer who had been interrogating Lindh and other Taliban prisoners. He was brought to the United States to face charges of conspiring to kill Spann and providing support to terrorists. Eventually, he struck a plea bargain in which he admitted illegally providing support to the Taliban but denied a role in Spanns death. Lindh served roughly 17 years and five months of his 20-year sentence, including two months when he was in military detention. Federal inmates who exhibit good behavior typically serve 85 percent of their sentence. Lindhs release has drawn criticism, including from Spanns family. His daughter, Alison Spann, said on Twitter that she asked President Donald Trump to block Lindhs release. She called Lindh a traitor and his early release a slap in the face. I wrote this letter to @POTUS asking that the early release of John Walker Lindh be stopped. Hes going to be released on May 23, despite reports that he has continued to advocate for global jihad. This is not a reformed prisoner pic.twitter.com/HVOryefVIE Alison Spann (@newsgirlalison) May 21, 2019 In March, the legislature in Alabama, where Spann grew up, adopted a resolution calling Lindhs release an insult to Spanns heroic legacy and his remaining family members. Mike Spanns mother, Gail Spann, told reporters at the time that Lindh could have saved her sons life had he warned him about the looming prisoner revolt. He chose not to because he was a Taliban. Hes a traitor to our country. He could have had an opportunity to save a great man that actually saved a lot of lives that day, she said. Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby and Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan also expressed concern, in a letter last week to the Bureau of Prisons. We must consider the security and safety implications for our citizens and communities who will receive individuals like John Walker Lindh who continue to openly call for extremist violence, they wrote. By Matthew Barakat MP Anthony Albanese speaks to media during a press conference at the Unity Hall Hotel in Balmain in Sydney, Australia, on May 19, 2019. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) Anthony Albanese Unopposed to Lead Australian Labor Party in Opposition Anthony Albanese is set to be elected unopposed to the Labor leadership, as contenders to be his deputy consider their options. Jim Chalmers pulled out of the contest to replace Bill Shorten, leaving Albanese a free run at the top job. The Queensland MP said he carefully considered running on a platform of generational change. But in the end I couldnt be assured of winning, Chalmers said in a statement on Thursday. And if I did win, the extra responsibilities of leadership would make it much harder to do my bit at home while the youngest of our three little kids is only five months old. I wont be putting my hand up for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party this time around. (1/7) Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) May 23, 2019 Victorian Labor right-faction MPs Richard Marles and Clare ONeil are both considering standing for deputy leader. Many Labor peopleparticularly Labor womenhave contacted me in recent days encouraging me to run for Labor deputy leader to ensure there is a woman in the leader/deputy team, ONeil tweeted. One of the best things about Labor is that women are encouraged to put themselves forward for leadership roles and I know that will continue. Im going to talk to a few colleagues about whether its possible for me at this point. Labor has aimed to have a man and a woman in the leadership duo, from different states and factions. But with Albanese coming from the partys left faction, the right faction outside NSW is paying the price for a lack of high profile women in the lower house. Chalmers spoke to Albanese on Thursday morning. I will enthusiastically support him and work tirelessly with our team to give Australians the Labor government they need and deserve at the next opportunity, Chalmers said. What you see is what you get with me. And I think Im in the best position to take Labor forward into government. @AlboMP #abc730 #auspol pic.twitter.com/xurLqx9hZx abc730 (@abc730) May 21, 2019 Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen pulled out of the race on Wednesday, a day after declaring his candidacy, having realised Albanese had strong grassroots support. Nominations for Labor leadership will close on Monday, but Chalmers withdrawal makes the prospect of a contested ballot highly unlikely. If there are no further nominations the Labor caucus is expected to meet next week to confirm the leadership team, including deputy leader and senior Senate personnel. By Angus Livingston and Daniel McCulloch U.S. Attorney General William Barr at the Department of Justice in Washington on May 9, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Attorney General Barr Criticizes Nationwide Injunctions Attorney General William P. Barr, in a speech this week, took aim at the growing trend of unelected federal judges vetoing presidential actions by issuing sweeping nationwide injunctions against government policies. These nationwide or non-party injunctions, which are relatively new in the American experience, reach beyond the controversy being litigated and allow judges to impose their will in parochial or regional disputes on the entire country. According to the Department of Justice, an average of 1.5 such injunctions were issued each year against the administrations of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Under Barack Obama, the average rose to 2.5. But 20 injunctions, representing an eightfold increase over the Obama-era average, were issued against Donald Trumps administration during its first year. In Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomass concurring opinion last year in Trump v. Hawaii, a landmark decision that upheld Trumps Presidential Proclamation 9645, which banned high-risk travelers from Islamic terrorist-infested nations, he wrote that nationwide injunctions, are beginning to take a toll on the federal court system. They are legally and historically dubious, he added. I am skeptical that district courts have the authority to enter universal injunctions, Thomas wrote. These injunctions did not emerge until a century and a half after the founding. And they appear to be inconsistent with longstanding limits on equitable relief and the power of Article III courts. If their popularity continues, this Court must address their legality. With these national injunctions the fundamental constitutional rights of hundreds of millions of people throughout the nation are being flicked on and off like a light switch, Michael T. Morley, assistant professor at Florida State University College of Law, said earlier this year. An injunction is issued. It gets stayed. The stay gets vacated. An emergency appeal to the Supreme Court. And its almost like a game, and fundamental constitutional cases that are already important enough, that are already controversial enough, are now being barreled through the judicial system. In remarks before the American Law Institute on May 21, Barr said that although the framers of the Constitution were concerned that an unelected judiciary would encroach on the prerogatives of the two other branches of government, they believed, as Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 78, that the least democratic branch would also be the least dangerous branch because courts have no influence over either the sword or the purse neither force nor will, but merely judgment. But today that assurance does not instill much confidence, Barr said. We have seen over time an expansion of judicial willingness to review executive action. Then, combine that with the strategies of sophisticated public-interest lawyers and the aggressive practices of some courts, such as the novel and growing use of nationwide injunctions. The legal community and the broader public should be more concerned, particularly about this trend of nationwide injunctions. Americans should be concerned about the courts refusal to allow Trump to wind down his predecessors program, the DACA (or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program that granted legal status to aliens brought to the country as minors, Barr said. DACA, which shields between 700,000 and 800,000 noncitizens from removal from the country, is deeply unpopular with conservatives and constitutionalists who insist the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to create immigration laws. Under political pressure to carry out immigration reforms unilaterally, in October 2010, Obama resisted acting on DACA, saying: I am not king. I cant do these things just by myself. With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, thats just not the case, he added in March 2011. In May of that year, he said he was unable to just bypass Congress and change the [immigration] law myself. Thats not how a democracy works. But then, Obama had a change of heart. He unilaterally created DACA after Congress refused to pass the DREAM Act, and extended work authorization to those who would have been covered under the never-approved DREAM Act. Barr explained that when the Trump administration said in 2017 it would end DACA, two federal judges in California and New York blocked it from doing so, even though the program is of highly dubious constitutionality. Now, more than halfway through Trumps term, the Administration has not been able to rescind the signature immigration initiative of the last Administration, even though it rests entirely on executive discretion, Barr said. Nor has the Supreme Court been helpful, he added. The Justice Department has tried for more than a year to get the Supreme Court to review the lower-court decisions ordering us to keep DACA in place, he said. But the court has not granted any of those requests, and they languish on its conference docket. Unless the Court acts quickly and decisively, we are unlikely to see a decision before mid-2020 at the earliestthat is, right before the next presidential election. It is hard to imagine a clearer example of the stakes of nationwide injunctions. Australias Nationals Party Confirms Its Leader After Win at Federal Election Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has been confirmed as Nationals leader after the coalitions stunning election victory. At a partyroom meeting in Canberra on Thursday, McCormack and his deputy Bridget McKenzie were unanimously re-elected. The governments upset win on Saturday erased any lingering leadership tensions, with Barnaby Joyces hopes of returning in tatters. The Nationals maintained 16 seats in the lower house and are on track to have five senators, with Tasmanian Steve Martin likely to lose his seat. STORY Tasmanian Senator Steve Martin set to join the Nationalshttps://t.co/1lxy4LjcqC #auspol pic.twitter.com/prfVRGDUVt ABC Politics (@politicsabc) May 28, 2018 When all the polls, when all the pundits, when so many in the media and the trolls, and all the lefties, and all those on Twitter said we would never do it, well we proved them wrong, McCormack said on Thursday. He said the Nationals were a different party to the Liberals, but in coalition they could deliver for regional Australia. We have helped the Liberals to again form government. They couldnt do it without us, the Nationals leader said. They know how important we are, but I need to place a vote of thanks to our Prime Minister Scott Morrison. McCormack welcomed lower house MPs Pat Conaghan and Anne Webster, along with the partys new-look Senate team. That motto of working hard to get ahead is now under threat says Nationals candidate for Cowper Pat Conaghan These days, if you work hard to get ahead and buy a big house youre labelled an elitist #AusVotes19 #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/Txxz00DkXR Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) May 9, 2019 Queensland businesswoman Susan McDonald will sit with the Nationals, as will NT vet Sam McMahon, while Perin Davey looks likely to win a seat in NSW. The junior coalition partners cabinet representation is likely to drop from five ministers to four, with positions carved up based on overall numbers in the two party rooms. Nationals federal director Larry Anthony wants Senator McKenzie to get a promotion, noting trade is a portfolio the party has held in the past. She needs a serious portfolio because shes a great communicator and shes a key person in the next government, he told Sky News on Thursday. Hes expecting the Nationals to have four cabinet ministers, two outer ministries and three more junior frontbench roles. Anthony said dumping Malcolm Turnbull was ultimately a good decision, with voters warming to Morrison during the election campaign and swinging towards the LNP in many parts of Queensland. The change absolutely helped, he said. Joyce has ruled out a tilt at the leadership despite raising the prospect before the election, which was widely expected to be lost by the coalition. Thats not going to happen because theyve just won the election, Joyce told the Tamworth-based Northern Daily Leader. If they hadnt won, it would be a completely different storyjust like what is happening in Labor at the moment. Hes also not expecting to return to the frontbench. The Nationals will have a record number of women in its parliamentary team, tripling female representation to six. Beijing Adds New Subsidies to Boost Domestic Chipmaking, Ignoring US Trade Talk Demands One of the longstanding U.S. demands in the stalled Sino-U.S. trade talks is that Beijing end the massive government subsidies granted to Chinese companies, which U.S. firms say make it difficult for them to compete in the Chinese market on a level playing field. However, recently introduced Chinese semiconductor policies reveal that Beijing isnt making progress on U.S. demands. According to Japanese media Nikkei, it was precisely disagreements regarding Chinese subsidies that led to the trade talks falling apart earlier this month. It culminated with President Donald Trump announcing a tariff increase to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods on May 5. Beijing soon retaliated by raising tariffs on roughly $60 billion of U.S. goods. The U.S. and China had agreed on over 90 percent of the trade pact, an unnamed official at an American economic group told Nikkei in a May 8 report. But they were ultimately unable to bridge their rift on Chinese subsidies. China has, in fact, continued to provide subsidies and other financial supportparticularly to its domestic semiconductor industry, which Beijing has propped up through its industrial policy of Made in China 2025. Owing to its lagging technological developments and thus, heavy reliance on foreign-made chips, the Chinese regime has made it a national priority to advance its own chipmaking industry. State-Led Approach The Shanghai government recently announced that it will offer tax incentives and funding to support local companies within three sectorsartificial intelligence, biotechnology, and ICaccording to a May 21 report by South China Morning Post. Chinese authorities didnt provide further details about the tax incentives and funding at the time of writing. And on May 17, Chinas Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly announced an extension to a 2012 corporate tax cut policy aimed at supporting qualified companies in the integrated circuit (IC) and software sectors. One of the qualifying requirements is that the companys IC sales revenue must be no less than 60 percent of the overall corporate revenue. The 2012 policy stated that newly-founded IC and software companies, as well as existing IC companies whose IC products are less than 0.8 microns in size, would be exempt from paying any corporate income tax for the first and second fiscal years. From the third until fifth fiscal years, they can enjoy paying only half of the legally required 25 percent corporate tax. The tax reduction policy applies to all corporate earnings prior to Dec. 31, 2017, and lasts for five years. Qualifying companies that already paid taxes prior to 2012 are eligible to get tax returns. The extension announced on May 17 pushed forward the cut-off date to Dec. 31, 2018, so that more companies could potentially qualify. Regional governments have also announced similar measures to boost their local tech industries in the past month. On May 15, the district government in Xiangzhou, which is located in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, announced about a dozen different subsidy programs to boost local IC companies. For example, companies that have spent money on buying up intellectual property rights are entitled to a maximum of 2 million yuan (about $289,000) in annual subsidies. Additionally, companies in Xiangzhou that reach annual revenues topping 100 million yuan (about $14 million), 500 million yuan (about $72 million), and 1 billion yuan (about $144 million), would be entitled to a one-time subsidy of 100,000 yuan (about $14,400), 500,000 yuan (about $72,200), and 1 million yuan (about $144,500), respectively. And earlier on May 9, Chinese authorities in Haicang District in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen, announced that local companies that have 10 percent or more ownership by Haicang or Xiamen authorities, would be entitled to a maximum annual research subsidy of 5 million yuan (about $722,600), for a maximum of three years. Concerns In a January joint report to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)s office, the U.S Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in China urged Washington to push Beijing to end its subsidies policies. The distortionary impacts of Chinas industrial policies and subsidies that underpin them are harming U.S. companies, workers, consumers, and competitiveness, the report stated. Other discriminatory policies include biased bidding processes for Chinese projects and forced technology transfer. A February report published by the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimated that Chinas semiconductor industry is currently supported by over $58 billion in different kinds of central government semiconductor investment funds and buttressed by pledges of another $60 billion in 30 additional semiconductor funds created by local governments. The subsidy programs announced this month would add to these figures. On May 22, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, while on his way to attend a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, told reporters that U.S. officials were not currently scheduled to go to Beijing for the next round of negotiation, according to CNBC. Regarding Trumps proposal of 25 percent tariffs on roughly $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, Mnuchin said during the hearing that next steps would be determined in another 30 to 45 days, according to Reuters. Botswana Lifts Ban on Hunting Elephants Botswanas government has lifted a ban on elephant hunting. The Environment Ministry issued a statement on the decision, citing a range of reasons for revoking the prohibition, including high levels of conflict between elephants and humans. The move is apt to anger conservationists, who have in the past reacted with outrage at any move that weakened the protection of elephants in Botswana, which has the worlds largest population of the animals, estimated at some 130,000. Conservation groups last September denounced moves by Botswanas government to strip the wildlife department of weapons used for the sometimes dangerous work of thwarting armed poachers. At the time, President Mokgweetsi Masisi called the reactions nothing but hysteria. But compared to disarming staff, overturning the hunting banin place since 2014is a sea change. Justifying the decision, the countrys Environment Ministry linked the ban to a negative impact on peoples livelihoods. It noted that some communities that in the past relied on consumptive utilization of elephants have suffered. The ministry also pointed to an alleged link between Botswanas elephants and a rise in the number of predators. Predators appear to have increased and were causing a lot of damage as they kill livestock in large numbers, the ministry said in the statement, which lists five findings of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Hunting Ban and Social Dialogue. Masisi set up the committee last June to review the ban. In February, the committee recommended allowing hunting again. On the basis of these issues, the Government has reflected and assessed the recommendations, and lifted the suspension, the ministry said in its statement, adding that it would ensure the re-instatement of hunting is done in an orderly and ethical manner. Dr. Paula Kahumbu, CEO of Wildlife Direct, a conservancy, called the governments move shortsighted and regrettable. Dr. Kahumbu said in a tweet: Theres no question that we need to address the challenge of living with mega fauna like elephants, but hunting our majestic animals? Its archaeic and unimaginative. Africa, we are better than this. We need to work together to find solutions. In an earlier message she said after the ban is lifted we can expect mass culling next & aggressive efforts 2 reopen ivory trade, adding that the impact of the move would likely be felt across Africa. BREAKING Botswana lifts elephant hunting ban under guise of helping communities as Masisi destroys Ian Khamas globally respected legacy of policies that saw elephants protected. Expect mass culling next & aggressive efforts 2 reopen ivory trade. Impact will b felt across Africa pic.twitter.com/M2oaltfHvv Dr. Paula Kahumbu (@paulakahumbu) May 22, 2019 The Scientific American notes that in 1930, there were between 5 and 10 million wild African elephants. Now there are estimated to be some 415,000 elephants in Africa, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Poaching for ivory has reduced herd numbers, as has the loss of habitat. Campaigns to ban all ivory sales as a way to prevent illegal poaching have gained momentum, although government officials in some African countriesBotswana among themhave argued that trade in ivory should be regulated, not completely banned. Proponents of a regulated ivory trade argue countries that manage their elephant populations well should be allowed to sell ivory to pay for conservation measures. There is also no consensus on how to manage large, destructive elephant populations encroaching on human settlements. Ron Thomson, who worked in Africas national parks for six decades, says that despite declining elephant numbers as a whole, managing populations within the limited space of parks is sometimes necessary. Thomson was named in a report by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, which notes that the elephant population has declined from 1.3 million to around 400,000 in the last four decades. Thomson, who says on his website that he has shot 800 buffaloes, 60 lions, and about 50 hippos, told the Independent that he no longer hunts. Ive done enough in my lifetime to satisfy any bloodlust people may think I have. It wasnt bloodlustit was my job, he said. Im totally unrepentant, a hundredten thousandtimes over for any of the hunting Ive done because thats not the problem. The problem is weve got a bunch of so-called experts from the West telling us what to do. Im a trained university ecologistI must surely know something about this. Thomson set up a conservation group in 2016, The Green Alliance, that rejects the animal rights doctrine. He says the doctrine runs counter to any sustainable wildlife management and conservation approach, and should instead integrate the needs of the people and the wildlife. Thomson says that debates over management of animal populations are muddied by emotion, lack of expertise, and large amounts of money from the lobbying groups. According to Thomson, the elephant population in Botswana has been destroying its own environment and that of other animals. In 2013, the Botswana government admitted that all other game species that shared the demolished habitats with the elephants were in free-fall decline by, on average, 60 percent, Thomson wrote in a blog. Botswana, a mostly arid country the size of France, has a population of around 2.3 million people, and its vast tracts of remote wilderness make it a magnet for foreign tourists who want to view wildlife. The Associated Press and Epoch Times staff writer Simon Veazey contributed to this report. California Manny Charged With Sexual Molestation as Police Look for Further Potential Victims A California manny is facing sexual molestation charges that could put him behind behind bars for life, according to police. Thirty-year-old Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, who advertises himself as a male nanny with six years experience, faces four felony child molestation charges for victimizing two young boys under his care, according to a statement from Laguna Beach Police Department. Zakrzewski was arrested on May 17, following an investigation prompted by parents who said that he had touched their 8-year-old boy. The couple had hired Zakrzewski to care for their 8-year-old child through one of his several babysitting websites, said a police statement. Male Nanny Charged with Four Counts of Child Molestation, Possession of Child Pornography30-year-old Costa Mesa Man Laguna Beach Police Department 22 2019 The Laguna Beach Police Departments Major Crimes & Intelligence Unit immediately opened an investigation, which led to the identification of a second 7-year-old victim in the City of Los Angeles. Zakrzewski claims on his website to have child-care certifications, and to be certified by Trustline, which provides criminal background checks for California child carers. He lives in Costa Mesa in Orange County, just south of the city of Los Angeles. During their investigation, detectives found a video on Zakrzewskis phone and evidence collected at his home related to child pornography. There was video of himself with a child who has not been identified, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jim Cota said, reported ABC. Zakrzewski can also be seen with children in dozens of photographs, and detectives are trying to find other potential victims. From what I could see on the client list, theres at least 40-plus families that were gonna be reaching out to, Cota said. Its quite disturbing and I have a feeling theres going to be plenty more in this investigation, Cota told KTLA. It was actually sickening to me and the rest of the detectiveswe put all of our focus into this investigation. On his websiteagainst a backdrop of himself shirtless in a pool with two boysZakrzewski describes himself as a manny who takes care of children between 3 months and 14 years old, including those with special needs such as autism and ADHD. If you would like a fun-loving, energetic person that will engage your child as well as care for them and keep them safe, then I hope you will give me a chance to take part in your family, his website reads. Zakrzewski was arrested at an unspecified local airport when he landed on an international flight. He is charged with three felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14, and one further sexual molestation felony count with a child under the age of 10. He was also charged with one felony count of possession of child pornography. According to the police statement, Zakrzewski has pleaded not guilty. If found guilty of the charges as listed, he faces a sentence of 90 years to life, according to the police. Zakrzewski is currently being held at the Orange County Jail on $1 million bail. Many of Zakrzewskis neighbors said that they were stunned by the accusations against him, reported CBSLA. You just dont think that something so sickening is so close to your front door, neighbor Bonnie Prosser told the news station. Another nieghbor who didnt want her identity known said, I did think it was odd when I knew he was doing a baby sitting business cause hes a really smart kid. Child Abuse An estimated 674,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment in 2017, according to the Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Of the victims, about 75 percent were neglected, 18 percent were physically abused, and 9 percent were sexually abused. Nationwide, an estimated 1,720 children died from abuse and neglect, a decline from the 1,750 children who died from the same in the previous year. California Mom Gives Birth to Baby on Staircase 2 Weeks After Finding Out Shes Having Twins A pregnant mother gave birth on a set of stairs in Orange County, California, about two weeks after she learned she was pregnant with twins. The babys father, Samir Rai, helped deliver the baby on the staircase, NBC Los Angeles reported. The birth took place in mid-May. Paramedics responded to the familys house in Tustin at around 8:50 a.m. to find the father holding the baby. My wife was yelling and screaming, Im having a baby! And I said, Were going to the hospital,' Samir Rai told the NBC affiliate. And she said, no, Im having it right now.' Rai said his wife, Jasmine, only learned she was pregnant with two babies instead of one just a few weeks ago. During the delivery, the father said he saw a babys head pop out and had to help deliver the child on the spot. The head was popping out of her. I had to pull the baby out of her, Samir told ABC7. At the same time, I called 911 on speaker phone. The second baby, just moments after Jasmine was loaded into an ambulance with the other newborn, was born feet first. It was a life-threatening emergency for the baby, Orange County Fire Authoritys Tony Bommarito told the NBC affiliate. They were able to create an airway for the baby until the mother could push the baby completely out. Jasmine was left in critical condition but is expected to make a recovery, the report said. Both newborns are doing well, officials said. Very complicated situation and patient was also very critical. We had a whole team of doctors and nurses working on her, said Dr. Lara Bhatnagar, with the Orange County Global Medical Center, according to the ABC affiliate. AMAZING: Tustin twins come early, get delivered in stairwell and ambulance before making it to hospital https://t.co/nSjUgUYdpu pic.twitter.com/2lUdRis2Li ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 17, 2019 The babies have yet to be named, Samir said. Theyre parents to a 2-year-old as well. It was a magical moment. One of craziest moments of my life. It hasnt sunk in just yet. Im just happy they are both healthy, he said. Baby Born in Parking Lot Pittsburgh-area paramedics and officers saved a baby who was born inside a gas station earlier this month. We were about maybe 2 miles from home. Get out of the car. Run around to the passenger side. She had already had the baby and was holding it in her arms. He was very blue. We couldnt tell if he was breathing or not, stated Kyle and Vicky Blizzard, the parents of the child, according to WPXI. The Blizzards said they were in a panic after delivering the child, as their newborn wasnt breathing, according to the station. She said, No the baby is coming now. Pull over. Im delivering the baby in the car, Kyle Blizzard told the news outlet. The new father then performed CPR after finding the baby wasnt breathing. First responders help revive Mothers Day baby born in BP parking lot during drive to hospital https://t.co/uCMLGSKse9 pic.twitter.com/1GrLQL961D WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (@WTAE) May 14, 2019 Paramedics and officers were ultimately able to revive the child. Workers inspect railway tracks, which serve as a part of the "One Belt, One Road" freight rail route linking Chongqing to Duisburg, at the Dazhou railway station in Sichuan Province, China on March 14, 2019. (Reuters) Chinas One Belt, One Road: A Sign of Weakness? Commentary After the end of World War II, the United States spent trillions of dollars containing the Soviet Union. But after the Cold War, it was discovered that the United States had overestimated the power of its 40-year nemesis. It turned out that the USSRs economy was only about half the size that the CIA and other agencies had said that it was. Could that be the case with China as well? The answer is: absolutely. The Measuring Method Matters No one has accurate financial numbers regarding Chinas economic output, least of all the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). If we simply took the CCP at its word, Chinas economy is at parity with that of the United States. Thats exactly what the CCP wants and actually needs its citizens to believe. But the CCP has every incentive to lie. After all, its claim to legitimacy is directly linked to economic prosperity. Without that, all political legitimacy is in jeopardy. That explains Chinas oppressive and Orwellian social-credit system and other aspects of Chinas very sophisticated and brutal surveillance state. Western estimates are really just guesses as well. For instance, if we look at concrete production and construction statistics, it would appear that Chinas economy surely must be the largest in the world. However, it makes concrete that exceeds all other global production combined and builds cities in which no one lives and other useless projects. In other words, China routinely conflates useless activity such as unnecessary building projects, the overproduction of goods and refinancing bad loans as economic productivity. Growing Reliance on Foreign Resources Without the price mechanism to determine the market value of goods and services, the value of things in a command economy becomes arbitrary. Such an economy based on political favoritism instead of market forces becomes distorted, inefficient and ultimately unsustainable. With its contracting consumer economy, a massive debt-to-GDP ratio and growing food supply problems from loss of arable land, African swine fever epidemic and with the armyworm threatening its crops, China faces growing dependence on foreign natural resources as well as for food. Chinas Enigmatic OBOR Thats why Chinas One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative is so enigmatic. Its one of the broadest, most sweeping international economic development plans in history. Certainly, it indicates Chinas growing economic power. But it may actually be quite the opposite. Chinas economy has the appearance of a wealthy capitalist country with its formidable transformation, including a middle class and technological acumen. But a closer look reveals some very critical contradictions. For example, where is the capital in this capitalist society? And where is the power growing and where is it diminishing? Today, the CCP is more wealthy and powerful than ever before. At the same time, the engine that normally drives growth and wealth in societythe middle classis weakening. Reports of stalled demand, a failing stock market, and rising discontent among the middle class are growing. China growing surveillance and prison state confirms that narrative, as does the fact that the middle class is investing their money outside of China. Whats more, college students selling their belongings, including their smartphones and computers to pay expenses, are becoming common. Sustaining the CCP Is Top Priority The truth is, Chinas economic strength not only is less than what most estimates say it is, but it is much worse. According to night time electricity usage analysis, Chinas GDP is inflated by 30 percent or more in various cities and regions. That shouldnt be happening in the worlds most dynamic economy. That dynamism exists at the lower levels of the economy until the CCP steps in to steal the value. Once the state takes ownership of a profitable enterprise, the value is sucked out of it via ever-larger loans by state-owned banks, enriching the new CCP owners as it destroys the indebted enterprise. This is how China finds itself burdened by an unsustainable 3:1 debt-to-GDP ratio. By this process, the CCP has exhausted Chinas natural resources and destroyed its capital base. Thats why the actual purpose of the OBOR is not so much to develop foreign markets as it is to sustain the CCPs economic model of cannibal capitalism. The OBOR gives China penetration into these new regions to acquire the markets and resources it desperately needs, with the lions share of the benefits going to China. Huawei to Deliver Technology Secrets? However, the broader plan goes beyond those two very important missions. In order to dominate the West technologically, it must have ongoing access to high-level technology and manufacturing techniques. Since 1980, it has acquired both by theft and forced transfers. The plan going forward is to use the access to all transmitted data that the Huawei, ZTE and other telecommunications equipment provides to simply steal technological secrets. Huawei is the key to Chinas Made In China 2025 plan. With equipment in place throughout much of the world, including the United States and Europe, China will reap billions in ongoing business servicing and updating equipment for the global 5G rollout that is already underway. Huawei and other China communications providers will also deliver millions of data streams from many of the most technologically advanced companies and government programs around the world to China. Europe Now Wary of Huawei But that plan is now in jeopardy as the European Union questions the wisdom of using Huawei and other China telecom providers. A nonbinding resolution sponsored by Reinhard Butikofer (a member of the EU Parliaments China delegation) in March 2019 calls for multiple equipment vendors, a phased rollout of 5G technology and adherence to strict cyber defense protocols. A ban on Huawei equipment isnt part of the resolution, but it hasnt been ruled out, either. From an economic as well as a security perspective, the EU cannot afford to allow continued technology and market transfers to China. The prospect of losing the UK economy to Brexit and continued economic slowing in Italy and France make the EU very nervous about losing more economic advantages. Given Chinas economic nationalism, protecting technology and markets is now a top-tier priority for EU policymakers. Inevitable Crash Coming Sooner than Later The overwhelming causes of Chinas economic troubles stem from the CCPs destructive policies, which are primarily about keeping the CCP in power and destroying the economies of the West. Importantly, Chinas stormy economic conditions are not due to Trumps tariffsthey have not yet come into full force, though they do provide a convenient excuse for Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Still, the CCPs biggest fearother than their own citizensis Trumps leadership in putting tariffs on Chinese goods. An EU tariff plan may well be coming next. Either or both will put additional pressure on the Chinese leadership to deliver on their promise of prosperity to the Chinese people. The CPP is finding it difficult to deliver on that promise and that will likely continue. As economic hardship and civil unrest grow in China, the CCP will continue to crack down on its citizenry. The unexpected rise of Trump and the expanding trade war against China may well mean that the CCP will face a day of reckoning sooner than later. James Gorrie is a writer based in Texas. He is the author of The China Crisis. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Packets of fentanyl mostly in powder form and methamphetamine, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection say they seized from a truck crossing into Arizona from Mexico, is on display during a news conference at the Port of Nogales, Ariz., on Jan. 31, 2019. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Reuters) Chinese National Charged With Importing Fentanyl Analogues to US A Chinese national who has held high-level executive positions in Chinese chemical and pharmaceutical companies was arrested and charged with importing more than 1,000 pounds of drugs, including fentanyl analogues, to the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said on May 22. Hao Qin, also known as John Chin, 32, was arrested after landing at the Los Angeles International Airport on May 21, and made an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California the next day. He was charged with drug and money laundering offenses. U.S. prosecutors allege that since at least 2012, Qin, along with several co-conspirators, used pharmaceutical and chemical companies in China to distribute more than 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of synthetic drugs and analogues to the United States. The companies Qin worked for werent publicly identified by federal law enforcement. During the time of the alleged conspiracy, Qin held high-level executive positions in those companies, and worked with individuals, including another executive and an assistant, to carry out the scheme, according to court documents. Among the drugs imported through Qins chemical business were two potent analogues of the opioid drug fentanyl: furanyl fentanyl and 4-FIBF, the DOJ said. According to court documents, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents received information about Qins activities from his former client in the United States, who started cooperating with the agencys investigation in 2016. Prosecutors also charged Qin with laundering the proceeds of his international drug business. This included allegedly receiving wire payments from a former client who was paying off a drug debt of more than $500,000 owed to Qin. If found guilty, Qin faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $1 million if convicted of conspiracy to import drug analogues, and up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $500,000 if convicted of money laundering. Fentanyl Crisis The U.S. administration has repeatedly pressured the Chinese regime to clamp down on the production and distribution of the synthetic opioid fentanyl that has flowed to the United States and fueled the opioid crisis. An explosion in the use of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller, and its analogues, has driven the most devastating chapter of Americas long-running opioid crisis, U.S. law enforcement agencies say. China manufactures most of the fentanyl and fentanyl analogues seized. Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more powerful than heroin, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); as little as two milligrams is considered a lethal dosage for most people. The United States recorded more than 28,000 synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths in 2017, according to the CDC, the majority of them fentanyl-related. Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised U.S. President Donald Trump at a summit in Argentina in December that Beijing would crack down on the flow of all fentanyl-related substances. In April, Beijing pledged that from May 1, it would expand the list of narcotics subject to state control to include more than 1,400 known fentanyl analogues, which have a slightly different chemical makeup but are all addictive and potentially deadly, as well as any new ones developed in the future. U.S. experts, officials, and lawmakers, however, are skeptical about whether the Chinese regime will enforce the measures. Reuters contributed to this report. Democrats, Federal Employee Unions Decry Trump Plan to Reform Bureaucracy President Donald Trump wants to transform the federal bureaucracys personnel office by folding it into the governments housekeeping agency, but Democrats in Congress are up in arms over a proposal they reject as a return to the old winner takes all spoils system. The administration wants to take over the merit policy-making functions and put them into the highly politicized environment of the White House, away from direct congressional oversight and inspector general review, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said May 21, at the opening of a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on government operations. Connolly, who represents a northern Virginia congressional district heavily populated by career civil servants, was referring to a Trump proposal unveiled in 2018 but only recently launched. Trump wants to strip the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of its status as an independent human resources agency managing the governments 2.6 million career employees. Also managed by OPM are the health insurance and retirement programs for civil servants, survivors, and retirees, as well as job classification and hiring processes throughout the civilian side of the federal government. Trumps plan would move OPMs personnel policymaking duties into the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under a political appointee answering to the president. The day-to-day human relations management functions now performed by OPM would be transferred to the General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees federal offices and buildings. For years, OPM also performed employee background checks for civilians working for the Department of Defense (DOD), but Trump moved that function to the Pentagon earlier this year. Democratic Criticism Connolly was not alone in denouncing the Trump proposal. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Maryland Democratic Reps. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen expressed similar worries in a May 20, 2019, letter to the Trump administration. Also testifying at the hearing was J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest of the unions representing the civil service. Cox blasted the proposal as reckless, ill-conceived, and potentially dangerous, and accused the Trump White House of failing to present a business case or other type of analysis of its costs, rationale, or risks. He also accused the administration of having no plan for continuing the work now done by OPM, and condemned the proposal as potentially dangerous by leaving government workers vulnerable to an administration intent on politicalization. In fact, as acting OPM Director Margaret Weichert made clear in a lengthy prepared testimony, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has repeatedly raised warnings about the need for fundamental transformation in how the federal workforce is staffed and managed. The Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978widely viewed as President Jimmy Carters most significant domestic policy achievementcreated OPM out the old Civil Service Commission that replaced the spoils system of highly partisan political hiring in 1883. But it fell to President Ronald Reagan to implement Carters reform, beginning in 1981. Reagan appointed then-University of Maryland political scientist Donald Devine as OPM director. Devine and his fellow Reagan appointees emphasized CSRAs merit pay and pay-for-performance provisions to make working for the government more accountable and efficient, like the private sector, while preserving the professional basis of the governments career workforce. In the years since Reagan, however, Weichert said, well-intentioned, but over-zealous laws and regulations have multiplied, tying the federal personnel system into bureaucratic knots. At the same time, continuous failure to invest and realign operational, organizational and technology capabilities to meet modern work requirements have resulted in well-known backlogs, service quality issues and government-wide concerns about our ability to hire and retain top talent. Reagan was also criticized by Democrats who accused his OPM appointees of politicizing the career workforce, which then included 2.1 million employees, only about 6,000 of whom were non-career political appointees. Congress limits how many political appointees can be employed by a presidential administration but the total has been consistently around 6,000 in every administration since Reagans, except for one. That exception is the Trump administration, which has selected barely half as many political appointees as previous presidents. Former Reagan Appointees Former Reagan OPM political appointees interviewed by The Epoch Times on May 22 were somewhat surprised by the politicalization accusation against Trump. The Office of Management and Budget is career central, said Robert Moffit. Its also the place where presidential appointees, impressed by the institutional knowledge of senior career staff, too often go native. Moffit directed OPMs congressional relations under Devine in the Reagan era and is now a Heritage Foundation health care scholar. By emasculating OPM, which demonstrated the capacity to be a powerful force for real civil service reform during the Reagan years, the Trump administration is undercutting its own efforts at swamp control, said Moffit, who also recalled frequently having contentious interactions with OMB career staff while trying to advance President Reagans civil service reform agenda. Moffit was alluding to one of Trumps signature campaign promises, to drain the swamp of the federal government by more effectively controlling its bureaucracy. Joseph Morris, a Chicago attorney who was OPMs general counsel and then an assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice under Reagan, seconded Moffit. A merger of OPM into OMB is the career bureaucracys dream, Morris told The Epoch Times. The consolidation of central administrative agencies is a false economy often peddled by the career bureaucracy and academic public administration theorists. Proposals like Trumps actually diminish the power and control of the president and politically appointed executives, Morris said. Many of the problems of the current administration derive from the fact that, from the beginning, they have treated personnel management as an afterthought and OPM as a backwater rather than as a key tool of proactive government management in the service of the presidents policy goals, Morris continued. Putting the civil service in charge of the civil service is no way to make the civil service responsive to executive branch leadership, he said. Donald Trump Jr. Criticizes Democrats Investigations: My 4-Year-Old Daughter, They Want to Subpoena Her Records Donald Trump Jr.. took the opportunity in an interview on May 23 to criticize the House Democrats for seeking financial records of President Donald Trump, his companies, and family members, arguing that their subpoenas are so broad, even his 4-year-old daughter could be subject to them. Trump Jr. was asked by Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade how the recent investigations had affected the Trump organization and finances. In response, Trump Jr. said, Thats the reality. Theyre going to go after everything. Theyre trying to do that. In the recent subpoena, anyone, any relativeI mean, Chloe, my 4-year-old daughter, they want to subpoena her records. I mean, thats part of the scope. Barron Trump, obviously hes been doing a lot of stuff they want to subpoena. Theres no reasonableness to this, he added. He then pointed out that there was a gaping difference between the way people are treating President Trumps business interests compared to other Democratic figures, like former Vice President Joe Biden. If you talk about Joe Biden who says China is not a threat because his son takes $1.5 billion into his hedge fund from the Chinese government, thats not a problem, Trump Jr. said. Come on, guys. This is not an equal playing field. I mean, they dont even pretend that these things are problems. And thats scary. The allegations about the links between Bidens son Hunter Biden and the Chinese communist regime first emerged in the 2018 book Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by author Peter Schweizer. Schweizer alleged that a deal took place in 2013 between the now-defunct investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners that was co-founded by Hunter Biden and the state-run Bank of China. House Committees Subpoenas Trump Jr. comments follow two federal court rulings that allow two banks and an accounting firm that had worked with Trump and the Trump organization to comply with the House subpoenas by handing over the requested financial records. At the end of April, the Trump family filed a lawsuit against the two banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Corp, to block them from complying. Trumps lawyers argued that the Democrat-controlled House committees demands for records have no legitimate or lawful purpose and are so broad they would include transaction records on the Trump familys personal shopping. The subpoenas were issued to harass President Donald J. Trump, to rummage through every aspect of his personal finances, his businesses, and the private information of the President and his family, the lawsuit stated. The suit also argued that the Democrats hope they will stumble upon something they can expose publicly and use as a political tool against the President. Moreover, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Financial Services Commission and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, have refused to share the subpoenas with the Trump family nor have they provided information about the subject of the subpoenas, according to the lawsuit. But through the information obtained from Deutsche Bank, Capital One, and public statements of Schiff and Waters, the plaintiffs claim the subpoenas appear to be demanding banking and financial records, including records of every single checking withdrawal, credit-card swipe, or debit-card purchaseno matter how trivial or smallmade by each and every member of the Trump family. The dates and times when these individuals purchased books, groceries, and other personal items is not the business of the House of Representatives or anyone else, the suit says. The Epoch Times reporter Petr Svab contributed to this report. This still image taken from video provided by Shayla Brooks shows a tornado in Carl Junction, Mo., on May 22, 2019. (Shayla Brooks via AP) Golden City, Missouri, Devastated by Tornado; 3 Deaths Reported An elderly couple and another woman were killed after an overnight tornado slammed the town of Golden City, Missouri. Photos taken of the area showed that much of the town of about 700 was destroyed by the twister. Patrol spokesman Sgt. John Lueckenhoff told KMOV that 86-year-old Kenneth Harris and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, died in the tornado. The other womans identity wasnt disclosed. Video footage posted on YouTube showed a number of buildings that were damaged or destroyed. The three people killed last night in Golden City, Missouri, have been identified.https://t.co/xSr6oJyFxg 41 Action News (@41actionnews) May 23, 2019 Tornadoes also touched down near Joplin, Missouri, where a massive tornado killed 161 people on May 22, 2011. Carl Junction, located near Golden City, was also hit by a tornado, officials told KMOV. Aerial photos taken of Jefferson City, Missouri, show the aftermath of a devastating tornado that slammed the city night. Convoy of Hopes Disaster team has sent assessment teams out to towns like Jefferson City, Carl Junction, and Golden City, MO following severe tornados last night. Convoy is coordinating our response with state and local emergency management officials in Missouri. pic.twitter.com/Zi7cGAsV1J Convoy of Hope (@ConvoyofHope) May 23, 2019 A tornado hit the city, the capital of Missouri, as people were in bed on May 22. Dozens of tornadoes hit other cities in Missouri. Across the state, Missouris first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson told The Associated Press. I want our responders and all the neighbors who acted selflessly to help their neighbors to know how much their heroic efforts are appreciated by all Missourians. The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified womans body was sent to the state medical examiners office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isnt yet listed as what would be the states first storm-related death. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rep. Fred Keller, R-Snyder, right, speaks as President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally in Montoursville, Pa., on May 20, 2019. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo) GOPs Keller Wins Pennsylvanias Special House Election HARRISBURG, Pa.Republican Fred Keller, a conservative state lawmaker, won the special election for Congress on Tuesday, May 21, in a heavily Republican district that sprawls across areas of central and northern Pennsylvania that are a stronghold for President Donald Trump. Keller, of Snyder County, will replace Republican Tom Marino, who resigned in January after he emerged as a strong Trump ally in Congress. Keller beat Democrat Marc Friedenberg in the 12th District, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 100,000. Great news for Republicans: Fred Keller has just won the hard fought for Pennsylvania Congressional contest in a LANDSLIDE, over 70% of the vote. Thanks to the thousands who showed up for the Rally last night. Congratulations to Fred and his wonderful family! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 22, 2019 Mr. President Our support for you is as strong today as it ever was. -Fred Keller Its time for #PA12 to send Fred Keller to Washington to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! https://t.co/lQYB8jZfOp pic.twitter.com/Pbrnk9Cy6b GOP (@GOP) May 21, 2019 On Monday night, Trump flew into the district for a campaign rally where he also touted Kellers candidacy. #BREAKING GOPs Keller wins Pennsylvanias special US House election. A heavily Republican swath of central and northern Pennsylvania has a new congressman to represent it in Washington. pic.twitter.com/POdf6blSFC Alexis Wainwright (@AWainwrightTV) May 22, 2019 Keller, in turn, is a staunch advocate for Trump, appearing on stage with him at the rally in Montoursville and saying he wants to go to Congress to be a vote for the president. RT to congratulate REP.-ELECT FRED KELLER on his BIG win tonight! #PA12 pic.twitter.com/f4oyIsHYcZ GOP (@GOP) May 22, 2019 The two-year term runs through 2020. Keller, 53, is a fifth-term member of the state House, and one of its most conservative, with a 90 percent lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union. The district covers all or parts of 15 counties and strongly backed Trump in the 2016 election, with Trump beating Democrat Hillary Clinton by more than 2-to-1 there. Before he ran for the Legislature, Keller was a plant manager for a wood cabinet supplier and ran a real estate management business. Friedenberg, a lawyer and Penn State information technology instructor, also ran in November and lost to Marino by 32 percentage points. Friedenberg supported ideas that are popular on the Democratic Partys left wing, including Medicare for Allshifting the nations health care system to a government-run single-payer planand the Green New Deal, a socialist plan that would give the government control over the economy. Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Web Summit, on centre stage during the opening night of Collision 2019 at Enercare Centre in Toronto on May 20, 2019. (Sam Barnes/Collision via Sportsfile) Hosting Collision Is a Big Win for Toronto and Canadian Tech Toronto tech entrepreneurs garner global attention, respond to government initiatives TORONTOHosting the Collision tech conference is a real coup for Toronto and Canada as 2019 marked the first time it was held outside the United States. Collision is billed as the fastest-growing tech conference. In its fifth year, over 25,000 people from 125 countries came to listen to 730 speakers discussing the most pressing issues in tech. Running from May 20 to 23, Collision is also a unique opportunity for Canadian tech companies to meet with international investors, network, and have some fun around the city. The vibe at Collision is very upbeat and was livened by the appearances of musicians Jessie Reyez and Grammy Award winner Timbaland. Its a lot of recognition for the good things that are happening in Toronto, said Braden Ream, co-founder and CEO of Voiceflow. Based in Toronto, Voiceflow allows non-technical users to develop voice-based apps for Alexa and Google Assistant. We havent seen anything of this size before, said Evan Kuhn, co-founder of cryptocurrency startup Coinberry. Also Toronto-based, the company made history in Canada in April by becoming the first to allow the payment of taxes using bitcoin. Paddy Cosgrave, CEO of Web Summit, the organization that runs Collision, recounted the full-court press put on by Sunil Sharma, managing director for Techstars Toronto, to sell Toronto. Initially, friends of Cosgrave from San Francisco told him the idea of Toronto hosting Collision was silly. But Sharma insisted Toronto would be the next big thing and it looks like he was right. Part of the problem, Cosgrave says, is Canadas humility when compared with places like Dallas and Houston. Canada short sells itself on the worlds stage, he said. But the numbers speak for themselves. Sharma says that between 2012 and 2017, Toronto created more jobs than did any other city in North America, including in Silicon Valley. There can no longer be any question that Toronto has arrived on the worlds stage. It has some 18,000 tech companies employing more than 400,000 people. Whether or not tech can be considered an industry on its own or just a gradual revolution, it would not be successful if it was not helping people and other businesses become more efficient and ultimately successful. Government Deserves Some Credit Collision attracted politicians from all three levels of government who touted Canadas strength in tech and what theyre doing to help it grow. No government has ever invested as much in the tech sector in innovation and research as this government over the past 4 years, said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the conferences opening night event on May 20. He keyed on the talent generated from Canadas universities and liberal immigration policies as a major contributing factor while other nations tighten their borders. We need to stay open. We need to make sure were drawing in the best and the brightest from all around the world, Trudeau said. Ream says the engineering talent available from Toronto to Waterloo is amazing, and the governments role in incentivizing students to take up STEM as a matter of practice is its most impactful contribution to helping tech thrive. The way that the Canadian government has helped set up co-op programs in our education system has been absolutely huge, he said. Andrei Poliakov, co-founder and CEO of Coinberry, says that Canada has had a tendency to think that the best-case scenario for a startup is to be sold to a bigger American company. I think thats very unfortunate as sort of a narrative, he said. We need to change that narrative. Continued government financial support or tax-based incentives can help establish business giants in Canada, he says. But for cryptocurrencies, Kuhn says the governments wait-and-see approach has been one of the best things it has done. Theyve allowed this technology to exist, to grow, develop. I think thats very valuable if you compare it to some of the other countries out there, he said. If we started this business 10 years ago, we probably would have moved to Silicon Valley, Kuhn said. Now we can stay in a city were familiar with. Ontario Premier Doug Ford initially got a mixed reception when he took centre stage on May 21, as some of his just-announced budget cuts have hit the tech community. But after his speech, the response from the Collision audience was clearly positive. Ford told Collision that he wants to cut red tape. Canadas regulatory environment is often cited as an impediment to business success. He wants small firms to get the same opportunity as the large firms do to get government business. To that end, his government is putting in a new procurement program. We are committed to growing global champions here in Ontario. The most valuable companies in the world today are data- and IP-driven businesses, he said. Ford has appointed Jim Balsillie of Research in Motion fame to head a panel on intellectual property (IP) to maximize commercial value within universities and innovation centres. Toronto mayor John Tory knew Collision would do a lot for the city going forward. Were asking the sector go beyond dollars and cents, he said, adding that he wants to use the power of the smart people to advance our social interests and to build a better city here. Tech entrepreneurs are often advised to build solutions to solve real problems that they are passionate about. What were building is supposed to benefit society to make Canadians lives better, easier, and eventually save them some money, Kuhn said. Tech Pays It Forward Trudeau hopes Canadian tech success doesnt leave the rest of the economy and society behind. As you lead your way forward, as you create tremendous success for you and your companies, Trudeau said in his closing remarks. Try and think about how youre making sure to bring along the rest of society with you, because if we dont succeed together, were all going to fail separately. Reams understanding of Trudeaus admonition is that tech is not an industry unto itself; its a way to do things better. Tech is about creating value for people and other industries, and capturing some of that value for itselfthats the nature of the business, he says. The folks who are at Collision are creating these new technologies which will allow other industries to be more productive and create more value, and allow them to capture more value, Ream said. Another interpretation of Trudeaus plea for techs success is the notion of paying it forward. Ream says the knowledge transfer from former Shopify executives employed by Voiceflow has improved its ability to operate, hire talent, and grow. Thats just a small microcosm of whats been happening in Silicon Valley after so many years of having so much tech success, he said. And its happening in Toronto. And Ream intends to pay it forward when the time comes for him and his team. Ten years down the road well be able to do the sameour executives invest in other Canadian companies, he said. Follow Rahul on Twitter @RV_ETBiz Eric Xu, a Huawei executive, is accused in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets in the United States. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images, Huawei website) Huawei Executive Accused of Orchestrating US Trade Theft Scheme Eric Xu, a deputy chairman of Huawei, allegedly was directly involved in a conspiracy to steal trade secrets relating to solid-state drive (SSD) technology from a U.S. startup, according to newly released court documents from an ongoing lawsuit. Its the latest development in tit-for-tat lawsuits involving San Jose, California-based startup CNEX Labs Inc. and the Chinese telecom giant, with each accusing the other of theft of trade secrets. CNEX has received investment funding from Microsoft and Dell Technologies. In the latest court documents, CNEX alleges that a professor from Chinas Xiamen University pretended to be a customer in order to acquire its technology and transfer the know-how to Huawei chip-development subsidiary HiSilicon. CNEX, citing information from Huawei staff, also claims that Xu was briefed about the whole scheme involving the university professor, and directed Huawei engineers to analyze CNEXs data storage technology. In response to the allegations about Xus involvement, CNBC reported that a Huawei spokesman told reporters on May 23 that CNEXs claims are misleading and unsubstantiated. The case will go to trial at a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on June 3. To protect American technological know-how, the U.S. government has also reportedly slowed down hiring approvals for Chinese nationals selected to work for U.S. semiconductor companies. Huawei Executive According to Huaweis website, Xu, 52, has worked for Huawei for 26 years, in different positions ranging from chief strategy and marketing officer, to chief products and solutions officer. He is one of Huaweis rotating chairmen. According to court documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, CNEX alleges that the Xiamen University professor, identified as Bo Mao, asked CNEX in June 2016 for some circuit boards as part of his academic research project. In 2017, CNEX provided a computer memory board to Mao after he signed a licensing agreement, which included a strict non-disclosure provision, with CNEX. The U.S. company said Mao didnt disclose that he had a cooperation agreement with Huawei to supply the technology to it. Without telling CNEX, Mao prepared a technological report about CNEXs computer memory board and handed it to HiSilicons database containing intel on its competitors, known as the D-box directory. CNEX claimed that Mao was directed by Xu, the chief orchestrator of the scheme. At a pre-trial hearing, a Huawei lawyer confirmed that a CNEX document about SSD technology was submitted to its D-box directory, and that Xu was in the chain of command that had requested information about CNEX. But Huawei rejected the claim of IP theft. It said the document concerned products and open source technology, and that the cooperation between Huawei and Xiamen University was for developing database software. Tit-for-Tat Lawsuits CNEX was co-founded by Yiren Ronnie Huang, after he resigned from his job at Futurewei, Huaweis U.S. subsidiary, in 2013. Huang, who was born in China, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. After joining Huawei, Huang tried to sell his pre-existing intellectual property (IP) on SSD technology to Futurewei, but the company refused to buy it. Huawei tried to obtain Huangs IP by including a provision about his invention in his employment agreement, but Huang didnt agree to include the provision. In 2017, Huawei filed a lawsuit against CNEX and Huang, claiming that the startup improperly recruited 14 of its employees, and that the companys inventions were related to the work that Huang and others did at Huawei. CNEX filed its countersuit in 2018, and alleged that Huawei was seeking to obtain deeper access to the startups technology through the lawsuits discovery process. Each company denies the others allegations. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 21 that several top U.S. chipmakers, including Intel, Qualcomm, and Globalfoundries, failed to have their Chinese employees working papers approved in time by U.S. authorities, citing industry insiders. The three firms had sought to hire hundreds of Chinese employees or move Chinese employees from overseas locations to the United States since last year. But since the U.S. administration began to crack down on Chinese IP theft, the companies said they encountered difficulties in securing the paperwork. Thirty-seven-year-old Valentin Ariosto Alfonso-Arguello has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl inside her Gluckstadt home in August 2018. (Madison County Detention Center) Illegal Immigrant Sentenced to 20 Years for Raping 12-Year-Old Mississippi Girl An illegal alien who raped a 12-year-old Mississippi girl has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars, according to Fox News. Valentin Ariosto Alfonso-Arguello, 38, was charged in September 2018 for raping the girl at her home, The Clarion-Ledger reported. Authorities cited in the report said Alfonso-Arguello met the girl at a Ridgeland restaurantabout 12 miles north of Jacksonand coerced her to give him her phone number and address. Hours later, Alfonso-Arguello showed up at the girls house and she got into his truck. He forced her to have sex with him in the vehicle, despite her saying no and repeatedly trying to get out of the vehicle, according to The Ledger. Madison and Rankin counties District Attorney John K. Bramlett Jr. said in a statement cited by Madison County Online that the case is reflective of a broader problem of child sex abuse. Every day in America young girls are coerced to meet men who have ill intent toward them, Bramlett said, according to the report. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where a much older man talked a young girl into meeting him and forced her to have sex. Our children are now easier targets for pedophiles and we must continue to seek justice for those who become victims. Bramlett called Alfonso-Arguello evil and sick. The Madison County Sheriffs office did an outstanding job of investigating this crime and building a case against a person whose only mission that early morning was evil and sick. Working together, we have made our neighborhoods a little safer with Alfonso-Arguello now in prison. The DA vowed criminal behavior targeting children would not go unpunished. The District Attorneys office will continue working diligently making sure that those who hurt our children pay the consequences for their sick crimes. We have zero tolerance for people like Alfonso-Arguello and we will continue working toward ridding our streets of criminals like him. Assistant District Attorney Katie Moulds told The Ledger that eight years of Alfonso-Arguellos 20-year sentence will be suspended. He will then face deportation or register as a sex offender and serve five years of supervised probation. Texas Teenager Escapes Alleged Kidnapper In related news, a teenage girl escaped a 24-year-old man who had allegedly held her captive for five days after he snared her via Snapchat, said a police statement. Police detained her alleged kidnapper shortly after the unnamed juvenile burst into the KFC restaurant in the town of Azle in Texas, desperately asking for help. Azle Police have charged the suspect, Diamond Marquis Williams, 24, with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child. Police responded to a call from the KFC at around 9:30 a.m. on May 21. An employee from the business told Azle 911 operators and the responding officers a juvenile female ran into the restaurant asking for help because she was being held against her will. The girl had escaped from a car after Williams parked and went inside the Cash America Pawn shop next to the restaurant. With the description provided, Azle Police officers located and detained the suspect without incident, said the police. According to police, the girl had met Williams, who is from Fort Worth via Snapchat, a social media application. The police report did not specify the age of the girl, but local media reports refer to her as a teenager. According to the police, the victim reported she had been taken five days earlier from the Fort Worth home where she lives with her parents. Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he is presented with a garland during a thanksgiving ceremony by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to its allies at the party headquarters in New Delhi, India on May 21, 2019. (Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo/Reuters) Indias Narendra Modi Stuns Opposition With Huge Election Win NEW DELHI/AYODHYAIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored a dramatic election victory on Thursday, putting his Hindu nationalist party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of business-friendly policies and a tough stand on national security. His re-election reinforces a global trend of right-wing populists sweeping to victory, from the United States to Brazil and Italy, often after adopting firm positions on protectionism, immigration, and defense. Official data from the Election Commission showed Modis Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in 300 of the 542 seats up for grabs, up from the 282 it won in 2014 and more than the 272 seats needed for a majority in the lower house of parliament. That would give his party the first back-to-back majority for a single party since 1984. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India, Modi said on Twitter. India wins yet again! + + = Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong and inclusive India. India wins yet again! #VijayiBharat Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 23, 2019 Modi has slashed red tape in the worlds fifth-largest economy, though some overseas firms, including Amazon, Walmart, and Mastercard, have complained about policies they say are designed to benefit domestic rivals. He will face demands to provide jobs for the tens of millions of young people coming in to the market in the next few years and to boost depressed farm incomes. The immediate challenges are to address employment, the issue of agricultural income and revive the banking sector, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Care Ratings in Mumbai. Modis pledge of a strong stand against a separatist movement in Muslim-majority Kashmir has fueled tension with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, although its prime minister, Imran Khan, congratulated Modi on his win. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Khan added on Twitter. I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 23, 2019 Besides a harder line on national security, BJP members will look to Modi for progress on a project to building a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque demolished by Hindus in the northern holy town of Ayodhya in 1992. I want Modi to finish terrorism from Kashmir (and) make Pakistan bite the dust again and again, said Shekhar Chahal, a BJP worker from the capital, New Delhi. I am confident that Modi will also make the temple in Ayodhya. Celebrations Begin Cheering supporters set off firecrackers and showered the mastermind of the campaign, BJP President Amit Shah, with petals as he arrived at party headquarters in New Delhi. Its a stamp of approval by voters on the honest and decisive leadership of Prime Minister Modi, said Nalin S Kohli, a BJP spokesman. The NDAs predicted margin of victory, at 348 seats versus 85 for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, according to broadcaster NDTV, far exceeds survey forecasts in the run-up to the vote. Most polls indicated a victory for Modis alliance but expected it to fall short of an overall majority. Final results are due by Thursday evening. Security Swing Modi was under pressure when he began campaigning, losing three state elections in December amid rising anger over farm prices and unemployment. However, campaigning shifted toward Indias relationship with Pakistan after a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian police in February in the Himalayan region of Kashmir claimed by both countries. Modi ordered an air strike on what India said was a terrorist training camp on the Pakistani side of the border, a tough response that benefited the right-wing BJP, analysts said. While Pakistan has signaled a willingness to open talks with India, it also displayed its military might, with the test of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of up to 1,500 miles. The BJP has also capitalized the star power of Modi, a frenetic campaigner, as well as its superior financial resources. It outspent Congress by six times on Facebook and Google advertising, data showed, and by as much as 20 times overall, sources told Reuters this month. The main opposition Congress party was ahead in just 52 seats, but its leader, Rahul Gandhi, twice defeated in general elections by Modi, refused to rule out resigning as party chief in a brief televised news conference. Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as prime minister, lost to the BJP candidate in the northern constituency of Amethi the family has held almost continuously for the last four decades. But he was leading in the southern constituency from which he is also running for parliament. The Congress party has not been able to improve at all, said Rahul Verma, a fellow at the center for Policy Research in New Delhi. One big story is the emerging challenge for the Congress to remain a national alternative to the BJP. That now is under question. Strong Leader In the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of lawmakers to parliament, the BJP was leading in 60 of the 80 seats in the fray, out in front of a powerful alliance of caste-based parties campaigning to improve rural conditions. After the air strike on Pakistan, almost all these important issues started fading and farmers decided to cast their ballot for the BJP, said Raghubar Das, 55, who grows rice and wheat on the outskirts of Ayodhya, which many devout Hindus believe to be the birthplace of the God-king Rama. Mind you, they didnt vote for the BJP, they voted for Modi. Everyone loves a strong a leader. The party also won seats in several states where it has long struggled, including West Bengal, where it took on the Trinamool Congress, a powerful regional party. Data showed it leading in 19 of 42 seats, surpassing the two it won in 2014, data showed. Investors welcomed Modis victory, hoping his government will push through reforms. Indian stocks surged more than 5 percent this week to hit record highs on Thursday, but the euphoria fizzled quickly, with stocks and the rupee ending the day weaker, as the focus returned to a faltering economy. By Alasdair Pal and Mayank Bhardwaj Judge Refuses to Block Bank Subpoenas Seeking President Trumps Financial Records A federal court judge has refused an effort from President Donald Trump to block subpoenas issued by House Democratic lawmakers seeking his financial records from two banks. Trump sued the two banks, Deutsche Bank and Capital One, in April to stop them from complying with the subpoenas from the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees. Deutsche Bank has lent Trumps company millions of dollars over the years. In a ruling on May 22, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, said that Trump and his companys argument that the subpoenas were unlawful and unconstitutional would unlikely succeed and that the subpoenas have a legitimate legislative purpose. The Democrats attempt to obtain Trumps financial records is one of the three investigations launched by key House committees in April. The other probes are seeking the presidents tax returns and the unredacted Mueller report. The number of inquiries led by House Democrats has since grown to 10. Lawyers for the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees said that they are trying to gain access to the documents in order to investigate possible foreign influence in the U.S. political process, among other matters. They also argued in a written submission prior to the hearing on May 22 that the presidents effort to block the subpoenas was flatly inconsistent with nearly a century of Supreme Court precedent. In response, Trumps attorneys wrote that accepting the House committees arguments would mean Congress can issue a subpoena on any matter, at any time, for any reason, to any person, and there is basically nothing a federal court can do about it. The presidents lawyers have said they would appeal any ruling that is not in favor of Trump, reported The Hill. The May 22 ruling comes two days after another federal court judge ruled in favor of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to allow an accounting firm to hand over Trumps financial records. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, another appointee of Obama, gave Trumps accounting firm Mazars LLP seven days to comply with the committees subpoena and denied a request by Trumps attorneys to delay a decision pending an appeal. Following the ruling, Trump told reporters that the decision was crazy. He said, Its totally the wrong decision by, obviously, an Obama-appointed judge. An appeal in that matter has been filed. Trump: Its totally the wrong decision by obviously an Obama-appointed judge. Attorneys for Trump filed an appeal, challenging a federal judges ruling to uphold a House committee #Subpoena seeking financial records from Trumps accounting firm.https://t.co/S2WQHD7OLM The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) May 21, 2019 These Democrat-led probes could be seen as an attempt to impede Trumps work. The Democrats began their investigations on the president after gaining control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm election and increased the number of probes after special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Trump had not colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. In response, Trump said that he plans to fight all the subpoenas by House Democrats. On May 20, the White House told former White House counsel Don McGahn to refuse to comply to a subpoena to testify about Muellers probe before a congressional committee. Moreover, Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin defied a House Ways and Means Committee subpoena for Trumps tax returns. The White House, at the request from Barr, also asserted executive privilege over the redacted material in the Mueller report. The Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Watch Next: EXPOSED: Why President Trump Is Under Constant Attack By Media And Politicians TV Personality Kim Kardashian West attends the 20th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 16, 2016 in New York City. Authorities continue to investigate jewelry robbery involving Kardashian. (Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images) Kim Kardashian Draws Criticism Over First Photo of New Baby Psalm Kim Kardashian posted a photo of her fourth child, Psalm West, immediately drawing criticism about the items inside the crib. Today.com reported that the photo, which was removed from Instagram, had blankets, loose items, and padded bumpers in the crib. Psalm West pic.twitter.com/F0elQd1cJq Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) May 17, 2019 Another said, Congratulations!! However PLEASE consider removing all that bedding and soft base from the crib. A baby should sleep on a firm, flat surface. Said another person, This is how NOT to put your baby down to sleep!!! Hoping this reaches other mothers and educates on safer sleeping! The snuggle pod should NOT be used in a cot and at night time. The baby should NOT be overwrapped [sic]. The baby should NOT have a hat on in the house. The head should be allowed to release excess heat and there should be NO cot bumpers!!! Feet should be positioned at the bottom of the cot, baby not placed in the middle!! Experts told Today.com that their comments were correct. 1. Congrats! 2. Anyone else freaking out about all the blankets & bumpers?! American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping the crib free of blankets & pillows until baby is 12 months old, as these can create a suffocation hazard. @kanyewest Just looking out for a fellow dad Ryan Moto Kawamoto (@RyanKawamoto) May 18, 2019 Younger babies up to 4 months of age are at the highest risk for sleep-related deaths, Dr. Lana Gagin, a pediatrician at Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital, told the outlet. She said that doctors recommend strict safe sleep practices up until 12 months of age. Gagin recommends that parents shouldnt use products that are designed for cribs, either. That includes stuffed animals, pillows, blankets. Parents need to avoid using any soft objects in the bed, and this includes crib bumpers, blankets, pillows, soft toys (and baby positioners), Gagin said Place your baby on his or her back on a firm sleep surface, such as a crib or bassinet, with a tight fitting mattress with a tight fitting sheet, she told Today.com. The crib should be essentially bare. Earlier this month, Kardashian wrote, With the arrival of our fourth child we are blessed beyond measure. We have everything we need. Hes here and hes perfect! she also wrote on May 10, adding: Hes also Chicagos twin lol Im sure he will change a lot but now he looks just like her. After the childs name, Psalm, was revealed, Laura Wattenberg, founder of namerology.com, said that many more American parents are choosing unusual names, opting out of giving their children traditional names. A baby name is a very personal choice more today than ever before, she told NBC News. Kim and Kanye arent the only ones who have given up naming baby after grandpa. There were 15 newborns in 2018 with the name Psalm, she explained. Its part of a trend toward creativity thats seen lots and lots of parents turning words into names, Wattenberg said. Kardashians three other young children are named Chicago, Saint, and North. Kim and Kanye seem to work hard to give the siblings names that have similar character, she said. This is true of parents I work with as well, whether they favor unusual or traditional names. I wouldnt expect to find many Psalms in your childs kindergarten class anytime soon. Man Guilty of Murder in Wrong-Way Interstate Crash That Killed 5 Teens A Vermont man was convicted on five counts of murder in a 2016 wrong-way crash that killed five teens, it was reported on May 22. Steven Bourgoin, 38, was driving the wrong way on Interstate 89 in Williston, crashing his truck into a car of teens that were coming back from a concert, WCAX reported. They said that he jumped into a police car, drove for a while, and then crashed into several other vehicles. Mary Harris, Liam Hale, Cyrus Zschau, Eli Brookens, and Janie Cozzi died at the scene of the accident, officials said. Im so thankful for the families and their bravery and their courage to come here every day and listen to this evidence and to have gone through two-and-a-half years waiting for this day. I really could not ask for a better outcome, said Chittenden County States Attorney Sarah George of the guilty verdict. Were disappointed in the verdict. We respect the verdict but were disappointed. Obviously, we think we presented the overwhelming medical evidence with regard to the sanity issue and were disappointed that the jury found otherwise, said Bob Katims, the defendants lawyer. The jury rejected the case that Bourgoin was insane, as his lawyers claimed, reported Fox News. He pleaded not guilty on five charges of second-degree murder. He faces 20-years-to-life for each count. Prosecutors said that Bourgoin was troubled at the time of the incident, struggling with custody, relationship, and financial issues. His condition didnt meet the legal definition of insanity, they argued. Families Respond Im relieved to put this part of this tragedy behind us so I can move beyond focusing on my son Elis death and focus on his life and the beautiful person that he was, said Colleen Ovelman, Elis mother, WCAX reported. We would like it to be about the kids now and no more about Steven Bourgoin. Theyre beautiful kids, said Sarah Zschau, Cyrus mother, in the report. Im relieved that this phase of the process is complete, added Sue Hale, Liams mother. At this time, we would ask you to refocus the energy toward the young people whose lives were needlessly and tragically taken from us and them. Fatal Car Crash Statistics According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, analyzing data from the Department of Transportation, there were 37,133 deaths from car accidents in 2017, the last year full data is available for. The deaths occurred across 34,247 fatal motor vehicle accidents. The number means 11.4 deaths per 100,000 people and 1.16 deaths per 100 million miles traveled, although those numbers can vary widely across states. The highest deaths per 100,000 population were in Mississippi, which saw 23.1 such deaths, and the most deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled were in South Carolina, which saw 1.80 such deaths. The majority of fatal accidents are single-vehicle crashes, the institute noted. Doctor Thierry Castera examines the throat of a child via a smartphone held by a nurse during a digital medical consultation in Oberbruck, France, on Sept. 12, 2016. (Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images) Med Student Battles 6 Brain Surgeries While Studying to Become a Doctor A medical student who has had six major brain surgeries since a life-changing diagnosis in 2011, has spoken up about her battle in studying to become a doctor while living as a patient. Claudia Martinez, who is now in her fourth year at UTHealth McGovern Medical School, had always aspired to be a doctor, but was diagnozed with Chiari Malformation while she was a college student at the University of Houston. As an undergraduate, Martinez began to suffer from blackouts and headaches, reported ABC7. In her first year as a medical student, she was eventually diagnozed with the debilitating condition and was admitted to a surgery a week later. Martinez told ABC7 she needed to have brain surgery almost immediately after her diagnosis, or she could have been left paralyzed. When I got my diagnosis, I was sent to a neurosurgeon. He told me that I needed brain surgery as soon as possible, she recalled. If not, I was going to be paralyzed from the neck down. And so within a week I was undergoing my first brain surgery. In honor of National Women Physician Day We highlight Claudia Martinez who perseveres everyday to become a doctor after being diagnosed with #raredisease. From patient to doctor: Womans inspiring journey to achieve her dream https://t.co/3SQQN5sONm via @nbcnews Alabama Rare (@AlabamaRare) February 4, 2019 The condition, which causes brain tissue to extend into the spinal canal, can cause paralysis. Other symptoms of the condition can include poor hand coordination, numbness and tingling of hands and feet, and curvature of the spine, among others. Despite her setbacks, Martinez graduated from the University of Houston and persevered with her dream of becoming a doctor at UTHealth McGovern Medical School. Eight years on from her initial diagnosis, the student has had six major brain surgeries, as well as multiple shunt surgeries, multiple feeding tube and port surgeries, as well as countless procedures and hospitalizations, she said, writing in TMC News. WATCH: Claudia Martinez has always wanted to become a doctor and shes not letting anything derail her dream. pic.twitter.com/d1YkmxGlSG NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) January 10, 2019 I thought Id have one surgery. I knew my life would be a little different, but I thought I would have this surgery and go on to med school, Martinez told ABC7. And that would kind of be the end of my story. But its been quite the opposite of that. In February 2017, she had a frightening experimental surgery which she said changed her life forever. Martinez had suffered a stroke during the surgery, which left her temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. I couldnt sit up on my own, move to turn in bed, walk, bathe or dress myself. All I could do was lie in bed, she said. Martinez told ABC7, I had to relearn how to do absolutely everything. My mom had to shower me, dress me. My dream of becoming a doctor felt like it was shattering before me, she said. Im not your typical medical student. Beneath my white coat lives a patient. Claudia Martinez is the truly inspiring #Chiari malformation patient also training to be a doctorhttps://t.co/Riuq83ZCy6 Brain & Spine Foundation (@brainspine) August 23, 2018 The medical student persevered through months of therapy at TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehab Hospital, where she eventually learned how to walk again using an Exoskeleton. Since her diagnosis, the student has also raised $55,000 to fund research for Chiari Malformation, by organizing the annual Conquer Chiari Walk in Houston. During hospital stays, she continued to strive for her dream and studied instead of taking naps and watching movies, she said. This fellow medical students amazing strength and positivity in the face of such struggle continues to inspire me. Watch her story on youtube https://t.co/BOzMMdWtoN and follow her on Instagram @claudiaimartinez #thisiswhatadoctorlookslike #womeninmedicine #fightlikeawarrior pic.twitter.com/dVou5tFvZ8 Lauren Vassiliades (@lavassiliades) January 3, 2018 God has always preserved my intelligence during my many brain surgeries, and I wasnt going to waste that precious gift. My brain, at times my greatest challenge, was my biggest ally in continuing my path to become a doctor, Martinez said in an article for TMC News. Now in her final year of studies at UTHealth McGovern Medical School, Martinez is set to graduate next year. Missing Massachusetts Teen Dumped Lifeless at Hospital A missing Massachusetts 13-year-old has been dumped dead at a hospital under mysterious circumstances by an unidentified man, CBS Boston reported. Chloe Richard, of Amesbury, was dropped off at the emergency room of Lawrence General Hospital in Lawrence, Mass., at around 4:45 p.m. on Monday, May 20, Boston 25 News reported. From what one of the police officers said at the hospital, she was brought in and dumped at the hospital. They said she was lifeless, the girls stepfather, Brian Dolan, told Boston 25 News. No pulse, no nothing, they just drove in and dropped her off. She didnt even have a pulse when they pushed her out of the car. Dolan told the station he did not know the identity of the man who dropped his stepdaughter off, except that he was told the man was in his 40s. The only thing I was told earlier from another agency is someone 47 years old dropped her off, Dolan told the news outlet. Whoever did this to my little stepdaughter, trust me, I hope theres hell to pay because they threw her out of the car like a bag of trash. If that was your kid, if that was your sister, if that was your brother, or your mother, or your father, what would you do? Im beside myself. The man was located, but no arrests have been made in connection with girls death, WHDH reported. The girls cause of death remains unclear. Chloe Richard Ran Away From Home Richard ran away from her Amesbury home on Sunday night, WHDH reported. The girls mother, Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan, told Boston 25 News that her daughter was at a friends house the day before. She said she called the friend, who said Goldsmith-Dolans daughter was safe. She did not hear from her daughter the following day and so filed a missing persons report at the police station. Im sitting at the police station, and one girl told me she is safe and someone dropped her off, Goldsmith-Dolan said. That turned out not to be true, as Chloe Richard had been dropped off at the hospital lifeless. #BREAKING 13y/o girl whose body was dropped off at Lawrence General Hospital last night has been identified as Chloe Richard by her family. Her step-father tells me the family has no idea what happened but are begging those with information to contact police #WCVB pic.twitter.com/rb6lfZJyh4 Matt Reed (@MattReedNews) May 21, 2019 It was awful, Goldsmith-Dolan told the station. They asked me how to identify her. My husband had to identify her by the scars. Chloe Ricard, a 13-year-old Massachusetts girl who had been missing after running away from home, died after she was left at a hospital by a man in his 40s, police and her family say: https://t.co/ZuVk1X7NOT pic.twitter.com/AlDxu9OuuN Heavy.com (@HeavySan) May 23, 2019 It was reported that an autopsy was scheduled to be performed Tuesday, but officials said it would be some time before they determine the cause of death. No arrests have been made. We have interviewed a number of people regarding the incident and we will continue to do so until we get all the answers, said Police Chief Roy Vasque, according to WHDH. We are going to do everything and anything we can. No matter what the story is, the girls grieving mom said, she is dead. Missing Children There were 424,066 missing children reported in the FBIs National Crime Information Center in 2018, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Under federal law, when a child is reported missing to law enforcement they must be entered into the database. In 2017, there were 464,324 entries. This number represents reports of missing children. That means if a child runs away multiple times in a year, each instance would be entered into NCIC separately and counted in the yearly total. Likewise, if an entry is withdrawn and amended or updated, that would also be reflected in the total, the center notes on its website. Unfortunately, since many children are never reported missing, there is no reliable way to determine the total number of children who are actually missing in the U.S., NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) added. In 2018, the center said it assisted officers and families with the cases of more than 25,000 missing children. In those cases, 92 percent were endangered runaways, and 4 percent were family abductions. The center said that it participates in the Amber Alert Program, which is a voluntary partnership between numerous entities including broadcasters, transportation agencies, and law enforcement agencies. The Amber Alert Program issues urgent bulletins in the most serious child abduction cases. According to the NCMEC, to date, 941 children have been successfully recovered as a result of the Amber Alert Program. The center notes that of the more than 23,500 runaways reported in 2018, about one in seven were likely victims of child sex trafficking. A girl takes a picture of a missing person sign displaying portraits of Amanda Berry, one of the three women held captive for a decade, in front of her sister's house in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 7, 2013. The three women were found safe, authorities said. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images) Missing Persons, Missing Children Reports Drop to Lowest in Decades The reports of missing persons, and missing children in particular, decreased in 2018, reaching levels unseen since the beginning of available FBI data. Nearly 613,000 Americans were reported missing in 2018, more than 424,000 of them under the age of 18. Thats a drop of almost 6 and 9 percent respectively from the year prior and the lowest shown in available records going as far back as 1990. The numbers had dropped precipitously from the high of more than 980,000 reported missing in 1997 to less than 628,000 in 2013, but then started to pick up againuntil the drop in 2018. Its not clear what exactly is behind the latest decrease. Part of the long-term downward trend may have to do with technology, said Robert Lowery, vice president for the missing children division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Most of the missing children are runaways between 13 and 17, he said in a phone interview. A lot of these children now have, frankly, cellphones or smartphones. Theyre also using social media. The point being that parents are able to find their children themselves much quicker than they had been, before they have to engage law enforcement. Law enforcement techniques to locate missing children have also improved, he said. But that doesnt quite explain the sudden drop in 2018. Smartphones and social media have been popular among youth for more than a decade and there seems to be no indication that law enforcement techniques made a sudden advance in 2018. It may have been an anomaly, Lowery said. Were going to continue to watch the trend. Link to Trafficking While most missing persons are found, runaway children are vulnerable to exploitation, particularly sex trafficking. Traffickers, as well as buyers, strategically prey upon runaway children because of their mental, physical, and financial vulnerability, according to the 2009 National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Americas Prostituted Children (pdf). The stark reality is that the supply is never-ending I mean, that little girl who started as a runaway on the streets in Washington state and ended up on the streets of Miami Beach as a prostitute is way too typical, said Andrew Oosterbaan, then-chief of the Justice Departments Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, according to the report. There is an endless supplyand it is almost surreal to have these words leave my mouthendless supply of victims. But thats the stark reality. The victims view running away as a way to escape an environment that they cannot control, the report said. It is not a coincidence that the average age of a runaway falls squarely within the age range a child is recruited into prostitution, as the victimized child who flees from home often lands straight in the welcoming arms of a trafficker posing as protector and caretaker. The most at-risk group are runaways from the social services system, such as foster care, group homes, or government facilities, Lowery said. Trump Cracks Down President Donald Trump has put a major emphasis on fighting human trafficking during the past two years. In February 2018, he signed an executive order to dismantle transnational criminal organizations that traffic and exploit people. In April 2018, Trump signed into law the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or SESTA-FOSTA, that stopped the shielding of website operators from state criminal charges or civil liability if they facilitate sex ads or prostitution. Just days later, sex-trafficking website Backpage.com was taken down by the FBI. Subsequently, the demand for online sex trafficking has dropped as the operators of smaller sites struggle to stay afloat, according to a report by a counter-human trafficking technology company. On Dec. 31, 2018, Trump proclaimed January 2019 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Monthafter issuing a similar declaration for January 2018. Bowen Xiao contributed to this report. Mom Is Heartbroken After Son Dies From Guzzling 4 Energy Drinks Per Day, Sounds Warning The content is not available due to expiration. Mother Fakes Babys Kidnapping After She Learns a Secret About the Father A woman staged a kidnapping of her four-month-old son after a DNA test proved that the father was not her husband. After one of the co-conspirators confessed a few days later, the boy was found and the four individuals involved were arrested. The babys mother, surnamed Liu, 39, initially reported her child missing on May 16. The story received a lot of attention from both Chinese social media and news networks. After one of the four co-conspirators turned themselves in, the police in Zhoukou City found the child safe and unharmed in a neighboring city. The individuals involved in the kidnappingthe babys mother and biological father, an aunt and paternal grandmotherwere arrested in Henan Province, China on May 19. Liu spoke about the kidnapping scheme in a phone interview with Pear Videos, a major Chinese online media outlet. Its so difficult for me to have this child, Liu told Pear Videos. Its a second child, and Im almost 40. The False Kidnapping Before staging the kidnapping, Liu had already discovered that her son was not fathered by her husband. She then hatched a plan with the babys father and two other relativesher own sister and the babys paternal grandma. Liu sent the boy to her older sisters house in a neighboring city. Liu claimed to have taken her child out to a park across from her housing complex. Video footage from traffic cameras showed her pushing a stroller across the street on May 16. When Liu entered the park, she said she fainted. Then when she awoke, she saw that her son was not in the stroller. Lius husband, surnamed Zhu, said that when she passed out, no one was around to see, but that she was woken up by passersby, according to the Shenzhen Evening News. Liu also claimed that she had fainted before, and that she suffered from low-blood potassium, also called hypokalemia, the report said. When Liu first reported the baby missing on the same day, the news went viral on Chinese social media and news. Family members then reported the missing child to the police, and offered a reward for the child of 100,000 yuan ($14,500). Police offered 50,000 yuan ($7,200) for tips, according to the Shenzhen Evening News. The family members also passed out fliers with a photo of the missing boy. Then, according to the Shenzhen Evening News, one of the four suspects involved in the kidnapping scheme decided to confess after mounting pressure and attention from social media. On May 19, police found the boy and arrested the four people involvedLiu and her sister, the babys father and paternal grandmother. However, Liu has avoided detention for the moment since she is still breastfeeding the child, the report said. Newborn Baby Girl Found in Thailand Field Covered With Bug Bites, Is Now Doing Fine Warning: Photos of the girl may be distressing to some viewers. A newborn baby girl was found covered in mosquito and ant bites after she was dumped in a field in Thailand, it was reported. The girl was heard crying at night. Locals thought the noise was something else before they discovered her the next morning near Bangkok, the Daily Mail reported on May 23. The girl was discovered on May 11. Upon discovery, the girls skin looked raw and painful after she was bitten by the insects and was exposed to the elements in the field. Officials said the child didnt sustain serious injuries, but they added that her forehead was bitten frequently by insects, the Mail reported. Newborn baby girl found in a field covered in ant and mosquito bites after being abandoned https://t.co/4hNB56sLhw Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 23, 2019 The report said she was found wrapped in a tiny blanket. Her umbilical cord wasnt cut, suggesting the child wasnt more than one day old. The baby was taken to Lat Krabang Hospital, where nurses have been taking care of the child, who has not been named. Police are now searching for her parents. We believe that the parents might live nearby the area, Lieutenant Colonel Samart Klinklao, inspector of Chalong Krung police station was quoted by the paper as saying. Officers will check around the communities and ask the locals for more details, the official said. We will also check the CCTV cameras in the street to find who left the baby there. Other details about the incident were not provided. Not the First Time In another incident this week, a baby boy was abandoned by his mother in Thailand before he was discovered by a dog, the Chiang Rai Times reported. The childs mother, 15, is said to have abandoned the child to hide her pregnancy. The dog, Ping Pong, was digging a field in Ban Nong Kham village before its owner saw the babys leg sticking out of the ground. Locals rushed the child to a hospital, where doctors said he was fine. Ping Pongs owner, Usa Nisaikha, said that Ping Pong only has three legs. He was quoted by the paper as saying that I kept him because hes so loyal and obedient, and always helps me out when I go to the fields to tend to my cattle. Hes loved by the entire village. Its amazing. The mother, who was not named, was charged with abandoning a child and attempted murder. The baby was apparently buried alive. Newborn baby found covered in ants and mosquito bites after being dumped next to rubbish bags in Thailand https://t.co/OpShWmuAum The Sun (@TheSun) April 23, 2019 The parents of the 15-year-old said that they have decided to raise the child. Last month, also in Thailand, a newborn baby was found covered in ant and mosquito bites after being dumped near a trash bin, The Sun reported. A garbage collector spotted the child, covered in towels, in Ban Kao village in Tambon Ban Kao. The childs umbilical cord also hadnt been cut. He was taken to a hospital and is reportedly doing fine. In 2017, a Thai baby girl was rescued by villagers who heard her cries after being abandoned near a road. The girl was just 12 hours old when she was discovered, the paper reported. Exterior of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Sept. 2007. (Screenshot/Google Maps) Ohio Teen Carl Leggett May Have Died From Beating Suffered as a Baby Ohio authorities believe a teenager died on May 18 from injuries he sustained more than a decade ago when he was still a baby. Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center pronounced Carl Leggett, 14, dead and the Hamilton County coroner is treating the incident as an apparent homicide. An autopsy has been conducted with the cause of death unknown, according to a coroners report released on May 20. Laboratory tests are being conducted and no conclusive findings are expected from the coroner until at least June. Investigators are meanwhile examining whether Leggett may have died from injuries he suffered back when he was beaten as a baby. In a 2005 court case grandmother Shannon Jordan testified that the boyfriend of Leggetts mother, Terry Stiles, had beaten and shaken the child when he was just a 5-month-old baby. Stiles was sentenced to eight years in jail for assaulting and ruining what should otherwise have been a happy and healthy childhood for Leggett. Carls life was nothing but pain, medications, hospital stays, Jordan said, according to KCCI. Ohio Boy, 14, Dies Years After Moms Boyfriend Shook Him as Baby: Life Was Nothing But Pain https://t.co/ywL9ohpNpv People (@people) May 22, 2019 Carls life was nothing but pain: Boy who was badly beaten as a baby dies at 14 https://t.co/XNkPV5XWl3 pic.twitter.com/gNcrit8dFF wdsu (@wdsu) May 22, 2019 Investigators claim the beatings happened in Arlington Heights when Leggetts mother Sierra Burton, who now lives in Florida, was sleeping and left Stiles in charge of watching over the baby. Burton appeared to show remorse for her sons mistreatment when she made a teary statement to the media. We didnt get a chance to see him walk or anything, Burton told KCCI on May 20. You just need to be careful who you bring around your kids. We thought, or I thought, at the time I could trust him. When the beatings happened Leggetts head would swell to three times the normal size. Even the simple act of turning the baby was a challenge because his tiny arms would contract. They were, you know, stuck in a solid position, Jordan said. You could barely open them when you washed him, so you couldnt put clothes on him and we would put, Id put, wash cloths on his chest. She took a quick breath when she showed the last wash cloth she placed on his chest. Jordan claimed she prepared 48 syringes a day to help manage Leggetts pain caused by the beatings. Theres Carls bed, she said, indicating to a KCCI reporter the corner of the front room in an apartment. I couldnt be out of earshot of him because he needed suction so much because of his trach, so our lifes just been in this room. Boy who was badly beaten as baby dies at 14 https://t.co/WhIVp8Pnxv pic.twitter.com/pHAtoKm1tM WLWT (@WLWT) May 21, 2019 Carls life was nothing but pain: Boy who was badly beaten as a baby dies at 14 https://t.co/eerweUxq4G pic.twitter.com/wMBWtQRcf9 KCCI News (@KCCINews) May 22, 2019 Jordans biggest regret is Leggett died when his whole life was still ahead of him, forced to live a life of constant care unable to do anything for himself and live the life he was supposed to enjoy. We lost a precious soul and its not fair because he didnt get the life he was supposed to have, she said. Although Stiles has already served his time behind bars, Jordan blames the convicted attacker for Leggett no longer being alive. What he did to Carl is, I believe, the direct result why we dont have Carl now, she said. If he never laid his hands on that baby, Carl would be a 14-year-old boy in school, playing Xbox [or] outside playing. A funeral service for Leggett will be held on May 23. Out of Nowhere Monster Great White Shark Attacks Father and Son Fishing for Whiting and Squid A father and son fishing for whiting and squid on their small boat in Australia had a terrifying encounter with a great white shark that came out of nowhere and tried to bite chunks off their boat on May 21. The incident took place when Arron Piekarski and his father were fishing off Cape Elizabeth Point on the Yorke Peninsula in Adelaide on Tuesday, reported the Daily Mail. I was out fishing for whiting and squid with my dad and really out of nowhere it come up from the back of the boat, Piekarski told Daily Mail Australia. He said the shark made a beeline around the boat for about five minutes. Every time it swam passed it either bit the motor, bit the side of the boat or back of the boat, he said. Piekarski said he overcame his fear of the beast and grabbed a camera. We had a similar experience a couple of years ago and we were more excited to get some good footage, he said. A video shared by the media shows the giant emerging out of the water and trying to dig its sharp teeth into the boat. It tried to bite into the black box that carried beer. When its attacks failed it went under water and tried to nose the boat aiming to throw the beer box overboard. Inches Away From Being Devoured, Photographer Captures Frightening Pictures of Great White Shark An Australian photographer came within inches of being devoured by a 16-foot great white shark, but managed to capture some of the scariest, close-up pictures of the fish yet. The incredible shots include the fearsome beast biting into a metal cage with its razor-sharp teeth and others where the photographers dangling camera and arm are just inches away from the sharks glistening, sharp jaws. Commercial abalone diver Luke Thom, 26, came across this incredible experience at the Neptune Islands off the coast of South Australia, according to News.com.au. The scary pictures were taken when the 298-pound beast became interested and curious about photographic equipment dangling in the water, emerged out of the water, and started to swim toward it. I was watching Andrew Fox taking these incredible photos of great white sharks so I thought Id try to get a shot of him getting his photo because of how close he gets to them with the fish-eye camera, Thom told News.com.au. Holy [expletive] is probably the most common reaction. I see a story and a moment in the photo. Its not like watching a video. You can look at a photo and imagine what is going on. These sharks are pretty incredible animals and they need protection and minimal human impact, he said. The North and South Neptunes, two islands that make up the Neptunes are home to male great whites, 16-foot sharks that live here throughout the year. Seal pups are born here between December to January, but enter the ocean only between April to August. Thats when giant female great white that can measure up to 19 feet long enter the area. Sharks feed on seals. The pristine and rugged islands are famous for shark tourismshark adventures and expeditions, according to Rodenyfox. Shark Attacks The risk involved in what Thom managed to capture can be gauged by the number and nature of shark attacks that happen off the Australian coast. There were 27 shark attacks in Australia last year, according to Taronga Conservation Society Australia, CNN reports. On Feb. 17, a shark attacked a surfer at Australias Byron Bay, the third at the scene this year. Emergency services were called near Belongil Beach after a 41-year-old man, Sam Edwardes, was bitten on the leg by a shark, according to ABC. We didnt realize until we were on the beach that there was a big chunk taken out of his leg so there was a lot of blood, said Edwardess housemate, who was surfing along with him at the time. As soon as my mate got out the back he sat up on his board and instantly a shark smashed from underneath knocking him clean off his board, the housemate said. The beach was closed for 24 hours and the man was airlifted in serious but stable condition to Gold Coast University Hospital after being treated at the scene. Stephen Calk walks out of a Manhattan court house after posting bail on charges of bribing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in New York City on May 23, 2019. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Prosecutors Charge Bank Ex-CEO With Soliciting White House Position in Exchange for $16 Million in Loans Federal prosecutors in New York charged a former bank CEO on May 23 with soliciting a position in the White House in exchange for $16 million in loans to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The founder and former CEO of Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, Stephen Calk, issued millions in high-risk loans to Manafort and solicited a job in the incoming administration of President Donald Trump, prosecutors say. As alleged, Stephen Calk abused the power entrusted to him as the top official of a federally insured bank by approving millions of dollars in high-risk loans in an effort to secure a personal benefit, namely an appointment as Secretary of the Army or another similarly high-level position in the incoming presidential administration, U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement. Calks alleged attempt to obtain such an appointment was unsuccessful, and the loans he approved were ultimately downgraded by the banks primary regulator. Starting in July 2016, Manafort sought millions in loans from Calk, who understood that Manafort needed that money in order to not terminate or avoid foreclosure proceedings on several of his properties. Calk used his position at the top of the bank to help Manafort secure the loans and, in exchange, solicited Manaforts help to obtain a senior post in the Trump administration. At one point, Calk sent Manafort a list of positions, ranked in order of preference, starting with secretary of the treasury, and followed by deputy secretary of the treasury, secretary of commerce, and secretary of defense, and 19 ambassadorships, starting with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy, according to the indictment (pdf). Prosecutors say Calks scheme ultimately failed. He curried favor with an influential borrower, exploited his position as CEO of a bank and its holding company, and exercised control over the bank and the borrowers loans, intentionally turning his back on the many red flags posted along the way, FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement. His attempt at petitioning for political favors was unsuccessful in more ways than onehe didnt get the job he wanted, and he compromised the one he had. Manafort briefly served as the chairman of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. He resigned after a black ledger surfaced that contained damaging information on his dealings in Ukraine. According to the indictment, Manafort continued informally advising the campaign and the transition team after his resignation. Calk served as one of several economic advisers to Trump during the 2016 election campaign. The indictment doesnt allege any wrongdoing on behalf of Trump. The charges against Calk are the latest in a series of cases spun off from the special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller. The special counsel concluded there is not enough evidence to establish that Trump or anyone one his campaign colluded with Russia. Mueller didnt charge the president with obstruction of justice. Manafort was sentenced earlier this year to 7 1/2 years in prison in two cases brought by the special counsel. None of the charges relate to collusion or obstruction. According to the indictment, Calk authorized an unprecedented maneuver to authorize the loans for Manafort. Since the loans exceeded the legal borrowing limit for a single client, Calk had the controlling company buy a percentage of the loans from the bank, prosecutors say. Calk also overlooked significant risk factors, including Manafort defaulting on prior loans. In return for Calks help, Manafort had the banker appointed to an economic advisory committee affiliated with the campaign in the summer of 2016, shortly after the bank conditionally approved a $9.5 million loan for Manafort, according to the indictment. After Trump won the election in November 2016, Manafort lobbied to have Calk appointed to a senior position. Manafort did so as a second set of loans worth $6 million was pending with Calks bank, the prosecutors allege. Manaforts efforts landed Calk an interview at the transition teams headquarters in New York. Calk didnt get the job. Belarus' servicemen excavate a mass grave for the prisoners of a Jewish ghetto set up by the Nazis during World War Two, that was uncovered at a construction site in the city of Brest, on Feb. 27, 2019. (Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images) Remains of More Than 1,200 Holocaust Victims Laid to Rest in Belarus After Mass Grave Discovered More than 1,200 Holocaust victims were laid to rest in Belarus on May 22, after their remains were discovered earlier this year in a Nazi-era mass grave under a construction site. Construction workers stumbled upon the remains of at least 1,214 people in January as they started work on luxury apartments in the southwestern city of Brest, which was home to a significant Jewish community before World War II. Soldiers were called in to exhume the bones of the victims, who were discovered at the site that served as a Jewish ghetto from 1941 to 1942. They discovered bullet holes in the victims skulls, as well as personal items such as wallets and worn out clothes and shoes. The remains of the Holocaust victims were brought from the killing field that was found at the beginning of the year at a construction site where a Jewish ghetto once lay, according to the search and rescue volunteer organization ZAKA, which assisted Belarus military, Haaretz reported. More than 1,000 victims of the Holocaust were buried today in Belarus, after their bones were unearthed this winter by construction workers. https://t.co/hNxJPB5Owc NPR (@NPR) May 22, 2019 Rather than canceling the building permit where the remains were initially found, officials proposed to simply bury the discovered remains, much to the dismay of many Jewish leaders. In a solemn ceremony outside the city, the Holocaust victims were buried side-by-side in 120 blue coffins covered with the Star of David, according to the Associated Press. Officials in Belarus rebury remains of recently discovered Holocaust victims https://t.co/fv9REMnhgw pic.twitter.com/Iiz40MtOfD EBU Social Newswire (@evnsocial) May 22, 2019 More than 300 city officials, including Jewish community leaders and diplomats, attended the burial and ceremony, which was led by a local Jewish rabbi. Attendees, some of whom closed their eyes in prayer, took turns to toss earth onto the caskets before the pit was filled in. The soul goes up to heaven through this process, so it was very important for the Jewish community that it was all done with Jewish custom, said Israels ambassador in Belarus, Alon Shoham. Following the funeral, Regina Simonenko, a member of the Jewish community, told Reuters she had mixed feelings and had been shaken by remembering the events, but she said it was important the Holocaust victims had been laid to rest. If we dont remember, then things like this can happen again, she said. About 28,000 were detained in the ghetto until it was destroyed in October 1942, when 17,000 residents were taken from the town and executed. The fate of the other victims remains unknown. Many are unhappy about the officials decision to continue to build on the site where more remains could potentially lie. Marcel Drimer, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor from Poland, told NPR, I think its very late, but better late than never. I am upset that the officials want to build on the sacred site, he added. Simonenko criticized officials for pushing forward with the construction of the luxury properties, instead of taking the time to run DNA tests and establish identities. We were told that DNA tests are expensive and take a long time, she told the Associated Press. The construction project is an affront to the memories of the Jewish residents of the city who were shot and murdered in cold blood at that very site, the World Jewish Congress said. Remains of over 1,000 Jewish victims of the Nazis excavated from the site of the Brest ghetto in Belarus have finally received a dignified burial. We must always honor the victims of Nazi brutality & ensure each one receives proper Jewish burials.https://t.co/VUpx3qL3Uj WJC (@WorldJewishCong) May 22, 2019 Since the public outcry, officials have promised to erect a monument in the area and have said the foundation of the apartment block doesnt overlap with the burial site. Brest Mayor Alexander Rogachuk said, There will be nothing but the lawn on the burial site. Were not even going to put up parking spaces or playgrounds there. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Stash Houses: A Hidden and Horrific Phenomenon on Border Massive increases in illegal border crossings is stretching resources thin, while smugglers pack more illegal aliens into houses EL PASO, TexasStash houses have been used for decades to hold humans and contraband on both sides of the southwest border, ready for transportation. Now, along with the dramatic surge in human smuggling, there is an increase in the number of people who smugglers squeeze into stash houses, especially since the family migration has been coming up, said Jack Staton, special agent-in-charge of El Pasos ICE Homeland Security Investigations. Im just going to throw a random number out. Lets say we would usually see 10 or 12. Were now seeing houses that camp 54 people, 67 people, he said. In February, Statons team dismantled a stash house in Dexter, New Mexico, that housed 67 illegal aliens from Guatemala and Ecuadorsix of whom were unaccompanied teenagers. The structure was an unfurnished, 20-foot by 20-foot wooden addition to a travel trailer. So theres no room for them to even move. They did have a bathroom in there, but the bathroom didnt work. In order to even use the restroom, they had to go outside, Staton said on May 7. The organization had taken their shoes off of them, so if they went outside, they wouldnt run away because theyre just running across the desert now with no shoes on. It was pretty bad. That was one of the most horrific structures Ive seen since Ive been doing this joband Ive been doing border security and enforcement for over 24 years. Staton said the case is ongoing as investigators continue to go after the smuggling networks involved. The majority of those being housed in stash houses are single males, who would be prosecuted and deported if caught by Border Patrol, and those with criminal records, who try to avoid law enforcement altogether. When you look at alien smuggling in general its an illicit travel agency, is what it is, Staton said. They Dont Treat Them as Humans In Hidalgo County, Texas, Sheriff Eddie Guerra is at the frontline of the border crossing surge. His county shares 78 miles of international border with Mexico. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, in which Hidalgo sits, has already apprehended more than 173,000 illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico in the past seven months; more than 101,000 of whom are individuals within a family unit. Border Patrol is so busy dealing with the humanitarian side of the illegal crossings, theyre being taken away from intelligence gathering where these stash houses are, Guerra said on April 30. He said, in the past, his deputies, along with Border Patrol, have dismantled up to three stash houses a day. A lot of these stash houses that were seeing now are the results of our community calling law enforcement. And were having to go out there and pick up the slack because our federal partners are tied up doing what theyre doing on the border, Guerra said. Often, those who are smuggled across the border need to then be smuggled around the highway checkpoint about 70 miles north, in Brooks County, especially as many are heading to Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas. So theyll take them from those stash houses and theyll run them up, as close as they can get to the checkpoint. And then they take them across in the ranch lands or theyll put them in tractor trailers to try to smuggle them through the checkpoint, Guerra said. These organizations they dont treat them as humans. They dont see them as humans, they see them as a commodity. And they dont have any respect for human life. They put them in the back of these 18 wheelers and of course with our weather down here, weve had some instances where they dont make it to their final destination. On May 15, Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint near Laredo, Texas, discovered a semi-trailer with 120 illegal aliens locked in the back, according to Customs and Border Protection. The aliens included 11 juveniles from Honduras and Guatemala and 109 adults from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and Mexico. But it doesnt stop at the checkpoint. The smuggling networks are vast and the opportunities to extort more money are always on the table. In one intelligence briefing that I read, even some of the family units that were given papers to come into the United States, theyre finding them in stash houses in Houston. And theyre being held against their will to continue to force the family to pay the smuggling debt, Guerra said. These females it turns from human smuggling into human trafficking. Theyre forced into either labor or theyre forced into the sex trade to help pay their smuggling debt. Guerra suggested that the criminal enterprises in Mexico are now making more money from smuggling humans than they are from smuggling drugs. Probably within the last six years, we noticed a change from drugs to humans, he said. Theres a lot of money in smuggling humans. It could cost anywhere, per head, on a per alien basis, as low as $1,500 to as high as $15,000. A Chinese man who Border Patrol apprehended on April 18, told The Epoch Times that he paid $15,000 to fly from China to Mexico and cross the border illegally. He said he had planned to go to New York and a friend in Beijing had put him in contact with a smuggler. A group of five Mexicans, who Border Patrol apprehended on the same day, said they had paid a smuggler $1,500 up front and planned to pay the rest, $5,500, after they successfully crossed the border. A Honduran man with a 13-year-old girl handed themselves over to Border Patrol after crossing illegally. The man said the girl was his daughter and that he had paid $1,800 for the both of them to cross. They planned to go to Houston. A back-of-the-envelope estimation for the anticipated 1 million illegal alien apprehensions in fiscal year 2019 comes out at $1.8 billion paid to smugglers, if applying the cheaper amount of $1,500 per head and accounting for a low estimate of those who evade capture. Criminal Records In July 2018, HSI and Border Patrol arrested 18 alien smugglers and 117 illegal aliens from three stash houses in a month-long investigation in the El Paso area, according to an ICE press release. The illegal aliens were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, El Salvador, and Peru. Agents also seized cash, nine vehicles, three tractor-trailers, and more than 1,000 lbs. of marijuana. Several of the illegal aliens had prior criminal records, including a 34-year-old Guatemalan with an outstanding warrant out of Florida for driving under the influence; a 30-year-old Mexican with ties to a Mexican drug cartel; and a 32-year-old Mexican with convictions for child endangerment and driving while intoxicated. All Neighborhoods Stash housessuch as houses, trailers, and even motelscan be found in all types of neighborhoods, including gated communities. It can be a nice neighborhood to a dilapidated house, mobile home, Guerra said. Sometimes theyll even stash these individuals out in wooded areas. The majority of them are being rented, Guerra said. So these landlords, either for one they dont know or they just dont ask any questions because theyre getting paid. They might be getting paid $1,000 a month for something that might regularly go for $400 or $500 a month. In Hidalgo County, Guerra said his department has a pretty aggressive public awareness campaign about stash houses, including letting people know what to look for. A lot of vehicles coming in and out, especially at night. Most of the time the windows will be coveredthey dont want people to know, Guerra said. A lot of trash being collected or discarded from a house that normally houses a family of three or four people a lot of trash being dumped on a daily basis. So, we get a lot of those calls from our community. Staton said, in some cases, calls have come in from individuals who are complaining because bathrooms are stopped up and raw sewage is coming out onto the streets. A student from Oregon State University has died after she fell off a cliff while trying to take a photo on the Oregon coast. (Screenshot via Google Maps) Student Climbs Over Rock Barrier to Take Photo, Plunges Nearly 100 Feet off Cliff A student from Oregon State University has died after she fell off a cliff while trying to take a photo on the Oregon coast, according to reports. Michelle Casey, 21, and her boyfriend had stopped at the Neahkahnie Mountain viewpoint along Highway 101, a popular vantage point for scenic views picture taking, reported KGW 8. The couple decided to climb over a rock barrier to get a better view when Casey slipped and fell nearly 100 feet down the cliff, police said. Her boyfriend told NBC that she landed on a tree, which prevented her from falling into the ocean. She has the most giving, loving heart of anyone I know A Happy Valley mother shared precious photos of her 21-year-old daughter, Michelle Casey. Michelle was studying kinesiology at @OregonState. She died yesterday after falling while taking photos at Neahkahnie Mountain pic.twitter.com/lCeBeKxG5M Kandra Kent (@KandraKPTV) May 21, 2019 She was rescued by Life Flight and transported to Legacy Emmanual hospital, where she later died, according to Fox 12. Caseys family is now morning her death. Her mother described the 21-year-old as a giving and loving person, according to the news station. In a statement to NBC, Caseys family said that she loved being in the outdoors and played a number of sports. She was studying Kinesiology. Michelle always brought people together with her bubbly personality and loving, giving heart, the statement said. They added that Casey had chosen to be an organ donor, which ultimately saved the lives of two people. In a similar case, a 20-year-old college student from South Dakota died after falling off a cliff in Arkansas while posing for a photo. Andrea Norton, a junior at Briar Cliff University, was repositioning herself for a picture at Hawksbill Crag, a popular hiking destination near Jasper, on April 13, when she fell. Our deepest thoughts and prayers go out to the Briar Cliff Womens Volleyball Team with the passing of Andrea Norton. pic.twitter.com/4qJfzykN1U Jimmie Volleyball (@UJVolleyball) April 15, 2019 Newton County Sheriff Grenn Wheeler as saying that Norton was with a group of other college students when she died, reported the Associated Press. At the time of the accident, Norton was on a hiking trip with classmates, according to her obituary. A 20-year-old South Dakota woman died this morning after she fell off Hawksbill Crag in Newton County. The sheriff says Andrea Norton goes to school in Sioux City, Iowa. She was w/ other students. Witnesses say she repositioned herself for a photo when she fell. pic.twitter.com/D0fhOTO36G Stephanie Sharp (@stephmsharp) April 13, 2019 Over 250 Recorded Selfie Deaths According to a study from October 2018, there have been 259 recorded deaths of people taking selfies between 2011 and 2017. Researchers noted that the leading cause of selfie-related death was due to drowning. For the most part, this was on account of people being hit by waves or falling out of boats. The study, published in The Journal of Family Medicine, also identified other top causes as falls from high places and being attacked posing with dangerous animals. Over half of the deaths were in India, where the research was carried out by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The other top countries were Russia, the United States, and Pakistan. Epoch Times reporters Tom Ozimek and Simon Veazey contributed to this report. Have you ever done something in your life so profound that it stayed with you? Ive had a few of those experiences in my life, in the realm of Special Forces. In 2009, we put together a program called Village Stability Operations. It was a special time because I had the opportunity to serve with men and women at both the highest level and most junior level, who were all committed to the same thing, which was stabilizing Afghanistan from the bottom up. It was one of the few times in my military career where I saw true unity of effort. For a fleeting period of time, we really had momentum going our way. It involved one Afghan villager at a time, climbing up the ladder onto their house and defending their home; usually after a special forces detachment living in that village had been doing it night after night after night. Eventually, those individual rooftops would transform into a community movement to stand on their own and fight back. These individual movements, up onto the Rooftop, resulted in the growth of 6 communities standing on their own to 113 communities standing on their own. From 75 farmers defending their homes across six villages to 30,000. It became a movement that was funded for $500 million by Congress, sanctioned by President Karzai, endorsed by President Obama, and integrated by General Petraeus as one of the pillars of the Afghan campaign. To this day, its still a strategic, historic program. It was the action of those villagers climbing the rooftop that I found so striking and is the basis of what we can learn here, as leaders in our businesses and communities. We can learn to build movements where people take action, in a collective way, that they otherwise wouldnt take in the face of high stakes, high risk, ambiguity, and complexity. We can lead people to take a stand, shoulder to shoulder, tipping the balance in a way that is representative of historical change. Whether youre doing this with a product, building a movement inside your school or inside the political system, creating a movement is something that leaders should always strive for. Now Ill be straight with you, I have attempted a lot of movements in my life. Creating a movement of people who are often diverse, distrustful, disengaged, disconnected, and emotional, is fraught with difficulty. Its difficult to get people to take action in a collective way. I have failed many more times than I have succeeded, but, the movements I have created have been prolific. A movement is a group of people taking action, of their own free will, at a grassroots level, with several key leaders, in search of, and in pursuit of, a common unifying vision. And at some point, they achieve momentum and they overwhelm the system to create radical change. They disrupt the status quo in a beautiful groundswell. As a leader, you are the catalyst who brokers, bridges, and creates connections so that your movement can start to build from the bottom up. There has to be a unifying vision that cuts through everyones differences and brings them together behind a common mission. This isnt new. You, in fact, accomplish this through storytelling and other old-school interpersonal, human connection skills. Beyond the unifying vision, there has to be a sense of deep connection. The people in a movement have to feel safe, and they have to feel connected to each other. Now what that means to you as a leader is that you have to reach beyond trust gaps. You have to be a leader who doesnt get sucked into petty tensions, petty rivalries, or who is easily swayed into an emotional state. You must be a leader who, above all else, bridges relationships and connections where others cannot. You have to be willing to stitch together different personalities, different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different wants and objectives under the catalyst of a common cause. It requires everything youve got. And guess what? Youre not going to get any of the credit. If youre truly a catalyst leader, you wont get the credit for whatever movement you build. Rooftop leaders are often the catalysts behind the scenes building connections and bridging trust to create momentum, and thats a powerful thing. To build those connections within your movement, you have to tell the story of what youre building and enlist the service of others by culminating that story with, Help me build this movement. Heres what it looks like for you as a hero in this story if you help me build it. Stories are about giving people hope and rallying them together to push toward a tipping point of change. This isnt easy work and movements often fail. But lets talk about what happens if we dont. Look at your kids who have no leadership right now, except you and me, and ask yourself, Is it worth the price to stay in the bleachers and not lead the movements that need to be led? Take a look at your life and see which movement you want to create and then join us on the rooftop. Scott Mann is a former Green Beret who specialized in unconventional, high-impact missions and relationship building. He is the founder of Rooftop Leadership and appears frequently on TV and many syndicated radio programs. For more information, visit RooftopLeadership.com The freight train in Minsk where a boy (R) was electrocuted on May 20, 2019. (Ministry of Emergency Situations Belarus) Thrill-Seeking Teenager Blown Off Train Roof By 25,000-Volt Electrical Arc A thrill-seeking teenage boy was struck in the chest by a 25,ooo-volt electrical arc that set fire to his clothes and sent him flying back onto the tracks after he climbed onto a Belarus freight train. He was rushed to hospital with 60 percent burns and other injuries. He appears to have died 3 days later, according to some British media reports. The boy, who was aged 13-14, according to official reports, appears to be the latest victim of the regions extreme selfie craze, with youngsters vying for the most adrenaline-pumped videos and photos. The accident occurred in the city of Minsk, at a sorting depot, where a group of youngsters had scaled the security fence. According to the Belarus authorities, the grade eight student was hospitalized on the evening of May 20 after a receiving a shock from the electrical elements on the roof, but without touching them. A later report from an investigative committee in Belarus said that the teenager was knocked to the ground by the electrical arc and his clothes caught fire. Investigators said they are examining video footage from the group of young people who were filming at the time of the incident. In one video, obtained by ONT another boy films himself clambering onto the stationary freight train after the boy, when there is a sudden flash and explosion from just above him. According to reports, other videos show the boy fall from the train roof, his clothes on fire, before railway workers put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. Photographs released by the city of Minsk authorities show the boy inside the ambulance with burns to his chest. The boy was initially said by local media to have miraculously survived despite 60 percent burns to his body, a broken arm, and leg, as well as a closed head injury of moderate severity. However, three days later, two British media outlets appeared to report that boy, who they named as 13-year-old Oleg Khoroshaev had died of his injuries, citing Russian railway authorities. It is unclear if it is the same story: the British media reports are the same in most details, however, they place the incident in Siberia, and carry different photographs. The reports of his death cannot currently be verified in local media. The Quest for the Extreme In March a Russian schoolgirl was killed when a freight train ran over her as she tried to take selfies on the train tracks near her home in Orsk. The girl is reported to be 15 or 16, according to the local transportation authorities, which said she was born in 2003. British tabloids citing EastWest news agency have named her as 15-year-old Karina Baymukhambetova. She was accompanied by an unnamed young male relative, who is reported to have been hit by the train but bounced off, unharmed. The quest for extreme selfies and videos to quench the thirst for likes on social media has become a growing problem in Russia in recent years, with dozens of deaths, and a growing trend for videos and images on top of trains. In 2015, Russian authorities issued official warnings as a trend for daredevil selfies and videos took hold, saying a cool selfie could cost you your life. Over 100 people had been injured and 10 killed in death-defying stunts gone wrong, including a woman wounded by a gunshot and two men who killed themselves blowing up grenades. In October, researchers found that since 2011, there had been 259 documented deaths worldwide from taking selfies. The research, however, was limited. They believe that the 259 recorded cases to be just the tip of the iceberg, as people brush with death to get the perfect image, falling off boats and over waterfalls. Farmer John Duffy (L) and Roger Murphy load soybeans from a grain bin onto a truck in Dwight, Ill., on June 13, 2018. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Trump Administration Settles in for Long Trade Fight Against China WASHINGTONThe Trump administration has stepped up efforts to protect American farmers who face a large negative impact from the U.S.-China trade war, announcing a new $16 billion aid package in an effort to keep the farmers afloat. The $16 billion in funds will help keep our cherished farms thriving and make clear that no country has a veto on Americas economic and national security, President Donald Trump said May 23 during his meeting with farmers and ranchers at the White House. As part of the aid package, the Department of Agriculture will provide $14.5 billion in direct payments to producers. An additional $1.4 billion will be used to purchase food such as fruit, vegetables, meat, and milk for food banks, schools, and other outlets serving low-income individuals. Trump suggested China would be paying for the aid. It all comes from China, he said. We will be taking in, over a period of time, hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs and charges to China. The new aid package is the second bailout for farmers. In 2018, the Trump administration announced $12 billion in assistance to farmers to offset their losses from the tariffs. Trump accused China of targeting U.S. farmers since the beginning of the trade conflict in 2018. They took an ad in a newspaper from Iowa, a big ad, saying lots of bad things about the administration, about the fact that were negotiating too tough, he said. But they steal intellectual property, by the billions. Trump voiced optimism about reaching a trade deal with Beijing, despite renewed tariff tensions. I remain hopeful that at some point, well probably get together with China, he said. If it happens, great. If it doesnt happen, thats fine. Thats absolutely fine. He said he would see Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the end of June during the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Trump also called for a united front against China to achieve maximum results for the American people. I appreciate the incredible bipartisan support that my administration has had on trade and trade policy, especially as it pertains to placing very massive tariffs on China. New Long March Trumps remarks came after Xi, on May 20, called on citizens to begin a new long march as trade tensions grow. The long march referred to a yearlong retreat undertaken by the Red Armies of the Chinese Communist Party in 1934. Its credited in communist propaganda with saving the Red Army. We must start all over again, Xi said. Although he didnt mention escalation of the trade war with Washington, his remarks were interpreted as a clear indication that Beijing would not cave to U.S. demands soon. Tensions rose between the United States and China in early May, after Beijing backtracked on its commitments to make sweeping structural reforms. The latest round of talks ended with no resolution, prompting the Trump administration to slap the new tariffs on China, and China to retaliate with tariffs of its own. Chinas retaliatory tariffs since last year have affected a host of U.S. commodities, including soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton, rice, and sorghum, as well as livestock products such as milk and pork. Tariffs have also had an impact on exports of fruit, nuts, and other crops. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Chinas retaliation so far has been selective and strategic, aiming at U.S. farmers and certain manufacturers. Beijings tariffs particularly hit counties in rural areas in the Midwestern plains and Mountain West states that are Republican strongholds. Soybean farmers have been among those hit hardest, as they alone accounted for 10 percent of total U.S. exports to China in 2017. The Trump administration agreed on May 17 to lift U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, which was welcome news for U.S. farmers who have been hit by retaliatory tariffs. Japan has also agreed to lift restrictions on U.S. beef exports. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced optimism May 22 about reaching a trade deal with Beijing. Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Mnuchin said China took a big step backwards. Sometimes youve got to go backwards before you go forward. So Im still hopeful we can get back to the table. On May 10, Washington raised duties on $200 billion in Chinese products to 25 percent from 10 percent. And Beijing announced on May 13 it would raise tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods in retaliation. The Trump administration is planning to slap tariffs up to 25 percent on the remaining list of Chinese imports, worth about $300 billion. Mnuchin said the next round of tariffs would not be applied for another 30 to 45 days. President Donald Trump walks toward journalists as he departs the White House for a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on May 20, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Trump Responds to Tillersons Made Up Story on Putin Meeting President Donald Trump on May 23 disputed a story based on comments from former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson claiming Trump was out-prepared by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the 2017 summit between the two countries. Trump said Tillersonwho was fired by him in March 2018lied about the details in the story which were first reported by The Washington Post. On Twitter, the president shot back at Tillerson, saying that it wasnt him who was ill-prepared. Rex Tillerson, a man who is dumb as a rock and totally ill-prepared and ill-equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany, Trump said in a tweet. Rex Tillerson, a man who is dumb as a rock and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany. I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 I dont think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing! According to The Washington Post, Tillerson allegedly told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Trump was at a disadvantage during the two-hour meeting with Putin. Tillerson said the United States needed to do more in order to effectively deal with Russia. Tillerson had met with the committee on May 21 for seven hours to discuss Trumps foreign policies. He spoke to the bipartisan group of lawmakers upon a request by the chairman of the committee, Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.). In an initial statement responding to his former aides claims, Trump said that he was perfectly prepared for my meetings with Vladimir Putin. We did very well at those meetings. Trump and Tillerson had at some times clashed over foreign policy issues. The president, after firing Tillerson last year, appointed former CIA Director Mike Pompeo as the new secretary of state. Before joining the Trump administration, Tillerson had served as the CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil. In December 2018, Trump had criticized Tillersons performance as secretary of state and had praised the job Pompeo was doing instead. Mike Pompeo is doing a great job, I am very proud of him, he said in a Dec. 6 tweet. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, didnt have the mental capacity needed. He was dumb as a rock and I couldnt get rid of him fast enough. He was lazy as hell. Now it is a whole new ballgame, great spirit at State! Pres. Trump just blasted former Sec. of State Rex Tillerson as dumb as a rock after Tillerson told lawmakers that Putin was more prepared than Trump in their Hamburg meeting.@PressSec responds: The Presidents meeting with Putin went extremely well. https://t.co/xOjl45ECNt pic.twitter.com/8rWfm6xrc8 New Day (@NewDay) May 23, 2019 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, speaking to CNNs New Day, defended Trump and his foreign policy positions regarding Russia. Look, the presidents meeting with Putin went extremely well, the president has made clear that having a relationship with Russia is better than not having one, Sanders said on May 23. I think everybody can agree on that. Thats a good thing, but at the same time, no one has been tougher. When asked by CNN about the absence of transcripts of the discussion between Trump and Putin, Sanders responded bluntly. Thats insane, she said. The fact is, the president walked out of the meeting and did a press conference immediately following, as did a number of his aides who were participants the idea that there was no transparency is ridiculous and its just simply false. In 2016, U.S. officials stationed overseas started showing signs of a mysterious illness. The list of symptoms included headaches, sensitivity to light, sleep and cognitive problems, and nosebleeds. Many heard strange sounds that seemed to come from inside their heads. Over the next two years, dozens of diplomats staying in U.S. embassies in Cuba and China all developed the same list of symptoms. Doctors summed it up as a type of brain trauma, but theres no official answer of the cause. The lead theory is that the diplomats were the target of an unusual weaponone that emits a directed pulse of microwave radiation. In an interview with CBSs 60 Minutes, Mark Lenzi, a State Department security officer who worked in the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, said that he and his wife began to suffer after hearing strange sounds in their apartment. Lenzi seemed certain that they were the victims of an energy weapon. This was a directed standoff attack against my apartment, Lenzi told 60 minutes. I believe its RF, radio frequency energy, in the microwave range. The first scientist to suggest that microwaves were the cause of the illness was Dr. Beatrice Golomb, a professor of medicine at the University of CaliforniaSan Diego, and a researcher who examines how drugs and environmental toxins harm health. When she heard about the diplomats symptoms, her first thought was microwave exposure. The profile of symptoms does not match anything else Im familiar with, Golomb said. These are highly distinctive symptoms known to occur only in that setting. The likelihood that it could be anything else is very remote. Golomb wrote a paper outlining her case. Before it was even submitted for publication, it caught the attention of State Department officials eager for a meaningful explanation. She wrote that one major reason why the diplomats illness suggests a microwave cause is the auditory symptoms they experienced: hearing loss, tinnitus, and the presence of a chirping, ringing, hissing, or buzzing sound. The difference in the sound counts, in part, due to head dimensions, Golomb said. There were also reports that the sounds were tightly localized in space. When people moved, the sounds source seemed to follow them. Thats not the case for stationary sound forces, but it is the case for the micro-auditory effect because the sound is actually produced in the head. This microwave-induced phenomenon is known as the Frey effect or radio frequency hearing, and was proven by Dr. Alan Frey in 1965 when he was working for the U.S. Navy. A 1976 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report described how to stimulate it: Sounds and possibly even words which appear to be originating intracranially can be induced by signal modulation at very low average power densities. The good news is that, whatever the cause, it no longer seems to be an issue. Since returning to the United States, diplomats have either totally or partially recovered from their symptoms. But Golomb believes their story compels a larger question: If there is the reason to believe that microwave radiation can be used to sicken U.S. officials overseas, why arent we looking closer at the people with microwave sickness in the population back at home? I have heard from hundreds of people who have experienced severe health effects from wireless, and it is a frustration that most news outlets have steered clear of this topic, Golomb said. Understanding Microwave Sickness Everyone agrees that microwave radiation exposure at thermal levels (think microwave oven) can cause harm. But industry and regulatory standards assume that sub-thermal levels are safe. Yet, scientists have documented evidence of an illness from sub-thermal microwave exposure for decades. The condition used to be known as microwave sickness or radio frequency sickness, but today, its usually called electromagnetic sensitivity (ES). Symptoms of microwave sickness resemble those experienced by the U.S. diplomats mentioned above. The difference is that everyday citizens who develop the condition trace their illness not to a mysterious weapon, but to very common microwave-emitting devices, such as Wi-Fi routers, cellphone towers, and smart meters. This group is similar to the diplomats in that different people have different subsets of symptoms, but prominent on the list are sleep problems, cognitive problems, and ear associated problems, with tinnitus the most common, Golomb said. Microwave sickness causes a wide range of symptoms, and some can be very serious. For example, many people who develop the illness report feeling a band-like pressure in their head. There is a reason to think that this may actually be brain swelling as was occurring in some diplomats, Golomb said. One person was actually given social security disability for very severe electro-sensitivity. His brain swelling became so severe at one point that it actually pushed his eyeball out of its orbit. One obstacle to understanding microwave sickness is that it can be triggered by electronics that virtually everyone is exposed to. If Wi-Fi routers and cellphone towers really caused illness, why do only some people get sick and everybody else seems fine? The answer can be found within the same pattern seen in other diseases: If the stress is high and your defenses are low, youre more likely to develop it. For microwave radiation, exposure means oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. Luckily, a healthy body can repair itself when hit with a small dose of this stress. However, if the exposure is chronic or becomes too intense, and our defenses are compromised, illness can result. Golomb mentioned one study, an Italian-Russian collaboration, that showed people who had electromagnetic sensitivity (ES) were significantly more likely to have gene variants in the glutathione systema major antioxidant system in the body that guards against oxidative stress injury. This adversely affects the balance of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense and makes any new oxidative stressor more likely to produce symptoms, she said. Angelas Story Sweden is the only country that recognizes ES as a functional impairmentthis means its like a disability, but it has an environmental cause. In the rest of the world, however, the issue is generally unknown, ignored, or sometimes even ridiculed until a notable case goes to court. Part of the confusion is that some researchers insist it doesnt exist. Studies primarily connected with industry, for example, aim to show that the condition is merely psychosomatic and not a valid medical concern. Golomb is familiar with such studies, but said they often come from researchers who make a career out of debunking environmental illness, not from scientists genuinely looking for answers. Thats the angle theyre coming in with and, not unexpectedly, the design of these studies does not take into account any of the known science on the variability and time course to onset, resolution, and that different people respond to different frequencies, etc., she said. There is, however, strong physiological evidence for the condition. One study by Dr. Dominique Belpomme, a professor of medical oncology at Paris University, examined 700 ES sufferers. All showed decreased levels of another important antioxidant associated with sleep, melatonin. That explains why sleep problems are such a common problem with this condition. More than a quarter of the ES sufferers in Belpommes study showed evidence of a broken blood-brain barrierwhich is considered another hallmark of microwave exposure. Microwave radiation can affect any cell in the body, but its impact on the brain is particularly worrisome. It often makes its way in through the ear because there is no skull there to protect against it. A recently published pilot study revealed differences and abnormalities that signified brain injury within the brains of ES patients that were not present in the brains of those not suffering from ES. Researchers believe these MRI scans defy the widely held governmental and wireless industry claim that wireless devices and infrastructure have no consequences to human health and could affect the prevailing opinion that wireless radiation is safe. Yet few know about such evidence. Its not taught in medical school, so when symptoms develop, few doctors are prepared to connect the dots. Thats why Angela Tsiang had so much trouble finding answers when her son started showing signs of a neurological disease when he was 9 years old. It began soon after he entered the fourth grade in August 2013. Tsiang said he had been a normal child up until that point, but he suddenly developed new problems: extreme agitation and nervousness, sleep problems, severe headaches, nosebleeds, a red, swollen rash that would make his hands crack and bleed, digestive problems, and a new fear: loud noises. He started becoming afraid of fire drills, Tsiang remembers. I said, What are you talking about? Youve been going through fire drills since kindergarten. He said, I dont know why, mommy, but loud noises really scare me now.' The most concerning problem was that her son had also lost his ability to concentrate. Homework became a big ordeal. Assignments that were supposed to take 30 minutes took hours to complete. Even getting ready in the morning became unusually difficult. Tsiang said her son had become so forgetful that the basic routine he had performed for years was suddenly confusing to him. Worried about what could be wrong, Tsiang took her son to several specialists, but they offered few answers. Everyone could see he had problems, but nobody could explain where they came from. Her son received the most relief from supplements prescribed by her integrative physician, Dr. Rita Ellithorpe. Ellithorpe wasnt sure what was wrong, either, but Tsiang said the probiotics, vitamins, and essential fatty acids helped ease his symptoms. Everything became manageable and he was able to concentrate better, but he still wasnt quite right, Tsiang said. Ellithorpe also gave Tsiang some general lifestyle advice: have her son reduce his use of wireless devices. She also recommended shutting off the cordless phone and Wi-Fi at night. She said it might help him sleep and help his body repair. Tsiang listened but said that back then, the advice sounded inconvenient, and she didnt think it would make a huge difference. The devices Ellithorpe mentioned all emitted non-ionizing radiation, which Tsiang learned was harmless at low, non-thermal levels from her science and engineering classes. Yet, it planted a seed in her mind that started to sprout in the spring of 2015. One morning, as Tsiang dropped her son off at school, she got her first flash of insight into what might be causing his problems. I happened to look up and see a construction worker on this really tall pole in the park next to my sons school. They were taking the cover off the cell tower. I didnt even know it was there, she said. It was about 300 feet from the school building. Following this new lead, Tsiang went to city hall and researched the records on the tower. Thats when she discovered a second cell tower 600 feet away from the school that had been upgraded to 4G from 3G in June 2013, right before her son started fourth grade and all his problems began. She learned that the tower 300 feet away (where she had just seen the workmen) was now in the process of being upgraded to 4G. The network upgrade would mean better connectivity and bandwidth for wireless devices, but what did it mean for her sons health? I started to panic, Tsiang said. Could that have been what caused my son to become sick? As she dove into the scientific literature, Ellithorpes advice started to make more sense. Despite what Tsiang had been taught, studies have shown that non-ionizing radiation could cause symptoms very similar to her sons. But Tsiang and her husband are both engineers who wanted their own evidence, so they purchased a meter and measured the radiation levels at their sons school. Some of the readings Tsiang found were high enough to cause illness, according to the studies she had read. Even though they were below FCC limits, the radiation levels at school were 1,000 times higher than what they were in our home and most areas that do not have a cell tower close by, Tsiang said. Thats why those meters are so great: because it objectively shows you how much radiation youre being exposed to. Tsiang learned all these details during spring break and worried about what would happen once her son went back to school with a second upgraded cell tower at even closer proximity. All she could do was wait and watch. We didnt say anything to my son, but when he went back to school, all the symptoms he had in 2013 came back, after they had been manageable for over a year, Tsiang said. It was terrifying. He had another month of school to go, and I didnt know what we were going to do. As Tsiang and her husband watched the same pattern of their sons symptoms returning each school year and fading over the summer break, they became convinced that microwave radiation was the cause. Tsiang shared her findings with Ellithorpe, who diagnosed her son with ES, and wrote a letter requesting that he be transferred to a different school (one with considerable distance from a cellphone tower), and disability accommodations so that her son wouldnt be near any Wi-Fi routers or other microwave-emitting devices that might exacerbate his condition. Doctor Awareness Doctor support always adds validity to a disease. But Golomb said that, unlike Tsiangs experience with Ellithorpe, most doctors are not so supportive when patients believe they have microwave sickness. In a survey that we did in electro-sensitive people a few years ago, we asked what their doctors attitude was, and we asked if this was a traditional doctor or an alternative doctor, Golomb said. For alternative doctors, Golumb found that the vast majority of providers were supportive or accepting of the relationship between electromagnetics and symptoms. For traditional doctors, many were dismissive or hostile about the possibility. This is a serious problem with each of the conditions we study, whether its adverse drug effects or adverse effects from pesticides, she said. I would say that traditional medical training is extremely poor on the adverse effects of anything. But Dafna Tachover sees a growing awareness among doctors in regard to microwave sickness. Tachover is an attorney and founder of We are the Evidencean advocacy group dedicated to defending those who have been injured by wireless radiation. She said that, with so much microwave radiation exposure in our world today, doctors cant help but see more cases of it. Unfortunately, most doctors in the U.S. are unfamiliar with the condition, but we definitely see a change, Tachover said. Doctors are being educated by their patients and once provided with the evidence realize that likely many of their other patients are sick and suffering from the condition as well. In some cases, doctors take the lead. Tachover mentioned several quality surveys conducted by European physicians that have helped educate the medical community. Over the past 20 years, more than 20 position papers and resolutions regarding the health effects of electromagnetic field radiation have been adopted by researchers and physicians worldwide. Unfortunately, some doctors also learn about the condition the hard way. Tachover has met several physicians who have either developed the condition themselves or have children who have. But you dont have to develop the illness to be convinced. Tachover said the proof of health problems related to wireless is vast. The medical establishment just needs to learn to see it. There are actually very elaborate guidelines for doctors on how to diagnose the condition, Tachover said. In 2016, physicians from the European Academy for Environmental Medicine (EUROPAEM) put out their latest guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of EMF-related health problems and illnesses. The academy stated that studies, empirical observations, and patient reports clearly indicate interactions between EMF exposure and health problems, raising new challenges for medicine and society. Although few doctors know about them, there are also official diagnostic codes for exposure to non-ionizing radiation. The American Disabilities Act also recognizes ES. Tachover believes one big roadblock in the understanding of microwave sickness is the name people use most often to describe it: electromagnetic sensitivity or hypersensitivity. Not only does the term blame the victim rather than the cause, but it also creates a disconnect from all the evidence that had been known about the condition several decades before smartphones came along. This is not sensitivity. Its a serious injury caused by microwave-based technologies, she said. Microwave sickness was acknowledged by NASA and the Navy. Before we commercialized cellphones and wireless technology, there were occupational doctors who were dealing with soldiers, and radio and antenna workers, because they were the only ones who were exposed to the high levels of non-ionizing radiation. Now, the entire population is being exposed to it. Seeking a Safe Distance There are a number of remedies that reportedly help with ES symptoms. According to Golumb, some patients benefit from melatonin, and ginkgo biloba, an herb known for improving blood flow to the brain. Other doctors familiar with microwave sickness recommend glutathione, magnesium, and acupuncturea treatment that helps balance the bodys own electromagnetic field. But treatments and supplements can only help so much, and Golomb stressed that these remedies come primarily from word of mouth, not published research. According to her, and the EUROPAEM guide, the primary treatment method should mainly focus on reducing exposure as much as possible. The only people who have really been successful in ameliorating their severe problems are those who have found a way to reduce exposure, Golomb said. Its unclear how many people are affected by microwave sickness. The most comprehensive attempt to find a number comes from an Austrian survey which found that it affects about 10 percent of the population. But consider that this figure was documented in 2006, before the emergence of the smartphone and the massive wireless infrastructure that followed. By one estimate, we are subjected to 1 quintillion times (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) more electromagnetic radiation today compared to just a decade ago. Golomb believes finding a good estimate of affected individuals today would be extremely difficult, given that people who develop the illness can be hard to reach. Youre not going to find the people who end up living in their car. You are no longer going to find the people who no longer have the technology by which you can contact them. By definition, the most severely affected people are not going to be participating, and certainly not in an online survey, she said. Tachover developed microwave sickness when she was a telecommunications officer in 2009. Tachover was an early adapter of wireless, but her symptoms became so debilitating, she was forced to give up her devices and eventually retreat to the Catskill Mountainsthe closest place the radiation was low enough for her body to recover. It is like a woundit cannot heal if you keep scratching it, she said. Tachover believes, given that the background radiation in our lives is constantly on the rise, more people are bound to develop this illness. She regularly encounters individuals who show the first signs of the condition: hands tingle when holding a wireless device, pain in the head and ears while using it, memory problems, heart palpitations, and flu-like symptoms that wont go away. Our body is electric, our brain is electric, our heart is electric, and our nervous system is electric. So radiation that is a quintillion times higher than what our body can tolerate will affect it, she said. But in a world where wireless technology is so thoroughly embedded into the fabric of life, finding distance is becoming increasingly difficult to do. In 2016, soon after Tsiang was able to make disability accommodations for her son at his school in California, her husbands employer wanted him to transfer to Minnesota. Tsiang managed to find a superintendent in a district who sympathized after hearing her sons story. He personally expressed concerns over cellphone use in children because he had seen a study showing that cellphone radiation penetrated childrens skulls more deeply than adult skulls. He had even limited his own childrens cellphone use as a result. With the promise of help, the Tsiangs purchased a home. But once the family moved, the school board changed its tune. They had written a very insulting 504 report. It basically said that ES is not a valid medical condition, there are no legal precedents, and were not going to accommodate for it, even though we had accommodations at our school in California. It said that it was my belief in this condition that was responsible for his symptoms, Tsiang said. But verbally they said the Wi-Fi router would be turned off in [my] sons classroom because they had determined they didnt need it. The fact that the school would not provide accommodations in writing, but then verbally said the Wi-Fi would be off in his classrooms, didnt make sense to Tsiang. She interpreted this to mean that the school believed Wi-Fi does make her son sick, but they didnt want it documented for liability concerns. The problem was that since the school refused to document the accommodations, accidents occurred frequently. As a result, his symptoms would return, consistently validating that his environment was the cause. I contacted a disability advocate, explained this situation and the accidents that were happening, Tsiang said. At that point, the school hired an attorney for the second round of hearings. He downplayed all his symptoms. He said, Whats the big deal about having a rash. Just put some lotion on it. Its no different than having chapped lips. Tsiang said that despite her knowledge of the issueshe is the science resource specialist at Environmental Health Trustthe school now aims to discredit her and obfuscate the scientific evidence in hopes that she will give up. Its a strategy that also serves to intimidate other parents who might consider stepping forward. But in some schools, the evidence can become impossible to dismiss. One recent example is at an elementary school in Ripon, California, where four students and three teachers were diagnosed with cancer after a cellphone tower had been installed on school grounds three years ago. Several parents were wary of a cell tower so close to their kids school before it was ever built. But after the fourth child was diagnosed in March 2019, parents patience had disappeared, and many kids were pulled out of school. Although the school had another 15 years left on its lease agreement to keep the tower on its grounds, the owner (Sprint) agreed to remove the structure due to public pressure. Sometimes, public pressure is the only way to create change because the law wont allow it. One study found that some California firefighters were experiencing profound neurological symptoms following activation of cell towers near their stations. SPECT scans revealed brain abnormalities in all the firefighters suffering symptoms. They sued the wireless company that told them the towers were harmless, but since The Telecommunications Act of 1996 doesnt allow health to be taken into consideration when siting a tower, the judge dismissed the lawsuit. As a result, the International Organization of Firefighters passed a resolution that prevents building cell towers on fire stations in California. Today, Tsiang said she has no choice but to homeschool both her kids, but she would also like them to have some social interaction. So she filed a lawsuit with the school in 2017, not for damages, but to get the accommodations her son needs. The case is still waiting to go to trial. The school is trying to get the case dismissed, or at least dismiss the experts Tsiang wants to testify. Tsiang is frustrated with the situation, but she said she has no choice but to educate people until they understand. No one is born with this, Tsiang said. We were using Wi-Fi and everything was fine for a while. We used to use a lot of these things. We were like everybody else. For some people, their tolerance level is at a lower threshold and when they hit it, the body cant deal with it anymore and it starts to react. Golomb said that, at a minimum, there should at least be some safe places available where people can live without electromagnetic radiation pulsing 24/7 in the background. Some need this distance simply to survive, but everyone could all benefit from such places. You may not be sensitive now, but that doesnt mean you wont be sensitive five or 10 years from now, Golomb said. Tachover agrees that there is a desperate need for wireless-free zones where injured individuals can recover, but doesnt believe its a practical strategy. How do you create a space for so many people completely separate from the wireless world the rest of us inhabit? This is not a long-term solution. We cannot move 10 percent of the population and their children, Tachover said. The sign for the Hidden Oaks apartment complex in Jefferson City Missouri stands bent on May 23, 2019, from an apparent tornado in front of a tree that was ripped apart. (David A. Lieb/AP Photo) Update: Tornado Kills at Least Three in Missouri, Causes Catastrophic Damage in Jefferson City A series of powerful storms late Wednesday, May 22, gave rise to tornadoes that caused catastrophic damage in parts of Missouri, causing at least three deaths. The Missouri Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the three fatalities took place in the Golden City area of Barton County. Several people were injured in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County, MO, DPS added. Law enforcement can confirm three fatalities in the Golden City area of Barton County and several injuries in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County. #MoWx#GoldenCity #CarlJunction MO Public Safety (@MoPublicSafety) May 23, 2019 The violent tornado touched down in Jefferson City, Missouri, causing heavy damage on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. The service reported that a confirmed large and destructive tornado was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph. The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located 130 miles west of St. Louis. Damage reports coming in from Jefferson City are heartbreaking, KOMU meteorologist Matt Beckwith said, noting reports of people trapped in their basements. He added, If you believe in prayer please pray. NWS St. Louis earlier announced a Tornado Emergency covering Jefferson City, Holts Summit, and Wardsville, lasting until 12:30 a.m. CDT, writing, This is a life-threatening situation, seek shelter now! Tornado Emergency including Jefferson City MO, Holts Summit MO, Wardsville MO until 12:30 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/6xwmTcIdjv NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) May 23, 2019 Governor Mike Parson said in a statement on Twitter, Due to the tornado and severe weather in Jefferson City last night we are asking that all non-essential state employees in the Jefferson City area remain at home on Thursday. We have damage to state buildings and power is down in some areas. Please be safe! The buildings here are crushed, KMIZ reporter Ashley Strohmier said, reporting on location from Jefferson City. Roofs are collapsed. Trees are on buildings. The power lines have crushedabsolutely crushedRiley Chevrolets cars up front, Strohmier continued, reporting from Ellis Boulevard near Route 54. It looks like their service building is completely wiped out. There is a semi truck that is flipped over. After the storm hit, people were crying and running from the apartments, asking where their loved ones were, Strohmier said. Gov. Parson thanked responders for their efforts, The Associated Press reported, and announced that three people had been killed. Across the state, Missouris first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people, Gov. Parson said. I want our responders and all the neighbors who acted selflessly to help their neighbors to know how much their heroic efforts are appreciated by all Missourians. WATCH: Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said they had received multiple calls of people being trapped in their homes. Two local hospitals were treating a total of about 100 people for unspecified injuries, according to a report. Hospital staff say ambulances have been in and out all morning, according to KOMU-TV. Its a chaotic situation right now, Williams said. We need people who are not affected to stay out of those areas. Snapchat video showing damage in the Jefferson City, MO area. Very heartbreaking. Many prayers for everyone impacted tonight. #mowx pic.twitter.com/qWZAfN0Yl1 Christopher Pipkin (@ChrisAlanWx) May 23, 2019 Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriffs office, where debris such as insulation, roofing shingles, and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. In Jefferson City, the state capital, there is extensive damage along Ellis Boulevard near Highway 54. Power lines are down, a tweet from Missouri Public Safety said. In Jefferson City, the state capital, there is extensive damage along Ellis Boulevard near Highway 54. Power lines are down. Traffic is being diverted as @MSHPTrooperGHQ & local first responders go door-to-door. Consider all power lines live. Stay out of areas with damage. #MoWx pic.twitter.com/cPWQi1tzCJ MO Public Safety (@MoPublicSafety) May 23, 2019 More dangerous severe weathertornadoes and flash floodingexpected overnight, another tweet from Missouri Public Safety said. Tornado warnings continue in Missouri. Flash flooding hazard will expand as rain continues. Think of safety first. Treat non-working traffic lights as 4-way stops. #TurnAroundDontDrown #MoWx https://t.co/txq2bhgCi3 MO Public Safety (@MoPublicSafety) May 23, 2019 The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister. Ravaged Midwest Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose. The Arkansas River town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, was one such town. Town officials ordered a mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon because of the rivers rising level. But Wednesday evening, a posting on the towns official Facebook page sounded the alarm about the runaway barges for its 600 residents: Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!! There was no word by midnight Wednesday where the barges were on the river, but local television stations showing live video of the river and the lock and dam said they had not yet arrived. The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas could see more severe weather on Thursday. The NWS posted a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in effect until 5:30 a.m. CDT for Breese IL, New Baden IL, and Carlyle IL. Severe Thunderstorm Warning continues for Breese IL, New Baden IL, Carlyle IL until 5:30 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/lqkwzQNIBl NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) May 23, 2019 Earlier the NWS posted a Severe Thunderstorm Warning in effect until 4:45 a.m. CDT for Belleville IL, OFallon IL, and Swansea IL. Severe Thunderstorm Warning continues for Belleville IL, OFallon IL, Swansea IL until 4:45 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/lbZRlr57rP NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) May 23, 2019 The Associated Press and The CNN Wire contributed to this article. A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet is seen in its hanger at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland , U.S. on Oct. 28, 2015. (Gary Cameron/Reuters) US Defense Bill Takes Aim at Chinas Growing Influence WASHINGTONThe Senate Armed Services Committee unveiled a draft bill on May 23 that targets China on several fronts, from stemming the erosion of the U.S. military advantage against Beijing to countering the growing Chinese influence around the world. The $750-billion proposal would also authorize the U.S. military to buy more Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and fully fund a program to modernize the U.S. nuclear weapon arsenal. The committee acknowledged that our margin of military supremacy has eroded and is undermined by new threats from strategic competitors like China and Russia. The panel addressed what Congress sees as the threat from China, including stricter reporting of Beijings One Belt, One Road (OBOR also known as Belt and Road) international lending program. The bill would require the creation of a list of Chinese institutions and companies with any links to its military, to be used for screening visa applications for students and researchers. A lot of universities just dont have the information about whether research theyre conducting is under threat, a senior committee aide told reporters. Many U.S. universities work on research with military applications and U.S. officials worry about intellectual property theft coming from China. The annual bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is several steps from becoming law. Next month, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, is due to release its own draft version. Then the two committees must come up with a single, compromise version before it can be passed. It was too early to say exactly which provisions of the Senate draft would survive, but committee aides said they expect most of its major provisions would. F-35 Jets, Space Force The annual NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress passes every year. As a result, lawmakers use it as a vehicle for a range of policy proposals. The Senate version of the bill contains $3.6 billion that could replenish money used to fund construction of a wall on the Mexican border, but did not authorize additional funds requested by the White House, senior committee staff told the media. It authorizes the Pentagon to buy 94 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, comprising 60 of the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model; 12 of the F-35B short take-off/vertical landing version, and 22 of the F-35C, which are used aboard aircraft carriers. Lockheed is developing and building the new warplanes for the U.S. military and 10 other countries. The NDAA would remove Turkey from the list of nations that have worked together to build the fifth generation F-35 fighter jet. Like other NATO allies, Turkey is both a prospective buyer and a partner in producing the F-35. But U.S. officials say Turkeys plan to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system would compromise the security of the F-35 jets. This years proposal authorizes the creation of a Space Force a proposal strongly backed by President Donald Trumpas a separately aligned service, but still part of the U.S. Air Force. And it would bar the Pentagon from reducing the number of U.S. troops in South Korea below 28,500. By Mike Stone & Patricia Zengerle WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen in a police van, after he was arrested by British police, in London on April 11, 2019. (Henry Nicholls/Reuters) US Hits WikiLeaks Founder Assange With 18-Count Indictment The Justice Department leveled an 18-count superseding indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on May 23. The new charges include conspiring with former Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning to obtain classified materials, compromising sources in the Middle East and China, and conspiracy to hack into a more secure military database. Manning provided to Assange and WikiLeaks databases containing approximately 90,000 Afghanistan War-related significant activity reports, 400,000 Iraq War-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables. Assange started publishing the files via Wikileaks in 2010, which resulted in Manning being court-martialed and jailed. Assange isnt being charged for being a publisher, or for passively obtaining or receiving classified information, said Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The indictment alleges that Assange published in bulk, hundreds of thousands of stolen classified documents. But the United States has not charged Assange for that, Terwilliger told reporters on May 23. Rather, the United States has only charged Assange for publishing a narrow set of classified documents in which Assange also allegedly published the unredacted names of innocent people, who risked their safety and freedom to provide information to the United States and its allies. Terwilliger said the sources were in China, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The indictment alleges that Assange knew that his publication of these sources endangered them, he said. John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said some of the documents published on WikiLeaks had been found in Osama Bin Ladens compound. The WikiLeaks leaks were one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States. Each charge, except the hacking charge, carries a 10-year maximum sentence. Assange was arrested in London on April 11 after spending seven years living in the Ecuador Embassy. He is currently serving a sentence in the United Kingdom for failure to surrender to UK authorities in 2012. UK authorities will decide on his extradition to the United States. One of China's man-made islands in South China Sea, May 21, 2015. (U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters) US, Japan, South Korea, Australia Hold First Naval Drills in Western Pacific TOKYOU.S. Navy ships conducted joint drills with warships from allies Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific, the U.S. Navy said on May 23. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the U.S. island of Guam takes place ahead of President Donald Trumps visit to Japan this weekend, as Washington looks to allies in Asia to help counter Chinas military might in the region. Pacific Vanguard joins forces from four, like-minded maritime nations that provide security throughout the Indo-Pacific based on shared values and common interests, Vice Admiral Phillip Sawyer, commander of the U.S. Navys Seventh Fleet, said in a statement. The six-day exercise involves two Japanese destroyers, two Australian frigates and a destroyer from South Korea, with as many as 3,000 sailors participating. The U.S. Navy has deployed five ships as well as fighter jets and maritime patrol planes for the drills, which include live fire and anti-submarine warfare exercises. Pacific Vanguard is the latest show of combined naval force in the Asia Pacific region. This month, U.S. ships conducted drills with French, Japanese and Australian ships in the Bay of Bengal, and held separate exercises with a Japanese helicopter carrier and warships from India and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea. The Chinese regime claims that it has historical ownership over nearly the entire region, which gives it the right to manufacture islands, declare defensive perimeters around its artificial islands, and to chase ships from other nations out of the South China Sea. However, on July 12, 2016, an arbitration court in The Hague found the Chinese regimes claims to be false. In the U.N. tribunals ruling, Chinas claims to virtually the entirety of the South China Sea were dismissed by the 5-member tribunal as having no historical basis. It was also determined that the multiple artificial islands that have been built by and used as bases by the Chinese military do not constitute territory entitled to zones of economic exclusivity. Rather, they were found to be in violation of the sovereignty of the Philippines. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) immediately rejected the tribunals decision. A statement from its Foreign Ministry said it viewed the decision as null and void and has no binding force. It would neither accept nor participate in the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines. The true impact is uncertain given the tribunal has no power of enforcement, The Associated Press reported on July 12, 2016. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to the waterway, through which passes about a third of global seaborne trade. On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy sent two ships through the Taiwan Strait, its latest transit through the sensitive waterway and a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the worlds two biggest economies. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which also include a bitter trade war, U.S. sanctions and Chinas increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. By Tim Kelly. The Epoch Times contributed to this report. Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193) pulls alongside hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) to deliver supplies and mail by a connected replenishment in the South China Sea on Aug. 15, 2016. ( U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brittney Vella/Handout via Reuters) US Navy Again Sails Through Taiwan Strait, to Beijings Ire WASHINGTONThe U.S. military said it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on May 22, its latest transit through the sensitive waterway, angering China at a time of tense relations between the worlds two largest economies. Taiwan is one of a growing number of flash points in the U.S.China relationship, which also include a bitter trade war, U.S. sanctions, and Chinas increasingly muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. The voyage will be viewed by self-ruled Taiwan as a sign of support from the Trump administration amid growing friction between Taipei and Beijing, which views the island as a breakaway province. The transit was carried out by the destroyer Preble and the Navy oil tanker Walter S. Diehl, a U.S. military spokesman told Reuters. The ships transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, Cmdr. Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navys 7th Fleet, said in a statement. Doss said all interactions were safe and professional. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing had lodged stern representations with the United States. The Taiwan issue is the most sensitive in ChinaU.S. relations, he told a daily news briefing in Beijing. Taiwans Defense Ministry said the two U.S. ships had sailed north through the Taiwan Strait and that they had monitored the mission. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said there was no cause for alarm. Nothing abnormal happened during it, please everyone rest assured, she wrote on her Facebook page. U.S. warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait at least once a month since the start of 2019. The United States restarted such missions on a regular basis in July 2018. The United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is bound by law to help provide the island with the means to defend itself and is its main source of arms. The Pentagon says Washington has sold Taipei more than $15 billion in weaponry since 2010. China has been ramping up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the island, which it considers part of One China and sacred Chinese territory, to be brought under Beijings control by force if needed. Beijing said a recent Taiwan Strait passage by a French warship, first reported by Reuters, was illegal. China has repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle Taiwan on exercises in the past few years and worked to isolate it internationally, whittling down its few remaining diplomatic allies. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency released a report earlier this year describing Taiwan as the primary driver for Chinas military modernization, which it said had made major advances in recent years. On May 19, the Preble sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China in the South China Sea, angering Beijing. By Idrees Ali This aerial photo taken on Jan. 2, 2017, shows a Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills in the South China Sea. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) US Senate Bill Seeks to Punish Chinese Regime for Illegitimate Actions in South China Sea U.S. senators will reintroduce bipartisan legislation on May 23 that would sanction Chinese individuals and entities involved in Beijings activities in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Bill, sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), is aimed to punish the Chinese regime for its illegitimate actions to claim territorial rights in the waters off the countrys coastline, the South China Morning Post reported. Chinas illegitimate actions in the South China Sea threaten the regions security and American commerce, said Rubio, in a 2017 statement when the bill was first introduced. These ongoing, flagrant violations of international norms cannot be allowed to go unchecked, and the sanctions called for in this legislation would put Beijing on notice that the United States means business and intends to hold violators accountable. If passed, the law would require the government to seize U.S.-based assets and deny or revoke U.S. visas of any Chinese person who contributes to construction or development projects, or threatens the peace, security or stability in contested areas of the South China Sea. It would also sanction foreign financial institutions that finance such activities. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have competing claims in the South China Sea. The waters, home to rich fishing grounds and potentially valuable natural resources, is one of the worlds major shipping routes. In recent years, the Chinese regime has militarized areas of the South China Sea by building military installations on artificial islands and reefs. On top of these military activities, it also has deployed coast guard ships and Chinese fishing boats to intimate fishing vessels, blocked access to waterways, and helped seize shoals and reefs. The U.S. military has conducted freedom of navigation exercises and naval drills in the disputed waters to counter Beijings claims and preserve access to the regions that it says constitutes international waters. Rubio told the Post that the bill strengthens efforts by the U.S. and our allies to counter Beijings illegal and dangerous militarization of disputed territory that it has seized in the South China Sea. This legislation reiterates Americas commitment to keeping the region free and open for all countries, and to holding the Chinese government accountable for bullying and coercing other nations in the region, he said. The bill would also require the U.S. State Department to provide a report to Congress every six months on Chinese persons and companies involved in construction projects in the waters, including land reclamation, island-making, the building of mobile communication infrastructure, and the building of electricity and fuel supply facilities. The legislation was previously introduced in 2017, but never proceeded from the Committee on Foreign Relations to reach a vote in the Senate. A spokesperson for Rubio told the Post they were confident the bill would advance this time around due to the new Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), placing emphasis on China issues. The spokesperson added that the bill would be identical to the version introduced in 2017. The bills passage would add to the growing list of measures taken by Washington to counter the Chinese regimes military and economic ambitions worldwide. On May 15, the Trump administration effectively blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei from doing business with U.S. firms on national security grounds. The move marked the toughest U.S. action yet to address security concerns posed by the companys equipment, which experts, lawmakers, and officials say could be used by Beijing for spying. In early May, President Trump also raised tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports in response to the Chinese regime allegedly backtracking on commitments negotiated over months of trade discussions. Victim of Domestic Violence Catches Abuser With Smartphone Camera Warning: This report contains disturbing imagery. A woman used her smartphone to secretly film her husband assaulting her in front of their young son. The woman suffered bruises, and the husband has been criminally detained, according to Chinese state-sponsored media The Beijing News. The assault happened after an argument on May 17 between the woman, surnamed Yao, and the man, surnamed Chen, according to a police publication online. Local police arrested Chen in Guangdong Province, China on May 18. The video was published on Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter, on May 20 by user Internet Leopard Strength, a homonym in Chinese for Internet Violence. While in police custody, Chen confessed to intentionally harming his wife, according to the May 21 police publication. Attacked on Camera The video begins with Yao setting up a camera in a relatively empty room. Clothes can be seen hanging in the window, and Yao appears to be sitting on a thin mattress on the floor, with her young son near her. She appears to be attempting to hide the camera under a bed sheet. Just as she places the camera on the floor, Chen barges into the room, wearing only an underwear, and kicks Yao. Yao screams loudly, then Chen begins punching her, while holding her with his other hand. The camera only catches footage of Yao struggling on the ground, while Chen stands over her and continues to pummel her. The boy screams wildly, in tears, but is far too young to intervene. He tries to grab his mother as she reaches for him too, while Chen hits her. Yao lays in a fetal position while Chen continues his attack. Then Chen steps away from Yao, and the young boy crawls into her arms. Chen stops the attack, and looks down on the two. The entire assault lasted about 40 seconds. After a moment, Chen walks out of the room and slams the door. The video ends with Yao in tears, dragging herself on the floor and trying to reach for her phone. At around 2 p.m. on May 17, after the attack, Yao went to the hospital, and reported the incident, according to the police report. Chen was detained by police one day later, and confessed to assaulting his wife. The entire barn that housed the vehicles on the Huber family's farm on route 51 was completely blown away by a tornado in Perryville, Mo., on March 1, 2017. (Jon Durr/Getty Images) Violent Tornadoes Kill 3 in Missouri as Oklahoma Faces Flooding Rivers Tornadoes that ravaged southwest Missouri left three people dead on May 23 while Oklahoma faced heavy rain and flooded rivers as a continuous barrage of violent weather struck the central United States area, according to local media reports. The recent casualties upped the death toll in Missouri for the week of May 19 to at least seven. Forecasters said the violent weather, including the heavy rain and threat of damaging winds, are expected to continue. It looks to stay quite wet over the next week across the central portion of the country, meteorologist Mark Chenard of the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center told Reuters. Chenard said that rain showers from the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma north to Nebraska would bring flooding risks on May 23. He noted that the threat of tornadoes was somewhat diminished but would still persist from the Texas Panhandle through Kansas. A tornado tore apart buildings located in Missouris capital, Jefferson City, as dozens of people sustained injuries. Hospitals reported treating minor injuries related to the weather such as cuts and bruises. Officials also said the tornado caused widespread damage to buildings, trees, cars, and power lines in the capital city. The National Weather Service confirmed that the large twister moved over the capital before midnight on May 22. The weather services St. Louis office confirmed tornadoes touched down near Joplin, Missouri, as local media, including the Joplin Globe, reported at least three dead. According to The Associated Press, there were no immediate reports of any deaths or missing people in Missouris capital citywhere about 40,000 resideas door-to-door checks were being completed. NWS meteorologist Cory Rothstein said its possible the tornado had a 50-mile path and could have been on the ground for 80 minutes. Weather forecasters expect Missouri to get another two inches of rain through May 24. Across the state, Missouris first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people, Gov. Mike Parson said. In the meantime, the Arkansas riverfront town of Webbers Falls was ordered to evacuate on May 23, while residents of several other rain-swollen riverfront communities were advised to leave, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Caine said. Multibillion-Dollar Deal Reached Lawmakers from both parties agreed on a deal for a $19.1 billion disaster-relief package on May 23. The agreement between the House of Representatives and Senate negotiators came after Trump said he would sign it without any border wall funding. Earlier in May, Trump had requested the legislation to include emergency funds to address a surge in migrants. Border Patrol officials had apprehended more than 500,000 illegal aliens on the border as of May 10. The president, in multiple Twitter posts, offered his support to the people affected by the disasters in both Missouri and Oklahoma. Our hearts go out to the people of Missouri as they woke up to assess the damage from storms, he said in one post. You are strong and resilient, and we are here to assist. Our hearts go out to the people of Missouri as they woke up to assess the damage from storms. You are strong and resilient, and we are here to assist. https://t.co/paeOVcUQWn Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 In a separate post, Trump noted how the NWS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are monitoring the storms and flooding in Oklahoma. Listen to the warnings of your local officials and stay safe. We are with you! he said on Twitter. .@NWS and @USACEHQ are monitoring the damaging storms and flooding in Oklahoma. Listen to the warnings of your local officials and stay safe. We are with you! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 23, 2019 Missouri Casualties The three deaths in Missouri happened near Golden City in Missouris southwestern corner. They were an elderly married couple and a middle-aged woman, authorities said. Kenneth Harris, 86, and his wife, Opal, 83, were found dead about 200 yards from their home. Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed. Berg was found dead among the debris outside her mobile home located in the 800 block of E. State Route 126, according to The Kansas City Star. The highway patrol released the names on the morning of May 23. Sgt. John Lueckenhoff of the highway patrol noted that the three casualties took place just outside of city limits. The population in Golden City, located in Barton County, is around 728, according to 2017 data from the United States Census Bureau. The tornado, coupled with high winds, downed both trees and power lines in Golden City, the newspaper reported. Outside the city, several structures were also damaged. The neighbors of the victims told KCTV5 News they were too distraught to talk to them currently. Golden City is located about 45 minutes northeast of Joplin. As storms continued in the area as of the morning of May 23, some crews arrived at the homes to try to begin the cleanup process. According to KCTV5 News, there was not only damage to the homes, but also to the large farm equipment on the properties. One resident, William Weiser, told the network that they came back to their home on the night of May 22 to pick up essential items. The next day, he returned to what was left of the home. We got a lot of the family pictureswhat we could salvageand thats all we dealt with last night, Weiser said. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Picture of the wanted suspect, Jose Simms released on Facebook by police. (City of Torrington Police Department) Wanted Suspect Tells Police Hell Surrender If They Get 15,000 Likes on His Facebook Post A wanted suspect has negotiated with the police through Facebook that he will turn himself in if they get 15,000 likes on his Facebook post. Jose Simms (The first warrant pictured) negotiated with me earlier this week (Through Facebook) and has agreed to turn himself into Torrington Police if we can get 15,000 likes on this post (I said 10,000 he wanted 20,000, we split), City of Torrington Police Department said. The 29-year-old suspect is wanted on multiple warrants for failing to appear in the court, according to ABC7. He agreed to surrender to the police if the post about him received 15,000 likes. Police think it is difficult but doable. So please, like this post, and while youre at it share it, Tweet it, Instagram it, Snapchat it, WUPHF it,(Thanks Jared!) (Pronounced Woof, its a reference to the television show, The Officenevermind ), or use whatever other platforms are out there that I dont know about, the police wrote in the post. Police said it would even do better if people can help them locate the suspect. Then again, if you know where either of these guys are, you could always let us know that too, itd save everyone from the suspense of the 15K.Lets get it!! Wanted suspect refuses to turn himself in until Facebook post gets 15,000 likes https://t.co/uAO5zBqe9z pic.twitter.com/vGbarCFqPa ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 22, 2019 People appreciated Torrington Polices sense of humor. The fact that you quoted The Office had me liking this post before I even finished it. Its wonderful knowing Torringtons police have a great sense of humor! Jamie Rose Warner commented to the Polices post. I love the sense of humor from the Torrington Police Department! Praying that one way or another you meet your objective soon! wrote Patricia Giusti Chipko. People also responded with a wit to the post. Will the surrender be Facebook lived? commented Sean Sullivan. Crimes Related to Facebook The Torrington Police Departments case is witty and engaging, but theres another side to crime on Facebook thats more serious. Queensland Police in Australia lodged 5,000 cases involving Facebook in 2011, reported the Courier Mail. This number globally for the same year was 12,300 alleged offenses linked to the popular social media network, according to the Daily Mail. dailymail: A Facebook crime every 40 minutes: From killings to grooming as 12,300 cases are linked to the site http://t.co/glhUXNW7RJ Michelle Blanc M.Sc. (@MichelleBlanc) April 1, 2014 Criminal reference to Facebook happened in cases of murder, rape, child sex offenses, assault, kidnap, death threats, witness intimidation, and fraud. What people need to remember is that crime is just a reflection of the society that we live in, a senior detective told Daily Mail. Just like a knife or a car, there is nothing intrinsically dangerous or criminal about Facebook, but just like both of those things, it needs to be treated with respect because of the dangers that can be associated with its use. Hundreds of criminals were found to be using Facebook to harass their victims from behind prison bars. However, Facebook has also been helping law enforcement authorities to solve criminal cases. According to a 2012 survey, two-thirds of law enforcement officials believe that social media helps solve crimes more quickly, and 80 percent use social media to assist in investigations, according to govtech.com. Were Never Gonna See Them Start School, or Walk: Couple Loses Triplets Within Hours of Birth A couples happiest day turned into a nightmare after their triplets died within hours of birth on May 19 and May 20 in Midland, Texas. Were never gonna see them start school, or walk, or go on dates, or get married. We never got to hear them cry. We never got to see what color their eyes were, said LeAndra Burcham, the heartbroken mother, according to Wish TV. Burcham and her husband, Jack had tried for a whole year to get pregnant and the couple said their tripletsJack, Witten, and Autumn were a blessing. We were scared, excited I mean our kids were so excited because they were finally going to get a sister, she said while still recovering in the Medical Center Hospital. Burcham was carrying her triplets only for 22 weeks. The couple was out for a swim with their sons when she started feeling labor pain but she thought it was a false alarm. The couple rushed to the hospital when the triplets started to come out together. They barely managed to reach in time. Yesterday we went into labor and there was nothing the doctors could do to stop it. At 4:55 we welcomed our baby boy Jack, at 4:56 we welcomed baby Autumn, and at 4:56 we welcomed baby Witten, the Burchams said in an appeal on GoFundMe. Jack and Witten passed away on Sunday and Autumn passed away on Monday afternoon. Autumn was fighting hard but it was just too much for her little body and, she passed away this afternoon, the Burchams said on GoFundMe. The family said they have to bury their three babies and they can not describe the pain they are going through. Please keep us in your prayers and hearts while we try to get through this tragedy, they said on GoFundMe. The couple told Wish TV that they got to spend only a few hours with their babies and nothing could replace its preciousness in their lives. The family said they fear about how they will cope up with the tragedy in the future. You know, people talk, Oh, you are going to lose so much sleep and stuff. But I would give anything to be able to do that. How do we walk past the nursey every day? What do we do with their clothes? said the Burchams. Risk in Multiple Births The risk of prematurity is higher in multiple births and babies who arrive in groups are more likely to also die in groups, according to Centre for Loss in Multiple Birth. Though it is seldom mentioned in the media coverage surrounding multiples, or even in books about infant loss, very many parents are experiencing the death of both their twins or all of their triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets or higher multiples, said the Centre in its comments for Grief Counselors. Were never gonna see them start school, or walk, or go on dates, or get married. We never got to hear them cry. We never got to see what color their eyes were. https://t.co/7wSX2CZZrU WISH-TV (@WISH_TV) May 22, 2019 The center said many couples experiencing such tragedies are those who have waited for years and have undergone years of expensive, invasive fertility treatments and for others, it can be a surprise after their first baby or an addition to the family. It is not uncommon for a twin pregnancy to progress very well until suddenly crashing at 20 to 24 weeks when the babies are so near and yet so far from being able to live outside the womb, the Centre said. The most common complications for multiple births is premature birth, according to March of Dimes. The following excerpt is from Scott Duffys book Breakthrough. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | IndieBound Today, regardless of the size or growth stage of your business, odds are youll want to outsource some functions. Outsourcing is often a critical part of scaling and growing a new business or product, but its an area where many people fall down. Like all aspects of business, theres a learning curve. How can you avoid some of the common pitfalls in outsourcing? Take a disciplined approach. Too many entrepreneurs abandon everything theyve learned about hiring or dealing with consultants. It doesnt matter if you use an overseas developer or someone right across the street. Perhaps because the outsiders wont be full-time employees, or because theyll be on a shorter-term contract, entrepreneurs are less careful about whom they hire. Or maybe they do a poor job of communicating whats really needed, resulting in a big disconnect between whats expected and whats delivered. There can also be language and/or culture barriers that need to be addressed. In addition, since the outsourced employees arent at a nearby desk or workstation, many entrepreneurs dont bother to check on how things are going. This is a big mistakeyou must monitor essential steps throughout the process. This way, if your consultant gets off track or you need to make adjustments to the original project, you can minimize your losses and get the project back on the rails before its completed. Hire right. Dont take anyones word about the quality of outsourced work. Operate with the same diligence youd use when making full-time hires. Check references to get a better picture of past performance. Agree on a very clear job description and, if possible, run a test by executing a small project together before handing over too much money or control. If youre not getting the results you want, dont waste time; cut your losses and move on. Even if people are referred by valued friends, be careful. Ive found that most people arent very careful when referring consultants, who may be between gigs, out of work, or juggling lots of projects. Some are friends of the people making the referral, and the favor being done is for them, not you. Or the referrer knows them socially rather than through a business relationship. Be absolutely clear. If you paint an incomplete picture of your intended outcome, youll get something that only vaguely resembles what you had in mind. Many entrepreneurs have a vision but no concrete idea of how they plan to execute, so they hand the job over to someone else, expecting them to fill in the blanks. With a full-time employee, that can work. Your staff person can fill in the details of your broader vision; thats what you hired them to do, and since youre there, you can still exercise some direct control. They have the benefit of being in the office and getting feedback every day. Theyre also using your materials and tools, and know how your company operates. Most contractors, however, only do what theyre told. Thats usually a good thing, because if they start filling in the blanks, they could take things in an unintended direction. This also means you need to have a comprehensive understanding of your desired outcome. Write down the details as you think through each step in the process. Pass on your descriptions and expectations. Make it a dialogue. Continue the conversation throughout the process. Describe the specific look and feel youre going for. Try to point out comparisons, since examples of like products can be used as models to provide a clearer picture. Think of this as similar to the process of building a home; you find houses you like and, ideally, walk your architect through one thats close to what you desire. If youre developing an ecommerce site, for example, whats the specific user experience you want? What are the steps in the buying process? Can you picture them in your mind? The clearer you can be, the more likely you are to get the result you want. Point them to two or three comparable websites you like that they can use as guides when building your site. Manage against clear deliverables. Its important to specify key milestones and delivery dates. That keeps both sides honest and up-to-date and helps ensure the contractor is making progress (you cant manage what you dont measure). Assign strong managers to oversee contractors. Payment varies. Sometimes the supplier will want everything upfront, a retainer/kickoff fee, or payment at regular intervals. Many entrepreneurs I work with attempt to pay solely based on performance. But there are risks with this model. If people dont get paid, they fail to pay attention. As a result, the work doesnt get completed, takes longer than expected, or is poor quality. Keep in mind, you dont always have to pay in cash. Trading services may have the same value as cash to your vendor. But unless theres an equal exchange in value, a project usually fails. Take responsibility. If your first reaction on seeing your product is, Hey, this isnt what I intended, its not the end of the world. Thats just another reason we only build one thing at a time. Dont take your disappointment out on your contractor: How much of the fault was yours for not being clear or checking in? You may decide after seeing a prototype that you want something altogether different. Instead of losing your temper, outline what you like and what you would like to improve. Communicate this feedback in a constructive way to your contractor. Related: How This Entrepreneur Used a Personal Challenge to Disrupt Her Industry 7 Ways to Make Outsourcing a Success Time After Time Laughter Is a Key Component to This Specialty Magazine's Success Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved New York is on the cusp of enacting a law that could help congressional Democrats gain access to President Donald Trump's state tax returns, potentially opening the door for Congress to obtain tax records for any New York resident or business they want to investigate. That has some tax and ethics experts worried that Republicans and Democrats alike could use the provision and a similar one at the federal level to target political opponents or others to advance policy goals. The question of accessing the tax records of a public official started when Trump broke from decades of precedent by refusing to release his federal returns as a presidential candidate, despite promising to be an "open book" about them before he ran for office. These tax-return disclosure laws should only apply to presidents and top-level government officials, not private citizens, said Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. While Somin said there's nothing wrong with seeing a president's tax returns, New York's measure is "written to allow the same thing to happen to politically controversial people." As an example, he said, Republicans could demand billionaire Democratic donor George Soros' tax returns, or Democrats could target Charles and David Koch, whose donor network gives millions of dollars to Republicans. Democrats have targeted the chief executive officers of major banks like JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and Citigroup's Michael Corbat; Republicans have wanted to know more about the Clinton Foundation, run by former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Accessing their tax returns could become part of that process, experts said. "New York and Democrats in Washington are setting a dangerous precedent where political parties go after their political enemies and try to release and embarrass and harass them," said Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee. The legislation, which the New York State Assembly could vote on this week, would give chairmen of the congressional tax committees access upon request to the state returns of any New York resident or business. The New York Senate passed the bill earlier this month and Gov. Andrew Cuomo backs it. Those lawmakers can already access federal tax returns using a 1924 law, even though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin refused on Friday to comply with a subpoena for six years of Trump's personal and business returns. The New York law would allow the same congressional tax committee chairmen to request the state returns of any New York resident or business. In the case of Trump, the Democratic-led state government is probably more sympathetic to House Democrats' goal. It's not yet clear if House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal would avail himself of Trump's state returns, because doing so could undercut his stated reason for needing the federal records -- that he wants to make sure the Internal Revenue Service is properly auditing presidents. The requests could go beyond tax returns, said Andy Grewal, a tax law professor at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Officials in Republican-led states could look to make medical or educational records public to embarrass Democrats, he said. "Just imagine Beto O'Rourke. Texas is a red state. What if you wanted to get all the student and disciplinary records?" Grewal said, referring to the 2020 presidential hopeful. "There are ripple effects that go beyond tax." But some legal experts say that the New York bill and the 1924 federal law have safeguards that prevent improper disclosure. The bill would require the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to redact Social Security numbers, financial account numbers and home addresses before to handing over the documents to Congress. The committees also need a legislative reason to see the state returns, something that isn't specifically mentioned in the federal law, but that some courts have concluded is needed for federal returns. Congressional committees would also have to keep the returns private, unless the committee votes to release them to full House. "We've spent time thinking about privacy and we are comfortable with this law," said Robert Weissman, president of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. State and federal tax returns show much of the same information about income and tax breaks, although state filings don't drill down on the specifics of out-of-state income. The New York returns also don't show charitable giving, something Democrats have said they're curious to see in Trump's returns. "This bill is a critical piece of legislation that would not only allow Congress to investigate President Trump and his various financial entanglements, but would also allow the American people to hold him accountable for his deeply troubling conflicts of interests," a series of progressive groups, including Americans for Tax Fairness and Stand Up America, said in a letter to New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. The fight over Trump's tax returns is an unusual case since for four decades, presidential candidates have released their tax returns. But now that Trump hasn't, the need to use these provisions to disclose presidential candidates tax information involuntarily could become more prevalent. "It can't be about politics. It has to be about the integrity of the tax system," said Francine Lipman, a tax law professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The tax return disclosure provisions "are not a fishing game for dirt. That's not the charge of the committee." All the talk about tax privacy -- and how Congress uses the powers it currently has -- could ultimately lead to stronger rules, such as limiting the disclosure to public officials or implementing new restrictions on making the documents public. "Tax privacy is an important norm to reinforce," Ari Glogower, a law professor at the Ohio State University in Columbus. "It needs to be balanced with Congress's need to do its job." - - - Bloomberg's Keshia Clukey contributed. NORWALK A womans former and current boyfriend were both charged with disorderly conduct after a scuffle in the Walmart parking lot Tuesday morning. Police responded to a report of an assault in the parking lot of the store at 680 Connecticut Ave. at shortly before 10 a.m. (HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Charles Nilosek, a Massachusetts-based external sales agent for Woodbridge Group of Companies LLC, with illegally selling Woodbridge securities to retail investors while acting as an unregistered broker. According to the complaint, Nilosek was among Woodbridges top revenue producers. The SEC previously charged Woodbridge and its former owner, Robert H. Shapiro, and Woodbridges other highest-earning unregistered brokers. In January, a federal court in Florida ordered Woodbridge, related companies, and Shapiro together to pay $1 billion for operating this Ponzi scheme. The SEC also charged Woodbridges two former directors of investments for their roles in Woodbridges Ponzi scheme. https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2019-55 According to the SECs complaint, from at least September 2013 to September 2015, Nilosek and his alter-ego company, Position Benefits LLC, raised more than $23 million by selling Woodbridge securities to more than 200 retail investors located in at least four states. Nilosek was not registered in any capacity with the SEC, and allegedly received more than $1.4 million in transaction-based compensation. The SEC amended its Complaint in the Central District of California and added Nilosek as a defendant. The SECs amended complaint charges Nilosek with violating the registrations provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and seeks disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, with interest, and financial penalties. The SECs investigation, which is continuing, was conducted by Scott A. Lowry, Russell Koonin, Christine Nestor, and Mark Dee in the Miami Regional Office, with assistance from David Baddley, and supervised by Jason R. Berkowitz, Fernando Torres, Thierry Olivier Desmet, and Glenn Gordon. The litigation will be led by Ms. Nestor and Mr. Koonin under the supervision of Andrew O. Schiff. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations. Information provided by law enforcement in Salina, Kan., says that on May 18, Saline County sheriff deputies were dispatched to The Shady Lady, 1540 W. Old Highway 40, after a man allegedly had his wallet stolen around 1:15 a.m. A 57-year-old man from Tryon, Neb., was inside the establishment and went out to his vehicle to get more money. He reported two men approached him from behind and took his wallet from his pocket. The 57-year-old followed the two over to their vehicle, reached through the window and grabbed the steering wheel in attempt to keep them from leaving. The passenger got out a gun and threatened the man. The victim reported the two left in a dark colored car. The total loss includes $20 in cash, the wallet, and other assorted contents of the wallet. Dear Annie: You missed the mark. While I completely agree with your statement that the parents in the scandal should pay a hefty fine, perhaps in scholarship funds to the universities, paying said fines is no punishment for these very wealthy individuals and again sends the message that they can buy their way out of a felony. They need to serve jail time. Serious About Penalties Dear Annie: The parents who bribed and cheated to get their kids admitted to colleges seemed to forget an important point: How will those students ever succeed in college when they werent qualified to be admitted? I agree with the writer who believes these parents did a great disservice to their kids. They did not do what any loving parent would do. Loving parents do not try to set the worst example for their children. And forgiving these parents may be the Christian way, but remember: This wasnt a mistake; these parents knew that what they were doing was wrong but hoped it wouldnt be discovered. Know the Difference. Observing Memorial Day 1890s style starts at 10 a.m. Monday at Stuhr Museum. The folks in Railroad Town are finding themselves in a reflective mood and opt for a flag-led procession from the bandstand to the rural cemetery near the church, starting at 11 a.m. A short remembrance ceremony and military tribute with a firearm salute will take place at the cemetery. After lunch the festivities continue at the bandstand with music provided by Railroad Towns own Silver Cornet Band, playing patriotic favorites from the period. From there, visitors can watch a historic remembrance ceremony, taken from past Grand Army of the Republic literature, which honors the serving military and those who died in service. All day, the residents of Railroad Town will be staffing the villages historic homes and businesses. Visitors are also invited to visit the Farm Machinery Building, featuring hundreds of pieces from small plows all the way up through steam engines, and check out the new exhibit in the Stuhr Building. Prepare for a journey inside 1890s medicine with Pioneer Medicine: Physicians on the Platte on display through Sept. 8. Drozd said that cultural diversity has played a significant role in the communitys growth. For example, ethnic populations in Grand Island have increased from less than 10 percent in 1990 to about 50 percent of the workforce currently. Hall County has one of the highest amounts of cultural diversity in its population in the state. The growth of that segment has helped facilitate the strong growth in Grand Island ever since the turn of the century, helping the community to reach annual taxable sales of more than $1 billion in each of the last six years. And, Drozd said, that diversity in Grand Islands population will continue to grow over the next decade. But a major demographic challenge lies ahead for Grand Island and Hall County, he said. The number of older people will increase as more baby boomers retire and will outpace the growth of the 25-to-64 age population segment. He said seniors living outside Grand Island will continue to move to the community as they retire in order to be near the communitys senior housing and medical services, a growth segment in the city. There are 10 standards of national practice, she said. Our teachers went above and beyond and we were recognized for that for making connections. One of our goals was to have a connection to each and every one of our students and to make them feel connected to an adult in the building. When the external team came in and reviewed us, that was one of the things they commented on. Grand Island Public Schools Superintendent Tawana Grover said she was honored to be able to celebrate the freshman academys achievement Wednesday. She added the honor recognizes the triumphs, transition and transformations that have been made in regard to the academy. I remember that at the beginning of the school, we said that not only were you making history, but you were going to set the standard and set the bar. Boy, have you blown us away, Grover told the freshman students. You are a shining example of what it means to Be Grand. We are so proud of you. To Dr. Mintken and all of the teachers, we are so grateful to have you here, leading our young people into their next journey. Freshman Aaliyah Cuellar said she enjoyed being in the first-ever GISH freshman academy class. The cost of bringing the wall to Grand Island exceeded $10,000. That amount includes the $8,000 fee, as well as related expenses. Many local businesses and individuals contributed to the cause. Two of the leaders in the effort were Gary Quandt and Jay Vavricek, but many people have worked on the project, Vavricek said. More than 200 volunteers are helping to make the event possible. Grand Island also hosted the wall nine years ago. According to one local man, the wall also visited Fonner Park around 1989. The site of the wall will be awe-inspiring at night, Vavricek said. The memorial will be guarded 24 hours a day and will be illuminated at night. When assembling the memorial Thursday morning, the volunteers will treat the panels with care and with great honor, he said. This is the only trip of its kind through Nebraska this year, Vavricek said, expressing hope that many will attend. There could no be other setting more fitting for the memorial than the one in Grand Island, he said. A reward of up to $1,000 will be paid after law enforcement agencies have determined the seriousness of the crime and the usefulness of the information. Jose Rivas was stopped for failing to signal a right-hand turn Tuesday at 1602 W. Second St. He admitted to having no drivers license and he had no form of identification on his person. Police say methamphetamine was located next to his drivers seat after the car was searched for cause due to passenger Josh Guardiola having a marijuana pipe in plain view and possessing additional marijuana on his person. Rivas was arrested for possession of a controlled substance (meth) and having no operators license. Guardiola was cited for possession of less than 1 oz. of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The goal is that were done on Friday. But the EU elections seem to have a say in whether our timetable will hold, he stated to reporters in the House of the Estates on Thursday. THE COMPLETION of the next government programme may be delayed by a day or two due to the looming elections to the European Parliament, tells Antti Rinne, the chairperson of the Social Democratic Party. Right now its looking like well maybe need a few days more time. Rinne pointed out that the chairpersons of the five parties involved in the coalition formation negotiations are expected to participate in debates in the run-up to the elections to the European Parliament held on 2326 May. We wont have as much time for the process this week as we were planning, he said. Two-thirds of the subject-specific task forces wrapped up their work during the course of Tuesday, according to Rinne. He expressed his confidence that the task forces can find an agreement on the handful of unresolved issues that remain at the negotiating tables on climate, economic and tax policy. The subject-specific task forces will present their conclusions to the five chairpersons, who will make the final decisions on the contents of the government programme. Rinne also revealed yesterday that the parties are intent on overhauling the business subsidy system in Finland. Therell be all kinds of changes to business subsidies, he said. Aleksi Teivainen HT Source: Uusi Suomi ALTON It wasnt a graduation at SS Peter and Paul Catholic School in Alton Thursday, but some of the students were wearing gowns and singled out as sort of alumni. The school, which has been in operation for almost 160 years, held its last day of class Thursday and ended the school year with a short ceremony after morning Mass at the church. Parish pastor the Rev. Jason Stone said it was a very emotional day. Putting together the final piece of the final school year, he said of the Mass. Its been a great privilege for the parish to have been 160 years in Catholic education. The school dates back to 1847 when nuns from the Daughters of Charity operated a short-lived parish school. The Brothers of the Holy Cross in Notre Dame, Indiana, ran a school for boys from 1860 until 1888, when the Ursuline Sisters took over operation of the school. Classes began in the current school building in September 1909. See: SCRAPBOOK | Ss. Peter and Paul School newspaper clippings from 1937-2011 42 photos After Thursdays morning Mass, a promotion ceremony was held for the schools five seventh-graders. Four will go to St. Ambrose, one to Alton Middle School. I hope theyre ready for you, principal Harry Cavanaugh said in a sometimes emotional address. I hope you will show them what you are and who you are, and you will show that by your hard work ethic, your Christian values and your character that you developed over the years. He then gave each of them a tie as he spoke about them. After announcements and awards, activities moved to the cafeteria where students and teachers said goodbye. The reason we did this is they have been together since the beginning the only class in the school that is original throughout, Cavanaugh said of the ceremony. We just didnt think it was fair to leave them high and dry without something to recognize them. Joleigh Smith, a seventh-grader who will go to Alton Middle School next year, called the day bittersweet, a common refrain. Ive been here my whole life; it feels like family, she said, adding she was excited for new opportunities. She also said it will be intimidating to transition from a class of five members to one with hundreds. Im kind of worried about it, she said. But again, Im just excited for new opportunities. In the cafeteria, teachers passed out report cards, including the one reviewed by Angela Borman and her sixth-grade daughter, Sophie, a third-generation SS Peter and Paul student. I graduated here in 1989, and her grandmother graduated in 1954, Angela Borman said. Its the end of an era. Its bittersweet, certainly, but its been looming for quite a few years. Katie Cain, a preschool teacher who had a student graduate last year and another child in fifth grade, echoed that sentiment. We always knew it could happen but we hoped it wouldnt, she said. Its very emotional. My kids are fifth generation going here to SS Peter and Paul. We go back a while. A letter sent to parents announcing the schools closure stated declining enrollment contributed to a deficit, with the parishs debt to the Diocese of Springfield growing to about $750,000. SS Peter and Paul began the 2018-19 school year with 64 pre-K through eighth grade students, 15 fewer than in 2016-17. In 2016, classes were relocated to the former Mark Twain School while structural repairs were made to one of the buildings walls which had started showing cracks. Stone said the fate of the school building has not yet been decided. EDWARDSVILLE County officials had allotted about 30 minutes for a fire drill at the Madison County Administration Building Wednesday, although they were hoping it would take half that time. They were back in the building in just over 11 minutes. Wednesdays drill began at 2 p.m., with Madison County Sheriffs Deputies keeping people out once it started. It took a few seconds for people to make their way to the entrances and all were out in about 4 minutes. During the drill, Edwardsville Fire Department and Madison County Emergency Management officials monitored the event. People were allowed back in the building after about 11 minutes, as a few customers sat waiting for them to get back in and open up the offices again. In addition to getting people out, the drill was a test of procedures that different offices have for securing cash and records, said Director of Risk Management and Safety Annette Schoeberle. Because offices have different functions and requirements, each plan is different. In the Madison County Clerks Office, Clerk Debra Ming-Mendoza said they have to secure both cash and documents. Part of their plan is closing the gates to the office. She also said they have two fireproof vaults for emergency storage. While this was a full evacuation, one of the things that have to be considered is whether an evacuation is necessary or if people can shelter in place, Schoeberle said. Madison County Administrator Doug Hulme said they will take a look at how everything went and adjust plans accordingly. Approximately 325 county employees work in the building. GODFREY The village took over the final roles of the former Godfrey Township with the passage of a resolution and ordinance at Tuesdays village board meeting. The ordinance allows the village to take over general assistance responsibilities from the township, which officially ceased to function on Friday. The resolution allowed the village to assume all the functions of the township. Belleville Memorial Hospital held a ceremony on Wednesday to honor Dr. Abed Hadi and his son, Dr. Bassam Hadi. Bassam, a neurosurgeon at Mercy Hospital, spent more than two years writing a biography of his fathers life, The Road to Nablus. The book, which is a biography of his father, Dr. Abed Hadi, is available at the Memorial gift shop, Barnes & Noble West County, Amazon.com and Afterwords Books, 441 E Vandalia St., Edwardsville. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin M. Taufiqurrahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 09:26 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873983971 1 Opinion #commentary,people-power-rally,#2019PresidentialElection,2019GeneralElections,Jokowi,Prabowo,amien-rais,democracy,#2019GeneralElections,2019-presidential-election Free The words people power have been thrown around too loosely in the past couple of weeks. Soon after early vote counts indicated that incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo would win a second term, supporters of Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto threatened to unleash street protests to challenge the official vote count conducted by the General Elections Commission (KPU). National Mandate Party (PAN) cofounder Amien Rais, a devoted backer of Prabowo, was among the first to revive the term people power as a means to overturn the 2019 election result. But as a political science professor and United States-educated scholar, Amien should have known better that people power has gone out of fashion and that it would achieve little in getting the desired outcome of political change. If anything, Amien himself was not so sure about the effectiveness of people power when he called off a planned demonstration at the National Monument (Monas) on May 20, 1998, after hearing that Prabowo, then commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), had positioned troops in full battle gear on site. These days, people power, street protests and mass gatherings appeared to have lost their magic in forcing change. Earlier this month, we saw what looked like the final days of the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela with hundreds of protesters taking to the streets of Caracas. We saw footage of military barracks being torched and military personnel appearing to be in a state of panic. Two weeks later, Maduro is still in power and there seems to be no end in sight for his regime. In France, Yellow Vest protesters have occupied the main streets of Paris every weekend for the past six months, wreaking havoc and causing serious damage to the countrys economy. In an ironic twist, the protest has only boosted the popularity of President Emmanuel Macron, who has responded to the protests by holding a tour to show off his debating prowess. In the streets of Khartoum, what looked like a successful popular uprising quickly turned into a farce with the military taking over the country and refusing to strike a deal with the prodemocracy movement in the African nation. And then of course the granddad of all failures in popular uprisings, the Tiananmen Square protest. The prodemocracy movement not only failed to create changes in China, in fact the protest became the pretext for the communist government to further tighten its control over its body politic. The modern surveillance system currently in place in China mostly operates to make sure that another Tiananmen will not take place. And in the event people power or popular uprising does manage to bear fruit in the removal of a dictator or a corrupt regime, it works simply from the confluence of so many factors, with division among the ruling elites being the most important. This may sound like an insult to the 1998 student movement, but the fall of Soeharto was the outcome of a rift within the ruling elite, the upper echelons in the government, who were torn between supporting a corrupt leader whom they could no longer tolerate or joining the nascent prodemocracy movement, which not only charted a new course for the country but also could provide them with an escape plan. Division within the Indonesian Military (TNI), between hardliners who wanted to preserve Soehartos rule and some generals who orchestrated the strongmans departure also played a crucial role. The role of Wiranto, then the military commander in chief, was crucial in allowing student-led protests to take place in many cities. So, even under an authoritarian regime, people power is a moot point and should only be treated with caution. Just because Filipinos could topple a dictator in a popular uprising does not mean it can take place in other countries under different circumstances. The place of people power in a democracy should be more problematic, especially if it is aimed at seeking changes in the government. In a democracy, elected leaders have been thoroughly vetted through the election process and all candidates are expected to play by the rules and respect the outcome even if it does not suit their liking. In the event of fraud or manipulation, even the most widespread, the electoral system is equipped with a number of mechanisms to deal with any problems. In the case of Indonesia, the Constitutional Court has the final authority to overturn any election results if evidence is available to prove widespread, structured and systematic voting fraud. In the past 20 years, we have placed faith in this electoral system and people power should have been rendered irrelevant. People power should not be used as a mechanism to deal with election complaints. On Wednesday, people took to the streets to demand change in the election result and started wreaking havoc. It certainly was not people power and it will achieve nothing but violence. It is a stain on our hard-won democracy. Get Premier Kissov on the hotline, said US President Merkin Muffley during the 1964 movie, Dr. Strangelove. Muffley is using the direct telephone hotline connection with the Russian premier in hopes of avoiding nuclear war. An earlier scene in the movie mentions the infamous red phone. The US presidents hotline telephone was specifically highlighted during scenes in the 1964 movie, Fail Safe. Although the movie was filmed in black-and-white, I assume the hotline phone was red. Come to think of it, the 1960s television series, Batman, featured a red Bat Phone with a direct hotline to Commissioner Gordons office. And so, the hotline became thought of as a red telephone sitting on the desks of the US president and Russian Soviet leader. An immediate connection between the two occurred whenever the handset of either phone was lifted. Well, thats not quite how it worked. The hotline was not a red telephone, but a teletype printer. There was one inside the US Pentagon, and one inside Russias Kremlin. Due to the lengthy amount of time required to send, receive, and decipher messages with the Russian premier during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962, both countries came very close to having a nuclear confrontation, which would have resulted in massive devastation and an enormous loss of life. There were plenty of atomic missiles around during October 1962; the US nuclear warhead total was 3,500, while the Russian stockpile had about 580. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and the Cuban Missile Crisis ended without nuclear missiles being used. Talks then began in earnest about implementing a direct communication link; a hotline between the two superpowers. This hotline would be used to reduce the risk of nuclear war because of delayed communications. June 20, 1963, the US and Russia signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Regarding the Establishment of a Direct Communications Link. The memorandum understanding became known as the hotline agreement. For use in time of emergency, the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR] have agreed to establish as soon as technically feasible a direct communications link between the two Governments, the memorandum began. Ensuring the continued operation of the communications link and rapid delivery of any messages received over it would be the responsibility of each government. Some of the technical specifics of the 1963 hotline agreement included: Telegraph-teleprinter equipment used for exchanging communications. One uninterrupted duplex wire telegraph circuit route connecting Washington to Moscow via London-Copenhagen-Stockholm-Helsinki for message transmissions. One full-time duplex radiotelegraph circuit routed from Washington to Tangier to Moscow, which shall be used for service communications and for coordination of operations. Some of the equipment installed inside the Pentagon for the Washington hotline was provided by the Russian company, Avtomatika Concern. This equipment was tested and approved by US specialists. American communications equipment was also installed inside the Kremlin for the Moscow end of the hotline. If a US president wanted to quickly contact the Soviet premier/leader, they would call the Pentagon (by phone) with the message to be sent over the hotline to Moscow. Both the US and Russia encrypted text messages using an ETCRRM (Electronic Teleprinter Cryptographic Regenerative Repeater Mixer) cipher machine built in Norway. The physical path used for a hotline between the US and Russia was the TAT-1 (Transatlantic No. 1) submarine copper coaxial cable system. TAT-1 consisted of two individually amplified cables; one for transmitting and one for receiving. The two cables, totaling 4,000 miles, were placed 3.7 miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean. TAT-1 became operational Sept. 25, 1956. In the event the physical cable between the two countries was disrupted, the dedicated radio circuit between Washington and Moscow using a radio relay station in the city of Tangier, located in northwestern Morocco, would be used for message exchanges. Aug. 30, 1963, the first test message was sent over the hotline from Washington to Moscow: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs back 1234567890. Rumor has it the Russians responded with What does it mean when your people say the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog? The hotline was first used by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967, to inform Russia of the US Naval fleet movements in the Mediterranean region during the Middle East Six-Day War. President Richard Nixon used the hotline in 1971 and 1973. The hotline agreement was updated in 1971, to provide the addition of two satellite circuits, which became fully-operational in 1978, the same year the TAT-1 cable was retired. The physical path of the hotline was transferred to a transatlantic fiber optic cable. By 1980, Norways ETCRRM cipher machines were replaced by the Siemens M-190. In 1986, high-speed facsimile (fax) telecopy machines were added to the hotline. They could be used to send typed messages, maps, charts, and drawings. Since 2008, a dedicated computer network links Washington and Moscow for sending and receiving email, and instant messaging chat. Oct. 31, 2016, President Obama used the hotlines secure satellite connection to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin about his concerns with computer cyber hackers disrupting the upcoming US election. This age of fast-moving events requires quick, dependable communication in time of emergency, President John F. Kennedy said June 20, 1963. He added, the hotline agreement was a first step to help reduce the risk of war occurring by accident or miscalculation. The Memorandum of Understanding has been active for 56 years and, so far, there has been no nuclear exchange between the US and Russia. It seems having a hotline keeps things from boiling over. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Thu, May 23, 2019 07:09 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873981a07 2 Books Book,#book,Game-of-Thrones,George-R-R-Martin Free After the final season of Game of Thrones came to a polarizing conclusion on Sunday, fans are turning to George RR Martins A Song of Ice and Fire series, which remains unfinished, while others may be looking for new tomes to get their fantasy fix. Not long before the show aired its finale, the author confirmed on his blog that he is still working on the sixth book of the series, The Winds of Winter. I am back once more in Westeros, working on WINDS... which, let me add once more, has NOT been finished and hidden away for years, he wrote. In the meantime, here is a selection of three fantasy books to keep your mind off Westeros: The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie (Orbit) For her first fantasy novel, New York Times bestselling author Ann Leckie explores the political feuds over rights of succession. For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by a god known as Raven. His will is enacted through the Ravens Lease, a human chosen by the god himself. But, as the borders of Iraden are under attack, a warrior named Eolo works to restore the throne to its rightful ruler. The Raven Tower will delight those who already miss the political shenanigans of Cersei and Daenerys Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne. Read also: George R.R. Martin: Father of 'Game of Thrones' The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons (Pan MacMillan) Jenn Lyonss fantasy debut, The Ruin of Kings, sees power and magic combining in the tale of Kirhin. This bards apprentice, who is thought to be the lost son of the Emperor Quur, finds himself at the centre of a secret prophecy. The novel is the first book of Lyons new series, A Chorus of Dragons. It will be followed by The Name of All Things, set for release on October 31. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury Publishing) Touted as a feminist fantasy novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree is thronged with powerful female rulers. One of them is the unwed Queen Sabran the Ninth, who must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction. Indeed, the fire-breathing dragon known as the Nameless One is prophesized to rise again, threatening to destroy the world. The Priory of the Orange Tree is the perfect antidote for those who wonder about the uncertain destiny of Drogon the only surviving son of Daenerys Targaryen, the Unburnt Mother of Dragons. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rollo Ross (Reuters) Los Angeles, United States Thu, May 23, 2019 10:03 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87398ad45 2 Entertainment Will-Smith,aladdin,Disney,live-action,film Free Will Smith was initially worried about playing the genie in Disney's live action version of Aladdin after the celebrated performance by the late Robin Williams more than 25 years ago, but says it eventually became a joy. "What Robin Williams did with this character - he just didn't leave a lot of room to add to the genie. So I started off fearful but then when I got with the music, it just started waking up that fun, childlike, silly part of me," Smith said. "This was the most joyful experience of my career," the actor, 50, said ahead of the film's release worldwide this week. Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, marks Smith's first time doing a Walt Disney Co film. The remake features many of the elements of the 1992 animated original, for which Williams won a Golden Globe for his voice work. Read also: Will Smith brings own fun-loving Genie to new 'Aladdin' "I like the original movie so I'm aware I don't want to contaminate the nostalgia of the first one," said Ritchie. "What you want to do is embellish." "My principal job was to entertain my five kids and my Disneyphile of a wife," said Ritchie, who is better known for action adventure movies like Sherlock Holmes and adult crime caper RocknRolla. Naomi Scott who appeared in The 33 and Power Rangers plays Princess Jasmine. Mena Massoud, who appeared in last year's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, plays the title role in the movie. Aladdin is the latest Disney remake of its animated family film classics. It follows a live action version of flying elephant tale Dumbo in March, the upcoming July reboot of The Lion King, and Mulan due for release in 2020. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Sydney, Australia Thu, May 23, 2019 16:37 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87399f173 2 Entertainment Geoffrey-Rush,actor,Australia,lawsuit Free Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush won an Australian record multi-million-dollar payout Thursday after a court found that a Sydney newspaper defamed him. Local media reported the Oscar-winning actor has been awarded almost US$2 million for lost earnings and compensation, after he was accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour toward female cast members. In a front-page article published in 2017, the Daily Telegraph wrote that the Sydney Theatre Company received a complaint that Rush had inappropriately touched a female co-star during a staging of "King Lear". A Sydney judge had described the content as a "recklessly irresponsible piece of sensationalist journalism." The paper, owned by Rupert Murdoch, had appealed the initial ruling that set part of the compensation. Read also: Sydney tabloid appeals defamation award to actor Geoffrey Rush Australia's defamation laws are notoriously strict. The Age newspaper said the sum was the largest ever paid to an individual in the country. Rush won the Best Actor Academy Award in 1997 for his role in "Shine" and is one of the few stars to have also won a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Tony Award. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin John Ndiso (Reuters) Nairobi, Kenya Thu, May 23, 2019 12:06 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87398f863 2 Books Binyavanga-Wainaina,Kenya,Africa,author,LGBT,Literature Free Binyavanga Wainaina, the award-winning Kenyan writer who challenged stereotypes of Africa with biting satire and took on prejudice by documenting his life as an openly gay man, has died aged 48. The author, essayist and campaigner - who also championed African literature through the Kwani Trust he founded with other writers - passed away in Nairobi on Tuesday, the organisation's chairman, Tom Maliti, said. Wainaina's 2005 essay "How to Write About Africa", was a pointed and hilarious lesson to would-be journalists and historians. Its compilation of the absurd, yet all-too-common, cliches was a call for more nuanced portrayals. "Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West," Wainaina wrote in satirical instructions to aspiring writers. "Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the dramatic moment." Wainaina won the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing in 2002 for his short story collection Discovering Home and went on to set up Kwani?, a literary journal dedicated to publishing new writers from Africa. Read also: A veteran at 11, South African author poised to publish fifth book Legacy "His legacy is Kwani? and the many new writers who were contributors to that journal and for whom opportunities opened up," said Maliti. "Kwani? inspired a generation of writers younger than Binyavanga to also write poetry, short stories, novels and writing became something that people believed was a career that they could pursue." Wainaina, who announced in 2016 that he was HIV positive, had been in and out of the hospital for the past year and suffered several strokes, Maliti said. "He had been ailing for a while," he added, without going into further detail. Wainaina was also known for his decision to live as an openly gay man in Kenya, where gay sex is illegal under a colonial-era penal code and homosexuality is taboo. A high court ruling on whether to uphold that law is due on Friday. In 2014, he spoke to the Guardian newspaper about his decision to make his home in a Nairobi suburb, rather than abroad: "This is my place ... I want to put a stake in the ground. My mum and dad are not here. It's kind of my turn." Both new and established writers posted tributes on Twitter, many of them noting Wainaina's influence on their work. "His writing packs a punch, makes you nostalgic and then leaves you unsettled," wrote Archie Okeyo, who describes herself on her Twitter profile as a Kenya-based writer. "Binyavanga Wainaina was the public intellectual we needed but didn't deserve. The world is worse off today without him to challenge our prejudices and defend the humanity of everyone. And now his watch is ended," wrote BBC Africa Business Editor Larry Madowo. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java Thu, May 23, 2019 Dozens of teenagers in Laweyan village, Surakarta, Central Java, have been busy since the start of Ramadan in early May, preparing for Kampoeng Ramadhan Laweyan (Laweyans Ramadan Village). Held in an area known for its heritage buildings, Laweyans Ramadan Village has been held annually since 2017. The idea came from the youth, mostly students of junior and high schools, so they make up most of the organizers, village head Yuyuk Yuniman told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Celine Cornu (Agence France-Presse) Milan, Italy Thu, May 23, 2019 19:00 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a5b23 2 Lifestyle Prada,fashion,#fashion,fur Free Luxury fashion house Prada said Wednesday it will remove animal fur from its collections, joining a lengthening list of designers to make that choice. Prada's decision, to take effect with its women's Spring-Summer 2020 collection, was welcomed by several animal protection associations, a statement said. The Italian fashion house said its decision stemmed from "a positive dialogue" with the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) of more than 50 associations in about 40 countries, notably the Italian group LAV and The Humane Society of the United States. Other major names to have renounced the use of animal fur include Armani, Burberry, DKNY, Donna Karan, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Gucci, Michael Kors and Versace. Prada "is committed to innovation and social responsibility, and our fur-free policy ... is an extension of that engagement," artistic director Miuccia Prada was quoted as saying in the statement. "Focusing on innovative materials will allow the company to explore new boundaries of creative design while meeting the demand for ethical products," she added. The Prada statement included reactions from several animal protection groups, with FFA program manager Brigit Oele saying: "This global movement is gaining momentum fast, and its very unlikely that fur will ever return as an acceptable trend. This is a great day for animals!" Read also: From Milan to Paris, fashion firms fret over fur The fur industry has scorned the trend towards fur-free fashion, and Mark Oaten of The International Fur Federation said in a statement: "I am surprised that a brand who care about sustainability are banning a natural product like fur. "Now Prada customers will only have plastic fur as an option, which is bad for the planet. I urge Prada to think again and trust its own consumers to decide if they want to buy real or fake fur." Fur represents a fraction of most fashion groups' sales in fact, and while figures for Prada were not available, at rival Gucci which stopped using fur in 2018, it accounted for just 0.16 percent of the total. Appealing to younger clients Prada and the others might attract younger customers with the decision meanwhile, as they are more likely to take ethical considerations into account according to sector specialists. Fashion analyst Nina Marston at Euromonitor International noted that "industry players face increasing pressure to take a stance on ethical issues such as animal cruelty." Her group found that 28 percent of Millennial consumers worldwide said that "buying eco-friendly or ethically conscious products make them feel good." Prada will thus "further its appeal to the growing number of Millennial and Gen Z consumers, who are vital to the future of the luxury industry," Marston concluded. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sonia Elks (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Thu, May 23, 2019 14:03 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87399725c 2 Entertainment Game-of-Thrones,television,Women,gender,HBO,Ceretai Free Game of Thrones may have been lauded for strong female characters but men still took the limelight with about three quarters of speaking time, according to a new analysis of the blockbuster television series. Men spoke roughly three times as much as their female equivalents - and they dominated the final season most of all, according to a report by data research firm Ceretai. "The results were actually worse than we expected," Matilda Kong, the chief executive of Germany-based Ceretai, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "It tells us that it does not really matter how women are portrayed as strong or that they have power: what they think and what they say is still not (seen as) important." Game of Thrones has been praised for showing tough female characters but also faced criticism for scenes of sexual violence and brutality against women. Women had about a quarter of speaking time in the first series of the show, the analysis conducted for the BBC found, reaching a peak of just under a third in the penultimate seventh season before dropping to 22% in the final season. Read also: Hollywood's equality push fails to boost female film directors: Study A record of more than 19 million U.S. viewers watched the series finale this week on HBO, a unit of AT&T's Warner Media , the cable channel said. The speech data was compiled using artificial intelligence to identify whether a male or female was speaking. The system's accuracy is about 85% so the exact split may be slightly higher or lower, said Ceretai. Women are known to be consistently under-represented on screen. They took only 40% of all speaking characters in U.S. prime time television in 2017-18, according to research by San Diego State University. Kong added that she hoped the analysis would bring awareness of gender bias in popular culture. "We are not aiming to tell people what to watch," she said. "We want to create awareness that when we consume popular culture it gives us an unfair representation of the real world and we are unconsciously biased by that." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 13:30 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739928ab 4 Science & Tech Telegram,WhatsApp,#ElectionProtest Free Telegram again came to the rescue on Thursday, when Indonesians looking to communicate with one another switched to the messaging app following the government's decision to temporarily limit user access to some features on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said on Wednesday that the temporary, limited restriction was applied to prevent the spread of fake news and misinformation following the series of protests and violent demonstrations that occurred in the capital on May 21-22. Read also: Jakarta riot: Government temporarily limits access to social media, messaging apps Indonesian netizens could be found on Thursday morning sharing their difficulties using WhatsApp and their experience with switching to Telegram the highly encrypted messaging service developed by Russian brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov. Read also: Six things to know about Telegram "I was forced to download Telegram by my office to support my work, since WhatsApp has not yet returned to normal," tweeted @syefira_nn on Thursday. <~ terpaksa mendownload telegram akibat dari disuruh kantor. Agar supaya dapat menunjang pekerjaan. Karena whatsap yg masih belum normal . .bhaaique Syifa Syefira.N (@syefira_nn) May 23, 2019 "Our head office's WhatsApp group is quiet. All automatically switched to Telegram," shared @fredyasyari. group wa kantor pusat sepi. auto move telegram semua. Fredy Asyari (@fredyasyari) May 23, 2019 "Not yet able to send photos and videos using WhatsApp. Only Telegram has remained normal, unaffected until today," tweeted @JemuneG. WA belum bisa kirim gambar apalagi Vidio. Cuma Telegram tetap normal gak terpengaruh sampai skrg. Ben E & DW (@JemuneG) May 23, 2019 It is unclear how many new Indonesian users had signed up to Telegram since Wednesday. The limited restriction to WhatsApp affected almost the entire archipelago, including the islands of Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara and some cities in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumatra, tribunnews.com reported on Wednesday. Earlier this year, The Verge reported on March 14 that Telegram, which had 200 million active users in March 2018, had gained 3 million new users in 24 hours following a global outage that affected Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Washington, United States Thu, May 23, 2019 13:41 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873993457 2 World #USA,#Terrorism,American,Taliban,prison Free John Walker Lindh, the American captured in 2001 fighting for the Taliban, is to be released early from federal prison on Thursday as some US lawmakers fear he remains a security risk. Lindh, photographed as a wild-eyed, bearded 20-year-old at his Afghanistan capture, will leave a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana on probation after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, according to a prison official. Now 38, Lindh is among dozens of prisoners set to be released over the next few years after being captured in Iraq and Afghanistan by US forces and convicted of terrorism-related crimes following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. His release brought objections from elected officials who asked why Lindh was being freed early and what training parole officers had to spot radicalization and recidivism among former jihadists. Leaked US government documents published by Foreign Policy magazine show the federal government as recently as 2016 described Lindh as holding "extremist views." "What is the current interagency policy, strategy, and process for ensuring that terrorist/extremist offenders successfully reintegrate into society?" asked US Senators Richard Shelby and Margaret Hassan in a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Lindh's parents Marilyn Walker and Frank Lindh did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lindh's lawyer Bill Cummings declined to comment. Melissa Kimberley, a spokeswoman for the Terre Haute prison in Indiana, could not confirm details of Lindh's release other than it would be on Thursday. US-born Lindh converted from Catholicism to Islam as a teenager. At his 2002 sentencing he said he traveled to Yemen to learn Arabic and then to Pakistan to study Islam. He said he volunteered as a Taliban soldier to help fellow Muslims in their struggle or "jihad." He said he had no intention "to fight against America" and never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism. Lindh told the court he condemned "terrorism on every level" and attacks by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin-Laden were "completely against Islam." But a January 2017 report by the US government's National Counterterroism Center, published by Foreign Policy, said that as of May 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." NBC said Lindh wrote a letter to its Los Angeles station KNBC in 2015 expressing support for ISIS, saying the radical Islamist group was fulfilling "a religious obligation to establish a caliphate through armed struggle." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 13:59 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739958c6 1 Business bank-indonesia,Holiday,Idul-Fitri,closed Free Bank Indonesia (BI) has announced it will not operate from June 3 to 7, when Muslims celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday, marked by the exodus of millions of people to their hometowns. In a statement published on its official website, BI said the decision was made in reference to a joint decree issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry on Nov. 2, 2018, on holiday and collective leave days. The services that would not operate during the collective leave days included BI-real time gross settlement (BI-RTGS), BI-scriptless securities settlement system (BI-SSSS), BI-electronic trading platform (BI-ETP) system, BI-national clearing system (SKNBI) and cash service, the statement said. During the period, the central bank will not issue the Jakarta interbank spot dollar rate (JISDOR), while the rupiah exchange rate against the United States dollar will be based on the rate published the previous day. BI will also not regulate the operation of banks during the collective leave days. The operation of banks is under the consideration and authority of each banks management, the central bank said in the statement. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ryan McMorrow and Laurent Thomet (Agence France-Presse) Beijing, China Thu, May 23, 2019 17:05 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a1a0a 2 World #USA,#China,slams,US,bullying,Huawei,tech-war Free China berated the United States for "bullying" Huawei on Thursday as Panasonic joined a parade of foreign companies reviewing their ties with the telecom giant after a US ban linked to security concerns. Beijing also warned that Washington must show "sincerity" for trade talks to resume after President Donald Trump's moves against Huawei stoked tensions between the world's top two economies. Commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said China has lodged "solemn representations" with Washington, warning that the Chinese government has the "confidence and ability to protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies." "The US use of state power to arbitrarily exert pressure on a private Chinese company like Huawei is typical economic bullying," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday. Wang warned that Beijing was ready to "fight to the very end" in its trade war with Washington. Huawei was dealt a new blow as Japan's Panasonic announced it would stop supplying some components to the company. In an official statement emailed to AFP, Panasonic said it had announced in an "internal notification" that it would "suspend transactions with Huawei and its 68 affiliates that were banned by the US government". It declined to comment on "other transactions that are not banned by the US". When asked for its response, Huawei pointed to a statement on Panasonic's Chinese website that said the firm was supplying Huawei "normally" and "strictly abiding by the relevant laws and regulations of countries and regions where Panasonic is present". Japanese firm Toshiba also announced it was temporarily halting shipments to Huawei to check whether US-made parts were involved, in order to comply with Washington's new restrictions. Later Toshiba said it had resumed shipments of some products after confirming they did not use US parts while checks were continuing on other shipments. The moves came a day after major Japanese and British mobile carriers said they would delay releasing new Huawei handsets, upping the pressure on the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer. Washington's restrictions affect products made fully or partially in the United States, where Panasonic manufactures some of its components. - 'Show sincerity' - Last week, Trump declared a national emergency to bar US companies from using foreign telecoms equipment deemed a security risk -- a move seen as targeting Huawei, which Washington suspects of being a potential proxy for Chinese intelligence services. The Commerce Department has also announced an effective ban on US companies selling or transferring US technology to Huawei, though it later issued a 90-day reprieve. Earlier this week, Google said it would partially cut off Huawei devices from its Android operating system. Huawei has since indicated that it could roll out its own OS this year in China and internationally next year. Trump's moves came days after he increased tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to hike duties on $60 billion in American products. Top negotiators held talks earlier this month that ended with the Chinese side saying more negotiations would take place in Beijing, but no date has been set and the tone has soured since then. "If the US wants to continue to talk, it should show sincerity and correct its mistaken actions. Only on the basis of equality and respect can the negotiations have the chance of continuing," commerce ministry spokesman Gao said. Wang warned Wednesday during a trip to Kyrgyzstan: "If the United States opts for a policy of maximum pressure, then China will take them on and fight to the end." - 'Regrettable situation' - The trade dispute has snowballed into a tech war, with Huawei at the epicentre of a battle for supremacy in technologies that could shape the future of the world economy, such as next-generation 5G networks in which the Chinese firm is a global leader. In Britain, Telecoms giant EE, owned by BT, had been due to bring Huawei's first 5G phone, the Huawei Mate 20X, to Britain, but chief executive Marc Allera said Wednesday the company had "paused" the launch. The delay would last "until we get the information and confidence and the long-term security that our customers... are going to be supported", he said. The group also said it would phase out the use of Huawei equipment in the most sensitive "core" elements of its network infrastructure. Vodafone soon followed suit, announcing a temporary suspension of pre-orders for Huawei handsets. In Japan, KDDI and SoftBank Corp, the country's number-two and number-three carriers respectively, said they were delaying the release of Huawei handsets. And the BBC reported British firm ARM, which designs processors used in most mobile devices, would also cut ties with Huawei. Huawei said Wednesday that it recognised "the pressure" placed on its suppliers, and that it was "confident this regrettable situation can be resolved". Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23 2019 Stopped in their tracks: Vehicles are forced to a halt as police temporarily close down a toll road in Slipi, West Jakarta, on Wednesday to prevent mass rioting from spreading further. The crowd control measures caused a severe traffic jam.(JP/Jerry Adiguna) The usually jam-packed roads in the capital have become deserted, as many workers decided, or were forced, to work from home for security reasons after election result protests in Central Jakarta turned ugly late on Tuesday through Wednesday afternoon. Workers were allowed to depart their offices early as the protests in the capital intensified. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 14:02 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873995dc2 1 City Jakarta-riots,election-dispute,#ElectionProtest,post-election-riot,dead-victim,police,election-protest Free Four of the six people who died during postelection protests that turned into a full-fledged riot on Wednesday had sustained stab wounds, the Jakarta Police have said. Some died of stab wounds. There were four of them. Please dont twist this, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono told reporters on Wednesday night as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com. Argo further said that the police were currently checking the cause of death of the other two victims and deepening their investigation into the three riots that erupted in Central Jakarta and West Jakarta. He explained that early on Wednesday, a group of people attacked a police dormitory in Petamburan, in West Jakarta. The group was not part of the [postelection] protesters. A lot of weapons were found there. We are still investigating the incident, Argo said. It was suspected that five of the deceased rioters had been shot, even though the police claimed their officers were not carrying firearms. No live rounds; only tear gas, Argo said, adding that some police officered were also injured during the riots. (das) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 14:26 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873997946 4 Business Garuda-Indonesia,routes,closure,flight,reduction,price-control Free Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to close a number of routes and reduce the flight frequencies to less lucrative destinations to cut losses after the government lowered the price ceiling by 12 to 16 percent on the highest ticket prices for economic class tickets for domestic flights. Garuda Indonesia commerce director Pikri Ilham Kurniansyah said recently that the fuel cost for flights to remote areas, which had low occupancy rates, was about 80 percent higher than flights to lucrative areas. The airline has reportedly closed the Belitung-Singapore route and will also close the Jakarta-London route after the summer holiday. The company will also reduce the flight frequency of the Jakarta-Amsterdam route from six flights to only three. Meanwhile, for domestic destinations, the airline will reduce the flight frequencies to Morotai in North Maluku, Maumere in East Nusa Tenggara and Bima in West Nusa Tenggara. Pikri said the closures and reduction of flight frequencies was aimed at achieving the target stipulated in its 2019 budget and working plan. He said the more routes Garuda had to less lucrative destinations, the higher the operational costs of the airline. The company said that 59 percent of the companys US$1.05 billion total business costs were allocated for operational costs, which totaled $618.99 million. The company spends $286.12 million for purchasing avtur and $267.73 million for renting aircraft. It is a difficult decision, but we have to take it so that we can achieve this years performance target, Pikri said as reported by kontan.co.id. This year, Garuda Indonesia targets to collect $5.81 million in revenue, or 33 percent year-on-year growth, and $13.88 million in net profit, or 176 percent yoy growth. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 22:03 949 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a69c5 1 City #ElectionProtest,post-election-riot,Gerindra-Party,ambulance Free The Jakarta Police have confiscated an ambulance marked with a Gerindra Party logo after it was found filled with rocks instead of medical equipment and arrested three people during riots over President Joko Jokowi Widodo's election victory in Sabang, Central Jakarta, early on Wednesday. During the riots, protesters threw firecrackers and stones at police officers guarding several places in Central Jakarta. Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Thursday that the three who were arrested were named suspects. The three are Yayan Hendrayana, 59; Iskandar Hamid, 70; and Obby Nugraha, 33. All of them work for Gerindras Tasikmalaya branch in West Java. Gerindra is the party of Jokowi's challenger, Prabowo Subianto. They were ordered by the head of their partys branch to head for Jakarta, Argo told reporters on Thursday. He said the ambulance was sent to help those who were injured in the riots. However, we did not find any medical items inside the van. The suspects do not have medical qualifications, Argo said. Argo identified Yayan as the driver, Iskandar as the secretary of the partys Tasikmalaya branch and Obby as the deputy secretary. Cleaning workers were seen on Thursday afternoon struggling to clear riot hot spots in Central Jakarta from rocks. We have worked in shifts since morning but still havent finished [clearing the area]. I dont know how many kilograms of rocks [were used by the rioters], a cleaning worker said in Sarinah. (das) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya and Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23 2019 In times of crisis: A victim of a clash between police officers and protesters who were challenging the 2019 presidential election results leaves Tarakan General Hospital, Central Jakarta, after underoing medical treatment on Wednesday. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has said that six people died in the riot while 200 others were injured.(JP/Seto Wardhana) Hospitals treating casualties from Wednesdays riot have not confirmed whether any injuries were caused by live rounds even though at least one fatality and one of the injured appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds. Authorities have said they received reports that six people died and about 200 people were injured in the rioting. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 17:55 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a30d6 1 City Jakarta-riots,#ElectionProtest,#election,post-election-riot,protests,2019-general-election,2019-presidential-election-result,2019-presidential-election,election-dispute,election-protest Free At least eight people were killed in two days of post-election riots in Central Jakarta, while hundreds required medical care, the city administration said on Thursday. Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan revealed the new casualty figures while visiting the center of the unrest on Thursday morning, after the violence had subsided. The latest death toll is eight people, he said. As per 11 a.m. today, 737 people have received medical treatment at hospitals around this area. He added that at least 79 of those people had been heavily injured. Anies went on to say that people in their twenties dominated among those admitted to hospitals. "The largest [group] undergoing medical treatment were 294 people of 20-29 years of age, followed by 170 people below the age of 19. So, the number of young adults is quite high," he added. Anies refused to reveal the causes of the deaths amid the police's ongoing investigation. Late on Wednesday, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said four of the riot victims had died of stab wounds. Police are checking the cause of death of the other victims and deepening their investigation into the three riots that erupted in Central Jakarta and West Jakarta. (iwa) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 14:53 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873999062 4 Business JCI,rupiah,security,post-election-riot Free The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) rose to 6,029.58 in the first trading session on Thursday, 1.51 percent or 89.95 points higher than its position the previous day, after security in the capital was restored following a violent protest of the election result announcement. However, the rupiah continued on Thursday to follow a weakening trend. It was quoted at Rp 14,525 per United States dollar at 10:23 a.m., 0.31 percent lower than its position on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, according to the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar (JISDOR), the rupiah stood at Rp 14.513 per US dollar, 0.17 percent lower than Rp 14.488 per US dollar on Wednesday. On the other hand, the Indonesia Stock Index showed that 290 shares increased in value, while 111 shares decreased and 110 shares stagnated. The trade volume was recorded at 9.11 billion with the total transactions hitting Rp 4.6 trillion (US$317.64 million) The JCI increase was supported by 10 sectorial indexes with the infrastructure sector contributing the strongest increase, up 2.44 percent, followed by the financial sector, 1.87 percent, the basic industry sector, 1.74 percent, and the manufacturing sector, 1.27 percent. The three top gainers were PT Media Nusantara Citra, up 7.37 percent to Rp 1,020; PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, up 4.94 percent to Rp 6,375; and PT Bumi Serpong Damai, up 4.53 percent to Rp 1,270. However, foreign investors still booked net sales. On the regular market, net sales were recorded at Rp 255.19 billion, while total sales across the whole market totaled Rp 240.20 billion. Jakarta Police chief. Insp. Gen. Gatot Eddy Purnomo said that security had been restored in capital on Thursday. As of this time, the security situation is relatively favorable. There has been no escalation of incidents, he said as reported by kontan.co.id. However, he stressed that the police were still deployed to guard vital objectives. He said the number of security officers deployed remained the same as the last two days. (bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 12:59 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739901a3 4 Business Airport,security,strengthening Free The Transportation Ministry has called on airports nationwide to strengthen security, following a post-election protest that triggered violence in Jakarta, resulting in the deaths of six people, while 200 others sustained injuries. The ministrys air transportation director general, Polana B. Pramesti, said the call was targeted at all stakeholders at the airports. The strengthening aims to make people feel safe and to provide convenience to users of air transportation, she said in Jakarta on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com. The official stressed the importance of careful checks of all passengers and intensifying patrols around the airports to ensure no flight disruptions. Polana also instructed all airlines to carefully match tickets to ticketholders and their luggage. Meanwhile, the regulated agents are required to check the cargo and postal documents, she added. (bbn) Topics : Airport security strengthening Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post) Sampang Thu, May 23, 2019 23:54 949 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a812d 1 National Jakarta-riots,election-protest,Prabowo-claimed-victory,Prabowo-people-power-rally,Madura,East-Java Free A mob reportedly attacked and set fire to Tambelangan Police station in Madura, East Java, on Wednesday night following riots in Jakarta. East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Luki Hermawan explained that dozens of people arrived at the police station on Wednesday evening to confirm the news about the Madura leaders who had been trapped in an area in Jakarta when the riots took place. The mob then began to riot there. They tried to attack police officers and inmates but the targets escaped through the back door. The attack was triggered by fake news, Luki said after visiting the remains of the station on Thursday together with East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa and Brawijaya Military commander Maj. Gen. R Wisnoe. We have identified the rioters and will soon take firm action against them, Luki added. Deadly riots broke out in Jakarta shortly after supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the results of the April 17 election, which they claimed were plagued with fraud. At least seven people had been killed during the worst riots to hit the capital since 1998 when a student rally demanding the ouster of then-president Soeharto led to a riot that killed thousands. Prabowo won big in Madura, particularly in three regencies on the island, namely Pamekasan, Sampang and Sumenep. Incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo only won in Bangkalan, the remaining regency on the island. (vny) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart (Reuters) Washington, United States Thu, May 23, 2019 10:10 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa87398bc80 2 World #USA,#Iran,Pentagon,soldiers,Middle-East Free The US Department of Defense is considering a US military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Wednesday. Tehran and Washington have this month been escalating rhetoric against each other, following US President Donald Trump's decision to try to cutIran's oil exports to zero and beef up the US military presence in the Gulf in response to what he said were Iranian threats. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the request had been made by US Central Command, but added that it was not clear whether the Pentagon would approve the request. The Pentagon regularly receives - and declines - requests for additional resources from US combatant commands throughout the world. One of the officials said the requested troops would be defensive in nature. It is unclear if any specific request will ultimately be presented to the White House. The request for 5,000 additional troops was first reported by Reuters. This appeared to be the latest request for additional resources in the face of what US officials have said are credible threats from Iran against US forces and American interests in the Middle East. The United States has not publicly shown any evidence of what the specific intelligence on the Iranian threat is. The Pentagon declined to comment. "As a matter of longstanding policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential future plans and requests for forces," Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said on Wednesday. Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said on Tuesday that while threats from Iran in the Middle East remained high, deterrence measures taken by the Pentagon had "put on hold" the potential for attacks on Americans. The US military accelerated the deployment of a carrier strike group to the Middle East, and sent bombers and Patriot missiles to the region earlier this month in response to what Washington said were troubling indications of possible preparations for an attack by Iran. US government sources told Reuters last week they believe Iran encouraged Houthi militants or Iraq-based Shi'ite militias to carry out attacks on tanker ships off the United Arab Emirates. Trump has warned that Iran would be met with "great force" if it attacked US interests in the Middle East. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran's youth will witness the demise of Israel and American civilization. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin I Wayan Juniarta (The Jakarta Post) Bali Thu, May 23 2019 In rural areas of the island, Balinese Hindus still address their Muslim neighbors as nyama selam. Nyama is the Balinese word for blood relative while selam is the local pronounciation of Islam. The term nyama selam displays the close and endearing relationship between Balinese Hindus and Muslims, particularly those who reside in dozens of traditional muslim villages across Bali. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, May 23, 2019 18:53 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a4c78 1 National Jakarta-riots,election-protest,May-22-rally,KPU-result-announcement-2019,Prabowo-reject-KPU-result,Prabowo-people-power-rally Free The National Police have stated that two people allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) terror group had the intention of launching a terror attack under the cover of rallies protesting the 2019 presidential election results. With alleged links to the hard-line Islamic Reformist Movement (Garis), the two were among hundreds of suspected rioters that took to the streets in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. M. Iqbal said. From the testimony of the two arrested suspects, they confirmed their intention to carry out jihad during the protests on [May] 21 and 22, Iqbal told a press conference on Thursday. So it is confirmed there are certain groups that wanted to take advantage of the demonstrations. The investigators found strong evidence to back up the suspicions, Iqbal said, though he refused to provide further details when asked about the evidence. He said the two suspects came from outside Jakarta. In the past, Garis expressed support for the IS movement and sent its members to fight in Syria. Convicted terrorist and firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was part of Garis syuro council, Iqbal said. Prior to Tuesday's riots, the police arrested more than 40 terror suspects in May alone. The suspects allegedly planned attacks that were to take place during protests over election results that named the incumbent, Joko Jokowi Widodo, as the winner. Iqbal did not say whether the two alleged IS supporters were affiliated with the suspects who were arrested before the protests took place. We will reveal the details on their identity and network later because we are still searching for some figures who were mentioned by the two suspects, Iqbal said. The protests, led by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, turned into a riot in front of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) building on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta nearing midnight on Tuesday, then escalated and spread with riots in Petamburan and Slipi in West Jakarta. The unrest lasted till Wednesday evening, when groups of rioters threw firecrackers at police personnel guarding the Bawaslu building. The rioters also threw Molotov cocktails and stones at the officers, Iqbal said. The police had arrested 185 suspected rioters as of Wednesday evening, adding to the 257 people who were previously arrested during riots in different locations in Central Jakarta. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, May 24 2019 Indonesia on Wednesday chaired a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Middle East, during which Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi took the chance to once again address the issue of Palestine. Prolonged conflicts in the Middle East have an impact on regional and global peace and stability. The UNSC must be able to produce real progress in resolving the Middle East issue, especially Palestine, said Retno in the regular UNSC briefing at the United Nations headquarters in New York, as quoted from a press statement. As president at the UNSC for the whole month of May, Indonesia chaired Wednesdays meeting, which was attended by representatives from 14 other UNSC member states. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Singapore Thu, May 23, 2019 13:01 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739910bb 2 SE Asia #singapore,#health,smoking-hut,cigarette,puffers Free Smokers in Singapore will no longer have to sneak a drag on the street, with the launch of the city-state's first air-conditioned "smoking cabin", but the experience won few fans among cigarette puffers on Wednesday. The city-state has some of the world's strictest anti-tobacco laws and smoking is banned in most public places, with a fine of up to Sg$1,000 ($725) if caught. E-cigarettes are also banned outright. The new cabins, which are fitted with a Danish filtration system that can purify cigarette smoke before it is released into the air, can reportedly fit up to 10 people at a time. But tobacco enthusiasts appeared unimpressed, with many choosing to light up at a nearby open-air smoking corner instead. "The atmosphere in there is stifling, honestly. Because it's so small and squeezy, I feel a bit like a second-class citizen smoking in there," e-commerce executive Azfar Zain told AFP after using the cabin. "There are no seats, either. I'm not comfortable with smoking there unless they make the room bigger." Office worker Rama Dass said he preferred to smoke outside, adding, "sometimes I just need a bit of fresh air". Singapore-based Southern Globe Corporation, which launched the cabin on Tuesday, said it planned to deploy 60 such structures by the end of the year. Singapore first introduced anti-tobacco laws in the 1970s as part of a national effort to reduce smoking. It has since expanded the number of public places where lighting up is prohibited, including university campuses, common areas around apartment blocks, and inside private cars with the windows down. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Shim Woo-hyun (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Thu, May 23, 2019 17:03 950 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739a1213 2 News DMZ,travel,destination,South-Korea,North-Korea Free You can ride on a swing in the Demilitarized Zone along the border between the two Koreas, and its even a three-seater. Danish artist group Superflexs two-swing set from their 2017 large-scale installation One Two Three Swing! has been installed at Dora observatory situated at the northernmost point of the DMZ, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Tourists and soldiers visiting Dora observatory were swinging under blue-clear sky on Tuesday. Taking pictures of them was Jakob Fenger, who founded Superflex along with Rasmus Nielsen and Bjornstjerne Christiansen in 1993. Its a magical moment (to seeing the work being installed at the site), Fenger said during a press conference held on Tuesday at Dora observatory in the DMZ, which overlooks various locations in North Korea, including the downtown of Gaeseong, Songaksan on the backdrop, Kim Il-Sung Statue, cooperation farms and so on. The swing set installed at the northernmost part of South Korea was part of the artist groups large-scale playground installed at Tate Moderns Turbine Hall. The Tate installation, which was commissioned by Hyundai Motor, comprised of some 20 swing sets hanging from orange-colored pipes that zig-zag around the huge gallery space. The exhibition, held until April 2018 at Tate Modern, also had a huge mirrored pendulum hanging from the 20-meter-high ceiling of the hall, as well as thick carpet in candy-stripes, which covered up the floor. The swing set has been traveling the world since then, and Dora Observatory is its fifth destination, said Kim Sun-jung, president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation. It is also the farthest location from where it was first introduced, she added. The idea behind installing the swing-set in different locations around the globe is to connect people from many parts of the world, and also to go through barriers in both literal and figurative ways -- like it broke through the walls of Tate Moderns Turbine Hall. Read also: Hiking trails to open along Korean demilitarized zone The orange-colored tubes appear to grow out of the ground and move back in, and they may also come out of any different sites. North Korea is the location that the artist now dreams to install what Fenger calls sculpture infrastructure, as the Danish trio believe that culture can bring societal change. Fenger, who said the word tool was a more apt description of their work than art, said that they want their creations to bring people together and get them involved in physical activities, which will also make them think in turn. The three-seater is an apparent way to bring people together. According to the artist, three is the minimum number to make up a group. The latest project has been organized by Real DMZ Project and supported by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation on the occasion of the 60th anniversary that celebrates the diplomatic ties between Denmark and Korea. The two swing-set will be open to the public for two years. Topics : This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Men arrested for axe-wielding road-rage attack on ambulance PHUKET: Two men have been arrested for attacking an ambulance with an axe in a fit of road rage, smashing the ambulances mirrors and rear window, on Phukets bypass road in broad daylight on Monday (May 20). violencecrimepolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Thursday 23 May 2019, 01:10PM The two men, both from Trang, have now been arrested. Images: Kaew Detnarong / Facebook Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Col Sermpan Sirikong confirmed to The Phuket News that the two men were arrested at rented house in Thalang this morning (May 23). A search of the house resulted in bullets being seized at the scene, but officers did not find any firearms, he said. The two men, who Col Sermpan said were both from Trang but declined to name, were taken into custody and taken for questioning. They are now being questioned further as we believe they are involved in drugs, he said. Capt Natthi Phichitchainithimet of the Wichit Police confirmed that arrest warrants were quickly issued by the Phuket Provincial Court on Monday soon after the attack was reported. Specifically the men face charges of under Section 358 of the Criminal Code, which states, Whoever, damaging, destroying, causing the depreciation of value or rendering useless the property belonging to the other person or which the other person to be the co-owner, such person to be said to commit mischief, and shall be imprisoned not out of three years or fined not more of B6,000, or both. They also face charges under Section 392 of the Criminal Code, which states, Any person who, by threat, places another in a state of fear or fright shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than one month, or a fine not exceeding B1,000 or both. The attack was reported by Detnarong Songsaeng, who is a full-time lawyer who also volunteers to work as an ambulance driver, Capt Natthi explained. The incident went viral on Thai social media sites this morning after Mr Detnarong shared video clips of the attack recorded by the ambulances on-board cameras on his Kaew Detnarong Facebook page. The attack occurred at the bypass road at 4:45pm on Monday, after the ambulance exited the Darasamut Underpass, Mr Detnarong explained. As shown in the videos, Mr Detnarong was driving the ambulance in the right southbound lane and moved to middle lane, while the two men on the motorbike also attempted to enter the middle lane in order pass a pickup truck. So I pressed the horn to warn them, Mr Detnarong said. The motorbike almost hit my left side, he added. Mr Detnarong slowed down, but did not stop. Furious, the two men then pursued the ambulance, in turn threatening Mr Detnarong with a knife and a small axe before smashing holes in the ambulances rear and side windows. They kept following me, but when they saw a Traffic Police officer, they pulled over and stopped, and then turned around and headed southbound, Mr Detnarong said. One billion baht found in teenage drug dealers accounts BANGKOK: Nine drug suspects, including a 19-year-old major trafficker with more than one billion baht in his bank accounts, have been arrested in separate police raids in Bangkok, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi. More than 7 million speed pills were seized. drugscrimepolice By Bangkok Post Thursday 23 May 2019, 09:13AM Police inspect large quantities of speed pills seized in separate raids before a media briefing on Wednesday (May 22). Nine suspects were arrested in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces. Photo: Wassayos Ngamkham Drugs including speed pills and crystal methamphetamine, weapons, and other items seized from the nine suspects were displayed during a media briefing on Wednesday (May 22). In the first police operation, officers from the Patrol and Special Operations Division (or 191 Patrol) arrested four men and seized 240,000 speed pills, two cars and five mobile phones with a combined value of over B2 million. The suspects were arrested on Bang Na-Trat Road in Bang Na district, Bangkok, said Pol Maj Gen Samrarn Nuanma, commander of the 191 Patrol. They were identified as Thananon Ekwaranon, 29; Yachu Khalaku, 28; Saran Jitprapa, 29; and Natthawat Saengchoo, 33. The arrests came after police investigators received a tip-off that Mr Thananon and his accomplices were involved in the drug trade in the Bang Na area. A police officer posing as a drug buyer contacted the gang to purchase speed pills. When the gang showed up to deliver the drugs, officers arrested them. The suspects confessed the drugs came from a drug network in the North, said Pol Maj Gen Samrarn. In the second raid, four men were arrested in Thanyaburi district of Pathum Thani province with 5.4 million speed pills and 876.8 grammes of crystal methamphetamine. A pickup truck, a van, four cars, three motorcycles and two pistols were seized. The four were Somphop Khamchan, 20; Manas Sarabut, 30; Sarayut Wongtom, 24; and Surachat Khuanbuppha, 32. Pol Maj Gen Samrarn said detectives then extended the investigation, leading to the seizure of another 1.4 million speed pills at a house in Bang Bua Thong district, Nonthaburi. The dates for the first two raids were not given. In the third raid, on May 5, major drug suspect Nonthawat Saputhawong, 19, was caught in Thon Buri area, Bangkok with B3.7 million cash. The teenager was among four men involved in an earlier drug bust, when 1.5 million speed pills were seized from their van on Nov 26 last year. The three other suspects were caught, but Mr Nonthawat managed to flee, said Pol Maj Gen Samrarn. A police investigation found that more than B1.4 billion passed through the 19-year-old suspects bank accounts between March 15 and May 5. Pol Lt Gen Sutthipong Wongpin, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said the investigation was being extended and more arrests would follow. Read original story here. Phuket braces for heavy weather, small boats advised to stay ashore PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office Director Wiwat Chitchertwong has issued a notice to all boat operators calling for them to beware storm conditions and for operators of small boats to refrain from putting to sea from today (May 23) through next Wednesday (May 29). Thursday 23 May 2019, 06:02PM The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued a weather advisory warning that Phuket will be hit with a week of heavy thunderstorms from May 23 until May 29, Mr Wiwat said in his notice. The storms will bring isolated heavy rain to areas across the South, including Phuket, Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun. Waves are expected to reach more than two metres high, he added. Boat operators should check their boats for safety, that the engine and other equipment on board is in good working order and make sure that all life-saving equipment is ready to use at all times, Mr Wiwat urged. In addition, all passengers should wear life jackets all the times while on the boat, and boat operators are to stay tuned to weather updates from the TMD, Mr Wiwat said. The TMD issued its weather warning on Tuesday (May 21), warning heavy storms across Southern Thailand from May23-29. (See story here.) The TMD re-issued the warning earlier today, but warning of heavy weather and thunderstorms from today through to Sunday (May 23-26). (See here.) Apologetics Leads to a Resilient Faith On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb was detonated in front of the Alfred P Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. While it was an incredibly powerful bomb that did extensive damage to hundreds of buildings in a 16-block radius, there is one primary reason for the devastating partial collapse of the Murrah building. The front of the building, where the bomb was detonated, used whats called transfer girders on the 3rd floor to support the columns for the upper six floors. They worked great for creating a more open entrance with ground-floor columns spaced at twice the distance of the columns on the 8 stories above, but they also decreased the number of load paths available for supporting the weight of the floors above. Therefore, when the truck bomb was detonated right next to a ground-floor column, shattering it and shearing through the columns on each side of it, 8 of the 10 bays of the buildings north facade were now unsupported. From the 3rd floor up, taking away that much support wouldve required eliminating 7 columns, but at the first 2 levels, it only took the destruction of 3 columns. This was a painful reminder that part of making a resilient building that can survive disasters is having redundancy, the ability to safely redistribute loads through alternate paths in the event of the loss of one load path. Its what a lot of us engineers like to call a belt and suspenders design. As a Christian engineer, I have to ask, is my belief in God such that one crisis of doubt will destroy it, or is it more robust than that? I think you know the answer, but lets work through that today Work to expand Terex plant in Huron will benefit Watertown facility Terex's expansion in Huron will help the Watertown plant. The Huron facility manufactures components used in Watertown. Guitarist Christian Andreu from French heavy metal band Gojira has produced one of the most metal moments of 2019. The band were performing when a strong wind gust blew flame straight into Andreu's face, which resulted in him leaving the stage immediately. See the clip below: Oil extended losses after a surprise jump in American crude inventories alleviated concerns over a supply crunch, while the demand outlook remained bleak as there was no let up in U.S.-China tensions. Futures in New York fell as much as 0.8 per cent after tumbling 2.7 per cent on Wednesday, the biggest drop in almost three weeks. American stockpiles rose by 4.7 million barrels to the highest level since mid-2017 last week despite expectations for a drop, while gasoline inventories also climbed. Asian stocks opened lower after the White House was said to be considering cutting off the flow of vital U.S. technology to five Chinese surveillance companies. Oil is on course for its first monthly loss this year after a dramatic escalation in the trade dispute between the worlds two biggest economies jeopardized the outlook for global growth. While theres no shortage of supply risks including the possibility the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries will extend its output curbs or that rising tension in the Middle East will disrupt energy flows swelling U.S. stockpiles are mitigating those concerns. Both crude and fuel inventories rose, contrary to market expectations, suggesting the economy is getting worse, said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at Market Risk Advisory in Tokyo. The American economy may be heading into a cyclical slowdown. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery fell 36 cents (U.S.), or 0.6 per cent, to $61.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:56 a.m. in Singapore after being down as much as 49 cents earlier. The contract fell $1.71 to close at $61.42 on Wednesday. Brent for July settlement declined 35 cents to $70.64 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract lost $1.19 to $70.99 on Wednesday. The global benchmark crude was at a $9.57 premium to WTI. The CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is forcefully defending mortgage stress test rules and warning federal policy-makers to hold the line amid calls for softening the measure from industry associations. My job is to advise you against this reckless myopia and protect our economy from potentially tragic consequences, wrote president and CEO Evan Siddall in a letter dated Thursday to the Standing Committee on Finance. He urged the committee to look past the plain self-interest of the parties lobbying for easing the changed rules and implementing other measures, like offering mortgage terms of 30 years. The Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA), Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) and the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) have all called for the changes outlined by Siddall. Im quite surprised to see that our community was somewhat vilified by the letter, said Paul Taylor, president and CEO of MPC, when he says the group was trying to provide observations about why the program might need some adjustments. The stress test requires would-be borrowers to show they would still be able to make payments if faced with higher interest rates or less income. It first applied to insured mortgages or those with down payments of less than 20 per cent of the purchase price with a variable rate and a term of less than five years. In October 2016, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau extended it to five-year mortgages. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions amended the B-20 rule starting January 2018 to include uninsured mortgages or those with a down payment of more than 20 per cent. Uninsured borrowers must now show they could service their mortgage if rates rose two per cent over the Bank of Canadas five-year benchmark rate or the borrowers interest rate. MPC wants that figure lowered to about three-quarters of a per cent, or to see lenders allowed to offer 30-year mortgage terms, said Taylor. The group doesnt disagree that house prices escalated too quickly or that people are indebted, said Taylor, but it believes either of those changes would increase the purchasing power of first-time home buyers who have been disproportionately sidelined by the changes. CHBA has similar aspirations to CMHC, said CEO Kevin Lee namely, affordable housing and avoiding excessive consumer debt. But we have a different view on what the impact of all the mortgage rules has been, and where were at right now and what the best route forward is, he said. CHBA wants both 30-year mortgage terms and a scaled back stress test that operates on a sliding scale the longer the term, the smaller the stress test percentage. He rejected CMHCs assertion that the group is biased. Our position is always to push for affordability to help Canadians become homeowners, he said. Policies like the rigid, one-sized-fits-all stress test and restrictions on legitimate mortgage choices should be regularly reviewed, said OREA CEO Tim Hudak in a statement. Ontario Realtors are fighting for Canadians who are having their dream of becoming homeowners dashed by bureaucratic overreach in the mortgage market and outdated red tape and expensive regulations restricting housing supply and choice, he said. Siddall said such measures would inflate property prices by up to one to two per cent in Canadas large cities, as well as stimulate more borrowing. Last month, CIBC World Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal released a report showing that the new mortgage stress tests accounted for at least half of the $25-billion decline in new mortgages started late last year. Tal argued the test was necessary, but could be made more flexible by taking into account rising interest rates, for example. A TD report released at the end of April said the rules contributed to bringing down housing activity to a more sustainable level but can be tweaked if circumstances change. It estimated home sales could rise eight per cent and prices six per cent by the end of 2020 compared to current projections if the B-20 regulation was removed immediately assuming all else remained equal. That amounts to a $32,000 difference in the average Canadian home price relative to the banks forecast, with the Greater Toronto and Vancouver Areas seeing a disproportionate impact. TD is supportive of the stress test and the governments efforts to support a soft landing for Canadas housing sector more generally, spokeswoman Julie Bellissimo wrote in an email. Siddall highlighted both banks arguments as cases evident of moral hazard since the insured mortgages they offer are backed by a federal government guarantee. I doubt theyd be as cavalier if it were their risk, he said. Siddall argues that the stress test is doing what it is supposed to do. Changes to the stress test requirements starting in 2010 have helped keep house prices 3.4 per cent lower nationally than where they otherwise would have been, he said. Critics of the stress test ignore the fact that high house prices are the overwhelming reason why home ownership is out of reach. Follow @AleksSagan on Twitter. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the Mortgage Professionals Association of Canada called for the changes. OTTAWA - President Donald Trump says he has enough Democratic support to ratify the new North American free-trade pact despite his feud with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat who controls the agenda in the House of Representatives. Next week, Vice-President Mike Pence arrives in Ottawa for whats supposed to be a big push to get the agreement approved in the national legislatures in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the Canadian government is looking forward to getting an update on U.S. efforts to ratify the new North American free trade pact when Pence visits. Canada has yet to table legislation in Parliament to ratify the new version of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, a treaty Trump lambasted yet again on Thursday as one of the worst trade deals ever made in the history of our country. In the past, Freeland has labelled the Trump administration as protectionist, especially during the long and sometimes bitter NAFTA renegotiation, but she presented a more conciliatory view of Pence. Its important for Canadians to remember that Vice-President Pence has been a strong and effective supporter of free trade. He has been someone who has spoken out in the United States about the value of NAFTA for both Canadians and Americans, Freeland said Thursday after touring the Rio Tinto aluminum plant in Jonquiere, Que. Indeed, the real challenge might be in Washington. On Tuesday, the White House released a letter to Pelosi and the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, in which Trump said hed like to get the deal approved swiftly in Congress and then to get moving on a bipartisan infrastructure package. Wednesday, Trump walked out of a meeting with the two. Thursday, he called them names and Pelosi questioned his fitness for the presidency. Trump said he was extremely calm Wednesday after he walked out. You had the group Crying Chuck, Crazy Nancy, Trump said. I have been watching her for a long period of time. Shes not the same person, shes lost it. Trump took his shots during another freewheeling White House press conference after announcing $16 billion in aid to American farmers who have been hit by retaliatory tariffs from Canada and other countries responding to Trumps protectionism. Canada and Mexico ended their retaliations after the Trump administrations decision last week to lift U.S. tariffs on their steel and aluminum. Both countries said it would have been difficult to ratify the new trade deal with those metals tariffs in place. Since the tariffs were lifted, Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been visiting steel and aluminum plants. Were fixing broken trade deals to open up markets for American exports, including with the brand new the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement an agreement that the Democrats in Congress, many are supporting I must say. Theyve told us theyre supporting it regardless of leadership. I dont think Nancy Pelosi understands it its too complicated, Trump said. I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country, Pelosi told reporters separately. She said she is praying for her country and the president, and that she is concerned for his well-being. Maybe he wants to take a leave of absence, the veteran Democrat mused. Meanwhile, Freeland said Canada especially appreciated Pences positive comments about NAFTA during the July 2017 meeting of U.S. state governors in Rhode Island, which Freeland attended with Trudeau. Freeland was seen taking notes during Pences speech, in which he said: We will modernize NAFTA for the 21st century so that it is a win-win-win for all of our trading partners in North America. We will certainly discuss the domestic ratification path for the new NAFTA here in Canada, said Freeland. And I think well be very interested to hear from him how he sees ratification of the new NAFTA in the United States. New restrictions that limit the ability of American companies to export U.S. technology to Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. are causing some carriers to suspend the launch of their smartphones. Mobile carriers in Asia and the U.K. announced this week that they were shelving plans to launch new handsets by Huawei, but service providers in Canada are still trying to gauge the full effect of the restrictions on their lineups. In a statement, Telus Corp. said it has reached out to our partners at Google Canada and Huawei Canada to understand the full implications of these developments and will advise our customers who use Huawei devices once we know more. We have been in touch with both companies, Rogers Communications said, adding we will continue to share information with our customers as it becomes available. A spokesperson for Bell Canada meanwhile, said the company wouldnt comment on our future device lineup. At this time, there is no indication that our customers experience with their Huawei devices will change, added a spokesperson for Freedom Mobile, a Toronto-based telecom provider owned by Shaw Communications. Mobile phone service providers in Japan, Taiwan and Britain on Wednesday said they had stopped taking early orders for new smartphone models from the company or had ditched plans to offer handsets equipped for fifth generation wireless networks. There have also been anecdotal reports of consumers attempting to trade in Huawei hardware. Huawei phone sales have surged in Canada over the past two years thanks to competitive pricing, a popular camera and other high-end features, said IDC Canada mobility senior analyst Steve Yang, adding that Huaweis market share jumped to about 6 per cent from less than 3 per cent over the period. He said Huawei has leap-frogged brands including BlackBerry to become the countrys third most popular smartphone after Apple and Samsung. Worldwide, Huawei is now the the second-largest smartphone vendor after Samsung. Device shipments were up 50 per cent in the first quarter, bucking a slump in the broader market, but Yang said those gains could be reversed if the Trump administrations ban on exports to Huawei by U.S. suppliers amid a broader U.S.-China trade conflict is fully implemented. That would cut off the latest Huawei phones, tablets and laptops from access to U.S. made microprocessor unit computer chip sets and software updates from American vendors including Googles Android. The big question will come to whether people prefer the handset or the software, said Emily Taylor, a U.K.-based cyber security expert and CEO of Oxford Information Labs. She said the restricted access to U.S. technology will accelerate development of Chinese-made mobile operating software and chip sets, adding that consumers could also opt to access Google software via their browsers if the export ban puts the Android mobile operating system app off limits. Theres no reason why Huawei cant use a different OS, she said. It doesnt have to use Android or it can adapt open source from the base kit. Taylor also suggested that the most significant security vulnerability in Huawei offerings is in buggy software rather than any intention to commit espionage. Google this week said it would continue to support existing Huawei smartphones but future devices will not have its flagship apps and services, including maps, Gmail and search, with only basic services available. Huawei said Tuesday that its proprietary operating system will be available to the public between this fall and the spring of 2020. Huawei in a statement added that it will continue to provide security updates and after sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products covering those that have been sold or [are] still in stock globally. The company has also said that it has stockpiled chips and other vital components. Citing national security imperatives, the U.S. Commerce Department last week said companies wishing to export U.S. technology to Huawei must apply for a license which the department indicated would be hard secure. On the same day, U.S. President Trump said he had signed an executive order enabling the U.S. to ban telecommunications network gear and services from foreign adversaries. Separately, Ottawa, is considering a ban on Huawei equipment that Telus said could set back its launch of 5G although Bell Canada says the move would not impact its plans. Its not yet clear how consumers will react to the U.S.-led campaign against Huawei and Canadian carriers have not indicated whether the campaign will impact Huawei device sales and new model availability here. CALGARYOn a grassy hill at Blackfoot Crossing in 1967, five-year-old Milton Tootoosis watched as the bones of legendary Cree Chief Poundmaker were exhumed from Albertas soil. It was a solemn, spiritual affair. Tootoosis recalled seeing a teepee, dignitaries and lines of yellow school buses parked on the hill. As a young boy, he didnt know a lot about Poundmaker and most history books had branded him a traitor. The Cree leader known as Pitikwahanapiwiyin was jailed in 1885 for treason-felony. But there was an allure to Poundmaker that Tootoosis and the other children in attendance at his exhumation felt. We knew as five-year-old kids that this individual that we were paying attention to that day was someone very special, the headman and councillor of the Poundmaker Cree Nation recently said. On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exonerated Poundmaker following decades of work by First Nations elders and leaders, including Tootoosis, to clear his name. Following a pipe ceremony and a formal grand entry to the Poundmaker Cree Nation including elders and the Cree leaders direct descendants, Trudeau described Poundmaker as a leader who never stopped trying to establish peace. We recognize that the unjust conviction and imprisonment of Chief Poundmaker had and continues to have a profound impact on the Poundmaker Cree Nation, the prime minister said. I am here today, on behalf of the government of Canada, to confirm without reservation that Chief Poundmaker is fully exonerated of any crime or wrongdoing. The ceremony came just over a year after Trudeau exonerated six Tsilhqotin war chiefs hanged in 1864 for defending their traditional territories. Some hope it will prompt future exonerations, but Tootoosis is just happy to see the record set straight concerning Poundmakers reputation. We are all very excited, honoured, thrilled, Tootoosis said. At the same time, I think its going to be very emotional and kind of sad because of who Poundmaker was and the fact it took this long to have some justice to clear his name. Growing up on the Poundmaker Cree Nation near Cut Knife, Sask., Tootoosis always wondered what really happened at the Battle of Cut Knife. The incident made the New York Times front page. DEFEATED BY THE INDIANS: COL. OTTER ROUTED BY CHIEF POUNDMAKER screamed the newspapers headline in May 1885, painting the Cree leader as a bloodthirsty rebel. In university, Tootoosis began reading about a very different Poundmaker. This Poundmaker was a skilled orator, a shrewd negotiator and ultimately, a peacemaker. Read more: Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary introducing Indigenous language classes thanks to government funding Racing against time to bring Indigenous languages back from the brink Ottawa planning law to recognize Indigenous language rights Born around 1842 in what is now Saskatchewan, Poundmaker was ceremonially adopted by Siksika Chief Crowfoot after his son was killed during a battle. This tightened the bonds between the Cree and Siksika peoples, who traditionally saw each other as bitter enemies. He was very well respected. They actually took him into their societies and they actually respected him because he learned the language, Tootoosis said. By 1876, Poundmaker then in his 30s was a minor band leader who took part in Treaty 6 negotiations with the Crown at Fort Carlton, Sask. During the negotiations that August, Poundmaker questioned the basis of the governments authority to grant First Nations peoples their own land, arguing it isnt a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given in little pieces back to us. It is ours and we will take what we want. But the buffalo herds that Plains Cree peoples depended on for food and survival had dwindled alarmingly and Treaty 6 promised to supply bands who signed with rations. Influential Cree leaders at the negotiations considered this the best option, so Poundmaker signed. Nearly a decade later, in the spring of 1885, the Cree leader and his followers travelled to Battleford, Sask., to seek the rations the Crown owed them under Treaty 6. The local Indian agent refused to leave the protection of a local fort to meet with them thanks to a recent uprising by Metis leader Louis Riel which became known as the Northwest Rebellion. This infuriated some warriors in Poundmakers band and they raided Battleford itself in response. In retaliation, a force of 325 armed men led by Lieutenant-Colonel William Otter attacked Poundmakers camp on May 2 near Cut Knife Hill. After seven hours of fighting, hundreds of Cree and Stoney warriors managed to repel the settlers. Though Poundmaker was known as a peace chief and, according to Tootoosis, had no authority to command the warriors, he managed to convince them to let the troops retreat. He later offered to conduct peace negotiations with the Canadian government in Battleford. Instead, when he arrived there in May of 1885, he was arrested, convicted of treason-felony and sentenced to three years imprisonment in Manitobas Stony Mountain Penitentiary. Released after a year due to ill health, Poundmaker returned to Alberta to visit Crowfoot on the Siksika reserve and died there in July 1886. Originally buried at Blackfoot Crossing, his remains were exhumed at the 1967 ceremony Tootoosis witnessed and repatriated to the Poundmaker Cree Nation that same year. More than 50 years later, the land that welcomed the chief back hosted his exoneration. Trudeau arrived at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage with a procession of other chiefs and elders to the sound of drumming, singing and cheering. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde was among the attendees, as was Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett and Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale. The ceremony took place on a hill in front of five teepees near where Poundmakers remains are buried. A black and white framed photograph of the chief stood next to the stage. Hundreds of people filled the stands and sat on the grass to witness the ceremony. Many of them wore colourful traditional dress, adorned with exquisite beadwork and ribbons. Others wore white shirts featuring a picture of Poundmaker and the word Justice. Pauline Favel, a descendant of Poundmaker, said the exoneration goes a long way toward truth and reconciliation for Indigenous people. Not giving up and wanting this done for our healing is huge for our people, as a nation, she said. Another Cree chief in similar circumstances has yet to see his name cleared. Chief Big Bear, a contemporary of Poundmaker, was also convicted of treason-felony and imprisoned in Stony Mountain Penitentiary. Terry Atimoyoo of the Little Pine First Nation has been calling up Chief Big Bears descendants from across Canada and the United States to co-ordinate such an effort. Last year, he held a descendants gathering to share stories, and intends to organize another this summer. Itll happen. Well pursue it, Atimoyoo said of an exoneration for Big Bear. The Poundmaker ceremony was expected to attract anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 people, including schoolchildren who are the same age Tootoosis was when he watched the exhumation at Blackfoot Crossing all those decades ago. He said the ceremony will have great significance for the Poundmaker Cree Nation and for reconciliation as a whole. Im very hopeful itll continue, Tootoosis said. That the exoneration of Chief Poundmaker should I hope open further conversation, further research and further respect for the Indigenous perspective as to what happened during the past century. With files from The Canadian Press Read more about: EDMONTONHarm-reduction strategies are making large electronic dance music events safer, a city council committee heard Wednesday. Edmonton is poised to make harm reduction mandatory at the events after promoters implemented a host of safety measures following a threat to ban them altogether. It is huge. This is what my professional community has been advocating for years, said Shelby Young, a nurse and the founder of Indigo Harm Reduction. She said Edmonton would be the first city in Canada to make harm-reduction practices mandatory at large-scale electronic music events. I find it really humbling and am grateful that we can help make that step for other community organizations across Canada and maybe North America. Last May, Edmonton police requested a moratorium on raves defined as after-hour club parties, electronic music shows and electronic dance parties that feature fast-paced electronic music and light shows in a report that said emergency response teams were being stretched by calls to late-night dance events where people had consumed too many drugs. Read more: Dance on! Edmonton council committee backs down from rave moratorium Fans say history is repeating as rave restrictions return to Edmonton city council agenda Edmonton electronic music promoters fire back over rave moratorium proposal Promoters and supporters of electronic music advocated successfully for more harm-reduction services and greater co-operation with the city instead of a moratorium. A committee of venue operators, event organizers, police, medical professionals and other stakeholders formed to discuss and implement approaches to curb drug overdoses and sexual harassment and assault at the events. Promoters immediately began implementing various harm-reduction practices. Indigo, which Young founded in 2016, is the primary organization offering those practices on site, which include education and health promotion outreach and chill zones or safe spaces where patrons can go to calm down, de-stimulate and access free water. The group typically has 12 to 15 volunteers in purple shirts and lanyards offering support at the events. Before the moratorium was presented, everybody was scared of harm reduction. It was a conversation that nobody really wanted to have, because they didnt know the areas that they could operate within for having harm reduction on site, Young said. When I started Indigo, I thought I was just going to be a nurse sitting at a table with condoms and education. And its turned into a huge movement in our city. A report presented to city councils community and public services committee Wednesday showed an improvement in reduced hospital transports over the last year. The event with the most hospital transports in 2018, according to city numbers, was Frequency, a concert headlined by Tiesto in February that saw 11 hospital transports in a crowd of 5,100 at the Shaw Conference Centre 10 of which were serious or life-threatening. Soundwave saw the highest numbers since last Junes moratorium debate, with six transported to hospital from a crowd of 3,100 including five in serious or life-threatening condition. The city has little data to compare these numbers to non-electronic concerts. On Wednesday, the council committee and promoters agreed to have city administration draw up a new bylaw that would require a specific business licence to put on an electronic dance music event with more than 1,500 attendees. Promoters would have to show that they will implement specific harm-reduction measures in order to obtain the licence. Viet Nguyen, a promoter with Boodang and MRG Concerts, said Wednesdays meeting was the best experience he has had dealing with city council in 20 years as a promoter. Past councils have proposed restrictions on electronic music events in 2001, 2004, and 2012. In addition to chill zones and outreach, Nguyen said he quadrupled the usual number of medical staff on site at Bomfest in September 2018, following last years moratorium debate. It was substantially larger and it did feel substantially safer, he said. Nguyen welcomes the new licence, saying his events now already implement all the recommended harm-reduction practices. They do come with a huge cost, however, which means he has to raise ticket prices or reduce pay for artists. I feel customers are willing to pay a little bit extra if they feel a bit more safe, or we just spend less money on the artists that we bring in, he said. Councillor Scott McKeen, who initially advocated for the moratorium last year, said he attended a large electronic dance music event over the Christmas break and was impressed by the size of the medical staff. He encouraged other councillors to do the same, and said the event was fantastic, but quipped that the fashion was weird. Alberta Electronic Music co-founder Andrew Williams said the tone of Wednesdays discussion was a complete 180 from a year ago. (It) was done in the spirit of collaboration and with open minds, he said. But the report administration presented Wednesday also highlighted some disturbing issues. An online survey of 2,240 event attendees, done between Dec. 14, 2018 and Jan. 11, 2019, found 46 per cent said they have experienced harassment, physical violence, unwanted sexual behaviour or sexual harassment at large-scale electronic dance music events. The same respondents overwhelmingly reported feeling safer at electronic music events than at Edmonton bars or nightclubs, however 88 per cent said they felt very safe or somewhat safe at the dance events, versus 48 per cent at bars or clubs. Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton CEO Mary Jane James said her organization does not necessarily get more calls from electronic dance music events than other large events in the city, and hopes to see more bystander intervention training for staff and venue owners at all nightlife venues. James said she is encouraged to see the harm-reduction measures in place. The more we try to ignore what is happening, and the reality of what is going on, the more its going to happen, she said. Fifty-nine per cent of survey respondents said they have used both alcohol and drugs at the events, and of those who have taken drugs at the events, 92 per cent said they took ecstasy, or MDMA. When asked about harm-reduction measures they would like to see on site, respondents overwhelmingly (more than 90 per cent) supported free water, medical services, chill spaces and safe spaces, drug information, drug testing, and signage about drug and alcohol safety. More than 80 per cent supported amnesty bins for safe disposal of unwanted drugs, and information and signage about sexual assault or harassment. Young said she would like to see the city go further by allowing FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) machines on site so attendees can test whats in their drugs, but Edmonton Police Service Staff Sgt. Troy Carriere said that would raise a host of ethical and legal questions for police and would also require federal government approval. Carriere agreed that the harm-reduction measures currently in place seem to be working, but said there is still more work to be done. I think were certainly on the right path, he said. City administration will work with stakeholders to develop the details of the new bylaw, which will then go back to the community services committee and city council for approval. Administration has not set a timeline for that process. Read more about: WASHINGTON A gentle breeze blew through the Congressional Cemetery in southeast Washington, a more than two-century-old site whose weathered headstones stand in tribute to some of the district's most notable residents, from John Philip Sousa to Marion Barry. It was a balmy Saturday morning and the atmosphere was solemn except for the bleating of no fewer than 15 baby goats. They were there, of course, for yoga. It was Washingtons first foray into goat yoga, an activity that pairs meditative poses with what amounts to an all-ages petting zoo. The concept originated in 2016 in Oregon, at a birthday party. It was never meant to be a thing. But now it IS a thing. For Paul Williams, the director of the Congressional Cemetery, goat yoga was a long time coming. Until recently, district law forbade the activity under a long-standing no-touching-goats policy. I tried everything I could for about a year to get goat yoga, Williams said, and the health department just put up every obstacle they possibly could. He recalled meeting with a room full of lawyers who had the law books all spread out on the table and said, This is not happening. The cemetery already hosted classes among the tombstones Yoga Mortis, they call it and found a loophole in D.C. regulations that allowed them to use goats to clear out invasive plants. But the no-touch policy, based on the Animal Control Act of 1979, meant goat yoga was out of the question. The city councils health committee was already in the process of trimming regulations. The council expedited the issue by tacking a farm animal provision onto a bill that overhauled the district's vital records system. The bill passed in October, allowing goats and sheep into Washington for the purposes of, among other things, participating in yoga or similar activities. Williams learned of the change only after the church that owns the cemetery property sought a permit for a live-nativity scene a couple sheep, goats, a llama or something and was informed of the district's new, pro-goat stance. Goats are still considered a prohibited species and require a special permit and immunizations. They must be inspected by a veterinarian within 30 days of an event, according to Vito DelVento, executive director of the health departments board of veterinary medicine. This leaves a narrow window for goat yoga, when baby goats are old enough to be vaccinated but still small enough to comfortably climb atop a yogi. Saturday evinced the fruit of the goat lobby's labour. The karma of fighting for this class for the past two years is that the universe gave us this gorgeous day in this beautiful space, said yoga instructor Kelly Carnes, standing in a clearing where the first 50 goat yoga participants sprawled out on mats. All five opening-weekend sessions sold out, with proceeds going to the nonprofit that runs the cemetery, Williams said. Carnes led each group through what she said was a gentle sequence of poses inspired by the kids low centre of gravity not only to avoid injury to either species, but also to give ample opportunities for the goats to crawl all over us, because that's part of the fun, right? It was a pretty easy sell, said Carnes, who had already led the cemetery's Yoga Mortis sessions. Hey, resident yoga teacher, do you want to add baby goats into your practice? Hell yeah, I do. After the first session, the participants were similarly enthusiastic. I'm so blissed out, said Rachel Holmes of D.C., who brought her mother, Susan Coursey. I feel like youre a little bit more inward usually with regular yoga, and this sort of opens you up to whats going on in nature around you. Plus theyre soft and cuddly." Coursey, who was visiting from Long Island, N.Y., said she does yoga only occasionally but had no trouble following along. It made it more of a personal experience for me. More free-form, less regimented, more spontaneous. Beth Horowicz of Chevy Chase summed up the appeal of the event. I love cemeteries, I love yoga, I love animals, so I could not miss this, she said. But one person's bliss is another's bane, and critics say goat yoga is a bridge too far. Yoga needs lot of effort, said Viswanatha Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher at SOAS University London's Hatha Yoga Project. It's not doing some poses and playing with animals. It's divine. David Gordon White, professor emeritus of religious studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, echoed that sentiment. Yoga involves concentration, and I find it hard to fathom how you could be concentrated on anything when baby goats are running around. For Carnes, it's simpler. If its a thing that brings people joy, then why not? she said. Bring it on. That's yoga. The goats belong to Mary Bowen, whose daughter also leads goat yoga sessions at their farm in Sunderland, Md. Bowen emphasized the therapeutic value of interacting with the animals. For children that have ADHD, or autistic children, it really helps them to connect and be in the present moment, she said, referring to the research of Temple Grandin, an autism advocate and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. If you really notice, Bowen said after the cemetery's first session wrapped up, it's not about the yoga. These people really want the baby goats to hold." Anita Teel Dahnke, executive director of the American Goat Federation, said her organization has no official stance on the new practice, but she sees both pros and cons. If done right, she said, it's a great way to get people who normally wouldn't be around domesticated livestock to see what they're like. But there is always some risk of disease transmission between animals and people, Teel Dahnke said, and the steps taken to prevent it may contribute to a larger problem of overuse of antibiotics in livestock leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. After the inaugural weekend of goat yoga, the event's organizers were effusive. Just watching them interact with the babies, Carnes said, I was like, OK, my hearts filled with joy. Im done. I can die happy now. Williams said there were immediate calls to schedule another session, but he offered a reminder that he also has a cemetery to run. Working on a date, he wrote in an email, but not sure we'll have the staff to pull off another weekend lots of funerals coming up. MEDICINE HAT, ALTA.A former head of an Alberta police commission has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of stolen property. Rolf Traichel of Medicine Hat, Alta. was accused of defrauding the local Catholic school board of nearly $1 million between 2010 and 2016. An agreed statement of facts presented in court says Traichel, then the school boards technology director, approved 203 invoices from a company he owned and controlled without the boards knowledge. Traichel sat on Medicine Hats police commission for five years and served as its chairman from 2014 to 2016. Police say its believed his crime was confined to the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education. Board chairman Dick Mastel says hes pleased to see justice served and that Traichel must pay back $999,000 over four years. Were thankful that the judicial system worked the way it did and were happy that there is a restitution order, Mastel said Thursday. He said the board is confident it will receive the funds. We are a small board and $1 million is a lot of money. If we had that money, we probably could have done things differently, but if its missing, its missing and you operate with what you have. Charges of fraud over $5,000 and money laundering were withdrawn in court. In addition to his roles with the police commission and Catholic board, Traichel was chair of the Alberta Association of Police Governance, sat on the boards of the Medicine Hat Co-op and Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team, and was chair of the Medicine Hat Assessment Review Board. Read more about: Ontario will be reviewing the agency that administers compensation for injured workers across the province, saying it wants to cut down on fraud and ensure the organizations long-term sustainability. Labour Minister Laurie Scott said Thursday that the government has hired two special advisers to analyze the work of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and report back by the end of the year. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of the WSIB will provide workers and their families with peace of mind, knowing if they are injured on the job or have a work-related illness, they will receive the benefits and services they are entitled to, Scott said in a statement. The review will focus on the WSIBs financial oversight, administration, and efficiency. The government said the exercise will also provide information on the agencys operations and how it compares to industry best practices. It will not be looking at how the WSIB makes claims decisions, sets benefit levels, or decides individual claims. The NDP critic for the WSIB said workers have suffered for decades because the agency has not properly compensated those injured on the job. Wayne Gates said he doesnt believe the review will lead to system improvements and was concerned it could open the door to cuts and privatization. It is concerning that the government wants to mimic practices of the private insurance sector when to comes to protecting injured workers in the province, he said in a statement. Scott said the government has appointed Linda Regner Dykeman and Sean Speer to review the agency. Regner Dykeman is currently head of MidCorp Canada, which is a division of insurance and asset management firm Allianz. Speer is a senior fellow in public policy at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and once served as a senior economic adviser to former prime minister Stephen Harper. The government said it will be accepting public comment for the review until July 26. The Philippines has rejected Canadas late-June timeline for repatriating its garbage and is moving forward with plans to ship it back to Canada itself. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a media briefing in Manila Thursday that Canadas timeline isnt good enough and that the Philippines government will have 69 containers of mislabelled Canadian trash headed back across the Pacific no later than next week. Earlier this week Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the containers dumped in Canadian waters after Canada missed Dutertes May 15 deadline to deal with the nearly six-year-old dispute. The trash will be sent back the soonest, Panelo said in Tagalog. This week or a week after. Definitely not the end of June. We will not allow ourselves to be a dumping ground of trash. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Wednesday Ottawa has contracted the Canadian office of the French shipping giant Bollore Logistics to treat the waste and then bring it back to Canada before the end of June. Environment officials say the containers must be fumigated in the Philippines before being loaded onto a ship. Read more: Canada agrees to take back trash sent to Philippines years ago Canada has hired a firm to ship garbage back from the Philippines, environment minister says Duterte moves to forcibly send garbage back to Canada McKennas press secretary, Sabrina Kim, said Canada is fully engaged with the Philippines to promptly remove the waste to Vancouver for disposal. The contract with Bollore is worth $1.14 million but the Philippines says it will pay to ship the trash back just to get it out of the country. The containers are the remainder of 103 shipping containers sent to the Philippines by a Canadian company in 2013 and 2014, falsely labelled as plastics for recycling. Philippine authorities were alarmed that the amount of material was more than the Philippine importer could process, and ordered an inspection, finding the containers to be filled mostly with regular garbage rather than any material that could be recycled. Canada and the Philippines have battled since 2014 about what to do with the contents. The Philippines has recently recalled its ambassador and consuls general until Canada deals with the waste. Several environment groups in both Canada and the Philippines argue Canada violated the Basel Convention, an international treaty designed to prevent wealthier nations from using developing countries as trash heaps. The Canadian company that shipped the waste, Chronic Inc., has since gone out of business; while officials say they would like to try to go after it to get some of the costs back, that is proving difficult. Chronic Inc. is not believed to have violated any Canadians laws when it shipped the waste. Before 2016, Canadas regulations under the Basel Convention only stipulated that the convention applied to shipments Canada considered hazardous. Canada did not then, and still does not, consider the waste to be hazardous. The Philippines does. As a result of this case, Canada changed its regulations to prevent this kind of situation from recurring. Now exporters must obtain permits from Environment and Climate Change Canada to ship waste if either Canada or the importing nation deems it to be hazardous. Garbage-filled containers are not all that rare, with the Philippines dealing with another such shipment this week from Australia. Reports from Manila say seven containers of garbage are now being rejected by the Philippines. That garbage was to be burned for energy in the Philippines but the country says that violates its clean-air laws. Last year South Korea took back containers of trash that had ended up in the Philippines in just a matter of months, drawing negative comparisons for Canada, which sat on its hands for almost six years. Duterte has also hinted at following Chinas move to bar plastic recycling imports entirely. China used to be the biggest importer of recyclable plastics but in 2018 barred most shipments because too many of them were contaminated with materials that could not be recycled. LONDON, ONT.Police in London, Ont., say theyve found the powerful opioid carfentanil in drugs seized in 10 recent investigations. They say they seized the drugs between March 20 and April 8 the same period in which five people died of suspected overdoses in the city. Police Chief John Pare says it is not yet certain that carfentanil caused the deaths, but he is warning users to be aware the opioid is on the citys streets. He is asking drug users to carry the antidote naloxone. Carfentanil is 100 times more toxic than fentanyl. More than 4,000 Canadians died from opioid overdoses in 2017, the latest full year where data is available. OTTAWAThe Supreme Court of Canada will help decide whether a proposed class-action lawsuit against ride-hailing service Uber can move ahead. The high court has agreed to hear Ubers challenge of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that paved the way for the suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits for drivers. The man behind the planned class action, David Heller, is a driver for UberEats, a service that calls on drivers to deliver food from restaurants to Uber customers. He argues that Uber drivers are employees, which entitles them to protections under Ontarios Employment Standards Act. Ontarios highest court said a clause in Ubers services agreement that requires all disputes to go through arbitration in the Netherlands amounted to illegally outsourcing an employment standard. The Supreme Court, following its usual custom, gave no reasons for agreeing to hear Ubers appeal and no date for the high-court hearing has been set. Read more about: Stephen Holyday, a staunch conservative-minded councillor at city hall, is blasting Premier Doug Ford for telling what he calls half-truths about the citys audit process. Holyday, whose father represented the Etobicoke Centre ward before him and who was one of the Fords closest allies, issued the statement Wednesday night after Ford criticized the city and council in media interviews and on social media. The statement is the latest in a war between the city and the province over budget cuts introduced mid-year by Fords government without consultation. The cuts would leave a gap this year, the city says, of $178 million. By law, the city must balance its budget. It also follows Mayor John Tory and other councillors leading a public campaign opposing the sudden cuts. In a CP24 interview on Wednesday, Ford claimed the city has ignored recommendations from the citys auditor general. Their own auditor came in ... and said there was 228 recommendations to find money and they ignored all 228, he said. As chair of the citys audit committee, Holyday rejected the implication by Ford that the city was doing little to act on the suggestions to save money. Earlier today public comments were made by the Premier of Ontario regarding outstanding audit findings from Torontos Auditor General, Holydays statement said. While factually correct, these statements have omitted important context, making them half-truths. While the work is ongoing, and there will always be additional audit savings and benefits to be found, any suggestion that the system is not working is misleading and damaging. Holyday said there are 227 outstanding findings from the auditor as of May 14 that would lead to financial or non-financial benefits. Council, he said, has accepted and directed staff to make the changes but they have not yet been fully implemented. From 2,448 audit findings since inception, 60 remain outstanding for five years or longer, Holyday said, noting 91 per cent of the audit recommendations have been implemented. A total of $35.8 million was identified in savings by staff as part of the 2019 budget process, he added. During his appearance on CP24, Ford made other false claims about the citys finances. For example, he repeated a long-standing claim that the Fords saved taxpayers $1 billion during the administration of his late brother, former mayor Rob Ford. Top city staff, who for a time perpetuated the claim, later admitted it was misleading after several reporters debunked that several of the savings were not in fact savings. Read more about: The TTC has announced an ad campaign to curb fare evasion aimed at educating people about the consequences of not paying their fare. The campaign was launched last week in response to a February report from the Toronto auditor general, which was based on a months-longth investigation. The report found that fare evasion cost the TTC more than $60 million in 2018, impacting the transit agencys ability to maintain the system and limit fare increases. A video released Wednesday shows a man climbing over a gate in a subway station. Text shown at the end of the video reads Smile! Youre on fare evader camera. The message then changes to say that fare evaders can be fined up to $425. The ads will appear in TTC vehicles, stations and platforms in both print and video form. Jaye Robinson, councillor for Ward 15 Don Valley West and chair of the TTC board, called the reports findings very alarming and said she thinks the new campaign will make a difference. I think theres a lot of support for this because people want to make sure that theyre paying their share, she said. The campaign will cost the TTC $120,000, according to spokesperson Hayley Waldman. Funding for 70 new transit enforcement personnel, including 45 fare inspectors, 22 transit enforcement operators and three administrative employees, was included in a $4.5 million allocation in the TTCs 2019 operating budget, Waldman said. Fare evaders will be fined up to $425 In the months since the auditor generals report was released, the TTC has implemented several other measures to prevent fare evasion, including hiring 11 new fare inspectors, using data to determine which TTC routes see the most evasion and concentrating inspectors in those areas, and suspending the distribution of free child and youth Presto cards in schools while measures to prevent misuse of these cards are implemented. The transit agency has also increased recruitment and deployment of fare inspectors and enforcement officers. There are 15 fare inspectors and 21 transit enforcement officers scheduled to enter the system in July and September, with even more planned to begin working later in the year. Share your thoughts Anti-fare evasion tactics are ramping up elsewhere in the GTA, too. Earlier this month, Metrolinx announced it will be adding 12 extra fare inspectors to GO Transit lines in June. It adopted a zero-tolerance fare evasion policy on April 1. Rhianna Jackson-Kelso is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @RhiannaJK Sherina Harris is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @sherinaharris Read more about: A man has been arrested after an assault last summer left two people with life-altering injuries, police say. Police say a 21-year-old man and 17-year-old woman were found unconscious in a park near King and Church Sts. in July 2018. Paramedics at the time said they received the call at 3:20 a.m. and arrived at the scene to find both victims unconscious. Toronto police Const. Caroline de Kloet said back in July that someone passing by saw the two victims sleeping on the street, or in front of a building, before the attack took place. The two sustained life-altering injuries, according to a news release Thursday. Investigators believe there may be more victims, and are appealing to them to come forward. Stefan John Ryan, 44, was charged Thursday with two counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated assault and four counts of failure to comply with probation. Police are asking anyone with information is asked to contact them at 416-808-5100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS. The ability of the Parkdale Community Legal Services clinic to actually remain in the community it has served for almost 50 years has been put in jeopardy by funding cuts from Legal Aid Ontario, the clinics director says. The clinic, which must leave its current location at Dufferin St. and Queen St. W., had been slated to move to a nearby location at King St. W. and Jameson Ave. in August, clinic director Johanna Macdonald told the Star. She said Legal Aid Ontario the provincial agency responsible for the legal aid plan and for providing funding to community legal clinics had made an approval in principle to fund a five-year lease for the clinics new location, as well as funding for construction costs to help the clinic fit into the smaller space. But then came the provinces budget on April 11, which included a 30 per cent cut to legal aid funding. By the end of that month, LAO said it was no longer able to commit to funding a lease beyond one year and would not provide money for construction, Macdonald said. Across the province, community legal clinics which provide legal services to low-income Ontarians are bracing for a round of cuts after the LAO board meets Friday, when it is expected to discuss its response to the provincial budget. The Parkdale clinic has been left scrambling the new location is half the size of the clinics current space and Macdonald said the construction funding was needed to fit the entire staff and to be able to continue providing its services. Read more: How the underfunding of legal aid is clogging up the justice system This Parkdale legal clinic has helped tenants fight landlords for nearly 50 years. Now its the one being evicted Which neighbourhoods have seen large spikes in rent? The Star mapped 5 years of rental data in 15 Canadian municipalities The fact that LAO will only commit to funding a one-year lease also throws into doubt whether the Parkdale clinic can even move into the new space or stay in any space in the community for that matter, Macdonald said. The work was going to start at any point, the hammers were raised, she said of the new location. Details remain vague on the magnitude of the cuts to the clinic system, but the executive director of the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario told the Star that its certain a reduction in funding will have an impact on front-line services. Right now the clinic system is extremely concerned and terrified that services to our communities, to low-income Ontarians, are going to be impacted, Lenny Abramowicz said. Were just waiting for the axe to fall to find out whether our arms are going to get chopped off, or our legs are going to get chopped off ... We know its going to be terrible, were just waiting to see where specifically the hurt will be. Even before the provincial budget, the legal aid system had long been criticized as being underfunded and unable to provide services to all low-income Ontarians. Aside from providing funding to the clinic system, Legal Aid Ontario also provides what are known as certificates to pay for lawyers to represent individuals in court, particularly in criminal and family cases. Despite annual 6-per-cent increases to the threshold to qualify for a legal aid certificate, a single person with no dependants must generally earn below $17,731 in order to qualify. Statistics Canada calculated the low-income cut-off, before tax, for a single person living in a large metropolitan area in 2018 at $25,921. In an email to staff on April 29, Legal Aid Ontario CEO David Field said cuts to the clinics would save about $15 million, and that the remaining $78 million for the clinic system would be allocated in recognition of those areas with highest client-facing needs, though the email doesnt get into specifics. LAO spokesperson Graeme Burk said he could not provide further details as the board has not yet met. Burk confirmed that LAO gave its approval in principle for Parkdales lease, but that there were then material changes, including a shortened lease term put forward by the landlord of the new location, that would potentially have left the clinic in a financial risk if they terminated the lease early. (Macdonald disagreed, saying that by early April, no terms had changed that manifestly changed the lease.) Burk said the significant and material change to LAOs budget this year also led the agency to tell Parkdale it could now only commit to a one-year lease. Parkdales lease was not the only thing impacted by this other one-time expenditures and indeed other leasing commitments have been put on hold, he said. Aside from its work providing legal services to low-income individuals, including many newcomers and refugees, the Parkdale clinic is also well known for its advocacy around tenants rights and rental increases in the neighbourhood. It also has a student program, where 20 students per semester as well as during the summer provide services under the supervision of staff. I came to this position because I know the needs in this community, so its devastating to see the cuts carried out in this way, and the pulling back of services, Macdonald said. Shes hoping LAO will reconsider its decisions regarding not only her clinic but the system as a whole. She wants the agency to recommit to funding a long-term lease as well as to provide construction costs so that the Parkdale legal clinic can remain in Parkdale. I would like to know as comprehensive information as possible about not just cuts for this year but for next year, and I would like to hear that theyre recommitting to space in this community that fulfils adequate and robust service to this community, she said. A fire fully engulfed the Peacock Hotel in the Junction overnight, the second one to hit the historic building in less than a year. Firefighters arrived to a scene of heavy smoke and large flames at the hotel at 2762 Dundas St. W. east of Keele St. around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Toronto Fire District Chief Stephan Powell told the Star. Sixty-five firefighters and 15 vehicles were called to put out the three-alarm blaze, which was downgraded to a one-alarm fire by about 7 a.m. and later extinguished, Powell said. Powell said he couldnt confirm if there were any people in the building at the time, but said neighbouring occupants were strongly advised to evacuate as firefighters cleared the building room-by-room. Theres lots of damage to the building because it was fully engulfed in flames, Powell said, adding that workers could be clearing the scene for hours. The investigation into what caused the fire could take time, Powell said. City engineers will need to be called to assess the structural damage while investigators continue working. Toronto firefighters have battled a number of major fires this year, including the Detroit Eatery in January, the Agincourt Recreation Centre in February, Corrados Barbershop in March and York Memorial C.I. this month. The number of fires that have taken place in commercial buildings in 2019 is abnormal, fire chief Matthew Pegg said. We have responded to a number of significant fires lately, he said. Its also the second fire at the Peacock Hotel in under a year. An earlier fire in August caused the rear of the building to partially collapse, Powell said. It has since been abandoned but some dwellers remain, he said. The three-storey heritage hotel has a history that dates back to the 1830s when it was run by James Farr and his family, according to archives from the Toronto Reference Library. It was outside the Peacock Hotel that William Lyon Mackenzie, former mayor of Toronto, began the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion with Farr and his men. The building burned down in 1878, according to the Toronto Historical Association, and was rebuilt by 1890. It received heritage status by the city in 1996. There were no injuries reported. With files from Jacob Lorinc Correction May 23, 2019: This article was edited from a previous version to correct that the Peacock Hotel had already partially collapsed after an earlier fire at the building last August, according to Toronto firefighters. MANILA, PHILIPPINESThe Canadian government said on Wednesday that it would take back tons of garbage sent to the Philippines several years ago, after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered that it be returned immediately. In a statement, Catherine McKenna, the Canadian minister of environment and climate change, said a Canadian company had been awarded a contract to repatriate the trash. Canada values its deep and longstanding relationship with the Philippines and has been working closely with Filipino authorities to find a solution that is mutually acceptable, she said. The company, Bollore Logistics Canada, is to begin preparations for shipping in the coming days, with the removal expected to be completed by the end of June, the Canadian government said. Canada is paying all the costs. In 2013 and 2014, more than 100 shipping containers were delivered to the Philippines from Canada by a private Canadian company. Though they were marked as recyclable materials, they contained about 2,500 tons of household waste, including plastic bottles and used adult diapers. Some of the containers have been sitting in the town of Capas, north of Manila. Earlier Wednesday, Dutertes spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the president had ordered officials to ship the trash back to Canada at the Philippines expense. Read more: Duterte moves to forcibly send garbage back to Canada Philippines recalling ambassador, consuls from Canada over trash shipments Canada working on an end to the garbage row with the Philippines We are extremely disappointed with Canadas neither-here-nor-there pronouncements on the matter, Panelo said. Obviously, Canada is not taking this issue nor our country seriously. The Filipino people are gravely insulted about Canadas treating this country as a dump site. Panelo said Duterte was so upset about the inordinate delay. The Philippines is an independent sovereign nation and must not be treated as trash by other foreign nations, Panelo said. We hope this message resonates well with other countries of the world. Last week, Duterte recalled his countrys ambassador to Canada and other diplomats after it missed a May 15 deadline to remove the containers. The Philippine government also said that officials from the Canadian Embassy had failed to attend a planned meeting. Canada insisted on Wednesday that it was maintaining discussions with Filipino officials, saying that Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland had spoken with her Philippine counterpart, Teodoro Locsin, to reiterate Canadas firm commitment to promptly repatriate the waste to Canada. McKenna added that Canada had changed its environmental laws to prevent similar situations in the future and was looking at ways to hold the responsible parties to account. BAN Toxics, a local environmental group, accused Canada of being noncommittal on the issue, arguing that the trash had been rotting in the Philippines for years. Statements from the Canadian government saying that there are policy loopholes on their side are indicators of their empty promise to ship the smuggled trash back to their origin, the group said in a statement. The wound of disrespect has never healed. Canadas slow response, it said, was doubly offensive because it was a signatory to the Basel Convention, an international treaty designed to limit the transfer of hazardous waste to developing countries from wealthier ones. Canada has victimized us and disregarded our right as a party to the convention the moment they illegally shipped their wastes to our lands, the group said. MEXICO CITY - Police in northern Mexico have freed 24 kidnapped Cuban and Central American migrants and arrested five Hondurans accused of abducting them. Drug and kidnap gangs in Mexico frequently target migrants, extorting money by forcing them to call relatives in the United States to get money. But the kidnappers are seldom also migrants. Prosecutors in the northern border state of Sonora said Wednesday that the migrants were freed after one of them managed to make a call to police. The victims included six minors and one pregnant woman. Four Honduran men and one woman have been charged with kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. Migrants from other countries frequently cross Mexico without proper documents trying to reach the U.S. border. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was in court this week for the first in a string of trials charging her with corruption. Fernandez remains a hugely popular but divisive figure in Argentina, and she recently surprised many when she announced that she will run for vice-president instead of the presidency in this years elections. Heres a look at the trial and its possible impact on this years presidential election. ___ WHAT ARE THE CHARGES? In the initial trial, which is expected to last about a year, Fernandez faces charges of heading a criminal association that defrauded the state by illegally granting public works projects in the southern province on Santa Cruz during her 2007-2015 presidency. Prosecutors allege about 50 of those infrastructure contracts benefited Lazaro Baez, a businessman who was close to her and her late husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner. Prosecutors also say that a disproportionate amount of projects were allocated to the province through Baez and that several projects were overpriced and many were unfinished. The centre-left Fernandez denies any wrongdoing and has called the trial a political smoke screen. She accuses the administration of her successor, conservative Mauricio Macri, of persecuting her in hopes of distracting from Argentinas current economic troubles and of undermining her popularity. ___ CAN SHE BE JAILED? Other former Argentine presidents have faced trials, but Fernandez is the only one to do so while having a clear shot of returning to power. If found guilty, she could face up to 15 years in prison. But its not that easy: Fernandez is currently a senator, which grants her immunity from arrest. That immunity could be lifted only by an unlikely vote of two-thirds of Argentinas senators. If she should be elected vice-president, that post also has immunity from arrest. So, even with a conviction, she likely would be either back in Congress or perhaps in the vice-presidents office. ___ WHO IS ON TRIAL? The populist Fernandez is among 13 accused in the current trial. Others include her former planning minister, Julio de Vido; her former public works minister, Jose Lopez; and several others who served during her administration as well as her late husbands presidency. Hearings will continue in the coming weeks, but Fernandez will only be expected to return to court to be questioned and then at end of the trial when she will have a chance to say some final words before the verdict. More than 120 witnesses will be called to testify. They include her former Cabinet chief, Alberto Fernandez, who is now at the top of her partys presidential ticket. ___ HOW POPULAR IS SHE? Human rights leaders, left-wing politicians and unionists showed their support for Fernandez at the courtroom Tuesday. Outside, a crowd of sympathizers chanted her name and waved Argentinas national flag. Her public support has remained steady for years, even as mountains of evidence of misconduct have come to light, said Benjamin Gedan, an Argentina expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Gedan said, however, that images of the former president in court will definitely not help her attract undecided voters during the October election. ___ WHAT DO HER CRITICS SAY? Detractors blame Fernandez for endemic corruption and the deterioration of Argentinas economy. But many Argentines are also suspicious of the courts in a country where scandals often grab headlines before they get lost in slow-moving and often unresolved investigations. Gedan pointed out that in the latest Pew Research Center survey, only 18% of respondents in Argentina said they trust the courts. ___ WHAT OTHER CASES AWAIT? Fernandez faces numerous formal investigations into allegations of money laundering and criminal association. And, along with other former officials, she also faces trial on charges that she covered up the role of Iranians alleged to be tied to a 1994 terrorist bombing at a Buenos Aires Jewish centre that killed 85 people. The prosecutor who first recommended charges against her in that case, Alberto Nisman, died mysteriously of a gunshot wound days later in a case that is still under investigation. ___ Associated Press writer Almudena Calatrava contributed to this report. HAVANA - The Cuban government says it is renovating one of the iconic sites of its ideological battle with the United States. The Anti-Imperialist Tribune is a massive stage that sits beside the United States Embassy on the Malecon seaside promenade. It is crumbling after two decades of constant sun, ocean spray and flooding from hurricanes, including Irma in 2017. Orestes Llanes Mestres is vice-president of the Havana Province Administrative Council. He told state website Cubadebate that two elevated structures would be built on the stage, where speakers addressed massive crowds in 2000 demanding the U.S. return Cuban child Elian Gonzalez after he was rescued at sea. He said the structures would contain dressing rooms and that others would be rebuilt to withstand weather conditions. He offered no other specifics. MEXICO CITY - A former executive at Mexicos state-owned oil company who was sanctioned this week by the comptrollers office has been identified as Pemexs former director Emilio Lozoya by the head of the countrys financial intelligence unit. Santiago Nieto, who investigates crimes for Mexicos finance ministry, congratulated the comptroller via Twitter late Wednesday for banning Lozoya from holding public positions for 10 years. The comptroller hadnt identified the executive. The comptrollers office said in a statement that the former Pemex official was banned because he had twice failed to report the existence of a bank account in regular statements about his assets. The account held hundreds of thousands of pesos. Lozoyas lawyer Javier Coello Trejo could not be immediately reached, but told local press outlets that he would seek to have the sanction nullified. He said that the confusion stemmed from an account that Lozoyas mother had opened that listed him as the beneficiary. Nieto said the ban was a fundamental step in the fight against corruption and impunity. But the comptrollers sanction could be just the beginning of trouble for Lozoya, who in 2012 worked on the presidential campaign of Enrique Pena Nieto. Former executives of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht have given evidence to prosecutors in that country that implicates Lozoya in the companys bribery scandal. Lozoya has denied receiving bribes. Earlier this month, Mexicos attorney general said there was new evidence in the Odebrecht case in Mexico and charges would come within two months, though he did not specify against whom. In late 2016, Odebrecht and Braskem, a petrochemical subsidiary, reached an agreement with American, Brazilian and Swiss justice officials to pay $3.5 billion in penalties. As part of that accord, Odebrecht divulged details on bribes across several countries. It said it paid $10.5 million to officials at Pemex between 2010 and 2014. KASHGAR, CHINAA Gods-eye view of Kashgar, an ancient city in western China, flashed onto a wall-size screen, with colourful icons marking police stations, checkpoints and the locations of recent security incidents. At the click of a mouse, a technician explained, the police can pull up live video from any surveillance camera or take a closer look at anyone passing through one of the thousands of checkpoints in the city. To demonstrate, she showed how the system could retrieve the photo, home address and official identification number of a woman who had been stopped at a checkpoint on a major highway. The system sifted through billions of records, then displayed details of her education, family ties, links to an earlier case and recent visits to a hotel and an internet cafe. The simulation, presented at an industry fair in China, offered a rare look at a system that now peers into nearly every corner of Xinjiang, the troubled region where Kashgar is located. This is the vision of high-tech surveillance precise, all-seeing, infallible that Chinas leaders are investing billions of dollars in every year, making Xinjiang an incubator for increasingly intrusive policing systems that could spread across the country and beyond. It is also a vision that some of U.S. President Donald Trumps aides have begun citing in a push for tougher action against Chinese companies in the intensifying trade war. Beyond concerns about market barriers, theft and national security, they argue that China is using technology to strengthen authoritarianism at home and abroad and that the United States must stop it. Developed and sold by the China Electronics Technology Corp. (CETC), a state-run defence manufacturer, the system in Kashgar is on the cutting edge of what has become a flourishing new market for technology that the government can use to monitor and subdue millions of Uyghurs and members of other Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Treating a city like a battlefield, the platform was designed to apply the ideas of military cybersystems to civilian public security, Wang Pengda, a CETC engineer, said in an official blog post. Looking back, it truly was an idea ahead of its time. The system taps into networks of neighbourhood informants; tracks individuals and analyzes their behaviour; tries to anticipate potential crime, protest or violence; and then recommends which security forces to deploy, the company said. On the screen during the demonstration was a slogan: If someone exists, there will be traces, and if there are connections, there will be information. A New York Times investigation drawing on government and company records as well as interviews with industry insiders found that China is in effect hard-wiring Xinjiang for segregated surveillance, using an army of security personnel to compel ethnic minorities to submit to monitoring and data collection while generally ignoring the majority Han Chinese, who make up 36 per cent of Xinjiangs population. It is a virtual cage that complements the indoctrination camps in Xinjiang where the authorities have detained 1 million or more Uyghurs and other Muslims in a push to transform them into secular citizens who will never challenge the ruling Communist Party. The program helps identify people to be sent to the camps or investigated, and keeps tabs on them when they are released. The Trump administration is considering whether to blacklist one of the Chinese companies at the centre of the Xinjiang effort, Hikvision, and bar it from buying U.S. technology. Hikvision is a major manufacturer of video surveillance equipment, with customers around the world and across Xinjiang, where its cameras have been installed at mosques and detention camps. CETC owns about 42 per cent of the company through subsidiaries. Xinjiang is maybe a kind of more extreme, more intrusive example of Chinas mass surveillance systems, said Maya Wang, a China researcher for Human Rights Watch who has studied the technology in the region. These systems are designed for a very explicit purpose to target Muslims. Virtual fences In the city of Kashgar, with a population of 720,000 about 85 per cent of them Uyghur the CETC platform draws on databases with 68 billion records, including those on peoples movements and activities, according to the demonstration viewed by a Times reporter at the industry fair, held in the eastern city of Wuzhen in late 2017. By comparison, the FBIs national instant criminal background check system contained about 19 million records at the end of 2018. The police in Xinjiang use a mobile app, made by CETC for smartphones running the Android operating system, to enter information into the databases. Human Rights Watch, which obtained and analyzed the app, said it helped the authorities spot behaviour that they consider suspicious, including extended travel abroad or the use of an unusual amount of electricity. The app, which the Times examined, also allows police officers to flag people they believe have stopped using a smartphone, have begun avoiding the use of the front door in coming and going from home, or have refuelled someone elses car. The police use the app at checkpoints that serve as virtual fences across Xinjiang. If someone is tagged as a potential threat, the system can be set to trigger an alarm every time he or she tries to leave the neighbourhood or enters a public place, Human Rights Watch said. The Chinese government has defended the surveillance program, saying it has improved security in the region, and says the indoctrination camps in Xinjiang are job training centres. Hikvision has denied any inappropriate actions in Xinjiang, and CETC declined to comment when reached by phone. The Communist Party, which took control of the region in 1949, has long been wary of the Uyghurs, whose Turkic culture and Muslim faith have inspired demands for self-rule, and sometimes attacks on Chinese targets. State investment in surveillance took off a decade ago after anti-Chinese rioting in the regional capital, Urumqi, killed nearly 200 people. The real bonanza of security contracts came after Xi Jinping took the helm of the party in late 2012. Spending on internal security in Xinjiang totalled nearly $8.4 billion (U.S.) in 2017, six times as much as in 2012, including funds for surveillance, personnel and the indoctrination camps. Hikvision has received contracts in Xinjiang worth at least $290 million for its cameras and facial recognition systems. Another company tapping into Xinjiangs security gold rush is Huawei, the Chinese tech giant that the United States has described as a security threat. It signed an agreement last year with the regions police department to help officers analyze data. The goal here is instilling fear The multi-layered program to harvest information from Uyghurs and other Muslims begins on the edges of towns and cities across Xinjiang in buildings that look like toll plazas. Instead of coins, they collect personal information. On a recent visit to one checkpoint in Kashgar, a line of passengers and drivers, nearly all Uyghur, got out of their vehicles, trudged through automated gates made by CETC and swiped their identity cards. Head up, the machines chimed as they photographed the motorists and armed guards looked on. There are smaller checkpoints at banks, parks, schools, gas stations and mosques, all recording information from identity cards in the mass surveillance database. Identification cards are also needed to buy knives, gasoline, phones, computers and even sugar. The purchases are entered into a police database used to flag suspicious behaviour or individuals, according to a 2017 dissertation by a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences that features screenshots of the system in Kashgar. Not everyone has to endure the inconvenience. At many checkpoints, privileged groups Han Chinese, Uyghur officials with passes, and foreign visitors are waved through green channels. In this way, the authorities have created separate yet overlapping worlds on the same streets and in the online police databases one for Muslim minorities, the other for Han Chinese. The goal here is instilling fear fear that their surveillance technology can see into every corner of your life, said Wang Lixiong, a Chinese author who has written about Xinjiang as well as Chinas surveillance state. The amount of people and equipment used for security is part of the deterrent effect. A database stored online by SenseNets, a Chinese surveillance company, and examined by the Times suggests the scale of surveillance in Xinjiang: It contained facial recognition records and ID scans for about 2.5 million people, mostly in Urumqi, a city with a population of about 3.5 million. This can be pulled off by anyone, and thats the part that worries me, said Victor Gevers, a Dutch security researcher and co-founder of GDI Foundation, a non-profit that promotes internet security. According to Gevers, who discovered the unsecured database, the online records indicate that a network of about 10,000 checkpoints in Urumqi made more than 6 million identifications in 24 hours. The authorities in Xinjiang also sometimes force residents to install an app known as Clean Net Guard on their phones to monitor for content that the government deems suspicious. Kashgar and other areas of Xinjiang have in recent years systematically collected DNA and other biological data from residents, too, especially Muslims. Officials now collect blood, fingerprints, voice recordings, head portraits from multiple angles, and scans of irises, which can provide a unique identifier like fingerprints. These databases are not yet completely integrated, and despite the futuristic gloss of the Xinjiang surveillance state, the authorities rely on hundreds of thousands of police officers, officials and neighbourhood monitors to gather and enter data. We risk understating the extent to which this high-tech police state continues to require a lot of manpower, said Adrian Zenz, an independent researcher who has studied security spending in Xinjiang. It is the combination of manpower and technology that makes the 21st-century police state so powerful. Expanding beyond the region Xinjiangs security and surveillance systems are already attracting admirers from the rest of China. Delegations of police officers from other provinces and cities have visited Kashgar and other cities to admire and consider adopting the measures. They often visit police command centres where rows of officers peer at computers, scanning surveillance video feeds and information on residents on the CETC platform. The digitalization of police work has achieved leap-like growth in Xinjiang, Zhang Ping, a counterterrorism officer from Jiujiang, a city in southeastern China, said during a visit to Xinjiang last year, according to an official report on the website of the citys police bureau. Xinjiangs high-tech policing, he added, was something we should vigorously study. Zhejiang and Guangdong, two wealthy provinces on Chinas southeastern coast, have been testing the CETC surveillance system used in Xinjiang, laying a robust foundation for a nationwide rollout, the company said last year. CETC has also signed an agreement with the police in the southern city of Shenzhen to provide an advanced command centre information system similar to the one in Xinjiang. The technology has some way to go. Dust and bad lighting can hobble facial recognition on security cameras, which struggle to track large numbers of people simultaneously. Even the best systems can be accurate in less than 20 per cent of cases, according to one study published by a journal linked to the Ministry of Public Security. A technician who until recently installed and maintained computers for the authorities in Xinjiang said police surveillance centres relied on hundreds of workers to monitor cameras, an expensive and inefficient undertaking. And outside urban centres, police officers often do not have the skills to operate the sophisticated systems, said the technician, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing repercussions for speaking to a journalist. The spending spree on security in Xinjiang has left local governments across the region with staggering bills, raising questions about how the authorities can keep the systems running. In Kashgar, for example, the county of Yengisar warned this year of a huge shortfall from spending on security and said that it had accumulated 1 billion yuan (about $150 million U.S.) in previously undeclared invisible debt. The pressure from ensuring basic spending for additional staff and to maintain stability is extraordinary, it said. Still, the regions leaders told officials this year that they must not wind back spending. Preserving stability is a hard-and-fast task that takes priority over everything else, the leadership said in the regions annual budget report. Use every possible means to find funds so that the high-pressure offensive does not let up. Read more about: NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party had a commanding lead as votes were counted Thursday after a six-week general election, sending the stock market soaring in anticipation of another five-year term for the Hindu nationalist leader. Election Commission data by late morning showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 300 out of 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The data didnt indicate what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes had been counted. The final tally was expected by Thursday evening at the earliest. The election has been seen as a referendum on Modi, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog in Indias highly stratified society has endured. Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks exacerbating social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people. On the campaign trail, Modi presented himself as a self-made man with the confidence to cut red tape and unleash Indias economic potential, and labeled Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that lost power in 2014, as an out-of-touch elite. Half a dozen exit polls released after voting concluded Sunday showed Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party winning. A party or coalition needs a simple majority of 272 seats, or just over half the seats in Parliaments lower house, to govern. If BJPs lead holds, it wont need a coalition partner to stay in power. Mr. Modis going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that, said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. By midmorning, Indias Sensex had jumped 2.3% to an all-time high over 40,000. Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of people cheered and shouted party slogans, lifting cardboard cut-outs of Modi and BJP President Amit Shah into the air as other people played drums and set off fireworks. Mohit Sharma, a 29-year-old who runs a bathroom fittings business, said India had never had a prime minister like Modi. In the past, when leaders after they won elections, they sat in air-conditioned rooms and they never reached out to people, but Modi was never like that. He was always connected to the people through social media, Sharma said. Fashion designer Sandeep Verma, 39, said he wasnt a BJP supporter but had voted for the party in the elections. A country like India needs a decisive leader and the people did not find that in Rahul Gandhi. There was no alternative to Modi, Verma said. The BJP harnessed social media, including Twitter, where Modi has 47.4 million followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters. Meanwhile, at Congress headquarters, only a few party workers stood outside looking dejected. Jagdish Sharma, 50, blamed the counting method, using electronic voting machines, saying Rahul Gandhi is the crowds favourite, but has always lost only due to EVMs. While EVMs exist even Lord Vishnu cant defeat Modi, he said, referring to a powerful Hindu god. Voters cast ballots on some 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse. But losing candidates and political parties have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the electronic method, doing so again this week. Top opposition leaders met with Election Commission officials on Tuesday after videos appeared on social media showing some electronic voting machines being moved. The party officials alleged that the machines were going to be altered, but the commission said the images showed unused machines being moved into storage. The machines print a paper slip each time a vote is cast that is locked inside a box. A random sampling of a small percentage of paper printouts will be checked against the computerized results. The time it takes to compare the paper and digital ballots is expected to delay the results by several hours. ___ Associated Press journalists Rishabh R. Jain, Bharatha Mallawarachi and Ashok Sharma contributed to this report. BEIJING - Looking for ways to hit back at Washington as a tariff fight escalates, President Xi Jinping and his economy czar visited a Chinese factory that processes rare earths exotic minerals used in electric cars, mobile phones and other technology. Rare earths are an important strategic resource, the official Xinhua News Agency cited Xi as saying. The message was clear: Chinas role as the main global supplier of rare earths used in smartphones, lightweight magnets, batteries and other components is leverage over Washington. And Chinas sway could extend much further into the U.S. technology sector, particularly to Apple and other companies that rely on Chinese manufacturing. Until now, Beijing has tried to look restrained in its fight with President Donald Trump over technology and trade. It has responded to U.S. tariff hikes by imposing penalties, but usually on a smaller number of American imports. As the two sides dig in for what may be a long fight, Xis visit suggested his government is looking for new ways to pressure Washington to settle. Investors are already fretting that Beijing will eventually try to limit, or even choke off, Apples iPhone production and sales in China. That threat has triggered an $80 billion loss in shareholder wealth so far this month. There is rampant fear that Apple has a target on its back, and China is getting ready to fire, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said. While Beijing has an array of options for disrupting trade, they carry economic and political costs. And there is no guarantee they will work. Chinas first retaliatory tariffs aimed to undermine Trump politically by targeting farm states that backed him in the 2016 election. Undeterred, Trump hiked duties on more Chinese imports. Then Beijing hit manufacturers, who lashed out. He pressed ahead. If they want results, Chinese leaders might need to hit him where it hurts, by depressing U.S. stock prices, said Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. It isnt clear how that can be done, Scissors said in an email, but the president is sensitive to extended market weakness. Apples vulnerability to stock-price declines most likely has not gone unnoticed in Beijing. ___ THE RARE-EARTH WEAPON Accompanied by his top economic adviser and lead trade envoy, Xi visited JL MAG Rare-Earth Co. Ltd. in the southern province of Jiangxi on Monday, according to reports that made no mention of the fight with Trump. Nationalists see Chinas position as the biggest miner and processor of rare earths as a potent weapon in disputes with the United States, Japan and other governments. China has about 30 per cent of global deposits but accounts for almost all production. The United States, Australia and some other countries also have rare earths, which include 17 elements such as yttrium and scandium. But their output dwindled in the 1990s, when Beijing flooded global markets with low-cost supplies as it built up an industry to process ores and make lightweight magnets and other products. Now producers of electric cars, smartphones, solar power equipment and other technology rely on China for rare-earth components. In 2010, some people in the rare-earth industry said shipments to Japan were suspended after Tokyo detained a Chinese skipper who rammed Japanese Coast Guard boats in a disputed area of the East China Sea. Beijing denied it was curbing exports in retaliation. The skipper and his crew were released without charges, and nationalists began to view rare earths as a weapon. Still, supply disruptions might alienate customers and energize political pressure to expand rare earths production in the United States and other countries. ___ POISONING APPLE Few U.S. companies are more vulnerable to the trade war than Apple, which relies on Chinese factories to assemble the iPhones that generate most of its profits. It has also cultivated a loyal following in the country. China is now Apples third-largest market after the U.S. and Europe, accounting for 20% of its sales during its past fiscal year. Apple CEO Tim Cook has spent much of the past year straddling the diplomatic channels of both the U.S. and China. He has been to China multiple times over the last 18 months and had at least one meeting with Xi in October 2017 that also included Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He also has met with Trump several times, including at least one time 13 months ago when trade was a top topic, according to a tweet by the president. So far, the iPhone has not been hit by tariffs in either the U.S. or China. Cook has been a master tactician so far, Ives said. But the Trump administrations decision to bar U.S. technology sales to Huawei, one of Chinas leading brands, might finally put Apple in the crosshairs. In the most extreme scenario, Chinas government could orchestrate raids of the factories assembling iPhones and other Apple products, or impose restrictions that throttle the companys supply chain in the country. But China could suffer as well. Apples Chinese factories employ an estimated 1.4 million workers. In 2017, Apple estimated that its business was responsible for creating and supporting 4.8 million jobs in China, including people who work on apps made for the iPhone and iPad. Any direct assault on Apple would also probably discourage other U.S. companies and investors from putting more money into China, said Michael Hirson, who follows China for the Eurasia Group. It doesnt send a very good message if you go after Apple when its CEO has been an advocate for you, Hirson said. The government could also covertly undermine Apple behind the scenes by encouraging consumer boycotts of the iPhone in favour of homegrown phones from Huawei and Xiaomi. There already have been signs of an Apple backlash in China; a big drop in iPhone sales in China late last year caused Apple to badly miss its financial forecasts for the crucial holiday shopping season. Analysts have estimated retaliatory action from China could trim Apples profit by 10 per cent to 20 per cent. That would translate into annual earnings decline of $6 billion to $12 billion, based on Apples profit of nearly $60 billion last year. ___ NEXT STEPS China has billions of dollars of American imports on which it has yet to impose retaliatory tariffs, but going ahead with that would mean raising the cost of microchips and other technology or raw materials needed by industries Beijing is eager to promote. So far, Beijing has responded to Trumps tariff hikes on $250 billion of Chinese imports by slapping penalties on $110 billion of American goods. Based on last years trade, that leaves about $45 billion. That includes semiconductors and other critical inputs needed by fledgling Chinese tech industries. Beyond tariffs, China can also retaliate through its regulators, who have already turned to disrupting some operations of U.S. companies in China by slowing down customs clearance for their goods or impeding the issuing of their licenses. But the heavily regulated economy gives them plenty of other ways to hurt companies. Taxe, safety, anti-monopoly, environmental and other investigations can tie up managers for months and lead to expensive fines or orders to suspend operations. Business groups say local officials, eager to attract investment, are assuring American companies they are welcome. But those groups also say they have warned member companies to be prepared for pressure from regulators. ___ Liedtke reported from San Francisco. BEIJING - Stepping up Beijings propaganda offensive in the tariffs standoff with Washington, Chinese state media on Friday accused the U.S. of seeking to colonize global business with moves against Huawei and other Chinese technology companies. There was no word from either side on progress toward resuming talks between the worlds two largest economies, though President Donald Trump said he expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month at a G-20 meeting in Japan. Negotiations over how to cut the huge, longstanding U.S. trade deficit with China and resolve complaints over Beijings methods for acquiring advanced foreign technologies foundered earlier this month after Trump raised tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China. At a daily briefing Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang accused American politicians he didnt name of fabricating various lies based on subjective presumptions and trying to mislead the American people. The China Daily, an English-language newspaper, said U.S. expressions of concerns about Chinese surveillance equipment maker Hikvision were for the self-serving aim of claiming the moral high ground to promote Washingtons political agenda. In this way, it is hoping to achieve the colonization of the global business world, the newspaper said. Hikvision said in a statement Friday that it takes U.S. concerns about its business seriously and is working to ensure it complies with human rights standards. Activists have been urging the U.S. and other countries to sanction China over repression of members of Muslim minority ethnic groups in the northwestern Xinjiang region, where an estimated 1 million people are being detained in re-education camps. The New York Times reported the U.S. Commerce Department might put Hikvision on its entity list, restricting its business with U.S. companies for its alleged role in facilitating surveillance in Xinjiang. In its statement, the company said it had engaged with the U.S. government regarding all of this since last October. Hikvision said it had retained former U.S. Ambassador-at-large Pierre-Richard Prosper of the firm Arent Fox to advise the company regarding human rights compliance. Over the past year, there have been numerous reports about ways that video surveillance products have been involved in human rights violations, the statement said. We read every report seriously and are listening to voices from outside the company. In South Korea, officials said they were discussing security issues related to its 5G, or fifth generation, cellphone networks with the U.S. Officials in South Koreas Foreign Ministry and presidential office did not, however, confirm the report by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper that U.S. officials want Seoul to block a local wireless carrier that uses Huawei equipment for its 5G services from unspecified sensitive areas. Washington considers Huawei, the worlds leading supplier of telecom gear and No. 2 smartphone maker, a security threat. Huawei has sought to alleviate those concerns and has rejected assertions that it would facilitate spying by Beijing. Its unclear whether Seoul would accept potential U.S. demands to block imports of Huawei products at risk of triggering retaliation from China, its biggest trade partner. A U.S. business group reported Friday that its members operations in China are facing growing pressure from trade friction after the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports, with plans to extend those duties to another $300 billion virtually all the goods America buys from China. The negative impact of tariffs is clear and hurting the competitiveness of American companies in China, the American Chamber of Commerce in China and AmCham Shanghai said in announcing the results of a survey of nearly 250 companies conducted May 16-20. China has raised tariffs on $110 billion of U.S. products and has said its prepared to do more to defend its national interest. The report said about 40 of the companies surveyed were being subjected to more inspections or slower customs clearance. Just over half have yet to experience any impact from such non-tariff retaliatory measures. To cope, companies are focusing more on the China market, it said, rather than exporting to the U.S., and delaying or cancelling investment decisions. NEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with leaders of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday following his thunderous victory in national elections. Modi met with his outgoing Cabinet ministers and later presented his resignation along with theirs to President Ram Nath Kovind. The president asked the officials to continue to serve until the new government assumes office. Media reports say Modi is likely to be sworn in for his second term next Thursday. The Election Commission announced that the BJP won 303 out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after the official vote count finished Friday. That is well beyond the simple majority a party in India needs to form a government. The BJPs top rival, the Indian National Congress led by Rahul Gandhi, won 52 seats, and the All India Trinamool Congress led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee won 22. Gandhi, whose great-grandfather, grandmother and father were all prime ministers, personally conceded his seat, long a Congress party bastion, to his BJP rival, Indias textiles minister, marking the end of an era for modern Indias most powerful political dynasty. Vote counting of the estimated 600 million ballots cast over six weeks of staggered polling the worlds largest democratic exercise began early Thursday. The victory in India was widely seen as a referendum on Modis Hindu-first politics that some observers say have bred intolerance toward Muslims and other religious minorities, as well as his muscular stance on neighbouring Pakistan, with whom India nearly went to war earlier this year. Analysts said voters will expect the new Modi government to quickly return to the business of economic reform, which the BJP effectively sidelined as a campaign issue after responding to a February terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir with an airstrike in Pakistan that stoked nationalist sentiments. Building up your national security credentials, as the only person who can stand up to Indias enemies can only take you so far. The real question is can Modi deliver on his economic commitments, for example creating the high number of jobs needed? This is essential to address Indias growing wealth inequalities, said Champa Patel, head of the Asia Pacific program at London-based Chatham House. Correction, May 27, 2019: This story was ameded from a previous version that listed the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha as 525. In fact, there are 543 seats. ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani official says the much-anticipated Saudi oil will start flowing to Islamabad as of July, with payments deferred for three years. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh says the buy-now-pay-later deal with the kingdom, reached last October, will enable this cash-strapped Islamic nation to overcome a balance of payment crisis. Shaikh is Prime Minister Imran Khans adviser on finance and economic affairs, Shaikh took to Twitter on Wednesday night, thanking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for activating the deferred payment for petroleum products of $275 million per month. The value amounts to $3.2 billion per year. The crown prince visited Pakistan in February. Saudi Arabia is a leading supplier of oil to Pakistan, which earlier this month reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $6 billion bailout. BARCELONA, Spain - Animal rights activists in Barcelona are celebrating a victory after the Spanish city ordered its municipal zoo to restrict the reproduction of captive animals unless their young are destined to be reintroduced into the wild. Barcelonas town council voted on May 3 to modify the zoos bylaws to include a rule by which any of its breeding programs will be stopped unless there is a plan to eventually release the offspring into nature. We want zoos to stop breeding animals that do not respond to an environmental strategy, breeding them just so they can be in front or inside a cage, said activist Leonardo Anselmi, who co-ordinates ZOO XXI, the animal rights group that successfully pushed for the new mandate. The mandate was passed along with a new strategic plan for the zoo crafted by its staff that will task a committee of scientists and ethical experts with one year to determine a conservation plan for each of the 300 different species housed at the zoo. Those resulting plans will have to be implemented within three years. Any animals the committee thinks should leave the zoo will, in theory, be reintroduced into the wild or relocated at other zoos or sanctuaries. The bylaw says it is adopting a stance of compassionate conservation that sees animals are beings deserving our respect. The goal is to convert the zoo, which was built inside a park in the city centre in 1892, into a centre focused on education and research, and a refuge for animals that can no longer survive in liberty. Currently the zoo hosts several animals in this condition, including elephants, tortoises and Pedro, a 45-year-old rhinoceros who eats baguettes for breakfast. But some zookeepers are worried that reproduction restrictions could do more harm than good and held a strike early this month to voice their concern. These zookeepers argue that responsibly reproducing animals in captivity is key to maintaining a healthy genetic pool of several species that are endangered. They point to a recent United Nations report that found that over one million species face extinction. The problem is not the philosophy of deeper and more sincere (understanding of) animal welfare, which we all agree on, but rather how to apply it, said Damia Gibernet, the head of the local zookeepers union who led the strike. Gibernet said the zoo had already stopped the breeding of certain animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses. Other species such as lions, giraffes, and great apes were being bred in captivity up until now. But fewer than a dozen animals are part of conservation programs that eventually lead to repopulation in the wild, which zookeepers say is not as simple as it sounds. For example, the six hand-picked Saharan Dorcas gazelles born in the zoo must first go through an adaption period before they can be released in the Ferlo Nord Wildlife Reserve in Senegal. Such programs take enormous amounts of time, research, money and secured habitats to create programs that safely release animals bred in captivity back into nature, they say. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums says that more than 85% of the species housed at Barcelona Zoo are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and over the last few years, nearly 30% of the animals born in the zoo were released into wild habitats. The reproduction limitation in some cases for us is very serious because it prevents the reproduction of species that are in a great risk of extinction and we cannot allow them to disappear, said Gibernet. Both sides of the debate recognize it will take years, even decades, to see visible change, while admitting this may be the last generation of lions, giraffes and many other species at the Barcelona zoo. Zoo director Antoni Alarcon said the new plan includes 65 million euros of investment, half of which will go to better enclosures. Good zoos are not about keeping animals in captivity for spectacles or other objectives that are not related to conservation projects or research and education, Alarcon said. According to the new plan, the zoo will prioritize the Mediterranean and nearby North African fauna over large exotic mammals from other continents. The new centerpiece animals include Dorcas Gazelles, birds and amphibians. They will continue breeding certain critically endangered species such as the Bornean orangutans, which is part of the European Endangered Species Program. But the zookeeper caring for the tiny endangered Montseny newt admits visitors dont spend more than a few seconds at its exhibit; they come here to see the large or dangerous animals. Nowadays people must understand that the role an insect plays, or in our case that the Montseny newt, probably the most threatened amphibian in all of Europe, is as important and the gorillas or orangutans, Alarcon said. All animals play their specific role in the ecosystem. ___ AP writer Joseph Wilson contributed. MILAN - Italys defence minister says an Italian who had been held hostage in Syria for three years has been released and returned to Italy. Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta late Wednesday confirmed Alessandro Sandrinis arrival at Romes Ciampino airport and thanked Italian intelligence services for their role in his liberation. Details were not disclosed. Sandrini, who is in his early 30s, disappeared after travelling to Turkey in October 2016, and wasnt heard from for over a year. In July 2018, a dramatic video showed Sandrini wearing an orange jumpsuit flanked by masked men brandishing automatic weapons, appealing to Italy to help free him as quickly as possible. A local government in Syria affiliated with the al-Qaida-linked militant group Hayat Tahir-al Sham said he had been kidnapped by a criminal gang. ISLAMABAD - Irans foreign minister lashed out at President Donald Trump on Friday during a critically timed visit to Pakistan amid a simmering crisis between Tehran and Washington and ahead of next weeks emergency Arab League meeting called by Saudi Arabia over the regions tensions. The remarks by Mohammad Javad Zarif were the latest in a war of words between him and Trump. The Iranian diplomat on Friday assailed the American president for his tweet earlier this week warning Iran not to threaten the U.S. again or it would face its official end. Iran will see the end of Trump, but he will never see the end of Iran, Zarif was quoted by Irans semi-official Fars new agency as saying during a visit to Islamabad. Tensions have ratcheted up recently in the Mideast as the White House earlier this month sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceived from Iran. And on Thursday, the Pentagon outlined proposals to the White House to send military reinforcements to the Middle East to beef up defences against Iran. The purpose of Zarifs visit to Pakistan, where he held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and also Prime Minister Imran Khan, was not made public. But there has been speculation that Iran is looking to Islamabad and its close relationship with the Saudis to help de-escalate the situation. In a statement following meetings with Zarif, Khan said Pakistan was prepared to use its friendly relations in the region to help lower tensions among brotherly countries and promote peace and stability in the region. ... War is not a solution to any problem. Zarif has been criticized this week by Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who named him and President Hassan Rouhani as failing to implement the leaders orders over Irans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Khamenei had claimed the deal had numerous ambiguities and structural weaknesses that could damage Iran. Separately, the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Zarif in Islamabad as warning of anarchy if world powers dont unite to stop what he called U.S. aggression Irans official parlance for Washingtons pressure on Tehran. The crisis takes root in the steady unraveling of the nuclear deal, intended to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The accord promised economic incentives in exchange for restrictions on Tehrans nuclear activities. The Trump administration pulled America out of the deal last year, and subsequently re-imposed and escalated U.S. sanctions on Tehran sending Irans economy into freefall. Khameneis criticism of Zarif signalled a hard-line tilt in how the Islamic Republic will react going forward amid President Donald Trumps maximalist pressure campaign. Iran declared earlier this month that the remaining signatories to the deal Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia have two months to develop a plan to shield Iran from American sanctions. On Monday, Iran announced it had quadrupled its production capacity of low-enriched uranium, making it likely that Tehran will soon exceed the stockpile limitations set by the nuclear accord, which would escalate the situation further. Several incidents have added to the crisis. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia said Yemens Iran-aligned rebels again targeted an airport near its southern border with a bomb-carrying drone. The Saudi military said it intercepted the drone, while the rebel Houthis said it struck a Patriot missile battery at the airport. The Houthis have claimed three times in recent days to have targeted the airport, which also hosts a military base. It comes after the Houthis last week targeted a Saudi oil pipeline in a co-ordinated drone attack. Pakistan was quick to condemn the attacks and promised Saudi Arabia, a staunch ally, its full support. The kingdom this week announced a $3.2 billion deferred oil and gas payment package for energy-strapped Islamabad. With neighbouring Iran, Pakistan walks a fine line and their relationship is sometimes prickly. Islamabad has little leverage with Washington, although relations between the two have improved since Pakistan expressed readiness to help move talks between the Afghan Taliban and Washington forward. IRNA also reported that Zarif came to Pakistan with a proposal to link Irans port of Chabahar on the Arabian Sea with Pakistans Gwadar port, mostly being developed by China as part of the multi-billion-dollar One Road project that will connect the Arabian Sea with China. The proposal is unexpected because Pakistans rival India has been Irans partner in developing Chabahar while Irans key regional rival, Saudi Arabia, has been in talks to develop an oil refinery facility at Pakistans Gwadar, though no agreements have been signed. Meanwhile, Omans Foreign Ministry said it was working to ease the tensions between Iran and the U.S. The ministry in a series of tweets on Friday morning attributed the comments to Yusuf bin Alawi, the sultanates minister of state for foreign affairs, and cited an interview in Asharq Al-Wasat, the London-based newspaper owned by a Saudi media group long associated with the Al Saud royal family. In the interview, bin Alawi warns war could harm the entire world if it breaks out. He doesnt confirm any current Omani mediation but says both the U.S. and Iran realize the gravity of the situation. Omans Sultan Qaboos bin Said spoke last week by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Oman, a nation on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has long been an interlocutor of the West with Iran. The U.S. held secret talks in Oman with the Iranians that gave birth to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. ___ Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report. OUISTREHAM, France - There were countless times on D-Day and in the fighting in Normandy that followed when Leon Gautier could have been killed or grievously wounded. He and his comrades in an elite French unit were among the first waves of Allied troops to storm the heavily defended beaches of Nazi-occupied northern France, beginning the liberation of western Europe. The commandos spent 78 days straight on the front lines, their numbers dwindling from one firefight to the next. Of the 177 who waded ashore on the morning of June 6, 1944, just two dozen escaped death or injury, Gautier among them. Then, his good fortune ran out. Back in England for some well-deserved R&R, an impatient Gautier jumped off a moving train. He injured his left ankle so badly that he was forced to sit out much of the rest of the war, which ended in Europe with Germanys surrender in May 1945. The now 96-year-old Gautier rolls up a trouser leg to show how the ankle remains painfully swollen three quarters of a century later, his story neatly encapsulating the lunatic and arbitrary nature of war . As Gautier chuckles at his own tales, cracks jokes and charms the ticket lady guarding the door of the museum that overlooks the beach near where he and his comrades landed 75 years ago, it is impossible not to wonder: Who will tell World War II stories with such verve and authority when he and the rest of his generation are gone? In the huge D-Day invasion force made up largely of American, British and Canadian soldiers, French Capt. Philippe Kieffers commandos ensured that France had feats to be proud of too, after the dishonour of its Nazi occupation, when some chose to collaborate with Adolf Hitlers forces. For us it was special. We were happy to come home. We were at the head of the landing. The British let us go a few meters in front, Your move, the French, After you, Gautier recalls. Most of us had left France in 1940, four years earlier, so for us it was the liberation of France, the return into the family. After the bloodshed of World War I, Gautiers generation had grown up on a diet of hatred for neighbouring Germany. He was 17 when he joined the navy in 1940. When France fell in June that year to the Nazi blitzkrieg, he shipped off to England, where a French general, Charles de Gaulle, was rallying his countrymen. Volunteering, as Gautier did, for Kieffers commando unit meant undergoing brutal and dangerous training. The men became so hardened that on D-Day they came ashore carrying four days worth of rations and ammunition, 30 kilograms (nearly 70 pounds) in all. They sprinted up the beach with their heavy sacks. Their initial objective was a heavily fortified bunker. Although the strongpoint was just a few kilometres (miles) away, it took them four hours of fighting to get there and take it. On the beach, they cut through barbed wire under a hail of bullets. We were being shot at, but we shot at them too, Gautier remembers. When we arrived near the walls of the bunkers, we threw grenades in through the slits. The commandos were trained for quick in-and-out raids to take prisoners, gather intelligence and destroy things. Gautier remembers that not all of the newly liberated inhabitants of Ouistreham where they fought were pleased to see them, figuring the troops would soon turn tail and be replaced again by vengeful Germans. I told them, Were not leaving! Were here for good! Gautier recalls. I dont know that they believed me. Just three of Kieffers commandos survive. Gautier is the youngest. The oldest is 105. A 1943 photo of 70 of them, taken in Scotland where they trained, shows square chins and resolute looks under the green berets they made famous. One of the benefits of longevity: Gautier has a great-great-great-grandson born, incredibly, on the 6th of June, two years ago. Gautier and his wife, Dorothy, were married for more than 70 years. She died in 2016 at 91. They met in 1943 when he was stationed in England. Seriously injured by a German artillery shell during the war, she lived with a metal plate over the hole in her skull and had persistent headaches. Gautier worked after the war building car bodies. He and his wife lived in England, where they had two daughters. Later, the family moved to Africa, where he was a workshop director, training mechanics in Nigeria and Cameroon. The family was forced to return to France after Gautier was seriously injured in a traffic accident. Once recovered, he worked as a vehicle inspector and settled with Dorothy in Ouistreham, where Gautier and his comrades fought in 1944. Gautier says he doesnt like talking about the war: The older you get, you think that maybe you killed a father, made a widow of a woman. ... Its not easy to live with. Yet he has devoted much of his life since then making sure that lessons from the war arent forgotten by giving countless interviews, taking part in countless commemorations and helping put together the museum in Ouistreham that commemorates the commandos. The younger generations have to be told, they need to know, Gautier says. War is ugly. War is misery, misery everywhere. BAGHDAD - An Iraqi security official says a car bomb has exploded in a western village near the Syrian border, killing two people and wounding two others. The official said the blast occurred Thursday afternoon in the village of Karabila, which until two years ago was controlled by the Islamic State group. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017, IS sleeper cells have been blamed for attacks across the country that have killed and wounded scores of people over the past two years. The Iraqi military said in a statement that the car had exploded while parked in the village but did not give a death toll. The statement said more details would be released. BEIRUT - Bombings by Syrian government forces damaged two schools and a health facility in the rebels last stronghold in the northwest, activists said Thursday, after insurgents successfully hit a power station in a government-held town. Fighting has raged in the last 48 hours in the region, where insurgents launched a counteroffensive earlier this month, trying to regain territory lost to government forces. The area is among the last controlled by anti-government rebels in Syrias eight-year civil war. Activists and rescue workers said the government retaliated with an intense air bombing campaign. First responders said dozens of air raids and barrel bombs were dropped on villages and towns south of Idlib, killing at least eight civilians. Syrian insurgents had recaptured Kfar Nabudah from government forces on Wednesday, two weeks after troops entered it at the start of a ground offensive against the rebels stronghold. Naji al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the rebel fighters, said the government is carrying out a revenge campaign for its defeat in Kfar Nabudah. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ground clashes have subsided but government warplanes carried out more than 60 raids on various parts of southern Idlib, part of the rebel stronghold that spans the province and nearby Hama. One of the raids knocked out a health facility in Kfar Oweid village, the Observatory said. Rights groups say that since the offensive was launched in late April, government strikes have hit at least 18 health facilities, including five identified to the government through the United Nations. Some of the facilities were targeted twice. The White Helmets, a team of first responders, said the raids also targeted two schools in Kfar Nubul and burned crops on several farms. Syrian Electricity Minister Mohammad Zuhair Kharboutly said Thursday that al-Zara power station in Hama province was back online and linked up to the national grid. Station manager Mostafa Shantout said a drone operated by insurgents dropped a number of bombs late Wednesday on the station, causing huge damage. He didnt elaborate. The comments by both officials were carried by the official state news agency SANA. Al-Mustafa denied the fighters targeted the power station. He said the rebels have shelled Hama military airport because it is used to attack their stronghold. BOSTON - Celebrity chef Mario Batali is facing a criminal charge on allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. Batali, who recently gave up financial stakes in all his restaurants, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of indecent assault and battery, a spokeswoman for Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said. Its the first criminal charge against Batali resulting from several sexual harassment and assault allegations that crippled his career amid the #MeToo movement. A criminal complaint filed last month says the woman told police that Batali noticed her taking a picture of him at the restaurant and offered to take a selfie with her, The Boston Globe reported . The woman says Batali then grabbed her chest, kissed her face and touched her groin without her consent. The details in the complaint mirror those in a civil lawsuit filed against Batali in August. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for severe emotional distress including anxiety and self-doubt. A lawyer for Batali said the chef denies the allegations. The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit, Attorney Anthony Fuller said in an emailed statement. He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali, Fuller said. Several other women have previously come forward to allege sexual misconduct by Batali. Batali stepped down from daily operations at his restaurant empire and cooking show The Chew in December 2017 after four women accused him of inappropriate touching. Batali apologized that month, saying the allegations match up with ways he has acted. I have made many mistakes and I am so very sorry that I have disappointed my friends, my family, my fans and my team, Batali said in an email newsletter. My behaviour was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility. The New York Police Department said last year that it was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against the chef after a woman told 60 Minutes that Batali drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2005. Batali denied assaulting the woman. PHOENIX - Lawyers for an incapacitated woman who was raped and later gave birth at a Phoenix long-term care facility have filed a $45 million notice of claim against the state, saying she may have been impregnated before. The claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, also alleges the woman was raped repeatedly before giving birth last December. A former licensed practical nurse at Hacienda Healthcare has been charged with sexually assaulting the 29-year-old woman, who has been in long-term care since age 3 after suffering a near-drowning. She gave birth to a boy at the facility on Dec. 29. Employees said they had no idea she was pregnant. The claim seeks a $25 million settlement for the victim and $10 million for each of her parents within 60 days or the lawyers will take the case to court. The office of Gov. Doug Ducey said Wednesday night that it had received the 55-page notice of claim and would be reviewing it while the Arizona Department of Health Services said it doesnt comment on pending or ongoing litigation. The Attorney Generals Office said the state is being represented by outside council in the case and they had no further comment. According to medical records cited in the claim, the woman was violently and repeatedly raped while living at Hacienda and a doctor who examined her on the day she gave birth noted that she could have been pregnant before. At a minimum, there were repeated violations of (the victim) from the scarring, John Micheaels, an attorney representing the victim and her family, told Phoenix TV station KPNX. The surprise birth triggered reviews by state agencies, highlighted safety concerns for patients who are severely disabled or incapacitated and prompted the resignations of Haciendas chief executive and one of the victims doctors. Investigators say Nathan Sutherlands DNA matched a sample from the womans newborn boy, who is being cared for by her family. Sutherland, 37, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual abuse and abuse of a vulnerable adult. Hacienda fired Sutherland after his arrest. He has since given up his nursing license. According to the notice of claim, the victims mother had specifically requested female-only staff, saying her daughter was at risk for exploitation. The claim says Sutherland provided unsupervised care for the victim over 1,000 times, including more than 800 times overnight. NEW YORK - A retired New York Police Department vice detective and his wife have admitted to running a prostitution and gambling ring that allegedly involved seven police officers and dozens of civilians. Prosecutors say 51-year-old Ludwig Paz pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted enterprise corruption and promoting prostitution. Hes scheduled to get four to 12 years in prison when hes sentenced June 27. His wife, Arelis Peralta, pleaded guilty to attempted enterprise corruption and was immediately sentenced to 364 days in jail. Prosecutors say the Queens couple operated brothels in Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau Counties and numerous gambling rooms set up inside beauty parlours and other businesses. The arrested officers are accused of helping Paz operate the illicit businesses by providing confidential information, including the timing of raids and undercover operations. The new laws that prohibit abortion as early as the sixth week of pregnancy have been called heartbeat legislation by supporters, a reference to the flickering pulse that can be seen on ultrasound images of a developing embryo. But when the American Civil Liberties Union announced a legal challenge last week to one such law in Ohio, there was no mention of the word heartbeat in the news release, which referred to the law instead as a ban on almost all abortions. Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat who narrowly lost a governors race last year, framed the measure in her state as one that would compel women to give birth against their will. The bill, Abrams said on Twitter, is not a heartbeat bill it is a forced pregnancy bill, and it must be stopped. A sign at a protest against the law in Atlanta this week compressed the charge into a slogan: NO FORCED BIRTHS, it read. The battle over abortion has long been shaped by language. After opponents of abortion created the pro-life framing in the 1960s to emphasize what they saw as the humanity of the fetus, supporters of abortion cast themselves as pro-choice to stress a womans right to make decisions about her body. In the mid-1990s, the term partial-birth abortion, originated by the anti-abortion group National Right to Life, helped rally public opinion against a late-term abortion procedure. Abortion rights activists countered with Trust Women. But the stakes attached to the language of abortion are especially high, activists on both sides say, at a time when the Supreme Court is seen as likely to chip away at the right to an abortion established in 1973 by Roe v. Wade. It was no accident, for instance, that Ohios leading anti-abortion group, Ohio Right to Life, invoked the term heartbeat eight times in 300 words in a news release welcoming the ACLUs legal challenge, said the groups president, Mike Gonidakis. The idea that life begins at conception, an axiom for many anti-abortion activists, Gonidakis said, does not have the same capacity to mobilize the average person on the street as the symbolism of a heart. When we say, Protect babies with a beating heart, weve found a way to overcome that tsunami of messaging from Planned Parenthood, Gonidakis said of the prominent abortion rights group. The power of words and repeating those words over and over again helps steer the debate and move the needle in your favor. Read more: Opinion | Abortion opposition is about control Opinion | Heather Mallick: Will Alabamas war on abortion come to Canada? Opinion | Gillian Steward: Abortion rights face renewed threat in Alberta As opponents of abortion push the term fetal heartbeat, abortion rights activists are trying to galvanize support by focusing on the impact the recently passed bans can have on peoples lives. On a culture-war battleground where many Americans have already chosen a side, experts say, effective messaging can be the catalyst that mobilizes people on either one in addition to reaching the undecided. Heartbeat bills are obviously supposed to pull at your heartstrings, and the left is coming back with terms like punishing women and forced pregnancy, said Mary Ziegler, a legal historian at Florida State University and the author of After Roe: The Lost History of the Abortion Debate. The rhetoric seems to be getting more and more extreme on both sides, she added. Abortion rights advocates say their own polling and analysis has shown that their messaging has been overly focused on concepts like the right to choose and protecting womens privacy, which were the foundation of 1970s and 1980s-era activism aimed at right-leaning voters opposed to government intervention in peoples lives. Even the term abortion, they say, was stigmatized in the late 1990s with the safe, legal and rare tagline, used by President Bill Clinton to describe the Democrats policy outlook on abortion. Describing abortion as needing to be rare implied incorrectly, in the eyes of advocates, that there was something inherently wrong with having an abortion. Now, individual stories of abortion are increasingly being aired under hashtags like #ShoutYourAbortion and #YouKnowMe, and the goal among many activist groups is to use more straightforward language that shifts the focus from the fetus to the person who is pregnant. We dont use the term anti-choice anymore, said Destiny Lopez, a co-director of All Above All, a reproductive rights advocacy group. Thats a euphemism that is outdated. We say anti-abortion, and what is the impact of being anti-abortion? Its forcing someone to remain pregnant. Opponents of abortion have long stressed what they believe is the humanity of a fetus, protesting at rallies and in front of abortion clinics with signs that read Abortion Stops a Beating Heart. In some states, people are required to view ultrasound images before getting an abortion. Fetal heartbeat is a term often used by obstetricians with patients as a shorthand but one many doctors never expected would become so politicized. One criticism of the heartbeat language, abortion rights supporters say, is that it obscures the science of how an embryo develops. What is detected on an ultrasound taken early in pregnancy, obstetricians say, is an electrical pulse in a group of cells the size of a pencil tip. To function as a heart would require further development of its structure, as well as a neurological system, among other things. This is nothing like what we would think of as a four-chambered heart, said Sarah Horvath, a family planning fellow with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists who performs abortions. The scientific words are getting conflated with a term that has emotional significance. Even when a law is described as banning abortions at six or eight weeks, some abortion rights advocates worry there is the potential for confusion. Doctors measure the start of pregnancy from the first day of a womans last menstrual period, which is usually two weeks before conception. As a result, some of the new laws would ban abortion as early as two weeks after a missed period, before many women realize they are pregnant. But arguing on scientific or technical grounds has not proved especially effective for abortion rights supporters in the past. Medical explanations of the term partial birth abortion in the late 1990s a time when the number of Americans who said that abortion should be legal under all circumstances had dropped, to about 1 in 4 from 1 in 3 did not prevent a ban of the procedure under federal law in 2003. The phrase refers to a later-term abortion procedure known as dilation and extraction. Anti-abortion activists have also successfully pushed for bans on a procedure used in the vast majority of second-trimester abortions by labeling it dismemberment abortion. Doctors call the procedure a dilation and evacuation. The bans are in effect in two states, West Virginia and Mississippi. Medical procedures are not familiar to a lay audience, people dont like to think about them, and they are hard to explain on a bumper sticker, said Carole Joffe, a sociologist who studies abortion politics at the University of California, San Francisco. That has put the pro-choice movement at a disadvantage. Slogans about keeping abortions safe and legal are fine, said Andrea Miller, an abortion rights supporter and president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health, but fail to evoke the emotion that opponents of abortion rights have managed to unleash. When you zoom out from the legalese and you ground it in real peoples lives, you see greater support and mobilization. Gonidakis, of Ohio Right to Life, said he had taken note of some of the new terminology being floated by abortion rights proponents, like the #StopTheBans hashtag and references to forced birth. Im not saying its not powerful, he said. Im just saying, saving a baby with a beating heart is more powerful. WASHINGTON - Nihar Janga, an eighth-grader from Austin, Texas, with an already impressive array of awards, took home top honours Wednesday in the 31st annual National Geographic GeoBee, an elite test of geographic knowledge. Janga triumphed during a competition at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington. The student from Austins Canyon Ridge Middle School was also a co-champion of the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee and a top-ten finalist in the 2018 GeoBee. The society also held the first-ever national-level competition of the GeoChallenge, a team competition that asked for innovative solutions to modern problems. This years challenge: plastic pollution in our waterways. A team from Flushing Christian School in Flushing, New York, won by building a model filtration device to clear plastic debris from the Hudson River. The winning team will receive $25,000 plus support to implement their project. Janga will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an expedition to the Galapagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavour ll. SAN FRANCISCO - This story was first published on Dec. 21, 2001, when AP journalist Justin Pritchard reported on the American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindhs journey to the Taliban front lines. We are reprinting the story now to mark Lindhs release after nearly two decades in prison. __ John Walker Lindhs journey to the Taliban front lines began five years ago in the wealthy suburbs north of San Francisco, where he discovered a brand of Islam known for its missionary zeal. The clean-cut teen-ager who explored mosques near his Marin County home turned up this month in Afghanistan as a bearded, 20-year-old warrior willing to die for the Talibans conception of a pure Islamic state. He shocked some of his countrymen by admitting that he served with Arab fighters financed by Osama bin Laden and that he attended a training camp run by the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lindh has been locked up by the U.S. military, and his fate probably will be determined by President Bush. How could a baptized Roman Catholic who had been exposed to Buddhism through his mother wind up on the run with the Taliban and bin Ladens al-Qaida fighters? The last several months of Lindhs life are not well known, but his spiritual quest began simply enough: He discovered Islam at age 15 and liked what it had to offer. Inspired by The Autobiography of Malcolm X himself a Muslim convert Lindh began researching the faith, first through Internet chat rooms and soon after with visits to at least three mosques in the San Francisco Bay area. Acquaintances say he quickly encountered tablighi jamaat, a movement roughly translated as preaching society that encourages Muslims to contact those whose faith is drifting and steer them back into the orbit of a mosque. There are millions of devotees around the world. Followers personally petition Muslims to pursue spiritual renewal and live as Mohammed did in seventh-century Saudi Arabia, according to an expert on tablighi jamaat, Barbara Metcalf, who teaches history at the University of California at Davis. Devotees are studiously apolitical, according to Metcalf. She said their calls for jihad are less a call to arms than a struggle for self-mastery. In Lindhs case, authorities say, there is no evidence Lindh was drafted into bin Ladens self-proclaimed holy war on the United States. It doesnt appear that he was actively recruited or that theres a network in the Bay Area to recruit people to fight for the Taliban or any jihad, FBI spokesman Andrew Black said Wednesday. The focus of tablighi jamaat on personal sacrifice is common to many religions. Its rejection of religious establishment resembles Protestantism, while its missionary mandate is akin to Mormonism. It must have seemed ideal to Lindh, who was thirsty for a deeper knowledge of Islam. You get five, six guys at your disposal to answer questions, said Ebrahim Nana, who knew Lindh when the boy worshipped at the Islamic Center of Mill Valley. In 1997, soon after he began attending the Mill Valley mosque, Lindh went to a weekend retreat for tablighi jamaat followers at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds, Nana said. He recalled a detective calling the Islamic Center, saying Lindhs mother had reported him missing. I remember his mother thinking that he had been kidnapped by some cult, Nana said. She didnt know anything about Islam. In time, Lindh blurred barriers between the mosque and the rest of his life. He grew a beard, began to wear an Islamic robe and cap and wanted to be known as Suleyman. He wanted something pure, and he was definitely questing at an early age, his father, Frank Lindh, recently told the San Francisco Chronicle. We encouraged him to look. In time, Lindh found a tablighi jamaat hub at the Islamic Center of San Francisco. He also went to Masjid Darussalam, one of the citys largest mosques. A mosque official, Souleiman Ghali, said Lindhs father showed up about six weeks ago, carrying a picture of the son he had not heard from in more than four months. Frank Lindh also had a letter from the head of the Pakistani religious school. That fact made Ghali think he stayed with tablighi jamaat last year. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, anybody going to Pakistan is going to hook up with the jamaat, said Ghali, an American citizen born in Lebanon. You dont reserve a spot in the Hilton. Youre part of a connected group, and thats the tablighi jamaat. After graduating from an independent studies high school at 16, Lindh departed for Yemen in 1998 to study Arabic with his parents blessing. He returned home in 1999, after 10 months in Yemen. He stayed in Marin County for about eight months but apparently felt lonely and unsettled. In February 2000, he returned to Yemen and eventually moved to Pakistan, where he studied at an Islamic school near the Afghan border. It was there he fell in with the Taliban, Lindh told the CNN crew as he was being treated for wounds suffered during the deadly prisoner revolt in Mazar-e-Sharif. I started to read some of the literature, Lindh said. My heart became attached to the movement. He defended the Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan in 1995 after a bloody civil war. He declared the Talibans cause the right one and said jihad was exactly what I thought it would be. HOUSTON - Advocates demanded $100 million in damages Thursday on behalf of the family of a 20-year-old Guatemalan woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent last year. The legal claim on behalf of Claudia Patricia Gomez Gonzalez was filed one year after she died. It comes as the U.S. government grapples with surging numbers of Central Americans crossing its southern border and the deaths of six children in the last year after being apprehended by border agents. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed the claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act as a precursor to filing a lawsuit. Gomez Gonzalez crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas along with several migrants who were confronted by a Border Patrol agent, who opened fire and killed her. The claim says Gomez Gonzalez posed no threat to anyone, as would have been obvious from the slightest glance. The claim says she was unarmed and not fleeing as others in the group of migrants were. It demands $50 million each for personal injury and what it says was Gomez Gonzalezs wrongful death. Her life was as valuable as anyone elses, and her family deserves justice for their loss, said Andre Segura, the groups legal director. Our government has a responsibility to treat everyone lawfully, humanely, and with respect regardless of how they came into this country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrols parent agency, declined to comment Thursday. CBPs initial statement on May 23, 2018, about Gomez Gonzalezs death said that the agent used his gun after being attacked by multiple subjects using blunt objects. The agency called Gomez Gonzalez an assailant. The agency revised its statement a day later to say Gomez Gonzalez was one member of the group that rushed the agent and ignored orders to get on the ground. The statement said the agent fired one round. The agent, who was not identified, was placed on administrative leave at the time. CBP declined on Wednesday to comment on the agents status or the claim being filed. George Altgelt, a lawyer for the agent, did not return a phone message. Gomez Gonzalez was from San Juan Ostuncalco, outside the western highland city of Quetzaltenango. Family members have said she studied forensic accounting and sought admission to a state university but failed to pass three admission exams. Living in poverty and unable to find work, she left for the United States. More than 160,000 people from Guatemala were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border between October and April. At Gomez Gonzalezs wake, a woman said that many villagers had left for the United States looking for work. We are poor, there are no jobs. That is why people leave, said the woman, Guadalupe Carreto. CHICAGOThree days before she was killed, Marlen Ochoa-Lopez sent her father an ultrasound photo of her baby with a recording of the boys heartbeat inside her. Arnulfo Ochoa smiled as he played the recording Wednesday night outside Advocate Christ Medical Center, where the boy has been on life support since he was cut from Ochoas 19-year-old daughter last month after she was strangled. Doctors say the boy is brain-dead, but the family says it has no plans to end his life. The doctors say he doesnt feel anything, Ochoa said. But when we touch him, he reacts. The baby is getting better. This is the gift Marlen left me. Im going through something so bad, but my faith in God is keeping me going. He was surrounded by the teens grandparents, who raised Ochoa-Lopez for two years in San Luis de la Loma, a coastal town in the Mexican state of Guerrero, until her parents in Chicago could send for her. They arrived Tuesday night for the funeral this weekend. My heart has been destroyed for what they did to her and what she had to go through, said Ochoa-Lopezs grandmother, Custodia Castro Rodriguez. I have faith in God that the baby will get better. Hes the last piece of Marlen we have left. The family has been singing church hymns to the little boy and talking to him, careful with the breathing tube and connections to monitors. We want him to know we love him, Ochoa said. That positivity is helping him. He is a miracle of God. The hospital has not commented publicly about the baby, citing patient privacy. But the family says it has been told there is no brain function. The boy was unable to breathe on his own after being cut from his mothers womb, and was pale and blue when paramedics were called to the Southwest Side home where police say Ochoa-Lopez was killed for her baby. The baby was brought to the hospital on the evening of April 23, but his mothers body was not discovered until last week after tips led police to three suspects, including Clarisa Figueroa, who told the hospital she was the mother. Even though an exam showed she had not given birth, the hospital did not notify anyone until two weeks later, after detectives went to the hospital asking about the baby. Everyone in our family is hurt, said Raquel Uriostegui, Ochoa-Lopezs mother. We think the hospital made a lot of mistakes. The hospital didnt do anything. They didnt investigate. I dont know. All of that needs to be cleared up. My daughter needs justice. We have questions that havent been answered, but God will give us justice. My daughter deserves it. She called on the media to stop posting the suspects photos. We want justice, agreed Uriosteguis mother, Benigna Perez. I understand the pain of my daughter. It is awful to lose a child. She didnt lose a child, they took her from her They did so much to get here and its not fair this happened to my daughter. The grandparents shared stories of Ochoa-Lopez growing up in Mexico. I had her since she was a baby, Rodriguez said. I carried her everywhere. Id hold her hand and take her with me to the store. Ochoa-Lopez would dance when people played music or sang to her. She loved going on rides at fairs and dressing up for church. When it was time to come to Chicago, she didnt want to leave her grandparents. I convinced her to get on the plane to go see her daddy, Rodriguez said. When we took her to the airport, I remember seeing her little hand waving at us. That was the last time I saw her in person. We talked on the phone, but it wasnt the same, she said. I missed my girl. Sometimes I look through photo albums. Ochoa laughed as he recalled his little girl arriving in Chicago. She said, You arent my dad. It took her a month before she said we were her parents. She turned 3 about a month later and was given a party. There was cake and a new dress. It wasnt a big party, but it was small and with lots of love. She was always smiling, Ochoa said. All of her pictures, shes smiling. I remember her that way. The family left the hospital and went to a mural dedicated to Ochoa-Lopez in Pilsen, taking several pictures. Artist Milton Coronado painted the mural Sunday and it has since been decorated with flowers, stuffed animals and more than 200 religious candles. Two crosses were placed on the ground with balloons tied around them. Ochoa-Lopezs younger brothers, Miguel Angel Ochoa, 17, and Oscar Ochoa, 13, stood at a distance and looked at the memorial. Im really going to miss her, the younger Ochoa said, looking down at his feet. Just seeing this makes me know that there are a lot of people that care about her. HOUSTON - The police chief in Houston said Thursday that evidence shows a 4-year-old girl who has been missing since earlier this month was killed, and hes asking for the publics help in finding her body. She deserves to be found, she deserves to be recovered and she deserves to have a proper burial, Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference . Maleah Davis was reported missing earlier this month by her mothers former fiance, Derion Vence. He told police that he, Maleah and his 2-year-old son were abducted on May 3 by a group of men in a truck after he pulled over on a Houston highway. He said he and his son were freed the next day, but the kidnappers kept Maleah and his vehicle. Police later said the story didnt add up. Acevedo said Thursday that he believes Vence knows where the child is but has not told police. Vence is being held on a charge of tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse. Investigators found blood in Vences apartment and search dogs detected the scent of human decomposition in his car when it was found. We strongly believe he knows where shes at and if he wanted to tell us, he would, the chief said. Executive Assistant Chief Matt Slinkard, who also spoke at the news conference, said: We are not receiving the level of co-operation we need from anybody involved at this point. In addition to asking anyone who may have seen something or has information about the case to come forward, Acevedo also implored the public to be vigilant when out in places that are not heavily travelled, such as hiking trails and wooded areas. He said to look out for things like out-of-place soil. SAN FRANCISCO - A battle between the press and police is playing out in politically liberal San Francisco after police raided a freelance reporters home and office seeking to uncover the source of a leaked police report into the unexpected death of the citys former elected public defender. Journalist Bryan Carmody did not commit a crime when he acquired and published a police report, said First Amendment expert David Snyder because a police report is not a confidential, legally protected document and its disclosure and publication is lawful. Snyder said a journalist who participated in unlawfully acquiring information could be successfully prosecuted for a crime, but that was not the case here. Carmody said he received the report from a source and did not pay for it, though legal experts argue doing so would not have been a crime. Still, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said the journalist crossed the line, motivated by profit or animosity toward the late public defender, Jeff Adachi. An autopsy found Adachi died Feb. 22 of a mixture of cocaine and alcohol, compromising an already bad heart. Attorney Duffy Carolan, who represents several media organizations siding with Carmody, agrees that the public has constitutional rights to public records. The impact of trying to criminalize disclosure of public records, whether or not it violated internal policy or practice, will have a profound effect on public employees willingness to disclose public records, she said. It would have a chilling effect. San Francisco Sgt. Michael Andraychak said Wednesday that the report was not a public record and that state law protects crime reports when disclosure would endanger the successful completion of the investigation or a related investigation. Media experts counter that although the law allows police to keep reports secret, nothing in the law stops them from releasing the information. They note police did not raid the office of San Francisco Chronicle reporter who obtained the same information independently of Carmody. The newspaper has said it did not pay for the report. Police used a sledgehammer to try to get into Carmodys home and handcuffed him for hours as they searched and subsequently removed dozens of cameras, cellphones, computers and other equipment. We believe that that contact, and that interaction went across the line, the police chief said Tuesday in his first remarks since the May 10 raids. The department said the same day at a court hearing that Carmodys property would be returned while the legal wrangling proceeds. Reporters and other First Amendment organizations want a judge to revoke search warrants that authorized the raids and to unseal the materials submitted in support of them. Because the warrants are under seal, its not known what information police provided to support the search, or whether they disclosed that Carmody is a journalist. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that journalists are free to report on newsworthy information contained in stolen documents or illegally intercepted telephone communications obtained from a third party who violated the law, said Carolan. The justices may have ruled differently had the journalists encouraged or aided in the unlawful interception of the call, she said. But that is not the same as a reporter encouraging a public official or public employee to provide a public record. That is what reporters do every day, Carolan said. Californias shield law specifically protects journalists from search warrants. The Associated Press is among dozens of news organizations siding with Carmody and seeking to submit a friend-of-the-court brief. Snyder, of the First Amendment Coalition, said the chiefs comments seemed to suggest a police employee may have accessed an unauthorized system to obtain confidential information, which the report is not. Would an offer by the journalist to pay the source to break the law be enough? Maybe. It would depend on the circumstances, he said. I dont think it matters what Carmodys motivations were. The question is: Was his conduct protected by the First Amendment? And all the facts Ive seen thus far show it was, he said. Scott has not provided details of the leak investigation other than to say that Carmody was an active participant in acquiring a police record, which the reporter then sold to three television news outlets as part of a news package that included information obtained from interviews and video footage from the scene of Adachis death. Carmody has not responded to requests for comment, although he posted on Twitter on Wednesday the hashtag #journalismisnotacrime. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $16,000 for him. LOS ANGELES - A years-long lawsuit between Michael Jacksons estate and one of the superstars former managers has been settled, ending one of the final legal fights over the King of Pops assets. The confidential settlement announced Thursday with Tohme R. Tohme, Jacksons manager in the last year of his life, was reached after a trial had been underway for five days. It comes a month short of the 10th anniversary of Jacksons death. Tohme had sought nearly $20 million from the Jackson estate in the lawsuit filed in 2012, saying he was entitled to a 15% commission on funds generated by deals he arranged for Jackson that were received after Jacksons death in June 2009. The Jackson estate held that Tohmes contract terminated with the singers death and he was entitled only to a percentage of income Jackson himself received while he was alive. The estate acknowledges his efforts on Michaels behalf, Thursdays joint statement from the two sides said of Tohme. Before trial began, Judge Mark A. Young dismissed part of the lawsuit in which Tohme sought some of the profits of the concert film This Is It, which was released after Jacksons death. Tohme also claimed he was due a finders fee for securing a 2008 loan, which prevented foreclosure on Jacksons Neverland Ranch and prompted Jackson to ask Tohme to be his manager. Tohme, a Los Angeles native of Lebanese descent who is in his late 60s, was a little-known financier when he dropped suddenly into Jacksons life via his brother Jermaine. For the last year and a half I was the closest person to Michael Jackson, Tohme told The Associated Press in an interview shortly after Jacksons death. He was regarded as something of a mystery man to observers of Jackson and those around him. I hate the words mystery man, Tohme told the AP. Im a private man. A lot of people like the media and I dont. Im a self-made man. Im in the world of finance. Tohme said when he first met Jackson, they bonded instantly and remained very close until the singers death at age 50 the following year. I saw how kind he was and what a wonderful human being, Tohme said in an interview. I saw him with his children and I had never seen a better father. ... I decided to do what I could to help him. The legal battles among those seeking a piece of Jacksons estate, most of which goes to his three children, have slowly diminished in the last decade. Lawsuits against the estate filed in 2013 by two men who alleged Jackson molested them were dismissed, but are scheduled to have their appeals heard later this year. Jacksons family and estate have vehemently denied the allegations by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, which resurfaced in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland earlier this year. The estate is suing HBO over the documentary. ___ Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton . MANTORVILLE, Minn. - A grand jury in Minnesota indicted a 57-year-old woman who authorities allege fatally shot her husband before fleeing to Florida and killing a woman there. The Dodge County grand jury on Wednesday indicted Lois Riess on first- and second-degree murder charges. Riess is accused of shooting her husband, 54-year-old David Riess, at the couples home in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, in March 2018. Authorities say Lois Riess went to Fort Myers, Florida, met 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson while there and killed her in April 2018, to assume her identity. The two women were close in age and height, with both having almost white hair. Riess led authorities on a cross-country manhunt before she was captured in Texas on April 19, 2018, at a South Padre Island waterfront restaurant by two federal deputy marshals. An employee recognized her from surveillance video broadcast on television. Riesse was extradited to Florida, where she faces a first-degree murder charge. Prosecutors allege Lois Riess forged checks to steal $11,000 from her husbands account and then travelled south to Florida where she met Hutchinson, who was in Fort Myers visiting a friend. In March, Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose said testing by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension indicated that shell casings found at David Riess homicide matched a handgun recovered from Lois Riess hotel room after her arrest in Texas. According to records released by the state attorneys office for Lee County, Florida, both Hutchinson and David Riess were killed by small-calibre weapons in bathrooms, both had towels draped over their bodies and a rolled-up towel was wedged between the floor and bathroom door in both cases. Florida prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty against Riess, who remains jailed there. Minnesota does not have the death penalty. If convicted of first-degree murder in Minnesota, Riess faces life without parole. The intentional second-degree murder charge carries a prison sentence of up to 40 years. Court records do not list a defence attorney in Minnesota who could comment for Riess, who was granted a public defender. Her Florida public defender did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday. A case management hearing for Riess is scheduled for Sept. 5 in Fort Myers. Uruguayan recording artist Rossana Taddei hailed the importance of music as a ritual and a communicative process linking the performer and the audience. Its an emotional, collective journey. Its a ritual. Music is a ritual. The arts are rituals. Theyre communication. Each song leaves you with something, Taddei, who was born in Montevideo in 1969, said in an interview with EFE in this capital ahead of a concert on Friday at the La Trastienda event venue. Both the performer on stage and the people in the audience benefit from that experience, according to Taddei. You always come away with something that changed you. The recording artist, who spent her early childhood years in Lugano, Switzerland, therefore urged Uruguayans to show more curiosity toward culture because it feeds the spirit. There needs to be an understanding that works of art, stage productions, concerts ... are important in life, she said. Accompanied by Gustavo Etchenique (drums), Santiago Montoro (guitar), Alejandro Moya (bass) and Gaston Ackerman (keyboard), along with several guest musicians, Taddei on Friday will perform songs from her latest album, Cuerpo electrico, as well as selections from her usual repertoire. Her latest album marks a return to the fast-paced rock sound that was typical of her early career and also of Uruguayan popular music in the 1990s. After the end of the dictatorship (1973-1985), there was a cultural explosion or need or escape valve, and a ton of rock & roll bands appeared. And now Im returning to that genre thats so nice and direct, putting my own mark on it with lyrics that in some parts are more poetic, more metaphysical, dream-like, Taddei said. The recording artist is continuing her predilection for switching genres from one album to the next, having explored jazz, pop rock and folk. She has avoided flamenco though, saying it would be a lack of respect to try her hand at that art form given her tremendous admiration for it. Taddei also has composed music for a play by Ivor Martinic titled Drama sobre Mirjana y los que la rodean that will be making its debut at the Comedia Nacional theater in Montevideo, saying she is thrilled about that new facet even though the many tasks it involves - from composing alone at home to attending rehearsals and heeding the instructions of the director - make it a full-time job. Taddei also is a strong proponent of a greater role for women in society, and in the arts in particular. Women in music is like women in any other ambit; this profession, like the vast majority, is a mans world, she lamented, adding that I dont know how long it will take before women are no longer the sisters of, the daughters of or the wives of. Taddei was part of an artists collective that mobilized in protest after not a single woman was included among the list of performers at the Beer Week festival in Paysandu, Uruguay, in April. In the interior of Uruguay, you really see this machismo. South America, in general, continues to be very machista, she said. Nevertheless, in Uruguay (women) are working arm-in-arm, looking to move forward and show what were doing. Referring to her upcoming performance, Taddei said its always like the first time when you go on stage, a mix of nervousness, anxiety, butterflies in your stomach. But you go from a bit of anguish to extreme happiness, she said, noting that all of those emotions are part of the ritual of music. cmm/mc RENO, Nev. - NASA has launched the final stage of a four-year effort to develop a national traffic management system for drones, testing them in cities for the first time beyond the operators line of sight. Multiple drones took to the air at the same time above downtown Reno this week in a series of simulations testing emerging technology that someday will be used to manage hundreds of thousands of small unmanned commercial aircraft. NASA officials say its the most complicated technical challenge theyve faced since the simulations began in 2015. Similar tests have been conducted in remote and rural areas. The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized individual test flights in cities before but never for multiple drones or outside the sight of the operator. RALEIGH, N.C. - The Democrat running for a still-vacant U.S. House election he seemed to lose last year before signs of ballot fraud were unearthed said Thursday he doesnt want impeachment hearings confronting President Donald Trump. In an interview with The Associated Press, Dan McCready repeatedly blamed partisans in both major political parties for the countrys intense polarization, and said if he were elected hed look for ways to compromise with Republicans. McCready said he continues to oppose House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her role as the top Democrat in the chamber he wants to join, a position he took last year during his close election against Republican Mark Harris. McCready said he also opposes any moves toward impeaching Trump. Washington is completely broken and its not going to get better overnight. But the only way to make things better is to get people up to Washington who will put our country before political party and who will reach across the aisle to work on the real issues affecting people every day, McCready said. I will be a voice for bipartisanship. I would be proud to be one of the most bipartisan members. McCready faces Republican state Sen. Dan Bishop in a September special election. Bishop and his consultants have not responded to multiple interview requests since he won the GOP primary on May 14. The Democrat will be swimming upstream in a congressional district that has been in Republican hands since 1963 and which Trump won by 12 percentage points in 2016. The 9th Congressional District stretches from suburban Charlotte to suburban Fayetteville along the South Carolina border. McCready didnt directly answer several interview questions, but the former Marine platoon leader in Iraq was straightforward when asked whether the invasion to capture the countrys never-found weapons of mass destruction was justified. No, said McCready, who joined the Marines two years after the 2003 invasion. I think it was a war that was drummed up for political reasons on shaky intelligence. I think you only have to look at the experience in Iraq to see what the costs were. More than 4,400 U.S. service members died in Iraq. Trump recently sent an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Middle East over still-unspecified threats from Iran. In an ongoing fight between Trump and Congress over funding for the border wall that was his signature 2016 campaign promise, a federal judge heard arguments Thursday in a funding lawsuit. The administration wants to use billions of dollars in Treasury and Defence Department funds that were appropriated for other purposes to build the wall. McCready was unspecific on whether he agreed with the need for a wall beyond those barriers already in place along parts of the national frontier. Republicans are right that we need to secure the border, McCready said. There are a lot of places on the border right now that are open and are not secure and we need to secure the border and what we should do to do that is look at the people who are experts on how to do that. The co-founder of a Charlotte solar-energy financing firm wouldnt say whether he supported a local ordinance that in 2016 expanded discrimination protections for gay, lesbian, and transgender residents. Instead, McCready attacked Bishop for sponsoring the state law that overruled the ordinance, forbade similar municipal initiatives statewide and directed transgender people to use public bathrooms matching their sex at birth. The 2016 law known as House Bill 2 resulted in boycotts against North Carolina by businesses, entertainers, sports leagues, and other states before it was partially repealed the following year. A 2017 analysis by The Associated Press estimated that the law cost North Carolina more than $3.76 billion, primarily from businesses that decided to skip intended moves to the state. ___ Follow Emery P. Dalesio on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio . NEW YORK - Plans to build a new Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York are moving forward, a sign that the interstate feuding that stalled the process over the last several years may finally be coming to an end. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Thursday that it is starting a formal environmental review process to replace the crumbling, 1950s-era facility, the nations busiest, with a new terminal in midtown Manhattan. A plan to build a new terminal on the site of the current facility, at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, has been considered the leading option for the Port Authority and has been the focus of preliminary engineering discussions, Port Authority Executive Director Richard Cotton said earlier this year. Previously, a plan to construct a new terminal a block west prompted a bitter dispute in which New York lawmakers and community leaders accused the bistate agencys New Jersey contingent of ignoring their concerns and blundering ahead without their input. We are committed to building the replacement bus terminal and to do so in full consultation with the community, with elected officials in both New York and New Jersey, and with all stakeholders, Cotton said in a statement Thursday. The terminal handles more than 250,000 passenger trips on weekdays and is a destination for tens of thousands of commuters from New Jersey. It has come under withering criticism in recent years for its leaky ceilings, faulty air conditioners, dirty rest rooms and frequent delays. A planning document released Thursday will be available for public review and comment during the next four months, with public hearings in July and September. The estimated cost of a new bus terminal could be as much as $10 billion, and construction likely wouldnt be complete for at least a decade. The Port Authority, which operates the regions bridges, tunnels and transit hubs and owns the World Trade Center site, was criticized after its 10-year capital plan released in 2014 didnt include money to replace the terminal. In 2017, the authoritys board approved $3.5 billion for the terminal in a revised 10-year plan after months of political sniping. New York legislators demanded that then-authority chairman John Degnan recuse himself from the bus terminal negotiations because of allegations of favouritism to New Jerseys interests. New Jersey legislators accused Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of holding the bus terminal project hostage to preserve more money for a redevelopment of New Yorks LaGuardia Airport. PORTLAND, Maine - Marijuana enthusiasts in Maine used a public hearing Thursday to implore the state to protect the small businesses and growers they think should make up the backbone of its budding cannabis industry. The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy held the public hearing about the states draft marijuana rules, which are nearing approval after years of delay. State officials have said marijuana could be available in stores in early 2020, or possibly even sooner, but the state needs to pass a legal framework first. The state needs to use the rules to prevent corporate marijuana interests from overrunning its small cannabis industry, which is long established as a result of legal medical marijuana in the state, said Charles Hawkins, who owns a North Windham dispensary. Maine doesnt need 10 marijuana companies with 500 employees, it needs 500 marijuana companies with 10 employees, Hawkins said. Voters in Maine approved legal recreational use of marijuana in a 2016 vote. The draft rules must still be approved by the Maine Legislature before they can implemented. The rules cover issues such as licensure, retailing and taxation. The state is still taking public comment on the proposed rules until June 2, said Erik Gundersen, the director of the marijuana office. The state could then provisionally accept the rules and the legislative process could begin. Maines proposed laws are tailored to prioritize state residents, Gundersen said after the hearing. The proposal would limit licenses to state residents at first. A lot of people want to focus on the small guy, he said. Weve done a good job of making sure that Mainers, and the small guy, get the first shot at the industry. Speakers at the hearing also called on the state to approve a tax structure that isnt punitive for retailers and users. The price point of legal marijuana has to be competitive to deter people from the black market, speakers said. BAYTOWN, Texas - A Houston-area police officer who fatally shot a woman with mental illness is back on the job but not the streets. Baytown police Officer Juan Delacruz returned to work Monday, according to a department spokesman. Hell be on administrative duty during the investigation into his shooting of 44-year-old Pamela Turner. Delacruzs return to duty was announced Thursday as community leaders, elected officials and Turners family gathered at a Houston church to memorialize her and call for justice. I want Baytown, Texas, to know this is not something youre going to brush under the rug and send the policeman back to work, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a prominent civil rights activist, said during a eulogy. If hes going back to work, were going back to work too to get justice for Pamela Turner. Turner is the latest in a line of black people whose deaths in police shootings were captured on video and drew national attention. Delacruz shot Turner on May 13 after she hit him with his Taser in a struggle during an attempted arrest, police have said. Turners family has presented the Hispanic officer as the aggressor, saying he was Turners neighbour , knew she had paranoid schizophrenia and should have de-escalated the situation. A lawyer for the family said Wednesday that video of the incident and a private autopsy show Delacruz shot Turner in the stomach, chest and face while a safe distance away. The Texas Rangers and the civil rights division of the Harris County district attorneys office are investigating the shooting. BOISE, Idaho - The Latest on a Utah shooting and Idaho manhunt (all times local): 6:10 p.m. A California man wanted in the fatal shooting of a motorist on a desolate stretch of interstate highway near the Utah-Idaho border has been charged with aggravated murder. Online Utah court records show prosecutors filed the charges Thursday afternoon against 45-year-old Jonathan Llana in the killing Wednesday night of 50-year-old Dennis Gwyther of Salt Lake City. The charging documents accuse Llana of firing multiple rounds at a vehicle driven by Gwyther. The passenger in the car was also injured. Llana was also charged with one count of attempted aggravated murder. He is from Los Angeles. Authorities were still searching for Llana in southern Idaho near a small town. They warned people that he is armed and dangerous. Utah State Bureau of Investigation Lt. Ryan Van Fleet says Gwyther and the passenger were travelling in a Range Rover from Salt Lake City to Boise, Idaho, for work. ___ 1:10 p.m. A southern Idaho sheriff is warning residents near a manhunt for a shooting suspect to keep their doors locked and be wary of strangers. State and local law enforcement officers were still searching Cassia County early Thursday afternoon for 45-year-old Jonathan Llana, whom they consider a suspect in the shooting death of a Salt Lake City man. Sheriff Jay Heward told The Times-News newspaper in Twin Falls that there are scattered homes in the area of the manhunt. He says residents should avoid picking up anyone seeking a ride, lock up their homes and report any missing vehicles to law enforcement. The Idaho State Police says Llana is considered armed and dangerous, though Heward says its not clear if the suspect still has a weapon in his possession. Law enforcement officials say the Wednesday night shooting on Interstate 84 in northern Utah killed Dennis Gwyther of Salt Lake City and injured a passenger. --- 12:25 p.m. Authorities say a driver fatally shot on a northern Utah highway was a Salt Lake City man and that the suspect who is the subject of a manhunt in southern Idaho is a California man who is the registered owner of a car later found crashed after a pursuit. Lt. Ryan Van Fleet of the Utah State Bureau of Investigation said authorities know of no motive for the Wednesday night shooting of Dennis Gwyther on Interstate 84 or any connection between him and the suspect, 45-year-old Jonathan Llana of Los Angeles. Van Fleet said Gwyther and a passenger who was shot and wounded were driving to Boise, Idaho, for work when the shooting occurred after both vehicles cleared a slowdown in traffic. Idaho troopers spotted and chased the car determined to be registered to Llana but officials say the driver fled on foot after it crashed. Authorities then launched a manhunt that continued Thursday. --- 8:30 a.m. Idaho State Police say a manhunt is underway in southern Idaho for a man suspected in a fatal shooting in Utah. Police say 45-year-old Jonathan Llana is a homicide suspect in the case, and they describe him as being armed and dangerous. Police say they believe Llana shot and killed someone in northern Utah near Rattlesnake Pass and then drove into Idaho. Troopers and Cassia County Sheriffs deputies tried to stop him, but police say he fled in his vehicle before crashing into a field and taking off on foot. Theyre asking anyone who spots the suspect to call law enforcement. Llana is described as being 510 (178 cm) tall, about 150 pounds (68 kg) with black hair and brown eyes. STARKE, Fla. - The Latest on the execution of Florida serial killer Bobby Joe Long (all times local): 8:30 p.m. A woman who survived an assault by convicted Florida serial killer Bobby Joe Long says his execution brought her peace. Lisa Noland sat in the front row at Thursdays execution of the 65-year-old inmate at Florida State Prison. She says she wanted to look him in the eye but he kept them closed. I wanted to be the first person he saw. Unfortunately, he didnt open his eyes, Noland said. She began to cry after leaving once it was over. Says Noland, The peace that came over me is a remarkable feeling. Noland was 17 in 1984 when she was abducted and raped by Long, but he released her. She eventually led police to the man who later admitted killing 10 women in the Tampa Bay area. He drew the death sentence for one of the killings, of a 22-year-old woman. ___ 7:30 p.m. Convicted serial killer Bobby Joe Long had no last words before he was executed for a 1984 murder spree that claimed 10 women. Witnesses say the 65-year-old Long simply closed his eyes as the lethal injection procedure began Thursday at Florida State Prison. In the front row was Lisa Noland, who was abducted and raped by Long before he released her and she was able to lead police to him. Another witness had on a polo shirt with photos of all 10 victims on the back and the words, The Ones That Matter. Long was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. He was captured after an eight-month killing spree in the Tampa Bay area. Long confessed to the crimes, receiving 28 life sentences and one death sentence for the murder of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. ___ 6:55 p.m. A serial killer who terrorized Florida with a 1984 murder spree that claimed 10 women has been put to death. Authorities say 65-year-old Bobby Joe Long was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. Thursday following a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. He was captured after an eight-month killing spree. Long confessed to the crimes, receiving 28 life sentences and one death sentence for the murder of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. The killings began in March 1984. Most of the victims were strangled. Some had their throats slit. Others were bludgeoned. Authorities say the killer positioned most of the bodies in gruesome poses. Longs undoing was a 17-year-old. Long abducted, raped and then released Lisa Noland . She left evidence and gave police details that led to the mans capture. ___ 6:30 p.m. The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the execution of a serial killer who killed 10 women in Florida. The justices denied the final appeals of 65-year-old Bobby Joe Long, who was set to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. The planned 6 p.m. execution was delayed slightly while the justices considered the case. Long was condemned for the killing of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. He also was serving 28 life sentences for the other crimes committed in the Tampa Bay area. Longs undoing was a 17-year-old. Long abducted, raped and then released Lisa Noland. She left evidence and gave police details that led to his arrest. ___ 6 p.m. The scheduled execution of a serial killer who killed 10 women in Florida has been delayed temporarily while the U.S. Supreme Court considers his final appeals. Sixty-five-year-old Bobby Joe Long was set to receive a lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison, but the justices had not yet ruled in his case. Barring a reprieve, the execution would take place later Thursday. Long was condemned for the killing of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. He also was serving 28 life sentences for the other crimes committed in the Tampa Bay area. ___ 4:45 p.m. Prison officials say no one visited a serial killer facing execution for a murder spree that claimed the lives of 10 women in Florida in 1984. Barring a last-minute court reprieve, Bobby Joe Long is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Thursday evening. Long was condemned for the killing of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. He also was serving 28 life sentences for the other crimes committed in the Tampa Bay area. Prison officials say Longs last meal was a roast beef sandwich, french fries, bacon and a soda. ___ 10:20 a.m. A serial killer whose murderous spree claimed the lives of 10 women in Florida in 1984 is set to die. Bobby Joe Long is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Thursday. Long was condemned for one of the killings, that of 22-year-old Michelle Simms. He also had been serving 28 life sentences for the other crimes committed in the Tampa Bay area over an eight-month period in 1984. But he was undone by a 17-year-old who described being abducted, raped and released a day later. She gave police details that led to his arrest. Now that victim, Lisa Noland, is preparing to watch the execution. In an interview, she said she would tell long Thank you for picking her as a victim, because she helped solve the crime. WASHINGTON - In a case with significant First Amendment implications, the U.S. filed new charges Thursday against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, accusing him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing secret documents containing the names of confidential military and diplomatic sources. The Justice Departments 18-count superseding indictment alleges that Assange directed former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in one of the largest compromises of classified information in U.S. history. It says the WikiLeaks founder, currently in custody in London , damaged national security by publishing documents that harmed the U.S. and its allies and aided its adversaries. The case comes amid a Justice Department crackdown on national security leaks and raised immediate fear among news media advocates that Assanges actions including soliciting and publishing classified information are indistinguishable from what traditional journalists do on a daily basis. Those concerns led the Obama administration Justice Department to balk at bringing charges for similar conduct. Assanges lawyer, Barry Pollack, said Thursday that the unprecedented charges against his client imperil all journalists in their endeavour to inform the public about actions that have been taken by the U.S. government. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called the case a dire threat to media freedom, and the American Civil Liberties Union said it was the first time in history a publisher was charged for disclosing truthful information. But Justice Department officials sought to make clear that they believed Assanges actions werent protected under the law, though they declined to discuss the policy discussions that led to the indictment. The new Espionage Act charges go far beyond an initial indictment against Assange made public last month that accused him simply of conspiring with Manning to crack a Defence Department computer password. Julian Assange is no journalist, said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Departments top national security official. No responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential human sources in war zones, exposing them to the gravest of dangers. Zachary Terwilliger, the U.S. Attorney in Alexandria, Virginia, where the case was brought, said Assange was charged with illegally soliciting classified information and not simply publishing it. He said that while the indictment alleges that he published hundreds of thousands of documents, it charges him with disclosing only a narrow set of documents related to the identities of confidential sources. Prosecutors sought throughout the document to make a distinction between what Assange did as the founder and public face of WikiLeaks and the work of journalists. They noted, for example, that he promoted his site to a convention of European hackers and published a list of the classified information he sought as The Most Wanted Leaks of 2009. They described how Assange worked with Manning to improperly access Defence Department computers to gain access to thousands of pages of material and encouraged her as she delved through databases for information. Prosecutors also say the danger wasnt just to the U.S. government, but to people who worked with it. Reports from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq published by Assange included the names of Afghans and Iraqis who provided information to American and coalition forces, while the diplomatic cables he released exposed journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and dissidents in repressive countries. Assange said in an August 2010 interview that it was regrettable that sources disclosed by WikiLeaks could be harmed, the indictment says. Later, after a State Department legal adviser informed him of the risk to countless innocent individuals compromised by the leaks, Assange said he would work with mainstream news organizations to redact the names of individuals. WikiLeaks did hide some names but then published 250,000 cables a year later without hiding the identities of people named in the papers. Justice Department officials mulled charges for Assange following the documents 2010 publication, but were unsure a case would hold up in court and were concerned it could be hard to justify prosecuting him for acts similar to those of a conventional journalist. The posture changed in the Trump administration, with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017 calling Assanges arrest a priority. Attorney General William Barr paused for several seconds at his confirmation hearing when asked if his Justice Department would ever jail journalists, finally saying there were scenarios when he could envision it as a last resort. A senior Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss the case, said it had been looked at by a number of prosecutors and that prosecutors reached the point where we believed we had assembled the best case that we could and we presented it to the grand jury. First Amendment aside, the indictment poses a secondary ethical question for journalists. News organizations around the world widely used the Manning material, which provided previously unavailable information about the Guantanamo Bay detention centre, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and international diplomacy. Many reporters found the documents that he released inherently newsworthy. These unprecedented charges demonstrate the gravity of the threat the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange poses to all journalists in their endeavour to inform the public about actions that have taken by the U.S. government, said Pollack, Assanges lawyer. WikiLeaks played a central role in special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into possible co-ordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, having published before the 2016 presidential election Democratic emails that were hacked by Russian intelligence officers. The allegations in Thursdays indictment are entirely separate from that episode. Assange, 47, is in custody in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. He has said he would fight any effort to extradite him to the U.S. Manning, who was convicted in military court for providing classified documents to WikiLeaks, is currently in a northern Virginia jail on a civil contempt charge. Manning spent two months in the Alexandria Detention Center beginning in March after she refused to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. Manning has said she believes prosecutors want to question her about the same conduct for which she was convicted at her court-martial. She served seven years of a 35-year military sentence before receiving a commutation from then-President Barack Obama. ___ Associated Press writers Ben Fox in Washington and Matthew Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia, contributed to this report. SANDY, Utah - A Utah climber with a long-held dream to climb the highest mountains on the planets seven continents died on top of Mount Everest after reaching his final summit, one of his daughters said. Don Cash, 55, died at the peak of Mt. Everest accomplishing his dream of summiting the 7 summits, his daughter Danielle Cook posted on Facebook on Wednesday. Cook told NBCs Today Show that a cause of death has not been officially determined but that family members believe he suffered a heart attack. Before he headed for the summit, Cash texted his son Tanner that he felt so blessed to be on the mountain that I read about for the last 40 years. Cash said on his LinkedIn page that he left his job as a sales executive to try to join the so-called seven summits club of people who have climbed the highest mountains on each continent. In January, he wrote, he climbed Mt. Vinson Masif, Antarcticas tallest peak. Friend and former co-worker Josh Ray said Cash was larger than life, everyone loved him, and he always left you with a smile. Besides mountaineering, Cash loved vintage cars and wrote on Facebook that he owned a 1952 Buick Super Riviera modified into a land-speed racing car called Bombshell Betty that he drove on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He is survived by his wife Monette and their four children, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. His daughter Brandalin Cash told Today that theres so much peace that comes from knowing that he didnt suffer, that it was the best way to go. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump was walking across the sun-splashed airport tarmac in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017 when the Israeli leader playfully warned his political ally about the confusing protocol he was about to encounter on his first visit to Israel as president. What is the protocol? Trump asked his host, referring to the rules that govern how dignitaries interact. You have any idea what it is? A smiling Netanyahu replied: Who knows? Trumps next few weeks will serve as a master class in the finer points and potential pitfalls of protocol as he makes state visits to Japan and the United Kingdom, meeting with both Britains Queen Elizabeth II and Japans newly installed Emperor Naruhito. Plenty of world leaders are tripped up by the intricacies, and Trump himself has a spotty record in his diplomatic dealings on the world stage. He pushed his way to the front of a pack of world leaders as they got into position for a photo at a NATO meeting in Brussels in 2017. He belittled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Twitter after leaving a fractious meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized nations last year in Canada. And he walked steps ahead of the queen at Windsor Castle when the pair met for the first time last year. For all of that, though, the president cant seem to get enough pomp and pageantry. He raved about the reception he received in Asia in 2017, when China and other governments welcomed Trump by rolling out red carpets, staging military parades and putting on fancy dinners as he toured the region. Trumps penchant for flattery is not lost on the Japanese, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe going all-out to become perhaps Trumps closest friend among global leaders. The frills of a state visit, including meeting Naruhito and an imperial banquet, should bring out the best in Trump, said Michael Green, senior vice-president for Asia and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. I think hell be on really good behaviour, Green said. I think the Japanese knew very much what they were doing. With nothing left to chance, diagrams have been drawn up to help Trump rehearse his movements at the Imperial Palace, where he and first lady Melania Trump will meet Naruhito on Monday. Officials there say they arent worried about any diplomatic blunders, noting that Trumps meeting two years ago with then-Emperor Akihito went smoothly. Governments across the globe, including the United States, employ officials who ground themselves in the ins and outs of protocol, the rules that govern how leaders and dignitaries interact and comport themselves. But leaders dont always follow the instructions for reasons as varied as a case of the nerves or sheer disregard of conventions. Etiquette experts say protocol exists to provide structure and help put people at ease, and that those who disregard it send a signal that their own desires are more important than the feelings and expectations of others. During a 2017 visit with Saudi Arabias royal family, Trump and King Salman drank traditional Arabic coffee in small cups. Seeing that Trump held the cup with his left hand, taboo in the Muslim world, Salman instructed Trump that religious tradition dictates using the right hand. Trump then replied: Always the right hand, right. Always the right hand. Protocol has stumped other presidents and dignitaries, too. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush slumped over and vomited in the lap of Japans prime minister during a state banquet in Tokyo. Bush was in the midst of a lengthy tour of Asia and had become nauseous between courses of raw salmon and grilled beef. In 2011, President Barack Obama was zinged for talking as God Save the Queen began to play during his toast to the queen during a Buckingham Palace banquet. The orchestra started playing the British national anthem before Obama had finished the toast, which caused a bit of a stir at the dinner. She did not appear to be offended. During an earlier Obama visit to London in 2009, first lady Michelle Obama was criticized for putting an arm around the queen and wearing a sweater to their first encounter. Mrs. Obama, a well-known hugger, wrote in her memoir that she and the queen had bonded at the Buckingham Palace reception over their uncomfortable shoes and achy feet when the queen laughed. I then did whats instinctive to me anytime I feel connected to a new person ... I laid a hand affectionately across her shoulder, she said. Royal protocol dictates that an individual wait for a sign from the queen or other family member that physical contact such as a handshake or an embrace is welcome. The former first lady said she tried not to let the ensuing media firestorm rattle her. If I hadnt done the proper thing at Buckingham Palace, I had at least done the human thing, Mrs. Obama wrote. ___ Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Jill Lawless in London, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap North Adams Hazard & Preparedness Plans Being Presented NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The City Council will be presented with the city's Hazard Mitigation and Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness plans on Tuesday. A public listening and viewing session will be held at 7 p.m. before the council meeting in the City Hall lobby. Administrative Officer Michael Canales and Caroline Massa, senior planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, will present plans at the public session and later to the City Council. These presentations will offer an overview of progress to date and present outline of next steps in the process, and invite public and council comments to ensure these plans are complete, accurate, and responsive to residents' concerns, suggestions, and perspectives. A public workshop one emergency preparedness was held in April with department heads and partners at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center to provide input on the plans. The commonwealth of Massachusetts requires each municipality to maintain a current Hazard Mitigation Plan to identify and remediate risks related to natural hazard events such as flooding, hurricanes, and winter storms. In addition, the city of North Adams currently is pursuing certification through the state's Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program in order to plan more effectively for climate change resiliency. All are welcome to attend and contribute to the prioritization of resilience actions in their community. Attendees will have the opportunity to give written comments on actions developed by the MVP and Hazard Mitigation Committee as well as from the MVP workshop. Those attending can provide contact information in order to receive the final MVP planning document and for opportunity to comment of the draft North Adams Hazard Mitigation Plan. Canadas military brass deserves all the blowback its getting for excluding the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan from a ceremony dedicating a memorial to them in Ottawa. The dedication should have been an important moment for the families. It should have been an occasion to honour the 159 soldiers who died during Canadas long military mission in Afghanistan. Instead, it was all done in secret, without inviting the families or even informing them until it was a fait accompli. No public announcement was made until three days after last weeks ceremony. The official explanation is that it was supposed to be a humble, internal event and the public couldnt be included because the memorial is behind the security perimeter at Defence HQ in suburban Ottawa. But leaving the families out was tone-deaf at best, callous at worst. Its obvious in hindsight, and should have been obvious at the time, that they would want an opportunity to be present when their loved ones were honoured. The military is now furiously backpedaling. Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, says no disrespect was intended and his staff will come up with a plan to allow access to anyone who wants it. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promises to do things right. Yes, by all means do things right. Better yet, get it right the first time and dont add to the pain of families who have already lost so much. Read more about: Canada has zero interest in war with Iran, Opinion, May 21 Indeed Canada has no interest in a U.S.-led war with Iran. Moreover, Canada can take the following steps to begin a rapprochement with Iran and act as a peace-broker. First, Canada can reopen the embassy in Iran that Stephen Harper closed. Its exactly at times like this when Canada needs an embassy in Iran to help mediate between nations on the brink of war. Second, Canada should join Iran in calling for an immediate end to the relentless bombing of Yemen and end its $15-billion arms arrangement with Saudi Arabia. Third, Canada should engage in commerce with Iran in contrast to the policy of economic strangulation favoured by the U.S. administration which does not work and is only causing unnecessary suffering. Canada can prevent war by partnering with Iran to advance peace. Ali Manji, Thornhill Read more about: Terrorist Arson Balloons from Gaza Spark Fires in Southern Israel Stand for Israel | May 23, 2019 Incendiary balloons launched from across the border in Gaza caused at least 11 fires in southern Israel this week. At least one fire spread across 12 acres of agricultural fields. In addition to fires in southern Israel, a Gaza-based terror group attempted to shoot down an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) helicopter with an air-to-air missile. The attack was fended off when an Israeli Air Force jet arrived on the scene. Police in Chicago are searching for a suspect in an attempted arson attack against a synagogue. Surveillance videos caught the attacker throwing Molotov cocktails at the synagogue. Photos of Holocaust survivors exhibited on a central street in Vienna, Austria, were defaced with swastikas, drawing condemnation from political and Jewish leaders. A Christian news station located in Jerusalem was firebombed last weekend. The founder and president of Daystar Television News said that despite the attack, the station would continue reaching across Israel. Republican Congressmen are pushing for an anti-Semitism bill that would allow state governments to refuse to do business with companies boycotting Israel. A Tel Aviv-based robotics company was chosen to aid the New Zealand Defense Force in developing remotely controlled tactical and intelligence robots. This weeks Israel in the News Perspective features the Fellowships Ami Farkas on the anniversary of the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem. EDWARDSVILLE In about a year, weather-permitting, Anderson Healthcare officials hope to cut the ribbon on the project they broke ground on Thursday. The long-time health care and hospital name in the Metro East recently started construction of its new Goshen Campus expansion in Edwardsville. The first building to go up will be a one-story ambulatory surgical treatment center and pediatric specialty clinic, located on the southwest corner of the site, near District Drive and Goshen Road. The estimated $8.5 million project will comprise 18,331 square feet and is located on a 10-acre parcel on the north side of Goshen Road, across from the YMCA and east of Liberty Middle School. Bill Eck, Andersons chief facilities manager, estimates the construction will take about 11 months, along with 30-60 days to clear all necessary regulatory and any other hurdles. Eck said the project will provide about 80 construction jobs with Korte Company. The surgical center will offer an array of services available for adults and children, including private patient pre- and post-operative areas, two operating rooms and a procedure room. A lab draw station and plain film x-ray machine will be on site to complement surgical services as well as provide an additional outpatient service to local residents. Our plans are to provide an exceptional facility and patient experience, said Lisa Klaustermeier, Anderson Healthcares chief nursing officer. She added that about 20 employees will staff the surgical treatment center. Everybody needs health care, said Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton. This is a wonderful addition to the community. He said Anderson has been in the Metro East at least since the late 1970s and that this campus is another link in the citys eastward expansion. We hope it will spur further development in the Interstate 55 corridor along with Plummer Family Park, said Alderman Art Risavy, whose ward the project is in. Thats what we are hoping for and what we expect to happen. SSM Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital in St. Louis signed a letter of intent with Anderson to be its pediatric partner, along with SLUCare Physician Group. Anderson Hospital and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital have a longstanding relationship that has enhanced pediatric services in Madison and our surrounding counties, said Keith Page, Anderson Hospital president and CEO. This facility continues that partnership while also offering exceptional outpatient surgery options for adults. Theres nothing like this in southwestern Illinois, Page said Thursday. We are going to be something unique. He added that he envisions future opportunities to partner with the YMCA to further enhance residents health and wellness. Public Works Director Eric Williams said while Korte is building the surgical center, Keller Construction will soon improve Goshen Road between District Drive and Gusewelle Lane. The plan was to wait for the school year to end before road construction begins, so work will start June 1, weather permitting. The road will be three lanes wide, similar to how it is now west of District Drive, Williams said. Detours will be posted and the section is slated to be ready before District 7 starts on Aug. 13. Were excited that they are coming to Edwardsville, said Alderman Janet Stack. This will be a great addition to Anderson Hospital, said Alderman SJ Morrison. The overall plan for the Goshen Campus is to eventually construct four separate buildings the surgical center, a physicians office building, an urgent care center and an imaging center. There are no living units planned for this development. Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at (618) 656-4700, ext. 31 Looking for the right time to visit New York City, but hoping to skip the typical Big Apple tourist scene in favor of a more local experience? The Governors Ball Music Festival is right around the corner, and might have exactly what you're looking for. Started by local music lovers eight years ago, it features 60-plus artists of all genres, plus a selection of the best eats in town, street artists from around the city, interactive games and activities, and more. What better way to experience the music, art and culture at the heart of NYC? Its more doable than you think. According to travel site Skyscanner, there are plenty of flights from San Francisco to New York City in that time frame, and the prices aren't too shabby. So if you're looking for a change of scenery, here are some deals to put on your to-do list. (Prices and availability are current as of publication and subject to change.) Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in the articles may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Cheapest New York City flights The cheapest flights between San Francisco and New York City are if you leave on May 30 and return from New York on June 3. Frontier Airlines currently has tickets for $292, roundtrip. There are also deals to be had later in May. If you fly out of San Francisco on May 31 and return from New York City on June 3, Frontier Airlines can get you there and back for $304 roundtrip. Top New York City accommodations To plan your accommodations, here are some of New York Citys top-rated hotels, that we selected from Skyscanner's listings based on price and customer satisfaction. The Standard, High Line (848 Washington St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking to treat yourself, consider The Standard, High Line. The hotel has a 4.4-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $275. All 338 rooms have ground-to-ceiling windows with spectacular views that include the Hudson River, the High Line or the city skyline. It is within close proximity to the west side highway, Javits Center, SoHo and the Financial District. The Dream Downtown (355 W. 16th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner There's also the 4.5-star-rated The Dream Downtown. Rooms are currently set at $204/night. Situated between the thriving Meatpacking District and Chelsea, the Dream Downtown is the latest addition to the Vikram Chatwal Hotel portfolio. This luxury property features 315 loft-inspired rooms and a rooftop lounge with city views. Ace Hotel New York (20 W. 29th St.) If you're looking for an inexpensive place to stay, try Ace Hotel New York. The 4.3-star hotel has rooms for $84/night. The 12-story boutique hotel is within walking distance of many popular destinations like Times Square, the Empire State Building, Macy's and the Broadway theaters. Featured New York City restaurants If you're looking for a popular spot to grab a bite, New York City has plenty of excellent eateries to choose from. Here are a few from Skyscanner's listings to help you get started. Levain Bakery (167 W. 74th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First things first: where to satisfy your sweet tooth. For a popular option, check out Levain Bakery, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 42 reviews on Skyscanner. The bakery boasts a steady stream of community regulars and tourists loyal to its diverse assortment of freshly baked products. The menu includes an inventive array of rustic breads and other equally creative takes on traditional baked goods. The Meatball Shop (84 Stanton St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner One of New York City's most popular restaurants is The Meatball Shop, with 4.6 stars from 49 reviews. "These are the best meatballs I have ever had," wrote ABelle. Red Rooster (310 Lenox Ave.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is Red Rooster, which is part of the vibrant Harlem community. The menu reflects the roots of American cuisine while celebrating local farmers and artisanal food makers. The Red Rooster features a takeout market, bar and restaurant. "The attention to detail in every part of this dining experience really made it a standout that we'll remember," wrote John349. Dominique Ansel Bakery (189 Spring St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, there's Dominique Ansel Bakery. "A visit to New York meant that we had to visit the bakery that started the cronut craze," wrote Trina. "Their cronut flavors rotate monthly and they never feature the same flavor twice. ... The cronut has flaky layers of pastry with a cream bursting from inside." Featured local attractions New York City is also full of sites to visit and explore. Here are some popular attractions to round out your trip, again from Skyscanner's listings. The Brooklyn Bridge Park (334 Furman St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is The Brooklyn Bridge Park. This park is located beside the Brooklyn bridge, considered one of the portals into the city and although the park itself is simple, it also offers an amazing view of the entire city. It is a great place for a tourist to stop and take a quick lunch break while absorbing the skyline of Manhattan. "The walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, whether you're walking from Brooklyn to Manhattan or vice versa, is one of the most iconic walks New York City has to offer," wrote visitor Gary. The High Line Park Photo: Trip by Skyscanner The High Line Park is another popular destination. This repurposing of the old railroad line running through the Meatpacking District of Manhattan has become an outdoor favorite for locals and tourists alike. With wood-planked floors and landscaping, the High Line is a great place to escape the craziness of the city and enjoy a few quiet moments. "The most fun place I have found to walk in the city yet," wrote visitor Lars. "The views are amazing and ever-changing. There is a lot of great art along the High Line to enjoy and photo ops are endless." The Statue of Liberty Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Lastly, spend some time at The Statue of Liberty. A symbol of the country's possibilities, the Statue of Liberty National Monument includes nearby Ellis Island, where many European immigrants started on their journey of becoming Americans. This story was created automatically using flight, hotel, and local attractions data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. GRANITE CITY The fourth annual Food for Families Drive collected 12,000 pounds of food for five food pantries in the Metro East. Several local schools and companies partnered with United Way of Greater St. Louis to sponsor and participate in the drive to make it a success. This community is always so generous when it comes to helping out our neighbors, and the Food for Families drive is a great example of this, said Terry Biggs, labor liaison for United Way of Greater St. Louis. Thank you to all of the schools and their administrations for participating, to our generous sponsors, and to everyone who dropped off a donation and supported the drive. Nearly a dozen schools participated in the drive, competing to bring in the most food by poundage per student in order to win a cash prize. The winning schools were: In first place, St. John Neumann School in Maryville received $1,000 for collecting 4,060 pounds of food In second place, Venice Elementary School in Venice received $750 for collecting 1,262 pounds of food In third place, Father McGivney Catholic High School received $250 for collecting 589 pounds of food Other participating school include Boys & Girls Club of Bethalto, Granite City High School, Highland Middle School, Lovejoy Elementary School, Mitchell Elementary School, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and West Elementary School. United Steelworkers Locals 1899 and 1063, the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees and the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor also cipated in the drive. All items collected were distribute to the Community Care Center in Granite City, Catholic Charities of Madison County, Crisis Food Center in Alton, Venice Township Food Pantry in Venice, and Highland Area Christian Service Ministries Food Pantry in Highland. The drive was sponsored by Andys Auto Body Towing & Storage, Dickey Sign Company, Dynamic Transit Company, First Bank, GCS Credit Union, Schnucks and The Bank of Edwardsville. The first fire lit up the shingles of the rabbi's home, forcing him and his family into their car for safety. Six days later, another blaze broke out there. Then it happened once more - this time at another rabbi's residence, 13 miles away. The homes in Massachusetts are also Chabad centers, where Jews worship, study the Torah and build community. Authorities are investigating this month's fires as arsons. No arrests have been announced. "Somebody out there wants to hurt us," Chanie Krinsky, who runs one of the centers with her husband, Rabbi Mendy Krinsky, wrote on Facebook the day after their home burned. "Just because we exist. And that is frightening." The blazes in Arlington and Needham, Massachusetts, follow arsons at mosques in New Haven, Connecticut, and Southern California, three predominantly black churches in Louisiana, and a mostly Hispanic Pentecostal church in Pennsylvania. For members of those houses of worship, the intended messages were clear, said Jamie Aten, executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College: intimidation, hate and marginalization. "Those houses of worship have a symbolic meaning," Aten said. "They oftentimes are also identified with a particular ethnic group or racial group, and there's that overall attack that's happening on the identity that attend those houses of worship." The Massachusetts fires began the night of May 11, police said, when the rabbi of Chabad Center for Jewish Life of Arlington - Belmont and his family smelled smoke and heard the fire alarm. A second fire at the home - also on the building's shingles - broke out Thursday. Like the first, this blaze did no damage to the home's interior. That night, police said exterior siding burned at the Chabad Jewish Center in Needham. Chanie Krinsky wrote on Facebook that her husband ran outside with a fire extinguisher before the home's smoke alarms went off. She woke up her children, she wrote, and ushered them into their car. Needham police said the fire was being investigated as a "possible hate crime." They said they did not know for sure whether it was connected to the blazes in Arlington. The arsons come amid a wave of nationwide anti-Semitism that has included an attack with molotov cocktails at a Chicago synagogue and shootings at synagogues in Pittsburgh and California. Intentionally set fires are a somewhat new way that hatred toward Jews has manifested, Aten said. The Ku Klux Klan frequently burned black churches in the South during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Aten said. In the 1990s, there was another spike of arsons of black churches, which became so prevalent that Congress created the National Church Arson Task Force to investigate. The task force disbanded in 2001, and responsibility for investigating arsons scattered to various agencies. Arsons now affect a broader range of minority religious groups than they used to, Aten said - a trend he attributes largely to the nation's divisive public discourse. He said individual people, as opposed to organized hate groups, are more often the perpetrators now and increasingly target historically significant houses of worship. "Because of the echo chambers that people are living in, whatever a person's driving hate toward another group, there's more opportunity for that to be amplified and intensified," Aten said. Reported hate crimes in the United States increased 17% in 2017, according to the FBI, making the number of instances 7,175. Arsons made up a fraction of hate crimes, with 42 instances that year. Hate crimes aimed at Jews, meanwhile, rose 37%. Those statistics are important, Aten said, because hatred of religious groups more often motivates arson than other types of violence. In shootings or assaults, he said, the offender usually has a personal tie to the victims. When an arsonist targets a religious institution, Aten said, the perpetrator wants it to serve as a symbol. Christopher Strain, a history professor at Florida Atlantic University, said in an email that a "contagion effect" can take hold among hate crimes against religious groups. He pointed to the recent indictment of a California man accused of setting fire to a mosque in Escondido and later opening fire inside a Chabad center in Poway. Rabbi Avi Bukiet, who leads the Chabad center in Arlington, Massachusetts, said at a news conference that the arsons have hurt the local Jewish community and his family. Still, he said, the center's doors would remain open for anyone who wants to experience or learn about Judaism. The community's support, Bukiet said, has given him and his family strength to handle whatever comes their way. Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is set to lodge a legal challenge against his loss to incumbent Joko Widodo after the worst political violence to rock Jakarta in two decades left seven protesters dead and hundreds injured. Prabowo, as Subianto is commonly known, appealed to his supporters on Wednesday night to halt protests as he was seeking legal remedy against the official result confirming Widodo's win in the April 17 election. The former general was set to file an appeal with the Constitutional Court on Thursday, according to his spokesman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak. Prabowo unsuccessfully challenged his loss to Widodo in 2014. Calm returned to streets of Indonesia's capital on Thursday after protesters clashed with police for two days in a row, in the worst violence to grip the city since the downfall of the dictator Suharto in 1998. At least seven rioters were killed during the violence, which was unleashed by about 300 "perpetrators," National Police spokesman Mohammad Iqbal told reporters on Thursday. Some of the rioters detained by the police were supporters of Islamic State and were planning a jihadist attack, Iqbal said. The suspects belonged to Gerakan Reformis Islam, or Islam Reformist Group, which pledges allegiance to IS, he said. The protest in front of the nation's election supervisory agency was initially peaceful on Wednesday, but it erupted into violence after nightfall with Prabowo supporters shooting firecrackers and hurling rocks at police. A total of 257 people have been arrested and knives, guns and Molotov cocktails recovered from the detainees, Argo Yuwono, a spokesman for Jakarta police, told reporters on Wednesday. While no protests are scheduled for Thursday, about 58,000 security personnel were guarding the city, including the main election offices, presidential palace and the parliament building, National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said. The stocks and currency markets traded normally even though several private companies allowed employees to work from home for a second day and some schools and colleges remained closed. While the country's benchmark stock index jumped 1.6%, the most in three months, rupiah snapped a four-day losing streak. The police said many of the so-called provocateurs involved in the violence had come to Jakarta from other provinces. There were rallies elsewhere in Indonesia, including at the election supervisory board's office in Medan, in North Sumatra, according to Tempo. Widodo, known as Jokowi, said the situation was under control with the military and police committed to maintaining stability and security. While calling for peace and unity for a second day, the president said his government will not tolerate any efforts to disrupt the country's security and democracy. Indonesia's election commission on Tuesday announced Jokowi had secured 55.5% of the national vote. The violence prompted the government to order curbs on social media usage with certain features of Facebook, Instagram and messaging systems being disabled to prevent downloading of pictures and videos, according to Communications Minister Rudiantara. The political unrest may undermine Jokowi's efforts to bolster growth and tackle a high current account deficit that's weighed on the Southeast Asian nation's currency, stocks and bonds. The president must now deliver on a reform agenda that includes plans for record spending on new infrastructure over the next five years. He'll also need to attract foreign investment and navigate a worsening global trade environment, which is weighing on growth. Jokowi, 57, is expected to be sworn in for his second five-year tenure on Oct. 20. A Florida man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for his wifes murder, which was witnessed by their then-toddler son who found his mothers buried body 21 years later. Michael Haim, 52, was convicted last month of second-degree murder, the Florida Times-Union reported. Bonnie Haim was 23 when she disappeared in January 1993 and would have turned 50 on Monday. Police found the womans purse, along with IDs, credit cards and cash, inside a hotel trash bin near the Jacksonville airport, and her car was found in the airport parking lot. Michael Haim told investigators she had left home the previous night following an argument. There were reports that Michael Haim was abusive to his wife and she had made plans to move into an apartment with their son while he was away on a trip. As a 3-year-old boy at the time of his mothers disappearance, Aaron Fraser told a child welfare worker, Daddy hurt her, or something similar, according to detectives. Aaron also stated that Daddy shot Mommy, Daddy placed Mommy in timeout, and My daddy could not wake her up, an arrest affidavit said. While Haim remained a suspect, detectives had trouble building a case without a body. Michael Haim was not charged and lived off his dead wifes life insurance policy for years. Aaron Fraser, who was later adopted and took his new familys name, eventually won a wrongful death lawsuit against his biological father and got his home in 2014. According to the Florida Times-Union, as Fraser and his brother-in-law were demolishing a swimming pool in the back, the excavator hit a large concrete slab. Aaron Fraser hacked away with a sledgehammer, until he found a plastic bag containing what he suspected was a coconut. Why would someone bury a coconut in a bag? Aaron asked his brother-in-law, according to News4Jax. The men soon realized it was a skull. Fraser had discovered the evidence that would lead to his father's arrest. DNA tests confirmed the remains were those of Bonnie Haim and a medical examiner concluded she died from a homicide by unspecified means, according to the affidavit. Sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder in 1993 suggested seven to 22 years in prison. Bonnie Haims family had asked the judge to consider giving Michael Haim at least 26 years for the time she has been gone while he remained free. According to the Florida Times-Union, Bonnie Haim's sister, Liz Peak, read a statement thanking authorities and prosecutors. For 26 years we searched for answers to our many questions, Peak said. ... However, none of us wavered in our belief of what happened to Bonnie and who did it. Over the past 26 years many people have committed themselves to uncover the truth and finding justice for Bonnie. Peak said she and her family can now focus on healing. We got justice, but we dont have Bonnie, Peak said. LONDON - Is today the final straw for Nigel Farage? The Brexit Party leader was trapped on his campaign bus surrounded by people clutching milkshakes and wearing all-black clothing, Kent Live reported Wednesday. It was a continuation of a "milkshake madness" protest of Farage that has swept not just Britain but also social media this week. Driver Michael Botton told Kent Live that Farage was unprepared to exit the vehicle: "There are a couple of guys standing over there with milkshakes, they were going to throw them over him. But the police are there, we've spotted them and now Nigel isn't getting off the bus." The news traveled fast on social media, with the Guardian's deputy editor tweeting: "Latest: -May barricaded in Downing Street refusing to come out -Farage reportedly 'trapped' on a bus surrounded by people armed with milkshakes Strange day." Today's drama follows on from Farage being "milkshaked" by a 32-year-old man on Monday. The man was identified as Paul Crowther, who confirmed that he had thrown a banana-and-salted-caramel milkshake from Five Guys at the controversial politician. Crowther was later charged with common assault and will appear in court next month. "It's a right of protest against people like him. The bile and the racism he spouts out in this country is far more damaging than a bit of milkshake to his front," Crowther said at the time, offering his rationale for the attack. "Milkshaking" has become a recent symbol of protest on British soil. But while there are some who find videos of politicians being doused in sweet liquid entertaining, others have expressed concern. Across the country in recent weeks, divisive candidates for European Parliament elections have been targeted in attacks. Milkshakes appear to have become the protesters' tool of choice, as attackers sipping shakes are far less conspicuous than bystanders clutching eggs. Spilled milk or not, pollsters say Farage's Brexit Party is expected to do well in the election on Thursday. Last weekend, Burger King came under fire after tweeting: "Dear people of Scotland, we're selling milkshakes all weekend. Have fun. Love BK #justsaying." The tweet was seemingly in response to the news that a McDonald's near the site of a Farage rally in Edinburgh had been asked to halt sales of milkshakes and ice cream. Although some on social applauded the tweet, others expressed concern, calling the tweet an attempt to incite violence. Burger King later sent a follow-up tweet, stating: "We'd never endorse violence - or wasting our delicious milkshakes! So enjoy the weekend and please drink responsibly people." Carl Benjamin, a U.K. Independence Party candidate in the European elections, and former English Defense League leader Tommy Robinson also have been milkshaked by protesters. Benjamin is under investigation for a tweet in which he said he "wouldn't even rape" Labour Party lawmaker Jess Phillips, although he maintains that his comments were a joke - much to the concern of many. Benjamin has been milkshaked four times in recent days, while Robinson had two milkshakes poured over him over two days earlier this month. After the milkshaking Monday, Farage tweeted: "Sadly some remainers have become radicalised, to the extent that normal campaigning is becoming impossible. For a civilised democracy to work you need the losers consent, politicians not accepting the referendum result have led us to this." He was referring to Britons who voted to remain in the European Union in a 2016 referendum that was narrowly won by those in favor of leaving the bloc, a position strongly advocated by Farage. The milkshake attacks in Britain may have been inspired by the story of Australia's "Egg Boy," a swoopy-haired teenager who cracked an egg on the back of far-right lawmaker Fraser Anning's head at a news conference in March. After the attack, Egg Boy was punched in the face by the senator, as security officials scrambled to control the situation. Last month, the political eggings continued in Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison was hit on the head with an egg - although on this occasion it failed to crack. WASHINGTON - Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin out-prepared President Donald Trump during a key meeting in Germany, putting the U.S. leader at a disadvantage during their first series of tete-a-tetes. The U.S. side anticipated a shorter meeting for exchanging courtesies, but it ballooned into a globe-spanning two-hour-plus session involving deliberations on a variety of geopolitical issues, said committee aides, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Tillerson's seven-hour closed meeting with the committee. "We spent a lot of time in the conversation talking about how Putin seized every opportunity to push what he wanted," a committee aide said. "There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing." Tillerson, whose public remarks about the president have been sparse since his dramatic firing in March 2018, spoke to a bipartisan group of lawmakers and staffers Tuesday at the request of the chairman of the committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. In response to Tillerson's remarks, Trump countered his former aide, saying in a statement that he "was perfectly prepared for my meetings with Vladimir Putin. We did very well at those meetings." Committee aides peppered the former oilman with questions about the 2017 session in Hamburg. Unlike in Helsinki last summer, when Trump met with Putin without advisers present, Tillerson attended the Hamburg meeting, giving him rare insight into the two leaders' interactions. Experts said the disparity in preparation was unsurprising but risky given Putin's depth of experience and savvy. "Putin is a very nimble adversary who's been at this for 20 years now," said Andrew Weiss, a Russia scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "The Hamburg meeting sounds like it was one of Putin's wildest dreams: a freewheeling backroom-style conversation with a U.S. president." In the past, Trump has downplayed the importance of preparation, saying his gut instinct and ability to read a room are paramount for a successful summit. More for you Unsealed court filings reveal how Mueller quickly zeroed in on Michael Cohen "I don't think I have to prepare very much," Trump said ahead of his historic first meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year. "It's about attitude, it's about willingness to get things done. So this isn't a question of preparation, it's a question of whether or not people want it to happen, and we'll know that very quickly." Tillerson told the committee that he believed there was more the United States needed to do to counter Russia on the global stage, said a person who was in the room. When asked about the former secretary's remarks, a Republican committee aide said that "we believe Tillerson's testimony best speaks for itself, and are hopeful that our Democrat Chairman will release the full transcript of the meeting to the public soon." Committee aides said that Tillerson refrained from openly disparaging the president but that his inability to answer certain questions was revealing. In one exchange, Tillerson said he and the president "shared a common goal: to secure and advance America's place in the world and to promote and protect American values." "Those American values - freedom, democracy, individual liberty and human dignity - are the North Star that guided every action I took at the State Department," Tillerson said, according to a person in the room. Upon questioning, Tillerson clarified that although he and the president shared the same goal, they did not share the same "value system." When asked to describe Trump's values, Tillerson said, "I cannot," the person said. "Just as matter of fact, he stated that he couldn't or wouldn't unpack the president's values for us," a committee aide said. In another rebuttal to Tillerson, Trump noted that his replacement Mike Pompeo is "doing a great job" and "agrees with my values." "Such a positive difference!" Trump added. It was not the first time Tillerson declined to defend the president's values. In 2017, Fox News host Chris Wallace spoke to Tillerson about the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, after Trump said "both sides" - white supremacists and the people protesting them - were responsible. "I don't believe anyone doubts the American people's values," Tillerson said. "And the president's values?" Wallace asked. "The president speaks for himself," Tillerson said, a response that reportedly infuriated Trump. Tillerson, who tangled repeatedly with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, did not question the motives of the president's familial adviser, but said Kushner should've consulted more often with State Department colleagues and that his lack of knowledge of history exposed him to being outmaneuvered, said a person who was in the room. He also said Kushner did not follow traditional diplomatic protocols, which made it difficult to understand what he was doing with world leaders. A senior administration official contested that assertion, saying that "Jared, the White House, and the NSC [National Security Council] did coordinate with the State Department. The problem was Rex Tillerson couldn't figure out how to coordinate with the State Department." Committee staffers were interested in how Middle East foreign policy was made, asking detailed questions about Kushner and Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser and ally of Trump whose office was raided by federal investigators last year in a search for records about his dealings with Trump administration associates. Broidy has ties with the United Arab Emirates, a Persian Gulf ally that has worked closely with Kushner and has aligned itself with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump and Tillerson sparred behind the scenes for months before Trump fired him in a tweet. But their public rapport took a dramatic turn in December when Tillerson told CBS that Trump did not read much and had issued directives that were against the law. Trump responded in a tweet that Tillerson was "dumb as a rock" and "lazy as hell." Job Title: Anesthesiologist Organization: Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda (CORSU) Duty Station: Kisubi, Wakiso, Uganda Reports to: Head of Anesthesiology About US: Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda (for people with disability) was established in 2006 as a private non-profit, non-governmental organization and is supported by CBM (Christian Blind Mission). CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre on Entebbe Road provides Orthopaedic Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Rehabilitation, mainly for children with disability. Job Summary: The Anesthesiologist will actively participate in the Anaesthetic services in the hospital including perioperative care and providing safe anaesthesia. Assist the Head of Department with supervising the Anaesthetic officers, running the lists, overseeing patients on HDU and reviewing postoperative pain management.. Key Duties and Responsibilities: providing safe Anaesthesia. Actively offer Anaesthetic services including perioperative care andproviding safe Anaesthesia. Assess patients preoperatively. Surgeon(s) involved. Discuss all difficult patients with the Head of Department andSurgeon(s) involved. anaesthetic procedures to be undertaken. Provide clear, understandable information to patients about theanaesthetic procedures to be undertaken. and review patients postoperative pain requirements as necessary. Provide anaesthesia and pain management for the admitted patientsand review patients postoperative pain requirements as necessary. on the ward or in theatre. Provide advice and assistance with complex patients and emergencieson the ward or in theatre. and coordinate its activities and review patients on HDU as required. Participate in the development of a High Dependency Care Unit (HDU)and coordinate its activities and review patients on HDU as required. Provide safe, high quality anaesthesia. Oversee the running and protocols in the PACU. Ensure regular CPD for the department. Coordinate CPR training for the nurses and other hospital staff. Contribute to activities of the AAU. recommendations as necessary to the immediate supervisor. Identify team manpower gaps, promotional and training needs and makerecommendations as necessary to the immediate supervisor. Participate in the hospital CME and morbidity/mortality meetings. regularly. Ensure all equipment is well maintained and review equipment needsregularly. Plan and budget for continued upgrading of the department. Develop SOPs for theatre. Oversee the rota for each theatre and on call arrangements with appraisals of the Anaesthetic officers Provide the necessary support to the Head of Department like helpingwith appraisals of the Anaesthetic officers Qualifications, Skills and Experience: The ideal candidate must hold an MBChB from a recognized University. postgraduate qualification in anaesthesia e.g. FRCA. MMed (Anaesthesia) from a recognized university or equivalentpostgraduate qualification in anaesthesia e.g. FRCA. Council Registration with the Uganda Medical and Dental PractitionersCouncil post-qualification experience. At least two years ofpost-qualification experience. advantage). Experience of working in the NGO/Not-for- Profit hospital is anadvantage). Teaching experience Excellent communication and coordination skills o-call duties. Willingness to work beyond expected hours and occasionally take ono-call duties. Thorough knowledge of MS Office, programme management software Good understanding of disability. How to Apply: All candidates should send their applications (detailed CV, covering letter plus relevant copies of academic qualifications) should be submitted to The Head of Human Resources, CoRSU Hospital P.O. Box 46 Kisubi or email to recruitment@corsuhospital.org Deadline: 24th May, 2019 by 5:00pm. For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline Job Title: Program Assistant Accounts Organization: Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Duty Station: Adjumani, Uganda Reports to: Program Officer Accounts Reference Number: AD/001/2019 About US: The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is the Leader of Government Business in Parliament and responsible for the coordination and implementation of Government Policies across Ministries, Departments and other Public Institutions. Job Summary: The Program Assistant Accounts will be responsible for processing financial records such as bills, invoices, accounts payable and receivable. The Assistant will also be responsible for basic book keeping activities, preparing payment vouchers and expense forms; receiving and receipting cash for project activities; paying out cash and reconciling the cash balances in the cash book on a daily basis. The Assistant will also keep value documents. Key Duties and Responsibilities: claims, and vendor payments; Preparation of payment vouchers for all fund requests, advances,claims, and vendor payments; transactions; Ensure accurate coding and proper filing of all financialtransactions; accounting software; Post entries in the relevant books of accounts using computerizedaccounting software; Reconciliation of bank statements on monthly basis; Reconciliation of vendors statements of accounts on monthly basis; Receive and receipt cash from funding partner(s) and project activities; Performance of daily reconciliation of cash balances with cash book; Prepare monthly management reports; Any other duty assigned by the supervisor Qualifications, Skills and Experience: Administration or Commerce with Accounting option from a recognised University. A post graduate Diploma or professional Accounting courses is an added advantage. Applicants should be holding either an honours degree in BusinessAdministration or Commerce with Accounting option from a recognisedUniversity. A post graduate Diploma or professional Accounting courses isan added advantage. pre-requisite. A minimum of three years working experience in a related field is apre-requisite. Age : 23 45 years How to Apply: Applications are invited from qualified Ugandan Nationals to fill the under listed vacant positions available at Arua Refugee Desk, Adjumani Refugee Desk, Hoima Refugee Desk, Mbarara Refugee Desk and Kampala Refugees Department Head Office. Handwritten application letters be addressed to the Permanent Secretary Office of the Prime Minister, P.O. Box 341, Kampala. Uganda All application letters should include personal contact addresses e.g. phone contacts, e-mail addresses, and a recent passport photograph of the applicant and indicate three referees. The applicant should be a person of high moral character and integrity, willing to work in remote rural settlements. All applicants must quote the Reference Number of the post advertised (Check top of the advert), indicate the reference number on the top left hand side corner of the application letters envelop, seal it and submit their application letters to the Human Resource Office, Open Registry 3rd Floor, Office of the Prime Minister. Deadline: 31st May 2019 by 5:00pm For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho, Girls Track, Senior; Weeden won two events for the Chargers in the first meet of the season. Weeden was first in the high jump (5-0) and the long jump 15-1. ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago scored 39 points in three games as Stonington started the season 1-2. Drago had 16 in a loss to Fitch, 12 in a win against Griswold and 11 in a defeat to Ledyard. SYDNEY HAIK, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Haik scored 14 points as the Bulldogs opened the season with a victory over Cumberland. Haik had three 3-pointers, five assists and five steals. ZANE BREWER, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Freshman; Brewer scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Lions season-opening win over Grasso Tech. Brewer followed that with 18 points and five rebounds in a loss to Hale-Ray. Vote View Results New Home Office data has shone some light on the areas in England and Wales where motorists need to take extra precautions to ensure their cars are secure. Analysis of GOV.UK figures revealed that some locations have seen car crime spike by more than a third, mainly as a direct result of remote thefts of vehicles with keyless systems. Staffordshire Police recorded the biggest spike in cars being stolen from their owners with thefts up by 38 per cent in 2018, according to car selling comparison site Motorway.co.uk. Car owners beware: These are the areas of England and Wales that posted the biggest rise in vehicle thefts between 2017 and 2018 The heat map of thefts shows that four areas recorded increases of more than a fifth last year, adding huge pressure to under-staffed police forces across England and Wales. This included Bedfordshire (27 per cent), Thames Valley (27 per cent), Surrey (22 per cent) and Durham (20 per cent), which all suffered a significant leap in vehicle crime. In total, 36 of the 43 forces who provided data (Lancashire wasnt included in the research due to an incomplete data set) reported increases in car thefts in 2018. This has widely been caused by the recent surge in keyless crime. Criminals using gadgets purchased on the internet can duplicate the signal of the remote key for a vehicle inside the keeper's house and enter their car and drive it away without ever having to step foot in their premises or raise suspicion. Just seven forces said they recorded a decline in motor theft last year. HOW DOES YOUR AREA RANK FOR CAR THEFTS? Police Force Cars stolen in 2017 Cars stolen in 2018 % increase/decrease Staffordshire 1332 1831 37.5 Bedfordshire 1054 1342 27.3 Thames Valley 2574 3265 26.8 Surrey 1257 1537 22.3 Durham 631 760 20.4 Gwent 681 813 19.4 West Midlands 9386 11140 18.7 Derbyshire 1055 1252 18.7 Northumbria 1411 1667 18.1 Essex 4216 4915 16.6 Sussex 1725 2010 16.5 North Yorkshire 447 519 16.1 West Mercia 1196 1386 15.9 Nottinghamshire 2072 2396 15.6 Leicestershire 1642 1889 15 South Wales 1878 2151 14.5 Dorset 665 761 14.4 Hertfordshire 1628 1861 14.3 Cambridgeshire 934 1066 14.1 North Wales 515 587 14 Devon and Cornwall 1050 1188 13.1 Cleveland 674 755 12 West Yorkshire 4854 5385 10.9 Cumbria 245 271 10.6 Cheshire 920 1007 9.5 Suffolk 548 599 9.3 South Yorkshire 2793 3043 9 Kent 2996 3247 8.4 Greater Manchester 6829 7310 7 Warwickshire 933 974 4.4 Norfolk 635 657 3.5 Metropolitan Police 29724 30752 3.5 Lincolnshire 605 619 2.3 Northamptonshire 935 945 1.1 Hampshire 2278 2284 0.3 Gloucestershire 601 602 0.2 Avon and Somerset 2476 2352 -5 Merseyside 3063 2836 -7.4 Dyfed-Powys 211 195 -7.6 Humberside 1489 1352 -9.2 Wiltshire 636 565 -11.2 British Transport Police(2006) 464 409 -11.9 City of London 78 61 -21.8 Source: Motorway.couk analysis of Home Office data This includes the City of London (-22 per cent), Wiltshire (-11%) and Humberside (nine per cent), which all reported declines in thefts. That was also the case for the British Transport Police (-12 per cent), suggesting fewer motors are being pinched from train station car parks. However, this hasn't been the case over an extended period. There's actually been a 217 per cent rise in vehicle thefts reported to British Transport Police over the previous five years - more than any other force. Vehicle crime has been on the rise since the recent spate of keyless car thefts using remote devices Surrey (138 per cent), Nottinghamshire (122 per cent), Staffordshire (115 per cent) and the West Midlands (114 per cent) - have also been inundated with more calls about cars being stolen in since 2013. Volume of vehicle thefts is still highest in England's two biggest cities. Four in ten nicked cars in England and Wales during 2018 were reported by the Metropolitan Police (30,752) and West Midlands Police (11,140). What's most disconcerting about the figures is that police fail to recover more than half of the vehicles stolen from owners. Just 45.3 per cent of motors taken without the consent of their keepers between 2009 and 2018 were traced and reclaimed by UK forces, research by motoring magazine Auto Express showed earlier this year. Merseyside Police had the best recovery rates of 75 per cent, while West Midlands had the lowest with fewer than 12 per cent of vehicles stolen from the area being found. Motorway.co.uk director Alex Buttle said the strain on police forces is building, especially when you consider that budget cuts has seen officer numbers plummet. Between September 2010 and September 2016, police numbers in England and Wales fell by 18,991, or 13 per cent, according to the Home Office. A near 20% decline in the number of police officers in England and Wales means the likelihood of a stolen vehicle being recovered is less than half 'These troubling car crime figures suggest that over-stretched and under-resourced police forces are struggling to curb the rising number of car crimes, and in particular keyless car thefts,' Buttle said. 'Advancements in anti-theft systems do not seem to be discouraging thieves, who are using a variety of ever-more sophisticated techniques to break into and start cars. 'The 21st century thief isnt using a hammer to smash a window and hotwire a car. Theyre armed with wireless transmitters, signal jammers and key programming devices, and can open car doors and start engines in seconds. 'The police can only do so much, and there is a responsibility on drivers, particularly those with highly desirable prestige motors, to check they are not being watched, to keep their car keys in a safe place away from windows and front doors, and to consider fitting a tracking device as an added level of protection.' Election days normally cause a frisson of excitement. But Britons waking up to BBC Radio 4's Today show yesterday may have been surprised that elections to the European Parliament didn't even make the top three items. Turnout in Euro parliamentary elections is pitiful with less than 43 per cent of eligible voters casting ballots across the EU in 2014. It won't be much different this time with the exception that populists, including Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, look set for more seats. Last orders: A critical task for the European Parliament will be to choose Jean-Claude Juncker's successor as president of the Commission Britain's fractious politics and the hash made of Brexit has given many of the populist parties cause to re-think the idea of quitting the euro area or the EU. But there is no escaping the fact that the eurozone has delivered hardship to its Southern tier. Italy has stagnated since signing up to the euro, the Greek economy shrunk by at least 25 per cent and youth unemployment in Spain at 33.7 per cent is rising again. Conditions would be even worse were it not for the interventions of Mario Draghi at the European Central Bank who has injected 2.6 trillion into the economy through quantitative easing. He also continues to provide short-term cash to the Italian and Greek banks. Here in Britain we are obsessing about the fate of British steel making. The UK faces problems that are mirrored across the Continent. The owners of the Scunthorpe steel plant Greybull recently bought the Ascoval mill in northern France out of insolvency, saying they would invest 41.7million. Latest data from the eurozone shows that in spite of the largesse ladled out by the ECB, manufacturing is contracting. The service sector is also in the doldrums at best, and second quarter growth across the region will be 0.2 per cent. A critical task for the European Parliament will be to choose Jean-Claude Juncker's successor as president of the Commission. German Manfred Weber is seen as the favoured candidate. The choice will determine the far more important job of heading the ECB when Draghi quits in October. If Germany's Jens Weidmann were to get the job the pain across the eurozone, as the ECB retreats from QE, could well tip the whole of the region into recession, strengthening populists. All the more reason for the UK to beat a retreat from the EU and strike out on its own. A free market India, under a re-elected Narendra Modi, would be among the prizes to be courted. Bailey bother The London Capital & Finance mini-bond scandal could not have come at a worse moment for Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, and favourite to be next governor of the Bank of England. The FCA and its predecessor has always been a bed of nails, as previous incumbents learned to their cost. Bailey inherited several unexploded bombs when he took over at the FCA, including an unpublished report on culpability for the failure of HBOS. The 'heart-breaking' 362million collapse of LC&F, to use City Minister John Glen's words, took place on Bailey's watch and exposed a hole in financial regulation. The Government has moved rapidly to appoint a High Court judge Dame Elizabeth Gloster to look into the affair and wants the probe done and dusted in a year. This is sharp contrast to government and Whitehall procrastination on an inquiry after spending tens of billions of pounds bailing out the banks a decade ago. As John Glen writes on these pages today, he wants Dame Elizabeth to get to learn the lessons for the FCA. Too often in the past such probes have not happened on the grounds that the Serious Fraud Office is involved (as it is at LC&F). All of this is taking place against the search for the next governor of the Bank of England due to be completed in October ready for the chosen candidate to start work in January 2020. The unfinished LC&F probe will not help Bailey. Home and away Not all retailers feel the need to pepper their results with unobliging comments on business rates, rents, Brexit and the weather. Homewares group B&M reports higher sales, profits of 249million (up 8.7 per cent) and plans many more store openings this year. All the controlling Arora family needs to do now is shift the headquarters from low-tax Luxembourg to the UK and adopt best governance practice. Easy-peasy. Thomas Cook has been thrown a lifeline after a private equity firm offered to buy its Nordic operations. The troubled travel operator is in talks with Triton about its businesses in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, which could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds. It would help steady Thomas Cook's finances, and end weeks of speculation over its future, which have sent shares plunging 60 per cent so far this year. Thomas Cook is in talks with Triton about its businesses in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, which could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds A spokesman for the firm said it had 'received a highly preliminary and unsolicited indicative offer from Triton Partners for its Northern Europe business'. It is 'evaluating this offer alongside the ongoing strategic review of its group airline', which it has put up for sale. The group's Nordic businesses include Ving, Tjareborg and Spies and account for one fifth of its workforce. There has been mounting concern for the 178-year-old company, which employs 22,000 staff. And in another blow, rating agencies Fitch and S&P have downgraded its credit rating, meaning they fear it is less likely to repay debts. Following the firm's latest profit warning earlier this month, they said it could struggle over summer in the face of weak demand. Thomas Cook's warning was the third in less than a year. It said a sluggish market had led to fierce competition among airlines and travel operators, with rivals cutting prices more sharply than usual. The turmoil led analysts at Citi to warn the stock was worthless. As well as putting its airline up for sale, Thomas Cook agreed a 300million overdraft with banks in a bid to secure its future,. But Fitch cut its rating to CCC+ from B. Lower credit ratings make it more expensive for a firm to borrow cash. Fitch said: 'We expect earnings and profitability to be lower than our previous forecasts.' S&P also cut its rating on Thomas Cook to CCC+ from B-, citing risks in the travel market and uncertainty about the sale of the airline. Last week Thomas Cook said it had received multiple bids to take over all or parts of its airline business. The company declined to comment on the credit ratings downgrades. In a sign of mounting jitters over Thomas Cook's prospects, its shares and bonds plunged to record lows this week. By Nailia Bagirova BAKU, May 23 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's only oil refinery plans to import 110,000 tonnes of A-92 petrol in October while it halts production for a month for routine maintenance, state energy company SOCAR's vice president told Reuters on Thursday. The refinery, which is owned by SOCAR, will halt production from Oct 1. The company's petrochemicals unit, Azerkhimia, will also halt production for 40 days starting Oct 1. Routine maintenance at the refinery was also conducted last year. "It's not ruled out that purchases (of A-92 petrol) would be made from Russia and Turkmenistan, although it will depend on prices and some other options might be reviewed," Davud Mammadov said in an interview. The refinery and Azerkhimia fully satisfied the country's oil refining and petrochemical products needs at present, he said. SOCAR plans to complete modernising the refinery by 2021 and start a new oil processing line at the plant, allowing it to increase oil processing to 7.5 million tonnes annually in 2023-2024 from 6 million tonnes at present, Mammadov said. "Azerbaijan intends to increase condensate production at such fields as Absheron, Umid, Babek and others by that date, which will increase loading at the refinery," he said. SOCAR plans to process 6.1 million tonnes of oil at the refinery in 2019. Last year the volume was 6.14 million tonnes. Azerbaijan mainly exported two types of petroleum products - liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and diesel fuel, Mammadov said. Azerbaijan plans to sell around 11,000 tonnes of LPG and up to 400,000 tonnes of diesel fuel on the world market in 2019, of which 8,000 tonnes of LPG and 200,000 tonnes of diesel fuel have already been exported. Mammadov said that buyers of diesel fuel were Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea countries, while LPG is being exported to Georgia and Afghanistan. LPG was being delivered to Afghanistan by ferry across the Caspian Sea via Turkmenistan, as well as by road through Iran. "Azerbaijan does not sell oil products to Iran, since Iran is self-sufficient," he said. Mammadov said that SOCAR would increase production of polypropylene and polyethylene at its new SOCAR Polymer enterprise this year, bringing total volume to 100,000 tonnes. "Commissioning works at the polypropylene production plant has been completed and it has already produced about 55,000 tonnes of polypropylene, while commissioning of high density polyethylene producing line is nearing completion," he said. He added that SOCAR Polymer was focused on the markets of Russia, Turkey, Eastern Europe and China. "At this stage, textile polypropylene brand RAFIA is mainly produced at the plant, which is exported to Turkey," Mammadov said. (Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Deepa Babington)